A Heart Prepared for God

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Psalm 78:1-8 – “Give ear, O my people, to my instruction; incline your ears to the words of my mouth!  I will open my mouth in a parable; I will utter dark sayings from of old, which we have heard and known, and our fathers have told us.  We will not conceal them from their children, but tell to the generation to come the praises of the Lord, and his strength and His wondrous works that He has done. 


For He established a testimony in Jacob and appointed a law in Israel, which He commanded our fathers that they should teach them to their children, that the generation to come might know, even the children yet to be born, that they may arise and tell them to their children, that they should put their confidence in God and not forget the works of God, but keep His commandments, and not be like their fathers, a stubborn and rebellious generation, a generation that did not prepare its heart and whose spirit was not faithful to God.”

I write this as one sinner to another, holding fast to the promises of God even while everything around me seems to be falling further away from the Living God.  I know that we are warned in 1 Peter 5:8 –“Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.”  I see the Church under attack, and while I do know that God is sovereign over all, and not one of those who are truly God’s will fall away (Rom 8:38) I also know that His sovereignty has ordained that His people fight against this adversary.  I know as we are told in Ephesians 6:12 – “our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.”
 
These things come to mind when I consider what God has for us in Psalm 78, a blueprint for remaining faithful to God amidst a faithless world.  The Psalm opens by reminding the hearers that they are commanded by God (Deut 6:6-9) to teach their children about God, and all His works.  He gives an example of Jacob and the law, which represents both God’s promise to Israel (including the grace of God shown to Israel even in their disobedience) and the law of Moses, which pointed to the righteousness of God.  Verse 8 ends with a warning, not to be like some, who were stubborn and rebellious, who did not prepare their hearts, the outcome of which was a spirit that was not faithful to God.  The psalm speaks about generations, but I want to speak about days.  Today, have you prepared your heart to be faithful to God?  Have you read, thought on, meditated on the works of God from scripture, to fear Him, know Him, trust Him, love Him, and set Him before you as ultimate in your heart’s affections?  If you haven’t prepared your heart, then your spirit will not be faithful to God.  Days of disobedience can turn to weeks, can turn to months, can turn to years, very quickly.  Many of you I know, and as your brother in Christ, know that you are loved and cared for – we cannot be apathetic in our pursuit of God.  We have an enemy that is all too active and ready to lure us away from the God who loves us.
Even with a heart that has meditated on God daily, the struggles and battles of life will come.  Let yesterday be yesterday, but prepare for tomorrow today.  Our God is too great to sit in silence, there is no end to His might or His perfections.  He is our hope when we have none.  Guard your heart; preach to it; meditate on the works of God in the Bible.  Prepare your heart to be steadfast in love for God, and preach the same to the next generation.  
 
Grace and Peace,
Adam

The Enemy of Now

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All of Creation has an innate relationship with our Creator, God.  By Him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him.  Man was the pinnacle of God’s creation, unique, being called an image-bearer of God.  The perfect goodness, love, justness, and joy of God was meant to be reflected in man.  Instead of trusting in the goodness of God, man chose to reject God, seeking joy apart from Him.  Everyone born through man since has been born with the same inclination of the heart, pursuing joy apart from God, selfishly seeking self-fulfillment above all else, but finding only emptiness, pain, separation, and loss.  The consequences of sin.  The deception of sin is not that there is no happiness to be found; anyone who says sin is no fun at all is a liar – it will offer pleasure for a time.  No, the deception of sin is that it promises lasting joy without pain or consequence, and in that it has proven a liar time and time again; a horrible substitute for what man was created for; lasting joy in God.  The Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.  As an all powerful Creator, it would seem just for God to simply destroy all of man, but although God’s justice demands a punishment for sin, it is the love of God that led Him to bear it one behalf of man.  God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.  God took on flesh as Jesus, came, lived a perfect life, and was crucified on a cross as punishment for sin that was not His own.  He made it His own.  The physical punishment was severe.  His appearance was so marred, beyond human semblance, and his form beyond that of the children of mankind.  The wrath of God poured out on Jesus, was likewise beyond what we can imagine.  He was forsaken, not simply by men, but by God, for God cannot be in the presence of sin, His holiness is an all consuming fire.  The infinite value of Jesus’ sacrifice was more than enough.  He conquered death; the sin he bore could not hold him in the grave, because His holiness was greater still.  The justice of God was satisfied, Jesus’ death was more than enough to justify all those who would come to God in faith.  The love of God triumphed over the wrath of God that man’s sin required.  Jesus Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God.  Jesus makes His appeal to us every day – come.  There are no more barriers, no more guilt and shame for sin, just come.  There is no intellectual theological puzzle to figure out first, there is no sin that needs cleaning up first; there is no sin that has not been completely paid for, even the one’s yesterday, even the ones a moment ago, even the ones in the future, just come.

