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Forgiveness and Restoration

In my last post I started writing about what forgiveness is all about. We saw that it was God’s idea that culminated in Christ on the cross. Now the penalty of our sin is no longer demanded.

When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your sinful nature, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, having canceled the written code, with its regulations, that was against us and that stood opposed to us; he took it away, nailing it to the cross.
Colossians 2:13-14

We were dead – the penalty of our sin was looming over us. But now, because of grace, if we’re in Christ and there’s no more penalty. I can look to becoming clean without worrying about the mistakes.

As good as this is, forgiveness is much deeper than that.

The second definition that I found in Webster’s Comprehensive Dictionary reads, “To grant freedom from the penalty.”

That means that forgiveness cancels the penalty. But wait a minute. Isn’t ceasing to demand the penalty and freedom from the penalty the same thing?

NO!!! The first stops the demand. Freedom is needed when you’re reaping the penalty. Forgiveness stops the penalty in its tracks.

The sins of some men are obvious, reaching the place of judgment ahead of them; the sins of others trail behind them.
1 Timothy 5:24

The problem is that not all sin has the same effect on our lives. Sometimes you reap the penalty here. Other sins will not bring a penalty until the judgment seat.

For example, the penalties associated with alcoholism can destroy your life right here and right now. The way is open for anyone to come to Christ as an alcoholic. But if all we had was the first definition – they would be on their way to Heaven, but their life would remain in shambles.

Our God is bigger than that. Because He grants freedom from the penalty, their life can be restored by the power of God.

We need to lay hold of this. Many times we find ourselves walking in penalties that we think we deserve. The forgiveness of the Lord stops the penalty. We don’t have to walk in guilt anymore. The blood of Christ removes the guilt.

…let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water.
Hebrews 10:22

The writer makes a statement here that our hearts are sprinkled. Sprinkled with what? The blood of Christ that forgives us of our sin.

So the reality is that we’ve been forgiven by Christ on the cross. Now, in Christ, there’s no more penalty. We can have a clean conscience.

Unfortunately, as we look at the world around us, it seems that this forgiveness has very little effect in our society. That’s because there’s one more truth associated with forgiveness. It’s the part that makes all of the difference.

I’ll talk about that definition in my next post.

Question: In what ways has the forgiveness of God restored your life?

How to Turn Dirt into a Garden

20 Jan

In my last post I started a “dirt” theme. I talked about a verse in James that tells us how to bring about the changes we need in our lives.

Today I want to ask a related question. How do you turn plain old dirt into a beautiful garden? James tells us the answer a few verses before the one we looked at last time.

He chose to give us birth through the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of all he created.
James 1:18

The answer to our question comes with the realization that the difference between dirt and a garden is the seed that’s planted. You put the seed into the dirt, water them, and all by themselves the flowers grow.

At some point a transformation takes place. There’s a change from a patch of dirt to a garden. Even though the dirt is still there, people will say, “Look at the wonderful flowers.” I’ve never walked by someone’s garden and said, “Hey, that’s really great dirt.”

In the last post we were told by James that in order to remove the evil in us, we need to humbly accept the Word planted in us. That’s what I’m talking about. Today’s verse tells us that the Lord gave us new birth through the Word. It’s the Word of God that breathes new life into us.

He wants us to be a kind of firstfruits for His glory. Farms go through the same transformation that a garden does. It starts out as dirt, but the emphasis changes to tomatoes, wheat or whatever was planted.

“Who cares about the dirt; look at all those watermelons!”

It’s the same way in our lives. As we allow the Word of God to take root in us, people no longer emphasize the “dirt” that we’re dealing with. It’s the fruit of the Spirit that catches their attention. As I accept the seed of the Word into my heart, it can transform my life. Instead of dirt, I’m now considered firstfruits to God.

This is actually a humbling experience. When the focus turns to the fruit, it no longer has anything to do with us. After all, the dirt has nothing to do with what kind of plant is grown. That’s determined by the seed.

When people see the fruit of the Spirit in us, it’s all the work of God. The humbling admission is that I’m nothing, just a patch of dirt, without His Word in me.

Allow the life transforming Word of God to change you into firstfruits for His glory.

Question: How has the Word of God transformed your life?

Do You Feel Like Dirt?

18 Jan

It’s unfortunate that many believers think it’s “spiritual” to have a low opinion of themselves. They either give up on trying to please God, or they become self-righteous Pharisees. The truth is that there’s a better way to deal with our sin nature.

