Obeying the Gospel

ACCEPT FORGIVENESS, GROW IN GODLINESS (OCTOBER 17)

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"Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up into salvation" (1 Peter 2:2).

IF WE ARE OUTSIDE OF JESUS CHRIST, IN A LOST CONDITION BECAUSE WE’VE NEVER OBEYED THE GOSPEL, GOD WOULD SAY TWO THINGS TO US. He would say, first, that we need to accept His forgiveness by obeying the gospel. But He would also say that, having been forgiven, we need to start growing in godliness each day.

The first is the most immediate need, obviously. If a person is lost in sin, the most pressing question he or she must ask is, “What must I do to be saved?” (Acts 16:30). If that is our situation, the passages in the New Testament we need to be focusing on are those that tell us what is required in order to pass from death to life, spiritually speaking. What are the initial things a person must do? What is required by God in order to come into a saved, forgiven, and reconciled relationship with Him? If we’re honest in our search, we will let passages like Acts 2:37,38 and Romans 10:9,10 speak to our need. Without letting our own opinions intervene, we will let the Scriptures tell us what God’s conditions for salvation are.

But growing in godliness is no less important than our initial obedience to the gospel. Peter was speaking to Christians when he said, “Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up into salvation” (1 Peter 2:2). The point of becoming a Christian is not just to receive the forgiveness of our past sins; it is to enter the process of having the damage of sin repaired. It is to start becoming less like the old person who died when we were baptized (Romans 6:1-4) and more like the new person Christ will enable us to be (Ephesians 4:22-24).

It is regrettable that so many seem to view salvation as nothing more than being saved from their past sins. In reality, however, it is also being saved from the person we used to be. Outgrowing that old person is a process — one that takes time to be completed.

So, spiritual growth must be established as our priority, and the earlier we establish it, the better off we’ll be. Neglecting this is not just undesirable; it is dangerous. As Christians, there is no safe plateau where we may complacently sing “Just As I Am.” Either we grow toward God’s likeness, or we go back to being dead.

"All growth that is not toward God is growing to decay" (George MacDonald).

Gary Henry - WordPoints.com + AreYouaChristian.com

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APOSTASY WAS FORETOLD (OCTOBER 16)

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"Now the Spirit expressly says that in later times some will depart from the faith by devoting themselves to deceitful spirits and teachings of demons" (1 Timothy 4:1).

PREDICTIONS OF APOSTASY, LIKE THE ONE ABOVE, ARE FOUND THROUGHOUT THE NEW TESTAMENT. It was a matter of great concern to all of the apostles. The fact that there would occur a departure from the foundational teachings of the gospel was not something they could think about except with a broken heart.

Here are some other texts that reveal the concern of the New Testament writers about the crisis that was coming (and I hope you’ll take the time to look these up and think about them): Acts 20:29-31; 2 Thessalonians 2:3-5; 1 Timothy 6:20,21; 2 Timothy 3:1-7; 4:3,4; 2 Peter 2:1-3; 3:1-4; 1 John 2:18,19; 4:1; and Jude 3,4.

Today, it is not hard to see that the apostles were right to be concerned. A great apostasy did, in fact, take place. And it is sobering to realize that most of what goes on in the modern world under the name of “Christianity” is a result of that apostasy.

Martin Luther, of course, is known for having sparked the Protestant Reformation. But although he saw that Catholicism was a departure from the Scriptures, Luther’s work did not result in a complete return to the apostolic faith, and the Protestantism of today is just as much a part of the apostasy foretold by the apostles as the Catholicism against which the Protestants protested.

Clearly, we need to be warned just as strongly as the brethren to whom the apostles wrote in the first century. We need constant reminders and admonitions. Given the human propensity for drifting (Galatians 1:6), there is no hope for us if restoration is not an ongoing priority — and not just congregationally but individually.

Apostasy can be dealt with only by the testing of everything by God’s standard (1 Thessalonians 5:21) and monitoring ourselves with great honesty (1 Corinthians 10:12; 2 Corinthians 13:5; Hebrews 2:1). The key is constant recourse to the teachings of Christ and His apostles, coupled with a love that simply refuses to let go of our Savior. If we wish to be God’s people, in this or any other age, we must radically respect His plan for our salvation — and the Scriptures are our only means of knowing what that plan is.

