7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, 8 which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight 9 making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ 10 as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth. (Ephesians 1:7-10)

Two themes jump out of this passage. The first is the theme of our redemption, which Paul describes in superlative terms. He says we have received this out of the riches of God’s grace, and it has been lavished upon us, both terms conveying the idea of a luxurious, abundant outpour of the love and mercy of God upon us.

Second, is the theme of the mystery of God’s will, which Paul says is the purpose of God, outlined in Christ as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth. We will explore these two themes in this article.

Stirring up by way of a reminder

Have you ever stopped to wonder at the vastness of God’s grace? One of the greatest tragedies we face as believers living in an age of Marvel movies and technological marvels is that we fail to be stirred by the wonders of the gospel. We are not moved when we hear terms like ‘Redemption’, ‘Forgiveness of our sins’, and ‘Riches of God’s grace’. Our emotions are not stirred. Why is this? Because we have heard them over and over to the point, they no longer stir us up. As you read the opening passage, how did you feel? Were you moved as you read about our great salvation in Christ? Were your emotions stirred? One of the reasons the Apostles wrote their letters was to stir the affection of their readers for God. This is not only true with Paul but with Peter as well. Both in 2 Peter 1:13 and 3:1, the Apostle made it clear that his goal was to stir them up by way of reminder. That is precisely my goal with this article.

Paul spent three years pastoring the church at Ephesus and instructing them in the things of God. He probably taught them all the great truths outlined in this epistle during that time. However, due to the human tendency to forget and our emotions to be consequently dulled, Paul sensed the need to write a letter of reminder and encouragement to his brothers and sisters in the faith. Most commentators agree that Paul addresses two main themes in this letter: 1) Christ has reconciled all of creation, and 2) He has united the church in Himself.

What is striking is the volcanic nature of Paul’s melodious outburst of praise as he introduces the major themes of his letter.

He declares, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places”. The crux of what is causing the Apostle to burst into Apostolic praise is summed up in our opening verse: the glorious truth of our redemption and the mystery of God’s will.

The glorious truth of our redemption

“In him, we have redemption through his blood...” (Ephesians 1:7). Pause for a moment and let that sink in. Redemption. A word so familiar, yet do we comprehend its staggering depth?

The Greek word for redemption means to ‘buy back’ or ‘ransom’. In a salvation context, it refers to Christ’s death on the cross that paid the price required to purchase the elect from the slave market of sin. The ESV Study Bible notes, “Forgiveness of our trespasses explains the nature of redemption. Christians are freed from slavery to sin and guilt. This was effected by Christ’s blood, which means his death was an atoning sacrifice.”

In verse 4, Paul tells us that our salvation was never an incidental plan – God planned it before the foundation of the world. This, in and of itself, is staggering! Somewhere before the beginning of time, there was a counsel between the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Each person of the Trinity covenanted to do certain things in the magnificent plan of redemption. The Father thought up the plan of Salvation (Eph. 1:3-6). The Son took it upon Himself to carry out this plan, to take on human flesh and be born as a child, suffer and die a shameful death on a tree (Eph. 1:7-12). The Father, on His part, pledged to grant forgiveness to all those who would believe in the Son and the work He did on the cross (Eph. 1: 3-6). On His part, the Spirit partook to apply the work of salvation to the believer (Eph. 1:13-14).

It is a contemplation of this great plan of salvation — planned way back in eternity, even before the fall, that led Paul to burst out in uncontrollable praise.

John the Apostle is another person who was deeply stirred as he contemplated our salvation. In 1 John 3:1, he declared:

See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are.

You can tell the Apostolic astonishment reverberating in John’s voice. That we should be God’s children? Amazing love, how can it be! Considering that we were enemies of God who hated Him in our minds (Colossians 1:21), isn’t it amazing that He would send His Son to die in our place? Romans 5:7-8 argues that it is rare for someone to die for a righteous person, how much less for one to give up his life for his enemies? That is how staggering it is that Christ should die in our stead.

And not only that, having blotted out our wrongdoings via Christ’s blood, He welcomed us into His family as His children. And that is not all. As His children, God has poured His Spirit into our hearts as a deposit and guarantee of an even greater inheritance awaiting us in heaven (Ephesians 1:13-14, 2 Corinthians 1:22).

The mystery of His will

In the New Testament, the word mystery means a heretofore unrevealed truth, now made plain. This definition is supplied by Paul himself. In 3:4-6, he says:

When you read this, you can perceive my insight into the mystery of Christ, 5 which was not made known to the sons of men in other generations as it has now been revealed to his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit. 6 This mystery is that the Gentiles are fellow heirs, members of the same body, and partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel.

Another place where he uses this term is 5:32, where he says, “This mystery is profound, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church.”

Putting the two together, the marvellous truth being conveyed here is that all believers are equal before the Lord as His children and citizens of His eternal kingdom. We are His earthly body, of which Christ is the head. The Holy Spirit, the lifeblood of this body, fills us with unique, powerful gifts for the whole body’s benefit so that we can go on doing the things Jesus did while he was on earth, namely, to expand His kingdom here on earth.

Paul further explains that God wants to extend His kingdom until such a time that all the cosmos is once again united under the headship of Christ. His goal is for a day when people of all nationalities, tongues, and nations will sit with Him at a banquet table as members of His family – the people who have been redeemed with His blood.

And He desires not just the Apostles but you and I to be ambassadors to carry this message to those who have not heard it yet. In this letter to the Ephesians, Paul’s words nearly leap off the page with enthusiasm and awe as he reflects on his calling to such a profound purpose (Ephesians 3: 1-2, 7-9, 6:19-20), as he does in his other letters (2 Corinthians 3:5-6, 2 Corinthians 2:16).However, the New Testament teaching is that all believers have been called to a ministry of reconciliation, i.e., we are all God’s ambassadors on a mission to reconcile the whole world to God via the gospel (2 Corinthians 5:17-20). Consider the magnitude of this honour – You and I, ambassadors of Christ!

Conclusion

Charles Spurgeon, the nineteenth-century preacher, once told of a minister who called on a poor woman wanting to help her out of her financial straits. Money in hand, he knocked on the door repeatedly, but she did not answer. Eventually, he left. Later, as he related the incident to her at church, she said: “Oh dear!’, ‘I heard you, sir, and I’m so sorry I did not answer. I thought you were the man calling for the rent.’

Like this woman, most believers fail to grasp and, therefore, miss out on the riches we have in Christ. A lack of appreciation of the meaning of our redemption, as discussed above, means that we deprive ourselves spiritually and are consequently malnourished and impoverished. We are not able to exclaim with Paul, “Blessed be God!”. Our worship and passion for missions are stifled.

