Tag Archives: righteousness

Gracious and Seasoned with Salt

Posted on by

“Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person” (Colossians 4:6) 

It’s no secret as to how Christians are to engage an unbelieving world. Having received grace, grace should always be the manner in which we approach anyone with the good news of Jesus Christ. The apostle Paul was a staunch defender of the gospel. As a result, he had plenty of opposition. There were many false teachers who tried to corrupt, even in very subtle ways, the true gospel. Not falling prey to this false teaching was a primary emphasis of Paul’s letter to the Colossians. His desire was for them to “be filled with the knowledge of God’s will and to walk in a manner worthy of the call of Christ (Colossians 1:9-10). Ultimately, Paul’s goal was for them to know that to be accepted by God, all they needed was Christ.

Our goal in Christian ministry should always be to have people run to Christ, not from Him. Christians are to be the “salt of the earth” (Matthew 5:13). How we approach and engage an unbelieving world matters. It’s not that we have to deviate from the truth of the gospel or lessen the discussion around the issue of sin. Sin is what separates us from God, and no matter how much our culture might try to redefine it, sin is what God says it is. But as we do engage, we must first and foremost extend to others the grace God extended to us. You and I can’t know what someone else may going through or what may be causing their resistance to the gospel. We are simply called to lovingly share the message of Jesus. We’re to meet people where they are and interact with them in a way that would commend the gospel to them. We’re to be a vessel that God uses to draw people to Himself.

Always remember, those around you are watching. Do they know your story? Do they see Christ in you? You never know where people might be at a particular time. And you never know if your actions in a moment will be what God uses to extend His saving arms to those in need of His grace. That’s why you must make sure to always let your speech be gracious and seasoned with salt.

Teach Me Your Way, O LORD

Posted on by

“Teach me your way, O LORD, that I may walk in your truth; unite my heart to fear your name” (Psalm 86:11)

I love the stories of God’s grace in the lives of the people in the Bible. I especially love the lessons that Scripture has to teach us about King David, a man after God’s own heart, yet a man who sinned greatly. David sinned on the biggest of stages and suffered heart wrenching consequences for those sins. 1&2 Samuel tells the story of David’s life, and his writings in the Psalms tell of his emotions at those various stages. Psalm 86 is a prime example of such a psalm. David was in trouble. There were people seeking to take his life, “O God, insolent men have risen up against me; a band of ruthless men seek my life.” (v.14). There’s no doubt that David brought some of his problems on himself. He found himself calling on God for mercy often. And though he sometimes stumbled, David’s heart was faithful to seek instruction from the Lord on how to better walk in truth.

I believe one of the reasons David’s stories are so loved is that they bear a resemblance to our own lives as Christians. Just as David did, we slip, slide and stumble through this life. David’s wide ranging emotions are much like ours. And you can see them clearly as they flow freely from his pen in the psalms. In his devotional Morning and Evening, Charles Spurgeon writes that the reason David’s psalms are so universally loved is that “no matter our frame of mind, whether ecstasy or depression, David has exactly described our emotions”. He goes on to say that David “was an able master of the human heart because he had been tutored in the best of all schools—the school of heartfelt personal experience”.

The Christian life will always have its ups and downs. Our emotions will sometimes run wild and there will always be choices for us to make along the way—a choice to obey God’s way, or a choice to seek our own way. Which way will we choose? “Teach me your way, O LORD, that I may walk in your truth; unite my heart to fear your name”. That was David’s cry and God was merciful to hear that cry. Let that be our cry as well.

Cornerstone

Posted on by

“therefore thus says the Lord God, ‘Behold, I am the one who has laid as a foundation in Zion, a stone, a tested stone, a precious cornerstone, of a sure foundation: Whoever believes will not be in haste’” (Isaiah 28:16)

The New Year always seems to be an appropriate time to reassess the past and perhaps reorder our priorities. It just seems the right time to consider necessary changes as we move forward into the future. The first Sunday of the New Year, our pastor taught from the beginning verses of Isaiah 41. I’m not sure whether the passage was chosen specifically for the first Sunday, but it was certainly an appropriate one. In his sermon, he encouraged us to know and experience both the greatness of God and His presence in our lives. One of the primary passages in the text was Isaiah 41:10, “Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand”. In this same service we sang several songs whose themes aligned with what was taught. One of the songs was Cornerstone, a remake of an old hymn written in 1834, known today as “The Solid Rock”. The song has an updated chorus that was written and recorded by several members of the worship group Hillsong, and was born out of a mass shooting that took place in Norway in 2011. In an interview about what inspired the song, one of the co-writers indicated that circumstances such as this shooting are reminders that when everything appears to be shaken and nothing seems to make sense, we really need to put our faith in Jesus, the Cornerstone.

