Grace for the Race

I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, not any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 8:38-39)

I want to share a new insight I gleaned from a Tim Keller sermon rooted in Romans 8:28, entitled, “Does God Control Everything?” I have written over and over again in this blog about the unconditional love of God in Christ Jesus, which is poured out on sinners like you and me. Keller’s sermon he took this truth a step further. He said –

Nothing can separate him from us. . . . He held onto us; he was our Savior. He died for us! Now that’s how you know nothing can separate us from the love of God. It’s not an abstraction. It’s not just saying, “Oh, I just believe that God loves me unconditionally.” No, he loves you counter-conditionally; he loves you against conditions because of Jesus.

I just love that! We are not only loved unconditionally; we are loved counter-conditionally—that is, against our every condition. Think about it this way: In our natural condition, we are sinners and utterly without hope apart from the saving grace of Almighty God. We are in a dead condition that needs to be made alive, and that only happens because God loves us counter-conditionally.

But it doesn’t end there! After we have been made alive with Christ, we are still sinners in need of a Savior. When we seek to serve ourselves rather than our Savior, we are rebels on the run, just like our first parents, clad in the ludicrous fig leaves of their own self-righteousness, hiding in the brush from the Sovereign Lord. And yet, God still loves us in our rebellious condition . . . He loves us counter-conditionally.  

I don’t know where this message finds you today, but I want you to remember that, regardless of the condition you find yourself in, nothing can ever separate you from the love of God in Christ Jesus. You see in today’s passage that Paul included the phrase, “nor anything else in all creation.” The apostle is directing us to consider this counter-conditional love from the deepest possible perspective. Since everything is in the category of creation except God, that category includes you. Christian, there is nothing you can do, nor is there anything that can be done to you, that can separate you from the love of God that is ours in Christ Jesus.

I don’t care how badly you’ve stumbled or how dark and dirty is the pit you are in today. Nothing, even in your worst possible condition, can ever separate you from the love of God in Christ Jesus, because you are loved—not just unconditionally, but counter-conditionally. Let that truth set you free from any attacks of the devil that may be trying to keep you down.

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

I have chosen you in the furnace of affliction. (Isaiah 48:10 KJV)

When God says He has chosen us, we need to interpret this deep, biblical truth in two parts of speech: First, as a verb, because God has made a decision to select us into His service; and second, as an adjective, because God’s choice makes us choice (of very good quality).

Understanding this order is critical to understanding the Gospel. God does not choose us because we are choice on our own, worthy of His choosing and affection. Rather, because He chooses us, we are made choice by His sovereign action of choosing us. Now, if that does not bring you great comfort and light the fire of your faith . . . your wood is wet!

But notice this: we are chosen as an afflicted people, not as affluent people. God does not place us on a pedestal in the palace. Rather, our God ordains that we, in His strength, will work our way out of one pit after another, just as Joseph did because of the sinful jealousy of his brothers who sold him into slavery. In God’s mercy and grace, we are put into the furnace of affliction in order to prove, purify, and perfect us—again, just like Joseph. It is in the furnace of affliction that we are formed and fashioned into the image of God’s beloved Son Jesus Christ, beause, as the apostle Paul wrote, “Suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope.” (Romans 5:3-4).

So what furnace of affliction have you been placed in today? Even if it is heated seven times hotter than ever before, remember that you are not alone. When the three Hebrew youths where thrown into the fiery furnace by King Nebuchadnezzar because they refused to bow down to a pagan image, the king saw four men walking around in the furnace, and he exclaimed that “the fourth looks like a son of the gods” (Daniel 3:25). God’s deliverance of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego was a great victory and an awesome demonstration of His care and concern for His people. And He exercises that same care and concern for you today.

God could have kept those young men out of the furnace. But instead, He joined them in it for their good and ultimately for His glory. Every furnace of affliction is designed for that end. God will use whatever furnace you are facing to bring you to the end of yourself. His faithful, refining fire finds out what is worthless and purges it from His people. Remember, the same God who sends the sunshine and the rain also sends His people into the searing furnace, but that trial is always far less than we deserve. “He does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities” (Psalm 103:10).

God has chosen you, and that makes you choice. He uses the furnace of affliction to fashion you into the faithful follower He is calling you to be.

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

Their souls shall be like a well-watered garden. (Jeremiah 31:12 NKJV)

The soul without the Savior is an empty hole, a barren wilderness, leaving one with a thirst that cannot be slaked. But, oh, the soul that has been drenched by the living waters of the Savior finds that hole filled and flourishing.

Is this the condition of your soul today?

