Month: June 2019

298. Wise unto Salvation

2 Timothy 3:15 And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.

The inspired writings of God promise to make one wise unto salvation; and they are able to do so. The Scriptures point to Jesus Christ, and He is one who saves. When one hears the Gospel the Holy Spirit creates faith in the heart. The purpose and the result of actively using the Word of God is wisdom for salvation, for faith comes by hearing the word of Christ.

True wisdom is knowing how to be saved, or, more accurately, knowing the One who saves us. Knowing how to be saved is a tricky thing, and it does not come naturally: it does not come by being good, it does not come by doing the right things, it does not come by being religious, it does not come by saying the right prayers, it does not come by sincere repentance, it does not come by stronger faith, and finally knowing how to be saved does not come by anything that we do whatsoever. God must reveal it to us; and what He reveals is that God, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit is the One who does it all. Salvation is all God’s idea, God’s work, and God’s gift. Wisdom knows that. 

The Holy Spirit uses the Holy Scriptures to reveal Christ and bring us to faith in Him alone for salvation. This is the wisdom that even a child knows and believes, and so is saved. True wisdom knows to cast aside everything that is of self and trust 100% in Jesus Christ. In some ways, this may be one of the hardest things for the Christian to remember: God does it all for my salvation; I do nothing. For this reason this promise is important; for this reason knowing the Holy Scriptures is important; for this reason hearing the Gospel daily is important.

I will always be tempted to take matters into my own hands, even to help with salvation. Being “wise unto salvation,” however, puts everything into the hands of the Savior and trusts Him to save to the uttermost.

297. The Lord knows His own

2 Timothy 2:19 Nevertheless the foiundation of God standeth sure, having this seal, The Lord knoweth them that are his. And, Let every one that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity.

The Lord knows His own people, His own family, His own flock; and He loves them. He also knows His Creation and all other people on earth; and He judges them. God’s knowing all things is both a threat and a promise: a threat because He knows my sins, all my faults, shortcomings, mistakes, failures, and even all the evil that is within me; a promise because He knows my needs, what it is I really need for emotional, mental, relational, social, and physical wellbeing. 

It is comforting that God knows me inside and out, what makes me tick, the DNA I am made of, why I do what I do: He knows how to help. He knows me better than I do. I need to receive this promise because I may be wrong about what I think I need, and I need to trust that the Lord knows best. I can pray and believe God’s answer to the petition, “Thy will be done,” so that He breaks and hinders every evil counsel and will that opposes the good life. The only question I must deal with is: How do I know His will is really good for me? The answer: look at the cross. I must answer this question with a positive Yes: “Does God love me?”

It is discomforting to know that God knows me because He judges my sins. I know that I can’t really “get away with it.” God sees, God knows, and God relentlessly judges; God brings to light and exposes the sin and evil within me. I am like Adam thinking that I can hide in the garden and cover myself with fig leaves. But Jesus guarantees that what is done in a closet will be shouted from the housetops. After exposing my sin and shame the Lord is good to give me the Gospel of forgiveness and life. The Good News is that my hidden sin has been judged on the cross of Christ. Therefore God can and does forgive. I repent and believe.

Like many aphorisms that sound Biblical but are not completely accurate is the old adage: “To err is human; to forgive divine.” God does not forgive human sin just because it is His nature to forgive and overlook. God can do anything, but He cannot just forgive because that would deny the character of holiness and justice. Justice demands punishment for every sin. Without perfect justice the universe crumbles. But God is Love (not forgiving) so He found a way to forgive: He sent the Son of God to bear the punishment for our sin. Now He can justly forgive. By implementing this ingenious idea God satisfies both holiness and love. God forgives because He found a way to judge. God knows our sin, judges our sin at the cross, is able to forgive, and thereby loves us. “To sin is human; to judge divine.” Let God judge the sin and love the sinner. He knows how to do it, and He knows you.

