GRACE AND THE TRUTH - DAILY INSPIRATION

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PAUL'S INVOCATION
By PAUL M. SADLER, Pastor

Scripture Reading: Romans 1:7

It is often our tendency as believers, when we pick up the Blessed Book, to just read the opening words to any given epistle casually. We are in such haste to get into the body of the letter, that we often overlook some of the precious gems that are found in the opening words. While Romans takes us from the "depths of sin" to the "Alps of salvation," the introduction to the writing sets us in the right direction for our ascent.

Paul, in verse 7 turns from a personal greeting to the saints at Rome to a declaration from Almighty God: "Grace to you and peace from God our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ." Take careful note, Grace to you and peace, not from Paul, but from God our Father. When God's people, Israel, stoned Stephen, thus resisting the Holy Spirit and rejecting their Messiah, according to prophecy, the Tribulation was to follow. The Tribulation is that period of seven years when God is going to make a declaration of war on the earth. God will speak to them in His anger and vex them in His sore displeasure, because of the world's rejection of the Anointed One (Psalm 2:1-12).

Just as the jaws of justice were about to close, God stopped the prophetic time clock at the stoning of Stephen. Instead of declaring war on the nations of the earth, He instead has turned to the world in grace and peace.

God's declaration of grace and peace is giving individual Gentiles an opportunity to be saved. That's why Paul announces to the world, " ... now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation" (II Corinthians 6:2). Not tomorrow! Why, tomorrow God may turn back to His declaration of war. Today, won't you believe Christ died and rose again and be saved, while God is still offering grace and peace.

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PEACE UNKNOWN
By DICK WARE, Pastor

Scripture Reading: Romans 3: 17

In the book of Romans, chapters 1-3 show us the movement of mankind away from God. In these chapters we see that all of Adam's race is inexcusable before God! As far back as creation, mankind has willingly turned away from the knowledge of God (I:18-23). The result is God giving mankind the consequences of his indifference to God (I:24-32). Even the riches of God's goodness, forbearance, and longsuffering are designed to lead men to repentance (2:4). But, man continues away from God, not realizing he will soon meet God in righteous judgment (2:5). Even the privileged Jew, has "dishonored God" and "blasphemed Him", by breaking the Law (2:23, 24). "For we have previously charged both Jews and Greeks that they are all under sin (3:9)."

Romans 3:10-18 is also a part of the conclusion concerning the condition of unrighteous man before the holy and righteous God. Some of these are: "there is none righteous;" "none who seek after God;" "all have gone astray;" "all have become unprofitable;" "all have been deceitful;" "they don't fear God;" and "all are full of bitterness and misery." Is it any wonder that we read: "And the way of peace they have not known.'''? The lack of peace, is a direct result of being guilty before God!

Many are in mental institutions today because they are guilt-ridden. Many are busy and are considered successful, but "the way of peace they have not known!" Many instances could be given in which there is no real peace. Real, inward, lasting peace can only come as a result of having one's sin forgiven, and being declared "right with God" (Romans 5:1)

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PEACE WITH GOD
By DONALD W. WEFFALD,

Scripture Reading: Romans 5: I

"Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ."

Justification that brings "peace with God," is a free gift from God and is the present eternal possession of the believer. "Justification" is the judicial act by which God declares the believer righteous in Christ. In the fifth chapter of Romans the Apostle is giving assurance that justification by faith will last; that the hope is well founded.

There are three points to the Apostle's argument to show the secure ground upon which the believer's hope rests. First, the tribulations the believer will face in this life will strengthen not destroy that hope (Romans 5:2-4). Secondly, the hope is based upon the great love God has for the one justified (Romans 5:5I I). As he was loved by God while yet a sinner, how much more when he is justified! And thirdly, as surely as man's relationship to Adam has brought death, so the union the believer has with Christ brings eternal life (Romans 5:12-21).

Adam's sin resulted in death for all but Christ's obedience (the Cross) brought eternal blessing to all who believe in Him.

The believer has "peace with God" although he was once an enemy of God (Romans 5:10). Peace here is not a state of mind but a relationship to God Who is holy. God is at peace with the believer because His wrath is removed through Christ at the Cross. And because the holiness of God is satisfied through Christ's death for sin, the believer need never fear God's wrath. Knowledge of this should bring tranquility of mind.

