The Mercy of God as revealed in the Bible

Some passages from the Bible demonstrating the character of God, especially His mercy.

Exodus 34:6-7 And the Lord passed before him and proclaimed, “The Lord, the Lord God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abounding in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, by no means clearing the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children and the children’s children to the third and the fourth generation.”

Numbers 14:18-19 ‘The Lord is longsuffering and abundant in mercy, forgiving iniquity and transgression; but He by no means clears the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and fourth generation.’ ¹⁹ Pardon the iniquity of this people, I pray, according to the greatness of Your mercy, just as You have forgiven this people, from Egypt even until now.”

2 Chronicles 30:9 For if you return to the Lord, your brethren and your children will be treated with compassion by those who lead them captive, so that they may come back to this land; for the Lord your God is gracious and merciful, and will not turn His face from you if you return to Him.”

Nehemiah 9:17 They refused to obey, And they were not mindful of Your wonders That You did among them. But they hardened their necks, And in their rebellion They appointed a leader To return to their bondage. But You are God, Ready to pardon, Gracious and merciful, Slow to anger, Abundant in kindness, And did not forsake them.

Nehemiah 9:31, 32 Nevertheless in Your great mercy You did not utterly consume them nor forsake them; For You are God, gracious and merciful. “Now therefore, our God, The great, the mighty, and awesome God, Who keeps covenant and mercy:

Psalm 86:15 But You, O Lord, are a God full of compassion, and gracious, Longsuffering and abundant in mercy and truth.

Psalm 89:1 I will sing of the mercies of the Lord forever; With my mouth will I make known Your faithfulness to all generations.

See Psalm 103

Psalm 108:4 For Your mercy is great above the heavens, And Your truth reaches to the clouds.

Psalm 116:5 Gracious is the Lord, and righteous; Yes, our God is merciful.

See Psalm 136

Psalm 145:8 The Lord is gracious and full of compassion, Slow to anger and great in mercy.

Isaiah 30:18 Therefore the Lord will wait, that He may be gracious to you; And therefore He will be exalted, that He may have mercy on you. For the Lord is a God of justice; Blessed are all those who wait for Him.

Joel 2:13 So rend your heart, and not your garments; Return to the Lord your God, For He is gracious and merciful, Slow to anger, and of great kindness; And He relents from doing harm.

Luke 1:50 And His mercy is on those who fear Him From generation to generation.

Luke 6:36 Therefore be merciful, just as your Father also is merciful.

Romans 11:32 For God has committed them all to disobedience, that He might have mercy on all.

Ephesians 2:4 But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us,

Titus 3:5 not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit,

Hebrews 4:16 Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

Hebrews 8:12 For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more.”

James 5:11 Indeed we count them blessed who endure. You have heard of the perseverance of Job and seen the end intended by the Lord—that the Lord is very compassionate and merciful.

Memorization Monday - Hebrews 10:2

10     For the law, having a shadow of the good things to come, and not the very image of the things, can never with these same sacrifices, which they offer continually year by year, make those who approach perfect. 2 For then would they not have ceased to be offered? For the worshipers, once purified, would have had no more consciousness of sins.



I've included verse 1 from last week as well.  There are a couple of key points here that are very important to understand. The Old Testament Sacrifices could not make the worshippers perfect. Verse 2 tells us what would have happened if they had been successful. First, the sacrifices would have stopped because they would no longer have been needed. Second, the consciousness of sin would be no more. In other words, the cleansing would be so perfect, and sins' removal so complete that the conscience would not be constantly badgering the mind. Verse 3, which is not on our memory list tells us that the sacrificial system had the opposite effect. Rather than putting away sins, people were constantly reminded of their sinfulness because they had to keep bringing in the sacrifices.

Come back here next week to see the conclusion of this line of reasoning from verse 14.

Be Holy for I am Holy -- Another article by Stephen Charnock

 

You shall be holy for I am holy. 1 Peter 1:16

The nature of divine holiness is freedom from all evil.  God is separate from every shade of evil.  He acts according to the likeness of his own excellence and abhors everything contrary to it.  There is no darkness in his understanding, and no in his will.  His mind is possessed with all truth, and there is no deviation in his will from it.  He loves all truth and goodness, and he hates all falsity and evil.  He loves righteousness and has no pleasure in wickedness.  He values purity in his creatures, and detests all impurity whether inward or outward.  Holiness is the essential glory of his nature, and is as necessary as his being.  He knows what is right, and must do what is just.  There can be no contradiction in the divine nature, to know what is right and to do what is wrong.  If so, he would not be ‘God over all, blessed for ever’ (Rom. 9:5).  He is as necessarily holy as he is necessarily God.  He is without sin and without change.  As he was God from eternity, so he was holy from eternity.  From eternity he was gracious, merciful, just, and holy in his own nature, even if there were no creatures created to receive it.  If God had not created the world, he still had in his own nature the power to be able to create the world.  If there never existed anything but God, he owned in himself omniscience, and would know everything that was within the scope and compass of his infinite power.  Also, he was pure in his own nature though he never had brought forth any rational creature to whom he could manifest his purity.  God is at liberty whether h will speak to man or not, but if he does, it is impossible for him to speak that which is false because of his infinite perfection of truthfulness.  Holiness is not only an act of his will, but is in his very nature.  He can by no means be unholy for it is against his nature to be so.

Who is like you, majestic in holiness?

”Who is like you, O LORD, among the gods?
Who is like you, majestic in holiness,
awesome in glorious deeds, doing wonders?   Exodus 15:11

This verse is one of the loftiest descriptions of the majesty of God in the whole of Scripture.  The holiness of God is his glory and crown.  It is the blessedness of his nature.  It renders him glorious in himself, and glorious to his creatures.  ‘Holy’ is more fixed as an epithet to his name than any other.  This is his greatest title of honour.  He is pure and unmixed light, free from all blemish in his essence, nature, and operations.  He cannot be deformed by any evil.  The notion of God cannot be entertained without separating from him whatever is impure and staining.  Though he is majestic, eternal, almighty, wise, immutable, merciful, and whatsoever other perfections may dignify so sovereign a being, yet if we conceive him destitute of this excellent perfection, and imagine him possessed with the least contagion of evil, we make him but an infinite monster, and sully all those perfections we ascribed to him before.  It is a contradiction for him to be God and to have any darkness mixed with his light.  To deny his purity, makes him no God.  He that says God is not holy, speaks much worse than if he said there is no God at all.  Where do we read of the angels crying out Eternal or faithful Lord God of hosts?  But we do hear them singing Holy, Holy, Holy.  God swears by his holiness (Psa. 89:35).  His holiness is a pledge for the assurance of his promises.  Power is his hand, omniscience his eye, mercy his heart, eternity his duration, but holiness his beauty.  It renders him lovely and gives beauty to all his attributes.  Every action of his is free from all hints of evil.  Holiness is the crown of all his attributes, the life of all his decrees, and the brightness of all his actions.  Nothing is decreed by him and nothing is acted by him that is not consistent with the beauty of his holiness.

