Grace for the Race

We have arrived at Thanksgiving week, and I thought I would share a few thoughts under the heading “Expressions Of Thanks-Living.” Today we’ll look at expressions with words, and Wednesday we’ll examine expressions with works. Both these ideas are rooted in the following verse:

[A]lways giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. (Ephesians 5:20)

Remember, the Lord Jesus Christ demonstrated who He was with both His words and His works; as His disciples, we are to do the same.

Expressions with Words

The first way we are to express our thanks to God is with the words we speak. We all must take inventory of our language and see if the words we speak let those who are listening know just how thankful we are to God for all we have been given. It is all too easy to be very thankful for the many good gifts we have received, without ever expressing our thanks to the One who gave them to us! We must remember that all good gifts are from above . . .

Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. (James 1:17)

Here is a great question to consider with Thanksgiving only three days away; Paul asked it of the Christians at Corinth: “What do you have that you did not receive?” (1 Corinthians 4:7). The answer, of course, is nothing! Everything we have has been given to us by our great and gracious and loving God. Our families are a gift from God. Our careers are a gift from God. Our health is a gift from God. Our education is a gift from God. Everything is a gift from God, including our very next breath and the very next beat of our hearts. The words we speak should shout to those around us just how thankful we are to God for the countless good gifts we have received.

Did you know that the Bible even tells us to thank our God in song? Yes, that’s right! When you sing praises to God, you are being obedient! We are not just invited to sing our praise to God, we are commanded to do it—even those of us who don’t have the gift of song!

Even while languishing in the belly of a great fish, Jonah sang a song of thanksgiving (Jonah 2:9). And the New Testament underscores this holy obligation:

Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. (Colossians 3:16)

Do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit, addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart. (Ephesians 5:18-19)

Having musical children, I always feel so blessed to hear them singing praises to God, whether on the praise team at our church or around the house. Make no mistake, our God delights in hearing heartfelt praise expressed in words that are both spoken and sung.

But, as important as our words are, there is another very important aspect to Thanks-living. Come back Wednesday for Part II, when we will take a look at our expressions with works.

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

In God’s economy, the way up is always down. I know that is a counterintuitive idea, but it is the Gospel truth.

All those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted. (Luke 18:14)

This verse concludes The Parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector (Luke 18:9-14). Jesus tells the story of two men who went up to the temple to pray and went home on two very different paths: one path leading to eternal life and the other leading to eternal destruction.

Now, if we were all truly honest and would take just a moment to examine our own hearts, it would not be that difficult to humble ourselves. How often we think things we ought not think . . . say things we ought not say . . . and do things we ought not do. What a mistake to enter into the presence of God like the Pharisee, who boasted about himself, saying, “God, I thank you that I am not like other men.”

But for those of us who appraise ourselves honestly, as the lowly tax collector did, we know the way up is always down. Deep down, we know the truth: we are sinners, both by nature and by habit, and we desperately need a Savior—not just at the moment of our conversion, but moment-by-moment all the days of our lives. We cry out all day long, “God be merciful to me, the sinner!”

The promise in this parable is truly incredible. God will exalt all those who humble themselves. Think about it this way: is there any reason for us to be proud? Is there anything we have that we have not been given? No matter how much someone might think he is a “self-made man,” all that was “made” was made by the One who gives him life and breath and everything else.

The great 19^th-century preacher, Charles Spurgeon, put it this way: “Oh Lord, sink me in self that I may rise in You.” There it is! Humility is not a work to be done in our strength; it is always and only to be done in the strength of the Almighty. The natural man wants to rise to the top and shout “Look at me!” Only the gracious strength of God will change the heart of the natural man so that he can say along with Spurgeon, “Sink me in self that I may rise in You!”

So . . . not knowing where this finds you today, can you say these words to your Lord? Which one of the two men who went up to the temple to pray do you most identify with? What would those closest to you say? Remember this truth about humility: it is not thinking less of yourself; it is simply thinking about yourself less! We should not think less of ourselves because we are children of the Most High God. But what we should be doing is thinking about ourselves less and thinking about our God more.

This is the place of peace. This is where meaning and significance are found. This is the great purpose and end of life. When we focus on God, we simply cannot focus on ourselves. When we get out of God’s way, we will see that the only way up is down.

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

It is wonderfully inspiring—and often quite humbling—to read through the pages of sacred Scripture and see the example of some of the giants of the faith. The challenge is to remember that they were all flawed, many of them badly so, and were not nearly as “heroic” as we might want to think.

There is only one true hero in the Bible, and there is really only one example we should be following, as much as it is within our power to do so.

