Abide in Christ Daily Devotional

Search Me, O God

Mon, 23 Aug 2010 22:48:05 -0500

What shall be our response to the LORD God who knows everything about us all the time? How should we respond to His abiding presence that never leaves us? Because He is all-powerful, how then should we live our lives? Knowing that God is omniscient, omnipresent, and omnipotent should make us want to please Him in everything we do.

The Psalmist David did not want to be influenced by evil persons. He did not love the sinner’s life-style. “O that You would slay the wicked, O God; Depart from me, therefore, men of bloodshed. For they speak against You wickedly, And Your enemies take Your name in vain. Do I not hate those who hate You, O Lord? And do I not loathe those who rise up against You? I hate them with the utmost hatred; They have become my enemies” (Psalm 139:19-22).

Those are strong words. Do I want to be done with sin? What sins would I ask God to kill in my life? What spiritual enemies in my life need to go? Do you have some intimate friends you need to give up for your spiritual good? Are you willing to give up those relationships that make you and open target for temptation to do evil? That was David’s attitude in verses 19-22.

Moreover, David went a step further and prayed that God would enable him to continue to grow in righteousness. “Search me, O God, and know my heart; Try me and know my anxious thoughts; And see if there be any hurtful way in me, And lead me in the everlasting way” (Psalm 139:23-24).

David used the word “search” meaning to explore, dig, probe, examine, and investigate.

Jeremiah was told, “I, the Lord, search the heart, I test the mind, Even to give to each man according to his ways, According to the results of his deeds” (Jeremiah 17:10).

He searches and He knows the secrets of our hearts (Ps. 44:21). “The heart is more deceitful than all else And is desperately sick; Who can understand it?” (Jeremiah 17:9).

David pleads for God to search him out and lead him in “the everlasting way” (v.24).

Custom Made by God

Sun, 22 Aug 2010 20:16:50 -0500

Our great God and Savior knows everything, is everywhere, and is all-powerful.

The LORD God knows me because He made me, and since He made me, I am responsible to Him for my actions. That’s probably the biggest reason why people do not want to accept the fact that God created man. But whether a person acknowledges the facts about creation or not, he or she will still have to answer to Him personally.

The Psalmist David observed that the LORD God “formed my inward parts; You wove me in my mother’s womb” (Psalm 139:13). Our Creator not only created the first man Adam, but He continues to create. There is not another person on the face of this earth with the same genes, DNA, and chromosomes. I am a unique person, custom made by God for a specific purpose in history. No one else can fulfill that purpose in history; no one else can fulfill my purpose.

God’s dealings with you and me are not a duplicate of His dealings with anyone else in time and space. It is unique to me because I am unique. There is no one else like me. A person who wants to be something different from God’s purpose for him is like a cancer cell. We become like cancer cells in the body of Christ when we want to be like someone else and not what God wants us to be. God deals with each child differently. We do not trust Him when we ask that our experience duplicate someone else’s. No one is inferior or unspiritual because his or her experience is not just like someone else’s.

Thank God that you are who you are. His resources have already been revealed in creating you. "I will give thanks to You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Wonderful are Your works, and my soul knows it very well" (Psalm 139:14). Have you thanked God for making you just the way you are? "My frame was not hidden from You, When I was made in secret, And skillfully wrought in the depths of the earth; Your eyes have seen my unformed substance; And in Your book were all written The days that were ordained for me, When as yet there was not one of them " (Psalm 139:15-16).

God Is An Eyewitness

Sat, 21 Aug 2010 16:18:37 -0500

The final words of Jesus just before He ascended into heaven are a constant encouragement in my ministry and should be for every Christian.

“All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age” (Matthew 28:18-20).

It is great reassurance to remind ourselves, “I am with you always, even to the end of the age” (v.20).

However, that is not a new promise in the Scriptures. The Psalmist David reflected on that great truth about the LORD God is Psalm 139 when he wrote, “Where can I go from Thy Spirit?” Or where can I flee from The presence?” (v.7). I don’t think at that stage in his life he wanted to escape from God. He was thinking through the implications, and applying the omnipresence of God to His own his own life situations.

We are not alone in our circumstances. The Lord is with us all the time. The reason He sees and knows everything is because He is everywhere all the time. God will forever be with me. He is constantly aware of where I am and what I am doing. I am never out of His sight, and because I am never out of His sight, I am never out of His awareness. I am never “out of sight, out of mind.” Nothing in my life catches Him by surprise.

It is a comfort to know that I can never escape Him. Even if I were so foolish to want to, I could never flee from His presence or His knowledge of my circumstances.

God’s Perfect Knowledge of Us

Fri, 20 Aug 2010 22:07:23 -0500

"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…”

The apostle Paul said, “Oh, the depths of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable His judgments, and His paths beyond tracing out!” (Rom 11:33)

God knows everything about us muses the Psalmist David. That is one of the most astonishing facts and great comfort for the Christian.

We can never be out of His mind. It is most reassuring to be always in His conscious presence. He sees and knows everything all the time. It is humbling and encouraging.

“You have enclosed me behind and before, and laid Your hand upon me” (v.5).

Praise To The All-Knowing God

Thu, 19 Aug 2010 20:30:04 -0500

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.

“O LORD, Thou has searched me and know me. Thou hast known when I sit down and when I rise up; Thou dost understand my thoughts from afar. Thou dost scrutinize my path and my lying down, and art intimately acquainted with all my ways. Even before there is a word on my tongue, O LORD, Thou dost know it all” (139:1-4).

What Is God Like?

Wed, 18 Aug 2010 21:24:26 -0500

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.”

As a divine person, He has revealed Himself and communicates His person to His creation made in His image. He has revealed Himself as three persons in one – The Father, The Son, and The Holy Spirit. There are not three Gods. He is One God in three persons. He can be known, and He wants us to have fellowship with Him.

What Is Your Name?

Tue, 17 Aug 2010 22:24:09 -0500

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

Mon, 16 Aug 2010 21:07:05 -0500

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

Sun, 15 Aug 2010 21:25:26 -0500

“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 blood shedding 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.

Our salvation depends completely on what God has done in Christ. Redemption points us to a price paid (1 Peter 1:18-19). Substitution tells us how much was paid and by whom and for whom it was paid. It was purchased at great cost, at the price of His own blood. Christ paid the price that bought our salvation. The Son of God died once for all for the sinner and thus put away his sin. There is therefore no room for human activity.

As our substitute Jesus Christ made Himself one with those for whom He suffered. He stands in the closest relationship with those for whom He died. Moreover, since the wages of sin was borne by our Substitute our salvation reaches its consummation only when the sinner has become one with his Substitute, and views his sin and Christ’s righteousness with the same mind as his Substitute.

That is why the Scriptures demand a personal response of faith in the finished atoning work of Christ.

The Most Important Word in the Bible

Sat, 14 Aug 2010 19:57:13 -0500

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

Fri, 13 Aug 2010 19:08:57 -0500

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.

The apostle Paul is stressing a “superlative of victory.” Everything may appear to be just the opposite, but it only places the reality of the victory in bolder relief. Martyrdom only appears to be defeat, but when seen through the eyes of God it declares “more than conquerors” in Christ. It is an unqualified victory through the love of Jesus Christ demonstrated at Calvary. The basis of all spiritual victories took place at Calvary (Col. 2:15).

Who Shall Separate Us from the Love of Christ?

Thu, 12 Aug 2010 21:42:52 -0500

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.

The Christian walks through life secured by the strong cable of God’s gracious unchanging love. Nothing or anyone will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

The term “the love of Christ” may be taken either as our love to Christ, or His love to us, but in this context it is best to take it as Christ’s love for us.

“Tribulation” refers to the afflictions, trials, sorrows, troubles, pressures, and hard circumstances pressing down on us in everyday life. The word thilipsis has to do with pressure.

Who Is The One Who Condemns?

Wed, 11 Aug 2010 20:38:39 -0500

“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?

Tue, 10 Aug 2010 22:47:38 -0500

“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).

Therefore, God’s answer to the unanswerable question is, “No one can lay any charge against me because I am clothed in this righteousness.” “It is God who justifies.”

The wonderful thing is that God is the Supreme Judge and the Supreme Court of the universe. He is the highest authority. No one can override Him. No one can appeal to a higher judge. His word is final.

God Spared Not His Own Son for Us

Mon, 9 Aug 2010 18:43:34 -0500

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.

Because God “spared Him not,” He therefore “delivered Him up for us all.” Christ was made sin for us (2 Cor. 5:21), and He became a curse for us (Gal. 3:13). The Father delivered the Savior to the damnation and abandonment demanded by the law. “The wages of sin is death” (Rom. 8:23). Nothing was spared in the punishment inflicted upon Christ. The wrath of God was exhausted on Him. God delivered Christ up for us all.

How Can God Not Freely Give Us All Things?

Sun, 8 Aug 2010 20:50:53 -0500

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.

The apostle Paul takes us back to John 3:16. “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, NASB 1995).

God has demonstrated His vast love for us even while we were His enemies by sending Christ to die for us (Romans 5:8). That is love. That is God’s love for the sinner. And since I am a sinner, this qualifies me.

Unanswerable Questions

Sat, 7 Aug 2010 19:45:06 -0500

“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.

Glorification of the Christian

Fri, 6 Aug 2010 22:20:45 -0500

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.

The apostle Paul was absolutely certain that one day every believer in Jesus Christ would be completely like Christ in character. That great fact should influence the choices we make and our behavior every day. There is no greater encourage for daily living than the fact that we already share the glory of God. Moreover, there is an eternal weight of glory accompanying the believer when he gets to heaven. The more suffering here, the more glory there.

In the great golden chain of salvation, not a single person is lost. Called, justified, glorified. Our glorification is so certain that in God’s eyes it is as good as done.

Justification by Faith

Fri, 6 Aug 2010 22:19:44 -0500

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

Wed, 4 Aug 2010 21:12:38 -0500

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.

The effectual "calling" in the New Testament is consistently used for the call that ushers men into a state of salvation and is therefore effectual.

Predestined to be Conformed to Christ

Tue, 3 Aug 2010 21:13:25 -0500

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.

John Murray says, “the foreknowledge means ‘whom He set His regard upon’ or ‘whom He knew from eternity with distinguishing affection and delight’ is virtually equivalent to ‘whom He foreloved.’”

F. F. Bruce notes, “whom He did foreknow” has “the connotation of God’s electing grace.” “When God takes knowledge of people in this special way, He sets His choice upon them.”

Those whom God foreknew, He also predestined “carries the believer onward to the final consummation of God’s purpose in respect to Him.” God will conform the believer to the image of His Son. God has decided upon that great event beforehand.

Five Golden Links in Salvation

Mon, 2 Aug 2010 21:42:28 -0500

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.

The Eternal Purpose of God

Mon, 2 Aug 2010 21:41:12 -0500

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?

Sat, 31 Jul 2010 21:59:20 -0500

“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.

When the Holy Spirit Groans in Prayer

Fri, 30 Jul 2010 22:38:56 -0500

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.

What is the problem? We do not know what we should ask God. What is His sovereign will for us, our family, our ministry, etc.? We often do not know what we need, nor do we know what is best for us.

Redemption of Our Bodies

Thu, 29 Jul 2010 21:50:51 -0500

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.

Robert Haldane wrote, “His light alone can dispel the darkness of the tomb. It is only His hand that can break its seal and its silence.”

Groan, Groans, and Groaning

Wed, 28 Jul 2010 21:25:29 -0500

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.”

It longs to be liberated from the curse God placed upon it in the garden when Adam sinned (Gen. 3:17-18). “Cursed is the ground because of you.” Creation will one day be delivered by the Redeemer. When the Christians are fully redeemed, resurrected in glory, the cosmos will likewise be fully redeemed.

Love is Extravagant!

Tue, 27 Jul 2010 22:42:38 -0500

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

Mon, 26 Jul 2010 21:57:31 -0500

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

Sun, 25 Jul 2010 20:48:54 -0500

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).

We have the down payment of the Holy Spirit (Eph. 1:14), as a pledge of what is actually to come later. He is the pledge of something greater. Since the Holy Spirit is the earnest of God, the full inheritance must be God Himself (Psalm 73:25, 26; Lam. 3:24).

Pilate before the King of Kings

Sat, 24 Jul 2010 22:14:26 -0500

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

Fri, 23 Jul 2010 21:46:16 -0500

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?

Thu, 22 Jul 2010 20:43:13 -0500

“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.

Let us be very clear as to what the apostle is saying. If you belong to Jesus Christ you will live like Him. If your lifestyle does not conform to His likeness you do not belong to Him, regardless of what you may profess.

1. If you do not have the Spirit of Christ, the Holy Spirit, you are not a Christian. 2. If you have the Spirit of Christ you are a Christian. 3. If you have the Spirit of Christ in your life you will be under the control of the Holy Spirit and your behavior will give evidence of this great fact. 4. If your life is controlled by the “flesh” or “sinful nature” you are not a Christian and your behavior will demonstrate that fact.

Walking in the Flesh

Wed, 21 Jul 2010 21:43:27 -0500

“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.

“After the flesh” (vv. 4, 5) and “in the flesh” (vv. 8, 9) have the same effect of the human nature that is corrupt, directed, and under the control of sin.

Life or Death?

Tue, 20 Jul 2010 20:56:56 -0500

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.

The apostle Paul does not say we fulfilled the law's righteous requirement. That is impossible. "The righteous requirement of the law is fulfilled in us." That is the work of the Holy Spirit in the believer.

When we came to saving faith in Him we received the indwelling Holy Spirit, and He makes it possible for us to live in a manner we could never attain in our own strength. In the full sense only Christ has fulfilled all the law’s requirements, but when we are in Him we in our measure begin to live the kind of life that God would have us live. "Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh, I live by faith in the Son of God. . ." Before we came to know Christ we were continually defeated by sin. Now we have a choice.

The fulfillment is “in us” who walk according to the Spirit. Thank God that the believers are not left to live the sanctified life in their own strength. "Christ lives in me."

Walking in the Spirit

Tue, 20 Jul 2010 20:55:05 -0500

“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.

Another important question for the believer is, Am I walking according to the flesh? Or, Am I walking in the Spirit? Our response determines what we produce in our daily lives.

The apostle Paul said, “Do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit” (Romans 8:4).

Sin in the Life of the Christian

Wed, 30 Jun 2010 16:28:19 -0500

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).

Can sin unsave a saved person? Is sin more powerful than the atoning sacrifice of Christ Jesus? Is sin more powerful than the blood of Jesus? Can you lose eternal life?

All Sufficient Sacrifice of Jesus Christ

Tue, 29 Jun 2010 18:42:01 -0500

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 present condition of lost sinners is not because of their sin, but because of their unbelief. 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. For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him. He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God” (John 3:17-18).

The Day I Died

Mon, 28 Jun 2010 17:01:23 -0500

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.”

The apostle Paul tells us there is a watershed, a before Christ and after he came into our lives. Before Christ describes the old man, the old self, what I was like before my conversion. The after Christ came in describes the new man, the new self, what my life has been like after I was made a new creation in Christ. The before Christ ended with the judicial death of the old self. I was a sinner. I deserved to die. I did die. I received my righteousness in my Substitute with whom I have become one. It describes my resurrection. My old life is finished, and a new life to God has begun.

Unlimited Superabounding Grace of God

Sun, 27 Jun 2010 21:08:57 -0500

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.

Where sin increases, grace superabounds. It overcomes the boundaries of sin. God does not withhold His grace because of sin; it is always given in spite of our sin.

The grace of God does not become depleted because we sin. God has provided 100% of the righteousness that is needed to save us for eternity ant that righteousness never runs out. God’s superabundant supply of grace never diminishes. We do not forfeit grace when we sin. It takes a hundred percent of grace for God to save us! That saving supply of grace never becomes depleted.

Sin never keeps grace from saving us, or even from keeping us saved.

Moreover, the grace of God also works at giving us victory over sin in our daily life. Grace works at delivering us from the power of sin. Just “as sin reigned in death, even so grace might reign through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord” (Romans 5:21).

Have You Fallen from Grace?

Sat, 26 Jun 2010 22:45:23 -0500

“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.”

It is a very serious matter. Paul is concerned that if the Galatians accepted the right of circumcision as necessary for salvation, then they would be leaving the principle of grace and going back to the Mosaic Law.

Here are two opposing approaches to God. One system based on legalism and the other on God's grace. The same error can be seen in a church that teaches that salvation depends on repentance, confession, faith, baptism, and church membership as opposed to one that emphasizes salvation by grace through faith. There is nothing wrong with these teachings except when they become the means of salvation. Baptism by immersion and church membership are not things you do in order to be saved. That is legalism at its worst scenario.

Salvation by Grace Alone

Fri, 25 Jun 2010 22:36:31 -0500

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).

Let's face it, if God had not been absolutely sure of our election He would not have sent His Son to come and die to redeem radically depraved sinners. As it is, God sent the most precious posses in heaven to come and die for our sins on the cross. That is grace.

If there had been no predestination, there would have been no atoning sacrifice for sin.

God in His grace included me before the foundation of the earth (Eph. 1:4; Matt. 25:34; Rev. 13:8; 17:8). Therefore, all I can do is say, “Thank you for including me. Thank you for saving my soul.”

Pilate before the King of Kings

Thu, 24 Jun 2010 21:56:27 -0500

Peter in Heaven and Judas in Hell

Wed, 23 Jun 2010 21:27:57 -0500

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).

After Judas sold Jesus for thirty pieces of silver, the price of a common slave (Zech. 11:12; Matt. 26:14-16), he purchased a field with the money (Acts 1:18-19). When the “good opportunity” came, he acted on his evil intent and delivered Jesus to the Jewish authorities in the Garden of Gethsemane (Matt. 26:46-50). After it happened he felt a sense of remorse realizing what he had done, and declared to the religious leaders that Jesus was innocent (27:1-5). Judas tried to atone for his own sins and failed. Then he went to the field and hanged himself.

Judas betrayed Jesus because he did not love Him. He only cared about himself and his personal agendas (John 12:6).

Are You the Christ, the Son of God?

Tue, 22 Jun 2010 21:31:06 -0500

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.

How can a Christian be Lost Again?

Mon, 21 Jun 2010 20:23:24 -0500

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).

The apostle Paul wrote, “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).

God’s goal is that we be “holy and without blame before Him.” We are the trophies of God’s grace for all eternity. Even now, He “raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus ” (Eph. 2:6). That is not something off in the distant future. It is true of the believer in Christ now.

In the eternity to come God will demonstrate “the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us through Christ Jesus” (Eph. 2:7).

Is God fully capable of accomplishing His eternal purpose? Is He baffled and uncertain as to His goals for redeemed humanity?

The Attitude of God toward the Saved

Sun, 20 Jun 2010 21:42:00 -0500

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?

The apostle Paul argues the attitude and power of God will be “much more” for the person He has saved than His attitude of love for His enemies before He saved them. “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from the wrath of God through Him. For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life” (Romans 5:8-10).

You in Me, and I in You

Sat, 19 Jun 2010 21:49:55 -0500

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.

The apostle Paul uses the figure of a limb in the body being joined into a human body (1 Cor. 12:13). Before a person believes on Christ for salvation he is without Christ, and a time comes when he puts his faith in Christ and he is then “in Christ.” “For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free, and we were all made to drink of one Spirit.” In this beautiful organism, the Holy Spirit joins all believers to Christ the Head of the body. This is the spiritual Body of Christ, and it is not to be confused with any outward, visible organization.

When the sinner trusts Christ, he is born again, and the Spirit immediately enters his body and bears witness that he is a child of God. The Spirit is a resident and will not depart from the believer. Every Christian at the moment he believers on Christ is perfectly and eternally joined by the baptism of the Holy Spirit to the Body of Christ.

It is equally important to keep in mind that because we are “in Christ” we have a new standing before God that is “the infinite righteousness of God” in Christ. God reckons the righteousness of Christ to the person who believes on Him (Rom. 3:22). This righteousness of Christ gives the believer a perfect standing before God. This we receive when we are vitally joined to Christ in the new birth. This new standing with God is nothing less than the righteousness of God.

What must I do to be Saved?

Fri, 18 Jun 2010 21:18:37 -0500

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).

What God requires of the sinner is to simply trust in Jesus Christ as one’s Savior (Jn. 3:16, 36). Believing on Christ makes the sinner available to receive the infinite power and grace of God. All that the sinner can and must do to be saved is “believe” on Jesus Christ (Acts 16:31). Such a personal faith in Christ is a definite decision on the part of the individual.

“He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. This is the judgment, that the Light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil” (John 3:18-19).

Why Did Jesus Die?

Thu, 17 Jun 2010 22:06:37 -0500

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).

Jesus suffered our death so that the righteousness of God could be fully satisfied. That fact is so crucial that a personal acceptance or rejection of Christ is the declaration that determines the final eternal destiny of every person.

Jesus Christ died as our substitute (Isa. 53:5-6; Jn. 1:29; 3:16, 18, 36; 2 Cor. 5:14, 21; Heb. 2:9; 1 Jn. 2:2).

God’s Problem

Wed, 16 Jun 2010 19:28:04 -0500

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.”

These animal sacrifices were a part of the covenant of the LORD God that He would “in the fullness of time” provide the perfect substitutionary sacrifice that would deal with man’s sin problem (Gal. 4:4-5). Romans 3:25 tells us the proof of the righteousness of God was made in the death of Christ on the cross concerning all sins committed before Christ died. “Whom God displayed publicly as a propitiation in His blood through faith. This was to demonstrate His righteousness, because in the forbearance of God He passed over the sins previously committed.”

The death of Christ was the true and all sufficient sacrifice that stood as proof that God had fully accomplished His righteousness in all generations down through history.

Infinite Love of God

Tue, 15 Jun 2010 19:12:15 -0500

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.

Sin is not a fleeting thing, or a small issue with God. It has eternal repercussions and was dealt with at Calvary by the atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ. The only means of dealing with sin is the all sufficient Substitute who stood in the sinner's place until all the grounds of our condemnation was dealt with past, present and future.

Jesus Christ died for me, and as a result, I will never have to bear what He bore on the cross on my behalf. Christ “died for me” so that I might not die. “The wages of sin is death.” Christ died my death for sin. God’s love provided a substitute for me which reaches out into infinity. This is His constant attribute toward the sinner.

What does it mean to be Lost?

Mon, 14 Jun 2010 22:43:36 -0500

How does God view the individual who has never put his faith in Jesus Christ as his personal Savior?

The Bible describes the estate of the unsaved person as a “children of disobedience,” “dead in trespasses and sins,” “lost,” “perishing,” “condemned,” “under the wrath of God,” “blind,” “in the powers of darkness,” “loves spiritual darkness,” “under the control of Satan,” “disobedient to God,” etc. (John 3:18-20, 36; 8:44; Eph. 2:1-2; Mk. 7:21-33; Rom. 5:19; 1:29-32; 3:10-18; Gal. 5:19-21).

The lost person is spiritually blind to the things of God (1 Cor. 2:14; 2 Cor. 4:3-4; Jn. 3:3). Therefore, he sees little value in the demand of the Bible to have a personal faith in the saving power of God in Christ.

All moral and religious people who do not have a personal trust in Jesus Christ as their Savior are not saved. They are spiritually lost and not counted among the saved (Isa. 53:6). There is nothing they can do to merit or earn salvation by their virtue or good works. No good works in any form can take the place of a spiritual birth (Jn. 3:3). Good religious works and high moral values cannot impart new life or salvation.

Man has wandered away from God and is in the wrong place. In Luke 19:10, Jesus said, “For the Son of man is come to seek and save that which was lost.” John summarizes the saving Gospel, “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). Then he goes on to explain, “He who believes in Him is not judged; 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. 18).

The lost person is totally depraved meaning that he cannot influence God in any way to merit or gain a right relationship with God. “Then 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” (Gen. 6:5). “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?” (Jer. 17:9). Jesus described the lost person: “For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed the evil thoughts, fornications, thefts, murders, adulteries, deeds of coveting and wickedness, as well as deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride and foolishness” (Mark 7:21-22). It looks and smells like prime-time television, but it is totally unacceptable to God. “There is not a just person on the earth, that does good, and sins not” (Ecc. 7:20). “For all of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous deeds are like a filthy garment; and all of us wither like a leaf, and our iniquities, like the wind, take us away” (Isa. 64:6). In the sight of a holy God, such individuals are lost and cannot find their way to God.

All Things for and Through God

Sun, 13 Jun 2010 21:06:27 -0500

Old Bishop John Ryle said truthfully: “It is not open sin, or open unbelief, which robs Christ of His professing servants, so much as the love of the world, the fear of the world, the cares of the world, the business of the world, the money of the world, the pleasures of the world, and the desire to keep in touch with the world. This is the great rock on which thousands of young people are continually making shipwreck. They do not object to any article of the Christian faith. They do not deliberately choose evil and openly rebel against God. They hope somehow to get to heaven at last, and they think it proper to have some religion. But they cannot give up their idol: they must have the world. And so after running well and bidding fair for heaven while boys and girls, they turn aside when they become men and women and go down the broad way which leads to destruction. They begin with Abraham and Moses and end with Demas and Lot’s wife.”

What a contrast with the life of Christ who lived to please the Father alone. Man was created to bring “glory, honor and power” to the LORD God. “The chief end of man is to glorify God and to enjoy Him forever.” Hebrews 2:10 reads, “For it was fitting for Him, for whom are all things, and through whom are all things, in bringing many sons to glory, to perfect the author of their salvation through sufferings.” God created you and me for the purpose of showing forth His glory. God is the cause of every object in nature and its only reason for existence is that the grace and power of God may be seen through it. Everything finds its reason and justification in its relationship to Him. He is the final and efficient Cause of all things. It is for His sake that the whole universe exists. All things in the universe exists for God’s glory.

Instead of all things being “for Him” and “through Him” man rebelled against the Creator and chose to reign for self and through self. History has demonstrated that this self-centered life ends in vanity for the individual and dishonor to God’s eternal purpose.

Jesus Christ came to redeem man from his self-centered life, and to bring us back to a right relationship with God that we may serve Him “for whom are all things and through whom are all things.” The Creator is also the Redeemer. God’s plan was to bring “many sons to glory,” i.e., to bring many to a saving relationship with Himself through the atoning work of His Son, Jesus Christ who is the Leader in bringing “many sons” to God.

Jesus lived His life on this earth absolutely and entirely for His Father in heaven. He says to us, “All things are for My Father.” His commitment was absolute. His blessedness and everlasting glory are found in living wholly for the Father.

The Model Prayer: Deliver Us from Evil

Sat, 12 Jun 2010 20:46:37 -0500

The last petition in the Model Prayer looks to the future when we pray, “And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil” (Matthew 6:13).

That is a prayer that every believer should pray daily because we are all vulnerable to succumb to temptation. One wag said truthfully, “If a man wakes up and finds his house on fire, he does not sit in a chair and write or read a treatise on the origin of fires in a private house; he sets to try to extinguish the fire and to save his house.”

Where is the fire in your house? Each one of us has a different spot of vulnerability. What is a brutal temptation for one person, may leave another one unmoved, and vice versa. Every person has a weak spot which if he is not careful can ruin his life.

“Do not lead us into temptation.” The word for “temptation” has the basic meaning, “to test.” When it is used of Satan testing us it is with the view of causing us to fail the test.

Are we honest enough with God to ask Him to keep us out of circumstances and tempting situations because we know from experience our faith could not endure them? Do we play with temptations instead of praying that God will keep us away from them?

The Bible tells us God tempts no one (Jas. 1:13). But we have an old nature that is always capable of sinning, and it is at war against the Holy Spirit. Galatians 5:17 explains that both the Holy Spirit and the flesh are in constant active unceasing conflict. “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.”

The Model Prayer: Forgive Our Debts

Fri, 11 Jun 2010 22:30:46 -0500

Why is it so hard to forgive?

Only a person committed to Christ dare pray this prayer. "Forgive us our debts, as we ourselves have forgiven our debtors" (Matthew 6:12 NET).

These are the most frightening words in Christianity.

This part of the prayer wakes us up spiritually and make us think about what we are saying.

Do we have an unforgiving spirit? If things are not right with other people, how can they be right with a holy God?

Jesus taught His disciples to pray, “Forgive our debts, as we also forgive our debtors” (Matthew 6:12).

“Our debts” is a common word for legal debts, but here it is used of moral and spiritual debts to God. We are sinners who have wronged God. "For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God" (Rom. 3:23). "If we say we do not bear the guilt of sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us. . . If we say we have not sinned, we make him a lair and his word is not in us" (1 John 1:8, 10 NET).

We are sinners who are constantly in the need of forgiveness. We have obligations to God. We owe God a debt. We need Him to cancel our debt because as sinners we can never repay it. We are spiritual debtors in the need of God’s saving grace.

“Forgive our debts,” means, “to send away, to dismiss, to wipe off, put away” (cf. 1 Jn. 1:7-9; Eph. 1:7; Matt. 26:28). From other Scriptures we learn that God provides forgiveness on the basis of the substitutionary death of Jesus Christ. Nothing can be added to that. Our forgiving disposition does not earn God’s pardon. Our forgiveness is based entirely on God’s unmerited favor and grace, and not on any merits on our part. It is the divine grace of God in Christ that saves us (Eph. 1:7; 2:8-10).

The Model Prayer: Our Daily Bread

Thu, 10 Jun 2010 20:15:06 -0500

Jesus takes our physical needs seriously. In the Model Prayer He teaches us to look to our heavenly Father to supply our immediate needs. Jesus encourages us to continually depend on God for all the essentials in our daily life. Whatever is necessary to sustain life is what we are to request.

The second half of the prayer moves from God’s holy name, God’s kingdom and God’s will to the provision of our personal needs in vv. 11-13. Jesus tells us to pray for life’s necessities, forgiveness of sins, and deliverance from temptation and evil.

“Give us today our daily bread” (v. 11). God wants us to pray for whatever we need to sustain our physical lives including food.

“Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow” (Jas. 1:17).

In Matthew 6:33 the context is referring to food, clothing, physical needs, etc. Jesus said instead of worrying over these things, “seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.” Take one day at a time and trust these needs to the Lord. Have you been out searching for a job lately? Commit your need to the Lord and ask Him to guide you in that search.

During the time in which Jesus lived women went out daily purchasing the food for the family that day. Jesus teaches us to pray daily for God's provisions for live.

Perhaps Jesus had in mind the Israelites starving in the wilderness, and God's provision of manna, one day at a time. He was teaching His people to trust Him for one day's supply of food. There was always enough supply for their daily needs for forty years!

The Model Prayer: You Kingdom Come

Wed, 9 Jun 2010 21:49:32 -0500

The “Lord’s Prayer” is found in John 17; Matthew 6:9-13 is properly called “The Model Prayer” because it teaches us how to pray. Jesus did not say, “Pray in these words,” but “Pray after this manner.” Use it as a pattern for sincere prayers.

Jesus instructs us on how to use God's name in prayer, to pray for His kingdom and His will be done in our lives. If we learn to pray in this manner we will live this way daily.

Our prayers should always honor God's holy name and character. They should always be in submission to His will. Our one supreme passion should be to bring honor and glory to His name.

If we are seeking God's kingdom first then God will answer our prayers according to His will. Blessings will always be ours as we see God accomplishing His will in our lives.

“Your kingdom come” (v. 10a). The desire of the Christian is to live in the perfect will of God. The kingdom of God is the most important concept in the Gospel of Matthew. The kingdom is the rule of God in the universe and is a present reality in the believer’s heart, but it is the future kingdom that is in mind in this passage. The kingdom of God which is unseen is the rule of God in the hearts of believers in the present age. The visible and glorious kingdom which every person will see is at the Second Coming of Christ.

The petition is for God to exercise His kingship until the world is filled with His glory. God will establish His sovereignty on the earth.

The kingdom will come in full realization by means of its own inherent power. God will perfectly accomplish His will on this earth as it is in heaven.

The Model Prayer: Our Father

Tue, 8 Jun 2010 21:09:54 -0500

Augustine said, “Prayer calms and purifies the heart and makes it more capacious for receiving the Divine gifts. God is always ready to give us His light, but we are not always ready to receive it. By prayer we open channels through which blessings, which are always ready, may flow.”

Have you ever caught yourself trying to impress others by the way you pray or what you say to God?

Prayer is not a means of impressing other people. What a tragedy when communion with God is reduced to carnal religious egotism.

How then shall we pray? Because it should be our habitual practice to pray daily, Jesus gave a model prayer to guide or fashion our prayers. Jesus said find a private place to be unobserved (Matthew 6:5-7). “The secret of religion is religion in secret,” says McNeile. God is always there in the secret place. Jesus said neither the length of our prayers impresses God, nor the repetition of words or phrases. Filson observes that Jesus’ prayers “have simplicity, conciseness, intellectual clarity, and spiritual comprehensiveness.” In the model prayer Jesus is not concerned about a set form of words, but a model in fashioning other prayers.

