Always, those who follow Christ should be ready to part with whatever is sinful in their life and work, that Christ may be honored above all. Sins kept in the heart--poison the life, hide God's face, and shut out blessing. No matter what it may cost, our sins must be sacrificed, or they will destroy us!
"Many of those who believed now came and openly confessed their evil deeds. A number of them who had been practicing magic brought their books and burned them at a public bonfire. The value of the books was several million dollars!" Acts 19:18-19
(J. R. Miller, "Paul's Message for Today" 1904)
Taken from the Grace Gem: The burning of these old Ephesian books!
Showing posts with label sin. Show all posts
Showing posts with label sin. Show all posts
January 31, 2010
October 15, 2009
The Gracelessness (and Evil) of Self-Esteem Teachings
The extremely Biblely Pyromaniacs blog published a great post today by Dan Phillips titled: Self-help, self-esteem, self-destruction, and large, irresponsible mouths.
Consider the striking words of Jeremiah concerning those who promote self-contentment:
Thus says the Lord of hosts: “Do not listen to the words of the prophets who prophesy to you, filling you with vain hopes. They speak visions of their own minds, not from the mouth of the Lord. They say continually to those who despise the word of the Lord, ‘It shall be well with you’; and to everyone who stubbornly follows his own heart, they say, ‘No disaster shall come upon you.’”
(Jeremiah 23:16-17)
It is a powerful short warning about how self-esteem teachings go directly against the grain of what God really wants for you, which is His revealed will in the Bible).
Thus says the Lord of hosts: “Do not listen to the words of the prophets who prophesy to you, filling you with vain hopes. They speak visions of their own minds, not from the mouth of the Lord. They say continually to those who despise the word of the Lord, ‘It shall be well with you’; and to everyone who stubbornly follows his own heart, they say, ‘No disaster shall come upon you.’”
(Jeremiah 23:16-17)
July 22, 2009
But He Gives More Grace
(This is a repost, originally published June 18, 2008, under the title He Gives Grace to the Humble.)
James 4:1 says, "What causes quarrels and what causes fights among you? Is it not this, that your pleasures are at war within you?" (ESV). It goes on to say that these desires cause us to murder (hatred is murder in the heart), covet, fight and quarrel. "You do not have, because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your pleasures." (4:2,3). So there are two problems that our sinful nature leads us to fall into; 1) not asking God for things, and 2) asking with selfish and sinful motives. This causes all kinds of evil to bubble up within us.
James has a name for the people he described, "You adulteresses!" This is not referring to physical adultery, but to spiritual adultery, because it says, "Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God." Friendship with the world is enmity with God. That is strong language! The enemies of God are his enemies because they hate Him. "For behold, your enemies make an uproar; those who hate you have raised their heads." (Psalm 83:2). They do not want to love Him or obey Him. They would rather have God serve them by giving what they ask for in prayer, so they can use it to satisfy their own evil desires. "Your enemies take your name in vain." (Psalm 139:20).
Verse 5 says, "Or do you suppose it is to no purpose that the Scripture says, 'He yearns jealously over the spirit that he has made to dwell in us'?" This is why spiritual adultery is so horrible, because God is jealous over the spirit of His people. God wants our spirit to be set on Him. He is the only One who can truly satisfy us. Our worship and love must be for Him only, or else we are idolators. And after I read these verses, my heart broke. I knew that I'm guilty of these things. I know I still sin, even after He has given me His Holy Spirit to be with me. As A. W. Pink said, "I am vile." I feel this deep within me. But I have hope, and it is no small hope, but hope that is confident, joyful and full of expectation. Here's why:
"But he gives more grace." What?! That's crazy! "More grace"? To those who hate Him? To those who turn from Him to spiritual adultery? Yes, "Therefore it says, "God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble." Spiritual adultery is a pride issue. Every person on earth is guilty, and God is opposed to them because of their pride and resistance to His will. God opposes the proud. He does not allow them to get what they want, but gives them what they deserve, ultimately, hell. But there is hope for the humble, because He gives them grace. Those who are humble are the same who are guilty of cheating on God. They are humble because they know they are guilty and are at His mercy. Yet, He has grace for them. Not for the unrepentant, but for those who are humble. Humble because of their guilt. Humble because of their shame and because they now see what they have done to God. To them, "He gives more grace." Unbelievable!
