“... he who does not gather with Me scatters abroad.” -Jesus, in Matthew 12:30
This is a critical warning from Jesus. Like the natural principle of gravity, this is a spiritual principle; a simple but profound statement of truth. This is a fundamental truth, always true for both non Christian and Christian alike. This is a statement that deserves contemplation by all.
Jesus made this statement in the context of saying that every sin can be forgiven a person except the blasphemy against the Holy Spirit. The blasphemy against the Holy Spirit is the rejection of the truth when the Holy Spirit of God reveals to a person two things: one, that they are a sinner separated from a Holy, Perfect God and two, that Jesus is the eternal, living God and the only way to be made right with God is through Him. The rejection of Christ is the rejection of the Holy Spirit of God, who is also called by Jesus “the Spirit of Truth.” To reject truth is to live in a lie. What is left for someone that is living a lie? Nothing but further deterioration of and separation from the truth. All sin will be forgiven a person through faith in the work of Jesus on the cross. He died for everyone's sin, and through our repentance from sin and receiving Him as Lord and Savior we are saved from the judgment of God on all of our sin. Our punishment has been laid on Jesus. Our faith in Him gathers us to Him. So, the only thing that cannot be forgiven a person, the only thing, is the rejection of Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior.
All that do not gather to Him scatter abroad. The greek word translated “scatter abroad” means “to be scattered.” To be scattered means to be thrown in various directions. In this context it means to be thrown farther and farther from the truth of God in some other direction in life. It could be any number of directions. There are nearly as many directions to go as there are people. The person that turns their back on Christ will be scattered to somewhere other than the true and living God and His truth. But God has said that in order for a person to be made right with Him, because of our sin, all people that have heard the gospel of Jesus Christ must surrender their lives to Him. We all must believe that He is God and that He died for the sin of the world on the cross. To be scattered away from God speaks of an increasingly greater and greater distancing from Jesus, and reality. It is to deny Christ and to reject Him as Lord of all, and Lord of our own life.
Isn’t that exactly what we see in the world? Some say there are many roads to God. Indeed, there are many scatterings of religious, spiritual or non spiritual teaching that claim to be true. But there is only one true reality, only one true road. Reality cannot be several contradictory ideas at once. It is either as Jesus said or it is not. Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to God except through Me.” That statement is either true or it is false. To live apart from Christ is to walk away from truth and reality. Do you really want to walk away from your loving Creator? Do you really want to live outside of His perfect will for your life?
As a Christian I have experienced this scattering in my life as well, even after coming to Christ as a child. Though I received Christ at an early age, I rejected and missed many lessons that His word teaches. In so doing, I spent much of my adult life scattered from Jesus in many different directions, though I believe I was saved by His grace. But, His grace has brought me back to Him, to Jesus, who is the express image and heart of the one and true living God. Peace is found in Jesus alone; and all wisdom, knowledge and truth itself. And God is always present in our lives, always as close to us as our own lips, which are always in desperate need of crying out to Him.
As followers of Christ, we too need to stay gathered close to our Good Shepherd. Just as the unrepentant need to gather to Him for the first time, we need to stay close to Him in prayer and in His word every day. We need to earnestly seek Him out moment by moment, day by day- every day. We need to keep asking, keep seeking and keep knocking until we are one with His perfect will every day. We need to keep pressing into Him until we have victory, until we are one with the Father, as Jesus prayed. Anything less than that sends us out scattered. Oh, Lord, let us be deathly afraid of being scattered away from you. It brings such unnecessary anxiety, confusion, depression, pain and trouble when we are away from you and the truth. Oh, Lord, bring us back to you when we are scattered. In Jesus name, Amen.
Monday, September 10, 2012
Thursday, September 6, 2012
Bite-Sized Bible Studies: I'm Saved by Grace through Faith Alone!
