Tag Archives: gift

FAITH IS THE KEY

March 21, 2021Bible StudyAbraham, gift, wagesLuella Campbell

FAITH IS THE KEY

“What then shall we say that Abraham, our forefather discovered in this matter? If, in fact, Abraham was justified by works, he had something to boast about – but not before God. What does Scripture say? “Abraham believed God and it was credited to him as righteousness.” Now to the one who works, wages are not credited as a gift but as an obligation. However, to the one who does not work, but trusts God who justifies the ungodly, their faith is credited as righteousness.” Romans 4:1-5.

Having laid out his case for the guilt of the whole world, and the impossibility of satisfying God’s righteous and holy standards by trying to keep the law, Paul moved on to build his case for God’s way of declaring people “not guilty” and making them acceptable to Him.

God could not sweep sin under the carpet. In the beginning, He made it clear to Adam that the penalty for disobedience would be death. He was obliged to honour His own word. When the first pair disobeyed Him, they were alienated from Him and brought the judgment of death upon themselves, the human race and the cosmos itself. There was nothing they could do to undo what they had done.

There was only one way to satisfy God’s justice and, at the same time, justify the guilty – if a human being, who had no sin of his own, would take on himself the penalty for sin on behalf of the sinful human race, then God could forgive sin and reinstate the sinner. God came in person, became a human being, subject to the same law that condemned all other humans, and passed the test. He was put to death as a lawbreaker but rose from the dead to prove both His innocence and His fulfilment of God’s requirement.

But how does what Jesus did become ours? Paul used accounting terms to explain how it happens. Each of us has an account with God. In the debit column is the record of our debt of sin. It begins with a nature that is bent on rebellion. Then, to our sin nature is added the mounting debt of sin that we owe day by day through thoughts, motives, attitudes and actions. All our efforts to add to our credit balance to try to cancel out our debt are futile because everything we do is tainted by sin.

“All of us have become as one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags; we all shrivel up like a leaf and like the wind our sins sweep us away.” Isaiah 64:6.

However, Jesus’ death paid our debt in full. Not only that but He also cancelled the very law that accuses us.

“He forgave all our sins, having cancelled the charge of our legal indebtedness, which stood against us, nailing it to the cross…” Colossians 2:13b, 14.

“But,” you argue, “How can God remove the standard by which He judges us? Does that mean that it does not matter what we do? Is there no longer any law by which God measures our behaviour?” God’s standards do not change. But He satisfied His own demands through the perfect life of His Son. He cancelled every debt in our debit column, writing across our debt “PAID IN FULL” and wrote in our credit column the name of Jesus which includes His perfect obedience.

No, God did not remove His standard. He put the Spirit of His Son in us to uphold and fulfil all His holy requirements and…He gave us His own nature to desire His ways in place of our own.

There is one more step needed to complete the transaction. It has to be personally received or else it remains ineffective. The basis of Adam’s sin (and confirmed by ours) was the rejection of God’s authority and a declaration of independence. To receive God’s gift of forgiveness is only part of the deal. The other part is to submit once again to His authority and return to His way of doing life.

God appointed His Son, Jesus, to be the ruler of His kingdom. He said to the rebel kings who tried to throw off His rule, “I have installed my king on Zion, my holy mountain.” Psalm 2:6.

Because of His perfect obedience, even to death, “God exalted Him to the highest place and gave Him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” Philippians 2:10, 11.

Faith in the finished work of Jesus, then, deletes our entire debit column, with an emphatic, “PAID IN FULL” writes in bold letters in our credit column, “JESUS’ RIGHTEOUSNESS”, closes the book and declares, “IT IS FINISHED”, and, in response to faith and, with open arms, welcomes the reconciled son back home to Father’s house.

Acknowledgement

FAITHFUL STEWARDS OF GOD’S GRACE

January 15, 2021Bible Studyfaithful stewards, gift, God's graceLuella Campbell

FAITHFUL STEWARDS OF GOD’S GRACE

Each of your should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms. If anyone speaks, he should do it as one who speaks the very words of God. If anyone serves, he should do it with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory and the power for ever. Amen. (1 Peter 4: 10, 11)

Get a hold of that!

Spiritual gifts – what are they? In many people’s book, they are the reason to put themselves a cut above other believers. ‘I have the gift of . . . ‘ Tongues? Word of knowledge? Discerning of spirits? Healing? Faith? Wisdom? These all have levels of superiority. If you have this gift, or that gift, you are a very spiritual Christian – in fact, if you can speak in tongues, you have the evidence that you are ‘Spirit-filled’! Really? Is that how Paul classified a true believer?

