“He is not here: for he is risen, as he said” ~ Matt. 28:6
As He Said
Tag: Faith
Free Indeed
Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed. ~ John 8:36
I love music, but I never learned to play an instrument. Yet, one of my favorite pastimes is listening to music. And though I never personally learned to play a guitar, the drums, a saxophone or piano, I can certainly appreciate the amazing talent, commitment, hard work and devotion that goes into mastering one of these or many other instruments.
Though I love music, I am not free to make music on my own. At least, not through instrumentation. Those who first train on those instruments, and take lesson after lesson for years, are the ones who are free to produce the wonderful sounds of rhythm and harmony who others, like myself, are not free to make on our own. In other words, it is only through the confining discipline of submitting oneself to the rigors of apprehending the musical instrument that one is truly free to play whatever they choose.
Likewise, it is only through submitting yourself to the Lord Jesus Christ that one becomes spiritually free. Until then, we are in bondage, in bondage to sin and confined to the limitations of our own sinful nature. Limited in our freedom to spiritually enjoy the richness of Christ. It is by discipline, apprehending, and submitting oneself to God that one truly tastes freedom.
The world will try to offer you it’s version of freedom. But it is a false freedom. It will seek to entice you with freedom from discipline, from responsibility, and from accountability to God and others. But this is not real freedom. Like the concert pianists who only through years and years of disciplined training is he free to play whatever he chooses, it is only through discipleship to Jesus that spiritual freedom ever comes. Freedom to love, serve and honor the Savior. But, once Christ sets you free, be assured dear friend, you are free indeed.
~ apl
Refreshing The Congregation
“We are the nurses of Christ’s little ones. If we keep from taking food ourselves, we will famish them; it will soon be visible in their leanness, and in the dull discharge of their several duties. If we let our love decline, we are not likely to raise theirs. If we abate our holy care and fear, it will appear in our preaching: if the matter does not show it, the manner will. If we feed on unwholesome food, whether errors or fruitless controversies, our hearers are likely to fare the worse for it. Whereas, if we would abound in faith, and love, and zeal, it would overflow to the refreshment of our congregations, and it would appear in the increase of those same graces in them!”
~ Richard Baxter, The Reformed Pastor
See God In His Creatures
“It must be well observed that God did not lay aside the relation of a Creator by becoming our Redeemer; but in some respect, the work of redemption is subordinate to that of creation, and the law of the Redeemer is subordinate to the law of the Creator. In the same way, the duties which we owed to God as Creator have not ceased, but the duties we owe to the Redeemer, as such, are subordinate to them. It is the work of Christ to bring us back to God, and to restore us to the perfection of holiness and obedience. And just as he is the way to the Father, so faith in him is the way to our former employment and enjoyment of God. I hope you perceive what I intend in all this: namely, that to see God in his creatures, and to love him, and to converse with him, was the employment of man in his upright estate. This has not ceased to be our duty. In fact, far from it: it is the work of Christ to bring us back to it by faith.”
~ Richard Baxter, The Reformed Pastor
Simple Faith
Simple faith, desires to please;
Bows its head, bends its knees.
Longs for grace, to see God's face.
Sustains the weak, stops our stumble.
In the eyes of Christ, such faith is dear;
It's free to all, who will draw near.
~ apl
The True Son of Man
“From that time Jesus began to preach and to say, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”
~ Matthew 4:17
The Christian message has ceased to be a pronouncement and has become instead a proposition. Scarcely anyone catches the imperious note in the words spoken by Jesus Christ. The invitational element of the Christian message has been pressed far out of proportion in the total scriptural scene. Christ with His lantern, His apologetic stance and His weak pleading face has taken the place of the true Son of Man whom John saw—His eyes as a flame of fire, His feet like burnished brass, and His voice as the sound of many waters. Only the Holy Spirit can reveal our Lord as He really is, and He does not paint in oils.
