Tag: grace

Confidence in Salvation

Confidence in Salvation

Marissa

Are you saved?

It’s a question associated with overly enthusiastic or exceptionally earnest evangelists, knocking on doors and chatting you up in coffee shops. But it’s also a question that haunts many Christians. Like many things, we often fall into two extremes related to this question. On the one hand, we have people who say, “Once saved, always saved, so it doesn’t matter what I do now.” On the other hand, we have people who are terrified that they’re not actually saved and spend their lives struggling to measure up to God’s perfect standard with no assurance that they’ll make it in the end.

A few weeks ago, our pastor gave a message about the three ways that the Bible talks about salvation: we are saved, we are being saved, and we will be saved. He also mentioned an analogy that I’ve been mulling over for a couple weeks now. Like all analogies, it breaks down if you carry it too far, but I think it gives us a good starting point.

People who say they are already saved by Jesus are correct. But so are people who say that you can “lose” that salvation (though “reject” would be a much more accurate term). It’s like if a firefighter pulls you out of a burning building. Once you’re out of the fire, you’ve been saved. The salvation has already happened and it’s not going to be undone by the person who rescued you. But you can still run back into the burning building. It would be phenomenally stupid, but you have the free will to reject salvation. Knowing that can lead to anxiety for many people, but how worried should you actually be about this knowledge?

Image of a man walking in the woods while reading a Bible overlaid with text from 1 Thes. 5:8-9, NET version: "But since we are of the day, we must stay sober by putting on the breastplate of faith and love and as a helmet our hope for salvation. For God did not destine us for wrath but for gaining salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ.”
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Be Confident

In my church, we spend quite a bit of time refuting the “once saved, always saved” heresy. No, you didn’t do anything to earn salvation–it’s a gift of God–but once you’re saved by grace, you owe God loyalty, faithfulness, and obedience. You can even choose to reject salvation, either verbally or by actions that deny your relationship with God (see, for example, 1 Cor. 6:9-10; Gal. 5:19-21; Heb. 10:26-31). We are currently saved, but it is also an ongoing process of walking with God that He will finally accomplish at Jesus’s return.

It’s an important point to understand, but I think perhaps we should spend just as much time countering the mistake that is more pervasive in our church, namely, the fear that we’re not good enough for God and might not really be saved. I’ve known people paralyzed by anxiety and fear that they don’t measure up to God, that He won’t give them salvation, and that they won’t be good enough to be in the kingdom. While we should have a great deal of respect for God, He does not want the people He welcomed into a relationship with Him to cower in fear!

You’re not supposed to feel guilty that you needed God’s grace. You should realize that you’re guilty of sin and can only be saved by His grace, but you shouldn’t beat yourself up because you couldn’t earn salvation. You were never meant to earn it! Reading through all of Paul’s letter to the Romans (preferably in one setting) is a beautiful exploration of these facts. None of us can earn salvation, but God knows that and in His great mercy, He worked things out so we don’t need to; we just need to believe in Jesus and commit to following Him. None of our works earn God’s favor or pay Him back for His grace, but good works (and refusing to go back to living in sin) are the correct response to His work in us. Confidence that we’ve received salvation is a topic Paul kept coming back to again and again in his letters.

And so, since we have been justified by his grace, we become heirs with the confident expectation of eternal life.

Titus 3:7-8, NET

This was according to the eternal purpose that he accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord, in whom we have boldness and confident access to God by way of Christ’s faithfulness.

Ephesians 3:11-12, NET

God wants us to be bold and confident in relation to our salvation. He accomplished it, and He wants us to realize that it’s something He will not revoke and no one else can revoke. Jesus pulled us out of the fire when we accepted His sacrifice on our behalf. He’s not going to throw us back in. At the same time, that moment of salvation starts a participatory process. We’re meant to be fully involved in the transformation that salvation starts in our lives.

Balancing Humility and Certainty

We can have great confidence and boldness in the fact that “God did not destine us for wrath but for gaining salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Thes. 5:9, NET). He doesn’t set us up for failure. In fact, He wants us to succeed! He’s already proved how invested He is in saving us by Jesus literally dying in our place. We don’t need to worry that God thinks we’re not good enough (Jesus cared enough to die for us while we were yet sinners [Rom. 5:8]) or that He’ll give up on us partway through the salvation process (Phil. 1:6).

Therefore, since we have been declared righteous by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have also obtained access into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in the hope of God’s glory. …

Much more then, because we have now been declared righteous by his blood, we will be saved through him from God’s wrath. For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of his Son, how much more, since we have been reconciled, will we be saved by his life?

Romans 5:1-2, 9-10, NET
Image of three women holding hands, overlaid with blog's title text and the words, "When we are confidently devoted to God, we have no reason to fear that He won't accomplish our salvation."
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Here, Paul uses the term “reconciliation” for the salvation already accomplished–the restoration of relationship between us and God when Jesus’s sacrifice covered our sins–and “we will be saved” for the final salvation that we look forward to when Jesus returns and we become fully part of God’s family. We are assured without a doubt that Jesus accomplished salvation in our lives when we entered a covenant relationship with Him, and that God will finish the work that He started in us unless we choose to stop working with Him (Phil. 2:12-13; Heb. 2:1-3).

There is a delicate balance we must maintain between humility and confidence. We must confidently expect that God will deliver on His promises of eternal life while at the same time recognize that we could be disqualified from receiving those promises if we reject and abandon God. Even the apostle Paul didn’t dare say he’d already attained the resurrection during most of his life (1 Cor. 9:27; Phil 3:10-14); it was only right at the end of his life that he could say, “I have kept the faith” and will inherit the crown (2 Tim. 4:6-8). Self-righteous confidence is a danger we must be careful to avoid; our confidence should rest in God, not ourselves (Luke 18:9-14; Rom. 2:17-29). And when our confidence is placed firmly in God, then we have nothing to fear.

Yahweh is my light and my salvation.
Whom shall I fear?
Yahweh is the strength of my life.
Of whom shall I be afraid? …
Though war should rise against me,
even then I will be confident. …

I am still confident of this:
I will see the goodness of Yahweh in the land of the living.
Wait for Yahweh.
Be strong, and let your heart take courage.
Yes, wait for Yahweh.

Psalm 27:1, 3, 13-14, WEB

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Song Recommendation: “Whom Shall I Fear [The God of Angel Armies]” by Chris Tomlin

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Is There Ever A Good Reason To Lie?

Is There Ever A Good Reason To Lie?

