Standing in Grace

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.  - Romans 5:1-2

In many Christian circles the language of salvation is as a past-tense, one time, prayer experience.  "I got saved when I was 5 years old."  While there is absolutely nothing wrong with saying that, I'm encouraged by Romans 5:1-2 to see and experience the "process" of salvation.   

- We have been (past-tense) justified (v1).
- We stand (present-tense) in grace (v2).
- We rejoice in hope (future) (v2).

Believers are not merely "products" of a prayer that is said and forgotten.  When God opens our blind eyes and awakens our dead hearts, we come alive in Christ.  We come into a relationship with God that will continue to grow and change as we learn more and more about Him.  Yes, we are justified the moment that God awakens our hearts with the light of the gospel, and we can look back at that time.  But we also continue, day by day, to stand in His grace.  His grace sustains us and keeps us moment by moment.  And yet we can also say that we look to the future with hope knowing that God's wrath will pass over us.  We will be saved on that day.  Praise God!

We were saved; we are being saved; and we will be saved from the wrath to come.  The gospel that we believed the first moment when we came to trust Christ is the same gospel that sustains us as we move through life.  And it's the same gospel that tells us our future is sure.

The gospel gives us what we desperately need for the day-in and day-out labors that are before us.  The struggles, the hurt, the mundane - all become little arrows that point us back to the cross and forward to the hope that we can rejoice in, knowing that our future is certain.  When life seems painful or maybe just boring, look at the salvation that you are experiencing.  Look at what Christ has done, look at the work set before us as believers, and look at what is to come.  No pain or suffering is worth comparing to this (Romans 8:18)!  Because we were justified, we have peace with God and we have access to His sustaining grace.  Feel and enjoy the grace that He offers day by day.  This gives us hope when all else fails (because all else will eventually fail.)

This makes me excited - excited about what God has done for me, excited about the present relationship that I have with my Savior and the kingdom work I get to be a part of, and it gives me hope for what is to come!  Hope in Christ or it's no hope at all.

I'm standing in His grace today - one day at at time.

Our Future is Bright

JOB
The book of Job can seem like a sad and dismal read.  Chapter by chapter it seems we become more and more depressed as we read of Job's despair.  The book of Job details the tragedies that he faces and the accusations that he receives because of his misery.  His friends automatically are convinced that it's because of his sin that these tragedies have come to him, when in fact, it was the opposite.  Job suffered because he was righteous before God.  

After 40 chapters of misery, the book  is completed with chapter 42.  After spending over a month reading through Job, I read chapter 42 the other night and truly felt a sense of comfort.  We see Job show humility before God.  We see his "friends" get what's been coming to them.  We see things being set straight!  What a happy ending!  God blessed Job beyond what he previously had.  He had monetary blessing and familial blessings and he lived a long and happy life!  

US
We can be so near-sighted when it comes to our struggles in life.  We can only see the pain that's right in front of us.  We forget that joy is awaiting the believer.  In Job's case it came (in part) in his earthly life.  This will not be the case for all of us.  Some of us suffer and won't see God's outpouring of blessing in this life.  Some suffer in this life endlessly.  

OUR FUTURE IS BRIGHT But the good news of the gospel is that suffering and physical death for the believer actually and eventually brings joy.  It brings us closer to the Lord and the eternal bliss that we will enjoy with HIM forever.  No matter how you look at it, the Christian has a bright future, whether in this life or the next.  We can always hold our heads high knowing that better days are coming.  When struggles come and difficulties seem to choke out our joy, we can ALWAYS look to Christ.  We can look ahead to the future that we have in Christ where we will spend eternity with Him where sin shall be no more!

For those who trust the gospel, the end of this life is entrance into perfection and communion with God.  Death no longer stings because if we trust the gospel death means being with Christ.  Even in the midst of suffering, our minds should be focused on Christ.  Our future is bright and death is no longer scary for those who trust the gospel.  "O death where is your victory.  O death, where is your sting?" (1 Cor 15:55).  

STRUGGLE LIKE PAUL
Paul displays his complete dependence in Christ when he says in Philippians chapter one:  "For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain...I am hard pressed between the two. My desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better..."  Paul's future was bright no matter how he looked at it.  He wanted to stay on earth to pursue ministry for the sake of the gospel and those he ministered to, but he also knew that death would bring him to Christ.

Do we ever struggle between these two things - 1) ministry in this life or 2) being with Christ in the next?  I think if we're honest, most of us wouldn't want to do either (not right now anyway...we may want "heaven" in the future, but we're obsessed with the world and our lives right now and wouldn't want to be with Christ now).  Our minds are focused on the next vacation or the next big event going on, our friends, our family, our house, our car, or our "big plans" for the future.  This wouldn't be the case if we truly set our minds on "things above where Christ is seated at the right hand of God" (Col 3:1).  

