No Room for Pious Christians

               Feeling like you don’t measure up is an awful feeling.  At times one can wonder if they should just give up trying to measure up altogether. The desire for approval, acceptance, and to be loved comes natural and yet can be very frustrating if not experienced.  Once that feeling of being accepted and loved is experienced, it creates a special warmth inside of us all.  The danger is that we can then become an exclusive group of people, rejecting others until they reach the same standards that we have “attained” in order to accept them. 

                  Most people feel that their perspective on life, religious beliefs, and personal preferences is the only one that matters, although it may never be said.  Many people would consider themselves perfectly balanced and represent the center point around which everyone and everything else should be measured.  However, if I understand Scripture correctly, the only center point that matters is Jesus Christ and His righteousness for each of us, and we all fall far short of that standard (Rom. 3:23).

                  The apostle Paul wants believers to understand that the mystery of the Gospel is that Christ loves all men and women equally.  There is no preference or preferred standing when it comes to His love for our souls (Gal. 3:27-28).  No sinner comes more stained with sin than another or is harder to save.  Every sinner who comes to know Christ and puts his or her belief in Him alone is dressed in Christ’s righteousness.  There is no advanced standing for Jews over Gentiles.  God gives equal peace and righteousness to all men through Christ.  This is the mystery of the Gospel that believers are equal, and that they are united as one person through the work of Jesus Christ on the cross.  The payment required was His blood.

                  The problem is that believers can and do at times represent a religious elitism that hinders and misrepresents the Gospel message.  This type of spirit actually preaches another Gospel (a false gospel) that is not Biblical.  God reached equal distance to save us as He does the worst of sinners, for which the apostle Paul called himself (Eph. 3:8).  Some Christians are ashamed of the Gospel and never share it with others, but are grateful that they have been blessed with it.  Paul said that he would not be ashamed of the Gospel because it was the necessary message (the power of God unto salvation) that sinners needed to hear for the sake of the salvation of their souls (Rom. 1:16). 

                  There is no room for pious Christianity in the church or outside of the church.  Rather, a life and spirit of humility that drives believers to want to share the transformational Gospel should be our focus each day.  Imagine what could happen if we as Christians welcomed people the way Christ welcomed and valued others.  There is no room for an exclusive, proud, or pious spirit in the Body of Christ.

Strangers from God

I just returned from Israel this week and if there is one thing that has been reinforced on the trip it has been the work of Christ's love for His people.  Love drove Christ to seek and save the lost.  It was love that drove Christ to act and serve in very unconventional ways towards others who despised Him.  It was through love that Christ set aside His glory in exchange for suffering.  It was through love that Christ humbled Himself as a servant in order that we could truly experience God.   The Apostle Paul says, "...remember that you were at that time separated from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world.  But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ" (Eph. 2:12-13).

Many people are intrigued and want to know more about Jesus Christ and yet not everyone comes to know Him as Savior and Lord.  It is easy to lose sight of Christ and fail to remember why He came and the problem He solved while absorbing the landscape and adventures of Israel (where Christ walked, performed miracles, lived and died ).  Most Jews do not accept Jesus Christ as the Messiah and are still awaiting the true Messiah to come and to bring salvation.  Most Jews are just as lost as the world around us and have a need for Jesus Christ.  All men are strangers from God and are brought near to Him in a relationship when they accept the gift of Christ and His forgiveness.  Jesus Christ is the only one who can span the chasm between us and God.  He draws us near to God and it demanded the blood of Jesus Christ on a cruel Roman cross.

Needless to say, Christ was nowhere to be found in Israel because He is risen and is presently seated at the right hand of God.  It is where we would expect Him to be!  Christ has gained the victory over death and sin and we can now enjoy a relationship with the God of the universe each moment of every day as a result of Christ's sacrifice.  It was indeed amazing to walk down many of the same roads that Christ traveled and to stand in synagogues where Christ would have once taught.  However, the greatest act of love was when Christ laid down on the cross and allowed the soldiers to drive the nails into His hands and feet in order to draw us near to God.  It was amazing to think that Jesus Christ (God in the flesh) walked this earth and lived with a purpose to redeem mankind.  The trip was valuable as it provided an incredible backdrop for interpreting Scripture.  The time in Israel helped me to understand the broader picture of Christ's mission and the impact that He had in such a short time of ministry on this earth.  The world is still talking about His love and faithfulness to the Father and His people.  I hope to revisit the Holy Land of Israel and to take many of you back with me to appreciate the depths of Christ's love and ministry.

