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Category: Salvation (Page 32 of 34)

Reversing Fortunes

March 20, 2009 / / 0 Comments

Reversal of Fortunes“Remember that in your lifetime you received good things, while Lazarus received bad things, but now he is comforted here and you are in agony.” ~Luke 16:25

Jesus tells his story about the rich man and Lazarus to illustrate several points, among them that the things God considers of value are not recorded with numbers and dollar signs. But I’m particularly interested in the reversal of fortunes theme that appears to be synonymous with the coming of the Kingdom of God.

“The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is preached to the poor.” ~Matthew 11:5

The roles of the rich man and Lazarus are reversed.

The rich man is very wealthy. He lives in a home with a gate and wears purple, an outward sign of great luxury. He dresses in fine linen, a description of his fancy underwear. Lazarus, by contrast, has nothing. He lies at the gate, begging, full of sores, unclean, and starving. His situation is as tragic as the rich man’s is sumptuous.

But now their fortunes are reversed. And it’s a permanent situation.

Isn’t this exactly what God through Christ has done for us? He has turned our lives completely around. He has totally reversed our fortunes. Permanently.

“As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins…But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgression — it is by grace you have been saved.” ~Ephesians 2:1-5

Peace,

Allan

A Delivered People

February 16, 2009 / / 0 Comments

Freedom!“But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.” ~1 Corinthians 6:11

We are Christians, yes. We are God’s children. We are his Church. Yes, we are sheep. We are saints. We are co-laborers with the Lord. We’re disciples. We’re a family. Yes.

But who we are only has meaning, it only brings us great joy, it only really matters, in relation to who we were.

Immoral. Idolaters. We are sinners. We are enemies of God. We’re dead. Dead in our transgressions. Dead in our sins. We are disobedient. Rebellious. Following the ways of the world. Following our own evil desires and thoughts. We are prisoners of Satan. Slaves to iniquity. We’re held captive by the devil. We’re in jail. We’re not going anywhere. Condemned by a holy and righteous God. Destined to be forever separated from the One who created us. We are hell-bound. Facing an eternity in a lake of fire and powerless to do anything about it. Powerless. We can do nothing. This is who we are. Not tired, not asleep, not sick, not even in a coma. Dead! It’s over. We’re finished. No hope. No luck. No chance. Only a promise. The promise of eternal damnation.

But…

“But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in our transgressions.” ~Ephesians 2:4-5

The noose was around your neck. The chair had been kicked out and your legs were dangling when God rode in and rescued you. Through no merit of your own — nothing! not a single thing you did or could ever do — you were saved.

You were dead, but now you’re alive. You were lost, but now you’re found. You were headed to hell, but now you’ve been re-routed to heaven. And you’ve never done anything to deserve it. Christ Jesus took the punishment for you. Jesus took your place. Jesus stepped in and did for you what you could never do for yourself.

His love, his mercy, his grace, it makes no sense. It’s incredible. It’s amazing.

We are saved!

And this is what identifies us. This is who we are. This is what shapes the way we think and informs the way we behave. This is at the very heart of how we view our God and ourselves and one another. This is what gives us our great joy.

Who we are in relation to who we were.

Praise God for his amazing grace!

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“The one unifying constant that defines whether or not such a congregation is included…is the practice of a cappella worship services.” ~Carl Royster, from his introduction to Churches of Christ in the United States

Wow. I had no idea we had just added a quarter-billion Eastern Orthodox to our movement! Who says our numbers are declining? Cool.

Sarcastically and sadly,

Allan

Who Am I, O Sovereign Lord?

January 20, 2009 / / 0 Comments

who am I?In 2 Samuel 7, the recently-coronated King David decides he’s going to build God a house. A temple. A beautiful temple worthy of the Almighty Yahweh. But the Lord speaks to David through his prophet, Nathan, and says, no, you’re not going to build me a house, I’m going to build you a house.

And then God goes into great detail about all the things he’s going to do for his servant David.

I’m going to make your name great. I’m going to cut off all your enemies. I’m going to give you and all the people you rule rest from your battles. I will always be with you just like I’ve always been with you in the past. I’m making your name among the greatest in the world. Your sons, your family, will rule forever. I’m making you a dynasty.

And David is blown away. He’s completely amazed. It’s almost as if he doesn’t understand.

“Who am I, O Sovereign Lord, and what is my family that you have brought me this far? And as if this were not enough in your site, O Sovereign Lord, you have also spoken about the future of the house of your servant. Is this you usual way of dealing with man, O Sovereign Lord?”

Who am I? I’m a shepherd boy. I’m insignificant. I’m small. I’m human. I’m fallible. And you’re doing all this for me? Who am I? Are you kidding me? I’ve done nothing to deserve your great favor. I’ve done nothing to merit your marvelous gifts. I’ve done nothing to earn your rich blessings. I can’t live up to your glorious promises. Who am I? Is this how you treat everybody?

And, praise God, the answer is “yes!” Yes! This is how God treats man. In all our selfishness. In all our pride. In all our sin and rebellion and denial. In all our inclinations to evil. While we were dead, while we were enslaved, while we were paralyzed, while we were enemies of the Creator of heaven and earth, he reaches down in love and mercy and saves us. He rescues us. He’s with us. He lifts us up. He restores us. He blesses us. He forgives us. He protects us. He provides for us. He meets every one of our needs—and then some!—according to his glorious riches through Christ Jesus.

And like David, we realize that, through his great descendent, Jesus our Lord, we are given immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine according to his power that is at work within us. More than all we ask or imagine. Some of us realize it much sooner than others. It takes some of us a long time to see it. To recognize it. I’m not sure any of us will ever fully understand it this side of glory. But once we at least recognize it, our lives are changed forever.

