Abide in Christ Daily Devotional

Persevering Grace

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 21:40:32 -0600

If the grace of God were suddenly taken away from you, what would you be? If God removed all of His restraints of love and grace, what would you do?

True believers are “preserved” and cannot be lost. However, there is the danger of our stumbling or going astray in out daily walk. We can lose our fellowship, but not our sonship. If we persist in our disobedience, the Holy Spirit will chasten us and bring us back into fellowship with God. God in His sovereign grace has chosen and has saved some of the greatest sinners who have walked on the face of the earth. He has reached down and cleansed some of the foulest sins ever committed, and He is still doing it and will continue until Jesus returns.

The LORD God will be glorified throughout all eternity by that great body of people who are trophies of God’s grace. "Just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him” (Ephesians 1:4). We have been adopted and placed in God’s family “to the praise of the glory of His grace, which He freely bestowed on us in the Beloved” (v.6). Our whole life is to be lived “to the praise of His glory.”

Spurgeon observed, “A thousand Christians can scarcely do such honor to their Master as one hypocrite can do dishonor to Him. If you have ever tasted that the Lord is gracious, pray that your foot slip not. It would be infinitely better to bury you in the earth than see you buried in sin.”

When Jesus returns in glory with those saints who have gone to heaven before us, they will be arrayed in the righteousness of Christ to the praise of God’s glory. Christ will “present to Himself the church in all her glory, having no spot or wrinkle or any such thing; but that she should be holy and blameless” (Ephesians 5:27).

The constant appeal in the New Testament epistles is for the believer to persevere in prayer, "So that you will prove yourselves to be blameless and innocent, children of God above reproach in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you appear as lights in the world," (Philippians 2:15).

The Sinner God Accepts

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 20:27:41 -0600

am clean through the blood of Jesus Christ. In deed, if the blood of Jesus does not cover my sin, I am eternally doomed.

What the Jewish sin offering taught by metaphor, Jesus Christ fulfilled in perfect reality.

The animal chosen for the sacrifice on all occasions was spotless, without blemish, and sinless.

The person offering the sacrifice placed his hands on the head of the animal and while pressing down confessed his sins symbolizing a transference of sin and guilt from the offender to the innocent substitute victim. It is as if he put the sin and its consequences on the head of the animal that was to die in his place.

The priest then took his knife and killed the victim that was entirely consumed by fire symbolizing God’s judgment.

The LORD God made Jesus Christ an offering for sin. The moment we put our hands upon His head by faith and see Him being offered up on the cross for our guilt, we know that our sins have been transferred to Him, and we are free of our guilt. We are clean through the blood of Jesus Christ.

God must punish sin. “The soul that sins will surely die.” “The wages of sin is death,” declares the Bible. Sin deserves and demands by its very nature that it be punished. Because God is holy, sin must be punished.

We have sinned and are like wandering sheep.

God in an act of grace provided and accepted a substitute for sinners. The Bible says, "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life" (John 3:16). This verse teaches us that God spared not His only begotten Son, but freely delivered Him up to death as a sacrifice for our sin.

“God commends His love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” The overwhelming infinite love of God the Father sent the innocent Son of God to the cross to die for sins.

Come and Believe as Little Children

Tue, 17 Nov 2009 22:02:45 -0600

In one of my pastorates I brought a message on the death and resurrection to a close, and as I began to issue the invitation for all who would believe on Jesus Christ as their Savior a seventy-year-old man came running down the aisle. He had put his faith in Jesus Christ as the sermon was being presented, and he wanted everyone to know it.

Little did either of us know at the time, but several months later I would conduct his funeral.

As I spent time with he and his wife he shared with me his childhood experience of living across the street from a beautiful large church. On Sunday mornings he and his little brother would sit on the steps of their house and watched the people enter the building. They wanted to go to church so badly that they cried, but they had been told they did not have good enough clothes.

In disbelief I respectively listened and I turned to Mark 10:13-16 and read these words to this lovely couple. “They were bringing children to Him so that He might touch them; but the disciples rebuked them. But when Jesus saw this, He was indignant and said to them, ‘Permit the children to come to Me; do not hinder them; for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. Truly I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child will not enter it at all.’ And He took them in His arms and began blessing them, laying His hands on them” (Mark 10:13-16).

The essence of saving faith is to rest yourself for eternal salvation on the atoning death and perfect righteousness of Jesus Christ. It is to trust in what Jesus Christ did for you in dying for your salvation. If you are to be saved you must believe in Jesus Christ. Put your faith in no one else, and in nothing else, but Christ. Only Jesus Christ will save you.

How do persons come to Christ? They come by simple humble faith in Christ Jesus. Faith is the way to Christ. It is not faith plus baptism. It is not faith plus good works. It is not faith plus obedience. It is not faith plus church attendance. It is faith in the saving grace of God in Christ Jesus alone. If you are baptized after you have come to Christ, well and good, but do not lift your baptism to a saving ordinance or a sacrament for salvation.

Have you, like my friend, come to Jesus Christ by laying hold of Him with the hand of faith?

How Can a Person Please God?

Mon, 16 Nov 2009 21:40:58 -0600

Without faith it is impossible to please God” (Hebrews 11:6).

We can state the same truth by answering the question, how can man please God? The author of the Epistle of Hebrews in chapter eleven gives a list of people who did please God.

“By faith Able offered to God a better sacrifice than Cain . . .” (v. 4).

“By faith Enoch was take up so that he should not see death; and he was not found because God took him up; for he obtained the witness that before his being taken up he was pleasing to God” (v. 5).

“By faith Noah, being warned by God about things not yet seen, in reverence prepared an ark for the salvation of his household” (v. 7).

“By faith Abraham, when he was called, obeyed by going out to a place which he was to receive for an inheritance; and he went out, not knowing where he was going” (v. 8).

“By faith he lived as an alien in the land of promise . . . for he was looking for the city which has foundations, whose architect and builder is God” (vv. 9-10).

“By faith even Sarah . . . considered Him faithful who had promised” (v. 11).

“By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac . . . He considered that God is able to raise men even from the dead, from which he also received him back as a type” (vv. 17, 19).

“By faith Isaac . . . . By faith Jacob . . . . By faith Joseph . . . . By faith Moses . . . . considering the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures of Egypt; for he was looking to the reward” (vv. 24, 26).

The list goes on and on of men and women who pleased God, “who by faith conquered kingdoms, performed acts of righteousness, obtained promises, shut the mouths of lions, quenched the power of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, from weakness were made strong, became mighty in war, put foreign armies to flight. Women received back their dead by resurrection; and others were tortured, not accepting their release, in order that they might obtain a better resurrection, and others experienced mockings and scourgings, yes, also chains and imprisonment” (vv. 33-36).

One Perfect Sacrifice for Sinners

Sun, 15 Nov 2009 22:12:32 -0600

The sacrifice of Jesus Christ was completed at the cross when He shouted, “It is finished!” (John 19:30). It was finished and as a result it is forever done. “It stands finished.” Nothing else needed to be done from the moment Christ died. It was a once-and-for-all completed sacrifice for sin.

It was in the shedding of His blood on the cross that Christ both ratified the New Testament and purchased the believer’s redemption The prominent term used in reference to the atonement in the New Testament is the “blood.” The blood of Christ indicates the all-encompassing redemptive work of Christ on the cross.

Since the sacrifice of Jesus Christ was completed on the cross at Calvary it is not correct to say that Christ offered His blood upon the heavenly mercy seat. Christ ascended into heaven because His work of atonement was finished, not in order to compete it. He did not need to present His blood in heaven because our redemption was already an accomplished fact (Hebrews 9:7-12, 24-25; 10:19; 13:12, 20; 1 John 2:2, etc). Christ did not have to make an offering for Himself like the Old Testament high priest did year after year on the Day of Atonement. He was already perfect in His relationship with the LORD God. There was no need for Christ to present blood in heaven for anything. He needed only to present Himself in heaven because He is the perfect High Priest.

Christ entered heaven after securing our eternal redemption at the cross—His ascension was the enthronement in heaven as the High Priest who had completed the work of redemption.

The implications of this great transaction are great. Our salvation is all by the grace of God through faith in the sacrifice of Jesus Christ for the sinner. The work of atonement was completed on the cross, and nothing else needed to be accomplished. It was not a partially completed work. He did not leave things half-done. Our salvation does not depend upon something we need to do to complete it. Christ did not have to do some atoning act in heaven like an earthly high priest, and neither do we. “It is finished!” “Done!” “Complete.”

The sacrifice of Christ was made once for all by Christ on the cross the moment He died. Any theory of atonement that suggests that Jesus Christ needed to take His blood with Him into heaven denies the finished work of Christ on the cross.

Because the sacrifice of the Lamb of God was completed on the cross the subsequent benefits of His sacrifice extends to every believer and heaven itself (Hebrews 9:23).

The shed blood of Jesus on the cross is the only righteous basis for God to forgive every sinner who puts his faith in Christ for salvation. The atoning death of Christ is all-sufficient to save every sinner who calls upon His name for salvation.

Prayer of the Savior for All Believers

Sat, 14 Nov 2009 22:41:40 -0600

In John chapter seventeen we are received with our great High Priest into “the holiest of all.” “The prayer of the Savior (in John 17) rises as it proceeds… and now He reaches His crowning point – that they may be with Him where He is and behold His glory… that prayer is more after the divine pattern which, like a ladder rises round by round, until is looses itself in heaven.”

C. H. Spurgeon continues, “His prayer was in heaven, and He Himself was there in spirit. What a hint that gives to us! How readily may we quit the field of battle, and the place of agony, and rise into such fellowship with God, that we may think, and speak and act, as if we were already in possession of our eternal joy!” (Sermons Preached in 1881, Vol. XVII, p. 68-69).

In this great high priestly prayer of Jesus, we stand on holy ground as we go into the secret place of the tabernacle of the Most High.

The great reformer and companion of Martin Luther said in his last lecture before he died, “There is no voice which has ever been heard, either in heaven or in earth, more exalted, more holy, more fruitful, more sublime than the prayer offered up by the Son of God Himself.”

John Brown said, “It is the utterance of the mind and heart of the God-man… in the immediate prospect of completing, by the sacrifice of Himself, the work which had been given Him to do and for the accomplishment of which He had become incarnate.”

The hour had come when the Lord of glory was to be made sin for His people. What were His thoughts and wishes as He waited for that horrific moment when He would bear the holy wrath of a sin-hating God?

He prayed in the opening verses that His Father be glorified in our salvation. We are saved by His grace alone through faith in His atoning death. Therefore, whatever we do as His believers must be done with all our strength to the glory of God.

Jesus said in verse 24 that all believers are to be “where I am,” in heaven. Jesus was returning to His glory He enjoyed with His Father. We are to join Him there. The reason is “in order that they may behold My own glory which Thou has given Me.” One day we will gaze steadily upon the one divine glory of His attributes (1 John 3:2-3).

Joseph's Secret to Success

Fri, 13 Nov 2009 21:57:32 -0600

Tucked away in his father's blessing is an illustration that the blessings of the Lord are greater than anything we can imagine on this earth. One commentator has said, “It is the Old Testament equivalent to John 15:1-17 where Jesus taught His disciples to abide in the vine. Whether the Old or the New Testament, the secret of spiritual fruitfulness is union with the Lord God through Jesus Christ.”

“Joseph is a fruitful vine, a fruitful vine near a spring, whose branches climb over a wall” (Genesis 49:22 NIV). That is the testimony of the Bible. “The LORD was with Joseph… The LORD blessed the Egyptian;s house on account of Joseph… The LORD was with Joseph… The LORD was with him, and whatever he did, that the LORD made to prosper” (Genesis 39: 2, 5, 21).

The LORD God caused Joseph's vine to “climb over a wall” into Egypt, and God used him there. “God has made me fruitful in the land of my affliction” (41:52). “God has made me lord of all Egypt” (45:9).

Joseph was saying, “I saw God do it!” The LORD God was sovereign in his life, and it was His sovereign grace that delivered and sustained him during those long hard years in Egypt as a Hebrew slave.

If Joseph had been living in our day, he would say without Christ we can do nothing. However, when we are in union with Him, it is His life that is seen in us; it is His power at work in us, and our works are therefore His works.

Jacob told his son Joseph how he would be a fruitful vine. It would not be without adversity, trials, and temptations. Bitter archers who hated him attacked Joseph. “They shot at him with hostility” (v.23a-24a). He kept liberally “in an unyielding position.”

Who steadies your hand? Who gives you inner strength? Joseph’s “bow remained steady, his strong arms stayed limber, because of the hand of the Mighty One of Jacob.”

Jesus said, “Apart from Me you can do nothing” (John 15:5b). The secret of Joseph’s strength is divine strength. And if you and I ever accomplish anything to God’s glory, it will be in and by and through abiding in Jesus Christ.

The Carnal Mind and a New Mind

Thu, 12 Nov 2009 20:51:52 -0600

George Whitfield, the eighteenth century evangelist, was correct when he said, “If the unregenerate man could enter heaven, he would be so unhappy in heaven, that he would ask God to let him run down to hell for shelter.”

How could the enemies of God sit down at the banquet of the Lamb of God?

Universalism wants us to bury our heads in the sand.

The carnal mind is enmity against God all the time. So why would such a person ever want to be in God’s holy presence? It is against everything God is for in His universe. It sets the world system and all it teaches in opposition to the LORD God.

The carnal mind is a “depraved spirit that is set on those things which are not proper” (Romans 1:28). How would you know one if you saw it? Romans 1:29-32 says, “Being filled with all unrighteousness, wickedness, greed, evil; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, malice; they are gossips, slanderers, haters of God, insolent, arrogant, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, without understanding, untrustworthy, unloving, unmerciful; and although they know the ordinance of God, that those who practice such things are worthy of death, they not only do the same, but also give hearty approval to those who practice them."

It is a dreadful picture of human depravity. The apostle then declared, "Therefore you have no excuse, everyone of you who passes judgment, for in that which you judge another, you condemn yourself; for you who judge practice the same things. And we know that the judgment of God rightly falls upon those who practice such things" (Romans 2:1-2).

There is a day coming when “God will judge the secrets of men through Christ Jesus” (v. 16). It is not because we do not deserve it. The Bible testifies that we are all guilty. “But because of your stubbornness and unrepentant heart you are storing up wrath for yourself in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God, who will render to each person according to his deeds” (Romans 2:5-6).

After a detailed presentation of our sins against us in Romans chapter three, the apostle Paul concludes, "But glory and honor and peace to everyone who does good, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For there is no partiality with God" (Romans 2:10-11) "You who boast in the Law, through your breaking the Law, do you dishonor God?" (Romans 2:23).

How many of us have not wished in the depths

Our Old Carnal Sinful Nature

Wed, 11 Nov 2009 22:12:07 -0600

The Christian makes progress in sanctification in his daily life as he yields to the Holy Spirit. He is in perpetual war against the old nature or flesh. The greater power in the conflict is the Spirit of God who indwells the true believer. The indwelling and filling of the Holy Spirit is the secret to our spiritual growth in the likeness of Christ.

The apostle Paul recognized the true believer’s battle with sin in Galatians 5:16-17. The flesh and the spirit are in continuous war. The human body is not evil per se, but we do have an old nature with its continuing tendency to sin and rebellion against God. It is this old flesh nature or self that wars with the Spirit. "But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh. For the flesh sets its desire against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; for these are in opposition to one another, so that you may not do the things that you please" (Galatians 5:16-17).

We have an old nature that has a continuing tendency to sin and rebel against God. The born again believer does have within him contrary desires and urges. The old fallen instincts of the Adamic nature are not yet destroyed. They constantly distract us from doing the will of God and cause us to sin.

However, we do have the indwelling Holy Spirit who constantly wages war against this old fallen nature. He is progressively working within us to renew us in the likeness of Christ.

When we are born again, a new nature or disposition is created within the soul. The work of the Holy Spirit in our progressive sanctification affects both this new disposition as well as the old self.

We have a responsibility to cooperate with the gracious operation of the Holy Spirit by which He delivers us from the pollution of sin, renews our whole person according to the image of God, and enable us to please Him in our daily lives.

It is by the work of sanctification that this “pollution” or corruption of our nature is in the process of being removed. Of course, it will not be totally removed until we see Jesus in His glory.

The Call of God to Salvation

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 17:10:20 -0600

To those who are called of God, the good news in Jesus Christ is the power of God. If you are called of God, you know it. It is a matter of pure experience between you and the risen Christ. The true believer can declare, “Now I know in whom I have believed.”

C. H. Spurgeon said, “Ah! What a mercy it is that it is not your hold of Christ that saves you but His hold of you! What a sweet fact that it is not how you grasp His hand, but His grasp of yours that saves you! Jesus Christ is the power of God and the wisdom of God.” "But we preach Christ crucified… to those who are called, both to Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God" (1 Corinthians 1:23a, 24).

“To those who are the called… Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.” On occasion Jesus said, “Many are called, but few are chosen.”

There is the general call through the preaching of the Gospel to all who will come and listen, but there is also an effectual call when the Holy Spirit speaks to the individuals and they respond by repenting of their sin and believe on Christ as their personal Savior.

The school bell rings at 8 a.m., and it is a general call for all students to be in their classroom ready to begin their studies. However, when the teacher says, “Wil, come with me. We are going to the principal’s office,” that is a special call.

When the apostle Paul said, “We preach Christ crucified…to those who are called,” it is always a special call. It is the sharp, hot arrow of God’s Word piercing into the heart bringing conviction of sin and saving faith in Jesus Christ.

The effectual call of God is when the Holy Spirit whispers your name and says, “Come to Me.” The word comes into the soul, and there is no resisting it. God speaks. Jesus said, “All that the Father has given to Me shall come.” That is the effectual call.

The believer is saved by the effectual grace of God. Saul, the persecutor of the early church, heard the effectual call of God saying, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?” (Acts 9:4). Saul could go no further on his way, and a radical change took place in his heart.

Zaccheus saw Jesus coming down the road and climbed up into a tree so he could get a better view. As Jesus walked He looked up into the tree and called to Zaccheus, “Zaccheus, come down today. I must abide in your house.” Zaccheus heard his name called and he could not stay up the tree.

How to Produce Works of the Flesh

Mon, 9 Nov 2009 20:28:33 -0600

The desires of the flesh produce the works of the flesh (Galatians 5:16-21). The Bible admonishes us not to gratify or carry out the desire of the flesh (v.16).

How do you not fulfill the desire within your old nature that leads to evil behavior?

There are really two dynamics at work in Galatians 5:16-17. There is the promise that is realized in those who walk by the Holy Spirit. If you walk by the Spirit, you will definitely not fulfill the desires of the flesh. The person who walks by the Spirit will be able to resist the flesh in the end – in its wicked desire that is bent on your total domination. One dynamic spiritual principle leads to spiritual slavery. The end result is an evil lifestyle as described in vv.19-21. If you yield to the desire of the flesh, this is what your life will produce.

How would you like to be married or live with the individual described in vv.19-21? "Now the deeds of the flesh are evident, which are: immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, disputes, dissensions, factions, envying, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these, of which I forewarn you, just as I have forewarned you, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God" (Galatians 5:19-21).

If your life is controlled by your old human nature that is what it will produce. There is a desire, longing, or craving for something that is forbidden and if you yield to it you will produce a lifestyle and behaviors that are not pleasing to God. It is that element of man’s nature that has been corrupted at its source. When this nature is left unchecked, it produces the “works of the flesh.” The basic underlying principle refuses to acknowledge God and leads to doing evil instead of good. It is our fallen human nature, which was inherited from our fallen parents. It is self-centered and prone to sin. This body of sinful impulses seeks to gain control of the mind and will, and when it does it produces its own behaviors called “works of the flesh.”

This (sarx) sinful nature means all that the individual is capable of as a sinful human being apart from the intervention of the Spirit of God in his life. The sinful human nature reproduces itself. If the Holy Spirit has never regenerated you, He is not in control of your life, and this is what you will produce.

Keep on Walking by the Holy Spirit

Sun, 8 Nov 2009 21:21:24 -0600

The Holy Spirit suppresses the evil impulses of nature as the believer trusts Him to do so. As we cooperate with Him in the work of sanctification He enables us to be victorious in the Christian life.

It is the responsibility of every true believer to submit his life to the control of the Holy Spirit.

In the context of a church biting, devouring, and destroying Christian fellowship, the apostle Paul admonished Christians to “walk by the spirit.” Conduct yourself under the power and influence of the Holy Spirit. Let the inward impulses of the Holy Spirit continue to control your behavior.

The Spirit is the source of all good and gracious impulses in your life. He works within the believer enabling with sanctifying power. The Spirit gives us wisdom and direction and by His help and power we live and overcome the inevitable temptations, sorrows and joys in life.

The present tense of the verb “to walk” (peripateite) indicates a continuing condition or need. Paul is encouraging the believers to keep on doing what they have been doing, i.e., “Keep on walking by the Spirit.” Keep in step; don’t fall out now.

It is the responsibility of the Christian to make the Holy Spirit the rule of his life. Live continually in and by the power of the Holy Spirit. Let the Spirit always continue to direct your life, and when He is guiding your life “you will not carry out the desire of the flesh.”

How does the Christian fulfill the “righteousness of the law” without becoming a legalists? Romans 8:4 tells us “walk after the Spirit.” "So that the requirement of the Law might be fulfilled in us, who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit" (Romans 8:4).

Instead of biting, devouring, and consuming one another, which is the result of fulfilling the desire of the flesh, let the Holy Spirit produce His kind of righteousness in your life.

As a believer “keep on walking” through life depending on the indwelling of the Holy Spirit of God for His guidance and power.

A New Creation, Not Yet Perfect

Sat, 7 Nov 2009 21:16:32 -0600

The believer is a new man, a new creation, but he is a new man not yet made perfect,” observes John Murray.

The born again believer still has to deal with indwelling sin. He still sins even though he is growing in Christ likeness and is the subject of the progressive sanctification of the Holy Spirit.

The believer is being transfigured into the image of the Lord Jesus Christ from glory to glory (2 Cor. 3:18).

The emphasis the apostle Paul makes in Romans 6:14, 17, 18-20 is there has been a radical change in the believer’s relationship to sin. It is true that the believer still sins, but he is no longer a slave to sin. Sin no longer reigns as in the condition of the old man, the unregenerate person. Romans 7:14-25 teaches us that sin still remains in the believer’s mind, affections, and will. Slavery to sin is broken. But as Romans 6:6, Ephesians 4:20-24, and Colossians 3:9-10 brings out the struggle in the heart of the very believer.

Herman Bavink said, “The spiritual struggle which the believers must conduct is between the flesh and the spirit, between the old and the new man, between the sin which continues to dwell in the believers and the spiritual principle of life which has been planted in their hearts.”

If the old nature has been “crucified” and “laid aside,” how can one say the believer still has an old nature?

Christ’s death took the form of a Roman crucifixion. The apostle Paul says the believer is "crucified with Christ" and is "dead" as a result of this action just as Christ after His crucifixion. Just as Christ was definitely dead so is the believer in his vital union with Christ is dead to sin. "For the death he died, he died to sin once for all, but the life he lives, he lives to God" (Romans 6:10 NET).

But the finality of death is not the only thing Paul stresses about our relationship with Christ. Drawing on the symbolism of baptism by immersion in water Paul says, "Therefore we have been buried with him through baptism into death, in order that just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too may live a new life" (Romans 6:4 NET). It is not a physical death and burial in regard to the believer, but forensic and positional. Paul has in mind our new position in a vital union with Christ. This is an act of God. We have a new relationship with Him. We have been placed in a new unchanging position. This is the way we exist in God's sight. We are no figment in His imagination. This is the greatest of spiritual realities.

Parable of the Sower

Fri, 6 Nov 2009 23:32:49 -0600

The parable of the sower sheds great light on what happens in churches when individuals make public decisions to follow Jesus Christ and then drop out of sight. Our situation is not much different than in Jesus’ day when the masses of people had rejected Him (Matthew 11:16-24). They could not understand the deeper things about the kingdom of God. However, the disciples responded to His teaching and believed on Him.

It is at that point in His ministry that Jesus began to teach using parables, which are earthy stories with heavenly meanings. Jesus deliberately chose to withhold further truth about Himself and the kingdom from the masses. When the crowds heard the parables, it seemed to them little more than an interesting but pointless story that taught no profound spiritual truth.

On the other hand, the disciples heard Jesus teaching the parables and their powers of spiritual perception developed and Jesus' teachings on the kingdom became clearer to them.

In the parable of the sower, Jesus explained that the seed is the gospel of the kingdom, and the soil is the human heart (Matthew 13:3-23). “The kingdom of heaven” comes with the preaching of the gospel of Jesus Christ and the planting of His Word in the heart of the listeners. The “seed” is God’s Word, and the “soil” represents different kinds of hearers and the response of their hearts to the Word (Romans 10:17; Matt. 13:9; Mark 4:24; Luke 8:18).

The parable tells us that there are some listeners whose hearts are hard as a stone. They will not hear. Their hearts are like a packed down road. “When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what has been sown in his heart. This is the one on whom seed was sown beside the road” (Matthew 13:19). Sin hardens the heart until it is like concrete.

Jesus came preaching God’s sovereign rule in the minds and hearts of men, and they refused to listen to His message and surrender their wills to Him. They do not want God being the boss of their lives.

God says that if we are willing, He will remove from our heart of stone and give us a heart of flesh. "I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will be careful to observe My ordinances" (Ezekiel 36:27).

What is the condition of my heart? Is it as hard as a rock, or is it soft and pliable as tissue? How tragic when we persist in our stubborn rejection of God’s offerings of grace.

Absolute Truth

Thu, 5 Nov 2009 20:53:09 -0600

Josh McDowell said recently that most evangelical Christian youth in the United States no longer believe in “absolute truth.”

