Six on Entering the New Year

See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is. And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord…
Ephesians 5:15-19

Here are six pointers for walking (living) with the Lord in 2024. Though none are new, they are worth reviewing.

Walk (live) in wisdom. Jesus is the wisdom of God (1 Corinthians 1:24), so let us walk closely with Jesus. And when we lack wisdom in a particular area, let us remember to “ask God” (James 1:5). Just be sure that whatever “impressions” and or “counsel” you receive that may be from the Lord are square with His Word. Too many follow such impressions and counsel assuming it is from the Lord is unbiblical, and therefore not of the Lord!

Know the Lord’s will. The clearest statement in the New Testament about God’s will is found in 1 Thessalonians 4:3. “This is the will of God, your sanctification” (continued growth in holiness). And since we must do God’s will when we know it, let us renew our commitment to holiness above all else.

Be circumspect with anything that alters our minds. If you have liberty to consume alcohol, prudence demands restraint because while drinking alcohol is not sinful, drunkenness most certainly is sinful! And I would presume that we all know that any drug use to alter our minds is also sinful—even though the godless government has made it legal.

Be filled with the Holy Spirit. Every believer is indwelt by the Holy Spirit of God. Sadly, we do not always follow His leading. Let us be reminded that He is in is, and be intentional about following His lead in the strength of His power.

Encourage each other. Since we live in a world filled with negative and discouraging news, let us look for ways to speak words of encouragement whenever possible. In so doing, we will help others, as well as ourselves, be a bit more able to do number 5.

Praise the Lord. Praising God is the opposite of complaining, dissatisfaction, and covetousness. That cannot help but be good for all of us. Oh, and by the way, were we not created to praise God?

May God bless us and our church in 2024!

Temptation (Pt. 3)

And do not lead us into temptation, But deliver us from the evil one. Matthew 6:13a

As stated last time, part of the answer to our prayers regarding temptation is us developing discernment so we can steer clear of temptation as soon as we feel the tug of temptation’s tractor beam. Paul wrote to the Thessalonians:

Test all things; hold fast what is good. Abstain from every form of evil. 1 Thessalonians 5:21-22

What are we to test all things against? God’s revealed will in His written Word, of course. And because we cannot realistically look up pertinent Bible verses when in the midst of temptation, we need to have stored God’s Word in our hearts and minds already—while continuing to add to that scriptural storehouse for the remainder of our lives.

This is why we need to be people of the Book, reading God’s Word, from cover to cover over and over again throughout our days. Besides knowing specific verses and passages, we get accustomed to the sound and content of God’s voice. As we do this we can live out the following well-loved verse containing Jesus’ words to His disciples:

John 10:27 My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.

When we know the Lord’s voice, we follow Him by “holding fast to what is good,” and “abstaining from every form of evil.” Isn’t that what Jesus taught us to pray in Matthew 6:13a? It is our responsibility and His grace and power that give us victory over temptation and deliverance from the evil one.

Temptation (Pt. 2)

And do not lead us into temptation, But deliver us from the evil one. Matthew 6:13a

I think of this as a wise and humble prayer. We are all weak (to varying degrees) to temptations (of various kinds). If we are wise enough to know our weaknesses, may we be humble enough to regularly ask the Lord for His mercy to protect us from temptation. Of course, the primary way He will answer this request is that we must do our part (in the strength of His Spirit) to avoid temptation—beginning with what we already know we are particularly weak to.

As stated in an earlier post, we need not fear that God is tempting us to sin (He never does that, James 1:13), but we do know that He has us living in a sinful world filled with temptations. Why? To further our spiritual growth in sanctification.

The last phrase, “deliver us from the evil one,” is a prayer, that when we do encounter temptation (which is inevitable), the Lord will protect us from succumbing to the wiles of the enemy of our souls, Satan. When Christians sin, we fall down, but by God’s grace the elect will not fall away. When we pray “deliver us from the evil one,” we are praying for the Lord’s prayers for us (Hebrews 7:25). His prayers for us are our ultimate safety net. Remember Jesus’ promise to pray for Peter when he was being sifted by Satan:

Luke 22:31-32 And the Lord said, "Simon, Simon! Indeed, Satan has asked for you, that he may sift you as wheat. 32 But I have prayed for you, that your faith should not fail; and when you have returned to Me, strengthen your brethren."

