Here come da Judge....

⁴² He commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that he is the one whom God appointed as judge of the living and the dead.  Acts 10:42

John MacArthur, in a two-part set of sermons on the resurrection, takes a different
approach from many on the Resurrection. He discusses What the Resurrection proves
as opposed to What proves the resurrection. The later, paraphrasing here, is proven by
the Holy Scriptures.

One of the five major areas that he discusses regarding what the Resurrection proves is
that it proves that Christ is the Judge of all creation and that upon His return, all will be judged by a righteous and just judge.

Well, we don't necessarily feel real comfortable with this whole judgment thing; yet, the
fact remains that there will be judgment of all by Christ as granted by God the Father
based upon Christ's fulfillment of His incarnate walk and Resurrection.

So we have two final and eventual verdicts: eternal life with Christ in a place He has
prepared for us or eternal life away from Christ in a place inhabited by the fallen angels
and those lost and deemed unrighteous. 

Without a belief and trust in the atoning work of Jesus Christ, we cannot and will not
be welcomed into rest and grace. In a very real and frightening sense, this is a choice
that we have the ability to make. It seems a very easy and uncomplicated one, but there
are many who simply choose to be their own salvation makers, whose efforts center
around their own ability to do enough good to reach a level of acceptance. There are even
those who believe that they can, through their own efforts and deeds, reach a state of
'God-ness' themselves.

God and man are simply in opposition; God is holy and just, unable to tolerate sin, and
we are sinful creatures unable to stand before a Holy God, ever, without the gift
of justification provided through, and only through, the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, His
Resurrection, His Ascension and Intercession. 

So we are faced with a choice. It's monumental in its significance and so simple in 
its nature. We have to accept that we need a Savior and realize that a loving God showed
His amazing grace by offering His beloved's life for the chance for us to make that
eternal choice.

How, then, can we avoid praising God!

What counts and what doesn't

Because the sinless savior died,
My sinful soul is counted free.
For God the just is satisfied
To look on Him and pardon me.

Wouldn't be much of a stretch to suggest that these three days, the Friday of Christ's
death on the cross to Easter Sunday with the most important event in the history of mankind, the resurrection, are so very important.

So with that in mind, what is important and what not in the whole justification and
salvation of those belonging to Christ Jesus? As hard as it is for some to grasp and
understand, Christ, not we, achieved atonement for us; it IS by grace alone and through
faith in Jesus that we may, one day, stand before a Holy God and be invited in as a
son or daughter. We didn't do anything deserving, we didn't accomplish anything that
would merit being saved, we haven't done or said anything that warrants the greatest
gift ever given.

So what doesn't count? (in no particular order)....  the size of your bank account, the
latest credit rating, number of college degrees, notches on your belt, friends. the square
footage of your home, number and quality of automobiles you own, organizations to
which you belong, annual salary, number of hits on twitter, Facebook, etc. Size of
your plasma TV, amount you tithe, how you dress for church, where you sit in church,
favorite sports team and its success, your I.Q., amount of giving to charity, places you
have vacationed, body fitness, health status, good deeds you have done, kindness
you have shown, how you are perceived by others, books that you have read....

Obviously I could go on and on. the key, here, is that there simply isn't anything that
we can "bring to the table" when it comes to our own justification. 

So what does count? I'll start with something related to the above. We simply
have to recognize our own personal need for a savior. Nothing gets done until we
take to our knees and understand that we can't really control anything related to
God's willingness to accept us. We are unclean and sinful! Without Christ our future
is dim. We need to love God and others, the crux of Jesus statement about the
most important commands. We need to do this without expectation of any
related rewards, solely in appreciation and gratitude for what has been given us.
We need to forgive others because, yep, we have been forgiven! We need to be
ever aware of the darkness of Satan and his desire to heighten our pride and head
us in the horrible direction of rejecting God. 

It is a happy and blessed Easter because Christ has risen, defeating death, the devil
and granting to those who he tends, the gift of everlasting life in the presence of a
glorious sovereign God!

Happy Easter, everyone!!!

Not even a cameo appearance

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. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.    Ephesians 2: 8-10

So many questions, aren't there! It's difficult to understand why it is that there are issues
and questions that, quite likely, will not be answered in this lifetime. Once saved, always
saved? Predestination? Sola Fide? Works? Apostasy? While a lot of these and other
issues are different, there seems to be an overlap.

I am going to take a blogger's stand on the importance or relevance of our own part
in the processes of being transformed once we establish Jesus Christ as our personal savior
and Lord. First, I believe that this very act of choosing to follow Christ is done To us, not
By us. I'm not buying that we even have a choice once God reaches out and "plucks" us
into His hands. So our very justification, assumed righteousness (0f Christ) and
salvation are, in my eyes, totally passive. We aren't involved in these life altering
changes; GOD is!

So taking the stand that we have been changed out of the very grace of God, I also
do not feel that we are "actors" in the saga of our sanctification. The very process of
being sanctified, has as its goal, the removal of all sin. It is a process that ends after our
death; a process that is on-going through the work of the Holy Spirit who is challenged
by our corporal sin abiding flesh... we simply aren't up to the task of doing the process
ourselves. To believe that we can change ourselves from within, is, as I see it, prideful
and mistaken.

Will we strive to live lives more closely resembling the Jesus we love? Yes, I believe
we will do so through our appreciation and God's support. Will others see a change
in us and surmise that we have changed?Yes, I believe we will look and live
differently: I believe we will have no choice because that will also be done To us.

Are we really weak and in need of a wonderful savior to make the changes necessary
to reach everlasting life with God? Well, that's exactly what the gospel message
shouts at us!

