Inside Out Living

I was reading in Luke 5 this morning about when Jesus called Peter and James and John to be his disciples. I was quite interested in Jesus' response to Peter, after Peter realized that he was in the presence of the Lord.

At the start of this account, Peter, a fisherman didn't fully understand who Jesus was, even though in the previous chapter Jesus had healed his mother-in-law (Luke 4:38-41). On a side note, it could be that Peter wasn't all that thrilled that Jesus healed his mother-in-law, I don't know I am just sayin'. But now in chapter 5 Jesus does something that really gets Peter's attention. He demonstrates his power over the sea as he orchestrates the largest catch of fish that Peter has probably ever witnessed. Is there any surprise that when they are back at the Sea of Galilee after the resurrection that Peter immediately recognizes Jesus to be the stranger who told them to cast their nets on the otherside providing them with a big catch. I do find it curious that Peter appears to be more impacted by the tremendous catch of fish than by Jesus healing his mother-in-law from a bad fever. It just goes to show that catching a fish is far harder than recovering from a bad illness, not that I think that is the point of the story.

Ok, back to the point. When Peter realizes what Jesus has done, he quickly realizes who Jesus is. This presents Peter with a problem because he knows that he is a sinful human who is not fit to be in the presence of a holy God. He is probably envisioning Isaiah 6 in his mind as he realizes that he is face to face with God in the flesh. While Peter's reaction is appropriate (that is his understanding of his own sinfulness), Jesus' next statement to him reveals that Peter's sin will not prevent fellowship with Jesus.

Why does Jesus tell Peter not to be afraid? The reason he tells this to Peter is because it is not Peter's sin that will prevent him from having fellowship with God through Jesus. Now don't get me wrong here and think that I am presenting a concept of universal salvation, because I am not. Peter is fully lost in his sin and is eternally separated from God at the point that he encounters Jesus, but the point of Jesus statement is that he doesn't have to fear because his sin does not disqualify him from being able to receive salvation as a free gift.

This is because it isn't our sin that prevents us from receiving salvation, but rather it is our refusal to place our faith in Jesus that prevents us from receiving the free gift of salvation. Yes God does take sin seriously and there are eternal consequences for our sin, but the glorious message of the Bible is that Jesus has taken the consequences for our sin upon himself and that through faith we can receive the gift of eternal life.

In Luke chapter two is the account of Mary and Joseph taking Jesus to the temple to dedicate him on the eighth day according to the law of Moses. The priest at the time was named Simeon and the Lord had already revealed to Simeon that he would not die until he saw the Messiah. When Mary and Joseph arrived, Simeon was there having been led by the spirit to go to the temple. Immediately, I would presume with divine prompting, he recognizes Jesus as the son of God, the Messiah the Savior, and he gives the child a prophetic blessing"

Lord, now I can die in peace!
As you promised me,
I have seen the Savior you have given to all people.
He is a light to reveal God to the nations, and he is the glory of your people Israel.

It is the middle line that contains "given to all people that I want to focus on today. Many evangelical Christians do not realize that there are many theologians and scholars in the church who do not believe that statement to really be true. They deny that Jesus was really sent for all people and that he died and rose again to say everyone.

This thinking was born with the five points of Calvinism and the Synod of Dort (1618-19) that formalized those five points. I am not going to provide here a full treatment of Calvinism nor explain all five of its points. The focus today is on the extent of the Atonement of Jesus. In essence Calvinism teaches that the atoning sacrifice of Jesus on the cross only pays for the sins of the elect (Those that God chose to regenerate and grant the ability to believe to). The logical conclusion of this teaching then is that if you are unelect, Jesus didn't die for you and the penalty for your sins (death see Rom. 6:23) has not been paid.

The problem with this teaching in Calvinism is that it doesn't fit with the Bible. There are numerous verses in Scripture, including the passage above, that point to the fact that Jesus came to die for the entire world, not just for the elect. And if Calvinism is right then the message of the Bible is a cruel joke, because Scripture is very clear that Jesus came to die on the cross for everyone.

Our church preaches a message of Free Grace, meaning saving grace (forgiveness of sins and restoration of relationship with God) is available to all who believe in Jesus Christ for their eternal salvation. You don't have to prove anything or change anything in your life, God's offer of free salvation through faith in Jesus is available to all persons everywhere.

You can have confidence that you will spend eternity in relationship with God in heaven by simply believing in Jesus Christ for you salvation.

If you are uncertain if your pastor or church really believes that anyone can be saved, then ask your elders and pastor? And if they don't believe that anyone can be saved, then ask them why not, because the Bible clearly teaches that anyone can be saved.

