Obeying the Gospel

CONFESSING OUR SINS (AUGUST 28)

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"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).

GOD’S GRACE IS A SOURCE OF JOY TO US. Where would we be if He were not “faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness”? But God’s forgiveness requires honesty on our part. Writing to Christians, John said, “If we confess our sins,” God will accept our honesty and forgive us.

What does it mean to “confess” our sins? It means acknowledging what the sins are that we need to be forgiven of. This is far more than a generic statement that we “haven’t done as well as we should.” In confession, we specifically name the sins we are guilty of, acknowledging the full, unvarnished truth about our disobedience. Rather than pleading extenuating circumstances that might diminish our guilt, we confess the aggravating circumstances that make our guilt even worse than it might have been otherwise. In our own “trial,” so to speak, we accuse ourselves more thoroughly than any of the witnesses — saying exactly what the sin was and why it was so wrong, sparing no detail and offering no excuse.

Anyone who has ever done this knows how painful it is. It comes from “a broken and contrite heart” (Psalm 51:17), and it hurts. But the joy of forgiveness is on the other side of this sorrow, and the process of confessing our sins and properly grieving them should not be rushed through. One reason many Christians have so little joy is that they have paid too little attention to the process of confession and grief for their sins. Eager to be happy, they have avoided the very thing that could have made them truly rejoice.

But in addition to God, is there anyone else to whom we should confess our sins? In some cases, yes. If anyone else has suffered loss or damage by our sin, we must acknowledge how we have hurt them and seek to make whatever restitution is possible. In addition, there may be others we will want to confess our sins to because they love us and will be a great help to us as we learn to repent and live differently. Hard though it is, confession is one of the best parts of God’s plan for our redemption. It is a blessing because it is a courageous step in the direction of truth.

"Confession, which means to agree with God regarding our sin, restores our fellowship. It is a form of discipline which God requires" (Erwin W. Lutzer).

Gary Henry - WordPoints.com + AreYouaChristian.com

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

WHAT TRUST MOVES US TO DO (AUGUST 27)

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"For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts" (Isaiah 55:8,9).

ONE OF LIFE’S GREATEST CHALLENGES IS TO TRUST GOD ENOUGH TO ACCEPT HIS MEANS AND HIS METHODS. Many are those who say they love God and trust Him, but in an age when human feelings are the ultimate source of authority, most people are willing to disregard anything in the Scriptures that does not seem reasonable to them. We say we believe God is non-negotiable, but when it comes to “means and methods,” we often see those as flexible.

Few of us would have set up the gospel plan of salvation as God did. Even in the apostolic age, the gospel met with resistance from many who saw it as either ineffective or unsophisticated. Speaking as one who knew what it was like to reject the gospel as being unreasonable, Paul said, “For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. For it is written, ‘I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and the discernment of the discerning I will thwart.’ Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe” (1 Corinthians 1:18-21).

But what about us today? Are we willing to accept God in general matters like love and faith, but when it comes to His instructions in the Scriptures about how these principles are to be carried out, do we balk? The unavoidable fact is, if we do not trust God’s revealed instructions, we do not trust God Himself.

We see no better example of someone yielding to God’s plan than Jesus yielding in the matter of His crucifixion (John 12:27,28). He went to the cross not because it was easy or because it was His preference, but simply because He trusted His Father’s plan. He trusted the plan because He trusted His Father. And make no mistake: it was His obedience that showed that He trusted Him.

"Faith reposes on the character of God, and if we believe that God is perfect, we must conclude that his ways are perfect also" (A. W. Tozer).

Gary Henry - WordPoints.com + AreYouaChristian.com

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

WHEN WE REACH GOD'S GOAL (AUGUST 26)

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"And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit" (2 Corinthians 3:18).

