OT: “The priests brought the ark of the Lord’s covenant to its place, into the inner sanctuary of the temple, to the most holy place, beneath the wings of the cherubim… The trumpeters and singers joined together to praise and thank the Lord with one voice. They raised their voices, accompanied by trumpets, cymbals, and musical instruments, in praise to the Lord: For he is good; his faithful love endures forever. The temple, the Lord’s temple, was filled with a cloud. And because of the cloud, the priests were not able to continue ministering, for the glory of the Lord filled God’s temple.” (‭‭2 Chronicles‬ ‭5:7, 13-14‬ ‭CSB)

Once all of the construction for the temple was complete, Solomon had the priests of the Lord carry the Ark of the Covenant into the temple and set it in its place behind the veil in the most holy place. Once the priests exited the most holy place, the Levite singers and instrumentalists began lifting up a unified song of praise to the Lord God. In their song, everyone declared together that God is good – and that His checed, His zealous mercy… His goodness… his faithful, never-ending covenantal love endures forever. As everyone joined together in united praise to God, His throne was established in their praises, His presence was made manifest, and His overwhelming glory filled the temple. The God of the universe responded to their praise and made His habitation with His people. The manifested glory of God’s holiness was so overwhelming that the consecrated priests and Levites could no longer minister and were driven outside the temple. What a powerful picture!

An even more powerful picture is when the Lord similarly fills up the life of a person who consecrates and yields himself to the Lord through faith. Just as the glory of God filled and inhabited the temple, God now desires to fill and inhabit lives that are His through faith in Christ. The redeemed and righteous people of God are the temple of the Holy Spirit – and if we are willing, Jesus Christ will baptize us with and immerse us fully in the Holy Spirit and make us holy as He is holy, fully equipped to do all that He has called us to do.

NT: “For when we were in the flesh, the sinful passions aroused through the law were working in us to bear fruit for death. But now we have been released from the law, since we have died to what held us, so that we may serve in the newness of the Spirit and not in the old letter of the law. What should we say then? Is the law sin? Absolutely not! But I would not have known sin if it were not for the law. For example, I would not have known what it is to covet if the law had not said, Do not covet. And sin, seizing an opportunity through the commandment, produced in me coveting of every kind. For apart from the law sin is dead… So then, the law is holy, and the commandment is holy and just and good. Therefore, did what is good become death to me? Absolutely not! But sin, in order to be recognized as sin, was producing death in me through what is good, so that through the commandment, sin might become sinful beyond measure.” (‭‭Romans‬ ‭7:5-8, 12-13‬ ‭CSB)

A consistent trait of humanity is that we are likely to do what we are focusing on. Even if our focus is to not do something, our focus is still on that thing we don’t want to do – and so we end up doing it. A person who has not been freed from sin through faith in Christ has no inward compass to lead them to righteousness. The law was given to provide that compass that declared, “this is right and this is wrong.” In showing us what is wrong, the Law not only highlighted our deficiencies, but caused us to focus on our sin and the righteousness we did not have. The Law is holy and good, but it has no ability to make us righteous. All it can do is show us how unrighteous we really are… and in focusing on our unrighteousness, we become all the more unrighteous. When we place our faith on Christ and become united with Him in His crucifixion, our sinful self is killed and we are released from the requirements of the Law. When we place our faith on Christ and His resurrection, we are declared righteous and given a new sin-free life that is now consecrated and prepared for the indwelling glory of God through the Holy Spirit. Through the indwelling Holy Spirit, we are able to do righteously and live righteously because 1) we are no longer fixated on our sinfulness under the law and 2) we are empowered and made able to do and be good by His grace.

Psalms: “I call on you, God, because you will answer me; listen closely to me; hear what I say. Display the wonders of your faithful love, Savior of all who seek refuge from those who rebel against your right hand. Protect me as the pupil of your eye; hide me in the shadow of your wings from the wicked who treat me violently, my deadly enemies who surround me.” (‭‭Psalms‬ ‭17:6-9‬ ‭CSB)