Read more at http://creationrevolution.com/2012/09/daily-devotional-who-is-like-you-majestic-in-holiness/#y0mZwFgTf00F4fMB.99

Some causes of spiritual decline and death - An excerpt from J. I. Packer

I was reading J.I. Packer's Knowing God and came upon his paragraph. To me this description explains how spiritual death takes a hold in our lives. Even though we may be a believer and have eternal life, God says that sin works death in us somehow. I think this helps to frame my thinking on the subject.

 We are familiar with the thought that our bodies are like machines, needing the right routine of food, rest, and exercise if they are to run efficiently, and liable, if filled up with the wrong fuel -- alcohol, drugs, poison -- to lose their power of healthy functioning and ultimately to 'seize up' entirely in physical death. What we are, perhaps, slower to grasp is that God wishes us to think of our souls in a similar way. As rational persons, we were made to bear God's moral image -- that is, our souls were made to 'run' on the practice of worship, law-keeping, truthfulness, honesty, discipline, self-control, and service to God and our fellows. If we abandon these practices, not only do we incur guilt before God; we also progressively destroy our own souls. Conscience atrophies, the sense of shame dries up, one's capacity for truthfulness, loyalty, and honesty is eaten away, one's character disintegrates. One not only becomes desperately miserable; one is steadily being de-humanised. This is one aspect of spiritual death.

Knowing God, J.I. Packer; InterVarsity Press, Illinois, 1973; Page 102-103

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.

Memorization Monday - Hebrews 10:1

Heb 10:1 For the law, having a shadow of the good things to come, and not the very image of the things, can never with these same sacrifices, which they offer continually year by year, make those who approach perfect.

This and the following few verses that we will post on Mondays are very interesting and extremely helpful. In this verse we see that the Old Testament law is a shadow. As a shadow the sacrifices and rituals of that law could not make those who worshipped perfect. What you're going to find in the next few verses is that what the law could not do, God was able to accomplish in Christ and that brings huge implications.

Hymn of the Week - Whiter Than Snow

1. Lord Jesus, I long to be perfectly whole;
I want Thee forever to live in my soul.
Break down every idol, cast out every foe
Now wash me and I shall be whiter than snow.

2. Lord Jesus, look down from Your throne in the skies
And help me to make a complete sacrifice.
I give up myself and whatever I know
Now wash me and I shall be whiter than snow.

3. Lord Jesus, for this I most humbly entreat;
I wait, blessed Lord, at Thy crucified feet.
By faith, for my cleansing I see Your blood flow
Now wash me and I shall be whiter than snow.

4. Lord Jesus, before You I patiently wait;
Come now and within me a new heart create.
To those who have sought You, You never said "No"
Now wash me and I shall be whiter than snow.

Chorus:
Whiter than snow, yes, whiter than snow
Now wash me and I shall be whiter than snow.

Lyrics: James L. Nicholson
Music: William Gustavus Fischer

Decision Making and the Will of God (Part 2)

(Read Part 1 here.)

What seems to be the determining factor for a lot of people is a feeling. It can be a feeling of being led or a feeling of peace. The problem with this is that feelings can originate in a lot of places. Feeling can originate in our flesh; they can originate because of some emotional state brought on by other circumstances. Feelings can originate through our physical state such as whether we are well or sick or have some kind of hormonal or other chemical imbalance at the time. Feelings generally cannot be trusted as to their source or meaning. Even so, people lean on their feelings as the primary source for direction as to what the will of God is for them.

Basically Friesen reminds us that the emphasis of Scripture is on God's moral will. He says that the teaching of Scripture may be summarized by these basic principles: (page 151-152)

1. In those areas specifically addressed by the Bible, the revealed commands of God (His moral will) are to be obeyed.

2. In those areas where the Bible gives no command or principle (nonmoral decisions), the believer is free and responsible to choose his own course of action. Any decision made within the moral will of God is acceptable to God.

3. In nonmoral decisions, the objective of the Christian is to make wise decisions on the basis of spiritual expediency.

4. In all decisions, the believer should humbly submit, in advance, to the outworking of God's sovereign will as it touches each decision.

In light of number 2, “some Christians experience feelings of guilt after making a decision that is not specifically addressed by Scripture. Why? They fear that they have missed God's individual will. Such guilt is not intended by God. If His moral will has not been violated, there has been no sin. If there has been no sin, there should be no guilt. It's as simple, and profound, as that.” (page 171)

The key is to develop the kind of wisdom which the Bible encourages. Such wisdom comes from the faithful study and meditation on the word of God. God calls us then to make decisions using Scriptural principles of wisdom and with freedom when no moral obligation is required in a particular decision.

Some people get hung up on the open doors philosophy; that being that open doors are indicators of God's will. I don't have space to go into it here, but even Paul skipped at least one open door and made a different choice without violating the will of God. Open doors are opportunities for the use of discernment and godly wisdom and they can be entered or not as you choose. There is a tremendous amount of freedom in understanding this. But if you've been taught to believe in the detailed will approach, it can leave you feeling vulnerable and almost like God is not personal any more because he isn't specifying each and every step you take. But that need not be the case. Our emphasis needs to be on developing a personal relationship with God where we focus more on who God is and who we are in relationship to him than on which car he wants us to buy. We need to be developing a deeper and stronger moral understanding of God as well as the kind of wisdom that he wants to have so that our decisions are based on that strong foundation.

To summarize then the point is that the Bible contains all of the guidance needed for decisions in life. Those decisions not spelled out in Scripture such as which college to go to should be made with wisdom using the principles the Bible contains. Since this is not a moral decision, there is no sin in “getting it wrong” because there is freedom to choose wisely. Those decisions that involve morality should be made in obedience to the Scripture. Finally we need to trust God as He works out His sovereign will in our lives.

Many of you will have questions over particular scriptures. What about this verse..., or what about when God said this to Peter, or what about Gideon? I strongly encourage you to get a copy of “Decision Making and the Will of God” and read it thoughtfully and carefully with your copy of the Bible right there. Sometimes it's hard to lay aside long-held beliefs, but we need to be willing to do so when we find out we've been wrong. Understanding that God has given us the freedom to make decisions within his moral boundaries is very freeing.

