Obeying the Gospel

IN CHRIST: RECONCILIATION TO GOD (JANUARY 19)

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"In Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation" (2 Corinthians 5:19).

OF ALL THE EVENTS IN HUMAN HISTORY, THE COMING OF JESUS CHRIST WAS THE MOST IMPORTANT. And the gospel of Christ is the most important of all messages. But what is it about? If Jesus was truly the Son of God, what was the point of His being sent into the world? Paul the apostle, one of thirteen men appointed by Christ to preach the gospel authoritatively, wrote that “in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself.” And what about the gospel itself? It is, as Paul said, the “message of reconciliation.” These are weighty words. They need to be understood very clearly.

THE SERIOUSNESS OF THE PROBLEM. The fact is, we are alienated from the God who made us. Our sins have cut us off from Him, and there is no way we can work our way back into fellowship with Him by our own efforts. We are rebels, deservedly under the sentence of death. If nothing is done about our condition and we die in our rebellion, there will be nothing for us in eternity but to be banished from God’s presence forever. In a word, we are lost.

THE WONDERFULNESS OF THE SOLUTION. Not willing to leave us in our lost condition, God provided a way for us to be reconciled to Him. In love (Romans 5:6-11), He opened the door for us to come back home. The human race has never received any better news. But the gospel has to be obeyed; its terms have to be accepted. So Paul could implore his readers, “We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God” (2 Corinthians 5:20).

We should not underestimate either the seriousness of the problem or the wonderfulness of the solution. If all we can say is “That’s nice” or “That’s interesting,” we are missing the point. It is only when we come to terms with our own sinfulness — and the horror of the word “lost” — that the gospel fills us with wonder.

But neither should we forget that God is at the center of both the problem and the solution. The gospel is not primarily about our broken social relationships. These are but symptoms of the real problem: our broken relationship with God. That is what the gospel wants to fix — and until it is fixed nothing else will help us much.

"To reconcile man with man and not with God is to reconcile no one at all" (Thomas Merton).

Gary Henry - WordPoints.com + AreYouaChristian.com

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ALPHA AND OMEGA (JANUARY 18)

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"I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end" (Revelation 22:13).

ALPHA IS THE FIRST LETTER IN THE GREEK ALPHABET, AND OMEGA IS THE LAST. From “alpha to omega” is, as we would say, everything “from a to z.” When Jesus said, “I am the Alpha and the Omega,” He was making a claim to be God Incarnate, nothing less than the Eternal God who came into the world in human form. But why should this be attractive to us? What is it about God’s eternity that should be of particular interest?

WE YEARN. The most obvious fact in the world is that human beings are deeply dissatisfied. We groan and aspire, yearning for things our hearts do not have. And what we do have, we have to say grievous goodbyes to. It doesn’t do any good to pretend. The only way not to weep is not to know what happens in the world.

BUT WHY DO WE YEARN AS WE DO? No other species yearns with the longings of the human heart. And no other species grieves the ravages of time. Could it be that we were meant for a stability no longer available in this world? Is the agony of imperfection and change a clue that this kind of world is not what we were created for?

IN JESUS CHRIST, WE CAN HAVE WHAT WE YEARN FOR. The truth is, we were created for a perfect, eternal joy with God, a joy not subject to change and decay. By our sin, the human race broke that perfection, but we still yearn for it. And in Christ, that is what is offered to us: a restoration of the eternal, unfading life we were designed for.

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead” (1 Peter 1:3). This “living hope” is the very heartbeat of the gospel. Ultimately, it is all the Christian has that is unique. Every other blessing from God may be — and often is — enjoyed in this world by people who are not in Christ. But think twice before you minimize the value of this hope. Would you not give everything in this world to have what you know your heart needs most deeply? And if you gained everything you want right now but were banished from God in eternity, what would you have profited?

Change and decay in all around I see;
O Thou who changest not, abide with me!
(Henry F. Lyte)

Gary Henry - WordPoints.com + AreYouaChristian.com

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

THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD (JANUARY 17)

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"Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, 'I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life'" (John 8:12).

