Fear of not making the grade . . .

Two of my friends have a firm knowledge of ‘salvation by faith’ yet occasionally admit to a fear: “But what if I don’t do it right?” They admit knowing that ‘doing it right’ is not the Gospel, yet this fear creeps in and turns their joy into anxiety.

Fear is mentioned hundreds of times in the Bible, most often with an admonition to have courage, or trust God. When a Jewish leader came to Jesus requesting He come home with him and heal his daughter, some came from his house saying his daughter is dead, and not to trouble Jesus any longer. However, Jesus ignored them and said to the ruler of the synagogue, “Do not fear, only believe.” (Mark 5:36)

Believe what? That the girl would be raised? That this bad news was in error? That she wasn’t really dead?

When I get in a dither about something, I want to believe the problem will go away, or be solved, or that I can handle this, but that is not the believing Jesus looked for. It isn’t believing that what I want to happen will happen, but believing in God and what He has done and will do. Such faith begins with believing in Him for salvation . . .

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.” (John 3:16–18)

The problem is human thinking and the perversity of our pride. Salvation without earning it goes against our nature and our nurture. In life, there are no rewards that are undeserved. We have to work to get paid, be nice to have friends, put our best foot forward to get a job, and so it goes. Even when we ‘know’ that salvation is by grace alone there is that nagging voice whispering, “But you have to earn it.”

It is not what I do, but what Christ has done that saves me, yet the idea creeps into my mind that before I can truly trust Christ, I must be deeply convicted of sin, weep and mourn over it, desire holiness, repent, long for Christ, and earnestly seek Him.

This sounds right, but it is merely the voice of salvation by works. This happens to people both before that initial yielding to Christ, and after trusting Him and becoming a Christian. Yet Jesus said, “Do not fear, only believe.” ONLY means ONLY — nothing more. Believing Jesus means no prerequisites or qualifications. Trusting Christ alone is how I entered into a saving relationship with Him, and it is how I am to live out my Christian life . . . 

“Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him, rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving.” (Colossians 2:6–7)

If I am saved by faith, so also I must live in faith, trusting ONLY Christ, not myself, my own wits, or anything else. Yet even knowing this is the way it is, my pride and my sin nature often sticks thoughts into my head of what I must do to solve the issues  of life.

The rub is that God also gives directions by speaking directly into my mind. So how do I know the difference? Those thoughts must be verified by God’s Word.

“For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.” (Hebrews 4:12)

And the Holy Spirit says, “Keep reading it, Elsie, keep reading it!”

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Jesus, You are the Living Word and by believing You, I know You as Savior and Lord. And for the nitty-gritty of life and how to address what happens, including my fears, You have blessed me with the written Word. I am so thankful for many reasons, and at the top of the list is this wonderful fact: through Your Word You reveal to me what I need to know for all decisions and in all situations. Because of Your grace, I do not need to fear, only believe.

Who gets God’s compassion?

Yesterday I watched a television program, total fiction, depicting a person whose child had been abducted. I felt compassion for this parent, not because I knew him (it was fiction anyway) or because I’ve ever had the same thing happen. My emotions were solely about how awful it would be to experience such a horror. 

Today’s devotional reading is about the compassion of God, and upon reflection, I realize some differences between His compassion and mine.

As a father shows compassion to his children, so the Lord shows compassion to those who fear him. For he knows our frame; he remembers that we are dust. As for man, his days are like grass; he flourishes like a flower of the field; for the wind passes over it, and it is gone, and its place knows it no more. But the steadfast love of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting on those who fear him, and his righteousness to children’s children, to those who keep his covenant and remember to do his commandments. (Psalm 103:13–18)

While the Bible is clear that the love of God is unconditional and freely offered to all, these verses say that His compassion has some criteria. It isn’t that God plays favorites, but notice that His compassion is for those who fear Him and do His commandments. Does this mean fear and obedience earn His compassion? Not at all. 

My Hebrew dictionary says that the word used in these verses is râcham. It means: “to have compassion on, show mercy, take pity on, show love, i.e., have feelings and actions of kindness and concern for one in difficulty, regardless of one’s state of guilt for an offense, usually based in a relationship or association.” 

The key is that last line, “based in a relationship” which tells me that the love of God is directed particularly toward those who are in a relationship with Him. This does not mean God has no love for those who are not because He gave His Son for the sins of all. Yet, there is a special compassion for His children, those born into His family by faith, “adopted into the beloved” because they believe in Jesus and have received Him into their lives.

This compassion could be compared to how I would feel if my own child was abducted or injured. I might feel terrible pain to see an awful thing happen to someone else’s child, but if it were my own, that pain would be magnified, even unbearable because of the relationship.

These verses also say that God has compassion “on those who fear Him.” Does that mean He plays favorites? No, it does not. It means that His children are those who fear Him. This attribute, as well as the attributes of keeping His covenant and obeying His commands belong to His children. Those outside the family of God who are without faith and have never repented of their sin do not fit into the category of having a relationship with God. Therefore, the compassion that He feels for them is not the same as for those who are His children and in His family. 

I’m trying to wrap my head around this, but perhaps another way to explain it is by the way human love works. I might love someone but that love is not reciprocal. I feel a deep affection and longing, but it is not the same as being in love with someone who loves you in return. Similarly, God loves all, but not all love Him. Because of that, His compassion for the lost is still there, but without the relationship, those people never experience it the same way as those do who are in His family. Two-way love is different, deeper, richer. 

… love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. Anyone who does not love does not know God… In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. (1 John 4:7-10)

God’s love is there, in His heart, ready to be poured out. Those who receive it through a relationship of faith and new life are able to love Him and others. These are the children who fear and obey Him. These are the children who know His compassion. 

Knowing God’s compassion is not about the magnitude of our afflictions, nor is it about earning His favor. It is about being His children, and even then, we can only receive it — and be glad.

No Idols

The gospel of Jesus Christ is this: God does the saving and His people live out that salvation. He changes our lives and our lives demonstrate that change. It is always in this order; God does the work and then we respond to what He has done.

Uphold me according to your promise, that I may live, and let me not be put to shame in my hope! Hold me up, that I may be safe and have regard for your statutes continually! (Psalm 119:116–117)

Too often, this is reversed. Even those who have been saved can fall into the trap of trying to earn God’s favor or merit His blessings. This is impossible. Not only that, it is an insult to God. How can sinners ever presume to please the Holy One? Are we better than God? Any form of self-effort disregards all that He says and all that He is. Whatever I worship or rely on instead of Jesus Christ is an idol.

Instead, He is God. He upholds; I live. He upholds and I am never put to shame for my hope in Him. He holds me up; I am safe. He holds me up and I respect His laws and principles all the time. 

Be on the alert for preaching and teaching that puts emphasis on what I am supposed to do without first proclaiming what God has already done for me. 

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Lord, You are the Savior. Forgive me for the many times I’ve tried to save myself, or put my faith in all sorts of things, thinking that these things will rescue me, or make me a better person, or will give my life meaning. The Christian life is about You, You first and You always.

Grace is not about my worth

Sometimes I shake my head in wonder that God picked me to be His child. After more than thirty-five years of knowing Christ, I still feel as if I’m the worst possible example of a Christian. Today’s verse takes me away from that notion, not by building up my estimation of myself, but by telling me why God saved me, in fact why He saves anyone.

The verse is Ephesians 3:6, but this verse is a phrase in a longer sentence, typical of the writings of Paul. Here is the entire sentence:

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love, having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He made us accepted in the Beloved. (Ephesians 1:3-6)

I sometimes wonder what makes God choose, yet that is not the right question. The purpose or goal of His choosing is about grace, His unconditional love. It is grace that saves, grace that made me accepted into His family, and grace that keeps me there. He saved me so that His grace would be glorified and praised!

Today’s devotional reading from Ears from Harvested Sheaves is a blessing too. I’ve edited it a bit, first to make it personal, and second to bring the language of this older book a bit more up to date. It says:

If I am ever looking for something in me to make myself acceptable to God, I become sadly cast down and discouraged because I cannot find that holiness, or obedience, or any serenity of soul. I’m void of that spirituality and heavenly-mindedness which I believe to be acceptable in His sight. My temper, fretful and irritated mind, rebellious thoughts, cold heart, barrenness and alienation from godliness, my proneness to that pessimistic feeling that I am getting no better but worse, makes me think that God views me just as I view myself. This brings great darkness in my mind and bondage to my spirit. I have lost sight of my acceptance in Christ and dropped into those miserable dregs of self. Sometimes I feel as if I’m ready to quarrel with God because I am so void of all I should be, all that He could make me be, and even seem to get worse as I get older. Yet I know that the more I turn inward, and the more I keep looking at any scenes of wreck and ruin in my own heart, the further I move from the grace of the gospel. Looking at me makes me lose sight of the only ground of my acceptance with God. It is “in the Beloved” that I am accepted, not for any good words, or good works, good thoughts, good hearts, or good intentions of my own. This saving knowledge of my acceptance in Christ is not about anything in me, good or bad. He is the firm foundation for my faith and hope, and will keep me from sinking into the foolish despair of depending on myself.

A song begins to weave its way through my mind. The words are, “Oh, how I love Jesus, oh, how I love Jesus. Oh, how I love Jesus, because He first loved me.”