To have the hole in our souls filled by our Savior means we have been cosmically cultivated, weeded by the Word, and fertilized by His faithfulness. Our great Gardener cares deeply for every plant in His garden and stands watch over each one of them throughout the scorching heat of the day and the cool winds of night. Winter, spring, summer, and fall, Jesus sees to it that His garden flourishes in a way that shouts to the weeds of this world, “Stay out!” Planted by Jesus, pruned by Jesus, and protected by Jesus, we are given all that is necessary to grow up into the person God is calling us to be.

Pause for a moment and reflect upon just how well you have been watered by the Master of the garden.

• He has watered you well with His forgiveness.
• He has watered you well with His faith.
• He has watered you well with His mercy.
• He has watered you well with His ministry.
• He has watered you well with His pardon.
• He has watered you well with His presence.
• He has watered you well with His discipline.
• He has watered you well with His devotion.
• He has watered you well with His goodness.
• And He has watered you well with His grace.

The hole in your soul has been filled to overflowing!

The question that needs to be asked and answered is this: are you flourishing in accordance to your filling? Remember, your flourishing flows out of your filling, not the other way around. All that you are and all that you do is a result of all that He has done for you. Your call as a Christian is simply to live out practically what you already are positionally. In the words of the apostle Paul, “We are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them” (Ephesians 2:10).

Walk by faith and not by sight in your well-watered garden, knowing that your filling is for your flourishing.

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

If anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here! (2 Corinthians 5:17)

I meet far too many Christians who believe that being a “new creation” means they must have the passion of the prophets, the discipline of the disciples, and the strength of Samson. Experience has taught me this is simply not the case. To be sure, sin has been conquered and crushed through the life, death, and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. But, as I frequently remind our congregation, we must remember that inasmuch as sin no longer reigns, it still remains. We will battle against sin all the way into glory, just as the Scriptures tell us:

The sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. They are in conflict with each other, so that you do not do what you want. (Galatians 5:17)

Before we were saved, we were only capable of sinning in the eyes of the Lord. Nothing we did brought honor or glory to His name. Selfish ambition and self-interest ruled our hearts and shaped our lives. But when Jesus showed up, all that changed. As new creations, we have an ability we did not have before we knew Jesus. We now have the ability to resist the devil and flee from the sinful impulses that still reside in the old nature. But if we believe even for a moment that we will reach perfection in this life, we are setting ourselves up for certain, crushing defeat.

The ultimate outcome of the Christian life is perfection; when we cross the Jordan, we will be fully conformed into the image and likeness of our Lord Jesus Christ. But until that day, we will struggle against the sin nature that still resides within us. And yet the orientation of our lives has been radically changed by Christ. Instead of the heart beating for the self, it has begun to beat for our Savior. We desire to live a life that is pleasing and acceptable to the One who saved us from sin, Satan, death, and ourselves. When Jesus changes us, He renews our mind, realigns our will, and reorients our heart. At this level of living, because Christ is living in us (Galatians 2:20), we begin to make real and measurable progress against sin.

As new creations we have a new identity which cannot be shaken, because it is rooted in the unshakable One. And as new creations we have a new power greater than any power that can come up against us. Let the truth of Whose you are set you free to make forward progress; and when you stumble, fear not! You are unconditionally loved and completely forgiven.

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

“No one ever spoke the way this man does,” the guards replied. (John 7:46)

Make no mistake, no man ever spoke the way our Lord Jesus Christ spoke. No one ever spoke such truth in so much love. No man every spoke such blessing over burden and life over death. But it doesn’t end there, because no man ever was silent the way our Lord Jesus Christ was silent. He refused to cast His pearls before swine.

When he was accused by the chief priests and the elders, he gave no answer. Then Pilate asked him, “Don’t you hear the testimony they are bringing against you?” But Jesus made no reply, not even to a single charge—to the great amazement of the governor. (Matthew 27:12-14)

As our sin-bearer, Jesus knew there was no defense of sin, so He spoke not. He made no defense for Himself, not even in the slightest degree, for He knew the task at hand as the Lamb of God slain before the foundation of the world . . . bound and silent before the great Judge of the universe. The world is always trying to explain its way out of one predicament after another. Self-justifying is the way of the sinful heart. But He who knew no sin but rather became sin for us remained silent when a single word from His lips could have ended all of His pain and suffering. The prophet’s prediction was fulfilled, “He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; he was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before its shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth” (Isaiah 53:7).