We are either saved by grace through faith in Jesus alone, or we are saved by works. As far as salvation is concerned, the two are mutually exclusive. There can be no combination of "grace, with a little works on the side." And God’s Word makes it clear that we are saved by faith in the work of Christ on the cross alone, or we are not saved. There is no other way to be made right with God. And, there is no such thing as a 2nd class Christian. All fall short of the glory of God. All who have truly received Jesus as their Lord and Savior are saved by God's grace and mercy alone. We cannot do anything in and of ourselves to make ourselves right with God. The work of God is that you believe in His Son Jesus Christ (Jn. 6:29). What is saving faith, or what does saving faith look like? You'll see what true faith looks like when you see all the works of the Spirit that God has done in and through a person in their life and over their lifetime. Good works do not earn us salvation, but rather works done in and by the Holy Spirit are the proof of faith. The fruit of the Spirit is love; joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.
Let's be careful not to judge a book by its cover. We are not called to be spiritual fruit inspectors! We answer to God, and God is able to make those who trust in Him to stand. We all have a sinful nature, even the apostle Paul struggled with his (Rom. 6-8). We are called to minister God’s love and truth, through God’s Spirit and through God’s Word, and let His Spirit do the work in people’s hearts (including our own). He is our God and He will complete the work He has begun, in each of us who have surrendered to the Lord Jesus, until the day of Jesus Christ (Phil. 1:6)! Oh Holy Spirit change us, and help us to be more like you, Lord. In Jesus name, Amen.
Monday, September 3, 2012
Where Do People Go After They Die?
My ten year old nephew, Skyler, asked one day, “where do people go after they die?” The Bible answers this question, and because the Bible has proven itself reliable under the toughest of attacks and scrutiny for thousands of years, we can trust what it has to say about salvation and life after death, too. Jesus confirms the biblical teaching on this subject and expands on it, speaking of it more than any other individual in the Bible! Do people who have rejected the True and Living God and His Son Jesus Christ really go to hell after dying? If so, do they go there immediately? Are Christians “asleep” in the grave after they die, until the coming of Christ, or do they go right to Heaven to be with the Lord after they die? These are excellent questions that he has asked, and the way to answer them is to pray for help from the Lord to find the answers, and to turn to God’s Word to find them.
There are many passages in the Bible that speak authoritatively about the afterlife. There will be a judgment day for all people, a time when we will stand before God to give account for our lives. Every deed done and every word spoken will be measured against the standard of perfection. For Christians, this will happen at the Bema seat of Christ (2 Corinthians 5:10) when we will be rewarded for what we did in and through Christ. Every other work done outside of Christ will be burned away and is useless, but we will be saved and glorified with the Lord forever. For unbelievers final judgment will be at God’s Great White Throne, described in Revelation 20. At the end of time, there will be a resurrection for the wicked. The righteous are made so by faith in Christ alone, not by deeds done in the flesh, and will shine like the stars in the heavens forever (Daniel 12:3). The wicked are judged because of their rejection of Christ Jesus, their refusal to accept God’s gracious redemption.
To put it simply, those who choose to obey and follow the Lord are saved by God’s grace through faith in Jesus Christ alone (who He is and what He did for us on the cross). Those who choose to rebel from God and reject His offer of salvation will be judged according to their own works. The Bible tells us that no one is righteous, that everyone falls short of the glory of God (Romans 3). So, without Christ’s righteousness to cover us and remove our sins, we will die in our sins. We need God to impute Christ’s righteousness to our account so that we can be acquited and saved. And that’s just what He does when we give our life to and put our faith in Jesus! (see Romans chapters 3-5)
If a person does not receive forgiveness of sin through faith in Christ, God will not force them to join Him. Jesus has many things to say about hell and who will be going there. Here are just a few verses for reference:
“Therefore I said to you that you will die in your sins; for if you do not believe that I am He, you will die in your sins (John 8:24).”
Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me (John 14:6).”
“There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, and yourselves thrust out (Luke 13:28).”
“But the sons of the kingdom will be cast out into outer darkness. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth (Matthew 8:12).”
“But I will show you whom you should fear: Fear Him who, after He has killed, has power to cast into hell; yes, I say to you, fear Him (Luke 12:5)!”
Clearly the Bible teaches there is a Heaven for those who put their trust in Christ and there is a hell for those who reject God and fight against Him. To be with Jesus in His Kingdom is Heaven, where there is great joy and glory forever. And to be thrust out from His presence is hell, where there is great pain, weeping and darkness forever. In Matthew 12:30, Jesus said,
“He who is not with Me is against Me, and he who does not gather with Me scatters abroad.”
