Tag Archives: salvation

What is Good?

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Matthew 5:21-30

Jesus, in verse 20, just got done saying our goodness must exceed that of the Pharisees, those professional do-gooders. They were men who went out of their way to be and do good, and held themselves up as what goodness should look like. Exceed that?

Then, if that’s not impossible enough, Jesus goes on to make it more impossible!

We humans look at a person’s actions and evaluate the level of good or evil. A good man is someone who does NOT murder, does NOT cheat on his wife, does NOT steal or lie or throw tantrums. A good man is someone who DOES value life, fidelity, honesty, and self-control and demonstrates these virtues by his good choices. We see his actions and say, “That is a good man.”

Most of us, if we try, can reach a level of goodness using those indicators. But Jesus reminds us we look on the outside, God looks on the heart. And that’s where the rubber meets the road.

If I have hate in my heart for anyone, if I nurture anger toward someone, if I gossip about someone or reveal things that could ruin a reputation, if I consider myself superior to anyone and treat them like I think they’re unimportant or ignorant, my righteousness does not exceed that of a Pharisee, and Jesus says heaven is closed to me.

Then Jesus throws in lust. Most people don’t literally have sex with their neighbor’s wife. But infidelity extends to our thought life, the choice to look at someone and think about having sex with them, perhaps looking at pornography, or daydreaming about sex.

We can commend the guy who has been a faithful husband for 50 years, but not realize he is addicted to pornography. We can commend a woman for her commitment to her husband and family, and not realize she thinks about leaving them every day. We don’t know what goes on inside a person’s mind. God knows. And God judges what goes on inside a person’s mind as though they were actions.

Thank God for Jesus, who took the punishment for our sins of thought and action. Thank God for the Holy Spirit who changes our hearts so that our thoughts and actions are pure.

Oswald Chambers, in his book on the Sermon on the Mount points out purity is not innocence. “Purity is not a question of doing things right, but of the doer BEING right on the inside.” (p 22). He goes on to say purity isn’t something we’re born with like innocence. Purity comes from conflict. Purity comes from wrestling with sinful thoughts, with ungodly attitudes, and defeating it. Purity is a result of coming through the refiner’s fire.

God doesn’t accept our goodness as a tradeoff for sin. In fact, there is no goodness in us to give. All you and I have is our badness, but when we give God our badness, He gives us the goodness of Jesus! He refines the badness into Jesus’ goodness.

Our righteousness will exceed that of the Pharisees when we are wearing the righteousness of Jesus. An impossible righteousness to achieve on our own. But wonderfully possible through the blood of Jesus.

I’m Free!

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Galatians 3:27-4:11

A little boy was standing in his front yard when a man, just freed from prison, ran past him, hands waving in the air, and shouting, “I’m free! I’m free!” The little boy watched the spectacle a bit confused, not understanding the man’s excitement. “So what?” he shouted after the man. “I’m four!”

I wonder if we are ever underwhelmed by the freedom we have in Christ because we don’t really understand it. The little boy in my story certainly didn’t understand what “free” meant. Do we?

We do this or that. Or we don’t do this or that. We say the right things. We smile, lend a hand, and all the while we hope it’s enough. We struggle with sin, we are paralyzed by guilt, we doubt, and we hold back. We stand in a prison God has freed us from by the blood of Jesus.

Satan loves to convince us that God’s grace is not enough. But he is a liar. What he doesn’t want you to believe is that if you repent of sin and accept Jesus as your Savior… YOU ARE FREE!

You’re free from the punishment of sin, you are free from the power of sin over your life. In Jesus, there is victory, cleansing, joy. Satan cannot confine you with the chains God has already broken.

So don’t let him. Yes, there will be struggles. Surrender them to God. There will be failures. Ask God to forgive. There will be doubts and fears, but God wants to free you from those and replace them with the assurance of His presence and strength.

Dear one, if you have accepted the free gift of God’s grace, don’t live like you haven’t. Don’t stay a prisoner when the prison walls have already been destroyed and your chains have already been broken. My prayer is that you, and I, will surrender today to the One who has freed us, that we will allow Him to be our strength. We will be reminded that Jesus has set us free from the bondage of sin and death. His death is enough.

