Salvation in Titus

Through the book of Titus, Paul weaves an overview of salvation. Today I want to give that overview.

The Author of Salvation

Vs (1:3, 1:4) (3:4, 3:6) (2:9, 2:13)

Notice how these are grouped in the letter.

The Appearing of Salvation

Vs 2:11, 3:4, 2:13 (its final appearing)

Appearing in the Greek is epiphaino.  It means to bring to light, to become clearly known, to show or reveal one's self. It is also the word from which we get our word epiphany.

The Availability of Salvation

Vs 2:11, 3:4

Notice to whom salvation is made available.

The Application of Salvation

Vs 1:1

Now notice to whom salvation is applied.

The Act of Salvation

Vs 2:14, 3:5-7

Notice who does the redeeming and the saving.

The Actions of the Saved

Vs 2:11-14

Compare these verses with verse 16 of the previous chapter. As Luther said, "We are saved by faith alone, but not by a faith that is alone."

God's Greatest Joy

One of my favorite parables is found in Luke 15:1-7, as I believe it shows the true heart of God. In fact, this parable is located right before the parable of the prodigal son. The parable of the prodigal son is meant to illustrate the great truth shown in verses 1-7. Here are those verses. 

Now all the tax collectors and sinners were coming

near Him to listen to Him. Both the Pharisees and the

scribes began to grumble, saying, "This man receives 

sinners and eats with them." So He told them this parable 

saying, "What man among you, if he has a hundred sheep

and has lost one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine

in the open pasture and go after the one which is lost until

he finds it? When he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, 

rejoicing. And when he comes home, he calls together his 

friends and his neighbors, saying to them, 'Rejoice with me, 

for I have found my sheep which was lost!' I tell you in the 

same way, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner 

who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who

need no repentance."

What these verses tell us is that God's greatest joy is when someone turns from their sin and turns to Him. This great and wonderful truth is illustrated in the story of the prodigal son (vs 11-24) by the father who, from a distance, sees his lost son coming to him and runs to him in joy, embracing and kissing him, and holding a celebration for him.  

In a sense, this great joy of God should not surprise us, for because of His great love for us He gave His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, as a sacrifice on the cross for our sins. However, so many of us labor under a couple of popular misconceptions of God that veil our eyes from this truth. 

Misconception #1.

God is a God of wrath, who is eager and waiting to punish you, strike you down, and send you to hell because of your sin. We always hear the line about not standing to close to someone in case God zaps them for doing something wrong. You see, even using that line, which almost all of us have used, shows that we do have a sense that punishment for wrongdoing is right, and must be carried out for there to be true justice. Yes, if God is holy and righteous there must be and will be ultimate justice for any and all wrongdoing, but that doesn't mean that God just can't wait to get even or that He delights in some kind of barbaric punishment or that He chortles over the eternal damnation of anyone.

What the Bible tells us about God's heart and attitude toward men, all men, is just the opposite, not only do the parables mentioned above illustrate this truth, but here is what else the Bible (God speaking) reveals to us about it:

Ezekiel 18:23 "Do I have any pleasure in the death of the wicked," declares the Lord God, "rather than that he should turn from his ways and live."

Ezekiel 18:32 "For I have no pleasure in the death of anyone who dies," declares the Lord God. "Therefore, repent and live."

Ezekiel 33:11 "Say to them, 'As I live!' declares the Lord God, 'I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that the wicked turn from his way and live. Turn back, turn back from your evil ways! Why then will you die?"

I Timothy 2:3b-4...God our Savior, who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.

II Peter 3:9 The Lord is slow about His promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing any to perish, but for all to come to repentance.

So what we see here in these verses is God's desiring for all men and women to turn from their sin and come to Him for salvation and forgiveness of their sins and eternal life. 

Misconception #2.

God is a benign God who is somewhat detached from this world, but loves us as we are, and lets us set our own moral code and use our own guidelines for entering heaven (whatever our version of that may happen to be). This misconception totally misconstrues what the real love of God is. Let's see what the Bible tells us about this:

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

John 3:16 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.

Ephesians 2:1-8 And you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience. Among them we too all formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest. But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in  Christ Jesus, so that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no man may boast.

II Corinthians 5:21 He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. 

The real love of God is the love that moved God to have mercy and compassion on us by providing the means of forgiveness of our sins (the sacrifice of His Son Jesus Christ on the cross), and salvation (our acceptance by faith and our corresponding trust in the work that God has done on our behalf through Jesus Christ). God does not love us as we are, but loves us in spite of who we are (wicked, vile, disinterested, sinners, and His enemies). If God loves us like we are then there would have been no need to send Christ as the sacrifice for our sins.

The common thread that binds both of these misconceptions together is a faulty view of sin, not just sin in general, but our own sin in particular. Both views really downplay the heinous nature of all sin and how egregious sin is, all sin, any sin, to God. We all know what sin is, and we all know that we have sinned. However, have we grasped how serious even one sin is? Again, let's take a look at what the Bible says.