 
Let the world call you foolish, the called Jesus foolish in His day.  Let the world remind you of all your past sins and current sin in your life, remind them of the greatness of your savior Jesus to cover all your sin.  Let the world try to distract you with busyness and the “important things in life” and let your response be that there will be nothing more important now or in 10,000 years than your relationship with your Creator and Savior, Jesus.  Let the world try to tell you that meeting with people to encourage one another in your faith isn’t important, that faith is a “private matter” and let them know that that is your family, your brothers and sisters in Christ, and they are the same people who you be talking to 10,000 years from now.  Let the world mock believing a book written over 2,000 years ago, and be comforted that the Words they mock are the Words of Life from the Living Word, Jesus, and in spending time in it, you are spending time with Him, and He is with you wherever you go.  In many ways, you will have an enemy seeking to keep you away from your Creator and Savior Jesus, now.  The world would even be satisfied to leave you thinking you could come to him down the road, but none of us knows what tomorrow holds or even whether we will be here tomorrow.  There is peace and joy in Jesus alone.  Why would we wait until tomorrow for peace and joy today?  Through Jesus, God is for you, not against you, and His plans for you are infinitely greater than anything the world has for you.  He does not simply have plans for you tomorrow, He has good plans for you and your joy in Him, today, now.  By the unmerited favor of God you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them – now. 
Grace and Peace,
Adam

Salvation’s Response to the Gospel

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I’ve been writing over the past couple of years through Romans in a series titled “Reconnecting with the Gospel”.  My hope was that as we saw through God’s Words what the gospel was, what it was not, what man’s predicament was before God apart from the Gospel, and what freedom and joy man has with the Gospel in Jesus Christ – affections would be stirred in our hearts to greater devotion to God.  So today I want to look at specifically, if someone is saved, what is their response to the gospel?  What is the response of someone who is not saved?

I’m going to be working out of a passage in Colossians primarily, but I also want to look back to Romans 6:1-11

Colossians 1:21-23 – “And you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him, if indeed you continue in the faith, stable and steadfast, not shifting from the hope of the gospel that you heard, which has been proclaimed in all creation under heaven”

Paul is speaking to those within the Colossian church who have believed the gospel.  They, like us all, were at one point at enmity with God, by nature disobedient, and following after whatever fleeting pleasures we could find apart from Him (Ephesians 2:1-3).  But God, being rich in love and mercy, even while we were sinners died for us (Rom 5:8).  We were reconciled to God by the blood of Jesus Christ, the righteous for the unrighteous that we might be brought to God (1 Peter 3:18).  What is the hope of the gospel that was heard by the Colossians?  The forgiveness of sin, the reconciliation to God their Creator, and a future hope of eternity in a fullness of joy in the presence of Jesus (Psalm 16:11, John 17:13,24)

All of the promises of the gospel, specifically one’s reconciliation to God, is true of someone “if indeed you continue in the faith, stable and steadfast, not shifting from the hope of the gospel that you heard”  

Sometimes people will ask me if I believe someone can lose their salvation.  It’s funny to me that if you say someone might not be saved, you will be attacked saying – “you can’t know that, you’re not God”, yet when I say to someone that they likely are saved, I never hear those words.  The Bible does not speak of salvation as a one-time event, and neither do I.  It speaks of “being saved by the gospel” as an ongoing process.  1 Corinthians 15:1-2 – “Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you—unless you believed in vain.”

So I’ll wrap up this point here – for someone who is genuinely saved, there is an affection for God, a new hope in the gospel, that they hold onto.  Life as a Christian is not a sprint, but a steady, marathon.  When someone is genuinely saved, there is still sin their life, but they no longer are enslaved to it.  They are free to pursue joy in God instead, and their heart longs for Him.  As temptation, suffering, and tribulation come up, trying the faith of a Christian, trying to shift their hope onto money, other people, addictions – someone whose heart has been saved by Jesus will not let go of Him, and will run to Him, not every time; but over time.

What does the response of someone look like who is not saved?  It can look like a great many things, but essentially it is the opposite of what was just described.  It is someone who might not want to go to hell, might like the appeal of “guilt-free” living, but they have no love for God.  Their hope ends with whatever God can give them, instead of Himself.  If they’re honest, if Jesus wasn’t in heaven, it wouldn’t be that big of a deal to them.  Ultimately, they do not consider themselves dead to sin and alive to Christ (Romans 6) – they are content to continue in disobedience towards God.

So if you come to me asking whether or not you’re saved – I’m going to ask you to tell me about your life.  Where were you 5 years ago, where are you now?  Where do you want to be 5 years from now as a Christian, and what are you doing now to prepare you?  What do your actions say about what you value – do you value God above all else, or is there something else that you value above Him?  If I preach the gospel to you right now, will your initial response be to pursue joy in God in righteousness, or be a feeling of relief that you can pursue joy in licentious sinning without guilt?

