God's Curse or Blessing? - Part 3

“‘Cursed is the one who does not confirm all the words of this law.’ “And all the people shall say, ‘Amen!’ ” “Now it shall come to pass, if you diligently obey the voice of the Lord your God, to observe carefully all His commandments which I command you today, that the Lord your God will set you high above all nations of the earth. And all these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you, because you obey the voice of the Lord your God:” (Deuteronomy 27:26–28:2, NKJV)

That leaves us in a precarious situation, doesn’t it? Not fulfilling every command leaves us under a curse. The blessing is for those who "observe carefully all His commands." But carefully obeying every single command both in deed and attitude is not possible!

So, Paul teaches us in Galatians 3 that there are two ways to live life, and these ways are mutually exclusive. He explains this in verses 11 and 12. In verse 11 he tells us that one way is to live by faith, "The just shall live by faith." The other way, given in verse 12, is to live by the law. He says very clearly that the law is not of faith because those who do them shall live by them. The “them” I take to mean all of the commandments in the law. So you can live “by faith” or “by them, the commandments”. These are two mutually exclusive ways of living. Each one of us can live either by faith or by the law, but not both.

Paul now makes the statement that Christ has redeemed us from the curse of a law because Christ became cursed for us. Why? What is the purpose?  He goes on in verse 14, "that the blessing of Abraham might come upon the Gentiles in Christ Jesus, that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith" (Emphasis mine).  Jesus Christ fully kept the law in every way including all deeds and attitudes. And yet, he bore the judgment of the curse. This happened so that blessing could be given to us, the blessing given to Abraham that was given to him unconditionally. In other words there were no constraints of law-keeping on him. We receive the truth of this blessing by faith -- by believing what God has said concerning Christ's work on the cross for us. When we believe this we move from being under the law to living by faith -- a totally different approach to life.

In Galatians 3:15 we read that even men’s contracts are binding. We know that is true in our culture. When you sign a contract, it is a binding agreement. Therefore it is even more so if God makes the contract. God's contracts are binding. God is faithful and true and his contracts cannot be broken. God made a contract with Abraham and his seed, and he made it as a one-sided promise. Nothing can void the contract which God gave to Abraham and his seed.

This is where the real crux of the argument begins to come into play. This is such an important truth I hope that you will take the time to really think about what is happening here. Galatians 3:17 tells us that the law which came 430 years after the promise to Abraham cannot annul or cancel the promise which God had made to him and his seed. You see, the law that the Israelites were given that conditioned either blessing or curses was given long after God promised a blessing to Abraham. That law cannot add conditions to the promise God gave him. God won't hold Abraham and his seed accountable to the law in order to receive his blessing. That would be adding terms to a contract already ratified by himself.

If you know a little bit about Old Testament history, you know that Abraham lived before Moses. God's rescue of the Israelite people and the subsequent giving of the law came 430 years after Abraham's time. God had made a binding contract with Abraham and nothing that would happen later could annul that agreement. Why? Because God’s Word and promises are certain and binding. If man’s contracts cannot be abrogated, how much less can God’s? What Paul is saying is that if God were to give the blessing of the inheritance based on the law, then it wouldn’t be the result of a promise any more, but God gave it as a promise without any conditions.

Lord, Increase our Faith

I spoke last night on Matthew 21:22, “And whatever things you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive.” Jesus said this during Holy Week after he had cursed the fig tree. This is a hard verse because my immediate tendency is to place all sorts of conditions on the “whatever”. Jesus certainly cannot mean that, can he?

Well, it matters why we are trying to put conditions on his statement. There are other conditions for answered prayer in the scripture besides believing. We are supposed to pray according to God's will. We are supposed to pray in Jesus' name. We are to pray persistently and in agreement with other believers. We are supposed to be those who are abiding in Christ and who are living obedient lives before we can claim that God would answer our prayers. So, yes, there are conditions. My normal reason for responding to this “whatever” is lack of faith rather than the other spiritual conditions. When I respond in unbelief, even the one condition of this verse has been denied.