IF WE ARE IN CHRIST, WE ARE BEING TRANSFORMED. Beginning with our initial obedience to the gospel and the forgiveness of our past sins, we are being renovated and rehabilitated. When we reach the place that Christ has gone to prepare for us (John 14:1-4), we will enjoy an absolutely perfect relationship with God forever. The damage of our sins will have been totally repaired, the flaws in our character removed, and even our innermost thoughts and motives completely conformed to our Father’s holiness.

The apostle John envisioned the completion of this process of character growth when he said, “Beloved, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is. And everyone who thus hopes in him purifies himself as he is pure” (1 John 3:2,3). What a glorious vision of what we can be!

At present, however, we are still in “rehab.” We ought to be powerfully pulled toward God by the vision of what we will be when the process is finished, but the fact is, we’re not there yet. Paul put it in the present tense when he said that we “are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another.” As long as this life lasts, we’ll always be works in progress.

But it is critically important to keep one thing in mind: God will not be content until He has finished doing what He has begun to do with us. Although His scheme of redemption obviously benefits us personally, the plan is primarily about God and His intention to redeem His creation from the ravages of sin. In Christ, He is transforming us into the sons and daughters that human beings were meant to be. He is, in effect, restoring our humanity to us.

Sin marred God’s creation, taking creatures made in His image and defacing that image. As a result, we have never experienced what it is to be a human being — not fully and perfectly. At best, we have been stumbling along with lives that are only a faint echo of real life. But God does not plan to leave His masterpiece broken. In Christ, He proposes to bring us all the way back to life.

"The glory of God is man fully alive" (Irenaeus).

Gary Henry - WordPoints.com + AreYouaChristian.com

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

REFRESHMENT IN THE LORD (AUGUST 25)

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"Yes, brother, I want some benefit from you in the Lord. Refresh my heart in Christ" (Philemon 20).

IN THE SHORT LETTER OF PAUL TO PHILEMON, PAUL MADE A BROTHER-TO-BROTHER REQUEST OF HIS FELLOW CHRISTIAN. Hoping the request would be favorably considered, Paul said, “Refresh my heart in Christ.” Today, let’s meditate on this aspect of becoming a Christian. Not only do we assume new responsibilities to the Lord, but we acquire a new connection to others who, like us, have obeyed the gospel. As we see with Paul and Philemon, we have the opportunity to “refresh” our brothers and sisters in Christ.

The concept of “refreshing” another person is helpful. Perhaps it goes without saying that we all need to be refreshed from time to time, but most of us probably underestimate the extent to which we can have this effect on others. By our words and deeds, we can energize those around us, breathing new life into them.

But Paul hoped that Philemon would refresh his heart “in Christ,” i.e., as a Christian. It is certainly possible for anyone, whether a Christian or not, to have a refreshing effect on other people, but in Jesus Christ this effect is deepened in significant ways. It is only in Christ that we have the ability to be refreshing in the ways that people most seriously need refreshment. But here is the point that all of us who are Christians need to ponder: we need to see being a Christian not only in terms of what we can get (being refreshed) but also in terms of what we can give (refreshing others).

When all is said and done, we will act in rightful love toward others only when we have a right relationship with God and think about His nature as we should. As someone has said, our “sociology” flows out of our “theology.” If we think there is no God at all, that will have an obvious impact on our relationships with other human beings. But even if we are believers, if our view of God is in conflict with God’s revelation of Himself in the Scriptures as a whole — for example, if it is skewed in the direction of either His judgment or His forgiveness — our relationships will be hampered by that imbalance. So here is a very practical reason for learning about God as He truly is: it is the truth about God that will enable us to be genuinely “refreshing” as Christians.

"There is no brotherhood of man without the fatherhood of God" (Henry Martyn Field).

Gary Henry - WordPoints.com + AreYouaChristian.com

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

WILLFUL REFUSAL TO OBEY (AUGUST 24)

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"For rebellion is as the sin of divination, and presumption is as iniquity and idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the Lord, he has also rejected you from being king" (1 Samuel 15:23).