According to the Bible, when people die they go to one of two places depending on whether or not they have put their faith and trust in Jesus Christ or they have rejected Him. Sheol (a Hebrew word from the OT, called Hades in the Greek NT) is where all people who die without Christ immediately go after they die. On the other hand, people that have received God’s gracious gift of salvation, through faith in Jesus’ work on the cross, go immediately into the presence of the Lord. In 2 Corinthians 5:8, Paul said that he would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord. In other words, for Christians, to die is to go to be with the Lord in Heaven.
Non-Christians go to Sheol/Hades and Christians go to be with the Lord. Hell is technically a different place than Sheol/Hades and is called Gehenna, and also the Lake of Fire. It was prepared for the devil and the fallen angels (Matthew 25:41). The first ones to go there will be the anti-Christ and his false prophet. Then Satan is cast into the Lake of Fire (hell) forever at the end of the 1,000 year reign of Christ “and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever (Revelation 20:10).” At that time, all of the “unrighteous dead” that ever lived, those that died rejecting God and who are eternally without Christ, will be resurrected for the final judgment. They are currently being kept in Sheol/Hades, the place of the dead, until the end of time comes. Sheol/Hades is essentially a holding place for those bound for hell/Gehenna at the final judgment. It is very much like the final, eternal hell.
“Then Death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire (Revelation 20:14-15).”
Jesus described Sheol/Hades in a true story in Luke 16:19-31. Initially, Sheol housed the righteous dead also, separated in “Paradise” from the wicked by a wide, impassable chasm until Jesus paid the price for our sin at the cross. That is when Christ led the captivity in Paradise to freedom in Heaven (Ephesians 4:8). He descended into this place before He rose again and brought Abraham and all of the Old Testament saints to Heaven. Now that Christ has died for us and risen from the dead, all Christians go right to Heaven when they die and non-Christians go to Sheol until the final “White Throne Judgment” spoken of in Revelation 20.
Other questions have arisen because some Christians in the past believed in something called “soul sleep.” But, that was an erroneous teaching based on a misunderstanding of Scripture. Sometimes in the Bible, “asleep” is used as another way of saying a person is dead. Those who have “fallen asleep” in Christ are just Christians who have died and gone to be with the Lord. So, it has nothing to do with a sleeping soul in the grave because all Christians go to be with the Lord immediately when they die.
Paul used these words in 1 Thessalonians when he wanted to clear up some confusion and misunderstanding about the rapture and how living and dead Christians alike are effected by this event. There were some believers that thought that their friends who were Christians and had died were going to miss out because they had died and the rapture hadn't taken place yet. To them, Paul said,
“But I do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning those who have fallen asleep (your Christian brothers and sisters who have died), lest you sorrow as others who have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who sleep (who have died) in Jesus (with faith in Jesus) (1 Thess 4:13-14).”
Paul continues in verses 15 through 18, “For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who are asleep. For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord. Therefore comfort one another with these words.”
He's telling them that those Christians that had died are with Jesus and He will bring them back with Him when He returns at the rapture.
A few months later these same Thessalonian believers needed some clarification on a related subject. They were confused about when the rapture takes place in relation to the seven year Tribulation period. They were rightly expecting Jesus’ imminent return for the Church at the rapture before the Tribulation, like we are today, but thought they had been mistaken and missed it somehow. We know this because in 2 Thessalonians it says that some people wrongly told them that the Day of the Lord had already begun. They had forgotten that Paul had taught them that the rapture takes place before the Day of the Lord, the final seven year Tribulation on the earth (2 Thessalonians 2:3, 7). The folks that had taught them that the Tribulation had already begun were incorrect. Unfortunately, some Christians still erroneously teach that the rapture happens sometime after the Day of the Lord begins.