King David was surrounded by enemies that wanted to take his life and snuff out the purposes of God. He was in an impossible situation with seemingly nowhere to go. However, there was a place he could go for refuge, for direction, for wisdom. He could go to the Lord in prayer. David called on God… El in Hebrew… the Almighty. He knew that the Almighty could and would save him from those who stood to rebel against God’s purposes. Who are our enemies today? Our enemies are those who desire to drive us from God’s grace and purposes and drive us into self-reliance and self-destruction. Our enemies are our flesh, the world system, and the devil and his minions. We are at all times surrounded by our enemies. We live in our flesh and as long as we are alive, cannot escape it. We live in the world and are surrounded by the world system. Currently, we live on a world that is dominated by the kingdom of darkness. Where can we go to find refuge… to find safety… to find wisdom… to find strategy? If we have offered our lives to God through faith in Jesus Christ, we can go and abide in the presence of The Almighty. Our wise call is to call on God and seek refuge in Him – not to run away from our enemies – but to be saved from the pressure that seeks to marginalize and destroy us.

Proverbs: “Doesn’t wisdom call out? Doesn’t understanding make her voice heard? At the heights overlooking the road, at the crossroads, she takes her stand. Beside the gates leading into the city, at the main entrance, she cries out: “People, I call out to you; my cry is to the children of Adam. Learn to be shrewd, you who are inexperienced; develop common sense, you who are foolish. Listen, for I speak of noble things, and what my lips say is right. For my mouth tells the truth, and wickedness is detestable to my lips. All the words from my mouth are righteous; none of them are deceptive or perverse. All of them are clear to the perceptive, and right to those who discover knowledge. Accept my instruction instead of silver, and knowledge rather than pure gold. For wisdom is better than jewels, and nothing desirable can equal it.” (‭‭Proverbs‬ ‭8:1-11‬ ‭CSB)

The wisdom of God is not hiding. The wisdom of God is not exclusively available to a select few. The wisdom of God stands in the busiest intersection of town, out in broad daylight, and calls out with a loud voice to all who pass by. Yet most people pass by God’s wisdom without giving it a second thought. Far from the “wisdom” you find on social media site or by querying Google, God’s wisdom is true – God’s wisdom is righteous – God’s wisdom is free from deception – God’s wisdom is free from perversity. Is the wisdom of God a mystery? Yes, it is – but it is a mystery that has been fully revealed through the person of Jesus Christ. How do we seek after and find the wisdom of God? If God’s wisdom is fully revealed through Christ, then we find God’s wisdom, God’s clarity, God’s knowledge through placing our faith in and following after Jesus. The call of wisdom is heard in Jesus’ voice when He says, “Come to Me.” Will we heed the call or will we pass it by.

NT: “Don’t you know that if you offer yourselves to someone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of that one you obey — either of sin leading to death or of obedience leading to righteousness? But thank God that, although you used to be slaves of sin, you obeyed from the heart that pattern of teaching to which you were handed over, and having been set free from sin, you became enslaved to righteousness. I am using a human analogy because of the weakness of your flesh. For just as you offered the parts of yourselves as slaves to impurity, and to greater and greater lawlessness, so now offer them as slaves to righteousness, which results in sanctification. For when you were slaves of sin, you were free with regard to righteousness. So what fruit was produced then from the things you are now ashamed of? The outcome of those things is death. But now, since you have been set free from sin and have become enslaved to God, you have your fruit, which results in sanctification — and the outcome is eternal life! For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (‭‭Romans‬ ‭6:16-23‬ ‭CSB)

One key word shows up in both verse 16 and verse 19 of this passage: the word is offer. The original Greek word is paristemi and literally means to stand near or stand beside. It means to present yourself and be at hand – to stand ready to serve – to be at one’s disposal. Before someone places his faith in Jesus Christ, his life and body is offered to sin and unrighteousness – they are enslaved to sin and unrighteousness. Whatever or whomever you offer yourself to becomes your master. Someone who has not believed on Jesus cannot live righteously because sin and unrighteousness are their master. However, when that person hears the gospel, sincerely responds to it in faith and offers themselves to God, they are set free from sin and righteousness becomes their master. A life that is offered to sin cannot produce fruit, for it is essentially void of spiritual life – it can only bring about things that lead to death. Paul described the works of the flesh in Galatians 5:19-21. A life that is offered to God and filled with His spirit produces all kinds of good fruit which results in our sanctification (being made holy and righteous). Paul described that fruit in Galatians 5:22-23. While the initial offering of our lives to God through faith in Christ frees us from sin and binds us to righteousness, we must continually offer our bodies to God for righteousness in order to be ongoingly sanctified. Though faith in Christ frees us from our slavery to sin, our bodies still have sinful desires and thought patterns – the world that we live in still continues to push us toward gratifying self instead of glorifying God – the enemy of our soul still roams the earth seeking to trap us, limit us and destroy us. In order to overcome our flesh, the world and the devil, we must continuously offer our bodies as slaves to righteousness consecrated for God’s purposes. If you struggle with the same sin patterns over and over again – if there are things in your life you just can’t break free from – know that God through Christ can set you free and set you on a path to life and holiness. Repent from the sin, place you faith in Christ Jesus’ death and resurrection, and offer yourself in worship to God.

