What Is Mind Renewal & Why Is It So Important?
by Nancy Missler
Romans 12:1-2 tells us that the way we are "transformed," the way we learn to live Christ's Life, is by the renewing of our minds - putting off our own negative and corrupt thinking and putting on God's Thoughts. As we continue in our series on being transformed by the renewing of our minds , we want to cover two important questions. 1) What is "mind renewal?" and, 2) Why is "mind renewal" so important?
Ephesians 4:22-24 exhorts us to "... put off concerning the former conversation (behavior) the old man (old self), which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts; and be renewed in the spirit of your mind ; and that ye put on the new man (the new self), which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness."
A "renewed mind," then, is one that has done two things: It has "put off" any sin (any hurt, doubt, fear, rebellion, self-centeredness, lust, bitterness, etc.), any corrupt thinking, or any barrier that would quench God's Spirit and has "put on" the Mind of Christ (2 Corinthians 10:5).
Renewing our minds is not simply "changing" our thoughts, but actually putting off the old, negative thoughts as well as putting on God's Thoughts. In other words, we can't just say to God, "Lord, give me Your Thoughts," and somehow expect Him to "automatically" give us His Mind. We must first put off our own self-centered thinking by confessing, repenting, and then giving it to God. At this point, we can then put on the Mind of Christ.
Hal Lindsey points out that "to renew" means to exchange one thing for another. In other words, when we put off and put on, we're exchanging our thinking for God's. If we're not willing to yield, set aside and relinquish our own thoughts, however, then our thinking process will never be renewed and our lives will never be transformed.
Reasons Mind Renewal Is So Important
There are many reasons why "mind renewal" is critical. But there are several reasons worth pointing out in this series: God wants us to have His Mind (His thoughts, His viewpoint) in every situation. He wants us to have the supernatural ability to discern everything that happens to us from His vantage point and His perspective, and not get bogged down and buried by our own negative thoughts and feelings or by what we can "see" going on. If we can see from His perspective, then we'll be able to "soar" above our circumstances, our problems, and our trials and not get buried under them.
A Perfect Example
Joseph in the Old Testament, I believe, is a wonderful example of someone who was able to see all that happened to him from God's perspective.
The story goes like this: Joseph, the most beloved of all the sons of Jacob, had a dream. However, he made the mistake of telling his brothers the dream. His brothers were already jealous of him because he was their father's favorite. But after hearing Joseph's dream, they were irate and determined to get rid of him any way they could.
The brothers put Joseph in a pit and finally sold him to the Midianites. The Midianites, in turn, sold Joseph to Potiphar, an officer in Pharaoh's guard. After an incident with Potiphar's wife, however, in which she tricked Joseph by making it look like he had seduced her, Joseph was sent to prison (Genesis 39).
While in prison, Joseph met the King's baker and butler and did them a favor by interpreting their dreams. He begged them to remember him when they were released from jail. However, when it came time that the chief butler was released, he soon forgot Joseph and his favors.
I'm sure you know the rest of the story. Two more years went by when Pharoah dreamed a dream and the chief butler finally remembered Joseph in prison and the interpretation of his own dreams. Pharoah's men contacted Joseph, released him, and eventually Joseph became Pharoah's right-hand man.
Joseph was only 17 years old when his brothers threw him into the pit to be sold, and he was well over 30 when Pharoah finally released him. He had been "in bondage" for over 13 years!
Now you know Joseph must have struggled with "justified" hurts, resentments and bitterness. He was not a "supersaint," but human just like us. Scripture tells us, however, that all who saw Joseph "knew God was with him." (Genesis 39:3) Somehow, in spite of all the horrendous circumstances and all the justified natural emotions Joseph must have had, his countenance and his life actions still showed forth his love of God.
The only way Joseph could possibly have made this impression was by constantly "putting off" his own natural bitterness and resentments and putting on God's wisdom and understanding, thereby being able to see all that happened to him not from his own viewpoint, but from God's.
This is validated in Genesis 50:20 when Joseph finally meets up with his brothers and says to them, "...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."
This is an incredible response. It's not a natural reaction. Humanly, I'm sure Joseph would have loved to have had his revenge, but that's not how he acted. He saw all things that had happened to him as being used for God's purposes in his own life.
Do we "see" like this in our own trials? Do we see all the things that God has allowed in our lives as being used for our good? I know I still have a long way to go in being able to do this continually.
By the way, there were no psychologists and no psychiatrists in Joseph's day. Yet somehow, Joseph was able to become freed from his traumatic past (and his dysfunctional family), and his life was transformed anyway.
If Only I Could Have
Fifteen years ago, when Chuck and I were going through all our marital trials, if I could only have seen my circumstances from God's perspective, through His Mind (and not through my own emotional way of thinking), I might have been more of a genuine witness and a true representative of Christ going through the trials , just as Joseph was. But I wasn't able to see from God's perspective because I got buried in my own hurts and my own circumstances. Thus, God's Life in me became quenched and I couldn't "live the truth."
Remember, our "witness" is not in what we "say"; the witness people notice and relate to most is our life actions (especially when we are going through difficult times). Do we still show forth God's Life? Does it still work for us then - even in the hard places?
It takes constant discipline not to give in to our negative thoughts and emotions that are trying to crush and drown us. Often, it seems like it would just be easier to give in and let our own feelings rule. But, you know what happens if we do that? Those negative thoughts and emotions "take us captive," and then we'll drown for sure.
This, of course, is exactly what Satan wants! He revels in our bondage to our own negative thoughts. He wants us totally immersed and consumed in our own problems, bound to him by our hurts, our fears, our pain, our wounds and our circumstances (chains of sin) because then we'll see everything that happens to us from our own horizontal viewpoint and not from God's perspective or the Mind of Christ. As a result, we won't be transformed into God's image, but simply conformed to the world's image and the Gospel won't be passed on.
The Eagle
Scripture often refers to the eagle as a symbol of this renewing process. Psalm 103:5 says that "our youth will be renewed like the eagle." "Youth" here, I believe, refers to the "original image" that God created us to have - His Love, His Wisdom and His Power. As we renew our minds, it's true, we'll be transformed back into God's Image, which is what God intended for us all along.
One of the reasons I believe God uses the eagle as a symbol of this transformation process is that the eagle is the only bird whose whole physical strength is literally renewed after each molting season. In other words, only after the eagle has "put off" his old feathers, so to speak, does he actually receive "new" physical strength to soar above his enemies.
And it's the same with us. When we "put off" the old and "put on" the new, we too receive God's supernatural strength to soar above our enemies (Isaiah 59:19).
Another reason I believe God uses the eagle as a symbol of our renewal and transformation is because the eagle again comes from the only bird family that has "telescopic sight," a kind of "zoom-in-focus" lens. An eagle can search out objects literally miles away (indistinguishable to the human eye). Eagles can see a quarter from over 200 yards away and a rabbit from over a mile away. This, of course, increases their ability to judge and discern the true situation.
It's the same with us. Our minds, when renewed by God's Spirit, have the same supernatural ability. We are able to judge, discern and pick up things that the natural eye (natural mind) would never be able to see or understand. We are given the supernatural wisdom and ability to discern the true situation and see everything that happens to us from God's vantage point.
Isaiah 40:31, "They that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint."
These are the true over-comers. "Overcoming" simply means freedom from self, freedom from our circumstances and freedom from others' responses.
Having a renewed mind, putting off our own negative thoughts and putting on the Mind of Christ is the only way we can begin to see everything that happens to us from God's perspective and not get buried by our own.
* * *
Saturday, April 3, 2010
The Mind of Christ
May the mind of Christ, my Savior,
Live in me from day to day,
By His love and power controlling
All I do and say.
May the Word of God dwell richly
In my heart from hour to hour,
So that all may see I triumph
Only through His power.
May the peace of God my Father
Rule my life in everything,
That I may be calm to comfort
Sick and sorrowing.
May the love of Jesus fill me
As the waters fill the sea;
Him exalting, self abasing,
This is victory.
May I run the race before me,
Strong and brave to face the foe,
Looking only unto Jesus
As I onward go.
May His beauty rest upon me,
As I seek the lost to win,
And may they forget the channel,
Seeing only Him.
May the Mind of Christ, My Savior
Kate Wilkenson
Live in me from day to day,
By His love and power controlling
All I do and say.
May the Word of God dwell richly
In my heart from hour to hour,
So that all may see I triumph
Only through His power.
May the peace of God my Father
Rule my life in everything,
That I may be calm to comfort
Sick and sorrowing.
May the love of Jesus fill me
As the waters fill the sea;
Him exalting, self abasing,
This is victory.
May I run the race before me,
Strong and brave to face the foe,
Looking only unto Jesus
As I onward go.
May His beauty rest upon me,
As I seek the lost to win,
And may they forget the channel,
Seeing only Him.
May the Mind of Christ, My Savior
Kate Wilkenson
Friday, April 2, 2010
Paul and the Ten Commandments
Paul deals with the Ten Commandments directly in 2 Corinthians 3, where he describes laws written on stone tablets and Moses’ face shining with glory. It is clear that he is talking about the Ten Commandments, and he calls them “the ministry of death” (verse 7). Let’s look at this chapter in detail.
Paul begins this chapter by pointing out that he, the apostle Christ used to begin the Corinthian church, did not need a “letter of recommendation” from anybody: “Are we beginning to commend ourselves again? Or do we need, like some people, letters of recommendation to you or from you? You yourselves are our letter, written on our hearts, known and read by everybody” (verses 1-2). The people themselves served as proof that Paul was an apostle of Christ: “You show that you are a letter from Christ, the result of our ministry, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts. Such confidence as this is ours through Christ before God” (verses 3-4).
Paul explains that God is the real source of his authority: “Not that we are competent in ourselves to claim anything for ourselves, but our competence comes from God. He has made us competent as ministers of a new covenant — not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life” (verses 5-6). The new covenant had already been instituted, and Paul was serving God in it.
The new contrasted with the old covenant
Paul has already mentioned “tablets of stone,” and then the “new covenant.” He then builds the contrast between the new and the old. His authenticity as an apostle of Christ is not built on the old covenant, but on the new — not on the letters engraved in stone, but in the Spirit of God.
Let’s see how he develops the contrast: “Now if the ministry that brought death, which was engraved in letters on stone, came with glory, so that the Israelites could not look steadily at the face of Moses because of its glory, fading though it was, will not the ministry of the Spirit be even more glorious?” (verses 7-8). Paul is talking about something written on stone, at a time when Moses’ face shone with glory. It is clear that he is talking about the Ten Commandments. This is what was written on stone. This is when Moses’ face shone (Exodus 34:29). Paul is calling the Ten Commandments a “ministry that brought death.” Paul was not a minister of the letter (the Ten Commandments), but of the Spirit.
Notice that he does not say, like some people want him to, that he was a minister of “the spirit of the law.” Instead of combining law and spirit, Paul equated the law with the letter, and he made a contrast between the Law and the Spirit of God. Of course, it was God who gave the Law. Nevertheless, Paul saw a fundamental contrast between the Law and the Spirit, between the old and the new. There is continuity, of course, for both old and new are covenants of the same God. But even though God does not change, and his underlying principles do not change, his covenants do.
Paul explains some differences in the next verses: “If the ministry that condemns men is glorious, how much more glorious is the ministry that brings righteousness!” (verse 9). The Ten Commandments were a ministry that condemned people. They had some glory, but not nearly as much as the new covenant. The Ten Commandments cannot bring righteousness, but the new covenant does.
A fading glory
“For what was glorious has no glory now in comparison with the surpassing glory” (verse 10). The Ten Commandments have no glory now, Paul is saying, in comparison to the new covenant, which brings life and righteousness.
“And if what was fading away came with glory, how much greater is the glory of that which lasts!” (verse 11). What was fading away? Moses’ face was fading, but Paul is not talking about Moses’ face any more — he is talking about “the ministry that brought death, which was engraved in letters on stone.” That is what “came with glory” (verse 7). That is what was fading away.
The Ten Commandments, Paul is saying, came with glory, but they are fading away, just as surely as the glory of Moses’ face also faded. The new covenant not only has much greater glory, but it also “lasts.” The Ten Commandments, Paul implies, do not last forever. They were designed as a temporary “ministry of condemnation,” designed to lead people to Christ.
Paul deals with the Ten Commandments directly in 2 Corinthians 3, where he describes laws written on stone tablets and Moses’ face shining with glory. It is clear that he is talking about the Ten Commandments, and he calls them “the ministry of death” (verse 7). Let’s look at this chapter in detail.
Paul begins this chapter by pointing out that he, the apostle Christ used to begin the Corinthian church, did not need a “letter of recommendation” from anybody: “Are we beginning to commend ourselves again? Or do we need, like some people, letters of recommendation to you or from you? You yourselves are our letter, written on our hearts, known and read by everybody” (verses 1-2). The people themselves served as proof that Paul was an apostle of Christ: “You show that you are a letter from Christ, the result of our ministry, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts. Such confidence as this is ours through Christ before God” (verses 3-4).
Paul explains that God is the real source of his authority: “Not that we are competent in ourselves to claim anything for ourselves, but our competence comes from God. He has made us competent as ministers of a new covenant — not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life” (verses 5-6). The new covenant had already been instituted, and Paul was serving God in it.
The new contrasted with the old covenant
Paul has already mentioned “tablets of stone,” and then the “new covenant.” He then builds the contrast between the new and the old. His authenticity as an apostle of Christ is not built on the old covenant, but on the new — not on the letters engraved in stone, but in the Spirit of God.
Let’s see how he develops the contrast: “Now if the ministry that brought death, which was engraved in letters on stone, came with glory, so that the Israelites could not look steadily at the face of Moses because of its glory, fading though it was, will not the ministry of the Spirit be even more glorious?” (verses 7-8). Paul is talking about something written on stone, at a time when Moses’ face shone with glory. It is clear that he is talking about the Ten Commandments. This is what was written on stone. This is when Moses’ face shone (Exodus 34:29). Paul is calling the Ten Commandments a “ministry that brought death.” Paul was not a minister of the letter (the Ten Commandments), but of the Spirit.
Notice that he does not say, like some people want him to, that he was a minister of “the spirit of the law.” Instead of combining law and spirit, Paul equated the law with the letter, and he made a contrast between the Law and the Spirit of God. Of course, it was God who gave the Law. Nevertheless, Paul saw a fundamental contrast between the Law and the Spirit, between the old and the new. There is continuity, of course, for both old and new are covenants of the same God. But even though God does not change, and his underlying principles do not change, his covenants do.
Paul explains some differences in the next verses: “If the ministry that condemns men is glorious, how much more glorious is the ministry that brings righteousness!” (verse 9). The Ten Commandments were a ministry that condemned people. They had some glory, but not nearly as much as the new covenant. The Ten Commandments cannot bring righteousness, but the new covenant does.
A fading glory
“For what was glorious has no glory now in comparison with the surpassing glory” (verse 10). The Ten Commandments have no glory now, Paul is saying, in comparison to the new covenant, which brings life and righteousness.
“And if what was fading away came with glory, how much greater is the glory of that which lasts!” (verse 11). What was fading away? Moses’ face was fading, but Paul is not talking about Moses’ face any more — he is talking about “the ministry that brought death, which was engraved in letters on stone.” That is what “came with glory” (verse 7). That is what was fading away.
The Ten Commandments, Paul is saying, came with glory, but they are fading away, just as surely as the glory of Moses’ face also faded. The new covenant not only has much greater glory, but it also “lasts.” The Ten Commandments, Paul implies, do not last forever. They were designed as a temporary “ministry of condemnation,” designed to lead people to Christ.
Is tithing required in the new covenant?
Related articles:
Does the Bible tell us to pay at least 10 percent of our incomes to the church? This paper examines the biblical evidence.
Abraham and Jacob
The first biblical mention of tithing is in Genesis 14. After four Mesopotamian kings had taken Lot captive, Abraham attacked them and recovered all the booty. After his victory, the king of Sodom came out to meet him, and so did Melchizedek, a priest of God. Melchizedek blessed Abraham, and then Abraham "gave him a tenth of everything" (Gen. 14:20).
The text does not tell us whether Abraham had ever tithed before, or ever tithed afterwards. But it does show that Abraham was generous. He gave the rest of his booty to the king of Sodom (verses 23-24). Abraham kept all of God's laws that were relevant in his day (Gen. 26:5), but Genesis does not tell us whether tithing was a law in Abraham's day. Many of God's decrees and requirements were built around the nation of Israel and the Levitical priesthood and tabernacle. Abraham could not have kept such decrees and laws. He may have tithed regularly, but we cannot prove it.