Marissa

Over the past couple weeks, I’ve been pondering a topic that I’ve had such a difficult time writing about that I skipped one of my regular posting weeks and then picked another topic for my end of May post. It all started when my husband pointed out a Bible commentary that condemned Rahab for her lie even though it saved the lives of the two spies, and maintains there is never any acceptable reason for a lie (see Beyond Today Bible Commentary: Joshua 2). This stance comes down absolutely on the subject of sin and lies: lies are always a sin and never excusable under any circumstances. Then just a few days later, I read about Christians online sharing made up statistics and excusing it because the lie might encourage people to pray (see “Lying for Jesus: When Did Truth Become UnChristian?” by Sheila Wray Gregoire). This is a completely opposite view, one that approaches truth lackadaisically without any respect for the Bible’s teachings on truth and lies.

The Bible is very clear that lying is a sin and God hates it when people deal falsely. Framed in more positive wording, God’s people ought to follow the Truth and speak only truthful things. And yet we have that example of Rahab, where it seems that a good thing came from her lie, and also the example of the midwives who defied Pharaoh’s command to kill baby boys then concealed the truth, whom God rewarded for their actions. Does that mean they didn’t actually lie? Or that God is sometimes okay with lying? Or might there be some thing else going on, something that hits on a deeper topic of how we approach God’s rules and–more importantly–how God wants us to see His rules and understand His grace.

Image of a woman sitting at a table and studying the Bible overlaid with text from James 4:6-8, NET version: "But he gives greater grace. Therefore it says, “God opposes the proud, but he gives grace to the humble.” So submit to God. But resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw near to God and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and make your hearts pure, you double-minded."
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The Midwives In Egypt

Rahab is probably the most famous Biblical example of a lie that makes us question whether or not God approved of the deception. In that situation, though, the story does not explicitly state either way what God thought of the lie. It is probable that God did consider this a sin and that it would have been better to find another way to redirect the soldiers, but that because she did the best she could and because she was learning to fear the Lord, God extended grace. There’s one other story, though, where it’s harder for us to condemn the lie.

The king of Egypt spoke to the Hebrew midwives, of whom the name of the one was Shiphrah, and the name of the other Puah, and he said, “When you perform the duty of a midwife to the Hebrew women, and see them on the birth stool, if it is a son, then you shall kill him; but if it is a daughter, then she shall live.” But the midwives feared God, and didn’t do what the king of Egypt commanded them, but saved the baby boys alive. The king of Egypt called for the midwives, and said to them, “Why have you done this thing and saved the boys alive?”

The midwives said to Pharaoh, “Because the Hebrew women aren’t like the Egyptian women; for they are vigorous and give birth before the midwife comes to them.”

God dealt well with the midwives, and the people multiplied, and grew very mighty. Because the midwives feared God, he gave them families.

Exodus 1:15-21, WEB

Only one of the commentaries I looked at comes down on the view that this was a lie and dogmatically says, “Their disobedience in this was lawful, but their deception is evil” (Geneva Study Bible). Commentaries on this passage tend to hedge the midwives’ response by saying it “was probably true; but it was not the whole truth” (Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers; see also Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary, Pulpit Commentary, and Matthew Poole’s Commentary). However, the commentaries’ justification for saying it’s a half truth smacks of racism or at least incomplete information (i.e. European writers in the 1800s saying Arabic women are reported to deliver babies easily). It’s also countered by the text itself saying the midwives, “didn’t do what the king of Egypt commanded them, but saved the baby boys alive,” which heavily implies that they were there for the births or at the very least could have obeyed the king if they so chose. If they were, in fact, present for the births then saying that the Hebrew women “give birth before the midwife comes to them” was not true. Yet despite this untruth, we are told very clearly, “God dealt well with the midwives” and “Because the midwives feared God, he gave them families.”

In this particular situation, it seems that the midwives had a choice between concealing the truth or participating in murder. I suppose they did have a third choice of telling the king that they disobeyed his command, but that would have also lead to death (and possibly not just for them). This sort of situation is rare, but it’s not unheard of. If someone’s life is in your hands and you’re talking to someone who wants to kill them, telling the whole truth could very easily mean you’ve betrayed someone to death (which is not looked on well in Matt. 24:10). It sounds almost heretical to type this, but it seems from this situation that there was at least one time when God was flexible with His command against lying. At the very least, He extended grace to cover the lie and it was neither condemned nor held against the midwives.

Image of three women holding hands to pray overlaid with text from Zechariah 8:16-17, WEB version: "“These are the things that you shall do: speak every man the truth with his neighbor. Execute the judgment of truth and peace in your gates, and let none of you devise evil in your hearts against his neighbor, and love no false oath; for all these are things that I hate,” says Yahweh."
Image by Pearl from Lightstock

Is There Ever A Lesser Evil?

As I’m pondering the midwives’ situation, I wonder if the person who asked Jesus about the greatest commandment might have had similar questions as I do about what to do when you’re stuck in a situation where you can’t clearly see a good choice. If you’re in a situation like the midwives where you have to choose between obeying God’s commands to respect human authority, not commit murder, and to tell the truth, how do you decide which command is most important?

“Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?” Jesus said to him, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. The second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the law and the prophets depend on these two commandments.”

Matthew 22:36-40, NET

The Hebrew midwives never read this verse, but it might give us a clue to their thought process. We can’t obey human authority if they tell us to disobey God; God is a higher authority and we must love Him and follow Him will all our heart, soul, and mind. We cannot commit murder, firstly because God tells us not to but it is also completely incompatible with loving your neighbor as yourself. In the midwives’ situation, it seemed that telling the whole truth had to take a backseat to following the greatest commands. Could they have handled it in a more truthful way and still had a good outcome? Possibly, but whether it’s the case that they didn’t sin at all or they sinned in lying because they didn’t know what else to do, God still rewarded them for their actions. He has the right to extend grace in whatever situation He wants.

On a cosmic, eternal scale, there are not levels of severity to sin. If you keep every command except one, “you have become a violator of the law” and have “become guilty of all of it” (James 2:10, 11, NET; see James 2:8-13). The law gives us “the knowledge of sin” and ensures that “the whole world may be held accountable to God” by clearly showing how God defines sin (Rom. 3:19-20, NET). We’re all guilty in God’s eyes, no matter how “small” our sins might seem, and we all need Jesus’s sacrifice. Paul says that this truth helps show the righteousness and justice of God, who holds all accountable yet freely offers forgiveness and grace through Jesus Christ (Rom. 3:19-26).

