Author Archives: Pastor Tommy

The dictionary defines “fear” as a distressing emotion aroused by impending danger, evil, pain, etc., whether the threat is real or imagined; the feeling or condition of being afraid.  We all know the experience of being afraid.  From the child’s fear of the dark to the adult’s dread of death, from unease due to the unstable economy to apprehension due to an impending layoff at your workplace, we have all experienced the paralyzing effects of fear.  Yet this kind of fear is not from God and can keep us from being all God calls us to be. 

For God has not given us the spirit of fear, but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.  (2 Timothy 1:7)

The Word of God makes it clear that any fear that paralyzes us and prohibits our advancing the cause of the kingdom of Christ comes to us from Satan, not our Savior.  This is an ungodly fear that makes us unstable, unreliable, and uncertain about everything regarding both life and death.  The devil likes to distract Christians with every imaginable fear.  He seeks to water down our witness and slow our service to God.

But this is not for you!  The only fear the Christian should have is the fear of God. 

Gather me the people together, and I will make them hear my words, that they may learn to fear me all the days that they shall live upon the earth, and that they may teach their children.  (Deuteronomy 4:10)

O, that there were such a heart in them, that they would fear me, and keep all my commandments always, that it might be well with them, and with their children forever.  (Deuteronomy 5:29)

To fear God is to bow down before Him in reverential awe.  It is not a slavish fear that immobilizes us and keeps us locked up for fear of punishment and retribution.  That is the kind of ungodly fear that we see in the Garden of Eden with Adam and Eve. 

They heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden.  But the Lord God called to the man and said to him, “Where are you?”  And he said, “I heard the sound of you in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked, and I hid myself.”  (Genesis 3:8-10)

Ungodly fear followed on the heels of the first sin and it has plauged every person ever since.  But godly fear is a fear that acknowledges God as much for His holiness as for His love . . . as much for His majesty as for His mercy . . . as much for His faithfulness as for His forgiveness.  To fear God in the way Scripture commands is to experience Him as “Abba Father” and to know just how we got in that kind of relationship with Him.  A God who was willing to send His Son to die in our place that we might live is a God we bow low before in loving awe and reverent thanksgiving. 

For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship.  And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.”  (Romans 8:15)

The fear of the Lord is the unshakable foundation upon which we build our lives.  We delight in the Law of God and desire to keep it, even though we know we fail daily.  The fear of the Lord empowers us to live out practically what we are positionally.  We are adopted sons and daughters who are deeply loved and desired; therefore we desire nothing more than to live a life that is pleasing to the One who paid so great a price to have us as His own.  And when we fail, and fail we do, we run—not away from Him but to Him, knowing that He awaits us with open arms and nail-scarred hands.  “Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence,” the epistle to the Hebrews says, “so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need” (Hebrews 4:16 NIV).

Godly fear is a great grace given to the believer by faith.  It frees us to praise in our problems, sing in our suffering, and cry out to Jesus in our challenges, because we know that we are the objects of His unwavering and unconditional affection.    

This is the Gospel.  This is grace for your race.  NEVER FORGET THAT . . . AMEN!

Have you ever wondered what a gracious response to the grace that we have been given in the Gospel of Jesus Christ looks like?  To simply say obedience is to not say enough.  The Pharisees, you will remember, were obedient down to the tiniest detail, yet they reserved for themselves the wrath of God.  And yet, at the same time, we know the Bible commands our obedience.  Jesus said, “Whoever has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me. And he who loves me will be loved by my Father” (John 14:21).  It is our obedience that demonstrates our love for Him.

So what is a gracious response to the grace of the Gospel?  It is obedience that flows out of a grateful heart.  In his newest book, Jesus Plus Nothing Equals Everything, Pastor Tullian writes, “As we continue working out our life of obedience in light of Christ’s obedience, one thing is clear: the issue is never whether or not to obey.  We know the Bible has plenty to say about keeping God’s commands.  That’s indisputable.  But what motivates our obedience, what animates our obedience, and what prompts us to obey?  Is it fear or faith?  Is it guilt or gratitude?”  A gracious response to God’s amazing grace is a desire to live a life of obedience—not because of what we hope to get (rewards), or what we hope to avoid (consequences), but because of what Jesus had already done on our behalf. 