"There is no broader way to apostasy than to reject God’s sovereignty in all things concerning the revelation of himself and our obedience" (John Owen).

Gary Henry - WordPoints.com + AreYouaChristian.com

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

RESTORATION AS AN ONGOING WORK (OCTOBER 15)

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"Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent, and do the works you did at first. If not, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place, unless you repent" (Revelation 2:5).

IN YESTERDAY’S READING, WE TALKED ABOUT THE IMPORTANCE OF RESTORING THE FAITH AND PRACTICE THAT WE FIND IN THE NEW TESTAMENT. Today, let’s reemphasize the fact that restoration must be an ongoing work. There will never come a time when we can say, “What is taught in the New Testament has been restored, so we won’t have to work on that any more; we can relax and enjoy it.”

The church in Ephesus is a good example of what can happen. The brethren there had been zealous in defending the apostolic faith against corrupters and compromisers (Revelation 2:2,3). But toward the end of the first century, they themselves were in need of returning to the standard. They didn’t love the Lord as they used to (v.4), and the problem was deeper than just not “feeling it” anymore (as this text is sometimes taught). They weren’t doing what they once did, and the Lord said, “Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent, and do the works you did at first. If not, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place, unless you repent” (v.5). This church needed to come back to Christ!

Both individually and congregationally, restoration requires constant vigilance. We must reassess and return. Reassess and return. Reassess and return. If our forebears did this, we are blessed to have their example. But like them, we need to reassess and return.

It is uncomfortable to have it brought to our attention (either individually or congregationally) that we stand in need of restoration — just as what your cardiologist tells you may not be fun to hear. But God forbid that we should react as Isaiah’s people who, when they heard calls for restoration, said, “Do not prophesy to us what is right; speak to us smooth things, prophesy illusions” (Isaiah 30:10). Granted, the preacher who frequently emphasizes returning to the standard may be more of an irritant than a comforter, but any preacher worth his salt will have the attitude that Peter had: “It seems right to me, as long as I am in this tent of flesh, to keep your minds awake by working on your memory” (2 Peter 1:13 BBE).

"Better the discomfort that leads to repentance and restoration than temporal comfort and eternal damnation" (Francine Rivers).

Gary Henry - WordPoints.com + AreYouaChristian.com

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

RESTORATION AS A PRINCIPLE (OCTOBER 14)

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"Let what you heard from the beginning abide in you. If what you heard from the beginning abides in you, then you too will abide in the Son and in the Father" (1 John 2:24).

THE CONCEPT OF “RESTORATION” IS OF FUNDAMENTAL IMPORTANCE IN BOTH THE OLD AND THE NEW TESTAMENTS. We can’t read the Scriptures seriously and not see that if we intend to be God’s faithful people, “restoration” must be a work we engage in. God has never — in any age of the world — left people without any standard which must be adhered to, in both belief and practice. “Restoration” means (a) being reminded of what the standard is, and (b) making constant efforts to bring things back in line with it.

If you have any acquaintance with basic science (or if you have ever looked at your teenager’s bedroom), you are familiar with the law of “entropy”: left to themselves, things descend into greater disorder and randomness. This law is as true in the spiritual realm as it is in the physical. Over time, things degrade. Without constant monitoring, maintenance, and “restoration,” we drift away from the standard God has set. And the descent into disorder is so gradual we often don’t admit to ourselves what is happening.

In our individual lives, we see the need for realignment with the Scriptures more easily, but perhaps we don’t recognize it as much at the congregational level. Local assemblies of Christians must commit themselves to a restoration of the apostolic order. If not, they will descend into greater “entropy” with each passing year — and there is no congregation where this tendency is not present.

If you’re a new Christian, look for a congregation that is committed to the principle of restoration. And if you’ve been a Christian for some time, remind the brothers and sisters where you worship that it is dangerous to be content with their past restoration efforts, as if New Testament Christianity has been fully restored and they can put things on autopilot from now on. Look for elders who are not afraid to lead their brethren in congregational acts of repentance and restoration. And look for brethren who know they need to be warned. “We must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, lest we drift away from it” (Hebrews 2:1).

"The life of the Church depends on one thing: her return to biblical principles" (Otto Riecker).

