Daily Devotions

Tuesday, January 14

Faith Defined: Knowledge, Belief and Trust

“By grace you are saved, through faith” in Jesus Christ (Ephesians 2:8).

The grace of God is the open fountain that saves the sinner. “By grace you are saved.”

The grace of God is an infinite attribute of God. The first and last moving cause of our salvation is God’s grace. “No man comes to Me, except the Father which has sent Me draw him,” said Jesus. The effectual call of God is of grace. Even our faith is the result of a divine operation. Our salvation is by grace through faith in Jesus Christ.

“In due time, Christ died for the ungodly.” God in His marvelous grace provided that sacrifice which covers all our sins.

Why is faith so important? Faith is the channel or conduit through which we receive God’s free gift of salvation.

Let us make it very clear that you faith does not save you. We are saved by the grace of God. Faith is not an independent source of salvation. It is not how much faith we have as if we are to psych ourselves up to a certain level of faith. Salvation is received by “looking unto Jesus,” not by looking at our faith. Faith is not the power that saves. God saves us by His grace. The saving power of God is found in His grace, and not in our faith. Faith focuses our eyes upon Jesus Christ alone who died for our sins.

“By grace are you saved, through faith.” You would think that you could not get much clearer than that. C. H. Spurgeon said faith is made up of three things—“knowledge, belief, and trust.”

We must have knowledge of certain facts in order to be saved. What is the good news of Jesus Christ? How do you receive God’s free gift of salvation? We must know certain facts about sin, and the sacrifice of Jesus Christ for our sins. Without this knowledge we cannot be saved.

“For while we were still helpless [sinners] at the right time Christ died for the ungodly . . . God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:6, 8). That is essential knowledge we need in order to be saved. Without knowing that we are sinners, and that Jesus died for our sins, we cannot be saved. You cannot be saved without knowing the fact that Jesus died for you, in your place, on the cross.

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

“Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God” (Romans 10:17). We receive “the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all those who believe; for there is no distinction; for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus; whom God displayed publicly as a propitiation in His blood through faith” (3:22-25).

God displayed “His righteousness at the present time, that He might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus” (v. 26). “For we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from works of the Law” (v. 28). “Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness” (4:3). “But to the one who does not work, but believes in Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is reckoned as righteousness” (v. 5).

Faith begins with knowledge of certain facts, and moves on to believe that these things are true.

I believe the blood of Jesus Christ cleanses me of all my sins, and that His sacrifice is completely and fully acceptable to God on my behalf. Since I have believed on Jesus Christ as my Savior I will never be condemned. “Believe these truths as you believe any other statements; for the difference between common faith and saving faith lies mainly in the subjects upon which it is exercised. Believe the witness of God just as you believe the testimony of your own father or friend. ‘If we receive the witness of men, the witness of God is greater’” (Spurgeon).

Faith believes that Jesus Christ will do what He has promised to do. Therefore, we can trust Him.

True faith believes certain things. It rests upon this sure knowledge. When we trust in Jesus we are making a commitment that His sacrifice on the cross is complete and fully acceptable by God on sinful man’s behalf. The object of our faith is Jesus Christ.

When we trust in a chair or hammock to hold us we make a commitment by placing all our weight upon it. It is a leaning upon a thing. When we have faith in Christ we are leaning with all our weight upon Him. We “fall at full length, and we lie on the Rock of Ages. Cast yourself upon Jesus; rest in Him, commit yourself to Him.” When you do that, you have exercised saving faith. Faith is not a blind thing, because faith begins with knowledge. It is not a speculative thing; for faith believes facts of which it is sure. We must each one trust in Christ. “He that believes on Him has everlasting life.” We trust Jesus to save us.

Wednesday, January 15

Faith’s Object: Jesus Christ

Faith’s Object: Jesus Christ

What is the object of my faith? What am I to believe in to receive the gift of eternal life and live with God in heaven? What must I do to be saved?

The object of faith for the sinner is Jesus Christ. We receive “the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all those who believe” (Romans 3:22). We are “being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus” (v. 24).

Jesus Christ alone is the object of your faith for the forgiveness of sin. On nothing else can you trust to have all your sins pardoned.

God is a just God, and He must punish sin. God at the same time is merciful and wills to pardon and forgive those who believe on Jesus Christ. How can He be just and exact the penalty for sin? How can He be merciful and accept the sinner? How can He be just and at the same time justify the believing sinner?

The Biblical solution to our sins problem is substitution, which is essential to God’s plan of salvation. God looks upon Jesus Christ as though He had been all the sinners in the world wrapped up into one. The sins of His people were taken from their persons and actually laid on Jesus Christ when He died on the cross. God in fiery judgment met the sinner and punished Him. “The wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23a). God poured out His wrath against sin on His own Son. Christ was not the actual sinner, but the sins of all His people were all imputed to Him. They were charged to His account personally and spiritually. The justice of God met Jesus Christ on the cross as though He had been the actual sinner. Jesus received the punishment for His people’s sins. God extracted from His Son the last atom of the penalty for our sins. He drank the last drop of judgment against us.

Today we look upon Jesus Christ as our substitute who died in our place. We put our trust in His saving work for us. We are delivered from the curse of the law because Jesus died for us. Jesus Christ has paid the wages of sin in full.

Jesus was the “just” dying for the “unjust.” He was the “righteous” one dying for the “unrighteous.” Jesus Christ is the vicarious substitutionary sacrifice dying for the sins of all those who will trust Him for the remission of their sins. Jesus endured once and for all the punishment for our sins. He has put away our sins forever by the sacrifice of Himself on the cross.

Therefore, the object of our faith must ever be in Jesus Christ. Saving faith can never be in ourselves because we are sinners, already condemned and under the judgment of God. A person dead in trespasses and sins cannot offer God anything to merit salvation.

“For while we were still helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly” (Romans 5:6). “God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us” (v. 8). Therefore, God now offers us His free gift of salvation. “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (6:23).

The blood of Jesus Christ cleanses the person who puts his faith in Jesus. The waters of baptism cannot wash your sins away. Only the blood of Jesus can do that. If the blood of the Son of God, Jesus Christ, cannot cleanse us of every sin surely water cannot. Trust in the blood and the righteousness of Jesus Christ to save your soul. Nothing else will do.

The object of the sinner’s faith must be Jesus Christ who is the substitute for sinners. The sinner has no other plea but the blood of Jesus that was shed for him. Jesus came into the world to save sinners, and because we are sinners, we qualify. We come confessing ourselves to be sinners and trusting Jesus Christ alone and His atoning death alone to save us. We come with nothing in our hands but the cross of Jesus and His redeeming blood. Jesus and Jesus alone can save your soul. “Wash me, Savior, or I die.”

Believe on Jesus Christ and His blood will make you clean. It is not faith in Jesus Christ plus baptism. It is not faith in Jesus Christ plus church membership. It is not faith in Jesus Christ plus your good works. It is not faith in Jesus Christ plus anything you do. It is faith in Jesus and His saving grace alone that will save your soul. Put your trust in Jesus and you shall be saved.

Thursday, January 16

Faith’s Results: Justification

The person who believes in Jesus Christ is not judged, however he who does not believe is judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God (John 3:18).

This powerful statement on salvation by faith in Jesus Christ indicates the unbeliever is in a continuing state of condemnation because he has not put his faith in Christ. He has refused to enter into a state of belief in Christ.

