Tag Archives: Standing

PAUL’S HAPPY LETTER…TOGETHER – 6a

Bible Study, ,

“Above all, you must live as citizens of heaven, conducting yourselves in a manner worthy of the Good News about Christ. Then, whether I come and see you again or only hear about you, I will know that you are standing together with one spirit and one purpose, fighting together for the faith, which is the Good News.

Don’t be intimidated in any way by your enemies. This will be a sign to them that they are going to be destroyed, but that you are going to be saved, even by God himself. For you have been given not only the privilege of trusting in Christ but also the privilege of suffering for him.”

‭‭Philippians‬ ‭1‬:‭27-‭29‬ ‭NLT‬

Standing…fighting…struggling together…this doesn’t sound like an easy ride. God’s children were never meant to be pushovers. There is a resolve built into their spirit that refuses to give way under pressure. 

There is a stark contrast between the Christian’s inner life and the outer struggle. Where grace and peace are operating inside, striving, struggling, and contending are the inevitable on the outside because we live in a fallen world which is anyways out to get us. 

This resolve… and, with it, the stubborn resistance that refuses to move from its firm foundation…that is, citizenship in God’s kingdom…is what keeps God’s children steadfast in the face of mortal danger. Later in this letter, Paul gives his readers the rope that ties us to God and pulls us towards the future. 

“Hold firmly to the word of life; then, on the day of Christ’s return, I will be proud that I did not run the race in vain and that my work was not useless.”

‭‭Philippians‬ ‭2‬:‭16‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Cling to what is indestructible and eternal…the word of life. We don’t hold on to “airy fairy” theories, or human philosophies, or people’s fanciful inventions about God and life. We hold on to the anchor that is attached and secured in heaven itself…the truth that Jesus Himself has revealed to us. 

“So God has given both his promise and his oath. These two things are unchangeable because it is impossible for God to lie. Therefore, we who have fled to him for refuge can have great confidence as we hold to the hope that lies before us. This hope is a strong and trustworthy anchor for our souls. It leads us through the curtain into God’s inner sanctuary.”

‭‭Hebrews‬ ‭6‬:‭18‬-‭19‬ ‭NLT‬‬

What is it that anchors our souls to the eternal realities that hold us steady in the fiercest of battles? Our hope lies in a person and in God’s promises and His oath about that person, Jesus…according to Hebrews…that cannot fail because these words are secured in heaven itself, in the Most Holy place, where God is enthroned. 

“We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. It enters the inner sanctuary behind the curtain, where our forerunner, Jesus, has entered on our behalf. He has become a high priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek.”

‭‭Hebrews‬ ‭6‬:‭19‬-‭20‬ ‭NIV‬‬

“For you have been given not only the privilege of trusting in Christ but also the privilege of suffering for him.”

Here’s the strategy… and we must note this carefully…

In the Old Covenant, the hub and focus of the covenant was loving God wholly and completely…and obedience to God’s laws, the evidence of that love… which His people found impossible to obey. 

“Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts.”

‭‭Deuteronomy‬ ‭6‬:‭4‬-‭6‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Although Jesus echoed this commandment in response to a question, He did not demand obedience to it as a condition for salvation. Instead, He gave us another condition for entry into His kingdom…”trusting in Christ”. 

“For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved.”

‭‭Romans‬ ‭10‬:‭10‬ NIV

Throughout the New Testament, the emphasis is on faith in Jesus, not loving Him, that leads to salvation. Loving Jesus is the evidence of, not the condition for salvation. Our life of obedience to Jesus in the kingdom of God is our response to His love for us. 

“This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins…We love because he first loved us.”

‭‭1 John‬ ‭4‬:‭10‬, ‭19‬ ‭NIV‬

Jesus’ requirement is never to love Him perfectly but to live out His love in us towards His people by  trusting in and identifying with Him in what we say and do…no matter the consequences. This, which Paul explains, is a privilege rather than an obligation. 

A privilege to believe…and a privilege to suffer! Whoever thought that suffering was a privilege? Peter fleshed this thought out for us. 

“For it is commendable if someone bears up under the pain of unjust suffering because they are conscious of God. But how is it to your credit if you receive a beating for doing wrong and endure it? But if you suffer for doing good and you endure it, this is commendable before God. To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps.”

‭‭1 Peter‬ ‭2‬:‭19‬-‭21‬ ‭NIV‬‬

The greatest of all privileges, strangely enough, is not sitting with Jesus in the heavenly realm, but suffering with Him through refusing to retaliate to the same kind of injustice He suffered…obeying the Lord, no matter the consequences, because this is the right thing to do…

“Son though he was, he learned obedience from what he suffered”

‭‭Hebrews‬ ‭5‬:‭8‬ ‭NIV‬‬

When we view suffering for doing right as a privilege rather than a punishment, our attitude changes…resentment to rejoicing!