So given the Scriptural conditions mentioned above, let's look at the promise. First there is the “whatever”. God doesn't promise substitutes, he promises to give us what we ask for. All of the promises of God specify the “it” in one way or another. “Whatever you ask, it will be given you.”

Second, we need to ask. James writes, “You have not because you ask not” (James 4:2). It seems obvious, but we do need to ask. And in another case Jesus challenged his followers to be persistent in the asking.

Finally, we must believe. Mark 11:24 writes it this way, “Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them.” Here he says that we are to believe that we are receiving them. This occurs before the future tense of we will have them. In other words, our prayer needs to have the faith to believe that the answer is on the way even before it actually arrives. Hebrews 6:12 tells us that it takes faith and patience. There is a believing and a patient waiting. But again, all of this presumes the meeting of all the scriptural conditions for answered prayer. But what a promise! Our faith is so weak at times. We pray and hardly expect God to even hear us let alone answer our prayer. Maybe this needs to be our prayer, “Lord, increase our faith” (Luke 17:5).

Memorization Monday - Ephesians 2:8,9

Eph 2:8-9 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.

Memorization Monday - Hebrews 11:1

Heb 11:1 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.

Consequences of Believing in Christ

This morning I was reviewing verses that tell us what results when we believe on Christ. I thought this was very encouraging and so I'm passing the list on to you. There are other verses, but these are the ones I was focusing on.


Jn 1:12 But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name:
Jn 3:16 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.
Jn 3:18 “He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.
Jn 3:36 He who believes in the Son has everlasting life; and he who does not believe the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.”
Jn 5:24 “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life.
Jn 6:40 And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him may have everlasting life; and I will raise him up at the last day.”
Jn 6:47 Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me has everlasting life.
Jn 7:38-39 He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.” But this He spoke concerning the Spirit, whom those believing in Him would receive; for the Holy Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.
Jn 11:25-26 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?”
Jn 14:12 “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do, because I go to My Father.
Ac 10:43 To Him all the prophets witness that, through His name, whoever believes in Him will receive remission of sins.”
Ac 13:39 and by Him everyone who believes is justified from all things from which you could not be justified by the law of Moses.
Ac 16:31 So they said, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, you and your household.”
Ro 1:16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek.
Ro 10:9-10 that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
1 Jn 5:1 Whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and everyone who loves Him who begot also loves him who is begotten of Him.

Difficulty Strengthens Faith -- A Puritan Thought for the Day

And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.   Philippians 4:7

The life of faith is the only safe life.  Its fortifications are impregnable.  Trust in the Lord forever, for in him is everlasting strength.  Ages pass away but the Lord our Rock abides forever.  He that rained manna in the wilderness will give us bread; and he that brought water from the rock will be a never-failing fountain.  Faith’s work is to pray for what it needs and to give thanks for what it has.  Faith uses means, but trusts in God.  When there are no means to use we say, ‘Though the fig tree should not blossom, nor fruit be on the vines… yet I will rejoice in the Lord; I will take joy in the God of my salvation’ (Hab. 3:17-18).  Faith can live upon God when there is famine in all  creation.  The peace of God guards the heart from all surprises of fear and trouble.  As faith enjoys God in all things in the greatest abundance, so she can enjoy all things in God in the deepest need.  Paul describes his trouble in Asia:  ‘We were so utterly burdened beyond our strength that we despaired of life itself’ (2 Cor. 1:8).  ‘But’, he said, ‘that was to make us rely not on ourselves but on God who raises the dead.’  If God can raise the dead, he can conquer the greatest difficulty.  He can put life into dead men, life into dead hopes, and raise up our expectations fro the grave of despair.   He can put life into dead bones and life into dead faith.  We are proud creatures and full of self-confidence, but God, by strange and unexpected providences, hedges up our way with thorns.  He brings us to despair even of life and brings us under the sentence of death that we might not trust in ourselves, but in him who raises the dead.  He overturns us by despair, shows us what babes and fools we are in ourselves, that we might know nothing but God.  Go in the strength of the Lord!

Read more: http://creationrevolution.com/2012/06/daily-devotional-the-peace-of-god-which-surpasses-all-understanding/#ixzz2PUvUBhsB

The Importance of Basing our Faith on Truth

Those of you who read this blog often know that I often post excerpts from Valley of Vision, a book of Puritan prayers and devotions.  I usually post them without comment, but today I'd like to take a closer look at part of one that I read the other day.