Leviticus 11:44 "For I am the Lord your God. Consecrate yourselves therefore, and be holy, for I am holy.

Romans 3:23 For all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.

Ezekiel 18:4 Behold, all souls are Mine; the soul of the father as well as the soul of the son is Mine. The soul who sins will die.

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

Psalm 14:2-3 The Lord has looked down from heaven upon the sons of men to see if there are any who understand, who seek after God. they have all turned aside, together they have become corrupt; there is no one who does good, not even one. 

Because God is holy, any sin and all sin, is an affront to His holiness and is worthy of death. Because He is just, no sin can be overlooked or swept under the carpet. Because He is righteous all sin(s) will receive a just judgment, a right recompense, and a proper punishment.

Because of His great love He has placed all the sins of those who will come to Him in faith upon Christ, and Christ has born the punishment for those sins in our stead.

So, at the cross we see the justice of God, the mercy of God, and the love of God on full display.

Because of God's understanding of the justice and its right recompense that awaits all who sin, and because of God's love providing a way for the payment of the penalty due for every sin, God therefore takes great pleasure and has unbounding joy in the salvation of those who by faith in Christ and His finished work on the cross turn to Him for forgiveness and salvation.

Have you heard His voice calling you to come home to Him? Will you answer that call and turn to Him? Will you forsake all else for His salvation? Will you trust in what He has done to save you from the right and just consequences of a life that is lived apart from Him? Will you call your sin as that which it is and call out to the Lord for His forgiveness? For when you do there will be great joy in heaven among all its hosts for the salvation and preservation of your soul; and the Father Himself, the God and Creator of all that is, will run to meet you.

What God Begins, God Finishes

For I am confident of this very thing, 

that He who began a good work in you

will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus.

Philippians 1:6

Life is the Lord's finishing school, as He uses all of what we encounter to continually conform us into the image of Christ until we are complete in Him. He leaves nothing unused as He works all things together for our good, and our good is to become more like Christ. He has begun the work of salvation in us and will continue in that work until it is perfectly accomplished. So, my fellow saints, rejoice this day that He is busy at work in you. Rejoice that He will not leave undone the good work that He has started, and will continue to work in you to accomplish His good pleasure for His glory, and your complete salvation.

The Lord will accomplish what concerns

me; Your lovingkindness, O Lord, 

is everlasting...

Psalm 138:8

Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify

you entirely; and may your spirit and soul and

body be preserved complete, without blame

at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Faithful is He who calls you, and He will also

bring it to pass.

I Thessalonians 5:23-24

Coming to Christ

                                               

                                           All that the Father gives Me will come to Me,

and the one who comes to Me I will certainly not cast out.

John 6:37

We come to Him because we have believed in Him, and upon Him we have cast all our hope for our eternal salvation. We come to Him because we depend upon His finished work, His once for all sacrifice, His blood bought redemption, and nothing else. We come to Him because He, and He alone, is the the way, the truth, and the life; and we know that there is no other way to enter heaven and stand before the throne of God except through Him. We come to Him because He alone is the Holy One of God, and He alone has the words of eternal life. We come to Him and Him alone.

Come to Jesus, come to Christ, come to your one and only Savior today. Come to Him casting all that you are and all that you have upon all that He is and all that He has done. Behold, He stands with His arms open to receive you! Cast aside all that hinders you and come to Him now, delay no longer.

Twelve Reasons Our Salvation Is Secure

 1. We have been baptized into Christ Jesus, and united with Him in His death, and then certainly in His resurrection. Romans 6:3-6

2. We have become partakers (koinonos--joint sharers, partners) of the divine nature. II Peter 1:4

3. We have an inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away, and, which is reserved in heaven for us. I Peter 1:4

4. We are protected by the power of God for a salvation which will be revealed (fully brought to light, fully manifested) when Christ returns. I Peter 1:5

5. Because we are in Christ, there is no longer, forever, any condemnation on us. Romans 8:1, Psalm 34:22

6. When we sin we have an Advocate who stands before the Father on our behalf, who always lives to make intercession for us and plead our cause before God against all of the cries of the accuser. This Advocate was also the one who made propitiation (satisfaction of the wrath and penalty) for our sins through His own death in our stead, and thus He saves forever those who come to Him in repentance and faith. I John 2:1-2, Psalm 119:154, Hebrews 7:25, Romans 5:6-8, Romans 8:33-34, Revelation 12:10

7. It is Christ Himself who has laid hold of us for salvation, never to let us go. Philippians 3:12, John 10:28-30

8. Nothing created...no circumstance, no power, no angel, nothing yet to come, nor ruler can separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 8:35-39

9. The Father would not dishonor the sacrifice of the Son by letting one for whom the Son paid the penalty of the Father's wrath, not make it into heaven and be raised up on the last day. John 6:37-40

10. God has sealed our salvation by the Holy Spirit, who is also His pledge (down payment, escrow) of our inheritance which is reserved for us in heaven. Ephesians 1:13-14, 4:30, II Corinthians 1:21-22

11. What God has started, the work of His salvation in us, He will complete. Philippians 1:6

12. All of the promises of our salvation are made sure and complete in Christ. I Corinthians 1:20

So, my friends, rejoice in the security and therefore the surety of your salvation. Let us offer up a prayer of thanksgiving and praise to our great God, and His great Son our Lord and Savior, for the greatness of this salvation, His making it available to us, His making its accomplishment in us fool-proof, and the confidence this gives us in our relationship with Him. What a wonderful God! What beautiful truths!

