Category: Weekly

I speak in human terms because of the weakness of your flesh. For just as you presented your members as slaves of uncleanness, and of lawlessness leading to more lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves of righteousness for holiness.
Rom 6:19

In a final interview with James Dobson, the serial killer Ted Bundy chronicled the choices he had made in his life that had led up to his execution day.  He confessed that around 12 or 13 he found some “dirty magazines” in a dumpster behind a local grocery store.  He had been raised in a Christian environment and knew better than to look at them, but this choice began a fascination that ended up in the murder of more than thirty young women.  He had committed crimes that would have been unthinkable to him in earlier years, but as he repeatedly exposed himself to this dark world,  his growing lust required him to go deeper and deeper into it.

Our text above reveals this pattern to be an accurate one of sin.  As man continues to submit himself as a slave to unrighteousness, he becomes worse and worse.  Little sins (of course, there are no “little” ones in the eyes of a holy God) give way to great sins.  The depth of depravity that satisfied last year won’t quench the thirst for ungodliness this year.  You may not go so far as to commit atrocious crimes against man like Bundy did, but there’s no doubt that in this continual pattern, the things you found offensive yesterday won’t be as repulsive tomorrow.  Practicing lawlessness always leads to more lawlessness.

This pattern is not the Christian way of life.  It was at one time when we were outside of Christ, but notice the “now” in our text: “now present your members as slaves of righteousness for holiness.”  You see, righteousness works the same way, but the effect is the reverse!  As we continue to submit to righteousness, we become better and better!  In fact, the verse doesn’t simply say that righteousness gives way to more righteousness but that it becomes holiness!  And, isn’t that our goal?  “…but as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, because it is written,  “Be holy, for I am holy.” (1 Pet 1:15-16)  To be holy is to be like God!

You are not alone in this fight against sin, Christian.  God is working in us!  As Heb 13:21 testifies, the limitless God that displayed His great power in raising the Son from the dead is active in you to “make you complete in every good work to do His will, working in you what is well pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ”.  So, do right!  You have the ability to do so now because Christ has set you free from sin and death!  Be obedient to the Lord’s instruction.  Be transformed, not conformed to the image of this world. (Rom 12:2) Die daily by denying yourself the desires of this flesh. (Mt 16:24-25)  One day, you’ll wake up face to face with Jesus Christ, and guess what?  You’ll be just like Him! “Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is.” (1 Jn 3:2)

Jamie

What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? Certainly not! How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it?
Rom 6:1-2

Freedom in Christ is a glorious thing! There is no other freedom like it. Too many Americans today boast in being free when they are actually in bondage. Christ revealed the same fact to the Jews in Jn 8:31-32: “Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, ‘If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.'” Did you notice that they believed Him?!! These were willing to follow Christ until He spoke these words, and, in their pride, they refused His teaching and responded, “We are Abraham’s descendants, and have never been in bondage to anyone. How can You say, ‘You will be made free’?” What kind of bondage were they in? They were under the worst slavery mankind has ever seen. They were slaves of sin! You will never meet a more cruel master. There have been wicked masters of men that have murdered those who served them, but this master will destroy both the body AND the soul! There’s only one hope of escape: “Most assuredly, I say to you, whoever commits sin is a slave of sin. And a slave does not abide in the house forever, but a son abides forever. Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed.” (Jn 8:34-36) True freedom is only in the Lord Jesus.

Rom 8:2 says that in Christ we have been made “free from the law of sin and death.” Some today would teach that this verse means we can do whatever we want. After all, doesn’t the first verse of the same chapter say, “There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus”? Can we ever be condemned if we are in Christ? Absolutely not! If Jesus died for my sin, my debt has been paid in full! His blood is sufficient to cleanse me from all my sin–past, present, and future. But, we need to make sure we read the rest of Rom 8:1 which characterizes those who are in Christ as being individuals “who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.” If you are a new creation in Christ Jesus (2 Cor 5:17), you no longer desire the things you once did. You have an appetite for God now (Jn 6:53), an appetite for righteousness (Mt 5:6), and you no longer desire the things you once did. Simply put, “If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.” (1 Jn 2:15)

In 2 Pet 2, we find that false teachers will come in among the church (v. 1) , and they will draw men who have cleaned up their act for a time away into sin (v. 18).  What tactic will they use to accomplish this deception?  V. 19 says these false teachers will declare freedom to their followers, but the reality is that “while they promise them liberty, they themselves are slaves of corruption”. It’s the same lie the serpent used in the garden.  He promised Eve freedom if she would disobey God, but in reality, she was brought into bondage.  Be careful, dear soul. There are preachers right now excusing their sin and boasting in the liberty they claim to have in Christ when the truth is that they are consumed by the things of the world, namely, “the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life”. (1 Jn 2:16) Truly, if Christ has made us free, we possess the only real liberty that there is, but that liberty never gives way to lawlessness.  Remember Gal 5:13: “For you, brethren, have been called to liberty; only do not use liberty as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another.”

