More Thoughts About Grace, Justification, and Salvation To Come.....

It has been an interesting couple of days since I posted my last blog. I want to say that I appreciate so much the many people who have called, e-mailed me, and reached out to me. Your positive responses and affirmation that you agree with what I said meant a lot to me.

I am going to have a lot more to say on my blog about works, justification, sanctification, and salvation in the future because I am going to talk about Romans quite a bit in the coming weeks. I discussed grace Wednesday and will have more to say about it as well. So "the whole" of what I teach will be clarified in the future. In the meantime, because the book of Romans has a lot to say about grace, and I plan to cover that, perhaps it is important to lay some groundwork as we go forward:

• I oppose Calvinism. I do not agree with the overall whole of it, nor do I espouse any facet of it.
  


• I do not believe that all we have to do in order to be saved is just receive God's grace and then "sit there and do nothing." I unequivocally believe and teach that God expects us to live holy lives. Of course we must obey Him. I maintain that God's grace saves us, and that this grace is indeed apart from law-keeping. And I stand by this statement. But undoubtedly, to enjoy the full benefits of God's grace (including salvation) there are conditions to be met.
  


• As for faith, I believe Ephesians 2:8-9, along with John 6:28-29 demonstrate that our obedience is implied.
  


• I believe that the Scriptures teach that we must be baptized for the remission of sins.

• My blog posted Wednesday was not designed to be my declaration of the "end all/say all" with regard to salvation. My intent was to discuss our unworthiness of God's grace, especially mine.
  


• I know for some who read this blog, this law vs. works thing is difficult to grasp because of the seeming contradiction between Romans 3:28 and James 2:24. There is no contradiction and I will offer in the coming weeks how I believe the Bible harmonizes these truths.
  


• I believe God is fair and just. My thoughts are that "grace isn't fair." And I meant that in the sense that in our finite minds, how we understand "fair," it can't be. I deserve hell because I sin (Romans 3:23; Romans 5:8-9). Yet, because of God's grace, I can walk with Christ today justified, with the hope of eternal life.

Something that might be helpful in the future if you want an overall view of what I believe on something, feel free to go to the topics and click on them. The list of topics is on the right hand side of the screen as you scroll down. I assign labels for each post that allows you to read my articles by subject matter. Six weeks ago, I wrote an article entitled, "Free Salvation." That was an article designed to address the subject of salvation. I believe I covered it at least somewhat thoroughly and in a way that is consistent with Scripture. If you haven't, I hope you will take the time to read it. I doubt you will have any question as to what I believe is involved in our salvation after you read that.

It is a very broad audience that reads this blog, and therefore my efforts are not to solely appease my brethren. I hope this is understood. My first priority is to please God first and foremost (Acts 5:29). Second, I want to reach out to those of you who are not part of the kingdom of God and try to convince you that it is the greatest way to live, including how to become a part of it. And third, in this process I hope to provide encouragement to my loved ones who are of like-minded faith.

If you have any questions or concerns, please reach out to me and let's talk. Odds are, if you read my blog, I know you. And that means I love, appreciate, and value your friendship. Dialogue with me. This encourages growth and I think it exudes the Christian spirit in which we ought to handle things.

Love to all!

Do we really want fair?

Last night we began our men's study in the book of Romans. I have been looking forward to this for a while now and the others seem to be excited about the study also. Something came up in our discussion that really impacted me. Someone mentioned how in discussing grace and how it relates with law, works, etc. that some people can't make sense of it because it seems to go against God's "fairness." It hit me because I can remember being one of those who would have said something like this at one time. My rationale would have been something to this effect, "Well 'grace only' salvation doesn't seem to make sense because that means God allows those to be saved who don't deserve it or who have not been righteous followers." Well of course! Isn't that the whole point of grace? I have to admit that I am somewhat embarrassed that I spent a number of years ignoring or shying away from this reality, thinking it was the only way to protect my belief that we must obey God.

Here is a profound thought: Grace is not fair! Grace completely stands against everything that "fairness" is supposed to mean. I think it all makes sense when we understand that Paul's whole point of this law-grace distinction in Romans was to reveal the means or process by which we are saved. His point was not that we don't have to set out to be a holy and righteous people before God who seek to obey Him, but rather it was to inform us that grace sets us free from the necessity of trying to get to Heaven by and through our own means. Our adherence to a law is not the source of our salvation.

