Tag: sin

Psalm Nineteen (Part Seven)

Psalm 19:12-14

But who can discern their own errors? Forgive my hidden faults. Keep your servant also from willful sins; may they not rule over me. Then I will be blameless, innocent of great transgression. May these words of my mouth and this meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer (NIV).

The last three verses of Psalm Nineteen show David’s response to God’s revelation. We should always remember that Biblical knowledge has been given to affect the way we live. It is one thing to know the truth about the God who speaks through his creation and in the Holy Scriptures and even to sing about this in worship. It is another to humble oneself before God and his message and let it teach, correct and rebuke us. David closes this psalm with the practical application of the knowledge of the Scriptures.

“Who can discern his errors?” To ask the question is to answer it. Those who know God and his message best will have some understanding of their errors, but none of us can truly discern all our errors in the complexity of all that we are: heart, soul, spirit, mind, conscience, etc. As we view ourselves Biblically, which means in Christ and his grace, we make progress in self-discernment, but still much escapes us. Perhaps this is a reason that the saints who have walked with God the closest have the most tender conscience of their sinfulness. Repeated living in the light produces a richer fellowship with God and the forgiveness of sins (1 John 1:7). “Many books have a few lines of errata at the end, but our errata might well be as large as the volume if we could but have sense enough to see them. Augustine wrote in his older days a series of Retractions; ours might make a library if we had enough grace to be convinced of our mistakes and to confess them” (Spurgeon).

“Forgive my hidden faults.” This one phrase speaks volumes about the spirituality of the believer’s experience and our absolute need to be saved by free grace alone. First, let us consider the meaning of hidden or secret faults.

  • Some sins are hidden because of our ignorance of God’s will (whether through spiritual inexperience, sitting under inadequate or false teaching, laziness, distraction, etc.) or of an unwillingness to acknowledge an attitude or action as sinful. Too often we try to paint our sins as virtues. “I’m not stingy, but prudent and thrifty!” This hides them to ourselves and to the less spiritually discerning. “Many have unknown sins, as a man may have a mole on his back and himself never know it” (Thomas Adams, quoted by Spurgeon).
  • Some sins are hidden because others do not see them. They are sins “behind closed doors” that others might see if they were present.
  • Some sins are hidden from any physical observation because they are spiritual sins, such as lust or greed. A rules-centered spirituality never touches these, because there is no need to change inwardly and still maintain an outward religious or spiritual testimony. However, consider Matthew 5:27-28; 23:25-28; Ezekiel 14:3-4,7.

Grace and peace, David

The Attributes of God (Part Eight)

Exalt the Lord our God, and worship at his holy mountain; for the Lord our God is holy! (Psalm 99:9 ESV).

God is holy. The truth of God’s absolute, total and pure holiness is extremely crucial to a proper understanding of God and his attributes. Though we shrink from ranking God’s attributes in an order of importance, it is clear that the word “holy” is not only central to what God is, but the word can be used as a modifier or qualifier of all God’s other attributes. For example, God is worshiped unceasingly for his holiness (Revelation 4:8; cf. Isaiah 6:3). When the question is asked, “Who will not fear you, O Lord, and bring glory to your name?” the answer is presupposed that all must reverence him, “For you alone are holy” (Revelation 15:4). Holiness is more often joined to God’s name than any other name or quality. You never read of God’s mighty name or his wise name or his loving name, but you do read of his “holy name” (Leviticus 20:3; 22:2, 32; 1 Chronicles 16:10, 35; 29:16; Psalm 33:21; 103:1; 105:3; 106:47; 111:9; Ezekiel 36:20-21; Luke 1:49).

The idea of God’s holiness is that he is “set apart” from everything else. God is set apart or holy in his being. He is Creator, absolute, and unlimited. Everything else is created, dependent, and finite. God is holy or set apart from sin (rejection of God as God, refusal to love God supremely, and rebellion against God and his ways; cf. Habakkuk 1:13; James 1:13; 1 John 1:5). God cannot sin because it would be contradictory to all that he is and destructive of his majestic glory.

“There are some attributes of God we prefer, because of our interest in them, and the relation they bear to us: as we esteem his goodness before his power, and his mercy whereby he relieves us, before his justice whereby he punisheth us; as there are some we more delight in, because of the goodness we receive by them; so there are some that God delights to honor, because of their excellency… Power is his hand and arm; omniscience, his eye; mercy, his bowels [emotions]; eternity, his duration; his holiness is his beauty (2 Chronicles 20:21)….” (Charnock, The Attributes of God, Vol. 2, pp. 112-113).

