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"For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus" (Philippians 1:6)
One more time to the well, beloved, as we drink deeply from a third and final installment in our study of this glorious verse of Scripture! We have already discovered together that saving us was God's idea and also that sanctifying us was His inspiration. But what we will learn now will wrap up this verse into a blessed triad of God's promises to us as believers.
Pay very close attention in this verse of Scripture to the qualifying phrase "until the day of Christ Jesus." Those three wonderful words - "until the day" - speak directly to the issue of our security in the hand of the Master Artist who Himself began a glorious work of grace in us and who has ever since been applying great brushstrokes of grace upon the canvas of our lives. What this term tells us, beloved, is that God will never "begin" a work in us and then go off and leave it unfinished as He attends to something or someone else. Not at all! God as Master Artist will not be satisfied until each canvas of human life stands complete in His presence for Him to enjoy for all eternity.
Because God will continue His great work in our personal lives "until the day of Christ Jesus," you and I are eternally secure in His love. Do you recall what the Spirit of God inspired the Apostle Paul to write to the saints in Rome concerning this very subject?
"For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, or any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord" (Romans 8:38-39)
Thus, God is going to keep right on shaping and molding our lives until that very moment when Jesus returns and ushers us into the Father's presence. His work of saving and sanctifying and securing us will go on until we are with Him in glory. No wonder, then, that we will praise Him throughout eternity!
Ron
Thursday, March 18, 2010
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
Sanctifying Us...God's Inspiration!
"For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus" (Philippians 1:6)
Welcome back to the 2nd installment of a close look at one of the most beautiful promises of God in all of Scripture, beloved! Last week we discovered that saving us by grace was God's idea from the beginning, that He initiated that process out of His love for us. But as we shall see here, saving us was just the beginning!
The word "sanctify" has been broadly misunderstood and, thus, misapplied by many people. The Greek verb hagiazo, which does not appear in this verse of Scripture, means literally to "set apart" in the sense of being made God's own holy possession. Many years ago I had the chance to visit occasionally the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. What a pleasure to wander through that huge gallery and to gaze upon some of the world's finest works of art! Some of those paintings are so moving as to be "inspirational" in their effect upon the observer. I am privileged to have one of my sister's oil paintings on display in our home and, every time I see it, I am touched by its beauty and the artful skill behind it.
What we often fail to understand as Christians is that God's desire for us is not only that we enjoy eternity with Him "by and by," but that in the here and now we reflect His character as the One who has saved us by His grace. If you will, God wants us to be "on display" before a watching world much like those old masters are on display in the National Gallery of Art. The touch of His hand upon our lives in the natural course of daily living ought to be impacting upon men and women and boys and girls for the sake of the Lord Jesus Christ. People ought to be able to see us live and say, "Now there goes one of God's masterpieces!"
So intent is God upon the accomplishment of this goal, beloved, that Paul writes that He will certainly "perfect" His work to the very end. The Greek verb epiteleo, and this one does appear in this verse, means quite literally "complete fully" or "carry through to its final conclusion." This same apostle wrote to the believers in Rome and declared that God's desire is that we each be "conformed to the image of His Son" (Romans 8:29) as we are on display before a world that is lost in sin. And that is precisely what being "sanctified" means - that progressive work by which God molds and shapes us into the very image of the Lord Jesus Christ for all to see. That is why He stays at the easel and continually applies the brush strokes of His grace upon the canvas of our lives. How is the Master's work progressing in your life, beloved?
Ron
Welcome back to the 2nd installment of a close look at one of the most beautiful promises of God in all of Scripture, beloved! Last week we discovered that saving us by grace was God's idea from the beginning, that He initiated that process out of His love for us. But as we shall see here, saving us was just the beginning!
The word "sanctify" has been broadly misunderstood and, thus, misapplied by many people. The Greek verb hagiazo, which does not appear in this verse of Scripture, means literally to "set apart" in the sense of being made God's own holy possession. Many years ago I had the chance to visit occasionally the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. What a pleasure to wander through that huge gallery and to gaze upon some of the world's finest works of art! Some of those paintings are so moving as to be "inspirational" in their effect upon the observer. I am privileged to have one of my sister's oil paintings on display in our home and, every time I see it, I am touched by its beauty and the artful skill behind it.
What we often fail to understand as Christians is that God's desire for us is not only that we enjoy eternity with Him "by and by," but that in the here and now we reflect His character as the One who has saved us by His grace. If you will, God wants us to be "on display" before a watching world much like those old masters are on display in the National Gallery of Art. The touch of His hand upon our lives in the natural course of daily living ought to be impacting upon men and women and boys and girls for the sake of the Lord Jesus Christ. People ought to be able to see us live and say, "Now there goes one of God's masterpieces!"