296. Reign with Christ

2 Timothy 2:12 If we suffer, we shall also reign with him; if we deny him, he also will deny us.

This promise sounds like a conditional promise: if you suffer, then you will reign with Christ. But it is not really conditioned as a cause and effect condition. Suffering does not result in, or cause, reigning. The “if” is really a “when,” because we all will suffer. Suffering is endemic to the human condition; it is built in; it is already a given. We will suffer because of sin. Sin always causes suffering, whether it is our own sin or the sin of others. Sin causes death; all suffering is a precursor of death; Any kind of suffering is a death of something; it is a lessening of a full life. “Suffering happens.” We do not intentionally try to suffer; it just comes upon us.

The promise for the sufferer (which is everyone) is that we shall reign with Him. The word is: “Endure the suffering for a short time; the reigning will come and it will be for a long time.” Reigning outlasts suffering; Life outlasts Death. That is the real promise. 2 Corinthians 4:18: “We look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.” Both the seen temporal things and the unseen eternal things are present in our daily life. The only question is this: “Which one are you looking at and trusting in?” Faith sees the unseen. Hearing with faith receives the promise. God gives faith; God gives the gift of seeing the unseen.

But what does it mean to reign with Him? In this context “reigning” is a synonym for living eternally with Christ. Reign = Live. Reigning with Christ means ruling with authority over the Enemies of Life: Sin diminishes life; Death takes away life; and Satan destroys living to the full, as much as he is allowed to, that is, up to limit set by the Lord. But the Good News: we shall reign with Him. We rule over the Enemies of Life. After we die, we shall rule over all enemies that fight against Life; and we will always overcome because these enemies of life are no longer present. However, now, before we die, we “reign with Him” by faith. By the power of the Word and Spirit we may take authority over our spiritual enemies, drive them out, and enjoy the gift of abundant life. We take that authority by hearing the Gospel with faith.

Meanwhile, we suffer, but at the same time, while we are suffering, we reign with Christ. Jesus suffered for us and by faith we suffer with Him; Jesus reigns in life for us and by faith we reign with Him. And for believers that promise is unconditional.

295. Live with Him

2 Timothy 2:11 It is a faithful saying: For if we be dead with him, we shall also live with him.

What a joy! What a privilege! What a blessing! We get to live with Jesus. Yes, it is God and I living together in unity and harmony, enjoying each other and blessing each other. Of course, Jesus and I are In no way equal, yet He treats me as an equal. I am a brother in the family, and a son of the Eternal Father. The promise of “living with” includes both living now with Jesus during this earthly life but also living with Him in the Eternal State world without end. And this is a faithful saying. Count on it.

But there is a condition to the promise: if you are dead with Him, then you will live with Him. Dying is the condition for living. We do not live until we die. Death comes first, and only then the living. This promise must be considered in two ways: now on earth and later in heaven.

First, living with Christ now during this life on earth is experienced and enjoyed to the degree that we consider ourselves dead to self. The more we die to self the more we live with God. But this is extremely hard; in fact, dying to self is impossible. We humans cannot do it, no matter how hard we try. The survival instinct is so strong in us that we are incurably selfish. Just look around you at every person you know and you will see selfish self-centeredness, maybe in varying degrees, but it will always be there in everyone. And sometimes it looks ugly. How do you die? Repent and believe the Gospel. Repentance is an attitude of humbling self and glorifying Christ all day long. Repentance and dying to self begins by recognizing that I cannot do it by myself. I need God to do it for me, and thank God, He does. The Spirit uses the Word to convince us of the sin of self. Then the Spirit uses the Word to convince us of new life in Christ. We die daily and Christ lives daily. And the more we reckon ourselves dead to sin and alive to God, the more we are. I do not die to self, I do not crucify the flesh, I do not resolve to be less selfish. I believe, by the power of Word and Spirit, that I already am. I say to my soul: “You are already dead; Christ is alive.” God says it is true; and I believe it. I am willing to believe it because I strongly desire to “live with him.” The promise motivates me. I don’t need more faith; I just need to use the little faith I have already been given.