The person who puts his trust in Christ is not being judged. His judgment for the penalty of sin has already taken place. However, the person who is not believing has been judged already and is under judgment. The reason for this judgment is he has not put his trust in the name of the uniquely-begotten Son of God. He is in a state of unbelief.

Putting your trust in Jesus Christ removes condemnation because He takes our place and pays the penalty for sin for all who put their sin problem in His hands (Romans 8:32f).

The apostle John states the saving truth very clearly. The person who puts his faith in Jesus Christ as his Savior does not come into judgment. Jesus said emphatically, “Truly, truly, I say to you, he who hears My word, and believes Him who sent Me, has eternal life, and does not come into judgment, but has passed out of death into life” (John 5:24).

Judgment has already been passed on the person who refuses to trust in Christ as his Savior.

The unbeliever already stands condemned. The believer in Jesus Christ on the other hand, is under “no condemnation” (Romans 8:1). He “will not be condemned” (John 5:24).

What must you do to be condemned? Nothing. What must you do to be lost? Nothing. “He who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God” (John 3:18b).

The opposite is also true. “He who believes in Him [Jesus Christ] is not judged” (v. 18a). “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you shall be saved” is the simple truth of the saving Gospel.

You cannot be lost by trusting in Christ Jesus, but you are lost if you do not put your trust in Him. When God saves you, it is not because of anything you do or any virtue you possess.

“He that believes is not condemned.” The moment you believe on Christ you are not condemned because you are justified. The judgment and condemnation are removed. That will be just as true a million years from now. The person who believes on Christ never shall be condemned again. It is removed once and for all. He has a new relationship and standing before God. “He who believes in Him is not judged.” Why? Because “the blood of Jesus Christ cleanses us from all sin.”

The moment a person puts his faith in Christ he is freed from all condemnation—past, present and future. From that moment he stands in God’s sight as though he were without sin. All of his guilt has been taken from him and placed on Christ. The Lamb of God has lifted up and carried away all of our sins! Since that is true our sins cannot be on Him and on us at the same time. Since all the believer’s sins are on Christ the believer has been set free, acquitted, and justified. Because his sins are on Christ they are gone away forever “as far as the east is from the west.” They are blotted out; they are removed from us forever. He cast them into the depths of the sea. They are forever under the blood of Jesus.

If you have put your faith in Jesus Christ to save you, God no longer sees you as a sinner, but as a saint. He accepts you as though you were perfect. The righteousness of Jesus Christ is yours because of the substitutionary death of Jesus Christ. God imputed your sins on Christ, and He imputed the righteousness of Jesus Christ to you when you believed on Christ as your Savior (2 Corinthians 5:21).

Friday, January 17

God Knows My Name

God knows me, and He still wants to pursue a personal relationship with me. That is truly amazing. He knows everything about me, and still wants to enjoy my fellowship with Him.

What does it mean to know God? How do you come to an intimate personal knowledge of Him?

I am not thinking of intellectual knowledge or facts about Him, but the importance of knowing a close friend.

The apostle Paul prayed that believers would know God the Father who chose us, God the Son who redeemed us, and God the Holy Spirit who applied salvation to us personally through the new birth. Now that He has saved me do I have a growing knowledge of Him? Perhaps in our busy schedule and pressures of modern life we should ask do I even want it? How do I fit a hunger for God into a complex worldview?

In Ephesians 1:17-19 the apostle Paul prayed that God would give believers “the Spirit of wisdom and revelation . . . to know Him better.” Paul wanted them to have a “true knowledge of Him.” But you say, they already knew Him as their Savior, and had obtained eternal life. But what I am asking is has God placed within your heart a hunger to know Him better?

With every relationship in life we make deliberate choices as to whether we want to pursue the relationship. God has invited us to get to know Him better. Have we responded to that invitation to belongingness? Do we have that “we” feeling with Him? Have we taken the first few faltering steps and halted? Have we reached a plateau, and is it now time to respond to further instruction in His Word?

Has the Holy Spirit opened the “enlightened eyes of our hearts” in order that we may know “the hope to which He has called us, the riches of His glorious inheritance in the saints, and His incomparably great power for us who believe”?

Paul’s prayer for knowledge of God is based on a plea to have a greater knowledge of God’s saving grace. God takes the initiative and invites us to a personal involvement of our whole person. It is a permanent relationship based on the awesome knowledge that He knows me and desires a personal, abiding relationship with me.

Perhaps Paul had in mind the great prayer of Jesus, “This is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent” (John 17:3).

Do you know Him? Do you want to know Him better? It is true that we have a great deal more to learn about Him in His Word. Knowing about Him is important, but knowing Him personally is more important. We must act on what we have learned in His Word.

How do I get to know God better in His personal dealings with me? It begins with a hunger or thirsting for the Holy Spirit to reveal Christ to our soul and to open the living Word of God to our inner person. Such a knowledge is not found apart from a study of the Scriptures. It is to the person who sits at Jesus’ feet that God opens His heart to reveal Himself. It is time spent with God on our knees with the open Word that issues in an intimate knowledge of Him. You cannot get to know a real person without spending time with him or her. We cannot know God without time in His presence. We know truth about His attributes from His revealed Word as the Spirit applies them to our lives, and as we act upon that knowledge we experience Him personally.

God chose us, and called us “to be holy and blameless in His sight” as His full grown adopted children. We grow in our knowledge of God as we become more like the Lord Jesus Christ in every way, every day. As we grow in the knowledge of His grace we grow in His likeness. One day we will know Him in perfect character. My prayer is that He will hasten that day. Today, we live in the tension of the here and now and that which is yet to be.

Because we are His unique possession, purchased by His blood, “we share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light” (Col. 1:12). God has rich blessings in store for those who get to know Him better. Are we claiming our inheritance now? We can only as we get to know Him intimately. The apostle Paul said, “We know little; and we know imperfectly.” One wonderful day when He comes we will know fully and perfectly.

Do I know Him in the power of His resurrection? This is to know God’s power by personal experience. Do I know the power that God exerted in Christ when He raised Him from the dead? The knowledge of God is experienced in the power of Christ’s resurrection in our lives today. Oh, God that I may know you today!

Saturday, January 18

God’s Greatest Gift

God has provided salvation for you in Jesus Christ.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son . . .”

God’s own Son sat before Nicodemus and spoke those words to him. This “Son” is above all others who in any sense may be called “sons.” All other “sons” are adopted “sons.” Jesus is “the Only-begotten Son.” He is the “one and only Son of God.”

It is strange, even frightening, how one of the modern pagan cults of our day can claim that Jesus was the brother of Lucifer, Satan. Such a teaching is an abomination to God.

Jesus used a term for Himself “so strange, striking, unique, exalted” and distinctive that no one else could ever be so compared. He is “the only begotten Son of God.” There is none other (John 1:14, 18; 3:16, 18; 1 John 4:9). “The only begotten God, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has explained Him.” No one else ever could have. He was with the Father in heaven from all eternity. He is the “true God, begotten of the Father from eternity,” writes Luther. God gave the very best—Himself—for us.

God the Father gave His only begotten Son as a gift with the purpose in mind “that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life.”

Jesus had already told Nicodemus that the Son of Man must be lifted up (v. 15). That is how much God loves us. He gave His only begotten Son up to death on the cross for sinners.

The object of our faith is “in Him,” the only begotten of the Father. Jesus is the object of saving faith. There is no other name that we can call on for salvation. All other names will send you to hell (Acts 4:12).