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PURSUING PEACE
By JOHN McKAY, Pastor

Scripture Reading: Romans 14: 19; II Timothy 2:22

"Let us .. . follow after the things which make for peace ... follow righteousness, faith, charity, peace, with them that call on the Lord out of a pure heart."

These orders from the Lord are so needed today. With television, fornication, adultery, wicked music and other evils confronting us every day, the believer must deliberately make the pursuit of peace a priority. We cannot allow the things of this world or our own inadequacy rob us of the contentment that God wants us to have right now in this perverted generation.

There will be times when our peace will be disturbed. The Lord knows that if we stand up for His Truth, we will suffer. We should not be ashamed with the absence of peace if it has come through obedience. Even then, won't there be the deep peace--- as our Apostle Paul experienced in the midst of suffering--- which cannot be removed from our inner man! " ... though our outward man PERISH, yet the inward man is renewed day by day." Inner peace is to be preferred over external!

The Biblical doctrine of separation is sometimes compromised in the name of peace. Can we be so foolish? Has not God commanded separation from false doctrine and vile conduct in order that we might attain peace? Separation will guarantee the greatest degree of peace possible! " ... there must be also heresies among you, that they which are approved may be made manifest among you." " ... put away from among yourselves that wicked person." It may take some disturbance of external peace to accomplish this, yet the result will be far greater peace than could ever be imagined. The saved person can always have inner peace. Let's pursue external peace too.

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THE GOSPEL OF PEACE
By MARVIN DUNCAN

Scripture Reading: Romans 10:15

Man's condition before his Creator is one of enmity and separation. He has turned his back upon God and has gone so far as to remove God from his thinking (Romans 1:28 ). Because of this attitude, God has given him up to his own devices (Romans 1:24,26,28 ) and has allowed him to do and worship anything his foolish mind can conceive. The condition of the Gentiles is described in Ephesians 2:11-12.

We see the awful breach between God and men in the description Paul gives in Romans chapter five. From verse 6 we see man as "ungodly." Verse 8 says he is a "sinner" and verse 10 shows him as an "enemy" in his relationship to his Creator. Being in this condition, how was man ever to be restored to fellowship with his Creator?

Paul gives us the answer in his letter to the church at Corinth. In Second Corinthians 5:19 he says, "God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself." One of the ministries Christ accomplished when He died on the Cross of Calvary was to bring peace to the earth and remove the enmity that existed between God and man. Through Christ's death, God has made peace with a world that is at war with Him and is now offering reconciliation to anyone who will accept the death of Jesus Christ as the payment of his sin debt.

Once we receive the salvation God has provided through Christ's death, we not only receive peace WITH God, but as we allow the Word of God to direct our lives we will experience the peace OF God ruling our hearts (Philippians 4:7). It is this peace OF God that allows us to maintain a calm attitude even when the world seems to be falling apart around us. Today, the saints have been given the Gospel of Peace to share with others who are still outside of Christ (II Corinthians 5:19).

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JOY AND PEACE IN BELIEVING
By DONALD A. WEBB

Scripture Reading: Romans 15:13

This verse tells us that there are several benefits to believing. One is joy, another is peace, and still another is hope. The thing that is really interesting is that this verse is not talking about an unbeliever believing the gospel. This verse is talking about a believer believing God's Word and acting upon it! The God of hope will fill you with all joy and peace in believing that is, in accepting and obeying His Word. The result of this is that you will abound in hope (literally, this hope, i.e., the hope of the context) through the power of the Holy Spirit. Faith takes the step of obedience and the Holy Spirit empowers to the performing. That is always the way it is!

Just what then is this verse asking you and me as believers to believe! What is it that will cause us to he so blessed by God and filled with hope? It is believing that as we follow Christ's example and please not ourselves that we will glorify God. We must not despise one another but give of our-selves for our brother's edification. In this whole passage (15: 1-13), there are several key or main subject verses. There is a special blessing to the reader who will consider verses 8-13 in light of verses 1--7. Do you see that God is asking us to do certain things'? Do you see that Christ is the example of these things'? Notice that according to the Scriptures, through His unselfishness, the blessing was to extend even to the Gentiles'? And so it has, not through the prophetic program, but through the revelation of the mystery (Romans l6:25)! If we will live as those who have been so blessed, we will have joy and peace as we await our hope.