The questions lingering for us now are: Are we stirred by the reality of our redemption? Will we stand as vigorous ambassadors of Christ, awed by His love and propelled to proclaim His marvellous grace to those who don’t yet know Him?

The post A Reminder of the Marvel of God’s Lavish Grace appeared first on TGN.

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In the previous article, we examined The Error of Legalism. In discussing legalism, one issue that always emerges is the place of the Law (Moral Law) in Christian living. If a Christian is saved by grace through faith and not by works (Eph. 2:8-9), then what is the place of the law or works in the life of the believer? If we are not under the law, can a Christian therefore live their life carelessly? These questions present us with another error, the opposite of legalism—antinomianism.

The word antinomianism comes from the Greek anti, against, and nomos, law. It is the unbiblical practice of living without regard to the righteousness of God, using God’s grace as a license to sin, and trusting grace to cleanse of sin. In other words, since grace is infinite and we are saved by grace, then we can sin all we want and still be saved. [1]

While legalism says “Law”, Antinomianism says “No Law.” In the creed of the antinomian, it is all grace and no obedience. Paul addressed this in Romans 6:1 after he had extensively spoken about the free gift of God’s grace through faith. In Romans 5:20, he made a startling statement: “where sin increased, grace abounded all the more.”(Rom. 5:20). This, if superficially read will appear as a license to sin. Perhaps by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, Paul envisaged that and quickly retorted: “What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it? (Romans 6:1-2). The King James presents us a weightier rendition of Paul’s own answer to his question: “God Forbid”. Yes, God forbid that those of us who have come to faith in Christ will live contrary to what we profess (1 Peter 1:14-19).

The grace of God calls us to a higher responsible living.

For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age, waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works (Titus 2:11-14).

Notice the last line of the text above: “a people… who are zealous for good works.” The believer is saved for good works which includes obedience to the commands of God. As Paul said in Ephesians 2:10 we are created for good works. The question I will attempt to answer is “What is the place of the law in a believer’s life?” I will turn again to the definition of legalism as supplied in the previous article and from there, examine the place of the law in a believer’s life.

Legalism is the excessive and improper use of the law (10 commandments, holiness laws, etc.). This can take different forms. The first is where a person attempts to keep the Law in order to attain salvation. The second is where a person keeps the law in order to maintain their salvation. The third is when a Christian judges other Christians for not keeping certain codes of conduct that he thinks should be observed. [2]

Notice the first line of the definition: “Legalism is the excessive and improper use of the law.” This tells us there is a proper use of the law. Among those of the Reformed Faith or Reformed Tradition, there is what is held as The Threefold Use Of The Law. This threefold use of the law is captured differently by various authors of the tradition yet they all converge on a threefold use. In this article, I will examine The Threefold Uses of the Law from John Calvin’s Institutes of The Christian Religion.

The Law Is A Mirror

This is the first use of the law. As a mirror, it reflects to us the righteousness and holiness of God and then shows us our own sinfulness. This use of the law reveals to us our wretchedness and need of a Saviour. Indeed, of ourselves, we are unable to meet up the standard of God’s holiness despite the fact that the law demands precisely that: “You shall be holy, for I am holy.” (Lev. 11:44; 1 Pet. 1:16). So God’s law strikes us with our deadness and we seek out desperately where to find solace for our soul. The law, unfortunately is not able to give us that solace and to grace we must turn.

The Law is a kind of mirror. As in a mirror we discover any stains upon our face, so in the Law we behold, first, our impotence; then in consequence of it, our iniquity; and, finally, the curse, as the consequence of both. He who has no power of following righteousness is necessarily plunged in the mire of iniquity, and this iniquity is immediately followed by the curse.(Institutes of The Christian Religion 2.7.7) [3]

Calvin further quotes Augustine to buttress his point: “The Law orders, that we, after attempting to do what is ordered and so feeling our weakness under the law, may learn to implore the help of grace”[4]

The Law Restrains Sin

Left on our own without the restraining power of God through his law we would, without hesitation live out our full evil inclinations. But the law of God restrains us. It checks us. We don’t live out our evil desires because we have in us a conscience which guides and restrains us from all evil possible under the sun.

The second office of the Law is, by means of its fearful denunciations and the consequence dread of punishment, to curb those who, unless forced, have no regard for rectitude and justice. Such persons are curbed not because their mind is inwardly moved and affected, but because, as if a bridle were laid upon them, they refrain their hands from external acts, and internally check the depravity which would otherwise petulantly burst forth. (Institutes of The Christian Religion 2.7.10) [5]

The Law Points Us To What Pleases God

But for the law, none of us would have the slightest idea of what pleases God. It is the law that tells us “Don’t murder” and hence we know murder displeases God. It is the law that tells us “Don’t commit adultery”. It is the law that tells us not to have any god apart from God. So in the law, we get to know what God demands of us. And for the believer, this is the most crucial use of the law. We turn to the law to know what God demands, then we turn to Christ for the grace to obey God’s demands.

Even in the case of a spiritual man, inasmuch as he is still burdened with the weight of the flesh, the Law is a constant stimulus, pricking him forward when he would indulge in sloth. David had this use in view when he pronounced this high eulogium on the law: “The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul: the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple. The statues of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart: the commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes(Ps.19:7,8)” (Institutes of The Christian Religion 2.7.12) [6]

Dear believer, grace doesn’t obliterate obedience to the commandments of God. Indeed the evidence of our love for God is our obedience to his commands: “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.” (John 14:15). Don’t fall prey to any system of belief that demolishes obedience in the Christian walk.

Notes

1 Matt Slick, “Antinomianism”, https://carm.org/dictionary-antinomianism, accessed 14^th April 2019

2. Matt Slick, “What Is Legalism”, https://carm.org/what-is-legalism, accessed 7th April, 2019

3. John Calvin, Institutes of The Christian Religion, trans. Henry Beveridge (Peabody: Massachusetts, Hendrickson Publishers Marketing, 2008), 222

4. John Calvin, Institutes of The Christian Religion, 222

5. John Calvin, Institutes of The Christian Religion, 224

6. John Calvin, Institutes of The Christian Religion, 225

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The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham…

And Judah the father of Perez and Zerah by Tamar, and Perez the father of Hezron, and Hezron the father of Ram.

…and Salmon the father of Boaz by Rahab, and Boaz the father of Obed by Ruth, and Obed the father of Jesse, and Jesse the father of David the king. And David was the father of Solomon by the wife of Uriah. (Matthew 1: 1; 3; 5-6).

Genealogies were a big deal to Jewish people in Bible times (still is!). A story recorded in the book of Ezra illustrates how crucial it was for a Jew to be able to trace his or her ancestry.

During the return of the exiles from Babylon to Jerusalem and Judah to rebuild the house of God, they took a census according to their clans. Certain persons, purporting to belong to the priesthood family were excluded from serving in the house of God, because they could not prove their history and lineage within the tribe of Levi.

And from among the priests:

The descendants of Hobaiah, Hakkoz and Barzillai (a man who had married a daughter of Barzillai the Gileadite and was called by that name).

These searched for their family records, but they could not find them and so were excluded from the priesthood as unclean. The governor ordered them not to eat any of the most sacred food until there was a priest ministering with the Urim and Thummim. (Ezra 2: 61-63).

Writing his gospel for a primarily Jewish audience, Matthew labours to show that Jesus was rightly descended from David, and the promised Messiah who would assume the throne of David forever (2Sam. 7:12; Ps 89:3-4; 132:11). He starts his genealogy from Abraham, because, to a Jewish audience, tracing the family history of Jesus back to Abraham was critical to establishing this claim. A long time ago, God had promised Abraham that through his seed, the whole world would be blessed (Gen. 12:3; 22:18; Acts 3:25; Gal. 3:8, 16) and this was a well-known fact. Thus, Matthew takes pain to detail the long line of descendants from the time of Abraham till the birth of Jesus.

The Jews prided themselves in the fact that they were God’s special people. They so cherished this special status that they reviled all the other nations, calling them dogs (unclean) (Matt. 15:26). As Paul notes in Romans 9:4-5, “They are Israelites, and to them belong the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the worship, and the promises. To them belong the patriarchs, and from their race, according to the flesh, is the Christ, who is God over all, blessed forever. Amen.”

There are, however, quite a few names Matthew mentions in his genealogy that are quite stunning, even to a 21st century audience; namely Tamar, Rahab, Ruth and the wife of Uriah. This is because, these names represented a dent in the character of their patriarchs and heroes.  They were a painful testament to the fact that even the very best of our heroes are human, and are flawed with weaknesses. They also included some who were non-Jewish by birth.

Matthew could have spared us the fine details of their inclusion in the lineage of Jesus, and merely mentioned the patriarchal figureheads. But he doesn’t. God, in His grand plot of redemption, chose to not bypass the weakness of man, but rather condescended so low as to use even their sins, and their mistakes, to fulfil His good purposes. This article considers how these women feature in the plot of Christmas and what we can learn from them.

Tamar

Judah, one of the twelve sons of Jacob, had three sons by a Canaanite woman. Their names were Er, Onan and Shelah. Tamar was the wife of the firstborn, Er; a marriage that Judah himself arranged. For an act of wickedness Er did of which we are not told, God took his life before he had any children by Tamar. In order to preserve the family inheritance, which was passed down through the line of the first-borns, Onan was required to marry Tamar, following the Levirate marriage custom (Deut. 25: 5-10; Ruth 1: 11-13; 4: 1-12). He did this half-heartedly. Knowing that any children born to Tamar by him would technically bear his brother’s name, Onan selfishly refused to fulfil in private what he had agreed to do publicly, and so he too attracted God’s wrath and was killed. Fearing for his last-born son’s life, Judah sends Tamar packing to her family under the pretext that she will marry Shelah someday. But that day never comes. Tamar, therefore, decides to take matters into her own hands, and disguised as a prostitute, Judah has an affair with her that results in the birth of Perez.

We see in this passage the patriarch Judah at his worst. Here we see a picture of the depravity of man. The sinful nature on full display is selfish, hypocritical and capable of unimaginable vices. In spite of the Judah’s flaws, Jacob prophesied that “the sceptre will not depart from Judah” (Gen. 49:10). Against all odds, David’s dynasty, and that of Christ was going to come from the line of Perez.

Rahab

Rahab was a prostitute from the city of Jericho. If we were to nominate one person from all of Jericho to be spared from annihilation during the war against Joshua’s men, we probably would not have considered her. She was the last candidate you might expect to see God’s hand in the invasion of her city. Notwithstanding, she gladly received God’s people into her home, hid them from capture, and aided their escape from Jericho when they came to spy out the land. The writer of the book of Hebrews tells us that she did these by faith (Heb. 11:31), and was saved when the city tumbled under the roar of the mighty army of Israel.

Have you ever done something that you thought was beyond forgiveness? Like Rahab, I have been the recipient of God’s forgiveness for sins that I thought were beyond redemption. But the gospel attests to the fact none of us can fall too far that God’s grace cannot reach us.

Ruth

We will recall the story of Ruth, the Moabite. For one, she was not a Jew, and would have been excluded from the covenant of God with Abraham, going by her natural circumstances. When her husband died, she chose to accompany her mother-in-law to her home in Bethlehem, preferring to serve the God of Israel as her God for as long as she lived.

The story of Ruth buttresses  the fact that God is not a respecter of persons; but accepts all who come to Him in faith.

The wife of Uriah

What shall we say of Bathsheba, the wife of Uriah?  

You will remember how David schemed to get her. Not only did he commit adultery, but he also covered up his sins and added murder to the list, just to fulfil his lustful desires. Consistent with His nature, however, God forgave him when he confessed and owned up to his actions.

Later on, he wrote,

“For when I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long.

For day and night your hand was heavy upon me; my strength was dried up[b] as by the heat of summer. Selah

I acknowledged my sin to you, and I did not cover my iniquity;

I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord,” and you forgave the iniquity of my sin.” (Psalm 32: 3-5).

At the start of his prayer of confession, he exclaims, “Blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered.

Blessed is the man against whom the Lord counts no iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no deceit.”

You too can be a part of God’s plot for His kingdom

Like Tamar, Ruth, Rahab and Bathsheba, God desires to include each of us in His grand family tree. Far more than an Abrahamic heritage, being a part of God’s family is to be treasured above any earthly family lineage because it holds value not only in this world, but also in the world to come.  Whereas being of Abrahamic descendant qualifies one to be a Jew, it takes the new birth to be made part of God’s family. All who come to God in faith through Jesus Christ are adopted into God’s true Israel, as spiritual descendants of Abraham (Rom. 9: 6-8; Galatians 3: 6-9).

If we look closely in redemptive history, we will notice that God has always used people who felt they were too far below the mark to receive His love. But such is the nature of grace—it is undeserved! Paul observed this so aptly when he said,

For consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, so that no human being might boast in the presence of God. And because of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption, so that, as it is written, “Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.” (1Cor.1:26-30).

Christmas is a reminder of God’s offer of forgiveness in Christ Jesus. He calls one, and He calls all. Let this be the Christmas when you give God the present of your heart.

The post The Surprising Plot of Christmas appeared first on TGN.

