Grace For The Journey

  Did you ever believe that the boundaries set forth in sacred Scripture bound you up and left you without a blessing? Many unbelievers regard Christianity as little more than a dour collection of “Thou shalt nots” . . . but what about you? Have you ever slipped into that kind of thinking?

We live in a culture which champions the freedom to do what we want, when we want, and how we want.  If you speak out about the biblical boundaries God has graciously provided us (yes, I said “graciously provided,” not “onerously burdened”), you are viewed as legalistic, narrow-minded, puritanical, and intolerant.  It is not uncommon for someone who is speaking in favor of biblical boundaries to be ruled “OUT OF BOUNDS!”

But this is not how God wants you to think!

The Bible says in Psalm 1:1-3, “Blessed is the man who walks in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stands in the path of sinners, nor sits in the seat of the scornful; but his delight is in the law of the LORD , and in His law he meditates day and night.  He shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water that brings forth its fruit in its season, whose leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he does shall prosper.”

This same culture which champions “If-it-feels-good-do-it” as an inalienable right is increasingly marked by a haunting sense of meaninglessness and utter despair.  The American College Health Association reports that suicide is the third leading cause of death among young people aged 15-24 and the second leading cause of death among college students.

The answer to this epidemic of emotional emptiness sweeping our country is not found in freedom to do what we want.  The Gospel not only tells us what we have been freed from – the dominion of sin and Satan – but the Gospel tells us we are freed for – to walk in the ways of the Lord and to delight in His law.

Biblical boundaries are not burdens to bear; they are blessings to be received. Someone has put it this way, “God’s law (biblical boundaries) tells us where the land mines are buried and keeps us from blowing ourselves and others up.”  The psalmist makes it perfectly clear that we will inevitably step on those land mines when we “walk in the counsel of the ungodly, or stand in the way that sinners take, or sit in the company of mockers.”

Parents, do you put up boundaries for your children because you want to squash their sense of joy and freedom?  No, we set boundaries to protect them from the destructive desires of the world, the flesh, and the devil.  Our great desire is to point our kids to the abundant life that God calls them to live.  We know where many of the land mines are . . . all too often because we stepped squarely on them when we were young!

By outlining for our children what God has already outlined in His Word, we equip and empower them to live a life that truly matters, hopefully picking up less shrapnel than we did along the way!

Our heavenly Father never sinned; He never came close to stepping on a land mine!  But He knows where every single one of them is, and He gave us the map to warn us about all of them – that map is called the Bible.  If we will, as much as it is within our power, faithfully live within the framework of the biblical boundaries He has laid out for us, we will stay within the bounds of God’s blessings.

Are God’s boundaries there to frustrate us and spoil our fun? By no means! They are a gracious gift from God, given to us so that we can live – really live – in freedom and joy.

This is God’s Word For Today … This Is Grace For The Journey

Rest and Rejoice in this eternal truth!

Pastor Terry

Ephesians 4:7 – “But to each one of us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it.”

Hebrews 4:16 – “Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.”

Grace For The Journey

Allow me to encourage you today with a marvelous reality of the Old Testament.  Even though God used many different authors over many centuries, the unified theme and message is all about Jesus and what He would do to fulfill God’s promise of salvation to those who turn from their sin and accept Christ as Savior.

As you read through God’s Word, see how it points you to Jesus.

