forgiveness of sins

God Raises the Dead!

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2 “I consider myself fortunate that it is before you, King Agrippa, I am going to make my defense today against all the accusations of the Jews, 3 especially because you are familiar with all the customs and controversies of the Jews. Therefore I beg you to listen to me patiently.

4 “My manner of life from my youth, spent from the beginning among my own nation and in Jerusalem, is known by all the Jews. 5 They have known for a long time, if they are willing to testify, that according to the strictest party of our religion I have lived as a Pharisee. 6 And now I stand here on trial because of my hope in the promise made by God to our fathers, 7 to which our twelve tribes hope to attain, as they earnestly worship night and day. And for this hope I am accused by Jews, O king! 8 Why is it thought incredible by any of you that God raises the dead?

9 “I myself was convinced that I ought to do many things in opposing the name of Jesus of Nazareth. 10 And I did so in Jerusalem. I not only locked up many of the saints in prison after receiving authority from the chief priests, but when they were put to death I cast my vote against them. 11 And I punished them often in all the synagogues and tried to make them blaspheme, and in raging fury against them I persecuted them even to foreign cities.

12 “In this connection I journeyed to Damascus with the authority and commission of the chief priests. 13 At midday, O king, I saw on the way a light from heaven, brighter than the sun, that shone around me and those who journeyed with me. 14 And when we had all fallen to the ground, I heard a voice saying to me in the Hebrew language, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads.’ 15 And I said, ‘Who are you, Lord?’ And the Lord said, ‘I am Jesus whom you are persecuting. 16 But rise and stand upon your feet, for I have appeared to you for this purpose, to appoint you as a servant and witness to the things in which you have seen me and to those in which I will appear to you, 17 delivering you from your people and from the Gentiles—to whom I am sending you 18 to open their eyes, so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.’” – Acts 26:2-18 ESV

caesarea-map

Paul is in Caesarea, where is about to give his defense before the governor, Festus, and King Agrippa. He has been provided this unique opportunity because the king happened to be in town and the governor was desperate to find some formal charge he could level against Paul before sending him to Rome for trial before the emperor. Festus had high hopes that King Agrippa, after having listened to Paul’s story, might be able to determine a crime for which to charge Paul. Up until this point, Festus had found Paul innocent of nothing worthy of death, which is what the Jews had been demanding. So, now Paul, with these two powerful men as his audience, began his defense. But what he will have to say to Festus and Agrippa will have little to do with the actual facts of the case against him. Paul was less interested in giving a defense for his actions than he was in providing a well-reasoned defense of the gospel. He was not out to prove his innocence and win his freedom. He wanted to win these two pagan political leaders to Christ.

But he started out by honoring the men before him, expressing his gratitude that he was being given the opportunity to speak before Agrippa, because he had knowledge of Jewish affairs. The emperor had assigned Agrippa the principality of Chalcis, and given him authority over the Temple at Jerusalem, including the responsibility to nominate the Jewish high priest. So, Paul was legitimately pleased to share his story with someone who had a working knowledge of Jewish religious affairs and the ability to discern the truth of what had happened that day in the temple courtyard when Paul had been beaten and arrested.

The next thing Paul did was provide Agrippa with a bit of background. He informed the king that he was a Jew and a former Pharisee. He was not part of some radical religious sect determined to stir up trouble or bring about insurrection against the Jews or Rome. He was a God-fearing Hebrew who happened to be teaching and preaching about the very hope of Israel.

6 Now I am on trial because of my hope in the fulfillment of God’s promise made to our ancestors. 7 In fact, that is why the twelve tribes of Israel zealously worship God night and day, and they share the same hope I have. Yet, Your Majesty, they accuse me for having this hope! – Acts 26:6-7 NLT

Paul wasted no time, but cut right to the point, clearly articulating that his only “crime” was that of claiming that Jesus was the long-awaited Messiah of the Hebrew nation. Jesus had been the fulfillment of God’s promise to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Every God-fearing Jews since the time of the Patriarchs had believed in and hoped for the coming of the Messiah, and Paul was simply claiming that his arrest was due to the fact that the Jewish leadership refused to believe that Jesus was the Messiah. And Paul raised the real stumbling block for the Jews: the resurrection of Jesus. They had gone out of their way to see that Jesus was crucified by the Romans. To them, He was nothing more than a dead man, a former rabbi who had propagated heretical teachings, violated the Mosaic law and had constantly ridiculed them before the common people. But Paul and the apostles had been teaching that Jesus was alive. Yes, He had been killed, but God had raised Him from the dead. Which is what led Paul to ask, “Why is it thought incredible by any of you that God raises the dead?” (Acts 26:8 ESV).