Gary Henry - WordPoints.com + AreYouaChristian.com

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

THE APOSTOLIC TRADITIONS (OCTOBER 13)

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"So then, brothers, stand firm and hold to the traditions that you were taught by us, either by our spoken word or by our letter" (2 Thessalonians 2:15).

IS “TRADITION” A GOOD THING OR A BAD THING? The word is neutral; it simply means “that which has been received.” So tradition can be good or bad, depending on several things: the source from which it was received, the nature of what has been received, and what is done with it after it is received. But the traditions of which Paul spoke — the teachings of Christ revealed to His apostles — are good in the highest sense. And Paul urged the church in Thessalonica to stand firm and hold to these traditions. To depart from them would be to abandon the gospel and depart from Christ.

The teaching of the apostles carried the full weight of Christ’s authority, as we see in the terminology used by Peter: “the commandment of the Lord and Savior through your apostles” (2 Peter 3:2). Thus, the apostles’ teaching was in a special category as far as its authority was concerned (2 Corinthians 10:8; 13:10). It was the definitive guide for churches wherever they might be, revealed directly to the apostles (Galatians 1:11,12) and completing what Christ had begun to teach them during His earthly ministry (John 16:12,13). Not even the apostles themselves could depart from this standard without their souls being in jeopardy (Galatians 1:8,9). And when other people did begin to depart (as predicted in 2 Timothy 4:3,4 and other passages), the apostles exhorted their brethren to remember “what you heard from the beginning” (1 John 2:24). There was an unalterable standard to which they needed to adhere.

The authority of the apostles was not handed down to successors who would hold their office after they died. Once laid, the foundation of the church did not need to be laid again (Ephesians 2:20,21) — the truths that form the foundation laid by the apostles will be available in the Scriptures until Christ returns. So I believe Paul would say to us exactly what he said to the Thessalonians: “stand firm and hold to the traditions that you were taught by us.” Return must be the church’s watchword, now as it was back then. Return to Christ Jesus. Return to the apostolic traditions. Return to the Scriptures.

"What does this reestablishment of the authority of the Scriptures and the abolition of all the foreign norms really signify for the church? Is it not, purely and simply, a return to the apostolic type of church?" (Alfred Kuen).

Gary Henry - WordPoints.com + AreYouaChristian.com

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

THE APOSTLES (OCTOBER 12)

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". . . built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord" (Ephesians 2:20,21).

THE CHURCH OF WHICH CHRIST IS THE CORNERSTONE HAS A SOLID FOUNDATION: THE APOSTLES AND PROPHETS. Prophecy was important, obviously, but since it was a gift of the Spirit (1 Corinthians 12:8-10), it was imparted by the apostles (Acts 8:14-19). So the work of the apostles was primary (1 Corinthians 12:28). It was to them that Christ gave the “keys of the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 16:19). There would come a time when prophecies (and the other miraculous gifts) would no longer be present in the church (1 Corinthians 13:8,9), but the teaching of the apostles, uniquely revealed to them by God’s Spirit (John 14:25,26; 16:4-15), would serve as the permanent constitution of the Lord’s church. Beginning on Pentecost and continuing afterward until Christ returns, Christians would need to ground their faith and practice in the apostles’ teaching. As John, who was one of the apostles, wrote toward the end of the apostolic age, “Let what you heard from the beginning abide in you. If what you heard from the beginning abides in you, then you too will abide in the Son and in the Father” (1 John 2:24).

The apostles were, first and foremost, eyewitnesses of Jesus after His resurrection (Acts 1:21-26). But second, Jesus had said to the apostles alone that they would be guided into “all the truth” by the Holy Spirit (John 16:13). And to guarantee their authority as Christ’s emissaries, they were given distinctive abilities which served as “the signs of a true apostle” (2 Corinthians 12:12).

In the New Testament, the second half of Luke-Acts is often called “Acts of the Apostles,” and that is an excellent name for it. Endowed with nothing less than Christ’s own authority, the apostles were those through whom Christ continued His work after He ascended to heaven. If we think we’re exalting Christ when we downplay the work of the apostles, we’re mistaken. Christ’s work is inseparable from the teaching of those men; it is the very foundation of the church — and the wise will take it utterly seriously.

