LookingtoJesus

In Christ Jesus

Bible Reading: Romans 8

Romans 8:1, “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.”

1 Corinthians 1:30, “But by His doing you are in Christ Jesus (NASB).”

As is made clear in 2 Thessalonians 1:8-9, not all will escape condemnation.  Those who “do not know God” and “do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus”…”will suffer the punishment of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might.”

It is therefore necessary that we exercise great care that we might clearly understand how a person enters this blessed condition, whereby they can fear no condemnation.  As we see in our text, that condition applies only to those who are “in Christ Jesus.”  What is meant by this phrase?

Before we look for that explanation, let’s first consider what our passage does not say.  It does not say that there is therefore now no condemnation for those who have said the sinner’s prayer, or have walked the aisle, or are a good person, or are religious, or who have been raised in a Christian family, or go to church regularly, or read their Bibles and pray, or have been baptized, or confirmed, or have been given their last rites, or any other such thing.  Some of these things are good things that every good Christian should do and some of these things might very well accompany a person’s conversion experience, but by themselves they don’t serve as a legitimate basis for assurance of salvation.

John 1:12-13 provides one of the best explanations of how a person is saved (and not saved).  Note what it says: “But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.”  How does a person become a child of God?  Not by any human means (1 Corinthians 1:30)!  You cannot be physically born into it or inherit it from someone else (“not of blood”).  You cannot work to earn it (“nor of the will of flesh”).  You cannot even decide it yourself (“nor of the will of man”).  God is the One who gives a person the right to become a child of God, and He does so on His terms.  What are His terms?  “But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God.”  Those who are born again to become children of God are those who have received Jesus by grace through faith (Ephesians 2:8-9). 

The one trusting in Jesus is “baptized into Christ Jesus” (i.e., intimately united with Him) and with Him in His death and resurrection (Romans 6:1-4).  That person is said to be a “new creation” (2 Corinthians 5:17), in whom Christ lives (Galatians 2:20)!  So, to enjoy the benefits of what Christ has accomplished on the cross, a person must be brought into a personal relationship with Christ. It is our union with Him that makes all the difference.  Just as Noah and family had to enter the ark to escape the flood, so a person must enter into a relationship with Christ if they are to escape condemnation.  That happens only by grace through faith in Christ and His finished work on the cross!

Just as Noah and family had to enter the ark to escape the flood, so a person must enter into a relationship with Christ if they are to escape condemnation.

Matthew Henry has commented on this: “It is the unspeakable privilege and comfort of all those that are in Christ Jesus that there is therefore now no condemnation to them.  He does not say, “There is no accusation against them,’’ for this there is, but the accusation is thrown out, and the indictment quashed.  He does not say, “There is nothing in them that deserves condemnation,’’ for this there is, and they see it, and own it, and mourn over it, and condemn themselves for it; but it shall not be their ruin.  He does not say, “There is no cross, no affliction to them or no displeasure in the affliction,’’ for this there may be, but no condemnation.  They may be chastened of the Lord, but not condemned with the world. Now this arises from their being in Christ Jesus; by virtue of their union with Him through faith, they are thus secured.”

NOW I BELONG TO JESUS

Jesus my Lord will love me forever,
From Him no pow’r of evil can sever,
He gave His life to ransom by soul,
Now I belong to Him.

Chorus
Now I belong to Jesus,
Jesus belongs to me,
Not for the years of time alone,
But for eternity.

Once I was lost in sin’s degradation,
Jesus came down to bring me salvation,
Lifted me up from sorrow and shame,
Now I belong to Him [Chorus]

Joy floods my soul for Jesus has saved me,
Freed me from sin that long had enslaved me
His precious blood, He came to redeem,
Now I belong to Him. [Chorus]

No Condemnation!

Bible Reading: Romans 8

Romans 8:1, “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.”

He was newly saved, but a past sin eventually caught up with him.  He had secretly absconded with thousands of dollars from the business he was managing.  The owner discovered the discrepancy and filed charges against him.  My friend was charged and condemned to spend time in prison.  A plea deal with struck that would allow for him to go free if he would repay the owner the funds that he had taken, but he didn’t have any money.  What was to be done?  Fortunately for my friend, generous family members and friends stepped in to raise the required funds and he escaped imprisonment.  They paid a debt that they did not owe, to free him from a debt he could not pay. 

Much like that, though on a much grander and more glorious scale, Jesus has worked to free the believer from condemnation.  We are all sinners by birth and practice (Romans 3:23; Ephesians 2:1-3).  The just punishment for sin is death (Romans 6:23).  In God’s divine courtroom, all stand justly condemned because all have sinned.  How are any of us to escape judgment?

Jesus paid a debt He did not owe, to free us from a debt we could not pay.  There is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus because they have been justified (i.e., declared righteous), based solely on the merit of Christ’s finished work on the cross.  Having been justified “by his grace as a gift” (Romans 3:24) and “by his blood” (Romans 5:9), the one trusting in Jesus has entered a blessed estate whereby the “record of debt that stood against” him has been canceled out in the forgiveness of his sins (Colossians 2:14)!  Since God is the One who has declared him righteous, no charge can henceforth be brought against him (Romans 8:33-34)!  How incredibly blessed we are in this by-grace reality!  There was absolutely nothing I could do to escape the just judgment of God for the sins I had done, but Jesus stepped in and bore my sins, and paid the debt I owed, that I could be set free!  “Jesus paid it all, all to Him I owe; sin had left a crimson stain, He washed it white as snow!”