NT: “Or are you unaware that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? Therefore we were buried with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, so we too may walk in newness of life. For if we have been united with him in the likeness of his death, we will certainly also be in the likeness of his resurrection. For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body ruled by sin might be rendered powerless so that we may no longer be enslaved to sin… For the death he died, he died to sin once for all time; but the life he lives, he lives to God. So, you too consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus. Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body, so that you obey its desires. And do not offer any parts of it to sin as weapons for unrighteousness. But as those who are alive from the dead, offer yourselves to God, and all the parts of yourselves to God as weapons for righteousness.” (‭‭Romans‬ ‭6:3-6, 10-13‬ ‭CSB)

The baptism that Paul spoke about here in this passage isn’t water baptism specifically. There are three baptisms that a believer experiences: baptism into the body of Christ, baptism in water, and baptism with the Holy Spirit. When a person places saving faith in Jesus Christ, he is baptized into Christ by the Holy Spirit. That is the baptism that Paul spoke of here. Water baptism is an outward sign that signifies what has occurred spiritually – and it is performed by the church. Water baptism doesn’t baptize us into Christ’s death – only the spiritual baptism into Christ does that.

When we place saving faith in Christ and His death and resurrection, our sinful selves are nailed to the cross and put to death with Jesus. Then, just as Jesus was resurrected and given new life, we are given a new life in Christ that is free of sin. From that point forward, we are no longer sinners. We aren’t just a “sinner saved by grace.” The sinner is dead forever. What we become is a sanctified saint that is alive to God through our baptism into Christ. If we have placed saving faith in Christ, we should stop thinking of ourselves as sinners. We should instead consider ourselves, or reconcile ourselves to the fact that we are dead to sin and have been reconciled and made alive to God through our baptism in Christ Jesus.

The challenge with all of that is that though the sinful us is dead, our mortal body is still alive. So we become a sanctified saint full of new life, dwelling in a mortal body that still has sinful desires and thought patterns. Instead of submitting to the desires and thought patterns of our mortal body, we must submit our body to our new life of Christ and offer our body to God as an instrument or weapon of righteousness.

Psalms: “Therefore my heart is glad and my whole being rejoices; my body also rests securely. For you will not abandon me to Sheol; you will not allow your faithful one to see decay. You reveal the path of life to me; in your presence is abundant joy; at your right hand are eternal pleasures.” (‭‭Psalms‬ ‭16:9-11‬ ‭CSB)

Psalm 16 is considered a messianic psalm because of these last three verses. The Apostle Peter referenced them on the day of Pentecost (Acts 2:25-28) and said that they referred to Jesus. Though Jesus descended into Sheol (the abode of the dead) after He was crucified, He was not left or abandoned there. Jesus led captivity captive, defeated death and ascended from Sheol to live forever more at the right hand of God the Father. Not only does this psalm speak of Jesus and His death and resurrection, it also speaks of us who place our faith in Christ. God has revealed the path of life to us: faith in the crucified and resurrected Christ. By placing our faith in Christ, we are spiritually baptized into Christ. As we abide in Christ and allow His words to abide in us, we experience abundant joy in His presence. Though our mortal bodies will one day die and decay, we will one day experience a bodily resurrection to abide with the Lord in eternity and enjoy His eternal pleasures forever.

OT: “May you be blessed, Lord God of our father Israel, from eternity to eternity. Yours, Lord, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the splendor and the majesty, for everything in the heavens and on earth belongs to you. Yours, Lord, is the kingdom, and you are exalted as head over all. Riches and honor come from you, and you are the ruler of everything. Power and might are in your hand, and it is in your hand to make great and to give strength to all. Now therefore, our God, we give you thanks and praise your glorious name. But who am I, and who are my people, that we should be able to give as generously as this? For everything comes from you, and we have given you only what comes from your own hand.” (‭‭1 Chronicles‬ ‭29:10b-14‬ ‭CSB)

As David transitioned rulership over to Solomon and made all the preparations for the building of the temple, David held back no expense. All of the silver and gold that he amassed during his reign, he gladly dedicated to the Lord. David had a good perspective on material wealth. He believed that all he had was not his to begin with. All of his victories… all of his winnings… all of his riches were all blessings from the Lord. If God gave David everything that he had, why wouldn’t he be willing to dedicate it all back to God. And if God was able to give David everything he had, then God would be able to bless him again. David did not consider it right to withhold anything from God. That should be our attitude. That should be my attitude. Oh the blessings of grace that God would get to us if He knew that He could get those blessings of grace through us.

NT: “Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, in this way death spread to all people, because all sinned… But the gift is not like the trespass. For if by the one man’s trespass the many died, how much more have the grace of God and the gift which comes through the grace of the one man Jesus Christ overflowed to the many. And the gift is not like the one man’s sin, because from one sin came the judgment, resulting in condemnation, but from many trespasses came the gift, resulting in justification. If by the one man’s trespass, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive the overflow of grace and the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ. So then, as through one trespass there is condemnation for everyone, so also through one righteous act there is justification leading to life for everyone. For just as through one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, so also through the one man’s obedience the many will be made righteous… so that, just as sin reigned in death, so also grace will reign through righteousness, resulting in eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” (‭‭Romans‬ ‭5:12, 15-19, 21‬ ‭CSB)

Sin entered the world through Adam, and all descendants of Adam (all humanity) have been infected with sin. Jesus Christ was not conceived with Adam’s seed, but was conceived by the Holy Spirit and was thus born without sin. Through Adam’s one act of disobedience, sin and death was allowed to reign on the earth. Through Christ’s one act of obedience on the cross, justification leading to life was made available to anyone who believes. Through Adam, all were made sinners. Through Christ, all can be made righteous through faith in Him. Just as Adam opened the door for sin to reign in death, Christ through his death and resurrection, opened the door for grace to reign through righteousness – defeating the reign of death, resulting in eternal and abundant life. We no longer have to be ruled by sin – no longer do we have resign ourselves to being sinners. Through faith in Jesus Christ’s death and resurrection, God’s grace reigns in our lives… we are declared righteous, transferred from death to life, and changed from sinners to saints.

Psalms: “Lord, you are my portion and my cup of blessing; you hold my future. The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; indeed, I have a beautiful inheritance. I will bless the Lord who counsels me — even at night when my thoughts trouble me. I always let the Lord guide me. Because he is at my right hand, I will not be shaken.” (‭‭Psalms‬ ‭16:5-8‬ ‭CSB)

I love this passage out of Psalm 16. The reason I love it so much is because it is so true of me. As I have surrendered my life and my future to the Lord, The Lord’s boundary lines for my life have fallen in pleasant places. Our independent human nature doesn’t like boundary lines – we want to be free to do whatever we want to do. How many know that kids who were never given boundaries grow up to be difficult and immature adults? Instead of me trying to figure out what is best for my life, I made the decision long ago to allow God to show me what He desires to do with my life – and that has made all the difference. My life hasn’t always been easy and comfortable – but oh the grace that I have received from the hand of God. I do have a beautiful inheritance because I let the Lord guide me… and because He is directing my paths… because He is leading me in what I should do and not do, I will not be shaken. Thank you Lord for your reigning grace.

NT: “For while we were still helpless, at the right time, Christ died for the ungodly. For rarely will someone die for a just person — though for a good person perhaps someone might even dare to die. But God proves his own love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. How much more then, since we have now been justified by his blood, will we be saved through him from wrath. For if, while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of his Son, then how much more, having been reconciled, will we be saved by his life. And not only that, but we also boast in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received this reconciliation.” (‭‭Romans‬ ‭5:6-11‬ ‭CSB)