God intends for us to live holy lives in conformity with his holiness (1 Peter 1:15-16), though in the fullest sense, only God is holy (Revelation 15:4; Exodus 15:11; 1 Samuel 2:2). God is forever perfect in his holiness (Revelation 4:8). “Goodness, truth and justice are moral attributes of God. Holiness is not an attribute distinct from these; but a name which includes them all, in view of their opposition to contrary qualities” (Dagg). We must show the fame of God’s name by acting, choosing, thinking, and talking in conformity with God’s holiness. This will mean that we walk in truth and in love. How are our passion for God’s holiness, truth, and love being shown in our gatherings for worship and fellowship? May you see God exalted for his holiness as you meet with your brothers and sisters in Christ!

Grace and peace, David

Joseph and Temptation (Part Two)

Genesis 39:6-10

So Potiphar left everything he had in Joseph’s care; with Joseph in charge, he did not concern himself with anything except the food he ate. Now Joseph was well-built and handsome, and after a while his master’s wife took notice of Joseph and said, “Come to bed with me!” But he refused. “With me in charge,” he told her, “my master does not concern himself with anything in the house; everything he owns he has entrusted to my care. No one is greater in this house than I am. My master has withheld nothing from me except you, because you are his wife. How then could I do such a wicked thing and sin against God?” And though she spoke to Joseph day after day, he refused to go to bed with her or even be with her (NIV).

In our last article about Joseph, we made a few general observations about temptation. Everyone encounters temptation every day. The Lord Jesus taught his followers to pray to be rescued from temptation (Matthew 6:13; 26:41). Joseph’s encounter with it ought to provide sufficient motivation for us to pray. Let’s analyze his first battles with the temptation to sexual immorality.

Potiphar’s wife aggressively tried to seduce Joseph (39:7). Joseph was in a very vulnerable position. This complicated sin’s attack.

  • He was an unmarried young man with normal sexual desires. We must always realize that sexual desires are very good. God created people with a longing for sexual fulfillment. He made us to enjoy sex. This was not Joseph’s temptation; instead, it was to fulfill his sexual desires outside of a marital relationship.
  • He was a man with frustrated ambitions. It would be too easy to seize something to prove himself to himself.
  • He was a servant. Normally, he would have to obey her orders. In other words, he had a ready-made “excuse”. When we make excuses to do something that we know is sinful, we fall into a dangerous trap. Joseph wasn’t looking for an excuse; one was personally delivered to him by his “employer”. Many in business receive these “excuses” to drink excessively, to go to “gentlemen’s clubs”, and to party wildly while away on business trips.

Joseph was caught in a surprise attack. If he were tempted to sexual immorality with a servant girl, that would be a common affair. As the head slave, he could have had occasion to seduce women with a lower position in the household. But his master’s wife had designs on him. This was more unusual. Note, I did not say unheard of. We do not have to go looking for sin. It will seek us (cf. 1 Peter 5:8).

Joseph made a godly refusal of her wicked seduction (39:8-9).

  • He reasoned from general principles. Honor demanded that he not violate the trust that his master had in him. Joseph also respected the marriage relationship that God had established which people have followed from creation (cf. Roman 2:14-15; Genesis 20:3-7). People know that they ought to be faithful to their spouses.
  • He reasoned from godly principles. He was able to call the seduction to illicit sexual pleasure by its correct name: “such a wicked thing.” He viewed sin as foremost of all as an offense against God (cf. King David’s confession of his adultery, Psalm 51:4).

Joseph had to endure an unrelenting assault by Potiphar’s wife (39:10). His sound and solemn reasoning did not change her mind. Temptation does not walk away when it is first spurned. Joseph had to be on constant guard against this temptation: she spoke to Joseph day after day. Let us not think that temptation will grow tired of harassing us. Temptation is always optimistic about its chances for victory. Joseph acted wisely while being tempted. He refused the sin. “No, I won’t go to bed with you.” He also refused the occasion of sin. In general, if you would keep yourself from harm, keep out of harm’s way. May God give us grace to learn from Joseph’s example.

