As believers, we are already more than conquerors through Christ.  The sin that previously held us in bondage, is not only defeated, it is made to serve us as we seek to bring to light the glory of God to a world set in darkness.  How does this happen?  We make war on sin, and thus show the surpassing worth and joy that is to be found in Christ vs. the world.

The apostle Paul, described an internal struggle within Himself in Romans 7:22-24 – “For I delight in the law of God, in my inner being, but I see in my members another law waging war against the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members. Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?”

He follows that up by saying there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, meaning even though he struggles, he rests in knowing God accepts him regardless of the outcome because of Christ.  We cannot lose the war, it’s already been won.  My question to many though is, would you say that your life is marked by the same internal struggle found in Paul?  Is there really a battle waging within you daily against sin?  If there is, take heart, there should be.  If not, then I might look around and see if you feel like your life is drawing closer to God or drifting from Him.

The good news is that even if you fall, you will never be defeated.  You cannot be if you trust on Christ.  Are you violently attacking sin in your life?

Romans 8:12-14 – “So then, brothers, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh. For if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.”

Colossians 3:4-6 – “When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.  Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry.  On account of these the wrath of God is coming.”

You see now why it was so important for me first to show in previous messages how changing behavior is not the means of our salvation, but the fruit of it?  In both the above passages, the call to “put to death” sin in your is not the foundation of your acceptance before God, but is what is built upon your acceptance by God, the foundation each of us has through salvation in Christ alone.  Therefore, just as your faith in the beginning was a work of God, so too will the outworking of that faith continue to be the Spirit’s work in you.
That said, my encouragement, my hope for each of you is not to be satisfied merely with wounding your sin… earnestly desire to be constantly killing it.  I’m not saying to kill sin (as if it was something that could be overcome fully by us), I’m saying to be “be in the business of killing sin, every day”.  Chop it’s head off, then beat it, then pour some gasoline on it and light a match, then invite your friends over to see if they can see anything left of it… sift through the ashes and beat anything you find, then… ok, you get the point.  How can you do this?  You can do this by forming Christ within yourselves; by rooting yourself in the Word of God, meditating on it daily, so that your mind will become more like the mind of Christ, your heart’s desires His desires, then you will be able to kill sin.  Bring others into the fight, let them see if there is sin you may be blind too, and have them encourage and pray for you.  I don’t want a fair fight with sin, I want a gang beating.  I want to invite as many people over with weapons, to surround and destroy sin.  When I think I’ve got it defeated, that’s when my guard does not go down, but is heightened knowing that there is only One person who can defeat sin completely, and I have to cling to Him every moment, to have any measure of peace in knowing sin will not overtake me.  Be encouraged, there is Truth that sets you free, His name is Jesus, He dwells in you, and will never leave or forsake you.

My exhortation today is the same as James 4:7 – “Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.”  Resistance is not passive, it is intentional.  The best defense is a good offense… let’s get ready to rumble.

Grace and Peace,
Adam

Hebrews 9 – “Now even the first covenant had regulations for worship and an earthly place of holiness. For a tent was prepared, the first section, in which were the lampstand and the table and the bread of the Presence. It is called the Holy Place. Behind the second curtain was a second section called the Most Holy Place, having the golden altar of incense and the ark of the covenant covered on all sides with gold, in which was a golden urn holding the manna, and Aaron’s staff that budded, and the tablets of the covenant. Above it were the cherubim of glory overshadowing the mercy seat. Of these things we cannot now speak in detail.  These preparations having thus been made, the priests go regularly into the first section, performing their ritual duties, but into the second only the high priest goes, and he but once a year, and not without taking blood, which he offers for himself and for the unintentional sins of the people. By this the Holy Spirit indicates that the way into the holy places is not yet opened as long as the first section is still standing (which is symbolic for the present age). According to this arrangement, gifts and sacrifices are offered that cannot perfect the conscience of the worshiper, but deal only with food and drink and various washings, regulations for the body imposed until the time of reformation.  But when Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things that have come, then through the greater and more perfect tent ( not made with hands, that is, not of this creation) he entered once for all into the holy places, not by means of the blood of goats and calves but by means of his own blood, thus securing an eternal redemption. For ifthe blood of goats and bulls, and the sprinkling of defiled persons with the ashes of a heifer, sanctify for the purification of the flesh, how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God.  Therefore he is the mediator of a new covenant, so that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance, since a death has occurred that redeems them from the transgressions committed under the first covenant.”

What does Hebrews 9 mean?  It means that under the old covenant of the law – think don’t steal, don’t commit adultery, don’t lie to one another, etc. – no one made it out clean.  Everyone sinned, and the sacrifices they made via animals to supposedly atone for their sin, were not sufficient to cover their sins fully (at all really).  Only one person could go into the holy place once a year (where God was), and make a sacrifice for the people, and guess what?  They’d have to come back next year, so what if you died right before that sacrifice was made?  Were you just hosed?  Do you know that when that one high priest would go into the Holy of Holies in the temple, the room where God was, they would have to tie a rope to their ankle?  Do you know why?  Because if they sinned in their giving of their sacrifice, God is so Holy, that His righteousness would kill them, and they would have to be drug out by others (who also couldn’t enter the room, because of God’s holiness/righteousness).  This sacrificial system of the old covenant we know was supposed to be symbolic, to point the people to trust in God to provide a sacrifice to atone for their sin.

We, as believers have the greatest news of all through Christ.  Compare yourself against the Jewish person under the old covenant – they’re slaughtering animals all day, hoping in God, but you already know that the fulfillment of the law has come, and credited His righteousness to you, apart from your works or “sacrifices”.  Jesus Himself came and said that He desired mercy and not sacrifice.   Mercy comes from someone who has a fullness to give to others (as we do), sacrifice comes from someone who upon giving will lack something.  We see this again in Acts 17:24-25:

“The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by man, nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything.”

The blood that atones for our sin is more than enough for all eternity.  The blood of Christ is far superior to those of animals.  Christ defeated sin, once and for all on the cross, there is no need for further sacrifice.  God is not glorified by you trying to “work your way” towards Him accepting you, because that means that his blood is not enough to cover all your sin, and that His death was not enough.  But we know that it was enough, because Christ said on the cross, “It is finished”.  There’s no “except for” at the end there.  In Christ, you have full confident access to Him… there’s no need to tie a rope around your ankle through manufactured behavior change.  Just come to God as you are, delight yourself in Him, and He will give you the desires of your heart, and your heart will be to love and obey Him.

In Christ, we are His temple, we do not make the temple, we are His workmanship.  Through the blood of Christ, there is no need for an outer room, or an inner room of a temple, because He dwells in us, He is with us wherever we go.

