saved by grace

403241_3304634777785_802217881_nYou were dead through the trespasses and sins in which you once lived, following the course of this world, following the ruler of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work among those who are disobedient.  All of us once lived among them in the passions of our flesh, following the desires of flesh and senses, and we were by nature children of wrath, like everyone else. But God, who is rich in mercy, out of the great love with which he loved us even when we were dead through our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved—and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the ages to come he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.  For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God—not the result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are what he has made us, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand to be our way of life. (Ephesians 2:1-10, NRSV)

This is a Lutheran hang up verse.

We get hung up on 2:8-9 “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God—not the result of works, so that no one may boast.”

We are saved by grace through the faith of Christ who died on the cross for us. I can do nothing to obtain the grace, or my place in heaven, therefore I don’t have to do anything.

We are so worried about works righteousness as Lutherans we completely miss read the verses… Or leave out the one that doesn’t seem to jive with our understandings.

You see it is true we are saved by grace, through faith in Christ, but that does not give us a no work required card. Good works are still necessary and needed. They do not save us or earn us brownie points, but are what God has set us up for, long before we were knit together in our mother’s womb. And that my friends is verse 10, ” For we are what he has made us, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand to be our way of life.” We were created in Christ Jesus for good works, to do good things for all, and that is to be our way of life.

We have to do good works, not because of what it will get us, but because of what we have been given!

So go and proclaim we are saved by grace while serving your neighbors!

Justified

We ourselves are Jews by birth and not Gentile sinners;  yet we know that a person is justified not by the works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ. And we have come to believe in Christ Jesus, so that we might be justified by faith in Christ, and not by doing the works of the law, because no one will be justified by the works of the law.  But if, in our effort to be justified in Christ, we ourselves have been found to be sinners, is Christ then a servant of sin? Certainly not! But if I build up again the very things that I once tore down, then I demonstrate that I am a transgressor. For through the law I died to the law, so that I might live to God. I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but it is Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. I do not nullify the grace of God; for if justification comes through the law, then Christ died for nothing. (Galatians 2:15-21, NRSV)

Paul is telling the Galatians that he and his companions are Jewish by birth and followers of the Law, while those hearing this could be considered to be Gentile sinners, those who do not even attempt to follow the laws and are therefore not living up to them…

Yet after this introduction he goes on to say that it is not through the works of the Law or following the Law that saves us. We are justified by Jesus, through the faithfulness of Christ to go to the cross for us. Not for anything that we have done, or will do, but because of who Christ is and what He has done for all of us.

We have all been buried with Christ in our baptism and it is no longer us who live, but it is Christ who lives in us. Therefore we are justified by Him.

sinners gift

Now we know that whatever the law says, it speaks to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be silenced, and the whole world may be held accountable to God. For “no human being will be justified in his sight” by deeds prescribed by the law, for through the law comes the knowledge of sin. But now, apart from law, the righteousness of God has been disclosed, and is attested by the law and the prophets, the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction, since all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God; they are now justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a sacrifice of atonement by his blood, effective through faith. He did this to show his righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over the sins previously committed; it was to prove at the present time that he himself is righteous and that he justifies the one who has faith in Jesus. Then what becomes of boasting? It is excluded. By what law? By that of works? No, but by the law of faith. For we hold that a person is justified by faith apart from works prescribed by the law. (Romans 3:19-28, NRSV)

This is the end of the beginning of this letter to the church in Rome. Here Paul is concluding that we are all sinners, and no one gets out of this.

We will all fall short and not be able to stand when it comes to judgement. All of us will fall short, because we will not be justified by our actions.

But then the gift!

Apart from the Law, so we can not hope in ourselves, or what we could do, Christ came and died for all of us. And because of His death we are justified! And that is a gift of His grace!

We can not boast about who we are, because we all fail Him daily. We can boast about Him though, because even when we fail Him He will never fail us!

Are we there yet?

The days are surely coming, says the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah. It will not be like the covenant that I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt—a covenant that they broke, though I was their husband, says the LORD.  But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the LORD: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. No longer shall they teach one another, or say to each other, “Know the LORD,” for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, says the LORD; for I will forgive their iniquity, and remember their sin no more. (Jeremiah 31:31-34, NRSV)

Is the Reformation over?

I ask this question because of the verse in here.

You know this is the only time in the Hebrew Scriptures that it is said that the Lord will make a new covenant with His people.

But it says that we will not have to teach those who know God about God anymore… His law will be written on our hearts and we will just know…

So if we still have Sunday School and Bible studies have we made it to the new covenant that Jeremiah spoke of here?

Is the reformation over?

The promise still stands, though, that for those of us who know God, He will remember our sins no more!