“How great you are, O Sovereign Lord! There is no one like you, and there is no God but you.”

Amen.

Grace Always Comes First

January 5, 2009 / / 0 Comments

Grace First 

Have you noticed in Scripture that grace always comes before law? It’s a pattern that we find from Genesis through Revelation and on into the maps. It’s always grace first, law second.

Our Lord never gives instructions or commandments to his people before he saves his people. God always rescues first, lays out the conditions second. God saves, his people obey. God speaks, his people respond. God reaches out in mercy and compassion, his people rejoice and give him praise. That’s the way it works. God acts in loving kindness to his people, his people react with loving kindness toward one another.

God creates man, gives him a loving partner, puts him in charge of everything in the beautiful garden, provides for his every need, and then gives the instructions regarding the trees. God rescues Noah, he saves Noah and his whole family through the un-creation of the flood, and then he establishes his covenant with its commands. God delivers Israel from Egyptian bondage, he walks them through the middle of the Red Sea on dry ground, he destroys all their enemies, and then he gives the law to Moses on the mountain.

Grace first, law second.

Jesus heals the leper and says now go offer the gift. Jesus cleanses the demon possessed man and says now go tell your family how much the Lord has done for you, how he’s had mercy on you. Jesus rescues an adulterous woman from her executioners, he saves her, and then he says now go and leave your life of sin.

It’s a formula. It’s a pattern. It’s a rule for the way things are. It’s the divine order.

The Christmas trees don’t go up in WalMart until after Halloween. The kids don’t spill red Kool-Aid in the living room until after you’ve had new carpet installed. Jerry Wayne doesn’t sign a free agent player until after that player has commited at least one felony. And our gracious heavenly Father doesn’t give any commands until after he saves us.

It’s just the opposite with Santa Claus. We try to be good so Santa will give us great gifts. With God in Christ, we try to be good because we’ve been given such a great gift!

Shouldn’t that be our model for our interactions with one another?

Show uncompromising grace first, ask questions later. Exhibit steadfast loyalty first, expect friendship later. Act with unquestionable love and consideration first, work on the relationship later. Forgive and rescue and hug and encourage and pardon and protect and die for others first. And let our righteous God take care of the rest. Later.

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Yes, I saw the doctored picture Darryn Pope showed in class yesterday. The one time I miss Bible class to take care of some pastoral duties, I hear about this picture. He’s emailed it to me. I think he’s actually proud of it in a sick way. He claims it has something to do with some point about Paul’s first letter to Timothy. I wonder. I share this unfortunate picture with you here. To the PowerPointMinister: let’s don’t ever let Pope in that booth in the worship center. Ever.

Hook ‘EmHook ’em,

Allan

Camping Under The Sign

December 30, 2008 / / 1 Comment

Joyful Journey 

Karl Barth’s commentary on Romans, written in 1919, contains an illustration relating to the passage in Romans 4 about Abraham’s journey of faith. I used the illustration a couple of Sundays ago to shed some light on Philippians 3. Paul writes about pushing and pressing and straining for the prize. He realizes he hasn’t “arrived.” So he presses to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of him.

Salvation. Christ-likeness. It’s a journey. Nobody’s “arrived.”

If we point back to our religious heritage or ancestry or sit comfortably on our religious traditions, if we find security in our status quo and salvation in keeping things the way they are, we’ll actually find ourselves in serious jeopardy.

Here’s Barth’s story:

“A group of people are headed on a long journey and along the way they find a sign pointing them westward. The signpost is there to convey them to their destination, but instead they stop and create a life for themselves under its painted words. They build a civilization there, celebrating the signpost and telling stories of how they arrived at the marker. Rituals evolve and songs are written. Books are published and liturgies follow. A few travel on and return, confirming that the sign does indeed lead to the place promised. But the second and third generations have built a life around the signpost and have forgotten the purpose of the journey. Their life is built on stories of past travel, not on stories of arriving or the prophetic call to get on with the journey themselves.”

Peace,

Allan

Joyful Righteousness

December 12, 2008 / / 0 Comments

JoyfulRighteousness“Whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ.” ~Philippians 3:7

 The apostle Paul hailed from the royal tribe of Benjamin. He might have even been named after Israel’s first king. He spoke both Hebrew and Aramaic. He had memorized most of the Holy Scriptures. His diploma carried the name of the leading school in religious thought. He belonged to the religious sect that upheld God’s law more than any other. He was unmatched in religious zeal. He had no tolerance for commandment-breakers. In short, Paul was perfect — as perfect as any God-fearing Jew could possibly be.

But when Paul opened up his books to read the ledger of his life, surprisingly he found he was completely bankrupt! He had nothing!

His faith was in his own righteousness. And it wasn’t enough. His trust was in his own abilities to keep God’s law. And it wasn’t even close. He had been comparing himself to others and had always been judged worthy. But when he was forced on the road to Damascus to compare himself to the Holy Son of God, he came up empty.

So he writes, “I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ.” (Phil. 3:8)

Paul didn’t count his heritage or his good works as trash. He didn’t stop keeping God’s commands or renounce his schooling. He determined that his faith in those things was worthless. Trust in his own law-keeping and ritual-following was worthless. Paul realized that his own righteousness would never save him. He could only trust the righteousness that comes freely from God by faith in his crucified and resurrected Son.

That confidence in his salvation by faith in Christ is what allowed Paul to write, despite external opposition and internal conflict that plagued God’s Church, “My brothers, rejoice in the Lord!”

Peace,

Allan

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