Brothers building Brothers

Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.  For by it the elders obtained a good testimony.  Hebrews 1:1

I love the consistency of the word of God.  In the book of James the bibles says that “faith without works is dead”, and for those like me who believe in salvation by grace alone through faith alone there is always going to be that tension that must exist in the area of faith and works.  Hebrews 1:1 has helped me take a giant leap toward resolving the “apparent “conflict.

The question that came to my mind this time as I read this passage was: “How can faith be evidence?”  Faith itself is really not visible, is it?  What a revelation! Yes it is.  I have spent a rather significant amount of time during my ministry career explaining how salvation is by faith alone, and yet it must be accompanied by the requisite works to be valid faith; when all time it seems I missed the biblical definition of faith all together.

Some will call me a heretic, but I’ll risk it, when I say faith and work are one in the same according to the biblical definition.  Faith is substance and faith is evidence.  By faith Able offered his sacrifice and by it the evidence was conclusive that “he was righteous” (vs.4).  By faith Enoch walked with God and God took him (Gen 5:24) leaving behind the evidence that “he pleased God” (vs.5).  By faith Noah prepared an Ark providing evidence that he had inherited righteousness (vs.7).  By faith Abraham obeyed and we know the evidence of righteousness he left behind.

In each case faith was a substantive thing an evidence of righteousness; faith and works are one in the same.  Uh oh; do I feel a conviction coming on?  Why would I ever have a difficulty with the relationship of faith and works?  Could it be that the problem lies in the fact that I am trying to excuse my inactivity?  Could I be trying to excuse the fact that many times my faith is barely visible?  Paul tells us to examine ourselves to see if we are in the faith.  According to Hebrews my faith should be the evidence!

Stepping on my own toes again,

Your brother Jack

Brothers building Brothers

And such were some of you.  But you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God.  1Corinthians 6:11

In my reading this morning I was once again struck by the completeness of Christ’s work on my behalf.  How is it that I can claim any credit for any part of my salvation?  The first phrase of the verse refers me back to a description of what I was without Christ and it isn’t pretty.  However time after time when I give the Gospel the individual insists that; “I’m not that bad I’m just like everyone else”.  Why is it that as long as we’re talking large numbers of people it makes sin OK?  If I remember correctly God destroyed the entire population of the earth minus eight because of sin and his holiness and justice hasn’t changed since Noah’s time.

I want so much to be able to convince people that just because everyone else is doing it, the consequences are not mitigated.  And many times I am tempted to do the convicting myself.  But just like the washing, the sanctifying and the justifying in the verse above, the convicting is of God also.  I can be direct, clear and unambiguous but without the Spirit’s work the person will nod their head in agreement and walk into an eternity without Christ.

But O what joy when you see the light come on and the person realizes for the first time that they are hopelessly lost and in an act of desperate self preservation they reach out to Jesus.  Then God washes them and sanctifies them and justifies them and the process begins all over again.

Share the Gospel today!

Your brother Jack

Brothers building Brothers

Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them . . .  Acts 4:8a

Is it our custom to speak for our Lord, only when we are filled with the Holy Spirit?  Sadly, too often my motives are less than holy and my power is less than spiritual.  As believers we are tasked with spreading the Gospel and because we are indwelt by the Spirit of God we are fully equipped to communicate for God.  However when I am faced with the opportunity to speak for my Lord there are a host of competing motives and sinful human desires seeking to be satisfied by my “godly” actions.

Peter and John were arrested for doing a good deed and had every human right to react indignantly toward their captors, but they instead were filled with the Spirit and thus spoke.  That did not happen automatically.  There was a preparation of heart that began days before on the shores of the Sea of Galilee, (John 21) and continued in the upper room in Jerusalem (Acts 1:12-14).  The preparation basically included confession of sin and corporate prayer and fellowship.

We are once again faced with a new week not knowing what the Lord has in store for us.  What we do know is that we are still on mission and through confession of sin fellowship with the believers and a constant attitude of prayer we can, like Peter, be filled with the Spirit and say to them . . .

Praying for you mission,

Your brother Jack    

Brothers building Brothers

For by one offering He has perfected forever those who are being sanctified.  Hebrews 10:14

What a beautiful supremely interesting verse that gives the believer cause to rejoice in the matchless work of the savior.  A group of saints in Diamond Valley/Eureka Nevada have been studying Hebrews now for about 3 months.  It has been truly a life changing study.  The assurances found in this letter are foundational to experiencing joy and peace and growth in the Christian walk.  Many of them are subtle and must be dug out of the text with an understanding of the Jewish religious system but many are like the one above; so clear that while maybe not fully understanding all the implications of it, even a babe in Christ can appreciate the wonder of it.

The finished work of Christ has so many facets but justification is the one that jumps out at me in the verse above.  One of the results of being justified is often explained like this: made (just as if I had never sinned).  While it sort of explains justification it does not go far enough.  “For by one offering He has perfected forever”, says something slightly different.  In the eyes of God and through Christ’s blood I have not sinned.  You say, “Jack that just is not a true statement”.  OK I challenge you to find the evidence.  You may be able to point to my failure here on earth but where it counts, in the courts of heaven, you will not find a shred of evidence against me because God said “Their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more (Heb.10:17).

That brings us to the last part of the verse, “He has perfected forever those who are being sanctified.”  A second part of Christ’s finished work in this verse is of course sanctification; that work of God in my heart that sets me apart from sin unto God.  This verse reveals the continuing nature of the work while verse 10 of this same chapter claims that, “we have been sanctified”.  Isn’t the word of God great!  Without contradiction we understand that as with justification, sanctification is a finished work of Christ with continuing results in our lives.  And the fantastic truth is that no matter how I struggle I can be assured that Gods work of sanctification in my life is as sure as his work of justification.  “He who has begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ”, PRAISE GOD !!!!

Rejoicing in the finished work,

Your brother Jack