The next mention of tithing is in Genesis 28:20-22. Jacob had a miraculous dream at Bethel. In the morning, Jacob vowed to tithe if God helped him during his journey. He was trying to make a bargain with God. He wanted special help, and in return for that help, he was willing to worship God, and to tithe as a part of that worship. Tithing may have been part of the common worship practices of that time and culture.
Biblical commands about tithing generally concern grain, wine and oil.1 A different system of giving was required for some animals. In the last plague on Egypt, God killed the firstborn male of every animal and human, but he spared the Israelites and their animals. Therefore, God claimed ownership of every Israelite firstborn and firstling male animal (Ex. 13:2; Num. 3:13).
This applied not only to the generation that left Egypt,2 but every future generation as well. Clean firstlings were to be given to the priests and sacrificed (Num. 18:15-17); priests and people ate them during the festivals (Deut. 15:19-20; 12:6, 17; 14:23). Unclean animals and humans were to be redeemed (Ex. 13:12-15; 34:19-20). This continued to be the law in Nehemiah's day (Neh. 10:36) and in Jesus' day (Luke 2:23).
The people also gave firstfruits of their harvest (Ex. 23:19; 34:26; Lev. 2:14), but these firstfruits do not seem to be a fixed percentage.
Tithes
Tithing was required on flocks: "every tenth animal that passes under the shepherd's rod"3 (Lev. 27:32). Was this in addition to the firstlings, or was it instead of firstlings? We do not know exactly how these laws would be administered. It is not necessary for us to take a position on these details.
"A tithe of everything from the land, whether grain from the soil or fruit from the trees, belongs to the Lord; it is holy to the Lord" (Lev. 27:30).4 The tithes and firstfruits belonged to God, and he gave them to the Levites (Num. 18:12-13, 21, 24). They could keep 90 percent of what they were given, but had to give 10 percent as an offering (verses 26-32).
Tithing was done in the days of Hezekiah (2 Chr. 31:5-6), Nehemiah (Neh. 10:35-39; 12:44) and Jesus (Matt. 23:23; Luke 11:42). In Malachi's day, tithing was required (Mal. 3:8-10), and physical blessings were promised for obedience, just as physical blessings were promised for obedience to the old covenant.
Additional tithes?
God gave the tithes to the Levites, but the people could eat their tithes during festivals (Deut. 12:5-7, 17-19; 14:23). Some have drawn the conclusion that Deuteronomy is talking about an additional tithe, a festival tithe.5 The people needed a tithe for the festivals, since the festivals constituted about 5 percent of the year, plus travel time. During sabbatical years, farmers would not have their regular income, so they may not have been able to go to every festival in every year. Or perhaps they saved the festival tithe from year to year.
At the end of every three years of farming, the Israelites were to set aside a tithe for the Levites, resident aliens, orphans and widows (Deut. 14:28-29; 26:12-15). It is not clear whether this was an alternative use of a previous tithe, or an additional tithe.6 Evidence in favor of the latter is that Deut. 14:28-29 does not mention any firstlings or other offerings. This suggests that it is not in the same category as the other tithes, but was an additional tithe.
Tithing in the new covenant
Now let us consider whether tithing is required in the new covenant. Tithing is mentioned only three or four times in the New Testament. Jesus acknowledged that the Pharisees were very careful about tithing (Luke 18:12), and he said that they should not leave it undone (Matt. 23:23; Luke 11:42). Tithing, like other old covenant rules and rituals, was a law at the time Jesus spoke. Jesus criticized the Pharisees not for tithing, but for treating tithing as more important than mercy, love, justice and faithfulness.
The only other New Testament mention of tithing is in Hebrews. The fact that Abraham was blessed by and paid tithes to Melchizedek illustrates the superiority of Melchizedek and Jesus Christ over the Levitical priesthood (Heb. 7:1-10). The passage then goes on to note that "when there is a change of the priesthood, there must also be a change of the law" (verse 12).
There was a change of the priesthood from the Levites to Jesus Christ, and this implies a change in the law that assigned the Levites to be priests. How much has been changed? Hebrews says that the old covenant is obsolete. The package of laws that commanded tithes to be given to the Levites is obsolete.
Humans should honor God by voluntarily returning some of the blessings he gives them — this is still a valid principle. The only place that a percentage is required is within the old covenant. There is good precedent for tithing before Sinai, but no proof that it was required.
Responding to the better covenant
Under the old covenant, tithing was required for the support of the old covenant ministers. The Israelites were required to give 10 percent — and their blessing was only a physical one! Christians in the new covenant have much better blessings — spiritual ones. How much more willingly ought we to give in thankfulness for the eternal blessings we have in Christ Jesus?
The Israelites were commanded to give 10 percent under a covenant that could not make them perfect (Heb. 7:19; 9:9). How much more joyfully should we give to God under the new covenant? We have the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, which does cleanse our conscience (9:14). And yet it seems that in America today, even though we have so much more than the Israelites did, people give on average less than half the percentage the Israelites did. Many people today give less to the church than they spend on luxury items. Some people simply cannot give very much, but many people could if they wanted to. God calls on us to examine ourselves, to examine our priorities, and to be generous.
The old covenant gave us condemnation; the new covenant gives us justification and peace with God. How much more should we be willing to give freely and generously so God's work can be done in the world — to proclaim the gospel, to declare the new covenant ministry that gives us true life, and gives that message of life to others?
A person who has faith in Jesus Christ does not worry about whether tithing is commanded in the New Testament. A person who is transformed by Christ to be more like Christ is generous. Such a person wants to give as much as possible to support the gospel and to support needy members. Christians should give generously — but giving is a result of their relationship with God, not a way to earn it. We are given grace through faith, not through tithing.
Some people act as if Christ liberates us from the law so that we can keep more for ourselves. That is false — he liberates us from the penalty of the law so that we can be free to serve him more, as loving children and not merely as slaves. He frees us so we can have faith instead of selfishness.
When it comes to money, the real question is, Is your heart in the gospel of Jesus Christ? Are you putting your money where your heart is? You can tell where your heart is by seeing where you are putting your money. "Where you treasure is, there will your heart be also," Jesus said (Matthew 6:21).
Needs in the new covenant ministry
In the new covenant church, there are financial needs — to support the poor, and to support the gospel by supporting those who preach it. Christians are obligated to give financial support for these needs. Let's see how Paul explained this obligation in his second letter to the Corinthians.
Paul describes himself as a minister of the new covenant (2 Cor. 3:6), which has much greater glory than the old (verse 8). Because of what Christ did for him in the new covenant, Christ's love compelled Paul to preach the gospel, the message of reconciliation (2 Cor. 5:11-21).
Paul exhorted the Corinthians "not to receive God's grace in vain" (6:1). How were they in danger of doing this? Paul had gone out of his way to serve them, but they were withholding their affections from him (6:3-12). He asked them for a fair exchange, for them to open their hearts to him (6:13).
Paul told the Corinthians that they had a duty to give something in response to what they had been given. This response comes in terms of morality (6:14-7:1), which the Corinthians had done (7:8-13), and in terms of affection, which the Corinthians had also done (7:2-7), and in financial generosity, which Paul addresses in chapter 8. This is the way in which the Corinthians had closed their hearts to Paul and withheld their affections.
Paul cited the example of the Macedonian churches, who had given generously, even to the point of self-sacrifice (8:1-5). The example is powerful; the implications are strong that the Corinthians needed to respond to Paul's sacrifices by making sacrifices themselves. But Paul did not make a command (8:8). Instead, he asked first for a turning of the heart. He wanted the Corinthians to give themselves to the Lord first, and then to support Paul. He wanted their gift to be done in sincere love, not from compulsion (8:5, 8). Paul reminded them that Christ had become poor for their sakes; the implication is that the Corinthians should make financial sacrifices in return.
But then Paul reduced the pressure, reminding the Corinthians that they could not give more than they had (8:12). Nor did they have to impoverish themselves to enrich others; Paul was only aiming for equity (8:13-14). Paul again expressed confidence in their willingness to give, and added the peer pressure of the Macedonian example and the boasting he had done in Macedonia about the generosity of the Corinthians (8:24-9:5).
Paul again noted that the offering must be done willingly, not from compulsion or given grudgingly (9:5, 7). He reminded them that God rewards generosity (9:6-11) and that a good example causes people to praise God and puts the gospel in a favorable setting (9:12-14).
This was a collection for the poor in Judea. But Paul said nothing about tithing. Rather, he appealed to the new covenant environment: Christ had made many sacrifices for them, so they ought to be willing to make a few sacrifices to help one another.
In asking for this offering, Paul was also making a financial sacrifice. He had a right to receive financial support himself, but instead of that, he was asking that the offering be given to others. Paul had not asked for any financial support from Corinth (11:7-11; 12:13-16). Instead, he had been supported by Macedonians (11:9).
Paul had a right to be supported by the Corinthians, but he did not use it (1 Cor. 9:3-15). This passage in Paul's first letter tells us more about our Christian duty to give financial support to the gospel. Workers should be able to receive benefits of their work (9:7). The old covenant even made provision for oxen to be given benefits of their work (9:9).
Throughout his appeal, Paul does not cite any laws of tithing. He says that priests received benefits from their work in the temple (9:13), but he does not cite any percentage. Their example is cited in the same way as the example of soldiers, vineyard workers, herdsmen, oxen, plowers and threshers. It is simply a general principle. As Jesus said, "The worker deserves his wages" (Luke 10:7). Paul cited the oxen and wages scriptures again in 1 Timothy 5:17-18. Elders, especially those who preach and teach, should be honored financially as well as with respect.
Jesus also commanded, "those who preach the gospel should receive their living from the gospel" (1 Cor. 9:14). This implies that those who believe should provide a living for some who preach. There is a financial duty, and there is a promised reward for generosity (though that reward may not necessarily be physical or financial).
A need to be generous
Christians have received riches of God's grace, and are to respond with generosity and giving. Christians are called to a life of service, sharing and stewardship. We have an obligation to do good. When we give ourselves to the Lord, we will give generously. Jesus often taught about money.
"Sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me," said Jesus to a rich man (Luke 18:22). He said the same thing to his disciples (12:33). The new covenant demands all that we have, and that is fair, since Jesus gave all he had for us. He praised a widow who put two coins into the temple treasury, because she gave "all she had" (21:2).
Wealth is often an enemy of faith. It can "choke" people and cause them to be spiritually unfruitful (8:14). "Woe to you who are rich," Jesus warned (6:24). He warned us about the dangers of greed (12:15) and warned about the danger of storing up wealth for self without being "rich toward God" (12:16-21). When we use wealth to help others, we gain "treasure in heaven" (12:33). This helps us have our heart in heavenly things instead of earthly, temporary things (12:34).
"No servant can serve two masters.... You cannot serve both God and money" (16:13). But money competes for our allegiance; it tempts us to seek our own desires rather than the needs of the kingdom. After the rich man went away sad, Jesus exclaimed: "How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God! Indeed, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom" (18:24-25).
Conclusion
Christians have a need to give, to share their resources and blessings with others. They have a duty to support the preaching of the gospel, to give financial support to their spiritual leaders, and the church needs this support. If disciples of Jesus Christ can give, but do not, they are falling short.
The old covenant required 10 percent. The new covenant does not specify a percentage, nor do we. However, the new covenant admonishes people to give what they can, and tithing still provides an instructive comparison. For some people, 10 percent may be too much. But some will be able to give more, and some are doing so. Christians should examine their own circumstances and the better blessings they have been given in the new covenant through the atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ for us and the gift of the Holy Spirit to us. Contributions should be given to the church for its collective work of preaching the gospel and the expenses involved in the local ministry and congregational needs.
Likewise, the new covenant does not specify any particular percentage for assisting the poor. Instead, it asks for equity — and we certainly have room for improvement in this duty.
The old covenant required simple percentages. Everyone knew how much was required. The new covenant has no set percentages. Instead, it requires more soul-searching, more training for the conscience, more selfless love for others, more faith, more voluntary sacrifice and less compulsion. It tests our values, what we treasure most, and where our hearts are
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Does the Bible tell us to pay at least 10 percent of our incomes to the church? This paper examines the biblical evidence.
Abraham and Jacob
The first biblical mention of tithing is in Genesis 14. After four Mesopotamian kings had taken Lot captive, Abraham attacked them and recovered all the booty. After his victory, the king of Sodom came out to meet him, and so did Melchizedek, a priest of God. Melchizedek blessed Abraham, and then Abraham "gave him a tenth of everything" (Gen. 14:20).
The text does not tell us whether Abraham had ever tithed before, or ever tithed afterwards. But it does show that Abraham was generous. He gave the rest of his booty to the king of Sodom (verses 23-24). Abraham kept all of God's laws that were relevant in his day (Gen. 26:5), but Genesis does not tell us whether tithing was a law in Abraham's day. Many of God's decrees and requirements were built around the nation of Israel and the Levitical priesthood and tabernacle. Abraham could not have kept such decrees and laws. He may have tithed regularly, but we cannot prove it.
The next mention of tithing is in Genesis 28:20-22. Jacob had a miraculous dream at Bethel. In the morning, Jacob vowed to tithe if God helped him during his journey. He was trying to make a bargain with God. He wanted special help, and in return for that help, he was willing to worship God, and to tithe as a part of that worship. Tithing may have been part of the common worship practices of that time and culture.
Biblical commands about tithing generally concern grain, wine and oil.1 A different system of giving was required for some animals. In the last plague on Egypt, God killed the firstborn male of every animal and human, but he spared the Israelites and their animals. Therefore, God claimed ownership of every Israelite firstborn and firstling male animal (Ex. 13:2; Num. 3:13).
This applied not only to the generation that left Egypt,2 but every future generation as well. Clean firstlings were to be given to the priests and sacrificed (Num. 18:15-17); priests and people ate them during the festivals (Deut. 15:19-20; 12:6, 17; 14:23). Unclean animals and humans were to be redeemed (Ex. 13:12-15; 34:19-20). This continued to be the law in Nehemiah's day (Neh. 10:36) and in Jesus' day (Luke 2:23).
The people also gave firstfruits of their harvest (Ex. 23:19; 34:26; Lev. 2:14), but these firstfruits do not seem to be a fixed percentage.
Tithes
Tithing was required on flocks: "every tenth animal that passes under the shepherd's rod"3 (Lev. 27:32). Was this in addition to the firstlings, or was it instead of firstlings? We do not know exactly how these laws would be administered. It is not necessary for us to take a position on these details.
"A tithe of everything from the land, whether grain from the soil or fruit from the trees, belongs to the Lord; it is holy to the Lord" (Lev. 27:30).4 The tithes and firstfruits belonged to God, and he gave them to the Levites (Num. 18:12-13, 21, 24). They could keep 90 percent of what they were given, but had to give 10 percent as an offering (verses 26-32).
Tithing was done in the days of Hezekiah (2 Chr. 31:5-6), Nehemiah (Neh. 10:35-39; 12:44) and Jesus (Matt. 23:23; Luke 11:42). In Malachi's day, tithing was required (Mal. 3:8-10), and physical blessings were promised for obedience, just as physical blessings were promised for obedience to the old covenant.
Additional tithes?
God gave the tithes to the Levites, but the people could eat their tithes during festivals (Deut. 12:5-7, 17-19; 14:23). Some have drawn the conclusion that Deuteronomy is talking about an additional tithe, a festival tithe.5 The people needed a tithe for the festivals, since the festivals constituted about 5 percent of the year, plus travel time. During sabbatical years, farmers would not have their regular income, so they may not have been able to go to every festival in every year. Or perhaps they saved the festival tithe from year to year.
At the end of every three years of farming, the Israelites were to set aside a tithe for the Levites, resident aliens, orphans and widows (Deut. 14:28-29; 26:12-15). It is not clear whether this was an alternative use of a previous tithe, or an additional tithe.6 Evidence in favor of the latter is that Deut. 14:28-29 does not mention any firstlings or other offerings. This suggests that it is not in the same category as the other tithes, but was an additional tithe.
