Daily Devotions

Friday, June 6

Accepted in the Beloved

There is always the tension in the Christian life between the “now” and the “yet to be.” However, what we are now in the eyes of God is what we shall be in practice when we stand before Him in complete, perfect sanctification in glory.

Even now there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus (Rom. 8:1). He has made us acceptable in the Beloved (Eph. 1:6). Indeed, we are complete in Him (Col. 2:10).

How do we explain this tension in our daily lives between our practical sanctification and our eternal position and standing before God?

The believer’s positional standing before God never ever changes. No believer is less justified than another. You are either acquitted by God or you stand condemned. You are either a child of God by adoption or you are an enemy. You either have eternal life, or you are dead in trespasses and sins.

Our standing before God, once we are His child, does not change. Our sonship does not depend upon our fellowship with Him. It is the other way around. Our fellowship with God depends upon our sonship.

There are degrees in our fellowship, but there can be none in our justification before God. Sometimes we are warm and sometimes we are cold in our fellowship, but our sonship never changes since we were adopted as His children.

Our justification is entirely above the fluctuations of Christian experience. It knows nothing of degrees or the rise and fall of our emotions. You are either justified by faith or you are condemned. We are “in Christ” and He is “the same, yesterday, today and forever.”

Christ alone is our righteousness and results in our right relationship with God. Christ is of God “made unto us righteousness.”

If a right standing depended upon our faith or our faithfulness we would be eternally condemned. It depends upon Christ’s righteousness accepted as His gift by faith. It does not depend upon our endeavors, but upon the finished work of Christ. “You are complete in Christ.”

How can this be true? We know ourselves all too well. We are imperfect and we fail. Yet God’s word says that we are complete in Christ.

Regarding the Christian’s acceptance and standing before a righteous God is concerned, God sees nothing from His throne but Christ Jesus alone and Him crucified. And since the believer is in Him and one with Him, he shares Christ's place in the Father’s heart. No matter how unworthy the believer is in himself, he may know without a doubt that he is "accepted in the Beloved.”

You cannot be condemned if you are in Christ. Christ is without sin and for us to be in Christ means to be accepted in the Beloved.

Jesus Christ presents us to the Father clothed in the garments of His own righteousness.

Jesus represents us to God. We see God in Christ. God sees us in Christ. God was in Christ reconciling the world unto Himself. We in Christ are reconciled to God.

The Christian can never pray, "O Lord, look how pure and holy I am; look at me and preserve my soul, for I am holy.” That would be utter nonsense. We can only come into His presence and with humble gratitude accept His grace saying, "Lord, be merciful to me the sinner."

Moreover, the steadfastness of our joy and the stability of our spiritual growth depends upon our keeping our gaze fixed immovably upon the one Blessed Object upon which the Father’s gaze is always fixed (Heb. 12:2).

Saturday, June 7

The Attitude of God toward the Saved

Was the atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ when He died on the cross all-sufficient for God to save the sinner? Was His sacrifice sufficient for God to justly keep the sinner saved? Is God lacking in wisdom and power to fulfill His eternal purpose for the saved sinner?

Ultimately the question of eternal security is reduced to a question of the all-sufficiency of the atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ when He died on the cross.

If the person who has received eternal life by believing on Christ is ultimately lost then we must conclude that God is impotent and the sacrifice of Christ is not sufficient to save the depraved sinner. One would have to conclude that the Sovereign LORD God would have to submit to a power greater than Himself that He has created.

The eternal purpose of God for the sinner is that we be “conformed to the image of His Son” (Rom. 8:29; 1 Cor. 15:49; Phil. 3:20-21; Col. 3:10; 1 Jn. 3:2). Could our great God and Savior be so careless as to what becomes of the person He has so loved and sent His Son to die for on the cross?

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

God has demonstrated His love toward His enemies by sending Jesus Christ to die on the cross (vv. 6, 8). Christ died on behalf of, or instead of the sinner. Paul argues from the greater problem to the less saying the greater thing is the justification “by His blood.” Since that was an awesome mystery of profound cost, keeping the sinner saved is less of a mystery. God gave His Son as a propitiation for our sins (Rom. 3:25; Col. 1:10; 1 John 2:20; 4:10). We have become reconciled to God by means of the death of His Son. Paul argues, “Much more then” we shall be saved “by His life.” Christ is alive, seated at the right hand of the Father in heaven, “since He always lives to make intercession for them” (Heb. 7:25).

Since God has gone to such great costs to save us, He will do “much more” if that is needed to keep us saved (Rom. 5:9-10). It is inconceivable that our Good Shepherd and Savior who has sacrificed so much to save us in giving His Son on the cross, would be careless to insure or secure such an investment.

How “much more” is His attitude of love to those whom He has cleansed in His blood, transformed by His power and saved. If God has gone to such lengths to save us then He will surely save us from His fiery wrath by that same blood of propitiation. He died in the place of the powerless, ungodly sinners who were His enemies. Certainly, his Savior will not forsake that “now-declared-righteous” person. Since the blood of Jesus has resolved the greater dilemma, certainly the justified sinner will be saved from God’s wrath. “There is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (Rom. 8:1). The saved sinner will never be condemned to hell (Jn. 5:24).

The atoning sacrifice is totally the work of God, accomplished by the blood of Jesus. God has removed the enmity that stands between people and God. Since reconciliation was done “through the death of His Son,” while we were enemies, then His present resurrection life in heaven will insure the complete and final salvation of believers.

Paul’s argument is, “Before we were saved, God proved His love by sending Christ to die for us. Now that we are His children, without doubt He will love us more.” If God saved us while we were sinners, He will keep on saving us now that we are His children. The child of God will not experience the wrath of God. Since Christ accomplished our reconciliation in His death how “much more” will He do for us in His life of intercession for us in heaven. We are eternally saved because He lives (Heb. 7:23-25; Rom. 8:34). He is interceding for us even now.

Since God the Son died for us when we were sinners who hated Him, how much more will He save from the wrath of God those who are now in a righteous standing as is the Son is with the Father.

“Much more” having been now justified by His blood we shall be saved through Him from the wrath of God. “Much more” having been reconciled we shall be saved by His life.

Sunday, June 8

A Zeal for the Righteousness of God

The apostle Paul prayed to God for the salvation of those who “have a zeal for God, but not in accordance with knowledge. For not knowing about God’s righteousness, and seeking to establish their own, they did not subject themselves to the righteousness of God” (Romans 10:1-3).

The apostle Paul was making his plea to his own people who in their religious zeal had rejected God’s provision of His own perfect righteousness for their own self-righteousness. They were intensely religious in their own eyes, but not with the true knowledge of God. They were running well but in the wrong direction. They labored to do good deeds, but for the wrong goal. They were religious, sincere, dedicated, but in their anxiety, they would miss their eternal reward.