Here's the excerpt with my comments in italics:

It is not feeling the Spirit that proves
   my saved state but the truth of what
   Christ did perfectly for me;
It's important to focus not on our feelings but on the truth God presents to us. Feelings can be deceiving and although they are God-given, they should not be depended on to know the truth.
 
All holiness in him by faith made mine.
   as if I had done it;
This is a crucial point in the Christian faith. The Bible teaches that the righteousness of Christ is  transferred to our account. Our own righteousness is not sufficient. We need to have God's own righteousness applied to us. 
 
Therefore I see the use of his righteousness,
   for satisfaction to divine justice and making
      me righteous.
It is this righteousness, the righteousness of Christ attributed to us, that satisfies a holy God. When divine justice investigates me to determine my state, God finds me perfectly righteous, not because of my own goodness, but because of Christ's righteousness given to me.
 
It is not inner sensation that makes Christ’s death
      mine
   for that may be delusion, being without the Word,
Again, it is not our feelings that accomplish these things, but our belief and trust in the promise of God that makes it real, no matter how we feel.
 
   but his death apprehended by my faith,
   and so testified by Word and Spirit.

We need to understand that truth comes first. God has acted on our behalf and He has told us about it in the Scriptures. Based on His promises we accept God's offer of forgiveness and the transfer of righteousness. Our feelings are a result of the fact that God's promises are sure and His Word reliable. The facts come first, then comes the faith in those facts and finally the feelings come line up with the facts.  That's the biblical order.

We Preach Christ Crucified - A Puritan Devotional

 but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles,  1 Corinthians 1:23

Simple assent to the truth of the Word is but an act of the understanding.  Reprobates and devils may exercise this, but justifying faith takes its seat both in the understanding and the will.  The promises of God call for an act of the will to embrace and receive it.  Therefore, he who only notionally knows the promise, and speculatively assents to the truth of it, without clinging to it, and embracing it, does not believe to the saving of the soul.  Justifying faith rests on Christ crucified for pardon and life upon the warrant of God’s promise and terminates upon him.  It is not Christ in his personal excellencies, but as bleeding, and that to death, under the hand of divine justice to make an atonement by God’s own appointment for the sins of the world.  Faith finds that Christ has made full payment to the justice of God having poured out his blood to death upon the cross.  All of his previous acts of humiliation were but preparatory to this.  He was born to die; he was sent into the world as a lamb bound with the bonds of an irreversible decree as a sacrifice.  Without this, all he had done would have been labour undone.  There is no redemption but by his blood.  Christ did not redeem and save poor souls by sitting in majesty on his heavenly throne, but by hanging on the shameful cross, under the tormenting hand of man’s fury and God’s just wrath.  And therefore, the poor soul that would have pardon of sin, is directed to place its faith not only on Christ, but on a bleeding Christ, whom God has set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood (Rom. 3:25).  Not everyone who assents to the truth of what the Scripture says about Christ truly believes. No, believing implies a union of the soul to Christ with full trust and reliance.

Musings on Faith and Life -- 4

So far in my musings about the meaning and purpose of life, I have tried to show that there is a God who exists and that he is greater than all that we can imagine and he created and owns everything and doesn't need our advice and counsel to figure out how to run the world. The second thing we looked at is the Bible's teaching that God's purpose for all he does is his glory. We were created by him in his image in order to reflect his glory and majesty and when we get side-tracked from that we lose our focus and then find ourselves without meaning and purpose. Finally I tried to explain the Bible's point of view that all of us have sinned against God by not acknowledging him and by not being thankful for his provisions for us and finally disobeying his just commands.

