Thoughts
on Devotions – LD32
Q.
86
Since we have been delivered from our misery by grface through Christ
without any merit of our own, why then should we do good works? Q.
87
Can those be saved who do not turn to God from their ungrateful and
unrepentant ways?
DeYoung,
in The
Good News We Almost Forgot,
titles
this chapter “Shall We Sin that Grace May Abound.” He notes that
this Lord's Day begins the section on Gratitude. He then makes
several important observations regarding what we often refer to as
“sanctification.” First, he says that the same Spirit that caused
our regeneration and gives us faith also works to make us more like
Jesus. Further, our “good works” are not an installment plan to
pay God back for salvation – they must be done out of gratitude and
to bring praise to God's name. Good works are the fruit that gives
proof of the Spirit's work in our life and an assurance of our
salvation. DeYoung also addresses sexual morality as an issue for
Christians in our culture. We are often ineffective in this area
because of our own dabbling in sin. Christians have bought into the
“find yourself” identity rather than looking to Christ for our
identity; we need to work at lovingly confronting our culture in this
area. He says that we need courage, humility, love, hope and prayer
in order to address these issues and make a difference.
Monday:
Christ has accomplished everything for our salvation, then why must
we do good works? Before we came to Christ we had to sin – we had
no choice. A thorn bush cannot produce figs. Once that we are in
Christ we must produce good fruit. The Spirit causes us to want to
please God.
Matthew
7:16-18
You will recognize them by their fruit. Grapes are not gathered from
thorns or figs from thistles, are they? In the same way, every good
tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree
is not able to bear bad fruit, nor a bad tree to bear good fruit.
2
Corinthians 5:14-15, 17
For the love of Christ controls us, since we have concluded this,
that Christ died for all; therefore all have died. And he died for
all so that those who live should no longer live for themselves but
for him who died for them and was raised... So then, if anyone is in
Christ, he is a new creation; what is old has passed away - look,
what is new has come!
Tuesday:
The
Catechism gives 4 purposes for doing good. The first is to show
thankfulness to God for the gift of salvation through Jesus
accomplishment. If someone does not show repentance or continues to
live primarily for themselves it is a warning that they may not be in
Christ.
Colossians
2:6-7
Therefore, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to
live your lives in him, rooted and built up in him and firm in your
faith just as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness.
Wednesday:
A
second reason to do good works is so that God is praised as a result
of our actions. God loves holiness and wants us to be holy. We praise
and please God when we try to be like him. Even though our efforts
are feeble and marred by sin, God is please when we try to live holy
lives.
Hebrews
13:15-16
Through him then let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to
God, that is, the fruit of our lips, acknowledging his name. And do
not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for God is pleased
with such sacrifices.
Thursday:
A
third reason for doing good is to be assured of our faith in bearing
fruit. Saving faith produces fruit. If we love sin and refuse to give
it up, we are of the devil, not of God. Even though we still sin, if
we hate sin and strive to live for God we have assurance the Spirit
is at work in us.
1
John 3:7-10
Little children, let no one deceive you: The one who practices
righteousness is righteous, just as Jesus is righteous. The one who
practices sin is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning
from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was revealed: to
destroy the works of the devil. Everyone who has been fathered by God
does not practice sin, because Godʼs seed resides in him, and thus
he is not able to sin, because he has been fathered by God. By this
the children of God and the children of the devil are revealed:
Everyone who does not practice righteousness - the one who does not
love his fellow Christian - is not of God.
Friday:
The
fourth reason for doing good is so that others are attracted to
Christ. Some may dislike someone's efforts to be holy, while
inconsistent living may earn a “hypocrite” label. Sincere and
humble efforts to follow Christ and serve others will cause some to
want to know more.
Matthew
5:14-16
You are the light of the world. A city located on a hill cannot be
hidden. People do not light a lamp and put it under a basket but on a
lampstand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way,
let your light shine before people, so that they can see your good
deeds and give honor to your Father in heaven.
Saturday:
The
point to save us from sin is to save us to righteousness. God's
purpose throughout the Bible is to have a people from himself who
want to be holy and obedient. His plan of salvation is to redeem and
equip a people who will become like his perfect Son. Anyone who loves
sin and refuses to turn from it is not God's child.
Ephesians
3:3-4
Blessed is the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has
blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms in
Christ. For he chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world
that we may be holy and unblemished in his sight in love.
Romans
8:29
because those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to
the image of his Son, that his Son would be the firstborn among many
brothers and sisters.
1
Corinthians 6:9-11
Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of
God? Do not be deceived! The sexually immoral, idolaters, adulterers,
passive homosexual partners, practicing homosexuals, thieves, the
greedy, drunkards, the verbally abusive, and swindlers will not
inherit the kingdom of God. Some of you once lived this way. But you
were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of
the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.
Reading
between the lines...
What
does the Kingdom look like? In Matthew 19 it looks like little
children. The disciples tried to keep the children from Jesus, but he
said that not only are children welcome, but we must all become like
children – dependent and helpless. Little children gladly receive
without thought of earning or paying back. We often assume roles in
service to Jesus: a commander/soldier; an employer/employee; a
worshiper trying to stir our enthusiasm – Jesus wants us to come as
a little child.
Matthew
19:13-15
Then little children were brought to him for him to lay his hands on
them and pray. But the disciples scolded those who brought them. But
Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me and do not try to
stop them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.” And
he placed his hands on them and went on his way.
Jesus
uses comic images – using a bucket for a lampshade, an eye doctor
who is trying to remove a speck from a patient's eye while he has a
2x4 in his own eye or a thorn bush trying to produce figs. And if
you are trusting in earthly wealth to get to heaven it is like trying
to thread a camel through a needle. A self-confident rich young ruler
asks Jesus what he must do to have eternal life. Jesus advises him to
keep the commandments which he reports he has done! Jesus uses the
law to undermine his self-confidence, but he doesn't get it – he
says that he has achieved this. Jesus ups the ante and takes him
where he will not go – and the law exposes him – he is asked to
give away all of his wealth and follow Jesus which he will not do.
The point is that human effort cannot achieve the Kingdom of God –
it only can be achieved as God extends grace and welcome.
Matthew
19:23-29
Then Jesus said to his disciples, “I tell you the truth, it will be
hard for a rich person to enter the kingdom of heaven! Again I say,
it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a
rich person to enter into the kingdom of God.” The disciples were
greatly astonished when they heard this and said, “Then who can be
saved?” Jesus looked at them and replied, “This is impossible for
mere humans, but for God all things are possible.” Then Peter said
to him, “Look, we have left everything to follow you! What then
will there be for us?” Jesus said to them, “I tell you the truth:
In the age when all things are renewed, when the Son of Man sits on
his glorious throne, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve
thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. And whoever has left
houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or
fields for my sake will receive a hundred times as much and will
inherit eternal life.
How
do we deal with death – the options are to deny it or to befriend
it. The majority position is to deny it, putting it out of our mind.
Hebrews says that we are enslaved by our fear of death. The other
popular response is to befriend it – it is the “circle of life”
– we pretend that it is not a dreaded enemy. Jesus does not deny
death and he does not compromise with it – instead he enters in and
defeats it. We need his caring and his conquering – he is a
comforting conqueror. Jesus wept at Lazarus' death, he cared for the
grief of his friends. But he also conquered, commanding Lazarus to
come out of the tomb. A decomposing corpse obeys his command and
comes out of the grave and live again. Jesus commands the dead to
rise and they obey – the miraculous sign points to his identity –
he says to Martha, “I am the resurrection and the life.” Jesus is
the key who unlocks the grave. All who believe in Jesus, even if they
go to their grave, will receive everlasting life. Jesus makes the
claim and then raises the dead – and soon after shows victory over
death in his own resurrection. We must face death as the enemy that
it is, but also know that Jesus conquers death – we need to trust
him to join in this victory.
Hebrews
2:14-15
Therefore, since the children share in flesh and blood, he likewise
shared in their humanity, so that through death he could destroy the
one who holds the power of death (that is, the devil), and set free
those who were held in slavery all their lives by their fear of
death.
John
11:33-37
When Jesus saw her weeping, and the people who had come with her
weeping, he was intensely moved in spirit and greatly distressed. He
asked, “Where have you laid him?” They replied, “Lord, come and
see.” Jesus wept. Thus the people who had come to mourn said, “Look
how much he loved him!” But some of them said, “This is the man
who caused the blind man to see! Couldnʼt he have done something to
keep Lazarus from dying?”
John
11:25-26
Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who
believes in me will live even if he dies, and the one who lives and
believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?”
Regeneration:
it is usually thought of as 1) science fiction; 2) a personal
spiritual experience, e.g., being born again; 3) a cosmic
regeneration, the whole world born again – this is the
regeneration, or rebirth, of all things. History is headed for a
rebirth and renewal – after judgment there is renewal, heaven and
earth reborn and everything set to rights. When Jesus asked the rich
young ruler to sell all it might seem like he is called to a
diminished life, but in the renewal he would receive 100 times as
much – our calculations are too short-term and narrow-minded. Peter
also seems self-righteous and doubtful about return on investment.
Jesus offers not this life, but a new cosmically regenerated life.
John
3:3
Jesus replied, “I tell you the solemn truth, unless a person is
born from above, he cannot see the kingdom of God.”
Matthew
19:27-30
Then Peter said to him, “Look, we have left everything to follow
you! What then will there be for us?” Jesus said to them, “I tell
you the truth: In the age when all things are renewed, when the Son
of Man sits on his glorious throne, you who have followed me will
also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. And
whoever has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or
children or fields for my sake will receive a hundred times as much
and will inherit eternal life. But many who are first will be last,
and the last first.
People
tend to rank and compare themselves to others – self-justification.