“Our Father who art in heaven” (v. 9). Jesus frequently uses “My Father” and “your Father,” but He never joins the disciples with “our Father.” His relationship with His Father is unique. It is a miracle that we can call God “our Father who art in heaven.” It is a great liberating discovery to be able to call God “our Father” and rest in His love. We must always keep in mind that when we address God intimately as “Father” that we also recognize His infinite greatness as the sovereign of the universe. Our relationship to God as Father brings us near to His might, majesty and power.

God is thrice holy, and His name is holy. We are commanded to treat His name differently from all other names. Do you cringe when you hear God's name used in a curse or in a vain manner?

Why Try to Become Perfect?

Mon, 7 Jun 2010 21:09:27 -0500

Jesus declared the highest possible standard for His followers: they must be “perfect.” “You be perfect, even as your heavenly Father is perfect” (Matthew 5:48). The righteousness that Jesus demanded is nothing less than complete conformity to God’s perfect law in everything a person is and does (22:34-40). Jesus is concerned, not only with our behavior, but with the righteousness of the heart, also. The scribes and Pharisees considered only the outward compliance (5:20). With Jesus’ standard who would ever claim to have reached it?

The very nature of the kingdom of God as taught by Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount drives us to despair of ourselves in living this kind of life so that we will turn in faith to Jesus Christ and find new life in Him to live as He lived.

The Holy Spirit produces this kind of life in the believer as we make ourselves available to His indwelling presence. God produces in us by His power what we cannot do ourselves. It is the product of the new life of Christ in us (Eph. 2:10; Phil. 2:13). This way only God can possibly get the glory because we can live it only by His power.

This righteousness is God given. But Jesus also went a step further and declared; “You are to be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect” (Matt. 5:48). The statement is in the form of a command; “You shall therefore be perfect, even as your heavenly Father is perfect.”

Does this mean Jesus was teaching holiness perfection in the sense that men could reach sinlessness in this life on earth before death? What does the Bible teach when we let Scripture interpret Scripture we have the correct interpretation (Rom. 7:7-26; Gal. 5:16-24; Jas. 3:2; 1 John 1:8; Phil. 3:12-16)?

You may be asking, “Then why even try to become perfect?”

Spiritual Prosperity

Sun, 6 Jun 2010 22:55:35 -0500

No one can live up to the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7). Many have tried to, but it exposes our spiritual depravity.

A proper view of the Sermon on the Mount always points to God’s grace, and then tells us how we are to live as God’s redeemed people. When we examine the nature of the kingdom of God we realize our depravity, and our need for the atoning death of Jesus Christ. This sermon of Jesus forces us to turn to Jesus Christ for salvation, and then demonstrates how we are to live as believers. When we study it we realize that we cannot possibly live up to its demands without God’s saving grace in Jesus Christ.

Here is a description of the person who has received the special favor of God’s grace through faith in Jesus Christ. This person lives above the chances, changes and circumstances of life. What are the spiritual characteristics of someone who is blessed by God?

The person described as “blessed” (makarios) is identified with pure character. It is “a sense of God’s approval founded in righteousness.” He is the spiritually prosperous person because he has experienced God’s favor.

“Blessed are the poor in spirit” (v. 3). The word “poor” is used for a person in abject poverty who begs for everything he eats. However, Jesus is not advocating living in poverty. I see the ravages of poverty every day where I live and there is nothing good about it. Jesus is stressing our spiritual poverty in relationship with God. It is to be bankrupt spiritually. We cannot do anything to affect a right relationship with God because we are sinners. We are spiritual beggars. It is to be in utter spiritual destitution and helpless before God (Rom. 5:6; Isa. 1:6; 6:5). The only thing we can do is plead for God’s mercy and cast ourselves upon His saving grace in Christ. To be “poor in spirit” is to confess that I am a sinner, and that I cannot save myself.

Signs of the Times

Sat, 5 Jun 2010 20:58:54 -0500

Are you good at reading the signs of the times?

Jesus said you know how to forecast the weather by observing the cloud formations, but your cannot interpret the signs of the times in which you live.

I live where we spend a lot of time during the year watching the weather reports for the tropical storms and hurricane tracking, but very few people are preparing themselves for eternity.

The context of the illustration was a day in which Sadducees and Pharisees came to Jesus asking for a “sign from heaven.” After referring to their ability to forecast the weather by looking at the sky, He said He would give them only one sign, “the sign of Jonah.” Then Jesus told His disciples, “Be on guard against the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees.”

The word Pharisees means “separated ones.” They lived their daily lives in strict observance of the Law of Moses and the oral commandments of the scribes. They believed all the right things as Jewish people. They would have been outstanding citizens and good church members in our day.

Why was their teaching wrong? Basically it was the way they handled the Scriptures. They wanted to manipulate the signs so they could have their preconceived kind of political Messiah. Jesus' teachings and their political ideas clashed. Their interpretations were wrong.

The Pharisees believed in revelation of God, but they wanted to add their own humanistic legalistic teaching to God’s revelation. Jesus came with the good news of God’s pure saving grace, but they thought they could earn a right relationship with God with their good works.

On the other hand, the Sadducees took away from God’s revelation. They refused to believe God’s Word, miracles, angels and the resurrection of the dead. Their agenda was whoever dies with the most toys in this life wins. They used religion to accomplish that goal.

Follow the Leader

Fri, 4 Jun 2010 22:04:44 -0500

“Follow Me!”

Those two words together form a command found thirteen times in the Gospels. Jesus used those two simple words when He called Peter, Andrew, James and John to be His disciples (Matthew 4:19). “And immediately they left their nets, and followed Him” (v. 20). Jesus called the tax collector Matthew in a similar manner. Jesus said to him, “Follow Me!” “And he arose, and followed Him” (9:9).

The words mean immediate detachment from personal interests and attachment to Christ. Implied in the call of Jesus was a turning from sin to Him in order to be saved.

Even after Jesus had risen from the dead, while the disciples were on a fishing trip, Jesus told Peter, “Follow Me!” (John 21:19). There are many references to individuals following Jesus.

But these words were not just for the twelve disciples; they are also for us today. Discipleship means following Jesus in a personal way.

“Follow Me!” is a call to obedience. It is no mere invitation, but an imperative command. Those who heard the words of Jesus immediately left everything to follow Him. It was a costly decision for James and John because “they immediately left the boat and their father, and followed Him” (Matt. 4:22). Matthew left his lucrative tax business.

There is no genuine Christianity without obedience to Christ. The rich young ruler heard the call and realized that Jesus was his rightful Lord and Master, but he refused to follow Him. The true believer enters into a life of obedience to Christ.

On another occasion Jesus said, “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me” (John 10:27). They are in the habit of listening to His voice and following Him. Earlier in the chapter Jesus used the illustration of the Palestinian shepherd who calls his sheep and they hear hi s voice, and they go out following him because they know his voice (vv. 3-4). However, they will not follow a stranger because they do not know the voice of the strangers (v. 5). Jesus gives “eternal life to them” that follow Him, “and they shall never perish (double negativenot perish, never); and no one shall snatch them out of My hand” (v. 28). If you have a tendency to doubt such great spiritual truth Jesus went on to say in the next verse, “My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand” (v. 29).

Christianity is Christ

Thu, 3 Jun 2010 22:56:43 -0500

There is no other way to say it. Christianity is Christ.

Christianity is centered on the person and work of Jesus Christ. If the focus is on anything else it is not Christianity. That great truth is stated throughout the New Testament. In fact, everything in the Old Testament leads up to that great truth regarding His person and work.

The apostle Peter was one of the first individuals to accept that great fact. Jesus asked the question, who do the people say that I am? (Matthew 16:13). The disciples had been with the people and they told Jesus what they had heard. Some said He was John the Baptist risen from the dead, others that He was the prophet Elijah, some said He was the prophet Jeremiah.

Then Jesus asked the real question. “Who do you say that I am?” (v. 15). Peter spoke up for the whole group saying, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God” (v. 16).

That is what makes Jesus Christ so unique. He is not just a prophet, or a good moral teacher, but He is “the Christ, the Son of the living God.”

Jesus is the Messiah. He is the one who will reign forever on the throne of His great ancestor King David (2 Sam. 7:13, 16; Lk. 1:33; Rev. 22:16; Rom. 1:3; Jn. 7:42; Matt. 1:1). The eternal King is the Messiah. Jesus is God’s Anointed One who was sent to do God’s specific will. He is the one promised in the Old Testament.

Jesus is divine. He is “the Son of the living God.” It is an exalted view of Jesus. Peter could not have ascribed a higher place to Him. He declared in his confession that Jesus is God Himself who came to save His people from their sins.

In the original language the statement is even stronger than in English. “You are the Christ, the Son of the God, the living One.” This is a most comprehensive statement of the essential being of our Lord.

John the Baptist

Wed, 2 Jun 2010 20:53:25 -0500

John the Baptist was a great man.

Jesus said of John, “Among those born of women there has not risen anyone greater than John the Baptist” (Matthew 11:11).

John was great because he saw his proper relationship to Jesus Christ. He said of Jesus, “He must become greater; I must become less” (John 3:30). “He must increase; I must decrease.”

John’s ministry came at the end of the Old Testament and the beginning of the New. Prophets had been silent for 400 years in Israel. John appeared on the scene dressed like the prophet Elijah.

Why was John the Baptist so important that each of the Gospels begin the ministry of Jesus with John’s preaching? According to Malachi and Isaiah a forerunner would come preparing the way for the Messiah (Mal. 3:1; 4:5-6; Isa. 40:3). John was that man.

His message was strong and powerful. “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near” (Matt. 3:2). John demanded a radical change in people’s lives as preparation for the coming of the Messiah. The Greek word for “repent” means to change one’s thinking, or to turn about. It is a change in a person’s attitude toward God and in the conduct of life. It was a call to a radical transformation of the entire person. It is a change in mind that results in a change in a person's attitudes and behavior.

The basic assumption is that we need to repent because our lives need to be turned around. We are sinners who have come short of God’s glory (Rom. 3:23). We are walking in sin and selfishness and we need a radical change in the way we view ourselves and God. We need to be turned around so we go in the direction of the Lord Jesus Christ. God demands that this change takes place in our lives.

Why is this change so critical to our way of life? “The kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Matt. 3:2). The Messianic King has come!

What is in a Name?

Wed, 2 Jun 2010 20:52:10 -0500

The apostle John introduces the themes he will develop in his gospel by relating them to the names he employs of Jesus in chapter one. There seems to be a progressive unfolding of his major theme which is to show that Jesus is the Son of God (John 20:30-31).

In his opening words Johns sets forth his theme that Jesus is God. “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God” (John 1:1-2). Jesus Christ is the eternal, preexisting Son of God who came to reveal the Father and give eternal life to all who believe on Him. There never was a time when the Word was not. The Lord Jesus had no beginning. The Word was not created; the Word is creative, and everything owes its existence to the Word (vv. 1-3). The Word came to earth in the person of Jesus of Nazareth (v. 14). Jesus is God. The Lord Jesus has fully manifested the invisible God and has uttered all that God has to say to man as the Word.

The incarnation of the Word made it possible for Jesus to die. The God who became flesh loved us enough to die for us personally so He could rise from the dead and give us eternal life. “In Him was life” (v. 4), and in Him we have “the way, the truth, and the life” (14:6). “I came that they might have life, and might have it abundantly (10:10). To know God is to have eternal life (17:3). It is the gift of God through His Son, and it will never perish (10:10, 18, 28; 3:16; 6:51; 53f; 5:40; 11:25; 14:6).

The Psalmist says, “The LORD is my light and my salvation” (Ps. 27:1). The apostle John introduces Jesus as the light (vv. 4-5, 8-9), and declared, “God is light; in Him there is no darkness at all” (1 Jn. 1:5). Jesus said, “I am the light of the world” (8:12; 9:5; 12:46). The Light of the world never ceases to shine in a world of spiritual darkness. Man’s moral depravity cannot extinguish the Light. Jesus exposed the world’s spiritual darkness by the white light of His perfect righteousness. As the Light, Jesus knows God the Father, and He makes Him known by penetrating our spiritual darkness. In the person of Jesus Christ, the world has the light of the knowledge of God in the face of Jesus Christ who is the radiant image of the invisible God, and in Him we see and know the Father.

Reincidencia

Fri, 14 May 2010 21:01:04 -0500

¿Alguna vez usted ha vuelto temporalmente a la incredulidad y al pecado después de que se hizo cristiano? La condición de reincidir es el resultado de la apatía espiritual o la indiferencia a la verdad de la Palabra de Dios. Esto causa un escape de la confesión de la fe y las normas Bíblicas éticas. Las acciones son afectadas por nuestras actitudes hacia Dios y Su Palabra.

Y Jesús les dijo, ¨Ninguno que poniendo su mano en el arado mira hacia atrás, es apto paras el reino de Dios " (Lucas 9:62).

El reincidir es diferente de la apostasía, que desprecia la gracia de Dios al renunciar al trabajo de expiación de Jesucristo sobre la cruz (Heb. 6:4-6; 10:26-31). Cuando una persona renuncia a su fe en Cristo esa persona nunca fue un verdadero hijo de Dios, y nunca estuvo entre los escogidos de Dios (Juan 3:18-21, 36; 5:24-29).

De otro modo, el individuo escogido, regenerado por el Espíritu Santo, justificado por la gracia a través de la fe en Jesucristo, y redimido por Dios ha sido liberado de una vez por todas de la esclavitud del pecado. El reincidir no es " caído de la gracia " en el sentido que el cristiano una vez que ha sido salvo por la gracia puede perder su vida eterna en Cristo. Él es hijo de Dios para siempre, y Él ha entregado Su vida al creyente pecador.

Hubo momentos cuando los discípulos de Jesús se retiraron del compañerismo con el Señor (Mat. 26:56), Pedro negó a Cristo (26:69-75), los creyentes de Corintios vivieron en el pecado (2 Cor. 12:20-21), la Iglesia en Asia se hizo tibia (Apoc. 2:4, 14-15, 20), etc.

El pueblo de Israel nos sirve como un ejemplo para los cristianos de hoy en día. Nos exhorta a perseverar en la justicia y a hacer la voluntad de Dios. Israel abandonó su pacto con el SEÑOR Dios (Jer. 2:19; 8:5; 14:7), y demostró su infidelidad al desobedecer a Dios.

En el Nuevo Testamento, el reincidir es visto como un problema individual, aunque es posible para las iglesias el reincidir, también.

Crucified with Christ

Thu, 13 May 2010 23:43:01 -0500

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. It is terribly easy to get our minds set on a thousand good things, but not on Christ. No religious activities or feelings can substitute for the cultivation of the presence of God in our lives.

I have been crucified with Christ, and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me . . ." (Galatians 2:20 NET).

When Christ bids us come and follow, He bids us come and die,” said Bonhoeffer.

The victory in the Christian's life comes as we die to selfishness and follow Him.

The apostle Paul wrote, “To me, to live is Christ and to die is gain” (Phil. 1:20). Again he wrote, “The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me” (Gal. 2:20). Paul can write this because he has been crucified with Christ.

Come with Boldness for Grace and Mercy

Wed, 12 May 2010 21:47:43 -0500

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.

Grace is the power of God working in us. At the throne of grace He gives us strength in the inner life to conquer temptation. The grace of God is always well-timed. It comes just when we need it. We find the infinite mercy of God's love and grace working in us when we come to His throne.

Getting Near to God

Tue, 11 May 2010 21:34:50 -0500

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).

Our great High Priest has been where we are, and tempted in every way. He is able to “sympathize,” lit. “to feel or suffer with” our weakness. “The sinless One has a greater capacity for compassion than any sinner could have for a fellow sinner.” A sinless person would feel temptation in a much greater way than you and I could ever experience.

Thus, the writer of Hebrews says, “Therefore let us confidently approach the throne of grace to receive mercy and find grace whenever we need help” (v. 16 NET). We are invited and encouraged to come to the “throne of grace” of the Sovereign King any time we are in need.

The Infinite Glory of Jesus Christ

Mon, 10 May 2010 21:55:08 -0500

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).

Jesus Christ is the Creator and Sustainer for “through whom also He created the world” (v. 2 NET). Only God can create. Christ was appointed heir of all things in the beginning because He was their Creator (Jn. 1:3; Col. 1:16). “All things were created by Him and for Him.”

God has Spoken!

Mon, 10 May 2010 21:53:17 -0500

The LORD God has not left us in the dark groping for answers to our eternal destiny and relationship with him. He has clearly revealed himself and his eternal purposes for his creation.

Man was created for fellowship with a loving God, but sin interrupted it. However, God in grace and mercy demonstrated his love for us by sending his Son to go to the cross and die for our sins so that our relationship with him could be restored. There is no other name under heaven whereby we can be saved (Acts 4:12; John 14:6).

How do we know these facts to be true? Simply because God has spoken! Hebrews 1:1 says, “After God spoke long ago in various portions and in various ways to our ancestors through the prophets” (NET). Yes, the LORD God spoke, not just once, but “in many portions and in many ways.” His revelation to man did not come in one big package, but bit-by-bit, so man could comprehend it. God progressively revealed himself throughout the Old Testament preparing man for his full, compete and perfect revelation of himself in his Son.

In the opening chapters of Genesis God spoke revealing his eternal purpose for his creation. After man sinned God came seeking to save and spoke to Adam and Eve with words of judgment and hope. Salvation by grace was promised in Genesis 3:15. The Bible tells us clearly, “The wages of sin is death,” but God reached down to man with saving grace even in the garden.

Moreover, God spoke to the Jewish patriarchs, and by the prophets. He did not speak just once, but over and over again by means of promises, types, symbols, commandments, precepts, warnings, judgments, exhortations, etc.

God has not been silent down through the ages. God has spoken out of the heights of his majesty and glory and revealed himself. The central message of his revelation is that he is a holy, yet a loving God, who wants us to love him in return and live in fellowship with him.

¡Dios ha Hablado!

Sun, 9 May 2010 21:04:43 -0500

El SEÑOR Dios no nos ha dejado en la oscuridad buscando a ciegas respuestas a nuestro destino eterno y la relación con él. Se ha revelado claramente a sí mismo y sus eternos propósitos para su creación.

El hombre fue creado para el compañerismo con un Dios amoroso, pero el pecado interrumpió esto. Sin embargo, Dios en la gracia y la misericordia demostró su amor por nosotros enviando a su Hijo a la cruz y que muriera por nuestros pecados de modo que nuestra relación con él pudiera ser restaurada. Porque no hay otro nombre bajo el cielo, dado a los hombres, en que podamos ser salvos (Hechos 4:12; Juan 14:6).

¿Cómo sabemos que estos hechos son verdad? ¡Simplemente porque Dios ha hablado! Hebreos 1:1 dice, "Dios, habiendo hablado muchas veces y de muchas maneras en otro tiempo a los padres por los profetas¨. Sí, el SEÑOR Dios habló, no solamente una vez, pero " en muchas partes y de muchas maneras. " Su revelación para el hombre no vino en un gran paquete, pero poco-a-poco, de modo que el hombre pueda comprender esto. Dios se reveló progresivamente a través del Antiguo Testamento preparando al hombre para su completa y perfecta revelación de sí mismo en su Hijo.

En los capítulos de apertura de Génesis, Dios habló revelando su propósito eterno para su creación. Después de que el hombre pecó, Dios vino a salvar y habló con Adán y Eva con palabras de juicio y esperanza. La salvación por la gracia fue prometida en Génesis 3:15. La Biblia nos dice claramente, " La paga del pecado es muerte, " pero Dios llego al hombre con la gracia de salvación aún en el jardín.

Además, Dios habló a los patriarcas Judíos, y por los profetas. Él no habló solamente una vez, pero una y otra vez por medio de promesas, señales, símbolos, mandamientos, preceptos, advertencias, juicios, exhortaciones, etc.

Dios no ha estado en silencio a través de los años. Dios ha hablado desde la altura de su majestad y gloria y se revelo a si mismo. El mensaje central de su revelación es que él es un Dios santo y amoroso, a cambio, él quiere que nosotros lo amemos y vivamos en compañerismo con él.

Partakers of Christ

Sat, 8 May 2010 21:04:50 -0500

How clearly and sweetly God speaks to us in the person of his Son Jesus Christ. He is the word incarnate who died in our place on the cross.

Our hearts become soft and tender when we receive God’s word into our heart, acknowledging our sin and the blood of Jesus Christ washes away all our sins.

How tragic when our hearts reject the grace of God and become hardened in unbelief. We are saved by faith alone in Jesus Christ; we are lost through unbelief. Our heart is purified by faith in Christ, but it is hardened by unbelief. Faith in Christ brings us near to God, but unbelief separates us from him.

There is no sin that cannot be pardoned if the sinner believes on Christ.

A heart of unbelief is a serious matter with God. It is the heart of every spiritual problem. An unbelieving heart results in a hard heart that is insensitive to God.

An unbelieving heart refers to a heart solely and entirely controlled by unbelief, in which there is no faith.

On the other hand, the evidence that we are children of God is that we hold to our confession of faith in Christ. True believers have an eternal salvation because they trust in a living Savior who constantly intercedes on our behalf.

Believers who doubt God’s word or rebel against him will be disciplined. They will not lose their salvation, but they will lose out on the blessings and suffer the chastening grace of God. Jonathan Edwards said that the sure proof of election is that the believer holds out to the end.

The possession of salvation is evidenced by a continuation of faith to the end of our lives, despite the presence of the world belief systems and the persecution we endure for the cause of Christ.

The writer of Hebrews says, “For we have become partners with Christ, if in fact we hold our initial confidence firm until the end” (3:14 NET).

A Tender Compassionate High Priest

Fri, 7 May 2010 21:17:37 -0500

The second greatest truth in the Bible is God became flesh and dwelt among men. The greatest is that God became man because he loved us so much that he would go to the cross and personally die for our sins.

Jesus Christ became like you and me. He sanctified life by assuming a full human nature without sin by means of his incarnation. He was fully human and fully God. Jesus Christ is God. Jesus Christ is man. The Bible puts these two great truths of full deity and full humanity together. He was the God-man. When we look to Jesus we see God himself. “Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father.” What makes Jesus so unique is he is the only one in whom you and I may see God.

Jesus fully experienced what it means to be a man. He experienced all that we experience with the one exception that he never sinned in thought or deed. This is why he can be our great high priest and intercessor.

Jesus never experienced personal sin, but he was reckoned a sinner on our behalf and died as our substitute. The incarnation made it possible for Jesus to die. God cannot die. However, a human body made it possible for Jesus Christ to die on the cross and pay our penalty for sin. Three days later he was resurrected in his physical body and later ascended into heaven. A person’s eternal destiny depends upon his relationship to the eternal truth in Jesus Christ.

Therefore, the writer of Hebrews says, “For 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. Therefore let us confidently approach the throne of grace to receive mercy and find grace whenever we need help” (Hebrews 4:15-16 NET).

What Does God See?

Thu, 6 May 2010 22:10:33 -0500

The apostle Paul gives us an excellent summary of the salvation God provides in Philippians 3:9. Here is the very heart of the Good News in Jesus Christ.

That I may “be found in him, not because I have my own righteousness derived from the law, but because I have the righteousness that comes by way of Christ’s faithfulness – a righteousness from God that is in fact based on Christ’s faithfulness” (NET).

In this summary the apostle tells us there are two kinds of righteousness. There is man’s self-righteousness, and there is the righteousness God provides in Jesus Christ.

The righteousness of God speaks of His character. The greatest example of the righteousness of God is seen in Jesus Christ. God’s personality is vibrant and alive in Christ. Jesus said, “And the one who sent me is with me. He has not left me alone, because I always do those things that please him” (John 8:29 NET).

No man or woman on the face of the earth can attain God’s standard of righteousness. Human righteousness, no matter how good can never take a person to heaven. We are sinners and all our righteousness is tainted by the results of our sinfulness. Nothing that we do can ever atone for our sins.

The apostle Paul demonstrates in the first three chapters of Romans that when a person will not accept the free imputed righteousness of God in Jesus Christ, he will attempt a self-righteousness in that place. He will attempt to make a god like himself. The result is a corrupt and distorted representation of himself because he is depraved. But the fact is always the same: no matter how high you set your standards you still fall short of God’s standard. “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23 NET). “There is no one who understands, there is no one who seeks God. All have turned away, together they have become worthless; there is no one who shows kindness, not even one” (vv. 11-12 NET).

Bad News – Good News

Wed, 5 May 2010 21:28:23 -0500

One of the basic principles of sharing Christ with your friends is that you have to present some bad news before you can share the good news.

The Bible contains both bad news and good news. The bad news is that we have a very serious problem. The Bible says, “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23 NET).

The word that catches our eye is “sinned.” “All have sinned.” You can ask grammar school students what sin is and they can tell you in the flash of an eye what sin is. We sin when we lie, cheat, steal, lust, hate, gossip, murder, etc. But it is more than that; it is anything that does not glorify a holy and righteous God in our lives.

The “glory of God” is his standard for people. We keep trying to reach His standard and we come up short. A friend of mine said it is like trying to throw stones at the North Pole. No matter how hard you try you could never hit the North Pole with a rock. We always come up short when try to satisfy God’s righteousness. He is perfect, but we are imperfect. We are sinners by our attitudes, and our actions.

Now if that is not bad enough, our problem gets worse. The Bible says there is a penalty attached to our problem with sin. It is bad enough that we are sinners, but the Bible says, “the wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23). The "payoff" of sin is death. The "wages" or "payoff" was used in reference to the soldier's pay. "The soul that sins will surely die." That is the payoff.

There is a big difference between working for a salary and receiving a free gift. If you work for a company your employer pays you a salary for the work you do. The Bible tells us that when we sin we earn a wage and it pays in death. It is a spiritual death that separates us eternally from God. The sad truth is we deserve it because we are sinners.

The barrier between God and us is so great that we cannot overcome it in our own power, good works, religion, philosophy, self-righteousness, etc.

A Life Worthy of the Gospel

Mon, 3 May 2010 21:52:58 -0500

The Bible always stresses a balance between the content of one’s beliefs and the resulting conduct in one’s life. A good example is found in Ephesians 4:1-3. “I, therefore, the prisoner for the Lord, urge you to live worthily of the calling with which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, making every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace” (NET).

Paul admonishes us to “live worthily of the calling with which you have been called.” He means that we must live a life worthy of our high calling in Christ Jesus. Our practice should equal the teachings of our doctrine. We should take great pains to see that our lives are lived in perfect balance.

The Biblical principle for living the Christian life is quite simply stated: The believer puts into daily practice the principles of the Word of God by the presence and power of the Holy Spirit.

In order to live a balanced Christian life there must be good sound Biblical teaching. I have never seen any mature Christian who did not have a good understanding of the teaching of the Word of God. Practice without sound Bible teaching will go off in any and every direction. We can never attach too much importance to solid Biblical doctrine. How can a Christian live a life worthy of the Gospel of Jesus Christ if he does not know what the Christian life is all about? At the same time we must never detach the importance of putting into practice what we understand to be true.

How then do we live a life worthy of our calling? The Christian life is not the same thing as the culturally accepted norms of the local community in which we live. The world is antagonistic to the Christian life (1 John 2:15-17). God has called us “out of the darkness into his marvelous light” (1 Peter 2:9b NET). How tragic when you can’t tell the difference between the standards of the culture and the local church.

How Bad is It?

Sun, 2 May 2010 21:05:31 -0500

When I go to my medical doctor with a physical complaint he will usually ask, “How bad is it?”

Romans chapter three summarizes the spiritual condition of every individual apart from the grace of God in Jesus Christ. The apostle Paul states clearly: “There is no one righteous, not even one, there is no one who understands, there is no one who seeks God” (Romans 3:10-11 NET).

What does that statement mean in practical terms? Every individual is unable to do a single thing to please, understand or seek after a righteous God. We may even be very religious, but you and I cannot in any way merit or earn a right relationship with God. If sinful man can be saved it must be according to God’s free, unmerited, unearned grace and mercy alone. This is what Bible scholars correctly call “total depravity.” It simply means you and I cannot in any way influence God in a positive manner to obtain a right relationship with him.

The Bible does not permit us to treat sin lightly. Religious persons especially have a hard time accepting this spiritual truth. It cuts across our religious pride. We really are radically depraved sinners.

The apostle stresses that apart from the grace of God we are not just spiritually sick, but we are “dead in trespasses and sins” (Eph. 2:1-3).

Acceptable to God

Sun, 2 May 2010 21:04:07 -0500

How can a sinful person ever be acceptable to a holy God?

God takes sin seriously; it will be severely punished unless atonement is acceptable according to God’s standard.

Sin is a barrier that separates a person from God. In the Old Testament God dealt with man’s sin by substitution (Lev. 1:4; 4:20; 7:7; Lev. 16).

In the New Testament sin is still a serious problem because everyone has sinned and come short of God’s expectation (Rom. 3:23). Moreover, an eternal hell awaits all who sin (Mk. 9:43; Lk. 12:5; Rom. 6:23).

It is the will of God that everyone come to repentance and be saved from the wrath of God (Jn. 3:16; Rom. 5:8; 2 Pet. 3:9-10). Salvation is accomplished by what God has done in the person and work of Jesus Christ. The apostle Paul wrote, “God was in Christ reconciling the world to himself” (2 Cor. 5:19). This reconciliation was accomplished by the death of Christ. “For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of his Son, how much more, since we have been reconciled, will we be saved by his life?” (Rom. 5:10 NET). The death of Christ is absolutely essential to our salvation. Only the death of Christ can save us from our sins and the eternal punishment we deserve.

Jesus gave His life as “a ransom for many” (Mk. 10:45) because “God made the one who did not know sin to be sin for us, so that in him we would become the righteousness of God” (2 Cor. 5:21 NET).

Born of God

Fri, 30 Apr 2010 23:00:17 -0500

How are individuals made alive spiritually?

Jesus said, "I tell you the solemn truth, unless a person is born from above, he cannot see the kingdom of God" (John 3:3 NET).

The Bible teaches us that we become a child of God only through the new birth. Those who believe on Jesus Christ become God’s children. “As many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe on His name, who were born not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God” (John 1:12-13).

By whose authority do we become the children of God? “As many as received Him, to them He gave the right . . .” It is the authority of Jesus Christ. Those who believe on Him have the right to become the children of God.

It is clearly not a physical birth, but a spiritual birth that is in mind, and it is something that is received by the person who believes in Him (1 Pet. 1:23). The initiative in the new birth is with God.

Without Christ we are spiritually dead in trespasses and sin (Eph. 2:1-3). Every individual must be born again because the natural man is altogether void of spiritual life. We need divine life, and that is what God provides through the new birth.

“He who believes in the Son has eternal life” (John 3:36, 16). He has it right now (1 John 5:13). Clearly the individual who believes on Him receives God’s kind of life (6:40). It is the teaching throughout the New Testament (Eph. 2:8-9; Rom. 10:9-10).

The biblical doctrine of the new birth takes all the glory and initiative away from man and gives it all to God the Father. He alone is responsible for our salvation; therefore, He alone gets all the glory. He creates the new spiritual life within us and causes us to believe on Christ. God chooses to give us eternal life (1 Jn. 3:1; Eph. 1:5; Jas. 1:18; 1 Pet. 1:23).

Carefully Read the Warning Label

Thu, 29 Apr 2010 22:39:54 -0500

Depravity.

That is not a beautiful word. It means that the corruption of sin has extended to all aspects of our nature, including our entire being. Because of that corruption there is nothing man can do to merit or influence in any way a saving relationship with a holy God.

The fallen person’s relation to a holy God has been radically affected. Because of the effects of the fall, man’s original relationship with God was broken and our entire nature was polluted. As a result of the Fall of man, no individual can do anything, even religious things, that will merit salvation, or eternal life, in God’s sight. There is nothing an individual can do to influence in a positive way a right relationship with God. No action that man does, no matter how good or religious can gain favor with God for salvation.

What was affected by the Fall? The mind (Rom. 1:28; Eph. 4:18), the conscience (Heb. 9:14), the heart or inner being were all corrupted spiritually (Jer. 17:9; Mk. 7:20-23).

We see the depravity of mankind most clearly in the rejection of Jesus Christ in John 1:11. “He came to His own, and those who were His own did not receive Him.”

Spiritual depravity is demonstrated by the willfulness and spiritual blindness of everyone apart from the grace of God. The cross of Jesus Christ is the response of fallen man to the goodness of God (1 Cor. 2:14).

How far did man fall? The Bible tells us that when man fell into sin he fell all the way to the bottom and there he lies hopelessly lost, blind and spiritually dead, unable to help himself until God reaches down by grace, lifts him up and gives him spiritual life through the new birth (Rom. 3:9-18).

Left to ourselves we are not the least bit righteous. Sinful man has no ability to save himself (Jn. 1:13). We are corrupted by sin and in rebellion against God.

