By faith . . .

A few days ago, I posted a quote from a friend who told me that Christians are saved in a split second, then spend the rest of their lives trying to figure out what happened. Tozer relates how William James tried to “psychologize the wonders of God’s workings in the human life and experience” only to say that “the genuine child of God is someone who cannot be explained by human reasoning.”

If this is impossible, why then do we try?

Most of us have friends who over-explain. Some of us are like that ourselves. A woman called yesterday to tell me she was staying home last night because . . . and the explanation went from health problems on and on and wound up with several explanations of why her family needed her to baby sit the next day. This took several minutes and was mostly one long sentence. She has this strong inclination to explain everything she does.

Our son is sometimes like that. When he was a teen and came home from a movie, we didn’t dare ask him about the movie because he would give a scene-by-scene, line-by-line description that often was as long as the movie . . . and we were usually in bed when it happened.

People like those two are often teachers. Perhaps the Apostle Paul was a teacher too. He loved to explain the theology God taught him — in many ways and in varying details. He also loved to explain how Christians put our faith into practice, with many repetitions.

However, the exact explanation of how salvation happens has limits. As Tozer says, when we come into a relationship with Jesus Christ through new birth, “something takes place by the ministry of the Spirit of God which psychology cannot explain.”

The best Paul could say is that it happens by grace. That word has been defined varying ways. Some say it means God’s unconditional care and kindness. Others say it is an expression of God’s love and mercy that caused Him to send Jesus. Another definition says it means being spiritually awakened to who Christ is, and in that new view of Him, we are changed to be more like Him.

All of these are attempts to explain what happens when we are saved. A familiar passage puts it this way:

Even when we were dead in our trespasses, (God) made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. (Ephesians 2:5–9)

Another explanation likens faith to a person who introduces me to royalty. That person is not royalty but is instrumental in bringing me to the One who is — therefore I can shake hands with the King of kings.

I understand grace as the reason I can do that and that it is a gift from God, nothing I deserved or earned. What I don’t understand is the “why me?” part of this incredible salvation. God can save anyone, but not everyone is saved. He loves everyone, yet not everyone is saved. Why should I be granted a relationship with Almighty God?

Given that all are sinners and all sinners have no interest in God, that He saves anyone is a marvel. We all resist Him; the Bible says no one seeks Him. Yet He reaches out to us, sends Jesus to die for us, sends the Holy Spirit to draw us to Himself. This is grace, but there are no reasons for why He picked me or anyone else out of the muddy mass of humanity to become His children.

The more I understand what happened, the less I understand why He did it. Yet the less I understand, the more He calls me to trust Him with all the unknowns, all the stuff that does not make sense or seem reasonable. When it comes down to it, who am I to understand Almighty God? He gives me enough glimpses into His will for me to realize that even wanting to figure things out can be a terrible arrogance.

^^^^^^^^^^

Jesus, today’s news is enough to drive people into a ‘why’ frenzy. If I got the notion into my head that all my blessings are deserved, that could lure me into an ego-stroking frenzy, but I know better. Tozer says, “The reason that faith is so important an element in every true life is simply because it links our nothingness with God Himself.” For me, the key word in that quote is “nothingness” — a good description of my merit and a good reminder that only “grace” can explain that link I have with You. By reason and rational thinking, it should not be there. By faith, it is.

How then can I be saved?

The Jews grumbled about Jesus because He said, “I am the bread that came down from heaven.”

They said, “Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How does he now say, ‘I have come down from heaven’?”

Jesus answered them, “Do not grumble among yourselves. No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him. And I will raise him up on the last day. It is written in the Prophets, ‘And they will all be taught by God.’ Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to me . . . .” (John 6:41–45)

The Jews in this conversation did not believe in Jesus. He said things they did not understand and when He told them they could not come to Him unless God the Father drew them, they became so angry that they eventually put Him to death.

