Salvation and Sanctification

Most people have heard of the three tenses of salvation:

Past...We have been saved from the penalty of sin.
Romans 5:9 Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from the wrath of God through Him.  (I Thessalonians 1:9-10)
Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Romans 8:1 There is therefore now not condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.

Present...We are being saved from the power of sin.
Romans 6:14 For sin shall not be master over you, for you are not under law but under grace.
Romans 6:17-18 But thanks be to God that though you were slaves of sin, you became obedient from the heart to that form of teaching to which you were committed, and having been freed from sin,you became slaves of righteousness.
Galatians 5:1 It was for freedom that Christ set us free.  (John 8:31-36, Romans 6:5-13)

Future....We will be saved from the presence of sin.
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.
(I Corinthians 15:52-57, Revelation 21-22)

In a very similar fashion we also see the three aspects of sanctification. To be sanctified is to be set apart from sin, and set apart to God. It is to be set apart from seeking our own pleasure, our own way, and our own purposes, so as to seek God's pleasure and accomplish His will in all that we do. It is to be spiritually taken out of the world and placed into Christ. In a practical sense it is to be repurposed and reoriented. In a spiritual sense it is to be conformed to the image of Christ.

We are sanctified:

Positionally...we have been sanctified
I Corinthians 1:30 but by His doing you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification.
I Peter 1:1-2 To those...who are chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father by the sanctifying work of the Spirit

Progressively...we are being sanctified and are becoming more sanctified
I Thessalonians 4:4 that each of you know how to possess his own vessel in sanctification
Hebrews 12:14 Pursue peace with all men, and the sanctification without which no one will see the Lord.
Philippians 2:12-13 So then, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your salvation with fear trembling; for it is God who is at work in you both to will and to work for his good pleasure.
I Thessalonians 4:3 For this is the will of God, your sanctification...
Romans 8:28-29b And we know that God cause all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son...
II Peter 3:17-18 You therefore, beloved, knowing this beforehand, be on your guard so that you are not carried away by the error of unprincipled men and fall from your own steadfastness, but grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ...

Perfectly...we will be sanctified completely
Philippians 1:6 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.
Colossians 1:28 We proclaim Him, admonishing every man and teaching every man with all wisdom, so that we may present every man complete in Christ.
I Thessalonians 5:23-24 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 called you, and He will bring it to pass.
I John 3:2 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.

Salvation and sanctification are inextricably linked, and you cannot have one apart from the other. God's will for us is encompassed in our salvation and accomplished through our sanctification. Romans 6:22 But now having been freed from sin and enslaved to God, you derive your benefit, resulting in sanctification, and the outcome, eternal life. Sanctification then is the means by which God separates us from sin unto Himself, first positionally, then progressively, and finally, perfectly.

Where are you in the sanctification process, my friend? Have you been separated and freed from sin so that you do not practice sin as a habit of life and can say no to sin (I John 3:9-10)?  Have you experienced His enabling power so as to do His will (Hebrews 13:20-21)?  Is the growing desire of your heart to please Him all the more (II Corinthians 5:14-15)?  Are you becoming more like Christ in thought and deed (Romans 12:2)?  If so, then praise God for His work in your life. If not, then confess to God your separation from Him, repent from your own ways and in faith ask Him to save and sanctify you.

Success(?) in Ministry

We had the great blessing to attend the Shepherd's Conference last week at Grace Community Church in Los Angeles. It was a wonderful time of preaching and singing and worshiping and fellowship. The theme this year was pastoral encouragement, and each speaker addressed it from different perspectives. Nathan Busenitz preached an excellent sermon on pastoral success, which I enjoyed; but he did not go quite far enough in his sermon. I think we as pastors and Christian workers, especially in our American context need a paradigm shift regarding how to measure our ministry; and the shift would be from measuring it according to secular criteria to measuring according to Biblical standards. This will cause us to take a closer look at what the Bible lays out as the true measure of a ministry. Let's take that closer look. What follows is a repost from a previous blog.

I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has strengthened me,

because He considered me faithful, putting me into service.