Our fathers refused to obey him[Moses], but thrust him aside , and in their hearts they turned to Egypt (Acts 7:39)

The heart in the natural or biological sense is the organ that powers life in a human being. When the heart stops; life stops. When Scripture uses the word heart, it is analogus to what the heart is in the human body. The heart in a spiritual sense is the seat of our affections and desires. And
all the evil and sin we engage in first originates from the heart. The human heart, according to John Calvin “is a factory of idols…Everyone of us is, from his mother’s womb, expert in inventing idols.” The Bible also has a host of things to say about the condition of the human heart:

Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life (Proverbs 4:23).

The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it? (Jeremiah 17:9)

For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander (Matthew 15:19).

The Scriptural passages above tells us of the role the heart–our affections and desires–plays in our lives. The heart is where all the issues of life comes from—whether good or evil. In the theme text; Stephen tells us what happened in the wilderness when the Israelites were journeying to the promised land. They rebelled against Moses and ultimately against God when he, Moses, had gone up the mount of sinai to receive God’s commandments for them.

When the people saw that Moses delayed to come down from the mountain, the people gathered themselves together to Aaron and said to him, “Up, make us gods who shall go before us. As for this Moses, the man who brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him (Exodus 32:1).

Sin Originates From The Heart

Recounting what happened, Stephen notes that “in their hearts they turned to Egypt.” Though they were in the wilderness, their heart—desires and affections—had turned to Egypt where they were released from bondage. They desired to go back to Egypt (Numbers 11:1-6). Rightly diagnosed, we see that their rebellion originated from their hearts. Our human nature is depraved from the fall of our parents Adam and Eve, passing on to us the ramifications of their disobedience. So our very nature is sin (Rom. 3:9-23).

According to R. C. Sproul, we are not sinners because we sin, but rather we sin because we are sinners. Sin is our nature and we live everyday of our lives fulfilling its impulses. Every sin begins from the heart. We nurture and plot evil in the heart before we eventually live it out in the open.

Sin Leads To Idolatry

When the Israelites turned to Egypt in their hearts; the result was a making of a calf for worship “And they made a calf in those days, and offered a sacrifice to the idol and were rejoicing in the works of their hands.”(v.41). Sin leads to idolatry. In our modern life, we may not necessarily bow down to graven images, nonetheless; we build idols when we make other things take the place of God in our lives. Sin and idolatry is setting God aside and relying on our own strength. The things we love and crave for can be an idol in our lives when it takes the place of commitment to God. Richard Keyes posits that

An idol is something within creation that is inflated to function as God. All sorts of things are potential idols, depending only on our attitudes and actions toward them…Idolatry may not involve explicit denials of God’s existence or character. It may well come in the form of an over-attachment to something that is, in itself, perfectly good…An idol can be a physical object, a property, a person, an activity, a role, an institution, a hope, an image, an idea, a pleasure, a hero – anything that can substitute for God.

Sin Is Independence From God

Sin is a cry for independence from God. When we sin, we are making a statement that we want our way; rather than God’s. A remarkable statement is made by Stephen when he described the rebellion of the Israelites: “they were rejoicing in the works of their hands.”. This means their confidence was in what they had produced. They blasphemed God and said the idol was going to go before them (Exodus 32:1). They trusted in their own works.

However we attempt it, the works of our own hands cannot save us from our sins. Rather, it brings the wrath of God upon us. We note that “God turned away and gave them over to worship the host of heaven…” (v.42). What a trajedy for the God of the universe to leave us on our own because we trust in ourselves and the works of our hands rather than in him. Instead of trusting in the works of hands; Scripture calls us to faith and repentance. In Ephesians 2:8 Paul says “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.”

Today, you can turn away from your sin and idolatry by placing your faith and trust in Christ alone for your salvation.

–This article was originally posted on: sovereigngracegh.org

The post The Heart: The Seat of Sin appeared first on TGN.

The age of accountability

It is not as if children don’t sin. Much as we would love to deny it, we see quite early in the behaviour of infants and little children, patterns that affirm a heart of sin—be it in the unkind words they speak to one another, in their self-centeredness and crave to have their way at all costs, in their bent to disobey the instruction of their parents, anger, tantrums, etc. These acts, though not well thought out by the child, are clearly sinful, going by the Biblical definition of sin.

Augustine notes in his Confessions¹, “Who is there to remind me of the sin of my infancy? (for sin there was: no one is free from sin in your sight, not even an infant whose span of earthly life is but a single day); who can remind me of it? Some little mite who is a tiny child now, in whom I might observe conduct I do not remember in myself? What then was my sin at that age? Was it perhaps that I cried so greedily for those breasts? Certainly if I behaved like that now, greedy not for breasts, of course, but for food suitable to my age, I should provoke derision and be very properly rebuked. My behaviour then was equally deserving of rebuke, but since I would not have been able to understand anyone who scolded me, neither custom nor common sense allowed any rebuke be given. After all, we eradicate these habits, and throw them off as we grow up. Yes, but I have never seen any sensible person throw away good things when clearing out, so can we suppose that even in an infant such actions were good—the actions of a child who begs tearfully for objects that will harm him if given, gets into a tantrum when free persons, older persons and his parents, will not comply with his whims, tries to hurt many people who know better by hitting out at them as hard as his strength allows, simply because they will not immediately fall in with his wishes  obey his commands, commands which will damage him if they were carried out?” 

We see from certain portions of Scripture, however, that before a certain age, which we will call the age of accountability, God does not hold us accountable for sin. The Bible does not put a number to this age—only God knows—and it will be futile to speculate with regards to the exact age of accountability. However, somewhere in the mystery of God’s grace, we see that children who cannot repent for themselves will not have their sins charged to them. If that is true, then it is true of all children who fit this description regardless of ancestral heritage (whether born to Christian parents, Muslim parents, Hindu parents or not). Jesus said let the little children come to me, for the kingdom belongs to such as these; and he did not differentiate between the children of those who believed in him and those who did not.

Some relevant passages are:

Numbers 14:28-31:

Say to them, ‘As I live, declares the Lord, what you have said in my hearing I will do to you: your dead bodies shall fall in this wilderness, and of all your number, listed in the census from twenty years old and upward, who have grumbled against me, not one shall come into the land where I swore that I would make you dwell, except Caleb the son of Jephunneh and Joshua the son of Nun. But your little ones, who you said would become a prey, I will bring in, and they shall know the land that you have rejected.

(The ‘little ones’ were not punished along with the adults for the sin of grumbling against God and complaining, although we are told that the whole congregation grumbled and complained (Numbers 14:1-12)).

Isaiah 7:15-16:

He shall eat curds and honey when he knows how to refuse the evil and choose the good. For before the boy knows how to refuse the evil and choose the good, the land whose two kings you dread will be deserted.

(The Bible here makes reference to the age at which one is able to tell evil apart from good and to refuse evil and choose the good. Before then, although one may commit sins (deviate from the appointed pathway), they are not held accountable).

