Since his creation in 1940 the Green Lantern has gone through several changes, the latest being the release of the movie by Warner Bros. Common to all forms and tales of the Green Lantern has been the power of the ring which grants its bearer the ability to create anything his mind can imagine. This movie will make tons, along with most of the other superhero movies that have come out. Why? We love to dream.

            As men, we especially dream of having the power to solve world problems. I dream daily of being able to fix every problem facing members of my family, my church, and all my friends. But alas, though I often claim to be a superhero in disguise to my kids, I have no ring. I have no superpower skills. Or do I?

            The greatest superhero story unveiled itself two thousand years ago. Different from all the comic books and movies, this story is real. Paul records what our Savior has done for us in Colossians 1:13: “He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son.” Jesus had no ring. Instead, he had love and holiness. He shed his blood to pay for our sins and save us from the domain of darkness because he loved us. His great power came in the form of humility. 

            “…though (Jesus) was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.” (Philippians 2:6-8) 

            So, we are rescued. But it gets even better than this! We are saved by our Superhero, Jesus, and called to be superheroes! This calling comes not with a ring or a lantern, but with power that comes from Jesus. “May you be strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy, giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light,” (Colossians 1:11-12). We have his power, and we have his promise: “Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do, because I am going to the Father,” (John 14:12).

            Men, we are called to be superheroes for Jesus to our families, our church, and our community. We need not wait for a calling, for we have been called. We need not wait to be equipped, for we have the Spirit of God with us. Who could possibly be against us! But remember, the great power of Christ came in the form of humility. So must ours.

Pastor Drew

He loves righteous deeds;

The upright shall behold his face”

Psalm 11:7

            Do you know people who seem to have a more intimate relationship with God? They use different words to describe how he loves them and how they love him. They talk about spending time “with” God. Hearing about these intimate encounters with God, perhaps you have sought that kind of intimacy “with” him yourself. In your efforts to be with God you set aside time in your day to read your Bible. You may set your alarm clock a few minutes earlier to pray. In the end, though, you feel as if you are striving for the impossible, or at least the intangible. You cannot see God. You do not hear him. You feel no touch from him.

            You are not alone. I have had the same experience. Many Christians feel that experiencing closeness to God is something that we will never know in a tangible way this side of heaven. I have always taken verses from the Bible, like the above verse from Psalm 11, to mean that one day we will “behold his face” in heaven. It is true that we will one day see God. It is true that we will experience him in ways never imagined when we get to heaven. But it does not mean that we are left to walk only by faith believing that God is real even though we do not experience him.

            “Whoever keeps his word, in him truly the love of God is perfected.” (1 John 2:5)

            John, in a letter written to Christians, showed us the pathway to greater intimacy with God. It is by keeping his word. Obedience will foster, grow, and even “perfect” our love relationship with God.

            John was merely passing on to others what he had been told by Jesus: “Whoever has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me. And he who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and manifest myself to him.” (John 14:21)

               Jesus said this to his eleven closest followers. They loved him. They had left their lives behind to follow him. He was inviting them to demonstrate their love for him by obeying him. The result would be that Jesus would disclose himself to them. Interesting. He was sitting right there in front of them. The promise is that our obedience to Christ will result in a deeper, richer relationship with him.

            A chapter later Jesus invited these close followers to “abide” in him (John 15:4). By inviting them to abide in him Jesus was not inviting them into a relationship with him. They already had that. These verses and promises are for those who already have a relationship with Jesus. They are for Christians. This is an invitation for those who already know God to know him more deeply. It is an invitation to be close to God.

            He told them that they could not do anything without Jesus. There is no secret formula to abiding in Christ. We somehow think that we have to muster up some kind of connectedness to Christ in order to abide in him. The simple formula is to obey. The fact that we cannot do anything without Jesus is simply stating that we cannot bear any good fruit without obeying him. By obeying we are abiding. By abiding we will know him deeply. It begins with obedience. The result is more than good works. The result is that Jesus will disclose himself to us. That, my friends, is being close to God.

Memory Verse: “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.” (John 14:15)

            “Kids, do you know who we are peeling potatoes for today?”

            “Yes Dad, the Marines”

            “No. It is true that Marines are coming for lunch today and they will eat all of these potatoes. But there is someone even more special that we are fixing these mashed potatoes for.”

            I would then tell them about Matthew 25:31-46. You can read the whole passage, but the gist of my encouragement to my kids were the words of Jesus, “…as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me” (Matt. 25:40 ESV). I wanted my children to know that showing love to Marines who were far from home was the same as showing love to Jesus. I assured them that Jesus would be very pleased with the mashed potatoes. You should have seen the peelings fly!

            That Jesus equates helping those in need as the same as helping him is not only true during the holidays. It is true all year long. It seems though that at this time of year we see more clearly those who are lonely, hungry, thirsty and marginalized. Perhaps it is because we tend to spend more money on ourselves and our family this month.

            This is the perfect time of year to remember another statement that Jesus made: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself” (Matt. 22:39 ESV). This is no small statement. The fact is that this is one of two commands that make up the two greatest commands given. Love God and love others as yourself. Jesus said that “all of the law and the Prophets” hang on these two commands.

            Men, may I give you a challenge as we enter the month of Christmas? Gather your family for a meeting. Read through these two passages with them. Then discuss how, as a family, you can love Jesus and others during this Christmas season. Do you have a budget for how much money you will spend on yourselves? If you do not, I recommend that you create one. I know I am probably in the minority, but I set aside money every month all year long for Christmas spending. This is the month that my wife and I sit down and figure out how we will use our Christmas money. My plan this year is to sit down with my whole family and encourage them that we should love others as much as we love ourselves. In other words, I am going to ask them that we use half of the money we saved for Christmas on others who have needs. This means that our Christmas spending on others who have need will match our spending on ourselves.

Here are some ideas for how you might spend your money this month:

• Go to www.VOMbooks.com (Voice of the Martyrs) where you can donate funds or materials to Christians in persecuted areas of the world.
• Bring gifts and food to church for our December 19, Be the Church day.
• Make a special “over and above” gift to BBC to help fund the pancake breakfast on December 19.
• Simply give some money to a family who is struggling more than you this year.
• Buy a few gift cards at practical stores or grocery stores to have on hand to give away as you see need this month.

            My challenge to you is to lead your family this month to love others as much as you love yourselves. Imagine the how excited you would be to buy Jesus some food, clothing or a Bible! That is precisely the opportunity that you and your family have.

            One last request: send an email to darliskas@bethanybiblechurch.org and share your stories of how this goes for you and your family.

Have a great December!

Pastor Drew

            “You must judge religion by what its practitioners do” was one of the statements made. By which side do you think it was made? Think about it for a minute before reading on. Is that a statement that confirms that religion is a force for good or a statement claiming that religion is a force for evil? Which one is it? Even if you exchange “Christianity” for the word “religion” you will probably have the same confusion.

            I am sad to tell you that it was the Christian apologist who made that statement. The Crusades, the Inquisition and the Salem Witch Trials all came to my mind (and the mind of the atheist). But as the debate continued I could not get my mind off of that statement. What if my church is judged by what it does? What if my life is judged by what I do? I guarantee you, they are. I can look at my church and my life and see some very good activity. I am so proud of my church and the other Christians I associate with. They are doing beautiful things. I also know of activity, though, in my church by which an atheist could point a finger and claim evil. The same is true of my life.

            I had never attended a debate like this before. My expectations were high. Yes my disappointment came from the weak statements made by the Christian apologist. My disappointment grew, though, as I began to see the purpose of a debate. There were both Christians and atheists present. I suppose in a debate you would like to see your point of view presented in such a convincing way that those who disagree with you might have a change of mind and heart. The very question of religion being a force for good or evil made this an absolute impossibility! In fact, I wonder how many people have ever changed their minds because of the force of a debate. Every time the Christian apologist stopped speaking the Christians in the auditorium applauded. Every time the atheist stopped speaking the atheists applauded. Everyone was sure of their position, holding to it strongly. I know I was. There would be no changing of any minds that night.

            Then I began to think of something Jesus once said: “Put your sword back into its place. For all who take the sword will perish by the sword” (Matt. 26:52 ESV). Jesus said this to Peter who had drawn his sword and cut the ear off of the servant of the high priest. Jesus was not making a statement to support banning swords. In fact, when Jesus sent his disciples out he instructed them to carry a sword (Luke 22:36-38).

            The statement Jesus made to Peter telling him to put his sword away shows us how Jesus expects his Kingdom to advance. Peter was willing to fight to protect Jesus’ life. I believe he also would have been willing to fight in order to advance the Kingdom. But it would not be by force that Jesus’ Kingdom would be advanced. Words that come to my mind are sacrifice, humility, love, and service. This is what Jesus showed us. This is how we shall advance his Kingdom.

