Tag: grace

The Transformed Life that Pleases God

On By Jason SmithIn Devotional2 Comments

How exactly do good works fit in with the life of a Christian? Many have wrestled with this concept, oftentimes setting faith and works at odds, as if the two are somehow in opposition. Unfortunately, I’ve heard some pastors imply that, because we are saved by grace through faith, no effort is required for living the Christian life. We have only to “let go and let God.”[1]

The 19th century Anglican bishop J. C. Ryle can help us here:

“Is it wise to proclaim in so bald, naked, and unqualified a way as many do, that the holiness of converted people is by faith only, and not at all by personal exertion? Is it according to the proportion of God’s Word? I doubt it. That faith in Christ is the root of all holiness… no well-instructed Christian will ever think of denying. But surely the Scriptures teach us that in following holiness the true Christian needs personal exertion and work as well as faith.”[2]

When we read Scripture, we find Paul making statements like, “I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me” (1 Corinthians 15:10). But how does this work out practically? Elsewhere, Paul discusses living out the faith with the Philippians.

“Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed—not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence—continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose.” (Philippians 2:12-13)

The Philippians were a faithful group of Jesus-followers. Paul didn’t have much correction for them, as he did with other churches. But he tells them to keep working out their salvation, and to do so with “fear and trembling” – as if there was a profound gravity to how we live our lives.

People today understand the importance of working out. If you want to be fit, you join a gym. If you want to excel as an athlete, you have to put time into working out your muscles. But what does it mean “to work out your salvation”? Isn’t the whole message of Christianity that we are saved by grace, not works? Isn’t the righteousness we need a gift of God’s grace through Christ, not our own righteousness? Yes, that’s all true.

Saved for Good Works

“For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.” (Ephesians 2:8-9)

Contrary to what every other religion teaches, the Bible says that salvation is not attained by our moral effort or achievement. It’s something that comes to us by sheer grace, as a free gift.

However, we often stop there without reading the next verse: “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them” (v. 10). In other words, we are not saved by our good works, but we are saved for good works. This is what many people miss when it comes to the Christian life. While salvation is a free and unearned gift, God both expects and empowers us to live a new transformed life of obedience.

This is Paul’s point when he tells the Philippians to “work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure” (vv. 12b-13). The basis for all our good works and new living is our identity as new creations in Christ.

If you have come to Christ, God is doing a mighty work in you through the Holy Spirit, and your responsibility is to live that out. You do work, but what you work out is the inner renewal that God “works in you” (v. 13). To work out your salvation is to pursue the holiness for which God has saved you.

Pursuing Holiness in God’s Power

Paul’s basic idea is this: You have been set apart for Christ, so now live like it by His power. You weren’t saved so you could go back to living like the world. Christians are to live together as a transformed community. We are not called to mirror the world. We are called to be distinct from the world.

“Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.” (Romans 12:2, ESV)

Not only are we called to holiness, but the world around us needs Christians to live like new creations. The great Christian abolitionist, William Wilberforce, took a stand against the British enslaving their fellow human beings, not because he wanted to look like the decadent culture around him, but because he wanted the voice of God to be heard in England. God had already said that all human beings are made in God’s image, and thus have sacred value.

The problem with so many Christians today is that they think the way to win the world to Christ is to look like the world in every way imaginable – that is, except for believing the gospel. But here’s why that doesn’t work. The message of the gospel is a message designed to transform every aspect of our lives. When we reject conformity with the world and choose to live in the newness of the Spirit, the gospel will actually be compelling!

If we forget that the strength to live in holiness comes from God, we won’t depend on Him in prayer or seek the wisdom found in His Word. But when we know God is the one who empowers this new life, it will be our joy to actively pursue it.

Lights Piercing the Darkness

When the Susan B. Anthony coin was first introduced to American currency as an alternative to the dollar, there was tremendous resistance to it. The reason? The coin was so close in shape and size to the quarter that people often got it confused. In other words, at first glance, it lacked enough distinction from the quarter, and so it became more of a nuisance than a convenience. In the same way, when Christians become indistinguishable from the world, we will not make the impact that God intends for us.

This is why Paul is earnest to say, “Work out all that God has worked in you.” Don’t settle for drifting along with the world, thinking the same way as the world. No! Live out Christ before your neighbor. Show the greatness of His love, shine the light of truth, and make it clear that you’re committed to live for Jesus rather than the paltry acceptance of the world.

As a child of God, you are to live “without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world” (Philippians 2:15). When the shroud of deception and corruption closes in, those who live for Jesus will shine like bright stars piercing the darkness of night.

Pleasing God

It is at those precise points where worldviews collide that Christians have the most to offer the world. If we remain true to our convictions, we will give others a reason to reconsider Jesus. And notice how verse 13 ends: “For it is God who works in you, both to will and work for His good pleasure.”

When you live a transformed life, God is pleased. He’s pleased because you’re now yielding to His greater plan for your life – a life beyond merely following the status quo. The status quo is for those who just want to remain safely unnoticed. It is for those whose lives are “conformed to the pattern of this world” (Romans 12:2).

But who really wants to spend their whole life living in the fear of man? The reason Paul can say that he’s more than happy to pour out his life for the faith of others is that he knows that God is the ultimate source of joy (Philippians 2:17; 4:4). When our lives are spent lifting up Christ, others will grow in their faith, and God will be pleased. And what could possibly matter more for the Christian than pleasing God?

Have thoughts on this post? Feel free to comment below!

[1] See Jared C. Wilson, “The Devilishness of ‘Let Go and Let God Theology.” https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/devilishness-let-go-let-god-theology/. If the phrase “Let go and let God” is meant to suggest one must surrender control of one’s life to God, then I’m in hearty agreement. However, this phrase is often used to suggest that no effort is required in living as a Christian but rather that our only duty is to trust God, which leads to a host of other problems, such as passivity, as Wilson’s article helpfully articulates. Also, how can someone live by this phrase, when it conflicts with many biblical passages such as: “Make every effort to live in peace with everyone and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord” (Hebrews 12:14, NIV).