• Christ is the Seed of woman and in Genesis 3:15 we are told He will one day crush Satan.
• In Exodus we find the story of the Passover Lamb, and Christ is the sacrificial Lamb given for us.
• In Leviticus we read of the high priests making sacrifices for the people, and Christ has become our High Priest, making the perfect sacrifice to atone for our sins.
• In Deuteronomy Moses prophesied of a prophet who would come that would be greater than Himself. Jesus is that Great Prophet.
• In the book of Joshua, Joshua met the Captain of the Lord’s host. That man is Jesus Christ.
• In Judges, the leaders were judges who delivered God’s people, each of them typifying the Lord Jesus.
• Boaz, the kinsman who redeemed Ruth’s inheritance, is a picture of Christ.
• David, the anointed one, pictures Jesus and Jesus is described as being the Son of David.
• In 2 Samuel when the king is being enthroned, the entire scene is descriptive of the Lord Jesus.
• The books of Kings speak of the glory of God filling the temple.
• The Chronicles describe the glorious coming king, both referring to Jesus, the King of Kings.
• Ezra depicts Jesus as the Lord of our fathers.
• Job says clearly that the Redeemer lives and is coming!
• Esther offers a picture of Christ interceding for His people.
• Christ appears time after time in the Psalms, including when David describes Him as “the Shepherd.”
• Isaiah details His glorious birth.
• Jeremiah reveals that He will be acquainted with sorrows.
• Joel describes Him as the Hope of His people.
• Amos tells us that Jesus is the judge of all nations.
• Obadiah warns of the coming eternal One who has an eternal kingdom.
• Jonah offers a picture of Jesus being dead for three days, then coming back to life to preach repentance.
• Zephaniah says that He will be the King over Israel.
• Zachariah is the prophet who speaks of Jesus riding on a colt.
• Malachi is the one who calls Him the Son of Righteousness.

Can you see it? The entire Old Testament points toward Jesus as Savior, and if you miss that, you’ve missed the entire point of the Scriptures. Jesus is the Messiah and the fulfillment of prophecy.

This is God’s Word For Today … This Is Grace For The Journey

Rest and Rejoice in this eternal truth!

Pastor Terry

Ephesians 4:7 – “But to each one of us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it.”

Hebrews 4:16 – “Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.”

 

Grace For The Journey

  We have a powerful word of encouragement today from the prophet Ezekiel, who was placed in the middle of the Valley of Dry Bones:

The Bible says in Ezekiel 37:1-6, “The hand of the LORD was upon me, and he brought me out by the Spirit of the LORD and set me in the middle of a valley; it was full of bones. He led me back and forth among them, and I saw a great many bones on the floor of the valley, bones that were very dry. He asked me, “Son of man, can these bones live?” I said, “O Sovereign LORD, you alone know.” Then he said to me, “Prophesy to these bones and say to them, ‘Dry bones, hear the word of the LORD! This is what the Sovereign LORD says to these bones: I will make breath enter you, and you will come to life. I will attach tendons to you and make flesh come upon you and cover you with skin; I will put breath in you, and you will come to life. Then you will know that I am the LORD.’”

Let me ask you a question: Is there anything with less life in it than dry bones? The corpses Ezekiel saw had lain in the valley for so long that they were no longer recognizable as skeletons; all that remained were bones scattered across the floor of the valley. And they weren’t just dry; Scripture is careful to point out that they were “very dry.” There was no life in them whatsoever!

Yet God said He would make these dry bones stand on their feet and bring them back to life. And that is exactly what happened!

In Ezekiel 37:7-10 the Bible records, “As I was prophesying, there was a noise, a rattling sound, and the bones came together, bone to bone. I looked, and tendons and flesh appeared on them and skin covered them, but there was no breath in them. Then he said to me, “Prophesy to the breath; prophesy, son of man, and say to it, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: ‘Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe into these slain, that they may live.’” So I prophesied as he commanded me, and breath entered them; they came to life and stood up on their feet — a vast army.”

This is the picture of every human being – children of Adam by descent and by nature. We are all very much like these very dry bones scattered over the face of the earth, utterly dead in trespass and sins . . . until Jesus shows up (Ephesians 2:1-5). Jesus breathes the grace of the Gospel into our dead, dry bones and we are raised to walk in the newness of life. It has been well said that Jesus Christ did not die on the Cross to make sick men well; He died so that dead men might live.

But there is more! After God has brought life into our dead bones and covered us with the righteousness of Christ, He begins to knit us together to each other (Ephesians 4:13-16). To be sure, we are saved individually, but we are saved to community. God begins to attach one believer to another as He builds His church – one body with many members. He attaches the rich with the poor. He attaches the successful with the unsuccessful. He attaches the educated with the uneducated. He attaches the attractive with the unattractive. This does not happen with the people of the world; unsaved people segregate themselves in every area of life. Only in the church does this knitting together take place.

