Tag: Jesus Christ

Walk by the Spirit

On By Jason SmithIn Devotional1 Comment

Sin is always selfish. We may find ways to justify it, rationalize it, and make excuses for it. But in the end, sin is always about serving the self; it puts self in the place of God by determining what is good, right, and true. When we indulge in fleshly cravings, we are foolishly pretending God doesn’t notice or care. In those moments, we are practical atheists.

“[The wicked] says to himself, ‘God will never notice; he covers his face and never sees’” (Psalm 10:11, NIV). The wicked do this because they lack a healthy and godly fear of the Lord. “The fear of the LORD is clean, enduring forever” (Psalm 19:9).

On the other hand, those who desire to please the Lord have run the numbers and realized that eternity lasts a lot longer than this brief life, and that one day they will have to give an account of how they lived.

The Christian trusts in Jesus for salvation, recognizing it is only God’s grace that can save his soul from destruction. But even the Christian will be called to give an account. This is why the ministry of the Holy Spirit is essential. He convicts us of sin, gives us a hunger for righteousness, and stirs us up with reminders that we were made for God, and we will spend eternity bathed in His awesome and holy presence.

The follower of Jesus should never shrink back at the thought of meeting God face to face. In fact, it is the thought of that Day drawing ever nearer that motivates our life and witness.

“Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when Christ appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. All who have this hope in him purify themselves, just as he is pure.” (1 John 3:2-3, NIV)

In light of our soon encounter with Jesus Christ—when we peer into His holy and merciful eyes—how ought we to live? What should consume our thoughts? What should we be pursuing each day?

Will we make our lives count?

Sin is always selfish, because it ultimately is not concerned with how it hurts, devalues, and betrays others. This is why watching pornography is so destructive. It lacks all concern for the eternal welfare of those who are flaunting their naked bodies before a camera. It erodes all trust in your real relationships with others, because your view of others is inevitably warped. Pornography objectifies others and treats them as commodities rather than immortal beings who are destined for either Heaven or Hell. Most egregiously, it adopts a mindset that devalues God by ignoring His design for human sexuality and flourishing.

Don’t play games with what you put before your eyes. Jesus said the eye is the lamp of the body, that letting darkness in through the eyes will fill your body with darkness. What passes through your eyes directly affects your mind, heart, and soul.

“But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh” (Galatians 5:16, ESV). If you have been caught in the spiraling trap of sexual sin, pornography, and adultery, your only hope is to come to Jesus Christ. Find new and abundant life in Him, be filled with His Holy Spirit, and as you do that, you will live in a new direction.

What you most need is for the Holy Spirit to take the lead in your life. “If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit” (Galatians 5:23, ESV).

We were made to love, not to sin. Whenever we shunt aside God’s Word and what He has called us to, we are acting in the flesh and resisting the work of the Holy Spirit. For a time, there may be the passing pleasure of sin, but in the end, it will gut you, leaving you spiritually empty and emotionally exhausted.

Yielding to the Holy Spirit takes practice. It’s not something tried once and then forgotten. It’s a daily attitude and practice of yielding to His lead, humbly confessing your inability to have victory without His power, and committing to keep in step with the Spirit by God’s grace.

And there is grace enough for you. Don’t imagine for one moment that there is no hope for you. God’s grace is deeper than the ocean, His Spirit more powerful than a whirlwind. None of us gets into Heaven on our own merits. None of us earns a right standing with God by our personal holiness or righteous deeds. We all enter the kingdom of God through humble trust and reliance on the completed work of Jesus Christ, when He was crucified in our place for the sins we committed.

When we put our flesh on the cross with Jesus, we begin to have victory.

“And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires” (Galatians 5:24).

Jesus didn’t stay dead. Because He left behind an empty tomb, we can leave behind our old, fleshly passions and desires.

Those who claim God’s grace so that they can go back to sinning freely don’t realize that it is the grace of God which cleanses us from our sin so that we can belong to Jesus Christ. Carefully consider the implication of these words:

“For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age, waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works.” (Titus 2:11-14, ESV)

This is the greatest news imaginable. The follower of Jesus has available to him the infinite power of a God who not only indwells him but is passionately committed to his holiness.

Jesus didn’t die as a quick-fix for your guilt problem so that you can go back to your old lifestyle. He gave Himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness so that we can now walk in the power of the Holy Spirit in newness of life. Don’t take this for granted. Don’t treat Jesus’ blood as something cheap.

How do I know I’m walking by the Spirit? Compare your life to the fruit of the Spirit.

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.” (Galatians 5:22-23, ESV)

Do you see these traits increasingly showing up in your life? Have others noticed a change in your character and habits? Are you being formed in the image of Christ? Are you hungering for more of this in your life?

When we walk by the Spirit, we live a supernatural life of love. This is the kind of kingdom-oriented life every follower of Jesus is called to live. We are to open our hearts and minds to the Spirit’s leading, expecting Him to move into our innermost thoughts and cleanse us from that which dishonors and defiles.

Make this bold prayer the heartbeat of your life:

“Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.” (Psalm 139:24, NIV)

I pray this encourages you. If you have any thoughts or questions about any of this, I would love to hear from you!

Suicide and the Serious Business of Heaven

On By Jason SmithIn Theology for Life, Why I Believe3 Comments 
“These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.” (John 15:11, ESV)

Jesus wants us to experience joy. The Bible is all about finding joy from the true Fountain of Joy. It’s not about faking a smile so that everyone thinks you’re okay. The Bible emphasizes the kind of joy that wells up from deep within, because we have found the reason for our existence.

God did not make us to live as bored and miserable creatures. Every one of us longs to experience a meaningful life. Deep down, we know that we were not made for a dreary, barren existence. We were made for a bigger joy than anything this world can give us. Our hearts are deeper than we know. Only God Himself is big enough to fill them with lasting joy.

C. S. Lewis said, “Joy is the serious business of Heaven.”[1] Where you find joy says everything about you. In fact, I think it’s one of the clearest ways to know if you are a genuine follower of Jesus. Because if you are, then you have the Holy Spirit living inside you, and the Holy Spirit changes everything He touches. He brings warmth and life to what is otherwise cold and dead. He is the Source of true joy. Just like a branch draws sap from the trunk, we receive life-giving joy from the Spirit who dwells inside us.

Just think about this. Does it make sense to have the Fountain of everlasting joy live inside you, yet always be gloomy and miserable? Certainly, Christians get sad, too. But the true Christian still has the wellspring of everlasting joy living within, and that will buoy them when nothing else can.

Running on Empty

Our society today demonstrates that material possessions and economic wealth cannot make us happy. In the United States, we are one of the wealthiest countries in the world—not only today, but in all of history—and yet we are also one of the most anxious and depressed nations in the world. Advertisements today promise us happiness through purchasing a certain product, such as a car, or taking a vacation. And we have bought the lies that leave us empty.

Sociologists tell us that suicidal ideation is at an all-time high today—even higher than during the Great Depression of the 1930s. In the next hour, more than five Americans will take their own life. By the end of the day, that number will reach roughly 130 people. In the course of 2024, an estimated 47,000 people will have committed suicide. These numbers should astonish us, but it’s impossible to calculate the amount of pain caused by even a single suicide.

Many people today pay little attention to the Bible. Frankly, they don’t care what a bunch of Jews wrote two thousand years ago. And yet, this book claims to offer the joy that our world is desperately craving.

“These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.” (John 15:11, ESV)

The same Holy Spirit that indwelled Jesus and indwelled the Apostles indwells His followers today. The Holy Spirit closes the gap so that everything in our Bibles is relevant to us today, because the deep truths they talked about 2,000 years ago remain true for us today. Jesus is just as relevant.

People were sinners in need of a Savior back then, and people are sinners in need of a Savior today. People were hurting, miserable, and lacking joy back then, and people today are hurting, miserable, and lost.

Why Do People Commit Suicide?

Dr. Matthew Sleeth is a medical doctor who saw countless patients in the emergency room who had attempted to take their own life. Dr. Sleeth is now a follower of Jesus, but for most of his medical career, he was an atheist. During that time, he observed the protective effect of belief in a personal God when it comes to suicide.

In his book Hope Always, Dr. Sleeth notes how suicide doesn’t really fit with the theory of evolution, a theory that teaches all of life owes its existence to the principle of survival of the fittest. In fact, in study after study, it’s been shown that suicide is unknown in the animal kingdom. So, the question is: Why do we commit suicide?

Dr. Sleeth writes:

“…for most of my medical career, I was an atheist. Nonetheless, in the course of seeing some thirty thousand patients, I couldn’t help but notice the positive role faith played in my patients’ ability to cope and recover from both mental and physical illness. In fact, faith seemed to be the crucial factor in most of those who successfully recovered from long-term addictions.”[2]

If we were made for God and joy really is the serious business of Heaven, then it makes sense that a wholesale rejection of God—as we are seeing in our culture today—will lead to tragic increases in anxiety, depression, and suicidal ideation.

He adds, “God helps when it comes to suicide. It’s a fact. Yet the current sixty-one-page report published by the CDC on suicide expunges God and faith from the discussion of suicide and depression.”[3]

 Jesus alone can give you the joy your soul is craving.

His joy can be in you today, in 2024, because Jesus is alive today. That’s what the story of Easter is all about. He defeated all our enemies—sin, death, and the devil—so that we can be restored to union with Him that we were made for.

In other words, you can’t be united to Jesus by faith and not have joy. Joy is a fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22). That doesn’t mean every day is easy and filled with laughter for the follower of Christ. But it does mean that from the bottom of your soul, you can know that friendship with Jesus is the only way to true joy. And it means you can have the confidence that Jesus is greater and more satisfying than anything this world has to offer.

No career will give you this kind of joy. No house or car will give you this joy. No relationship or marriage—no matter how amazing it might be—can possibly give you what Jesus can give you. That’s because He offers a supernatural joy. Again, this was Jesus’ promise for His disciples, and that includes us today:

“These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.” (John 15:11, ESV)

The Extraordinary Life of Following Jesus

As our friend, Jesus is giving us another motivation to follow Him. The life of discipleship is the context for the above statement. He is saying we’ll know deep joy if we abide (or make our home) in Him. This is not how the world thinks. The world thinks that if we turn from what the Bible calls “sin” and start following Christ, then our life will seem so dull and restrictive. But the truth is the very opposite: Living as Christ’s disciple is liberating and invigorating. I get to walk hand-in-hand with the Creator of the stars! He wants to talk with me from His Word, guide me by His ever-present Spirit, and hear from me. He treasures me more than the birds of the sky or the flowers of the field. And I am His. What could possibly be better than this?

“You have turned for me my mourning into dancing;
You have loosed my sackcloth
and clothed me with gladness.” (Psalm 30:11, ESV)

Living in sin might be pleasurable for a season, but it will actually choke out all sense of joy. In the end, sin is always a joy-killer, not a joy-giver. Because sin always disrupts good and right fellowship with our Lord. And He is the One that can fill us with joy.

I can say I used to think like the world about this. When I was in high school, I simply thought of obeying Jesus as “the right thing to do” and there were even times I resented the fact that, as a Christian, I didn’t get to have all the so-called “fun” that other teenagers were having. And though I wouldn’t have said it, I sometimes even felt a little deprived. But today I see things far better. I recognize how nothing can compete with the joy of knowing Jesus.

It’s not what you’d expect, but there is deep and profound joy in surrendering every part of your life to Christ.

Because when you consciously give yourself to Jesus, you experience more of His love, His goodness. There’s freedom in knowing your sins are forgiven, and you can gladly say, “Not my will, but Your will be done in my life.”

And what’s the alternative? Do you really want to look to yourself to be the one manufacturing all your joy? Do you really want to carry every burden in life on your own shoulders? How much better to let Jesus lift all your burdens and listen to Him. Because His Word has greater wisdom than this world can offer.

The Joy of Your Salvation

For a time, King David thought he could find joy outside of God. He looked for it in the arms of a beautiful woman named Bathsheba. But though he had pleasure for a night, that adultery led to the sin of lying, which led to the sin of murder. And then even more deception. And as his heart hardened into concrete, all the joy was sapped out of him. In Psalm 51, he talks about how he was a tormented soul; his own guilt was crushing him.

It took a prophet of God to confront him, just like the Word of God confronts us today. And then David, broken as he was, poured out his heart to God:

“Have mercy on me, O God,
    according to your steadfast love.” (Psalm 51:1-2, ESV)

God responded to his repentance by lifting his weight of guilt. And then David could pray:

“Restore to me the joy of your salvation,
    and uphold me with a willing spirit.” (Psalm 51:12, ESV)

Forgiveness was no longer an abstract idea for David. He had experienced it on a level he never knew possible. He was washed completely clean, and then he once again knew the sheer joy of being loved and known and cherished by God. What a gift! He didn’t deserve it. But God is abundantly merciful and loves to extend forgiveness to all who cry out to Him just like David did.

It took a humble surrender on David’s part before he experienced the “joy of salvation.” Such is always the case.

You want to know what can steal your joy? Thinking too highly of yourself (see Romans 12:3). Thinking everyone owes you. That you’re always in the right and that everyone else is in the wrong.

Some of the most miserable people in this world are those who have either forgotten or maybe never known how precious it is to walk in true humility. True humility means having no sense of entitlement, no sense of God owing you, but instead having an overwhelming sense of gratitude that God has given you so many extraordinary gifts you simply don’t deserve. True humility comes from learning to delight in God Himself.

Think often of how gracious God has been to you. God has loved you while knowing everything about you. And He loves you more than anyone else ever could or would.

Abiding in Jesus comes from humbly recognizing just how much we need Him in every part of our lives. It’s admitting that if we are in the driver’s seat of our lives, the car always ends up in the ditch. Life is far better when the true King and Captain of your soul is behind the wheel. Because He can give you fullness of joy.

If you have any questions or thoughts about any of this, I would love to hear from you!

[1] C. S. Lewis, Letters to Malcolm: Chiefly on Prayer, 93.

[2] Dr. Matthew Sleeth, Hope Always, 44.

[3] Ibid, 45.

The Danger of Delayed Discipleship

On By Jason SmithIn Devotional, Theology for Life1 Comment

Throughout my life, I can think of several dates when the plans for my day were totally upended. The death of a relative. An unexpected phone call. 9/11. A co-worker tragedy. In most of these examples, when the plan for the day was totally canceled, someone died. Death has a way of intruding into our life, changing plans, and unexpectedly causing shock and grief.

In ancient Israel—as is true for many Jewish people today—the first thing the faithful do is recite the Shema, the confession found in the Torah: “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart…” (Deuteronomy 6:4-5, ESV). The one exception that put all prayers on hold is when your parent died. In that case, burying your father or mother takes precedence over everything, out of reverence for the one who raised you.

This helps us understand a passage in the Gospel of Matthew when a man pledges to follow Jesus after he first buries his father. We expect Jesus to say, “Of course, you must first give your father a proper burial. But then come follow Me!” Instead, Jesus gives this jarring response: “Follow Me, and leave the dead to bury the dead.”[1]

For those who have derived their image of Jesus from the culture, this statement is always puzzling. They picture Jesus as a nice guy who walks around with a lamb on His shoulders and a nice smile, hugging everyone He meets simply because He is so full of niceness (trust me, that’s a word).

Now, don’t get me wrong. Jesus was and is the most loving person to ever grace the planet. But quite often Jesus showed tough love—which is the kind of love that says things we don’t think we need to hear, but desperately do. In the words of 1 Corinthians 13:6, it’s a love that “rejoices in the truth.”

Jesus didn’t always say what sounds “nice” and affirming, but He did always tell us what we need to hear. And in this instance, He was teaching about the danger of delayed discipleship. His point was that no matter what else we may think is urgent and essential, nothing can take priority over following Him. In light of the Bible’s strong emphasis on caring for one’s family, Jesus’ statement here is all the more surprising.

Jesus knows that sometimes people will look for excuses for why they can’t follow Him today. Sometimes, people will use family as an excuse.

To such people, Jesus says:

“Anyone who loves their father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me; anyone who loves their son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me.”[2]

Stop and consider for a moment how insanely self-centered this would sound on the lips of anyone else. Do you still think Jesus was merely a good teacher of moral ideals?

