The Mark

We are going to finish up Hebrews 10 today!  That being said, let's start with a look at Romans 10.

9that if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. 10For with your heart you believe and are justified, and with your mouth you confess and are saved.

Romans 10:9-10 (Berean Study Bible)

Belief, that essential, foundational act of becoming a Christian, is such a mystery!  On the one hand, it is a simple acknowledgement of the truth of Jesus Christ, a trusting in His finished work on the sinner's behalf, an acceptance and surrender which seat Jesus on the throne of one's heart.   On the other hand, it is a profoundly complex act, with eternal consequences.

There is no such thing as "easy believism", as far as Christianity is concerned.  Belief is quite complicated, far from superficial.  In fact, when adults come to Jesus Christ, their belief is accompanied by costly repentance, the giving up of other idols they have accumulated and worshiped along their life's journey.

I wrote in a recent blog post on Hebrews 10:23 that it is impossible for Christians to "keep themselves saved".  In other words, it is God's faithfulness that "holds on to us" and keeps our salvation secure.  With the duality of our carnal and our redeemed natures, it is impossible for us to do this for ourselves, because of the constant warring of those two natures in our lives!

Today, I was at a birthday party with my two-year old great-nephew.  (The party was for his older brother.)  The little boy was dressed in a gorgeous Noah's Ark "shortall" , with smocking on the front. (You mamas out there know what I mean).  But, as beautiful as his outfit was, it became smeared with icing from the cookie cake, the red sauce from the pizza.  It was all over his mouth, hands.... everything he touched bore the mark of grease.
Even Christians get their royal robes dirty! We sin from time to time (let's be honest - - DAILY), and we have to run to our Lord for confession, forgiveness, cleansing, restoration.  Hopefully, along the way, we grow in our faith as we learn more of the heart of our Savior through His Word.
This process is not the same as walking in sin, wallowing in sin - - apostasy.

Saving faith, true belief, is especially complex from the standpoint of identifying who is Christian and who is not.  We can observe a person's life, but only God knows that person's heart.

However ...
I have come to believe that the strongest indicator of a true Christian (that person claiming allegiance to Christ, claiming that He is Savior) is this: steadfast, persevering faith.
Honest, authentic faith endures.  The true Christian's "belief" is so strong and pure that it refuses to capitulate to apostasy when confronted with worldly philosophies or when that belief is challenged by the direst persecution.

Take a look at today's passage, Hebrews 10:26-39 (ESV).  It's long, but so important that I'm choosing to reprint it here.

26For if we go on sinning deliberately after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, 27but a fearful expectation of judgment, and a fury of fire that will consume the adversaries. 28Anyone who has set aside the law of Moses dies without mercy on the evidence of two or three witnesses. 29How much worse punishment, do you think, will be deserved by the one who has trampled underfoot the Son of God, and has profaned the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and has outraged the Spirit of grace? 30For we know him who said, “Vengeance is mine; I will repay.” And again, “The Lord will judge his people.” 31It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.

32But recall the former days when, after you were enlightened, you endured a hard struggle with sufferings, 33sometimes being publicly exposed to reproach and affliction, and sometimes being partners with those so treated. 34For you had compassion on those in prison, and you joyfully accepted the plundering of your property, since you knew that you yourselves had a better possession and an abiding one. 35Therefore do not throw away your confidence, which has a great reward. 36For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God you may receive what is promised. 37For,

“Yet a little while,

and the coming one will come and will not delay;

38but my righteous one shall live by faith,

and if he shrinks back,

my soul has no pleasure in him.”

39But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who have faith and preserve their souls.

Don't worry --- I won't exegete every verse.  We'd be here for hours.  But, let's start with verse 39. The apostle John says something very similar in 1 John 2:19 (ESV).

 19They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us. But they went out, that it might become plain that they all are not of us.

It could be argued that many (if not most) Americans have heard the gospel message of Jesus Christ. In other words, they have "received knowledge of the truth" (vs. 26).  Many of those who "heard" might have gone so far as to profess allegiance to Jesus Christ, yet without a true belief. They may have walked the aisle, parroted a prayer that someone led them in, etc. - - maybe because it was what their family expected, or what their friends were doing.  But, there was no sincere, deep belief in the heart.  It is these folks who are spoken of in Hebrews 10:26-31.  SO many across the world have never had a chance to hear the message of the gospel!  How much worse it will be for those who have had a chance to hear, perhaps over a period of years and years, and still have not believed, truly believed to the point of a changed heart.

