Obeying the Gospel

YOU WILL BE MY PEOPLE, I WILL BE YOUR GOD (APRIL 29)

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"I will take you to be my people, and I will be your God, and you shall know that I am the Lord your God, who has brought you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians" (Exodus 6:7).

AFTER ISRAEL WAS DELIVERED FROM CAPTIVITY, WHAT THEN? That is a question God answered even before He liberated them: “I will take you to be my people, and I will be your God.” Having rescued them from four centuries of servitude, God would enter into a “covenant,” a special two-way agreement, with them. He would be their God in a unique sense, but as His people, they would have some responsibilities along with their blessings. “You yourselves have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles’ wings and brought you to myself. Now therefore, if you will indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possession among all peoples, for all the earth is mine” (Exodus 19:4,5). Israel would have to keep their part of the agreement.

In Leviticus 26:12, God said to Israel, “I will walk among you and will be your God, and you shall be my people.” Surrounded by the moral and religious corruption of Canaan, they would need to keep themselves free of those influences, so that they could truly be God’s people, in practice as well as in name.

Paul quotes Leviticus 26:12 in the New Testament and applies it to Christians living in environments like Corinth: “For we are the temple of the living God; as God said, ‘I will make my dwelling among them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people’” (2 Corinthians 6:16). If it was true of Israel, it is also true of Christians — if God is to “walk among” us, we must do more than rely on the privilege of a special status; we must maintain a purity in our actual lives that identifies us as belonging to God. God said then the same thing He says now, “You shall be holy, for I am holy” (Leviticus 11:45; 1 Peter 1:16).

For here is the truth of the matter: we haven’t really been liberated or “saved” if, for all practical purposes, we continue to live in “Egypt.” God requires that we leave our chains behind, not only as a group, but also inwardly, privately, and individually.

O Thou, to whose all-searching sight
The darkness shineth as the light!
Search, prove my heart; it pants for Thee.
Oh, burst these bonds, and set it free!
(Gerhard Tersteegen)

Gary Henry - WordPoints.com + AreYouaChristian.com

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

REPENTANCE FROM THE HEART (APRIL 28)

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"Let us lift up our hearts and hands to God in heaven" (Lamentations 3:41).

IN HIS COLLECTION OF SORROWFUL SONGS FOLLOWING THE DESOLATION OF JERUSALEM BY THE BABYLONIANS, JEREMIAH CAPTURES THE PENITENT SPIRIT THAT ISRAEL SHOULD HAVE HAD AT THIS TERRIBLE TIME. “Let us lift up our hearts and hands to God in heaven,” he says. Although God had brought judgment upon Israel (just as He had said He would if they did not cease their idolatry), their future could still be bright with hope if they would repent.

Repentance is a sincere turning of the heart back to God. In our outward actions, repentance involves ceasing to do what is wrong and starting to do what is right, but these outward results of repentance proceed from a heart that is sorry for the sins that have been committed against God (2 Corinthians 7:9-11). Theoretically, a person might change his ways for a number of reasons that have nothing to do with God. Repentance, however, is the reformation of one’s thoughts, words, and deeds because of godly sorrow. It has to do with God and it requires a certain kind of heart (Acts 26:19,20).

This doesn’t mean that the outward aspects of repentance are optional or unimportant. There are some individuals who, when they hear that something depends on what is in the heart, conclude that as long as their heart is right it doesn’t matter what they do in their outward life. But if that is ever true, it certainly is not true with regard to repentance. John the Baptist rebuked the Pharisees, all of whom would have said their hearts were deeply devoted to God: “Prove by the way you live that you have repented of your sins and turned to God” (Matthew 3:8 NLT).

Any honest person who has been a Christian very long will confess that repentance must be engaged in continually. Yes, it is one of the initial requirements for becoming a Christian, but to become a Christian is to enter a process of godly growth that will require repentance anytime we see that we’ve failed to trust and obey God. In fact, one of the evidences of spiritual maturity in Christ is that we live with a penitent frame of mind, instantly going to God in prayer the moment we see that we’ve not responded rightly to His love. It’s a new and better way of thinking.

"Repentance is an attitude rather than a single act" (Richard Owen Roberts).