The resurrection of Jesus is the linchpin of the Christian faith. Even in Paul’s day, there were those who struggled with the idea of a man being raised back to life. Within the Sanhedrin, the Jewish high council, there were the Sadducees, who rejected the whole idea of a bodily resurrection, and the Pharisees, who embraced it. And within the early church, there were those who wrestled over the concept of Jesus’ resurrection. Paul had to address a group of these individuals who were part of the church in Corinth.

12 But tell me this—since we preach that Christ rose from the dead, why are some of you saying there will be no resurrection of the dead? 13 For if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ has not been raised either. 14 And if Christ has not been raised, then all our preaching is useless, and your faith is useless. 15 And we apostles would all be lying about God—for we have said that God raised Christ from the grave. But that can’t be true if there is no resurrection of the dead. 16 And if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ has not been raised. 17 And if Christ has not been raised, then your faith is useless and you are still guilty of your sins. 18 In that case, all who have died believing in Christ are lost! 19 And if our hope in Christ is only for this life, we are more to be pitied than anyone in the world. – 1 Corinthians 15:12-19 NLT

Without the resurrection of Jesus, there is no Christian faith. There is no hope. Forgiveness of sin and any chance of being made right with God evaporate if Jesus was not raised back to life. His payment for mankind’s sin, accomplished by His sacrificial death on the cross, was incomplete if He was only a martyr. It was the fact that God restored Him back to life that proved His death had been sufficient and had fully satisfied the holy and just wrath of God against sin. The resurrection of Jesus was meant to provide us with hope of our own future resurrection from death and with the incontrovertible proof that we have been restored to a right relationship with God. Paul makes that point very clear to the church in Corinth:

20 But in fact, Christ has been raised from the dead. He is the first of a great harvest of all who have died.

21 So you see, just as death came into the world through a man, now the resurrection from the dead has begun through another man. 22 Just as everyone dies because we all belong to Adam, everyone who belongs to Christ will be given new life. 23 But there is an order to this resurrection: Christ was raised as the first of the harvest; then all who belong to Christ will be raised when he comes back. – 1 Corinthians 15:20-23 NLT

So, for Paul, the real heart of the issue surrounding his arrest had been his teaching of a resurrected Messiah. And he provided King Agrippa with his own personal story of how he had become convinced that Jesus was the Messiah. It was at this point in his defense that Paul told of his conversion on the road to Damascus. The point of Paul sharing his testimony was that it revolved around the fact that he had experienced a face-to-face encounter with the resurrected Jesus. The whole reason for his radical transformation from persecutor of the church to a proponent of the gospel, was that he had met Jesus, the very one the Jews had coerced the Romans to crucify. Both Festus and Agrippa would have been aware of the events surrounding the death of Jesus. His trials and crucifixion had not happened in a vacuum. They would even have heard the rumors regarding his resurrection. But this would have been the first time they heard such detailed accounts backing up the claim that He had been raised back to life by God.

The next thing Paul did was bring his testimony to a powerful conclusion, focusing his attention on the one point that would resonate most clearly and personally to the two men in his audience: His calling to take the gospel to the Gentiles. He related to Festus and Agrippa the words spoken to him on the road to Damascus by the resurrected Jesus: “Yes, I am sending you to the Gentiles to open their eyes, so they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God. Then they will receive forgiveness for their sins and be given a place among God’s people, who are set apart by faith in me” (Acts 26:17-18 NLT). Look carefully at what Paul was doing. He was boldly sharing the gospel message with two powerful Roman political figures. They were Gentiles and, whether they recognized it or not, they were living in darkness. Agrippa was having an incestuous affair with his own sister, Bernice. But Paul was offering them forgiveness from sin and a place in the family of God, through faith in Jesus Christ. All they had to do was believe that Jesus was the resurrected Messiah, the Savior of the world. The main issue was going to be their own disbelief in the resurrection of Jesus. Which brings us back to Paul’s question: “Why is it thought incredible by any of you that God raises the dead?”

