Galatians 1:10-17 Saving Grace is Free

Galatians 1:10-17  Am I now trying to win the approval of men, or of God?  Or am I trying to please men?  If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a servant of Christ.  I want you to know, brothers, that the gospel I preached is not something that man made up.  I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it; rather, I received it by revelation from Jesus Christ.  For you have heard of my previous way of life in Judaism, how intensely I persecuted the church of God and tried to destroy it.  I was advancing in Judaism beyond many Jews of my own age and was extremely zealous for the traditions of my fathers.  But when God, who set me apart from birth and called me by his grace, was pleased to reveal his Son in me so that I might preach him among the Gentiles, I did not consult any man, nor did I go up to Jerusalem to see those who were apostles before I was, but I went immediately into Arabia and later returned to Damascus. 

Paul in his zealousness for Judaism sought to destroy the people who were following what was known then as the Way, the followers of Christ.  He did not realize he was actually battling the God of his fathers and those who served that God and honored the patriarchs, beginning with Abraham.  His desire to eradicate the church of God came from his desire to keep the purity of the Law he knew well as a Pharisee.  Paul speaks of his fleshly authority in his letter to the church at Philippi: If anyone else thinks he has reasons to put confidence in the flesh, I have more: circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; in regard to the law, a Pharisee; as for zeal, persecuting the church; as for legalistic righteousness, faultless.  (Philippians 3:4-6)  Paul is so zealous in his persecution of the church that he sought permission from the highest authority to stop the Christian movement.  At the same time the disciples were reaching the lost, the Book of Acts records this description of Paul (then Saul):  Meanwhile, Saul was still breathing out murderous threats against the Lord’s disciples.  He went to the high priest and asked him for letters to the synagogues in Damascus, so that if he found any there who belonged to the Way, whether men or women, he might take them as prisoners to Jerusalem.  (Acts 9:1-2)  Here is a man whose great hatred for the church of Christ caused him to stand by and assent to the death of the Lord's beloved Stephen.  How his hatred must have festered after this stoning.  The Bible says: And Saul was there, giving approval to his (Stephen's) death.  On that day a great persecution broke out against the church at Jerusalem, and all except the apostles were scattered throughout Judea and Samaria.  Godly men buried Stephen and mourned deeply for him.  But Saul began to destroy the church.  Going from house to house, he dragged off men and women and put them in prison.  (Acts 8:1-3)  So here we have a man whose reputation goes before him, whose purpose was clear for all the world to see, whose evil passion erupted against the church of the living Lord.  What would you do with such a man, how would you treat him, what fate would you hold in store for him?

Immediately after receiving his letters to the synagogues in Damascus, Paul sets out on his journey to arrest believers, but he is interrupted by a light flashing around him.  He falls to the ground and hears, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?”  Confused, he asks, “Who are you, Lord?”  The voice says, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting.  Now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.”  Most of us have read or heard the story that Paul is blinded for three days and during that time he follows the Lord's instructions and goes to Damascus to meet a man named Ananias.  God gives Ananias a vision that he is to go and pray for Saul to be healed of his blindness.  Ananias questions this because he has heard of Paul's persecution of the church and his intention to arrest people in Damascus.  God tells him: This man is my chosen instrument to carry my name before the Gentiles and their kings and before the people of Israel.  Ananias obeys the Lord and meets Paul at the house where God sends him.  He prays for Saul and his eyes are opened as if scales fall from his eyes.  He is filled with the Holy Spirit as well and gets up and is baptized.  He spends several days with the disciples in Damascus and begins to preach the gospel.  (See Acts 9:4-25)  The rest of his history can be read in Acts and his letters to the various churches.  This was God's plan for such a man as Saul, and the man who became Paul, God's chosen apostle to bring the Good News to the Gentiles.  Paul understood his position and his calling.  He knew he was called by God.  He said, For I am the least of the apostles and do not even deserve to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God.  But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me was not without effect.  (1 Corinthians 15:9-10)  He did not boast in himself.  In fact, he said this about himself, This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief.  (1 Timothy 1:15)  This is grace.  Paul's life was a grace gift to the church.  There is nothing we can do that is good enough to gain God's gift of salvation, and there is nothing we can do that is bad enough to keep us from receiving God's salvation gift if we accept Christ as Lord.

