Is God’s Love Conditional?

 [God] gives more grace. Therefore it says, “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. (James 4:6–8) 

James teaches us that there is a precious experience of “more grace” and God “drawing near” to us. Surely this is a wonderful experience — more grace and a special nearness of God. But I ask: is this experience of the love of God unconditional? No. It is not. It is conditional on our humbling ourselves and our drawing near to God. God “gives [more] grace to the humble. . . . Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you.”

There are precious experiences of the love of God that require that we fight pride, seek humility, and cherish the nearness of God. Those are the conditions. Of course, the conditions themselves are the work of God in us. But they are no less conditions we fulfill.

If this is true, I fear that the unqualified, biblically careless reassurances today that God’s love is all unconditional may stop people from doing the very things the Bible says they need to do in order to enjoy all the peace that they so desperately crave. In trying to give peace through “unconditionality” we may be cutting people off from the very remedy the Bible prescribes.

To be sure, let us proclaim, loud and clear, that the divine love of election, and the divine love of Christ’s death, and the divine love of our regeneration — our new birth — are all absolutely unconditional. 

And let us declare untiringly the good news that our justification is based on the worth of Christ’s obedience and sacrifice, not ours (Romans 5:19, “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”).

But let us also declare the biblical truth that the fullest and sweetest experiences of the grace of God and the nearness of God will be enjoyed by those who daily humble themselves and draw near to God.

THE MISPLACED TRUST!

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

TUESDAY NOVEMBER 07, 2023.

SUBJECT: THE MISPLACED TRUST!

Memory verse: "And the disciples were astonished at his words. But Jesus answered again, and said to them, Children, how hard is it for them that trust in riches to enter into the kingdom of God!" (Mark 10 vs 24.)

READ: Matthew 6 vs 19 - 21:

6:19:Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal;

6:20: but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal:

6:21: For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.

INTIMATION:

To trust is to believe or have confidence in. Another word for trust is faith or believe. To trust or believe in someone or something is to depend on it. A trust is misplaced when the object of trust or confidence is eroded occasioned by the lack of the object living up to expectation. When we place our trust in our earthly possessions, instead of in God who created all those things, our trust is misplaced. In the passage we read today, Jesus contrasts the physical and temporal things of this world with the eternal, spiritual things that will endure the destruction of the physical (Second Peter 3 vs 10 - 12). 

Looking at the world around us, we can see that money has tremendous power. It obviously enables us to do things we can't otherwise do, and it gives us a certain level of respect and great confidence. The Scripture buttressed this point in Ecclesiastes 10 vs 19; 7 vs 12 when it says, "Money answers all things." And "..Money is a defense." This calls to mind the slang 'Money speaks' for those you trust in money. Consequently, many begin to trust more in the power of money than they do in the power of God—the Creator of all things. Many people erroneously think that wealth is the easiest way to get all they want. Those who pursue its empty promises will one day discover that they have nothing because they are spiritually bankrupt.

We live in a materialistic society where many people serve money. They spend all their lives collecting and storing it, only to die and leave it behind. Their desire for money and what it can buy far outweighs their commitment to God and spiritual matters. Whatever you store up, you will spend much of your time and energy thinking about. Don’t fall into the materialistic trap, trust in the Creator, not the created. Can you honestly say that God, not money, is your master? One test is to ask yourself which one occupies more of your thoughts, time, and efforts.

Jesus made it clear that having wrong treasures leads to our hearts being in the wrong place. What we treasure the most controls us, whether we admit it or not. If possessions or money become too important to us, we must re-establish control or get rid of items. Jesus calls for a decision that allows us to live contentedly with whatever we have because we have chosen eternal value over temporary earthly treasures. Treasures that we possess on earth can easily be consumed or taken away from us. By concentrating on those things that are above this earth, one places earthly things in the right perspective. 

Jesus contrasted heavenly values with earthly values when He explained that our first loyalty should be to those things that do not fade, cannot be stolen or used up, and never wear out. We should not be fascinated with our possessions, lest they possess us. God alone deserves to be our master. Either we store our treasures with God, focus our eyes on Him, and serve Him alone, or else we do not serve Him at all. The crown of righteousness in heaven awaits those who have forsaken the treasures of the world (Second Timothy 4 vs 8). 