There was absolutely nothing I could do to escape the just judgment of God for the sins I had done, but Jesus stepped in and bore my sins, and paid the debt I owed, that I could be set free! 

In legal lingo, double jeopardy is that which protects a person from being prosecuted more than once for the same offense.  According to God’s justice, we who are “in Christ” cannot be condemned because in dying once-for-all for sin Christ has bore any and every sin we’ve ever committed or will commit.  We cannot be subsequently condemned for them.  There are still consequences for sin, but as far as the penalty is concerned, that matter has been settled.

Ray Pritchard has commented on this, “Do you know what that means? We may stumble, we may fall, we may trip, we may make a thousand mistakes, we may sin, and we do, we may get off the path, we may go astray, we may have a thousand problems, but for the believer in Jesus Christ, there is, therefore now, no condemnation because God has said it is so. You can struggle, but you’re not condemned. You can fall, but you’re not condemned. You can trip, but you’re not condemned. You can stray off the path, but you are not condemned because God has said He will not condemn those who are in Christ Jesus.”

AND CAN IT BE?

And can it be that I should gain
An int’rest in the Savior’s blood?
Died He for me, who caused His pain?
For me, who Him to death pursued?
Amazing love! how can it be
That Thou, my God, should die for me?

Refrain:
Amazing love! how can it be
That Thou, my God, should die for me!

No condemnation now I dread;
Jesus, and all in Him is mine!
Alive in Him, my living Head,
And clothed in righteousness divine,
Bold I approach the eternal throne,
And claim the crown, through Christ my own. [Refrain]

Wretched Man

Bible Reading: Romans 7:7-25; Romans 8

Romans 7:24, “Wretched man that I am!  Who will deliver me from this body of death?  Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!  So then, I myself serve the law of God with my mind, but with my flesh I serve the law of sin.”

Before we move forward to explore the treasures to be found in Romans 8, it’ll be good for us to visit the preceding context.  The therefore of Romans 8:1 looks back to Romans 7.  As we shall see, there’s quite a contrast between Romans chapter 7 and Romans chapter 8.

One question raised regarding this passage (Romans 7:7-25) is the identity of the “wretched man” spoken of.  Three possibilities have been suggested: 1) an anonymous unconverted man; 2) the Apostle Paul before his conversion; and 3) the Apostle Paul in his “present tense” experience.  Both 1) and 2) cannot be true since Paul speaks of attitudes towards the law that are not concurrent to that of an unconverted person (Romans 7:16, 18-21, 22). Since the verbs used in verses 24-25 are all in the present tense, the logical conclusion is that the Apostle Paul is speaking of himself in his “present tense” experience as a converted (i.e., saved) person.  The deliverance he longs for and expects can only be fully realized in the future redemption of his body.

The passage repeatedly references the law. Three main points are made: 1) the effect of the law is to give knowledge of sin (Romans 7:7, 13; 3:20); 2) the law does this is by declaring God’s prohibitions and commands which work to goad sin into active rebellion, thus making a person aware of the specific shortcomings into which sin then leads him (Romans 7:8, 19, 23); 3) because of the weakness of the flesh, the law avails no power to a person to do the thing commanded and cannot deliver a person from sin (Romans 7:9-11, 22-24).  The term “flesh” is used to describe the fallen human condition, which is the old, earthly temporal order subject to the power of sin—weak and corruptible and unimprovable. 

In Romans chapter 7, the pronoun “I” occurs 27 times and the Holy Spirit is not found once.  The passage, in its ‘self’ focus, ends with this question: “Wretched man that I am!  Who will deliver me from this body of death?”  In self, there can be no rescue from sin.  No amount of wanting, willing, or working can work to deliver a man from sin. In Christ alone can victory be found.  As the hymn aptly puts it, ‘None else can heal all our soul’s diseases!’”

No amount or wanting, willing, or working can work to deliver a man from sin. In Christ alone can victory be found.

A victorious change of perspective takes place in the transition from Romans chapter 7 to Romans Chapter 8.  In Chapter 8, the pronoun “I” is found only twice, and the Holy Spirit is referred to repeatedly.  The chapter begins with a promise of “no condemnation” (8:1) and a declaration of freedom (8:2), and concludes with the assurance of “no separation” (8:39) and a promise of overwhelming triumph (8:37). 

F B Meyer has commented on this: “The key to the plaintive moan (Romans 7:24) of this chapter consists in this. It is the result of the endeavor to live a holy life apart from the power of the indwelling Savior, and independently of the grace of the Holy Spirit. All such efforts are sure to end in wretchedness. We can no more sanctify ourselves than we can justify. Deliverance from the power of sin is the gift of God’s grace, as forgiveness is. And it is only when we have come to the very end of all our strivings and resolvings, and have abandoned ourselves to the Savior He should do in us and for us what we cannot do for ourselves, that we are led to cry, “I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord.” Wretched men are set free from sin only through the indwelling presence and power of a Wonderful Savior!