So intent is God upon the accomplishment of this goal, beloved, that Paul writes that He will certainly "perfect" His work to the very end. The Greek verb epiteleo, and this one does appear in this verse, means quite literally "complete fully" or "carry through to its final conclusion." This same apostle wrote to the believers in Rome and declared that God's desire is that we each be "conformed to the image of His Son" (Romans 8:29) as we are on display before a world that is lost in sin. And that is precisely what being "sanctified" means - that progressive work by which God molds and shapes us into the very image of the Lord Jesus Christ for all to see. That is why He stays at the easel and continually applies the brush strokes of His grace upon the canvas of our lives. How is the Master's work progressing in your life, beloved?
Ron
Thursday, March 4, 2010
Saving Us...God's Idea!
"For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus" (Philippians 1:6)
Have you ever had a really good idea, beloved, one that you felt so good about that you wanted to share it with anyone and everyone? There's really no feeling in the world quite like hearing someone say of something we've suggested, "Now that is a really good idea!"
Here in what is certainly one of the most glorious statements ever written by the Apostle Paul, we find him declaring to his readers that God was the originator of a wonderful idea. Pay close attention to the descriptive phrase "He who began a good work in you." Were you aware, beloved, that it was totally and completely God's idea to save you? It's true! The Apostle John reminds us in no uncertain terms about just "who loved whom first" and "who started what with whom":
"In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins"
(1 John 4:10)
God had a wonderful idea, beloved! He chose to love us, we who are inherently "unlovable" because of the stain of our sins. And He chose to love us so much that He was even willing to buy us back from the slave-market of sin and set us free from its bondage forever. So in the person of Jesus Christ and His sacrifice of Himself on the cross of Calvary, God made it possible for all of us to be saved by His grace. What a wonderful idea!
Have you yet responded to what God has done for you in Christ, beloved? Have you yet realized how much He loves you and wants to set you free from the guilt and shame and penalty of your sins? You see, God had a wonderful idea! And because He did, you and I can become a part of His family forever. Why not bow your head right now and just say to Him, "Dear God, what a wonderful thing you have done by choosing to save me from my sins. I freely accept your gift of eternal life by receiving Jesus Christ into my heart as my personal Savior."
And, by the way, beloved, once your personal relationship with God has been established by your turning to Christ as Savior and Lord, why not continue to trust Him, you know, in all the everyday matters of life? It just so happens that whatever God says and does is "a good idea"! His plan and purpose for us have been written down in His Word and we each need to yield ourselves fully to its authority over our lives. We need to allow the Holy Spirit to direct word and thought and deed moment by moment so that we bring our lives into line with the standard of God for us. You will never be sorry that you did!
Ron
Have you ever had a really good idea, beloved, one that you felt so good about that you wanted to share it with anyone and everyone? There's really no feeling in the world quite like hearing someone say of something we've suggested, "Now that is a really good idea!"
Here in what is certainly one of the most glorious statements ever written by the Apostle Paul, we find him declaring to his readers that God was the originator of a wonderful idea. Pay close attention to the descriptive phrase "He who began a good work in you." Were you aware, beloved, that it was totally and completely God's idea to save you? It's true! The Apostle John reminds us in no uncertain terms about just "who loved whom first" and "who started what with whom":
"In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins"
(1 John 4:10)
God had a wonderful idea, beloved! He chose to love us, we who are inherently "unlovable" because of the stain of our sins. And He chose to love us so much that He was even willing to buy us back from the slave-market of sin and set us free from its bondage forever. So in the person of Jesus Christ and His sacrifice of Himself on the cross of Calvary, God made it possible for all of us to be saved by His grace. What a wonderful idea!
Have you yet responded to what God has done for you in Christ, beloved? Have you yet realized how much He loves you and wants to set you free from the guilt and shame and penalty of your sins? You see, God had a wonderful idea! And because He did, you and I can become a part of His family forever. Why not bow your head right now and just say to Him, "Dear God, what a wonderful thing you have done by choosing to save me from my sins. I freely accept your gift of eternal life by receiving Jesus Christ into my heart as my personal Savior."
And, by the way, beloved, once your personal relationship with God has been established by your turning to Christ as Savior and Lord, why not continue to trust Him, you know, in all the everyday matters of life? It just so happens that whatever God says and does is "a good idea"! His plan and purpose for us have been written down in His Word and we each need to yield ourselves fully to its authority over our lives. We need to allow the Holy Spirit to direct word and thought and deed moment by moment so that we bring our lives into line with the standard of God for us. You will never be sorry that you did!
Ron
Monday, February 22, 2010
The Ugliness of Licentiousness
"For certain persons have crept in unnoticed, those who were long beforehand marked out for this condemnation, ungodly persons who turn the grace of our God into licentiousness and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ" (Jude 4)
"Licentiousness" is truly an ugly word, beloved! Not to mention hard to pronounce. So let's deal with the easier of the two first. "Lie-sen'-chus-ness." There! At least we know how to pronounce it.