If these religious people were not drawn to Jesus by the Father, why then did He draw me? This is a question that really has no answer. A better question is why does God draw anyone? Yet even that question can only be answered in platitudes. He loves the world. He sent Jesus to die for all sin. Yet no one can come to Jesus unless the Father draws them and it seems He does not do that for everyone.

In reality, the only person I can be accountable for is me, and at times that is also a mystery. Why does God put up with me, loving me and picking me up when I fall down? I am not special. The Bible is clear that I can do nothing to earn or deserve my salvation, much less His great love.

Chambers says that there must be a surrender of the will, a deliberate commitment of myself to God, but that is not how I was saved. I was running the other way and He stopped me in my tracks. He entered my life without a conscious invitation from me, never mind a deliberate commitment. Each day since, I’ve tried that deliberate action of the will only to discover that being saved from the power of sin is the same as being saved from its penalty; I cannot do it by choice. God must put his hand on me and grant me the grace of His presence and power.

When John the Baptist said, “He must increase and I must decrease” I first thought this meant Jesus must increase ‘in importance’ or ‘in the way I talk about Him’ but it goes far beyond that. My efforts to battle sin are real and strenuous. They involve knowledge of God and His will, and decisions to yield my will, added to a deep abhorrence of sin and a rich desire to please Him, yet none of those things deliver me. They are definitely from God, but it is the grace of God that releases me. He is governing my salvation from start to finish and He uses His Word and His Holy Spirit to do it.

Any talk of pushing the will to believe, of having no confidence in myself, of determination to leave the old life behind, of yielding to Christ — all of this what the Bible says, yet for me, all my effort to do it has resulted in only one thing: I cannot do it. Only Jesus Christ in me is capable of increasing my faith, decreasing my confidence in me, and enabling me to abandon the old life and yield to Him. Again, He does it through His Word (particularly rhema*) and by the power of His Holy Spirit.

It seems to me that this is what John meant . . . Jesus increases and I decrease — as He continually draws me to the fact that without Him, I am nothing and I can do nothing.

Lord Jesus, thank You for saving me and for increasing in my life.

*Rhema = a specific communication from God directed to the need of the moment

Reasons to Rejoice

Jeremiah 49:1–39, Romans 11:25–12:8, Proverbs 26:12–28

Today’s devotional book, “Connect the Testaments” did not connect today with the birth of Jesus Christ. I do and decided to picture it with a wreath, the circle of green that symbolizes eternal life. This is why Jesus came, to make visible our Almighty and Eternal God, and to bring to us the hope and promise of living with Him forever. Indeed, this is a Joyful Day!

I found some joy also in the days of Jeremiah, even though he speaks to the nations about God’s chastening for their sin. After a long description of what would happen to Ammon, Jeremiah said: “Behold, I will bring terror upon you, declares the Lord God of hosts, from all who are around you, and you shall be driven out, every man straight before him, with none to gather the fugitives. But afterward I will restore the fortunes of the Ammonites, declares the Lord.” (Jeremiah 49:5–6)

It was the same for Elam, east of Babylon. Jeremiah said: “Thus says the Lord of hosts: Behold, I will break the bow of Elam, the mainstay of their might. And I will bring upon Elam the four winds from the four quarters of heaven. And I will scatter them to all those winds, and there shall be no nation to which those driven out of Elam shall not come. I will terrify Elam before their enemies and before those who seek their life. I will bring disaster upon them, my fierce anger, declares the Lord. I will send the sword after them, until I have consumed them, and I will set my throne in Elam and destroy their king and officials, declares the Lord. But in the latter days I will restore the fortunes of Elam, declares the Lord.” (Jeremiah 49:35–39)

How can this judgment then restoration happen except that God hates sin, but deeply loves sinners?

Solomon describes the sin that seems to me the most insidious, the sin of deceit and hypocrisy: “Whoever hates disguises himself with his lips and harbors deceit in his heart; when he speaks graciously, believe him not, for there are seven abominations in his heart; though his hatred be covered with deception, his wickedness will be exposed in the assembly. Whoever digs a pit will fall into it, and a stone will come back on him who starts it rolling. A lying tongue hates its victims, and a flattering mouth works ruin.” (Proverbs 26:24–28)

Yet God is gracious even to hypocrites (which most of us are or have been). He left heaven, came to earth as a man, even beginning life here as a vulnerable embryo. He grew up, loved and served sinners, then went to the cross to pay our penalty for sin. Then, the ultimate proof of His deity, He rose from the dead, appeared to 500 or more, and with joy ascended to heaven with a promise that He would return.

He left us with an invitation to follow Him: in being born again, in growing in our faith, in dying to sin and self, and eventually rising to the gates of heaven where we will enter in and live with Him for eternity.

In the meantime, He gave us His instructions for life and His gifts to serve others. We are to be humble, people of integrity, not comparing ourselves with others or strutting about because of this amazing grace. Paul said it this way: “For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned. For as in one body we have many members, and the members do not all have the same function, so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another. Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them . . . .” (Romans 12:3–6)

This gracious God generously gives us gifts us to serve one another for the same reason He restores nations; He hates our sin but loves us so much that He died so we might live. That mission began in a stable, included a cross, and culminated in a resurrection with an offer of the greatest gift of all — His life, powerful to save us for all eternity.

Merry Christmas!

God’s Motive for Salvation

Last week to clear myself, I explained details about an incident to someone who had misunderstood me. I hate being misunderstood. This makes me wonder how many acts of God are done to clarify Himself, to clear up any misunderstanding we have about who He is?

For instance, if a person does something against the will of God, they might feel like He will send a bolt of lightning to correct them, but He doesn’t. Instead, sends His Son to sacrifice Himself for sin and to offer forgiveness. What does that say about the nature and character of God? He hates sin and it must be punished, but He loves sinners and wants a personal relationship with us. The only solution is a fitting substitute who will willingly take our place, a substitute that satisfies Him and is willing to do it.

But He cannot offer a salvation like this for our sakes. We don’t deserve it. Instead, He does it for His own names sake, so that we can clearly understand who He is.

Yet he saved them for his name’s sake, that he might make known his mighty power. (Psalm 106:8)

If God did not save people for His own sake, no one would be saved. The best and most moral person on earth does not deserve mercy. We all fall short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23) because everyone sins. Even relying on my own righteousness is a sin. Consider an omelet made of all good eggs except one. That one egg ruins the entire omelet, just as one sin ruins any hope that I could measure up to God’s standard.

He saves for His name’s sake that I might hope in His name, turn to Him for mercy and grace. I might fear Him more if He showed no mercy and offered no forgiveness, but then my fear would be like the fear of a demon, a fear of despair without repentance and faith. No one could trust in Him if He did not save for His name’s sake.

He saves for His name’s sake so I can adore His name and praise His mercy. What an awesome God who can show grace when nothing is deserved but misery and guilt! Knowing I am sinful is humbling, yet knowing my God forgives and saves me anyway is more humbling. What can I do but praise His name?

The Lord saves for His own sake. When I run to Him, I am without excuse for what I have done, but salvation isn’t about my efforts or any lack of trying; it is about His grace. If I could earn my salvation with my own righteousness, I would not need Him and pride would rule my life.

On the other hand, if nothing that I do could earn favor with God and if my best efforts to be righteous deserve damnation, then there is no escaping His wrath. I would sink into the pit of sin without hope and in great despair and self-pity. Either way, the focus is on me and not Him.

Why does God save me or anyone else? He saves for His own name’s sake that He might be glorified and that my pride, arrogance and self-pity be put where they belong. He alone deserves to be exalted. Saving for His own name’s sake suits His nature and character, and it clearly reveals who He is.

It is for this reason that He saved me.