Gary Henry - WordPoints.com + AreYouaChristian.com

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

A BAG WITH HOLES (APRIL 27)

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"You have sown much, and harvested little. You eat, but you never have enough; you drink, but you never have your fill. You clothe yourselves, but no one is warm. And he who earns wages does so to put them into a bag with holes" (Haggai 1:6).

DESPITE OUR DILIGENCE IN THIS WORLD, SOMETIMES IT SEEMS THE RESULTS OF OUR WORK ARE NOT COMPLETELY SATISFACTORY. In our more honest moments, we recognize the existence of yearnings and aspirations that show no signs of going away. This is true collectively (in societies), and also personally (in individuals).

In Haggai 1:6, God used the analogy of a man putting his wages into “a bag with holes.” This man may believe in the power of positive thinking, but if his bag has holes in it, pouring more coins into it is going to be futile. And it is God who determines whether any particular bag will have holes in it or not. It is simply not within our power to reach every goal we set (James 4:13-16). At any time, God can withhold the profit we intended from our goals (putting holes in our bags), so that, despite our energy and optimism, we are left with the feeling that we didn’t really get what we were after.

Now think carefully. What is true of specific activities in life is also true of life in general. When mankind rebelled against Him, God subjected the world to “futility” (Romans 8:20,21). That is, God set limitations that would prevent the human race from controlling everything it wanted to control, and having everything it wanted to have. These limitations should be a constant reminder of man’s need for God. The fact that, in this world, our “bag” will always have “holes” in it does not mean that God is cruel. Rather, He lets us experience this earthly unsatisfaction in order to draw us back to Him.

In Deuteronomy 8:3, Moses reminded Israel about the hunger God had allowed them to suffer in the wilderness: “And he humbled you and let you hunger and fed you with manna, which you did not know, nor did your fathers know, that he might make you know that man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord.”

The sooner we grasp this point, the sooner we’ll be ready for the gospel. It will be a huge step forward when we come to see the human race — and ourselves — as being empty rather than full.

"We are all beggars, each in his own way" (Mark Twain).

Gary Henry - WordPoints.com + AreYouaChristian.com

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

WE HAVE TO BE TAUGHT WHAT WE NEED (APRIL 26)

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"And you shall remember the whole way that the Lord your God has led you these forty years in the wilderness, that he might humble you, testing you to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep his commandments or not. And he humbled you and let you hunger and fed you with manna, which you did not know, nor did your fathers know, that he might make you know that man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord" (Deuteronomy 8:2,3).

IN THE WILDERNESS, GOD KEPT ISRAEL FROM STARVING TO DEATH, BUT NOT WITHOUT LETTING THEM FEEL THE EXPERIENCE OF HUNGER. The purpose of this was to teach Israel their need for Him, especially their need for His truth. Moses said that God “humbled you and let you hunger and fed you with manna . . . that he might make you know that man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord.”

It is a fact that we need our Creator. He created us to need not only Him but a right relationship with Him. Yet we forget this, living most of the time as if no notice need be taken of the God who made us. On Thanksgiving Day we may say grace before we eat, but more often we live as if what we need is going to come from marrying well and making smart career moves — matters that “we control.”

So if it was said to Israel that “he humbled you and let you hunger,” the same might be said of us. Food might not be the thing we have to do without, but there will be some deprivation, some unmet needs. God will see that this happens. He will grant us the gift of “need” — to teach us that we are not self-sufficient.

The fact is, we have to be taught what our greatest needs are. We think we know what these are, but our priorities can become dangerously disordered. We have to be taught (sometimes the hard way) that it is by God’s word that we live, not by bread alone.

All of this relates to the gospel in a powerful way. There is no greater barrier to a person’s reception of the gospel than the sense of not needing what the gospel offers. If we don’t need God at all, we certainly don’t need His forgiveness, least of all by yielding ourselves to some plan that He might have for our “salvation.” But there is coming a day of reckoning. If our doom ends up being that of those who have disregarded God, it won’t be because He did not try to break through our hard shell of self-sufficiency.

"God's restrictions were given to show us more keenly our need of him" (Erwin W. Lutzer).