Those who believe on Him “shall not perish, but have eternal life.” The word “perish” never means to suffer annihilation as another modern cult teaches. “To perish” denotes total and eternal rejection by God.

On the basis of the gift of God we receive eternal life. God loves you so much “that He gave His one and only Son.” Believe on Him today and you shall receive eternal life.

Sunday, January 19

Groan, Groans, and Groaning

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

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

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

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

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

Creation groans, but one day it will become a glorious creation. Today it groans in pain and suffering, decay and vanity. The pain will end when the child is delivered. This groaning creation looks forward to the day it will be set free. The day is coming when the cosmos will be renewed (Isa. 11:6-9; 2 Pet. 3:13). The promise was given in the garden (Gen. 3:15).

Creation will share in the glory that will be bestowed upon the children of God. “The entire creation, as it were, sets up a grand symphony of sighs” (Phillips).

Not only does the cosmos groan, but also the children of God are described as groaning (vv. 23-25). We have already been adopted, indwelt by the Holy Spirit, are the “sons of God,” have the witness of the Holy Spirit, heirs and co-heirs with Christ, etc. It may seem odd that the believer groans when God has done so much to save us. We groan because we have experienced “the first fruits of the Spirit” which is a foretaste of the glory to come. We have already tasted the blessings of heaven and the age to come so we long for the full manifestation of the kingdom of God. We groan to be under the full control of the Holy Spirit with resurrected bodies. The Holy Spirit anticipates that final salvation. He is the pledge, the guarantee, the down payment that we who have the Spirit shall in the end be saved. We who have Him indwelling anxiously await that glorious day with full expectation. The final delivery is guaranteed by His indwelling presence. When Jesus Christ returns we shall enter into our full inheritance with Christ. We are saved by “that blessed hope and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Savior Jesus Christ” (Romans 8:24; Titus 2:13).

We groan in suffering and pain now, but when Jesus appears we will enjoy eternal glory with Him.

The apostle Paul tells us the Holy Spirit groans, too (vv. 25-30). Jesus groaned when He saw the effect of sin and unbelief on people (John 11:33, 38; Mk. 7:34). Today our Paraclete, Comforter, or divine Helper feels the pain of our sin and groans over us when we sin. He “helps our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words, and He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He intercedes for the saints according to the will of God” (vv. 26-27).

The Holy Spirit prays for us in His groanings so that we will please God. We do not know the will of God, but He does because He is God. He prays for us in His groanings interceding so that we will do the will of God in spite of our suffering. He reminds us that regardless of what we experience here temporarily it is nothing in comparison to “the glory that is to be revealed to us” when Christ comes.

God pledges that we will rise from the dead. Our deep sorrow will be turned to great rejoicing. The end will not be the survival of the immortal soul, but the resurrection of the body, equipped for heaven and eternity.

Monday, January 20

Jesus' Model Prayer: Deliver Us from Evil

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

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

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

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

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

The Bible tells us God tempts no one (Jas. 1:13). But we have an old nature that is always capable of sinning, and it is at war against the Holy Spirit. Galatians 5:17 explains that both the Holy Spirit and the flesh are in constant active unceasing conflict. “For the flesh sets its desire against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; for these are in opposition to one another, so that you may not do the things that you please.”

“But deliver us from evil.” The word “deliver” (ruomai) means “to rescue, save, deliver, or preserve someone from someone or something.” When the believer is walking in dependence upon the Spirit he is delivered from the lust of the flesh. Whatever is undertaken in the energy of the flesh will fail, because it is not in the power of God. The only way we can possibly be delivered over our old nature is by the Spirit working in us (Rom. 6:14; 8:2). The most spiritual Christians are warned to pray daily, “and do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil.” If we do not we are courting failure in living the Christian life.

It is our responsibility to walk in the Spirit, reckon on the indwelling power of Christ living in us, putting off the old man, mortifying the flesh and abiding in Christ.

The deliverance from the power of sin is through Jesus Christ (Rom. 7:25). Romans 6:1-10 teaches us that the believer’s fallen nature has been judged by co-crucifixion, co-death, and co-burial with Christ, therefore making it possible for the indwelling Holy Spirit to answer this petition of the believer.

“Evil” can be translated “the evil one” meaning the devil, or it can mean evil in the ethical sense. Here it is probably the evil element in life.

The Holy Spirit delivers us from the power of sin in our daily life. We have been delivered from the penalty of sin by the atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ. The moment we put our faith in Christ as our Savior we were forgiven of our sins and the assurance that our debt has been paid in full.

This prayer deals with the power of sin in our daily life. From the human side it depends upon our attitude of faith in the death of Christ and the action of faith taking God at His word and depending on the indwelling of the Holy Spirit to overcome temptation. There will never be a time in the Christian's life when he will not need to depend on the Holy Spirit. The just one shall live by faith—faith which depends on the power of the indwelling Spirit. This is what it means to abide in the Spirit or abide in Christ.

The doxology, “For Thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever. Amen” (v. 13b) was added in later manuscripts as a fitting liturgical closing to the prayer. All power, honor and glory belong to the LORD God.

Our greatest defense against falling into sin is the presence of Jesus Christ living in us, and our dependence upon Him. “What would you do, if you suddenly found Christ standing beside you?” is a good question to ask ourselves often. How would you then live? It is His “inescapable presence” that keeps us from yielding to temptation.

Tuesday, January 21

Jesus' Model Prayer: Forgive Our Debts

Why is it so hard to forgive?

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

These are the most frightening words in Christianity.

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

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

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

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

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

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

The act of forgiving others does not merit an eternal reward or gain for us salvation or eternal life. However, when we forgive others it is evidence that the grace of God is at work in our hearts. That which is impossible for us to accomplish in our own strength God enables us to do by the power of His indwelling in our hearts. If we hold on to our bitterness and grudges and unforgiveness, we need to examine ourselves. The apostle Paul admonishes us, "Put yourselves to the test to see if you are in the faith; examine yourselves! Or do you not recognize regarding yourselves that Jesus Christ is in you--unless, indeed, you fail the test! (2 Corinthians 13:5 NET). 

The grace of God in the believer's heart keeps bringing him back to the sanctifying truths of God's word. "But if we confess our sins, he is faithful and righteous, forgiving us our sins and cleaning us from all unrighteousness" (1 John 1:9 NET).

In the most hurtful experiences of life we forgive, and we to choose forgive again. It is a process whereby we confess our sins and choose to forgive the person who has offended us. It is a choice we make once and for all to let it go and trust God with the consequences. And every time the "old man" brings it back up we choose to forgive again. Our old sinful nature will remind us of the hurts of life.

When we choose to forgive we demonstrate that we are children of God and we have experienced His saving grace. By nature this is not something we do on our own. Human nature says take charge, get revenge, get even, and don't let them do this to you. However, we have become new persons, a radical change has taken place in our hearts and we cannot live in the character of the person we were before we came to Christ. The power to forgive comes from the new life in Christ.

Salvation always begins with God’s electing grace and never with us (1 Jn. 4:19; Jn. 13:15; Eph. 4:32; 1 Pet. 2:21). The evidence of that saving grace is how we respond to the circumstances of life.

Jesus taught the disciples to pray, “Forgive our debt as we forgive our debtors.” The idea can be paraphrased: “Forgive us our sins in proportion as we forgive those who have sinned against us.”  Jesus says with powerful words in verses 14-15 that if we forgive others, God will forgive us; but if we refuse to forgive others, God will refuse to forgive us.

"For if you forgive others their sins, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others, your Father will not forgive you your sins" (Matthew 6:14-15, The NET Bible).

No amount of trying to make excuses, or interpret the words in a way that caters to our sinful human nature won't work.  Human forgiveness and divine forgiveness are relational. Jesus says our forgiveness of others and God's forgiveness of us cannot be separated.  They are related to one another.

This prayer forces us to our knees in humble confession and repentance.

Do you remember Peter’s question about forgiveness? “Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me and I forgive him? Up to seven times?” Jesus’ response was unnerving, “I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven” (Matt. 18:21-22).  Then Jesus told a parable on forgiveness and concluded, “‘You wicked slave, I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me. Should you not also have had mercy on your fellow slave, in the same way that I had mercy on you?’ And his lord, moved with anger, handed him over to the torturers until he should repay all that was owed him. My heavenly Father will also do the same to you, if each of you does not forgive his brother from your heart” (vv. 23-35).

Jesus said forgiveness must be present in us if we are to receive the Father's forgiveness. We must be willing to forgive others if we have experienced His forgiveness. The person seeking forgiveness must have first taken forgiving action with respect to those who have sinned against him.

Jesus keeps bringing us back to a spiritual birth, a radical change in us, "If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; what is old has passed away, what is new has come" (2 Corinthians 5:17 NET). Forgiveness is evidence of that radical change in our hearts.

Has anyone in this earthly life arrived at this perfect state of forgiving? Let's face the reality that only Jesus Christ has been able to forgive perfectly (Luke 23:34). Our forgiveness is so imperfect.

All excuses laid aside, we are forced to come to God and deal with these issues of forgiveness and receiving forgiveness daily. This prayer for forgiveness should be a daily priority in our lives.

Jesus expected His people to forgive others, and He gives assurance that the forgiveness of God is certain. In order for us to enjoy God’s forgiveness of our sins we must forgive our debtors. We get back what we give. Jesus said, “Blessed are the merciful for they shall receive mercy.”

What we are humanly unable to accomplish, God enables us to do by His power working within us. It is His grace within us that gives us the desire and ability to forgive our neighbor. When we do take action to forgive we have a credible witness to our lost neighbor. He can see the grace of God at work in our lives. He will see the change and ask, “What makes you different?”

Vengeance belongs only to the Lord (Rom. 12:19). We are to hand every situation over to the Lord and trust it to Him. We can find no greater example of this action than in Christ Himself while hanging on the cross. He prayed, “Father forgive them, for they now not what they are doing” (Luke 23:34; Jn. 13:12-15; Eph. 4:32; 5:1-2; Col. 3:13). The forgiveness of Christ must have startled those who were hurling insults, curses and abuses on Him in the hour of His death. One of the criminals saw the difference in Christ and responded to His love.

There is a tremendous sense of inner peace of mind and heart when we choose to forgive. God’s name is glorified because we have been obedient to His command.

Only the power of Christ living in us can empower us to forgive. “Owe nothing to anyone except to love one another; for he who loves his neighbor has fulfilled the law” (Rom. 13:8).

Wednesday, January 22

Jesus' Model Prayer: Our Daily Bread

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

The second half of the prayer moves from God’s holy name, God’s kingdom and God’s will to the provision of our personal needs in Matthew 6:11-13. Jesus tells us to pray for life’s necessities, forgiveness of sins, and deliverance from temptation and evil.

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

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

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

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

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

Our personal needs of security, significance, and sufficiency can only be genuinely and fully met in a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. All that we need to function effectively as persons is at any given moment fully supplied in a vital relationship with Christ and in whatever He chooses for us daily. We worry about these needs because of a sense of inadequacy. But Christ is adequate for all these needs in our lives. “Christ in you is the hope of glory.”

Has Jesus Christ become your daily bread? He is the Bread of Life, so that rules out all possibility for unsatisfied spiritual hunger. Jesus said, “I am the bread of life; he who comes to Me will not hunger, and he who believes in Me will never thirst” (John 6:35).

Bread is a necessity for life. Without bread people die. Jesus is the One person whom men cannot do without. He has and will graciously provide all you need in life. You can never exhaust Him in this life or in eternity. Are you feasting upon Him daily? Jesus teaches us to pray, “Give us today our daily bread” because “I am the bread of life.” All we need to do is to come to Him daily and trust Him.

Are you in the habit of praying daily, “Give us that spiritual bread that comes down from heaven for today”? God has promised to provide our earthly needs. That is a minor problem for Him. We need not be anxious about this and direct our attention on our major need for Him to feed us spiritually every day from His Word.

Jesus is teaching us to trust in our heavenly Father who loves and cares for us, take one day at a time, and not worry about the unknown future (Jas. 1:17; Ps. 37:25; Prov. 6:6-11; 2 Thess. 3:10; Gal. 6:10; 2 Cor. 9:6-15).

We pray for "bread" to sustain us and God the Father, the Creator and Sustainer provides. We ask for "forgiveness" and God the Son, Jesus Christ our redeemer and Savior cleanses us of all sin. We ask Him to "deliver us from evil" and we are brought into the presence of God the Holy Spirit, our Comforter and Strength.

The apostle Paul wrote, “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God” (Phil. 4:6). And a little later in the same chapter he said, “I can do all things through Him who strengthens me. . . And my God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus” (vv. 13, 19).

Great is Thy faithfulness, Great is Thy faithfulness!

Morning by morning new mercies I see;

All I have needed Thy hand hath provided--

Great is Thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me!

The Lord God is adequate for all of our needs in life. Does your experience with Him bear that out? Mine does. In more than fifty-seven years of ministry I have watched Him provide. He is able and willing when we call upon His name (1 Cor. 1:9; Isa. 49:7-15; 1 Cor. 10:13; 2 Cor. 1:18; 1 Thess. 5:24; 2 Thess. 3:3; Psa. 23:1).

Thursday, January 23

Jesus' Model Prayer: Our Father

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

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

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

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

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

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

His name is holy and must be held in proper reverence because His name represents all that He is. To honor His name is to honor God, and to exalt Him above all others.

We are even permitted to call God Father using the most personal of all words, abba, “daddy” (Matt. 11:25; 26:39, 42; Mk. 14:36; Lk. 23:34; Jn. 11:41; 12:27; 17:1, 5, 11, 21, 24, 25; Rom. 8:15-16;   Gal. 4:6). But the God to whom we pray must never be treated lightly. He is personal and caring and must always be held in reverence, honor, glory and high exaltation. The psalmist declared, “O magnify Jehovah with me and let us exalt His name together” (Ps. 34:3). The holy name of God and Jesus Christ must never be used in vain or jesting. We must be reverent before all that God is and stands for. We must keep His name holy.

Luther asked, "How is God's name hallowed amongst us?" He answered, "When both our life and doctrine are truly Christian." We worship Him in full reverence when we are constantly obedient to His revealed will in His Word.

“Our Father” reminds us that He is always infinitely near His children. He is always available to us when we call upon His name. We are always encouraged to approach Him with confidence and not be afraid. “Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin. Therefore let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need” (Hebrews 4:14-16).

We must also keep in mind that apart from Jesus Christ no one can come to the Father. Jesus said, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.” (John 14:6).

Friday, January 24

Jesus' Model Prayer: You Kingdom Come

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The kingdom comes with the Messiah who comes to establish it (Matt. 25:34). At the Second Coming Jesus Christ will be the supreme, sovereign ruler over the entire earth (Ps. 2:6-9; Dan. 7:14; 2:44; 4:34; 7:27; Ps. 72:9-11; Micah 4:1-2; Zech. 9:10). He will sit upon the throne of David (2 Sam. 7:16; Ps. 89:20-37; Isa. 11; Jer. 33:19-21). Christ was born as a King (Lk. 1:32-33), was rejected as King (Mk. 15:12-13; Lk. 19:14), was crucified as the King of the Jews (Matt. 27:37) and will return as “King of Kings, and Lord of Lords” (Rev. 19:16). He will rule with absolute authority, power and righteousness (Ps. 2:9; Rev. 19:15; Isa. 11:4). Examine these verses for more details about His kingdom in glory (Isa. 2:1-4; 9:6-7; 11:1-10; 16:5; 24:23; 32:1; 40:1-11; 42:1-4; 52:7-15; 55:4; Dan. 2:44; 7:27).

The first three petitions in this prayer are “prayers that God may act in such a way that His people will hallow His name, submit to His reign, and do His will.”

“Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven” (v. 10b).

Only the transforming grace of God can bring a person to change the desires of his heart from “my kingdom come,” to “Your kingdom come.”

The Lord Jesus Christ lives in every true believer. "Christ is our life" (Col. 3:4; Gal. 2:20; Rom. 8:9-10; Eph. 3:17; Col. 1:27-29, etc.).

God’s revealed will is being perfectly observed in heaven. What assurance this is for us when we enter into the presence of God when we die or when Christ returns and we will be transformed and be like Him. In that moment we will be freed from any taint of sin because "when He appears, we shall be like Him, because we shall see him just as He is. And everyone who has this hope fixed on Him purifies himself, just as He is pure" (1 John 3:2-3).

Because of what Christ has done for us the desire of every believer is that the Father's will be immediately and whole heartedly done in our lives here on the earth in this life.

There is nothing in heaven to hinder God's perfect will being done right now. Jesus tells us to pray for the same thing to be done in obedience on the earth today. What changes would take place in our daily lives, our contemporary society and the world affairs if this took place.

The prayer of every sincere believer is that God will rule increasingly in our lives, and that His final messianic kingdom will come soon, even today. Our responsibility is to make ourselves available to Him at all times to rule in and over our lives so as to bring honor and glory to Him alone. Are you making yourself available to Him in growing obedience to all that He has revealed in His Scriptures?

“Lord, Your will be done in my life daily, moment by moment. I give this day to you. You be my Lord and Master. Here is my life. You live in and through me.”

Saturday, January 25

Rejoice, and again I say Rejoice!

Have you learned to rejoice in everything?

The Bible says, “Rejoice always” (1 Thessalonians 5:16). A couple of verses later it says, “. . . in everything give thanks; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus” (v. 18). “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I say, rejoice” (Philippians 4:4).

Sometimes it is not easy to rejoice or to give praise to the Lord, but that does not change the command.

“It is God’s will that we find joy in prayer in Christ Jesus in every condition of life,” writes A. T. Robertson.  There are no circumstances in the Christian's life where he cannot give thanks. God works everything together for good for those who love Him (Rom. 8:28).

“Rejoice . . . pray . . . give thanks” is God’s will for every believer in every situation.

Nehemiah knew “the joy of the Lord is your strength” when he saw his workers weeping as they listened to the law read to them (Neh. 8:10).

The apostle Paul writing from prison in Rome said, “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice!” (Phil. 4:4). “Rejoice” is in the present, active imperative as in 3:1 when Paul said, “rejoice in the Lord.” Paul repeats it in 4:4 for emphasis.

Paul did not tell his readers to “be happy,” but “rejoice in the Lord.” We are to “Rejoice in the Lord,” not our circumstances. Our rejoicing is to take place in Christ. We are to delight in Him. The apostle Paul had inner joy when his external circumstances did not look very promising.

What for you is the most difficult time or situation for you to rejoice? Do you find it difficult to “rejoice in the Lord always” when your good name and reputation have been smeared? Do you find it overwhelming to “rejoice in the Lord” when you are under the weight of despondency or depression? Is it hard to “rejoice in the Lord” when you are slandered for the sake of Christ? Illness, sickness of a child, aging parents, and bankrupts are times to “rejoice in the Lord.” There is no limit to the exhortation to “rejoice in the Lord.” Indeed, as one beloved pastor said, “Through fire and through water, through life and through death, rejoice evermore.’”

Whatever happens rejoice. That is an attitude. If you are a believer in Jesus Christ everything that really matters in this life and the next is yours in Christ. If you trust in Jesus Christ the whole covenant of grace is yours with all of its infinite inheritance. You have a right to everything that grace provides as a coinheritor with Christ.

“Rejoice in the Lord” is something every Christian can do regardless of the chances, changes and circumstances that come in your life.

Is your hope fixed on Jesus Christ? Rejoice in Him! Are you a partaker of the life that is in Him? Rejoice in Christ! Have you been begotten to a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ? Rejoice in Him!

The Psalmist said, “Delight yourself also in the Lord.” Have you been reconciled to God through Jesus Christ? Rejoice in Him! Do you know the electing grace of the Father that has given you eternal life? Rejoice in the Lord! Have you experienced the forgiveness of all your sins? Rejoice in Christ! Has the Holy Spirit spread abroad in your heart the love of God? Rejoice in Him! Do you delight in knowing you have been saved by grace through faith in Christ? Break forth with rejoicing with all your heart and soul! Do you delight in knowing Jesus Christ died as your substitute on the cross? Rejoice in the Lord!

If you have been saved the Holy Spirit has taken up permanent residence in you. Rejoice in the Lord. Rejoice in His dwelling in you, quickening you, comforting you, and the illuminating His Word. Rejoice in Him! Is He abiding in your forever? Rejoice and be glad!

And there are many, many more great and mighty things God has done in Christ that should make you rejoice and keep on rejoicing. His covenant of grace, redeeming blood, divine sovereignty, effectual call to salvation, justification, sanctification, glorification, final perseverance, vital union, etc., etc. Rejoice forevermore!

Sunday, January 26

Trinity

The Trinity is the theological term designating one God in three persons.

Even though the term is not used in the Bible, it is a correct designation for the one God self-revealed in Scripture as the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. The term simply means that within the one essence of the Godhead, we have to distinguish three persons who are neither three gods, nor three parts or modes of God. The three persons of the Godhead are coequal and coeternally God.

The biblical teaching on the Trinity is developed through the progressive self-revelation of God in the Scriptures. The Bible declares, “The LORD is our God, the LORD is one” (Deuteronomy 6:4). The unity of God is emphasized. The Hebrew word echad always denotes “compound unity.” It is one in the sense of unity. It is suggestive of the one Divine Unity of the Trinity. He is the only Yahweh. There is no other. It is to Him alone that the name rightly belongs. God is not Himself a plurality. He is not one among many others. There are no other gods (5:7-11). There is only one essence or substance of God. However, the individuality of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit is preserved. God is one, yet the self-revelation of God clearly teaches in Himself and from all eternity, He is Father, Son and Holy Spirit. He is the triune God—the three in one.

There are clear intimations of the Trinity in the Old Testament. The Holy Spirit is mentioned frequently from the beginning verses (Genesis 1:2), and in verses 26 and 27 the plural form is used. Each member of the Godhead was explicit participants in creation. The "Spirit of God" in the Old Testament is synonymous with the Holy Spirit. In Genesis 18, the appearance of the LORD to Abraham is suggestive of the second person of the Godhead as well as other occurrences in the Old Testament. Isaiah 48:16 is also a strong Trinitarian statement. “Come near Me, listen to this: From the first I have not spoken in secret, from the first time it took place, I was there. And now the Lord God has sent Me, and His Spirit.” The speaker in this verse is probably the Messiah, the Servant of the LORD.

The New Testament never violates the Old Testament concept of the oneness of God. The writers unanimously and fully affirm the great Hebrew monotheistic faith in Yahweh. They extend this great doctrine to include the deity of both Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit.

In the New Testament, the LORD God is still preached as the one God (Galatians 3:20). In John 8:58 Jesus proclaimed His own deity. “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was born, I AM.” The other emphatic “I AM” statements of Jesus reinforce the same truth (6:35; 8:12; 10:7, 9, 11; 11:25; 14:6; 15:1) The disciple Thomas declared in 20:28, “My Lord and my God!” John’s purpose statement for writing his gospel is stated in verse thirty-one. “These have been written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ [Messiah], the Son of God; and that believing you may have life in His name.” He began his gospel saying, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God” (John 1:1). Who is the Word? He is Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the Messiah, our Lord and Savior. He is equated with God. The apostle Paul wrote, “Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Corinthians 1:3).

Jesus was with God; Jesus is fully God. He said, “Anyone who has seen Me has seen the Father” (John 14:9). Jesus is fully divine. The Lord God Almighty came into human history in the person of Jesus Christ. The incarnate Jesus Christ is the God-man. He is fully God, and He is fully man.

Moreover, the Holy Spirit has the same relationship with the Father and the Son as taught in John 14-16. The Holy Spirit is the Helper or divine Encourager who is another of the same kind.

The Holy Spirit is one member of the Trinity, equal in all ways to both the Father and the Son. His distinction from the Father and the Son and His mission proves His personality. He is a person and not a mere force or power. He is omniscient (1 Cor. 2:10-11; Jn. 16:12-13), omnipotent (Luke 1:35), and omnipresent (Psalm 139:7-10). The name of God is indirectly given to Him (Acts 5:3-4). To sin against the Holy Spirit is not to sin against a spiritual force, but God.

The entire Trinity is mentioned in John 14:25-26. “But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, will teach you.” Indeed, as B. B. Warfield observed the three Persons come into view as Divine Persons in numerous passages (Lk. 1:35f; Matt. 1:18ff; 3:16-17; Mk. 1:10-11; Lk. 3:21-22; Jn. 1:32-34).

“Israel worshipped the only one true God under the name of Jehovah; Christians are to worship the same one and only true God under the Name of ‘the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.’”

What is always needed in theology is balance; and this is true when we think of the LORD God. Most often heresy results from emphasizing one part of biblical truth at the expense of other parts.  If we emphasize the unity of God at the expense of the diversity of persons or the diversity at the expense of unity, we fall into error. The great truth of Biblical theology is, “the LORD our God is one.” He is a Triunity—He has revealed Himself from all eternity as the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

A correct understanding of the Biblical teaching on the Trinity balances the concepts of the unity of God as well as the distinctiveness of His persons. Two extremes are tritheism and Unitarianism. The error of tritheism is in emphasizing the distinctiveness of the Godhead to the point the Trinity is seen as three separate Gods. We do not worship a Christian polytheism. The other error in understanding the Trinity excludes the concept of the distinctiveness while focusing only on God the Father at the expense of the other Persons. These teachers deny the deity of Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit. They are placed on a lower category than the Father. The result of the compromise in either direction reduces the true reality of our salvation.

We come to know the Trinity through experiencing the act of grace through personal faith in God. The early church worshipped in an awareness of the Trinity. The fullness of God’s being is made available to the individual believer through Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit (Matt. 28:19; 2 Cor. 13:14; 1 Pet. 1:2; Rev. 1:4).

The New Testament does not give us a systematic doctrine of the Trinity. It does, however, teach the Trinity without a full-length discussion because there was no pressing need for a full-blown teaching on the subject. The first Christians were faithful worshippers of the God revealed in monotheistic faith of Israel. They fully realized the God of the Old Testament is the same God of the New Testament. He receives a fuller revelation in the New Testament and more complete in the person of His Son.

In redemptive history, God reveals Himself to mankind through God the Son and God the Spirit without ceasing to be Himself. He remains in both in the Old and the New Testament an undivided unity.

Those who refuse to believe in the Trinity do so because they do not want to accept the facts regarding the deity of Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit.

Monday, January 27

Yes, But God

Yes, But God

Two of the most beautiful words in the Bible are “but God.”

We are totally depraved sinners who cannot earn or merit in any way, a right relationship with God. Before I became a Christian, I was “dead in trespasses and sins” (Eph. 2:1). I “walked according to the course of this world, according to the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience” (v. 2). I too “lived in the lust of my flesh, indulging in the desires of the flesh and of the mind and was by nature a child of wrath, even as the rest” (v. 3).

That is an ugly picture, but it is true of my life before Christ conquered me.

It is the sad state of every person outside of Christ. We have each failed in the eyes of a holy and righteous God. We are sinners. Our lives do not bring glory to God. Because we are sinners, we cannot please Him with our self-righteousness and religious works, no matter how good our motives or our works.

Yes, “But God.” How beautiful are those words to the depraved sinner.

Yes, “but God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us” (v. 4).

That same holy and righteous God had “mercy” on us. The word means loving kindness, help in the time of need. It is God’s active intervention to help. He is the Helper of the helpless.

He treats us in mercy because He loves us. We absolutely deserve eternal condemnation in an eternal hell. If you disagree with that statement, you do not understand free grace. You are not claiming God’s grace alone in Christ alone to save you. We are undeserving of God’s free grace. We deserve the death penalty (Rom. 3:23: 6:23).

“But God . . . loved us” (John 3:16; Rom. 5:6, 8).

“But God . . . loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions” (Eph. 2:5).

“But God . . . 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” (v. 6). That is grace! We have a completely new relationship with God because of His rich love, mercy and grace.

Dead in transgressions? Dead in sin? Yes. But God performs resurrections. He reaches down to sinners, and brings them to spiritual life again. He calls them, and His voice brings life to the dead.

No one can take the credit but God alone. It is God’s sovereign, free grace that makes us right with God.

“But God . . . . in order that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus” (v. 7). Throughout all eternity the redeemed will sing, “Saved by Grace.” We are trophies of God’s saving grace and will be to His honor and glory alone throughout eternity (Rev. 4:8-11; 5:9-17).

“But God” rich in mercy, loved us, with His great love, and made us alive with Him, raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in a vital union with Him and saved us by His grace.

Apart from the quickening voice of God there would be no hope for anyone.

We were the objects of His wrath, but God out of the great love with which He loved us had mercy upon us. We were dead, and dead men do not rise, but God made us alive with Christ. We were slaves, dead, powerless, but God has raised us up with Christ and set us at His own right hand, in a position of honor and power.

Tuesday, January 28

Limiting Christ

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

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

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

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

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

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

We get nothing out of the promises of God if we do not appropriate them by faith. What a difference Christ makes in our lives when we say, “This is for me. What if it really is true that Christ lives in me? Lord Jesus, this is the most difficult situation I have ever been in my life. I cannot do this by myself, but I know you can raise the dead and therefore you can do everything you so choose to do. Give me your grace and strength for this hour. Here am I work through me.”

Jesus has not changed; He is the Resurrection and Life and wherever He is there is abundant life. Jesus is here with you and me right now. He is Life. He gives us abundant spiritual life. Just as Christ raised Lazarus from the physical death, He has raised you and me to spiritual life. If you are a believer, you have this new life in Christ and He now dwells in you. As you make yourself available to Him He lives His life to the maximum in and through you.

We were dead in trespasses and sins, but when Christ came into our lives we were given life through His holy presence.

Jesus promised Martha, “He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in Me will never die” (John 11:25-26).

It is a great comfort and assurance that the believer, having received eternal life, will never be lost again. Moreover, there is assurance that our problems of physical death are answered by his physical resurrection. Just as Christ was raised form the dead and is alive so we too will rise again and live with Him through all eternity.

Are you dead, or are you alive? In whom are you trusting for life? Are you appropriating by faith His abundant life today?

Wednesday, January 29

IXOUS - The Fish Symbol

You see the symbol of the fish all the time on the rear of cars, trucks, briefcases, lapel pins, entrances to houses, logos on businesses, etc. Often the symbol contains five Greek letters, IXOUS. It is pronounced “ichthus.” What does the fish represent?

Because of intense persecution of believers in the early church, when two complete strangers met they would enter into a conversation, and after a few minutes one of them would take his foot and draw an arch on the ground. It would be the top or bottom half of the fish symbol. If the other person were a Christian, he would take his foot or finger and complete the other half of the symbol of the fish. Then the other person would put the first of five Greek letters inside the fish. After writing the letter “I,” the other person would write “X,” and then the other person “O” and vice versa until the two had written the word “IXOUS” inside the fish symbol. The Greek word “IXOUS” means “fish,” and is the normal word for fish in the Gospels (Matt. 7:10; 14:17; Mark 6:38; Luke 5:6; 11:11; John 21:6, 8, 11).

However, the early Christians gave the word for “fish” an even greater meaning. It became the acronym for four of the great truths of Christianity.

I represents Iesous, which is the Greek word for “Jesus.” An angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph and told him that his fiancée Mary, “will bear a Son; and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins” (Matthew 1:21). To Mary on another occasion the angel said to her, “And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name Him Jesus” (Luke 1:31). The Hebrew form His name was Jehoshua, meaning “Yahweh saves,” “Jehovah saves.” He was named after His father in heaven. Jehovah, Jesus will save His people from their sins.

X stands for Xristos, meaning “Christ.” The word means “anointed.” Jesus is God’s “Anointed One.” “Christ” is the Greek translation of the Hebrew word for “Messiah.”  “He is Christ the Lord,” the angels said to the shepherds after Jesus was born (Luke 2:11). Peter declared, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God” (Matthew 16:16).

O stands for Theos which is translated “God.” Jesus the Messiah is God (John 1:1-3; Col. 1:15-20; 2:9).

U represents Uios translated “Son.”  Jesus is “the Son of God.” “God, after He spoke long ago to the fathers in the prophets in many portions and in many ways, in these last days has spoken to us in His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the world. And He is the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature, and upholds all things by the word of His power. When He had made purification of sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high” (Hebrews 1:1-3). The angel told Mary the only way to account for her pregnancy is the overshadowing of the Holy Spirit. “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; and for that reason the holy Child shall be called the Son of God” (Luke 1:35).

 S stands for Soter, meaning “Savior.” “Today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord” (Luke 2:11). He is the promised “Savior of the world” (John 4:42). The idea is a deliverance, saving from disaster, rescue from a hopeless situation, breaking the chains of bondage. In deed, the Bible tells us, “And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12).

The Gospel of Jesus Christ is for everyone who will “believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing you may have life in His name” (John 20:31).

The next time you see the sign of the fish and the letters IXOUS remember that Jesus is the Christ, the very Son of God, and our Savior. “Jesus” is the perfect man, incarnate of God among men, fully human and fully God. He is the “Christ,” the Anointed One of God, the Messiah. He is the unique, only begotten, eternal “Son of God.”  There are children by adoption into God’s kingdom, but no one like “the Son of God.” He is our “Savior” who voluntarily went to the cross and died in our place to save us from our sins. He gives us eternal life through the power of His shed blood. Have you put your trust in Him to save you for all eternity? 

Thursday, January 30

No More Walls

The Jewish temple had a “no trespassing” sign that prevented all non-Jewish persons from going beyond a certain area. It was enforced on the punishment of death. The non-Jews could go only so far as the Court of the Gentiles, and the Jewish women could go only so far as the Court of the Women.

The temple was surrounded by courts that formed layers of separation from the inner shrine of the Holy of Holies. The innermost court was the Court of the Priests who constantly attended the daily sacrifices and led in the worship of Yahweh or the LORD God. Next was the Court of Israel into which only Jewish men could enter and worship. After this was the Court of the Women, which indicated, that Jewish women could go no further into the temple. The outer perimeter was the Court of the Gentiles with a five-foot barricade that went around the entire temple enclosure. At intervals on the wall separating the Jewish from the non-Jewish people were inscriptions warning that no non-Jewish persons were ever permitted to enter the Jewish enclosure upon the punishment of death.

Archaeologists found such a stone inscription in 1871 dating back to the Jewish temple. It read, “No foreigner is to enter within the banister and embankment around the sanctuary. Whoever is caught will have himself to blame for his own death which follows.”

The bottom line was, “Trespassers will be killed.” In fact, the apostle Paul almost got himself killed in the temple because of false rumors that he took a Gentile into the sacred area (Acts 21:27-31).

Jesus tore down the wall. No, He did not do it with His hands. He did it with His cross. “But now in Christ Jesus you who used to be far away have been brought near by the blood of Christ” (Ephesians 2:13 NET). Powerful is the message of the cross. Paul goes on to describe the effects of the blood of Jesus on the wall of separation. “For he is our peace, the one who made both groups into one and who destroyed the middle wall of partition, the hostility . . . He did this to create in himself one new man out of two, thus making peace, and to reconcile them both in one body to God through the cross, by which the hostility has been killed . . .” (vv. 14-16 NET). 

The sin barrier between man and God was removed by the death of Christ and as a result man is reconnected to God. Jesus provided the only way that man can approach God. He effectively removed the dividing walls.

It is through Christ Jesus we both [Jewish and non-Jewish] have our access in one Spirit to the Father (v. 18). The result is “you are no longer foreigners and noncitizens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of God’s household” (v. 19).

The cause of the perpetual hostility has been removed. Sin was dealt with at the cross. The enmity has been so completely laid aside that complete friendship follows. Where there was hostility Christ has accomplished reconciliation. We are at peace with God.

God was the offended party and he took the action to remove the enmity. It is a divine action that removes the barrier. It is not that the two sides come together as if it were voluntarily or as equals; it is the superior one bringing the other into this position of complete harmony and accord. 

God made reconciliation. God the Father sent God the Son to pay our sin debt in full by dying on the cross. He bore the punishment due to us for our sins and as a result restored our fellowship with God. The cross of Jesus made a way for us to come to God by faith.

Moreover, because the way to God was restored by the death of Christ our fellowship with Jews and non-Jews has been restored if they are also in Christ. Note carefully, peace will come only as individuals are reconciled to God through Jesus Christ. Sin brought about hostility. Jesus removed that hostility.

Since the greater wall has been completely removed there is no need for the lesser walls of separation. They came down with the wall that separated us from God. But the veil came down only in Christ. If God has torn away the wall of separation between him and us there can never be a wall that separates others in Christ from us. In fact, the great truth of the passage is we are all members of the one body of Christ (vv. 13-18).

If we are one in Christ, then in his eyes we are one with every other believer. There are no Jews and non-Jews, slaves or free, in Christ. We are all “in him.” The wall was torn down with the thick veil in the temple that kept everyone out of his holy presence including the Jewish men. The only exception was the high priest on the Day of Atonement, and then only on that one day of the year.  The veil was torn from top to bottom and we can all enter into God’s holy presence through the blood of his Son.

We have all been reconciled in “one body to God through the cross.” “So then you are no longer foreigners and noncitizens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of God’s household” (NET).

Friday, January 31

Excuses, Excuses!

“Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” The apostle Paul and Silas responded to the jailor in the city of Philippi, “Believe on the Lord Jesus and you shall be saved, and your household” (Acts 16:31).

The only road to heaven is by faith in Jesus Christ. Calling on any other name will not save you. There is salvation only in the atoning death of Jesus Christ (Acts 4:12). When we believe on Christ as Savior we trust or lean upon Him with our whole weight upon His cross. We cease to stand in our own religious strength, and cast ourselves wholly upon the Rock of Ages. Faith, belief and trust are synonyms for receiving Jesus Christ and the free gift of eternal life in Him.

Jesus Christ is able to save to the uttermost all sinners who come to Him, take His word, and trust Him. Only believe. That is God’s requirement for salvation. “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you shall be saved.” The greatest sin in the entire world is unbelief. The object of saving faith is Jesus Christ.

R. G. Lee once said, “Excuses, excuses—rotten bridges over hell.” What are some excuses that will send you to an eternal hell?

Some people give the excuse, “My faith is too small. I do not think Christ could save me.” God does not ask us to trust in ourselves, but in the finished work of Jesus Christ who died in our place on the cross. C. H. Spurgeon said, “It is not the strength of your faith that saves you, . . . it is the object of your faith. If your faith is fixed on Christ, though it seems to be in itself a line no thicker than a spider’s web, it will hold your soul throughout time and eternity. . . The faith that saves men is sometimes so small that man himself cannot see it.” Put your trust in the blood of Jesus Christ to cleanse you of all your sins. “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you shall be saved . . .” Let Him be the object of your faith and trust.

Other individuals use the excuse, “I have many doubts that Jesus died for me. Can I be a true Christian if I have doubts and fears?” The Bible does not say we have to have great faith to be saved. It only says, “He that believes shall be saved.” Focus your trust on Christ, and He will save you.

Another says, “I don’t feel like I am saved.” The Bible does not tell us that we must have certain emotions in order to be saved. It does not say, “he that is joyful shall be saved,” but “he that believes shall be saved.” It is not what you feel that saves you, but it is in whom you believe that saves you for eternity. The apostle Paul wrote, “We walk by faith, not by sight.”

Spurgeon said, “When I feel my soul as cold as an iceberg, as hard as a rock, and as sinful as Satan, yet even then faith ceases not to justify. Faith prevails as truly in the midst of sad feelings as of happy feelings, for then, standing alone, it proves the majesty of its might.”

How many times have I had people tell me, “God cannot save me. I am too great a sinner. You do not know the kind of life I have lived.” They want you to believe that they are a special case. My friend that is the whole reason why Jesus came and died on the cross. He came to save the ungodly. He died to save you and me. Jesus did not come and die for good religious, self-righteous people; He came and died for you and me—the ungodly. All of your sins, though they be many will not condemn you to hell. Unbelief will send you to hell. “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you shall be saved.” You will go to hell because you have rejected His saving grace. Claim the cleansing blood of Jesus to cleanse you of all your unrighteousness. His blood alone cleanses us from all sin—every one of them.

This leads me to the excuse I have heard so often, “I am too weak; I could never live the Christian life. When I would do good, evil is present with me.” If you wait until you are perfect, you will never be saved. You will never be perfect, even as a Christian, until you see God face to face in heaven. The only way you will ever see Him is to place your trust in Jesus Christ who died for you on the cross to cover all your sins.

Your responsibility is to trust in Christ. You must depend, not upon your feeble strength as a sinner, but on nothing but the blood of Jesus. “He that believes on the Son of God has everlasting life.” “He that believes not shall be damned.” “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” “Whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have everlasting life.” I must agree with the old preacher, “I find my sense of need of Christ is ten times more acute now than it was before I found Christ.” Come, believe on Christ, and you shall be saved.

Saturday, November 30

The Unchanging Christ: The Same Yesterday

The Unchanging Christ: The Same Yesterday

All of my life I have heard the plea for a relevant “new Christ for a new age.”

The truth is Jesus Christ is God’s final word to men in all ages. He is relevant for every age. He is “the same yesterday, today and forever” (Heb. 13:8).

The same Jesus sits today “on the right hand of the Majesty on high” (Heb. 1:3). He is the same person as He was when here on the earth.

When we read the words, “Jesus Christ the same yesterday” we are carried back to the long ages before He became flesh. I can point to a date, time, and place when I was born. However, Jesus did not begin to live when He was born in the flesh of the virgin Mary in Bethlehem. He simply changed His robes.

The apostle Paul tells us Jesus was in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God, divested Himself of His garments of glory that had been His from all eternity and clothed Himself in the garments of a common household slave in the flesh and was obedient unto death. He was God-man. He was fully God and fully human (Phil. 2:5-8).

The absolutely essential fact is He was the same in past eternity; He changes not.

I search for an absolute in an age of change; He changes not, and I therefore have security.

He came from the Father and He returned to the Father. He dwelt in the ageless past in the bosom of His eternal Father. The apostle John tells us, “in the beginning was the Word.” When everything else had a beginning He already existed and He had no beginning. His beginning had no beginning. “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being. In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men” (John 1:1-4).

“Jesus Christ is the same yesterday . . .” His eternal existence is declared in these words, “in the beginning was the Word.” He is no vacillating whim of the age. “The Word was with God,” a distinct personality of the true and perfect deity because “the Word was God.” His personal relationship with the Father is unchangeable. He “was in the beginning with God,” and because of His resurrection and ascension, He still is in the presence of the Father in a perfect relationship.

Moreover, His understanding of man never needs to change. No one knows me like the one who made me. “All things were made by Him; and without Him was not anything made that was made.” “In Him is life.”

Where would you turn for a relevant Christ that is not found in the historic Christ? Would you, like the modern self-made cults, turn to your own making, or to some new age “enlightenment”?

God in Christ has already become one of us in order to demonstrate His love for us, and to show us what God is really like. God came and revealed Himself to sinful and disobedient rebellious men.

I don’t need a greater “light.” I only need to respond to the One true and all supreme Lord of all creation. Why should I turn to some lesser “light”? All other spiritual lights are only creepy shadows of the one who masquerades as “the angel of light,” Satan himself.

We don’t have to look afar to discover what evil lurks within the heart of man. God has fully revealed Himself (Heb. 1:1-3), and man in his stubborn rebellion cries for something greater and better like selfish, pampered, narcissistic children whining for something new.

God has spoken. He has not changed and He will not. He is the same as He was yesterday, and I find stability for my soul and eternal peace with God. Because He is the same I have eternal security of a right relationship with Him, not of my self-making, or choosing, but in His all-sufficient wisdom and grace.

Because He is the same yesterday, I know that what He has said will still remain true for you and me today. “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life” (John 3:16).

That great truth will not change, because our Savior changes not. His word and eternal promises remain the same throughout all eternity. “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever.” Thank God.