Grace and peace, David

Joseph and Temptation (Part One)

Genesis 39:6-10

The sports world is filled with stories of a young and rising team against an older team, skilled and experienced in the sport. Often the storyline is that the younger team does not stand a chance against the veteran champions. This story is like that for it matches a young godly man against a strong temptation that has conquered many.

The Bible speaks plainly about sexual immorality. The amount of material in the Scriptures on the subject witnesses to mankind’s fatal attraction to this sin. The Lord has recorded such incidents as this one from Joseph’s life as warnings to us all. Now these things happened to them as an example, but they were written down for our instruction, on whom the end of the ages has come. Therefore let anyone who thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall. No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it (1 Corinthians 10:11-13 ESV).

Let us begin with some general observations (39:6-7).

  • The blessing of good looks can be a source of temptation. By his sovereign will, God has chosen to bless certain people with physical attractiveness. A few are even very good looking (Genesis 24:16; 2 Samuel 11:2). God made you how you are (Exodus 4:11). But in this world of sin, even the good gifts of God can become a source of temptation, either to yourself or others. Many beautiful women have found themselves to be objects of lust rather than love. Don’t blame the Lord for the good gift. The temptation is not in the gift, but in sin’s misuse of it. If sin can misuse even the holy law of God, it can also misuse the gift of beauty (Romans 7:10-13).
  • Temptation does not appear suddenly in every course of events. Sometimes we can unpack our bags and settle in before it raises its ugly head (39:7). Temptation can be like a cat, watching its prey for the optimal moment to pounce. Beware of being lulled into a false sense of security. A change of venue does not mean that sin has disappeared. Some have changed jobs because they “could not handle the pressure.” Yet the circumstances of the new job allowed them to walk farther away from the Lord.
  • Marital infidelity isn’t new (39:7). Some foolish people think that sexual immorality is proof of being modern and liberated. There is nothing new or liberating in adultery. This incident happened over 3700 years ago, and there was sexual immorality before this. It comes out of the human heart (Mark 7:21). God’s word always requires that sexual desires may only be fulfilled within the bond of marriage. There are no exceptions for anyone at anytime.
  • God does not necessarily spare his children from severe spiritual trials. Jesus Christ his Son had to endure temptation (Matthew 4:1). We are wise to pray to be kept from temptation. And do not bring us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one (Matthew 6:13 CSB). Stay awake and pray, so that you won’t enter into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak (Matthew 26:41 CSB).

Joseph found himself in a very dangerous, nearly deadly situation, due to the lusts of another person. Temptation to sin can come in a variety of ways and situations. We don’t have to go looking for it. For this reason, we must be prepared. Fill your heart with godly, heavenly desires, and rely on the help of the Holy Spirit.

Grace and peace, David

Thinking about God and His Friendship with His People (Part Three)

Psalm 25:12-15

Who is the man who fears the Lord? Him will he instruct in the way that he should choose. His soul shall abide in well-being,  and his offspring shall inherit the land.  The friendship of the Lord is for those who fear him, and he makes known to them his covenant. My eyes are ever toward the Lord, for he will pluck my feet out of the net (ESV).

How did David find forgiveness for his confessed great sins? How did he light the way for others in the same kind of difficulties? David traced forgiveness back to its real source. He does not say “for my sake” nor “for the sake of what I have earned or deserved”. Instead, he looks to God’s name—his true character. He believed what God said about himself—that he forgives sinners. He believed that God would forgive even great sin, in order to show the greatness of his glory. “To forgive a great sinner like me will bring you great glory, Lord; therefore, for your name’s sake forgive me.”

Learn well how this verse is contrary to a legalistic attitude. A mentality of salvation by works looks at the man or woman and their indebtedness and actions to find mercy, but salvation by grace through faith looks higher to the goodness of God. Instead of being staggered by how much he or she owes, faith looks to the precious blood of Christ and pleads more vigorously for forgiveness for the sake of God’s name.

The more we see how serious and hideous our sins are, the closer we are to forgiveness. We wrote in our previous post on this psalm about calling our sins by biblical names, like rebellion, trespass, and missing the mark. Now, we need to see that all of our sins are great, because they are against the great God. In every sin we despise God’s greatness, mock his wisdom, twist his love, and make something else our god (cf. Col 3:5).

So, where is our hope when we admit that we are great sinners? When God interacts with those who repent and believe, all he does is in conformity with his love and faithfulness (25:10). He shows the mercy of his purposes and the truthfulness of his promises.