The evidence of a true heart change, a supernatural transformation, is the "fruit" which genuine belief, authentic faith, produces.  After all, as Jesus said, "a good tree produces good fruit" (Matthew 7:17 NLT).  You will not see apple trees producing figs.  Or, as the Lord also said, "You will recognize them by their fruit" (Matthew 7:20 NET).

You can resemble a Christian believer and not be one; but you can't be a Christian believer and not look like one.

On the flip side, ...
Verses 32-36 describe the true converts of the first century, and the 20 centuries since.  Because of their faith (vs. 38), they endured sufferings (whether ridicule or physical torture or great loss) with JOY!  And, they endured to the end.

Do you see that the actions of these true believers inexorably flowed from their belief, from their saving faith?  The same is true today.  Those who do truly take God at His word concerning Jesus, the Son of God, will not commit apostasy.  They may be enticed and deceived by some false doctrine; but, once shown the truth they will renounce error. They do not "shrink back" (vs. 39)  or eventually reject the eternally saving gospel of Jesus Christ.  Their actions don't "keep them saved"; their actions PROVE they are saved.

Saving faith endures.  This is true belief - - the unmistakable mark of the disciple of Jesus Christ.

Recommended further reading:

https://www.gotquestions.org/perseverance-saints.html
I did not take any material from this site in the writing of this post.  But, the article linked above goes on to expound upon the doctrine called "perseverance of the saints".

To Dwell Again

I was idly listening to a couple of entertainers on talk radio this afternoon as I drove home from church.  One of them was telling (true or not...) of a lady who had been a vegetarian for most of her life. Then, one day, she decided while at a coffee house, to try a turkey sandwich.  Now, she's enjoying BBQ!  She said that after one taste of that turkey sandwich, she just can't get enough!

That's the way it is for me with the study of the Word of God.  I have been severely deprived of my Bible study these past few days, due to a home/family project of large magnitude.  As a result, I am starving!

So, here we are, on the first Sunday of Advent which, this year, also happens to be the first day of Advent!  As a Baptist, we don't celebrate Advent the way the more "high church" denominations do; and, I think that's a shame, really.  So, since I love my particular denomination, I just choose to add Advent celebration on in my personal study.  Since beginning this blog, I have used two different Advent devotionals the past two Advents.  The first was from John Piper's "Solid Joys", and the last one was from Ann Voskamp's Advent study: "The Greatest Gift".  Both added a wonderful flavor to meditations on this sacred season.

This year, here in the blog (because in my personal devos) we will be hearing from A.W. Tozer, an early-to-mid-20th century theologian.  Not a Baptist, Tozer was a pastor in a denomination called the Christian and Missionary Alliance (the C&MA).  He wrote several books, including the famous "The Pursuit of God".

Today's Advent meditation concerns God's interactions with mankind, from the time of Adam and Eve until Jesus' birth.  In the Garden of Eden Genesis 3:8 tells us God walked through the Garden. Clearly, He regularly communed with Adam and Eve there freely, in their sinless states before The Fall. After their catastrophic, cataclysmic choice to believe Satan rather than God, everything changed.  God, for thousands of years, no longer "dwelt among", that is lived among, mankind.  It was not until the birth of Jesus our Savior that God once again was for a prolonged time "with us". "And His name shall be called Immanuel, 'God with us'." (Matthew 1:23)  The gospel writers were adamant about this point.  John too, in his gospel, drove the point home:  "The Word was made flesh and dwelt among us..."(John 1:14)

In the intervening years, from The Fall to The Incarnation, God appeared to men from time to time. He manifested Himself as various natural phenomena, such as a recurring, guiding cloud or a column of fire (the Shekinah Glory.)  At other times, He took on the form of man briefly (appearing to Abraham and to Moses, to Gideon, Daniel, Jacob and others).

But, when He put on flesh and revealed Himself as The Son, He came to abide with us, to dwell with us forever.  The Son has declared the Father, the Scriptures say in John 1:18.  In the Person of God the Son, Jesus makes manifest all the fullness of God the Father, whom no man has actually seen. We would be unable to bear such radiant majesty and glory.  We so lack the capacity to absorb His greatness that to actually see the Father would utterly destroy us.