Sensational Works or Simple Faith

Matthew 7:21 Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter. 22 "Many will say to Me on that day, ' Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?' 23 And then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you,' Depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness.' 

Look at what these people are claiming as their basis of right standing as they stand before the Lord on that day. It is not faith, but works, and not just any works, but sensational works; and not just any sensational works, but sensational works done in His name. The three works they claim are prophesying, casting out demons, and performing many miracles/works of power (Hmm, sounds like a certain persuasion today). What were these people trusting in for their salvation? They were trusting in their own sensational religious works and not in Christ. They were not doing the will of the Father and therefore were workers of iniquity/practicers of lawlessness. What then is the will of God that we are to do to assure us an entrance into the kingdom of heaven? It is that we believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, on Him alone, on His person and His finished work for our salvation. There can be nothing more and there is nothing less. 

The context that this sensational claim is made in is interesting because in verses 12-14 Christ says that the gate is wide and the way is broad that lead to destruction, but the gate is small and the way is narrow that lead to life, and few there be that find it. (A friend once made the comment that both gates have the same sign, "This Way to Heaven" but only one takes you there.) In verses 15-20 Christ tells us to beware the false prophets who come to us in sheep's clothing, but that we will know them by their fruits (see also Hebrews 13:7). Then in verses 24-29 Christ says that it is the wise man who hears His words and acts on them, but the fool is the one who hears His word and does not act upon it (see James 1:22). 

Christ is the narrow gate and the narrow way. Religion is the broad way, and the broad gate. Religion says chart your own course to God, choose what you want to believe, what you want to do, believe that there is something you can do to achieve right standing before God. False prophets tell you they know the way, so follow them. They even claim sensational works to back it up. However, they will always lead you away from Christ never to Him. We can know them by their fruits, the result of their conduct, and not be led astray by their sensational works and claims. It is the wise man who hears Christ say, " I am the way, the truth, and the life. Come to the Father through Me." and then follows Christ and Him alone. It is the fool who hears the same words, but decides to make his own way, chart his own course, and great is His fall. 

So, where are you today, my friend? What are you depending on for your entrance into the eternal kingdom of God? Is it your confession, your baptism, your prayer, your attendance, your tithing, something you have done or are doing now, or is it Christ Jesus and His finished work on the cross? Are you depending on yourself or on what God has done for you in Christ? Religion is what man can do to get to God. Christianity is what God has done to bring man to Himself. Where does your faith rest today, on yourself, or in the power of God in the cross of Christ? Think about it, weigh it carefully, consider it wisely because your eternal destiny hangs in the balance. 

Working the Work of God

 In John 6, after Jesus had fed the multitudes, the next day the crowd came after Him on foot and in boats, all the way across the sea of Galilee. Jesus rebuked them for following after Him only to have their stomachs filled. Picking up in verse 27 and starting with Jesus, let's look at the interchange that took place at that point. "Do not work for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you, for on Him the Father has set His seal." Therefore they said to Him, "What shall we do, so that we may work the works of God?" Jesus answered and said to them, "This is the work of God, that you believe in Him who He has sent."

The question posed to Jesus was legitimate for the religious environment at that time. Israel was under the influence of the Pharisees who had reduced the Law to a system of works. They had their religious works honed finer than a gnat's eyelash, and were very zealous in the protection and promotion of their system of works righteousness. The whole system was based on works, many of which were mutations of the Law, which led them to a state of spiritual bankruptcy where they were like white washed tombs, clean and pristine on the outside, but full of death and decay on the inside. This is why Christ told the crowd in the Sermon on the Mount that their righteousness must exceed that of the Scribes and Pharisees, as it is not the external accomplishment of a set of religious duties, but doing the will of God from the heart that constitutes the work of God. This is what Christ expressed when he told them that the work of God was to believe in the One whom God had sent, Christ Himself.  

What then does it mean to believe in the One whom God has sent? Saving faith has two components, and both are centered in Christ. First there is the belief in the person of Christ, that He is all that the Bible says that He is; and the Bible tells us that He is fully both God and man, the Savior, and the only way to God (in fact, these were things that Christ actually said about Himself).  