“In 1991, 52 percent of our born again church kids said there is no absolute truth. In 1994, 62 percent said there is no absolute truth. In 1999, 78 percent of born again church kids said there is no absolute truth. In 2002, 91 percent of our born again church kids said there is no absolute truth.”

The cause of this problem is the influence of secular education and secular media since the 1960’s. This adverse effect upon moral authority is also reflected in the beliefs and attitudes of these teens’ parents.

Until recent years, Christians throughout history accepted the classic evangelical doctrine of the absolute authority of God’s Word. The Bible is the Word of God, and it is infallible and inerrant.

Jesus taught the authority and complete reliability of the Bible in everything it teaches. Whether our generation accepts or rejects it or not, the Bible is still God’s Word and is inerrant in whatever it teaches.

Jesus affirmed the Bible’s total inspiration, inerrancy, and utter indestructibility when he said, “The Scripture cannot be broken” (John 10:35).

There are teachers in our day who foolishly play Jesus against the inspiration and infallibility of the Word of God. The Bible is about Jesus and demonstrates that He is its fulfillment. Jesus perfectly fulfills the Law and the Prophets. They point to Him, and He is their fulfillment (Luke 24:25-27, 44-47). Jesus fulfilled the moral laws by His obedience, the prophesies by specific events in His life, and the sacrificial system by His own substitutionary once for all atoning death on the cross.

When people reject the unique, divine character of the Bible, they reject its authority, too. God stands behind His Word.

The Lord’s Supper

Wed, 4 Nov 2009 20:26:37 -0600

One of my favorite worship services is the observance of the Lord’s Supper. I grew up in a little country church that tacked (or so it seemed) the Lord’s Supper on to the end of the sermon.

I let the Lord’s Supper be the center of that special worship service. We sing hymns, lots of them, and “special” music about the cross of Jesus. The thing I want to communicate is Jesus Christ and Him crucified for our sins. “We preach Christ crucified.” "For I determined to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and Him crucified" (1 Corinthians 2:2). I read Scriptures about Christ’s death and substitutionary atoning sacrifice between the hymns and specials. Before the bread and the cup are served, I take time to explain the message of the broken body and the shed blood of the new covenant. The main thing I try to communicate is God’s plan of salvation and His saving grace through faith in Jesus Christ. I do not want anyone to leave that service without clearly knowing that “God is not willing that any should perish, but that all come to repentance and faith in Jesus Christ.” Everywhere I have pastored my congregations have said, “Don’t change that service because God visits us.”

The observance of the Lord’s Supper is filled with great Biblical doctrine. Matthew writes, “While they were eating, Jesus took some bread, and after a blessing, He broke it and gave it to the disciples, and said, ‘Take, eat; this is My body.’ And when He had taken a cup and given thanks, He gave it to them, saying, ‘Drink from it, all of you; for this is My blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for forgiveness of sins’” (Matthew 26:26-28).

No, the substance of the bread is not literally changed into the substance of the body of Jesus Christ. We do not literally handle the body of Jesus. On the other hand, neither is the unchanged substance of the bread united with the substance of Christ’s body. The bread is unchanged, and that was obvious to the disciples who saw Jesus break the bread.

The apostle Paul taught the believers in the church at Corinth, “This do in remembrance of Me” (I Corinthians 11:24). The broken bread symbolizes the broken body of Jesus. There is no reason to take the words, “this is my body,” as a literal statement. The bread represents the sinless body of Jesus broken on our behalf. The cup of wine is a symbol of His blood “shed on behalf of many for forgiveness of sins” (Matt. 26:28).

The apostle Paul tells us when Jesus had given thanks, He broke it and said, “This is My body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of Me.” In the same way He took the cup also after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood; do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me” (1 Corinthians 11:24-25).

The bread represents the body of Jesus, and the cup of wine represents His shed blood. However, note carefully the bread remains bread, and the wine remains wine.

Living with Others

Tue, 3 Nov 2009 21:26:11 -0600

The Bible is filled with admonitions on how to build better relationships and how to live with other people. A few years ago I read through the Bible marking all the passages that speak of personal relationships. I was amazed at the hundreds of passages that teach us how to live with one another. Here are a few glimpses at relationships in Romans 12-15.

· See yourself as equals. Do not look down on other people with arrogant pride (Romans 12:3).

· Do not think more highly of yourself than you ought to think, but “think as to have a sound judgment, as God has allotted each a measure of faith” (v. 3). A good healthy Biblical self-esteem goes a long way in developing a winsome witness for Christ. We need to ask the Holy Spirit to help us strip away all conceit in our lives. There is nothing so shallow as spiritual conceit.

· "Be of the same mind toward one another; do not be haughty in mind, but associate with the lowly. Do not be wise in your own estimation" (Romans 12:16).

· Christians need to respect each other’s spiritual gifts (vv. 4-8). We all enjoy the same relationship with Christ as members of the body in Christ, but the Holy Spirit has given us different gifts according to His sovereign choices and needs in the body (v. 6). We need to exercise these spiritual gifts and not try to mimic someone else’s gift or envy them. We need to respect each other and appreciate how the Holy Spirit has chosen to use us in the kingdom of God. We need to honor and respect our own humble calling and place our service in the body of Christ. There is no place for envy, green-eyed jealousy or conceit in the body of Christ.

· Don’t be “two-faced.” The apostle Paul said, “Let love be without hypocrisy. Abhor what is evil; cling to what is good” (v. 9). Do you hate evil wherever it is found? Love does not wear a mask. It is honest, open and genuinely transparent.

God's Perfect Goal for You

Mon, 2 Nov 2009 22:31:53 -0600

C. S. Lewis said, “Our Lord . . . warned people to ‘count the cost’ before becoming Christians. Make no mistake,’ He says, ‘if you let me, I will make you perfect. The moment you put yourself in My hands, that is what you are in for. Nothing less, or other than that. You have free will, and if you choose, you may push Me away. But if you do not push Me away, understand that I am going to see this job through… I will never rest, nor let you rest, until you are literally perfect—until My Father can say without reservation that He is well pleased with Me’” (Mere Christianity, pp. 157-58).

The apostle Paul wrote, "For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus" (Philippians 1:6).

What is the good and acceptable and perfect will of God? What is that “good work”? Again the apostle wrote, "Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your [rational] spiritual service of worship" (Romans 12:1). How do you prove that is the will of God? The apostle Paul tells us in Romans 12:2, "And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect." In verse one the apostle states the goal positively when he wrote, “present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice acceptable to God which is your [rational] spiritual service of worship.” That is our responsibility as Christians. It is a “once and for all” decision of commitment of our lives to God and a daily renewal of that life-long determination to live for God.

Paul also states the goal negatively in verse two. “Be not conformed to this world.” We no longer want to use our bodies to fulfill sinful pleasures. We now belong to God who purchased us in the death of His Son Jesus Christ. Christ has ransomed us. The Christian’s body is God’s temple (I Cor. 6:19-20). We can now glorify God with our bodies.

How do we experience such a daily transformation? “Be transformed by the renewing of your mind.” It is interesting that Paul uses the same word here that is translated “transfigured” in Matthew 17:2. Jesus was “transfigured” on the mountainside. The word means to “change into another form.” It is an inner change, a radical renovation. The transformation is invisible to the physical eye; however, we do see the outward effects of that inward spiritual birth.

Reasonable, Spiritual Service of Worship

Sun, 1 Nov 2009 22:14:22 -0600

God is looking for holy vessels that are dedicated for His use alone.

We have been bought with a price – the infinite precious blood of Jesus Christ. Therefore, we now belong to God. We no longer belong even to ourselves. We have been “separated” for God’s use alone. Something that is “holy” is reserved and can be used only for that dedicated purpose.

The Temple of Jerusalem was “holy” in that it was to be used for only one purpose and that was in the worship of the LORD God of Israel. The priest was “holy” because he belonged to God. The animal sacrifices were “holy” because they no longer belonged to the one offering, but to God alone.

The Christian is to be a “living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God which is your reasonable, spiritual service of worship” (Romans 12:1).

We are to offer “living” as opposed to slain sacrifices. The Christian does not offer his body to be slain. We died with Christ and have ben raised with Him and are seated with Christ in the heavenly places. Therefore, we are now to be living offerings in constant dedication to God.

We have received a new life in Christ (Romans 5:12-21; 6:1-12). This new life is a continuously living active service to God. God can use in His service of worship the newness of life that is given to us by union with our risen Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. In fact, that is the only kind of service that pleases Him.

When the worshiper took his sacrificial animal to the Temple to offer it to the LORD God he presented it in its entirety. He surrendered all claim to the animal. It was no longer his to claim or use in any manner.

The apostle Paul has this idea clearly in mind. The believer in Christ is to devote himself to God, as if he no longer had any claim on himself. The LORD is now the owner of the living sacrifice. He is at God's disposal to do His bidding. The Christian lives for only one purpose and that is to honor, glorify and serve God as a living sacrifice.

Living, Holy and Acceptable Sacrifice to God

Sat, 31 Oct 2009 21:41:34 -0600

The only problem with a living sacrifice is it wants to crawl off the altar.”

The Christian’s sacrifice is to be a living, holy and acceptable sacrifice to God.

The apostle Paul wrote, "Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship" (Romans 12:1).

These words in the New Testament give an urgent, earnest appeal to all believers in Christ. “I urge you” is an earnest exhortation and encouragement based on the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

The apostle’s urgent appeal is based on everything he has written in the first eleven chapters of Romans. Live constantly with the Gospel message you have heard and believed. Every born again believer is under obligation to be obedient to the teachings of Jesus Christ and live in a manner of life becoming to God’s saving grace.

Because we have been justified by Christ and are in union with Him, I exhort you to live according to that new relationship to God. We cannot find a stronger reason for such an exhortation.

As Christians we are to present our bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable unto God.

The true Christian obeys God because of what God has done for him in Christ. We obey Him out of gratitude for what He has done for us. We obey Him because we love Him, and we love Him because He first loved us and died for us on the cross.

The Attitude of Christ

Fri, 30 Oct 2009 20:06:20 -0600

“Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 2:5).

The Christian faith of the first century of Christianity was centered on the person and work of Jesus Christ. The preeminence of Christ was the focus of the early preaching in the church. Christianity is Christ, and as in many other passages, Philippians 2:5-11 makes this emphatically clear.

Even before His incarnation, Jesus was in the form of God and was equal to God. Jesus Christ eternally possesses all of God’s attributes. He is God. “He existed in the form of God” (v. 6), is not referring to a bodily appearance, but is a strong way of proclaiming the deity of Jesus Christ. His deity never alters or changes.

Jesus, in His high priestly prayer the night before His crucifixion, referred to His “glory which I even had with You before the world was” (John 17:5). He was referring to the glory He enjoys on par with His heavenly Father. The apostle John wrote of this same pre-incarnate glory in John 1:1-4, 14.

The event that staggers the mind almost beyond comprehension is the fact that the Second Person of the Trinity laid aside the manifestation of His divine glory and took upon Himself the form of a common household slave. He became flesh. He is the God-man. He was fully God and fully man. He is God in the flesh. The Word became flesh, and pitched His tent in our very midst, testifies the apostle John (1:14,18). The one who enjoyed glory that was inherently His through out eternity past “did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men” (v. 7).

Jesus Christ exists eternally as the Second Person of the Godhead, and as such He is equal with God the Father. Everything the LORD God Almighty is, so is the Lord Jesus Christ.

Before He became flesh, Jesus Christ shared to the full the divine nature and was clothed with the splendor that always surrounded God’s person. He was identical with God both inwardly and outwardly. When Jesus became flesh, what remained was God’s glory in the inward sense because even in His flesh Jesus was God and retained that full divine nature.

The Second Person of the Godhead Jesus Christ was not selfish. He did not cling to the outward glory of His deity, “But emptied Himself,” not of His divinity, but the outward visible manifestation of it. He did not consider equality with God something to be grasped. He made nothing of Himself. He was obedient to His heavenly Father as a bond-slave. He only limited Himself of His outward visible glory because He was still God.

Do You Have Life's Greatest Satisfaction?

Thu, 29 Oct 2009 22:04:37 -0600

One of the most delightful books I have read was Surprised by Joy in which the brilliant Cambridge scholar C. S. Lewis tells how the “Hound of Heaven” tracked him down and brought him to his knees to surrender to Jesus Christ.

“I was going up Headington Hill on top of a bus. Without words and (I think) almost without images, a fact about myself was somehow presented to me. I became aware that I was holding something at bay, or shifting shutting something out. Or, if you like, that I was wearing some stiff clothing, like corsets, or even a suit of armor, as if I were a lobster. I felt myself being there and then given a free choice. I could open the door or keep it shut; I could unbuckle the armor or keep it on. Neither choice was presented as a duty; no threat or promise was attached to either, though I knew that to open the door or to take off the corset meant the incalculable. The choice appeared to be momentous but I was also strangely unemotional. I was moved by no desire or fears. In a sense I was not moved by anything. I chose to open, to unbuckle, to loosen the rein. I say, ‘I chose, yet it did not really seem possible to do the opposite.’’

A short time later in his room at Magdalene College in Cambridge, England, he made a final personal commitment to Jesus Christ. “In the Trinity Term of 1929, I gave in and admitted that God was God and knelt and prayed: perhaps that night the most dejected and reluctant convert in all England” (Surprised by Joy, pp. 224, 228-29).

Jesus said, “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied” (Matthew 5:6).

Jesus used a strong word for “satisfied” meaning “completely satisfied,” like when feeding cattle are satisfied after grazing in a beautiful lush meadow.

Do you have that satisfaction that comes from an intimate personal relationship with Jesus Christ?

It is the result of a spiritual hunger and thirst that only God can satisfy when we submit to Him.

Do you carry a heavy burden that weighs you down? Have you grown weary fighting with God? He is ready to give you His perfect rest if you will come to Him and yoke up with Him. When you submit to Jesus Christ you find rest for your soul as Lewis did.

Are you weighed down by a heavy load of anxiety? Christ invites you to humble yourself “under the mighty hand of God . . . casting all your anxiety upon Him, because He cares for you” (1 Peter 5:6-7).

Eternal Consequences of Critical Choices

Wed, 28 Oct 2009 23:09:30 -0600

The wages if sin is death.” Those are startling words.

The only wages sin pays results in death spiritually and eternally.

The wages of sin is death spiritually. That means spiritual eyes that cannot see God, spiritual ears that cannot hear His voice. It means a spiritual heart that is hardened to God and cannot respond to the atoning sacrifice of His Son.

"Dead in trespasses and sins" is the way the apostle Paul describes our problem in Ephesians 2:1.

The greater horror is that this spiritual death leads to eternal death, separated from God in hell, or what the Bible calls the "second death."

To die the "second death" is to end all possibility of ever receiving God's gift of eternal life and is the ultimate in sin.

The prophet Ezekiel said, “The soul that sins will surely die” (18:4, 18, 20).

Don’t blame God. You have only yourself to blame. “For I have no pleasure in the death of anyone who dies,” declares the LORD God. “Therefore, repent and live” (v.32).

That is the offer God gives to everyone. “The wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal live in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 6:23).

What a glorious contrast in that sentence: wages… sin… death… free gift of God… eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord!”

Those are the only two options in life. We either choose to sin and receive the full wage of death, or we choose to put our trust in Jesus Christ and live. If the offer is “eternal life,” the opposite is eternal “death,” and age-abiding eternal separation from God in hell.

“There is coming a day when, according to the Gospel, God will judge the secrets of men through Christ Jesus” (Rom. 2:16).

“The kindness of God leads to repentance” (v. 4). But when you refuse to repent and believe on Jesus Christ “because of your stubbornness and unrepentant heart you are storing up wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God, who will render to every man according to his deeds” (vv. 5-6).

Are You Saved?

Wed, 28 Oct 2009 13:08:41 -0600

Have you been saved? Have you come to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ? It is a question that is almost exclusive to Christianity.

The word saved in the Bible had three tenses. We were saved from the penalty of sin the very moment we put our trust in Christ Jesus as our savior. We are now being saved from the power of sin by the process of progressive sanctification. Moreover, we shall be saved from the presence of sin at the coming of our Lord in His glory.

We were justified by faith in Christ, we are being sanctified by the Holy Spirit and we shall be glorified when Christ returns for us.

The word salvation is related to the good news of the atoning death of Jesus Christ. The apostle Paul wrote, "For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek" (Romans 1:16).

God has delivered us from the penalty and power of sin and has preserved us with His gift of eternal life. It is the sum of all blessings bestowed by God through Jesus Christ.

It is only by the name of Jesus Christ that we can ever be saved. Acts 4:12 says, "And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved.” “For whoever will call upon the name of the Lord will be saved” (Romans 10:13).

In salvation God deals with the whole person: spirit, mind and body. The gospel of salvation includes justification, sanctification and glorification.

In the context of this great verse, the apostle Paul reminds his readers, "For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, because that which is known about God is evident within them; for God made it evident to them" (Romans 1:18-19).

Do You Have the Mind of Christ?

Tue, 27 Oct 2009 23:49:01 -0600

“Have you the mind of Christ?”

Do I see the beauty of a holy life as Jesus saw it? Do I see lost people through His eyes? Do I understand the eternal purpose of God with the same conviction that Jesus had?

The apostle Paul said, “We have the mind of Christ” (I Corinthians 2:16). What are the implications of having that mind?

In contrast to the pagan false “wisdom” Paul sets forth the wisdom from God, “That is found in the righteousness and sanctification and wisdom of God in Christ. God has chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise.” Christ is the power of God and the wisdom of God.

In God’s magnificent wisdom, He has been “well-pleased through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe,” and the message preached is “Christ crucified.”

The unregenerate, sensual person who lives his life as if there is nothing beyond the physical “does not accept the things of the Spirit of God; for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them because they are spiritually appraised” (I Cor. 2:14).

In contrast Paul says the believer in Christ has “received” not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things freely give to us by God” (v. 12).

We have the mind of Christ because we have the Holy Spirit indwelling us. Therefore, since we are new creatures in Christ, our habit of mental activity needs to be like that of Christ.

The apostle Paul uses the word “mind” signifying the exercise of the mind, including our emotional and spiritual responses creating activity. It refers to understanding, intelligence, and mental presence. It is the whole knowledge of Christ including emotions and volitions based on thought.

Perhaps John 17 reveals the mind of Christ in its rare beauty. “Jesus spoke these things; and lifting up His eyes to heaven, He said, ‘Father, the hour has come; glorify Your Son, that the Son may glorify You, even as You gave Him authority over all flesh, that to all whom You have given Him, He may give eternal life’” (John 17:1-2). That is the passion of God incarnate. He came to reveal the Father and give eternal life to all who will believe on Him. In the mind of Christ, we understand the cross. Only then will the passion our preaching be “Christ crucified.” "For I determined to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and Him crucified" (1 Cor. 2:2).

Soul Prosperity

Fri, 23 Oct 2009 22:54:35 -0600

Are you as well off physically as you are spiritually?

“Beloved, I pray that in all respects you may prosper and be in good health, just as your soul prospers” (3 John 2).

The consistent message through out the Bible is that we are sinners and we need a transformed life. We cannot keep the Golden Rule, the Sermon on the Mount or any of the demands of a holy God. The Christian life begins with a confession of our failure to live up to God’s holy demands, and our personal trust in Jesus Christ. It takes a new birth to make us right with God.

The apostle John sent greetings to a faithful servant of Christ named Gaius. His wish is for Gaius’ outward prosperity to correspond to the condition of his soul. Verses 2-6 demonstrate that he was an outstanding man in his church.

How would you like for your pastor, family and friends to pray for you with that request? “Lord bless Will and prosper him that he will be in good health just as his soul prospers.

That would help us get our spiritual and personal priorities in the right order.

“Beloved, I pray that in all respects you may prosper and be in good health, just as your soul prospers.”

Gaius has a winsome witness in his community. The apostle could say, “I love in the truth.” He uses the word agapetos meaning “one who is loved, beloved.” He is a divinely loved person. He occupied a position of responsibility and leadership in the local church. He also enjoys a close personal relationship as a Christian friend of the author. Perhaps John led him to Christ.

Servants Have No Rights

Fri, 23 Oct 2009 14:09:09 -0600

We live in a day when everyone insists on his or her personal rights. The courts of law are full of people who feel their “rights” have been infringed upon grievously. It is the theme in every lawyer’s office. “You have your rights,” the highway billboard shouts to passing passengers.

While pastoring in the U. S., I received phone calls from lawyers quite often saying they were “Christian lawyers” looking out for the “rights” of pastors and if I ever needed good legal counsel they were readily available.

That is the sad state of affairs in the world in which we live.

However, Jesus said servants have no rights. Read carefully His words to would be followers:

q “Whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn to him the other also” (Matthew 5:39).

q “And if anyone wants to sue you, and take your shirt, let him have your coat also” (v. 40).

q “And whoever shall force you to go one mile, go with him two” (v. 41).

q “Give to him who asks of you, and do not turn away from him who wants to borrow from you” (v. 42).

Have you ever seen those posted in a law office?

Christians have no rights to retaliation, “getting even,” to their own time, money, etc.

How can this be?

We are stewards of God’s possessions. He owns it all, and we belong to Him.

The apostle Paul reminded members of a church that was quick to enter into lawsuits, “You were bought with a price” (1 Cor. 6:20; 7:23).

Prayer in the Name of Jesus Christ

Wed, 21 Oct 2009 22:44:25 -0600

"About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns of praise to God, and the prisoners were listening to them” (Acts 16:25).

These two jailbirds were beaten to a pulp, bruised and bleeding and there they were “praying and singing hymns of praise to God.” What a privilege in time of need to receive encouragement and comfort from God Himself.

True prayer is offered to God the Father through His Son, Jesus Christ.

R. A. Torrey said, “We should never utter one syllable, either in public or in private, until we are definitely conscious that we have come into the presence of God and are actually praying to Him.”

Real prayer is “having an audience with God, actually coming into the presence of God.” Prayer is “one of the most highly esteemed privileges of life.”

When we go to God in prayer we need to ask ourselves if we are conscious of being in His presence? Am I truly communing with Him?

Paul and Silas were in the presence of God in a Roman jail cell.

The place where we pray is insignificant as long as our prayers are offered to God the Father on the basis of the death of Jesus Christ.

Jesus said, “You did not choose Me, but I chose you, and appointed you that you would go and bear fruit, and that your fruit would remain, so that whatever you ask of the Father in My name, He may give to you” (John 15:16).

The emphasis He consistently made was “that the Father may be glorified in the Son.”

“Whatever you ask in My name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son” (John 14:13).

The Guidance of the Holy Spirit

Wed, 21 Oct 2009 22:42:35 -0600

The apostle Paul experienced the leading of the Holy Spirit in his daily life. He saw a great spiritual principle in the Christian life. “As many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God” (Romans 8:14).

How has God been leading you lately? Is the Spirit of God taking you deeper and deeper into the love of Christ? Has He illumined your mind and heart to a greater longing for God’s righteousness? Has He led you to individuals hungering and thirsting for the righteousness of God? Has He brought into your life unbelievers with whom to share the saving grace of God?

It is the ministry of the Holy spirit to take sinners and sanctify them. He sets them apart for God's unique purpose.

The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of holiness and He can only lead and guide holy people. He can lead us into nothing else than the very holiness of God.

There is a place in which the unsanctified mind and heart cannot enter. There are hidden recesses of the heart, deep down in the unseen realm of the human life, where the Holy Spirit dwells and where He teaches us right decisions and sanctified purposes. It is in this hidden sphere of activity in the inner life that the Holy Spirit takes up His residence and there He moves and impels us to become filled with the knowledge of God’s will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding. Spiritual understanding comes only with the growth of the spiritual person. One who wishes to know the leading of God must yield himself completely—mind, heart, will, imagination, personality—to the control of the Holy Spirit. The Christian must open up his life to the continual abiding presence of the Spirit of holiness and power.

“An angel of the Lord” told Philip the evangelist to go down a “desert road” (Acts 8:27). In obedience “he rose and went” and along the way he met a court official to the queen of the Ethiopians. God had prepared the official’s heart as he sat in his chariot reading Isaiah 53. The Holy Spirit said to Philip, “Go up and join this chariot” (v. 29). Philip explained the meaning of Isaiah 53:7-8, “and beginning from this Scripture he preached Jesus to him” (v. 35). Guided and directed by the Holy Spirit Philip “kept preaching the gospel to all the cities, until he came to Caesarea” (v. 40).

The Holy Spirit is the administrator of world missions. He chooses the people and the places where He wants us to serve. He puts the right person in the right place at the right time to share Jesus Christ with the right person. He leads, guides, opens and closes door at just the right time—His own perfect timing.

The Witnessing Spirit

Sun, 18 Oct 2009 23:09:21 -0600

Bill Bright said, “Successful witnessing is simply sharing Christ in the power of the Holy Sprit and leaving the results to God.”

Jesus promised all His disciples the presence of the Holy Spirit to be effective witnesses. “You shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses . . .” (Acts 1:8). And “when the day of Pentecost has come” they were all witnesses. Before the day was over “there was added that day about three thousand souls” (Acts 2:41). That is what happens when a preacher is preaching from the overflow.

There is a sweet fragrance about the name of Jesus and those who emit the distinctive qualities that name signifies. He “manifests through us the sweet aroma of the knowledge of Him in every place. For we are a fragrance of Christ to God among those who are being saved . . .” (2 Cor. 2:14-15).

That is what should happen in the daily lives of the followers of Jesus Christ. The impact of the lives of persecuted believers who fled Jerusalem and went to Antioch was “the hand of the Lord was with them, and a large number who believed turned to the Lord” (Acts 11:21). We do not know who the first evangelist was who preached in Antioch, the greatest city in the world next to Rome and Alexander.