Most people view God as being a kind old man who doesn't really expect much of us. He wants us to be happy and helps us now and then but pretty much stays out of our way. When it comes to some sort of final judgment, God realizes that we all pretty much do our best and nodding his approval, welcomes us into his home. The problem with this is that it is not at all the way the Bible describes God. The Bible describes God as being a just God. Being just means that he cannot just ignore sins against him. He loves people, but in that loving, his character of justice cannot simply overlook sin. Think about it this way. How would you feel about a judge who let the same criminal go over and over because he really liked the guy. Suppose the criminal was in court for his 50^th murder in the act of committing a robbery. Would you be pretty content with that judge if he just keep letting this man go because he was a nice guy and was really likeable? We all know that such a judge is not just and should be removed from the bench. And yet we are hoping that God is like that judge.

The God presented to us in the Bible is completely just and will not overlook sin. He has already demonstrated that to us in this world by putting all creation under a curse. We know something is wrong. We have a sense about how people should ideally get along, and yet we see so much abuse, fighting and killing in the world that we know something is wrong. We picture what an idyllic garden should be like and yet there are constant attacks on that garden by weeds and pests of one kind or another. We are trying to grow a few beautiful roses right up next to our sunroom and suddenly one morning every bud was gone. A deer had come up to the house and had eaten every bud that was available. That same deer has to be careful to avoid being attacked by a predator or killed by a hunter or run over by a car.

We know things are not like we think they should be and it's not because we're just lazy and want an easy life. We know things are out of whack somehow. The Bible explains that God cursed the ground because of us – because of our sin. Paul writes in the book of Romans, “For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it in hope; because the creation itself also will be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation groans and labors with birth pangs together until now.”

So my thoughts today are aimed at understanding that God is a just God and he will and has responded to our sin and disobedience with appropriate punishment.

Numbers 14:18 “He will by no means clear the guilty.”

Ezekiel 18:4 “The soul that sins shall die.”

Romans 3:23 “For all have sinned and have fallen short of the glory of God.”

Next time we'll look at God's solution to our problem.

Musings on Faith and Life -- 3

So far in my musings about the meaning and purpose of life, I have tried to show that there is a God who exists and that he is greater than all that we can imagine and he created and owns everything and doesn't need our advice and counsel to figure out how to run the world. The second thing we looked at is the Bible's teaching that God's purpose for all he does is for his glory. We were created by him in his image in order to reflect his glory and majesty and when we get side-tracked from that we lose our focus and then find ourselves without meaning and purpose.

Within ourselves we know that something is not right with the world, or even with ourselves for that matter. We have a sense of the kind of love that should pervade human society and yet that love is woefully missing. There are some glimmers of it, but there are an awful lot of dark places. This is true on a global scale and it is true within our own circle of family and friends. Things often seem pleasant and people seem happy, but there is a lot of friction, discontent, abuse, and anger around. We know this is true and we know it should be better than it is.

In addition to interpersonal and international frictions it seems as though nature is messed up. In many ways nature is beautiful, but even there we see death, violence and a sort of unsettledness both in the living world and in non-living aspects of the world such as weather and geological instability. How are we to explain this. Atheists and naturalists have their ways, but to me these are not satisfactory.

The Bible's explanation is that God gave one specific negative command. Human beings in the person of the first man Adam disobeyed God's command and rebelled against the creator and owner. As a result he brought the curse of death upon the whole human race and upon creation itself. The Bible says that the whole creation groans. (Romans 8:22) We as people groan because we are plagued with sickness and decaying bodies. We groan because making our living is not easy. Nature resists our attempts to grow food and to build a decent life for ourselves. We find rust and decay affecting virtually everything we make and it takes work to keep things in good repair and working order.

When God cursed us he told us that disobedience would cause death. And that is what we see all around us. As time went on God gave us more and more commandments in order to show us his character and to allow us to see just how far from his path we have wandered. Through the ten commandments and other moral instructions given in the Bible, God shows us where the line is and we can see clearly how far we've fallen and how impossible it is to live the way God designed us to live. Sometimes we look at commandments as overbearing and authoritarian, but God is the one who designed us and the rest of the world. He is the one who knows how these bodies, minds and spirits work best. His commands are to provide a way of living that works best. Ultimately we find that we can't live by those standards even if we try. We don't have it within us to comply. That too is part of the consequences of our fallen nature. We don't really want to live like God wants us to. We don't want God to be telling us what to do. We want our independence.

