Christ DId Not DIe For Nothing

"I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.

I do not frustrate the grace of God: for if righteousness come by the law, then Christ is dead in vain."

                             (Gal 2:20-21 KJV)

This past week I have been thinking a lot about these verses written by St. Paul to the Galatians.  

There seems to be a lot of confusion about who saves whom; who it is that makes us righteous. Again, I remind everyone that we, you and I, cannot save ourselves. We also cannot save anyone else. Only Jesus saves. It is by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone that we are saved.

Do not frustrate the grace of God because there are no good works that will make us righteous. There is nothing that we can do to save ourselves. No, not anything! Our righteousness; our salvation are purely gifts from God purchased for us by the blood of his only begotten Son. If it were actually possible for us to do so much good that it outweighed the evil that we have done then Jesus would have suffered and died on the cross for nothing.

That does not mean that good fruit is not produced by the Christian. More aptly it is produced through the believer.  For when we are baptized into Christ, Christ abides in us and we in him. When we are baptized into Christ, we are crucified with Christ. We die to ourselves and he; his abiding presence, works through us.

It is Christ in us who does good things through us. We ought to humble ourselves and remember that without Christ we can do nothing good. But with Christ all things are possible.

Jesus likened himself to the vine. We are the branches of the vine. As in all plant growth the branch cannot bear fruit except it be attached to the vine. 

"Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me.

I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing." (Matt 15:4-5)

So be careful about showing off your piety. The Pharisees did that and they did not love Jesus. They loved the law. Do not exalt yourself because you consider yourself so good because you chose Jesus. Remember that long before you were even born he chose you. He chose to die for you. That is the good news. He died for you because you and I were not good enough to enter into the presence of God. But, now we are because of his good work on the cross; not because of anything that we do.

Jesus did not die in vain. He loves us so much that he was willing to humble himself and die on that cross for us sinners that we might live life in the presence of God; in the heavenly kingdom, where peace, love, and hope know no bounds.

God's Peace - Pr. J.

Practicing Piety Before Others; An Abomination

“Beware of practicing your piety before others in order to be seen by them; for then you have no reward from your Father in heaven." (Matt 6:1 NRSV)

“Beware of the scribes, who like to walk around in long robes, and love to be greeted with respect in the marketplaces, and to have the best seats in the synagogues and places of honor at banquets. They devour widows’ houses and for the sake of appearance say long prayers. They will receive the greater condemnation.” (Luke 20:46-47)

Beware! Beware of making a show of your faith. If one has to make a show of it, then they ought to examine themselves and question whether it is really faith in God that inspires them or if it is that they are trying to inspire others with their own goodness. The latter will not instill faith. Faith comes from the Word alone who is Jesus the Christ. 

A servant of God is a servant of his people. A servant of God is not one who stands before others and says, "Look at me. See how devout I am!" A servant of God will kneel before others to help them put on their shoes and they will do this quietly without alerting the world to their good deed. 

Jesus was a wandering teacher and preacher. If he owned anything, it was the clothes on his back. He came to this world for the sake of others, not for himself, and then he told us that we too must deny ourselves if we would be his followers.

He called the crowd with his disciples, and said to them, “If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. (Mark 8:34)

False piety, the obscene showing of our own righteousness is an abomination. It has caused many to have faith in their own works. No man's works can save him. Faith alone in Christ alone will inspire us to love and serve our God and his children quietly according to the gifts that he has given us. 

Get rid of those fancy robes; quit with the pious words that seem so pious yet are self-aggrandizing. Speak and act, as Jesus did, for the sake of others not for yourself. After all, he did not have to die for himself. He died for the sake of the whole world. Then, rejoice for you have been called to take up your cross and follow him!

God's Peace - Pr. J 

Wipe The Dismal Look Off Of Your Face, Please!

“Beware of practicing your piety before others in order to be seen by them; for then you have no reward from your Father in heaven.

And whenever you fast, do not look dismal, like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces so as to show others that they are fasting. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward. But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, so that your fasting may be seen not by others but by your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you."                                                                             (Matthew 6:1, 16-18 NRSV)

The look of the dismally pious has a tendency to make me wonder who they think they are fooling. Do they not understand that when many of us see pious, dismal looking Christians we do wonder whom they are truly serving? Are they serving God or themselves? Witnessing people serving the Lord, with love, usually brings a smile to my face and joy in my heart because those who are truly serving the Lord and not doing works to get the approval of humankind or trying to win their way in to heaven are very grateful to have the opportunity to serve Him. Whether we are serving the Lord out of love for him or out of self-righteousness is usually visible on our faces; in our very demeanor.

I am not saying that you should be walking around happy, happy, happy all of the time. I am simply saying that if you never find joy in your Sunday routine of worshipping the Lord simply because it is nothing more than a routine for you; if you never find joy in helping your neighbor or visiting a sick friend in the hospital; if you never find joy in serving the Lord by serving others then there is a problem. 

Worshipping and serving the Lord is not a mere ritual that will keep you from the fires of hell. Worshipping and serving the Lord is an act of love. Because he first loved us, we love him. And, as the song goes, "They will know we are Christians by our love." (John 13:34-35)

As you follow in the footsteps of Jesus, do not look dismal, like the hypocrites; but, rejoice for in him for you have been reconciled to God our Father. Rejoice, for you who were not his children are now his children! The gates to paradise have been opened for you. 

God's Peace - Pr. J