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CHRIST - OUR PEACE
By JEFF SEEKINS, Pastor

Scripture Reading: Ephesians 2:14

Jesus Christ equals peace, for He is our peace. Peace is the absence of turmoil, the end of war or argument. It is when two agree. In this passage the two are Jews and Gentiles. Historically we find them at odds, and hostile to one another. In this verse we see that this hostility between them is termed a wall, a middle or dividing wall. We might picture the Berlin Wall with its imposing hostility and absence of peace. In 1987, President Reagan challenged the Soviets to display peace by destroying the wall that divides people. Christ removed the wall between the Jew and Gentile by dismantling it. By so doing, He made peace.

The wall is described in v. 15 as enmity. This word is at times translated enemy and denotes hostility. Divisions create and promote hostility as this wall did in dividing two races. What was this wall?  Looking a bit further we see that the wall, the hostility, was the law of commandments contained in ordinances. The same breath that points out the wall as the law also points out that Christ made peace by abolishing it! The meaning of abolish is to make useless, or of none effect. The law created and promoted the hostility between Jew and Gentile, but it was made useless and was dismantled by Christ in his flesh on the cross.

This truth is unique to this dispensation of Grace. Christ gave his life to provide forgiveness, and to dismantle and nullify the middle wall of partition which is the hostile law of commandments contained in dogmas. His death removed the obstacles to peace, so we can say with the Scriptures- "He is our Peace."

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PEACE - THE FRUIT OF THE SPIRIT
By FLOYD BAKER, Pastor


Scripture Reading: Galatians 5:22

Some years ago as we stood in a funeral home, the daughter of the woman who had passed away, declared, ''I'm amazed at the peace I have at a time like this." I trust that each one of us have experienced such peace in our lives during those times of heartache and difficulty. There are some who may not understand the peace that we have and may look at us with wonder; not knowing the source from which it comes.

Our verse in Galatians 5:22 reveals the very source of this peace as we read, "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance: against such there is no law." Though our focus is upon peace we see that it does not stand alone but is part of, and dependent on, love. Without Spirit-produced love we will not enjoy this peace in our lives.

Peace is an inward tranquility but nonetheless is manifested in the outward man as well. What is also important is that this is not simply a resignation to the fact that we can't change the circumstances, but rather to know that God is at work in our lives conforming us more, and more, to His image. Without this realization we will miss out on the opportunity to grow spiritually. As we face each new testing our faith will enable us to look to God and again enjoy His peace. Only the child of God can have this peace because it is the "Fruit of the Spirit," and cannot be generated in the flesh. It begins with faith in the finished work of Christ and the indwelling Holy Spirit as we see in Ephesians 1:13, "In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the Word of Truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that Holy Spirit of promise."

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Can America Be Saved?
Part 1 of 3
WOULD "CHRONICLES 7:14 HELP?
BY RICHARD JORDAN



America feels as if it is unraveling. There is a mood of foreboding about the future as our nation seems to be somehow crumbling around us.

This has, of course, happened more than once in recorded history and brings to mind a very strong statement about what happened to a people in a situation strikingly similar to America's current dilemma.

Isaiah 3 records the coming judgment of God on the nation Israel because of her rebellion. The nation Israel had gone so far downhill, had sunk so low, that it was sick to its very core (Isa. 1:6). As you work through Isaiah's eloquent description of the decline and destruction of his once flourishing nation, the parallel with our own day is unavoidable:

"For, behold, the Lord, the Lord of hosts, doth take away from Jerusalem and from Judah the stay and the staff, the whole stay of bread, and the whole stay of water,

   "The mighty man, and the man of war, the judge, and the prophet, and the prudent, and the ancient,
   "The captain of fifty, and the honourable man, and the counsellor, and the cunning artificer, and the eloquent orator.
    "And I WILL GIVE CHILDREN TO BE THEIR PRINCES, AND BABES SHALL RULE OVER THEM" (lsa.3:1-4).