Prayer: Abba Father, all things are Yours. My total trust and confidence in You. Give me the grace never to shift my trust and focus on You, for anything, in any circumstances, and by anything, in Jesus’ Name I prayed, Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!

Love One Another Gladly

 He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God? (Micah 6:8)

No one has ever felt unloved because he was told that the attainment of his joy would make another person happy. I have never been accused of selfishness when justifying a kindness on the basis that it delights me. On the contrary, loving acts are genuine to the degree that they are not done begrudgingly.

And the good alternative to begrudgingly is not neutrally or dutifully, but gladly. The authentic heart of love loves kindness (Micah 6:8); it doesn’t just do kindness. Christian Hedonism forces this truth into consideration.

By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and obey his commandments. For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome. For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. (1 John 5:2–4)

Read these sentences in reverse order and notice the logic. First, being born of God gives a power that conquers the world. This is given as the ground or basis (notice the word “For”) for the statement that the commandments of God are not burdensome.

So, being born of God gives a power that conquers our worldly aversion to the will of God. Now his commandments are not “burdensome,” but are the desire and delight of our heart. This is the love of God: not just that we do his commandments, but also that they are not burdensome.

Then in verse 2 the evidence of the genuineness of our love for the children of God is said to be the love of God. What does this teach us about our love for the children of God?

Since love for God is doing his will gladly rather than with a sense of burden, and since love for God is the measure of the genuineness of our love for the children of God, therefore our love for the children of God must also be done gladly rather than begrudgingly.

Christian Hedonism stands squarely in the service of love, for it presses us on to glad obedience, not just begrudging obedience.

Do You Neglect Your Salvation?

 How shall we escape if we neglect such a great salvation? (Hebrews 2:3)

Is there a sense of greatness in your mind about your salvation? Or do you neglect it?

Do you respond to the greatness of your salvation? Or do you treat it the way you treat your last will and testament, or the title to your car, or the deed on your house? You signed it once and it is in a file drawer somewhere, but it is not a really great thing in your mind. You rarely think about it. It has no daily effect on you. Basically, you neglect it.

But when you neglect your great salvation, what are you really neglecting? Here’s what he is saying when he says, “Don’t neglect your great salvation!”

Don’t neglect being loved by God. Don’t neglect being forgiven and accepted and protected and strengthened and guided by almighty God. Don’t neglect the sacrifice of Christ’s life on the cross. Don’t neglect the free gift of righteousness imputed by faith. Don’t neglect the removal of God’s wrath and the reconciled smile of God. Don’t neglect the indwelling Holy Spirit and the fellowship and friendship of the living Christ. Don’t neglect the radiance of God’s glory in the face of Jesus. Don’t neglect the free access to the throne of grace. Don’t neglect the inexhaustible treasure of God’s promises. 

This is indeed a great salvation. Neglecting it is very evil. Don’t neglect so great a salvation. Because if you do, will there be an escape from judgment? That’s what the writer asks: “How shall we escape if we neglect such a great salvation?”

So, being a Christian is a very serious business — not a sour business, but a serious business. We should be blood-earnest about being happy in our great salvation. 

We will not be deflected by this world into the fleeting and suicidal pleasures of sin. We will not neglect our eternal joy in God — which is what the goal of this salvation is. We will gouge out our eyes rather than be lured away from such a great salvation.

THE STRUGGLE WITH THE DEFEATED FOE!

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

SUNDAY NOVEMBER 05, 2023.

SUBJECT: THE STRUGGLE WITH THE DEFEATED FOE!

Memory verse: "Having disarmed principalities and powers, He made a public show of them, triumphing over them in it." (Colossians 2 vs 15.) 

READ: Colossians 2 vs 10 - 15:

2:10: And you are complete in Him, who is the head of all principality and power:

2:11: In Him you were also circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the sins of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ, 

2:12: buried with Him in baptism, in which you also were raised with Him through faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead.

2:13: And you, being dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He has made alive together with Him, having forgiven you all trespasses, 

2:14: having wiped out the handwriting of requirements that was against us, which was contrary to us. And He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross. 

2:15: Having disarmed principalities and powers, He made a public show of them, triumphing over them in it.

INTIMATION:

The Christian’s struggle is not against the physical things of this world. His struggle is a spiritual battle against the deceptive devices of Satan who seeks to change the moral values of those who are willing to live according to their own desires as opposed to the will of God. Satan is very busy tempting us, inviting us to give in to his kind of life, and give up on God’s kind of life. He can imitate parts of God’s work to deceive people. 