The other component or element of saving faith is to believe on the finished work of Christ. This entails believing (accepting and not rejecting) that Christ lived a perfect and sinless life in our stead before God by always doing the will of God, not in a perfunctory way, but from the heart. Read through the gospel of John and see how this is laid out for us to see, and is culminated in John 14:31. This pure sinless life qualified Christ to be the sacrifice for our sins in our stead, a sinless man suffering the eternal wrath of God for all the sins of those who would place their faith in Him as the Savior and believe in the completeness of His sacrifice for those sins. This means that we trust Christ's work and not our own.

You cannot work your way to God, no matter how sincere you are nor how hard you try. The only acceptable work before God is what Christ accomplished by living the life he lived and dying the death that He died. We must accept who He is and trust in what He has done. This is what is behind the exclusivity of the Christian faith. There is only One who lived the sinless life, there is only One who qualified to be the one time for all time sacrifice for sins, and that is the God-man Jesus Christ. Christ is the One whom God sent to be the Savior for all mankind, for all of those who would turn to Him and Him alone to be their Savior.

This is the work of God, my friends, to believe in the One whom God has sent, for on Him God has set His seal of approval for the works He accomplished on behalf of all that will come to Him in repentance and faith. Don't delay any longer, cease from believing that you are good enough to determine your own way into heaven and accept the work that Christ has done on your behalf.

Whose Direction are You Following and Where Does it Lead?

The ancient Greek playwright, Euripides once said, "The wisest men follow their own direction." However the Bible says this in Proverbs 14:12 and 16:25, "There is a way which seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death." Man's own direction for his life always follows the broad path that leads to destruction, for he always goes astray in his heart.

Our gracious and compassionate God has given man His word, His direction, His way, and His path in the Bible. Hear His word today! Choose God's path today! Heed His call today! Follow His direction today! Forsake your own way and call upon Him while He is near, asking for His direction for your life; and He will have mercy upon you and will direct you to and set you on the path that leads to eternal life.

The path to God is centered in Jesus Christ. Jesus said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me." We must follow Christ in order to find the path to eternal life; and to follow Christ we must turn from following our own direction for our life (repent), and believe that the direction to God lies solely in Him.

God's direction will always and ultimately lead to eternal life. Forsake setting your own direction, and follow His today!

Three Blessings of Justification

The main thing that Paul does in the book of Romans is to lay out the great foundational truths of the gospel. In the section from Romans 3:21-5:21 Paul presents great truths of salvation, truths that run contra to man's self-righteous and self-sufficient sensibilities; and the great truth he presents in verses 3:21-4:25 is justification by faith alone. So in Romans 5:1-2 Paul gives us three benefits, three blessings that are ours that result from being justified by faith. Because we have been justified by faith:

1. We have Peace with God

2. We enter into grace and stand in grace

3. We have hope of the glory of God  (which is a cause of exulting)

Before we get into the benefits of justification, though, we want to see how we have come to possess these wonderful benefits. It is through Christ that we have these blessings. He is the means through whom God has blessed us. We have peace with God and stand in grace through Christ. This peace with God and this grace from God are ours through Christ, and they are the foundation of our hope in the glory of God. It is through Christ that God grants us peace and grace (why else does Paul constantly say "Grace and peace to you?"); and because of the reality of these blessings we have hope of the glory of God. God has given us so much through His Son. The Bible is replete with verses that communicate this to us. Such as:

Romans 8:31b-32…If God is for us who is against us, who is against us?  He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him over for us all, how will He not also with Him freely give us all things?

I Corinthians 8:3 yet for us there is but one God, the Father, from whom are all things, and we exist for Him; and one Lord, Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we exist through Him.

Now let's look at a brief outline of the benefits listed by Paul.

Peace with God

The peace we have with God is the peace that God has made

Blessed are the peacemakers for they shall be called sons of God. God is the peace maker, He is the one who has reconciled with us, not us with Him. People talk frequently about making their peace with God, but it is God that has made peace with man through His Son. Romans 5:10 tells us that while we were still enemies God reconciled with us. II Corinthians 5:21 tells us that it was God in Christ reconciling the world to Himself. Listen to these words from the Lord.

Colossians 1:19-20 It was the Father’s good pleasure…through Him to reconcile all things to Himself, having made peace through the blood of His cross…

God has made peace with man, not by means of force, but by means of sacrifice, the sacrifice of His only begotten Son.

The peace we have with God is the peace Christ had with God

John 14:27 Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you…..

John 16:33 These things I have spoken to you, so that in Me you may have peace.

The peace we have with God is the perfect peace that Christ has with Him.

The peace we have with God is proclaimed in the gospel

Acts 10:36 The word which He sent to the sons of Israel, preaching peace through Jesus Christ (He is Lord of all)—

Ephesians 6:15 and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace

Ephesians 2:17 and He came and preached peace to you who were far away, and peace to those who were near.

The gospel is the good news of peace, it is the proclamation one can have peace, and its resulting harmony and unity, with God Himself.

This peace with God is the hallmark of our relationship with Him

Colossians 1:21-22a And although you were formerly alienated and hostile in mind, engaged in evil deeds, yet He has now reconciled you in His fleshly body through death

Romans 8:6-7 For the mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace, because the mind set on the flesh is hostile toward God; for it does not subject itself to the law of God, for it is not even able to do so.

