Category Archives: Gospel

“DON’T LOOK AT ME, GOD”

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Years ago, I watched a DVD seies on the Christian life by a Presbyterian pastor. One of his points dealt with his attitude towards sin.

He referred to a situation in his life when he had said or done something to offend his wife. Instead of humbly confessing his sin to God and to his wife, his shame led him to run from them, creating an atmosphere of tension and alienation. He summed up the situation with these words, “Don’t look at me, God!”

How often, because we misunderstand grace, we tell God, with or without words, “Don’t look at me, God!” We allow sin to disturb our fellowship with God and people, isolating ourselves by guilt and shame from our family or fellow believers.

We tend to think that everyone around us knows what we have done and judges us for our bad behaviour…most of all God because we have offended Him. We treat God as though He were human.

What does the Bible say to a situation like this?

Of course, there is a difference between an occasional lapse and a lifestyle of offending others. If we persist in selfish behaviour that puts us in the centre of our world, we will offend others by our thoughtless and careless words and deeds.

For a believer, this attitude of self-absorption is foreign to someone who is “in Christ”.

2 Corinthians 5:17 NIV
[17] “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!”

Does this mean that persistently selfish behaviour is evidence that such a person is not “in Christ”? True believers are those who have been born from above by God’s Spirit, have a new nature, and are learning to obey the Holy Spirit’s leading.

Romans 8:14 NIV
[14] “For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God.”

They exhibit the fruit of the Spirit in increasing measure in their attitude and behaviour.

Galatians 5:22-23 NIV
[22] “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, [23] gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.”

Does this mean that a believer can never sin? No! It means that God has a remedy for those times when we do step outside of grace. He knows that, as long as we are in this life, we are at war with our old fleshly, selfish nature. We do give in from time to time.

However, God has made provision for all sin through the sacrifice of Jesus. His death takes care of all sin for all time. Even before we sin in time, He paid the price and has forgiven us. According to God’s Word, Jesus’ sacrifice was planned before time so that it is effective for all sin in time even before He died.

Instead of denying our guilt or hiding in shame, saying, “Don’t look at me, God,” He calls us to come to Him because He has the solution…

1 John 2:1-2 NIV
[1] “My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have an advocate with the Father—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. [2] He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world.”

1 John 1:8-9 NIV
[8] “If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. [9] If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.”

Like any loving earthly father, the Father graciously forgives our sin and restores fellowship with Him when we come clean with Him and with one another.

1 John 1:6-7 NIV
[6]” If we claim to have fellowship with him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live out the truth. [7] But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.”

REST IN A RESTLESS WORLD

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Matthew 11:28 NIV
[28]  “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.”

Weary and burdened! Doesn’t that describe the lives of most people?

Despite the veneer of pleasure and happiness, deep inside, people are restless, insecure, and overloaded with troubles and struggles. They try, in many different ways, to calm the storms inside that drive them to behaviour that only adds to their inner turmoil.

Let’s look at one of the ways in which many people try to drug their disquiet…religion. Apart from  criminal, addictive, or devious behaviour that drives them to violate their conscience until it is no longer a compass for their lives, people look for rest for their inward restlessness in many different religious systems.

(Karl Marx wrote that “religion is the opiate of the masses”. Whatever he meant, this became a policy in communist countries, to stamp out religious beliefs and practices. It didn’t work because people are born with the need to connect to a higher power).

What is religion and why do people instinctively need a “higher power” to lean on? Is it because life is too uncertain to depend on ourselves?

For the most part, a dictionary definition of religion says, religion is….

“… the belief in and worship of a superhuman power or powers, especially a God or gods.”

Trouble is that all religions invent the gods they worship. There is no objective, infallible proof that any god or religious system is of divine origin despite what their devotees think or believe. They may have a religious book or books to guide them but their claims are subjective. This means that anyone who turns to this “god” or “gods” for help is putting his/her faith in something or someone that does not exist except in their imagination.

This is, in fact, Satan’s ploy to draw people to himself. Who do people worship if their gods don’t exist? In reality, it’s the one who spawned the myth!

If people consider what happens when they worship false gods, they must ask the question, “Does the god I worship give me peace? Does the restlessness I feel go away?”

What makes people feel weary and burdened?

“Saint Augustine writes in his Confessions, “You have made us for yourself, O Lord, and our hearts are restless until they rest in You.” Perhaps Augustine’s most often quoted phrase, captures something that resonates deep within the human person. Restlessness is that desire to be filled and fulfilled.”

(https://beafraid.org – Augustine’s restless heart)

The difference between religion and faith in the living God who promises and give real rest, is fundamental. All religions, whatever they proclaim, involve doing something. Rituals, sacrifices, ceremonies, taboos, are all part of the religious systems which supposedly meet the spiritual needs of those who practise them.

