Obeying the Gospel

THERE IS NO FREEDOM EXCEPT IN THE TRUTH (JANUARY 29)

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". . . and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free" (John 8:32).

FREEDOM IS AN IDEA THAT RESONATES IN EVERY HUMAN HEART. We all long to be free. Many forces trap us and hold us back, but which one of our problems is the slavemaster that has harmed us the most? According to Jesus, it is sin. Whatever else may bind us, the practice of departing from what we know is our Creator’s will is our worst problem. If we’re old enough to know right from wrong, we’ve all been guilty of it over and over again. And sin is not a master we can simply decide to walk away from anytime we wish. On our own, we are helpless to repair the damage. Jesus said, “Everyone who practices sin is a slave to sin” (John 8:34).

But Jesus did more than just diagnose the problem. As the Son of God, He not only identified the central problem of the human race; He proposed to fix it Himself. He said that He would make us free. And He would not just make us free; He would give us a freedom that was abundant and everlasting. He said, “If the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed” (John 8:36).

But Jesus was very clear as to where the problem came from: it came from deception. Mankind never would have sinned if it had not believed the devil’s lie (Genesis 3:1-6; Revelation 12:9); so the only path out of sin is the path that leads us back to the truth. Truth — and particularly the truth about God — must be put back in its place. If not, the problem of sin will just get worse and worse.

So Jesus said, “You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” But I must be frank: if we are to be set free from our sins, it is not just truth about the world (or even truth about God’s plan of salvation) that we must accept. It is the truth about ourselves. The prospects for our future reality can never improve until we accept the bitter facts about our present reality. “The difference between life as it is and life as it ought to be is a frightening and distressing bit of reality” (James C. Dobson). Coming to terms with the full, ugly truth about who we really are and what we’ve really done is hard, but there is no other way to salvation. Jesus deals in facts. He intends to do far more than soothe our feelings with a heartfelt “religion” that says, “You’re fine just as you are.”

"Jesus Christ makes us real, not merely sincere" (Oswald Chambers).

Gary Henry - WordPoints.com + AreYouaChristian.com

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THE IMPORTANCE OF JESUS’ MIRACLES (JANUARY 28)

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"Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name" (John 20:30,31).

CLAIMS AS RADICAL AS THOSE MADE BY JESUS OF NAZARETH REQUIRE STRONG SUPPORT. No one should be expected to believe them without sufficient evidence. So Peter began his argument that Jesus was the Messiah by saying to a crowd in Jerusalem not long after Jesus’ crucifixion, “Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested to you by God with mighty works and wonders and signs that God did through him in your midst, as you yourselves know . . .” (Acts 2:22). The miraculous deeds which Peter’s audience knew Jesus had performed attested to the veracity of an astonishing fact: Jesus really was who He claimed to be.

The apostle John said he wrote about Jesus’ miracles “so that you may believe.” In other words, the miracles of Jesus (which had been seen by many eyewitnesses, including His enemies) authenticated the truth of what He claimed about Himself. That is why the miracles were called “signs.” As observable events, they “signified” the truth of Jesus’ identity as “the Christ, the Son of God.”

And yes, it is important that the eyewitnesses were not just Jesus’ friends. After Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead, “the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered the council and said, ‘What are we to do? For this man performs many signs. If we let him go on like this, everyone will believe in him, and the Romans will come and take away both our place and our nation’” (John 11:47,48).

The simple truth is, there is no historical reason to reject the miracles of Jesus. Before even looking at the records, we may have already made a decision that miracles cannot take place, and if so, no amount of historical evidence will convince us. But if we let the evidence speak, we see that we can’t discredit Jesus’ miracles without resorting to explanations that would be even harder to believe than the miracles themselves. And that is where faith begins — with a willingness to trust what the evidence tells us. “Eternal life does not begin with death; it begins with faith” (Samuel M. Shoemaker).

"Faith does not mean believing without evidence. It means believing in realities that go beyond sense and sight — for which a totally different sort of evidence is required" (John Baillie).

Gary Henry - WordPoints.com + AreYouaChristian.com

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CRUCIFIED WITH CHRIST (JANUARY 27)

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"I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me" (Galatians 2:20).

