A Few (Hurried) Thoughts

May 15, 2009 By Leave a Comment

I am on the run this morning. There’s just a few moments before I head to a meeting and there’s no time following to get today’s devo in. So, here are just a few quick, most likely unorganized, thoughts about today’s passage.

Trying to think fast,
Allen

May 15, 2009
Text: Titus 2:11-15
Title: Grace, Holiness, and Works

Thoughts:

There is no question that the apostle Paul found salvation to be in Jesus Christ by grace and through faith. All of his letters emphatically proclaim that works are no substitute for faith in Jesus Christ (cf. Phil. 3, Eph. 2:1-10). And, here in this summary of the Gospel Paul does not skirt the truth. It is the grace of God that has brought salvation to all people. Salvation began with grace, is kept in grace, and will always be according to God’s grace.

And, here in enters the difficulty. Though Paul would never condone our working for salvation, he forever proclaims that salvation does work. Writing to Titus (Tit. 2:11-14), he clearly defines how the grace of God works itself out in our salvation. It is called holiness. The believer, because of the grace of God at work in his/her life, denies worldly lust and sinful desires and begins to live sensibly, righteously, and godly in this present age.

Indeed, the problem of the Cretan believers seems to be their struggle with holiness. They had the right beliefs but failed to allow holiness to dictate their behaviors. Herein the problem of Christianity enters. How do we live in grace and holiness without making holiness a new law? What does it mean to deny the lusts of the flesh and live sensibly, righteously, and godly in this present age? Thus, the Church community enters the picture. The Body of Christ is the community of faith that seeks to better understand what these elements mean. We wrestle with, pray through, and work out what it means to live in grace with holiness and good deeds.

God has designed to free us from the bondage of sin, to purify us, and present us as His people eager to reveal His good works.

Application:

How difficult do you find it to balance grace and works?

How does the Christian community work out it means to be holy without making another set of rules?

Prayer:

Father,

Thank You for Your grace. It alone, through Jesus Christ, has brought salvation to all people. Without it I would be nothing. The effectual working out of this grace is a bit difficult at times. Measuring holiness and my imperfections without creating new laws of what it means to be holy is a difficult task for humans. But I pray that You would help Your body to balance these issues as Your people. We genuinely want to please and honor You.

In Jesus’ name. Amen.


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No Itemized Deductions

April 16, 2009 By Leave a Comment

April 15, 2009
Text: Philippians 3:7-11
Title: No Deductions Here

Thoughts:

It was just a few years ago, on a Sunday morning in a rural church. Clothed in jeans carrying the tainted reminder of their previous use on the farm, I stood before the Lord as the Canaanite woman of Matthew 15. Vividly aware that I was unworthy of His time, attention, or grace, I pleaded for mercy.

“Yes, Lord; but even the dogs feed on the crumbs which fall from their master’s table.” (Mt. 15:27)

That was before…Before attending Bible college…Before obtaining a Christian Ministries degree…Before becoming a pastor…Before the resurrection of the flesh and works.

Looking back over those things which once justified him (vv.2-6), Paul “is not content simply to dismiss them and become indifferent to them. Rather, as Barth suggests, he rejects them with horror, and treats them as liabilities” (Ralph Martin, Tyndale New Testament Commentaries: Philippians, p.148) Lest they be resurrected through the power of rational thought and spiritual pride, Paul considered his works as despicable acts which worked against him.

On a day when many of us are searching for deductions to keep from paying more taxes, the reality of my fleshly attempts become evident to me. Aligning my “would –be” deductions of good works, I appear before God with my deductions to lessen the sinful individual I am. Somehow, my flesh fools me to believe that I am not nearly as bad as I am. Surely, I do not owe the debt of sin that my record shows. Certainly, my good works are deductions.

And, so goes reasoning. Paul said,

But whatever things were gain to me, those things I have counted as loss for the sake of Christ. (Phil. 3:7)

Oh, that I would again have the emptiness of standing undone before the Lord. With no deductions, I stood vividly aware that I was unworthyof His time, attention, or grace…I pled for mercy.

Application:

Have you ever considered your works to be spiritual deductions against your debt of sin? (e.g., church attendance, degrees, years of service, etc.)

What would it mean to treat our pedigrees and props (vv. 5-6) as “liabilities”?

Do you approach Christ in the same manner today that you did when you first came to Him? How is different? How is it similar?

Prayer:

Father,

In a simple reminder from Your Word this morning, I became aware of my foolish attempt to seek deductions in my debt of sin. It is my futile attempt to be better than I am; to prove I am not as sinful as I seem. Forgive me for seeking to resurrect my flesh at the expense of faith in Christ. May I ever embody the attitude of Paul and the Canaanite woman, approaching You merely by grace through faith.

In Jesus’ name. Amen.

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