Re: The people of Nineveh and those who haven’t heard the Gospel

Does the argument that infants are not held accountable for sins they commit because they do not know ‘how to reject the evil and choose the good’ justify the people of Nineveh whom God Himself said did not know “their left from their right hands”? (Jonah 4:11). And by extension, does this apply to those who have never heared the gospel?

The answer for that is found in Romans 1:19-20 where Paul argues that there is no excuse for all those who can discern God’s attributes in nature (namely His glory) and the written law of God on their hearts (Romans 2:14-15):

For what can be known about God is plain to them [that is, to mankind] because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. Therefore, they are without excuse. (Romans 1:19-20)

 For when Gentiles, who do not have the law, by nature do what the law requires, they are a law to themselves, even though they do not have the law. They show that the work of the law is written on their hearts, while their conscience also bears witness, and their conflicting thoughts accuse or even excuse them. (Romans 2:14-15).

Infants are clearly not in the position to understand nor perceive God’s glory as revealed in nature, nor do they have the mental capacity to understand it—certainly not in the same way as an adult would. (Please see also John 9:41). In all this, we can trust that that the Judge of all the earth will always do that which is right (Gen. 18:25).

Conclusions and Application 

In summary, this article captures the belief that,

1. Infants, like all mankind, are directly affected by the sin of Adam and therefore suffer the consequences that were brought upon all of Adam’s posterity, namely death and a nature of sin.
2. Despite being born with a nature of sin, the Bible teaches that we are held accountable for our own actions, not that of Adam or any of our forbearers.
3. We can infer from Scripture that until a certain age, which we call the age of accountability, we are not held accountable for our sins, but absolved by the mercy and grace of God.
4. This applies to all those who die before they reach the age of accountability—and this applies to all infants regardless of race, colour or parental heritage.

For anyone who has lost a loved one in infancy, you can be comforted in the knowledge that they are with the Lord. By extension, this exposition challenges the worldview of a heaven that will be sparsely populated. On the contrary, heaven will be very colourful. The heavenly choir will be filled with the joyous refrain of infants of all race, colour, and tongue—all who died in infancy and by the grace and mercies of our Lord were saved and granted a place in his presence where there is joy forevermore! (Whether they will remain infants forever, or grow up in heaven? Only God knows!)

One parent who lost a seven-month old son remarked instructively,

My son’s death is a great motivation for me to live right for God. God and heaven are ultimately my greatest reasons for living as a Christian, but I am also convinced that my son died as an innocent infant and is with our Father. In that case, I want to be where he is too when the time is up.

This is a great example of  how we ought to apply this teaching to our lives as Christians.

What this teaching is not seeking to encourage is a neglect of bringing up our children in the fear of the Lord.

I have heard of parents who neglect to teach their children about God under the pretext that the Kingdom of heaven belongs to them anyway, so why bother? The irony is that every parent’s wish, like mine, is to see their children grow to outlive them and not to die as an infant—even though it is far better than living. Thus, it behooves us to bring up our children in the fear of the Lord. As noted earlier, only God knows the actual age of accountability for each of our children. A seven or nine-year-old may be able to come to grips with their sinfulness and their need of a saviour—it may be at an earlier or later age, it doesn’t matter—ours is to introduce them to the rescuing love of our Saviour and pray he opens their hearts unto salvation.

The Bible is clear on the fact that there is no remission of sins except by the blood of Jesus (Hebrews 9:22). If infants who pass to glory are to be saved, we can be sure that it will be based solely on the finished work of Christ on the cross. For you  dear reader, who has yet to place your faith in the Lord Jesus for salvation, the invitation is extended to you. Why don’t you put trust in Him now?

Notes :

1. The Confessions, Revised (The Works of Saint Augustine: A Translation for the 21st Century, Vol. 1) (Kindle Edition). New City Press.

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The warning signs that many professing Christians have compromised their stance on sexual purity have been staring us in the face for a while. A youth pastor is arrested for child pornography. Elsewhere, another pastor is charged with secretly recording female congregants using the Church restroom. A worship leader is also caught with hundreds of thousands of pornographic images and videos on his laptop. These are few of the damaging headlines from 2017 alone. In 2014, an online article chronicled 25 shocking incidences of sexual crimes involving pastors of protestant churches in the month of May alone, details of which are too gory to re-tell. Paul’s words in Eph. 4:17-20 and 5:3-7 are a sharp rebuke to our fallen standards as a Church.

So, how did we fall so low? What is to blame for the deplorable state of morality in the Christian Church? On my part, I believe that a departure from faithful gospel preaching in most of our pulpits largely accounts for the type of Christianity that is evident today. The Gospel teaching is that God’s grace saves sinners from the doldrums of sin, and produces in them fruits of righteousness in keeping with their new nature which is fashioned after the image of Him who created it (Col. 3:9-10, Eph. 2:10). Simply, the gospel produces saints out of sinners. It produces a people who are zealous for good works (Tit. 2:14). When we look at ourselves in the mirror of the gospel daily, we see the sin that nailed our Saviour to the cross for what it really is, and the gospel spurs us on to hate that sin and the sinful life we previously lived. In response to a genuine conversion by the gospel, believers strive with Paul to put the body of sin to death daily through the energy of Christ which so powerfully works in them (Col. 1:29). As Bruce Ware puts it, when we imbibe the gospel effectively, it first penetrates our minds, travels from our minds to our hearts, and to our hands and finally to our habitat. The effects of preaching the gospel to ourselves daily is that our belief systems and thought processes; our emotions and affections; how we work and live and our environment is impacted by our good works produced by the grace of God in us. A departure from a due emphasis on the gospel from our pulpits conversely produces Christians who are malnourished in the diet that spurs their growth and maturity in the Lord. It is the faithful word of the gospel that sanctifies. Thus, our Lord prayed, sanctify them by Your word, (for) Your Word is truth (Jn. 17:17). The Word shapes our thoughts and hence our affections, as we meditate on things that are noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable and praiseworthy (Phil. 4:8).

Much as faithful gospel preaching as the corporate responsibility of the church is a priority, the individual is also called upon by the gospel to actively apply its teaching to their lives. How ridiculous we will be if we looked in a mirror in the morning in preparation to go out, and realised a smear of toothpaste on the cheek, but didn’t do anything about it? James says we should not be hearers only, thereby deceiving ourselves, but we should be doers also (Jas. 1:22-25). Jesus calls us blessed if we hear the Word of God and do it (Luk. 11:28)! David would admonish the young man who wishes to keep his way pure to guard his ways according to God’s Word (Psa. 119:9, 11). When David advises on purity, we will do well to heed, as he speaks from experience! So, we have an active part to play as well in our sanctification; namely obeying God’s word and doing it!