[2] J. C. Ryle, Holiness (1952 edition, London: James Clarke & Co.), viii.

The Hardening of Pharaoh’s Heart

On By Jason SmithIn Devotional, Theology for Life2 Comments

God clearly cares about our hearts. Throughout the Bible, we read about the significance of the heart. The heart is the seat of all human thought, emotion, and activity (Proverbs 4:23). God knows us so well, because His gaze pierces all the way through to our hearts (1 Samuel 16:7). The heart is often portrayed as the secret inner storehouse or the deep well of a person’s soul (Proverbs 20:5; Matthew 12:35; 1 Corinthians 14:26; Hebrews 4:12).

The words on our lips are usually good indicators of what’s brewing within. Jesus wisely said, “For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks” (Matthew 12:34).

King Solomon urges us, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding” (Proverbs 3:5, ESV).

A heart that is right with God is a heart that gladly leans on Him as a child leans on her father’s chest. It is not too proud to trust in His grace.

Pharaoh’s Hard Heart

The Bible records God telling Moses, “When you go back to Egypt, see that you do before Pharaoh all the miracles that I have put in your power. But I will harden his heart, so that he will not let the people go” (Exodus 4:22, ESV).

This is the first time Pharaoh’s hard heart is mentioned. The Hebrew word chazaq literally means “to strengthen,” as in God strengthened Pharaoh’s heart in his rebellion. In 11 cases, chazaq is used to speak of God hardening Pharaoh’s heart (4:21; 9:2; 10:20, 27; 11:10; 14:4, 8) or more generally that Pharaoh’s heart “was hardened” (7:13, 22; 8:19; 9:35).

However, another word is also used to speak of Pharaoh’s hard heart – the Hebrew word kabad’, which literally means “to make heavy.” Three times, this word is used to speak of Pharaoh hardening his own heart (8:15, 32; 9:34), once with the general phrase “was hardened” (9:7), and twice to speak of God hardening Pharaoh’s heart (10:1; 14:4). It is a similar word to chazaq, but it has a special nuance worth noting.

Ancient Egyptians believed that in the afterlife a special ceremony took place called The Weighing of the Heart (pictured above). In this ceremony, overseen by the god Anubis, the heart of the deceased was placed on one side of a great scale and was weighed against the feather of truth. If someone had committed many sins, their heart would be weighed down, and they would be condemned to eternal restlessness. However, if they’d lived a virtuous life, one’s heart would be lighter than the feather. In this case, they would be granted safe passage to the Egyptian paradise, the fields of Aaru.

Because of this belief about one’s heart determining one’s eternal destiny, Egyptians would remove all the organs except the heart when burying their dead. Moses may be alluding to this ancient belief when he writes that Pharaoh’s heart was “made heavy” (Exodus 8:15, 32; 9:7, 34; 10:1; 14:4).

This is a reminder that in nearly every age and culture, people have been religious. God has given humanity a universal sense of right and wrong, and because of this, we all know we are supposed to be good. And we all sense the scales of justice by which our lives will be weighed.

Our Hard Hearts

It is interesting how often Scripture connects salvation to the state of one’s heart. The Bible says that we need to be saved from sin, and Jesus said that all sin ultimately springs from a defiled heart (Matthew 15:18-20). When He saw the prideful religiosity of the Pharisees, Jesus asked them, “Why do you think evil in your hearts?” (9:4). Mark tells us He was “grieved at their hardness of heart” (Mark 5:3). Sometimes, even His disciples didn’t understand because “their hearts were hardened” (6:52). But Jesus also said the greatest commandment was, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind” (Matthew 22:37).

It’s popular today for people to say, “Just follow your heart.” It’s cliché and catchy. But in the Bible, that sounds like generally bad advice, like something the devil would urge you to do. Instead, we are warned about the inherent dangers of following one’s heart, which is so prone to self-deception. A heart that is not directed toward God is foolish and darkened (Genesis 3:1-6; Ephesians 4:22; Romans 1:21). The prophet Jeremiah quoted God on the matter:

“The heart is deceitful above all things
    and beyond cure.
    Who can understand it?
I the Lord search the heart
    and examine the mind,
to reward each person according to their conduct,
    according to what their deeds deserve.” (Jeremiah 17:9-10, NIV)

It’s good to know that God is just and will reward people according to what they deserve, but what hope of reward do we have? The Bible also says, “There is no one righteous, not even one; there is no one who understands; there is no one who seeks God” (Romans 3:10-11, NIV). This sounds pretty bleak. Thankfully, this isn’t Scripture’s last word on the matter.

The New Heart We All Need

The prophet Ezekiel records a divine promise about those who would receive a new heart:

“I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws. Then you will live in the land I gave your ancestors; you will be my people, and I will be your God. I will save you from all your uncleanness.” (Ezekiel 36:26-29, NIV)

This means there is hope for those who have hard hearts like Pharaoh. But it’s not a matter of having a new commitment to live a good life; it’s a matter of becoming a new creation in Christ. This can only happen through faith in His finished work on the cross and subsequent resurrection. Speaking of that time when Jesus was on the cross, the prophet Isaiah says, “he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed” (Isaiah 53:5, NIV).

Jesus took all that defiles our hearts onto Himself so that we could be redeemed from the sin that had enslaved us. Salvation is about God cleansing our hearts by grace through faith (see Acts 15:9; Hebrews 10:22; 13:9). A new heart is a forgiven heart, a liberated heart.

