God's Grace in the Old Testament -Part 3

In Gen 15:9-21, God made a covenant with Abram while he slept, signifying that He alone would do everything to bring the covenant to pass. God alone passed between the slain animals, signifying the cost of the covenant. It would cost the life of His Son to ensure that our salvation was sealed.  Just as the pitch  (black tar-like substance) that God instructed Noah  to paint the Ark with prevented the vessel from sinking, so it would be Christ’s blood which would seal our atonement (Gen 6:14). All Abram and his descendants had to do was to bear the sign of the Covenant i.e. circumcision (Gen 17:1, 10-11).

In Gen 15:6, we read that Abram believed God and it was accounted to him for righteousness. His righteousness was by faith, and good works naturally followed. In fact, Abraham’s faith was so strong that not enough his love for his only son, Isaac, could surpass it! Did you know that Abraham believed God could raise the dead long before the Lord had raised anyone from the dead?

In Gen 22, we read the story of how God commanded Abraham (previously “Abram” until God changed his name) to sacrifice his only son, Isaac, on Mt Moriah. Isaac was the son given to Abraham and Sarah in their old age through the promise of God that Sarah, previously barren, would bear a child. God had promised that through Isaac, he would bless Abraham and make him the father of many nations yet now He asked him to sacrifice his only son! Abraham may have lied and doubted God on many occasions, but this time his faith did not waver. He clung to the Promise God had made to him, even as he walked with his young son to the foot of Mt Moriah. He told his servants in Gen 22: 5 to wait for them, that they would return after worshiping God. Abraham had faith that both he and his son would return home. God would provide the lamb for the sacrifice, and even if He didn’t and Isaac had to die, that God, by His Grace would raise him from the dead just to fufil the Promise that was made and confirmed so many times to Abraham.

We know the rest of the story. God did provide a lamb for Abraham’s sacrifice and Isaac’s life was spared. We see a picture of salvation in this story, salvation by God’s grace alone. Isaac was the son of promise, but he was not the promised Messiah (“seed of the woman”) of whom God spoke of in Gen 3:15. Through Isaac, Abraham would be a father of many nations, but through Jesus Christ would come the provision for every one of those nations to be saved from their sins.

In John 1:29-36, the Baptist upon seeing Christ cried: “Behold the Lamb of God who taketh away the sins of the world!” On Mount Calvary, a Father and a Son fulfilled what was only a picture at Moriah. Jesus carried the wood of the cross up Calvary as Isaac did at Moriah. He was and is the Lamb whom God provided through His Grace,  the Saviour of those who trust in Him. He died the death we deserve, so we could live a life honouring God for His marvelous Grace. (Jn 3:16)

God's Grace in the Old Testament-Part 2

God’s grace is revealed in Gen 12 when God chose Abram and made him a promise that through him, all the families of the earth would be blessed. Abram did not choose God, neither was he immediately the man of faith that Hebrews 11 refers to.

It was a gradual transformation as Abram learned to trust in God’s grace. In Gen 12, God instructed Abram to leave  his country, kindred and father’s house and journey to a land which God Himself would show him. Abram obeyed God, but not totally. Instead of leaving everything he knew behind, he took his nephew Lot with him (Gen 12:1-4).

Many times Abram doubted God’s Promise. In Egypt, he was fearful and sought to preserve his life by lying that Sarai, his wife was his sister (Gen 12:13). Abram was still learning to trust in God. God was gracious, preserving King Abimelech from sin because He could see the integrity of his heart when he took Abram’s wife into his royal court. God was patient with Abram, blessing him with great riches, honour and favour despite his failures. When Lot chose the best land for himself, God in His grace reaffirmed His Promise to Abram. Abram became a generous and respectful man. He respected the property rights of others even though he knew that God would give his descendants the whole land. God’s grace was already changing him (Gen 13:10-18). He was learning that it was God’s great grace that made him a prosperous and successful man and he gave God all the glory for his success, attributing none of his success to others or to himself (Gen 14:22-24).

In Gen 15, God affirmed His Promise to Abram yet again. Abram had a crisis in faith, as he had no idea how God planned to fulfil the Promise; all he knew was that he remained childless and he couldn’t  see past his  circumstances. God was patient with Abram, conceding to his request for a sign or assurance that God would indeed give him the land as promised. God asked Abram to prepare some sacrifices and Abram fell into a deep sleep as God revealed in prophetic vision to him the things that would befall his nation.  The 400 years of oppression under Egyptian rule was revealed to him as well as the glory of the exodus from Egypt. God’s grace to the Amorites was also revealed to Abram; God was giving them time to turn to Him and repent of their evil. While Abram’s descendants were yet to possess their inheritance, the Amorites would have opportunity to turn to God.

