WHAT HINDERS YOU? (DECEMBER 31)
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"And now why do you wait? Rise and be baptized and wash away your sins, calling on his name" (Acts 22:16).
WHEN ANANIAS FOUND SAUL OF TARSUS, THE NOTORIOUS PERSECUTOR OF THE CHURCH, SAUL HAD BEEN FASTING AND PRAYING SORROWFULLY FOR THREE DAYS. “And now why do you wait?” Ananias asked. “Rise and be baptized and wash away your sins, calling on his name.” Saul did as he was instructed, received the forgiveness of his sins, and served Jesus Christ fervently for the rest of his life. We know him today as the apostle Paul.
“Why do you wait?” is a question that touches the conscience of us all. And it’s a question that is exceedingly hard to answer. Even searching our hearts deeply, we don’t always have the honesty to admit why we delay doing what we know we ought to do.
One thing, however, is certain: there is no good reason to wait. Once we see what we must do to be reconciled to God, waiting only worsens our problem. As Corrie ten Boom said, “An unrepented sin is a continued sin.” Whatever the reason, it is never worth the loss of our souls. Nothing is worth that. “For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return for his soul?” (Matthew 16:26).
In the New Testament, as soon as people saw the seriousness of their sins and the joy of forgiveness that could be theirs in Christ, they wanted to be baptized immediately. In Acts 16:25-34, there is even the story of a group of people being baptized in the middle of the night. Waiting was not something they wanted to do.
Hindrances to the gospel come in many shapes and sizes. The world is full of obstacles, and some of them are fearful. God knows about all of these. He knows how hard it can be for us. But there is no hindrance He won’t help us overcome, if we’re willing.
So as we come to the end of our meditations on obeying the gospel, there is nothing left but the question of choice. What will we do — each of us — with the gospel? God has given His Son to save us from our sins, but He will not compel us. If we reject what our Father has done, we will have made the decision to be lost. So may we not wait. May we do exactly what Saul of Tarsus did: obey.
"He who created us without our help will not save us without our consent" (Augustine of Hippo).
Gary Henry - WordPoints.com + AreYouaChristian.com
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HAVE YOU OBEYED THE GOSPEL? (DECEMBER 30)
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"For it is time for judgment to begin at the household of God; and if it begins with us, what will be the outcome for those who do not obey the gospel of God?" (1 Peter 4:17).
WHEN PETER SPEAKS OF “JUDGMENT,” HE PRESENTS US WITH A SOBERING THOUGHT. The marvelous gift of the freedom of our will is accompanied by responsibility and accountability to our Creator. The time will come when we will be judged. In our conscience, we all know we are guilty of having rejected what we knew of God’s will on many occasions. If there can be no forgiveness, the consequences of our sin will fall upon us inexorably.
In the gospel (“good news”) of Jesus Christ, forgiveness is the very thing that is offered. But the offer must be responded to. The gospel must be obeyed. And Peter’s words offer no hope to those who, having heard the gospel message, refuse to obey it. “What will be the outcome for those who do not obey the gospel of God?”
The initial terms of obedience to the gospel have been looked at on many pages in this book, but let’s review them. Believing that Jesus is the Christ, we must make an open confession of our faith to others (Romans 10:9,10). Then we must do what Peter instructed the audience to do on Pentecost: “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins” (Acts 2:38). In the act of baptism, we die with Christ, receiving God’s forgiveness and also the strength and guidance He provides so that “we too might walk in newness of life” (Romans 6:4).
Have you obeyed the gospel? Whatever others may have done, have you responded rightly to the glad tidings of salvation in Jesus Christ? The gospel is the best news in the world, but the results of refusing it would be more tragic than we can imagine.
I know of no better way to view obedience than to see it in terms of God’s kingship. The problem of sin is the problem of rebellion against the rule of God. Surely there can be no reconciliation without an honest return to obedience, starting with the initial terms of God’s pardon and continuing for the rest of our lives. Are you willing to come back to the King and obey His gospel? If not, the only consequences you can expect are those of an outlaw.
"I cannot say 'Thine is the kingdom' if I do not give the King the disciplined obedience of a loyal subject" (Anonymous).
Gary Henry - WordPoints.com + AreYouaChristian.com
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HAVE YOU DIED WITH CHRIST? (DECEMBER 29)
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"Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life" (Romans 6:3,4).
IN THE GOSPEL, THERE IS AN INSEPARABLE LINK BETWEEN CHRIST’S DEATH AND OUR BAPTISM. The death of Christ is obviously important; it is by His death that the forgiveness of our sins was made possible (Matthew 26:28). But to whom is this forgiveness granted? And at what point is the gift received? Paul gives us a clear answer when he says that when we are baptized into Christ, we are baptized into His death. “We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death.” It is in baptism that we die with Christ, and it is when we submit to this command that God fulfills His promise to forgive us, based on Christ’s sacrifice on our behalf.
Baptism is the crucial turning point in our obedience to the gospel. Separating “before” from “after,” it is the point at which, dying with Christ, we are resurrected to our new life. Just “as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father,” it is now our duty and privilege to “walk in newness of life.”
How could there be a more radical turning point in a person’s life? As Paul described it in another letter: “I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me” (Galatians 2:20).
Baptism, then, is an act in which we become connected to Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection. There is nothing meritorious about it as far as we are concerned; it is purely an act of faith, commanded by the Lord. “Having been buried with him in baptism,” we are “raised with him through faith in the powerful working of God, who raised him from the dead” (Colossians 2:12).
In 2 Timothy 2:11, Paul spoke of the hope made possible by the gospel when he said, “If we have died with him, we will also live with him.” It is no exaggeration to say that whether we have died with Christ is the most important question we will ever ask.
Buried with Christ and raised with Him too,
What is there left for me to do?
Simply to cease from struggling and strife,
Simply to walk in newness of life.
(T. Ryder)
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EXAMINING OURSELVES (DECEMBER 28)
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"Examine yourselves as to whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Do you not know yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you? -- unless indeed you are disqualified" (2 Corinthians 13:5 NKJV).
GIVEN THE IMPORTANCE OF OUR RELATIONSHIP TO GOD, THERE IS NO HIGHER PRIORITY FOR US THAN SELF-EXAMINATION. Are we, or are we not, in a right relationship with Him? Do we, or do we not, have the hope of eternal life? And no less critical is this question: by what standard are we going to judge these matters? If we never question ourselves, we may spend our lives climbing the ladder and find that our ladder was leaning against the wrong wall.
Paul’s instruction to “examine yourselves as to whether you are in the faith” was written to a group of Christians. One of the worst things a Christian can do is take his salvation for granted. Without self-examination, we may find ourselves in the same situation as some of the Corinthians, with a confidence about being “in the faith” that goes beyond what is warranted by the facts.
But what is the application of this principle to non-Christians? If you are presently committed to some other path, is self-examination something you are willing to do? If the gospel of Christ is true, your salvation depends on letting go of your present position.
No matter where any of us may be in relation to Jesus Christ, there are two qualities of character required of us: honesty and courage. Without the honesty to see where we’ve been out of sync with God’s will, we won’t change. And without the courage to change, honesty will only make our conscience more painful. So “examine yourselves” is a serious challenge to us all. It tests our integrity at the deepest level. Are we willing to question whether our relationship to God is really what we’ve been thinking it was?
None of us gets to any significant destination without making many mid-course corrections. Even in the humdrum activities of daily life, we have to be willing to make adjustments. How much more, then, must we be “correctable” when it comes to life’s most important issue: the status of our relationship to God. While life lasts, there is no correction we cannot make — but making the changes that will lead us to God’s presence in eternity requires the honesty to admit we have been wrong and the courage to change for the better.
"Absolute candor is an indispensable requisite to salvation" (A. W. Tozer).
Gary Henry - WordPoints.com + AreYouaChristian.com
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FORGIVEN, SAVED, BORN AGAIN (DECEMBER 27)
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"For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. For one who has died has been set free from sin. Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him" (Romans 6:5-8).
IT IS A POPULAR MISCONCEPTION THAT “BORN AGAIN” CHRISTIANS ARE DIFFERENT FROM ORDINARY CHRISTIANS. Let’s look today at three biblical descriptions of what happens when a person obeys the gospel of Christ, all of which point to the same experience. These descriptions emphasize the deep, inward nature of the change that takes place when a person turns to Jesus Christ.
FORGIVEN. At the very least, accepting salvation in Christ means being forgiven of our past sins. But it also means having the comfort and hope that come from continual access to God’s grace. “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9).
SAVED. This aspect of our conversion to Christ is probably not emphasized enough these days, but we dare not forget that if we are in Christ, we are among those who have been rescued. “Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God” (Romans 5:9).
BORN AGAIN. In Christ, our “before” and “after” are so radically different that it can be said that a new person has come to life. We died to our old self, and a new self has been born. And this is not just for some Christians; it is for all of us. Jesus said, “Unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God” (John 3:3).
As you can see, to be forgiven/saved/born again is no small experience. When Peter said, “Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord” (Acts 3:19,20 NKJV), he was imploring his hearers to do nothing less than turn from death to life. No greater — or more decisive — change is possible for us in this world.
"Have you made the following decision about sin -- that it must be completely killed in you? It takes a long time to come to the point of making this complete and effective decision about sin. It is, however, the greatest moment in your life once you decide that sin must die in you -- not simply be restrained, suppressed, or counteracted, but crucified -- just as Jesus Christ died for the sin of the world" (Oswald Chambers).
Gary Henry - WordPoints.com + AreYouaChristian.com
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HAVE YOU ACCEPTED CHRIST? (DECEMBER 26)
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"Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him, rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving" (Colossians 2:6,7).
PAUL’S COUNSEL TO THE COLOSSIANS IS ONE THAT APPLIES TO ALL OF US WHO HAVE OBEYED THE GOSPEL. He said, “As you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him.” Having accepted Christ, we need to live like persons who have actually done that.
We often hear people talk about having “accepted Jesus as their Lord” when a quick look at their lives makes us wonder if they even know the definition of the word “lord.” Jesus said, “Why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do what I tell you?” (Luke 6:46). Jesus Christ is not truly our Lord if it is not His will that governs us.
In Colossians 2:7, Paul used the analogy of a plant. Those who have received Christ must be “rooted and built up in him and established in the faith.” This echoes Jesus’ teaching about the kinds of soil into which the seed of God’s word is sown. The seed must not only germinate; it must send down roots deep enough that the plant grows to maturity and produces fruit (Matthew 13:1-9,18-23). So we must not only accept Christ initially; we must accept Him for the rest of our lives — in our hearts and our deeds.
But let’s make it personal. What would your next step be if you wished to accept Christ? If you still stand outside of God’s forgiveness, not having obeyed even the initial terms of the gospel, you need to turn your heart toward God in godly sorrow and come before Him with the humble question, “What must I do?” And the answer of the gospel will be that you need to confess that you believe Jesus is the Christ (Romans 10:9,10), repent of your sins (Luke 13:3), and be baptized into Christ’s death (Romans 6:3,4), trusting in God’s promise to wash away your sins (Acts 22:16).
But if you have done these things in the past, what now? If you honestly have to admit that you haven’t kept the commitment you made to Christ, then you need to repent of that and come back to Him with a deeper love (Revelation 2:4,5). Your “acceptance” of Christ needs to be more “accepting.” And frankly, who among us (even those who have been Christians the longest) can say we don’t need to open the doors of our heart more widely to Jesus Christ?
"We get no deeper into Christ than we allow him to get into us" (John Henry Jowett).
Gary Henry - WordPoints.com + AreYouaChristian.com
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ARE YOU A CHRISTIAN? (DECEMBER 25)
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"Then Agrippa said to Paul, 'You almost persuade me to become a Christian'" (Acts 26:28 NKJV).
THE QUESTION “ARE YOU A CHRISTIAN?” IS PERHAPS MORE CONFUSING TO PEOPLE TODAY THAN IT WOULD HAVE BEEN IN THE FIRST CENTURY. But when Agrippa said, “You almost persuade me to become a Christian,” he knew what a Christian was. He understood the word “Christian” in its original sense: a disciple of Jesus Christ.
Sadly, there is no evidence that Agrippa ever became a Christian, but he was certainly on the right track when he said that to be a Christian he would have to become one. No one has ever been a Christian (at least in the original sense) without having chosen to obey the gospel of Christ. Discipleship to Jesus is not a condition one stumbles into inadvertently (and it is certainly not a status one acquires by being born into a certain nation or family). To the contrary, it is a relationship to God one chooses to accept — and then it is a way of life one decides to pursue.
As we have seen, the gospel of Christ is the message of salvation from our sins (Luke 24:46,47). It is for the penitent (Matthew 4:17), those who have come to see the seriousness of their betrayal of their Father and who “mourn” (Matthew 5:4) and “hunger and thirst for righteousness” (Matthew 5:6). In their sorrow, they embrace the good news of the forgiveness that is offered in Christ. Believing that He is indeed the Savior, they are willing to openly confess what they believe about Him (Romans 10:9,10), and they are eager to be baptized into Christ so that their sins might be forgiven (Acts 2:38). And for the rest of their lives, they live “in newness of life” (Romans 6:4), looking forward to Christ’s return and their life in eternity with God (2 Peter 3:10-13; 1 John 3:2,3).
And so, my friend, I ask you, “Where are you in regard to this process?” If you haven’t already said an unalterable “No” to it, I hope you will give the gospel of Christ a chance to convince you of its truth. I hope the day will soon come when someone will ask and you’ll be able to say enthusiastically, “Yes, I am a Christian!”
To the dead he sayeth: Arise!
To the living: Follow me!
And that voice still soundeth on
From the centuries that are gone,
To the centuries that shall be!
(Henry Wadsworth Longfellow)
Gary Henry - WordPoints.com + AreYouaChristian.com
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WHEN YOU RETURN, EXPECT A CELEBRATION (DECEMBER 24)
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"But the father said to his servants, 'Bring quickly the best robe, and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet. And bring the fattened calf and kill it, and let us eat and celebrate. For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found.' And they began to celebrate" (Luke 15:22-24).
IT SHOULD GIVE US COURAGE TO READ THE WORDS “AND THEY BEGAN TO CELEBRATE.” Among those old enough to discern right from wrong, there is not a one of us who has not “left home.” We have broken our Father’s heart, insisting on the freedom to go into a “far country” where His will would not restrict us and we could indulge our own desires. Coming to our senses, we’ve seen the tragedy of our decision, but perhaps we are reluctant to accept the invitation of the gospel to come back home to God. Perhaps we wonder what kind of reception we would receive if we did so.
A PROBLEM WE ALL HAVE. When we commit sin, we do something that everybody around us has also done. None of us is innocent. Deep in our hearts, we know Paul was right when he said that “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23).
THE NECESSITY OF REPENTANCE. The gospel of God’s forgiveness is a message that requires repentance. “From that time Jesus began to preach, saying, ‘Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand’” (Matthew 4:17). So there are two terrible mistakes we need to avoid: (1) presuming that God’s grace will bless us whether we repent or not, and (2) presuming that if we don’t repent today, there will be other days in the future when we can take care of that.
THE JOY OF FORGIVENESS. Moved by love to end our rebellion against God, we must summon our courage and do what the Prodigal Son did: go back home and offer our repentance to our Father. What a day that will be! If there is a joy any deeper than forgiveness, it is the joy of living in a right relationship with the Father who has given us back what we so foolishly threw away.
When we have wandered away from home, our Father fervently desires for us to come back to Him (Luke 15:20). It is not just that He will allow us to return — He wants us to return. And when we do, we can expect that, by His grace, there will be a banquet at which He will show us how much He has always loved us.
"When prodigals return, great things are done" (A. A. Dowty).
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COME TO JESUS, DO NOT TARRY (DECEMBER 23)
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"You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me, yet you refuse to come to me that you may have life" (John 5:39,40).
WHEN JESUS INVITES US TO COME TO HIM, IT IS POSSIBLE TO REFUSE. Tragic as such a refusal is, many do refuse. But many others simply delay, thinking an easier time will come later.
It is always important for us to see the seriousness of our plight as those who have departed from God. Sin is no trivial matter. Its punishment cannot be small. As our Creator, God is our rightful Sovereign, and to rebel against His will, as we have all done, is to put ourselves under the penalty of death. There can be no question about the justice of God’s decree. Eternal death is the right consequence for rebellion against our Creator (Romans 6:23).
Remember what we said way back in January about our attitude in coming to Jesus? We come willing to commit ourselves to His lordship. Disobedience having gotten us into trouble, we are now ready to change from disobedience to obedience. But before our discipleship can begin, we must seek the forgiveness of our sins. This we are willing to do on whatever terms God has set, grateful for His grace. And we seek His forgiveness for no other reason than godly sorrow — grief that we have sinned against the One who loves us.
The word for "lost" is the saddest word in any language. And when the word applies to our eternal condition, that is a sadness beyond description, all the more sad in view of what God has sacrificed to save us. If we persist in our refusal of His grace and die in our rebellious state, the worst part of hell will be knowing that we chose it. It could have been otherwise, but we refused to be rescued. It just wasn’t important enough for us to act.
Most of us know what it is to damage our lives by delaying our duty. Knowing what is right, we have procrastinated and done much harm. By God’s grace, let’s stop the damage right now. He gave His Son to make our forgiveness possible. More life than we can imagine is waiting for us, but we must accept His pardon on His terms and we must come back to Him . . . before it is too late.
Come to Jesus! do not tarry,
Enter in at mercy's gate;
O delay not till the morrow,
Lest thy coming be too late.
(E. R. Latta)
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A VICTORY GIVEN BY GOD (DECEMBER 22)
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"But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ" (1 Corinthians 15:57).
GRATITUDE IS ONE OF THE MAJOR MOTIFS THAT WE HEAR IN THE GREAT SYMPHONY OF THE GOSPEL OF CHRIST. The apostle Paul, for example, uses the expression “thanks be to God” six times in his letters. And he uses it in 1 Corinthians 15:57 as he reaches the climax of his magnificent discussion of the resurrection of Christ.
“Victory” is a powerful word, but it is exactly the right word to describe what the gospel is about. Succumbing to sin, we were defeated by Satan, and eternal death was the result. But God entered the world in the person of Jesus of Nazareth, died a vicarious death, and was then raised on the third day, defeating death, the worst weapon of the enemy. “Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, he himself likewise partook of the same things, that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil, and deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery” (Hebrews 2:14,15).
In 1 Corinthians 15:57, Paul is very clear: it is “through our Lord Jesus Christ” that the victory has been given. This echoes the statement of Peter in Acts 4:12, where, speaking of Christ, he said, “And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”
But going back to Paul’s emphasis on gratitude, he said that it is God “who gives us the victory.” Salvation from sin is not a gift granted universally and unconditionally to all of mankind, without regard to how people respond or don’t respond to the gospel. It was God’s decision to limit the gift to those who would respond according to certain conditions that He set (Acts 2:37,38). Nevertheless, the gift is still a gift, and it is one given by God. When we were hopelessly defeated, God stepped in and won the victory for us.
We should never become so familiar with the gospel that we underestimate what God has done in Christ. Our salvation from sin is a gift much greater than mere survival, and to enjoy eternity with God is to do more than just get by. It will be the enjoyment of nothing less than the glorious triumph of God Himself.
"God wants us to be victors, not victims; to grow, not grovel; to soar, not sink; to overcome, not to be overwhelmed" (William Arthur Ward).