The Lord confides in his people. The Hebrew is well-translated by the NIV here (cf. Proverbs 3:32). It means “confidential speech”. It is the speech of one friend to another (Psalm 55:13-14). This has been God’s way with believing people from long ago. He wanted to tell Abraham what he was going to do with Sodom and Gomorrah (Genesis 18:17). God chose not to act until he told his servants the prophets what he was going to do (Amos 3:7). So over the course of thousands of years, as God prepared to send his Son when his time had fully come, God gave increasing revelation to his people about the Messiah. And so that his people did not miss the Messiah, he sent John the Baptist to point him out clearly (John 1:29-31).

It is in Christ that God confides in us most closely. The Messiah is our covenant. The Lord said to his Servant, the Messiah: “I am the Lord; I have called you in righteousness; I will take you by the hand and keep you; I will give you as a covenant for the people, a light for the nations, to open the eyes that are blind, to bring out the prisoners from the dungeon, from the prison those who sit in darkness (Isaiah 42:6-7 ESV, my emphasis). Christ our covenant calls us his friends, assuring us of a hearty welcome into his company (John 15:15). And since we are in Christ, we have the source of all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge (Colossians 2:3). God’s invitation is now to lay hold of his deep friendship by faith (Ephesians 3:14-19).

Our tragic problem as sons and daughters of God is that we settle for far too little. God has provided the way to know him in Christ, and has promised a warm welcome in him, yet we stand at a distance, imagining that God doesn’t really like us that much! We go on a wild goose chase for intimate friendship, when God invites us to draw near to him and promises that he will draw near to us (James 4:8). Dear friends, the way to friendship with God is wide-open and near. We need only approach the Father by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.

Grace and peace, David

Thinking about God and His Friendship with His People (Part Two)

Psalm 25:8-11

Good and upright is the Lord; therefore he instructs sinners in the way. He leads the humble in what is right, and teaches the humble his way. All the paths of the Lord are steadfast love and faithfulness, for those who keep his covenant and his testimonies. For your name’s sake, O Lord, pardon my guilt, for it is great (ESV).

When we think correctly about the Lord God, we know that he is holy and exalted. As we live in his presence, we learn more and more that we are sinful and lowly (cf. Isaiah 6). God needs to act in grace to welcome us to approach him. Two serious problems in spirituality are either to downplay God’s holiness or our sinfulness. Both failures distort our understanding of grace.

In his word, the Lord reveals that he forgives great sin. Here are twelve factors that make our sins great. Our sins are great…

  • Because they are against the great God
  • Because they test God’s great patience
  • Because they despise great mercies (cf. Rm 2:4)
  • Because they are against great light (made known to us in Christ and the Scriptures)
  • Because they are many
  • Because of our pride in thinking that we can change without grace
  • Because they break out from our very nature, from the inner person of the heart
  • Because they show that we have followed God’s enemy, the devil
  • Because they challenge God’s justice and wrath
  • Because we have tempted others to join in our sin
  • Because in sinning we choose evil instead of God’s goodness
  • Because the only way they could be forgiven was through the sacrifice of the Holy Son of God

Apart from God’s grace in Christ, the realization of the seriousness our sinfulness could drive us to despair, if we would grasp the magnitude of our offense against the Holy God.

The greatness of our sins creates the need for God’s greater mercy. When the wound is dangerous and near fatal, the patient needs a highly skilled surgeon. We need one who can properly understand our need, who is able to provide what we need, and who is able to apply the cure to our souls. This skilled physician is the Triune God, in whom is the wisdom of the Father, the redeeming sacrifice of the Son, and the renewing work of the Holy Spirit.

“It is the glory of the great God to forgive great sins” (Henry). To forgive great sin is not difficult for God. David makes use of the greatness of his sin to make his plea stronger, as a person in a famine would magnify the seriousness of the calamity as a reason to provide food. God does not pity sinners because they are worthy, but because they need his pity. The splendor of God’s grace is seen clearly in this: in Christ he forgives the worst offenders and makes his grace overflow to them. Now the law came in to increase the trespass, but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more (Romans 5:20). Think of the testimony of Paul (1 Timothy 1:13-16):

Though formerly I was a blasphemer, persecutor, and insolent opponent. But I received mercy because I had acted ignorantly in unbelief, and the grace of our Lord overflowed for me with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost. But I received mercy for this reason, that in me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ might display his perfect patience as an example to those who were to believe in him for eternal life (ESV).