“They have a zeal for God.” I meet people like that every day. In their religious zeal, they knock on your door, too. Like the apostle Paul, I am not against religious zeal or enthusiasm. However, they are zealous in their religious ceremonies, prayers, observances, holy days, fasts, visitation, teaching, etc., “but not in accordance with knowledge.” There is no use being zealous if you are zealous for the wrong reason. It will not help you if you are going in the wrong direction spiritually.

The apostle Paul was writing from his own personal experience. He had been very zealous for the Law, and in that enthusiasm, he killed men and women who had a different “knowledge” than his. He had a mistaken zeal for God. He believed sincerely, but he was sincerely wrong. He had been zealous, but his zeal was focused on the wrong object.

Then there came a day when he gained true knowledge of the righteousness of God, and he counted all his self-righteousness as dung and received salvation by free grace alone.

Paul’s zeal became refocused “with knowledge” when he met the resurrected Christ on the road to Damascus. Knowledge of what? Before the encounter with Christ he did not know about God’s righteousness and sought to establish his own. In Philippians 3:4-6 he tells about that self-righteousness. He said, “I still count all things to be lost in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. . . that I may gain Christ” (v. 8). He gave up his zeal for self-righteousness by good works “that I may know Him, not having a righteousness of my own derived from the Law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith” (v. 9).

That is Paul’s “knowledge.” “For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes” (Rom. 10:4).

Spurgeon once said, “It is easier to get a sinner out of sin than a self-righteous man out of his self-righteousness.”

Have you tried to share the gospel of Jesus Christ with someone who thinks he can earn or merit a right relationship with God by his religious zeal?

What is the problem? In their zeal they “know nothing about God’s righteousness, and seek to establish their own, they do not subject themselves to the righteousness of God” (v. 3).

Any form of self-righteousness will never save you. In contrast, the Lord God has provided His own perfect righteousness by which He justifies the ungodly. Jesus Christ was obedient to the Law at every point, even to the point of death. God in His righteousness imputes the perfect righteousness of Jesus Christ to the believing sinner. He imputes to the believer what Jesus did for you on the cross. God will accept the believing sinner because of what Jesus is and what He did. Jesus Christ shall be your righteousness.

If you say, “No, I will not have His righteousness; I will have a righteousness of my own,” you are ignorant of God’s righteousness, and you shall perish.

God would never have sent His Son to the cross if you could be saved by our religious zeal. The death of Jesus on the cross was needless if you could be saved otherwise (Acts 4:12). If you are trying to have a righteousness of your own by being zealous for God, your church or denomination, baptism, church membership, emotional experiences, etc. then you are in competition with Jesus Christ.

Your eternal salvation lies absolutely outside of yourself, in the person and atoning work of Jesus Christ. Salvation is not in what you do in your religious zeal, but in what Christ Jesus has done on your behalf.

If you try to add anything to that finished work by your own thought, feeling, good works, baptism, church membership, etc., you have spoiled the work of Christ on your behalf. It shall never be Christ plus your _________, regardless of what you may fill in the blank. If you are to be saved, you must get out of the way and let God alone do it. The spiritual birth is all God’s doing, not yours or mine. Sinners saved by grace through faith will glorify Jesus Christ alone. Salvation is all by free grace of God in Jesus Christ.

“Going about to establish their own righteousness, they have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God.” The righteousness of God is salvation by grace through faith in Jesus Christ. Sinners are saved by God’s grace. Salvation is through faith in Christ. It is based on grace, and free grace alone through faith alone which is in Jesus Christ alone! It is a gift from God freely received by the sinner.

Monday, June 9

Baptized into Christ

The word "baptized" is not the translation of the Greek work in Romans 6:3-4, but a transliteration spelling it out in English letters. The word in the original language means to dip. The figurative use of the word means to take on a new identification. After I dip a white shirt into red dye, I no longer refer to it as the “white shirt,” but the red shirt. It has a new identification.

The apostle Paul wrote, "Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus have been baptized into His death?" (v. 3).

The word Baptize in Romans six means "the introduction or placing of a person or thing into a new environment or into union with something else so as to alter its condition or its relationship to its previous environment or condition."

Paul is referring to the act of God when He introduces a believing sinner into a vital union with Jesus Christ. In this vital relationship the power of his sinful nature is broken and the divine nature implanted through his identification with Christ in His death, burial and resurrection. The believer's relation to his previous state and environment is changed and he now has a new environment which is defined as being "in Christ."

God placed us in Christ when He died so that we might share His death and thus come into the benefits of that identification with Him. We were placed in a new environment, Christ. We have a vital union with Christ. Paul declares we are "in Christ." In our new environment in Christ, we have righteousness and life. Our condition is changed from that of a sinner to that of a saint.

The Holy Spirit baptized us into Christ. He placed us in Christ in order that we might share His death and be separated from the evil nature. He also placed us in Christ in order that we might share His resurrection and have His divine life imparted to us. The Spirit of the resurrected Christ imparts to us a new quality of life. It is a new source of life that God imparts to us. It is only through this new source of life that we have the ethical and spiritual energy to live the Christian life.

Why did God do this for us? We share Christ's resurrection in order that we may order our behavior in the power of this new life. With the power of this new power, we can consistently say no to sin and yes to the indwelling Christ. We do not have to sustain the same relationship to sin that we were in the habit of before we became Christians.

"Therefore, we have been buried with Him, through baptism into death, in order that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life" (v. 4).

Water baptism symbolizes the power of the sinful nature being broken, because we are dead in Christ, and the divine power that we have in our identification with His resurrection. We have now been permanently delivered from the power of sin. God has imparted to us a divine nature, new life, spiritual birth and we can now respond to it rather than sin.

The apostle Paul commands us to live "as instruments of righteousness unto God" (Rom. 6:13). We do not do this in our strength, but in His power of the resurrection.

It is a resurrection that restores the lost image of God, in which we were created by making us to awake in the likeness of Christ. We are new creatures in Christ Jesus.

One day when Christ returns, we will stand with Him with resurrected bodies in glory. Our whole nature, body, soul and spirit" will be "made alive in Christ." And if we are in our Lord, our physical restitution is assumed to us with equal certainty with our spiritual.

We enjoy the righteousness of Christ now and on the great day of the resurrection we will be clad in the incorruptible glory of redeemed bodies (Rom. 6:9; Rev. 20:6).

We share in the resurrection power today (Cot 3:1, 3). The believer cannot deliberately live in sin because we have this new relationship and identification with Christ. We have died to the old life and have been raised up to enjoy a new life in Christ. Because we are alive in Christ we are admonished to "walk in newness of life by abiding in Christ."

Dead in Christ—risen from the dead—alive in Christ and free to walk in the newness of His life.

Tuesday, June 10

Believer’s Baptism

The ordinance of the believer’s baptism is a marvelous picture of the Christian’s vital union, and identification with Jesus Christ in His death, burial and resurrection.