"And we beheld His glory...." (John 1:14b)

When the first century folks saw Jesus with their physical eyes, they were looking at God, though very few realized it.  When we 21st century people "see" Jesus with eyes of the spirit, it is being revealed to us then all there is for us humans to know of God.  Jesus gives us as much of God the Father as we can tolerate in our humanness. And, Jesus does this miracle now through the Third Person of the Godhead, the Holy Spirit.

Yes, today, when we embrace God through the Person of His Son, when we worship Him with the offering of our lives, we are given the Holy Spirit to dwell with us forever.  He seals us as God's own, never more to be separated.  Physical death cannot then separate us from the love of God.  In fact, nothing can separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus (Romans 8:38). Nothing has that power. The Holy Spirit marks us permanently, like with a Sharpie permanent marker.  (If you've ever tried to get Sharpie ink off a surface or out of a fabric you can appreciate the analogy!) Even stronger, greater and more final than a Sharpie is the seal of the Holy Spirit on the soul of the believer in Jesus Christ.

He dwells with us who are His, and we will dwell with Him forever.

Signs of a Sure Future

This past weekend I visited my mother, who was, as usual, ecstatic to see me.  Such is the way of mothers.  I feel the same about my own two sons.  The occasion for my rather extended visit was one of her two family reunions, which fall back-to-back in late July/early August.  Both events are held at the church in which she was married, some 60 years ago.

She always insists on getting to the venue ridiculously early.  After making sure all was ready, I used the extra time to take a stroll in one of my earliest "stomping grounds": the church's graveyard.

When I was five, mother and daddy placed me in a half-day kindergarten school.  With both parents working, mother dropped me off very early each morning, where I waited in the empty school room for the teacher to come over from her house.  (The classroom was a converted garage on her property).  After classes were over each day, another mother took me to my great-grandparents' house.  They lived beside the church and, by extension, also by the graveyard.

My mother was surprised this weekend when I told her that, as a five year old, my great-grandparents had let me roam the graveyard on a regular basis.  I found it absolutely fascinating, all theological aspects aside.  Each tombstone was like a sign post.  The information on each one led to lots of speculation.  At first, of course, I could not read many names, although I did learn early to read.  As the years drew on, I enjoyed returning there time after time.

Yesterday, as I walked the grounds, I thought mainly of resurrection - - - how one day many of those tombs are going to explode as the unfathomable resurrection power which raised Jesus rocks the earth - - - literally.  An earthquake rolled the stone away from His tomb, the same earthquake which liberated from their tombs long-dead people in surrounding tombs following.  They came out of their tombs after "the first fruits" arose on Easter morning.  Even now, I long for that day when it will happen again, all across the earth, in the depths of the sea, on the highest mountain peaks.1  What an amazing display of omnipotence!  All is quiet in the tombs now....but then....

Colosse was located in a region rather famous for its earthquakes.2  Accordingly, in Colossians 1:21-23, Paul uses an earthquake metaphor to describe the signpost of a Christian conversion.  Take a look:

21And you were at one time strangers and enemies in your minds as expressed through your evil deeds, 22but now he has reconciled you by his physical body through death to present you holy, without blemish, and blameless before him – 23if indeed you remain in the faith, established and firm, without shifting from the hope of the gospel that you heard. This gospel has also been preached in all creation under heaven, and I, Paul, have become its servant.

The Colossians were a pagan people, worshipping all sorts of false gods.   This is why Paul referred to them (in contrast to the Jews) as "strangers and aliens".  Such a distinction does not mean that they were MORE lost than the Jews who refused Christ, but that merely they were lost, separated from Christ Jesus, in a different way.  They were literally "enemies of the true God", and this enmity was expressed by the evil deeds they did.  Had they remained strangers and enemies, they would have faced a sure future - - one apart from God forever.

BUT, now...

After Christ, since Christ, had saved them, reconciled them to God through His physical sacrifice, their perseverance in the faith was a sign that they had indeed been converted, irrevocably transformed, just as their evil deeds previously were a sign that they had not.

Perseverance is akin to a house built on such a sure foundation (Jesus Christ) that it cannot be moved. And truly, those who have been reconciled to God through Jesus Christ, cannot be moved, regardless of shifting sands or earthquake or storm or peril.

That "IF" at the beginning of verse 23 still troubles you, doesn't it?  The clause "If indeed you continue", according to Greek scholars3, is a "first class conditional clause".  That is, it assumes that the verb/action/condition is true: a truth, couched in indirect language. Paul, who loved scholarly arguments, used this device.  So did Satan.  Look at Luke 4:3, when Satan was tempting Christ.

