GRACE OF GOD VERSUS WORK OF LAW!

EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

FRIDAY DECEMBER 31, 2021. 

SUBJECT: GRACE OF GOD VERSUS WORK OF LAW!

Memory verse: “And If by grace, then it is no longer of works; otherwise grace is no longer grace. But if it is of works, it is no longer grace; otherwise work is no longer work.” (Romans 11 vs 6.)

READ: Romans 4 vs 1 - 8:

4:1: What then shall we say that Abraham our father has found according to the flesh? 

4:2: For If Abraham was justified by works, he had something to boast about, but not before God.

4:3: For what does the Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.

4:4: Now to him who works, the wages are not counted as grace but as debt.

4:5: But to him  who does not work but believes on Him who justifies the ungodly, His faith is accounted for righteousness,

4:6: just as David also describes the blessedness of the man to whom God imputed righteousness apart from works.

4:7: “Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven, and whose sins are covered:

4:8: Blessed is the man to whom the Lord shall not impute sin.”

INTIMATION:

Grace and works are diametrically opposed to one another. They cannot fellowship or have anything to do with each other. In other words, grace and works are mutually exclusive. Where one exists, the other cannot exist. The Bible, in Romans 11 vs 6, says, "But if it is by grace (His unmerited favor and graciousness), it is no longer conditioned on works or anything men have done. Otherwise, grace would no longer be grace [it would be meaningless]."

If you and I are into works, then we are out of grace. If we are in grace, then we are out of works. Any time we get into works, the grace of God ceases to operate on our behalf. God has no choice but to back off and wait until we have finished trying to handle things ourselves. As long as we continue to try to figure out our own problems, we will only get more and more frustrated and confused. The reason is because we are trying to operate without grace of God which will never going to be successful. 

The teaching of the apostle James in James 2 vs 21 - 24, has always confused many by thinking that one needs to be justified by works: “Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered Isaac his son on the altar? Do you see that faith was working together with his works, and by works faith was made perfect? And the Scripture was fulfilled which says, “Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.” And he was called the friend of God. You see then that a man is justified by works, and not by faith only.” 

The works James is referring to are the works of faith. Abraham was justified by works of faith, but not by meritorious deeds of law and good works. He was justified by works in that he responded to the righteousness of God. It was his obedient faith to God that justified him before God, and James is saying that he was justified by works of faith. it is the obedience of faith in God that James calls works. Abraham was not performing a meritorious work of law when he sought to offer Isaac. It was because of his faith that he responded to the will or commandment of God. The fact that he would obey God without question was evidence of his obedient faith. 

Those who respond to the will of God because of faith and love are not seeking to meritoriously justify themselves before God. Therefore, justification by works does not mean that one works in Christ in order to meritoriously earn his salvation. Through the blood of Jesus one is considered righteous (justified) in the eyes of God on the basis of his faith in God’s grace to forgive all sin. One is not so accredited with righteousness because he has put God in debt to forgive him by meritorious works of law. One is accredited righteous or justified on the basis of obedient faith.

The works listed in this context do not refer specifically to keeping the commandments of law. For this reason one must not confuse the works of faith that James discussed with the works of law that the apostle Paul discusses. Reference here is to good deeds toward one’s fellow man. Such deeds are the manifestation of one’s faith. Therefore, one’s faith must be manifested by his benevolent actions toward others. True love of God cannot be seen without obedience to the commandments of God. True faith in God  can be seen with benevolent actions toward one’s fellow man.

We gain entry into the realm of God’s grace through Jesus in whom we must have faith. It is grace that brings assurance, for upon it we base our spiritual and emotional stability. Upon it we base our salvation. Our faithful acceptance to the grace of God, our obedience to will and commandments of God is considered as our works of faith. 

Prayer: Abba Father, You are my all in all. By my strength and efforts I cannot achieve the desires of my heart, but by Your grace I can do all things. Endue me with Your grace, O Lord, that I may accomplish all things through Your power, in Jesus’ Name I have prayed. Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!