In ancient building practices, a cornerstone was the large stone that served as the foundation for the entire structure. It was a special piece that needed to be perfectly set. In a figurative sense, a cornerstone is the thing we build our life around. It is what we value the most. It is what we prioritize. It is what we say “no” to other things for because we have said “yes” to it, and of course, it is what we stand on in times of uncertainty. When speaking about the Lord, we find the image of a stone or rock used in both the Old and New Testaments. The point of Isaiah 28:16 is that God has established a sure foundation for His people, a sure foundation that the Old Testament points to and the New Testament reveals. This sure foundation is Jesus Christ. Peter referred to Christ as a “living stone” as He is both the source and giver of eternal life. Those who trusted in Him he called “living stones” (1 Peter 2:4-5). For those who rejected His Word, Jesus became a stone of stumbling (1 Peter 2:8). He is a stone of stumbling for those who reject Him today.

As years pass, the pace at which they go seems only to increase. That begs the question, not because it’s the New Year, but because the answer has eternal consequences. Is Christ your cornerstone? Have you put your trust in Him? Is He your priority? Is He the “rock” upon which you stand? Maybe this is the year to make some changes and put Jesus in His rightful place. In this New Year, why not try standing on the solid rock of Christ, because the truth is, all other ground really is just sinking sand.

About Sin

Posted on by

“For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23)

The fact that we are all sinners is clearly taught in Scripture. Speaking to both Jews and Gentiles, Paul spent the first two and a half chapters making the case that all have sinned and fallen short of God’s glory. Known as the Apostle Paul’s most theological letter, Romans spells out the whole of the gospel more than any other letter. It’s not an accident that in doing so, he began with sin.

There are two dangerous attitudes toward sin that we need to be cautioned against. The first is the attitude that shrugs off sin with words like, “I’m just a sinner; God knows that”. While we are sinners, and yes, God does know that, our attitude toward sin matters. God has commanded us to “be holy, for I am holy!” (1 Peter 1:16). A casual attitude toward sin never brings glory to God. A second dangerous attitude toward sin is an attitude that believes we are incapable of great sin. It is often manifested by judging someone else by saying something like, “I can’t believe what they did. I would never do that.” Be careful, we all have a sin nature and are capable of great sin. If you believe you’re not, you’ll be less likely to guard against it. The Christian life requires discipline. We must train ourselves for godliness (1 Timothy 4:7).

I once heard a sermon where a pastor in preaching to prospective pastors in seminary training said that if in their preaching they do not confront their congregation about sin, it not only brings into question their love for their congregation, but also their love for God. When your pastor confronts you with your sin, be grateful. He’s preaching the Bible. However, also know that the natural extension of confronting you with your sin is for him to tell you of its cure, Jesus Christ. It has been said that “the first act of faith is to believe what God says about sin”. It’s true. And what brings people to saving faith is what God did about it. He gave His Son to pay sin’s penalty. Have you placed your faith in that truth? Jesus really did pay it all. He paid it willingly, perfectly and for all time. After such a display of love, how could we be so casual about what Christ came to cure?

Walking in What?

Posted on by

“This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in Him is no darkness at all. If we say we have fellowship with Him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth” (1 John 1:5-6)

No one dealt more directly in their writing about what should be the character of a Christian than the apostle John. The Bible doesn’t teach that we should be in constant doubt of our salvation, but it also does not teach that a life devoid of obedience to the will of God is testimony of saving faith.