The devil said to him, "If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread."  

The Greek word for "If" is the same:  Ei (εἶ) in both passages.  Obviously, Satan knew that Jesus was the Son of God.  Otherwise, his taunt would have been ridiculous and meaningless.

Of late, I have felt the storm.  But, the perseverance springing from faith in the Cornerstone, has sustained me.  I am not claiming credit here.  It is He who holds on to me, not the reverse.  It is He, the Holy Spirit, who comforts, who sustains, who causes me to "remain in the faith, established and firm".  It is He who purifies and sanctifies and presents blameless, not me.

Perseverance - - the sign that an irrevocable change has occurred, the sign that the blessed hope, the promise of resurrection is mine, forever.

Father, what precious promises Your children find in Your word!  Your Holy Spirit abiding in me works the perseverance in me which leads to eternal life.  Thank you for testing me, purifying me and one day presenting me "blameless" before Your throne.  As Psalm 117 says, "1Praise the Lord, all you nations!  Applaud him, all you foreigners!  2For his loyal love towers over us, and the Lord’s faithfulness endures.  Praise the Lord! (NET) 

Sources:

1 Lowe, David W. Earthquake Resurrection: Supernatural Catalyst for the Coming Global Catastrophe. Biblical Studies Press, L.L.C., 2005. Print. 

2   Wiersbe, Warren W., and Warren W. Wiersbe. The Wiersbe Bible Commentary: The Complete New Testament in One Volume. Colorado Springs, CO: David C. Cook, 2007. Print, p. 670

3   http://www.evidenceunseen.com/bible-difficulties-2/nt-difficulties/1-2-thessalonians/col-121-23-does-this-verse-threaten-eternal-security/

Marked People

You may be familiar with this idiom: "a marked man".  It generally refers to someone who is in danger of harm from someone else.  Or, it can mean a person bears some distinguishing mark which sets him or her apart from others.  Jesus was a "marked man" for most of His ministry, and then he showed the "marks" of his crucifixion in His hands, feet and side, in appearances after His resurrection.

What marks do you bear in your body?  In mine, I bear a scar in the middle of my forehead from a tumble I took as a toddler, and one on my knee from one I took as a youth.  My body shows evidence of giving birth, twice....various adventures in the dental office, pierced ears...I could go on with this boring recitation, but won't.

A family friend broke a bone last week.  Now, that bone will heal.  But, when it is viewed on the x-ray, it will always show evidence of having been broken.  The bone is forever changed.

I've been thinking about this a lot lately, and Ephesians 1:13-14 brought it to the forefront of my mind this morning.  Here are the verses :

3And when you heard the word of truth (the gospel of your salvation) – when you believed in Christ – you were marked with the seal of the promised Holy Spirit, 14who is the down payment of our inheritance, until the redemption of God’s own possession, to the praise of his glory.

(NET)

Let me juxtapose here another, related verse, 2 Corinthians 5:17 - -

So then, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; what is old has passed away--look, what is new has come.

(NET)

There is such a thing as "spiritual DNA".  We are born with a flawed type of it, a type that is hopelessly contaminated wtih sin.  But when we hear the gospel (1:13 above) and accept Jesus as Savior, that DNA with which we were born ("born into sin") is forever, eternally changed.

It's pretty amazing, really.  Think of it as a "chemical change".  I took just enough chemistry in high school to be dangerous, (thank you, Dr. Singh!).  But, I did learn enough to know that when two things are merged/combined, they might make a mixture, defined as a combination that can later be separated.  For example, if you combine iron filings with grains of salt, a magnet will separate the iron from the salt for you. A mixture is not a "forever change".  Both (or however many) different entities retain their original properties, clear and distinct from each other.  There is no chemical change that occurs.

When you combine things like vinegar and baking soda, however, there is a chemical change.  You can see it occur, and after it occurs, the chemist is no longer able to separate the vinegar from the baking soda again.  They are both forever altered.

So, what does that have to do with salvation of the soul?  When one accepts Christ, His Holy Spirit enters the body, soul and spirit in some way we cannot quantify or fully comprehend.  The "old" becomes "new", the scriptures declare!  This is a forever change.