However, we do know when the church at Jerusalem heard about what God was doing in Antioch they sent Barnabas who “began to encourage them all with resolute heart to remain true to the Lord; for he was a good man and full of the Holy Spirit and of faith. And considerable numbers (lit. multitudes) were brought to the Lord” (vv. 23-24).

Everywhere the believers went they talked about Jesus Christ. They carried about them the sweet fragrance of Christ—love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control, etc.

The name of Jesus Christ was continually being glorified, and the result was “the disciples were first called Christians in Antioch” (v. 26).

Christian Perfection (II)

Sat, 17 Oct 2009 23:37:40 -0600

It is true that we will never be perfect in this life, but the perfections outlined by Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount are still those for which we should aim and that we should increasingly attain by God’s grace and the power of the Holy Spirit in our lives.

We are to aim at Christ-like character. Jesus said, “Therefore you are to be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect” (Matthew 5:48).

How good must a person be to stay saved?

I am a sinner. Nothing I will do will ever be perfect. What can I do to be saved and to keep saved? Since self-efforts will not save us, we must receive the perfect righteousness that God has provided in the atoning substitutionary death of Jesus Christ (2 Cor. 5:21).

Only the LORD God is perfect, and He works to perfect sinful man.

How does God work to perfect sinners? There are three Biblical facts we must keep clearly in mind.

1. We are sinners, and there is no denying that fact. Sin is an offense against God, and He cannot ignore it. Sin has to be dealt with completely according to His just standards. This is why God the Father sent God the Son to die for our sins. Jesus bore the penalty for our sins in full, and canceled all claims of God’s justice against the believing sinner forever. God punished our sins on the cross of Jesus. “By one sacrifice Christ has made perfect forever those who are being made holy” (Heb. 10:14). Have you believed on Jesus Christ as your Savior?

How perfect must a Christian be? The Christian believer must guide his life by the perfect, ethical standard of Jesus Christ. Jesus said, “You are to be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect” (Matt. 5:48).

Christian Perfection (I)

Fri, 16 Oct 2009 23:13:15 -0600

How good does a person have to be in order to be saved? Perhaps we can best answer that question by asking, how perfect is God?

Jesus said, “You are to be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect” (Matthew 5:48).

The LORD God told the children of Israel, “You shall be holy: for I the LORD your God am holy” (Leviticus 19:2; cf. Deut. 18:13).

The Hebrew word tam or tamim means to be “without defect” or “without blemish.” The Hebrew sacrifices had to be “without blemish,” spotless and entirely without defect (Exodus 12:5; 29:1; 1 Pet. 1:19; Eph. 5:27). Another word shalem means “whole” or “complete.” That which is without defect or blemish is complete.

God’s righteous standard never changes because He does not change. God is the perfect standard or He would not be God.

Jesus used the word “perfect” (teleioi from telos) meaning end, goal, limit. It is the absolute standard of our heavenly Father. Such a person is perfect or fully developed “in a moral sense.” Therefore, in the moral realm it means “blameless.”

Jesus is the perfect example of that divine standard (1 Peter 2:21-25).

The word “holy” in Leviticus 19:2 gives us the reason for the sacrifices under the Mosaic law. God is holy and man is a sinner. Sin separates man from God. The source of our sanctification is “the LORD who sanctifies you” (20:8). The meaning is to set apart or separate.

God’s standard for man is complete, perfect, moral rectitude. To be acceptable to God every human being must be as blameless and sinless as Jesus Christ.

That standard of righteousness creates a moral and spiritual crisis for all mankind. The Bible tells us we have all sinned and fall short of such moral perfection. “There is no distinction; for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). God’s standard is a clean heart and it is evident from studying the Sermon on the Mount that no one can live up to its demands (cf. Matt. 5:20-25, 27). The center of our personality condemns us. Jesus said, “Out of the heart proceeds evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornicators, thefts, false witnesses, slanders,” etc. (15:18-20). It is the heart that has to be changed (2 Cor. 5:17).

A Christian Witness to the Whole World

Thu, 15 Oct 2009 22:28:21 -0600

I am involved in something that will still be worthwhile a million years from now because God has not revoked the great commission.

Jesus said, “And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole world for a witness to all the nations, and then the end shall come” (Matthew 24:14).

Today the kingdom of God is realized as we proclaim the crucified, risen, and returning Lord Jesus Christ.

The gospel is the good news of the kingdom of God that has come in the person and work of Jesus Christ. How do we enter into the kingdom of God? There is only one way. “Repent of your sins and believe on Jesus Christ.” That is the message we preach.

Our message is the gospel of free grace. It is what God has accomplished for us in the sacrificial substitutionary atoning death of Jesus Christ for our sins. We offer the gospel freely “without money and without cost” (Isa. 55:1).

John Ryle once said, “Men are apt to forget that it does not require great open sins to be sinned in order to ruin a soul forever. They have only to give hearing without believing, listening without repenting, going to church without going to Christ, and by and by they will find themselves in hell.”

It is imperative that we make the message of salvation crystal clear in our presentations. Salvation is the gift of God and it is “by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves.” God has provided everything we need in order to be saved. “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you shall be saved” (Acts 16:31). But also be assured, “Reject Jesus Christ, and you will perish forever.”

Every time we share that message we are personally involved in what God is doing in building His eternal kingdom.

What can we expect as we take the gospel out of self-edification and share it with others? We can prepare for and accept hostility from some listeners (Matthew 10:16-18, 21-25). There will be men who “will deliver you up to the courts, and scourge you in their synagogues, and you shall even be brought before governors and kings for My sake, as a testimony to them and to the Gentiles (v. 17). The history of Christianity is the history of persecution and martyrdom for the cause of Christ. More people have been persecuted and died for Christ during the last hundred years than in the previous two thousand years.

We can expect God’s power and sustaining grace.

Fully Equipped with Knowledge, Wisdom and Understanding

Wed, 14 Oct 2009 23:42:26 -0600

When an individual is born into God’s family by faith in Jesus Christ, he is born with all that he needs to grow toward spiritual maturity.

How many believers fail to realize “you are complete in Him” (Colossians 2:10)? You are complete in Christ for the only experience you need is the new birth. You do not have to look for something else, something new, something different, and something in addition to Christ.

What is needed in the Christian life is to continue to grow in what we received when we received Christ at the new birth. We have been fully equipped in Christ.

The apostle Paul wrote, “We have not ceased to pray for you and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so that you may walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, to please Him in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; strengthened with all power, according to His glorious might, for the attaining of all steadfastness and patience; joyously giving thanks to the Father who has qualified us to sharer in the inheritance of the saints in light” (Colossians 1:9-12).

There were false teachers telling these Christians they had to have some additional experience in the Christian life. They were suggesting that Christ is not enough. The apostle Paul writes this letter to refute that nonsense. Christ is all-sufficient for every believer in everything.

Paul prayed that God would fill them “with the knowledge of His will.” He prayed these believers would be filled out to completeness with a full, deep understanding.

The Holy Spirit enlightens a believer’s inner person (1 Cor. 2:5-6; Eph. 3:14-21) with the truth from the Word of God. The Spirit of God makes known the will of God through the Bible and gives spiritual stability (Eph. 2:14).

Salvation by Grace through Faith in Christ

Tue, 13 Oct 2009 21:42:15 -0600

The work of Jesus Christ as Savior is the prominent theme in the Bible. He is the promised seed of woman who will conquer Satan (Gen. 3:15). He is the promised Servant of Yahweh who would bear the sins of the whole world (Isa. 53:4-6; Jn. 1:24). As the Savior Jesus Christ died on the cross and suffered the judgment of the sin of the whole world (I Cor. 15:3-4; II Cor. 5:19-21; I Pet. 1:18-19; I Jn. 2:2; Rev. 1:5).

The atoning substitutionary death of Jesus Christ on the cross is the absolute guarantee of the believer’s salvation (Rom. 8:34). The all-sufficient, sacrificial blood of Jesus Christ has been shed, and it is by that blood God has been propitiated (I Jn. 2:2). The divine penalty has been born by Christ (I Pet. 2:24; 3:18).

The resurrection of Jesus Christ is God’s seal upon the death of Jesus that guarantees the believer’s resurrection and eternal life (Jn. 3:16; 10:28). The resurrection of Jesus proves that His substitutionary work on the cross is infinitely perfect in its all sufficiency.

The offer of salvation is to all who will repent and believe on Jesus Christ. "It is a trustworthy statement, deserving full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, among whom I am foremost of all" (1 Timothy 1:15). It is His desire that all individuals trust in Christ and be saved. "Who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth" (1 Timothy 2:4). Salvation is not universal, and it is not automatic. All religions do not lead to the same place. Salvation comes only by trust in Jesus Christ. “For there is one God, and one mediator also between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave Himself as a ransom for all” (1 Timothy 2:5-6a). “And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12).

Only the individual who calls upon the name of Jesus will be saved (Acts 2:21). “For whoever will call upon the name of The Lord will be saved” (Rom. 10:13).

Salvation comes to us by grace through faith in Jesus Christ. “We believe that we are saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus…” (Acts 15:11). “Even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved)” (Eph. 2:5). And then to make his point emphatically clear the apostle Paul wrote, "For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast" (Ephesians 2:8-9).

Salvation from Penalty, Presence of Power of Sin

Mon, 12 Oct 2009 20:25:32 -0600

The Jewish Scriptures glories in calling God Savior (Isa. 45:15, 21; Ps. 24:5; 27:1, 9; 62:2; 65:5, 79:7; Micah 7:7; Hab. 3:18; Isa. 12:2; 17:10; 62:11).

The word “salvation” in the Old Testament has the idea of God delivering His people from circumstances in which they are powerless to rescue themselves and in which they are doomed to destruction without God’s help. Sometimes the context is physical deliverance from enemies, and at other times it is the rescue from sin and its consequences. "Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O God, the God of my salvation; Then my tongue will joyfully sing of Your righteousness" (Psalm 51:14).

There are also verses that speak of eschatological deliverance in the day when this present age comes to an end, and the wrath of God breaks in upon the world (Isa. 25:9, 45:17, 46:13, 49:6, 52:10). The message is clear, “The Lord God reigns” (52:7).

God rescues His people from situations in which nothing but God can rescue them. Salvation is God’s power to deliver and protect in this life and in the age to come.

In the New Testament God is also called Savior (Lk. 1:47). “My spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior.” He desires that all men be saved (1 Tim. 2:3, 4:10; Titus 2:10; 3:4; Jude 25).

The LORD God is the Savior God who sent His Son Jesus Christ to demonstrate His love and grace to a lost world (Matt. 1:21; Heb. 7:25; Lk 2:11; John 4:42; Acts 5:31; 13:23; Phil. 3:20; Titus 2:13, 3:6; II Peter 3:18). The apostle John gives us an excellent summary, "We have seen and testify that the Father has sent the Son to be the Savior of the world. Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God" (1 John 4:14-15).

The essential truth is Jesus Christ delivers us from that which we cannot rescue ourselves – sin and its eternal consequences. To be a Christian and “be saved” is the same thing. The Bible makes it abundantly clear there is only one Savior. "And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12). Every individual the world over is in the need of salvation from sin. "For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord" (Romans 6:23).

Hope for Desperate People

Sun, 11 Oct 2009 23:32:29 -0600

There are no hopeless helpless cases with Jesus Christ.

Jesus always invites desperate, helpless, and seemingly hopeless people to come to Him. He issued the greatest invitation to all hopeless and helpless sinners when He said, “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I wil give you rest” (Matthew 11:28). “He looked over the multitudes and felt compassion for them because they were distressed and downcast” (9:36).

Do you feel harassed and thrown aside? To the weary and tired who are ready to give up Jesus says, “Come to Me.” To those who feel like they have been “skinned alive,” harassed, trouble, worried, importuned; He invites to come to Him. To those who have been cast down from a mortal wound and feel helpless, He gives hope and life.

You do not have to look far into the Scriptures before you realize that God’s people suffered. “They were stoned, they were sawn in two, they were tempted, they were put to death with the sword; they went about in sheepskins, in goatskins, being destitute, afflicted, ill-treated” (Hebrews 11:37). No wonder they were, and still are, “men whom the world was not worthy” (v. 38a). Rejected and forsaken by men, but not of God.

The central and most important emphasis in the Bible is Jesus’ ability to take away our sin and our reproach to God, and to restore us to spiritual health.

Jesus felt compassion for the multitudes and gave them His rest. Matthew, the tax collector became Matthew the apostle. He was politically unacceptable, religiously, and socially an outcast, but not so with Jesus.

To the paralyzed man Jesus said, “Your sins are forgiven.” Before you scream that is irrelevant, Jesus not only forgave the man’s sins, but He also healed him both physically and spiritually. It is clear only God can forgive sin, and Jesus is God (Matt. 9:5-8). To every helpless and hopeless person Jesus says, “Your sins are forgiven.”

Jesus confronted the hosts of hell and they asked, “What will you do with us, Son of God?” Have you come here to torture us before the appointed time?” (8:29). Because Jesus is the Son of God, He alone can cast out the demons in a person’s life and dispose of them as He wishes (vv. 30-31).

Be Filled With The Holy Spirit

Sat, 10 Oct 2009 17:20:11 -0600

The greatest need of the born again Christian is to be filled with the Holy Spirit. When we are under the control of the Holy Spirit, we will always glorify Jesus Christ. He will be exalted in our speech and in our behavior.

The apostle Paul issued an imperative command when he wrote, “Be filled with the Spirit” (Ephesians 5:18).

It is our duty and responsibility to be under the constant influence and control of the Spirit of God.

Paul used a verb in the imperative and issued a command that every Christian believer to be “filled with the Holy Spirit.”

Because the Christian life is a supernatural life, the only way to live it is by means of supernatural power. No one can live the Christian life in his or her own power and natural strength because we are dead in our trespasses and sins. God must empower us to live with His power. He brings us to life, and then He indwells us and enables us to live His kind of life. When we obey His command, He gives us His presence without limit. The filling of the Holy Spirit is His enabling.

It is from this divine enabling that God the Spirit produces in us love, joy, peace, patience, gentleness, goodness, meekness, faith, self-control, etc. He produces in us the likeness of Jesus Christ.

Are you “under the influence?” What characterizes your life? The idea behind the word “fill” is “control.” The indwelling Spirit of God is the One who should continually control and dominate the life of the believer. The present tense calls for a habitual and continual direction. The passive could be permissive passive, “allow yourself to be…” We are commanded to be filled with the Spirit. We do not fill ourselves; the Holy Spirit does the filling!

The idea Paul has in mind is “be constantly controlled by the Spirit.” The Holy Spirit is the Agent (Gal, 5:16) and Jesus Christ is the content of the filling of the Spirit (Col.3:15).

“There is no such thing as a once-for-all fullness. It is a continuous appropriation of a continuous supply from the Lord Christ Himself. It is a moment-by-moment faith in a moment-by-moment Savior, for a moment-by-moment cleansing and a moment-by-moment filling. As I trust Him, He fills me; the moment I begin to believe, that moment I begin to receive; and as long as I keep believing, praise the Lord, so long I keep receiving,” said Charles Inwood.

The Bible and our Sanctification

Fri, 9 Oct 2009 17:09:24 -0600

Almost everything we do daily ultimately involves spiritual warfare. Are we depending on the human weapons, or the spiritual weapons God has provided?

Our battle is not with flesh and blood (Eph. 6:10ff; Matt. 16:18). No battle with the unseen is easy. We cannot fight such a spiritual battle with carnal weapons.

One of the marvelous things the Holy Spirit does in the Christian’s life is to apply the Scriptures to the deep recesses of the mind over a period of time. As we meditate and memorize the Scriptures the Holy Spirit brings them to our conscious mind and we are able to put our confidence and trust in the Lord during trials, temptations, difficulties, and turbulent times. I am convinced the Spirit also uses His Word in that part of our mental life that is not within the immediate presence of our conscious mind and from which we cannot always recall the feelings and thoughts to our conscious mind. The Holy Spirit uses those Scriptures we have studied and memorized to conform even our subconscious mind to the likeness of Christ.

The Psalmist David wrote, “Search me, O God, and know my heart; try me and know my anxious thoughts; and see if there be any hurtful way to me, and lead me in the everlasting way” (Psalm 139:23-24).

The apostle Paul in 2 Corinthians 10:1-7 tells us that we are in a spiritual warfare and the Christian’s weapons are not “according to the flesh” (v. 2). “For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh” (v. 3). We do not act on purely human, abilities and worldly standards. Flesh is the willing human instrument of sin. We live in this frail, human body of weakness, but our spiritual “weapons of warfare are not of the flesh, but divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses” (v. 4).

Goodspeed described these “fortresses” or “strongholds entrenchments and fortifications of opinion, in which men strengthen themselves against the gospel.” They belong to the realm of the will and intellect. This metaphor recognizes the defiant and mutinous nature of sin.

A Good Clear Conscience

Thu, 8 Oct 2009 21:33:30 -0600

One of the greatest blessings for the born again Christian is the deep sense of peace with God (Phil. 4:7, 9; Col. 3:15; John 14:27).

The apostle Paul wrote, “I am telling the truth in Christ, I am not lying, my conscience bearing joint-testimony with me in the Holy Spirit . . .” (Romans 9:1).

Paul takes a triple oath here because of deep convictions regarding the salvation of the Jewish people. He makes a strong, positive affirmation in Christ, a negative statement that he is not lying, and the appeal to his conscience as a co-witness “in the Holy Spirit.” Paul looked to Christ and rejoiced; he looked at the Jewish people lost in sin and wept. Paul was willing to go to hell for the sake of his lost Jewish friends.

The conscience is that faculty of man that evaluates our actions, along with our thoughts that either accuse or excuse us of sin. Our conscience is an important part of human nature the world over. It is not an absolutely trustworthy indicator of what is right and wrong. We can have a “good” conscience (Acts 23:1); 1 Tim. 1:5, 19), a “clear” conscience (Acts 24:16; 1 Tim. 3:9; 2 Tim. 1:3; Heb. 13:18), or a “guilty” conscience (Heb. 10:22), a “corrupted” conscience (Titus 1:15), a “weak” conscience (1 Cor. 8:7, 10, 12), or a “seared” conscience (1 Tim. 4:2).

The marvelous thing about the gospel is that “the blood of Christ” cleanses the conscience. The writer of Hebrews says, “how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without blemish to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?” (Heb. 9:14).

The conscience is the remains of God’s image in man after the fall of Adam. The universal fact of this inner voice is important. It is a divine law. Because we are sinners obedience to the voice of conscience must always be tested with an acceptance of the revealed will of God in the Scriptures (John 8:7-9; Rom. 2:15-16; 9:1; Titus 1:13-15).

The apostle Paul warned, “Nothing is wholesome to those who are themselves unwholesome and who have no faith in God—their very minds and consciences are diseased” (Tit. 1:15, Phillips). The conscience is defiled because the light from both it and the Holy Spirit are refused.

Living in the Spirit

Wed, 7 Oct 2009 20:16:39 -0600

Living in the Spirit is living a transparent life. It is a life of obedience to the LORD God, and it is the very life of Jesus Christ Himself given to us by the Holy Spirit.

Has God found in you a person who is willing to obey Him completely? Can He trust you with the pearl of greatest price?

If I am going to live in the Spirit I must say no to self. There are plenty of would be followers of Christ who would follow Him halfway, but not all the way. The other half of the problem is self. Am I willing to die to self?

The normal Christian life is one that is willing to follow the Holy Spirit in complete obedience, without reservation, and disown self. It means to commit yourself literally, utterly, completely in unreserved obedience to Him.

Obedience to the Holy Spirit means freedom. There is great freedom in the spiritual life that comes as we yield ourselves to the Holy Spirit. The reason it is so freeing is that it is cut loose from subtle selfishness.

“If you love Me; you will obey Me,” Jesus said. When we obey Him we are walking in perfect freedom. “It was for freedom that Christ set us free; therefore keep standing firm and do not be subject again to a yoke of slavery” (Galatians 5:1). A little later the apostle Paul writes, “If you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the Law” (v. 18).

“The requirement of the Law” is fulfilled in the believers, “who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit” (Rom. 8:4).

The idea of “walking” is literally “to walk about,” meaning the habitual way a person conducts his life.

The apostle Paul speaks of this continual habitual action again in Galatians 5:16 when he says to “walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh.”

Who is habitually ordering my life? Do I seek complete obedience to my will, my desires, my ambitions, my goals, and my glory? When I am obeying my Lord I am enjoying perfect liberty because He is in control.

The Spirit of Love

Tue, 6 Oct 2009 22:26:10 -0600

God is love” (1 John 4:8). His love cannot change because He does not change. His love had no beginning and never will cease. Because God is infinite, His love is infinite. His love is pure and holy. In deed, His love is incomprehensible.

The apostle Paul wrote words of encouragement to believers saying, “the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us” (Romans 5:5; cf. Gal. 4:6).

The Holy Spirit makes the love of God so abundant in the believer’s heart that it overflows (1 John 4:8, 16). He is the divine Agent who expresses the love of God to the believer.

“The fruit of the Spirit is love” (Gal. 5:22). The apostle Paul gave eight aspects of that love. The fruit of the Spirit cannot be imitated. It comes from our abiding in Christ. As the Spirit of love abides in us He bears His fruit to the glory of God.

It is great assurance for the Christian to know that we are now God’s children and that God loves us. Before we were saved God demonstrated His love by sending Jesus to the cross to die for our sins. Now we have the inner experience of His love through the Holy Spirit that sustains us in our daily life. His sustaining grace gives us patience in our trials and enables us to live to God’s glory.

God’s kind of love is created and fulfilled in us by the Spirit of love.

The apostle John wrote, “Behold, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has beheld God at any time; if we love one another, God abides in us, and His love is perfected in us” (1 John 4:10-11).

The evidence that we are the children of God is this divine love dwelling in us. “Hereby know we that we dwell in Him, and He in us, because He has given us of His Spirit. . . God is love; and he that dwells in love dwells in God, and God in him” (1 John 4:13, 14).

Abide in the Holy Spirit

Mon, 5 Oct 2009 21:06:16 -0600

When the Day of Pentecost had fully come the disciples realized why Jesus ascended up into heaven. He left them in order that He might be with each one of them in a more intimate relationship.

The Holy Spirit came to fulfill the ministry of Jesus Christ. “I am come that they might have life and have it more abundantly,” Jesus said (John 10:10b). He indwells so that He can reproduce the character and likeness of Jesus Christ within the born again believer. He continues to do and teach all that Jesus began to do and teach when He was here on the earth (John 14:26; 15:26; 16:13-17).

He longs for us to respond to His love and make ourselves available to Him to live His life in and through us (1 Cor. 3:16-17).

What does the Spirit find in the temple of our body? Too often the temple looks like a desecrated shrine, unkempt, unclean, perhaps even defiled.

We grieve Him, and quench His fiery presence by our attitudes and behaviors. The Holy Spirit is always ready to use us, and longs to make us His instruments of grace and mercy to a lost world. How tragic when we deny Him His rightful place in our hearts?

We have each learned again and again that our God is the God of a second chance. How grateful we are that He “will restore the years the locust has eaten” (Joel 2:25). “This is the everlasting mercy,” says Fitch. “He gave us another chance of doing what we have failed to do” (p. 125).

We abide in Him as we die daily to self-love and reckon to be dead unto sin and alive to God.

The Spirit of Holiness

Sun, 4 Oct 2009 21:59:46 -0600

The God controlled person longs to see only the will of God done in and through him on earth. There can be no true holiness without being obedient to the will of God. It is His will that we be renewed in His own image by the His Spirit and become lovers of His holiness.

The work of the Third Person of the Trinity is to make God's holiness ours. The Spirit of God is pre-eminently “the Holy Spirit.” God is holy. Our Lord Jesus Christ was “holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and made higher than the heavens” (Hebrews 7:26). The Holy Spirit, being the Spirit of Christ, is the Spirit of holiness. Without holiness, no man shall see God (Heb. 12:14).

God is holy; His Son is holy; the Holy Spirit is holy. God's holiness stands apart, by itself, unique, unapproachable, incomprehensible, and unobtainable to all of His creatures. That is God’s standard, and “in Him is no darkness at all” (1 John 1:5).

A. W. Tozer chose his words carefully and accurately when he wrote: “God is holy with an absolute holiness that knows no degrees, and this He cannot impart to His creatures. But there is a relative and contingent holiness which He shares with angels and seraphim in heaven and with redeemed men on earth as their preparation for heaven. This holiness God does impart to His children. He shares it with them by imputation, and by impartation, and because He has made it available to them through the blood of the Lamb, He requires it of them. . . ‘Be ye holy, for I am holy. He did not say, ‘Be ye as holy as I am holy,’ for that would be to demand of us absolute holiness, something that belongs to God alone” (Knowledge of the Holy, p. 113).

It is the work of the Holy Spirit to set us apart to God. He works in us to set us apart from sin and everything that is in opposition to the will of God. But He also works to set us apart to all that pleases God and conforms us to the character of Christ.

The work of making us holy is the work of the Spirit of holiness. God’s goal is that we should become more like Christ every day. He puts in our heart a hunger and thirst for the righteousness of God.

The Divine Person of the Holy Spirit

Fri, 2 Oct 2009 21:30:30 -0600

I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Third Person of the Trinity.

The Holy Spirit is a person, and should be treated with the respect of a divine person. He is a member of the Trinity, equal to God the Father and God the Son.

I am not saying there are three gods, but three divine persons who are also one. “Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one” (Deut. 6:4).

The unbelieving world will not believe this great Biblical truth because it cannot. “It neither sees Him nor knows Him,” Jesus said. “But you know Him, for He lives with you and will be in you” (John 14:18). Jesus promised His disciples “another Comforter to be with you forever—the Spirit of truth” (v. 16). Another divine person was being sent to continue the work of the Kingdom of God. Jesus was not sending a thing, but another divine person, a member of the Godhead.