There is a “wet” baptism and a “dry” baptism. The “dry” baptism is without water and is the work of God the Holy Spirit placing the believer in Christ the moment he believes on Him as his Savior.

The “wet” baptism is the ordinance that Christ gave to the church. It is a believer’s baptism by immersion in water which presents in symbolism the Christian’s vital union with Jesus Christ. Take away the Biblical mode of baptism and you lose the vital theological message of baptism.

“Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus have been baptized into His death? Therefore, we have been buried with Him through baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life” (Rom. 6:3-4).

The ordinance of baptism is a constant reminder of how we were redeemed. It is an outward symbol of an inward, silent and real experience.

Baptism by immersion in water does not put the believer “into Jesus Christ.” The Holy Spirit did that when we believed in Christ. This is the baptism of the Holy Spirit in the life of every believer. Immersion is a picture of what the Holy Spirit did in our identification with Christ.

Dead in Christ, risen with Christ. Buried with Christ, alive in Christ (Rom. 8:34).

The burial confirms that we died with Christ. “Our old man was crucified with Christ.” Unless one die with Christ we cannot live with Him. All our condemnation and guilt were buried with Christ, and they remain buried.  It is a blessing to know that all of our sins and transgressions are swept away by the blood of Christ and buried in the tomb (Ps. 32:1, 2).

The believing sinner has learned to look into the grave of his Lord and see the burial of all his sins. There is no longer the burning resemblances, bitter accusations, and stinging reproaches of sin and guilt. Therefore, the believer has learned to forgive himself in God's deep river of forgiveness.

The baptismal waters are a perpetual witness to this great truth. The water says, “I buried the believer with Christ.” It says, “I rolled my wave like a stone against the door of his tomb. I set the seal of the new covenant in the blood of Jesus inscribed with the triune name upon his tomb.”

The believer needs to remind himself that every tinge of a guilty conscience is silenced by the atoning blood of Jesus.

The tomb of Jesus is a shelter against the raging storm of the wrath of God. “Buried with Christ” tells us that our sin debt has been paid in full. We have propitiation in the blood of Jesus Christ.

It is a constant reminder that we cannot enter into “the power of Christ’s resurrection” except through conformity to His death.  “I am crucified with Christ” and buried with Him.

The waters symbolize this union with Christ in that the buried form is raised up from the water in the likeness of Christ’s resurrection. Alive in Christ. We have a new relationship with sin and God. We also have a new identification—we are saints. We are saved sinners. Every believer who comes up out of the water has a new identification. You can distinguish him from everyone else because he or she is dripping wet. Believers have a new identification, and people can see that we are “in Christ.”

The believer has died to the old life, and has been raised to enjoy a new life in Christ (Col. 2:12).

We have been made alive in Christ. We stand on resurrection ground. We have the authority and power to live triumphantly over sin.

Wednesday, June 11

Biblical Authority and Jesus

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

We believe in biblical inerrancy and infallibility. With confidence we confess faith in the divine origin of the Bible. It is completely truthful and trustworthy.

The New Testament is no less authoritative because it is the fulfillment of the Old. Jesus, the apostles, the early church, all clearly agreed that the Old Testament was absolutely trustworthy. They are authoritative because they are God’s fully inspired Word. The authority of the Bible is divine authority. God is the author.

The doctrine of plenary, verbal inspiration stresses that the Holy Spirit acted in relationship with the biblical writers so as to render them infallible revealers of God’s truth. We can therefore have complete confidence in God’s infallible Word. The New English Bible says, “It was not through any human whim that men prophesied of old; men they were, but, impelled by the Holy Spirit they spoke the words of God.”

Why the importance of the doctrine of inerrancy in a day when most people detest moral authority? This great doctrine of Christianity avoids instability in expounding authoritative doctrine and morals.

In our day it is in vogue to who claim to honor the authority of Jesus Christ rather than the authority of Scripture. This is to contradict Jesus’ teaching, since Jesus held a high view of Scripture. It is illogical to pick and choose from the teaching of Jesus during His earthly ministry only those elements that serve one’s own presuppositions. To do so would be to reject the full trustworthiness of Scriptures. How would you know the Jesus you worship is the same as the one the Scriptures declares to be the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world? Without His resurrection we are still in our sins.

Remove the doctrine of full divine inspiration and inerrancy of the Scriptures in whole and in part and you effectively remove any reason why a person’s life ought to be transformed by Jesus Christ. You can then live any life-style you so desire. The great tragedy in our day in that is exactly what many in the church are doing. You cannot tell the difference between the Christian and non-Christian in today’s society.

Thursday, June 12

Faith and the Bible

Faith and the Bible

The Bible is God’s perfectly inspired word. The written Word testifies to God’s self-revelation in His incarnate Son, Jesus Christ. All Scripture, both Old and New Testament, is a clear testimony to Jesus Christ. The Bible is not just a record of revelation of God, but it is revelation itself, and it is an infallible witness of God to men.

"The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God stands forever" (Isa. 40:8). There is nothing like the abiding Word of God.

This is why it is so important for us to examine God’s Word and seek to understand it and its authority in the believer’s life. Our faith is defined by God's Word, and there cannot be any true saving faith without the Word of God.

The apostle Paul wrote, there is “the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe” (Romans 3:22). Believe in what? Our faith must rest in Jesus Christ and His atoning work. Our faith must reside in Jesus Christ.

Calvin wrote, “There is a permanent relationship between faith and the Word. Take away the Word and no faith will there remain.”

The Word of God also does something. Apart from the word of God we are dead in our trespasses and sins. We are as Whitfield compared us to Lazarus' body dead in his tomb before Jesus arrived. Martha told Jesus, "Lord, he has been dead four days and he stinks." What will awaken us from our spiritual death? "Lazarus come forth!" He shouts to us in his Word, "Wil, come forth!" And the Word of God awakened in me the truth of my sinfulness and the saving work of Jesus Christ.

Have you heard Him calling your name? Only the call of the living Word of God can produce such new life. But where can we hear that call? Not in words of men or women or a religious guru. You won't find it in secular humanism or pop psychology or self-help preachers. The only place we can hear God calling forth the dead is in the pages of the Bible, where alone God speaks.

The apostle Pete wrote, “You have been born anew, not from perishable but from imperishable seed, through the living and enduring word of God” (1 Peter 1:23 NET). Why is this so important? “The Word of the LORD abides forever” (v. 25; Isa. 40:8). The opinions of men, including mine, will perish. Let’s make sure our faith is centered in the person of Jesus Christ as revealed in the Bible. All else will burn up one day.

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

Our conviction is that the Bible, God’s Word, is God-breathed (v. 16). It was written by men divinely inspired and is God’s revelation of Himself to men. It is without error because it is God-breathed. God is its author and the Holy Spirit moving over the minds of those whom He chose to record the permanent revelation of God insured that it is totally true and perfectly trustworthy. That is why the Bible is constantly under assault by secular humanists.

