Obeying the Gospel

EXAMINING OURSELVES (DECEMBER 28)

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"Examine yourselves as to whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Do you not know yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you? -- unless indeed you are disqualified" (2 Corinthians 13:5 NKJV).

GIVEN THE IMPORTANCE OF OUR RELATIONSHIP TO GOD, THERE IS NO HIGHER PRIORITY FOR US THAN SELF-EXAMINATION. Are we, or are we not, in a right relationship with Him? Do we, or do we not, have the hope of eternal life? And no less critical is this question: by what standard are we going to judge these matters? If we never question ourselves, we may spend our lives climbing the ladder and find that our ladder was leaning against the wrong wall.

Paul’s instruction to “examine yourselves as to whether you are in the faith” was written to a group of Christians. One of the worst things a Christian can do is take his salvation for granted. Without self-examination, we may find ourselves in the same situation as some of the Corinthians, with a confidence about being “in the faith” that goes beyond what is warranted by the facts.

But what is the application of this principle to non-Christians? If you are presently committed to some other path, is self-examination something you are willing to do? If the gospel of Christ is true, your salvation depends on letting go of your present position.

No matter where any of us may be in relation to Jesus Christ, there are two qualities of character required of us: honesty and courage. Without the honesty to see where we’ve been out of sync with God’s will, we won’t change. And without the courage to change, honesty will only make our conscience more painful. So “examine yourselves” is a serious challenge to us all. It tests our integrity at the deepest level. Are we willing to question whether our relationship to God is really what we’ve been thinking it was?

None of us gets to any significant destination without making many mid-course corrections. Even in the humdrum activities of daily life, we have to be willing to make adjustments. How much more, then, must we be “correctable” when it comes to life’s most important issue: the status of our relationship to God. While life lasts, there is no correction we cannot make — but making the changes that will lead us to God’s presence in eternity requires the honesty to admit we have been wrong and the courage to change for the better.

"Absolute candor is an indispensable requisite to salvation" (A. W. Tozer).

Gary Henry - WordPoints.com + AreYouaChristian.com

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FORGIVEN, SAVED, BORN AGAIN (DECEMBER 27)

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"For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. For one who has died has been set free from sin. Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him" (Romans 6:5-8).

IT IS A POPULAR MISCONCEPTION THAT “BORN AGAIN” CHRISTIANS ARE DIFFERENT FROM ORDINARY CHRISTIANS. Let’s look today at three biblical descriptions of what happens when a person obeys the gospel of Christ, all of which point to the same experience. These descriptions emphasize the deep, inward nature of the change that takes place when a person turns to Jesus Christ.

FORGIVEN. At the very least, accepting salvation in Christ means being forgiven of our past sins. But it also means having the comfort and hope that come from continual access to God’s grace. “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9).

SAVED. This aspect of our conversion to Christ is probably not emphasized enough these days, but we dare not forget that if we are in Christ, we are among those who have been rescued. “Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God” (Romans 5:9).

BORN AGAIN. In Christ, our “before” and “after” are so radically different that it can be said that a new person has come to life. We died to our old self, and a new self has been born. And this is not just for some Christians; it is for all of us. Jesus said, “Unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God” (John 3:3).

As you can see, to be forgiven/saved/born again is no small experience. When Peter said, “Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord” (Acts 3:19,20 NKJV), he was imploring his hearers to do nothing less than turn from death to life. No greater — or more decisive — change is possible for us in this world.

"Have you made the following decision about sin -- that it must be completely killed in you? It takes a long time to come to the point of making this complete and effective decision about sin. It is, however, the greatest moment in your life once you decide that sin must die in you -- not simply be restrained, suppressed, or counteracted, but crucified -- just as Jesus Christ died for the sin of the world" (Oswald Chambers).

Gary Henry - WordPoints.com + AreYouaChristian.com

For more information, visit http://AreYouaChristian.com

HAVE YOU ACCEPTED CHRIST? (DECEMBER 26)

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"Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him, rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving" (Colossians 2:6,7).

PAUL’S COUNSEL TO THE COLOSSIANS IS ONE THAT APPLIES TO ALL OF US WHO HAVE OBEYED THE GOSPEL. He said, “As you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him.” Having accepted Christ, we need to live like persons who have actually done that.