Through faith in Christ, the burden of guilt is lifted, and our hearts become lighter than a feather. Jesus comforted His disciples when He was about to die for them, saying, “Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in Me” (John 14:1). A heart cleansed by the shed blood of Jesus is a heart reconciled to God. “For with the heart one believes and is justified” (Romans 10:10, ESV).

A new heart is soft and fleshy (Ezekiel 36:26). It wants more of God, not less. It desires His name to be famous, not our own. It craves to be filled with His love and His Spirit, not the fleeting pleasures of sin. It seeks His leading and direction, rather than wanting its own way. Though the battle of opposing desires still rages today (Romans 7:15-25), only the fruit produced in the new heart will last into eternity (1 Corinthians 3:12-15)).

And finally, Paul’s prayers for the church were continually about the state of their hearts, showing that the heart is a subject we should not neglect.

“May the Lord direct your hearts to God’s love and Christ’s endurance.” (2 Thessalonians 3:5, HCSB)

That is my prayer for you as well.

Father of mercies, my heart is so prone to wander after worthless pursuits that seem so urgent or attractive today. Give me fresh desires from Your heart of love, that I might live the life You’ve called me to. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Have thoughts on this post? Feel free to comment below!

When a Christian Leader Falls

On By Jason SmithIn Theology for Life1 Comment

In the past several months, there has been an outside investigation into sexual misconduct allegations of Ravi Zacharias, who was a well-known and sought after Christian apologist and speaker. The law firm conducting the investigation, Miller & Martin, released some devastating news in recent weeks: the allegations were all true. The firm found “convincing and credible evidence” that Zacharias had indeed engaged in sexual misconduct with multiple women over the course of many years.[1]

This news stunned many Christians. Zacharias was known for his rhetorical eloquence and powerful presentations in defense of the Christian faith. Perhaps even more troubling is that Zacharias, who died in the spring of 2020, never repented of his secret sin.

I for one looked up to Zacharias as an incredible man of faith, who spoke the truth boldly yet with genuine love for others – a truly rare quality. I have been helped by many of his books and talks, and I was equally shocked to read the report.

As I considered this news, two thoughts entered my head. What will be the long-term impact of Zacharias’s sin? Will this devastate the faith of thousands of young men and women that he greatly influenced? Secondly, I considered the pain this must cause his family. I can’t even imagine their grief. I’m praying for their hearts, as they desperately need the comfort and peace only God can give.

Although very saddened, I do have some takeaways from all this.

Sin always has consequences

Although we know this intuitively, it’s so easy for Christians to forget this: sin always has consequences. It always harms both ourselves and those around us. Especially grievous sins – and sexual sin definitely makes the list. It shatters trust. It boggles the mind. It cuts through bonds meant to last a lifetime. It divides couples who promised to love each other no matter what. It tears families apart. And sexual sin is always shrouded in deception. Unless it is quickly confessed and repented of, lies inevitably abound. It also has a distorting effect, twisting the way we view our relationships.

I’ve spoken to a man who cheated on his wife about this. While still feeling numb in the aftermath of his sin coming to light, he shook his head and said, “I never meant to hurt her. I never meant to hurt anyone.” That’s how it always goes. Our tendency as fallen people is to put all our focus on the pleasure of the moment, rather than the long-term consequences of one sinful choice. Only the Holy Spirit can break the power of sin and lead us to walk in faithfulness and self-control.

Christian leaders must hold themselves to a higher standard

It is both sad and reprehensible how some Christian pastors, authors, and thought leaders have not taken the influence they carry seriously. They abuse the power they have been entrusted with by manipulating others or hurting those who oppose them.

Others ignore biblical standards and mock those who still cherish historic Christian teachings. Perhaps they forget all the warnings the Bible gives about those who abuse spiritual influence. “Not many of you should become teachers, my fellow believers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly” (James 3:1, NIV). Whether you are a pastor or teacher or blogger, this verse should be engraved on your heart.

Christian leaders carry a lot of influence among the Lord’s people, and they should not downplay the seriousness of their role. If you lead others, please remember that you will be held accountable for how faithfully you stood against the tide of worldly influences.

After surveying the grandeur of His creation, God says in Isaiah: “But this is the one to whom I will look: he who is humble and contrite in spirit and trembles at my word” (Isaiah 66:2, ESV). Do you still tremble at the thought of teaching God’s sacred Word? Don’t be so concerned with being admired among the cultural elites. Make your aim the faithful teaching of God’s Word. You have been entrusted with the life-changing message of the gospel, and that is no small thing.

It is the better part of wisdom to gather around you wise and godly believers who will have access to you, to correct you when you’re wrong, to ask you the hard questions, and to encourage you to stay the course. You have been put in a position with so much potential to advance God’s kingdom for good. God takes your role seriously; so should you. This is a loving warning all Christian leaders – including myself – need to hear.

Never put yourself in a compromising situation

One stand out example from the Bible is Joseph. Betrayed by his brothers, Joseph ended up as a slave in the house of Potiphar, an officer in Pharaoh’s army. Because Joseph trusted in God and worked hard in his master’s service, Potiphar put him in charge of his whole household. When Potiphar’s wife summoned Joseph to her quarters and tried to seduce him, he responded, “My master trusts me with everything in his entire household. No one here has more authority than I do. He has held back nothing from me except you, because you are his wife. How could I do such a wicked thing? It would be a great sin against God” (Genesis 39:8-9, NLT).

But apparently she didn’t give up easy. “She kept putting pressure on Joseph day after day, but he refused to sleep with her, and he kept out of her way as much as possible” (v. 10). Joseph knew that temptation is something to avoid at all costs – not something to go exploring out of curiosity.

Finally, the time came when Potiphar’s wife catches him alone in the empty house. Once again, she tried to lure him into the bedroom. So how did Joseph respond? Did he stand his ground to see how much temptation he could resist? No! He bolted out of there as if the whole house was about to burst into flames. Joseph understood the importance of avoiding compromising situations. He cared more about God’s honor than his self-serving pleasure. He did exactly what the Bible commands us to do: “Run from sexual immorality!” (1 Corinthians 6:18, HCSB).

Jesus Is the Real Hero of the Story

Never forget that the gospel makes everything about Christ and what He has done – not you or what you have or haven’t done. That doesn’t take away our sense of responsibility, but it does offer us incredible hope. Jesus, through His cross, can overcome all your shame, sin, and failure. His grace allows us to live out of our identity in Christ, not some self-made identity.

Since Jesus is the real hero of the story, we should never put all our hope in a Christian leader. God has put them in our lives to help guide us, but they are not our Lord. They did not die for our sins.

This should make us treasure the perfect life of Jesus. Whereas Christian leaders will always be fallible and inevitably make mistakes in this life, Jesus is the King who will never fail us. If a Christian leader has failed you, keep in mind that this doesn’t change the truth about Jesus. He was, is, and always will be the sinless Savior you and I desperately need. “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever” (Hebrews 13:8). Make Jesus your ultimate hero, because He will never let you down.

[1] Daniel Silliman, “RZIM Confirms Ravi Zacharias’s Sexual Misconduct,” Christianity Today: https://www.christianitytoday.com/news/2020/december/rzim-evidence-confirms-ravi-zacharias-sexual-misconduct.html

Balancing Grace and Truth

On By Jason SmithIn Devotional, Theology for LifeLeave a comment

As an evangelical Christian in 21st century America, the constant challenge I find myself in is learning to balance grace and truth. As followers of Christ, we know that both of these are equally essential and mutually reinforcing. The Gospel of John says that Jesus came as “the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth” (John 1:14).

In a practical sense, this means we must never shy away from holding on to our Christian convictions, namely those derived from the Bible. But on the other hand, we are to always be sharing this truth with openness, love, and empathy. If I was to guess, I’d say that Christians have historically known what it means to proclaim the truth about God, what He expects of us, and what He has done to rescue us. However, grace is a concept that has often befuddled people, both religious and irreligious.

I remember being taught in Sunday School that grace means “unmerited favor.” Sounds pretty good, but what does that look like? Of course, the chief example of grace from the Bible is God’s far-reaching love for those who have rejected Him, even to the point of being willing to come as a human and die for their sins. Again, this helps to fill out what we’re talking about when we use the word grace, but what does it look for us to show grace to others? After all, I cannot die for the sins of my neighbor, and they certainly cannot die for mine.

I think for starters we have to consider ways we can follow Christ’s example, such as the way He warmly embraced and unconditionally loved those who were considered spiritually and morally inferior. Jesus showed acceptance for people of every political stripe. For example, among His twelve closest companions was a former tax collector employed by the Roman Empire (Matthew) and a member of the Zealots (Simon), a group committed to dismantling Roman rule through guerilla warfare.

Jesus’ radical love for social outcasts even earned him the nickname “Friend of tax collectors and sinners,” a label the religious elite intended as an insult. At the same time, Jesus never downplayed the significance of repentance, costly discipleship, and the need to commit ourselves wholly to Him as both Savior and Lord. He called people to leave their sin behind, even while He embraced them in their sin.

A distinguishing feature of grace is not merely to show love toward those who don’t deserve it, but especially to show unconditional love and forgiveness toward those who have wronged you. Grace doesn’t hold a grudge in silence or seek to get even openly. Instead, it is the third option of accepting the one you would more naturally be inclined to disdain.

Both truth and grace are essential, but if I had to guess, Christians today are known less for their gracious attitudes than their willingness to stand for the truth. Many who have recognized this deficit have made the equally egregious error of sacrificing biblical truth on the altar of good public relations. However, I believe there is a far better way to show the world both of these necessary, Christ-like qualities.

One recent example I read about involves American pastor Tim Keller. Keller is known for his remarkable ability to communicate the relevance and beauty of Christianity within a secular culture. In 2017, Keller was given the highly esteemed Kuyper Prize at the Abraham Kuyper Center for Public Theology at Princeton Theological Seminary – that is, until it was abruptly taken away. Keller was well-deserving of the award for his leadership and ministry. In fact, he was even named among Fortune magazine’s “World’s 50 Greatest Leaders” in 2018.[1] Nevertheless, when word got out that Keller would be the recipient of the Kuyper Prize, several students and faculty objected that Keller was unfit to receive the award, citing his conservative views on marriage, sex, and women’s ordination.

The incredible thing is that while the award was taken away, the Kuyper Center asked Keller if he would still be willing to speak at the conference where the Kuyper Prize would be given to someone else. Instead of harboring resentment, Keller gladly accepted the offer.

Whatever your opinion of Keller’s convictions, no one could deny that Keller exhibited remarkable humility in doing this. Because of Keller’s trademark graciousness, many spoke out in his defense. In an op-ed piece, Katherine Alsdorf, the co-founder of New York’s Center for Faith and Work, even had this to say about Keller:

“We partnered in the establishment of the Center for Faith and Work, which may have done as much as any church in decades to honor Abraham Kuyper’s vision of humble, respectful engagement in a world of many faith perspectives. His teaching combines a deep confidence that the gospel can change everything from our hearts, making us more humble and generous, to the institutions and society around us. While he would never have sought a “Kuyper award,” I can’t imagine anyone more worthy of it. Like some of the women who have objected and instigated the withdrawal of this award by Princeton Theological Seminary, I do not share Tim’s complementarian views. However, I am deeply saddened by the tone of these objections, more so by the final effect.”[2]

What I love about this is that Keller’s response allowed him to have a far greater impact on his detractors than any act of retaliation would have. There are many times when it is easy for us to want to tear down our opponents for some scathing remark made about us. But how much more effective – and more importantly, how much more like Jesus – it is to “turn the other cheek.” To allow ourselves to be insulted, if only that will mean we can have an opportunity to put both grace and truth on display. Because in doing this, we will be putting Jesus on display.