IN THE TEXT ABOVE, PAUL SPEAKS OF “THE LIFE I NOW LIVE.” This, of course, stands in contrast to the way he lived previously, when “faith in the Son of God” was not his guiding principle. To say the least, obedience to the gospel of Christ creates a “before” and an “after” — a radical conversion or turning in a person’s life.

GOD’S ULTIMATE INTENTION FOR US. In Christ, God plans to do more than smooth out a few wrinkles from our lifestyles; He plans to renovate the depths of our hearts so radically that our character will be just like that of Jesus Christ. When our hearts have become miniature models of Christ’s own heart, we will truly be His siblings, bearing as He does the unblemished image of our Father. God aims for us “to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers” (Romans 8:29).

OUR COMMITMENT TO THINK DIFFERENTLY. Being “crucified with Christ” does not happen automatically. It’s a choice we make, and it’s one we make continually. Learning to “live by faith in the Son of God” is not easy. It requires the kind of commitment and discipline which says, “I am done with self-will and self-reliance. God being my helper, I will learn to move at His command because I trust Him.” A human being cannot change at any deeper level than this.

WHAT WILL MOTIVATE US TO MAKE THE CHANGE? Nothing less than deep gratitude for God’s forgiveness is powerful enough to produce the kind of change He plans for us. The difference between Paul’s past and present was motivated by his love for the Son of God, “who loved me and gave himself for me.” In another text, he said that “the love of Christ controls us . . . he died for all, that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised” (2 Corinthians 5:14,15).

May we never underestimate the seriousness of what has to happen to us in Christ. “Crucifixion” is not too strong a word for it. It was doubt and distrust that drove us to sin. That must change. Forgiven, we must learn to “live by faith in the Son of God.”

"'Crucified' is the only really definitive adjective by which to describe the Christian life" (J. Furman Miller).

Gary Henry - WordPoints.com + AreYouaChristian.com

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THE OBEDIENCE OF FAITH (JANUARY 26)

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". . . to bring about the obedience of faith for the sake of his name among all the nations" (Romans 1:5).

TEXTS THAT INDICATE SOMEONE’S PURPOSE SHOULD BE STUDIED CAREFULLY. In Romans 1:5, Paul was speaking of the purpose of his preaching as an apostle of Christ: “to bring about the obedience of faith” among all nations. So what is the “obedience of faith,” and why is it so important that Paul could say it was the goal or outcome that he hoped for in his preaching? The expression may be taken in two ways, both of which make a valid point.

OBEDIENCE TO THE FAITH. If the phrase is translated like this (as in the NKJV), the idea would be that the preaching of “the faith” is intended to produce obedience. This is clearly the thought in Acts 6:7 where “a great many of the priests became obedient to the faith” and is consistent with the language of texts like Romans 10:16.

THE OBEDIENCE OF FAITH. The ESV and many other translations render the phrase in this manner. Looking at it this way, the passage points to the importance of faith as the source of the Christian’s obedience. In other words, we rightly respond to the gospel only when our obedience is based on faith, or trust, in God.

Either way, there is a vital connection between faith and obedience. The two can never be separated. For one thing, the person who does not obey God is not telling the truth if he says he has faith. “True faith commits us to obedience” (A. W. Tozer). As James put it, “Faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead” (James 2:17). But it is equally true that our obedience must be motivated by faith. Like Noah, Abraham, and many others, we must do what God says because we trust Him. So the old hymn “Trust and Obey” said it very well. Faith without obedience is useless, but so is obedience without faith. Faith and obedience must work together. What’s in our hearts and what’s in our actions must match up.

The “obedience of faith,” then, makes obedience to the gospel of Christ a different kind of obedience. In the world, obedience is based on either feelings or legal obligation, but in the gospel it is based on trust in God. Confident that His way is the best, we obey. No matter how things look to us, we trust His love to bring us home.

"The highest pinnacle of the spiritual life is not happy joy in unbroken sunshine, but absolute and undoubting trust in the love of God" (A. W. Thorold).

Gary Henry - WordPoints.com + AreYouaChristian.com

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

EXULTING IN HOPE (JANUARY 25)

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"Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God" (Romans 5:2).