Ultimately, my answer doesn’t matter much.  What does your own heart tell you?  The good news of God, is that He is in the business of making new creations, of redeeming people.  Today is the day of salvation.  (2 Cor 6:2) Choose today who you are going to serve (Joshua 24:15), and know that a prayer to God asking for affections for Him, wisdom to live rightly, a clean heart before Him, and greater repentance from sin will not be ignored.  (Matthew 7:11)  If your heart has seemingly strayed from God, preach the gospel again to your own heart and hold fast to your hope in Jesus.

Lamentations 3:19-24 “Remember my affliction and my wandering, the wormwood and bitterness. Surely my soul remembers and is bowed down within me.  This I recall to my mind,
Therefore I have hope.  The Lord’s lovingkindnesses indeed never cease, for His compassions never fail.  They are new every morning;  Great is Your faithfulness. “The Lord is my portion,” says my soul, “Therefore I have hope in Him.”

Hosea 6:1-3 –

Come, let us return to the Lord. For He has torn us, but He will heal us; He has wounded us, but He will bandage us. “He will revive us after two days; He will raise us up on the third day, That we may live before Him.  “So let us know, let us press on to know the Lord. His going forth is as certain as the dawn; And He will come to us like the rain, Like the spring rain watering the earth.”
Grace and Peace,

Adam

Reconnecting with the Gospel pt. 58 – The Heart of the Problem

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Romans 10:5-7 – “For Moses writes about the righteousness that is based on the law, that the person who does the commandments shall live by them.  But the righteousness based on faith says, “Do not say in your heart, ‘Who will ascend into heaven?’” (that is, to bring Christ down) “or ‘Who will descend into the abyss?’” (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead).”
In the last message covering Romans 10:1-4 we saw that there is salvation is no one else apart from Jesus Christ.  No amount of morality will save you; the entire point of the law of Moses (10 commandments + other laws added in the Old Testament) was to point people to God, to His righteousness and our need for God as our Savior.  Today’s message continues that with a look at what Moses himself said in Deuteronomy 30.  In Deuteronomy 30:6 Moses writes – “the Lord your God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your offspring, so that you will love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, that you may live.” I could write an entire message on Deuteronomy 30, but sufficed to say that if you break down what Moses says in that chapter, it is clear that salvation and the outworkings of salvation are a work of God.  The first 10 verses of Deuteronomy 30 all speak of what God will do, climaxing in the verse above, that God will circumcise the hearts of His people, so that they will be free to love Him.  The latter 10 verses all speak to the outworking of that work of God, the obedience of man to the commandments of God.
Ultimately, unless God gives us hearts to love Him, our obedience to Him will be impossible.  The obedience of God is not a matter of works, but of the heart.  Jesus gives examples of this in Matthew 5:21-22,27-28 – “You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder; and whoever murders will be liable to judgment.’ But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says, ‘You fool!’ will be liable to the hell of fire.”  “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart.”
 
Being better people will get us no closer to God than jumping up in the air will get us closer to the Sun.  We as people have a massive problem called sin, just as some fool jumping in the air thinking they can reach the sun has a massive problem called gravity.  The Jews spoken of here in Romans 10 thought that by being “good people” according to the law, they would be able to reach God – it’s foolishness.  Does this mean we ignore God’s commandments – no, but we know that our hearts must be changed by God, rather than just cleaning up the outside.  We know that from beginning to end, our salvation, our righteousness, is a gift of God through the blood of Jesus, not a task to be completed by us.  
 
If you find yourself today stuck in sin or frustrated by trying to please God through your works, take a moment and just thank God from freeing you from both the sin of immorality and the sin of self righteousness in Jesus.  Consider the greatest sin you’ve ever committed and know that Jesus bore the wrath of God for you sin.  Now consider your best righteous act, and know that Jesus bore the wrath of God for your sin in that act too.  The gospel is meant to be a gospel of peace and rest.  Are you resting in Jesus alone?  Instead of trying to clean yourself up on the outside, start with your heart.  Ask God for affections for Him, to incline your heart towards Him, to give you desires to see Him in His Word, to delight and find joy in all that He is for us in our Lord, Jesus Christ.  He loves you, it’s not a prayer He will say no to.  
 
Grace and Peace,
Adam

Reconnecting with the Gospel pt. 57 – The End of the Law

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Brothers and Sisters,

Today’s message is an important one.  This is a section of scripture that if you do not take to heart, you will drift from the gospel of peace, into something else that is not the gospel at all.  If at the end of today’s message you do not feel pitiable, small, weak, and needy, I will not have done God’s word justice.  If at the end of today’s message you do not see Christ as all-sufficient, triumphant, massive, and mighty to save, I will not have done God’s word justice.  After laboring in Romans 9 to show that salvation is 100% of the Lord, and not a matter of birthright (by being born within the physical nation of Israel) or upholding of the old testament law (As given by Moses and the prophets) Paul is now directing his attention to his physical brothers of Israel who had believed both of these things.