In Ephesians, Paul describes the Holy Spirit as a "mark", making Christians "marked people".
Is this a mark that one can physically see?  Sometimes.  Unbelievers or yet-to-become-believers will sometimes remark, "There's something different about him/her..."  I don't know about you, but I've met people I immediately knew were believers, not by their appearance, but rather by the presence of the Holy Spirit in and around them.

This happened to me at a conference, and I'll never forget it.  A lady came up to me at one of the breaks - - a lady I'd never met or heard of - - and asked if I was a Christian.  She said she could see the Holy Spirit in me.  Not so stunning when you consider Romans 8:16 - - -

The Spirit Himself testifies together with our spirit that we are God's children, 

(HCSB)

True Christians all have the same Spirit, the Spirit of their Savior, and that Spirit testifies that they are God's children.

21Now He who establishes us with you in Christ and anointed us is God, 22who also sealed us and gave us the Spirit in our hearts as a pledge.

2 Corinthians 1:21-22 (NET)

We are "God's own possession" because His Spirit inhabits and possesses us.  Christians are as marked for all eternity as Christ's wounds are.  God will keep His Word.  He is unchangeable.  We can rest in that certainty of eternal destiny.

Have we received all of our eternal inheritance in Christ?

Not entirely, and we won't have received all until we are with Him, in glory.  But, because of the Holy Spirit, because He has marked us, we know we have as much of God's wealth that we can possibly handle here on earth and WILL receive all of the riches in Christ Jesus when we step onto the golden shore of that beautiful land called Heaven.

"O say but I'm glad!"  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8jN-h1wEfyc

Father God, thank you for marking Your children as Your very own.  There is such comfort and peace in that!  We know that our salvation grows and matures as we battle daily the sin nature that continues to be a part of us.  But, we know that we can never be separated from You, from the love that is ours in Christ Jesus.  I'm so grateful to be Yours, and to know that I am forever Yours!  In Jesus' name, amen.

Anointed, Sealed and Sure

Good morning,

Let's face it:  the apostle Paul had a strange style of writing.  I'm sure that some nuances get lost in translation, but it is easy for me to get turned around in all of the "yesses" and "nos" of 2 Corinthians 1 (NET).  This morning, we are going to focus on verses 18-22.

18 But as God is faithful, our message to you is not “Yes” and “No.” 19 For the Son of God, Jesus Christ, the one who was proclaimed among you by us—by me and Silvanus and Timothy—was not “Yes” and “No,” but it has always been “Yes” in him. 20 For every one of God’s promises are “Yes” in him; therefore also through him the “Amen” is spoken, to the glory we give to God. 21 But it is God who establishes us together with you in Christ and who anointed us, 22 who also sealed us and gave us the Spirit in our hearts as a down payment.

(NET)

Yesterday in Sunday School class one of our members brought up the doctrinal point of "security of the believer".  For those of you who don't know what I'm talking about, it is the doctrine that says once you become a Christian you can't "lose" your salvation.  Some Protestant denominations, and most other denominations that call themselves "Christian" believe that a person's continuing salvation is based on how hard they work or how "good" they are.  I've blogged about this before; some of you will remember.

Yet, here we have another passage, assuring us that, once a person truly accepts Jesus Christ into his or her heart, a forever transformation occurs, which cannot be reversed.  I won't expound on all the relevant passages this morning, choosing instead to focus on this one.

So, Paul had promised the Corinthians he'd come to see them at such-and-such a time.  But, his plans and God's plans did not line up together, it seems.  He is sending this letter to them instead.  In the context of explaining his change of plans he writes the verses above, to explain that God does not change, that God keeps His promises...always.

20 For every one of God’s promises are “Yes” in him; therefore also through him the “Amen” is spoken, to the glory we give to God. 

Paul goes on to say that the biggest promise God makes to us today is to establish us who have been "anointed" in Christ.  Now, to understand this, we need to look at the Biblical process of anointing for a moment.  Anointing was a process where a person had oil applied to his body in a religious ceremony.  The purpose for this, in the presence of witnesses, was to affirm God's calling on that person's life.  Once God anointed a person (through the actual physical application of oil by another person), the calling was irreversible.  Prophets, priests and kings were anointed to their official roles. (Check the weblink under Sources: for scriptural references to this practices.)  There were other uses for anointing oil, but they are not relevant to this passage in 2 Corinthians.