Gary Henry - WordPoints.com + AreYouaChristian.com
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REAL RESTORATION TO GOD (DECEMBER 21)
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"Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me" (Psalm 51:10).
IF WE WANT SALVATION AT ALL, MOST OF US ONLY WANT SALVATION FROM OUR CIRCUMSTANCES, NOT SALVATION FROM OUR SINS. We’d like help with the difficult, painful aspects of our lives, especially the unjust things other people have done to us. It is the unpleasantness and hardship of this broken world that we want God to fix.
Now and then, though, we do see that our own sins have contributed to the hardship of our lives, and we seek relief from the hurts we’ve inflicted on ourselves. Perhaps we even see with godly sorrow just how horribly our actions have broken the heart of our Father in heaven. Repentance becomes a priority with us.
But here is the point: even when we see that sin is what is hurting us, we often don’t go deep enough to see the real problem. What needs fixing is not just our actions; we need new hearts. At the very deepest level inside of us, we need to be renovated, rebuilt, and renewed. Since our thinking is what has produced our deeds, our thinking needs to change. And the change will have to be radical (going to the “root” of the problem). We will have to see what David saw after his sin: more than forgiveness for the specific sin, he needed help with his heart. Create in me a clean heart, O God.
This is what the gospel of Christ aims to accomplish. And frankly, even those of us who have accepted Christ need to see more clearly the newness of heart that God is looking for. As Paul put it when he wrote to the Christians in Rome, “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind” (Romans 12:2). And as he wrote to the Ephesians, those who have been forgiven need “to be renewed in the spirit of [our] minds, and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness” (Ephesians 4:23,24).
Is this what we desire? When we come to Christ, is this what we’re looking for? It should be. And the more we mature in Christ, the more this will be our passion. Create in me a clean heart, O God.
A heart in every thought renewed,
And full of love divine,
Perfect and right and pure and good,
A copy, Lord, of thine.
(Charles Wesley)
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WHAT PROFIT? (DECEMBER 20)
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"For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return for his soul?" (Matthew 16:26).
IN THE LAST TWO THOUSAND YEARS, MANY DIFFERENT MESSAGES HAVE BEEN PREACHED BY THOSE CLAIMING TO UPHOLD THE GOSPEL OF CHRIST. Today, most of what goes by the name of “Christianity” is a far cry from what Jesus taught and what He instructed His apostles to teach. To be specific, the original emphasis on the removal of our sins so that we could have a right relationship with God and the hope of eternal life, has been replaced by a modern emphasis on psychological uplift and social justice.
It should go without saying: we need to rightly understand what the gospel of Christ is about. If we misjudge the main point of the gospel (and even worse, misrepresent the main point to those we teach), the results of our misplaced emphasis will be tragic.
Surely there are many different problems in the world. To say that this world is “broken” is to say the painfully obvious. But when Jesus appeared, what was it about this world that He proposed to fix? If we let Jesus, the Great Physician, tell us what our very worst problem is, will we humbly accept His diagnosis?
In one of Jesus’ most often-quoted statements He said, “For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost” (Luke 19:10). Whatever other problems He might have helped us with, He was clear that none of these benefits would matter if we failed to let Him restore us to the fellowship of our Heavenly Father. “For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul?”
Jesus’ priority was the forgiveness of our sins so that having been reconciled to God we could be conformed to His character and look forward to a perfect relationship with Him in eternity. If that was Jesus’ priority, it ought to be ours. It ought to matter more than economic security, emotional well-being, or anything else.
Do we understand the horror of refusing God’s redemption and dying in our rebellion against Him? If that happens, nothing we ever gained in this world will matter. If our souls are lost in eternity, the only thing — the only thing — we will regret missing in this life was a right relationship with the God who made us.
"The essence of hell is complete separation from God, and that is the ultimate disaster" (W. R. Matthews).
Gary Henry - WordPoints.com + AreYouaChristian.com
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THE TWO GREAT ALTERNATIVES (DECEMBER 19)
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"He will render to each one according to his works: to those who by patience in well-doing seek for glory and honor and immortality, he will give eternal life; but for those who are self-seeking and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, there will be wrath and fury" (Romans 2:6-8).
JESUS SAID THAT EVERY TREE IS KNOWN BY THE FRUIT IT BEARS. Our outward deeds are important because, in the end, they will have shown the kind of persons we were on the inside, in our hearts. God’s judgment of us will be based on truth, and if the truth is that self-will was the principle we allowed to govern us, we need not fool ourselves that He will treat us the same as if we had lived otherwise. “He will render to each one according to his works.”
THOSE WHO BY PATIENCE IN WELL-DOING SEEK FOR GLORY AND HONOR AND IMMORTALITY. Unlike the self-seekers in the next verse, these individuals “seek for glory and honor and immortality.” And these things are more than just vague ideals; it is by actual deeds — “by patience in well-doing” — that these goals are pursued. The path of obedience was their choice, and to them God “will give eternal life.”