The proof that confirms their uselessness is a world still in ferment. Look at any people who are forced to conform to a national  religion e.g., Islam or Hinduism. To remain true to their religious beliefs, they must ruthlessly stamp out those who refuse to conform even if it is a family member. Does this attitude and behaviour provide rest? How can it when murder violates their moral conscience? How can it when the individual has no say in his choice of religion?

Faith in the living God, on the other hand, is not a religion, whatever people may think. Faith in God and His word involves a choice to take seriously what God has done, revealed in a book so supernatural that faith in what it says transforms lives. Out of this trust in the words of God flows God’s supernatural response…rest.

The only requirement to enter into this experience of inner rest is faith in the one who has done everything necessary to deal with the real issue of our unrest…sin. No religion on earth has the solution for sin. We can ignore sin, deny it, argue it away, or try to forget it, but our guilty conscience refuses to go away. No even dulling our conscience with drugs, alcohol or any other addiction, can produce inner peace.

Isaiah 48:22 NLT
[22] “But there is no peace for the wicked,” says the Lord.”

The Bible, as much as people hate it, or try to obliterate it, gives us the only true solution to restless hearts.

Why are our hearts restless? I think we all know what it feels like to be alienated from a loved one. Despite the anger, frustration, resentment, or bitterness over the cause, we feel incomplete without the presence of that loved one…father, mother, son, daughter, uncle, aunt, cousin, or even friend. There is an empty place in our hearts, without their fellowship.

God is our divine Father. He made us for Himself. Sin has alienated us from Him and, until we are reconciled, we feel that emptiness inside. Religion cannot deal with our sin and its guilt and shame. Only Jesus can forgive and remove the cause of our restlessness and reconcile us to the Father. The great wonder of peace with God is that we need to do nothing but accept His gift of forgiveness by faith. He has done it all!

Faith in Jesus, in His death and resurrection, deals a blow to guilt, frees us from its gnawing accusations, and clears our conscience to approach Him with confidence. Only in Christ can we experience true rest.

Hebrews 3:18-19 NLT
[18] “And to whom was God speaking when he took an oath that they would never enter his rest? Wasn’t it the people who disobeyed him? [19] So we see that because of their unbelief they were not able to enter his rest.”

Hebrews 4:3, 9-11 NLT
[3] “For only we who believe can enter his rest. As for the others, God said, “In my anger I took an oath: ‘They will never enter my place of rest,’” even though this rest has been ready since he made the world…
[9] So there is a special rest still waiting for the people of God. [10] For all who have entered into God’s rest have rested from their labors, just as God did after creating the world. [11] So let us do our best to enter that rest. But if we disobey God, as the people of Israel did, we will fall.”

The invitation to enter God’s rest is open to everyone who gives up all efforts to be acceptable to God. Religion will never satisfy God’s holy standards. Only Jesus did, and faith in His Son is what pleases God most.

Romans 5:1 NLT
[1] “Therefore, since we have been made right in God’s sight by faith, we have peace with God because of what Jesus Christ our Lord has done for us.”

This is the only rest that will satisfy our restless hearts.

WHAT IF JESUS HAD FAILED?

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Hebrews 5:7-9 NIV‬
[7] “During the days of Jesus’ life on earth, he offered up prayers and petitions with fervent cries and tears to the one who could save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverent submission. [8] Son though he was, he learned obedience from what he suffered [9] and, once made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him… “

The success of Jesus’ mission on earth hung on the fragile thread of His life as the Son of God. Unlike us, His life as a son had to be perfect in every detail for Him to qualify as an acceptable human sacrifice for sin. One slip, one failure in one minute detail would have disqualified Him, lost Him and us forever.

God appointed Jesus to be the last Adam. In other words, He was born with the same nature as Adam, able to sin but able not to sin. In the first Adam, heaven and earth came together in dust and divine breath. Adam had to confirm his connection with God by living in obedience to His instructions. He didn’t! Jesus was also born from earth and heaven. He had to confirm His connection between God and humanity by living a life of perfect obedience to the Father’s instructions. He did!

‭1 Corinthians 15:45-47 NIV‬
[45] “So it is written: “The first man Adam became a living being”; the last Adam, a life-giving spirit. [46] The spiritual did not come first, but the natural, and after that the spiritual. [47] The first man was of the dust of the earth; the second man is of heaven.“

Jesus’ life of perfect obedience was entwined in His life of prayer. Hebrews refers to “His days on earth”. This must surely refer to more than His prayer in Gethsemane. It seems that He also had a constant struggle with temptation throughout His life, as we do.

‭Hebrews 4:15 NIV‬
[15] “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin.”