“But rejoice inasmuch as you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed. However, if you suffer as a Christian, do not be ashamed, but praise God that you bear that name.”

‭‭1 Peter‬ ‭4‬:‭13‬, ‭16‬ ‭NIV‬‬

What s strange way to respond to suffering! 

“The apostles left the Sanhedrin, rejoicing because they had been counted worthy of suffering disgrace for the Name.”

‭‭Acts‬ ‭5‬:‭41‬ ‭NIV‬‬

This is something the world can never understand…a transformation inside so radical that it turns persecution into a privilege. If we are armed with this conviction, there is nothing the world can ever do to God’s people that can crush or destroy such a spirit. 

How else can we reveal to the world that God is our supreme authority and that we trust and fear nothing outside of Him?

To be continued

‭

PUT ON THE WHOLE ARMOUR OF GOD – 4

Christian Life, ,

Ephesians 6:14 NLT
[14] “Stand your ground, putting on the belt of truth and the body armor of God’s righteousness.”

The next piece of “armour” covers our chest, protecting our lungs and heart, the most vital parts of our bodies without which we cannot live. What do our lungs and heart represent? Our lungs provide the oxygen our bodies need to function efficiently. Our hearts pump blood, carrying oxygen and nutrients to every cell in our bodies and waste matter away to be eliminated.

Air and nutrients are the essential ingredients that keep us alive. Truth is the spiritual counterpart that keeps us spiritually alive, drawn into our spirits as we take in the Word that influences our every thought and action.

Righteousness is our standing in God. He has cancelled the guilty verdict against us and rewritten our standing from “guilty” to “not guilty”. Regardless of our day-to-day thoughts and actions, we are permanently righteous because Jesus gave us His own righteousness.

2 Corinthians 5:21 NIV
[21″God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.”

Keeping our standing in righteousness always in mind, even if we sin, is the safeguard we have against one of Satan’s favourite tactics…condemnation!

Oh, how he enjoys accusing us when we have stepped out of line! He piles on the condemnation, trying to convince us that God is finished with us!

What an indictment against a merciful and faithful God who has assured us that we are forever righteous which is our standing in His grace and can never be taken away. We may blow it, but God has made provision even when we sin.

1 John 2:1-2 NLT
[1] “My dear children, I am writing this to you so that you will not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate who pleads our case before the Father. He is Jesus Christ, the one who is truly righteous. [2] He himself is the sacrifice that atones for our sins—and not only our sins but the sins of all the world.”

Hiw do we deal with condemnation?

First, we identify the voice of the accuser. Jesus said that the Holy Spirit convinces us of righteousness. What does He mean?

John 16:8 NLT
[8]”And when he comes, he will convict the world of its sin, and of God’s righteousness, and of the coming judgment.”

Although three groups are not specifically categorised, the Holy Spirit has a focus on, first, unbelievers (the world). He convicts them of sin. Second, He convicts believers, not of sin since our own conscience does that for us…

1 John 3:21 NIV
[21]”Dear friends, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence before God…”

Romans 2:14-15 NIV
[14] “(Indeed, when Gentiles, who do not have the law, do by nature things required by the law, they are a law for themselves, even though they do not have the law. [15] They show that the requirements of the law are written on their hearts, their consciences also bearing witness, and their thoughts sometimes accusing them and at other times even defending them.)”

…but of righteousness. He draws attention to our standing before God. Sin is a temporary lapse but the Spirit calls us to righteousness. His strategy is not to intensify our guilt but to call us back to who we are!

The third category in the Holy Spirit’s trilogy of focus is Satan. His destiny is judgment from which he can never escape. When he tries to condemn the sinning believer, the Spirit convinces him of his fate.

Our protection against the devil’s accusations, then is to remember and stand on our standing in righteousness before God. No matter what, we are forever righteous, guaranteed by Christ’s righteousness in us, and nothing can change our position.

We must breathe righteousness so that it can circulate and nourish our every thought and action. No matter what strategy Satan uses to try to breach our breastplate of righteous, it remains impenetrable because God said so, we believe it, and we are safe!

“This is the air I breathe
This is the air I breathe
Your holy presence
Living in me/2/
This is my daily bread
This is my daily bread
Your very word
Spoken to me
And I… I’m desparate for you
And I… I’m lost without you
This is air I breathe
Your holy presence
Living in me
This is my daily bread
This is my daily bread
Your very word
Spoken to me
And I… I’m desparate for you
And I… I’m lost without you”
REPEAT.
(Source: Musixmatch
Songwriters: Joseph Oscar Mettle
This Is the Air I Breathe lyrics © Ghmusic Publishing And Management)

We have a safeguard, a gauge if you like, that helps us to stay on track if and when we sin. We’ll examine this piece of our armour in our next post.

To be continued…