When we realize what we were before Jesus showed up – dry, lifeless bones – we break down the barriers that divide us and come together for something bigger than the life we are living. We begin living for the One who gave us life and we begin living it together as one family of faith.

The grace of the Gospel begins to transform us. The dry bones of sinful pride are drenched with the dew of heavenly humility. The dry bones of self-protection are soaked with the shower of self-sacrifice. And the dry bones of expanding our own little kingdom are drowned in the ocean of His omnipotence, omniscience, and omnipresence as we begin expanding the Kingdom of God for His glory and the good of all others.

Praise God … we are able to love … we are able to live … and we are able to labor together as we walk each day of our lives in the life and power of the Gospel of Christ!

This is God’s Word For Today … This Is Grace For The Journey

Rest and Rejoice in this eternal truth!

Pastor Terry

Ephesians 4:7 – “But to each one of us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it.”

Hebrews 4:16 – “Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.”

Grace For The Journey

  We have spoken often about the use of God’s Law and its primary purpose: to drive us to our Savior. The Law was never intended to save us, only to demonstrate how it could not save us, because we simply cannot keep the Law. We need a Savior who could!

In my studies I have found something else that I believe will serve as a great encouragement to you today regarding the difference between the Law and the Gospel. We’re going to focus on the two men most closely connected with both: Moses and the Law . . . Jesus and the Gospel.

The Bible tells us about Moses in Exodus 34:29-30, “When Moses came down from Mount Sinai with the two tablets of the Testimony in his hands, he was not aware that his face was radiant because he had spoken with the LORD. When Aaron and all the Israelites saw Moses, his face was radiant, and they were afraid to come near him.”

The Bible tells us about Jesus in Mark 9:15, “As soon as all the people saw Jesus, they were overwhelmed with wonder and ran to greet Him.”

What a perfect picture these two accounts give us regarding the difference between the Law and the Gospel! The law repels; the Gospel attracts. The law says “GO, walk the straight and narrow every step of the way.” The Gospel says “COME, running with great wonder!”

The Law is the great reminder to God’s people about the distance between a Holy God and a sinful people and how man cannot hope to bridge that chasm.  The Gospel is the “good news” to God’s people about how the gulf between a holy God and a sinful people has been bridged by the only One who could bridge it: Jesus Christ. From the very first moment of the Christian life, when God raises us from death to life, forever removing the bright barrier of the law, we are told to “COME” and follow the One who is the way, the truth, and the life. Jesus has both paid our way and paved our way to the Celestial City. Jesus wants us to follow Him everywhere; He leads us as a Shepherd who will provide for His sheep and protect them . . . even at the expense of his own life.

Jesus says in John 10:14-15, “I am the good shepherd; I know My sheep and My sheep know Me – just as the Father knows Me and I know the Father – and I lay down My life for the sheep.”

You see, the Lord Jesus Christ is the greater Moses. He is the perfect Moses, who delivers His people from the bondage of sin and death. His life and death revealed more of God’s holiness and justice than the Law could ever deliver. He was born to die – to die for sinners who could not pay the penalty for their own sin. He who knew no sin became sin for us that we might have eternal life.

That, beloved, is the difference between the Law and our Lord. The law says “GO” and can only say “GO.” The Lord says “COME,” and as you do, you find that you are received by open arms and nail-scarred hands that will never say “GO” and will never let you go!

This is God’s Word For Today … This Is Grace For The Journey

Rest and Rejoice in this eternal truth!

Pastor Terry

Ephesians 4:7 – “But to each one of us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it.”

Hebrews 4:16 – “Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.”

Grace For The Journey

  As we move deeper into the truths of the Gospel, the Good News almost seems too good to be true.

The more I learn and live in the truths of the Gospel,

The more I am convinced that I need more of the truths of the Gospel

. . . not simply to just believe the truths of the Gospel but to live out those truths!  Yet, there are days when I echo the cry of the father of the demon-possessed boy in Mark 9:24, “Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!”

The cross shouts many things to us.

• It shouts that Jesus is committed to saving His people.
• It shouts that His people are accepted in the work of Christ.
• It shouts that the entire work of our salvation has been perfectly completed by our Savior.

But did you know it shouts that He rejoices over you?

The Bible says in Isaiah 62:5, “As the bridegroom rejoices over his bride, so will your God rejoice over you.”

Jesus, our bridegroom, has made a choice to rejoice over you His bride.  This is not because you have matured over time, like a fine wine.  And it isn’t because you redoubled your efforts and strengthened your commitment to be more faithful.  His choice to rejoice over you is simply that: His choice.  And because His choice doesn’t have its beginnings in you, it won’t have its continuance or its completion in you either.

That is really good news, isn’t it?

• We are accepted because He chooses to accept us.
• We are adopted because He chooses to adopt us.
• We are cared for because He chooses to care for us.
• We are loved because He chooses to love us.

It would be impossible to accept just how much we mean to our Lord if it hadn’t been written down for us in the sacred Scriptures.  And even when we read it in the Gospel over and over, we still need to ask Jesus to help our unbelief.

I think one of the reasons His choice to rejoice over me is so hard to accept is the fact that I know just how bad I really am!  I know my divided affections . . . my idolatry . . . my sinful pride . . . my self-righteousness.  I know that I remove Jesus from the throne of my life and replace Him with a thousand things smaller than Him.  And yet, in spite of all that – in spite of the wretched man that I am – He has made a choice to rejoice over me!

Regardless of where this message finds you today, I encourage you to pause for a moment and receive a good dose of Gospel medication.  Our heavenly Father’s choice to rejoice over you was sealed with Christ’s blood staining the old rugged cross on a hill called Calvary.

Still not convinced?  God confirmed the sacrifice of His Son for you by raising Him from the dead on the third day.

Still struggling with doubts?  Today Jesus sits in the position of power, authority, and glory at the right hand of the Father, always making intercession for you, and waiting for that day when He will receive you into glory.

These Gospel truths are the key to rising above the challenges of daily living.  These truths provide the necessary fuel to face every obstacle and overcome every failure, knowing that we wear the spotless wedding garments of His grace.  And that is enough to get us home safely!

One final point: The Bible says in Hebrews 13:8, “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.”  His choice to rejoice over you as His bride never grows cold, never diminishes, and never fades. Now that is great, good news!

This is God’s Word For Today … This Is Grace For The Journey

Rest and Rejoice in this eternal truth!

Pastor Terry

Ephesians 4:7 – “But to each one of us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it.”

Hebrews 4:16 – “Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.”

 

Grace For The Journey

  You hear a lot of talk in the church about “self-esteem” these days.  Self-esteem is a term used in psychology to reflect someone’s overall evaluation or appraisal of his or her own worth.  Self-esteem, also known as self-concept, encompasses both beliefs and emotions. A self-concept based on the truth (“I am a great sinner in need of an even greater Savior”) is good.  A self-concept based on a lie (“I’m a pretty good person; certainly not as bad as most”) is bad.

Only the power of the Gospel frees us to live in the light of the truth with freedom, laughter, joy, and faithfulness to Jesus.  You see, the Gospel frees us from shading the truth about ourselves.  We don’t have to make ourselves out to be better than we actually are, because God loved us while we were sinners and He still loves us while we are sinners.

The power of the Gospel allows us to take off our masks and stop pretending we are holy and pious.  We were sinners when we were first saved and we are still sinners today.  The difference is that we are now saved from our sins.  Knowing this truth, believing this truth, and understanding this truth allows us to accept who we are: fully accepted and blessed in the Beloved.

The Bible says in Ephesians 1:3-6, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love he predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved.”

How incredibly loved you really are! God the Father sent God His Son to die on a cross for you!  There is no greater blessing in the Beloved than to know that you are now forever accepted, because you were bought with His precious blood on Golgotha’s Hill.