Decision Making and the Will of God (Part 1)

I posted the following article about a year ago. Currently I'm teaching a Sunday School class on this topic. If you're interested in the audio for this class and the PDF notes, you can find them here.

For some time now I have been amazed and at the same time troubled by the number of people who are trying to make decisions and are waiting on some sort of sign from God for or against the particular option they are considering. There seems to be the idea that for every decision we are called to make, God has a perfect will that He expects us to find. If we don't, we are somehow out of the will of God. He expects us to have some sign or an inner peace confirming that a decision we are about to make is the “right” one. I've always questioned this approach to the will of God, but didn't have a very good way of evaluating my concerns.

Recently I stumbled upon the book, “Decision Making and the Will of God” by Garry Friesen, published by Multnomah Press in 1980. (Amazon has it here.) The biblical reasoning that Friesen uses to counter the traditional view of the will of God struck a chord with me. What I hope to do here is to summarize the main ideas that Friesen presents along with some of the biblical support for his reasoning. I am certain that many questions will be raised that I won't have the space to deal with here and so I point you to Friesen's book for more clarification. In addition, the space here is not sufficient to clearly lay out Friesen's argument, but I think it's important enough to introduce you to the concept. Many of the principles he espouses I have used for years, but did not know how to explain. Hopefully in this short article you will get the basics of his argument and that may encourage you to investigate further.

The common view is that God has three types of wills which govern a Christian's life: Sovereign Will, Moral Will, and Individual Will. The sovereign will of God are those things that God governs and sovereignly brings to pass. These things are usually outside of our knowledge until they have occurred. God's moral will are those areas of God's will governed by the Scripture. They are the commands and precepts that God tells us to keep. The Individual Will, according to the common view, is a particular will of God that he has for each individual. It is a life plan. It encompasses essentially everything in life. Most often though, the followers of this view believe that it impacts primarily major decisions such as who should I marry, where should I go to college, and sometimes which car or house should I buy. The philosophy of the Individual Will, if truly believed, should also apply to the small decisions, i.e. which store should I shop in, which box of cereal should I buy, etc.

In his book Friesen spends a couple of chapters using a fictional scenario featuring a seminar on the will of God and in that seminar the traditional view is presented. What's interesting is that most readers will work through those first chapters nodding in agreement and saying basically, “Yep. That's what I believe. That's the way it works.” Then suddenly he begins to dismantle that view by basically saying that there is no individual will that God expects us to find. That will strike some people as almost sacriligeous.

And this is the point I have believed for a long time. There is no specific individual will for each person as to which college God wants them to attend or which person God wants them to marry. Now the fact that Mr. Friesen and I believe this does not make it true. What each person needs to do is to examine the scriptural evidence and see what the Bible teaches with respect to the individual will. Is or is there not a particular target we are called to discover when making any decision?

It's important that we come to understand that the Bible is fully sufficient to provide all of the guidance needed for a believer to know and do God's will. (page 82)

Let's take the apostle Paul for example. “In the first thirty years of the church's history covered by the book of Acts, there were at most fifteen to twenty instances of direct, personal guidance. Many of these directions were given to the Apostle Paul. Yet within the framework of his total ministry, relatively few of his decisions were determined on the basis of such leading. Most of the time he had to weigh the apparent merits of various options before settling on a course of action. In other words, when he had a decision to make, he had to decide (cf. Acts 15:36; Acts 20:16; Romans 1:10-13; 1 Corinthians 16:4-9; 2 Corinthians 1:15-2:4).”

No decision is given in the New Testament in terms of “I felt in my heart God wanted me to do it”. The apostles often gave reasons for their decisions, but never in these terms. (p. 92)

What ends up happening is that drawing the line between what are important decisions and what are not becomes difficult and sometimes stressful. Does God have a perfect will as to which brand of cereal I buy or just when the price gets up to the level of which TV to buy? Or does it start with cars? Then what do I do when two options appear to have equal validity or equal “leading”? The difficulties never stop. Some people are very stressed by this. They truly want to be a faithful Christian and they want to be pleasing to God and so, thinking that God has a specific target for them, they become stressful trying to find it.

Why Should We Sing in Church?

I'm reading a book called The Life of God in the Soul of the Church by Thabiti Anyabwile. Chapter 9 is an interesting chapter entitled, Sing to One Another. I thought I would quote and summarize some of the chapter because I think there is a lot here worth thinking about. I would be interested to get your take on these thoughts.

Anyabwile begins this chapter with a quote from a blog article called "The Slow Death of Congregational Singing". He quotes the author as saying, "I turned to a friend next to me and commented, “No-one’s singing”. He looked at me as if I’d just observed that no-one was flying. Of course they’re not singing; we haven’t really sung here for years. Whatever was happening that morning, it was most decidedly not congregational singing. In many churches, genuine, heartfelt congregational singing has been in its death throes for some years now."

Is there anything wrong if God's people don't really sing when they gather, but perhaps listen to others sing to them? Is that a problem at all?

Anyabwile asks five questions: What is singing? Why are Christians motivated to sing? Who should sing and to whom should we sing? Which goals ought there to be for our singing? How should we sing?

What is singing?  According to Ephesians 5:19, singing is a form of speaking. To sing is to speak in melody. It's a form of communicating ideas and emotions with the voice and tune.


Why are Christians motivated to sing? First, Christians sing because they are filled with God's Spirit (Ephesians 5:18,19). Second, Christians sing because they are thankful (Ephesians 5:19-20; Colossians 3:16).

Who should sing, and to whom should we sing?  All Christians are priests. There is no need for a special class to lead in the worship experience as was the case in the Old Testament. All Christians are to 'make music in their heart to the Lord.'  To whom should we sing? According to Ephesians 5:19 we are to speak to one another in song.

In this section Anyabwile says something very interesting. He tells about an occasion when he was singing in the congregation and made eye contact with a friend. He first felt awkward but then realized that they were in community singing the truth about God. Then he writes:

"What are we taught to do as children when someone is speaking to us? We're taught to make eye contact. People who make eye contact politely engage in what you're saying. The eye contact communicates respect, attention, and interest. So it is when we speak to one another in psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs. The eye contact with the people we're speaking to in song asures the other person that what we're doing is real and we're not alone. On the contrary, avoiding eye contact indicates rudeness. We should make brief but good eye contact with those around us."

Interesting.