In teaching about the rapture, Paul is explaining that before the second coming of Christ to establish His Kingdom after the Tribulation period, He first returns for His Church to rescue her from this great time of judgment on the earth. This catching away of the Church is called the rapture. The church on earth at that time will be “caught up” (harpazo in Greek, rapturos in Latin) in the air with the Lord to meet those Christians who have already died and who are already with Jesus. Paul speaks of the rapture of the church again in 1 Cor. 15:51-53:
“Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep (die), but we will all be changed— in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality.”
At the time of the rapture, those Christians that are alive will go to meet all of the believers that have ever lived, and will be with Jesus in Heaven. At some point soon after the departure of the church from the planet, the earth is going to go through it's last seven year period before Jesus’ second coming. This period is called the Great Tribulation (aka, the Day of the Lord or the Day of Jacob's Trouble in the OT). Revelation 4 and 5 give us a picture of what the Church is doing in Heaven at that time! Then the entire Church returns with Christ at His second coming, which is immediately after the end of the Tribulation period. Christ's eternal kingdom will be established, first with the Millennial reign of Christ (the thousand year reign), and then with the New Heaven and New Earth at the end of the thousand years. All of this is described in the last three chapters of Revelation.
“Behold, the Lord comes with ten thousands of His saints (Jude 14).” This statement by Jude is describing the second coming of Christ with His church. The rapture happens first, but no one knows the day or the hour of this event, so we are to be ready at any time (Luke 12:35-46). Are you ready? Have you asked Jesus to be your Savior and your Lord? If you have, you are filled with the joy of the Lord, and the hope of His coming and His glory. If you have not, just turn from your sin now and place your faith in Christ, receiving the free gift of eternal life that is only given through Him. Not just an everlasting life, but a life of true satisfaction and joy as we learn to walk in step with our loving and faithful Creator.
There are many passages in the Bible that speak authoritatively about the afterlife. There will be a judgment day for all people, a time when we will stand before God to give account for our lives. Every deed done and every word spoken will be measured against the standard of perfection. For Christians, this will happen at the Bema seat of Christ (2 Corinthians 5:10) when we will be rewarded for what we did in and through Christ. Every other work done outside of Christ will be burned away and is useless, but we will be saved and glorified with the Lord forever. For unbelievers final judgment will be at God’s Great White Throne, described in Revelation 20. At the end of time, there will be a resurrection for the wicked. The righteous are made so by faith in Christ alone, not by deeds done in the flesh, and will shine like the stars in the heavens forever (Daniel 12:3). The wicked are judged because of their rejection of Christ Jesus, their refusal to accept God’s gracious redemption.
To put it simply, those who choose to obey and follow the Lord are saved by God’s grace through faith in Jesus Christ alone (who He is and what He did for us on the cross). Those who choose to rebel from God and reject His offer of salvation will be judged according to their own works. The Bible tells us that no one is righteous, that everyone falls short of the glory of God (Romans 3). So, without Christ’s righteousness to cover us and remove our sins, we will die in our sins. We need God to impute Christ’s righteousness to our account so that we can be acquited and saved. And that’s just what He does when we give our life to and put our faith in Jesus! (see Romans chapters 3-5)
If a person does not receive forgiveness of sin through faith in Christ, God will not force them to join Him. Jesus has many things to say about hell and who will be going there. Here are just a few verses for reference:
“Therefore I said to you that you will die in your sins; for if you do not believe that I am He, you will die in your sins (John 8:24).”
Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me (John 14:6).”
“There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, and yourselves thrust out (Luke 13:28).”
“But the sons of the kingdom will be cast out into outer darkness. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth (Matthew 8:12).”
“But I will show you whom you should fear: Fear Him who, after He has killed, has power to cast into hell; yes, I say to you, fear Him (Luke 12:5)!”
Clearly the Bible teaches there is a Heaven for those who put their trust in Christ and there is a hell for those who reject God and fight against Him. To be with Jesus in His Kingdom is Heaven, where there is great joy and glory forever. And to be thrust out from His presence is hell, where there is great pain, weeping and darkness forever. In Matthew 12:30, Jesus said,
“He who is not with Me is against Me, and he who does not gather with Me scatters abroad.”
