Faith is a journey. . . .

 

Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us—for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree”— (Galatians 3:13)

Christ alone is our Redeemer. Christ bore our sins. Christ endured the wrath of God, Christ satisfied the claims of justice against us, as our Substitute. The work of redemption was fully accomplished. ‘Christ has redeemed us.’ Nothing is left to be done by us. Christ has done all. The blood of Christ poured out in death for the atonement of sin accomplished an effectual redemption. ‘Christ has redeemed us.’

Sin has been dealt with. The only sin that keeps anyone from redemption is unbelief in what Christ has done. Lack of faith is our nemesis. Faith is our salvation — yet faith has stages. 

First, the Bible says that the existence of God is made plain in creation and that faith begins with believing this simple truth:

And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.” (Hebrews 11:6)

If a person dismisses all the evidence of God’s existence and thinks He is not a good God, what more can the Holy Spirit reveal to that closed mind?

Faith also includes believing what God says. If not, we make Him a liar — even though Jesus clearly identified Satan as the liar and father of lies. And what does God say that must be believed? Some focus on creation or other truths, but the main thing that halts any hope of moving on in a spiritual journey is refusing to believe this:

For there is no distinction: for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, (Romans 3:22b–23)

A man said to me that he had no trouble believing that Jesus died for the sins of the world and argued that was good enough. I said, “But what about your sin?” Long pause. “Oh, I see what you mean.” He realized that his ‘faith’ was general, not personal. Even the demons believe God exists, but saving faith goes beyond that. Biblical ideas might be in place, but faith that cannot admit sin is not saving faith. John wrote:

If we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin. If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. . . . If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us. (1 John 1:7–10)

What is missing in that kind of faith is a failure to believe and apply verse 9: “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (1 John 1:9)

What more can God say to a person who rejects what He says about our sinful condition. If it sounds anything like “I don’t need that” or firmly insists they are okay without a Savior, the journey to God stops. God can barge in and open blind eyes, however He is a God of grace and even tells His people to “correct his opponents with gentleness.” God may grant them repentance leading to a knowledge of the truth, yet it is vital to believe the truth we already know. (2 Timothy 2:25)

God’s kindness “is meant to lead us to repentance” (Romans 2:4) so He “is patient toward us, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.” (2 Peter 3:9) Without it, the wonder of redemption eludes those who fail to believe what God reveals.

The OT laws and rituals pointed to the realities to come. The blood of animals offered for sin had no power to take away sin, but faith in God's promise of a Deliverer was vital. This faith kept His people until their Messiah came to fully redeem those who trust Him. Jesus came to do the will of God and by that will, those who believe are set apart, redeemed, being transformed. By His single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified (Hebrews 10:1–14), an amazing gift that is given to those who believe God exists, that He rewards all who seek Him, that know they are sinful and have no merit to earn this blessing, and therefore trust in Jesus Christ alone for redemption.

PRAY: What can I say? Only Jesus. You have brought me to faith, led me through all the barricades and shown me truth that helped me understand the wonder of who You are and the blessing of Your amazing grace. I bow in adoration and in joy.

Only three kinds of sin?

Genesis 3; Matthew 3; Ezra 3; Acts 3

This week I heard a pastor say in a radio sermon that there are only three kinds of sin. He quoted 1 John:

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 desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life—is not from the Father but is from the world. And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever. (1 John 2:15–17)

He said that sin involves wanting what we see that is not meant for us, desire pleasure or comfort that is not intended for us or wanting what we think will in some way make us better than others. This morning I see these three in the original sin in the garden of Eden . . .

So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate. Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked. And they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loincloths. (Genesis 3:6–7)

The rest of the chapter describes the results: they were ashamed, hid from God, did not admit their disobedience but shifted the blame, and were placed under a curse. The enemy was cursed and doomed. The woman was cursed to pain in having children and wanting to be the boss all the time. The man was cursed for not taking his leadership role by a lifetime of hard work to make a living. They were also cursed with physical death even though it was delayed.

God is merciful. He clothed them to take away their shame, then took them out of the garden to protect them from eating the tree of life and living forever with the curse. He had a plan. The curse came with a promise — a curse on their tempter who would meet his demise through the woman’s offspring — who would “bruise his head.”

This story has been called a myth to explain the origin of sin but not an actual event. Some say things like that to avoid admitting that sin is an issue. Odd idea. That sense of right and wrong gets blurred these days but it remains. We know. The daily news gives evidence of sin, as does the conflicting desires in our own hearts. Besides, sin had to start somewhere and God’s version makes sense.

Three sins are hard to generalize. I suppose sin with my eyes includes stealing, covetousness, and a host of other things. Sin with my flesh equals sexual stuff and excessive desires for comfort in things and total selfishness. Sin rooted in the pride of life starts with “I will run my own life” and disobedience to all the good that God wants for me. Every day there are temptations in these areas, from eating too many cookies, to bragging, to lazing around instead of taking care of my responsibilities. I cannot imagine being without the ability to recognize good and evil. Yes, sin wants the evil and makes all sorts of false assumptions about what is good, but by the Word of God, at least I can recognize the evil.

These three sins are seen in Eve’s response to the suggestions of the evil one. She saw the tree would be good to eat. It delighted her eyes and appealed to the pride that can come with being wise. The difference now is that God sent Jesus and my heart can respond to Him instead of temptation. His lessons may take a lifetime to learn but He shows me that disobedience is not good for me, even if it looks good. He shows me that human wisdom is folly compared to God’s wisdom. He also shows me that when I share my sinful desires and encourage others to join me (like Eve invited Adam to eat too), it will bring great disaster.

Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us—for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree”— (Galatians 3:13)

Jesus came to reverse the curse, and the only way I can enjoy the benefit of that goal is by cooperating with Him. The pain of life does not disappear entirely but the power of the curse is broken by faith in the One who forgave me and takes away my shame, the One who died on a tree and who lets me have the abundant life He created for me, allowing me to feast on the life that He graciously grants. Because of Him, I look forward to living forever with Him and in total freedom from the curse of sin.

Seeds die before flowers grow!

This spring we bought tomato plants for the sunshine side of our home. We had two planting pots left over and my husband had two seed packets stowed in the back of his desk drawer. He forgot where they came from or how long they were there, perhaps 2-3 years. We had nothing to lose so sprinkled the contents in each of the planters and kept them moist. One was ‘wildflowers’ and the other ‘Shasta Daisy’ — a perennial.

The wildflowers came up thick and have been blooming for several weeks. The daisies came up thick too, even had to be thinned. They will bloom next year if we replant them in a good spot. Both came from tiny seeds, useless until they were planted, and useless unless their shells decayed and released the life hidden in them. I smile every time I look at them.

Jesus said to His disciples: “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. Whoever loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. If anyone serves me, he must follow me; and where I am, there will my servant be also. If anyone serves me, the Father will honor him.” (John 12:23–26)

Jesus was talking about Himself and what His death would accomplish, but He was also talking about His followers. For us, this death is like His but different. He died on the Cross and rose from that death to give us eternal life. For Christians, we must die to our old ways, to self-rule as He did when He said, “Not My will but Thine be done” to His Father. When we yield all to Him like that, His eternal life is released from us, blessing others with that quality of life that cannot die.

Today’s devotional reading lists some ‘fruit’ that the death of Christ produced. The first one is that His death satisfied the justice of God. Because He died in our place, we do not pay the penalty for sin. (See Romans 3:25–26) I cannot produce that atoning ‘fruit’ by putting to death my old nature and living in the fullness of the new life Christ has given me, yet that new life is His life, a life of power and grace. What will He grow?

Actually, I cannot guess what He will do through me. When we planted those wildflowers, the seed packet did not list the contents. We did not know what the ‘fruit’ would look like, nor that it would be so prolific. Planted in faith? Maybe, but the seeds were definitely planted in hope. They surprised us by growing and their blooms give great pleasure. I’d like my life to be like that — growing and giving joy to others.

The second ‘fruit’ listed in the devotional is that Christ’s death “redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us—for it is written, ‘Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree’” (Galatians 3:13).