In his letter to the Galatians, Paul wants to be very clear.  He is not trying to win the approval of men and women.  He is not coming to them based on his pedigree: his background, experience, education, contacts, or accomplishments.  He is writing to them because he was called by the Lord on the road to Damascus; and since that experience, since the Lord called him by name, he has never been the same.  He has a message to share: the Good News of the gospel of the Kingdom of God.  He is concerned for the church at Galatia because they wanted to add something else to that gospel, something that is not the gospel at all.  They wanted to go back to the old law, a system that never did work as a solution to the problem of sin, a system that showed us our sins but was powerless to free us from our sinful nature .  We could make sacrifices for our sins according to the law, but the law could not change our hearts.  Paul knew what Jesus said was true when He told the disciples, Be on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy.  (Luke 12:1)  Paul did not want the church to tell people they were saved by the grace of the Lord and then impose Old Testament laws upon them because this was hypocritical.  Paul knew from his own experience where this could lead.  He also knew it was the unconditional love and the unfailing grace and mercy of the Lord that had led him to Christ.  Jesus had called Paul from a life of passion and commitment, but he was passionate for and committed to the wrong things.  Finding the Son of God and learning Jesus died for our sins changed Paul completely.  He wanted the believers to understand they did not have to keep any laws or fulfill any special religious practices to keep their position of grace with God.  We want to remind each of you today that you are alive in Christ right now.  You have been adopted into his family, and you are living in the year of the Lord's favor.  Stand up Church of the Living God: Rejoice and be glad!  

     

Galatians 1:6-9 Gospel of Grace, Not Works

Galatians 1:6-9  I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you by the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel —  which is really no gospel at all.  Evidently some people are throwing you into confusion and are trying to pervert the gospel of Christ.  But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let him be eternally condemned!  As we have already said, so now I say again: If anybody is preaching to you a gospel other than what you accepted, let him be eternally condemned!

The key question about today's scripture is, What gospel is Paul advocating and what is "no gospel at all?"  Paul is writing to the Galatians to express his concern about inserting the law and its regulations as an essential part of being a Christian.   Paul contends that this action destroys the true gospel and that it really is no gospel at all, for the law is powerless to redeem men and women from their fallen state.  Paul was afraid they would forfeit their place with God by relying on their human efforts instead of God's grace, trusting in their works, not his works.  Why did Jesus die on the cross if the law and its regulations could achieve salvation for mankind?  Why did He die and why did the millions of animals who were sacrificed for sin die if righteousness could be attained through following the letter of the law?  Why would anyone die for such an anemic gospel that is so easily attained by people doing and thinking better?  Why?  Why?  Christianity has many facets, many motivating principles to inspire a person to follow Christ.  Some are based on bettering the flesh and society here on Earth, and some our based on spending a better eternity in heaven.  But the overall Good News is that Christ came to save sinners.  Basically Christianity relies on faith in Jesus Christ and his works, not man's works.  Jesus said, For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.  (John 3:16)  Jesus points to eternal life as the reward of faith in him.  The disciples gave their energy and life for this cause.  Even though good works are important in Christians' lives, Paul, Peter, James, and the rest of the disciples went not into the world to meet the people's needs for food, water, and shelter.  No, they risked their lives to tell men and women that God sent his Son to save them from sin and to give them life eternal.  Paul wrote, I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.  Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day — and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing.  (2 Timothy 4:7-8)  They gave all because they knew they were bringing freedom to captives who would then spend eternity with Christ. 

Are we not to do good?  Of course we are!  The fruit of the Holy Spirit--love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control--produces good works.  The product of these wonderful attributes of the Holy Spirit will be the feeding, clothing, and sheltering of people in need as an outgrowth of our faith in God.  As temples of the Holy Spirit, Christians will reflect God's goodness to all people and behave as good stewards of our environment: plants, animals, water, everything.  We will not contaminate God's wonderful creation with violence and destruction.  We will be caretakers of this Earth that God concluded is "very good."  The psalmist wrote, The earth is the LORD’s, and everything in it.  (Psalm 24:1)  But the goal of the early church and Paul's mission was not to make people aware of the concerns of the world but to present the salvation message of Christ to a fallen people.  Paul wanted to protect this gospel and that is why he was so troubled about the Galatians returning to the old law and its regulations?  Why does he consider this a different gospel or not a gospel?  He knew it was dangerous because adding works to grace fits so well into the basic waywardness of mankind.  Since the fall in the Garden, mankind has always wanted to be a god unto himself.  His nature is to prove that his ability to do good rests in himself, not in God.  His will, not God's will.  "Who needs God, for I can function on my own."  "Give me the map God: give me the directions and then watch me do it."  "Watch me do the right thing."  "Watch me be like you."  "I will be good like you."  "I WILL DO IT."   Jesus said, Why do you call me good?  No one is good — except God alone.  (Mark 10:18) This is the basic sin that corrupted mankind from the beginning.  The Israelites when presented with the Law said:  "We will do it.  We will fulfill our side of the covenant."  But they failed miserably.  The Old Testament was a schoolmaster to teach us one thing: We need a Savior, someone who can fulfill our side of the covenant of righteousness with God.  Only Christ could bridge the gap that separated us from our God; only Christ could sign his name to the new covenant.  

