Grace Must Be Free

What do you have that you did not receive? If then you received it, why do you boast as if you did not receive it? (1 Corinthians 4:7)

Picture salvation as a house that you live in.

It provides you with protection. It is stocked with food and drink that will last forever. It never decays or crumbles. Its windows open onto vistas of all-satisfying glory.

God built it at great cost to himself and to his Son, and he gave it to you free and clear.

The “purchase” agreement is called a “new covenant.” The terms read: “This house shall become and remain yours if you will receive it as a gift and take delight in the Father and the Son as they inhabit the house with you. You shall not profane the house of God by sheltering other gods nor turn your heart away after other treasures, but find your contentment in the fellowship of God in this house.”

Would it not be foolish to say yes to this agreement, and then hire a lawyer to draw up an amortization schedule with monthly payments in the hopes of somehow balancing accounts and paying for the house?

You would be treating the house no longer as a gift, but a purchase. God would no longer be the free benefactor. And you would be enslaved to a new set of demands that he never dreamed of putting on you.

If grace is to be free — which is the very meaning of grace — we cannot view it as something to be repaid.

John Piper 

What makes God sick?

BIBLE MEDITATION:

Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love. Revelation 2:4

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT:

In Revelation 2:1-7, the Lord charges the church at Ephesus with leaving their first love. It wasn’t that they didn’t love the Lord Jesus. It was that they didn’t love Him like they used to. If there ever was a time when you loved Jesus more than you do at this moment, you’re backslidden.

G. Campbell Morgan said, “Lukewarmness is the worst form of blasphemy.” Lukewarmness is a way of saying, “God, I believe in You, but You just don’t excite me.” That’s terrible. That says, “God, Your love, Your sacrifice, all Your worth—they just don’t move me.” We yawn in the face of God. No wonder in the next chapter Jesus said, “I would that you were either hot or cold. But you’re neither. You’re lukewarm. Therefore, you make me sick.”

God loves you too much to let you get by with lukewarmness. He will chasten you. When He shows you that you’re lukewarm, there’s only one thing to do: “…be zealous and repent” (Revelation 3:19).

Many of us have dethroned the Lord Jesus Christ and enthroned self. Jesus says, “Behold, I stand at the door and knock” (Rev. 3:20). Jesus Christ is knocking at the door saying, “Let Me in!”

ACTION POINT:

Have you left your first love? Has your love for Jesus become lukewarm? I don’t know when Jesus is coming, but when He comes, I want to be on fire. Open the door of your heart wide to Him. Say, “Come in, Lord Jesus. Rule in my heart. I want to be ready for Your return.”

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers 

How to Repay God

What shall I render to the Lord for all his benefits to me? I will lift up the cup of salvation and call on the name of the Lord, I will pay my vows to the Lord. (Psalm 116:12–14)

The very use of the language “rendering to God for all his benefits to me” makes me nervous. Payback can so easily imply that grace is like a mortgage. It’s really generous, but you have to pay it back.

Paul said in Acts 17:25, God is not “served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything.” In other words, you can’t give anything to God or do anything for God that he hasn’t first given to you and done for you.

You see this again in 1 Corinthians 15:10, “By the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me.” So none of our work can ever be a payment to God, because the very work is another gift from God. With every deed we do for God we go deeper into debt to grace.

So in Psalm 116 what keeps the paying of vows free from the dangers of being treated like a debt payment is that the “payment” is, in reality, not an ordinary payment, but another act of receiving which magnifies the ongoing grace of God. It does not magnify our resourcefulness.

The psalmist’s answer to his own question, “What shall I render to the Lord for all his benefits?” is, “I will lift up the cup of salvation and call on the name of the Lord.” In other words, I call on the Lord to fill the cup. To pay back the Lord means to go on receiving from the Lord so that the Lord’s inexhaustible goodness will be magnified.

Lifting up the cup of salvation signifies taking the Lord’s satisfying salvation in hand and drinking it and expecting more. We know this because of the next phrase: “I will . . . call on the name of the Lord.” I will call for more help. What shall I render to God for graciously answering my call? Answer: I shall call again. I will render to God the praise and the tribute that he is never in need of me, but is always overflowing with benefits when I need him (which I always do).

Then the psalmist says, in the third place, “I will pay my vows to the Lord.” But how will they be paid? They will be paid by holding up the cup of salvation and by calling on the Lord. That is, they will be paid by faith in the promise that more grace — all-sufficient grace — is always on the way.

John Piper 

Revealed: The meaning of everything

BIBLE MEDITATION:

. . . all things were created by Him, and for Him. Colossians 1:16b

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT:

Do you want to know the meaning of everything? It is Jesus only. You may think that is an overstatement. We live in a great big universe, billions of light years in expanse. And the Bible tells us that “all things were created by Him, and for Him” (Colossians 1:16).

There is nothing made that was not made by the Lord Jesus. The answer to creation is Jesus only. People say, “The world needs saving.” But what the world really needs is redemption. And where is redemption going to come from? Not from a creed, code, or cause, but Jesus only.

The entire universe, the plans of God, and the sweep of all the ages comes down to two words: Jesus only.

ACTION POINT:

When was the last time you shared your faith? Maybe today you can begin a conversation with someone about the expanse of the universe. Who knows where that spark of truth will lead?

