What is grace?
This week’s devotions are based on the Week 8 “Explore God” – What is a Lutheran? (WATCH HERE)
We are coming into a season where grace is ruined. Because grace is a gift.
What do I mean?
The whole premise of the Santa Claus story is that if a child is “naughty” they receive a lump of coal and if they are “nice” they receive gifts. I have heard parents during this time try to discipline their children with phrases like, “If you don’t behave, Santa won’t bring you any presents at Christmas.” I cringe not primarily for the story of Santa, but for the attachment of effort to gifts.
A “Gift” by definition is given regardless of the person’s performance. A gift is merely the expression of love one wants to give to another simply because of their love for them and in no way connected to what they have done to seemingly earn it.
I will grant, even giving a gift can be skewed because inside we have a silent evaluation at times of if a person deserves a gift.
With God there is no question that his gift of Jesus was given without any deference to the performance of people. People didn’t deserve the gift of Jesus. I don’t. You don’t. But God gave.
John 3:16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
God loved…so he gave.
This is grace. Grace is God’s undeserved love for sinners that drove him to do for us what we could not do for ourselves. As we looked at yesterday, our performance would never meet the perfect standard God demands. But Jesus’ perfection did. And it’s this perfection we are given.
But it’s even hard to receive a gift.
A common response to receiving a gift from an individual is, “Oh, you shouldn’t have.” Perhaps I am misreading this statement, but what I hear (because I hear it in myself) is this, “I didn’t do anything to earn your gift so you shouldn’t have given it.” Again, skewing the definition of a gift. If receiving gifts was based on our performance and we “should” be given a gift…then it’s no longer a gift. It’s a wage.
The Apostle Paul clarifies this for us
Romans 11:6 And if by grace, then it cannot be based on works; if it were, grace would no longer be grace.
When our salvation rests in God’s grace alone, my heart is not settled by “I did enough” but it is settled by the fact that God gave it to me. The objective reality of God’s gift of Christ’s life, death and resurrection far surpasses and subjective evaluation of my performance before God. Grace alone is a key focus of a confessional Lutheran church. We teach and focus on it because it is the Bible’s focus. Why? Because God in his love wants us to find certainty in our eternity with him because of his gift of grace, not our effort or performance. In God’s grace there is always certainty.
Apply: What makes it hard to truly give a gift or receive a gift? How does that challenge affect your perception of God’s gift of grace he gives to you?
Prayer: Lord, we praise you for your heart of love that was willing to give the greatest gift to us so we might have eternal life with you. AMEN.
Are you perfect?
This week’s devotions are based on the Week 8 “Explore God” – What is a Lutheran? (WATCH HERE)
Romans 1:16-17 For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes: first to the Jew, then to the Gentile. 17 For in the gospel the righteousness of God is revealed—a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: “The righteous will live by faith.”
Years ago I was asked to do a word study on the Hebrew word that is translated, “righteous” and the word that is translated “justice.” The discovery of this study led me to appreciate both terms more and their impact on our relationship with God. “Righteous” or “Righteousness” is the “right adherence to the law” and “justice” is the “right application of the law.” Why is that significant?
God demands perfect righteousness to earn eternal life. This means that every law the Lord has given must always be adhered to. There are no exceptions or excuses. The essence of God’s justice is that he has every obligation to rightly apply the law and its consequences if the law is broken. Thus the conclusion of every individual is a) “I’m not righteous” and as a result b) I fall under God’s judgment. This is not just a logical or linguistic conclusion, it is biblical truth. The Apostle Paul writes in Romans 3:23, “…for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,…”
Most, if not all flavors of religion, try to bridge this gap. The imperfect individual spends time energy and effort to achieve the glory of God. The Muslim performs the Five Pillars. The Buddhist engages in right meditation and material escape. The Hindu lives to align with the many gods they profess. But it is not just world religions. Martin Luther spent the early part of his life under the umbrella of the Catholic Church trying to do enough to achieve the glory of God. He performed penance. He entered the monastery. He went on pilgrimages. All to no avail as his conscience found no rest.
He and we must conclude: I cannot achieve righteousness on my own.
So then who can be saved?
The disciples themselves asked Jesus this and Jesus answered, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible” (Matthew 19:26).
As Luther was able to have access to the Bible, he discovered how one was able to have the righteousness that God demanded, “The righteous will live by his faith.”
The Apostle Paul expands around the verse shared earlier in Romans 3:21-26
21 But now apart from the law the righteousness of God has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. 22 This righteousness is given through faith in[h] Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference between Jew and Gentile, 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. 25 God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement, through the shedding of his blood—to be received by faith. He did this to demonstrate his righteousness, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished— 26 he did it to demonstrate his righteousness at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus.