I don't have time to go on about the rest of the verses in James four, but will end with this thought: How does God give grace to the humble and why? The answer to that question is one verse in Romans five: "For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life." (Romans 5:10). God opposes the proud, but gives grace to those who humble themselves in repentance, drawing near to Him and fleeing from sinful pursuits, because His Son died to reconcile them. Much more shall we who are reconciled, be saved by the life of the Son of God, who gave Himself for our sins and overcame our death by rising from the dead, so that we might live to God through Him.
If you are humbly trusting in Christ, will you join me in giving thanks to our God for His awesome grace? Praise His wonderful name!
December 13, 2008
Total Depravity in Romans One
This is a translation of Romans 1:18-32, which I just finished using The Resurgence Greek Project and The Blue Letter Bible for help interpreting the Greek. I call this the Total Depravity section, because it shows us our true human condition throughout the world since the fall of Adam in Genesis 3. Of course, nobody in the world thinks they are naturally this bad (nobody except Christians that is). The Jews in Romans chapter two sure had a difficult time accepting this about themselves, and so Paul dealt with them appropriately (See Romans Chapter 2).
I believe understanding our human sinful condition as it relates to God is extremely important in order for us to understand the absolutely amazing love and grace of God (1 John 4:10,16). Just to note, I tried to be as perfectly literal as I am able to be with my limited knowledge. I am by no means educated in the Koine Greek language. Ok, well here it is, Romans 1:18-32 (Personal Translation by P. T.):
Amen.
I believe understanding our human sinful condition as it relates to God is extremely important in order for us to understand the absolutely amazing love and grace of God (1 John 4:10,16). Just to note, I tried to be as perfectly literal as I am able to be with my limited knowledge. I am by no means educated in the Koine Greek language. Ok, well here it is, Romans 1:18-32 (Personal Translation by P. T.):
For the anger of God is being made known from heaven against all of the ungodliness and injustice of people who hold back the truth by their wrong doing. Because that which is well-known about God is clear to them, since God has shown it to them. This is because the invisible things of God and His eternal power and Godhood are already understood, being fully seen by the works done in the creation of the world, so that they have no excuse. For although they knew God they did not think of His glory and praise or give thanks to Him, but they became thoughtless and dark in their stupid heart. Calling themselves wise, they became stupid and ignorant. And they exchanged the glorious praise and honor of God with pictures that look like man and birds and animals and reptiles. Because of this God handed them over in the desires of their hearts to filthiness, to degrade their bodies with themselves. By that they exchanged the truth of God for the lie, and worshiped and served the creation instead of the Creator (Who is forever blessed! Amen.) In this way God handed them over to disgraceful passions, because women exchanged the natural use of their body for that which is unnatural. And in the same way, the men let go of the natural use of their body with the woman and burned out with lustful desire for one another, men with men doing shameful things and receiving back in themselves the reward for going off course. And just as they did not accept to hold God in recognition, God handed them over to a rejected mind, to do those things that are not acceptable. They were filled with all injustice, wickedness, greed, badness. They were full of resentment, murder, contention, deceit, wretchedness, gossip. They were slanderers, haters of God, abusive, proud, boastful, inventors of worthlessness, rebellious toward parents, stupid, disagreeing, unaffectionate, unmerciful. They realize the righteous requirement of God, that those who practice things like these deserve death, but they not only continue doing them, they also are pleased with others who practice them.My dear friends, this is exactly why no one can be saved by their works, because our works are all totally polluted and unclean before God (Isaiah 64:6). And don't think this description does not include ourselves in it. Because Paul said to the Jews who thought that way in Romans 3:9, "What then? Are we above others? Not at all! Because we have already made the accusation that Jews and Greeks are all under sin." So we find it to be true from this knowledge of our natural sinfulness, that "It is a faithful word and deserving total acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to be saving sinners, of whom I am chief." (1 Timothy 1:15). We who have recognized these things about ourselves, and have confessed to God in repentance and trusting faith in the Lord Jesus, we have found that we were saved solely by God's grace apart from any works we could perform (Ephesians 2:8-9; Romans 11:6). And as I've shown in other posts, this salvation turns sinners into saints by the gracious working of the power of God's Holy Spirit who pours love into our hearts (Romans 5:5).