            I think the same could be said for debates and arguments. Sure, a debate can be entertaining, but no debate will advance the Kingdom of God. If you want to live by debate (seeking to advance the Kingdom) you will probably die by debate. So how will we advance God’s Kingdom? The same way Jesus did, with sacrifice, humility, love, and service.

 Press On, men!

Pastor Drew

            It is time to take a lesson from a woman (Do I hear an “Amen” from your wives?). It is not typical to read in a devotional to men about the example of a woman. You will see it this week and a few more times in the future as we seek to learn from some of the people from the pages of the Bible.

            Sarah’s life is, in a way, opposite from Noah’s whom we looked at last week. Noah lived an incredible life of faith and obedience that has gone down in history. Yet, upon close examination we see that his life of faith seemed to fizzle out at the end. Sarah’s life is the other way around.

            To be fair, the issues discussed below of lying and unbelief regarding Sarah are largely due to the failures of her husband, Abraham. Here, though, lies the real beauty of this struggling couple and their faith.

            A famine forced their direction to Egypt, but this was not the direction that God set them in (Gen. 12:1). Abraham knew the culture of Eastern kings and feared for his life because of the beauty of Sarah. As a result, Abraham was willing to trade the virtue of his wife for his life. It was a half truth that they told (Gen. 12:12-13), but a half truth is a whole lie. It was wrong of Abraham and wrong for Sarah to go along with it. Men, know that, as a pastor, any chance I have to speak to your wives I desire to help them know that nowhere in the definition of being a submissive wife does it also mean that they are to cover up or aid in your sin. Abraham’s idea should not have gone as far as it did. Their sin as a couple impacted others (Gen. 12:18).

            You think they would have learned as God rescued them from the hands of Pharaoh and from their twisted plan. I suppose if I remain detached from the truth about myself I can easily judge them when this same sin appears again in Genesis 20. I could judge them and conclude that they should have known better. But a close examination of my life would remind me that I often do not know better. Consider this perspective:

            “We can never be too careful against falling into the old sin. One might well imagine that after the bitter experience in Egypt, Sarah would never again consent to act a lie. It was a sharp lesson for both the woman and her husband, and yet we find them falling exactly where they had fallen before….When we think of the repeated lapse of good people like Abraham and Sarah, we are reminded that we can place no trust in ourselves.”[i]

            Not only did this couple often demonstrate a lack of integrity, they also lacked faith. Abraham laughed and suggested a different plan when God made sure that Abraham knew that the promised child would be from Sarah (Gen. 17:17-18). Sarah had already come up with this provision for Abraham when she was found to be barren. She provided her own servant for Abraham. This was not the plan of God. When Sarah finally heard that the promised child was indeed to be from her womb she laughed (Gen. 18:12-13, 15).

            Do you see the grace that is extended to Sarah? God said that Sarah will have a baby. Sarah laughed. God asked why Sarah laughed. Sarah denied laughing. God said, “No, you did laugh.” God did not change his plan. He stuck with Abraham and Sarah because of his promise to them. He could have gone back to Ur to find another couple and start all over. But he didn’t. When Abraham and Sarah were faithless God remained faithful (2 Tim. 2:13).

            It gets even better! “And Sarah said, ‘God has made laughter for me; everyone who hears will laugh over me.” (Gen. 21:6 ESV) This time Sarah’s laughter is different. She is not laughing at God. She is laughing with joy because God was faithful. Even though she doubted God she still could enjoy what God had done. This is grace. Men, learn this lesson from Sarah! We all have shown faithlessness at times toward God. We all have failed. God, in his wonderful grace, still allows us to enjoy his amazing works. We are not forever sidelined because of our failure. God will still allow us to know his joy.

            Some of you reading this have sidelined yourselves. Because of failure in the past you count yourself unworthy to trust and follow God today. That is not how God operates. Test his grace. You will find it. Get in the game and walk with him again.

 Pressing On,

 Pastor Drew

            However, there are some stern warnings we need to see from the life of Noah. These warnings should cause us to be concerned for how we finish this race. They should make us flex the muscles of our spiritual walk. Paul wrote, “So I do not run aimlessly; I do not box as one beating the air. But I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified,” (1 Cor. 9:26-27 ESV).

