Saturday, February 20, 2010

Grace to the Humble

James 4:6-8

The book of James is written to the Jew. We learn this from the outset, when he greets, “the twelve tribes which are scattered abroad” (James 1:1). It is important to remember this when you read James, for many things will sound strange to the ear of someone who is coming off of the Apostle Paul’s writings. Paul addresses the church and his writings are the complete message of grace that was given to him by the Lord Jesus (Galatians 1:12).

Some have pitted James’ writing in direct contrast to Paul’s, stating that Paul and James were having a verbal spat about what true faith was. This is patently incorrect as neither Romans nor Galatians (Paul’s essential documents on grace) were yet written. James’ theme is “religion”, or the service of religion on the outside. He doesn’t claim that works are greater than faith, but that faith should always be identified by the works that it produces.

For the ear tempered to the soft tones of Paul’s gospel of grace, the 4th chapter of James booms with judgment. Remember that James is preaching to the scattered Jews, and many of them have never come into the knowledge of grace. Most are still working the works of the law in order to achieve righteousness, and of course, they are falling woefully short. James accuses them of having lust in their hearts; of being adulterers and adulteresses and friends of the world. Paul would say none of these things in his letters. Again, we are dealing with two different audiences.

Suddenly, in verse 6, James uses “grace” for the first time. The English word “grace” is used in 1:11, but it is a different Greek word meaning “beauty”. The “grace” of James 4:6 is Paul’s “grace”, often translated “favor”. James is just now getting around to telling the reader of God’s grace. Without Paul’s powerful revelation of God’s grace, James can only understand this wonderful gift in small segments. Even he, without that revelation realizes that God’s gifts must transcend our ability to receive them. In spite of all of the bad that the reader is doing, James says that God has “more grace”. Paul would confirm this when he would write, “Where sin abounded, grace did much more abound” (Romans 5:20).

James now adds that God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble. For James, this is not an original thought, but is pulled from his memory of Old Testament scripture. Proverbs 3:34 says, “Surely he scorneth the scorners: but he giveth grace to the lowly”. James is making the only connection that he knows to get someone into the grace of God. It is Paul who will reveal that it is justification by faith, but James says something that is not at all contradictory to that doctrine, “Submit yourselves therefore to God” (James 4:7). The “therefore” shows us that in light of the fact that God’s grace moves on us when we are humble, James concludes that in order to walk in God’s grace you must submit yourself to God. When submitted, you can resist the devil and he will flee and then you can draw near to God and he can draw near to you.

Only those who have humbled themselves can ever walk in God’s abundant grace and favor. It is pride that thinks that sanctification can be achieved by removing things from one’s life, or by consecrating more. For every rich, young ruler that turns away saddened by the demands of the law, there is a Zacchaeus who is rejoicing in grace. Which one are you?

Thursday, February 18, 2010

Put It on Jesus’ Account

Philemon 1:10-18

Paul wrote his shortest epistle near the end of his first imprisonment in Rome. He was probably about 63 years old when he wrote this letter to his friend Philemon, a fellow laborer for the Lord and the owner of a servant named Onesimus. Onesimus had robbed Philemon and then fled to Rome, where he met Paul and became a believer of Christ. Paul sent Onesimus back to Philemon with this epistle, which contains Paul’s request to Philemon that he accept Onesimus, not only as a servant, but as a “brother beloved” (1:16).

Paul places Philemon’s love for him front and center, asking Philemon to receive Onesimus as if he were receiving Paul himself (verse 17). In this letter, Paul is giving us a practical example of the substitutionary work of Christ, as he does no better in any other writing.

First, he lists Onesimus as one time “unprofitable”, but now “profitable to thee and to me” (verse 11). Without Christ we are entirely unprofitable to anything or anybody as it regards the eternal things, but with Christ we are profitable to everything and everybody that we encounter.

Second, he prompts Philemon to receive Onesimus as “mine own bowels” (verse 12). This phrase was used often in the Word as an analogy of love. The world in that time considered the deepest part of someone’s love or affection to come from their “bowels of compassion” (1 John 3:17). By asking Philemon to receive Onesimus by Paul’s “own bowels”, he is asking him to receive him as he would receive Paul’s love. God has shed his love abroad to us through the price that Jesus paid at Calvary (Romans 5:5). Everything that we receive from God, we receive it because of this compassion.