Second, living with Christ in eternity after I leave this earth is the hope that keeps me going strong. This hope provides strength for the day and eager anticipation for the future. I believe in Jesus; that makes me dead. I am dead; that makes me live with Him. And no matter what, I will live with Him forever. And no one can touch that hope or take it away. No one wants to die, not really; however, the believer is torn between the two, for he yearns to die because that will mean an absolutely beautiful and wonderful life without the encumbrance of Sin and Self. By faith we die with Christ and by faith we live with Christ. We can embrace death because it means life. We embrace death to self for it means life with Christ. Choose Life! But realize that this choice implies death, death to self. Then: Live!

294. Saved and Called

2 Timothy 1:9 Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began.

God saved us and called us. The calling is holy, describing both the nature of the call and the purpose of the call. God saved us through the call; the Holy Spirit called us through the Gospel. We heard the Gospel and responded with faith created by the Spirit, as the Spirit uses the very words of the Gospel to convince us of the truth of it. 

The call is holy in its nature because it comes without sin to save us from sin. The Gospel Call itself is holy for the Spirit who calls is pure, holy, sinless, and righteous. The call is holy in its purpose because the purpose is to make us holy (sanctify). We are made holy in two ways: 1) we are once for all declared holy and righteous because of the blood of Christ which cleanses us from every sin; 2) we are gradually made more and more holy as the process of sanctification works its way in us over time.

The saving and calling was, and is, not our own idea; it is not according to our works. We did not think it up; we did not want it; we did not seek it; we weren’t even aware that we needed it; and we certainly did not earn it by our works. We had to hear the word of Law, which convicts us of our sin, guilt, damnation, and need for help from the outside; and we had to hear the word of Gospel, which convicts us of the forgiveness of sin because of our Savior, which convicts us of the gift of eternal life, which convicts us of salvation from sin, death, and the devil, and which convicts us of the imputed righteousness of God granted by grace.

The purpose and grace of God was to make us holy so that we might live with God and enjoy Him forever. This was God’s purpose for us even before He created the universe. In fact, God created the earth and the heavens for the purpose of creating human beings and placing them on a livable planet; and God created humans for Himself. God enjoys us and we enjoy Him, thanks to the Son and the Spirit, who all worked together as one to save and call us. Our salvation through the Son was not a Plan “B” in case the first Creation didn’t work out. It was all a part of God’s design and plan from before the beginning. What a blessing to be called!

293.  Power, Love, Sound Mind

2 Timothy 1:7 For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.

God promised, and God gave, us a spirit of power, love, and a sound mind. We don’t often realize or make use of what God gave us. When we believed the Holy Spirit made our spirit alive, and that spirit is powerful, loving and wise. 

We are more powerful than we think: the power resides within us to overcome the authority of Sin and Satan. One simple word can fell him. We have this power so that we can exercise the authority we have in Jesus’ name. The power of Satan lies in his lies. Truth always wins; truth poofs away the lies of evil quickly and easily. I by myself and in my flesh am weak and powerless against the subtleties of the devil; we always lose. But the spirit in us has power. I am weak but He is strong. When we believe the power of the Spirit we will have no fear.

We have more love in us than we can imagine. In our flesh resides no love except love of self, love curved in on itself, but in our spirit is God’s love; God is love. His love is greater, stronger, higher and deeper than we can comprehend. With God we can do the impossible: love the unlovable, love our enemies, do good to those who persecute us, treat others as we would like to be treated. We have within us the perfect love of God, and perfect love casts out fear. We wouldn’t normally think of love and fear as related to each other; we don’t see them as opposites. We don’t see it, so God must tell us: where God’s love (perfect love) dwells fear cannot live in the same place. By the way, we must remember that this is referring to God’s love, not our love. When we try to love we fail. When we trust God’s love it works. God’s love is the most powerful force in the universe. That love He has given to us.