Let this truth encourage you today! Jesus proved Himself to be the Savior of the world through the words He spoke and through His silence. His patient silence secured our salvation. Perhaps the lesson we should learn today is that there are times to speak up and there are times to remain silent. Let us, at every opportunity, speak up for the advancement of the cause of the kingdom of Christ. And let us, at every opportunity, remain silent for the advancement of the cause of our own kingdom. Let us not get caught up in foolish and stupid arguments, but let us speak the truth of God’s love for a lost and hurting world—a love that is displayed in all its radiant beauty by the person of Jesus Christ. This will assuredly make us most like our Master.

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

Those who passed by hurled insults at him, shaking their heads and saying, “You who are going to destroy the temple and build it in three days, save yourself! Come down from the cross, if you are the Son of God!” (Matthew 27:39-40)

When you look at a cross, what do you see? 2000 years ago, the watching world saw a defeated, dying man who claimed to be the Savior of the world. But God saw His perfect justice satisfied by His perfect Son, who triumphed through defeat. In the end, the cross is where we see the great reversal of the world’s values and where a countercultural kingdom was birthed by the death of its King. The cruelest instrument of death known at that time brought about the death of the world’s glorification of power, position, and prestige . . . and brought eternal life to all who place their trust in the crucified One.

On the hill Golgotha, Jesus won through losing, gained through giving, and achieved ultimate status through unimaginable service. The cross creates a countercultural kingdom in which its citizens see life as God intended it to be. Success is achieved through the service of others, not at their expense. Power is used to advance the cause of the kingdom of the Savior, rather than the kingdom of self. Forgiveness is now given freely and without exception to all those who have offended or wronged us. The cross of Christ creates a kingdom that is marked by love for God and love for others, regardless of the cost or circumstance. This is what I call a cross-shaped life.

Does this define your life today?

The cross of Christ made no sense to the watching world, but it makes all the sense in the world to those who have been transformed by it. Jesus died that we might live. But the life Jesus calls us to live is a life marked by the death of the self. If Jesus is to increase in our lives, we must decrease. If Jesus is to rule over our lives, we must surrender and submit. If Jesus is to lead, we must follow wherever He leads. And because Jesus is the King of this countercultural kingdom, He will often lead us in directions that seemingly make no sense . . . which is why we are to navigate through this life, not with a compass, but with a cross. It is only when we view life through the cross that we will begin to live a cross-shaped life.

Remember, it was on that cross that Jesus cried out, “Why have you forsaken me?” Why was an ignominious death on the cross necessary? The answer, of course, is as profound as it is personal: it was necessary because of YOU! Now, that’s a counterintuitive cross. Remember that the next time you see one. And rejoice!

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

Should you then seek great things for yourself? Do not seek them. (Jeremiah 45:5)

There was a time when I sought greatness for myself. Oh, I sought it in my service to my God, but I did not realize it was the wrong “greatness” to be seeking. Today, I am a whole lot older and a little bit wiser; today I seek great things for God and leave the rest up to Him. This is the proper perspective for the child of God.

It must be the goal of the disciple of Christ to make God known in everything we say and do. To seek personal recognition or the applause of man is not the characteristic of the disciple of Christ; it is the mark of the worldling. When we find any applause coming our way, we are to point to the One who is the reason for our recognition. It is God who is to be honored. It is God who is to be exalted. It is God who is to be glorified. The true disciple of Christ sees the applause of man not as an honor, but as a hindrance to the fulfillment of the holy work that has been assigned from on high.

What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ . . . (Philippians 3:8)

These are the words of someone who sought greatness for His God, not great things for himself. Paul knew who he was before Jesus showed up (a sinner in need of a Savior), and he knew who he was after Jesus showed up (still a sinner in moment-by-moment need of a Savior). Paul gave God all the credit for anything he did worth crediting. Never did he seek the applause of man because he knew he already had the approval of God.

What are you seeking today? Whether your service to your God is noticed by many or unnoticed by all, God is not seeking “great” people to serve Him. Rather, God is seeking those men and women who will allow God to manifest Himself greatly in them – for His glory and the good of all those they come in contact with. Are you one of those people?

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

Whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. (John 4:14)

When you read today’s title and the verse from John’s gospel, they might seem to contradict each other, but I promise you that they do not. Read on! I hope you will be greatly encouraged and empowered to be and do all that God is calling you to.

When Jesus spoke with the Samaritan woman at the well, He invited her to partake of “living water,” which is a symbol for the Holy Spirit. When Jesus gives us His living water, we are filled to the brim. We are brought out of darkness and into His light. We are raised from death to new life in Christ. We are completely delivered from eternal damnation and granted eternal life. But here’s the catch: the more we understand just how completely the waters of life have slaked our spiritual thirst and met us in our deepest place of need, the more we find that we have a thirst that can never be satisfied—but it is a thirst we had never experienced before.

