Tag Archives: faith

Jew And Gentile – Justified!

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JEW AND GENTILE – JUSTIFIED!

“Where, then, is boasting? It is excluded. Because of what law? The law that requires works? No, because of the law that requires faith. For we maintain that a person is justified by faith apart from the works of the law. Or is God the God of Jews only? Is He not also the God of Gentiles too? Yes, of Gentiles too, since there is only one God, who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through that same faith. Do we, then nullify the law by this faith? Not at all! Rather, we uphold the law.” Romans 3:27-31.

Paul was having an imaginary debate with his readers, but what on earth was this debate all about? We must put ourselves into the minds of these Roman believers to understand his argument.

The church in Rome was made up of both Jews and Gentiles. Zealous Jewish believers from other areas were going around insisting that Gentiles first adopt the Jewish law before they could become Christians. Since Jesus was a Jewish Messiah and His message was the fulfilment of God’s promise to the Jews, they believed that His way belonged to them.

Paul began his letter by taking pains to show his readers that Jews and Gentiles stood on level ground as far as their guilt was concerned. The law was of no benefit to the Jews because, although they were privileged to have received it from God as the terms of His covenant with them, they were unable to obey it perfectly. All the law could do was show them God’s holy standards and pronounce them guilty because they had fallen short of what He required.

What was the point of having God’s law if it only revealed the extent of their failure to keep it? Boasting about the law was fruitless because it did nothing for them except show how guilty they were. They were no better than the Gentiles as far as God was concerned, law or no law, especially since the Gentiles also had God’s moral law written on their conscience. Whether it was written on stone or on their hearts, the standard was the same and they were equally guilty of falling short.

For Jew and Gentile, there was only one solution to their predicament – God Himself. Knowing that there was nothing they could do to satisfy His holy standards, He stepped in and provided the answer that both paid the penalty for the broken law and released the sinner from his guilt.

How did this happen? God came in person – the second Person of the Trinity became a human being, conceived in the womb of a woman by the power of the Holy Spirit, born into the world as a human baby, grew up in a human family, and was eventually executed as a law breaker although He lived a perfect life under the law. He became the atoning sacrifice for all people, Jew and Gentile; His offering was acceptable to God and confirmed by His resurrection from the dead.

There is nothing left to do but to accept His offering in our place by faith and to return to God to live under His authority as His sons and daughters. The law no longer stands over us as our accuser because Jesus fulfilled it and abolished it as the standard by which we are judged.

“Hey, wait a minute! You can’t say that!” But that’s what the Bible says.

“When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, having cancelled the charge of our legal indebtedness, which stood against us; He has taken it away, nailing it to the cross.” Colossians 2:13, 14.

Jesus introduced a new law, not to replace but to fulfil the law which could not change their hearts.

“Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for whoever loves others has fulfilled the law.” Romans 13:8.

Whatever was impossible under the law becomes possible under God’s grace because He has given us His Holy Spirit to enable us to do what we could not do by ourselves.

“And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.” Romans 5:5.

The Law, given through Moses at Sinai, was a detailed explanation of how to love their fellow men, but it fell on deaf ears because their hearts were bent towards satisfying their own lusts. Only by removing their guilt could God restore the Holy Spirit to live within their spirits and provide the power to turn towards Him again.

And that is exactly what He has done through His Son!

Acknowledgement

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

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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.

 

 

Paul’s Desire – God’s Intention

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PAUL’S DESIRE — GOD’S INTENTION

“First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, because your faith is being reported all over the world. God, whom I serve in my spirit in preaching the gospel of His Son, is my witness how constantly I remember you in my prayers at all times; and I pray that now at last, by God’s will the way may be opened for me to come to you. I long to see you so that I may impart some spiritual gift to make you strong — that is, that you and I may be mutually encouraged by each other’s faith.” Romans 1:8-12.

Paul, the apostle to the Gentiles, took his job seriously. He has been commissioned by his Lord to take the good news to the world. That did not necessarily mean that it was his personal responsibility to preach to every Gentile in the world. That would have been impossible then, even if he had all the technology and all the facilities we have today.

Paul relied on God’s amazing strategy of multiplication. It was God’s plan that the church grow by multiplication, the same strategy that works in nature. In spite of the slow modes of transport then, people moved around from place to place, believers as well, and wherever they went, they spread the story of Jesus.