Now let’s bring this home to the issue of sexual purity. How can we keep ourselves free from sexual impurity? I’m sure we can list so many biblical ways to do this, beginning with taking our Word intake seriously as already mentioned above. But in practical terms, what are some steps we could take to achieve this? Here, I believe, Job models for us a practical way godly people discipline themselves for the purpose of sexual purity. We turn our Bibles to Job 31:1-12. This is how Job opens that chapter:

“I have made a covenant with my eyes; how then could I gaze at a virgin? What would be my portion from God above and my heritage from the Almighty on high?”

The words of Job in what the editors of the ESV Bible call his ‘final appeal’ are very instructive. Job’s friends in the previous chapters summarily dismissed his sufferings as punishment from God for his wrongdoing. “God doesn’t punish the guiltless”, seemed to be their final verdict. Job in response, refuted their accusations and recounted how he had walked with integrity before God. Job recounts how he had taken a radical approach to sin, and consciously disciplined himself to obey God with a united heart and mind. In this chapter, he reveals how he wrestled decisively with sexual sins. We can glean at least three things from Job as we seek to defy the allure of sexual impurity.

1. A Covenant with the Eye

Job alludes to the fact that he had forbidden his eyes to look with lust at a virgin. He says he had bound himself thus with a covenant. Virgin here connotes an unmarried lady in the historical-cultural context. In v9, he expounds on what he means by this covenant. “If my heart has been enticed toward a woman, and I have lain in wait at my neighbour’s door,” he says. To Job, entertaining lustful thoughts was not a light thing to be toyed with. It called for drastic action. He vows that if he goes after any woman other than his wife, may another man do same to him! If he went against his word in this regard, let him sow and another reap, he says! (v8). In Ps. 119:106 we see David similarly swearing on oath to keep God’s righteous rules. Too many Christians today romanticise with sin. We take sin too lightly. We easily give in to the least temptation and turn around and blame the devil. Biblical examples like Job’s teach us that we have what it takes to say no to lust. Jesus similarly taught such brutal radicalism against sin when he said that if your eye causes you to sin, tear it out—for it is better to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than to enter hell fire with both (Mk. 9:47)! Jesus is not literally calling for us to start mutilating the flesh like the worshippers of Baal, rather he is metaphorically calling for a decisive approach in dealing with sin. Like Paul, we need to prayerfully discipline our body and keep it under control (1Cor. 9:27). We are well able to, with the right motivation and the right mind set–God’s grace enabling.

2. A Conscious Awareness of God’s Abiding Presence
Job alludes to what theologians refer to as Coram Deo, to live each moment as in the presence of God, under His authority, to the praise of His glory! He says in v2 that the reason he will not give in to lustful desires is because God above looks, and rewards his actions. He is conscious of God’s presence at all times. If we lived with this consciousness, we will not do in the presence of God what we would not do in the presence of men. Because he walks daily as in God’s presence, Job has nothing to hide. He declares that God sees his ways and numbers all his steps (v4). He boldly exclaims God as his judge in faithfully esteeming the integrity with which he has kept his bond to not follow his eyes into sexual sin (vv. 6-7). This is a model of Christian integrity for contemporary Christians. A Christian who lives as in God’s presence has nothing to hide. He walks in the light so it will be seen that his deeds are godly and God-glorifying (Jn. 3:19-21).

3. Being Convicted About the Damaging Effects of Sexual Immorality
Job in his discourse makes some pretty heavy statements. They may sound extreme, but they convey a truth about sexual immorality which is echoed in several places in the Bible. He says, giving in to sexual sins (from lusting after a virgin to actually going in to them (v9)) is a fire that would consume as far as Abaddon, and burn down all his increase/profit. No doubt, many respectable men in society have lost their jobs, subjected themselves to public shame and ridicule, and brought untold griefs upon their families and loved ones by their sexual acts of indiscrimination. Some corporate men have suffered legal indictment for viewing or downloading pornographic materials on their official computers. The shame and reproach and the pain can be unbearable. Compare this with the wise man’s warnings in Prov. 6:24-33.

If you are struggling with pornography or lust or any other sexual sin, don’t despair, you can overcome it! If you set Christ before you as a motivation, you can discipline yourself to say no to lust. You are not a slave to lust, but to righteousness. Covenant like Job to discipline your eyes and your heart with God’s help to never give in to lust another day. God’s grace is available to you. Use it and fight!

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What is our purpose? As humans, what were we created for? What is our calling? These are questions we normally pose to ourselves. As image bearers of God, it is not only crucial that we ask these questions but that we seek to answer to it. Why did God make me and to what end? The Westminster divines, based on the truth stated in Holy Writ, answer this most crucial question, what is the chief end of man by saying, “The chief end of man is to glorify God and to enjoy him forever.” (WSC Q. 1). We were created to glorify the triune God and this is what we should seek to do. That is our mission statement as humans. It follows then that we ask ourselves, How? How do we glorify God?

We must seek to fulfill our purpose of being created each day of our lives and we must reflect on these truths even more so now that the times are dark. Our eternity depends on it. We are fifteen days into the New Year and it will be best for our souls, if we dwelt on how we can achieve our purpose. The question we must face is this, “How can we glorify God”. We can glorify God in so many ways. So how does one summarize it? How do you teach someone how they should glorify God? That is not something we teach! God does that! He does everything! He regenerates our heart so that we can! It would be easier to just give everyone a to-do list and tell them to just follow this, for with this you can glorify God. But is God really glorified by following a to-do list? We have people from different races and different backgrounds and all walks of life. How do you answer this for everyone? The question, “how can we glorify God” is broad. It could have been easier had it said, “how can we glorify God in our workplace, or our body, or even at school”. But we ask, that the most Gracious and Holy God, will show us grace as we seek to glorify Him.

What Does Glorifying God Mean?

Glorifying God means we recognize that He is far greater, valuable and beautiful than any other thing. It means that He is our treasure. So to glorify God, we are in essence treasure hunters seeking out our greatest treasure. We must first recognize who God is to glorify Him. Glorifying God means we must worship God as He is and must cherish Him above all things. With this, How then, can we glorify God?

Knowing God And Christ

The most important way we can glorify God is to know Him. I do not mean knowing about Him but knowing Him. We glorify God by having a Father-Son relationship with Him; that is by knowing Him. As image bearers of God, we were all made for a relationship with God; in fact we are all in a relationship with Him. We either relate with God as a Father, who sent His Son for sinners and who welcomes us to a loving relationship with Him, or we relate with God as the Judge and Creator of all things.