Tithing in the new covenant
Now let us consider whether tithing is required in the new covenant. Tithing is mentioned only three or four times in the New Testament. Jesus acknowledged that the Pharisees were very careful about tithing (Luke 18:12), and he said that they should not leave it undone (Matt. 23:23; Luke 11:42). Tithing, like other old covenant rules and rituals, was a law at the time Jesus spoke. Jesus criticized the Pharisees not for tithing, but for treating tithing as more important than mercy, love, justice and faithfulness.
The only other New Testament mention of tithing is in Hebrews. The fact that Abraham was blessed by and paid tithes to Melchizedek illustrates the superiority of Melchizedek and Jesus Christ over the Levitical priesthood (Heb. 7:1-10). The passage then goes on to note that "when there is a change of the priesthood, there must also be a change of the law" (verse 12).
There was a change of the priesthood from the Levites to Jesus Christ, and this implies a change in the law that assigned the Levites to be priests. How much has been changed? Hebrews says that the old covenant is obsolete. The package of laws that commanded tithes to be given to the Levites is obsolete.
Humans should honor God by voluntarily returning some of the blessings he gives them — this is still a valid principle. The only place that a percentage is required is within the old covenant. There is good precedent for tithing before Sinai, but no proof that it was required.
Responding to the better covenant
Under the old covenant, tithing was required for the support of the old covenant ministers. The Israelites were required to give 10 percent — and their blessing was only a physical one! Christians in the new covenant have much better blessings — spiritual ones. How much more willingly ought we to give in thankfulness for the eternal blessings we have in Christ Jesus?
The Israelites were commanded to give 10 percent under a covenant that could not make them perfect (Heb. 7:19; 9:9). How much more joyfully should we give to God under the new covenant? We have the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, which does cleanse our conscience (9:14). And yet it seems that in America today, even though we have so much more than the Israelites did, people give on average less than half the percentage the Israelites did. Many people today give less to the church than they spend on luxury items. Some people simply cannot give very much, but many people could if they wanted to. God calls on us to examine ourselves, to examine our priorities, and to be generous.
The old covenant gave us condemnation; the new covenant gives us justification and peace with God. How much more should we be willing to give freely and generously so God's work can be done in the world — to proclaim the gospel, to declare the new covenant ministry that gives us true life, and gives that message of life to others?
A person who has faith in Jesus Christ does not worry about whether tithing is commanded in the New Testament. A person who is transformed by Christ to be more like Christ is generous. Such a person wants to give as much as possible to support the gospel and to support needy members. Christians should give generously — but giving is a result of their relationship with God, not a way to earn it. We are given grace through faith, not through tithing.
Some people act as if Christ liberates us from the law so that we can keep more for ourselves. That is false — he liberates us from the penalty of the law so that we can be free to serve him more, as loving children and not merely as slaves. He frees us so we can have faith instead of selfishness.
When it comes to money, the real question is, Is your heart in the gospel of Jesus Christ? Are you putting your money where your heart is? You can tell where your heart is by seeing where you are putting your money. "Where you treasure is, there will your heart be also," Jesus said (Matthew 6:21).
Needs in the new covenant ministry
In the new covenant church, there are financial needs — to support the poor, and to support the gospel by supporting those who preach it. Christians are obligated to give financial support for these needs. Let's see how Paul explained this obligation in his second letter to the Corinthians.
Paul describes himself as a minister of the new covenant (2 Cor. 3:6), which has much greater glory than the old (verse 8). Because of what Christ did for him in the new covenant, Christ's love compelled Paul to preach the gospel, the message of reconciliation (2 Cor. 5:11-21).
Paul exhorted the Corinthians "not to receive God's grace in vain" (6:1). How were they in danger of doing this? Paul had gone out of his way to serve them, but they were withholding their affections from him (6:3-12). He asked them for a fair exchange, for them to open their hearts to him (6:13).
Paul told the Corinthians that they had a duty to give something in response to what they had been given. This response comes in terms of morality (6:14-7:1), which the Corinthians had done (7:8-13), and in terms of affection, which the Corinthians had also done (7:2-7), and in financial generosity, which Paul addresses in chapter 8. This is the way in which the Corinthians had closed their hearts to Paul and withheld their affections.
Paul cited the example of the Macedonian churches, who had given generously, even to the point of self-sacrifice (8:1-5). The example is powerful; the implications are strong that the Corinthians needed to respond to Paul's sacrifices by making sacrifices themselves. But Paul did not make a command (8:8). Instead, he asked first for a turning of the heart. He wanted the Corinthians to give themselves to the Lord first, and then to support Paul. He wanted their gift to be done in sincere love, not from compulsion (8:5, 8). Paul reminded them that Christ had become poor for their sakes; the implication is that the Corinthians should make financial sacrifices in return.
But then Paul reduced the pressure, reminding the Corinthians that they could not give more than they had (8:12). Nor did they have to impoverish themselves to enrich others; Paul was only aiming for equity (8:13-14). Paul again expressed confidence in their willingness to give, and added the peer pressure of the Macedonian example and the boasting he had done in Macedonia about the generosity of the Corinthians (8:24-9:5).
Paul again noted that the offering must be done willingly, not from compulsion or given grudgingly (9:5, 7). He reminded them that God rewards generosity (9:6-11) and that a good example causes people to praise God and puts the gospel in a favorable setting (9:12-14).
This was a collection for the poor in Judea. But Paul said nothing about tithing. Rather, he appealed to the new covenant environment: Christ had made many sacrifices for them, so they ought to be willing to make a few sacrifices to help one another.
In asking for this offering, Paul was also making a financial sacrifice. He had a right to receive financial support himself, but instead of that, he was asking that the offering be given to others. Paul had not asked for any financial support from Corinth (11:7-11; 12:13-16). Instead, he had been supported by Macedonians (11:9).
Paul had a right to be supported by the Corinthians, but he did not use it (1 Cor. 9:3-15). This passage in Paul's first letter tells us more about our Christian duty to give financial support to the gospel. Workers should be able to receive benefits of their work (9:7). The old covenant even made provision for oxen to be given benefits of their work (9:9).
Throughout his appeal, Paul does not cite any laws of tithing. He says that priests received benefits from their work in the temple (9:13), but he does not cite any percentage. Their example is cited in the same way as the example of soldiers, vineyard workers, herdsmen, oxen, plowers and threshers. It is simply a general principle. As Jesus said, "The worker deserves his wages" (Luke 10:7). Paul cited the oxen and wages scriptures again in 1 Timothy 5:17-18. Elders, especially those who preach and teach, should be honored financially as well as with respect.
Jesus also commanded, "those who preach the gospel should receive their living from the gospel" (1 Cor. 9:14). This implies that those who believe should provide a living for some who preach. There is a financial duty, and there is a promised reward for generosity (though that reward may not necessarily be physical or financial).
A need to be generous
Christians have received riches of God's grace, and are to respond with generosity and giving. Christians are called to a life of service, sharing and stewardship. We have an obligation to do good. When we give ourselves to the Lord, we will give generously. Jesus often taught about money.
"Sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me," said Jesus to a rich man (Luke 18:22). He said the same thing to his disciples (12:33). The new covenant demands all that we have, and that is fair, since Jesus gave all he had for us. He praised a widow who put two coins into the temple treasury, because she gave "all she had" (21:2).
Wealth is often an enemy of faith. It can "choke" people and cause them to be spiritually unfruitful (8:14). "Woe to you who are rich," Jesus warned (6:24). He warned us about the dangers of greed (12:15) and warned about the danger of storing up wealth for self without being "rich toward God" (12:16-21). When we use wealth to help others, we gain "treasure in heaven" (12:33). This helps us have our heart in heavenly things instead of earthly, temporary things (12:34).
"No servant can serve two masters.... You cannot serve both God and money" (16:13). But money competes for our allegiance; it tempts us to seek our own desires rather than the needs of the kingdom. After the rich man went away sad, Jesus exclaimed: "How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God! Indeed, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom" (18:24-25).
Conclusion
Christians have a need to give, to share their resources and blessings with others. They have a duty to support the preaching of the gospel, to give financial support to their spiritual leaders, and the church needs this support. If disciples of Jesus Christ can give, but do not, they are falling short.
The old covenant required 10 percent. The new covenant does not specify a percentage, nor do we. However, the new covenant admonishes people to give what they can, and tithing still provides an instructive comparison. For some people, 10 percent may be too much. But some will be able to give more, and some are doing so. Christians should examine their own circumstances and the better blessings they have been given in the new covenant through the atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ for us and the gift of the Holy Spirit to us. Contributions should be given to the church for its collective work of preaching the gospel and the expenses involved in the local ministry and congregational needs.
Likewise, the new covenant does not specify any particular percentage for assisting the poor. Instead, it asks for equity — and we certainly have room for improvement in this duty.
The old covenant required simple percentages. Everyone knew how much was required. The new covenant has no set percentages. Instead, it requires more soul-searching, more training for the conscience, more selfless love for others, more faith, more voluntary sacrifice and less compulsion. It tests our values, what we treasure most, and where our hearts are
The Law and the Spirit
In chapter one we saw that the Sinai law, or law of Moses, was God’s covenant with ancient Israel and not with the church. We saw that it served a vital purpose in God’s plan, and that God designed it to fade when Jesus Christ, whom it foretold and pointed toward, arrived. In this chapter, we will look at the connection between the Sinai law and the law of Christ.
Under a new law
According to the apostle Paul, Christians are not under the Sinai law (Romans 6:14). But what does it mean not to be under the law? Does it mean we ought to sin? “By no means!” Paul answers (v. 15).
Paul is explaining that we have now been made one with Christ, and as such, we now serve God in a new way—the way of the Spirit—not in the old way of the written code (Romans 7:4-6). We are now under a “new law”—the law of Christ (1 Corinthians 9:21; 1 John 2:3; John 6:28-29; Hebrews 13:21).
The law of Moses—the law given to Israel at Sinai, including the Ten Commandments—was given on the basis of the Levitical priesthood (Hebrews 7:11). When Christ came as High Priest forever, he superseded the Levitical priesthood, and with it, the law that was based on it (v. 12). He established a new priesthood, and the law that is based on this new priesthood is the law of Christ (1 John 2:3; 3:21-24; 4:13-21).
Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 9:20 that he was not under the law, referring to the Sinai law. But the fact that he was not under the Sinai law did not mean he was not under God’s law, since he was under Christ’s law (v. 21).
The Sinai law, which was indeed God’s law, has been transcended and superseded by Christ’s law, which is also God’s law. The Sinai law, the law of Moses, was God’s law for Israel until Christ came (Galatians 3:24-25). Then, just as God planned, when Christ came, Christ’s law became the law for all peoples. The temporary was replaced, right on schedule, by the permanent.
Exposed as sinners
The Sinai law exposed everyone as sinners (Romans 3:19-20). When Jesus came, it was God’s time for sin to be defeated (Hebrews 9:26). That cannot be done by a set of regulations. It can be done only by God. And that is what God has done in Christ (Romans 3:21-26).
In Christ, God became human. He, while remaining sinless and guiltless, took our sin and guilt upon himself, died, and was raised in glory.
That changed everything. Now it is clear to those who believe Jesus’ message that God’s purpose all along was to open the door of his kingdom to all humans. He has done what no mere human could do and what the law of Moses could not do—he has broken down the impossible barrier between himself and sinful humans.
Now humans are able to accept the invitation to go through that door—to make the decision of faith—to believe that Jesus is the Son of God and that trusting and following him is the most important thing in the world (Romans 3:21-22).
The law of Christ
It would be a great mistake to think that the law of Christ is simply a substitution of one set of regulations for another. The law of Christ is not a codified set of regulations, though the New Testament does give us clear descriptions of the kind of conduct that is characteristic of those who are under the law of Christ (Galatians 5:22-26; 6:2; Ephesians 4:20-6:20; Philippians 2:1-18; Colossians 3:1-4:6; etc.).
Far beyond any mere set of rules, the law of Christ constitutes a complete reordering of life, a total change of heart, mind, intent and purpose—a change brought about by the Holy Spirit at work in us. The law of Christ is identical with the law of God, and it is what the law of Moses, which was temporary, always pointed toward (Romans 3:21-22; 1 Pet. 1:10-11; John 5:39-40, 45-46; Luke 24:44-47).
The law of Christ, which is also the law of God (1 Corinthians 9:20-21), can be summarized by two overarching commands: “And this is his command: to believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and to love one another as he commanded us” (1 John 3:23).
Greatest commandment
By obeying the law of Christ, which again, is identical with the law of God, we are fulfilling what Jesus called the “greatest commandments” of the law of Moses. Jesus was asked, “‘Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the law?’ Jesus replied: ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments” (Matthew 22:36-40).
Jesus said that when we put our faith in him, we are demonstrating our love for the Father (John 5:23; 8:42), which fulfills the first of the two greatest commandments of the law of Moses. When we obey Jesus’ command to love one another (John 13:34-35; 15:12, 17), we are fulfilling the second of the two greatest commandments of the law of Moses.
But there is much more to the law of Christ. If it were simply a matter of doing these things on our own, we would surely fail, as we do not have what it takes.
Remaining in Christ
Under the law of Christ, when we obey Jesus’ commands by putting our belief and confidence in him, the Holy Spirit comes to make his home in us (John 14:15-17, 21). When the Holy Spirit lives in us, the Father and the Son are also living in us (v. 23), because God is one.
As we remain in Christ, the true “vine,” we bear fruit, but only because we are in him (John 15:1-8). It is for this reason that Paul is able to say: “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death. For what the law was powerless to do in that it was weakened by the sinful nature, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful man to be a sin offering. And so he condemned sin in sinful man, in order that the righteous requirements of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the sinful nature but according to the Spirit” (Romans 8:1-4).
Righteousness apart from law
To the church at Rome, Paul declared boldly: “But now, apart from law, the righteousness of God has been disclosed, and is attested by the law and the prophets” (Romans 3:21). Because we are in Christ, God not only forgives our sins, he also provides the righteousness believers need—his own righteousness—and it is a righteousness that does not come from observing the Sinai law. It is a God-given righteousness—a righteousness that comes only by faith in God’s own Son, something Paul says the Old Testament Scriptures had actually been declaring from the beginning.
Paul continued, “This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe” (v. 22). Once Jesus came, the real meaning of all the Scriptures was revealed—salvation comes to humans only by faith in Jesus. The law of Moses proved everyone sinners; in Christ everyone who believes is saved, and saved apart from that law.
In short, we are saved because God is righteous, not because we are righteous. God’s righteousness, his faithfulness to his covenant promise to Abraham, was attested to by the Law and Prophets (the Old Testament) and has been made fully manifest in Jesus’ death and resurrection. God’s righteousness, his covenant faithfulness, transforms us sinners into his own forgiven and redeemed children through faith in Jesus Christ.
Christ is our righteousness—he is our wisdom, our holiness, our redemption and our righteousness (1 Corinthians 1:30). This righteousness, which alone is true righteousness, is not our own, but God’s, and it comes only from God and only by faith (Philippians 3:9).
You see, what Paul wrote in Romans 3:28 is not negated by what he wrote in verse 31. Paul is not contradicting himself. In verse 28 he wrote: “For we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from observing the law.” In verse 31 he wrote: “Do we, then, nullify the law by this faith? Not at all! Rather, we uphold the law.”
Paul means what he says. We are not made righteous by keeping the law given at Sinai. We are made righteous only by faith in Christ. When Christ came, the purpose of the Sinai law was achieved. “Christ is the end of the law so that there may be righteousness for everyone who believes” (Romans 10:4).
Christ was the fulfillment of the Sinai law. He was its goal, its end, its purpose. By God’s design, that law was preparing Israel for Christ, and through Israel the whole world was being prepared for Christ. But the Jews Paul was writing about retained the Sinai law, and in so doing, they had no room for accepting Christ. In rejecting Christ, they entirely missed the point of what Jesus called “their law” (John 15:25).
The law and the Spirit
The Sinai law served to condemn human rebellion against God—but through God’s own loving initiative in Jesus Christ, the Spirit is now at work to transform rebellious hearts into faithful hearts (Romans 5:20-21). The law of Christ commands a life of faith in Christ that is led by the Spirit—a life confident of God’s gracious love toward us and marked by self-sacrificial love toward God and fellow humans (1 John 3:21-24).
Believers are under the law of Christ, under the Spirit—not under the Sinai law—and as such they are not considered sinners, because the Spirit makes believers into children of God, people in whom God lives, and who love with God’s love. “Blessed is the man whose sin the Lord will never count against him,” Paul recites in regard to believers (see Romans 5:4-8).