We often hear people talk about having “accepted Jesus as their Lord” when a quick look at their lives makes us wonder if they even know the definition of the word “lord.” Jesus said, “Why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do what I tell you?” (Luke 6:46). Jesus Christ is not truly our Lord if it is not His will that governs us.

In Colossians 2:7, Paul used the analogy of a plant. Those who have received Christ must be “rooted and built up in him and established in the faith.” This echoes Jesus’ teaching about the kinds of soil into which the seed of God’s word is sown. The seed must not only germinate; it must send down roots deep enough that the plant grows to maturity and produces fruit (Matthew 13:1-9,18-23). So we must not only accept Christ initially; we must accept Him for the rest of our lives — in our hearts and our deeds.

But let’s make it personal. What would your next step be if you wished to accept Christ? If you still stand outside of God’s forgiveness, not having obeyed even the initial terms of the gospel, you need to turn your heart toward God in godly sorrow and come before Him with the humble question, “What must I do?” And the answer of the gospel will be that you need to confess that you believe Jesus is the Christ (Romans 10:9,10), repent of your sins (Luke 13:3), and be baptized into Christ’s death (Romans 6:3,4), trusting in God’s promise to wash away your sins (Acts 22:16).

But if you have done these things in the past, what now? If you honestly have to admit that you haven’t kept the commitment you made to Christ, then you need to repent of that and come back to Him with a deeper love (Revelation 2:4,5). Your “acceptance” of Christ needs to be more “accepting.” And frankly, who among us (even those who have been Christians the longest) can say we don’t need to open the doors of our heart more widely to Jesus Christ?

"We get no deeper into Christ than we allow him to get into us" (John Henry Jowett).

Gary Henry - WordPoints.com + AreYouaChristian.com

For more information, visit http://AreYouaChristian.com

ARE YOU A CHRISTIAN? (DECEMBER 25)

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"Then Agrippa said to Paul, 'You almost persuade me to become a Christian'" (Acts 26:28 NKJV).

THE QUESTION “ARE YOU A CHRISTIAN?” IS PERHAPS MORE CONFUSING TO PEOPLE TODAY THAN IT WOULD HAVE BEEN IN THE FIRST CENTURY. But when Agrippa said, “You almost persuade me to become a Christian,” he knew what a Christian was. He understood the word “Christian” in its original sense: a disciple of Jesus Christ.

Sadly, there is no evidence that Agrippa ever became a Christian, but he was certainly on the right track when he said that to be a Christian he would have to become one. No one has ever been a Christian (at least in the original sense) without having chosen to obey the gospel of Christ. Discipleship to Jesus is not a condition one stumbles into inadvertently (and it is certainly not a status one acquires by being born into a certain nation or family). To the contrary, it is a relationship to God one chooses to accept — and then it is a way of life one decides to pursue.

As we have seen, the gospel of Christ is the message of salvation from our sins (Luke 24:46,47). It is for the penitent (Matthew 4:17), those who have come to see the seriousness of their betrayal of their Father and who “mourn” (Matthew 5:4) and “hunger and thirst for righteousness” (Matthew 5:6). In their sorrow, they embrace the good news of the forgiveness that is offered in Christ. Believing that He is indeed the Savior, they are willing to openly confess what they believe about Him (Romans 10:9,10), and they are eager to be baptized into Christ so that their sins might be forgiven (Acts 2:38). And for the rest of their lives, they live “in newness of life” (Romans 6:4), looking forward to Christ’s return and their life in eternity with God (2 Peter 3:10-13; 1 John 3:2,3).

And so, my friend, I ask you, “Where are you in regard to this process?” If you haven’t already said an unalterable “No” to it, I hope you will give the gospel of Christ a chance to convince you of its truth. I hope the day will soon come when someone will ask and you’ll be able to say enthusiastically, “Yes, I am a Christian!”