Gary Henry - WordPoints.com + AreYouaChristian.com

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

DO WE REALLY MEAN OUR NICE-SOUNDING WORDS? (APRIL 25)

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"Oh that they had such a heart as this always, to fear me and to keep all my commandments" (Deuteronomy 5:29).

GOD’S STATEMENT IN THIS VERSE CAME AFTER ISRAEL HAD SAID THEY WOULD OBEY THE LAW THAT GOD WOULD GIVE TO MOSES ON MOUNT SINAI. “Go near and hear all that the Lord our God will say,” they had said, “and speak to us all that the Lord our God will speak to you, and we will hear and do it” (v.27). That was a fine statement, which God acknowledged (v.28), but God knew that Israel would end up not keeping the Law, so He said, “Oh that they had such a heart as this always, to fear me and to keep all my commandments” (v.29). Although some of the people may have been sincere in what they said at Sinai, the fact is, it was easier to say those nice-sounding words with their lips than it was to keep them.

This is not an argument against saying the words that express our highest ideals and best intentions. There is value in verbalizing these things, even when we know our performance is going to be imperfect. Often our words serve the purpose of saying what we want to be true. Yet we still need to be careful. Surrounded by other religious people, it’s easy to say nice things. But talk is cheap, as the saying goes. We need to mean every promise we make to God.

Finally, I wish to suggest another aspect of this topic. All of us have had the experience of saying things nonchalantly that turned out to be far more “real” than we imagined at the time. A similar thing happens sometimes when we speak of God. For example, we might casually and superficially talk about God being “a consuming fire.” Those are true words, as we find in Hebrews 12:29, but if the time ever comes when we actually experience the wrath of God that we spoke about so glibly, we will tremble to realize that, whether we really meant it or not, we spoke far more truth than we knew. All of which is to say: words are powerful things. And if the words we speak are about God and they happen to be true, their truth may come crashing down on us eventually — even if we didn’t really mean them when we said them.

"There comes a moment when people who have been dabbling in religion (“man’s search for God”) suddenly draw back. Supposing we really found Him? We never meant it to come to that! Worse still, supposing He had found us?" (C. S. Lewis).

Gary Henry - WordPoints.com + AreYouaChristian.com

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

SETTING APART CHRIST AS LORD IN OUR HEARTS (APRIL 24)

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"But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect" (1 Peter 3:15 NIV).

ONE WAY TO DEFINE THE CHRISTIAN’S UNIQUENESS IS TO SAY THAT HE HAS MADE CHRIST THE “LORD” OF HIS HEART. When he turned away from his sins, confessed his faith, and was baptized into Christ, the Christian began to follow a new leadership. Whatever may have directed his life before, he now looks to Christ as the deciding factor in every aspect of his character and conduct.

This is what Peter had in mind when he said we should “set apart Christ as Lord” in our hearts. While not as familiar now as it was in the first century, the concept of “lordship” is critically important. The word “lord” means “master” or “one who has authority,” but in the case of Jesus Christ the term is all-encompassing. For the Christian, Christ has all authority. There is nothing about the Christian’s life that the will of Christ does not govern — from the innermost thoughts of his heart to the outermost aspects of his behavior. No step is taken unless he is confident that Christ approves.

Paul put it this way: “Whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him” (Colossians 3:17). And this principle does not just apply to the “religious” aspect of life or “church” activities. It applies to everything the Christian does, publicly and privately.

Peter said Christ is to be set apart as Lord “in your hearts.” The Christian fights a losing battle against sin if he has not first given his heart to Jesus Christ. It is only when Christ has been given control of our most private thinking that progress begins to be made.

This decision to “set apart Christ as Lord” is the main ingredient in conversion to Christ. The changes that occur on the “outside” of our lives are the result of a change on the “inside”: our thoughts are now under the rule of Jesus Christ. But living consistently under Christ’s lordship requires growth. We have to learn to yield our hearts completely to His direction. At our baptism, we’re just getting started in learning how to let Christ be our Lord.

"If you desire Christ for a perpetual guest, give him all the keys of your heart; let not one cabinet be locked up from him; give him the range of every room and the key of every chamber" (Charles Haddon Spurgeon).

Gary Henry - WordPoints.com + AreYouaChristian.com

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

WITH ALL YOUR HEART AND SOUL (APRIL 23)

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"But from there you will seek the Lord your God and you will find him, if you search after him with all your heart and with all your soul" (Deuteronomy 4:29).