When we fall to sin, we do not have to look towards a future sacrifice by our behavior or other means as they did under the old covenant.  We know that Christ has broken down the wall separating us from God, and the Spirit of God in Him and believers draws us powerfully towards God.  The sacrifice has been made, the payment is complete, the blood of Christ is eternal.  Through the blood of Christ, we are free from the bondage of sin.  We may fall, but we are His, and the same power that rose Christ from the grave dwells in us, to give rise to our downtrodden hearts, to incline our affections again towards God.  We stand secure in the promise that through the blood of Christ, we will dwell with Him, enjoying the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ for all eternity.

Grace and Peace,
Adam

Sin, Mourning, Repentance, Forgiveness are all often misunderstood.  David says of God in the psalms that “a broken and contrite heart” God will not despise (Psalm 51:17), but what is the heart broken over?  What is the contrition of one’s heart?  Is this feeling bad in general, or is there something more?

Chris has a son, Ethan, whom he has instructed time and time again not to run across the street without looking first.  Across the street there is a park where other kids are playing, and so often once outside, in his excitement, Ethan neglects his father’s advice and goes charging across the street at 100 miles an hour.  Once on the other side, however, the look on Chris’s face to his son, lets him know that they are about to discuss his impetuous run, and per past experience, there is some measurement of punishment coming his way.  Suddenly the joy of the park grows dim, as Ethan is aware that today is not going to be spent at the park as planned, and likely will result in a good measure of time alone in his room, and perhaps a sore bottom.  His demeanor has changed.  He pleads with his father that he knows what he did was wrong, and he feels really bad, and he won’t do it again.  Is this repentance?  Is this the broken and contrite heart that God will not despise?

Another day, Ethan charges out across the park without looking, convinced his cheetah like speed will protect him from any dangers.  Unfortunately, his cheetah like running skills weren’t a match for the other older kid down the block, Parker, who at that moment was practicing his Lance Armstrong skills barreling down the sidewalk at mach 2 on his bike.  BOOM!  Down goes Ethan (and Parker).  Much crying ensues, and a trip to the doctor reveals a broken arm for our cheetah (Ethan).  Ethan assures his father that he feels really bad, and that he will never run across the street again without looking.   Is this repentance?  Is this the broken and contrite heart that God will not despise?

Finally, dismayed at Ethan’s insistence to ignore his sound advice, Chris makes a deal with Ethan:  If Ethan will look both ways before crossing the street to go to the park every time for two months, then Chris will buy Ethan the new G.I. Joe with the Kung Fu grip toy that he hasn’t stopped talking about for 7 days straight (Killing 2 birds with one stone Chris mistakenly thinks).  Ethan assures his father, Chris, that he indeed is sorry about his past indiscretions in running across the street, but will “do better” now.  Indeed Ethan does look every time before he crosses the street from that day on, looking forward to saving the world, one G.I. Joe at a time.  Is this repentance?  Is this the broken and contrite heart that God will not despise?

In Genesis 25, we’re given an example of what “brokenness and repentance” is not with Esau.  In Israel’s time, the firstborn son would be granted a double portion of his father’s estate when he died.  This was done because it was then that son’s responsibility to see to it that the family was taken care of, including his mother, sisters, and adolescent brothers.  Esau, however, was really hungry one day, and gave up his birthright (inheriting a double portion) to his younger brother Jacob for a meal.  He later regretted his decision, but was his regret brokenness and repentance?

Hebrews 12:15-16 – “See to it that no one fails to obtain the grace of God; that no “root of bitterness” springs up and causes trouble, and by it many become defiled; that no one is sexually immoral or unholy like Esau, who sold his birthright for a single meal. For you know that afterward, when he desired to inherit the blessing, he was rejected, for he found no chance to repent, though he sought it with tears.”

What kind of repentance was this from Esau?   What is important to see is what did Esau desire?  What was Esau after with his “repentance”?  Was he broken over his sinfulness in insulting his father by rejecting his birthright?  No, Esau wanted to inherit the blessing.  Esau’s original sin was desiring a meal, and now we see that same sin has grown in him.  His desire is still for physical comfort, and the means in his view now, is the blessing he threw away.  Esau wanted to repent because he wanted what his father could give him.  He didn’t love his father.  This is the same story we see in the “Prodigal Son” parable of Luke 15.

So my question is this.  What is the foundation for your “brokenness” before God?  Are you feeling bad because you expect punishment?  Are you feeling bad because you’re dealing with the consequences of your sin, and you don’t want to?  Are you feeling bad because you see your sin as keeping you from something else you want other than God?  Or are you broken because you realize the infinite love with which God has loved you through Jesus, that God has called you holy in Christ, and your actions have sullied the name of Jesus, of the God you love?

Now Chris loves his son Ethan, and he wants Ethan to enjoy a fullness of life (hopefully as a man, and not a cheetah).  It’s because of this love, that the greatest desire Chris has for Ethan, is that Ethan obey because he loves and trusts Chris.  It’s because of that love, that even when Chris isn’t watching, no bikes are coming, there is no offer of a G.I. Joe with a Kung Fu grip, Ethan will still obey his father, and his obedience will be both good for him, and very pleasing to his father.

My encouragement is to spend some time looking back over the prayers you’ve prayed to God recently about sin in your life?  What about your sin are you mourning?  When you confess your sin to God, is your heart broken over your circumstances, or your offense to the name of the Lord, in which you stand?  Be encouraged to know that no one who comes to God, broken by their sin against Him, with the love that they have for Him, will ever find a father indifferent to them.  In Christ, we know that all our sins are forgiven, that God wants a restored fellowship with us.  We also know that God, as a perfectly good Father, loves us enough to not allow false repentance to mask an idol in our hearts, when the greatest good for us, is to know and love God Himself.  Let your affections be singular for Christ, let your brokenness in sin proclaim the worth of God, let your hearts rest secure in your position as a son/daughter and heir in Christ, and let our love for Him and the glory of His name be the foundation of our brokenness.

Grace and Peace,
Adam

Let me first say I apologize for being out of pocket most of last week.  Long story short, my company got audited by the government to make sure we were paying everything we should for goods imported from other countries (the first time in 40 years).  Happy to say everything was fine, but work and sleep was all I accomplished the latter part of the week.  I trust you’re all doing well, and hope you had a great weekend!

There are a couple books of the Bible, that we can admit are just confusing when you first get to them.  Many people get to the psalms, and they do not know what to make of this book of the Bible.  Much of the Old Testament is narrative of the people of Israel, and then you get to this book of poetry and prose, with songs and hymns.  Now I love the book of Psalms, because it engages the heart by painting a picture of the heart emotions of Christians of old, specifically David, called a “man after God’s own heart”.  Many people love the book of Psalms for this reason, but they miss that the book of Psalms is also meant to teach us.  They don’t see that the emotions wrought in the Psalms were a result of what they knew to be true of God.  There is rich doctrine found in the Psalms, and we are meant to be instructed in it, and dig deep to see it.  This is why I love this book so much, because it shows what it means for right doctrine about God to intersect with our hearts in joyful worship to God.

Psalm 28:1-5

^“To you, O LORD, I call; my rock, be not deaf to me, lest, if you be silent to me, I become like those who go down to the pit.  Hear the voice of my pleas for mercy, when I cry to you for help, when I lift up my hands toward your most holy sanctuary.  Do not drag me off with the wicked, with the workers of evil, who speak peace with their neighbors while evil is in their hearts.  Give to them according to their work and according to the evil of their deeds;
give to them according to the work of their hands;  render them their due reward.  Because they do not regard the works of the LORD or the work of his hands, he will tear them down and build them up no more.”

Here I won’t look at all there is to see, but I want to pick out some low hanging fruit to show where doctrine intersects with David’s heart.  First ask yourself – what is David asking mercy from?  David realizes, and this Psalm teaches that before a holy God no one is righteous, and he deserves to be drug off with them.  What is wicked about the people around David?  Is it their behavior?  No, David says outwardly they are speaking peace, but their wickedness is the evil in their hearts.  So we could learn from this, the doctrine of the inability of man to come to God on his own – our being right with God is not about our behavior, but having a right heart, and no man can do anything about the condition of his heart.  It is a work of mercy from the Lord.  How can one appreciate the cross, and have true affections for Jesus, until he realizes that there is no hope for him, apart from the mercy of God?

What comes next is a doctrine I wish more of us could see.  What judgment does David call down on the wicked surrounding him?  Only that God would give them according to their work.  Many people look at the US, and they see murder, extortion, fraud on wall street, millions of abortions, divorce rates higher than most any place in the world, and they ask the question “when is God going to judge us?”  Those things they they just listed off are not the things God is going to judge us for… they are the judgement.  Look at the Psalm, the evil of men is not in their actions, but in the evil of their hearts.  All of these physical manifestations of sin are not man’s sin, they are the judgement of God on man’s sinfulness.  God will give man the desire of his heart.  If your desire is for sin, God will give you what you desire, that is his judgment.  If your desire, by the grace of God is for Him, you can draw great strength and encouragement from knowing that He will reveal more and more of Himself to you.

Psalm 28:6-9

“Blessed be the LORD!  For he has heard the voice of my pleas for mercy.  The LORD is my strength and my shield; in him my heart trusts, and I am helped;
my heart exults, and with my song I give thanks to him.  The LORD is the strength of his people; he is the saving refuge of his anointed.  Oh, save your people and bless your heritage!  Be their shepherd and carry them forever.”

David’s joy for God flows from His understanding and teaching that none is righteous before a holy God, yet God is merciful, and trustworthy. All of the judgment David has just called down on those around Him is due him as well.  Yet, David is bold in the promises of God.  He trusts that God will not abandon those who seek Him with their whole heart.  It is here, where his trust that God will be his strength, that God will not only be merciful, but will provide protection, strength, even guide and carry those who come to Him, finds hope to exult in the Lord joyfully.

What promises of God do you hold fast in your heart from moment to moment every day?  When your head understands right doctrine about God, your heart will engage right affections for him as well.  My encouragement each morning is to find one thing about God, that you can dwell on throughout the day, that the Word of God would encourage you.  Know that the entirety of God’s Word is meant for this purpose, to teach you about God, yes, but that in your knowing about God, and rooting your heart in promises from God, your heart would overflow with joy to God.

Grace, Peace, and Joy,
Adam

Colossians 1:15-17 – “He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For 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. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together.”

Acts 17:24-28 – “The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by man, nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything. And he made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place, that they should seek God, in the hope that they might feel their way toward him and find him. Yet he is actually not far from each one of us, for

“‘In him we live and move and have our being’;”

Often times we wonder how God can “allow” bad things to happen.  Certainly it was a struggle for many after 9/11 to understand how God can be good, and still allow that event to take place.  Many people have tried to “get God off the hook” by claiming He didn’t know it was going to happen, or to say that he was “held back” because of man’s sinfulness.  That is ridiculous, we must fight against that unbiblical view of God.  Let me say this – if God cannot see a plane heading towards a building and with just a teenie flick of his little finger, move it off to the side – He’s not God.  No, while we are a separate creation of God, there is nowhere we can go to depart from His presence and power, there is nothing that comes to be except by His will.

Psalm 139:7-10 – “Where shall I go from your Spirit?  Or where shall I flee from your presence?  If I ascend to heaven, you are there!  If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there!  If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there your hand shall lead me, and your right hand shall hold me.”

Proverbs 16:9 – “The mind of man plans his way, but the LORD directs his steps.”

Knowing this then, it is not for us to understand God’s purposes in all things, only to know that He is good, and always with us and for us.

Isaiah 55:8-9 – “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the LORD.  For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.”

Joshua 1:9 – “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.”

Romans 8:28 – “And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.”

When life is hard; when we encounter trials and suffering, how will our heart have peace if we believe that God is “surprised” by our suffering?  How can we go to sleep at night if we cannot rest in knowing that despite our inability to see it in our small view of things, our circumstances are being worked for our good – strengthening our faith, and God’s glory?  The very power of God we most need in those times would be robbed from us, if we do not see that He is sovereign over all things.

My encouragement today, realizing that each of us have struggles daily, is to know that God is in control of all things.  Know that God is good and loves you enough to bear the ultimate suffering for you on the cross.  With that in mind, boldly approach God with your circumstances and trials.  Instead of concerning yourself about how things are going to turn out, press everything that is burdening you into God, trusting that just as His work on the cross has given you a righteousness that is not your own, His continued work in your life will produce fruit that you may not yet be able to see.

1 Peter 5:6-7 – “Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.”

Grace and Peace,
Adam

Now the title of today’s Word for the Day might seem like an oxymoron.  After all, the last few days have all examined how we have no hope apart from faith in Christ, and even our faith is not a work we are capable of, but is a gift from God (Eph 2:8-9).

I don’t think it would be fair though to leave us all hanging, without at least suggesting some helpful means through which I believe God builds our faith.  So if the pragmatist in you has been aching for a list of some kind for you to follow, today is for you!

1)  Ask Him for it.

Matthew 7:7-11 – “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened. Or which one of you, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a serpent? If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him!”

God is a good and loving Father.  If our faith in Him is the means by which we are sustained in all things, and He is glorified, will He not pour out faith on those who ask Him?  Don’t be discouraged, don’t be satisfied with a small portion once, but continually wrestle with God in prayer until He blesses you.

Genesis 32:24-30 – “And Jacob was left alone. And a man wrestled with him until the breaking of the day. When the man saw that he did not prevail against Jacob, he touched his hip socket, and Jacob’s hip was put out of joint as he wrestled with him. Then he said, “Let me go, for the day has broken.” But Jacob said, “I will not let you go unless you bless me.” And he said to him, “What is your name?” And he said, “Jacob.” Then he said, “Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel, for you have striven with God and with men, and have prevailed.” Then Jacob asked him, “Please tell me your name.” But he said, “Why is it that you ask my name?” And there he blessed him. So Jacob called the name of the place Peniel, saying, “For I have seen God face to face, and yet my life has been delivered.”