SINCE THE BEGINNING OF HISTORY, LIGHT AND DARKNESS HAVE BEEN UNIVERSAL SYMBOLS. Light stands for truth/goodness; darkness stands for untruth/evil. When Jesus said He was the “light of the world,” He was claiming to be the only truth through which the darkness of evil can be dispelled. If it was untruth that led us away from God, we can’t come back to Him without coming back to the truth. So Jesus boldly said: “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6).

To receive God’s forgiveness, we must believe the truth found in His Son, Jesus Christ. Certainly, we must embrace the truth of who Jesus is. But we must also believe the truth that Jesus revealed about God, His Father. And what is more, we must accept the truth about ourselves and our need for reconciliation with God. The joyful truth about God’s salvation will have little impact if we haven’t digested the sorrowful truth about our alienation from Him.

Both the sinful truth about ourselves and the saving truth about God require honesty and courage. We must be willing to know the truth (this requires honesty); then we must be willing to obey the truth (this requires courage). At all costs, the truth must be accepted — the truth must be acted upon, no matter how hard it is. And for this very reason, not many people are willing to be saved by the truth. “And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil” (John 3:19).

Many of us have been quick to point out the failures of other people’s honesty and courage. But what about us? Even more to the point, what about me personally? Am I willing to hear whatever I need to hear, and am I willing to go wherever I need to go?

Confronted by the Great Physician (both His diagnosis and His treatment plan), a bold choice has to be made. We can have the comfort of staying in denial (and be lost) or we can accept the discomfort of the truth (and be saved). Initially, reality can be hard to deal with. But our only alternative is to stay in denial and die in sin.

"Darkness is my point of view, my right to myself; light is God’s point of view" (Oswald Chambers).

Gary Henry - WordPoints.com + AreYouaChristian.com

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

WITH WHAT ATTITUDE SHOULD WE COME TO JESUS? (JANUARY 16)

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"Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest" (Matthew 11:28).

THE GOSPEL ALWAYS HAS AN INVITATION ATTACHED TO IT. Jesus’ invitation is, “Come to me.” In His day, however, some came to Jesus seeking things other than what He offered, some came for wrong motives, and some were simply unwilling to accept Jesus’ conditions and commandments. In our day, people still “come to Jesus” for a wide range of reasons. So let’s ask this: in the New Testament, who were those who came to Jesus and were received by Him? If we expect Jesus’ welcome, how should we come?

SEEKING THE FORGIVENESS OF OUR SINS. Jesus could not have been clearer about the purpose of His mission. His blood would be “poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins” (Matthew 26:28). God is certainly the Giver of many gifts, but the forgiveness of sins (and consequently the hope of heaven) is the only blessing promised to all who are in Christ and only to those in Christ. If we come looking for “loaves and fishes,” we will hear Jesus say, “Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you” (John 6:27).

COMMITTING OURSELVES TO JESUS’ LORDSHIP. If treason is the problem, fixing it surely requires that we lay down our rebellion and return to God as our rightful King. Doesn’t that make sense? If we’re not ready to quit saying My will be done and start saying Thy will be done, we’re not ready for what Jesus offers. As a Christian, Paul went so far as to say, “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). This is life’s greatest commitment.

But as I’ve said, the gospel is always framed as an invitation. God doesn’t force us to accept His forgiveness — He invites us to do so. Yes, a most serious commitment is required in order to receive His gift, and yes, if we refuse the gospel, we won’t escape the justice of God’s penalty for our sins. But may we never forget what we have lost and what God wants to give back to us. In Christ, our Father is offering to give us nothing less than Himself. Forever.

"In commanding us to glorify him, God is inviting us to enjoy him" (C. S. Lewis).

Gary Henry - WordPoints.com + AreYouaChristian.com

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

SHARING THE FAITH (JANUARY 15)

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"Tell everyone God’s message. Be ready at all times to do whatever is needed" (2 Timothy 4:2 ERV).