HALLELUJAH, WHAT A SAVIOR!

Man of sorrows what a name
for the Son of God, who came
ruined sinners to reclaim:
Hallelujah, what a Savior!

Bearing shame and scoffing rude,
in my place condemned he stood,
sealed my pardon with his blood:
Hallelujah, what a Savior!

Guilty, helpless, lost were we;
blameless Lamb of God was he,
sacrificed to set us free:
Hallelujah, what a Savior!

It is Finished!

Bible Reading: John 19

John 19:30, “When Jesus had received the sour wine, he said, ‘It is finished,’ and he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.”

“It is finished!”  Through the annals of history, have three more precious words ever been uttered?  A man’s dying words are said to be of special import. Have there ever been more significant “dying words?”  In three words, Jesus founded a message of hope which has ever since resounded for all those having ears to hear.  

Charles Spurgeon well described the genesis of these words: “The Son of God has been made man.  He had lived a life of perfect virtue and total self-denial.  He has been all that lifelong despised and rejected of men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief.  His enemies have been legion; His friends have been few, and those few faithless.  He is at last arrested while in the act of prayer; He is arraigned before both the spiritual and temporal courts.  He is robed in mockery, and then unrobed in shame.  He is set upon His throne in scorn and then tied to the pillar in cruelty.  He is declared innocent, and yet He is delivered up by the judge who ought to have preserved Him from His persecutors.  He is dragged through the streets of Jerusalem, which had killed the prophets and would now crimson itself with the blood of the prophets’ Master.  He is brought to the cross; He is nailed fast to the cruel wood.  The sun burns Him.  His cruel wounds increase the fever.  God forsakes Him.  ‘My God, my God, why hast Thou forsaken me?’ contains the concentrated anguish of the world.  While He hangs there in mortal conflict with sin and Satan, His heart is broken, His limbs are dislocated.  Heaven fails Him, for the sun is veiled in darkness.  Earth forsake Him, for ‘his disciples forsook Him and fled’.  He looks everywhere, and there is none to help; He casts His eye around, and there is no man that can share His toil.  He treads the winepress alone; and of the people there is none with Him.  On, on, He goes, steadily determined to drink the last dreg of the cup which must not pass from Him if His Father’s will be done.  At last, He cries — ‘It is finished,’ and He gives up the ghost.  Hear it, Christians, hear this shout of triumph as it rings today with all the freshness and force which it had centuries ago!  Hear it from the Sacred Word, and from the Savior’s lips, and may the Spirit of God open your ears that you may hear as the learned and understand what you hear!”  (Charles Spurgeon, “Christ’s Words from the Cross”).

What did Jesus mean by what He said?  What was “finished?”  1) The Old Testament Scriptures include many types, promises and prophecies that spoke of Him.  They looked forward to the fulfillment in Him of all that was beforehand set forth (Luke 24:44).  In His death, He fulfilled all that which was promised.  2) The Old Testament sacrifices looked forward to a more perfect “once for all” sacrifice.  He finished that work (Hebrews 10:1-10).  3) Jesus came to do the Father’s will.  It was the Father’s will that He should serve and suffer and die for sins.  He perfectly subjected Himself to the Father’s will and finished the work which the Father had sent Him to do (John 17:4).  4) He came as the Lamb of God to take away the sin of the world (John 1:29).  Isaiah prophesied that “the iniquity of us all” would be “laid upon Him” and that He would be “crushed for our iniquities” (Isaiah 53:6, 5).  He Himself has said that He had come “to give his life a ransom for many” (Mark 10:45).  In dying on the cross, Jesus died “once for all” for sins (Romans 6:10; Hebrews 7:27, 9:12, 10:10; 1 Peter 3:18).  5) Jesus came and took on human flesh that He might “destroy the one who has the power of death, that is the devil” (Hebrews 2:14).  In dying for sins, Jesus destroyed the power of Satan, sin, and death.  He triumphed over them all (Colossians 2:15).

According to Matthew’s gospel, upon His saying, “It is finished… the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom” (Matthew 27:50-51).  God dramatically demonstrated for us the practical benefit derived from that which Christ spoke of.  The curtain of the temple was symbolic of the restricted access to God.  There is restricted access because of sin, but “Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God” (1 Peter 3:18).  He finished His sin-bearing work that we might gain access to God through His sin-cleansing power (Hebrews 10:19-22).  Jesus finished His work so that sin-rebels might be transformed into glad-hearted worshippers.  An enduring message of hope is bound up in those three precious words!

O SACRED HEAD, NOW WOUNDED

O sacred Head, now wounded,
with grief and shame weighed down,
now scornfully surrounded
with thorns, thine only crown!
O sacred Head, what glory,
what bliss till now was thine!
Yet, though despised and gory,
I joy to call thee mine.

What thou, my Lord, hast suffered
was all for sinners’ gain.
Mine, mine was the transgression,
but thine the deadly pain.
Lo, here I fall, my Savior!
’Tis I deserve thy place.
Look on me with thy favor,
and grant to me thy grace.