Festus and Agrippa, just like every other person who has ever lived, were faced with the choice of believing the good news regarding Jesus’ death, burial and resurrection, or rejecting it as farfetched and unnecessary. Paul knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that Jesus was alive. His life had been radically transformed by the risen Christ. Now, he was offering the truth of Jesus’ resurrection and His offer of forgiveness of sin and eternal life to two men who desperately needed it, but would have to make the decision to accept it.

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

The Message (MSG)  Copyright © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene H. Peterson

Listen and Forgive.

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Yet have regard to the prayer of your servant and to his plea, O Lord my God, listening to the cry and to the prayer that your servant prays before you this day, that your eyes may be open night and day toward this house, the place of which you have said, “My name shall be there,” that you may listen to the prayer that your servant offers toward this place. And listen to the plea of your servant and of your people Israel, when they pray toward this place. And listen in heaven your dwelling place, and when you hear, forgive. – 1 Kings 8:28-30 ESV

1 Kings 8:22-53

While Solomon was well aware of the fact that the great temple he had just finished constructing was insufficient to contain God, he was counting on God’s promise that His name would be there. God had told David, Solomon’s father, “Behold, a son shall be born to you who shall be a man of rest. I will give him rest from all his surrounding enemies. For his name shall be Solomon, and I will give peace and quiet to Israel in his days. He shall build a house for my name. He shall be my son, and I will be his father, and I will establish his royal throne in Israel forever” (1 Chronicles 22:9-10 ESV). The temple was to be built as a sort of monument to the character and nature of God. It’s beauty, richness, elaborate architectural detail and design were all intended to reflect the nature of God. It’s sole purpose was for making sacrifice and receiving forgiveness. It was a tribute to the holiness, mercy, love and forgiveness of God.

So Solomon appealed to God to hear his prayer. He knew that, without God’s presence, the building he had just had constructed would be nothing. It would be powerless to assist the Israelites in their times of need. After all, it was just a building. It was nothing more than a symbol of God’s power, mercy, and love. It could not save them. If God did not show up and hear the prayers and accept the sacrifices they offered up, they were doomed. Which is why Solomon asked “that your eyes may be open night and day toward this house.” The temple was to be the place where they came to meet with God. It was where they would make their annual sacrifice of atonement to God in the hopes of receiving forgiveness for their sins. So it was essential that God see them and constantly be aware of their circumstances, as well as hear them when they cried out to Him.

Solomon knew full well that God was not going to take up residence in the temple. His dwelling place was in heaven. But he believed that God had chosen the people of Israel as His special possession. He had set them apart as His own and had determined to reveal His power and presence to them and through them. They were nothing without God. In fact, the only thing that set them apart as a people was their relationship with God. “For you are a people holy to the Lord your God. The Lord your God has chosen you to be a people for his treasured possession, out of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth. It was not because you were more in number than any other people that the Lord set his love on you and chose you, for you were the fewest of all peoples, but it is because the Lord loves you and is keeping the oath that he swore to your fathers, that the Lord has brought you out with a mighty hand and redeemed you from the house of slavery, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt” (Deuteronomy 7:6-8 ESV). God had chosen them, not the other way around. Their very existence as a nation was due to God’s mercy and love. But Solomon knew that while God had been consistently faithful to them over the years, they had proven to be incredibly and repeatedly unfaithful in return. Which is why the sacrificial system was so essential. It was also why the temple was so important. Solomon was asking God to hear and forgive. He knew that the forgiveness of God was critical to their ongoing existence as a people. They were going to sin. It was inevitable. As a result, they would be required to bring their sacrifices and offer their prayers of confession and repentance. But if God did not hear them, they would be doomed. They would fall under His wrath and judgment. So Solomon appealed to God based on His character. He prayed based on God’s promises. His request was for future forgiveness. While they were obviously enjoying God’s blessings at that moment, all of that could change in a heartbeat if the people disobeyed God by breaking His laws. And Solomon knew that was inevitable and unavoidable. It would prove to be true in his own life. So he begged God to listen to their prayers of confession and contrition and honor their pleas of repentance with His forgiveness.