God tells us in Romans 1:18 and following that the crux of the problem is that even though we know God is there and that he is powerful, we naturally do not give him the glory that he is due and we are not thankful to him for all that he has provided. We just assume we have a right to everything. We end up worshipping and serving created things such as ourselves or the stuff we can own more than we worship God. This leads to sins of every kind that Paul lists for us in this passage. The chapter ends with these sobering words, “who, knowing the righteous judgment of God, that those who practice such things are deserving of death, not only do the same but also approve of those who practice them.”

This is where many people jump ship. They say, “I just can't believe that being disobedient to my parents, or living in sexually immoral ways, or being selfish is worthy of the death penalty.” The neat thing about living in America is that we are free to believe anything we want and no one else can dictate our conscience to us. We can live in the ways described here and believe that we are just fine. We're allowed to do that. The thing we need to ask ourselves is whether all of this is OK with the God who is actually there. God is either like he is described in the Bible or he is not. At some point each of us has to come to grips with the possibility, and I would say reality, that God actually does have standards and that he actually does care how we live and that he actually does impose the death penalty on those who fall short of his standards.

Having said that, though, we need to resist the temptation to think that it is those other people who have that death penalty on them while we walk free. You see, the argument Paul is trying to make in the book of Romans is that every single person is guilty. In fact in the next verse after citing the death penalty, he makes this statement. “Therefore you are inexcusable, O man, whoever you are who judge, for in whatever you judge another you condemn yourself; for you who judge practice the same things.” Romans 2:1 I used to think this verse was not true of me. I would look at people who were doing terrible things and judge them and congratulate myself for not being like that. But this verse tells me quite clearly that I do the same things. Jesus for example tells us that to be angry is like murder in God's eyes. Lusting after a woman is like committing adultery. The standard is very high and I have fallen short. The death penalty looms.

Thus we end today's musings with the conundrum that God's standards are so high and so strict that we find everyone in the world is guilty before their creator and are under the just condemnation of God. Who then can be saved?

Excerpt from "Our Lord Prays for His Own"

In this excerpt the author is discussing John 17:20 where Jesus prays, "Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word."

[Notice] the Object on whom they were to believe. "I pray for them . . .which shall believe on me"; He does not say, which shall believe in God, but "on me"; He does not say, which believe the Word of God, but "on me";
He does not say, who believe in their salvation, but "on me."

Here we learn the faith that justifies is faith in the Person of the Lord Jesus Christ. Who is there, except a few professed infidels, who do not tell you they believe in God? -- who, tin this country, but a few professed infidels, do not say they believe in the Word of God? We may quite satisfy ourselves that we believe in God, and in the Word of God; and in our own ultimate salvation; and yet we may not be included in our Lord's prayer, because He does not say, "I pray for them which shall believe" -- in God or in the Word of God, or in their own salvation, but --"on me."

Not that to believe in God, or in the Word of God, and in the fact of our own salvation, is not our privilege and duty. Oh, no! But when we believe in Him, we believe in God in a different sense; we believe in the Word of God as a different thing, and for a different object. We believe in God as loving us when we were sinners, and giving His Son to die; we believe in the Word of God as the truth revealing this fact; we believe in our salvation as the end of our faith; but we believe on the Lord Jesus Christ as the Saviour who took our place, died in our stead, was wounded for our transgressions, whose blood cleanseth from all sin, and who, in resurrection glory, now stands before the throne as our Representative, Himself the object of alljustifying faith. Alas! how may talk of believing in God, and in His Word, who have never believed on the Lord Jesus Christ, and have never taken refuge in Him for their salvation.

From Our Lord Prays for His Own, by Marcus Rainsford, Moody Press, 1950, Pages 364-365

Month Verse - Part 3

Continuing our thoughts on 2 Thessalonians 1:11, 12.

In the second verse of this prayer, Paul lets us know the reason and purpose for praying like this. It is that the name of the Lord Jesus would be glorified in them and they in him, according to God's grace.

Now that's an amazing statement. The first part of it we might expect. It is our purpose as Christians to live life in such a way that the name of the Lord Jesus would be made to look great. That God would be honored and esteemed among those who know us because of our desire for goodness and our works of faith.

But the second part seems amazing to me. Not only is he praying that God would be glorified in his people, but that they would be glorified in them. Really? There is a sense in which being a Christian and living life for the glory of God also demonstrates what it is to be truly human. To be and act in a way that is consistent with the way God originally designed for us. And in so doing there is a sense in which we are glorified by being a part of this whole plan that God is working on. It's not a proud and self-centered glory, it is a glory that centers in all that God can do in a man when he is at work in him.

All of this is related to the grace of God at work. Grace is God's blessing and favor given to those who don't deserve it. So as God pours out this blessing in our lives, they demonstrate more and more the character of God and the character of mankind acting and responding the way God originally intended for human beings to act.

New Month Verse

I've taken it kind of easy over the last couple of months with respect to writing and sharing my thoughts here on the Faithful Men Blog. I'm trying to get back into gear on this because it helps me focus and hopefully gives food for thought for the many men who are trying to live a faithful life before God.

Let me just share a couple of meditation thoughts related to these verses (2 Thessalonians 1:11, 2) which are really the content of a prayer. The Apostle Paul is sharing his concern for these people by letting them know the content of his prayers for them. I noticed first the word 'always'. This gives us an indication of how faithful Paul was in his prayers for these people. How honestly could we use the word 'always' in our description of our praying?

Next I see him asking that God would count them worthy of his calling in their lives. There is too much here to cover in a short article, but it makes me wonder how God could count them worthy. These were plain ordinary people. And yet God has called them into his family and service and in that awesome position, how could they be counted worthy of that honor? The answer here is just like it is in all aspects of the Christian life. God is able to declare us worthy even when we aren't because of the worthiness of Christ who came and lived the lives we should have lived and died to forgive us of our failures. All of that is counted as ours if we trust Christ personally.

Perhaps I'll have the opportunity to share some more thoughts on this passage tomorrow.

What is Faith?

Our adult Sunday School class last Sunday was studying the topic of “Faith” from Hebrews 11. What is faith? Many times we hear someone on television after some crisis speaking about the fact that their faith helped them through the situation. But often we don’t hear about who or what the faith was in. Doesn’t faith require some object? Isn’t faith in God or what God says different from faith in faith?

According to Hebrews 11:6, without faith it is impossible to please God. Why? Because it’s necessary to believe that God exists and that he rewards those who diligently seek him. There is an object to faith, namely God and his word.

So how does the Bible define faith? In Hebrews 11:1 we learn that faith is the assurance or confidence of things hoped for and the proof or conviction of things not seen. Notice the focus on “not seen”. As Romans 8:24 says, “hope that is seen is not hope.” Similarly faith isn’t faith if the object or fulfillment of the promise is seen.

It’s interesting to note the continuing nature of “not seeing.” Verse 13 (and also verse 39) tell us that the individuals who are being highlighted in this passage died in faith, “not having received the things promised, but having seen them and greeted them from afar.” In other words faith accomplishes many things, but does not necessarily bring the fulfillment of the promise the faith was based on.

What it does bring however is what is mentioned in verse 2. Those who lived and died in faith received a good testimony. That means they received the commendation for their faithful lives. We can see this in 4 for example where Abel is praised for his faith through which he “was commended as righteous, God commending him by accepting his gifts.” In the next verse Enoch was commended as having pleased God

Would you like to be commended by God for your faith? In order to please God in this way you must be a person who believes God and believes he rewards those who diligently seek him. A person of faith is a person who knows and believes the promises of God and lives accordingly even when he can’t see the reality of it all with his eyes. This is what the people listed in Hebrews 11 had accomplished and their testimony should encourage us to follow their example.

Faith that Works

When Joshua and the people were preparing to cross the Jordan to the Promised Land, they prepared for their invasion by sending a couple of spies to check out Jericho. Most of you remember the fact that they found a hiding place in the home of Rahab, a prostitute. When the authorities came looking for the spies, Rahab lied to them about their whereabouts and sent them away secretly.

Hebrews 11:31 tells us, “By faith the harlot Rahab did not perish with those who did not believe, when she had received the spies with peace.”
James 2:25 explains, “Likewise, was not Rahab the harlot also justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out another way?”