The Law of God can no longer condemn us because Jesus took that condemnation on Himself. His death paid the price so I could escape the damnation of sin. I cannot do that for others either, but can God use the ‘death of me’ to help others better understand that Jesus Christ’s death has the power to change lives.

The third fruit is removal of guilt by forgiveness: “In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace.” (Ephesians 1:7)

I’ve never thought of comparing forgiveness with flowers before now. Knowing that God (or anyone else) is not angry with me for any wrong-doing is like being in a garden of roses, like enjoying the perfume of sweet peas, like looking across a sea of tulips or red poppies. All because He died. If I could give the world a great gift, it would have to be the gift of redemption, the freedom of knowing all is forgiven, the beauty of guilt lifted, then replaced with incredible beauty and delight.

Fourth, Satan is defeated. “Now is the judgment of this world; now will the ruler of this world be cast out.” (John 12:31) No brainer. Each time I say NO to self and YES to God, the enemy must flee. He cannot stay in the presence of a surrendered heart.

Fifth is sanctification. It is first declared and bestowed, then made a reality by the One “who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works.” (Titus 2:14) This is what happens to those who ‘eat’ the fruit of His life (See John 6:35-58). The saying, “You are what you eat” is never truer or more amazing than this!

Sixth is the certainty of eternal life. Unlike a flower seed that produces a flower, that produces more seed, the ‘fruit’ from Christ, and the ‘fruit’ from dying to self lives forever: “Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him.” (Romans 6:8)

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Jesus, oh Jesus, You are awesome. Those flowers gave us beauty and joy through seeds that ‘died’ but came out of a tomb to give us far more than we expected. Through Your death, You gave us Your life. Your Spirit fills us with His amazing fruit. Your life makes us a blessing to others, a sweet perfume of Your wonderful grace. Today, my intention is to live for You, not concerned about me (for You will take care of that) but letting the fruit of Your death and resurrection define all that I think and do. 

I belong to Jesus . . .

Life is full of disappointments, yet because I believe in the sovereignty of God, and that I belong to Him, I know that whatever happens is for my good, even if it does not seem like it at the time. He may show me His reasons for those disappointments, but even if He does not, I can still call Him a good, good Father. I can still . . .

“Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth! Serve the Lord with gladness! Come into his presence with singing! Know that the Lord, he is God! It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture. Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise! Give thanks to him; bless his name! For the Lord is good; his steadfast love endures forever, and his faithfulness to all generations.” (Psalm 100:1–5)

All people belong to God by creation, but we who believe belong in a more intimate way, like a child belongs to its father. We enjoy a loving family relationship with our heavenly Father and His human family.

This is God’s idea. He said, ‘I will be their God; and they shall be my people.’ All Christians belongs to God because God choose them . . .

“You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you.” (John 15:16)

“But we ought always to give thanks to God for you, brothers beloved by the Lord, because God chose you as the firstfruits to be saved, through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth. To this he called you through our gospel, so that you may obtain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.” (2 Thessalonians 2:13–14)

Not only did God choose me to be His child, He bought me out of slavery at an incredible cost. I am redeemed from the curse of sin because of Jesus . . .

Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us—for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree.” (Galatians 3:13)

It is one thing to be chosen, one thing to be redeemed, but God also changed me, made me a new person. As a sinner, all I could choose was sin, but as a new creation, I am able to willingly choose to serve Him, not sin.

“And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved . . . .” (Ephesians 2:1-5)

All this is more than a change of mind. It is a change in the direction of life, a turn-about made possible by identification with Jesus. Just as He died for my sin, I have died to my sin — and this was visibly declared when I was publicly baptized.

“We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life. For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin.” (Romans 6:4–6)

This is real stuff. At times, the temptation to sin is strong. At times, I want to quit this way of life for it can be very difficult, but I cannot — because I belong to God. He does not quit. He lives in me and carries out His will in me.

“Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.” (1 Corinthians 6:19–20)

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Jesus, baptism was my public confession of faith that identified me as belonging to You. Because that is true, glorifying You with my body in the way I live is not only reasonable, but possible. I’m amazed at how Your Spirit warns and protects me, keeping me from doing things that do not honor You. Because I belong to You, I am set free from the bondage of not being able to choose anything else but sin — and in the glorious place of knowing and loving You.

Relativism and absolutes

Last night I listened to an educated doctor say that drinking coffee was good for people. I chuckled, because drinking coffee would throw my heart into A-fib, and while that might not kill me, it certainly would not be good for me. That said, the idea that things can be true for one person and not another often needs qualification.

Coffee being good for some people but not for others supports this idea, but many other examples do not. For instance, breathing is necessary for everyone. So is drinking water, but not trying to walk on it. All people benefit from food also, and from protection from the elements.

Beyond these universals, personal preference makes things fuzzy. I like chocolate; my husband does not. I would say it was good for me and he would not agree that it was good for him. This is a minor thing, but human preference can go to astonishing extremes.

For instance, last night on the news, one lead story was about an obese woman whose doctor told her that losing weight would solve her three major health problems. She interpreted his wisdom and authority as “discrimination” and was crying for laws to protect her from such treatment. In her mind, a preference for too much food gave her the right to eat the way she wanted and the doctor could not infringe upon that. She just wanted him to fix her medical issues or in other words, treat the symptoms and not the cause.

This is where I struggle with those who reject absolute truth and any kind of authority, particularly that of our Creator. Even if they acknowledge that God actually exists, they insist what He says is not about them, and what He demands is only for those who accept it. When God says, “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,” His words are taken as somebody’s opinion. Personal preference says this can be ignored because “it does not apply to me.”

I’m more black and white concerning truth. Besides believing that if God says it, it must be true, I try to base most of my ideas on the source of information rather than my own reasoning about it. That is, if the town’s biggest liar told me my car was stolen, I’d check the garage first. If a website tells me I should not eat popcorn, I will seek other sources. However, if God tells me that my life needs a fix, I try to find my mirror so I could see what He is talking about and fix it.

All that said, faith is not only believing what God says, but ‘acting as if God is telling the truth.’ With all belief systems, anyone who ignores their own ideas of truth really doesn’t believe them at all.

Faith that acts includes the negatives, like ‘all have sinned’ but it also covers the good news . . . “Christ redeemed . . . .” (Galatians 3:13)

The Word of God would be a horror and a total candidate for relativity if all that it said was that I am a lost and hopeless sinner. Who wants to hear that? Instead of saying stuff like “this might be true for you but not for me” is not balanced unless they read all of what God says, not just the bad stuff.

God provides a way out for our sin. We fall short, but He loves us too much to leave us with just that. The Old Testament sacrifices were a “shadow of the good things to come” and even though those sacrifices were continually offered every year” they could “not make perfect those who draw near.” Instead, they were a “reminder of sins” and their seriousness.

Those offerings also demonstrated the faith of those who offered them. Clearly, God was looking for faith, not for the “blood of bulls and goats” that could not take away sins.

While these were important for after the fact of sin, what God really wants is obedience. The Bible says, “You have neither desired nor taken pleasure in sacrifices and offerings and burnt offerings and sin offerings” (these are offered according to the law), then he added, “Behold, I have come to do your will.”

In speaking of Christ, this is the good news; Jesus came to do what all of humanity fails to do. He “offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins . . . sat down at the right hand of God . . . . and by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified.” (Hebrews 10:1–14)

By Jesus becoming sin for us, God offers good news. Jesus said, “All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out.” (John 6:37) All who believe and receive Jesus will experience forgiveness of sin and eternal life!

Those who reject the “all are sinners” part also miss out on the “all who believe” part and the experience of redemption. All who say, “That is fine for you but not for me” miss out because of two little words that offend them: all and sin. Instead, they figuratively sue God for discrimination and miss out on the total well-being that He offers.

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Jesus, I feel like weeping. Accepting the reality of what I am and what I have done is no fun, but knowing You and knowing that I have eternal life because of You goes beyond fun into a deep joy — a joy that I know will only intensify and eventually turn into eternal bliss that cannot ever be lost or destroyed. Thank You for helping me see how much I need You rather than dismissing You.