R. A. Torrey observed, “If we once grasp the thought that the Holy Spirit is a Divine Person of infinite majesty, glory and holiness and power, who in marvelous condescension has come into our hearts to make His abode there and take possession of our lives and make use of them, it will put us in the dust and keep us in the dust. I can think of no thought more humbling or more overwhelming than the thought that a person of Divine majesty and glory dwells in my heart and is ready to use even me.”

The divine personality of the Holy Spirit is observed in His actions. He is promised as a Counselor, Helper or the Encouraging One for believers. He gives His gifts to build up the body of Christ (John 14:16-18; 1 Cor. 12:11). He is another Counselor of the “same kind.” He is another divine being doing the will of the Father just like Jesus. He lives with Christians and in them. He is equal to the Father and the Son.

Get in the Boat with Jesus

Thu, 1 Oct 2009 21:02:04 -0600

The vital thing in discipleship is to actually follow Jesus Christ wherever He goes.

Have I left the lesser loyalties to follow the higher priorities of the Kingdom of God?

It is not enough to be impressed with His person, or what we can get from Him. Perhaps some of our evangelism and friendly “seeker services” are like the people on the shore of the Sea of Galilee seeking another amazing miracle. Perhaps like Carnival, we shout, “Throw me something mister!”

The crowds along the lakeside wanted more healings than teaching. Jesus got into a boat and headed to the other side of the Sea of Galilee.

The vital thing Jesus wants is for us to follow Him. Jesus still says to would be disciples, “Follow Me, and let the dead bury the dead” (Matthew 8:22). Jesus got in the boat “and His disciples followed Him” (v. 23).

Have we gotten into the boat with Jesus? Weak faith grows strong in the fierce storms of life.

One moment Jesus is asleep on a pillow in the rear of the boat in a fierce storm, overcome with exhaustion from a busy day. Then we see Him a few moments later calming the fierce wind and waves, which only God can do.

Matthew, Mark and Luke tell the events that day when Jesus and His disciples were crossing the Sea of Galilee (Luke 8:22). Jesus, exhausted from a day of ministry, fell asleep in the rear of the boat. “A fierce gale of wind descended upon the lake, and they began to be swamped and to be in danger” (v. 23). Matthew who was an eyewitness said, “There arose a great storm,” literally “a shaking.” The “boat was covered with waves” (Matt. 8:24). It was such a severe storm that these professional sailors panicked.

Jesus was not only divine, but He was thoroughly human. He is the God-man. He is fully God and He is fully man. Here we have a beautiful picture of the human side of Jesus because He was in the need of rest. He was tired and exhausted. He needed to get away from the crowds and rest. He put His trust in His heavenly Father to watch over Him.

Discipleship

Wed, 30 Sep 2009 20:37:02 -0600

The call to discipleship is on Christ’s terms, not ours.

The cost of discipleship is determined by the Lord, and not by the servant.

In our desperate attempt to play the numbers game in today’s churches we invite people to come and join without any regard to the cost of discipleship.

Jesus Christ is Lord; He is the only Lord.

Jesus reached out to touch a leper, and the leper was instantly cleansed. He is the Great Physician and Master over all kinds of sicknesses.

Jesus lay asleep in the stern of the fishing boat and when the disciples feared for their lives Jesus spoke and the storm departed. When Jesus spoke, God spoke. To defy the Lordship of Jesus Christ is to defy God. He spoke as God’s authority and as God the Creator. He is the Lord of creation.

Jesus told the paralyzed man, “Your sins are forgiven.” Only God can forgive sin. Jesus is the sinner’s friend. Jesus Christ is our Lord and Savior.

The same Jesus who has authority over demons, sickness, death, nature has the same authority over every Christian. He is Lord. If we are to be His disciples it must be on His terms.

Dr. Luke in his gospel tells of three individuals who were would be followers of Christ (Luke 9:57-62).

One of the individuals must have been listening to the teaching of Christ and he approached and said, “I will follow You wherever You go” (v. 57).

It is easy to get caught up in the enthusiasm and excitement of the moment and join the crowd. But this man must have failed to think through what following Jesus involves.

Jesus did not want him to have any false apprehensions. He said, “The foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head” (v. 58).

Healing in the Atonement

Tue, 29 Sep 2009 22:37:54 -0600

I believe in miracles. I believe that God heals.

One day all true believers in Christ will be perfectly healed.

Is there “healing in the atonement” so that every believer has the “right” to claim it for himself? There are sincere people who claim Matthew 8:17, quoting Isaiah 53:4 and 1 Peter 2:24 teach healing for everyone today.

Those who teach the faith-cure theory of atonement claim that the atonement of Christ includes spiritual healing as well as the provision for bodily healing. Faith healer campaigns are built around these passages.

God is not obliged to heal all sickness. These passages are not teaching that Jesus fulfilled this prophecy in Isaiah on the cross but that Jesus fulfilled this prophecy in His life. Jesus bore man’s sicknesses and infirmities during His ministry on earth.

The apostle Paul applies the same truth to the forgiveness of our sins, which He bore on the cross (1 Peter 2:24).

This passage as Matthew employs it has nothing to bear on the doctrine of the atonement. Yes, Jesus is sympathetic with those who suffer (Matthew 9:35-38). He steps under the load of pain and suffering and enables us to carry it.

However, the atoning death of Jesus Christ does not include provision for bodily healing in this life. In fact, the apostle Paul says we groan within ourselves as we “wait eagerly” for “the redemption of our body” (Rom. 8:23). Something far greater is in store than mere physical healing. We will receive resurrected bodies when Christ returns, “and there will be no longer any death; there shall no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away” (Rev. 21:4).

Be Imitators of God

Mon, 28 Sep 2009 18:57:56 -0600

"Be imitators of God” (Ephesians 5:1).

Those words are startling, upsetting, impossible. It is “the ultimate ideal.”

“Be imitators of God.” There can be no higher standard than that. The apostle Paul boldly tells us if we are to be like God we must imitate Him.

How is it possible for us depraved sinners to possibly imitate the sovereign LORD of the universe?

Once we get over the initial shock we realize that as children we are to imitate our parents. We should behave like them assuming they are godly role models.

Since we were born into God's family as His legitimate children when we repented and placed our faith in Jesus Christ as our Savior, we therefore should be an imitation of God (John 1:12-13).

Let it be clearly stated that “imitating God” has nothing to do with trying to merit eternal life. It has to do with our sanctification. We are to grow in godliness. The supreme example of this idea of imitating God is in the life of Jesus Christ.

The apostle Paul used the word mimetai from which we get our English word to “mimic.” The idea is to copy closely, to repeat another person's speech, actions, behavior and mannerisms. Paul is saying get to know your heavenly Father so you can echo His speech and behave the way He behaves.

How do we “imitate” our Father? We know that the apostle is not telling us to try to imitate God's sovereignty. He alone is and ever will be self-existent and self-efficient. That is absolutely beyond our means. He alone is eternal, omnipotent, omnipresent, omniscient, etc. Those are non-communicable attributes of God. He alone is God.

We are “to be imitators of God, as beloved children” (Eph. 5:1). Not childish attitudes and behavior, but as His children.

What Does God Do With Our Sins?

Sun, 27 Sep 2009 22:48:31 -0600

There is no greater joy and peace for a sinner than knowing that he or she has been ransomed, healed, restored and forgiven of all his sins.

The Holy Spirit “witnesses with our spirit” giving this great assurance that all our sins are under the blood of Jesus Christ.

Jesus is our great advocate in heaven pleading our case before the Father. He is not declaring our innocence, but our guilt, and the fact that we have accepted Him as our Substitute who died in our place on the cross.

The Holy Spirit is also our advocate working within us, pointing out our sinfulness and depravity, and giving assurance of the infinite benefits of the atoning blood of Jesus Christ to cleanse and forgive. He helps us to trust entirely on Jesus Christ and His finished work. The inner advocate never points to Himself, but always to our Lord and Savior who gave Himself up for us.

God the Father lays all our sins on His Son. Jesus bore our sins as our divine Substitute. “The LORD has caused the iniquity of us all to fall on Him” (Isaiah 53:6). God struck His Son, Jesus Christ, with a great force. “It is finished!” Our debt has been paid in full.

Jesus Christ lifts up and takes away our sins. “Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29, 36). John the Baptist used a word that means, “to take up and carry away.” Only the Lamb of God makes the perfect sacrifice for our sins.

God removes all our sins an infinitely, immeasurable distance from us. “As far as the east is from the west, so far He removed our transgressions from us” (Psalm 103:12). True east and true west go off into space and extend out into infinity. That is how far the LORD God has removed all our sins from His presence!”

Now since God can do that it means our sins can never be found. The LORD God declared, “In those days and at that time, search will be made for the iniquity of Israel, but there will be none; and for the sins of Judah, but they will not be found; for I shall pardon those whom I leave as a remnant” (Jeremiah 50:20).

Condemned!

Sat, 26 Sep 2009 23:20:37 -0600

Jesus Christ is the best gift God could ever give.

God so loved the sinful, lost, depraved world that He gave His very best.

Can you imagine what it would be like to reject what God considers to be His greatest gift?

The purpose of God giving His gift was to save men, not condemn them.

“God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes on Him shall not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16, NIV).

Who will be saved? Only those who believe on Christ will be saved.

What about those who will not believe? The Bible tells us Christ died for men. But that does not automatically bring salvation to anyone. No person is saved unless he or she believes on Christ. To refuse God’s good gift is to be judged already.

Who is already judged? “Whoever does not believe stands condemned already because He has not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son” (v. 18, NIV). Those who do not believe on Jesus Christ are already judged.

God’s purpose was not to judge the world, even though it was worthy of judgment and condemnation (Rom. 3:10-11; Isa. 53:6). Every one of us stands condemned before God’s judgment because we are guilty. We have broken His law. We have rejected the light He has given us.

Man is already condemned because of his sin. We are already under God’s wrath. The emphasis in verse 18 is on the continuing state of unbelief that results in a continuing state of condemnation for the unbeliever.

God's Greatest Gift

Fri, 25 Sep 2009 21:09:38 -0600

God has provided salvation for you in Jesus Christ.

In simple, lucid language Jesus sums up the entire Gospel for Nicodemus and us in one beautiful sentence rich in content.

“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life” (John 3:16).

Martin Luther said these “words are able to make the sad happy, the dead alive, if only the heart believes them firmly.”

Jesus revealed what is in the heart of the LORD God. “For God so loved the world.” The very one who came down from heaven reveals the greatest revelation man could ever receive from the Creator.

In these words a holy God is saying to sinful man, “I love you.”

Depraved man could never have conceived how much God loves sinful man. God had to reveal and demonstrate that love to man. The best that man and humanism could come up with was an exaggeration of his own depravity as expressed in world religions.

Jesus uses the word agape denoting the highest type and form of love. It is not a love of mere affection, friendship, or ordinary human relationships, but the very highest type of love that is self-sacrificial for the object loved.

God cleansed the depraved sinner and took him to His bosom. No human intelligence could ever fathom such love. This revelation of God distinguishes Christianity radically from all the world religions.

Such love God has for a sinner is the pinnacle of His glory. It is in fact, the crown of all of His attributes.

Anointed Preaching

Thu, 24 Sep 2009 21:13:50 -0600

Preaching is preaching only when the messenger is anointed with the Holy Spirit.

The apostle Paul tells how he arrived in the city of Corinth not dependent upon self-assurance, self-assertiveness, or a powerful personality, “but in demonstration of the Spirit and power” (1 Corinthians 2:4). In fact, Paul stresses the contrasting difference, “For I determined to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and Him crucified. And I was with you in weakness and in fear and in much trembling. And my message and my preaching were not in persuasive words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and power, that your faith should not rest on the wisdom of men, but on the power of God” (vv. 2-5).

Only the anointing of the Holy Spirit can make great preaching. Paul was concerned that nothing distract from the message of Jesus Christ and Him crucified. We live in a day that puts much of the emphasis on the attractiveness of the clever mind and entertainment.

Lloyd-Jones was a prophet when he wrote in Preaching and Preachers, that we take “so much time in producing atmosphere that there is no time for preaching in the atmosphere!” The church has turned to entertainment “as she has turned her back upon preaching.” The first century preachers “refused to pander to the tastes of their listeners.” They did just the opposite by admonishing, warning, rebuking, and reproving their listeners.

Over and over again in the book of Acts we are told of the preachers “being filled with the Holy Spirit.” They proclaimed their message as the Holy Spirit enabled them. Their message and deliverance were under the control of the Spirit. The Holy Spirit had baptized them when they first believed, and they had been filled on many occasions since then. One baptism, many fillings is still a Biblical truth for every preacher.

Preaching with Power

Wed, 23 Sep 2009 21:55:20 -0600

Pentecost changed everything (Acts 2).

The disciples of Jesus Christ were powerless before Pentecost. And then things changed. Jesus promised, “You will receive power after that the Holy Spirit is come upon you” (Acts 1:8). That was His promise to every believer.

There is no need for the Christian to be powerless today. The baptism of the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost was a climatic, demonstrative, once-for-all experience in the upper room in Jerusalem. The baptism of the Holy Spirit is the baptism of the believer into Christ by which he becomes a member of the body of Christ. The apostle Paul wrote, “By one Spirit are we all baptized into one body.” We “have all been made to drink into one Spirit” (1 Corinthians 12:13). The “baptism” is not a special endowment of power from the Holy Spirit for service. It is His work of placing the born again person into the body of Christ. And they were filled with the Holy Spirit.

There is therefore no reason for us to spend one day without the power of God. The early church is a demonstration of that power in preaching and daily living. It is the normal Christian life. “One baptism; many fillings.”

The early Christians stormed the citadels of hell and won. But they could never have done it without the presence of the Holy Spirit within them. They were under His control, guided by the Spirit, taught by the Spirit, empowered by the Spirit, and illuminated by the Spirit. These early believers were valiant, daring, dauntless, and undismayed in every situation.

What happened? Why the radical change in the lives of the disciples? They were under the control of the Spirit of God and for that simple reason they were filled to overflowing. His presence makes all the difference.

Power to Obey

Tue, 22 Sep 2009 22:56:18 -0600

How many times have you herd the excuse, “But I am afraid I can’t live the Christian life”?

The badge of the true disciple of Jesus Christ is obedient faith.

Jesus told His disciples, “If you love Me, you will keep My commandments” (John 14:15).

He has commanded us to go and make disciples of every nation. And when we are obedient He gives us the power to obey His command (Acts 1:8).

He gives us Himself, and in the giving of Himself He gives us all that we need to obey Him.

The power we know we need to accomplish His will can be ours if we obey His Word. As we yield ourselves to Him He will fulfill His will in and through us. He does not ask us to do anything that He does not enable us to do.

The indwelling Holy Spirit is in us an all-prevailing source of power to obey His commands. He abides in us and we in Him. Our greatest needs are fully met in Christ and all that He provides for His people. He gives us the vitality, energy, and spiritual power to do everything God asks of us.

We are by the divine power of the Spirit of God set free to serve Him, and obey Him.

A true Christian knows the power of obedience. Christian liberty is not a license to sin it up. There is freedom in the liberating good news of Jesus Christ. But it is not a freedom to give ourselves to licentious pleasures of the flesh. It is a new freedom to serve God in righteousness (Rom. 6:12ff). He gives us the freedom to love Him with all our heart. “If we love Him we will obey Him.”

We get our freedom through surrender to Christ. We get the power to obey by obeying. We have been set free to do the will of God.

Fellowship of the Holy Spirit

Mon, 21 Sep 2009 22:07:08 -0600

“The fellowship of the Holy Spirit” is a blessing for all believers in Christ (2 Cor. 13:14; Phil. 2:1).

We do not need any new baptism of the Holy Spirit to enjoy this blessing. All things are ours in the Christian life when we believed on Christ and received Him. The apostle Paul tells us we are heirs and joint-heirs with Christ. Every believer has received the indwelling of the Holy Spirit from the moment he believed on Christ. The baptism of the Spirit placed us in the body of Christ. We can now enjoy the communion of the Holy Spirit.

The only thing that can now mar this fellowship with the Holy Spirit is unconfessed sin. We abide in communion with the Spirit of God as we abide in the finished work of Christ on the cross. “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9, NASB 1995).

We live in the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, which is the fellowship or communion of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

The fellowship of the Holy Spirit is so important that to blaspheme Him is to suffer eternal judgment. Every other sin can be forgiven with the exception of speaking evil of Him (Matt. 12:31-32). To blaspheme the LORD God was punishable by death in the Old Testament (Lev. 24:15, 16). In the New Testament to blaspheme the Spirit results in eternal judgment. To blaspheme against the Holy Spirit is to blaspheme against the very essence of the Spirit of God. It is a sin against the constant striving of the Holy Spirit for us to repent and believe on Jesus Christ. It is a defiant attitude until the very end of this life.

The fellowship with the Spirit is so important because we are united to Christ in the bonds of the Holy Spirit. We communicate with Him and He with us. He is our teacher and guide. He leads us. He is our advocate within who interprets the desires of our heart and the will of God. He gives us the power to do the will of God. He convicts us of sin and exhorts us to go to the cleansing fountain.

Trinitarian Benediction

Sun, 20 Sep 2009 22:59:27 -0600

The apostle Paul closes Second Corinthians with a beautiful benediction in adoration of the three Persons in the Holy Trinity. This verse has been correctly called “the New Testament Trinitarian benediction.”

The apostle Paul writes, “The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all” (2 Corinthians 13:14).

This is the counterpart to the Old Testament benediction found in Numbers 6:24-26. “Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, Speak to Aaron and to his sons, saying, ‘Thus you shall bless the sons of Israel. You shall say to them: The Lord bless you, and keep you; The Lord make His face shine on you, And be gracious to you; The Lord lift up His countenance on you, And give you peace’” (Numbers 6:22-26).

God exists in three persons: God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. Yet God is one. The Westminster Confession declares, “Three persons in the Godhead . . . the same in substance, equal in power and glory.”

The work of salvation is the work of the Triune God, Father, Son and the Holy Spirit. The members of the Godhead deliberately and willingly submit themselves to another in the work of redemption. The Son submits to the Father, even in obedience to death to die as our substitute on the cross. The Holy Spirit submits to the Father and the Son. Second Corinthians 13:14 “presents the persons of the Trinity in full form,” just as Matthew 28:19 does, also. The three Persons of the Godhead are present at the baptism of Jesus as He begins His public ministry (Matt. 3:16-17).

Underneath His Everlasting Arms

Sat, 19 Sep 2009 21:34:13 -0600

There are two realms of profound mystery that persistently assault the human soul and produce in it a sense of fear. They are the fear of the unknown future and the unfathomable present.

However, as we learn to depend upon “the eternal God,” we discover that His “everlasting arms” are never exhausted. His “everlasting arms” are always sufficient for our unknown future and unfathomable present needs.

What will happen tomorrow? How can we cope with the infinite mystery of the moment? What shall we do? Where shall we turn?

When we contemplate the unknown fear of the future, we discover as Moses did: “The eternal God is your dwelling place, and underneath are the everlasting arms” (Deut. 33:27).

“The eternal God is the dwelling place” for those who fear the future. And when we are overwhelmed by the unfathomable present, we have underneath us “the everlasting arms.”

Where did Moses choose to put his trust as the days of his earthly journey came to their end? He tells us in “the eternal God.” He chose in those fearful dark moments of the vast unknown future to trust in Elohim, the eternal God. He is the mighty God, the sovereign creator.

The “eternal God” is the Timeless One. He is beyond our agendas, calendars, and plans for the future. “With the Lord one day is as a thousand years, a thousand years as one day (2 Peter 3:8). He is the God of the beginning, the eternal God, and He is our dwelling place. God has no tomorrows for He is eternally present, and there is no end. There is therefore no fear of the present or the future because we are in His strong loving arms (John 10:27-30).

The Shield of Faith

Fri, 18 Sep 2009 22:08:38 -0600

Have you been under a spiritual attack lately? Have you been flamed by the evil one?

Have you had your mind filled with evil thoughts, perhaps even blasphemous thoughts? You were not thinking, idly doing nothing, and suddenly they filled your mind?

Have you been engaged in prayer and found yourself bombarded by thoughts, notions and ideas from every direction that interfere with your concentration on God, on worship, prayer, thanksgiving or adoration?

Be prepared for Satanic attacks and assaults which at times can be unusually fierce, fiery and destructive.

The apostle Paul admonishes us to take “up the shield of faith with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one" (Ephesians 6:16, The NET Bible).

Have you ever been bombarded in the realm of desires, passions and lusts? Have you experienced “flaming arrows” inciting, rousing with tremendous heat the passions for that which is plainly forbidden in God’s Word?

What are these “flaming darts of the evil one”? They are the schemes and stratagems of Satan. These “flaming arrows” come upon us in various forms including evil or filthy thoughts, lustful imaginations, unforgiving attitudes, etc. They flash upon the mind suddenly incongruent with what we are doing or thinking.

You Are The Temple of God

Thu, 17 Sep 2009 22:30:19 -0600

In the Old Testament the LORD God had a temple for His people; however, in the New Testament He has His people for a temple.

The apostle Paul taught, “You are the temple of God” (I Cor. 3:16). The reason he can say that is because we have been redeemed by the death of Jesus Christ. Because of redemption, the Holy Spirit has taken up residence in the redeemed.

In the old dispensation of the law, the tabernacle and later the temple were given over entirely to God for His sacred use. They were called “holy” because they were separated and used for His purpose and glory alone. It symbolized the house of God on the earth.

Under the new dispensation of grace, the Christian is now called God’s temple. The believer must yield his or her whole life without any reserve to God. Our bodies are sacred temples, holy unto the Lord. God has claimed by means of redemption our bodies, and what He claimed for His holy purpose we must yield to Him. “I beg you, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice” (Rom. 12:1). We will do what the apostle admonishes as we remind ourselves that we are His holy temple. If we have learned that our body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, we will keep it undefiled. “Your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit.”

Moreover, the temple in the old economy was given over to the LORD God for His unique possession. When Moses dedicated the tabernacle to God, He filled it with His glory. When King Solomon completed the temple, “The cloud filled the house of the Lord, so that the priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud: for the glory of the Lord had filled the house of the Lord” (I Kings 8:10-11).

Let's Suppose

Wed, 16 Sep 2009 23:46:22 -0600

Do you often play the game Let’s Suppose? It goes like this: we imagine all the negative things that can possibly happen to us around a given set of circumstances in our lives. “Suppose I lose my job.” “Suppose I get cancer.” “Suppose I lose my mind.” “Suppose…” You get the idea.

The Hebrew prophet Habakkuk saw the events in his day as Babylonians came knocking on the front door of Jerusalem. Let’s suppose, “the fig tree does not bud” (3:17).

Suppose, “There are no grapes on the vines.”

Suppose, “The olive crop fails.”

Suppose, “The fields produce no food.”

Suppose, “There are no sheep in the pen.”

Suppose, “There are no cattle in the stalls” (v.17).

How would you have responded to these “supposings” if they were taking place in your life?

Habakkuk did not have the solution, so he confidently handed them over to the Lord. He was confident of the unchanging attributes of God. “God comes from Teman, and the Holy One from Mount Paran. Selah. His splendor covers the heavens, and the earth is full of His praise. His radiance is like the sunlight; He has rays flashing from His hand, and there is the hiding of His power. Before Him goes pestilence, and plague comes after Him. He stood and surveyed the earth; He looked and startled the nations. Yes, the perpetual mountains were shattered, the ancient hills collapsed. His ways are everlasting” (Habakkuk 3:3-6, NASB 1995).

Prayer

Wed, 16 Sep 2009 23:42:19 -0600

How do you pray in the midst of bad times? How do you approach God when everything seems to you to be going from bad to worse? What is your attitude when God answers, but not in the manner in which you asked? What is your response when to your perspective God contradicts His own righteousness?

Welcome to Habakkuk, the Hebrew prophet in the seventh century B.C. God taught him how to trust Him when everything is filled with confusion and perplexities. Where is God? What is He doing? Why doesn’t He do something now? Habakkuk sounds like us when life begins to unravel and fall apart.

Habakkuk teaches us how to pray and trust the LORD God when we don’t have the answers. Let’s center our thoughts around an acrostic P R A Y E R.

P – pursue God. That is what prayer is all about. Habakkuk asked, “How long, O LORD, will I call for help, and You will not answer?” (1:1).

Living by Faith

Mon, 14 Sep 2009 20:44:16 -0600

Habakkuk 2:4 presents two different ways of living in strong contrast. The way of the wicked is unbelief and defiant disobeying of God’s revelation. The other is the faith in God and obedience to His Word. One is submissive to God, and the other is arrogant unbelief. One says, “I don’t need God. I can take care of myself.” The other says, “But the righteous will live by his faith.”

The prophet wrote: “Behold, as for the proud one, His soul is not right within him; but the righteous will live by his faith” (Habakkuk 2:4).

The “proud one” is puffed up, swollen with pride. The Hebrew expression is figurative of pride and arrogant self-sufficiency.

This is the strong contrast the prophet is drawing out in this chapter. The wicked is puffed up and has no desire to do what is right in God’s sight. “He is greedy as the grave and like death is never satisfied” (v. 5, NIV). Sheol or death is compared to a voracious appetite that can never be satisfied.

The other choice is living by faith in the one who keeps us, not only from the moment we first trust in Him as our Savior, but in every moment of every day of our lives. “But the righteous will live by faith.”

This verse in Habakkuk asks some important questions for Christians today. Who is this righteous person? How did he become right in God’s sight? What is the function of faith in the righteous person’s life? How do you live before a holy God?

The Lord God Is My Strength

Sun, 13 Sep 2009 19:44:20 -0600

"We must interpret circumstances by God and not God by the circumstances,” wrote G. Campbell Morgan. “The peril of the hour is that men and women of faith may be trying to account for God by the circumstances of affliction.”

