Tag Archives: blessedness

GRACE IS FOR ALL

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GRACE IS FOR ALL

“Is this blessedness only for the circumcised, or also for the uncircumcised? We have been saying that Abraham’s faith was credited to him as righteousness. Under what circumstances was it credited? Was it after he was circumcised, or before? It was not after but before! And he received circumcision as a sign, a seal of the righteousness that he had by faith while he was still uncircumcised. So then, he is the father of all who believe, but have not been circumcised, in order that righteousness might be credited to them. And he is then also the father of the circumcised who not only are circumcised but also follow in the footsteps of the faith that our father Abraham had before he was circumcised.” Romans 4:9-12.

What blessedness? The blessedness David experienced of knowing that his sins were forgiven! On what did David base his confidence? On the daily sacrifices that were offered by the priests on his behalf?

This is how David prayed when his sins were uncovered: “Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love, according to your great compassion blot out my transgressions. Wash away my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin…You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it; you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings.” Psalm 51: 1, 2; 16.

What was David saying? He did not base his plea on what he could do but on the mercy and compassion of God, and God could have mercy on him because He saw, not the blood of animal sacrifices but the blood of His own Son as an offering for David’s sin.

And what of Abraham? We know that Abraham was the father of the Jewish nation, but did Abraham have to be a Jew first before he could be accepted by God? Paul swept that notion away by pointing out that Abraham’s faith was credited to him as righteousness long before he was given the sign of circumcision.

Why did Paul take such pains to clarify this to his Roman readers? He wanted to bolster them up against the false teachers who were insisting on circumcision as a prerequisite for faith in Jesus. To Paul, this was unthinkable because there is nothing any human being can add to what Jesus did for us to make His forgiveness and all that flows from it more effective. When Jesus cried, “It is finished!” He satisfied every demand of a holy God and cancelled every debt we owe Him for a broken law.

Unfortunately, this pernicious teaching recurs in many subtle forms today – Christ plus baptism; Christ plus good works; Christ plus church attendance or communion or giving to the poor or serving Him in some “full time” capacity. All of these things are good and necessary but not to make more effective what Jesus did for us. They are the outflow of faith, not the reason for confidence.

The thief on the cross had no opportunity to add anything to his dying plea, “Lord, remember me…” It was enough to hear Jesus’ words of reassurance, “Today you will be with me in paradise.”

The tragedy for those who feel that they must earn their salvation by some addition to faith in Jesus, is that they will never know the blessedness of sins forgiven of which David spoke because they will never know when they have done enough to satisfy God’s holy law.

But far worse is the truth that any effort on our part to add to Jesus’ finished work actually cancels God’s grace. The moment we put our trust in something we have done we make everything Jesus did useless for us.

“Mark my words! I, Paul tell you that if you let yourselves be circumcised, Christ will be of no value to you at all.” Galatians 5:2. 

What reassurance for the Gentiles who were wrestling with this problem! Paul’s watertight argument must have settled the question for them. The answer to their dilemma came, not from human reason but from God’s Word and Paul used it with effect to reassure them that their faith in Jesus had opened the door to God’s grace. Circumcised or not, they were acceptable to God because God’s mercy came to them, not because of what they did, but because of what Jesus did for them.

And for us!

Acknowledgement

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

THE SLAIN LAMB

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THE SLAIN LAMB

“David says the same thing when he speaks of the blessedness of the one to whom God credits righteousness apart from works:

“Blessed are those whose transgressions are forgiven,                                                                     whose sins are covered.                                                                                                                     Blessed is the one                                                                                                                             whose sin the Lord will never count against him.” Romans 4:6-8.

Now we have another problem. If God can only forgive sin on the basis of the death of His Son, how could David experience the blessedness of knowing that his sins had been forgiven when he lived long before Jesus?

The writer to the Hebrews made it clear that animal blood can never remove sin. It is only a picture of the greater sacrifice – that of God’s perfect Lamb.

“The law is only a shadow of the good things that are coming – not the realities themselves. For this reason, it can never, by the same sacrifices repeated endlessly year after year, make perfect those who draw near to worship. Otherwise, would they not have stopped being offered? For the worshippers would have been cleansed once for all, and would no longer have felt guilty for their sins. But those sacrifices are an annual reminder of sins.” Hebrews 10:1-3

“But when this priest had offered for all time one sacrifice for sins, He sat down at the right hand of God…for by one sacrifice He has made perfect forever those who are being made holy.” Hebrews 10:12, 14.

Did David somehow understand that his sin was forgiven on the basis of a sacrifice that was perfect and acceptable to God for all time? On what basis did the children of Israel escape the angel of death when he passed over Egypt and struck down the firstborn of the Egyptians? By obeying God’s instruction to paint the blood of a lamb on the door frames of their houses, they were placing their faith in God’s promise and in the blood of a lamb.

Jesus was often in trouble with the religious leaders for forgiving sin. They accused Him of blasphemy because only God can forgive sin. On what basis did Jesus have the right to forgive sin? Was it because He was God? But God, according to His own decree, declared  that the only basis upon which sin can be forgiven was the death of a human being who had no sin of his own.

Now let’s look at God’s response.

“For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your ancestors, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect. He was chosen before the creation of the world, but was revealed in these last times for your sake.” 1 Peter 1:20.

“Then I saw a Lamb, looking as if it had been slain, standing at the centre of the throne, encircled by the four living creatures and the elders …The Lamb who was slain from the foundation of the earth…” Revelation 5:6; 13:8.

Since God exists outside of time, He views the effects of what Jesus did on the cross, although it happened at a time in history, as spanning all time, not just time after Jesus died.

The sacrificial system incorporated in the Mosaic Law was intended, not to be the basis for the forgiveness of sin, but a visual aid to help His people understand the nature of, and remedy for sin. When they trusted in the shed blood of a sacrificial lamb for the forgiveness of their sin, they were actually acknowledging God’s provision of a perfect Lamb that would deal with sin once and for all, and trusting in His promise of forgiveness.

The Israelites learned slowly, through a process; one lamb for a family when the angel of death passed over them on one occasion, memorialised by their annual celebration of Passover; one goat for a nation to forgive their sins for one year and, finally, one Lamb, God’s Son, for the world, once for all.

“He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world.” 1 John 2:2.

“For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring us to God.” 1 Peter 3:18.

Acknowledgement

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