People often ask the question, “If God is so good, why does He allow bad things to happen?” By asking that question, they fail to see the good that God has done to remedy the bad. The truth of the matter is that bad things were allowed by mankind – and God has generously provided a solution to all the bad that mankind’s failure unleashed into the world. As Paul mentioned in this passage, God did not wait for us (mankind) to become good before He solved our predicament. While we were still helplessly enslaved to sin and unable to even respond to God, He sent His Son (Jesus Christ) into the world to die for us. It is rare enough that someone would give their life for the life of someone “deserving” of that gesture – but we were far from deserving. If we deserved anything, we deserved death – yet God, in His absolute goodness, sent His Son to die for us, His enemies, who were guilty as charged and living on a spiritual death row. God didn’t have to do that. He did it out of His goodness and love for us. Through Christ’s death, we who believe in Christ are reconciled to God. For several years, I worked in the accounting department of an insurance company. One of my jobs was to reconcile the company’s bank accounts. Each month, we would receive bank statements in the mail, and I had to reconcile our books to the bank statements. Any differences between our books and the statements had to be corrected on our end. Through Christ’s death, we were reconciled to God! Any deficits and discrepancies in us were made right through our faith in Christ. As Paul said, if we were reconciled to God through Christ’s death, how much more, now that we are reconciled, will we be saved from sin and death through Christ’s resurrection life. Is there bad in the world? Yes, there is. Do bad things happen in this life to good people? Yes, they do. But God in His goodness sent His Son to die for us and rise to new life so that we could be reconciled to God and saved from this life for a glorious life to come.

Psalms: “Protect me, God, for I take refuge in you. I said to the Lord, “You are my Lord; I have nothing good besides you.”” (‭‭Psalms‬ ‭16:1-2‬ ‭CSB)

God is good and He is the source of all and anything good. The Apostle James wrote, “Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, Who does not change like shifting shadows” (James 1:17). Evil came into the world when Adam and Eve ate of the tree of knowledge of good and evil. They came to know evil because they ate from the forbidden tree. Before that, all was good. The fact that we experience any good in this life is a testament to God’s mercy and goodness toward us. God is good, merciful and loving, and He is worthy of our trust. David knew that all the good he had experienced came from God – and apart from God, he would be completely subject to evil… so David took his refuge in God. Though faith in Christ, we are not only allowed refuge – we are reconciled and saved.

NT: “Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. We have also obtained access through him by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we boast in the hope of the glory of God. And not only that, but we also boast in our afflictions, because we know that affliction produces endurance, endurance produces proven character, and proven character produces hope. This hope will not disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured out in our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.” (‭‭Romans‬ ‭5:1-5‬ ‭CSB)

When we place our faith on Christ’s sacrificial death and powerful resurrection- that means we stop trying to become righteous through our own efforts and put our righteousness in the hands of Christ’s work and victory – then we are justified (declared righteous). That justified status puts us at peace with God, which then gives us access to our holy and righteous Heavenly Father. Not only are we justified by faith in Christ, we obtain access to God and His grace by faith in Christ. The only way that we receive grace is through faith. God gives grace to the humble who place their faith in Him and His Son. God resists the proud who place their faith in themselves or someone/something else. Faith becomes faithfulness through trials and tribulations. Abraham initially had faith in God’s promise. That faith was proven and tempered into faithfulness through time, testing, and trials.  The same will be true of us – which is why Paul said that we should boast (rejoice and glory) in our afflictions (pressures, troubles, burdens, persecutions) – because they prove out and strengthen our faith. Tempering is a process that strengthens steel by heating it up just below the critical point of melting. Untempered steel may be strong, but often times is to brittle to be useful. Tempered steel is much stronger and more able to withstand forces that press against it. Afflictions are our kiln and furnace. As we endure challenges and hardships by keeping our faith in Christ, it produces endurance – which sharpens and hardens our character, and instills in us an everlasting hope. Our faith gives us access to God’s grace through the indwelling Holy Spirit that not only empowers us to endure, but transforms us into mature and faithful disciples that can withstand the pressures of the world with hope. Do we merely have faith, or have we become faithful? Do we lose our faith at the slightest hint of push-back – or do we allow our faith to be tempered into proven faithfulness as we stand by God’s grace? 2020 was a year full of affliction. What is the status of our faith? Did we allow 2020 to work in us endurance, character and hope – or did we try to run away from the pressure and weaken our faith? If the latter is true, there is still time to repent from faith in man-made solutions and place your faith and hope fully in Christ.