I Timothy 1:12

(italics mine)

As pastors, our desire should be to be faithful, not successful! Too much, pardon me...way too much... emphasis is put on a pastor being successful. Pastors grade themselves, and are graded by others, on the success of their ministry, instead of the faithfulness of their ministry. There are conferences, seminars, magazines (Leadership), blogs, articles, and websites that are devoted to the pastor's success. There are secular standards of measure that are used such as numbers, growth, baptisms, budget, missions involvement, influence, twitter followers, website or blog hits, and the like. And, yes, the more 'spiritual' will talk about how true success in ministry is measured in spiritual terms, or how you can't measure success because it is spiritual; but the problem is that the stress is still on being successful.

I cannot find one scripture in the entire Bible that refers to a pastor being successful. In fact, the Bible never stresses the success of the pastor, but stresses the faithfulness of the pastor. For example see I Timothy 1:12 above and listen to I Corinthians 4:1-2 "Let a man regard us in this manner, as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God. In this case moreover, it is required of stewards that they be found (pistos) faithful/trustworthy."  

This is why we never find any Scriptures where the Lord is measuring our success, but we see where He is always measuring our faithfulness, our trustworthiness. For example:

Luke 16:10 He who is faithful in a very little thing is faithful also in much; and he who is unrighteous in a very little thing will be unrighteous in much. 

For us as pastors we see this principle in Luke played out in Matthew 24:45-46 "Who then is the faithful and sensible slave whom his master put in charge of his household to give them their food at the proper time? Blessed is that slave whom his master finds so doing when he comes." And we see this illustrated vividly for us in a parable of the kingdom, Christ's kingdom, in Matthew 25:14-30. In this parable we see the Master leaving and entrusting his possessions to his slaves, and in verses 21 and 23 we see His commendation upon His return, "His master said to him, "Well done good and faithful slave, You were faithful with a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your Master." Christ has left this earth for a while, and has given us pastors charge over His possessions (His people, see I Peter 2:9, Titus 2:14). His concern, as so wonderfully illustrated in the Scriptures above, is for us to be faithful with what He has given us, and He has not entrusted everyone with the same amount.

You see, when you try to measure success, the only true way to measure is if everyone is given the exact same ministry, the exact same gifting, the exact same set of circumstances, and so on. But the Lord has not seen fit for it to work in that way.  In addition to the verses listed above in Matthew consider this in Romans 12:3-6 "For through the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think more highly of himself than he ought to think; but to think so as to have sound judgment, as God has allotted to each a measure of faith. For just as we have many members in one body and all the members do not have the same function, so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another. Since we have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, each of us is to exercise them accordingly; if prophecy, according to the proportion of his faith." So there is no standard by which we can all be measured, except our faithfulness. So as we have seen in Matthew (and also in Luke 19) when the Lord measures a ministry, He measures it by faithfulness.

When we measure our ministry and its 'success' by the secular standards mentioned above, then we automatically start comparing ourselves to others, or others to ourselves. This will lead to our either being puffed up or deflated, to our being envious or condescending, to our being bitter, or to our dying a thousand deaths if not enough people show up.

What we are concerned about in our ministry will be what we emphasize in our ministry. When our concern is our success, then success, in whatever way we measure it, will be the emphasis; and if success in ministry is our goal, then our ministry automatically becomes about us and our goal(s) and not about the Lord and the accomplishment of His purpose(s).  

As indicated above, the Lord is using us (talking to pastors in particular here), to accomplish His purpose(s). We are the tools, the means, the vessels that He has chosen to use, but it is Him that is accomplishing His purpose(s) through us. When we put the emphasis on our success, it then becomes us achieving our goals with the Lord's "help." When the emphasis in on our success, the Lord becomes our means in accomplishing our goals instead of us being the means of the accomplishment of His eternal purpose; and, in effect, the Lord becomes our servant and we cease to be His; and thus, the glory is no longer the Lord's but ours. This is very subtle, but it is rampant in the ministry here in the states, as we have corrupted the ministry with the American success syndrome. In considering this, let us look at a few Scriptures that can give us the right perspective on this:

Psalm 127:1 Unless the Lord builds the house, they labor in vain who build it; unless the Lord guards the city, the watchman keep awake in vain.

II Timothy 2:21 Therefore, if anyone cleanses himself from these things, he will be a vessel for honor; sanctified, useful to the Master, prepared (made fit) for every good work.

II Corinthians 3:4-6 Such confidence we have through Christ toward God.  Not that we are adequate in ourselves to consider anything as coming from ourselves, but our adequacy is from God, who also made us adequate as servants of a new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit...