But why don't some sing congregationally?  He gives several possible reasons, but then he writes:

"But perhaps the most fundamental reason for the decline of congregational singing is a wrong understanding of the public gathering of the church. Our conception of Christian faith has become too privatized. Too many Christians think the public gathering of the church is basically a couple of hundred people having their personal quiet time in the same place. We tend to think that what matters is how we individually engage with God. We think we're in our 'personal space' and others should not intrude.We don't think of our public services as conversation, speaking to one another."

Which goals ought there to be for our singing?  1) To edify others (1 Corinthians 14:26). 2) To give thanks to God. 3) To be filled with God's Word (Colossians 3:16). Singing is not only speaking; it is also teaching. When we sing we are teaching one another. Therefore singing must be Word-centered and Christ-centered. Thus the church should be intentional and careful about who teaches, and what is taught, through song. Those who are in the choir or who sing as part of a praise team or in special music are part of the teaching ministry of the church.

Anyabwile asserts that "it's wrong to divide the ministry of the Word from the ministry of song, to divide the activity of singing from the activity of instruction. If we say of a church, 'I like the singing, but I can do without the Word,' or if we say, 'I like the preaching/teaching, but I can take or leave the singing,' we've missed something very vital.

What should we sing?  Because the Scripture teaches that we should sing to one another in psalms, hymns and spiritual songs, we should sing in a variety of forms, in types of songs and music blended together for praise to God, and encouragement and instruction to one another.

As far as lyrics are concerned, we want specific and detailed ideas regarding the glory and love of God for us in Christ Jesus His Son. We don't want generalities and allusions that confuse the world and the church. Our lyrics should be accurate, not false or misleading. Our lyrics should be God-centered and not man-centered. We want to sing songs rich in accuracy and truth, specific about the Lord and His work, and holy, not secular, because they enrich our knowledge of our Savior and His salvation.


Most of the content of this blog post is direct quotes or paraphrases from The Life of God in the Soul of the Church  by Thabiti Anyabwile, published by 9Marks, Christian Focus Publications

The Unchangeableness of God

They will perish, but you will remain. Psalm 102:26

According to promise, the heavens and the earth shall be melted down and moulded into a more beautiful form. The world was subjected to bondage through sin and was cursed in the fall.  Consider what a vile thing sin is, that brought the work of God to corruption. What a foolish thing it is to set our hearts upon that which will perish and vanish like smoke! Perishing things can give no support for the soul; we must run to God and rest in him. God in his perfections is without any variation from eternity to eternity. He is the same in nature, and the same in will and purpose. He changes all other things as he pleases, but he is immutable in every respect, and his wisdom, power and knowledge are always the same. God lacks nothing, loses nothing, and exists by himself. He is without any new nature, new thought, new will, or new purpose. He is infinitely good, wise, holy, and that without change. If God could change, he would not be a perfect being. Are not the angels in heaven, who are now confirmed in a holy and happy state, more perfect than when they were in the possibility of committing evil? Are not the saints in heaven, who by grace cleave unalterably to God and goodness, more perfect than if they were as Adam in paradise, capable of losing their happiness? Immutability belongs to all the attributes of God. Every one of his perfections is immutable, and none of them will appear glorious without this beam. How cloudy would his blessedness be if he were changeable. How dim would be his wisdom if it might be obscured. How feeble would his power be if it were capable of languishing. O how mercy would lose its lustre if it could change into wrath. Unchageableness is a thread that runs through the whole web of God's attributes to his eternal glory.

From Voices from the Past Published by Banner of Truth, page 246

They will perish, but you will remain;
they will all wear out like a garment.
You will change them like a robe, and they will pass away,   Psalm 102:26

According to promise, the heavens and the earth shall be melted down and moulded into a more beautiful form.  The world was subjected to bondage through sin and was cursed in the fall.  Consider what a vile thing sin is, that brought the work of God to corruption.  What a foolish thing it si to set our hearts upon that which will perish and vanish like smoke!  Perishing things can give no support for the soul; we must run to God and rest in him.  God in his perfections is without any variation from eternity to eternity.  He is the same in nature, and the same in will and purpose.  He changes all other things as he please, but he is immutable in every respect, and his wisdom, power and knowledge are always the same.  God lacks nothing, loses nothing, and exists by himself.  He is without any new nature, new thought, new will, or new purpose.  He is infinitely good, wise, holy, and that without change.  If God could change, he would not be a perfect being.  Are not the angels in heaven, who are now confirmed in a holy and happy state, more perfect than when they were in the possibility of committing evil?  Are not the saints in heaven, who by grace cleave unalterably to God and goodness, more perfect than if they were as Adam in paradise, capable of losing their happiness?  Immutability belongs to all the attributes of God.  Every one of his perfections is immutable, and none of them will appear glorious without this beam.  How cloudy would his blessedness be if he were changeable.  How dim would be his wisdom if it might be obscured.  How feeble would his power be if it were capable of languishing.  O how mercy would lose its lustre if it could change into wrath.  Unchangeableness is a thread that runs through the whole web of God’s attributes to his eternal glory.

Read more at http://creationrevolution.com/2012/09/daily-devotional-they-will-perish-but-you-will-remain/#XBrUIZQ91spIL7tP.99

Memorization Monday - Hebrews 9:27-28

Hebrews 9:27-28
 And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment,  so Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many. To those who eagerly wait for Him He will appear a second time, apart from sin, for salvation.

An Encouraging Devotional by thomas Watson

August 16

I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand.   John 10:28

If God is our heavenly Father the evil one shall not prevail.  God will make al Satan’s temptations promote the good of his children.  Testing sets them praying and becomes a medicine for security (2 Cor. 12:8).  A tree shaken by the wind is more settled and rooted; the blowing of temptation settles a child of God in grace.  No real evil shall befall us.  Affliction to a wicked man is evil, but a child of God is bettered by affliction.  Does the furnace hurt the gold?  What hurt does affliction do to grace?  It only refines ad purifies it.  What a great privilege to be freed, not from the stoke of affliction, but from its sting.  Christ has drawn the poison out of every affliction.  Since God is our Father, we may go with cheerfulness to the throne of grace, and hope with confidence to succeed.  The title ‘Father’ touches his heart.  What can he deny his child?  We have a Father to pray to, the spirit to help us to pray, and an advocate to present our prayers.  God’s children should run to their heavenly Father in all their troubles.  Surely he who hears the raven’s cry, will hear his children.  Our Father stands between us and danger (Acts 18:10).  He is our hiding-place (Psa. 27:5).  Never was any prince so well guarded.  If God is our Father, we shall not lack anything he sees to be good. (Psa. 34:10).  God is pleased sometimes to keep his children on hard times, but it is good for them.  In prosperity men’s characters run riot.  God sees that it is good sometimes to diet his children to run the heavenly race better.  The famine was good for Jacob, for it brought him to Joseph.  Sometimes God’s children must see the world’s emptiness to be acquainted with Christ’s fullness.  If God sees it to be good for them to have more of the world, they shall have it.  He will not let them want any good thing.