Amen.
November 26, 2008
No Confidence in the Flesh
Thus says the LORD:
"Cursed is the man who trusts in man and makes flesh his strength,
whose heart turns away from the LORD."
(Jeremiah 17:5 ESV).
"Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD,
whose trust is the LORD."
(Jeremiah 17:7 ESV).
"Cursed is the man who trusts in man and makes flesh his strength,
whose heart turns away from the LORD."
(Jeremiah 17:5 ESV).
"Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD,
whose trust is the LORD."
(Jeremiah 17:7 ESV).
November 15, 2008
Romans 6:1-2: Should We Sin Because of Grace?
I was reveiwing my notes on Romans 6 in preparation for a Bible study on the beginning of the chapter, and I decided to post my brief notes on verses 1-2. Perhaps it may later be followed by more? Here is Romans 6:1:
"What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound?"
In response to Romans 5:20-21, where we learn that grace abounds even more where sin increased. Does that mean that we should keep on sinning so that grace may continue to abound? If grace is so much more abundant where sin is increased, then why not sin so much the more in order that grace may keep abounding? That is the question, and that is the issue most often brought up when the religious mind understands grace. The religious person responds in distrust: "What are you saying, that we can keep sinning so grace will abound?" While the non-religious person responds with antinomianism: "Wow! I can sin as much as I want and God's grace will cover it - that's great!" etc. But Paul makes it clear that this objection to grace, as well as the abuse of grace is not possible at all. For one thing, sin is not the cause for grace to abound. Paul didn't write in verse 20, "where sin increased, sin made grace abound all the more..." No, but rather he wrote, "but where sin abounded, grace did much more abound" (KJV). So since grace is a free gift of God and cannot be earned by good works, we should also realize that it cannot be earned by sin either. Grace is free, undeserved, and no sinning can bring more of it, since it is only freely given at God's own goodwill and pleasure.
In the next verses we find out just how impossible it is for us to continue in sin because of grace.
Romans 6:2
"By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it?"
The answer to the question in verse 1 is a strong, resounding NO! No way! May it never be!
Why? Paul answers the question with another question: How can we be dead and still be alive at the same time? In other words, we died to sin, so how can we be alive to it still? Those who are dead are no longer living, and those who have died to sin can no longer live in it anymore. It is an impossibility, a contradiction for a Christian to continue to live a sinful life, because he has died to sin.
I'm not forgetting the other objection to this teaching in Romans 6, and Paul didn't either, that is why we have Romans chapter 7. We are free from sin, yet we continue to fight with it until we are completely delivered from "this body of death". Nevertheless, we are dead to it, and so we walk in newness of life.
Let us remember, it is all of grace! And we must not forget it :D
"What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound?"
In response to Romans 5:20-21, where we learn that grace abounds even more where sin increased. Does that mean that we should keep on sinning so that grace may continue to abound? If grace is so much more abundant where sin is increased, then why not sin so much the more in order that grace may keep abounding? That is the question, and that is the issue most often brought up when the religious mind understands grace. The religious person responds in distrust: "What are you saying, that we can keep sinning so grace will abound?" While the non-religious person responds with antinomianism: "Wow! I can sin as much as I want and God's grace will cover it - that's great!" etc. But Paul makes it clear that this objection to grace, as well as the abuse of grace is not possible at all. For one thing, sin is not the cause for grace to abound. Paul didn't write in verse 20, "where sin increased, sin made grace abound all the more..." No, but rather he wrote, "but where sin abounded, grace did much more abound" (KJV). So since grace is a free gift of God and cannot be earned by good works, we should also realize that it cannot be earned by sin either. Grace is free, undeserved, and no sinning can bring more of it, since it is only freely given at God's own goodwill and pleasure.
