God Will Win

HE SHALL SAVE HIS PEOPLE

What impression should we give to souls as we proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ to them, whether in a preaching service or a one on one evangelistic opportunity? Should we lead them to believe that God wants to save everyone? Should we lead them to believe that God is trying His best to get sinners to believe the gospel message?

How we speak to sinners gives them impressions about the God on whose behalf we are speaking. Should we preach (or speak) to souls as if their salvation depended upon us? Is it proper that we give the impression that God is dependent upon us in some way for the salvation of sinners?

While the answers to these questions may be difficult to give in a short article like this, I know for sure that God does not want Himself misrepresented to the world of mankind that He created. We who know Him because we have been given eternal life have the responsibility of representing Him and the truth about Him. We must be careful not to allow our representation of God to be controlled by the person or persons to whom we are seeking to reach. We must be truthful regardless of the result. We must proclaim the gospel in truth so that it is first a sweet savour of Christ unto God, whether the hearers are saved or perish (2 Corinthians 2:15).

Should we preach the gospel with soul urgency? Should we preach the gospel as ambassadors for Christ pleading with sinners to be reconciled to God? Should we plead as though God was pleading through us? Yes! This is clearly the message of 2 Corinthians 5:20.

We must tell sinners that God wants them to repent and believe. This is God’s command to all men everywhere (Acts 17:30). They must know that not repenting and believing is sinful rebellion against God. We must stand on behalf of God, on the authority of God, with confidence in God as we labor to proclaim the message of God (1 Cor. 3:9) that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believeth in Him should not  perish, but have everlasting life. We must declare in Christ’s stead, that He came into the world to save sinners. God obviously wants to save sinners!

But in the final analysis, we must not present God as One who is trying to do something that He can’t do without the sinner’s help. We must so speak to sinners that they are left with a sense of utter helplessness in themselves and be moved to call upon the Lord for mercy. They must not be left to think that if they continue in their rebellion against God, that God has failed. He will save all whom He intends to save.                   

SHOULD I BE CONCERNED ABOUT BEING A PHARISEE?

By Pharisee I am not referring so much to that society of Jewish men who made up part of the leadership in Israel in Paul’s day. He called himself a Pharisee and the son of a Pharisee even after his conversion (Acts 23:6). I am speaking of the attitude that was so apparent in the Pharisees. 

Prior to his conversion Paul highly regarded the letter of the law and sought to honor God by his own intense efforts. He was very confident in his own fleshly efforts to attain sufficient righteousness to find acceptance with God. Self-confidence and self-justification were attitudes that he surrendered when he came to recognize himself as condemned under the judgment of the holy law of God. He said in Philippians 3:7, But what things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ. Paul characterized all his former religious and moral efforts as confidence in the flesh (vs. 3). When he was born of the Spirit of Christ that confidence vanished and he gave up all trust in himself to gain favor with God. Jesus Christ became the ONLY confidence of his soul before a holy God. Without the righteousness of God through the faith of Christ, no sinner has the righteousness needed to reach heaven.

Confidence in the flesh is something that every true believer is concerned to avoid. Pharisaical tendencies are part of the flesh. This is why Paul warns true believers against those who glory in the flesh (Philippians 3:2; Galatians 6:11-14). The born again one knows there is nothing in himself about which to glory.

Concern about flesh includes more than moral impurity. The Pharisee is more likely to have moral confidence and an arrogant spirit of superiority. He will likely establish lists of “sins” that he feels confident he can avoid, activities he does religiously, and relationships with others based upon their faithfulness to his standard. His attitude and interaction varies depending upon how the behavior of his “brother” or “sister” measures up. 

This confidence in the flesh affects his attitude and relationship to God. Living with the sense that God accepts him based upon his own performance, his peace and joy is linked almost entirely to his fleshly achievements. This no doubt has great bearing upon his expectations of others, triggering those fluctuating attitudes and actions toward them. (Note: there is, of course, biblical warrant and direction for warning, rebuking, and discipline within the church.)

The pressing point found within the Philippian letter is that all our confidence before God must be in and because of Jesus Christ. If we ever attain the blessing of the resurrection of the dead, it will have nothing to do with our fleshly efforts. The prize unto which we are pressing as Christians is obtained only in Jesus Christ (Phil. 3:14). 