Read more: http://creationrevolution.com/2012/08/daily-devotional-no-one-will-snatch-them-out-of-my-hand/#ixzz2dAm7UNf8

Memorization Monday - Hebrews 9:13-14

Hebrews 9:13-14 For if the blood of bulls and goats and the ashes of a heifer, sprinkling the unclean, sanctifies for the purifying of the flesh, how much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?

Some Thoughts on Why God is Trustworthy by Thomas Lye

Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us,   Ephesians 3:20

God’s almighty arm is stable ground upon which saints may securely build their thrust.  His omnipotent hand spans the heavens (Isa. 40:12).  He is strong and mighty (Psa. 24:8) and created the world with a word (Psa. 33:9).  He is El-Shaddai, Almighty God (Gen. 17:1).  His vast power far exceeds our needs, prayers, thoughts, and all that we could ever need, beg, or imagine.  We can ask great things and can imagine even greater.  God’s power far exceeds all.  If we open our mouth ever so wide he can more than fill it (Psa. 86:10).

Creature-props are not able to bear the weight of an immortal soul.  They are apt to crumble under us.  But an almighty God is a rock.  He that builds upon him will stand, though the winds blow and the storms beat upon him (Matt. 7:25).  On this Abraham built his transcendent faith (Rom. 4:21) and David built his impregnable trust (2 Sam. 12:2-3).  Another ground upon which to trust in God is upon his infinite, free goodness, mercy, and bounty.  His heart is as tender as his arm is strong.  He is no less willing than able to relieve.  ‘As a father shows compassion to his children, so the Lord shows compassion to those who fear him’ (Psa. 103:13).  A father who sees his child in need and does not help, forfeits he name of father.  He is not a man, but a beast.  The Lord is all compassion to his people, yes, and infinitely more than this.  God alone is ‘the best’.  Goodness is his darling attribute and his glory.  Moses asked for God’s glory and was shown his goodness (Exod. 33:18).  Though we have nothing to plead or to prevail with God from within ourselves, there is an intercessor in God’s own bosom – his own goodness.  This will certainly and effectually intercede for our relief.

Read more: http://creationrevolution.com/2012/06/daily-devotional-to-him-who-is-able-to-do-far-more-abundantly/#ixzz2VFdgzmaq

Further Thoughts on Prayer by Puritan Thomas Manton

O LORD, in the morning you hear my voice;
in the morning I prepare a sacrifice for you and watch.   Psalm 5:3

How shall we remedy our wandering thoughts in prayer?  (1.)  We must wait upon him for the power of his grace.  As long as his love and grace are powerful in us, we are kept in a lively, heavenly frame.  As this abates, the soul swerves, and returns to vanity and sin.  (2.)  Meditate upon the greatness of God.  It is of great consequence with whom we are dealing.  O if you could see him that is invisible, you would have more reverence!  Imagine yourself in heaven in the midst of the blessed angels standing before the all-seeing God.  O with what reverence, with what fear, should a poor worm creep into his presence!  (3.)  Seek to mortify the lusts that are apt to draw away your minds.  What thoughts are we pestered with when we come to God?  One vile affection will hinder our praying.  (4.)  Prepare for prayer.  Take note of the impediments that distract you, and put off carnal distractions.  Resolve to shut your heart against God’s enemy and direct it only to God.  (5.)  Focus on our purpose.  Watch against the first temptation to divert our attention no matter how reasonable it seems.  The devil’s policy is to cheat us of the present duty by an unseasonable distraction.  He does not begin by casting in a thought of blasphemy; that would make us quake and shake.  He begins with reasonable thoughts.  Be careful to avoid them.  Do not even dispute with the diversion, but despise it.  (6.)  Develop spiritual affections and you will find it more delightful to converse with God.  Is there any better company than God’s when we seek our soul’s good?  (7.)  Consider the weight of responsibility.  Are we not dealing with life and death issues?  (8.)  Promote solemn meditation in the things of God.  As a man entertains truth in his heart, he will be ready in word and affection to avoid so frequent distractions.

Read more: http://creationrevolution.com/2012/07/daily-devotional-o-lord-in-the-morning-you-hear-my-voice/#ixzz2VFciCgw5

Some Thoughts on Prayer by Puritan Thomas Manton

Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving   Colossians 4:2

Distractions of thought haunt us in prayer.  We are set to seek God, but it is impossible to shut the windows to keep out all of the wind.  If distractions are resisted, God will gather up the broken fragments of our prayers and mercy and answer us.  Our thoughts stray in and out like a spaniel that runs up and down, and then returns to his master.  What causes these vain thoughts in our prayers? (1.)  Satan is at our right hand ready to resist us in prayer.  He will be sure to disturb us, seeking to take the edge off our affections, or to divert our mind.  He is afraid of prayer, and seeks to cheat us of our prayers.  We need to stand guard.  (2.)  We are restless creatures.  It is difficult for all of us to concentrate on one object for any length of tie.  We are tossed up and down like a dried leaf before the wind.  He is a stranger to God and his own heart who does not find it so daily.  (3.)  We are distracted by practical atheism.  We have little sense of the unseen world of spirits.  Things we see have a greater force upon us than the true God who is Spirit and invisible power.  He is far off from our sight and apprehension.  (4.)  Lust rooted in us will also distract us when we go about any duty.  The covetous man about the world, the fleshly about his pleasures, and the ambitious about his honours, will surely draw away our attention.  (5.)  Fancy and curiosity offered us by the senses or memory, will be an occasion for diversion.  (6.)  Sharp worries will hinder our faith and draw away our attention from prayer.  We must be like priests, who went on with their sacrifices as the roman troops broke into Jerusalem.  All others fled this way and that, but the priests, as if they heard nothing, continued preferring their duty before safety as Rome rushed in on them with their swords.

Read more: http://creationrevolution.com/2012/07/daily-devotional-continue-steadfastly-in-prayer-being-watchful-in-it-with-thanksgiving/#ixzz2VFblxjCP

Memorization Monday - Hebrews 7:25

Heb 7:25 Therefore He is also able to save to the uttermost those who come to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them.