The notion for me to take the time to deal with such a word occurred as a result of a minor "provocation" in traffic a few days ago. I am always amazed at how, to gain even a one car-length advantage, some drivers will drive well beyond the speed limit and dart into a small opening between two vehicles, often narrowly avoiding collisions and also often without signaling their intentions at all. And what do they gain from such antics? They get to make their desired exit or turn from the highway a full car-length ahead of where they would have made it anyway had they not pulled such a foolhardy maneuver! At such times I usually just shake my head, say to myself "Amazing!" and then marvel at what seems to be in so many people a total disregard for the rules of the road.
So what is the point? The point is that such wanton disregard for what is right and acceptable is what lies at the heart of "licentiousness." The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines "licentious" as "marked by disregard for strict rules of correctness," while W.E. Vine refers to it as "absence of restraint." Spiros Zodhiates agrees, using those same words to describe the Greek term aselgeia.
But again, what is the point? How does any consideration of this ugly word fit into the issue of living in this world of sin as Christians? The problem is, beloved, that one of the most oft-repeated and serious offenses we commit as Christians falls into the very same realm of "licentiousness"! You see, we convince ourselves that, because we are saved by God's grace for all eternity, it really does not matter how we live our lives. "Once saved, always saved," right? We fall for the delusion that the standard doesn't matter as long as our sins are forgiven and we're glory-bound. In his book The Cost of Discipleship, German pastor and theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer distinguished between what he called "cheap grace" and "costly grace":
"Cheap grace is the preaching of forgiveness without requiring repentance, baptism without church discipline. Communion without confession. Cheap grace is grace without discipleship, grace without the cross, grace without Jesus Christ"
"Costly grace confronts us as a gracious call to follow Jesus, it comes as a word of forgiveness to the broken spirit and the contrite heart. It is costly because it compels a man to submit to the yoke of Christ and follow him; it is grace because Jesus says, 'My yoke is easy and my burden is light'"
Put very simply, beloved, any form of "licentiousness" in a Christian's life is "cheap grace." It is totally unacceptable. Just this past week Dr. Charles Stanley made the statement that as Christians our "value" to God never exceeds our "obedience" unto God. We must put away, then, the notion of "free license" in our living. As the Apostle James put it so profoundly:
"Show me your faith without the works, and I will show you my faith by my works" (James 2:18b)
We as followers of Jesus Christ have been saved by grace alone! So let's demonstrate the reality of that grace by bringing our lives into line with the standard of God's inerrant and infallible Word. The world is watching! Grace is free, but it is not cheap! Let's not do anything to send the wrong message.
Ron
"Licentiousness" is truly an ugly word, beloved! Not to mention hard to pronounce. So let's deal with the easier of the two first. "Lie-sen'-chus-ness." There! At least we know how to pronounce it.
The notion for me to take the time to deal with such a word occurred as a result of a minor "provocation" in traffic a few days ago. I am always amazed at how, to gain even a one car-length advantage, some drivers will drive well beyond the speed limit and dart into a small opening between two vehicles, often narrowly avoiding collisions and also often without signaling their intentions at all. And what do they gain from such antics? They get to make their desired exit or turn from the highway a full car-length ahead of where they would have made it anyway had they not pulled such a foolhardy maneuver! At such times I usually just shake my head, say to myself "Amazing!" and then marvel at what seems to be in so many people a total disregard for the rules of the road.
So what is the point? The point is that such wanton disregard for what is right and acceptable is what lies at the heart of "licentiousness." The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines "licentious" as "marked by disregard for strict rules of correctness," while W.E. Vine refers to it as "absence of restraint." Spiros Zodhiates agrees, using those same words to describe the Greek term aselgeia.
But again, what is the point? How does any consideration of this ugly word fit into the issue of living in this world of sin as Christians? The problem is, beloved, that one of the most oft-repeated and serious offenses we commit as Christians falls into the very same realm of "licentiousness"! You see, we convince ourselves that, because we are saved by God's grace for all eternity, it really does not matter how we live our lives. "Once saved, always saved," right? We fall for the delusion that the standard doesn't matter as long as our sins are forgiven and we're glory-bound. In his book The Cost of Discipleship, German pastor and theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer distinguished between what he called "cheap grace" and "costly grace":
"Cheap grace is the preaching of forgiveness without requiring repentance, baptism without church discipline. Communion without confession. Cheap grace is grace without discipleship, grace without the cross, grace without Jesus Christ"
"Costly grace confronts us as a gracious call to follow Jesus, it comes as a word of forgiveness to the broken spirit and the contrite heart. It is costly because it compels a man to submit to the yoke of Christ and follow him; it is grace because Jesus says, 'My yoke is easy and my burden is light'"
Put very simply, beloved, any form of "licentiousness" in a Christian's life is "cheap grace." It is totally unacceptable. Just this past week Dr. Charles Stanley made the statement that as Christians our "value" to God never exceeds our "obedience" unto God. We must put away, then, the notion of "free license" in our living. As the Apostle James put it so profoundly:
"Show me your faith without the works, and I will show you my faith by my works" (James 2:18b)
We as followers of Jesus Christ have been saved by grace alone! So let's demonstrate the reality of that grace by bringing our lives into line with the standard of God's inerrant and infallible Word. The world is watching! Grace is free, but it is not cheap! Let's not do anything to send the wrong message.