When the motivations of our heart are rooted in gratitude (not guilt) and faith (not fear), then we are gripped by the truth of the Gospel and the finished work of Jesus Christ.  And that is why we need to preach the Gospel to ourselves every day.  The Gospel first relates what Jesus has done and then paints the picture of how we are to respond to it.  What God in Christ has done for us always precedes what we in Christ are to do for God. 

By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers.”  (1 John 3:16)

The transforming truths of the Gospel lead us to a total transformation of all that we think, do, and say.  The Gospel frees us to be what we are (Christians) because of what has already been done both for and to us.  Because we are already saved, we want to do what is pleasing in the sight of the One who saved us.  To reverse this (doing in order to be saved or to find God’s favor) is to distort the Gospel and make it of no effect.  This is trying to live in our own strength, which inevitably leads to disappointment, discouragement, and ultimate defeat.

But this is not for you!  Because we are already His, we should act like we are already His.  Our obedience does not gain us additional affection, blessing, or love.  We already have all of it—all of His affection . . . all of His blessing . . . all of His love.  This kind of obedience is absolutely freeing.  We obey out of devotion, not duty.  The Gospel takes us from being slaves to being sons, sons who are to delight in pleasing the One who paid so great a price for so great a salvation.

In the end, we serve because we have been served, we forgive because we have been forgiven, and we love because we have been loved.  All that we do, we do because of what Jesus has already done for us.  This is a gracious response to grace.

This is the Gospel.  This is grace for your race.  NEVER FORGET THAT . . . AMEN!

In Luke 18 we read about the Rich Young Ruler who came to Jesus asking, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?”  After a brief discourse, Jesus took the man to the heart of the matter in verse 22.  “One thing you still lack,” our Lord said.  “Sell all that you have and distribute to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.”  The man could not do what Jesus had asked, not because of what he possessed, but because of what possessed him.  Worldly wealth ruled this man’s heart and ultimately shaped his life—and the shape was a dollar sign, not a cross!

Many misinterpret the words of Jesus—“How difficult it is for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God!  For it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God”—and think that money is the root problem.  Money is not the problem.  The love of money is the problem, as 1 Timothy 6:10 clearly states.  Jesus is not telling every rich man to sell all his possessions.  God makes men rich (see Deuteronomy 8:18).  There are some rich men, however, who make themselves poor by looking to their riches as their source of significance, meaning, and purpose in life.  Other rich men make themselves richer by looking to Jesus as the source of true wealth and using their riches for the advancement of the kingdom of God.  Zacchaeus had great wealth, and there were others who had wealth and used it to support Jesus and His ministry. 

So regardless of where this finds you at the beginning of another new year, the amount of stuff you have is never the issue.  The issue is whether or not your stuff has you!  Pascal rightly observed, “There is a God-shaped vacuum inside of every heart,” and trying to fill it with anything smaller than God will never work.  The Rich Young Ruler had everything a man could want, but he did not have the one thing every man needs: Jesus.  He filled his life up with the stuff of life and left no room in his heart for the Savior.  He trusted in his riches as the source of his salvation. 

What will you fill your God-shaped vacuum with this year?  Will it be a new car, new address, new job, or new you?  These are all good gifts from our great God, but they enslave us when they become ultimate things in our lives.

“Abide in me,” Jesus said, “and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me” (John 15:4).  In this life there is only one possession that should possess us and His name is Jesus Christ!  When Jesus has control of our lives, we don’t need to look to anything smaller than Him to give us the joy, happiness, and freedom we crave. 

Only the Gospel frees us to find everything we want in the only thing we need.  Only the Gospel frees us from our bondage to every idol that would keep us locked up in the prison of performance, producing, and pretending.  Only the Gospel convinces us that everything we have is a gift of God (1 Corinthians 4:7), and the more we have the more we are in debt to the One who has given it.  With this understanding, it is never a matter of what we possess, but rather, what possess us!  When it is Jesus who possesses us, we never find ourselves in the position of “one thing we lack.”

