Tag Archives: salvation

Follow The Blueprint

Bible Study, , , ,

FOLLOW THE BLUEPRINT

“Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed – not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence – continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfil His good pleasure.” Philippians 2:12, 13.

Now Paul, just what are you getting at?

Verse 13 can be confusing if we don’t have the overall picture. It almost sounds as though he is telling us that we have to save ourselves. Is that what he means? Not at all! We are self-made people, nor are we passengers on a yacht that is sailing away into the blue. We are to be active participants with God in the outworking of what He has done.

It’s a bit like doing a piece of embroidery or baking a cake. You have the picture of the completed article in front of you; you have all the materials or ingredients to make the item. Now you have to follow the pattern and make the object according to the directions until the finished product accurately resembles the picture. The big difference here is that the original Designer is in you, instructing, guiding and energising you to make the object exactly according to the blueprint.

On top of that, the Designer guarantees that, because He is working with you, you will get the job done to its completion. Unlike the piece of embroidery you are stitching or the cake you are baking, He does not leave you to flounder on your own. He is there every step of the way to ensure that the end product is an exact replica of the original. This sounds like an impossibility, doesn’t it, except if we use the key.

What is the key to the success of this enterprise? This is where we come in. There is something we have to do that God cannot do for us. Obey! If we try to follow the pattern without the step-by-step directions on how to make it, we will end up with a mess. Obedience is not about who is watching. Paul said, “Don’t only obey God when I’m there to watch you. Obey because God is there, leading you on to become what He started.”

What, or rather who is the blueprint God has given us to follow? It’s Jesus of course! That’s why Paul joined his beautiful song about Jesus and his instruction to obey with the word “therefore”. Everything God does for us and in us is based on Jesus. He is our  pattern and He is the guarantee that we will be just like Him when God has completed what He has begun in us (Philippians 1:6).

“Do everything without grumbling or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, “children without fault in a warped and crooked generation.” Then you will shine among them like stars in the sky as you hold firmly to the word of life. And then I will be able to boast on the day of Christ that I did not run or labour in vain.”  Philippians 2:14- 16.

Paul gave us a second key to this maturing process – praise! He expressed it negatively, perhaps because he was familiar with human nature, or perhaps he was referring back to the Israelites in the wilderness who were so full of grumbling and arguing that they were eventually disqualified from entering the Promised Land. If we are grumbling and resisting God’s working in us at every turn, we will certainly not have an attitude of thankfulness and praise.

Knowing ourselves and how full of impurities we are, how can we ever be blameless and pure in this life? God is not looking for perfection but for the attitude and intention of our hearts. We may not always get it right but in which direction are we facing – the same way as God is facing, towards Jesus – or are we straining against Him in the yoke to go our own way?

King David gives us a clue, surprisingly enough since he did not have all the knowledge and understanding we have with God’s fuller revelation of Himself in Jesus.

“Vindicate me, Lord, for I have led a blameless life; I have trusted in the Lord and have not faltered.” Psalm 26:1.

His prescription for a blameless life was simple – trust in the Lord. That also means a pure heart – unmixed with confidence in any other thing. When we have divided loyalties, God and ourselves, we will not follow God’s pattern and we will not become what His blueprint has set out for us to be.

So Paul said, “Listen to God; do what He says, and you will become exactly like His pattern, Jesus!”

Scripture taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

 

 

How You Live Does Matter

Bible Study, , , ,

HOW YOU LIVE DOES MATTER

“And do this, understanding the present time: The hour has already come for you to wake up from your slumber because our salvation is nearer than when we first believed. The night is nearly over; the day is almost here. So let us put aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armour of light.

“Let us behave decently, as in the daytime, not in carousing and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and debauchery, not in dissention and jealousy. Rather, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the flesh.” Romans 13:11-14.

Swimming against the current is hard work. Have you ever watched the salmon navigating fast-flowing streams to reach their spawning ground? The life of a believer in Jesus is a bit like that!

Paul’s well-thought-out and thorough explanation of the gospel inevitably leads to an appeal for a response from his readers. Why did God do all this for us? He had a far greater purpose than simply rescuing us from hell and taking us to heaven. If that were all He were interested in, He would have taken us out of here the moment we put our faith in the Saviour.

He does not disqualify those who make a last-minute decision. The thief on the cross who recognised who Jesus was and submitted to Him in his dying moments, assures us that God is merciful to repentant sinners even at the eleventh hour. But He has a far greater plan than that.

