Under Grace

You are covered by grace through faith.

For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace. - Romans 6:14

1 Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God,

2 which he promised beforehand through his prophets in the holy Scriptures,

3 concerning his Son, who was descended from David according to the flesh

4 and was declared to be the Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness by his resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord,

5 through whom we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith for the sake of his name among all the nations,

6 including you who are called to belong to Jesus Christ, - Romans 1:1-6

1 Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.

2 Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God.

3 Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance,

4 and endurance produces character, and character produces hope,

5 and hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.

6 For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly.

7 For one will scarcely die for a righteous person-though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die-

8 but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. - Romans 5:1-8

8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God,

9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast.

10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them. - Ephesians 2:8-10

Do we have an excuse to sin?

15 What then? Are we to sin because we are not under law but under grace? By no means!

16 Do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness?

17 But thanks be to God, that you who were once slaves of sin have become obedient from the heart to the standard of teaching to which you were committed,

18 and, having been set free from sin, have become slaves of righteousness.

19 I am speaking in human terms, because of your natural limitations. For just as you once presented your members as slaves to impurity and to lawlessness leading to more lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves to righteousness leading to sanctification.

20 For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness. - Romans 6:15-20

Bear Fruit

5 because of the hope laid up for you in heaven. Of this you have heard before in the word of the truth, the gospel,

6 which has come to you, as indeed in the whole world it is bearing fruit and increasing-as it also does among you, since the day you heard it and understood the grace of God in truth, - Colossians 1:5-6

Judgment 

26 For if we go on sinning deliberately after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins,

27 but a fearful expectation of judgment, and a fury of fire that will consume the adversaries.

28 Anyone who has set aside the law of Moses dies without mercy on the evidence of two or three witnesses.

29 How much worse punishment, do you think, will be deserved by the one who has trampled underfoot the Son of God, and has profaned the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and has outraged the Spirit of grace?

30 For we know him who said, "Vengeance is mine; I will repay." And again, "The Lord will judge his people."

31 It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. - Hebrews 10:26-31

The Battle to Remind

This I call to mind, and therefore I have hope: The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end.” (Lamentations 3:21–22)

One of the great enemies of hope is forgetting God’s promises. Reminding is a great ministry. Peter and Paul both said that they wrote letters for this reason (2 Peter 1:13; Romans 15:15).

The main Helper in reminding us what we need to know is the Holy Spirit (John 14:26). But that doesn’t mean you should be passive. You are responsible only for your own ministry of reminding. And the first one in need of reminding by you is you.

The mind has this great power: It can talk to itself by way of reminder. The mind can “call to mind,” as the text says: “But this I call to mind, and therefore I have hope: The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases” (Lamentations 3:21–22).

If we don’t “call to mind” what God has said about himself and about us, we languish. Oh, how I know this from painful experience! Don’t wallow in the mire of godless messages in your own head. Messages like: “I can’t . . .” “She won’t . . .” “They never . . .” “It has never worked . . .”

The point is not that these are true or false. Your mind will always find a way to make them true, unless you “call to mind” something greater. God is the God of the impossible. Reasoning your way out of an impossible situation is not as effective as reminding yourself that God does impossible things.

Without reminding ourselves of the greatness and grace and power and wisdom of God, we sink into brutish pessimism. “I was brutish and ignorant; I was like a beast toward you” (Psalm 73:22).

The great turn from despair to hope in Psalm 77 comes with these words: “I will remember the deeds of the Lord; yes, I will remember your wonders of old. I will ponder all your work, and meditate on your mighty deeds” (Psalm 77:11–12).

This is the great battle of my life. I assume yours too. The battle to remind! Myself. Then others.

John Piper

Flourishing In Body, Soul, And Spirit

BIBLE MEDITATION:

“…dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves….” 2 Corinthians 7:1

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT:

You were created to know three worlds—the spiritual, psychological, and material worlds. These can be considered the world above us, the world within us, and the world around us. These worlds are related to the three parts of our human nature—spirit, soul, and body. When you are rightly related to the material world with your body, you are healthy. When you are rightly related to the psychological world with your soul, you are happy. And when you are

rightly related to the spiritual world in your spirit, you are holy. God’s aim is that ultimately you are to experience all three realities: health, happiness, and holiness.

ACTION POINT:

Take a snapshot inventory of your life. Where do you need to start making changes to live a healthier lifestyle? What is your emotional barometer telling you about how you see others and yourself? Do you know of any area in your life where you are not living in obedience to the call of holy living?

