Why Faith?

Ephesians 2:8-10 “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”

In this short topical Bible Study on the doctrine of “Justification” that I’ve been going through, I’ve learned that faith itself is not the righteousness upon which God declares us righteous in His sight; only the obedience of Christ is the evidence upon which our Creator pronounces His verdict that we are “just” (righteous; religious; influenced by a regard to the laws of God; or living in exact conformity to the divine will. Innocent, blameless and without guilt) and heirs to eternal life. Yet, the righteous of Christ cannot be ours apart from our receiving and resting (Quiet; repose; a state free from motion or disturbance; a state of reconciliation to God. A place of quiet; permanent habitation. That on which any thing leans or lies for support) in Christ alone.

Ecclesiastes 7:20 “Indeed, there is no one on earth who is righteous, no one who does what is right and never sins.”

But why faith and not something else the instrumental means of justification? To answer this question the study states that we must understand something of the character of “saving faith”. - the assent of the mind to the truth of divine revelation, on the authority of God's testimony, accompanied with a cordial assent of the will or approbation of the heart; an entire confidence or trust in God's character and declarations, and in the character and doctrines of Christ, with an unreserved surrender of the will to his guidance, and dependence on his merits for salvation. First, in keeping with the truth that our salvation is due to God’s mercy alone, faith is the only instrumental means of justification because faith is the gift of God. The gift of God refers to the entire grouping of grace, salvation and faith. The prefect righteousness of Christ is God’s gift to us, and even the means by which we receive it is the Lord’s gift given to us in regeneration of the spirit within us.

 Romans 9:16 “It does not, therefore, depend on human desire or effort, but on God’s mercy.”

Even though we exercise faith, we have it because God gives it to us through the work of His Son, Jesus Christ, who is the author and finisher of our faith. The “good works” that we do after we are justified are also gifts of God, but they are not the means by which we lay hold of Christ’s righteousness. Why? Because although faith is something we do - -we trust in Christ – the character of “saving” or “justifying” faith is to rest and receive, not to offer something meritorious to God. Saving faith can be likened to an open hand that simply receives what is offered, admitting that we have nothing in ourselves.

John 6:40 “For my Father’s will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day.”

All we present is an open hand, asking the Lord for His mercy and grace. Justifying faith is conscious that we deserve nothing but condemnation and does not try to make any excuse for sin or offer may merit in exchange for Christ’s righteousness. Jesus Christ is our blessed Redeemer and Savior alone.

Justified by the grace of God in Christ Jesus through faith.

Alone

Ephesians 2:8-10 “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”

Continuing in my short yet in-depth study of the doctrine of “justification”, Dr. R.C. Sproul states that for the Reformation, the declaration of justice follows the imputation of Christ’s righteousness to the regenerated  sinner. Of course there is a necessity of grace, faith and the obedience of Christ involved. But, for biblical Reformation theology, justification is based only on the righteousness of Christ, which is an alien righteousness, a righteousness that is not inherently ours because it consists only of Jesus’ good works. We do “good works” because we have been saved, not in order to get saved. James 2:18, 26 says, someone will say, “You have faith; I have deeds.” Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by my deeds. As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead. God’s people naturally do God’s work gratefully from their regenerated heart, but those works doing not save anyone; Jesus Christ does.

In Sola Fide (faith alone), the real dividing line is the one word - alone. Justification is not only by faith, it is by faith alone. Justification is not only by grace, it is by grace alone. Justification is not only by the work of Jesus Christ, it is by the work of Christ alone. Justification is by faith alone. We must be clear on that word – “alone”, for without it we do not have the gospel. If we add even one work of ours as part of the basis for justification, we have missed the gospel. The Apostle Paul stresses that we are not justified by our works. The only way to preserve that teaching is to insist that the only meritorious basis for our justification is the obedience of Christ imputed to us. Once we make our justification dependent on an inherent righteousness that combines Christ’s merit and our merit, we have lost the gospel of grace. We cannot earn our way to heaven.  

Titus 3:4-7 “But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, He saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of His mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal  by the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that, having been justified by His grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life.”

The teaching that none of our “good works” are part of the basis for justification is so clear. Indeed, justification is not by any works wrought by us in righteousness. Faith – and only faith – is the instrumental means of justification. In order words, it is through faith alone that we lay hold of or appropriate the sole basis for our justification, namely, Christ’s righteousness. For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God - alone.

Blessed in Christ

Through Faith Alone

Romans 4:6-8 David says the same thing when he speaks of the blessedness of the one to whom God credits righteousness apart from works: “Blessed are those whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered. Blessed is the one whose sin the Lord will never count against them.”

Continuing through this short Bible Study of the doctrine of Justification that I am reading, they stated that we must be declared righteous to endure God’s judgment against our sin and enter into eternal life in heaven. The basis for the declaration of justification is only the righteousness of Christ and that faith alone (that firm belief of God's testimony, and of the truth of the gospel, which influences the will, and leads to an entire reliance on Christ for salvation) is the instrument by which this righteousness is imputed to us, or put on our record.

Ephesians 2:8-9 “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast.”

Justification is based on the imputation of Christ’s righteousness through faith alone. That imputation is one side of the double exchange that happens in justification. Positively, the perfect obedience of Christ (the Lamb of God, without blemish) is credited to us. Negatively, sin is taken away from us. In justification, God credits us with a righteousness that is not our own but is Christ’s, and He takes our sin and puts it on Christ, who bore the divine judgment against it on the cross. Romans 5:9 tells us, “Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God’s wrath through him!” Jesus; Redeemer and Savior.

2 Corinthians 5:21 “God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.”

It is not that justification means we are not sinners, rather, it means that the Lord no longer holds our sins against us. Jesus Christ bore our sins and paid for them on the cross to redeem us. Romans 3:23-24 explains, “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.” In our redemptive forgiveness God does not change us with what we owe. He does not count our sins against us. If He did, no one (except Jesus) would ever escape His just wrath. No one but sinless Christ would be able to stand before God’s judgment. This all by God's love and grace.

1 Corinthians 1:30 “It is because of Him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God—that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption.”

Nothing can change the fact that we have sinned against a just and holy Creator God. In justification, our sin and guilt are removed and transferred to Jesus Christ, and in His blood we are covered by Christ’s perfect obedience, enabling God to declare us righteous in His sight. If we are in Christ, our sins will never be held against us on the Day of Judgment. In Christ, we are truly free of condemnation. That is a cause for great rejoicing and joy. Hallelujah! 

Titus 3:5-7 “He saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life.”

Blessed in Christ

4 Traits of the Diligent

Proverbs 22:29 “Seest thou a man diligent in his business? He shall stand before kings; he shall not stand before men of low estate.”

This last Sunday, our Pastor Kyle preached on “diligence” of the Christian, First, stating that diligent people understand that they are not only their biggest competitor, but also truly their only competitor. The 1828 Webster’s dictionary defines the word “diligent” as: being steady in application to business; constant in effort or exertion to accomplish what is undertaken; assiduous; attentive; industrious; not idle or negligent.

Proverbs 10:4 “He who has a slack hand becomes poor, but the hand of the diligent makes rich.”

The Hebrew word for “rich” used in Proverbs 10:4 is “ashar” (עָשַר), which translates as: properly, to accumulate; chiefly (specifically) to grow (causatively, make self) rich. The wisdom of the holy proverb is that the child of God is neither “slacking” (not doing their best), “negligent” (not paying attention), or “idle” (not doing what should be done). Who knows if you have a slack hand? Both you and Almighty God. Ephesians 2:10  tells us: “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.” Our Creator designed and made us to be industrious. The 1828 Webster’s dictionary defines the word “industrious’ as: (1) Diligent in business or study; constantly, regularly or habitually occupied in business; assiduous; opposed to slothful and idle. (2) Diligent in a particular pursuit, or to a particular end; opposed to remiss or slack; as industrious to accomplish a journey, or to reconcile contending parties. (3) Given to industry; characterized by diligence; as an industrious life. (4) Careful; assiduous; as the industrious application of knowing men. External enemies leaves, but the guilt from our internal conscience remains. The “prosperity gospel” is not God making us wealthy and living the good life on “easy street”, but accumulating knowledge of God, growing in the love and grace of God, being diligent in the good works of God and being rich in Jesus Christ.

Job 17:9 “Yet the righteous will hold to his way, and he who has clean hands will be stronger and stronger.”

Secondly, diligent people track what they do to make sure it is producing the godly results they desire. What we value is proved by the making and reserving of time and actually doing it. The data of your life tells you what you really appreciate, is worthy to you and holds importance in your life. We have lots of distracting devices in our lives vying for our attention, but are we any better off?  Thirdly, diligent people push themselves to advance (even when no one else knows). When the going gets tough and when it matters the most, the diligent get going. There are seasonal patterns of life and there is a lot of preparatory steps to any harvest, but they are all godly and good steps to take. Fourthly, Diligent people understand that “harvest” = “hardest”. At harvest time, it’s get up early, gather, sort, pack and ship. God sends laborers into the ministry fields of life. The harvest is the mission. God shows up and works along side, when we work to advance the kingdom of heaven.

Ephesians 4:12-15 “To equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ. Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming. Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ.

Lord God, Make us diligent and use our heads for your glory, amen.

In Christ, Brian

Faith unto Righteousness

Romans 4:4-5 “Now to him who works, the wages are not counted as grace but as debt. But to him who does not work but believes on Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is accounted for righteousness.”

Continuing through this short Bible study on the topic of Justification, I came to the relationship between faith and righteousness. The doctrine of justification is at the heart of the gospel, for justification explains how we are found acceptable to God. The 1828 Webster’s dictionary defines the word “justification” as: The act of justifying; a showing to be just or conformable to law, rectitude or propriety; vindication; defense. Our disobedience to God's commands admits no justification. In theology, remission of sin and absolution from guilt and punishment; or an act of free grace by which God pardons the sinner and accepts him as righteous, on account of the atonement of Christ.

Galatians 2:16 “Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law but by faith in Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, that we might be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the law; for by the works of the law no flesh shall be justified.”

In justification, God solved the legal or judicial problem that we have on account of our being sinful lawbreakers who have violated His commandments, and He does so by means of a legal declaration of our status, not by inward transformation. Clearly, when a judge acquits an innocent person, they are not changing that person but merely making a declaration about that person’s status before the law. Having considered the evidence, the judge declares legally that the defendant is not a lawbreaker based on the evidence. Notably, the word “acquitting” translates the Greek verb dikaioó, which is the same verb used in Romans 4:5 when the Apostle Paul says that God justifies the ungodly. The Strong’s Dictionary of bible words translates this word as: to show or regard as just. In justification, God does not change a person, although all who are justified have been given a new heart to believe in Jesus Christ.

Ephesians 2:1-5, 8 “As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our flesh and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature deserving of wrath. But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God.”

But what are the facts upon which the Lord justifies us? The 1828 Webster’s dictionary defines the word “faith” as: In theology, the assent of the mind or understanding to the truth of what God has revealed. Simple belief of the scriptures, of the being and perfections of God, and of the existence, character and doctrines of Christ, founded on the testimony of the sacred writers, is called historical or speculative faith. Evangelical, justifying, or saving faith, is the assent of the mind to the truth of divine revelation, on the authority of God's testimony, accompanied with a cordial assent of the will or approbation of the heart; an entire confidence or trust in God's character and declarations, and in the character and doctrines of Christ, with an unreserved surrender of the will to His guidance, and dependence on His merits for salvation. In other words, that firm belief of God's testimony, and of the truth of the gospel, which influences the will, and leads to an entire reliance on Christ for salvation. As we have seen, the righteousness of Christ is the basis for our justification. We must have faith, but faith itself is not the righteousness that justifies us.

Romans 1:16-17 For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, “The just shall live by faith.”

Evangelism Explosions explains that many people mistake two things for saving faith: (1) Saving faith is not mere head knowledge, like believing certain historical facts. The Bible says that the devil believes there is one God, so believing that there is one God is not saving faith. (2) Saving faith is also not mere temporal faith, that is, trusting God for temporary crises such as financial, family, or physical needs. Now these are good, and you should trust Christ for these, but they are not saving faith! Saving faith is trusting in Jesus Christ alone for eternal life. It means resting upon Christ alone and what He has done rather than in what you or I have done to get us into Heaven. Saving faith is pleasing to God, but as even our faith is imperfect, it cannot serve as the meritorious basis for our justification.

Our faith is the instrument of justification  because through it God counts or imputes the perfect righteousness of Jesus Christ to our account. Our faith is unto righteousness – it is the means through which we receive the obedience of Christ, which is the righteousness that justifies us.

Blessed in Christ. 

Faith in Justification

Habakkuk 2:4 “Behold the proud, his soul is not upright in him; but the just shall live by his faith."

Holy Scripture tells us again and again that none of us has kept God’s law, commandments and statutes sufficiently enough to be declared “righteous: based on our own obedience.

Ecclesiastes 7:20 “For there is not a just man on earth who does good and does not sin.”

Isaiah 53:6 “All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned, every one, to his own way.”

Romans 3:9-11, 23 “What then? Are we better than they? Not at all. For we have previously charged both Jews and Greeks that they are all under sin. As it is written: “There is none righteous, no, not one; There is none who understands; There is none who seeks after God. For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”

James 2:10 “For whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one point, he is guilty of all.”

Evangelism Explosion explains how most people know that they’ve sinned. Stating that what they don’t know is the seriousness of that sin. Many times people hear that “All have sinned.”  But they conclude that since sin is something everyone is doing, it can’t be so bad.  And they think “While I’m a sinner, I’m not so bad a sinner that I can’t get to Heaven by being reasonably good.”  Another way they may put it is that, “their good outweighs their bad.”  When you share your faith with someone it’s important for them to understand that God’s standard is perfection and that any sin, even as small as a bad thought (i.e. lust or hate), disqualifies them from Heaven. A good way to explain sin is it’s anything we say, think, do or don’t do that is displeasing to God.  Now, just imagine if someone sinned only three times in a day – one bad thought, one unkind word, one loss of temper about something.  You’d probably think that’s pretty good.  But three sins a day adds up to more than a thousand sins in a year.  Imagine standing before a traffic judge with 1,000 transgressions of the law. And yet, we try to stand before an all Holy God whose standard is perfection. The foundation of people saving themselves by some inherent goodness has to be torn down. Close enough only counts in horseshoes and hand-grenades. We are saved by faith alone in Christ alone. At the final judgment, only Christ’s righteousness will preserve us unto eternal life.

Ephesians 2:8-9 “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.”

Scripture is clear: justification is based only on the righteousness of Christ, which is received only when we repent of our sin, renouncing all claims to having met God’s standard and trust only in Jesus Christ for salvation. Faith is the only instrument by which we receive the righteousness of Christ. We can survive God’s judgment and wrath to inherit eternal life only through faith. Those who are righteous on Judgment Day are not righteous through their own works, but only through faith in Jesus Christ; by His righteousness and the finished atoning work at the cross that justifies us.

Blessed in Christ

Shalom: Peace be Still – Part 2

Continuing Michael’s message on peace: The peace of God that passes all understanding is elusive in a world of doubt, worry and fear.  The prerequisite to peace is in Philippians 4:6-7 “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer, and supplication, and thanksgiving, let your requests be made known unto God.  And the peace of God that passes all understanding shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus our Lord.” In the Old Testament, Isaiah 41:10-13 says, "Fear thou not for I am with thee:  be not dismayed for I am thy God:  I will strengthen thee, yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness." 

In the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus left with the peace that passes all understanding. You can't have peace until you have the Prince of Peace – Jesus Christ. Peace means that our heart is settled before God. Peace is the result of reconciling our will with God's will. Jesus said, "Nevertheless, not my will but thine be done." To come to the Lord, we need to "Let go and let God." We must learn to release our will to God's will. When we come boldly before the “throne of Grace” in prayer, sometimes the answer is “no, I have something better”. He has our best interest in mind even when we don't. In Matthew 11:28, Jesus said, "Come unto me all ye who labor and are heavy laden and I will give you rest."  

In the trials of life, God will ask, "no matter the outcome of this trial, will you still honor, love, praise, and serve me?  How much control do you have over this situation?"  God said, "My ways are higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. I'm working behind the scenes the way you can't know now. All things work together for good to those who love God and are called according to his purpose.” Because God is in control and makes it happen. You'll just have to trust him. 

1 Peter 5:7 "Casting all your care upon Him for He cares for you."

For peace in our lives, we have to come to know Him; not just know of Him. In times of trouble, our prayer must be, "not my will but thine be done." Is my knowledge of God such that I can trust Him through this trial. Those who surrender to God, must come to Him through total abandonment and absolute trust. Jesus said, "My peace I leave with you.  My peace I give unto you.  Not as the world giveth give I unto you.  Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid." As a wise Sage, who has come to know and value the peace of God through experience, the question is "Where's your heart?"  Those who have come to know the Lord know that our strength is not in our own power but in the Lord. Thy strength is made perfect in my weakness...thy grace is sufficient for me.

Shalom...peace be with you.

Your Brother in Christ, Michael

Shalom: Peace be Still – Part 1

This week, Michael writes: A “Sage” is wise through reflection and experience. They are discerning, perceptive and prudent. A sage is a man or woman of experience and wisdom and they have the scars to prove it.  As a young person, they've been through ordeals to understand the meaning of what it means to be a man or woman. Their experience as a youth has taught them that the world is a competitive place. As an adult, they have been through many battles and they has been wounded by the world. Although scarred by trials and tribulations, they have surrendered their life to be healed by the Great Physician – Jesus Christ.

Most people are stuck in woundedness, inflicted by the world. Jesus Christ is the one who heals. For healing through Christ, men and women must come to the end of themselves. A humble and a contrite heart is the requirement to come to the throne of grace. People are in search of peace. When Jesus walked out of the garden of Gethsemane, he understood the meaning of perfect peace. When he went there to pray, his heart was unsettled. When we acknowledge that we need God, we can pray with an earnest and fervent heart. Jesus went to the garden distressed to the point of sweating great drops of blood. His prayer was "if there be any other way, let this cup of suffering, separation, and death pass from me."  Three times God told His Son, "No."  

Walter A. Henderson wrote a book, "Thoughts from the Diary of a Desperate Man." He had a six year old son who needed a bone marrow transplant. They had to take a sample of marrow from his hip bone. His son cried out, "It's so painful.  Daddy, can you make it stop?" When his dad said no, he could only hold to his daddy's neck in his pain. God had to tell his son Jesus, there's no other way than to drink the cup of suffering for the salvation of the world. God uses what the world considers a defeat and turns it into victory for his purpose. This is what God did with Joshua before the fall of the walls of Jericho. He did this with Gideon and his small army. God always culls the numbers so that the victory can be in His power alone. If we grow faint with lesser trials, how shall we endure through the battles?  Jeremiah, God's prophet needed to be tested through trials also.  

Jesus said to his disciples, let's get in the boat and go to the other side of the Sea of Galilee. He was fast asleep when a violent storm came up. The disciples were terrified that their boat would sink. They woke Jesus and he said, "O ye of little faith."  The Lord Jesus did not say, “Let’s get in the boat and drown half way across.” Then Jesus said, "Peace be still."  Immediately the wind and waves ceased and there was a great calm.  The disciples said to themselves, "Who is this that even the wind and waves obey him?"

Let’s continue Michael’s message on the Peace of Christ in the next post.

In Christ, Brian

The Struggle with Sin

Romans 7:15-19 “I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good. As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me. For I know that good itself does not dwell in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing.”

Professor Jeff Jue  writes that father of the Reformation, Martin Luther is famous for the Latin phrase “simul Justus et peccator”, which means “simultaneously just (or righteous) and sinner”. By faith, Christians are justified before their just and holy god as their sins are pardoned and the righteousness of Christ is imputed to them. Yet, in the ongoing pilgrim life of the Christian this side of eternity, there is still a struggle with sin that is discouraging and that, sadly, may lead to devastating consequences. So, how does the Christian, who is justified in Christ, deal with the continuing presence of sin.

Ephesians 1:3-6 “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love he predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will— to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves.”

Dr. Jue suggests that we, first, must remember who we are as those united to Christ by faith. The Apostle Paul writes in Ephesians 1 that we have been redeemed, adopted, forgiven, and given spiritual blessings, have obtained an inheritance and eternal life in Christ by the grace of God. How we respond to sin comes from our understanding of who we are in Christ and what Christ has done for us.  Secondly, be a part of a Bible-believing church that preaches the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The preaching of the Word of God and the administration of the Lord’s Supper in Communion are means of grace that encourage us in our lives and again remind us of who we are and what we have received in Christ.

Galatians 5:16-18 “So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever you want. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.”

Even with our understanding of who we are in Christ, we still face regular temptations from our sinful nature of our flesh, from the God-rejecting world system, and from the devil. The fact is that we all struggle with sin as we seek to pursue the holiness that God desires. The Apostle Paul in Ephesians 6 calls us to stand firm by putting on the “whole armor of God” in truth, righteousness, faith, salvation and the Word of God. The battle imagery is absolutely appropriate. We must battle with things that would cause us to fall away from God. This is a constant fight that will not end until we reach heaven. Thankfully, the indwelling Holy Spirit is at work in us and will help us in our struggle until that day when we will be glorified and our struggle with sin ultimately will end.

Blessings in Christ

Just as if I had Never Sinned

Titus 3:4-7 “But when the kindness and the love of God our Savior toward man appeared, not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior, that having been justified by His grace we should become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.”

What I thought was a small study on Paul’s Letter to the Romans, but turns out to be a study on “justification”. In Holy Scripture, the word “sanctification” speaks to the whole process in redemption by Christ, which includes justification, adoption, sanctification, and glorification. The 1828 Webster’s dictionary defines “Sanctification” as: The act of making holy. In an evangelical sense, the act of God's grace by which the affections of men are purified or alienated from sin and the world, and exalted to a supreme love to God. The Apostle Paul speaks of those who are “being saved”, a clear reference to the ongoing purification from sin that believers experience in their sanctification. In the Bible passage above, Paul speaks of how Christ has “saved us”, and he is plainly thinking of justification for us, done through the finished work of Jesus Christ alone. My old pastor Ken Krueger translated the word “justification” as: being found by God, just as if you had never sinned, because Jesus put on our sin and, by faith, we put on His righteousness in exchange.  

John 3:3-5 Jesus answered and said to him, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” Nicodemus said to Him, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?” Jesus answered, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.”

There is a divine initiative in justification. God did not justify us based on the works we have done in righteousness. Justification is by grace alone, apart from any works that we have done and apart from any works other sinners have done for us. God achieves this through the works of Christ alone by the washing of regeneration. The 1828 Webster’s dictionary defines the word “regeneration” in theology as: new birth by the grace of God; that change by which the will and natural enmity of man to God and his law are subdued, and a principle of supreme love to God and his law, or holy affections, are implanted in the heart. Human beings are a trinity of body, spirit, and soul (mind, will and emotions). When Adam and Eve originally sinned in the Garden of Eden, their spirit died. The spiritual connection with Creator God was severed. 

Ephesians 2:4-9 “But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.”

To Regenerate is to quicken the spirit and transform the heart; to make alive in a spiritual sense; to communicate a principle of grace to. It is the spirit, which died in all humanity due to original sin, that is regenerated. Faith is the only instrument through which we receive the righteousness that justifies us. We are justified, renewed and blessed in Christ. 

Discover Passion

Nehemiah 1:3-4 And they said to me, “The survivors who are left from the captivity in the province are there in great distress and reproach. The wall of Jerusalem is also broken down, and its gates are burned with fire.” So it was, when I heard these words, that I sat down and wept, and mourned for many days; I was fasting and praying before the God of heaven.

This last weekend, Pastor Obie preached from the book of Nehemiah on the topic of “passion”. He stated that if we have a passion for anything, then it is easier to do them, so we should find and follow our passions. What does “passion” mean? Even though the 1828 Webster’s dictionary defines the word “passion” as (1) Suffering; emphatically, the last suffering of the Savior, so passion means to endure suffering, as in those things which break your heart the most. But Noah Webster also defines the word as: (2) The feeling of the mind, or the sensible effect of impression; excitement, perturbation or agitation of mind; as desire, fear, hope, joy, grief, love, hatred. Pastor Obie adds that “passion” is that which “breaks your heart”. When we live in our God-given passion, the things which break God’s heart, also break our heart. Happiness is centered on holiness and  our passion is that which causes our enthusiasm. The word “enthusiasm” comes from the Greek “entheos”, meaning God-inspired.

The 1828 Webster’s defines the word "enthusiasm" as: a violent passion or excitement of the mind, in pursuit of some object, inspiring extravagant hope and confidence of success. Hence the same heat of imagination, chastised by reason or experience, becomes a noble passion, an elevated fancy, a warm imagination, an ardent zeal, that forms sublime ideas, and prompts to the ardent pursuit of laudable objects. Such is the enthusiasm of the poet, the orator, the painter and the sculptor. Such is the enthusiasm of the patriot, the hero and the Christian. Pastor Obie explains that there is a difference between “person passion” and “God-given passion”. A God-given passion is a passion for what breaks God’s break. Within that passion, we discover our life mission through which we are willing to suffer for; like taking up our cross daily and following Christ, so that the “lost in sin” can find salvation. God-sized dreams require a God-sized faith.

Nehemiah 2:4-5 Then the king said to me, “What do you request?” So I prayed to the God of heaven. And I said to the king, “If it pleases the king, and if your servant has found favor in your sight, I ask that you send me to Judah, to the city of my fathers’ tombs, that I may rebuild it.”

Pastor Obie pointed out that when preparation meets opportunity, success follows. In life, opportunities will come, but will we be ready? If we are not in the “right” position mentally, physically or spiritually, then we will miss the opportunities as they arise. Waves of opportunities will come. If your dreams do not scar you, then you are not dreaming big enough. Know that God will put that passion for Christian living in us.  Be prepared by praying. Prayer acknowledges that (1) God is in control, (2) Allows us to see how big God really is, and (3) Permits us to see our priorities; but see God’s design change them to God-given passions. Prepare by planning a timeline for goals. If you have a goal, plan and map it out. The difference between a dream and a goal is that a goal has a timeline. Timelines of goals lead to success. Plan to work and work to plan.

Do what God wants you to do, discover your God-given passion and lean into the work needed to get it done and take you to the next step for the glory of God. Realize what is the best thing to do because sometimes we have to stop a “good” thing in order to do the “best” thing. Align yourself with God’s priorities. Being a witness to the gospel of salvation in Jesus Christ is our greatest God-given calling in life. Awaken your God-given passion and catch sight of the God-sized dream that He has given you. Enthusiastically discover the passion that God has planted in your heart and be truly blessed.

In Christ, Brian

Faith Alone in Christ Alone

Romans 5:17-19 “For if by the one man’s offense death reigned through the one, much more those who receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ.) Therefore, as through one man’s offense judgment came to all men, resulting in condemnation, even so through one Man’s righteous act the free gift came to all men, resulting in justification of life. For as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so also by one Man’s obedience many will be made righteous.”

Reading through another small study of the book of Romans, they state that human beings from every time and place almost universally believe that they are saved through their doing “good works”. In fact, only biblical Christianity teaches that the salvation of sinners is not based on the merit that accrues to their good deeds. Our salvation is actually dependant on good works, but not the good works of sinners. The good works of Jesus Christ are the basis of our being found righteous in the sight of God. The point is that God demands perfect obedience to His law and it is Christ’s prefect obedience that can justify us. Since we do not have perfection, trying to use the law to justify ourselves brings only condemnation.

Why can’t God’s law save us? The answer to this question is that the law’s inability to provide for us the righteousness that avails before God’s judgment has nothing to do with the law itself. Reformer John Calvin stated that “as it teaches us what is righteousness, the law of God is indeed by itself the way to salvation, but our depravity and corruption in sin prevents it from being any advantage to us. It is futile for us to try to claim righteousness before our holy and just Creator God based on our obedience to His law.

In justification by faith alone (sola fide), we are declared righteous before God because of Christ alone (solus Christus). Faith is the means by which we receive the righteousness of Christ and not what actually secures our justification. We must have faith in Christ to be justified, but faith is not the righteousness that avails before God’s judgment. Only the obedience of Christ can do that. God demands complete obedience. Keeping His holy Commandments halfway or even most of the way is not enough to meet His judicial standard. The Lord has never relaxed His demand for perfection. But, we have also seen that because of sin, not because of any flaw in God’s law, this standard is impossible for us to meet. So, in His grace, God chose a different way to give us the perfect obedience we need to stand before him. He chose to accept the obedience of another in place of our own.

The flawless obedience of our Savior Jesus Christ is what constitutes us as righteous or what provides the basis for God’s declaring His people righteous. The question is not whether we are going to be saved through “good works”, the question is “whose works”. The good news of the gospel is that Christ obeyed for us. He took upon Himself the yoke of the law, fulfilling it perfectly on our behalf. There is no righteousness of any creature that can be added t the righteousness of Christ, for it is perfect. We rejoice in His righteousness and tell others that they can stand before God unafraid if they are clothed with Christ’s righteousness alone by faith alone.

Blessed in Christ

Nowhere Else

Romans 3:19-20 “Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God. Therefore by the deeds of the law no flesh will be justified in His sight, for by the law is the knowledge of sin.”

The gospel is the source of the righteousness of God for believers in Christ. But, there is a real need to explain why human beings need the gospel; the reason being that you must know that you are lost before you can be found. You cannot help someone who does not believe that they need any help; they will reject you. So many do not know or understand about Sin and the estrangement it creates between people and their Creator, meaning that sinners need reconciliation with God. We understand that sin is a universal condition, affecting every man, woman and child. Nobody’s perfect, meaning that all, except Jesus, have broken the law of God.

Romans 3:23 “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”

An article that I read explained that when we read the Law of God, we are convicted in our heart by our own failure to keep it. Facing this predicament, fallen people have the natural propensity to try to do better, to endeavor to build up a record of goodness and righteous works that outweigh the transgressions, like God’s grades on a curve. But, whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God. Although we do grow in our obedience over the course of our Christian lives, we should nevertheless be convicted of how far short we fall of God’s standard when we read His Holy Law. If we seek to keep the law in order to be justified, we will fail because, in our sin nature, we break God’s Law every day in either thought, word or deed and the law does not give us what we need to be reckoned as righteous. Instead, it gives us the knowledge of sin, telling us that we are sinners in need of a Savior. The great Reformer Martin Luther says, “The law was given only that sin might be known.” But, the law does more than give us the knowledge of sin and convict us of sin. It also tells us what pleases God, and it resists sin, keeping people from being as bad as they possibly could be. God’s eternal moral law is contained within the Mosaic law, but also found within our conscience.

Romans 6:23 “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

The Law of God is meant to drive us to the Cross for Jesus’ atoning redemption, salvation and justification. We have a debt that we cannot pay, so Jesus Christ paid a debt that He did not owe for our salvation. We realize that we must continue looking to Christ alone for salvation, picking up our cross daily. Nowhere else. It is finished!

In Christ, Brian

Somebody's Nobodies

When God does something to make an impact, he always does it with a select few. The battle is not ours, but the Lord’s. God designed it so that victories are ultimately in His hands not ours. Without Him, we are nothing.

1 Corinthians 1:27 "God has chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise and to nullify the things of the world so that no man can boast." 

God always works through the “underdogs”. He proved this when He ordinary people, like you and me, to be His disciples. He could have chosen the rich and powerful of this world.  However, He chose a “ragtag” group of nobodies to change the world. God wants to take nobodies to make them into some-bodies. A “nobody” is a person of no influence.  If we're influencers, we influence others not by the world's ways but by allowing God to work in us and through us to will and to do of His good pleasure.  

The world's definition of “success” is those who accomplish great feats of influence and power and accomplishment. They are "gifted" in their own power. Jesus said, "Seeketh thou great things for yourself?  Seek them not." Contrary to the world's standards, God's success code is what John the Baptist said, "I must decrease that he may increase."

The world says, "Those Christians are nobodies, you can forget about them." The Christian church does not consist of those whom the world holds in high esteem. God never chose His men and women to compete with the world on the world's terms.  According to Romans 12, "Be not squeezed into the world's mold...be not conformed to this world but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God." The heart's desire of a person of God is to learn to become just like their master, the Lord Jesus Christ.

As Christians in America, we've been conditioned to gravitate toward worldliness. The wisdom of this world is earthly sensual and devilishness. However, when the Holy Spirit was given on the day of Pentecost, Christians were “born again” into a supernatural world. When a man or woman comes to the Lord, how do you explain the change in that person's life?  Peter himself had been radically changed on the day of Pentecost. The crowd took notice that he had been with Jesus. He was an unlearned Galilean and spoke not as others with enticing words of man's wisdom, but with the power of God in manifestation.  