Even the disciples of Christ, cried out with this request to Jesus face to face.  How much more then do we need to seek Him, when we cannot see Him face to face?

Luke 17:5 – “The apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith!”

The great part about prayer is that you can pray anytime, anywhere.  You are not limited in any way, except in your own desiring to do so.

2)  Meditate on the Word of God, throughout the day, every day.

Psalm 1:1-3 – “Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; but his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night.  He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers.”

Romans 10:17 – “So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.”

1 Thessalonians 3:2 – “we sent Timothy, our brother and God’s coworker in the gospel of Christ, to establish and exhort you in your faith,”

The gospel of God is given in 1 Corinthians 15:1-6 – “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.
For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep.”

That is the Word of Christ, by which faith comes as a gift from God to us, and by which we are being saved, if we hold fast to it.  That does not mean we can lose our salvation, it means these are the words of life for those who believe on Christ, and whose faith is real.  We need to preach these truths to ourselves daily.  We need to meditate on, and even memorize scripture, so that when our faith is rocked by the waves life will throw at us, we can stand firm, we will be well prepared for any onslaught against us.

If you do not have a time set aside to read your Bible everyday, it won’t happen.  If you say, I’ll just read it “sometime” today, and if I skip in the morning, it’ll happen tonight, it won’t.  If you come to your Bible each day, with no idea where to start, find a reading plan that will work for you.  There are many available to you.  Most Bible’s include inside them, a plan to read the Bible in a year – maybe start there.  Maybe your plan is to read 1 chapter out of a gospel every day, in order in addition, that’s great.  My only encouragement is to make the gospels a regular part of your Bible diet – there is not substitute for seeing the life of Jesus, how He responded to others, what He did, for understanding who He is, delighting in Him, and growing your faith in Him.

3)  Surround yourself with Christians who will preach the truth of the gospel, and your salvation through faith alone.  Find people who will challenge you, but mainly who will stir your affections for God in His Word.

Hebrews 10:22-25 – “let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, forhe 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.” 

Find people that ooze gospel out of their lives, and grab onto them.  Find people who help you see and delight in Jesus in the Bible, who will walk with you through life, encouraging your faith.  We have an enemy that seeks to devour us, and do you know what he feeds on?  Faith.  Do you think our enemy cares if you’re healthy?  If he can make you healthy, and get you to start relying on yourself instead of God, he’ll try to make you healthy.  If he can steal you faith in God by making you comfortable with financial blessing, he’ll try to bring more money into your life than you can deal with, until your trust in God, and His righteousness is just a small glimmer in your life.  We need others around us, who will help pull us out of the fire, to help guard our faith at all times.

Ecclesiastes 4:9-12 – “Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their toil. For if they fall, one will lift up his fellow. But woe to him who is alone when he falls and has not another to lift him up! Again, if two lie together, they keep warm, but how can one keep warm alone? And though a man might prevail against one who is alone, two will withstand him—a threefold cord is not quickly broken.”

If you don’t belong to a small group within a church body – start there.  When you get there, you’re going to realize that those people are really messed up sinners.  Guess what?  We all are.  Part of God’s growing us, His plan to sharpen our faith, is to put us alongside other struggling sinners, and let us see grace and forgiveness coupled with loving encouragement personified.  Make a commitment to a group of believers, I can guarantee it won’t be easy, but God will bless you for it, and may bless others through you there.

This is about as pragmatic as I can be, when it comes to delivering practical advice on how to accomplish something that is a work of God alone – your faith.  I don’t know about you all, but my faith is prone to fracture, prone to recede back, prone to drift, and I need every bit of assistance God may grant me to continue to draw near to Him in full assurance of my faith.   Now, if you’re like me, and I imagine most of you are, you need every one of these things in your life in increasing measure.  I hope this scripture is helpful today in your fight for faith.

Grace and Peace,
Adam

Here’s something that many of us don’t think about often enough – you’re going to die.  Every one of us, sooner or later, our life will end.  What many people cannot see though, is that they are dead already.  Some of the most moral, good, people alive today, will spend eternity away from God.  Why can’t they see this?

If you go up to someone in a gym and drop a 200 lb weight on them, what would happen?  Owww! (and if it’s one of those guys that looks like their arms are legs, I’d start running)

What happens if you go to a morgue and drop the same 200 lb weight on a corpse?  Nothing.  There are people that profess to be Christians, believe in Christ (know of Him and what He has done), but are still trusting in their own day to day “goodness” to merit God’s acceptance.  These are people that are walking around, dead in their self-righteousness, thinking their alive – who I’m describing as “Zombie Christians”.  What these people do not see, is that the “good” life they think God will honor, is the very thing that will condemn them.

Ephesians 2:1-10 – “And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ— by grace you have been saved— and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. 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.”   

Can a corpse bring himself to life?  Neither can any of us, by our works, bring ourselves into right standing with God.  We often see God only as judging the “bad” things we do, but God says He will bring every “righteous” deed under judgement.  (bolded for emphasis by me)

Psalm 143:1-2 – “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.”

Isaiah 64:6 – “We have all become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous deeds are like a polluted garment.  We all fade like a leaf, and our iniquities, like the wind, take us away.”

We are God’s workmanship – if any of us has true faith in Christ, that is not because you are a good person, that is a gift of God.  Be encouraged that together with Christ, we do not need to fear judgement, because our hope isn’t in ourselves, but in Him who is our perfect righteousness.  All of us, every one of us were dead in our trespasses; now each of us are equally partakers of the Bread of Life, Jesus Christ.

If you are a Christian that struggles with trusting your standing before God, that it is not based on your being “righteous”, I would encourage you with this:  Stop trying to a fight a battle you cannot win, to gain a peace you can never lose.  The glory is God’s alone. In Christ, He has brought us from death to life.

If you are a Christian who doesn’t rejoice in our salvation being a work of God alone; if you do not long for many to be free from the trappings of sin and self-righteousness through Christ; ask that God would again renew the joy of your salvation.  Then pray that He would open up a door for His Word, through you, to bring many who would others be dead, to life in Christ.  There is no greater task, or joy, for us as believers than to be used by God for this ministry.  These are the “good works” prepared beforehand for us to walk in (Eph 2:10 above).  I hope this finds you all well, and you are encouraged.

Grace and Peace,
Adam

The irony in today’s WFTD was that originally I’d planned for this to be a shorter encouragement, but 3 hours later, 2 hours after I should have left work, it’s now 7:25 and I just wrapped up.  While not positive, I’m pretty sure this is the longest WFTD to date.  I love when God changes my plans!  I know that His ways and plans are much better than my own.