Solomon did not take the forgiveness of God for granted. He did not treat it lightly. But we do. We have grown so accustomed to the idea that all our sins are forgiven in Christ, that we no longer feel the need to own up to them or confess them. The apostle John reminds us, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9 ESV). Our forgiveness is a done deal. Jesus Christ has provided forgiveness for all our sins – past, present, and future – through His death on the cross. But that does not mean that we can sin at will and without any sense of remorse or expression of repentance. Our sin is still an affront to a holy God. We have His forgiveness available to us, but we must acknowledge our sin and confess it to God. Solomon valued the forgiveness of God. He built an entire structure just for the purpose of securing that forgiveness. God has given us His Son. We don’t have to build or sacrifice anything. All we need to do is confess. And God will forgive and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Amazing, but also amazingly easy to take for granted.

Delivered. Transferred. Redeemed. Forgiven.

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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 1:13-14 ESV

Colossians 1:9-14

Those of us who have placed our faith in Jesus Christ as our Savior can be some of the most ungrateful people on the planet. For all that God has done for us, we can easily find ourselves taking it all for granted. It is so easy to treat our salvation with a certain degree of complacency. If we’re not careful, our status as God’s redeemed ones can lose its wonder. The reality of our forgiveness from sin – all sin – can lose its overwhelming significance. And Paul knew that, which is why he prayed that we would have God’s power in our lives and experience the joy of His presence. He knew that, while our initial salvation was important, our ongoing sanctification was just as crucial to our relationship with God. We are to grow in our knowledge of God. While salvation introduced us to the God from whom we were alienated due to our sin, it was not to stop there. We are to “grow up into salvation” (1 Peter 2:2 ESV). We are to “grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” (2 Peter 3:18 ESV). And that happens only as we are “filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding” (Colossians 1:9 ESV). It is the knowledge of God’s will that allows us to live in such a way that pleases Him. It is what produces fruit in our lives and allows us to know God better and better. And that growing knowledge of God produces joy and an attitude of gratitude for all He has done. For most of us, the length of time between our salvation and our ultimate glorification, when we will see God face to face, is going to be relatively long. It is in the space which some have called the “gospel gap” that we must be careful. We must never lose sight of the fact that God has qualified us “to share in the inheritance of the saints in light” (Colossians 1:12 ESV). He has literally “rendered us fit” for glory. We have all we need to get into heaven, right now. We have all we need to come into His presence, at any time. We have Christ’s righteousness. There is nothing more we need to do, except grow in our knowledge of God and His Son Jesus Christ.

Here’s the part Paul does not want us to miss: “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.” It’s a done deal. He has delivered us. He has transferred us. He has redeemed and forgiven us. That reality should produce in us an overwhelming sense of gratefulness. He has done for us what we could have never done for ourselves. I think that is what it means to “grow up into salvation.” The longer we spend time on this earth as believers, the greater our appreciation for what God has done for us should grow. As we grow in our knowledge of God, we also grow in the awareness of our own weakness and propensity to sin. We should see our sin in stark contrast to His holiness and be increasingly amazed that He has delivered, transferred, redeemed and forgiven us. We didn’t deserve it. We haven’t earned it. We could never repay Him for it. But we can be thankful and ever mindful of what He has done. We can remember the unbelievable gift He has provided through the death of His Son on our behalf. We can also live our lives with a sense of peace, knowing that our future is secured. We can know beyond a shadow of a doubt “that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:38-39 NLT).

We have been delivered, transferred, redeemed and forgiven. God has done all that for us. Jesus Christ made it possible for us. And the reality of it should never be taken for granted by us. Every time we struggle with sin, we must remind ourselves that we have been delivered from the domain of darkness. We are no longer slaves to sin. Every time we feel like this world is our home, we must remind ourselves that we have been transferred into the Kingdom of His Son. We are citizens of another realm. Every time we feel the need to earn favor with God and pay Him back for our sins, we must remind ourselves that He has already redeemed us with the blood of His own Son. Each and every time we sin we must remind ourselves that we are already forgiven. That sin has been paid for. Nothing can separate us from the love of God. All we have to do is confess it and enjoy the forgiveness that has already been made available to us. Confession doesn’t earn us forgiveness, it simply allows us to take advantage of the it. All of this should amaze us. It should constantly astound us. It should never be treated complacently by us. “Yet now he has reconciled you to himself through the death of Christ in his physical body. As a result, he has brought you into his own presence, and you are holy and blameless as you stand before him without a single fault” (Colossians 1:22 NLT).