I have set the Lord always before me. With him at my right hand, I will not be shaken. (Psalm 16:8)

The very first thing the psalmist tells us is that he intentionally looked to the Lord as his Everlasting Example. There was no wavering between two opinions for the psalmist. He simply resolved to set the Lord before him, and no thing and no one other than the Lord.

Notice next the word “always.” The psalmist did not set the Lord before him on occasion; he set the Lord before him always. And what was the result of always setting the Lord before him? He knew that He could not be shaken.

Our Everlasting Example is the only place we will find everything we need to get through this life. When you set the Lord before you, regardless of the circumstances of life, you will not be overcome by them. Storm winds blow, but your Everlasting Example is in the storm with you, keeping your feet on solid ground.

I don’t want you to miss an incredible result of setting the Lord always before you: He will seem as near to you as your own right hand. Now, of course, God is always that close to us because He has promised to never leave nor forsake us. He is the Friend who sticks closer than a brother. But when we set other things before us, we lose that sense of intimacy and connection with God. At that level of living, we find ourselves disconnected from our source of life.

The gospels paint a beautiful, compelling picture of the life of our Lord, and I recognize none of us will live up to that standard. If we could, we would not need a Savior! But we can be encouraged by the life our Lord lived, knowing that He now lives in us by way of the Holy Spirit. Knowing that Jesus got up early to pray can encourage us to get up early to pray. Knowing that it was Jesus’ custom to go to synagogue can encourage us to go to church. Knowing that Jesus ministered to the brokenhearted can encourage us to minister to the brokenhearted.

What a life we would live with Jesus always set before us! What joys we would experience! What sins we would overcome! What virtues we would put on display! What a difference we would make in the lives of others if our Everlasting Example was always set before us! Remember, something will always be set before you. The eyes of our desire will always be on something or someone. You must be like the psalmist; you must be intentional and fix your eyes on Jesus. The more you do this, the more you will grow into the person God is calling you to be.

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

One of our family’s very favorite places to go is Walt Disney World. In fact, that is where I asked Kim to marry me and where we went for our honeymoon. Every year since, we have gone with our growing family, now numbering six of us. One thing that Kim and I have noticed along the way is the ever-growing price of admission. What started in the mid $30.00 range back in the 90’s has now increased to more than $100.00 for a single day, one-park pass.

It’s not just Disney, of course; the cost of everything has gone up. But did you know there is one admission ticket that is exactly the same price today as it was when it was first offered centuries ago?

It is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast. (Ephesians 2:9-10)

Now, that’s enough to get you to sit up and take notice, isn’t it? The price of admission to enter the Master’s Kingdom—not the Magic Kingdom—is the same today as it has always been: it’s absolutely free!

Now, let me be clear. The price of admission for those who enter is free, but it was not without cost for the One who has given us access to it. Our Lord Jesus Christ paid an unimaginable price to purchase our admission into the kingdom of God! He endured the wrath of God on our behalf, shed His precious blood, and ultimately gave His life . . . for you and for me.

Without the price of admission paid by our Lord, no one could possibly gain entrance into heaven. The door is shut on sinners, because the wages of sin is death. But Jesus came into this world and paid the full and complete price of our admission. He paid it with His life. He paid it with His death. And He paid it with His resurrection. And He paid it in full for you and all those who place their trust in Him.

In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace that he lavished on us. (Ephesians 1:7-8)

That is the good news of the Gospel. It was not our merit; it was God’s mercy that purchased our ticket into paradise. It was not our good works; it was God’s grace that purchased our ticket into paradise. It is all of God because it is all of grace, and God’s grace is a free gift. You don’t pay for a gift. You don’t work for a gift. It is simply given. But it is only given to those who acknowledge they cannot receive it any other way than by trusting in Christ alone. What a great comfort to know that Jesus paid the price of our admission into a life of eternal bliss!

If you know this truth and have received it, by grace through faith, perhaps you could share it with someone who does not know it. With the price of admission going up and up and up for everything else in this world, it is a tremendous comfort to know that the price of admission into paradise has never changed . . . it’s FREE!

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

I want to ask you a question that really changed my life when it was first put to me all the way back in the late 1970’s:

What would you attempt to do if you knew you could not fail?

Whether you have heard that question before or not, I encourage you to take a few moments to really marinate in it. If you were absolutely certain you would be successful, what would you attempt to do?

Lest you think that this is one of those worldly questions from the field of positive thinking and self-help, let me remind you of the following biblical truth:

I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. (Philippians 4:13)

The apostle Paul is telling us that there is some kind of special power we have because we are children of the Most High God. And notice what Paul does not say: he does not say, “I can do some things through Christ who strengthens me.” Rather, Paul says we can do “all things”!

