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Leaning on the Word

“And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son....These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God.” (1 John 5:11, 13)

Our salvation does not find its basis in an emotional experience of the heart, although our emotional tendencies are God-given and not to be denied. Indeed, the salvation experience may be sweet and memorable, but all sorts of religions, non-religions, and cults have emotional experiences, like the Mormon’s “burning of the bosom.” Experiences alone are subjective and easily misinterpreted. Our faith should be a faith from the heart, and it should be founded on the written Word of God. The third verse of our hymn, “My Faith Has Found a Resting Place,” presents this timeless truth.

My heart is leaning on the Word, the written Word of God,
Salvation by my Savior’s name, Salvation thru’ His blood.
I need no other argument, I need no other plea,
It is enough that Jesus died, And that He died for me.

The Bible, God’s holy Word, is a book about Jesus and how God, through Jesus, deals with man. Much more could have been written: “But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name” (John 20:31). “Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved” (Acts 4:12). We were redeemed “with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot” (1 Peter 1:19).

And this is sufficient! Nothing else needs to be done or said or paid. Christ’s blood is enough. His Word tells us so. JDM

Enough for Me

“Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past.” (Romans 3:24-25)

Jesus has done all that is necessary to bring us into right standing with a holy God, if we but believe and accept His free gift of salvation. Jesus saves! It is enough! “In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace” (Ephesians 1:7). The second verse of the hymn “My Faith Has Found a Resting Place” further explains this.
Enough for me that Jesus saves, This ends my fear and doubt;
A sinful soul I come to Him, He’ll never cast me out.
I need no other argument, I need no other plea,
It is enough that Jesus died, And that He died for me.

Jesus, who loved us, said, “Him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out” (John 6:37). There is no fear here, for “there is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear” (1 John 4:18). Nor should there be any doubt in Him or His intentions, “in whom we have boldness and access with confidence by the faith of him” (Ephesians 3:12). Furthermore, “being confident...that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ” (Philippians 1:6).

The chorus of the hymn likewise presents a thrilling truth. It paints a picture of a courtroom and the interrogation of a defendant. When asked why one should be forgiven, granted eternal life and entrance into heaven, the argument or legal defense can be given that Jesus has died, and that is enough. No other legal defense or answer need be given. The plea has already been entered, and the court’s findings are guaranteed, “justified freely by his grace.” JDM

A Resting Place

“Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost; which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour.” (Titus 3:5-6)

Certainly one of the most precious doctrines of all Scripture is that reflected in our text. Our salvation depends not on our own “works of righteousness” but upon His mercy and grace, given us freely through the atoning work of Jesus Christ our Savior.

The grand old hymn “My Faith Has Found a Resting Place” reflects this theme. Let us use its four verses and chorus to focus our study as well as our hearts these next four days.

My faith has found a resting place, Not in device nor creed;
I trust the Ever-living One, His wounds for me shall plead.
I need no other argument, I need no other plea,
It is enough that Jesus died, And that He died for me.

Nothing we could do (i.e., device) nor anything we or our church could believe (i.e., creed) can provide a resting place for our faith. “For we which have believed [i.e., faith, same Greek word] do enter into rest....For he that is entered into his rest, he also hath ceased from his own works” (Hebrews 4:3, 10). The only work that counts for anything is that which the ever-living One accomplished when He died on the cross. “Who his own self bore our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes [i.e., wounds] ye were healed” (1 Peter 2:24). It is not so much our physical health in view here but the healing of our sin-sick souls.

Since “Christ died for our sins” (1 Corinthians 15:3), there is no more penalty to be paid. Since He rose from the dead, He conquered both sin and its power, and our faith can rest. JDM

A Marvelous Thing

“The man answered and said unto them, Why herein is a marvelous thing, that ye know not from whence he is, and yet he hath opened mine eyes.” (John 9:30)

A “marvelous thing” in the Bible is something that generates awe or wonder. Sometimes it refers to a miracle but more often to something very unexpected and remarkable.

But the most marvelous thing of all is that unbelievers still persist in their unbelief. In our text passage the Lord Jesus Christ had just performed one of His most amazing miracles of creation—making perfect eyes for a man blind from birth. As the man testified to the frustrated Pharisees, “Since the world began was it not heard that any man opened the eyes of one that was born blind” (John 9:32). Yet, these religious intellectuals, so opinionated in their prejudices, refused to believe what they saw and heard. Similarly, “when the chief priests and scribes saw the wonderful things [i.e., ‘marvelous things’] that he did...they were sore displeased” (Matthew 21:15).