 

Death Rehearsal

 You sweep them away as with a flood; they are like a dream, like grass that is renewed in the morning: in the morning it flourishes and is renewed; in the evening it fades and withers. . . . So teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom. (Psalm 90:5–6, 12)

For me, the end of a year is like the end of my life. And 11:59 pm on December 31 is like the moment of my death.

The 365 days of the year are like a miniature lifetime. And these final hours are like the last days in the hospital after the doctor has told me that the end is very near. And in these last hours, the lifetime of this year passes before my eyes, and I face the inevitable question: Did I live it well? Will Jesus Christ, the righteous Judge, say “Well done, good and faithful servant” (Matthew 25:21)?

I feel very fortunate that this is the way my year ends. And I pray that the year’s end might have the same significance for you.

The reason I feel fortunate is that it is a great advantage to have a trial run at my own dying. It is a great benefit to rehearse once a year in preparation for the last scene of your life. It is a great benefit because the morning of January 1 will find most of us still alive, at the brink of a whole new lifetime, able to start fresh all over again.

The great thing about rehearsals is that they show you where your weaknesses are, where your preparation was faulty; and they leave you time to change before the real play in front of a real audience.

I suppose for some of you the thought of dying is so morbid, so gloomy, so fraught with grief and pain that you do your best to keep it out of your minds, especially during holidays. I think that is unwise and that you do yourself a great disservice. I have found that there are few things more revolutionizing for my life than a periodic pondering of my own death.

How do you get a heart of wisdom so as to know how best to live? The psalmist answers:

You sweep them away as with a flood; they are like a dream, like grass that is renewed in the morning: in the morning it flourishes and is renewed; in the evening it fades and withers. . . . So teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom. (Psalm 90:5–6, 12)

Numbering your days simply means remembering that your life is short and your dying will be soon. Great wisdom — great, life-revolutionizing wisdom — comes from periodically pondering these things.

The criterion of success, that Paul used to measure his life, was whether he had kept the faith. “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that day, and not only to me but also to all who have loved his appearing” (2 Timothy 4:7–8). Let this be our test at year’s end.

And if we discover that we did not keep the faith this past year, then we can be glad, as I am, that this year-end death is (probably) only a rehearsal, and a whole life of potential faith-keeping lies before us in the next year.

Outfitted and Empowered

 Now may the God of peace who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great shepherd of the sheep, by the blood of the eternal covenant, equip you with everything good that you may do his will, working in us that which is pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen. (Hebrews 13:20–21)

Christ shed the blood of the eternal covenant. By this successful redemption, he obtained the blessing of his own resurrection from the dead. That is even clearer in Greek than it is in English, and here it’s clear enough: “God . . . brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus . . . by the blood of the eternal covenant.” This Jesus — raised by the blood of the covenant — is now our living Lord and Shepherd.

And because of all that, God does two things:

he equips us with everything good that we may do his will, and he works in us that which is pleasing in his sight.

The “eternal covenant,” secured by the blood of Christ, is the new covenant. And the new covenant promise is this: “I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts” (Jeremiah 31:33). Therefore, the blood of this covenant not only secures God’s equipping us to do his will, but also secures God working in us to make that equipping successful.

The will of God is not just written on stone or paper as a means of grace. It is worked in us. And the effect is: We feel and think and act in ways more pleasing to God.

We are still commanded to use the equipment he gives: “Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.” But more importantly we are told why: “For it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure” (Philippians 2:12–13).

If we are able to please God — if we do his good pleasure — it is because the blood-bought grace of God has moved from mere equipping to omnipotent transforming.

SEEK GOD’S GRACE THROUGH YOUR FAITH!

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

THURSDAY DECEMBER 30, 2021.

SUBJECT: SEEK GOD’S GRACE THROUGH YOUR FAITH!

Memory verse: “Jesus said to them, “Because of your unbelief; for assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith as a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you.” (Matthew 17 vs 20.)

READ: Mark 9 vs 17 vs 18; 23 - 27:

9:17: Then one of the crowd answered and said, “Teacher, I brought You my son, who has a mute spirit.

9:18: And whenever it seizes Him, it throws him down; he foams at the mouth, gnashes his teeth, and becomes rigid. So I spoke to Your disciples, that they should cast it out, but they could not.”

