Saturday, January 22, 2011

The Stumbling Block and the Foolishness

1 Corinthians 1:23

It seems that the world has nothing but good things to say about the life and statements of Jesus. They frequently quote Him in everything from motivational books to Hollywood movies. His birth is celebrated the world over, and His life is viewed as a model of virtue and peace. The cross of Christ, however, has never enjoyed the universal appeal that is so often associated with the man, Christ Jesus. The finished work, where Jesus paid the sin debt for the world, is not only ignored, but is often in dispute as to whether or not it even happened.

Paul was unashamed to declare that he preached Christ as crucified. The emphasis placed on “crucified” shows us that there are more ways to preach Jesus. There is certainly nothing wrong with preaching of the birth, life or principles of Jesus, but it is His death that changed the world. His finished work brought peace between God and men, ending the war against sin that had waged for nearly four thousand years.

To the Jew, Paul called the cross a “stumbling block”; to the Gentile, “foolishness”. The Jews had received the Law at the hands of Moses and they felt that the keeping of that Law entitled them to eternal life. The Law demanded works, and the cross declared that the work was finished. Many Jews “stumbled” at the prospect of righteousness apart from works.

Gentiles then and now, often view that finished work as foolish. While the Jew stumbles at the cross because they feel righteous through the Law, the Gentile feels that they need no redeemer. Thus, the prospect of someone dying for them is a foolish one. I have actually had some say to me that they didn’t see the need for Jesus to die for them. Well, I’m glad He died for me!

Both Jew and Gentile share a common problem; both trust in their ability to save them. The Jew trusts the Law while the Gentile trusts their wisdom and intellect. Only when one comes to the saving knowledge of Christ do they see that the cross is the apex of power and wisdom. Paul says that, “the foolishness of God is wiser than men; and the weakness of God is stronger than men” (1 Corinthians 1:25).

When you hear the cross of Christ preached, you are hearing the power of God (1 Corinthians 1:18). It is power to us, because we have had its effects at work in our heart. We know what we used to be, but the death of Christ brought death to our old nature, and a new start to our lives. Thanks be to God for that Old Rugged Cross!

See His finished work today as having been done on your behalf. He was cursed so that you could be blessed. He was rejected so that you would always be accepted. He finished it all, so that you could have it all. God bless.

Friday, January 21, 2011

I Am Not Ashamed of Good News

Romans 1:16, 17

The word “gospel” means, “good news”. When Paul speaks of the gospel of Jesus Christ, he is speaking of the good news of Jesus’ finished work at the cross. What Christ did at Calvary was so awesome, so wonderful, so complete, that it must be considered not only good news, but the best news that the world could ever hear.

Paul was beginning to take criticism and false accusations because he was preaching so much good news (Romans 3:8), but he had become convinced that there was no other way of salvation for Gentile or Jew. Because of that he decides that he will not be ashamed to speak this truth again (Romans 1:16). If the great Apostle Paul was not ashamed to preach of a good God, who loves you unconditionally, then why would we fear this message?

The good news is the power of God to see people saved. Paul writes one chapter later, “the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance” (Romans 2:4). His goodness leads men to change their minds about God. When Peter falls on his face at Jesus’ knees, saying, “Depart from me; for I am a sinful man, O Lord” (Luke 5:8), do you think this admission came after a hell, fire and brimstone message on the sinful condition of Peter’s heart? No! It came after Jesus blessed Peter’s fishing party with so many fish that their nets broke from the load. It was Jesus’ goodness that caused Peter to repent.

The word “salvation” implies “deliverance, safety, preservation, healing and wholeness”. The good news not only saves you from an eternity in hell, but it makes you whole while you are here. Jesus promised us not only eternal life but abundant life (John 10:10). We are to reign in this life, now! (Romans 5:17)

Some people fear the message of pure grace because they worry that grace preaching will not teach people to live right. Paul says in Romans 1:17 that when we are saved, God’s righteousness is revealed in us “from faith to faith”. As we continue our faith walk, He brings His holiness out of us. Holiness cannot be added on the outside, it must come out of the heart, and the grace that is in us will teach us how to produce the results that we have always wanted.