Ron
Thursday, February 18, 2010
A Samaritan's Need to Team with Others
"On the next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper and said, "Take care of him; and whatever more you spend, when I return I will repay you'" (Luke 10:35)
Have you ever met someone who thought that he was the "end all" in any particular endeavor of life, beloved? Such an attitude is especially deadly when it comes to serving Jesus Christ as the attitude of the Samaritan traveler in Jesus' parable makes clear for us. We have discovered thus far how he was able to be used in rescuing the wounded Hebrew because he was watchful of all going on around him. We also learned that he felt compassion for the man in need and that he was willing to be interrupted in his own journey by coming to his aid. We learned further that he was willing to be fully involved in bandaging up the man's wounds. And last week we learned the importance of his being committed to the long haul in seeing the man recover completely.
Finally, as we wrap up our consideration of the lessons from this parable, we note the Samaritan's willingness to ask help from the innkeeper and his request that he "take care of him" until he should return that way. Very simply, the Samaritan did not want to limit that man's care to what he himself could do alone. He recognized that ministry was not about him as a caregiver, but rather about meeting the needs of the man who fell among thieves. To that end he was more than willing to accept any and all assistance he could find in accomplishing that task.
How today you and I as effective servants of Jesus Christ need to be willing to work together with others in seeing to it that every need of every person is met. We need to remember always that ministry is about them and never about us. Thus, we should gladly welcome the intervention of other gifted saints who share the same burden that we feel for those left on the side of life's road by sin or catastrophe. I will never forget the day many years ago when my wife's car broke down on the side of the highway while I was miles away at work. She had a car full of groceries and had been on her way home. A very kind Park Police officer stopped behind her to see if he could lend some aid. He not only graciously carried her all the way home in his patrol car, but even carried every bag of groceries into the house for her. How grateful I was that day for the assistance of one who did what I was not equipped to do myself! That is precisely the attitude we must have today toward brothers and sisters in Christ who also have realized that ministry is not about us, but who are only too glad to come alongside and help to meet the needs of the lost and hurting. If you yourself would not want to be left stranded on the side of the road of life, beloved, by people who do not care, then why would you as a Christian ever be insensitive to others in need across whose paths the Spirit of God may lead you?
Ron
Have you ever met someone who thought that he was the "end all" in any particular endeavor of life, beloved? Such an attitude is especially deadly when it comes to serving Jesus Christ as the attitude of the Samaritan traveler in Jesus' parable makes clear for us. We have discovered thus far how he was able to be used in rescuing the wounded Hebrew because he was watchful of all going on around him. We also learned that he felt compassion for the man in need and that he was willing to be interrupted in his own journey by coming to his aid. We learned further that he was willing to be fully involved in bandaging up the man's wounds. And last week we learned the importance of his being committed to the long haul in seeing the man recover completely.
Finally, as we wrap up our consideration of the lessons from this parable, we note the Samaritan's willingness to ask help from the innkeeper and his request that he "take care of him" until he should return that way. Very simply, the Samaritan did not want to limit that man's care to what he himself could do alone. He recognized that ministry was not about him as a caregiver, but rather about meeting the needs of the man who fell among thieves. To that end he was more than willing to accept any and all assistance he could find in accomplishing that task.
How today you and I as effective servants of Jesus Christ need to be willing to work together with others in seeing to it that every need of every person is met. We need to remember always that ministry is about them and never about us. Thus, we should gladly welcome the intervention of other gifted saints who share the same burden that we feel for those left on the side of life's road by sin or catastrophe. I will never forget the day many years ago when my wife's car broke down on the side of the highway while I was miles away at work. She had a car full of groceries and had been on her way home. A very kind Park Police officer stopped behind her to see if he could lend some aid. He not only graciously carried her all the way home in his patrol car, but even carried every bag of groceries into the house for her. How grateful I was that day for the assistance of one who did what I was not equipped to do myself! That is precisely the attitude we must have today toward brothers and sisters in Christ who also have realized that ministry is not about us, but who are only too glad to come alongside and help to meet the needs of the lost and hurting. If you yourself would not want to be left stranded on the side of the road of life, beloved, by people who do not care, then why would you as a Christian ever be insensitive to others in need across whose paths the Spirit of God may lead you?
Ron
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