What language shall I borrow
to thank thee, dearest Friend,
for this, thy dying sorrow,
thy pity without end?
Oh, make me thine forever,
and should I fainting be,
Lord, let me never, never
outlive my love to thee.

The Lazarus Plot

Bible Reading: John 12:1-11

John 12:10, “So the chief priests made plans to put Lazarus to death as well.”

Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead. Lazarus had been dead and lying in a cave for four days. By His mere word, Jesus called him forth. It was an amazing miracle that testified clearly to the true identity and glory of Jesus (John 11:40). There were many witnesses and two differing responses. Some believed, others refused to accept the truth and instead did all they could to suppress it.

The chief priests and Pharisees heard about what happened.  They “gathered the council and said, ‘What are we to do?  For this man performs many signs.  If we let him go on like this, everyone will believe in him, and the Romans will come and take away both our place and our nation’” (John 11:47).  They had no heart or regard for the truth, but were concerned instead about maintaining their power and its associated monetary gain.  The verdict of their council?  “From that day on they made plans to put him to death” (John 11:53).

The miraculous raising of Lazarus from the dead was a problem for them.  A great multitude sought after Lazarus (John 12:9).  “The crowd that had been with him when he called Lazarus from the tomb and raised him from the dead continued to bear witness” (John 12:17).  The word regarding Jesus was spreading. 

The light of the world came into the world—and there are but two possible responses to Him—come to the light (love the light) or hate the light.  John 3:19-21, “And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil.  For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed.  But whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his works have been carried out in God.”

So, the religious leaders met together and came up with a plan.  Kill Lazarus.  Put him back in a tomb.  Put a stop to his living testimony regarding Christ.  Stop the word from spreading.  Stop people from believing in Him.  It mattered not what the truth was.  They hated the light.  He revealed things about them they didn’t want disclosed.  He was a threat to their livelihood.  Instead of accepting the clear testimony borne by the miracle, they plotted to put Lazarus back in the grave!

Jesus Christ died on a cross and was buried in a tomb.  A stone, a seal, and a Roman guard were set in place to keep the light extinguished.  Their evil deed accomplished; the religious leaders rested.  But the light escaped.  The religious leaders assembled, took counsel, and bribed the soldiers to lie about what happened (Matthew 28:11-15)

Risen from the dead “He presented himself alive to them after his suffering by many proofs” (Acts 1:3; 1 Corinthians 15:5-7).  Peter and John and the others were witnesses to the light.  Filled with the Spirit, they were boldly “proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection from the dead” (Acts 4:2).  So, the religious leaders “gathered together” in another council (Acts 4:5).  They put Peter and John on trial and conspired again to extinguish the light of the truth (Acts 4:9).  They charged Peter and John “not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus” (Acts 4:18).  But the light, the witness to the truth of Jesus’ resurrection, could not be stopped.  People kept on believing.  The religious leaders kept on threatening and even murdering, the Apostles kept on preaching (Acts 4:31, 7:57-60, 12:1-2).  And so, it has been ever since.

“Light haters are always working to suppress the truth.  But Lazarus lived.  And Jesus now lives.  Nothing can change that truth.  You can try to shut up or lock up those who bear witness to the truth, ‘but the Word of God is not bound’ (2 Timothy 2:9)!  And not all will hate the Light.  Some hear the truth of the gospel—the power of God unto salvation—and believe (Romans 1:16).  They come into the light and rejoice in it!”

HOW FIRM A FOUNDATION

How firm a foundation, ye saints of the Lord,
is laid for your faith in God’s excellent Word!
What more can be said than to you God hath said,
to you who for refuge to Jesus have fled?

“Fear not, I am with thee, O be not dismayed,
for I am thy God, and will still give thee aid;
I’ll strengthen thee, help thee, and cause thee to stand,
upheld by my righteous, omnipotent hand.

“When through the deep waters I call thee to go,
the rivers of sorrow shall not overflow;
for I will be near thee, thy troubles to bless,
and sanctify to thee thy deepest distress.

“When through fiery trials thy pathway shall lie,
my grace, all sufficient, shall be thy supply;
the flame shall not hurt thee; I only design
thy dross to consume, and thy gold to refine.

“The soul that on Jesus hath leaned for repose,
I will not, I will not desert to its foes;
that soul, though all hell should endeavor to shake,
I’ll never, no, never, no, never forsake.”

THE PLAN FOR THE MONTH OF AUGUST WILL BE TO READ ROMANS CHAPTER 8 EACH DAY!

THANK YOU, dear friends, for reading these daily devotionals I’ve been posting month-by-month this year. It has not always been easy to keep up with my writing, but I’m blessed in being privileged to share with you. I would much appreciate your prayers that I might be, and remain, Spirit-motivated and led in the endeavor.

In recent weeks, I’ve struggled to formulate a plan and theme for the month of August. I was toying with a daily reading of Galatians 5:16-26 with the theme of “walking by the spirit.” Then I thought to focus on heaven for the month, and correspondingly write daily devotionals drawn from the many Scripture passages related to that. I had other thoughts to do something related to “triumphing through trials” or a reading plan through the book of Philippians. But none of those plans seemed to fit.