The price for the fulfillment of our side was the death of the perfect man, Jesus Christ.  He knew no sin, the perfect sinless lamb.  The gospel is that the Lamb was placed on the altar for all people for all time.  John wrote, If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.  (1 John 1:8)  If we know the truth at all, we know all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.  (Romans 3:23)  None of us will be placed in God's intimate presence without the sanctifying blood of the Lamb, cleansing and covering us.  Jesus alone pleased God completely.  The Bible says, The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word.  (Hebrews 1:3)  In other words, Jesus is perfect, holy and right in all that He does, for as He said when He walked on Earth, his only desire is to please the Father and to do his will.  This is the gospel: while we were yet sinners, He gave his life for us.  Paul was zealous for this message, gave his life for this message.  Paul, the intellectual and Pharisee of the highest regard, knew no man could please God by obeying the law.  In Acts the disciples asked, who can obey all the law, implying: none of us.  Paul was asking the church at Galatia and we much ask ourselves why we strive to be good or pleasing to God by trying to obey the law or by our good works.  Paul knew that all men needed a gate of righteousness in their lives to take them to God.  He also knew he was saved by grace alone.  Paul told the Ephesians they had been lifted up into heavenly places with Christ because of God's grace.  He went on to say, For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith — and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God — not by works, so that no one can boast.  (Ephesians 2:8-9)  We are not going to just recoup the position Adam and Eve had with God in the Garden.  That was a "very good" existence, but the gospel states that we will be known as adopted children in the household of God.  This is what Paul considered the results of the true gospel.  The plans God has for us in his family are beyond our imagination.  What a new heaven, a new Earth, will look like is beyond our comprehension or experiences.  But we know Jesus went to prepare a place for us, and He said, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.  (John 14:3)  

Galatians 1:1-4 Give Grace and Peace

Galatians 1:1-4 Paul, an apostle — sent not from men nor by man, but by Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised him from the dead — and all the brothers with me, to the churches in Galatia: Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, who gave himself for our sins to rescue us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, to whom be glory for ever and ever.  Amen.

When Paul writes the above words to open his letter to the church in Galatia, he is claiming literally that what happened to him on the road to Damascus was of supernatural origin.  He is not saying he is an apostle to the Galatians because of his own desires or because he was sent by others to minister to them, or even because he has had some spiritual revelation or some powerful conversion, (even though it was powerful and dramatic), he is saying that Jesus Christ himself commissioned him to preach the Good News to all people.  As he neared Damascus on his journey, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him.  He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?”  “Who are you, Lord?” Saul asked.  “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,” he replied.  “Now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.” (Acts 9:3-6)  Indeed, Paul's arrival in Damascus was not as he anticipated.  Initially coming as a firebrand zealot for God and his laws, instead he arrived as a helpless, blind man, dependent on others, who did not eat or drink for three days.  Then God called a believer, Ananias, to go to Paul and tell him what his mission on Earth would be from that time on: But the Lord said to Ananias, “Go!  This man is my chosen instrument to carry my name before the Gentiles and their kings and before the people of Israel.  I will show him how much he must suffer for my name.”  (Acts 9:15-16)  Paul's life was immediately transformed from a hater of Christ and his followers to a proponent of Christ's teachings and to a love of his followers.  Thus we have Paul preaching and teaching the good news to the unsaved and to the church.  

Paul's mission to the world was not to redeem the good from the bad: his mission was to redeem all people from this evil world, for all have sinned.  All have a death sentence upon them because of unrighteousness.  On the Damascus Road, Paul found the answer: But now a righteousness from God, apart from law, has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify.  This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe.  There is no difference, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.  God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in his blood.  (Romans 3:21-25)  Paul's directive from Jesus to go into all the world to preach his word was not an easy order to accomplish, for with the implementation of Jesus' command would be trials and personal suffering.  He experienced all kinds of deprivation and persecution in his given mission of spreading the good news, mostly at the hands of "good people," the self-rightious,  who denied they needed a savior.  Since they were made in the image of God, they believed they had a special place with God.  They believed good teaching, laws, and conditioning can redeem man from his wicked ways.  As the Communists believe, "good people" often believe if they get children early enough in their lives and condition them well to do good, then they will work for the benefit of others and society.  Of course that philosophy failed miserably in Russia and in many other utopian societies, for people in their fallen nature are gods in their own eyes and work for their own good.  "My will be done, not God's will" is their creed.  As the Bible says, We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all.  (Isaiah 53:6)  One time when Jesus tried to go away to a solitary place, when he got out of the boat, He saw many faces before him.  When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. So he began teaching them many things.  (Mark 6:34)  Outside of Christ, people wander into the confusion, frustration, and chaos of sin.  