Some new churches began through the work of faithful men, for example, men like Epaphras, who started the church at Colossae. Other churches sprang up as ordinary believers witnessed to their faith in Jesus as they moved around. No one knows how the church at Rome began but nevertheless Paul felt responsible to visit the believers in Rome, to ensure that they were on the right track and to strengthen them in the face of persecution.

The city of Rome was the hub of the Roman Empire. Paul knew how influential the church there was and it was his task to ensure that they understood and believed the truth of the gospel.  Already the news of their faith had spread to the whole world. Paul would not exaggerate lest he be thought a liar. He rejoiced in their faith but he also prayed faithfully for them. They were in the firing line for both persecution and error.

Life for believers anywhere in the empire was an uphill battle. They were the targets of hostility from both Jews and Gentiles and the pernicious false teachings of self-proclaimed “apostles” who twisted the truth or added to it to make it more palatable. Part of Paul’s commission as an apostle was to interpret the events of Jesus’ life, death and resurrection and to teach the infant believers the truth that would steer them through the morass of false teachings.

This responsibility included the churches he did not personally found. The letter to the Roman church was born in his heart as he battled the Judaisers, Jewish “believers” who insisted that Gentiles first be circumcised before they could embrace Jesus as their Lord. Paul was enraged by any teaching that subtracted from the sufficiency of Jesus for salvation by adding rules and ritual to faith in Him.

The church in the province of Galatia, possibly more than one church group, was hounded by these false teachers and had been taken in by them. Paul wrote a heated and emotional letter to them, pleading with them not to throw away their salvation by adding the law to their faith in Christ. Even submitting to circumcision would disqualify them from receiving God’s grace in Christ.

Paul’s letter to the Romans is like Mount Everest in the mountain range of New Testament letters. Through it he paved the way for his intended visit to them by giving them a detailed explanation of justification by faith in Christ alone, no doubt flowing out of his hot defence of the gospel to the Galatian believers. He wanted to see them face-to-face, to connect with them, to fellowship with them and to share his heart with them in person. A letter was good but a personal visit was better.

He was submitted to the will of God, no matter how much he longed to go to Rome. Little did he know, when he penned his letter, that his visit to Rome would be sponsored by the Roman government and his accommodation provided at Rome’s expense right in Caesar’s palace, albeit as a prisoner chained to a Roman soldier! All the better because his witness would spread throughout the palace guard and infiltrate Rome from the very top.

Talk about a master plan! Paul may not have thought it up, but he certainly recognised it when it happened.

“Now I want you to know, brothers and sisters, that what has happened to me has actually served to advance the gospel. As a result, it has become clear throughout the whole palace guard and to everyone else that I am in chains for Christ. And because of my chains, most of the brothers and sisters have become confident in the Lord and dare all the more to proclaim the gospel without fear.” Philippians 1:12-14.

Acknowledgement

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

 

Boomerang Blessing!

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BOOMERANG BLESSING!

“One day as He was teaching, Pharisees and religion teachers were sitting around. They had come from nearly every village in Galilee and Judea, even as far away as Jerusalem, to be there. Some men arrived carrying a paraplegic on a stretcher. They were looking for a way to get into the house and set him before Jesus. When they couldn’t find a way in because of the crowd, they went up on the roof, removed some tiles, and let him down in the middle of everyone, right in front of Jesus. Impressed by their bold belief, He said, ‘Friend, I forgive your sins.'” Luke 5:17-20 (The Message).

Talk about initiative! These men were certainly determined to get their friend to Jesus.

How big was the house? A normal family home could not have been big enough to host fifty or a hundred people even if they squashed into every room. And it was full of scribes and Pharisees. What an elite congregation Jesus had that day from all over Israel, so Luke tells us! This rabbi must have caused quite a stir in the land — without Twitter and Facebook!

The men with the sick friend weren’t concerned about who was in the congregation. They had a mission — to get their friend to Jesus. He needed a miracle and there was no one better than Jesus to do it. There was no way they could get him through the door and past all the people, but a flat-roofed house and the roof conveniently accessible by an outside staircase was all they needed to carry out their plan.

Imagine the surprise and consternation when pieces of the roof began falling on the crowd inside. Then some faces appeared and next a man suspended on a mat. The hole in the roof must have been quite big to allow them to manoeuvre a paralysed man on a sleeping mat through.