IN DESCRIBING SIN, ONE OF THE MAIN ILLUSTRATIONS USED IN THE BIBLE IS “REBELLION.” This gives us the picture of a subject who commits treason against his rightful king. Rather than submit to the laws of the kingdom, he rebels. Willfully and treacherously, he declares independence from the kingdom with an attitude that says, “I don’t care what the king says; I’ll do my own will.”

After all our rationalizations have been refuted by the facts, this is what sin always amounts to. It is rebellion. When we sin, we willfully refuse to obey God. Paul cuts through all the nonsense of our excuses in Romans 2:5 when he says “Because of your hard and impenitent heart you are storing up wrath for yourself on the day of wrath when God’s righteous judgment will be revealed.”

On the judgment day, there will only be two classes of people: “to those who by patience in well-doing seek for glory and honor and immortality, [God] 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 2:7,8). If we are lost, it will not be a miscarriage of justice. “Sin is not weakness, it is not disease; it is red-handed rebellion against God” (Oswald Chambers).

Even in what we know of God’s will, there is often an element of rebellion in our ignorance. As Eric Hoffer said, “Far more crucial than what we know or do not know is what we do not want to know.” So when the Scriptures speak of “ignorance,” it is often a reference to the moral blindness that comes from refusing the light that was available to us (Romans 1:28-32; Ephesians 4:17-19). 

It marks a huge step in our return to God when we acknowledge that our sins against Him have been deliberate. If all we can say is, “What I did was perhaps inadvisable, but I couldn’t have done otherwise,” we’re a long way from seeing our need for forgiveness. It is only when we acknowledge that we have chosen to disobey God that we’re ready to begin thinking about repentance.

"That is the inner nature of sin always, willful refusal to obey God. But still men go on trying to get conviction upon sinners by telling them they sinned because they could not help it" (A. W. Tozer).

Gary Henry - WordPoints.com + AreYouaChristian.com

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

CHRIST'S WEAPONS ARE NOT FLESHLY (AUGUST 23)

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"For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ" (2 Corinthians 10:4,5).

THE STRONGHOLDS DESTROYED BY JESUS CHRIST ARE NOT MILITARY OR GOVERNMENTAL. It is true that Jesus was victorious over the Roman Empire, but His victory was not gained on 28 October 312 (when Constantine won the Battle of the Milvian Bridge) or on 24 August 410 (when the Visigoths sacked Rome). No, in fulfillment of Daniel 2:44, Jesus broke in pieces the Roman Empire (and every other earthly empire) on the morning of His resurrection — and a few weeks later on the Day of Pentecost, when the truth about salvation in His name began to transform the hearts of human beings.

As Paul put it so clearly, the purpose of the gospel is not to tear down earthly tyrannies or take over the halls of worldly power. It is to “destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God.” And if any captives are to be taken, the gospel will “take every thought captive to obey Christ.”

We do not diminish the seriousness of the struggle when we say that the war between good and evil is an ideological warfare. Ideas are powerful, and you cannot think of a serious problem in the world that is not the result of some untruth that somebody has bought into. The devil’s main weapon is the lie, and Christ’s victory over His adversary consists of putting the truth back in its rightful place. Perhaps we may put it this way: Christ does not waste time hacking at the leaves of the tree; He goes to the very root of the trouble and cuts it off. In other words, as the Great Physician, He is not primarily concerned with symptoms; He is going for the cure.

This being the victory Christ came to win, He did not resort to any of the means that are needed to win a political contest. The kingdom that resulted from His victory can’t be measured by any of the criteria the world uses to judge how powerful something is. And because it is spiritual, Christ’s kingdom is not vulnerable to any of the threats that earthly kingdoms have to worry about. This kingdom doesn’t need weapons. It’s a different kind of kingdom.