Unanswered Prayers

Wed, 28 Apr 2010 23:06:42 -0500

What is your attitude toward unanswered prayer? What do think God is trying to teach you when He chooses not to answer your sincere prayers?

It is the mature Christian who wrestles with the burden of sincere, spiritual, yet unanswered prayers.

We see the depth of this spiritual problem in the life of the apostle Paul. It is in the context of his desire to exalt Christ in every occasion that he barely mentions the ultimate Christian experience and then only once after it took place fourteen years earlier. “Because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, for this reason, to keep me from exalting myself, there was given me a thorn in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to torment me—to keep me from exalting myself!” (2 Corinthians 12:7).

Paul prayed that God would take the “thorn in the flesh” away permanently. He prayed earnestly. He prayed repeatedly.

“Concerning this,” Paul says, “I entreated the Lord three times that it might depart from me” (v. 8). “Three times” is a Hebrew figure of speech indicating ceaselessly, continuously, over and over again praying, “that it might depart from me.”

Have you had that kind of experience? Paul was praying for the right thing; he was praying in the right manner, and to the right person. Why didn’t God answer it the way Paul desired?

The great lesson Paul learned was that God had a greater purpose in his suffering. Jesus said to Paul, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness” (v. 9). Paul learned to be humble and “boast about my weaknesses, that the power of Christ may dwell in me” (v. 10).

Prayer needs to change us before it changes our circumstances. God’s primary focus is to conform us to the likeness of Christ.

Love is Extravagant!

Tue, 27 Apr 2010 21:20:00 -0500

Justified or Condemned

Mon, 26 Apr 2010 20:58:20 -0500

You are loved by God as He loved His own Son.

“But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from the wrath of God through Him” (Romans 5:8-9).

Because of the atoning death of Christ for our sins, there can be justification instead of condemnation for the guilty sinner. There is justification “through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus (3:24).

The Lord Jesus Christ makes it emphatically clear that death is not the end of personal existence. Your relationship to Him determines the kind of existence you enter into when you die physically. There are two forms of existence beyond death—one good and one horrible. You cannot avoid your eternal destiny; however, what you do with Jesus Christ determines where you will spend eternity.

Jesus said, “Do not marvel at this; for an hour is coming, in which all who are in the tombs will hear His voice, and will come forth; those who did the good deeds to a resurrection of life, those who committed the evil deeds to a resurrection of judgment. I can do nothing on My own initiative. As I hear, I judge; and My judgment is just, because I do not seek My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me” (John 5:28-30).

Beyond the grave there will be a resurrection unto life for the person who believes on Christ as his savior and a resurrection to condemnation for all who reject Him. When a person dies these destinies are established for eternity.

When God saves a person He saves him for eternity.

The Bible makes it very clear that God will hold us accountable if we persist in sin and refuse to yield to His rightful Lordship.

The Perfect Righteousness of Christ

Sun, 25 Apr 2010 22:31:20 -0500

God has provided a perfect divine righteousness for the sinner who believes what God has revealed in His Word.

The believing sinner stands before God, not in his own self-righteousness which in reality is no righteousness, but in the very righteousness of Jesus Christ.

Jesus is utterly holy and without sin because He is God. He is intrinsically righteous. Jesus always did what was pleasing to the Father (John 8:29b; 4:34; 5:30; 6:38). No one could ever prove Him guilty of unrighteousness (Jn. 8:46a). He is the one exception in history; He was absolutely sinless (Matt. 17:5; Jn. 12:28; 1 Pet. 2:22-23).

Moreover, Jesus is also perfectly righteous by His obedience to the law of God. He “fulfilled all righteousness” (Matt. 3:14-15).

Jesus lived a perfect life of obedience to the Law of God. He dotted every "i" and crossed every "t." In no manner did He fail to keep the Jewish law. No other individual has ever completely and absolutely fulfilled the law.

Not only did Jesus fulfill the law personally, but because He was deity He could therefore pay the full penalty demanded by the law for those who had failed to complete it. He paid the penalty in full. The law demanded the death penalty for all who broke it. "The wages of sin is death." "The soul that sins will surely die." Jesus paid this penalty not because He had broken it, but as a substitute for those who had failed. Jesus did not die for His own sins. He died as our representative for sin. He took your guilt and mine upon Himself, and He bore its punishment. The penalty of the law was measured out upon Him. Jesus fulfilled the law completely, actively and passively, positively and negatively. Therefore there is nothing further the law can demand because He has satisfied all its demands upon the sinner.

God’s Saving Gospel

Sat, 24 Apr 2010 22:32:11 -0500

It is God’s gospel! It is His good news to sinners that we have the privilege of proclaiming. It is God’s good news because it is something He alone planned, announced beforehand and accomplished in His own perfect timing. It is His blessing to sinful men.

Those who were saved before Christ came in the flesh were saved by faith looking forward to His coming; just as we today are saved by faith as we look back upon His substitutionary death for our sins.

All of the prior revelations of God during the Old Testament times led up to and focused on the coming of His Son to redeem sinful man.

It is God’s gospel; it is not ours. He is the author. The good news God has been announcing to sinful man from the beginning of the human race finds its fulfillment in the person and work of Jesus Christ. It is our responsibility “to believe all that the prophets have spoken” of Him. “And beginning with Moses and all the prophets, He [Jesus] explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning Himself” (Luke 24:25-27). This is the key to our understanding the good news of God’s saving grace. It is the only way you can understand the Old Testament. It is also the key to our understanding the New Testament.

God saves believing sinners through the atoning work of His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ that He announced “beforehand through His prophets in the Holy Scriptures” (Romans 1:2). Our salvation is no accident. Our depravity did not catch God off guard.

The Conquering Love of Christ

Fri, 23 Apr 2010 23:45:51 -0500

Upon close examination there is only one way to explain the dramatic changes and resultant attitudes and motivations of the Jewish rabbi, Saul of Tarsus. He was a conquered man. He was in his own words, “a servant of Christ Jesus . . . and set apart for the gospel of God.” The most powerful, transforming force in his life was an intimate, personal relationship with Jesus Christ.

He was in love with the risen Lord Jesus Christ whom he had met on the road to Damascus. He was a changed man. No longer was he striving to please God and earn salvation by striving to do good works. He was now resting in the finished saving work of God in Christ on the cross.

Paul wrote, “Nevertheless knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the Law but through faith in Christ Jesus, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, so that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the Law; since by the works of the Law no flesh will be justified” (Galatians 2:16).

Martin Luther had no peace with God even though he desperately wanted to please God. The harder Martin worked at earning peace with God, the more elusive that sense of acceptance became for him. He actually came to the place where he hated God because of the impossible standards he thought God imposed on sinful depraved man.

One day while he was studying Romans 1:16-17, God spoke to him with the deep convicting truth of His Word. “The righteous person will live by faith.” God opened his eyes to the saving fact that the righteousness he so longed to have cannot be earned, merited, or gained by man’s virtue, but is a righteousness of God, freely given to all who will by faith receive it.

“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. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, “But the righteous man shall live by faith” (Romans 1:16-17).

We do not have any righteousness of our own to bring to God because we are bankrupt sinners. We receive God’s righteousness, not through any works of our own, but by faith alone in the finished work of Christ.

Jesus is Yahweh (Jehovah)

Thu, 22 Apr 2010 20:42:22 -0500

Jesus is Jehovah. Thomas confessed to the resurrected Christ, “My Lord and my God” (John 20:28). Jesus accepted that confession of faith in Him.

“No one can say, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ except by the Holy Spirit” (1 Cor. 12:3). In deed, no one can become a Christian unless he confesses “with his mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believes in his heart that God raised Him from the dead” (Rom. 10:9).

In the Greek translation of the Hebrew Old Testament, the Septuagint (LXX), the word kurios is the regular word used to translate the Hebrew name for God: Yahweh, Jehovah, or LORD. The word Lord (kurios) was the equivalent of the name of God. At least 150 times in the New Testament it is used of God. The Old and New Testaments alike constantly use kurios for God. This is why most of our English Bibles do not use the name Yahweh or Jehovah but have the LORD or Lord instead. The disciples and the early church knew that great name of God and therefore did not hesitate to declare that Jesus is Jehovah, Yahweh or Lord.

The divine name Yahweh (YHVH) is usually translated in the KJV, RV, RSV, NEB, NASB, and NIV as “LORD” and as “Jehovah” in ARV and ASV. The Hebrew name Adonai is translated “Lord” in the Old Testament. In the New Testament the Greek name kurios is translated “Lord.”

The apostle Paul declared that there is one God who is one with Jesus (1 Cor. 8:6). “There is but one God, the Father, from whom all things come and of whom we live; and there is but one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom all things come and through whom we live.” The parallelism in this statement makes the identification between God the Father and Christ plain.

When Jesus was born in Bethlehem, the angels proclaimed that it was “Christ who is the Lord” who was born (Lk. 2:11).

Do You See What I See?

Wed, 21 Apr 2010 21:00:41 -0500

"Christ in you the hope of glory," wrote the apostle Paul. It is one of the greatest blessings of the Christian life that we share the image of Jesus Christ and go "from glory to glory."

"We all, with unveiled faces reflecting the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another, which is from the Lord, who is the Spirit" (2 Corinthians 3:18 NET).

Every believer has the privilege of entering into the holy of holies and enjoying an intimate communion with God.

“Glory” as used in the Bible is a quality belonging to God. The word "glory" suggests something which radiates from the one who has it, leaving an indelible impression behind.

In the Old Testament “glory” is seldom used for the honor shown to men, but it is frequently used for the honor brought or given to God. His glory and power is manifest or shown forth.

“Lift up your heads, O gates, And be lifted up, O ancient doors, That the King of glory may come in! Who is the King of glory? The Lord strong and mighty, The Lord mighty in battle. Lift up your heads, O gates, And lift them up, O ancient doors, That the King of glory may come in! Who is this King of glory? The Lord of hosts, He is the King of glory. Selah” (Psalm 24:7-10).

We are constantly reminded in the Scriptures that the LORD God will not share His glory with another (Isa. 42:8; 48:11).

The Hebrew word kabod brings out the luminous, manifestation of God’s person, and His glorious revelation of Himself (Isa. 6:3; Ex. 33:17-23; 34:29-35; Num. 14:10, 21ff; Hab. 2:14; Psa. 72:18-19).

Our Unlimited Resources in Christ

Tue, 20 Apr 2010 19:03:28 -0500

William Carey, the father of the modern missionary movement said, “Expect great things from God; attempt great things for God.”

Carey’s motto is similar to D. L. Moody’s, who listened to the challenge of a pastor who said, “The world has yet to see what God will do through one man fully surrendered to Him.” Moody’s response was, “By the grace of God I will be that man.”

In John 6:1-14 a great challenge confronted Philip and Andrew. Multitudes kept following Jesus because they were continually seeing the signs that He was continually performing on those who were sick (v. 2). Jesus went up on the mountainside and seeing the great multitude gathering asked His disciple Philip, “Where are we to buy bread, that these may eat?” (v. 6). Unaware that he was in the presence of the all-sufficient Christ, he said, “We have a days wages worth of bread, but that is not sufficient for everyone of these to receive a little.”

John tells us that Jesus asked this question to test Philip because Jesus already had in mind what He was gong to do (v. 6).

Andrew spoke up and said, “There is a lad here, who has five barley loaves, and two fish; but what are these for so many people?” (v. 9).

What would you have done if you saw 5,000 hungry men gathering together? Would you have rung your hands in despair? As you face difficult, near impossible situations in your life, what is your typical response? Do you take it to the Lord? What do you trust in when you face the challenges of life? Do you trust in your money, intellect, people, and organizations? Do you fret when they do not provide your needs?

Philip and Andrew left Christ out of the picture. We do not have enough money, and we do not know where we can get such an amount. Five little barley loaves and two dried pickle fish is all we have. “What are these for so many people?”

God-breathed Scriptures

Mon, 19 Apr 2010 19:01:29 -0500

The Holy Spirit initiated and controlled the process of giving us the written revelation of God.

The Scriptures were not merely man’s own thoughts, nor divine thoughts in their own words, but “the words of God,” as the writers were impelled or “born along” by the Holy Spirit.

The Holy Spirit enlightened the mind and superintended for both the spoken and the written word (2 Peter 3:15; 1 Peter 1:3-25). Even the very language is “God breathed” (2 Tim. 3:16). It “breathes out the Spirit.” It is the product of God’s creative breath. God breathed through man the words that make up the Scriptures.
The word “plenary” means “full, entire, complete.” It is the way theologians speak of the fully or completely inspired Bible. It is God-breathed in all of its parts. It is also “verbal,” i.e., it applies to the words. God-breathed Scriptures consists of God-given words. It was not “dictated” to the witnesses (1 Kings 22:8-16; Neh. 8; Psalm 119; Jer. 25:1-13; Rom. 1:2; 3:2, 21; 16:26).

The authors did not write like robots. Verbal inspiration does not imply mechanical or dictational inspiration. It does not efface the writer’s own personality. The human writers were not passive in the process. They were God’s penmen, not merely His pens. They used their minds, personalities, individual characteristics and expressions as they wrote.

The language of the Scriptures is human. They wrote in the language of the people. Some wrote in Aramaic, others Hebrew and Greek.

However, the message these men wrote down came from God. God is the true author of the Scriptures. That is why we understand the Bible to be the Word of God.

Biblical Authority and Jesus

Sun, 18 Apr 2010 22:48:04 -0500

The apostle Paul accepted the fact that the Word of God was inspired, incorruptible, indestructible and indispensable.

“All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work” (2 Timothy 3:16-17).

Since “all Scripture is inspired by God,” then no scripture is uninspired.

It is God-breathed, breathed into by God, or inspired.

The Jewish rabbis taught that the Spirit of God rested on and in the prophets and spoke through them so that their words did not come from themselves, but from the mouth of God. These men spoke and wrote in the Holy Spirit. The New Testament church was in full agreement with this view of inspiration.

Literally, the apostle Paul says, “All Scripture, or every Scripture, is God-breathed.” It is God inspired. The Bible is the authoritative Word of God because it is divinely authorized. God inspired it. The whole Old Testament is divinely inspired. Extensions of the same claim to the New Testament is not expressly stated, however it is more than merely implied. The New Testament is no less authoritative than the Old Testament. The apostles expressly declared their inspired proclamation to be the Word of God (1 Cor. 4:1; 2 Cor. 5:20; 1 Thess. 2:13).

When you accept the plenary, or full, inspiration of the Scripture God’s superintendence of the whole implies inerrancy of the content.

The inerrancy of the Scriptures is consistent with what the Bible says about itself. The whole Bible is “the seat of authority.” The historical evangelical position is the divine inspiration, complete trustworthiness, and full authority of the Bible. Scripture is authoritative and fully trustworthy because it is inspired by God.

The divine authority of the Scriptures rests eventually and solely on it’s being God-breathed. The Scriptures are God-breathed in all its parts.

The Purpose of the Scriptures

Sat, 17 Apr 2010 22:46:56 -0500

The primary purpose of the Scriptures is to point people to Jesus Christ (Luke 24:27, 32, 44-48).

“The Father who sent Me has Himself testified concerning Me . . . . These are the Scriptures that testify about Me . . .” (John 5:37-39).

We can trust the Bible as the Word of God because God is the divine author. Yes, men wrote, but God stood behind the written word. Men used their own vocabulary and style of writing, but God guided over them in their choice of words. Men wrote as they were moved by the Holy Spirit. Peter expressed this clearly, “No prophecy ever came by the impulse of man, but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God” (2 Peter 1:21). It was not thought up by the prophets, but rather inspired by God.

The word Peter uses for “moved” is used for “blown by a violent wind” (Acts 2:2), and a ship that is carried along by a wind (27:15, 17). The metaphor Peter uses here is that of the prophets raised their sails and the Holy Spirit filled them and carried their craft along in the direction He wished. The Holy Spirit carried them along and they spoke His message.

The Holy Spirit “moved” the writers of the Bible along in their writing to produce the words that God intended them to write. They wrote as men moved by the Holy Spirit. They were “being borne along” by the Spirit. The New English Bible translates, “Men they were, but, impelled by the Holy Spirit, they spoke the words of God.” The result is the divinely inspired and inerrant Word of God in the original manuscripts.

Jesus believed in the full inspiration and divine authority of the Old Testament Scriptures. I, too, fully accept the plenary verbal inspiration of the Bible. It is fully inspired of God. God gave us His Word and since it is His Word it is without error.

Because we have a fully trustworthy Bible we can accept its message without reservation. The message of the Scriptures is the good news in Jesus Christ. Its purpose is to reveal Christ and His atoning work of salvation of sinners. The Scriptures, Jesus said, “bear witness of Me” (John 5:39).

The Purpose of Miracles

Fri, 16 Apr 2010 20:31:42 -0500

The more you know about Jesus and the longer you live with Him the more you know that no human category can contain Him. He is God with us.

Jesus said, “The very work that the Father has given Me to finish and which I am doing testifies that the Father has sent Me” (John 5:36).

The apostle John called miracles “signs” because they signified something. For example, the “sign of Jonah” was a token of the death and resurrection of Christ. They pointed to the presence and the work of God in Christ. Everything Jesus did was done to reveal the person and character of God. The miracles show us the nature of Christ. They demonstrate that God is with us.

The miracles of healing prove that Jesus is the Lord and the giver of life. The feeding of the five thousand demonstrates that He is the sustainer of life. The healing of the man born blind shows that He gives physical and spiritual sight. In every one of His miracles Jesus demonstrates over and over again that He does what the Father does (John 10:37). He is equal with the Father, and the only way you can know the character and nature of the one true God is through His unique Son (John 14:9).

The apostle John pays special attention to several “signs” that point clearly to the nature of Christ. He is God with us (John 1:14, 18).

Jesus changed the water to wine at the wedding in Cana of Galilee and filled a young couple with joy that His “glory” might be revealed, and as a result the disciples first believed on Him (John 2:1-11). The creative power of Christ was revealed in that miracle. It was “through Him that all thing were made” (1:3).

A little later Jesus healed the nobleman’s son. Jesus brought faith and peace to a father whose heart was filled with fear, anxiety and dread that his son would die.

All of Grace

Thu, 15 Apr 2010 22:08:26 -0500

Grace—what a sweet fragrance. It is the greatest theme in the Bible.

Abounding grace, wondrous grace, boundless grace, fountain of grace, unfailing grace, unmeasurable grace, electing grace, matchless grace, overflowing grace, redeeming grace, pardoning grace, plenteous grace, unfailing grace, fullness of grace, efficacious grace, magnified grace, refreshing grace, sovereign grace, salvation by grace, grace rich and free!

“Oh to grace, how great a debtor.”

God is exceedingly gracious to sinful man. Grace is the unmerited and undeserved favor of a holy God upon sinful depraved human beings. It is His kindness, love and nature to be gracious to humanity.

Grace is the very opposite of merit. It is totally undeserved favor of God toward the sinner. However, it is more than that, it is favor shown to the one who has deserved the very opposite.

What better definition of grace can you find than that expressed by the apostle Paul in Romans 5:8? “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.”

In contrast to contemporary man’s thinking, God does not owe sinful man anything. Every blessing humanity enjoys is the result of God’s “common grace.”

Every person is a recipient of God’s “common grace” whether he acknowledges it or not. However, “common grace” saves no one, and it never has. We need “special grace” to be saved.

“Saving grace,” on the other hand, redeems sinful man for time and eternity.

Charge it to My Account

Wed, 14 Apr 2010 21:06:04 -0500

“Charge it.” “Charge it to my account.” Those are words we hear every day in the business world.

But did you know that those words have eternal significance, too?

“Imputation” (logizomai) is a word the apostle Paul used meaning, “to reckon,” “to charge to one’s account.”

In Philemon 18 the apostle asked Philemon to have Onesimus’ debts transferred to Paul. “If he has wronged you,” Paul said, “charge that to my account.” One who has something imputed to him is accountable under the law.

In the New Testament the believer in Christ receives the “alien righteousness” of God as a “free gift in the grace of that one man Jesus Christ” (Rom. 5:15). God reckoned Abraham as righteousness on the basis of Abraham’s faith alone (Gen. 15:6; Rom. 4:3). Similarly, God does not impute the iniquity of the believer who trusts in Christ’s death (Rom 4:7-8). This act of God is based, not on our human merit, but on God’s love and saving grace (Rom. 5:6-8). We stand in the need of God’s grace (Rom. 3:23; 6:23).

In Adam, God judged the entire human race guilty, but only in Jesus is this fact fully understood (Isa. 53:4-6). But not only has humanity been declared guilty; it has acted out its personal guilt.

Jesus said charge it to My account. The apostle Paul wrote, “He [God] made Him [Jesus Christ] who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him” (2 Corinthians 5:21).

"God made Him to be sin for us, who knew no sin." God took all of our sins and "imputed" them to His Son, put them on Him, i.e., put them to His account. He charged them to Jesus' account. That is the meaning of "imputation."

Where Will You Spend Eternity?

Mon, 12 Apr 2010 21:53:57 -0500

Jesus Christ made it very clear that a person’s relationship with God in this present life will determine his destiny in the life to come (Matthew 19:16-26; 7:13-23).

In a parable on the last judgment in Matthew 25:31ff, Jesus brought out this truth clearly. He concluded His parable saying, “These will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life” (v. 46).

Jesus has power over life and death because He rose from the dead (1 Cor. 15:4). “For to this end Christ died and lived again, that He might be Lord both of the dead and of the living” (Rom. 14:9). He is the very embodiment of God’s living power, conquering death and raising the dead (2 Cor. 13:4). Jesus alone gives eternal life.

Moreover, Jesus said the most sobering thing about man’s eternal destiny. Hell is the destiny of those who refuse Him. Heaven is the destiny of those who believe in Him.

Jesus not only gives eternal life; He is eternal life (1 Jn. 5:20; Jn. 11:25-26; Rom. 5:12ff; 1 Cor. 15:20ff; Gal. 2:16, 20; Phil. 1:21; 2 Cor. 4:10). The life Christ gives is not confined to this life, but points to eternal life when the last enemy, death, is vanquished forever (1 Cor. 15:20-28; Rom. 6:22; Gal. 6:8; Rev. 21:4; 1 Thess. 4:13-17). We will be with Christ forever (Jn. 14:1-3; 1 Thess. 4:17; 2 Cor. 5:8; Phil. 1:23). This life that God gives is received by faith in His Son (1 J. 5:12).

The frightening thing is there is no escape from God’s judgment for eternity. The consequences of neglecting or rejecting God’s gift of life are tragic. It is plain from God’s Word that sin will be punished (Matt. 10:15; Dan. 12:2; Jn. 5:28-29; Rom. 5:12-21). No one will be exempt. The message of the Bible is clear that there is never any indication that the punishment of sin ever ceases.

Eternal Life -- the Gift

Sun, 11 Apr 2010 20:02:53 -0500

Eternal Life is God’s kind of life. It is eternal because He is eternal. Nothing will ever separate the believer in Christ from the One who loves us. He gave us His free gift of eternal life the very moment we were born spiritually, and it can never be lost (Jn. 3:15-16, 36; 6:47; 10:28). It is a life without end, and no one can ever take it from you. There are no final boundaries to eternal life.

We enter into that life transforming vital union with Him when we responded to His love and believed on Him (1 Jn. 5:11).

The beauty of this new life in Christ is that Christ has so joined Himself to us that we are to go on receiving this life He gives in increasing abundance throughout eternity. The Scriptures tell us that God has promised to enlarge our spiritual capacities until the full life of the infinite Christ is reproduced in us. We are gradually being conformed to His image and likeness.

The life God gives us the moment we believe in Christ is the same life that we will be living with Him in eternity. God has already imparted to the believer in Christ the life of the age to come. Eternal life is already a present blessing available to everyone who submits to Christ (2 Cor. 5:17). The new life is life “in the Spirit,” or “in Christ.” Jesus used metaphors to describe this new life He gives (Jn. 4:14; 6:35-40; 11:25-26; 15:5, etc).

Eternal life or spiritual life is a state of regeneration and fellowship with God (Jn. 3:15-16, 36; 5:24; 6:47). The relationship is eternal, not temporal.

Jesus defined it when he said, “And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent” (Jn. 17:3). It is knowing God and having fellowship with Him through His Son, Jesus Christ.

Perfect Atonement for Personal Sin

Sat, 10 Apr 2010 19:36:54 -0500

The most important day in the Jewish religious calendar is the Day of Atonement (Leviticus 16). It is to this day central to Judaism even though the sacrificial system came to an end with the destruction of the temple in A. D. 70. It is the highest holy day in Judaism.

On the day of Atonement the high priest entered the Holy of Holies in the tabernacle of the wilderness, and later the temple in Jerusalem, to make atonement for the sins of the people of Israel.

The word atonement means, “to cover” the sin, and thus to “wipe out,” “to erase,” “to cover.” In doing so the sacrifice “removed” the guilt of man’s sin before God. The removal of the sin accomplished reconciliation between men and God. Perhaps this is why the Jewish rabbis called it the “Day,” or the “Great Day.”

God provided the Day of Atonement to avert His wrath for sins already committed and guarantee His presence with His people.

The sacrifice of the first goat and the sending the second one away into the wilderness to die were intended to cleanse the nation, the priesthood, and the sanctuary of sin.

Every sacrifice in the tabernacle reached its climax on that day. Something was left undone in the daily sacrifice and rituals to cover sin. Only one day of the year could the high priest enter into the Most Holy place and meet with God before the mercy seat. Only on the Day of Atonement could the representative of the people enter into this most solemn meeting place between God and man. It was only with the sacrificial blood of the animal substitute that He could enter on behalf of the people and himself.

How do You Handle Tribulation?

Fri, 9 Apr 2010 22:28:05 -0500

Most believers in Christ throughout history of Christianity have suffered tribulation. For most it has been an ever-present reality (1 Thess. 1:6; 2 Tim. 3:12-13).

The New Testament describes tribulation as the inevitable conflict between the good news of Jesus Christ and a sinful hostile world dominated by Satan (John 16:33; 2 Cor. 1:8).

The word for “tribulation” (thilipsis) is found 45 times in the New Testament and is variously translated suffering, distress, affliction, trouble, persecution, and tribulation.

Sometimes the context deals with hardships that are common to every individual such as childbirth, illness, and common relationship.

Tribulation is something that all believer’s in the New Testament experienced. It includes persecution (1 Thess. 1:6), imprisonment (Acts 20:23), derision (Heb. 10:33), poverty (2 Cor. 8:13), sickness (Rev. 2:22), inner distress and sorrow (Phil. 1:17; 2 Cor. 2:4), etc.

In a more narrow sense the word “tribulation” refers to the hostile world’s reaction to the saving gospel of Jesus Christ. Jesus said it is inevitable and unavoidable that persecutions and tribulations will be present when the gospel is preached and men are saved (Matt. 13:21).

What should the Christian’s response be to the ever present reality of tribulations and persecutions in life?

Blessed Assurance

Thu, 8 Apr 2010 22:13:27 -0500

God does not intend for His saved child to live the Christian life without the blessed assurance of eternal life.

The apostle Paul had a profound conviction that nothing will be able to separate the believer from the love of Christ (Rom. 8:31-39).

Jesus spoke of double assurance or security for the believer when He said to His disciples: “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me; and I give eternal life to them, and they shall never perish; and no one shall snatch them out of My hand . . . and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand. I and the Father are one” (John 10:27-30).

We have “been born anew to a living hope” (1 Pet. 1:3-5). We are guarded by God’s power through faith for salvation. Because the new birth has taken place in our lives, we have the presence of the Holy Spirit within us (Rom. 8:23). He is called the “first fruits," the initial promise and pledge of a greater harvest to follow. The Holy Spirit does a work in our lives producing His fruit that is characteristically different from our human nature. The Holy Spirit is evidence of assurance because “we abide in Him and He in us, because He has given us of His own Spirit” (1 Jn. 4:13).

The ascension of Christ to heaven to be our advocate is another great assurance for the believer who has been saved by grace. Jesus “ever lives to make intercession on our behalf” (Rom. 8:34; 1 Jn. 2:2). He is our great God and “He is able for all time to save those who draw near to God through Him” (Heb. 7:25). Do you have an intimate love relationship with your Savior? Are you abiding in Him and He in you? Spend time with Him everyday. Learn to go into His presence throughout the day and make yourself available to Him all day long.

God’s sovereignty gives assurance to the sinner saved by grace that “all that the Father gives Me will come to Me; and him who comes to Me I will not cast out” (Jn. 6:37). Have you taken these words of Jesus to heart and believed on Him alone for your salvation? God’s eternal purpose of salvation is such that He will accept and forgive all who trust Him for salvation.

Saving Faith

Wed, 7 Apr 2010 20:59:28 -0500

C. H. Spurgeon said faith has three essential ingredients: knowledge, belief and trust.

There must be “a firm and certain knowledge of God’s benevolence toward us.” We must have certain knowledge in which to anchor our faith. It is God’s revealed Word that gives us the essential knowledge of eternal life. What we need to know God has unveiled to mankind in the person of Jesus Christ.

What we need to know is that we are dead in our trespasses and sins (Eph. 2:1), and that salvation is not of works (v. 9). It is by grace that you are saved (v. 8). We have sinned and come short of the glory of God (Rom. 3:23), and the wages of sin is death (6:23). Because we are sinners, we are the objects of God’s wrath.

However, there is some good news because God loves us, and He wants us to spend eternity with Him in heaven (Jn. 3:16). Jesus Christ died for us on the cross. God loved us so much that He sent Jesus to come to the earth and live a perfect life without sin and then go to the cross and die in our place as our substitute (Rom. 5:6, 8; 2 Cor. 5:21).

We have a firm and certain knowledge of the reveled facts to believe in. No one can be saved without this knowledge from God. He has given us all the facts we need to know. We do not need to speculate or second-guess God. We have a certain knowledge that God has given us in His Word and in His Son Jesus Christ.

Real saving faith is not based upon your feelings. It relies on the trustworthiness of God Himself. It puts its faith in the facts.

Neither is saving faith mere intellectual assent to facts alone. We must commit ourselves to that knowledge of God we have received from His Word. Calvin wrote, “It now remains to pour into the heart what the mind has absorbed.” By faith it takes root in the depth of the heart of the individual.

Have you put your trust in Christ alone as your personal Savior? When you trust in Christ you make a personal commitment of your life to Him resting upon the promises of His completed atonement for your sins to save you. Will you commit yourself to Jesus Christ now? When you do Jesus Christ becomes your very life, affection and love. He becomes your Lord and Master. Have you responded to His love with your total person? That is what it means to believe on Him. Will you commit yourself to Him for all eternity? Are you trusting in Him alone to save you? What are you depending on for eternal life?

The Perfect Place of Mercy

Tue, 6 Apr 2010 21:02:59 -0500

The most important piece of furniture in the Tabernacle of Meeting in the wilderness and later the Jerusalem Temple was the Ark of the Covenant, and the lid of gold called the mercy seat or place of mercy (Exodus 25:10-22).

The ark was also called “the ark of the testimony” because it contained God’s testimony to the people of His covenant. In the ark chest were a pot of manna, Aaron’s budded rod, and the two stone tablets on which was written the Law of Moses (25:16, 33; Num. 17:10; Heb. 9:4).

The “mercy seat” was a slab of gold fitting over the top of the ark chest. Once a year the High Priest would enter into the Most Holy Place and make atonement for the sins of the people of Israel by sprinkling blood of bulls and goats on the mercy seat (Lev. 16:2-16).

The ark symbolizing the presence of God with His people was holy and was placed in the Holy of Holies and separated from the rest of the tabernacle by a heavy veil (Ex. 26:31-33; Heb. 9:3-5). No sinful person could look upon the glory of God above the ark and live (Lev. 16:2).

No one knows what happened to the Ark of the Covenant after Babylon destroyed the Temple in 586 B.C. We do know that the new temple built by Zerubbabel and later remodeled by Herod did not contain the Ark of the Covenant.

The disappearance of the Ark of the Covenant at the exile was providential because the presence of the LORD God had disappeared from above the mercy seat long before the destruction of the temple. God had rejected the worship that was being offered by the idolatrous people (Isa. 1:11-14).

The full significance and fulfillment of the meaning of the Ark of the Covenant and its mercy seat is found in the person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ.

The Ascension of Christ

Mon, 5 Apr 2010 21:24:16 -0500

The Gospel of Luke describes the transference of the resurrected body of Jesus from the earth to heaven in Acts 1:9-11.

“And after He had said these things, He was lifted up while they were looking on, and a cloud received Him out of their sight. And as they were gazing intently into the sky while He was going, behold, two men in white clothing stood beside them. They also said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into the sky? This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come in just the same way as you have watched Him go into heaven.”

The location of the ascension was east of Jerusalem near Bethany. Forty days after His physical resurrection Jesus “was taken up” and disappeared into a cloud.