Moreover, the Christian’s faith is strengthened and sustained through the Bible. The Bible is filled with promises, admonitions, corrections, and reproof for the believer (2 Tim. 3:16). In order for us to abide in Christ we must saturate our minds with God’s Word. As we study, meditate, memorize the Word it settles down into our hearts and we learn to think and act biblically. The Holy Spirit uses His Word to conform us to the likeness of Christ. If you are not already doing so, please make a commitment to get into the Bible daily.

Friday, June 13

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.

Saturday, June 14

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.

Sunday, June 15

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).

Monday, June 16

Joseph’s Secret to Success

Tucked away in his father’s blessing is an illustration that the blessings of the Lord are greater than anything we can imagine on this earth. One commentator has said, “It is the Old Testament equivalent to John 15:1-17 where Jesus taught His disciples to abide in the vine.  Whether the Old or the New Testament, the secret of spiritual fruitfulness is union with the Lord God through Jesus Christ.”

“Joseph is a fruitful vine, a fruitful vine near a spring, whose branches climb over a wall” (Genesis 49:22 NIV).  That is the testimony of the Bible. “The LORD was with Joseph… The LORD blessed the Egyptian’s house on account of Joseph… The LORD was with Joseph… The LORD was with him, and whatever he did, that the LORD made to prosper” (Genesis 39: 2, 5, 21).

The LORD God caused Joseph’s vine to “climb over a wall” into Egypt, and God used him there. “God has made me fruitful in the land of my affliction” (41:52).  “God has made me lord of all Egypt” (45:9).

Joseph was saying, “I saw God do it!”  The LORD God was sovereign in his life, and it was His sovereign grace that delivered and sustained him during those long hard years in Egypt as a Hebrew slave.

If Joseph had been living in our day, he would say without Christ we can do nothing.  However, when we are in union with Him, it is His life that is seen in us; it is His power at work in us, and our works are therefore His works.

Jacob told his son Joseph how he would be a fruitful vine.  It would not be without adversity, trials, and temptations.  Bitter archers who hated him attacked Joseph.  “They shot at him with hostility” (v.23a-24a).  He kept liberally “in an unyielding position.”

Joseph’s own brothers shot their bitter arrows of hatred and envy at him.  “If God loves you, man will hate you; if God honors you, man will dishonor you,” cried Spurgeon.  Joseph’s own brothers shot their bitter and hostile arrows at them conspiring to kill him, threw him in a cistern and sold him unto slavery and was taken to Egypt.  The first archers were the archers of envying in his own home. “When they saw him, they plotted against him to put him to death” (Gen. 37:18).

The hot arrows of temptation from Potiphar’s lusty wife took aim at Joseph.  When given the opportunity that many a man craves for, Joseph ran for his life shouting, “How then could I do this great evil and sin against God?”  (39:9). It was not just one lustful, passionate advance because “She spoke to Joseph day after day” (v.10).

Joseph said, “No!”  “He did not listen to her to lie beside her or be with her” (v.10).  He fled, and he paid for it by going to prison.

Joseph was maligned in the eyes of his master, and his character was ruined. Spurgeon said, “It was a marvelous providence that Potiphar did not put Joseph to death.”  This lying person ruined Joseph’s character.

C. H. Spurgeon drew an application saying, “There are no royal roads to heaven – they are paths of trial and trouble; the archers will shoot at you as long as you are on this side the flood.”  Those who are true to God’s Word can expect it, indeed, must expect it.  “Bless be God, they have not said worse things of us than they said of our Master.”

Again, the great old Baptist preacher said, “Do not be in a hurry to set yourselves right.  God will take care of you.  Leave yourselves alone; only be very valiant for the Lord God of Israel, be steadfast in the truth of Jesus and your bow shall abide.”

No one was able to bend Joseph’s bow but he and God.  “His bow abode in strength; it did not snap, it did not stray aside.  His chastity was his bow, and he did not lose that; his faith was his bow, and that did not yield it did or break; his courage was his bow, and that did not fail him; his character and his honesty was his bow, nor did he cast it away.”

What was Joseph’s secret?  How did he bear such fruit of righteousness?

“His bow remained in an unyielding position, and the arms of his hands were agile, from the hands of the Mighty One of Jacob” (v.24 using the marginal notes).  The NIV reads, “But his bow remained steady, his strong arms stayed limber, because the hands of the Mighty One of Jacob, the Rock of Israel, because of your father’s God, who helps you, because of the Almighty, who blesses you…” (49:24-25b).

Joseph’s arms “Were made strong by the hands of the mighty God of Jacob.”  The image is that of the LORD God placing His strong hands upon the hands of Joseph as he draws the string of his bow just as a strong father might steady and guide his son in giving an archery lesson.

Who steadies your hand?  Who gives you inner strength?  Joseph’s “bow remained steady, his strong arms stayed limber, because of the hand of the Mighty One of Jacob.”

Jesus said, “Apart from Me you can do nothing” (John 15:5b).  The secret of Joseph’s strength is divine strength.  And if you and I ever accomplish anything to God’s glory, it will be in and by and through abiding in Jesus Christ.

Tuesday, June16

Power to Obey God

How many times have you heard the excuse, “But I am afraid I can’t live the Christian life”?

The badge of the true disciple of Jesus Christ is obedient faith.

Jesus told His disciples, “If you love Me, you will keep My commandments” (John 14:15).

He has commanded us to go and make disciples of every nation. And when we are obedient He gives us the power to obey His command (Acts 1:8).

He gives us Himself, and in the giving of Himself He gives us all that we need to obey Him.

The power we know we need to accomplish His will can be ours if we obey His Word. As we yield ourselves to Him He will fulfill His will in and through us. He does not ask us to do anything that He does not enable us to do.

The indwelling Holy Spirit is in us an all-prevailing source of power to obey His commands. He abides in us and we in Him. Our greatest needs are fully met in Christ and all that He provides for His people. He gives us the vitality, energy, and spiritual power to do everything God asks of us.

We are by the divine power of the Spirit of God set free to serve Him, and obey Him.

A true Christian knows the power of obedience. Christian liberty is not a license to sin it up.  There is freedom in the liberating good news of Jesus Christ. But it is not a freedom to give ourselves to licentious pleasures of the flesh. It is a new freedom to serve God in righteousness (Rom. 6:12ff). He gives us the freedom to love Him with all our heart. “If we love Him we will obey Him.”

We get our freedom through surrender to Christ. We get the power to obey by obeying. We have been set free to do the will of God.

Have you ever tried to witness to an unbeliever without being in fellowship with the Holy Spirit?  Our words are like dead lives fall on frozen ground during the winter. But when the Holy Spirit quickens the heart and we are in fellowship with Him they penetrate the heart of unbelief and He uses them to accomplish His purpose.

What blessed joy when He gives us power to declare the Word of God with power. We are told that He can be grieved by our unyieldedness, but we can also bring joy to Him as we yield ourselves to His control.

Jesus gave to His disciples through the gift of His Spirit the power to speak and be witnesses to His death and resurrection. The power of the Holy Spirit is the power to think God’s thoughts after Him, to speak His words to all men.

Jesus commands us to go and preach His good news. When we do He gives us His enabling power. “They were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and spoke the word of God with boldness” (Acts 4:31).

Are you spiritually anemic? Have you gone to Him in humility, confessing your sins, turning from them and making yourself available to Him to do anything He wants to do in and through you?

When He has us ready spiritually He will use us. The Holy Spirit indwells us, giving us the power to obey God. All that He asks is total obedience. The Holy Spirit is within us, and by His power we can do His bidding. We will receive His power to obey. He even gives us faith to trust Him.

Will you make yourself available to Him to do anything that pleases Him in and through you? It may scare you to death. But that is all that He asks. Don’t think up a bunch of excuses. Just say, “Here am I, send me, Lord.” And then step out trusting Him for His enabling, anointing and power. The moment you act upon what you know to be God’s will, God answers that prayer, and He empowers you to do what you cannot do in yourself. The Holy Spirit gives us the desire, ability, and power to do the will of God.

If you love Him, you will obey Him.

Love solves our obedience problem.

Wednesday, June 18

Search Me, O God

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

We have so many blind spots that we need the diligent probing of the Holy Spirit in our minds and hearts.  We need Him to search “and know my heart,” “know my anxious thoughts,” and reveal what is the cause of pain to God. See if there is any hurtful way in me.”

How do I cause the Holy Spirit to grieve?  "Let no unwholesome word proceed from your mouth, but only such a word as is good for edification according to the need of the moment, so that it will give grace to those who hear. Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you" (Ephesians 4:29-32).

The context tells us how we cause pain to our Lord.  Bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, slander, and malice must be put away and replaced with kindness toward one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other just as God in Christ also has forgiven you (Eph. 4:31-32).

The greatest encouragement for the believer in Christ Jesus is to enter into the presence of an all-seeing, all-knowing God who knows us intimately. Because we have been justified by grace though faith in the atoning sacrifice of Christ, and the Holy Spirit indwells us, we can stand in His light and be examined by His holy presence. We can allow Him to examine our thoughts, attitudes and heart's desires and then "bring into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ" (2 Cor. 10:5).

David models this desire for us. There is willingness to put away anything which is grievous to God and to His Spirit and to be led in the way everlasting. When we find sin in our hearts there is a spiritual bar of soap that cleanses of every sin (1 John 1:8-9).

Thursday, June 19

Jesus Christ the Son of God

Jesus Christ is God. He is one with the Father, and is the partaker of the Father’s own nature and being.

This is one of the deepest and most precious truths for nourishing the inner life of the believer.

Andrew Murray wrote, “Christ is God: The soul worships Him as the Almighty One, able to do a divine work in the power of divine omnipotence. Christ is God: even as God works in all nature from within, and in secret, so the soul trusts Christ as the everywhere present and the Indwelling One, doing His saving working in the hidden depths of its being. Christ is God: in Him we come into living contact with the person and life of God Himself . . . Christ is God.” (The Holiest of All, p. 55-56).

The uniqueness of Jesus Christ as God's Son is fully taught throughout the New Testament  (John 1:14; 3:16, 18; 1 John 4:9; Hebrews 1:1-2). Christ is eternal and He is God (John 1:1; Romans 9:5; Titus 2:13; Hebrews 1:8). He existed before He was born because He existed from all eternity past (John 1:1-2; Phil. 2:6).

Jesus Himself both explicitly (Mark 12:1-12; 13:32; Matthew 11:25-27) and implicitly (John 20:17) taught His unique relationship with the Father as God's Son. He was recognized as the unique Son of God by demons (Mark 5:7), Satan (Matt 4:3, 6), and most importantly by His Father at His baptism and transfiguration (Mark 1:11; 9:7).

Jesus acted as one who possessed a unique authority over the temple by cleansing it (Mark 11:15-19, 27-33; John 2:13-21), over demons and Satan by His exorcisms, over disease by His healing people, over the Sabbath regulations by His actions on the Sabbath (Mark 2:23-28), over death by His raising the dead and at times even over the Law by His teachings (Matt 5:21-48; Mark 7:18-19).

Jesus exercised the divine prerogatives of forgiving sins (Mark 2:5-10; Luke 7:36-50), claiming that a person’s eternal destiny is determined by his relationship to Him (Jn. 14:6; Matt 10:32-33; 11:6; cf. Acts 4:12), and claiming that He would ultimately judge the world (Matt 9:28; John 5:22-29; Acts 10:42).

Jesus maintained that He was greater than all who have preceded Him, including Abraham (John 8:53-58), Jacob (John 4:12-15) and Moses (Matt 5:21-48).

In the New Testament Jesus is accorded such divine attributes as being the Creator (John 1:3; 1 Corinthians 8:6; Colossians 1:16; Heb 1:2) and possessing eternal pre-existence (John 1:1-2; 1 John 1:1; Col 1:17). He is specifically referred to as God in numerous passages (John 1:1, 18; 20:28; Titus 2:13; Heb 1:8; cf. also Romans 9:5; 1 John 5:20).

The title Son of God is used for Jesus in passages written by Jewish-Christians whose Scriptures begin with, "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth" (Genesis 1:1; cf. John 1:1-3). 

The full human nature of Christ is clearly taught throughout the New Testament in passages that equally state Jesus' uniqueness and deity. Jesus was conceived of a virgin (Luke 1:26-38). Therefore, the incarnation of the Son of God (John 1:14) involves experiencing a human birth (Galatians 4:4), being circumcised on the eighth day (Luke 2:21), possessing a true human nature (Heb 2:14), being tempted in all points like we (Heb 2:18; 4:15), experiencing sorrow and agony (John 11:35; Mark 14:34-42; Heb 5:7), hungering (Matt 4:2; Mark 11:12) and thirsting (John 19:28), becoming weary (John 4:6), possessing flesh and blood (Luke 24:39; John 19:34) and learning obedience (Heb 5:8).

Christ in dying on the cross completely satisfied all of God’s just demands for judgment on human sin (Rom. 3:25-26). He is the one mediator between God and man (1 Timothy 2:5; Rom 5:15; Heb 9:15). Because of His sinless life (Heb. 4:15; 2 Corinthians 5:21), He could bear the penalty of sin that all humanity deserves (Romans 5:6-8; 1 Peter 2:23-24).