THOSE WHO ARE SELF-SEEKING AND DO NOT OBEY THE TRUTH, BUT OBEY UNRIGHTEOUSNESS. Since salvation is by grace, many question the concept of “obeying the gospel,” as if that attaches too much importance to obedience. But clearly the choice between obedience and disobedience is critical. For those who “do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, there will be wrath and fury.”
Like every basic truth, this truth that God “will render to each one according to his works” is both comforting and sobering. It is comforting to know that God deals with individuals, based on their own choices — we don’t have to fear being lost because of someone else’s choices. But freedom of choice and personal responsibility are also sobering. People are not saved on the “group plan.” Each of us must choose individually and personally.
And finally, there is something else that must be said: God’s judgment will be on the basis of our actual works and not merely good “attitudes” or good “intentions.” The lordship of Christ requires more than mere sentiment. “Why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do what I tell you?” (Luke 6:46).
"You can be certain of this: when the Day of Judgment comes, we shall not be asked what we have read, but what we have done; not how well we have spoken, but how well we have lived" (Thomas à Kempis).
Gary Henry - WordPoints.com + AreYouaChristian.com
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SEEING THE TRUTH, DECIDING TO RESPOND (DECEMBER 18)
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"But when he came to himself, he said, 'How many of my father's hired servants have more than enough bread, but I perish here with hunger! I will arise and go to my father, and I will say to him, "Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you"'" (Luke 15:17,18).
THE LOST SON IN THIS STORY MADE A DECISION. Alienated from his father, and having abused every blessing he had ever been given, this young man “came to himself.” Finally recognizing the foolishness of his previous choices, he decided to get up out of the pig pen, go back home, and seek his father’s pardon.
There are those who would argue that such a thing is impossible. Deterministic views of life see everything about us as the product of forces beyond our control (divine predestination, genetic determinants, environmental pressures, psychological compulsions, and social restrictions, to name just a few).
But the fact is, we are not helpless. As we see in the story in Luke 15, the positive choice is always available. No matter how desperate the situation, there is always some step we can take in the right direction. Are we influenced by the temptations around us? Yes. Are we weakened by our previous sins? Certainly. But we are not helpless. We have the freedom to choose repentance rather than further rebellion.
We can hear the sadness in Jesus’ voice when He lamented His own people’s rejection of Him. “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing!” (Matthew 23:37). You were not willing! In another place, He said, “You refuse to come to me that you may have life” (John 5:40).
We have defined “obeying the gospel” as rightly responding to the gospel. To be morally “responsible” means “able to choose our response.” So with the power to decide, let’s decide! We’ve wasted enough time. Now is the time to quit being foolish.
"Man is no helpless invalid left in a valley of total depravity until God pulls him out. Man is rather an upstanding human being whose vision has been impaired by the cataracts of sin and whose soul has been weakened by the virus of pride, but there is sufficient vision left for him to lift his eyes unto the hills, and there remains enough of God's image for him to turn his weak and sin-battered life toward the Great Physician, the curer of the ravages of sin" (Martin Luther).
Gary Henry - WordPoints.com + AreYouaChristian.com
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WE CAN'T GET BACK TO GOD ON OUR OWN (DECEMBER 17)
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"For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe" (1 Corinthians 1:21).
IT IS OBVIOUS THAT THE CONSEQUENCES OF SIN IN THE WORLD ARE DISTRESSING TO US. There are few rational people anywhere who do not understand the difficulties of the human condition: we struggle with loneliness, depression, anxiety, fear, anger, alienation, and irrelevance (to name just a few of our challenges).
But for all those who recognize the reality of these struggles, few see clearly that they are, indeed, the consequences of sin. Not every instance of suffering is the result of some sin in the life of the sufferer, of course, but suffering in general would not be in the world if all human beings were still in a right relationship with God.
We live in the age of optimistic “self-help.” We may struggle, but we believe the answers lie within us, or at least that science and psychology will eventually find a way to alleviate our pain. So we keep searching, looking for the right technique or ideology.
But if the root of the problem is our alienation from God — and that is exactly what the gospel of Christ affirms — we will not be able to fix this problem on our own. Only God can open the door that would readmit us to His throne room. And the wondrous news is that He has done so. By giving His Son to die for us, He made an atoning sacrifice that did for us what we could never have done for ourselves. “For while we were still helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly” (Romans 5:6 NASB).
But not only must we accept God’s solution; we must accept it on His terms. If we could never have worked our own way back to Him, neither can we refuse, or even attempt to modify, the conditions that God has attached to the granting of His salvation to us.
So the gospel requires the humbling of ourselves before God, the God against whom we have rebelled. And this makes sense, doesn’t it? If the problem of sin is the problem of self-will, we must lay aside our self-will in order to be saved. If we insist on self-help, we may become nicer people, but our sins will still be unforgiven.
"The love of God, with arms extended on a cross, bars the way to hell. But if that love is ignored, rejected, and finally refused, there comes a time when love can only weep while man pushes past into the self-chosen alienation which Christ went to the cross to avert" (Michael Green).