Girded for war, humility his mighty dress,
He moves into the battle wholly weaponless.
(Madeleine L'Engle)

Gary Henry - WordPoints.com + AreYouaChristian.com

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

EVERY KNEE WILL BOW, EVERY TONGUE CONFESS (AUGUST 22)

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"Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father" (Philippians 2:9-11).

CHRIST’S HUMILIATION WAS FOLLOWED A FEW WEEKS LATER BY HIS EXALTATION. The writer of Hebrews pointed his brethren to the example of Jesus, “who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God” (Hebrews 12:2). This is a reference to the prophecy of David in Psalm 110:1, a prophecy alluded to several times in the New Testament and always linked to the ascension of Jesus back to heaven following His resurrection: “So then the Lord Jesus, after he had spoken to them, was taken up into heaven and sat down at the right hand of God” (Mark 16:19).

In Philippians 2:9, Paul said that “God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name.” The majestic rule of Jesus as God’s Son exceeds that of any other power or authority “in heaven and on earth and under the earth.” As Jesus Himself said on the occasion when He commissioned His apostles to preach the gospel of God’s forgiveness in His name, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age” (Matthew 28:18-20).

Paul said that God has given this authority to His Son so that “every knee should bow . . . and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord.” The gospel now invites us to accept our Lord’s rule voluntarily and lovingly. If we refuse to do so, the time will come when He will return and bring the history of this world to a close. At that time, the reality of His rule will be unavoidable and there will be none who do not confess the truth. But if we have not done so before that day of judgment, it will be too late for our acknowledgement to save us. In reality, Christ is the Lord. But will we accept His lordship? That is what the gospel asks us to decide.

"If Shakespeare should come into this room, we would all rise; but if Jesus Christ should come in, we would all kneel" (Charles Lamb).

Gary Henry - WordPoints.com + AreYouaChristian.com

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

HUMBLING HIMSELF, HE BECAME OBEDIENT (AUGUST 21)

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"And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross" (Philippians 2:8).

GOD COULD NOT HAVE DIED AN ATONING DEATH FOR OUR SINS WITHOUT BECOMING A HUMAN BEING. There was only one sacrifice that could save us, and He had to take upon Himself human form in order to make that sacrifice. From our limited viewpoint, we have no idea what it cost Him to humble Himself in this way.

The word “humility” is the only word that can describe it, of course, but what we know of humility in our human relationships hardly seems sufficient. When God “humbled himself” by diving into the cesspool of the human race and allowing Himself to be killed on our behalf, He engaged in an act of sacrificial service that should make any of us reluctant to say that we’ve ever really given up anything for anyone. In eternally unfathomable ways, He “emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant” (Philippians 2:7).

But it was not merely by being humble that Jesus procured our salvation — it was “by becoming obedient.” We have learned nothing of Jesus Christ and His gospel if we have not learned the necessity of obedience. Our ears are deaf if we can’t hear the courage of His submission to His Father’s will on the eve of His execution: “Abba, Father, all things are possible for you. Remove this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will” (Mark 14:36). But oh, how thankful we are for His obedience. We would be lost without it, would we not? “Although he was a son, he learned obedience through what he suffered. And being made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation to all who obey him” (Hebrews 5:8,9).

In the Roman Empire, there was no more humiliating death than crucifixion. Jesus was not the only person executed by Rome in this way, but the uniqueness of His crucifixion was that the most humiliating form of death was meted out to the most powerful Being in the universe: God Himself. And if God would submit to such a thing, what are the implications for us? At the very least, it means we cannot “follow” Christ or “accept” Him without emulating His example of obedience — even when it is costly.

"To be like Christ. That is our goal, plain and simple. It sounds like a peaceful, relaxing, easy objective. But stop and think. He learned obedience by the things he suffered. So must we" (Charles R. Swindoll).

Gary Henry - WordPoints.com + AreYouaChristian.com

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

HUMBLY RECEIVING THE WORD (AUGUST 20)

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". . . take into your souls without pride the word which, being planted there, is able to give you salvation" (James 1:21 Bible in Basic English).