There are none so blind as those who refuse to see. One of the saddest verses in the Bible is John 1:10: “He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not.” And, “he came unto his own, and his own received him not” (v. 11). Even when He raised Lazarus from the dead, “the chief priests consulted that they might put Lazarus also to death; because that by reason of him many of the Jews went away, and believed on Jesus” (John 12:10-11).

Modern “intellectuals” are still the same, rejecting the overwhelming testimony of the created complexity in the cosmos to the fact of a personal Creator in favor of an impossible scenario of chance origin. “Herein is a marvelous thing!” Such people “willingly are ignorant” and “without excuse” (2 Peter 3:5; Romans 1:20). HMM

Godly Examples

“Salute the brethren which are in Laodicea, and Nymphas, and the church which is in his house.” (Colossians 4:15)

Some Pauline epistles, which included the letter to the church at Colossae, were written during Paul’s imprisonment in Rome, approximately from AD 60 to 62. Three cities (Ephesus, Philippi, and Colossae) were close together and were near Laodicea. Paul instructs Nymphas to read the Colossians letter to the church at Laodicea.

There is a group labeled “fellow workers” (Colossians 4:11)—Tychicus, Onesimus, Aristarchus, Marcus, and Justus. They were the men who ministered to Paul in Rome. There were also friends from the third missionary journey: Epaphras, Demas, Nymphas, and Archippus from the cities around Colossae who kept in close contact and probably supported Paul financially. Luke, the “beloved physician,” apparently joined Paul on the second missionary journey on the trip to Rome (Acts 16—the “we” passages).

Several godly attributes are identified with these men. “Beloved brother” is used to emphasize the intense relationship that Paul had with some of these men. “Faithful minister” (a “deacon”), along with “fellow servant” and “fellow worker,” stresses the service Paul enjoyed with them. “Fellow prisoner” is an obvious identification.

“Labouring fervently” (the Greek word agonizomai) is used to speak of Epaphras (Colossians 4:12), who was always praying for the church at Colossae with great zeal. This and other lists such as the sixteenth chapter of Romans give us precious insight into the lives of godly men and women who shared the lives of key leaders and made their ministry more effective.

May it please the Lord Jesus to have us so named in “the books” of eternity (Revelation 20:12). HMM III

Redeem the Time

“Walk in wisdom toward them that are without, redeeming the time. Let your speech be alway with grace, seasoned with salt, that ye may know how ye ought to answer every man.” (Colossians 4:5-6)

Time is the most precious resource available to us. Obviously, it becomes available moment by moment, and there is absolutely no way to recapture what has moved into the past. “So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom” (Psalm 90:12).

Our lifestyle should be recognizable from the wisdom that comes from the “fear of the LORD” (Psalm 111:10), so much so that our everyday conversation should not be “in the words which man’s wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual” (1 Corinthians 2:13).

“Every idle word that men shall speak” will one day be evaluated “in the day of judgment” (Matthew 12:36). It is clear that “God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil” (Ecclesiastes 12:14).

That is why we are to “redeem the time.” The Greek term is exagoradzo, meaning to buy up or to make the most of time “because the days are evil” (Ephesians 5:16). Our speech must be consciously planned to “answer every man” in such a way that it is “alway with grace, seasoned with salt”—two apparently opposite characteristics.

Our words should be “as an honeycomb, sweet to the soul, and health to the bones” (Proverbs 16:24), “but if the salt have lost his saltness, wherewith will ye season it?” (Mark 9:50). It is the combined power that is important; “be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear” (1 Peter 3:15). HMM III

Watch in Prayer

“Continue in prayer, and watch in the same with thanksgiving; withal praying also for us, that God would open unto us a door of utterance, to speak the mystery of Christ, for which I am also in bonds.”
(Colossians 4:2-3)

This strong command is composed of the Greek term gregoreuo, meaning “vigilant” or “alert.” A similar emphasis is at the end of the classic passage identifying the armor of God: “Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching [agrupneo, “be awake”] thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints” (Ephesians 6:18).

Our watching must also be with a conscious attitude of thanksgiving during “every remembrance” of each other (Philippians 1:3), particularly since the intercessory request should be focused on asking our Lord Jesus to provide an open door (Revelation 3:8). The Lord is indeed the One who opens the door, but the process for obtaining His action is recorded in Luke 11:9-11. We must ask for the gift of the open door, seek to find the door that He is opening, and then knock once we are at the door that He is ready to open for us.