In my Bible the evidence of a child of God is clear:

For if you live according to the flesh, you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live. For those who are led by the Spirit are the children of God. (Rom. 8: 13, 14)

What is the purpose of spiritual gifts, then? Whose gifts are they? Some of us act as though they are our gifts – as though we earned them and we have them to enhance our prestige in the Christian world. God forbid! Spiritual gifts are gifts of the Spirit and they are lent to us for only one purpose – to serve the body of Christ. The Holy Spirit channels His power through ordinary human beings who are obedient to Him to minister to the needs of Jesus’s body.

We cannot claim to own any gift. The Holy Spirit gives them according to His will. He is free to give or withdraw His gifts as He chooses according to our availability and obedience. As always, we are to be stewards of God’s grace, not owners or dispensers as though we were handing out sweets t o little children. God’s gifts are a sacred trust. We cannot use them according to our whims but in obedience to His will.

There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit distributes them. There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. There are different kinds of working, but in all of them it is the same God at work. (1 Cor. 12: 4-6)

Spiritual gifts are not a title or an office but a function. Even functions like apostle, prophet, evangelist, pastor and teacher are not offices or titles which give us a position in the church; they are functions which serve Jesus’s body.

So, Christ Himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers to equip His people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up. (Eph. 4: 11, 12)

How tragic that people who are supposed to serve in these functions have taken them to be titles and used them to elevate themselves over their fellow believers as the authority in the church! Even people who have had theological training think that they are a cut above unlearned believers, as though head knowledge makes them superior to everyone else.

As for you, the anointing you have received from Him remains in you, and you do not need anyone to teach you. But as His anointing teaches you about all things and as that anointing is real, not counterfeit – just as it has taught you, remain in Him. (1 John 2:27)

Jesus chose relatively uneducated men to be His disciples so that He could teach them His truth and send them out to replicate Him in the world.

Spiritual gifts are a trust from God to us as His sons and daughters, not a reward for good behaviour, to be used to serve His people, not to enrich ourselves or to enhance our reputation. They will always remain His gifts, not ours. We are accountable to Him for what we do with them. We are to be stewards of His grace as faithful servants, always keeping the mind-set of a servant.

God’s grace is multi-faceted, ministering healing, deliverance and hope to the broken and helpless. He apportions His gifts of grace to reliable stewards who will use and not prostitute His gifts for the enrichment of self or others. In that spirit, let us give freely to the needy of that which He has given us.

A GIFT UNUSED

May 25, 2018Christian Lifefree, gift, thank you, unusedLuella Campbell

Have you ever given someone you love a gift, only to find that it has been stashed away unused? How hurt you would feel that your friendship was so little valued that the gift was tossed aside!

How does God feel when we value His gift of salvation so little that we neglect to appropriate everything He has done for us?

The psalmist asked the question, “How can I repay the Lord for all His goodness to me?” Psalm 116:12.

Sometimes we think that we have to do something to repay God or work to earn His salvation. We try harder to be good; we work harder to serve Him because it is our way of “repaying” Him for His love to us. Is it possible to “pay” God for His love?

Imagine if your friend, to whom you have lovingly given something that has taken you thought and planning, decides that he or she must repay you by working hard for you. He or she does everything they can to please you, to repay you for your generosity.

There is something wrong here. Does one have to pay for a gift? If so, then it is no longer a gift. How pleased would you be if your friend tried to pay for your gift? It would no longer be a gift, and the motive for giving – love and friendship – would be destroyed.

We find it difficult to receive God’s gift of salvation because we cannot imagine someone doing something so big for us without some kind of payment. What did God give us? He gave us Jesus, His only Son, not just as a person but as a bloody sacrifice to save us from our self-inflicted destruction.

I think the psalmist understood God’s heart and His intention when he went on to say, “I will lift up the cup of salvation and call on the name of the Lord. I will fulfil my vows in the presence of all His people.” Psalm 116:13-14.

What better way of showing gratitude for a gift than to use it for the purpose it was given. The psalmist affirmed his gratitude to God by drinking deeply of all the benefits of God’s salvation and by living out what God made him to be in the company of God’s people.

Instead of forgiving those who have offended us, we hang on to our grievances and refuse to let go of our “stuff”. Jesus made it possible for us to forgive and be free.

When we embrace Jesus and all He has done for us, we are saying a big” thank you” to God for all His goodness to us.