You cannot lose your acceptance.  You cannot diminish His love for you.  You cannot make Him angry with you.  The right way for you to view yourself is clothed in the righteousness of Christ, perfectly pleasing in the sight of God.

Now, note that I did not say “perfect.”  None of us is perfect, and we won’t be until we get to the other side of the grave.  But along the way, because of the finished work of Christ, we are perfectly pleasing in the sight of God.  And that truth should impact the way we view ourselves and feel about ourselves, even in the light of our next sin.

Yes, we hate sin.  Yes, we are filled with a godly sorrow when we sin and recognize our own unworthiness.  But we are still sinners saved by grace; the more unworthy we feel ourselves to be, the more evidence we have for the unconditional and unending love of God in Christ.

People may doubt your salvation.  Satan may whisper in your ear that you are far too unworthy to be an object of God’s love.  But don’t you listen to it for a moment!

Remember what God says in His Word, “He that spared not His own son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?” (Romans 8:32).

It is important to know, remember, and live by your true identity in Christ. The following Bible verses will help you see yourself as God sees you.

Through faith in Jesus, I am a child of God and I belong to Him:

John 1:12 – “Yet to all who received Him, to those who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God.”

I am loved by God and nothing can separate me from His love:

1 Peter 2:9 – “But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His wonderful light.”

Romans 8:35-39 – “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? As it is written: ‘For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.’ No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

I am chosen by God:

Ephesians 1:4 – “For He chose us in Him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in His sight.”

I am forgiven and my sin-debt is paid:

Colossians 2:13-14 – “When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your sinful nature, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, having cancelled the written code, with its regulations, that was against us and that stood opposed to us; He took it away, nailing it to the cross.”

I am strengthened for all tasks to which God calls me:

Philippians 4:13 – “I can do everything through Christ who gives me strength.”

The Holy Spirit is with me:

John 14:16 – “And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Counselor to be with you forever.”

I have peace with God through my Lord Jesus Christ:

Romans 5:1 – “Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.”

I am never alone – God will not leave me:

Hebrews 13:5 – “Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, ‘Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.’”

A right view of you is you are His today, tomorrow, and forever more.

This is God’s Word For Today … This Is Grace For The Journey

Rest and Rejoice in this eternal truth!

Pastor Terry

Ephesians 4:7 – “But to each one of us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it.”

Hebrews 4:16 – “Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.”

Grace For The Journey

  Throughout Scripture we find “Rock” used as a metaphor for God.  Primarily it conveys His immutability – His inability to change in His essential nature and character.

The Bible says in Deuteronomy 32:4, “He (God) is the Rock, His work is perfect, for all His ways are justice.  A God of truth and without injustice, righteousness and upright is He.”

Bible commentator Matthew Henry rightly observed, “God is the rock, for he is in himself unchangeable, immovable, and he is to all that seek him and run to him an impenetrable shelter, and to all who trust in him an everlasting foundation.”  To know that God cannot change should be a source of great comfort to you today.  When everything around us is changing at incredible speeds, God is the same today as He was yesterday and will be forevermore (Hebrews 13:8).

Rocks and stones are quality building materials because of their solid, unbreakable strength.  They serve as one of the best foundations upon which to build.  God our Rock serves as the absolute ultimate foundation upon which to build, in both life and death.

Jesus spoke about this in Matthew 7:24-25, “Everyone then who hears these words of Mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock.  And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock.  And everyone who hears these words of Mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand.  And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it.”

To be sure, the stability of a rock speaks to the faithfulness of our God.  In a world marked by deceit and inconstancy, we have a God who is unwavering, unshakeable, and eternally faithful to the promises He has made.

The Bible says in 2 Peter 1:4, “He has granted to us His precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire.”

Jesus as our Rock . . . simply rocks!  He rocks by being for us.  He rocks by being with us.  He rocks by being in us.  He rocks because He is the Rock of Ages.

Our Rock laid His life down for us that we might live.

And when Jesus said it was finished, He meant what He said.  He uttered His victory shout from the cross, and the earth shook! There is nothing we can add to the finished work of our Rock.