A Timely Reminder.

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I am writing to you, little children, because your sins are forgiven for his name’s sake. I am writing to you, fathers, because you know him who is from the beginning. I am writing to you, young men, because you have overcome the evil one. – 1 John 2:12-13 ESV

This section in the book of First John is a fascinating and somewhat perplexing one. Even the commentaries seem to struggle with exactly what John seems to be saying and to whom he is trying to say it. He appears to be addressing three groups of people: Little children, fathers, and young men. There are those who believe there three groups simply represent the various age segments within the local church. Like any fellowship, it would have had children, young adults and older individuals. There is another school of thought that believes these three groups represent levels or degrees of spiritual maturity. The term “children” would simple be a designation for those who were new in Christ. “Young men” would represent those in the church whose lives exhibit a degree of spiritual growth. “Fathers” would be those who were the more spiritually mature. The problem with either of these views is that John complicates any conclusions we may reach by what he has to say to each of the three groups he mentions. Our tendency is to focus on the three audiences addressed rather than the message being conveyed. It is not exactly clear who John is addressing, but it is crystal clear what he is saying to them.

Your sins are forgiven for his name’s sake.

You know him who is from the beginning.

You have overcome the evil one.

Because you know the father.

Because you know him who is from the beginning.

Because you are strong, and the word of God abides in you, and you have overcome the evil one.

If you notice, virtually every one of these statements is a review of what John has covered in his letter up until this point. Forgiveness of sins, knowledge of the Father, spiritual victory, the abiding presence of God, and a knowledge of Jesus Christ – each of these was to be real in their lives and not speculative. These truths were not to be in doubt. Regardless of who is talking to, John is reassuring them that everything he has been telling them is “true in him and in you” (1 John 2:8). Your sins are forgiven. What a remarkable statement that most of us take for granted or for to grasp its significance. We have forgiveness of our sins – for His name’s sake. Not because we have earned it or deserved it. Not because we have lived righteous and sinless lives. Not because we have paid the debt for our sins. But because of His name. God came up with a way to protect the integrity of His name, His very character, by providing His Son as the sacrifice for our sins. His sinless Son took our place and paid our debt, propitiating or satisfying the just demands of a holy, righteous God. And we are forgiven. Our sins are forgiven. “He is so rich in kindness and grace that he purchased our freedom with the blood of his Son and forgave our sins” (Ephesians 1:7 NLT). Done deal. Case closed. Sins forgiven. Past. Present. Future. For all time.

Not only that, we know Him who was from the beginning. We know Jesus Christ, the Son of God and the creator of the universe. We have a relationship with the God-man, who left the throne of heaven and took on human flesh so that He might die as a substitute for our sins. And it is that relationship with Him that gives us access to the Father. We know the Father. We have an intimate and personal relationship with Him. We can come into His presence without fear of condemnation. We can have fellowship with Him and enjoy all the blessings and benefits that come with being a child of God. “This includes you who were once far away from God. You were his enemies, separated from him by your evil thoughts and actions. Yet now he has reconciled you to himself through the death of Christ in his physical body. As a result, he has brought you into his own presence, and you are holy and blameless as you stand before him without a single fault” (Colossians 1:19-20 NLT).

And if all that was not enough, John reminds his audience that they are overcomers. He doesn’t tell them they WILL be overcomers some day. No, he tells them they have already overcome the evil one. They have experienced victory over the enemy. They have conquered sin and death, because of the death of Jesus Christ on the cross. Yes, they were still living on this earth and were faced with the prospect battling their own sin natures and a very real spiritual enemy in the form of Satan, but John wanted them to know that they were already victorious and strong, because the word of God was abiding in them. They had the promise of forgiveness of sins and the assurance of eternal life with God. “But thank God! He gives us victory over sin and death through our Lord Jesus Christ. So, my dear brothers and sisters, be strong and immovable. Always work enthusiastically for the Lord, for you know that nothing you do for the Lord is ever useless” (1 Corinthians 15:57-58 NLT).