Many people find that too hard to believe. They ask: “Why would God just ‘count’ believers righteous, even though they still sin? Why would he simply not count their sins against them? God doesn’t just pretend we are righteous. Surely there is something I must do. Surely I must stop sinning before God will count me righteous.”
But that is just Paul’s point. If we can be righteous ourselves, then we do not need God. Yet the real state of things is that we cannot be righteous ourselves, and we do need God. Alone, we are pitiful, wretched and hopeless sinners. Only God can make us righteous, and he loves us so much that he has taken the steps to do just that. He does it because he is good. He does it by his grace, not because we deserve it, because we don’t. We have no righteousness of our own, and the only pathway to God’s righteousness is through faith in Christ. By his grace through faith in Christ, God forgives our sins and imputes Jesus’ righteousness to us.
Faith in the promise
Paul’s letter to the Galatians is strong. He knew that if they listened to the so-called Judaizers and placed themselves under the Sinai law, they were choosing not to have faith in Christ (Galatians 5:2-3). They would be rejecting Christ and the law of Christ. They would be missing the central point of the now-faded law of Moses.
As Jesus had said, if the Jews had believed Moses, they would have believed Jesus, because the law of Moses was designed deliberately to declare his coming (John 5:46-47; Luke 24:45-46). The Mosaic law was in force for a specific period of time, from Sinai till Christ.
When Christ appeared, everything for which God had been preparing the world was revealed. When Christ was raised from the dead, everything God had promised Israel was fulfilled (Acts 13:32). Even the promises God gave to David were designed to be fulfilled by the resurrection of Jesus (v. 34). This astounding mystery of the ages was revealed—yet many of those who had the law chose to reject what God was revealing (vs. 38-41).
Not by the law
God wants his people to love like he loves, not merely to conform to standards of conduct and rituals of separation. Jesus repeatedly condemned those who conformed to the letter of the law but whose hearts were without the love of God.
God wants us to have a new heart, a heart of belief, a heart in which the Spirit dwells. Only the Holy Spirit produces God’s love in us (Romans 5:5) and enables us to keep the law of Christ (1 John 3:21-24). The Spirit comes only by belief. The Spirit does not come by keeping the law (Galatians 3:2-5). That is why Paul teaches that the Sinai law must step aside to make room for the new way of the Spirit, the way of the law of Christ.
Some have misunderstood Acts 5:32 (“We are witnesses of these things, and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey him.”) to mean that God gives his Spirit only to those who keep the Sinai law. As we have just seen in Galatians 3:2-5, however, we do not receive the Spirit by observing the law. We receive the Spirit only by faith in Jesus Christ. And that is precisely the point Peter made in Acts 5:32.
Peter was replying to orders of the Jewish council not to preach in Jesus’ name. Peter declared that Jesus’ disciples must obey God, who commanded them to preach faith in Jesus, and not people who order them to stop (vs. 27-31). The obedience Peter is referring to is not obedience to the Sinai law, but obedience to the new thing God had done in sending his Son so that whoever believes in him would not perish, but have everlasting life.
New heart needed
Many people are good at keeping certain rules. But if the love of God is not in their hearts, then their success at keeping rules has a way of turning their hearts rancid. Without God’s love, they turn into sharp-eyed judges of the failings of others. They become prideful and arrogant, and begin to get the idea that the kingdom of God is meant only for them, “the obedient ones,” and not for sinners. They begin to see themselves as better than sinners.
The better they keep the rules, the more and more obscure their own sinfulness becomes to them. Their own need for a Savior becomes less plain, and they begin to imagine a great spiritual rift between themselves and ordinary people. (If you have been a Christian for long, you have probably experienced that tendency in yourself from time to time. I suspect we all do.)
Led by the Spirit
When the love of God penetrates the heart, however, believers find two remarkable things happening at once. First, they are pleasantly surprised to realize that it is beginning to feel somewhat natural to desire the things of God. Second, they are chagrined and grieved to begin to notice the seemingly hopeless extent of the twisted network of hidden wickedness in their hearts.
That is because the Spirit is at work. The Spirit, through the law of Christ, is rewiring us, so to speak, so that we begin to appreciate and love the things God loves. At the same time, the opposite side of the same coin you might say, he begins to illuminate the dark corners of our hearts, so we can see in God’s light what is really going on in there.
The struggle is on. The believer is a citizen of the eternal kingdom, and as such, he or she walks with Christ with a keen sense of being in need of God’s inexhaustible mercy and grace. But he or she also begins to sense the presence of the limitless power of Christ to give help in forsaking the selfish and hateful ways of the former life. New, godly habits begin to form, and old, ungodly habits begin to fade.
Taught by Christ
We are learning to walk in the divine love God has given us. The Teacher, of course, is Christ. That is what it means to be Christ’s disciples. It means to be his students.
Christ is also the living Word of God. The Holy Spirit has inspired the Bible to be an indispensable means of communicating the inner life of Christ to us. That is why Christians make Bible reading, study and meditation a central part of their daily lives.
As we read the Bible, asking God to bless our understanding and to help us hear his voice for us, God teaches us, rebukes us, corrects us, trains us in righteousness and equips us for every good work (2 Timothy 3:16-17). Through this means and others, including the Lord’s Supper (John 6:53-57) and through the faithful teaching of church leaders (Ephesians 4:11-16), God continually leads us into an ever deepening communion with him.
Motivated by grace
Paul knew that the grace of God, when we accept it, is effective in motivating us toward a godly life in ways the law of Moses could never be. He wrote these words to Titus: “For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men. It teaches us to say ‘No’ to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, while we wait for the blessed hope—the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good” (Titus 2:11-14).
Sabbath fulfilled in Christ
We have seen that Christians are not under the law given at Mount Sinai, which was a temporary expression of the law of God for Israel until Christ came, but rather are under the law of Christ, which is the law of God forever.
We have seen that Christians are led by the Holy Spirit, who makes his home in believers and teaches us to live by the Word of God. In chapter three we will look more closely at the Sabbath day and its fulfillment in Jesus Christ.
In chapter one we saw that the Sinai law, or law of Moses, was God’s covenant with ancient Israel and not with the church. We saw that it served a vital purpose in God’s plan, and that God designed it to fade when Jesus Christ, whom it foretold and pointed toward, arrived. In this chapter, we will look at the connection between the Sinai law and the law of Christ.
Under a new law
According to the apostle Paul, Christians are not under the Sinai law (Romans 6:14). But what does it mean not to be under the law? Does it mean we ought to sin? “By no means!” Paul answers (v. 15).
Paul is explaining that we have now been made one with Christ, and as such, we now serve God in a new way—the way of the Spirit—not in the old way of the written code (Romans 7:4-6). We are now under a “new law”—the law of Christ (1 Corinthians 9:21; 1 John 2:3; John 6:28-29; Hebrews 13:21).
The law of Moses—the law given to Israel at Sinai, including the Ten Commandments—was given on the basis of the Levitical priesthood (Hebrews 7:11). When Christ came as High Priest forever, he superseded the Levitical priesthood, and with it, the law that was based on it (v. 12). He established a new priesthood, and the law that is based on this new priesthood is the law of Christ (1 John 2:3; 3:21-24; 4:13-21).
Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 9:20 that he was not under the law, referring to the Sinai law. But the fact that he was not under the Sinai law did not mean he was not under God’s law, since he was under Christ’s law (v. 21).
The Sinai law, which was indeed God’s law, has been transcended and superseded by Christ’s law, which is also God’s law. The Sinai law, the law of Moses, was God’s law for Israel until Christ came (Galatians 3:24-25). Then, just as God planned, when Christ came, Christ’s law became the law for all peoples. The temporary was replaced, right on schedule, by the permanent.
Exposed as sinners
The Sinai law exposed everyone as sinners (Romans 3:19-20). When Jesus came, it was God’s time for sin to be defeated (Hebrews 9:26). That cannot be done by a set of regulations. It can be done only by God. And that is what God has done in Christ (Romans 3:21-26).
In Christ, God became human. He, while remaining sinless and guiltless, took our sin and guilt upon himself, died, and was raised in glory.
That changed everything. Now it is clear to those who believe Jesus’ message that God’s purpose all along was to open the door of his kingdom to all humans. He has done what no mere human could do and what the law of Moses could not do—he has broken down the impossible barrier between himself and sinful humans.
Now humans are able to accept the invitation to go through that door—to make the decision of faith—to believe that Jesus is the Son of God and that trusting and following him is the most important thing in the world (Romans 3:21-22).
The law of Christ
It would be a great mistake to think that the law of Christ is simply a substitution of one set of regulations for another. The law of Christ is not a codified set of regulations, though the New Testament does give us clear descriptions of the kind of conduct that is characteristic of those who are under the law of Christ (Galatians 5:22-26; 6:2; Ephesians 4:20-6:20; Philippians 2:1-18; Colossians 3:1-4:6; etc.).
Far beyond any mere set of rules, the law of Christ constitutes a complete reordering of life, a total change of heart, mind, intent and purpose—a change brought about by the Holy Spirit at work in us. The law of Christ is identical with the law of God, and it is what the law of Moses, which was temporary, always pointed toward (Romans 3:21-22; 1 Pet. 1:10-11; John 5:39-40, 45-46; Luke 24:44-47).
The law of Christ, which is also the law of God (1 Corinthians 9:20-21), can be summarized by two overarching commands: “And this is his command: to believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and to love one another as he commanded us” (1 John 3:23).
Greatest commandment
By obeying the law of Christ, which again, is identical with the law of God, we are fulfilling what Jesus called the “greatest commandments” of the law of Moses. Jesus was asked, “‘Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the law?’ Jesus replied: ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments” (Matthew 22:36-40).
Jesus said that when we put our faith in him, we are demonstrating our love for the Father (John 5:23; 8:42), which fulfills the first of the two greatest commandments of the law of Moses. When we obey Jesus’ command to love one another (John 13:34-35; 15:12, 17), we are fulfilling the second of the two greatest commandments of the law of Moses.
But there is much more to the law of Christ. If it were simply a matter of doing these things on our own, we would surely fail, as we do not have what it takes.
Remaining in Christ
Under the law of Christ, when we obey Jesus’ commands by putting our belief and confidence in him, the Holy Spirit comes to make his home in us (John 14:15-17, 21). When the Holy Spirit lives in us, the Father and the Son are also living in us (v. 23), because God is one.
As we remain in Christ, the true “vine,” we bear fruit, but only because we are in him (John 15:1-8). It is for this reason that Paul is able to say: “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death. For what the law was powerless to do in that it was weakened by the sinful nature, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful man to be a sin offering. And so he condemned sin in sinful man, in order that the righteous requirements of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the sinful nature but according to the Spirit” (Romans 8:1-4).
Righteousness apart from law
To the church at Rome, Paul declared boldly: “But now, apart from law, the righteousness of God has been disclosed, and is attested by the law and the prophets” (Romans 3:21). Because we are in Christ, God not only forgives our sins, he also provides the righteousness believers need—his own righteousness—and it is a righteousness that does not come from observing the Sinai law. It is a God-given righteousness—a righteousness that comes only by faith in God’s own Son, something Paul says the Old Testament Scriptures had actually been declaring from the beginning.
Paul continued, “This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe” (v. 22). Once Jesus came, the real meaning of all the Scriptures was revealed—salvation comes to humans only by faith in Jesus. The law of Moses proved everyone sinners; in Christ everyone who believes is saved, and saved apart from that law.
In short, we are saved because God is righteous, not because we are righteous. God’s righteousness, his faithfulness to his covenant promise to Abraham, was attested to by the Law and Prophets (the Old Testament) and has been made fully manifest in Jesus’ death and resurrection. God’s righteousness, his covenant faithfulness, transforms us sinners into his own forgiven and redeemed children through faith in Jesus Christ.
Christ is our righteousness—he is our wisdom, our holiness, our redemption and our righteousness (1 Corinthians 1:30). This righteousness, which alone is true righteousness, is not our own, but God’s, and it comes only from God and only by faith (Philippians 3:9).
You see, what Paul wrote in Romans 3:28 is not negated by what he wrote in verse 31. Paul is not contradicting himself. In verse 28 he wrote: “For we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from observing the law.” In verse 31 he wrote: “Do we, then, nullify the law by this faith? Not at all! Rather, we uphold the law.”
Paul means what he says. We are not made righteous by keeping the law given at Sinai. We are made righteous only by faith in Christ. When Christ came, the purpose of the Sinai law was achieved. “Christ is the end of the law so that there may be righteousness for everyone who believes” (Romans 10:4).
Christ was the fulfillment of the Sinai law. He was its goal, its end, its purpose. By God’s design, that law was preparing Israel for Christ, and through Israel the whole world was being prepared for Christ. But the Jews Paul was writing about retained the Sinai law, and in so doing, they had no room for accepting Christ. In rejecting Christ, they entirely missed the point of what Jesus called “their law” (John 15:25).
The law and the Spirit
The Sinai law served to condemn human rebellion against God—but through God’s own loving initiative in Jesus Christ, the Spirit is now at work to transform rebellious hearts into faithful hearts (Romans 5:20-21). The law of Christ commands a life of faith in Christ that is led by the Spirit—a life confident of God’s gracious love toward us and marked by self-sacrificial love toward God and fellow humans (1 John 3:21-24).
Believers are under the law of Christ, under the Spirit—not under the Sinai law—and as such they are not considered sinners, because the Spirit makes believers into children of God, people in whom God lives, and who love with God’s love. “Blessed is the man whose sin the Lord will never count against him,” Paul recites in regard to believers (see Romans 5:4-8).
Many people find that too hard to believe. They ask: “Why would God just ‘count’ believers righteous, even though they still sin? Why would he simply not count their sins against them? God doesn’t just pretend we are righteous. Surely there is something I must do. Surely I must stop sinning before God will count me righteous.”
But that is just Paul’s point. If we can be righteous ourselves, then we do not need God. Yet the real state of things is that we cannot be righteous ourselves, and we do need God. Alone, we are pitiful, wretched and hopeless sinners. Only God can make us righteous, and he loves us so much that he has taken the steps to do just that. He does it because he is good. He does it by his grace, not because we deserve it, because we don’t. We have no righteousness of our own, and the only pathway to God’s righteousness is through faith in Christ. By his grace through faith in Christ, God forgives our sins and imputes Jesus’ righteousness to us.
Faith in the promise
Paul’s letter to the Galatians is strong. He knew that if they listened to the so-called Judaizers and placed themselves under the Sinai law, they were choosing not to have faith in Christ (Galatians 5:2-3). They would be rejecting Christ and the law of Christ. They would be missing the central point of the now-faded law of Moses.
As Jesus had said, if the Jews had believed Moses, they would have believed Jesus, because the law of Moses was designed deliberately to declare his coming (John 5:46-47; Luke 24:45-46). The Mosaic law was in force for a specific period of time, from Sinai till Christ.
When Christ appeared, everything for which God had been preparing the world was revealed. When Christ was raised from the dead, everything God had promised Israel was fulfilled (Acts 13:32). Even the promises God gave to David were designed to be fulfilled by the resurrection of Jesus (v. 34). This astounding mystery of the ages was revealed—yet many of those who had the law chose to reject what God was revealing (vs. 38-41).
Not by the law
God wants his people to love like he loves, not merely to conform to standards of conduct and rituals of separation. Jesus repeatedly condemned those who conformed to the letter of the law but whose hearts were without the love of God.
God wants us to have a new heart, a heart of belief, a heart in which the Spirit dwells. Only the Holy Spirit produces God’s love in us (Romans 5:5) and enables us to keep the law of Christ (1 John 3:21-24). The Spirit comes only by belief. The Spirit does not come by keeping the law (Galatians 3:2-5). That is why Paul teaches that the Sinai law must step aside to make room for the new way of the Spirit, the way of the law of Christ.
Some have misunderstood Acts 5:32 (“We are witnesses of these things, and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey him.”) to mean that God gives his Spirit only to those who keep the Sinai law. As we have just seen in Galatians 3:2-5, however, we do not receive the Spirit by observing the law. We receive the Spirit only by faith in Jesus Christ. And that is precisely the point Peter made in Acts 5:32.
Peter was replying to orders of the Jewish council not to preach in Jesus’ name. Peter declared that Jesus’ disciples must obey God, who commanded them to preach faith in Jesus, and not people who order them to stop (vs. 27-31). The obedience Peter is referring to is not obedience to the Sinai law, but obedience to the new thing God had done in sending his Son so that whoever believes in him would not perish, but have everlasting life.
