Grace for the Race

Throughout the Old Testament, we read how God was with His people in remarkable ways. God was with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. God was with Moses and Joshua. God was with King David and His prophets and all His people. In the New Testament, however, there is a significant change that takes place. God is not only with His people in a remarkable way, He is in His people too!

I tell you the truth: It is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Counselor will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you. (John 16:7)

This statement from Jesus must have been difficult to believe at the time. How could it be good for Jesus to be leaving His disciples? The answer, of course, is that when He ascended into heaven, He sent the third Member of the Trinity, the Holy Spirit, to indwell them. And all those who come later—those who trust in Jesus Christ by grace through faith—receive this same gift.

It seems that our Lord was telling His disciples that inasmuch as it is a very good thing for God to be with us, it is an even better thing for God to be in us! God was with His people in the Old Testament. Jesus was with His disciples during His time on earth. But now our Lord is seated at the right hand of God the Father . . . and the Spirit of God dwells within us.

It must have been an unimaginable experience for Moses to stand before the burning bush that would not be consumed and actually hear the voice of God speaking to him. But as incredible as that surely was, you and I have something even more miraculous; we have the Holy Spirit living inside of us, every moment of every day! Moses had to climb the mountain of God to commune with God; God the Holy Spirit has come down from heaven and has taken up residency within all those who have placed their trust in His beloved Son. We can commune with Him 24 hours a day, 7 days each week.

This truth is designed not only to inform us, but to transform us as well. The third Person of the Trinity has taken up residency inside of every believer, to guide, govern, and direct us into living a transformed life for the glory of God. Jesus told His followers that “the Holy Spirit would come on them and they would receive power” (Acts 1:8), and that power showed up all throughout the book of Acts, which records the growth of the church through the transformed lives of God’s people.

One final note of encouragement to you today: this supernatural power was flowing through ordinary people. There was nothing special about the saints of God . . . except for the fact that the Spirit of God lived in them. In Acts 4:13 we read of the courage of Peter and John, who were “unschooled, ordinary men,” yet had one distinguishing mark: “these men had been with Jesus.”

May that be what sets you and me apart also!

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

How well do you point others to Christ? One of the best ways to evaluate the answer to that question is by paying close attention to the words you use. Do you talk more about you when speaking to others . . . or more about Him? The apostle Paul was a master at pointing to His Prince whenever he opened his mouth, especially when he was boasting.

I glory in Christ Jesus in my service to God. I will not venture to speak of anything except what Christ has accomplished through me in leading the Gentiles to obey God by what I have said and done—by the power of sings and miracles, through the power of the Spirit. So from Jerusalem all the way around to Illyricum, I have fully proclaimed the gospel of Christ. (Romans 15:17-19)

Paul was continually boasting . . . but never about himself. He was constantly pointing to his Prince and all that Jesus was doing through Paul and his ministry. To be sure, Paul was proud of his ministry and what he was doing for the glory of God. And he should have been proud! We all should be serving God in such a way that we are proud of our service. Being proud of what we do is biblical and a good thing. Being prideful is not!

Notice Paul said, “I will not venture to speak of anything except what Christ has accomplished through me . . .” He never talked about his abilities or his accomplishments. He never sought the applause of man. No, Paul was constantly pointing to his Prince and sought to bring acclaim to his Master. Paul used every word to witness for Jesus. His language was designed to point others away from himself and toward his Savior.

Can the same be said about you? The apostle Paul’s ministry was immensely successful by anyone’s standard, including God’s, who confirmed Paul’s success with “signs and miracles.” Yet Paul steadfastly refused to take any credit for any of it. He always exulted in what God in Christ was doing both in Paul and through him.

The great reformer Martin Luther obviously took a page from Paul’s book:

We preach always Him, this may seem a limited and monotonous subject, likely to be soon exhausted, but we are never at the end of it.

Christ was the foundation upon which Paul built his entire existence, and the apostle made sure to give all the credit where the credit was due. Paul was totally dependent on the power of the Holy Spirit for the advancement of his ministry. Paul knew his success was not due to his intellect, education, up-bringing, social status, or past training. It was solely the result of God’s powerful grace flowing through his weak life. Because of this truth, Paul could point only to his Prince as the reason for his successful results.

So . . . in what direction have you been pointing lately?

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

When Kim and I first placed our trust in Jesus Christ in 1995, we thought the Gospel was limited to that exact point in our lives when we said “I believe!” I am a whole lot older today and a little bit wiser and, by God’s grace, I have been given a much clearer understanding of the Gospel. And that can be summarized with this statement:

The Gospel is not “a” point in life; the Gospel is “the” point of life!

It is very much like the difference between a snapshot picture and a full-length movie. To be sure, the Gospel is first and foremost, the moment of new life. It is the singular moment when Jesus shows up and raises us from death to life. But in every moment after that moment, the Gospel is the momentum of life that keeps us keeping on.

There is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. (Romans 8:1)

Is this not the point of life that keeps us moving forward? Is it not enough to know there is no condemnation for those who trust in Christ alone? We must know it, trust it, and live it every moment after we are saved. The only sin we will ever slay is the sin we know has been fully forgiven through the cross work of Christ. On the cross, the Lord Jesus Christ took our guilt and shame and filth and crushed them all and cleansed them with His precious blood. All that is left for you and I to do is to receive this truth, by grace through faith.

Remembering this truth daily is the only way to live the abundant life Jesus has promised. Knowing that there is no condemnation—even when we do something that deserves condemnation—strengthens our resolve to return to the cross for the strength we need. God already condemned Jesus in our place, and He will never again count our sin against us.

Far too many Christians live defeated lives, simply because they do not understand this truth. They picture God as some kind of harsh ogre in the sky, waiting to squash them when they step out of line. And that is why they Gospel is more than a point in life; it is the point of life.

Do you get the point? Knowing that there is no condemnation frees you to live for Jesus and nothing smaller. And when you mess it up, know that you are unconditionally loved and fully forgiven. This provides the motive and motivation to honestly face our sin (rather than hide from it) and to lay it down at the foot of the cross. When we know that our sin—all of our sin, past, present, and future—has been fully forgiven, we have the strength to face it when it rears its ugly head.

One more thing: Knowing the Gospel as more than just a specific point in life is a continual reminder that God is for you every step of the way. And “If God is for us, who can be against us?” (Romans 8:31). And that, beloved, makes the Gospel the point of life.

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

Far too many in the church today do not understand the power they have been given to do battle against the enemy. Often they tell themselves what comedian Flip Wilson would say back in the 1970’s: “The devil made me do it!” In essence, these beaten believers are saying that they have an excuse for sinning; the power of the evil one is just too great for them.

But this is not for you! If you are in Christ, the Holy Spirit dwells within you. And the power of the Spirit of God in you is greater than any power that can come up against you. And herein lies the single most important key that will unlock the door leading to victory in the areas that you struggle most:

REMEMBER THAT IT’S HIS POWER

It is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose.

(Philippians 2:13)

“Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit,” says the Lord Almighty.

(Zechariah 4:6)

You will not enjoy sustained success fighting the world, the flesh, and the devil in your strength; you must fight in His strength, that incomparable power which has already defeated every enemy that can come up against you. The work of redemption that God is doing in you is according to His good purpose . . . and nothing can stop the purposes of God.

We know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. (Romans 8:28-29)

The Lord Almighty has sworn, “Surely, as I have planned, so it will be, and as I have purposed, so it will stand . . . The Lord Almighty has purposed, and who can thwart him? His hand is stretched out, and who can turn it back? (Isaiah 14:24, 27)

Regardless of the enemy that comes up against you—an enemy which will always be stronger than your measly personal power—the power to overcome will be found in the Spirit of Christ. It is a supernatural battle, to be sure, so the only power that can overcome must also be supernatural, and that is only found in the Holy Spirit who is at work within us.

Are you so foolish? After beginning with the Spirit, are you now trying to attain your goal by human effort? (Galatians 3:3)

What began with the Spirit must continue with the Spirit and be brought to conclusion by the Spirit. How foolish we are to think we can win any battle we face in our own strength! Yet this is the problem we all face from time to time. Our sinful human nature overestimates its own strength and underestimates the extent of its own sin. When we lapse into this kind of foolish thinking, we strive to achieve victory in our strength rather than His strength. “If it’s to be, it’s up to me,” we tell ourselves. And that never ends well.

We have a clear vision of victory when we continually look outside ourselves to our Savior and continually rely on His supernatural strength for every battle we face. Remember, whatever has a hold on you has no hold on your Savior. Trust in Him. Look to Him! Rest in the fact that God will bring you victory against every enemy you face, in His perfect timing and in His perfect way.

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

How much have you been forgiven? Perhaps you’re not sure? Well, as He sat at dinner with Simon the Pharisee, Jesus provided the formula for answering that question.

“Two men owed money to a certain moneylender. One owed him five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. Neither of them had the money to pay him back, so he canceled the debts of both. Now which of them will love him more?” Simon replied, “I suppose the one who had the bigger debt canceled.” “You have judged correctly,” Jesus said.  (Luke 7:41-43)

Jesus told this short parable just after a woman who had lived a sinful life entered Simon’s home and washed Jesus’ feet with her tears and then anointed His feet with perfume. Both Simon and the woman were great sinners in need of an even greater Savior, but the woman understood the depths of her sin and just how much she had been forgiven by Jesus. Her recognition of her own condition showed in her love for her Savior. Simon, on the other hand, was too proud to see his own sin and his love for Jesus was virtually non-existent.

Here is the principle:

Your love for Jesus will reflect how much you realize you have been forgiven!

Jesus continued His discourse, telling Simon:

Do you see this woman? I came into your house. You did not give me any water for my feet, but she wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. You did not give me a kiss, but this woman, from the time I entered, has not stopped kissing my feet. You did not put oil on my head, but she has poured perfume on my feet. (Luke 7:44-46)

Why did Simon the Pharisee show so little love to Jesus when He arrived at his home? The enormous plank lodged in both of his eyes blinded him from seeing just how sinful he truly was. Why did the sinful woman show Jesus so much love when she arrived at Simon’s home, uninvited and unwanted? It was because she knew just how sinful she was and how much forgiveness Jesus had poured into her life.

The key to growing our affection for Jesus is to never lose sight of how forgiven we are, both in our days “before Christ,” and right now . . . at this very moment! We are in constant need of God’s forgiveness, because we sin in thought, word, deed, and desire on a daily basis. Only to the extent that we keep that Gospel truth in view will our love for Jesus flow out of us to Him and to others.

So . . . how much do you believe you have you been forgiven? The answer will always be found in how much you love your Savior. When we keep the fact that Jesus laid down His life for us, poured out His blood, and died on a cruel cross for our sins—past, present, and future—then our hearts will beat with love for Jesus. When you and I, like the apostle Paul, see ourselves as we truly are—the worst of sinners (1 Timothy 1:15)—we will not withhold our love like Simon did. Instead, we will show our love for Jesus, regardless of the cost or the company, just like the sinful woman.

She loved much because she knew she was much forgiven. How about you?

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

As a pastor of a church plant, I am often asked how we gear our church services; are we aiming at the unbeliever or the believer? In other words, what people are asking me is whether I focus on saving the unbeliever or strengthening the believer. My answer is always the same:

“YES!”

Because our every worship service is geared toward sinners, the preaching of the Gospel is intended to reach both the unbelieving sinner and the believing sinner. Both groups are in constant need of God’s grace: the grace of rescue . . . the grace of revival . . . the grace of restoration! Because God is in pursuit of rebels on the run, the Gospel applies to believers and unbelievers equally.

The question is not what group we are targeting for our messages; rather we must ask ourselves this: Is the Gospel message—that Christ died to pay the penalty for all our sins and rose from the grave, thereby cancelling sin’s penalty and undoing its power—being preached clearly and forcefully?

The Gospel is for sinners, after all, and you and I are still sinners after we have been saved. Even after we welcome Jesus into our hearts, we are still sinners, both by nature and by habit. As I often tell our congregation, it is true that sin no longer reigns after we place our trust in Christ, but sin still remains and it is constantly trying to drag us away from our Savior. Christian believers of all ages and stages of growth are in constant need of being redirected away from sin and toward our Savior. We are prone to wander! We are sheep who are easily lured away to search for greener pastures than the one God has graciously provided for us.

There are countless voices trying to get our attention on a daily basis. And every one of those voices seeks to shape your life by ruling your heart. That is why you must be intentional about preaching the Gospel truths to yourself every single day. There is no voice with greater potential for influencing your life than your own. You are constantly talking to yourself, and you believe what you tell yourself . . . so why not be intentional about reminding yourself of the words of Gospel life?!

