My Abundant Source of Lack

Unsought blessing is a definite component of God's program of grace.  Do unrepentant sinners continue to draw breath, often for a lifetime, untroubled for a time by the fetters of eternal, divine fury?  Are such as these sometimes granted an inexplicable understanding and acceptance of the need for Christ's salvation, such that they seek it with earnest repentance?  Does God preserve His children in salvation, even when they foray deep into sin?  Unsought blessing is all around us - without it, we would not last for even a moment in this world, much less taste the joy of salvation.

There is also, however, such a thing as sought blessing - those articles of grace which God chooses to withhold until we ask Him for them.  If we know something of the priority God places upon the demonstration of His glory (and we really should), this only makes sense; we perceive a lack of some sort, and our pervasive inability to satiate it compels us toward the throne.  By making us active participants in the communion of grace, God helps us to see more fully just how we need Him (in a quiet piece of irony).

This certainly places a high premium on prayer, does it not?  James says to the scattered Jewish elements of the church, "You lust and do not have; so you commit murder. You are envious and cannot obtain; so you fight and quarrel. You do not have because you do not ask." (James 4:2) Let us approach this from the opposite direction:  because I do not ask, I do not have, and the vacuum created by my prayerlessness draws in temptation - a sad substitute. 

It is tempting to fool ourselves into the notion that a period of prayerlessness does not truly affect our spiritual state - we feel that just as a healthy eater can eat the occasional Crunchwrap Supreme without adverse corollary, the spiritual believer can coast along for a day or two without prayer.  What blessings, though, are we missing on these off days?  The gifts of the Lord that fall upon us are not optional graces sent for our amusement; they are blessings intended to equip us for godly worship and kingdom work.  Similarly, the gifts of the Lord that befall others when we pray are for God's purposes of good and glory.  Do we, as children of the Most High, truly desire to ignore these opportunities from our kind and powerful Father?  Pray, friend.  Pray often, and pray for the kingdom; dress your prayers in quality and quantity alike.

We must go further than supplication, of course.  James certainly does:  "You ask and do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, so that you may spend it on your pleasures." (James 4:3) He maintains, with divinely-supported clarity, that we lack because we ask with wrong motives; that is, our hearts are not right in prayer.  For this reason, the other elements of prayer - praise of God, confession of sin, and thanksgiving for past blessings - take a crucial role in shaping our hearts into what God desires.  In this frame, we find contentedness in the work and character of God.  We ask with a different attitude, and for (sometimes very) different things in this state, but indeed this is vital work whether we open our mouths to ask for anything or not. 

We are led, then, to two simple questions we might ask if we find ourselves in a state of dissatisfaction or want:  Am I in prayer?  Is my heart in line with the Lord?  Perhaps the answer is that I have not brought my cares to my loving Father, or maybe I have been selfish in my supplications, and am thus unfitted for His answer or undeserving of a present resolution.  God does not always remove the thorns from our flesh, but He always stands ready to give us the grace to persevere - a powerful answer to prayer indeed, if we are exhibiting steadfastness of prayer and unity of purpose with Him.

There is always, always an answer to our present lack to be found in prayer.  He is faithful, and He is sufficient!  How then do we not pray, brothers and sisters?  How is it that I can muddle through a day apart from my Father, whom I know in my very bones to be gracious and sovereign and near?  He stands by with grace in His keeping, and He desires for us to embrace our utter need for Him (remember this?).  May prayer be to the soul even as breathing is to the body.

The Art of Daily Self-Evangelism

When my eyes open in the morning, I endeavor to make that first moment one of thankfulness to the Lord.  Depending upon the hour, this may be genuinely difficult, and I cannot claim uniform success in this (nor, at times, can I remember it clearly later), but indeed there is something wonderfully pleasing about beginning one's day in this context of gratitude. 

Pleasing though it is, there is surely more that may be done in those first moments of wakefulness to help in recalling us to our duties and our unique station in this life as believers in the one true God.  I submit that it would not go at all amiss, were we to preach the saving gospel of our Lord to our own hearts every morning. 