Jesus Christ came to rescue us from this evil age, to deliver us from our broken spiritual bodies, our broken lives.  He came to make us whole, to free us from the captivity of sin and all its ravages.  This was Paul's message: freedom from sin and darkness.  Many received, some did not.  Those who did not receive this message of grace and mercy turned to increased hatred and maliciousness toward the one who brought them a message of life eternal.  Paul said this to those who boasted in Corinth: I have worked much harder, been in prison more frequently, been flogged more severely, and been exposed to death again and again.  Five times I received from the Jews the forty lashes minus one.  Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was stoned, three times I was shipwrecked, I spent a night and a day in the open sea, I have been constantly on the move.  I have been in danger from rivers, in danger from bandits, in danger from my own countrymen, in danger from Gentiles; in danger in the city, in danger in the country, in danger at sea; and in danger from false brothers.  I have labored and toiled and have often gone without sleep; I have known hunger and thirst and have often gone without food; I have been cold and naked.  (2 Corinthians 11:23-27)  They followed Paul from city to city, stirring up crowds against the message of peace and redemption.  They spread gossip about Paul in the secular world as well as the church of Christ.  Their intentions were to prove goodness came from man's efforts, by following the law, or as the Gentiles tended to believe, the right gods or principles.  This attitude of independence from the Creator is ingrained deeply into man's fallen nature: "I will make it on my own, I am right with God, He will accept me for who I am.  I don't need a savior."  Paul came with a contrary message: Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, who gave himself for our sins to rescue us from the present evil age.  Paul believed the world needed a Savior.  His faith was so strong in that belief that he gave his all, even his life.  Do we hold to a faith that energizes our lives?  If we don't really believe the world needs a Redeemer, we will merely share good ideas, a nice way of living: doing good is better than doing bad.  But if we believe the world needs a Savior, we commit everything to God and his salvation message.  James said, Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do.  (James 2:18)  HOW MUCH DO YOU BELIEVE?  

Mark 16:15-20 Preach the Good News

Mark 16:15-20  He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation.  Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.  And these signs will accompany those who believe: In my name they will drive out demons; they will speak in new tongues;  they will pick up snakes with their hands; and when they drink deadly poison, it will not hurt them at all; they will place their hands on sick people, and they will get well.”  After the Lord Jesus had spoken to them, he was taken up into heaven and he sat at the right hand of God.  Then the disciples went out and preached everywhere, and the Lord worked with them and confirmed his word by the signs that accompanied it. 

As we look as today's verses, we want to state up front that we have read some of the commentaries that discuss the controversy regarding the ending of Mark. In the early manuscripts of Mark several versions exist: some are shorter than the one we have in our Bibles.  To solve this problem, some Bible scholars believe there is evidence to support that the ending on the longer version was added in the second century.  We believe that God oversaw the making of the Bible and the Holy Spirit came upon people to write the words He wanted us to have for all time.  Nonetheless we realize the canon was debated when the final cut was made as men made the decisions concerning which books would be included and which manuscripts would be followed.  We did find it interesting that the NIV Commentary said, "Nowhere else do the Scriptures promise immunity from snakes and poisons, certainly not in the Gospels.  It is doubtful that the Lord would have promised this unconditionally to all believers."  In support of this, we know the snake handling religious sects do get bitten and sometimes die.  This seems an activity that does not glorify God but borders on making faith into a carnival event.  On the other hand we find evidence that completely supports Christ's commission: Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation.  When Jesus was preparing his disciples for his departure, He said, I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing.  He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father.  And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father.  You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.  (John 14:12-14)  Jesus often declared He was the way to the Father as He prepared his disciples to carry the good news of his saving grace to the world.

Certainly, throughout the New Testament, we see the disciples going forth to fulfill God's desire that people believe and be baptized in Jesus' name.  When Paul and Silas were in Jail, praying and singing hymns to God and a great earthquake opened all the doors of the cells, the jailer was about to kill himself; for he thought the prisoners had escaped.  But when Paul called out,  The jailer called for lights, rushed in and fell trembling before Paul and Silas.  He then brought them out and asked, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?"  They replied, "Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved — you and your household."  (See Acts 16:25-31)  Paul and Silas knew the answer to that important question: they were about their Father's business.  Whether walking the dusty roads from town to town or singing songs in prison, their purpose was to go into all the world and save sinners.  Without a doubt, Jesus sent out his disciples.  Paul wrote to the Romans: How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in?  And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard?  And how can they hear without someone preaching to them?  And how can they preach unless they are sent?  As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!”  (Romans 10:14-15)  God sent out messengers to reach the lost, and He has given us the Holy Spirit to do this task.  When Paul sent his letter to the church at Galatia, he was saddened by their behavior.  He asked them, I would like to learn just one thing from you: Did you receive the Spirit by observing the law, or by believing what you heard?  Are you so foolish?  After beginning with the Spirit, are you now trying to attain your goal by human effort?  He was asking them how they functioned, how they operated as children of God.  Where did their strength come from when they spoke to an unbeliever?  He goes on to ask, Does God give you his Spirit and work miracles among you because you observe the law, or because you believe what you heard?  (Galatians 3:1-2 & 5)  You are performing the miracles Jesus promised you would do, Paul says, but where does the power originate?  It is through observing the law or through the resident Holy Spirit given to you in abundance? 