One of the key reasons that Jesus Christ is able to save people who come to Him is because He is alive forever and is continuously praying for those who have trusted Him.

Memorization Monday - Hebrews 6:19

Hebrews 6:19 This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast, and which enters the Presence behind the veil,

Because of the promise and oath of God that our salvation is secure, we have a confident hope. And this hope becomes personified as Jesus Christ. He is an anchor that is already firmly fixed in the heavens behind the veil. In the Old Testament, no one could go behind the veil in the tabernacle except the high priest and then only once a year. Now we have the first human being raised from the dead, Jesus Christ the God-Man, anchored there as our forerunner.  As the author describes it this anchor is both sure and steadfast.

If you would like to see the entire list of recommended verses from Hebrews to memorize in 2013, check here.

We've also produced a Bible study guide on the book of Hebrews you may be interested in. You can find it here.

Biblical Battle Strategies Against Lust and Sin - 4

Strategy 2 I am renewing my mind actively and regularly by reading, memorizing and meditating on Scripture.

In each of these strategies I put the statement as an affirmative statement of fact. That helps us focus on what the goal is. It is a true or false statement. Within our own hearts we know whether the statement is true for us or not. Is this true: I am renewing my mind actively and regularly by reading, memorizing and meditating on Scripture.

Here we have another essential personal discipline that gets overlooked all too often. We are constantly looking for the secret of this or the secret of that as though there were hidden methods for being successful in the Christian life. There are no secrets. It's all right there out in the open. We just don't do it.

Romans12:2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.

It's important to be renewing our minds. God says this is the way that transformation takes place. And the Christian method of renewing the mind is to spend time reading, memorizing and meditating on Scripture. There is no shortcut. Consider these passages:

Psalm 1:1-3 Blessed is the man Who walks not 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 whatever he does shall prosper. (Emphasis mine.)

Joshua 1:8 This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success. (Emphasis mine)

Psalm 119:11 Your word I have hidden in my heart, That I might not sin against You.

Take some time every day to be in the Scripture. Read a portion and spend some time thinking deeply about it. Begin a Scripture memory plan. Memorize one verse a week or one every other week. Write the verse on a 3x5 card and review it every day until you have it learned and then go on to another.

If you are not doing these basic things, you cannot expect to have victory over sin and temptation you may be facing. Don't look for other solutions. Spending time in prayer and in the Word are foundational to victory.

You can find the initial post on this subject here: http://rogert.me/15U3CJn

For the entire chart listing all of the strategies, check here: rogert.me/10npynq 

Biblical Battle Strategies Against Lust and Sin - 3

Strategy 1 My prayer life is active and effective.

In each of these strategies I put the statement as an affirmative statement of fact. That helps us focus on what the goal is. It is a true or false statement. Within our own hearts we know whether the statement is true for us or not. Is this true: My prayer life is active and effective.

Every Christian man should have an active and effective prayer life. James 5:16 says: Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.

At the conclusion on the passage in Ephesians where Paul discusses the Christian armor, he writes, “praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints.” Ephesians 6:18

The Bible speaks over and over about the importance of prayer and yet praying is a very difficult thing for us. Our lives are busy and taking the time to pray does not seem to us to be as important as God makes it out to be. And yet it is probably the core of our relationship with Christ along with the reading of His Word.

So if we are struggling with temptation, let's not look to a lot of phony remedies and psychological tricks. Let's invest the time it takes to really get to know God by spending some quality time with Him in prayer.

You can find the initial article on this topic here: http://rogert.me/15U3CJn

Is Doctrine and Theology Important?

How would you answer this statement. "I don't feel the need to intensively study the Bible and learn theology. All that creates is division in the Church and we only need to follow the words of Jesus anyway."

A friend asked me this the other day and here is how I replied.

The claim that all we need to do is to follow the words of Jesus is not valid for several reasons. First, the Bible clearly teaches us that all Scripture is given by inspiration of God and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness. (2 Tim 3:16) When we limit ourselves to the words of Jesus, we lose all of the important teaching of the rest of Scripture, especially the rest of the New Testament. We would not know about justification by faith, the establishment and order in the church and many other important things. So God has graciously provided us with much more than just the teachings of Jesus.

In referring to the Holy Spirit, Jesus said, “However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come.” This was a prophecy about how the Holy Spirit would teach truth to the apostles in the days following Jesus' ascension into heaven. These truths which they learned from Him make the content of the rest of the New Testament. It was Jesus who told us this would happen.

Even if all we had was the words of Jesus, there would be differences of opinion about what He meant and we would need creeds and doctrinal statements to clarify what a particular church believes about what Jesus said. I have heard it said that we don't need creeds or doctrinal statements. All we need is to say that our creed is the Bible. What it says is what we believe. However, that is not enough because Mormons, Jehovah's Witnesses, Baptists, Presbyterians and others all say that they believe the Bible and yet it is obvious that their doctrines differ.

That brings me to the next comment about what your friend asked. The concern is that doctrine divides. That is true. It does. But don't we want to know the truth? There is truth. There is falsehood. The problem that modern people have is either that they don't believe that truth exists or they don't believe we can know what it is. The Bible says there is truth and we can know it. But doesn't everyone claim that their view is the truth? Yes. But they can't all be true because many are contradicting each other. But just because there are many who claim truth doesn't mean that truth doesn't exist. It just means we have to work hard and diligently to discern what the truth is.

Paul says in 1 Corinthians 11:19, “For there must also be factions among you, that those who are approved may be recognized among you.” He is acknowledging the importance of factions because that way the truth can come out. If everyone acquiesces to some commonly held belief, the truth will be lost.

Here are some things that the Bible clearly teaches about teaching and doctrine. These are in no particular order and I'll comment after each one.

Acts 17:11 These were more fair-minded than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness, and searched the Scriptures daily to find out whether these things were so.

It's important to actively search the Scriptures during and after any teaching in order to verify whether what the teacher has taught is true. The Scripture encourages this and lifts up the person who is engaged in this endeavor. It is to be active and continuous. We are not to accept any teaching without searching the Scripture. Searching the Scripture takes work. But it is a required work.

2 Timothy 2:15 Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.

Diligence in the Christian life is a requirement. Part of that diligence is to rightly divide the Word. Dividing the Word means to learn to understand the different contexts in which teaching and events occurred. It means to understand what is a word picture and what is literal. An old song used to say, “All the promises in the book are mine – every chapter, every verse, every line.” But that is not true. God made promises to Abraham that He did not make to you and me. We need to know the difference.