I was reading in Mark 10 this morning and I came across the story of Jesus healing the blind man Bartimaeus. Jesus' words in verse 52 caused me to think about the interaction of faith and works. In his response to Bartimaeus request to have his vision restored, Jesus says to him, "Your faith has healed you." I have read the passage a few times and no where in the passage do I see that Bartimaeus gives a confession of faith and a rehearsed three part testimony about how his faith in God has changed his life.

All Bartimaeus does is identify who Jesus is with his words and his request. He refers to Jesus as the Son of David, a clear Messianic title from the Hebrew Scriptures. Furthermore his request to be healed by Jesus is based on his faith that Jesus as Messiah is able to heal him. He doesn't have to say the right words or pray a certain prayer to show his faith. His actions in boldly approaching the one who had the power to "save" him from his blindness full demonstrated his faith in who Jesus is. Not only did Bartimaeus boldly approach Jesus, he "threw aside his coat" (v. 50) as he was jumping up to come to Jesus. This was no insignificant act as we will see in a minute.

Earlier in the chapter, Jesus interacted with a rich young man who was seemingly coming to faith in Jesus. Jesus didn't question this man's faith, but merely asked him to give up everything else that he was trusting in to save himself, which for this man was his money and possessions. Unfortunately, for him, his faith in Jesus was not sufficient to trust in Jesus as the only means of salvation and he chose to hold onto his possessions as a "back up" plan of sorts.

Now back to Bartimaeus and the casting aside of the coat. When Bartimaeus was told that he could approach the Messiah, he cast aside his coat in preparation for the meeting. It is quite likely that Bartimaeus' only worldly possession was that coat. The coat is what would keep him protected from the cool nights. It was the only other thing he had in this life and yet he forsake it for the opportunity to come to Jesus. This is the faith that God recognizes and honors. It isn't faith that is mere words, but it is faith that demonstrates that one believes that Jesus is the only one who can save me.

So what are you trusting in to save you? Are you willing to give up anything to follow the one with the power to save you?

“If God is for us, who can ever be against us?” – Romans 8:31b

Three times in the seventh chapter of Ezra, the text says “the gracious hand” of the Lord was upon Ezra. Also in 7:28, Ezra states that this was a great source of encouragement for him in knowing that the hand of the Lord was on him.

There is a similar source of encouragement for us today as New Testament believers and partakers of a new and better covenant. Paul picks up on this theme in Romans 8:31. As believers who have been adopted into God’s family (Rom. 8:15), we share in his treasures (Rom. 8:17) for we are co-heirs with Christ.

So take courage believer! As one who is now adopted by God, know that there is nothing that can separate you from his love (Rom. 8:35). There is no greater source of joy or encouragement for us than to know that the One who created us has also redeemed us and has secured our salvation.

“He will remove all their sorrows, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. For the old world and its evils are gone forever.” – Revelation 21:4

Hezekiah’s poem (Isaiah 38:10-20) is a beautiful response of praise to the healing that he experienced from the Lord. In verse 17, I think we see a foreshadowing of the experience we will have when God totally does away with sin and death.

This is the third level of our salvation experience. Not only are we saved from the penalty and the power of sin, but we will also be saved from the presence of sin. And it is at that point that we will no longer have to deal with the curse of sin, for that will have been done away with and all things will be made new.

What it will be like when that curse is lifted is impossible to fully know. But what we can know is the hope of salvation that comes from knowing Jesus Christ.

May you with great anticipation long for that day when we will finally experience the fullness of our salvation.

“You have died with Christ, and He has set you free from the evil powers of this world.” – Colossians 2:20

Today we have read the magnificent account of how God responded to the faith of Hezekiah and Isaiah and delivered Jerusalem from the armies of the Assyrians. While nothing is too difficult for God (Jer. 32:17), the defeat of the Assyrian army was no small thing. The Assyrians were the dominant nation in the region at that time. The army they had amassed was over 185,000 troops, and they had already taken the northern territory of Israel into captivity. To say the least, the Assyrians were powerful and had every reason to be in control of Jerusalem except for the intervention of the Lord.

In a similar way, sin has power and control in the lives of people. It is only when someone experiences salvation from the Lord through faith in Christ Jesus that they are set free from this power. And not only that, but every time we choose obedience instead of sin we are saved from the power of sin.

“Well then, should we keep on sinning so that God can show us more and more kindness and forgiveness? Of course not! Since we have died to sin, how can we continue to live in it?” – Romans 6:1-2

In the days that Micah prophesied, Israel was proud and arrogant of their standing before the Lord. They had ignored the need for obedience and holiness and had relied on their position as God’s covenant people. They believed they could act however they wanted without any consequences because the Lord had chosen Jerusalem as His dwelling place (3:11).