See the greatness of your God, trust in Jesus Christ, and then confess your sins as great. You will experience the exceeding riches of his grace and mercy to you.

Grace and peace, David

The Doctrine of the Holy Spirit (Part Seven)

dscn00411 Corinthians 12:3

To evangelize is one of the great purposes of the church. The Lord Jesus has sent us out on his mission. What is this mission? Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe everything I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” (Matthew 28:19-20 HCSB). Since we are to make disciples or learners of Christ, our mission is to turn people from the pursuit of sinful desires to become fully committed followers of the Lord Jesus Christ. We ought to share the good news of Jesus Christ with our friends and families; in fact, this should be our great joy and desire. However, this message is unwanted and disliked by those who need to hear it. Rebellion against God and his ways, refusal to love God, and rejection of God as God, what the Bible means by sin, is deeply rooted in the ideas, attitudes, and desires of people who do not follow Christ.

It should be very clear to us, not only from the Bible but also from our evangelism experiences, that the work of the Holy Spirit is necessary for anyone to turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God (Acts 26:18). Since we are considering the doctrine of the Holy Spirit, it is very appropriate to consider his work in salvation at this point. A correct understanding of the work of the Spirit of God is essential for evangelism and growth of the people of God. It is also important for us to grasp where the Spirit has brought us from, in order that we may understand what we now are in Jesus Christ.

The answers to three questions will help us see the need for the Spirit’s work in salvation. In this article, we will think about the first question. Let us begin with, “What is the difference between religious ritual and spiritual reality?”

Consider the context of verse three. From 7:1 through 16:4, the apostle Paul is answering a number of questions that the Corinthian church had asked him, questions about marriage, Christian liberty, the Lord’s Supper, spiritual gifts, the resurrection of the body, and collections for God’s people in need. The Corinthians were very excited about the subject of spiritual gifts, but they were also very confused, which is clear from the length of this section (chapters 12-14)! From my experience, it is hard to tell what subject will get professing Christians revved up the most. Is it prophecy, predestination or spiritual gifts, especially speaking in tongues?

Highlighting the Corinthian problem:

  • They had a problem regarding a proper focus on Christ. This contributed to their fascination with things like spiritual gifts rather than Christ.
  • They had a problem with realizing and appreciating their unity in Christ. They pursued the individual rather than the community.
  • The Corinthians had a problem about spiritual discernment. They had trouble with testing every teaching or statement by the Scriptures, assuming that if someone manifested some kind of spiritual experience that it must have come form the Spirit of God. That is the reason for Paul’s statement in 12:3.

The Corinthian believers needed to learn that error is to be rejected, regardless of how spiritual it might seem. This is the issue of show versus substance. Also, truth only comes from the work of the Holy Spirit in a human heart. When the Spirit is at work, he glorifies Christ and produces the confession that Jesus is Lord (cf. Romans 10:9-10). Christ is both God and Ruler of the person who truly makes this confession. This is where spiritual reality is, not in loudness about personal experiences of spiritual gifts. The Spirit produces passion to follow Christ, not to glory in spiritual gifts that one claims to possess.

The Corinthians sound a lot like contemporary Christians, but that is not how we should be! A proper grasp of the Holy Spirit’s role in salvation will help us toward spiritual maturity.

Grace and peace, David

Thoughts on Leviticus (Part One)

dscn4087Leviticus 1-8

Each year about this time, I think about how Christians (those who truly follow Jesus Christ) read the Bible. I think about their strategy for listening to God in his word. On January one, many will start on a program of reading through the Bible in one year. It is a cause for spiritual concern about how many of those will still be following their chosen program on March first. I have written previously about the challenges of such programs and will not repeat them here, except to say that any program must be doable for you. In order to read through the Bible in one year, you must commit to reading three to four chapters a day. Can you sustain that pace? Can you read that number of chapters and really listen to God speak? Or will you be reading with a lack of attention?