God raised Christ from the dead “and made Him sit at His right hand in the heavenly places” (Eph. 1:20). He sits “at the right hand of the Majesty on high” (Heb. 1:3).

The ascension made it possible for Christ to enter into His heavenly “glorification” and sit at the right hand of the Father until His enemies are made His footstool (Ps. 110:1).

The evidence for the glorification of Christ and His superiority over the Old Testament saints is His ascension (Acts 2:33-36). When He arrived into heaven He received “the name that is above every name” (Phil. 2:9-11). Jesus is superior to angels, authorities, principalities, powers and dominions because He is the ascended Lord (Heb. 1:13; 1 Tim. 3:16; 1 Pet. 3:22).

The important message for every believer is that even though Jesus is absent physically from the earth, He is still spiritually present with His church. He can be anywhere and everywhere with His followers all the time.

The Supremacy of Jesus Christ

Sat, 3 Apr 2010 21:15:39 -0500

Jesus Christ is the supreme Sovereign of the universe.

Colossians 1:15-20 gives seven reasons why Christ is preeminent. These verses are at the heart of the epistle’s main emphasis on the exaltation and preeminence of Christ.

Jesus Christ “is the image of the invisible God” (v. 15). Jesus is supreme because of His relationship with God the Father. He is the perfect resemblance and representation of God. God is invisible and unknown except by self-revelation. In the person of Jesus Christ the unknowable God becomes known.. The very nature and being of God have been perfectly revealed in Christ. Jesus said, “Anyone who has seen Me has seen the Father” (John 14:9). Everyone who saw Christ, the visible manifestation of the invisible God, has thereby "seen" God indirectly. The apostle John who saw Jesus face to face wrote, “No one has ever seen God, but God the only Son . . . has made Him known” (v. 18). Jesus Christ is the perfect visible representation and manifestation of the “invisible” God (1 Tim. 1:17). Jesus is the perfect image, likeness and glory of His Father. He is “the exact representation” of the Father’s being (Heb. 1:3). The Son is in the “exact likeness” of His Father.

Jesus is supreme over all things because He is “the firstborn over all creation” (Col. 1:15). He preceded the whole creation, and He is Sovereign over all His creation. As Creator He has dignity, supremacy, sovereign power over it. As “firstborn” Jesus is the Messiah-God (Ps. 89:27-29). Jesus Christ was not created, but is the Creator who is Sovereign over all His creation.

Jesus is supreme because “in Him all things were created” (Col. 1:16-17). “All things were created by Him,” and “for Him,” and “in Him they all hold together.” Not only is He the final Cause of creation, but also the conserving Cause that keeps it together. Everything in the universe continues to exist because of Him (Jn. 1:3; Heb. 1:2; Rev. 3:14). Nothing is to be excluded in His supremacy in creation. Christ reigns supreme over all creation, visible and invisible, material and spiritual (Eph. 1:21; 3:10; 6:12; Phil. 2:9-10; Col. 2:10, 15; Rom. 8:38-39).

Jesus Christ is supreme because He is head of His church (Col. 1:18; Eph. 1:22-23; 5:23). Paul has in mind the invisible body of Christ into which every believer was baptized by the Holy Spirit when he believed in Christ as his Savior (1 Cor. 12:13; Gal. 3:28; Eph. 2:15; 3:4-5; Col. 1:26).

All that Jesus Continues to Do

Fri, 2 Apr 2010 21:11:12 -0500

"All that Jesus began to do and teach” He continues to do and teach today.

In Acts 1:1 the words “all that Jesus began to do and teach” are in the linear action. It is action still going on. The verb “began” is present infinitive, linear action. It is as if to say that Jesus is still carrying on from heaven the work and teachings which He started while on earth before His ascension.

Luke does not say “all that Jesus did and taught,” but “all that Jesus began to do and to teach.” The Gospel of Luke tells us what Jesus began to do and teach, while Acts of the Apostles tells what He continues to do and teach by His Spirit through His special Body.

In Volume 1 of the Life and Acts of Jesus Christ, Dr. Luke tells the story of the beginnings of what Jesus began to do and teach. In his Gospel, Luke gave “the first account I composed, Theophilis, about all that Jesus began to do and teach.” What was it Jesus began to do and teach?

In Luke 4:16-21 Jesus stood in the synagogue at Nazareth and read Himself into His divine office. “The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor. He has sent Me to proclaim release to the captives, and recovery of sight to the blind, to set free those who are oppressed, to proclaim the favorable year of the Lord.” Then Jesus closed the scroll, gave it back to the attendant, sat down, and with the eyes of all the synagogue fixed upon Him said to them, “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing” (vv. 20-21).

Those verses tell us what Jesus began to do leading up to His atoning death for our sins on the cross. What Jesus taught is summarized beautifully in Luke 24:25-27 as He reminded the two disciples on the road to Emmaus. “‘Was it not necessary for the Christ to suffer these things and to enter into His glory?’ Then beginning with Moses and with all the prophets, He explained to them the things concerning Himself in all the Scriptures.”

In the opening words of his second volume, Acts of the Apostles, Luke tell us what Jesus is still carrying on from heaven. He is still working and teaching, doing the same thing He started while on earth before His ascension. In volume two Luke tells us all that Jesus continues to do and teach after His ascension through His present spiritual Body here on the earth (2 Cor. 5:14-15, 18, 21).

What does Jesus continue both to do and teach through His present body on the earth?

Good Works for God’s Glory

Thu, 1 Apr 2010 21:17:55 -0500

Why should the believing sinner do good works?

Do we do good works so we can atone for our “temporal” sins after we were baptized? Are we to do good religious works in order to make satisfaction for our sins? Do we contribute to our salvation in some measure by good works? Are we to believe that one day we will stand before God listening to the judgment as He decides if we have had enough good works to outweigh our sins and condemnation?

The essential question is what is your motive for doing good works? Are these done in order to be saved, or are they done because we have been saved by grace through faith? The Bible is clear that we are not justified by faith plus good works, but works do follow justification by faith.

It is only natural that good works should flow out of the salvation already accomplished for us by Jesus Christ. Jesus alone is our Savor. He alone is the sinless Lamb of God who could make atonement for sins. Only His blood cleanses from sin. The only requirement of God is to repent and believe on Jesus Christ.

The only thing left for the sinner to do is accept the finished work of Christ. Have you trusted in His work alone to save you?

Since we are God’s workmanship, created in His sovereign grace, our salvation cannot be of ourselves. We are God-made. We are His workmanship. We have been created in Christ Jesus for good works. We are God’s spiritual handiwork. In regeneration we were made a new spiritual creature by Him (2 Cor. 5:17).

The apostle Paul wrote, “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them” (Eph. 2:10).

Before and After

Wed, 31 Mar 2010 20:36:08 -0500

“If any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold all things are become new” (2 Corinthians 5:17).

Whenever any person becomes a new creature in union with Christ, he or she becomes a new person altogether. There is a whole new creation whenever a person comes to be in Christ. The effect is the old life is passed away and a new life has begun. Everything becomes new in Christ. The person who is in Christ and has experienced the new birth is a part of the new creation.

We are new creatures in Christ Jesus. There has been a re-creation in which God has given us a new set of senses, values, and spiritual principles.

Before we were spiritually blind, now we see with spiritual eyes, and we see all things new.

Before we were spiritually deaf and we could not hear God’s Word, and now we have a new set of spiritual eyes and we hear and respond to the Holy Spirit.

Before our minds were in spiritual darkness, and we called bad, good and good, bad. Now we have the mind of Christ and we see the difference between that which is good and that, which is evil. Our minds are now being renewed day by day.

Before our hearts were hardened to spiritual truths, and we hated God and the things of God. Now God has changed them from hearts of stone to hearts made alive to the things of the Spirit.

Before we were spiritually dead, and now we have become new creatures in Christ Jesus.

Before we were a people without hope and now we have a living hope in Christ. Apart from the resurrected, living Christ we cannot have any true hope of anything beyond our grave.

Free Salvation

Tue, 30 Mar 2010 21:02:31 -0500

Free, but not cheap!

Your salvation is a gift freely given and received from God, but it is not cheap. It is the most expensive gift you will ever receive.

God comes and offers us free salvation. But He does not change His standard. He remains a righteous and holy God.

How could it be possible that Jesus Christ could die as a substitute for my penalty as a sinner? It is because He is the infinite God, not a sinful man, that He could die for an infinite number of sinners. Because He is God He could pay the eternal punishment for all of our sins.

Second Corinthians 5:21 tells us it was not enough that He should only die and pay the penalty of our sins, but that His perfect righteousness would be counted in God's eyes as our righteousness. All of the pure righteousness of Jesus Christ is now available through Him to the believing sinner.

Based upon the sacrificial death of Jesus Christ, God can now come and offer the great invitation to all sinners to come and join Him in heaven.

How do I know that this is absolute truth? Look at the empty tomb! Christ is alive! The resurrection of Jesus Christ is the proof that God is eternally satisfied with the sacrifice of His Son on the cross.

Now you and I can take the righteousness of God and go boldly or trembling to the scales of justice and put it over against all the perfection God has demanded and that He must demand. The balance is immediately made. The Christian believer stands before God justified. God can never have anything against you and me forever.

You are justified when you trust in that perfect righteousness of Jesus Christ, rather than in your own self-righteousness (2 Cor. 5:21). You will never be justified in the eyes of God if you cling to your own good works.

Sweet Sovereign Saving Grace

Mon, 29 Mar 2010 22:18:50 -0500

Do you find the topic of grace boring?

Someone asked me, “Don’t you ever get tired of preaching on grace?” My response was “no,” because every other doctrine in the Christian faith is build upon and related to God’s sovereign grace.

Grace is something that is charming and beautiful. Once you have come under the strong grip of God’s saving grace you can never be the same person again. And neither can you ever be a base ingrate, either.

The apostle Paul was “dumbfounded,” absolutely astonished, that there were people who professed faith in Christ who were turning to a counterfeit gospel. They were “so quickly deserting Him who called you by the grace of Christ for a different gospel” (Galatians 1:6). They were turning to a teaching and philosophy that was “no gospel at all” (v. 7). They were changing their minds and deserting the message of grace in Christ. It is a strong word Paul uses meaning to desert or revolt in the military. They had changed their religion.

What they were being lead to believe was really no good news at all. It was a heresy, a cult of man’s making. It was diametrically opposed to the Good News in Christ.

If you are saved by grace, it is no longer on the basis of men’s deeds. Because salvation is by the unmerited favor of God, it is not at all conditioned on what we have done, and never can be.

These deceived believers were being led astray and turned from the message of grace to the message of the Judaizers who were teaching you had to become a Jewish person and be circumcised before you could become a true Christian.

They have their kinfolk in our day who teach similar philosophies. They add some private man made teaching to the message of grace. Instead of salvation by grace alone through faith alone in Christ Jesus alone, they add a human teaching. Cults add to and pervert the message of pure grace.

Dressed for the New Life

Sun, 28 Mar 2010 21:48:23 -0500

Are you dressed in grave clothes or wedding garments?

Now that we have been saved by grace how then shall we live? How are we to walk in this new life?

The apostle Paul uses an illustration in terms of taking off one set of clothes and putting on another in Colossians 3:9-10. “Do not lie to one another, since you laid aside the old self with its evil practices, and have put on the new self who is being renewed to a true knowledge according to the image of the One who created him.”

The verbs in this passage are in the past tense. “You have taken off your old self . . . and have put on the new.” The aorist tense indicates something that has already taken place. It has already happened, and not something to be done.

The action is to take off completely; to strip off one’s self. If the old self really has been put off, one must not at a critical moment revert to the way one acted before his conversion. The plural describes the deeds, which characterized the former life.

In Colossians 3:10, the idea of “new” is the newness in quality, and it is the continual action “which is ever being renewed.”

We are to take off once for all, definite concluding action. Stripping off is to be done at once, and for good. The old manner of life is to be done with.

“In reference to your former manner of life, you lay aside the old self (Lit. man), which is being corrupted in accordance with the lusts of deceit, and that you be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and put on the new self, which in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth” (Ephesians 4:22-24).

A New Standard of Living

Sat, 27 Mar 2010 22:24:42 -0500

The world is not our standard for Christian living.

The apostle Paul stressed, “Do not be conformed to this world, but be you transformed by the renewing of your mind . . .” (Rom. 12:2). Again he writes, “put on the new self, which in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth” (Ephesians 4:24). In the verses that follow he gives five specific examples of the higher standard of Christian conduct.

We are to put off lying and speak the truth in love (v. 25). It is a habitual action that is to characterize the Christian life. Literally the believer is to put off “the lie” (v.25), and speak the truth. This is the same word the apostle John uses for the antichrist in 1 John 2:20-23. When a person puts his faith in Jesus Christ he is rejecting the lie, and embracing the Truth (Jn. 14:6).

What a profound significance this is for the person in Christ. “Therefore, laying aside falsehood, speak truth each one of you with his neighbor, for we are members of one another” (v. 25). Let it be a habitual action to tell the truth. Let it characterize your lifestyle.

Make a commitment to yourself and God to speak the whole truth without mixture of error in your family, business and life relationships. How much easier life is when you live an honest, open, transparent life style. Cultivate truthfulness in your life everyday. Don’t be careless with your words.

Put off anger (vv. 26-27). One of the best ways to give the devil an opportunity to gain a place in your life is to be an angry person. Paul does not give an opposite behavior in this example. In one aspect anger is not sin. It is an emotion. He stresses, “Be angry, and yet do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and do not give the devil an opportunity (lit. a place).” Paul is emphasizing a controlled or righteous anger as opposed to and uncontrolled, selfish, or sinful anger.

Living Sacrifices

Fri, 26 Mar 2010 22:45:38 -0500

The apostle Paul gives an urgent plea to believers in Christ “to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship” (Rom. 12:1). Paul makes such a plea based upon “the mercies of God.”

We are objects of His saving grace; therefore we are to put our lives at His disposal. Paul uses the sacrificial word for the Jewish Levitical offering of sacrifices. The body of the believer is to be a “living sacrifice.”

How do you become a “living sacrifice”?

It begins in a once and for all being set apart to God. The Christian is set apart for God’s use in the sense of being for pure and righteous purposes.

Why such an urgent plea? The philosophy of the world system does not satisfy. The longer you life by the humanistic philosophy to emptier your inner person becomes.

However, the will of God is good, acceptable and perfect.

Being a living sacrifice is often not easy, or pleasant. It is self-denial, self-sacrifice, self-crucifixion of the whole person. But remember the problem with living sacrifices is they want to crawl off the altar.

For the Lord Jesus Christ being a living sacrifice meant oppressive burdens. It brought Him in conflict with evil. He offered Himself as the perfect Lamb of God that takes away the sins of the world. However, as He conducted His Father's business He found it to be good and acceptable and perfect.

A living sacrifice for Him means He humbled Himself and became “obedient to death—even death on a cross” (Phil. 2:8).

God’s Kind of Life

Thu, 25 Mar 2010 20:17:35 -0500

From God’s eternal perspective the believer in Christ is already a finished work. From our human perspective in time and space, He is continuing to work the truth deeper and deeper into our hearts so He can conform us to the image and likeness of Christ.
The tension is always there: perfect and yet not perfect, holy and yet sinners, righteous and yet, unrighteous.

Since the day we put our faith in Christ God sees us complete in Him (Col. 2:10). We are already holy in His presence (Col. 3:2). We are already perfect in His eyes (Heb. 10:14). We are His righteousness in Christ (2 Cor. 5:21). There is nothing else to be done to achieve a right relationship with God. When we accept those truths by faith we will live it out each day. God makes what is already true in the eternal, unseen spiritual reality, a reality in the seen and temporal realm. We live out what is already true. We live in union with Christ. We rest in Him and He lives His life out in us. “Christ in you” means God has permanently joined Himself to you. He lives in you and you in Him.

“I am the Way, the Truth and the Life.” Jesus says to you and me, “I am the Life.” I am your life. You take Me into you, and you have life. I live My life in and through you. I live my life as you. The Christian life is He in you, and you in Him. He will live His life in you if you will let Him live as He chooses. Christ lives the life that is impossible for us to live. Christianity is Christ, and it is Christ in you.

Do you experience the life He gives with a sense in which you are content with a knowledge of God’s grace that is more than sufficient for your personal needs, that nothing in this life can suppress it, and that God’s favor toward you is unending? Do you live in the reality of your unending unchanging eternal position in Christ Jesus?

Our life in Christ is a life with a surplus. We have it in Christ in superabundance. Jesus said, “I am come that you might keep on having life, and might keep on having it abundantly” (Jn. 10:10b).

How do you characterize this life that overflows in Christ?

Abundant Life

Wed, 24 Mar 2010 20:56:32 -0500

Abundant life as Jesus described it is the life of God Himself.

God places the new spiritual life within the individual the moment he responds to God’s grace and believes on Christ as his personal Savior.

That is the beginning of a new life for one who was spiritually dead in trespasses and sins.

Jesus said, “I am come that you may have life, and keep on having it in abundance” (John 10:10b). The abundant life is a growing thing. It is the increasingly abundant present life of the believer that is emphasized.

God plants His life in the person who hears the Word of God and believes. The born again believer increasingly enters into the experience of the new spiritual life by believing and yielding to Christ. It is like a spring of water that perpetually springs up in an abundant flow from resources deep within. The Christian is to live in an abundant way of life now.

Are you living in God’s abundance? You can be a Christian and miss the abundant life. God invites you to enter into it increasingly as you trust in Jesus to change your life daily.

This overflowing life is Christ living His life out in you as you make yourself available to Him and trust Him to new areas of spiritual growth.

As the believer yields to the Holy Spirit he realizes that God’s grace and power is sufficient for every genuine need in our lives. The life of abundance comes from this awareness that nothing can suppress God’s grace.

Salvation in Jesus Christ is not a fire insurance policy. It is life—God’s kind of life—given to everyone who believes on Christ. It begins in the moment of spiritual birth, or regeneration. We have the privilege of participating in the divine nature (2 Pet. 1:4). What began in the spiritual birth will go on forever. It is eternal and indestructible because God is. Instead of a static life, our new relationship with God is continually entering into that life that possesses all the qualities of God. Jesus said, “I tell you the truth, whoever hears My word and believes Him who sent Me has eternal life and will not be condemned, he has crossed over from death to life” (John 5:24).

Finished!

Tue, 23 Mar 2010 22:47:45 -0500

The apostle John saw what was happening at the cross when Jesus was crucified. He was an eyewitness to Jesus’ death. A few moments before His death Jesus declared, “It is finished!” (John 19:30). It is one word in the Greek and can be translated, “Done!” “Finished!” or “Completed!” The entire redemptive work of Jesus Christ was finished. The Son gave His report to the Father in a loud voice so all mankind could hear it, and then He went home to the Father having completed the Father’s will.

Jesus did not say, “I am finished.” In essence He said, “It was finished and as a result it is forever done.” “It stands finished.” “Done.” The idea is that of perfection, accomplishment, relief, satisfaction, and victory.

All the accumulated sin, and guilt, of all men, of all time, guilt of all time, including the combined hells of all who have offended God, was paid in full by His death.

The death of Jesus Christ completed the redemptive work. The Lamb of God has made His great sacrifice for the world. It is this that is now done. Our great Substitute paid the great ransom, paid it to the uttermost cent. "It is finished" indeed! There is nothing that can be added to the atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ.

Our atonement was completed in the moment of Christ’s death for our sins. All of the righteous demands of the law of God against our sins were paid in full and satisfied in His sacrifice for sin. The punishment of our sins and the satisfaction of the righteousness of God meant that God was now free to offer the believing sinner His own perfect righteous standing before God based upon grace alone (2 Cor. 5:21).

Under God’s Watchful Eye

Tue, 23 Mar 2010 00:22:39 -0500

Jesus reminds us, “In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world” (John 16:33).

What do you say to yourself when you are pressed in on every side by dangerous situations? What do you do when you face troubles?

Many times I have turned to Psalm 121 where I find a marvelous spirit of deep peace as the Psalmist turns his eyes to heaven and expresses his confidence in the LORD God. The weary pilgrim experiences God’s protection under His constant watchful eye.

Ancient roads in the Middle East consisted of only well-trodden paths across the valleys, along rivers and the mountain passes. Many a traveler sang this song to give himself hope and courage along his journey. Have you ever whistled or sang a hymn in the dark to remind yourself of God’s sustaining grace? I have rested in deep peace as I listened to the machine guns and mortar fire in the distance in the middle of the night. On other occasions I have gone to sleep knowing there were 35,000 leftist militias surrounding the place where I slept.

The Psalmist gave himself courage as he longed to see the hills of Judah in the distance, which reminded him of God’s care and protection. “To look unto the hills,” meant looking to God as one’s true help. When the Psalmist looked at the hills, he saw beyond them to the One who made the mountains (v. 2). The poet develops the idea of putting one’s trust in the God who “watches over,” “preserves,” “keeps,” “exercises great care over,” and “guards” His people.

“I will lift up my eyes to the mountains; From whence shall my help come?” (v. 1).

God is Able

Sun, 21 Mar 2010 22:02:23 -0500

What is your favorite doxology in the Bible? Mine is found in Ephesians 3:20-21.

The context is a prayer for God’s high purposes for His redeemed people. Paul’s prayer is that every believer “be filled up to all the fullness of God” (v. 19).

No Christian ever has to worry about having inadequate resources to live the Christian life. God wants us to experience His fullness. The means of this fullness is the Holy Spirit.

His prayer is that every believer may be strengthened internally through the Holy Spirit every day and in every circumstance (v. 16). He is our Comforter, Helper or Encourager, who is called along side to help in time of need. He helps us to do the right thing at the right time under all circumstances. He is our competence to live the Christian life.

He also prays that believers will be growing in their availability to Christ (v. 17a). We are Christians because we have Christ indwelling us, but Paul’s prayer is that Christ will take fuller possession of every aspect of the believer’s life. It is the idea of Jesus Christ settling down in our hearts and making Himself at home and controlling us as the rightful owner of the home. The same word (katoikeo) is used of the fullness of the Godhead abiding in Christ and of Christ abiding in the believer’s life. The verb denotes a permanent habitation as opposed to an occasional visit.

Moreover, Paul prays that we will be firmly rooted or fixed, and grounded in love (vv. 17b-18). God’s love nourishes the believer because it is on a solid foundation. Paul prays that the believer will grow up in the soil of rich love.

From Despair to Hope

Sat, 20 Mar 2010 20:05:47 -0500

It is almost uncanny how the poet describes the abandonment of the sufferer by God to the scorn of evil people who mocked Him. The Hebrew poet-king wrote,

But I am a worm and not a man, A reproach of men and despised by the people. All who see me sneer at me; They separate with the lip, they wag the head, saying, “Commit yourself to the Lord; let Him deliver him; Let Him rescue him, because He delights in him” (Psalm 22:6-8).

King David writes using gestures of helplessness, frailty, and hopelessness in these verses. It is another vivid picture of the events at Calvary put in writing a thousand years before they actually took place in history (Matt. 27:39-43).

“They open wide their mouth at me, as a ravening and a roaring loin” (v. 13). The crowd at the crucifixion of Jesus did just that in graphic detail. His bones were pulled out of joint at the hands, arms, shoulders and pelvis (v. 14). “I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint, my heart is like wax; it is melted within me” (v.14). Perspiration pours profusely from the intense suffering, and the exhaustion and strain affects the functioning of His heart. With His strength exhausted, and dehydration, His tongue clings to His mouth from extreme thirst (v. 15). “My strength is dried up like potsherd, and my tongue cleaves to my jaws” (v. 15).

We draw up near the cross in verse sixteen and hear him say, “For dogs [Jewish term for derision for Gentiles] have surrounded me; a band of evildoers has encompassed me; they pierced my hands and my feet” (cf. Matt. 27:35; Jn. 20:20, 25).

They stare at Him on the cross. He is so frail from suffering they can count His bones on His naked body. Even the casting of lots for His clothing is literally fulfilled (v. 18; cf. Matt. 27:35; Lk. 23:34; Jn. 19:24; 19:23; Mk. 15:24).

Any unbiased reader of this messianic poem must come to the inescapable conclusion that it finds its historical fulfillment in the crucifixion of Christ.

The death of Jesus Christ made perfect atonement for our sins. He was forsaken of God so we could be forgiven.

Jesus Christ is the Great I AM

Thu, 18 Mar 2010 22:25:18 -0500

Jesus Christ claimed to be the “I AM.” It is the personal name of the God of the Old Testament (Exodus 3:13-14). On several occasions it is recorded that Jesus used the “I AM” formula in attesting to His deity. He claimed to be the LORD God, Jehovah, Yahweh.

The greatest of all the names for the Lord Jesus Christ is the “I AM.”

This is why the apostle Paul wrote: “God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (Philippians 2:9-11). Jesus is Lord. The name that is above all other names is “Lord,” and it is equivalent to “Jehovah” or Yahweh. This is the exact equivalent to the words, “I AM.”

The name that is above all earthly and heavenly names is Yahweh, the great “I AM THAT I AM.”

The apostle Paul tells us that the Lord Jesus is so above all other beings that all who are in heaven and the earth will bow and worship Him. He is God. He is not one among many gods, but the One and Only (Acts 4:12; 1 Tim. 2:5; 1 Cor. 8:4).

On one occasion He responded to the Samaritan woman at Jacob’s well when she perceived that He could possibly be the long awaited for Messiah. Jesus said, “He who speaks to you am he.” Literally, Jesus said, “I am,” pointing to His claim to the title “I AM.”

Moreover, that is not the only time He made the claim. He used these words to refer to His deity in John 8:24. “Therefore I said to you that you will die in your sins; for unless you believe that I am He, you will die in your sins.” He was saying you cannot be saved unless you recognize and believe that Jesus Christ is God.

Feasting on the Lamb

Wed, 17 Mar 2010 20:03:49 -0500

The same Passover lamb that was slain and its blood smeared on the doorpost and the lintel in the Jewish home was the lamb that the people ate for the journey out of Egypt (Ex. 12:11, 46).

Everything the people needed for life that night was provided by the substitutionary lamb. The blood of the lamb covered their sins. The lamb gave his blood to redeem them, and he gave his life for them to eat and be nourished for the journey (Ex. 12:1-14). They lived their redeemed life out of the life of the lamb. They lived in the strength provided by the lamb. The Passover lamb became their nourishment for the journey in the night.

The Christian life is lived on the life of the Lamb of God.

We are never ready to start the journey in the Christian life until we feast upon the lamb God has provided. We go about trying to live the spiritual life in the energy of the flesh. It will not work; it never has worked. Life in the energy of the flesh will die. God puts His life in us, and we must feast upon the Lamb of God to sustain His life in us.

God imparts His life to us and He will live it through us (Rom. 5:10). Jesus said, “He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life” (John 6:54). We have God’s life by appropriating the Lamb of God (John 6:27). Everything is centered on Jesus Christ. He is all we ever need for this new life in Christ. The only life that pleases God is His life and the life of His Son.

The Christian life is Jesus living His life in you, through you, and as you. It must always be His life flowing through us. “How can this man give us His flesh to eat?” It is spiritual appropriation of Christ by faith. “I live, yet not I; Christ lives in me.” “Christ in you is the hope of glory.” “For me, to live is Christ.” Who is the one living? Christ. But whom do you see when you look at Him? You and me. He is in us living His life as us.

Just as Christ let the Father live His life through Him (John 4:34), so we too must allow Him permission to live His life in and through us. We must learn to live out of the resources of His life.

Jesus Christ has entered a vital union with us. His Spirit is joined to our spirit. In the spiritual reality He resides with us. We are vessels, clay pots made available to Him.

Lamb of God

Tue, 16 Mar 2010 23:32:45 -0500

The focus of the life and work of Jesus Christ is found in His death and resurrection. It is the fulfillment of the great message of the coming redeemer in the Old Testament.

The lamb was the principal animal of sacrifice among the Jewish people at the evening and morning sacrifice (Ex. 29:38-42; Num. 38:3-8), and specials days (Num. 28:11), the Passover (28:16-19), Pentecost (28:26f), Feast of the Trumpets (29:1, 2), the Day of Atonement (29:7, 8), and the Tabernacle (29:12-16). Other personal sacrifices included lambs (Lev. 12:6; 14:10-18, etc), such as the sin offerings (Lev. 4:32-35). Moreover, the Pascal sacrifice is basic to the whole sacrificial system (Ex. 12:13). Thus the figures in Isaiah 53:7 and Exodus 12:13 come together in the designation of the “Lamb of God.” They compliment each other.

The innocence and gentleness of the sacrificial lamb is featured in descriptions in the Old Testament. As a symbol, the sacrificial lamb prefigured the character and suffering of the Lamb of God (Acts 8:32; Isa. 53:7). Jesus is introduced in the Gospel of John as “the Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world” (Jn. 1:29, 36; Acts 8:32; 1 Pet. 1:19; Isa. 53:7).

In 1 Corinthians 5:7 Jesus is identified as the Passover lamb. He is also seen as the suffering lamb of God in Isaiah 53, and the fulfillment of all the lambs of sacrifice in the Jewish rituals.

When Jesus came, it was God who substituted His own provision, a Lamb for the people. This substitution aspect is seen in Abraham’s sacrifice of the lamb caught in the briars (Gen. 22). The LORD God who demanded the sacrifice was the One who provided the lamb in the place of Isaac. God in Jesus provided His own Lamb for the sacrifice.

Jesus is “the Lamb of God.” John specifically relates Christ to God in the act of sin-bearing. God is the provider of this special lamb. He is at the same time the sacrificial victim presented to God and the victim provided by God Himself. He removes the world’s sin by taking it upon Himself. John’s language is very expressive, “He lifts up and takes away all our sins.” He bears upon Himself alone the iniquity of us all. The Gospel of John seems to give a composite of the Old Testament typology of the lamb and its fulfillment in Christ. The Passover is a prominent motif in this gospel (2:13, 23; 6:4; 11:55; 12:1; 13:1; 18:28, 39; 19:14, 31, 42). The arrest, trial and crucifixion of Jesus are associated with the customary sacrifice of the Passover Lamb. The sacrifice of the Lamb of God is at the theological center of the good news in Jesus Christ (Heb. 7:27; 9:26-28; 10:1-18; 1 Pet. 1:18-19; Mk. 10:45).

Jesus Christ is God

Mon, 15 Mar 2010 22:25:54 -0500

The eminent British professor and scholar C. S. Lewis wrote in Mere Christianity:

" I am trying here to prevent anyone saying the really foolish thing that people often say about Him: “I’m ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don’t accept His claim to be God.” That is the one thing we must not say. A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic—on a level with the man who says he is a poached egg—or else he would be the Devil of hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God; or else a madman or something worse. You can shut him up for a fool, you can spit at Him and kill Him as a demon, or you can fall at His feet and call Him Lord and God. But let us not come away with any patronizing nonsense about His being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to. "

Jesus Christ is Lord because He is God.

While on the earth Jesus did exactly what was apparently the impossible thing He said He would do. He taught on numerous occasions that He would be killed, buried for three days, and would rise from the dead. Obviously, if Jesus did not rise from the dead what He said was a lie and He was justly crucified for blasphemy.

However, since He was raised from the dead what He declared was not blasphemy because He truly was God. He was claiming that He was Yahweh, the LORD God, Jehovah, and the great I AM.

Christ our Reconciliation

Sun, 14 Mar 2010 22:07:18 -0500

Adam enjoyed perfect fellowship and communion with God before he disobeyed Him in the Garden. When Adam and Eve disobeyed God that fellowship was broken, and Adam tried to hide himself from God (Genesis 3:8-11).

That broken relationship with God needed to be restored or man would be eternally separated from God’s holy presence.

The apostle Paul tells us God “reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to Himself in Christ, not counting men’s sins against them. And He has committed to us the message of reconciliation” (2 Cor. 5:18-19).

God “makes one” that which was formerly a broken relationship. The word “reconcile” properly denotes to change, like exchanging money, and in relationship to persons, it is to change from enmity to friendship, and thus to reconcile.

This is what God accomplished by exercising His grace toward us sinners on the ground of the death of Christ for our sins. We are the ones who needed the change from enmity to friendship with God. We needed to be reconciled to God.

Because of the atoning sacrifice of Christ men in their sinful condition and alienation from God are invited to be reconciled to Him. The change in attitude is on our part, not God’s. Sinful, rebellious, disobedient men are the ones who need to change. God in love and grace reached down to man and provided a means whereby He could reconcile us to Himself.

The change that is needed on our part is repentance and faith. A spiritual birth brings about this change in our hearts toward God.

Christ our Reconciliation

Sat, 13 Mar 2010 21:46:34 -0600

Christ our Propitiation

Fri, 12 Mar 2010 22:15:40 -0600

Please don’t let that title scare you off. That is a beautiful and profound word.