IN THE NEW TESTAMENT, ORDINARY CHRISTIANS WERE EVANGELISTIC. It wasn’t just the evangelists — everybody “preached the Good News about Jesus wherever they went” (Acts 8:4 NLT). Even under persecution (especially under persecution, it seems) the followers of Jesus spread the word of forgiveness and eternal hope.

Today, it is tragically true that we who follow Jesus are not as evangelistic as they were. We are reluctant to talk about the gospel, and most of us rarely do it except when we’re in the company of fellow believers. We have disengaged from the world in such a way that we have little evangelistic impact in our communities.

To be sure, not everyone is equally adept at talking with strangers, nor is every member of the Lord’s church equally skilled at teaching. In the body of Christ, as in a human body, “the members do not all have the same function” (Romans 12:4).

But how can we enjoy the benefits of the gospel ourselves and not want to do something to share those benefits with other people? In some kind of personal way, we should want to reach those around us with the message that has brought us such great joy.

We can at least do what Jesus told the man to do in Mark 5:1-20. In that account, Jesus had healed a man of his demonic possession, and in profound reverence and gratitude, this man wanted to get in the boat and accompany Jesus back across the Sea of Galilee. But Jesus wanted him to do something even better: “Go home to your friends and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you” (v.19).

If nothing else, we can explain what convinced us the gospel is true. “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). If we had our own doubts, we can tell others what truths overcame those doubts.

For those forgiven of their sins, sharing the faith is not optional. There is no alternative. If we bottle up our faith and keep quiet about it, as if we were ashamed of Christ, our faith will die.

"Our faith grows by expression. If we want to keep our faith, we must share it" (Billy Graham).

Gary Henry - WordPoints.com + AreYouaChristian.com

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

KEEPING THE FAITH (JANUARY 14)

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"When he came and saw the grace of God, he was glad, and he exhorted them all to remain faithful to the Lord with steadfast purpose" (Acts 11:23).

SADLY, SOME PEOPLE MAKE A COMMITMENT TO CHRIST, BUT THEY GET TO WHERE THE COMMITMENT DOES NOT MEAN ANYTHING TO THEM. They do not “remain faithful to the Lord,” as Barnabas urged the new converts in Antioch to do. And the New Testament is clear about the consequence of unfaithfulness: to go back on our commitment to Christ is to go back to being lost. The writer of Hebrews said that ”we have come to share in Christ, if indeed we hold our original confidence firm to the end” (Hebrews 3:14).

Jesus did not mince words about our commitment to His salvation. He said, “No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God” (Luke 9:62). So anytime we talk about obeying the gospel, let’s also talk about continuing to obey it. “Let us run with endurance the race that is set before us” (Hebrews 12:1). Until the victory is fully ours, we must . . . continue.

Few of the virtues we might adopt are more important than faithfulness. To be reliable is one of the finest things in life. And, of course, to be a traitor is one of the most despicable. So we should aspire to trustworthiness and steadfastness in our commitment. We can count on God; He should be able to count on us also.

For persons broken by sin as we are, learning God’s character — allowing Him to remake us — is a growth process that takes time. In Christ, we “are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another” (2 Corinthians 3:18). Surely we must not give up before the process has reached its goal.

Ultimately, it is love and gratitude for grace that will keep us faithful. Forgiven, we want to grow. We want to continue. Our most fervent desire is to be all our Father wants us to be, forever.

Thine am I, I was born for thee,
What wouldst thou, Master, make of me?
Give me death or give me life
Give health or give infirmity
Give honor or give obloquy
Give peace profound or daily strife,
Weakness or strength add to my life;
Yes, Lord, my answer still shall be
What wilt thou, Master, have of me?
(Teresa of Ávila)

Gary Henry - WordPoints.com + AreYouaChristian.com

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

DYING WITH CHRIST (JANUARY 13)

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"The saying is trustworthy, for: If we have died with him, we will also live with him" (2 Timothy 2:11).

THE LITTLE WORD “IF” IS A POWERFUL WORD. If salvation depends on dying with Christ, it’s important to know what this means.

BAPTISM. If it is in baptism that we die with Christ (Romans 6:3,4), we should not expect the benefits of Christ’s death unless we’re willing to die with Him in this way. But there is more.