How easily we forget the source of our hope, our strength, our joy, our peace, our victory over sin and death.  How soon we can turn to our own fleshly endeavors: human observances, rules, regulations, schedules, good works, and the like.  We hope as we put everything in order that we will please our Lord and make ourselves more acceptable to him.  Paul told the Galatians: Consider Abraham: “He believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.”  Understand, then, that those who believe are children of Abraham.  (Galatians 3:6-7)  Yes, we must CONSIDER ABRAHAM if we are to live in the Spirit and please God.  We want to have the faith of Abraham, yet we are in a much stronger position to have that faith, for we are children of the promise.  Paul explains, The Scripture foresaw that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, and announced the gospel in advance to Abraham: “All nations will be blessed through you.”  So those who have faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith.  (Galatians 3:8-9)  As we walk in this blessing, we are known as the children of Abraham, those who walk by faith, and the children of God, now lifted up with Christ who arose from the dead.  Because Jesus won the victory over death, we are his miracle-working ambassadors who go forth with a mighty message of faith that brings light into darkness.  By faith we count on the Holy Spirit within us to reap a harvest of the fruit of the Spirit as we interact with others.  As they see love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control in action through us in our everyday dealings and actions, they will see Jesus.  We do not go out and serve Jesus because we are bound by a law or because that is what Christians are supposed to do.  We go out because we are adopted into a family that loves the world.  Jesus said, By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.  (John 13:35)  This is our calling, this is our family spirit: For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.  For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.  (John 3:16-17)    

Mark 16:9-14 Do We Stubbornly Refuse to Believe?

Mark 16:9-14 When Jesus rose early on the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene, out of whom he had driven seven demons.  She went and told those who had been with him and who were mourning and weeping.  When they heard that Jesus was alive and that she had seen him, they did not believe it.  Afterward Jesus appeared in a different form to two of them while they were walking in the country.  These returned and reported it to the rest; but they did not believe them either.  Later Jesus appeared to the Eleven as they were eating; he rebuked them for their lack of faith and their stubborn refusal to believe those who had seen him after he had risen. 

Fear seemed to penetrate the hearts of those who had to do with Jesus immediately after the resurrection.  Just as the women who came to the tomb were afraid, and lacked faith to tell anyone they had talked to a young man dressed in white who told them Jesus was risen, those who had been with him and mourned his death did not believe he appeared to Mary Magdalene.  Neither did they believe a second report from two of their number who said they had seen Jesus while walking in the country.  Fear and unbelief filled the hearts of those closest to Jesus while He had fulfilled his earthly ministry.  This same Jesus who conquered death and the grave had prepared them for his death and resurrection, yet they seemingly had lacked ears to hear, and now did not believe.  Early in his ministry, when Jesus cleared the money changers from the temple, He said, “Destroy this temple, and I will raise it again in three days,” prophesying his resurrection from the dead.  (John 2:19)   Later, He told his disciples, “The Son of Man is going to be betrayed into the hands of men.  They will kill him, and on the third day he will be raised to life.”  (Matthew 17:22-23)  We find this same message throughout Christ's interactions because his death, burial and resurrection are at the heart of God's salvation plan for mankind.  Even the Old Testament speaks of the Messiah rising from the dead.  David wrote: Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices; my body also will rest secure, because you will not abandon me to the grave, nor will you let your Holy One see decay.  (Psalm 16:9-10)  We also read this prophecy: Come, let us return to the LORD.  He has torn us to pieces but he will heal us; he has injured us but he will bind up our wounds.  After two days he will revive us; on the third day he will restore us, that we may live in his presence.  (Hosea 6:1-2)  These Jewish disciples knew these and other verses, and they had heard the words of Jesus, yet they could not fathom their Lord actually appearing to Mary and to two of their own.

No wonder Jesus rebuked them when He appeared to the disciples as they were eating for lacking faith and not believing the good reports.  He knew they should have rejoiced, but they had drawn back in unbelief rather than embracing the truth of his victory over the grave--a victory he had foretold numerous times in their presence, a victory substantiated by God's Word and angels from on high.  Sometimes we humans are so dense.  We ask a lot from God.  He blesses us so abundantly and in so many amazing ways, yet when a trial comes our way, how quickly we turn to doubt and despair.  "Count your blessings, name them one by one.  Count your many blessings, see what God has done!"  These words should be more to us than part of an old gospel song.  Every Christian is so blessed.  We often say to each other: If the Lord never answered another prayer for us, never undertook on our behalf, never healed us again, we would have to praise him for all eternity because we are so greatly blessed.  Our salvation alone would be enough, but we can add to that a list so long that it goes on forever speaking of his many blessings to us.  The 40th Psalm says it all for the believer: I waited patiently for the LORD; he turned to me and heard my cry.  He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire; he set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand.  He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God.  Many will see and fear and put their trust in the LORD.  Blessed is the man who makes the LORD his trust, who does not look to the proud, to those who turn aside to false gods.  (Psalm 40:1-4)  Jesus had done exactly what He said He would do; nonetheless, his beloved followers could not accept that He was alive and appearing to his own.  They lacked faith to hear and to see in the spiritual realm because they were caught in the natural world.  They could mourn Jesus' death and burial, but they lacked faith to celebrate his new life!