Romans 10:1-4 – “Brothers, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for them is that they may be saved.  For I bear them witness that they have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge.  For, being ignorant of the righteousness of God, and seeking to establish their own, they did not submit to God’s righteousness.  For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes.”

From the section of scripture (Romans 9:31-33) immediately preceding the above we know that “them” that Paul’s heart and prayer is for is the physical people of Israel, his “kinsmen according to the flesh” (Romans 9:3).  They are not saved, and Paul’s heart is burdened for their salvation overflowing into prayer for them to God.  They have a passion for God, but not according to knowledge.  I wonder how many inside and outside of the church today would fall into this same category.  They have a passion for God, but no true knowledge of Him.  How else do you explain that over 75% of the US considers themselves “Christian”, yet our country is so full of unrepentant, rampant, immorality?  Knowledge matters.  It is not enough to “believe” in God, if the God you believe in, is not grounded in the Truth, the revealed God of the Bible.  Here is a good measuring stick of whether you know God – if you are content in your knowledge of God, not wanting to pursue Him further, you may not know Him at all.  God will convict you, discipline you, push you, and guide you in a way your flesh and your own sinful desires would never lead you – but if you know Him, you know that His loves for you guides all that He does and you trust Him.

So what was the “knowledge of God” that was lacking for the people of Israel?  Verse 3 tells us.  They were ignorant of the righteousness of God.  Because they were ignorant of the righteousness of God, they attempted to pursue self-righteousness through adherence to rules and codes of morality.  To be sure, the pursuit of righteousness in your life is a good thing – until you believe that God will accept or love you based on “your righteousness”.  These holy men of Israel did not listen to their own great prophets, Isaiah and David; Isaiah when after being face to face with the righteousness of God had this to say (Isaiah 6:5) – “Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts!” and later in Isaiah 64:6 – “We have all become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous deeds are like a polluted garment.”  David said in Psalm 143:1-3 – “Hear my prayer, O Lord; give ear to my pleas for mercy!  In your faithfulness answer me, in your righteousness!  Enter not into judgment with your servant, for no one living is righteous before you.”

The law was given to Israel not to produce in them a righteousness that would be accepted by God, but to show them their unrighteousness and need for a righteous Savior.  Why did Israel not see this?  Because they did not know how righteous God truly is, they did not know Him.  If I was trying to explain to a child what heat is, I might show them the warmth of the sun on a hot day (maybe 100˚F), a bowl of hot soup (200˚F), or a fire (1500˚F).  All of those things contain degrees of heat, but they do not compare to the heat of the sun (10,000˚F), and even our sun does not compare to the heat of other types of stars which can be over (350,000˚F).  For God, who created all things, has within himself not just a different understanding of “heat”, but the very essence of it.  In the same way, man was pointed to an understanding of God’s righteousness, but not to be able to attain it, but to know that God was the Righteous One.  The end, the whole point of the law of God was to lift up Jesus as the Righteous One, the essence of righteousness, who would reconcile a people to God – not because they had earned it somehow, but to demonstrate and magnify the love and mercy of God.

When man does not know the Righteousness of God, two things generally happen, which both were present in the people of Israel 1) a person will attempt to be accepted by God based on their own “righteousness” and “good works” and 2) they will not submit their lives to God.

Israel had a passion for God, but was not saved because they did not submit to God’s righteousness.  What does that mean?  It means two things 1) you recognize your total inability to have God accept you based on your own personal “righteousness” and 2) it means that you submit your life to pursue the righteousness of God in faith.  Faith that while you follow God, you are entrusting yourself to His mercy, not your ability or sacrifice. Submitting yourself to God’s righteousness means that in the fear of the Lord, you will reject sin in your life, reject comfort if need be, to pursue Him and His will in your life.  Knowing that as your grow in the knowledge of the Lord, you will see greater and greater depth to His righteousness, and as a counterpart to that knowledge, a greater and great understanding of your own sinfulness and need for God.  Jesus’s righteousness was not simply a better righteousness than ours; He is the essence of righteousness.  When the Lord in His mercy reaches us with faith to know Him, we are covered and clothed in the perfect essence of the righteousness of God.  The wrath of God poured out on our sin on Jesus was the essence of wrath, infinitely more powerful and horrible than we can fathom, but the life and righteousness of Jesus, by which we now stand in assured of our salvation, was infinitely more glorious than we can possibly fathom, as is the love of God for us in Jesus.