Jamie

“…as newborn babes, desire the pure milk of the word, that you may grow thereby, if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is gracious.”
1 Pet 2:2-3

Newborns aren’t very complicated creatures.  If you lay them down, you don’t have to worry about them running off.   You don’t have to educate them, run them back and forth to baseball practice, or make sure they brush their teeth.   They don’t question your decisions or complain about what you made for dinner.  They have basic needs, and if those needs are met, everybody’s happy.   It’s been said, “they eat, sleep, and go to the bathroom.”   Pretty simple life!

When it comes to our desire for God, these newborns are our pattern!   We need to eat, and, as our text tells us, our food is the word of God.   Babies eat constantly when awake!   Are we satisfied with a little word in the morning and evening, or do we need God to feed us with His truth all day long?   And are we okay with studying God’s word without getting much out of it?   That’s like a baby nursing but not getting any milk!  Will he be satisfied with such an experience?   No way!   He’ll cry out until he’s nourished.   Likewise, we should never be content with mere study but should cry out until the Lord reveals Himself!  “As the deer pants for the water brooks,So pants my soul for You, O God.” (Ps 42:1)

Babies spend much of their early life sleeping.   They have little strength and so require continual rest.   Have you realized your lack of strength yet?  Do you agree wholeheartedly when Christ states “without Me you can do nothing“?  In light of our great weakness, we must rest, and will we find such rest anywhere other than Jesus Christ?  ” Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.  Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.” (Mt 11:28-29)  This rest is unparalleled.  It is rest for our souls!  All the money in the world can’t buy such peace.  It “surpasses all understanding.” (Ph 4:7)

Finally, if that newborn’s not eating or sleeping, it’s probably time to change his diaper!    Babies are frequently ridding themselves of waste, that which is of no nutritional value.   So should we!   Our lives should be in a constant state of purging.   There is much that is in us that is of no profit and needs to go if we will be conformed to His image.  As 1 Jn 3:3 says, “And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure.”  If the goal is to be holy as He is holy, there’s still a lot of work that needs to be done, isn’t there?  This race isn’t an easy one, and if we will finish strong, we must “lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us”. (Heb 12:1) I promise you won’t miss anything you give up for Christ’s sake!

I hope I’ve just described you, dear soul for this pattern typifies those that have “tasted that the Lord is gracious!”   These activities evidence you’re spiritually alive, that you’ve experienced the new birth.   For those of you that nodded in agreement as you read these words, keep hungering.   The Lord will never disappoint.  “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, For they shall be filled.” (Mt 5:6)

Jamie

But that no one is justified by the law in the sight of God is evident, for “the just shall live by faith.”
Galatians 3:11

For several weeks now, we have been studying the first four chapters of Romans.  If there’s one point that the apostle drives home over and over again in the beginning of this letter, it is that we are justified (that is, declared righteous before God) by faith and not by the works of the law.  As Paul writes in Rom 3:28, “Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith apart from the deeds of the law.”  For the apostle to spend so much time on this topic, we must realize that it is an important one!

Our study of this fact carried us over to the book of Galatians, an important book of the Bible when it comes to defending the doctrine of justification by faith alone because the Galatians were on the verge of casting off this truth!  You get the sense of the seriousness of this error in the apostle’s greeting to the Galatians.  You’ll find none of the pleasantries that Paul’s other letters include.  Instead, Paul barely greets them before he says in v. 6, “I marvel that you are turning away so soon from Him who called you in the grace of Christ, to a different gospel…”  Paul did not consider their departure from the faith into Old Testament Judaism a light thing, and neither should we!

The sin of the Galatians is that they were trying to live according to the old covenant in the light of the new covenant!  You may think this issue to be a dead one.  Surely the church would not be in danger of such error when the truth is so clearly set forth in the word of God, right?  Well, let’s see what the Galatians were getting into that had Paul so concerned, and then you decide whether or not similar issues exist today.  The three practices mentioned in this letter, three errors that evidenced a departure from justification by faith, were (1) circumcision, (2) eating restrictions, and (3) observances of days and seasons.

Circumcision was by far the biggest issue among the Galatians.  The question of circumcision had already been brought before the apostles and the definitive answer in Ac 15:24-29 was that it was NOT required.  With such clear instruction, Paul told the Galatians bluntly ” if you become circumcised, Christ will profit you nothing.” (Gal 5:2).  With that in mind, have you ever wondered why we live in a nation founded on Christian principles, but 80% of the men are circumcised?  Most would argue it’s done for health reasons, but did you know that it originally gained popularity in the U.S. for moral reasons! (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_male_circumcision)

Speaking of health reasons, that’s usually what I hear to be the motivation for Christians today who follow the food restrictions of the Old Testament.  But, it was refusing to eat the foods of the Gentiles which God was now allowing that led Paul to rebuke Peter publicly. (Gal 2:11-16) And if anyone should have understood liberty in Christ, it should have been Peter since God had given him the vision of Ac 10:11-15 where he was told to kill and eat unclean animals, a picture of God’s plan to extend salvation to the Gentiles.  How shocking to see Gentile Christians today throwing off a liberty that signified their being brought to Christ!  And listen to one of the doctrines of demons that 1 Tim 4:1-5 says men will practice which will evidence a departure from the faith in the latter days: “commanding to abstain from foods which God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth.  For every creature of God is good, and nothing is to be refused if it is received with thanksgiving; for it is sanctified by the word of God and prayer.”

Last among the Galatian church was a practice that prompted Paul to say, “I am afraid for you, lest I have labored for you in vain.” (Gal 4:11) What could be so disturbing to the apostle?  What did he refer to as a turning “to the weak and beggarly elements, to which you desire again to be in bondage” (v. 9)?  V. 10 reveals they were observing “days and months and seasons and years.”  If there’s any culture that understands the bondage associated with being controlled by the observance of various days throughout the year, it should be ours.  The Galatians were observing religious days and festivals, but Col 2:16-17 exhorts us to not be pressured about keeping such traditions.  Why?  They tend to distract from our real focus which should be Christ!  Just listen: “So let no one judge you in food or in drink, or regarding a festival or a new moon or sabbaths, which are a shadow of things to come, but the substance is of Christ.”  Our life should be about living for the glory of God on a daily basis, 24/7, 365 days a year!

I hope it’s clear that these same tendencies that had the apostle Paul so upset 2000 years ago are alive and well within the church today!  No doubt, the real issue is with adding anything to the work of Christ.  The fact that we are justified by faith means that Jesus paid it all.  The law was never intended as a way of salvation, but it was rather a means to lead us to Christ. (Gal 3:24) The law, because of our inability to keep it, tells us we’re sinners who fall short of the glory of God (Rom 3:19-23) and thus declares we need a Savior!  We can never do enough to please God.  Our hope is in the work of Jesus Christ alone!  “…not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us…” (Tit 3:5) That’s the point I hope we all understand, but in light of that, I hope we also see the danger of adding the works of the law.  Even if we say we’re not observing these things to be accepted with God, watch out! These may just be the stepping stones along the way to that conclusion, and we may be planting the seeds of justification by works within our children!

Jamie

For thus says the LORD:
    ‘Your affliction is incurable, Your wound is severe.
    There is no one to plead your cause, That you may be bound up;
    You have no healing medicines…
    Why do you cry about your affliction?  Your sorrow is incurable. 
    Because of the multitude of your iniquities, 
    Because your sins have increased, I have done these things to you.
Jer 30:12-15

Did you know the word “incurable” in the text above is the same word translated “ill” in 2 Sam 12:15, speaking of the condition of the child born of adultery between David and Bathsheba? What did God say would be the outcome of this illness in v. 14? It was unto death!  That’s pretty final, isn’t it? Is any doctor going to make that child better? Should David have called for the wise men of the kingdom to see if someone could find a cure for his child? It would have done no good! God said the child would die!

This is the word pronounced against Israel in Jer 30:12. This isn’t man saying, “You’ve got 6 months to live.” We’ve heard that before, and seen the result. We’ve got people with us still years after the doctor said he’d done all he could do! We can’t be sure when man makes such a pronouncement. But, this isn’t man voicing his diagnosis. This is God, and he said there was no cure! Your wound cannot be healed!