Paul concludes these two verses by quoting from Habakkuk 2:4, “The just shall live by faith”. As Christians, we are not living to pile up good marks with God, so that we can get into the pearly gates. Nor are we shunning the evil so that we are not tainted by the sin of the world. Our lives are wrapped up in Jesus Christ and His finished work. In Him we live, and move, and have our being (Acts 17:28), and we live our lives through Him (1 John 4:9). This is only possible by simple faith in Jesus, because we are near sin, and sometimes we commit it. We do not always do the good and shun the evil, though we desire to so fervently. It is for these reasons that our lives must be lived out through faith in Jesus.

Let grace bring wholeness and rest to your life today. Realize that as your faith continues in Christ, His righteousness will come out in the way that you live that life. Relax in Jesus, for He has saved your soul. Peace go with you today.

Thursday, January 20, 2011

The Rest and the Refreshing

Acts 2:4, 11

Many things have been said against the biblical practice of speaking in tongues. It is often chided as having passed with the apostles, linked with cultic activities or even as being from the devil himself. Religion often links things that it does not want or understand, as being from the devil. John the Baptist was said to have a devil in him (Matthew 11:18), and Jesus’ miracles were attributed, by the church of that day, as being from the devil as well (Matthew 12:24).

Isaiah first prophesied that God would use tongues as a means of speaking to His people (Isaiah 28:11), and that they would deem speaking with other tongues as a “rest” and a “refreshing” (Isaiah 28:12). On the Day of Pentecost, when the church was empowered by the Holy Spirit, all 120 that were present, “began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance” (Acts 2:4). This is not to insinuate that one must speak in tongues to call themselves a Christian, but it does show us that this wonderful gift is available to believers because of the arrival of the Holy Spirit.

A frequently used criticism of speaking in tongues is the argument that tongues were only necessary to minister the gospel to the many people who spoke various languages. I have even heard it argued that tongues should only be used when the Holy Spirit overtakes the tongue of a missionary in a foreign land, who has no interpreter, so that he can preach the gospel in the native tongue of the land. This attack against the biblical gift of tongues is from no other source but Satan! He does not want God’s people experiencing the rest and the refreshing.

In Acts 2:11, the Bible records that all of the nationalities represented on the Day of Pentecost could hear their own tongue being spoken by the 120. They do not say that they hear the gospel, only the “wonderful works of God”. It is not until verse 14 that Peter stands up and preaches to them of Jesus Christ and His finished work, and there is no indication that he preaches this message in tongues. To argue that tongues are for the presentation of the gospel in any form is outside of the Word of God. This gift is not for gospel preaching, but for saint edification!

Paul wrote that when you speak in tongues you are not speaking to men, but to God (1 Corinthians 14:2). He further wrote that when you speak in tongues you edify, or build up, or repair yourself (14:4). He said that it is your choice, as a Spirit-filled believer, to pray in tongues or not. It is also your choice to sing in tongues, or not (14:15). He told young Timothy to stir up the gift that was in him (1 Timothy 1:6), and Jude told the church to build themselves up on their most holy faith. How? By, “praying in the Holy Ghost” (Jude 20).

Ask God today for a fresh revelation of this truth. He will freely give His children all things (Romans 8:32), and, as a good Father, He wishes to give you liberally of His Holy Spirit (Luke 11:13). A beautiful part of God’s abundant grace is how the Holy Spirit ministers in you and through you, helping your sicknesses of body and soul, and interceding for you in areas that you have no direction (Romans 8:26).

Live free in His love today!

Wednesday, January 19, 2011

Grace Is Not a Doctrine; It Is a Person!

John 1:17

The grace of God is the great separation of Christianity from all other religions of the world. Religion, in general, requires the adherent to work hard and hope that they can earn a place in eternity. Followers of Christ do nothing to achieve eternal life, except believe and accept the price paid by Jesus. Only Christianity has God becoming man, to die for man, and then giving the world the gift of resurrected life. In a nutshell, this is the grace of God.

However, grace is not a doctrine, or a belief. It is not just a “thing”, which exists only in practice, like prayer or faith. Grace has been available for mankind from the very beginning, but it was not always accessible. Noah “found grace in the eyes of the Lord” (Genesis 6:8), but when Jesus came, grace found man.

John tells us that “the law was given by Moses”. This denotes distance, with the Law being cast down at man from Mount Sinai. “Grace and truth came by Jesus Christ”, tells us that Jesus brought us grace and truth. He did not cast it down like the Law from the mountain, but walked it to us, as He still does today. This is why you don’t find grace now, as Noah did, but rather grace finds you, for Jesus is always journeying your way.