HAVING POINTED IN THE PREVIOUS VERSE TO THE JUSTIFICATION FROM OUR PAST SINS, PAUL SPEAKS IN THIS VERSE OF THE PRESENT GRACE AND FUTURE HOPE OF THE GOSPEL. Because the alienation has been removed, the relationship we can now have with God is rich and good — it is a foretaste of the perfect, unblemished relationship we’ll be able to have with Him in eternity.

THE GRACE IN WHICH WE STAND. It certainly took a marvelous measure of grace for God to wipe away the sins of our past, but salvation in Christ involves more than the removal of our guilty history. In the present moment, there is a grace “in which we stand.” Grace, of course, has to do with blessing or favor, and the grace here is obviously God’s. In Christ, we are surrounded by provisions and gifts from our Father that are beyond our power to imagine. In regard to our highest good, there is nothing we will ever truly need that God will withhold from us. “He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?” (Romans 8:32).

BY FAITH. Paul is very clear that our access to the grace in which we stand is an access gained “by faith.” Although repentance (Acts 2:38), confession (Romans 10:9,10), and baptism (Acts 22:16) are required by God in our initial obedience to the gospel, the operative element in all of these is faith: trust in the saving work of God through His Son, Jesus Christ (Colossians 2:12).

THROUGH JESUS CHRIST. It is Christ that Paul is referring to when he says it is “through him” we have been given access to God’s grace. It was His sacrifice that made it possible. It is His lordship that we now submit to. And it is the hope of His return that energizes us. In this hope, Paul says, we exult, rejoicing more the closer we get to its realization. For those in Christ, the “hope of the glory of God” is simply the most dynamic force in the universe.

Make us thy mountaineers;
We would not linger on the lower slope.
Fill us afresh with hope, O God of hope,
That undefeated, we may climb the hill,
As seeing Him who is invisible.
(Amy Carmichael)

Gary Henry - WordPoints.com + AreYouaChristian.com

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JUSTIFIED (JANUARY 24)

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"Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ" (Romans 5:1).

IN THIS VERSE, PAUL WRITES OF THE JUSTIFICATION AVAILABLE TO US IN JESUS CHRIST. Our situation before God is like that of a lawbreaker in a courtroom. We have no hope of acquittal; because we are guilty (the evidence is clear that we’ve rebelled against God’s law), we rightly stand under the law’s penalty. In an “unjust” condition, what we need is to be “justified.” And the gospel will not mean much to us until we see how desperate our plight is. If our lives end while we’re still under the sentence of death for our treason, we will be banished and separated from the King forever.

CONDEMNATION. The word “condemnation” is a strong word, but it’s not too strong to describe our situation as people who have sinned against our Creator. We can’t deny that we’ve thought, spoken, and done things that we knew were against our Father’s will, but we did them anyway, our conscience telling us all the while that we could not do these things and still be in a right relationship with God. We’re all like the ones Paul spoke of whose sin was deliberate: they “know God’s righteous decree that those who practice such things deserve to die” (Romans 1:32).

JUSTIFICATION. The good news of the gospel is that God was not willing to leave us in our lost state. He took our punishment upon Himself so we could be brought back into harmony with His justice — in other words, “justified” from our sins. Having given His Son’s life for our transgressions, God is able to be both “just” and the “justifier” of those whose faith is in Jesus (Romans 3:23-26).

PEACE WITH GOD. When we obey the gospel and are justified with God, the result is that “we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.” This is not the subjective feeling of peace (although that is a by-product) but the objective status of being justified with God. We had put ourselves at enmity with God, but in Christ we have been “reconciled” to Him (Romans 5:10). This is what the gospel of Christ is about. And just as all of our worst problems stem from a wrong relationship with God, there is no real joy that does not flow from a right relationship with Him.

"The doctrine of justification is the foundation that supports all of the other benefits we receive from Christ" (Erwin W. Lutzer).

Gary Henry - WordPoints.com + AreYouaChristian.com

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DISCIPLES, CHRISTIANS (JANUARY 23)

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"So Barnabas went to Tarsus to look for Saul, and when he had found him, he brought him to Antioch. For a whole year they met with the church and taught a great many people. And in Antioch the disciples were first called Christians" (Acts 11:25,26).