It was the Lord’s prayers for Peter, when Peter was being sifted by Satan, that kept him from following in the disastrous footsteps of Judas. And it is His prayers for us that protect us. We invite and plead for His prayer when we pray, “And do not lead us into temptation, But deliver us from the evil one.”

About December 25th

Then the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name JESUS... Then Mary said to the angel, "How can this be, since I do not know a man?" And the angel answered and said to her, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you; therefore, also, that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God.
Luke 1:30-31, 34-35

Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not wanting to make her a public example, was minded to put her away secretly. But while he thought about these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, "Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take to you Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name JESUS, for He will save His people from their sins."
Matthew 1:19-21

Christmas is the celebration of the incarnation, when the eternally begotten Son of God became a man so He could live, die, and rise to save His people from our sins.

No one knows what day of the year Jesus was born. But that doesn’t matter! The day is not the point; what happened is the point. Therefore, Christians do not celebrate the day, we celebrate the incarnation.

Technically, the incarnation was not on the day Jesus was born, it was the day He was conceived by the Holy Spirit, nine months before He was born in Bethlehem.

I believe the incarnation is arguably the greatest miracle ever. Some might insist that the resurrection is the greatest miracle. In my mind, it is not surprising that death and the grave could not hold Jesus. But the incarnation? That is something in a category by itself. Think about it.

• How could the infinite Son of God fit inside of a finite human body? Yet the Bible says the fullness of the Godhead dwells in Jesus bodily! (Colossians 2:9)

• Thinking further, how could the eternal Son of God who was a Spirit from eternity past be “limited” to time and space? Truly the incarnation is a miracle in the first degree.

What could possibly be wrong with celebrating so great a miracle? So, celebrate the incarnation! And since we do not know when it happened, December 25 is as good as any day, especially when so much of the world shuts down for it—whether they know why or not!

Merry Christmas & Incarnation Day!

A seismic truth to ponder anew

"Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel" which means, God with us. Matthew 1:23

Familiarity breeds contempt. Even the greatest and most stupendous news, when heard often enough, can easily become white noise in our ears. That God is with us is not may not be so seismic to us. Even non-believers assume God is with them.

But let us be soberly reminded of the transcendence of Almighty God—that He is infinitely bigger, better, and greater than us—that we are naturally distanced from Him, and even more so because of our sin. When that reality dawns on us, the fact that God became a human being (while never ceasing to be God in the least!) is mind-boggling.

The fact that He not only came to dwell among us, but as a baby, who not only became a man, but a poor, lowly, and even despised man—makes it all even more startling. But there is more! He became one of us to rescue us from our sins—sins against Him! Truly the incarnation of the only begotten Son of God is arguably the greatest miracle of all.

May thoughts of Christ’s incarnation be truly jaw-dropping to us this Christmas!

Temptation (Pt. 1)

And do not lead us into temptation, But deliver us from the evil one. Matthew 6:13a

In this life, believers are still quite subject to temptation. Jesus teaches us to pray the Lord not to lead us into temptation. James makes it clear that God does tempt His people to sin.

James 1:13 Let no one say when he is tempted, "I am tempted by God"; for God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He Himself tempt anyone.

But we know that Jesus was led by the Spirit to be tempted by Satan.

Matthew 4:1 Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.

How do we reconcile this apparent discrepancy? There are two closely related concepts: testing and tempting. God tests us and Satan tempts us. Various trials put our faith to the test. Our response determines whether we have passed a test, or succumbed to temptation.

Proverbs tells us that the heat of trials are like a furnace that tests precious metals, and in so doing purifies them.

Proverbs 17:3 The refining pot is for silver and the furnace for gold, But the LORD tests the hearts.

When the Spirit led Jesus into the wilderness, Satan did what he could to tempt Jesus to sin. Because Jesus did not break under Satan’s temptation; He passed God’s test. Granted, Jesus never sinned and needed no purification. His test proved nothing to Him or to His Father, but His passing the test proved much about Him to us!

In our case, the devil wants to use every trial to tempt us to sin. When by God’s grace we resist temptation, we are purified like gold in the furnace.