9:23: Jesus said to Him, “If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes.”

9:24: Immediately the father of the child cried out and said with tears, “Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!”

INTIMATION:

There is a very fine line between “grace” and “faith” that is often missed by us. Because these two work together, the line between them is difficult for many to discern. And if we do miss it, our lives become confused. Many trust their faith to meet their needs. When their needs are not met, then they tried to have more faith because they are unable to discern the very fine line between faith and grace. They are not seeing beyond their faith to seek the grace of God (the power of God) to meet their needs.

Most people seemed to base all achievements on their faith, when, in reality, every victory or achievement is based on God's faithfulness bestowed on us by His grace—the power of God. If we frustrate the grace of God, we are going to feel frustrated. This explains why, by the grace of God, we receive our petition even when our faith is near zero.

In our memory verse, Jesus told His disciples who were worried that they couldn’t heel the epileptic child, ‘if you have faith as small as the mustard seed (tiniest known seed on earth), you can move the mountain.’ The disciples were surprised because they had done such things in the past (see Mark 6 vs 13). The disciples were followers of Christ and believed in Him. Jesus, at some point, sent them out in pairs as His coworkers. The Scripture says, “And He called the twelve to Himself, and began to send them out two by two, and gave them power over unclean spirits” (Mark 6 vs 7). 

Now note this, Jesus sent them out two by two as His coworkers, and gave them power over unclean spirits; “And they cast out many demons, and anointed with oil many who were sick, and healed them” (Mark 6 vs 13). Though, they believed and followed Jesus, but it wasn’t their faith or believe that enabled them to accomplish those exploits of healing the sick and casting out demons. It was the power of God—the power over unclean spirits given to them by Jesus when they departed—that enabled them to accomplish all that they did. 

When they came back, they were very happy with their accomplishments, and obviously should have built up greater faith. With their increased faith, they expected to accomplish much more exploits, such that heeling the epileptic child wouldn’t have been a problem to them. But surprisingly they couldn’t. This was because in the company, and presence of Jesus, the power of God (the grace of God) for such accomplishments was no more with them, but with the Master Himself, their greater faith not withstanding.

Jesus was teaching them that it is the power of God (the grace of God) bestowed upon them that enabled them to do exploits, and no matter the size of their faith, they should seek the power of God (the grace of God) to come through for them in any situation they face in life. And in some cases, they will not only pray for grace, but will also back it up with fasting to able to bring the power of God to bear on life’s circumstances they face: “However, this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting (Matthew 17 vs 21). This same kingdom’s principle remains, and is unchanging, and is applicable to us believers even in this time.

In order to get our needs met, in order to receive anything from the Lord, we must have both faith and grace. It is by grace through faith that we are saved. And it is by grace through faith that all our prayers are answered, and all of our needs are met. Keep your eyes on God to deliver you, not on your faith.

In Second Timothy 2 vs 13, the Bible says, "If we are faithless, He remains faithful; He cannot deny Himself." The Bible is teaching us here to get our eyes off our ability to believe (as the ultimate), but rather on God's willingness to meet our needs even though we do not have perfect faith, or no faith at all. 

Remember the father of the epileptic child had virtually little faith, which was even eroded when His disciples failed him. Jesus knew his state of mind and said to him, “If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes.” The man immediately tried to build up his faith and replied, "Lord, I believe! Help my unbelief" or "Help my weakness of faith!" The man knew his faith was lacking, but he was honest about it, and Jesus healed his son. (See Mark 9 vs 17 - 24.) God's grace (power) came on the scene and gave the man what he did not deserve due to his unbelief.

Prayer: Abba Father, let Your grace rest upon me at all times, that I may be able to face all my life’s challenges and meet all my needs, in Jesus’ Name I have prayed. Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!

VICTORY IS IN THE GOOD CONFESSION OF FAITH!

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

WEDNESDAY DECEMBER 29, 2021.

SUBJECT: VICTORY IS IN THE GOOD CONFESSION OF FAITH!

Memory verse: "And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to death." (Revelation 12 vs 11.)

READ: First Timothy 6 vs 12 - 14:

6:12: Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, to which you were also called and have confessed the good confession in the presence of many witnesses.

