Tag Archives: Tresspasses

God’s Glory In Our Salvation

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We’re Rendered Speechless

Music is a powerful medium, especially in a worship service! Just combine a deeply moving message— about grace, mercy, love, the cross, and salvation— with an appropriate musical score, and it locks up my vocal cords! I’m rendered speechless— I can’t sing! All I can do is praise Jesus in my heart as I listen to the congregation sing. That’s the kind of picture I get in my mind when I read about the worship service that will one day take place in heaven: “And I beheld, and I heard a voice of many angels round about the throne, and the beasts and the elders; and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands, saying with a loud voice, ‘Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honor, AND GLORY, and blessing.’ And every creature which is in heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, I heard saying, ‘Blessing, and honor, AND GLORY, and power be unto Him that sits on the throne, and unto the Lamb forever and ever.'” (Rev. 5:11-13). 

Jesus, The Lamb, Is Worthy

Why? Why will there be such a scene in heaven? Because Jesus, the Lamb, is worthy! Jesus is worthy of blessing, honor, and GLORY! He willingly submitted Himself to the Father’s plan. He was the Lamb of God who shed His blood on our behalf so that we might be saved. And every believer since creation will sing praises to Jesus because our salvation is the result of Jesus’ work on the cross ALONE! Our salvation is God’s work alone, so He gets all the glory alone! There is no one else to praise.

Because Of His Great Love

We can take no glory for our own salvation! We were dead in our trespasses and sins— “But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love that He had for us, made us alive with the Messiah, even though we were dead in trespasses. You are saved by grace! Together with Christ Jesus, He also raised us up and seated us in the heavens so that in the coming ages (that’s the scene described earlier in Rev. 5), He might display the immeasurable riches of His grace through His kindness to us in Christ Jesus. For you are saved by grace through faith, and this is not from yourselves; it is God’s gift—not from works, so that no one can boast.” —Ephesians 2:4-9 

Nothing To Boast About

We have nothing to boast about in ourselves! We boast in Jesus and the cross! Our greatest preoccupation must be with God’s glory—it is for that purpose that we exist. Jesus is the hero of our story, not us! Our salvation didn’t require a little bit of our effort and a lot of Jesus’ work—all we contributed was our total depravity and brokenness. His coming to save us was nothing short of a rescue mission! And Scripture clearly teaches that He is to be offered praise for the entirety of our salvation. So, from the beginning of our faith in this life to the completion of our faith in heaven, He gets all the glory! It is appropriate that we remain committed to giving God glory for our salvation at every opportunity.

How Do We Fight?

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Succeeding In Your Thought Life

The Apostle Paul paints a picture, of what spiritual growth looks like, in his letter to the Church of Colosse. He tells these young believers:  “…if you have been raised with the Messiah, seek what is above, where the Messiah is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on what is above, not on what is on the earth. For you have died, and your life is hidden with the Messiah in God.  When the Messiah, who is your life, is revealed, then you also will be revealed with Him in glory” Colossians 3:1-4. Let’s think about the implications of Paul’s words—he seems to be saying that a successful fight against sin is won in the “thought life”, right? The battle against the “weeds” of sin is fought in your mind; which, means that it’s either “won” or “lost” in the mind!

Rooting Sin Out Of Your Life

I believe Paul is teaching us a principle that spiritual growth always relates to how highly & how often we THINK of God; and, conversely, how infrequently we think of ourselves! Using farming terminology, meditating on God & His Word is like spraying ROUNDUP on the weeds of sin in your life; and, dwelling on yourself is like fertilizing those weeds! Part of the Holy Spirit’s ministry is to empower us to root sin out of our life; while living for ourselves is the main cause for sin to thrive in our lives! So, let’s talk about how God’s Spirit supports our work to root out the weeds of sin.  Paul reminds the Church of Colosse that their “identity” is in Christ! So, any believer who hopes to be successful in the battle against sin has to know who they are!

It Starts With Jesus

See your position in Christ— “…so, IF you have been raised with Christ…” he says in v.1. Your spiritual growth & victory over sin doesn’t begin with YOU, it starts with JESUS! If you know Him as your Savior, you need to figure out that you’ve been raised with Him—Paul is pointing to the bodily resurrection of Christ on the 3rd day after His crucifixion; and, he’s telling the believers in Colosse, “…you’ve been RAISED with Him….” You DIED with Him in v.3; and, “…your life is HIDDEN with the Messiah in God.” You DIED with Him! And, you’ve been RAISED with Him! Though you were “…dead in trespasses & sins…” you’ve been made ALIVE, in Him, because Jesus rose from the dead & is ALIVE!

