Receive Through Faith

You know we cannot receive the Holy Spirit through our works or even purchase access with our monetary gifts, right? Yet, we continue to try. It is interesting to watch people doing things and spouting them publicly to somehow gain some righteousness in the eyes of the world. And, I guess they do, but that is not going to get them anywhere beyond this world. They are slaves to the law of man and will only receive the volatile and fleeting rewards of man.

“¹²But the law is not of faith, rather ‘The one who does them shall live by them.’” – Galatians 3:12 (ESV)

We were not meant to receive the gift of God through the law. Oh, yes, when looking at the Old Testament and adhering to the Old Covenant, there was the component of following the law to gain righteousness. The Old Covenant is gone and we now live in the New Covenant where Jesus earned our salvation and freedom from sin thanks to His sacrifice on the cross for us. It is His sacrifice that we place our faith and in doing so, we gain the Holy Spirit in our lives to guide us forward.

“¹³Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us—for it is written, ‘Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree’— ¹⁴so that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we might receive the promised Spirit through faith.” – Galatians 3:13-14 (ESV)

We do not receive the Holy Spirit through our works according to man and the law. We receive the Holy Spirit through our faith in the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ who suffered to remove the suffering from us.

“¹¹Now it is evident that no one is justified before God by the law, for ‘The righteous shall live by faith.’” – Galatians 3:11 (ESV)

It is not our adherence to the law, or our good works in this world that allow us to receive the gift of salvation and the Holy Spirit. It is through our faith in Jesus that He paid the price for me and I only need to realize, acknowledge, and accept. It is through faith that I receive and not through any other means.

What is your view of gaining righteousness? Are you out there doing good to somehow receive greatness to come? What if you were to realize that Jesus satisfied the law for you by dying on the cross and you receive the Holy Spirit through faith in Him and His actions for you?

Receive, Yes, When, Unknown

We live in a time when we want and a lot of times are able to get things at a moment’s notice. The past weekend, our daughter in law to be stayed with us and wanted pizza to which she order and had delivered. Now, I did not turn the pizza away and did enjoy a couple of slices, it is just that Lori and I will typically order and then go pick up, or Lori just makes the pizza here at the house (Yes, I am spoiled). It is not about when or how fast or uninterrupted things come about, it should be about the quality of that which we are receiving.

“⁸But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” – Acts 1:8 (ESV)

Jesus made it clear to the apostles that they would receive the Holy Spirit and would carry on the work He had begun. He had told them the same thing in the upper room before His death and resurrection (which did happen as we know). And just like us here in today, the apostles where anxious about receiving things in the moment. Jesus addresses the receiving of the power of the Holy Spirit as you can see in above in verse eight. Also look below at how He prefaced verse eight after their asking about the restoration of the kingdom of Israel.

“⁷He said to them, ‘It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by his own authority.’” – Acts 1:7 (ESV)

Jesus points out that yes, all will be restored and the power of the Holy Spirit will come, just that we are not to know when. We are to prepare constantly for that which will come. We are not to wait on things, just do the work and know that God is working His plan for all and for us in His time. We are to be patient, have faith, and know that we will receive.

Pizza is one thing that we can rush to receive and will be pretty good regardless. But, when we wait that thing is so much more. Homemade pizza that takes some time is so much better after the wait. Receiving the LORD now would be great, but so much better as we wait for Him to provide in His time and not our own.

What is your expectation of the LORD? Are you looking for Him to provide now without thought to the quality of what He will provide? What if you waited on the quality of the LORD, knowing that when He does, we receive the best of Him and not just something good?

The Law Doesn’t Do It

The law doesn’t do what, justify. We do not find our justification through the upholding of the law. And by law I am speaking primarily of the law of man, but also the law of God. I have written that even those who do not know God and the gospel still have His law written on their hearts. Where that is true, I have also written that they still have not arrived and are still accountable to their sins.

This morning I am again for the umpteenth time in Galatians at the passage titled in my ESV Bible, “Justified by Faith”, and that could not be more true to me where I am in my study of the word “law”. You see, we are aware of the law and we know that we are to keep it. But, we are incapable of keeping the law perfectly. As such, we cannot be justified by the law. The law is there to guide us by providing a living standard.

“¹⁵We ourselves are Jews by birth and not Gentile sinners; ¹⁶yet we know that a person is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ, so we also have believed in Christ Jesus, in order to be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law, because by works of the law no one will be justified.” – Galatians 2:15-16 (ESV)

We need Jesus Christ to be justified. Our faith in His coming and taking on the consequences of our sin, even as He had no sin. We turn to Him to be our salvation and not the works of the law, as keeping the law does nothing for us.