I Corinthians 12:4...the Spirit gives the gifts

I Corinthians 12:5...the Lord gives the ministries

I Corinthians 12:6...our God causes the effects

Isaiah 10:15 Is the axe to boast itself over the one who chops with it? Is the saw to exalt itself over the one who wields it? That would be like a club wielding those who lift it, or like a rod lifting him who is not wood.

Keeping these verses in mind, that it is the Lord who is ultimately in charge of the ministry He has privileged us with, will shape our perspective, and keep us from thinking is all about us.

II Corinthians 4:7 But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, so that the surpassing greatness of the power will be of God and not from ourselves.

How these verses work together in a gospel ministry is illustrated in the following mysteries:

Mark 4:26-28 And He was saying, "The kingdom of God is like a man who casts seed upon the soil; and he goes to bed at night and gets up by day, and the seed sprouts and grows--how, he himself does not know. The soil produces the crops by itself; first the blade, then the head, then the mature grain in the head.

I Corinthians 15:10 By the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me did not prove in vain (because Paul was faithful), but I labored even more than all of them, yet not I but the grace of God with me.

Brother pastors and fellow Christian workers. Let us no longer be slaves to the secular success syndrome that has crept into the church and try to measure our ministries by artificial and arbitrary standards. Let our concern not be for our success, but for our faithfulness; and therefore let us seek to be faithful in the task, the great and noble task, of expanding the kingdom which was begun in Christ and will be culminated in Christ when He returns and rules. Let our success be found in our faithfulness to the Lord and to the ministry to which He has called us, and has equipped us and gifted us to perform; and let us keep our hands firmly on the plow as we follow His path and pray for His will to be done and not our own.

Being Justified by Faith We Have...

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 jusitification 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 Holiness of Christ

but so that the world may know I love the Father,

I do exactly as the Father commanded Me.

John 14:31

The holiness of Christ was not a legalistic holiness,

based on duty, but a loving holiness birthed out of 

His love for the Father.  In this He kept the greatest

commandment, which was to love God with all His

heart, all His soul, and all His mind (Matthew 22:37).  

After all, He did not come to abolish the Law, but to fulfill it

 (Matthew 5:17), and the fulfillment of the Law begins with 

keeping its foremost commandment. 

Like Christ, our devotion to God should be birthed out

of our love for Him.  Love is always superior to legalism.

A Prayer for Sunday Morning

Bless our time today, Lord.

Have Your Spirit move among us-

enlightening our mind-encouraging our hearts-

equipping us for service-correcting our errant beliefs.

Cause us to appreciate and esteem Your word.

According to Your will may it be done today!

God's Glory Made Known

"...God wishes to to dwell with men, to have His reality and splendor known to them. But this is only possible when they take account of the stunning quality of His holiness and set out in faith and obedience to let that character be manifested in them....But nowhere is the reality and the splendor of His presence and His character seen as in His Son (Isaiah 4:2). Here the near blinding quality of His glory is fully portrayed, "We beheld His glory, the glory as of the only Son of the Father, full of grace and truth."  (John 1:14). Through Him and through His presence in the church, God' glory is indeed filling the earth.

Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament
Volume I
Page 943
A study on the word "kabod"

This is part of the reason we celebrate Christmas...Immanuel, God with us, God making Himself known in Christ, God revealing Himself in Christ.  As Christ Himself said, "He who has seen Me has seen the Father" (John 14:9). The church is the body of Christ and part of its responsibility is to show forth the glory of God on the earth. Let us endeavor to conduct our services to accomplish that each Sunday so that each of us will carry that forth with us by faith and obedience during the week.

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.

The Great Grace of God

The richness of the doctrines put forth in Ephesians is truly amazing. These doctrines are a plentiful provision for hours of meditation and enjoyment. It is always hard for me to read through the first three chapters without stopping and contemplating on one of the great truths that are included therein.

One of the things that makes this book so rich is how the the doctrines presented are interwoven with one another and support one another. One of the doctrinal strands that runs through this book is the grace of God. I am currently preaching through Romans and I have just finished with Romans 3:18, and if you are familiar with verses 9-18 of Romans 3,  you know that this section is God's testimony on sin's absolute dominion over man and its result. Man's utter sinfulness, his utter desperation because of his sin, his utter inability and complete lack of desire to come to God, and his utter unworthiness before God has been on my mind for the last few weeks. With this backdrop in mind, as I was reading through chapter one of Ephesians one this week, the grace of God presented in the first few verses literally jumped off of the page at me.