One by one Isaiah describes the pillars upon which a nation stands being snatched away. "The whole stay of bread and the whole stay of water" will dissolve into famine and economic collapse. This is coupled with a famine in national leadership as civic and moral disarray abounds: "The mighty man and the man of war, "the government and military leaders in whose hands the welfare and safety of the nation rests, will falter; the legal system will be so corrupted that "the judge" can no longer be depended on for justice; "the prophet" will preach lies and deceit; "the prudent and the ancient "  will no longer be available to make wise decisions in the government--true statesmanship will be dead.

Also missing will be "the honorable man" who can always be trusted to tell the truth and "the counsellor" who can give wise advise. "The cunning artificer," the true artist, will be gone and all that will be left will be filth.

And who will take their places as the leaders of government and society? CHILDREN!! With no one to "civilize" the emerging band of neophytes born each year, their society was soon to be ruled by children--not simply children in age but men who as far as their qualifications are concerned are "children" and "babes."

Those who should be leading the nation in paths of righteousness had lost their strength of character and will to tell these children, "NO!" --to teach them right from wrong -- and thus as the children grow up they remain children in attitude, tastes and actions.

This, of course, leads to anarchy and social injustice. "The people shall be oppressed" as the "base"-- the lowest elements of society -- rise to take the reigns (v. 5).

An almost present-day-sounding political statement is echoed in verse 6 as the people appeal for leadership to one who "hath clothing!" The standard for selecting the nation's leaders will have become the "seven second sound bite" accompanied by a "beauty contest."

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Can America Be Saved?
Part 2 of 3
WOULD  II CHRONICLES 7:14 HELP?
BY RICHARD JORDAN


All this because Israel had forsaken the Lord, not wanting Him involved in their lives .. their government, courts, boardrooms, schools, homes and personal lives. So far had they departed that they brazenly display their sin and "hide it not" (v. 9).

Such was a society ripe for the judgment of God .. a judgment which Isaiah warns was soon coming:

   "As for my people, CHILDREN ARE THEIR OPPRESSORS, AND WOMEN RULE OVER THEM. 0 my people, they which lead thee cause thee to err, and destroy the way of thy paths.
   "The Lord standeth up to plead, and standeth to judge the people.
   "The Lord will enter into judgment with the ancients of his people, and the princes thereof. .. " (vs. 12-14).

COULD ISRAEL BE SAVED?

What was Israel to do? Could she be saved? God's words to Solomon foresaw this dilemma:

   "And the Lord appeared to Solomon by night, and said unto him, I have heard thy prayer, and have chosen this place to myself for an house of sacrifice.
   "If I shut up heaven that there be no rain, or if I command the locusts to devour the land, or if I send pestilence among my people;
   "IF MY PEOPLE, WHICH ARE CALLED BY MY NAME, SHALL HUMBLE THEMSELVES, AND PRAY, AND SEEK MY FACE, AND TURN FROM THEIR WICKED WAYS; THEN WILL I HEAR FROM HEAVEN, AND WILL FORGIVE THEIR SIN, AND WILL HEAL THEIR LAND" (II Chron. 7:12-14).

Before we yield to the popular notion that this passage is somehow a formula for America's survival, notice that this intervention (for blessing or cursing) was for a specific people, Israel; at a specific time, under the law; for a specific purpose, to bless for obedience or punish for disobedience.

In a seeming "concern for society" too many have for too long been too willing to ignore the facts and take passages which refer to another dispensation and apply them to society today, thus perverting God's revealed program for today. This is not only true of Modernists and Liberals but, shamefully, also of Fundamentalists and Evangelicals as well.

No matter how often it is quoted, no matter how sentimental the appeals based on it. the simple facts of God' s Word cannot be changed:

1. Today, in the current dispensation of grace, God has temporarily set aside the nation Israel and does not recognize the Israelites in their former (and future) status as His chosen people (Rom. 11:11, Gal. 3:27-28 ).

2. Today is not a day of the law but the day of grace (Rom. 6:14).

3. Today God is not blessing based on obedience to the law but on the basis of grace--by believing the gospel of grace and thereby being placed into Christ Jesus and made "complete in Him" (Col. 2:10).

II Chron. 7:14 has nothing to do with God's workings during the present dispensation. While it had exactly the right instruction for Israel--''My people" --under the law "If .. then "--it cannot be simply torn from its dispensational context and made to apply to us today. Such spiritual larceny is only to dishonor God's Word and do despite to His program for us.

WILL AMERICA BE SAVED?

