Tag Archives: Salvation

Jul 19 2010

Blessed is the man against whom the Lord will not count his sin


The title of this post is a quote from Romans 4 in the Bible. The impact of this statement is highlighted in the context of the great apostle’s theme of justification by faith.

“What then shall we say was gained by Abraham, our forefather according to the flesh? For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God. For what does the Scripture say?”Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness.” Now to the one who works, his wages are not counted as a gift but as his due. And to the one who does not work but believes in him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness, just as David also speaks of the blessing of the one to whom God counts righteousness apart from works:
“Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven,
and whose sins are covered;
blessed is the man against whom the Lord will not count his sin.”

Is this blessing then only for the circumcised, or also for the uncircumcised? We say that faith was counted to Abraham as righteousness. How then was it counted to him? Was it before or after he had been circumcised? It was not after, but before he was circumcised. He received the sign of circumcision as a seal of the righteousness that he had by faith while he was still uncircumcised. The purpose was to make him the father of all who believe without being circumcised, so that righteousness would be counted to them as well, and to make him the father of the circumcised who are not merely circumcised but who also walk in the footsteps of the faith that our father Abraham had before he was circumcised.” (Romans 4:1-12)

This should be very good news! And, it is good news to those who understand what Jesus accomplished for wicked, ungodly sinners when He took upon him their sins and paid the awful price the justice of God demanded. He cried from the cross, “It is finished!” With that cry and his shed blood and final breath, sinful mankind had been reconciled to God. Three days later the certification that God’s plan of salvation was complete was displayed as a risen Jesus. Our three common enemies had all been unquestionably defeated for good, death, hell, and the grave.

This is not good news for everyone…

That God is not counting sins against those with their faith in Jesus is not good news for the self-righteous. They are not unlike their first century counterparts who were the most religious folks of their time, the sect of the Pharisees. Oh yes, we have plenty of them today.

They love the praise of men. “Listen to me”, “see what I have done”, “notice what I avoid”, “honor me because I am such a good person”. These church members never miss a service, they do all the right things so far as can be humanly observed, but inside they are corrupt to the core.

They want part of the credit for their salvation. The message of the grace of God offends them deeply, it makes them angry. It is not unlike the anger the church folks had against Jesus. “Eating with sinners!”, “Doing things we don’t approve on the Sabbath, the nerve…!” He deserves to die!”

Good news for those who trust Christ alone…

This is really not complicated. If you will take a deep breath or two and read carefully through the text quoted above, and, if you really want to know the truth, you can.

The plan that Jesus would die for sinners, in their place, for their sins, was not a remedy quickly and frantically put together because of the sin of Adam. No, before the creation, in eternity before time, God purposed to bring glory to himself by justifying guilty sinners. Peter, in the first major address after Jesus’ resurrection said,

“Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested to you by God with mighty works and wonders and signs that God did through him in your midst, as you yourselves know—this Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men.” (Acts 2:22,23)

Paul joins Peter and confirms this eternal plan of God.

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love he predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved. In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight.” (Ephesians 1:3-8)

All of your sins (past, present, and future) are forgiven, removed, and forgotten.

Answer this question. How many sins had you committed about 2,000 years ago? How many ways had you offended God before the earth was spoken into existence? None! ALL of your sins were in view in eternity past when God’s “definite plan” was conceived and you “were chosen in Him” and He decided to make you “holy and blameless” to the “praise of His glorious grace“.

This is one time in your life when something that sounds to good to be true IS! In the person of Christ, by his work and worth, God has forgiven ALL your sins and declared you “right”. So, your righteousness does not rise from your performance but rather from God’s decree. He “counts” (credits, or puts to the account of..) you righteous based on the perfection both in the living and dying of Jesus Christ.

The Hebrews writer said it another way. In comparing Jesus and his priestly work of offering himself, to the human priests who daily had to make offerings for sins, he made this declaration.

“For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified.” (Hebrews 10:14)

“Those who are being sanctified” is you and me, if we are trusting in Christ alone and not ourselves and our ability to do good. Jesus made one offering for sins, once for all time, once for all people, and once for all sins, and He sat down…

Duty does not determine destiny…

Has it ever occurred to you that God doesn’t have to wait until next month to see what you will do next month? Or next year? God knew before time what you would do today and every tomorrow and loved you anyway to show His glory.

I understand this is new territory for some who might read this. It really does sound too good to be true! And, as I said earlier, many are offend by God’s message of salvation by grace. In fact, Jesus promised it would be so. I can’t change that. I hope you will have an open heart for God’s truth. It is after all, God’s truth, not mine.

I’ll end this post with three propositions for your consideration. God’s plan of salvation is complete but still in progress, we are perfect but not yet, and we are on our way to being just like Jesus in a perfect place, in a perfect body, perfectly righteous and holy.

As to our standing with God…

1. Our “positional” standing. We stand by faith in Christ, have been declared “righteous”, are adopted as sons, promised an inheritance, been given life eternal, promised a bodily resurrection to immortality, have our names in the book of life, are sealed by the Holy Spirit, and are SAFE.