6:13: I urge you in the sight of God who gives life in all things, and before Christ Jesus who witnessed the good confession before Pontius Pilate,

6:14: that you keep this commandment without spot, blameless until our Lord Jesus Christ’s appearing,

INTIMATION:

In confessing the good confession of faith lies the victory of the believer. Your confession is your possession. It is obvious that the lack of faithful confessions by believers is a major problem for many. The good fight of faith lies in the confession the believer makes. This is the battle of believers as directed by the apostle Paul in the passage we read; "Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, to which you were also called and have confessed the good confession in the presence of many witnesses." (vs 12.)

The good fight of faith is a battle that has been won a long time ago, in which you do nothing but acknowledge the defeat of your enemy and your own victory in Christ. The fight of faith is not a struggle on your part. It is a recognition and a confession on your part of victory that you and Christ won over the adversary in that great substitutionary battle that took place before He arose from the dead.

The apostle Paul was comparing Timothy's own confession of faith with that of Jesus before Pilate. Looking at the Master, Jesus, we can see that the secret of His victory lay in His continual confession. For instance, He held fast to His confession, even at the point of death:

“Jesus answered, “My kingdom is not of this world. If My kingdom were of this world, My servants would fight, that I should not be delivered to the Jews; but now My kingdom is not from here.” Pilate therefore said to Him, “Are You a King then?” Jesus answered, You say rightly that I am a King. For this cause I was born, and for this cause I have come into the world, that I should bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice.” (John 18 vs 36 - 37.)

Now as conquerors, our memory verse reminds us that we are overcomers, and our victory is hinged on the blood of the Lamb, and the words of our testimony.  The critical blow to Satan came when the Lamb, Jesus Christ, shed His blood for our sins. The victory is won by sacrifice—Christ's death in our place to pay the penalty for our sins. The believers victory is established once he holds on to the good confession of faith in Christ Jesus and His works in redemption for us.

We are in the realm of victory in Christ Jesus, as we have moved out of the realm of weakness, and you can say, "I am more than a conqueror, for I am complete in Him who is the head of all principality and powers (Colossians 2 vs 10.) 

As a believer, you were identified in that. You were crucified with Him. You were buried with Him. You were raised with Him. We conquered the enemy with Him. Now with faith planted solidly upon this foundation, you face your enemy without fear. You dare to say "I am the righteousness of God in Christ." Just as Jesus dared to say, "I am the vine, and you are the branches"; "I am the light of the world"; you say, "I am what He says I am." More than even that you can say, "I can do what He says I can do." 

We are reminded of who we are in First John 4 vs 4, "You are of God, my little children, and have overcome them; because greater is He that is in you than he that is in the world." That settles it. You are of God, child of God, created in Christ Jesus. You are now a master because the Master is in you. You are becoming God-inside conscious. You are learning to let Him have His place in you.

You see, you are united with Him. He is the Vine and you are a branch. You grew out of Him. You were created in Him. Don't forget your perfect union with Him. Our oneness with Christ is the source of our ultimate strength. We are recreated in Him, and have a perfect union with Him:

"For if we have been untied together in the likeness of His death, certainly we also shall be in the likeness of His resurrection, knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin." (Romans 6 vs 5 - 6.)

As a believer and conqueror, you should be conscious of your legal right to what Jesus Christ wrought for you in redemption which is wrapped up in His wonderful Name (John 14 vs 13 - 14). The use of His Name is making a demand. That is demanding the forces of darkness to be broken over the lives of men. You are acting in the place of the Master now. The use of Name unsheathes the sword of the spirit, the living Word, and in your lips that Living Word becomes a dominating force as it was in the lips of the Master.

Prayer: Abba Father, greater is Christ that is in me than the ruler of this world. I am one with Christ, and I can do all things through Him that strengthens me. Give me the grace and empowerment of good confession of faith to overcome my adversaries, in Jesus’ Name I have prayed. Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!