INTENT TO DIE TO SIN. The objective fact of God’s forgiveness of our sins at baptism is accompanied by a subjective fact in our hearts: we intend to die to sin. That is, we commit ourselves to walking “in newness of life” (Romans 6:4). Just as Christ died on the cross, the condemnation for our sins is removed when we die with Him in baptism. But it is not only the guilt of our sins in the past that must be done away with; the practice of sin in the present must also die. This part of dying with Christ must not be left out. We must decide that our old practices are dead and gone.

PUTTING SIN TO DEATH DAILY. Having died with Christ in baptism and committed ourselves to living rightly, we must carry out that commitment on a daily basis. Our dying with Christ is a fact (it happened when we were baptized), but it is also a command. It was not to the unbaptized but to those who had died with Christ that Paul wrote, “Put to death therefore what is earthly in you” (Colossians 3:5). We may have been quite sincere in turning to Christ, but Satan will keep trying to destroy us — so “put to death what is earthly in you” is a command we will never get finished obeying in this life. The older devotional writers used to talk about the “daily mortification of the flesh,” and perhaps we need to get back to that kind of thinking. You may prefer more modern words than “mortification,” but don’t ever underestimate this aspect of dying with Christ.

So let’s come back to that little word “if.” According to Paul, we will live with Christ “if” we have died with Him. We would not have been baptized into Christ “if” we had not decided to die with Him. It was a choice. And our old self will not stay dead “if” we refuse to let go of what used to be important to us. We must deny ourselves and take up our cross. That is also a choice.

"You will be dead so long as you refuse to die" (George MacDonald).

Gary Henry - WordPoints.com + AreYouaChristian.com

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

MAKING THE COMMITMENT (JANUARY 12)

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"Then Philip opened his mouth, and beginning with this Scripture he told him the good news about Jesus. And as they were going along the road they came to some water, and the eunuch said, 'See, here is water! What prevents me from being baptized?' And he commanded the chariot to stop, and they both went down into the water, Philip and the eunuch, and he baptized him" (Acts 8:35-38).

IF (1) GODLY SORROW IS MOVING US TO SEEK GOD’S FORGIVENESS, (2) WE BELIEVE JESUS CHRIST IS THE ONE SENT BY GOD TO SAVE US, AND (3) WE ARE WILLING TO BEGIN A LIFE OF REAL TRUST, WHAT SHOULD WE DO? A commitment to God must be made through Jesus Christ, and we have talked about counting the cost of that. But if we are ready, what must we actually do to make the commitment required by the gospel and receive all its joyful benefits?

REPENTANCE. It would make no sense to seek the forgiveness of sins which we refuse to give up, so God requires that we lay down our rebellion and pledge allegiance to His rule. The gospel is a message of “repentance for the forgiveness of sins” (Luke 24:47), and that means committing ourselves to a changed life.

CONFESSION OF FAITH. Christ’s acknowledgment of His true identity cost Him dearly, and He requires that we be equally open about our faith in Him. The apostle Paul wrote, “If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved” (Romans 10:9).

BAPTISM. In Colossians 2:12, Paul wrote that we are “buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through faith in the powerful working of God, who raised him from the dead.” If we are presently “in Christ,” it was in baptism that we moved from condemnation to salvation — our forgiveness was not the result of the water itself or any meritorious quality of our obedience; it was our “faith in the powerful working of God.”

As you can see, there is something special about the act of baptism. Whether we understand God’s purpose in this or not, He has made baptism the doorway, or division, that separates the old from the new. In the gospel of Christ, it is in baptism that our sins are washed away (Acts 22:16). Urgently viewing Christ’s command to be baptized, and trusting the Father to forgive us, we commit ourselves to Christ by dying with Him in baptism (Romans 6:3,4).

"Baptism points back to the work of God, and forward to the life of faith" (J. Alice Motyer).