No matter which of God’s laws you violate, “the payoff of sin is death” on an eternal timescale and you need “the gift of God [which] is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Rom. 6:23, NET). But on an earthly level, we also know that some sins are less destructive than others and God’s laws for ancient Israel reflected that. Every sin would earn you an eternal death penalty (i.e. you can’t live forever unless you accept Jesus’s Christ’s sacrifice on your behalf) but not every sin earned you a physical death penalty when living in a nation ruled by God’s law. For example, murder was a death-penalty sin (Lev. 24:17; Num. 35:30-31) but theft required you pay back more than you stole (Ex. 22:1). If someone lied in a court of law, then the false witness was punished the same way “he had intended to do to the accused” (Deut. 19:19, NET; see Deut. 19:16-19). God didn’t order the same legal penalty for every sin; there was more nuance than that.

We should never think, “I can get away with breaking this one of God’s laws because it’s not a big deal,” but if we’re legitimately in a position where we have to choose between participating in murder or lying about something, I think the choice is clear. You would still need to repent of the lie, but God has a great deal of mercy for people, especially when they are not flagrantly defying Him because they think His laws don’t matter or that they can get away with it.

Maintain Careful Respect For God

Image of a man with his head bowed over an open Bible, overlaid with blog's title text and the words, " I think the answer is both no and yes. "No" in the sense that lying is always a sin, but "yes" in the sense that there are rare situations where you can't see any other way to obey another of God's commands (e.g. "love your neighbor as yourself") than to conceal the truth."
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Scripture is clear that God’s laws are very important and He acts justly at all times. We can rely on Him not to go around changing His laws willy-nilly. He has the sovereign right to deliver and enforce laws, and when we agree to live in relationship with Him, part of our covenant obligation is obedience. At the same time, one of the consistent things we know about His character is that He extends lots of mercy and grace to people who slip, and that He reserves the right to amend His plans in response to human behavior (e.g. withholding destruction from Nineveh after the city repented).

For lying in particular, we’re told in no uncertain terms that it originates with the devil and that those who live untruthful lives are abominable to God (Prov. 12:19, 22; John 8:44; 1 John 2:21). We can count on Him to cover that sin in some very specific circumstances, like for Rahab and the midwives, but we ought not take the grace that He shows to people who lied to save a life as license to lie for anything we think is a good cause. This is where those people we mentioned who spread false research even after knowing it was fabricated made a mistake.

Absolutely not! Let God be proven true, and every human being shown up as a liar, just as it is written: “so that you will be justified in your words and will prevail when you are judged.”

But if our unrighteousness demonstrates the righteousness of God, what shall we say? The God who inflicts wrath is not unrighteous, is he? (I am speaking in human terms.) Absolutely not! For otherwise how could God judge the world? For if by my lie the truth of God enhances his glory, why am I still actually being judged as a sinner? And why not say, “Let us do evil so that good may come of it”?—as some who slander us allege that we say. (Their condemnation is deserved!)

Romans 3:4-8, NET (bold italics mark a quotation from Ps 51:4)

The Bible does not give us license to lie whenever we think we have a good reason. Here, Paul specifically addresses a situation where people thought to forward the gospel by lying, and shows that you are still a sinner if you violate God’s law thinking to do good. We need to obey God the way He tells us to. But it is also worth mentioning here if you lied for what you thought was a good reason, you can still realize your mistake and repent. God is always ready to respond to sincere human repentance with forgiveness and grace.

I almost didn’t share this post because it’s such a tricky thing to write about, but I think it’s good to have these types of conversations because they do come up in hypotheticals and sometimes in real-life. I have heard people say that they worry about being in a situation like Europeans who hid Jews during the Holocaust because they’re concerned that God would condemn them as sinners if they lied when asked, “Are there Jews hiding here?” I don’t think we need to worry about that so much. God is not up there waiting to pounce on us, watching for us to fail if we’re in an impossible situation and can’t think of a better way out.

To directly address the title of this post, “Is There Ever A Good Reason To Lie?” I think the answer is both no and yes. “No” in the sense that lying is always a sin, but “yes” in the sense that there are rare situations where you can’t see any other way to obey another of God’s commands (e.g. “love your neighbor as yourself”) than to conceal the truth. God always looks on our hearts, and there’s a big difference between lying because you can’t think of any other way to save a life (and then repenting of the lie) and lying because you’re too proud to admit your were wrong (especially if you then convince yourself you don’t need to repent).

Featured image by Ben White

Song Recommendation: “Grace Upon Grace” by Matthew West

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Pauline Introductions, Part 2: How Does Paul Talk About God?

Pauline Introductions, Part 2: How Does Paul Talk About God?

Marissa

Today’s post is the second in a three-part series. In these posts, we’re looking at the introductions of Paul’s epistles and examining how Paul talks about himself, how Paul talks about God, and how Paul talks about us in the introductions to his letters. We’ll be focusing on the epistles he wrote to church communities rather than the pastoral epistles (Timothy, Titus) or the letter to an individual (Philemon). This series will also exclude Hebrews since there’s a good chance Paul wasn’t the author. That leaves us with nine letters: Romans, 1 Corinthians, 2 Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, 1 Thessalonians, and 2 Thessalonians.

If you’re wondering why I didn’t post this two weeks ago like I typically would, I broke my foot and I’ve been struggling to keep up with everything that needs doing. Subscribe to my newsletter if you want to stay up-to-date on news like that and changes in post schedules.

Grace and Peace from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ

All of these introductions except two have Paul using the phrase, “Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ” (Rom. 1:7; 1 Cor. 1:3; 2 Cor. 1:2; Gal. 1:3; Eph. 1:2, Phil. 1:2; 2 Thes. 1:2, NET) There’s a similar phrase in 1 Thessalonians 1:1, and Colossians 1:2 just says, “Grace and peace to you from God our Father!” (Paul mentions Jesus elsewhere in the introduction, just not as part of this phrase). We could call this Paul’s standard greeting, and it tells us several things about how he views God.

For Paul, God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ are a source of grace and peace. There are a lot of other things that God supplies us with (love, mercy, and justice, just to name a few), but grace and peace are the ones Paul uses in his salutations. According to “Grace to You and Peace: An Analysis of the Pauline Letter Openings” by JPT Aquino, “Paul used the epistolary conventions of his time” in the way that he structured his letters (p. 2) but he chose his own signature opening phrase to communicate “the theology that underlies his letters, as well [as] his life and ministry” (p. 109). As we think of Paul’s focus in his letters, “grace and peace from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ” does seem like a good introduction to what he typically emphasizes. He focuses a lot on God’s grace toward us, the internal peace He gives us, and the peace that He wants to see between those in His church.