A Pharisee is focused on the flesh. The Spirit brings our focus upon Christ. In all my efforts to be right and do right, I don’t want to miss Him. To miss Him is to miss the glory of God and heaven. 

Yes, I should be concerned about being a Pharisee. May the Spirit of Christ bring light to bear upon this matter in each of our lives lest we be guilty of confidence in the flesh.

Decision-Making as a Christian

Decision-Making as a Christian:

Five Questions

And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him.  –Col 3:17

Some things are clear from God’s Word: thou shalt not steal, kill, or commit adultery, etc..  But some things are not so clearly stated. What about the ordinary lifestyle choices we make every day?  How do we work out how to live daily in a biblical way?

The Christian life is not about following man-made rules.  It is about setting our minds upon the Lord Jesus Christ: all of life flows from our relationship with Him.  Joined to Christ by faith we have died to the law, which could only condemn us, and we are liberated from the principle of sin that used to control us.  Our union with Christ is like a marriage, and just as a marriage produces children, so our union with Christ will produce a lifestyle of godly choices.

Wherefore, my brethren, ye also are become dead to the law by the body of Christ; that ye should be married to another, even to him who is raised from the dead, that we should bring forth fruit unto God.  –Rom 7:4

Unless we are in union with Christ by faith, our best efforts will only amount to good moral choices, but will not be acceptable fruit unto God.

Grace teaches us to abandon self-effort to obtain righteousness that will justify us before God and trust in the righteousness of God found in Jesus Christ alone.  Grace continues to teach us to depend on the Spirit of Christ to live soberly, righteously, and godly in this present world.  If Christ is your life, your life will show it.  You will walk in Him.  He will be the reason you live.

You will not be focused on do’s and don’ts, but upon Him.  You will not be asking how far you can go, how close to the edge you can get.  If Christ is the center of your life, all else orbits around Him.  God’s will does not feel restrictive—it is your delight.

You have one Master, and every decision must be submitted to His Lordship.   For the submissive heart, knowing the will of God is first.  Glad obedience follows, even when it is not what you might have originally desired.

Sometimes questions are asked of me as a pastor: Should I work on Sunday? Should my wife work outside the home? Should I watch a particular movie . . . or any movie?  Should I listen to this band or that group?  Should I read this book?  Should I drink this beverage, smoke this plant, or wear these clothes?

Every word and every deed needs to be laid before the Lord.  When faced with decisions like these, there are five questions that will help toward a godly answer:

Does God have ANYTHING to say about it? Does Scripture in any way address this issue?  You might not know the Word of God well enough to answer. It is helpful to obtain wise counsel from other believers who have a better knowledge of the Word.  Bible study tools, such as the Strong’s concordance, are useful as well.

If not forbidden, is this lawful thing beneficial?  Not everything that is allowed is helpful:  All things are lawful unto me, but all things are not expedient” —   I Cor. 6:12a.  Is it helpful?  Is it necessary?

Does this lawful thing have a hold on me?  Am I controlled by it?  Can I give it up?  All things are lawful for me, but I will not be brought under the power of any –I Cor. 6:12b.

How will this affect fellow believers?  It is good neither to eat flesh, or to drink wine, nor any thing whereby thy brother stumbleth, or is offended, or is made weak.—

Rom 14:21  Devotion to Christ changes our perspective—it’s not all about me anymore:

We then that are strong ought to bear the infirmities of the weak, and not to please ourselves.  Let every one of us please his neighbor for his good to edification.  For even Christ pleased not himself; but, as it is written, The reproaches of them that reproached thee fell on me.—Rom 15:1-3

If our choice might affect another believer in a negative way, we should model Christ and deny ourselves.

How will this decision affect my testimony for Christ?  Will doing this affect my ability to be taken seriously as a follower of Christ in my culture? Will this affect my effectiveness in speaking  about the gospel so that others might be saved?

Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.  Give none offence, neither to the Jews, nor to the Gentiles, nor to the church of God: Even as I please all men in all things, not seeking mine own profit, but the profit of many, that they may be saved.—I Cor 10:31-33

If Christ is your life, you will care how you live!