What was the core of every temptation Jesus ever suffered? We can deduce, from Satan’s frontal attack in the wilderness, that he wanted Jesus to act alone, without consulting the Father, to break His union with the Father and to act independently, as did Adam. But…

‭John 8:28-29 NIV‬
[28] “So Jesus said, “When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am he and that I do nothing on my own but speak just what the Father has taught me. [29] The one who sent me is with me; he has not left me alone, for I always do what pleases him.”

Jesus proved, by His life and His confession, (which He challenged anyone to disprove), that He protected His unity with the Father even to His obedience to a criminal’s death on the cross.

‭John 8:46 NIV‬
[46] “Can any of you prove me guilty of sin? If I am telling the truth, why don’t you believe me?”

So, Jesus communion with the Father included “loud cries and tears to the one who could save Him from death.” Yes, Jesus was saved from permanent death by His resurrection but…. He was also saved from eternal death through His reverent submission and perfect obedience.

We can only imagine how tough Jesus’ life on earth must have been for Him to plead with the Father for victory over a heart that battled independence. After all, He was God, wasn’t He! He didn’t need
the Father’s permission or power to do what He came to do.

Jesus came from heaven where He had the absolute authority He shared with the Father and the Holy Spirit, but He chose to lay aside His privileges of deity and live in total dependence on the Father and on the Spirit as a man.

He learned the meaning and significance of obedience, the hallmarks of a true son, not by trial and error, but by obeying the Father implicitly and perfectly in every move He made, every word He said and every attitude He displayed.

‭Philippians 2:6-8 NLT‬
[6] “Though he was God, he did not think of equality with God as something to cling to. [7] Instead, he gave up his divine privileges; he took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being. When he appeared in human form, [8] he humbled himself in obedience to God and died a criminal’s death on a cross.”

Jesus was totally dependent on the Holy Spirit in His actions…

‭Matthew 12:28 NLT‬
[28] “But if I am casting out demons by the Spirit of God, then the Kingdom of God has arrived among you.”

His words…

‭John 6:63 NLT‬
[63] “The Spirit alone gives eternal life. Human effort accomplishes nothing. And the very words I have spoken to you are spirit and life.”

And even His death…

‭Hebrews 9:14 NLT‬
[14] “Just think how much more the blood of Christ will purify our consciences from sinful deeds so that we can worship the living God. For by the power of the eternal Spirit, Christ offered himself to God as a perfect sacrifice for our sins.”

It was by the Holy Spirit’s power that He was brought back to life.

‭Romans 1:3-4 NLT‬
[3]” The Good News is about his Son. In his earthly life he was born into King David’s family line, [4] and he was shown to be the Son of God when he was raised from the dead by the power of the Holy Spirit. He is Jesus Christ our Lord.”

The entire biography of Jesus’ life on earth is the story of a man entirely infused with the life of God. This was also God’s intention for the first human pair, and it is still His intention for every person born into His kingdom by His Spirit.

However, without the obedience and reverent submission of His Son, God’s plan would have come to nothing. Not only that, but Jesus Himself, as our representative man, would have suffered the same fate as every unrepentant sinner will suffer.

Praise God, Jesus NEVER failed the test.

‭Hebrews 7:11, 16, 23-25 NLT‬
[11] “So, if the priesthood of Levi, on which the law was based, could have achieved the perfection God intended, why did God need to establish a different priesthood, with a priest in the order of Melchizedek instead of the order of Levi and Aaron?…
[16] Jesus became a priest, not by meeting the physical requirement of belonging to the tribe of Levi, but by the power of a life that cannot be destroyed…. “
[23] There were many priests under the old system, for death prevented them from remaining in office. [24] But because Jesus lives forever, his priesthood lasts forever. [25] Therefore he is able, once and forever, to save those who come to God through him. He lives forever to intercede with God on their behalf.”

This salvation, bought and paid for at such a high price, is complete. There is nothing for us to do…. but there is!

‭Psalms 116:12-13 NIV‬
[12]”What shall I return to the Lord for all his goodness to me? [13] I will lift up the cup of salvation and call on the name of the Lord.”

Without our response, Jesus’ mission would have failed. Everything He was and did would have been for nothing.

Our gratitude is best expressed by receiving by faith all the time benefits of His salvation and by living in obedience and submission to Him as Lord, as He did to the Father. In every circumstance and situation in life, we must “call on the name of the Lord.”

‭John 15:5 NIV‬
[5] “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.”

Our response is to receive Him as Lord, our supreme authority, and to live in union with Him, under His authority, every moment of every day. Nothing more, nothing less!

THE CYCLE OF GOD’S GRACE

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All sin is the fruit of unbelief. However, for God to judge sin and punish sinners, unbelief must be confirmed by sinful behaviour. So, I ask the question, “Why is sinful behaviour increasing on the earth, as Paul predicted? Is God preparing the ungodly for the day of judgment when the full extent of sin in the hearts of sinners will exposed, and God’s justice will be vindicated?”

Where does God’s mercy fit into His dealings with humans?