Feel free to comment below. I’d love to hear your thoughts!

[1] Fortune Editors, “The World’s 50 Greatest Leaders,” Fortune, April 19, 2018, http://fortune.com/longform/worlds-greatest-leaders-2018/.

[2] Katherine Leary Alsdorf, “OpEd: Tim Keller Hired Women in Leadership,” Journey Through NYC Religions, March 29, 2017, www.nycreligion.info/oped-tim-keller-put-charge-train-men-women-leadership/.

Our Anthem Is Hope

On By Jason SmithIn DevotionalLeave a comment

By Jason Smith

“And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out His love into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, whom He has given us.” (Romans 5:5, BSB)

Hope is something our world desperately needs right now. Widespread suffering and bleak economic projections have left people feeling lost and disoriented. Many feel caught in the perpetual cycle of hearing messages of gloom and doom.

Into this dreary darkness, God wants to shine a ray of hope. I love the chorus of a Switchfoot song that goes, “My heartbeat, my oxygen. My banner, my home. My future, my song. Your hope is the anthem of my soul.” Now, perhaps more than ever, Christians must recognize our anthem really is hope.

The beauty of Christianity is that it heralds a message of spectacularly good news especially for dark and dismal times like the present. The message of Jesus Christ carries a hope that nothing in this world can snuff out. What makes it so unstoppable is that it’s a hope that shines all the brighter as the world looks darker. It’s a message for this world precisely because it is a message that transcends this world. It stands above even a global pandemic and urges every person to listen and believe.

This hope found in Jesus does not rest on the success of political campaigns or how quickly a coronavirus vaccine is discovered – which I pray is very soon. The Bible calls this hope “an anchor for the soul, firm and secure” (Hebrews 6:19, NIV), something strong enough to weather even the fiercest storms. In Scripture, hope is something solid and sure – not a whimsical and flimsy pipe dream. Our “hope of eternal life” will never let us down because the “God who cannot lie” promised this “before time began” (Titus 1:2, BSB). We say things like “I hope it won’t rain on Saturday” or “I hope our team makes the Super Bowl,” but such hopes often ring hollow and really belong to the category of wishful thinking. The Christian hope, on the other hand, “does not disappoint us” (Romans 5:5, BSB).

So what is the Christian hope? Many have supposed that Christianity is about God rewarding the faithful. In other words, Jesus came to save the good, moral, and godly among us. What else could they think? After all, aren’t Christians engaged in a culture war eager to impose a biblical morality on the rest of society? I’ve spoken to many who see it that way.

But… what if Christianity’s message is filled with hope and joy, not because it’s first and foremost about moral reform, but about redemption in Christ. The reason I say it’s not about Jesus saving “the good, moral, and godly” is because the Bible itself says, “For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly” (Romans 5:6). Read it again. Jesus died for the “ungodly” – the immoral, the vile, the perverted.

Does that offend you? Well, it could be that you’ve missed the fact that, according to genuine Christianity, no one is saved except “by grace” (Ephesians 2:8). Grace is a biblical term that means “God’s infinite love to the infinitely undeserving.” The reality is that every last one of us has inherited the brokenness of our first father, Adam. “Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned” (Romans 5:12).

As a human race, we essentially told God to shove off, thinking we could become gods apart from Him. Because of our sinful nature, we all come into this world separated from God and justly condemned. We have all gone wrong, which is why our greatest need is to be reconciled to God and somehow put in the right. But “the wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23). God’s moral standard cannot change. “The soul that sins shall die” (Ezekiel 18:20). God loves us dearly, but if He failed to punish our sin, this would lead to the moral order of the universe crumbling to a heap. Justice would be out the window forever. So what is God to do?

There is only one way God could save us while remaining perfectly just. He Himself would have to come and bear the punishment for our sin in our place. This is where the hope of the gospel glows with the brightness of heaven itself. You can probably think of someone you’d be willing to die for. But can you imagine dying for your enemy – for someone who has offended you, insulted you, and devalued you incessantly? Because that’s what Jesus did.

“For one will scarcely die for a righteous person – though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die – but God shows His love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since, therefore, we have now been justified by His blood, much more shall we be saved by Him from the wrath of God” (Romans 5:7-9). To be justified is to be “declared righteous” by God because when Jesus hung on the cross, He took your sin and gave you His righteousness.

The truly astonishing thing is that while we were plotting to become gods in our rebellion against God, God became a man in order to rescue us. “For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of His Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by His life” (v. 10).

This is the greatest message of hope our world could ever know. The moment you trust in Jesus Christ and His death for you, you are reconciled to God. From that moment on, “the wrath of God” (v. 9) no longer hangs over your head because you are covered in the grace of God. “Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ” (v. 1)

The Bible says that when you know this peace with God, it changes everything. Your whole world turns upside down… or, rather, right side up. Paradoxically, you can now have tremendous joy in the midst of trials.

“…and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us” (vv. 2b-5).

More than that, ours is a “living hope” because Jesus Christ is alive today. This is why Christians celebrate the resurrection of our Lord every Easter. His defeat of death signals to the whole world that the suffering of this world has an expiration date.

Do you see why this is the message of hope the world most needs? Whereas other hopes are dashed on the rocks of adversity, here is a hope that actually is strengthened by suffering. It’s a hope that God is offering you right now, because “Christ died for the ungodly” (v. 6). No matter how badly life looks, the Christian can always have this confidence: Our anthem is hope.

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God Cannot Be Mocked

On By Jason SmithIn Devotional, Theology for LifeLeave a comment

By Jason Smith

I remember like it was yesterday the drive back from the coast with two of my long-time buddies, Andy and Daniel. We were seniors in high school, and we had just completed our annual trip to Lincoln City, Oregon. As we rounded the bend of the highway, the Toyota Camry I was driving suddenly lurched and sputtered. Very quickly, I realized the gas pedal was no longer responding and we rolled to an undignified stop on the highway’s shoulder.