We also have a sounder mind than we are willing to trust: we have the mind of Christ. He is the wisest mind in the world. He always knows what is good, right, and most beneficial for us. He always knows what to do. We can bring every thought captive to Christ. Pride prevents us from accepting the fact that original sin has made us stupid. Unbelief prevents us from trusting the mind of Christ. Unfortunately, we humans actually think we know better than the Lord God. The sound mind we have been given by God is shaped and modeled by the Word and the Spirit. The Spirit teaches our spirit through the Word of the Gospel. Admit ignorance and turn to God. God said to Job, “Who do you think you are?” [Job 38:2]. Job responds, “I know now that you are God and I am not. I didn’t know what I was talking about. Therefore, I repent in dust and ashes.” [Job 42:2-6]. The mind of God is the sound mind we have been given. The sound mind of the Lord does not fear, for it sees the truth. God promises that mind for us.

292. God Gives Richly

1 Timothy 6:17 Charge them that are rich in this world, that they be not high-minded, nor trust in uncertain riches, but in the living God, who giveth us richly all things to enjoy.

Trust in uncertain riches or in the living God? Serve God and Mammon? Most people basically know they have a clear black-and-white choice: Trust in God or trust in money. Even though we know down deep that it is an either-or choice, a one or the other option, a black and white difference, we are still tempted to think we can have it both ways, holding on to both, seeking after both, trusting in both at the same time. However, the Bible militates against such deceptive thinking. 2 Kings 18:21: “How long will you go limping between two different opinions? If the Lord is God, follow him; but if Baal, then follow him.”

It comes down to trust, and the Word calls it out and names it so. In what or in whom will you trust? Note the difference between uncertain riches and the living God. God, Jesus, Elijah, and Paul have a way of cutting through the fog and deception and making us see clearly what trust is all about. The obvious answer to the question is: Trust in the living God, who is good and gives. But Sin and Satan and the Flesh and the World obfuscate the evident clarity, and they make it look gray and cloudy: we have to trust in money, don’t we, at least a little? Paul, Jesus, and Elijah would say, “No, you don’t. Trust God. Alone.”

We need this promise: God gives us richly all things to enjoy! How do we know we have such a living and giving God? Look at the Cross and the Empty Tomb. Can God really be that good? Believe the Gospel. Romans 8:32: “He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? The Cross is the motivation to fear, love, and trust in God above all things. The Gospel compels us to love the Lord with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. We love Him because He first loved us. By the power of the Spirit we are able to believe that God gives us richly. He gives us all things to enjoy. He gives us everything we need for contentment, calm, and happiness, and to be at peace.

Why does He give us all things? He richly gives us all things for the purpose of our enjoyment. Yes, “things” are to be enjoyed, not to be wasted on our own creature comfort, but to receive things from the Giver with thanksgiving. Enjoy God forever.

291.  Contentment

1 Timothy 6:6 But godliness with contentment is great gain.

Paul says it is a great thing to be content. God promises contentment. Contentment comes with godliness. Godliness comes from God as a gift earned by Christ and granted by the Holy Spirit. Godliness has the promise of life. Life is living with joy and peace and contentment. Contentment is the gift of enjoying the life that God created and gifted to His children. Contentment is the opposite of greed. Greed is dissatisfaction with what we have and wanting just a little more. Contentment is happiness with what we have and receiving it with joy from God’s gracious goodness.

Greed says, “If I only had a little more I would be happy. If I only had this one more thing, or that different thing, then I would be satisfied” Contentment says, “God knows what I need to be content. If I need it He will provide it. If I don’t need it and it won’t make me happier, or more content, He won’t give it.” God knows exactly what I need and how much I need to be content; He promises to give everything I need. 

We may join these two verses together: “If we have food and clothing, with these we will be content.” “And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches.” God promises contentment, and He promises to meet every need in order to be content. Our own sinful flesh and the world around us make it very difficult to be content with who we are and what we have. Sin and Flesh war against Grace and Spirit; this war causes unrest and turmoil and discontent. When we pay attention to the Word and the Spirit by hearing the Gospel with faith we get the upper hand in the battle and we settle into contentment. This is great gain: we win a few battles, but the war continues, so we soldier on. Daily we pray as our Lord taught us: “Give us this day our daily bread.” Then get up from your knees and go on your way content and happy. Repent and believe the Gospel and enter into the kingdom of contentment. It’s a promise and a miracle of God’s grace and goodness.