We Are Trophies of God's Grace

The Apostle Paul considered himself to be the chief of all sinners (1 Timothy 1:15) and yet God chose to glorify Himself through Paul.  We are also told in 1 Corinthians 1:27 that, "God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong."  God works through the imperfection of individuals to glorify His holy name and to make His name great amongst the nations.  He is not concerned about our previous status because He dresses every believer in the righteousness of Jesus Christ when they come to Him as Savior (Romans 13:14).  Regardless of our stained, sketchy, and shameful past God wants to shine through us as a testimony of transformation that He brings as it tells of His greatness.  It is best that we always understand that it is God's power that enables us to accomplish things for Him.

The apostle Paul reminds us in 2 Corinthians 12:9-11, "But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong."  There is no need to be ashamed of our past as Christ has given forgiveness!  He loves to heal and bring order to chaos.  He loves to work through our inadequacies! 

There is no doubt about it that we as believers were once children of disobedience, lovers of darkness, dead in our trespasses and sins, and following the prince of the power of the air--Satan!  Our lives were not only messed up, but hopeless without Christ.  I LOVE how Paul states it, "But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus."

God desires to express His grace and kindness through our lives in order that the world may marvel at His goodness!  I marvel at the grace and kindness that He has displayed through me!  May we never get bogged down in our self-worth and fail to understand that God is working His kindness through us that He might be glorified--It happens because of what Christ did for us on Calvary.

What am I to Pray For?

As a young boy I was taught the importance of praying to God at meal time as well as before I would go to bed.  My prayers were  often quite simple and very selfish.  There is no doubt in my mind that God heard my prayers and I'm thankful that God loves us despite our selfishness and lack of understanding about the best things we could be praying for.

Over the years I have grown to understand that God desires us to come to Him in prayer for many other things as well:

• To praise His great name
• To seek forgiveness from Him
• To seek understanding and direction
• To petition Him for things that are dear to my heart
• To express thanks to Him for all of the things He has done for me
• To express my longing to be filled by Him alone
• To share my hurt, pain, and confusion
• To pray for His coming again

The apostle Paul, in Ephesians chapter 1, provides a few more things that we as believers could be praying for which are often forgotten.  Paul surfaces some things that are very near to the heart of God and they are things that God prizes.  Paul, by way of example, prayed for Christians that they would have the following things (Eph. 1:15-23):

1.  A greater knowledge of Him.  What an amazing thing to pray for!  The more we understand the character of God the more we know how to process life and interact with others.  The more we know about God the better we understand how to pray and trust Him in difficult times.  This knowledge will transform our lives from the inside out!
2. An understanding of the promises that God has made to us.  God has made many promises to those who believe in Him throughout Scripture.  These promises shape our perspective and give us hope.  They help us to understand what is important to God.  These promises help us to understand what the future brings.
3. An understanding of God's immeasurable power.  Paul prayed that Christians would understand the character and power of their God.  The same power that raised Jesus Christ from the dead is available to us today!  The desire is that Christians do not live powerless when God desires to be their strength.
4. An understanding of Christ's present position.  Christ reigns victoriously in heaven over everything!  He also reigns as head of His church (Maywood)!  The focus now and later is on Jesus Christ, the one we are to glorify.

We have so much we could be praying for and I believe Paul shared some of the greatest things that matter to the heart of God.  I pray that my prayer time would be marked by getting to know God more in order that I live, worship, serve, and pray differently.

Eternally Secure

Many Christians over the years have asked, "what is the one thing that we can do that would cause God to remove His love or rescind His salvation that He has given us?"  God has given us the answer to that question in Scripture, and the answer is that He never removes His love and He never rescinds our salvation.