Why say this?  Does it save us anew?  Impossible.  Does it, however, help to frame our day?  Absolutely.  Before we break our fasts at our paltry morning tables, let us feed our souls with the unspeakably rich bread of life (John 6:35)!  Let us refresh our thirsty souls (Matt. 5:6) with the living water that comes only from Christ (John 4:14) before we raise any glass to our lips.

Weigh out the benefits of this daily "self-evangelism," as it were, dear fellow believer.

1.  It calls to mind the greatness of God.  You knew of this when salvation first came to you; how much better do you know it now?  Has His indescribable grace grown to your thinking less dear or more, less essential or more, less urgent or more, less constant or more, and less sufficient or more?  We have far grander, more sweeping vista of His fathomless goodness now than even we did in that first great moment when He gave His precious salvation and breathed into our hearts new and startling life. 

He is the God of the universe, but He is not enthroned in heavenly halls so remote and austere that He is not aware of you; He purposed to save you personally, along with all of your brothers and sisters, before He created a single molecule, and He now resides with you and in you.  He is your God in every sense of the word, and your Father in ways too powerful to describe.  He who created you, saved you, and keeps you is worthy of your daily remembrance and devotion, is He not?

2.  It brings us to remembrance of our own weakness and sinfulness.  Again, this was in your truest thoughts when you were saved, but do you not understand this still better now?  Having contended with temptations of all sorts, across a spectrum of biblical mandates, the totality of which we could not perceive upon salvation, it certainly does not fall to us to congratulate ourselves for our own righteous worth.  If anything, we echo the true words of the seasoned apostle, righteous but pained, who cried, "Wretched man that I am! Who will set me free from the body of this death?" (Rom. 7:24)

We rely solely upon the Lord for our righteousness, and we daily remain His happy slaves, like Paul and Timothy (Phil. 1:1).  As we remember Christ's gospel, we gird ourselves for service to Him above all, and we apprehend the pollution that always poisons our souls when we dare to elevate our own thoughts and opinions to reside alongside, or even above, God's clear testimonies.  We needed the Lord as unbelievers, and we need Him no less now.

3.  It brings the gospel to the fore of our thinking.  The gospel reminds us of who our God is, and who we are, and it also draws our attention back to the things which make for peace.  How fitting, when our hearts are prostrated before Him, and we have fitted ourselves for His service, that our hearts should be full of His gospel!  Oh, to be gospel-minded as we embark upon our interactions with the world around us!  To be settled in the convictions of our hearts concering His gracious salvation as we meet with people who so desperately need it, and who can, this very day, hear it from our lips!  Not only are we more likely to speak of saving grace when we have been reflecting upon its wonder, but we are more likely to believe in its efficacious strength in that moment, so that our speech does not falter and the weakness of our proclamation does not belie the precious and immeasurable power of the gospel. 

Drink in the riches of your Savior's gospel, my friend.  Drink deeply and daily, and serve your King with a glad and full heart!

Christmas and Christ's Sobering Purpose

"For truly in this city there were gathered together against Your holy servant Jesus, whom You anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, along with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel, to do whatever Your hand and Your purpose predestined to occur."  These words, spoken in Acts 4:27-28 (emphasis added), tell us that there was established divine intention behind the crucifixion and death of Christ.  It is the predetermined nature of this purpose that concerns us at this time of year, for it means that this purpose was in place even as Christ was born. 

For this reason, we cannot consider the birth of Christ without the death of Christ invading our thinking.  He came with a divinely-imparted anointing to serve as the great sacrificial Lamb.  There would be an abundance of teaching, and of example, and of proof of His divinity and messianic mission, but all would culminate in His death and resurrection, wherein He would conquer death and exhaust the inexhaustible wrath of God intended for His children in an unprecedented display of divine grace. 