“¹⁹For through the law I died to the law, so that I might live to God.” – Galatians 2:19 (ESV)

Keeping the law is a reaction to our new found justification. We keep the law as we are guided to do so by the Holy Spirit who resides in us thanks to our justification. We know that the LORD sent Jesus to die for our sin and that I deserved to die for those sins. With our justification comes a desire to be more like Jesus and it is the law that provides the guardrails as to our actions. But again, this is a result of our justification and it does not get us there, that comes from our faith. The law doesn’t do it.

What is your approach to justification? Are you of the view that following the law will somehow give you the high ground? What if it is a result of justification that you follow the law and you were to find justification through faith in Jesus Christ?

Heirs Through Satisfied Law

“¹⁶The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, ¹⁷and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him.” “³For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, ⁴in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.”– Romans 8:16-17 & 3-4 (ESV)

We have been recognized as living led by the Spirit. And as such we have been adopted as children of God. And as we are children of God, we are heirs with Jesus to the Kingdom of God. What a wonderful thing to have as my identity. I am a child of God and heir to Heaven. But, see in verse 17. We are heirs yes, but in that we will suffer. We will be persecuted as Jesus, our brother was persecuted.

Here is the thing, we will be persecuted, yes, but that persecution is from man, not from God. You see, we have been justified through our faith in Him. We have been set free from the burden that sin has on our lives. As Jesus came and took that burden away. God sent Jesus to appear as us, human, as an offering for sin, condemned our sin, and satisfied the law of sin for us. Jesus stepped in for us with God and satisfied our payment for the sin in our lives. He dismissed the case against us with prejudice to satisfy the law.

I am so grateful that I do not have to concern myself with the consequence of sin, death. I am free from sin and can lead my life focused on the work God has for me and that the Holy Spirit guides me in thanks to the grace afforded me through Jesus Christ. The law was satisfied and I get to live. And I get to live as an heir to Heaven with Jesus, my brother.

How do you qualify as heir to Heaven? Are you getting there for being a good person? What if you realized that it is because your sin has been satisfied by the grace of Jesus and the love of God?

Immoral, Sin Against Self

Again, as usual, the LORD has learned me something. I ask for God’s guidance in my daily Bible Study and He is always there. Today is no different in my study of the word “immoral”.

“¹⁸Flee from sexual immorality. Every other sin a person commits is outside the body, but the sexually immoral person sins against his own body.” – 1 Corinthians 6:18 (ESV)

As stated, my approach to Bible Study is choosing a word in the concordance of my Bible and going verse be verse as identified and allowing God to teach me. I do not go in with a specific agenda, other than the word itself and I allow God to lead me to what He would have me learn. This morning The LORD led me to learn about being immoral and sinning against my self.

When you see the title of the passage from this morning, “Flee Sexual Immorality”, you would think that it is indeed subject of learning. Where to some extent that is true, this morning, God would have me learn of being immoral and sinning against my self. You see, the verse above does speak of sexually immorality, yet it speaks of it in such a way that we are sinning against our own selves even as we sin against God.

Think of sinning in general. Steal something and you harm someone else. Kill someone and you harm someone else. Serve another god and you harm God. All of these sins are harmful to others and have perceived upside to you. Except for sexual sin and immorality. With this one, it is us who are harmed. Yes, maybe there is some pleasure and gratification in the moment, but what about after that moment. There are so many other things that happen, possible pregnancy, disease, lying, hiding and a whole host of other things that come with it. We may be sinning and may be immoral in our actions, but it is deeper in that we are acting against ourselves.

“¹⁹Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, ²⁰for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.” – 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 (ESV)

And just what is our self. Our self is “a temple of the Holy Spirit”. We are the place where God dwells and lives. We belong to God and in that we are to keep our bodies clean and pure. With sexual immorality, we are sinning against our self and therefore desecrating the temple of the LORD.

I personally do not want to desecrate the temple of the LORD. Where I will sin, because I am a sinner and will always be. I ask the LORD daily to guard me against conscious sin. Where, as noted above, sin is harmful to others and certainly disappointing to the LORD, it is the sexual immorality where it really stings. It stings because it is against my self and the temple of the LORD. I have to work at avoiding sin, and especially sexual immorality to not desecrate my self and more importantly the dwelling place of the LORD.

What is your view of sexual immorality? Are you seeing it just as any other sin? What if you saw it as noted here as desecration of your self and more importantly, the temple of the LORD?

You First

“³⁷Judge not, and you will not be judged; condemn not, and you will not be condemned; forgive, and you will be forgiven; ³⁸give, and it will be given to you. Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap. For with the measure you use it will be measured back to you.” – Luke 6:37-38 (ESV)

A pretty common couple of verses. As I continue my study of the word “disciple” the LORD led me to this passage in Luke’s gospel titled “Judging Others” in my ESV Bible. The verse I was led to I have looked through in another writing, but as usual, God leads me where He needs me to be.