Free

Then Jesus said to the Jews who had believed in him, “If you continue in my word, you are truly my disciples; and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.” They answered him, “We are descendants of Abraham and have never been slaves to anyone. What do you mean by saying, ‘You will be made free’?” Jesus answered them, “Very truly, I tell you, everyone who commits sin is a slave to sin. The slave does not have a permanent place in the household; the son has a place there forever. So if the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed. (John 8:31-36, NRSV)

“We are descendants of Abraham and have never been slaves to anyone…”

I seem to recall that the descendants of Abraham were slaves in Babylon and Egypt…

Or am I confused…

It seems like they had been in charge of their lives for so long that they didn’t even see the servitude they were currently in with Rome!

How many of us are the same way?

We are held captive to the sins that Jesus came and freed us from.

He didn’t free us from committing sins, but He freed us from the guilt and enslaving power of the sin we find ourselves in. We do not have to be held captive by it, but can confess it knowing the love of God is stronger than any sin we could possibly commit. We do not need to be held in the power of the guilt and shame our sin causes, but freed to live in the love of Christ.

The reformation was and is the thing that helps us see that the love of God is stronger than any of our guilt or shame, and Luther helped us see the love that Christ actually has for all of us.

Those who acknowledge their sin and those who still have the wool pulled over their eyes…

God loves us and His love is stronger than anything any one else will tell us. So remain faithful to God even in the dark times, because His light will dispels the darkness and free you to live the life He has in store for you!

God laughed

Laughing_Jesus.sizedWhy do the nations conspire, and the peoples plot in vain? The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the LORD and his anointed, saying, “Let us burst their bonds asunder, and cast their cords from us.” He who sits in the heavens laughs; the LORD has them in derision. Then he will speak to them in his wrath, and terrify them in his fury, saying, “I have set my king on Zion, my holy hill.” I will tell of the decree of the LORD: He said to me, “You are my son; today I have begotten you. Ask of me, and I will make the nations your heritage, and the ends of the earth your possession. You shall break them with a rod of iron, and dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel.” Now therefore, O kings, be wise; be warned, O rulers of the earth. Serve the LORD with fear, with trembling kiss his feet, or he will be angry, and you will perish in the way; for his wrath is quickly kindled. Happy are all who take refuge in him. (Psalm 2, NRSV)

One of my favorite movies is My Sisters Keeper. It is a great movie, but one of my favorite parts is the beginning…

On a black screen the words come up: “If you want to make God laugh, tell Him your plans…”

The peoples plot and conspire in vain. Why do we think we know better than God?

He laughs when we tell Him what is going to happen, because He has created the cosmos and set the world in motion. He will have happen what needs to happen in order for  Hi plan to be carried out. And we get the awesome pleasure of being a part of this, and giving Him a chuckle when we think we can do it better.

Know He has set your world in motion and knows what is best for you!

Good works ~ it’s what we do…

Remind them to be subject to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready for every good work, to speak evil of no one, to avoid quarreling, to be gentle, and to show every courtesy to everyone. For we ourselves were once foolish, disobedient, led astray, slaves to various passions and pleasures, passing our days in malice and envy, despicable, hating one another. But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of any works of righteousness that we had done, but according to his mercy, through the water of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit. This Spirit he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life. The saying is sure. I desire that you insist on these things, so that those who have come to believe in God may be careful to devote themselves to good works; these things are excellent and profitable to everyone. (Titus 3:1-8, NRSV)

We can not make it there ourselves…

The chasm is far too wide for us to even think we could do enough to get there. But does that mean we only look out for ourselves, and live foolish, self centered lives?

We are saved because of His mercy, and because of His love for us. And because of this we are moved to do good things for other, not for our reward, but because He loved us and made us to do good works.

Church \/ State

Let every person be subject to the governing authorities; for there is no authority except from God, and those authorities that exist have been instituted by God. Therefore whoever resists authority resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment. For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Do you wish to have no fear of the authority? Then do what is good, and you will receive its approval; for it is God’s servant for your good. But if you do what is wrong, you should be afraid, for the authority does not bear the sword in vain! It is the servant of God to execute wrath on the wrongdoer. Therefore one must be subject, not only because of wrath but also because of conscience. For the same reason you also pay taxes, for the authorities are God’s servants, busy with this very thing.  Pay to all what is due them—taxes to whom taxes are due, revenue to whom revenue is due, respect to whom respect is due, honor to whom honor is due. (Romans 13:1-7, NRSV)

In today’s age this is a difficult reading to swallow sometimes. We do nto always see the government as a body that is in existance because of God. But the underlying theme here is that we, as Christians, should be thankful for the government.

