Sunday, October 06,
2013, 9:06 a.m. – the Lord Jesus woke me with the song “Who Believes?” playing in my mind. Speak, Lord, your words to my
heart. I read Romans 5:1-11 (ESV). I
will reverse the order of the verses to make them chronological.
While Still Sinners
For
while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For
one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one
would dare even to die— but God shows his love for us in that while we were
still sinners, Christ died for us. Since, therefore, we have now been justified
by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. For if
while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much
more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life. More than
that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we
have now received reconciliation. ~ Rom. 5:6-11
There is nothing we can do to deserve or to earn our
salvation. We can never do enough good or avoid enough bad to merit salvation.
It is provided for us totally undeserved. Jesus didn’t die for us because of
our goodness or because of our own righteousness. He died for us even while we
were yet sinners. So, not one of us can ever boast that it was our own
goodness, or a result of our own good works, that brought about salvation in
our lives. The blood of Jesus Christ alone provided the necessary sacrifice for
sin. When he died, our sins died with him; they were buried with him. When he
rose from the dead, our sins remained buried, thus he conquered sin, death,
hell and Satan through his death and resurrection. And, because of what he did
for us, we are able to be made right with God, be given freedom from slavery to
sin, the hope of eternal life with God in glory, and we are able to be free to
walk in the Spirit of God, no longer gratifying the desires of the flesh. All
this is the working of the Holy Spirit in our lives as we surrender to his will
and allow his Spirit to work in and through our lives for his glory. To God be
the glory! Great things HE has done!
Access by Faith
Therefore,
since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord
Jesus Christ. Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace
in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. (vv. 1-2)
What Jesus Christ did, he did for everyone. Yet, not
everyone is saved. We must accept God’s free gift to us by faith. This word
“faith” is often a much disputed subject among those who teach the gospel, or
among those professing faith in Jesus Christ. What we do know for sure is that
faith is supernatural, it is a gift from God, and it is not something fleshly
or worldly (See Eph. 2:8-9). We can only come to faith in Jesus Christ because
the Father first draws us to Christ, and only through the Spirit of God can we
even have the faith to believe. So, true faith cannot be generated in our own
flesh natures, but is of the Spirit of God as appropriated to our lives.
In other words, we can choose to believe, or we can choose
not to believe. The gift is ours, but we must put it into practice in our
lives. We have to choose to act upon what has been provided for us. It will
never be forced upon us, and not everyone has it just because it has been
provided. We must each individually surrender to Jesus Christ, believe in what
he did for us through his death and resurrection, and we must allow the Holy
Spirit of God to transform our hearts and to make us new creatures in Christ
Jesus, our Lord.
So, what is faith?
Jesus said we have to repent of our sins to have eternal
life. Although literally the word means to have a change of mind, in the context
of scripture the word is most always used in the sense of turning away from our
sin or wickedness and turning to God; to walk in his ways. One example Jesus
cited on the subject of repentance was the people of Nineveh who repented at
the preaching of Jonah. They turned from their wickedness and they believed
God. Paul spoke of repentance in the sense of repenting of impurity, sexual sin
and debauchery. In the letters to the seven churches, it is real clear that
when Jesus says to repent, he means to stop doing the bad they were doing and
to do what he says to do. This teaching is taught all throughout the New
Testament. Jesus said he came to call sinners to repentance. He also said that,
unless we repent, we will perish. As well, he said that repentance for the
forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations.
Peter said that repentance leads to life. Paul said that God
commands all people to repent. Paul said that he preached that people should
repent and turn to God and demonstrate their repentance by their deeds. He also
said that godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation. And, John
wrote that there will be people in the time of tribulation who will not repent
of their worship of demons, their idols, murders, magic arts, sexual immorality
or thefts. So, repentance is clearly associated with turning away from sin and
with turning to walk with God in his ways and in his righteousness. And, it is
clear throughout the New Testament that repentance is required for eternal life
with God and for forgiveness of sin.