How often do we draw back from what is new in the Lord, from what He has prepared in advance for us to do.  Since Christ died and was made alive, we are alive in him.  Paul wrote of this great miracle: But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions — it is by grace you have been saved.  But God did not stop at merely saving us by his grace: He has filled us with his Holy Spirit and called us to do his work: For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.  (Ephesians 2:4-5 & 10)  Jesus always has a plan for his co-workers, God's joint-heirs with Christ Jesus.  Jesus did not just appear to people that day to say, "See, I told you I would rise again."  He had a much greater purpose.  He had work to do.  He had a commission to impart.  He had unfinished business with his disciples.  He as always was about the Father's business.  The disciples were spiritually asleep, but Jesus was waking them up one more time.  The Bible says Jesus chastised his chosen messengers of the Good News for their lack of faith and their stubborn refusal to believe the reports about him.  The word stubborn stands out.  They did not just fail to believe, but they dug their heels in and adamantly said, "We refuse to believe you saw Jesus."  Even though three people came back with the wonderful news of encountering Jesus, they did not believe.  This reminds us of Thomas' reaction to the risen Christ, “Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe it.”  Jesus came to them and had Thomas touch his hands and said, "Stop doubting and believe."  Only then did Thomas say, “My Lord and my God!”  Jesus went on to say, “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”  (See John 20:25-29)  This is our position as Christians today.  Do we believe in Jesus as Lord and Savior?  Do we serve him and his church and praise him for his many blessings while looking for his return?  Do we have eyes to see him and ears to hear him in our everyday lives as we give a drink of water in his name or help the helpless?  Can we say to others, "I have just seen Jesus, and He is alive!  He is alive in me and He wants to live in you!"   

Mark 16:1-8 Jesus Arose, So Will We!

Mark 16:1-8  When the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices so that they might go to anoint Jesus’ body. Very early on the first day of the week, just after sunrise, they were on their way to the tomb and they asked each other, “Who will roll the stone away from the entrance of the tomb?”  But when they looked up, they saw that the stone, which was very large, had been rolled away.  As they entered the tomb, they saw a young man dressed in a white robe sitting on the right side, and they were alarmed.  “Don’t be alarmed,” he said.  “You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified.  He has risen!  He is not here.  See the place where they laid him.  But go, tell his disciples and Peter, ‘He is going ahead of you into Galilee.  There you will see him, just as he told you.’”  Trembling and bewildered, the women went out and fled from the tomb.  They said nothing to anyone, because they were afraid.

In these scriptures, we find the two Mary's and Salome, motivated by love, going to the place of Jesus' entombment to anoint his body.  But to their surprise, Jesus was not there.  For sure, Jesus was already in another place.  He is not here, the angel said.  How often in our lives do we look for Jesus in the wrong places.  As Christians we know Jesus is always with us because of his abiding Spirit in us, but often this truth does not suffice us.  We want something extra to prove that Jesus is in our lives, a special something that will gives us confidence that Jesus is guiding our lives.  The commission and promise of Jesus is not enough for us: “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.  Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.  And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”  (Matthew 28:18-20)  We often want something that our senses can perceive.  When we are struggling in our faith, we sometimes claim we would be much better Christians if only we would have walked with him during his time on Earth, seen all of his miracles, listened to his wise and profound teachings, touched him as the disciples touched him, and truly known him in person.  With that knowledge and experience, we believe we would be full of faith, never fearing that He is not concerned about us, or doubting that He is constantly with us.  We believe a life like the disciples had with Jesus would give us the faith we need to be steadfast and confident in our relationship with the Lord in all situations. 