A false understanding of grace and our assurance of salvation can lead us into a similar way of living. However, Paul makes it clear in the above verse that grace is not a license to sin but, on the contrary, the new man in Christ is to have nothing to do with sin and is to live by righteousness.

This is not to say that we must be perfect or that our salvation or sanctification is totally based on our obedience and holiness. Rather, the way in which we live is not a means to righteousness, but rather is in response to the great salvation we have in Christ.

“Jesus said to him, ‘I am the way, and the truth, and the life, no one comes to the Father but through Me.’” – John 14:6

In today’s reading, Isaiah warns God’s people about relying on outside help for their salvation. Israel as a small nation was weak at this point in history because of civil war and rebelliousness toward God. It was tempting to rely on Egypt’s help in battling the Assyrians instead of relying solely on the Lord.

These international relationships and the need for Israel as a nation to rely on the Lord (Isa. 31:1) is representative of our need to rely on the Lord for our own salvation.

Our salvation is based in the Lord and our standing as righteous before Him is because of the work of Christ and His imputed righteousness in our life. However, many times we attempt to attain righteousness through our own efforts. Any time we add lists of dos and don’ts to our relationship with God, it makes our faith about earning righteousness.

May you begin to see your salvation as complete in the work of Christ, and that you cannot do more than He has already done.

“God saved you by His special favor when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it” – Ephesians 2:8-9

I was once asked how I respond to God for His gift of salvation, considering that not everyone will receive that gift. I think that the gratitude and joy expressed in Isaiah 25:9 sums it up well. There is nothing more and nothing less that can be done in response to God’s salvation than to just praise Him. You cannot claim credit for your salvation, for you did not earn it. And it is not that your faith is greater than the next person, for the faith to believe is from God Himself (John 6:44, 65).

Any time you find yourself feeling proud and satisfied about your faith when standing before God, instead of feeling humble and gracious, that is an attitude that should be repented of. The only right response toward our salvation is one of worship and gratitude for the free gift that God has given us.

Our theme for the week is salvation. There are a number of different topics related to salvation that we are going to look at. My prayer is that, by the end of the week, you will be rejoicing even more in the salvation that we have in Christ.

Today's Devotional:

Judgment, Judgment, Judgment. Five chapters of judgment. Judgment is not a pretty thing to look at or encounter or even to think about. However, it is an important part of who God is. Judgment is God’s reaction or response to man’s sin and rebelliousness and, as the verse above indicates, the judgment or penalty for that sin is death.

This is where the need for salvation comes in. It is because, on our own, we stand before God condemned or judged in our sin. This salvation I speak of today is the first level or primary experience of salvation in that we are saved from the penalty of sin. We experience or will experience salvation on two other levels, which we will discuss later in the week.

This experience of being saved from the penalty of sin is often what we think of when we talk about being saved. It is in this salvation that comes by faith in Christ that we experience a regeneration of life and an adoption into the family of God, becoming co-heirs with Jesus.

The devotional from last Saturday (9/13) was about how David fulfilled his covenant promise to Jonathan by showing kindness to his son, Mephibosheth. Today, we have been reminded of this act in the reading. As we think about this today we are going to consider David’s treatment of Mephibosheth in light of God’s treatment of us.

Mephibosheth had done nothing to deserve the kindness that David showed to him. It was an undeserved gift. Mephibosheth was the benefactor of David’s decision to fulfill his commitment to Jonathan.

God is not contractually or morally bound to save anyone. Based on our actions, we are all deserving of his judgment. For our sake, God has chosen to extend grace to all who come to faith in Jesus Christ. “God saved you by His special favor when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it (Ephesians 2:8-9).

I have overseen a few short term mission trips with teenagers, and am preparing for the next one right now. It has been my experience that the most important rule for keeping the group together and focused is that there is no complaining. Anytime you choose to follow the Lord’s leading there will be some form of sacrifice associated with it. Whining or complaining communicates an unwillingness to make that sacrifice.

It is obvious here that many of the Israelites and the foreigners who were with them had reached their limit of personal sacrifice and had begun to complain. They were prepared to return to slavery in Egypt because the sacrifice was too great.

Returning to slavery may sound silly to us. Personal freedom is worth the sacrifice, isn’t it? While this may be true, how often are we tempted to return to being slaves to sin because the sacrifice of following Christ is too great? As you follow Christ, remember his sacrifice, and what he gave up to secure your salvation.