This phrase also gives us hints about how Paul understands the nature of God. As in the rest of the Bible, Paul sees God the Father and God the Son as the central figures in the God-family, which They invite us to join in a process we understand through analogies of birth, adoption, and marriage. Both the Father and Jesus have always existed as God, but now that Jesus came as the Messiah, we know these two God-beings as God the Father (Matt. 11:27; John 14:6-11) and the Lord Jesus Christ (Matt. 16:16; Phil. 2:9-11; 1 John 3:5). You might remember from the first post in this series that Paul introduces himself as an apostle commissioned by the Father and Jesus; they’re the reason for his ministry and the Ones that he’s representing as he writes these letters.

Image of a man reading the Bible overlaid with text from Gal. 1:3-5, NET version: “Grace and peace to you from God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ, who gave himself for our sins to rescue us from this present evil age according to the will of our God and Father, to whom be glory forever and ever! Amen.”
Image by Matt Vasquez from Lightstock

Source of the Gospel

From Paul, a slave of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God.  This gospel he promised beforehand through his prophets in the holy scriptures, concerning his Son who was a descendant of David with reference to the flesh, who was appointed the Son-of-God-in-power according to the Holy Spirit by the resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord.

Romans 1:1-5, NET

Paul only mentions the gospel in the salutation to one letter. He also brings it up in the prayers for churches that make up what I think of as the second half of his introductions in several other letters, but those have to do with our response to the gospel so we’ll save that for the Part 3 post in a couple weeks (Eph. 1:13; Phil. 1:5-7; Col. 1:5-6; 1 Thes. 1:4-5).

In Romans, though, Paul lays a foundation for talking about what God’s good news is doing in us by describing it as “the gospel of God” that “he promised beforehand through his prophets in the holy scriptures, concerning his Son.” There is to be no confusion: the gospel is about Jesus, who is the Son of God, and what He and the Father are doing and have done for us. It’s also not a new thing; the gospel that Paul preaches is something that God promised in the scriptures we now call the Old Testament. Christianity wasn’t a new religion, it’s just what people started calling those who understood that Jesus is the Messiah/Christ and followed Him as He showed the way to continue following God faithfully.

The One Who Calls and Chooses

God is the one who called Paul to be an apostle (Rom. 1:1; 1 Cor. 1:1), called us to belong to and fellowship with Jesus (Rom. 1:6; 1 Cor. 1:9), and called us to be saints (Rom. 1:7; 1 Cor 1:2). He also chose us (Eph. 1:4; 1 Thes. 1:4) and is the one who “began a good work” in us (Phil. 1:6). All the things that Paul is (which we talked about in the previous post) and all the things that we are (which we’ll talk about in the next post) happened because God made choices. He chose to call us into His family, offer us eternal life, and make us holy (that’s what the word “saint” means).

 Blessed is the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms in Christ. For he chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world that we should be holy and blameless before him in love. He did this by predestining us to adoption as his legal heirs through Jesus Christ, according to the pleasure of his will

Ephesians 1:3-5, NET

This focus in the intro to Paul’s letters on God the Father’s and Jesus Christ’s action in our lives carries through the rest of Paul’s writings. He’s constantly pointing to Them and what They are doing. Take Philippians, for example. Right at the start of the letter, Paul focuses on “the one who began a good work in you” and who “will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus” (Phil. 1:6, NET). We’re here, reading Paul’s letters to learn more about God, because He started working in us and He won’t give up until He’s brought us to perfection. A little later in this same letter, Paul wrote, “continue working out your salvation with awe and reverence, for the one bringing forth in you both the desire and the effort—for the sake of his good pleasure—is God” (Phil. 2:12-13, NET). We’re participating in our salvation, but God’s doing the work and as long as we don’t reject Him, He’ll make sure we succeed.

Continuing in Philippians, Paul also talked about rejecting human credentials, power, or prestige and focusing only on the calling of God. Paul encouraged all his readers to join him: “with this goal in mind, I strive toward the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. Therefore let those of us who are ‘perfect’ embrace this point of view” (Phil. 3:14-15, NET). Just as Paul put the calling of God at the forefront of many letters, so we should put God’s calling at the forefront of our lives.

Rescuer and Helper

Image of a man sitting on a couch writing on a pad of paper, overlaid with blog's title text and the words, "What can we learn from looking at the first things Paul wanted his readers to see when they read his letters?"
Image by StartupStockPhotos from Pixabay

In several of his introductions, Paul emphasizes the redemptive work that God accomplishes in saving and sanctifying His people. We are “sanctified in Christ Jesus” (1 Cor. 1:2). He “gave himself for our sins to rescue us from this present evil age according to the will of our God and Father” (Gal. 1:3, NET).  It is “In him” that “we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our offenses, according to the riches of his grace” (Eph. 1:7, NET).

God’s aid didn’t stop with accomplishing our redemption, though. He is all-in when it comes to the work of bringing children into His family. Jesus’s work of sanctifying, rescuing, and redeeming His people is ongoing, and it includes love (Rom. 1:7; 1 Thes. 1:4), grace (1 Cor. 1:4; Eph. 1:6-7; Phil. 1:7), and comfort.

Blessed is the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles so that we may be able to comfort those experiencing any trouble with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. 

2 Corinthians 1:3-4, NET

Even just looking at the openings of Paul’s letters, we see the depth of his devotion to God, the awe he feels for the Father and Son, and the wonder of God’s incredible work in our lives. God’s grace, peace, calling, and salvation are at the forefront of Paul’s mind and his letters. In one of these letters, Paul wrote, “Be imitators of me, just as I also am of Christ” (1 Cor. 11:1, NET). One of the ways that we can imitate him is by similarly prioritizing God and cultivating a relationship with Him that’s at the center of our lives and our focus.

Featured image by StartupStockPhotos from Pixabay

Song Recommendation: “What A Beautiful Name” by Hillsong Worship

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Pride and Opposition v. Humility and Grace

Pride and Opposition v. Humility and Grace

Marissa

There’s a proverb that both Peter and James quote in their epistles. It goes like this: “God opposes the proud, but he gives grace to the humble” (James 4:6; 1 Peter 5:5, NET). Here, we see two different reactions that God has to two different human attitudes. On the one hand, He offers grace when we’re humble (the mindset needed to acknowledge that we need His grace). On the other hand, He is in opposition to the proud (a mindset that sets itself in opposition to God).

