Mixing grace with the law.
It is important to remember as Christian’s we are under the new testament covenant of grace, and not mix the free gift of grace with the law. Paul asked the Galatians, ” Are ye so foolish, having begun in the Spirit, are ye now made perfect by the flesh?” Galatians 3:3. “Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law. ” Romans 3:28. Jesus compared mixing faith with works, like mixing leaven into bread. “Then understood they how that he bade them not beware of the leaven of bread, but of the doctrine of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees.” Matthew 16:12. Their doctrine is still preached today, the doctrine of righteousness through works of our own. Lets look at the difference between being under the law and under grace.
Deuteronomy 21:18-21
18If a man have a stubborn and rebellious son, which will not obey the voice of his father, or the voice of his mother, and that, when they have chastened him, will not hearken unto them:19Then shall his father and his mother lay hold on him, and bring him out unto the elders of his city, and unto the gate of his place;20And they shall say unto the elders of his city, This our son is stubborn and rebellious, he will not obey our voice; he is a glutton, and a drunkard. 21And all the men of his city shall stone him with stones, that he die: so shalt thou put evil away from among you; and all Israel shall hear, and fear.
Luke 15:11-20
11And he said, A certain man had two sons:12And the younger of them said to his father, Father, give me the portion of goods that falleth to me. And he divided unto them his living.13And not many days after the younger son gathered all together, and took his journey into a far country, and there wasted his substance with riotous living.14And when he had spent all, there arose a mighty famine in that land; and he began to be in want.15And he went and joined himself to a citizen of that country; and he sent him into his fields to feed swine.16And he would fain have filled his belly with the husks that the swine did eat: and no man gave unto him.17And when he came to himself, he said, How many hired servants of my father’s have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger!18I will arise and go to my father, and will say unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and before thee,19And am no more worthy to be called thy son: make me as one of thy hired servants.20And he arose, and came to his father. But when he was yet a great way off, his father saw him, and had compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him.
Under the law, the rebellious son was taken by his parents and stoned to death. Under grace, the same rebellious son is ran to by his father, who throws his arms around him with hugs and kisses.
Lets look at one more example of law and grace.
Leviticus 20:10And the man that committeth adultery with another man’s wife, even he that committeth adultery with his neighbour’s wife, the adulterer and the adulteress shall surely be put to death.
John 8: 3-11
And the scribes and Pharisees brought unto him a woman taken in adultery; and when they had set her in the midst,4They say unto him, Master, this woman was taken in adultery, in the very act.5Now Moses in the law commanded us, that such should be stoned: but what sayest thou?6This they said, tempting him, that they might have to accuse him. But Jesus stooped down, and with his finger wrote on the ground, as though he heard them not.7So when they continued asking him, he lifted up himself, and said unto them, He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her.8And again he stooped down, and wrote on the ground.9And they which heard it, being convicted by their own conscience, went out one by one, beginning at the eldest, even unto the last: and Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the midst.10When Jesus had lifted up himself, and saw none but the woman, he said unto her, Woman, where are those thine accusers? hath no man condemned thee?11She said, No man, Lord. And Jesus said unto her, Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more.
Jesus himself wrote the ten commandments on stone, and delivered them to Moses to give to the people. Here, when confronted with the ridged requirements of these same laws, we do not find Jesus pointing to the tablets engraved in stone, instead we find him stooping down and writing in the dust, and showing compassion and forgiveness. Lets all live under that same new covenant of compassion, and trust in the finished work of our Lord, and not mix grace with the law.
Galatians 2: 21I do not frustrate the grace of God: for if righteousness come by the law, then Christ is dead in vain.
Giving thanks.
THE KING AND HIS FRIEND
An African king had a close friend who had the habit of remarking “this
is good”, about every occurrence in life no matter what it was. One day
the king and his friend were out hunting. The king’s friend loaded a
gun and handed it to the king, alas he loaded it wrong , when the
king fired it, his thumb was blown off.
“This is good!” exclaimed his friend.
Horrified and bleeding, the king shouted, “How can this be
good?”, and the king locked his friend in prison.