THE TERM “CHRISTIAN” IS QUITE FAMILIAR IN OUR CULTURE. It is the designation most often used for those who are followers of Jesus of Nazareth. Today, let’s look at the use of this term in Acts 11:25,26, which is the first use of it in the New Testament. In particular, let’s ponder the fact that before Jesus’ followers were called “Christians” they were known simply as “disciples” of Christ.

DISCIPLES. To be a “disciple” is to be a pupil, the student of a master teacher. But more than that, it means to be a follower of the teacher’s way of life, one who emulates not just the teacher’s ideas but the teacher himself. So Jesus’ followers were not just admirers; they were disciples who modeled their character after His.

CHRISTIANS. Our text says that in Antioch the disciples began to be called “Christians.” What an honor this was (even if it was used derisively by the public). To wear the name of our Savior, the One who died for us, is a great privilege. So we strive “to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him” (Colossians 1:10).

It is not a coincidence that the term “Christian” was first used in Antioch. In this city, for the first time, the congregation of disciples was made up of both Jews and Gentiles. God’s plan was not complete until the Gentiles had been included, and when that was done, God’s people were now ready to be called “Christians.”

If we are Christians, it is important for us to understand what it means to be among those who have “obeyed the gospel.” To be a “disciple” of Jesus Christ, and hence a “Christian,” is to be among those who have been forgiven. It does not mean we’re perfect right now — it means we’re on our way to a perfection that will be ours in eternity. John the Apostle said it this way: “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).

"The Christian is not one who has gone all the way with Christ. None of us has. The Christian is one who has found the right road" (Charles L. Allen).

Gary Henry - WordPoints.com + AreYouaChristian.com

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JESUS: THE WAY, THE TRUTH, THE LIFE (JANUARY 22)

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"Jesus said to him, 'I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me'" (John 14:6).

OF ALL THE REMARKABLE THINGS ABOUT JESUS CHRIST, NONE IS MORE POWERFUL THAN HIS VIEW OF WHAT OUR REAL PROBLEM IS, THE ONE PROBLEM OF WHICH ALL THE OTHERS ARE MERELY SYMPTOMS. Both His mission and His message were aimed directly at the problem of sin. It was the salvation of our souls that He wanted to give us — a home in eternity with the God who created us, the God we cut ourselves off from the first time we sinned by saying no to His will.

FIRST, THINK ABOUT OUR NEED FOR A “WAY.” Having broken the relationship with God for which we were created, we have no means of being reconciled unless God Himself provides a way for us to be saved. That is exactly what God has done in His Son, and Jesus was unmistakably clear that the way back to God would only be through Him. “No one comes to the Father except through me.”

NEXT, THINK ABOUT OUR NEED FOR “TRUTH.” If it was untruth about God that deceived us into breaking His law, then truth is going to have to be put back in its rightful place if the problem of sin is ever going to be fixed. Jesus came to reestablish the truth about God.

FINALLY, THINK ABOUT OUR NEED FOR “LIFE.” Untruth is the means the devil uses, but his objective is our death. And the first time we yielded to his temptation to commit sin, that is what happened: we died spiritually. So it was Jesus’ desire to rescue us from this terrible death and give us back our birthright — life in God.

At one point, many of Jesus’ disciples began to leave Him. “So Jesus said to the twelve, ‘Do you want to go away as well?’ Simon Peter answered him, ‘Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life’” (John 6:67,68). The truth was becoming clear to Peter: we simply can’t survive without what Jesus came to bring us. Apart from Him, there is no way back to God, no certainty of truth about God, and no life other than the desperate yearning of our earthly existence. Jesus Christ is not one of many ways to return to God. He is not even the best way. He is the only way.

Follow me: I am the way, the truth, and the life.
Without the way there is no going;
Without the truth there is no knowing;
Without the life there is no living.
(Thomas à Kempis)

Gary Henry - WordPoints.com + AreYouaChristian.com

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REPENT AND BE BAPTIZED (JANUARY 21)

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"Now when they heard this they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, 'Brothers, what shall we do?' And Peter said to them, 'Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit'" (Acts 2:37,38).