            Final words can speak volumes. The lack of final words can speak even more. The life of Noah was great. We should look and learn from it. We should discover from Noah what faith should look like and what faith can manifest in our lives, but we must consider the end of his life as a stern warning for us today. As you will see, there is a great lack of words regarding the end of his life.

            Noah “found favour in the eyes of the Lord” (Gen. 6:8 ESV). He was described as righteous and blameless among his generation (Gen. 6:9; 7:1 ESV). That amazes me. I often look at the world and my culture today and wonder how I will manage to keep myself unstained from its practices. Noah’s generation was a wicked generation (Gen. 6:5,11). Yet among this generation of people whose hearts were set on evil we find Noah living righteously. Yes, I want to learn from Noah.

            Noah obeyed God in the most amazing of ways. God asked him to make a boat, a very large boat. He did this on dry land. God told him the water would come. While Noah built the boat he was a preacher of righteousness (2 Pet. 2:5). Noah devoted his life to this calling of God. He had no mission agency or supporting church. He had no place to turn in his receipts for the materials he needed for the construction of this very large boat. He had nothing but the command of God. “He did all that God commanded him,” (Gen. 6:22 ESV). Now there is an epitaph if there ever was one. What a commentary on Noah’s life. He did everything that God told him to do. It is truly inspiring.

            His success should not surprise us. Success seems to be inevitable when we simply do what God says. “This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success,” (Joshua 1:8 ESV). When God wanted a very large boat built he did not need a large boat builder. He needed an obedient man.

            Our warnings come after we see Noah succeed in what God called him to do. After he had accomplished his task, after he was chosen and rescued from a perverse generation, after he had seen the power and justice of God Noah “drank of the wine and became drunk and lay uncovered in his tent,” (Gen. 9:20 ESV). There are many explanations as to what really happened in Noah’s tent, but it is clear that something bad happened. Noah’s sin then brought negative impact to his son and to all the generations to follow.

            What could cause such a blameless and righteous man to sin? I can only speculate, but I wonder if isolation had something to do with it. Noah had lived upright among a perverse people. He held his reputation. He was the leader of a family and gave them a great example to follow. Then, in a moment of aloneness, Noah decided to experience some of the culture that he had kept himself from for so long. The results were devastating.

            Not much is said of Noah after this. In fact, this incredible story seems to end differently than it began. At the beginning Noah is described as having favour with God, being righteous and blameless. As the curtain is cast on Noah’s life all we read is, “After the flood Noah lived for 350 years,” (Gen. 9:28 ESV). That is all we get. How he lived is, apparently, not worth writing about. How sad.

            The warning to me is that isolation is dangerous. Alone I have the ability to derail my life.  Unaccounted for, I am capable of the same end as Noah. My worst enemy is within me. Sinful passions and desires lurk within me. This is why I seek to have no unaccounted for time in my life. Solitude is good. Even my solitude, though, must be accounted for. Otherwise I may find myself sitting in the midst of a vineyard that could change my life in a way that I would not want.

            Are there any periods in your day or week where you are unaccountable? I know some men who practically live in that mode. Stop! It is dangerous. If that describes you my assumption is that you are already failing. Stop! Find grace (1 John 1:9) and make yourself accountable (Luke 17:3; Gal. 6:1-2; James 5:16).

            Let’s do this thing together so that we too may do all that God commands us.

Pressing On,

Pastor Drew

            I entered Bible college immediately following high school. My plans originally were to follow my parents in their business, but I hungered first to study the Bible. I knew that having not been exposed to God’s Word up until that time there was much for me to learn in order to honor God as a businessman. This all took place in the 80’s. John MacArthur Jr. and his books were very popular.

            By the time I exited Bible college I was firmly rooted in Lordship salvation. My heart was moved from a desire to go into business to a desire to serve God in ministry. After ordination I found myself, with my family, living on Okinawa, Japan in a ministry of evangelism and discipleship among the military.

            I preached and taught what I learned so well. I shared the good news of the free gift of salvation and the need to persevere faithfully as a disciple. I took my understanding of what a disciple was from MacArthur. I swallowed the pill that claimed that Matthew 10 was the definitive statement of discipleship and that saving faith produced obedient disciples. There was a cost to discipleship and any who wished to follow Christ must consider that cost.