The amazing truth of the Bible’s teaching is that righteousness is not earned, it is given through faith in Jesus Christ, the one who was righteous for us…as well as the one that God carried out his justice on by punishing Jesus for our sins.
The result for us? We are righteous before God because we have been given the righteousness of Christ.
How? By faith alone…not personal effort or performance…simply as a gift of faith (which is also a gift!).
Apply: What happens spiritually for you when you give up trying to earn perfection and simply receive Christ’s perfection by faith?
Prayer: Lord, thank you for doing what we never could and giving us the perfection, the righteousness you demanded through the perfect life and innocent death of Jesus FOR us! AMEN.
Is Scripture your authority?
This week’s devotions are based on the Week 8 “Explore God” – What is a Lutheran? (WATCH HERE)
Scripture Alone…
We live in an era of unprecedented access to the Bible. Yet we live in an era of biblical ignorance. One can find copies of the Bible for very little money or free electronic versions on their phones or devices. In seconds all the content of the Bible is available for one to read and use.
Yet, without any research, the issues of 1517 are the same as 2023. The difference of 1517 was that people did not have access to the Bible and had to rely on whatever someone told them was in the Bible. Bible’s were hand copied and translations in local languages were not existent. People have Bible’s readily available today, but rely on what others say about the Bible and so remain ignorant of what the Bible says. To be fair, this is my perception based on personal experience and not reliant on any scientific research or study.
But the outcome is the same. When people do not read the BIble for themselves, they rely on and believe those that talk about the Bible…clergy, college professors, or social media reels. In 1517 in Martin Luther’s day they relied on the leaders of the church and the local priest to tell them about spiritual things.
In both settings, people were spiritually misled and confused.
Martin Luther as a monk and a professor of theology was given access to the Bible. He started to read it for himself and what he discovered is that the teachings of the Catholic Church were not in agreement with the teachings of Scripture. The church was selling forgiveness through indulgences and promoting personal effort to obtain the right relationship with God. The church was leaving consciences troubled. The Gospel was working on Luther’s heart to bring peace in the righteousness that Jesus had obtained for him. Romans 1:16-17 captures this key teaching:
16 I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile. 17 For in the gospel a righteousness from God is revealed, a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: “The righteous will live by faith.”
Now there was a tension…would the authority of the church prevail over the Scripture as it had done for years or would the authority of the Scripture prevail over the church? Luthers’ desires was the latter, but the reality was the Pope and leaders of the church would not change the traditions and teachings of the church to align with the authority of Scripture.
Perhaps the same is true today. Cultural pressures, academic philosophy, and personal feelings carry more weight in the realm of religion than the authority of Scripture. As a result one seeks to make the BIble say what they want it to say and ignore the parts that would challenge their way of thinking. The Bible is let go of as the authority and one’s reason and feelings become the primary guide for faith and life.
But not so for confessional Lutherans. For confessional Lutherans, the authority of Scripture is the ultimate authority. If the teaching of the church contradicts Scripture, Scripture wins. If reason, culture or feelings pull against the teaching of Scripture, Scripture wins. Every time. For when the authority of Scripture plays second to tradition or reason, all authority is lost. That is what we don’t want to ever lose!
16 All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, 17 so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. (2 TImothy 3:16-17)
Apply: What blessing is it to always default to the authority of Scripture?
Prayer: Lord, keep us steadfast in your Word;
curb those who by deceit or sword
would seek to overthrow your Son
and to destroy what he has done. AMEN
Why all the different Christian churches?
This week’s devotions are based on the Week 8 “Explore God” – What is a Lutheran? (WATCH HERE)
Over the past weeks we have looked at seven key questions about the Christian faith. Perhaps after all these questions are answered, the confusion of sorting through the many Christian denominations becomes the real challenge. In any given community there is a Catholic Church, Baptist, Presbyterian, Church of Christ, Anglican, Methodist, Calvary Church, non-denominational and more.
So how does one sort out and find a church that will support and grow their faith and their relationship with God? What is the difference between all the different Christian churches? If you google this question, you may find a summary chart that is helpful, but what I find helpful in answering this question is to trace the history of all the denominations back to their origins in the “family tree of denominations.” When you see the major breaks in the lineage, one can ask, “What happened there?” By understanding the issues behind the reason for the breaks in the line, I can find it helpful to understand the basic differences between Christian denominations. Today’s devotion isn’t going to answer every detail, but this week, let’s touch on some of the major issues and understand the Lutheran position on them.
Disclaimer: These devotions are not to negate the possibility of true believers in other Christian churches, but to highlight very important differences that have potential to mislead people away from Christ.
1517 is the year marked as the “Protestant Reformation.” Since it was initiated by Martin Luther, we as Lutherans call it the “Lutheran Reformation.” 🙂 As one can see most of mainline protestant churches were offshoots of the initial work done by Martin Luther.