New heart needed
Many people are good at keeping certain rules. But if the love of God is not in their hearts, then their success at keeping rules has a way of turning their hearts rancid. Without God’s love, they turn into sharp-eyed judges of the failings of others. They become prideful and arrogant, and begin to get the idea that the kingdom of God is meant only for them, “the obedient ones,” and not for sinners. They begin to see themselves as better than sinners.
The better they keep the rules, the more and more obscure their own sinfulness becomes to them. Their own need for a Savior becomes less plain, and they begin to imagine a great spiritual rift between themselves and ordinary people. (If you have been a Christian for long, you have probably experienced that tendency in yourself from time to time. I suspect we all do.)
Led by the Spirit
When the love of God penetrates the heart, however, believers find two remarkable things happening at once. First, they are pleasantly surprised to realize that it is beginning to feel somewhat natural to desire the things of God. Second, they are chagrined and grieved to begin to notice the seemingly hopeless extent of the twisted network of hidden wickedness in their hearts.
That is because the Spirit is at work. The Spirit, through the law of Christ, is rewiring us, so to speak, so that we begin to appreciate and love the things God loves. At the same time, the opposite side of the same coin you might say, he begins to illuminate the dark corners of our hearts, so we can see in God’s light what is really going on in there.
The struggle is on. The believer is a citizen of the eternal kingdom, and as such, he or she walks with Christ with a keen sense of being in need of God’s inexhaustible mercy and grace. But he or she also begins to sense the presence of the limitless power of Christ to give help in forsaking the selfish and hateful ways of the former life. New, godly habits begin to form, and old, ungodly habits begin to fade.
Taught by Christ
We are learning to walk in the divine love God has given us. The Teacher, of course, is Christ. That is what it means to be Christ’s disciples. It means to be his students.
Christ is also the living Word of God. The Holy Spirit has inspired the Bible to be an indispensable means of communicating the inner life of Christ to us. That is why Christians make Bible reading, study and meditation a central part of their daily lives.
As we read the Bible, asking God to bless our understanding and to help us hear his voice for us, God teaches us, rebukes us, corrects us, trains us in righteousness and equips us for every good work (2 Timothy 3:16-17). Through this means and others, including the Lord’s Supper (John 6:53-57) and through the faithful teaching of church leaders (Ephesians 4:11-16), God continually leads us into an ever deepening communion with him.
Motivated by grace
Paul knew that the grace of God, when we accept it, is effective in motivating us toward a godly life in ways the law of Moses could never be. He wrote these words to Titus: “For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men. It teaches us to say ‘No’ to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, while we wait for the blessed hope—the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good” (Titus 2:11-14).
Sabbath fulfilled in Christ
We have seen that Christians are not under the law given at Mount Sinai, which was a temporary expression of the law of God for Israel until Christ came, but rather are under the law of Christ, which is the law of God forever.
We have seen that Christians are led by the Holy Spirit, who makes his home in believers and teaches us to live by the Word of God. In chapter three we will look more closely at the Sabbath day and its fulfillment in Jesus Christ.
What is the church?
The Bible says that people who have faith in Christ become part of the "church." What is the church? How is it organized? What is its purpose?
Jesus is building his church
Jesus said, "I will build my church" (Matthew 16:18). The church is important to him—he loved it so much that he gave his life for it (Ephesians 5:25). If we have the mind of Christ, we will love the church, too, and give ourselves to it.
The Greek word for "church" is ekklesia, which means an assembly. In Acts 19:39, 41, it is used for a large group of townspeople. But among Christians, the word ekklesia came to have a special meaning: all who believe in Jesus Christ.
For example, the first time that Luke uses the word, he writes, "great fear seized the whole church" (Acts 5:11). He does not have to explain what the word meant, for his readers were already familiar with it. It meant all Christians, not just those who happened to be there on that particular occasion. "The church" means all disciples of Christ. It refers to people, not to a building.
Each local group of believers is a church. Paul wrote to "the church of God in Corinth" (1 Corinthians 1:2); he referred to "all the churches of Christ" (Romans 16:16) and the "church of the Laodiceans" (Colossians 4:16). But he could also use the word church to refer to all believers everywhere: "Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her" (Ephesians 5:25).
The church exists in several levels. At one level is the universal church, which includes everyone worldwide who accepts Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. Local churches are a different level, including people who regularly meet together. Denominations are an intermediate level, containing groups of congregations hat work more closely together because of shared history and beliefs.
Local congregations sometimes include unbelievers —family members who have not accepted Jesus as Savior, yet nevertheless meet regularly with believers. Local congregations may also include people who consider themselves to be Christians, but may not be. Experience shows that some of these will later admit that they were not really Christians.
Why we need the church
Many people claim to believe in Jesus Christ but do not want to attend any of his churches. The New Testament shows that the normal pattern is for believers to meet together (Hebrews 10:25).
Paul repeatedly exhorts Christians to do different things to "one another" (Romans 12:10; 15:7; 1 Corinthians 12:25; Galatians 5:13; Ephesians 4:32; Philippians 2:3; Colossians 3:13; 1 Thessalonians 5:13). It is difficult for people to obey these commands if they do not meet with other believers.
A local congregation can give us a sense of belonging, of being involved with other believers. It can give us some spiritual safety, so that we are not blown around by strange ideas. A congregation can give us friendship, fellowship and encouragement. It can teach us things we would never learn on our own. A congregation can help train our children, help us work together for more effective ministry and give us opportunities to serve that help us grow in ways we did not expect. In general, the value that we get out of a local congregation is in proportion to the amount of involvement we give to it.
But perhaps the most important reason for each believer to participate in a local congregation is that members need each other. God has given different abilities to different believers, and he wants us to work together "for the common good" (1 Corinthians 12:4-7). If only part of the work force shows up, it is no surprise that the congregation is not able to do as much as we would like, or to be as healthy as we would like. Unfortunately, some people find it easier to criticize than to help.
Our time, our abilities, our resources are needed to fulfill the work and mission of the church. The commitment of mission-focused people is essential in order for the church to effectively reflect Jesus and his love to the world. Jesus said to pray for laborers (Matthew 9:38). He wants each of us to be working, not sitting on the sidelines.
Individuals who try to be Christian without the church fail to use their strengths to help the people the Bible says we should be helping. The church is a mutual-aid society, and we help each other, knowing that the day may come (and in fact is already here) that we will need to be helped.
Descriptions of the church
The church is described in several ways: the people of God, the family of God, the bride of Christ. We are a building, a temple and a body. Jesus described us as sheep, a field of grain and a vineyard. Each analogy describes a different aspect of the church.
Many of Jesus’ parables of the kingdom describe the church, too. Like a mustard seed, the church started small and yet has grown quite large (Matthew 13:31-32). The church is like a field in which weeds are scattered among the wheat (vv. 24-30). It is like a fishnet that catches bad fish as well as good (vv. 47-50). The church is like a vineyard in which some people work a long time and others only a short time (Matthew 20:1-16). The church is like servants who were given money to invest for the master, and some produce more fruit than others (Matthew 25:14-30).
Jesus described himself as a shepherd, and his disciples as sheep (Matthew 26:31); his mission was to seek lost sheep (Matthew 18:11-14). He described his people as sheep that must be fed and cared for (John 21:15-17). Paul and Peter used the same analogy, saying that church leaders should be shepherds of the flock (Acts 20:28; 1 Peter 5:2).
"You are…God’s building," Paul says (1 Corinthians 3:9). The foundation is Jesus Christ (v. 11), and people are the building built on it. Peter said that we are all "living stones...being built into a spiritual house" (1 Peter 2:5). As we are built together, we "become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit" (Ephesians 2:22). We are the temple of God, the temple of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 3:17; 6:19). Although God may be worshiped in any place, the church has worship as one of its purposes.
We are "the people of God," 1 Peter 2:10 tells us. We are what the people of Israel were supposed to be: "a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God" (v. 9; see Exodus 19:6). We belong to God, because Christ purchased us with his blood (Revelation 5:9). We are his children, and his family (Ephesians 3:15). As his people, we are given a great inheritance, and in response we are to try to please him and bring praise to his name.
Scripture also calls us the bride of Christ—a phrase that suggests his love for us, and a tremendous change within ourselves, that we might have such a close relationship with the Son of God. In some of his parables, people are invited to attend the wedding banquet, but in this analogy, we are invited to be the bride.
"Let us rejoice and be glad and give him glory! For the wedding of the Lamb has come, and his bride has made herself ready" (Revelation 19:7). How do we become ready for this? It is a gift: "Fine linen, bright and clean, was given her to wear" (v. 8). Christ cleanses us "by the washing with water through the word" (Ephesians 5:26). He presents the church to himself, having made her radiant, spotless, holy and righteous (v. 27). He is working in us.
Working together
The picture of the church that best illustrates the way that members relate to one another is that of the body. "You are the body of Christ," Paul says, "and each one of you is a part of it" (1 Corinthians 12:27). Jesus Christ "is the head of the body, the church" (Colossians 1:18), and we are all members of the body. If we are united to Christ, we are united to one another, too, and we have responsibilities to one another.
No one can say, "I don’t need you" (1 Corinthians 12:21), and no one can say, "I don’t belong in the church" (v. 18). God distributes our abilities so that we work together for the common good, helping one another and being helped by working together. "There should be no division in the body" (v. 25). Paul frequently warned against the sin of divisiveness, even saying that a person who causes division should be put out of the church (Romans 16:17; Titus 3:10). Christ causes the church to grow "as each part does its work"—as the various members cooperate (Ephesians 4:16).
Unfortunately, the Christian world is divided into denominations that sometimes squabble with one another. The church is not yet perfect, since none of its members is perfect. Nevertheless, Christ wants the church to be united (John 17:21). This does not require a merger of organizations, but it does suggest a common purpose.
True unity can be found only as we draw closer to Christ, preach his gospel, and live as he would. The goal is to promote him, not ourselves. The existence of different denominations has a side benefit, however: Through diverse approaches, more people are reached with the message of Christ in a way they understand.
Organization
The Christian world has three basic approaches to church organization and leadership: hierarchy, democracy and representative. These are called episcopal, congregational and presbyterian.
Variations exist within each type, but in general, the episcopal model means that a denominational officer has the power to set policy and ordain pastors. In the congregational model, church members choose their policies and their pastors. In a presbyterian system, power is divided between the denomination and the congregations. Elders are elected and given power to govern.
The New Testament does not require any particular church structure. It talks about overseers (bishops), elders and shepherds (pastors) as if these were different words for the same type of church leader. Peter told the elders to be shepherds and overseers (1 Peter 5:1-2). Similarly, Paul told a group of elders that they were overseers and shepherds (Acts 20:17, 28).
The Jerusalem church was led by a group of elders; the church in Philippi was led by several overseers (Acts 15:2-6; Philippians 1:1). Paul told Titus to ordain elders, wrote one verse about elders and then several about overseers, as if these were synonymous terms for church leaders (Titus 1:5-9). In the book of Hebrews, the leaders are simply called "leaders" (Hebrews 13:7).
Some church leaders were also called "teachers" (1 Corinthians 12:29; James 3:1). The grammar of Ephesians 4:11 implies that pastors and teachers were in the same category. One of the primary functions of a church leader is teaching—one of the qualifications for leadership is that the person must be "able to teach" (1 Timothy 3:2).
One thing is consistent in this: Certain people were designated as leaders. The local churches had some organization, though the exact title didn’t seem to matter much.
Members were exhorted to respect and obey these leaders (1 Thessalonians 5:12; 1 Timothy 5:17; Hebrews 13:17). If the leader commands something wrong, members should not obey, but for the most part, members are to support their leaders.
What do leaders do? They "direct the affairs of the church" (1 Timothy 5:17). They shepherd the flock, leading by example and by teaching. They watch over the church (Acts 20:28). They should not lord it over others, but serve them (1 Peter 5:2-3). They are to "prepare God’s people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up" (Ephesians 4:12).
How are leaders chosen? We are told in only a few cases: Paul appointed elders (Acts 14:23), implied that Timothy would choose overseers (1 Timothy 3:1-7), and authorized Titus to appoint elders (Titus 1:5). At least in these cases, there was a hierarchy. We do not find any examples of church members choosing their own elders.
Deacons
However, in Acts 6:1-6 we see members choosing some leaders to help distribute food to the needy, and the apostles then appointed them for this work. In that way the apostles could concentrate on spiritual matters, and the physical needs could also be taken care of (verse 2). This distinction between spiritual leadership and physical leadership is also seen in 1 Peter 4:11-12.
Leaders who serve in manual work are often called deacons, from the Greek word diakoneo, which means to serve. Although all members and leaders are to serve, some are specifically appointed for service roles. At least one woman is called a deacon (Romans 16:1). Paul gave Timothy a list of traits needed in a deacon (1 Timothy 3:8-12), but he did not specify what they did. Consequently different denominations assign them different roles, ranging from custodial work to financial management.
The important thing in leadership is not what people are called, how they are structured or how they are appointed. The important thing is the purpose of leadership: to help God’s people grow in maturity we become more like Christ (Ephesians 4:13).
Purposes of the church
Christ has built his church, given his people gifts and leadership, and he has given us work to do. What are the purposes of the church?
A major purpose of the church is worship. God has called us that we "may declare the praises of him" who called us "out of darkness into his wonderful light" (1 Peter 2:9). God seeks people who will worship him (John 4:23), who will love him above everything else (Matthew 4:10). Everything we do, whether as individuals or as a congregation, should be for his glory (1 Corinthians 10:31). We are called to "continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise" (Hebrews 13:15).
We are commanded, "Speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs" (Ephesians 5:19). When we gather, we sing praises to God, we pray to him and we listen to his word. These are forms of worship. So is the Lord’s Supper, so is baptism and so is obedience.
Teaching is another purpose of the church. It is at the heart of the Great Commission: "teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you" (Matthew 28:20). Church leaders should teach, and members should teach one another (Colossians 3:16). We should encourage one another (1 Corinthians 14:31; 1 Thessalonians 5:11; Hebrews 10:25). Small groups provide an excellent setting for this mutual ministry.
If we want to be spiritual, Paul says, we should want to "build up the church" (1 Corinthians 14:12). The goal is to edify, strengthen, encourage and comfort (v. 3). The entire meeting should "be done for the strengthening of the church" (v. 26). We are to be disciples, people who learn and apply the word of God. The early church was praised because they "devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer" (Acts 2:42).
Ministry is a third major purpose of the church. Paul writes, "As we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers" (Galatians 6:10). Our first duty is to our family, and then to the church and then to the world around us. The second-greatest commandment is to love our neighbors (Matthew 22:39).
This world has many physical needs, and we should not ignore them. But the greatest need is the gospel, and we should not ignore that, either. As part of our ministry to the world, the church is to preach the good news of salvation through Jesus Christ. No other organization will do this work—it is the mission of the church. Every worker is needed—some on the front lines, and some in support. Some will plant, some will nurture and some will harvest, and as we work together, Christ will cause the church to grow (Ephesians 4:16)
The Bible says that people who have faith in Christ become part of the "church." What is the church? How is it organized? What is its purpose?
Jesus is building his church
Jesus said, "I will build my church" (Matthew 16:18). The church is important to him—he loved it so much that he gave his life for it (Ephesians 5:25). If we have the mind of Christ, we will love the church, too, and give ourselves to it.
The Greek word for "church" is ekklesia, which means an assembly. In Acts 19:39, 41, it is used for a large group of townspeople. But among Christians, the word ekklesia came to have a special meaning: all who believe in Jesus Christ.
For example, the first time that Luke uses the word, he writes, "great fear seized the whole church" (Acts 5:11). He does not have to explain what the word meant, for his readers were already familiar with it. It meant all Christians, not just those who happened to be there on that particular occasion. "The church" means all disciples of Christ. It refers to people, not to a building.
Each local group of believers is a church. Paul wrote to "the church of God in Corinth" (1 Corinthians 1:2); he referred to "all the churches of Christ" (Romans 16:16) and the "church of the Laodiceans" (Colossians 4:16). But he could also use the word church to refer to all believers everywhere: "Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her" (Ephesians 5:25).
The church exists in several levels. At one level is the universal church, which includes everyone worldwide who accepts Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. Local churches are a different level, including people who regularly meet together. Denominations are an intermediate level, containing groups of congregations hat work more closely together because of shared history and beliefs.