Jesus was anointed by God the Father and the Holy Spirit.  This was revealed to mankind at the time of His baptism.  He was anointed prophet, priest and king, because He fulfills all three roles.  His calling was not reversible either.  Every one of God's promises are fulfilled through Jesus.  Jesus, the Son, is God the Father's "So Be It", Abba Father's "Amen" (vs. 20).

Likewise, Christians are anointed.  "How?", you ask.  We are anointed at the time of our salvation, by the Holy Spirit.  Look at verses 21 and 22 again:

20 For every one of God’s promises are “Yes” in him; therefore also through him the “Amen” is spoken, to the glory we give to God. 21 But it is God who establishes us together with you in Christ and who anointed us, 22 who also sealed us and gave us the Spirit in our hearts as a down payment.

God has spoken His "Amen", His "so be it" (which is what "amen" means) over us!  Hallelujah! Once we accept His Son as our Savior, our hearts are forever changed.  We become a new creation in Christ Jesus.  The Holy Spirit enters our heart of hearts to remain forever.  At that point, we are given God's unbreakable seal, reflective of His certain promise to us.  The Holy Spirit is the downpayment God makes on us, marking us as His property.  From that point on, God continues to "establish" us in our relationship with His Son.  Notice that God does this, not us.  It is His glorious work in us, which should cause us to give Him the glory!

This truth makes me want to serve Him with my whole heart - - - not to earn my salvation (can't), not to keep my salvation (also can't).  My "works" are totally inadequate.  But, I do serve Him, because I love Him!

This is what the devil tries to do:  He tries to get you to doubt that you are forever Christ's.  If he can convince you that you have lost your salvation or that you can't keep your salvation or that your past sins will forever haunt you, then he has in large part stolen your joy!  Without joy, the next step is to sit ourselves "on the shelf" in discouragement.  Unh-uh!  God forbid!

Jesus Christ never meant for us to live sad, despairing, defeated lives.  In John 15:11, Jesus expressed His desire that our joy be FULL!  The psalmist, David, knew this truth through his relationship with God the Father; and in spite of his (often horrible) sins, David wrote Psalm 16. Look:

You lead me in the path of life;

I experience absolute joy in your presence;

you always give me sheer delight.

Psalm 16:11 NET

I ask: "Does he sound like a defeated person?"  No.  David would confess his sin, turn from it and then go on to embrace the joy that was his in his God.

Search your heart.  Does the Holy Spirit bear witness that you belong to Christ?  When you made your decision to accept Jesus as Lord and Savior, did you accept Him only intellectually?  Or, did you accept Him with your intellect and with your heart as well?  Only with the heart can salvation occur.

10For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved. 11As Scripture says, “Anyone who believes in him will never be put to shame.”

Romans 10:10 NIV

If you did wholeheartedly embrace Him as your Savior, move forward as a conqueror, armed with that truth.  You are anointed, sealed and sure.  God will never abandon His own.

Lord God, Abba Father, we praise Your holy name today for Your faithfulness!  It is Your faithfulness which binds us forever to Your heart.  Please continue to remind our hearts of this truth. And, please continue to establish us, to mold us more and more into the image of Your Son, our Savior.  In Jesus' name, amen.

Sources:

http://www.biblestudytools.com/dictionary/anointing/

Son-glasses

Good morning,

Do you like real estate?  I love to look at houses, both in person and online.  Back when we were actually building homes in this country, especially when Hubster and I were looking for a home, we loved to walk through homes under construction.  Now, I like to roam around Zillow.com and see what's out there, how much folks are asking, etc.  I love to build homes, although it is an awful headache. Hubster and I have been privileged to build 2 homes together, and we are still married! :)

Well, enough of that.  The reason I went off on that tangent has to do with today's passage, 1 Cor. 3:9-15 (Phillips translation) - -

9 In this work, we work with God, and that means that you are a field under God’s cultivation, or, if you like, a house being built to his plan.

10-15 I, like an architect who knows his job, by the grace God has given me, lay the foundation; someone else builds upon it. I only say this, let the builder be careful how he builds! The foundation is laid already, and no one can lay another, for it is Jesus Christ himself. But any man who builds on the foundation using as his material gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay or stubble, must know that each man’s work will one day be shown for what it is. The day will show it plainly enough, for the day will arise in a blaze of fire, and that fire will prove the nature of each man’s work. If the work that the man has built upon the foundation will stand this test, he will be rewarded. But if a man’s work be destroyed under the test, he loses it all. He personally will be safe, though rather like a man rescued from a fire.