In the first type of relationship, we are Sons, in the second, we are enemies of God. In both categories, we know about God (creation speaks of God (Romans 1:19-20)). As a result of the Fall, we are all born dead in our sins and find ourselves in the latter category; our natural relationship with God is not as a Father-Son relationship, but as enemies of God. As enemies of God, we hate God and do not honor Him as God. Paul says in Romans 1:19, “ For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened.” We actually spit in the face of Him who gives us breath. We look in the face of God and disobey Him. How dare we! We don’t glorify God; in fact we can’t. However, because of Christ’s death on the cross, we are reconciled to God. We enter into a Father-Son relationship with the triune God by placing our faith in Christ. We down our weapons, stop warring against God in sinful rebellion and we cry out to Him. No longer are we children of wrath, but we are sons. We can now live our purpose: Glorifying God! It is important to understand how we can know God. It is only through Christ.

Knowledge of the Father comes only through the Son. Apart from the Son, we cannot know God. He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of His nature (Hebrews 1:3) and He makes God known (John 1:17). He is the way, the truth and the life and no one goes to the Father except through Him (John 14:6).

You can glorify God this year by knowing Him. In fact, that is what eternal life is! In his high priestly prayer, Jesus said this, “And this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent “This is how we can glorify God: By knowing Him and His Son. God is so vastly greater than us that we cannot know Him fully, even into eternity. Knowing God is far much precious than gold or silver! Like Paul, we must count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus our Lord. He is All! Knowing God doesn’t end with believing in Christ at just one point. It is a way of life. We will find ourselves exactly where we started when it comes to Knowing God. He inexhaustible! Incomprehensible!

Do you know God and do you know Christ? John Piper is famous for saying this, “God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in Him”. We will only be satisfied in God when we know Him. Isaiah says in Isaiah 40:17, “All nations before him are as nothing; and they are counted to him less than nothing, and vanity.” Do you know this God? Do you cherish Him above all?

Obeying God’s Word

In His high priestly prayer, Christ says, “I glorified you on earth,…” How did Christ glorify His Father on earth? He tells us, by saying, “having accomplished the work that you gave me to do” (John 17:4). As the perfect man, Christ is the embodiment of a life that glorifies God. He lived in perfect obedience to the Father. It comes as no surprise that the Father is well pleased in Him (Matt. 3:17). To glorify God, like Christ, we must obey His Word. Dr. Steven Lawson notes this when he says, “The primary purpose of the Word of God is to glorify the God of the Word”. Unlike our first parents who disobeyed God in the garden, Christ lived in perfect obedience to His Father. Now, because of the person of Christ, his death and resurrection, we have the person of the Holy Spirit, who helps us to live in accordance with God and His Word. It is incredible to think that we need God to help us glorify God! O What wretched men we are! We can glorify God by obeying His Word, and trusting in His promises. To obey God’s Word, we must believe that He is who He says He is and that we can trust His Word. Because God is good, we must obey Him. God is glorified and honored, when we like Christ, do what He tells us to do. What does God tell us? He tells us to believe in Christ. He tells us to be in the world but not of it. He tells us to be a light in a dark world. He tells us to be holy, as He is holy. God is glorified if we are obeying God’s word in these and other places. Are you obeying God’s Word? Are we holy as He is holy?

Praying to God

You might be asking yourself, “How is God glorified when I pray to Him?” I will show you. God is glorified when we believe in the gospel. By believing in the gospel, we honor Him as Lord and Savior, and humbly accept that He is infinitely greater than all. Prayer is essentially living out the gospel. In his book, A Praying Life, Paul E Miller, makes this point when he says,

Prayer mirrors the gospel. In the gospel, the Father takes us as we are because of Jesus and gives us his gift of salvation. In prayer, the Father receives us as we are because of Jesus and gives us his gift of help.

Like the gospel, when we pray, we realize that we are nothing apart from Christ. In the gospel, we realize that we are wretched and sinful, and that we need the righteousness of the perfect Lamb of God to be right with God. When we pray, we acknowledge also, that we are nothing apart from Christ, and that we need Him to perfect our words. Does it not strike us that Christ tells us to pray to the Father in His name? Apart from Christ, we can do nothing ! Prayer is a recognition of this: God is most glorified, when we acknowledge our helplessness and His all-sufficiency!

When we realize we can do nothing on our own, we are helpless and God is everything to us. He is glorified when we pray. We must be a people of prayer. We must cast ourselves at the foot of the throne via the cross of Calvary and cry out, “We are nothing! We need you”. In Prayer, we come as broken and helpless, and all we can do is cling unto the promises of God. In what other way can God be more glorified than when we His people trust Him? In Prayer, we are confronted with who God is and we can only bow to Him. Prayer glorifies God and so we must pray.

When we know God and His Son, obey His Word and also trust in His promises, and when we pray to God, He is glorified in us. This is the root. And this applies to all from different races or walks of life or work force. We must be a people who know their God, obey Him and cry out to Him. And in doing so, we glorify God. We must always remember, this is our chief end. Grace and Peace to all who seek to glorify their God, who died to save them from their sins.

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This is the second  in series on the resurrection. You can read the first in the series here.

Now, when Paul uses the word mystery, he is not referring to some unexplainable fact or a Harry Potter kind of mystery. For him mystery is something that was hidden before but is now made clear. For instance when he wrote about salvation being a mystery in Ephesians 3, he is not saying Salvation is something that can never be understood. What he is saying is that it was hidden in time past but, has now been revealed through the revelation of Jesus Christ. When we read back to the first part of v.35, “how are the dead raised?’, it appears the resurrection was shrouded in darkness for the Corinthians, and so Paul gives further insight in vv. 50-53 “I tell you this, brothers: flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. Behold! I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed. For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality”

The Corinthian Christians were of the view that once they become Christians and have been filled with the Holy Spirit, they have assumed their spiritual state here on earth. No wonder they laid so much emphasis on speaking in tongues and other spiritual gifts. In their mind, the heavenly reign Jesus spoke about is to be achieved here on earth.Does that sound familiar? There is a brand of Christianity today which teaches that once you become a Christian, you have entered your heavenly inheritance. You should enjoy all the benefits of heaven here on earth. For such people the kingdom is already consummated. As long as you have enough faith, you can live the kingdom life here on earth.
But Paul says here, wait a minute brothers! Flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God. Neither can the perishable inherit that which is imperishable. All the benefits of heaven are suited only for an imperishable body. As long as we are in our earthly bodies, we cannot claim the full rights of the kingdom. The point here is that there is no enjoyment of heavenly blessings without the proper dress.

In 2 Corinthians 5:1-6, Paul who was himself looking forward to the resurrection writes; “For we know that if the tent that is our earthly home is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. For in this tent we groan, longing to put on our heavenly dwelling …For while we are still in this tent, we groan, being burdened…, but that we would be further clothed, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life. He who has prepared us for this very thing is God, who has given us the Spirit as a guarantee”

Paul is reminding the Corinthians it is impossible to enjoy the benefits of heaven with flesh and blood which is subject to decay. If you look at his earlier analogy in vv. 41 & 42, he emphasises there are different bodies for different existence. Flesh and blood is fitted for this fallen word, while our transformed bodies will be fit for our heavenly dealing.

