A wise and mature Christian teacher recently commented, "I am concerned that in running from legalism, we don't become totally antinomian." * * * By "legalism," my friend meant the notion that we can obtain God's favor through our own record of obedience. "Antinomian" is a double-jointed word from two Greek words meaning "against law," and it refers to that error which twists God's mercy into a license to sin. Both errors are as old as the New Testament. Some first-century Jews tried to make circumcision and observing the Torah conditions of salvation (Acts 15), and some Gentiles tried to … [Read more...]
GRACE & RULES
A gracEmail reader in the West writes, "If we don't live under law but under grace, then what about God's commands? Somehow law, rule and command all seem like synonyms to me. I feel beaten down, struggling to feel worthy. I also can't find an official list of God's commands and everyone I talk to has a different list." * * * Laws, rules and commands are quite necessary to an ordered life and a peaceful society. God's commands are "holy, just and good" (Rom. 7:12). But they can be misused and abused. Laws were never intended as a stairway to heaven -- for every one of us eventually stumbles … [Read more...]
GRACE AND RESPONSIBILITY
A gracEmail subscriber asks what responsibilities we might have if we are saved totally by God's grace. * * * Indeed we are saved totally by God's grace -- we do not deserve any part of it. The gospel is the "word of his grace" (Acts 14:3; 20:32). Yet "responsibility" is a good word for our activities, for everything we do is in response to what God has done already. We dare not receive God's grace in vain (2 Cor. 6:1-2). Nor dare we ever rely on our own performance for right standing with God, which frustrates his grace (Gal. 2:20). Anyone who professes to trust in Christ for salvation, … [Read more...]
GRACE’S RESPONSE & FAITH’S FRUIT
A gracEmail subscriber asks: "How do verses such as 1 Peter 1:22 (you purify your souls through obeying the truth); 2 Peter 1:10 (make your calling and election sure); Acts 2:40 (save yourselves from this perverse generation) and Matthew 7:13, 21 (not everyone who says "Lord, Lord" to Jesus will be saved but those who do the Father's will) fit in with salvation by grace through faith?" * * * The key to these verses and others like them is to remember that grace calls for a response, and that God empowers those who are truly saved to make such a response as the fruit of their faith. We thus … [Read more...]
FOLLOWING JESUS
We call ourselves Jesus' disciples, but what does that really mean? Solid character that can withstand life's storms develops daily by hearing Jesus and doing what he says (Matt. 7:24-37). Using the Sermon on the Mount as a summary of Jesus' ethical teaching (Matt. 5-7), such obedience involves particulars like the following: Be happy when judged falsely for doing right (5:11-12). Let the Jesus-light shine through your good deeds so others will praise God (5:16). Treasure what lasts and have lasting treasure (6:19-24).Trust God and don't worry (6:25-34). Instead, ask, seek and knock, for God … [Read more...]
POOR IN SPIRIT
A gracEmail reader in the Middle East writes, "Someone recently prayed for help in becoming 'poor in spirit.' I want to receive the blessing Jesus promises to those who are poor in spirit, but I don't know whether I am rich or poor in spirit now. What does Jesus mean by this blessing?" * * * "Blessed are the poor in spirit," says Jesus, "for theirs is the kingdom of heaven" (Matt. 5:3). The word translated "poor" here means destitute. It refers to one who by poverty is reduced to begging (Lk. 16:20-21; Matt. 26:11). By definition, such beggars do not present credentials. Not those genuine … [Read more...]
A PERSPECTIVE TO LIVE BY
How quickly perspectives change! There's the news item about a traveler who had a flat tire while rushing to the airport, then didn't perish in the plane crash because he missed the flight. Or that job, or thing, or person we thought we couldn't live without -- but later thanked God that he kept from us. Or the adversity that sorely tested our faith, but proved in retrospect to be a vital stepping-stone to spiritual progress. And what about that middle Cross on Golgotha? As of Friday afternoon, it looked just like the other two. Then Sunday morning dawned, and suddenly there was no longer … [Read more...]
PREJUDICE AND GOD’S KINGDOM
Originally the human family consisted of one race and one class. As differences emerged, fallen men and women began to mistreat each other based on those differences. Hatred, envy and pride are the real culprits, and they do not need different skin colors for an excuse. In former Yugoslavia, white Bosnians and Serbs killed each other without mercy, as do white extremists in Northern Ireland. Across Africa, black ethnic leaders massacre other tribes, perpetuating ancient hostilities that continue without logic or purpose. White people practiced slavery in America, and black Africans sometimes … [Read more...]
IS LYING ALWAYS WRONG?
An Advent Christian minister in the Northwest asks a question which he has encountered in pastoral counseling. "Is it ever okay (from God's perspective) to lie?" * * * One of the Ten Commandments forbids bearing "false witness" (Deut. 5:20). Jesus himself commanded his followers to be so known for truth-telling that oaths are wasted on them (Matt. 5:33-37). Paul admonishes believers always to tell the truth (Eph. 4:25). John reminds us that "we know him who is true, and we are in Him who is true" (1 John 5:20). The Bible closes with a warning that liars will have their part in the lake of … [Read more...]
LET US BE KIND
No personal trait of Jesus Christ is more obvious in the Gospels than his kindness. I am especially impressed with Jesus' kindness to people who did not usually receive kindness -- little children, women, the poor, the sick, the physically or mentally impaired. Jesus was also kind to sinners -- people with a history of failures and flops. Because Jesus reveals God to us, this also shows us the heart of our God (John 1:18). God is kind to undeserving sinners, which includes all of us. His kindness prompts our repentance (Rom. 2:4). The gospel itself is called "the kindness of God" (Titus … [Read more...]