These are exceptional times in which we live, unlike any that we older folks have ever witnessed before. Things are changing fast and there is a lot of uncertainty in our world. But there is no uncertainty with God or with His plan and purpose for His creation or for His children. That being said, for the month of August, the focus will be on Romans chapter eight. It’s a chapter that is all about certainty-and assurance and security and triumph in the Lord Jesus! It deals with several of the themes that I was already considering.

Let me otherwise try to encourage you in this plan. Martin Luther once said of this chapter, “If the Bible were a ring, then Romans would be the gem that enhanced the ring… and Romans 8 would be the brilliant splendor that emanated from that ring.”

As many of you know, I wrote a little book for our Ugandan friends entitled “First Steps with Jesus.” Having been translated into Lugandan, we distributed hundreds of copies in the region in which we have ministered. Because of the way the book was printed, there were to be a couple of blank pages in that back of the book. So, rather than leave them blank, I added Romans Chapter 8 (in Lugandan) to the last pages. I chose this chapter because of its ability to instruct and encourage us in so many wonderful truths. Unsurprisingly, it includes several of the most memorized of Scripture passages.

Finally, Charles G. Trumbull surveyed the chapter this way: “The eight of Romans has become peculiarly precious to me, beginning with ‘no condemnation,’ ending with ‘no separation,’ and in between, ‘no defeat.’ This wondrous chapter sets forth the gospel and plan of salvation; the life of freedom and victory; the hopelessness of the natural man and the righteousness of the born again; the indwelling of Christ and the Holy Spirit; the resurrection of the body and blessed hope of Christ’s return; the working together of all things for our good; every tense of the Christian life, past, present, and future; and the glorious, climactic song of triumph, no separation in time or eternity ‘from the love of God which is in Jesus Christ our Lord’.”

As you are reading this, would you now please take a moment to pray for me? Thank you so much for your help and your partnership in this! May God work to lead and encourage us all in these needy, yet opportune, times.

Come Forth!

Bible Reading: John 11

John 11:43, “He cried out with a loud voice, ‘Lazarus, COME OUT!’”

John 11:44, “The man who had died CAME OUT.”

Lazarus died.  They wrapped him in grave clothes and laid him in a cave.  A stone, lying against the entrance, prevented the stench of his rotting corpse from reaching the nostrils of the living.  Many had come to console his sisters.  They all gathered together and wept.  Jesus arrived—too late, they thought–to be of any help.  “Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died,” Mary said (John 11:32).  Jesus saw Mary weeping and the others weeping with her.  “He was deeply moved in his spirit and greatly troubled” (John 11:33).  “Jesus wept” (John 11:35).

Jesus came to the tomb.  His surprising command, “Take away the stone,” was met with reluctant concern: “Lord, by this time there will be an odor, for he has been dead four days” (John 11:39).  Lazarus was dead and gone, buried, and rotting away when Jesus called him forth.

The stone was removed.  Jesus offered a prayer to thanks to God.  Then “He cried out with a loud voice, ‘Lazarus, come out’ (John 11:43) and Lazarus “came out” (John 11:44).  At His command, life was imparted and Lazarus came forth. 

The lost sinner is dead in his trespasses and sins (Ephesians 2:1).  Physically, he may walk and he may breathe, but spiritually speaking, he is as lifeless as Lazarus lying in that grave.  He is as utterly helpless to do anything to rectify his lost condition (Romans 5:6), as Lazarus was to revive himself.  There is no one on earth who can do anything to bring life to a dead soul. But Jesus can…

“In Him was life” (John 1:4).  He has “life in Himself” (John 5:26).  He is “the resurrection and the life” (John 11:25).  He came to die for sins and “destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil” (Hebrews 2:14).  It was “impossible” for Him to be held in death’s power (Acts 2:24).  He is the “living One, (who was) dead… and (is) alive forevermore” (Revelation 1:18).  Those who trust in Him as Savior and Lord instantaneously pass “from death to life” (John 5:24).

How wonderful the day, believer, when life was imparted to your sin-dead soul by the Lord Jesus Christ!  Your first birth anticipated future death; re-birth brought eternal life.  Identified with Christ in His death, you were raised with Him to “walk in newness of life” (Romans 6:4).  You were “made alive together” with Him (Ephesians 2:5).  Jesus is now your life (Colossians 3:4).  You were dead!  Now you are alive in Him (Galatians 2:20)! 

“Death and the grave are never satisfied” (Proverbs 27:20, CEV), but they will gain no satisfaction in the death of one of His redeemed.  He who called Lazarus from his tomb and rose triumphantly from His will call us forth from ours.  “For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive” (1 Corinthians 15:22).  Lazarus came forth from his tomb in earthly garb, but in Jesus’ return the believer will experience a more glorious exodus in which He “will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body” (Philippians 3:21).

Loved ones in Christ have departed us.  But the Day of Christ’s return draws near.  He will “descend from heaven with a cry of command… and the dead in Christ shall rise first” (1 Thessalonians 4:16).  He cried out to Lazarus and Lazarus came forth.  He will come from heaven with a shout and the dead in Christ will rise up to meet Him.  Jesus, the Life-Giver, has the power to do that.  He emptied Lazarus’ tomb and will empty countless others in His return.  He says, “come forth” and they do.