God cares a great deal about the state of our hearts, how we relate to Him, and the way we behave. Once God opens our eyes to His truth and begins a relationship with us, we still have choices to make. We can live as His friends or we can keep doing things that would make us His enemies. There are many verses addressing this idea, but these provide a particularly succinct summary.

The Proverbs Context

Both Peter and James are quoting Proverbs 3:34. Many proverbs stand on their own, but this one is part of a larger message of instruction that begins, “My son, don’t forget my teaching; but let your heart keep my commandments” (Prov. 3:1, WEB). Readers are admonished to pay careful attention to sound teachings, trust in the Lord rather than themselves, and accept correction from the Lord as required (something only possible with a humble attitude). We’re also told to prioritize wisdom and use it in our dealings with others. The passage ends with some warnings.

Don’t envy the man of violence.
    Choose none of his ways.
For the perverse is an abomination to Yahweh,
    but his friendship is with the upright.
Yahweh’s curse is in the house of the wicked,
    but he blesses the habitation of the righteous.
Surely he mocks the mockers,
    but he gives grace to the humble.
The wise will inherit glory,
    but shame will be the promotion of fools.

Proverbs 3:31-35, WEB

The phrase “he mocks the mockers” is what was translated into Greek as “he opposes the proud.” In Hebrew, “mocks” and “mockers” are from the same word, luts (H3887). The basic meaning is to scorn or mock. By showing it as the opposite of humility, this proverb indicates “that the particular type of wickedness of the scorner is pride” (Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament, entry 1113). Proverbs 21:24 also bears out this connection: “The proud and arrogant man—“Scoffer” is his name—he works in the arrogance of pride.”

It makes me think of the verse in Hosea that says, “The pride of Israel testifies to his face” (Hos. 5:5, WEB). God’s people had been proud, and haughty, and think they know best but their pride stands testament to their misdeeds. Keep reading in chapter 5, and you’ll see God sounding a battle cry to go out and “pour out my wrath on them like water” (Hos. 5:10, WEB). That imagery of God going out in battle against the proud is what we find in the Greek translations of Proverbs 3:34.

As mentioned earlier, the New Testament quotes of this proverb read, “God opposes the proud, but he gives grace to the humble” (James 4:6; 1 Peter 5:5, NET). In Greek, “oppose” is translated from antitassomai (G498), which means “to range in battle against” (Thayer). That’s also the word used in the Septuagint when they translated Proverbs 3:34 into Greek. It seems to have been well understood that the right way to translate God’s response to pride-filled scorners was as fierce opposition.

Image of two women studying their Bibles overlaid with text from Isaiah 57:15, WEB version: "For the high and lofty One who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy, says: 'I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also who is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite.'"
Image by Shaun Menary from Lightstock

Proverbs 3:34 In James

Let’s look at the passage where James quotes this proverb. It’s the verse that inspired me to take a closer look at this topic (interestingly, I’d made myself a note to study grace and pride next, and then the sermon I heard last Sabbath also covered pride). We’ll start reading several verses before the quote for context.

Where do the conflicts and where do the quarrels among you come from? Is it not from this, from your passions that battle inside you? You desire and you do not have; you murder and envy and you cannot obtain; you quarrel and fight. You do not have because you do not ask; you ask and do not receive because you ask wrongly, so you can spend it on your passions.

Adulterers, do you not know that friendship with the world means hostility toward God? So whoever decides to be the world’s friend makes himself God’s enemy. Or do you think the scripture means nothing when it says, “The spirit that God caused to live within us has an envious yearning”? But he gives greater grace. Therefore it says, “God opposes the proud, but he gives grace to the humble.” So submit to God. But resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw near to God and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and make your hearts pure, you double-minded. Grieve, mourn, and weep. Turn your laughter into mourning and your joy into despair. Humble yourselves before the Lord and he will exalt you.

James 4:1-10, NET (bold italics mark a quote from Prov. 3:34)

The phrase “but he gives greater grace” puzzles me. Why not simply “grace;” isn’t that already great? What is “greater grace,” and why is it contrasted with the human spirit that lives in us? Then, why does that contrast lead into Proverbs 3:34 with a “therefore.” James clearly sees these concepts as both interconnected and very meaningful for us, so it seems like something we’d benefit from puzzling out.

Let’s go through this passage again. First, James calls attention to the source of conflicts among believers (the audience he’s addressing is the “brothers and sisters” in “the twelve tribes dispersed abroad” [Jas. 1:1-2, NET]). The root cause of these issues is wrong passions and desires for things of the world. It is a basic truth that loving and lusting after worldly things makes you God’s enemy. You can’t befriend the world and stay a friend of God.

Though James references scripture when he says, “The spirit that God caused to live within us has an envious yearning,” it doesn’t exactly match any Old Testament verse. The NET translators point out, “No OT verse is worded exactly this way. This is either a statement about the general teaching of scripture or a quotation from an ancient translation of the Hebrew text that no longer exists today” (note on James 3:5). We do know from scripture that God breathed life into man in the garden of Eden, and that there is a big difference between that human spirit and the holy spirit of God (Gen. 2:7; 1 Cor. 2). In Jeremiah, God said, “The heart is deceitful above all things and it is exceedingly corrupt” (Jer. 17:9, WEB). Another translation phrases this line, “The human mind is more deceitful than anything else. It is incurably bad” (Jer. 17:9, NET). Perhaps that verse in Jeremiah was one of the scriptures James had in mind when we wrote his letter.

When you focus in on descriptions like “hostility toward God,” “envious yearning,” “exceedingly corrupt,” and “incurably bad,” it makes more sense why we desperately need grace that stands in sharp contrast to that human spirit inside us. In Greek, the word translated “greater” is meison (G3187), the comparative form of megas (G3187; root of the English word “mega”). It describes something that is “greater, larger, elder, stronger” (Thayer’s dictionary, entry G3187). The grace God gives us is bigger, older, stronger, and so much greater than the problems we face within or outside of ourselves. I think the emphasis here is that while human nature can be terribly wicked and hostile to God, His grace is surpassingly greater. He can fix even the most prideful, quarrelsome person if they are willing to cleanse their hands, purify their hearts, “grieve, mourn, and weep” over their sins, and admit they need His grace.