All of this was in the mind of God, and indeed was set into motion, at the birth of Christ.  The Savior never deviated, willfully or accidentally, from His direct course toward the cross.  At the very first step of this momentous journey, the angelic host announced to the shepherds, "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among men with whom He is pleased." (Luke 2:14) As we ponder this peace, we realize that it is not a Hallmark Channel sort of peace in which gruff but lovable people are reconciled after years of hostility.  There is a curious notion today that Christmas itself (or often "the spirit of Christmas," which is never defined, but always seems to reside in the hearts of children on television) is sufficient to bring about a wondrous sort of peace between people.  Perhaps the thought is that Christmas simply brings out the best in people, or even that God works during the Christmas season with the simple purpose of increasing our love for each other.

We must get these purely humanistic notions out of our heads.  When we see the unbelieving world using Christmas solely as an opportunity to join together and love one another, do we not understand that this is worthless, tragic, even vile in God's sight?  It should break our hearts!  What satisfaction can God have in love that is not based in Him?  Is unity pleasant to His heart if His grace is not the bond of that unity?  We must sweep the stars from our eyes and see that these are people who are going to hell, and no well-wishing or kind gestures on their parts can remove them from this deserved fate.  It is like watching skydivers rocketing toward an erupting volcano - and then smiling as they join hands to make a formation as they plummet. 

The peace that was proclaimed on that wondrous night is, incredibly, peace with God.  Christ came to bring people peace with their Creator.  The very God who was, at every moment, slighted and angered anew by the sins of His creations, and who would someday judge them eternally for those sins, was at the very same time, extending an offer of grace, of peace, to these very people.  This peace, then, was a peace that was calculated to keep us from eternal destuction, offered by our divine Opponent, and bought with precious, divine, innocent blood, the blood of the very God whom we have offended so keenly.  It is a peace that utterly obliterates our petty, trifling notions of human peace and crushes its rubble with a mountain of pure grace, a strong mountain that all of eternity will not wear down.  This is worthy of our devotion, our thanksgiving, and our proclamation as we bear down on Christmas this year.  Amen? 

Peace with God, by the blood of Christ, who came as a baby, with a divine appointment.  "For it was the Father’s good pleasure for all the fullness to dwell in Him, and through Him to reconcile all things to Himself, having made peace through the blood of His cross..." (Col. 1:19-20b)

Grace and Humility: The Story of the Shepherds

It must have been strange enough from Joseph's perspective, to be standing in a stable as the father to a brand-new Child, the divine Child, laid in a manger for a crib.  But then, to hear quick footfalls and turn to see a group of breathless shepherds, who had obviously been running through the night, stop at this stable and gaze at this Child with a wide-eyed astonishment which all but announced that they had found what they so intently sought - a wholly new experience for this young carpenter, to be sure. 

But then, surely it must have been odd for the shepherds as well, as they stood there, breathing, their hands hanging empty when they had so constantly gripped the rod in careful protection of their now vulnerable flocks.  And now, before them - a family settled into a stable for the night with a newborn laid in a feeding trough.  Who knows but under different circumstances, a chuckle might have escape their lips, or a smirk pulled at their cheeks, to see such a thing? 

Certainly no bemused smiles were to be seen that night, though.  They came not listlessly, but with urgency and purpose:  they sought the Child which the angel of the Lord, blazing the lonely night with the glory of God, had proclaimed to them.  This in itself was a curiosity - the glory displayed through the angelic herald, and through the heavenly host, spoke powerfully of the greatness of the Child.  The angel's description - the promised Messiah, the needed Savior, the proclaimed Lord - would have further assured them that this was a matter of great importance, even if it was not apparent that by "Lord," "Lord of all heaven and earth" was intended.  So they hastened into town, determined to find Jesus (Luke 2:16).

In spite of the majesty and the grandeur which obviously lay within the infant Jesus, the angels did not go up to Jerusalem and proclaim these tidings.  The great kings of the world were not visited.  The religious chiefs of Israel were passed over, in favor of a handful of hardy shepherds of no consequence.  In that day and that time, shepherds were regarded as untrustworthy, unsavory characters, to the point that they were not permitted to testify in court,¹ so it is richly ironic that God should so graciously choose such as them to testify of the arrival of the Savior (Luke 2:17).  These were Christ's first earthly messengers, not clothed in pomp and regality, as befits a king, but in unwashed working clothes.

