Microchurch Minute
Who hasn’t struggled and felt torn between the earthly power of sin and the divine power of the Holy Spirit? While we may have always known that some things are outright bad… such as murder and theft, the more intimate details of our souls are revealed in the law. It is wrong to desire what your neighbor has. It is wrong to worship anything that is not God. These convictions strike us deeply when we align ourselves with Jesus. I don’t know about you, but even with a genuine desire to serve the Lord alone, I still find myself wrestling with the flesh far more than I wish. I don’t want to give in to sin, but the facade of worldly happiness has such a pull about it that it truly takes an act of calling upon the Holy Spirit inside of you to free you from those temptations. Paul uses the analogy of marriage to show that just as a woman cannot enter a new covenant while her husband still lives, we cannot fully enter into relationship with God until we put to death our former “marriage” to sin. Our freedom from sin was bought through the act of Jesus’ death on the cross. By our own doing, we cannot rise above the law, we are never free from it. But when we choose to lay down the chains that entrap us to the world, we are free to live under the presence of our Savior. The bible never promises us that walking in faith would be an easy journey. In fact, it turns the whole idea of “earning” holiness upside down. Instead, we see that we must only accept the grace and forgiveness that the Father has opened up to us, and we will be inspired to want to do good deeds because we have already been bought, forgiven and accepted.
Microchurch Minute
Isn’t it a beautiful reality that God’s grace supernaturally knocks out all traces of sin? We are given a divine position through our faith is Jesus Christ. When we follow the Word of God and the convictions of the Holy Spirit living inside of us, we are aiming to walk a life worthy of the position that God’s grace has elevated us to. The forgiveness we receive through grace does not ever serve as a permission to sin freely license. On the contrary, grace provides a spiritual death and resurrection that unites us with Christ, who is incapable of sin. Tis is expressed through the act of baptism. We get to symbolize that we are dying to our old selves, the sinful descendants of Adam. But, just as God chose to resurrect Jesus Christ from the grave, we too are raised from the watery grave. By accepting His grace, we have broken the dominion that sin held over our lives. The old “me” is dead, and a dead man is no longer affected by lying, cheating or any other sins. Grace means freedom to willingly serve the Lord, not to sin against Him. The “new me” that has been born again in Jesus, now lives to bear fruit of the spirit wherever I go! As mere mortals, we will find ourselves surrendered to something. Shouldn’t it be to the will of God instead of allowing sin to reign as your master? Turn every part of you over to Him, to be used for His purpose and His glory. I’m pretty sure it’s safe to say, we have all seen that acts of sin are not fulfilling or life giving, they only end in disaster. There is no gray area or confusion to be found here. Man may choose to serve sin, to which the wages are paid in death – or we are free to serve Christ, who rewards us with the gift of forgiveness and eternal life. Choose wisely, your eternity depends on it.
Microchurch Minute
Justification is such a beautiful gift. Through Christ’s death on the cross, we have been given a closeness to God that completely erases our sin. It truly is an *ideal* father/child relationship that Jesus granted us. Because of this closeness and hope that we have in eternity, we are able to face troubles of this world with peace and keeping joy in our hearts. Without trials, we would never develop perseverance that leads to the confident hope we have in God’s promises to us. Think about it, if God sent Christ to die for you while you were still a sinner, completely unworthy, keeping God at arms’ length, how much more does He care for you now that you’ve opened your heart to receive Him?
We clearly see the contrast between sin entering the world (Adam) and the later gift of abundant grace (Jesus Christ). Through a single act of following his wife’s rebellion, Adam took on responsibility for all humanity and death entered the world. In contrast, through one giant act of self-sacrifice, Jesus brought the opportunity for forgiveness and reconciliation to all of mankind. It is written, the penalty for sin is death, but when we believe in our Lord, we accept Christ as our substitute and that debt has been paid in full.
People often question “What if Adam had never sinned?” or “Why are we punished for what happened in Eden?” But, let’s think about it for a minute. If Adam had not sinned, he would have gone on to live in Eden – sure, that sounds great. But, because of the fallen world and Christ’s redeeming act of love, we are granted eternity in Heaven! We have received heir-ship in the family of our Creator. What great majesty we have to look forward to due to the redeeming act of Jesus. Fear not, spiritual family – we may live in a fallen world today, but our eternity is held in the almighty hands of the King of Kings.
Microchurch Minute
Romans 4 takes a deep dive into justification by faith. Our salvation is not something we can boast about, it’s not something that we earned. It’s a contrast to the logical nature of earning what we deserve. At the end of the pay period, we expect payment from our employer – we have earned it. But, God freely forgives us and offers us eternal relationship when we lay all of ourselves down at His feet. Paul confirms that Abraham believed God’s promises, he had this faith even before circumcision. God’s covenant with Abraham did not come through the law, it came directly from the grace of God. When we believe that God is the One that raised Jesus from the dead, the faith we have is credited just as it was to Abraham when he believed God would make him the father of many nations. In faith, we are descendants of Abraham. Do you realize that as you continue to read about the lineage of Abraham, you’re actually reading about your spiritual lineage? This directly applies to you! The divine blessing of adoption into the family of God means that we’re written into the story, descendants of the father of nations. What beautiful family legacy we’ve obtained in our justification. God allowed Jesus to be handed over to death, so that He could mightily display his ultimate power of death. We accept that. We believe that. Our faith in the God who raised Jesus from the dead allows us to be justified and enter eternal relationship with the creator of the universe. God doesn’t give us what we earn or what we deserve. For that, I am so glad.
Microchurch Minute
What advantage do the Jews have in relation to eternity and relationship with Jesus? Jews were entrusted with the Word of God. However, some have been unfaithful. Despite the Jew’s rebellion, God has remained faithful and just. Our flawed human logic sometimes justifies that His redeeming grace is glorified in our sin. Yes and no. See, when we follow our rebellion into sin and choose to repent, God does redeem us and His grace is sufficient. This becomes part of our testimony and should help to keep us aligned with God. It is part of the reason I feel it is necessary to regularly reflect on what God has done for me in the past, how He has pulled me through situations that could have resulted in my demise. God’s grace is not a permission to sin freely card – it truly is a redemptive experience. While it is true we can accept and appreciate God’s grace over our lives, when we truly receive the gift of eternal life through our belief in Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross, it aligns out hearts in such a way that we no longer want to sin. The temptation will still be there, the same for Jews and Gentiles, but we get to make the conscious choice to keep our eyes on the Light of the world, and with the power of the Holy Spirit, we are able to resist the sins and temptations. This grace is equally available to all. We are all in need of forgiveness. All in need of the Savior. This means that none of us can boast of our own good works, it’s not about keeping a record of all the “good” that we did to get into heaven. It’s one of the sneakiest lies conjured by the enemy – that your “good morals” are enough. The fallen angel of darkness doesn’t mind morality; he fears surrender to Jesus Christ. As Christians, we recognize that eternal life can only be attained through believing that God sent his one and only Son, to die a death that we deserved, so that we might be given eternity and togetherness with our Father in heaven. This justification is given by our faith, not by works or strictly adhering to the law. Yet, when our hearts are aligned with God’s redemption, good works naturally flow as the fruit of a transformed life.