In a way, these words are for all of us who have a relationship with God through Jesus Christ. They are true of us whatever our chronological age or level of spiritual maturity. We are forgiven. We know God. We are strong. We are overcomers. And we will be victorious. Timely words. A much-needed reminder. Now let’s live like we believe it.

Galatians 2:1-10

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Preserving the Truth.

Galatians 2:1-10

But we refused to give in to them for a single moment. We wanted to preserve the truth of the gospel message for you. – Galatians 2:5 NLT

Paul had a message, given to him from Jesus Christ Himself. And he was to share that message with Gentiles, introducing them to the availability of forgiveness of sins and a restored relationship with God Himself through Jesus Christ. No longer would they have to worship their countless idols made of wood and stone, in the hopes of appeasing them somehow with acts of service or gifts of grain, wine, animal or even human sacrifice. Gone were the fears of never knowing if you were worshiping the right god in the right way or doing enough to earn his favor. Paul had come to Galatia with a message about Jesus Christ, the God-man, the God who had taken on human flesh and lived a completely sinless life in order that the judgment of God against the sins of man might be satisfied. He had taken man’s place as a substitute or stand-in, bearing the penalty due for our rebellion against God: death. And then He rose again, showing God’s power and victory over death. Paul came preaching a message that offered men a way to be made right with God by simply believing in Jesus as their Savior and accepting His gift of salvation by an act of simple faith. No works necessary. No sacrifices needed. What Jesus had done was all that had to be done. Later in his letter to the Romans, Paul would clearly state the requirement for salvation: “If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved” (Romans 10:9 NLT). That was it. No more. No less.

But from the early days of his ministry to the Gentiles, Paul had been hounded by the Judaizers, a zealous group of Jews who were demanding that all Gentiles who wanted to become Christ-followers, must become converts to Judaism first. Paul refers to these individuals as “false brothers with false pretenses who slipped in unnoticed to spy on our freedom that we have in Christ Jesus, to make us slaved” (Galatians 1:4 NET). In chapter one, Paul assures his readers that he had received his message directly from Jesus Himself. In chapter two, he says that his message is backed by the leaders of the church in Jerusalem, including James, Peter and John. He makes it clear that he hadn’t received his message from them, but was fully supported by them. The recognized that God had given Paul the responsibility of preaching to the Gentiles, and his message was not to include circumcision, law-keeping or any form of conversion to Judaism. Paul says the Judaizers or false brothers “wanted to enslave us and force us to follow their Jewish regulations” (Galatians 2:4b NLT). But Paul refused. He would not compromise on the message Jesus had given him. Instead, he fought to preserve and protect the truth of the gospel as given to him by the risen Lord. In these early days of the Church, there were going to be countless attacks from without, but also very subtle attacks from within. The problem was that the message of faith alone in Christ alone was almost too good to be true. It eliminated all need for self-effort and any form of earning. Rule keeping was no longer the measuring rod for determining righteousness. Compliance to a set of arbitrary demands or laws not necessary. And while comparing your good deeds  to someone else’s might make you feel better, it was not going to make you right with God. Jesus had ushered in a new standard, a new way. Jesus Himself had said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me” (John 14:6 NLT). Paul was going to guard that message with a vengeance. And we need to do the same today. Because the gospel is still under attack, in subtle and yet sinister ways. We are still prone to want to add self-effort to the mix. We want to include man-made rules and requirements. We want some kind of measuring device that allows us to compare righteousness with others. But any attempts to add anything to the gospel message should be rejected. Any requirement other than faith should be exposed for what it is: a lie and a false gospel. Jesus + nothing = everything.

Father, don’t let us buy into the lie that faith alone is not enough. Don’t allow us to unwittingly add to the gospel by requiring any kind of man-made standard that requires men to measure up to our demands. Help us keep the message simple and pure. Give us the same kind of zeal Paul had to protect the integrity of the gospel from the lies of the enemy. Amen.

Ken Miller
Grow Pastor & Minister to Men
kenm@christchapelbc.org