Jesus also said that if we want to come after him, we must
deny (disallow) ourselves (our self-life), take up our cross daily (die daily
to sin and self) and follow (obey) him (See Lu. 9:23-25). He said his sheep
know his voice, they listen to him, and they follow (obey) him (see John 10).
He told his disciples that they were to go and make disciples of all nations,
teaching them to obey everything Christ commanded them. He said that whoever
obeys his word will never see death; that whoever loves him will obey his
teaching, and that he and the Father will make their home with that person.
The apostles said that the Holy Spirit is given to those who
obey Christ. In Hebrews we read that Jesus Christ became the source of eternal
salvation for all who obey him, and that Abraham, by faith, obeyed and did what
God told him to do. And, John said that if we say we know God but we do not do
what he commands, then we are liars, and the truth is not in us. Paul also said
that obedience leads to righteousness, and that it comes from faith. And, John
said that love for God is to walk in obedience to his commands. And, Jesus said
if we keep his commands we remain in his love. So, it is also obvious from
scripture that obedience (not keeping the law) is an essential component of
true faith.
Paul said that the way we come to know Christ is by
forsaking our former lives of living for self and sin, by being transformed in
heart and mind (of the Spirit of God), and by putting on our new selves in
Christ Jesus, “created to be like Christ in true righteousness and holiness”
(See Eph. 4:17-24). So, here again we have a picture of believing faith as that
of turning away from lifestyles of sin (repentance), being transformed of the
Spirit of God, and putting on our new lives in Christ, which are created to be
like Christ in true righteousness and holiness. And, James makes a strong case
for the fact that faith without action is dead, and that even the demons
believe and they shudder.
So, I would put to you that the faith that gives us access
to God’s grace is faith that proves itself to be genuine through repentance and
through obedience (surrender to God), yet I believe that only in the power and
working of the Spirit within us can we have such faith.
Rejoice in Suffering
Not
only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces
endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and
hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our
hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us. (vv. 3-5)
One of the main ways in which Jesus suffered and his
disciples and apostles and the church throughout history has suffered is via
persecution. Jesus told his brothers that he was hated because he told the
people that what they were doing was wrong (evil). And, he said that, as his
followers, that we will be hated just as he was hated, and for the same
reasons. The world (even the worldly church) will hate us because we preach the
gospel that says that we must turn away from our lifestyles of sin, we must be
transformed in heart and mind of the Spirit of God, and we must follow our Lord
in obedience and surrender to his will. This obedience is not following a set
of rules, though. It is death to sin and self, and it is being made alive in
Christ Jesus; it is Jesus Christ living his life in and through me as I yield
control of my life over to him, submitting to his will, surrendering to his
working in my life. It is a complete and radical change of life – no longer I,
but Christ in me. Yet, many will not want to hear this, and so we may suffer
persecution and even be hated for telling the truth.
Yet, God allows us to go through such times of suffering,
because it develops within us godly character, hope and endurance. I can attest
from personal experience that the things I have suffered in this life have drawn
me even closer to my Lord, they have helped to strengthen me, to put within me
resolve and determination to persevere, and they have also made me ever aware
of God’s grace, his love, compassion, mercy, forgiveness and his faithfulness
to me, even at times when I was faithless. We serve an awesome God!
Who Believes? /
An Original Work / October 3, 2013
Based off Isaiah 53
Gospel message, who
believes?
Jesus Christ died on a
tree,
Saving us from all our
sin,
So we might be
cleansed within.
Had no beauty found in
Him,
That we should desire
Him.
Man of sorrows,
suffering;
Crushed for our
iniquities.
Surely He has borne
our griefs;
From our sadness,
brings relief.
Bore the stripes;
forsaken, He,
So forgiven we might
be.
We, like sheep, have
gone astray,
Each of us turned his
own way.
Jesus calls, “Repent
today;
My commandments, now
obey.”
Jesus said, to come to
him,
We must die to all our
sin.
Crucified with Him, we
live,
Walking in His
righteousness.
Suff’ring servants, we
will be,
Taking His identity on
us,
When confessing Him
As our Savior, Lord
and King.
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