What are we to do then? If America is in such an obviously similar situation to Isaiah 3 but without the promise of II Chron. 7:14--will America be Saved?

The honest answer is that we do not know. The verdict is still out. One thing is certain: America's future will be determined by the basic decisions that we as a people make concerning the fundamental issue of what constitutes reality, what we recognize as truth. And this is where we come in!

While the Body of Christ can and should be a restrainer of evil, we must recognize that we are not going to change the course of this world. Too often we have forgotten--if we have known at all--what the Bible actually says about the society in which we live:

   "[Christ] gave himself for our sins, THAT HE MIGHT DELIVER US FROM THIS PRESENT EVIL WORLD, ACCORDING TO THE WILL OF GOD AND OUR FATHER" (Gal. 1:4).
    " KNOW YE NOT THAT THE FRIENDSHIP OF THE WORLD IS ENMITY WITH GOD? WHOSOEVER THEREFORE WILL BE A FRIEND OF THE WORLD IS THE ENEMY OF GOD" (Jas. 4:4).
    " ... THE WHOLE WORLD LIETH IN WICKEDNESS" (I John 5:19).
    ".... in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience" (Eph. 2:2).
   "Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God ... " (I Cor. 2:12).
   "But God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom THE WORLD IS CRUCIFIED UNTO ME, AND I UNTO THE WORLD" (Gal. 6:14).

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Can America Be Saved?
Part 3 of 3
WOULD  II CHRONICLES 7:14 HELP?
BY RICHARD JORDAN


The Body of Christ is not here to reform the world system, solve the problems facing society, inaugurate social justice, etc. While true believers can and should have a powerful impact for good wherever they are, we are not going to change the world system about us. In fact, part of our task is to testify to the fact that the world is not going to be made acceptable to God but rather as the age progresses will grow worse, morally and spiritually, until Christ returns to put down man's rebellion and establish His reign.

The Church is here to save men out of this world system, to deliver men from "the present evil world." This is the way to make our ministry relevant to the realities of our time. We are not here to save the wreck man has made of society. We are here to save perishing souls from the wreck doomed to destruction.

Tragically, when needed most, the Church has become totally irrelevant and ineffectual in our floundering, confused culture. Seemingly aware of its impotence, multiple movements emerge which seek social and political power in order to gain attention to causes dear to them. Yet for all the effort in everything from political action to new, contemporary methodologies, the world about us rushes forward largely untouched by the truth deposited in our care.

Why is this? What is the problem? Answers abound: lack of prayer, absence of real separated living, indifference to the lost and the task of world evangelism, disregard of the felt needs of those about us, etc. But wait: These are really the symptoms, the results. What is the core cause? It isn't really that difficult to identify.

Departure from God's message and program for our day as revealed through the epistles of Paul-this is the real root of the trouble. My friend, just as it was departure from Moses' law that constantly got Israel into trouble, with the Church it has been departure from Pauline truth. Just as surely as the dispensation of the law was committed to Moses, so surely was the dispensation of grace committed to Paul (Eph. 3:1-9).

Only when the Church returns to God's program for today will it be able to fulfill its true role as "the pillar and ground of the truth" (I Tim. 3:15). This is the true path to the revival so desperately needed and the only avenue that can lead to another genuine spiritual awakening for our nation.

WHERE WE FIT IN

Will America be saved? We do not know. Can America be saved? YES! But not without a basic change in course.

America does indeed stand at the crossroads. Decisions made during the next few years will set the course for our nation's future for the remainder of the 21st century. A spiritually healthy, vibrant Church has a vital part to play. This is where those of us who rejoice in the rightly divided Word fit in, for only by recognizing God's program for today will the Church be up to the task.

The Body of Christ, of course, belongs to the Lord and in the wider sense is His responsibility. Each of us, however, has a part to play in its functioning. It is true that there is much we cannot do, but the fact remains that there is much we can and should be doing.

The greatest single thing you and I as believers can do for our generation, for our nation. is to have  Christ live through us in our own every day lives. As we study God's Word and learn sound doctrine, as we testify of Christ and live in obedience to Him, the Word takes root in our hearts and produces genuine spiritual growth and fruit.

When Christ lives through us personally, our families will be impacted; as He lives through our families, our communities will be impacted; as He lives in our communities, our state. nation and world will be touched by truth.