This is the Gospel.  This is grace for your race.  NEVER FORGET THAT . . . AMEN!

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. 

The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.

(2 Corinthians 5:17)

The world likes to start the new year out by making resolutions.  Some resolve to get fit.  Others resolve to get rich.  Still others resolve to get better.  The problem with making resolutions is located in the one making them.  Think about the last time you made a resolution: how long did it take for your resolution to find its way into the proverbial “hope chest” of your life? 

The Bible tells us there is a better way to start the new year and to keep it going all 365 days: that is to rest in the promises of God.  The power in the promises of God is found in the One making them.  God is absolutely faithful to His Word.  Unlike us, when God says He is going to do something, He actually does it and He does it every time.  Numbers 23:19 assures us, “God is not a man, that he should lie, nor a son of man, that he should change his mind.  Does he speak and then not act?  Does he promise and not fulfill?”  

So now, with that truth firmly fixed in our understanding, we can embark on a new year with great hope and a growing hunger to live the life God has called us to live.  Joshua knew this quite well: “Not one of all the good promises the Lord your God gave you has failed.  Every promise has been fulfilled; not one has failed” (Joshua 21:43-45).  I think we would all agree that Joshua lived with great hope and a growing hunger to live the life God had called him to live.  May this be the confession of all our lives after we have faithfully walked through the landscape of 2012. 

The verse I have chosen to kick off this new year is as profound as it is promising.  Because of what Jesus has done for us, we are a new creation.  Grace does not reform us and it does not redirect us.  Grace recreates us from the inside out.  Notice that the verse does not say we need to make ourselves a new creation by working more and trying harder.  It says we already are a new creation, simply because we are in Christ and only God can do the work of creating.  What a pitiful promise this would be if Jesus said we needed to do this and not do that in order to receive its blessing.  To be sure, our nature is too weak, our hearts are too divided, and our hands are too dirty to ever earn God’s favor. 

Camp out for a moment on the word “behold” and marvel at its message!  Jesus is telling us to fix our attention . . . consider it carefully . . . ponder it intently . . . the work that He has done for us through our union with him.  We are to behold His work, His passion, His care, His forgiveness, and His love for us, so that we might profit from His promise.  Those who are spiritually united to Christ by faith are new creations and participate in the “new creation” that Jesus purchased with His precious blood.  This great transformation has taken place because we stand under the banner of the finished work of Jesus.

Now, we all know from unhappy experience that we are less than perfect—quite a bit less!  We know we are still great sinners in need of an even Greater Savior.  Yet, in the words of Charles Spurgeon, “The Great Sculptor has begun to chisel out the image of Himself in this rough block of human marble; you cannot see all the features, the lineaments divine are not yet apparent; still, because it is in His design, the Master seeth what we see not; He seeth in our unhewn nature His own perfect likeness as it is to be revealed in the day of the revealing of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.”

As we stand before our Father in heaven, we are clothed in the perfect righteousness of the Son.  Not only do we stand forgiven, but we stand as if we had never sinned.  How much better are the promises of God than the resolutions of man!  If you are in Christ, God is at work in you and that work will not stop until it has been completed.  My prayer for you this year is that the promises of God will propel you further in and further up into the transforming truths of the Gospel. 

This is the Gospel.  This is grace for your race.  NEVER FORGET THAT . . . AMEN!

Today is our last message of 2011.  So . . . how did this year go for you?  Did it turn out like you had planned?  Did you accomplish the goals you had set for yourself in the areas that matter most?

As we get ready to turn the page on yet another year, we must remember that history will someday come to an abrupt end.  Jesus will return on the clouds of heaven, the trumpets will sound, and He will restore all things.  Jesus will take all that is wrong and make it right, and He will take all that is crooked and make it straight. 

When Jesus comes this time, He will not appear to humanity as a baby laid in a manger, as we just celebrated this Christmas; this time He will appear as a conquering King.  And when He does, “At the name of Jesus every knee should bow . . . and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (Philippians 2:10-11).  The kingdom of heaven will come in all its fullness, majesty, and glory, as God ushers in a new heaven and a new earth and a new you (Revelation 21:5). 

Regardless of how this year worked out for you, the best is yet to come!  Perhaps you had a year filled with one storm after another, barely keeping your head above water.  Or maybe it was your best year ever.  Whatever it was, it was not what it will be one day. 

He will wipe every tear from their eyes.  There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things is passed away.

(Revelation 21:4)

And when that day comes, you will know in your heart that you have arrived at your intended destination.  You will finally and fully be home at last.  You will be in a place you had longed for, looked for, and lived for, even when you didn’t know it.  You will finally be in the place where you know you belong because of the One you belong to!  And this will not be the end of your story, but rather it will be only just the beginning of it.  Everything you will have done up to that great day will end up being only “the cover and the title page of the One Great Story, which no one on earth has read, which goes on forever, in which every chapter is better than the one before,” as C. S. Lewis so rightly observed. 

The best is truly yet to come!  Heaven will descend into our fallen, broken, and hurting world.  The lion will lie down with the lamb.  The skies will sing and the trees will dance.  Our humanness will be restored as we are reunited with all people of every tongue, tribe, and nation, and there will be shalom on earth that will never again be broken.  WOW!  What an incredible future to look forward to!  The entire world will be restored.

Creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God.  (Romans 8:21)

Until that day comes, and for as long as we are here, let us champion His cause by preaching the Gospel to everyone we meet—with both our lips and our lives.  Let us, as fallen and broken people, reach up, reach in, and reach out in the name of Jesus to bring His restoration and reconciliation to a fallen and broken world.  Let that be our greatest goal and first priority in 2012 for the glory of our King.

This is the Gospel.  This is grace for your race.  NEVER FORGET THAT . . . AMEN!

Their hearts had been broken three days earlier.  What they had believed in and hoped for died a slow, agonized death, nailed to a dirty cross in the middle of Golgotha’s Hill. 

That very day two of them were going to a village named Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem, and they were talking with each other about all these things that had happened.  While they were talking and discussing together, Jesus himself drew near and went with them.  But their eyes were kept from recognizing him.  And he said to them, “What is this conversation that you are holding with each other as you walk?”  And they stood still, looking sad.

(Luke 24:13-17)

We find two melancholy men trudging along the road to Emmaus, two men who were about to have the encounter of their lives with the living and resurrected Lord.  Prevented by Providence from recognizing Jesus, they began to tell their unidentified companion everything about their hope in the one called Jesus of Nazareth, whom they wanted so desperately to be the promised One to redeem Israel.  But their hope was hung spread-eagled on cross beams, beaten and bloodied, until he breathed his last. 

And he said to them, “O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken!  Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into his glory?”  And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself. 

So they drew near to the village to which they were going.  He acted as if he were going farther, but they urged him strongly, saying, “Stay with us, for it is toward evening and the day is now far spent.”  So he went tin to stay with them.  When he was at table with them, he took the bread and blessed and broke it and gave it to them.  And their eyes were opened, and they recognized him.  And he vanished from their sight.  They said to each other, “Did not our hearts burn within us while he talked to us on the road, while he opened to us the Scriptures?”

(Luke 24:25-32 emphasis added)

From broken hearts to “burning hearts”—that is the change that encountering Jesus produces, regardless of our current circumstances.  I don’t know where this finds you, but I do know Jesus wants to have an encounter with you . . . today and every day.  Our Master is always on the lookout for opportunities to minister, even when we are not looking for Him.  He sought out the women at the well.  He sought out a tax collector in a tree.  He sought out a dead friend.  He sought out a denying Peter.  He sought out a doubting Thomas.  He sought out two melancholy men on the road to Emmaus.  He sought out a Pharisee on the road to Damascus.  And He is seeking you out today.

Perhaps He is speaking to you today for the very first time—or at least the first time you’ve heard the call.  By His Spirit He is drawing you to Himself to cover you in His redeeming blood and to forgive your every sin—past, present, and future.  Yes, your sin is great, but your Savior is far greater, and He is able to save to the uttermost.   You simply cannot sin yourself beyond His reach.  Or, as my beloved Pastor Tullian recently wrote on his blog, “God’s willingness to clean things up is infinitely bigger than our willingness to mess things up.”

Could it be that today—today—salvation has come to you?  Are you hearing Jesus’ invitation to become a member of His family of faith for the very first time?  Take a walk through the Romans Road to get a crystal clear picture of that so-great salvation:

All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.  (Romans 3:23)

The wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.  (Romans 6:23)

God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.  (Romans 5:8)

If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.  For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved. (Romans 10:9-10)

If you have walked this road for the very first time today and placed your trust in Jesus as your Savior, please let another Christian know.  Please let me know! I would love to tell you how you can build this relationship with the God of the universe into something fruitful and lovely.

But perhaps you already have a personal relationship with Jesus, but today you do not sense this “holy heartburn.”  Run to Him!  Let Jesus proclaim the grace of the gospel to you once again.  His patience is unwavering.  His forgiveness is unlimited.  His love is unconditional.  And it is all this for you!  You are the object of His heart’s desire.  Let this truth minister to you today and every day. 

This is the Gospel.  This is grace for your race.  NEVER FORGET THAT . . . AMEN!

The Grinch hated Christmas because of the size of his heart.  It had atrophied over the years as he spent all his time loving himself and hating the Whos.  His plan was to take all the stuff away from those Whos down in Who-ville, which would once-and-for-all stop their Christmas celebration and all the noise, noise, noise! 

So on the night before Christmas, the Grinch entered Who-ville and loaded up his sleigh with everything the Whos had, even down to the last crumb in the house—a crumb too small for even a mouse!  How happy the Grinch was to know he had finally stopped Christmas from coming . . . or so he thought.  Putting a hand to his ear to hear the Whos crying “Boo Hoo Hoo,” he could not believe what he did hear.  The sound was not sad; it was glad!  Every Who down in Who-ville, the tall and the small, was singing, without any presents at all.  He had not stopped Christmas from coming.  It came!  But how was that possible, when he had stolen everything?

And the Grinch, with his Grinch-feet ice cold in the snow, stood puzzling and puzzling, how could it be so?  It came without ribbons!  It came without tags!  It came without packages, boxes, or bags!  And he puzzled and puzzled, ‘till his puzzler was sore.  Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn’t before.  “Maybe Christmas,” he thought, “doesn’t come from a store.  Maybe Christmas . . . perhaps . . . means a little bit more.”

The Grinch found out that Christmas was more about the heart than the hands.  For the Whos, Christmas was not wrapped up in what their hands could hold; it was all about what their hearts could hold.  And for all of them it was love.  Love was more important than ribbons, tags, packages, boxes, and bags.

So what is the message that the Grinch proclaims to all of us this Christmas?  For the Christian, Christmas is all about love, and love is not a propositional truth.  Love is a person—the Person whose birth we just celebrated.  We need to know the difference if we are to know real love.  Steve Brown says, “Its’ like the difference between reading a book on lions and meeting one, or between looking at an advertisement for Florida oranges and eating one.” 

What is amazing about this love is how we got it.  We did not earn it.  It was not the result of something we did.  If it was it would not be love, it would be a reward . . . some kind of pay-back.  And that is why so many in the world today miss God’s love.  They are looking for it on the other side of their performance and obedience.  But this love came to us freely and unconditionally when we were most unlovable. 

But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.  (Romans 5:8)

Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil behavior. But now he has reconciled you by Christ’s physical body through death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation.   (Colossians 1:21-22 NIV)

We are not loved because of who we are.  We are loved because of who He is—“God is love” (1 John 4:16).  The neat thing about this love is found in the fact that we can love to the extent we have been loved, which means we can love like God loves.  We can love unconditionally.  We can love freely.  We can love mercifully.  We can even love those who don’t love us back.   

So . . . if your Christmas came without ribbons, tags, packages, boxes, or bags, were you able to do what the Whos did?  Was your heart still filled with love and thanksgiving for the Giver of the gifts, rather than the gifts themselves?  Only the Gospel can do this for us.  Only the Gospel can fill us with a love that looks past the stuff of life to the Savior who has secured everlasting life for us by the shedding of His blood.

This is the Gospel.  This is grace for your race.  NEVER FORGET THAT . . . AMEN!

Burned out from too much shopping?  Stressed out from too much celebrating?  Exhausted from making too many preparations for the big day?  For many Christians, the answer is YES, YES, a thousand times YES!  If we are not careful, we can celebrate Christmas just like millions of people around the world who celebrate it without Christ, those who neither have Christ on their minds nor in their hearts.  Sadly, with the stranglehold that commercialism and materialism have placed on our society, it is not hard to find a Christian who has Christ in the heart, but not on the mind.

Here is a good question to meditate on and marinate in during these next two days: If someone watched a video of the next 48 hours of your life—what you thought, what you said, and what you did—what would they think Christmas is all about?  Christ?  Or something else?

Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift!  (2 Corinthians 9:15)

The confession of our lives should be the confession of Christ.  People who come in contact with us should come in contact with Jesus.  They should connect with Him through our lips and our lives—our profession and our practice.  A little over 2000 years ago, God gave us the greatest gift the world has ever seen.  The most costly gift in the universe, God’s Son, was given to us in the flesh, from the cradle to the tomb.  He who started out as a baby, cooing in a manger, ended up beaten and bleeding on a cross, gasping out His last breaths.

But the story doesn’t end there!  Three days later God raised this precious gift from the dead, confirming that Jesus was who He said He was and did what He said He was going to do.  He crushed the serpent.  He conquered sin.  He came out of the grave!

Christmas is a time of celebration.  It is a time to celebrate and enjoy the good gifts God has given to us.  But we must take care not to focus more on the gifts than the Giver.  The Giver is Jesus, who is the Gift.  He is to be enjoyed and celebrated.  We are to say along with Mary, “I am the Lord’s servant, may it be to me according to your word” (Luke 1:38).  Mary’s confession confessed Christ.  She surrendered control of her life to the only One worth surrendering to: Jesus.  She gave up her dreams, her hopes, her plans, her agenda, her preferences, and her reputation.  Mary willingly submitted to the will of God.  She released her grip on all her good gifts in order to cling tightly to the Giver of them.   

God never intended to have only a portion of our hearts.  He wants all of us, and He will tolerate no rival.  He will use every means necessary to give us what He knows is best for us.  His best may come in the form of a wilderness experience or a windfall.  Regardless of what it is, He wants all of you and He wants you all the time.

So how will you make these next 48 hours different from the last 48 hours?  Perhaps it’s not to be found so much in what you will do, but rather in whom you believe: He who is seated on the throne and says, “I am making everything new!” (Revelation 21:5) . . . and that includes you.

This is the Gospel.  This is grace for your race.  NEVER FORGET THAT . . . AMEN!

The Gospel is good news to those who trust in Jesus—those who trust in His righteousness . . . His perfect life . . . His sacrificial death . . . His forgiveness.  But for those who trust in themselves the Gospel is not so good.  In fact, it is bad news!  The Gospel is of no use and it provides no benefit to those who trust in themselves. 

[Jesus] also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and treated others with contempt.  “Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector.  The Pharisee, standing by himself, prayed thus, ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector.  I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I get.’”  (Luke 18:9-12)

Like the Pharisee in this story, far too many in the church today are counting on their good works—rather than Christ’s finished work on their behalf—to cause God to move on their behalf with forgiveness, blessing, and eternal life.  The Pharisee’s problem did not lie in his good works; he actually did fast twice a week and he did give tithes of all that he had.  To the watching world, the Pharisee was a model of piety and righteousness.  The problem lay in the fact that he was trusting in his good works to broker God’s favor. In so doing, the Pharisee minimized the holiness and justice of God, and magnified the goodness and purity of his own good works.  For all those who are trusting in their own righteousness—their own goodness and good works—the good news of the Gospel is not good news at all!  In fact, it proclaimed catastrophic bad news to the self-righteous Pharisee when Jesus judged his condition and rendered a verdict of “NOT JUSTIFIED!”