In our mindset, in our thoughts, we are no longer at odds with God, but have a sweet and abiding peace with Him.  

The peace we have with God is the foundation of our hope

Romans 15:13 Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you  will abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

We enter into grace and stand in grace

The word for stand is histemi, which means to be fixed, or established, to be kept intact, to be immovable. Through Christ, as a result of our justification by faith, we enter into a state of grace in which we are fixed and established, never to be moved or removed.

John 1:14…the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth…..For of His fullness we have all received, and grace upon grace.

Ephesians 1:6 to the praise of the glory of His grace, which He freely bestowed upon us in the Beloved.

Ephesians 1:7b-8a…according to the riches of His grace which He lavished on us….

II Timothy 1:9 who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was granted us in Christ Jesus from all eternity.

II Timothy 2:1 You therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus.

We have hope of the glory of God  (which is a cause of exulting)

What is it about this hope that causes a boastful rejoicing on our behalf? It is because it is not hope in general, but a specific hope, a hope of the glory of God. What is it about this glory that causes such a response on our part?

It is an eschatological glory

I John 3:2-3 Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not appeared as yet what we will be.  We know that when He appears, we will be like Him, because we will see Him just as He is.  And everyone who has this hope fixed on Him, purifies himself, just as He is pure.

I Corinthians 15:42-43 So also is the resurrection of the dead.  It is sown a perishable body, it is raised an imperishable body; it is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power….

It is a predestined glory

Romans 8:30 and those whom He predestined, He also called; and these whom he called, he also justified; and these whom He justified, He glorified.

I Peter 5:10…the God of all grace who called you to His eternal glory in Christ…

II Timothy 1:9 who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was granted us in Christ Jesus from all eternity.

It is the glory of Christ

John 17:22,24 The glory which You have given Me I have given to them, that they may be one, just as We are one…Father, I desire that they also, whom You have given Me, be with Me where I am, so that they may see My glory which You have given Me, for You loved Me before the foundation of the world.

Romans 8:16-17 The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him so that we may also be glorified with Him.

I Thessalonians 1:9-10 These will pay the penalty of eternal destruction away from the presence of the Lord and the glory of His power, when He comes to be glorified in His saints on that day, and to be marveled at among all who believe….

Colossians 3:4 When Christ, who is our life, is revealed, then you also will be revealed with Him in glory.

I Peter 1:7 so that the proof of your faith, being more precious that gold which is perishable, may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.

Philippians 3:20-21 For our citizenship is in heaven, from which also we eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ; who will transform the body of our humble state into conformity with the body of His glory, by the exertion of the power that He has even to subject all things to Himself.

It is a glory that belongs only to those of the household of God

Romans 8:21 that the creation itself also will be set free from its slavery of corruption into the freedom of the glory of the children of God.

I Peter 5:1 Therefore, I exhort the elders among you, as your fellow elder and witness of the sufferings of Christ , and a partaker also of the glory that is to be revealed…

Yes, the greatest benefit of being justified by faith is that on that day, when the Lord comes back, and the dead in Christ are raised, each in his own order, we shall be raised with a body that is imperishable and glorious, just like our Lord's, for we know that when He appears we shall be like Him because we will see Him just as He is (I John 3:2). It is the day when our salvation will be complete. This indeed is a cause of exultation now because of our confident expectation of God's fulfillment of His many promises to us. 

The Psalmist tells us to taste and see that the Lord is good. These are but three of the many blessings that we have as a result of our justification. Being justified brings us into union with Christ, and being in union with Christ is being in a state of blessedness; and in being blessed we taste and see the goodness of God to us. I hope that we all taste and see that goodness and that it does not go unnoticed, unappreciated, or becomes taken for granted; but that it is an ever present reality in which we live.

 

Faith, Hope, and Love in the Church: Faith

Faith, Hope, and Love in the Church

Colossians 1:3-5a

The Object of Our Faith      

1:3 We give thanks to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you, 4. since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and the love which you have for all the saints; 5. because of the hope laid up for you in heaven…

Here we see both Paul and Timothy giving thanks for the Colossians in their prayers for them.  Thanksgiving is an exercise that is motivated by joy, it is an expression of joy and here it is expressed to the source of the joy, who is God Himself.  What do we see about the Colossians that would be the occasion of joy and its corresponding thanksgiving by Paul and Timothy?  From the text we see it is their faith, love, and hope, and according to Paul in I Corinthians 13 faith, hope, and love are the three eternal qualities, three divine distinctives, and we see that these three are present and active in the life of the church at Colossae.  It is interesting to note that there is only one other church in the NT that we see mentioned as manifesting all three of these divine qualities and that is the church at Thessalonica.