Of course the people made way for him then. They didn’t want him coming down on their heads! Talk about determination! If the crowd would not make space for him from below, they certainly would from above. Nothing was too big an obstacle for them even to ripping up the roof. That could always be repaired but Jesus might move on and their opportunity might have been lost.

What went through Jesus’ mind as the man was slowly lowered to the ground in front of Him? Was He amused? He certainly was impressed, according to Luke. Jesus, impressed? God, impressed? Is there anything that humans can do to impress God? It seems that the answer is ‘Yes”.

There was one thing that impressed Jesus, many times over — faith. He even categorised faith; no faith; little faith; great faith and such great faith. Why was faith such a big deal to Him? What else is there that links people to an unseen God and gets such a lavish response from Him?

“And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to Him must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who earnestly seek Him.” Hebrews 11:6 (NIV). It’s quite understandable really. If you don’t trust me, why should I do anything for you?

But what is more surprising is that Jesus responded to the faith of the friends. Can one person believe for another? Of course! Don’t we do that all the time when we pray for others; otherwise what’s the point?

There’s something beautiful about believing for others. It’s part of the way God works. Every time we reach out to someone else, be it through prayer or helping in some way, we create a current that comes back to us. It’s one of those laws that God has built into the very fabric of human life. Jesus put it like this: “Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.” Luke 6:38 (NIV).

It’s what I call “boomerang blessing.”

A Costly Commission

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A COSTLY COMMISSION

“They took the road south through Amphipolis and Apollonia to Thessalonica, where there was a community of Jews. Paul went to their meeting place, as he usually did when he came to a town, and for three Sabbaths running he preached to them from the Scriptures. He opened up the texts so they understood what they’d been reading all their lives: that the Messiah absolutely had to be put to death and raised from the dead — there were no other options — and that ‘this Jesus I’m introducing you to is the Messiah.'” Acts 17:1-3 (The Message).

Day two after their release from jail! How could these men, who had just been severely beaten and were covered in welts and raw wounds, travel such long distances on foot without painkillers, antibiotics or anti-inflammatories? What was it that produced such determination in them to proclaim this message all over the empire regardless of the hostility they encountered from their fellow Jews and from the Roman government?

God had called them to press into Europe and to Europe they would go, regardless of the cost, because they knew that He had commissioned them and He would accompany and support them no matter how people responded. He had never promised them immunity from trouble and suffering. He promised them His own presence, with all His resources, so that they would fulfil their mission, no matter what.

Why could they be so sure of what they were doing? They had at least three reasons for sticking to their ministry, no matter how high the price:

1. They had the Scriptures. Centuries before, Hebrew prophets had recorded, in detail, prophecies about the Messiah. Every one of those prophecies had been fulfilled in Jesus, the Christ. As Paul preached, he matched prophecies with Jesus and the people recognised the truth that Jesus was their Messiah, just as the Scriptures had predicted.

2. They had personal contact with those who had lived with Jesus for three years, those who had watched and listened to Him; who had been present at His crucifixion and talked with Him after His resurrection over a period of forty days. Paul had had an encounter with Him on his way to Damascus that changed the course of his life.

3. Through the miracle of faith, their own lives had been changed, giving them an inner peace and joy that not even the experience of the past days could erase. How could they pray and sing instead of cursing and complaining when they were treated so cruelly and unfairly by civil authorities? They had a Master who had suffered for them. His grace was enough to see them through adversity until they had completed their assignment.

All these experiences added to Paul’s CV, giving him all the testimony he needed to pen the letters that became part of the Scriptures of the New Testament. Paul could never have written words of encouragement and hope to the believers in so many churches had he not had personal experience to which he could testify. Every word he wrote about living the life was first hammered out on the anvil of his own experience. It had to be so otherwise his words would have been nothing but untested theory and useless for his readers.

This life Jesus came to give us is free but costly. Paul found it so, and so shall we if it is our purpose to follow the Master closely and faithfully. It will cost our plans and desires. The Master’s way may take us along rough and even dangerous paths but the rewards will far outweigh any price we are called to pay.

Paul could say, at the end of his journey, that there was a crown of righteousness awaiting him and all those who are looking forward to the Master’s return.

Are you?