Forgive us our debts (Pt. 9)

And forgive us our debts, As we forgive our debtors. Matthew 6:12

If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 1 John 1:8-9

As promised last time, let’s think together about God’s faithfulness to forgive us and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

Before getting started on God faithfulness in forgiveness, let’s be clear that God does not forgive us on the basis of our confessions or how sincere or dramatic they may be. That would be forgiveness based on us. Rather, though God is faithful to His people, but the primary reason is that He is faithful to Himself! Why, and to what/whom?

First, He created us in His image, so He is faithful to His image bearers. While fallen human beings desecrate the image of God many ways (from murder to abortion, to overeating, and under exercising), God is faithful to His own image in which He created us.

Second, God is faithful to His promises. He promised to forgive the sins of His people and to renew our fellowship with Him every time we confess our sins. We can be assured that He will because He promised that He will.

Third, God is faithful to Jesus and to Jesus’ sacrifice for His people’s sins. Jesus paid for His people’s sins. Our Heavenly Father accepted that sacrifice as payment in full. If God failed to forgive any of His people’s sins, that would be unfaithfulness by the Father to the Son. That will never happen.

Why and to what/whom is God faithful when it come to forgiveness and cleansing from His people’s sins? He is faithful to Himself and to His image, stamped exclusively on human beings. He is faithful to His promises. And He is faithful to His Son, Jesus. I’d say that affords us immeasurable security and assurance, wouldn’t you?

Forgive us our debts (Pt. 8)

And forgive us our debts, As we forgive our debtors. Matthew 6:12

If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 1 John 1:8-9

As promised last time, there is more to say about this monumental subject of forgiveness…

Today: What is confession? Confession is much more than merely admitting guilt. “Yeah, I did it—so what?!” is not even remotely the same as what the Bible is referring to regarding confession. The Greek word confess literally means agree. So if we are confessing our sins in a biblical fashion, what are we doing?

We are agreeing with God about our sin. In order to agree with God we must know what He thinks of our sin. What God thinks about our sin can be summarized in these words: “God hates our sin and it has to go!”

Obviously then, a mere admission is not sufficient. We must be convicted by God’s Word and the Holy Spirit so that we too hate our sin and fervently want to be shed of it. If we do not feel the way God feels about our sin, we cannot exactly agree with Him, can we? In that case, sometimes confession ought to begin by pleading with God to change our hearts so that we actually do hate our sin and want too be rid of it. (Read and pray 2 Corinthians 7:10.)

This is why though the Bible speaks frequently about repentance (which means changing one’s mind), when we read about confession, even if repentance is not explicitly mentioned, it is implied as a component of biblical confession.

Next time, God’s faithfulness to forgive and to cleanse.

Forgive us our debts (Pt. 7)

And forgive us our debts, As we forgive our debtors. Matthew 6:12

A seventh entry on the subject of forgiveness? Yep! That is how important forgiveness is! Let’s begin this meditation on the subject of forgiveness by directing our attention to 1 John 1:8-9 chapter one.

If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 1 John 1:8-9

First, where there is a refusal to acknowledge sin, there is little likelihood of confession. That much is pretty obvious. But if a man jumps off the roof of a tall building, what would his refusal to acknowledge gravity accomplish? Nothing. Our world is filled with such thinking about sinfulness. A few years ago, a presidential candidate was asked about confessing his sins. He replied on TV that he had no sins to confess. If that were true, he would be God, since all (but God) have sinned (Romans 3:23).

Many of us also previously thought we were either sinless, or that our sins didn’t matter. Then we were born again by the Spirit of God. When a person is born again, that person is aware that he or she is a sinner and in desperate need of God’s forgiveness. We confessed our sins, asking God for forgiveness. He forgave us and we were saved.

Second, these verses in 1 John are not limited to our initial acknowledgement and confession of sin. Once we are saved, because we continue to sin, we are commanded to continue confessing our sins. This does not mean we are only forgiven of the sins we confess. If that were true we would all be lost because none of us has specifically confessed every sin we have ever committed.

Every sin a believer has, or will commit, was forgiven by God when Jesus bore our sins on the cross. What we receive by confessing our sins, even after having already been forgiven, is the blessing of restored fellowship with God. Our sin does not change (much less terminate) our relationship with God. Our relationship with God is secured by Jesus’ sacrifice for our sins. But our sin does disrupt our fellowship with God. When we confess our sins, God is faithful and just to forgive and cleans us, restoring our sin-damaged fellowship with Him. This is good news and a great reason to confess our sins as soon as we are aware of them so our fellowship with God is restored as quickly as possible.

