Give Up to Gain

"...put no confidence in the flesh." (Philippians 3:3)

In the verses that follow this one, Paul lists the reasons he could put confidence in the flesh.

His heritage. His family history. His ancestry.

His education. The degrees he had earned. The books he had read.

His position. The important job that he had. The people that looked up to him.

His character. Single-minded. Devoted. Hard-working.

All those things we can look at and be impressed. This is someone I want to know! This is someone I want to follow! This is someone whom I want to be like!

Paul's conclusion: "But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ" (v 7).

He gave up all of that to know Christ.

"For His sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ" (v 8).

We are not accustomed to giving up very much. We would rather work hard to keep what we have and add spirituality to it. We want all our stuff and Christ.

But there are times in our Christian walk when we have to sacrifice to be obedient to Christ.

We may have to sacrifice a career move, rather than sacrifice a church family that holds us accountable and teaches us the Word.

We may have to sacrifice getting another degree, in order to spend time developing spiritual disciplines.

We may have to sacrifice being close to family, to follow Christ to where He wants us to grow.

Doing what is right can be costly. But the reward of knowing Christ is much better.

It can be painful at the beginning to deal with the loss, but far greater to have the joy of obedience. Far greater to come closer to the Lord and lay up treasures in heaven.

Paid in Full

The writer to Hebrews is contrasting all the greatness of the Old Testament system with the greatness of Jesus Christ. He proves that Jesus is far greater than the angels, Moses, the Law, the sacrificial system, the temple and the High Priest. The thrust of this letter is to challenge those believers who wanted to go back to Judaism while remaining followers of Jesus Christ.

Why go back, when what you have is far superior to what you had?

Of course, the applications are relevant for those of us today who are followers of Jesus Christ, even if we never were a follower of Judaism.

Let's consider one example from chapter 7.

For it was indeed fitting that we should have such a high priest, holy, innocent, unstained, separated from sinners, and exalted above the heavens. He has no need, like those high priests, to offer sacrifices daily, first for His own sins and then for those of the people, since He did this once for all when He offered up Himself (v 26-27).

Jesus is being contrasted with the high priests. Since they were men with a sin nature, they had to first offer sacrifices for their own sins before they could represent the people before God.

And this they had to do every day. Because every day they would sin. Never did a day pass that the high priests did not sin.

Jesus is described as "holy, innocent, unstained, separated from sinners, and exalted above the heavens."

Everything that the high priest wasn't.

Everything that you and I are not.

But look at the end of the verse 27: "...since He did this once for all when He offered up Himself."

Jesus, since He was "holy, innocent, unstained, separated from sinners, and exalted above the heavens," was able to offer a sacrifice that is sufficient for our sins.

All of them.

Not one sin exists in your life that is too great to be covered by the blood of Christ.

Not one sin that you will commit is too great that the blood of Christ will not be able to cover it.

Several benefits arise from that:

1. We know that our sins are fully covered. Not 99%. We don't have to be afraid that when we get to heaven, Jesus will say, "Wait, you forgot to confess this one." "Sorry, you didn't do enough to earn forgiveness for that sin."
2. We don't need to keep sacrificing. Some will repeat the sacrifice of Christ each time they go to church and participate in rituals, hoping that it will be enough to cover their sins of that last week. "Once for all" means that it is completed.
3. We don't need to try to add to what Christ has done. Our sufferings, our good deeds, our obedience, our sacrifices will not add one drop of blood, not one ounce of protection, to the full price that Christ has paid.

"It is finished." 

Your debt has been fully paid.

All you have to do is to accept the truths of God's Word.

You can do nothing else.

Have you done that? Or are you still trying to do it on your own?

Random Thoughts about Giving

Giving seems to be the theme of the month in different studies and Scripture reading. Perhaps it's an area in which I can grow...no, it IS an area in which I can grow!

Here are some random thoughts about giving pulled from various places:

1. God blesses generous people.

"A generous man will himself be blessed, for he shares his food with the poor (Prov 22:9).

"He who is kind to the poor lends to the LORD, and He will reward him for what he has done (Prov 19:17).