I’m free to love Him! I’m free to receive Him! I’m free to call Him Father! I’m free to go to Him boldly in prayer! I’m free to rest in Him! I’m free to obey Him, not out of duty or out of hope He will accept me. I’m free to show Him how much I love Him by the things I do so that others can find Him, too.

I’m free! I’m free!

Finished

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Galatians 3:1-14

Paul goes on to explain how believers are justified by faith, and continue to live by faith. He wonders how anyone can look at Jesus on the cross and think they could do more.

How can anyone look at the Mona Lisa and think they could take a paintbrush and add a little color around the eyes. To do so would cheapen the finished work – or worse – reduce its value to $0.

Jesus’ work on the cross is enough. He said, “It is finished,” not “I’ve done my part so now it’s your turn.” Our good deeds are unable to change our sin to righteousness. A sinner can’t just one day declare himself not a sinner.

The curators at the Louvre in Paris care for Da Vinci’s finished work. They protect it, treat it with utmost respect and honor, they share its beauty with the world. But none of those deeds painted the picture or add to its worth.

I was at the hairdresser’s yesterday and, you know how those women can talk! They were speaking about the wife of a man who had just left, how kind and sweet and good this woman is. One of the ladies said, “If Sue ain’t gonna go to heaven ain’t no body gonna go.”

What a tragic belief. When Sue faces God she will be judged exactly the same way the rest of us will be judged. Did she live by works, or by faith in Jesus for her righteousness? Sadly, if she is counting on her own goodness instead of wearing the righteousness of Jesus, she ain’t gonna go to heaven.

We who have been entrusted with the Gospel are like the curators of the Mona Lisa. We love the Gospel, protect it, share it. But those deeds add nothing to the finished work of Jesus on the cross.

It is finished. And it is enough.

Wonder No More

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Gal 2:11-21

To anyone who wonders if, or hopes they’ve done enough good to go to heaven – READ THESE VERSES! Paul answers your questions clearly:

You are not good enough!

No amount of law-abiding behavior, no matter how loving or compassionate you are, no matter how many times you go to church, or how well you are thought of at work – you aren’t good enough to earn your way to heaven. Good people go to hell the same as bad people.

The fact is, Jesus died on the cross to pay the death penalty for sinners. We all have sinned. Even you. What Jesus did there on the cross is the difference between heaven and hell. You can’t come close to equalling that.

If we could somehow pay the death penalty for our sin then live again, or if we could do enough good to erase the sins we’ve committed, Jesus should have just stayed in heaven. His painful death would be worthless.

Paul tells us he was crucified with Christ. We know he wasn’t put on that cross with Jesus. But Paul often talks about the surrender he made to Jesus that changed his life. He calls it dying to self. Paul doesn’t live on his own anymore. It’s Jesus living in him! I hope you can say the same.

Do you wonder if you’re going to heaven? Answer this: have you repented of your sin and accepted the work of Christ on the cross as the payment for your sin? Have you surrendered to God and is Christ living in you in the person of the Holy Spirit? Are you, like Paul, allowing God to live through you?

If you can’t say yes to those questions then Scripture tells us you aren’t going to heaven. Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life and no one goes to the Father except through Jesus. There is no room for, “well he’s such a good person. Certainly God will accept him.”

My prayer is that you can honestly say yes to those questions. I pray that Jesus is your Savior, that you have surrendered to Him and accepted His grace, the forgiveness of your sins. Heaven awaits you.

If you wonder if you are going to heaven, wonder no more. The answer is as plain as day.

Grace and Peace

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Galatians 1:1-5

I finished my study of Genesis with Warren Wiersbe, and decided to go to the New Testament for my next personal time in God’s Word. Howard F. Vox wrote a commentary on Galatians entitled, A Call to Christian Liberty as part of the “Everyman’s Bible Commentary” published by Moody Bible Institute in 1971. I’m going to consider his opinions as I look at this letter of Paul for the next few days.

Vox says that “grace” was a common Greek greeting among Gentiles, while “peace” or Shalom was a Hebrew greeting. He thinks Paul purposely combined the two greetings as a demonstration of the joining together of Jews and Greeks as equals in God’s kingdom, the veil being destroyed by Jesus’ death, so that now there is no difference between the two.