290. Promise of Life

1 Timothy 4:8 For bodily exercise profiteth little: but godliness is profitable unto all things, having promise of the life that now is, and of that which is to come.

Godliness holds the promise of life. Godliness comes only from the outside to the very inside; godliness is not in any sense something that comes from within the self; it cannot be even a little generated by the self. Trying with all the human effort we have will never produce godliness. Christ earns godliness for us and the Spirit gives it to us through the Gospel. By faith we are godly. Godliness comes from God.

Godliness is profitable unto all things. It brings many blessings and benefits. It is good for us, not just for many things, but also for all things. Godliness is beneficial for us because it hold the promise of life. “Life” is good. We can be alive in the world, but at the same time we can be dead, dead to God and dead to real life. Many worldly allurements and entertainments make us feel alive, or feel good, for a while, but then it ends soon again. God life never ends; it just goes on forever without end. 

When we have Christ by faith we have godliness; when we have godliness we have life. The promise of life is for both the now and for the not yet. We have the promise of the life that now is and of the life that is to come. Godliness promises to make our present earthly life big, rich, full and good. But more, godliness promises us the life which is to come. It comes now already, by faith; but when we die all sin and self and death is gone and the eternal life that is within comes forth in all it fullness and joy, by sight. We see it, we feel it, and we enjoy it without end. There will be no more seasons in the Life Eternal. Nothing wonderful ever ends; it just keeps going and getting better forever.

We have the promise of life: we live the life now in the midst of Sin and Death, with all the sorrows and pains it brings; we also have the promise of the life which is to come when we will live free from the encumbrances of earthly life with sin. Repentance and faith takes hold of the present life and the promise of the life to come. Life is good, and it will get so much better.

289.  Ransom

1 Timothy 2:6 Who gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time.

Jesus gave himself up to be a ransom for us. God promises that the ransom has been paid. The price is paid. Freedom is secured. A ransom is the cost paid to free a person who has been kidnapped or enslaved. Kidnapping and enslavement may be the most heinous of crimes ever committed against a human being. Abducting and forcibly enslaving a person against his will is abhorrent. But spiritually that is exactly what happened to each of us born of a woman. Theoretically and ideally each human was born free and owned by God the Creator. But immediately as soon as we all were conceived we lost that freedom and we renounced God’s ownership. Satan kidnapped us, took over the control of our lives, and forced us into slavery.

The analogy to kidnapping and slavery breaks down a little because we were not forced; it was a willing and legal exchange.  Because we willingly surrendered the control of our lives over to Satan through sin he has the legal right to our lives. It may not seem that we willingly surrendered, but we are born in Adam, and in Adam we disobeyed and rebelled. We might respond, “But if I were Adam I wouldn’t have done that,” but in Adam we did, and we wanted to. Sin gives Satan a legal right.

Christ is the ransom. He died for our sin and thereby took it away from us. Now, without sin, Satan has no right to rule our life, Sin is not a slave master, and Death has no claim upon us. The ransom has been paid and we are free. We are reclaimed by God the Father, and we are free from Sin. Faith makes it personally true in my life.

Who is the ransom paid to? To God and to the devil: the ransom is paid to God and the devil at the same time in that both have to now legally and justly agree that Sin, Death and Satan have no more legal right to an innocent person. God says to Satan, “You have no right to an innocent man; you must let him go.” Satan responds, “Yes, I know I must let him go, but not if I can get him to give up his faith in Christ. If he doesn’t believe the ransom has been paid I still have him.”

I say, “Jesus gave himself a ransom for me. I happily belong to God. He bought me and made me his own. Satan, get behind me. I believe The Truth, not your lies.”