And it is the understanding of the message of God's grace to us in Christ that will motivate and empower us in reaching out in every possible way to every possible person with the good news we have to proclaim.

NOW IS YOUR TIME AS NEVER BEFORE!!

As you walk by faith in obedience to God's Word to us, as you live godly in Christ Jesus in the details of your daily life. God is active in your world! May the love of Christ constrain us all to so live that others may know the truth as it is in Jesus Christ. This is what our generation, our nation, our world needs most!

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SECOND CORINTHIANS 5:16-21
By John Walker


Just last week I was teaching verse by verse through Second Corinthians Chapter 5. I was reminded of our spiritual position in Christ. Paul emphasized this by saying in verse 16 that "if also we have known Christ according to the flesh, but now we know him no longer." We now know not the fleshly Christ who walked upon the earth, but we know the glorified Christ who was raised and is seated at the right hand of the Father. We no longer know the physical Christ, but we know the spiritual Christ.

Paul continues this emphasis by stating in verse 17, "so that if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation, the old things passed away, behold new things have come into existence." If we are in Christ, then we are spiritual as well. This is because God has done a work in us. We are something new. God has made alive where there was only death. Similarly in Genesis, He has created something out of nothing. In the truest sense, we are walking miracles. We are spiritual beings as He is spiritual. Someone has described Christians as spiritual beings in earth suits.

While we are in our earth suits, God has given a ministry of reconciliation, verse 18, and the message of reconciliation, verse 19. Who better to talk about reconciliation than those who have been reconciled to God? God has given us a special mission as his representatives, his ambassadors (verse 20), to take this message of Christ's payment for sin. More than that, He actually was made sin for the purpose that we might become, or become equal to, God's righteousness, or sinlessness. What a message we have!

People often have to be at the end of their rope, or to hit rock bottom, before they are open to the things of God. In our current financial condition, where there is talk of nationalizing the banks, where people's IRA's or 401K's are in the dumpster, or they may be losing their homes, people may be more open to the things of the Lord. Unlike the world, our investment in Him only grows and is never tarnished or diminished. It is safe and sound, and good for eternity.

Let us be ready to share this good news as I believe the people are ready for some good news. The doom and gloom of our media and politicians is preparing hearts to receive the good news that never ends. The good news is Christ's death is sufficient payment for sins to reconcile them to God (v. 19). Praise Him!

May God bless you as you live for Him who died for you (2 Cor. 5:15).
In Christ's Service,

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The Glory of Grace
Pastor Richard Jordon

        If you find it difficult to live the Christian life you are not alone. Many Christians live second-rate lives with feelings of insecurity, discontent, anxiety and impotency. For them, the joy and victory that the gospel of grace promises seem little more than a theoretical illusion, a fleeting ghost in the face of disappointments that trap them in a syndrome of stress, self-pity and depression. Sadly missing are the confidence, assurance and consistency that come from the life of freedom that faith in Jesus Christ brings for every believer.

        Grace is the answer. Legalism is the enemy. Victory in the Christian life is obtained in the same manner as salvation: by appropriating, receiving, believing-not by works.

        Rom. 6:11-13 is a key passage every believer needs to master:

        "Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord.

        "Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof.

        "Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God."

        This is the process: Reckon yourself dead unto sin, but alive unto God. How is it possible? Just before the above passage, Paul had explained:

        "Know ye not that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death?" (Rom. 6:3).

        The moment we trust the Lord Jesus Christ as our Savior, we die-with Him. Our baptism into Christ's death sets us free from sin, "For he that is dead is freed from sin" (vs. 7). But grace does not stop there; the wonderful thing is that we can die and yet still

        "Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life" (Rom. 6:4).

        It is only after we die-with Christ- that we are able to really start living-again, with Him. Thus Paul goes on to state:

        "But God be thanked, that ye were the servants of sin, but ye have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered you.

        "Being then made free from sin, ye became the servants of righteousness." "But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life" (Rom. 6:17,18,22).

        All of this is succinctly summed up in a verse every sincere believer should know by heart:

        "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" (Gal. 2:20).