In the next verses we find out just how impossible it is for us to continue in sin because of grace.
Romans 6:2
"By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it?"
The answer to the question in verse 1 is a strong, resounding NO! No way! May it never be!
Why? Paul answers the question with another question: How can we be dead and still be alive at the same time? In other words, we died to sin, so how can we be alive to it still? Those who are dead are no longer living, and those who have died to sin can no longer live in it anymore. It is an impossibility, a contradiction for a Christian to continue to live a sinful life, because he has died to sin.
A Death Poem:
Did you ever die?
What happens when someone dies?
First, they lose their ability to do anything. No more breathing, heart-beating, feeling, tasting, hearing, smelling, seeing. No more thinking, speaking, reading, writing, praying, being. No more moving.
Death takes everything away. No more wearing, buying, selling, enjoying. No more money, friends, family, health, house, city, town, pets, spouse, children, country.
All gain is lost. All hopes quenched. All plans ended. The past is gone, the future lost, the present restricted.
Death ends it all.
So, have you ever died? I don't mean physical death like I described above, because then you would not be reading this now. Have you died to this world? Have you died to sin? Have you died to self? Have you died to the law so that you may live to God in Christ who is the fulfillment and end of the law? Have you died with Christ, and so have you been raised to new life with Him? If so, just as you cannot live while being dead, you cannot continue in your old life of sin while being a Christian. That would be impossible.
I'm not forgetting the other objection to this teaching in Romans 6, and Paul didn't either, that is why we have Romans chapter 7. We are free from sin, yet we continue to fight with it until we are completely delivered from "this body of death". Nevertheless, we are dead to it, and so we walk in newness of life.
Let us remember, it is all of grace! And we must not forget it :D
July 23, 2008
Total Depravación, part 2
That title translates into "Total Depravity" from the Spanish tongue. It means totally corrupt, depraved, wicked, sinful, rebellious, ungodly... totally unworthy of grace. (Note: the following verses are really found in the Bible. I am pretty sure you will not find many of them like this in the Quran, the book of Mormon, or any other religious book that claims to be from God, except the only true book - the Bible. They are a powerful reminder of exactly why we need Jesus Christ as our Savior, and why it is by grace we are saved and not by our own efforts).
Here are more of the verses on my Depravity Verse list:
Again:
Man says, "Man is good."
God says, "Man is evil."
Who is telling the truth?
John 3:19 And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil.
John 7:7 The world cannot hate you, but it hates me because I testify about it that its works are evil.
Romans 3:10-12 as it is written: "None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God. All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one."
Romans 5:6-10 For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will scarcely die for a righteous person - though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die - but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life.
Romans 5:18-19 Therefore, as one trespass led to condemnation for all men, so one act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all men. For as by the one man's disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man's obedience the many will be made righteous.
Romans 7:18 For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out.
Romans 8:7-8 For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God's law; indeed, it cannot. Those who are in the flesh cannot please God.
1Corinthians 2:14 The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned.
and return to the LORD!
Let us lift up our hearts and hands to God in heaven:
"We have transgressed and rebelled,
and you have not forgiven." (Lamentations 3:40-42 ESV).
"Restore us to yourself, O LORD, that we may be restored!" (Lamentations 5:21).
Here are more of the verses on my Depravity Verse list:
Again:
Man says, "Man is good."
God says, "Man is evil."
Who is telling the truth?
John 3:19 And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil.
John 7:7 The world cannot hate you, but it hates me because I testify about it that its works are evil.
Romans 3:10-12 as it is written: "None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God. All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one."
Romans 5:6-10 For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will scarcely die for a righteous person - though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die - but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life.