Christ’s death turns away the wrath of God. The apostle Paul said Christ is our propitiation. He is a propitiatory sacrifice. It refers to what Christ did on our behalf before God.

We are “justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption, which is in Christ Jesus; whom God displayed publicly as a propitiation in His blood through faith” (Romans 3:24-25).

God gave His Son as the means of the propitiation, “and He Himself is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for those of the whole world” (1 John 2:2). “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 4:10). A. T. Robertson said, “God could not let sin go as if a mere slip. God demanded the atonement and provided it.” It was “by the grace of God He might taste death for everyone” (Heb. 2:9).

The word “propitiate” in its classical form was used of the act of appeasing the Greek gods by a sacrifice, of rendering them favorable toward the worshipper. The sacrifice was offered by the pagan worshiper to buy off the anger of the god and buy his love. Note very carefully that this idea is not brought over into the New Testament. The LORD God does not need to be appeased nor is His love for sale.

In the New Testament it refers to the act of getting rid of sin which has come between God and man. The word hilasterion is used in the Greek translation of Leviticus 16:14 to refer to the golden cover on top of the Ark of the Covenant. In the Ark, below this lid, were placed the tablets of stone upon which were written the Ten Commandments, which Israel had violated. On the Day of Atonement before the Ark stood the High Priest representing the people who had sinned. When the sacrificial blood is sprinkled on this cover, it ceases to be a place of judgment and becomes a place of mercy. The blood comes between the violated law and the violators, the people. The blood of Jesus satisfies the just requirements of God’s holy law which mankind broke, pays the penalty for man, and thus removes that which had separated between a holy God and sinful man, sin, its guilt and penalty. This is far removed from the pagan idea of propitiation. Jesus Christ is God’s High Priest who was both the Mercy Seat and the Sacrifice, which transforms the former from a judgment seat to one where mercy is offered a sinner on the basis of justice satisfied.

Who Am I?

Wed, 10 Mar 2010 21:19:42 -0600

Every born again believer in Jesus Christ has a new standing before the Lord God. This eternal position never changes. It does not depend upon changes, chances or our circumstances.

Romans chapters three through seven tells us who we are in Christ.

* We have a new standing with God. By God's grace we have complete acceptance with God in Christ. We are at peace with God; God is at peace with us! "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" (5:1–2). We have a new relationship in which we are reconciled with God, and as a result is we experience His peace.

* We are members of a new family. The disobedience of Adam brought death. All men die in Adam. However, we have a new head of the family who is Jesus Christ, and He gives eternal life. "For if by the transgression of the one, death reigned through the one, much more those who receive the abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ" (5:17).

* We have a new identification in Christ. We have been baptized by the Holy Spirit into the body of Christ. We have died to the old life, have been buried with Christ and have been raised to new life in Him. We are now identified with Christ. We are as men who have been raised from the dead. "Therefore we have been buried with Him through baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life" (6:4).

The Power of the Resurrection Life

Tue, 9 Mar 2010 21:41:12 -0600

Christianity is Christ.

It is centered in a historical person who lived, died and rose from the dead. This truth is the most important fact in history. It is essential because it demands a life saving response in faith in Jesus Christ (Romans 10:9-10).

What does the resurrection of Jesus Christ accomplish for us?

Because Christ rose from the dead all who are united to Him by faith are secure in their own resurrection and eternal life beyond the grave. Before He died on the cross, Jesus promised His disciples that He was going to prepare a place for us. “In My Father’s house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you. If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you to Myself, that where I am, there you may be also” (John 14:2-3). Because Jesus rose from the dead just as He said He would do, we know His promise is true for every believer. He is now preparing a place for us in heaven to be with His Father.

We know this is true because the resurrection proves that Jesus Christ is God. His resurrection proves that He is equal to God and that God would raise Him from the dead three days after He died. The resurrection was God’s way of authenticating Jesus’ claim to deity. The resurrection of Jesus is the Father’s seal on the Son’s claims. Jesus was “declared with power to be the Son of God by His resurrection from the dead” (Rom. 1:4). Jesus demonstrated God’s perfect love for us by dying on the cross and rising again (John 3:14-16).

Moreover, the resurrection proves that God has justified the believing sinner by faith in Jesus Christ. Jesus “was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification” (Rom. 4:25). Jesus gave His life as a ransom for us. He was the sinless One who died for sinners. Because He rose from the dead we know that God is true to His divine will to save sinners. The resurrection proves that Jesus was our sinless substitute who made atonement for our sins and God has justified us by faith in Christ.

Infallibly Convincing Proofs

Mon, 8 Mar 2010 21:03:05 -0600

Matthew Arnold said, “The resurrection of Jesus Christ is the best attested fact in history.”

William Lyon Phelps of Yale wrote, “It may be said that the historical evidence for the resurrection is stronger than for any other miracle anywhere narrated.”

Some of the best books on the resurrection have been written by lawyers who set out with the goal of disproving it as a historical fact.

Sir Edward Clark wrote, “As a lawyer I have made a prolonged study of the evidences for the first Easter. To me the evidence is conclusive, and over and over again in the high Court I have secured the verdict on evidence not nearly so compelling. As a lawyer I accept it unreservedly as the testimony of men to facts that they were able to substantiate.”

The historian Luke wrote that Jesus “presented Himself alive, after His suffering, by many convincing proofs, appearing to them over a period of forty days, and speaking of the things concerning the kingdom of God” (Acts 1:3).

Jesus foretold His own death and resurrection (Luke 9:22; Mark 12:40).

After He rose from the dead Jesus appeared to a wide variety of people in numerous circumstances, through out the land. He showed Himself alive as “demonstrative proofs,” or “evidences manifest to the senses.” Luke uses a word that is not used in the sense of a vision, but the idea “to let oneself be seen.” Let me summarize briefly the testimony of eyewitnesses to the fact of the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Mary Magdalene was the first witness who saw Jesus alive after His resurrection (John 20:11-18). She was standing outside the tomb when Jesus startled her into recognizing Him when He called her name, “Mary!” Surprised by joy, she grabbed hold of Him, and then rushed away to tell the disciples, “I have seen the Lord” (v. 18).

Evidences of the Death of Christ

Sun, 7 Mar 2010 19:27:48 -0600

The eyewitness John keenly observed two unusual things that happen at the crucifixion of Jesus. These facts made a deep impression on him as he watched the crucifixion taking place.

The crucifixion took place on the day of preparation for the Passover festival that would begin at 6 p.m. The Jewish authorities felt an urgency to get the bodies off the crosses and buried before the sun went down.

“So that the bodies might not remain on the crosses on the Sabbath (for the Sabbath was a high day), asked Pilate that their legs might be broken, and that they might be taken away” (John 19:31; cf. Deut. 21:22-23).

The legs of Jesus were not broken as was the case of the other two men crucified that day, and in His case a Roman soldier seeing He was already dead thrust a spear deep into His side and out flowed water and blood. Either to make doubly sure that Jesus was dead, or out of hate he picked up a spear and thrust it deeply into the side of Jesus (John 19:32-34). A real man, with a real human body, with real human blood, died on the cross that afternoon in Jerusalem.

Prophecy was fulfilled in a most unusual manner. One Scripture said the Savior’s bones must not be broken (Exodus 12:46; Num. 9:12; Ps. 34:20), and another said His body must be pierced (Zech. 13:1).

These Roman soldiers would have done just the opposite. They came to break the legs of Jesus as they had the other two men, but there was no point in breaking his legs since He was already dead.

Moreover, they had no intention of piercing the side of Jesus with the spear. To John’s utter amazement that is exactly what the soldiers did.

Why was this observation so important to John?

God Removed the Body

Sat, 6 Mar 2010 21:43:33 -0600

When Peter and John heard Mary Magdalene say, “They have taken away the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid Him,” they took off running to the tomb of Jesus leaving Mary far behind (John 20:2-3).

They ran together for a distance and then John outran Peter and came to the tomb first (v. 4). The huge stone covering the entrance to the tomb had been rolled away. John did not enter the tomb, but just stood there outside the entranceway. He was stooping and looking in, and “he saw the linen wrappings lying there, and the face-cloth, which had been on His head, not lying with the linen wrappings, but rolled up in a place by itself” (vv. 5-8).

John bent over to get a better look inside the tomb. When Peter arrived a little later, he did not hesitate, but went straight into the tomb.

The apostle John repeats the thing that made for him the convincing proof that Christ had risen from the dead. The head wrapping that had been wrapped around Jesus’ head was lying there in its proper place, by itself, still rolled up, twirled round and about like a turban as if the head were still inside. John saw this convincing proof and believed (v. 8).

There were no signs of a hasty grave robber removing the body, or someone running with the body in fear of discovery. It was an orderly scene, not one of wild confusion. They could not have left the clothes wrapped up neatly just as they had been around a dead body. Grave robbers would have taken the body, cloths and all, or would have stripped the body and left the clothes piled up on the floor.

John noted that the linen clothes that had been tightly wrapped around the Lord’s head with the sweet fragrance and sticky myrrh which glued the linen to the body were still right where they had been around the head of Jesus when Nicodemus and Joseph had buried Him on Friday afternoon. Nothing was disturbed.

Limiting Christ

Fri, 5 Mar 2010 21:05:45 -0600

Do you have trouble making the transition between the historical Christ of the New Testament and the living Christ of today?

In reality He is the same person. He changes not. The one whom we worship and serve today is the same one who walked the dusty roads of Galilee, was crucified and rose again.

We limit Christ when we say that He is able to do all that He said He would do in our lives, but we do not appropriate Him by faith today. The promises of Jesus are absolutely trustworthy. Do you believe all that is written in His Book?

We see Him walking on water, healing the sick, opening the eyes of the blind, making the deaf to hear, loosing the tongue-tied, restoring the crippled limbs, casting out demons, stilling the violent storms on Lake Galilee, and bringing the dead to life again. We seem to have no problem believing these great historical events in the life of Jesus Christ. We believe without question that He did all this, but do we believe He will do it in the here and now? More importantly, do we believe that He is sovereign in our lives today? Do we expect Him to break in upon us any moment during the day? Are we genuinely surprised when He intervenes in our lives? Is there a tendency to doubt and disbelieve when He does startle us with His divine presence?

Do we treat the words of Jesus impersonally? Jesus told His friend Martha, “Your brother will rise again” (John 11:23). Instead of taking the words of Jesus as a promise to trust in that moment of crisis she pushed the words of Jesus aside and referred them to the future life when every believer will rise again.

Martha does something we moderns do. She did not receive them personally and act upon them immediately. We say to ourselves these apply to the far distant past or the distant future. Or we think this is for other people who are better than us, or more spiritual, but not for me in my situation.

Lord of the Living and the Dead

Thu, 4 Mar 2010 21:00:32 -0600

Jesus Christ is “Lord of both the dead and the living,” declares the apostle Paul. Those who belong to Him now will still belong to Him in the future, even beyond death. They will belong to Him forever. This is true because Jesus died for us and purchased us with His own blood (1 Cor. 6:20; Acts 20:28). Jesus Christ owns us. If we have believed on Christ as our Savior He is our sovereign Lord.

There is a special lordship over us as His saved people. He has become our Lord by dying for us and rising again. He delivered us from our death penalty. He has set us free from the power of sin and its consequences. By His resurrection He has established an on going relationship with us until He calls us home to be with Him in heaven.

This extensive sovereign Lordship is expressed by Paul in these words: “If we live, we live to the Lord; and if we die, we die to the Lord. So whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord. For this very reason, Christ died and returned to life so that He might be the Lord of both the dead and the living” (Romans 14:8-9).

There is an extraordinary comfort in these words for all who know Jesus as their Lord. If we live, we live unto the Lord. If we die, we die unto the Lord. He is the Master of both. We belong to Him whether we live or whether we die. The only comfort and security in this life is that we belong to Him. We can trust Jesus Christ to be wise and utterly sovereign with whatever comes into our lives and in whatever manner and timing it may come. This is true whether we are alive or even when we die. Jesus Christ is Lord; He is sovereign.

My desire in life is that Jesus will be in practice Lord of every thought and action in my thinking, in my writing, in my speaking, in my motives and actions. I want Him to be Lord in everything there is in me.

I have had people on various occasions tell me they will not allow anyone to have that kind of power over their lives. I can truthfully say I would not allow any one else but the Lord Jesus to have that sovereignty over my life. Yes, I can trust Him as sovereign Lord over my life because He is God.

Satisfied Faith

Wed, 3 Mar 2010 21:18:39 -0600

Faith is simply taking God at His word and then acting on it.

Jesus said, “Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed” (John 20:29b). These words are for you and me because we have not seen Him in the days of His incarnation.

Jesus is not suggesting faith without the facts, but “a satisfied faith.” It is a faith that is satisfied with God’s provisions and does not plead for visions, miracles or strange experiences as evidence of God’s blessings.

Jesus is saying that a faith without these evidences is superior because it is a mature faith.

God’s word is full of promises to those who by faith act on His truths. God blesses faith in the Triune God. The Bible teaches us to trust in Him, and not the living out of some spectacular experience. The blessings of God are for all believers, and are common to all who call upon the name of Christ as God and Savior.

If we are constantly looking for spectacular miracles, rather than walking by faith in Christ, we will gradually become insensitive to the thousands of normal everyday experiences that God continually gives us.

God blesses those who live by faith, and not by sight. The person who enjoys the great benefits of the Christian life lives by their faith in the character and benevolence of God and not in the evidence of visions, miracles, or other religious experiences.

It is by faith that we become the children of God and enter into His family (Jn. 1:12-13). We received eternal life by simple faith in Jesus Christ, the Son of God who gave His life for us and rose from the dead (Jn. 3:16; 20:30-31; 11:25-26).

It is also by faith in Christ that we grow in His likeness. We live by faith in Him and He delivers us from spiritual darkness and bondage (12:46). He gives us His life to enjoy today. Jesus is the Bread of Life and He invites us to feast upon Him by faith (6:35). All of our spiritual longings are fulfilled as we walk by faith in Christ.

It is by faith in Christ that He uses us to minister to a faithless world (14:12). When the child of God takes Him at His word He uses us to impact a watching world. The unbelieving world is watching to see what God is going to do in and through your life. Do we step out by faith and trust Him to do the impossible in our lives? This is the only way God will be glorified in our ministry. Without faith we are just like the heathen, who are surrounded by the glory of God and never see it. May God open our spiritual eyes so we can see what He is doing all about us daily.

It is only as we put our trust in God that our eyes are increasingly open to see where He is at work.

Our Resurrection Hope

Tue, 2 Mar 2010 23:07:43 -0600

“The dead in Christ shall rise first” (1 Thessalonians 4:16).

The resurrection of Christ gives us assurance that our loved ones who have died in Christ are currently safe in Christ and they shall live again. They will have their own identity in their own resurrected body. His resurrection assures us that these bodies buried in the grave shall rise again, not in corruption, but in incorruptible, perfect, glorified bodies like that of the resurrected Christ (1 Cor. 15).

“Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord” assures us of our vital union with Christ even in death. When Christ returns all those who believe in Him will come with Him. They will be raised up at His appearing. Jesus is the “Resurrection and the Life” and He gives His life to those who believe on Him.

“He that raised up Christ from the dead shall quicken your mortal bodies by His Spirit that dwells in you” (Romans 8:11). In Paul’s logic the believer’s resurrection is linked to the resurrection of His Lord. Everything is suspended on the great fact of our vital union “in Christ.”

“If we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them that slept in Jesus will God bring with Him.” The “dead in Christ” will hear the voice of the Resurrection and the Life and come alive.

The resurrection of Jesus Christ answers the question “with what body do they come?” We look at the resurrected body of Jesus in the Scriptures and we see in Him a living mirror of our own future resurrected bodies.

We will have holiness and righteousness perfectly restored to us in Christ. The apostle John declares, “When He shall appear we shall be like Him” (1 John 3:2). Christ shall return as He went up. We shall receive back our bodies perfected in Christ. Our bodies shall be “fashioned like His glorious body.” That removes all the foolish vain imaginations and arrogant nonsense the world proposes about Christianity.

From Doubt to Faith

Tue, 2 Mar 2010 23:06:05 -0600

Would you consider it a compliment if someone called you a “doubting Thomas”?

Doubting is a vital ingredient in all mature critical thinking. No one really respects a gullible person. The mature person weighs the facts and draws his conclusions based upon solid information.

Christ drew even closer to His disciples when they found it hard to believe. He did not push them away, or give up on them; He gave them space to think, ponder and meditate on the reality of spiritual truths.

His disciple Thomas doubted the witness of his fellow disciples when they sought him out and told him that Jesus was risen from the dead. Jesus did not jump in with a quick revelation. He let Thomas sweat it out for eight days (John 20:24-29).

“And after eight days. . . Jesus came, the doors being shut, and stood in their midst, and said, ‘Peace be with you.’” (v. 26).

God deals with us in our doubts the same way He did with Thomas. When we acknowledge our doubts, Christ reaches out to us, and as we yield to His presence He reveals more and more of Himself to us.

Don’t run from your doubts or deny them. Acknowledge them to God and ask Him for wisdom to understand things that are beyond our reason.

Our doubts become the means of experiencing the reality of Christ more profoundly. He reaches out to us in our unique needs. To Thomas He says, “Reach here your finger, and see My hands; reach here your hand, and put it into My side; and be not unbelieving, but believing” (v. 27).

Abiding in Christ

Tue, 2 Mar 2010 23:03:37 -0600

Jesus Christ offers every believer His life. It is like the life of a vine whereby the branches draw their life from the trailing plant. The believer shares in the life of the Vine.

The soul of the believer is in Christ and through our vital union with Him we receive spiritual nourishment. The Christian life is like the entwined vine with every fiber “like the ivy in an ancient wall.”

The Christian is permitted to enjoy “such ravishing tastes of heavenly joys” in Christ.

Brainerd described the life in the Vine as “lively actings of a holy temper and heavenly disposition, such vigorous exercise of that divine love which cast out fear.”

The apostle Paul described this deep entering into the divine life of Christ for him as to live and to die, “for to me to live is Christ and to die is gain.” It is, “Not I, but Christ.”

Jonathan Edwards described it as “a calm, sweet abstraction of soul from all the concerns of this world; and sometimes a kind of vision or fixed idea of being alone in the mountains, or some solitary wilderness far from all mankind, sweetly conversing with Christ, and rapt and swallowed up in God.”

Uninterrupted communion with Christ is the hunger and desire of every born again Spirit-filled believer in Christ Jesus.

We are in Christ by faith and therefore one with Him in unchangeable justification which enwraps the root, branches, leaves and fruit into one vine.

Christ our Vine is not limited, and we are only limited by our being available to Him. Why should we therefore limit God? It is easy to get involved in “show and tell” forms of legalism that emphasize seeking fruit from without instead from within. We look for adornments instead of the fruit of the Spirit.

Our Eternal Sanctification by the Blood of Jesus

Mon, 1 Feb 2010 21:07:38 -0600

One of the most precious and beautiful themes in the Bible is our positional or absolute sanctification by the blood of Jesus Christ. This sanctification is an unchanging and unchangeable eternal position with God.

It is the result of the finished work of atonement Jesus accomplished to take away our sins on the cross. We are accepted in the Beloved. As He is, so are we. We are reckoned by God to be as Christ is in our new standing or position in Christ.

How can we make such a statement? Jesus suffered outside the gate “that He might sanctify the people through His own blood” (Heb. 13:12). The blood of Jesus Christ was shed and sprinkled upon the altar to cover all our sins. Every one of our sins have been purged by His blood, and we have been set apart to God because we are now His possession.

Jesus offered a better sacrifice than the Old Testament rituals. The purpose was to sanctify a people for God. As animal sacrifices were burned outside the camp of Israel so Jesus was crucified outside the city walls of Jerusalem.

Jesus suffered outside the gate of Jerusalem in order that He might sanctify the people of God. We are saved by grace and set apart to God's honor and glory.

The great benefit of our eternal sanctification by the blood of Jesus Christ is that God has entered into a new covenant with the believing sinner, and we now have an unhindered approach to God. It is not based on the perfection of our character, but upon the work of Another, Jesus Christ, our substitute. Our sins have all been eternally atoned for by the bloody sacrifice of Christ.

Have You Received the First Blessing?

Mon, 1 Feb 2010 21:06:01 -0600

The Holy Spirit does a work within the believer whereby He sanctifies us. This is an experience within the Christian.

The apostle Paul wrote to the church at Corinth, “ . . . you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God” (1 Cor. 6:11).

The context tells us all the sins of these saints that were covered by the blood of Jesus. God chose the believer unto “salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief in the truth” (2 Thess. 2:13; cf. 4:7; 1 Pet. 1:2; Rom. 15:16). Paul has in mind the ultimate goal, our final salvation.

God chose us in the deep counsels of eternity on the basis of His grace and love, and not because of any personal merit on our part. It is all of grace and love. The means God uses to bring us to salvation is the work of the Holy Spirit who sets aside chosen individuals to live holy lives. The Holy Spirit regenerates, indwells, baptizes the believer into the body of Christ, etc. The individual believes in the truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ because the Holy Spirit has done His work in our hearts. Then throughout the life of the believer the Holy Spirit applies the Word of God to progressively purify the Christian’s life.

Sanctification by the Holy Spirit is the first blessing of God’s work in the heart of the believer. This first blessing leads to the full knowledge of justification by faith in the atoning sacrifice of Christ for our sins.

No one can be saved without this first work of the Holy Spirit in the heart. The sanctification by the Spirit in the heart brings the believer unto obedience to the sacrifice of Christ. We come to knowledge of our justification when the Holy Spirit brings us to faith in the death of Christ for our sins. His precious blood cleanses the soul of every sinful stain. The blood of Jesus alone makes you acceptable before God. . The Holy Spirit brings you to faith in Jesus Christ.

Our Absolute and Progressive Sanctification

Sat, 30 Jan 2010 22:19:01 -0600

Can you imagine how chaotic the Christian life would be like if we believed on Christ to save us, but we had to keep ourselves saved by our own sinless life?

Because of false teachings most non-believers have the misunderstanding that Christians are to be “perfect” once they believe on Christ as their Savior. They are led to think that all Christians are hypocrites because they are not “perfect” in their daily life and practice. The truth is Christians are “saved sinners” who by the grace of God are striving to live a life that is pleasing to their Savior. Our goal is perfection, but it will not be reached in this life. We will be presented “complete,” “mature,” “perfect” before our heavenly Father in heaven at the end of this life on earth. Only then will we experience sinless perfection.

I thank God that the same grace that saved me, also keeps me saved.

Every blessing in the Christian life is ours in Christ for all eternity from the moment we believed on Him. They are ours all because of the pure grace of God. Yes, we have everything in Christ.

How tragic if we were to trust Christ for salvation, but had to trust in ourselves for sanctification. We would have a religion that would teach that God only forgives sin committed up to the time when we accept Christ as our savior, but after that we would have a lifelong probation proving that we were saved, and would have to forfeit our justification and reconciliation with God when we sinned. If we did not repent of unknown sin in our lives we would forfeit our salvation. We would be in a constant need of a “second blessing” or a further work of grace to keep us saved. We would have to be saved over and over again. Our salvation would depend upon us rather than the perfect, all-sufficient atoning death of Jesus Christ.

The problem with a legalistic philosophy of Christian living is one of sinless perfection. There are no sinless Christians this side of heaven (1 John 1:8-2:1; Phil. 3:8-14).

We are totally dependent upon the grace of God for Christian living. The same grace that eternally saved us the day we believed on Christ as our Savior enables us to persevere in the Christian life for all eternity.

Living the Christian Life

Fri, 29 Jan 2010 23:15:28 -0600

There is only one person who can live the Christian life. Yes, it can be lived, but only by the Lord Jesus Christ.

To live the Christian life you must have the right one living it. The Christian life can be lived by Christ. It is His life, and it is exclusively His to be lived only by Him.

Have you found yourself ever trying to live the Christian life and feeling like a failure? The reason is it can only be lived in complete dependence upon Christ.

The Christian life is an exchanged life. It is lived in dependence upon Christ. You exchange your life for Christ’s life. That way He lives His life in and through you.

The apostle Paul explains, “I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me” (Gal. 2:20).

Your life can pulsate with the living wonder of the Son of God living His life in you as you appropriate it by faith. When you do every demand upon you is a demand upon the Christ who indwells and infills you by His Spirit.

Is there any demand upon Christ that He cannot fulfill? Are you inadequate to meet some pressing need or demand? You may be, but Christ is not.

The demand is not on you, but upon Christ. Therefore, let your life be an endless exercise of faith in drawing from Christ all He desires of you. Do you need patience, wisdom, unconditional love, and strength? You can draw it endlessly from the One who lives and abides in you.

This is the secret to living a life that overcomes temptation. The apostle Paul tells us the more you draw from Him by faith, the less you live in the flesh. “But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh” (Gal. 5:16). When you walk in the Spirit, the life of Christ will flow through you.

The Lord Over Death

Thu, 28 Jan 2010 20:00:41 -0600

When I was a teenager, I enjoyed watching the weekly TV program, “You Are There.” However, there was always one part of the program that I dreaded. Every one of the great men portrayed in history all died at the end of the program. There was always the view of the funeral procession. That view always brought fear and dread to my heart because I knew that one-day all die, including me.

However, Christianity gives me a totally different perspective of death. For me it is no longer a thing to be dreaded, but a marvelous moment of triumph. My physical death will be only a door that leads into life’s fullness in Christ.

Instead of something to fear as a horrible end to existence, the Christian looks to it as a door opening into a greater presence of the Lord God. It is only the continuity of life that began in time when I put my faith in Jesus Christ as my Savior and Lord.

At the death of my father I felt orphaned, even as an adult man serving Christ. The Holy Spirit focused my mind and heart on 1 Corinthians 15. As I studied that great chapter verse-by-verse, sentence-by-sentence, phrase-by-phrase and cross-referenced each statement in the Bible the Holy Spirit applied to my heart the wondrous triumph of Jesus Christ over death and the grave. God gave me a tremendous sense of peace that Christ is the Lord over death.

For the believer in Christ, death is not the end of life; it is only the beginning of a deeper, richer life in Christ. Death is not the end of our personhood. This perishable body as an empty shell is left behind, but in His triumph over the grave Jesus gives us another body that is made for heaven and eternity (1 Cor. 15:35-38; 1 Thess. 4:13-18).

Jesus Christ is Lord over death and the grave. Death is swallowed up in His victory. Therefore, my death is also swallowed up in victory at death because Jesus Christ is Lord over death. That is not just a play on words. It is a statement of fact. Because Jesus Christ is Lord over death, my life does not end at death; it continues as long as Jesus lives and He is eternal. Death is no match for the triumphant resurrection power of God.

Why am I so confident of these truths? First, because of the historical evidence that Jesus is alive. He rose from the dead. History is full of evidence of His resurrection from the dead.

The Lord of History

Wed, 27 Jan 2010 21:21:58 -0600

History moves toward a steady goal because God is in control of history. Jesus Christ is Lord of all including time, kings and kingdoms. He is the Lord of history.

The lordship of Jesus Christ includes every area of life. “The blessed hope” of history is the triumphant, visible return of Jesus Christ. It will be a “glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ” (Titus 2:13).

Jesus Christ will return in triumph to fulfill God’s eternal purpose with all of creation. Creation begins and ends with Christ. The Creator is the Beginning and the Finisher of His creation. We need to remind ourselves of this truth that man is not the creator; he is the created.

Only the Father in heaven knows when that triumphant day will appear (Matt. 24:36). We do know that cataclysmic events will occur (Matt. 24; 25; Mark 13; Luke 21).

Our occupation until His return is to preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ to every tribe, people and nation. Jesus said, “This gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all the nations, and then the end will come” (Matt. 24:14).

As we take the Gospel to every nation, we are to watch expectantly for His return (Matt. 24:27-44; 25:13; Mk. 13:35-36; Lk. 12:35-40).

Like the early followers of Jesus Christ, I am certain of His return. The Lord Jesus is returning in absolute triumph and display of His eternal glory. All of history is moving toward this glorious climax.

History has a reason and that reason is Jesus Christ. It is moving to a climax when “time shall be no more.” A time is coming when “every knee will bow, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (Phil 2:10-11).

This will be a day of victory, judgment and glory for Jesus Christ (Rev. 19).

Lordship of Christ and Our Sanctification

Tue, 26 Jan 2010 18:05:43 -0600

There is always a constant tension between the “now” and the “yet to be” in the Christian’s life.

When we submit to the lordship of Jesus Christ He changes our lives. We grow in our inner person as the Holy Spirit reveals areas of our lives that are not fully yielded to Christ. It takes a lifetime to affect big changes in our lives because God’s goal is a person like Christ.

Matthew 5:48 reads, “you are to be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.” God will never lower His standard to human level. He demands absolute perfection. We want to become more like Him because He loves us. What a tragedy if we lose the desire to become perfect in Christ.

How wonderful to know even now His blood clovers all our sins. Nothing is left uncovered for those who believe on Christ as their Savior. In God’s holy eyes, the believer is already perfect in Christ because we are seated with Christ in the heavenly places.

Christ-likeness in our daily life begins when we put our faith in Christ. It is true, we will never reach sinless perfection in this life, but we strive for it because we love Him and respond to His love. God conforms us to His likeness as we yield ourselves to Him.

As we grow spiritually, we strive to make Christ lord of every area of our lives. This is where spiritual growth takes place. We learn to trust every area of our lives to Christ. Sadly, no one has given God all of themselves except Jesus Christ.

The Holy Spirit works within us revealing our true self and the all-sufficiency of Jesus Christ. Do we really want Christ to control the deepest recesses of our hearts?

There is absolutely nothing God cannot do in your life if He so chooses. The One who “brought about in Christ, when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion” can do anything He so chooses with anyone who will yield himself to Him (Eph. 1:20-21). All He asks from us is to trust Him. All He wants of us is to make ourselves available to Him moment by moment.

This is God’s inheritance in the saints. Paul prayed that we would come to know how precious the saints are in God’s eyes as His inheritance. It is a permanent work of the Holy Spirit in our inner spirit. God is glorified in His saints. This is part of His wealth (Eph. 1:18-20). May God increase our capacity to understand what He is doing in our lives.

Jesus is both Lord and Messiah

Mon, 25 Jan 2010 19:51:51 -0600

Jesus Christ is my Lord. That is the greatest confession of faith you can ever make. “Jesus is Lord.” He is not one of a variety of ways to get to heaven; He is the only way because He is the risen Lord. When we confess faith in Jesus we are saying Jesus is Lord because God raised Him from the dead (Rom. 10:9-10).

Why do followers of Jesus Christ believe He is Lord? The resurrection of Jesus demonstrated beyond any doubt that He is Lord of all. Our faith is based on the clear historical evidence of His resurrection. The resurrection of Jesus proved the validity and reality of Jesus’ redemptive work on the cross and His sovereign Lordship. Because Jesus is alive He is our Lord, and He invites us to join Him in the resurrection life.

The apostle Peter gave four evidences of the resurrection of Jesus in Acts 2:22-36.

The person of Jesus Christ is the first clear evidence that He is risen from the dead (vv. 22-24). Jesus is a real historical person who lived in the town of Nazareth (2:22; 3:6; 4:10; 6:14; 10:38; 22:8; 26:9). He performed many miracles that were witnessed by multitudes of people on diverse occasions. There were eyewitnesses who saw Him raise the dead (cf. John 11:38-44), and heal the sick (Matt. 9:35-38).

Peter declared in his greatest sermon, this was the person who was crucified on the cross in Jerusalem (2:22-23). “Men of Israel, listen to these words: Jesus the Nazarene, a man attested to you by God with miracles and wonders and signs which God performed through Him in your midst, just as you yourselves know” (v. 22). “. . . You nailed to the cross by the hands of godless men and put Him to death” (v. 23; cf. 3:13; Lk. 24:19-20). People knew Him and could identify Him. This man was seen alive from the dead!

The crucifixion of Jesus Christ was no accident. It was God’s “plan.” He was “delivered up by the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God . . .” His very person testifies that He died and rose again.

The Problem of Evil and Suffering

Sun, 24 Jan 2010 21:25:13 -0600

The greatest theological challenge Christians face is the problem of evil and suffering. Never have we had a greater demand to think biblically. We must speak the truth with integrity when people are desperate to hear it and no one else seems to know where to look for honest answers.

There is not a day that goes by that we are constantly called upon to minister at senseless accidents, terrible disasters, crimes against innocence, or someone suffering from a devastating disease. People demand some enlightenment. Perhaps the most difficult situations are those when the innocent suffer at the sinful hands of others.

In times of tragedy and crisis pastors are called upon to speak words of comfort and encouragement when no one else has any idea what to say. We are supposed to know what to say when nothing seems appropriate to say. Where do you go for such wisdom and guidance?