Finally, Paul requests that any damages done by Onesimus should be placed on Paul’s own account. Any financial set-backs that have been caused through the theft of this servant will be paid in full by the Apostle as soon as he arrives. Imagine how Philemon felt as he read these words. Here is a man writing to him from prison, promising to pay him in full for taking this man back into his service. Philemon could not help but pay heed to the request, because the effort being taken to bring Onesimus back into good graces was enormous.

In light of how great the price was that Jesus paid, how can we refuse Him? He has taken all of our wrongs, our failures, our problems and our pains and He has placed them on His account. He laid down His own life, suffering the pain of separation from His Father so that all of our debts could be paid. It is the ultimate insult for any person to believe that their works are needed in order to pay God back for all of His goodness.

Heed the Apostles words regarding working for righteousness:

“Now to him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt. But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness.” (Romans 4:4, 5)

Wednesday, February 17, 2010

Grace Teaches Us How to Live

Titus 2:11, 12

The most common argument that comes against those of us who teach the gospel of grace is that if we continue to preach and teach God’s grace without “balancing” it with the teaching of God’s law, then no one in the church will know how to live and people will begin to “sin like crazy”. This argument mixes the covenants. It places new wine (New Covenant) into old wineskins (Old Covenant) which never balances out either message, it simply ruins them both (Luke 5:36-39).

Because of Adam’s sin in eating of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, man trusts his own ability to do what is right and shun what is wrong. He thinks that the way to do well is to be aware of the evil and then to run hard and fast the other way. This thinking has made its way into the pulpit, with preachers constantly pointing out all of the evils of the world and warning saints away from them. That message puts all of the responsibility onto the believer to change themselves. This causes them to do penance when they fail and to place themselves under stricter discipline to keep from doing it again. This is the “spirit of bondage again to fear” (Romans 8:15).

Paul stated that the grace of God brings salvation, and no one who preaches Jesus, either by law or by grace would deny that (Titus 2:11). He further states that this grace “hath appeared to all men”. The “appearance” of grace is in the man Jesus Christ. John tells us that the law was given by Moses but that grace and truth came by Jesus Christ (John 1:17). Notice that when grace appears it has a job to do, “Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world” (Titus 2:12). What is it that does the teaching? It is the grace of God, through the personage of Jesus. The more sin is revealed to the believer, the more that they try to pay the price to get rid of that sin. The more that Jesus is revealed to the believer, the more that He teaches them how to live. In essence, the more they see Jesus, the more Jesus lives through them.

No one who preaches the gospel of grace wants to see Christians living in sin. Paul defended his message on more than one occasion, feeling the need to do so because he was being misrepresented. “Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound?” he asks. “God forbid,” he answers (Romans 6:1, 2). Then, he doesn’t say that we shouldn’t sin because it will send us to hell, but rather he asks how we can continue to do those evil things seeing that our old man is dead and Christ is alive in us (Romans 6:2-7). Paul is showing how to live by reinforcing the believers position in Christ, allowing grace go to work in each person’s heart.

The grace of God that saved you is also the grace that will keep you. Every believer has the voice of the Spirit in them showing them the way to live. When we fail, the Spirit doesn’t punch us in the spiritual face and force us to make up for it, condemning our every thought and deed, but instead, the Holy Spirit reinforces who we are in Christ, causing us to “walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called” (Ephesians 4:1).

Listen to the voice of grace in your heart today. He will lead you as to how to live and how to let Jesus live through you. Be blessed!

Tuesday, February 16, 2010

Believers Worship at David’s Tabernacle

Amos 9:11, 12

In Acts 15, the Apostle James speaks to the assembled apostles and preachers at the council in Jerusalem. The council was held so that the Jewish apostles could determine what they should say and preach to the new Gentile converts regarding the observance of Jewish law. In his speech, James quotes our text from the book of Amos, placing Amos’ prophecy in New Testament times, not far off in some future millennium.