Now, before you think you can fly and proceed to jump off the roof of your home, let me quickly unpack the truth of this verse. The “all things” Paul speaks of are all the things God has ordained for us to do in His timing and in His strength. These are the “good works” God has prepared in advance for us (Ephesians 2:10) that we are to be doing all the way into glory.

Paul knew God would not have called him to his ministry without giving him everything he would need in order to accomplish it. Paul faced some extremely difficult and dangerous circumstances as he was preaching the good news of the Gospel. But Paul knew that God would give him all the strength he needed to fight the good fight of faith and finish his race. Paul knew that “all things” were all the things God had called him to do in expanding the first-century church until he had completed his work.

The challenge for many in the church today is that they have substituted “a few things” for “all things.” We minimize our impact in this world by limiting God’s work in our lives. We have a tendency to give God only a portion of our lives and therefore look for God to do only “a few things” through us. Remember, the first-century church turned the world upside down because they lived out the truth of “ALL things.” They surrendered control of their lives to God and changed the course of history, knowing that God would make good on His promise.

So . . . it sounds like there are some things that, if we attempted to do them, we absolutely could not fail to accomplish because of our relationship with Christ. What would one of those “all things” be for you today? Start a business? Share the Gospel? Mend a broken relationship? Go back to school? The difference between “a few things” and “all things” is the difference between living a life of mediocrity and a life of mastery for the glory of the Master. What will you choose today?

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

The Reformers said it perfectly all the way back in the 16^th century: “We are saved by faith alone, but not by a faith that is alone.” In other words, true, living faith in the Lord Jesus Christ is a faith that has hands and feet and demonstrates its reality to the watching world.

Someone will say, “You have faith; I have deeds.” Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by my deeds. (James 2:18)

Good works are not the reason for our salvation; they are the right response to our salvation. We are not saved by faith in Jesus plus our good works; we are saved by the grace of God alone, through faith alone in Jesus Christ alone. But as James tells us, good works flow out of a living, vital, true saving relationship with Christ.

Now let me make something perfectly clear:

God knows the heart and needs no demonstration of saving faith!

Man looks at the outward appearance, but God looks at the heart. And it is also true that God does not need any of our good works. He was doing just fine before we were saved and He will continue doing fine after we are in glory.

So if God does not need our good works, why is it important for us to do them? Because everyone else needs our good works. Our family needs our good works. Our neighbors need our good works. Our coworkers need our good works. The world needs our good works. And good works that flow from a saving relationship with Christ are the only truly good works in the world. Why? Because they are done for two reasons only:

God’s glory

and

The good of others!

So . . . would the watching world around you know you are “in Christ” because of the good works that flow out of you? Are you making a difference in the lives of others for the glory of Almighty God? Remember, faith is invisible. The only way a watching world will see faith is by the way it works itself out of the heart that beats for Jesus.

Let me close today’s word of encouragement with this exhortation from the 18^th-century theologian, John Wesley:

Do all the good you can. By all the means you can. In all the ways you can. In all the places you can. At all the times you can. To all the people you can. As long as ever you can.

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

Now that is a counterintuitive title . . . “When Is Loss Gain?” At first glance, a loss of anything is a loss, no matter how you slice it. So how can loss be gain? The answer comes from above, and I want you to be encouraged by this truth today:

Whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it. (Matthew 16:25)

Here our Lord Jesus Christ provided inspired insight into a loss that is great gain. Jesus said we must lose our life if we are ever going to find true life . . . and that is a life rooted in our Redeemer. The natural, unsaved man or woman simply cannot begin to comprehend this truth because those who are of this world maintain a desperate grip on everything, including life itself.

Let’s take a closer look at what Jesus wants us to know. When Jesus says we must “lose our life” for Him, He is telling us we must decide who will sit on the throne of our lives. When we seek to “save our lives,” we are sitting on the throne of our lives. We are living by self-rule. But when we “lose our lives for Jesus,” we give up ownership of ourselves and surrender complete control to Christ. Only when we are living surrendered lives do we begin to experience true life, because true life is only found in Christ.

When Paul said, “To live is Christ” (Philippians 1:21), he was telling us that abandonment to the Almighty is the pathway to finding a life that truly matters. Which was why he could continue his inspired message with the words, “And to die is gain.” Losing every aspect of this life for true life in Christ—including even life itself—was gain . . . unimaginable gain! We are to give up our goals, our dreams, our agendas, our plans, and our purposes for this life and completely surrender control of everything to Christ. And all of this must be done unconditionally. We cannot place conditions on our surrender. We must leave ourselves at the complete mercy (disposal) of the One we have surrendered to.