"This doctrine of Christ and of the apostles, from which the true faith of the primitive church was received, the apostles at first delivered orally, without writing, but later, not by any human counsel but by the will of God, they handed it on in the Scriptures" (Martin Chemnitz).

Gary Henry - WordPoints.com + AreYouaChristian.com

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EVERYWHERE IN EVERY CHURCH (OCTOBER 11)

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"That is why I sent you Timothy, my beloved and faithful child in the Lord, to remind you of my ways in Christ, as I teach them everywhere in every church" (1 Corinthians 4:17).

THE THINGS PAUL TAUGHT AS AN APOSTLE, HE TAUGHT EVERYWHERE IN EVERY CHURCH. And the statement Paul makes here is like others in the same letter indicating that the order he imposed on the Lord’s work and worship in Corinth did not vary from what he imposed on any other congregation (1 Corinthians 7:17; 14:36). As he indicated in 16:1, he had the authority, as an apostle, to “direct” the churches to do certain things. His were not just suggestions; they were commands. As an apostle, he could make this kind of statement, which no one but an apostle would have dared to make: “I do not permit . . .” (1 Timothy 2:12).

Not only was Paul’s teaching the same wherever he went; his teaching was the same as that of the other apostles. When he found himself under attack for taking the gospel to the Gentiles, he argued that the other apostles were in agreement with his practice (Galatians 2:6-10). He made it clear that he, like the other apostles, had received the teaching from God by direct revelation (Galatians 1:11,12). Coming from the same source, the teaching of all the apostles would naturally be in agreement (2 Peter 3:15,16).

Have you ever wondered how congregations in the New Testament period resembled one another so strongly in their faith and practice? It was not by following a historical tradition, for in those days the church did not yet have much history. It was not by taking orders from the home office of a denomination or association of churches, for there was no such thing. And it wasn’t by copying one another. It was simply by following the teaching of the apostles. And today, if we go back to the teaching of the apostles and use that as our template, the congregations you and I worship with will resemble those congregations in the very same ways they resembled one another.

The point here is not that likeness is a value in and of itself; rather, it is that when we yield to the authority of Jesus Christ, mediated to us by the teaching of His apostles in the Scriptures, we will be what He wants us to be, both individually and congregationally.

"Market-driven churches? Whatever happened to gospel-driven churches?" (Walter B. Shurden).

Gary Henry - WordPoints.com + AreYouaChristian.com

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THE WAY (OCTOBER 10)

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"But Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest and asked him for letters to the synagogues at Damascus, so that if he found any belonging to the Way, men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem" (Acts 9:1,2).

AS THESE VERSES INDICATE, “THE WAY” IS HOW THE CHRISTIAN FAITH WAS KNOWN IN ITS EARLY DAYS. The fact that the faith was known by that description says several things. First, a “way” indicates a manner of living and not merely a set of doctrines. Second, “the Way” is the language of choice and boundaries (since we can’t follow a particular way and still go everywhere else too). And third, the narrowness of one way — the Way — is objectionable to modern culture. Its exclusiveness is thought to be ungracious.

But R. C. Sproul made a perceptive comment when he said, “The question is not, ‘Why is there only one way to God?’ but ‘Why is there even one way?’” It is a token of how gracious God is that He opened up any way for us to come back at all, when justice could have been served by simply letting us reap the harvest we had sown. Seen from this perspective, it seems outrageous of us, guilty of treason and standing before the King, to complain that He is narrow and judgmental if He does not allow us to reconcile ourselves to Him in any way we think is appropriate.

There is also another thing to ponder. We often frame the question of “the Way” in terms of our journey, when in reality, the better analogy is just the reverse. If we are reconciled to God, that will not be the result of our making some self-discovered “journey” that got us to heaven; it will be the result of God coming to our rescue. He is the One who takes the initiative, reaching down to us in our lost condition and offering us His saving hand. If He does that at all, it will certainly be on His terms. Being who He is, and having the nature that He does, He cannot be other than what He is. He could not reconcile Himself to us in simply any way that “felt good” to Him; it would have to be in a way that is consistent with His divine attributes, which are fixed and very definite. So let’s quit talking about “man’s journey to God.” It is God who condescends to save us; and humility on our part will gladly accept “the Way” provided by Him, which is through obedience to the gospel of His Son.

"God cannot come to me in any way but his own way" (Oswald Chambers).