Romans 5:18-19 Therefore, as one trespass led to condemnation for all men, so one act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all men. For as by the one man's disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man's obedience the many will be made righteous.
Romans 7:18 For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out.
Romans 8:7-8 For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God's law; indeed, it cannot. Those who are in the flesh cannot please God.
1Corinthians 2:14 The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned.
Ephesians 2:1-3
And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience—among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.
Ephesians 2:12
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.
Ephesians 2:17-19
Now this I say and testify in the Lord, that you must no longer walk as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their minds. They are darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, due to their hardness of heart. They have become callous and have given themselves up to sensuality, greedy to practice every kind of impurity.
The doctrine of Total Depravity is seen most horrifically during the events of the crucifixion of our Lord. When He was betrayed. When His disciples were asleep. When He was arrested. When they bound Him, mocked Him, spit in His face, beat Him, judged Him, condemned Him. When the Sanhedrin questioned Him, and when He had answered they accused their own promised Messiah of blaspheming (truly they were evil to the core). They had Him delivered to Pilate, then to Herod and back to Pilate again. Even though they found no fault in Him, yet they could not stand to be near the light, so they condemned Him anyway. They hated Him without a cause, and so fulfilled the Scripture which was written about them. The guards did not regard His clothing as holy, but treated Him mockingly. Even the dying thieves next to Jesus were so depraved that they "cast the same in his teeth." Judas Iscariot is also an example of this awful condition. After he betrayed the Master whom he had followed for so long, he then sought to clear himself. But after being rejected any help by the priests, he went out and hung himself. A man who had walked and talked with Jesus Christ for so long, seeing His miracles and hearing His wisdom every day and night. Nevertheless, Judas ended his own life in utter darkness. How sad. How terrible it is to reject God. And oh how this is the condition our country is in, our world, even ourselves unless we repent. And we need the Sovereign grace of God to turn us from darkness unto light, so that we may receive eternal forgiveness of our sins and an eternal inheritance with those who are sanctified through faith in Jesus Christ. His atrocious death was our payment. His resurrected life is our security. He is our only hope. Thank God for Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior!
"Let us test and examine our ways,and return to the LORD!
Let us lift up our hearts and hands to God in heaven:
"We have transgressed and rebelled,
and you have not forgiven." (Lamentations 3:40-42 ESV).
"Restore us to yourself, O LORD, that we may be restored!" (Lamentations 5:21).
July 14, 2008
Total Depravación, part 1
Here are some verses that have me convinced. The more I meditate on what exactly they are communicating, the more real the depravity of sinful mankind becomes to me, not only of those lost in the world, but especially of myself apart from the grace of God.
Genesis 6:5
The Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.
Genesis 6:11
And God saw the earth, and behold, it was corrupt, for all flesh had corrupted their way on the earth.
Psalm 51:5
Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me.
Psalm 58:3
The wicked are estranged from the womb;
they go astray from birth, speaking lies.
Proverbs 28:26
Whoever trusts in his own mind [or heart] is a fool,
but he who walks in wisdom will be delivered.
Ecclesiastes 7:20
Surely there is not a righteous man on earth who does good and never sins.
Jeremiah 13:23
Can the Ethiopian change his skin
or the leopard his spots?
Then also you can do good
who are accustomed to do evil.
Jeremiah 17:9
The heart is deceitful above all things,
and desperately sick;
who can understand it?
Matthew 7:11
If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him!
Mark 7:20-23
And he said, "What comes out of a person is what defiles him. For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, foolishness. All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person."
Those last two verses were spoken directly from the mouth of our Lord Jesus Christ! Loving, compassionate, gentle, gracious, merciful, Jesus spoke some very sharp words about the true heart of mankind. I believe He said it all with deep compassion and love, even when He blasted the Pharisees in Mattew 23, but nevertheless He spoke the truth plainly.
My hope is that in reading these verses, and becoming more familiar with them, my heart (as well as yours) will grow more deeply in love with the great mercy and kindness of God our Savior. As I wrote before about Hell and Grace, grace would not be necessary if we were not in this situation.