After getting Eve to sin, he has been busy getting people to sin, making them doubt God’s goodness, implying that God is strict, selfish, and difficult. Just as he did to Eve, he makes people forget about all the countless blessings and promises God has given them, and instead, focus on what God has restricted or forbidden from them.

The source of all evil that is seen in the world is Satan and his demonic forces that are at work in order to destroy the work of God through Jesus. Through deception, Satan has instigated those institutions and governments that control society to lead people against the truth of God. He works through the false religions and mystical beliefs of those who do not know God or desire to know the truth of God. The saints must be aware that Satan is alive and working in a deceived world of secular enticements and religious misdirection. 

Though, the battle with Satan is a difficult, ongoing struggle. Victory over sin and temptation comes through faith in Jesus Christ, not through our efforts. 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 sin, and the sacrifices we make because of our faith in Him. As we face the battle with Satan, we should not fear it or try to escape from it, but we should loyally serve Christ, who alone brings victory (See Romans 8 vs 34 - 39).

The word “disarmed” in the passage we read today, is from a military word that referred to the stripping off of the enemies armor after his defeat in battle. Through the cross, Jesus stripped Satan of his power to reign through sin and death. He freed those who come to God’s grace by their faith. Jesus is the center of reference from which all things are controlled in heaven and on earth. He is the head of all things for the benefit of the Christian. 

What men could not do by their own through performance of the law that brought sin and death, God accomplished through the gospel of grace. He reached forth with grace in order to save those who responded to Him through obedient faith. By the work of Jesus on the cross, Satan has thus been stripped of his power over the souls of men. 

What the world saw as the public humiliation of a Jew on a cross outside Jerusalem was actually the humiliation of Satan in the spiritual realm. Satan now has no power over those who determine to walk in the light of Christ. Christians, therefore, war with a defeated enemy—Satan, whom Jesus defeated, stripped of his armor, and made a public show of him on the cross.

Everything that Jesus did is accredited to us. He didn't conquer Satan for Himself. He didn't put sin away for Himself. He didn't suffer the judgement that would have fallen upon the sinners for Himself. But He suffered it on our behalf, and we have entered into His victory, it is accredited to us. Therefore, Satan—the defeated enemy—rules us by subterfuge, by bluff, by deception. He put diseases upon us and hold us in bondage through our ignorance of what we are in Christ and what is our inheritance in Him.

The Christian’s strength in the fight against Satan is maintained if he or she remains in fellowship with the Lord who is the source of power against Satan. This imperative command places the responsibility for being strong on the shoulders of the Christian. The Holy Spirit does not assume responsibility for keeping the Christian strong. The responsibility for faithfulness is with free-moral saints who must maintain the spiritual armor of the Lord by which strength is maintained against the wiles of Satan. The individual who will be held accountable for himself must spiritually clothe himself with those things that have already been revealed. 

Prayer: Abba Father, thank You for all You wrought for us in redemption in Christ. Give me grace to lay claim, and exercise my rights in Christ, that the accuser of brethren will be far away from me, in Jesus’ Name I have prayed, Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!

The Real Problem with Anxiety

 “But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?” (Matthew 6:30)

Jesus says that the root of anxiety is inadequate faith — “little faith” — in our Father’s future grace. 

One reaction to this might be: “This is not good news! In fact, it is very discouraging to learn that what I thought was a mere struggle with an anxious disposition is rather a far deeper struggle with whether I trust God.”

My response to this discouragement is to agree, but then to disagree. 

Suppose you had been having pain in your stomach and had been struggling with medicines and diets of all kinds, to no avail. And then suppose that your doctor tells you, after a routine visit, that you have cancer in your small intestine. Would that be good news? You say, emphatically not! And I agree.

But let me ask the question another way: Are you glad the doctor discovered the cancer while it is still treatable, and that indeed it can be very successfully treated? You say, yes, I am very glad that the doctor found the real problem. Again I agree. 

So, the news that you have cancer is not good news. But, in another sense, it is good news, because knowing what is really wrong is good, especially when your problem can be treated successfully.

That’s what it’s like to learn that the real problem behind anxiety is “little faith” (as Jesus says) in the promises of God’s future grace. And he is able to work in wonderfully healing ways when we cry out, “I believe; help my unbelief!” (Mark 9:24).