What does man need from God, the God whom man has spurned, the God whom man has sinned against, the God whose holiness we will all be measured against and found so so lacking? Man needs grace, not an idle grace, not a passive grace, not a benign grace, not an impotent grace, but an active all-encompassing, super-abounding, God-given and God-directed grace. So as Paul dives into the deep end of the pool in laying out the doctrines of salvation in the first 3 chapters of this letter, he lays as the foundation of our salvation, the marvelous grace of God, and he wastes no time as he weaves grace in at the very beginning of this epistle.

Here is a short outline of grace in the first eight verses:

The Declaration of Grace vs 2
"Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ."

This is a familiar greeting from Paul and he uses it or something similar in every letter. In fact, it is so familiar that we tend to gloss over what is being said. Have you ever wondered why this greeting is being used, and used every time?  What is God saying to His church, His people, those that He has purchased through the sacrifice of His Son? He is declaring that grace has been given to us, mercy has been extended to us, His favor has been bestowed on us. It is a potent reminder of the wonderful gratuitous benevolence of God to us.

Paul gives us an explanation of what this grace to you means with his statement in Ephesians 2:8, "For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves it is the gift of God." When we also consider this verse along with Romans 3:24 "being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus." we comprehend more fully just how gracious God is in His provision of salvation. It is a gift, and through Paul's epistles He has declared it is from Me to you.

The Definition of Grace vs 3
"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ."

Through the years I have heard many definitions of grace, from what the word means in the Greek to man's attempt to define it. I think this verse most completely sums up the essence of what grace is. It is God's blessing us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ.

Grace is God's blessing. It is a spiritual blessing upon the heart and soul of man. It has its origins and its climax in the heavenly places; and it is given and accomplished in and through Christ.There is an old song I learned in Sunday School and the chorus is, "Count your blessings, name them one by one, Count your blessings see what God has done." The blessing of grace is a multitude of spiritual blessings too numerous to count, and they go on for all eternity as we see in Ephesians 2:7 "so that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus." The phrase "mind-blowing" does not even come close to describing the riches of the blessing of His grace.

The Beginning of Grace vs 4
"just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world"

The grace of God did not come about as a result of the fall. No, the grace of God has been operative since before the foundation of the world. Before time and creation, God's grace was already being bestowed upon us in His choosing of us. Before we were born we were already the recipients of His marvelous saving grace as He placed us in His eternal redemptive plan.

The Purpose of Grace vs 4
"...that we would be holy and blameless before Him."

We know that the will of God for us is to be holy as He is holy in all our behavior (I Peter 1:14-16). We also know that in our flesh, in our own strength and by our own ability we cannot keep that command. It is by the grace of God that we are made adequate to be holy before Him. Where sin abounds, grace abounds all the more (Romans 5:20). There is always a greater supply of grace available than the sin that entangles us. Paul shows us the reality of this in his prayers for the Ephesians in 1:18-21 and in 3:14-20. There is abundant spiritual power and abundant spiritual resources for us to be holy before Him through this grace in which we stand (Romans 5:2).

The Foundation of Grace vs 4b-5
"In love he predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself"

The foundation of grace is the love of God. The love of God for those whom He would call as His own, those whom He would adopt into His family, those to whom He would give His name. Because God is love, He is a God of grace. Grace operates and flows out of the great love of God. Paul says this very distinctly in Ephesians 2:4-5 "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)"

The Graciousness of Grace vs 5
"according to the kind intention of His will"

The Greek word for "kind intention" carries with it the idea of a benevolent purpose. God's grace for us has as its end a benevolent purpose. It is for our good and our blessing and our benefit that God bestows His grace upon us. His grace for us is purposeful and deliberate, not random or whimsical.

The Result of Grace vs 6
"to the praise of the glory of His grace"

God's grace is indeed glorious, and should be praised. Inherent in praise is the idea of thanksgiving. In our praise of Him we should indeed thank Him for His grace to us. In consideration of all that His grace is and all that we have because of it, we should open our eyes to its glory and respond in praise.