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers 

God-Given Foes and God-Given Faith

Only let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ . . . not frightened in anything by your opponents. . . . For it has been granted to you that for the sake of Christ you should not only believe in him but also suffer for his sake. (Philippians 1:27–29)

Paul told the Philippians that living worthy of the gospel of Christ meant fearlessness before enemies. Then he gave the logic of fearlessness.

The logic is this: God has given you two gifts, not just one — faith and suffering. That’s what verse 29 says. “For it has been granted to you that for the sake of Christ you should not only believe in him but also suffer for his sake.” Granted to you to believe, and granted to you to suffer.

In this context that means: Both your faith in the face of suffering, and your suffering are gifts of God. When Paul says, don’t be frightened by your opponents, he had two reasons in his mind why they don’t need to be frightened:

One reason is that the opponents are in the hand of God. Their opposition is a gift from God. He governs it. That’s the first point of verse 29.

And the other reason not to be afraid is that your fearlessness, that is, your faith, is also in the hand of God. It too is a gift. That is the other point of verse 29.

So the logic of fearlessness in the face of adversity is this double truth: Both your adversity and your faith in the face of adversity are gifts of God.

Why is this called living “worthy of the gospel of Christ”? Because the gospel is the good news that Christ’s blood of the covenant infallibly obtained for all his people the sovereign working of God to give us faith and to govern our enemies — always for our eternal good. That’s what the gospel secured. Therefore, to live that way shows the power and goodness of the gospel.

Therefore, fear not. Your adversaries can do no more than God grants. And he will grant all the faith you need. These promises are blood-bought and sealed. They are gospel promises.

John Piper 

You are forever in His heart

BIBLE MEDITATION:

And God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness….” So God created man in His own image, in the image of God created He him; male and female created He them.” Genesis 1:26-27

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT:

Through the first five days of His creation, God looked upon all He had created—the heavens and the earth, the sun, moon and stars, all earth’s vegetation and living creatures—and saw “it was good.” The next day, the pinnacle of His creation was man. At that point, He stepped back and said, “It is very good” (Genesis 1:31).

But then sin entered the world, and we broke fellowship with our Creator. Because of His great love and mercy toward us, God sent His only Son to bring us back to Himself.

Now, when we are saved, we become a new creation. When you give your heart to God and trust Him as your Lord and Savior, saying “I surrender to You,” then God says, “It is good” once again. Before, sin soiled your garments. But God sent the righteous robes of His Son for you to wear.

Now, you are--- 

• washed in His blood, 

• clean in His sight, 

• and forever in His heart.

ACTION POINT:

Take a look in the mirror. Are you dressed in your robes or His? The chorus says, “It took a miracle to hang the worlds in space. It took a miracle to put the stars in place. But when He saved my soul, cleansed and made me whole, it took a miracle of love and grace.” If you are His child, thank Him for all He has done. If you want that miracle, ask Jesus to come into your heart.

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers 

Restoring Your Brother

Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted. - Galatians 6:1

19 My brothers, if anyone among you wanders from the truth and someone brings him back,

20 let him know that whoever brings back a sinner from his wandering will save his soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins. - James 5:19-20

8 If I say to the wicked, O wicked one, you shall surely die, and you do not speak to warn the wicked to turn from his way, that wicked person shall die in his iniquity, but his blood I will require at your hand.

9 But if you warn the wicked to turn from his way, and he does not turn from his way, that person shall die in his iniquity, but you will have delivered your soul. - Ezekiel 33:8-9

6 If you put these things before the brothers, you will be a good servant of Christ Jesus, being trained in the words of the faith and of the good doctrine that you have followed.

7 Have nothing to do with irreverent, silly myths. Rather train yourself for godliness;

8 for while bodily training is of some value, godliness is of value in every way, as it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come.

9 The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance.

10 For to this end we toil and strive, because we have our hope set on the living God, who is the Savior of all people, especially of those who believe.

11 Command and teach these things.

12 Let no one despise you for your youth, but set the believers an example in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, in purity.

13 Until I come, devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, to exhortation, to teaching.

14 Do not neglect the gift you have, which was given you by prophecy when the council of elders laid their hands on you.

15 Practice these things, immerse yourself in them, so that all may see your progress.

16 Keep a close watch on yourself and on the teaching. Persist in this, for by so doing you will save both yourself and your hearers. - 1 Timothy 4:6-16

When you try to help restore people to their former love, they rebel. 

That being said, you are assuming that they are a Christ Follower.

You will be expected to be politically correct.

You will be expected to be inclusive to all, even though you are trying to be obedient to God.

God demands holiness.

Persecution comes in the way of name calling because you stand with the Lord and against the way of the world. 

We don't like our sin exposed. 

We are not judging just merely saying what God says.

Love does conquer. 

Love is inclusive.

But judgment is real and you will be held accountable.

You are bound by God to speak the gospel, in love and to stress repentance.

Not one of us can claim to be sin free.

We all are weak, we fall.

We should prayerfully be in repentance asking for mercy and strength. 

Rebellion is sin, rooted in disobedience.

Lord, save us from our sin.

Forgive us our rebellion.

Let us love people out of Hell in Your name and for Your glory.

Amen