True Freedom

When JJ gets out of jail, his freedom doesn’t last long. As soon as he realizes he is now responsible for himself, he is back behind bars.

When KL’s sickly spouse died, he felt instant freedom from the constant demands of being a care-giver, yet also moaned how lonely he is and how difficult to adapt to his ‘new’ life.

Most people do not want to be locked up or feel like a slave toward anything, but freedom is never about ‘doing what I please.’ Free people are still responsible for their actions. Christian freedom is like that also. It releases me from the dictates and demands of sin or any other kind of slavery, but it does not release me from being a responsible person.

For me, the worst slave-drivers and freedom-robbers are pride and legalism. Instead of enjoying the freedom that Christ gives, they dictate what I do, and pressure me into thinking I must be perfect to be accepted. Instead, God tells me . . .

“For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.” (Galatians 5:1)

The author of my devotional book lists and describes legalism, that system of trying to earn God’s favor by keeping a set of rules I have devised. Here is a shortened version of what he says . . .

1. Pride and legalism seek assurance based on what I do instead of what Christ has done.

2. Pride and legalism neglect responsibilities because I feels as if I am never good enough to do anything instead of trusting the enabling power of the Holy Spirit.

3. Pride and legalism focus on punishment and reward which easily transfers to others and becomes either jealousy or a critical spirit.

4. Pride and legalism add my rules to God’s Word —I decide what ‘acceptable Christian behavior’ is instead of trusting the Holy Spirit to do that job.

5. Pride and legalism set me up as a judge of me and everyone else, but none of us measure up.

All of this is contrary to the Gospel. Pride and legalism enslave me; walking with Jesus sets me free. The following passage describes how God releases me from sin and slavery . . .  and how I need to respond . . .

·       “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.

·       “See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ. For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily, and you have been filled in him, who is the head of all rule and authority.

·       “In him also you were circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ, having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through faith in the powerful working of God, who raised him from the dead. And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross.

·       “He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him.

·       “Therefore let no one pass judgment on you in questions of food and drink, or with regard to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath. These are a shadow of the things to come, but the substance belongs to Christ. Let no one disqualify you, insisting on asceticism and worship of angels, going on in detail about visions, puffed up without reason by his sensuous mind, and not holding fast to the Head, from whom the whole body, nourished and knit together through its joints and ligaments, grows with a growth that is from God.

·      “If with Christ you died to the elemental spirits of the world, why, as if you were still alive in the world, do you submit to regulations— “Do not handle, Do not taste, Do not touch” (referring to things that all perish as they are used)—according to human precepts and teachings? These have indeed an appearance of wisdom in promoting self-made religion and asceticism and severity to the body, but they are of no value in stopping the indulgence of the flesh.” (Colossians 2:6–23)

Basically, this rich passage says that if Christ sets me free, I am free indeed. I’m not to pay attention to human pride or legalism, either in myself or from others, particularly the devil who keeps telling me to ‘work harder’ and that I’m not good enough. None of my rules will overcome sin, and pride cannot for it is at the root of sin.

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Jesus, wow. You are my freedom. In you, I am out of jail, set free from the tyranny of sin and of always insisting on having my own way. I can laugh at bondage instead of opening myself up to it. Bless You, my Lord, and my Deliverer.

Respecting leaders

In earlier days of going to church, people sometimes ‘joked’ that after the service they were going home to a meal of ‘roast pastor.’ In light of what God says, that is not at all funny . . .

“We ask you, brothers, to respect those who labor among you and are over you in the Lord and admonish you, and to esteem them very highly in love because of their work. Be at peace among yourselves.” (1 Thessalonians 5:12–13)

Noting the bottom line regarding peace, this week our ladies Bible study group listened to a speaker who explained the importance of peace in our war against the evil one and sin. One of Satan’s tools to make our lives ineffective and joyless is to stir up trouble that ruins the peace of God. If this enemy can produce disharmony, and strife, that will do it. Peace is gone and we are down for the count. From the above verse, hitting us with a lack of respect for our spiritual leaders is one of those producers of disunity and strife.

The writer of Hebrews also admonishes God’s people in this vital area of Christian life . . .

“Remember your leaders, those who spoke to you the word of God. Consider the outcome of their way of life, and imitate their faith . . . Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God. Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they are keeping watch over your souls, as those who will have to give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with groaning, for that would be of no advantage to you. Pray for us, for we are sure that we have a clear conscience, desiring to act honorably in all things. I urge you the more earnestly to do this in order that I may be restored to you the sooner.” (Hebrews 13:7–19)

The Bible is clear; instead of roasting the pastor when his sermon is not what I want or expect, I’m to pray for him realizing that anything else is very likely a tool of the devil to stir up strife.

The devotional reading for today points out that our sinful human tendency is either to treat God’s servants with contempt like some did with Paul in Galatia (Galatians 4:16), or to regard them with an adoring, worshipful reverence, as Cornelius did with Peter (Acts 10:25). Both attitudes are wrong.

The faithful gospel preacher is only a human being, not pedestal material to worship and follow blindly. At the same time, he is God’s messenger. He needs to speak the truth in love, but also must not be despised, ignored or treated with contempt.

These verses make plain that as well as respecting my leaders, I’m also know them. The deeper I know each one, the more I will understand their needs and burdens. That makes prayer in God’s will much easier. Prayer for others also solves the problem of being always on their backs and puts me on their team. We must  work together for the sake of the Gospel. 

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Jesus, You are increasingly showing me the bigger picture of how Satan works. I can see how he promotes extreme attitudes because they often produce strife. Our effectiveness as God’s people is spoiled when we are at odds with one another. You tell us to have peace among ourselves, so my prayer is that You will deepen my ability to be a peacemaker. Also, enable me to pray more effectively for my church leaders.

Proud? Or Crucified?

Another characteristic of pride is striving to be righteous. The Gospel says that I have the imputed righteousness of Jesus Christ and in the heart of God, I have been justified. Why then those years of trying to be ‘a perfect’ Christian?

I know the teaching of the Gospel, yet kept skipping that part that said I was already righteous, sort of like reading a book and skipping the paragraphs that describe the scenery. Pride skips over what God has done and seeks it by performance.

The Jews made the same error. They tried to become what God wanted them to be by rule-keeping, but it did not work. Paul described their efforts like this . . .  

“For I bear them witness that they have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge. For, being ignorant of the righteousness of God, and seeking to establish their own, they did not submit to God’s righteousness. For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes.” (Romans 10:2–4)

However, the Christians were doing something like it. The Galatians who believed tried to become what God said they already were. Instead of resting in the righteousness they had been given, they struggled to be justified by their works. Paul rebuked them . . .

“Let me ask you only this: Did you receive the Spirit by works of the law or by hearing with faith? Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh?” (Galatians 3:2–3)

We who know Christ can make the same error as unsaved people by pridefully striving to earn favor with God. It is a weary-producing, frustrating task because that is not the way it works. In a nutshell, God put my sin on His sinless Son, and put the perfect righteousness of His Son on me. I am righteous and because I am in Christ, God is already pleased. Duh!

The challenge is to live according to who I am. My problem is not only believing who I am, but remembering it in every situation. I am a child of God who needs the Spirit of God to live out that which God put in. The world, the flesh, and the devil don’t want me to live that way, and neither does pride.

This morning’s devotional was about assurance of salvation and included the following familiar passage. Jesus gives the invitation, and I always thought it was about being exhausted from serving Him, but now I realize it is about being tired from prideful effort to please Him, forgetting that He is already pleased . . .

“Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” (Matthew 11:28–30)

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Jesus, thank You that all my self-effort is already forgiven. I know that I must obey You and live a righteous life, but also know that this will never happen by laborious striving and trying harder in self-effort. God the Father imputed Your righteousness unto me. The Holy Spirit moves that perfect righteousness from my heart out through into my life. It is an easy yoke, not a burden because it is not something I do; You do it for me. For that, I can rest in You, thankful that “I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” (Galatians 2:20)

Already a Winner

Proud people tend to beat themselves up for every mistake, every sin, every shortcoming in their life. I know, because I am a proud person and I have done that. I need to hear the Gospel every day. It reminds me of two major truths: I am a sinner and I am saved.

Today’s Scripture is for proud people. The first one was written to the Jews who had trusted themselves instead of God. He told the prophet to speak to them about it. The second one does not have an author citation, but it also is about a sinner who realized his folly, asked for mercy, and then rehearsed  the Gospel message. As I read these verses, they were easily personalized . . .

“Speak tenderly to Elsie, and cry to her that her warfare is ended, that her iniquity is pardoned, that she has received from the Lord’s hand double for all her sins.” (Isaiah 40:2)

This one touched my proud heart. I’d been fighting a battle with a particular issue and asking God to empower me to do the right thing. I’ve felt as if this battle was the result of years of wrong thinking. Now He says the battle is over. I needed to hear that from Him.

The second passage is also easily personalized . . .