We are human. That's okay. We need God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit to do their
saving, graceful, miraculous transition to our lives. 

Praise our Holy God!

Two steps forward...one step back!

Matthew 5: 12-14
You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.

It's been a frustrating week. As we travel along this road to becoming more like Jesus, we are a Christian work in progress. the "work" being done is being done To us, not By us. That, fortunately, is the blessed job of the Holy Spirit, the worldly active member of the trinity of God. In some cases, there is a lot of work to be done; it's probably not going to be finished anytime soon. I'm talking, here, about me!

This week I was fortunate enough to be challenged, lovingly, by two people who are the love of my life, my daughter and son-in-law. They were loving enough to gently, but firmly, discuss some real issues...sins that were creeping into prominence. I could suggest that I had absolutely no idea that they were showing up in my actions and thoughts, but that would not be true. I realized that they were there, and I was giving into them. I guess that shows that not all sinfulness is hidden, unknown and subtle, even when we truly wish to be living lives of righteousness.

Well, I was so fortunate that they cared enough to "convict" me of these issues; to be honest, I was crestfallen because I do not wish to be sinful! The problem is...I am. We all are. It's our fallen human nature. We move ahead, try hard, pray to be just, and then sin just reappears and slaps us up side the head.What's to be done?

I think the realization that becoming more Christ-like is a long one that requires persistence, giving in to the knowledge that we aren't going to achieve it on our own, praying that we will be open and anxious to repent and turn away when we realize sin has reappeared, are all steps in the process.

The key is Jesus! In remembering what He has done in our behalf.. it is a crucial life goal to please Him. To do that which brings honor and glory to Him. To not pile additional sins on those blessed shoulders or that cross of grace. He deserves better than our sinfulness! He is our Lord and King, worthy of our best.

Pray along with me, that in Jesus' name, the Holy Spirit will bless us with His continuing efforts, His loving guidance, and, when needed, His honest adjustment.

God's Work In Progress

Clive Staples Lewis

   "Imagine yourself as a living house. God comes in to rebuild that house. At first, perhaps,
you can understand what He is doing. He is getting the drains right and stopping the
leaks in the roof and so on; you know that those jobs needed doing and so you are not
surprised. But presently He starts knocking the house about in a way that hurts abominably
and does not seem to make any sense. What on earth is He up to? The explanation is that
He is building quite a different house from the one you thought of- throwing out a new wing
here, putting on an extra floor there, running up towers, making courtyards. You
thought you were being made into a decent little cottage; but He is building a palace. 
He intends to come and live in it Himself."

Yes, C. S. Lewis is so phenomenal, isn't he? Probably the most quoted Christian one can
find, yet he was converted to a believer in Christ during a motorcycle ride and discussion
with friend, J. R. R. Tolkien. 

What caught me about the above quote is the Truth that God is working on us constantly
once we welcome Him into our lives. He is, after all, the master architect, the master creator
who fashioned the universe, suddenly, from nothingness. Nothing, no job or task, is too
great for Him, as He is sovereign, completely.

How remarkable that He would care enough to fashion us into beings that might glorify
Him; How loving that He would provide a way for us to be members of His family,
taking sinners capable of doing little of import and changing us into justified, adopted
children, filled by the Holy Spirit and guided along the journey toward eventual sanctification
in His Holy presence. 

The key, here, is moving over, letting go of the steering wheel, swallowing our pride and
need to be in charge so that He can get on with the business of rebuilding. He knows
what is in our best interest, He knows what changes need to be made. He, and He alone,
needs to be master of our lives, our King, our God. What do we do? Trust, pray, get quiet and
praise His glorious name!

Jesus math

I have been listening to a taped reading of R.C.Sproul's book called, Are We Together?
It's a book that goes into a lot of detail about the differences between protestant and catholic
theology from the standpoint of a protestant analysis. Again, admitting that I am certainly
not someone with the ability to think too deeply about a lot of issues like these, I have
simplified all of this into an equation:

Jesus + and Jesus - = JESUS

The overlying question in all of this is about what it is that justifies us, makes us acceptable,
somehow, as sinners, to a just and Holy God. The concept of Sola fide, the belief that justification is by faith and trust in Jesus Christ alone, is the breaking point between the
Roman Catholic church and the reformed church. Simply speaking after listening to this
book, it seems that while both protestants and R Catholics accept the basic need for
faith, the R catholic view is that there must be additional factors for man to be in a state
of acceptance: things like penance, baptism, the whole idea of Purgatory, etc. I will
call all of this, in a simplistic way, Jesus +. 

It is the idea that the imputation of righteousness into man, making full payment for sins
committed, by the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ is somehow not sufficient for God
to consider man saved. Here, it seems to me, is basic doctrine that does not support scripture. It is part of the idea that faith must be accompanied by works, not as a 
result of justification, but as a prerequisite of acceptance to God. Even if one ignores concepts
like Papal infallibility and the concept of Mary as Queen of Heaven, Mary without sin and
Mary as able to forgive sin, it just seems a stretch.

Jesus - is my way of believing that if one attaches more requirements to the saving
grace of the work Jesus performed on the cross, it is taking away from the importance
and magnificence of what He did, accepting death as a way to save sinful mankind and
honor and obey His Father. The debt was paid, the ledger was balanced, the work
was finished.

The answer, it seems to me, or the balance to the question is that Jesus did not need
additional steps or requirements added to what He was gloriously able to accomplish!
His work was complete, His work was fulfillment of prophesy, His work was Holy and
full of Grace! His work was the miracle that will allow those who believe upon Him and
accept Him as King and Savior to walk in the presence of God, eternally, made just
through the righteousness of Christ and only through the righteousness of Christ!

Praise Jesus!