Gift of Righteousness

May 22, 2017Pastor's Deskgift, righteousnessPaul Smit

D ear Family

I think most people like to receive gifts. I know I certainly do. For me, the best kinds are always the unexpected ones, those not tied to a date or an occasion. The element of surprise somehow seems to make the gift a lot more desirable. The worst kind of gifts to receive has to be those that anticipate a return. I’ve given you one so I expect you to give me one. When that happens the pressure is on to perform and match or even to outdo. This can’t really be classified as giving. This is more like bribery, flattery, or at least a stroking of one’s pride. There is a gift that we have been given as believers which we cannot earn, or reciprocate, or try to match. The Apostle Paul writes in Romans 5:17 “For if, by the trespass of the one man, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive God’s abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ.” The gift of righteousness—wow! Made holy by his blood without a single bit of effort on our behalf besides a surrendered will. Many spend their entire lives trying to balance the scales of their behaviour. They try to do a bit more good than bad and, in doing so, presume to be on the right side of God. Unfortunately this thinking has even invaded the church. We often lose sight of the fact that he has done it all by his blood and presented us with this inestimable gift which knows no boundary to the repentant sinner. The moment we accept that gift of His righteousness, we are set free from the power of sin over our lives. I knew a dear man once whose favourite question to those he met was always, “Are you washed in the blood?” If our answer to that question is in the affirmative, then we can know without any doubt that we have been (and continue to be) made holy by his blood. It has happened and its effects will continue for all eternity. Hallelujah! Let’s grow up and believe His word that He has completely done what He said he has done. We have no cause or time to believe the whispers of evil to the contrary. There are no strings attached to this gift of righteousness!

Live For Others

February 4, 2015Bible Studyalert, gift, love, pray, serve, soberLuella Campbell

LIVE FOR OTHERS

The end of all things is near, Therefore be alert and of sober mind so that you can pray. Above all, love each other deeply because love covers over a multitude of sins. Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling. Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms. (1 Peter 4: 7-10)

Peter and Paul must have shared many hours together and many thoughts about their understanding of what the Christian journey was all about. Peter echoed Paul’s instructions about prayer which we have already studied in Col. 4. In fact, what he wrote is almost word-for-word Paul’s words.

Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful. (Col. 4: 2)

Prayer is a pivotal part of our lives as followers of Jesus. Prayer is the unique activity of a son. Jesus’s role on earth was to take us to the Father so that we can interact with Him as His sons and daughters. For what purpose? To get to know the Father, to listen to Him and to submit to His authority and His will. Our task is to reproduce Jesus on earth so that His will and purposes will overtake and replace the rebellious designs of mankind. We are here for Him, not Him for us. To listen to Him is our greatest privilege and responsibility and that happens, among other things, through prayer.

And for the rest, our lives are to be lived for others. Jesus came to earth both as a son and a servant. By serving people He served the Father. Strange as it may seem, a child’s primary responsibility is to learn submission and obedience and in so doing to serve his father. How else will the family unit be established? Unless God’s authority structures are followed, the unity He envisages in the family cannot happen.

The pattern for unity is the Godhead; each one serving the other for the mutual benefit of all. When unity is disturbed, the entire universe descends into chaos and disintegration. The way to establish and maintain unity is through mutual submission and loving service.

That brings me to another thought. Power in the kingdoms of men and in the kingdom of God are in direct opposition. In the world, power is exerted by one person over another. Power is about controlling other people for one’s own ends. If people do not reciprocate, the next step is force. Make them do what I want by whatever means works – intimidation, manipulation, domination. That is Satan’s way.

Power God’s way is through self-control. Part of the miracle of the new birth is the infusion of God’s nature into the believer. He has given us His nature – mirrored in Jesus so that real power begins to operate when we respond as Jesus did to sin. Jesus showed us how it is done. Submission to the Father motivated Him to take everything that was thrown at Him without retaliating. By not participating in the sin of those who crucified Him (and that includes you and me), Jesus put an end to it right there, in His body, when they nailed Him to the cross.

Our way is to react, retaliate, take revenge or allow our anger and hatred to fester inside. Sooner or later we will take it out on someone close to us, and so the sin of others is perpetuated in us and through us. The good news is that God is the just judge. We can leave it to Him to fight for us. How much better to let it go when we have been wronged, knowing full well that we can, like Jesus, entrust ourselves to Him who judges justly (1 Peter. 2: 23)

So, Peter said, instead of spending your time fighting your own cause, let God do it for you. It is better to spend your time serving others because, in this way you’ll be spreading goodwill around you instead of fomenting hatred and bitterness. This is the way of the kingdom. By serving others, we confirm our relationship to God as His children. We resemble Jesus, our elder brother, by acting the way He did and we, in the end, earn the right to have authority in God’s kingdom.

By investing our time and abilities in the wellbeing of others, at our own expense, we will grow in the likeness of God, whose nature is in us, and we will put to death the old selfish nature that leads to death.

Ebenezer Family Church

HE IS RISEN!