Do you know the righteousness of God?  Have you submitted to the righteousness of God?  What is stopping you today, from doing so?  Pursuing the Lord is seldom comfortable, but He is good and the only source of lasting joy.  Who would you entrust yourself to, today?  Yourself?  Someone else?  The world around you?  Why not a God whose love for you is indescribable in how great it is?  Why not a God who willingly died an excruciating death for you?  Why not a God who knows your days from the beginning to the end and has promised to walk with you every step of the way?  We come to God as sinners, empty handed, with nothing to offer.  We bring nothing to the table.  God doesn’t ask us to, He simply says “come”.  All who are weary and in need of rest, come.  Find your rest in Him.

Grace and Peace,

Adam

Reconnecting with the Gospel pt. 56 – The Stumbling Stone

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Romans 9:30-33 – “What shall we say, then? That Gentiles who did not pursue righteousness have attained it, that is, a righteousness that is by faith; but that Israel who pursued a law that would lead to righteousness did not succeed in reaching that law.  Why? Because they did not pursue it by faith, but as if it were based on works. They have stumbled over the stumbling stone, as it is written, “Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offense; and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame.”

The following was part of a message by Henry Mahan on what it means to be saved by grace alone – “Do you know what the most difficult thing for a Son of Adam, (a human being) to do? The most difficult thing, and I’m not talking about something foolish in the material or physical world, I’m talking about something that pertaineth to life, that which pertaineth to God, that which pertaineth to the spiritual life, that which is real life. The most difficult thing for any human being to do, that which an unbeliever cannot possibly do–and that which a believer finds most difficult? Do you know what it is? It is to believe in, completely trust and look only to, Jesus Christ for justification.  I will guarantee you that it is the hardest thing you will ever be called on to do. To believe only, to trust only, and to look only to Christ. – I didn’t say to look to Christ or believe in Christ – I said only – only so that nothing else enters in to the slightest degree. Nothing else affects your look, your trust, or your confidence only to Christ and Christ alone not only for your justification, but for sanctification and for a full acceptance with God. The Galatians couldn’t do it. The Colossians had trouble doing it. The Philippians were rebuked for not doing it.”

Last time we saw that it was God’s privilege to extend salvation to the world, and that His plan was for a Spiritual people, not a physical one, that would be saved by Jesus Christ alone.  The physical nation of Israel was a means of displaying the mercy and grace of God and His steadfast love.  If you look in the Old Testament, you will see picture after picture after picture of a disobedient people, enslaved, that God chooses to have mercy and grace to forgive and draw to Himself.  Instead of placing their faith in God alone, the people of Israel began to think that it was something within themselves, either by their nationality or by their works that merited their salvation.  The root of this of course is sin.  Man does want to submit themselves to God and His mercy.  That is the root of the gospel, we are not saved by anything in ourselves – even our faith to believe is a gift of God (Ephesians 2:8).  This is the stumbling stone Israel could not overcome, and it is why only a remnant of the physical nation of Israel were truly saved.

If someone comes to tell me that they have believed on Christ at some point in time, and do not struggle with trusting in Him alone today, they are the one most likely to have never trusted at all.  There is no greater struggle, than to accept the grace of God in Jesus Christ.  1 Corinthians 1:18 – “For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.”  To trust completely on Christ, is a daily exercise – to look to Him alone as our righteousness is a daily pleading with the Lord.  The people of Israel were very religious, moral people, and their religious morality (and attempting to achieve a righteousness of their own, instead of trusting in God alone) was what kept them from coming to Christ.  We must all put to death every ounce within us that seeks to be self-justifying.  We are all sinners.  Not just kind of bad – to our core.  We don’t need to be cleaned up, we need to be a new Creation.  We can’t do it.  God doesn’t ask us to, He simply says to look to Jesus.  Set your mind on the finished work of Jesus (Col 3:2) and believe.

Jesus told this parable to illustrate in Luke 18:9-14  “He also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and treated others with contempt: “Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee, standing by himself, prayed thus: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I get.’ But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’ I tell you, this man went down to his house justified, rather than the other. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.” 

Brothers and Sisters, if we ignore the daily battle to trust in Christ alone, we will soon find we have drifted away into the same religious morality that Israel had.  That pathway leads to death.  Instead, let us look to Jesus, the founder and perfector of our faith, alone for our salvation.  Let us ascribe unto Him, all glory and honor for salvation and all things.  He alone is worthy, and all who humble themselves before Him will be exalted on the last day.  Our hope in Him is secure; for what is a stumbling stone for many, is the foundation of eternal life for us.