Throughout the Bible, it is clear that God chose Israel to be His special people. Above all other nations, Israel belonged to God and is still His treasured possession. He set up a legally binding covenant with them in which He gave detailed instructions for them to obey as their part of the agreement.

Israel was not left in doubt about the way God would treat them if they failed to observe the terms of His covenant. Yet, despite the ministry of His prophets throughout their history, Israel persistently rebelled against the Lord, defied His instructions, and paid the price for their disobedience.

God chose to prepare Israel to bring His Messiah to earth through them. He gave them the Promised Land as their eternal possession, from where Jesus will rule when He returns to redeem the earth and to set up His kingdom.

No other nation on earth has ever received God’s promises of restoration as Israel has received despite their unfaithfulness. Every prophecy of judgment against God’s people is concluded with a promise of return to their own land and renewal of their relationship with God and the destruction of their enemies.

Why is God so adamant about restoring His people despite their rejection of His covenant? Many thousands of Jews have perished at the hands of their enemies but God has always preserved a remnant for Himself.

The answer… His covenant with Abraham which overrides all other covenants and was fulfilled by the coming of Jesus. Not only did God set up a covenant with Abraham’s physical descendants but also with Abraham’s descendants through faith in Jesus.

‭Galatians‬ ‭3:26‬ ‭NLT‬
[26] “For you are all children of God through faith in Christ Jesus…
[29] And now that you belong to Christ, you are the true children of Abraham. You are his heirs, and the promise to Abraham belongs to you.”

Even the covenant God made with Israel at Mount Sinai has an expiry date.

‭Hebrews‬ ‭8:7‭-‬8‬ ‭NLT‬
[7]” If the first covenant had been faultless, there would have been no need for a second covenant to replace it. [8] But when God found fault with the people, he said: “The day is coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the people of Israel and Judah….
[13] When God speaks of a “new” covenant, it means he has made the first one obsolete. It is now out of date and will soon disappear.”

So, for all who have faith in Jesus, there is a cycle of grace into which we have entered, which guarantees our eternal salvation if we remain faithful to the one who bought us with His own blood. Yes, God rescued His covenant people from extermination and extinction over and over again as His enemies were determined to wipe Israel from the earth – the Egyptians, the Amalekites, the Philistines, the Assyrians, the Babylonians, Haman the Agagite, Hitler, and even Hamas in the current war against Israel… but God! His promise still stands.

How much more, then, will He keep His promise to those who have been saved by His grace through Jesus. The world hates God’s people, Jews and Christians of every tribe and language. The world would love to wipe us out.
But God…

He has promised an eternal home with Him to all who have entered His rest in by faith in Jesus. His favour is a shield of protection around us. Whatever the circumstances of our lives, good or bad, He is working for our good to recreate us to be like Jesus.

So, take heart, dear family of God. You are safe in the circle of God’s favour, now and forever, as you hold fast, faithful and steadfast, to your Lord, and remain in union with Him. Israel’s story will always remind us that God is who He says He is, and always does what He says He will do. Judgment or salvation? God is faithful.

FREELOADER OR SON

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FREELOADER OR SON

Two kinds of people occupy the seats of the church’s meeting place. There are passengers, opportunists, and free-loaders, or beloved, blood-bought children of God. Those who come to get, sit tight in their chairs, hearing but listening to nothing. Others come to give… love, care, and support for their fellow believers.

Jesus describes the freeloader…

Mark 4:11-12 NLT
[11] “But I use parables for everything I say to outsiders, [12] so that the Scriptures might be fulfilled: ‘When they see what I do, they will learn nothing. When they hear what I say, they will not understand. Otherwise, they will turn to me and be forgiven.’ ”…

and warns the hearer,

[24] Then he added, “Pay close attention to what you hear. The closer you listen, the more understanding you will be given—and you will receive even more. [25] To those who listen to my teaching, more understanding will be given. But for those who are not listening, even what little understanding they have will be taken away from them.”

This is a serious warning to every person who hears the Word preached, Sunday by Sunday.

James 1:22-25 NLT
[22] But don’t just listen to God’s word. You must do what it says. Otherwise, you are only fooling yourselves. [23] For if you listen to the word and don’t obey, it is like glancing at your face in a mirror. [24] You see yourself, walk away, and forget what you look like. [25] But if you look carefully into the perfect law that sets you free, and if you do what it says and don’t forget what you heard, then God will bless you for doing it.”

We must decide whether we are in this for the ride or whether we are in this for the prize.

PRAYER

Thank you, Father, for the power of your Word. You promised that your Word will never be unproductive because you send it out to accomplish your will, even to harden the hearts of those who refuse to listen to you.

Father, please help me never to be an unproductive hearer. What you have spoken is my hope for the future. Give me listening ears and an attentive heart so that I may also be one who does your will with patience and perseverance.