            As time went on, however, I began to question my theology. This came mainly as a result of my own personal study of the Bible. I had read Ryrie’s response to MacArthur’s The Gospel According to Jesus in my first year out of college, but I dismissed it quickly. With no mentors and living on a small, Japanese island I had to work hard to prepare myself to teach and disciple. I was teaching three Bible studies a week and always had a number of men I was working with. I found myself having to do summersaults in order to explain the two truths of free salvation and that those who are saved will be obedient disciples. I soon began to doubt what I believed. How could something free demand my obedience in order to know I had it? How was that free.

            When I was studying Matthew 16 I came upon a verse that rocked my theological world. “For the Son of Man is going to come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and will then repay every man according to his deeds, (vs. 27 NASB). This statement made by Jesus comes after his invitation to his disciples to deny themselves, take up their own crosses, and follow him. Jesus had just told them that he was headed for Jerusalem where he would be killed. Then he asked them to follow him at a great cost to themselves. The fact that there was a promise of a reward for how the disciples did this amazed me. Was the reward salvation? It could not be! I could not perform the right mental gymnastics to mingle Matthew 16:27 with the free salvation described in Ephesians 2:8-9. This was something entirely different than salvation.

            As I looked at the context of this passage in Matthew as well as some other passages I began to notice how Jesus spoke differently to people depending on who they were. Yes, Matthew 10 is a key chapter on what it means to faithfully follow Jesus. The conversation recorded in Matthew 10, though, is between Jesus and his twelve disciples (Matt. 10:1; 11:1). In Matthew 16:21-27 Jesus is again speaking only to his twelve disciples. It is in Matthew 11 that Jesus is teaching and preaching in the cities. “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light,” (Matt. 11:28-30). It became clear to me that Jesus was talking about two entirely different things. One was salvation. That burden is easy and light. The other is a life of following him.

            It is a hard thing to dismiss as untrue what one has held as gospel truth. The only way I could hold to my previous beliefs was to ignore the Word of God. My theology changed. My ministry propelled. Free grace was really free! The call to deny myself and follow Jesus was also real and came with promises of reward and warnings of loss of reward. My motivation for obedience was no longer the fear of not being saved. I could truly rest in the saving grace of Jesus. I am even more motivated today to follow.

            I am committed to the gospel of free grace. Most Christians today fail to fully understand how free their salvation is or they do understand but have no motivation toward godly living today. My purpose is to help them read their Bibles better so that they may know the perfect rest of salvation and be passionately motivated to follow Jesus.

Pastor Drew

            About three quarters of the way through the Gospel of John is, in my opinion, the worst chapter break in the entire Bible. Whenever that large “14” was placed in the pages of John’s account of the life of Christ an important message became obscured. If you merely finish reading Chapter 13 of John and close your Bible only to return at a later time to pick up where you left off you have missed one of the greatest demonstrations of grace recorded in the Bible.

            Chapter 13 records some of the conversation Jesus had with his disciples at their last meal together. John recorded more of this event than any of the other gospel writers. In verse 33 Jesus said, “Where I am going you cannot come.” Peter responds with the most obvious question, a question that I am sure every one of the disciples had. It was a question you and I would have asked. Peter asked, “Lord, where are you going?” Jesus followed Peter’s question by explaining that Peter could not follow now but would follow later. It was, in a way, a non-answer. Jesus did not answer Peter’s question. Jesus only explained that Peter would follow later, wherever it was that Jesus was going. Peter then insisted, “Lord, why can I not follow you now? I will lay down my life for you.”

            I like Peter. I think he often gets a bad rap for some of the things he said and did. In my book, Peter was a real man. His devotion to Jesus was not fake or lip service. He is the one who got out of the boat (Matt. 14:22-33). In the garden Peter drew a sword in defense of Jesus and even used it (John 18:10)! I believe that Peter’s profession that he would lay his life down for Jesus was sincere. He meant it. But instead of answering why Peter could not follow Jesus to where he was going Jesus made a frightening prediction about Peter. “Will you lay down your life for me? Truly, truly, I say to you, the cock will not crow till you have denied me three times,” (vs. 38). End of chapter.

            If you read your Bible by chapters you may close your Bible after reading that. You may end thinking how sad that must have been for Peter to hear Jesus say that Peter would deny Jesus. You may even think ahead in your mind knowing that Jesus was right. Peter did deny Jesus three times. Cock-a-doodle-doo. But if you fail to read the next three verses into chapter 14 you have missed the grace that Jesus offers with the terrible prediction.

            “Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also.”

            That is fast acting grace. There is no big number 14 in the words of Jesus. No subtitles. Might we even wonder if Jesus is still looking intently into the eyes of Peter as he says those words of grace?