THE BASIC IDEA CONTAINED IN THIS TEXT IS FOUND THROUGHOUT THE SCRIPTURES. I have not counted them, but if you took all the occurrences of “with all your heart and soul” (and all the variations thereof) and put them together, it would be an impressive list. Clearly, what God wants is for us to seek Him wholeheartedly.

In our text, however, Moses was not just speaking of a generic seeking of the Lord; he was talking about Israel returning to God after having forsaken Him. His point was that God would be willing to forgive them and bless them if they returned with all their hearts. No hypocritical or apathetic return would be accepted.

Wholeheartedness may be thought of in various ways. If we said somebody did something “with all his heart,” that would mean his effort was diligent, passionate, focused, and committed. All of these, and more, are involved when God said that Israel must return “with all your heart and with all your soul.”

If a person has not yet obeyed the gospel (Acts 2:37-41), the idea of wholeheartedness should be given careful consideration. To seek God’s forgiveness of our sins is a serious matter, as is committing ourselves to lifelong faithfulness after we’ve been forgiven. Jesus urged us to “count the cost” of discipleship (Luke 14:25-33). If we’re not willing to throw the doors open and give God access to every room in our hearts (even the “secret” ones), it is doubtful that our intentions are as serious as they should be.

There is a sense in which becoming a Christian is always a “return” to God. We were born into this world innocent of any sin and in a relationship with God that was beautifully right. It was only when we first went against what we knew to be God’s will that our fellowship with Him was broken and we found ourselves, somewhat like Israel, banished to a foreign land, spiritually speaking. The gospel of Christ offers restoration to those who return — but only to those who come back with a commitment befitting the majesty and love of God. Our loyalty must be absolutely unconditional. Surely, our Heavenly Father — our Merciful King — deserves this.

"To my God, a heart of flame; to my fellowmen, a heart of love; to myself, a heart of steel" (Augustine of Hippo).

Gary Henry - WordPoints.com + AreYouaChristian.com

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

GOD WILL NOT BE TRIFLED WITH (APRIL 22)

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"Then Moses said to Aaron, 'This is what the Lord has said: "Among those who are near me I will be sanctified, and before all the people I will be glorified."' And Aaron held his peace" (Leviticus 10:3).

WHEN NADAB AND ABIHU DISRESPECTED GOD BY FLOUTING HIS INSTRUCTIONS FOR THE TABERNACLE WORSHIP, THEY PAID FOR IT WITH THEIR LIVES. These men having offered “unauthorized fire before the Lord, which He had not commanded them . . . fire came out from before the Lord and consumed them” (Leviticus 10:1,2). And in the aftermath, God clearly stated the point He wanted the people to take from the event: “Among those who are near me I will be sanctified, and before all the people I will be glorified” (v.3). What does this statement mean, especially the part where God says, “I will be sanctified”? Two interpretations are possible, and both of them involve truths that are clearly taught in the Scriptures:

(1) The NIV words it this way: “Among those who approach me I will show myself holy.” If this is how the Hebrew is to be taken, it means that those who come near God (the priests) will be vessels through whom He will exhibit His holiness. The NLT translates it, “I will display My holiness through those who come near Me.”

(2) But the NKJV renders it: “By those who come near Me I must be regarded as holy.” This means, as the CEV tersely puts it, “I demand respect from my priests.” Today, every Christian is a priest (Revelation 1:6). To come near God is a serious thing. Disrespect and disobedience will not be tolerated in our approach to Him.

As we’ve said, both of these lines of thought are true. Either way, the main point is that God is holy. He must be treated as holy — with deep respect for His commandments — and He will also display His holiness in His dealings with those who come near — even if that means punishing those who play fast and loose with His instructions and “worship” Him presumptuously.

When it comes to God’s plan for our salvation, only He has the right to decide the terms of our forgiveness. In the matter of obeying the gospel, as in all else, it is He who writes the rules and not we. So we need to dispense with the popular notion that we can “love” God with a “positive” (and wholly subjective) theology that pays little attention to the requirements of His holiness.

"Saying yes to God means saying no to things that offend his holiness" (A. Morgan Derham).