Just as the spiritual disciplines of Bible reading, prayer, church attendance, service, and giving are “means of grace,” preaching the Gospel to ourselves is another means that God has graciously given us to strengthen our faith, grow us up into Christ, and help us live the life God has called us to live. We benefit from this grace in both of the following two perspectives: proactive and reactive.

PROACTIVE: we fix our focus on the truths of the Gospel daily. It is our daily meditation, making the Gospel one of the most powerful “offensive” weapons against the world, the flesh, and the devil.

REACTIVE: we overcome our temptations and sin patterns (doubt, fear, disappointment, frustration, anger, etc.,) by recalling the truths of the Gospel, thereby developing a Gospel perspective and evaluating what is happening by looking through the Gospel lens.

So . . . how are you doing at preaching the Gospel to yourself? Do you do it daily? Do you remind yourself that God so deeply an eternally loved you that He sent His only begotten Son to die in your place? Remember: what rules your heart shapes your life. The more you preach the Gospel to yourself the more it will rule your heart and shape your life!

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

Some of you may remember a book titled Looking Out for Number #1 that rocketed to the top of The New York Times best-seller list in the 1970s. Almost 40 years later, that book is still ranked among The Times’ top fifteen all-time best-selling motivational books. We live in a society where everyone seems to be in the race for first place. We’re all huffing and puffing along the performance treadmill, trying to stay ahead of everyone else. We want the biggest house, the fastest car, and the latest iPhone.

But praise God for the most counterintuitive communication ever given: the Gospel!

Whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all. For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many. (Mark 10:43-45)

The Gospel shatters society’s measure of greatness. The Gospel defines greatness by our service, not our status. Those in the race for first place will find greatness . . . but not in crossing the finish line first, but rather by serving everyone they can along the way. The Gospel simply turns the world upside down in measuring ultimate success through sacrifice and service.

Jesus set the standard for us. He said that “The Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” Jesus was the King of kings, yet he did not come to accumulate wealth and power, but rather “to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, [and] to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor” (Luke 4:18-19). For Jesus it was all about others . . . never about Himself.

Only a deep understanding of this Gospel truth will free us from our perpetual running on the performance treadmill. The Gospel frees us from relying on our “stuff” for significance. The Gospel relaxes our white-knuckle grip on the things of this world. Instead of seeking first place in the race of life, we have been called to seek first His kingdom and His righteousness (Matthew 6:33). Because of our union with Christ, we already have all the love and significance we need, so we are free to lay down our lives in serving others. The Gospel is a paradigm-shattering declaration that our Prince has already run and won the race that we were scrambling to win . . . therefore we can stop scrambling and get busy serving!

How is it with you? Has your heart been reoriented toward others? Or does it still beat primarily for you? The Gospel tells us we no longer need to run the race for 1^st place . . . in fact, it warns us not to try! When Jesus’s disciples began arguing among themselves about who was the greatest, Jesus told them plainly: “He who is least among you all — he is the greatest” (Luke 9:48).

Do you understand that because Jesus gave His life as a ransom for you that you are already seated next to Christ’s throne in the heavenly realms (Ephesians 2:6)? When we fix our eyes on the Author and Finisher of our faith, we need no longer be concerned with what others are doing and how we measure up to them. There is only One whose approval matters; the One who will say to us, “Well done, good and faithful servant” if we have indeed sought His kingdom and His righteousness first.

You and I have been set free to live our lives as a thankful response to His grace. We know that in the end . . . we win! And it is not because of anything we will ever have done, but only because of everything Jesus has already done for us.

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

Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God . . . (Philippians 4:6)

Cast all your anxieties on him because he cares for you. (1 Peter 5:7)

With the sole exception of the sinless humanity of our Lord Jesus Christ, anxiety is a human experience common to the Bible. Anxiety is refusing to trust God in all circumstances. In His Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 6:25-34), Jesus tells us not to be anxious (“Do not worry”) five times and provides the remedy for anxiety: trusting in the Lord.

This biblical admonition not to worry is more than good advice; it is a moral command. It is God’s preceptive will that we, His people, not be anxious about anything. Why? Because anxiety is sin! To be sure, there are many things in life that can open the door to anxiety. From deadlines at the office to difficulties at home, anxiety is always testing the outer edges of our emotional health. So what’s the cure? How does the Bible tell you to attack anxiety?