“The sinner can no more raise himself from the deadness of sin than Lazarus, who had been dead four days, until Jesus came.”

George Whitefield

HE LIFTED ME

In loving kindness Jesus came
My soul in mercy to reclaim,
And from the depths of sin and shame
Through grace He lifted me.

Refrain:
From sinking sand He lifted me,
With tender hand He lifted me,
From shades of night to plains of light,
O praise His name, He lifted me!

He called me long before I heard,
Before my sinful heart was stirred,
But when I took Him at His word,
Forgiven He lifted me. [Refrain]

His brow was pierced with many a thorn,
His hands by cruel nails were torn,
When from my guilt and grief, forlorn,
In love He lifted me. [Refrain]

Now on a higher plane I dwell,
And with my soul I know ’tis well;
Yet how or why, I cannot tell,
He should have lifted me. [Refrain]

An Eye-Opening Miracle

Bible Reading: John 9

John 9:40-41, “Some of the Pharisees near him heard these things and said to him, ‘Are we also blind?’  Jesus said to them, ‘If you were blind, you would have no guilt; but now that you say, ‘We see,’ your guilt remains.”

It was an amazing miracle that clearly testified to the truth regarding Jesus’ identity, for when Jesus healed the man born blind, “the works of God (were) displayed in him” (John 9:3).  The blind man himself, his sight having been restored, testified to its unprecedented nature: “Never since the world began has it been heard that anyone opened the eyes of a man born blind” (John 9:32).  John the Baptist had previously sent messengers to Jesus, asking, “Are you the one who is to come, or shall we look for another” (Matthew 11:3)?  First mentioned in His response to John was the fact that “the blind receive their sight” (Matthew 11:5).  Isaiah had prophesied of the ministry of the coming Messiah, “The eyes of the blind shall be opened” (Isaiah 35:5).  Jesus fulfilled prophecy by opening the eyes of the man born blind.  It was an “attesting sign” revealing Jesus to be “the Christ, the Son of God” (John 20:31).

In Jesus, “the true light, which gives light to everyone” came into the world (John 1:9).  There are but two responses to the Light—reject Him or receive Him (John 1:11-12), love the light, or hate it (John 3:19-21; 7:7).  In receiving Jesus, the blind man was healed of both physical and spiritual blindness, but in their rejection, the religious leaders remained blind to their blindness.

The man born blind had been a beggar (John 9:8).  The neighbors recognized him and saw him with his sight restored and didn’t know what to think.  Some said that it was him, while others suggested it was merely someone who looked like him.  He kept saying, “I am the man” (John 9:10).  So, they asked him how his eyes were opened.  He attributed the work to Jesus.  They brought the man to the Pharisees (John 9:13).

The Pharisees interrogated the man born blind, but not to find out the truth.  It was a Sabbath day when “Jesus made the mud and opened his eyes” (John 9:14), so the Pharisees had already therefore concluded that Jesus could not be the Messiah.  In fact, a previous healing on the Sabbath had given rise to their hatred of Him (John 5:16, 18).  It should be noted that the Pharisees were involved in a great hypocritical cover-up.  They had invented hundreds of petty religious laws that governed nearly every aspect of their lives.  Many of these laws had to do with what could and could not be done on the Sabbath.  They thought that in the keeping of these rules, they were made righteous, but they were not righteous and were, as Jesus said, “whitewashed tombs… full of dead people’s bones and all uncleanness” (Matthew 23:27).  As “blind guides,” (Matthew 23:16) lost in sin and oblivious to their need, they hated Jesus because He stripped away the whitewash, unveiling the truth (John 7:7).

The religious leaders did not believe that the blind man had been healed, so they called and interrogated his parents.  To suppress the truth, the Jews had already worked to threaten, with expulsion from the synagogue, anyone confessing Jesus to be the Christ (John 9:22).  So, being frightened, the parents refused to say how their son’s eyes were opened (John 9:20-21).  So, for a second time, the Pharisees interrogated the healed man.  He did not waver and spoke the truth regarding what he had experienced (John 9:24-24).  “If this man were not from God, he could do nothing,” he said (John 9:33).  The infuriated Pharisees cast him out, but Jesus found him and opened his spiritual eyes to the truth about Himself (John 9:35-41).

The blind man was twice healed of blindness (once physically and again spiritually). The religious leaders were doubly blind to the truth.  They were blind to their need and blind to the truth regarding Jesus.  And so are we all until the Spirit of God works to convict of sin and unveil to us the glory of Christ (2 Corinthians 4:4; John 16:8-11, 14). 

“‘I once was lost but now am found; was blind but now I see,’ is the wonderful testimony of those who have had their eyes opened to the glory of Jesus (2 Corinthians 4:6)!”

AMAZING GRACE

Amazing grace, how sweet the sound
that saved a wretch like me!
I once was lost, but now am found,
was blind, but now I see.

‘Twas grace that taught my heart to fear,
and grace my fears relieved;
how precious did that grace appear
the hour I first believed!