~ A.W. Tozer
A Certain Kind of Spirit
“God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love…”
~ 2 Timothy 1:7
The Christian spirit should be one of boldness, courage and might. Often times, the timidity and humility that should shroud the Christian’s demeanor is misunderstood as weakness, frailty or even fear. But hidden inside the inner believer, deep inside the heart of the true follow of Christ, there lies the potential for a spirit of holy endurance, perseverance and strength.
The Lord Jesus showed His disciples this kind of reserved yet powerful spirit when He confronted the false teachers and corrupt religious men of His day. He demonstrated that though a meek and lowly figure, He would fashion a whip and drive those evil men out of the temple who sought to desecrate it. The spirit of Christ was a spirit of strength and might.
The spirit God has endowed the believer with is not only one of power, but also of love. It is good that strength and power be tempered by love. It is also worth noting it is only perfect love that truly cast out fear. Nothing will do more in the Christian life to cast out all our fear and doubt and foster in us a boldness for Christ than the love we have for Him.
Paul desired to encourage Timothy in his walk with Christ by reminding him of the kind of spirit God had imparted to him. A spirit not of fear, but of power and love. If you, dear reader, are currently walking in spiritual doubt or fear; if your spirit lacks the power and love you sincerely desire, seek the Lord, draw near to Christ in prayer and supplication, and come to more fully realize the kind of spirit God has intended for you as well.
~ apl
Do Not Marvel
“Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’
~ John 3:7
This proclamation from our Lord Jesus to Nicodemus in John chapter 3 still stand as the watershed declaration that separates true followers of Jesus Christ from the rest of the world. Jesus’ words sets Christianity apart from all else. To be Christ’s disciple, to be adopted into the family of the Lord, to be established in covenant with Jehovah God, you must be born again.
So what does it mean when the Bible says one must be born again to enter the kingdom of heaven? Well, this is where knowing the original language can be helpful. The word translated here “again” means “from above”. The phrase could be literally translated “You must be born from above, or from a higher place”. The idea Jesus was conveying is that of a spiritual birth.
To be born again, that is, from above, means we are transformed in our very being, in our principles, our feelings, and our manner of life. The beginning of this new life is called the new birth, or regeneration. It is so called because in many respects it has a striking analogy to our natural birth. It is the beginning of spiritual life. It reveals the light of the Gospel. It is the moment when we really begin to live with any purpose. Being born again is the moment when God reveals Himself to us as our reconciled Father, and we as adopted sons and daughters.
Though this new birth is a work of the Holy Spirit, we realize this glorious regenerating grace through our own personal repentance and faith. Through this new life we begin to experience the living God in our life. That is, through turning away from sin and turning towards Christ. There is no other way to be reconciled to God. My prayer is, dear reader, that you already know, or come to know Jesus’ words as your own, “You must be born again”.
~ apl
A Work In Progress
“Being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ”
~ Philippians 1:6
In the year 1192 A.D. ground breaking took place on what would eventually become one of the most remarkable, iconic and unique buildings ever constructed. It was in this year the freestanding bell tower of the cathedral in the Italian city of Pisa was begun. Shortly after construction of the 183 ft. tower started, the tower began to lean because of soft, unstable and unfirmed ground underneath. One hundred and ninety nine years later, in the year 1372, the tower was finally completed. Construction had to be slowed down over the decades as to allow the ground underneath to harden where it could support the structure. As a result, and with much enduring patience, this beauty and iconic tower took almost 200 years to complete.
In many ways, the Christian life is like that leaning tower of Pisa. And in Philippians 1:6, we read about how God is slowly but surely building in each of us, a beautiful, if even imperfect, image of Himself. Just because you’re a Christian, doesn’t mean you’re already perfect. Becoming a follower of Christ, doesn’t automatically sweep all your troubles away. Like that leaning tower, believers often feel like they may fall, they might stumble in their faith and lose all hope. Yet in our verse today, we find hope, encouragement and God’s promise.
Looking a little closer at verse 6 then, Paul says three distinct things: 1. Being confident of this very thing 2. He who began a good work in you 3. Will complete it until the day of Christ Jesus. Paul begins this verse with full assurance and confidence in what he was about to say. He’s using particularly strong language here. He’s saying what I’m about to tell you, I tell you with the certainty of all my hope, faith and trust in God and the Lord Jesus Christ. There was not the shadow of a doubt in the mind of the Apostle that these words aren’t as true as the God in whom Paul placed his faith.
What did Paul assert to believe? Well first, that He who began a good work in you… What is the good work the Apostle Paul is referring to here in the lives of the Philippians? Well, he is speaking of their salvation, of the redemption brought to them through the finished work of Christ and the spread of that Gospel message which did reach and convert them. So the “He” is God Himself. It is God who works the grace and gift of salvation into the hearts of sinners. The Bible speaks of the transforming work of God in different ways such as being born again, receiving a new heart, repenting or turning from sin. So it is the Lord who opens our hearts and minds to Himself. It is He, that is God, who began a good work in you. And of course, like we said, that good work is really the greatest and glorious of all works that the Lord could ever do on behalf of mankind, the work of salvation, the work of Christ on Calvary, of saving people from their sins.
It is this third part of Paul’s comments though, I want to spend a little more time on. He says, I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you, WILL complete it. God knows nothing of an incomplete project. Just as with the work of Creation where in 7 days God finished the work of establishing the heavens and the earth, so too, does His Word promise He will complete that work of salvation in the hearts and lives of all those who belong to Him. God does not leave us unfinished, half done, incomplete Christians. He who began the good work of salvation, finishes that glorious work until the day of Christ Jesus. What the Bible is teaching us here is God does not forget nor forsake those He calls to Himself. Once we are called unto salvation, God through Christ, ultimately sees us through to the end. The work of salvation is a persevering work. In Romans 8:30 the Bible put it this way saying those God calls, these He also justifies; and whom He justified, these He also glorifies. Salvation once begun in the heart of the redeemed sinner is one day fully and finally completed.
And this, beloved, is where our assurance and our hope come from – from the goodness and grace of God. The reality is though, we struggle with this truth. Though we might know it is true, we don’t always feel it is true. We know we fail God. We know we aren’t always what we ought to be. We know sin continues to be a reality in our lives and all this can and does cause us to question our salvation. And no can really blame you when you wonder why God would want to have anything to do with you when you still disobey Him and do things you know displease Him. But I think it is because we do sometimes let doubt creep in that Scripture offers us these comforting words. That even though all those things are true, we never stop being loved and accepted by God our Father through Christ our Lord.
God’s love is greater than our weakness. Therefore He will complete the work of salvation in you and will bring you ultimately to Himself one day. But till that day, we are all still a work in progress. Like Paul says elsewhere in Sacred Writ, it is not as if we have already achieved or attained perfection. If you are still walking this earth, and you belong to Him, then you are a wonderful work in progress. Christians are not perfect, but we are forgiven and that makes all the difference. It took almost 200 years for the Italians to complete the leaning tower of Pisa. And to this day, centuries later it’s still leaning but it’s still standing. It was important enough for them to keep working on, even though they knew it was inherently flawed.
God promises to abide with us and to sanctify us little by little day by day, even though we might be flawed. He looks past those flaws to the sacrifice of Jesus on our behalf. And the Bible says He will never leave us nor forsake us. My prayer is that in those times when we might become discouraged in our faith, when we might be tempted to question the very salvation Jesus purchased for us with His own blood, that we would turn to passages like this one here in Philippians 1:6 an other like texts and lean on the promise of God and His Word, that He who began a good work in you, and in me, will certainly complete it until the day of Christ Jesus.
~ apl
Grace In Time Of Need
“Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need”
~ Hebrews 4:16
As a result of the supremacy of Christ in His priesthood, and His attending mediatorial office of interceding on behalf of His people, we can come boldly (that is with confidence, with assurance, with conviction and by faith in the work of Christ) to the God’s throne of grace. I like to think we do this in our prayers. As we come before God in prayer, we can confidently approach Him on the veracity of His own character, and we can seek Him out, as our verse says, in time of need. It is by faith in Christ and with God that we may find and obtain mercy and grace. What wonderful comfort that is for those who have Christ as their Great High Priest.
~ apl
A Prayer Life 