WE GET THE BEST ANSWERS WHEN WE ASK THE RIGHT QUESTIONS. On the Day of Pentecost following Jesus’ resurrection, a large crowd in Jerusalem heard Peter and the other apostles preach the gospel of Christ publicly for the first time. Many were “cut to the heart,” and no one in the history of human inquiry has ever asked a better question than they did: What shall we do?

REPENT AND BE BAPTIZED. The forgiveness of sins in Jesus Christ requires that we repent of the sins we seek to be forgiven of. In godly sorrow, we determine that we will put these things out of our hearts and lives. Then we must be baptized, which means to be immersed in water. We do this “in the name of Jesus Christ,” as an act of faith (Colossians 2:12) required for our forgiveness.

FOR THE FORGIVENESS OF YOUR SINS. Are we forgiven before or after we submit to baptism? Peter could not have been clearer when he instructed his hearers to repent and be baptized “for the forgiveness of your sins.” This is consistent with the words of Ananias to Saul, “And now why do you wait? Rise and be baptized and wash away your sins, calling on his name” (Acts 22:16).

YOU WILL RECEIVE THE GIFT OF THE HOLY SPIRIT. Jesus had promised the giving of God’s Spirit (John 7:37-39), and Peter says this is for those whose sins have been forgiven. But to what effect? Much might be said, but whatever may be the blessings of God’s Spirit in the life of the Christian (and there are many), these all serve the ultimate purpose of our salvation — our final restoration to God’s perfect glory.

The gospel which three thousand people obeyed in Acts 2 was the gospel of Jesus Christ. It was the message that God has made possible the forgiveness of our sins in Christ — resulting in a right relationship with Him, growth in godly character, and an eternal hope we could never have regained for ourselves if Jesus had not atoned for our sins. This is the gladdest of all glad tidings  — and it is possible only because of the greatest sacrifice ever made.

"We say that Jesus preached the gospel, but he did more. He came that there might be a gospel to preach" (Oswald Chambers).

Gary Henry - WordPoints.com + AreYouaChristian.com

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GOD HAS MADE HIM BOTH LORD AND CHRIST (JANUARY 20)

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"Let all the house of Israel therefore know for certain that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified" (Acts 2:36).

WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THE TITLES ASSOCIATED WITH THE NAME OF JESUS IN THE NEW TESTAMENT? In particular, what are we to make of the fact that at least sixty times He is referred to as the “Lord Jesus Christ”? To see fully who He is in the gospel message, we need to understand all three of these designations.

JESUS. If you had lived in Nazareth where Jesus grew up, you might have known several Jewish men with this name. It was a common name, but it was highly regarded because in ancient Israel the Hebrew name Yehoshua joined the name of God with the word for salvation (rescue, deliverance). It meant God is our Salvation.

CHRIST. The Greek for Christ is equivalent to the Hebrew for Messiah, and both refer to the “anointed one” foretold by the Jewish prophets. To say that Jesus is “Christ” affirms nothing less than Jesus’ identity as the coming King, the One who would vanquish every foe and rule over God’s glorious kingdom forever.

LORD. This was a designation of authority, but in Jesus’ case, the authority goes far beyond any human rule. He is the “Lord of lords and King of kings” (Revelation 17:14). He has the authority to rule every person’s life. But here is the point: if Jesus Christ is the Lord, we need to submit to His lordship. It is a mockery to say the words “Jesus is Lord” if it is not His will that actually governs us (Luke 6:46). Jesus is not our Savior (providing our forgiveness) if He is not also our King (receiving our obedience).

In the text above, Peter said that “God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified.” So Jesus Christ is the rightful Ruler of the universe whether we give Him permission to rule over us or not. But if we refuse His rule in this world, we will not dwell with Him in the next. When He sits in judgment, the King will banish from His realm every disloyal subject — “And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me’” (Matthew 7:23). Now is the time to be reconciled to Him and yield ourselves to His loving reign. But we should weigh our decision carefully. If He is truly going to be our Lord, there must be nothing about us that we won’t let Him govern.

"Jesus Christ will be Lord of all or he will not be Lord at all" (Augustine of Hippo).

Gary Henry - WordPoints.com + AreYouaChristian.com

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