According to the Bible, when people die they go to one of two places depending on whether or not they have put their faith and trust in Jesus Christ or they have rejected Him. Sheol (a Hebrew word from the OT, called Hades in the Greek NT) is where all people who die without Christ immediately go after they die. On the other hand, people that have received God’s gracious gift of salvation, through faith in Jesus’ work on the cross, go immediately into the presence of the Lord. In 2 Corinthians 5:8, Paul said that he would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord. In other words, for Christians, to die is to go to be with the Lord in Heaven.
Non-Christians go to Sheol/Hades and Christians go to be with the Lord. Hell is technically a different place than Sheol/Hades and is called Gehenna, and also the Lake of Fire. It was prepared for the devil and the fallen angels (Matthew 25:41). The first ones to go there will be the anti-Christ and his false prophet. Then Satan is cast into the Lake of Fire (hell) forever at the end of the 1,000 year reign of Christ “and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever (Revelation 20:10).” At that time, all of the “unrighteous dead” that ever lived, those that died rejecting God and who are eternally without Christ, will be resurrected for the final judgment. They are currently being kept in Sheol/Hades, the place of the dead, until the end of time comes. Sheol/Hades is essentially a holding place for those bound for hell/Gehenna at the final judgment. It is very much like the final, eternal hell.
“Then Death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire (Revelation 20:14-15).”
Jesus described Sheol/Hades in a true story in Luke 16:19-31. Initially, Sheol housed the righteous dead also, separated in “Paradise” from the wicked by a wide, impassable chasm until Jesus paid the price for our sin at the cross. That is when Christ led the captivity in Paradise to freedom in Heaven (Ephesians 4:8). He descended into this place before He rose again and brought Abraham and all of the Old Testament saints to Heaven. Now that Christ has died for us and risen from the dead, all Christians go right to Heaven when they die and non-Christians go to Sheol until the final “White Throne Judgment” spoken of in Revelation 20.
Other questions have arisen because some Christians in the past believed in something called “soul sleep.” But, that was an erroneous teaching based on a misunderstanding of Scripture. Sometimes in the Bible, “asleep” is used as another way of saying a person is dead. Those who have “fallen asleep” in Christ are just Christians who have died and gone to be with the Lord. So, it has nothing to do with a sleeping soul in the grave because all Christians go to be with the Lord immediately when they die.
Paul used these words in 1 Thessalonians when he wanted to clear up some confusion and misunderstanding about the rapture and how living and dead Christians alike are effected by this event. There were some believers that thought that their friends who were Christians and had died were going to miss out because they had died and the rapture hadn't taken place yet. To them, Paul said,
“But I do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning those who have fallen asleep (your Christian brothers and sisters who have died), lest you sorrow as others who have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who sleep (who have died) in Jesus (with faith in Jesus) (1 Thess 4:13-14).”
Paul continues in verses 15 through 18, “For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who are asleep. For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord. Therefore comfort one another with these words.”
He's telling them that those Christians that had died are with Jesus and He will bring them back with Him when He returns at the rapture.
A few months later these same Thessalonian believers needed some clarification on a related subject. They were confused about when the rapture takes place in relation to the seven year Tribulation period. They were rightly expecting Jesus’ imminent return for the Church at the rapture before the Tribulation, like we are today, but thought they had been mistaken and missed it somehow. We know this because in 2 Thessalonians it says that some people wrongly told them that the Day of the Lord had already begun. They had forgotten that Paul had taught them that the rapture takes place before the Day of the Lord, the final seven year Tribulation on the earth (2 Thessalonians 2:3, 7). The folks that had taught them that the Tribulation had already begun were incorrect. Unfortunately, some Christians still erroneously teach that the rapture happens sometime after the Day of the Lord begins.
In teaching about the rapture, Paul is explaining that before the second coming of Christ to establish His Kingdom after the Tribulation period, He first returns for His Church to rescue her from this great time of judgment on the earth. This catching away of the Church is called the rapture. The church on earth at that time will be “caught up” (harpazo in Greek, rapturos in Latin) in the air with the Lord to meet those Christians who have already died and who are already with Jesus. Paul speaks of the rapture of the church again in 1 Cor. 15:51-53:
“Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep (die), but we will all be changed— in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality.”
