We have been discussing the attributes of God for the last several weeks. Romans 1:20 says
For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities–his eternal power and divine nature–have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse.
If you have missed any of our previous discussions they can be found on THE ROAD THROUGH ROMANS PAGE.
What do we mean when we say God is gracious? Watch this.
Today as we walk through Romans we are talking once again about the power of Grace. If you have missed any of our discussions on the Book of Romans you can catch up on THE ROAD THROUHG ROMANS PAGE.
Yesterday we spoke about the Christian’s calling to a holy and separate life. The oft asked question is “how is holiness to be achieved by the ordinary person who cannot withdraw from the world into a monastery or some cave in the mountain heights?”
Let me start by saying that I don’t think God calls many people to the monastic life or the life of a hermit. Holiness or separation is not something you need to come out of the world physically to achieve. Holiness was meant to be achieved by every Christian not just full time clergy or cloistered brothers and sisters. As Christians we are to be in the world just not of it. The way we achieve that is through two gifts Paul continually blesses his audiences with: Grace and Peace.
He blesses the Roman Church with these in verse 7 of chapter 1 “Grace and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.”
Both grace and peace are gifts that come from God. We cannot earn them nor can we create them by our own power. Grace- charis is composed of two parts.
First, it is favor that comes to us even though we don’t deserve it. God likes you best and He likes me best too and there is nothing we can do about that. God always wants the best for us. God is always pulling for us and never comes to a point where He desires to dessert us. Even when He judges us or disciplines us it is in the hope that He will be able to get us back on the right track.
The second part of grace is the power to help us do those things we are too weak to do ourselves. God calls us to lives of supernatural achievement. He calls us to lives that can only be lived if He invades us with power to do things we cannot do ourselves. Don’t be surprised that the thing God requires of you is too hard for you to do. If it wasn’t bigger than you, too hard for you or in the realm of the impossible you wouldn’t need grace.
We cannot live without God’s favor or His power. We need His grace and we need to apply it to our practical situations. So let me asked where do you need to pray God’s grace to help you today?
We have been having a lively discussion about holiness over the last week.
If you missed any part of our convo you can join it…
Yesterday I asked you to explain the differences between King Saul’s heart and King David’s heart…
Here are some of the differences I see…
Saul started from a standpoint of blessing and worshipped God after his own plan disobeying God and brought a curse.
David started from the standpoint of a curse and worshipped God the way God commanded in obedience and brought a blessing.
Both David and Saul worshipped. Both David and Saul sacrificed sheep and oxen as their style of worship. If they had been worshipping today they would have sung the same songs; But Saul worshipped his own way. David worshipped God’s way. Saul worshipped in a way that benefitted himself and made him comfortable. David worshipped in a way that cost him personally. Saul gained personally in his style of worship. David sacrificed personally in God’s worship. David was one of the faithful. Saul was one of the unfaithful. David was one whom God approved. Saul was one whom God said, “I never knew you. Depart from me you evil doer.”
It all came down to obedience. Saul wasn’t supposed to offer a sacrifice on an altar he was supposed to offer a sacrifice on the battlefield. David wasn’t supposed top offer a sacrifice on the battlefield he was supposed to offer a sacrifice on the altar. In the end David ended up doing the will of the Lord and was approved. Saul ended up disobeying and even his sacrifices of worship were thrown out.
Christianity is not about us worshipping God in a way that is comfortable to us. It is about God period. When we focus on God in our worship and obey God in our Christianity then He takes care of us. But when we focus on ourselves and make our worship about our fullness and make our obedience to God conditional on our comfort then we block His care and we end up with lack.
We received a prophetic message last week in church that reminded us everything we needed was supplied in the cross.
You may say, “Pastor J I cannot be faithful. It is too hard.”
Brother, Sister your faithfulness was provided for in the cross. It is not a condition of your salvation. It is a provision of your salvation, but it is a provision you must make use of.
The saved are obedient because they can be and because they must be.
Here is the good news obedience is possible for you. If you have accepted Christ he has provided not just forgiveness for you but the power to be obedient. I am here today to tell you that if you have not used the power to obey up until today you can begin using it today. And you must use it today. Receiving grace is only done when we receive forgiveness and the power to change. Jesus is still supplying the power and He wants you to call on the power to be holy even more than you want to call on it yourself.
