Luke 5:32 - "I have not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance."
It is not those who think that they 'deserve' heaven that Christ calls, but those who know that they do not deserve heaven. This is plain to see in the glaring examples of the Pharisees on one hand, and the prostitutes and tax collectors on the other hand. Think of the meal that Jesus had at Simon's house, and how they treated Jesus compared to Mary Magdalene who washed His feet with her tears and dried them with her hair. The Lord loves a “broken and contrite heart”. "Contrite" means "crushed", and we see this truth throughout scripture. Isaiah needed to be crushed and burned before he could say, "Here I am, send me!" In the presence of God's holiness Isaiah realized that he was not righteous -that he, in fact, was a sinner; and God, after Isaiah confessed that he was a sinner, cleansed him and then called him to serve.
The 'righteous' in the text above are actually the 'self-righteous'. They think themselves to be righteous; while a 'called' sinner knows himself not to be righteous. A 'called' sinner has been awakened to the fact of his sin by the Holy Spirit. The 'self-righteous' have built their house on sand, because their faith is in themselves and not in the Lord. In the Lord's place they have created, in their minds, a god of their own choosing, a god who grades on a curve. While sinners like Mary Magdalene fall at the feet of Jesus, the true teacher, who grades righteously in His mercy and grace. And a repentant sinner receives an "A" grade. An "A" for Accepted. The reality is that we are all 'self-righteous' until the Holy Spirit blesses us with spiritual life - opening our eyes to see our sinfulness, and through that repentance, and forgiveness, and salvation, and sanctification, and then glorification. All to His glory! Amen
Sunday, February 22, 2009
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
A Living Sacrifice
Romans 12:1 “I appeal to you, therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.”
Our spiritual worship involves our physical bodies, which reflects our inner being, what we call the heart. God, through the apostle Paul, is telling us that our deeds and actions must be disciplined and controlled to better reflect the new creation that the Holy Spirit has wrought in us. In a sense, the Father in heaven is saying, “I see you as holy and pure due to the righteousness of My Son which I have applied to you, now act as I see you.” God is well aware (and we should be as well) that in this life – in this fallen world – we will never achieve the holiness and righteousness that we will in heaven, but that fact should not keep us from running towards that goal. Why should we ‘present our bodies as living sacrifices, holy and acceptable’? Because it is pleasing to God – it is our ‘spiritual worship’. We are told to worship God in spirit and truth, and in this verse we see a facet of what that means. Holy and godly living, according to the truths of God’s word, is spiritual worship. Physical living is spiritual worship. One cannot enter a sanctuary on a Sunday and successfully worship God if his intent, or even his status quo, is to live according to the flesh the rest of the week. Our bodies need to follow our spirits – our regenerated spirit, by the strength, power, and help of the Holy Spirit, not our strength alone. Our strength will get us nowhere, but our Holy-Spirit guided ‘wills’ with His strength will bring us closer to Him.
So many these days seem to think that spiritual worship is simply and only an emotional experience, when in fact it is ‘obedience’ that God sees as worship. “Pure and undefiled religion in the sight of our God and Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world.” (James 1:27). Holy ‘obedience’ to the word of God is spiritual worship. Obedience does not save us, obedience is worship. Is this not the case with our own children? When they obey us, does that obedient act not honor and please us? Christ is our loving Master, and we should be His grateful servants/slaves with a desire and passion to please Him by our obedient actions.
Peter, in his letter (1 Peter) quoted from the book of Leviticus, "YOU SHALL BE HOLY, FOR I AM HOLY."
The apostle Paul understood this important truth, which is why he wrote, “I appeal to you, therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.”
Amen!