The above verses speak of not judging others to keep from being judged ourselves and what great wisdom that is. This passage is filled with wisdom from the LORD related to judgment of others and we will likely recognize the below verses that bring that wisdom home.

“⁴¹Why do you see the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? ⁴²How can you say to your brother, ‘Brother, let me take out the speck that is in your eye,’ when you yourself do not see the log that is in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take out the speck that is in your brother’s eye.” – Luke 6:41-42 (ESV)

Who am I to judge others when I have many things in my life that I need to get right. I have to think of my walk with Christ before I can talk to others about their walk. I have to allow the Holy Spirit to lead me from my heart before using my mind to lead others.

“⁴⁰A disciple is not above his teacher, but everyone when he is fully trained will be like his teacher.” – Luke 6:40 (ESV)

As a disciple of Christ I have to remember that I can only work to be like Christ and not be Him. Where Jesus was perfect with no “log” in His eye, I am without those logs. I will never have all of the logs out of my eye and there for I have concern myself with my own faults and growth as opposed to others. I have to be first in the order of getting things right. I have to work to remove the log from my eye as it is certainly in the way of clarity when it comes to “knowing” what is “right” for others. If I am not right how can I know what is right for you.

My walk with Christ is ongoing and will lead to many realizations. I have to concern myself with getting right and guiding others to Christ so they can be led by Him to get right. I am not the one to “know”, I can only guide you to the one who does, JESUS. I am a disciple or student of Christ, not the teacher and certainly not Him. I have my own struggle and opportunities and that is where my focus should be. I gotta get right before I judge anyone on where they are.

How are you viewing others? Are you telling them what is what? What if you were to concern yourself with you first and allow the judgment of other to our teacher, Jesus Christ?

Inward to Outward

We are to live a life with Christ beginning inward at the heart and stream outward in our actions.

“²⁹But a Jew is one inwardly, and circumcision is a matter of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the letter. His praise is not from man but from God.” “¹³For it is not the hearers of the law who are righteous before God, but the doers of the law who will be justified. ¹⁴For 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.” – Romans 2:29 & 13-14 (ESV)

Paul speaks here of Jews and Gentiles. He shows that it is not just the actions or the heart that make one a follower of Christ. It is the combination of the two. Starting with the heart, we internalize the Spirit to give us the guide to our movements in the world. As a result of that guidance, we take action that demonstrates our following of the LORD.

Too often, I believe there is too much put on the actions of individuals as the demonstration of their Christianity. The Christian is to be compassionate and giving and loving. But I also see the world looking only at those actions as the indicator of the Christian, and when the Christian stands up in opposition of anything, they are seen as combative and unforgiving and frankly as mean awful people, when in truth, they are acting from the heart and guidance of the Spirit.

“⁷You hypocrites! Well did Isaiah prophesy of you, when he said:

‘⁸This people honors me with their lips,

but their heart is far from me;

⁹in vain do they worship me,

teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’”

— Matthew 15:7-9 (ESV)

Jesus says and I believe that this world view of Christians is shaping the heart and actions of new Christians, and this is not new. Where yes, we are to be compassionate and giving and loving, we are also to oppose those things that are not of Christ. That is the true heart of Christ. We are to live for Christ in all topics and not just on those that make us look good.

So here it is, we are to embrace the LORD in our heart and then, by the guidance provided by the Holy Spirit, we are demonstrate the LORD in our actions to the world. Those actions are to be in love, compassion, and giving, but also in full concert with the LORD and His will.

What is your view of your actions? Are you doing things for the world to see to make you look a certain way? What if you were to take action based on the guidance of the Holy Spirit on your heart to bring glory to God?

Heaven and Earth Are Passing

I realized something this morning in my Bible Study. It is not us that is passing through this world, it is this world that is passing. I know, how can that be when it is us that are going to die. Yes, we are going to die, and when we do, we will go to Heaven as it is today. But remember, Heaven today is not the New Heaven or the New Earth. The New Heaven and New Earth are coming down after the final battle is won and Christ has come again.

“¹Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more.” – Revelation 21:1 (ESV)

Here, John tells of what he saw in Heaven. What was Heaven and Earth would be no more and the New Heaven and New Earth were revealed. So while we will be passing from this world. This world is passing and we will experience the New Heaven and New Earth when they come down. This world that we know now will be no more.

I have to remember that all that God created is good, His word says so in Genesis 1:10, 12, 18, 21, 25, & 31. Yet we, man, messed it all up with our sin. Thankfully, it was in God’s plan for the renewal of man and all that He had created. Man renewed by the Spirit through the death, burial, and resurrection of His Son Jesus. And then the Earth was renewed once the evil one is defeated.