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers 

How to Serve a Bad Boss

Rendering service with a good will as to the Lord and not to man, knowing that whatever good anyone does, this he will receive back from the Lord, whether he is a bondservant or is free. (Ephesians 6:7–8)

Consider these five things from Ephesians 6:7–8 in connection to your job.

1) A call to radically Lord-centered living.

This is astonishing compared to the way we usually live. Paul says that all our work should be done as work for Christ, not for any human supervisor. With good will render service “as to the Lord and not to man.”

This means that we will think of the Lord in what we are doing at work. We will ask, Why would the Lord like this done? How would the Lord like this done? When would the Lord like this done? Will the Lord help me to do this? What effect will this have for the Lord’s honor? In other words, being a Christian means radically Lord-centered living and working.

2) A call to be a good person.

Lord-centered living means being a good person and doing good things. Paul says, “With a good will [render service] . . . whatever good anyone does.” Jesus said that when we let our light shine, men will see our “good works” and give glory to our Father in heaven (Matthew 5:16).

3) Power to do a good job for inconsiderate earthly employers.

Paul’s aim is to empower Christians, with Lord-centered motives, to go on doing good for supervisors who are not considerate. How do you keep on doing good in a job when your boss ignores you or even criticizes you? Paul’s answer is: stop thinking about your boss as your main supervisor, and start working for the Lord. Do this in the very duties given to you by your earthly supervisor.

4) Encouragement that nothing good is done in vain.

Perhaps the most amazing sentence of all is this: “Whatever good anyone does, this he will receive back from the Lord.” This is amazing. Everything! “Whatever good anyone does.” Every little thing you do that is good is seen and valued and rewarded by the Lord.

And he will pay you back for it. Not in the sense that you have earned anything — as if you could put him in your debt. He owns you, and everything in the universe. He owes us nothing. But he freely, graciously chooses to reward us for all the good things done in faith.

5) Encouragement that insignificant status on earth is no hindrance to great reward in heaven.

The Lord will reward every good thing you do — “whether he is a bondservant or is free.” Your supervisor may think you are a nobody — a mere bondservant, so to speak. Or he may not even know you exist. That doesn’t matter. The Lord knows you exist. And in the end no faithful service will be in vain.

John Piper

The Devil's Most Prized Tool

BIBLE MEDITATION:

“Mine eyes are ever toward the Lord…” Psalm 25:15

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT:

There’s a story about the devil auctioning off his tools. He had a high price on pride, laziness, arrogance, hate, envy, and jealousy. But there was one tool that had a sign under it, “Not For Sale.” Someone said, “What is that tool and why isn’t it for sale?” “Well,” he said, “I can’t afford to get rid of that one. It’s my chief tool, discouragement. With this tool, I can pry open a heart, and once I get in I can do most anything I want.”

Do you want me to tell you why you get discouraged? I’ll give it to you in a nutshell—you’ve taken your eyes off God!

ACTION POINT:

Are you discouraged? If not, praise God! And find someone who is so that you can give them the encouragement they need in Jesus Christ. Maybe it’s your next-door neighbor, maybe it’s a coworker, maybe it’s your spouse.

 LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers 

Old Testament Sheol

What is this place mentioned numerous times in the Bible?

It is the place of the dead.

3 For my soul is full of troubles, and my life draws near to Sheol. 

4 I am counted among those who go down to the pit; I am a man who has no strength, 

5 like one set loose among the dead, like the slain that lie in the grave, like those whom you remember no more, for they are cut off from your hand. 

6 You have put me in the depths of the pit, in the regions dark and deep.  - Psalm 88:3-6

For in death there is no remembrance of you; in Sheol who will give you praise?  - Psalm 6:5

17 Behold, it was for my welfare that I had great bitterness; but in love you have delivered my life from the pit of destruction, for you have cast all my sins behind your back. 

18 For Sheol does not thank you; death does not praise you; those who go down to the pit do not hope for your faithfulness. 

19 The living, the living, he thanks you, as I do this day; the father makes known to the children your faithfulness.  - Isaiah 38:17-19

11 Their graves are their homes forever, their dwelling places to all generations, though they called lands by their own names. 

12 Man in his pomp will not remain; he is like the beasts that perish. 

13 This is the path of those who have foolish confidence; yet after them people approve of their boasts. Selah 

14 Like sheep they are appointed for Sheol; death shall be their shepherd, and the upright shall rule over them in the morning. Their form shall be consumed in Sheol, with no place to dwell.  - Psalm 49:11-14

7 Where shall I go from your Spirit? Or where shall I flee from your presence? 

8 If I ascend to heaven, you are there! If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there!  - Psalm 139:7-8

We have hope in God's Son Christ!