All of the righteous demands of God for judgment against our sins have been completely satisfied. By grace Jesus became a curse for those under the curse (Gal 3:13; 1 Peter 2:24), and satisfied the righteousness of God (Rom 3:24-26). Thus, by offering Himself once for all time (Rom. 6:10; 1 Pet 3:18; Heb 9:28; 10:12-14), He brought about for sinful humanity expiation of sin and propitiation from the divine wrath (Rom 3:25; 1 John 2:2; 4:10). God has been completely propitiated by the blood of the Son of God, and man has been reconciled to God. The enmity has been removed and God can be just and the justifier of the believing sinner (Rom. 3:21-28).

We are justified by putting our faith in Christ alone (Rom 3:24; 8:33), experience peace with God (Rom 5:1), reconciliation (Rom 5:10; 2 Cor 5:18-19), forgiveness (Matt 26:28; Rom 4:7-8), adoption as sons (Rom 8:15-16; Gal 4:4-5), are born again (1 Pet 1:23; John 3:1-8), die to sin (Rom 6:1-2; Col 3:3), are raised in newness of life (Rom 6:4; 7:6; 2 Cor 5:17) and have eternal life (John 3:16, 36; Rom 6:22).

Moreover, there awaits for His followers the resurrection of the body (John 11:25-26; 1 Cor. 15:20-24, 50-58; 1 Peter 3:22; 1 John 3:1-3; Revelation 20:5-6), a joyous reunion with Christians who died (1 Thessalonians 4:13-18), will be in the presence of God for all eternity (Rev. 22:1ff), being no longer able to sin and participating with the Son of God in the judgment (1 Cor 6:2).

Let us worship our great God (John 20:28; Acts 7:59-60; Heb. 1:6). He is from everlasting to everlasting.

Murray wrote, “My Redeemer is God! In this faith let me worship Him. My Redeemer is God! Let my whole heart be opened to Him, to receive, as a flower does the light of the sun, His secret, mighty, divine working in me. My Redeemer is God! Let me trust this omnipotent Lord to work out in me His very promise, and to set up His throne of righteousness in my soul in a power that is above all we ask or think. My Redeemer is God! Let me wait for Him, let me count upon Him, to reveal Himself in love that passes knowledge. Blessed be the name of God forever and ever. My Redeemer is God! (p. 58).

Friday, June 20

Son of Man

Jesus referred to Himself as the Son of Man.

He deliberately chose this title to conceal and reveal eternal truths about Himself. No other title used by Jesus of Himself so clearly testifies to His messianic self-consciousness.

In Ezekiel the expression "Son of Man" is used more than ninety times by God addressing the prophet (Ezek. 2:1; 3:1, etc.). In this most basic usage it simply means an indefinite expression for "a man." The phrase brings out the humanity, weakness, and frailty of the prophet in contrast to the infinite glory, strength, and knowledge of the LORD God.

However, Jesus used this title when He made many of His strongest statements revealing His deity.

"Son of Man" was a Messianic title. Jesus took a well-known title and filled it with rich new meanings that revealed the work of the Messiah and His superhuman claims.

There is no doubt Jesus had in mind Daniel 7:13-14 when He referred to Himself as the son of Man. "I kept looking in the night visions, and behold, with the clouds of heaven One like a Son of Man was coming, and He came up to the Ancient of Days and was presented before Him. And to Him was given dominion, glory and a kingdom, that all the peoples, nations and men of every language might serve Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion which will not pass away; and His kingdom is one which will not be destroyed" (Daniel 7:13-14).

Jesus used the expression "Son of Man" as the first person singular pronoun "I" when referring to Himself (Mk. 2:10, 28; Lk. 9:58; 7:34; Matt. 11:19; 16:13). In these and other passages Jesus tells His listeners that He has extraordinary authority over men, authority to forgive sins, authority over the Sabbath, and equality with God.

"The Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many" reveals the central purpose of His becoming man (Mark 10:45; cf. Matt. 20:28).

"The Son of Man has come to seek and save that which was lost" (Lk. 19:10) foretells in considerable detail His coming betrayal, condemnation, death and resurrection (Mk. 8:31; 9:12, 31; 10:33-34; 14:21, 44, 41; Matt. 26:2; 17:12, 22; 16:21; Lk. 22:48; 24:7).

The resurrection from the dead vindicated Jesus as the Son of Man. It proved all of the claims Jesus made as the Son of Man. His death without the resurrection from the dead three days later would have put an end to the whole idea of Jesus being anything more than a mere human being. Jesus said, "For just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the sea monster, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth" (Matthew 12:40).

The ultimate triumph and glory of the Messiah must first be fulfilled by the Suffering Servant of the LORD. "The Son of Man is going as it has been determined" (Luke 22:22; cf. Acts 2:22-24; Mk. 9:9). The shadow of the cross was always before Him.

Jesus used the title Son of Man to reveal Himself as glorified deity. It declares His own prophetic vision of His vindication and glorification. Jesus said to them, “Truly I say to you, that you who have followed Me, in the regeneration when the Son of Man will sit on His glorious throne, you also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel" (Matthew 19:28). "And then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky with power and great glory" (Matthew 24:30; cf. Mk. 13:20; 14:62).

Judgment will come upon all who reject the Son of Man. "For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will also be ashamed of him when He comes in the glory of His Father with the holy angels" (Mark 8:38).

Jesus is coming to this earth again (Matt. 16:27-28; 24:27, 30, 44; Lk. 12:40; 17:29; 18:8).

The Son of Man and the Kingdom of God have come. There is the now and the yet to be as we look forward to the full manifestation of His glory in the consummation.

Even so, come, Lord Jesus. Come!

Saturday, June 21

Praying God's Word Day by Day

God delights in your attentions even when you practice them much like you did yesterday.

Christ Jesus, You said, "The work of God is this: to believe the one he has sent" (John 6:29).  That is what You want from me more than anything in the world.  

You said that those who believe You are Your sheep.  Your sheep listen to Your voice; You know them, and they follow You.  You give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of Your Father's hand.  You and the Father are one. (John10:26-30).  

Father, how I thank You that I am not of those shrink back and are destroyed but of those who believe and are saved (Hebrews 10:39).

The only thing we absolutely could not survive would be the loss of God's Love, and that is a loss we'll never have to try.

You, Lord, are my shepherd; I shall not be in want.  You make me lie down in green pastures; You lead me beside quiet waters; You restore my soul.  You guide me in paths of righteousness for Your name's sake.

Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.

You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies.  You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.

Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. (Psalm 23:1-6)

Sunday, June 22

Jesus Listens

Psalm 46:10 - "“Be still, and know that I am God.  I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!”

Psalm 62:8 - "Trust in him at all times, O people; pour out your heart before him; God is a refuge for us."

Colossians 4:2 - "Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving."

2 Peter 1:4 - "by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire."

Mighty God,

Help me to trust You by relinquishing control into Your hands - letting go, knowing that You are God.  This is Your world; You made it and You control it.  My part in the litany of Love is to be responsive to You.  You have planted in my soul a gift of receptivity to Your Presence.  I want to guard this gift and nurture it with the Light of Your Love.

