holiness

Wholly Loved

/ RedeemedInGrace / 1 Comment

Exodus 19:1-15; Psalm 27:7-14; Matthew 22:34-23:12

 

“I am still confident of this: I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord.” Psalm 27:13-14

God calls His Bride, the Church, to be set apart, as a holy people. We are to “conduct [ourselves] in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ” (Philippians 1:27). How can we live perfectly holy before an Awesome God? Well, we can’t. This is actually good news for us. It is exactly why Jesus sacrificed Himself on the cross to make a way for wayward people like you and me. We cannot clean ourselves up or ever be good enough- there’s a hole in our holiness. Even if we reform the outside, our hearts are dead apart from God. We are no more than a whitewashed tomb.

FullSizeRenderFullSizeRender-2

8FD85E41-09B2-4BE2-B9FE-537CBEBB0AE9

In our Exodus passage, God commands Moses to tell the people of Israel to prepare themselves before entering the Lord’s presence. They were to wash their clothes and consecrate themselves so by the third day they would be ready. Under the New Covenant we have Christ’s Presence always with us as His children. He did the work of making us righteous and presentable before a Holy God.

Jesus does not denounce our lack, weaknesses, or limitations. He tenderly tells those who belong to Him they are condemned no more. The indwelling Holy Spirit patiently teaches us how to live in holiness, as we learn to operate out of God’s power and not our flesh. Our Father promises to not give up on what He’s started in you and me, to make us more like Christ (Philippians 1:6). We can be confident we will see Jesus face to face one day in the land of those who’ve really lived. You are His treasure, holy and loved, wholly loved.

 

Grace upon grace,

April

Set Apart

/ RedeemedInGrace / Leave a comment

Exodus 8:1-9:35; Psalm 24; Matthew 19:13-30

 

There is a fatal misconception that there many ways to heaven- in the end all people are God’s people. This simply isn’t true. The Bible shows us how God set apart the people of Israel for Himself. He is a Covenant-keeping God, long-suffering with wayward, scared, ungrateful and at times faithless people. Good news for us. We aren’t that much different in our sin nature from Israel and yet God still pursues His people, displaying a love and power only He can possess.

The Lord wields His dominion over creation with the plagues He set upon Egypt. Scripture specifically points out how God protected His people from these afflictions, passing over the land of Goshen where the Hebrews lived (Exodus 8:22-23; 9:4; 26). He saved them from His wrathful plagues. The wonder of salvation is that none of us deserve it. We are all dead in our sins, guilty to have plagues set upon us before a holy God. Yet in His great mercy the Lord created and preserved a holy nation, a royal priesthood, the body of Christ, the Church. We who are in Christ Jesus are set apart as His holy possession. All acts of redemption recorded in the Bible foreshadow God’s greatest work in Jesus, rescuing us from the slavery of sin, resurrecting spiritually dead men and women for His ultimate Glory and our eternal good.

2051B620-608A-43F7-9E9C-11FE4797AC62A9EDEF2B-A2DE-4E2A-8A21-E3F02D742AB0C666C5F7-A75F-40EB-BEE1-E953B3B0AE67

Jesus told His disciples that with man salvation is impossible. We cannot save ourselves or find another way to heaven than through Him (John 14:6). But with God, the miracle of salvation is not only possible, He actually made this a reality for all who place their trust in Jesus. God makes the impossible, possible.

Since the beginning of Time it was God’s desire to enjoy fellowship with His creation- us. When we separated ourselves from Him in sin, God made a way in Christ to set us apart once again, but this time with a purpose to make us holy. As Christians we are no longer held captive to our culture and the depravity of man. He has made and is making us holy to be like He is. Paul explains it this way, “And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified” (Romans 8:30). If you are a Christian, you are becoming what God has already called you to be. He is faithful to sanctify you and me until the day of Christ Jesus when we see Him face to face (Philippians 1:6). As God’s beloved, we are set apart to be free.

 

Grace upon grace,

April

The Christian Chameleon

/ RedeemedInGrace / 3 Comments

I don’t remember the play, but I do remember that not even halfway through the 1st Act that I wasn’t going to stay. It was crude and filled with sexual innuendo, mocking sin. I sat contemplating how I was going to make my exit, since my seat was right in the middle of a row, there would be a whole lot of climbing over theatre-goers and “excuse me’s” as I tried not to step on toes, literally. I couldn’t slink out the back door without making a bit of a scene. For this girl who DOES NOT want to draw attention and is more comfortable observing as a wallflower than a participant, this was not an easy move. On top of that, I was with a group of college friends and it crossed my mind that I might be the only one to leave before the curtain came down.

Conviction is a funny thing though. It doesn’t leave room for much negotiation. I knew I couldn’t stay solely on the purpose that God’s values were mocked; HE was mocked. Fumbling in the dark to the nearest door I walked out despite what my friends thought. I can’t remember if all of them followed, but a few did. Driving home I considered how even believers today learn to compromise personal holiness just for the sake of fitting in. I have had my share of compromising as well, but this was one moment where I didn’t. It makes me wonder how the world views Christians. Do we look any different or do we try to blend in?

Jewish men wear a kippah on their head as a sign of recognition. Muslim women cover themselves from head to toe in a burka. Mormon young men evangelize usually wearing black suits and riding bicycles all across the land. So how does the world spot a Christian? Jesus told the Pharisees they were like “whitewashed tombs”, beautifully religious on the outside but like dead bones on the inside. The Jewish leaders were zealous for their laws, traditions, and customs, but missed Perfect Holiness standing right in front of them. Christ pointed out that the people had lost zeal for His Glory.

Not too long ago legalism in the modern Church ruled the day as well. In recent years the pendulum has shifted with the aide of millennials to the opposite end. Christians are more relaxed in dress for church and worship preferences. These changes aren’t necessarily wrong as long as the preaching stands firm and the church is true. But I see the Church cowering to the culture and the consequence is that our Biblical convictions are watered down. Grace is abused and personal holiness neglected. We trade in reverence for Christ wanting to be entertained on Sundays instead.

When the Church follows the trend of tolerance that the world has constructed, apathy for God’s righteousness ensues. Shallowness and compromise seep into our pews because of the belief that to evangelize the world you have to look like it. When believers lack discernment on what movies to watch, music to listen to, plays to attend, and just in general how we spend our time, we lose our privilege to be seen as God’s set apart. Jesus also says in another passage, “Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them” (Matthew 7:20). The product of our desires and what we genuinely value will come out in our everyday speech, actions and thoughts. This is what the world will see. Ask and trust God to move your heart to be zealous for Him, not lukewarm. Let the world know that you are not ashamed to stand up, or stand out, for Jesus’ Glory.

 

Grace upon grace,

April