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 

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.

Hebrews 6:4-6

[4] For it is impossible, in the case of those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, and have shared in the Holy Spirit, [5] and have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the age to come, [6] and then have fallen away, to restore them again to repentance, since they are crucifying once again the Son of God to their own harm and holding him up to contempt.

Ephesians 2:5-7

[5] even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved—[6] and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, [7] so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.

Are You Following a Man-Made Religion?

PRAY OVER THIS

“But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come: For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having a form of godliness but denying its power. And from such people turn away!”

2 Timothy 3:1-5

 

PONDER THIS

You need to beware of the devilish pride of false religion. This is the pride that made the devil the devil. He’s self-centered. He said exactly the opposite of what the Son of God said. The devil said, “Not thy will, but mine be done.” This is the way the devil tempted Eve with the first temptation in the Garden of Eden. He essentially said, “If you will do this, you will be like God” (Genesis 3:5). He appealed to her pride.

All false and devilish religion is built on pride. We have a generation of people who are religious, but their religion is self-centered. It is focused on what I want from God, what I want Him to do, or what I think about Him. You need to examine yourself and assess whether you have repented of your sin and been broken in the dust before the Lord Jesus Christ. We must dethrone self and enthrone Jesus Christ. Most people in America are egomaniacs, strutting their way to Hell, thinking they’re too good to be bothered. They have never repented of their sin. They’ve never made Jesus Christ Lord. It is a man-made religion, and it is a false religion that will lead many astray.

What are some areas of pride in your life?

Why is it natural for us to lean toward pride over submission to Jesus?

PRACTICE THIS

Ask God to strip the pride from your heart and help you walk with Him.

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers

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 

Bible Study

Ephesians 1:21-23

[21] far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come. [22] And he put all things under his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church, [23] which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all.

Daniel 7:14

    [14] And to him was given dominion

        and glory and a kingdom,

    that all peoples, nations, and languages

        should serve him;

    his dominion is an everlasting dominion,

        which shall not pass away,

    and his kingdom one

        that shall not be destroyed.

Isaiah 9:6-7

    [6] For to us a child is born,

        to us a son is given;

    and the government shall be upon his shoulder,

        and his name shall be called

    Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,

        Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. 

    [7] Of the increase of his government and of peace

        there will be no end,

    on the throne of David and over his kingdom,

        to establish it and to uphold it

    with justice and with righteousness

        from this time forth and forevermore.

    The zeal of the LORD of hosts will do this.

Colossians 2:8-10

[8] See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ. [9] For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily, [10] and you have been filled in him, who is the head of all rule and authority.

Our Job is to Be Faithful

PRAY OVER THIS

“So Philip ran to him, and heard him reading the prophet Isaiah, and said, ‘Do you understand what you are reading?’ And he said, ‘How can I, unless someone guides me?’ And he asked Philip to come up and sit with him.” Acts 8:30-31

 

PONDER THIS

We are not really in the truest sense soul winners. The Holy Spirit is the soul winner. He is a soul winner through us and to that degree we are soul winners. That means our job is not to be successful; our job is to be faithful. Our job is to make the message clear and help people understand. They can’t understand unless we show them. Why didn’t God send an angel down there to tell this man how to be saved? Angels don’t know the joy that salvation brings because they haven’t experienced it. We are privileged to do something angels cannot. The man said, “How can I understand unless I have help?” He wanted Philip to come and sit with him. And Phillip was able to walk him through God’s Word and show him how it pointed to Jesus.

We must preach the Christ of God. Philip didn’t preach to him about economics. He didn’t preach to him about the social and political situation in Ethiopia. He preached Jesus. That is our role when we share our faith with others. The Holy Spirit is the One who will convict and win souls for Christ.

What intimidates you about sharing your faith with others?

How will you be faithful to share Jesus with others?

PRACTICE THIS

Pray for someone you know who does not have a relationship with Jesus. Ask God to place faith questions on his or her heart like He did with the Ethiopian eunuch.

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers

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 the 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