Forgiven for Jesus’s Sake

For your name’s sake, O Lord, pardon my guilt, for it is great. (Psalm 25:11)

In knowing what is right, God does not consult any authority higher than himself. His own worth is the ultimate value in the universe. Therefore, for God to do what is right means acting in a way that accords with this ultimate value.

The righteousness of God is the infinite zeal and joy and pleasure that he has in what is supremely valuable, namely, his own perfection and worth. And if he were ever to act contrary to this eternal passion for his own perfections, he would be unrighteous — he would be an idolater.

How shall such a righteous God ever set his affection on sinners like us who have scorned his perfections? But the wonder of the gospel is that in his divine righteousness lies also the very foundation of our salvation.

The infinite regard that the Father has for the Son makes it possible for me, a wicked sinner, to be loved and accepted in the Son, because in his death he vindicated the worth and glory of his Father.

Because of Christ, we can pray with new understanding the prayer of the psalmist, “For your name’s sake, O Lord, pardon my guilt, for it is great” (Psalm 25:11). The new understanding is that, because of Christ, instead of only praying, “For your name’s sake, pardon my guilt,” we now pray, “For Jesus’s name’s sake, O God, pardon my guilt.”

First John 2:12 says, “I am writing to you, little children, because your sins are forgiven for his name’s sake,” referring to Jesus. Jesus has now atoned for sin and vindicated the Father’s honor so that our “sins are forgiven for his name’s sake.”

God is righteous. He does not sweep sin under the rug. If a sinner goes free, someone dies to vindicate the infinite worth of God’s glory that the sinner defamed. That is what Christ did. Therefore, “For your name’s sake, O Lord” and “For Jesus’s name’s sake” are the same. And that is why we pray with confidence for forgiveness.

John Piper 

In the End, What Really Matters?

“Therefore, since all these things will be dissolved, what manner of persons ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness?” 2 PETER 3:11

 

PONDER THIS

Once in Oklahoma City there was a fire in an apartment. The flames were consuming that apartment, and there was a woman who’d been carried out by a fireman and was fighting to go back into the fire. She said, “My baby is in that apartment!” They had to hold her back because she surely would have perished. One fireman volunteered to go get her baby. He went up the ladder, through the window, into that smoke-filled room, and felt his way through. He found the baby crib, reached in and picked up that little bundle, held it close to him, and came back to the window, choking through the blinding smoke. The people gave a cheer as he handed the woman the bundle. But as she pulled the blanket back, she cried, “That’s not my baby. That’s my baby's doll!”

I wonder if we’re going to come to the end of an age hugging the toys of this world when everything is going up in fire. My friend, the house, the car, and all these things—they’re not that important. What is important? The souls of men! I want to get as many to come with me as I can. Even so, come, Lord Jesus.

How can you be sure you are valuing the right things as you wait for the return of Jesus?

How do we show others that they are more important than the “stuff” of the world?

PRACTICE THIS

Have a conversation today to let another person know how much God values him or her.

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers 

Bible Study

Psalm 23:3

        [3]     He restores my soul.

    He leads me in paths of righteousness

        for his name’s sake.

Romans 5:20-21

[20] Now the law came in to increase the trespass, but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more, [21] so that, as sin reigned in death, grace also might reign through righteousness leading to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Isaiah 40:11

    [11] He will tend his flock like a shepherd;

        he will gather the lambs in his arms;

    he will carry them in his bosom,

        and gently lead those that are with young.

John 1:17

[17] For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.

Jesus Will Trample All Our Enemies

Then comes the end, when he delivers the kingdom to God the Father after destroying every rule and every authority and power. (1 Corinthians 15:24)

How far does the reign of Christ extend?

The next verse, 1 Corinthians 15:25 says, “He must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet.” The word all tells us the extent.

So does the word every in verse 24: “Then comes the end, when he delivers the kingdom to God the Father after destroying every rule and every authority and power.”

There is no disease, no addiction, no demon, no bad habit, no fault, no vice, no weakness, no temper, no moodiness, no pride, no self-pity, no strife, no jealousy, no perversion, no greed, no laziness that Christ will not overcome as the enemy of his honor.

And the encouragement in that promise is that when you set yourself to do battle with the enemies of your faith and your holiness, you will not fight alone.

Jesus Christ is now, in this age, putting all his enemies under his feet. Every rule and every authority and every power will be conquered.

So, remember that the extent of Christ’s reign reaches to the smallest and biggest enemy of his glory in your life, and in this universe. It will be defeated.

John Piper 

The Delay Is Mercy

“But, beloved, do not forget this one thing, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.” 2 PETER 3:8

 

PONDER THIS

People who scoff at the Second Coming of Jesus are ignorant of what God has done and of what God is like. God is above and beyond time, and God doesn’t wake up by an alarm clock. Second Peter 3:8 says, “But, beloved, do not forget this one thing, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.”

As far as God is concerned, it’s only been a few days since Jesus left this Earth. God hasn’t forgotten. The reason Jesus is not yet come is that God has kept the door of mercy open. I believe God, in mercy, is waiting on our generation to come to Jesus, but one of these days, the Day of the Lord will come, and even now the raging waters of God’s wrath are furiously pounding against the dam of His mercy. Jesus is going to come suddenly, like a thief in the night.

How does it reframe your perspective to know the delay of Jesus’ return is a sign of mercy and not neglect?

How should this encourage us to share Jesus with others?

PRACTICE THIS

Take time to thank God for His mercy. Pray and ask Him to point you to the people He wants you to share with today.

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers 

Bible Study

2 Peter 3:9

[9] The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.

2 Peter 3:10

[10] But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a roar, and the heavenly bodies will be burned up and dissolved, and the earth and the works that are done on it will be exposed.

2 Peter 3:11-12

[11] Since all these things are thus to be dissolved, what sort of people ought you to be in lives of holiness and godliness, [12] waiting for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be set on fire and dissolved, and the heavenly bodies will melt as they burn!

1 Peter 1:14-16

[14] As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance, [15] but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, [16] since it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.”

Shadows and Streams

May the glory of the Lord endure forever; may the Lord rejoice in his works, who looks on the earth and it trembles, who touches the mountains and they smoke! I will sing to the Lord as long as I live; I will sing praise to my God while I have being. May my meditation be pleasing to him, for I rejoice in the Lord. (Psalm 104:31–34)

God rejoices in his works of creation because they point us beyond themselves to God himself.

God means for us to be stunned and awed by his work of creation. But not for its own sake. He means for us to look at his creation and say: If the mere work of his fingers (just his fingers! Psalm 8:3) is so full of wisdom and power and grandeur and majesty and beauty, what must this God be like in himself!

These are but the backside of his glory, as it were, darkly seen through a glass. What will it be to see the glory of the Creator himself! Not just his works! A billion galaxies will not satisfy the human soul. God and God alone is the soul’s end.

Jonathan Edwards expressed it like this:

The enjoyment of God is the only happiness with which our souls can be satisfied. To go to heaven, fully to enjoy God, is infinitely better than the most pleasant accommodations here. . . . [These] are but shadows; but God is the substance. These are but scattered beams; but God is the sun. These are but streams; but God is the ocean.

This is why Psalm 104 comes to a close in verses 31–34 with a focus on God himself. “I will sing praise to my God while I have being. . . . For I rejoice in the Lord.” In the end it will not be the seas or the mountains or the canyons or the water spiders or the clouds or the great galaxies that fill our hearts to breaking with wonder and fill our mouths with eternal praise. It will be God himself.

John Piper