While both churches are commended for manifesting these qualities, how they manifest them is different.  In Thessalonica they are manifested in the activity of faith, the sacrifice of love, and the steady enduring of hope.  Here in Colossae they are revealed through the object of their faith - Jesus Christ; the direction of their love - toward all the saints; and the place of their hope - which is in heaven.  Let’s consider how these three divine distinctives are lived out in the church at Colossae while remembering that for these qualities to be lived out in the church they must be lived out in the lives of the people in the church.

First, let’s look at the object of our faith—Jesus Christ.

Well, what is faith?

Hebrews 11:1 Faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen

Martin Luther describes faith as a living, daring confidence in God’s grace, so sure and certain that a man could stake his life on it a thousand times.

The biblical word for faith is pistis, which means a firm persuasion, a strong conviction, a belief in the truth, it is not the outcome of imagination or emotion, but based on fact. It is a strong and welcome conviction that leaves no room for doubt.  It is to be fully and completely persuaded beyond a shadow of any doubt.  Out of this is conviction is born trust and the concept of trusting is implicit in the understanding of what it means to have faith.  In fact, trust is the dynamic component of faith.  Faith then must have a foundation to rest on, an object in which to place its trust.  So for the Christian the object of our faith and the place of our trust is Jesus Christ.

Before we get to the object of our faith, Christ Jesus, it is interesting to note what Paul did not include as the object of our faith.  It is not having faith in our denominational affiliation, our family heritage, or our church membership as that is having faith in the agency of man.  It is not faith in our faith, faith in a prayer we prayed or a decision that we made, because this would be having faith in ourselves.  It is not faith in walking the aisle, faith in our baptism or our tithing, faith in the good things we do, or faith in our obedience as that would be having faith in our works, which, again, is no more than having faith in ourselves. 

Here Paul gives us only one object for our faith to rest upon, one place for our trust, and that is Christ Jesus.  Now, we need to understand there is a dual component to having faith in Christ.  It is having faith in the person of Christ, which is represented by His name and having faith in the work of Christ, which is what He did to accomplish our salvation, and therefore trusting only in all that Christ is and all that He has done in securing your salvation.  Without faith in both the person and work of Christ you do not have a complete faith and a faith that is not complete is not a faith that saves.  Adding anything to this is taking your trust off of Christ and is not saving faith.  It is interesting to note here that all cults or false religions that call themselves Christian be in error either on the person of Christ or the work of Christ.

 

Now let’s look at what is in His name.

Jesus—Jehovah is salvation-God is Salvation-Savior

Christ—Messiah-anointed One-King of Israel, to be anointed was to be appointed or set apart for a specific task or duty.  So in the very name of Christ Himself we see that He was the appointed One, the Holy One Himself, the One set apart to achieve our salvation.

The Person of Christ

Isaiah 7:14 Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign:  Behold, a virgin will be with child and bear a son, and she will call his name Immanuel.

Matthew 1: 20-21—the angel appeared to Joseph and said, 21—She will bear a Son; and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.

Luke 2:11 (When the angels appeared to the shepherds)  For today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. 

John 1:41—(Andrew) He found first his own brother Simon and said to him, “We have found the Messiah” (Which translated means Christ).

John 3:16 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 6:69 We have believed and have come to know that You are the Holy One of God.

John 8:24 …for unless you believe that I am He, you will die in your sins.

John 10:30  I and the Father are one.

John 20:31—but these have been written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing you may have life in His name.

Acts 4:12 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 2:21 And it shall be that everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.

Acts 10:43  Of Him all the prophets bear witness that through His name everyone who believes in Him receives forgiveness of sins.

Acts 22:16  Now why do you delay?  Get up and be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on His name.

I Timothy 2:5  For there is one God, and one mediator also between God and man, the man Christ Jesus.

Matthew 12:21 And in His name the Gentiles will hope.

Matthew 16:13-16, 13—Who do people say that I am?  15-But who do you say that I am

16—Simon Peter answered, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”

John 1:12 But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name (believing in His name means believing He is the Savior)

John 2:23 Now when He was in Jerusalem at the Passover, during the feast, many believed in His name, observing His signs which He was doing.

John 3:18 He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.

So the question for us today is not any different.  Who do you believe that Christ is, and who do you say that He is?

The Work of Christ

Luke 19:10 For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.

Romans 4:25 He who was delivered over because of our transgressions, and was raised because of our justification.

Romans 10:9 that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved…

I Corinthians 15:3-8, 3 For I delivered to you as of first importance what  I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4. and that he was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, 5-8 then He appeared…

II Corinthians 5:21—He made Him who knew no sin to become sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.

Hebrews 4:15—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.

Hebrews 7:26-27—For it was fitting for us to have such a high priest, holy, innocent, undefiled, separated from sinners and exalted above the heavens; 27.-who does not need daily, like those high priests, to offer up sacrifices, first for His own sins and then for the sins of the people, because this He did once for all when He offered up Himself.

Hebrews 9:11-12—But when Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things to come, He entered through the greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this creation; 12.-and not through the blood of goats and calves, but through His own blood, He entered the holy place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption.