Gulp! I told the guys I didn’t know what went wrong, but very quickly the truth began to dawn on me. The fact is, I had been putting off an oil change for several weeks now. And, as it turns out, car engines really do need oil to run well. In fact, as any mechanic will tell you, it’s a simple matter of physics: without lubrication, the metal parts of your engine are bound to overheat. And when they overheat, they begin to warp and wear down.

Because of my automotive negligence, not only did I have a hearty portion of embarrassment to swallow, but I also needed to come up with the cash for a new car.

Simply put, some things are bound to self-destruct if you don’t operate them according to their intended use. If you doubt this, just try using your smartphone as a wheel chock. This is not just true of the physical realm but the spiritual realm, too. God designed your soul for a relationship with Him. Just as cars cannot run without gasoline, human beings are dependent on the life that comes from God.

When we try to do life apart from God, we are bound to self-destruct. And yet, according to the Bible, many people don’t live as if this were true.

In Galatians 6:7-8, the Apostle Paul warns, “Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. Whoever sows to please their flesh, from the flesh will reap destruction; whoever sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life.”

Paul says, “Don’t be fooled about this,” because, honestly, a lot of us are. In fact, on our own, we all tend to fall for this lie. What lie? That God can be mocked without repercussions. Every single one of us has, at one time or another, believed that we can actually outsmart God. Don’t believe me?

Every time we knowingly disobey God, we are essentially saying to God, “I would make a better god than you.” The essence of sin is making a bid for the throne of the universe. To disregard God’s law is to choose self-sovereignty rather than live under His perfect rule.

Here’s the problem: Going down this road of self-rule never ends well. There is an unalterable law of reality that you will reap what you sow. And God created us to live under His rule, not our own. Paul says, “Don’t be deceived about this one, guys.” You can be wrong about the weather, who will win American Idol, or most of the questions on Jeopardy! But don’t be wrong about this.

One of the most popular falsehoods of our time is this idea that I can do whatever I want without ever being held accountable for my actions. But Scripture everywhere denies this.

“God will repay each person according to what they have done. To those who by persistence in doing good seek glory, honor, and immortality, He will give eternal life. But for those who are self-seeking and who reject the truth and follow evil, there will be wrath and anger.” (Romans 2:6-8, NIV).

God is immeasurably merciful and patient, but this remains God’s universe. Not ours.

“In the past God overlooked such ignorance, but now He commands all people everywhere to repent. For He has set a day when He will judge the world with justice by the man He has appointed. He has given proof of this to everyone by raising Him from the dead.” (Acts 17:30-31, NIV).

Notice: God will judge the world, but He will do so with perfect “justice.” No one will be able to say on that day, “But I didn’t know” or “This isn’t fair.” We will all know God to be the perfectly just Judge that He is.

Let this truth be emblazoned across your heart: God cannot be mocked. If you think you can fool God, you’re only fooling yourself.

The mighty Goliath tried to test this truth when he taunted the armies of the living God (1 Samuel 17). How did that work out for him? He’s forever remembered for being slain by a young shepherd boy without any real military training. Herod encouraged people to worship him as a god. How did he fare? “Immediately, because Herod did not give praise to God, an angel of the Lord struck him down, and he was eaten by worms and died” (Acts 12:23). Yikes! I don’t care who you are, that’s got to be one of the worst ways to go! Throughout Scripture, this same truth is repeated: You and I will reap what we sow.

What does it mean to “sow to please your flesh” (v. 8)?

John Stott writes: “Every time we allow our mind to harbor a grudge, nurse a grievance, entertain an impure fantasy, or wallow in self-pity, we are sowing to the flesh. Every time we linger in bad company whose insidious influence we know we cannot resist, every time we lie in bed when we ought to be up and praying, every time we read pornographic literature, every time we take a risk which strains our self-control, we are sowing, sowing, sowing to the flesh. Some Christians sow to the flesh every day and wonder why they do not reap holiness. Holiness is a harvest; whether we reap it or not depends almost entirely on what and where we sow.”[1]

We may think all our sowing to the flesh won’t have consequences. We may rationalize and downplay the seriousness of the secret sins we harbor. Eventually, however, what we have sown will come to full bloom. If you take the elephant across the old wooden footbridge too many times, eventually it will collapse.

Thankfully, the Bible doesn’t just leave us with this hard truth. If it did, karma, not the gospel, would be the final rule of the universe. We would forever see God in heaven, frowning down on us with arms crossed, saying, “Well, you had it coming.”

But the gospel of Jesus Christ points us the way to find a new life and a new beginning. We don’t need to stay locked up by the shame of our past. The point of this warning about mocking God is to lead us to the foot of the cross at Calvary, where God’s love poured out for rebels like you and me. When Christ shed His blood on the cross, He was in fact reaping what we have sown. This was only possible because of grace. He died in our place and suffered the consequences we justly deserved.

Hear this promise: “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:8). To confess means to get honest before God, humbly prepared to live in a new direction.

Because of Christ’s cross, God does not rule as some kind of karmic dictator. Instead, He reigns in grace, inviting everyone who has arrogantly tried to take His throne to kneel humbly before His throne (Hebrews 4:16).

[1] John R. W. Stott, The Message of Galatians: Only One Way, The Bible Speaks Today (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity, 1968), 170.

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A Lesson in Humility from My 3-Year-Old

On By Jason SmithIn DevotionalLeave a comment

By Jason Smith

“Humble yourselves before the Lord, and He will exalt you.” (James 4:10)

My family recently returned from a trip to Fresno, California, to see relatives. It can be a roughly 12-hour drive from there to Salem. However, as you can imagine, the journey is a bit delayed when you have a one-year-old (Weston) and a three-year-old (Logan) accompanying you. They actually both took a couple naps going both directions, which made things go a little smoother. But, alas, even I was asking, “Are we there yet?” by the 15th hour on the road.