These shepherds were favored not only with a dazzling vista of divine glory and heavenly joy, but with the offer of staggering grace.  "...For today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord." (Luke 2:11; emphasis added) This Jesus would extend the offer of salvation specifically to these shepherds, just as He would specifically to countless others!  One cannot help but be reminded of Colossians 3:11b and its description of our renewal in Christ:  "no distinction between Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave and freeman, but Christ is all, and in all."  Our heavenly Father impartially adopts us into His family, and we are made brothers and sisters to each other just as truly as we become sons and daughters to Him.  Thus does a simple Roman jailer worship alongside a wealthy Jewish woman in Acts 16, and a prominent Pharisee-turned-apostle draw spiritual comfort from a young believer of mixed parentage in 2 Timothy 4:11.  The gospel is offered to all, and Christ, through His powerful grace, draws His people from all walks of life, to the praise of His name!

That unforgettable night, it was granted finally to the shepherds to visit the Child and gaze upon Him with seeking eyes and wondering hearts.  This brings us back to the beginning.  As they beheld Jesus, one cannot but wonder if the ordinariness of the scene might have assaulted their consciences.  Here was a masterful, anointed Savior from heaven, celebrated by the realm of holiness, and when He came to earth, there was nothing of the glory He so clearly deserved.  He rested His head on straw, and He was attended by sinful parents and sinful shepherds.  Mark this:  any personal excursion into humanity constitutes a relinquishment of indescribable and divine glory for Christ, no matter what the circumstances.  The situation in question, however, represented perhaps one of the greatest descents into humility imaginable.  He came not to be served, but to serve (Mark 10:45).  He waded unflinchingly into the thick of humanity. 

Ironically, in so laying aside His glory, Jesus saw His name exalted over all others (Phil. 2:5-9).  At the same time, He also laid down for us an example of the godly attitude which we must emulate as His followers (Phil. 2:5), and herein lies the principle.  Jesus' humility is what afforded humanity His exemplary life, just as His grace is what provided us with His saving death.  How wonderfully both of these are realized through the story of these humble shepherds, crushed by glory as the great Shepherd arrived into their world!



1:  Taken from the Reformation Study Bible note on Luke 2:8 - available under "Show resources" at http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=luke%202&version=NASB. 

Perfect Patience

Our infinitely holy God, by sheer virtue of His infinite holiness, is possessing of an infinite hatred of sin.  He cannot help but be so.  Holiness cannot choose but to oppose sin, or it is not holiness at all.  God removed of holiness is an impossibility, a horrible bit of paradoxical double-talk, so we conclude that He hates sin as steadily and as comprehensively as a thing could ever be hated (cf. Prov. 6:16-19). 

The utter repugnance of sin which resides within the Divine leads us to conclude that the barest shadow of patience within God in the face of sin must also be of infinite weight.  As God has righteously and immutably chosen to be the omniscient, incorruptible Judge of all the world (Acts 17:31), He cannot merely turn His back on sin.  He thus has every reason to hate sin and every motive to punish it, as well.

What happens, then, when infinite and holy justice collide with infinite and holy grace?  A window of incredible value is opened up:  a window of divine patience.  It is only this window that affords us any sort of chance at all to be saved by His grace.  The sword remains in its sheath; the Rider has not mounted His war horse, and we are incredibly extended the offer of salvation.  "The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance." (2 Pet. 3:9) Dear, divine patience!

There are those who would reckon this patience as weakness in our avenging Lord, or as proof of His fictitious origins (2 Pet. 3:3-4), but we know and rejoice that "He has fixed a day in which He will judge the world in righteousness through a Man whom He has appointed." (Acts 17:31b) So God's patience with sinners, my friends, is of infinite quality, but not of eternal quality (an interesting combination in our Lord).  It will reach its end on the day that God chose long ages ago.