For us to experience in fullest measure the salvation of God, we must dig deeper than mere forgiveness, as crucial as that is. God’s forgiveness opens the door to His rich treasury of benefits the cross of Jesus provides for us. Not the least is access to our inheritance.

Every child receives an inheritance from his father – even though he or she may never have known him or enjoyed a relationship with him. We inherit our father’s nature and disposition towards evil and we possess our inheritance by confirming that nature in our choices and behaviour.

In the same way, when we are born of God, every son or daughter receives an inheritance from our heavenly Father. “But how,” you ask, “do we know what our inheritance is and how do we possess it?” We find clues here and there in the New Testament, summed up in Peter’s second letter.

“His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and goodness. Through these He has given us His very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature, having escaped the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.” 2 Peter 1;3, 4.

Through believing and appropriating God’s promises, we learn to overcome the old sinful disposition inherited from our fathers, and increasingly grow towards the disposition of our elder brother, Jesus. How does this happen?

God orchestrates and permits uncomfortable or difficult circumstances in our lives in order to test us and to expose the corruption in us so that we can lay hold of His promises, not for material things but for transformation into the image of His Son (Romans 8:28-29). Why does He do this?

Since God is perfect, He has no sin and therefore He cannot die because sin leads to death. He has promised us eternal life but, in order to receive that promise, we must learn to overcome sin and become partakers of His divine nature. What we do in this life matters because it is the preparation for eternal life which is the result of holiness.

“When you were slaves to sin, you were free from the control of righteousness. What benefit did you reap at that time from the things you are now ashamed of? Those things result in death! But now that you have been set free from sin and have become the slaves of God, the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life. For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Jesus Christ our Lord.” Romans 6:20-23.

So Paul urges: “Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed – not only in my presence, but now, much more in my absence – continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfil His good pleasure.” Philippians 2:12, 13, which is eternal life.

Acknowledgement

Scripture take from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

 

Our Generous God

Bible Study, , , ,

OUR GENEROUS GOD

“I do not want you to be unaware, brother and sisters, that I planned many times to come to you (but have been prevented from doing so until now) in order that I might have a harvest among you, just as I have had among the other Gentiles. I am obligated both to Greeks and non-Greeks, both to the wise and foolish. That is why I am so eager to preach the gospel also to you who are in Rome.

“For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes: first to the Jew, then to the Gentile. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed — a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: “The righteous will live by faith.” Romans 1:13-17.

Paul’s desire — God’s intention, but not yet, Paul. Why was Paul prevented from going to Rome as an apostle and evangelist? Did the devil hinder him? It may have seemed like it to him at the time. What was wrong with a desire like that? After all, did he not receive a commission to take the gospel to the Gentiles? And what better place than Rome, centre of the empire! Yes, he would go to Rome, but as a prisoner in God’s time.

But as much as Paul wanted to go to Rome, he was also submitted to Jesus as his Lord. The Holy Spirit had directed his way up to that point and Paul could trust Him to lead him in the future. But there was nothing to hinder Paul from writing a letter to the church, and that was definitely God’s way for him because we have his letter preserved in God’s Word as a divinely inspired presentation of God’s plan of salvation.

In whatever way he could, Paul wanted to discharge his obligation. Why was it an obligation for him to preach the gospel to the whole world, both Jew and Gentile? Because of God’s nature! What do I mean? Because of God’s mercy to him, Paul, who did not deserve God’s grace because he was guilty of sin and worthy of death, he had an inescapable obligation to share that mercy with the world.

As much as it is right for us to share God’s love with others because we love Him and because of what He has done for us, it is equally a duty and an obligation. We may think that duty is cold and mercenary, a sort-of pay-back to God because of what He has done for us, but that is not God’s way. Sharing the good news with others is not paying God for our salvation. It is our way of displaying God’s nature by being generous towards others with what God has given us. Not to do so is to deny the divine nature that He has given to us (2 Peter 1:3).

In one short paragraph and in four words, Paul encapsulated the good news he was so eager to share: power — salvation — righteousness — faith; God and man brought together, reconnected by what God has done; and man’s response to God’s intervention. Did God have an obligation to rescue us from the disaster that was of our own making? No way! He did the right thing because of who He is, not because our need.

It’s always about Him. How many times has the question been asked, “What have I done to deserve God’s mercy?” Absolutely nothing! God’s mercy towards undeserving sinners has nothing to do with who we are and everything to do with who He is. If there is any obligation, God is obliged to Himself. Not to do anything to rescue human beings from our plight would be to deny Himself and God cannot do that.