Jesus had a way of saying exactly what needed to be said in every situation. In Luke 13:1-8, Jesus was informed of a tragic event. Pontius Pilate perpetuated an atrocity in which innocent Galileans were killed in the Temple precincts in Jerusalem. The blood of the Galileans was mingled with the sacrifices in the Temple and therefore desecrated the Temple. A greater horror cannot be imagined in Jerusalem.

Jesus asked, “Do you suppose that these Galileans were greater sinners than all the Galileans because they suffered this fate?”

What was the thinking of those who came with the horrible news? They assumed that these Galilean victims died because they were greater sinners. Perhaps they thought that they were more righteous because they were alive.

To make His point even clearer Jesus reminded His listeners of the tower that had fallen in Siloam, killing 18 men. Were they greater sinners than those who lived in Jerusalem? Jesus made it very clear, “No.” He said to them, “I tell you, no, but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.”

God Brings Good out of Evil

Sat, 23 Jan 2010 19:45:58 -0600

Evil in our world is a reality every thinking person must face, but it need not be fatal to the Christian.

The fact never changes: God is good. God is omnipotent, God is omniscient and He is omnipresent. We interpret the events of the day by the known truths, not the unknown. In fact, we interpret the unknown in the light of the known.

Augustine said, “God judged it better to bring good out of evil, than to suffer no evil to exist.”

You must acknowledge that good exists for evil to exist. There can be no evil without there being good. God’s providence extends over both good and evil. Moreover, His will is absolutely good and perfect because His is a righteous God.

God has good reason for evil to exist, even though He did not create it. Evil cannot exist unless God willed it, therefore He can use it for His glory and for our good.

A false premise commonly heard in our day is because evil exists in the world there is no God. The reasoning is if God is all-powerful, sovereign, and totally good, He will not allow evil to take place.

Evil is only a problem if good exists. Only because both good and evil exists can you have a problem. If there is no God, you cannot account for both good and evil. The only basis for assuming both is because there is a moral law, a standard by which to determine both good and evil. There can be no moral law without a moral Absolute. As Ravi Zacharias observes: “If there is no moral Lawgiver there is no moral law; if there is no moral law, there is no good; if there is no good there is no evil.”

Therefore, the idea of evil should cause us to seek God in His goodness rather than to flee from His presence and deny His existence.

Why Pain and Suffering?

Fri, 22 Jan 2010 22:38:28 -0600

Researchers recently asked a cross-section of adults: “If you could ask God only one question and you knew He would give you the answer, what would you ask?” The majority of the people responded, “Why is there pain and suffering in the world?”

That is not a new question. It is the age old question the patriarch Job asked in the oldest book in the Bible during his earth shaking tragedy (1:13-19). If you substitute in this passage the words “Sabeans” and “Chaldeans” with "terrorists,” and tornado or hurricane for the strong wind you have the headlines in today’s news.

Job asked the same question, “Why?” seven times in chapter three. “Why did I not die at birth? Why did I not perish when I came from the womb?” (v. 11) Repeatedly, he asked “Why?” People still ask, “Why did God allow this to happen?” “Where is God?” “Why didn’t God do something?”

The Greek philosopher Epicures asked if there is a God, and if that God is good, why is there evil in our world? Epicures reasoned: “God either wishes to take away evil, and is unable; or He is able and unwitting; or He is neither willing nor able; or He is both willing and able.”

His reasoning raises other questions. Is He weak and feeble because He wishes to take away evil, but unable to do so? However, that does not answer to the real character of God.

Is He wicked because He is able and willing, but will not?

If He is weak, feeble and wicked He is not God. Then we must ask since God is not the source of evil what is its source? Since He is God and He knows the source then why does He not remove it immediately?

The prophet Habakkuk asked God, “Why do You make me see iniquity? Why do you cause me to look on wickedness?” (Hab. 1:3).

The prophet Jeremiah asked another relevant question, “Why has the way of the wicked prospered?” (12:1).

The Hebrew mind reasoned that all suffering is unjust and that God’s silence is inexcusable. In Hebrew, the word “why” is a cry of protest.

New Life in Christ

Thu, 21 Jan 2010 21:23:21 -0600

The most basic work of the Holy Spirit in a person’s life is the new birth.

All of the powers and wonders of the Christian life are centered on this essential miracle of Christianity. This miracle in the individual soul communicates new life in the individual.

A religious leader asked Jesus, “How can a man be born again?” (John 3:1-5) Jesus told him that he needed a spiritual birth. Yes, it was a miracle of the Holy Spirit of God giving life to the spiritually dead. “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).

There are three ways a person cannot be born again. The apostle John says those “who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God” (v. 13).

It is “not of blood,” i.e., it is not a process of nature. It is not by descent from our parents, or after the human nature, or spiritual or religious evolution. I am not a Christian because my parents were Christians. My children are not Christians because I am a Christian. Your spiritual aristocracy means nothing to God.

It is not “the will of the flesh.” It is not by a sincere and passionate desire to be better as expressed in good religious works. You are not born again by your efforts or determination to live a good life, or imitate the virtues of Christ. You cannot enter into a new life in Christ by any natural power.

It is not accomplished by “the will of man.” No decision on your part brings spiritual regeneration. It is an act of God alone. It is not by my will that I am born again. It is not where there is a will there is a way. No individual can bestow spiritual life on another person.

The central truth of Christianity is that a person must be “born . . . of God.” God regenerates, not man. God is the Agent who brings spiritual life to the soul of the sinner. God the Holy Spirit communicates the new life through a spiritual birth. It is a mystery that cannot be explained. You cannot put it in a test tube, or a mathematical formula or a computer chip. It is a miracle that can only be experienced when God does it. This spiritual life is a new quality, a radically different kind of life that is communicated to the soul.

The new birth is the communication to the soul of the believing sinner the very life of Christ. It comes directly from God. The believing sinner can now have fellowship with God. He is “a partaker of the divine nature.” It does not come from our heredity, our intellectual abilities, human efforts, etc. It comes directly and only from God.

This Christ-life is always a raising of the dead

A Good and Perfect Father

Wed, 20 Jan 2010 19:48:11 -0600

God the Father loves us just as much as He loves His Son, Jesus Christ.

Since that is a true statement can we ever have another anxious thought or rebellious attitude toward Him? Because our heavenly Father loves us with such love as He has for His Son He will not let us want for anything good in His divine will. He will take care of us in the very best possible manner (Psa. 23:1; Eph. 1:3). It is absolutely safe to put our trust in a perfect Father.

“Just as a father has compassion on his children, so the Lord has compassion on those who fear Him. For He Himself knows our frame; He is mindful that we are but dust” (Psalm 103:13-14).

Jesus came to reveal the LORD God as a loving and kind Father (John 14:7-9; Matt. 11:27). It is only in the revelation of God by the Lord Jesus Christ that the idea of God the Father is fully developed. The title “Father” is a distinguishing feature in the New Testament in the teaching of Jesus, especially in the Gospel of John. He reveals Jehovah God as Father. He is not the Father of all men, but only those who come to Him through Jesus Christ. “No one comes to the Father but through Me” (John 14:6). There is a distinction between God as our Creator and as Father to the believer.

God is a good and perfect Father (1 John 3:1-2; John 10:15; 14:2; Eph. 3:14; Phil. 2:11).

We have been adopted and placed as His full-grown children in His family. He chose us to be His children; therefore we must allow Him to take care of the responsibilities as a caring Father.

Are we not worth more than many sparrows? As a loving Father He always takes a greater care of His children (Matt. 6:24-26, 30-33).

God has revealed Himself as a true Father, full of love and mercy. Do I respond to Him as His child?

The Father gives His very best to His children (Matt. 7:11; Lk. 11:13). He even gives us His kingdom (Lk. 12:28-32). The context like Matthew chapter six speaks of all our needs. Our heavenly Father wants to give far more than we are able to receive.

Finish Your Work, Lord

Wed, 20 Jan 2010 10:55:56 -0600

Since we are the very workmanship of God created in Christ Jesus for good works, it is imperative that we yield to His creative hand, and allow Him to finish the work He has begun.
With the new birth God has commenced the character of His people fashioning us in the likeness of His Son. No human mind could ever conceive or fully comprehend the full design of God’s infinite wisdom and love. We will have to wait until that day when Christ comes, or when we meet Him in death, to know His perfect character. We really are even right now now the children of God, but “it has not appeared as yet what we shall be." But we know “when He appears, we shall be like Him, because we shall see Him just as He is” (1 John 3:2).
We are loved by God and have been born again; we are now His children. But even now, it has not been revealed clearly to us what we shall be. However, we know absolutely that whenever He comes we shall see Him just as He is. And everyone who has this hope continually set on Him is constantly purifying himself just as He is pure.
The present reality is we are God’s children because of the new birth and adoption into the family of God. He wants us to spend eternity with Him. Only a person who knows God through a personal relationship with Jesus Christ knows what it means to be a child of God.
When Jesus Christ comes a second time all true believers in Him will become like Him (Phil. 3:20-21). They will have new, glorified, resurrected bodies adapted for heaven. Such a hope in His coming leads to a life of personal integrity. We want to live lives that are pleasing to Him.
“Things which eye has not seen and ear has not heard, and which have not entered into the heart of man, all that God has prepared for those who love Him” (1 Cor. 2:9; cf. Isa. 64:4).
We do not know the complete details of this “likeness of God.” But we do know that we will be like Christ because our destiny and glory is to be like Him (Rom. 8:29). We will be like Jesus who is like God (2 Cor. 4:6).
Since we do not know the final outcome of our redemption, who are we to dictate to God what we want to become? He is the Potter; we are the clay. Let’s let Him choose the outcome. Let’s let the Author of our salvation also be the Finisher.

Seated with Christ in Heaven

Mon, 18 Jan 2010 21:04:45 -0600

We were made alive together with Christ” (Ephesians 2:5).

The newness of life we received, as Christians is a spiritual life imparted through our identification with Christ in His death and resurrection. This identification with Him in His death broke the power of indwelling sin. Moreover, our identification with Christ in His resurrection resulted in the impartation of divine life (Romans 6:3, 4).

You have been completely saved by grace and the present result is that you are in a saved state of being.

The apostle Paul could not have stated in stronger and clearer terms the unending state of the believer in salvation. Our past, present and future state of salvation is dependent upon one thing alone, our appropriation by faith of Jesus Christ as our Savior the day we first believed on Him. We received salvation by that initial act of faith in Christ.

When we were born again we were made alive spiritually. The Holy Spirit imparted life to us just like raising the dead. Christ communicates life to us like He did to the dead man Lazarus (cf. Rom. 6:6-8; 8:11; Gal. 2:19-20; 2 Cor. 5:14; 1 Cor. 15:22-23; Col. 2:12; 2 Tim. 2:11ff).

Because of our vital union with Christ, His death is our death, His life is our life, and His exaltation is ours. Our physical position may be on earth, but our spiritual position is “in heavenly places in Christ Jesus.”

All of the verbs in regard to our vital union in Christ are in the past tense. The apostle Paul is stating what has already taken place, not what is future. The resurrection, the quickening and raising up of Christ’s people were in an important sense accomplished when He rose from the dead and sat down at the right hand of God.

The believer is vitally related to the body whose head is Christ. The life of the whole body is in the head, and therefore when the head rose, the body rose. The first to rise from the dead was Christ. Then we who are in Christ positionally rose and are seated with Him.

Our One Supreme Passion

Sun, 17 Jan 2010 22:11:58 -0600

Authentic Christianity is God-centered because it loves the Lord God with all the heart, mind soul and strength. Evidence of a true knowledge of God is an obsession with the glory of God manifest in the person of the Lord Jesus Christ.

The one consuming passion of the believer is the glory of God because he has witnessed the grandeur, majesty and excellence of the Lord God through the eyes of the Lord Jesus and he can never remain the same thereafter.

The glory of God is the sum weight of all the attributes of God. It sums up all that He is in the awesome beauty of His divine perfections. He is perfectly and infinitely glorious.

The grace of God frees us and enables us to live for His glory. Apart from His enabling grace we can do nothing that will honor and please a righteous and holy God. What we do in our abilities will only dishonor His glorious Name. If I touch it with my hands I ruin it for I am sinful. Only if what I do is covered by His atoning sacrifice will it be acceptable to a holy God.

It is our responsibility to ascribe the glory that is due to His wonderful person. We cannot add to His already perfect glory. We glory in His Name when we worship Him and live with the conviction that His perfections are characteristic of His person.

We live in a way that can mirror His glory. To sin is to bring dishonor and fall short of His glory. The passion of the Christian is to live a life-style that is to the praise of His glory. If that is our supreme passion it will redefine our daily life, and we will not be able to separate our personal lives from our worship of the living God.

It is tragic to see a self-centered, man-centered, humanistic pseudo-christianity in our churches.

If our supreme passion is to bring glory to the LORD God it will redefine our manner of life, our goals, methods and purposes in ministry. It means we will live every moment of our lives to the praise of His glory. The focus is on Him alone. He will share His glory with no one.

What will you do with Jesus Christ?

Sun, 17 Jan 2010 22:08:29 -0600

Our acceptance before God depends entirely on what Jesus Christ did for us on the cross and our response to Him.

The Bible makes it emphatically clear if you accept Jesus Christ, God will accept you. If you reject Jesus Christ, God will reject you.

“He that believes on Him is not condemned: but he that believes not is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God” (John 3:18).

It does not matter who we are, what we have been, or what we have done in our past, because our eternal destiny deals with one question alone, what was our personal response to the demands of Jesus Christ?

There is only one basis upon which an individual can be declared right with God, and that basis is the atoning death of Jesus Christ on the cross. When any person believes on Christ as his personal Savior, accepting the fact that He bore our sins in His body on the cross, God declares us acquitted. In that moment all of our sins are forgiven and we experience peace with God.

“Therefore, being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ” (Romans 5:1).

God provides us with a right relationship with Him, peace with God, and a deep and satisfying joy because of what God has done for us in Christ. The believer experiences “joy unspeakable and full of glory” because of the work of Christ, not only for us, but in us. Deep, satisfying and lasting peace and joy is found in Christ alone.

The reason for this joy and peace is because our becoming children of God depends entirely on what Jesus Christ did for us and what we do with Him. The apostle John summarized beautifully this great truth in these words: “This is the record, that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He that has the Son has life; and he that has not the Son has not life” (1 John 5:11-12).

How do You know when You are Spirit-filled?

Fri, 15 Jan 2010 21:45:28 -0600

The supreme mission of the Holy Spirit is to glorify Jesus Christ. He glorifies the Son by unfolding clearly the meaning of His person and atoning work.

The work of the Spirit is Christocentric. He will glorify Christ and will never draw attention to Himself. He always declares the work of Christ.

The work of the Holy Spirit is always to glorify Christ. Jesus said that when the Holy Spirit comes, “He shall glorify Me” (John 16:14). When the Spirit came upon the 120 in the upper room at Pentecost they immediately began to proclaim, not the Holy Spirit, but Jesus Christ is Lord. And they never ceased doing that.

How do you know when you are filled with the Spirit? You will be glorifying Jesus Christ in your everyday life and work. You are filled and under the control of the Spirit when Christ is Lord of your life. There is no greater joy than honoring Him every moment, every hour of the day.

It is the work of the Holy Spirit to exalt Jesus Christ in the life of every born again believer. If your life is not bringing glory to Christ then you need to ask the hard questions: Am I a true Christian? Have I been converted? Is He Lord of my life? When you become a new creation in Christ Jesus the Holy Spirit immediately begins to recreate in your life the image of the glorified Savior. It is impossible to know Christ as your Savior and not to some extent reflect His character in your life.

The Holy Spirit communicates and shares with us the presence and power of the exalted Christ so that He is demonstrated in us as the Lord of glory. Jesus said, “He shall glorify Me; for He shall take of Mine, and shall disclose it to you” (v. 14). The Holy Spirit is the person who takes the things of Christ and manifests them to us and through us to the Father’s glory.

This is evident in the life of every Christian, not just an elite few special people. In every true believer the glory of Christ should be seen because the Holy Spirit glorifies the Son of God in the weakness of the human flesh. The Spirit will make Christ apparent and glorious in us. We are a new creation in Christ Jesus.

God Knows Me

Thu, 14 Jan 2010 21:37:32 -0600

God knows me, and He still wants to pursue a personal relationship with me. That is truly amazing. He knows everything about me, and still wants to enjoy my fellowship with Him.

What does it mean to know God? How do you come to an intimate personal knowledge of Him?

I am not thinking of intellectual knowledge or facts about Him, but the importance of knowing a close friend.

The apostle Paul prayed that believers would know God the Father who chose us, God the Son who redeemed us, and God the Holy Spirit who applied salvation to us personally through the new birth. Now that He has saved me do I have a growing knowledge of Him? Perhaps in our busy schedule and pressures of modern life we should ask do I even want it? How do I fit a hunger for God into a complex worldview?

In Ephesians 1:17-19 the apostle Paul prayed that God would give believers “the Spirit of wisdom and revelation . . . to know Him better.” Paul wanted them to have a “true knowledge of Him.” But you say, they already knew Him as their Savior, and had obtained eternal life. But what I am asking is has God placed within your heart a hunger to know Him better?

With every relationship in life we make deliberate choices as to whether we want to pursue the relationship. God has invited us to get to know Him better. Have we responded to that invitation to belongingness? Do we have that “we” feeling with Him? Have we taken the first few faltering steps and halted? Have we reached a plateau, and is it now time to respond to further instruction in His Word?

Has the Holy Spirit opened the “enlightened eyes of our hearts” in order that we may know “the hope to which He has called us, the riches of His glorious inheritance in the saints, and His incomparably great power for us who believe”?

Paul’s prayer for knowledge of God is based on a plea to have a greater knowledge of God’s saving grace. God takes the initiative and invites us to a personal involvement of our whole person. It is a permanent relationship based on the awesome knowledge that He knows me and desires a personal, abiding relationship with me.

Perhaps Paul had in mind the great prayer of Jesus, “This is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent” (John 17:3).

Do you know Him? Do you want to know Him better? It is true that we have a great deal more to learn about Him in His Word. Knowing about Him is important, but knowing Him personally is more important. We must act on what we have learned in His Word.

Do the Impossible

Wed, 13 Jan 2010 18:29:13 -0600

Jesus saw a thirty-eight year old man lying on his mat at the pool of water at Bethesda and approached him asking, “Do you wish to get well?” (John 5:5-6).

Christ told the man to do the impossible. “Get up! Pick up your mat and walk.”

The apostle John tells us “And immediately the man became well, and took up his pallet and began to walk” (v. 9).

This man could not help himself. Only the divine power of Jesus Christ enabled the man to rise and walk. It was a miracle that Jesus performed at the pool of Bethesda.

This miracle is a remarkable illustration of the spiritual condition of every individual. You and I cannot help ourselves spiritually; our salvation depends upon the grace of God alone. Just as this physically lame man could not help himself we are utterly helpless in our sinful condition to influence our salvation in any way.

Those disabled individuals lying at the pool were without strength to help themselves. John describes them as blind, lame and paralyzed. The poor man said to Jesus, “Sir, I have no man to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up, but while I am coming, another steps down before me” (v. 7). How sad is the man who knows only man.

This is a vivid and valid description of our human depravity without Jesus Christ. Spiritually, we are sick, blind, lame and withered.

Like the lame man we are weak, helpless, powerless as described in Romans 5:6. “While we were still helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly.” “Helpless.” The Greek lexicon says, “infirm, feeble, unable to achieve anything great, destitute of power among men, sluggish in doing right.”

When Jesus arrived at the pool no one rose to greet Him because they were powerless. No one reached out his hand to greet Jesus because they were paralyzed. However, we do see Jesus moving among them and healing the most helpless and lame sinner.

The Bible makes it emphatically clear that God does not help those who help themselves. He helps the helpless. He provides for the powerless.

We are powerless to stop sinning without the work of the Holy Spirit indwelling us (2 Pet. 12-16). We are lame spiritually without the saving grace of God.

Do You have Eternal Life?

Tue, 12 Jan 2010 21:17:19 -0600

Jesus Christ said, “And this is eternal life, that they may know Thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom Thou hast sent” (John 17:3). How do you obtain eternal life? Have you experienced the real thing? What is this knowledge of eternal life? Life eternal is God's life in us produced by His Holy Spirit. It issues in a personal encounter with a holy God who in His grace forgives us of our sins based on the atoning death of Jesus Christ. No one can have His life and not be changed. God is holy and His Spirit makes us aware of our sinfulness and of our deep personal need of His grace. It is by His grace that we are turned to Christ who is our Savior. This knowledge occurs only where God’s Holy Spirit is at work beforehand to make it possible, and it always changes us, issuing in a heart response and true devotion to Him. When we become aware of the true and living God we are confronted with our sinfulness and depravity as opposed to His holiness and righteousness. We are all together corrupt and He is altogether holy. “The wages of sin is death” (Rom. 6:23). Our sin bars our entrance into the presence of a righteous God. Have you ever been really disturbed knowing that you must ultimately deal with One in whom is no sin at all, who cannot tolerate sin in any form and who must judge it? All knowledge of God begins with His holiness and the reality of your sin. It is good to remind ourselves that we cannot fool God. He is always aware of who we are and what we are thinking and doing. Only the fool says, “No God!” “No God!” Nothing catches the LORD God by surprise. “For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God” (Rom. 3:23). This is where the good news of Jesus Christ is so very important to us. God applies these truths to us personally. God’s free gift is eternal life to those who will respond to His free offer of saving grace. Jesus Christ went to the cross and died for sinners. “For while we were still helpless, at the right time, Christ died for (instead of and in behalf of) the ungodly” (Rom. 5:6). Moreover, “God demonstrates His own love toward us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us” (v. 8). We are without excuse because God has taken every measure to demonstrate His love for lost sinners. He has made us aware of His holiness, our sinfulness, and God’s saving grace through faith in the death of Jesus Christ.

Are You One of the Elect of God?

Mon, 11 Jan 2010 18:34:05 -0600

Jesus said, “All that the Father gives me shall come to Me; and the one who comes to Me I will certainly not cast out” (John 6:37).

The answer to the question, are you one of the elect of God, is answered by another question: Have you believed on Jesus Christ as your personal Savior? If you have responded to His free grace, and have believed on Him alone for salvation, you should know that you are one who was given to Jesus before the foundation of the world.

When Jesus was praying to the Father the night before His sacrificial death on the cross He said, “Father, the hour has come; glorify Thy Son, that the Son may glorify Thee, even as Thou gavest Him authority over all mankind, that to all whom Thou hast given Him, He may give eternal life” (John 17:1-2).

Jesus is referring to the covenant between God the Father and God the Son when God gave to Jesus in salvation that great company for whom He would go to the cross and die.

His death provided the objective and judicial basis whereby the elect would be saved.

The prophet Isaiah spoke of that day in his poem of the Suffering Servant. “But the LORD was pleased to crush Him, putting Him to grief; if He would render Himself as a guilt offering, He will see His offspring, He will prolong His days, and the good pleasure of the LORD will prosper in His hand. As a result of the anguish of His soul, He will see it and be satisfied; by His knowledge the Righteous One, My Servant, will justify the many, as He will bear their iniquities” (Isa. 53:10-11).

Jesus went to the cross the next day knowing that His death would secure the salvation of all whom God had given Him (Jn. 17:2, 6, 8, 11, 12). He had the satisfaction that night of knowing that His substitutionary death would secure our salvation.

Jesus, as our Sovereign Savior, has authority over all mankind to give salvation to all whom God has given Him. Thank God, because we were dead in our trespasses and sins and unable to come to Christ unless He first gives eternal life to us (Eph. 2:1-5). If the Holy Spirit is pleading with you, please respond to Him now and receive God’s free gift of eternal life. This is the very evidence you are longing for because of His dealings with you. He raises the spiritually dead and gives life.

It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. He did not have to save anyone. It is His sovereign grace that reaches down to us and draws us to Himself. Will you not respond to His pleading even now? He has the authority and power to break our rebellious will, and quicken our dead spirit so that we will respond to Him in faith.

Have You Seen the Face of God?

Sun, 10 Jan 2010 22:15:10 -0600

The disciples of Jesus saw His glory. They gazed into His character, which is the character of God. “The Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, glory as of the begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth” (John 1:14).

When we see Jesus we see the Father. He “is in the bosom of the Father, He has explained Him” (v. 18).

The Old Testament speaks of the glory of God being so bright in radiance like the display of light that no man could approach it. The LORD is clothed with splendor and majesty. The face of Moses glowed with an irradiation or illumination in a strange and wonderful way when he came down from the mountain after speaking with God (Ex. 34:29-35). His whole personal being was mastered, captured, and illuminated by fellowship with God. There was a supreme consciousness of God’s presence.

That Shekinah glory cloud of God was seen coming down on the Tent of Meeting in the wilderness (Ex. 40:34). “And Moses was not able to enter the tent of meeting because the cloud had settled on it, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle” (v. 35). God blessed His meeting place with His holy presence in a cloud by day and a column of fire by night. When Solomon’s Temple was dedicated God manifest His presence by filling it with His cloud of glory (1 Kings 8:10-11). “The glory of the LORD filled the house of the LORD.”

The apostle Peter, James and John were there on the mountainside when God the Father glorified His Son at His transfiguration (2 Pet. 1:16-17; Matt. 17:2). God the Father glorified His Son so that He would glorify the Father.

Jesus prays to the Father in John 17:1, 5, “Father, the hour has come; glorify Thy Son, that the Son may glorify Thee . . . . And now, glorify Thou Me together with Thyself, Father, with the glory which I ever had with Thee before the world was.”

Jesus possessed the fullness of God’s attributes and character in the inward sense. Moreover, He also possessed the fullness of God’s outward, visible glory. When the disciples looked into the face of Jesus they saw the heavenly Father. In His Incarnation Jesus laid the manifestation of His deity aside; for, if He had not, the disciples would not have been able to approach Him. However, Jesus did retain the fullness of God’s glory in the inward sense sense and disclosed it to His disciples. When He returns in glory we, too, will see Him as He is.

The Glory of God in Jesus Christ

Sat, 9 Jan 2010 21:06:59 -0600

What do you think God the Son would say to God the Father during the night before He would lay down His life as atonement for the sin of the world?

Imagine for a moment with me what the divine communication between God the Father and God the Son must be like. I wonder what deep conversations must take place between the members of the Trinity. The communiqué between the Godhead must be too profound and unfathomable for us to comprehend. The LORD said to Isaiah, “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways . . . For as the heavens are higher than the earth so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts” (55:8-9).

Yet, in the recorded prayer of Jesus in John chapter seventeen we are let in on this deep penetrating talk going on in the Godhead. It is exalted, holy and sublime. It is God speaking to God. This prayer is filled with simple sentences that communicate profound thought for Himself (vv. 1-5), His disciples who are with Him (vv. 6-19) and for you and me (vv. 20-26).

Jesus then is the burning bush of the New Testament on the most holy ground in New Testament soil.

This is a “warm and hearty prayer” from the depths of Jesus’ heart. It is “so honest, so simple; it is so deep, so rich, so wide, no one can fathom it,” wrote Luther.

The petition in verse one is so simple, yet so profound in its simplicity. “Father . . . glorify Thy Son, that the Son may glorify Thee. . . . And now, glorify Thou Me together with Thyself, Father, with the glory which I ever had with Thee before the world was” (John 17:1, 5).

Jesus speaks of His pre-incarnate glory in eternity past before He became flesh. Jesus possessed and manifested the same glory with God before He became flesh. The very essence of deity that Jesus possessed cannot be changed. “He existed in the form of God.” He was equal with God (Phil. 2:6). Jesus was and is essentially and unalterably God. That fact did not change when He took on in addition the “form of a bondservant, being made in the likeness of men” (v. 7).

Saved by Grace!

Fri, 8 Jan 2010 21:05:39 -0600

Saved by grace! There is no greater majestic theme for the Christian. It eliminates all grounds of boasting. Salvation by God’s sovereign grace gives a wonderful assurance. We have security in salvation because our sovereign God elected us in eternity, adopted us into His family, regenerated us, and sealed us with His Spirit. To appreciate so great salvation we must understand our great need. The bottom line of sin is selfishness and the way it affects every area of our lives, but more importantly because it makes it impossible for us to influence our salvation is any way. Any discussion of sin and salvation always leads to the question of our depravity. How badly depraved are we? How far did man fall when he fell in the Garden of Eden? Did man fall upward, or did he fall down? The sad fact is "all the kings men, and all the kings horses and all the kings soldiers cannot put him back together again." Only God can. All of Adam's offspring are corrupted and we cannot merit, earn, win or gain a right relationship with God. Because of spiritual depravity we are dead spiritually. Because of the effects of the Fall, man is no longer capable to making the right choices to get himself right with God. If you have any doubts read Romans 1:18-20. We are dead in trespasses and sins (Eph. 2:1). There is no one who seeks after God (Rom. 3:11). We are all sinners who fail to bring glory to God (v. 23), and as a result we deserve death (6:23). Jesus said, "No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him" (John 6:44). The reason is simply because we are personally and spiritually incapable in our own strength or merit. There is no sufficient reason to believe God should have saved anyone. Everyone of us without exception, deserves eternal punishment in hell. We are inclined only toward evil (Gen. 6:5). Our salvation is the result of God's own sovereign act. It is His work from beginning to end. It is to the praise of God's glorious grace. Because of our depravity God reaches down and through the miracle of the new birth enables us to respond to His saving grace. The only way depraved sinners can ever be saved is by the sovereign election of God who freely of Himself, and His own free will, chooses to save us. Our election was not arbitrary. It was according to God's purpose, good pleasure and His free will. Apart from God's sovereign work of grace, no one follows Jesus Christ. It ever flows from God's sovereign purpose decreed before the foundation of the world. We are saved by grace alone, through faith alone in Christ alone! It can be no other way (Ephesians 1:4-6).

Behold, What Manner of Love

Thu, 7 Jan 2010 18:55:43 -0600

Jesus wept at the tomb of His friend Lazarus. The Jewish people who saw Him responded to one another, "Behold, how He loved him" (John 11:35-36). C. H. Spurgeon said to his congregation in London, "Most of us here, I trust, are not mere onlookers, but we have a share in the special love of Jesus. We see evidences of that love, not in the tears, but in the precious blood that He so freely shed for us. . . . Behold how He loves us!" Have you ever asked yourself where or when He first loved you? With fullness of heart we can say, "See, how He loves me!" Is the beginning of that great love when we first believed? Could it have begun when He died for us? As we reflect back on our lives and His love for us there is no time when He did not love us. When we ponder the beginning of His love for us, it takes us beyond our creation into past eternity. In eternity past Jesus so identified Himself with us and covenanted to redeem us. From past eternity Jesus looked down the distant future in His divine perspective and saw the disastrous ruin of sin in our lives and chose to do something about it. In past eternity Jesus Christ took up our cause and pledged to be the guarantee of God's eternal covenant. Jesus knew that sinful man could never fulfill the demands of the covenant with the LORD God. Therefore, Jesus pledged to fulfill man's part of the covenant. He did so on our behalf long before we were able to have any part of it. Jesus pledged to die for us by giving His life as a ransom for our sins. It was a unilateral covenant through His own blood for it is sealed "through the blood of the eternal covenant" (Heb. 13:20). It was not bilateral because He did it in past eternity by Himself without our asking. It is eternal, and because it is by His grace it is undeserved. Jesus knew that we could never remedy our sin problem so He stepped in, and out of His love and mercy did it for us. In that great act of love He united Himself with us so that His life became our life, His death became our death, His burial became our burial and His resurrection became our resurrection. What love! Where did Jesus do that? When He first loved us. Behold, what manner of love He has for you and me! Even before we were born, even before creation, even before the Fall, even before we sinned, His great love was settled for us. Behold, how He loves us! "When the fullness of time came, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the Law, in order that He might redeem those who were under the Law, that we might receive the adoption as sons. And because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, crying, 'Abba, Father'" (Gal. 4:4-6).