Grace and Peace,

Adam

Reconnecting with the Gospel pt. 55 – The Privilege of the Divine

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Romans 9:25-29 – “As indeed he says in Hosea, “Those who were not my people I will call ‘my people,’ and her who was not beloved I will call ‘beloved.’” “And in the very place where it was said to them, ‘You are not my people,’ there they will be called ‘sons of the living God.’”  And Isaiah cries out concerning Israel: “Though the number of the sons of Israel be as the sand of the sea, only a remnant of them will be saved, for the Lord will carry out his sentence upon the earth fully and without delay.”  And as Isaiah predicted, “If the Lord of hosts had not left us offspring, we would have been like Sodom and become like Gomorrah.”

Last time we saw that God has the right over His creation to do whatever He wills.  We, as part of God’s creation, do not get to question Him – since we owe to God our very being and He is not obligated to us in any way.  Some see this as harsh, but it is the very fact that God does not owe us anything that makes His love towards us so amazing.  God would have been right and just to condemn all of us as sinners to display His holiness, but God’s love and mercy are shown to those whom God has ordained to be “vessels of mercy”.  Many of us would read this and cry out against the justice of God, but God’s answer to us would be the same as His answer to Job when he pursued the same line of questioning in Job 38-40.  The problem with man is illustrated by their very desire to ask that question of “fairness” against God.  It stems from man’s desire to have the world center and revolve around them instead of the glory of our Creator.

Now, we are moving from God’s privilege to have mercy on whom He has mercy (to save whom He will) to God’s privilege to save those from the whole world and not simply among the physical nation of Israel.  To understand this, you have to understand that the people of Israel were expecting a Messiah to come, remove Roman rule and restore Israel’s place as the ruling world power, and rule over the physical nation of Israel.  God’s plan was different.  Israel’s greatest need was not the removal of Roman rule, but the removal of the sin that ruled their hearts.  Further, that need was not limited to the physical nation of Israel, that need was universal, and God’s plan was to call a people to Himself from every tribe and language and people and nation from the Earth:

Revelation 5:8-10- “And when he had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each holding a harp, and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints. And they sang a new song, saying, “Worthy are you to take the scroll and to open its seals, for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation, and you have made them a kingdom and priests to our God, and they shall reign on the earth.”

God’s plan was never about a physical people, it was always for a Spiritual people, who were God’s chosen not because they were physical descendants of Israel, or even by their own will, but by the will of God.

John 1:11-13 – “He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him.  But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.”

Christian, I wonder if you feel the weight of God’s setting His love upon you.  Do you see that you are not owed anything by God, including salvation?  God’s holiness extends infinitely beyond our own understanding of the word “good”, “just”, moral”, and “righteous”.  If you are owed salvation for your own works or even your own “will”, it is no longer by mercy, grace, and love, that you receive salvation, it is your wage.  It would have been just for God to condemn all of the physical nation of Israel along with the rest of the world, but God has a plan for a remnant, to save a remnant from their sin and reconcile them fully to know and love our Creator God, the Lord Jesus Christ.  Brothers and Sisters, if you love God today, if you are looking to Him for salvation, trusting in His death, burial, and resurrection alone for salvation, you are the remnant of God.  You bring nothing to the table, but God draws you to Himself because He IS merciful, He IS full of grace, and He IS loving.  The glory of God shines brightest that His love is not contingent upon anything from us, but is given as a free gift.  As you think about where you are today, the things that occupy your mind and time, does the love of Christ frame your thoughts?  I hope it does.  Your contentment, peace, and ability to love and serve others is directly tied to your heart’s satisfaction in the finished work of Jesus.

Grace and Peace,

Adam

 

The Anguish of Joy

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There is a common struggle in most all of us as Christians.  We want to be followers of Jesus, but we want to be comfortable doing so.  A while back, I was driving back from Austin, and listened to a sermon that asked the question – “what things are are closed handed with God about”?  What relationship, what thing in your life, will you say to God – “you can’t touch this” (MC Hammer pants, not required).  Seriously – what is it?  What thing if God asked you to be open handed about, to let Him into, and maybe ask you to give up would you be unwilling to do?  We don’t want to give things up that we find comfort in, we want to be able to pursue, what we want to pursue, and hope that God comes along for the ride.  God doesn’t work that way.  He loves us too much.

When God enters into your life, you are not merely a “better person”, you’re a new creation.  2 Corinthians 5:17 – “if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.”

When God enters your life, He doesn’t come to follow after you as you pursue your old desires, He says “deny yourself and follow Me”.  Matthew 16:24 – “Then Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.”

When God enters your life, he doesn’t just say acknowledge what I’ve done, He says repent and believe.  Mark 1:15 – “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.”

Here’s the thing.  When God enters your life, He knows the idols, the sin which separates you from Him.  Consider this – every idol of your heart was nailed with Jesus on the cross.  As He bore the wrath of God for your sin, He knows the severity, the brokenness that sin brings intimately – infinitely greater than you or I do.  He also knows it won’t be easy for you to give those things up, it required Him to die to free you from bondage to those things.  What will it take for you to turn over your whole life, not just parts to God.  To say, enough, my life is not my own, I have been bought for a price by the blood of Jesus, and I entrust everything to Him.