        How can I be dead and alive at the same time? The explanation is clear: it is not I anymore but it is Christ who lives in me and it is His life-His power, energy and wisdom-that is to be on display in my action and attitudes. The wonderful truth is that Jesus Christ gave His life for me at Calvary, so that He might give His life to me when I trusted Him, so that He might live His life through me day by day.

        This is the glory of grace: not simply that it saves us from eternal damnation in "the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death" (Rev. 21:8 ), there is more, "much more." The glory of God's grace to us in Christ is that His life is available to us right now.

        Speaking about the saints, Col. 1:27 says:

        "To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory."

        The "riches of the glory of this mystery" is defined as "Christ in you, the hope of glory." This wealth is what God wants His saints to appreciate and rejoice in. If all you understand about grace is that we are not Israel and they are not us, you are missing the real wealth, because the "riches of His grace" are found in God's saving godless sinners and then coming and living His life in them.

        Being set free from sin and having the life that spoke the universe unto existence living in us is "the riches of the glory of this mystery," indeed!

        It is this truth of "Christ in you, the hope of glory" that empowers the believer's walk. To be "dead in sin" provides needed freedom from sin's dominion; to be "alive unto God" provides the capacity to use this freedom to bring forth "the fruits of righteousness, which are by Jesus Christ, unto the glory and praise of God" (Phil. 1:11).

Gal. 4:1,2 demonstrates that a basic difference between a child and an adult is the issue of freedom. What a child is required and forced to do, an adult does voluntarily. What a child does in fear, an adult does in freedom.

        Freedom is an awesome thing. Although it can be and too often is abused, when it is used for its intended purpose, our freedom in Christ is our most valuable spiritual asset. There are two aspects to freedom: freedom from and freedom for.

        By God's grace we have been freed from sin-from both its condemnation and its control. Free from guilt and shame. Free from the downward impulses and urges we couldn't stop when in bondage to sin. Free from the tyranny of other's expectations, opinions and demands. But this is not all-not by far.

        God's grace has also made us free for service. We are free to obey, free to love, free to forgive others as well as ourselves, free to live beyond the limitations of human effort, free to serve and glorify Christ, free to live as adult members of the family of God.

        When we come to appreciate the freedom of our Sonship, we recognize that we are free to voluntarily do that which formerly we did in fear. As adults we can voluntarily apply the wisdom of God to the details of our lives by making decisions based on the Word of God.

        God is surely glorified when believers bear the fruits of their righteous standing in Christ. These "fruits of righteousness are by Jesus Christ" - that is, they are mediated through Christ in us. There is literally an outbreak of the righteous character of God on the stage of human history through the lives of believers who bear these fruits.

        This is of course the result of "the word of God, which effectually worketh also in you that believe" (I Thess. 2:13).

        We could never accomplish this by our own doings, no matter how intended,  just as an apple tree bears apples because of the life that is in it, so the believer bears fruits of the righteousness because of the life of Christ living through us.

        When Paul says, "It is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure" (Phil. 2:13), he is referring to the Spirit of God working in the believer's inner man through the Word of God. Our service is not born out of an outward constraint or necessity, but rather is the result of the life of Christ in us working itself out through the members of our body as we voluntarily apply God's wisdom to the details of our lives. Thus it is that "the life is also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body" (II Cor. 4:10,11).

        The glory of God's grace to us in Christ goes far beyond simply what He has and is doing for us. It goes on into the manifestation of what He is doing for Himself through us, for we are simply "His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them" (Eph. 2:10).

The law of God condemns the best of men;
the grace of God saves the worst of men.

[nChrist]

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A  BOND SLAVE OF JESUS CHRIST
by Russell S. Miller

          In Paul's epistles he always opens with his name and, in most instances the phrase, "an apostle of Jesus Christ." But in his epistle to Titus, he opens with the declaration:

 "Paul, a servant of God, and an apostle of Jesus Christ, according to the faith of God's elect, and the acknowledging of the truth which is after godliness" (Titus 1:1).

Saul, as he was also known, commissioned with authority from the chief priests, was anything but godly in his persecution of Messiah's followers. But suddenly, on the road to Damascus, in Acts 9, the Lord stopped him in his tracks:

 "And he fell to the earth, and heard a voice saying unto him, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou Me? And he said, Who art Thou, Lord? And the Lord said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest: it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks. And he trembling and astonished said, Lord, what wilt thou have me to do? ..." (Acts 9:4-6).