We see God in His activity. He has demonstrated His holiness, justice, and love at the cross. There is no reason why we should ever question His love because of the great manifestation of that love at Calvary. He sent His Son to die for us while we were yet sinners (Rom. 8:32). God does not change in His eternal attributes.

We are tempted in an hour of extreme difficulty to judge God by what we are experiencing. The reality of God’s eternal presence compels us to examine again the dark hour we experience from the standpoint of the eternal God (James 1:17; Mal. 3:6).

In his impressive dialogue with God, the Hebrew prophet Habakkuk asked hard questions that trouble the minds of men. What Habakkuk was questioning was much like what we see and experience in our day. Why do we have to witness the violence, iniquity, wickedness, destruction, and perverted justice, etc.?

The LORD God told Habakkuk, “I am doing something in your days – you would not believe it if you were told” (Habakkuk 1:5). God was using the circumstances to accomplish His eternal purposes. “I am raising up the Chaldeans” (v. 6).

When the Lord treads the winepress He forces us to live out what we are in the inner person. He forces us to reveal what we are on the inside. He will not allow us to say we are one thing and be something else in life.

As You Have Received Christ

Sat, 12 Sep 2009 18:25:03 -0600

The only way you can live the Christian life is by divine provision. Jesus said, “Seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you (Matthew 6:33).

The apostle Paul wrote, “As you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him (Colossians 2:6).

“As you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord…”

How did you receive Him? There is only one way as taught in scripture. It is by grace through faith in Christ (Acts 4:12).

Phillips translates Colossians 2:6, “Just as you received Christ, so go on living in Him – simple faith.”

The apostle John said, "But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name" (John 1:12, NASB 1995).

You receive “Jesus Christ the Lord” by believing on His name. “As many as received Him, as many as have believed on Him.” To have faith in Him is to receive Him.

Do you have that attitude of faith and trust in Jesus Christ? Faith indicates a relation to Christ as Savior. It is submission to His Lordship as King of our lives and confidence in Him as our high priest. Do I conduct my life in submission to the king of my life?

Christ Our Redemption

Fri, 11 Sep 2009 23:12:17 -0600

In the wisdom of God, the plan of salvation was fully accomplished by the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. Such wisdom is hidden from the wise and learned of the world, but it revealed to the humble believer of Christ.

Christ alone personified the wisdom of God. “But by His doing you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification, and redemption, so that, just as it is written, ‘Let him who boasts, boast in the Lord’” (1 Corinthians 1:30-31, NASB 1995).

Christ is our redemption. From the moment we put out faith in Jesus Christ alone to save us, we were “Sealed unto the day of redemption” (Eph. 4:30). We already have the “first fruits of the Spirit” as we wait the redemption of our body (Rom. 8:23).

The wisdom puts to shame the high and mighty people of the world. The wise men of the world cannot understand how God’s grace in Jesus Christ changes sinners into saints. The mighty men of the world see the grace of God as foolishness and weakness (I Cor. 1:25-29).

God in His grace changes lives when they accept His wisdom and believe on Jesus Christ as their Savior.

Salvation must be all of grace so that He alone gets all the glory.

Christ Our Sanctification

Thu, 10 Sep 2009 21:01:45 -0600

The cross of Jesus Christ is a demonstration of the infinite wisdom of God.

Every philosophy of life is proven by what it ultimately produces in a person’s life. God’s wisdom produces perfect righteousness.

God made Jesus “who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf that we might become the righteousness of God in Him” (2 Cor. 5:21).

God in His grace gives a believing sinner a right relationship with Him based on the substitutionary death of Jesus Christ. Jesus died in the sinner’s place. “The wages of sin is death,” and Jesus died that death for us. Christ is our righteousness and for all who trust in Him as their Savior.

The apostle Paul tells us not only that Jesus Christ is the wisdom and the righteousness of God, but He is also our sanctification. “By His doing you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification, and redemption” (1 Corinthians 1:30, NASB 1995).

The Scriptures presents three tenses of our sanctification. We have a positional sanctification. Our position in Christ by faith is true regardless of the degree of our spirituality (1 Cor. 6:11; 1:2; Heb. 10:10). We have a progressive sanctification, which refers to our whole life (1 Pet. 1:6). We shall also have a future sanctification because we are not yet fully set apart. We shall see Christ and be complete in Him (1 Jn. 3:1-3; Eph. 5:26-27; Jude 24-25).

Christ Our Righteousness

Wed, 9 Sep 2009 22:20:02 -0600

One of the great majestic names of the LORD God is “The LORD Our Righteousness” (Jer. 33:16).

Jesus Christ is our righteousness (1Corinthians 1:30). We do not and cannot attain a right relationship with God in our own righteousness because our self-righteousness is as filthy rags. We are guilty sinners in the need of a perfect righteousness (Rom. 3:23; Jer. 17:9; Mark 7:20-23).

When we speak of Christ our righteousness, we are using a great forensic term referring to our acquittal by God. All that we have as Christians we have received as a free gift of God through Jesus Christ. We are justified once and for all by grace through faith in Christ. It never has to be repeated because it is a non-repeatable event. When we are untied to Christ, we have a righteous and holy standing before God. We are “in Christ.” We have a vital union in Him. We enjoy a right relationship with God because of the finished work of Christ on the cross. Christ is the basis of our perfect acceptance with God (2 Cor. 5:21).

God has robed us with the perfect righteousness of Jesus Christ. He is the basis of our acceptance with God.

Godet said, “It is the act of grace whereby God removes the condemnation pronounced on the sinner, and places him relatively to Himself, as a believer, in the position of a righteous man. The possibility of such a Divine act is due to the death and resurrection of Christ.” His death is the foundation of everything God does for the sinner.

The apostle Paul tells us in 2 Corinthians 5:12 that we are through the atoning death of Christ declared righteous before God. This “righteousness” of God in Christ is that quality, which is ours when God acquits the believer, based upon the finished all-sufficient death of Christ (Rom.4: 22-25). God acquits the believer for Christ’s sake, not ours.

Son of Man

Tue, 8 Sep 2009 22:19:34 -0600

Jesus referred to Himself a the Son of Man.

He deliberately chose this title to conceal and reveal eternal truths about Himself. No other title used by Jesus of Himself so clearly testifies to His messianic self-consciousness.

In Ezekiel the expression "Son of Man" is used more than ninety times by God addressing the prophet (Ezek. 2:1; 3:1, etc.). In this most basic usage it simply means an indefinite expression for "a man." The phrase brings out the humanity, weakness, and frailty of the prophet in contrast to the infinite glory, strength, and knowledge of the LORD God.

However, Jesus used this title when He made many of His strongest statements revealing His deity.

"Son of Man" was a Messianic title. Jesus took a well-known title and filled it with rich new meanings that revealed the work of the Messiah and His superhuman claims.

There is no doubt Jesus had in mind Daniel 7:13-14 when He referred to Himself as the son of Man. "I kept looking in the night visions, and behold, with the clouds of heaven One like a Son of Man was coming, and He came up to the Ancient of Days and was presented before Him. And to Him was given dominion, glory and a kingdom, that all the peoples, nations and men of every language might serve Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion which will not pass away; and His kingdom is one which will not be destroyed" (Daniel 7:13-14).

Sin and Salvation

Mon, 7 Sep 2009 22:35:28 -0600

“Whatever else man is, he is not what he was meant to be,” observed G. K. Chesterton.

Can you say that you have never desired to do any thing forbidden? How would you respond to a given situation if you had the opportunity to commit your favorite sin and no one would ever find out? What would you do if God did not deliver you from your favorite temptation?

Sin deceives because it begins with an attitude of the heart (Matt. 5:21-28). It takes God off His throne and enthrones sinful man. When we do this over a period of time our hearts become hardened against the things of God. "The heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked." It can no longer recognize God when He does speak through His Spirit.

Not only does sin harden the heart of the sinner (Heb. 3:13), but it results in death (Rom. 5:12, 21; 6:16,23).

The LORD God has said clearly, “My spirit shall not strive with man forever” (Gen. 6: 3).

The New Testament uses the Greek word hamartia to describe the state of sin from which the acts of sin proceed. The Bible tells us that sin is universal. “All have sinned and come short of the glory of God” (Rom. 3:23). Every individual is “sold into bondage to sin” (7: 14). The Scriptures locks up all men under sin and throws away the key (Gal.3: 22). "If we say we are not sinners, we are liars” (I John 1:8,10). Every individual is involved in personal sin. It is the universal state of mankind.

Every individual is in the control of sin (Gal. 3:22; Rom. 3:9). Sin rules over man like a cruel king (Rom. 5:21; 6:14). Man is totally under the dominion of sin (John 8:34; Rom. 6:17, 20; 6: 6).

The Kingdom of God Has Come

Mon, 7 Sep 2009 22:34:36 -0600

Jesus Christ has come; therefore, the kingdom of God has come to man.

It takes the supreme power of God to overcome the strong, but not omnipotent power of Satan.

Since Jesus came and drove out demons by the power of God, the kingdom of God has come. The King in the kingdom is Jesus Christ the Messiah.

Jesus said, “But if I cast out demons by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you” (Matt. 12:28).

Jesus rendered perfect obedience to God the Father. It was because Jesus rendered perfect obedience to the Father that He received unique power. No other person could be trusted with such absolute power.

Jesus Christ the King of Kings came to this earth, and in His coming the kingdom of God came. The full consummation of the kingdom will come in the future when Jesus returns to this earth.

What is the kingdom of God? It is the sovereign rule of God in which His perfect will is done on earth as it is presently done in heaven.

The citizen of the kingdom of God must accept and obey the laws of God. Since the kingdom of God means the sovereign rule of God no individual can be within the kingdom unless he or she submits himself to the lordship of God in perfect obedience to His will.

God's Perfect Knowledge of Us

Thu, 20 Aug 2009 16:02:05 -0600

“O LORD, You have searched me and known me. You know when I sit down and when I rise up; You do scrutinize my path and my lying down, and are intimately acquainted with all my ways” (Psalm 139:1-3).

Have you ever taught God anything? The truth is God has never learned from anyone. If He did or could he would not be God. He would be another imperfect person.

I am grateful that nothing catches the LORD God by surprise. Adam’s sin did not catch Him by surprise and neither does mine. His perfect knowledge of me makes me love and appreciate His grace more every day.

A. W. Tozer wrote in Knowledge of the Holy, “God knows instantly and effortlessly all matters, all mind and every mind, all spirits, all being and every being, all creaturehood and all creatures, every plurality and all pluralities, all law and every law, all relations, all causes, all thoughts, all mysteries, all enigmas, all feeling, all desires, every uttered secret, all thrones and dominions, all personalities, all things visible and invisible in heaven and in earth, motion, space, time, life, death, good, evil, heaven, and hell…”

Praise To The All-Knowing God

Wed, 19 Aug 2009 21:49:25 -0600

I am often asked what is my favorite passage of Scripture. I usually reply that it is whatever I am currently studying. Romans chapter eight and the Gospels are precious to me. My favorite Psalm is 139 because it applies great Bible teaching to my personal life.

Alexander Maclaren once said, “Not mere omniscience, but a knowledge which knows him altogether, not mere omnipresence, but a presence where he can nowhere escape, not mere creative power, but a power which shaped him, fill and thrill the Psalmist’s soul.”

That is what I love about this Psalm. Three of the most important teachings in the Bible are applied to our daily life, and they give us hope and encouragement in our stressful lives.

Do you long for an intimate love relationship with the LORD God? Here is a good place to begin. The Psalmist calls us to respond personally to an all-knowing, ever present, and all-powerful sovereign God who loves us intimately.

You might find it frightening, but I am deeply encouraged that the great God of the universe sees and knows everything exhaustively and perfectly. He definitely did not wind up the universe and walk away from His design. He is intimately involved in the details of His creation.

What Is God Like?

Wed, 19 Aug 2009 00:19:39 -0600

What is God like?

This is not a child’s question. There is nothing and no one with whom we can compare Him. He is in a unique category, and we can know Him only as He has chosen to reveal Himself.

The psalmists were always calling men to praise the name of Yahweh. “Praise the LORD” is repeated in the Psalms.

The LORD God is an infinite person. We can come to know Him only as He has chosen to reveal Himself in nature and in His own Word. “The heavens are telling of the glory of God; and their expanse declaring the work of His hands” (Psalm 19:1). God has chosen to reveal Himself in His creation (Col. 1:16-17; John 1:3; Rev. 4:11; Rom. 2:14-15). The Creator did not leave Himself without a witness to His grace and mercy. He reveals Himself to the world by His common grace (Acts 14:17; 17:24-29).

God has revealed Himself in His personal name. In Exodus 3:14 He revealed Himself to Moses at the burning bush as “I AM WHO I AM.” “I AM” is the LORD, “the God of you fathers, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob” (v.16).

This is the “four letter” name of God, called the Tetragrammaton. It has four consonants commonly spelled YHWH, YHVH or JHVH. The vowels are supplied and hence the spelling “Yahweh.” Several English translations of the Bible use the word LORD in all capital letters to signify Yahweh. Others use the name “Jehovah.” All of these are attempts to communicate the unpronounceable Name. The meaning can be “I AM,” or “I will be,” from the verb HAYAH, “to be.” It can also correctly be used with other vowels and translated, “He who causes to be,” or “He who brings into existence.” The simplest meaning is “I am who I am,” or “I will be who I will be.”

What Is Your Name?

Mon, 17 Aug 2009 23:05:28 -0600

What is your name?

“May I have your identification, please?”

Moses asked God His name as he stood before the burning bush. God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM” (Exodus 3:14). He is the eternal “I AM,” the same yesterday, today, and forever who makes His covenant with His people. He is the God of salvation. As the God of grace, He becomes whatever is required to meet the needs of His people. He is “the Becoming One.”

Joseph, the adopted father of Jesus, was told that Mary “will bear a Son; and you shall call His name Jesus, for it is He who will save His people from their sins” (Matt. 1:21). His name means, “Yahweh is salvation” or “Jehovah saves.”

What is your name? How does the world identify you as a follower of Jesus Christ?

In the New Testament Christians are called “children of God” (Romans 8:16; I John 3:1), “soldier” (2 Timothy 2:3), “heir” (Romans 8:17; Galatians 3:29), “elect” (I Peter 1:1), “people of God” (Romans 9:25), “sons of God” (Romans 8:19; Galatians 2:26), “children of promise” (Galatians 4:28), “sons of Abraham” (Galatians 3:17), “seed of Abraham” (Galatians 3:29), etc.

What is your Christian name? How are you identified as a follower of Jesus Christ? By what name do you identify yourself as a member of God's family? How do the followers of Christ identify you? How does the lost world identify you?

The Common Grace of God

Sun, 16 Aug 2009 22:24:21 -0600

God owes us nothing.

God owes us nothing, yet He has poured out His blessings on every man and woman.

The two aspects of grace are available to all humanity in general and special or saving grace.

Common grace is available to all human beings without discrimination. The first mention of grace is found in Genesis 6:8. "Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD." God extended His grace 120 years while Noah preached righteousness.

Fallen man has a fallen nature and without common grace mankind would be ultimately self-destructive (Rom. 1:18-2:16; 3:9-20). God in His common grace causes the sun to shine on the just and the unjust. This is the kind of grace that keeps radically depraved humanity from self-destruction.

Common grace gives order to life in spite of the curse of sin. The earth yields its fruit in abundance in spite of the thorns and briars. Depraved mankind knows the difference between good and evil, has religious aspirations, does good deeds, gives philanthropic gifts to others in need all because of common grace.

The effects produced by common grace or the influence of the Spirit common to all men are natural revelation whereby the creation testifies to the Creator through out the universe, presence of truth, good and beauty, fear of future punishment, a natural sense of right and wrong, restraints of governments, fear of God, religious interest not attended by genuine spiritual regeneration by the Holy Spirit, etc. Charles Hodge observes that the influences of common grace "are all capable of being effectually resisted. In all these respects this common grace is distinguished from the efficacious operation of the Spirit to which the Scriptures ascribe the regeneration of the soul."

Either We Die or He Dies

Sat, 15 Aug 2009 23:03:19 -0600

“God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8).

The Scriptures are very clear that the wrath of God is visited upon sinners or else that the Son of God dies for them. Either sinners are punished for their sins or else there takes place a substitution. Either the sinner dies or the substitute dies.

When Jesus Christ became “a curse for us” according to Galatians 3:13-14, He bore the full consequences of our sin. When God made Him sin that we might become “the righteousness of God,” then in some way He took upon Himself our sin and we bear it no more (2 Corinthians 5:21).

God made Jesus die as our substitute that death which is the wages of sin.

Christ died for us; He died that death of ours which is the wages of sin. In the death of Christ, God condemned our sins once and for all. All of God's condemnation fell in one fatal blow upon Christ. It was a divine sentence executed by God upon all sin.

The Christian method of justification is one that is substitutionary. It is based on the substitutionary aspect of the atonement. The sinner is acquitted through the substituted bloodshedding of Christ. He suffers what God does to sin. Jesus’ death makes visible what happens when man has God against him. Christ bore our condemnation so that we bear it no more. We are justified by a substitutionary process.

The Most Important Word in the Bible

Fri, 14 Aug 2009 23:01:41 -0600

The theologian Karl Barth was asked what was the most important word in the Bible. The great thinker replied, “Hyper.”

You might have thought he would have said, “love,” or agape, but he didn’t. He chose a Greek preposition used in the New Testament meaning “on behalf of,” or “in place of” another.

This is the most important word because it signifies that the death of Jesus was in our place and for us. He died so that we might not have to die spiritually and be eternally separated from God in hell.

Why is this word so important, and why should we remind ourselves of it often?

Jesus Christ died for me. He died on “behalf of” or “in place of” the believer.

The many passages where this preposition is used declares, “You did not have a problem too great for the power of Christ to conquer. . . You did not have a sin too deep for the atoning blood of Christ to cleanse.”

“For while we were still helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly” (Romans 5:6). In verse eight the apostle Paul writes, “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8).

Clearly Christ’s death was a substitutionary death, a death in place of others as indicated in these verses. Jesus Christ died “on behalf of” or “in the place of” the sinner. He died as our substitute. There is no doubt that that is the significance in these verses. It occurs four times in vv. 6-8. The one who acts on behalf of another takes his place. That is exactly what Jesus did for us when He died on the cross. In fact, the apostle Paul often uses the preposition huper to express the truth that Christ’s death was substitutionary (1 Tim. 2:6; 1 Thess. 5:10; Gal. 2:20; 3:13; Titus 2:14; 2 Cor. 5:14-15; 1 Cor. 15:3; Rom. 14:15; 1 Cor. 8:11; 2 Cor. 5:15, 21; Rom. 8:32; Eph. 5:2, 25, and many more).

Super Conquerors through Christ

Thu, 13 Aug 2009 20:15:48 -0600

Satan is a very dangerous enemy.

We are engaged in the spiritual battle of our lives.

“Our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places” (Ephesians 6:12).

The odds in such a spiritual battle are not very good if you do not know Jesus Christ as your personal Savior.

There can never be an armistice or truce in our spiritual warfare. From the moment we became believers in Christ Jesus we were made targets of the world, the flesh and the devil. There is never a moment when that is not true.

Why does the apostle Paul consider the believers “more than conquerors” in the spiritual battles? “In all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us” (Romans 8:37).

Tribulations, distress, persecution, famine, nakedness, peril, sword, and the list could go on and on. “In all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us.”

There is no other way to conquer. Only Jesus Christ can give us the spiritual victory in life.

Who Shall Separate Us From the Love Of Christ?

Wed, 12 Aug 2009 23:01:42 -0600

The greatest lesson a Christian can learn is that nothing nor anyone can ever separate him from the love of Christ.

I have a missionary friend who had been in prison frequently. He was flogged severely, exposed to death again and again for the cause of Christ. He had been unmercifully beaten with a whip five times. Three times he had been beaten with rods, stoned once, shipwrecked three times and spent a night and day in the open sea before getting to shore. He had been is danger of swollen rivers, bandits along roads, in danger of both Jewish and non-Jewish government leaders, and traveled in dangerous areas in foreign countries. One day he said, “I have labored and toiled and have often gone without sleep; I have known hunger and thirst and have often gone without food. I have been cold and naked” (2 Cor. 11:23-29).

That amazing Christian also wrote, “Who shall separated us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecutions, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?” (Romans 8: 35) In effect he says, “None of the above or all of them together can separate us from the love of Christ.”

The apostle Paul also quotes Psalm 44:22, “Just as it is written, for Thy sake we are being put to death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered (Romans 8:36).

Will anything or anyone ever make Christ cease to love us? Not in Paul’s imagination or experiences.

Who Is The One Who Condemns?

Tue, 11 Aug 2009 20:59:42 -0600

“Who is the one who condemns?” (Romans 8:34)

We know that Jesus Christ is pleading the case of the believing sinner in heaven. “Christ Jesus is He who died, yes rather, who was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who also intercedes for us.”

Who condemns us? Quite often our own conscience accuses us. Our own thoughts and memories haunt us at times. People reinforce their own condemnation by trying to dull the conscience by the use of drugs and immoral behavior. But the truth is that one-day we will stand before God as Judge.

Satan accuses the Christian before God day and night (Rev. 12:10). Some of us really keep him busy. He just loves to rub God in the face with our sins. Every time we sin, he accuses us before God.

If you have never put your faith in the death of Jesus Christ to save you, you stand guilty before God (John 3:18-20).

Revelation 20:11-15 points a fearful picture of judgment before The Great White Throne of God. The paragraph concludes, “And if anyone’s name was not found written the Book of Life, he was thrown into the lake of fire” (v. 15).

Is your name written in God’s book? If it is, the apostle Paul in Romans 8:34 gives us four reasons why we are forever free from condemnation by Jesus Christ.

Jesus Christ died for our sins on the cross. Jesus died making atonement for our sins. In His death He turned away the wrath of God. He died for us on our behalf! Jesus Christ died in our place so we would not have to die spiritually. He died for our sins and bore the punishment in our place. Jesus took your and my condemnation on the cross, and it is finished forever. You cannot add anything to it, nor can you take away from it.

Who Will Bring Charge Against God’s Chosen?

Mon, 10 Aug 2009 20:45:49 -0600

“Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen?” (Romans 8:33)

This is one of the most important questions a person can ask. It is important that we get God’s answer to this “unanswerable question.”

Since God has justified us, no charge can be brought against those whom God has chosen. The reason is because the Supreme Judge of the universe has acquitted the believing sinner, and He has also clothed him with the very righteousness of Jesus Christ (2 Cor. 5:21).

“Who will bring a charge against God’s elect? God is the one who justifies; who is the one who condemns? Christ Jesus is He who died, yes, rather who was raised, and who is at the right hand of God, who also intercedes for us” (Romans 8:33-34).

Our sin was placed on Jesus Christ, and punished in His death on the cross. But God not only imputes our sin to His Son, but He takes the perfect righteousness of Jesus Christ and imputes it to the believer.

When God justifies the believing sinner He makes a judicial declaration to effect that He does more than pardon or forgive or sins; He now regards us as just and righteous and holy in His sight.

God not only imputes my sin to His Son, He also takes His righteousness and imputes it to me (2 Cor. 5:21).

God Spared Not His Own Son for Us

Sun, 9 Aug 2009 21:50:29 -0600

Because God has done for our good the greatest that is conceivable, will He not therefore provide all the other blessings we need?

The apostle Paul enjoys arguing from the greater to the lesser in Romans 8:32. “He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him over for us all, how will He not also with Him freely give us all things?”

“He who did not spare His own Son.” God gave His very best for us while we were yet depraved sinners (Romans 5:8).

God the Father is the One who gave up His Son for sinners. “His own Son” means that there is no other person who stands in this same relationship to the Father. Jesus called “God His own Father, making Himself equal with God” (John 5:18; cf. 14:10).

God has many sons by adoption. But the Scripture allows no confusion to exist between the sonship of the only begotten and the sonship of the adopted. It is the Father’s own genuine Son as opposed to an adopted son such as believers that is in view. There is no other person who stands in such a high relationship to God the Father.

God the Father did not spare His own Son the sufferings inflicted. He did not withhold or lighten one bit the suffering, but inflicted the full punishment of judgment upon His well beloved and only begotten Son.

God did not prevent His Son from suffering the death as the sinner’s substitute. He fulfilled His own prophetic word in Isaiah 53.

How Can God Not Freely Give Us All Things?

Sat, 8 Aug 2009 22:17:43 -0600

Since God is for us, who then can possibly stand against us?

The Psalmist wrote, “In God I will trust; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?” (Psalms 56:11)

The prophet Elisha demonstrated to his companion that God is for us and can be depended upon to take care of His people. The enemy sent an army with horses, and chariots circling the city. The servant was filled with panic. “What shall we do?” Elisha counseled, “Do not fear, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them.” Elisha prayed, “‘O LORD, I pray, open his eyes that he may see.’ And the LORD opened the servant’s eyes, and he saw; and behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha” (2 Kings 6:17-18). God blinded the enemy and provided deliverance (v. 19).

The question that haunts many people I meet is not the fact that God is able, but is God really for us? Does He really care? Would He do the same thing for us? How can we know that the great sovereign God of the universe is actually on our side today?

God has already answered that question once and for all. We never have to ever question God’s love for us again. “He who did not spare His own son but delivered Him up for us all, how will He not also with Him freely give us all things?” (Romans 8:32) Since God loves us, He is also for us.

Unanswerable Questions

Fri, 7 Aug 2009 22:19:02 -0600

“Who can be against us?”

This is the first of several unanswerable questions the apostle Paul asked in Romans 8:31-39.