So . . . how well are you doing at losing your life in order to find it? It really comes down to the understanding of ownership. The Bible makes it perfectly clear that we are not our own; that we have been bought at a price, and that price was the precious life blood of the Lamb who purchased us. If you are holding back any part of your life from Jesus, you are seeking to save your life . . . and in the end you will lose it. Jesus wants all of your life because Jesus bought all of your life.

Make no mistake, God will tolerate no rival because our God is a jealous God (Exodus 20:5). Adam and Eve were created to be fully dependent upon their Creator. They were never to seek or find any aspect of life outside of their life with God and in God. But when they rebelliously declared their independence from God, seeking to save their lives . . . they lost their lives. In turning away from God, they denied their own humanity and became something contrary to their original nature. They died and we all died with them. But when Jesus raises us from death to life, we get a new, true life in Christ. From that moment on, we are to continually surrender control of our lives to Christ—daily—because in seeking to lose our lives, we actually find life!

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

In the beginning everything was good. In fact, God put His stamp of approval on all creation and declared that it was “very good.” But when Adam and Eve turned away from God, everything went bad . . . very bad. Paradise was lost because God made good on His promise—“You must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die” (Genesis 2:17)—and delivered His cosmic curse.

But the promise of the God’s glorious Gospel of redemption is that paradise will be found again when the Lord Jesus Christ consummates His Kingdom:

No longer will there be any curse. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city, and his servants will serve him. (Revelation 22:3)

Think about it this way. Jesus Christ came to reverse the curse. Through His sinless life, sacrificial death, and supernatural resurrection, death has lost its sting. One day soon, Jesus will return and we will live forever in the new heavens and the new earth, no longer cringing under any curse. Jesus crushed the curse on His cross. You and I will not fully realize that victory on this side of the grave, but His victory is certainly and completely won nonetheless. “It is finished!” Now that is worth reflecting upon, don’t you think?

The curse has affected everything, both vertically and horizontally. Apart from Christ, our relationship with God has been broken and cut off. We have been evicted from paradise and banished to live east of Eden. We live as enemies of the Eternal One because nothing we do is done for His glory. We are as selfish as we are self-absorbed. Self-rule is the order of the day. We place self upon the throne of our lives, and God is as far from our thoughts as the east is from the west. As for our horizontal relationships, love for others has been replaced with self-love; serving others has been replaced with self-service; kindness has been replaced with contempt. In short, our lives are thoroughly messed up . . . but only until Jesus shows up.

When we, by grace through faith, are raised from death to life, everything begins to change. Instantly we are welcomed back into the presence of the Almighty. We come off the throne of our lives and God resumes His rightful place. And our relationships with others begin to heal and become whole. When we understand just how much we have been forgiven, we begin forgiving others . . . all others. Self-absorption is replaced with self-sacrifice as we begin to lay our lives down for the glory of God and the good of others. We begin to catch a glimpse of paradise regained and what it will look like on the other side of the grave.

So . . . knowing what is ultimately coming in your life because of the love of God for you expressed in Christ Jesus, how does that make you feel about yourself and your life right now? How does it make you feel about others? The more we look forward to our promised paradise, the more we will begin living for it now. As hard as it is to imagine a time and a place where there will no longer be any curse, it is the Gospel truth and it is to inform every aspect of our lives—right now, right where we are, this very day.

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

Jesus said our lives would be marked by trouble, trials, and tribulation. We seem to go from one affliction to another affliction along our way to the Celestial City. What I have learned over the years is this: it’s not what happens to you that makes the greatest difference in how your life works out . . . rather, it is what you do with what happens!

So . . . what have you been doing with what has been happening to you lately?

If only I knew where to find him; if only I could go to his dwelling. (Job 23:3)

In the midst of unimaginable heartache, trials, and tribulations, Job could find no lasting comfort in his friends. Sure, they ministered to Job’s broken heart when they were silent throughout the first seven days. But as soon as they opened their mouths, the weight of Job’s burden increased. Job knew that the only place to go when affliction arrested him was to flee to the Almighty. Charles Spurgeon put it this way:

In Job’s uttermost extremity he cried after the Lord. The longing desire of an afflicted child of God is once more to see his Father’s face. His first prayer is not “O that I might be healed of the disease which now festers in every part of my body!” nor even “O that I might see my children restored from the jaws of the grave, and my poverty once more brought from the hand of the spoiler!” But the first and uppermost cry is, “O that I know where I might find Him, who is my God! That I might come even to His seat.”