Offensive? Maybe. But necessary for each of us to hear.

At another time, Jesus gave a parable (which is a story meant to illustrate the kingdom of God) about a man who decided to host a great banquet at his house. He sent out invitations to all his close family and friends. “But they all alike began to make excuses.”[3]

Some claimed they were too busy. They had purchased fields or oxen that demanded their care and attention. Another said, “I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come.”[4] Each person seemed to have a good and reasonable excuse. It’s not as though they were all at home playing video games or binge watching Netflix. But they were excuses nonetheless.

Jesus said the master of the house became angry when people rejected his generous offer. After all, he was providing a sumptuous feast, free of charge. Because those who were supposedly closest to him rejected his offer, the master sent his servant to go and “bring in the poor and crippled and blind and lame.”[5] After all, those who had less in life would recognize the generosity of this invitation.

After his dining hall is filled with everyone from “the highways and hedges” far and wide, the great banquet can finally begin. Then, somewhat disdainfully, the master of the house says of those who turned down his invitation, “I tell you, not one of those who were invited will get a taste of my banquet.”[6]

The message is pretty clear. Those who put off Jesus and His invitation into life in the kingdom of God are missing out on the joy He is offering.

To say it again: Nothing is more urgent or important in your life right now than discipleship to Jesus.

We might imagine that while we can’t follow Jesus today, we will certainly square things up with Him later. We might even think it’s better to live for ourselves today so that we will better appreciate grace later. But here’s where people need to take care. Sin has a way of hardening the heart that puts Jesus off. How do you know you aren’t hardening your heart against Jesus today? If you don’t have time for Jesus today, what makes you think you will suddenly have time later in life?

The spiritual sage J. C. Ryle offered this warning:

“Habits of good or evil are daily strengthening in your heart. Every day you are either getting nearer to God, or further off. Every year that you continue unrepentant, the wall of division between you and heaven becomes higher and thicker, and the gulf to be crossed deeper and broader. Oh, dread the hardening effect of constant lingering sin! Now is the accepted time. See that your decision not be put off until the winter of your days.”[7]

In reality, no matter what excuse we might come up with for why we are delaying discipleship to Jesus, that very excuse might be the roadblock that keeps us from ever coming to the party. Beware of excuses in your own heart. Take warning from Jesus’ parable. What a tragedy it would be to miss out on the very thing that gives our lives meaning not only for this life, but for all eternity.

In the words of Jesus, “What good will it be for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul?”[8]

If you have any questions about any of this, I would love to hear from you!

[1] Matthew 8:22, ESV

[2] Matthew 10:37, ESV

[3] Luke 14:18, ESV

[4] V. 20

[5] V. 21

[6] V. 24

[7] J. C. Ryle, Thoughts for Young Men, 16.

[8] Matthew 16:26, ESV

Does Your Soul Thirst for God?

On By Jason SmithIn Devotional1 Comment 
“As the deer pants for streams of water,
    so my soul pants for you, my God.
My soul thirsts for God, for the living God.
    When can I go and meet with God?” (Psalm 42:1-2, NIV)

Like most larger animals in the forest, deer need a lot of water. I was recently watching a nature video that discussed how regularly deer find streams of water throughout each day. During the summer, a 200-pound buck will drink close to 200 ounces of water per day.

I tend to drink a lot of water, but rarely do I drink even 100 ounces of water in one day!

If you have ever watched a deer drink water, you know how they will often step right into the water source, lower their head, and then, with their mouth submerged, begin lapping the water up with the long tongue God gave them. Deer need lots of water because they travel several miles each day.

Knowing how often deer get thirsty informs my reading of Psalm 42, one of my favorite passages in Scripture. Psalm 42 reminds us that when we are feeling empty or spiritually barren, our great need is to come back to the Fountain of Living Water and drink deeply of His loving presence.

As a deer longs for flowing streams,
so I long for you, God.
(Psalm 42:1, CSB)

Do you thirst for God like this? Do you long to experience more of His power and presence in your life? Do you hunger for greater knowledge of His goodness, holiness, and love?

Just as deer cannot survive without drinking copious amounts of water, our souls will shrivel up apart from drinking deeply from the living God. As a deer steps into the streams of water, so we need to be immersed in the Lord’s presence daily if we are to thrive spiritually.

God did not create us for natural self-sufficiency. We were made to long for God. And the fullness of joy we crave is only found in fellowship with our Creator.

Augustine famously said, “Thou hast made us for Thyself, and our hearts are restless until they find their rest in Thee.”

In his book Ten Questions to Diagnose Your Spiritual Health, Donald Whitney describes three kinds of thirsty souls: 1) the empty soul, which is devoid of God and seeking to satisfy his thirst with worldly pursuits; 2) the dry soul, which has known soul-satisfaction in God but is living through a dry spell with little fresh communion with God; and 3) the satisfied soul, which is marked by a continual satisfaction in all that God is for him in Jesus Christ. It’s worth noting that the satisfied soul is still thirsty for more of God. The difference is that the satisfied soul has a joyful longing for more of God, rather than a desperate ache from a place of emptiness or dryness.

I found these categories helpful in understanding my own walk with the Lord and why there have been seasons of spiritual aridness, even after knowing the Lord for many years, and other seasons of vibrant joy in the Lord that seemed impossible to surpass at the time.

The important thing to note is that every soul is thirsty. Again, this is what it means to be made in God’s image and likeness. If you don’t seek the soul-satisfaction that only God can give, you will still try to quench that deep longing, but you will chase after things like sports, entertainment, sex, money, power, and a million other worldly forms of pleasure, hoping that they will fill the void within. But these can never satisfy. Like drinking saltwater, these things will only leave your soul thirstier than ever.

Jesus said that “whoever drinks of the water I shall give him will never thirst” (John 4:14). Because God is an infinite well of joy, only life with Him can truly satisfy the human heart. Even more to the point, Jesus even stood up before a crowd of Jewish people at one of their festivals and said, “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. The one who believes in me, as the Scripture has said, will have streams of living water flow from deep within him” (John 7:37-38, CSB).

Time and time again, I have found Jesus’ words to be absolutely true. In my own life, I have discovered that Jesus of Nazareth is everything He claimed to be, and that He deals gently with sinners and sufferers who come to Him and drink. I love to share my faith in Jesus because He has utterly changed my life and continues to change me. I know what it means to have my sins washed away and have “streams of living water flow from deep within.” The supernatural presence of Jesus is real and on offer to you today. Through personal trust in Him, you can know what life in His kingdom is like. All this is possible because Jesus is not dead. The Jesus I know and love is a living Jesus, and He makes the same offer to you today: “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink.”

So, here’s my encouragement for you. Stop going through the motions. Seek out Jesus through investigating the New Testament for yourself. Speak to Jesus as you would when a friend is in the room with you. Enter into the life Jesus offers today. Don’t think that Netflix, ESPN, or social media can supply you with something that can only be found through abiding in God’s love through Jesus the Messiah. Drink deeply from the water of life that He alone can give you and thank Him for making Himself available to you.

If you have any questions about any of this, I would love to hear from you!

40 Marks of Men Committed to the Truth

On By Jason SmithIn Devotional, Theology for Life2 Comments

Many Christians today are concerned about the direction our culture has been going for some time now. Some are agitated, some anxious. I’ve spoken with many Christians who have admitted a deep concern for what is happening in current events, both locally and globally.

It’s no wonder that Paul called the current era “the present evil age” (Galatians 1:3). Thankfully, we are also assured that faith is “the victory that has overcome the world” (1 John 5:4). In order to live victoriously by faith during the present evil age, Christians must make a personal and unreserved commitment to the truth of God’s Word. Only Scripture can tell us the truth about who God is, what has gone wrong, who Christ is, who we are, and what we can expect while living in these crazy and confused times. In particular, God calls men to commit their lives—body, mind, and soul—to the truth, setting an example for their families and friends to follow.

“Be watchful, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong. Let all that you do be done in love.” (1 Corinthians 16:13-14, ESV)

Rather than being tossed back and forth by every new wave of teaching that comes our way, we are called to stand firmly on the rock of Jesus Christ. Jesus calls every man to “Be watchful, stand firm in the faith,” “be strong,” and “act like men.” I would encourage every Christian to meditate on Ephesians 4:14-25. In that passage, Paul speaks of the truth of Jesus as the liberating force that sets us free from all that hinders our spiritual growth.

One thing I love about this passage is the emphasis on unity in the body of Christ. To the extent that the church of Jesus Christ ignores the truth of Christ, to that extent we will split apart and lose a strong sense of identity as adopted sons and daughters of God.

“Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to your neighbor, for we are all members of one body.” (Ephesians 4:25, ESV)

Below are 40 marks of men committed to the truth.

Men committed to the Truth…

  1. Love the truth about God (2 Thessalonians 2:10)
  2. Rejoice when the truth is proclaimed (Philippians 1:18)
  3. Admit they are sinners in need of a Savior (1 John 1:8)
  4. Have been born again through the Word of truth (James 1:18)
  5. Know the truth about Jesus and His Gospel (John 14:6; Hebrews 10:26)
  6. Trust in Jesus for salvation for forgiveness of sin (John 3:16, 36)
  7. Know that Jesus sets us free from sin, Satan, and hell (John 8:32, 36)
  8. Are filled with the Spirit of truth (John 16:13)
  9. Worship God in spirit and truth (John 4:24)
  10. Commit to follow Jesus without reservation (Luke 20:21)
  11. Believe the Bible in its entirety is God-breathed truth (John 17:17; 2 Timothy 3:16-17)
  12. Are not ashamed of the Gospel of truth (Romans 1:16)
  13. Repent of sin (2 Timothy 2:25)
  14. Refuse to suppress the truth about God’s righteousness and wrath (Romans 1:18)
  15. Study God’s Word diligently (2 Timothy 2:15)
  16. Renew their minds through belief in God’s Word (Romans 12:2; 2 Thessalonians 2:13)
  17. Obey the truth of God’s Word and walk in the light (1 Peter 1:22; 1 John 1:6)
  18. Rejoice in the truth (1 Corinthians 13:6)
  19. Stand for truth even when it’s uncomfortable or inconvenient (2 Corinthians 13:8)
  20. Desire to have God’s heart for the lost (1 Timothy 2:4)
  21. Put away falsehood and lovingly share truth with others (Ephesians 4:25)
  22. Know that we have an enemy who hates the truth (John 8:44)
  23. Know that spiritual warfare is real and are prepared to fight the good fight of the faith with the sword of the Spirit (Ephesians 6)
  24. Confront error when needed, especially gospel error with truth from God’s Word (Galatians 2:14)
  25. Seek to have a clear conscience in everything (Romans 9:1; 1 Timothy 1:5)
  26. Renounce manipulation and misrepresentation of others (2 Corinthians 4:2)
  27. Turn from myths and avoid worthless debates and meaningless speculations (2 Timothy 4:4; Titus 1:14)
  28. Never teach false doctrine (2 Timothy 2:18)
  29. Understand the danger of sinful indulgence (2 Peter 2:2)
  30. Pursue joy in the Lord rather than in unrighteousness (2 Thessalonians 2:13)
  31. Refuse to make an idol of money, sex, power, or anything else (1 Timothy 6:5)
  32. Honor the marriage institution as a gift of God (1 Timothy 4:3)
  33. Love their wife and children, and lead their family to follow the Lord in truth (1 Timothy 4:3; Ephesians 5:25; Ephesians 6:4)
  34. Commit to serve and support the church, a pillar and buttress of the truth (1 Timothy 3:15)
  35. Stay alert through prayer to God (Ephesians 6:18)
  36. Pray for boldness to speak the truth of the Gospel (Ephesians 6:19-20)
  37. Acknowledge their need for regular reminders of biblical truth (2 Peter 1:12)
  38. Renounce pride as an enemy of the truth (James 3:14)
  39. Strive to be reasonable, considerate, and clear in speech (Acts 26:25)
  40. Bring brothers back who have wandered from the truth (James 5:19)

Men of Consequence

On By Jason SmithIn Devotional, Theology for Life1 Comment 
“You saw me before I was born. Every day of my life was recorded in your book. Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed.” (Psalm 139:16, NLT)

Every man has a hunger for purpose. I’ve heard one man put it this way: “All men long to be men of consequence.” There is something deep within the soul of a man that longs to make a powerful impact on this world. This drive to make a difference is good, right, and God-given. However, there is a subtle and dangerous tendency for this desire to become misguided and destructive when it’s not properly channeled by the Spirit of God and the Word of God.

Men Long to Make a Lasting Impact

Paul reminds his young protégé Timothy—whom he calls “man of God”—to satisfy this purpose hunger in the will of God. Rather than simply telling Timoty to passively avoid sin, he charges Timothy with action-oriented commands like “Pursue righteousness,” “Fight the good fight of the faith,” and “Take hold of eternal life” (1 Timothy 6:11-12). In other words, if this desire to make a difference is corrupted by selfishness and a bloated ego, it will backfire and cause more harm than good. But if this hunger for significance is directed by God’s power and purposes for a man laid out in Scripture, he can make a powerful impact not only in this life but in the life to come.

Many Hollywood films speak to this hunger in a man’s soul. In the movie Gladiator, the great general Maximus, played by Russell Crowe, rallies his troops for battle with these words:

“Hold the line! Stay with me! If you find yourself alone, riding in green fields with the sun on your face, do not be troubled. For you are in Elysium [Heaven], and you’re already dead! Brothers, what we do in life echoes in eternity.”

When I first saw Gladiator, I found that line compelling: “What we do in life echoes in eternity.”

Many passages in Scripture speak to this same desire to make a lasting impact.

“Stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.” (1 Corinthians 15:58, NIV)
“And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up.” (Galatians 6:9, ESV)
“To those who by perseverance in doing good seek glory, honor, and immortality, He will give eternal life.” (Romans 2:7, CSB)

Men Are Created as the Image and Glory of God

Many men today have been counted unworthy by our worldly and godless culture not for anything they have done but simply for being men. They are told that their desire to be strong and masculine is “problematic” and “toxic.” Rather than seeing the goodness of strong and courageous men, our world tends to blame them for so many ills of society. Granted, many men have displayed toxic behavior. They have lived according to their lusts for power and pleasure. And whenever men pursue power and pleasure as ends in themselves, this results in devastating consequences for others, particularly the women they should have been cherishing and protecting. Men who have used their strength either to assault or take advantage of women should rightly be charged and prosecuted.

However, in an effort to expose and dismantle this toxic version of masculinity, many have attempted to stigmatize masculinity altogether. To take just one example, when movie director James Cameron discussed his previous films with The Hollywood Reporter, he admitted he now thought testosterone was downright dangerous because it made men wild and untamed risk-takers. Discussing his previous films, including the Terminator series, Cameron said:

“A lot of things I did earlier, I wouldn’t do—career-wise and just risks that you take as a wild, testosterone-poisoned young man. I always think of [testosterone] as a toxin that you have to slowly work out of your system.”[1]

From the biblical perspective, such a quest to emasculate manhood and reengineer men into some kind of androgynous being is both foolish and harmful. God created men as men. He created mankind as “male and female” on purpose from the beginning, not as an evolutionary afterthought (Genesis 1:27).

He calls men to “act like men” (1 Corinthians 16:13). In doing so, God was not calling men to be self-centered pigs who are enslaved to their lusts. This seems to be how many influential voices in the culture view masculinity. But if God viewed masculinity as inherently toxic, He wouldn’t have charged men to act like men or called men “the image and glory of God” (1 Corinthians 11:7).

Men Need to Be Redeemed by Jesus Christ

The real problem is that our mainstream culture does not have a doctrine of original sin. Masculinity is labeled inherently “toxic” because of the sinful proclivities of men. But the Bible teaches us to view the world through the lens of the story of creation-fall-redemption-restoration. A man’s masculine nature is part of God’s good design at creation.[2] Men became sinners through the fall, and that is why we see men using their strength for evil.[3] But Jesus Christ, the God-man, came to redeem sinners, among whom are men and women.[4] Today, Jesus calls men to embrace their God-given nature as He restores them in His likeness.[5] Redeemed men must boldly stand for Christ in a lost and dying world that has forgotten the great value of men.

If you don’t understand that the problem is what sin has done to men, then you will identify the problem as men themselves, a foolish and ultimately demonic conclusion.

Having been told that their desire to be aggressive, courageous, and heroic is either stupid or troublesome, many young men resort to living out their dreams in the virtual world of video games while snacking on Cheetos in their mom’s basement. Men, if that’s been your reality, my goal isn’t to shame you but to assure you that God calls you to something far greater.

Men Are Called to Be Strong and Courageous

God wants men to live with intentionality and purpose. He wants us to have a God-centered perspective on life, seeing things in the big picture.

There are real evils in this world, and men are called to be at the frontline to stop evil with courage and conviction. When a man has bowed the knee to Jesus and is filled with the Spirit of power, he can rule over his own ungodly desires and stand for truth in a culture that has been massively deceived.

If you are a man, know this: Your desire to make a difference—to be a man of consequence—is good and right. Jesus values you. And as the ultimate Man, Jesus models for you perfectly what true masculinity looks like when we submit ourselves to God the Father and are filled with the Holy Spirit.

The church of Jesus Christ is to be a place where men are welcomed, called to be fully alive, and not shamed for who God made them to be. The world may try to shame masculine men as “toxic,” encourage men to be weak and passive, and may even call testosterone a “toxin,” but God says to men:

“Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.” (Joshua 1:9, NIV)

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

Photo courtesy of David Liff.

[1] https://www.timesnownews.com/entertainment-news/avatar-director-james-cameron-says-testosterone-is-toxic-masculine-twitter-calls-him-beta-male-article-96001279  Accessed on October 10, 2023.

[2] Genesis 1:27, 31

[3] Ecclesiastes 7:29

[4] 1 Timothy 1:15

[5] Ephesians 4:22-24

Experiencing the Reality of the Resurrection

On By Jason SmithIn Devotional, Theology for Life, Why I Believe1 Comment

It is remarkable to consider the numerous testimonies of skeptical scholars who set out to disprove the whole story of Jesus and His resurrection, and, like the hotheaded Saul of Tarsus, were knocked from their high horse only so they could gladly bow the knee to Christ.

“The Book that Refused to Be Written.”

One example is Frank Morrison. Morrison was a skeptical historian utterly convinced that the whole resurrection story was nothing but a hoax that had duped a great portion of the Western world and beyond. In his mind, the resurrection could not be true, simply because it proposed the impossible: that a lifeless corpse laying in a tomb had truly come to life. In Morrison’s mind, such an idea was preposterous from the start. It was ludicrous! Evangelical appeals to believe such a tale were an insult to his intellect.

And yet…

It did bother him that so many people had bought into this story—some of whom were no intellectual lightweights.

How is it, he wondered, that so many people could believe something that was so manifestly impossible? It would be one thing if a small crowd in Jerusalem back in the first century had been taken in by the resurrection tale, and that movement had fizzled and died long ago. But how is it that such a vast number of intellectual giants in the last 2,000 years (Augustine, Aquinas, Galileo, Kepler, Newton, and C. S. Lewis, to name a handful) have taken the claims of the New Testament seriously?

It was this question that drove Morrison to a detailed study of the resurrection accounts in the Gospels. He set out to disprove it all. But in a twist of providential irony, while he was meticulously seeking out holes in the Gospel accounts, he kept coming away from his study with the strange feeling that it all had the ring of truth. He had imagined himself writing a book detailing all the logical flaws and historical errors on the part of the Gospel writers. Instead, he found himself writing a very different book.

In fact, in his best-selling book, Who Moved the Stone?, which chronicles his investigative journey, the name of the first chapter is “The Book that Refused to Be Written.” In his own words, Morrison said that his historical investigation of Jesus’ resurrection kept taking him “in a new and unexpected direction.” He said, “It was as though a man set out to cross a forest by a familiar and well-beaten track and came out suddenly where he did not expect to come out. The point of entry was the same; it was the point of emergence that was different.”[1]

By the end of his research, it was not the whims of wishful thinking but the stubborn facts themselves that convinced him. Jesus Christ truly had risen from the grave!

The Greatest News on Earth

Can you remember the first time it really registered for you? Jesus is alive! He’s the Lord of the universe because He has defeated death! I remember experiencing something similar many years after I had become a Christian. I was reading a book called The Case for the Resurrection of Jesus, and I remember the truth washing over me in a new way. Jesus really is alive. He’s defeated death. That means I have nothing to fear in life or death!

The following Sunday morning I remember tears of joy coming to eyes as we sang about Jesus as the living Lord, and I just kept thinking, Yes! Jesus is alive! The tomb is empty! I live for a resurrected King! Sheer happiness coursed through my veins. I wanted to sing His praises for the rest of the day.

What could possibly be better news than this? Learning your application was accepted at an Ivy League school? Landing the ideal job you’ve been working tirelessly to get? Getting married to the girl of your dreams? As amazing as each of these are, none can compare with knowing deep in your bones that Jesus really has defeated death for you.

I was experiencing Paul’s words in Romans:

“This hope will not disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured out in our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.” (Romans 5:5, CSB)

The resurrection really does change everything. All other religions and faith systems are built on the teachings of dead guys. No matter how fancy and pristine their tombs might be, their bodies rotted away long ago. Buddha is dead. Muhammad is dead. Krishna is dead. Confucius is dead. Moses is dead. They’re all dead! But Jesus? He’s alive.

“But the one God raised up did not decay.” (Acts 13:37, CSB)

And what’s more is that from the very beginning of the church, Christians have always claimed He is alive. This is the truth that propelled the early church forward with boldness, declaring that “Jesus is Lord! Above all earthly gods. Above Caesar. Above the most powerful people on the planet. Jesus is Lord!”

It’s no surprise that the book of Acts shows the earliest disciples making the resurrection the hub of their whole message. They claimed they had seen the risen Jesus in the flesh. “God has raised this Jesus to life, and we are all witnesses of it,” said Peter (Acts 2:32). Peter and Paul called the resurrection a clear fulfillment of what God had promised through the Hebrew prophets (Acts 2:29-31; 13:34-35). Philip said that when you’re reading Isaiah 53, you’re reading about Jesus (Acts 8:30-35). From the start, their message was all about Jesus’ sacrificial death for the forgiveness of sins, and how Jesus’ resurrection proves that His death was sufficient.

“Now when David…fell asleep, he was buried with his ancestors and his body decayed. But the one whom God raised from the dead did not see decay. Therefore, my friends, I want you to know that through Jesus the forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you.” (Acts 13:36-38, NIV)

No sacrifice for sins is needed after Jesus, because He made the payment in full.

“But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God, waiting from that time until his enemies should be made a footstool for his feet. For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified.” (Hebrews 10:12-14, ESV)

And the Father raised Him from the dead because He was satisfied in the Son’s payment.

“Because of our sins he was given over to die, and he was raised to life in order to put us right with God.” (Romans 4:25, GNT)

This was no esoteric message about a transcendent Heaven that had no bearing on our lives today. Everyone who encountered the risen Lord suddenly had a new direction in life. And sometimes, this got them into trouble with the local authorities. That’s why wherever the gospel goes in Acts, a mob quickly follows.

Responses to the Resurrection Message

But why would a message of life attract angry mobs? How did various groups respond?

The self-righteous and political elite were threatened and enraged.

“These men who have turned the world upside down have come here also, and Jason has received them, and they are all acting against the decrees of Caesar, saying that there is another king, Jesus.” (Acts 17:6-7, ESV)

The proud intellectuals debated and mocked the message.

Some of the Epicurean and Stoic philosophers also conversed with him. And some said, “What does this babbler wish to say?” (Acts 17:18, ESV)

But some, like the Bereans, were noble and humble seekers of the truth.

“The people there were more open-minded than the people in Thessalonica. They listened to the message with great eagerness, and every day they studied the Scriptures to see if what Paul said was really true.” (Acts 17:11, GNT)

But one thing was clear. You cannot hear the full truth about the risen Jesus and then shrug your shoulders and walk away. There is no neutrality when it comes to Jesus. How could you ever be neutral about One who has left behind an empty tomb? Whether you love it or hate it, this message will do something to you.