Through many dangers, toils and snares
I have already come:
’tis grace has brought me safe thus far,
and grace will lead me home.

The Lord has promised good to me,
his word my hope secures;
he will my shield and portion be
as long as life endures.

Yes, when this flesh and heart shall fail,
and mortal life shall cease:
I shall possess, within the veil,
a life of joy and peace.

The earth shall soon dissolve like snow,
the sun forbear to shine;
but God, who called me here below,
will be forever mine.

The Cause and the Cure

Bible Reading: John 8:12-30

John 8:24, “Unless you believe that I am he, you will die in your sins.”

Set before us in clear and succinct fashion is a warning and a remedy.  The warning is to all since “all have sinned” (Romans 3:23).  Sin demands and deserves punishment (Romans 6:23).  God is holy and just.  A day of judgment looms in which “the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience” (Ephesians 4:6).  They will “suffer the punishment of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might” (2 Thessalonians 1:9).

To die in one’s sins is to die and then stand before God with no remedy in hand.  No defense or excuse will work to deflect His wrath.  No amount of self-righteousness will stay His fury.  To die in one’s sins is to depart this life, troubled as it may be, to an existence of eternal woe.  One can only imagine the pain and suffering of such a place, where there is eternal weeping and gnashing of teeth (Matthew 13:42).  There is a great chasm fixed between heaven and hell—there will be no future escape from pain or sorrow for the one who dies in his sins.

The “unless” at the beginning of our text speaks to God’s remedy.  There is a way, one way, by which certain doom can be averted.  The remedy lies in a Person and is bound up in our response to Him.  The Gospel of John was written to proclaim the truth that “Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God” (John 20:30).  Seven recorded miracles testify to His deity.  Likewise, He Himself made seven “I Am” statements that affirmed His identity.  Two of these statements are in the context of this passage.  In the first Jesus declared, “I AM the light of the world” (John 8:12).  In the second He said, “Truly, truly I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM.”  In response to His statement the Jews “picked up stones to throw at him,” having clearly understood that which He was declaring concerning Himself (John 8:59; 10:31-33).

It is in this One—the divine Son of God who died for sins—that a sure remedy for sin can be secured (John 1:29).  That He has done all that is needful to save us is without question.  The resurrection was proof-positive that God had accepted His once-for-all payment for sins (Romans 1:4, 4:25; 1 Peter 3:18).

“But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8).  Some years ago, a man drowned while saving his son.  His two-year-old son had fallen overboard.  He dove into the fast-moving water and handed his son to his father-in-law, but then he slipped underwater and did not resurface.  He gave his life for his son whom he loved.  Likewise God, in love, gave His son for rebellious sinners like us—so that we might not die in our sins (John 3:16).  “Amazing love, how can it be that Thou My God shouldst die for me?”

The remedy for sin is appropriated by faith: “Unless you believe that I am He.” John’s gospel declares the truth about Jesus that “by believing you may have life in his name” (John 20:31).  Salvation is appropriated by faith and only by faith.  90+ times the word “believe” appears in John’s gospel.  The message, from beginning to end of the gospel account, is that salvation is by faith in Him (John 1:12-13, 3:16, 3:36, 8:24, etc.).  This message—salvation by faith alone in Christ alone—is reiterated in numerous other Scripture texts (Acts 16:31; Romans 1:16, 10:9; Ephesians 2:8-9, etc.).

What is faith but trust?  To believe in Him is to trust in Him.  He proclaimed the truth about Himself.  Some picked up stones to throw at Him… to their doom (John 8:59).  Others believed in Him and were saved (John 8:30).  A century ago the “unsinkable” Titanic hit an iceberg and began to sink.  People donned lifejackets.  Some were fortunate enough to find a seat in a lifeboat.  Those lifeboats proved lifesavers for those who got on board.  They were saved, while others perished in the cold North Atlantic.  Jesus is a lifeboat to those “sinking deep in sin.”  To trust in anything else is to remain in one’s sins.  As the song says, “You can’t get to heaven in a leaky old boat, ‘cause a leaky old boat just won’t float.”  To refuse to “obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus’ is to face certain and inescapable doom (2 Thessalonians 1:8).  To believe in Him is to receive God’s remedy and the abundant and eternal life He alone can impart.

“The broad path that leads to destruction is well-traveled (Matthew 7:13).  It seems right to a man but ends in death (Proverbs 14:12).  We are all broad-path travelers by birth and by nature, and are delivered from that doomed pathway only by God’s intervention.”

COME, YE SINNERS POOR AND NEEDY

Come, ye sinners, poor and needy
Weak and wounded, sick and sore
Jesus ready, stands to save you
Full of pity, love and power.

Refrain: I will arise and go to Jesus
He will embrace me in His arms
In the arms of my dear Savior
Oh, there are ten thousand charms.