To be very honest there are days when I don’t have to look very far over my shoulders to give you the answer. The Apostle Paul suggests a most violent opposition: tribulations, distress, persecutions, famine, nakedness, peril, sword, death, principalities, etc.

The devil himself, Satan, is a powerful enemy of every Christian. He is “a roaring lion looking for someone to devour” (1 Peter 5:8). At times, like in the Garden of Eden, he calls God a liar, and at other times he is like an angel of light with beautiful wisdom. He would even deceive the elect if he were permitted.

However, “There is no one on par with God,” writes A. T. Robertson. Satan and his hosts of demons can never ultimately triumph over the believer in Jesus Christ. God has given us spiritual armor and He expects us to use it in our spiritual warfare (Eph. 6:10-17).

John Calvin correctly said, “There is no power under heaven or above it which can resist the armor of God.”

“If God is for us” does not suggest doubt. Since it is true "God is for us" we do not have to be concerned about all other opposition.

Since God is for us who can be against us? The world, the flesh and the devil are always plotting and scheming, but God has demonstrated that He is always for us. Since He is for us, nothing can possibly defeat His eternal purposes for our lives.

Glorification of the Christian

Thu, 6 Aug 2009 20:18:31 -0600

The Christian's glorification describes their ultimate and complete conformity to the image of Christ Jesus.

It is the final link in the great golden chain of salvation and it is so certain that it is going to happen that the apostle Paul refers to it as having already happened (Romans 8:30).

Another great promise is given to us in Philippians 1:6. “For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus.”

God makes us like His Son. To be glorified is another way of saying the believer will be "conformed" to the character of Christ which is God’s ultimate purpose for the Christian. No longer will the Christian "fall short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23).

God’s great plan of salvation reaches from eternity past to eternity future, and He will accomplish it perfectly. God’s plan is going to succeed. There is always the now and the yet to be in regard to our salvation. We are saved and we will be saved. We are justified and one day we will be glorified. The apostle Paul speaks of a reality that has come and the promise that it is to come.

Justification by Faith

Wed, 5 Aug 2009 22:05:00 -0600

The salvation of the true believer is so certain that God sees it as already done. The apostle Paul uses five verbs to outline what God has done in fulfilling His saving purpose. It is a golden chain of salvation that stretches from eternity past to eternity future.

God’s foreknowledge of the saved in Romans 8:29-30 is probably a reference to the election of the saved person. Believers are those God foreknew. Divine foreknowledge is a meaningful relation with a person based on God’s choice (Amos 3:2; Jer. 1:4-5). “He chose us in Him before the creation of the world” (Eph. 1:4).

This eternal choice and foreknowledge involves the goal or final end of that relationship. The Bible says those whom God foreknew, those He also “predestinated to be conformed to the likeness of His Son” (Romans 8:29). God determined beforehand the destiny of the believer. We will be conformed to the image of Christ (1 John 3:2). When all believers are made like Christ, our ultimate and complete sanctification, Christ will be “the Firstborn among many brothers.” As the ‘Firstborn’ He is in the highest position among others (cf. Col. 1:18).”

Not only are we saved for all eternity, but God has created a new race of humanity purified from all contact with sin and prepared to spend eternity with Him. The glorified Christ will the be Head of the new humanity (cf. 1 Cor. 15:42-58).

Those whom God foreknew, He predestinated, He called, He justified, and He glorified. When we heard the gospel of Jesus Christ there was the effectual call of God that worked deep in our hearts to bring about a spiritual birth. Those He called He justified through faith in Jesus Christ. This leads to our glorification. The apostle Paul is so sure of these things he speaks of the believer’s glorification, which is a future event, as if it were already accomplished (v. 30). It is a sure deal because it is God's eternal plan.

The Effectual Call of God

Tue, 4 Aug 2009 20:06:12 -0600

Have you responded to the effectual call of God to salvation?

In his effort to encourage suffering Christians, the apostle Paul wrote, “For whom He [God] foreknew, He also predestinated to become conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren; and whom He predestinated, these He also called; and whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified” (Romans 8:29-30).

This beautiful golden five-link chain of salvation demonstrates the awesome love and grace of God reaching down to poor, lost, depraved sinners and gives the assurance of eternal life.

The effectual call of God in salvation brings about regeneration, or spiritual birth in the person who is called. The effectual or specific call to salvation comes through the general call by means of the preaching of the good news in Jesus Christ to a lost world. It is through the preaching of the gospel that God calls sinners. As the Word of God is preached some seed falls on stony, shallow ground, and some on good soil. God prepares the soil and gives life. The seed that sprouts and takes up root in the good soil results in a spiritual harvest and people are saved.

God calls the individual to salvation by a specific and effectual call that produces spiritual life in the one who hears the call. The individual who hears the effectual call of God will responds by faith. The effectual call enables the person to respond to the Gospel. The Holy Spirit produces the new spiritual life in the person who is effectually called. The evidence of that new life is repentance and faith in Christ Jesus. When referring to faith and repentance Spurgeon said don't make two old friends fight.

Predestined to be Conformed to Christ

Mon, 3 Aug 2009 21:35:51 -0600

The second golden link in the chain of salvation is predestination.

Like foreknowledge, predestination is one of those Biblical doctrines that provokes many a discussion, but when accepted becomes a great source of assurance of salvation.

It may not seem like all things are working together when we look at our circumstances, but when we get eternity into the picture it all comes together and we see God at work. He is behind the scenes accomplishing His eternal purpose.

Charles Hodge said, “Believers are called in accordance with a settled plan and purpose of God, for whom He calls He had previously predestinated.” God is at work causing all things to work together for good to those who love God, for the plan of God cannot fail.

The apostle Paul increases our understanding of the “purpose” in Romans 8:28 in the following verses. “For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren; and these whom He predestined, He also called; and these whom He called, He also justified; and these whom He justified, He also glorified” (Romans 8:29-30).

It is a continued confirmation of the truth Paul has been expounding that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God. It accomplishes His eternal purpose in our lives.

Five Golden Links in Salvation

Sun, 2 Aug 2009 23:00:10 -0600

God is at work in all the many detailed circumstances of our lives to accomplish His eternal purpose.

How much does God love us? Just let me count the many ways. Here are five to begin our quest. “For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren; and these whom He predestined, He also called; and these whom He called, He also justified; and these whom He justified, He also glorified” (Romans 8:29-30).

That is what God does for us out of His infinite love and grace. God foreknew. God predestined. God called. God justified. God glorified. God saves!

How does God cause all things to work together for the good of those who love Him and are called according to His purpose? The chain of divine action demonstrates how He accomplishes this “good.” What is this good purpose of God? God is saving a body of people who will be made like Jesus Christ.

He is not making us like gods as the cults purpose. We will not become divine and go off and populate a planet. That nonsense is strange to the Bible.

God’s eternal purpose of redemption is that He will have a people who are loving, full of joy, peace, holiness, wisdom, patience, kindness, goodness, compassion, faithfulness, mercy, grace, etc.

God selects, predestinates, calls, justifies, and glorifies a people who will be like His Son.

The Eternal Purpose of God

Sat, 1 Aug 2009 21:26:46 -0600

Where is God at work in your life? Are you going through some deep hurt, pain or suffering? Could God perhaps be doing a special work through your present circumstances?

One of the greatest promises in the Bible is found in Romans 8:28, “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purposes” (New International Version). The New American Standard Bible reads: "And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose."

There have been many times in my life when I have paused and stood back in amazement and reflected on how God works in all things of our good and His glory.

The New Testament scholar, F. F. Bruce observes, “Grammatically ‘all things’ may be either subject or object of the verb ‘works together’; it is more probably the object. The subject will then be ‘he.’” The subject is God. Therefore the translation preferred, “And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose” (NASB). Goodspeed translates, “We know that in everything God works with those who love Him . . .” RSV, “We know that in everything God works for good with those who love Him . . .”

“We know” by the knowledge of faith in God’s Word.

How Can I Know God's Will for My Life?

Fri, 31 Jul 2009 20:35:21 -0600

"I am convinced that nothing in this world happens outside the will of God—literally nothing. There are no failures, and there are no loose ends in the ultimate plan of God.” Do you agree or disagree with that statement? Why?

Someone correctly said, “God is too kind to do anything cruel . . . Too wise to make a mistake, . . . too deep to explain Himself. When we know the Who we can stop asking, 'Why?’”

The apostle Paul wrote in Romans 8:27-28, “He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.”

Those who “love God” are “those who are called according to His purposes.” God causes everything to work for the good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purposes. That is Paul’s deep personal conviction. Mere “things” do not work together for good or evil. “And we know” in all our suffering and pain God is working out His great eternal purpose. No matter what the circumstances in our lives that purpose will not be overthrown, and it culminates in final glory to God.

Paul’s focus is on our eternal sovereign God at work, not some “evolutionary optimism.”

Let’s be quite honest all things from our limited human perspective do not always seem in the moment of crisis to be turning out for our good. At least, we don’t in the pain and emotion feel that way. From our limited knowledge bad things do happen to Christians, and at times it seems that evil is winning.

However, when we get God into the picture the “final good,” or “true good,” is “good” for those who “love God and are called according to His purposes.”

When the Holy Spirit Groans in Prayer

Thu, 30 Jul 2009 22:00:45 -0600

The indwelling Spirit of God works in us in pray to cry out “Abba,” “Father, Daddy.” He helps us to endure sufferings so that we may patiently look forward to the final redemption of our bodies when we will see Jesus “with glory that is burst upon us” at His coming.

We are commanded in the Scriptures to “pray continually” (1 Thess. 5:17). When we pray we are petitioning the sovereign Creator of the universe and speaking to Him personally as we present our adoration, confessions, thanksgivings, and supplications to Him. He patiently listens to us and responds to us consistently out of His infinite wisdom.

Since that is true why is it so hard to pray? Why is prayer a problem even for mature Christians? The apostle Paul says it is because of “our weakness.” Phillips translates Romans 8:26, “The Spirit of God not only maintains this hope within us, but helps us in our present limitations.” The wonderful thing is His intercessions for the saints are always in harmony with God’s will. He comes to our aid in our infirmities.

Paul does not say the Holy Spirit removes our “weaknesses,” but that He “helps” us. We live our whole Christian life in conditions of humility and weaknesses. The Holy Spirit comes along side as our Helper and gives us wisdom and strength. He helps those who cannot help themselves.

Redemption of Our Bodies

Thu, 30 Jul 2009 21:12:02 -0600

True Christianity "sets its affection on things which are above, not on things which are on the earth."

True Christianity is filled with hope. The second coming is “our blessed hope” (Titus 2:13), and “the hope of glory” (Col. 1:27). It is a “sure and certain hope” because of its specific content concerns the return of Jesus Christ.

God promises the Christian believer the resurrection of the body, the adoption of God’s children, and gathering of God’s harvest at the end of time. The Christian’s hope is confidence and security grounded on the sure Word of God, the Bible. Since God says this is coming about we can rest secure and confidently on His Word.

“We wait eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what he already has? But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently” (Romans 8:23-25).

With eager expectation the apostle Paul awaits “the redemption of our body” (v. 23). Paul has in mind the resurrection of our bodies, when the work of God—begun by the atoning death of Jesus Christ, and continued by the work of the Holy Spirit in joining us to Christ and sanctifying us—will be completed.

He has in mind the great day of consummation when Christ returns. It will be the complete deliverance of the believer. The Creator who holds life and death in His hands will dispel all darkness from the tomb and we will be free at last.

Groan, Groans, and Groaning

Wed, 29 Jul 2009 12:16:05 -0600

Life is full of pain, suffering and death. Each of us has our share of heartaches and hurts. Sometimes we groan under the load of suffering. In my daily ministry I see hundreds of poor people facing pain, poverty and suffering in Latin America.

The word for groaning is found only six times in the New Testament. In Romans 8:22, 23, 26 the word stenazo and its variants refer to three different things: creation groans (vv. 18-22), believers groan (vv. 23-25), and the Holy Spirit groans (vv. 25-30).

The apostle Paul tells us that creation groans (Romans 8:18-22). He is referring to the “non-rational creation, animate and inanimate.” Angels are not included because they were not subjected to the bondage of corruption. Satan and his demons are not included because they will not share in the freedom of glory of the children of God. The children of God are distinguished from the creation in vv. 19-23. The unbelievers are not included because they are not characterized by an earnest expectation of hope in the coming of Christ. Rational creation is excluded in this passage. Paul tells us the “non-rational creation, animate and inanimate” creation “waits eagerly for the revealing of the sons of God” (v. 19). It “groans and suffers the pains of childbirth until now” (v. 22).

Why does it groan like a mother dilating at childbirth? Verse 21 tells us it longs to be “set free from its slavery to corruption into the freedom of the glory of the children of God.” Creation, the cosmos, is looking beyond itself to the “glorious freedom of the children of God.”

Love is Extravagant!

Wed, 29 Jul 2009 12:14:35 -0600

Tongues, prophesy, knowledge, absolute faith, philanthropy, martyrdom without God’s love in Christ results in nothing—absolute zero.

Go back and read again the greatest essay ever written on love. First Corinthians 13 always reminds me of the highest priority in the Christian's life. “But now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love” (v. 13).

Why is this chapter so important for the growing Christian? It is an awesome portrait of Jesus Christ. Read through this chapter again substituting the name Jesus Christ in place of the word “love” or “charity.” It is marvelous portrait of Christ who models for us perfect love.
Love is patient (v. 4a).

Love is enduring. It extends its grace even in the most heated moments in life. When our nerves are frayed it doesn’t fly off the handle. It is not easily frustrated and short-tempered. God's love in us sees beyond the circumstances and considers all persons involved. Christ was extremely patient with His disciples and those who were slow spiritual learners (Lk. 24:35). He is still patient and not willing that any should perish (2 Peter 3:9). Are we as patient with those who are slow to believe in Him? Mature Christian love is consistently slow to lose patience. It takes a long time before fuming and breaking into flames.

Suffering is the Christian's Path to Glory

Wed, 29 Jul 2009 12:12:50 -0600

Our hope as Christians is our future glory. We will have a new body patterned after the glorified body of Jesus Christ (Phil. 3:21). Our “hope of glory” is guaranteed by the present dwelling of Christ within the believer (Col. 1:27).

At the parousia, the second coming of Christ, those who died in Christ and the living believers will be given the final and full “redemption of our body” (Romans 8:23). That body will be prepared for and suited to the final state of the Christian believer (1 Cor. 15:23, 26, 54). “When Christ, who is our life, is revealed, then you also will be revealed with Him in glory” (Colossians 3:4).

The apostle Paul tells us that we shall be included in the radiance of the coming glory, which will put into perspective the present sufferings we experience. “For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us” (Romans 8:18).

As co-heirs with Christ (vv. 15-17) we are recipients of all spiritual blessings now (Eph. 1:3), and in the future we shall share with Him in all the riches of God’s kingdom (Jn. 17:24; 1 Cor. 3:21-23). In Romans 8:15-18 the apostle is stressing the assurance of the believer’s salvation, and in doing so says if we are true Christians we will also suffer with Christ. We will participate in Christ’s sufferings if we are believers. Being co-heirs with Christ requires that we share in His sufferings (Jn. 15:20; Col. 1:24; 2 Tim. 3:12; 1 Pet. 4:12). After suffering with Christ the believer will share in the glory of Christ (2 Tim. 2:12; 1 Pet. 4:13; 5:10).

The Inheritance of the Christian

Sat, 25 Jul 2009 17:42:03 -0600

The witness of the Holy Spirit gives evidence that if we are God's “children, heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him in order that we may also be glorified with Him” (Romans 8:17).

The blessings of this great inheritance are reserved for us in heaven. It is being prepared for us now in heaven (John 14:1-3). It is a special place in the presence of God. There we will no longer be in a spiritual warfare with sin and the devil. We will be in the likeness of Jesus (1 John 3:1-3).

We belong to the Father as His heirs. He has loved us, redeemed us, adopted us and made us heirs by His grace. It is something He has done entirely for us of His own free sovereign will. But we also have God as our inheritance. The Psalmist said He is “my portion forever.” The LORD God is our inheritance.

Moreover, we are “co-heirs with Christ” (v. 17). Whatever He inherits is ours also. Whatever we inherit we inherit right along with Him. It is not something we merit; it is strictly God's gift to His chosen children.

“Christ’s inheritance is the glory of God, which means the vision of participation in, and enjoyment of God Himself.” Jesus said to the Father, “I have brought to you glory on earth by completing the work You gave Me to do. And now Father, glorify Me in your presence with the glory I had with You before the world began” (John 17:4-5). The apostle Paul wrote, “if indeed [absolute certainty, “For sure” in the Greek] we suffer with Him in order that we may also be glorified with Him” (Romans 8:17).

Pilate before the King of Kings

Fri, 24 Jul 2009 23:19:21 -0600

The King of kings was on a cross.

Let that statement sink in. The King of kings was hanging on a cross.

The troubling question for the Roman governor Pilate was, “Are You the King of the Jews?” (Matthew 27:11).

A harmony of the Gospels shows that Pilate tried four times to set Jesus free. First, he sent Jesus to Herod when he realized Jesus was from Galilee and under his political jurisdiction (Lk. 22.6-12). Second, Pilate offered to punish Jesus without putting Him to death (Lk. 23:16, 22). Third, he desperately asked the people to choose Barabbas, the insurrectionist and revolutionary in the place of Jesus (Matt. 27:20-26; Mk. 15:6-15; Jn. 18:38-40), and finally, he tried to stir the crowd’s pity by reducing Jesus to a bloody pulp by scourging Him (Jn. 19:1-5).

“Do you want me to release to you the King of the Jews?” (Jn. 18:39-40).

“What shall I do, then, with Jesus who is called the Christ?” asked Pilate.

“Crucify Him! Crucify Him!” they shouted.

The turning point for the coward Pilate came when he realized a riot was starting, and he did not need anymore unfavorable reports sent to Caesar in Rome. The Jewish leaders knew how to manipulate Pilate. “If You let this man go, You are no friend of Caesar” (Jn. 19:12-16). It was political blackmail.

Evidence of Members of God's Family

Thu, 23 Jul 2009 22:42:02 -0600

Our possession of the Holy Spirit is the very essence of what it means to be a Christian. “If anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ” (Romans 8:9). Those who belong to Christ have the Holy Spirit living within them. Moreover, if you have Him indwelling you, you will live like Him (vv. 10-13).

We know that we are true Christians because of the Holy Spirit's presence in us, and because our lives have been changed by His indwelling presence.

Moreover, we have a new status and relationship with God. “All those who being led by the Spirit of God, these are the sons of God” (v. 14). We have a new relationship to God; we are members of His family. Paul speaks of our being “sons,” “sonship,” “children,” “heirs,” and “co-heirs with Christ” (vv. 15-23).

John Calvin said, “All who are led by the Spirit of God are the sons of God; all the sons of God are heirs of eternal life; and therefore all who are led by the Spirit of God ought to feel assured of eternal life.”

We are His children by the new birth, and the status of “adopted” children.

Let me be very clear, not everyone is a member of God's family. We are all His creatures having been created by God, but only those who are “led by the Spirit of God” are the sons of God. Those who are not led by the Spirit are not Christians, and therefore not His spiritual children.

Jesus made this fact clear in John 8:39-47. Specifically note what Jesus says, “If God were your Father, you would love Me; for I proceeded forth and have come from God. . . He sent Me. . . You are from your father the devil, and you want to do the desires of your Father. . . . He who is of God hears the words of God; for this reason you do not hear them, because you are not of God” (vv. 42, 44, 47).

Who Is a Christian?

Wed, 22 Jul 2009 21:29:37 -0600

“Who is a Christian?” I am asked that question often? “What is the gospel?” is another question often asked. Here is the answer the apostle Paul gives to these questions.

“However, you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. But if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Him. If Christ is in you, though the body is dead because of sin, yet the spirit is alive because of righteousness. But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you” (Romans 8:9-11).

These verses should cause us to ask am I a Christian? Mere profession of faith is not enough. Am I really a Christian deep down in my soul? Where is the evidence? Has the Holy Spirit made me alive? Have I come to an intimate love relationship with Christ?

In the context of these verses the apostle Paul has been stressing the evidence in the lives of those who are under control of the Holy Spirit and in control of the evil actions of the non-Christians. The behavior of the person under the control of the Holy Spirit gives evidence that he is a Christian. Living in accordance to the Holy Spirit is true of all Christians. Living according to the sinful nature is true of all non-Christians.

Walking in the Flesh

Tue, 21 Jul 2009 22:32:23 -0600

“The sinful mind is hostile to God” (Romans 8:7).

It is impossible for a person who does not know Jesus Christ as their Savior to please God.

Two different mindsets have two entirely different end results. One produces peace with God and the other hostility toward God. Everyone needs to ask a critical question of ourselves: Is my mind dominated by “sinful nature,” or is it under the control of the Holy Spirit?

The sinful mind is hostile toward God. That is the result of total radical depravity. There is no way it can possibly please God.

The apostle Paul said, “They that are in the flesh cannot please God” (v. 8). “The mind of the flesh is enmity against God” (v. 8). It is hostile toward God. It hates God. It is impossible for anyone who is dominated by the flesh to gain divine approval.

It is the total inability of the natural man to be well-pleasing to God or to do what is well-pleasing to God. "Enmity against God" is nothing other than total depravity and "cannot please God."

The governing principle of the mind of the flesh is “enmity toward God.” All sin is against God.

Underlying all activity of the “mind of the flesh” is opposition and hatred of God.

Life or Death?

Tue, 21 Jul 2009 22:30:55 -0600

Being a Christian is more than saying you agree with certain Christian teachings about sin and salvation. One is a Christian because he has been “born again.” Those who have received this spiritual birth by the Holy Spirit have their minds set on what God desires. Being a Christian is not having arrived at a certain standard of conduct for Christians. Again, it is to have a change in one’s thinking that affected the way we live.

The born again believer in Christ has an internal transformation by the Spirit of God. This dynamic change has affected his way of thinking. The born again Christian has his mind habitually set on the things of God and is pleasing Him. The unbeliever is set on the things of this sinful, selfish flesh.

The “law of the Spirit of life” (Romans 8:2) regulates and controls the Christian (v. 4). The Christian lives under a new controlling principle of his life. The Holy Spirit applies the finished work of Christ to our lives. We are not under the law because Paul tells us, “we have been put to death to the law through the body of Christ” and “have been discharged from the law” (7:7, 6).

The power of sin and the flesh ruling the believer has been once and for all decisively judged. The authority in the believer is now God the Holy Spirit. Jesus Christ has set us free from the enslaving power of sin.

Walking in the Spirit

Sun, 19 Jul 2009 22:29:24 -0600

“We are not justified by the manner of our walk, but by our being in Christ Jesus,” observed Spurgeon.

The most important question to ask ourselves is, “Am I in Christ?” If the answer is yes, then “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (Romans 8:1).

The individual who is “in Christ Jesus” does not walk after the flesh, but after and in step with the Holy Spirit. He walks according to the guidance of the Spirit. To be “filled with the Spirit” is to be under the control of the Spirit. Every believer has the Holy Spirit. Our responsibility is to be yielded to Him. He has the spirit of life in Christ Jesus. The result of our justification through faith in Christ is a new creation, no longer under the control of the flesh, but in the spirit, a spiritual person.

No, God does not eradicate the flesh. It is still there striving and warring against the spirit, and it will be there until the Christian is taken up into heaven to be with God.

That apostle Paul tells us the person who is “in Christ Jesus” commits himself to the guidance and control of the Holy Spirit. He gives us guidance, encouragement, correction, and leads us in the paths of righteousness so that we become more like Christ.

The Goal of Justification

Sat, 18 Jul 2009 22:42:17 -0600

The message of salvation becomes distorted and confused when we are told to “clean up your act and then God will save you.”

Justification is not sanctification. However, justification always leads to sanctification. We are not saved because we are good. We are saved because we are lost sinners who are not good. Jesus declares “no condemnation,” and then He sends us out to live a holy life. No one can clean up their life and then come to Jesus. It is always the other way around. He saves us, and then the Holy Spirit does a progressive work of sanctification in us for the rest of our lives.

The law was not able to produce righteousness in people in order for them to be saved. Jesus went to the cross and accomplished that for those whom He came to save. God saved us apart from good works so that we might be able to produce good works.

The death of Jesus dealt with our penalty for sin, the power of sin was broken, and then when He comes we will be removed from the presence of sin.

The goal of justification is our sanctification. We have been set apart to God in a once for all act of the Holy Spirit. Moreover, He is also progressively, moment by moment, separating us to God. Jesus Christ has saved us so that we might live holy lives. God condemned sin in Christ, so that His righteousness might appear in us (2 Cor. 5:21). Our salvation is the work of Christ apart from any human merit. We have been saved to live for Christ. The goal of justification is that we might live this new life in Christ before a watching world. We are saved to be different.

The Spirit of Life

Fri, 17 Jul 2009 22:27:51 -0600

The Spirit of life is the life-giving Spirit.

The Holy Spirit is the author and giver of life, and the life He gives is free of condemnation. There is now no condemnation for the believer in Christ because of the saving work of Christ which sets His people free from the law that condemns.

The principle on which the Holy Spirit works in the Christian's life operates in power. He can do what the law could never do.

It is interesting the word Holy Spirit is found more often in chapter eight of Romans than in any other chapter in the New Testament.

The Holy Spirit is the “distinguishing mark” of the believer. His very presence in the Christian means defeat of the power of sin in the believer's life. The Holy Spirit rules within the heart.

“When the Holy Spirit comes into a person that person is liberated from bondage to evil and finds a new power within, a power that causes the defeat of sin and leads the liberated person into ways of goodness and love,” writes Leon Morris.

By the death of Jesus Christ the believer was freed from the law of sin (Romans 7:23, 25), and death (7:10-11, 13). That does not mean, however, that we are sinless even though we have been liberated from its dominion (6:18, 22). We have a new relationship to the law because of our new relationship with Christ.