I want to have the mindset of Paul where my joy is Christ - whether through doing ministry in this life, or enjoying Christ forever in the next.  Nothing else can bring true joy.  Let's press on to advance the kingdom until we are with HIM!

Falling in Love

HE PURSUED ME
I'm falling in love with the God who has pursued me.  He has pursued me by calling me to Himself, by redeeming me with His blood, by justifying me by decree, and by sanctifying me through His Spirit.  He pursued me in the ultimate act of sacrificial love called death.  His death and resurrection forever secured my relationship with Him because it is dependent on Him, not me.  And as if that wasn't enough, He pursues me daily, by giving me this life to live with His Holy Spirit residing in me pointing me towards Him daily.
Rom 8:29-30 "and those whom He predestined He also called...justified...glorified" ; Rom 5:9 "we have now been justified by His blood...saved by Him from the wrath of God" ; Gal 2:16 "not justified by works...but through faith in Jesus" ; 2 Thess 2:13 "sanctification through the Spirit" ; Gal 5:16 "walk by the Spirit and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh"

THE CYCLE
As I've matured in this journey called sanctification, my relationship with Christ has soared in the clouds and sunken into the valley.  He is steadfast, but at times I seek pleasures in the superficial love of my sin.  The sin of my flesh and the sin of my heart are rebellious acts towards a God who loves me.  He has called me, and I have accepted His free gift of salvation; but then I sinned against Him, then fallen in love with Him, then strayed away from him yet again,  then fallen in deeper love with Him, and then again neglected Him with an apathetic heart.  This cycle is repetitive because of my wondering heart ("oh wretched man that I am").
Rom 3:10 "none is righteous, no, not one...no one seeks for God" ; James 1:14 "each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire" ; Rom 1:25 "exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator" ; Ez16:29 "you multiplied your whoring...even with this you were not satisfied"  ; Rom 7:24 "wretched man that I am"

HE IS FAITHFUL
Yet He is still faithfully beside me, keeping me and sustaining me.  He loves me, even when "I play the whore".  When I sin, stray, and neglect Him, He pursues me still.  His love for me is undeniable and unwavering.  He remains faithful to me even when I am unfaithful to Him.  He loves me even when I don't love Him.
Ez 16:26 "you played the whore...to provoke me to anger" ; Hos 11:8-9 "how can I give up on you?...I will not execute my burning anger...for I am God"

HIS LOVE IS EVIDENT 
I have the evidence of His love written in His Word, thus written on my heart.  Forever etched in eternity is the sacrificial love that Jesus Christ has for Rachel Noble (and for all of us who are in Christ).  The cross of Christ solidifies forever the announcement of His love for His people.  Amen!
2 Cor 3:3 "written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts" ; Col 2:14-15 "this He set aside, nailing it to the cross.  He disarmed the rulers...by triumphing over them in Him" ; 1 Cor 15:55 "o death where is your victory, o death, where is your sting" ; Col 1:20 :making peace by the blood of the cross"

Blessings of being "IN CHRIST"

Thank you, Trinity College of Florida for putting on this event tonight.  What a blessing to hear from Jerry Bridges tonight.  He was so encouraging.  He talked about the blessings that come from being "IN CHRIST" and how every growth we see in our spiritual life and in our ministry come from our union with Christ - a topic that never grows old.

He talked about the importance of realizing that Jesus Christ did not just DIE for us, He LIVED for us.  He lived perfectly for us.  That means that I lived a perfect life IN CHRIST.  Because I am in Christ, God the Father does not see me for all the sinful rebellious things I've done, He sees me as perfect - perfectly covered by the blood of Christ.

Jesus' intimate relationship with God the Father is MY intimate relationship with God the Father because I am IN CHRIST.  When He died on the cross, I died on the cross.  I am united with Christ!  I have been justified!  I have been adopted!  I am a new creation IN CHRIST!

This news never "gets old."  Jerry's message tonight could never get old because it was saturated with the news that I am IN CHRIST - the best news ever!  I've been a Christian most of my life and it still brings a smile to my face to hear that I am IN CHRIST and that I share in the in inheritance of Christ.  This is why, as Jerry said, we must preach the gospel to ourselves DAILY.  The gospel is not the message we hear in order to become a Christian.  It is the message we hear, live, read, and remind ourselves of everyday.  Jerry ended tonight's talk with saying that we must accurately put obeying the law of God (sanctification) with reminding ourselves of the gracious gospel message (justification).

Let's thank the Lord for the life and ministry of Jerry Bridges.  He's a pretty cool "old" dude, and I'm blessed that I got to hear from him tonight.