At the time of the rapture, those Christians that are alive will go to meet all of the believers that have ever lived, and will be with Jesus in Heaven. At some point soon after the departure of the church from the planet, the earth is going to go through it's last seven year period before Jesus’ second coming. This period is called the Great Tribulation (aka, the Day of the Lord or the Day of Jacob's Trouble in the OT). Revelation 4 and 5 give us a picture of what the Church is doing in Heaven at that time! Then the entire Church returns with Christ at His second coming, which is immediately after the end of the Tribulation period. Christ's eternal kingdom will be established, first with the Millennial reign of Christ (the thousand year reign), and then with the New Heaven and New Earth at the end of the thousand years. All of this is described in the last three chapters of Revelation.
“Behold, the Lord comes with ten thousands of His saints (Jude 14).” This statement by Jude is describing the second coming of Christ with His church. The rapture happens first, but no one knows the day or the hour of this event, so we are to be ready at any time (Luke 12:35-46). Are you ready? Have you asked Jesus to be your Savior and your Lord? If you have, you are filled with the joy of the Lord, and the hope of His coming and His glory. If you have not, just turn from your sin now and place your faith in Christ, receiving the free gift of eternal life that is only given through Him. Not just an everlasting life, but a life of true satisfaction and joy as we learn to walk in step with our loving and faithful Creator.
Wednesday, August 29, 2012
Bite-Sized Bible Studies: Be Sure
Jesus said, "I am the vine, you are the branches. He who remains in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing. If anyone does not remain in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned (John 15:5-6).”
If we are not born again by a true faith in Jesus, than we are not “in Christ”, and will not remain in Him. We are lost, not saved. Peter, echoing Jesus’ warning said, “be diligent to be found by Him in peace, without spot and blameless (2 Peter 3:14).” By sincere faith in Christ our sins are removed and we are clothed in the righteousness of Christ, “without spot and blameless.”
It is possible to have an intellectual belief in Jesus but not really be born again and saved, to not really have a true heart to the Lord. James says, “even the demons believe.” But they’re not saved! It is possible to falsely think we are okay because we’re generally good people or maybe even go to church or grew up in the church. That’s why Peter warns again, “beware lest you... fall from your own steadfastness, being led away with the error of the wicked.” On the contrary, we are to “grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ (2 Peter 3:17-18).”
“Beware, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God (Hebrews 3:12).” “Let us therefore be diligent to enter that rest [to be sure we are truly His and saved through real repentance of sin and sincere faith] (Hebrews 4:11).” We must give ourselves, our whole life, heart, soul, mind and body, to Jesus as Lord and Savior “Today, while it is still called Today (Hebrews 3:13).”
Monday, August 27, 2012
Bite-Sized Bible Studies: Be Ready
Jesus said that His followers should be ready to go at His return, watching and waiting for His return, and that we would be blessed if we do so (Luke 12:35-40). He said not to be troubled and that He would come again and receive us to Himself; that where He is there we may be also (John 14:1-3).
Because Jesus said this, we know that He can come for His church at the rapture at any time, and that nothing has to happen first or is holding that back. The church has always been taught this by Jesus and the writers of the New Testament, like Paul. Some call it the doctrine of imminency or speak of it as the imminent return of Jesus. It is true that the Bible clearly teaches that Jesus will come for His church at any time and that we are to be ready! At the rapture we will be glorified, taken out of this world before the worst time of Tribulation in history, taken to be with our Lord where He is and to be like Him in eternally glorified bodies. This is just as true now as when Jesus first said it, but we are so much closer to our glory now than ever before!
"Therefore you also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect." -Jesus (Luke 12:40)
Tuesday, August 21, 2012
Under Law or Under Grace?