When the apostle Paul wrote to the Philippians that he had “learned to be content whatever the circumstances,” he was not saying he was satisfied. Paul was never fully satisfied with the relationship He had with Christ. He always wanted more of Jesus. He wanted to serve Jesus more. He wanted to love Jesus more. He wanted to be with Jesus more. This is the thirst that can never be satisfied on this side of the grave, and this thirst is a very good thing! And yet Paul was so deeply immersed in the living waters that he could say, “To me, to live is Christ and to die is gain” (Philippians 1:21). Can the same be said of you today?

If we ever find ourselves satisfied with our current relationship with our Savior, we can be sure we have been drinking from other wells. When we read through the life of Jesus in the gospel accounts, we see that His thirst for His Father was never satisfied. Luke’s gospel reports that “Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed” (Luke 5:14). At no time did Jesus cease from seeking communion with His Father in heaven.

Stay thirsty, Christian. Stay thirsty for the truth in thought, word, and deed. Stay thirsty, as Paul did, “to know Christ and the power of his resurrection” (Philippians 3:10). Stay thirsty for opportunities to be the hands and feet of Jesus Christ as you engage with a lost and hurting world. And know that only when you get to the other side of the Jordan will that thirst be eternally slaked.

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

It was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your forefathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect. (1 Peter 1:18-19)

When was the last time you considered what Jesus is asking of you as one of His disciples? I often find myself speaking with many men, women, and students who have not given much thought to this all- important question.

Here is a word that should provide both comfort and challenge for you today, a word rooted in C. S. Lewis’s essay, “Is Christianity Hard or Easy?”

Christ says, “Give me ALL. I don’t want just this much of your time and this much of your money and this much of your work—so that your natural self can have the rest. I want you. Not your things. I have come not to torture your natural self . . . I will give you a new self instead. Hand over the whole natural self—ALL the desires, not just the ones you think wicked but the ones you think innocent—the whole outfit. I will give you a new self instead.”

Lewis hit the proverbial nail right on its head; Jesus wants all of you . . . period! And why should He not want all of you? You are His by way of the most costly purchase the world has ever seen: His precious blood poured out on the hill Golgotha. Jesus died in order to bring you into a personal relationship with Him. And by purchasing you with His blood, He made it perfectly clear that His love for you is beyond measure. So why would you ever hold back any of you from Him?

Notice that Lewis said Jesus wants “all our desires.” We can have many very good desires without Jesus. I have often said from the pulpit that “Good things become bad things when they become ultimate things.” Our careers are good things, unless we begin living for them. Our children are good things, unless we begin living for them. Our good desires that do not keep Jesus on the throne of our lives are ultimately bad desires, which is why Jesus wants all of us.

Here is something to remember: There is only room for one on the throne of your life. Either you will be living for Jesus or you will be living for yourself. Who have you been living for lately?

Remember, when Jesus is on the throne of your life, your life will have a meaning and purpose that can be found in no other way. Jesus wants you because Jesus loves you, and He knows what is absolutely best for you—all of you!

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

The people who know their God will firmly resist him. (Daniel 11:32)

Here we are confronted with a universal truth – it’s not so much what you know, but rather who you know—when the Who you know is the all-knowing One. Those who know the one true living God will be the ones who stand firm when the storm winds begin to blow their way. Does this define you today?

Now, the “know” I speak of is not simply knowing certain facts about our Lord. Rather, it is knowing Him personally and intimately. First, it is knowing Him savingly, because you have trusted in Christ alone for your salvation. Next, it is knowing Him sanctifyingly, because you look to Him as your source of growing in holiness and godliness. You know His power; you know His presence; and you know His purpose for your life because you have taken the time to get to know Him.

It must never be enough to know things about God. We must settle for nothing less than a fresh encounter with the living God as we make our way through this life. The more we come to know Him, the more we will come to be like Him, and that is the goal of every child of God. As ambassadors of the Almighty, we are to be His ambassadors in this world so that those who see us will catch a glimpse of Him. When we speak, the watching world should hear God speak. And when we serve, the world should feel the healing touch of His loving, nail-scarred hands as we minister in His name for His glory.

How well do you know your God? Are you getting to know Him more and more through your time in His Word, on your knees in prayer, and in His house with His people? To know Him is to love Him, and to love Him is to want to know Him more and more until that day when we will stand in His presence unveiled and know Him as He is.

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