James states that the advent of Jesus and His death on the cross has brought back the tabernacle of David. Even the least experienced Bible student knows that the tabernacle was built by Moses, many years before David came along, and that David’s son Solomon constructed the temple. So when and where was there ever a tabernacle of David?

David decided that the Ark of the Covenant had been missing from Jerusalem for too long. Moses’ tabernacle was set up in Gibeon, but David wanted to bring the presence of the Lord to the capital of Israel and Judah, so he had a cart constructed so that the Ark could be rolled in. On the way, one of David’s men touched the Ark as it was shaking on the cart and he fell over dead. David was frightened of the Ark’s power so he took it to the nearest house, the home of a Gentile named Obed-edom.

Obed-edom means, “Servant of Edom”. Edom is another name for Esau, showing us that this man was actually a descendent of Jacob’s brother Esau. For the next 3 months, blessings are poured on the house of Obed-edom, and as David hears of this, he becomes a bit envious in his spirit, desiring that God would bless him with such goodness. This prompts David to take the Ark out of Obed-edom’s house and bring it up to Jerusalem, this time with priests carrying it, as Moses had been instructed.

David places the Ark in a tabernacle that he pitches for it (2 Samuel 6:17). 1 Chronicles 15:1 tells us that this “tabernacle” is a tent. David seems unconcerned with placing the Ark in the Holy of Holies, in the tabernacle at Gibeon, for he makes no effort to do so. Instead, he leaves it in Jerusalem, basking off of the same blessings that were on it while in the house of Obed-edom. Through all of this he had learned that God’s blessings were not on the tabernacle, but on the Ark, and that God would bless all who approached it, even an unworthy Gentile.

James references this prophecy because of what Christ’s finished work has accomplished. Under the Old Covenant, God was to be feared and placed at a distance. Only the high priest ever saw the ark while it was in the tabernacle, and that only once per year. David is hearkening forward to a better covenant built upon better promises, when all of God’s people can go boldly into the presence of the Lord and have their moment at the mercy seat of heaven, covered by the blood of the precious, spotless Lamb.

Believers no longer worship a distant entity, but a living God. Because Christ lives in us, we worship at David’s tabernacle, where God’s presence is always right where we are. We are the temple of the Holy Spirit, and God dwells in us (1 Corinthians 6:19). Just as in David’s tabernacle, the blessings are not on the tent, but on the Ark in the tent. The blessings that we experience are not because of us but because of our Jesus in us! Therefore, His blessings are not dependent on how good we are or how consecrated we may be, but rather they are dependent on how good Jesus is. As Amos said, even the remnant of Edom and all of the heathen are called by the name of the Lord (Amos 9:12).

Monday, February 15, 2010

The Out-pouring of the Spirit

Joel 2:28, 29

The events of this passage of scripture have partially come to pass. Peter quotes it in Acts 2:17, stating the “afterward” to be “the last days”, when on the Day of Pentecost, the Holy Spirit was poured out on the 120 in Jerusalem who were waiting on the promise of the Father. We have had nearly 2000 years pass since Peter stated this, and we still hear talk of the “last days”. This is because the era of the “last days” began with the ascension of Christ, though the “last day” is yet to come.

Since we are in these “last days”, the out-pouring of the Spirit is still happening. The Holy Spirit has already arrived on the earth, empowering the church, but every believer can have an outward manifestation of this power in their life. Joel said that it would cause “your sons and daughters to prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions” (Joel 2:28). Even the servants and the handmaids can now receive this mighty manifestation (verse 29). It is not confined to the Day of Pentecost in Acts 2, because Peter took the gospel of grace to the house of Cornelius, a Gentile, in Acts 10, and after he preached of the forgiveness of sins through Christ, “the Holy Ghost fell on all them which heard the word” (Acts 10:44). These same new converts then begin to “speak with tongues and magnify God” (verse 46).

The Holy Spirit enters the believer at conversion, and He manifests Himself as Comforter in their life, walking with them into every area, providing the reaffirmation that they are the righteousness of God (John 16:10). He wishes to provide them with all spiritual gifts as well, and the believer is encouraged to pray for the best of those gifts (1 Corinthians 12:31). The Spirit manifests the various gifts so that the believer can profit from them (1 Corinthians 12:7), and it would do us good to look at the list of those gifts in 1 Corinthians 12:8-10.