To the dead he sayeth: Arise!
To the living: Follow me!
And that voice still soundeth on
From the centuries that are gone,
To the centuries that shall be!
(Henry Wadsworth Longfellow)

Gary Henry - WordPoints.com + AreYouaChristian.com

For more information, visit http://AreYouaChristian.com

WHEN YOU RETURN, EXPECT A CELEBRATION (DECEMBER 24)

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"But the father said to his servants, 'Bring quickly the best robe, and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet. And bring the fattened calf and kill it, and let us eat and celebrate. For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found.' And they began to celebrate" (Luke 15:22-24).

IT SHOULD GIVE US COURAGE TO READ THE WORDS “AND THEY BEGAN TO CELEBRATE.” Among those old enough to discern right from wrong, there is not a one of us who has not “left home.” We have broken our Father’s heart, insisting on the freedom to go into a “far country” where His will would not restrict us and we could indulge our own desires. Coming to our senses, we’ve seen the tragedy of our decision, but perhaps we are reluctant to accept the invitation of the gospel to come back home to God. Perhaps we wonder what kind of reception we would receive if we did so.

A PROBLEM WE ALL HAVE. When we commit sin, we do something that everybody around us has also done. None of us is innocent. Deep in our hearts, we know Paul was right when he said that “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23).

THE NECESSITY OF REPENTANCE. The gospel of God’s forgiveness is a message that requires repentance. “From that time Jesus began to preach, saying, ‘Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand’” (Matthew 4:17). So there are two terrible mistakes we need to avoid: (1) presuming that God’s grace will bless us whether we repent or not, and (2) presuming that if we don’t repent today, there will be other days in the future when we can take care of that.

THE JOY OF FORGIVENESS. Moved by love to end our rebellion against God, we must summon our courage and do what the Prodigal Son did: go back home and offer our repentance to our Father. What a day that will be! If there is a joy any deeper than forgiveness, it is the joy of living in a right relationship with the Father who has given us back what we so foolishly threw away.

When we have wandered away from home, our Father fervently desires for us to come back to Him (Luke 15:20). It is not just that He will allow us to return — He wants us to return. And when we do, we can expect that, by His grace, there will be a banquet at which He will show us how much He has always loved us.

"When prodigals return, great things are done" (A. A. Dowty).

Gary Henry - WordPoints.com + AreYouaChristian.com

For more information, visit http://AreYouaChristian.com

COME TO JESUS, DO NOT TARRY (DECEMBER 23)

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"You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me, yet you refuse to come to me that you may have life" (John 5:39,40).

WHEN JESUS INVITES US TO COME TO HIM, IT IS POSSIBLE TO REFUSE. Tragic as such a refusal is, many do refuse. But many others simply delay, thinking an easier time will come later.

It is always important for us to see the seriousness of our plight as those who have departed from God. Sin is no trivial matter. Its punishment cannot be small. As our Creator, God is our rightful Sovereign, and to rebel against His will, as we have all done, is to put ourselves under the penalty of death. There can be no question about the justice of God’s decree. Eternal death is the right consequence for rebellion against our Creator (Romans 6:23).

Remember what we said way back in January about our attitude in coming to Jesus? We come willing to commit ourselves to His lordship. Disobedience having gotten us into trouble, we are now ready to change from disobedience to obedience. But before our discipleship can begin, we must seek the forgiveness of our sins. This we are willing to do on whatever terms God has set, grateful for His grace. And we seek His forgiveness for no other reason than godly sorrow — grief that we have sinned against the One who loves us.

The word for "lost" is the saddest word in any language. And when the word applies to our eternal condition, that is a sadness beyond description, all the more sad in view of what God has sacrificed to save us. If we persist in our refusal of His grace and die in our rebellious state, the worst part of hell will be knowing that we chose it. It could have been otherwise, but we refused to be rescued. It just wasn’t important enough for us to act.

Most of us know what it is to damage our lives by delaying our duty. Knowing what is right, we have procrastinated and done much harm. By God’s grace, let’s stop the damage right now. He gave His Son to make our forgiveness possible. More life than we can imagine is waiting for us, but we must accept His pardon on His terms and we must come back to Him . . . before it is too late.