The Cost of Grace vs 6
"which He freely bestowed on us in the Beloved"

Grace is the unmerited favor of God. We have done nothing to earn it, and our actions and attitudes toward God in our pagan state would not warrant it, so He freely bestowed it on us in Christ. We have grace because of what Christ has done on our behalf. As I have mentioned in a previous post, we stand before God with no merits of our own, but with all the merits of Christ.

The Power of Grace vs 7
"In Him we have redemption, through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses according to the riches of His grace"

Grace, grace, God's grace, grace that is greater than all our sin. A line from a hymn that states well the power of grace. Sin cannot overcome grace, grace is greater than all our sin. Where sin abounds grace abounds all the more (Romans 5:20). We are forgiven our sins, not because of anything we have done, but because of all that God has done; and it is all of grace. God extends His grace to us in His forgiveness of all of our sins, having nailed them to the cross.

The Measure of Grace vs 7b-8
"according to the riches of His grace which He lavished on us"

The riches of His grace are immeasurable. When we stand in grace, there is grace as far and as wide as we can see. We cannot outlive it, we cannot exceed its reach, we cannot use it up, we cannot diminish it in any capacity. For whatever we need grace is available. For whenever the need grace is available. There is no limit to the grace of God, and He has lavished it upon us. He has generously given us all the full measure of His grace, and it is inexhaustible.

We need grace from God, in all of its aspects, in all of our life.  Let us marvel together at the great grace of God that has been given to us through Christ.

Grace to you and peace from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Standing Before God

It is not the adherence to a set of rules that secures

one's standing before God; but it is the position one

has in Christ that secures their standing before God.

As Christians we stand before God with no merits of our own,

but we stand before Him with all the merits of Christ.

 

 



The Preaching Task

The preaching task may be the most daunting of all the tasks that God assigns in the church.  To be called to be mouthpiece of God to His people, to be charged with bringing His word (rightly,forthrightly, boldly, and without apology), to be held accountable for speaking the truth truthfully, to bear the responsibility of bringing the whole counsel of God (the popular and unpopular), to be commanded to preach in season and out of season, to be reminded that we are subject to a more severe judgment, and to bear the burden of this great and monumental task--are all beyond the strength of our merely mortal flesh and beyond the comprehension of our natural mind; and in those moments of honesty with ourselves and the Lord these responsibilities make us cry out as Paul, "Who is adequate for these things?"

Preaching is truly a supernatural task which is beyond the power and ability of the preacher.  In those moments of our sermon preparation each week, when our weakness is so apparent, there are some things to keep in the forefront of our mind.

1. Our gifting is from the Holy Spirit, our ministry is from the Lord, and effects are ordained by God. (I Corinthians 12:4-6) So our preaching is God given, God empowered, and God directed.

2. Our works are ordained beforehand that we should walk in them (Ephesians 2:10).  Preaching is a God-called task and a God-given assignment. Our preaching ministry is not a separate call, but is part of the call of the Lord on our lives to follow Him; and in following Him we walk in the deeds He has ordained beforehand for us to do.

3.  Our gifts and calling are irrevocable (Romans 11:29). God has not changed His mind about His gifting and calling of those who are truly called to preach. We must all go through the rigors of the confirmation of His gifting and calling, just as Abraham went through the rigors of the proof of his faith. For those not weeded out, we stand in the knowledge of the veracity and legitimacy of our call.

4. Our adequacy, or sufficiency for you ESV people, for the task(s) of the ministry comes from God, not ourselves (II Corinthians 3:4-6). As Paul asks the question I quoted in the first paragraph. he answers it just a few verses later. No one in and of themselves is adequate for the task of preaching, but God makes those He has called and gifted adequate. We are not the source, but the means through whom God, the Source, works through; and it is God who makes us adequate for the deeds/ministry that He has prepared beforehand for us to do.

5. Our part in this is twofold:
    a. To abstain from wickedness and cleanse ourselves (confess and repent of our sins) so that we will be vessels of honor, sanctified, useful to our Master, and prepared for every good work (II Timothy 2:19-21).
    b. To be faithful stewards of the mysteries of God. We are to be trustworthy with the ministry which the Lord has entrusted to us, not just for the day or the month, but for the length of the race; and having put our hand to the plow of the gospel ministry, to not look back, but keep pressing on. (I Corinthians 4:1-2)

In the end we will be judged and rewarded according to what we have done with what He has given us.  Let us be mindful of our call, confident in His provisions, and faithful to the end.  And may the Lord find great delight in using us all.