Mark this well, brothers and sisters.  There is immeasurable glory in God's patience, just as there is incredible glory in His grace.  This divine forbearance floods the humble soul with a very tangible proof of God's incredible love, does it not?  However, there is no glory whatsoever for God to display through an eternal patience.  An eternity in which hell stands empty and unused demonstrates not patience, but apathy.  We see no justice here; only accommodation for sinners at the expense of God's holiness and biblical assertions.  Similarly, an incredibly long patience as God waits until all sinners repent reveals not a sovereign, loving God, but a weak sort of god who is enslaved to his own creation, who cannot move until they have, and whose words of warning are fodder for the scorn of depravity.  See how Christ's teaching about the narrow way (Matt. 7:13-14) is thus turned on its head. 

No, there lies in store for the unrepentant a fixed day in which the vast ocean of God's just wrath will confound its present bounds and break loose upon the world of God's enemies, roller upon everlasting roller.  The unsaved will by eternally drowned in the fury of the great Judge, immovably secured to an existence in which darkness, anguish, and loneliness are their only and just lot.  This is true because God's holiness and righteousness require it, but note too how well it shows us the strength of His present forbearance.  Let our lifelong brush with the immense patience of God prompt us to honor Him by making the greatest use of it - by obtaining so great a salvation, by growing in that salvation, and by proclaiming that salvation to others!

The Adoption Bonus

This incredible declaration by our Lord was cited in a recent sermon by John Cox in connection with the cross of Christ:

"For thus says the high and exalted One
Who lives forever, whose name is Holy,
'I dwell on a high and holy place,
And also with the contrite and lowly of spirit
In order to revive the spirit of the lowly
And to revive the heart of the contrite.'"

- Isaiah 57:15

It is a simple pronouncement, but let us not overlook the amazing implications contained therein. The Lord crafted this statement before time began; He delivered it in an age of antiquity, and He has taken omnipotent care to preserve it up to this very day and through time. Let us look again, then. The holy, eternal High King of all things, who dwells in a place of exaltation, nevertheless does not hesitate to dwell with those who are indescribably lower than Himself - people like us.

He tell us this in His Word because there is glory in it for us to survey. In fact, this verse points to the central glory of all the universe. We may make what seems a simple case that the Lord could easily have divined a way to save us without drawing near to us and revealing that wonderful nearness. The fact that our purposeful, deliberate, careful God did not choose to execute things in this manner is very telling: if asked what the aim of redemptive history truly is, we cannot answer simply, "Salvation, of course." There is more to it than this. Salvation lies at the core of redemptive history - hence the name - but what it accomplishes is the illumination of the unspeakable glory of God. Mark this well. He draws near to the lowly not because He must, but because as He draws near, His glory looms incredibly larger and clearer. The aim of redemptive history is the glory of God.

This is clearly expressed in Ephesians 1:4b-6: "In love He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, which He freely bestowed on us in the Beloved." Do you marvel at the glory? We are lovingly grafted into a place we dare not presume to insinuate ourselves: the very family of the Almighty. He comes to dwell in our midst according to His own predetermined plan, and this occurs not "to the salvation of His people," but "to the praise of the glory of His grace."

Our salvation both demonstrates God's glory and gives us eyes to perceive it, until our hearts are saturated and overflowing with an unprecedented, unexpected gladness. Yet atop this glittering and lofty mountain of grace, the Lord has still more to pile and to heap, until we are blinded and staggered again at the renewed brilliance before us. The divine arm that extends to save us is the selfsame arm which draws us irrevocably into the eternal and holy family of God, there to remain forever. We see His eternal, infinite glory in His salvation and His adoption, and we will rightfully praise Him forever for the glory that we see.

In considering the happy pinnacle of utmost blessing on which we now permanently stand, let us not stop short by considering only the grace that we receive, but also the glory that the one true God receives. The grace points to the glory; the salvation points to the Savior. If our thinking allows us to divorce the glory from the grace, the grace begins to mutate into entitlement, and the vacuum created will inevitably replace God's glory with our own - a poor and transient substitute at any time.

"Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us, to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever. Amen."