The stone blocking the tomb was rolled away when the women arrived.  No longer would Jesus be hampered by the physical constraints of this world.  His biological self received life; no corpse was left in the tomb.  He would move in and out of physical matter at his will.  In a nanosecond, He would be where He desired.  Jesus the man had risen--life had conquered death.  Life eternal surged through his body.  The tomb could not hold God's plan for him.  As He is risen so are we risen.  The Spirit of God raised him from the dead, implanted in him the life He had from the beginning, for He is the beginning and the end, everlasting, without end.  We who are IN HIM have this same life dwelling in us regardless of our feelings or thoughts about our daily struggles.  The tomb is empty: so are our tombs empty.  The flesh will not dictate our futures, for our earthly death sentence has been paid.  Life eternal is our inheritance.  As joint-heirs with Christ, our reality is the HOLY SPIRIT IN US.  Why can we not catch hold of this miracle?  Mostly because we remain bound to the laws of nature, unable to escape fully the sentence of death on our biological beings.  Paul shares his struggles when his fears were not only about his possible demise but also about how bound his flesh was to sin and its consequences.  We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about the hardships we suffered in the province of Asia.  We were under great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired even of life.  Indeed, in our hearts we felt the sentence of death.  But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead.  (2 Corinthians 1:8-9)  As we have mentioned before, Paul understood the war of the flesh and the spirit.  So I find this law at work: When I want to do good, evil is right there with me.  For in my inner being I delight in God’s law; but I see another law at work in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within my members.  What a wretched man I am!  Who will rescue me from this body of death?  Thanks be to God — through Jesus Christ our Lord!  (Romans 7:21-25)  It is difficult to understand or to appreciate that WE ARE IN HIM and He IS IN US.  We seek to find him in our feelings, wanting to sense something special, something our fleshly body can detect.  We want a miracle, more of this blessing or more of that substance, such as wealth.  We want these things, but the angel says the tomb is empty.  You will not find him here in your fleshly realm.  

We are risen with him if we believe wholeheartedly in his work at the cross and in his resurrection.  He no longer has to prove anything: It is finished!  The tomb is empty: He now dwells in us through his lovely Spirit.  How often we want to see a reality that our senses can detect, that our rational minds can embrace, something we can measure and prove real.  But the risen Jesus comes to us in a Spirit as One who can go through doors, who can abide in each of us as we reach out to interact with him in faith.  We know faith unlocks the door to Jesus.  Intractable faith brings salvation and brings us into a heavenly existence, another domain.  God has not allowed us to approach him in our rational thinking.  For example, to prove our importance to the God of existence, He could have made this earth the biggest heavenly body, allowing all other bodies to circle our wonderful earth.  Instead, the earth is but a speck, hardly discernible when we look into the immenseness of space.  The rational mind might conclude, we must not be that important.  Similarly, if God values us, why hasn't he created an earth where all is good, where all the people love him.  Why do so many people live in darkness, away from his authority, serving themselves?  Why doesn't He use his omnipotent authority to create an existence of complete happiness, where all would know there is a good God who loves them?   This is the kind of thinking we pursue to validate the existence of God and to prove He is the giver of good things.  We believe if there were no wars, no disputes, no problems, no sickness, no disease, no devouring of living things, this would demonstrate God's existence and his concern and love for us.  He must exist and we know how to prove it!  Why then his silence?  Why?  Because faith is required to know God.  And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.  (Hebrews 11:6)  Not the rational mind or the thinking processes, but unadulterated faith pleases God: faith in Jesus' work at the cross, faith in the open tomb, faith that He has come to rescue us from sin and death.  This kind of faith makes the world mad.  They neither understand nor desire to understand it.  God has not allowed any other Gate into his presence or for us to enter into his heavenly family.  Humans seek a validation of God's existence, scientific proof or at least a logical, satisfying deductive consensus of his existence, something to substantiate a belief in God.  But we Christians know the tomb is empty: He is not there.  HE IS IN US: ALIVE FOREVER IN THE HEARTS OF THOSE WHO LOVE AND SERVE HIM!   We are NOW AND FOREVER a part of God's eternal family.  Amen!  

Mark 15:42-47 Rescue Mission Accomplished!

Mark 15:42-47  It was Preparation Day (that is, the day before the Sabbath). So as evening approached, Joseph of Arimathea, a prominent member of the Council, who was himself waiting for the kingdom of God, went boldly to Pilate and asked for Jesus’ body.  Pilate was surprised to hear that he was already dead.  Summoning the centurion, he asked him if Jesus had already died.  When he learned from the centurion that it was so, he gave the body to Joseph.  So Joseph bought some linen cloth, took down the body, wrapped it in the linen, and placed it in a tomb cut out of rock.  Then he rolled a stone against the entrance of the tomb.  Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joses saw where he was laid.

