There Are No Degrees of “Deadness”

BIBLE MEDITATION:

“Judge not, and ye shall not be judged: condemn not, and ye shall not be condemned: forgive, and ye shall be forgiven.” Luke 6:37

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT:

Sometimes Christians look at people who have committed adultery or murder and compare themselves to them. They may even say, “They’re dead in their trespasses and sin.” I want to tell you something.

They are no more dead in trespasses and sin than your sweet daughter or precious parent who has not received Jesus Christ’s gift of salvation. There may be some degree of corruption, but there are no degrees of deadness. All lost people need Jesus Christ.

You may think you don’t have a testimony to share because you didn’t get a Ph.D. in sin before you were saved. Perhaps you were saved as a little child. Well, it took as much of the grace of God to save you as it did to save a murderer on death row. Never forget that, precious friend.

ACTION POINT:

Dead people need to stop comparing themselves with other dead people. The ground is level at the foot of the cross.

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers

Not “Faith in Faith,” But All by Grace

BIBLE MEDITATION:

“For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.” Ephesians 2:8-9

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT:

The devil is very clever when it comes to our faith. Here is a tactic he may use on you: he will start agreeing with you so he can trip you.

He’ll say, “Sure, you’re saved by faith in Christ. But how do you know that your faith is good enough or strong enough to save you? What if your faith is too weak? What if you don’t make it?” He will try to cause you to put your faith in your faith, rather than your faith in Christ.

ACTION POINT:

Have you ever heard someone mention the phrase “saving faith”? There’s no such thing. You are saved by grace through faith. You’re not saved by faith. Only Jesus saves.

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers

Yes, We Need Each Other

BIBLE MEDITATION:

“Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.” Hebrews 10:25

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT:

To exhort is to comfort and encourage. We need each other. We ought to be exhorting one another by saying, “Isn’t God wonderful? Isn’t Jesus great? Don’t you love Him? Let’s be true to Christ!”

Among fellow believers, we live in a climate that keeps our hearts tender. If we stray away from that climate and get away from the people of God by skipping worship services and fellowship opportunities, our hearts will grow hard.

ACTION POINT:

When we exhort one another, we are sharing Christ. There’s something that happens in our hearts when we tell others about Jesus. It keeps our heart tender.

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers

You Are Called By the Name of the Lord

And all the peoples of the earth shall see that you are called by the name of the LORD, and they shall be afraid of you. - Deuteronomy 28:10

Their offspring shall be known among the nations, and their descendants in the midst of the peoples; all who see them shall acknowledge them, that they are an offspring the LORD has blessed.  - Isaiah 61:9

24 The LORD bless you and keep you; 

25 the LORD make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you; 

26 the LORD lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace.  - Numbers 6:24-26

14 It is not with you alone that I am making this sworn covenant,

15 but with whoever is standing here with us today before the LORD our God, and with whoever is not here with us today. - Deuteronomy 29:14-15

38 And Peter said to them, "Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

39 For the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself." - Acts 2:38-39

13 But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.

14 For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility

15 by abolishing the law of commandments expressed in ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace,

16 and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility. - Ephesians 2:13-16 

Everything Under Sin

But the Scripture imprisoned everything under sin, so that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe. - Galatians 3:22

29 For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable.

30 For just as you were at one time disobedient to God but now have received mercy because of their disobedience,

31 so they too have now been disobedient in order that by the mercy shown to you they also may now receive mercy.

32 For God has consigned all to disobedience, that he may have mercy on all.

33 Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways! - Romans 11:29-33

9 What then? Are we Jews any better off? No, not at all. For we have already charged that all, both Jews and Greeks, are under sin,

10 as it is written: "None is righteous, no, not one; 

11 no one understands; no one seeks for God. 

12 All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one." 

13 "Their throat is an open grave; they use their tongues to deceive." "The venom of asps is under their lips."  - Romans 3:9-13

16 That is why it depends on faith, in order that the promise may rest on grace and be guaranteed to all his offspring-not only to the adherent of the law but also to the one who shares the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all,

17 as it is written, "I have made you the father of many nations"-in the presence of the God in whom he believed, who gives life to the dead and calls into existence the things that do not exist. - Romans 4:16-17

38 how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power. He went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with him.

39 And we are witnesses of all that he did both in the country of the Jews and in Jerusalem. They put him to death by hanging him on a tree,

40 but God raised him on the third day and made him to appear,

41 not to all the people but to us who had been chosen by God as witnesses, who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead.

42 And he commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that he is the one appointed by God to be judge of the living and the dead.

43 To him all the prophets bear witness that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name." - Acts 10:38-43

What Happens When You’re Backed into a Corner?

BIBLE MEDITATION:

“Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye steadfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.” 1 Corinthians 15:58

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT:

Where are the courageous children of God who will speak on their Father’s behalf—speak of His Truth, His mercy, His love? Psalm 119:46 says, “I will speak of Thy testimonies also before kings, and will not be ashamed.”

They have a saying in the country: “What’s down in the well comes up in the bucket.” What happens when you are up against a wall? Do you back down and deny your faith? Or do you stand firm despite the verbal assault on your beliefs?

ACTION POINT:

1 Peter 3:14-17 has the prescription for a fearful heart:

“But even if you should suffer for righteousness’ sake, you are blessed. And do not be afraid of their threats, nor be troubled.  But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear; having a good conscience, that when they defame you as evildoers, those who revile your good conduct in Christ may be ashamed. For it is better, if it is the will of God, to suffer for doing good than for doing evil.”

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers

Holy? Or Just “Holier Than Thou”?

BIBLE MEDITATION:

“For I am the Lord your God: ye shall therefore sanctify yourselves, and ye shall be holy; for I am holy: neither shall ye defile yourselves with any manner of creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.” Leviticus 11:44

  

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT:

Some people think that to be holy means to be odd. No, we’re to be different. We have too many Christians doing unbiblical things who claim to be holy when in reality they are just odd.

Holiness is not achieved by what we wear, where we sleep and eat, or how many spiritual things we do. It is not primarily a matter of dress or style of hair. And we don’t become holy if we live in a commune, monastery, or convent. There is no holiness in a hole.

ACTION POINT:

God makes us holy by the blood of His Son. And in return for this great love, we endeavor to live holy lives because we love Him. “Holy” is a state of being, not doing. It is a God-induced, God-developed character trait that grows in us as we grow in our love relationship with God.

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers