Category Archives: General

How can there be a problem with people pleasing, when we have been called by God to serve others . . . which obviously will be pleasing to them?  It becomes a problem when we think too much about the approval or disapproval of the people we are trying to please.  We all know this from experience.  Some know it professionally in trying to please their boss.  Others know it socially in trying to please their peers.  And still others know it relationally in trying to please their spouse . . . or even their children!

We speak as those approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel.  We are not trying to please people but God, who tests our hearts.  You know we never used flattery, nor did we put on a mask to cover up greed—God is our witness.  We were not looking for praise from people, not from you or anyone else.

(1 Thessalonians 2:4-6)

The apostle Paul does a great job identifying one of our consistent struggles on this side of the grave: being people pleasers.  He also teaches how to keep this from being our legacy: being a God pleaser.  In the words “not looking for praise from people,” Paul gives us the key that unlocks us from the bondage of people pleasing.  Paul knew the only approval he needed he already had in Jesus, so he did not need to seek it from people.  He knew this because he had been entrusted with the truths of the Gospel.  Do you know it too? 

Paul refused to give people the power to break him by their rejection and build him up by their affection.  He knew what kind of lasting damage that can do.  There was a time in his life when this two-headed monster ruled his heart and shaped his life . . . but not anymore.  On the road to Damascus he found out just how much God had approved of him, and that was the only approval he needed from that day forward.  Knowing he could not be rejected by God empowered him to accept the rejection of others with a freedom and joy that could only come from a relationship with Jesus.

Am I now seeking the approval of man, or of God? Or am I trying to please man? If I were still trying to please man, I would not be a servant of Christ.

(Galatians 1:10)

For Paul, “the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord” (Philippians 3:7) was enough to know.  He now knew the approval of people was nothing compared to the approval of Jesus.  He now knew the affection of people was nothing compared to the affection of Jesus.  He now knew the applause of people was nothing compared to the applause of Jesus.  He had Jesus and Jesus had him, and because of this truth Paul considered everything a loss because of his Gospel gain.

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

What have you been fretting about lately?  Notice I didn’t ask if you were fretting, because it is in the DNA of our sinful nature to fret!  Yet Scripture clearly instructs that this is not for you:

Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him; fret not yourself over the one who prospers in his way, over the man who carries out evil devices!  Refrain from anger, and forsake wrath!  Fret not yourself; it tends only to evil.  For the evildoers shall be cut off, but those who wait for the Lord shall inherit the land.

(Psalm 37:7-9)

When God says something we should listen carefully; when He repeats Himself, we should listen very carefully!  God tells us twice in the passage above not to fret, because He knows that fretting and faithfulness are like oil and water—they don’t mix well.  In fact, as you’ve just seen, the Word of God states that fretting leads only to evil.  When was the last time you fretted over the success of someone other than yourself?  When was the last time you fretted over the “gain” received by evildoers?  When we do things like this we work ourselves up, tear others down, and exchange faithfulness for fretting. 

God tells us not to fret, because He is in control of all things.  Not even a sparrow falls to the ground apart from His will (Matthew 10:29).  The sovereignty of God is a great comfort for the Christian, because we can be completely sure that what He has planned, He will bring about; in the end all that is crooked will be made straight—and that includes you and me!  Keeping our eyes on the truths of the Gospel is what will take us from fretting to faithfulness.  If we forget this we fret, and in our fretting we try to take control and make things right . . . which generally turns out all wrong!

Listen, we can fret over the economy or we can be faithful to the One who has the government upon His shoulders.  We can fret over the terrorism throughout the world, or we can be faithful to the One who will make every knee bow before Him.  There is so much God is calling us to do to expand the cause of His kingdom!  That’s why it is evil for us to be filling our hours with fretting.  Scripture commands us to “Be still, and know that [He is] God” (Psalm 46:10). We are to be still and fret not, and He has given us every reason to do just that.  It’s only when we forget these reasons—the truths of the Gospel—that we allow fretting to replace stillness and faithfulness. 

Only the Gospel can take our eyes off the stuff of this world and keep them fixed on our Savior.  We must continually remind ourselves that the day is coming when there will be no more pain, sorrow, tears, death, brokenness, sin, injustice, poverty, evildoers, and the fretting that springs out of this mess.  Gospel truths are the keys that unlock the doors to lead us past our fretting and turn it into faithfulness. 

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

A few weeks ago I preached a sermon entitled Scandalous Grace, based on the following passage from Luke’s gospel.

And behold, a woman of the city, who was a sinner, when she learned that he was reclining at table in the Pharisee’s house, brought an alabaster flask of ointment, and standing behind him at his feet, weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears and wiped them with the hair of her head and kissed his feet and anointed them with the ointment. Now when the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, “If this man were a prophet, he would have known who and what sort of woman this is who is touching him, for she is a sinner.” And Jesus answering said to him, “Simon, I have something to say to you.” And he answered, “Say it, Teacher.”

 “A certain moneylender had two debtors. One owed five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. When they could not pay, he cancelled the debt of both. Now which of them will love him more?” Simon answered, “The one, I suppose, for whom he cancelled the larger debt.” And he said to him, “You have judged rightly.” Then turning toward the woman he said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I entered your house; you gave me no water for my feet, but she has wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. You gave me no kiss, but from the time I came in she has not ceased to kiss my feet. You did not anoint my head with oil, but she has anointed my feet with ointment. Therefore I tell you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven—for she loved much. But he who is forgiven little, loves little.” And he said to her, “Your sins are forgiven.” Then those who were at table with him began to say among themselves, “Who is this, who even forgives sins?” And he said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.”  (Luke 7:37-50)

There is much we can learn from the three characters in the narrative: The Pharisee, The Prostitute, and The Prince of Peace.

The Pharisee

The Pharisees were the religious leaders devoted to God.  The Hebrew form of the word Pharisee means separated ones . . . loyal to God.  The Pharisees were extreme, not only in following the Law of God, but in adding so much to it they were blind to the appearing of the Messiah, even though He was in their very midst—even in this man’s home!

Simon the Pharisee had invited Jesus to his house for a meal.  In those days, it was a common courtesy that guests would be greeted with a kiss when they arrived, their feet would be washed, and their heads anointed with oil.  Simon omitted all these courtesies for Jesus.  The honored guest was totally dishonored by the Pharisee. 

The Prostitute

Notice this woman is known to the reader only as a “woman of the city who was a sinner.”  To be sure, we are all sinners by nature and practice.  But this woman was a sinner by profession.  She is the sinner Solomon warns young men about: “Her house inclines unto death and her paths unto the dead.”  Great was her sin! The Truth, who never exaggerated, said her sins were many.  Yet she freely gave Jesus the common courtesies omitted by Simon.  She wet his feet with her tears, wiped them with her hair, anointed them with ointment, and ceased not to kiss them.  Her godly sorrow for her life of sin was put on display for all to see.  The Pharisee rebuked her . . . but Jesus received her. 

The Prince of Peace

Jesus received this sinner to His own detriment.  He was condemned by Simon for allowing such a sinner to handle Him.  He was always being condemned for the company He kept.  Consider this scene from another dinner table:

As he reclined at table in [Levi’s] house, many tax collectors and sinners were reclining with Jesus and his disciples, for there were many who followed him.  And the scribes of the Pharisees, when they saw that he was eating with sinners and tax collectors, said to his disciples, “Why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners?’  And when Jesus heard it, he said to them, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick.  I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.”  (Mark 2:15-17)

The one thing the sinful woman who dared enter Simon’s home needed—forgiveness of her sins—she received from Jesus.  Not only did Jesus receive her, He spoke up and defended her.  In front of the condemning crowd, she heard absolution pronounced by her Prince of Peace. 

This passage from Luke is so rich in truth and comfort for those who see themselves as great sinners in need of an even greater Savior!

So . . . how do you see yourself today?  The more we peer behind the curtain of the Gospel, the more we see ourselves like the prostitute rather than the Pharisee.  We recognize that even “all our righteous deeds are like a polluted garment” (Isaiah 64:6).  And the more we see ourselves like the prostitute, the less we have to pretend we are better than we are and the sooner we can step off the performance treadmill.  Jesus loves us just the way we are, but He also loves us so much as not to leave us there!

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

What a treasure we find in the post-resurrection appearance of Jesus to the men on the road to Emmaus.  They were identified by Jesus as “slow of heart” . . . and yet still loved!

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 would 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.

(Luke 24:25-27)

What Jesus said to these on the road to Emmaus He says to us today.  How often are we slow of heart to believe the truths of the Gospel!

• We seek blessing in our merit rather than in His mercy.
• We seek favor in our good works rather than in His goodness.
• We seek our identity in our work rather than in His finished work.
• We seek our meaning in our ministry to him rather than in His ministry to us.

The Gospel is the only thing that can disrupt our natural tendency to look to ourselves rather than our God for all that we hope for.  Notice in the passage just how patient our Lord was with the slow of heart in explaining the truths of the Gospel.  He was not angry with them.  He was not disappointed with them.  He was not short with them.  He loved them enough to walk with them and talk with them about the only thing that matters in both life and death: Jesus himself. 

For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich.

(2 Corinthians 8:9)

When we understand what Jesus gave up for us, we begin loosening our grip on everything smaller than God.  “For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich” (2 Corinthians 8:9-10).  Had Jesus chosen to stay rich, we would have stayed poor . . . and gone down into the eternal torment of the pit of hell.  But Jesus left the unimaginable treasures in heaven to make us His treasure.  “Though he was in the form of God, [Jesus] did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant” (Philippians 2:6-7), in order that He might bring many sons to glory (Hebrews 2:10).

Preaching the truths of the Gospel to ourselves every day is the only cure for our naturally slow-beating hearts regarding the things of God.  Our heartbeat accelerates as we keep the Gospel in view—not only the suffering and sacrificial death of our Lord on the cross, but also all the promises of God’s continuing work in this world as Redeemer, Rescuer, and Restorer.  And on those days we find ourselves in the condition of slow of heart, we only need to remember we are still loved and treasured by our Lord.

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

We all know from experience what loneliness feels like.  Sometimes it even happens to us when we are not alone.  Do you know why?  It’s because we have taken our eyes off Jesus and put them on something else.   

The loneliest people in the world are those who look to anything smaller than God to do what only He can do.  They find their worth in their work.  They find their identity in their income.  They find their meaning in their marriage.  They find their comfort in their children.  They find their happiness in their hobby.  They find their rest in their recreation.  They find their might in their ministry.  Even when they seemingly get what they are looking for, they are still left empty, wanting, and lonely.  So what’s the solution?  The Letter to the Hebrews exhorts:

Since we are surrounded by so great cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.  (Hebrews 12:1-2)

Far too many in the church today cast only passing glances at our Lord.  But the author of Hebrews tells us to look to Jesus, not merely glance at Jesus.  The text implies that we are to look to Jesus and away from everything else, making Him the great object of our thought, words, deeds, and desires.  (The New American Standard Bible translates Hebrews 12:2 as a directive to be “fixing our eyes on Jesus.”) In looking to Jesus, we are depending on Jesus for everything that matters in both life and death.  And when we are depending on Jesus, we are depending on the only One who can remove the loneliness that grips so many most of the time, and all of us some of the time.

So . . . are you sensing any loneliness in your life right now?  If you are, make sure the eyes of your soul are focused in the right direction!  Jesus is not only the author of your faith—the One who began a good work, but He is also the finisher of your faith—the One who will bring it to a perfected completion.  We all must remember every day that we are the joy that was set before Him; it was for that joy that He endured the unimaginable agony of the cross.  With that Gospel truth in view, loneliness is as far from us as the east is from the west!

The marvelous old hymn, Looking Unto Jesus, is a great way to close out today’s message. 

Looking unto Jesus,
Never need we yield!
Over all the armor,
Faith the battle-shield!

In our hearts unfurled,
Let its elevation
Overcome the world. 

Look away to Jesus,
Look away from all!
Then we need not stumble,
Then we shall not fall.

From each snare that lureth,
Foe or phantom grim,
Safety this ensureth,
Look away to Him.

 Looking into Jesus,
Wond’ringly we trace
Heights of power and glory,
Depths of love and grace.

Vistas far unfolding
Ever stretch before,
As we gaze, beholding,
Ever more and more. 

Looking up to Jesus
On the emerald throne,
Faith shall pierce the heavens,
Where our King is gone.

Lord, on Thee depending,
Now, continually,
Heart and mind ascending,
Let us dwell with Thee.

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

It’s almost impossible for most of us to imagine the anguish that Job experienced, simply because most of us have not gone through what Job went through.  Yet from the trough of what must have felt like a tidal wave of incomprehension and grief, Job did not cry out to God for a reversal of his great loss. 

Oh, that I knew where I might find him, that I might come even to his seat!

(Job 23:3)

Job lost his health, his wealth, and all ten of his children.  Had it been you . . . do you think you might have cried out to God for a return of your precious children from the grave?  Or perhaps a restoration of your wealth? At the very least, to be returned to good health?  Surely these thoughts were swirling through his fragmented mind.  But in his deepest moment of despair, his first cry was that he might find God—not that God might fix it.  Spurgeon writes this about Job’s nearly inconceivable plea:

A hypocrite, when afflicted by God, resents the infliction, and, like a slave, would run from the Master who has scourged him; but not so the true heir of heaven, he kisses the hand which smote him, and seeks shelter from the rod in the bosom of the God who frowned upon him.  Job’s desire to commune with God was intensified by the failure of all other sources of consolation.  The patriarch turned away from his sorry friends, and looked up to the celestial throne, just as a traveler turns from his empty skin bottle, and betakes himself with all speed to the well. 

Job knew that nothing in this world could mend his broken heart and ease his troubled mind like the presence of God, the Fount of his every blessing.  Job sought after the only consolation in both life and death; in doing so, he left us with the key that calms every storm.  God’s presence is the only place where we can truly find comfort in times of challenge . . . certainty in times of change . . . consolation in times of confusion. 

Only God can meet us in our place of deepest need.  Friends, especially friends like the ones Job had, simply will not do.  Even our family relationships will fail us.  Job’s wife was so devastated by their losses that she added insult to injury in telling her husband to curse God and die.  Yet Job promptly rebuked her folly, saying “Shall we receive good from God, and shall we not receive evil?” (Job 2:10).  Only God can keep us going when the going gets so tough we don’t believe we can take even one more step. 

So . . . what was your cry the last time you were in the middle of a storm?  Was it “FIX IT!” which is so common to most of us, or was it “FIND HIM!”—which only comes through a deep understanding of the Gospel?  Scripture assures us that God cares for us in seasons of plenty and want, sunshine and rain. Our Lord’s promise is utterly unambiguous: “I will never desert you; nor will I ever forsake you” (Hebrews 13:5 NASB).

Think for a moment about the scandalous message of the Gospel.  God loved us so much that He died in our place that we might live with H.  Next time you find yourself in the middle of some struggle or storm, focus on the Gospel, so that your heart’s cry to God will not be “FIX IT!” but rather “FIND HIM!”

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

When you hear the word stewardship, what comes to mind?  For most Christians, the first and last thing they think about is money, money, money!  Today we are going to take a look at “Gospel-saturated” stewardship that goes far above and beyond our treasure.

It is required of stewards that they be found trustworthy.

(1 Corinthians 4:2)

Whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.

(1 Corinthians 10:31)

Whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.  (Colossians 3:17)

Gospel-saturated stewardship goes far beyond our wallets.  It encompasses every aspect of our walk with Jesus.  We are called to steward not only our time, talent, and treasure, but also our energy, health, families, marriages, opportunities, challenges, careers, and callings.  Everything we have been given is a gift from God (Romans 11:36), and we are called to steward those gifts properly.  We own nothing, and we are called to manage everything in a way that brings honor and glory to the One who has given us everything.

So . . . how are you doing in the aspect of stewardship?  Has your concept of stewardship been confined to only a few areas in life?

Gospel-saturated stewardship is a gracious response to the Good News of the Gospel in everything we do with every aspect of life.  Paul wrote, “As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace: whoever speaks, as one who speaks oracles of God; whoever serves, as one who serves by the strength that God supplies—in order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ.  To him belong glory and dominion forever and ever.  Amen” (1 Peter 4:10-11).  This kind of stewardship even regards pain, difficulty, and suffering as opportunities to graciously respond to the grace we have been given through the Gospel of Jesus Christ. 

Everything comes to us by way of grace, and in everything we are to point back to the One who has given it to us.  Our goal must be to expand the cause of the kingdom of Christ and not our own little kingdom.  We have been called by God to steward our gifts in such a way that they will be used by God for the building of the Church and making visible the invisible rule of the King of kings and the Lord of lords.

One of the most gracious responses to the grace that has been given to you is to reflect this grace to others . . . all others.  It is easy to reflect God’s grace to those we like or are like us.  But what about those we don’t like or who are totally unlike us? 

But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same?

(Matthew 5:44-47)

This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.

(John 15:12)

If you really fulfill the royal law according to the Scripture, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself,” you are doing well. But if you show partiality, you are committing sin and are convicted by the law as transgressors.  (James 2:8-9)

Gospel-saturated stewardship is displayed in love simply because it has been loved.  This love is not dependent upon the neighbor or the circumstance.  It is solely dependent upon God and the grace He has showered upon us that empowers this kind of love, remembering that whatever grace we steward in the lives of others is but a dim reflection of the grace that has been showered upon us.

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

There was a time, as I was advancing through seminary training, when I had turned Jesus into a doctrine in my mind.  When I look back now, it’s almost hard to believe, but I turned Jesus into little more than the truths I had learned about Him.  To be sure, they were great truths, and the truth sets the captives free.  I’m a lot older and a little bit smarter now; I thank God He gave me the grace to see Jesus as more than a doctrine . . . more than a Presbyterian too!   

That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we looked upon and have touched with our hands, concerning the word of life—the life was made manifest, and we have seen it, and testify to it and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was made manifesto us—that which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ.  (1 John 1:1-3)

Wow!  John said He and the other disciples had heard, seen, and even touched the incarnate Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.  Clearly, Jesus was more than a doctrine to them as they enjoyed fellowship with Jesus—and through Him, fellowship with His Father in heaven.  He walked with them.  He talked with them.  He ate with them.  He served with them.  He did all of this so that He could identify with us in every way, even in our suffering.

[Jesus] had to be made like his brothers in every respect, so that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. For because he himself has suffered when tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted. (Hebrews 2:17-18)

Personally, I find it far easier to receive a Jesus who is Lord and Savior, walking on water, healing the sick, restoring sight to the blind, turning water into wine, and raising the dead to life.  But a Jesus who suffered, who was lonely, and even fearful?  Yet, this is what we see in His life and death.  A Jesus who is able to sympathize with our weaknesses?  A doctrine could never do that.  A theological proposition could never identify with us in any respect.  Yet this is what Jesus has done for us. 

Jesus faced every one of our temptations: the temptation for self-rule, self-absorption, self-centeredness, self-confidence, and self-focus—and every sin that is bound up in all of these, yet He was without sin (John 8:46, Hebrews 4:15).  He battled temptation in the wilderness.  He battled temptation in Gethsemane.  He battled temptation on the cross.  Yet He never once yielded, because of His commitment to those whom He was born to die for.  The person of Jesus Christ is a source of unimaginable comfort for every child born of grace. 

So . . . the next time you find yourself smack dab in the middle of a storm or a wilderness experience, remember the person of Jesus Christ and His finished work He completed for you.  Knowing that the Word of God became flesh and “tabernacled” among us for the perfect amount of time is to know enough to get us through anything we are facing.  Along the way, let us remember these words from our Lord, Savior, and Best Friend.

Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.  Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.  For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.

(Matthew 11:28-30)

Jesus was equal to, yet distinct from the Father, and He refused to consider His glory as something to be clutched at selfishly (Philippians 2:6-7).  Jesus emptied himself by becoming a man, but not just any man.  He became the God-man, the Servant of the Lord, the new and better Second Adam who chose to identify with sinful man, yet without sin, to one day remake man sinless forevermore.  

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

Jesus came to this world to conquer Satan, sin, and death.  And conquer He did, through his birth, life, death, resurrection, and ascension. 

When he had received the drink, Jesus said, “It is finished.”  With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.”  (John 19:30)

To the watching world, this was the last despairing cry from a defeated man, nailed like a common criminal to die a ghastly death on wooden crossbeams.  But to the Father in heaven, this was the cry of a Conqueror who did what He came to do: debt paid, sin forgiven, crooked straightened.  “It is finished!” is the fulfillment of the promise God made to Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden after they sinned.

I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; He will crush your head, and you will strike His heel.  (Genesis 3:15)

When Jesus cried, “It is finished!” He uttered the Greek word tetelestai, which literally means “Paid in full.”  When someone in the first century finished paying off a debt they would utter the word tetelestai, meaning “The debt is paid in full; the obligation is fulfilled.”  Jesus was making it clear that He had paid the penalty for our sins in full by His death on the cross.  His was not a cry of relief, the final whimpering gasp of a criminal being crushed under the weight of the cross; it was the cry of a Conqueror!   

We must keep in mind that Christ’s finished work was not limited to the price He paid by His death; it also included the price He paid in the life He lived.  He lived a life of perfection, though He faced every imaginable obstacle, overcame every test—though He was “tempted in every way, just as we are — yet was without sin” (Hebrews 4:15 NIV).

At birth, King Herod tried to have Jesus killed.  As an adult, He was falsely accused by the religious leaders who branded Him a false teacher.  He was rejected by the people He came to save, betrayed by Judas, denied by Peter, and abandoned by all His friends.  He was spit upon, viciously flogged, had a crown of thorns jammed into his head, and nailed to a cross. He hung there in unimaginable agony, His cruelly lacerated back scraping against the harsh wood as He pushed against the spikes in His hands and feet to draw in each shuddering breath.  The religious leaders mocked him, the soldiers cast lots for his clothing, and even two thieves reviled Him as he hung there, no doubt shivering in blinding pain. And if that wasn’t enough, his Father in heaven would not even look upon His very own precious Son, as He who knew no sin became sin for us.  And it was that—not the pain of the nails or the insults of men, all of which He bore in stoic silence—which prompted His desolate cry: “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”

But He was not defeated!  To be sure, there was a great defeat suffered as Jesus hung on the cross . . . but it was not His defeat.  It was Satan who was defeated, his plans forever frustrated, sin and death eternally vanquished for all those who will trust in Christ.  On the cross what looked like the defeat of Jesus and all that He stood for was actually His victory . . . and it was our victory too!  His cry of victory is our cry of victory.  We now live under the banner of the finished work of Christ.  We cannot add to His work; we cannot build upon it; we cannot improve on it in any way.  When Jesus cried out in triumph, “It is finished,” He meant what he said! 

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

As a Christian, what do you regard as the greatest good for you?  Is it living a comfortable Christian life with regular church attendance and serving a little bit here and there?  Is the greatest good for you experiencing financial freedom and the ability to purchase anything you see at the store without ever looking at the price tag?  Is it arriving at the station in life where you are free to do whatever you want to do whenever you want to do it?  Is it the vacation of your dreams, with family and friends to experience it with you?

To be sure, there are a lot of good things in this world.  But make no mistake; the greatest good is not a thing.  It is a person, and His name is Jesus Christ.  There are many good gifts we receive when we are in Christ.  We receive the forgiveness of our sins.  We receive adoption into the family of faith.  We receive the promise of eternal life.  We receive the guarantee that Jesus will never leave us nor forsake us.  These magnificent gifts are reserved only for the child of God.  But there is something even better than all of this.  Jesus is the greatest good!

To have Jesus is to have everything.  As my friend and pastor Tullian Tchividjian often reminds us, “Jesus plus nothing equals everything!”  With Jesus you have all the approval you crave.  With Jesus you have all the affection you desire.  With Jesus you have all the acceptance you pursue.  With Jesus you have all the love you need.  The absolutely greatest good is Jesus . . . period!

Steve Brown, who spoke to our men’s retreat last fall, likes to say, “You can’t love until you have been loved, and you can only love to the extent to which you have been loved.”  Well, if that’s true (and it is), the question we must ask ourselves is: “How well have I been loving?”  His love is unconditional; is our love unconditional?  His love is sacrificial; is our love sacrificial?  Our love for Him and others should always flow out of His love for us and His love for us is always flowing over, under, around, and through us.

Having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints.  (Ephesians 1:18)

The greatest good for every saint is not the good gifts He gives us, but the giving of Himself!  Paul tells us we are His inheritance.  He doesn’t need us, but He wants us . . . so much so that He was willing to be nailed to that dirty tree and even to be separated from His Father in heaven so that we could be His glorious inheritance.  Marinate on this truth for a while and see if it doesn’t begin to change the way you look at everything else in life.  Jesus is everything and everything else is nothing!

It’s almost too glorious to believe; it seems beyond the ability of our finite minds to comprehend.  Perfect, complete, needing nothing in Himself, Jesus came down from heaven to do for us what we could never do for ourselves, so that we could be with Him forever.  This greatest good would be too good to be true . . . if it wasn’t Truth Himself who told us it is so.

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