2. Biblical generosity involves sacrifice.

The Macedonian churches gave "out of the most severe trial, their overflowing joy and their extreme poverty welled up in rich generosity. For I testify that they gave as much as they were able, and even beyond their ability. entirely on their own, they urgently pleaded with us for the privilege of sharing in this service to the saints" (2 Cor 8:2-4).

3. Biblical generosity is thoughtful, voluntary, and worshipful.

"Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver (2 Cor 9:7).

4. Giving is commanded.

"On the first day of every week, each one of you should set aside a sum of money in keeping with his income, saving it up, so that when I come no collections will have to be made (1 Cor 16:2).

5. While meeting the needs of our family is commanded, laying up wealth (building equity, a large retirement fund, big house, new boat, trendy clothing, extravagant vacations, etc.) is described as a snare to spiritual growth.

"If anyone does not provide for his relatives, and especially for his immediate family, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever (1 Tim 5:8).

"But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that (1 Tim 6:6-8).

"Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment" (1 Tim 6:17).

6. Caring for the physical needs of the disadvantaged is an act of worship.

"Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction..." (James 1:27).

7. Our earthly possessions reveal our spirituality.

"Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also" (Matt 6:19-21).

So, what's the application that you need to be working on?

Do you stop and think about how you could be giving that money rather than spending it?

I've got some work to do, how about you?

Pride and Repentance

Some thoughts from Wednesday night's Bible study:

In 1 Samuel 15, Samuel gave Saul specific instructions to wipe out the Amalekites because of their treatment of Israel in the wilderness. These people had been given centuries to turn from their idolatry to the living God and now God was using Saul and his army as instruments of judgment.

Samuel's instructions from God were to kill every person and every animal. There were to be no survivors.

However, Saul was not obedient. He spared the life of Agag, the king, and the best of the livestock. They got rid of the worthless stuff and kept the best.

The LORD told Samuel that He regretted making Saul king, because he has been disobedient. Samuel spent the night crying out to the LORD and met Saul in the morning.

Saul had erected a monument to himself, no doubt commemorating this great battle. When Samuel met him, the king said, "Blessed be you to the LORD. I have performed the commandment of the LORD" (v 13).

Did he? No. And he was about to be exposed.

Samuel's response, "What then is this bleating of the sheep in my ears and the lowing of the oxen that I hear?"

Dramatic pause. Wait for it.  Here's the answer:

"The people saved the best of the livestock to offer as a sacrifice to the LORD your God."

Lame excuse with a religious twist.

Samuel interrupted the king's lie and reminded him that God had taken him from nothing and made him king. God had given him a command and he failed to obey.

Saul's response, "But I have obeyed the voice of the LORD. I have gone on the mission on which the LORD sent me. I have brought Agag the king of Amalek and I have devoted the Amalekites to destruction. But the people took..."

I did everything right. The people are to blame. Not me!

Samuel reprimands Saul for his disobedience. Obedience is greater than sacrifice. God will take the kingdom from him.

When the king realizes that he had lost everything, then he owns up to his sin. "I have sinned, for I have transgressed the commandment of the LORD and your words, because I feared the people and obeyed their voice."

Notice how he still put the blame on the people?

Saul asks for a pardon from Samuel and for him to accompany the king to worship. He wanted everything to go back to the way it was. To look like everything was in order.

Saul's pride kept him from repentance.

He lied about his sin. "I have been obedient."

He shifted the blame for his sin. "The people made me do it."

He tried to cover it up with religion. "Let's go back and worship."

But he never owned up to his sin against God.

A repentant person will do just the opposite.

He will speak the truth about his sin.  Labeling sin the same way that God does, as sin. Not a disease. Not a genetic weakness.

He will own up to his sin. It's a result of personal choices. Not because of my upbringing. Not because of my environment. Not because of my education. But because I chose to do what I did.

He will not cover up his sin with good works. No amount of good can outweigh an ounce of sin. Even one fleck of sin in my life will make my good works pointless.

The repentant person will confess his sin to God and cling to His grace and mercy found in forgiveness.