GOD’S WORD, COMMUNICATED TO US IN THE SCRIPTURES, IS EXTREMELY POWERFUL. But in addition to His word, God has also given us freedom. Depending on the choices we make as we respond to the Scriptures, we will become either more receptive or more resistant. So in regard to our dealings with God’s word, James uses the word “receive” — or as some other translations render it, “take into your souls” (BBE), “welcome” (NET), “accept” (NIV), etc. The NIrV aptly paraphrases the entire sentence, “Don’t be too proud to accept the word that is planted in you. It can save you.”

In our approach to God, all of us are hindered by pride. It comes in such subtle shapes and sizes, we may not see it for what it is, but none of us can truthfully say we don’t have any problem with pride. And pride never presents any worse problem for us than when it hinders us from “receiving” God’s word obediently. When we study the Scriptures, if we reject what the text clearly teaches, put up our defenses, or make excuses to convince ourselves that it’s not applicable to us, then the devil need not expend any more effort trying to claim our souls. He has got us already.

As we’ve already seen, whether or not we’re receptive hearers is a matter of choice. If pride is hindering our hearing, we can change that. Doing so will be hard, even with God’s help, but the first step must be our decision to heed James’ advice: “take into your souls without pride the word which, being planted there, is able to give you salvation.” God’s word does not automatically save anyone — it is “able” (that’s the word James uses) to save those willing to receive it. And ultimately, it is by our deeds that we show how receptive we’ve been. As James says, “Be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves” (1:22).

In these days when Bibles are so plentiful, many of us know a good many things about the Scriptures. Indeed, some of us have studied the Scriptures our whole lives. But frankly, out of all we have learned, only a fraction of that has truly been “received.” Today, let’s determine that we will not let pride keep God’s word from pricking our conscience and moving us to greater obedience.

"The Bible was not given for our information but for our transformation" (Dwight L. Moody).

Gary Henry - WordPoints.com + AreYouaChristian.com

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

NONE OF US HAS ANYBODY WE CAN LOOK DOWN ON (AUGUST 19)

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"The Pharisee, standing by himself, prayed thus: 'God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector'" (Luke 18:11).

OUR “FORGETTER” IS A BLESSING, BUT IT CAN ALSO BE A CURSE. Some things it is best not to forget. In the above text, for example, the Pharisee felt good when he compared himself to the tax collector. But his good feelings were ill-founded. Having forgotten the seriousness of his own sins, he had a false self-image.

THE SINS WE WERE FORGIVEN OF. Gratitude for God’s grace means that we rejoice in our salvation. We do not allow our past to drown us in despair. But even so, we must not forget how indebted to God’s grace we really are. Our gratitude (and hence our joy) will always be in proportion to our remembrance of the debt that was erased (Luke 7:40-47). If we forget the sins we were forgiven of, our joy will dry up and turn into the boredom of self-satisfaction.

THE SINS THAT REMAIN IN OUR LIVES. Most of us are out of touch with the amount of sin that still resides in our hearts. It may have been many years ago that we obeyed the gospel and began walking with the Lord, and we may have grown a good bit in the meantime. When we compare ourselves to others, it may seem that we are doing pretty well, but compared to the Lord, it’s obvious that we still have a long way to go. We need to be humbled by the recognition of how sinful our motives often are, even when our outward behavior meets the standards of Christian conduct.

There is nothing about any of us that is not known to God. “The word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. And no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account” (Hebrews 4:12,13). What if God made known to the public everything He knows about us, even the “thoughts and intentions” of our hearts? Who among us would not be disgraced and ashamed?

Thanks be to God for His offer of mercy in Jesus Christ! But if we have obeyed the gospel and received that mercy, let’s be careful in our thinking. None of us has anybody we can look down on.

"The best of us are but poor wretches just saved from shipwreck" (George Eliot).

Gary Henry - WordPoints.com + AreYouaChristian.com

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