“Out of the depths I cry to you, O Lord! O Lord, hear my voice! Let your ears be attentive to the voice of my pleas for mercy! If you, O Lord, should mark iniquities, O Lord, who could stand? But with you there is forgiveness, that you may be feared. I wait for the Lord, my soul waits, and in his word I hope; my soul waits for the Lord more than watchmen for the morning, more than watchmen for the morning. O Elsie, hope in the Lord! For with the Lord there is steadfast love, and with him is plentiful redemption. And he has redeemed me from all my iniquities.” (Psalm 130:1–8)

This also echoes the cry of my heart. If God marked my sins to my credit instead of putting them on Jesus Christ, I could not stand. But He has forgiven me. Now I wait on Him like a watchman waits, looking for whatever He wants for me, and knowing His love is steadfast and His redemption is certain. He has forgiven me and redeemed me from all those years of folly.

God is the only source of comfort for sinners, including those who are saved and in His family; we still struggle with sin. Even though He gives us all we need to fight it, this battle is like being enlisted; it takes time and practice to learn how to be a soldier, to live according to who I am, not who I was.

At the same time, God guarantees that the war will be won. Christ has already defeated the enemy by His shed blood. Sometimes it seems as if I am the one who has been defeated, but that is a lie from the pit, a device of my spiritual enemy to take my focus off the One who is the winner and put it on my performance.

God’s forgiveness is not only established in Christ, it is eternal, forever . . .

“He entered once for all into the holy places, not by means of the blood of goats and calves but by means of his own blood, thus securing an eternal redemption.” (Hebrews 9:12)

God held his Son accountable for me and punished my sins to the full satisfaction of His justice. I am set free by Jesus, not by my performance. Now I fight sin, not to become saved, but to reveal the life-changing power of God. I am no longer on the opposing side, but united with Christ through grace and made an heir of God who looks forward to eternal riches.

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Jesus, because of You there is no condemnation, only grace. The Gospel shows me that I have nothing to be proud about concerning me, yet everything to rejoice about because of You. My sin is forgiven and I am on my way to heaven because of Your amazing mercy and grace. Fill my heart with the good news and enable me to freely share it with others.

Comfort in Trials

Christians often say to one another that we do not know how others make it through the trials of life without the comfort of God that we experience as His children. I became a Christian as an adult, so I can remember my emotional state in terrible circumstances before I knew Jesus. I was devastated.

Terrible circumstances still happen, but now I also feel the arms of God holding me in tender compassion. He knows how to comfort and encourage His people.

This morning’s devotional is about God’s comfort. First, it tells me to comfort others using this Old Testament passage . . .

“Comfort, comfort my people, says your God. Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and cry to her that her warfare is ended, that her iniquity is pardoned, that she has received from the Lord’s hand double for all her sins . . . Go on up to a high mountain, O Zion, herald of good news; lift up your voice with strength, O Jerusalem, herald of good news; lift it up, fear not; say to the cities of Judah, ‘Behold your God!’ Behold, the Lord God comes with might, and his arm rules for him; behold, his reward is with him, and his recompense before him. He will tend his flock like a shepherd; he will gather the lambs in his arms; he will carry them in his bosom, and gently lead those that are with young.” (Isaiah 40:1–11)

Yesterday we received threatening news. I’m wondering, How can I comfort others when I am the one who feels devastated? And the Lord put this New Testament passage into my thoughts . . .

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.” (2 Corinthians 1:3–4)

This read like a promise; God knows my need. He will comfort me in this affliction so I can comfort others who also need it. Other passages offer some options for receiving and giving comfort . . .

“How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him who brings good news, who publishes peace, who brings good news of happiness, who publishes salvation, who says to Zion, ‘Your God reigns.’” (Isaiah 52:7)

I’m comforted by remembering the good news: Jesus saves and God is in charge. These two brief statements are like throwing out an anchor in a storm. God reassures me with both His plans and His power. He is sovereign, and He is able to save. He promised a future and a hope and then sent Jesus to fulfill it for those in great need . . .

“And the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to (Jesus). He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written, ‘The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.’ And he rolled up the scroll and gave it back to the attendant and sat down. And the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him. And he began to say to them, ‘Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.’” (Luke 4:17–21)

Before Jesus ascended to heaven, He told the disciples, “And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever” (John 14:16). Some translations say “Comforter” instead of “Helper” for that role is the work of the Holy Spirit. He applies the promises of God to a troubled heart and gives assurance of His care. He says . . .

“For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.” (Jeremiah 29:11)

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Jesus, my heart is heavy. I have no idea what comes next. I’m praying for grace and wisdom in this perplexing and threatening situation, and also now for the ability to comfort those who need it more than I do.