It’s the reason why Paul could say, “To live is Christ! And to die is gain!” He meant something like this: “As long as I’ve got breath in my lungs, I’m living for Christ and sharing the news that Jesus is the Savior. If I get killed, that’s okay with me, because then I get to be with my Lord face to face.” Paul could talk like that because he had met the risen Lord already.

That’s what happens when you are truly gripped by the greatest news on earth.

A. W. Tozer said, “The Christian owes it to the world to be supernaturally joyful.” I agree, and this can only happen as we experience “the power of the resurrection” (Philippians 3:10). The more the reality of Christ’s resurrection has gripped our hearts, the more we see we can no longer face life’s difficulties without reference to this world-changing event.

If you have not yet surrendered to the resurrected King, I urge you to do that today. Only through trusting in the living Jesus is your eternal salvation made secure.

“If you confess that Jesus is Lord and believe that God raised him from death, you will be saved. For it is by our faith that we are put right with God; it is by our confession that we are saved.” (Romans 10:9-10, GNT)

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

[1] Frank Morrison, Who Moved the Stone? (1930).

How Humility Leads to Joy

On By Jason SmithIn Devotional1 Comment 
“Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves.” (Philippians 2:3, ESV)

Recently, I was talking with an atheist friend about our different views of reality. Rather than pointing to more objective evidence, I asked him if there was ever a time when he had been in awe of the sublime grandeur of nature. After a brief pause, he said he had indeed felt overwhelmed by the vastness—and even beauty—of the universe. I pointed out how, whether we claim belief in God or not, we humans seem wired to take joy in something greater than ourselves.

At its core, humility is the ability to take joy in something or someone outside yourself. Some people think of humility as a posture of self-degradation (“I’m not really good at anything”), as if running oneself down all the time is a sure sign of a humble spirit. But that’s incorrect. Humility is not self-focused at all; it’s a willingness to be so invested in others that the joy of others becomes your joy.

Count Others More Significant

No wonder that a New Testament letter on joy in Christ gives one of the clearest teachings on true humility:

“Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.” (Philippians 2:3-4, ESV)

Paul says that when the Philippians do this, his joy is complete.

Many have pointed out how strange it is that while Americans are among the wealthiest in the world, we are also a nation where anxiety and depression are steadily on the rise. We also live in a nation where individualism and self-esteem are prized far more than most cultures of the world. Could it be that our me-centered mindset is directly linked to this general decrease in happiness?

Of course, this isn’t a uniquely American problem. Even in first century Rome, the Apostle Paul could speak of the coming problems of the last days:

“For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power.” (2 Timothy 3:2-5, ESV)

Two things stand out to me about this passage. First, this parade of qualities is a perfect description of our ungodly 21st century world. Second, I find it interesting that every single one of these traits seems to be directly opposed to a humble spirit.

Worldly wisdom says that happiness is found in putting yourself first. Your needs. Your desires. Your appearance. Biblical wisdom says that thinking too highly of yourself actually steals your joy.

"For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you." (Romans 12:3, NIV)

Who Am I?

Self-centered thinking leads you to believe everyone owes you. That you’re always in the right and that everyone else is in the wrong. But true humility leaves you in awe of how truly blessed you are. The humble person can look at all they have in life and say, “Who am I, that I get to have all these blessings in life?”

Some of the most miserable people in this world are those who have either forgotten or maybe never known how precious it is to walk in true humility. To have no sense of entitlement. No sense of God owing you. And what can change all that unhealthy thinking is humbly recognizing just how extraordinarily gracious God has been with you. Yes, you! God has loved you while knowing everything about you. He loved you even when you were weak, even when you were His enemy (Romans 5:6-10). Think of what kind of love this must be! And He loves you more than anyone else ever could or would.

Jesus told His followers, “Apart from Me you can do nothing” (John 15:5), because He wanted us to humbly recognize just how much we need Him in every part of our lives. It’s about admitting that if we are in the driver’s seat of our lives, the car always ends up in the ditch. Life is far better when the true King and Captain of our soul is behind the wheel.

Without Grumbling

“Do all things without grumbling or disputing.” (Philippians 2:14, ESV)

This is one of those verses that convicts me the more I contemplate it. It’s so easy for me to complain about things in life. I can complain about circumstances, relationships, the weather, the government, high prices, and all the God-denying aspects of the culture. What about you? How easy is it to complain to co-workers about things at home? And then to come home and gripe to your spouse about co-workers? I don’t know about you, but complaining is something that comes way too easily for me.

But it happens more than just at home, doesn’t it? If someone was to look at how people talk about national leaders or what is said on social media, you’d think that grumbling was America’s favorite past time. It reminds me of the Israelites in the wilderness. God does so many amazing feats for them, like rescuing them from enslavement in Egypt, splitting the Red Sea for them, and causing water to gush forth from a rock in the desert.

God even invented the first store-to-front-door delivery system, with delicious cakes and fresh quail arriving outside their tents faster than an Amazon Prime van. God took care of them, and He commissioned Moses to lead them. And what happened, over and over, in that wilderness? They grumbled about Moses and God (I counted no less than 14 times the Bible records Israel grumbling in the wilderness!).

There’s a scene in the film Saving Private Ryan, where Captain Miller, played by Tom Hanks, is asked if he has any gripes about their mission. He responds, “Gripes go up, not down. Always up. You gripe to me, I gripe to my superior officer, so on, so on, and so on.” Gripes always go up says Captain Miller. If that’s true on the cosmic scale, then think of how much griping God must hear daily.

But imagine what it would look like if Christians were known, not for our complaining, but for our joyful acceptance of difficult circumstances. Paul calls us to do all things without bitterness, resentment, and grumbling. Why?

“…that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world…” (Philippians 2:15, ESV)

Radiant Joy

Paul says, that because of the joy of the Lord, we can live as true children of our God. When Paul says we can be “blameless and innocent,” he’s not talking about Christian perfectionism here. He’s speaking about humbly recognizing that, as grace-drenched children of God, we really have no reason to grumble. We can say, “Who am I, that I should be called a child of the living God?” When we live with a confidence in God’s hand guiding us through every trial, instead of being known as complainers, we’ll be known for our radiant joy, even in difficult circumstances.

Just yesterday, Dennis, one of the elders at my church prayed something like this, “Father, we really don’t know just how good we have it. Help us to see that we have nothing to complain about.” Amen!

All of this can only happen when we regularly apply the power of the gospel to our lives. As we humbly submit our thinking to what God has done for us in Christ, the Holy Spirit fills us and leads us into songs of joy and thanksgiving (see Colossians 3:12-17). Grace is always best received by the empty hands of those who most recognize their need for it.

When we refuse to bitterly complain even in the midst of hardships or mistreatment, we’re telling the rest of the world that we have a hope they need to get in on!

Here’s a question to consider for personal application. Do you look at difficult situations or dark times as a chance to grumble to others or be humble toward others?

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

Grace First

On By Jason SmithIn Devotional, Theology for Life3 Comments

From the beginning of Jesus’ ministry, He went around healing, teaching, and calling people to follow Him. When people followed Jesus, they began a life of transformational discipleship. In other words, people did not have to meet certain criteria before becoming His followers. They only had to leave their life of sin. Jesus didn’t call people to clean themselves up. He simply said, “In whatever place you find yourself, come to Me. Come to Me and begin a new life following Me as Lord, Teacher, and Savior.”

Interestingly, in the call to follow Him, Jesus included a call to reach others. Jesus told those rugged fishermen on the Galilean shore, “Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men” (Matt. 4:19). He tells them that part of following Him is calling others to follow Him, too. Multiplication is at the core of what it means to be a follower (disciple) of Jesus.

Jesus was teaching these fishermen about discipleship using language they were familiar with: “Look, you guys know how to catch greasy fish in a net. I’m appointing you to catch greasy sinners in the net of grace.”

In other words, you don’t see any indication in the Gospels that it’s possible to faithfully follow Jesus while pursuing a monastic life of perpetual solitude or taking a “just Jesus and me” approach to spirituality. If you truly want to follow Jesus, then you should be concerned about helping others follow Jesus, too. Put another way: True disciples make more disciples (see Matthew 28:18-20).