The Key to Our Spiritual Service of Worship

In Romans 12:3 Paul gives an instruction and admonition to all Christians, and it is, "I say to everyone of you not to think more highly of himself than he ought to think; but think so as to have sound judgment."  The context of this verse is our spiritual service of worship and what is required of us to so that we can present our bodies as a living and holy sacrifice.

What Paul is saying here is that in order for us to present our bodies as a living and holy sacrifice we must not be conformed to this world, but be being continually transformed by the renewing of our mind; and in the renewing of our mind we should be at that point where we don't think too highly (and mistakenly) about ourselves; but should think soundly, truthfully, and forthrightly about ourselves.  In other words we should be brutally honest with ourselves about not just our strengths, but also about our weaknesses and inadequacies, and all of this primarily applies to our spiritual lives; and Paul says this because of the tendency in  us all to think too highly, maybe even unrealistically, about own own strengths and abilities.

The Bible is quite clear about our spiritual weakness.  In Romans 6:19 Paul talks about the weakness of our flesh.  In 7:14-25 he talks about his own spiritual struggles and inconsistencies.  In II Corinthians 2:17 he questions his adequacy for the gospel ministry.  In II Corinthians 1:8 he talks about being burdened beyond his strength and despairing of life. In II Corinthians 7:5-6 he talks about being fearful and depressed.   

In Hebrews 3:13 we are warned not to be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin.  In Hebrews 5:12-14 we see that there are those who are still infants in the faith, and have to be taught the basics all over again. In Hebrews 12:1 we are told we have encumbrances to our faith and are easily entangled with sin.

In Philippians 3:15-16 Paul encourages us to not fall back in our faith, but to keep living by the same standard we have obtained.

In Galatians and Colossians Paul admonishes and warns those churches about the deception of the false teachers whom they have allowed to come into their midst.

In our flesh, we are no different than those who have gone before. So what should we do to think rightly, soundly and truthfully about ourselves.  What are the weaknesses in our flesh, that we need to be aware of, so that instead of depending on ourselves or not being honest with ourselves we can go to God for his grace and his strength to present our bodies a living sacrifice?  In our walk it would help us to be aware of these things about ourselves:

*The ceiling of our own understanding.
*The frailty of our own power.
*The lack of our own capabilities.
*The failings of our own strength.
*The emptiness of our own pride.
*The stumbling block of our own sin.
* The hindrance of our own fears.
*The stammering of our own tongue.
*The inconsistency of our resolve.
*The misplacing of our affections.
*The misdirection of our goals.
*The fickleness of our hearts.
*The blindness of our foresight.
*The limits of our endurance.
*The paltriness of our influence.
*The distraction of our attention.
*The deceitfulness of our riches.
*The inadequacy of our abilities.
*The poverty of our spirituality.

Yes, we are weak in our flesh, and in our own strength are incapable of bearing fruit for Christ, which is what Christ was telling the disciples in John 15:4-5.  But the good news here is that God has not left us mired in the muck or our own inadequacy, but quite the opposite. When we acknowledge our own weaknesses, inadequacies, fears, and doubts, and go to Him for His strength; we will find grace sufficient for every task, wisdom for every situation, strength for every endeavor, and His equipping for every good work, all supplied through Christ. (Hebrews 4:16, Philippians 4:13, II Corinthians 3:4-6, II Corinthians 12:9-10, I Corinthians 1:24-31, Galatians 2:20, I Corinthians 15:10, II Timothy 1:7)

It is when we judge ourselves rightly that we have the proper perspective regarding ourselves in relation to the life that the Lord has called us to live, and the deeds that He has for us to do. It is then that we have the right view of ourselves, and can go to the Lord and ask for His provision.

There is a saying that gets thrown around a lot in Christian circles, and it is this: "God will not give you more than you can handle."  This is a false statement as God is always giving us more than we can handle, as He wants us to realize and acknowledge that apart from Him we can accomplish nothing of spiritual value, and are spiritually powerless; but that with Him all things are possible. This is the precursor of coming to the point of maturity that we do not think more highly of ourselves than we ought.

So, my friends, let us think rightly, soundly, truthfully about ourselves, and in doing so make ourselves fit to present ourselves as a living and holy sacrifice to God in all of our endeavors.

Stop It, Enough Already, Man Up and Fess UP

I almost always keep quiet regarding Christian personalities and issues (unless it is false teaching), as it is too easy for it to turn into self-righteous character assassination or internet gossip.  However, I am out of patience with those who supported and promoted Mark Driscoll remaining silent, unrepentant, and unapologetic.

Too many pastors, young and older, were influenced by him.  Too many people were damaged and savaged by him.  The cause of Christ was wounded because of him, all while the warning signs were there and were not hidden; and those who supported him and promoted him have remained silent.

Unfortunately, we are now subjected to this puff piece interview of John Piper.  Yes, what John says in this interview is true, but it makes him look like the wise sage now that the carnage is over, while ignoring his association and promotion of Mark Driscoll.  This piece provides cover for him by letting him address, from a distance of time, what happened without calling him to take responsibility for his part in the victory against the church he says Satan has had in this situation.  It allows him to take the the "high, noble, and wise ground" as if he had nothing to do with it.  John Piper is one of the main reasons Mark Driscoll had a national following, and for John to continue avoiding the responsibility for his fomenting of Mark Driscoll's reputation is unconscionable.  For The Gospel Coalition to do the interview and air this piece is just as unconscionable.

John and The Gospel Coalition, for the sake of the church you say you love and its unity, come out boldly and admit your part in the Mark Driscoll debacle.  It would go a long way toward healing and the restoration of trust in your ministries and motives.

See the interview below by following the link below.

http://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/reflections-on-mark-driscoll-and-the-mars-hill-implosion

The Old Gospel, a Gospel Worth Preaching

https://banneroftruth.org/us/resources/articles/2000/the-old-gospel-and-the-new/

Truth and Right Thinking

For as he thinks within himself, so he is...

Proverbs 23:7

The Bible tells man what to think, how to think, and why to think. It tells us of the benefits of right thinking and the consequences of wrong thinking. It presents the foundation of right thinking, which is the knowledge of God Himself, and the corresponding knowledge of man himself.  

The Bible is the foundation for right thinking because it presents to us the truth about God, and the truth about God becomes the mirror and backdrop from which we learn the truth about man, which is the truth about ourselves. We will never know the full truth about ourselves until we know the truth about God; and an important facet of knowing the truth about God is the belief and its consequential acceptance of what the Bible says about Him.  

Truth is reality, what is real, as compared to what is imagined, desired, or fantasized. The Bible presents life and existence (now and eternally) as it really is, not as we want it to be. The Bible presents God as He really is, not as we want Him to be or imagine Him to be. The Bible presents man (all of us) as he really is, not as we want him to be or imagine ourselves to be.

For a man to be right before God and to right with God, he must first think rightly about God and rightly about himself. Only the truth of God, found in the pages of the Bible can lead a man to the path and down the path to be right with God. God has given us the Bible for just that purpose, as He wants us to be right with Him.

Do you want to be right with God? Do you want to think rightly about God and about yourself? Then turn to the Bible, for it is there that you will find the foundation for right thinking, the truth.  

A Powerful Truth

Those who are meek before God, 

Will have the strength to be 

Unyielding before men.

II Corinthians 12:10

When Preaching on Hell and the Wrath of God

When preaching on hell and the wrath of God,

which you must if you are going to preach a complete gospel,

you must bring your hearers close enough to hell to feel its heat,

 and keep them there long enough to make them sweat.

A Prayer for the Day

Lord, cause me to walk blamelessly before You,

by the power of Your Spirit and the knowledge of Your Word.

Ignorance of the Scriptures

Ignorance of the Scriptures has given rise to thousands of evils.

From this seed the great corruption of heresies has blossomed;

from this spring have flowed careless living and wasted labors.

Just as anyone deprived of the light of this world cannot walk 

straight, so those who do not see the rays of the divine Scriptures

walk in thick darkness. They regularly and inevitably fall into many sins.

John Chrysostom 

Early Church Father

As it was then, so it is now. 

A Daily Perspective

 

It matters not the praise of men.

It matters only the pleasing of Him.

 

(Galatians 1:10)



A Truth for the Day

God’s discipline will always match our disobedience!!!