Dr. Jack Cottrell, writer of a great book entitled, The Faith Once for All does a superb job in explaining this:

Do I really want God to be fair with me on the day of judgment? Before answering we should remind ourselves that the only fair (just, deserved) treatment for sinners of any kind is hell!

Does this mean that grace is not fair? Of course it does! That is the very point of grace, i.e., that under grace God does not treat us in terms of fairness or justice: he does not pay us the wages our works have earned or deserved. For those who break the commandments, hell is fair. But grace is entirely different; it has nothing to do with fairness.......It is in fact the exact opposite of fairness; it is antifair. It is grace. Such grace is not just "unmerited favor"; it is "favor bestowed when wrath is owed" (pp. 312-313).

The truth of the matter is that if I am saved by law, then that means I must obey all the commandments for my entire life, and I must keep every element of that law perfectly. In other words, I must be totally sinless if it is law that saves me.

For all who rely on works of the law are under a curse; for it is written, Cursed be everyone who does not abide by ALL things written in the Book of the Law, and do them (Galatians 3:10).

For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become accountable for all of it (James 2:10).

There was only one person who was able to accomplish this. That was Jesus Christ.

For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin (Hebrews 4:15).

And so while theoretically, one can be saved by keeping law only in that it was possible for Jesus, the feasibility of us doing it is 0%. We cannot do it.

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

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 (Romans 5:8-9).

We all sin. Not one of us are perfect. Hence, our need for God's saving grace:

For we maintain that one was justified by faith apart from the works of the law (Romans 3:28).

For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace (Romans 6:14).

For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord (Romans 6:23).

I do not nullify the grace of God, for if righteousness were through the law, then Christ died for no purpose (Galatians 2:21).

For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast (Ephesians 2:8-9).

Paul also seems to suggest in his letter to Titus that it is God's grace to begin with, that even gives us a means to be righteous servants.

For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passion, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age (Titus 2:11-12).

And finally, may we never forget that this saving grace comes to us through none other than the One who was designated from the beginning to be our Savior. Jesus lived a perfect life and set for us the perfect example of how to live in the kingdom. And then He died so that those who belong to Him might have the full benefit of life in the kingdom here on earth and in Heaven. Regardless of how great our citizenship in His kingdom is, it is not because of our doing. We will forever be in debt to God. It is only through Christ and the grace He brought to us, that we even stand a chance, with any hope at all.

Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. For our sake, he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God (2 Corinthians 5:20-21).

Thank you Father God for your grace! I know I am undeserving of it. Through your Son Jesus, I bow before your throne recognizing my unworthiness. May I never take advantage of it and make a mockery of your loving grace. But may I never nullify it either. And may my actions toward others continuously reflect your love and grace that you have so extended to the world. Thank you for loving me in spite of my shortcomings. Help me to love others in spite of their shortcomings. Your grace extends to my neighbor as much as it does me. And please, help me to love you, who has no shortcomings, more and more as each day passes. Thank you, Father. Thank you! Amen!

An Interesting Prayer, Indeed

I think we have all read articles, heard sermons, or have seen bulletins that discuss the prayers of children. Well, tonight Cody and I had our first true experience of being torn between laughing and scratching our heads. We knew it would eventually happen. We have heard too many stories from others to not realize it was coming.

Ponder upon Aaron's prayer tonight: "Dear Heavenly Father, thank you so much for our family. And thank you for hospitals. And for the post office. And for the fire station. And for the circus. In Jesus name, Amen!"

Hmmm! It was tough to feel that I had to fake a cough attack so as to not give it away that I was laughing.

But here is what I find so amazing about this whole moment. And when you think about it, this really teaches us so much. As funny as it might be, our precious boy actually prayed for some things that I don't. The innocent and thoughtful mind of a 6-year old prayed for important things in this life that are just as much in need of prayers as anything or anyone else. Often times, we find ourselves so busy in life, we don't even think of some things like this.

"Father and Creator in Heaven, you are indeed an awesome God. I cannot thank you enough for blessing me with 2 beautiful boys that teach me so much about life. Thank you for a 6-year old who is able to teach me that all people and all things are important and worthy of prayer. And thank you for the heart of a sweet little boy that wants to pray and tries to see the good in others. Help me to be more like Him."