Therefore, get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent and humbly accept the word planted in you, which can save you.
James 1:21

The book of James holds some incredible truths. Unfortunately some of them are “lost in translation”. This is a particularly important verse that should help us in our walk with God.

The problem is that this verse, as translated, can be used as a tool to make believers feel guilty. It sounds like James is telling us that we need to straighten out our lives in order to properly receive the Word of God.

We should all know by now that whenever I try to make myself acceptable to God – I fail. It’s never God’s will that you deal with your faults before you come to Him. He’s the only One with the power needed for victory over our sin.

What’s the solution to all this? It all comes down to the little word and. Look at the verse above. You’ll see that I highlighted a word in red. The fact is, that word and doesn’t exist in the original Greek. That’s why if you read this verse in different translations, half use and, half don’t.

Here’s what I believe that James is saying in this verse. Humbly accepting the Word planted in us is the means by which we remove our sin. That’s how the ongoing work of salvation is accomplished in our lives.

It has nothing to do with me trying harder, or keeping my New Year’s resolutions. I’m not going to please God by strengthening my will power. It will only come as I yield to the life-changing power of the Word of God.

Of course, this is what’s taught to us throughout Scripture. Even the Psalmist, David, understood it.

I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you.
Psalm 119:11

This should be good news to all believers. You might feel like dirt, because of your sin, but dirt is what’s needed for planting the seed. You must humble yourself and admit your condition.

If I have sin that needs correcting, what do I do? I go to the Lord and receive His Word into my heart to let it renew my life.

That’s how lasting change is accomplished in us. Guilt may work for a day. But it’s the power of the Word of God that can perform a permanent change in our lives.

Feel like dirt? Run to the Word of God. That’s where the power is!

Question: Has this helped you in your walk with God? Does it change the way you view the Word?

1 Comment

Posted by Revzacc on January 18, 2016 in Legalism, Power of God, Spiritual Walk, Word of God

Tags: faults, feel like dirt, guilt, plant the word, seed of the word, sin nature, word of God

Excellence and Prayer Cover #excellence #prayer

02 Aug

I’ve been posting about walking in a ministry of excellence. There’s another benefit to the walk of excellence that’s not so readily apparent. This begins when your spirit of excellence starts to become evident to those around you.

Because of the service by which you have proved yourselves, men will praise God for the obedience that accompanies your confession of the gospel of Christ, and for your generosity in sharing with them and with everyone else. And in their prayers for you their hearts will go out to you, because of the surpassing grace God has given you. Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift!
II Corinthians 9:13-15

As other believers notice that you’re walking in the excellent grace of God, you’ll start to receive the prayer support that you’ve only dreamed of. This is especially important for those in leadership positions.

Church leaders need to be constantly covered in prayer by those they minister to. It’s the lack of prayer that contributes to the many who “fall out” of leadership positions every year.

I believe that one of the main reasons that church people aren’t coming together to pray is that most of them don’t see a ministry of excellence worthy of their prayer time. Those churches that are in the “excellent” category never seem to be without the prayer support that’s so necessary in bringing about the victory.

It’s that spirit of excellence that they see in you that will draw them to “buy into the vision” that God has given you. It will not happen with a man-sized vision. They will only throw their support whole-heartedly behind a vision that obviously only God can perform.

The above verse states that first it’s their hearts that respond to the grace they see working in you and your ministry. Then, after their hearts are affected, their prayers will follow.

So often I have seen leaders and Pastors trying to cajole their people to come together to pray. That seems to be the big question most churches wrestle with. Why don’t the people pray? If they know that it will be business as usual whether they pray or not, then why bother?

This verse makes it clear that nothing less than a spirit of excellence can ignite a spark of heartfelt prayer. There will be no need to force the people by using the guilt tactics that I see so many pastors wielding today. On the contrary, people will desire to pray for God to accomplish His will in the ministry.

We need to go after God’s vision for our lives then pursue it with all our hearts. This will encourage others to become involved and will start the spiritual “snowball” rolling.

Question: How often do you pray for your spiritual leaders?

The Spirit and the Word

Tag Archives: guilt

Forgiveness and Restoration

How to Turn Dirt into a Garden

Do You Feel Like Dirt?

Excellence and Prayer Cover #excellence #prayer

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