"For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them." (Ephesians 2:8-10 ESV). "For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life." (Romans 5:10 ESV).
Man says, "Man is good."
God says, "Man is evil."
Who is telling the truth?
God says, "Man is evil."
Who is telling the truth?
Genesis 6:5
The Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.
Genesis 6:11
And God saw the earth, and behold, it was corrupt, for all flesh had corrupted their way on the earth.
Psalm 51:5
Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me.
Psalm 58:3
The wicked are estranged from the womb;
they go astray from birth, speaking lies.
Proverbs 28:26
Whoever trusts in his own mind [or heart] is a fool,
but he who walks in wisdom will be delivered.
Ecclesiastes 7:20
Surely there is not a righteous man on earth who does good and never sins.
Jeremiah 13:23
Can the Ethiopian change his skin
or the leopard his spots?
Then also you can do good
who are accustomed to do evil.
Jeremiah 17:9
The heart is deceitful above all things,
and desperately sick;
who can understand it?
Matthew 7:11
If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him!
Mark 7:20-23
And he said, "What comes out of a person is what defiles him. For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, foolishness. All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person."
Those last two verses were spoken directly from the mouth of our Lord Jesus Christ! Loving, compassionate, gentle, gracious, merciful, Jesus spoke some very sharp words about the true heart of mankind. I believe He said it all with deep compassion and love, even when He blasted the Pharisees in Mattew 23, but nevertheless He spoke the truth plainly.
My hope is that in reading these verses, and becoming more familiar with them, my heart (as well as yours) will grow more deeply in love with the great mercy and kindness of God our Savior. As I wrote before about Hell and Grace, grace would not be necessary if we were not in this situation.
"For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them." (Ephesians 2:8-10 ESV). "For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life." (Romans 5:10 ESV).
June 18, 2008
He Gives Grace to the Humble
I have been thinking a lot about grace as a result of writing these blog posts. So when I read what James chapter four says, it touched my heart deeply and made me see more clearly the wonder of the grace of the Lord Jesus.
James 4:1 says, "What causes quarrels and what causes fights among you? Is it not this, that your pleasures are at war within you?" (ESV). It goes on to say that these desires cause us to murder (hatred is murder in the heart), covet, fight and quarrel. "You do not have, because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your pleasures." (4:2,3). So there are two problems that our sinful nature leads us to fall into; 1) not asking God for things, and 2) asking with selfish and sinful motives. This causes all kinds of evil to bubble up within us.
James has a name for the people he described, "You adulteresses!" This is not referring to physical adultery, but to spiritual adultery, because it says, "Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God." Friendship with the world is enmity with God. That is strong language! The enemies of God are his enemies because they hate Him. "For behold, your enemies make an uproar; those who hate you have raised their heads." (Psalm 83:2). They do not want to love Him or obey Him. They would rather have God serve them by giving what they ask for in prayer, so they can use it to satisfy their own evil desires. "Your enemies take your name in vain." (Psalm 139:20).
Verse 5 says, "Or do you suppose it is to no purpose that the Scripture says, "He yearns jealously over the spirit that he has made to dwell in us"? This is why spiritual adultery is so horrible, because God is jealous over the spirit of His people. God wants our spirit to be set on Him. He is the only One who can truly satisfy us. Our worship and love must be for Him only, or else we are idolators. And after I read these verses, my heart broke. I knew that I'm guilty of these things. I know I still sin, even after He has given me His Holy Spirit to be with me. As A. W. Pink said, "I am vile." I feel this deep within me. But I have hope, and it is no small hope, but hope that is confident, joyful and full of expectation. Here's why:
"But he gives more grace." What?! That's crazy! "More grace"? To those who hate Him? To those who turn from Him to spiritual adultery? Yes, "Therefore it says, "God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble." Spiritual adultery is a pride issue. Every person on earth is guilty, and God is opposed to them because of their pride and resistance to His will. God opposes the proud. He does not allow them to get what they want, but gives them what they deserve, ultimately, hell. But there is hope for the humble, because He gives them grace. Those who are humble are the same who are guilty of cheating on God. They are humble because they know they are guilty and are at His mercy. Yet, He has grace for them. Not for the unrepentant, but for those who are humble. Humble because of their guilt. Humble because of their shame and because they now see what they have done to God. To them, "He gives more grace." Unbelievable!