A Father's Love

This is not anything new. I am sure many have already heard of Dick and Rick Hoyt. It seems like it was about a year and a half ago, when a friend of mine first sent me a video. I thought it was very inspiring and touching. For any who have not yet seen or heard of them, rather than try to explain any of it, I will just let you watch a couple of videos that say it all concerning a father's love for his son. This is very powerful.





Here is another video that my friend e-mailed me last night, kind of an updated version retelling at least the beginning of how it all began.





Have a great weekend all!

God's light to the world

On several occasions I have heard this story that carries great application in our lives today. I wish I could remember who I heard it from so I could give proper credit. But the story is about how a young boy, when he was 9 years old, was sitting in his father’s workshop one day, watching his dad make and repair leather harnesses. Little Louis said to his dad, “One of these days I want to be a harness-maker, just like you.” Suggesting he start now, Louis’ dad took a piece of leather and drew a design on it. He stated, “Now, take this hole-punch and hammer out this design, but be careful that you do not hit your hand.” What was about to happen would forever change the life of Louis and his family. Louis was excited and began to work, but when he hit the hole-punch it flew out of his hand and pierced his eye. He immediately lost his sight in that eye. Later, and as predicted, sight in his other eye would eventually fail. So, by age 11, Louis was totally blind.

A few years later, Louis was sitting in the family garden when he found a pinecone. As he ran his sensitive fingers over the cone, an idea came to him. He became enthusiastic and began to create an alphabet of raised dots on paper so that the blind could feel and interpret. Thus Louis Braille in 1818 opened up a whole new world for the blind.

Likewise, our wonderful Creator has opened a whole new world for those who are spiritually blind---those who are in darkness. God has provided the world with the perfect light in Jesus Christ.

John's gospel account tells us:

In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it--John 1:5.

In v.9, we read:

The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world.

The Apostle Paul stated it like this:

Giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light. He has delivered us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins--Colossians 1:12-14.

In discussing the same concept, Peter stated:

But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light--1 Peter 2:9.

Also, 1 John 1:7 encourages us to remain in that light so that our sins will be cleansed by Christ's blood.

The glorious and wonderful news of the gospel is that we do not have to live in darkness. A light is made available to us through God’s grace. And we have the privilege of responding to this good news through our faith and obedience to the gospel (Ephesians 2:8-9; John 3:16; Romans 10:9-10; Acts 2:38; Acts 22:16). Let us also not only tell others in a tactful and loving manner about this wonderful new world of light, but let us actually live it and demonstrate it through our example (Matthew 5:16).

Have a great day!

Most

Here is a foreign short film entitled, "Most." This is quite powerful. I recently heard a devotional given by a friend of mine that talked about this video as part of his lesson. He told me about this short film. It is a story about a bridge operator who obviously loves his son tremendously. He takes him to work one day and something tragic occurs. He is left to make a choice that I don't think I could bare.... choose between his son's life and the lives of many on a train, several of whom are atheists, drug dealers, prosititutes, etc... I don't suppose it is too difficult to figure out the lesson from the film. It is indeed worth the 6 1/2 minutes it takes to watch.

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him--John 3:16-17.

For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God's righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins. It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus--Romans 3:23-26.

He is the propitiation of our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world. And by this we know that we have come to know him, if we keep his commandments--1 John 2:2-3.

Have a great day!

Impacting others as Jesus did

How do we teach people to love God? What methods should be considered in hopes of getting people to see the value of Godliness? In what ways are we supposed to help motivate our loved ones to serve? Where are we to begin in our efforts to help those with real life problems? These are questions with which I have struggled since beginning my work as a full-time preacher of the Gospel some eight years ago. For so long, I would harp and harp on how people just didn’t seem to “get it!” And so, my solution was to merely quote 2 Timothy 3:16-17 and 2 Peter 1:3-4, both of which are reminders to us that the Scriptures are all-sufficient and teach us all that we need to know in life. Certainly these are great passages that ought to be a tremendous source of comfort and encouragement to us in many ways. But I have come to realize that it is not that simple. In fact, I am beginning to realize that for a great length of time, the one who actually “didn’t get it,” was me. Talk about eye-opening! And humbling!