Gary Henry - WordPoints.com + AreYouaChristian.com
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WHAT HAPPENS WHEN WE SAY NO? (DECEMBER 16)
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"As I live, declares the Lord God, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live; turn back, turn back from your evil ways, for why will you die, O house of Israel?" (Ezekiel 33:11).
IT WOULD BE A MISTAKE TO THINK THAT GOD IS UNAFFECTED WHEN WE REJECT HIM. It was He who gave us the freedom to choose, and He will not force His will upon us, but that does not mean He is impartial or indifferent as to which choice we will make.
Our Father loves us more than we can imagine. He gave His Son to save us (John 3:16; Romans 5:6-8). Surely, His preference is that we say yes to His offer of salvation and allow Him to reconcile us to Himself. Like the father of the Prodigal Son, God will not follow us into the far country, nor make us get up out of the pig pen and come back home — but when we do come home, He will run to meet us and embrace us (Luke 15:11-32).
Can we not hear the sorrow in Jesus’ voice when He said, “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing!” (Matthew 23:37)? And do we not feel the urgency of God’s concern when He said, “I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live; turn back, turn back from your evil ways, for why will you die, O house of Israel” (Ezekiel 33:11)? Our God is a God of tears.
At judgment there will be some to whom the Lord will have no choice but to say, “Depart from me” (Matthew 7:23), but it will break His heart to do so. In that moment, God will lose far more than we will. Having created us, He has far more invested in us than we have in Him. So the loss of even one person whom He has created in His image must of necessity be a tragic loss to Him.
Freedom is a fearful responsibility. It may be hard for us to wrap our minds around the fact that God has given us the power to break His heart — but the desire to love Him and not break His heart ought to be one of the prime reasons why we obey the gospel. Could there by anything worse than saying no to our Father?
"There are only two kinds of people in the end: those who say to God, 'Thy will be done,' and those to whom God says, in the end, 'Thy will be done.' All that are in Hell, choose it. Without that self-choice there could be no Hell" (C. S. Lewis).
Gary Henry - WordPoints.com + AreYouaChristian.com
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WILL ALL BE SAVED? (DECEMBER 15)
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"Or do you presume on the riches of his kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that God's kindness is meant to lead you to repentance? But because of your hard and impenitent heart you are storing up wrath for yourself on the day of wrath when God's righteous judgment will be revealed" (Romans 2:4,5).
MOST PEOPLE BELIEVE THAT EVERYBODY IS GOING TO HEAVEN. At almost every funeral service, the speaker comforts the family by saying that the deceased (no matter how irreligious or immoral) is now at peace with God. Somehow we find a way to believe that, in the end, all of us will find our way to heaven.
If God is an objective reality, that reality is independent of our personal preferences. Whatever is the truth about God, we must be prepared to accept it. And we ought to decide what the truth is by consulting God’s revelation of Himself and not our own opinions.
When we consult the evidence, what we find is that God is a God of grace. This is good news, to say the least. God wants to save us from our sins, repair the damage sin has done to our character, and then have us enjoy eternity with Him (John 3:16).
But the evidence also indicates that God will not take away our free will. He will not force us to accept His salvation. Instead, God makes salvation available to all (John 3:17), and grants the gift to those who accept it on His terms (John 5:39,40). If we reject the gospel, we won’t share the same destiny as those who obey it.
God “will render to each one according to his works: to those who by patience in well-doing seek for glory and honor and immortality, he will give eternal life; but for those who are self-seeking and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, there will be wrath and fury. There will be tribulation and distress for every human being who does evil, the Jew first and also the Greek, but glory and honor and peace for everyone who does good, the Jew first and also the Greek. For God shows no partiality” (Romans 2:6-11). Having given us Christ, God has put the choice in our hands. Will we surrender and submit to our Savior?
"I would pay any price to be able to say truthfully, 'All will be saved.' But my reason retorts, 'Without their will, or with it?' If I say, 'Without their will,' I at once perceive a contradiction; how can the supreme voluntary act of self-surrender be involuntary? If I say, 'With their will,' my reason replies, 'How if they will not give in?'" (C. S. Lewis).
Gary Henry - WordPoints.com + AreYouaChristian.com
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IN CHRIST, WE CAN BE EVERYTHING GOD INTENDED (DECEMBER 14)
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"For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God" (Romans 8:19).
BOUND TO THE PRESENT MOMENT AS WE ARE, WE CAN’T SEE VERY FAR BACKWARD OR FORWARD. So we can only imagine what human beings were before they fell into sin, and it is beyond our dreams to envision what we will be, in Jesus Christ, when God has completed His future plans for us. Paul said “the revealing of the sons of God” is a thing being awaited with “eager longing.”
If this perspective on our past, present, and future is true to reality, however, it is at odds with the account given by modernism. According to that account, human beings have arisen by the random process of genetic mutation (and more recently by their own efforts) from amoral organisms to those that can think and struggle morally. And just as the past is to be accounted for without recourse to any god, so the future, whatever it turns out to be, will be only what we are able to make of it and no more. Indeed, modernism looks upon religion, and especially theistic religion, as a part of the primitive past that must be discarded if humanity is going to overcome its problems and achieve its best future.