As I have also said many times, every follower of Jesus ought to read through the Bible. It might be better to do that over two or three years. As you do, you will read familiar books, such as Genesis, Exodus, Psalms, Proverbs, the Four Gospels, Acts, and a few others. Most are unfamiliar with books like Ezekiel, Obadiah, Ezra, and Zechariah… and Leviticus. Many get “bogged down” in its opening section about sacrifices, and then are perplexed about “all those laws” in chapters eleven through twenty-five. Their minds wander as they wonder about their significance, especially to the believer in our time. In this article, I suggest a few thoughts on the opening chapters of Leviticus that will hopefully stimulate you to read them attentively.

  • The first seven chapters present five offerings for the law covenant worshiper to bring to the Lord. The offerings are called (according to the ESV translation) burnt, grain, peace, sin, and guilt offerings. As you read about them, a few ideas are repeated. Much is written about sin, blood, and the exact manner in which the offerings were to be offered. “Sin” points to our basic problem before God. We have rejected him, refused to love him, and rebelled against him. We need an offering that he will accept in order to be received by him. “Blood” is significant, because as the writer of Hebrews says, According to the law almost everything is purified with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness (Hebrews 9:22 ESV).
  • A few times we read the phrase a pleasing aroma to the Lord (or something similar). The Holy Spirit tells us God’s acceptance of the offerings that he required from the old covenant people. When his people came to him by faith with those offerings, they could know that God welcomed their worship. We no longer bring the sacrifices of the law, because we have a better sacrifice than the blood of bulls and goats. But here, we want to focus on the concept that the Lord wills to be pleased in the worship of his people. God invites us to draw near to him, as we keep the covenant during which time we live. (New covenant people keep the covenant through faith in Jesus Christ.)
  • In these chapters, we encounter the concept of “holy”. Most believers use “holy” and related words like “sanctify” with little idea of what they mean. It is too easy to like the “religious tingle” of using religious words like “holiness” or “sanctification” to impress other believers or to feel like you are worshiping. But God wants us to love him with all our minds. There should be understanding. To be “holy” is to be “set apart” to God or “consecrated” to him. Who we are and how we live are to be set apart unto the Lord. In this we see a personal relationship. Holiness is not a matter of devotion to rules or rituals, but consecration to the Lord of glory.

I hope this will help you as you start to read Leviticus. If you have questions regarding other books, please contact me at our email address.

Grace and peace, David

Continued Grace

dscn1574Genesis 26:12-16

What I am about to write, I write cautiously. Sin lurks in the human heart (Mark 7:21-23), and it needs only the slightest encouragement to break out in all sorts of evil. For this reason, I write cautiously, but we must always pursue all the truth of the Scriptures.

Isaac had sinned. He had lied and told his wife Rebekah to lie. He had done that to try to protect his life. He was weak spiritually, though he was a believer in the true and living God. In his weakness, he had relied on his own wisdom rather than God’s power. But God had mercifully rescued Isaac and Rebekah from a very dangerous situation (26:6-11). God stirred the king of the Philistines, Abimelech, to issue an “order of protection”, so that no one would harm God’s people. Later Philistine rulers would not act that kindly.

The human heart likes to boast about self-effort, especially in “religious duties”. We wrongly imagine that “God likes us” because we do the proper religious stuff. We expect God to bless people who are pious and strict in their religious observance. We end up fretting and perhaps displeased when the wicked prosper (cf. Psalms 37 & 73) and the righteous suffer (Job). If we are on a “religious performance treadmill”, we might be even more shocked when a professing believer prospers although they have displeased the Lord.

The case is more troubling in our text. Not only did the Lord rescue Isaac and Rebekah from their sin, but the Lord blessed them lavishly. Isaac became rich and continued to prosper until he became very wealthy. That does not seem fair to anyone who supposes that our works earn God’s blessings. It appears that sin is a reason for God to show grace (cf. Romans 6:1-2). Yet the Lord was not blessing Isaac because of his disobedience. God acted in grace that they didn’t deserve, because he kept the covenant that he had made with Abraham and Isaac to bless the world through their seed (26:4). God had a purpose to bless the nations through the seed or offspring, and that Person is Jesus the Messiah. For this reason, Isaac received continued grace to guarantee their survival.

But we live in a fallen world. Isaac’s God-given prosperity was the occasion of the envy of the Philistines. If they had loved their neighbor Isaac, they would have rejoiced over God’s goodness to an undeserving man. This jealousy became so extreme that Abimelech expelled Isaac from his land. Observe the hand of God. Abimelech kicked him out but didn’t attack or kill him. Under orders to stay in the Promised Land, Isaac had to stay in another place that was not part of Abimelech’s territory. And God continued to give grace and mercy to an undeserving man.