Two more things about these verses next time.

Forgive us our debts (Pt. 6)

And forgive us our debts, As we forgive our debtors. Matthew 6:12

We are called to confess every sin we commit to God.

Not every sin against another person should be confessed to that person. If I have sinned against another person and they know about it, I must by all means seek the offended party’s forgiveness.

However, if I have sinned in my heart without the person ever knowing about it, telling them could be detrimental. For example (and I’ve told this story before), a man I barely knew approached me after I preached at a conference. He proceeded to tell me that he never liked me and harbored bitterness in his heart toward me for years. He asked for my forgiveness. Of course, I forgave him, but honestly, even if he felt better about asking for my forgiveness, I didn’t!

There is a saying: “The circle of confession should be no larger than the circle of sin.” Surely there are exceptions, but I believe it is generally true.

Even when one speaks unkindly about another person, asking forgiveness from the one spoken to is in order. But in some cases it may make matters worse by confessing the sin to the one who was spoken about (if he or she has no knowledge and likely will never know about the offense).

There is no one-size-fits-all in such matters. That is why we must seek the Lord’s will in each case, with the goal to make things better, not worse.

Forgive us our debts (Pt. 5)

And forgive us our debts, As we forgive our debtors. Matthew 6:12

Ideally, forgiveness and reconciliation ought to be two sides of the same coin. God forgives us and He reconciles those He forgives to Himself. Sadly, that is not always the case in interpersonal relationships. There are times when, though we have forgiven someone, the relationship is not reconciled. Why?

Because forgiveness is often unilateral, meaning one party forgives and the other does not want the relationship restored. This lack of a desire for reconciliation usually indicates one or both of two things: (a) One or both parties have not truly forgiven the other. Or (b) the offending party refuses to repent (stop causing the offense).

This is a reminder that we must forgive, even if the relationship is not reconciled. Let us do what we can to reconcile, understanding that we cannot force the other person to reciprocate. Remember Paul’s words:

Romans 12:18 If it is possible, as much as depends on you, live peaceably with all men.

Let us be sure we really are doing what we can, and not deceiving ourselves that we are when in reality we are harboring resentment and a lack of forgiveness.

Forgiving silently is next…

Forgive us our debts (Pt. 4)

And forgive us our debts, As we forgive our debtors. Matthew 6:12

After writing about the importance of forgiving others as we have been forgiven, we do well to consider an alleged requisite before forgiving others. As a young Christian I was taught we need not, and probably should not, forgive unless the other person asks for forgiveness and repents. I have come to believe that is not true. Here is why I now believe differently.

First, the only person who is hurt by my lack of forgiveness is me. As mentioned in the previous post, my lack of forgiveness turns into a grudge, which in turn leads to bitterness. And “Bitterness,” as another old saying goes, “is the only substance that eats its container (me)!” I must forgive whether the other person either asks for it or repents, or not!

To clarify, I would likely be wise not to ask a person who stole from me to hold my wallet, but if I refuse to forgive, I will suffer more than the other person.

Second, when I was taught not to forgive those who are unrepentant, it was said, “Not even God forgives those who do not repent!” Really? Have you confessed, asking God for forgiveness of every sin you have ever committed? Neither have I. Have you ever committed the same sin against God, even after asking for forgiveness? So have I! Are we now unforgiven? Praise God, He forgives we who are in Christ anyway.

Third, and last, there is a chance that our forgiveness of others might even nudge them to repent. Remember that we love God because He first loved us. The same may happen when we forgive first.

Next time, thoughts about reconciliation, and then, when to forgive quietly.

Forgive us our debts (Pt. 3)

And forgive us our debts, As we forgive our debtors. Matthew 6:12

We have been thinking about forgiveness. We first sought to sort out any confusion regarding whether our forgiveness by God is dependent on our forgiveness of others (it is not!). Then we wrote about the fact that God’s forgiveness is the greatest need of every human being. This time let’s consider the power of forgiveness.

Decades of counseling has cemented in my mind the fact that the vast majority of problems between people comes down to forgiveness. Small problems become big problems when we fail (often downright refusing) to forgive other people. A lack of forgiveness, which is fueled by prideful stubbornness, quickly turns into grudges, and grudges evolve into bitterness. Bitterness harms the one holding the grudge far more than the one against whom the grudge is being held. A witty and equally true saying about bitterness says, “Bitterness is like drinking poison, hoping the other person will die!” The one and only remedy is forgiving the other person.

Sometimes the original offense was something small that has been allowed to fester into something bigger than it truly was in the first place. At other times the original offense is big, maybe even huge! Marital infidelity is a prime example. It is one of the most personal and crushing offenses.

You may remember earlier in this series of blog posts based on the Sermon on the Mount, we addressed Jesus’ words about adultery, not only in Matthew 5, but also in Matthew 19. Jesus made it clear that while divorce is allowed in cases of adultery, it was allowed only because of the hardness of hearts in refusing to forgive. Granted, when a person is a serial adulterer, divorce is understandable, but when the offended party remembers that God has forgiven him or her of far greater sins of repeated unfaithfulness to God, he or she needs to forgive as he or she has been forgiven!

Forgiveness, motivated by the knowledge that one has been forgiven by God of insurmountable sin debt, is healing. Powerfully healing! Forgiveness is arguably the greatest power to heal even the greatest hurts.

Let us meditate on our holy God’s forgiveness of sinners, as we work through our obligation to forgive fellow sinners. For more, straight from Jesus’ lips, read Matthew 18:21-35.

Forgive us our debts (Pt. 2)

And forgive us our debts, As we forgive our debtors. Matthew 6:12

What do human beings need most? The world answers this question in numerous ways: World peace, education, economic success (money and material possessions). And for the lighthearted: happiness.

God sent His Son, Jesus, to give the world what human beings really need most: Forgiveness of sin. This answer isn’t considered terribly important by most. Why? Because of the patience of God. Let me explain.

People do not feel much urgency about forgiveness because in God’s common (and most patient) grace, we do not yet feel the dire consequences for our sin. Our lives are not perfect, but we are getting along. And because we know nothing of the lesser daily consequences of sin in the same way fish are unaware of water, who worries about forgiveness?

There is a day coming, however, when the full consequence of sin will be felt. The day one dies physically (and all die), the first installment of the consequence of sin will be experienced. How? “The wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23). Physical death is a surefire consequence of sin. And the fact that all die substantiates the Bible’s assertion that all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). But physical death is only the first and lesser of the two installments of the consequence of sin. Keep reading.

As dreaded as physical death is, it is only the first death. The second death is infinitely more horrific. The second death (Revelation 20:12-15) is God’s wrath, described illustratively as a lake of fire that burns forever. The day of God’s judgment will be the most terrifying day of anyone’s existence.

UNLESS… one’s sins are forgiven! That is why forgiveness is what everyone of us needs more than anything else. That God’s judgment and wrath are talked about so often in the Bible (Jesus spoke about Hell more than anyone else in the Bible!), should make it abundantly clear that all are not forgiven—no matter how many people insist otherwise. The only ones who are forgiven are those who: (a) Acknowledge their sin/need of God’s forgiveness; (b) Trust in Jesus who is the only way to God’s favor (John 14:6); and (c) commit to following Jesus as the Master of their lives (repentance) (Acts 17:30).

Those who are forgiven will never face God’s wrath because Jesus took that wrath for them when He died on the cross. Instead, those who are forgiven will experience Heaven, not Hell.

We all need God’s forgiveness more than anything else, not only for now but for eternity. How about you? Are you forgiven, in Christ, and headed to Heaven?

You might want to pass this blog post along.

Forgive us our debts (Pt. 1)

And forgive us our debts, As we forgive our debtors. Matthew 6:12

The primary reason Jesus came to earth was to “save His people from their sins” (Matthew 1:21). Forgiving sinners is the most obvious component of accomplishing that mission. Paul linked the forgiveness the redeemed have received from God with our forgiveness of others in Ephesians 4:32:

And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you.

While forgiving others is good, right, and noble, for those who have been forgiven of a sin debt that we could never hope to pay, forgiving others who have sinned against us in relatively miniscule ways is what we might call a “no-brainer!”