There is only one place to go when we are dealing with the difficulties of life, and that is to the throne of Grace. We can find no help or healing, no comfort or closure anywhere else. In his utter desperation, Job turned in the only direction he could to find deliverance. And often, this is the truth for all of us. Without affliction, we can advance through life with very little thought of the Almighty. But when the storm winds begin to blow, there is only one place to go . . . into the presence of the Almighty.

One of the great Gospel gifts God has given us is the invitation to come boldly before the throne of grace. In fact, it is actually a command. We have been commanded to pray, not just invited. And in that command we have been given an eternal comfort in knowing that Jesus will never leave nor forsake us. Regardless of what it is you might be going through right now, you are not going through it alone. Jesus is with you. Jesus is within you. Jesus is beside you. And when you feel like you simply cannot go on, know that you have already been carried across the finish line.

Remember, the Bible never instructs us to simply seek God. It instructs us to “seek God first” (Matthew 6:33). May that be the confession of our lives every day we have life on this side of the grave.

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

For those of you who might have been expecting a different “Happy” greeting on the morning of October 31, let me say, “Happy Halloween!” Neighborhoods across this country will be flooded with kids in costumes carrying bags full of candy. At Cross Community Church, we will be interacting with our local community by handing out candy and Gospel tracks, while sharing the love of our Lord Jesus Christ with a great many families who normally don’t attend church. However, I would like to take a moment today to encourage you with a brief history of an event to celebrate on the 31^st of October that is infinitely more significant: Reformation Day!

Reformation Day is a religious celebration for Protestants all across the world. Many theologians assert that October 31 commemorates a cosmic move of the Holy Spirit reminiscent of the Day of Pentecost. It began in 1517 when a German monk named Martin Luther nailed his 95 Theses to the door of the church at Wittenberg, marking the beginning of the Protestant Reformation. The specific day of celebration varied for two hundred years, but in 1717, at the two hundredth celebration of Reformation Day, October 31 became the official date of remembrance.

What follows provides a very brief picture of the importance of this day in the history of the Christian church. Martin Luther had identified the problem of works-righteousness, the merit-based practices embedded in the extra-biblical traditions of Roman Catholicism. In a phrase, Martin recovered and declared the true Gospel of salvation by grace alone through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ alone as it is set forth in sacred Scripture.

It is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast. (Ephesians 2:8-9)

Luther believed that the Word of God was to have supremacy (that is, preeminence or “first place”) as it relates to faith and practice. Tradition can certainly play a role in the church, but it must never rise to the level of being regarded as infallible truth. In God’s providence, at the time Luther hammered his 95 Theses to the door of the Wittenberg Church, the Gutenberg printing press was ready to copy and circulate the Bible that Luther had translated into German in order to put the Word of God in the hands of the common person. He outraged Rome with his unflinching declaration that “A simple layman armed with Scripture is greater than the mightiest pope without it.” Luther also recaptured the “priesthood of all believers,” which meant that every person mattered. There was no sacred-secular split. Every person—whether cleaning a stable, manufacturing a pair of shoes, or preaching the Gospel to hundreds—was in full-time ministry service to God when what they were doing was for God’s glory.

As you might imagine, the Roman Catholic Church was greatly displeased with Martin Luther! Luther was brought before the church and commanded to recant of his position, and his response left an indelible mark on the history of the church:

I cannot choose but adhere to the Word of God, which has possession of my conscience, nor can I possibly, nor will I even make any recantation, since it is neither safe nor honest to act contrary to conscience! Here I stand. I cannot do otherwise, so help me God! Amen.

The Protestant Reformation exploded out from Germany and swept through Europe. The torch was picked up by many of the giants in church history, men like John Calvin in Geneva, Ulrich Zwingli in Zurich, and John Knox in Scotland. The Reformation Luther led sparked the Anabaptist (free church) movement and the English Reformation, which expanded Christianity across the Atlantic Ocean all the way to America.

Make no mistake, Martin Luther’s hammer hit a nerve that vibrated all over the world! The Reformation reclaimed the good news of the Gospel: that salvation is by grace, not good works . . . mercy, not merit! Sometimes we wonder if one person can really make a difference. Well, the difference Martin Luther made will echo throughout eternity.

So on this Reformation Day, let me encourage you to rest in your redemption, knowing that everything you need has already been given to you by virtue of the life, death, and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. When Jesus cried, “It is finished,” He meant what He said . . . and He said it to you!

Let me also encourage you to do as Martin Luther did: Go out and tell others that God so loves them that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Jesus Christ will not perish, but have everlasting life (John 3:16).

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