Gary Henry - WordPoints.com + AreYouaChristian.com

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

TRUSTING OUR FATHER (JANUARY 11)

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". . . for my people have committed two evils: they have forsaken me, the fountain of living waters, and hewed out cisterns for themselves, broken cisterns that can hold no water" (Jeremiah 2:13).

SIN IS THE RESULT OF FORSAKING THE TRUST WE WERE MEANT TO HAVE IN GOD. We see it first in the Garden of Eden, where as soon as Adam and Eve’s confidence in God’s goodness had been broken, they were willing to violate His will to get what they wanted (Genesis 3:1-6). Since then, the problem of sin has always been the same, and we’re all guilty of it. Failing to trust that God’s way is best, we’ve rebelled and committed treachery to get satisfactions we think are better than those God’s way would allow.

If a broken trust in God is the root of sin, it makes sense that for the problem of sin to be fixed, trust is going to have to be put back in its rightful place. That is why faith is so important in God’s plan for our restoration to His fellowship through Jesus Christ.

Faith begins with simple belief, an acceptance of the factual truth about God. But based on belief, faith also means trusting that God is good, His commands are always going to be better than our will, and in the end He is waiting for us in heaven if we will adhere to His plan for our redemption. When our immediate circumstances seem to cast doubt on these truths, it is only trust (based on the solid evidence of God’s trustworthiness, especially in Jesus’ resurrection) that will keep us faithful to our Father.

I love Adam Litmer’s definition of trust: “unwavering belief that God’s way is always the right way, without exception . . . and that our lives will always be best lived when lived for His glory.” If we reject the “obedience of faith” (Romans 1:5), there is no salvation for us. We must dispense with the doubts about God and His law that started us down the path of disobedience in the first place.

Abraham is the great example of trust. “By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place that he was to receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going” (Hebrews 11:8). Because he believed, Abraham obeyed. At God’s bidding, he risked everything he had in this world because he trusted God’s promise. And today, we can’t be God’s friends without banking on the promises of God as Abraham did.

"The pith, the essence of faith lies in this — a casting oneself on the promise" (Charles Haddon Spurgeon).

Gary Henry - WordPoints.com + AreYouaChristian.com

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COUNTING THE COST (JANUARY 10)

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"For which of you, desiring to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost, whether he has enough to complete it?" (Luke 14:28).

BEFORE EMBARKING ON A PROJECT, MOST PEOPLE THINK ABOUT WHETHER THEY ARE WILLING TO PAY THE PRICE. Halfway through the work is not a good time to start wrestling with whether the results are going to be worth the sacrifice. We should have already done that. So Jesus said those considering obedience to His gospel should “count the cost.” It is disastrous not to do so.

When it comes to following Christ, however, we don’t know what the cost is going to be, at least not specifically. We know that it may be very costly — in fact, it may cost everything that’s valuable to us in this life — but when we are baptized into Christ, we can’t see very far down the road. All we know is that Jesus requires a commitment that holds nothing back. “If anyone would come after me,” He said, “let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel’s will save it” (Mark 8:34,35).

So to “count the cost” would be to ask whether we’re willing to make that kind of commitment and then keep the promise even if it kills us. Are there limits to our submission to His authority? Are there any conditions or fine print in our contract with Him? Is there anything we wouldn’t do if following Him required us to do that? These are deep, heart-probing questions, and the serious disciple is one who answered them decisively before he made his commitment. Solomon said about promises in general, “It is better that you should not vow than that you should vow and not pay” (Ecclesiastes 5:5). If all we can say is “maybe,” we insult the God who is our Savior.

We shouldn’t be surprised that there is a cost to be counted. If rightful love for God is what the gospel calls for, that response will be costly. Love requires sacrifice, and the higher the love, the bigger the sacrifice. But what is the alternative? If we turn away from the gospel because of the costliness of the love it requires, there is nothing left but lesser loves — counterfeits that offer little more than disappointment, having cost us little more than what was convenient. So will we rise to the highest love, pay its price, and receive its joy? There is no more fundamental or far-reaching question in this world.

"True love is always costly" (Billy Graham).

Gary Henry - WordPoints.com + AreYouaChristian.com

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