Jesus lost everything at the cross.  His lifeless form was taken down from the cross by Joseph of Arimathea.  Jesus did not and could say at that time, "Joseph, I will let you take my body off the cross now, and please take me to your tomb cut out of rock.  Make sure you wrap my body in linen, for later on the linen found in an empty tomb will be an important sign of my resurrection."  No, Jesus did not and could not have said any of that after his experience on the cross, for Jesus lost everything when He surrendered completely.  He died as we die, with no hope of anything except God's faithfulness.  Peter's message on Pentecost about the resurrection of Jesus states:  "But God raised him from the dead, freeing him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for death to keep its hold on him.  David said about him: 'I saw the Lord always before me.  Because he is at my right hand, I will not be shaken.  Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices; my body also will live in hope, because you will not abandon me to the grave, nor will you let your Holy One see decay.'"  (Acts 2:25-27)  Peter goes on to explain what David meant by saying, “Brothers, I can tell you confidently that the patriarch David died and was buried, and his tomb is here to this day.  But he was a prophet and knew that God had promised him on oath that he would place one of his descendants on his throne.  Seeing what was ahead, he spoke of the resurrection of the Christ, that he was not abandoned to the grave, nor did his body see decay.  GOD HAS RAISED THIS JESUS TO LIFE, and we are all witnesses of the fact."  (Acts 2:29-32)  In the cross we see the complete sacrifice of the Lamb of God: innocent, harmless, and pure.  We see Jesus Christ giving his all for humanity that He made in his image that He might also live in us.  Because we are created in his likeness, we have the capacity to hold the fulness of Christ in us: For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form, and you have been given fullness in Christ, who is the head over every power and authority.  (Colossians 2:9-10)

Why his death, the complete emptying out of life, if we are made in his image and can contain the fulness of God's attributes, his goodness in us?  Why the Bible?  Why redemption?  The answers are found in the Garden of Eden story, in the partaking of the tree of knowledge.  With that knowledge of good and evil, we can become the lord of our lives; and by extension, as we gain power, the lord of others.  We can decide what is right or wrong for the people around us as our self-interests rise to the top in our dealings with others.  If we take authority for the direction of humanity away from God, we are no longer subject to God's will.  We decide to do our will on Earth, not God's will on Earth as it is in heaven.  All of this self-interest and self-direction leads to chaos, disruptions, arguments, fights, wars, and sorrows of every kind.  As the Bible says in Isaiah 53: "We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all."  Unchecked, this self-willed existence leads to complete corruption.  Even Christians, who do not take time to pray and read the Word, have difficulty controlling their actions and reactions.  Paul told the Romans that nothing good lives in our sinful nature.  He said, I do not understand what I do.  For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do.  (Romans 7:15)  That is why we have laws, policemen, courts, judges.  All of these agencies and institutions help bring order to our societies.  We can easily understand why the Bible talks about being very careful when talking or going against the authorities in a society.  Even Paul apologized for talking against the High Priest who ordered Paul to be struck in the face.   Those who were standing near Paul said, “You dare to insult God’s high priest?”  Paul replied, “Brothers, I did not realize that he was the high priest; for it is written: ‘Do not speak evil about the ruler of your people.’”  (Acts 23:4-5)  Self-direction and self-willed decisions tend to separate us, not bind us in a peaceful co-existence.  We need an answer for this turmoil.  And the answer is in the Word of God, in Jesus alone.  

Recently, Dad woke up in the middle of night and felt the Holy Spirit talking to him about the essence of the Bible, the reason for the Bible.  The Lord spoke to him: "You needed to be rescued."  He knew this was not for him in the singular. The "you" was for humanity.  Humanity needs to be rescued.  Without rescue, we are under the punishment of death as it was in the days of Noah.  Then the Spirit added, "You needed a Savior."  To be rescued, we need a savior who has the power and authority to deliver us from this abyss of judgment.  Dad knows the Bible from the beginning, and starting with Abraham the message is one of rescue.  God gave the law to rescue people from chaos, from living according to their own needs and desires.  God gave the law to imprint a message of light, peace, and harmony on the Jewish society.  To cover the immediate judgment of God on sin, the penalty of death was placed on animal sacrifices instead of on humans.  Christ's death at the cross fulfilled the promise of God: I will make men in my own image.  Jesus' death, his agonizing demise, rescued us and brought us life through the presence of the Holy Spirit in us.  We who are IN CHRIST because of faith in him have vicariously and in reality entered into the very presence of God.  Through Christ's death, a NEW CREATION has been made.  We are no longer walking with God as in the Garden of Eden, occasionally experiencing his presence and fellowship.  No, we are constantly in his presence because of Jesus through the Spirit in us.  “Where, O death, is your victory?  Where, O death, is your sting?”  (1 Corinthians 15:55)  Jesus paid it all.  When Paul was despairing his dreadful state and the war of flesh and spirit, he cried out, What a wretched man I am!  Who will rescue me from this body of death?  Thanks be to God — through Jesus Christ our Lord!  (Romans 7:24-25)  Paul had found the one whom to know is life eternal!  Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.  (John 17:3)  When Joseph was carrying Jesus' body to the tomb, he did not realize this was a holy moment: he was carrying the key, the gate to life everlasting for all people.  He lay the body of the begotten Son in that tomb; but three days later as Christ arose, the millions of adopted sons and daughters left that tomb as well!  Rejoice, church, rejoice!