Below is a breakdown of a very powerful verse.  My prayer is that God would open a door for His Word to open eyes and hearts to see and hear what He has for each of us here.  That is His work alone, and I’ve tried to explain things with His own words through scripture.  I believe that God in his love and mercy, is very much going to challenge everyone’s idea of faith, our acceptance by God, and how we are to live moment by moment as Christians.  My first hope is that Christ is lifted up as glorious, magnificent, and worthy to be the supreme object of our affection.  If I am not successful at that, then I have failed before I’ve begun.  My second hope is that after being challenged by the scripture below, and maybe even God making use of my stumbling attempts to explain everything, that perhaps God would grant each of us a new measure of faith, moving us all closer to Him, granting us a new and greater peace, security, and joy IN the Lord.  That’s my hope and prayer, and may God grant his blessing to it.

2 Corinthians 5:21 – “For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.”

For our sake – God did not need to save any of us.  Just as God did not create man out of need, but out of a fullness of who He is, so that His glory might be known and enjoyed, so God’s putting forth of His son to reconcile us to Him through faith was not out of a sense of need, but out of a fullness of His glory.  God would have been completely just to send all men to hell, but desiring that His mercy be made known, He died for us – For our sake.

Acts 27:24-28a – “The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by man, nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything. And he made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place, that they should seek God, in the hope that they might feel their way toward him and find him. Yet he is actually not far from each one of us, for

“‘In him we live and move and have our being’;”

Romans 9:22-23 – “What if God, although willing to demonstrate His wrath and to make His power known, endured with much patience vessels of wrath prepared for destruction?
 And He did so to make known the riches of His glory upon vessels of mercy, which He prepared beforehand for glory,”

he made him – God the father sent God the Son, Jesus Christ.  Jesus is perfectly obedient to the will of the father, just as in Him, we are to be perfectly obedient to God’s will, manifested and given to us through Christ, and made known to us through God’s Word.

Philippians 2:5-8 – “Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant,being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.”

to be sin – I want to stop here.  Why doesn’t it say “to bear sins” or “to pay for sins”?  Why does God say “to be”.  Many people do not understand the depth of sin.  We see someone who cheats on his wife, or someone that is gossiping, and we say “they’re sinning”.  In a sense, but their sin is not merely the outward manifestations, but their heart is sinful, they themselves are sinners, not because they sin outwardly, but because that’s who they are inwardly.  It is SO important to understand this, becuase without understanding your condition as a sinner, you will never truly have peace from the grace of God extended to you through faith in Christ.  You will always be trying to modify behavior, in a futile effort to change outwardly, while you are still left with the same, unchanged sinful heart within.   Listen to Jesus explain this to the religious leaders of his day, who prided themselves on their piety.

Matthew 5:21-22 – “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.”

Matthew 5:27-28 – “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.”

Sin is not the behaviors that we do, it is a condition of our heart, our very being.  For God to atone (fully bear the wrath of God to pay for) our sins, he literally became our sin.

Jeremiah 9:25-26 – “Behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when I will punish all those who are circumcised merely in the flesh— Egypt, Judah, Edom, the sons of Ammon, Moab, and all who dwell in the desert who cut the corners of their hair, for all these nations are uncircumcised, and all the house of Israel are uncircumcised in heart.”

Galatians 3:13 – “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us—for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree”—”

We are sinners not in what we do, but in our very being.

Psalm 51:5 – “Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me.” 

Genesis 6:5 – “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.”

who knew no sin –

“A true love of God must begin with a delight in his holiness, and not with a delight in any other attribute; for no other attribute is truly lovely without this.” – Jonathan Edwards

You cannot love God, unless you see first that He is holy.  God’s warrant for bearing our sin, is His perfect holiness.  If a man accused of murder facing the death penalty, goes to the trial of another man accused of murder facing the death penalty, and offers to bear that man’s punishment, justice is not served.  Sin cannot cover sin, only the perfect holiness of God, in Jesus Christ, is a worthy sacrifice, able to absorb the just wrath of God for our sin.

Do you realize that you breathe every breath as a sinner?  As deep as the condition of our heart and being is sinful, God’s holiness extends even further.

1 Peter 2:21 – “He committed no sin, neither was deceit found in his mouth.”

Romans 5:18-21 – “Therefore, as one trespass led to condemnation for all men, so one act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all men. For as by the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man’sobedience the many will be made righteous. Now the law came in to increase the trespass, but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more, so that, as sin reigned in death, grace also might reign through righteousness leading to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”

Numbers 6:14 – “he shall bring his gift to the LORD, one male lamb a year old without blemish for a burnt offering, and one ewe lamb a year old without blemish as a sin offering, and one ram without blemish as a peace offering”

Jesus bore the wrath of God as our burnt offering without blemish, Jesus atoned for our sins as our sin offering without blemish, by the blood of Jesus Christ on the cross, Jesus made peace between sinners and God as our peace offering without blemish.  He alone is worthy for this task, for he alone is without blemish, perfectly holy.

so that in him – Being found by God to be in Jesus Christ is the only way to Him.  John 14:6 – “Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”

Here it’s important again to understand the meaning by looking at the word choice.  Why doesn’t it say “so that because of him” or “so that by him”?  We are not Christians because of our obedience, we are God chose us as vessels of mercy to display his glory (ref Rom 9 above).  We are Christians because God chose us, that by his grace, through faith, we are made to be in Christ.  Just as all of our sinful being was put on Christ, all the diety of Christ, in the form of the Holy Spirit is made to dwell in us.  We are not merely forgiven of our sins, we have ceased to be the sinful, depraved, beings without hope, and have been made into a new creation in Christ.

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

Galatians 2:20 – “I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”

It is not enough merely to remove our old-self, in bondage to sin.  God does not desire those who are indifferent towards Him, or that do not perfectly reflect His glory, so again we have a problem.

Revelation 3:15-16 – “‘I know your works: you are neither cold nor hot. Would that you were either cold or hot! So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth.”

God loves us, and does not leave us there, but we are given the righteousness of Christ, He dwells in us, His perfect life being credited to us by faith.

we might become the righteousness of God. –

Ezekiel 11:19-20
“And I will give them one heart, and a new spirit I will put within them. I will remove the heart of stone from their flesh and give them a heart of flesh, that they may walk in my statutes and keep my rules and obey them. And they shall be my people, and I will be their God.”

Look at Ezekiel – what comes first, our becoming a new creation, or our walking in God’s statutes?  We are not obedient to be justified by God, we are justified by God, so that we can be obedient – not only outwardly, but inwardly, having our hearts and mind and very being, conformed into the image of Christ.  The grace of God is given first, apart from any merit on our part, so that in everything God might receive the praise and glory due His name.

For us as believers, the only sin we can have victory over, is defeated sin – sin that has been overcome by Christ, and His perfect righteousness, which is ours already and dwells in us, manifests Him outwardly.  Does that make sense?  You CANNOT have ANY victory over sin in yourself, that is, by bodily means or works – that can only change behavior.  The only victory you can have over sin, is through faith, that Christ’s righteousness was perfect, and has already overcome every sinful temptation.  Our fight as Christians must not be 10% faith, and 90% works, our fight must be to constantly, 100%, to hold Christ up in our affections, placing our faith not in our ability to be righteous, but in God’s promise that He has made us righteous through Christ.