Local congregations sometimes include unbelievers —family members who have not accepted Jesus as Savior, yet nevertheless meet regularly with believers. Local congregations may also include people who consider themselves to be Christians, but may not be. Experience shows that some of these will later admit that they were not really Christians.
Why we need the church
Many people claim to believe in Jesus Christ but do not want to attend any of his churches. The New Testament shows that the normal pattern is for believers to meet together (Hebrews 10:25).
Paul repeatedly exhorts Christians to do different things to "one another" (Romans 12:10; 15:7; 1 Corinthians 12:25; Galatians 5:13; Ephesians 4:32; Philippians 2:3; Colossians 3:13; 1 Thessalonians 5:13). It is difficult for people to obey these commands if they do not meet with other believers.
A local congregation can give us a sense of belonging, of being involved with other believers. It can give us some spiritual safety, so that we are not blown around by strange ideas. A congregation can give us friendship, fellowship and encouragement. It can teach us things we would never learn on our own. A congregation can help train our children, help us work together for more effective ministry and give us opportunities to serve that help us grow in ways we did not expect. In general, the value that we get out of a local congregation is in proportion to the amount of involvement we give to it.
But perhaps the most important reason for each believer to participate in a local congregation is that members need each other. God has given different abilities to different believers, and he wants us to work together "for the common good" (1 Corinthians 12:4-7). If only part of the work force shows up, it is no surprise that the congregation is not able to do as much as we would like, or to be as healthy as we would like. Unfortunately, some people find it easier to criticize than to help.
Our time, our abilities, our resources are needed to fulfill the work and mission of the church. The commitment of mission-focused people is essential in order for the church to effectively reflect Jesus and his love to the world. Jesus said to pray for laborers (Matthew 9:38). He wants each of us to be working, not sitting on the sidelines.
Individuals who try to be Christian without the church fail to use their strengths to help the people the Bible says we should be helping. The church is a mutual-aid society, and we help each other, knowing that the day may come (and in fact is already here) that we will need to be helped.
Descriptions of the church
The church is described in several ways: the people of God, the family of God, the bride of Christ. We are a building, a temple and a body. Jesus described us as sheep, a field of grain and a vineyard. Each analogy describes a different aspect of the church.
Many of Jesus’ parables of the kingdom describe the church, too. Like a mustard seed, the church started small and yet has grown quite large (Matthew 13:31-32). The church is like a field in which weeds are scattered among the wheat (vv. 24-30). It is like a fishnet that catches bad fish as well as good (vv. 47-50). The church is like a vineyard in which some people work a long time and others only a short time (Matthew 20:1-16). The church is like servants who were given money to invest for the master, and some produce more fruit than others (Matthew 25:14-30).
Jesus described himself as a shepherd, and his disciples as sheep (Matthew 26:31); his mission was to seek lost sheep (Matthew 18:11-14). He described his people as sheep that must be fed and cared for (John 21:15-17). Paul and Peter used the same analogy, saying that church leaders should be shepherds of the flock (Acts 20:28; 1 Peter 5:2).
"You are…God’s building," Paul says (1 Corinthians 3:9). The foundation is Jesus Christ (v. 11), and people are the building built on it. Peter said that we are all "living stones...being built into a spiritual house" (1 Peter 2:5). As we are built together, we "become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit" (Ephesians 2:22). We are the temple of God, the temple of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 3:17; 6:19). Although God may be worshiped in any place, the church has worship as one of its purposes.
We are "the people of God," 1 Peter 2:10 tells us. We are what the people of Israel were supposed to be: "a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God" (v. 9; see Exodus 19:6). We belong to God, because Christ purchased us with his blood (Revelation 5:9). We are his children, and his family (Ephesians 3:15). As his people, we are given a great inheritance, and in response we are to try to please him and bring praise to his name.
Scripture also calls us the bride of Christ—a phrase that suggests his love for us, and a tremendous change within ourselves, that we might have such a close relationship with the Son of God. In some of his parables, people are invited to attend the wedding banquet, but in this analogy, we are invited to be the bride.
"Let us rejoice and be glad and give him glory! For the wedding of the Lamb has come, and his bride has made herself ready" (Revelation 19:7). How do we become ready for this? It is a gift: "Fine linen, bright and clean, was given her to wear" (v. 8). Christ cleanses us "by the washing with water through the word" (Ephesians 5:26). He presents the church to himself, having made her radiant, spotless, holy and righteous (v. 27). He is working in us.
Working together
The picture of the church that best illustrates the way that members relate to one another is that of the body. "You are the body of Christ," Paul says, "and each one of you is a part of it" (1 Corinthians 12:27). Jesus Christ "is the head of the body, the church" (Colossians 1:18), and we are all members of the body. If we are united to Christ, we are united to one another, too, and we have responsibilities to one another.
No one can say, "I don’t need you" (1 Corinthians 12:21), and no one can say, "I don’t belong in the church" (v. 18). God distributes our abilities so that we work together for the common good, helping one another and being helped by working together. "There should be no division in the body" (v. 25). Paul frequently warned against the sin of divisiveness, even saying that a person who causes division should be put out of the church (Romans 16:17; Titus 3:10). Christ causes the church to grow "as each part does its work"—as the various members cooperate (Ephesians 4:16).
Unfortunately, the Christian world is divided into denominations that sometimes squabble with one another. The church is not yet perfect, since none of its members is perfect. Nevertheless, Christ wants the church to be united (John 17:21). This does not require a merger of organizations, but it does suggest a common purpose.
True unity can be found only as we draw closer to Christ, preach his gospel, and live as he would. The goal is to promote him, not ourselves. The existence of different denominations has a side benefit, however: Through diverse approaches, more people are reached with the message of Christ in a way they understand.
Organization
The Christian world has three basic approaches to church organization and leadership: hierarchy, democracy and representative. These are called episcopal, congregational and presbyterian.
Variations exist within each type, but in general, the episcopal model means that a denominational officer has the power to set policy and ordain pastors. In the congregational model, church members choose their policies and their pastors. In a presbyterian system, power is divided between the denomination and the congregations. Elders are elected and given power to govern.
The New Testament does not require any particular church structure. It talks about overseers (bishops), elders and shepherds (pastors) as if these were different words for the same type of church leader. Peter told the elders to be shepherds and overseers (1 Peter 5:1-2). Similarly, Paul told a group of elders that they were overseers and shepherds (Acts 20:17, 28).
The Jerusalem church was led by a group of elders; the church in Philippi was led by several overseers (Acts 15:2-6; Philippians 1:1). Paul told Titus to ordain elders, wrote one verse about elders and then several about overseers, as if these were synonymous terms for church leaders (Titus 1:5-9). In the book of Hebrews, the leaders are simply called "leaders" (Hebrews 13:7).
Some church leaders were also called "teachers" (1 Corinthians 12:29; James 3:1). The grammar of Ephesians 4:11 implies that pastors and teachers were in the same category. One of the primary functions of a church leader is teaching—one of the qualifications for leadership is that the person must be "able to teach" (1 Timothy 3:2).
One thing is consistent in this: Certain people were designated as leaders. The local churches had some organization, though the exact title didn’t seem to matter much.
Members were exhorted to respect and obey these leaders (1 Thessalonians 5:12; 1 Timothy 5:17; Hebrews 13:17). If the leader commands something wrong, members should not obey, but for the most part, members are to support their leaders.
What do leaders do? They "direct the affairs of the church" (1 Timothy 5:17). They shepherd the flock, leading by example and by teaching. They watch over the church (Acts 20:28). They should not lord it over others, but serve them (1 Peter 5:2-3). They are to "prepare God’s people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up" (Ephesians 4:12).
How are leaders chosen? We are told in only a few cases: Paul appointed elders (Acts 14:23), implied that Timothy would choose overseers (1 Timothy 3:1-7), and authorized Titus to appoint elders (Titus 1:5). At least in these cases, there was a hierarchy. We do not find any examples of church members choosing their own elders.
Deacons
However, in Acts 6:1-6 we see members choosing some leaders to help distribute food to the needy, and the apostles then appointed them for this work. In that way the apostles could concentrate on spiritual matters, and the physical needs could also be taken care of (verse 2). This distinction between spiritual leadership and physical leadership is also seen in 1 Peter 4:11-12.
Leaders who serve in manual work are often called deacons, from the Greek word diakoneo, which means to serve. Although all members and leaders are to serve, some are specifically appointed for service roles. At least one woman is called a deacon (Romans 16:1). Paul gave Timothy a list of traits needed in a deacon (1 Timothy 3:8-12), but he did not specify what they did. Consequently different denominations assign them different roles, ranging from custodial work to financial management.
The important thing in leadership is not what people are called, how they are structured or how they are appointed. The important thing is the purpose of leadership: to help God’s people grow in maturity we become more like Christ (Ephesians 4:13).
Purposes of the church
Christ has built his church, given his people gifts and leadership, and he has given us work to do. What are the purposes of the church?
A major purpose of the church is worship. God has called us that we "may declare the praises of him" who called us "out of darkness into his wonderful light" (1 Peter 2:9). God seeks people who will worship him (John 4:23), who will love him above everything else (Matthew 4:10). Everything we do, whether as individuals or as a congregation, should be for his glory (1 Corinthians 10:31). We are called to "continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise" (Hebrews 13:15).
We are commanded, "Speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs" (Ephesians 5:19). When we gather, we sing praises to God, we pray to him and we listen to his word. These are forms of worship. So is the Lord’s Supper, so is baptism and so is obedience.
Teaching is another purpose of the church. It is at the heart of the Great Commission: "teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you" (Matthew 28:20). Church leaders should teach, and members should teach one another (Colossians 3:16). We should encourage one another (1 Corinthians 14:31; 1 Thessalonians 5:11; Hebrews 10:25). Small groups provide an excellent setting for this mutual ministry.
If we want to be spiritual, Paul says, we should want to "build up the church" (1 Corinthians 14:12). The goal is to edify, strengthen, encourage and comfort (v. 3). The entire meeting should "be done for the strengthening of the church" (v. 26). We are to be disciples, people who learn and apply the word of God. The early church was praised because they "devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer" (Acts 2:42).
Ministry is a third major purpose of the church. Paul writes, "As we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers" (Galatians 6:10). Our first duty is to our family, and then to the church and then to the world around us. The second-greatest commandment is to love our neighbors (Matthew 22:39).
This world has many physical needs, and we should not ignore them. But the greatest need is the gospel, and we should not ignore that, either. As part of our ministry to the world, the church is to preach the good news of salvation through Jesus Christ. No other organization will do this work—it is the mission of the church. Every worker is needed—some on the front lines, and some in support. Some will plant, some will nurture and some will harvest, and as we work together, Christ will cause the church to grow (Ephesians 4:16)
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
Grace Through Faith
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One of the keys to understanding the truths of the New Covenant is having a revelation of the gift of grace. The apostle Paul gives us clear insight in this matter in Romans chapter 5-6. Romans 4:13, "For the promise that he would be heir of the world was not to Abraham or to his seed through the Law, but through the righteousness of faith". Verse 16, "Therefore, it is by faith, that it might be by grace, to the end that the promise might be sure to all the seed, not to that only which is of the Law, but to that also which is of the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all". Here Paul indicates the way we enter into grace is through faith.
We need a revelation of the grace of God to understand the New Covenant. We have all heard that grace is unmerited favor. Well, that is true, but it is much more than that. Grace is God's willingness to use His power and His ability on your behalf, even though you don't deserve it. This definition of grace, will challenge you to study the scriptures concerning grace. Paul tells us that it is through faith that you can enter into grace.
Romans 5:1: "Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand. In other words, the only way that we have access into God's grace (His willingness) is through faith in His Word and the blood of Jesus His Son.
We cannot merit favor with God through good works as they did under the Old Covenant. They were under the law and they had to keep the whole law or the curses came on them and no one could keep the law to the letter. But under the New Covenant it is no more the works of the law, but it is of faith that we might enter into the promises through grace. Under the law they either measured up to the law or the curses of the law came upon them and it was bad news all over again. However, under the New Covenant (the days of grace) God through His mercy and grace causes us to be justified by faith. We are not justified by what we have done, or what we haven't done but we are justified by faith in the blood of Jesus. It is through this faith that we access the grace of God for the remission of sins.
"Now 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. Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in His sight; for by the law is the knowledge of sin. But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets; Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference. Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law". (Romans 3:19-22,28)
You will notice in every letter that the apostle Paul wrote he says, "Grace to you and peace from God the Father and the Lord Jesus". You find that is usually in the first two or three verses but no further than the seventh verse. Grace is God's willingness. Paul wanted us to receive God's willingness toward us. That is where many people miss it today. They have trouble receiving God's willingness; oh they believe God is able, but they are not sure He is willing. They need a revelation of the gift of grace.
Peter refers to grace in the beginning of each of his epistles and gives us more insight in this matter. He says, "Grace and peace be multiplied to you through the knowledge of God and Jesus our Lord". Grace being God's willingness, is multiplied through the knowledge of God. The more you know about what God will do, the more willing God is to do it because it produces faith. It is not that God is not already willing but God's willingness is multiplied when you know what God will do on your behalf.
In Ephesians 2:8 we find a very interesting statement, "For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is a gift of God". What gift is Paul referring to here? Many believe it is the gift of faith that Paul mentioned in I Cor. 12:9, but I am convinced that he is referring to the gift of grace. In the third chapter of Ephesians we find strong evidence that it is grace. "If you have heard of the dispensation of the grace of God which is given me to youward". Then in verse seven, "whereof I was made a minister, according to the gift of grace of God which was given unto me by the effectual working of His power". It seems rather obvious that the gift he has referred to is the gift of grace. (Eph. 3:2)
Then in Ephesians 4:7 Paul says, "But to every one of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ". I believe we make a mistake when we say that the scripture in Ephesians 2:8 is referring to the gift of faith. The gift of faith is a special gift and is listed as one of the nine Gifts of the Spirit in I Cor. 12:9.
More Evidence
The death of Jesus ushered in the dispensation of grace. In John 1:14 we see that "the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth". Jesus was full of grace. He was filled with God's willingness. Verse 16 says, "And of His fullness have all we received, grace for grace. For the law was given by Moses, grace and truth came by Jesus Christ". (v.17)
Acts 14:3 speaks of the Word of God as the word of grace. Acts 14:2-3, "But the unbelieving Jews stirred up the Gentiles and made their minds evil effected against the brethren. Long time therefore abode they speaking boldly in the Lord, which gave testimony unto the word of his grace and granted signs and wonders to be done by their hands". Here it speaks of the Word of God as being the word of grace.
Now let's put it together. In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The word was made flesh and dwelt amongst us - full of grace and truth. For the Law was given by Moses, grace and truth came by Jesus Christ. The Word of God is spoken of as being the word of grace. In other words, the Bible is the Word of God's willingness toward us, for the Word of God is God's will for us.
II Cor. 8:9 says, "For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ (or you know the willingness of the Lord Jesus Christ) that though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that ye through His poverty might be rich". It was through God's willingness that Jesus became poor that we might be made rich. That includes financially, spiritually, physically and every way.
Now lets look at II Tim. 2:1 where Paul admonishes Timothy to be strong in grace. That is why so many Christians are in trouble, they are not strong in grace. They are strong in knowing God is able to do certain things but not strong in God's willingness to do it for them at the present.
II Peter 3:18 tells us to "grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ". We must grow in grace. Don't stay where you are, as far as God's willingness for you is concerned. As you grow in the grace of God, you realize that God wants you to have the things that He has given you. Peter said: "Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord. According as His divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue: Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises; that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust". (II Pet. 1:2-4)
"But without faith it is impossible to please Him: for he that cometh to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him". (Heb.11:6) The reason it is impossible to please God without faith is because God is not pleased when you don't have enough faith to enter into the grace that He has already given through the exceeding great and precious promises.
I believe Hebrews 4:16 brings the whole thing into focus by saying: "Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, (don't come begging, hoping to God that something will happen, but come BOLDLY) that you may obtain mercy and find grace to help in the time of need". We shouldn't try to come on our merits. We certainly don't want to come saying, "we want what we deserve", because we don't want what we deserve. It is through faith that we can come boldly to the throne of grace, and obtain.