“¹⁷For behold, I create new heavens

and a new earth,

and the former things shall not be remembered

or come into mind.”

— Isaiah 65:17 (ESV)

So, God will not just remove all the sin from the world and things will go on as they have without the evil in the world. God will be starting over once evil has been defeated. Heaven and Earth as they are today will be replaced with the New Heaven and New Earth for us to live in for eternity with Him. Everything God created is good or very good and He will be returning it all to be as good and very good as originally made.

What is your thoughts on what is passing? Is it you who is passing on to the next? What is you were to remember that all God created was good and very good and that He will create it again as New for us to experience as He intended?

In Spirit When We Die?

When we die, we go to be with Christ in spirit as our bodies stay behind to be resurrected when Christ comes again. Our spirit leaves this world and joins Jesus in the intermediate Heaven, but what about when we arrive there. Do we get some sort of body while there? Do we have a form? What does scripture say?

“²⁴And he called out, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus to dip the end of his finger in water and cool my tongue, for I am in anguish in this flame.’” – Luke 16:24 (ESV)

“⁸Then the voice that I had heard from heaven spoke to me again, saying, ‘Go, take the scroll that is open in the hand of the angel who is standing on the sea and on the land.’ ⁹So I went to the angel and told him to give me the little scroll. And he said to me, ‘Take and eat it; it will make your stomach bitter, but in your mouth it will be sweet as honey.’” – Revelation 10:8-9 (ESV)

Here are two passages where a physical form of some kind is mentioned in scripture, the first by Jesus himself, and the second by John when he visited Heaven. So, yes, it would seem to be that we have some sort of body when we arrive in Heaven. But, we have to remember that the body we have would be temporary as we will receive our resurrected body when Christ come again.

But what about the thoughts that all of this language is just figurative to paint a picture for the human to grasp and we have no real body at all? Well, that deserves to be mentioned as it is a debated thought. In fact, Randy Alcorn asks for my opinion in the MasterWork study: “do you think Jesus would have included these references if those in the present Heaven are disembodied spirits?” To which my answer is no. Although they may be references to give the mental image, Jesus is truth and why would he tell of something that would not be true.

Remember, all of this is related to when we die and not when Jesus comes again. This intermediate body would be just that, intermediate and temporary as we will unite with our resurrected body at the time of Christ’s return.

So, when we die, our spirit leaves this world and unites with Jesus in the intermediate Heaven. There we will take on a bodily form for the temporary until Christ comes again. At that time, we will reunite with our resurrected bodies in Heaven as it comes down.

What is your thought or view of bodies when you die? Are you of the thought that we are just spirits waiting? What if we were to receive a temporary body to dwell with Jesus until His return?

When We Die

When our lives come to an end here in this world, what happens? Well, we go to be with Christ. But we go to be with Him in spirit until the second coming. Our bodies stay behind and we make our way to the intermediate Heaven or Hell, based on our faith in Christ.

We will be there with Christ awaiting the second coming to accompany Him in battle and then once the battle is won, Heaven will come down and we will be rewarded with our room in the New Heaven.

Well, at death we find ourselves in either Heaven or Hell, is that the end of it from a judgment point of view. Not exactly. This is only the first judgment and is solely reliant on our faith in Christ as our savior and Lord. Our acceptance that He died so that we did not have to determines whether we will get Heaven or Hell in this first judgment.

There is a final judgment, although the timing of it is constantly debated. This final judgment is where we are held to account for the works done in this world. No, our works do not determine our salvation, that is done through our faith and got us to Heaven or Hell in the first judgment. But, we are held to account for the works we performed once we arrive.

These works determine our reward. I like to think of it this way. I have already received the acknowledgment from the teacher that I completed the work. Now I get to go back to the desk of the teacher to collect the gold stars for the quality of the work performed. The neatness of the work gets one star. The help I provided my peers gets another star. The cheering on of the others in class gets another star.

The same holds true for those in Hell. The final judgment accounts for all the ways that we failed in this world. The way we snickered when watching the elderly struggle crossing the street. The actions we took to end someone’s life. The hatred we displayed at people of faith. All will be judged and counted out.

So, when we die in this world a few things happen. Our spirit will leave our body. We will be separated by our faith to the intermediate Heaven or Hell. We will worship and prepare for battle. We are reunited with our bodies at the second coming of Christ. We are ushered into the New Heaven or Hell once the battle is complete. We will receive final judgment as to our works and those will count for the rewards received.

What is your view of what happens when you die? Are you of the opinion that everything is just, well over at that point? How would your approach to this life change, knowing that there is more to it than just the ending of life in this world?