This is foolishness to the world.  You mean to tell me that how we become obedient to God isn’t by changing what we do, but in trusting God, that we are righteous already in Christ?  Yes, exactly, but only for those who are believers by faith.  You see, if you hear all this, and by God’s grace He grants you faith to trust and love Him, your delight will be in those things that bring more of Him into your life, and reflect Him more.  Your obedience will not be a burden to bear, but an overflow of your delight in God’s glory, all that He is to us through faith.  He is perfect love, He is perfect justice, He is perfect mercy, He is perfect wrath, He is perfect faithfulness.  Some will see Him this way as a treasure, delight in Him, and the Spirit of God will lead that person into a life of joy-filled obedience, manifesting the righteousness of God in them.  By God-given faith of identifying ourselves with Jesus in His death, burial, and resurrection, we can KNOW that we are already fully righteous by the imputed righteousness of Christ to us.  It is ONLY in resting in this foundation, that are able to manifest His righteousness overcoming temptation and sin in our lives.

Romans 1:16-17 – “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 for faith, as it is written, “The righteous shall live by faith.”

Our righteousness is rooted not in our doing righteousness, but our faith in the Righteous One.

Now it would seem easy to see that one cannot have faith in Jesus, and the good news He brings, and not love him; but many are deceived into believing that because they agreed to a set of facts, said “I believe, Lord!”, and eek out a measure of outward obedience they are saved.

Galatians 4:5-6 – “For through the Spirit, by faith, we ourselves eagerly wait for the hope of righteousness. For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for anything, but only faith working through love.”

We who are not deceived, however, see that love for God always accompanies faith in Him.  If you have never had real love in your heart for God, then wake up!  You do not know Him, and He does not know you.

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 you see, the righteousness that God requires isn’t outward – the people describe in Matthew 7 outwardly did many “good” things seemingly, but their appeal to God was not by Christ’s righteousness credited to them by faith, but based on their own righteousness.

John 6:28-29 – “Then they said to him, “What must we do, to be doing the works of God?” Jesus answered them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent.”

Only righteous people will see the kingdom of God, with God’s glory displayed for all to see and enjoy for all eternity.  There is only one righteousness that saves, and that is Jesus Christ’s.  Apart from Christ’s righteousness becoming ours we have not hope:

Romans 3:9b-11 – “For we have already charged that all, both Jews and Greeks, are under sin, as it is written:  None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God.”

By faith, we are already righteous, and our righteousness grows manifestly into the perfect righteousness of God as we encounter trials.

James 1:2-4 – “Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.”

This is true for us, with Christ’s righteousness given to us, because it was true for Jesus.  Though perfectly righteous at birth, grew and displayed his righteousness to be perfect as he encountered trials.

Hebrews 5:7-9 – “In the days of his flesh, Jesus offered up prayers and supplications, with loud cries and tears, to him who was able to save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverence. Although he was a son, he learned obedience through what he suffered. And being made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation to all who obey him,”

In trials we, by the Spirit of God in us working through faith, will gain victory over defeated sin.  In trials we, even if we fall into sin, can take joy and grow our faith, singing loud to the praise of the mercy and grace of God, that He came to justify not the righteous, but to sinners.  We can have peace knowing that before we fell, we had already been lifted up with Christ, and continue to fight the fight for faith.

Christian, here is my question and encouragement.  How do you fight sin in your life? By faith, or by works?  Seek the righteousness that comes by faith, Christ’s righteousness granted you through the cross.  As you look on to Jesus, the author and perfector of your faith, constantly lifting Him up as the one and only Righteous One, guard your heart against seeking obedience by works, but live by faith.  That is the work for you today to be doing the will of God, fight to have joy in Him, fight for faith that He alone is worthy.  Let your heart have its rest, maybe even for the first time, in truly believing and living life from the knowing that if you never lifted a finger the rest of your life, you are righteous in Christ – if you believe on Him.  Let your obedience well up powerfully from within, as an overflow of love and joy for God.  Let your heart see Jesus Christ as He Is, supremely worthy of all praise and glory – for without Him we have nothing, and in Him we have everything already.

Grace and Peace,
Adam

Can we admit that there are parts of the Bible that at surface level are confusing?  One of the greatest areas of confusion is our “working out our salvation” (Phil 2, James 1) and yet knowing that no one is justified (made right with God) based on works/obedience (Rom 3:20, Gal 2:16) but only in resting in the finished work of Christ.  Let’s look at some of these verses juxtaposed against one another:

Set 1:
Romans 3:20 – “For by works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin.”

Philippians 2:12 – “Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling,”

Set 2:
Romans 4:1-3 – “What then shall we say was gained by Abraham, our forefather according to the flesh? For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God. For what does the Scripture say?”Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness.”

James 2:22:24 – “You see that faith was active along with his works, and faith was completed by his works; and the Scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness”—and he was called afriend of God. You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone.”

(I’m fighting not to go off on a tangent here about how this highlights the importance of having the primary “diet” of preaching/teaching in the church be studying through books of the Bible verses having topical studies.  I’ll just say that if you belong to a church that doesn’t regularly go through books of the Bible, please find a solid pastor/author that will faithfully supplement your instruction.  I’m not saying leave! Only that God reveals Himself through scripture, and as it’s perfect, reading through books in their entirety gives a richness and clarity to scripture that cannot be seen in topical studies, even though those too are helpful at times.

Thank God for the gift of teachers!  I myself struggled with many issues in scripture, and sometimes do still, but God’s grace to me has been to surround me with solid men/women of God to help me.   So looking at the verses above, what is the “work” that we must do?  That’s a great question to ask!  Thankfully others asked Jesus that very question, and he gave us a direct answer in the gospel of John 6:28-29 – “Then they said to him, “What must we do, to be doing the works of God?” Jesus answered them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent.”

So then, the work that we do, the work that justifies us is our belief in God.  The battle we fight as Christians is to rest in the Truth that in Christ, the battle is already won.  That’s where we must fight.  Do you realize that when you first believed on Christ, ever power of sin over you was defeated?  The only sin that we can hope to overcome is defeated sin.

How do you respond when you sin, when you are tempted to believe that you are accepted by God based on your obedience?  Satan surely would love to have you feel defeated in your sin, the only problem is, it is impossible for sin to defeat you ultimately as a believer.  You can be deceived; allow yourself to buy into that lie, but the truth is you can never be defeated.  Why?  Who is Satan going to accuse you to?  Who is the Judge, except the One who has already declared you “not guilty”?  So how ought we to respond to the voice accusing us, when we sin, when that familiar lie creeps in to tempt us?