Christ Our Refuge

Thu, 16 Jul 2009 20:16:55 -0600

The Bible is very clear in its declaration that individuals who are not “in Christ” are lost and under condemnation. If you are not “in Christ Jesus” you have not escaped the condemnation and the wrath of God.

The apostle John wrote, “He who believes in Him [Jesus] is not judged” (John 3:18a). Paul wrote “there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (Romans 8:1). John goes on to say, “he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God” (v. 18b). The person who does not believe is already condemned and that condemnation of unbelievers is now in the present time.

“Truly, truly, I say to you, he who hears My word, and believes Him who sent Me, has eternal life, and does not come into judgment, but has passed out of death into life” (John 5:24). “He who believes in the Son has eternal life; but he who does not obey the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him” (John 3:36).

The sole basis of this justification and declaration of “no condemnation” is the assurance found in the words “in Christ Jesus.” We were all condemned in Adam, but in the second Adam there is no condemnation.

Conflict -- Not Condemnation

Wed, 15 Jul 2009 23:18:49 -0600

It is very unfortunate that there is a chapter division separating Romans 7:25 and 8:1. C. H. Spurgeon observes correctly: “We once heard a friend say, ‘I have gone out of seventh of Romans into the eighth.’ Nonsense! There is no getting out of one into the other, for they are one. I thank God with all my heart that since my conversion I have never known what it is to be out of the seventh of Romans, nor out of the eighth of Romans either. The whole passage has been solid truth to my experience. I have struggled against inward sin, and rejoiced in complete justification at the same time” (Sermons Preached in 1886 by C. H. Spurgeon, vol. xvii, p. 274).

“Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, on the one hand I myself with my mind am serving the law of God, but on the other, with my flesh the law of sin. Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (Romans 7:25-8:1, NASB 1995).

There is no break in what the apostle says to the mature believer in this passage. To force a division is artificial.

“The fact is, that believers are in a state of conflict, but not in a state of condemnation, and that at the very time when the conflict is hottest the believer is still justified.” Our sin nature has not been eradicated. We are in a fierce battle which will not go away until we are presented complete in Christ at His coming.

The Heart of the Gospel

Tue, 14 Jul 2009 21:34:12 -0600

The very heart of the Gospel can be stated in the words of the apostle Paul, “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (Romans 8:1).

As sinners we justly deserve condemnation in our unregenerate state. Our trespasses and sins condemn us. However, God in His grace declares, “there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” It is a declaration of acquittal based on the substitutionary death of Christ. Our eternal security and safety is found in the atoning sacrifice of Christ Jesus.

“No condemnation” (katakrima) refers to the punishment following the sentence, i.e., the punishment, doom. Christ bore our punishment on our behalf on the cross. He paid it all in full for us. The verdict was guilty and the punishment was death. “The wages of sin is death.” No punishment is inflicted upon us because of what Christ did on our behalf as our substitute.

The apostle uses an intensified strong negative (ou de) at the beginning of the sentence. “No condemnation!” The believer is not in a state of condemnation now, and he can never be in that state again. It is impossible to condemn him to the wrath of God because he is justified by grace through faith in the work of Christ.

The Final Victory Over Sin

Mon, 13 Jul 2009 21:39:27 -0600

Romans chapter eight gives a resounding triumphant song that comes forth from the anguishing question, “Wretched man that I am! Who will set me free from the body of this death?” Paul shouts “No condemnation”! “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (Romans 8:1).

The opposite of condemnation is justification. There is now not even one bit of condemnation for the person who is “in Christ Jesus.” There is “no condemnation” now, and there never will be condemnation for those who are “in Christ.”

The apostle boldly declares with a powerful statement the believer’s perfect eternal security in Jesus Christ. The chapter begins with “no condemnation,” and ends with “no separation,” and in between is “no defeat.” Nothing, and no one “will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (v. 39).

The Christian life is a victorious life, but the apostle Paul does not see it as life without conflict. Even the born again believer has to reckon with the "flesh."

The apostle Paul is ruthlessly honest with the tension and reality of sin dwelling in the believer so long as he is living this present life.

Wretched Man that I am!

Sun, 12 Jul 2009 20:55:06 -0600

Great saints down through history of Christianity have never bragged, “How good I am,” but “Get away from me, Lord; I am a sinful man” (Luke 5:8). That is the authentic lament of the true Christian.

The apostle Paul shares with us in Romans seven the intimacy of his own struggle. The emotion reveals personal involvement. I love the personal honesty of the apostle Paul. I wish more of us preachers in our day were as honest.

What happens to the believer when he sins? What we see in Romans seven is the mature believer and how he responds to the sin that dwells within him.

I have never met a completely sinless Christian, and neither had the apostle John (1 John 1:7-10). Even toward the end of his life the apostle Paul testified to the same struggle (Phil. 3:12-16).

In Romans chapter seven the apostle Paul is still a sinner, no matter how much out of character that may be. However, Paul does reveal to us in this chapter his own experiences when he does sin. This is agonizing for the apostle. "For I do not do what I want--instead, I do what I hate" (v. 15 NET). He does not want to sin. In deed, the desire is there to resist temptation, but he failed. He dos not want to sin, but he is weak in the flesh (v. 16). When Paul thinks about the sin he ponders, "nothing good lives in me" (v. 18). And he reasons, "For I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my flesh, for I want to do the good, but I cannot do it" (v. 18 NET). It is very clear in this paragraph the apostle does not deny his personal responsibility, for he knows he is the one who sinned. It is not a figment of his deluded imagination. "For I do not do the good I want, but I do the very evil I do not want!" (v. 19 NET).

In the Flesh or in the Spirit

Sat, 11 Jul 2009 20:24:12 -0600

Now that we have come to know Jesus Christ personally we must live differently (2 Cor. 5:17). God is at work in us, “both to will and to work for His good pleasure,” so we must allow Him the freedom to work within us.

In Romans chapter seven the apostle Paul is sharing with us his own experience as a mature Christian. I know who the man in Romans seven is; I deal with him every day! It is the Christian’s continuing conflict with sin which he shares, and he reminds us that there is no victory in our struggles apart from the indwelling work of the Holy Spirit. The mature Christian is always in Romans 7, and apart from the daily work of the Holy Spirit in the believer he cannot live the Christian life (Rom. 8).

In the context Paul tells us the law is unable to justify us before God, and it is also unable to sanctify us. The Holy Spirit sanctifies the believer, not the keeping of the law. This wonderful chapter is a testimony of the great apostle that the mature Christian is continually struggling with sin, and is continually growing in his awareness of just how sinful he really is so that he will constantly turn to and depend upon the finished work of Jesus Christ (Romans 7:14-25). There is no end to this struggle with sin until we see Jesus face to face in heaven. It is a lifetime struggle against sin that resides in the born again person.

Sin Deceives the Sinner

Sat, 11 Jul 2009 00:08:39 -0600

The fascination of the forbidden is the greatest lure of sin.

The apostle Paul tells us in Romans 7:11 that sin deceives the sinner. The end result of course is death.

Sin deceives in such a way that it causes the sinner to completely lose the way. It gives a false impression, whether by appearance, statement or influence that everything is ok. No one ever receives the full satisfaction that the lure of sin promises.

Sin tricks us into thinking that so long as we have not sinned outwardly and visibly everything is right between us and God. The Word of God informs us differently because God discerns the thoughts, attitudes and intents of the heart (Heb. 4:12-13). Jeremiah said, "The heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked" (Jer. 17:9). Our thoughts and attitudes are radically depraved and these lead us to sinful behaviors.

Sin deceives us into thinking that there is no reason for our guilt. Get ride of the "ought," should" and "must" in your life. Our sins are really not that bad, after all everyone is doing it. Besides there are other people doing a lot worse things than we are. Sin deceives us as to the deceitfulness of sin.

Privileges of the Child of God

Thu, 9 Jul 2009 20:54:10 -0600

The apostle Paul makes it very clear, if we are saved, we are “in Christ.” If we are “in Christ,” He is in us and His life within us will inevitably turn us from sin to a life of righteousness.

God loved us and Jesus died for us so that we might be holy. “God saved us that we who believed on Christ, once lost in sin, might live a holy life.” This new union of the believer with Christ produces holiness.

There is no higher privilege in life than to bear the name of Jesus Christ and be known as a Christian. Therefore, because of this new relationship with Him we must strive constantly to live a holy life. We are sons and daughters of the King of the universe. God the Father claims us as His children because of the atoning death of Jesus Christ. There is no status greater than this on earth. How then do we dare act like the children of the devil? We are now “members of God's household” (Ephesians 2:19).

Our new status as believers in Jesus Christ brings new privileges, rights and responsibilities to our lives.

These new privilege as children of God produces a likeness of Christ in our daily life.

We now have access to God. We are “no longer foreigners and aliens, but fellow citizens with God’s people and members of God’s household” (v. 19).

Rejoice in Our Divine Substitute

Wed, 8 Jul 2009 20:09:08 -0600

How many of my sins are covered by the atoning death of Jesus Christ? Is His death on the cross sufficient to cleanse me of every sin? Can His death alone be trusted to bring us to God?

The apostle Peter wrote of Jesus who “died for sins once for all, the just for the unjust, so that He might bring us to God, having been put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit” (1 Peter 3:18).

The very thought should cause us to break forth with shouts of praise to the LORD God. When we focus our faith on Christ who suffered for our sins on the cross it should cause us to worship with all our personal being.

God can save us by grace through faith in Jesus Christ because His atoning sacrifice is sufficient to cover every sin of the one who calls upon Him for salvation.

“Christ has once suffered for sins.” There is no need for any more suffering for sin. “The wages of sin is death.” Jesus died and rose from the dead. That is the full payment. I cannot atone for my sins. Only a sinless, perfect substitute provided by God can do that for me.

Our Divine Suffering Substitute

Tue, 7 Jul 2009 19:25:44 -0600

The blood of Jesus Christ is all-sufficient to accomplish all that God purposed to achieve for our eternal salvation. The death of Christ shall never fail to fulfill the eternal purpose for which God proposed for our redemption.

“For Christ also died for sins once for all, the just for the unjust, so that He might bring us to God, having been put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit” (1 Peter 3:18).

A just God must deal with sin, and this He did in the substitutionary sacrifice of Jesus Christ for our sins. Any system of religion that fails to take this Bible doctrine seriously or that denies it is inadequate to justly deal with our sins. God saves and maintains His justice by the atoning death of Jesus Christ. How can there be full justice and mercy at the same time? Only at the cross of Jesus Christ is it possible.

Why do we dare say only in the death of Jesus Christ? It is because only Jesus Christ was fully man and fully God. He is the God-man. Because He was truly man and truly God He was qualified to suffer in the place of the sinner, as man’s substitute, “once” for our sins. He never experienced personal sin. He was the perfect man, and the only one who could ever deal with the penalty of sin on behalf of anyone else. Jesus was the Lamb of God “without spot or blemish.” “He was without sin.” Christ was “the seed of the woman,” and therefore did not fall in Adam. Christ did not receive any of the imputed sin which fallen men received from Adam in his fall. At every point of His life He was sinless, pure, holy, spotless, and perfectly acceptable unto God.

Therefore, when Jesus died He was not paying a death penalty for any sins He might have committed. The sufferings of Jesus were not necessary for Himself. He had no personal need to suffer and die because of sin.

Until Death Do Us Part

Mon, 6 Jul 2009 21:38:44 -0600

The Apostle Paul tells about a lovely woman who found herself married to a demanding perfectionist. He laid the law down to her day after day. He made insistent demands on her behavior. There was no escaping his tyrannical guilt trips. No matter how hard she tired nothing she ever did was good enough to please him. It was impossible to live up to his standards of behavior and conduct. No matter how hard she tried, she was a failure.

Because of his insistent attitudes, her feelings altered between fear of his exacting demands and judgment to a sense of complete failure, guilt, resentment and hostility. Her situation was hopeless. He was perfect and she was just the opposite. Living with him was impossible.

How long could she go on in this situation? Secretly she wished he were dead. Nevertheless, he was in perfect health and strict moralist. He wasn't going to go away. He wasn't going to die, and for him divorce was out of the picture.

Then would you know it, she met another man. This man was everything she ever wanted. Yes, he was perfect, yet it was balanced with love. There was grace about him. Her new suitor was everything she ever wanted. She found it impossible to resist his intense love for her. Moreover, she desired a mature intimate love relationship with him!

Wages of Sin and God's Gift

Sun, 5 Jul 2009 22:50:15 -0600

The Gospel of Jesus Christ is revolutionary. It changes people's lives for the good, and it delivers them from the wrath of God.

We were slaves to sin. None of us was born in righteousness. We were born slaves in a miserable condition in which we could never deliver ourselves.

The individual who has put his trust in Christ has died to sin, and been made alive to God in Christ (Rom. 6:1-23).

One of the greatest summaries of the good news in Jesus Christ is found in Romans 6:23. “For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”

C. H. Spurgeon said of this verse, “It is a Christian proverb, a golden sentence, a divine statement of truth worthy to be written across the sky.”

If we got the payment we deserved we would get death; but God out of His grace has given us eternal life.

Holiness made Practical

Sat, 4 Jul 2009 22:59:42 -0600

Holiness. The word frightens most people. Even Christians fear the word. Perhaps that is because religious people have abused the word.

Holiness is mandatory in the life of a true Christian. I am not pretending that we can be perfect in this lifetime or reach a point in our lives where we will no longer sin (Phil. 3:12-14). The Bible does not teach sinless perfection in this life time (1 John 1:8-10; 2:1-2). Moreover, the Bible clearly teaches that we must walk in the Holy Spirit (Gal. 4:6-7; 5:16-26). It is the work of the Spirit to conform us to the image and likeness of Jesus Christ. The third person of the Godhead's very name is “Holy.”

God's goal in saving us is to make us holy unto the Lord. God saves us so that we who were dead in trespasses and sins might live a holy life. W. E. Vine says hagios, “holy” “signifies ( a ) separation to God, 1 Cor. 1:30; 2 Thess. 2:13; 1 Pet. 1:2; ( b ) the resultant state, the conduct befitting those so separated, 1 Thess. 4:3, 4, 7. . . Sanctification is thus the state predetermined by God for believers, into which in grace He calls them, and in which they begin their Christian course and so pursue it. . . character is in view, perfect in the case of the Lord Jesus, growing toward perfection in the case of the Christian. Here the exercise of love is declared to be the means God uses to develop likeness to Christ in His children.”

When we put our trust in Christ for salvation we were set apart to God by the Holy Spirit. Relationships changed in that we were taken out of the First Adam's family with its sin and condemnation to death, and placed in the family of the Last Adam with His righteousness and eternal life.

Whose Slave are You?

Thu, 2 Jul 2009 17:42:01 -0600

Free to serve God sounds like a paradox.

Only God is totally free. There is no such thing as absolute freedom for anyone other than God. No human being is absolutely free to do anything and everything he may want to do. Every individual is limited by or enslaved by someone or something. No one is autonomous.

We are either slaves in bondage to sin or servants of Jesus Christ. However, to be a slave of Jesus Christ is to enjoy true freedom.

This is why the apostle Paul argues in Romans 6:15-18 that it is impossible for true Christians to continue in sin (6:1, 15). We have been set free from the power and bondage of sin to become the instruments of righteousness. “We are no longer slaves to sin” (vv. 6-7).

Salvation by grace does not lead to a life of sin (6:1-2). It does exactly the opposite. Our identification with Christ gives us the goal to live a life that will please Him and glorify His life. We are saved by grace that we “might walk in newness of life” (v. 4). The implication of the verb is that we will “walk about, meaning our habitual character will be pleasing to God. We will live with Him in our daily life (v. 8). The life of grace leads to righteousness (6:11-14).

Since salvation by grace does not lead to sin, but freedom to live in the power of Christ, Paul goes on to argue that the Law as a means to righteousness is not possible. Freedom from the Law does not lead to sin either. The Christian who is saved by grace has been freed from the Law.

You Can Count on Me

Wed, 1 Jul 2009 22:47:20 -0600

Everything in the Christian life depends upon what Christ has done for us on the cross, and what He continues to do in and through us as He lives His life in us. Not only has He died for us, but also through a mystical union of the believer with Him we are “in Christ,” and He is “in you.”

The most important principle of sanctification is counting as true what God Himself has already done for us. We are to count as true what is, according to God's Word, true.

The key to our progressive sanctification is in knowing that God has taken us out of Adam and has joined us to Jesus Christ. We are no longer subject to the reign of sin and death, but are now transferred to the kingdom of God.

The apostle Paul says our responsibility is to “consider [reckon] yourselves to be dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus” (Romans 6:11). He uses an accounting term in the imperative tense. Be constantly counting upon the fact that you are dead to sin, but also alive to God in Christ Jesus.

The word translated "reckon" or "consider" is a key word in the apostle Paul's teaching on sanctification. He calls upon us to "count, reckon, impute" on certain facts. It is an accounting word that means to take into account, to calculate, to estimate. We are to impute or "to put to one's account" certain facts. The idea "to reckon" means "to put to one's account." It simply means to believe that what God says in His Word is really true in your life.

Paul is admonishing the believer in Christ to recognize something that is already an accomplished fact. Consider, and keep constantly before you, this truth about who you are in Christ. We are commanded to reckon as facts who we are in our relationship with Christ.

Sin in the Life of the Christian

Tue, 30 Jun 2009 22:12:44 -0600

Proof that a person knows Christ as his Savior is not found in sinless perfection. The Bible does, however demand a changed life as evidence that a person has received new spiritual life from God.

“Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come” (2 Cor. 5:17).

There is the constant tension between the lust of the flesh and the desire to be under the control of the Holy Spirit (Galatians 5:16-17). From the moment we are saved by grace through faith we are made a new creation in Christ and indwelt by the Holy Spirit. The old nature is not eradicated when we believe on Christ, but we are empowered by the Holy Spirit to overcome sin and grow in Christ-likeness (3:26-29; 4:6; 5:22-26; 6:14).

The atoning work of Christ on the cross is entirely sufficient to save us from our sin and keep us saved (Rom. 8:31-39). All of our sins are under the blood of Jesus Christ (Jn. 1:29; I Jn. 1:6-9).

The fact is we are sinners who are saved by the grace of God. He has declared the believing sinner just in His sight based on the death of Jesus for our sins (Rom. 1:16-17; 3:20-30). In the death of Christ something was done in regard to every sin we have committed and will ever commit. God has dealt effectively and efficiently with every sin before they are committed (Rom. 5:6-11). That is the only means of salvation for any sinner. Jesus takes away the sin of the world. He is the propitiation of our sin (1 Jn. 2:2). In the death of Jesus God has forever swept away the condemnation of our sins. “Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” “Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have obtained our introduction by faith into this grace in which we stand; and we exult in hope of the glory of God” (Rom. 8:1; 5:1-2).

All Sufficient Sacrifice of Jesus Christ

Mon, 29 Jun 2009 18:50:24 -0600

The very same all-sufficient sacrifice of Jesus Christ that enabled God to save us is sufficient to keep us saved for all eternity.

Does sin have the power to set at naught the saving power of God? Is it possible for the power of sin to be more powerful than the blood of Jesus, the Lamb of God?

The LORD God has effectively dealt with every sin that has ever been committed (Heb. 9:11-12; 10:10-14). The Son of God is “the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world” (John 1:29). He was not just any person dying on a cross, but the sinless Son of God who was giving Himself as a substitutionary sacrifice for all who would call upon His name.

When Jesus died on the cross, all of our sins were imputed to Him. They were charged to His account, like putting money in the bank. God treated Christ as though He had actually committed those sins (2 Cor. 5:21; 1 Jn. 3:5; Rom. 4:25; 1 Pet. 2:22, 24).

The result of the death of Christ was that all those sins have been paid for in full and God no longer holds them against us, because we have trusted Christ as our Savior. That is not all; the demands of God’s holy law have been fully met by Christ in His death once for all.

Those who believe will never have their sins imputed against them again (Ps. 32:1-2; Rom. 4:1-8). As far as their records are concerned, they share the perfect righteousness of Jesus Christ.

The Day I Died

Sun, 28 Jun 2009 23:36:59 -0600

God takes sin seriously. Sin is a terrible thing in the Christian's life. That is why God did not overlook sin, but dealt with it in one complete stroke of judgment by sending Christ to die for us on the cross.

Now that we have been saved by grace can we live any way we so please? Can we sin it up now that our fire insurance has been paid in full?

The apostle Paul responded to that arrogant attitude saying, “How shall we who died to sin still live in it?” (Romans 6:2).

We died to sin. “Died” is in aorist past tense, indicating a once for all death in a judicial sense. We legally died (vv. 2, 6, 7, 8, 10, 13, 18). It refers to a single action that has taken place and has been completed in the past.

The idea of our death to sin is basic in this great chapter, and is essential to the sanctification of all believers.

“We died to sin.” When did you die?

The apostle Paul does not say we are going to die to sin, or we are presently dying to sin. He does not say we are continually to die to sin. The apostle has in mind a completed past action.

We “have died” to sin is already true of us if we have entered into a vital union with Christ. Charles Hodge notes, “it refers to a specific act in our past history.”

Unlimited Super Abounding Grace of God

Sat, 27 Jun 2009 21:34:10 -0600

Can we lose our salvation by sinning? Does God withhold His grace because of sin? Do we forfeit grace when we sin? Is it reduced because of our inability to keep from sinning?

Those are serious questions if we truly believe that God saves us by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone.

“The Law came in so that the transgression would increase; but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more” (Romans 5:20). “Where sin thus multiplied, grace immediately exceeded it” (NEB). “Though sin is shown to be wide and deep, thank God His grace is wider and deeper still” (Phillips). The flood of grace surpassed the flood of sin. No matter how great human sin becomes, God's grace overflows beyond it and abundantly exceeds it.

The apostle Paul pictures sin overflowing and reaching a high water mark as it sweeps away everything before it, but God in grace completely floods our lives with mercy and forgiveness because of the atoning sacrifice of Christ. Where the waters of sin multiplied, grace overflowed. Grace is never withheld because of sin. It overcomes the effects of sin and reigns victoriously.

Just when we think we are hopelessly overwhelmed by sin, the grace of God proves itself to be far greater.

The superabounding grace of God is never withheld or reduced because of sin. Sin has never been demonstrated to be stronger than God's grace. It is just the opposite. Light always penetrates and overcomes darkness. The believer has an unlimited supply of grace always available to him.

Have You Fallen from Grace?

Fri, 26 Jun 2009 18:17:56 -0600

“Grace is neither withheld nor reduced because of sin.”

I have been asked many times if a born again believer can fall from the grace of God since Galatians 5:4 says, “you have fallen from grace.”

The context of that statement is Jewish teachers who emphasized that a person had to keep the Law of Moses to be saved had confuse the Christians in the church at Galatia. They were insisting that all non-Jews must be circumcised and become Jews first. The apostle Paul had taught them clearly that salvation is by grace through faith in Christ (Gal. 1:10; 2:16-21; 3:1-14, 22-29; 5:5-6). Paul wrote his letter to the church admonishing the believers to stand firm against the bondage of legalism. The immediate context states Paul’s conviction clearly, “Behold I, Paul, say to you that if you receive circumcision, Christ will be of no benefit to you. And I testify again to every man who receives circumcision, that he is under obligation to keep the whole Law. You have been severed from Christ, you who are seeking to be justified by law; you have fallen from grace” (Galatians 5:2-4).

Paul is not saying, “You have lost your salvation.” What happens when you fall from grace? You fall into law observance. You become legalists. A. T. Robertson, writes, "'You left the sphere of grace in Christ and took your stand in the sphere of law’ as your hope of salvation. Paul does not mince words and carries the logic to the end of the course. He is not, of course, speaking of occasional sins, but he has in mind a far more serious matter, that of substituting law for Christ as the agent in salvation.”

Salvation by Grace Alone

Thu, 25 Jun 2009 18:26:17 -0600

Saved by grace. Those are the most beautiful words to a sinner's ears.

Grace is the sweet sovereign favor shown to someone who does not deserve any favor, but the exactly the very opposite.

It is in grace that God has worked to deliver us from eternal punishment and give us His very best in life.

God’s Sovereign Choice in Grace teaches us that God is sovereign in His election of sinful man. It demonstrates that man is a depraved sinner and there is nothing in man to merit or earn a right relationship with God.

God does not look ahead in time, see some good in us, and on that basis decide to save us. He does not look ahead in time and see that one day we will choose to believe on Christ and therefore elect to save us. What God sees is nothing but wickedness, sin, unbelief. “The Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great on the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually” (Genesis 6:5). Grace does not depend on anything in man because it is all of God’s choosing. The source of our salvation is the grace of God alone (Eph. 2:8-10).

Pilate before the King of Kings

Thu, 25 Jun 2009 00:13:03 -0600

The King of kings was on a cross.

Let that statement sink in. The King of kings was hanging on a cross.

The troubling question for the Roman governor Pilate was, “Are You the King of the Jews?” (Matthew 27:11).

A harmony of the Gospels shows that Pilate tried four times to set Jesus free. First, he sent Jesus to Herod when he realized Jesus was from Galilee and under his political jurisdiction (Lk. 22.6-12). Second, Pilate offered to punish Jesus without putting Him to death (Lk. 23:16, 22). Third, he desperately asked the people to choose Barabbas, the insurrectionist and revolutionary in the place of Jesus (Matt. 27:20-26; Mk. 15:6-15; Jn. 18:38-40), and finally, he tried to stir the crowd's pity by reducing Jesus to a bloody pulp by scourging Him (Jn. 19:1-5).

“Do you want me to release to you the King of the Jews?” (Jn. 18:39-40).

“What shall I do, then, with Jesus who is called the Christ?” asked Pilate.