Psalms: “Lord, who can dwell in your tent? Who can live on your holy mountain? The one who lives blamelessly, practices righteousness, and acknowledges the truth in his heart — who does not slander with his tongue, who does not harm his friend or discredit his neighbor, who despises the one rejected by the Lord but honors those who fear the Lord, who keeps his word whatever the cost, who does not lend his silver at interest or take a bribe against the innocent — the one who does these things will never be shaken.” (‭‭Psalms‬ ‭15:1-5‬ ‭CSB)

King David asked, “Lord, who can dwell in Your tent… who can boldly access Your presence and receive Your blessing and grace?” The answer: those who allow their faith in God to produce in them an honor and obedience to His word, will and ways. If you don’t have faith in God, then you aren’t going to care what His word says. However, if you have an enduring faith in God, then you will fear the Lord and honor His word, will and ways. Those who place their faith in the Lord and appropriately honor Him – they will have access to His presence and receive grace to stand and endure… they will receive grace to become faithful followers of the Lord… they will never be shaken.

Proverbs: “My son, keep your father’s command, and don’t reject your mother’s teaching. Always bind them to your heart; tie them around your neck. When you walk here and there, they will guide you; when you lie down, they will watch over you; when you wake up, they will talk to you. For a command is a lamp, teaching is a light, and corrective discipline is the way to life.” (‭‭Proverbs‬ ‭6:20-23‬ ‭CSB)

In order to keep the Father’s command, you must first have faith in Him and His Word. That faith compels you to honor the Father’s word, will and ways, hold them close to your heart, and obey. Jesus said that if you obey My words, then you will abide in Me and My words will abide in You… If you obey my commands, I will consider you a friend and will share with you all that the Father is doing… if you keep my words and obey my commands, I will manifest myself to you and remain with you. Faith leads to honor and obedience, which leads to ever-present grace and guidance. It all begins with faith.

NT: “This is why the promise is by faith, so that it may be according to grace, to guarantee it to all the descendants — not only to the one who is of the law but also to the one who is of Abraham’s faith. He is the father of us all. As it is written: I have made you the father of many nations — in the presence of the God in whom he believed, the one who gives life to the dead and calls things into existence that do not exist.” (‭‭Romans‬ ‭4:16-17‬ ‭CSB)

There are many ways that people try to get into God’s “good graces.” They try to be loving… they try to be kind… they try to be patient… they try to be selfless… they try to be generous… they try to do good, etc. All of those are good things that are all in our capacity, as people made in the image of God, to do. However, God does not bestow His grace because of things we are able to do through our own effort. God bestows his grace through faith. Faith is the opposite of trusting in ourselves. Faith comes when we stop trusting in our effort, our abilities, our intellect, our gifting, our strength; and trust someone else – namely God – to do something on our behalf. God gave Abraham a promise. It was a promise that was beyond anything Abraham could do on his own. Now there were times when Abraham tried to “help God out” and attempted to fulfill the promise on his own (which made a big mess of things). But ultimately Abraham had to place faith in God – the God who created all things and could bring glorious things out of nothing – and trust God to fulfill the promise that He made. Abraham’s faith – not his efforts – pleased God and God declared him to be righteous. God has made a promise to all humanity: That He will save us from the certain death of sin through the death of His Son… that through His Son’s glorious resurrection from the dead, He will give us a glorious new life… that Jesus the Son, after ascending to heaven will send the Holy Spirit to fill us, abide with us, and lead us as we are transformed and made more and more holy. Just as God fulfilled His promise to Abraham because of his faith in God, so God will fulfill the promise He made to all of us who place faith in God and in His Son Jesus Christ. We can’t save ourselves. We have to trust in Christ’s sinless life, sacrificial death, and glorious resurrection. When we do that, we are saved and declared righteous… and as we follow Jesus in faith and are filled with the Holy Spirit through faith, we are made righteous from glory to glory by God’s grace through faith.

NT: “And he received the sign of circumcision as a seal of the righteousness that he had by faith while still uncircumcised. This was to make him the father of all who believe but are not circumcised, so that righteousness may be credited to them also. And he became the father of the circumcised, who are not only circumcised but who also follow in the footsteps of the faith our father Abraham had while he was still uncircumcised.” (‭‭Romans‬ ‭4:11-12‬ ‭CSB)

Abraham was declared righteous by God before he was circumcised. Abraham was declared righteous by God long before the law was given to Moses. Circumcision didn’t make Abraham righteous. The Law didn’t make Abraham righteous. God declared Abraham to be righteous because Abraham believed God. The circumcision that Abraham received and then passed down to his descendants was merely an outward sign of what had already occurred by faith. It was a reminder of God’s covenant and Abraham’s faith in that covenant. Circumcision didn’t make Abraham a Jew. Following the Law didn’t make Abraham a Jew. Abraham became a Jew by faith in God. Therefore, there is no Jewish prerequisite for redemption and justification. Any person can become redeemed and justified and enter Abraham’s lineage of blessing by faith in Jesus Christ.