There is one thing I am sure we can all agree on, no matter how strong a person’s faith they will die at some point, unless the Lord comes first. Imagine someone who claims to be living his heavenly life here on earth growing old and dying. What does that say about the victory which has been achieved? If death comes after we have enjoyed our best lives, it means death has the last word. That’s why we must not place the cart before the horse as the Corinthians were doing: “Thus it is written, “The first man Adam became a living being”; the last Adam became a life-giving spirit. But it is not the spiritual that is first but the natural, and then the spiritual. The first man was from the earth, a man of dust; the second man is from heaven. As was the man of dust, so also are those who are of the dust, and as is the man of heaven, so also are those who are of heaven. Just as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we shall also bear the image of the man of heaven”(v.45).

Paul is saying here that our best life is in heaven. It is only when we put on our heavenly bodies, when the perishable puts on the imperishable and the mortal puts on immortality we can finally see the face of God and live: “When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written: “Death is swallowed up in victory.” “O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?”(v.54). It is only when death, the last enemy is defeated, that we can truly say that we have arrived. Until then “we groan, longing to put on our heavenly dwelling”

You must not misunderstand me, Jesus Christ defeated death and all who have repented of their sins and put their trust in him share in this victory. However this victory has been inaugurated, it is awaiting its final consummation, death will finally be swallowed up in victory and the perishable will put on the imperishable. How do we know this is true? Paul says that God has “given us the Spirit as a guarantee” The presence of the Spirit in the life of a believer is a down payment of the full inheritance to come.
This is where the Christian hope comes from. Though for a period we experience sickness, grow old and die, death does not have the final say. There is a seed of God in us which will come forth in a glorious way when Jesus comes back. And in case we are still alive when the Lord Jesus returns, we will all be changed into our heavenly and imperishable bodies. And that is what Paul calls the mystery of the resurrection.
The emphasis here is not so much about death as it is about our transformation: “Behold! I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed.”

One day out of this life, death will finally be swallowed up and its sting taken away, because the believer will be in his perfect state, never to struggle with sin and its effects again. As natural as death may seem, it wasn’t the original plan. Death is a great reminder of our sin and disobedience to God: “the sting of death in sin”(v.56). The fearful part is that physical death is not the end of it, anyone who continues in rebellion against God into their death has a fearful expectation of a second death. This is where God, the righteous judge will condemn all rebels to eternal damnation. But you don’t need to subject yourself to this horror my non-Christian friend. Great was our sin, and great was our punishment, death hanged over all of us. We were in slavery to death. But God in compassion sent his Son into our world. He who knew no sin took on the form of a man, came to our world and perfectly obeyed the law and died the death we deserved.

Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, he himself likewise partook of the same things, that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil, and deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery.”

Have you trusted in this Christ for the forgiveness of your sins and reconciliation to God?

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There are many groupings and associations in the world today. These groups all have particular marks or characteristics that define them as distinct from others. It could be a country or a social club or even a religion. This equally is true for the Christian faith. When someone professes Christianity, how can we determine he or she is genuine? Or consider your own self; how do you know that your profession is genuine?

In Colossians 3:1-17 Paul provides us with about three marks of a Christian by which we may know if a person’s profession is genuine.

1. Heavenly Mindedness 
2. Fights Sin
3. The Peace of God

In today’s article, we will look at the first mark.

Heavenly Mindedness

A genuine believer is heavenly minded. Paul’s opening statement is a conditional argument, “if then you have been raised with Christ….” It is very important to notice the difference here. Paul is not saying that if you live like this then you will become a Christian. On the contrary, he is saying that it is because you say you are a Christian that I expect you to live this way. You don’t become a Christian by following a set of rules. Salvation is entirely a gift of God. We are saved by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone (Eph. 2:8-9).

The verse 1 says, “since you have been raised with Christ”; the question to ask is, “what does it mean to be raised with Christ?” Christ was crucified for the sins of the world, was buried and on the third day, He rose from the dead having defeated Satan and death: “By canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross. He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him” (Co. 2:14-15). Anyone who has repented of their sin and put their trust in Christ in effect has gone through this experience with Christ symbolically (Rom. 6:4). A Christian is therefore the person who has been raised with Christ. His old nature is dead and the New man has been ushered in. It is this new person that Paul is writing to.

Have you been raised with Christ?

If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth(vv.1-2).

What Are Your Pursuits?

“Seek the things that are above“… This reflects pursuit. We are all treasure seekers, we are always looking for something. Some seek money, others for success and others for a good reputation, achievements, happiness etc.

According to Paul, the Christian is seeking for treasures in heaven. What we set our minds on reveals a lot about what is in our hearts. Our pursuit is a window to our hearts. I may say that I am a Christian, how do you know my belief is genuine or not? Paul says here that one of the ways to know is to look at what I constantly set my mind and my pursuits in life on.  Are you heavenly minded? When we look at your ‘to do list’ will we see a person who prioritizes things that are eternal? Does your spending reflect the life of someone who believes that this world is not their home and that they are only stewards of these gifts?

What Occupies Your Thoughts?

“Set your minds on things that are above“… This refers to what we constantly think about. In effect, it is the default mode of our minds. Where does your mind naturally drifts to? When you buy any electronic gadgets, there is an option under settings which says “reset to factory settings”. When you select this option, it returns all aspects of your gadgets to its original factory settings.

In the same way, the default setting of the Christian’s mind should be on things that are above where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. When you wake up in the morning, when you are in the traffic jam, when your day is done and reclining to bed. What is it that engages your mind?

So What Are The Things To Set Our Mind On?

Romans 14:17 gives us a glimpse into what Paul probably meant in Colossians 3:1. He mentions three things:”…righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.” We can safely conclude that when Paul tells us to set our minds and our hearts on things that are above, these are some of the things he is talking about. Is your life centered on righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit? Are you seeking to live a life that is marked by righteousness and holiness?

Why We Must Be Heavenly Minded

Paul tells the believers the reason why he expects them to live this way. “For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God”(v.3). The Christian is dead to this world, and if that is the case we cannot live according to its standards any longer.  “When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory”(v.4). It is this hope of glory that makes the genuine Christian so fixated on Christ and his kingdom.

When we fully grasp what God has promised in Christ in the next world, nothing in this world will appeal to us. Jesus said in Matthew 6:21 “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” Our treasure is in heaven, and that is why we must not be lured by the deceitfulness of sin. When Paul came to the full understanding of this, he said ‘…I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord”. He also said, “I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus”.

What about you Christian? Is it possible that you are not heavenly minded because you don’t have any treasure in heaven? As Jesus said, where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

The second mark, “They Fight Sin” will be treated in the next post.

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