2004-08-27
Good Morning God’s Treasures,
The greeting in this morning’s message is the truth. Each one of us really is God’s treasure. He created us in His own image [GN 1: 27], knew ahead of time that we would be born into sin [GN 3: 1-6], and made the decision before we were born that He would provide us with a way out through faith in Jesus Christ [COL 1: 19-20; 1 PET 1: 18-21; JN 3: 16; RO 7: 24-25; HE 10: 10]. Before a person repents and comes to faith in Christ, he has no choice but to sin. Last week I was led to write about how God set believers free. Now, we will look at another side of this issue. With some of the awful things that people think and do as sinners, the question arises: Why did God set believers free from slavery to sin?
When we think about it, God has had to endure a lot of pain and disappointment because of mankind’s rebelliousness. Right now, the new government of Iraq has taken legal custody of Saddam Hussein. The latter is by far not the first person to commit horrific atrocities, and now he will be brought to trial for his war crimes and genocide. The sins man commits don’t have to be such public ones either to disappoint God. For example, every time a business person engages in some unethical practice (as those at Enron did), someone commits vandalism or theft, or someone lies to further his own purposes, our Abba Who loves us must feel the pain of it. Let’s take a look at some of what God has said that will help us answer the question above.
RO 8: 3-4, “What the Law could not do, because human nature was weak, God did. He condemned sin in human nature by sending His own Son, Who came with a nature like man’s sinful nature, to do away with sin. God did this so that the righteous demands of the Law might be fully satisfied in us who live according to the Spirit, and not according to human nature.” Repeatedly I’ve had to return to the crucial words of RO 2: 14-15 to gain insight on what it is that God really wants. In this passage, He speaks of the Gentiles doing that which the Law intended without having been given it (as the Jews were), because “what the Law commands is written on their hearts.” The evidence of this is their consciences operate to either accuse or defend them, just as God desires-leading them to righteous behavior. Now, for a Jew like myself, that’s a wake-up call to depart from any hypocrisy, artificial human-driven judgments, and other wrongful thoughts or actions. It is also a reminder that the original traditionally Jewish people had been privileged to have the Law and had shamefully perverted the practice of it to legalism and idolatry (the sin God hates the most). That phrase, “what the Law commands is written on their hearts,” is repeated over and over again in the Scriptures. We must remember that if something is repeated, it’s not to make us bored. Instead, it is to emphasize something very near and dear to God’s heart. How much clearer must God make His will?
GA 5: 16-17 tells us that the Holy Spirit (sent to us in accordance with Christ’s promise just before He went back to the Father in JN 14: 15-19) can direct our lives so the demands of the flesh won’t lead us to sin and eventually spiritual death. “What I say is this: let the Spirit direct your lives, and you will not satisfy the desires of the human nature. For what our human nature wants is opposed to what the Spirit wants, and what the Spirit wants is opposed to what our human nature wants. These two are enemies, and this means that you cannot do what you want to do.” Look for the key to this passage. See that we have the choice to be led by the Spirit or by the flesh. It’s a decision each of us must make for himself. In making that choice, we must realize that without God’s Spirit in leadership of our lives, we can’t please God or belong to Him [RO 8:8-9]. At this point, we must be reminded of JN 8: 34-36, “Jesus said to them, ‘I am telling you the truth: everyone who sins is a slave of sin. A slave does not belong to a family permanently, but a son belongs there forever. If the Son sets you free, then you will be really free.’” In Via de Cristo, we have a song that we sing called “We Are The Family Of God.” In reflecting over what I have shared this morning, that song has never had more meaning for me then it does now. The chorus reads, “We are the family of God, yes, we are the family of God, and He has brought us together to be one with Him, that we might bring light to the world.” We need to meditate on RO 8: 15, “For the Spirit that God has given you does not make you slaves and cause you to be afraid; instead, the Spirit makes you God’s children, and by the Spirit’s power we cry out to God, ‘Abba! My Abba!’” Consider how this miraculous truth applies to our own lives, how awesome our God is.
PRAYER: O God, our supreme and sovereign Lord, long ago You brought Abraham out of Mesopotamia and a life of paganism to establish the Jewish people [GN 12: 1]. They were set apart from all others of their time by Your command that they know You are the One and Only True God [DT 6: 4-5, the Shema]. In the Abrahamic Covenant, You promised them people [GN 12: 2-3], land [GN 15: 13-21], and a King [2 SAM 7: 12-13]. You gave them the Law [the Ten Commandments-EX 20: 1-17] to bless them and to let them know what is righteous and what is not. Despite a long history of disobedience leading to two dyasporas [temporary scattering of the Jews and loss of nationhood], You kept Your promise that they would once again have a homeland [Israel]. Still Your chosen people [EX 19: 5-6] refused to obey, and yet, You sent Your Son (Whom most of them didn’t even recognize) to be incarnate and then to die on the cross for us, so that those people, Jews and Gentiles alike [RO 1: 16-17], who would come to faith in Him would be saved from second death. The Jews, who had been told that that You want them to be “a light to the nations” [IS 49: 6], are not cast away by You-a fact which reveals Your amazing compassion. Instead, we are told that their stubbornness is only temporary [RO 11: 25] and that a believing remnant of them will come to faith [ZECH 13: 8-9]. For each of us, You lead us to a place where we must made a decision: Will we accept Christ or will we reject Him? There is no in between. You stand by, eager to have Your human creation repent of our sins and come to faith, so that Christ can bring us back to You for a life of eternal joy and bliss. What a privilege it is to reach toward Your lofty perspective, toward the righteousness You impute to our accounts and to revel in the blessings You freely give us. Today, we confess our sins, reflect on Your magnificent attributes, and express our gratitude for Your gracious actions. We are undeserving of Your grace, but accept it with heartfelt thanks. We dedicate ourselves today and always to being both Your faithful, obedient servants and Your friends. We eagerly await the day when Christ will call us to a “meeting in the air” at the sound of the last trumpet [1 THESS 4: 13-17]. In the meanwhile, we unabashedly offer You eternal praise for being Who You are in our lives. We acknowledge that we can’t be what You want us to be without You. You are indeed our supreme, sovereign, and Most High God. We love You, Dear Father! In Christ’s holy name, we pray. Amen.
Next week, I am led to take a look at how Christ’s “Sermon on the Mount” lifestyle is lived out in varying degrees in the life of every believer. In any series of messages on the new perspective that faith in Christ gives us, we are called to examine our own lives past and present. We must also look at our plans for the future to see if our goals are God-inspired or flesh-driven. That’s a huge issue, but an important one. Anyone who reads the Scriptures knows that God has made His will clear. The question is: Are we complying with it? Each of us must answer that one for himself, but God does give us some direction on how to find that answer. Treasured Ones, God has said, through David in PS 16: 3, “As for the godly people in the world, they are the wonderful ones I enjoy.” When God passed in front of Moses, who was sheltered in the cleft of a rock [or should I say Rock] in EX 34: 6, He called out, “I, the Lord, am a God Who is full of compassion and pity, Who is not easily angered, and Who shows great love and faithfulness.’” That message was not just for Moses; it was for all believers. Be uplifted by what we find God saying to us in HO 14: 9, “Bring My people back to Me. I will love them with all My heart; no longer am I angry with them.” And finally, think about His words through Paul in HE 8: 12, “I will forgive their sins and will no longer remember their wrongs.” What great and eternal lives we can have as believers in the one and only true God!
Grace Be With You Always,
Lynn