There is little doubt among believers that the most brilliant teacher in the history of mankind would be Jesus. As a man who lived physically among us just a little over 2,000 years ago, He was the most spiritually-minded, wisest, most genuine, and most intelligent person to ever walk the face of this earth. We know this in part, because of the reaction of the people after He taught them (Matthew 7:28-29). Jesus knew exactly which direction to go in turning people’s lives around. Interestingly, a study of His life reveals this. Jesus recognized that the only way the commonly unaccepted people of His day that so desperately needed guidance (Matthew 4:23-25) would be truly happy was to be a part of His kingdom (Matthew 5:3-12). Jesus is the way! John’s gospel account reminds us that Christ’s way is superior to any other (John 14:6). There is no better technique or method by which to pattern ourselves and emulate when it comes to our responsibility to reach out to people and help them see the kingdom.

We can make such a difference in the lives of others by treating people like Jesus did while He was on earth, which included love (John 21:15-17), respect (John 8:11), compassion (Matthew 9:36), and with a genuine desire to help them see God (Luke 19:10; John 3:17; 4:34). When we consider how He dealt with people, His followers as well as those who had not yet taken up their cross to follow Him, we see that He was kind and caring (Matthew 4:23), humble (Philippians 2:5-9), meek and gentle (John 4:1-26), and forgiving (Luke 23:34). His human life was a true depiction of servanthood (Matthew 20:28). He was also longsuffering with people. And so importantly, He was approachable. He was the type of leader so that His followers knew they could ask Him questions and seek His counsel (Luke 11:1; Matthew 24:3) without the fear of being maligned, ridiculed, condemned, "marked," or "withdrawn from." Instead of immediately expecting them to be where He wanted them to be, He accepted people for where they were and started from there a process whereby they could grow. Again, His dealing with Peter in John 21:15-17 is a perfect example of this.

A while back in one of our Sunday morning Bible classes, as we were studying the fruit of the Spirit in Galatians 5:22-23, the question came up as to how we are to develop these beautiful traits. How can we just “turn on” these things when it seems as if it is not our nature to be this way at times? I think this is a very legitimate and valid question. And the more I study and learn about the life that Jesus led while on earth, the more I am convinced that He is the answer. We develop these traits (i.e., love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control) through our search for Jesus. When we seek and find Him, we will know how to demonstrate these fruits. The more we get to know Him through study, prayer, and meditation, the more our inward character can become like Him as Paul reminds us in 1 Corintians 11:1.

I do not think it is by accident, as I evaluate my own life currently, that as I have begun to look at the life of Jesus more deeply and how He interacted with people, I am as excited about being a Christian today as I have ever been. The love He demonstrated for His brethren and those in sin alike, is an impetus for me to do the work of my Savior and do it with a tremendous amount of joy and excitement. Thanks be to God for His Son! Not only for His death, burial, and resurrection, which gives me the hope of eternal life with Him, but for His provision of that perfect example so that I may learn how to obtain that eternal life.

Please pray for me. Pray for me as a Christian. Pray for me in my work as a preacher. I want to grow more and more in the image of Christ. I hope that I will learn more and more as each day passes, to have a Christ-like spirit in everything that I do.

McCarty Retreat

One of the fondest memories of my college days in San Marcos was hanging out at the student center, playing pool, wiffle ball, sitting around and just laughing, and sleeping on one of the couches. McCarty Student Center, the Church of Christ Bible Chair and its activities have helped so many be brought to Christ. Even more important to me, was the many hours we spent having Bible studies and various discussions (sometimes heated) that helped me learn so much. I am forever indebted for the memories and friendships that will be ingrained in my mind forever. John Moore and Ben Moseley took me under their wings and taught me so much. Friends like Clay Martin, Travis Herbelin, John Johanson, and Patrick Hammack challenged me and encouraged me like no one else. They helped sharpen me. I love them so much. I also have such fond memories of so many others like Jenny Becker, Cathy Anderson Springer, (little) Jon Moore, Carla Moore, Janet Moseley, Corinne Kettler Patterson, Wendy Scott Gibson, Loralee Ford, Jennifer Brooks O'Banon, Melissa Lamirand Hammack, Leslie Poenisch Spier, Ernie Lawrence, Jennifer Lengefield, Joanna Belton Martin, Cody Peavy, Jeremy Thompson, Joel and Michelle Guajardo, David and Heather Underwood, and Amber Weid Johanson (I'm sure I have left some out; there are just so many who have had an influence on me). It was just an all-around tremendous experience for me and many others.

And of course, meeting my wife Cody and dating her throughout my college years is the highlight. If not for any other reason, that it brought me and my wife together (in and of itself) is enough to know that McCarty has blessed me beyond what I deserve.