A year later the king went hunting by himself. Cannibals captured
him and took him to their village. They tied his hands, stacked some
wood, set up a stake and bound him to it. As they came near to set fire
to the wood, they noticed the king was missing a thumb. Being
superstitious, they untied the king and sent him on his way.
Full of remorse the king rushed to the prison to release his friend.
“You were right, it was good” the king said.
The king told his friend how the missing thumb saved his life and
added, “I feel so sad that I locked you in jail. What a foolish
thing to do”
“No! this is good!” responded his delighted friend.
“Oh, how could that be good my friend, I did a terrible injustice to you, while I
owe you my very life”.
“It is good” said his friend, “if I were not in jail, I would have been
hunting with you, and I would be dinner!”
Source unknown
Genesis 50:20 But as for you, ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive.
1 Thessalonians 5:18 In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.
Can sin seperate us from God?
Sin separates man from God. Can a born again Christian, a son or daughter of God, be separated from God by sin? Jesus said he would never leave us or forsake us. Hebrews 13:5. God will never turn his back on us, but we can turn our back on him. When we sin, we are forgiven. Jesus already has paid the price for that sin on the cross. We should not feel ashamed, or dirty, or worthless, because we are not yet perfect. It is Satan that makes us feel that way, not God. After Adam and Eve ate of the forbidden fruit, the first thing they did was hide themselves from the presence of God.
Genesis 3: 7And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons.8And they heard the voice of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God amongst the trees of the garden
If we sin, and do not understand that we have already been forgiven, we will also want to hide from God’s holiness. Satan is called the accuser of the brethren. He loves to try and separate us from our Father, and from the Lord Jesus.
Revelations 12: 9And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him. 10And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night.
Satan was cast down, when he was defeated at the cross by Jesus sacrifice for us. We hand power over to him, when we let his voice separate us from the love of God. God does not want us to hide from him. Instead he wants us to thank him, that our sins are forgiven, and ask him to help us overcome that area of weakness in our lives.
Hebrews 4: 16Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.
Satan wants us to hide from the presence of God after sinning. He wants us to think, we are hopeless sinners, why bother trying, and that God is angry with us. Theses are all lies! Ezekiel 13:22Because with lies ye have made the heart of the righteous sad, whom I have not made sad; and strengthened the hands of the wicked, that he should not return from his wicked way, by promising him life:
God tells us to come boldly to the throne of grace. Hallelujah! Thank you Jesus for making this possible.
Romans 2:4Or despisest thou the riches of his goodness and forbearance and longsuffering; not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance?
True repentance comes from coming to a full understanding of Jesus complete, full, and finished sacrifice, for all our sins. And for God’s perfect love for us.
Psalm 103: 12As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us.
When we accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior, we never again have to be afraid of our Father, and hide ourselves from his presence.
How does God correct us?
How does God correct his Children? Does God correct us by punishing us with physical, emotional or financial trials and adversities? Are sickness and disease, trials and tribulations, God’s way of helping, and correcting us, if and when we go astray?
Psalms 103: 13Like as a father pitieth his children, so the LORD pitieth them that fear him.14For he knoweth our frame; he remembereth that we are dust.
God is our Father, he loves us more perfectly and completely then we love our own children. The above verse says he pitieth his children . He does not look at us, and scrutinize us, and expect us to be perfect, like he is. He remembers that we are but dust.
John 16: 33These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.
Jesus told his disciples in the world there would be tribulations. We are not isolated from every problem in the world, but they are not punishments. God is love and light, and wants us to dwell in his light.
1 John 4: 8He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love.
If any of us have been blessed to be parents, we know we always want the best for our children. God always wants the best for us.
Matthew 7: 11If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him?
What about correction then. We may need to be corrected at times, to help us grow and mature from children, into the kings and priests, our Father intends us to be.
Hebrews 12: 8But if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons. 9Furthermore we have had fathers of our flesh which corrected us, and we gave them reverence: shall we not much rather be in subjection unto the Father of spirits, and live? 10For they verily for a few days chastened us after their own pleasure; but he for our profit, that we might be partakers of his holiness.
The above verse states God chastens us for our profit, to be partakers of his holiness. How does he go about this chastening?
2 Timothy 3: 16All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: 17That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works.