He has done it all, and all we need do is remember and rest in this Gospel-saturated truth: “Being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete at the day of Jesus Christ” (Philippians 1:6).

Make no mistake, our Rock rocks!!!!!!!!!

This is God’s Word For Today … This Is Grace For The Journey

Rest and Rejoice in this eternal truth!

Pastor Terry

Ephesians 4:7 – “But to each one of us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it.”

Hebrews 4:16 – “Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.”

Grace For The Journey

 

 

I frequently remind you of the truth of Acts 17:28 – that Christians live, and move, and have their being in God and no other.  We live in His strength and not our own.  It is His divine power that has given us everything we need for life and godliness (2 Peter 1:3).

So . . . where does human effort fit in?  Or should we, as some say, regard human effort as a “work of the flesh” and therefore sinful?

The Bible says in Philippians 2:12-13, “My dear friends, as you have always obeyed –not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence – continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose.”

This text is often misused to instill fear into people, warning them that it means that they can lose their salvation.  What does it mean to “work out our salvation with fear and trembling?”  Paul can hardly be encouraging believers to live in a continuous condition of nervousness and anxiety. That would contradict his many other exhortations to peace of mind, courage, and confidence in the God who is the “author and finisher our salvation.”   The Greek word translated “fear” in this context can equally mean “reverence” or “respect.” Paul uses the same phrase in (2 Corinthians 7:15) where he refers to Titus as being encouraged by the Corinthians’ reception of him “with fear and trembling,” that is, with great humility and respect for his position as a minister of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Paul himself came to the Corinthian church in “weakness and fear, and with much trembling” (1 Corinthians 2:3), mindful of the great and awesome nature of the work in which he was engaged.

The sense in which we are to work out our salvation in fear and trembling is twofold. First, the Greek verb rendered “work out” means “to continually work to bring something to completion or fruition.” We do this by actively pursuing obedience in the process of sanctification, which Paul explains further in Philippians chapter three. He describes himself as “reaching forward” and “pressing on” toward the goal of Christlikeness (Philippians 3:13-14). The “trembling” he experiences is the attitude Christians are to have in pursuing this goal – a healthy fear of offending God through disobedience and an awe and respect for His majesty and holiness. “Trembling” can also refer to a shaking due to weakness, but this is a weakness of higher purpose, one which brings us to a state of dependency on God. Obedience and submission to the God we revere and respect is our “reasonable service” (Romans 12:1-2) and brings great joy. Psalm 2:11 sums it up perfectly: “Serve the LORD with fear and rejoice with trembling.” We work out our salvation by going to the very source of our salvation – the Word of God – wherein we renew our hearts and minds (Romans 12:1-2), coming into His presence with a spirit of reverence and awe.

The Amplified Bible sums up Philippians 2:13 best: “[Not in your own strength] for it is God Who is all the while effectually at work in you [energizing and creating in you the power and desire], both to will and to work for His good pleasure and satisfaction and delight.”

“For it is God which works in you” – Every holy purpose, pious resolution, good word, and good work, must come from Him; we must be workers together with Him, that we receive not His grace in vain; because He works in us, therefore work with Him, and work out our own salvation.

“To will and to do”  – The power to will and the power to act must necessarily come from God, who is the author both of the soul and body, and of all its powers and energies, but the act of volition and the act of working come from us. God gives power to will, we will through that power; God gives power to act, and we acts through that power. Without the power to will, we can will nothing; without the power to work, we can do nothing. God neither wills for us, nor works in our stead, but He furnishes us with power to do both; we are therefore accountable to God for these powers.

Because God works in us the power to will and the power to do, the apostle exhorts them to work out their own salvation. We cannot do God’s work, we cannot produce in ourselves a power to will and to do; and God will not do our work, He will not work out our salvation with fear and trembling.