Martin Luther was raised in a Catholic home. He grew up in the Catholic Church and was well aware of the tenets of that theology. The Pope was the ultimate head. The works of penance must be done to achieve satisfaction for sin. The Church was the authority and to question that authority was tantamount to entering the fires of hell. As a young man, he was caught in a thunderstorm and made a vow that if he survived, he would enter a monastery and become a monk. Monasticism was viewed as the ultimate work of faith as one put off the material temptations to simply focus on the spiritual life. However, as Luther engaged in the full effort of being a monk, he found his conscience more troubled and his relationship with God more filled with fear. The harder he worked to appease God the more guilty he felt. He found no rest for his soul in the works of his life.
How is one right with God became a key question Luther wrestled with. Fortunately, as a monk, he had access to a Bible and was also invited to teach theology in the University of Wittenberg. As he read the Scripture, he discovered a righteousness that is by faith in Jesus Christ. But what does one do when the authority of the Pope, the decrees of the church and the utterances of the Councils contradict the Scripture? What is the ultimate authority for the faith and life of a believer?
This was a second question that Luther wrestled with, “What or who is the ultimate authority for faith and life?” Perhaps a third question that was present was “How do the works of Christ become mine personally” – i.e. the matter of faith.
Still to this day these key questions of 1517 are questions that must be asked today. As we delve into these questions this week, we will also see they are still important questions to have answered as we look for a Christian Church. The answers that Luther discovered have become not just the Lutheran answer, but the biblical answer. After all, Luther settled his heart in the amazing truths of Scripture.
John 17: 17 Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth.
Apply: What has helped you find a church to support you in your spiritual growth and confidence of faith in Jesus?
Prayer: Lord, thank you for faithful servants like Martin Luther who were willing to risk their lives for the sake of the Gospel and the truth of your Word. Help us to have the same boldness and courage in our generation. AMEN.
Value God’s Communication with you!
This week’s devotions are based on the Week 7 “Explore God” – Can I Know God Personally? (WATCH HERE)
Proverbs 4:10 Listen, my son, accept what I say, and the years of your life will be many. 11 I guide you in the way of wisdom and lead you along straight paths. 12 When you walk, your steps will not be hampered; when you run, you will not stumble. 13 Hold on to instruction, do not let it go; guard it well, for it is your life.
Do these words sound like ones your parents would say to you? Perhaps you have words of wisdom that you maybe didn’t appreciate when you were younger, but now looking back, the words carried more weight and wisdom than you ever realized at the time.
A marker of a relationship is that there is care and conversation between the individuals. This is very true of God’s relationship with us. Really the whole Bible are his words that he wants his children to hear, take to heart and put into practice. In these few verses from the book of Proverbs, you see God using the author of Solomon to speak to his sons, and people in general, the words and wisdom of God.
Here’s a few things about the words of God which them so amazing and important in our lives.
- They bring blessing and longevity to our lives. Following God’s word and wisdom certainly bring blessing to our lives as we listen to them and put them into practice. They keep us out of trouble, replace stress and anxiety with peace, foster healthy relationships and much more. The result is not only blessings emotionally and spiritually but also physically.
- God’s Words guide us in ways of wisdom. The world has a lot to offer in the way of wisdom and philosophies and teaching that are easy to buy into, but do not convey accurate and life-giving truth. God’s wisdom guide us along a path that has dangerous ditches on either side. One ditch can lead us away from God’s truth and the other side of the ditch can make God’s Word say something it wasn’t intended to.
- Life has fewer obstacles. Parents have the perspective of life experience and in the sharing of information simply wish to prevent their children from experiencing the same challenges in life they faced. How the child responds is not in their control, but the purpose is to prevent them from getting in trouble and experiencing hardship they could have avoided. So it is with the Word of God. God speaks into our lives with the perspective of eternity and infinite experience to guide us in a way where we will not stumble or face unnecessary obstacles. Life will still have its challenges, but perhaps we can avoid many of them simply by listening and putting into practice the loving words of God.
- The wisdom, teaching and insight it gives is priceless. Social media, the internet and bookshelves are filled with individuals sharing human wisdom. Reading or listening to some of it may provide some value for this life, however, the Word of God communicates both great value for this life, but most importantly the words of God speak into our hearts eternal life. It’s this value that is priceless.
Apply: What aspect of God’s communication to us in his Word is the most significant for you? Which aspect is one you maybe didn’t think about much, but encourages you to put the Word more actively into your life?
Prayer: Lord God, thank you for initiating and preserving your relationship with us. As you speak to us in your Word, help us to find the joy and blessing of you taking the time to speak to us. AMEN.