In the first chapter of 1 John, the apostle uses light and darkness to contrast those who are real versus those who aren’t. In Scripture, “light” refers to biblical truth whereas “darkness” signifies error.  When we walk in light (in truth and holiness), we affirm God’s work in us. When we walk in darkness (in sin), we affirm the opposite.

The apostle John doesn’t pull any punches in his letters. The truths about character and faith are ones we must confront. He was not alone in his teaching that sin cannot be the pattern of our lives if our testimonies are to be true. The apostle Paul spoke clearly on this issue as well (Romans 6:1-2). Though sin will be an ever present enemy and a tool Satan will use against us, our union with Christ and the Holy Spirit’s presence in us has broken its power. The Bible tells us that “there is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (Romans 8:1). At the same time it says, “Examine yourselves, to see whether you are in the faith” (2 Corinthians 13:5). Our pattern of life should always be consistent with our profession.

So, what is the pattern of your life? Are you moving more and more toward Christ? Though never perfect, is your heart set to do God’s will? Let us examine our lives to see if our practices line up with what we say we believe. And let our hearts long for obedience to the will of God in response to His magnificent grace.

Self-Determined Apart from God

Posted on by

“…they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen” (Romans 1:25)

When I first heard the quote, my mind immediately went to Romans 1:18-32 and quite frankly the state of our nation. Ravi Zacharias was preaching a series on Saul, Israel’s first king when he said, “When you are determined in going in a certain direction, it’s quite possible that God would step aside and second your motion”. The series was entitled A Life That Lost Its Focus. It seems hard to believe the extent to which our nation is ignoring God’s will. More and more, politicians from both parties support policies contrary to what God desires for our nation. One of our nation’s most polarizing debates is on the issue of same-sex marriage. It’s an issue in which God has spoken clearly.

Romans 1:18-32 confronts the issue of unrighteousness and the consequences that result from it. This passage may be a difficult part of Scripture, but it is a necessary part. In it, Paul spoke of judgment on the unrighteous, judgment that came because the truth about God had been perverted, the people had exchanged the truth about God for a lie. Three times in this section of Romans, Paul wrote that “God gave them up”. In essence, God seconded their motion, removed His restraining hand and allowed the unrighteous to continue in their sin only to suffer the consequences of it. This was God’s judgment.

Scripture repeatedly demonstrates the biblical principle that obedience brings blessing while disobedience brings judgment. Though we try, we can’t divide God in His attributes? We can’t elevate His mercy and grace above His holiness and righteousness. To accept one attribute as true is to accept them all as true. He is perfect in each of them.

In the book of Romans, Paul laid out the gospel in its clearest terms. He began with sin (Romans 1:18-3:20). Scripture is clear about sin, not only sexual sin, but all sin. God can’t look upon it. However, sometimes in order to not offend or hurt people’s feelings, sin is either downplayed or all together left out of the gospel presentation. When such is the case, the gospel has not been presented, just a false imitation. This doesn’t mean we should be anything less than gracious as we share the need for forgiveness of sin. We all share equally in that need.

We are at a crisis point in our nation. Our national leaders seem to have lost focus on doing God’s will on matters of public policy. For the most part, they stand for nothing. Equally unfortunate is that much of the electorate is either uninformed of this fact or simply does not care. We should. Our rights are not endowed by a president or legislature intoxicated by power, but by our Creator, and as such, we are to submit to His will. If we persist in going a way that is contrary to the will of God, there comes a point in which He will step aside, allow us to go our own way, pursue our sin and suffer the consequences as a result of it. Are we now at that place in our country? Have we lost our focus? Have you lost yours? As Christians, we believe what we do because the Bible says it. For all the noble arguments that form the basis of support for marriage being between one man and one woman, because the Bible says so is where the argument ends. Though unbelievers couldn’t care less about biblical authority, Christians must hold to it.

Thankfully for us, Paul didn’t stop at Romans 3:20, but under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, continued to write, showing us the magnificence of God’s grace through the atoning work of Jesus Christ. The “giving over” to sin and its judgment Paul spoke of in this passage was not eternal. One day His judgment will be. But today, judgment for sin is meant to drive us to seek God’s grace. And God is ready to give that grace. It comes at the cross. And it comes because of Jesus. He is our only hope! So, if you need to regain your focus, try focusing on Him.