It’s no wonder that Paul took pride in his calling and message. His obligation was also his delight. Would it not be a delight for a prison warder to walk down a row of prison cells and open each door announcing, “You are free to go!” There would be no greater joy than to see the look of surprise and excitement on the prisoners’ faces when they realised that they are no longer caged behind bars.

Would that warder not have an obligation to unlock the prison doors if he had been instructed to do so? If the prisoner refused to leave because he did not believe the warder’s story would be his choice, as long as the warder had done his duty.

 

So it was with Paul — and so it is with us. We are obliged to tell the people of the world that Jesus has unlocked their prison doors and they are free to leave and to follow Him, since He is the way to the Father. The message Paul had to deliver then is the same  message now, of Jesus who has the power to make broken people whole again; not to tell people how bad they are but to tell them how good God is.

 

If we, and they, believe the message and trust the Son of God who came to show and tell us just how good God is, even to the extent that He paid our unpayable debt, they’ll be out of jail and on the way to a life of wholeness, imitating God by being generous with His mercy as He has been generous towards us.

 

Acknowledgement

THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

 

 

Today Is Salvation Day

Christian Life, , ,

TODAY IS SALVATION DAY

“Then Jesus entered and walked through Jericho. There was a man there…Zaccheus, the head tax man and quite rich. He wanted desperately to see Jesus, but the crowd was in his way…so he ran on ahead and climbed up in a sycamore tree…

“When Jesus got to the tree, He looked up and said, ‘Zaccheus, hurry down. Today is my day to be a guest at your house.’ Zaccheus scrambled out of the tree…delighted to take Jesus home with him. Everyone who saw the incident was indignant…’What business does He have getting cosy with this crook?’ Zaccheus stammered apologetically, ‘Master, I give away half my income to the poor…’

“Jesus said, ‘Today is salvation day in this home! Here he is: Zaccheus, son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to find and restore the lost.'” Luke 19:1-10 (The Message).

Another much-loved Sunday school story with so much in it that we can miss!

This incident epitomises the difference between the attitude of Jesus and the people around Him (and all of us as well because we are all infected with the same tunnel vision).

Zaccheus was a man with a conscience who did bad things. He made a comfortable living preying on the public who hated him but could do nothing about it. But there came a time when he became sick of his way of life and his alienation from his fellow Jews. How do we know that? What crook would climb a tree to catch a glimpse of a rabbi whose sheer goodness would be repulsive to him unless there was a deep-seated yearning to change?

Why did he climb a tree? Just to get a close-up view of Jesus, or because he was too embarrassed to get close to Him? What did he hope to achieve by getting a passing glimpse? To satisfy his curiosity or to fix in his imagination a picture of the person he would like to be? We don’t know but, once again, Jesus’ spiritual radar picked up the blip of a man who wanted to see Him.

As always, His response was immediate and, as always, He was not put off by the external trappings of the man’s life. He zeroed in on Zaccheus’ heart and stopped under the tree. Knowing that Zaccheus would feel too unworthy to invite Him home, He invited Himself, sweeping aside all the tax man’s false notions and emotions about himself. Jesus saw him, not as a rotten, thieving henchman of the Roman government as those around Him did, but as a son of Abraham!

Zaccheus’ response to Jesus’ generous attitude towards him is startling. How could a greedy and conniving crook suddenly become generous and open-handed to the poor and to those he had outwitted? It just does not happen in the natural. Something had transpired in the man’s heart in his encounter with Jesus that radically and permanently changed his disposition.

Light had exposed and dispelled darkness and the result was transformation! His money, unlike the other rich man who refused to let go of his wealth, even for the prize of eternal life, was tossed out of the way because it stood between him and Jesus and Jesus knew that Zaccheus had been rescued from his self-destroying choices and was back on the path to the Father.

There are so many beautiful lessons for those of us who are disciples of Jesus to learn. As disciples, we are called to be imitators of Jesus. Our first major lesson is to look at people through the eyes of our Master. To Him they had no past. His atoning sacrifice took care of that. He never accused or blamed. He accepted and embraced every returning prodigal with generosity and compassion. They were lost sons coming home.

Secondly, Jesus never saw failure but always, potential. As a son of Abraham, this one-time criminal had a renewed calling: “…All peoples on earth will be blessed through you.” Genesis 12:3b (NIV). With the Messiah in charge of his life, he could bless the very people he had robbed by sharing his faith and his wealth.

The crowd were indignant with Jesus for associating with a robber. Jesus was elated because the robber had returned home as a son!