My Morning Meal

Yesterday in the teen’s class we talked about how to walk in a minefield . . . answer: very carefully. More dangerous than being in a minefield, I suggested, was being in a minefield and not knowing it . . . or worse yet, being told you’re in a minefield but not believing it . . . stomp, stomp, stomp, boom!!! We spent a bit of time yesterday in the latter part of Romans 7 . . . the passage that’s on my reading plan this morning. Here, there’s a tension . . a tug-of-war . . . an on-going conflict . . . one, that if we’re not aware of it, or don’t believe it, leaves us stomping in a minefield rather than carefully following the One who can lead us through it.

So I find it to be a law that when I want to do right, evil lies close at hand. For I delight in the law of God, in my inner being, but I see in my members another law waging war against the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members.   (Romans 7:21-23 ESV)

Not difficult to identify with this “law” or principle that Paul had discovered. I want to do good, but I do evil . . . I have the desire to do what is right, but seem incapable of it sometime . . . I know what I should stay away, what I should avoid doing, but find myself, somehow, doing it. What’s going on here?

May I introduce to you . . . in this corner . . . weighing in at your weight . . . sporting the black trunks . . . the flesh . . . the sinful nature . . . the old man . . . he who is earthly . . . he who is driven by the senses . . . he who still sports the fallen DNA of the first man, Adam. And this opponent’s game plan? Resist that which is born of the Spirit . . . trip up the new man . . . obscure the focus on things above . . . strive to lead new creations in Christ to live in old ways . . . craftily supplant the inner delight in the ways of God with the desires and deeds of this body of death.

As I savor the time spent reading the Word this morning . . . delighting in the law of God . . . I would do well, I think, to also prepare for today’s skirmishes or, perhaps, today’s all out assaults. I’d do well to be reminded of the conflict . . . to recognize the reality of the battle . . . to believe I’m entering again the minefield . . . and thus to walk very carefully. It’s probably to my benefit to remember that “the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do” (Gal. 5:17).

But I also need to remember that I need not enter the fray fearful . . . I need not step into the minefield uncertain of the outcome . . . because in this corner . . . in this man . . . weighing in with the power that raised Christ from the dead . . . bearing all the glory of Deity . . . is the Spirit who dwells in me . . . the Spirit who will lead me . . . the Spirit who conquers the way of death and empowers for the way of delight.

Mine is to “walk in the Spirit” . . . and when I do, I will not gratify the desires of the flesh (Gal. 5:16). As I enter the minefield, I need to seek to be “be led by the Spirit” (Gal. 5:18) and not give occasion for the old man to deceive me into thinking I can handle it on my own.

Who will deliver me from this body of death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!   (Romans 7:24b-25a ESV)

So, let’s go walking in a minefield . . . by His grace . . . for His glory.

Thinking about obedience. Listening . . . harkening . . . submitting to a command. And I’m thinking there’s a number of places obedience can come from. You can obey because you fear the consequences . . . you can obey because you covet the reward . . . you can obey because you are forced into submission. I’m reminded of the story of a toddler who wouldn’t sit down in his high chair despite his mother’s directive to do so. Eventually she prevails (as mom’s are prone to do) . . . he unlocks his knees and slides to his seat . .. . but then he looks up at mom and says, “I may be sitting down on the outside . . . but I’m standing up on the inside!” As I’m finishing up this morning in Romans 6, I’m a bit in awe that God has enabled me to be “sitting down on the inside.”

But thanks be to God, that you who were once slaves of sin have become obedient from the heart to the standard of teaching to which you were committed, and, having been set free from sin, have become slaves of righteousness.
(Romans 6:17-18 ESV)

But thanks be to God, that you . . . have become obedient from the heart.

That is the work of the gospel . . . that is the manifestation of God’s abundant grace . . . that is evidence of the indwelling Spirit of God . . . an obedience not driven by fear . . . not embraced for personal gain . . . not submitted to because of external compulsion . . . but an obedience which is sourced in the depths of a regenerated heart.

I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean from all your uncleannesses, and from all your idols I will cleanse you. And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules.
(Ezekiel 36:25-27 ESV)

A heart of flesh . . . a heart rewired . . . a heart infused with heavenly presence . . . a heart awakened to the things of light . . . a heart, having tasted living water, thirsting for more . . . a heart made alive to the things of heaven, desiring less and less the things of earth . . . a heart so in love with the Savior that its greatest delight is to be “sitting down on the inside.”

I’m not talking perfection here . . . to be sure there’s a battle . . . “The sinful nature wants to do evil, which is just the opposite of what the Spirit wants. And the Spirit gives us desires that are the opposite of what the sinful nature desires. These two forces are constantly fighting each other, so you are not free to carry out your good intentions” (Gal. 5:17 NLT).

But I am talking about power. Through the finished work of Christ on the cross . . . through the victory over sin and death declared in His resurrected life . . . because the righteousness of His perfect being has been imputed to our account . . . enabled by the Spirit, the believer has been wired for obedience from the heart. We are not forced into submission, but freely bow the knee . . . it is less about the reward than it is about pleasing the Rewarder . . . fear of failure is cast out by His perfect love, replaced with an increasingly innate desire to bring Him glory simply because He is worthy of all glory.

No boasting . . . just awe. Obedient from the heart . . . sitting down on the inside. May it be more so, Lord . . . by Your grace . . . for Your glory.

It’s divine one-upmanship . . . that’s what it is. You read the end of Romans 5 and it’s like a see-saw . . . one claim of notoriety outdone by a successive claim of notoriety . . . the consequence of a single man’s actions topped by the result of another Man’s actions. And by the time you’re done reading it, you can’t help but being praising God for abounding grace!

But the free gift is not like the trespass. For if many died through one man’s trespass, much more have the grace of God and the free gift by the grace of that one man Jesus Christ abounded for many.   (Romans 5:15 ESV)

In this corner . . . wearing the black trunks . . . is “the trespass” . . . introduced into the world by Adam . . . the fleshly DNA of disobedience . . . bringing death . . . and judgment . . . and condemnation.

In the other corner . . . wearing the white trunks . . . is grace . . . personified in the Man Jesus Christ . . . the spiritual DNA of regeneration . . . the source for forgiveness . . . justification . . . righteousness . . . and eternal life.

And anything the trespass can do . . . grace can undo. The wages of sin is paid by the free gift of God’s grace. The widespread impact of iniquity is trumped by abounding grace.

Now the law came in to increase the trespass, but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more, so that, as sin reigned in death, grace also might reign through righteousness leading to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.   (Romans 5:20-21 ESV)

I love that word, abounded. And there is “abounded” . . . then there is “abound all the more” or hyper-abounded. Where sin increased, grace hyper-abounded!

Abound, perisseuo, has the idea of being over the top . . . to be over and above . . . to be in excess. Abound all the more, huperperisseuo, is to be over the top beyond measure . . . to be exceedingly in excess . . . to super-abound. As bad as sin might be . . . grace is able to win the day every time.

For if, because of one man’s trespass, death reigned through that one man, much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man Jesus Christ.   (Romans 5:17 ESV)

Abundant grace . . . greater than my sin . . . reversing the consequence of sin . . . paying the debt of what I owe and crediting my account with the free gift of Christ’s own righteousness . . . replacing the rule of death with the reign of eternal life. Who’s not cheering on “the guy” in the white trunks? Do it, Grace!!!

To be sure we need to fight the good fight . . . we need to run the race in such a way as to not be disqualified . . . we need to lay aside every weight which impedes the marathon before us . . . but sometimes we also need to be reminded about abounding grace. He is our “corner man” . . . his is the all-sufficient, sustaining refreshment given freely at every “water station” along the way . . . ’tis grace hath brought me safe thus far and grace will lead me home.

Abounding grace . . . how sweet the sound . . . that saved . . . and is saving . . . and will save . . . a wretch like me . . .

Gotta love divine one-upmanship! Amen?

Had kind of an energetic small group last night. Ours are “sermon based” small groups . . . that is, our small groups get together to review and talk through the Sunday morning sermon. Yesterday morning we were blessed as we were taken through Genesis 10 and 11 and then given some food to chew on as to the implications of being a chosen people of God. The study questions we were given centered our discussion on the unique call of Israel . . . God’s purpose in it . . . and their response to such a call. And they pointed us to Scripture that talk of our “chosen-ness” as believers . . . the nature of our calling . . . and, if we really understood who we are as the people of God, what impact it would have on our lives.

We ended up closing out our study with Psalm 149. And if I’m picking up what this psalm is laying down . . . I should be doing more dancing!

If we really grasped what it meant to be the people of God we would sing to the Lord a new song . . . we would praise His name in the assembly . . . we would be glad in our Maker and rejoice in our King . . . our feet would be set to praise-fueled dancing and we would make melody to the One who takes pleasure in His people and adorns them with salvation (Ps. 149:1-4). We would exult in glory . . . sing for joy on our beds . . . and let the high praises of God be in our throats (149:5-6a). We ended our study with a spirited discussion on “forms of worship” and the degree to which we show (or don’t show) emotion . . . me thinking that maybe I should be doing more dancing.

This morning, as I read the first part of Romans 5, I had a bit of a flashback to last night . . .

More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.    (Romans 5:11 ESV)

The first eleven verses of Romans 5 set the heart to soaring. Perhaps, says Paul, on rare occasions one might give their life for a righteous or a good person . . . but God demonstrates His love for His special people in that “while we were still weak” (5:6) . . . “while we were still sinners” (5:8) . . . “while we were enemies” (5:10) . . . Christ died for us, providing for the way of reconciliation. As such, through Christ “we have peace with God” (5:1) . . . moreover, “through Him we have obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand” (5:2) . . . and (and this is what caused the flashback to last night’s conversation) “we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ” (5:11).

Christ’s ministry is an enabling ministry . . . enabling redemption . . . enabling justification . . . enabling reconciliation . . . enabling access into grace . . . and, enabling rejoicing.

The word “rejoice” has, at its root, the idea of boasting. Most often the NKJV translates the word as “to glory in something.” Through Christ I am to rejoice in God . . . to glory in His work of salvation . . . to boast of His amazing grace and of His love poured out on those who brought nothing to the table but their weakness . . . their sinfulness . . . and that they were at enmity with God.

Rejoice saint! Rejoice in God! Rejoice through our Lord Jesus Christ!

Glory in His calling . . . wonder in His provision . . . boast of the God who has done all things well. Bless the Lord for His many benefits . . . and ascribe to Him alone the glory due His name.

How can God’s people not be a praising people? How can we not keep our tongues from exulting His greatness . . . how can we not keep our feet from dancing (or, at least our toes from tapping) as we revel in the wonder of His love?

Maybe I should be doing more dancing . . . for His glory. Amen?

I’m kind of a happy ending type of person. If you tell me you’ve got good news for me, and you’ve got bad news for me, and ask which I want to hear first . . . bring on the bad news first. Start me low . . . finish me high. Maybe that’s why Romans 3 causes me to soar! It starts off bad . . . but oh, it ends so good! I got bad news . . . and I got good news.

I probably would agree with those who contend that many in the church today have lost touch with the gospel. Not its message per se . . . but its magnificence. Not that you need the gospel to be saved . . . but that you can’t get over the gospel now that you are saved. Not that it was “our ticket to heaven” . . . but that it is the living dynamic by which we can know heaven on earth. I wonder if part of the reason we’ve lost the awe of the good news is that we have lost the “oh no!” of the bad news.

. . . as it is written: “None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God. All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one.”    (Romans 3:10-12 ESV)

Ok . . . I said give me the bad news first . . . but did it have to be so bad? Pretty much! Not much wiggle room with “none” . . . “not one” . . . “not even one.” How much righteousness do we bring to the table in and of ourselves? Zero . . . zip . . . zilch . . . nada . . . not a thing. And who are we talking about again? Everyone . . . all have turned aside . . . all, declares the inspired Word of God, have sinned and fall short of the glory of God (Rom. 3:23).

Sit back and noodle on it for a bit. Think back to that time when, by God’s grace and through His Spirit, you became aware of the depths of your need and the hopelessness of your situation. Though eternity had been placed in your heart (Eccl. 3:11), the realization that you had no chance of attaining eternity was crushing. Think back as the convicting work of the Spirit brought understanding as to the depths of your sin . . . and started to dimension the degree of separation from a holy God. Bad news!

But . . . O’ glorious three-letter word . . . BUT!!!!

But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it–the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. . . . and are justified by His grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by His blood, to be received by faith.    (Romans 3:21-22, 25a ESV)

That’s what I’m talking about! Kill the lament music . . . bring on the praise . . . bring on the wonder . . . bring on the worship. Now that’s good news!

A righteousness of God has been revealed . . . the gift of justification has been graced . . . the redemption of sin stained souls has been made possible through the atoning blood of God’s precious Son . . . and it has been made available to all who will believe it and receive it by faith. Not of works, lest any person should boast.

And this good news isn’t just a past headline . . . it is the banner under which I enter into the day. It is the hope I have of not completely crashing and burning in defeat to the old man which continues to war within me . . . it is the joy of knowing that in Christ I can again this day boldly approach the blessed throne of God within the very holy of holies and know a communion which is, literally, out of this world . . . it is the foundation upon which I have any aspiration of walking in a manner worthy of my calling such that He might be glorified in and through me.

Yeah . . . the bad news is really bad . . . may I never forget the “bondage of Egypt.” But oh, the good news is so good . . . and, by God’s grace, may I not lose touch with the wonder of my deliverance . . . and the glorious beauty of my Deliverer.

Thanks be to God for His inexpressible gift!    (2Corinthians 9:15 ESV)

Amen?