When you do that, it will be tough.  When God asks you to let go of the things you have been closed handed about, there is a legitimately cost.  It will hurt.  You will have a void.  You will feel anguish mixed with peace.  All the time and energy you had put into trying to pursue that thing, are now free.  What do you do?  Colossians 3:1-4 – “If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.  Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth.  For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.  When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.”  I would say you use that time to seek the things that are above – seek God with God’s people in the Church.

As a professing Christian who is closed handed about something in their life there is one of two options.  The first, ironically is that you get exactly what you want, and you come to realize that the thing you thought would bring you joy, will lead to misery and separation from God.  This is true of those who only professed to be followers of Christ, but were never truly saved.  The second option, is that God will break you.  A shepherd if He had a sheep that continued to stray away from the flock, would have its leg broken, and the shepherd would carry it with him with the flock until it healed, so that the sheep would learn to stay with the flock (so that it would not get eaten by wolves or die in isolation).  Jesus is the Good Shepherd.  Hebrews 12:6 – “The Lord disciplines the one He loves”  The LORD will plead with you to stay with Him.  He is long-suffering, patient, gentle, and kind, but there will be a point where He sees you going too far, and He will say enough, and He will break your leg.  He’s done it to me.  He’s done it to others.  It will hurt, but it is the mercy of God.  Hebrews 12:11 – “For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.”

My exhortation today is to examine yourselves honestly and answer the question of what thing have you been unwilling to just give over to God?  He is pleading with you today to give it to Him and follow Him, trusting that He has everything in control and He knows what is truly good and best for you.  It will hurt at first, but God will meet you in your hurt and carry you into a closer fellowship with Him, in his presence where a fullness of joy is found (Psalm 16:11).

Grace and Peace,

Adam

Abiding Discipline for Joy

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John 15:3-7 – “Already you are clean because of the word that I have spoken to you.  Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me.  I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.  If anyone does not abide in me he is thrown away like a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned.  If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.”

God’s been pressing on me lately about what it truly means to abide in Christ, and pragmatically, how can we take steps to do that in our own lives.  The passage above reminds me of Psalm 37:4 – “Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.”  Jesus refers to Himself as “the Word” (John 1), He proclaims His disciples are clean because of “the word”, and lastly says if “my words abide in you” one can ask anything of God and it will be done.  Abiding in God is the same as abiding in God’s Word, because the Word reveals who God is.  If you wanted to really get to know someone, you would spend time with them, see what they acted like in different situations, and look at what they say.  If you really want to know Jesus, He has given you His Word to accomplish these things, to know Him.  Sometimes I imagine people praying to God, asking to know His will for their life, and God just points to the Bible sitting right next to them.  Romans 12:1 tells us “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect”  2 Corinthians 3:15-18 tells us “Yes, to this day whenever Moses is read a veil lies over their hearts.  But when one turns to the Lord,the veil is removed. Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.”  The transformation by “renewal of your mind” and the “being transformed into the same image (of the Lord) from one degree of glory to another” are both from reading the Word.  Look again at 2 Corinthians 3, “whenever Moses is read” is referring to the scripture written by Moses (the Word of God), that was read.

So if you find yourself stagnant as a Christian or rather if you are falling away from God, there is usually a direct correlation to the amount of time you are spending with Him in the Word.  We know that in the presence of God, there is a fullness of joy (Psalm 16:11) so our abiding in Christ, our aligning our desires with God’s, is also a means for our own joy and peace.  Now, all of us are able to read your Bibles easily enough, but so often what we read gets lost soon after in the busyness of life.  My exhortation today is to actually press God’s Word into your heart with a discipline of daily meditation and scripture memorization.  I don’t want to tell you what to memorize, because I think God has everyone at a different place, and I don’t want to take something that should be joy-inducing and make it into a homework assignment.  You know what is on your heart, search God’s Word for something that speaks to you, and use that.

I’ll share one scripture grouping that if you really meditate on it word by word, and press it into your heart, will greatly help to safeguard your affections for Jesus day by day.  Ephesians 2:8-10 – “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.  For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.”

Salvation is a gift from God, so we are humble.  We are made by God, a new creation in Jesus Christ, for good works, good actions, leading a life that is glorifying God.  No matter what happened yesterday, God has us where he wants us, he has works planned for us today to walk in.  One passage of scipture, memorized could press those truths into your heart, day after day after day, and be shared with others to the glory of God.  Consider that, and know that God will always bless your time with Him.

I hope all of you have a great Friday and weekend, and make the most of the time God has given you.

Grace and Peace,

Adam

A New Creation in Christ – The Marks of An Authentic Christian pt. 3

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2 Corinthians 5:17 – “if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.”