But God will ransom my soul from the power of Sheol, for he will receive me. Selah  - Psalm 49:15

8 He will swallow up death forever; and the Lord GOD will wipe away tears from all faces, and the reproach of his people he will take away from all the earth, for the LORD has spoken. 

9 It will be said on that day, "Behold, this is our God; we have waited for him, that he might save us. This is the LORD; we have waited for him; let us be glad and rejoice in his salvation."  - Isaiah 25:8-9

having a hope in God, which these men themselves accept, that there will be a resurrection of both the just and the unjust. - Acts 24:15

17 When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. But he laid his right hand on me, saying, "Fear not, I am the first and the last,

18 and the living one. I died, and behold I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of Death and Hades. - Revelation 1:17-18

There is a judgment!

25 For I know that my Redeemer lives, and at the last he will stand upon the earth. 

26 And after my skin has been thus destroyed, yet in my flesh I shall see God, 

27 whom I shall see for myself, and my eyes shall behold, and not another. My heart faints within me! 

28 If you say, 'How we will pursue him!' and, 'The root of the matter is found in him,' 

29 be afraid of the sword, for wrath brings the punishment of the sword, that you may know there is a judgment."  - Job 19:25-29

1 "At that time shall arise Michael, the great prince who has charge of your people. And there shall be a time of trouble, such as never has been since there was a nation till that time. But at that time your people shall be delivered, everyone whose name shall be found written in the book.

2 And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt.

3 And those who are wise shall shine like the brightness of the sky above; and those who turn many to righteousness, like the stars forever and ever. - Daniel 12:1-3

10 The righteous will rejoice when he sees the vengeance; he will bathe his feet in the blood of the wicked. 

11 Mankind will say, "Surely there is a reward for the righteous; surely there is a God who judges on earth."  - Psalm 58:10-11

4 For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.

5 Consequently, when Christ came into the world, he said, "Sacrifices and offerings you have not desired, but a body have you prepared for me; 

6 in burnt offerings and sin offerings you have taken no pleasure. 

7 Then I said, 'Behold, I have come to do your will, O God, as it is written of me in the scroll of the book.'" 

8 When he said above, "You have neither desired nor taken pleasure in sacrifices and offerings and burnt offerings and sin offerings" (these are offered according to the law),

9 then he added, "Behold, I have come to do your will." He does away with the first in order to establish the second.

10 And by that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. - Hebrews 10:4-10

New Testament Heaven and Hell

God's revelation is progressive.

Through His divine revelation, His inspired word reveals His plan of salvation through Christ alone. 

You are a sinner in need of a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.

There are no works, deeds, or monetary payments to satisfy God's requirements, only the blood of His sinless Son!

The Remedy for Pride

Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit” — yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.” As it is, you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil. (James 4:13–16)

James is talking about pride and arrogance and how they show up in subtle ways. “You boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil.”

When you take three categories of temptation to self-reliance — wisdom, power, and riches — they form a powerful inducement toward the ultimate form of pride; namely, atheism. The safest way for us to stay supreme in our own estimation is to deny anything above us.

This is why the proud preoccupy themselves with looking down on others. C.S. Lewis said, “A proud man is always looking down on things and people: and, of course, as long as you are looking down, you cannot see something that is above you” (Mere Christianity).

But to preserve pride, it may be simpler to just proclaim that there is nothing above to look at. “In the pride of his face the wicked does not seek him; all his thoughts are, ‘There is no God’” (Psalm 10:4). Ultimately, the proud must persuade themselves that there is no God.

One reason for this is that God’s reality is overwhelmingly intrusive in all the details of life. Pride cannot tolerate the intimate involvement of God in running the universe, let alone the detailed, ordinary affairs of life.

Pride does not like the sovereignty of God. Therefore, pride does not like the existence of God, because God is sovereign. It might express this by saying, “There is no God.” Or it might express it by saying, “I am driving to Atlanta for Christmas.”

James says, “Don’t be so sure.” Instead, you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we shall live, and we will get to Atlanta for Christmas.”

James’s point is that God rules over whether you get to Atlanta, and whether you live to the end of this devotional. This is extremely offensive to the self-sufficiency of pride — not even to have control over whether you get to the end of the devotional without having a stroke!

James says that not believing in the sovereign rights of God to manage the details of your future is arrogance.

The way to battle this arrogance is to yield to the sovereignty of God in all the details of life, and rest in his infallible promises to show himself mighty on our behalf (2 Chronicles 16:9), to pursue us with goodness and mercy every day (Psalm 23:6), to work for those who wait for him (Isaiah 64:4), and to equip us with all we need to live for his glory (Hebrews 13:21).

In other words, the remedy for pride is unwavering faith in God’s sovereign future grace.

John Piper