Yet King Jesus becomes the servant of all. The first becomes last –
a “sword thrust through the heart of our self-justification.” Who
are we in the story? Gentiles are the workers who have been standing
around all day doing nothing. We have been invited in at the 11th
hour and then have received all of the blessings of Abraham. We are
not the hard working laborer – our self-justification is dashed on
the on the goodness of Jesus. Jesus declares that generosity is the
atmosphere of his Kingdom, and self-justification is out. Those
clambering for the front of the queue find that it leads to jealousy
and fighting – Jesus' Kingdom runs instead on mercy and generosity.
Matthew
20:10-12
And when those hired first came, they thought they would receive
more. But each one also received the standard wage. When they
received it, they began to complain against the landowner, saying,
ʻThese last fellows worked one hour, and you have made them equal to
us who bore the hardship and burning heat of the day.ʼ
Jesus
is a lowly king who arrives on a donkey rather than a war horse.
Jesus subverts our expectations – he doesn't return triumphantly
from battle, but is heading for his death. From Crossman's hymn, My
Song is Love Unknown:
Sometimes
they strew His way, And His sweet praises sing; Resounding all the
day Hosannas to their King: Then “Crucify!” Is all their breath,
And for His death They thirst and cry.
Psalm
118 quoted in the passage starts with blessing and praise, but is
then bound with ropes to the horns of the altar. The coming Lord is
the blessed one, but then becomes the sacrifice.
Zechariah
2:10-11 “Sing
out and be happy, Zion my daughter! For look, I have come; I will
settle in your midst,” says the Lord. “Many nations will join
themselves to the Lord on the day of salvation, and they will also be
my people. Indeed, I will settle in the midst of you all.” Then you
will know that the Lord who rules over all has sent me to you.
Zechariah
9:9
Rejoice greatly, daughter of Zion! Shout, daughter of Jerusalem!
Look! Your king is coming to you: he is legitimate and victorious,
humble and riding on a donkey - on a young donkey, the foal of a
female donkey.
Matthew
21:1-11
Now when they approached Jerusalem and came to Bethphage, at the
Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two disciples, telling them, “Go to the
village ahead of you. Right away you will find a donkey tied there,
and a colt with her. Untie them and bring them to me. If anyone says
anything to you, you are to say, ʻThe Lord needs them,ʼ and he will
send them at once.” This took place to fulfill what was spoken by
the prophet: "Tell the people of Zion, ʻLook, your king is
coming to you, unassuming and seated on a donkey, and on a colt, the
foal of a donkey.ʼ” So the disciples went and did as Jesus had
instructed them. They brought the donkey and the colt and placed
their cloaks on them, and he sat on them. A very large crowd spread
their cloaks on the road. Others cut branches from the trees and
spread them on the road. The crowds that went ahead of him and those
following kept shouting, “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is
the one who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!”
As he entered Jerusalem the whole city was thrown into an uproar,
saying, “Who is this?” And the crowds were saying, “This is the
prophet Jesus, from Nazareth in Galilee.”
Psalm
118:26-27
May the one who comes in the name of the Lord be blessed! We will
pronounce blessings on you in the Lordʼs temple. The Lord is God and
he has delivered us. Tie the offering with ropes to the horns of the
altar!
Where
can sinners take shelter from the wrath of God? When we become aware
of God's judgment we realize our need for shelter. The worst possible
shelter is religion. Jeremiah prophecies against those who have made
religion a hiding place. God hates this type of hypocrisy. Jesus
brings wine to the party (marriage at Cana) and a whip to the temple
(passage immediately following). Judgment begins with the house of
God – Jesus is the true temple and he is demolished on the cross.
Three days later he is raised again, the true house of God and a
refuge for sinners. The only shelter is the Lamb himself, Christ
alone is our refuge.
Revelation
6:15-17
Then the kings of the earth, the very important people, the generals,
the rich, the powerful, and everyone, slave and free, hid themselves
in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains. They said to
the mountains and to the rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the
face of the one who is seated on the throne and from the wrath of the
Lamb, because the great day of their wrath has come, and who is
able to withstand it?”
Jeremiah
7:4
Then the kings of the earth, the very important people, the generals,
the rich, the powerful, and everyone, slave and free, hid themselves
in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains. They said to
the mountains and to the rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the
face of the one who is seated on the throne and from the wrath of the
Lamb, because the great day of their wrath has come, and who is
able to withstand it?”
Jeremiah
7:9-11
You steal. You murder. You commit adultery. You lie when you swear on
oath. You sacrifice to the god Baal. You pay allegiance to other gods
whom you have not previously known. Then you come and stand in my
presence in this temple I have claimed as my own and say, “We are
safe!” You think you are so safe that you go on doing all those
hateful sins! Do you think this temple I have claimed as my own is
to be a hideout for robbers? You had better take note! I have seen
for myself what you have done! says the Lord.
Matthew
21:12-13
Then Jesus entered the temple area and drove out all those who were
selling and buying in the temple courts, and turned over the tables
of the money changers and the chairs of those selling doves. And
he said to them, “It is written, ʻMy house will be called a house
of prayer,ʼ but you are turning it into a
den of robbers!”
1
Peter 4:17
For it is time for judgment to begin, starting with the house of God.
And if it starts with us, what will be the fate of those who are
disobedient to the gospel of God?