If the account of modernism is true, it should be accepted. But if it is not true, it is nothing less than the most devastating blow in history to the hopes of the human heart. If we can rise no higher than the heights made possible by our own ingenuity, the results so far do not give us cause for anything but great worry.
We do not, of course, choose between modernism and the gospel of Christ merely on the basis of which ideology gives us the greater comfort. The gospel makes its case historically, hanging everything on the credibility of the resurrection of Christ.
If the resurrection happened, the gospel is true and there is great glory both behind us and ahead of us. Created in God’s image, human beings were glorious, but they fell into sin. In Christ, our humanity can be restored — and what Christians are now waiting for is what Paul described as “the glorious liberty of the children of God” (Romans 8:21 NKJV). So God is not a hindrance to human progress. He is our only hope of becoming fully human.
"By his first work God gave me to myself; and by the next he gave himself to me. And when he gave himself, he gave me back myself that I had lost" (Bernard of Clairvaux).
Gary Henry - WordPoints.com + AreYouaChristian.com
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GOD, THE SUPPORT OF THE SAVED (DECEMBER 13)
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"Now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy, to the only God, our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen" (Jude 24,25).
JUDE’S CHRISTIAN FRIENDS NEEDED TO BE ASSURED OF GOD’S HELP. They faced difficulties that would test their allegiance to Christ, ordeals that might overwhelm them if they didn’t have the faithful support of their Heavenly Father. So Jude ended his letter of warning to his brethren with this ascription of praise to God: “[He] is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy.”
On the night of Jesus’ betrayal and arrest, He predicted that Peter would deny Him and forsake Him. But Jesus also assured Peter that he would come back from his failure, stronger for having fallen and gotten back on his feet. “Simon, Simon, behold, Satan demanded to have you, that he might sift you like wheat, but I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned again, strengthen your brothers” (Luke 22:31,32).
A part of the help God gives us in Christ is that we have our fellow Christians’ help in times of temptation and failure. Paul wrote, “Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted. Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ” (Galatians 6:1,2). And “we urge you, brothers, admonish the idle, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with them all” (1 Thessalonians 5:14). In Christ, we are never alone in our struggles.
We can be grateful that God restricts Satan’s power. “God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it” (1 Corinthians 10:13).
Having obeyed the gospel, our glorious hope is an eternal rest, one where all our stumblings will be behind us. Until then, we have the promise of God’s steadfast love and constant support.
"O Lord, support us all the day long, until the shadows lengthen and the evening comes and the busy world is hushed, and the fever of life is over, and our work is done. Then in thy mercy grant us a safe lodging and a holy rest, and peace at last" (John Henry Newman).
Gary Henry - WordPoints.com + AreYouaChristian.com
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LOOKING BEYOND OUR SALVATION TO THE SAVIOR (DECEMBER 12)
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"The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, 'Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!'" (John 1:29).
AS THE “LAMB OF GOD,” JESUS CHRIST IS THE ONE WHO “TAKES AWAY THE SIN OF THE WORLD.” The words “looking to Jesus” (Hebrews 12:2) are powerful. If our sins are to be taken away, it is to Him that we must look. We have no other hope (Acts 4:12).
However, there is a subtle danger in focusing on our need for salvation. I hate to mention it, because the last thing some people need is to pay less attention to their need for forgiveness. But if we’re not careful, we may put the emphasis in the wrong place. It is true that we are a needy people and only God can save us. Without God’s grace, we are lost. But something is wrong if we think of God as existing for the purpose of serving our needs.
So I want to recommend an adjustment to the way in which many of us think about God. As the gospel first begins to do its work, we are most conscious of our sinfulness and need for salvation. Then, if we obey the gospel, we start living on the basis of gratitude for our salvation. That surely marks a huge step forward. But the third stage is even more important: the stage in which we forget ourselves and are focused on God. As wonderful as it is to see that we’ve been saved, it is better to think of the God who saved us. And frankly, I’m not there yet. Are you?
When we get to heaven, we will be completely happy. But I believe our thoughts will not be centered on how happy we are. We will be so completely caught up in the glory and majesty of God that our happiness will simply be a byproduct of thinking rightly about God. The truth about God will have set us free — free from, among other things, any preoccupation with our own salvation.
For now, our thoughts are often about ourselves: our needs and the Lord’s ability to supply them. But we need to be growing toward a greater maturity. When our salvation has reached its final perfection at the foot of God’s throne, we won’t be thinking about ourselves or even the fact that we were saved. We’ll only be thinking of the Savior Himself. And even now, it is beneficial to think less about what we desire from God and more about who He is.
"Looking at the wound of sin will never save anyone. What you must do is to look at the remedy" (Dwight Lyman Moody).
Gary Henry - WordPoints.com + AreYouaChristian.com
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