The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and I am helped. My heart leaps for joy and I will give thanks to him in song.  (Psalm 28:7)

Here is just one of countless verses in sacred Scripture that offer the cure for conquering anxiety. Anxiety is to be met head-on, with the clear understanding that Jesus is both your strength and your shield. Jesus is your shield to protect you from the fiery “arrows of anxiety” that Satan shoots your way through every circumstance you face in life. And Jesus is your strength when these “arrows of anxiety” do find their mark. Anxiety is not to be attacked in your strength, but in the strength of the One who has nailed the sin of anxiety to the cross.

And what does this strength look like? The next few words in Psalm 28:7 provide the description:

My heart trusts in him, and I am helped.

We are to attack anxiety with a heart that trusts Jesus even when we cannot trace Him. When your sense of peace begins to turn into panic, turn your heart toward Jesus and trust in Him to get you safely to the other side of it. If God knows the number of hairs on your head (Matthew 10:29), you can be sure He knows exactly what you are going through. And the key to attacking anxiety is to always remember . . . You ARE going through it! Jesus will bring your through to the other side of every challenging circumstance you face.

Remember, anxiety is not God’s will for your life, no matter how frequently you have to deal with it. Satan wants you to distrust God and disdain His providence in your life. But this is not for you!!!

In the verses I cited at the beginning of this article, Paul says we are to attack anxiety with prayer. Is this the confession of your life today? When anxiety is attempting to overwhelm you, do you go to the throne of grace with it? The next time anxiety attacks, pray David’s prayer in Psalm 139:23, “Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts.”

And in 1 Peter 5:7, we find both the motive and the motivation for casting our anxiety on Jesus . . .

BECAUSE HE CARES FOR YOU!

Your Savior . . . your Strength . . . your Shield cares for you so much that He took your nails, your crown of thorns, your cross, your death, and your tomb. Let that truth set you free from anxiety by attacking anxiety with the strength of your Shield. You will overcome, because greater is the power that is at work within you than any power that comes up against you!

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

“Redeem the firstborn donkey with a lamb, but if you do not redeem it, break its neck. Redeem all your firstborn sons. No one is to appear before me empty-handed.” (Exodus 34:20)

In God’s economy, every firstborn creature was to be offered to Him. But in this ancient ceremony we find a powerful picture of our own predicament. The donkey was an unclean creature and could not be offered up to our Lord. The donkey must be spared by the offering of a substitute (a lamb) in its place. If no lamb was offered in its place, the donkey had to die.

How could this possibly have anything to do with life in the 21^st century? It is simply this: you and I are unclean before God because of our sins, just like the donkey. Spurgeon wrote:

The [donkey] is His due, but He will not accept it; He will not abate the claim, but yet He cannot be pleased with the victim. No way of escape remained but redemption—the creature must be saved by the substitution of a lamb in its place; or if not redeemed, it must die. My soul, here is a lesson for thee. That unclean animal is thyself; thou art justly the property of the Lord who made thee and preserves thee, but thou art so sinful that God will not, cannot, accept thee; and it has come to this, the Lamb of God must stand in thy stead, or thou must die eternally.

In our uncleanness we can offer no good thing to our Lord. The perfect, holy God cannot accept anything from us that will merit our pardon, gain His affection, or broker His favor. For “All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags (Isaiah 64:6). Only through the offering of the Lamb of God, the unblemished and perfect sacrifice for blemished and imperfect sinners, can we be saved.

This “great exchange” is too great a truth for our finite minds to fully comprehend. The perfect, sinless Lamb of God, the second person of the Trinity, came into this world to take our place on a cross to die for our sins, offering Himself in our place, that we might be acceptable in God’s sight.

Only when we see ourselves in the light of what we truly are—unclean and unable to do anything about it, just like the unclean donkey—can we begin to see the beauty of our Substitute . . . our Savior. The One who was clean came and took the place of the unclean. The One who was holy came and took the place of the unholy. The One who was perfect came and took the place of the imperfect. The One who was righteous came and took the place of the unrighteous. The One who was sinless came and took the place of the sinner.

Jesus did for us what we could not do for ourselves. In the powerful picture of redeeming a donkey, we see our own perilous predicament . . . apart from Christ. And when we place our trust in His redemption, we see our pardon and find the peace that passes all understanding.

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