-Ephesians 3:20-21

Simple Truth Entreated: The Response of Unbelievers (Part 5 of 5)

- Still others will declare, “I can believe in your God, but only as one God among many.”  I think you say this because you see there are many so-called gods in this world, and you cannot bring yourself to discount any of them, so long as people are worshiping them.  If people are sincere, if they believe they are right, then what right have we to declare otherwise?  Thus do we divorce belief from truth, for only when we remove truth is there room for so many opposing beliefs in this world.  Put another way, if people started to believe that two plus two actually equaled five, would this make five a viable answer alongside four?  Of course not!  It is preposterous, and yet we apply this very thinking to the spiritual world.   Real truth teaches, guides, and corrects, whether we refer to mathematics or theology. 

So we must honor truth, not beliefs.  Beliefs must be made to serve truth, and the Bible gives us absolute truth (John 17:17).  God says, “And there is no other God besides Me, a righteous God and a Savior; there is none except Me.  Turn to Me and be saved, all the ends of the earth; for I am God, and there is no other.” (Is. 45:21b-22)

- And what of those who state, “I cannot believe that the world is as evil as the gospel portrays it to be.  It is filled fundamentally good people.”?  If this is so, then the world is in terrible shape for having such good people.  Turn the television to any channel, or watch any small child for a day, or look for any candid moment into your own heart.  Can you escape the selfishness, the excuses, the frustration?   Aside from this, we do tend to judge our own goodness in relativity to those around us, but the gospel calls us to examine ourselves alongside the standard of our divine Judge, God Himself, and this standard is perfection.  All have sinned, and thus stand in need of salvation from that sin.

- There will be those who maintain, “Of course I have sinned, but I will count on my good works for the Lord to save me.”   This was the folly of many people in Jesus’ time as well.  They relied upon adherence to a set of rules (some from the Bible, and some not) to achieve a righteous standing before God.  This adherence, however, was never enough to save people – remember what Jesus said to a religious leader:  “You must be born again.” (John 3:7b) Just as a baby cannot bring about birth through his or her own actions, so we cannot achieve for ourselves the spiritual rebirth needed to save us. 

A legal example illuminates – a man is caught in a murder.  He is seen carrying out the killing, his fingerprints are on the weapon, and he has confessed.  However, he declares, “I know I have committed this terrible crime, but consider also the volunteer work I have done all my life.”  Will the judge be moved to mercy?  Of course not!  Doing what is expected cannot cancel out doing what is evil.  Justice looks at evil deeds without reference to good deeds. 

Aside from this, even the deeds which we do apart from God, and which we would reckon as good works, are viewed in a different light by God, who counts our own righteousness as naught but “filthy rags.” (Is. 64:6) If it is not done for Him in obedience and love, then it simply no good, no matter what it is.

- Finally, some have tragically concluded, “I believe in this gospel, but I am afraid I have sinned too much for the Lord to extend His grace.”  May your despair turn to rejoicing, for the gospel was made – made, we declare – for such a one as you.  You need not fear that the power of your sin is somehow greater than Jesus’ omnipotent victory over sin, or that the depth of your sin is greater than His reach, or that the murk of your sin will overpower the radiance of His grace.  Christ declared in John 6:37, “All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will certainly not cast out.”  He is faithful with those who come to Him.  Remember Jesus’ command for all to repent in Acts 17:30?  If the all-knowing Lord has made such a command, then He is prepared to honor and bestow grace upon those who do repent. 

What you say is true in that we cannot deserve grace.  However, this is the very definition of grace, is it not?  No one deserves it, but the Lord, who is no liar (Titus 1:2) offers it to all.  This is the humbling glory of it all, the unique glory that God desires you to see, to relish, and to respond to in repentance and humility.   To you, we say again, repent now!  Believe that God is able and willing to save you, and repentantly seek that salvation on His terms.  If you find yourself unable to believe this, honestly approach the gracious God of all and plead with Him to bless you, so undeservedly, with a true and saving belief in Him.  

“For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, abounding in riches for all who call on Him; for ‘Whoever will call on the name of the Lord will be saved.’”