And, Vox points out, Paul always used “grace” before “peace” in his greeting. That is the experience of all believers. First, God pours out His grace upon repentant sinners, applies Jesus’ blood to our account and saves us from the punishment we deserve. What follows is the peace that passes all understanding. No one can have the peace of God without first receiving His grace. So it is fitting that Paul would use these two words in this particular order whenever writing to the churches.

Jesus sacrificed Himself to rescue us, to pluck us out of the grip of evil in this world. And because we can contribute nothing to our salvation (Jesus’ death was enough) God gets all the glory, both now and forever! Amen!

I have read the book of Galatians many times, heard I don’t know how many sermons and lessons on it, and most of the time I’ve skimmed over the greeting to get to the meat. But today I am so blessed by having stopped and considered these five verses as penned by Paul.

I am saved by grace alone. It’s not a “I hope I’m saved,” or “I hope I’m good enough” kind of a thing. I am saved because I have put my faith in the only One who can save me. That’s why today, with all the trouble in this world, I can go with peace in my heart, fully trusting that the One who saved me can also keep me.

“Grace and peace from God our Father,” is my greeting to you all. Have you accepted His grace or are you still trying do earn you salvation? I pray that you will stop, listen, humble yourself and accept what Jesus died to give you… complete forgiveness. I promise you, when you experience His grace you will have His peace.

Then, let’s continue together through this book of Galatians and discover more about what that all means to each of us. May God teach us, grow us, and prepare us to be used by Him to reach those who don’t yet know the wonder of a relationship with Almighty God.

Find Us Faithful

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Genesis 50

G. Campbell Morgan once said that a believer’s work in the world is not finished when they put him in the ground. Think about that for a minute.

Joseph was a faithful and productive servant of God during his 110 years on this earth, and continued to be used by God for the next 400 years after his death. He was probably embalmed and placed in a sarcophagus since he was an Egyptian ruler. But the Israelites held onto the remains even after they were forced into slavery.

What did that coffin represent to the generations after Joseph? Salvation!

Joseph’s last words to his family was when – not if – God comes to your aid and takes you back to Canaan, take my bones with you and bury me there. Joseph’s remains were a constant reminder of God’s promises to Israel, and the hope of His salvation.

Years ago Steve Green wrote a song entitled “Find Us Faithful.” It is my prayer. The chorus says:

Oh, may all who come behind us find us faithful.
May the fire of our devotion light their way.
May the footprints that we leave lead them to believe,
And the lives we live inspire them to obey.
Oh, may all who come behind us find us faithful.

Google the lyrics, or better yet go to You Tube and hear Steve Green sing it. It will make you stop and think.

What is it you want the memory of you to inspire? When your children think of you after you’re gone, what do you hope comes to mind? Your money will be spent, your belongings will be discarded. But your influence will live on.

Understanding that truth, there might be some changes you (and I) might want to make while we still have a chance. The footprints we leave will lead somewhere. Do you care where? Will they lead our loved ones to God, or away from Him?

May all who come behind us find us faithful.

Hold Your Horses

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Genesis 39:1-6

If you wonder why God would allow Joseph to go through the hardships he faced, wonder no more. Warren Wiersbe in his study, Be Authentic suggests that if Joseph had been allowed to remain at home, the favored and pampered son, hated by his brothers he would not have been fit to fulfill the responsibilities of leading a nation. Joseph had to learn humility, service, hard work, and faith before God could use him in such a significant way.

Think about it. Even Jesus, after being baptized, took forty days in the wilderness before jumping into ministry. Paul didn’t get up from the dirty road to Damascus and start preaching. In fact, it seems he spent time in Arabia being taught by Jesus Himself (Galatians 1), then three years being an apprentice preaching in Damascus before he went to Jerusalem.

Remember John Mark? As a young man he failed completely in ministry alongside Paul and Barnabas. Years later, Mark became an important help to Paul. But he had to mature first.

I think churches make a mistake when they take a new believer and put him or her in positions of authority before they’ve had time to mature in their new-found faith. Sure, they are on fire for the Lord and it’s tempting to think that’s just what the Church needs. But the Church does NOT need ministry based on feelings. In fact, I would suggest that harms the Church more than it helps.