God does not beat his children, with pain, or sickness, or punishing of any type. Our Father gently corrects us, by sitting down and explaining our errors through his Holy Word. Picture a father who kneels down, takes his son or daughter by the hand, and gently corrects by explaining. You might be thinking, what if the person does not listen! What if this gentle approach is not severe enough to get our attention. If this describes us, the Bible says we are being foolish.
Proverbs 17: 10A reproof entereth more into a wise man than an hundred stripes into a fool.
If God were to beat a hard headed person with a hundred stripes, that person will curse God, and become all the more stubborn. This in not our Fathers way.
Romans 2: 4Or despisest thou the riches of his goodness and forbearance and longsuffering; not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance?
It’s God’s goodness, not his sternness, that leads us to want to repent and improve, and become more like he is.
Hebrews 4: 12For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.
God will correct us, encourage us, instruct us, lift us up, and teach us about himself, and about who we are in Christ. All through his Holy Word. We need to spend time in God’s word, to see how good God is, and how much he loves us.
Psalm 119: 105Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.
Can faith alone save us? Yes!
James 2: 14What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works? can faith save him?
Do we need to mix our faith with works to be saved? Is this what James was saying in this passage?
Galatians 2:16Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified.
Salvation, or eternal life with God, is a free gift. A priceless gift. We cannot earn a gift. Unfortunately we are taught from an early age that even the gifts that we receive, have to be earned. This is the message we give to children when we tell them, “be good or Santa won’t come”. So Satan has even associated the birth of our Savior, with earning a gift. If a person were to scrimp, and save their entire life, to give the gift of a million dollars to someone, and that person mowed their lawn or shoveled their walk and said, ” now we are even”, this is somewhat comparable to thinking we can earn our salvation.
What then was James referring to? Lets look at the whole passage in context.
James 2: 14What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works? can faith save him? 15If a brother or sister be naked, and destitute of daily food, 16And one of you say unto them, Depart in peace, be ye warmed and filled; notwithstanding ye give them not those things which are needful to the body; what doth it profit? 17Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone.
If we we have faith that God will supply all our needs, and are afraid to give that which we have, then our faith is dead. It cannot profit, or save, the person in need. No glory is given to God, when we hide our light under a basket. If we say we have faith to lay hands on the sick and heal them, and never reach out and pray for and touch the sick and diseased, then our faith is dead. It does not profit, or save, the sick and diseased.
Mathew 10: 7And as ye go, preach, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at hand. 8Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils: freely ye have received, freely give.
Jesus wants us to be like him. He gave his life freely for us. And wants us in turn, to freely give to others.
How to protect ourselves from a dangerous world.
How can we protect ourselves and our families from an increasingly dangerous and corrupt world? Much of the food we eat is contaminated in one way or another. New antibiotic resistant diseases are being discovered. Bird flu, Asian flu, swine flu, are constantly in and out of the news. Cancer, heart disease, diabetes, and a host of other illnesses are on the rise. The economy is weak and unstable. All this coupled with a government and news media that is constantly hyping war, and the threat of terrorist attacks. These, and many other conditions we find the world in, can seem overwhelming, and at times quite scarey. Jesus saw the generation we now live in, along with every preceding generation. Nothing the world is going through is surprising to him, or has caught him off guard. He wants us to be at peace and trust in him.
I hear quite often on the news, the latest food scare. Some item or another is being pulled off the shelf, do to one form of contamination or another. Paul wrote this to Timothy,
1 Timothy 4:4For every creature of God is good, and nothing to be refused, if it be received with thanksgiving: 5For it is sanctified by the word of God and prayer. Sanctify means to set apart, make holy or purify. Lets return to the old fashion practice of thanking God for our food, and asking him to bless it. Jesus spoke this concerning his followers.
Mark 16:17And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; 18They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.
I am not advocating tempting God by handling deadly snakes or drinking poison. But if such things were to occur, we can as Christian’s expect supernatural intervention.
When it comes to disease or sickness we read this.
Psalm 91:5-7 5Thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by night; nor for the arrow that flieth by day;6Nor for the pestilence that walketh in darkness; nor for the destruction that wasteth at noonday. 7A thousand shall fall at thy side, and ten thousand at thy right hand; but it shall not come nigh thee.