There is no truth to be found on the side of the law, for grace and truth come together. Jesus told us that He is, “the way, the truth, and the life” (John 14:6). If Jesus is “truth”, and grace and truth are a package deal, then grace is not a doctrine, it is a person, and that person is Jesus. He is the embodiment of what the grace of God is and what that grace will accomplish.

Jesus loved people. He listened to their needs. He laughed with their children. He wept at their funerals. His hands of compassion would write words of freedom on the ground for a woman caught in the act of adultery, and feed 5,000 strangers with a miracle of multiplication. His love and mercy knew no boundary. He forgave a thief on the cross, who had previously mocked Him, and He cried out for His Father to forgive His murderers, for they knew not what they did. Jesus does not give grace; Jesus is grace.

When you accepted Christ as your Savior, He came into you with all grace and truth. You are growing into the knowledge of that grace and truth a bit more every day. Jesus told a group of new believers, “You shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free” (John 8:32). You may not be there yet, but with His grace working in you, that freedom is coming through the knowledge of His truth.

As you go about your day today, remember that Jesus is in you with grace and truth. He is not standing afar off, casting the Law at you, but He walks with you ministering His wonderful grace into every area of your life. Allow Him to do the work, while you take the blessings, and never fear that you are dwelling on grace, “too much”. If one can have too much grace, then one can have too much Jesus, and I have yet to meet that person. Go in His grace!

Tuesday, January 18, 2011

No Fear

Luke 4:5-8

We looked at Jesus in the wilderness a couple of days ago, showing you how Christ overcame the devil with the knowledge that He was God’s beloved Son, and that the Father was well pleased with Him. Now we return to that story, this time from Luke’s gospel. Satan left something out when he tempted Jesus, choosing not to remind Jesus that He was “beloved”. Jesus does some revision of His own, changing the wording of a passage of scripture when overcoming the devil.

The scenario is the second temptation recorded from the wilderness. In it, Satan takes Jesus to a high mountain and shows Him all of the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time, and offers Him the power and authority of the world. Satan has this right at that time, for the world had yet to be redeemed back to God through Christ’s finished work at the cross. His temptation was to give Jesus all that the cross would purchase, without the pain of going through with the sacrificial work. Whether Satan understood all of this or not is not completely clear, but Jesus overcame this in the same manner as before; by returning to the Word.

Jesus answers the devil, saying, “Get thee behind me, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve” (Luke 4:8). When the text says, “for it is written”, we know that Jesus is quoting from the Old Testament. In this case, it is from Deuteronomy 10:20:

“Thou shalt fear the Lord thy God; him shalt thou serve, and to him shalt thou cleave, and swear by his name.”

When Moses writes it in Deuteronomy it says, “Thou shalt fear the Lord…”, but when Jesus quotes it in Luke, he says, “Thou shalt worship the Lord…”. Why the change? Does Jesus not know the text? I think we can agree that Jesus knows His scriptures, as does the devil, and Satan doesn’t call Him on this error either. This is because it is not an error. Jesus, as the author of the original text, reserves the right to change it when necessary!

Christ is introducing the manner with which New Covenant believers should think of God. Instead of seeing Him as distant and angry, one to be feared, He wants us to worship Him and feel His wonderful love for us. The Christian need not be afraid of their heavenly Father, for His entire wrath has been exhausted in the body of Jesus at the cross. You and I now worship Him in spirit and in truth, free from the fear of judgment.

This freedom to worship is in us because of the marvelous grace of God. Under Law, even Moses shook with fear when he heard from God (Hebrews 12:21), but “let us have grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear” (Hebrews 12:28). Only those who rest in His grace have true, godly, holy fear.

Let the grace of God change your unholy fear of a wrath-filled God into a reverential, godly fear of a Father whose good pleasure is to give to you the kingdom. God bless!

Monday, January 17, 2011

I’m Only Going to Say This Once

Mark 1:21-26

Most fathers have the ability to elicit response from their children simply by changing their tone of voice. Apparently, they also experience great pain when they have to repeat themselves, as I often heard my father say, “Son, I don’t want to have to say this again”. As a father, I have found myself using that phrase as well, and not because it hurts to talk, but because I expect results.

The reason that our fathers used that phrase was that it was an exercise in authority. By stating it once, and phrasing that he wasn’t going to say it again, the father is showing his position as the head. What he says should be heeded to, and that in a hurry.