Come, ye thirsty, come and welcome
God’s free bounty glorify
True belief and true repentance
Every grace that brings you nigh. [Refrain]

Come, ye weary, heavy-laden
Lost and ruined by the fall
If you tarry ’til you’re better
You will never come at all. [Refrain]

I will arise and go to Jesus
He will embrace me in His arms
In the arms of my dear Savior
Oh, there are ten thousand charms [Refrain]

Come to the River

Bible Reading: John 7:37-39

On the last day of the Feast of Tabernacles, which was called the great day, a procession of worshippers made their way to the temple.  When they reached the Pool of Siloam, a priest filled his golden pitcher with water.  We should note that the name “Siloam” is “Shiloh” in the Hebrew (meaning “one sent”) and was a name that spoke prophetically of the coming Messiah.  The procession then made its way to the temple and just as the priest passed through the water-gate (so named for this very ceremony) he was welcomed by a three-fold blast of the Priest’s trumpet.  The priest was then joined by another, who carried the wine for the drink offering.  Both ascended the rise of the altar together and then together simultaneously poured out the water and the wine into funnels, which then led down to the base of the altar.  Immediately after ‘the pouring of water,’ the Hallel (Psalms 113-118) were chanted by all the people.  The Feast–in every aspect—anticipated the coming Messiah (Zechariah 14:16, 8).  It has been observed for centuries, year after year, in anticipation of its fulfillment.

Everything in the feast pointed to the promised Messiah—the sacrifices made, water taken from the pool of Siloam, the entrance through the water-gate, the Psalms sung, etc.—but, for the most part, the multitude of thirsty souls present did not recognize that the fulfillment stood in their midst.  Many in today’s world struggle to find clean, drinkable water, but even more live day-after-day thirsty of soul for God.  I’ve read of those adrift at sea without water.  Ironically, they yearn to have their thirst assuaged, though encompassed by water on every side.  The problem with seawater is, of course, that it can never work to satisfy a person’s thirst.  Being filled with salt, the drinking of it results instead in a greater thirst and compounds the need.  Sin is like that, deceptively promising to meet our needs, but working instead to aggravate our condition.  Man’s thirst for life (restored relationship with God) can only be assuaged when a person is rightly restored to God through Jesus.

On the last day of that great feast as the priest poured out the water—an act which anticipated the pouring out of a living water through the coming Messiah — “Jesus (the Messiah) stood up and cried out, ‘If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink’ (John 7:37).  His reference to “living water” was to the ministry of the Spirit who was to come (John 7:39).  The Spirit came at Pentecost.  He has ever since provided an inexhaustible torrent of “life” that works to enliven from within those who are born again.  Stop and consider what we are taught here.  If you are a believer in Jesus Christ, then you are indwelt by the Spirit of God.  And His presence in you is likened to rivers of living water flowing out of your heart!  That’s true whether you sense the reality of it or not. 

During a difficult time in his missionary work in China, Hudson Taylor was blessed by the truth of this passage.  He wrote to a friend, “And now I have the very passage for you, and God has so blessed it to my own soul? John 7:37-39: ‘If any man thirst, let him come unto ME and drink.’ Who does not thirst? Who has not mind thirst, heart-thirsts, soul-thirsts, or body-thirsts? Well, no matter which, or whether I have them all — “Come unto me and’ remain thirsty? Ah no! ‘Come unto me and drink.’  What can Jesus meet my need? Yes, and more than meet it. No matter how intricate my path, how difficult my service; no matter how sad my bereavement, how far away my loved ones; no matter how helpless I am, how deep are my soul-yearnings—Jesus can meet all, all, and more than meet. He not only promises me rest—ah, how welcome that would be, were it all, and what an all that one word embraces! He not only promises me drink to alleviate my thirst. No, better than that! ‘He who trusts Me in this matter (who believeth on Me, takes Me at My word) out of him shall flow…. Can it be? Can the dry and thirsty one not only be refreshed—the parched soul moistened, the arid places cooled—but the land be so saturated that springs well up and streams flow down from it? Even so! And not mere mountain-torrents, full while the rain lasts, then dry again…but ‘from within him shall flow rivers’—rivers like the mighty Yangtze, ever deep, ever full. In times of drought brooks may fail, often do, canals may be pumped dry, often are, but the Yangtze never. Always a mighty stream, always flowing deep and irresistible!” (J. Hudson Taylor, “J. Hudson Taylor’s Spiritual Secret”).  Jesus promises to satisfy the deepest longings of those who trust in Him.

“As you thirst in life for life, look unto Jesus.  He alone can fully satisfy the deepest longings of our God-thirsty souls.”

RIVERS OF LIVING WATER

Rivers of living water,
Rivers that flow from the throne,
Rivers o’erflowing with blessing,
Coming from Jesus alone.

Refrain: Rivers of living water,
Rivers of life so free,
Flowing from Thee, my Savior,
Send now the rivers through me.

Whoso is thirsty come hither,
Here is abundant supply;
Water transparent as crystal,
Come without money and buy. [Refrain]

Cleanse me, oh, cleanse me, my Savior,
Make me a channel today;
Empty me, fill me and use me,
Teach me to trust and obey. [ Refrain]

Then, and then only, Lord Jesus,
Through me the rivers can flow;
Thus and thus only will others
Learn Thy great fulness to know. [Refrain]

Now I surrender to Jesus,
Here I lay all at His feet;
Anything, anywhere only,
Just for His service made meet! [Refrain]