A Wide Place

Posted on June 1, 2016 by Pete

It’s the reaction of the old man which sees obedience as restrictive. Paul says that it’s the flesh’s natural reflex to balk at the commands of God. It’s the dynamic of the old heart which when it hears, “Do not covet”, naturally responds with covetousness (Rom. 7:7-8). It’s why when God said to earth’s first inhabitants, “Don’t eat. It will be for your own good,” that they ate. Not eating sounded like an absence of freedom when, in fact, it was the way to unimagined liberation.

I’m thinking about the freedom gained through obedience as I read in Psalm 119 this morning.

I will keep Your law continually, forever and ever,
and I shall walk in a wide place, for I have sought Your precepts.

(Psalm 119:44-45 ESV)

I shall walk in a wide place.

This morning I’m typing this as I look out upon a vast ocean without seaming end. If I were to describe what a “wide place” is, my view from our balcony would be it. Nothing restrictive about it. In fact, everything about it speaks of freedom. Nothing, even when it’s stormy, that causes me to resist its allure. Everything about it that seems so inviting. If I could walk on water, this is what I’d imagine walking in a “wide place” to be. And the living Word of God says, follow Me and you shall walk in such a place.

So why do I entertain the old nature’s reflex? Why entertain thoughts that following God’s “rules” will somehow detract from life rather than fuel the abundant life He intended for us? As with all matters that involve embracing the new life in Christ we have been graced with, I’m thinking it comes down to faith, or lack thereof. Of not really believing what I say I really believe.

Not really believing that it is “for freedom Christ has set us free” (Gal. 5:1), and so being wishy-washy about standing firm in the ways of the cross in order to lay hold of my freedom in Christ. Wavering between fully committing to the wisdom of the Word and entertaining the wisdom of the world, not fully convinced that Jesus is really the way, the TRUTH, and the life and that the TRUTH will really set me free (John 14:6, 8:32). Buying into the serpent’s insidious doubt-seeding question, “Isn’t obedience just old fashioned legalistic religion?”

Instead, by faith I need to be seeking His precepts and keeping His law with holy determination and Holy Spirit enabling. Trusting that it is the only way to walk in the wide place intended for me.

The way of holiness is not a track for slaves, but the King’s highway for freemen, who are joyfully journeying from the Egypt of bondage to the Canaan of rest.   ~ Spurgeon

The wide place. Broad, large, roomy in every direction. The way which leads to true freedom. The path, stretching from eternity to eternity, which makes known the liberty for which He redeemed us at great cost. That is the way of obedience.

I believe, help my unbelief!    (Mark 9:24 ESV)

By Your grace. For Your glory!

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He Hears In Heaven!

Posted on May 31, 2016 by Pete

Lot of praying going on. Talking to the Lord every day about what’s going on in our lives. Interceding for babies to be born healthy. Asking for wisdom in matters of direction for the body of Christ. Petitioning on behalf of a colleague in dire need of another liver transplant after complications from his first transplant but a few weeks ago. And the list goes on. And this morning I am reminded why we pray. Because He hears in heaven.

Reading in 1Kings this morning. Construction has been completed on the magnificent structure Solomon has spared no expense to build as a house for God. The ark is brought in and the glory comes down. The wings of the twin cherub cover the ark in the most holy place and a cloud from heaven covers everything else. No space inside as the presence of God presides (1Kings 8:1-11).

And Solomon blesses the LORD for promises realized. He extols the covenant keeping, steadfast love showing, LORD, God of Israel. There is no God like his God, not in heaven above or on earth beneath (8:22-24).

And while the glory is apparent, though the cloud envelopes the temple, Solomon knows that this is but a small manifestation of a greater glory and a much larger presence than could ever be contained in any structure or any place on earth.

“But will God indeed dwell on the earth? Behold, heaven and the highest heaven cannot contain You; how much less this house that I have built! 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”

~ Solomon (1Kings 8:27-28 ESV)

Though His glory is seen, earth cannot contain Him. Though His presence is felt, He dwells above the highest heaven. And so, as Solomon lays before the LORD scenario after scenario of failure, confession, repentance, and pleading, he knows that ultimately he needs God to hear in heaven.

Eight times in this eighth chapter of 1King, Solomon asks the LORD, “Hear in heaven.” Listen from Your dwelling place. Give attention to our prayers and pleas from a place we have never seen in a realm we can barely imagine.

With all that must be going in that place where eternity is manifest, what is it that Solomon, or anyone else, could think that God would be attentive to an individual’s prayer? That He would not so be distracted by things concerning the universe that supplications from the third planet from the sun would be all but drowned out?

But that is exactly what our God does. For our God is God. The omnipotent, omnipresent, omniscient eternal Creator of all things. Power beyond imagination. Everywhere at all times. Knowing everything about everyone, even to the number of hairs on our head.

As such, our God is able to hear the prayers of individuals. And He can listen to the supplications of those gathered in assembly as the body of Christ. And He even has ears to hear those banded together by a Facebook page taking every update and turning it heavenward in earnest intercession.

Such is our God. He hears in heaven because we are His people.

“Let Your eyes be open to the plea of Your servant and to the plea of Your people Israel, giving ear to them whenever they call to You. For You separated them from among all the peoples of the earth to be Your heritage . . . ”

(1Kings 8:52-53 ESV)

It’s not just a cacophony of voices God hears from this place, but they are the voices of His inheritance. The prayers of those He has called to be His own. The petitions of those He has purchased with great price that they might be translated into His kingdom. The supplications of those He promises to love to the uttermost.

When we pray He hears in heaven.

Because of grace. For His glory.

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A Divine Partnership?

Posted on May 30, 2016 by Pete

To call it a “divine partnership” almost seems presumptuous. After all, what can a mortal man offer that an eternal God doesn’t already have? What yoking could there possibly be between the Almighty Creator and His dust of the earth creation? Partnership somehow doesn’t seem like the right word. Yet, as I’m reading in Psalm 119:25-32, I’m noting what the songwriter says he can bring to the table and what he says must come from the LORD.

First, says the psalmist, I will tell you of my ways. When I’m struggling, when I’m out of gas, when sorrow overwhelms me, I will recount to You what You already know as the omniscient God. I will fill-in for You the details of my circumstance–circumstance which has only come to me as it has already passed through Your hands. I will relate believing You will respond.

I will also meditate on your wondrous works. Pause and reflect on what Your hand has already accomplished. Be still and know that You are God.

What’s more, I will determine to take the road of faithfulness. Having set Your precepts before me as my map, I’ll determine not to lose my grip on them nor, as much as lies within me, waver from where they lead. That’s what I can contribute to this journey. But it won’t be enough.

Give me life according to Your promises . . . train me in Your statutes . . . make me understand Your ways . . . strengthen me according to Your word . . . graciously teach me Your law! My sincere desire and best effort will only bear fruit as it is watered with Your divine provision. As “I grasp and cling to whatever You tell me; GOD, don’t let me down!” (v. 31 MSG)

Presumptuous to call it a partnership? Sounds that way when you think of the nature of the two partners involved. But if the songwriter’s inspired portrait of the dynamic involved in God’s word becoming our way is to be believed–and it is–then partnership seems to an appropriate way to look at it.

Not that we earn a response from God because of our effort. Not that He owes us anything because we’ve gutted it out. Instead, He graciously illuminates His word for us when we desire to know Him and His ways. He condescends to open our understanding when we strain our brains to grasp the high and lofty things of the kingdom of heaven. He lovingly, patiently leads us as we seek to follow Him. We bring what we can to the game by faith so that He might lead us forth in victory by His power.

I will run in the way of Your commandments
  when You enlarge my heart!     (Psalm 119:32 ESV)

I will run when You enlarge. I will sojourn if You’ll provide the direction. I will press on as You enable. I will move my feet if You will work in my heart. I will delight in Your ways if You will arouse my affections.

A divine partnership? I’m thinkin’. But even what I bring, He’s supplied.

All through His overflowing grace. All for His everlasting glory.

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Fruit of the Womb

Posted on May 28, 2016 by Pete

Jesus, Jesus, Jesus . . . there’s just something about that Name. So goes the Gaither chorus . . . and it never grows old or cold. There is something about the Name above all names that stirs the soul. Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Son of God, Servant of God, Lamb of God. Son of Man, Immanuel, God with Us. Alpha, Omega, Beginning and the End. King of kings, Lord of lords. And the list goes on. Jesus, there’s just something about that Name!

But this morning in my reading I came across another reference to the Second Person of the Holy Trinity. One that kind of caught me off guard at first, and then filled me with a fresh sense of awe.

Spoken by one woman who had no right being pregnant because of her age and lifelong barrenness to a another woman who had no right being pregnant because she was still a teen and not even married, this “name” evokes wonder at the depths to which our God would go that we might one day become His trophies of grace.

And when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, the baby leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit, and she exclaimed with a loud cry, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! And why is this granted to me that the mother of my Lord should come to me?”

(Luke 1:41-42 ESV)

“Blessed is the fruit of your womb!”

Ask me to start rattling off the names of Christ, ask me to do a brain dump of all the different ways the Messiah is referred to, and no matter how long you give me, I’m not sure I’d add “fruit of the womb” to the list. But that’s exactly how Elizabeth refers to the Promised King . . . and under the direct influence of the Holy Spirit nonetheless.

The Word who was in the beginning, Who was with God and was God (John 1:1-2) . . . He who is before all things, Who holds all things together, in Whom all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell (Col. 1:17, 19) . . . this same eternal Word became the fruit of the womb. It is one thing to try and grasp the Son of God robed in human flesh, but it is another to consider Him prenatal . . . to behold Him, as Elizabeth did, as the fruit of the womb.

During the season of singing hymns of incarnation we ask, “What Child is this? . . . why lies He in such mean estate where ox and ass are feeding?” But the stable was five star accommodation compared to where the Lord Jesus Christ spent the first 9 months of His life. A lesser known verse of O Come All Ye Faithful declares, “God of God, Light of Light, Lo! He abhors not the Virgins womb, Very God begotten not created . . . O come let us adore Him, Christ the Lord!”

Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, He Himself likewise partook of the same things, . . .

(Hebrews 2:14 ESV)

O the depths of the humiliation endured by our Savior in order to rescue and redeem us! Not enough that He should be made human in order to know death. But that He should partake of the full “flesh and blood” experience, including the womb, in order to deliver His rebellious creation from lifelong slavery.

Though He was “the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature” (Heb. 1:3) He did not consider His equality with God a thing to be grasped but made Himself nothing (Php 2:6-7) . . . so much nothing that He became for a time the fruit of the womb.

Blessed be the Name of the Lord! Even that name which identifies Him as the fruit of the womb!

What wondrous, jaw-dropping grace! To Him be glory forevermore!

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The Grace Available . . . The Glory to be Revealed

Posted on May 27, 2016 by Pete

Double dose of fulfilled promise this morning. One from the Old Testament, the other from the New. Both concerning the same promise–God’s promise to David that He would “raise up your offspring after you, . . . establish his kingdom. . . .  your house and your kingdom shall be made sure forever before Me. Your throne shall be established forever” (2Sam. 7:12-16). The first dose a reminder of the grace available. The second, of the glory to be revealed.

First I read of Solomon’s rise to the throne in 1Kings. David, nearing death, gives final instruction to Solomon. Some of it practical, as to “cleaning up” some unfinished business concerning David’s enemies.  But some of it promise-based instruction concerning the throne. Be strong, be a man, and keep the charge of our God, David exhorts Solomon, that the Lord may establish His word spoken to me concerning my throne (1Kings 2:1-4).

And as Solomon carries out his dad’s final wishes he does so connecting his actions to God’s promise. He removes the threat of his older brother’s deceitful maneuvers for the throne in the name of the living God who had established Solomon as king and placed Solomon on the throne, “as He promised” (2:23-25). And when David’s son deals with one who had sought to see David dethroned he triumphantly declares, “the throne of David shall be established before the LORD forever” (2:45).

But while Solomon rises to prominence in fulfillment of the promise of God, he does so as one dependent on the grace of God. Though Solomon loved the LORD (3:3), he also had a weakness for the world, taking a daughter of Pharaoh king of Egypt as his wife, thus making an alliance with Jacob’s land of bondage (3:1-2). Talk about your unequal yoking . . . talk about reason for God to pause and give second thought as to this successor to the promised throne . . . especially knowing what a weakness women would become for Solomon.

And then I read that Solomon “sacrificed and made offerings at the high places” (3:3). What?!? Wonky worship and worldly women? Is this really the guy God’s raised up to fulfill His promise?

Evidently yes . . . for it’s after this foreshadowing of Solomon’s two clay feet, that God appears to Solomon in a dream and asks, “What shall I give you?” And Solomon, though very human, shows great humility, desiring great faithfulness as he asks God for wisdom that this “little child” might have “an understanding mind” to govern God’s people (3:5-9).

And “it pleased the Lord.” God answers the newbie king’s prayer . . . and then some. Not only gifting him with “a wise and discerning mind” but also with that which Solomon could have asked for but didn’t, “riches and honor, so that no other king shall compare with you” (3:10-13).

And I’m encouraged. God’s perfect promise fulfilled in less than perfect people. God’s eternal plan advanced through men of mortal flesh. Even amidst the flesh’s failure, the Father is pleased with a heart that seeks to faithfully serve. And in His grace, God supplies heavenly provision sufficient for those tasked with earthly obedience. A reminder that grace is available.

But then I came across my second encounter with the fulfillment of God’s promise to David. And what a contrast as I pause and reflect on the greater Solomon.

“Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call His name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to Him the throne of His father David, and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end.”

(Luke 1:30-33 ESV)

Not a king in need of grace, but a King who from eternity past is declared to be great. Though of the flesh and tempted as Solomon was, yet without sin (Heb. 4:15). Not needing an extra measure of divine wisdom, but “in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge” (Col. 2:3). Come the first time to claim a people for His own and establish a kingdom in redeemed hearts of faith. Coming again in might and power to reign forever in a kingdom that will know no end. Thus fulfilling fully God’s promise to David. A reminder of the glory to be revealed.

Our God is a keeper of promise. If He begins a work, He will finish it.

And it will be by His grace. His all sufficient, abundantly flowing grace.

And on that day when faith gives way to sight, it will manifest His glory. His everlasting, worship evoking glory.

All hail the King! Amen?

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We Will Reap!

Posted on May 25, 2016 by Pete

It strikes me as a bit ironic that a letter which so passionately defends grace and exposes the folly of works as a means to righteousness should wrap up with so many commands to obey. This morning, overlooking the ocean and in no rush to get on with my day, I read two days of my reading plan and so I ended up taking in the last chapter and half of Galatians. And, in a book that has been all about what we can’t do to merit God’s favor, these last twenty-nine verses are packed full of what we should be doing because we have known God’s favor.

Walk by the Spirit . . . be led by the Spirit . . . keep in step with the Spirit. Beware of becoming conceited. Don’t provoke one another. Don’t envy one another.

Restore the brother caught in a transgression. Keep watch over yourself. Bear one another’s burdens. Test your own works. Bear your own load. Share with those who teach the word.

Don’t grow weary of doing good. As you have opportunity, do good to everyone. And do good especially to those of the household of faith.

And lot of stuff to do for those who have been saved apart from any stuff they can do. So how come?

It’s not about earning salvation. It’s about planting for a future harvest!

Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap. For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life. And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up.

(Galatians 6:7-9 ESV)

Reminded that good works are not the requirement for salvation, they are the response. They are not what earns us eternal life, they are the evidence that eternal life has been gifted. They are not the things of which we boast in order to claim our rightful place, instead they the things we plant, in Christ Jesus and as unto the Savior, in faith that they will bear much fruit. And the harvest will be life everlasting.

That there is a connection between the life we live here and now with the life that will be ours there and then is taught throughout Scripture. Beyond the motivation to obey Christ’s commands as His servants, seeking to glorify Him in our body knowing we are not our own by have been bought at price (1Cor. 6:19-20), there is the law of the harvest provided as an incentive to keep on keepin’ on.

Don’t grow tired of walking the talk. Don’t give up on swimming upstream in a downstream world. Don’t cash it in when the enemy whispers in your ear, “Is it really worth it!” Keep following. Keep obeying. Keep doing. Keep sowing. For in due season WE WILL REAP!

No uncertainty about it. We will harvest a good crop. Beyond knowing the dynamic of the Spirit’s enabling work in our life as we seek to be led by Him . . . beyond experiencing the all sufficient grace He gives to pursue that which we’ve been called to pursue . . . beyond seeing the surpassing power of God seep out through the cracks as we carry this treasure as jars of clay . . . Paul says that a day is coming when what we sow will bear it’s full fruit.

The Lord of the harvest Himself also declares this law of the harvest:

” . . . give, and it will be given to you. Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap. For with the measure you use it will be back to you.

~ Jesus  (Luke 6:38 ESV)

We will reap. Be encouraged faithful sower. Keep on weary sojourner. Press on patient pilgrim.

All by His grace. All for His glory!

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Lift Up the Cup!

Posted on May 24, 2016 by Pete

We’re in Maui. Sue and I will be enjoying the blessing of this place for the next number of days as we reflect on, and rejoice in thirty-five years of marriage. Can’t help but that such milestones are cause for reflection and response. Perhaps that’s why the songwriter’s question jumps off the page this morning.

What shall I render to the LORD for all His benefits to me? 

(Psalm 116:12 ESV)

“What can I offer?” says the NLT. “What can I give back?” the MSG. The NIV’s question is, “How can I repay?” Literally it’s, “What do I return to Jehovah?”

Seems like the right question to ask when pausing to take stock of God’s abundant provision, His faithful protection, and His abiding presence. Count your many blessings, says the song. And then what? What shall I render to the LORD for all His benefits to me?

And the psalmist’s answer is in stark contrast to what I was reading in Galatians. The Galatians were also wondering what to do . . . but not what to do in response to the grace of God but what to do to merit the grace of God. They were frustrating the grace of God by thinking that somehow they needed to obey the law in order to really merit the righteousness of Christ. Which was crazy! If they could actually follow the law, they wouldn’t need the righteousness of Christ! “O foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you?” “For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore . . . ” (Gal. 3:1, 4:1a).

No, the psalmist’s response wasn’t in trying to work harder in order to deserve the LORD’s benefits. Rather it was in acknowledging afresh that the work was already done.

I will lift up the cup of salvation and call on the name of the LORD.

(Psalm 116:13 ESV)

Sounds like a toast, doesn’t it? You can see the picture the psalmist is trying to paint. God has heard his plea. God has rescued him again. The Almighty has made known to the songwriter, in the every day circumstance and trial of life, His glorious Name and power. Made known that He is gracious, righteous, and merciful, . . . that He preserves the simple (vv. 5-6).

. . . for the LORD has dealt bountifully with you.

(Psalm 116:7b ESV)

And this recipient of God’s grace simply raises the cup of salvation. No work of his own could be offered as repayment for such bounty. Only the acknowledgement of God’s mighty working in and around his life. No oath to do better. No vow to seek to be more deserving. Simply lifting up a symbol which speaks of what the LORD has done through His mighty acts of rescue, redemption, and reconciliation.

A cup of thanksgiving lifted toward heaven. And looking past the cup, the eyes of faith fixed on the Father of lights, the Giver of every good gift (James 1:17).

And if the psalmist could connect his cup of wine with the goodness of God, how much more can we who see in that cup the blood of Jesus poured out for our sin?

The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ?  

(1Corinthians 10:16a ESV)

Every other blessing, though appreciated and worthy of lifting a cup, every other blessing is enveloped in the grace shown by a God who so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son. Every other reason for thanksgiving is seen in the greater context of Him who came to give us life and to give it abundantly.

What shall I render to the LORD for all His benefits to me? I will lift up the cup of salvation!

For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be glory forever. Amen.  

(Romans 11:36 ESV)

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Not Just “From” But “For”

Posted on May 20, 2016 by Pete

It’s a short song. Less than a hundred words parsed into eight verses packaged into four stanzas. It’s a short song about a great God to be sung by a redeemed people.

The God of Jacob is the focus of Psalm 114. The God before whom the sea fled, the river reversed course, and the mountains and hills wildly ran away. Why? It’s just what the earth does in the presence of the Lord, it trembles. It dances wildly in response to heavens majesty. It vacillates between retreat and drawing near as it responds to the Glory with a sense of dread and yet great joy as perfect holiness draws near. It is the fear of awe and worship. It’s just what creation does when it sees its Creator.

But while God is the focus of the song, what captures my attention this morning is the first stanza which talks of His people. And I tremble. Because I’m reminded that God’s people have been redeemed not just FROM something but FOR Someone.

When Israel went out from Egypt, the house of Jacob from a people of strange language, Judah became His sanctuary, Israel His dominion.

(Psalm 114:1-2 ESV)

They were led out of Egypt. They escaped the angel of death and were delivered from the land of bondage. They were showered with the plunder of their oppressors and were free to worship the God of their liberation. A pretty good day, all in all, for the house of Jacob. There were saved FROM slavery, freed FROM oppression, rescued FROM their enemies.

But while it was so about them, it really wasn’t about them at all. Not when you consider what they were rescued FOR.

Judah’s redemption was so that they would become their Redeemer’s sanctuary. Israel’s rescue was so that the people might become their Rescuer’s dominion. They were to be a place where His glory would dwell and His rule would be known on earth.

Those led out of Egypt were to be God’s holy place. They were set apart so that the God of heaven might touch down on earth in their midst. Provision made to make the unholy holy, so that He who is holy, holy, holy might be manifest among them. Not perfect people, but purchased people, fit because of God’s sanctifying work alone to be the place of His dwelling on earth. That they were saved FROM Egypt was amazing, that they were saved FOR His holy dwelling place was fall to your face, tremble in your boots, awe invoking.

Those delivered from Pharaoh were also called to be the realm of God’s rule. Want some insight as to the inner workings of heaven? Look no further than to God’s people. Among them would be God’s kingdom on earth. The precepts, the principles, the practices, and the power of heaven would be seen in them as they traded the rusting chains of Egypt for an unreserved allegiance to heaven. Though the throne in their midst would be seen by faith, their obedience to Him who sits on the throne would be known in their faithfulness. Saved FROM the tyrannical rule of one who sought only to use them up and spit them out, they were also saved FOR Him who had come to give them life, true life, life to the full.

That’s the FROM and FOR of the people of God. To see our salvation only in terms of what we’ve avoided is to only see half a salvation. But to grasp something of what we have been saved FOR is to whirl about, flipping back and forth between holy fear and inexpressible joy, in glorious worship to our God.

God’s people have been called out so that they might be “a dwelling place of God in the Spirit” (Eph. 2:22). They have been gathered apart to demonstrate what heavenly rule looks like–“He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son” (Col. 1:13).

Tremble, O earth, at the presence of the Lord, at the presence of the God of Jacob, who turns the rock into a pool of water, the flint into a spring of water.

(Psalm 114:7-8 ESV)

When I pause to consider anew not only what I have been rescued FROM but also what I have been redeemed FOR, it’s enough to make me tremble.

Because of His wondrous grace . . . all for His awesome glory!

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A Temporary Guardian

Posted on May 19, 2016 by Pete

It was added because of transgressions. It imprisoned everything under sin. It held everyone captive. That’s how Paul, in the latter part of Galatians 3, explained the purpose and the dynamics of the law.

Far from being given as the way to God, the law actually revealed how great the distance men and women had run from God. The commandments of Moses, never able to be a means of justification before God, were more than able to be a mirror of the natural man’s propensity to turn his back on God. And so Paul says to the Galatians, “O foolish Galatians!” . . . having begun by faith why do you now think that you seal the deal by observing the law? That was never the law’s purpose. In fact, “all who rely on the works of the law are under a curse” (3:1, 3, 10).

Instead, the commandments of God had a greater redemptive purpose. They were to act as a temporary guardian.

So then, the law was our guardian until Christ came, in order that we might be justified by faith. But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian, for in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith.

(Galatians 3:24-26 ESV)

The law was our guardian. Literally the law was to function as a guide of children, a tutor of those who knew no better until they matured in their understanding. My online lexicon says, “Among the Greeks and the Romans the name was applied to trustworthy slaves who were charged with the duty of supervising the life and morals of boys belonging to the better class. The boys were not allowed so much as to step out of the house without them before arriving at the age of manhood.”