Following G. Campbell Morgan, Dr. D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones preached from the pulpit of Westminster Chapel in the heart of London for 30 years. From 1955 to 1968, he taught weekly on the book of Romans (yeah, that’s 13 years in Romans!). His exposition was turned into a definitive set on the book of Romans. In his book Romans 6: The New Man (a book I would highly recommend for all), D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones says,
"There are only two positions, we are either 'under law', or else we are 'under grace.' Being under law [that is, the principle of law, whether it be Mosaic or the conscience, etc...] means this, that you have got to attempt to justify yourself in the presence of God by your own actions, by your own works, by your own deeds. Law is always something that comes to a man and says, 'do this and thou shalt live.' It is the exact opposite to justification by faith. The Apostle [Paul] is very much concerned then to say that we are not under law. Why so? Because that is the only way whereby we can ever see or come to understand the truth which he has already stated, namely, that 'sin shall not have dominion over you (p. 182).'"
A friend of mine recently reminded me of a great passage of Scripture that I have always treasured very much. This particular passage has also been troubling and confusing for many Christians throughout the ages. In Matthew 7:15-23 (NIV), Jesus says,
"Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? Likewise every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them. Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?' Then I will tell them plainly, 'I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!'"
As a young Christian, when I came across this Scripture I would always pray, "oh Lord, I hope this isn’t me, I hope I have a true faith." It wasn’t until I discovered that we are dead to the law and alive to God now through faith in Jesus that I realized this passage isn’t meant for Christians at all! When you think of it in light of the whole NT, how could it be?
Let’s take a really quick look at this passage in Matthew 7 and try to see just what the Lord was saying. I really want to focus on the "Lord, Lord" section in verses 21-23, but I quoted the previous verses to give a bit more context.
Jesus tells the crowds to watch out for false prophets and that you will know true from false "by their works." I think the first question we have to ask ourselves here is, "who is He talking to and what is the context of the discussion?" Obviously He is talking to huge crowds of Israelites, Jews, there in Israel. All the way back in chapter 5 it indicates that His disciples were there. We see throughout the gospels a mixed crowd following/listening to Jesus. Disciples, interested onlookers, law abiding Jews that doubt Christ’s claims but are open to hear Him, and those that are just dead set against Him. I think it is fair to say that there was a fairly large group of people listening to Him here, and that included the strict followers of Mosaic law who were rejecting Jesus’ claims.
False prophets then, in this context, are those that teach the law and traditions of men, requiring it of the people, and yet not keeping the law perfectly themselves. Those that do not follow God by faith, but by their own standard of works are false God followers. You’ll know them by their bad works, which are works done in their own strength and not by God, and that is why the works are worthless like a fallen tree limb, they are dead and will shortly be thrown in the fire.
So, when Jesus says, "Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven," we have to view the statement in light of it’s context. Who is he speaking to? Jews. People that have been listening to the teachers of the law for years, many of whom have been teaching salvation by works instead of repentance and faith. So many times, Christians today make it seem like Christians could say, "Lord, Lord" but they may be rejected because they do not have enough good works to support their faith. But I reject that completely as impossible! The text rejects that, not to mention the whole of the New Testament. Those who say "Lord, Lord" in this context, are Jews! Christ rejecting, "law only" Jews! And I would say this clearly applies, not to Christians, but to religious folks (anywhere) that base their right standing with God on their own standard of good works. Jesus says only those who do the will of the Father will enter the Kingdom of Heaven. What is the will of the Father? According to Jesus, the work of God is to "believe in Him whom He [the Father] sent (John 6:28-29)." Notice that the false believers in verse 22 had plenty of works to show for their good standing with God. But Jesus rejects them. Why, because of a lack of fruit or good works? No, no, no. Because of a lack of relationship. He says, "I never knew you."
Oh brothers and sisters in Christ, do not let misinformed Christians condemn you because you do not meet their particular standard of perfection of the day. We are the Lord’s by faith and not by works. Christians are not the target of this Scripture in Matthew 7. The religions of the world are the target because they are all coming to God based on their good works. But the whole of humanity is always falling short of the glorious standard of God and are made right with Him by His grace, through faith and not by works (of the law or conscience or whatever other standard, as Lloyd-Jones said above).