Psalms: “The fool says in his heart, “There’s no God.” They are corrupt; they do vile deeds. There is no one who does good. The Lord looks down from heaven on the human race to see if there is one who is wise, one who seeks God.” (‭‭Psalms‬ ‭14:1-2‬ ‭CSB)

The Apostle Paul actually quoted from this scripture earlier in Romans when he was describing the guilt of all humanity. In these two verses, David broke down the main distinguisher between the foolish and the wise. The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.” He may not ever say that aloud – but he definitely says it in his heart – and it becomes evidenced through his words, actions and attitudes. Because he inwardly doesn’t believe in God, he becomes his own god and lives blindly in his own understanding, according to his own relative truth and morality. A wise person has faith in and thus seeks God. God is ever seeking out those who believe that He is – and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him. God the Father is seeking those who will worship Him in spirit and in truth. This psalm goes on to say that God is with those who are righteous. How does one become righteous? How does one become wise? By placing a steadfast life-saving faith in Jesus Christ, repenting and laying aside every weight and sin, fixing his eyes on Jesus and following after Him.

NT: “What then will we say that Abraham, our forefather according to the flesh, has found? If Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about — but not before God. For what does the Scripture say? Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him for righteousness. Now to the one who works, pay is not credited as a gift, but as something owed. But to the one who does not work, but believes on him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is credited for righteousness.” (‭‭Romans‬ ‭4:1-5‬ ‭CSB)

While Abraham is the biological forefather of the Jewish race, he is the spiritual father of all who place their faith in Christ. In Genesis 15 we find the story of God making a covenant with Abram. Earlier in Genesis, God had promised to make Abram a father of many nations and through his descendants, all of the world would be blessed. Several years had passed and Abram had no children of his own. He was beginning to fear that God’s promise would not come to pass. God spoke to him in that moment and reassured Abram that the deal was still on… that God hadn’t forgotten His promise… that Abram would have a biological heir and his descendants would be as vast and numerous as the stars in the sky. At that word of reassurance from God, Abram believed (became established, trusted and stood firm in faith) the Lord and God credited (imputed, accounted, reckoned) it to Abram as righteousness. Abraham didn’t do anything to earn righteousness. He steadfastly believed God, and God gave him righteousness. There are two main systems that we can live in. One is the system of works where we earn things by the sweat of our brow, and things are owed to us. The other is the system of grace where things are given to us. Most of the world and world religious systems function in and on the system of works. The main problem with that system is that all people are born into immense debt that must be paid off before anything can be earned. If you think the national debt is bad – it is nothing compared to the debt of sin. God’s economy is an economy of grace through faith. We believe God… we believe His Word and his words… we trust His ways… we honor His will – and when we do that, He gives us (or graces us) what we need. We have the choice of what system we will live and function in. I choose to be given righteousness through steadfast faith in Christ.

Psalms: “But I have trusted in your faithful love; my heart will rejoice in your deliverance. I will sing to the Lord because he has treated me generously.” (‭‭Psalms‬ ‭13:5-6‬ ‭CSB)

In the beginning of Psalm 13, David said, “How long, Lord? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me? How long will I store up anxious concerns within me, agony in my mind every day? How long will my enemy dominate me?” As David considered his situation – whatever it was – he felt like he had been abandoned by God and was consumed with anxiety. But David was not a man who walked merely by the things he saw or allowed himself to be lead by his feelings. David was a man of faith. Eventhough it seemed like God had forgotten about him, David believed God’s word over what he could see and feel. God’s word said that God was faithful to His people and His promises – so instead of allowing his circumstances and feelings guide his path, he looked up to God and who he knew God to be by faith. Because David knew God’s checed (zealous mercy and faithful covenantal love), he knew that God would generously grace him with deliverance. In times when we feel abandoned and alone, when our thoughts are full of anxiety… what do we know about God? Even beyond that, what does God’s word say about God? Instead of trusting in what we see and feel, if we will lay our lives down in worship to God and trust Him, He will renew our thoughts and grace us with deliverance.