            These “red-letter words” from John 14 are spoken to you as well. Men, respond to his grace!

Pastor Drew

            Our brains can work like a rolodex of images. When we see or are exposed to an image of a woman that stimulates our brain we have the ability to capture that image and file it in our brain forever. We walk around with images of things we have seen or done even from our youth. Some of these images we were just exposed to because we live in a world that is wrong. It could be a billboard, something on TV, something we did not intend to see. Some of these images, though, are in our mind because at times we have chosen to sin. The image was not exposed to us; rather we exposed ourselves to the image. Even moving on from those times in God’s grace and forgiveness we continue to carry those images for the rest of our lives. I think this is why Peter warned us to “abstain from the passions of the flesh which wage war against your soul” (1 Pet. 2:11). Our minds become the battle field. We don’t need pornography or any other material in order to have X-rated images flowing through our mind. These images can manifest themselves in our minds at the worst times, even in church when we are trying to worship God.

            So what can we do? There is a promise that God gives us regarding temptation and our ability to withstand it. Along with that promise, God gives us the power to stand on that promise. God has given us all we need to live godly lives (2 Pet. 1:3).

The Promise

            God knows how we are tempted. He is the one who wired our brains the way they are. The promise that God makes to us is that he will not allow us to be tempted beyond what we can handle. “No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it,” (1 Cor. 10:13). Do you see the promise in this verse? God is actually involved in your temptation. He is not the one tempting you (James 1:13). But God can be found in the midst of the temptation. He knows about it. His hand is even involved in limiting it. Even if we think the temptation is so strong that we cannot resist, we have no excuse. Not only does God limit the temptation, he also gives us the means to not progress toward sin. He gives us the way out every time. That is the promise.

The Power

            “For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age,” (Titus 2:11-12). We often think of grace as a onetime thing that we receive from God the grants us the forgiveness of our sins and brings us into a forever relationship with him. That is one operation of God’s grace. But grace does not stop there. It is the grace of God that will train us to live godly lives today. God knows this world. He knows how fallen it is. It is racked with sin. But it is not impossible for us to live godly lives in its midst. The power is in God’s grace.

Stay strong, men.

Pastor Drew

            Last week I wrote about God being for us. “What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?” (Rom. 8:31). This verse implies, and the context solidifies that those who are justified by God will never be condemned. “Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgement, but has passed from death to life,” (John 5:24).

            These promises in the New Testament are clear. If you are justified by God (declared righteous) you will never be condemned. The fact that we will never be condemned, though, does not mean that Satan, or even our own sinful desires, will not try to interfere with our newfound freedom. Like sharpshooters sniping at their enemies, we have enemies that would like to distract us from our high ground.

            Our most well known enemy is Satan. Scripture is clear that he seeks to destroy us (1 Pet. 5:8). Should this cause us concern when we have the promise that God is for us (has justified us) and no one can be against us (condemn us)? We should not be concerned regarding our security is Jesus Christ. So, what does it mean that Satan seeks to destroy us? He cannot have our soul. He can, however, keep us from living the life that God wants us to live. Should we be concerned? Yes. He is crafty and deceptive. He has disguises that can fool us (2 Cor. 11:14). He schemes against us (Eph. 6:11). The fact that our eternity in God’s favor is secure does not give us the liberty to take our focus off the battle we are in. Like the snipers of Devil’s Den, we must resist their attack.

            There is another sniper out there seeking to take your attention. He is closer than you think. Like Satan, he seeks to lure and entice his victim. Who is this second sniper? Just look in the mirror. “But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death,” (James 1:14-15). Do you see how powerful the enemy of our own desires can be? Our desire causes temptation which can lead to sin, and sin brings death! Understand that sin does not reverse our justification. Remember the question: “Who can be against us?” The answer is no one, not even you. This is regarding our justification. We will never be condemned by God once we are justified. However, sin will always bring death.

            As a justified child of God do I still have the ability to sin? Unfortunately, yes. Though God promises to cover that sin with the blood of Christ, my sin will still bring death in my life today. It will have tremendous impact on my life, my wife, my children, my community, and my church. Sin will never just happen with no consequences. It brings death. Though the Union Army won the Battle of Gettysburg, the sniper fire from the Confederate soldiers killed many.

            Though God is for you and no one can every condemn you, search out the snipers in your life and deal with them.

Stay vigilant, men.

Pastor Drew