When we come in contact with disease, or sickness, we should not fear catching, or being contaminated by it. As the preceding verse stated, ” they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.”
Jesus never came down with a case of leprosy. We have the power of God living inside of us, the power to cast out devils, heal the sick, cleanse the leper, raise the dead.
Concerning the economy Paul writes,
1 Timothy6:17Charge them that are rich in this world, that they be not highminded, nor trust in uncertain riches, but in the living God, who giveth us richly all things to enjoy;
We need to put our trust in God and not in uncertain riches. God became angry at David for numbering the troops of Israel. If we trust in the numbers in our bank accounts, or the numbers in the stock market, we are putting our trust in them, and not in God.
Romans 8:31-32 What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us? 32He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?
God’s will is to freely give us all things, not because of anything we have done, but because of what Christ has done for us. Deut.9: 6Understand therefore, that the LORD thy God giveth thee not this good land to possess it for thy righteousness; for thou art a stiffnecked people.
God will not give us the promised land due to OUR righteousness, but through the righteousness that comes from believing in him, and in his Son Jesus.
Romans 4:3For what saith the scripture? Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness.
Lets trust in the righteousness that comes from faith in Jesus, and believe in his word, and not put our trust in things of this world.
Satan, a roaring lion.
1Peter 5:8 Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour: Satan is roaring at us everywhere we turn. Out of our TV’s and radios. Across the internet. In newspapers and magazines. In movies and the music industry. He is a master at creating, confusion, distrust, anger, anxiety, temptation, depression, and distraction. On a warm summer day, roll down the windows in your car and you will hear him roar, blasting out of the radio of the cars nearby. Walk down any street at night, and you will see the blue glow and flicker of one of his favorite modes of communication. In turn, go anywhere and you will be hard pressed to find a Bible, or anyone listening to, or talking about, the word of God.
Satan is pictured as a roaring lion by the apostle Peter, roaming about, looking for those he can devour. For a born again Christian, Satan is also a defeated foe. A lion who’s teeth were pulled and claws removed, at the cross. Colossians 2: 15And having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a shew of them openly, triumphing over them in it. Do we then need to be careful of this defeated foe? Yes! The devil can not, knock us over the head and take what is ours, but he is both subtle, and bellicose in his approach. 2 Corinthians 11: 3But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ. So Paul is describing Satan as deceiving subtly, and Peter describes him as a roaring lion. We need to beware of both of his approaches.
Jesus on the other hand is pictured as, The Good Shepherd. He does not shout out his message from every street corner, neither does he try and deceive us into trusting him. God offers us his free gift of salvation, through faith in his son Jesus, and leaves the decision up to us. How can we protect ourselves from Satan, this crafty deceiver? By listening to less of his roaring, and more of the beautiful voice of our good shepherd, Jesus. As the scriptures say: John 10:27 My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: 28And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.
Iran,Israeli war.
President Obama gave a speech this morning to The American Israel Public Affairs Committee . In it he reiterated his support for the nation of Israel, and his commitment to keep Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon. In his speech he stated,
“Of course, peace is hard to achieve. There’s a reason why it has remained elusive for six decades.”
Romans 3:16-19 Destruction and misery are in their ways:17And the way of peace have they not known:18There is no fear of God before their eyes.19Now we know that what things soever the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law: that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God.
True peace comes from knowing Jesus, the Prince of Peace. All man’s attempts at obtaining peace ultimately fail. The League of Nations was formed at the end of WWI, to give the world a place to resolve its disputes and differences. And the United Nations came about at the end of WWII. World War One was known as the war to end all wars, because the world had never seen bloodshed and carnage on such a global level. Yet only twenty one years later Hitler invaded Poland to begin WWII. President Obama later in his speech had this to say,
“Iran’s leaders should know that I do not have a policy of containment; I have a policy to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon. And as I’ve made clear time and again during the course of my presidency, I will not hesitate to use force when it is necessary to defend the United States and its interests.”
At this point war between Israel and its main ally the United States, and Iran and its allies, seems to be on a collision course. If Israel makes a pre-emptive strike against Iran’s nuclear facilities, it is likely Iran will respond with a conventional missile attack against Israel. This may convince Israel’s other mid-east enemies, now is the best opportunity to strike against Israel.
