No Condemnation!
2009-04-25

It's been mostly a good week. Thursday afternoon was most interesting. I'll update the other diary later today.


Psalm for Today: 39

1-3 I'm determined to watch steps and tongue so they won't land me in trouble.
I decided to hold my tongue
as long as Wicked is in the room.
"Mum's the word," I said, and kept quiet.
But the longer I kept silence
The worse it got�
my insides got hotter and hotter.
My thoughts boiled over;
I spilled my guts.

4-6 "Tell me, what's going on, God?
How long do I have to live?
Give me the bad news!
You've kept me on pretty short rations;
my life is string too short to be saved.
Oh! we're all puffs of air.
Oh! we're all shadows in a campfire.
Oh! we're just spit in the wind.
We make our pile, and then we leave it.

7-11 "What am I doing in the meantime, Lord?
Hoping, that's what I'm doing�hoping
You'll save me from a rebel life,
save me from the contempt of dunces.
I'll say no more, I'll shut my mouth,
since you, Lord, are behind all this.
But I can't take it much longer.
When you put us through the fire
to purge us from our sin,
our dearest idols go up in smoke.
Are we also nothing but smoke?

12-13 "Ah, God, listen to my prayer, my
cry�open your ears.
Don't be callous;
just look at these tears of mine.
I'm a stranger here. I don't know my way�
a migrant like my whole family.
Give me a break, cut me some slack
before it's too late and I'm out of here."
(The Message)

"There is nothing substantial in man. His life vanishes away before it can be known.

In asking to be delivered from his transgressions, the Psalmist ascribes the praise of righteousness to God, while he charges upon himself the blame of all the misery which he endures; and he blames himself, not only on account of one sin, but acknowledges that he is justly chargeable with manifold transgressions. The only remedy by which men are cured of pride is when, alarmed with a sense of God's wrath, they begin not only to be dissatisfied with themselves, but also to humble themselves even to the dust."

(Commentary from Heart Aflame: Daily Readings from Calvin on the Psalms)



Tabletalk Magazine

"The Cause and the Effect"
Weekend Reading

Q. What is sanctification?

A. Sanctification is the work of God's free grace, whereby we are renewed in the whole man after the image of God, and are enabled more and more to die unto sin, and live unto righteousness. (Westminster Shorter Catechism, Q&A 35)

There's a popular slogan among Christians. It goes like this: "Christians are saved by grace, justified by faith, and sanctified by works." It sounds good, but there is one small mistake in there. "Good works" will be present in the life of a true believer, but we are not sanctified by them. The formula confuses the cause with the effect. The cause is God's grace, the effect is good works. The works are not a cause for anything. They do not produce sanctification.

Note that in the answer to the question above, from the Westminster Shorter Catechism, sanctifiction is said to be the work of God's free grace. Again, we are not sancitified by our good works, but, because God has sanctified us by grace, he produces good works in our lives. Note Ezekiel 36:27, which says, "And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules." What is the cause? God's Spirit which he put within us. Also, in Philippians 2:13 and 2 Thessalonians 2:13, Paul makes it clear that God is the author of our sanctification.

So...let's correct the formula. "Saved by grace, justified by faith, and sanctified by the Spirit." Much better.



Holiness Day By Day

Week 1/Weekend "On A Bad Day"
Hebrews 9:14
how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God.

What do you do when you've had a "bad" spiritual day, done everything wrong, and feel guilt? "We must go back to the cross and see Jesus there bearing our sins in His own body (1 Peter 2:24). We must by faith appropriate for ourselves the blood of Christ that will cleanse our guilty consciences (Hebrews 9:14).

We would also do well to remember Romans 8:1, "There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus." That right there is some of the best news in the entire Bible!



Father, I praise you for the grace that saved, justified, and sanctified me! I praise you that you have placed within me a portion of your Spirit that does his santifying work within me, enabling me to do do those good works that are so often confused with sanctification. And I'm grateful that you have blessed me with at least a little bit of understanding of this process. I confess that it is still a total mystery to me, but I believe it, nonetheless.

I praise you that there is no condemnation for us who are believers in Christ. That is the best news of the day. There is no need for me to worry or fret about past sins. They are forgiven. They are cast as far as the east is from the west. Hallelujah! But I also pray that you always keep me mindful of my condition, lest I start to boast in myself. I must, like Paul, boast in nothing else, save the cross of Christ which is what provided such a wonderful salvation for me.



Ponder these truths today, and rest in the glorious truth that there is no condemnation for you if you are in Christ. No matter what you've done, and no matter how recently you've done it. Or how many times. It is finished. It is forgiven. Christ has won it.

Grace and peace, friends.



1 comments so far

hosted by DiaryLand.com