Paul’s words in Ephesians 4 also sort out the problem many have with the following verses in the Sermon on the Mount immediately after the Lord’s Prayer.

"For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.’” Matthew 6:14-15

I trust you can see the inherent question: “Does Matthew 6:14-15 teach that God forgives us on the basis of how we forgive others?” Or stated a little differently: “Is my forgiveness by God (salvation) determined by my forgiveness of others?” The obvious answer is NO! If it were so, no one would be forgiven or saved because no one forgives as we need to be forgiven.

Instead, as is the case with other required works of righteousness, they cannot earn or merit God’s grace, but they do validate that one has been changed as a result of having received God’s grace. In other words, God does not forgive us because we forgive others, rather, we are to forgive because God has already forgiven us.

Our daily bread

Give us this day our daily bread. Matthew 6:11

The next petition in immensely practical, though having important theological implications.

What could be more practical that asking God to supply our basic needs? Though the prayer mentions bread, we can easily see that bread is a representation of any and all our needs.

Theologically, the prayer reminds us of a basic reality that we frequently forget. What reality is that? Everything—including our basic daily needs—comes to us from the benevolent hand of God. God warned the Israelites of this fact in Deuteronomy 8:11-20. He foretold that once they moved into the Promised Land, and were enjoying the abundance of the land, they would forget that it was only theirs by the grace of God. Instead of thanking Him, they would forget Him while congratulating themselves for all they had done to acquire such prosperity.

We tend to do the same forgetting that even when we have worked hard to accomplish a thing, we only had the knowledge, will, and strength by the grace of God. Therefore, asking God to supply our most basic needs is a great reminder to thank Him when we receive them.

A second theological lesson to be noted is that we are to ask every day for what we need that day. Honestly, how often are we unaware from where the day’s provision will come? We are generally so blessed that we often only think to pray about our basic needs when we are in a crisis of scarcity. We can thank God for supplying so abundantly, and we would do well to remember to pray every day for God’s provision if only to give thanks for His generosity.

And while we are at it, may we who have so much, pray for the many in the world who have so little. And we might also ask how the Lord might be pleased to use us in our abundance to share with those who are less fortunate.

Your will be done (Pt. 7)

Your kingdom come. Your will be done On earth as it is in heaven.
Matthew 6:10

A closing thought about God’s will before moving to the next component of the Lord’s Prayer in our survey of the Sermon on the Mount: God’s will on Earth and in Heaven. As we have seen, there are several aspects of God’s will on earth. Not so in Heaven. In Heaven God’s will is done perfectly, all of the time, chiefly because there is no sin in Heaven.

We have many things to look forward to in Heaven: reuniting with saved loved ones, the unspeakable beauty of the place, and the absence of suffering, pain, sorrow, and death, to name just a few. But why are these other things so? Because God is the center of everything in Heaven and sin will forever be gone. That’s right, every opposition to God’s will will dissolve and be no more.

Having only known life tainted by sin, we can scarcely imagine existence without sin. I think, however, that we do well to try to meditate on that sinless aspect of Heaven as much as we are able. And when we pray, let us cry out to God for His will to be done on earth as it is—and ever will be—in Heaven, comforting ourselves with such thoughts. Amen!

Your will be done (Pt. 6)

Your kingdom come. Your will be done On earth as it is in heaven.
Matthew 6:10

Another interesting aspect of God’s will is what some refer to as God’s Desired will, or more technically: God’s will of Disposition. What is meant by this is that not everything about what God decrees is pleasing to Him. God takes no delight or pleasure in our sin, for instance—though He decrees our sin for the accomplishment of His greater purposes. (And remember that God is never responsible for our sin!)

Ezekiel 18:20-32 and 33:10-20 both speak of God not delighting in the death of the wicked. Yet because God loves righteous judgment, the wicked must be punished, and the punishment of sinners is God’s will.

Contrariwise, Psalm 116:15 says that the death of His saints (the righteous) is precious to Him. How can that be? Because the end result of the death of the redeemed is the eternal bliss of Heaven—which certainly pleases God!

1 Timothy 2:14 is also related to this when it says God desires that all would be saved. If this desire was according to God’s decretive will, all would be saved. So we must understand this verse in either or both of two ways: Either (a) it is referring to God’s will of disposition, or (b) it is referring to the elect, in which case it is according to God’s decretive will because all of the elect will be saved.