We must all remember the truth of Isaiah 64:6, that what we perceive to be “good works” are nothing more than filthy rags in the sight of our thrice holy God.  Yes, good works are good to the extent that they benefit others.  Although God does not need them, our neighbor certainly does!  But when we are banking on our good works to do for us what only Christ can do, the good news of the Gospel becomes bad news—the very worst news!  Jerry Bridges explains, “At the end of the day this fact remains: no amount of personal performance will ever gain the approval of a holy God.” 

Being ignorant of the righteousness of God, and seeking to establish their own, they did not submit to God’s righteousness.  For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes.  (Romans 10:3-4)

This is why we should preach the Gospel to ourselves every day.  We need daily reminders to rely on the righteousness of Christ and not on our own perceived righteousness.  The Gospel is God’s great good news to fallen, broken people who truly have no hope apart from Christ.  Those who understand the depths of their own sinfulness and the height of God’s holiness cry out these words from the old hymn: “My hope is built on nothing less than Jesus’ blood and righteousness . . . On Christ, the solid Rock, I stand; all other ground is sinking sand.” 

One final thought: what the Pharisee failed to understand was that even with all of his “good works,” he was still exactly like other men: extortioners, unjust, adulterers, and even tax collectors—great sinners in need of an even greater Savior.  The Pharisee was judging and comparing by outer appearances and forgot that God judges the heart. 

This is the Gospel.  This is grace for your race.  NEVER FORGET THAT . . . AMEN!

What opposition have you been running up against lately?  It comes in all forms, from someone who is trying to undermine you at the office to sickness and disease that is testing the outer edges of your health plan; from someone who is telling others hurtful things about you behind your back to those who are standing in the way of God’s call in your life; from trouble in your marriage to rebellious children.  Regardless of the opposition you are facing today, I have a word of great comfort.  Opposition in the hands of Omnipotence is nothing more than opportunities for God to display His power in you, through you, and for you. 

Pharaoh said, “Who is the Lord, that I should obey him and let Israel go?  I do not know the Lord and I will not let Israel go.”  (Exodus 5:2)

It seemed like the Israelites were never going to get out of Egypt.  With every word Moses spoke, the situation got worse for the people.  With every miracle delivered by the hand of the Almighty, the most powerful man in Egypt dug his heels in deeper and retreated further into his sin and self-absorption.  The opposition seemed impossible for Moses to overcome . . . and it was!  It was impossible for Moses to overcome, but what was impossible for Moses was entirely possible for Omnipotence.  And that was the whole point. 

If Pharaoh had let the people go when Moses brought God’s Word to him the first time, the world would have missed the awesome display of Omnipotence at work on behalf of His people.  What we consider opposition and obstacles in our way are merely opportunities for God to demonstrate His sovereign power over all things. 

When we witness the restoration of broken relationships, impossible situations on the job turned around, fractured families forgiving one another and coming together, rebellious children returning and being restored, and death sentences from doctors turned into supernatural healings, we have the privilege of seeing Omnipotence at work in a fallen, broken, and sin-filled world, through fallen, broken, and sin-filled people. 

Jesus looked at them and said, “With man it is impossible, but not with God.  For all things are possible with God.”  (Mark 10:27)

The next time you face opposition or obstacles in life, fear not!  God is at work on your behalf.  God knows the beginning from the end, and nothing can stop Him from accomplishing His perfect purposes.  Now, it may not fit into your timetable, but it will certainly fit into His.  And His timetable is always better than yours.  Moses was expecting every miracle to be the one that would cause Pharaoh to let God’s people go.  But it was not going to happen until God was ready to finishing displaying His awesome power, that He might be glorified.

This is the Gospel.  This is grace for your race.  NEVER FORGET THAT . . . AMEN!