When Jesus gave us His last command, He told us to go and make disciples. He didn’t tell us to go and make converts. Making disciples takes time and effort. But without it a new believer stays an infant.

You don’t put a newborn baby behind the wheel of a car. Why? The same applies to putting a new believer in front of a classroom, or on the elder board, or making him pastor of your church. A baby doesn’t have what it takes to drive the car, and a new Christian doesn’t have what it takes to drive the ministry.

It took years of hardship, forced labor, tough lessons and a growing faith for Joseph to be ready to be used by God. Let’s, as mature Christians, have discernment enough to do the same for the new believer.

They may be excited about their salvation, all in, totally committed to Jesus. But sometimes you gotta say: Hold your horses! There are no shortcuts to maturity. The thing about growing in faith and knowledge of our Lord is that it doesn’t put out the flame, it feeds it. If you are afraid this excited young Christian will lose that excitement if you take time to nurture him, you either are not trusting God, or you don’t really trust the truth of their salvation.

If you are a new Christian, welcome to the family. Let me encourage you to find a mature Christian to come along side you, to hold you accountable, to teach you, mentor you, challenge and encourage you as you learn what being a Christian is all about.

If you are a seasoned Christian, be that person to a new believer. Seek them out. Spend time praying with and for them. Read the Bible with them. Ask and answer questions. Watch them grow.

Then watch them be used by God at just the right time. One day that “Hold your horses” will be “Giddy-up!”

What Is Biblical Faith?

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Genesis 12:1-3

I’m starting the second of Warren Wiersbe’s “BE” study series in Genesis. After completing the first book, BE BASIC, I’m looking forward to continuing studying God’s Word and considering Wiersbe’s opinions on these chapters. (Be Obedient; David C. Cook Publishers; Colorado Springs, CO; 2010). As always, I will let the Bible be the final authority.

If I am to evaluate my own faith journey, I need to look at what the Bible says about faith. Paul tells us:

So faith comes from what is heard, and what is heard comes through the message about Christ. (Romans 10:17)

Biblical faith isn’t based on how we feel. True faith comes from hearing and believing the Word of God. We in 2025 can hear God’s words as we read the Bible. We hear God’s word over the airwaves and in our churches. We hear God’s words in the testimonies of other believers. Placing our faith in God must be based on the words of God.

Abraham, an idolator, heard God’s audible words. He didn’t blow them off as a crazy dream or indigestion. Abraham believed the words he heard, and believed the One speaking was true. The proof of his faith is in the fact he obeyed the words he heard from God.

Abraham didn’t say, “God, if you bless me, I’ll believe and obey.” Wiersbe rightly says, “We are not saved by making promises to God; we are saved by believing God’s promises to us.” (Be Obedient, p 22)

You may have heard tales of salvation experiences go something like this:

“I was desperate so I prayed, ‘God, I promise if you (such and such) I’ll believe in you.'”

or “God, if you do (such and such) I’ll stop sinning and follow you.”

One popular Bible teacher has a similar salvation story. She claims that on a desperate and lonely night she prayed that God could take her sons, He could have her social life, if only He would just give her peace. She goes on to say that is when she received the “Prince of Peace.”

Friends, these are not examples of Biblical faith. You don’t bargain with God for your salvation.

None of the disciples put a condition on their faith. Jesus said, “Follow me.” They heard His words, and followed. It was Jesus they believed.

Wiersbe says “Abraham was saved by faith, lived by faith, and his obedience was the evidence of his faith.” (p22). But Abraham’s faith was built on the words He heard God speak to him. It wasn’t a shot in the dark. It wasn’t give and take. God’s words were foundational to Abraham’s faith.

And to mine.

I want to repeat what Wiersbe said on page 22:

“We are not saved by making promises to God; we are saved by believing God’s promises to us.”

So for the next few weeks I will be looking at God’s promises as I consider my faith journey. Wiersbe’s subtitle for this book is “Exhibiting Real Faith in the Real World.” My prayer is that God will speak clearly as I read His word, will challenge my faith, and equip me to exhibit real faith every day, in every situation. And may God be glorified.