Hebrews 10:10 By this will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.

Hebrews 10:12  but He, having offered one sacrifice for sins for all time, sat down at the right hand of God

Hebrews 10:14 For by one offering He has perfected for all time those who are sanctified.

Hebrews 7:25—Therefore He is able also to save forever those who drew near to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them.

Hebrews 5:9—And having been made perfect, He became to all those who obey Him the source of eternal salvation

Hebrews 12:2 Fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.----John 17:3 

This is why Romans 8:11 tells us “For the Scripture says, Whoever believes in Him will not be disappointed.”

Our faith is based on facts, truth, real events that transpired around a real person.  God did not decree that our faith should be based on whims or notions or meditations or fairy tales.  He gave as a real person and a real event for our faith to rest upon. He did not leave it up to each person to find their own path to heaven or to figure out how to have eternal security. God has done everything necessary for our salvation in and through Christ, and that is why it necessary for us to believe in Him and Him alone for our eternal salvation.  Let's look at who the Lord chose to author the New Testament books.

Matthew—eyewitness, an apostle

John—eyewitness, apostle, laid on Jesus bosom at the last supper

Mark—discipled by Peter, an apostle

Luke—traveled with Paul and interviewed eyewitnesses

James—The brother of Jesus

Jude—The brother of Jesus

Paul—Christ appeared to him, went from violent oppressor to passionate follower

Peter—eyewitness, an apostle

I John—what we beheld and our hands handled (statement of the reality of His person)

II Peter—we were eyewitnesses to His majesty (statement of the reality of His deity)

We have the infinite and eternal God who broke into time and space by becoming flesh and blood.  He lived a real life, died a real death, was raised and ascended to heaven—all real events with eyewitnesses.  God did not leave us with fables, or tales, or our own vain imaginings, but a real person and a real work upon which our faith can rest and by which we have a sufficient security for our eternal state. To paraphrase A.W. Pink the work of Christ did not make our salvation possible, it made it certain.  Our task according to John 6:29 is to believe in Christ whom God has sent. 

Jesus Christ was the object of faith for the people in the church as Colossae.  Are you trusting in Jesus Christ, His person and His work, for your eternal security?  Do you believe the words of Scripture to be true?  Is this what your faith rests upon?

Christ, the Gift of Christmas

But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right

to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name.

John 1:12

We celebrate Christmas by giving gifts in honor of the gift of His Son that the Lord gave to us.  But as with any giving, there must be receiving.  The gift must be taken; and in regards to the gift of Christ, He must be appropriated, taken into one's self and made a part of one's self.  For, after all, He is the gift of God. All of salvation is bound up in Christ. In Him are found salvation, justification, righteousness, sanctification, glorification, reconciliation, peace, hope, joy, security, spiritual life, and eternal life.

How do you know you have received the gift?

1. You cling to Him with a tenacity and a ferocity as you would cling for dear life to a rock, even when battered and bruised by the waves of the storm, but refusing to let go and be taken under. You know and understand He is your only hope.

2. Your trust is in Him and Him alone, and you refuse to trust in yourself, your ability to keep your own set of rules. You don’t trust in your self-made righteousness. You refuse to trust in a system, a decision, a prayer, an event, an action, but your only and total trust is in Him.

3.Jesus said, “My sheep know My voice.” So you know His voice and you listen for His voice above the cacophony of the competing voices of this world. It is  to His beat that you march, not the world’s or your own. It is His approval that you crave. It is His voice you long to hear, and it is His presence that is most dear.

4. He is your most precious treasure, the most precious gift you have ever been given. He is the pearl of great price by which all else pales in comparison. He is the One for whom you would forsake all others. He is most precious, most dear to you, more special than your family, your friends, than all comforts, than all your stuff. He is more precious and more dear then all the trinkets of this world; more precious, more dear than your pride, your reputation, yes, and even more precious than life itself.

Have you received Christ? Have you received the indescribable gift that God Himself has made available to all the world.  Receive Him today and take into yourself the full and true meaning of Christmas, and rejoice in the Christmas of God.

God's Grace for the Prodigal Son

The story of the prodigal son in Luke 15:11-32 is the most beautiful picture of the grace of God in the Bible. Grace is the term the Bible uses to describe the unconditional favor that God bestows on any and all that come to Him. It means that He is favorably disposed to those who come, He does not count their past against them (II Corinthians 5:21), He is eager to receive them and forgive them (Psalm 86:5), He will abundantly pardon them (Isaiah 55:7), and He will keep them and never let them go (Romans 8:35-39). This grace is everyone's for the asking.

In the story of the prodigal son we see God's grace for those will repent and turn to Him. God's grace is exemplified in this story, a truly amazing story of an amazing God. What makes the story so amazing and so compelling is that there is a sense in which all of us fit into the role of the prodigal. Some of us have never considered having a relationshiop with God, others of us have been close to God, but for reasons much like the prodigal in the story, we have wandered away from God. In either case we have found ourselves in a far country, far away from the love of the Father who created us in His likeness.

Despite our distance from Him, and despite the reason(s) for our distance from Him, He is eager and willing to take us to Himself if we would but lift up our eyes and heart toward Him. The picture in this story of the father lifting up his robe to run to the son coming home, is a beautiful picture of the joyous response God has when we come to Him; and this joyous response is for whomever will come, no matter who they are.

And come we may, but we must come to the Father through the Son, the Lord Jesus Christ (John 14:6).  This is the way God has provided for us to come to Him, into His very presence. Christ lived a perfect life by being perfectly obedient to the will of the Father (John 14:31) for us, and then dying for the sins of all who would believe in Him and turn to Him as the Savior. So, because of His life and His sacrifice, He is the only way to come to God. It is the grace of our good God that has provided a way to come to Him and be with Him for all eternity, when we were totally impotent to make a way to Him on our own.

How about you my friend?  Are you in that far country, far away from God; or are you near, but yet so far away, as the other brother in the story. In either case, turn to God and He will come running to meet you with arms wide open and joy in His heart.

Spiritual Enablement and Empowerment

...faith involves both renunciation and reliance.

We have to first renounce all confidence in our

own power and then rely entirely on the power 

of the Holy Spirit.  We must be enabled, not merely

helped.  What's the difference?  The word help implies 

we have some ability but not enough; we need 

someone else to supplement our partially adequate

ability.  By contrast, enablement implies that we 

have no ability whatsoever.  We're entirely powerless.

We can do nothing.  But when by faith we renounce 

self-sufficiency and embrace reliance on the power

of the Holy Spirit, we receive divine empowerment,

enablement, and strength for personal transformation

and ministry.

Jerry Bridges

Bob Bevington

The Bookends of the Christian Life

Page 85

Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear

fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can

you unless you abide in Me. I am the vine, you are the 

branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears

much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing.

John 15:4-5

Blessed is man who trusts in the Lord and whose

trust is the Lord.

Jeremiah 17:7

A faith that does not rest fully on the Lord is an incomplete faith, a faith that is not fully mature. In one way or the other, this applies to all of us. I am reminded of the man who called out to Jesus, "I believe, help my unbelief."  This is a cry that all of us could make. Our faith should rest fully on Christ, both for our salvation and our sanctification. Just as we did not begin our spiritual life without the regenerating power of the Holy Spirit, we cannot live our spiritual life apart from His enabling power.

In applying this to our lives, it should even affect how we pray. How many times have we asked the Lord to help us versus empower or enable us? Yes, we are responsible, and we must act and we must do; but in our acting and doing He is the One enabling and empowering. The Scriptures do not give us a formula for this, for faith does not have a formula. We walk by faith, faith in Him and not in ourselves, which should lead to trust in Him and not in ourselves.

When I was a child, my mother would never let me use the phrase 'I can't' for her reply would be, "Can't never could do anything." Then she would tell me the story of the little engine who could, and for those who don't know the story, the little engine would chant, "I know I can, I know I can." as he was pulling the huge load up the steep hill. This kind of human effort, the positive can do attitude, has polluted our minds, and is one of the humanisms we bring into our faith; and it rides into our Christian life on the back of our pride.

Renunciaton and reliance are an assault on our human pride, and require a submissive humility, which again, is quite impossible without His enabling power. It is only after we have been humbled by our spiritual impotency to overcome sin and to be pleasing to God, that we will ask for forgiveness and acceptance from Him so that we may be saved; and it is in a continued submissive humility that we ask for enablement and empowerment to live the life He has called us to live.

Even to the end, our spiritual life is designed so that the Lord receives the glory for it, not us. For all things are from Him, through Him, and to Him, and we exist for Him; and let us remember that we can do all things through......Him who strengthens us.  

Conviction and Repentance

Turn to Me and be saved, 

all the ends of the earth;

for I am God, and there is not other.

Isaiah 45:22

For they themselves report about us 

what kind of reception we had with you,

and how you turned to God from idols

to serve a living and true God, and to 

wait for His Son from heaven...

I Thessalonians 1:9-10a

Now after John had been taken into custody, 

Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel

of God, and saying, "The time is fulfilled, and 

the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and

believe in the gospel.

Mark 1:14-15

Recognition of sin is important. However, conviction of sin is not salvation, and neither does conviction of sin save anyone.  Rather it is the turning from sin, and turning to God that saves.  Repentance springs out of a heart that has been convicted of sin, but there are many who, after being convicted of their sin, never turn from their sin to God (Mark 10:17-22)

Repentance is that turning of mind, the changing of mind, the about face in the mind that causes one to turn his back on his sin, his anti-God attitude and lifestyle, and turn to God.  And it is not a momentary turn, but a turn that lasts a lifetime.  For once he has turned to God he continues to follow after God, and leaves his sinful lifestyle further and further behind, like watching the receding horizon in the rear view mirror as the car's path takes it further away from where it was before.