Image of a man praying in a church overlaid with text from Proverbs 16:5-6, WEB version: “Everyone who is proud in heart is an abomination to Yahweh: they shall certainly not be unpunished. By mercy and truth iniquity is atoned for. By the fear of Yahweh men depart from evil.”
Image by Matt Vasquez from Lightstock

Proverbs 3:34 In 1 Peter

When Peter quotes this proverb, he also focuses on how people in the church interact with each other. His emphasis is not so much on the depravity of human nature and the necessity of repentant humility, though. He’s urging his readers–particularly those in leadership–to care for others without lording over them. Really, though, submission and humility is a subject that’s relevant for everyone, as supported by the proverbs quote.

 So as your fellow elder and a witness of Christ’s sufferings and as one who shares in the glory that will be revealed, I urge the elders among you: Give a shepherd’s care to God’s flock among you, exercising oversight not merely as a duty but willingly under God’s direction, not for shameful profit but eagerly. And do not lord it over those entrusted to you, but be examples to the flock. Then when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that never fades away.

In the same way, you who are younger, be subject to the elders. And all of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble. 

1 Peter 5:1-5, NET (bold italics mark quote from Prov. 3:34)

There’s a Rick Warren quote that says, “Humility is not thinking less of yourself, but thinking of yourself less” (The Purpose Driven Life, Day 19). Similarly, C.S. Lewis wrote that “if you meet a really humble man … He will not be thinking about humility: he will not be thinking about himself at all” (Mere Christianity, Book 3, Chapter 8). Our focus shouldn’t be on ourselves, but on doing the will of God. We need to realize that pride is a sin, confront it in our lives (identifying it, repenting of it, and asking God to help us change), and move forward with living lives patterned after God’s holiness. That will help us in our relationships with others. It will open us up to God’s grace. And it even helps us in our spiritual battles (which James also mentioned when he said, “resist the devil and he will flee from you”).

Image of a woman reading the Bible with the blog's title text and the words "When we humbly admit pride is a problem and ask God for help keeping it out of our lives, He graciously aids us with all our cares and empowers us to win spiritual battles."
Image by Pearl from Lightstock

And all of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble. And God will exalt you in due time, if you humble yourselves under his mighty hand by casting all your cares on him because he cares for you. Be sober and alert. Your enemy the devil, like a roaring lion, is on the prowl looking for someone to devour. Resist him, strong in your faith, because you know that your brothers and sisters throughout the world are enduring the same kinds of suffering. And, after you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace who called you to his eternal glory in Christ will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you. To him belongs the power forever. Amen.

1 Peter 5:5-11, NET (bold italics mark quote from Prov. 3:34; italics may be an allusion to Ps 22:13)

I’ve been wrapping up final copyedits this week on the Like An Anchor Study Guide: Armor of God book (which I’d planned to release last month, but I temporarily lost all my editing notes when we moved), so this feels like a particularly relevant passage right now. One of the things we need to realize when approaching spiritual warfare is that we can’t do it on our own. Thinking you can stand up against the roaring lion all by yourself is a recipe for disaster. We need to humble ourselves before the Almighty and entrust Him with all our cares. Then we can stand against His adversary while wearing His armor (Eph. 6:10-18).

Also, notice that Peter once again calls our attention to “the God of all grace” before wrapping up his letter. It is God’s charis–favor within a reciprocal covenant relationship–that enables us to live humble, victorious lives. His “greater grace” makes it possible for us to overcome pride in ourselves and to resist our adversary the devil, who was so proud he thought he could overthrow God. When we give into that same sin of pride, we’re putting ourselves on the wrong side of that battle. But when we humbly admit pride is a problem and ask God for help getting rid of it and keeping it out of our lives, He graciously aids us with all our cares and empowers us to win spiritual battles.

Featured image by Matt Vasquez from Lightstock

Song Recommendation: “Grace Upon Grace” by Josh Wilson

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Grace To Build An Ark: Take Two

Grace To Build An Ark: Take Two

Marissa

About six years ago (at the end of 2016), I wrote a blog post called “Grace to Build An Ark.” As I’ve studied grace more over the years, I keep coming back to this idea. When Noah found grace in the Lord’s eyes, God didn’t drop a ready-made ark from the sky. He gave Noah the plans to build an ark for himself.

We rightly think of grace as an “unmerited favor” or a “free gift” from God. But we often wrongly think that because the gift is given freely there are no accompanying expectations. I write about this error in posts like “Learning More About Covenant Grace” and you can learn even more about it by reading the book that inspired that post, Relational Grace: The Reciprocal and Binding Covenant of Charis (2015). Here’s one quote from the author, Brent Schmidt:

Jews knew about covenantal relationships from the Bible. Every commandment was a covenant with God. Several stories, including Joseph, Moses, and David, associate the concepts of grace and mercy with covenants. Greek-speaking Jews lived in a culture that depended heavily on reciprocal relationships and understood what charis meant. When Paul taught them using the word charis, they would have understood that by accepting God’s grace they were making covenantal obligations.

BRENT SCHMIDT, RELATIONAL GRACE, P. 64

Noah’s story is the very first time we see the word “grace” in the Bible (Hebrew chen, also “kindness” or “favor”). God looked down on earth and “saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth.” Grieving, God decided to destroy His creation, except “Noah found favor in Yahweh’s eyes” (Gen. 6:5-8, WEB). Once God chose to extend grace to Noah, He warned Him about the world-destroying flood, saying, “Make a ship of gopher wood,” gave him building instructions, and promised, “I will establish my covenant with you” (Gen. 6:13-21, WEB).

Noah and his family didn’t earn the right to be in the ark or to have a covenant-relationship with God. Their salvation was a gracious choice God made. But Noah still had to obey the command to build. Likewise, salvation is offered freely to us by God’s grace as He welcomes us into a covenant with Him. And we also have an obligation to obey God and to build something.

Image of Noah standing on the ark overlaid with text from Genesis 6:5-8, NKJV version: Then the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth ... And the Lord was sorry that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart. So the Lord said, “I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth ... .” But Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord.
Image by Ria Sopala from Pixabay

Building By Grace

Giving Noah the time and ability to build an ark so he and his family would live and the world would continue was a free gift of God’s grace. But Noah wouldn’t have been saved if he’d refused to build the ark. Peter and the author of Hebrews both talk about how important this building step was, and what it means for us today.

By faith Noah, when he was warned about things not yet seen, with reverent regard constructed an ark for the deliverance of his family. Through faith he condemned the world and became an heir of the righteousness that comes by faith.

Hebrews 11:7, NET

God patiently waited in the days of Noah as an ark was being constructed. In the ark a few, that is eight souls, were delivered through water. And this prefigured baptism, which now saves you—not the washing off of physical dirt but the pledge of a good conscience to God—through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, who went into heaven and is at the right hand of God with angels and authorities and powers subject to him.

1 Pet. 3:20-22, NET

Hebrews talks about the righteousness by faith that Noah inherited. Peter says Noah’s salvation prefigured baptism and our salvation. We live in times very similar to those Noah faced, and we’re also fast approaching the end of this world (1 John 2:18; Matt. 24:37-39; 2 Pet. 3:1-10). Like Noah, God has extended a lifeline to us–salvation by His grace. Also like Noah, we need to respond by taking action based on faith. Twice in Genesis, we’re told “Noah did everything that Yahweh commanded him” (Gen. 6:22; 7:5). If someone wrote the stories of our lives, could they say that about you and me?

Faith is an active thing. As we studied earlier this month, God seems to like building things, particularly when it involves building people up. He talks about building us into His temple, a dwelling place for Him here on earth as He lives inside the people of His church. He also talks about us participating in the building process.

We are coworkers belonging to God. You are God’s field, God’s building. According to the grace of God given to me, like a skilled master-builder I laid a foundation, but someone else builds on it. And each one must be careful how he builds. For no one can lay any foundation other than what is being laid, which is Jesus Christ. If anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, or straw, each builder’s work will be plainly seen, for the Day will make it clear, because it will be revealed by fire. And the fire will test what kind of work each has done. If what someone has built survives, he will receive a reward. If someone’s work is burned up, he will suffer loss. He himself will be saved, but only as through fire.

Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit lives in you? If someone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy him. For God’s temple is holy, which is what you are.

1 Corinthians 3:9-17, NET

Just like Noah so long ago, God expects us to act on the gift of grace that He gives us. God’s grace brings us into salvation and then we start building and working. We step out in obedience with faith, trusting the guides God gives us for how to build. We “work out our own salvation” while God “works in us both to will and to work, for his good pleasure” (Phil. 2:12-13, WEB).

Image of a giraffe standing on the ark overlaid with text from Phil. 2:12-13, NET version: “So then, my dear friends, just as you have always obeyed, not only in my presence but even more in my absence, continue working out your salvation with awe and reverence, for the one bringing forth in you both the desire and the effort—for the sake of his good pleasure—is God.”
Image by Pixikus from Pixabay

Continuing to Walk With God

Our walk with God doesn’t end when we receive His grace. That’s when it starts. Once we’ve covenanted with Him–in other words, entered a relationship with Him–we’re expected to “walk worthy of the calling with which you were called” (Eph. 4:1; Col. 1:10). The gift should change us. How could it not? What human being could encounter God in a meaningful, ongoing way and stay the same?

For by grace you are saved through faith, and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God; it is not from works, so that no one can boast. For we are his creative work, having been created in Christ Jesus for good works that God prepared beforehand so we can do them.

Ephesians 2:8-10, NET

Before we’re told that Noah found favor in the eyes of Yahweh, we’re given a description of his character. “Noah was a righteous man, blameless among the people of his time. Noah walked with God” (Gen 6:9, WEB). That’s what we’re supposed to do as well. Noah stood out from the wicked world around him because he followed God, and God noticed. When He spoke to Noah, Yahweh said, “Come with all of your household into the ship, for I have seen your righteousness before me in this generation” (Gen 7:1, WEB).

Image of Noah standing in front of the ark with the blog's title text and the words "God saved Noah by grace. Noah still had to build an ark.
Image by Jeff Jacobs from Pixabay

God loves and longs to save the whole world (John 3:16; 2 Pet. 3:9; 1 Tim. 2:3-4). But He won’t force people to follow Him and He won’t bring people into His kingdom who refuse the gift of salvation in word or action. That’s a choice we’re given to make. As He has always done, God sets before us life or death, blessings or cursing. We can either live in His grace or refuse to walk with Him. There’s no third option.

Behold, I have set before you today life and prosperity, and death and evil. For I command you today to love Yahweh your God, to walk in his ways and to keep his commandments, his statutes, and his ordinances, that you may live and multiply, and that Yahweh your God may bless you in the land where you go in to possess it. … I call heaven and earth to witness against you today that I have set before you life and death, the blessing and the curse. Therefore choose life, that you may live, you and your descendants, to love Yahweh your God, to obey his voice, and to cling to him; for he is your life, and the length of your days.

Deuteronomy 30:15-6, 19-20, WEB

Salvation isn’t about going on with your old life after you’ve received grace. It’s about a life-changing relationship with the One who continually gives grace (John 1:17; 1 Cor. 1:4; Eph. 4:7; 2 Thes. 2:16-17; 2 Tim. 1:9). And we have help in our quest to keep living by obedience as we build up ourselves and others in the church. God’s not going to call us into something without equipping us to finish it.

Building our arks has nothing to do with what we can accomplish on our own. Rather, it’s about believing Jesus when He said, “My grace is enough for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” (2 Cor. 12:9, NET). By God’s grace we are saved, we’re equipped to walk by faith, and we’re told to build, just like Noah. Our building project isn’t a giant boat, but the very church of God. Jesus said, “I will build my church” (Matt. 16:18, NET), but He graciously invites us to have a role in that. We get to build each other up and we get to build up our own faith.

But you, dear friends, by building yourselves up in your most holy faith, by praying in the Holy Spirit, maintain yourselves in the love of God, while anticipating the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ that brings eternal life. 

Jude 1:20-21, NET

Featured image by Greg Reese from Pixabay

Song Recommendation: “Build a Boat” by Colton Dixon

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Continuing to Grow and Change for Jesus our Passover

Continuing to Grow and Change for Jesus our Passover

Marissa

We’re getting closer and closer to Passover. Based on Paul’s instructions in 1 Corinthians, these months leading up to Passover (Pesach) and the Day of Unleavened Bread (Chag HaMatzot) are a time of self-examination for New Covenant Christians. We spend time in prayer and study, asking God to share what He sees in us and help us grow and change to become more like Him. We take time to try and figure out what things in us still don’t look like God, repent of them, and seek His aid in changing our lives to align more and more with His ways.