I want to exhort us to learn how to have the courage of “gutsy guilt”.  To be broken and repentant, but joyfully to proclaim that Christ is Holy, and His sacrifice has covered ALL your sin, past, present, and future.  Can you rejoice in your sin?  Can you rejoice not that you fell – we hate sin, and run from it as believers, but take joy in Christ and your salvation today in Him.  Look at David in Psalm 25:1-3 to see how he responded to His sin – “To you, O LORD, I lift up my soul. O my God, in you I trust; let me not be put to shame; let not my enemies exult over me.  Indeed, none who wait for you shall be put to shame; they shall be ashamed who are wantonly treacherous.”

David’s work was not to try to “make right” his sin, but his work and battle was in trusting the Lord.  He proclaims the truth that none who God has claimed for His own will be put to shame, rather his accusers shall be.

Colossians 2:13-15 – “And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands.  This he set aside, nailing it to the cross.  He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him.”

Every accuser, that would bring a charge against you, has been put to shame for their accusations.  This is because in accusing you, as a believer trusting on Christ that by grace through faith have been credited with Christ’s righteousness, those who would accuse you are found to be accusing the Holy One of God, Jesus Christ.  Yikes!  I wouldn’t want to be in their shoes.  Now me sharing this scripture hopefully is encouraging, but my hope is that you will battle to rest in these truths and learn to speak back to your accusers, to preach to your own soul when you fall, with gutsy guilt.

Your accusor will say, “Look here!  You profess to be a Christian?  Look at your sin!  You are not righteous, God will not accept you.  You are a hypocrite and should give up, stop even trying to pursue Him.”

With gutsy guilt you can respond – “Yes I’ve sinned, but I am not defeated by my sin, but Christ has been more than a conqueror for me.  He has paid for it all, and even if I must wait for joy in the Lord for a season, I will wait for Him, trusting Him, knowing that He will never leave or forsake me.  Rejoice not over me, accuser! In Christ, my righteousness is not my own, but Christ’s who dwells in me”

Micah 7:7-9 – “But as for me, I will look to the LORD; I will wait for the God of my salvation; my God will hear me.  Rejoice not over me, O my enemy; when I fall, I shall rise;
when I sit in darkness, the LORD will be a light to me.  I will bear the indignation of the LORD because I have sinned against him, until he pleads my cause and executes judgment for me.  He will bring me out to the light; I shall look upon his vindication.” 

Can you feel that?  Can you see that God can be upset with you and at the same time be your advocate?  Yes, sin will bring the indignation of God, but He, Himself will plead our cause, and execute judgement… not against you, but for you.  As Micah says, we will wait for the God if Our salvation.

This is how we are to fight for joy in God in all circumstances, even our sin.  Learn what it means to work and fight not to be justified to God, but to fight to rest in the truth that In Christ you have already been justified.  Then, standing on a firm foundation of your justification in Christ, go – make all out war on all sin, sin that has been defeated by the blood of Christ, that lingers in your life and separates you from a fullness of joy in the God of your salvation.

Grace and Peace,
Adam

All,  I started today (Tuesday) but now this will end up being Wednesday’s WFTD…you’ll see why from the length.  I hope you all had a great weekend and this finds you well.

C.S. Lewis said that there was two ways for a Christian to think about him or herself and be in line with Biblical teaching; either the Christian could continually see himself as a depraved sinner, capable of no good within himself, or he could forget himself altogether and look to Christ.  If you’re like me, it is VERY easy to think like the first person.  I am confronted daily with my failings in interactions with those around me, current struggles, and even recalling past sins.  For someone who focuses on their failures, it’s very easy to see and understand the wrath of God, and God’s justice – The wrath of God is poured out on sin, God’s holiness does demand perfect justice.  The result of that mindset, however; one continually reminded and perhaps dwelling on current and past personal failings, however true they may be, is not helpful and does not give the whole story.  Our sin, and our enemy in Satan,  would enjoy nothing more than to convince us that we are defined by what we’re struggling with today, or what we’ve done in the past.  It’s is a dark way to live; God may have used that brokenness to bring us to Him when we were first called, but as new creations in Christ we were not designed to dwell on it.  One mark of a mature Christian is whether or not we keep short accounts of ourselves with others and God.  We should be broken in our sin, repent, and turn to the Lord, but our day to day mindset shouldn’t be on ourselves, but joyful in seeing and savoring Christ.

I’ve found personally, and in others, that the hardest part of the gospel isn’t accepting that Jesus died for sinners; it’s accepting that He died for you, and your sins.  Jesus knew you from before you were born, he knows when you will die, He knows the depths of your heart, He knows your past, present, and future sins, and He took every bit of it with Him to the cross.  We hear this, but the familiar questions raise up from within; doesn’t God know what I’ve done in my past?  Doesn’t God know that I’m still struggling with sin in my life?  How can it be that this God loves me?  Why would He die for me and my sins?  How can it be that today, right where I’m at, in the midst of my struggles, that I’ve struggled with for YEARS God has declared me to be righteous?  The greatest offense of God to us, what is so hard for us to understand and accept, is His love.  We simply have the hardest time allowing ourselves to rest in this fact, that God would love us, wretched sinners as we are.  We feel the need to “get our life in order” and then go to God.  We feel like God’s love for us is tied to our success at obedience to Him.

What I want to argue for, what I believe God wants us to press into us, is that we were not meant to dwell on ourselves, but to stand with joy in awe of Him.  Do you realize that in Colossians 3:2, when is says “to set your minds on the things above, not on the things of the Earth” that is a command, not a suggestion?  Do you know that the command is deeply rooted in your identity as a redeemed son/daughter of God?  Let’s look at that verse in context from 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.”  Do you view yourself this way day to day?  Do you live with your eyes focused on Christ and the cross or focused on you?

When I was in Driver’s Ed many years ago, one of the instructors gave me a very helpful piece of advice (hopefully none of you were on the road then. I think the instructors must’ve drawn straws to see who had to ride with me… it was pretty scary) The (unlucky) instructor told me to focus on a spot ahead in the road, to not pay immediate attention to the road right in front of me, and that my arms/body would naturally drive to that point.  It took an initial measure of faith, but actually does work – try it some time.  This is similar to the way God wants us to live – to rejoice in the complete, finished work of Christ on the Cross, identifying ourselves not with our sin, but by faith to identify ourselves with Christ’s death to sin once and for all, and His (our) being made alive by the Spirit.  See it in Galatians 2:20 – “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 loves me and gave Himself up for me.”  Paul’s very identity is in Christ.  He cannot think of Himself differently or in a way apart from Christ, because as a believer, He is joined with Christ, and Christ lives in Him.  His mind is constantly savoring Christ, his life is spent with Christ in view.