The story in Joshua and the additional information given to us by the New Testament writers provides us with a lot to think about. What do we know from the story that shows us Rahab’s faith? In what way was she different than her fellow citizens?

In this short story, she explains to the spies that he knows that the Lord has given the Israelites the land. She admits the terror has fallen on them, all the inhabitants are fainthearted and that their hearts melted with lack of courage because of what they had heard God had done to other nations around them. It sounds like Rahab was not the only one who believed the stories they had heard about what had happened. The citizens as a whole were terrified. What made the belief of Rahab different than the rest?

It seems to me that she acted on her belief. She took the risk of hiding the spies instead of turning them in, she helped them escape, and she asked to be rescued. When she was told what it would take to be rescued, she believed what they said and did what they told her to do. I think that’s why James says she was justified by her works. James writes that faith without works is dead. But Rahab demonstrated her faith with her actions and in so doing was rescued when that pagan city was destroyed.Shouldn’t this teach us something about faith in Christ? So many times we hear what God has done, and sometimes there is a certain amount of awe and fear associated with it, but often it isn’t mixed with the actions that true faith produces. May God grant us the kind of faith that produces obedience.

The Law Does Not Bring Victory

We’ve been having a snowy day here in Michigan. I work for a school and today is the third snow day we’ve had this week. The kids love it, but the slippery roads are starting to wear on me.

As I write these blog entries, I’m moving along a couple of different lines. I’m teaching the book of Joshua in Sunday School, and my regular Bible reading and meditation is taking me through the minor prophets and the book of Hebrews so I’m being overwhelmed with more things to think about than I can write about. I’m trying to use this blog as an opportunity to put my thoughts into words so that others can hopefully be encouraged and motivated to study the Scriptures and learn so as to be increasingly faithful in the Christian life.

Today I’m going to add a couple of thoughts that come from the Joshua study. As the book of Joshua opens, verse 2 says, “Moses My servant is dead. Now therefore, arise, go over this Jordan, you and all this people.” You’ll have to read back over the last couple of posts to understand what crossing over the Jordan pictures.

It strikes me as interesting that Moses dies and Joshua is commissioned with the responsibility. I don’t want to put too much emphasis on the potential symbolism of this because we know that Moses was not allowed to enter because of his disobedience. But it is interesting to me that Moses is associated with the law and Joshua, which is another name for Jesus, represents the Savior.

John 1:17 says, “For the law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.” There are a multitude of Christians who believe that trying to live by the law is the path to living a victorious Christian life. It turns out that according to Scripture this is not true at all.

I Corinthians 15:56 tells us that the law gives sin its power. Paul, in his letter to the Romans says the same thing. In Romans 7:8 he writes, “But sin, taking opportunity by the commandment, produced in me all manner of evil desire. For apart from the law sin was dead.”

He tells us later that it is not the law that brought death, but it was sin that did so. The law is spiritual and it is good, he tells us. However, the fact still remains that law gives sin its power. Therefore, bringing more law into your life does not increase the level of spiritual victory in your life. The scripture provides a completely different answer. Developing this will take several more postings, but for now suffice it to say that the victory is in a person – the Lord Jesus Christ. Just as the promises were given to Joshua and were to be accepted by faith, so everything we need spiritually was given to Christ and we claim them by faith through Him.

Alan Redpath, in his book Victorious Christian Living, describes it this way: "A Christian does not work his way up to victory, but down from it."

God's Goal -- Victory & Peace

Last time I began a series which discusses Joshua and the Promised Land as a metaphor for victorious Christian living. I’m working through this series with my adult Sunday School class. It is based on a book called “Victorious Christian Living” by Alan Redpath.

Last time we noted that the Jordan River and the Promised Land should not be looked at so much as a picture of death and heaven but as a picture of the Christian life with all of its success and victory along with the struggles and defeats that are often present in this life.

One of the things that is important to see is that it was always God’s purpose for the Israelites to free them from bondage and to bring them in to the land of Canaan. (Exodus 3:7,8) It had been God’s promise to Abraham centuries earlier. (Genesis 13:14-17)

It was never God’s perfect will to have them wander in the wilderness for 40 years. Hebrews 3:18, 19 says, “And to whom did He swear that they would not enter His rest, but to those who did not obey? So we see that they could not enter in because of unbelief.”