Jesus encountered a centurion, whose servant was at home sick. The man asked for Jesus to heal the servant, and when Jesus made to go to the house, the centurion stated that he was not worthy for Jesus to come under his roof. If Jesus could but speak the word, his servant would be healed, and then he said, “For I also am a man set under authority” (Luke 7:8). The word “also” is most telling, because it is the centurion’s way of revealing to all who would hear that he knew that Jesus was not only able to give orders but also able to take them from His heavenly father. This man knew the chain of command.

Someone else that knows the chain of command is the forces of darkness. They were aware of who Jesus was from the beginning, though the Pharisees would never see it. When Jesus arrives in Capernaum in our text, they cry out, “Leave us alone; what have we to do with thee, thou Jesus of Nazareth? I know thee who thou art, the Holy One of God” (Mark 1:24). They knew that He was the Holy One of God; they recognized His authority.

When he speaks to the demon possessed man in verse 25, His words are simple and few, and are directed at the demons themselves. “Hold thy peace, and come out of him,” he says. Two commands are mixed into one sentence: Stop making noise, and get out of the man. However, verse 26 tells us that they do not immediately obey either command! They tear him and cry with a loud voice before finally coming out of him.

Jesus has spoken His victory, bought and paid for into your life, and there is no force of darkness that can stop it. “But Pastor Paul, I am still struggling with the same old sin that I thought I was over”, you might be saying. Don’t despair my friend. Jesus spoke and the demon kicked, but he did come out. Jesus has done the work and you may be seeing the manifestation of Satan attacking you, trying to convince you that you are not saved, but don’t worry, it is just his last gasp. Christ has spoken, and He is only going to say this once. He need not die again for Calvary was His statement against your problems (Hebrews 10:10).

This revelation that you are learning about your position in Christ is going to be so amazing, so stunning and so different that people are going to say of you what they did of Jesus in this passage, “What thing is this? What new doctrine is this?” (Verse 27). It is no new doctrine; it is the doctrine of Christ and His finished work. When He says “it is finished”, you can rest assured, regardless of the symptoms or the circumstances, “IT IS FINISHED”!

Sunday, January 16, 2011

Know That You Are God’s Beloved

Matthew 3:17-4:1

Satan’s attacks against your place as a member of God’s family, is not unique. He attacked Jesus in the same way in the wilderness. God had just spoken from heaven, with Jesus standing in the Jordan River, and the Spirit like a dove, descended on Him. The proclamation that God made was the stamp of approval on all of the years that Jesus had lived in quiet, and it was the ammunition that Jesus would need to face the wilderness, the world and the cross. The knowledge that He was the “beloved Son” would guard him against everything.

The enemy went after Jesus’ place as Son immediately, tempting Him to turn the stones to bread, “If thou be the Son of God” (Matthew 4:3). When that didn’t work, he tried it again, telling Jesus to cast himself off of the cliff so that angels would catch him, “If thou be the Son of God” (verse 6). Again, Jesus overcame.

Finally, Satan offers Jesus the kingdoms of the world, if Jesus will bow down and worship him. While Satan makes no overt reference to the son ship of Jesus here, he knows that no Son of the Creator of the universe will bow down to get what is rightfully His, so this is also an attack on the Son. As you know, Jesus does not bow.

While these are important temptations to study, it is even more important to emphasize not only what Satan said, but what he did not say. God said that Jesus was His, “beloved Son”. The word “beloved” shows us that Jesus was not only Son by rights but He was greatly blessed and highly favored of His Father. Satan drops “beloved” because he wants to take no chance in reminding Jesus that He is beloved. It may be left out of the conversation, but it is deep within Jesus’ heart.

There is great power in the believer knowing just how loved that they are. The church culture often chides Christians for not loving the Lord enough, saying “You should love the Lord more”, and they point to doing things to show that love. No one can love the Lord more by simply trying to. Jesus said that the greatest commandment was to love the Lord with “all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength…” (Mark 12:30). Honestly, do you love God that way? The truth is “No”, we do not love Him like this, at least not every moment of the day, but He DOES LOVE US that way. The Law tells us to do it, but doesn’t show us how. God’s grace shows us how:

“Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins…We love him, because he first loved us” (1 John 4:10, 19).

Know that you are God’s beloved and you too will overcome the temptations of the enemy. Know that you are God’s beloved, and you will walk in His goodness and kindness. Know that you are God’s beloved my friend, and that He is well pleased, not because of you, but because of Jesus who has delivered you!