This week when your family gathers to thank God, do not boast in your faith, obedience, or service to God, as if God was required to bless you. Instead, trace the benefits that you enjoy back to the continued grace of God. It is by grace that we stand (Romans 5:2).

Grace and peace, David

This Man Welcomes Sinners (Part One)

img_3617Luke 15:1-10

One of the leaders of the First Great Awakening, which is one of the three greatest revivals in western history, said, “The corruption of our nature by the fall, and our recovery through Jesus Christ, are the two leading truths in the Christian religion…” (Romaine, The Life of Faith, p. 20). Every Christian believes these two truths, although some believers may understand them better than others. However, every unbeliever rejects both of these Biblical truths, because he or she thinks that there is good in human nature, especially his or her own nature. “I’m a nice guy when you really get to know me!” Since he or she thinks that people are basically okay, the opinion persists that if we do just a few good things and are religious that God will accept us wonderful humans. Since God will accept us on our own merits, why would we need Jesus?

Now the Lord Jesus Christ had more than a few conflicts with people who had this opinion; namely, the Pharisees and the teachers of the law. They thought that they were “so-o good!” And for that reason, they believed that God would certainly accept people like them. On the other hand, they could never believe that the Holy God would accept “sinners”—or even want to! Jesus understood what his opponents were saying, and as God’s spokesman (Hebrews 1:1-3), in Luke 15 he told them three parables, or stories to illustrate his teachings and to correct their wrong views. In two articles, we will consider the first two of these parables. There are three points that we should learn from these parables, and we’ll focus on the first one in this article: God is involved in seeking lost sinners (Luke 15:3-6, 8-9).

The Pharisees thought that contact with sinners was reprehensible and disgusting. They were afraid of contaminating themselves by contact with sinners. “They might defile me and God might be less likely to accept me.” Therefore, they went to great lengths to keep themselves “pure”, according to their own ideas of what spiritual purity was.

However, Jesus taught that far from avoiding sinners, God pursues sinners. God seeks sinners! Though the idea of a woman looking for her lost coin probably made sense to them, the concept of a shepherd leaving ninety-nine sheep to search for one lost one was probably more difficult. Why risk the ninety-nine for the sake of one?

Perhaps you have never thought about how God went seeking you. God, enjoying heaven’s glory, dared to take human form to seek and to save. But more than that, he seeks the sinners he has died to save. When most of us are coming to faith in Christ, we never think or imagine that Christ is actually seeking us. Listen to the testimony of Charles Spurgeon. “When I was coming to Christ, I thought I was doing it all myself, and though I sought the Lord earnestly, I had no idea the Lord was seeking me. I do not think the new convert is at first aware of it… One week-night, when I was sitting in the house of God, I was not thinking much about the preacher’s sermon, for I did not believe it. The thought struck me, ‘How did you come to be a Christian?’ I sought the Lord. ‘But how did you come to seek the Lord?’ The truth flashed across my mind in a moment – I should not have sought Him unless there had been some previous influence in my mind to make me seek Him. I prayed, thought I, but then I asked myself, How came I to pray? I was induced to pray by reading the Scriptures. How came I to read the Scriptures? I did read them, but what led me to do so? Then, in a moment, I saw that God was at the bottom of it all, and that He was the Author of my faith, and so the whole doctrine of grace opened up to me, and from that doctrine I have not departed to this day, and I desire to make this my constant confession, ‘I ascribe my change wholly to God” (Spurgeon, The Early Years, pp. 164-165, his emphasis).

As we grow in grace and knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ, and study the Scriptures, we come to a better and fuller understanding of his true glory. Then we learn that he was seeking us and that he loved us first. We love because he first loved us (1 John 4:19 ESV).

As I look back at the events leading to my conversion, I can now see that the Lord was seeking me, one of his lost sheep. He did this through the messages of a young man at Wednesday night prayer meetings, the questions of my girlfriend and my dormitory supervisor, the sermons of my pastor, a statement by my aunt, and a growing sense of despair. And then, suddenly, when all seemed dark, God turned the lights on, and I heard the message of hope and salvation (Isaiah 55:6-7)! He tenderly sought me long before I ever looked for him. God seeks sinners!

Grace and peace, David