Three things happen when you take your eyes off Jesus, when you cease to rejoice in the cross and your identity in Christ, and put your eyes only on yourself and your sin – 1) you will become very frustrated very quickly 2) you will lack a fullness of joy God means for you to live out of and 3) it will become impossible for you to please God, even if you are able to change some of your behavior (Ref Deut 28:47-48 below)

So let me ask you?  Are you consistently frustrated by past mistakes or your current sin struggles?  Why do you think there are so many laws in the Old Testament?  Something like 630 I believe total.  They’re there to teach you that you can’t ever be righteous.  You can’t do it!  Worse, in Deuteronomy 28:16 we’re told – “But if you will not obey the voice of the LORD your God or be careful to do all his commandments and his statutes that I command you today, then all these curses shall come upon you and overtake you.”  I won’t go into all of the curses, but needless to say they are not pleasant. 

Moreover, if you first came to Christ in faith, confessing your inability to be righteous as He requires, why then would you beat yourself up over and over for your past sins or ongoing struggles?  Don’t you realize that this is why Jesus came to die?  Brothers/Sisters in Christ, remember what you first professed when you came to faith – you have no hope apart from Him.  Paul addressed the church of Galatia, which had begun walking with Christ, but because of false teaching was being led to focus on themselves to be right with God based on their works.  Gal 3:1-6 – “O foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? It was before your eyes that Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified. Let me ask you only this:Did you receive the Spirit by works of the law or by hearing with faith? Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh? Did you suffer so many things in vain—if indeed it was in vain? Does he who supplies the Spirit to you and works miracles among you do so by works of the law, or by hearing with faith— just as Abraham “believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness”?” 

My exhortation then is to continue on in the same manner as when you first came to faith, set your eyes on the cross, become meek and humble before God, and let your soul be refreshed by Him.  Learn from David in Psalm 51, when he had committed rape, murder, and numerous other sins related to his adulterous relationship with Bathsheba – vs 16-17 – “For you will not delight in sacrifice, or I would give it; you will not be pleased with a burnt offering.  The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.”  God doesn’t want you to “make yourself better”, He wants you to come to Him today admitting you can’t.  As believers we do not overcome sin primarily by “doing better”, we overcome sin by God’s grace through changed hearts and minds – which is the work of the Spirit.  Rejoice in the cross.  Rejoice that God loves us enough to die for us.  Today ask God to give you greater affection for Him than for your sin, to give you a passion for him that will overwhelm your temptations that God may be seen as He is, worthy and glorious above all things. 

Let me ask another question.  Maybe you feel like you’ve already overcome some sin in your life, but there is a massive chasm 1,000 miles between what your head knows about God, and how your heart feels about Him.  You feel no joy.  You’ve got your theology down, you’re reading your Bible daily, you attend church, give of your time and resources, but everything has become mechanical, routine.  You find that you are your own worst critic.  You’ve become very good at introspection, and changing your behavior to be in line with God’s Word, but you feel no joy.  Is that ok?  Obviously this a leading question, but what does the Bible say?

If perhaps for you, you feel like obedience is more important than joy, but read what God has to say in Deuteronomy 28:47-48 –  “Because you did not serve the LORD your God with joyfulness and gladness of heart, because of the abundance of all things, therefore you shall serve your enemies whom the LORD will send against you, in hunger and thirst, in nakedness, and lacking everything. And he will put a yoke of iron on your neck until he has destroyed you.”  I love the Old Testament – no mincing words here, you will be joyful in the in the Lord, or God will make you a slave, hungry, thirsty, naked, without anything, until he destroys you.  Yep, not my words, those are God’s.  If our goal becomes changed behavior instead of fellowship with Him, does that make God look worthy of praise and glorious as He is?  How did Jesus speak about the Pharisees who outwardly appeared righteous, but ultimately had no love for God, as evidenced by their crucifying Him?  Is that how we are to live as Christians?  Followers of Christ, but without affection for the one we follow?

Now I want to deal very gently with those of you who maybe just got rocked back in your chairs as you’re reading this a bit – maybe if you’re honest with yourself you don’t have a lot of joy for God.  Maybe other things – football, TV shows, magazines, clothes, etc. have always been a great source of joy for you, and God has just been some impersonal force that you pray to every once in a while – know that God loves you right where you’re at, that it’s ok how you feel, but it’s not ok to stay that way.  Who would want to anyway?  No one wakes up in the morning and says, hmmm, I can be depressed or joyful today… I think I’ll take a little more depression in my life, life isn’t hard enough.  For some of us, however, this may not even be a decision – God may even cause us to go through “dark nights of the soul” where joy is difficult to find, if only to grow our faith even deeper, so that as we wait on Him for joy, our faith matures, producing in the end even more joy when God awakens our joy in Him again.  

My exhortation for each of these persons I’ve described above (of whom I have been in each of these camps at varying times), is to turn to Christ, where our hope is found.  Christ came into the world to die for sinners, to reconcile us to God.  God loved us so much that He wanted to give us the greatest gift in the world, Himself, for us to enjoy.  What does it say about God if we do not delight in Him?  What does it say if we turn our attention to ourselves instead of to Him?  Do you think there will be mirrors in heaven?  Do you think you could stand to look away from Christ, if a fullness of joy is found in Him alone?  Often times people ask me questions like – “Do you think my mother of father are looking down on me from heaven?”  My honest answer is this – “I think those persons who have gone to be with Christ are so infinitely joyful in fellowship with Him, that the idea of looking away for ANY reason, would never even offer a temptation to them, but if it did creep into their mind it would instantly be dismissed not as merely a bad idea – but insane.  Christ is that glorious.  My hope in sharing this – my goal is that I want to expand your vision of what that day will be like, when we see Him face to face, so that you will develop a passion for pursuing it now.  I want to help free you from the lies of Satan that you are defined by your sin, to see that in Christ, He gives you your identity, and He has called you a Son, Daughter, Heir, and Friend.

Jesus is to be the object of our attention and affection for all eternity, and because He died for us, by grace through faith, we get Him – we get God to enjoy forever.  That is the greatest good news of the Gospel, we get God.  You see, contrary to my Baptist upbringing, and perhaps many of your understanding of God and the church, God is very much after our joy.  In John 15:11, Jesus says “These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.”  I want that kind of JOY!  If God has all power at His disposal to work all things for infinite joy, and that is the joy that is to be found in Christ, I want to be looking for that, fighting for that, every day.  Psalm 16:11 says this “You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.”  What is at the right hand of God?  God Himself, Jesus Christ.  Hebrews 10:12 – “But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God,”  My encouragement today, is wherever you’re at, whatever your struggles are, bring them to God, turn from them by turning to Him, and rejoice in God.  Stop managing sin, and start pursuing Christ.  As you pursue God in His Word, in community with believers, in manifesting Christ to others through service and evangelism – in all things, let your affections for Him drive all that you do.  Let the world marvel at your joy as you set your eyes on Christ.  “God is most glorified in you, when you are most satisfied in Him” – (John Piper – paraphrase Phil 1:21).   

Grace and Peace,
Adam