This passage deals with our "works" as Christians and how God views them.  This is something we've been studying in the college-age Bible study group I lead. Here are a few points to remember:

1.  Jesus Christ must be the foundation of all.  If He is not Savior and Lord, if that decision has not been made to accept Him, then all "works" (good deeds) are meaningless in view of eternity.  This is the most important point of all.

2.  Our eternal salvation is not dependent on our good works.  Paul makes this plain in verse 15 (and elsewhere).  We can accept Christ as Savior and do little to advance His kingdom, or even accept Him on our deathbeds (provided we receive that opportunity; no one is guaranteed it), passing on into eternity with little to show for our Christian walks (think "not resplendent" here).  Such folks will enter Heaven, but with few eternal "jewels".  They'll be smellin' like smoke, Y'all...

3.  Motivation matters.  If a person is working "for the Lord", yet really only doing so to please him/herself (for his or her own glory), those accomplishments won't stand the test of "fire" mentioned in this passage.

4.  So, why "work" at all?  If doing good deeds is not a factor in earning our own salvation, why bother?  Frankly, if a "Christian" has to ask that question, I have to wonder if he/she knows Christ at all, if the heart has even been converted/transformed by His saving grace. Let me quote Tchividjian1 :
The Gospel alone liberates us to live a life of scandalous generosity, unrestrained sacrifice, uncommon valor and unbounded courage.  This is the difference between approaching all of life from salvation and approaching all of life for salvation; it's the difference between approaching life from our acceptance, and not for our acceptance; from love not for love.  The acceptance {by God} ... cannot be rescinded, thank God!
Those who have truly been redeemed (purchased) by Jesus Christ's blood understand that they are FOREVER loved, accepted and saved.  Nothing more can be done (worked) to either add to that or subtract from it.  Those who have had this irrevocable transformation happen in their spirits approach life differently from every other type of person on the planet.  They "chomp at the bit" to serve Jesus, because they love Him.  They long to do "good works" as a love offering to Him.  They don't do this so that they will gain God's approval.  In Jesus Christ, they already have it!

Have you ever looked for your sunglasses only to realize that they were on the top of your head the whole time?  That's the way it is with God's grace.  Sometimes, we act as if we have to "add to" our salvation, or exhaust ourselves "staying in God's good graces".  We look and search for ways to achieve significance, when everything has been done for us.  The sunglasses were there on your head the whole time!  You already possessed them.

When as Christians we truly take hold of this crucial truth, it will revolutionize our lives.  Put on your "Son-glasses", Christian.  Can you see it? Rejoice in the beautiful, secure knowledge of what He has done for you; and then, live out your life as a love offering to Him.  Get busy "building", resplendent sons and daughters!

Father, I still cannot even conceive of the depths of Your mercy, the inexhaustible riches of Your amazing grace!  No wonder we sing about Your attributes in our worship.  You are so far "beyond me", yet You love me and want to draw me ever closer to Your heart.  Stupefying!  I am so grateful that I don't have to "earn" Your love.  Your supernatural acceptance makes me want to serve You with all that is in me, to glorify You with all the gifts You've given, to imitate Jesus Christ in everything.  Thank you for forgiving me when I fall short, forgetting that my Son-glasses were on my head all along.  In Jesus' name, amen.

Source:
One-Way Love: Inexhaustible Grace for an Exhausted World, by Tullian Tchividjian, 2013. (chapter 9)

Falling

Good morning!

It is 5:45 here in AZ, and believe it or not, I beat yesterday's record by awaking before 4:00.  This is not a cause for rejoicing, Y'all.  My sinuses have figured that they're "not in Kansas anymore", and are on a full-scale rebellion.  Nice.

But, let's rejoice in our LORD this morning!  He is good, all the time.

Yesterday, I said we were going to spend some time in Jude and yesterday's post was on Biblical salvation, which is foundational to the Christian faith and to my walk.  There is a good bit of controversy about that, actually.  So, today, I want to move onto the next verses in Jude to another controversial topic:  falling from grace.  (If you are new to the faith, you are figuring out that Christians have their own funky language.)  Basically, some believe that once you begin your relationship with Jesus, you can "lose" that relationship by sinning.  I don't believe that this is what the Scripture teaches.

In verses 24-25 Jude pronounces a blessing to close his book.
"Now, unto Him who is able to keep you from falling and to present you faultless before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy, to the only wise God, our Savior, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and forever!  Amen."