Though men have grievously puzzled themselves with questions relative to the will and power of the human being; yet no case can be plainer than that which the apostle lays down here: the power to will and do comes from God; the use of that power belongs to man. He that has not got this power can neither will nor work; he that has this power can do both. But it does not necessarily follow that he who has these powers will use them; the possession of the powers does not necessarily imply the use of those powers, because a man might have them, and not use or abuse them; therefore the apostle exhorts: Work out your own salvation.

Caution: you are entering a spiritual “spin zone” for legalists! Legalists misinterpret and misuse this text of sacred Scripture.  They want to create an atmosphere of fear for their followers in order to keep them in line.  Legalists darkly warn those who will listen that if they sin, God will reject them and they will lose their salvation.

This is simply not what these verses in Philippians are teaching!  The Greek word that the Holy Spirit inspired Paul to use, from which we get “fear” in the Philippians passage above, is “phobos.”  “Phobosis” is literally translated as “reverence,” “awe,” or “respect” – not a slavish fear or panic that paralyzes a person.  The right emotions of reverence, awe, and respect are to be gleaned from this text, not doubt, dread, or fear regarding our eternal security!

Paul used the very same word to describe the wonderful reception that Titus received from the Christians at Corinth:

“His affection for you is all the greater when he remembers that you were all obedient, receiving him with fear and trembling.” (2 Corinthians 7:15)

Paul even used “phobosto” to describe himself when he came to the Corinthian church, reflecting on the awesome, almighty nature of the calling Jesus placed in his life, taking him from the persecutor of the church to the pastor of the church.

In 1 Corinthians he says, “I came to you in weakness and fear, and with much trembling.”

To “work out” our salvation (Philippians 2:13), then, means to do all we can (effort), with the proper sense of reverence and awe for the strength of the Almighty, which is how we live a life of obedience and faithfulness before the face of God.  We are to actively pursue the things of God in that ongoing process that is often called progressive sanctification.  Notice that the phrase is “progressive” sanctification – not perfect obedience!  The Christian progresses in the direction of godliness by grace, through faith, straining with human effort . . . but that Christian believer will not be perfected until he or she is received into glory.

In working out our salvation we go to the source of our salvation (the Lord Jesus Christ) and through the many means of grace (Bible study and memorization, prayer, worship, fellowship with the saints, etc.) God renews our minds, enlarges our hearts, and bends our wills so that our efforts, worked out in His strength, are in line with His will for our lives.

In his seminary and graduate school handbook, The Daring Goal: What to Expect When We Accept Christ as Our Life, Richard Foster put it this way:

“Through the Holy Spirit’s guidance and strength, I will order my life according to an overall pattern that conforms to the way of Christ.  Over time this process will develop deeply ingrained habits in me so that, at the moment of crisis, inner resources to act in a Christ-like manner are available.”

Our efforts in His strength will, over time, develop deeply ingrained habits that will lead us toward holiness.  And that is the only place where significance and success kiss.  Let the psalmist close out today’s thoughts: “Serve the Lord with fear and rejoice with trembling.” (Psalm 2:11)

This is God’s Word For Today … This Is Grace For The Journey

Rest and Rejoice in this eternal truth!

Pastor Terry

Ephesians 4:7 – “But to each one of us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it.”

Hebrews 4:16 – “Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.”

Grace For The Journey

  I trust today’s blog will prove to be a word of great encouragement to you, regardless of where this finds you.

The Bible says in 2 Peter 3:18, “Grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be glory both now and forever! Amen.”

Often the best way to figure out what Scripture is saying is to clearly identify what it is NOT saying. In this verse it is not saying that “grace grows.” Peter is telling us to grow in grace, but in no way is he suggesting that God’s grace grows in the life of the believer. Many have led the unsuspecting believer astray into this wicked error, teaching that the more we do for God, the more favor, mercy, and love we will receive. In other words, our good works cause God’s grace to grow in our lives.

Understand that grace is the free, unmerited, favor, mercy, and love of God in Christ toward His people, bestowed on them since before the foundation of the world (Romans 8:29-30; Ephesians 1:4-6). Christian believer, you have been given all His grace from everlasting to everlasting!