One of the most fun times we had was twice per year, going on retreats. In the Fall we would usually go to Hensel and in the Spring we would go to Leakey. Such is still the tradition there, even after the 11 years that have gone by since me and Cody graduated and left San Marcos.

In any event, this will be a very special weekend for me. I have been invited to speak at this Spring's retreat in Leakey. I can't even begin to say how much of a privilege and honor it is to be asked to do this but even more important than that, is simply the fact that I get to go and be a part of this environment again. McCarty means so much to me.... more than I can express in words and anything I can ever do for that cause, I will. It has brought so many people to Christ, created so many Godly families in bringing couples together, and has strengthened so many people's faith in God.

This weekend we will be studying the subject of prayer. Please pray for all of us this weekend that we may grow in our faith, knowledge, and wisdom, in our relationships with one another, and more importantly, in our relationship with our Creator.

To find out more about McCarty Student Center and the great things they are doing at Texas State University in San Marcos, you can go to http://www.mccartystudentcenter.com/

Laugh or Cry?

Here are a few things that I have come across lately, which leave me not knowing whether I should laugh or cry:


Obama's plan to withdraw troops from Iraq is interesting to me. On one hand, I am all for it. On the other hand, how realistic is it? As a side note, I don't even want to think about how much unemployment will probably increase. You think unemployment is bad now?


Here is an example of the unfortunate mindsets of many churches today. Wow! In any event, I think it should give us all some things to think about as for where our priorities are.


This video was tough for me to watch. Brutal honesty sometimes hurts. In many ways, this was designed to be funny, and yes, I did find some humor in it, but could this be more indicative of us than we care to admit?


A friend of mine posted this on facebook a while back, so many of you may have already seen this but this was pretty hilarious.


I especially don't know whether to laugh or cry over this one. It is an example of how an atheist can teach us more about our Christian duty than we might want to admit.


Have a great week all!

Helping with Humility

The Apostle Paul stated in Romans 3:23, “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” All of us make mistakes in life. It is safe to say that none of us are exempt from looking back at some facet of our lives and wishing we had done things differently. This is common. And while we certainly never want to excuse sin, it is important that we always remember that all of us struggle from time to time. And this is why it becomes so essential for us to remain humble in everything that we do (Philippians 2:5; James 4:10). It is always wise to put ourselves in the shoes of those we care about as they are struggling with the various trials that Satan continually throws our way. When given the opportunity to help someone in need, we should ask, “When I am hurting, how would I want my friends to deal with me?” “What could my loved ones do for me that would help me most?” Perhaps if we could do this more often, we would be in a better position to genuinely help one another out.

This idea of looking at things from another’s perspective is indeed Biblical. Paul stated, “Brethren, if a man is overtaken in any sin, you who are spiritual, restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness, considering yourself lest you also be tempted. Bear one another’s burdens and so fulfill the law of Christ” (Galatians 6:1-2). In Matthew 7:3-5, Jesus Himself stated that we should always be willing to examine our own weaknesses before pointing out those weaknesses of others. He stated, “And why do you look at the speck in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when there is a log in your own eye? Hypocrite! First take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye.” Something worth considering here, is that maybe a judgmental attitude is the actual log that is in our eye. We must always be careful as to not overlook our own “demons.” This is a great part of being humble as God desires us to be. And may God grant us the courage, strength, and wisdom we need to do such. Truly helping others in this way is part of life in the kingdom as God intended it.

Monday Mornings

What a great morning! I recall a time in my life when I used to hate Monday mornings with a passion. It really made for long, miserable days when I would wake up already dreading a day just because of its mere name. Now I see it as the beginning of a new work week and another opportunity to serve God. I don't have a whole lot to share today; I have a full plate right now. But I woke up this morning and thought about how cool it is to not hate Mondays anymore so I wanted to share it with every one. For me, it was a profound thought, :-)

By the way, who watched the Super Bowl last night? I was not thrilled with the outcome, but I have to admit it was one of the most exciting Super Bowls I have watched. I am somewhat saddened though, that there is now a team with more Super Bowl rings than my beloved Cowboys. It will be fine though. In the big picture, none of us can deny that the Cowboys are still God's favorite team, no matter how you spin it. So its all good, :-)

I hope all are doing well. God bless!

It is good to give thanks to the Lord, to sing praises to your name, O Most High; to declare your steadfast love in the morning, and your faithfulness by night.

--Psalm 91:1-2