WALK ACCORDING TO THE SPIRIT!

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

SATURDAY NOVEMBER 04, 2023.

SUBJECT : WALK ACCORDING TO THE SPIRIT!

   

Memory verse: "Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus." (Philippians 2 vs 5.)

READ: Romans 8 vs 1 - 8:

8:1: There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk not according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.

8:2: For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death.

8:3: For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, on account of sin: He condemned sin in the flesh, 

8:4: that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. 

8:5: For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit.

8:6: For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.

8:7: Because the carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be.

8:8: So then, those who are in the flesh cannot please God.

INTIMATION:

Those who are in Christ walk according to the Spirit; they are spiritually minded. Such persons focus by faith on the cross and God’s grace. They have life and peace of mind because they are trusting in the grace of God, and not in their abilities in reference to law-keeping. The persons who persist on remaining “in the flesh,” that is, focusing on their own meritorious performance of law, are actually working against the plan of God to have all men trust in Him for direction. Such persons are focusing on themselves and not on God’s grace. They are the persons who seek to walk by sight, and without the faith that is necessary to please God. 

People, according to Scriptures, are into two categories; those who let themselves be controlled by their sinful natures, and those who follow after the Holy Spirit, and these people are said to be “in Christ.” All of us would have been in the first category if Jesus hadn't offered us a way out. Once we have said yes to Jesus, we will continue following Him, because His way brings life and peace. Daily we must consciously choose to focus our lives on God. 

“In Christ” is a metaphor that refers to one’s close spiritual and salvational relationship with Christ. When one has been immersed into Christ, that is, accepting the death, burial and resurrection of Christ for our sake in redemption, he comes into a saved covenant relationship with God wherein he is not in a state of condemnation. In this state wherein there is no condemnation, one is free from the bondage of sin. 

“In Christ” is metaphorical in the sense that through immersion one comes into a saved relationship with God. He comes into a covenant relationship with God where he is declared righteous because he has come into contact with the blood of Jesus. Therefore, only through immersion into Christ can one come into this relationship wherein he puts on Christ. 

In Christ one is not directing his life according to the desires of the flesh, but according to the directions of the Spirit (Galatians 5 vs 16). He is not walking according to the pride of meritorious conduct, but according to his submission to the word of God. We must not understand our walk to mean that one is directed by inner nudges of what one would interpret to be a supposed direct intervention by the Spirit. Our walk is in obedience to the word of God.

In Christ we are no longer guided by our subjective emotions that focus on the emotional performances of the individual apart from a knowledge of God’s will. When one is guided by the Spirit, he is directed by the Spirit-inspired word that comes from God. Therefore, walking according to one’s performance of law and meritorious deeds is opposed to one’s walking in response to the grace of God. 

One establishes and signs a covenant to trust in God for salvation by His grace when his faith moves him to respond to God’s grace. This response is immersion into the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus. Baptism is not work of law in order to earn God’s grace. It is a response to grace by the believer who at the time of immersion contacts the blood of Jesus that came as a result of the grace of God. 

The person who lives after the Spirit has crucified the old man of sin (Romans 6 vs 6; Galatians 2 vs 20). He has put to death the desire to allow the lusts of the flesh to direct his life. But the person who lives according to the lusts of the flesh in order to follow his own will is headed for eternal condemnation. 

Those who have crucified the old man of sin by repentance and immersion into the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus have begun their lives in the Spirit. And since they have begun their new life in the Spirit, the Spirit of God is in them because they have given themselves over to the direction of God. 

The sons of God are identified by their obedience to the gospel. By their obedience they have crucified their desire to walk after the flesh. It is for this reason that God claims them as His sons.”For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ.” (Galatians 3 vs 26 - 27). The life-giving Spirit is the Holy Spirit. He was present at the creation of the world, and he is the power behind the rebirth of every Christian. He gives us the power we need to live the Christian life. 

Those who behave according to the Spirit-inspired directions of God are not living according to their desires to live after their own wills. Walking in the Spirit is the same as walking in the light. By walking in the light the blood of Jesus cleanses us from sin. (First John 1 vs 6 - 9). 

Prayer: Abba Father, let that mind which was in Christ be in me, that I may be walking in the Spirit at all times, my trust and faith anchored in You in all things, in Jesus’ Name I have prayed, Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!