I don't have time to go on about the rest of the verses in James four, but will end with this thought: How does God give grace to the humble and why? The answer to that question is one verse in Romans five. "For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life." (Romans 5:10). God opposes the proud, but gives grace to those who humble themselves in repentance, drawing near to Him and fleeing from sinful pursuits, because His Son died to reconcile them. Much more shall we who are reconciled, be saved by the life of the Son of God, who gave Himself for our sins and overcame our death by rising from the dead, so that we might live to God through Him.
If you are humbly trusting in Christ, will you join me in giving thanks to our God for His awesome grace? Praise His wonderful name!
James 4:1 says, "What causes quarrels and what causes fights among you? Is it not this, that your pleasures are at war within you?" (ESV). It goes on to say that these desires cause us to murder (hatred is murder in the heart), covet, fight and quarrel. "You do not have, because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your pleasures." (4:2,3). So there are two problems that our sinful nature leads us to fall into; 1) not asking God for things, and 2) asking with selfish and sinful motives. This causes all kinds of evil to bubble up within us.
James has a name for the people he described, "You adulteresses!" This is not referring to physical adultery, but to spiritual adultery, because it says, "Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God." Friendship with the world is enmity with God. That is strong language! The enemies of God are his enemies because they hate Him. "For behold, your enemies make an uproar; those who hate you have raised their heads." (Psalm 83:2). They do not want to love Him or obey Him. They would rather have God serve them by giving what they ask for in prayer, so they can use it to satisfy their own evil desires. "Your enemies take your name in vain." (Psalm 139:20).
Verse 5 says, "Or do you suppose it is to no purpose that the Scripture says, "He yearns jealously over the spirit that he has made to dwell in us"? This is why spiritual adultery is so horrible, because God is jealous over the spirit of His people. God wants our spirit to be set on Him. He is the only One who can truly satisfy us. Our worship and love must be for Him only, or else we are idolators. And after I read these verses, my heart broke. I knew that I'm guilty of these things. I know I still sin, even after He has given me His Holy Spirit to be with me. As A. W. Pink said, "I am vile." I feel this deep within me. But I have hope, and it is no small hope, but hope that is confident, joyful and full of expectation. Here's why:
"But he gives more grace." What?! That's crazy! "More grace"? To those who hate Him? To those who turn from Him to spiritual adultery? Yes, "Therefore it says, "God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble." Spiritual adultery is a pride issue. Every person on earth is guilty, and God is opposed to them because of their pride and resistance to His will. God opposes the proud. He does not allow them to get what they want, but gives them what they deserve, ultimately, hell. But there is hope for the humble, because He gives them grace. Those who are humble are the same who are guilty of cheating on God. They are humble because they know they are guilty and are at His mercy. Yet, He has grace for them. Not for the unrepentant, but for those who are humble. Humble because of their guilt. Humble because of their shame and because they now see what they have done to God. To them, "He gives more grace." Unbelievable!
I don't have time to go on about the rest of the verses in James four, but will end with this thought: How does God give grace to the humble and why? The answer to that question is one verse in Romans five. "For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life." (Romans 5:10). God opposes the proud, but gives grace to those who humble themselves in repentance, drawing near to Him and fleeing from sinful pursuits, because His Son died to reconcile them. Much more shall we who are reconciled, be saved by the life of the Son of God, who gave Himself for our sins and overcame our death by rising from the dead, so that we might live to God through Him.
If you are humbly trusting in Christ, will you join me in giving thanks to our God for His awesome grace? Praise His wonderful name!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)