• We cannot be more justified.
• We cannot be more adopted.
• We cannot be more pardoned.
• We cannot be more forgiven.
• We cannot be more saved.
• We cannot be more loved!
• We have been made perfect in the Christ Jesus, and it is impossible to rise above perfection.

To be sure, we will grow up into that grace as we grow up into Christ, but we have had – and will forever have – the full measure of God’s grace and affection poured out into our lives. I’d like you to pause for a moment and reflect on both sides of this cosmic coin.

God’s grace does not grow in the life of the believer,

Because it is perfect and infinite and cannot be added to.

Therefore, it is just as true that God’s grace does not diminish in the life of the believer. There is nothing you can do – nothing – that will cause God to love you any more or any less than He has loved you from before the beginning of time! Let that truth set you free to live the life God is calling you to live, and live in the joy of the Lord, which is your strength (Nehemiah 8:10).

With that as a settled truth in the heart of the believer, growing in grace becomes the well-worn path the believer walks in progressive sanctification. The Bible constantly reminds and encourages the believer to grow . . . to work out . . . to strive for . . . and at least eight times in the New Testament we are told to make every effort!

The Bible says in Philippians 2:12-13, “Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed,, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who works in you to will and to do for His s good pleasure.”

This passage provides the key that unlocks the door leading to a lifetime of growing in God’s grace. We are to work out – not work for – our salvation. Why? Because it is God who works in us! Wow!

We work out because God works in us.

What a powerful truth to encourage and inspire us to live for the One who lived, died, and rose again . . . for us!

This is God’s Word For Today … This Is Grace For The Journey

Rest and Rejoice in this eternal truth!

Pastor Terry

Ephesians 4:7 – “But to each one of us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it.”

Hebrews 4:16 – “Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.”

Grace For The Journey

  The last time I performed a funeral, a thought came over me as I was walking through the cemetery.  The graves are obviously marked with the identification of the person who is buried there so that the loved ones can easily find them when they come to visit.  However, there was one headstone I came across that was so worn and weather-beaten that it was impossible to read or identify who was buried beneath it.

Then it struck me: this is the place where we are to bury our sin – all our sin – in an unmarked grave . . . never to be revisited or resurrected again.

The grace of the unmarked grave is the result of the truths of the Gospel.  When God forgives our sins because of the life, death, and resurrection of Christ, He not only forgives our sins, but He forgets them too!

Listen to these wonderful truths from the Bible:

“In Your love You kept me from the pit of destruction; You have put all my sins behind Your back.”  (Isaiah 38:17)

“As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us.”  (Psalm 103:12)

“You will again have compassion on us; You will tread our sins underfoot and hurl all our iniquities into the depths of the sea.”  (Micah 7:19)

Scripture makes it clear that we are to bury our sins in an unmarked grave so we cannot revisit them over and over again.

Why?

Because God does not revisit them!

• God has put all our sins behind His back, never to be in view.
• He has removed our sins an infinite distance from us, because east and west never meet.
• And God has hurled our sins into the deep.

He did not simply tip them over the side of the boat; God intentionally and forcefully hurled them all into the depths of the sea, never to be dredged up again.

In her book, Tramp for the Lord, Nazi death camp survivor Corrie Ten Boom wrote:

“When I confessed [my sins] to the Father, Jesus Christ washed them in His blood. They are now cast into the deepest sea and a sign is put up that says,  ‘NO FISHING ALLOWED.’”

That is the grace of the unmarked grave.  You see, what is important to God is not what we were, but rather what we are now.  We are His, having been fully forgiven and totally loved . . . from before the creation of the world.

Because God laid all of our sin on His precious Son, as He hung, nailed to a cruel cross, we can bury them all in an unmarked grave, never to be recalled or reviewed.  What a great grace we have been given by our God, who both forgives and refuses to remember our sins, now and forevermore!

This is God’s Word For Today … This Is Grace For The Journey

Rest and Rejoice in this eternal truth!

Pastor Terry

Ephesians 4:7 – “But to each one of us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it.”

Hebrews 4:16 – “Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.”