Christ our Redeemer

Wed, 6 Jan 2010 19:17:19 -0600

We have been redeemed through the precious blood of Jesus Christ. He paid an infinite price for our salvation. The price of redemption is the death of Jesus Christ. That is the inescapable fact in the Old and New Testament. The idea of redemption comes from the ancient Greek marketplace. The word agorazo means "to buy," or "to buy in the marketplace." In the New Testament the word places the emphasis on the price Jesus paid to redeem us. In the Old Testament the Jews used the word gaal, "to redeem." The word goel was the kinsman-redeemer who as the nearest of kin had the power, ability, freedom and willingness to redeem his kinsman from difficulty. The Jews also used the word kofer meaning "the ransom price," or the price of redemption. These words suggesting redemption by payment may be strange in our day, but were clearly ingrained in the Jewish and Greek culture of the first century Christianity. The great Gospel of Jesus Christ not only redeems us by the payment of His death, but it goes a step further. Jesus purchased us out of the slave market and permanently set us free to never return to its bondage. The redeemed person has come under new ownership and management. The apostle Paul wrote, “In Him 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. Titus 2:14; 1 Peter 1:18-19; Matthew 20:28). The word exagorazo means, "to buy out of the marketplace" with the idea that the person so purchased might never return to such a state of slavery again. To what extent has God redeemed us? It is an effective and permanent redemption. The promise is we never have to be sold under the power of sin again. Our salvation is so great that Jesus purchased us, and the transaction is complete so that He has taken us out of the marketplace and, we never have to return. The price our Redeemer paid was so great that no one can possibly top the price He paid! We are not up for sale! No one can purchase us away from the LORD God. We were purchased at the infinite cost of the blood of the Son of God. Nothing is more precious than the infinite value of that blood. We have been delivered, luo, "to set free, to loose, or deliver" by the payment of a price. Because Jesus Christ purchased us from sin at the infinite price of His own precious blood, He has also set us free so as to never to return to our slavery again. The emphasis is on freedom. We are free to love and serve Him who redeemed us, and now this is why we worship Him.

Do you have a Sense of God’s Presence?

Tue, 5 Jan 2010 19:21:53 -0600

“That Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith . . .” (Ephesians 3:17). A good friend asked me, “Do you fell you are adequately experiencing the presence and power of the Holy Spirit?” That is a probing question every Christian should pause and consider. I firmly believe that every born again believer is indwelt by the Holy Spirit, but not every believer is yielded to His control. Our experience of His divine presence depends upon our yielding to Him moment by moment. If the Holy Spirit is to have a larger part of our lives we must make a deliberate choice and allow Him to take control. The Spirit wants to fill our lives so that Christ may settle down and make Himself feel completely at home as a permanent resident in our hearts (Eph. 3:17). Our prayer should be that Christ would settle down, even now, in our hearts and take control as the rightful owner. Imagine what it would be like to experience the “fullness of God” (v. 19). Paul was praying that we may be filled up to or unto all the fullness that is in God Himself. That will not take place until we stand complete and perfect in the likeness of Christ at His coming, but it can be our prayer and vision now. Paul was praying that we would be filled and filled and filled and filled forever, as God out of His infinite resources increasingly pours Himself into His redeemed people. David Brainerd wrote in his diary April 21, 1742, “O My sweet Savior! Who have I but Thee? And there is none upon earth that I desire beside Thee.” Then he added, “If I had a thousand lives, my soul would gladly have laid them all down at once, to have been with Christ. My soul never enjoyed so much of heaven before; it was the most refined and most spiritual season of communion with God I ever yet felt.” Oh, for a mature, intimate love relationship with Christ. The Holy Spirit always points us to Him and in that a felt presence and power that is wholly beyond man. It is from that inner resource of “the riches of His glory” that we are “strengthened with power through His Spirit in the inner man so that Christ may dwell in your hearts and through faith. . .” (3:16-17). The filling and control of our lives by the Holy Spirit is not automatic. We are baptized once when we believed on Christ as our savior, but filled many times. It is a deliberate choice we make each day. This empowering presence of the Holy Spirit within us enables us to live an abundant spiritual life.

Do you Seek a Deeper Life with God?

Mon, 4 Jan 2010 21:23:26 -0600

The apostle Paul prayed, “That I may know Him . . .” (Philippians 3:10).
The late missionary to South Africa Andrew Murray was a holy man. At one point in his life he was going through a painful experience. Murray was quiet for sometime before the Lord and then he wrote these words for himself: "First, He brought me here, it is by His will I am in this strait place: in that fact I will rest. Next, He will keep me here in His love, and give me grace to behave as His child. Then, He will make the trial a blessing, teaching me the lessons He intends me to learn, and working in me the grace He means to bestow. Last, in His good time He can bring me out again—how and when He knows."
The Christian is here:
· By God’s appointment,
· In His keeping,
· Under His training,
· For His time.
No natural man can produce that kind of life. It comes as a by-product of a Spirit-filled life. It is the fruit of patient submission to the perfect will of God.
“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God” (Matt. 5:8).
Dietrich Bonhoeffer said, “One’s will must always be abandoned to the divine will, that one’s own will must be given up, if the divine will is to be manifested.”
Of course, the key to everything in the Christian life is the "in Him." All that we might rightly expect from God, and ask Him for, is to be found in an intimate personal love relationship with Jesus Christ.
Such a life is the manifestation of a life lived close to God and in the light of His holy presence. That is the new life in Christ.
How do you experience such a holy walk?
“No man has a right to be so immersed in active life as to neglect the contemplation of God,” said Augustine of Hippo.
Have you gone before God and asked Him to enlarge your soul, to give you an intense hungering and thirsting for God? Jesus said, “Blessed are those who huger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied” (Matt. 5:6).
Has the richness of God’s fellowship overwhelmed you? May God enlarge your soul that we contain more of Him and be a fit mansion for our Lord.

Are You a Saint?

Sun, 3 Jan 2010 21:17:36 -0600

In His great priestly prayer Jesus was praying for His disciples, present and future. He said to His Father, “And for their sakes I sanctify Myself, that they themselves also may be sanctified in truth” (John 17:19). Did Jesus mean that He wished to become holier? Was He praying for sinless perfection? Of course, not, that would have been impossible for the infinitely holy One to become holier. He was already perfectly holy. Jesus was using the correct definition of the word saint. Jesus was setting Himself apart to the task of making atonement for our sins on the cross so we could become set apart for God. A saint is one who is “set apart” for God’s unique possession and purposes. The setting apart as a saint is something God does apart from human endeavor. The person who believes on Jesus Christ is set apart when God reaches down in His grace and mercy through the person and work of the Holy Spirit, regenerates him spiritually and sets him apart for His own possession. One of the great truths of the reformation is, “Every Christian is a saint, and every saint is a Christian.” Every born again believer in Christ is set apart from the world system and no longer belongs to its way of life. The believer has a new principle, new nature, new kingdom, new master, new loyalties, new purpose and new agenda in life. “All Christians are saints, and all saints must increasingly be saintly.” Because of this new principle in life, the saint will become progressively more and more like His Lord and Master Jesus Christ. The new nature will produce a new kind of life. Moreover, because you are a “saint” you will continue to grow in your steadfast commitment to Christ. You will persevere in the Christian life. You will persevere because of the perseverance of God with His saints. You will be able to stand firm to the end because God is faithful to His saints to the end. Because He perseveres with us we must persevere. We must be faithful because He is faithful. How is all this possible? How can we who are weak and feeble spiritually be saintly?

Always in Abundant Supply

Sat, 2 Jan 2010 20:03:33 -0600

Jesus Christ is all-sufficient to meet our every need, but if He is going to meet our needs we must be wiling to recognize our needs and call upon Him. There must be a turning to Him for help. He can supply every spiritual need we face in life if we respond to His abiding presence.

At the feeding of the five thousand Jesus provided food in abundance, and it is always that way with God (Matt. 14:15-21; Mk. 6:33-44; Lk. 9:12-17; Jn. 6:1-15). The interesting thing is Jesus initiated the feeding of the people. He knew in advance that He was going to meet their need. He was interested in their welfare. He was able to do it.

What is your attitude toward being fed by God? Do you feed upon Him?

God never ceases granting our petitions until we cease asking. True, He does not always answer the way we would choose, but it is always with our very best in His mind. I thank God that He has not always granted my requests from my selfish, ignorant perspective. He often says no, in order to give me His very best.

Jesus is ever coming to bankrupt sinners and placing His hand on the bank draft of heaven and says to us, "Write on it what you need."

We have so little faith in things unseen and eternal. We draw so little on the resources of our heavenly Intercessor. "My God shall supply all your needs according to His riches in glory."

Have you humbly asked God to supply your needs from His all-sufficiency? He is able. Jesus tells us He is always willing to fill our empty buckets.

The wise person recognizes his need and asks God to meet every need as it arises.

God has not forgotten where you are. He is fully aware of your need and He is vitally concerned about your Christian life. He will supply all your need according to His abundant resources in accordance with His eternal purpose.

How do the circumstances of your life fit into His will? Is He not committed to your very best? Does He not see the full span of your life and your current life situation?

Who is Jesus Christ?

Fri, 1 Jan 2010 18:52:25 -0600

In a hot debate with a group of hostile religious leaders Jesus said, “Your father Abraham rejoiced to see My day; and he saw it, and was glad” (John 8:56). In their rush to react in emotional excitement they weren't paying attention to what Jesus said so they concluded, “You are not yet fifty years old, and have you seen Abraham?” (v. 57). In response to their question Jesus made one of the most profound statements about His deity. “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was born, I AM” (v. 58). Who is this man? Is He God? Who is this “I AM”? Who is Jesus Christ? Make no mistake Jesus was claiming to have existed before the Jewish patriarch Abraham was born. He was claiming an eternal preexistence—“Before Abraham was born, I am.” When Jesus used the name “I AM” He was actually using the divine name by which the God of Israel had revealed Himself to Moses at the burning bush (Exodus 3:13-14). God revealed Himself to Moses as “I am who I am.” “I AM” is the name for God that Jesus takes to Himself. With this name for deity He claimed to be Yahweh which is the very word for Jehovah or LORD. The Jews listening to Jesus immediately recognized His claim to be God. The Jewish leaders knew what Jesus was saying. They clearly understood His speech. Because they were so inferioritied, they picked up stones to kill Him for blasphemy. This was not the only time Jesus directly or indirectly claimed to be God’s equal. Jesus said, "Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them, but to fulfill them" (Matt. 5:17). Everything Jesus taught when referring to the Old Testament related indirectly to His claim to deity. Luke 24:25-27, 45-47 makes this claim of Jesus quite clear. When Jesus forgave sins, He was well aware that He was claiming to do what only Jehovah can do. As God, He claimed to be able to send the Holy Spirit of God to indwell His followers. But Jesus even claimed a unique relationship with the heavenly Father. No Jew in Jesus' day ever spoke of God directly as "my Father.” Jesus clearly was the exception. He claimed an exclusive relationship to the Father. “I and the Father are one” (Jn. 10:30). Because of His unique relationship with the Father, He taught His disciples to refer to the Father as “our Father who art in heaven.” Moreover, Jesus equated a person’s attitude toward Himself as His attitude to God. To known Him was to know God the Father (Jn. 8:19; 14:9, 16-17). To look into the face of Jesus was to see God (Jn. 12:45; 14:9). To trust in Him was to believe in God (Jn. 12:44; 14:1). To reject Him is to reject God and His offer of eternal life (Jn. 15:23; 1 Jn. 4:15). To worship Him was to honor and worship God the Father (Jn. 5:23; 1 Jn. 4:2-3). Ultimately your response to the question “Who is Jesus Christ?” determines where you will spend eternity.

The Lord Will Provide

Thu, 31 Dec 2009 22:02:26 -0600

Jesus said, “Your father Abraham rejoiced to see My day, and he saw it and was glad” (John 8:56).

Jesus made a startling statement stressing the fact that the ancient Jewish patriarch Abraham placed his ultimate hope in the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ and he rejoiced in the thought of Christ’s coming.

Jesus points to the event as “My day”—the life of Jesus Christ. That is the event that Abraham was reflecting upon and rejoicing about.

Something happened to Abraham in his day to cause him to rejoice back then at the thought of the coming of God’s redeemer. I believe Abraham’s vision of the coming of Christ as our substitute is vividly portrayed in the near sacrifice of his son Isaac on Mount Moriah (Genesis 22). There Abraham learned that “the Lord will provide,” and He did at Calvary.

Abraham had already experienced the reality that God is true to His Word, no matter how strange it may seem. God told Abraham to kill Isaac, the son of the covenant, who had no children at this time in his life. Abraham knew God would have to perform a miracle in Isaac’s death. God would have to raise Isaac from the dead to accomplish His promise of producing a great nation through Isaac. Since God had done a miracle at Isaac’s birth, He was fully capable of performing a miracle in his sacrificial death. The context of Genesis chapter 22 fully expects God to bring Isaac back down the mountain with his father Abraham and the servants after the sacrifice (Gen. 22:5; Heb. 11:17-19).

Abraham trusted God to bring Isaac back from the dead. This was precisely what God the Father did with His own Son Jesus Christ.

Justified Freely by God’s Grace

Wed, 30 Dec 2009 21:32:58 -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.

There is no more majestic word than "grace." It means unmerited favor or kindness shown to a person who is utterly undeserving. In fact, it is a free gift given to us who deserve the exact opposite. It is given to us sinners who are without hope and without God in the world.

Grace is never set in the context of any supposed merit of our own, but always on the basis of Romans 1:18-3:20 which describes our utter ruin in sin. Grace must always be approached with that reality of personal sin in mind. Without the deep conviction of the Holy Spirit we do not understand our need for God’s saving grace.

The Amplified Bible on Romans 3:20 reads, “For no person will be justified—made righteous, acquitted and judged acceptable—in His sight by observing the words prescribed by the Law. For [the real function of] the Law is to make men recognize and be conscious of sin [not mere perception, but an acquaintance with sin which works toward repentance, faith and holy character].”

We are saved by unmerited grace (Eph. 2:8-9). Saving grace of God is a gift that is received only through faith in Jesus, apart from any human merit. We do not deserve grace, for if we did it would not be grace. The only thing we deserve is the full outpouring of God’s just wrath upon us for eternity. If it is not apart from good works and human merit, it is not saving grace because God does not owe us anything.

Grace has a marvelous way of humbling us, and as sinners we hate being humbled.

God cannot offer to do less in grace for one who is sinful than He would have done had that one been less sinful. Because we are all sinners that puts us all on the same level morally. Grace is never an exercise by God used to make up what may be lacking in the life and character of a sinner. There is nothing that can be made up. If salvation was based on legalism, much sinfulness would call for much grace, and little sinfulness would call for little grace. However, because of the atoning death of Christ the sin question has been set aside forever and an equal exercise of grace is extended to all sinners who believe. It never falls short of being the matchless measureless marvelous saving grace of God. The grace of God could never be increased because it is the expression of His infinite love. He is infinitely holy in character. All His attributes are perfect. Therefore, it could not be diminished because every limitation that human sin might impose on the action of a righteous God has, through the propitiation of the cross, been turned away forever.

Why Christians Must be Holy

Tue, 29 Dec 2009 17:11:49 -0600

It is very clear in the teachings of the Scripture that no Christian is sinless (1 John 1:8-10), but it is also clear that God expects the true believer to not sin habitually. “No one who is born of God practices sin, because His seed abides in Him, and he cannot practice sin because he is born of God” (3:9).

To “practice” sin is to sin as a way of life. An unsaved person lives a life of habitual sin. The sin of unbelief is a normal thing for the lost person. A true believer does not live in habitual sin. He may commit occasional sins but he will not make it a habitual practice.

The word “holy,” “holiness,” “saint” and “sanctify” comes from a Greek root meaning, “to set apart to God.” The believer in the Lord Jesus Christ is set apart for God by the Holy Spirit. The “saint” is a person set apart for God, enjoying a holy standing before God in Christ Jesus, with the obligation of living a holy life (1 Pet. 1:15-16).

The evidence of the new birth is righteous behavior in the life of the believer. Sanctification is evident in a changed life. God changes us from the inside out (2 Cor. 5:17).

J. C. Ryle in his book on holiness gave eight reasons why holiness is necessary in the Christian’s life (Holiness, pp. 40-44).

1. God commands that the Christian be holy (1 Peter 1:14-16; Lev. 11:44-45; 19:2; 20:7). God said, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.” Be holy, and not conforming to evil desire. God’s holiness expresses His divine perfection. His innermost nature is holy, and a holy God calls for a holy people (1 Cor. 6:19; 1 Pet. 2:9; 1 Cor. 1:2).

Holy living demands determination (Rom. 12:1). The Christian is responsible for his inner life and outward walk. All areas of our life should be in the process of being conformed to the likeness of Jesus Christ. Sin is abnormal and unnatural for the believer. The Christian does not experience the sinless life perfectly on this earth (1 John 1:8, 10), however we do overcome sin through the power of the Holy Spirit (Gal. 5:16-21).

Holiness or sanctification can be perfected, i.e., completed or matured (Phi. 3:8-16). A maturing, or growing holiness, is an increased Christ-likeness (2 Cor. 3:18). It is a progressive sanctification, not sinless perfection.

We will receive glorification when we see Jesus in heaven, and not before then. Until then, we are to grow in His likeness (1 John 3:3). Our responsibility is to yield ourselves to the inner working of the Holy Spirit and keep on growing in His likeness (James 4:8).

Secure Shelter in the Storms of Life

Mon, 28 Dec 2009 22:10:11 -0600

“He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty” (Psalm 91:1). The Psalmist invites us to abide in the Father’s shadow where we see only the face of the Almighty. The veil of the temple was torn in two making it possible for every believer to go into the presence of the LORD God anytime he desires. In deed, as the Psalmist said we can abide in His presence all the time. The “shelter of the Almighty” implies His holy presence. In the “shadow of the Almighty” we find strength to live a holy life. Has the Most High become your dwelling presence? The believer finds refuge and a secure place in the strong fortress of Yahweh. The LORD is “My refuge and my fortress, My God in whom I trust” (v. 2). Whoever trusts in the Most High finds security and protection in God’s holy presence. Two interesting titles of God are found in verses one and two. The infinite power and sovereign rule of God are expressed in “the Most High” and “the Almighty.” We worship “the Most High” God. Elyôn suggests the exaltedness and overwhelming majesty of God, signifying the supremacy of the deity. This divine name reflects the ideas of omnipotence (Ps 18:13; Lam. 3:38), universality (Ps 83:18), and constancy (Ps 21:7). He is the place of protection and shelter for Israel (Ps 9:2; 91:1, 9), and for her king (Ps 21:7). Elyôn seems to have a special concern for Zion (Ps 46:4; 87:5) even though He is Lord of all heaven and earth. Psalm 73:11 tells us it is impossible to hide from the all-knowing God. The LORD appeared to Abraham when he was ninety-nine years old and revealed Himself by the great name El Shaddai saying, “I am the Almighty God. Obey Me and always do what is right” (Genesis 17:1). The Almighty is all-powerful. As El Shaddai God manifested himself to the patriarchs (Ex 6:3) Abraham (Gen 17:1; to Isaac, Gen 28:3), and to Jacob (Gen 35:11, 43:14; 48:3). The context for most of these references is the covenant, and the responsibility for obedience and faithfulness on the part of the patriarch and the promise of progeny by God. It is not to the hills that these men of faith looked for confidence, but to the Lord of these hills, the Lord of the mountain (Ps 121:1–2). In addition, the images “shelter” and “the shadow” suggest a secure hiding place from the storms of life. We have a secure refuge in His hiding place. We have safety in the presence of the LORD.

A New Life with a New Way

Mon, 28 Dec 2009 22:07:30 -0600

The apostle Paul revealed the very core of the Christian life when he wrote: “For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain” (Philippians 1:21). Paul testified that his life passion is to know Christ. I count all thing loss that I might value the surpassing value of knowing by personal experience Christ Jesus my Lord. I count all my self-efforts a loss in order that I may gain Christ, and be found in Him. I want a righteousness that comes on the basis of faith in the atoning death of Jesus Christ. The passion of my life is “that I may know Him, and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death, in order that I may attain to the resurrection of the dead” (3:10-11). Has Jesus Christ laid hold of you? Like a wrestler, the apostle Paul says, Christ got hold on me, and now I want to get a good grip on Him. Do you have that same passion of the apostle? I want Jesus Christ, and nothing else in life will satisfy once you get a taste of His life. When you come to an intimate love relationship with Christ, you want to celebrate His glory at every opportunity. You long to see His face and hear His voice and feel His touch and walk hand in hand with Him. He bides us, “Come and follow” and trust Him for every provision each step of the way. What makes the new life in Christ so dynamic is that in everything that happens in our lives, God is conforming us to the likeness of His Son. “That I may know Him and the power of His resurrection” is the Spirit of God working in the inner person. It is Christ through His Holy Spirit in the heart, rooted and grounded in love, filled with the fullness of God. There is no other way to live the Christian life to the glory of God. He invites us to make ourselves available to Him. When we do, the Holy Spirit frees us to draw near to the Father and draw our strength from Him.

Attitudes Toward the King

Sat, 26 Dec 2009 20:59:04 -0600

What is your attitude toward the coming of Jesus Christ as the Messiah and Savior of the world?

Mary the expectant mother of Jesus declared in song, “My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior . . .” (Luke 1:46-47).

Does your heart “make great the Lord”? Does your spirit rejoice in “God my Savior”?

Great is the mercy of the Lord upon us. Mary’s heart filled to overflowing with thanksgiving for the privilege of serving the LORD God as a humble maiden.

Because we have been saved by the grace of God through Jesus Christ we have the wonderful privilege and opportunity of magnifying the Lord with our lives. We have been saved to serve Him. Our hearts have been made new by the new birth and we rejoice in God our Savior.

The LORD God is great and is worthy of our worship. Mary proclaimed the greatness of Yahweh when she declared, “My soul magnifies the Lord.”

With a joyful heart she enthusiastically shouted, “My spirit rejoices in God my Savior.”

Has the Holy Spirit put a profound joy in your heart? Does that deep, deep peace cause you to break forth at times rejoicing in the great salvation God has brought into your life? There is a peace and joy in the Christian’s heart that is deep and profound because God has placed it there. It should cause our hearts to rejoice and keep on rejoicing at the great and mighty things God has done.

“Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice!” (Phil. 4:4). The apostle Paul tells us to share that joy with others.

Wise Men Worship the King

Fri, 25 Dec 2009 20:55:44 -0600

The longer I live the more I want to be around wise men.

“Wise men,” more properly, “Magi from the east arrived in Jerusalem” looking for the King of the Jews (Matthew 2:1-2).

Since Herod had all of the children less than two years of age murdered in Bethlehem, the Magi probably arrived after Jesus had already become a young child. The Magi didn’t find Mary and Jesus in the stable, but in a house.

The “star” that guided the Magi was possibly the appearance of the Shekinah glory that signified the presence of God and guided the Jewish people in their wilderness wanderings. The glory could have appeared and reappeared as needed to guide the wise men to Bethlehem on their long journey. The “star” “stopped over the place where the child was” (v. 9). It kept on going before them and then “came and stood over where the child was.”

We are not told how long the journey was, how many Magi were on the trip, or any details about the star. We do not know where they came from except for a general indication “from the east.” Probably the distant Persia was the beginning of their journey. The important thing for the Gospel writer was the fact that non-Jews made the long journey to come and worship the Jewish Messiah. He even concludes his Gospel reminding the church to take the good news of Jesus Christ to “all the nations.”

These wise men made their journey “to worship Him.”

They brought gifts and “presented to Him gifts of gold and frankincense and myrrh” (v. 11). They brought from their “treasures” gifts appropriate for the newborn “King of the Jews.”

God’s Christmas Tree

Fri, 25 Dec 2009 20:53:18 -0600

God’s ultimate will is for every believer to be conformed to the likeness of His Son. The most powerful message of Christmas is the transforming grace of God in Jesus Christ.

God’s Christmas tree is covered with the undefiled and sinless blood of His Son Jesus Christ. It is not the meek and mild “baby Jesus” that saves a lost humanity. It is His sacrificial, substitutionary, atoning death that deals with our human depravity and sin. Without that death we are eternally lost and judged to spend eternity in hell.

There is only one way to be made acceptable with a holy and righteous God. The grace of God in Jesus Christ alone saves the confessing and believing sinner.

Good works and religious activity at Christmas time will not save you. All of your human titles and achievements are absolutely of no spiritual value. We will enter into God’s holy presence by depending on the death of Jesus Christ alone to save us. There is no other way (Acts 4:12). Our eternal salvation is by grace alone (Eph. 2:8-9). God transforms us by His grace. That is why even at Christmas time the only thing worth boasting about is the cross of Jesus Christ (Gal. 6:14). Because of His great love for us, Jesus offered Himself as our substitutionary sacrifice. It was not because He saw anything in us, or anything we would do, but His majestic love. Everything we count as spiritually valuable is worthless in God’s eyes. Only the substitutionary death of His Son on our behalf on His tree can satisfy God and save us.

The grace that decorates God’s tree illumines our minds and changes our hearts. “Oh Love that will not let me go, I rest my weary soul in Thee.”

God decorates His Christmas tree with the fruit of the Spirit in our lives. We give back to Him what He has given to us. He conforms us to Christ’s image. That makes His tree light up the world.

“You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden” (Matthew 5:14). “Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven” (v. 16).

The “works” that God’s transforming grace produces in the believer is winsome and beautiful, attractive, and therefore good. “It is all of grace—His grace freely received by faith in Jesus Christ alone.

Jesus said, “I am the light of the world; he who follows Me shall not walk in the darkness, but shall have the light of life” (John 8:12).

When God Invaded History

Thu, 24 Dec 2009 22:48:34 -0600

The accounts of the birth of Jesus of Nazareth are fully historical. They describe the events when the supernatural invaded the normal flow of historical events.

The physician Luke tells us he thoroughly researched everything about the life of Jesus concerning His conception and birth (Luke 1:1-4). Luke must have gotten his details from Mary.

Matthew makes it very clear that God invaded history. He quotes Isaiah 7:14, "Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, a virgin will be with child and bear a son, and she will call His name Immanuel." Jesus is “God with us.” The Hebrew word Bethulah means an unblemished young woman of marriageable age. She was a virgin. Matthew used the word “virgin” to tell his readers that Jesus was conceived by God to the Holy Spirit apart from any human father.

Matthew states clearly and concisely: "Now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows: when His mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child by the Holy Spirit" (Matthew 1:18). A couple of verses later he adds, "But when he had considered this, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife; for the Child who has been conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit" (Matthew 1:20).

The child who had been conceived in Mary by the Holy Spirit was the divine Messiah, the Son of God. He is Immanuel, God incarnate, meaning “God with us.” Jesus is incarnate deity, and He has promised us that He will be with us always, even to the very end of the ages (Matt. 28:20). He will never leave us nor forsake us.

Jesus is “God with us” by means of the supernatural conception in the womb of the Jewish virgin Mary.

Luke the physician gives us his research, "Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city in Galilee called Nazareth," (Luke 1:26) "to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, of the descendants of David; and the virgin’s name was Mary" (v. 27).

The conception of the Messiah would be unique, such as had never occurred before in history. How will it take place? The angel said it happened in the womb of “a virgin.” The womb that will carry the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, the world’s Savior, will not be born in Rome or even Jerusalem or in a royal palace. The womb that carried the greatest treasure of the universe is a Jewish virgin who pledged to be married to a humble village carpenter. The virgin surrendered herself wholeheartedly. On the part of Mary, we see “unqualified submission to God’s will.” No wonder she was “highly favored,” and “full of grace.”

The Spirit of Free Grace

Fri, 18 Dec 2009 20:48:28 -0600

Ephesians 2:8-9 tells us salvation is by the free grace of God through faith in Jesus Christ. “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, that no one should boast.” Salvation is by free grace.
The old way of legalism does not like that kind of salvation. The legalists do not like to hear the good news in Jesus Christ. True salvation is by grace of God through faith in Christ. There is no hope of salvation by the law because no sinner can ever live up to the righteous demands of God’s holy law. Salvation is on the basis of free grace, and grace alone, through faith in the person and saving work of Jesus Christ. It is God’s free gift to the sinner.
The apostle goes on to write in the next verse the outcome of salvation by free grace. “For you are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them” (v. 10).
The emphasis is still on grace. We are “His workmanship.” We are His poem. It is His creative work, not ours. It is so easy to get the wagon in front of the horse. Our good works do not save us. The good works are produced as a result of His work in us. Our works are a result of justification by faith.
In Philippians 2:12, the apostle Paul wrote, “work out your salvation with fear and trembling.” This clause is not suggesting work for our salvation. The Philippians were already “saints.” The idea is to go on to Christ-likeness in your spiritual growth. “Work out” has the idea to carry it to its ultimate conclusions, work on to completion, finish, or manifest. Work out what God has already worked in when you put your faith in Christ to save you. Carry on to completion what God has begun. Let the Holy Spirit produce His fruit in your daily life.

A Zeal for the Righteousness of God

Thu, 17 Dec 2009 23:48:52 -0600

The apostle Paul prayed to God for the salvation of those who “have a zeal for God, but not in accordance with knowledge. For not knowing about God’s righteousness, and seeking to establish their own, they did not subject themselves to the righteousness of God” (Romans 10:1-3). The apostle Paul was making his plea to his own people who in their religious zeal had rejected God’s provision of His own perfect righteousness for their own self-righteousness. They were intensely religious in their own eyes, but not with the true knowledge of God. They were running well but in the wrong direction. They labored to do good deeds, but for the wrong goal. They were religious, sincere, dedicated, but in their anxiety, they would miss their eternal reward. “They have a zeal for God.” I meet people like that every day. In their religious zeal, they knock on your door, too. Like the apostle Paul, I am not against religious zeal or enthusiasm. However, they are zealous in their religious ceremonies, prayers, observances, holy days, fasts, visitation, teaching, etc., “but not in accordance with knowledge.” There is no use being zealous if you are zealous for the wrong reason. It will not help you if you are going in the wrong direction spiritually. The apostle Paul was writing from his own personal experience. He had been very zealous for the Law, and in that enthusiasm, he killed men and women who had a different “knowledge” than his. He had a mistaken zeal for God. He believed sincerely, but he was sincerely wrong. He had been zealous, but his zeal was focused on the wrong object. Then there came a day when he gained true knowledge of the righteousness of God, and he counted all his self-righteousness as dung and received salvation by free grace alone.

Grace

Wed, 16 Dec 2009 23:49:32 -0600

I am convinced the most important message we can ever proclaim is the free grace of God that forgives us of all our sins and gives us a perfect relationship with God. We are justified by the grace of God through faith in Jesus Christ (Rom. 3:21-28; 4:5).

Lets examine a simple acrostic of the word G-R-A-C-E.

GOD in holy love
RECONCILES ruined and rebellious sinners by His
ABUNDANT grace and
CHANGES ruined men from the inside out and gives
ETERNAL LIFE to all who believe on Jesus Christ.

GODis the Creator of the universe. His personal name is Jehovah or Yahweh. Most modern English translations use the name LORD, written with four small capital letters to translate the Hebrew word JHVH.

The Bible tells us He is the creator and sustainer of the universe (Gen. 1:1, 27; Psalm 14:1). He did not wind up the universe like a clock and then walk away. He is personally involved in His creation (Ps. 139).

He is holy and righteous (Isaiah 6:1; Rev. 4:8; 1 Timothy 6:15-18). The Hebrew prophet Isaiah saw Him in a vision, sitting on His throne, lofty and exalted. He heard the Seraphim chanting, Holy, Holy, Holy is the LORD of hosts, the whole world is full of His glory (Isa. 6:3).

The LORD God loves His creation and is patient with mankind. He first loved us and expects us to love Him with all our heart (1 John 4:10, 19). You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind (Matt. 27:37; Deut. 6:5). Jesus said, Seek first His [Gods] kingdom and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added to you (Matt. 6:33).

The LORD God is good to us all the time, and He alone is worthy of our praise (Rev. 4:11).

Isaiah experienced the thrice holiness of God and fell to his knees and cried out, Woe is me, for I am ruined! Because I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts (Isa 6:5).

Trinity

Tue, 15 Dec 2009 23:17:10 -0600

The Trinity is the theological term designating one God in three persons.

Even though the term is not used in the Bible, it is a correct designation for the one God self-revealed in Scripture as the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. The term simply means that within the one essence of the Godhead, we have to distinguish three persons who are neither three gods, nor three parts or modes of God. The three persons of the Godhead are coequal and coeternally God.

The biblical teaching on the Trinity is developed through the progressive self-revelation of God in the Scriptures. The Bible declares, The LORD is our God, the LORD is one (Deuteronomy 6:4). The unity of God is emphasized. The Hebrew word echad always denotes compound unity. It is one in the sense of unity. It is suggestive of the one Divine Unity of the Trinity. He is the only Yahweh. There is no other. It is to Him alone that the name rightly belongs. God is not Himself a plurality. He is not one among many others. There are no other gods (5:7-11). There is only one essence or substance of God. However, the individuality of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit is preserved. God is one, yet the self-revelation of God clearly teaches in Himself and from all eternity, He is Father, Son and Holy Spirit. He is the triune Godthe three in one.

There are clear intimations of the Trinity in the Old Testament. The Holy Spirit is mentioned frequently from the beginning verses (Genesis 1:2), and in verses 26 and 27 the plural form is used. Each member of the Godhead was explicit participants in creation. The "Spirit of God" in the Old Testament is synonymous with the Holy Spirit. In Genesis 18, the appearance of the LORD to Abraham is suggestive of the second person of the Godhead as well as other occurrences in the Old Testament. Isaiah 48:16 is also a strong Trinitarian statement. Come near Me, listen to this: From the first I have not spoken in secret, from the first time it took place, I was there. And now the Lord God has sent Me, and His Spirit. The speaker in this verse is probably the Messiah, the Servant of the LORD.

