Hope for Imperfect Christians

By a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified. (Hebrews 10:14)

This verse is full of encouragement for imperfect sinners like us, and full of motivation for holiness.

It means that you can have assurance that you stand perfected and completed in the eyes of your heavenly Father not because you are perfect now, but precisely because you are not perfect now but are “being sanctified,” “being made holy” — that, by faith in God’s promises, you are moving away from your lingering imperfection toward more and more holiness. That’s the point of Hebrews 10:14.

Does your faith make you eager to forsake sin and make progress in holiness? That’s the kind of faith that in the midst of imperfection can look to Christ and say, “You have already perfected me in your sight.”

This faith says, “Christ, today I have sinned. But I hate my sin. For you have written the law on my heart, and I long to do it. And you are working in me what is pleasing in your sight (Hebrews 13:21). And so, I hate the sin that I still do; and I hate the sinful thoughts that I contemplate.”

This is the true and realistic faith that saves. This is the faith that can savor the words, “By a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified.”

This is not the boast of the strong. It is the cry of the weak in need of a Savior.

I invite you, I urge you, to be weak enough to trust Christ in this way.

John Piper 

You have power over your sins

BIBLE MEDITATION:

Let not sin reign in your mortal body that you should obey it in the lusts thereof. Neither yield your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin... Romans 6:12-13a

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT:

Did you know that if you let the devil be uppermost in your life today, it’s because you’re doing the letting? Before you were saved, you had no choice. You were a slave to sin. But now you don’t have to let sin have the upper hand in your life.

If you belong to Christ, there’s absolutely no power over you that makes you helpless and says you must sin. Let that thought sink in.

When you entered into union with Christ, you no longer have to let sin reign in your mortal body. You have dethroned sin and enthroned Jesus Christ as Lord of your life. Verse 13 goes on to say, “but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God.”

ACTION POINT:

We need to be like the man who prayed, “Lord, help me cooperate with You, so You won’t have to operate on me.”

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers 

You Have A Seat

Will you accept your seat?

Will you let His blood cover your sin?

Will you be set free from sin?

Will you trust that it's by Christ alone, and that you are powerless?

He's waiting!

And the angel said to me, "Write this: Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb." And he said to me, "These are the true words of God." - Revelation 19:9

29 And people will come from east and west, and from north and south, and recline at table in the kingdom of God.

30 And behold, some are last who will be first, and some are first who will be last." - Luke 13:29-30

27 Then Peter said in reply, "See, we have left everything and followed you. What then will we have?"

28 Jesus said to them, "Truly, I say to you, in the new world, when the Son of Man will sit on his glorious throne, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.

29 And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or lands, for my name's sake, will receive a hundredfold and will inherit eternal life.

30 But many who are first will be last, and the last first. - Matthew 19:27-30

27 Then he said to Thomas, "Put your finger here, and see my hands; and put out your hand, and place it in my side. Do not disbelieve, but believe."

28 Thomas answered him, "My Lord and my God!"

29 Jesus said to him, "Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed." - John 20:27-29

3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,

4 to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you,

5 who by God's power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.

6 In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials,

7 so that the tested genuineness of your faith-more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire-may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.

8 Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory,

9 obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls. - 1 Peter 1:3-9

The Smallest Faith

It depends not on human will or exertion, but on God, who has mercy. (Romans 9:16)

Let us make crystal clear at the beginning of the year that all we will get from God this year, as believers in Jesus, is mercy. Whatever pleasures or pains come our way will all be mercy.

This is why Christ came into the world: “in order that the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy” (Romans 15:9). We were born again “according to his great mercy” (1 Peter 1:3). We pray daily “that we may receive mercy” (Hebrews 4:16); and we are now “waiting for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ that leads to eternal life” (Jude 1:21). If any Christian proves trustworthy, it is “by the Lord’s mercy [he] is trustworthy” (1 Corinthians 7:25).

In Luke 17:5–6, the apostles plead with the Lord, “Increase our faith!” And Jesus says, “If you had faith like a grain of mustard seed, you could say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it would obey you.” In other words, the issue in our Christian life and ministry is not the strength or quantity of our faith, because that is not what uproots trees. God does. Therefore, the smallest faith that truly connects us with Christ will engage enough of his power for all you need.