The apostle Paul certainly cautioned believers not to abuse the grace of God by continuing to live a life of sin (Romans 6:1).  In fact, believers in Christ have nailed their old sinful nature and all of its evil desires to the cross of Christ and it should remain there.  Believers have been freed from sin and can live victoriously because of new life in Christ.  Paul says, "If we have been united with him like this in his death, we will certainly also be united with him in his resurrection. For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin-- because anyone who has died has been freed from sin." (Romans 6:5-7)

Jesus Christ has given believers the Holy Spirit to seal our inheritance (salvation) until the day of full redemption--when Christ returns to rule forever.  Paul says in Ephesians 1:13-14, "And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation.  Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit,  who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession—to the praise of his glory."  

The point is that God sent His Son Jesus Christ to be our redemption (for the forgiveness of sins) in order to draw believers into a permanent relationship with Him.   This could never be earned and it could never be taken away based on poor performance (Ephesians 2:8-9).  Those who have truly put their faith in Christ alone have been given a secure salvation "In Christ".  This ought to give us great reason to praise Him each and every day!  PLEASE don't buy into the thought that you can do "one more evil thing" that would remove your salvation.  This is not taught in Scripture and it undermines the grace and work of Christ on the cross.

Prayer:  "May I never cease to praise You for your constant love for me, even with all of my weaknesses and sinful thoughts.  Your grace is greater than all of my sin and your mercies are new every day!  May my heart abound with gratitude for your amazing plan of redemption found in Jesus Christ alone."

Leaving It to Him

David says, “But the Lord sits enthroned forever; he has established his throne for justice, and he judges the world with righteousness; he judges the peoples with uprightness. The Lord is a stronghold for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble. And those who know your name put their trust in you, for you, O Lord, have not forsaken those who seek you.” (Psalm 9:7-10)

God uses His own standards to judge the world and He works within His own time.  He is enthroned and positioned to judge at His perfect will, and righteousness is His standard.  David often prayed imprecatory (God’s judgment) prayers towards his enemies.  He desired God to swiftly bring His righteous hand down upon those who were a burden and obstacle to him.  I’ve always wondered if this was a kind and the right thing to do towards others.  However, the greatest comfort we can take is to place our enemies in the hand of God and rest in God’s ability to bring chastisement and correction if necessary.  God’s judgment will never be wrong and doesn’t need to be second-guessed.  God will never be bumped off of His throne and nobody ever gets away with injustice—what a comfort, but that means it applies to you and I as well.

David assures us that God is our stronghold when we are oppressed, especially during times of trouble.  We may not see or know how deliverance will come.  However, because we know the name and character of our God we are able to place our trust in Him over and over again, knowing that He sits enthroned, and is able to help all those who are unable to help themselves. Can we truly leave it up to Him to settle all scores?  Can we release the hand of the gavel in order to trust God to do what He does so well—judge in righteousness?

In Christ Alone I Stand

The more I study the Word of God the more God's story line comes together.  God, from eternity past planned a marvelous plan of redemption!  It finds its expression in the person of Jesus Christ who is presently seated at the right hand of God the Father (Mk. 16:19).  The apostle Paul tells us, "Blessed be the God and Father or our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in heavenly places, even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him." (Eph. 1:3-4) 

It is through the person Jesus Christ that we have redemption and it required His precious blood in order for us to experience the forgiveness of sins.  The idea of redemption is that Christ paid a price for us to be released from the slavery and bondage of our sin.  The penalty for our sin was so great that it condemned us to Hell.  The blood of Jesus Christ was the only payment that God would accept.  I love how Paul paints the picture that God "lavished" His grace upon us according to His riches (Eph. 1:7-8)

Through the story line of Scripture, God is making known the mystery of His will which He set forth in Christ (Eph. 1:9).  The fulfillment of God's amazing plan is "to unite all things in him, things in heaven and on earth" (Eph. 1:10).  This happens through Jesus Christ destroying the dividing wall of hostility between God and man as well as between man to man (Phil. 2:14).  Although there has been much uniting through the work of Christ, the process will not be complete until Christ returns to reign as our King.  Everything will be restored as it was intended.  God has always been in control and is at work even today!