Come to Jesus! do not tarry,
Enter in at mercy's gate;
O delay not till the morrow,
Lest thy coming be too late.
(E. R. Latta)

Gary Henry - WordPoints.com + AreYouaChristian.com

For more information, visit http://AreYouaChristian.com

A VICTORY GIVEN BY GOD (DECEMBER 22)

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"But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ" (1 Corinthians 15:57).

GRATITUDE IS ONE OF THE MAJOR MOTIFS THAT WE HEAR IN THE GREAT SYMPHONY OF THE GOSPEL OF CHRIST. The apostle Paul, for example, uses the expression “thanks be to God” six times in his letters. And he uses it in 1 Corinthians 15:57 as he reaches the climax of his magnificent discussion of the resurrection of Christ.

“Victory” is a powerful word, but it is exactly the right word to describe what the gospel is about. Succumbing to sin, we were defeated by Satan, and eternal death was the result. But God entered the world in the person of Jesus of Nazareth, died a vicarious death, and was then raised on the third day, defeating death, the worst weapon of the enemy. “Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, he himself likewise partook of the same things, that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil, and deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery” (Hebrews 2:14,15).

In 1 Corinthians 15:57, Paul is very clear: it is “through our Lord Jesus Christ” that the victory has been given. This echoes the statement of Peter in Acts 4:12, where, speaking of Christ, he said, “And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”

But going back to Paul’s emphasis on gratitude, he said that it is God “who gives us the victory.” Salvation from sin is not a gift granted universally and unconditionally to all of mankind, without regard to how people respond or don’t respond to the gospel. It was God’s decision to limit the gift to those who would respond according to certain conditions that He set (Acts 2:37,38). Nevertheless, the gift is still a gift, and it is one given by God. When we were hopelessly defeated, God stepped in and won the victory for us.

We should never become so familiar with the gospel that we underestimate what God has done in Christ. Our salvation from sin is a gift much greater than mere survival, and to enjoy eternity with God is to do more than just get by. It will be the enjoyment of nothing less than the glorious triumph of God Himself.

"God wants us to be victors, not victims; to grow, not grovel; to soar, not sink; to overcome, not to be overwhelmed" (William Arthur Ward).

Gary Henry - WordPoints.com + AreYouaChristian.com

For more information, visit http://AreYouaChristian.com

REAL RESTORATION TO GOD (DECEMBER 21)

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"Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me" (Psalm 51:10).

IF WE WANT SALVATION AT ALL, MOST OF US ONLY WANT SALVATION FROM OUR CIRCUMSTANCES, NOT SALVATION FROM OUR SINS. We’d like help with the difficult, painful aspects of our lives, especially the unjust things other people have done to us. It is the unpleasantness and hardship of this broken world that we want God to fix.

Now and then, though, we do see that our own sins have contributed to the hardship of our lives, and we seek relief from the hurts we’ve inflicted on ourselves. Perhaps we even see with godly sorrow just how horribly our actions have broken the heart of our Father in heaven. Repentance becomes a priority with us.

But here is the point: even when we see that sin is what is hurting us, we often don’t go deep enough to see the real problem. What needs fixing is not just our actions; we need new hearts. At the very deepest level inside of us, we need to be renovated, rebuilt, and renewed. Since our thinking is what has produced our deeds, our thinking needs to change. And the change will have to be radical (going to the “root” of the problem). We will have to see what David saw after his sin: more than forgiveness for the specific sin, he needed help with his heart. Create in me a clean heart, O God.

This is what the gospel of Christ aims to accomplish. And frankly, even those of us who have accepted Christ need to see more clearly the newness of heart that God is looking for. As Paul put it when he wrote to the Christians in Rome, “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind” (Romans 12:2). And as he wrote to the Ephesians, those who have been forgiven need “to be renewed in the spirit of [our] minds, and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness” (Ephesians 4:23,24).

Is this what we desire? When we come to Christ, is this what we’re looking for? It should be. And the more we mature in Christ, the more this will be our passion. Create in me a clean heart, O God.

A heart in every thought renewed,
And full of love divine,
Perfect and right and pure and good,
A copy, Lord, of thine.
(Charles Wesley)

Gary Henry - WordPoints.com + AreYouaChristian.com

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WHAT PROFIT? (DECEMBER 20)

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"For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return for his soul?" (Matthew 16:26).