He desperately wants to say to you, “Child I know you enter into my joy and be blessed for the righteousness I poured into you.”
Today maybe you have said yes to Jesus and you have asked and received His forgiveness for your sins. But perhaps there is still some sin in your life that you are struggling with that you are afraid might cause you to be called, by God, a worker of iniquity. Today the power for victory lies before you and just like you received forgiveness you can receive holiness and power to overcome your sin. If you need that power in any area of your life would you pray this pray with me?
Prayer: Dear Lord Jesus I thank you for the forgiveness for my sins. I receive it right now and admit I need it; But I know grace is about more than just forgiveness it is about power to change. So Jesus come to me. I receive all of your grace today. I receive forgiveness and I receive the power to change. Thank you that from this moment on I am going to begin to change. A-men!
Over the last several days we have been discussing four mindsets regarding the Bible which hinder people from developing fruitful relationships with God.
If you missed any portion of our previous discussion it can be found in:
Today we begin discussing the third destructive mindset in our series
The next attitude or mindset that is prevalent in the world and in the church today is,
This mindset is found in the person who comes to Jesus, hears preaching about His death on the cross and comes to the altar to say the sinner’s prayer and then thinks they are saved because they said a bunch of words. The problem is they miss a step. They never repent.
This is the person who goes on living in their sin, living in violation of the Word of God and who refuses to even try to change.
This is the person who when confronted with their sin says, “You have no right to judge me because I am not under law but under grace.”
This is the person who says, “That’s Old Testament teaching. Law teaching. I don’t have to obey the law because Jesus died so I don’t have to.”
“I don’t have to tithe.”
“I don’t have to quit getting drunk.”
“I don’t have to quit watching pornography.”
“I don’t have to stop sleeping with my girlfriend.”
“I’m saved by grace.”
This is a misunderstanding of the New Covenant, the new binding agreement, we have with God.
To people who believe this lying mindset the Prophet Jeremiah and the writer to the Hebrews say the same thing.
“This is the covenant I will make with the people of Israel
after that time,” declares the Lord.
“I will put my law in their minds
and write it on their hearts.” Jeremiah 31:33
When we receive grace, God writes His word on our minds and hearts. The law gets inside of us. It is not just in a book we read anymore. It becomes woven into the very fabric of our being. That is why when a true Christian sins it is so painful, because now the Word of God the law is written on our hearts. When we violate it, it causes us greater discomfort than we ever had before. That is what we call conviction of sin.
Paul the apostle said it this way in his letter to the Romans,
“Well then, should we keep on sinning so that God can show us more and more of his wonderful grace? 2Of course not! Since we have died to sin, how can we continue to live in it? 3Or have you forgotten that when we were joined with Christ Jesus in baptism, we joined him in his death? 4For we died and were buried with Christ by baptism. And just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glorious power of the Father, now we also may live new lives.
5Since we have been united with him in his death, we will also be raised to life as he was. 6We know that our old sinful selves were crucified with Christ so that sin might lose its power in our lives. We are no longer slaves to sin. 7For when we died with Christ we were set free from the power of sin. 8And since we died with Christ, we know we will also live with him. 9We are sure of this because Christ was raised from the dead, and he will never die again. Death no longer has any power over him. 10When he died, he died once to break the power of sin. But now that he lives, he lives for the glory of God. 11So you also should consider yourselves to be dead to the power of sin and alive to God through Christ Jesus.
12Do not let sin control the way you live;a do not give in to sinful desires. 13Do not let any part of your body become an instrument of evil to serve sin. Instead, give yourselves completely to God, for you were dead, but now you have new life. So use your whole body as an instrument to do what is right for the glory of God. 14Sin is no longer your master, for you no longer live under the requirements of the law. Instead, you live under the freedom of God’s grace.
Romans 6:1-13
Christian there is a law in the grace. There is a way that grace must be applied and there is a way grace will demand we live. When we violate the Word of God and try to say “It’s OK” because we are under grace we do so at our own peril and to our own hurt.
Grace requires more holiness of us than the law ever could. Don’t you know that the law is God’s minimum standard?
The Law says “Do not kill. Do not commit adultery.”