I rejoice that You encourage me to speak candidly to You - pouring out my heart as I express my concerns and bring You my requests.  After opening up to You, I like to thank You for answering my prayers even though I don't yet see results.  When the problems come to mind again, please remind me to continue thanking You for the answers that are on the way.

I've found that when I tell You about my concerns over and over again, I live in a state of tension.  But if I thank You for how You are answering my prayers, my mindset becomes much more positive and peaceful.  Thankful prayers keep my focus on Your Presence and on Your great and precious promises.

In Your excellent Name, Jesus, Amen.

Monday, June 23

Fleeting Emotions

2 Corinthians 5:7 - "We live by faith, not by sight."

We fallen humans generally make decisions by sight, and sight usually takes one of three forms: (1) We let our emotions be the guide. In other words, we do what we want to do, and pride and feelings rule; (2) we take a commonsense approach, evaluating the pros and cons and the risks involved in each course of action; and (3) we seek supernatural guidance, often in pagan ways - by stars and horoscopes, mediums and spiritists, and even best-selling self-help gurus.

There are profound problems with each approach.  Consider the first one today.  It traps many believers.  God created our emotions and He intends for them to be fulfilled, but He does not intend for them to rule us.  If they did, our lives would be roller-coaster rides, up and down with every whim and trend.  There can be no consistency in such an approach to life, and there can be no worship of God.  God transcends our feelings, and when we elevate them above His wisdom, we are placing ourselves on the throne of our own heart - where only He belongs.  Emotional guidance is a disastrous way to live.  It sets the course of our lives based on the mood of the moment.  We end up living with immeasurable regrets.  Sooner or later, we find our: He who does whatever he wants at any given moment is like an animal - and a fool.

God's prescription for our wisdom is to find His.  His is constant; His is eternal; His is deeply rooted in reality - the way things really are.  It is not trendy, and it is not superficial.  In short, His wisdom is everything our emotions are not.

A believer who forsakes his or her own feelings for the much more reliable guidance of the eternal God has become wise.  That believer must realize that feelings are not forever shunned; God created us for emotional fulfillment.  But we are much more fulfilled when He fills us, not when we try to fill ourselves with our own shortsighted cravings.  Sight is limited; faith is not.  We must walk by faith, not sight.

Tuesday, June 24

Fallible Logic

2 Corinthians 5:7 - "We live by faith, not by sight."

Consider the second approach of human wisdom - common sense.  It is higher and more noble than the selfish life of those who are subject to their emotions and desires.  It is based on the best logic we can muster.  We make lists of pros and cons; we evaluate the risks involved in each course of action; and we determine the clearest, safest, most profitable direction.  It is the best, most reliable path that human reasoning can offer.  But it is still profoundly human.  And it is still sight, not faith.

In essence, the commonsense approach is an intellectual way of "playing the odds" in life.  It is not much different than a gambler at the track who has thoroughly studied the horses and calculated the best candidates to win, place, and show.  We can approach life with the same mind.  We aim for the best education, locate in the safest, most comfortable area, plan for the most satisfying career, and save for the future.  Nothing is wrong with any of those activities if they are built on a foundation of eternal wisdom and under the guidance of God.  But we often skip the foundation and miss the guidance.  We trust in our own devices and place our bets on the best life we can.  In short, we exalt our limited logic over the voice of the Eternal.  Even if we succeed in the eyes of men, we fail in the eyes of heaven.

As we have learned, God's prescription for our wisdom is to find His.  His is thoroughly sensible, but it only appears so with the eyes of faith.  Eyes that see beyond the ambitions of this world to the true values of the eternal Kingdom will have different criteria for making decisions.  Faith often forsakes the things of this world for the lasting treasures for the Kingdom.  Faith looks not for the longest physical life possible but for the most fruitful life possible.  Faith understands that God's wisdom often appears absolutely senseless to those with worldly sense.  His Word is full of examples: Conservative sight does no miracles; "risky" faith does nothing else.

Wednesday, June 25

Fallen Faith

2 Corinthians 5:7 - "We live by faith, not by sight."

Of the three approaches to decision making we usually take, the third - supernatural guidance - can be the most rewarding.  It can also be the most disastrous.  It all depends on where we place our faith.  Just as it is possible to walk by faulty sight, it is possible to walk by faith and still be wrong.  Living by faith rather than sight is no guarantee; faith can be misplaced.

Consider all of the supernatural offerings our world lays before us: seances, mediums, horoscopes, channelers, spirit guides, psychics, and more.  The more overt of these are laughable to the ordinary believer.  But they can also take highly subtle forms.  Don't believe it?  Go to the bookstore and read excerpts form the self-help section.  Some of it is human or even biblical wisdom dressed up as something new.  But much of it has cultic connotations.  Our age is not lacking in mystics proclaiming the way to happiness, the way to fulfillment, the way to self-actualizaiton.  The problem is that unless it comes from God's revelation of what's really real, it's always the wrong way.

All supernatural sources of guidance apart from God are forbidden in Scripture - even when dressed up as "advice" and marketed to a general audience.  The Christian who seeks them is an idolater.  It is a slap in God's face to seek advice from horoscopes, unbiblical gurus, and anyone else falsely claiming wisdom from above.  It suggests that there might be a higher - or at least more accessible - source than God.  But He is the ultimate authority and He is available.  Why go anywhere else?

Seeking supernatural guidance is a biblical mandate. But we must take this mandate with care and discernment.  It cannot be just any supernatural guidance; it must be God's revelation.  Do not trust your emotions, your common sense, or the spiritual seductions of this age.  Depend on God alone.  Dare to live by genuine, exclusive faith. 

Thursday, June 26

Fearful First Steps

2 Corinthians 5:7 - "We live by faith, not by sight."

The problem most of us encounter in this life of faith is that we must base our decisions, our futures, our families, our jobs - our everything, in fact - on realities we cannot see.  Not only can we not see them clearly - though God will open our eyes to them more clearly if we ask - those around us cannot see them either.  That's where the misunderstandings, the rejection, and even the ridicule come in.  When we live by faith, we are at first uncertain of where we're going.  We can't see very far in front of us.  And our family members and friends are watching.  While we're barely understanding our next steps, they can't understand them at all.

The principles of this world are all based on sight.  Our human culture like tangible evidence.  It has learned to thrive on the limitations we've been given.  But start bucking those limitations and see how quickly your peers back off.  When you refuse to live by sight, you refuse to play the games of this world.  You reject its most foundational beliefs.  Religion is only speculative, we've been told.  Our world doesn't mind us believing whatever we want, as long as we don't base our lives on the unseen.  But when the eyes of faith are opened to the greater reality of God's Kingdom, the label of "unstable" or even "crazy" comes quickly.

Just ask Abraham, whose mission it was to move to a place he would be told of later, and who was promised a most improbable son.  Or Moses, who was called to demand from a hostile ruler the release of a million profitable slaves. Or Elisha, who was surrounded by vicious army, but more greatly encompassed by heavenly hosts.  Or Mary, who bore the Son of God by quite unconventional - and socially unacceptable - means.

Are you afraid to live by faith?  Welcome to the club.  But the Faith Hall of Fame in Hebrews 11 was made of such a club.  Be bold and forsake nearsightedness.  Faith sees more than sight ever can.

Friday, June 27

Fertile Lives

2 Corinthians 5:7 - "We live by faith, not by sight.

Most of us try to get through life on human wisdom.  Some of us succeed.  Others of us make so many mistakes that we die with innumerable regrets.  If only we could get guidance from above, we would get this "life" stuff right.  If only we could hear the voice of the One who knows. If only.

The truth is that we can.  The Voice has spoken.  His words are available to us.  But there's a catch.  We have to be willing to obey it.  Otherwise, we won't have what Jesus calls "ears to hear."  Those who obey what they already know of God have their ears opened to more; and those who have their ears open are readily obedient.  It's a precious cycle, conceived in the mind of God: Obedience begets hearing, which begets obedience, which begets hearing, which . . . you get the picture.

The life of faith is a life of obedience, and a life of obedience is a life of faith.  The root of the problem is the most of us have trouble, however minor it may be, with obedience.  We lose our "ears to hear," and as a result, we fall back on human wisdom.  Our lives never match those of the biblical heros.  Why?  Human wisdom would not have pushed Abraham up a hill to sacrifice his son; it would not have led God's people to the edge of the Red Sea with an army in pursuit; it would not have marched around Jericho seven times and blasted a trumpet for the wall to fall; it would not have matched David with Goliath in the valley; and, most strikingly, human wisdom would not have vilified the Son of God on a cross in order to save a wretched race.

Really, when it comes down to it, would you prefer to live by the human logic that results from losing your ears to hear? Or would you prefer the cutting-edge, risky-but-real life of a true, radical believer?  The answer isn't clear for everyone.  But we've seen who lasts.  Your Bible is full of their stories.  They lived by faith, not by sight.

Saturday, June 28

Abiding Love

1 Corinthians 13:13 - "And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love."

Human love sometimes grows lukewarm, even cold.  Yet, of all human emotions, love is apt to last the longest.  Stanza 2 of the song "How Can I Leave You?" reads,

Blue is the flowr'let

Called the Forget-me-not,

Wear it upon thy heart,

And think of me!

Flow'rlet and hope may die,

Yet love with us shall stay,

That cannot pass away,

Dear one, believe.

Even more lasting than romantic love - called eros in Greek - is love flowing from the Christian's faith in the love of God.  The Greek New Testament calls it agape.  The apostle Paul extols it in 1 Corinthians 13.  He speaks of love as giving validity to phenomena that would otherwise be passing - speech in superhuman and angelic tongues, prophecy, the understanding of mysteries, knowledge, heroic faith, works of charity, and self-sacrifice.  He boils everything to these three abiding virtues: faithfulness, hope and love, addeing, "But the greatest of these is love."

Much of what we hold in the Christian faith must await eternal life in heaven before it comes to fruition and completeness. Our knowledge is imperfect; some of the truths we hold in faith don't make sense because they surpass human understanding.  With love it's different.  It always makes sense; it doesn't have to be put away on a shelf as we await further enlightenment.  It is always in place, always applicable, always understandable in life's here and now.  How thankful we are that love abides!

Such love inheres in the love of God and in that great gift He gave:  His Son Jesus Christ.  Belieiving in Him, we have eternal life.  What is more, form that love springs our love to Him and to one another - abiding love.

Prayer Suggestion:  Pray for a greater measure of Christian love in your heart, and pray that it may abide.

Sunday, June 29

Pardon and Peace

Through Christ's sacrifice, our past is pardoned and our future secure. And, "Since we have been made right with God by our faith, we have peace with God" Romans 5:1.  Peace with God.  What a happy consequence of faith!  Not just peace between countries, peace between neighbors, or peace at home; salvation brings peace with God.

Once a monk and his apprentice traveled from the abbey to a nearby village.  The two parted at the city gates, agreeing to meet the next morning after completing their tasks.  According to plan, they met and began the long walk back to the abbey.  The monk noticed that the younger man was unusually quiet.  He asked him if anything was wrong, "What business it it of yours?" came the terse response.  

Now the monk was sure that his brother was troubled, but he said nothing.  The distance between the two began to increase.  The apprentice walked slowly, as if to separate himself from his teacher.  When the abbey came in sight, the monk stopped at the gate and waited for the student.  "Tell me, my son.  What troubles your soul?"

The boy started to react again, but when he saw the warmth in his master's eyes, his heart began to melt.  "I have sinned greatly," he sobbed.  "Last night I slept with a woman and abandoned my vows.  I am not worthy to enter the abbey at your side."

The teacher put his arm around the student and said, "We will enter the abbey together.  And we will enter the cathedral together.  And together we will confess your sin.  No one but God will know which of the two of us fell."

Doesn't that describe what God has done for us?  When we kept our sin silent, we withdrew from him.  We saw him as an enemy.  We took steps to avoid his presence.  But our confession of fault alters our perception.  God is no longer a foe, but a friend.  We are at peace with him.  He did more than the monk did, much more.  More than share in our sin, Jesus was "crushed for the evil we did.  The punishment which made us well was given to him" (Isaiah 53:5).  "He accepted the shame" (Hebrews 12:2).  He leads us into the presence of God.

Monday, June 30

What happens to our sins?

Micah 7:19 - "[You] hurl all our iniquities into the depths of the sea."

On the way home from church. Timmy was unusually quiet.  "What are you thinking about?" his dad asked.  "I was just wondering," Tim answered, "when God forgives us, where do our sins go?"

Good question.  Haven't you ever asked it?  At times we wonder about the sins of the past, especially those that like some tornado swooped down on us and left us with wreckage.  Every so often memories of them com back to haunt us.  Does God forgive - can God forgive that "special" sin? Or what about those run-of-the-mill sins, those pet sins that are so ingrained into the fabric of my life that I don't always recognize what they are?  Does God forgive - can God forgive when I come back again and again with the same old stuff?

"They're all gone," the psalmist tells me. "God has hurled them into the depths of the sea."  Jesus came to wrap all those sins into one gigantic ball, load it on the barge of his love, and dump it into the deepest part of the ocean.  What a picture!  God has paid for my sins with the blood of his Son.  He's put them totally out of his sight as if they never happened.

Where do my sins go?  Into the depths of the sea, where God no longer sees them and where he places the sign "No fishing allowed," so that I leave them alone too.

Lord, please remind me daily how you have

totally removed my sins through Jesus' blood.  Amen.

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.