In John 6, when Jesus said that you can't follow me unless you partake of my flesh and blood, the crowds decided not to follow him. Jesus said to His disciples, will you also leave me?  Peter answered, "Where else can we go?  You have the words of eternal life."  Jesus said, "Follow me." We do not know the destination ... but we can trust that He knows the way. A fool is a person who is lacking reason and prudence; one without good sense and composure, and one who takes no thought for the consequences of his actions. Everyone is someone's fool. Whose fool are you?

As nobodies, the world thinks that we're nothing. Great Christians are marked by humility. When Mother Theresa was touring Washington, a congressman looking for a photo-op approached her and gave her a million dollar check for her charity "Sisters of Mercy." She said to the man, "Please give this donation to someone who needs it more that we do.  God has always met our needs and he will provide. God works best with nothing."

To change the world, God has called us as "Fools for Christ." He has used the foolish things of the world to confound the wise. Jeremiah 9:23-24 says, “Thus saith the Lord, Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, neither let the mighty man glory in his might, let not the rich man glory in his riches:  But let him that glorieth glory in this, that he understandeth and knoweth me, that I am the LORD which exercise lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness, in the earth: for in these things I delight, saith the Lord.”

According to 2 Corinthians 4:7, "For we have this treasure (the Holy Spirit) in an earthen vessel that the excellency of the power may be of God and not of us."

May God richly bless you!

Your brother in Christ, Michael

Sins and Salvation – Part 2

Romans 1:21-23 “For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the immortal God.”

Continuing for the last post, I know that in my younger days, I didn’t understand about the wrath of God against sin and sinners. “Fire and Brimstone” sermons were seemingly banished from the pulpits and bible studies of “kinder and gentler” churches decades ago, and the Great American Theologian Jonathon Edwards’ sermon, “Sinners in the hands of an Angry God” (http://www.ccel.org/ccel/edwards/sermons.sinners.html), which sparked “the Great Revival” in America was never mentioned, let alone studied. How long did I and others believe that just about everyone was going to heaven before we were shown in the Word of God that the opposite was the truth? Bible verses from the Lord Jesus himself, like Matthew 7:13-14, John 3:3, 5 & 36, and Revelation 20:15 brought me to the realization that I must have been “living the dream”, because the thought of just about everyone going the heaven was a fantasy … a lie of the devil to deceive us. Sin must be paid for.

Matthew 10:28 “Don’t be afraid of those who want to kill your body; they cannot touch your soul. Fear only God, who can destroy both soul and body in hell.”

 One commentator asks, How does God reveal His wrath? Then points out that we are accustomed to thinking of God’s wrath as the pouring out of his anger in judgment against sin. The Bible does speak of God’s wrath in this way, predicting a final day of the Lord on which the Almighty will bring great destruction on impenitent sinners. However, we should see such descriptions of God’s wrath as the ultimate fulfillment of our Creator’s judgment against sin and sinners. That is because god is now showing His wrath in the lead up to that final day. He does so by handing sinners over to their sin  ...  gave them up and gave them over.

Romans 1:24-25, 28-32 “Therefore God also gave them up to uncleanness, in the lusts of their hearts, to dishonor their bodies among themselves, who exchanged the truth of God for the lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen. And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a debased mind, to do those things which are not fitting; being filled with all unrighteousness, sexual immorality, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, evil-mindedness; they are whisperers, backbiters, haters of God, violent, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, undiscerning, untrustworthy, unloving, unforgiving, unmerciful; who, knowing the righteous judgment of God, that those who practice such things are deserving of death, not only do the same but also approve of those who practice them.”

I read that it is important to note that God does not give people who are unwilling to sin over to sin. His judgment, at least this side of eternity, is to give sinners exactly what they want in preparation for the final Day of Judgment. And this is manifestly just, for sinners not only sin, but they take the extra step if justifying their sin and the sin of others. In our day, we see people agitation in the streets for the freedom to sin in the eyes of the Lord how they want without any consequences. If there are to be any consequences, they would be against anyone who dares to object against their sinful thoughts, words and deeds. They approve of sin – calling evil good and good evil – and they encourage others to do so as well. This evidences God’s giving them over to their sin in His wrath.

2 Peter 3:9 “The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.”

But all hope is not lost. God still rescues people who have been handed over to sin, and we should pray that He would do so for people who are reveling in their transgressions, no matter what their transgression may be. Sin is a universal condition. All need saved, but as my old mentor used to say: You don't really know where you have been "saved to", until you know where you have been "saved from".

Romans 3:21-26 “ But now the righteousness of God apart from the law is revealed, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, even the righteousness of God, through faith in Jesus Christ, to all and on all who believe. For there is no difference; 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God set forth as a propitiation by His blood, through faith, to demonstrate His righteousness, because in His forbearance God had passed over the sins that were previously committed, to demonstrate at the present time His righteousness, that He might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.”

Blessings in Christ.