Never intended as the means, always intended to show the need. Never the way to righteousness, always revealing the depths of rebellion. Never able to be salvation, very effective in showing our need for salvation. Thus, leading us to the way of salvation–faith in the person and work of Jesus.

Faith in His person. He is Christ Jesus, the promised Messiah. The Offspring of Abraham through whom all nations would be blessed (Gal. 3:16, Gen. 12:3). God’s Son, third Person of the Trinity, come in flesh.

Faith in His work. Manifest in flesh that He might be the Lamb of God come to take away the sin of the world (John 1:29). After a life lived in complete and perfect obedience to the law, offered on a Roman cross as the spotless sacrifice for the transgressions–past, present, and future–of all people. His blood shed as the payment for our full and eternal redemption. Dying in humiliation but raised again to life in victory over sin and death.

The law was our guardian until Christ came. It showed us our need until God manifest the solution.

And now, in Christ Jesus, secure as sons and daughters of the God of Creation, we seek to obey the law. Not as a requirement of salvation, but as a response. Not that we rely on the need to obey the law, but that we relish in the thought of pleasing the Father.

No longer our guardian, it is now our grand desire. Having fulfilled it’s role in directing us to Christ, it is now our natural, or supernatural delight because of who we are in Christ.

Thank God for our temporary guardian. Praise God for our everlasting Savior!

By His grace . . . for His glory.

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Half Bought?

Posted on May 18, 2016 by Pete

The Galatians were confused. Paul likened it to having been “bewitched.” Someone had come to them with a “new gospel” which apparently made a lot more sense to them — I guess because the gospel they first believed seemed too good to be true — too much blessing for too little cost (at least to them).

But have someone tell them that what began in the Spirit now needed to be perfected by acts of the flesh? Now that made sense! Have someone tell them that Christ’s work on the cross was the down payment but that they would need to make on-going installments of obedience to the law to secure their home in heaven? Ok, now it aligned with their you-don’t-get-something-for-nothing understanding of life. In essence, the Galatians believed they were half bought!

If 2Corinthians is Paul’s most personal letter, Galatians is his most passionate. You read the apostle’s plea to the believers in the churches of Galatia and right from the get go you sense his intensity. He was beside himself that these children in the faith were so quickly deserting the truth of the grace of Christ. Not only were they listening to those who distorted the freedom that was theirs in Christ, but they were buying into it. Somehow it resonated with them. They believed they were half bought and the rest was up to them.

But as I read this morning in Galatians 3 the absurdity of such thinking hits home in a big way.

For all who rely on works of the law are under a curse; for it is written, “Cursed be everyone who does not abide by all things written in the Book of the Law, and do them.” . . . Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us–for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree”

(Galatians 3:10, 13 ESV)

The equation is pretty simple: Not abiding by ALL THINGS written in the law = Being cursed. Anything less than complete and perfect obedience can only result in the judgment of a perfect and holy God. Do them all, all the time ,and you’re in. Do most of them most of the time and you’ll have to pay the price–a price you can’t pay. How could they pay even half the curse? What could they possibly think they had to offer to appease even a portion of the wrath of an infinite eternal God?

But the price could be paid by Another – and paid in full! Enter Jesus the Christ, the Son of God, the spotless Lamb of God come into our world to redeem us from the curse of the law. He paid the price, bearing the just wrath of a holy God that we deserved. Not just some of the wrath. Not bearing just some of the curse. But taking on Himself the full judgment due for our sin, paying the full debt demanded because of our disobedience, bearing the whole curse righteously declared for the failure of our best efforts.

Half bought? No way!

For our sake He made Him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God.   (2Corinthians 5:21 ESV)

For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sake He became poor, so that you by His poverty might become rich.   (2Corinthians 8:9 ESV)

Christ came to redeem. To purchase completely, once for all, men and women out of slavery to sin. To take on Himself the consequences of our sin. To fully empty His account on our behalf. To bear the curse that was ours to bear. Paid in full! That’s what happened at Calvary. That’s what was validated on the third day when He rose from the grave.

It’s a half-baked thought to think we’re half bought. It’s foolishness to somehow think we could anti up the rest of salvation’s price.

We have been justified by grace alone . . . through faith alone in the finished work of Christ alone . . . to the glory of God alone.

And there’s nothing half bought about it!

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