Our spiritual worship involves our physical bodies, which reflects our inner being, what we call the heart. God, through the apostle Paul, is telling us that our deeds and actions must be disciplined and controlled to better reflect the new creation that the Holy Spirit has wrought in us. In a sense, the Father in heaven is saying, “I see you as holy and pure due to the righteousness of My Son which I have applied to you, now act as I see you.” God is well aware (and we should be as well) that in this life – in this fallen world – we will never achieve the holiness and righteousness that we will in heaven, but that fact should not keep us from running towards that goal. Why should we ‘present our bodies as living sacrifices, holy and acceptable’? Because it is pleasing to God – it is our ‘spiritual worship’. We are told to worship God in spirit and truth, and in this verse we see a facet of what that means. Holy and godly living, according to the truths of God’s word, is spiritual worship. Physical living is spiritual worship. One cannot enter a sanctuary on a Sunday and successfully worship God if his intent, or even his status quo, is to live according to the flesh the rest of the week. Our bodies need to follow our spirits – our regenerated spirit, by the strength, power, and help of the Holy Spirit, not our strength alone. Our strength will get us nowhere, but our Holy-Spirit guided ‘wills’ with His strength will bring us closer to Him.
So many these days seem to think that spiritual worship is simply and only an emotional experience, when in fact it is ‘obedience’ that God sees as worship. “Pure and undefiled religion in the sight of our God and Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world.” (James 1:27). Holy ‘obedience’ to the word of God is spiritual worship. Obedience does not save us, obedience is worship. Is this not the case with our own children? When they obey us, does that obedient act not honor and please us? Christ is our loving Master, and we should be His grateful servants/slaves with a desire and passion to please Him by our obedient actions.
Peter, in his letter (1 Peter) quoted from the book of Leviticus, "YOU SHALL BE HOLY, FOR I AM HOLY."
The apostle Paul understood this important truth, which is why he wrote, “I appeal to you, therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.”
Amen!
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
He Holds Our Hands
Psalm 37:24 – “When he falls, he will not be hurled headlong, because the LORD is the One who holds his hand.”
“When he falls.” The promise in this text does not negate the reality of falling, or stumbling spiritually. Rather, it confirms the obvious – we all fall, we all stumble, we all sin. The promise in this verse is that when we do fall, we will not be destroyed, we will not be “hurled headlong” dashing us to pieces – which is what we deserve each and every time we sin against our holy God. And why are we not dashed to pieces? Because it is the Lord who holds our hand. What great security! Why?! Because the One who holds our hand has also paid for each and every sin we commit as His chosen ones. He has paid the price, bore the wrath, and now He holds our hand in order to keep us from being hurled headlong. The One who holds our hand , to keep us from falling, has done it all for us – lived a perfect life in our stead, was the perfect sacrificial Lamb in our stead, and now mediates and advocates for us as our High Priest, and still, has time to hold our hand to keep us.
Drink in the fullness of this promise. Embrace it with thanksgiving and joy for all that it means – the person and the power of God is holding us secure, even when we fall. What love is there in these words. Christ does not just look down upon us from His throne in heaven, uninvolved, distant, but He holds us tightly. Rejoice and be glad! Amen.
“When he falls.” The promise in this text does not negate the reality of falling, or stumbling spiritually. Rather, it confirms the obvious – we all fall, we all stumble, we all sin. The promise in this verse is that when we do fall, we will not be destroyed, we will not be “hurled headlong” dashing us to pieces – which is what we deserve each and every time we sin against our holy God. And why are we not dashed to pieces? Because it is the Lord who holds our hand. What great security! Why?! Because the One who holds our hand has also paid for each and every sin we commit as His chosen ones. He has paid the price, bore the wrath, and now He holds our hand in order to keep us from being hurled headlong. The One who holds our hand , to keep us from falling, has done it all for us – lived a perfect life in our stead, was the perfect sacrificial Lamb in our stead, and now mediates and advocates for us as our High Priest, and still, has time to hold our hand to keep us.
Drink in the fullness of this promise. Embrace it with thanksgiving and joy for all that it means – the person and the power of God is holding us secure, even when we fall. What love is there in these words. Christ does not just look down upon us from His throne in heaven, uninvolved, distant, but He holds us tightly. Rejoice and be glad! Amen.
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