God has kept the tribe of Judah in tact, since leading them out of the the land of Egypt, and into the promised land. He is still working with them.
Romans 11:1 I say then, Hath God cast away his people? God forbid. For I also am an Israelite, of the seed of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin.
Romans11:11-12 I say then, Have they stumbled that they should fall? God forbid: but rather through their fall salvation is come unto the Gentiles, for to provoke them to jealousy.12Now if the fall of them be the riches of the world, and the diminishing of them the riches of the Gentiles; how much more their fulness?
God is keenly aware of what is happening in the middle east. Lets always, as followers of Christ, be praying for peace.
Psalm 122:6 Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: they shall prosper that love thee.
I AM
In the book of John chapter 8, Jesus was speaking to a group of Pharisees. At one point during the conversation, the subject of Abraham was brought up. Jesus declared to them. “Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am.” At this saying they took up rocks to stone him. In Exodus, God appeared to Moses, and explained he would use him to deliver His people out of Egypt. Moses asked God, who shall I say has sent me, if they should ask? What shall I say is your name? God responded, I AM THAT I AM: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you. Why did Jesus use the name I AM to Moses, and centuries later to the Pharisees? In Biblical times a persons name was very important. It helped to describe and define an individual. Adam’s name can be interpreted as soil, earth, mankind, man. Eve would be living one, or source of life. Abraham is father of a multitude, or of many. How can God describe himself to man? Simply, God is our I AM. “But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:19). Whatever need we have, God is our source, and has supplied our need by Jesus. If we are lonely Jesus declares, I AM your friend. If we are sad or depressed, I AM your fountain of life. If we are confused, I AM your wisdom. If we are sick or injured, I AM your healer. If we are angry or agitated, I AM your peace. Whatever lack we have, we simply need to fill in the blank. When we look to God as THE source to our problems, we use more of the measure of faith he has given to every believer. All glory and honor go back to the source from which it came, and we can confidently proclaim, God truly is our great I AM.
Peace, Be Still !
Mark 4: 39 And he arose, and rebuked the wind, and said unto the sea, Peace, be still. And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm.
Jesus commanded the wind and the waves to be at peace, and they had to obey him! He also wants us to be at peace. Many times in the scriptures, God instructs his children to be at peace. The more technologically advanced the world becomes, the harder it seems to be calm, and at peace. When I was young, cell phones and even answering machines were still decades in the future. If you were not near the phone, you did not receive the call, and never thought a thing of it. Now it seems if we are not constantly connected to the world, in one manner or another, were afraid of missing something. Television, the internet, cell phones, video games, and many other modern marvels can contribute to a steady stream of audio and visual stimulation, that make it difficult to concentrate, and be at peace. I had a dream about ten years ago, that impacted me to such a degree, I can still vividly recall it to this day.
In the dream, I am out side walking down the street, and huge trees are floating above my head. The roots are coming out of the bottom, and the branches of the trees are covered with beautiful round colorful flowers. I go inside a nearby house, and a very old Chinese woman tells me to close my eyes. She then places her hands on my head, and very firmly presses them down my entire body until she reaches my feet. As she is doing this, a voice in my head is saying, “Slow down and see amazing things.” When her hands reach my feet, I wake up.
Since then, I have tried not rush through things. It truly is amazing what things we can see everyday, by just slowing down. God instructs us many times throughout the Bible, to be at peace.
Isaiah 57:19-20 I create the fruit of the lips; Peace, peace to him that is far off, and to him that is near, saith the LORD; and I will heal him. 20But the wicked are like the troubled sea, when it cannot rest, whose waters cast up mire and dirt.
God here states, he creates the fruit of the lips. We need to speak calming words, and God will create those things we speak.
Isaiah 26:3-4 Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee. 4Trust ye in the LORD for ever: for in the LORD JEHOVAH is everlasting strength:
Trusting in God brings peace. We need to bring our problems and burdens to him, and not try and work everything out by our own efforts and abilities.
Proverbs 3: 5Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.
Jesus is the Prince of Peace. He is the source of peace. By trusting in him, and spending more time studying, and meditating on his word, and less time drawn away by the distractions of a modern world, we can come to know true peace in our lives.
John14:27 Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.