 When the Lord appeared to Paul, at Damascus, he was most acutely aware of how wrong he had been, and of how ungodly his life had been without Christ, and it greatly humbled him. Years later this once proud Pharisee wrote that it was only God's grace that had made him the man of God he had become--"an apostle" and the devoted "servant of Jesus Christ" in ministering "the gospel of God" to the Gentiles (Rom.1:1-5). In Ephesians 3:7 he further tells us that he was "made a minister, according to the gift of the grace of God, given unto me by the effectual working of His power.


"Unto me, who am LESS than the LEAST of all saints, is this GRACE given, that I should PREACH among the Gentiles THE UNSEARCHABLE RICHES OF CHRIST" (Eph. 3:7,8 ).

 In our text the word "servant," doulos in the Greek and rendered "bondman" in Textus Receptus, refers to one who serves. Paul was now the willing "servant" of Jesus Christ. Thus he exhorts believers not to be blinded by the devil's lies, "For we preach not ourselves, but CHRIST JESUS THE LORD; and ourselves your SERVANTS for Jesus' sake" (II Cor. 4:5). And because Paul was a faithful "bond slave" of Jesus Christ, he wrote Timothy:

"Notwithstanding the Lord stood with me, and strengthened me; that by me the preaching might be fully known, and that all the Gentiles might hear: and I was delivered out of the mouth of the lion. And the Lord shall deliver me from every evil work, and will preserve me unto His heavenly kingdom: to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen" (II Tim. 4:17,18 ).

[nChrist]

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The Party
by Steve Mc Vey


I've changed a lot over the years, in many ways. Maybe the way I've changed the most is centered on how I see God. The church-god I envisioned as a child and even during the early years of my ministry is nothing like the Father I have come to know in recent years.

It's true that God never changes. He really is the same yesterday, today and forever. But as the barnacles of the rigorous, rules-keeping, regimented religion of my yesteryears have been scrapped away by the growing revelation of His outrageous love, I've come to see Him in a different light than I ever knew in my past.

I grew up seeing God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit as a team who each had their own unique perspective and approach to me. My view was that God hated sin and, since that was one thing I was good at doing, I needed help to know how to keep Him at bay. That's where the Holy Spirit came in. His role was to come to me and tell me in no uncertain terms to "stop it!" Sometimes He would use feelings of guilt and shame. At other times He would sternly remind me that God brought me into this world and He could just as easily take me out if I didn't straighten up and fly right.

Then came Jesus - my view was that He came to keep God from doing what He was itching to do - zap me. I felt like God had one last nerve and I had gotten on it. Jesus was there to shush God when He was about to go off on me by holding up His hands and saying, "Father, remember - the scars, the scars!" "Oh, yeah," God would say and then He would calm down for a while until I screwed up royally again and it became necessary for Jesus to repeat the whole thing.

Is it any wonder I had trouble feeling intimacy with God? The sad thing is that I don't think my perspective was unique. I meet many people today who still believe that there is somehow a dichotomy between the Father and Son when it comes to their acceptance of us. Many think that the Father is the nervous, on-edge type and that Jesus is the One who sits by His right hand to calm Him down. The Holy Spirit? They see Him as the behavior-policeman.

In reality, it's not like that at all. The good news is that, contrary to what many have believed, the Father, Son and Holy Spirit are really all on the same team. There has never been one moment when they weren't of the same mind and heart toward you.

In the inner sanctum that exists between the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, there has always been nothing less than a loving intimacy that defies human definition or even description. Think of the most passionate and tender and touching and enduring love relationship you've ever had with another person in this world and multiply it by an infinite number and you won't even begin to get close to the love shared among the Trinity.

The amazing news of the gospel of grace is that this divine dance isn't a closed party. Their love is so great that it's too big to be contained and too intense to be restrained so the Trinity threw the doors of this private club wide open at the cross and cried out across time and eternity, calling in "the poor and maimed and blind and lame."

The Father, Son, and Holy Ghost all see things the same way, do things the same way and see you the same way. They're all on your side. There's a party going on right now and, by His grace, you're in.

Is that how you see God? I hope so, because it's true. The Father, Son and Holy Spirit love you and want you to relax and enjoy the party. That's what abundant living is all about.