Know Your Position In Christ

In one sense, Paul says that our salvation— our place in heaven— is already SEALED! It’s a DONE DEAL! In the mind of God, He’s already raised us up and seated us in the heavens.  “But God,” Paul writes the Church of Ephesus, “who is rich in mercy, because of His great love that He had for us, made us alive with the Messiah even though we were dead in trespasses. You are saved by grace! Together with Christ Jesus He also raised us up and seated us in the heavens” Ephesians 2:4-6.  We take hold of our identity when we begin, with the Spirit’s help, to kill the weeds of sin in our life; or to “mortify” the deeds of the flesh. My sinful life was the “old” me; but, that’s no longer who I am! I’m set free from the power of sin! The indwelling Holy Spirit has all the power; and applies all the necessary grace to progressively sanctify me and transform me into the image of Christ. My sinful, broken flesh will never allow me to reach sinless perfection; but a spiritual body awaits me at the 2nd coming of Jesus Christ! Praise God!

Does God Get Disappointed With Us?

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-A Big Disappointment To God?

I know of a Youth Pastor who handed his students a 3-inch nail & told them to keep it in their pockets. Whenever they had a sinful thought, sassed their parents, or mistreated a classmate, they needed to reach in their pocket & poke that nail into their finger ‘til it hurt. “Draw a little blood,” he told them, “that way you’ll remember the pain those actions are causing God. You’ll know how disappointed He is with you right now!” Maybe that’s the picture of God that someone painted for you when you were growing up! Maybe you live every day thinking that you’re nothing but a big disappointment to God! Maybe you’ve messed up so badly & so many times that you think you could never make God happy with you!

-God Is Never Surprised or Frustrated

Well, here’s a statement that’ll rock your world—  “If Jesus is your Savior, God will never be disappointed with you!” Disappointment is comprised of 2 elements: surprise & frustration! People disappoint us when we’re surprised by something unexpected that they did; and, we’re frustrated by it! If Jesus is your Savior, God will never be disappointed with you because He is “omniscient”; or, “all-knowing.” Because He’s omniscient, He’s never surprised or frustrated! He’ll never say, “Wow! I never saw that coming!” The psalmist said, “Lord, You have searched me and known me. You know when I sit down and when I stand up; You understand my thoughts from far away…You are aware of all my ways. Before a word is on my tongue, You know all about it, Lord” Psalm 139:1-6 

-God Knows Everything About Us

God knows everything about us! So, we never surprise Him! Not once is the word translated “disappoint” ever used, in the Bible, about God! An All-Knowing God can never have His hopes or expectations fail! Now, I understand that concept of “hurting God” or “disappointing” Him by our sin! It just doesn’t seem to be a sentiment that can be supported by Scripture! God is omnipotent, or all-powerful! How can an all-powerful being ever be hurt? God is also omniscient, or all-knowing! So, He would know, in advance, if something would hurt Him— assuming anything could— and He would avoid it, right? The only hurt or pain ever inflicted on God was when Jesus went to the cross voluntarily; and suffered for the sin of the world! That was planned from eternity! God planned to endure pain & suffering so that the repentant might be redeemed & relationships with God restored!

–God’s Theology Of Forgiveness

Ultimately, He’s never disappointed with us because all our sin has already been paid for by Jesus on the cross! It’s been replaced with the “righteousness of Christ”! So, grab hold of God’s forgiveness! God’s forgiveness, through Christ, is total! What God offers, through Jesus’ substitutionary work on the cross, is a radical, sweeping removal of every sin you’ve already committed & every sin you will ever commit for the rest of your life! Review Colossians 2:13-14 and Psalm 103:12—He’s “removed our sins from us as far as the east is from the west”! So thorough is God’s forgiveness that we were forgiven before we ever sinned—our names were written in God’s book before the “foundation of the world” Revelation 13:8. He no longer holds our sin against us—“…God was reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them…” 2 Cor. 5:19. So, does God get disappointed with us? No! How could He when He no longer holds our sins & our missteps against us? He’s canceled our debt of sin!