But what about the times that you successfully obey the Lord? Does your obedience move you out of the category of supplicant of mercy? Jesus gives the answer in the following verses of Luke 17:7–10.

“Will any one of you who has a servant plowing or keeping sheep say to him when he has come in from the field, ‘Come at once and recline at table’? Will he not rather say to him, ‘Prepare supper for me, and dress properly, and serve me while I eat and drink, and afterward you will eat and drink’? Does he thank the servant because he did what was commanded? So you also, when you have done all that you were commanded, say, ‘We are unworthy servants; we have only done what was our duty.’”

Therefore, I conclude, the fullest obedience and the smallest faith obtain the same thing from God: mercy. A mere mustard seed of faith taps into the mercy of God’s tree-moving power. And flawless obedience leaves us utterly dependent on mercy.

The point is this: Whatever the timing or form of God’s mercy, we never rise above the status of beneficiaries of mercy. We are always utterly dependent on what we do not deserve.

Therefore let us humble ourselves and rejoice and “glorify God for his mercy!”

John Piper 

Give the devil a knock-out punch

BIBLE MEDITATION:

And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For Thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen. Matthew 6:13

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT:

Mike Kolen, who played linebacker for the Miami Dolphins, told this story:

“When I graduated from Auburn University, Coach Shug Jordan asked me to do some scouting for him. I said, ‘Sure coach, what kind of man do you need?’ Coach said, ‘You know the guy you can knock down and he stays there?’ I said, ‘Sure!’ Coach said, ‘We don’t need him. You know the guy you can knock down, he gets up, you knock him down again, and he gets up?’ I said, ‘Yes! You want him?’ ‘No,’ said Coach, ‘I want the guy that’s knocking everybody down. That’s the guy I want.’”

I’m grateful that Jesus picks us up when we’re knocked down. But wouldn’t you like to do a little knocking down of the devil for a change? You can if you will learn to pray, “Lord, lead me not into temptation, but keep me from evil.”

ACTION POINT:

Get a 3x5 card and jot this down: “Greater is He [Jesus] that is in you than he [Satan] that is in the world” 1 John 4:4. “Submit yourselves to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.” James 4:7. “And they overcame him [Satan] by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony” Revelation 12:11. Carry this card with you. Refer to it anytime you feel the devil’s attacks. These verses deliver a biblical one-two punch to the devil.

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers

What Jesus Did to Death

Just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment, so Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him. (Hebrews 9:27–28)

The death of Jesus bears sins. This is the very heart of Christianity, and the heart of the gospel, and the heart of God’s great work of redemption in the world. When Christ died he bore sins. He took sins not his own. He suffered for sins that others had done, so that they could be free from sins.

This is the answer to the greatest problem in your life, whether you feel it as the main problem or not. There is an answer to how we can get right with God in spite of being sinners. The answer is that Christ’s death is an offering “to bear the sins of many.” He lifted our sins and carried them to the cross and died there the death that we deserved to die.

Now what does this mean for my dying? “It is appointed [to me] to die once.” It means that my death is no longer punitive. My death is no longer a punishment for sin. My sin has been borne away. My sin is “put away” by the death of Christ. Christ took the punishment.

Why then do I die at all? Because God wills that death remain in the world for now, even among his own children, as an abiding testimony to the extreme horror of sin. In our dying we still manifest the external effects of sin in the world.

But death for God’s children is no longer his wrath against them. It has become our entrance into salvation not condemnation.

John Piper 

Would you like a second chance?

BIBLE MEDITATION:

Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light. See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise, Redeeming the time, because the days are evil. Ephesians 5:14-16

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT:

We stand on the threshold of a new year. And if you’re like me, you make resolutions that go in one year and out the other.

We determine we’re going to do this or that or not do this or that. And then at the end of the year we look back and see we’ve failed to some degree to keep our resolutions.

But that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t resolve again, by the grace of God, because I have wonderful news for you. The God we serve is the God of grace, the God of forgiveness and the God of beginning again. Don’t forget it. He’s the God of a new start. He’s the God of the second chance.

ACTION POINT:

God’s two great gifts to you are: number one, Jesus, and number two, TIME. God has given you time to work, time to serve, time to love, time to laugh, time to labor. But like any gift, how you use it is really up to you. See this day and every day as a gift from God.

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers