Salvation
Our Bible reading for today includes a parallel passage from Matthew 7:22-23. In that sad story, Jesus reminds us once again, that not everyone will enter the Kingdom of Heaven, including many who think they have “eternal security”.
In the preaching of cheap grace, preachers often invite their hearers to “ask Jesus into their hearts” or “pray the sinner’s prayer” and/or be baptized and they can be assured they are saved. Yet, only God knows who is and who is not saved!
Our church will be wrapping up a sermon series on the book of Acts in a few weeks. So far, in the first two-thirds of the book, no one has been urged to “invite Jesus into your heart” and no preacher has told anyone to “pray a sinners prayer”. Despite what a preacher or a revivalist told you, those concepts — not just the words — are foreign to the teachings of the New Testament. So what does the teaching of the New Testament say about salvation? That’s a great question!
From Peter’s first sermon (Acts 2) through the conversion of the Samaritans (Acts 8) through the conversion of the Gentiles (Acts 16) through the conversion of John the Baptizer’s disciples (Acts 19), the appeal is always, without exception, “Repent!” And yet, that word — and that concept for that matter — is rarely heard today.
What does it mean to repent? It means to change your mind, to change your way of thinking, to turn from your way to God’s way. Yes, repentance can be expressed in
The main takeaway from the preaching in Acts to the teaching in Jesus’ ministry and in the epistles, a call to salvation is a call to die. (Luke 9:23) Not everyone will be saved; only those who place their faith in Jesus Christ will be saved. And not everyone who thinks they are saved is saved.
Jesus emphasizes that the Homeowner (God the Father) decides who gets in through the narrow door and that once He closes the door, it’s too late. There are no second chances. As we’ve seen before, salvation isn’t about doing good things and not going bad things. Salvation is about knowing and being known. (Luke 13:25 CSB, John 17:3) It’s about having a relationship with Jesus Christ.
Salvation is about knowing and being known.
It’s about having a relationship with Jesus Christ.
Application
You may think that you’re saved. On what basis? If God were to ask you why you should be allowed into heaven, how would you respond? If your answer begins with, “Because I…”, you need to go back and revisit the message of the Gospel. Salvation is all about what Jesus did, not you. If you’re saved because of something you’ve done or not done that balances out to be good enough, let me remind you that, all you brought to the equation was the sin that made Jesus’ sacrifice necessary.
Spend a few minutes today looking at your salvation. What evidence do you have that you are indeed saved? What fruit demonstrates that your faith is rooted in a relationship with Jesus Christ? The people in Matthew 7:22-23 and Luke 13:25, 27 thought they would be rewarded for their behavior. They were wrong. What about you?
This devotional was originally published July 13, 2019.
In yesterday’s Bible reading, we looked at Jesus’ comments on counting the cost and that not everyone who
In today’s Bible reading, Jesus says that God has hidden some things from some people and He has revealed some things to some people. (Luke 10:21-22)
Why would God hide things from some people? There is an element of God hiding things in order that we might seek them out. (Proverbs 25:2) But from yesterday’s reading, not all who want to follow Jesus really want to follow; they have divided loyalties. (Luke 9:59, 61)
Of course, we all have divided loyalties. The Seventy-two Disciples whom Jesus sends out in Luke 10:1ff return amazed at their authority over demons. They were looking at the fruits of their ministry instead of the root of their ministry, i.e., the One who gave them the authority. (Luke 10:19-20)
God occasionally gives us a glimpse of His glory. Yesterday, we read of Jesus’ Transfiguration. Peter made the understatement of the millennium, “It is good for us to be here.” (Luke 9:33)
Application
Have you ever been shocked
Recently, someone close to me has needed medical help. God has given her a job where she has contacts with some of the best doctors in the country. Rather than a multi-month wait, God orchestrated one of the best of the best doctors to see her in a matter of weeks. If God chooses to heal her through this doctor’s hands (as opposed to a miraculous way, which we would also welcome!), she will have surgery next month to repair a repetitive stress injury.
I’m glad that God has shown me a glimpse of His glory through this situation, to see His hand move as He plays the Master Conductor bringing everything into alignment in perfect timing. We will rejoice regardless of how God chooses to bring healing, but we must keep our eyes on the Healer rather than the healing. We must keep our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfected of our faith (Hebrews 12:2)
God cares for His kids more than we could think or ask (Ephesians 3:20). But more than the things He does for us, the most remarkable thing is that He adopted us in the first place. We sure didn’t deserve it! In
If you’re one of His, spend a few minutes today reveling in the remarkable, stunning reality that you were adopted, too! If you aren’t one of His, or if you aren’t sure if you’re one of His, please reach out to me today!
All that thrills my soul is Jesus
He is more than life to me.
And the fairest of ten thousand
In my blessed Lord I see
This devotional was originally published July 10, 2019.
If you’ve ever watched “A Charlie Brown Christmas”, you heard Linus van Pelt quote from Luke’s Gospel in today’s Bible reading. Charlie Brown complains that Christmas has become so commercialized. (The animated classic first aired in 1965) Exasperated, Charlie Brown asks, “Isn’t there anyone who knows what Christmas is all about?”
Linus replies, “Sure, Charlie Brown. I can tell you what Christmas is all about.” Linus takes the stage and asks for the spotlight, “Lights, please.”
“In the same region, shepherds were staying out in the fields and keeping watch at night over their flock. Then an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, “Don’t be afraid, for
look , I proclaim to you good news of great joy that will be for all the people: Today in the city of David a Savior was born for you, who is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be the sign for you: You will find a baby wrapped tightly in cloth and lying in a manger.” Suddenly there was a multitude of the heavenly host with the angel, praising God and saying: Glory to God in the highest heaven, and peace on earth to people he favors!” Luke 2:8–14 (CSB)
Click here to watch Linus tell the meaning of Christmas.
Application
If you’ve seen the program, you may have missed a crucial point. In the middle of his quote of Luke’s Gospel, Linus drops his blanket as he says, “Don’t be afraid, for look, I proclaim to you good news of great joy that will be for all the people: Today in the city of David a Savior was born for you, who is the Messiah, the Lord.”
In dropping his security blanket, Linus drives home the point that because Jesus came, there’s no reason to be afraid.
Have you dropped your security blanket
to embrace the good news of Jesus?
This devotional was originally published June 28, 2019
In today’s Bible reading, Paul says that a mystery hidden through the ages has been revealed in Jesus Christ: The Gentiles are coheirs, members of the same body, and partners in the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel. Ephesians 3:6 (CSB)
The Gentiles are included! And not just included, but they’re co-heirs to God’s promise! God’s plans for His people weren’t limited to the Jewish people!
If you look back through the history of mankind, however, this mystery was hinted at in several places. Look at Rahab, the prostitute who concealed the Hebrew spies; she and her family were saved when God destroyed the city of Jericho (Joshua 6:23, 25) In his genealogy of Jesus, Matthew records three other women, all of whom are Gentiles: Tamar, Ruth, and Uriah’s wife, Bathsheba. The mystery, however, was that God’s plan — from before the foundation of the world — was that God would include the Gentiles, not just a few incidental individuals.
God has given us the ability to imagine some pretty spectacular things. And Paul concludes the chapter praising God for His ability to more than anyone can ask or even imagine. Including the Gentiles in God’s plans were outside the realm of most people’s imagination. But God did it.
Application
You may have some big “asks”. Did you know that God can come through, not only according to your ask, but above and beyond what you could ask or imagine? We have a really big God. Seek Him today.
This devotional was originally published June 8, 2019.
Paul paints a pretty grim picture of fallen mankind in today’s Bible reading. We saw him paint the same picture a few weeks ago in the beginning few chapters of Romans.
He says we were dead. He says we were alienated from God. He says we lived according to our fleshly desires (that’s all we had!). He says we lived according to our enemy’s rules. We were by nature children of wrath. I can’t think of anything he could have missed. There is nothing positive that Paul says about us in our lost, fallen condition. Nothing. And then two of my favorite words….
But God.
While all of these bad things were true of us, God steps in and makes all things new. He makes all things good. He makes all things right so that we might be justified — to have a right standing before Him, not just on judgment day, but today. Jesus served as the final, ultimate, once-for-all atoning sacrifice that made all things right between a holy God and a fallen humanity.
In Romans 5:8, Paul puts it this way. “God shows His love for us us in that while we were sinners, Christ died for us.”
God made us alive. He raised us up and sat us next to Jesus in the heavenly places so that at some point in the future, he can display the immeasurable riches of His grace through kindness. (Ephesians 2:5-7)
And then in just two verses, Paul drives home the fact that all of this is a miraculous work of God. The only thing we brought to the bargaining table is the sin that made Jesus’ sacrifice necessary.
For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. Ephesians 2:8–9 (ESV)
- Grace is unmerited favor. He gave it because He wanted to.
- We have been saved. This is a passive mood in Greek. It happened to us. We didn’t do it to/for ourselves; it happened from outside of us.
- We have been saved. This is the perfect tense in Greek. Salvation is a done deal. There is nothing left for us to do to complete it.
- Salvation is through faith and it (the process of salvation) is not of our own doing.
- Salvation is the gift of God. It’s something given, not earned.
- Salvation is not of works. Again, we didn’t earn it by doing anything for it. Otherwise, by definition it wouldn’t be grace, it would be “wages“.
SEVEN TIMES IN TWO VERSES!
No one can boast of salvation. Why? Because we were passive in the process when it happened to us from outside of us, not of our own doing, but rather was a gift that we didn’t work for.
Paul highlights the fact that this was a miraculous work of God because He wanted to do it (He wasn’t obligated to do it)!
Application
As they say, “If that doesn’t light your fire, your wood is wet!” How else could anyone respond to such a great salvation that God has given to His kids, but respond in joy and praise!
Spend some time doing that today!