What awful words! What fearful judgment! You say, “I pray God never says such to me!” I want to tell you something that God by His Spirit has spoken concerning everyone reading these words. Every single one of you was born with an incurable wound. I can prove it to you in Jer 17:9. Here, the condition of the heart of man is that it is “desperately wicked”.  That’s the same Hebrew word as “incurable” in our passage! You were born with a heart so vile and diseased, so contrary to God, that it is incurable! Did Jer 30:12 just become personal? Did this message just hit home? I’m not talking about the Jews thousands of years ago. I’m not giving a history lesson. I’m talking about you!

What hope do you have when God says your wound is incurable? Is the best advice to just lie down and die? That’s what Job’s wife told him to do. “Curse God and die!” But, is that what Daid did in the text we already referenced?  In 2 Sam 12:16, we find that he “pleaded with God for the child”. Was David a fool? God said the child would die! And, did he? Yes, he did! David should have just swallowed it down, and given up on the child, right? Well, what did Hezekiah do when facing a similar situation–when God, not man, said he would die in 2 Ki 20:1? “Then he turned his face toward the wall, and prayed to the LORD…” (v. 2) Why? God said He would die! His wound was incurable! You say, “I know what’s going to happen. God didn’t heal David’s child when he pronounced death upon him. There’s no hope!” Well, you’ve obviously never read v. 5-6! God extended his life by 15 years!  David didn’t pray to God because he was a fool. He prayed to him because he had hope! He knew the character AND the ability of God! Listen to his him in 2 Sam 12:22: “Who can tell whether the LORD will be gracious to me, that the child may live?” David may not have heard Christ say the words of Mk 10:27, but he knew them in his heart: “With men it is impossible, but not with God: for with God all things are possible.” In the same passage we read the prophet saying man had an incurable heart (Jer 17:9), there he also cried out for God to heal him! (v. 14) Do you know how God gets the glory for your salvation? He didn’t wait until it was bad or until it was hard. He waited until it was impossible! “With men it is impossible, but not with God!”

Now, I’ve got to be honest with you. I have purposely hidden some verses from you! I have plucked our main text in a sense right out of context, but not to be deceptive. I have done so that the surrounding verses will be even sweeter to you in light of what we’ve already heard. Guess what God said BEFORE he said their affliction and their sorrow were incurable in Jer 30:11?

For I am with you,’ says the LORD, ‘to save you;
      Though I make a full end of all nations where I have scattered you,
      Yet I will not make a complete end of you.
      But I will correct you in justice, And will not let you go altogether unpunished.’

Wow! God had made preparation for their deliverance BEFORE the disease was ever revealed! BEFORE the judgment was pronounced, God had determined to save! There was a beginning BEFORE it began with us! We woke up one morning like Isaiah and realized, “Woe is me! For I am undone! I’m a man of unclean lips! I’m a sinner! My disease is incurable!” But long BEFORE that was made real to us, God had made a Provision for sin! 1 Pet 1:18-20 says we may not have realized it until these “last times”, but God had salvation through Christ prepared from the beginning. Jesus Christ was a Lamb slain from the foundation of the world! (Rev 13:8)

If you’re outside of Christ today, I pray you see the great mercy of God in the message of hope He’s declared to you! You are without excuse! He’s told you how bad it is. It’s impossible! But, He’s also instructed you to follow Abraham’s example who “contrary to hope, in hope believed”! (Rom 4:18) With God, all things are possible! If you are in Christ, then I pray you see the great mercy of God in the message of hope He’s declared to you as well! Why are you fretting? I want you to ask yourself what the psalmist did in Ps 43:5: “Why are you cast down, O my soul? And why are you disquieted within me? Hope in God!” If God has taken care of your incurable wound, what’s so big in your life now that He can’t handle? Sure, it took you by surprise, but not God! That storm you’re facing isn’t forces of nature in your life. It is an act of God, and guess what? It’s for your good! God’s got an end in mind, and you need to quit looking at the storm and look at Him! You need to follow Christ’s example as He headed toward the cross. He wasn’t looking at the suffering of the cross but rather at “the joy that was set before Him!” (Heb 12:2)

Maybe you can’t see Him working right now. You’re like Job saying “Look, I go forward, but He is not there, And backward, but I cannot perceive Him; When He works on the left hand, I cannot behold Him; When He turns to the right hand, I cannot see Him.” But he doesn’t stop there! He continues, “But He knows the way that I take; When He has tested me, I shall come forth as gold.” (Job 23:8-10) Guess what we read just after our text in Jer 30:16-17?

‘Therefore all those who devour you shall be devoured;
And all your adversaries, every one of them, shall go into captivity;
Those who plunder you shall become plunder,
And all who prey upon you I will make a prey. 
For I will restore health to you and heal you of your wounds,’ says the LORD…

Jamie