 - Romans 10:12-13

The gospel is and will always be the most important matter of our lives, whether we are children of God or are outside His grace.  While we are here on earth, it is the matter with which we all have to do, for it can either save us and fuel us for a righteous, obedient life, or it can consign us for all time to an eternity in hell.  It is the sole point of connection which God offers to humanity that promises the riches of forgiveness and sonship with God, rather than the just and perpetual misery which our sin demands.  Praise, praise our great God for the glory that torrents through the gospel – for the grace and the wrath laid side by side, for the power that assures His purposes, for the ever-present and unassailable justice, and for the love that saves His children.  May all of our selfish objections, and all that we seek to withhold, simply give way before the wondrous gospel of Jesus Christ.

Simple Truth (Part 1 of 5)

Author’s Note:  We'll inaugurate this blog with a daily series on the gospel:  what it truly is, how it should affect believers, and how unbelievers should respond.  I urge you, whoever you are, to take a moment to read on.

God, the only true God and He who created all things (Is. 45:18, 44:24), being entirely holy (Rev. 15:4), sovereign (Ps. 103:19), and eternal (Is. 40:28), lives in three Persons – the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit (cf. Matt. 3:16-17, 28:19).

Although the world, as God created it, was “very good,” (Gen. 1:31), the human race has nevertheless become an unvarying group of sinners (Rom. 3:23, Eccl. 7:20), people who disregard God’s commands at every turn (Rom. 8:7-8).  This universal sinfulness has killed us spiritually (Eph. 2:1), making each of us worthy of eternal punishment (Rom. 6:23, Eph. 2:3, Matt. 25:41), and utterly  hindering us from pleasing God (Rom. 8:7-8).   God is entirely just, and must meet offenses against His own insuperable holiness with appropriate retribution (Ps. 7:12-13; 75:7-8):  an eternity of agony, separated from Him (Rev. 14:11, Matt. 25:46). 

It was not, however, God’s intention that the entire human race go down into eternal hell.  The masterful and incredibly loving stroke, devised before time began (Titus 1:2, Matt. 25:34), came in the form of Jesus Christ, God Himself, becoming fully human while still fully God (Phil. 2:6-7) and living a perfect, sinless life (1 Pet. 2:22, Heb. 7:26).  This life culminated in Christ willingly and sovereignly going to His own death (John 10:18) as His heavenly Father unstintingly laid the full weight of eternal punishment for the sins of many upon Him (2 Cor. 5:21, Is. 53:4-12).  We see that if Christ so suffered and died for our sins, then the just punishment for those sins has been depleted, and we need no longer go to Hell for them.  What gracious and superlative love!

After He had taken the Father’s just wrath upon Himself and died, He wondrously took up His life again three days later (Matt. 28:1-6, 1 Cor. 15:3-4), rising triumphantly from the dead and showing Himself to many (1 Cor. 15:5-8).  If He has raised Himself from the dead, then He has gloriously conquered sin and death – not only is He able to keep people from hell, then, but He can also give them eternal life (Rom. 6:3-10, 1 John  5:11)! 

The uniqueness of this act cannot be overlooked or understated.  When Jesus said that “no one comes to the Father but through Me” (John 14:6b), He demonstrated the solitary access He offered to the Father.  The apostle Peter later affirmed the same truth:  “And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved.” (Acts 4:12) If we would be saved from the just wrath of God for the sins in our hearts, we must seek that salvation by the means which He, the sovereign and only true God has established.

What is our response to this?  How can we have this life and avoid our eternal doom?  The command in the New Testament is that people “should repent and turn to God, performing deeds in keeping with their repentance.” (Acts 26:20b; cf. Matt. 4:17).  In other words, we must remorsefully admit of our sinful character to God, and beg Him to forgive us on the basis of Christ’s sacrifice on behalf of sinners.  We must also understand that, according to Acts 26:20, we cannot claim to be repentant, but then continue to live and act just as we did before; we must count the cost (Luke 14:26-35).  Our salvation, if genuine, will bear the fruit of good works because we want to please God (1 John 5:3, Rom. 7:22)!

This is the story of us all, friends.  Have we ourselves availed ourselves of Christ’s precious blood and loving work of grace?  Have we humbled ourselves before a mighty and just God?  If so, do we now seize the opportunity to share this extraordinarily good news with others?  More on this later.