Grace says, “Don’t even hate anybody. Don’t even think lustfully.”
Then it says, “and by the way God will now pour the power to achieve that higher level into you.”
By yourself you can’t even achieve the minimum standard with grace you can achieve even more.
Christians who cut pieces of the Bible out and who say “I don’t have to obey that part because I am not under law but under grace” short change themselves from ever achieving the part of grace that is miraculous.
Tell me what you think.
“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.” Prove. 9:10
“Through love and faithfulness sin is atoned for, through the fear of the Lord evil is avoided.” Prov. 16:6
“For God so loved the world he gave His only son that whoever believes in him should ot perish but have everlasting life.” John 3:16
“For it is by grace you have been saved through faith- and this not from yourselves it is the gift of God- not of works so that no man can boast.
” Eph. 2:8
A young preacher recently preached a real old-fashioned barn-burner of a sermon at our church. You know one of those messages that called the people not just to confess their sins and ask Jesus for forgiveness but a message about how it was necessary to let God change you… to repent.
I had someone approach me afterwards a little upset that we felt the need to address people in their sins and tell them that they had to get the problems “fixed”. I was reminded that the Christian life is all about grace and God’s love and that we ought to focus on pointing people to Jesus rather than pointing out people’s sins.
A few weeks before this I sat with a couple who lamented that preaching about sin had left our pulpits and that Christianity had become a “feel good faith” rather than one that produced actual healing.
WHO’S RIGHT?
Ah and there you find the conundrum that confronts pastor’s everyday.
The battle of whom to listen to about what should be preached from the pulpit is an impossible one to win if you are considering what people want to hear. Pastor’s aren’t called to preach what people want to hear. They are called to preach what people need to hear. ..The whole counsel of God as it is revealed in Scripture.
This is not a popularity contest we are competing in. It is a battle for souls and communities of souls at that. We can no more preach just the love of God than we can preach just the judgment of God. Every congregation is comprised of people who need the tenderest touch of God’s mercy and of people who need the hardest kick in the pants the Holy Spirit can deliver.
The fear of God needs to be preached and it needs to be lived. The mercy of God needs to be preached and it needs to be received.
If your preacher is not preaching both the fear of the Lord and the mercy of the Lord then you are getting short-changed. Conversely if you are not living in both the fear of the Lord and the mercy of the Lord you are short-changing your church and the Lord.
Folks this is not about our preferences or what we like. It is about truth and balance and serving a God who died for us!
This of course means that all those folk who say they do not need the church but can worship in the woods with the squirrels are missing out on something. What do you think?
I came into work this morning and found this letter of encouragement in my mailbox. I share it with you (by permission) in hopes that it may bring some light into any darkness you currently walk in:
Jesus Is the Light In Our Darkness
by Dale Stevens
When we are living in darkness we don’t always know we are in darkness. Sometimes the darkness we live in is just a normal way of life for us. Now, normal is whatever we are used to. Growing up the patterns that we see from our parents and all those living around us become our patterns, some good, some bad. These patterns we have learned can cause us great pain: hurt, feelings of loneliness, low self-esteem, despair, depression, discouragement, unbelief, fear, anxiety, and hopelessness.
Sometimes we become withdrawn. We look around us at others and see them happy and joyful, family and friends having fun and getting along together, and we have a desire to have a life like that. Yet sometimes it feels like we are walking in a cloud. The desire is to step out of that cloud and walk into the light of peace and joy; But the darkness is so thick it totally surround us.
BUT WAIT! THERE IS GOOD NEWS.
The Bible says that, Jesus is the light of the world.
The word light means: daytime, brightness, illumination and exposure to the truth
Psalm 1390: 11,12 “Darkness will not be dark to you (anymore). For darkness is as light to you!”
It may take a while to walk through, but remember Jesus is the light. Sometimes He shines as if coming through the fog, but as the fog lifts the Light gets brighter and brighter. And so it is with the healing process. It is step by step!
“Nothing can save us that is possible. We who are about to die demand a miracle.” W.H. Auden
“God deals with people not with a natural therefore, but with a miraculous nevertheless. There never has been a situation so dark that the positive light of grace cannot dispel the darkness.” Karl Barth
Lillie-Put 