A couple weeks ago, I kept ending up in Ephesians 5 as I read my daily devotional and worked through a month-long scripture writing study on deception (you can find similar scripture writing plans by clicking here). There’s a lot to think about in this chapter. It comes near the end of a fairly long letter where Paul writes to believers about the blessings and spiritual inheritance that we have through Christ, and says he gives thanks for the faith and love they’re already showing (Eph. 1). Paul reminds them of their transgressions/offenses and sins which God and Christ saved them from when He took those who were once outside God’s family and made them wholly part of His people (Eph. 2). As the letter goes on, Paul implores his readers to value the great and wonderful mysteries God grants us, not to lose heart when some of us suffer, and to fully commit to our relationship with Jesus Christ (Eph. 3). Based on all this, Paul calls his readers to unity with their fellow believers and insists they live holy, spiritual lives (Eph. 4).

Throughout the letter, Paul makes some brutal statements about our spiritual condition before we entered a relationship with God. “You were dead in your offenses and sins” and “were by nature children of wrath” (Eph. 2:1, 3, NET). In our lives before meeting Jesus, we were “corrupted in accordance with deceitful desires” (4:22). Paul even says, “you were at one time darkness” (5:8). This sinful state is where we all started out, desperately in need of Jesus to save us. We want to move on from that as quickly as possible and embrace all the good things God tells us about our new identities in Him. And while it is good and right to fully embrace who we are in God, we also need to remember how bad things were without Him. If we don’t keep that perspective, then it’ll be easy to slip back into worldly things because we don’t think of them as being “that bad.”

Image of a man studying the Bible, with text from Ephesians 4:22-24, NET version: “You were taught with reference to your former way of life to lay aside the old man who is being corrupted in accordance with deceitful desires, to be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and to put on the new man who has been created in God’s image—in righteousness and holiness that comes from truth.”
Image by Matt Vasquez from Lightstock

Slipping Back is Idolatry

Humans have a tendency for self-justification. Even when we’re beating ourselves up about something, we might also be making excuses for ourselves. Or maybe we read through the Bible and see our conduct in some of the things God says not to do, then tell ourselves that it’s not really all that bad. We make mistakes, but we’re human. No big deal.

It is true that God can remove our sins and He has abundant mercy for our mistakes. But it’s not because they’re “no big deal.” Sin results in death, and the reason God can forgive us so freely is because Jesus died in our place. That’s a really big deal. We need to understand the magnitude of what Jesus did for us, and the level of offense we cause if we turn back to wicked ways and brush it off as something that doesn’t really matter. In his one-year Worship the King devotional, Chris Tiegreen sums it up like this:

“we were idolaters. False worshipers. People who gave glory and honor to things that were not worthy, while neglecting the glory and honor that should go to the One who is. That hurts.

“It’s a brutal assessment, but we have to own up to it. We don’t like to think of our flirtation with impurity or materialism as idol worship, but it is.”

Chris Tiegreen, Worship the King, p. 51

Going back to Ephesians, Paul says that flirting with things like “sexual immorality, impurity of any kind, or greed … vulgar speech, foolish talk, or coarse jesting” is “not fitting for the saints” and “out of character” for those saying they want to imitate Jesus’s way of life (Eph. 5:1-4, NET). If we tell ourselves that things God calls sins are okay for us, then it turns into idolatry. We’re putting our desires for sinful things higher than our desire for God and saying our ideas of morality are more accurate than His.

Image of a man studying the Bible, with text from Ephesians 5:1-2, 5, NET version: “Therefore, be imitators of God as dearly loved children and live in love, just as Christ also loved us and gave himself for us, a sacrificial and fragrant offering to God. ... you can be confident of this one thing: that no person who is immoral, impure, or greedy (such a person is an idolater) has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God.”
Image by Anggie from Lightstock

Moving Into the Light

Emphasizing our need to change and grow as we follow Jesus Christ does not downplay God’s mercy or grace in any way. Grace is something we can’t do anything to earn, but once we accept God’s grace we enter a covenant with Him and agree to live in a spiritual way. He expects certain things of people who promise to follow Him, including that we won’t run off after things which have nothing to do with godliness.

For you can be confident of this one thing: that no person who is immoral, impure, or greedy (such a person is an idolater) has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God. Let nobody deceive you with empty words, for because of these things God’s wrath comes on the sons of disobedience. Therefore do not be sharers with them, for you were at one time darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live like children of light—for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness, and truth—trying to learn what is pleasing to the Lord.

Eph. 5:5-10, NET

God’s connection with Light is something we’ve explored in other Bible study posts. We’re supposed to shine with Jesus’s light in our lives, to be like lamps burning with bright fire as we imitate the Light of our Messiah. There’s a sharp divide in the world that’s been there since the fall of mankind. On the one hand, there is darkness and death. On the other, there is light and life. Jesus calling us out of darkness gives us the option to choose light. It’s an incredible gift. And unless we don’t really value that gift of Light, we’ll be doing our best to “live like children of light.”

Living With Wisdom

Image of a woman studying the Bible with the blog's title text and the words "Reading Paul’s letter to the Ephesians reminds us to keep moving forward as we walk with God, examining ourselves and working to become more and more like Him."
Image by MarrCreative from Lightstock

Therefore consider carefully how you live—not as unwise but as wise, taking advantage of every opportunity, because the days are evil. For this reason do not be foolish, but be wise by understanding what the Lord’s will is. And do not get drunk with wine, which is debauchery, but be filled by the Spirit, speaking to one another in psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, singing and making music in your hearts to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for all things in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, and submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ.

Ephesians 5:15-21, NET

Because of everything Paul talked about before–particularly the way our dark pasts contrast with the light we’re supposed to live in now–he urges us to “consider carefully how you live.” We ought to do this careful consideration throughout the year, but Passover is a particularly fitting time for a check-in. How wise are we in how we live our lives? Are we letting God fill us with His spirit, then letting that pour out through our lips as praise, worship, and thanks? Do we demonstrate our reverence for Christ by submitting to each other in love?

I doubt we can fully answer “yes” to all these questions (I know I can’t), and this isn’t even a full list of everything we’re supposed to do as we imitate Christ. But remember that as long as you’re on the path toward perfection, God treats you as if you’re already perfect. When we trust Him and do our best to follow His example of holiness, He’ll keep filling us with His spirit and light. We’ll be able to stay on track following Him instead of slipping back into idolatry. He’ll empower us to grow and change, becoming more and more like Him each year.

–

Featured image by Corey David Robinson from Lightstock

Song Recommendation: “Immanuel” by Joshua Aaron

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