The New Testament never violates the Old Testament concept of the oneness of God. The writers unanimously and fully affirm the great Hebrew monotheistic faith in Yahweh. They extend this great doctrine to include the deity of both Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit.

In the New Testament, the LORD God is still preached as the one God (Galatians 3:20). In John 8:58 Jesus proclaimed His own deity. Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was born, I AM. The other emphatic I AM statements of Jesus reinforce the same truth (6:35; 8:12; 10:7, 9, 11; 11:25; 14:6; 15:1) The disciple Thomas declared in 20:28, My Lord and my God! Johns purpose statement for writing his gospel is stated in verse thirty-one. These have been written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ [Messiah], the Son of God; and that believing you may have life in His name. He began his gospel saying, In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God (John 1:1). Who is the Word? He is Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the Messiah, our Lord and Savior. He is equated with God. The apostle Paul wrote, Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ (1 Corinthians 1:3).

Jesus was with God; Jesus is fully God. He said, Anyone who has seen Me has seen the Father (John 14:9). Jesus is fully divine. The Lord God Almighty came into human history in the person of Jesus Christ. The incarnate Jesus Christ is the God-man. He is fully God, and He is fully man.

Everything for Nothing

Mon, 14 Dec 2009 22:55:26 -0600

The Hebrew prophet Isaiah offered a great invitation to everyone to come to the fountain of grace.

Ho! Everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; and you who have no money come, buy and eat. Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost (Isaiah 55:1).

The blessings of God are available without cost. Salvation is a free gift of God. This invitation is a picture of grace in the Old Testament. These blessings are gifts of divine grace, and they are also obtained by grace. They are received only by a sense of need and readiness to accept them.

When speaking of the remnant of Israel the apostle Paul wrote, But if it is by grace, it is no longer on the basis of works, otherwise grace is no longer grace (Romans 11:6). Free grace and works are like water and oil; they do not mix. They are opposites; they are incompatible.

The only qualification is to be spiritually thirsty and needy. The water of refreshing and cleaning that Christ gives is the water of life. He gives the wine of joy, exhilarating, comforting, and refreshing that makes glad the heart of man. He gives wine with fullness of holy delight and milk that nourishes and satisfies the soul. These are pictures of the satisfying and sustaining qualities of the gospel of Jesus Christ. He brings satisfaction to the soul for time and eternity. The water, wine, and milk are the full supply of life joy and satisfaction in the Christians life.

The wonder of it all is that God gives it freely. It is free grace that God gives to sinners who are thirsty for God. Jesus said, Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied (Matthew 5:6). Only the grace of God can possibly give this kind of satisfaction. The purchase is made without money and without cost. The gifts of God are without money and without price.

God freely saves the sinner not because man deserves it or merits it. The gifts of God are absolutely free in the most unrestricted sense of the term. Everything is given freely because it has been paid for in full by Jesus Christ. It cost the Lord Jesus Christ His blood. He gave His life in the sinners place. On our part, it is without money and without price, but on Gods part, it cost Him the most precious possession in heaven, His own beloved Son. Eternal life is the pure gift of God. It is foolish to think you can pay for a gift someone freely gives you.

Sin of Unbelief

Sun, 13 Dec 2009 23:15:55 -0600

We live in a day of tolerance.

But our problem is we tolerate the wrong things. The last virtue of the ungodly is tolerance. When the ungodly have abandoned all other moral standards, the cry of the ungodly is for more tolerance of their immorality and ungodliness.

One pastor remarked recently, People do not want anybody to pass judgment while they are engaged in the most vile perversions and immoral ungodliness imaginable.

One recent study in the United States demonstrated that almost all high school graduates are convinced there are no absolutes.

The truth still stands; there is one sin for which Christ never made atonement. The person who dies in unbelief can never be saved, no matter how religious he may be. There is no atonement for the person who does not believe on Jesus Christ as his Savior.

Yes, there is an atonement made for the unbelief of the Christian, because it is temporary. However, the unbelief with which men die never was atoned for by Christ. There is no atonement for the person who died in unbelief. If he had been guilty of every other sin, if he had but believed, he would have been pardoned. The one exception is to die without Christ. The Bible clearly says, He that believes not shall be damned.

If you hear the good news in Jesus Christ and believe on Him, that is enough. If you perish, and go to hell in your quest for tolerance, it is only because you have refused to call upon the name of Jesus to be saved. 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).

There are really only three views of salvation in the world. (1) Modern pagan man thinks he can save himself and he is his own savior by his own good works. Most pagans believe this. (2) There are people who believe Christ and man saves the man. Jesus did His part, and I must do my part. The religious cults teach this view of faith plus works in order to be saved. You must work together with Christ in order to be saved, but synergism will only send you to an eternal hell. (3) The Bible teaches salvation by grace through faith alone in Jesus Christ. Jesus died on the cross to save us, and when He said, It is finished, our salvation was completed by Christ. Our debt to sin is paid in full by Jesus Christ, and God is now free to forgive us and save us for all eternity. We receive the gift of eternal life by faith because Jesus purchased it by His own blood.

Look Unto Me, and be Saved

Sat, 12 Dec 2009 22:43:15 -0600

Look unto Me, and be saved, all the ends of the earth; for I am God, and there is no other (Isaiah 45:22).

This is the verse the layman was preaching on the day C. H. Spurgeon placed his faith in Jesus Christ as his Savior. I stepped within the house of God, and sat there, afraid to look upward, lest I should be utterly cut off, and lest His fierce wrath should consume me. The minister read the verse of Scripture and Spurgeon says, I looked that moment; the grace of faith was vouchsafed to me in the self-same instant . . . He looked upon the wounds of Christ and could say, Redeeming love has been my theme, and shall be until I die. From that moment on for the rest of his life Spurgeon preached Gods saving grace through faith alone in Jesus Christ.

God saves sinners by grace so that all may know, I am God, and there is none other. He is always removing our false securities and gods so we will put our trust in Him alone.

Every God-called minister of grace can identify with the godly pastor when he said, We are made to see that the Lord is God, and that beside Him there is none else. Very frequently God teaches this to the minister, by leading him to see his own sinful nature. He will have such an insight into his own wicked and abominable heart, that he will feel as he comes up to the pulpit stairs that he does not deserve so much as to sit in his pew much less to preach to his fellows. Although we feel always joy in the declaration of Gods Word, yet we have known what it is to totter on the pulpit steps, under a sense that the chief of sinners should scarcely be allowed to preach to others. Ah beloved, I do not think he will be very successful as a minister who is not taken into the depths and blackness of his own soul, and made to exclaim, Unto me, who am less than the least of all saints, is this grace given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ.

God is always bringing us to our knees that He may press upon our hearts the fact that He is God, and God alone.

The greatest work of God is the salvation of the sinner. In bringing the sinner to saving faith God demonstrates to us that He is God, and besides Him there is none else. He saves us by grace alone so that He alone gets all the glory. He teaches us to, Look unto Me, and be saved, all the ends of the earth.

There is only one person that we can look to and be saved. It is the Lord Jesus Christ. Look, simply, look unto Me, and be saved, all the ends of the earth.

Blessings out of Sufferings

Sat, 12 Dec 2009 00:26:34 -0600

What is your response to suffering? There is no escape from intense pressures in this life, but it helps when we get God into the picture.

The apostle Peter wrote to a group of suffering Christians with words of encouragement. After you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who called you to His eternal glory in Christ, will Himself perfect, confirm, strengthen and establish you (1 Peter 5:10).

After you have suffered for a little, says Peter. The suffering is temporary, in contrast and comparison to the eternal glory that is in store for the believer.

Before God blesses us there come times of trouble, distress, grief and pain. We can rejoice knowing the suffering is for a short time, but out of the suffering comes blessings that cannot be had any other way.

For momentary, light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison (2 Corinthians 4:17). Our suffering is temporary, but it produces in us character that will last thought out eternity.

God equips believers for His service through suffering. He strengthens character in the fires of pressure.

After you have suffered for a little while, indicates the blessings come only after we submit to the refiners fire. We cannot disregard the sufferings.

Who will bless us? The God of all grace, who called you to His eternal glory in Christ . . . He is faithful and consistent in the way He treats us. He is the God of all grace. Everything He does will be consistent with His eternal glory. Whatever He begins in His grace will lead to His glory. What He begins He will see through to completion. One day He will say, Come to Me you blood-bought sinners. Come unto My eternal glory.

We have been called, not just to eternal glory, but God called you to His eternal glory in Christ. He called you and me, sinners saved by His manifold grace, to His eternal glory. He called us to that very glory and honor in which the LORD God invests Himself forever. Yes, we who have sinned and come short of the glory of God are called into His holy presence dressed in His robes of righteousness.

Excuses, Excuses!

Thu, 10 Dec 2009 21:13:37 -0600

"Sirs, what must I do to be saved? The apostle Paul and Silas responded to the jailor in the city of Philippi, Believe on the Lord Jesus and you shall be saved, and your household (Acts 16:31).

The only road to heaven is by faith in Jesus Christ. Calling on any other name will not save you. There is salvation only in the atoning death of Jesus Christ (Acts 4:12). When we believe on Christ as Savior we trust or lean upon Him with our whole weight upon His cross. We cease to stand in our own religious strength, and cast ourselves wholly upon the Rock of Ages. Faith, belief and trust are synonyms for receiving Jesus Christ and the free gift of eternal life in Him.

Jesus Christ is able to save to the uttermost all sinners who come to Him, take His word, and trust Him. Only believe. That is Gods requirement for salvation. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you shall be saved. The greatest sin in the entire world is unbelief. The object of saving faith is Jesus Christ.

R. G. Lee once said, Excuses, excusesrotten bridges over hell. What are some excuses that will send you to an eternal hell?

Some people give the excuse, My faith is too small. I do not think Christ could save me. God does not ask us to trust in ourselves, but in the finished work of Jesus Christ who died in our place on the cross. C. H. Spurgeon said, It is not the strength of your faith that saves you, . . . it is the object of your faith. If your faith is fixed on Christ, though it seems to be in itself a line no thicker than a spiders web, it will hold your soul throughout time and eternity. . . The faith that saves men is sometimes so small that man himself cannot see it. Put your trust in the blood of Jesus Christ to cleanse you of all your sins. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you shall be saved . . . Let Him be the object of your faith and trust.

Other individuals use the excuse, I have many doubts that Jesus died for me. Can I be a true Christian if I have doubts and fears? The Bible does not say we have to have great faith to be saved. It only says, He that believes shall be saved. Focus your trust on Christ, and He will save you.

Forgiveness According to the Riches of God's Grace

Wed, 9 Dec 2009 22:43:22 -0600

The greatest peace and joy in all the world is knowing all my sins have been forgiven according to the riches of Gods free grace in Jesus Christ. We are trophies of His grace both now and throughout eternity.

There is nothing like the free, full, sovereign, unconditional, eternal grace of God that deals with all our sins. The apostle sang the praise of the glory of Gods grace, which He freely bestowed on us in the Beloved. In whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace (Ephesians 1:6-7).

There is no boundary to Gods omniscience. There is no limit to His understanding, or of His grace. Just as He has knowledge of all our sins, so does His infinite grace comprehend all our sins.

How can a holy and just God forgive us of all our sins in one all encompassing declaration of acquittal? It is because the believing sinner is blood-bought. Unto Him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in His own blood, to Him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. The apostle John wrote, To Him who loves us, and [once and for all] released us from our sins by His blood (Revelation 1:5).

When God forgives He draws the mark through every sin which the believer ever has committed, or ever will commit, observed C. H. Spurgeon. However many, however heinous, your sins may have been the moment you believe, they are every one of them blotted out. In the Book of God there is not a single sin against any man in this place whose trust is in Christ, not a single one, not even the shadow of one, not a spot, or the remnant of a sin remaining; all is gone . . . and when Gods love covers the big sins it covers the little ones, and they are all gone at once! When God forgives, He not only forgives all, but once for all. . . . By one sacrifice there is a full remission of all sin that ever was against a believer, or that ever will be against him . . . not a single sin shall ever stand against you, nor shall you ever be punished for a single sin; for every sin is forgiven, fully forgiven, so that not even part of the punishment shall be executed against you (Sermons of C. H. Spurgeon, vol. Vii, pp. 72-73).

Our redemption is full and complete through Christs blood. The moment the sinner believes his pardon is at once received. All of your sins are forgiven and gone forever! All that God requires is for you to cast yourself, simply on the blood and righteousness of Jesus Christ. He that believes on the Lord Jesus Christ shall be saved.

God's Everlasting Covenant of Grace

Tue, 8 Dec 2009 22:01:27 -0600

There is infinite value in the atoning blood of the Lamb of God.

The new covenant with the LORD God is ratified by the blood of Jesus Christ (Matthew 26:28; 2 Corinthians 3:6; Hebrews 7:22; 8:6-10; 10:16-17; 12:24; 13:20; 2 Timothy 1:9).

We have peace with God through the blood of the eternal covenant, even Jesus our Lord.

The blood of the eternal covenant with Jesus Christ stands over against the blood of bulls and of goats in the old covenant with Israel. Christ shed His precious blood in fulfillment of the stipulation of the everlasting covenant. Christ's atoning blood is the foundation of this covenant with God. The eternal salvation of sinful men and women is guaranteed by this eternal covenant in the blood of Jesus Christ.

Now the God of peace, who brought up from the dead the great Shepherd of the sheep through the blood of the eternal covenant, even Jesus our Lord, equip you in every good thing to do His will, working in us that which is pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen" (Hebrews 13:20-21).

The everlasting guarantee of the covenant of grace is the shed blood of Jesus Christ. It is by His blood that all our sins are cancelled, justice of God was satisfied, and the law was honored. Christ has done everything that God can demand. The blood of Jesus Christ is the fulfillment of the debtor's side of the covenant. Because of the atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the sinner's behalf, God is bound by His own covenant to show grace and mercy to all whom Christ redeemed by His blood.

Jesus' death is the divine seal of the covenant. I put my trust in the merit of His blood. I have no other hope or trust but in Him alone.

This eternal covenant is not a covenant of works, but is a covenant of free grace that was made between God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit before the foundation of the world. In this covenant within the Trinity, Christ stood in the covenant as man's representative because man at that time did not exist. This covenant of grace was established in eternity, put into force at Calvary by the death of Jesus Christ, and sealed to the hearts of God's elect by the Holy Spirit. We receive the blessings of this covenant by faith in Christ.

God the Son, in His own blood, paid the debt of all the elect of God. He suffered the full payment of divine wrath against the sinner. No question remains; it has all been paid in full. The wages of sin is death, and our divine substitute paid the debt in full.

Justification by Faith and Imputed Righteousness

Mon, 7 Dec 2009 21:54:37 -0600

God is a just God, and He is the justifier of the person who has faith in Jesus Christ (Romans 3:26).

That is one of those important truths that separate historical Biblical Christianity from the religious cults.

The believing sinner is justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus; whom God displayed publicly as a propitiation in His blood through faith (vv. 23-24).

God is a just God, and the justification of the sinner must be accomplished in perfect harmony with Gods justice. Even in the justification of the sinner the holiness of God must be preserved and demonstrated. Every requirement of the law must be satisfied, and the infinitely holy character of God must be satisfied.

The law places a double demand on sinners because it requires their full obedience to its precepts, and their full endurance of its penalty when the law is broken.

How can anyone possibly meet this condition since it is a universal fact that all have sinned and come short of the glory of God? The only way is for God to provide what man cannot do. In grace God has already fulfilled these requirements, and paid in full the penalty by sending His Son born under the law (Gal. 4:4) to became obedient unto death (Phil. 2:8).

Christs life of righteousness culminated in His dying the death of the unrighteous and fulfilling the will of God. Jesus Christ bore the penal curse of the law in the sinners place and therefore made propitiation for the sinner (Rom. 3:25). On the basis of the life and death of the sinless Christ there resulted justification of life to all men (5:18).

The law has been perfectly fulfilled by Jesus Christ acting in the name of, and on behalf of the believing sinner. The claims of the law on the guilty sinner have been fully satisfied.

Moreover, on the basis of Christs perfect obedience, God does not impute sin, but imputes the righteousness of His Son, to sinners who believe in Him (4:2-8; 5:19).

This imputed righteousness is entirely apart from the sinners works. God provides His own perfect righteousness to the believers account.

In both the Old and the New Testaments justification is used only in a legal or forensic understanding. Justification does not mean to make just or righteous, but to declare judicially that one is in harmony with the law. A righteous person is one who has been declared by God to be free from guilt.

God credits righteousness on the basis of a person putting his faith in Jesus Christ. That declaration is final and irrevocable the moment the person is declared just (3:28; 5:1; 8:1).

Sleepless Nights and Stressful Days

Sun, 6 Dec 2009 21:46:25 -0600

What do you do when the pressures of daily life assail and assault you?

Since the LORD God has saved you by His grace from beginning to end, why should you tremble before the lesser dangers of this life?

King David tells of an experience how he was able to lie down and sleep in the midst of a sudden danger occasioned by his son Absaloms rebellion (2 Samuel 15-16).

I lie down and sleep; I awake again, because the LORD sustains me. I will not fear the tens of thousands drawn up against me on every side (Psalm 3:5-6).

David went to sleep trusting God with one of the greatest threats to his life. God was a shield around David as he slept trusting God with his life.

C. H. Spurgeon said, It is the most bitter of all afflictions to be led to fear that there is no help for us in God. Those are the most crushing moments in our lives. We feel as if the very floor has been pulled out from us, and someone has greased the rope we were holding on to desperately.

King David in the first stanza gave expression to the great crisis he was experiencing. He acknowledged and deeply experienced the deep anxious feelings. His enemies have risen up against him. O LORD, how many are my foes! How many rise up against me? Many are saying of me, God will not deliver him (vv. 1-2).

Think about it. Sometimes we, too, feel like our enemies are giants much larger than life, and we are mere ants ready to be crushed. We seem overwhelmed when we take inventory of our lives.

David was fleeing from his son Absalom. Are you fleeing the presence of a son, daughter, or spouse who has turned their lives against everything you believe in and are committed to in life? Perhaps you face an uphill battle in pursuing the God-given goals in your life. You may feel like the cutthroat environment where you work is an open warfare. Instead of swords, knives and bullets they are swords of lying gossip, rumors, deceit, misrepresentation, etc. As you go to work you are dreading the living hell in the jungle at the office. There is always that animal that is pushing buttons trying to find your vulnerable spot. The enemies of the gospel are saying, God will not deliver you. Who hasnt felt the assault of the enemy?

The second stanza tells us how David gained the victory. He put his confidence in the LORD God. There is no other way to explain the change. He takes his mind off his enemies and focuses his attention on the only one who can deliver him.

"My Cup is Running Over"

Sat, 5 Dec 2009 22:33:10 -0600

Gods blessings are always a superabundance.

When the LORD is my shepherd, my cup runs over in superabundance.

We do not have to wait until we get to heaven to experience Gods banquet house. His overflowing grace is something we experience as Christians in this life. Jesus said, I came that they might have life, and might have it abundantly (John 10:10b). That is a cup running over with Gods grace. He does not just give us the gift of eternal life when we first believed, but He keeps on giving eternal life. The life He gives us is perisson, meaning, to have a surplus, superabundance, till it overflows.

Jesus gives us Himself (John 14:6). He is this abundant life. It is Gods kind of life. My cup overflows, means it is not just full; it is running over, filled to the brim and overflowing.

Gods saving and sustaining grace is always like that. His grace is always in fullness, abundance and all-sufficiency.

The woman of Samaria met Jesus at Jacobs well on a hot day. Jesus did not have a rope and a bucket to draw the water from the well so He asked the woman for a drink of water to quench His thirst. In the course of the conversation with the woman Jesus said, If you knew the gift of God, and who it is who says to you, Give Me a drink, you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water (John 4:10).

Jesus was ready to give this woman, who was a slave to sin, running water. Whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall become in him a well of water springing up to eternal life (v. 14).

Jesus is the source of a spring of living water that is always bubbling up, unfailing source, ever fresh. The idea is of water leaping, springing up. It is full of action, not a stagnant pool of water, but water gushing up with energy.

Jesus puts the well within us. The well springs up, and it goes on springing up from within into everlasting life.

Faith Defined: Knowledge, Belief and Trust

Thu, 3 Dec 2009 22:14:03 -0600

By grace you are saved, through faith in Jesus Christ (Ephesians 2:8).

The grace of God is the open fountain that saves the sinner. By grace you are saved.

The grace of God is an infinite attribute of God. The first and last moving cause of our salvation is Gods grace. No man comes to Me, except the Father which has sent Me draw him, said Jesus. The effectual call of God is of grace. Even our faith is the result of a divine operation. Our salvation is by grace through faith in Jesus Christ.

In due time, Christ died for the ungodly. God in His marvelous grace provided that sacrifice which covers all our sins.

Why is faith so important? Faith is the channel or conduit through which we receive Gods free girt of salvation.

Let us make it very clear that you faith does not save you. We are saved by the grace of God. Faith is not an independent source of salvation. It is not how much faith we have as if we are to psych ourselves up to a certain level of faith. Salvation is received by looking unto Jesus, not by looking at our faith. Faith is not the power that saves. God saves us by His grace. The saving power of God is found in His grace, and not in our faith. Faith focuses our eyes upon Jesus Christ alone who died for our sins.

By grace are you saved, through faith. You would think that you could not get much clearer than that. C. H. Spurgeon said faith is made up of three thingsknowledge, belief, and trust.

We must have knowledge of certain facts in order to be saved. What is the good news of Jesus Christ? How do you receive Gods free gift of salvation? We must know certain facts about sin, and the sacrifice of Jesus Christ for our sins. Without this knowledge we cannot be saved.

For while we were still helpless [sinners] at the right time Christ died for the ungodly . . . God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us (Romans 5:6, 8). That is essential knowledge we need in order to be saved. Without knowing that we are sinners, and that Jesus died for our sins, we cannot be saved. You cannot be saved without knowing the fact that Jesus died for you, in your place, on the cross.

Faith's Results: Justification

Wed, 2 Dec 2009 21:32:52 -0600

The person who believes in Jesus Christ is not judged, however he who does not believe is judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God (John 3:8).

This powerful statement on salvation by faith in Jesus Christ indicates the unbeliever is in a continuing state of condemnation because he has not put his faith in Christ. He has refused to enter into a state of belief in Christ.

The person who puts his trust in Christ is not being judged. His judgment for the penalty of sin has already taken place. However, the person who is not believing has been judged already and is under judgment. The reason for this judgment is he has not put his trust in the name of the uniquely-begotten Son of God. He is in a state of unbelief.

Putting your trust in Jesus Christ removes condemnation because He takes our place and pays the penalty for sin for all who put their sin problem in His hands (Romans 8:32f).

The apostle John states the saving truth very clearly. The person who puts his faith in Jesus Christ as his Savior does not come into judgment. Jesus said emphatically, 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).

Judgment has already been passed on the person who refuses to trust in Christ as his Savior.

The unbeliever already stands condemned. The believer in Jesus Christ on the other hand, is under no condemnation (Romans 8:1). He will not be condemned (John 5:24).

What must you do to be condemned? Nothing. What must you do to be lost? Nothing. He who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God (John 3:18b).

The opposite is also true. He who believes in Him [Jesus Christ] is not judged (v. 18a). Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you shall be saved is the simple truth of the saving Gospel.

Faith's Object: Jesus Christ

Tue, 1 Dec 2009 21:52:37 -0600

What is the object of my faith? What am I to believe in to receive the gift of eternal life and live with God in heaven? What must I do to be saved?

The object of faith for the sinner is Jesus Christ. We receive the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all those who believe (Romans 3:22). We are being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus (v. 24).

Jesus Christ alone is the object of your faith for the forgiveness of sin. On nothing else can you trust to have all your sins pardoned.

God is a just God, and He must punish sin. God at the same time is merciful and wills to pardon and forgive those who believe on Jesus Christ. How can He be just and exact the penalty for sin? How can He be merciful and accept the sinner? How can He be just and at the same time justify the believing sinner?

The Biblical solution to our sins problem is substitution, which is essential to Gods plan of salvation. God looks upon Jesus Christ as though He had been all the sinners in the world wrapped up into one. The sins of His people were taken from their persons and actually laid on Jesus Christ when He died on the cross. God in fiery judgment met the sinner and punished Him. The wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23a). God poured out His wrath against sin on His own Son. Christ was not the actual sinner, but the sins of all His people were all imputed to Him. They were charged to His account personally and spiritually. The justice of God met Jesus Christ on the cross as though He had been the actual sinner. Jesus received the punishment for His peoples sins. God extracted from His Son the last atom of the penalty for our sins. He drank the last drop of judgment against us.

Today we look upon Jesus Christ as our substitute who died in our place. We put our trust in His saving work for us. We are delivered from the curse of the law because Jesus died for us. Jesus Christ has paid the wages of sin in full.

Jesus was the just dying for the unjust. He was the righteous one dying for the unrighteous. Jesus Christ is the vicarious substitutionary sacrifice dying for the sins of all those who will trust Him for the remission of their sins. Jesus endured once and for all the punishment for our sins. He has put away our sins forever by the sacrifice of Himself on the cross.

Therefore, the object of our faith must ever be in Jesus Christ. Saving faith can never be in ourselves because we are sinners, already condemned and under the judgment of God. A person dead in trespasses and sins cannot offer God anything to merit salvation.

Whose Side are You On?

Mon, 30 Nov 2009 22:17:34 -0600

Whose side are you on?

That is the question Psalm one asks as it paints two portraits: one is the picture of the wicked person, and the other is the portrait or the wise man.

Who is the blessed man of whom the psalmist speaks? asked Joseph Flacks. This man never walked in the counsel of the wicked or stood in the way of sinners or sat in the seat of mockers. He was an absolutely sinless man.

One Jewish man concluded, The man of the first Psalm was Jesus of Nazareth. He was the only sinless perfect person who has ever walked this earth. He knew no sin is the testimony of those who knew Him best.

Jesus Christ is the perfect man portrayed in the opening verses of Psalm one. He is the only person who has ever lived a perfect life as portrayed in this psalm. He is the man in Psalm one (1 Peter 2:21-25). Jesus Christ is the Righteous One who never experienced sin in his personal life. He is the only perfect man who ever lived, and there is none other like Him.

How blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, Nor stand in the path of sinners (Psalm 1:1). Only such a person can be supremely happy and fulfilled in this life. He has received a multiplicity of blessings. Not only has he received an abundance of blessings, but the fullness of the blessing that God gives.

No one has ever received the blessedness of these words of the Father except Jesus. This is My beloved Son in whom I am well pleased (Matthew 3:17). It was the declaration by the heavenly Father of the perfection of Jesus. It was divine approval of Gods perfect man. It is also an identification of the personality of Jesus Christ as the Son of God.

But his delight is in the law of the LORD, and in His law he meditates day and night (Psalm 1:2).

Life in Christ

Sun, 29 Nov 2009 22:21:54 -0600

There is life in Jesus Christ.

Jesus said, You will not come to Me that you might have life. I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. I came that they might have life, and might have it abundantly. I give eternal life to them, and they shall never perish; and no one shall snatch them out of My hand.

The life of the believing sinner is in Jesus Christ. We get life by appropriating the saving grace of God by faith in Christ. There is life by living in Him, trusting in Him, and believing in His grace and power.

There is legal life in Jesus Christ. If you have put your faith in Jesus Christ you are acquitted based upon what Christ did for you on the cross. You are no longer under the sentence of death. The wages of sin is death. But Christ died as your substitute. Legally you are alive because of the death and resurrection of your substitute. We have a death sentence passed on to us because of Adams sin, and our own personal experience of sin.

Our sins are pardoned because Christ suffered the punishment for them. We know that we can never be punished again for them because Christ suffered the punishment for our sins. Christ died for us, in our stead, and in that death we are now delivered. There is therefore now no condemnation for us who are in Christ Jesus. We have been legally acquitted and given life. Our acquittal is a present reality. We have full pardon and cannot be touched by the law. We are legally alive in Christ Jesus, and we legally cannot lose it. No condemnation means justification. We have a full legal pardon! That legal pardon that God has given us will be just as good now as it will be a million years from now. Even then it will still read, There is therefore now no condemnation to them that are in Christ Jesus.

Jesus Christ gives us spiritual life. We were dead in our trespasses and sins. We were spiritually dead. God in His loving grace and mercy has given us spiritual life. It is like being raised from the dead. The spiritually dead live because of the saving death of Christ.

The Holy Spirit opens our deaf spiritual ears and we hear and respond to the effectual call of God to salvation. He opens our dead spiritual eyes that we might see the things of God and believe on His Son for spiritual life. The Holy Spirit softens our stony dead hearts so we will believe on Christ and be saved. He gives us a new heart. Yes, we were dead, and God chose to give us life in Christ.

No matter how dead you are in sins there is life in Jesus Christ for you.

Believer's Vital Union with Christ

Sat, 28 Nov 2009 22:22:16 -0600

The relationship between Christ and the believer is the nearest, dearest, closest, most intense, and most enduring relationship that can be imagined, said Spurgeon. We live because Christ lives, and our lives are hid with Christ in God. It is closer than a husband and wife, or children and their parents.

One of the greatest mysteries in the Bible is the believers vital relationship to his Lord and Savior.

There are three great mystical unions in the Bible. The union of the three persons of the Godhead, being one God, called the doctrine of the Trinity. The Bible also teaches the union of the two natures of Jesus Christ in one person, and the vital union of the believer in Christ.

There is a close intimate union between the Lord Jesus Christ and the Christian. It is so intimate that it may be spoken of as one. We are members of His body (Ephesians 5:30). It is not a physical union, but an attachment of love. We are truly united with Him as truly as the parts of our bodies belong to the head. Charles Hodge said, This might mean simply that we stand to Him in the same intimate and vital union that a mans body sustains to the man himself.

Figuratively, we are members of Christ, and together we form His body. This is the closest imaginable relationship. We are identified with Him. We are made an essential part of Him. He is the head of the body and we are the members of that body. It is the closest imaginable vital union possible. We are members of His body.

The apostle Paul has in mind that the believers standing is such a relationship with Christ that it is analogous to Eves relation to Adam. As Eve derived her life from the body of Adam (Genesis 2:18-25), so we derive our spiritual life from the body of Christ. We are partakers of the life of Christ. Our spiritual life proceeds from and is sustained by Christ. It is the source of our present spiritual life, and of our eternal life in glory with Christ.

The Church of Christ

Sat, 28 Nov 2009 22:21:00 -0600

All of us who are trusting in Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior are members of the true church of Christ. We are members of His body. We have experienced the forgiveness of our sins, according to the riches of His grace. We are accepted in the Beloved, and we are redeemed through His blood.

The moment we put our faith in Jesus Christ we are born again, and at the same time placed in the body of Christ in a vital union with Him. The essence of saving faith is to rest upon Christ alone for eternal salvation. We trust in the atonement and the righteousness of Jesus Christ to save us. Saving faith is to trust in Jesus Christ and what He has done for your salvation.

Our justification is an instantaneous act from the moment we believed on Christ as our Savior. Justification is completed in one instant never to be repeated. It is complete the moment a sinner believes on the atoning death of Jesus Christ. In that moment is the remission of all our sins. In that moment we are made clean by the blood of Jesus.

What a gracious joy to know that in one single instant we are declared just, complete in Christ, without a sin, freed from all its condemning power, guilt and iniquity. In an instant a person is pardoned. Never again will the Christian ever be unjustified! There is therefore, now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus (Romans 8:1).

From the Day of Pentecost on as each believer became saved he also became a member of the body of Christ. It is impossible to be saved and not be a member of the church, which is Christs own body, because a part of the divine work of salvation is the uniting of the individual to Christ by the baptism with the Holy Spirit (1 Cor. 12:13).

Every Christian is baptized by the Holy Spirit into the body of Christ at the moment he or she believes on Jesus Christ to be saved. We are by the Holy Spirit brought into the body of Christ. This baptism into the body of Christ is not limited to any particular group of believers. Every Christian, from the moment he believes in Christ and is saved is baptized by the Holy Spirit into the body of Christ and therefore the universal church of Christ. The church of all the people of God, all the redeemed, all believers is the real and only Church of Christ.

Are you a member of the true church of Christ? Are you a member of His body? Have you been saved by the grace of God alone through faith in the atoning sacrifice of Christ?

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 Gods 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 Gods 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 Gods 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 Gods 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 believers 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 crossHis 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? Josephs 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 Josephs strength is divine strength. And if you and I ever accomplish anything to Gods 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 Gods 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 believers 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 principals office, that is a special call.

When the apostle Paul said, We preach Christ crucifiedto those who are called, it is always a special call. It is the sharp, hot arrow of Gods 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.