1 Timothy 6:3 If anyone teaches otherwise and does not consent to wholesome words, even the words of our Lord Jesus Christ, and to the doctrine which accords with godliness, he is proud, knowing nothing.

There is such a thing as correct teaching and “teaching otherwise”. The one who teaches otherwise is proud and knows nothing. That is what the Bible says.

2 Timothy 4:3 For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers;

People want to hear what they want to hear. Their ears are itching. Sound doctrine is foreign to them and they would rather not hear it.

Romans 16:17 Now I urge you, brethren, note those who cause divisions and offenses, contrary to the doctrine which you learned, and avoid them.

There is a correct doctrine and those who teach contrary to that are to be avoided.

2 Timothy 3:16 All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness,

Not just the teachings of Jesus but all Scripture. It is to be used for reproof and correction. If it is used for correction, that must mean some things are wrong and need to be corrected.

Titus 1:9 holding fast the faithful word as he has been taught, that he may be able, by sound doctrine, both to exhort and convict those who contradict.

There is such a thing as sound and correct teaching. Exhortation is needed to be applied to those who contradict. In other words we can't just have the belief that whatever anyone believes is ok. Obviously he is talking about within the Christian community. The continual teaching of sound doctrine will exhort those who are wrong and bring conviction to them.

Heb 5:11-14 of whom we have much to say, and hard to explain, since you have become dull of hearing. For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the first principles of the oracles of God; and you have come to need milk and not solid food. For everyone who partakes only of milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, for he is a babe. But solid food belongs to those who are of full age, that is, those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.

God wants every Christian to be taught well enough that they can teach others. Some things in Scripture are hard to understand, such as the teaching about Melchizidek. The author of Hebrews criticized them because they were not ready for this teaching. It was necessary to go over the basics again and this was not good. Those who were still feeding on milk were considered unskilled in the word of righteousness and he referred to them as babes. This is not a good description. God wants each believer to grow in the word and become strong in the doctrine.

The bottom line is that there is truth and there is error. God has given us the Holy Spirit in order to help us to learn from all of the Scripture. This takes work, diligence and effort. It takes digging into the truth of the whole Bible learning how to discern one kind of text from another. It is necessary to learn the important teachings about salvation, redemption, justification, sanctification, etc. because in so doing we learn to know God better and to love Him more. Then we are better prepared, especially as Christian men, to lead and teach our families so that they too become godly people who can have an impact in the world.

Memorization Monday - Hebrews 6:18

Hebrews 6:18 that by two immutable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we might have strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold of the hope set before us.




Immutable means unchangeable. God purposed to accomplish salvation and He promised to complete His purposes and then He underscored it with an oath. So God's promises/purposes and His oath are unchangeable and demonstrate the certainty of His Word. This solid foundation gives us strong consolation. Why?  Because as Christians we have fled to Christ and have laid hold of His promises toward us and know that what He has promised He will ultimately perform.

Hymn of the Week - My Hope is in the Lord

My hope is in the Lord
Who gave Him-self for me
And paid the price
Of all my sin at Cal-va-ry.

CHORUS:
For me He died;
For me He lives,
And everlasting life
And light He free-ly gives.

VERSE 2:
No merit of my own
His anger to suppress
My only hope is found
In Jesus' righteousness

(REPEAT CHORUS)

VERSE 3:
And now for me He stands
Before the Father's throne
He shows His wounded hands
And names me as His own

(REPEAT CHORUS)

VERSE 4:
His grace has planned it all
'Tis mine but to believe
And recognize His work of love
And Christ receive

Biblical Battle Strategies Against Lust and Sin-2

So this leads us back now to the first point in what I'm calling Battle Strategies for the war on lust and sin. The first step is to ask ourselves, “Do I really want to pursue righteousness and holiness, and count everything loss in order to know Christ and the power of His resurrection in my life.” Do I really want this? Am I willing to work hard, suffer and sweat to gain it?

This is not a trite question. You shouldn't just read it and go on. In order to help us think about this, I'd like to look at several passages of Scripture.

The Bible speaks about fleeing some things and pursuing others. Hebrews 12:14 says, “Pursue peace with all people, and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord.” One of the things that should be pursued is holiness. To pursue means to chase down or chase after. You've seen the police chases. Several squad cars are seen pursuing a car speeding to get away. The point is they are trying to catch the person. They are not just following along after it like they would be during non-chase normal traffic situations. So we are to chase down holiness, which the writer says we need if we want to see the Lord. Do you have the desire to chase holiness? Are you chasing it?

1 Timothy 6:11 But you, O man of God, flee these things and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, gentleness.

There are things to flee, but in this case I'm focusing on the pursuit. Here we are told to pursue several traits. Look these over and ask yourself am I chasing these things? Look at each one of these traits one at a time. Do I have a desire chase them? Am I willing to ask God for the desire to chase them?

2 Timothy 2:22 Flee also youthful lusts; but pursue righteousness, faith, love, peace with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart.

Am I fleeing and do I desire to flee youthful lusts. Older people can have youthful lusts. Sex is certainly one of these, but young people also have other inordinate desires for prestige, acceptance, power, recklessness, etc. Sometimes as we get older, these lusts don't disappear. We need to run away from these lusts with as much energy as we can. And here again we are to pursue righteousness and other traits. So if you can picture this, we are to be running away from some things in hot pursuit of other things. This is not a lazy afternoon walk. This is a chase.

And from Philippians 3:8-14 we learn that, like Paul, we should count things that are normally thought of as gain, we should count them loss. The reason is because of the excellence of Christ. Paul wanted to gain Christ. He described his effort as “pressing for the mark.” He was like a runner stretching out to be the first person across the line. That is the kind of effort he was making in order to know Christ better and to be found in Him.

Before we go on to any of the strategies that I will outline for us, each one of us needs to ask ourself the question: Do I really want this? Do I want to pursue righteousness and holiness? Do I really want Christ above all things? If the answer is “no” or if the answer is “I don't think I really care.” or if the answer is a shrug of the shoulders, then there's no point in going on.

Next time we'll begin to look at some of the strategies in detail.

To help your meditation on these passages, you can find the entire list here.

Biblical Battle Strategies Against Lust and Sin - 1

Every day we are confronted with temptations that attempt to distract us from our primary focus of service and obedience to Christ. These temptations often derail our attempts to live a godly life. Every day we are engaged in a battle to defeat these temptations and to stay the course. What I hope to do in this series is to review some of what the Bible teaches as to methods and strategies we can use to fight successfully. I plan to provide you with 10 or 11 specific statements that you should be able to make about yourself and about your spiritual life. These will be supported with passages of Scripture to help give you a strong foundation for those statements. If these statements are true of you, you will be in a better position for success in this battle against sin, lust and temptation. If the statements are not true of you, it should provide motivation and a goal that you can work on in order to improve areas of weakness.