Under the Old Law they were under a law of works. In Galatians 3:10 Paul said: "For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse: for it is written, cursed is every one that continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them. But that no man is justified by the law in the sight of God, it is evident; for the just shall live by faith". Under the New Covenant, we are not justified by works (we receive reward because of works) but we are justified by faith. Justified means just as if I had not sinned. Therefore, you can come boldly to God's throne of grace and obtain mercy and find grace (God's willingness) to help in time of need.
In Galatians 3:21 Paul asks a question and answers it: "Is the law then against the promises of God? God forbid: for if there had been a law given which could have given life, verily righteousness should have been by the law. But the scripture hath concluded all under sin, that the promise by faith of Jesus Christ might be given to them that believe. But before faith came, we were kept under the law, shut up unto the faith which should afterwards be revealed. Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith. But after that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster. For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus. And if ye be Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise".
The conclusion of the matter can be found in Romans 5:20-21. "Moreover the law entered, that the offence might abound. But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound. That as sin hath reigned unto death, even so might grace reign through righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord". So where sin did abound, grace does much more abound. In other words, (grace) swallowed all our sins. Where sin once did reign now grace reigns through righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord. "For if by one man's offense death reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ". (Rom. 5:17)
You can allow sin to reign or you can allow grace (God's willingness) to reign in life through righteousness unto eternal life that is in Christ Jesus. The choice is yours and time is short. Enter into His grace through faith and trust Him and His Promises today
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One of the keys to understanding the truths of the New Covenant is having a revelation of the gift of grace. The apostle Paul gives us clear insight in this matter in Romans chapter 5-6. Romans 4:13, "For the promise that he would be heir of the world was not to Abraham or to his seed through the Law, but through the righteousness of faith". Verse 16, "Therefore, it is by faith, that it might be by grace, to the end that the promise might be sure to all the seed, not to that only which is of the Law, but to that also which is of the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all". Here Paul indicates the way we enter into grace is through faith.
We need a revelation of the grace of God to understand the New Covenant. We have all heard that grace is unmerited favor. Well, that is true, but it is much more than that. Grace is God's willingness to use His power and His ability on your behalf, even though you don't deserve it. This definition of grace, will challenge you to study the scriptures concerning grace. Paul tells us that it is through faith that you can enter into grace.
Romans 5:1: "Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand. In other words, the only way that we have access into God's grace (His willingness) is through faith in His Word and the blood of Jesus His Son.
We cannot merit favor with God through good works as they did under the Old Covenant. They were under the law and they had to keep the whole law or the curses came on them and no one could keep the law to the letter. But under the New Covenant it is no more the works of the law, but it is of faith that we might enter into the promises through grace. Under the law they either measured up to the law or the curses of the law came upon them and it was bad news all over again. However, under the New Covenant (the days of grace) God through His mercy and grace causes us to be justified by faith. We are not justified by what we have done, or what we haven't done but we are justified by faith in the blood of Jesus. It is through this faith that we access the grace of God for the remission of sins.
"Now 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. Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in His sight; for by the law is the knowledge of sin. But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets; Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference. Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law". (Romans 3:19-22,28)
You will notice in every letter that the apostle Paul wrote he says, "Grace to you and peace from God the Father and the Lord Jesus". You find that is usually in the first two or three verses but no further than the seventh verse. Grace is God's willingness. Paul wanted us to receive God's willingness toward us. That is where many people miss it today. They have trouble receiving God's willingness; oh they believe God is able, but they are not sure He is willing. They need a revelation of the gift of grace.
Peter refers to grace in the beginning of each of his epistles and gives us more insight in this matter. He says, "Grace and peace be multiplied to you through the knowledge of God and Jesus our Lord". Grace being God's willingness, is multiplied through the knowledge of God. The more you know about what God will do, the more willing God is to do it because it produces faith. It is not that God is not already willing but God's willingness is multiplied when you know what God will do on your behalf.
In Ephesians 2:8 we find a very interesting statement, "For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is a gift of God". What gift is Paul referring to here? Many believe it is the gift of faith that Paul mentioned in I Cor. 12:9, but I am convinced that he is referring to the gift of grace. In the third chapter of Ephesians we find strong evidence that it is grace. "If you have heard of the dispensation of the grace of God which is given me to youward". Then in verse seven, "whereof I was made a minister, according to the gift of grace of God which was given unto me by the effectual working of His power". It seems rather obvious that the gift he has referred to is the gift of grace. (Eph. 3:2)
Then in Ephesians 4:7 Paul says, "But to every one of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ". I believe we make a mistake when we say that the scripture in Ephesians 2:8 is referring to the gift of faith. The gift of faith is a special gift and is listed as one of the nine Gifts of the Spirit in I Cor. 12:9.
More Evidence
The death of Jesus ushered in the dispensation of grace. In John 1:14 we see that "the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth". Jesus was full of grace. He was filled with God's willingness. Verse 16 says, "And of His fullness have all we received, grace for grace. For the law was given by Moses, grace and truth came by Jesus Christ". (v.17)
Acts 14:3 speaks of the Word of God as the word of grace. Acts 14:2-3, "But the unbelieving Jews stirred up the Gentiles and made their minds evil effected against the brethren. Long time therefore abode they speaking boldly in the Lord, which gave testimony unto the word of his grace and granted signs and wonders to be done by their hands". Here it speaks of the Word of God as being the word of grace.
Now let's put it together. In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The word was made flesh and dwelt amongst us - full of grace and truth. For the Law was given by Moses, grace and truth came by Jesus Christ. The Word of God is spoken of as being the word of grace. In other words, the Bible is the Word of God's willingness toward us, for the Word of God is God's will for us.
II Cor. 8:9 says, "For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ (or you know the willingness of the Lord Jesus Christ) that though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that ye through His poverty might be rich". It was through God's willingness that Jesus became poor that we might be made rich. That includes financially, spiritually, physically and every way.
Now lets look at II Tim. 2:1 where Paul admonishes Timothy to be strong in grace. That is why so many Christians are in trouble, they are not strong in grace. They are strong in knowing God is able to do certain things but not strong in God's willingness to do it for them at the present.
II Peter 3:18 tells us to "grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ". We must grow in grace. Don't stay where you are, as far as God's willingness for you is concerned. As you grow in the grace of God, you realize that God wants you to have the things that He has given you. Peter said: "Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord. According as His divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue: Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises; that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust". (II Pet. 1:2-4)
"But without faith it is impossible to please Him: for he that cometh to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him". (Heb.11:6) The reason it is impossible to please God without faith is because God is not pleased when you don't have enough faith to enter into the grace that He has already given through the exceeding great and precious promises.
I believe Hebrews 4:16 brings the whole thing into focus by saying: "Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, (don't come begging, hoping to God that something will happen, but come BOLDLY) that you may obtain mercy and find grace to help in the time of need". We shouldn't try to come on our merits. We certainly don't want to come saying, "we want what we deserve", because we don't want what we deserve. It is through faith that we can come boldly to the throne of grace, and obtain.
Under the Old Law they were under a law of works. In Galatians 3:10 Paul said: "For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse: for it is written, cursed is every one that continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them. But that no man is justified by the law in the sight of God, it is evident; for the just shall live by faith". Under the New Covenant, we are not justified by works (we receive reward because of works) but we are justified by faith. Justified means just as if I had not sinned. Therefore, you can come boldly to God's throne of grace and obtain mercy and find grace (God's willingness) to help in time of need.
In Galatians 3:21 Paul asks a question and answers it: "Is the law then against the promises of God? God forbid: for if there had been a law given which could have given life, verily righteousness should have been by the law. But the scripture hath concluded all under sin, that the promise by faith of Jesus Christ might be given to them that believe. But before faith came, we were kept under the law, shut up unto the faith which should afterwards be revealed. Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith. But after that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster. For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus. And if ye be Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise".
The conclusion of the matter can be found in Romans 5:20-21. "Moreover the law entered, that the offence might abound. But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound. That as sin hath reigned unto death, even so might grace reign through righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord". So where sin did abound, grace does much more abound. In other words, (grace) swallowed all our sins. Where sin once did reign now grace reigns through righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord. "For if by one man's offense death reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ". (Rom. 5:17)
You can allow sin to reign or you can allow grace (God's willingness) to reign in life through righteousness unto eternal life that is in Christ Jesus. The choice is yours and time is short. Enter into His grace through faith and trust Him and His Promises today
The Secret Place
A Sermon Preached by Smith Wigglesworth in 1921
Public Domain - Copy Freely
Back to: Online Books | Teachings
He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.
I will say of the Lord, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust.
Surely he shall deliver thee from the snare of the fowler, and from the noisome pestilence.
He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou trust: his truth shall be thy shield and buckler. Thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by night; nor for the arrow that flieth by day;
Nor for the pestilence that walketh in darkness; nor for the destruction that wasteth at noonday.
A thousand shall fall at thy side, and ten thousand at thy right hand; but it shall not come nigh thee.
Only with thine eyes shalt thou behold and see the reward of the wicked.
Because thou hast made the Lord, which is my refuge, even the most High, thy habitation;
There shall no evil befall thee, neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling.
For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways.
They shall bear thee up in their hands, lest thou dash thy foot against a stone.
Thou shalt tread upon the lion and adder: the young lion and the dragon shalt thou trample under feet.
Because he hath set his love upon me, therefore will I deliver him: I will set him on high, because he hath known my name. He shall call upon me, and I will answer him: I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him, and honour him. With long life will I satisfy him, and shew him my salvation. Psalm 91
The crown of life is for the overcomer. It is not for those at ease in Zion. We must be in the place where God can depend upon us to keep going until we see victory, never giving in and knowing no defeat, always making our stand by a living faith and gaining the victory. Faith is the victory.
This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent. John 6:29
England once had a war with France. Some prisoners were taken; among them, a drummer boy. Napoleon ordered him to sound a retreat. He said "No!" He had never learned one.
God never wants you to retreat before the enemy, but to learn the song of victory and overcome! Praise the Lord!
There are two kinds of shouts: a shout that is made, and a shout that makes you. There are men of God, but there are also men who are God's men. There is a place where you take hold of God, but there is a better place where God takes hold of you.
Psalm 91:1 says, "He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. " Do YOU know the presence of the Almighty? It is wonderful. It is a surety, with no wavering, no unbelief, no unrest there. It is perfect!
Fear the Lord
My great desire is to see men become strong in the Lord by dwelling in the secret place, which is known to all who fear Him.
Now, there are two kinds of fear. One fear involves being afraid of God. I hope you are not there. Unbelievers are there. But the believer should desire, rather, to die than to grieve God by fearing Him in this way.
Fellowship with God, peace, and power -- this is God's will for us, so don't fear that it isn't. No price is too great to pay to have it. It is our inheritance. Christ purchased it for us. Through Him we have the covering of the presence of the Almighty. What a covering the unfolding of His will is!
The secret place of the Lord is with those who fear Him in the second way: with respect and honor. Moses knew something about it. He feared God and said to Him, "If thy presence go not with me, carry us not up hence" (Exodus 33:15 ).
Oh, to dwell in the secret place, His presence! What will this presence do? It will dare us to believe all God says; assisting us to lay hold of the promises. We will have God so indwelling us that we will become a force, a power of God's abiding, until the time death is swallowed up in victory!
We have a great salvation filled with inspiration. It has no limitations; it makes known the immeasurable wonders of God.
If you are in the experience of verse 1, here is an added substance of faith for you. (It is a fact. And you need to have facts, inward facts, instead of "fearings" or feelings, because you will be beyond anyone's argument when you have them.) There are those who proclaim, "I will say of the Lord, he is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust" (Psalm 91:2 ). Who will say it? He that abideth! He who abides in the Lord knows he can trust in the Lord to protect him from harm.
Free From The Law of Sin and Death
There is no "kick" in the secret place -- no evil temper, no irritability. All is swept away while one is dwelling in the presence of the Almighty; in the covering of God. Even the best of humanity, when from the devil, is not good, and cannot remain in God's presence. Jesus was manifested to destroy ALL the works of the devil (I John 3:8 ).
For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh. Romans 8:3
God sent forth Jesus in the mightiness of His power. In flesh and in the midst of flesh, He condemned it. The law of the Spirit of life was destroying all that must be destroyed. Dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God, we then are above all in Him: He that is above all and through all and in you all.
This is a fact, not in human nature, but in God. It is the gift of God from heaven. We belong to the new creation, and we are in a wonderful place in life. It is a life free from the law of sin and death.
Can we keep ourselves there? GOD can keep us there.
He never forgets to keep me,
He never forgets to keep me
My Father has many dear children;
But He never forgets to keep me.
Has He forgotten to keep you? Nay! He cannot forget. God has much in store for you; you are far from being out of His thoughts.
God's Word: Antidote to Evil
There was a time when the children of Israel hung their harps on the willows in defeat. Sometimes the believer does the same. The song of joy leaves his heart. It doesn't have to happen. I have seen thousands delivered from evil powers.
You must be aware that there is a great weakness in the land: It is a lack of knowledge. People hew out cisterns that can hold no water, instead of filling themselves with the Word of God.
You see, "There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear. . ."(I John 4:18 ). And where is God, who is Love? He is in the Word. He has embodied Himself in the Word. The Word spells destruction to all evil, because God is in the Word, and He is greater than all evil. Therefore, he that dwelleth in love is master of evil situations. He that dwelleth in GOD, in His presence and in His Word, is master of evil situations. We have no fear! We are over every sickness! Ours is a perfect redemption!
Concerning the healing Christ secured for us in redemption, some ask, "Does it last? Does the healing stand good?" Yes! What God does, He does to last forever!
Many years ago, God healed me when all my teeth were decayed and weak. God healed them when I was sixty-two. I am as fresh as a boy! Now, devil, take THAT! Such healing is God's plan, which is better than any other plan!
Some turn from God's plan because of fear. Others throw over God's wonderful plan because of a feeling. The Bible has so many precious promises, with wealth beyond all price, that God has planned for us to have. Seek after God's plan. Don't be unbelieving, for the waverer gets nothing. Real faith is established, never changing, and with it you'll get all God has for you.
Established Faith
"How can I get established faith?" you ask.
Abide under the shadow of the Almighty. Don't change your position, but always have the presence of God, the glory of God. Pay any price to abide under that covering, for the secret of victory is to abide where the Victor abides.
Higher, higher, nothing dreading
Never, never let me stop;
In thy footsteps keep my treading
Give me strength to reach the top.
Jesus has become the Author and the Finisher of your faith. Through faith in Him, you came to the Father, "For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation: (Romans 10:10 ). Your life is hid with Christ in God. You have no limitation when the holy breath blows an inward cry after Him.
Oh, do you know His Name? If you do, God will set you on high (Psalm 91:14 ). And you can ask what you will -- communion with Jesus, fellowship divine -- and it shall be given to you! It comes through knowledge of Jesus' Name, not just by whispering it now and then.
Call upon the lord, and he will answer you (Psalm 91:15). Feed upon His Word. To those who do, God hath said, "With long life will I satisfy him, and shew him my salvation" (Psalm 91:16). Amen.
A Sermon Preached by Smith Wigglesworth in 1921
Public Domain - Copy Freely
Back to: Online Books | Teachings
He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.
I will say of the Lord, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust.
Surely he shall deliver thee from the snare of the fowler, and from the noisome pestilence.
He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou trust: his truth shall be thy shield and buckler. Thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by night; nor for the arrow that flieth by day;
Nor for the pestilence that walketh in darkness; nor for the destruction that wasteth at noonday.
A thousand shall fall at thy side, and ten thousand at thy right hand; but it shall not come nigh thee.
Only with thine eyes shalt thou behold and see the reward of the wicked.
Because thou hast made the Lord, which is my refuge, even the most High, thy habitation;
There shall no evil befall thee, neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling.
For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways.
They shall bear thee up in their hands, lest thou dash thy foot against a stone.
Thou shalt tread upon the lion and adder: the young lion and the dragon shalt thou trample under feet.
Because he hath set his love upon me, therefore will I deliver him: I will set him on high, because he hath known my name. He shall call upon me, and I will answer him: I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him, and honour him. With long life will I satisfy him, and shew him my salvation. Psalm 91
The crown of life is for the overcomer. It is not for those at ease in Zion. We must be in the place where God can depend upon us to keep going until we see victory, never giving in and knowing no defeat, always making our stand by a living faith and gaining the victory. Faith is the victory.