God’s purpose for us today includes living a life of victory and blessing, not one of disobedience and defeat. So many times we end up wandering in the wilderness because we don’t believe God and live lives that are obedient to Him. Hebrews 4:9 tells us that “there remains therefore a rest for the people of God. For he who has entered His rest has himself also ceased from his works as God did from His.”

God's Righteousness Demonstrated

I’ve just finished working my way through Hosea and I’ve decided that it’s almost like seeing into the heart of God as He pleads with Israel and Judah to return unto Him. The punishments and judgment that He brings come not because He is vengeful but because of the righteousness of His character. He demonstrates the fact that He wants to save them, but they refuse that salvation.

In 13:9 for example it reads, “O Israel, you are destroyed, but your help is from Me. I will be your King; where is any other that he may save you in all your cities? I gave you a king in My anger, and took him away in My wrath.”

In chapter 14 he pleads with them, “O Israel, return to the Lord your God, for you have stumbled because of your iniquity; Take words with you and return to the Lord. Say to Him, ‘Take away all iniquity; receive us graciously, for we will offer the sacrifices of our lips. Assyria will not save us, we will not ride on horses, nor will we say anymore to the work of our hands, “You are our gods.” For in you the fatherless finds mercy.’”

God is basically telling them the kind of words He wants to hear from them in true repentance. Obviously He doesn’t just want to hear those words repeated with no truth behind them, but this is the attitude He wants to hear from them. He is telling them these things at the same time that He is threatening and sending judgment upon them.

All of this reminds me of the New Testament verse that says, “God is not willing that any should perish.” (2 Peter 3:9) or the one that says, “God would have all men to be saved and come to a knowledge of the truth.” (I Timothy 2:4) God does not delight in the death of the wicked. (Ezekiel 33:11)

In spite of Israel’s sin and rebellion God shows mercy and grace. Hosea 14:4ff, “I will heal their backsliding, I will love them freely, for My anger has turned away from him.”

May we recognize God’s work of grace in our own lives for just as Israel sinned and rebelled, so have we. But the offer of grace and mercy is continuously there. “If we confess our sins he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (I John 1:9)

God Fights For Us

For some time now I’ve chosen a verse to focus on during each month. I do this so that I have a focus for my meditation during the month and also so that I can encourage you with something from Scripture. The verse I’ve chosen for this month is 2 Chronicles 32:7, 8 which reads:

Be strong and courageous; do not be afraid nor dismayed before the king of Assyria, nor before all the multitude that is with him; for there are more with us than with him. With him is an arm of flesh; but with us is the Lord our God to help us and to fight our battles.

Even though these verses have immediate historical context with the king of Assyria being the enemy, I think we can be encouraged by applying the truth of this passage in whatever enemy we face. God has committed himself to defend His people. For example, He has promised not to allow us to be tempted above what we are able to endure. The battle is completely within our Lord’s control. Hopefully that thought can be an encouragement to you today.

Our Love -- Fickle or Enduring?

Why is it that we’re so fickle and our love for God seems to be short-lived? I was reading in Hosea 6 this morning and read what sounded like encouraging words. “Come, let us return to the Lord; for he has torn us, that he may heal us…After two days he will revive us; on the third day he will raise us up, that we may live before him.”

This almost has a modern ring to it. We’ll repent, the Lord will fix everything in two or three days and we’ll be fine. God’s response though shows the true nature of things. “What shall I do with you? Your love is like a morning cloud, like the dew that goes early away.” Our love is there in the morning, but by midday it is gone. We’ve moved on to something else. God explains in verse 6 that He wants steadfast love and not sacrifice and the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings. Both of these take endurance rather than a quick plea for God to do something and the expectation that He will jump right to it, whereas we are on to chasing other gods before the day is even half done.

I know that in my life this is pretty typical. It’s hard to remain faithful in the daily disciplines and routines that will build my faith and increase my love for God. Will it be any different today?