The "Him" referred to here is our Savior.  Jude, under divine inspiration, tells us that our Savior, Jesus, is able to "keep us from falling".  What does that mean?  Well, as I mentioned earlier, some believe that it means that you can lose your salvation by how you act.  Other Bible scholars take a different view, and this is the one I share.

Let me ask you something.  We all have parents, right?  Whether you ever knew them or not, a male and a female had some part in your conception and birth.  Are you forever their child, biologically?  Can anything you ever do change that?  No, it can't.  For better or for worse, you are their biological child.  You are a biological branch on their family tree.
When you are born into God's family through accepting Jesus as Savior and Lord, you are irrevocably His.  Here are other text references offered as support of this position.

"And no man can snatch them out of my Father's hand..."  Jesus, speaking in John 10:28-30

"Nothing can separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus..."  Paul, speaking in Romans 8:31-39

The High Priestly Prayer of Jesus, recorded in John 17.  More validation of this from Jesus Himself

"He forgave all our sins, having cancelled the charge of our legal indebtedness..." Colossians 2:13-14  Paul, speaking of the finality of Christ's triumph in vanquishing our sin.

There was a Christian vocalist a few years ago who had a smash hit called, "Butterfly Kisses".  His name was Bob Carlisle.  He produced a couple of albums, as I recall.  I've lost track of him lately.  But, on one of his albums was a tremendous song which did not get much air time.  I think it was called, "We Fall Down".  At any rate, the gist of the song was that the singer met a monk who lived in a very reclusive order in a monestery in his town.  Rarely were the monks ever seen outside the walls.  But, on one occasion, the singer met a monk outside the monestery walls and asked him how he managed to live such a life of dedication to Jesus Christ.  The monk's reply was this:  "We fall down.  We get up.  We fall down.  We get up."  The first time I listened to that song I was like, "Whahhh?"  But then...I realized what he was saying!  The monk was saying that when they sin, they get up, go to Jesus for confession and forgiveness and keep on walking until they fall down again.

Listen!  The same God who created us saves us.  "He knows our frame; He remembers that we are made of dust."  Psalm 103:14  He knows that, with our fallen natures warring with our redeemed "new man" natures constantly, we will at times fall into sin.  How much sense, really, does it make that Jesus would choose to put on skin, come down here, suffer the most awful earthly death imaginable to redeem us only to allow us once we receive Him as Savior to slip through his fingers?

Now our enemy, the Devil, loves to try to convince us that we don't truly belong to Him, and he uses our lapses into sin to do it.  He will whisper in our ears, "You can't possibly be a Christian, because look what you have done!"  If he is successful in making us believe that, then we are rendered discouraged and ineffective, which is exactly what he wants - - - to neutralize us.  Don't listen to the Father of Lies, as Jesus called him.

Here is what we must do.  Jesus said (Luke 9:23) that we must "take up our cross daily and follow Him".  John said in 1 John 1:9, "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us of all unrighteousness."  John was speaking to members of the early Church in that verse, not to unbelievers.  Ongoing confession of our sins will keep us walking close to Jesus.  When we refuse to confess our sins, we limit His ability to commune with us, to teach us, to bless us, because God is holy.  He cannot dwell where sin is present.  Read Proverbs 28:13.

Back to Jude...."and to present us faultless..."
Our Creator Savior King Jesus has paid for and guarantees eternal life to all who accept Him as their Lord and Savior.  Jude testifies here that Jesus will present His own, His beloved, pure and without blemish or spot before His Father and our Father, Jehovah God.  We are unable to present ourselves faultless...that has already been accomplished by our Savior.

So, what is our role here.  Look at Hebrews 12:1-2
"Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, looking unto Jesus, the Author and Finisher of our faith...."
Our role is to take up our cross daily, throw off anything that would keep us from drawing nearer to Jesus and to run with perseverance (whew!) the race that our Savior has marked out for us while we keep our eyes on Jesus who is what?....what?...the Author and Finisher of our faith.  

Dear Jesus,
Keep us from the sins that so easily entangle us today; deliver us from evil.  Thank you for paying the price for us, for "authoring" our faith.  Thank you that you also have finished our faith, and that in You we are secure.  Thank you for putting your Holy Spirit in our hearts when we accepted you as Savior and that He, the Spirit, cries out "Abba, Father" in testimony that we belong to you, forever and ever.  We love you, Lord.  Amen.