“Crucify Him! Crucify Him!” they shouted.

Peter in Heaven and Judas in Hell

Tue, 23 Jun 2009 23:22:46 -0600

Both Peter and Judas committed the same sin. They both denied their Lord and Master.

But why did one go to heaven, and one go to hell?

The Gospel writer Matthew is careful to compare and contrast the fall of Peter and Judas. Both men failed badly. The fall of Peter was temporary, while the fall of Judas was permanent. One is in heaven, and the other is in hell.

Both men confessed their sin and failure, but only one repented and put his faith in Christ.

Somewhere in Judas’ life, he took an evil turn that eventually resulted in rejection of Jesus Christ as His Lord and Savior and eventual suicide. One bad attitude toward Jesus led to another, and a pattern of rejection and bitterness must have led to the ultimate rejection of Jesus.

In fact, it was prophesied in the Old Testament that a person close to Jesus would lift up his heel against Him (Psa. 41:9; Jn. 13:18; Acts 1:16). He was appointed to this end from the beginning (Jn. 17:12).

Are You the Christ, the Son of God?

Mon, 22 Jun 2009 22:58:44 -0600

At the Jewish trial of Jesus, the high priest Caiaphas found himself in a dilemma. He was losing his case before the Roman governor Pilate. The evidence did not add up. The false witnesses did not agree with one another (Mark 14:59; Matt. 26:59-62).

The star witness did not show. According to Jewish law, Judas who arranged for the arrest of the offender had to be the person to make the formal legal accusation. Because Judas realized he had betrayed innocent blood he did not arrive at the hastily arranged trials and the Sanhedrine lost valuable time trying to come up with witnesses to sustain their accusations. By not being at the trial Judas was actually testifying the opposite that Jesus was innocent.

Pilate, knowing Jesus was innocent tried to set Him free.

Jesus had remained silent before His accusers, and this astonished Pilate, and frustrated the high priest.

Suddenly in desperation Caiaphas turned on Jesus and demanded, “I charge You under oath by the living God that You tell us whether You are the Christ, the Son of God” (Matthew 26:63).

The form of the question put to Jesus was brilliant. If Caiaphas had asked if Jesus were the Messiah, it would not have been a capital offense.

The Attitude of God toward the Saved

Sun, 21 Jun 2009 19:55:21 -0600

Was the atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ when He died on the cross all-sufficient for God to save the sinner? Was His sacrifice sufficient for God to justly keep the sinner saved? Is God lacking in wisdom and power to fulfill His eternal purpose for the saved sinner?

Ultimately the question of eternal security is reduced to a question of the all-sufficiency of the atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ when He died on the cross.

If the person who has received eternal life by believing on Christ is ultimately lost then we must conclude that God is impotent and the sacrifice of Christ is not sufficient to save the depraved sinner. One would have to conclude that the Sovereign LORD God would have to submit to a power greater than Himself that He has created.

The eternal purpose of God for the sinner is that we be “conformed to the image of His Son” (Rom. 8:29; 1 Cor. 15:49; Phil. 3:20-21; Col. 3:10; 1 Jn. 3:2). Could our great God and Savior be so careless as to what becomes of the person He has so loved and sent His Son to die for on the cross?

How can a Christian be Lost Again?

Sun, 21 Jun 2009 19:54:15 -0600

Can a person once saved ever be lost again?

Our question relates only to the person who is saved in the true Biblical sense.

Eternal life is the gift of God. If one has it, he has it for eternity.

The true child of God has received eternal life and is already a citizen of heaven. From the moment he is saved, he is indwelt by the Holy Spirit and by Christ. He has been regenerated and sealed by the Spirit. He is a new creature by the recreative power of God.

At the heart of the question is the eternal purpose of God. In the eternal past the believer was in the thought and purpose of God. The born again believer was “chosen in Him before the foundation of the earth.” God the Father elects the believer. He is chosen in Christ (Eph. 1:4).

You in Me, and I in You

Fri, 19 Jun 2009 19:30:04 -0600

Jesus said to His disciples, “After a little while the world will no longer see Me, but you will see Me; because I live, you will live also. In that day you will know that I am in My Father, and you in Me, and I in you” (John 14:19-20).

Jesus was speaking of His resurrection and the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost (Acts 1-3). God the Father sent the Spirit so that the members of the body would be joined to their Head in a living union. The indwelling Holy Spirit today unites believers to Christ.

The greatest possible incentive to live the Christian life is to realize that you have a perfect standing with God in Christ Jesus. We no longer strive vainly to make ourselves acceptable to God. We have been “made acceptable to God by Jesus Christ.” We are already “accepted in the Beloved” because of His death for us on the cross. We are now made the righteousness of God in Christ, and that right relationship with God will abide without change throughout eternity. Relying upon that great Biblical truth gives peace that is beyond all comprehension.

Jesus said, “You in Me, and I in you.” The believer is “in Christ.” The equivalent expression in the letters of the apostle Paul is “in Him.” It is the picture of an organic union with Christ; formed through the power of God the moment a person puts his faith in Christ for salvation. It is the work of the Holy Spirit when we are born spiritually. The Holy Spirit baptizes the believer into the body of Christ.

What must I do to be Saved?

Thu, 18 Jun 2009 22:11:44 -0600

Salvation is the work of God alone. It is comes from Him as a free gift. Salvation is of God, and man’s responsibility is only to receive it freely as a gift from His hand.

The salvation of man is the display of the power of God for His glory alone. No part of our salvation is dependent even in the slightest degree on human effort.

Only God can perform what He requires of man to be saved. We are blind to spiritual truths (2 Cor. 4:3-4). He requires a new creation because man is dead in trespasses and sins (Eph. 2:1-2). God requires a spiritual birth, which only He can perform (Jn. 3:3). We are powerless to bring about such a new creation (2 Cor. 5:17).

Moreover, because we are sinners, we cannot produce in our sinful nature a righteousness that is pleasing to God (Rom. 3:9-20). We cannot merit by our virtue a right relationship with God. The salvation God demands and provides is wrought for sinful man wholly apart from man’s efforts.

Salvation is provided only through the person and work of Jesus Christ (Acts 4:12). We cannot resolve our sin problem, but Jesus Christ went to the cross and died for our sins (Rom. 5:6, 8; 2 Cor. 5:21).

Why Did Jesus Die?

Wed, 17 Jun 2009 22:36:55 -0600

It is an age-old question, but perhaps more important now than ever before.

The heart of the apostle Paul can be expressed with the words: “God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world.” Jesus Christ was the “Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world.” “He bore our sins in His body on the tree.” “He was made sin for us.” “Jehovah has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.” “He is the propitiation for our sins.” “He tasted death for every man.”

All of these statements from the Scriptures describe the substitutionary nature of the death of Jesus Christ. Because of His death, the believing sinner is placed in God's estimation beyond his own execution, and the ground of condemnation is forever past (John 3:17-21). God sees us as having been punished for our sins in Christ's death. God removed through the death of Jesus every moral and spiritual hindrance to His righteousness in the believing sinner. Because of the atoning death of Christ, God can now exercise His love without reservation. Nothing now stands in the way to hinder it. God in grace reaches down to the sinner to save him for all eternity.

But not only does He forgive the guilty sinner, He places the sinner in eternal glory in the very image of His Son, Jesus Christ. That is the greatest thing God can possibly do in and for the believing sinner. “Christ in you, the hope of glory” (Col. 1:17). “After a little while the world will no longer see Me, but you will see Me; because I live, you will live also. In that day you will know that I am in My Father, and you in Me, and I in you” (John 14:19-20).

God's Problem

Wed, 17 Jun 2009 22:34:16 -0600

The greatest message God has ever delivered to sinful man is found in the cross of Jesus Christ. It is the declaration of the righteousness of God, and a demonstration that God is both “just and the justifier of him that believes in Jesus” (Romans 3:26).

The proof of the steadfast righteousness of God was made in the cross of Jesus Christ. God had declared that He is righteous and holy (Isa. 6:3). He cannot and will not tolerate sin in His presence (Ezek. 18:4, 17-18, 20, 30, 32).

The greatest divine problem is how can God be just and at the same time love a sinner and allow him into His holy presence? The cross reveals God's holiness, righteousness and hatred of sin. It also demonstrates the depth of His love and integrity.

Sin must always be treated as sin, and the wages of sin is always death (Ezek. 18:4; Rom. 3:23; 6:23). It cannot be treated otherwise. So how can God save the sinner and remain righteous? God cannot change His eternal attribute of righteousness.

God taught His people in the Old Testament to anticipate a perfect and sufficient sacrifice for sin. The blood of bulls and goats symbolized the blood that would one day be shed by the perfect “Lamb of God” who would lift up and take away our sins and the sins of the whole world. The blood of animals could never take away sin, but only point to the greater “Lamb of God.”

Infinite Love of God

Tue, 16 Jun 2009 22:09:29 -0600

The Lord God has chosen to fully reveal Himself through His Son, Jesus Christ. He has done it in such a way that a finite mind might grasp the essential truth of God's infinite being (Rom. 1:19-20).

“No one has seen God at any time; the only begotten God who is in the bosom of the Father, He has explained Him” (John 1:18). We have come to know God's love “because He laid down His life for us” (1 John 3:16). “By this the love of God was manifested in us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world so that we might live through Him. In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins” (1 John 4:9, 10). “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us” (Rom. 5:8).

God declared His love in the cross of Jesus Christ, and we need never question it ever again. Jesus Christ “loved me and gave Himself for me.” We perceive and understand the love of God because Jesus laid down His life for us.

In eternity we will have “a ceaseless unfolding of that fathomless expression of boundless love,” says Lewis Chafer. “For God so loved the world that He gave . . .” The ultimate picture of the love of God is the cross of Jesus.

Why such a demonstration of love? “God was in Christ reconciling the world unto Himself” (2 Cor. 5:19). Every righteous judgment of God against sin was removed by Christ.

The Law and the Gospel

Fri, 29 May 2009 14:30:04 -0600

The highest motivation for living the Christian life is the result of God’s sacrificial love for us. If we love Him we will keep His commandments (Jn. 14:15). We want to please Him because He reached down in His grace and mercy to save us while we were sinners condemned by God’s just Law. Therefore, we want to love and please Him wholeheartedly.

Moreover, since we have been spiritually regenerated or born again by the Holy Spirit, we are now a changed people. You cannot be justified without out this spiritual birth taking place at the same time. The person who is saved by the grace of God will demonstrate it by a determination to pursue personal righteousness in his daily life. We will do good works because that is what we are destined to do (Eph. 1:4; 2:10).

The Law and the Gospel

Thu, 28 May 2009 17:55:27 -0600

The gospel of grace does not nullify God’s Law; it fulfills it. In fact, it is the only way the Law of God could possibly be fulfilled.

“What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin so that grace may increase? . . . . It was for freedom that Christ set us free; therefore keep standing firm and do not be subject again to a yoke of slavery. . . . For you were called to freedom, brethren; only do not turn your freedom into an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another” (Romans 6:1; Galatians 5:1, 13).

The highest motivation for living the Christian life is the result of God’s sacrificial love for us. If we love Him we will keep His commandments (Jn. 14:15).

Faith and the Bible

Tue, 26 May 2009 17:58:45 -0600

The Bible is God’s perfectly inspired word. The written Word testifies to God’s self-revelation in His incarnate Son, Jesus Christ. All Scripture, both Old and New Testament, is a clear testimony to Jesus Christ. The Bible is not just a record of revelation of God, but it is revelation itself, and it is an infallible witness of God to men.

"The grass withers, the flower fades, But the word of our God stands forever" (Isa. 40:8). There is nothing like the abiding Word of God.

This is why it is so important for us to examine God’s Word and seek to understand it and its authority in the believer’s life. Our faith is defined by God's Word, and there cannot be any true saving faith without the Word of God.

"But I Don’t Have Enough Faith"

Mon, 25 May 2009 18:55:02 -0600

I often hear people say, “I am afraid I don’t know if I have enough faith.” How much faith do you need in order to be saved?

The Bible does not teach that you are justified because of your faith. Faith is not works.

Faith is nothing more than the instrument to receive our salvation. Nowhere in Scripture will you find that we are justified on account of our faith. The Scripture says that we are justified by faith or through faith. Faith is nothing but the the channel by which this righteousness of God in Christ becomes ours. It is not our faith that saves us.

The Redeeming Blood of Jesus

Sun, 24 May 2009 21:06:40 -0600

The most precious title of Christ is Redeemer.

It helps us to understand what it cost Him to get this salvation for us. It is the name specifically of the Christ of the cross. He is Christ our Redeemer.

Whenever we say "redeemer," the cross is flashed before our eyes and our hearts are filled with loving remembrance not only that Christ has given us salvation but the mighty price He paid for it.

During the first century slaves could be purchased out of the market place by payment of a price. It was also necessary to pay a price to free a prisoner.

Righteousness apart from the Law

Sat, 23 May 2009 20:36:21 -0600

Because we are saved by grace alone, through faith alone in Jesus Christ alone, God gets all the glory.

Salvation is a free gift because it is a receiving of God’s righteousness apart from any human doing. Since we are saved by grace as a gift of God, all the glory goes to God alone. There will be no human praise in heaven.

Christianity is a unique religion because it is not man made. It is the revelation of God.

“But now apart from the Law the righteousness of God has been manifested, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, even the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all those who believe” (Romans 3:21-22). The reason God does it that way is because it is impossible for sinners to save themselves, “for there is no distinction, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus” (vv. 23-24).

Salvation by Faith in Christ

Fri, 22 May 2009 19:41:45 -0600

What is the most important thing you have ever learned?

The issues of eternity hang on the great truth that salvation is received by grace alone, through faith alone in the saving work of Jesus Christ alone. God has provided His own righteousness for sinful men and women. The righteousness of God is all that God demands and approves. This righteousness of God is ultimately found in Christ alone because Christ met and fulfilled in our place every requirement of the Law. Christ has become our righteousness, and the righteousness of all who believe on Him.

The righteousness of God has been revealed in the person and work of Jesus Christ, and God has made it available to us sinners. The righteousness that we need comes from God, and it is accounted to us by placing our faith in Jesus Christ.

"Why Should I Let You into My Heaven?"

Thu, 21 May 2009 22:38:59 -0600

Let's suppose for a moment that you died today and stood before the Lord God and He asked you, “Why should I let you into My heaven?” What would you say? What do you think you would say?

That is one of the most important questions you can ask a person regarding their salvation. James Kennedy got the idea from Donald Grey Barnhouse who asked the same questions in a slightly different wording. “What right do you have to come into God's heaven? What would be your answer?”

I like those questions because they force us to clarify our thoughts about salvation.

One thing is sure, one day you will die. You will be suddenly thrust into the face of God and He will ask the question, “Why should I let you come into My heaven?” “What right do you have to enter into the holy of holies?”

Your reply could be, “I am a religious person. I am trying to live a Christian life the best I can. I give to the poor, and try to help people in need. I an not a notorious sinner. I read religious books, my Bible, and I try to love people. I am serving God the best I can.” But no one will be justified before God on the basis of his good religious works. “The heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked” (Jer. 17:9). The apostle Paul said wrote, “For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast” (Ephesians 2:8-9).

Justified Freely by God's Grace

Wed, 20 May 2009 20:42:40 -0600

Grace, how sweet the sound to our sinful hearts!

The Bible teaches that we are saved by the free sovereign grace of God in Jesus Christ. Neither will the grace of God ever be withheld, nor will it be lessened because of anything we have done, or will do.

The sweetest word in the English vocabulary is grace. It is a beautiful word containing the heart and soul of Christianity. It means the unmerited favor or kindness shown to people who are utterly undeserving. It is a free gift to all who deserve the exact opposite. To the hopeless and helpless God comes in grace to meet our need.

The Uniquely Unrepeatable Jesus Christ

Tue, 19 May 2009 21:31:44 -0600

Jesus is God.

Therefore, he is uniquely unrepeatable.

We often say that a person is unique; there is no one in the world like so and so. There will never be another person like that person because of their talents, personality, creativity, etc. We say when God made so and so he threw away the mold.

But Jesus Christ is uniquely different from any other person who has ever lived.

No one else can know God as God. "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God" (John 1:1-2).

When Jesus spoke, God spoke (Heb. 1:1-3).

Clothed with Fig Leaves or Righteousness?

Mon, 18 May 2009 19:40:48 -0600

There are no secrets with God. Adam and Eve learned that the hard way. The apostle Paul reminds us, “God will judge the secrets of men through Christ Jesus” (Rom. 2:16). The writer of Hebrews says, “And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are open and laid bare to the eyes of Him with whom we have to do” (Heb. 4:13).

God in His infinite wisdom and grace gave Adam and Eve a grand opportunity to have dominion over all of His creation (Genesis 2:15). And in love He “commanded the man, saying, ‘From any tree of the garden you may eat freely, but from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day you eat from it you shall surely die” (vv. 16-17).

We are all too familiar with the tragic events that followed. The God who sees and knows all things visited the Garden of Eden shortly after Adam and Eve sinned by eating of the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. “They heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden. Then the Lord God called to the man, and said to him, 'Where are you?' He said, 'I heard the sound of You in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid myself'” (Genesis 3:8-10).

How Shall We Escape?

Sun, 17 May 2009 23:39:00 -0600

How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation? (Hebrews 2:3)

This question floods the mind with other important questions. Who is being referred to by the pronoun we? How shall we escape what? What is in view in the expression so great salvation? What does it mean to neglect this great salvation?

The so great salvation that is proclaimed is the person and work of Jesus Christ. The great salvation is about the great Savior (Lk. 2:30; Jn. 4:22, 42; 14:6; Acts 4:12). Salvation is synonymous with the Savior. The context is speaking of the preaching of Jesus who is greater than the prophets and the angels who spoke with authority before His incarnation. God is speaking to us in His Son. Because He is the greater witness of the Father we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard (Heb. 2:11). Since the word spoken through angels proved unalterable, and every transgression and disobedience received a just recompense, how shall we escape if we neglect so great a salvation? (vv. 2-3a). Moreover, after the Lord spoke it was confirmed by those who heard it, and by God bearing witnesses with them, both by signs and wonders and by various miracles and by gifts of the Holy Spirit according to His own will (v. 4).

Jesus Christ revealed God’s great plan of salvation. In Christ we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace which He lavished upon us (Eph. 1:7-8; cf. 2 Cor. 5:21; Rom. 3:21-26; 5:6-8; 10:9-10; Eph. 2:8-9).

Constant, Conscious Communion with Christ

Sat, 16 May 2009 21:36:20 -0600

Christians are to live in constant, conscious communion with Christ. Yes, Jesus Christ literally lives within you if you have put your faith in Him as your personal Savior.

The heart of Christian living is found in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. The apostle Paul wrote, “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me” (Galatians 2:20).

Christ lives in you (Col. 1:27). That is a fact that is true of every believer.

Jesus prayed for you and me when He prayed, “That all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in Me and I am in You. May they also be in us that the world may believe that You have sent Me. I have given them the glory that You gave me, that they may be one as we are one: I in them and You in Me” (John 17:20-23).

“I in them and You in Me.” Because Jesus Christ lives in you, His strength works in and through you to bring glory to Him. Learn to trust Him moment by moment living in you.

The Son of God

Fri, 15 May 2009 20:16:02 -0600

Jesus Christ is God. He is one with the Father, and is the partaker of the Father’s own nature and being.

This is one of the deepest and most precious truths for nourishing the inner life of the believer.

Andrew Murray wrote, “Christ is God: The soul worships Him as the Almighty One, able to do a divine work in the power of divine omnipotence. Christ is God: even as God works in all nature from within, and in secret, so the soul trusts Christ as the everywhere present and the Indwelling One, doing His saving working in the hidden depths of its being. Christ is God: in Him we come into living contact with the person and life of God Himself . . . Christ is God.” (The Holiest of All, p. 55-56).

Backsliding

Thu, 14 May 2009 21:52:58 -0600

Have you ever temporarily lapsed into unbelief and sin after you became a Christian? The condition of backsliding results from spiritual apathy or disregard for the truth of God's Word. It results in a departure from a winsome confession of faith and Biblical ethical standards. Actions are affected by our attitudes toward God and His Word.

Jesus said, “No one, after putting his hand to the plow and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God” (Luke 9:62).

Backsliding is different from apostasy, which spurns the grace of God by renouncing the atoning work of Jesus Christ on the cross (Heb. 6:4-6; 10:26-31). When a person renounces his faith in Christ that person was never a true child of God, and never was among the elect of God (John 3:18-21, 36; 5:24-29).

On the other hand, the elect individual, regenerated by the Holy Spirit, justified by grace through faith in Jesus Christ, and redeemed by God has been delivered once-for-all from the bondage of sin. Backsliding is not a “fall from grace” in the sense that a Christian once saved by grace can lose his eternal life in Christ. He is God's child forever, and He has placed His life in the believing sinner.

Crucified with Christ

Wed, 13 May 2009 22:02:26 -0600

When Christ died on the cross the work of salvation was completed and Christ provided access for all believers into God’s holy presence. Therefore, salvation is by grace alone, through faith alone in Christ alone.

God is a real person and our relationship with Him can be cultivated as with any other relationship. We have been saved to live in fellowship with Him. We can enjoy the riches of the Christian life only as we grow in intimacy with Christ. The presence of our Lord in our lives brings this intimacy and these riches in glory with Him.

If there is no peace, joy, longsuffering, patience, live, etc., it may well be that we are out of fellowship with Him, or that we have not come into a living relationship with Him. We must spend time in His presence everyday.

Come with Boldness for Grace and Mercy

Tue, 12 May 2009 23:40:36 -0600

The main argument of the Epistle of Hebrews is that “we have a great High Priest” (Heb. 4:14; 1:3; 2:17f; 3:1; 4:14-12:3). Jesus has passed through the upper heavens to the throne of God (1:3). The writer of Hebrews makes it clear that Aaron was a “high priest,” but Jesus Christ is “the great High Priest.” No Old Testament priest could ever assume that awesome title.

Jesus is great because He is both God and man. He is “Jesus, the Son of God.” He is the Savior who became flesh, and He is “the Son of God.” Jesus affirmed His humanity and His deity. As a great High Priest Jesus has “passed through the heavens” and ascended to the Father. He is enthroned. It is His “throne of grace” to which we go as believers.

On the Day of Atonement the high priest of Israel would go behind the veil and sprinkle blood on the “mercy seat” (Lev. 16). However, every believer in Jesus Christ is encouraged to “come boldly unto the throne of grace” where He ministers grace and mercy. We are invited to go to our High Priest at any time, in any circumstance, indeed daily, and find help in our need. There is no trial too great, or temptation too strong that our great High Priest cannot give us His grace and strength.

“Let us draw near” to our great High Priest “that we may receive mercy.” Where do you turn when you have a sense of sin and guilt and unworthiness? When we go to Jesus we receive mercy. Jesus did not give us what we deserve, but what we do not deserve. At the throne we experience and learn that God pardons, loves and accepts us in His grace.

Getting Near to God

Mon, 11 May 2009 18:16:54 -0600

The essential work of our great High priest is to bring us near to God. The Lord Jesus Christ gives us perfect confidence in drawing near to our heavenly Father. He has opened up and keeps open for us the blessed access into God’s presence and fellowship. Therefore, the Kingdom of God is a reality in the heart of every believer.

The measure of nearness to God is a good indication of our knowledge and intimacy of Jesus Christ. This confidence is what the Holy Spirit works in us as the inward participation in Christ’s entrance into the Father’s presence. He takes us by the hand and brings us into the presence of the Father (Eph. 2:18).

Our great High Priest has entered into heaven and there intercedes on our behalf. He understands us and our deepest needs because "we do not have a high priest incapable of sympathizing with our weaknesses, but one who has been tempted in every way just as we are, yet without sin” (Hebrews 4:15 NET).

The Infinite Glory of Jesus Christ

Sun, 10 May 2009 23:49:50 -0600

Our greatest need is to come to know the Lord Jesus Christ and dwell in his holy presence.

In the presence of the Son of God all the glories of the old covenant fade into utter insignificance. The superiority of Christianity over Judaism and all other religions is the super abounding excellency of the person and work of Jesus Christ. Hold before Him any person or object and they all fade away. Even the glories of Moses and Elijah on the Mount of Transfiguration fades from view as Jesus was transfigured in an infinitely greater glory.

When we compare Jesus with the prophets, angels, Moses, Joshua, the Levitical priesthood, patriarchs, etc., each in turn fades away and we behold the glory of Jesus Christ alone. There is none to compare with Christ. The writer of the epistle to the Hebrews gives seven wondrous glories of Jesus in the opening verses of chapter one.

Jesus Christ is the very Son of God. What greater glory can there be than that! God the Father on three occasions broke through time space and declared, “This is My beloved Son.” The Father never said that to an angel. It is through the living Son that God, entering into the heart and dwelling there, will speak to us.

Jesus Christ was “appointed heir of all things” (Heb. 1:2). It is a testimony of His “dignity and dominion.” In everyday life the heir is the successor to his father in all that his father has. In the relationships within the Trinity, the supreme sovereignty of the Father is by no means infringed upon the sovereignty of the Son, or visa versa. By the title “heir of all things” Jesus is the possessor and disposer of all things in His creation (Matt. 25:31-32; Rev. 22:1; Rom. 8:16-17).

Predestined to be Conformed to Christ

Sun, 3 Aug 2008 21:14:47 -0600

Five Golden Links in Salvation

Sat, 2 Aug 2008 22:11:00 -0600

The Eternal Purpose of God

Fri, 1 Aug 2008 22:01:51 -0600

SELAH! Pause think reflect on God's Word for Today

Sat, 26 Nov 2005 17:49:22 -0600

Today's daily devotion from God's Word for the thinking person. Here is a one page reflection on practical contemporary Christian living.