God Himself passed between the slain animals. The Almighty Himself condescended to make a covenant, binding Himself on pain of death as an earthly king would bind himself when making a covenant with another. The difference was that it was a one-sided covenant. Abram did not pass between the animals for it was God alone who had made the Promise and He alone who would see it to completion through His plan of redemption by the blood of His own Son, “the seed of the woman”. Abram could not break the covenant for he had no part in the making of it. Neither his good works, nor the lack thereof could change the Promise and God’s plan to fulfil it. God’s grace was, and still is, beyond comprehension.

God's Grace in the Old Testament-Part 1

Most people are comfortable with the notion of grace in the New Testament, but find it difficult to reconcile to the God of the Old Testament. Most, when reading the Old Testament, see a God of judgement and wrath whereas the New Testament reveals through Christ, a God of mercy and Truth.

As much as we cannot in our finite minds hope to understand God, the Bible assures us that He never changes (Heb 13:8). That means His character is constant. He has always been a God of grace! God does not have a split personality. Genesis is the book of beginnings, foundational to our belief and doctrines, and I have learned some amazing lessons on Jesus Christ, faith and grace right from page one of the Bible! In order to understand the deep truths in God’s Word, it is essential that one have a strong foundation and what better place to start than in Genesis?

What is “grace”? Many have described it as “unmerited favour.” Somone once described it as “God’s Riches at Christ’s Expense.” The very essence of grace means that it is God -initiated; grace is not a reward of obedience. Rather, it inspires obedience by the transformation of the heart that it engenders. Let’s look at some examples of grace in Genesis.

Gen 12 records the call of Abram. God makes a promise to Abram, a heathen man living in Ur of the Chaldees (otherwise known as Mesopotamia). The people of this nation were known for polytheism, the worship of many gods (Josh 24:2).  In Gen 12:1-3 God makes a promise to Abram to bless him and make him a great nation and that all the families of the earth would be blessed through him. Only a God of grace would choose to make an idolator into a great nation! God affirms this promise  to Abram many times, eventually even making the promise part of his name by changing it from “Abram” (exalted father) to “Abraham” (father of nations). (Gen 13:14-17, Gen 15:1-5, Gen 17:5).

The fulfillment of God’s promise to Abram did not rest on his obedience, but rather he believed in God and God accounted it to him as righteousness (Gen 15:6). Our salvation is not based on our good works or lack thereof; it is based entirely on God’s grace. If the fulfillment of God’s promise to Abram were based on Abram’s works or obedience, he would have failed on many accounts. He lied on more than one occasion that his wife was his sister; he doubted and conceded to his wife’s plan to “help God fulfil His promise” by sleeping with Hagar, etc. God intervened through all of this to ensure that His plan would come to pass. Abraham’s future obedience was only a response to God’s grace that radically changed his heart. In Gen 17:1 God commands Abram to walk before Him and be blameless. God was merely telling him to let the result of His grace (the “credited righteousness” in 15:6) to shine through Abram’s life. Have you experienced God’s grace? He  wants you to let His grace transform you into a shining light for Him in the world today so others may experience His grace too!(Matt 5:16, Eph 2:1-10)

Scripture references: Gen 12-15

Creation Epic

The worlds were framed by the Word of the Lord

And the earth embraced by His Spirit of Love;

He spoke and boundless light poured forth…

The mantle of darkness was peeled away,

Revealing the marvelous miracle of the very first day;

His powerful Word like a sword did split

The highest heights of the firmament

From the broiling depths of the ocean deep,

Which seemed to have no end…

He sent forth the heavenly decree

Which established the border of the seas

Bringing forth the dry land,

Soon to be the home of man…

With tender love did His voice forth

The pleasant herb of the field,

The abundant bounty of fruit trees,

The  blessed Orchard of Eden…

The earth needed not the moon, nor sun

For it was illumined by the Holy One;