This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent. John 6:29
England once had a war with France. Some prisoners were taken; among them, a drummer boy. Napoleon ordered him to sound a retreat. He said "No!" He had never learned one.
God never wants you to retreat before the enemy, but to learn the song of victory and overcome! Praise the Lord!
There are two kinds of shouts: a shout that is made, and a shout that makes you. There are men of God, but there are also men who are God's men. There is a place where you take hold of God, but there is a better place where God takes hold of you.
Psalm 91:1 says, "He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. " Do YOU know the presence of the Almighty? It is wonderful. It is a surety, with no wavering, no unbelief, no unrest there. It is perfect!
Fear the Lord
My great desire is to see men become strong in the Lord by dwelling in the secret place, which is known to all who fear Him.
Now, there are two kinds of fear. One fear involves being afraid of God. I hope you are not there. Unbelievers are there. But the believer should desire, rather, to die than to grieve God by fearing Him in this way.
Fellowship with God, peace, and power -- this is God's will for us, so don't fear that it isn't. No price is too great to pay to have it. It is our inheritance. Christ purchased it for us. Through Him we have the covering of the presence of the Almighty. What a covering the unfolding of His will is!
The secret place of the Lord is with those who fear Him in the second way: with respect and honor. Moses knew something about it. He feared God and said to Him, "If thy presence go not with me, carry us not up hence" (Exodus 33:15 ).
Oh, to dwell in the secret place, His presence! What will this presence do? It will dare us to believe all God says; assisting us to lay hold of the promises. We will have God so indwelling us that we will become a force, a power of God's abiding, until the time death is swallowed up in victory!
We have a great salvation filled with inspiration. It has no limitations; it makes known the immeasurable wonders of God.
If you are in the experience of verse 1, here is an added substance of faith for you. (It is a fact. And you need to have facts, inward facts, instead of "fearings" or feelings, because you will be beyond anyone's argument when you have them.) There are those who proclaim, "I will say of the Lord, he is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust" (Psalm 91:2 ). Who will say it? He that abideth! He who abides in the Lord knows he can trust in the Lord to protect him from harm.
Free From The Law of Sin and Death
There is no "kick" in the secret place -- no evil temper, no irritability. All is swept away while one is dwelling in the presence of the Almighty; in the covering of God. Even the best of humanity, when from the devil, is not good, and cannot remain in God's presence. Jesus was manifested to destroy ALL the works of the devil (I John 3:8 ).
For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh. Romans 8:3
God sent forth Jesus in the mightiness of His power. In flesh and in the midst of flesh, He condemned it. The law of the Spirit of life was destroying all that must be destroyed. Dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God, we then are above all in Him: He that is above all and through all and in you all.
This is a fact, not in human nature, but in God. It is the gift of God from heaven. We belong to the new creation, and we are in a wonderful place in life. It is a life free from the law of sin and death.
Can we keep ourselves there? GOD can keep us there.
He never forgets to keep me,
He never forgets to keep me
My Father has many dear children;
But He never forgets to keep me.
Has He forgotten to keep you? Nay! He cannot forget. God has much in store for you; you are far from being out of His thoughts.
God's Word: Antidote to Evil
There was a time when the children of Israel hung their harps on the willows in defeat. Sometimes the believer does the same. The song of joy leaves his heart. It doesn't have to happen. I have seen thousands delivered from evil powers.
You must be aware that there is a great weakness in the land: It is a lack of knowledge. People hew out cisterns that can hold no water, instead of filling themselves with the Word of God.
You see, "There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear. . ."(I John 4:18 ). And where is God, who is Love? He is in the Word. He has embodied Himself in the Word. The Word spells destruction to all evil, because God is in the Word, and He is greater than all evil. Therefore, he that dwelleth in love is master of evil situations. He that dwelleth in GOD, in His presence and in His Word, is master of evil situations. We have no fear! We are over every sickness! Ours is a perfect redemption!
Concerning the healing Christ secured for us in redemption, some ask, "Does it last? Does the healing stand good?" Yes! What God does, He does to last forever!
Many years ago, God healed me when all my teeth were decayed and weak. God healed them when I was sixty-two. I am as fresh as a boy! Now, devil, take THAT! Such healing is God's plan, which is better than any other plan!
Some turn from God's plan because of fear. Others throw over God's wonderful plan because of a feeling. The Bible has so many precious promises, with wealth beyond all price, that God has planned for us to have. Seek after God's plan. Don't be unbelieving, for the waverer gets nothing. Real faith is established, never changing, and with it you'll get all God has for you.
Established Faith
"How can I get established faith?" you ask.
Abide under the shadow of the Almighty. Don't change your position, but always have the presence of God, the glory of God. Pay any price to abide under that covering, for the secret of victory is to abide where the Victor abides.
Higher, higher, nothing dreading
Never, never let me stop;
In thy footsteps keep my treading
Give me strength to reach the top.
Jesus has become the Author and the Finisher of your faith. Through faith in Him, you came to the Father, "For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation: (Romans 10:10 ). Your life is hid with Christ in God. You have no limitation when the holy breath blows an inward cry after Him.
Oh, do you know His Name? If you do, God will set you on high (Psalm 91:14 ). And you can ask what you will -- communion with Jesus, fellowship divine -- and it shall be given to you! It comes through knowledge of Jesus' Name, not just by whispering it now and then.
Call upon the lord, and he will answer you (Psalm 91:15). Feed upon His Word. To those who do, God hath said, "With long life will I satisfy him, and shew him my salvation" (Psalm 91:16). Amen.
The Gospel in a Nutshell
The Gospel in a Nutshell!
The day is over, you are driving home. You tune in your radio. You hear a little blurb about a little village in India where some villagers have died suddenly, strangely, of a flu that has never been seen before. Its not influenza, but three of four people are dead, and its kind of interesting, and they are sending some doctors over there to investigate it.
You don't think much about it, but on Sunday, coming home from church, you hear another radio spot. Only they say its not three villagers, its 30,000 villagers in the back hills of this particular area of India, and it's on TV hat night. CNN runs a little blurb; people are heading there from the disease center in Atlanta because this disease strain has never been seen before.
By Monday morning when you get up, it’s the lead story. For its not just India; its Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iran and before you know it, you're hearing this story everywhere and they have coined it now as "the mystery flu."
The President has made some comment that he and everyone are praying and hoping that all will go well over there. But everyone is wondering, "How are we going to contain it?" That's when the President of France makes an announcement that shocks Europe. He is closing their borders. No flights from India, Pakistan, or any of the countries where this thing has been seen.
And that's why that night you are watching a little bit of CNN before going to bed. Your jaw hits your chest when a weeping woman is translated from a French news program into English; There's a man lying in a hospital in Paris dying of the mystery flu. It has come to Europe. Panic strikes. As best they can tell, once you get it you have it for a week before you know it. Then you have four days of unbelievable symptoms. And then you die.
Britain closes its borders, but it’s too late. South Hampton, Liverpool, North Hampton and its Tuesday morning when the President of the United States makes the following announcement: "Due to a national security risk, all flights to and from Europe and Asia have been canceled. If your loved ones are overseas, I'm sorry. They cannot come back until we find a cure for this thing." Within four days our nation has been plunged into an
unbelievable fear. People are talking about "What if it comes to this country"? And preachers on Tuesday are saying It’s the scourge of God.
It's Wednesday night and you are at a church prayer meeting when somebody runs in from the parking lot and yells, "Turn on a radio, turn on a radio!" And while the church listens to a little transistor radio with a microphone stuck up to it, the announcement is made. Two women are lying in a Long Island hospital dying from the mystery flu. Within hours it seems, this thing just sweeps across the country. People are working around the clock trying to find an antidote. Nothing is working. California, Oregon, Arizona, Florida, Massachusetts; it's as though it's just sweeping in from the borders. And then all of a sudden the news comes out. The code has been broken. A cure can be found. A vaccine can be made. It's going to take the blood of somebody who hasn't been infected and so, sure enough, all through the Midwest, through all those channels of emergency broadcasting, everyone is asked to do one simple thing: Go to your downtown hospital and have your blood type taken. That's all we ask of you. When you hear the sirens go off in your neighborhood, please make your way quickly, quietly and safely, to the hospitals.
Sure enough, when you and your family get down there late on that Friday night, there is a long line and they've got nurses and doctors coming out and pricking fingers and taking blood and putting labels on it. Your spouse and your kids are out there, and they take your blood type and they say, "wait here in the parking lot and if we call your name you can be dismissed and go home." You stand around, scared, with your neighbors, wondering what in the world is going on and if this is the end of the World. Suddenly a young man comes running out of the hospital screaming.
He's yelling a name and waving a clipboard. What? He yells it again! And your son tugs on your jacket and says," Daddy, that's me." Before you know it, they have grabbed your boy. "Wait a minute. Hold on!" And they say, Its okay, his blood is clean.
His blood is pure. We want to make sure he doesn't have the disease. We think he has got the right type. Five tense minutes later, out come the doctors and nurses crying and hugging one another-some are even laughing.
Its the first time you have seen anybody laugh in a week, and an old doctor walks up to you and says, "Thank you sir. Your son's blood type is perfect. Its clean, it is pure, and we can make the vaccine." As the word begins to spread all across that parking lot full of folks, people are screaming and praying and laughing and crying. But then the gray-haired doctor pulls you and your wife aside and says, "May we see you for a moment? We didn't realize that the donor would be a minor and we need.....we need you to sign a consent form." You begin to sign and then you see that the number of pints of blood to be taken is empty.
"H-h-h-ow many pints?" And that is when the old doctor's smile fades and he says, "We had no idea it would be a little child. We weren't prepared. We need it all!" "But-but. . . .I don't understand. He's my only son!" "We are talking about the world here. Please sign. We-We need it all!" But can't you give him a transfusion?" "If we had clean blood we would. Please, will you please sign?" In numb silence you do.
Then they say, "would you like to have a moment with him before we begin?" Could you walk back? Could you walk back to that room where he sits on a table saying, "Daddy? Mommy? What's going on?" Could you take his hands and say, "Son, your mommy and I love you and we would never ever let anything happen to you that didn't just have to be. Do you understand that?"
And when that old doctor comes back in and says, "I'm sorry, we've got to get started. People all over the world are dying." Could you leave? Could you walk out while he is saying, "Dad?…..Mom?………… Dad?…….Why. . . .Why have you forsaken me?"
And then next week, when they have the ceremony to honor your son, and some folks sleep through it, and some folks don't even bother to come because they have better things to do, and some folks come with just a pretentious smile and just pretend to care. Would you want to jump up and say, "EXCUSE ME! MY SON DIED FOR YOU! DON'T YOU EVEN CARE? DOES IT MEAN NOTHING TO YOU?"
I wonder, is that what God wants to say? "MY SON DIED FOR YOU! DOES IT MEAN NOTHING? DON'T YOU KNOW HOW MUCH I CARE?" Father, seeing it from your eyes should break our hearts. Maybe now we can begin to comprehend the great love you have for us.
So that's the gospel in a nutshell.
The day is over, you are driving home. You tune in your radio. You hear a little blurb about a little village in India where some villagers have died suddenly, strangely, of a flu that has never been seen before. Its not influenza, but three of four people are dead, and its kind of interesting, and they are sending some doctors over there to investigate it.
You don't think much about it, but on Sunday, coming home from church, you hear another radio spot. Only they say its not three villagers, its 30,000 villagers in the back hills of this particular area of India, and it's on TV hat night. CNN runs a little blurb; people are heading there from the disease center in Atlanta because this disease strain has never been seen before.
By Monday morning when you get up, it’s the lead story. For its not just India; its Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iran and before you know it, you're hearing this story everywhere and they have coined it now as "the mystery flu."
The President has made some comment that he and everyone are praying and hoping that all will go well over there. But everyone is wondering, "How are we going to contain it?" That's when the President of France makes an announcement that shocks Europe. He is closing their borders. No flights from India, Pakistan, or any of the countries where this thing has been seen.
And that's why that night you are watching a little bit of CNN before going to bed. Your jaw hits your chest when a weeping woman is translated from a French news program into English; There's a man lying in a hospital in Paris dying of the mystery flu. It has come to Europe. Panic strikes. As best they can tell, once you get it you have it for a week before you know it. Then you have four days of unbelievable symptoms. And then you die.
Britain closes its borders, but it’s too late. South Hampton, Liverpool, North Hampton and its Tuesday morning when the President of the United States makes the following announcement: "Due to a national security risk, all flights to and from Europe and Asia have been canceled. If your loved ones are overseas, I'm sorry. They cannot come back until we find a cure for this thing." Within four days our nation has been plunged into an
unbelievable fear. People are talking about "What if it comes to this country"? And preachers on Tuesday are saying It’s the scourge of God.
It's Wednesday night and you are at a church prayer meeting when somebody runs in from the parking lot and yells, "Turn on a radio, turn on a radio!" And while the church listens to a little transistor radio with a microphone stuck up to it, the announcement is made. Two women are lying in a Long Island hospital dying from the mystery flu. Within hours it seems, this thing just sweeps across the country. People are working around the clock trying to find an antidote. Nothing is working. California, Oregon, Arizona, Florida, Massachusetts; it's as though it's just sweeping in from the borders. And then all of a sudden the news comes out. The code has been broken. A cure can be found. A vaccine can be made. It's going to take the blood of somebody who hasn't been infected and so, sure enough, all through the Midwest, through all those channels of emergency broadcasting, everyone is asked to do one simple thing: Go to your downtown hospital and have your blood type taken. That's all we ask of you. When you hear the sirens go off in your neighborhood, please make your way quickly, quietly and safely, to the hospitals.
Sure enough, when you and your family get down there late on that Friday night, there is a long line and they've got nurses and doctors coming out and pricking fingers and taking blood and putting labels on it. Your spouse and your kids are out there, and they take your blood type and they say, "wait here in the parking lot and if we call your name you can be dismissed and go home." You stand around, scared, with your neighbors, wondering what in the world is going on and if this is the end of the World. Suddenly a young man comes running out of the hospital screaming.
He's yelling a name and waving a clipboard. What? He yells it again! And your son tugs on your jacket and says," Daddy, that's me." Before you know it, they have grabbed your boy. "Wait a minute. Hold on!" And they say, Its okay, his blood is clean.
His blood is pure. We want to make sure he doesn't have the disease. We think he has got the right type. Five tense minutes later, out come the doctors and nurses crying and hugging one another-some are even laughing.
Its the first time you have seen anybody laugh in a week, and an old doctor walks up to you and says, "Thank you sir. Your son's blood type is perfect. Its clean, it is pure, and we can make the vaccine." As the word begins to spread all across that parking lot full of folks, people are screaming and praying and laughing and crying. But then the gray-haired doctor pulls you and your wife aside and says, "May we see you for a moment? We didn't realize that the donor would be a minor and we need.....we need you to sign a consent form." You begin to sign and then you see that the number of pints of blood to be taken is empty.
"H-h-h-ow many pints?" And that is when the old doctor's smile fades and he says, "We had no idea it would be a little child. We weren't prepared. We need it all!" "But-but. . . .I don't understand. He's my only son!" "We are talking about the world here. Please sign. We-We need it all!" But can't you give him a transfusion?" "If we had clean blood we would. Please, will you please sign?" In numb silence you do.
Then they say, "would you like to have a moment with him before we begin?" Could you walk back? Could you walk back to that room where he sits on a table saying, "Daddy? Mommy? What's going on?" Could you take his hands and say, "Son, your mommy and I love you and we would never ever let anything happen to you that didn't just have to be. Do you understand that?"
And when that old doctor comes back in and says, "I'm sorry, we've got to get started. People all over the world are dying." Could you leave? Could you walk out while he is saying, "Dad?…..Mom?………… Dad?…….Why. . . .Why have you forsaken me?"
And then next week, when they have the ceremony to honor your son, and some folks sleep through it, and some folks don't even bother to come because they have better things to do, and some folks come with just a pretentious smile and just pretend to care. Would you want to jump up and say, "EXCUSE ME! MY SON DIED FOR YOU! DON'T YOU EVEN CARE? DOES IT MEAN NOTHING TO YOU?"
I wonder, is that what God wants to say? "MY SON DIED FOR YOU! DOES IT MEAN NOTHING? DON'T YOU KNOW HOW MUCH I CARE?" Father, seeing it from your eyes should break our hearts. Maybe now we can begin to comprehend the great love you have for us.
So that's the gospel in a nutshell.
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