This was true for those fishermen, and it’s true for everyone since then.

The “Grace First” Approach

Jesus called people with what I call the “Grace First” approach. In other words, Jesus called people to follow Him and forsake their life of sin, but He didn’t say, “Let me take a look at your track record and see how you’ve spent your life so far. Let me see if you check all the boxes of true righteousness.”

For goodness’ sake, just look at the kind of people that Jesus picked, and you’ll know they weren’t exactly on the honor roll for holiness. You’ve got Peter, a man with no verbal filter. Then you’ve got John and James, brash brothers who seem bent on incinerating those who look or think differently from them (Luke 9:52-55). Somehow, these three were considered His closest friends! All twelve came with lots of baggage, terrible habits, and troubling issues. They came with checkered backgrounds. Yet, Jesus didn’t say, “Go back and get your life straight, and then come follow Me.”

He showed grace first. He came to them with the clear mindset that He wanted them, even if they were woefully unworthy of Him. And you know something? Followers of Jesus can forget this, but this is how we all came to Jesus. Here is every Christian’s testimony in a nutshell:

“At one time we too were foolish, disobedient, deceived and enslaved by all kinds of passions and pleasures. We lived in malice and envy, being hated and hating one another. But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy.” (Titus 3:3-5a, NIV)

We didn’t become Christians “because of righteous things we had done, but because of His mercy.” It wasn’t by our holy records. It wasn’t by our outstanding moral achievements. It was by His blood shed on the cross. It was by His call to trust in His sacrifice for sins. It was always grace first.

And so, because He welcomed us with grace first, He expects us to do the same to others. 

Matthew the Tax Collector

Matthew was a disreputable tax collector, and his own people hated him for it.

Today in America, our stomach tightens when someone mentions “taxes” or “the IRS.” But this is nothing compared to the way first century Jews viewed tax collectors. They were seen as vile, corrupt, and loathsome. The scum of the earth. Jewish tax collectors were commissioned by the occupying Roman Empire to tax their own countrymen, and they were notorious for overtaxing their own people in order to skim off the top an extra portion for themselves. In other words, in the eyes of their fellow Jews, tax collectors were not only turncoats who had betrayed their nation, but also greedy cheats who had become wealthy by extorting their own people.

More respectable and religious Jews were probably saying, “You know what’s wrong with our country? You know why God isn’t blessing us like He used to? It’s because we have guys like that tax collector over there running around!” They were utterly despised.

That was Matthew. Just imagine how seared your conscience must be for it to be your daily practice to cheat your own people in order to pad your wallet! Nearly everyone hated Matthew. Nearly.

As Jesus went on from there, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax collector’s booth. “Follow me,” he told him, and Matthew got up and followed him. (Matthew 9:9, NIV)

The account is simple and straightforward, but to watch this scene unfold would have left every upstanding citizen scratching their head. The other disciples might have been thinking, Oh no, Jesus. Not Matthew. Anyone but him.

Changed by Grace

It’s not just Jesus’ choice of Matthew that’s shocking. Equally surprising is Matthew’s sudden willingness to go with this Jewish rabbi. Could it be that Matthew, hardened though he was, sensed a love from Jesus that he had never experienced before?

At the beginning of Victor Hugo’s novel Les Misérables, Jean Valjean is a recently released criminal. 19 years in a French prison have left Valjean bitter and hard-hearted. After being turned away at every inn and tavern, he stumbles upon the house of a bishop, Monseigneur Myriel. When Valjean tells Myriel who he is, he expects to be turned away once again. But instead, the bishop says, “You need not tell me who you were.” He tells Valjean, “This is not my house – it is the house of Jesus Christ.” After feeding Valjean, the bishop invites the ex-convict to stay the night. In the middle of the night, Valjean’s old habits get the better of him. He stuffs the bishop’s silverware in his knapsack and slips away while the bishop sleeps.

Before long, some policemen catch him with the silverware and force him to take the walk of shame back to the bishop’s house. Valjean knows that he is done for – he had blown his only chance and would likely be imprisoned for the rest of his life.

But then something astonishing happens. Before the officer can explain the crime, the bishop marches right up to Valjean. “Oh! Here you are! I’m so glad to see you. I can’t believe it. You forgot the candlesticks. They are made of pure silver as well… Please take them with the forks and spoons I gave you.” Valjean is stunned. So are the policemen. After dismissing the officers, the bishop says, “Jean Valjean, my brother, you no longer belong to evil, but to good. I have bought your soul from you. I take it back from evil thoughts and deeds and the spirit of Hell, and I give it to God.” From that moment on, Valjean is a changed man… changed by grace.

In an even more profound picture of grace, Jesus sought out Matthew, even while he sat in the tax booth, and called him to Himself. Jesus Himself says in Luke 19:10 that “the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”

“He Left Everything and Followed Him”

Like Valjean, Matthew was utterly lost. He was a man without a lick of spiritual potential. And yet, Luke tells us that when Jesus called Matthew, he “left everything and followed him” (Luke 5:28, NIV). That’s significant. Matthew was forsaking his old way of doing life and embracing the call to follow Jesus in the new way.

Interestingly, we learn that Matthew invited Jesus over for a dinner party at his house, and many of his old pals were there. This created quite the scandal. After all, these people were the gangsters, thugs, and prostitutes of this time. For a Jewish rabbi to associate with that ilk was unheard of, because by eating with someone, you are in some sense identifying with them. The religious leaders grumbled about Jesus eating with “sinners and tax collectors.”

Jesus answered them, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.” (Luke 5:31-32, NIV)

Notice that Jesus had no problem identifying Matthew and his friends as the sick and sinful, those in need of repentance. But He showed astonishing love to them by eating with them and expressing a genuine concern for them. His call to repentance was adorned with grace.

If Jesus called others to repent with a grace first approach, then as His disciples who are called to make more disciples, we should do the same.

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

The Amazing Grace of God

On By Jason SmithIn Devotional, Theology for Life, Why I Believe1 Comment

“Amazing grace! How sweet the sound
That saved a wretch like me!
I once was lost, but now am found;
Was blind, but now I see.”

Thus begins the well-known hymn, “Amazing Grace.” Those words were written by a former slave trader turned gospel minister from the 18th century named John Newton. While the hymn “Amazing Grace” is known and loved by millions, the author of that hymn is not as well known in our secular age.

Wretched Sinner and Slave Trader

John Newton was drafted into the Royal British Navy at 18. But early on, his rebellious spirit got the best of him. Newton attempted desertion, which earned him a public flogging on the main deck in front of his entire crew, an ordeal that was equally excruciating and shameful. Filled with bitter rage, Newton began mocking his captain and leading a life where he regularly blasphemed God and committed all kinds of indecent acts.

After leaving the Navy, Newton entered a new career aboard a slave trading ship. His actions became more and more revolting. In his own words, Newton said, “I was exceedingly vile… I not only sinned with a high hand myself but made it my study to tempt and seduce others upon every occasion.”[1] One biographer said of Newton: “Although he had been brought up in the Christian faith by his devout mother, who died when he was six, Newton had become such an aggressive atheist and blasphemer that even his shipmates were shocked by his oaths.”[2]

When his ship was caught in a violent storm, Newton surprised even himself by crying out to God for mercy. Eventually, the storm calmed and Newton began to sense that perhaps “there is a God who answers prayer.”[3]

Eventually, he felt compelled to study the Scriptures. As Newton read, the God of the Bible seemed to come alive to him. He felt drawn to Jesus, the very same Jesus he had once mocked and ridiculed.[4] But realizing that his debt of sin had piled up high over the years, he assumed that God would want nothing to do with him. Yet, to his amazement, he found that the God of the Bible is a God of astounding grace who offers sinners like himself forgiveness. Newton came to see that in Jesus Christ alone, there was a path to grace, freedom from sin and total acceptance with God. He renounced his sinful ways, and trusted in Christ for salvation.