After pulling into our driveway at zero dark thirty, the first thing Whitney and I noted when stepping into our house was how chilly it felt. We soon realized that our furnace was not working, and, perhaps, had not been working for close to a week. My first thought was: I can do this. I’ve fixed things like this before. I hoped this would be a quick fix, but unfortunately, I had to call it quits when I could not figure it out after an hour of fruitless effort. I had to go to work the next morning, so I decided to try my hand at fixing it that evening as soon as I got home. When nothing I tried seemed to be panning out, I turned to YouTube, the fount of DIY (Do-It-Yourself) wisdom.

Sadly, I kept bumping into one disappointment after another. Just when I thought I’d solved the problem, something else turned out to be the “real” issue. The more things I tried and failed, the more I read up on what can cause furnace malfunctions. By the end of the weekend, I felt like I knew every nook and cranny of my furnace, something I’d hardly looked at in the two and a half years we’ve lived in our home. The worst part is, despite the plethora of knowledge I had acquired on home furnaces, I still had not fixed it, and our home was beginning to feel more like an igloo.

I decided now was probably a good time to reach out for help. I called up two family members who are more mechanically inclined, one of which was my father-in-law. Rob, who my sons call “Pappy,” gladly agreed to stop by. Before he arrived, my three-year-old, Logan, came into the garage to watch me struggle for a few minutes more.

“Dad,” he said, in his sweetly matter-of-fact tone, “I think you should just stop and let Pappy fix it.”

Out of the mouths of babes. Ah, yes, it was plain to even my young son that I did not have the mechanical skillset requisite to finish the job. It is a humbling thing to ask for help and admit you do not know as much as you thought you knew.

I cannot help observing that a similar thing can happen in our approach to knowing God. How many different views on God are out there? How many different opinions on Jesus Christ are floating around in our culture alone? There is an in-built tendency for all of us to think we have things figured out, as if we intuitively know what God approves of and what our purpose in life is.

But we are mere humans. We cannot fathom the depths of God’s mind. It is a marvel that He has mercifully revealed anything to us.

The Apostle Paul exulted in God’s greatness:

“Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and how inscrutable His ways! ‘For who has known the mind of the Lord, or who has been His counselor?’ ‘Or who has given a gift to Him that He might be repaid?’ For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be glory forever. Amen.” (Romans 11:33-36)

The only right posture in approaching a holy God of this magnitude is humble submission.

“But He gives more grace. Therefore it says, ‘God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.’ Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Be wretched and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and He will exalt you” (James 4:6-10).

God is eager to shower us with grace and cancel our guilt. The question we all should be asking is: Do I see my need for grace? “Don’t think you are better than you really are. Be honest in your evaluation of yourselves” (Romans 12:3a, NLT). That is why God, after surveying all the wonders of the heavens, says, “All these things My hand has made, and so all these things came to be… But this is the one to whom I will look: he who is humble and contrite in spirit and trembles at my word” (Isaiah 66:2).

Is that how you approach God’s holy and perfect Word? Do you tremble at what it means that God has spoken to you? When you turn to a passage in the Bible, do you understand that you are about to encounter the Creator of the universe? Have you seen how desperately you need to hear from Him? And have you recognized just how shallow your wisdom is apart from Him?

Take the gospel for example. No mere human could have devised a plan where God’s holy and beloved Son ends up staked to a cross in order to accomplish our redemption. That is why “Christ crucified” is “a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles” (1 Corinthians 1:23). “For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe” (v. 21).

As it turns out, we do not have everything figured out. And we don’t know as much as we think we know. Certainly, we should turn to “God-breathed” Scripture for the divine wisdom we all need (2 Timothy 3:16). But let’s resolve to approach the Bible with the posture of humility, acknowledging the infinite gap existing between our relatively puny minds and the mind of our all-knowing God. And let’s thank Him for loving us enough to speak to us.

What Is God Like?

On By Jason SmithIn Theology for Life2 Comments

By Jason Smith

“‘To whom then will you liken Me that I would be his equal?’ says the Holy One” (Isaiah 40:25).

beautiful-sunrise-banjarmasin-1492545578 - Rose Barraza

Theologian A. W. Tozer once said, “What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us.” That is a thought-provoking statement, isn’t it? There seems to be a whole world of ideas resting on Tozer’s conclusion. He went on to say, “For this reason the gravest question before the Church is always God Himself, and the most portentous fact about any man is not what he at a given time may say or do, but what he in his deep heart conceives God to be like. We tend by a secret law of the soul to move toward our mental image of God.” [1]

In other words, our view of God will always influence what we, His image-bearers, aspire to be — whether we are aware of it or not. How we answer the single question “What is God like?” tells us a great deal about ourselves. As many have put it, we become like what we worship.

So what is your view of God? Is He stern and demanding? Is He persistently jovial like Santa Claus? Is He loving? Is He distant? Is He everywhere but still hard to find? Is He even real? Is He disappointed all the time? Or what about this one: is He so incredibly compassionate that He is willing to suffer with you and even die for you? I wonder how you might answer any one of these questions. When you stop to think about it, to ask such questions is to put your finger on the most fundamental issue of life. What is God like? What could possibly be a more important question to consider? The purpose of the entire universe hinges on God’s existence, nature, and character.

In the Beginning

The Gospel of John begins with this astounding claim about Jesus of Nazareth: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him was not anything made that was made” (John 1:1-3). Then John tells us that this Word who “was God” did something we struggle to even wrap our minds around. “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen His glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth” (v. 14). The unseen Creator (v. 3) and Son of God (v. 14) made Himself visible to the world.