Nevertheless, for the dividing of time did He them create…

In one breath did He decorate the tapestry of heaven

With the star-spangled banner of Love,

Their dazzling beauty like sequins

In an exquisite garment above…

With just a word He created

The teeming multitudes in the sea,

Leviathan frolicking in the waves

And birds flying high on the breeze…

He spoke the Word and there appeared

The varied beasts of the field,

The creeping things of the earth;

After their own kind they would yield…

On the sixth day God had a special work in mind,

The crowning glory of creation,

Distinct from every kind…

“Let us make Man in our image” He said,

“And put the crown of dominion upon his head;

Let him  rule the earth and the sea,

Custodian of all that have life by Me…”

And God stooped down and gathered dust,

With His own hands, He fashioned a bust;

On the earth did Adam lay,

Beautiful, but lifeless man of clay…

God breathed His own breath into him

And the man came to life;

“Adam, my son,” thought God,

“Your loneliness will soon require a wife…”

So our first parents were made,

In the similitude of God

To multiply and replenish the earth

And rule it with hearts of love;

Their home was carpeted with the plush mossy meadow

And the windows of heaven a roof over them…

And God looked upon His creation

And declared it very good;

The sons of God shouted for joy and heavenly anthems raised

As the earth broke forth in chorus of resounding praise…

All was rest and beauty on that hallowed first Sabbath day,

Precious memorial of creation that forever would remain…

This poem/song was inspired by: Genesis 1, Job 38

A Prayer for Revival and Reformation

Great and honourable Father, we come to You through the precious Name of Jesus. You established us as Your Church, to do Your Will on the earth and to make disciples of all men. Attached to this mission, You granted us the power of Your Spirit, that we may prevail against the gates of hell. We come to You today asking for Your mercy and forgiveness.

We have each gone our way and neglected Your Great Commission. You told us to be in the world, yet not of it; we have made ourselves comfortable here. Trading in the wares of the world, we have made enlargening our barns for survival our primary activity and neglected to rely on Your Providence. Our hearts do not beat in sync with Yours any longer and we have become cold and distant. We no longer have Your passion for the lost and perishing people who do not know You. Rich in the treasures of this world, we think we have need of nothing. However, we are really blind, poor and wretched! The love of God is not in our hearts, neither love for our own brethren.

Lord, open to us the treasures of Your Word that we may no longer be poor. We ask you for gold tried in fire, and eye-salve to take away our blindness and hypocrisy.  Quicken our cold hearts with the fire of Your love, that we may not be Christians in name only but with all our hearts. We no longer want to be just followers and fans; we want to be disciples for that is what You intended. We no longer want to be just hearers of Your Word. We have been so for centuries. We want to apply Your Word practically in our lives. We hunger and thirst for righteousness, for we have none of our own and so we come to You, the fountain of Righteousness.

Lord, You promised that if we asked anything in Your Name in accordance with Your Will, that You would do it. We ask for a revival in our spirits and a reformation in our hearts. Create in us clean hearts, and renew in each of us a right spirit. Grant us Your Holy Spirit that we may honour You in the world today, proclaiming Your great Name always. Help us to love our neighbor, both in and outside the Church. We have mostly been a reproach to Your great Name for we have tried to do things in our own strength. We have neglected Your blueprint and Your great wisdom and tried to cut corners in doing the work You appointed us. Help us to be no longer a reproach, but to bring glory to Your Name. Forgive us.

Revive us again! Help us as a Church to work in unity with one another, and to use the gifts You have given each of us so that we may finish our appointed work of taking Your Message to the whole world. We have lost our authority, because we have not lived the Gospel. Lord Jesus, when You were on this earth, You spoke with great authority because You are the Word personified. Help us to be the same, to speak with great authority,  the authority You have given us.

Revive our hearts and reform our lives, that we as a Church and as Your servants, may bring great honour to Your Name (Matt 7:29). AMEN

The Deadly Sin of Self-righteousness Part 2

“How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! How art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations! For thou hast said in thine heart,  I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God. I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the  north. I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the Most High.” –Is 14:12-14

It was a deadly mix of pride, hypocrisy and self-righteousness that, in the beginning, caused the created to revolt against his Creator. Lucifer, the most beautiful of covering cherubs, the one whose honour it was to defend the law of God and who stood in the very presence of God, was by reason of his beauty corrupted. He did not glorify God for having made him perfect, but instead attributed all perfection to himself.