However, as Paul notes, when the Lord opens a “door of utterance,” the spoken Word of God conveys the power of God, and that message and its power will bring the attention of the enemy. “For a great door and effectual is opened unto me, and there are many adversaries” (1 Corinthians 16:9).

Any fear that might lurk in our minds should be overridden by the necessity to be spokespeople for this wonderful “mystery of Christ.” There is no “salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved” (Acts 4:12). HMM III

To Be or Not to Be

“I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.” (Galatians 2:20)

“To be” verbs, in their various forms and tenses, enjoy wide usage throughout Scripture. Verses employing them, as they relate to us, contain many of the greatest and most precious truths. Consider the following sampling.

Past tense: “While we were yet sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8). “When we were enemies, we were reconciled to God” (v. 10). “You hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins” (Ephesians 2:1). “You, that were sometime alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled” (Colossians 1:21).

Present tense: “Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven” (Romans 4:7). “Know ye not that ye are the temple of God?” (1 Corinthians 3:16). “Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation” (1 Peter 1:5). “By the grace of God I am what I am” (1 Corinthians 15:10). “Beloved, now are we the sons of God” (1 John 3:2). “For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily. And ye are complete in him” (Colossians 2:9-10). Note also our text verse.

Future tense: “It doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is” (1 John 3:2). “Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord” (1 Thessalonians 4:17). “And there shall be no more curse: but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it; and his servants shall serve him: and they shall see his face; and his name shall be in their foreheads...and they shall reign for ever and ever” (Revelation 22:3-5). JDM

Drawn to Jesus

“Today shalt thou be with me in paradise.” (Luke 23:43)

Picture the scene. Jesus hangs on a cross between two criminals—all three aware they are dying. One scoffs, “If thou be Christ, save thyself and us” (Luke 23:39). The other thief counters, “Dost not thou fear God, seeing thou art in the same condemnation? And we indeed justly…but this man hath done nothing amiss. And he said unto Jesus, Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom. And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, today shalt thou be with me in paradise” (vv. 40-43). The scoffing thief wanted an earthly miracle—the second sought a heavenly miracle.

Jesus didn’t try to convert the second thief but waited for the man to turn to Him. No one explained the gospel to the thief; he was simply drawn to Jesus. The man knew Jesus had committed no crime. He hung there for another reason. Jesus was more than a miracle-working rabbi; He was a king and had a kingdom. And despite the man’s great sin, Jesus heard his cry and fully accepted him. The worst thing that had ever happened to the thief became the best thing—a great reversal!

As Jesus hung there dying for countless people, He specifically cared for one particular person at that moment—the thief beside him. We are like him, condemned and dying. May we also be drawn to the Son of God. “And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me” (John 12:32).

Jesus waits for us to turn to Him as He sits enthroned next to His Father. “It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God” (Romans 8:34). Jesus’ love draws us to Him. “The goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance” (Romans 2:4), and He will never reject His children! MJS

Maker and Owner

“I have made the earth, the man and the beast that are upon the ground, by my great power and by my outstretched arm, and have given it unto whom it seemed meet unto me.” (Jeremiah 27:5)

“The earth, the man and the beast” are the three entities that God is said to have “created” (Hebrew bara—note Genesis 1:1, 21, 27) in the Genesis account of creation. However, they are also said in Genesis to have been “made” (Hebrew asah—note Genesis 1:25-26; 2:4), and that is the emphasis in our text above. Of course, both aspects were accomplished in the six days of the creation week, after which God “rested from all his work which God created and made” (Genesis 2:3). This statement makes it abundantly plain that the present processes of nature do not “create” (call into existence out of nothing) or “make” (build up into more complex forms) anything, as our modern theistic evolutionists and evangelical uniformitarians allege. God has rested from both of these works, except in occasional miraculous intervention in the present laws and processes of nature.

Because God created and made all things, He also “owns” all things. “The earth is the LORD’s, and the fulness thereof” (Psalm 24:1). “Every beast of the forest is mine, and the cattle upon a thousand hills” (Psalm 50:10). “The LORD hath made all things for himself” (Proverbs 16:4).

Therefore, all that we possess—as individuals or as nations—has simply been entrusted to us as God’s stewards, and “every one of us shall give account of himself to God” (Romans 14:12). Without a doubt this accounting will be of our handling of our goods, minds, and opportunities, among other things, for “it is required in stewards, that a man be found faithful” (1 Corinthians 4:2). Let us be thankful, not covetous, and industrious, not slothful, in everything He has entrusted to us. HMM