At this point, our minds, hungry for answers, begin to bump up against their limits. How does the infinite, all-powerful God of perfect majesty become a helpless and tiny human baby, completely dependent on His young mother? John does not say the Word ceased being the infinite God; instead, He added humanity to His divinity. In this way, the God of the universe made Himself approachable, tangible, and truly knowable. To the average Joe, this Word-made-flesh would have looked so ordinary. He did not hover above the ground everywhere He went. His face did not emit a paranormal glow. And He certainly wasn’t ensconced in an effervescent cloud everywhere He traveled. Instead, this God-man not only appeared every bit as human as you and me, He actually was.

In verse 17, John elaborates: “For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.” The great deliverer Moses revealed certain things about who God is, through the law. The law expressed God’s goodness, justice, and holiness. It also expressed His compassion. When Moses brazenly pled with God to show him His glory, God rejected his request — at least partially (Exodus 33:18-20). Essentially, God told him, “I can’t do that, Moses. You’d die if you came into contact with the fullness of My glory.”

Yahweh, Yahweh

Therefore, God revealed Himself to Moses in a different way, by pairing His eternal Name “Yahweh”[2] (which He first revealed to Moses back in Exodus 3) with a description of His character. God took Moses up onto a mountain and “covered” him with His hand while the full radiance of His divine being passed by. The quivering Moses would only be allowed to witness the tail end of God’s glory so that he could live another day. But in that mountaintop experience God Himself proclaimed to Moses — and, by extension, to us — what He is like.

“Yahweh, Yahweh, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, but who will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children and the children’s children, to the third and fourth generation” (Exodus 34:6-7).

Here, in the law (or Torah), God’s perfect character is revealed. Yahweh tells us He is merciful, gracious, slow to anger, abounding in steadfast love, faithful, and forgiving. Yet, here is where we meet one of Scripture’s classic paradoxes. Right after saying He is both ready and eager to forgive sin, God tells us He “will by no means clear the guilty” (v. 7). How are we to make sense of this? Doesn’t a willingness to forgive imply a willingness to clear the guilty? No, and here we see the coming together of two fundamental truths about God. He is more gracious, loving, and forgiving than we could ever dare to imagine. However, He is simultaneously more just, holy, and pure than we ever thought possible. So where does this leave us? How do we solve this apparent enigma?

Scripture repeatedly affirms that we have a big problem, and that is our sin. The Bible tells us “there is no one who does not sin” (1 Kings 8:46). Although we are prone to think of ourselves as good people (Proverbs 20:6), God knows our hearts. And His verdict is clear: “If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us” (1 John 1:8). When we consider all this, there seems to be one disturbing conclusion: we are the guilty of Exodus 34:7. Therefore, we each have much at stake in understanding how God can be both forgiving and just.

Grace and Truth

Jumping back to the first chapter of John’s Gospel, let’s see that statement in verse 17 once again. “For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.” Now think about this. Grace and truth are really the twin concepts above that we are trying to reconcile. God is supremely gracious by nature and eager to forgive sin. On the other hand, if even a human judge decided to let a serial killer go free because he showed himself sufficiently sorry, you would not accept that. You would not call such a judge extraordinarily forgiving; you would call him corrupt. Why? Because to let the murderer go would be unjust.

Similarly, overlooking sin would be unjust because it would be treating the serious crime of rebellion against the King of Heaven as a minor infraction, which it is not. It would not be in keeping with the truth. John is telling us that grace and truth are fully realized, revealed, and reconciled in Jesus Christ alone. In a sense, the paradox of God’s statement about His own character in Exodus 34 has been hanging in tension all through Scripture — that is, until the arrival of Jesus.

In Jesus, God’s character is embodied and illuminated with vivid and vibrant colors in high definition. “No one has ever seen God; the only God, who is at the Father’s side, He has made Him known” (John 1:18). In the original Greek, it actually says that Jesus has exegeted or fully explained God. That is, in Jesus we see what God is really like. That is why Jesus can later refer to Himself as “I Am” (Yahweh) (8:58) and even tell His disciples, “Whoever has seen me has seen the Father” (14:9).

Look at Jesus

But again, how can God both forgive sin and not overlook sin? How can grace and truth be reconciled? When Jesus first began His earthly ministry, John the Baptist heralded Him as “the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” (1:29). With that statement, John pointed ahead to the cross, where Jesus, like a sacrificial lamb, would lay down His life for the world. 700 years before Christ’s crucifixion, the prophet Isaiah wrote:

“But He was pierced for our transgressions;
He was crushed for our iniquities;
upon Him was the chastisement that brought us peace,
and with His wounds we are healed.” (Isaiah 53:5)

We can be forgiven of our sin, but only if we believe in the One who bore our sin for us and was punished in our stead. That is why God’s character is never more vividly portrayed for all the world to see than in the cross of Jesus Christ, where both His astounding love and His perfect justice are on full display. As the psalter so beautifully writes, “Lovingkindess and truth have met together; Righteousness and peace have kissed each other” (Psalm 85:10). Scripture says that when we place all our trust in Christ’s sacrificial death and victorious resurrection, we are forgiven, cleared of all guilt, and found righteous in Christ (Romans 10:9-10; 2 Corinthians 5:21; Galatians 2:16).

So how do we know what God is like? Look at Jesus. More specifically, look at Jesus on the cross. There, on Calvary, with hands outstretched to embrace a world that has rejected Him, we see what God is like.

Photo credit: Rose Barraza

[1] A. W. Tozer, The Knowledge of the Holy (Zeeland, MI: Reformed Church Publications, 2017), 1.

[2] In most English translations, the Hebrew name of God, “Yahweh,” is translated simply as “the LORD” (all caps), but a closer translation is more like “I Am” or “He Is.” In other words, Yahweh is the self-existent, eternal, and personally present Creator.