One gift is given to all believers to use as a prayer language, to build them up, and to glorify God, and that is the gift of tongues. Three times in the book of Acts, the out-pouring of the Holy Spirit into believers lives was accompanied by speaking with other tongues (Acts 2:4; 10:46; 19:6), and Paul told the Corinthian church that when you use this gift you speak directly to God and that it is done to build up your spirit (14:2, 4). Paul also encouraged the believers to pray in tongues whenever they wanted, or even to sing in tongues in like manner (14:15), and he was proud of using tongues (14:18). He also knew that not everyone would agree with this usage, so he instructed the Corinthians that if someone chose to be ignorant regarding these gifts, “let him be ignorant” (14:38), but to “forbid not to speak with tongues” (14:39).

The Holy Spirit is still touching lives and entering into the heart of everyone who calls on the name of the Lord. When the Law was given on the first Day of Pentecost, 3000 people were killed. When the Spirit was given on the Day of Pentecost, 3000 people were saved. The letter of the law kills, but the Spirit gives life. Praise the Lord for the Holy Spirit!

If you are not seeing the manifestation of the Spirit in your life through the gifts, there is no condemnation to you. You are not “doing something wrong”. Simply ask for the Holy Spirit to manifest in you. Your heavenly Father always gives to those who ask (Luke 11:13).

Sunday, February 14, 2010

The Believer Whom Jesus Loves

John 13:23

It is Valentine’s Day; a day when lovers share little sentiments of their affection with one another, often with cards, candy, flowers, stuffed animals or jewelry. The purpose is no doubt to generate money for these various products within our economy, but for those participating, it is all about sharing the love with someone special.

It is truly joyful to boast of your love for someone. You can shower them with praise and affection, and that showing of love brings warmth to your heart. That is a sampling of what it feels like to pour the love of Christ into someone’s life. As wonderful as that is, many believers go every day without experiencing that wonderful feeling.

The reason that many believers rarely, if ever, share the love of Christ with anyone is not because they don’t think that the Lord loves people, or because they are being rebellious against the Great Commission, but rather is because they have little knowledge of how loved that they are. The knowledge of how much God loves you will give you the power to share love with other people.

The apostle John writes of “the disciple whom Jesus loved”, and then never names himself in this gospel. This disciple whom Jesus loved is identified as the author of the book (John 21:24), so we know that John is referring to himself. Jesus certainly doesn’t love John more than He loves any of the other disciples, but it is John who recognizes the love of Jesus for him. This knowledge finds John leaning on Jesus’ bosom at the Last Supper, resting close to the heart of the Savior. Those who know how loved that they are do not run off looking for opportunity to sin, but rather they rest close to the heartbeat of the one who loves them so much.

John refers to himself in this manner a number of times in this book. The other usages show us John in various situations, always learning something new, as those who know that they are loved are always growing in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior.

On this day set aside by the world as a day of love, let’s think not only of our love for our spouse or our boyfriend or girlfriend, and not only of our love for the Lord, but let’s think of His love for us. The Apostle of Love would write in his first epistle, “Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us, and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins” (1 John 4:10). John is telling us that true love is not how much we love the Lord, but rather how much the Lord loves us. We cannot even know how to love Him without this knowledge, for “We love Him, because He first loved us” (1 John 4:19).

Perhaps no poet or writer has ever captured the perfect love of God in any of their work, but one songwriter came very close. The Sunday school tune, “Jesus Loves Me” has been sang by children the world over and there may be no truer theology regarding the love of Christ for us all. Maybe every Christian should sing its lines from time to time, and rest in His matchless love:

Jesus loves me this I know,
For the Bible tells me so,
Little ones to Him belong,
They are blessed for He is strong.
Yes Jesus loves me, yes Jesus loves me, yes Jesus loves me,
The Bible tells me so

(If you enjoyed this devotion, and would like more information on this topic, contact the ministry and request Pastor Paul’s sermon titled, “The Love Secret of the Apostle John” on CD. It is our gift to you!)