For with out the government there would be anachy and rampant evil…

And we also know from our readings of the Hebrew Scriptures that sometimes God gives us good authorites as a blessing and sometimes there are not so good authorities for times of testing or judgement…

But we as Christians should respect authorites and hold to what they are telling us to do. Even in Paul’s day when the Roman Empire did not use the money collected from taxes for godly purposes they were told to pay taxes. So in our day when we are to honor our leaders even if (when) they are not always fully admirable.

Be who God has called you to be, to be the change we need in this world!

Trust

Then the king commanded his palace master Ashpenaz to bring some of the Israelites of the royal family and of the nobility, young men without physical defect and handsome, versed in every branch of wisdom, endowed with knowledge and insight, and competent to serve in the king’s palace; they were to be taught the literature and language of the Chaldeans. The king assigned them a daily portion of the royal rations of food and wine. They were to be educated for three years, so that at the end of that time they could be stationed in the king’s court. Among them were Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, from the tribe of Judah. The palace master gave them other names: Daniel he called Belteshazzar, Hananiah he called Shadrach, Mishael he called Meshach, and Azariah he called Abednego. But Daniel resolved that he would not defile himself with the royal rations of food and wine; so he asked the palace master to allow him not to defile himself. Now God allowed Daniel to receive favor and compassion from the palace master. The palace master said to Daniel, “I am afraid of my lord the king; he has appointed your food and your drink. If he should see you in poorer condition than the other young men of your own age, you would endanger my head with the king.” Then Daniel asked the guard whom the palace master had appointed over Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah: “Please test your servants for ten days. Let us be given vegetables to eat and water to drink.You can then compare our appearance with the appearance of the young men who eat the royal rations, and deal with your servants according to what you observe.” So he agreed to this proposal and tested them for ten days. At the end of ten days it was observed that they appeared better and fatter than all the young men who had been eating the royal rations. So the guard continued to withdraw their royal rations and the wine they were to drink, and gave them vegetables. To these four young men God gave knowledge and skill in every aspect of literature and wisdom; Daniel also had insight into all visions and dreams. At the end of the time that the king had set for them to be brought in, the palace master brought them into the presence of Nebuchadnezzar, and the king spoke with them. And among them all, no one was found to compare with Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah; therefore they were stationed in the king’s court. In every matter of wisdom and understanding concerning which the king inquired of them, he found them ten times better than all the magicians and enchanters in his whole kingdom. And Daniel continued there until the first year of King Cyrus. (Daniel 1:3-21, NRSV)

Nebuchadnezzar sought to assimilate the exiles into the Babylonian culture by taking away their identity and creating dependence upon him.

He changed their names form ones linked with their culture and religion to ones that were linked to Babylonian deities.

Daniel means God is my Judge was changed to Belteshazzar O Lady [wife of the god Bel], protect the king!

Hananiah means Yahweh is gracious was changed to Shadrach I am very fearful [of God] or command of Aku [the moon god]

Mishael means Who is what God is? was changed to Meshach I am of little account or Who is like Aku?

Azariah means Yahweh is a helper was changed to Abednego servant of the shining one [Nebo]

They were schooled in the language and mythological literature of the Babylonians, and their food was assigned from the king’s table, reminding them constantly of the source of their daily bread.

But these four did not defile themselves by allowing their names to be changed, or by accepting the kings food…

And because they remained loyal and trusting in God, He prospered them, more than the others, and they were found to be the wisest in the group…

So trust in God to provide and walk with you, and trust not in yourself or other men…

שְׁל֣וֹם

These are the words of the letter that the prophet Jeremiah sent from Jerusalem to the remaining elders among the exiles, and to the priests, the prophets, and all the people, whom Nebuchadnezzar had taken into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon. This was after King Jeconiah, and the queen mother, the court officials, the leaders of Judah and Jerusalem, the artisans, and the smiths had departed from Jerusalem The letter was sent by the hand of Elasah son of Shaphan and Gemariah son of Hilkiah, whom King Zedekiah of Judah sent to Babylon to King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon. It said: Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, to all the exiles whom I have sent into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon: Build houses and live in them; plant gardens and eat what they produce. Take wives and have sons and daughters; take wives for your sons, and give your daughters in marriage, that they may bear sons and daughters; multiply there, and do not decrease. But seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the LORD on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare. (Jeremiah 29:1-7, NRSV)

Take up residence, because you are going to be there a while!

Do not be looking to leave, or get out of there.

I need for you to look out for your welfare, but also for the welfare of the people around you.

Welfare…

Welfare here in verse 7 is שְׁל֣וֹם. Shalom…

Shalom is peace

Shalom is plenty

Shalom is completeness

Shalom is wholeness

Shalom is health

Shalom is perfect

And in you helping your surroundings find shalom, you will find your shalom…

and to truly find shalom we must be in God, and through Him will be able to see to the shalom of our surrounding community and through that fin dour shalom in God…