A Horrible Destiny

 . . . Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come. (1 Thessalonians 1:10)

Do you remember the time you were lost as a child, or slipping over a precipice, or about to drown? Then suddenly you were rescued. You held on for “dear life.” You trembled for what you almost lost. You were happy. Oh, so happy, and thankful. And you trembled with joy.

That’s the way I feel at the end of the year about my rescue from God’s wrath. All day Christmas we had a fire in the fireplace. Sometimes the coals were so hot that when I stoked it my hand hurt. I pulled back and shuddered at the horrendous thought of the wrath of God against sin in hell. Oh, how unspeakably horrible that will be!

Christmas afternoon I visited a woman who had been burned over 87 percent of her body. She has been in the hospital since August. My heart broke for her. How wonderful it was to hold out hope to her from God’s word for a new body in the age to come! But I came away not only thinking about her pain in this life, but also about the everlasting pain I have been saved from through Jesus.

Test my experience with me. Is this trembling joy a fitting way to end the year? Paul was glad that “Jesus . . . delivers us from the wrath to come” (1 Thessalonians 1:10). He warned that “for those who . . . do not obey the truth . . . there will be wrath and fury” (Romans 2:8). And “because of [sexual immorality, impurity, and covetousness] the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience” (Ephesians 5:6).

Here at the end of the year, I am finishing my trek through the Bible and reading the last book, Revelation. It is a glorious prophecy of the triumph of God, and the everlasting joy of all who “take the water of life without price” (Revelation 22:17). No more tears, no more pain, no more depression, no more sorrow, no more death, no more sin (Revelation 21:4).

But oh, the horror of not repenting and not holding fast to the testimony of Jesus! The description of the wrath of God by the “apostle of love” (John) is terrifying. Those who spurn God’s love will “drink the wine of God’s wrath, poured full strength into the cup of his anger, and he will be tormented with fire and sulfur in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb. And the smoke of their torment goes up forever and ever, and they have no rest, day or night” (Revelation 14:10–11).

“And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire” (Revelation 20:15). Jesus will “tread the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty” (Revelation 19:15). And blood will flow “from the winepress, as high as a horse’s bridle, for 184 miles” (Revelation 14:20). Whatever that vision signifies, it is meant to communicate something unspeakably terrible.

I tremble with joy that I am saved! But oh, the holy wrath of God is a horrible destiny. Flee this, brothers and sisters. Flee this with all your might. And let us save as many as we can! No wonder there is more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous (Luke 15:7)!

Glory Is the Goal

 Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. (Romans 5:2)

Seeing the glory of God is our ultimate hope. “We rejoice in hope of the glory of God” (Romans 5:2). God will “present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy” (Jude 24).

He will “make known the riches of his glory for vessels of mercy, which he has prepared beforehand for glory” (Romans 9:23). He “calls you into his own kingdom and glory” (1 Thessalonians 2:12). “Our blessed hope [is] the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ” (Titus 2:13).

Jesus, in all his person and work, is the incarnation and ultimate revelation of the glory of God. “He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature” (Hebrews 1:3). “Father, I desire that they . . . may be with me where I am, to see my glory” Jesus prays in John 17:24.

“So I exhort the elders among you, as a fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, as well as a partaker in the glory that is going to be revealed” (1 Peter 5:1). “The creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God” (Romans 8:21).

“We impart a secret and hidden wisdom of God, which God decreed before the ages for our glory” (1 Corinthians 2:7). “This light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison” (2 Corinthians 4:17). “Those whom he justified he also glorified” (Romans 8:30).

Seeing and sharing in God’s glory is our ultimate hope through the gospel of Christ.

Such a hope, that is really known and treasured, has a huge and decisive effect on our present values and choices and actions.

Get to know the glory of God. Study the glory of God and the glory of Christ. Study the glory of the world that reveals the glory of God, and the glory of the gospel that reveals the glory of Christ.

Treasure the glory of God in all things and above all things.

Study your soul. Know the glory you are seduced by, and know why you treasure glories that are not God’s glory.

Study your own soul to know how to make the glories of the world collapse like the pagan idol Dagon in 1 Samuel 5:4. Let all glories that distract you from the glory of God shatter in pitiful pieces on the floor of the world’s temples. Treasure the glory of God above all this world.