Gary Henry - WordPoints.com + AreYouaChristian.com

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

A TRAGIC DISREGARD FOR GOD’S REQUIREMENTS (APRIL 21)

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"Now Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, each took his censer and put fire in it and laid incense on it and offered unauthorized fire before the Lord, which he had not commanded them" (Leviticus 10:1).

BEGINNING WITH ADAM AND EVE’S BOLD EXPERIMENT WITH INDEPENDENCE FROM GOD, EVERY MEMBER OF THE HUMAN RACE HAS STRUGGLED WITH THE SAME PROBLEM. Somehow, we just can’t believe that God really means business when He reveals His will for the way things are to be done. We can’t resist the thought that His requirements are arbitrary, unreasonable, and legalistic — and that no harm will come if we choose to do things differently.

The story of Nadab and Abihu in Leviticus 10 is one of the most striking examples of how displeased God is with the human desire to do as we please, regardless of His instructions. Sons of Aaron, the high priest, Nadab and Abihu put fire in their incense burners that was “unauthorized.” The text does not say specifically in what way their fire was in violation of the Lord’s command, but they surely would have known. They deliberately did that “which he had not commanded them.” And because the Lord could not allow such disrespect to stand on such a great occasion, “fire came out from before the Lord and consumed them, and they died before the Lord” (v.2). In a manner that was no doubt shocking to everyone, especially Aaron, their father, God demonstrated to His people that His instructions are to be taken utterly seriously.

Like it or not, there is a link between the character of God and the commands of God. When God has given any instruction to regulate our behavior, we cannot disrespect His word without disrespecting Him. There is no such thing as “reverent disobedience.”

In our thoughts on obeying the gospel, we’ve pointed to the importance of the question, “What must I do to be saved?” (Acts 16:30). That is the one question we must be the most willing to let God answer. Whatever our preferences may be as to what God should require, the only thing that matters is what He does require — and the only way we can know this is by the Scriptures. We may not understand God’s rationale for setting things up as He has, but we must respect His right to do so. It is to be hoped that we’ll honor Him more reverently than Nadab and Abihu did.

"Understanding can wait, but obedience cannot" (Geoffrey Grogan).

Gary Henry - WordPoints.com + AreYouaChristian.com

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

THE RETURN OF ELIJAH (APRIL 20)

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"Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the great and awesome day of the Lord comes" (Malachi 4:5).

MALACHI IS THE LAST BOOK IN THE OLD TESTAMENT. After this oracle was delivered, God did not speak prophetically to His people again until John the Baptist appeared preaching in the wilderness of Judea over four hundred years later. When John began to preach, his message was simple: “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!” (Matthew 3:1,2). The Messiah was soon to appear, and to be ready for Him and the kingdom He would inaugurate, the people needed to turn away from their sins.

In the days when John the Baptist began his ministry, the Jews were familiar with this text in Malachi, and they were expecting the return of Elijah. Yet it was not Elijah himself that Malachi was pointing to; it was John the Baptist. By preaching the message of repentance with the same power as Elijah, John prepared the people’s hearts for the Messiah.

Jesus, on more than one occasion, identified John as the Elijah who was to come. For example, in Matthew 11:13,14, He said, “For all the Prophets and the Law prophesied until John, and if you are willing to accept it, he is Elijah who is to come.” There is in the Old Testament no prediction that is explained any more clearly and specifically than the one in Malachi 4:5 about the return of Elijah.

But we miss the point if we fail to see the importance of what Elijah, John, and Jesus preached. If there was to be a kingdom populated by those whose sins had been forgiven, the first thing that obviously had to take place was for people to recognize their need for forgiveness — and then to actually repent of those sins as they sought God’s forgiveness. The only preaching that could have prepared them for this kind of Messiah was the message that John (and before him, Elijah) preached.

But who are the people who will repent of their sins? It is those who are humble enough to do so. If it is pride that produces sin in the first place, then getting rid of pride — returning our hearts to a posture of humility before God — must be the first thing that happens in the process of our salvation. And frankly, there is nothing harder for the modern reader to hear than this.

"Humility is a necessary prerequisite for grace" (Bernard of Clairvaux).

Gary Henry - WordPoints.com + AreYouaChristian.com

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