In this sense we are “saved” or “have been saved”. Our destiny is settled. Based wholly upon the worthiness and merit of Jesus we have been justified, redeemed, reconciled, set right, and been made perfect by God. We did not deserve it and can’t claim any credit for the gift we have received. The theological term that represents these truths is Justification.

2. Our “practical” standing. Unfortunately we still fall far short of God’s ideals of worship, devotion, and morality. We still sin. But, God is at work in us to change us so that we are becoming more like Jesus. He uses circumstances, the Bible, other Christians, and most importantly, the transforming work of the Holy Spirit who lives in us, to constantly and consistently make us more what He desires and destines us to be finally.

We are to cooperate by obedience, by saying the same thing about our sin God does (confession, 1 John 1:9), by prayer, giving of thanks, by putting God’s words into our hearts. and by loving God and others the very best we can. What God has begun in you He will complete. Ours is to live like whose we are. The theological term that represents these truths is Sanctification.

3. Our “future” standing… We are promised a home with God, one not made with human hands, a glorified body like the body of Jesus, the absence of worry, fear, doubt, sin, death, and we will experience the joy we share in the glory of God and the Lamb of God who took away our sins. We are promised a shared inheritance with Jesus as adopted sons and daughters to live, rule and reign with him forever. The theological term that represents these truths is “Glorification“.

In the act of “Justification” God sets sinners right with himself and has saved them from the “Penalty of sin“.

In the act of “Sanctification” God’s children are being saved from the “Power of Sin”.

In the act of “Glorification” God will save his own from the very “Presence of Sin“.

“Blessed is the man against whom the Lord will not count his sins” If this is not your blessing it can be and should be.

Do a lifestyle U-Turn. You have been doing it your way for a long, long time. How is it working out for you? Changing the direction of your lifestyle from self-rule to God’s-rule is called “repentance”. God commands every person to repent. Change your mind now!

Put your whole trust in Jesus Christ. He promises everlasting life and resurrection of the body to those who will simply depend on Him. Most people I know, church folks and unchurched, believe Jesus existed, and most believe he was raised from the dead after his death on a cross. Most people know John 3:16.

It is one thing to believe some facts and quite another to depend on those facts. Or, to be more exact, it is one thing to believe a person lived and did good things, even miracles, died on a cross, and was raised from the dead. But to rest on those truths, to trust dependently upon Him is much, much more than just agreeing to facts. Take God at his word and trust Him to give you eternal life and a home with Him.

Come out for Jesus! Make it public that you are trusting Christ and that you intend to follow him. Say it and show it. Tell a minister, a Christian friend or relative. Then follow the Lord in a symbolic death, burial, and resurrection in the waters of Christian baptism. By doing so you are identifying yourself as one of God’s people, a follower of Jesus. You are showing that you have died to your old life and are going to life the Christ-life going forward.

Love God and love your neighbor as you live your new life for Jesus sake.

Agape’

Royce

Jul 11 2010

The Divine Rescue – A Review


“The gripping drama of a lost world and of
the Creator who will not let it go.”

“The Divine Rescue” is nothing less than the subtitle above promises. It is classic Fudge! This latest book by Edward Fudge is excellent in every way I can measure a book.

Indeed it is a “gripping drama”. I found myself purposefully hurrying through the last paragraphs of pages eager to get to the next. It is the story of all stories told by a master word smith.

Fudge begins the story before the beginning and ends it after the end. He masterfully covers all the bases, hitting all the high points of biblical revelation about God’s pursuit of sinful men, leaving no part of the drama untold.

Few people of faith have been able to have an audience as wide and diverse as Edward Fudge. Christians of many stripes have embraced his teaching and he is a favorite author/teacher/preacher to many denominations of believers including his own churches of Christ. Edward Fudge is not a dogmatist, he just presents the truths he finds in scripture without prejudice.

“The Divine Rescue” doesn’t avoid the controversial themes of the Bible, like election and predestination, but rather presents them and more so that they fold together like the fingers of hands clasped together for prayer.

There is only one Redeemer, one Rescuer, and one rescue, but God allows us to see it from many different perspectives. Sadly, many Christians who favor only one view, from one vantage point, often insist that only the view they see is the correct one.

God’s scheme of redemption (rescue) is not a snapshot, it is rather a panorama. Every part is important, and to refuse to see even one perspective of the whole is an unfortunate loss and partial lack of appreciation for the whole story.

Edward Fudge, as a master artist, begins this word-painting, and chapter after chapter, adds color and depth, clarity and meaning come into view, perfect highlights and the brush strokes of phrases bring to the eye the beauty of the love and grace of the Creator demonstrated in Jesus Christ.

“The Divine Rescue” is God’s story and it is my story. In it you will find yourself, at your worst, and as God’s best completed work, a rescued sinner who in the end is just like Jesus the Rescuer.

From those who are new to the community of faith to the most celebrated Bible scholar, I recommend this latest book from my friend and mentor Edward Fudge. It would be a wonderful gift for a friend who is not yet a Christian as well.

The book is available at Amazon.com, Texas Costco stores, Family Christian book stores, Lifeway Christian stores, Mardel’s, Books-A-Million, and from the author at EdwardFudge.com. I hope it is read around the world.

Royce Ogle

May 23 2010

Jeb’s Story part 3


For a few nights after the execution of Jesus I had trouble sleeping, I had nightmares reliving what I had witnessed. And, during the day I tried to press my guilt down with more work and heavier drinking. It was those words about forgiveness that dogged me night and day. Was he truly a mad man? He seemed rational enough but who would even think of forgiveness moments before he died from loss of blood? None of it made sense.

One morning I went out of my house and as I talked to a neighbor about the weather I heard a screaming voice. A man was running down the lane yelling as he went “He is alive, Jesus of Nazareth has risen from the grave! Jesus is alive!” What? was the whole world going insane?

In the next few days I kept hearing more and more talk that people had seen Jesus alive. Of course I didn’t believe it, at first that is. But I began to wonder “What if Jesus really is who he claimed to be?” I soon began to worry about my own well being. My mother complained about my late hours, too much wine, a distant look, and silence.

One day I met a friend on the road who excitedly told me that he was going to see Jesus and hear him teach. I accepted an invitation to join him and the next day I saw him. We came to a place with much grass on a sloping hillside and the crowd was perhaps 500 or more when everyone was there.

Jesus stood below facing the people and he began to speak. His words were riveting and the listeners were very quiet. He spoke of the kingdom of God and of our Father’s love for us and that we should never be fearful or doubting. He said he would be going away but that he would come back for his followers and take them to be with him.

From my vantage point I could see many faces in the crowd, listening intently to every word. And while Jesus was speaking I realized for the first time that many of those faces were familiar. The men I saw at the execution, those who were actively participating, were there listening to Jesus and nodding in agreement! How could this be? How could he let them be there, how could they be there? Then it was fresh in my memory once more, “Father forgive them they don’t know what they are doing”.

I’m not sure that ever person who participated in the execution and the events that preceded it were there but I know at least five or six were. Their faces were radiant, tears came down smiling faces. They had become followers of Jesus! They were changed, forgiven, they were in the Way!

When Jesus stopped speaking some other men spoke and explained that because of the risen Lord and his death for sinners that anyone who would could be a Christian. “Change your mind about your manner of life and take up your cross and follow Messiah. Trust Jesus the Christ and he will give you immortality.”

When it became real to me what had happened, what Jesus had done for me and the others, oh how I loved him and knew I would until I die. When the men finished speaking I joined maybe two dozen others in the water below and I was baptized. I knew at once I was a changed man, that I was Christ’s man.

To be continued….     Part 1, Part 2

Royce

May 13 2010

Jeb’s Story – Part 2


The first section of Jeb’s Story can be found here. Jeb’s Story
…the story continues.

I was in the city with some friends and we heard that Jesus of Nazareth was creating a stir. A huge crowd had gathered and when I got near enough to see what was happening I could hear one of our priests encouraging the crowd to choose Barabbas to be freed instead of Jesus who is called the Christ. As you all know it is customary for Pilot to release a prisoner during the time of the feast. The priests kept saying to the crowd “Barabbas!” The angry mob began to shout over and over,”Give us Barabbas!” I am not sure why but I too joined the chorus, demanding that this hardened criminal be spared and that Jesus be executed.

I had known Jesus for several years, sort of at a distance. Twice I believe my inns had purchased tables from Jesus’ family carpenter shop. One of those times I myself spoke to him briefly inquiring about the tables. He was just an ordinary Jew. He was not handsome and I didn’t notice anything unusual about him. It was a few years later that I started to hear that he had gone mad. He was claiming to be God, the Messiah, and that he would overthrow the government and rule the Jews from David’s throne.

I felt only pity for him, the poor fellow had mental problems. But as time went on there were more and more stories about miracles, healing cripples, giving sight to the blind, and desecrating the temple and the Sabbath. He made outrageous claims about knowing Abraham, being equal with Jehovah, and that he was King of the Jews. My pity soon turned to anger. I hated this impostor who spoke against the chief priests, whose disciples broke the law, and ate with Samaritans and common sinners.

So on that day when Jesus was condemned to be executed by crucifixion I heartedly joined the others in calling for his death. I wanted the earth rid of this devil. I began to have an anger that I couldn’t explain and it surprised me. I am one who was usually just out for a good time and religion and politics did not move me.

I witnessed with my own eyes the brutal beatings, the humiliation, the mocking, the bloodshed before they put him on the cross. I was a willing participant even though I did not personally strike him or say anything but I did not object either.

When he was finally up on the cross and the roar of the crowd was at a fever pitch I felt an emptiness in my inner being. I admitted to myself for the first time that an innocent man was being put to death. He had really done nothing that deserved this.

I left for a while, drank several cups of wine with friends and came back to see if it was over yet. When I drew near I was astounded when he summoned the strength to say “Father, forgive them, they don’t know what they are dong.” Those words struck my soul. There had been a great injustice! This was all so wrong! I was so wrong.

to be continued…..

Royce