IN THE LAST TWO THOUSAND YEARS, MANY DIFFERENT MESSAGES HAVE BEEN PREACHED BY THOSE CLAIMING TO UPHOLD THE GOSPEL OF CHRIST. Today, most of what goes by the name of “Christianity” is a far cry from what Jesus taught and what He instructed His apostles to teach. To be specific, the original emphasis on the removal of our sins so that we could have a right relationship with God and the hope of eternal life, has been replaced by a modern emphasis on psychological uplift and social justice.

It should go without saying: we need to rightly understand what the gospel of Christ is about. If we misjudge the main point of the gospel (and even worse, misrepresent the main point to those we teach), the results of our misplaced emphasis will be tragic.

Surely there are many different problems in the world. To say that this world is “broken” is to say the painfully obvious. But when Jesus appeared, what was it about this world that He proposed to fix? If we let Jesus, the Great Physician, tell us what our very worst problem is, will we humbly accept His diagnosis?

In one of Jesus’ most often-quoted statements He said, “For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost” (Luke 19:10). Whatever other problems He might have helped us with, He was clear that none of these benefits would matter if we failed to let Him restore us to the fellowship of our Heavenly Father. “For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul?”

Jesus’ priority was the forgiveness of our sins so that having been reconciled to God we could be conformed to His character and look forward to a perfect relationship with Him in eternity. If that was Jesus’ priority, it ought to be ours. It ought to matter more than economic security, emotional well-being, or anything else.

Do we understand the horror of refusing God’s redemption and dying in our rebellion against Him? If that happens, nothing we ever gained in this world will matter. If our souls are lost in eternity, the only thing — the only thing — we will regret missing in this life was a right relationship with the God who made us.

"The essence of hell is complete separation from God, and that is the ultimate disaster" (W. R. Matthews).

Gary Henry - WordPoints.com + AreYouaChristian.com

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THE TWO GREAT ALTERNATIVES (DECEMBER 19)

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"He will render to each one according to his works: to those who by patience in well-doing seek for glory and honor and immortality, he will give eternal life; but for those who are self-seeking and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, there will be wrath and fury" (Romans 2:6-8).

JESUS SAID THAT EVERY TREE IS KNOWN BY THE FRUIT IT BEARS. Our outward deeds are important because, in the end, they will have shown the kind of persons we were on the inside, in our hearts. God’s judgment of us will be based on truth, and if the truth is that self-will was the principle we allowed to govern us, we need not fool ourselves that He will treat us the same as if we had lived otherwise. “He will render to each one according to his works.”

THOSE WHO BY PATIENCE IN WELL-DOING SEEK FOR GLORY AND HONOR AND IMMORTALITY. Unlike the self-seekers in the next verse, these individuals “seek for glory and honor and immortality.” And these things are more than just vague ideals; it is by actual deeds — “by patience in well-doing” — that these goals are pursued. The path of obedience was their choice, and to them God “will give eternal life.”

THOSE WHO ARE SELF-SEEKING AND DO NOT OBEY THE TRUTH, BUT OBEY UNRIGHTEOUSNESS. Since salvation is by grace, many question the concept of “obeying the gospel,” as if that attaches too much importance to obedience. But clearly the choice between obedience and disobedience is critical. For those who “do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, there will be wrath and fury.”

Like every basic truth, this truth that God “will render to each one according to his works” is both comforting and sobering. It is comforting to know that God deals with individuals, based on their own choices — we don’t have to fear being lost because of someone else’s choices. But freedom of choice and personal responsibility are also sobering. People are not saved on the “group plan.” Each of us must choose individually and personally.

And finally, there is something else that must be said: God’s judgment will be on the basis of our actual works and not merely good “attitudes” or good “intentions.” The lordship of Christ requires more than mere sentiment. “Why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do what I tell you?” (Luke 6:46).

"You can be certain of this: when the Day of Judgment comes, we shall not be asked what we have read, but what we have done; not how well we have spoken, but how well we have lived" (Thomas à Kempis).

Gary Henry - WordPoints.com + AreYouaChristian.com

For more information, visit http://AreYouaChristian.com