The sins of pride, hypocrisy and self-righteousness usually occur in a subtle, but explosive and dangerous mix that  results in division in the Body of Christ and unnecessary hurt and anger. The worst sins are often the ones that leave no physical scars, the invisible sins of the heart that manifest in all manner of evil and wickedness. Like a noxious weed, they grow in the heart of man bringing out the worst in himself and others.

Self-righteousness is the only sin that one can be totally guilty of , yet never know it. To be self-righteous is to reject the righteousness of Christ which is our only means of salvation, yet many are guilty of this sin of omission. It’s very tempting and easy to just “look like a Christian”. Many people have admitted having successfully pulled off the façade, but unless the seed of self-righteousness is put away, Christ will not reign in a person’s heart. The one who is guilty of self-righteousness prefers to keep Christ on the Cross and his own desire on the throne. Every man who would leave self-righteousness behind must surrender the throne of his heart to Christ, and himself be crucified daily that he may live only for Christ. Until then, a person may preach and even teach on the righteousness of Christ, yet never experience its power.

No one enjoys the company of a self-righteous person, for the topic of discussion is usually the faults and failures of others. Self-righteous people seldom apologise for , or admit their own mistakes and, because they fail to do so, do not experience the joy of great spiritual growth. Self-righteousness focuses on the outward appearance and lives by the law of works, while those who truly surrender to Christ live by the law of faith, revealing a heart circumcised on which is found engraved the royal law of God. Self-righteousness exalts in  seeing others fall short of the glory of God, and satan uses the self-righteous as active “accusers of the brethren”,  as his trusted deputies.  A self-righteous person enjoys pleasure by seeing himself as superior to others. He enjoys seeing them fall because, by default, it makes him look good with minimal effort. Self-righteousness has the tendency to creep up on you unnoticed. Ask Christ to remove the hypocrisy, self-righteousness and pride from your heart so that you can serve Him in spirit and truth and escape from the prison of living a double life.

The Deadly Sin of Self-righteousness

Would you be surprised to learn that the deadliest of sins, self-righteousness is not as obvious as one may think? It’s curious and decadent wrapping makes it all the more dangerous. Having its roots in hypocrisy, it manifests in myriads of ways that are not often viewed for what they really are.

Examine the story of the blind man healed by Jesus in John 9. The Pharisees, critical of all Jesus’ works, sought occasion to accuse Him of breaking the Law of God. They did not see the fruit of His work in the confident, young man that stood before them eloquently sharing the testimony of how he had marvelously received his sight.  Blind to their own sin, they accused the once blind man of “being altogether born in sins.” The fact that they were not physically blind like he had been, they held as proof that they themselves were not sinners. After all, only a sinner would deserve to be born blind, right?

Jesus made an interesting statement to the Pharisees after they asked the question: “Are we blind also?” He  said that if they were blind, they would have no sin. Their blindness would excuse them. They, however, claimed NOT to be blind. As Pharisees and teachers of the law, they held themselves in high regard and harboured an unteachable and ungrateful spirit. Their sin therefore remained. They may not have been physically blind , but they refused to come out of their spiritual blindness.

Paul makes an interesting statement in 1 Cor 4:3-4. He says that the Gospel is hid to those that are lost. Satan, the god of this world, has blinded them in the hope that he would prevent them from truly partaking of the glorious light of the Gospel, which is the image of God. Hypocrisy and self-righteousness has that effect on people who are caught unawares in the deadly trap. They focus on what EVERYONE ELSE is supposedly doing wrong according to their own opinion, but never focus on themselves and their relationship with God. Sadly, hypocrisy and self-righteousness lurks in every church. There are people who are lost who are sitting in church. They come to the sanctuary under the pretense of worship, but really all they do is find fault with everything and everyone. Can one truly worship with that kind of spirit? Can you really worship if your eyes are open, trawling the crowd and looking for faults to report on and gossip about after Divine service? Is that a reverent attitude or are you being irreverent whilst accusing others of the very same sin?

It was the same in Jesus’ day. The Pharisees looked very “holy” in their long robes and phylacteries, judging others. However, what did Jesus have to say about them? The answer can be found in Matt 23:3-8. Jesus, in Matt 23:27,  also called them “vipers”, “hypocrites” and “whited sepulchres which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men’s bones and of all uncleanness.”  Be careful that you see the sin right  in front of your nose, before you accuse your brother of sinning (Matt 7:1-5). In fact, you may have to look harder because it’s very hard to see the tip of your nose!