After beginning a pastoral ministry in Olney, England, Newton continued to be amazed by the favor God had shown to one so undeserving as he. Not only did Newton leave behind his life as a slave trader, he eventually preached against this cruel practice. His sermons and writings carried great weight, because he was speaking as one who once lived the wickedness he now condemned.

In his diary, Newton wrote a prayer to God, “Thou hast given an apostate a name and a place among thy children—called an infidel to the ministry of the gospel. I am a poor wretch that once wandered naked and barefoot, without a home, without a friend: and now for me who once used to be on the ground, and was treated as a dog by all around me, thou hast prepared a house suitable to the connection thou hast put me into.”[5]

Today, Newton’s legacy is not merely that he was a terrible sinner, but that he came to understand—to really understand—what Christianity is all about. It’s all about the amazing grace of God found in Jesus Christ.

What Christianity Is All About

It took some time for Newton to truly grasp the wonder of God’s grace. In a similar way, so many people today simply don’t understand just what God is offering them. They can hardly believe that God is as gracious as the Bible describes Him to be. Complete forgiveness of sins? Assurance of eternal life? A love relationship with God Himself? How could this be?

We assume that we must somehow earn acceptance with God. That’s the default perspective for every single one of us. Grace sounds too good to be true. We think that there must be something that we must do in order to be forgiven, and in order to be welcomed into God’s family. We don’t understand how God could offer the unfathomable riches of grace, forgiveness, and acceptance apart from any work from us (Romans 4:5-6).

And to be honest, this is why such a large number of people simply don’t understand Christianity. They think they do, but they don’t really. They think that Christianity is all about a God that is for good people. And so, in order to become a Christian, we must clean up our act, walk the straight and narrow, and live an obedient life—maybe even with God’s help. And then after we have cleaned ourselves up, God will welcome us as one of His own.

But that’s not what Christianity is all about. Christianity is all about Jesus and what He has done. First and foremost, it’s not about us and what we can do for God. Christianity does not say that, in order to be saved, you have to become more religious, do good works, do penance, and be obedient to laws and ordinances to somehow make yourself worthy of God. No!

“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, ESV)

Incredibly, the Bible says that God credits righteousness “to the one who does not work but trusts God who justifies the ungodly” (Romans 4:5, NIV). In fact, you know what the Bible says about good works that are done to earn God’s acceptance? It calls them things like “filthy rags” and “sewage” (Isa. 64:6; Phil. 3:8). Why? Why would God view even our best works as filth? Here’s what the Bible says:

“We have all become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous deeds are like a polluted garment. We all fade like a leaf, and our iniquities, like the wind, take us away.” (Isaiah 64:6, ESV)

Isaiah is saying that when good works are done to earn God’s acceptance, even our most righteous deeds are actually foul to God because they are still tainted by our sin. Why? Because every one of us, ever since the fall of man in Genesis 3, has come into this world with a sinful heart. Some are offended by this teaching. Many would rather believe that people are basically good.

But when we are most honest with ourselves, we can see that this is absolutely true. There is a darkness in us that keeps us focused primarily on ourselves. If we would stop and examine our own thoughts and actions, we would all have to admit that we are incredibly selfish creatures.

Even in our best moments, we are nearly always looking out for ourselves. We lie to make ourselves look better. We often ignore the needs of others. We don’t always show love to others like we should. We envy others when they succeed. And the root of the problem is this: We have all chosen to live as if our lives belong to ourselves and not to God. We’ve lived as if God doesn’t exist or doesn’t have a say over how we live our lives.

But we don’t belong to ourselves. We belong to God. We are His by divine Creator rights. When an artist creates art, that art is his. It belongs to him because he created it. As our Creator, we owe our very existence to God alone. We were created for His glory, and yet we have committed the great sin of turning our backs on Him.

Are You Thirsty?

Now enter grace. This is what Isaiah says—or really this is what God says—Isaiah’s just the one delivering God’s message:

“Come, all you who are thirsty,
    come to the waters;
and you who have no money,
    come, buy and eat!
Come, buy wine and milk
    without money and without cost.
Why spend money on what is not bread,
    and your labor on what does not satisfy?...
Give ear and come to me;
    listen, that you may live.” (Isaiah 55:1-3, NIV)

This is just incredible. Here is God, the very God who we have all rebelled against, saying to every one of us, “Come!” Rather than turning us away or annihilating us for all our rebellion, He’s calling us to Himself in love. And, remember, because we’ve committed the infinite offense of sinning against the almighty God of the universe, He would be perfectly just to simply judge all His creatures for what they have done. It is not an overstatement to say that each one of us, myself included, is deserving of hell (Romans 1:32, 6:23).

As an ambassador for Christ, I am compelled by Christ’s love to warn you: There really is a coming day of judgment. And more importantly, according to Scripture, God Himself “is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance” (2 Peter 3:9).

Jesus Himself repeated this same invitation to whomever would heed His voice:

“If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’” (John 7:37-38, NIV)

We owed a debt of sin we could not pay, and yet full forgiveness is offered to each one of us through simple faith in Christ. The reason God can do that and still be just is that He took the sin that we are guilty of, and He laid it on His own Son, Jesus Christ, when He hung on the cross.

“He forgave us all our sins, having canceled the charge of our legal indebtedness, which stood against us and condemned us; he has taken it away, nailing it to the cross.” (Colossians 2:13-14, NIV).

In his astounding love, Jesus paid the price for our sin. Although we could never pay such an awful price, Jesus could, because He is both God and man. Only as a man could Jesus bear man’s sin, and only as the infinite God could He pay the infinite cost.

And before Jesus died, He cried out on the cross, “It is finished!” (Jn. 19:30). It’s finished! It’s done. The price for sin has been paid. The work of atonement is complete. Now, whoever will yield their lives to Jesus, trusting in Him alone, will receive everlasting life and be forgiven of their great debt of sin.

What a shame it would be to have such an amazing invitation offered to us and then ignore it.

He Will Abundantly Pardon

Remember, John Newton had lived a contemptible life. He had squandered the opportunities he had been given and chosen to live a life of complete rebellion. He mocked others, sexually abused many of the slaves on his ship, and lived an utterly wicked life.

But God chose to forgive Newton of his countless sins. Even Newton struggled at first to believe that God could love him and want anything to do with him. “What mercy could there be for me?”[6] Newton asked himself as he first considered the gospel in light of all his terrible sins. And yet, God showed grace to him and gave him a new heart with new desires.

Newton realized that God was the God of second chances. God extended the invitation to Newton to come to Him, to come to the cross of Christ where the great burden of his sin could be removed and he could fully receive the love of God. And Newton never ceased being amazed at God’s grace in rescuing him, an utterly undeserving “wretch” in his own words. He spent the remainder of his life working to end the slave trade and spread the gospel of grace.

On his deathbed, Newton told his close friend, “My memory is nearly gone, but I remember two things: That I am a great sinner and that Christ is a great Savior.”[7]

Many of us can think like Newton did when he first heard the gospel. We can think that we’ve sinned one too many times, that we’ve failed too many times. So—we think—surely God wouldn’t want anything to do with me… would He? Wouldn’t He just give up on me?

But, friend, if you think that God would ever give up on you, you’re not thinking of the God of the Bible. You’re thinking of a false god. God is more gracious than you could possibly imagine. In the words of Philip Yancey, “Grace, like water, always flows downward, to the lowest place.”[8]

The New Testament describes Jesus as One who came with “grace upon grace” (John 1:16). See, that’s the most amazing thing: for those who rest in Christ, there is no end or limit to God’s grace. In Jesus, there is grace that is greater than all your sin.

“Seek the LORD while he may be found; call upon him while he is near; let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; let him return to the LORD, that he may have compassion on him, and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.” (Isaiah 55:6-7, NIV)

God “will abundantly pardon” you when you turn from sin and trust in Christ. Jesus is inviting you right now—come to Him. Embrace His offer of life and forgiveness. Come to Christ and discover what it truly means to be forgiven.

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

[1] John Newton: From Disgrace to Amazing Grace, Jonathan Aitken. P. 18.

[2] Ibid., p. 19

[3] Ibid.

[4] Ibid., p. 77

[5] Ibid., p. 12

[6] Ibid. p. 76

[7] Ibid. p. 347

[8] Ibid., p. 11