The Work

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Genesis 6:14-22

Warren Wiersbe, in his study on Genesis entitled Be Basic, talks about some things we can learn from Noah. Yesterday I shared about the fact that Noah was a believing man who walked with God. What a privilege we have of that same walk with God as we believe on HIs Son.

Today I concentrated on the second of Noah’s attributes that are imitation-worthy. Wiersbe says Noah was a faithful man who worked for God. I’d like to described as a faithful woman who works for God.

Throughout Scripture we are told that faith and works go together. James tells us faith without works is dead, meaning that if you aren’t actively working for the Lord, you’d better check your faith-pulse.

But we’re also told that we are saved through faith and not our works. I think Noah is a great example of the truth if it.

It started with Noah’s faith. God didn’t find favor with Noah because Noah was a nice guy. Noah was the only person (and by extension his sons and family) in the world who still honored God. Noah demonstrated his faith to the world by obeying God’s instruction to build a big boat on dry land. Not just a big boat, mind you. Probably the biggest structure built my any man at that time.

Plus… it had to be seaworthy.

For 120 years Moses dragged lumber, mixed pitch, pounded nails, all the while explaining the importance of what he was doing to the masses who simply laughed at him. Regardless of their opinions, Noah kept working for God. God was providing the means of salvation for anyone who would believe. And Noah would not be deterred from being instrumental in that work.

You say you’ve placed your faith in God. What does that look like? God has provided the means of salvation for anyone who believes. Are you being instrumental in HIs work?

Moses could have had all the faith in the world. But without doing the work God had given him, things would look quite differently today. Have faith in God. Then get to work.

Righteousness

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Genesis 6

Warren Wiersbe (Be Basic; David C Cook publisher; 2010; p 105ff) challenges us to be men and women who have the same attributes as Noah. Genesis 6:9 gives us four traits to emulate. Noah was righteous, blameless, and he walked with God. Verse 22 tells us Noah was obedient.

I’m going to consider each characteristic separately for the next four days. So today the question is: what is righteousness?

Is righteousness the same as religious? Is it something I can aspire to achieve? The Apostle Paul has quite a bit to say about that.

In Galatians 2:21 he says that if we could be righteous through the law, meaning being good and following the rules, then Christ died for nothing. So, no, we can’t be good enough to call ourselves righteous. If we could, Jesus sure went through a lot of grief for nothing. And we know He didn’t die for nothing.

Religion doesn’t save, nor does God accept our good deeds as a trade-off for sin.

Again in Titus 3:5 Paul says:

He saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit.

Righteousness comes from God, from his own mercy, and not from anything we do. Righteousness, or being right before God, isn’t something to be bartered.

And in 2 Corinthians 5:21 Paul explains:

For our sake he (God the Father) made him (Jesus) to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might becomes the righteousness of God.

Did you catch that? In Jesus we BECOME the righteousness of God. We don’t earn it. We become it through faith in the risen Savior. Paul emphasizes our need of God’s righteousness when he quotes an Old Testament passage:

There is none righteous, no, not one. (Romans 3:10)

The precious truth is that even though we can’t hope to be right in God’s eyes because of our sin, Jesus – who IS righteous – places His own righteousness on anyone who believes. We become the righteousness of God Himself!

Proverbs 21:21 says:

Whoever pursues righteousness and kindness will find life, righteousness, and honor.

Pursuing righteousness doesn’t mean trying harder to be good or acceptable to God. It has nothing to do with how “good” we are. Pursuing righteousness means pursuing Jesus.

Commit your way to the Lord, trust him, and he will act. He will bring forth your righteousness as the light, and your justice as the noonday. (Proverbs 14:34)

The Lord’s righteousness, His perfect standing before God, becomes mine and He who IS light will shine through me as bright as broad daylight.

When you consider Noah, God’s light shown through him all those years he was hammering on that big boat and preaching the need for repentance. He stood out like a sore thumb in a world of sin and rejection of God. So should we.

Are you pursuing Jesus? Have you submitted to Him and allowed Him to dress you in His righteousness for all the world to see? This is my prayer for us all.