Gary Henry - WordPoints.com + AreYouaChristian.com

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A PEOPLE FOR GOD'S NAME (OCTOBER 9)

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"Simeon has related how God first visited the Gentiles, to take from them a people for his name" (Acts 15:14).

A PERSON’S “NAME” COMMUNICATES HIS CHARACTER OR INNER NATURE. Hence, “a good name is better than precious ointment” (Ecclesiastes 7:1). In the case of God’s name, of course, much more is involved than with any human name. God’s name stands for not only His character but also His power — especially His power to deliver and to save. When the apostles were pressured by the Jewish authorities, they said concerning Jesus Christ, “There is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12).

In Acts 15:14, when James said that God had dealt with the Gentiles so as to take from them “a people for his name,” what did he mean? In the Old Testament, the expression “a people for his name” always referred to the Israelites; here we are told that it is also from among the Gentiles that some will be His people. But what does it mean to be a people “for his name”? I am still pondering this, but at least two things are clear to me so far:

(1) GOD’S PEOPLE “WEAR” HIS NAME. If we are called by God’s name that means we belong to Him. More important, it means that we partake of His character (2 Peter 1:4). In heaven, God’s people will have been perfected completely in the godliness of their character — “and his name will be on their foreheads” (Revelation 22:4).

(2) GOD’S PEOPLE “BEAR” HIS NAME. In a sense, God has put His reputation in the hands of those who are “a people for his name.” Knowing that the world is watching, we live so as to reflect favorably on God’s character and His power (Matthew 5:13-16).

The glory of the gospel is that God has such a people as this: a people for his name. Whether Jewish or Gentile, we can be a part of that people by obeying the gospel. In Christ, not only is our alienation from God removed, but so is the alienation between Jew and Gentile (Galatians 3:27,28). No matter who we are, we have an equal need for God’s forgiveness, and in Christ, we receive that forgiveness on exactly the same basis. No one receives favoritism, and no one is excluded. May the good news be both your joy and mine.

"God's concern is for His name, His glory, His people, His unfolding eternal purpose and for His Kingdom" (Alistair Begg).

Gary Henry - WordPoints.com + AreYouaChristian.com

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I WILL BE THEIR GOD (OCTOBER 8)

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"For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my laws into their minds, and write them on their hearts, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people" (Hebrews 8:10).

THIS VERSE IS PART OF THE HEBREW WRITER’S QUOTATION OF JEREMIAH 31:31-34, WHICH IS THE LONGEST OLD TESTAMENT QUOTATION IN THE NEW TESTAMENT. For today’s study, let’s focus on God’s statement, “I will be their God, and they shall be my people.”

In the Old Testament, God was the God of the Jews. There were certainly people outside of Israel who worshiped Him as the true God, but at Mount Sinai God entered into a covenant with Israel that set up a special relationship between Him and that group of people (Exodus 19:1-6). This was in fulfillment of God’s promise to Abraham (Genesis 12:1-3), and it was to prepare Israel to be the physical family through whom the Messiah would be born into the world — the One anticipated all the way back in Genesis 3:15 who would crush Satan and reverse the damage done by sin.

Even the “old” covenant itself had spoken of a “new” one that God would put into place: “Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will make a new covenant” (Jeremiah 31:31). This new covenant would be “not like” (v.32) the old one; it would be different. Some things seem similar, however. In the new covenant, according to v.33, God would say, “I will be their God, and they shall be my people,” but He had said the same thing to Israel (Leviticus 26:12). We need to consider carefully how this language might be different in the new covenant as opposed to the old.

For one thing, “I will be their God” had reference in the old covenant to Israel, but in the new it would encompass people from every nation. And amazingly, even this had been anticipated in the Jewish prophecies of the Messiah’s reign, like Daniel 7:13,14.

But “I will be their God” would also have a more personal meaning in the new covenant. God would not just be the deity acknowledged by a group of people as the true God — He would be the God whom they actually loved and worshiped and trusted. In Latin terms, He would be their God de facto as well as de jure.

"The Greek [in Hebrews 8:10] expresses it cryptically -- 'I will be to them as God, and they will be to me as people.' The relationship was to be intimate and mutual" (Donald Guthrie).

Gary Henry - WordPoints.com + AreYouaChristian.com

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