This post is admittedly a bit technical. You might do well to take a breath, ask God for understanding, and read the post again.

There is one last encouraging post in this series on God’s will. Tune in again next time.

Your will be done (Pt. 5)

Your kingdom come. Your will be done On earth as it is in heaven.
Matthew 6:10

That God’s sovereign will is not fatalism is vitally important regarding God’s sovereign will and our salvation. Some insist that Reformed Christians teach: (a) that people have no choice in salvation; (b) that God saves people whether they want to be saved or not, and (c) that God condemns some who want to believe because they are not chosen. My response to these assumptions regarding predestination is simple. There may be people to teach these falsehoods, but such teachings are not Reformed. They are perversions of Reformed theology. So what is the truth?

God commands all people to believe in (trust in) Christ and repent, which will result in forgiveness and salvation.

All people are dead in sin and therefore unable to believe and repent because, while dead in sin, no one wants to believe and repent!

Therefore God would be fully justified if He were to condemn everybody for our sin.

But God is not only a just Judge, He is also graciously loving. So He has predestined that some will believe and repent. He is not obligated to save anyone, much less everyone. So God has sovereignly elected some to be saved.

How are those He has elected to salvation be saved? God graciously regenerates those He has elected to salvation (they are born again). Once God regenerates individuals, they are given new hearts that want to believe and repent. God does not force them to believe and repent; He graciously gifts them with saving faith and repentance. Once the gifts of faith and repentance are received, the elect choose to believe and repent—because they now want to. YES, the saved must choose to believe and repent, but they only do so because God has elected them to salvation and given them hearts that desire to follow Christ.

What about those who are lost? Does God keep them from believing and repenting? Absolutely not! They are simply left to choose according to their sinful desires.

Everyone must choose to trust Christ and repent to be saved. Those who are saved choose to be saved but only because God elected and then regenerated them. The lost choose not to be saved because in their sin they have no desire.

Four Explanatory Footnotes:

1. God does not elect and regenerate anyone based on anything about them, or because of anything they do. It is God’s sovereign will.

2. What difference does this make? Because salvation is solely of the Lord, He alone receives all glory, and the redeemed have nothing about which to boast (Ephesians 2:8-9).

3. Regeneration precedes faith, not as most incorrectly think that faith causes regeneration.

4. What a comfort it is to know that as we pray for God’s will to be done regarding the salvation of loved ones, He will save His people!

Your will be done (Pt. 4)

Your kingdom come. Your will be done On earth as it is in heaven.
Matthew 6:10

The sovereign will of God is not fatalism! It is a common mistake among believers to think the two are the same. With well-intentioned desire to champion the sovereignty of God, too many believers think, speak, and act as though what we do doesn’t matter because every detail is planned by God in advance. (That is fatalism.)

But what we do does matter! Remember God’s preceptive will? He commands us to do some things and not others. Whether we obey Him or not matters. Yet some misinformed believers excuse their sin, believing that it was God’s will. Sin is never God’s will. That He uses even our sin to accomplish His will does not make our sin His will—much less defend or excuse our sin. Rather, that God uses even our sin to accomplish His will only underscores His comprehensive sovereignty in that our sin cannot derail God’s over-arching ultimate will. Praise His name for that!

I once read an illustration of this, and have used it ever since. If I remember correctly it first came from Charles Spurgeon. Remembering that virtually every illustration is imperfect, consider the matter this way. If I am on an ocean liner headed from the US to England, I have many options regarding what I will do on the voyage. I can read, exercise, or play games. I can choose which meals to eat and what to eat at each meal. I can enjoy the voyage or jump overboard. Every one of those decisions matter. They will affect me and my voyage. Some may even affect others onboard. But because there is a Captain of the ship, whose job is to pilot the ship to England, though what I eat will affect me, it will not affect the ship’s arrival in England.

I realize that the illustration can be dismantled, but it does illustrate the point that our decisions matter, while in the big picture God’s decretive will, will still be accomplished, even when we violate His preceptive will.

Let us understand how important our decisions matter (for better or for worse!), resting in the fact that God will see that the ship arrives at the destination He has foreordained, at precisely the appointed time.

Next Time: More on this with regard to our decision to trust in and follow Christ.