Christ died once and for all. When He died for our sin, He died to the realm of sin and death (He will never die again or be subject to the punishment of sin again). And Paul says in Romans 6 that when we were united to Christ by faith, we also died to sin and the power of sin and death. We are no longer under sin, but under grace. If we were under the law, sin would still have dominion over us. But it does not because Christ died to transfer us from the kingdom of sin, darkness and death, into His glorious kingdom of righteousness, light and eternal life (Romans 5). We were transferred into God’s eternal Kingdom when we were united to (made one with) Christ by faith! If you call yourself a Christian, be sure that you are in the faith that is by grace, and not the religion that is by works.
Once you were dead, doomed forever because of your many sins. ...All of us used to live that way, following the passions and desires of our evil nature. We were born with an evil nature, and we were under God's anger just like everyone else. But God is so rich in mercy, and He loved us so very much, that even while we were dead because of our sins, He gave us life when He raised Christ from the dead. (It is only by God's special favor [grace] that you have been saved!) For He raised us from the dead along with Christ, and we are seated with Him in the heavenly realms--all because we are one with Christ Jesus (Eph. 2:1-6).
So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus (Rom. 8:1).
If you are a Christian, born again by the power of the Spirit of God, if you know Him and have His Holy Spirit in you, if you believe in Jesus and have given your life to Him, whether you are on fire or backsliding, you are not under law, but under grace. Make a billboard and hold it up high and shout it from the mountain tops, "You are saved by grace through faith and not by works!" You will not hear, "I never knew you," but rather, "welcome home my child." Not because of what you did or do, but because of what Jesus did for you. What a glorious freedom! What a wondrous truth. What a merciful Father we have! Thank you Jesus for the work you did for me. Rest in Him alone. And if you do not already know the Lord, give your heart to Him today.
Draw near to God and He will draw near to you (James 4). The love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us (Rom. 5:5).
Saturday, August 18, 2012
Love & Grace
Grace is simply this: what God has done for us. Grace is the undeserved, merciful kindness of God toward us. It is the work of God that flows forth from His unending love. The result of God’s grace working in us is God’s grace working through us. Grace includes the power of God working in and through us by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. We have been saved by grace through faith (Eph. 2:8). God’s plan of the redemption of mankind to Himself is the gift of His grace alone, and He has accomplished this through the sacrifice of His Son on the cross for our sin. And we continue to walk with Jesus by His grace, the leading and empowering of His Holy Spirit.
Love is defined for us in 1st Corinthians chapter 13: Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails (1 Cor. 13:4-8 NKJV).
John tells us that “God is love (1 John 4:16).”
God has revealed His love for us in the life of Jesus Christ. Jesus set aside His own life and was obedient to death, even the death of the cross (Phil. 2). God did this because of His immeasurable love for us. For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life (John 3:16).
I am in awe of God’s love and grace for me. What an incomprehensible but wonderful truth to contemplate and revel in! Yet, as I continue to walk with the Lord, He has revealed to me that I do not usually extend the same kind of love and grace to others in my life as He has extended to me in Christ. I love to worship God and to receive from Him. So how can I go right out of church and be rude to someone and act selfishly? How is it that I show so little grace when it comes to someone doing wrong by me? James said, “Out of the same mouth proceed blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not to be so (3:10).” If I am to be a follower of Jesus, I must follow Him in His love and grace, and in His humility and sacrifice.
Jesus said, “this is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one's life for his friends (John 15:12-13).”
This is a tremendous call for our lives, and impossible outside of the indwelling power of the Holy Spirit in us. We are in Christ and Christ is in us. Paul said, “it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me (Gal. 2:20)” and “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me (Phil. 4:13).”
The Christian life can be summed up in these two words: love & grace. The love and grace of God toward us, and the love and grace flowing forth from us to the friends and enemies around us in our lives; flowing forth like God’s grace flows forth to us from His heart of love.
Lord, help me to be loving and gracious to those that You bring across my path. Empower me to walk in Your way. Fill me with Your love and give me victory over my selfish flesh. Change me into a servant. Change my heart to give undeserved kindness to those who do me wrong. Empower me to forgive as You have forgiven me. Empower me to suffer long, to be kind, to not seek my own and to endure all things for Your glory.
Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts. Point out anything in me that offends You, and lead me along the path of everlasting life (Psalm 139). In Jesus name, Amen.
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