The first thing we need to realize is that this battle is universal among Christians. As you read this material you are going to be tempted to think that this is a battle for someone else. Often, when we speak of lusts, as we will in the following section, people immediately focus on sexual lust and if that doesn't happen to be your problem, you might stop reading thinking that you have everything under control. That is a dangerous position to be in because if you are not aware of a battle for your heart and soul, the devil has you right where he wants you. But as soon as you realize that this applies to you just as much as anyone else and as soon as you take up arms to defeat your own lusts, you will find a battle greater than you ever imagined could exist.

The first step, then, is to ask ourselves the question: “Do I really want to pursue righteousness and holiness, and count everything loss in order to know Christ and the power of His resurrection in my life?” In order to accurately answer this question, there are some truths we need to consider.

In 1 John 2:15-17 we read: Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not of the Father but is of the world. And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever.

There is a distinction between the things of the world and the things of God. These verses very clearly teach that it is not possible to love the world and love God at the same time. This means a decision is required. Do I really want to abandon the world for Christ? This is an overarching decision, but it is also a decision that has to be made hundreds of times a day. Making the decision during a momentary temptation without having made it as a principle of your life will make the battle ultimately impossible to win. So before you go any further you need to decide – Christ or the world.

In this passage, much of the world definition involves lust. Lust is a strong desire that is excessive to the point of being sinful. In this passage we have three components given for worldliness – the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life. We don't have time to go into each one in detail, but if you think about it you will realize that many of the things we do and decisions we make are made based on these lusts. We covet what we see other people have. We lust for sex or excitement or other flesh-based pleasures. We desire to have people look up to us as someone important or powerful or contented. Yes, we can be proud of our contentment and wish for others to be jealous of our contented life. All of these temptations come from the world and not from God.

In James 1:14-15 we read this: But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death.

Here's the issue then. The world and Satan provide attractions that feed the lusts that John referred to. But our temptations come from within us, from our own lusts or desires and we are drawn away by them. We are pulled in a wrong direction. The desires come from deep within us. They are part of our sin nature, our fallenness, our brokenness. As these desires are conceived and gestate within us they give birth to sin. Sin is a thought or deed that is not within the will and character of God. These sins begin to grown and then, as James writes, they bring forth death. The Bible teaches that sin has wages and those wages are death.

A Christian, having been born again and now a child of God, has a new desire in competition with the old tendency and therein lies the conflict. Paul writes it this way in Galatians 5:17 - For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish.

So this leads us back now to the first point in what I'm calling Battle Strategies for the war on lust and sin. The first step is to ask ourselves, “Do I really want to pursue righteousness and holiness, and count everything loss in order to know Christ and the power of His resurrection in my life.” Do I really want this? Am I willing to work hard, suffer and sweat to gain it?

We'll think more about this question next time.

What is Our Attitude Toward Sin?

I came across Psalm 36 the other day in my reading and was struck by several things in the first few verses. I'd like to share those with you as I think through this myself. David starts the Psalm by writing, "An oracle within my heart concerning the transgression of the wicked."  That caught my attention right away. What was he thinking in his own heart regarding the transgression of the wicked? Who are the wicked? In our culture we think of wicked as those who are really evil among us. We don't think of the normal hard-working person who basically does the right thing, takes care of his family and minds his own business. But I think David sees the world in a different way. He sees the world as divided into two groups. Those who believe in, trust in, and follow God and those who don't. It is those non-followers that he calls wicked.

However, as I think about these verses and the transgressions he is speaking about, I want us to realize and admit that we believers also transgress against the ways of God and during those times we are behaving wickedly, even though our sins are forgiven in Christ. So as we look at David's thoughts concerning the transgression, let's not just think about it as an interesting topic about "them". Let's think of it in terms of "us".

The first thing David says is that there is no fear of God before their eyes. I think this is the root of it all both for the person who doesn't believe in God and for us in those moments when we succumb to the everpresent temptations. At that moment, the fear of God has been removed from our eyes. We are not considering the fact that God sees, knows and condemns our sin. We do not take into account that God is greater than we are and as creator, He has the right to tell us what the rules are. We do not have the appropriate level of fear of God. As a result, we venture into areas where we should not be. We cross the line. We transgress.

The second thing he mentions is that "he flatters himself in his own eyes." When I sin,  I am saying several things about myself. I am saying that I know better than God. God has no right to dictate my behavior. I am saying that even though God has warned of danger and threatened discipline, these are empty threats and of no consequence. Nothing to worry about!  I am flattering myself.

The next thing that happens is that our words are affected. "The words of his mouth are wickedness and deceit."  Isn't it true that when we sin, we often have to cover up our tracks and that takes the form of deceit. And when we think we are being caught or nearly so, we begin to lash out at those we love in order to keep them from being too close.

David then plainly states in verse 3 that when we transgress and when we are deceptive in our speech we have ceased to be wise. The problem is that when we are involved in sin, we are not usually too worried about whether we are being wise or not. But God continually calls out to us to be wise and not to play the fool. We need to ask ourselves if we really believe God is right and we are wrong. That's what confession is, isn't it?  Admitting that God is right.

In verse 4, David writes, "He devises wickedness on his bed; He sets himself in a way that is not good; He does not abhor evil."  I see several things here. First of all, when we are really set on disobedience and sin, we do think about it lying in bed. We devise ways to get even with someone, or we plan how to gain access to some sinful pleasure. But David laments that when we do this, we are setting ourselves on a way that is not good. Our real problem in the end is that we do not abhor evil. Abhor means to regard with horror and loathing; to detest. How many of us can say that we really abhor sin? 




David seems to change the subject somewhat in verse 5, but look at the encouragement we find there in light of what we have been discussion.  "Your mercy, O Lord, is in the heavens; Your faithfulness reaches to the clouds."

Memorization Monday - Hebrews 6:17

Hebrews 6:17 Thus God, determining to show more abundantly to the heirs of promise the immutability of His counsel, confirmed it by an oath,

God has made promises that cannot change or be annulled. In order to prove this to human beings, He gave an oath to that effect. We swear oaths to prove the truthfulness of our statements and God, because He is communicating with us, used the same approach. God's promises can be trusted.


If you would like to see the entire list of recommended verses from Hebrews to memorize in 2013, check here.

We've also produced a Bible study guide on the book of Hebrews you may be interested in. You can find it here.