Today we’re concluding answering the question – “Am I truly a Christian or just deceived?” as we look at the third mark of an authentic Christian, pursuing the growth of the Kingdom of God with other Christians.  This is coming after we have discussed the first mark, maintaining a constant vigilance to put to death sin and increase affections for God and the second mark, being captivated by the Grace of God in Jesus.  I’ve intentionally saved this for last, because in my own experience it is the most challenging and difficult, and therefore essential mark of an authentic Christian.

What are you living for?  Who are you living for?  Are you primarily living for your own comfort, or are you living for God?  What is the driving force behind your decisions?  How many decisions about your job, your relationships, how you spend your money are you taking to God in prayer?  Can you look back and point out decisions that you initially did not want to make, but you did because you were pursuing God’s will above your own desires?  This isn’t a time of judgment, but I would encourage each of you to take a few minutes and really try to answer those questions for yourself.  It may be helpful at revealing where your heart is at currently and where God wants to grow you.  Now, before you give an answer, consider Jesus’s answer in Matthew 9:11-13 – “And when the Pharisees saw this, they said to his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?”  But when he heard it, he said,“Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick.  Go and learn what this means, ‘I desire mercy, and not sacrifice.’ For I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.”  My greatest concern isn’t for the people who are sinners, know they are not perfect, and are sincerely pursuing growth in Jesus.  My concern is for the people generally think they’re “fine” and God is “ok” with the sin in their life because they try to justify it somehow.  Those are the people who are spoken of by Jesus in Matthew 7:21-23 – “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.  On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?  And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.”  

So with all that said, I want to put forth what I believe Biblically is a third mark of an authentic Christian – someone who pursues 100% transparent, authentic fellowship with believers of the same sex, and seeks to work with those fellow believers to grow the Kingdom of God.  Hebrews 10:23-27 – “Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.  For if we go on sinning deliberately after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a fearful expectation of judgment, and a fury of fire that will consume the adversaries.”   So meeting together with one another is Biblically a mark of a Christian.  The implication of the scripture that follows is that part of what keeps us from doing so is that we desire to sin, and do so deliberately – this is what Christian fellowship should break if we are transparent with one another.  This is a means of grace from God.  James 5:16 – “confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.”  

What keeps us from these types of relationships?  Fear of judgment?  Laziness?  An unwillingness to die to yourself and your sin?  1 John 4:18-21 – “There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love.  We love because he first loved us. If anyone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen. And this commandment we have from him: whoever loves God must also love his brother.”  If someone judges you for confessing your sin, out of a desire to turn from that sin and towards God – that is their sin, not yours.  You are right with God, they are not.  You know the love of God towards us in Christ Jesus, and that yes, sin is horrible and brings brokenness, but God’s grace has covered your sin.

1 Corinthians 12:14-26 – “For the body does not consist of one member but of many.  If the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body.  And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body.  If the whole body were an eye, where would be the sense of hearing? If the whole body were an ear, where would be the sense of smell?  But as it is, God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose.  If all were a single member, where would the body be?  As it is, there are many parts, yet one body. The eye cannot say to the hand, “I have no need of you,” nor again the head to the feet, “I have no need of you.” On the contrary, the parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, and on those parts of the body that we think less honorable we bestow the greater honor, and our unpresentable parts are treated with greater modesty, which our more presentable parts do not require. But God has so composed the body, giving greater honor to the part that lacked it, that there may be no division in the body, but that the members may have the same care for one another. If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, all rejoice together.”  If you are not known, and if you are not pursuing knowing others in the body of Christ, the whole body suffers.  You need the people of Christ to know you, and they need you.

I spent a lot of time, trying to lay out scripture for you to consider why it is important to have transparent, Biblical fellowship with someone of the same sex.  Now, I’m basically going to wrap up everything else in a paragraph for brevity’s sake, and maybe circle back at some point.  God ordained men and women differently, and apart from marriage, the Biblical fellowship we’re talking about should remain between someone who will be able to speak directly to your situation (a man to a man, a woman to a woman).  Jesus had the 12 disciples that were men, and even with that had a closer circle of Peter, James, and John.  Paul had Timothy.  Barnabas had Paul, and later Barnabas had John (Called Mark).  Beyond that, these relationships should strive to extend into ministry, as all of the examples above did, and as the natural outworking of the Holy Spirit from 1 Corinthians 12 above.  Just as God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit have perfect fellowship and have a common purpose for the glory of God, so should our fellowship have a similar purpose.

My exhortation is to ask yourself some of the questions I’ve laid out above, especially in light of the Word of God that has been shared.  If you don’t have these types of relationships currently – ask God for that, and pursue that.  It is the only way you will truly grow as a Christian.  I hope this finds all of you well, know you’re prayed for.

Grace and Peace,

Adam