Tag: grace

Galatians 3:23-29

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year ALeave a comment
            Ever since the fall of humanity those many millennia ago, people have had the predilection to organize themselves in groups that keep them distinct from other groups.  Whether it is high school peer groups or office politics; whether it is class warfare or church cliques; there has always been this tendency to think better about the groups we identify with, and to look down and believe the worst about those we don’t understand or just don’t plain like.
 
            But Jesus is the person that changes it all.  “Faith in Christ Jesus is what makes each of you equal with each other, whether you are a Jew or a Greek, a slave or a free person, a man or a woman.”  I’m not sure the English translations of Paul’s phrasing here can truly capture his emphatic pathos about this issue.  For Paul, Christ’s cross has done so much more than bring personal salvation; it has completely eradicated prejudice, discrimination, and division.  The church is to be the one place on earth where divisions do not exist anymore.  It is to be a foretaste of heaven. 
 
            Since the ground is level at the cross, we are to live into Christian unity with an attitude of humility and meekness, and with actions of gusto.  One way of doing this is to simply walk across the room and meet a new person and engage them in some meaningful dialogue.  Walk across the street and talk with a neighbor for whom you think you have little in common with. 
 

 

            Gracious God, you have abolished barriers through the redemption of Christ.  Prevent me from erecting walls that would divide and use me to be a bridge so that others may experience equality in Jesus.  Amen.

Grace to the Poor

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Exploring Church Ministry BlogLeave a comment
 
 
“My dear friends, pay attention.  God has given a lot of faith to the poor people in this world.  He has also promised them a share in his kingdom that he will give to everyone who loves him” (James 2:5).
 
God’s grace is what makes the world go round.  Grace trumps everything.  An absence of grace in God’s people is offensive to him.  When I was growing up, our family dog was named “Sam.”  Sam loved being on the farm.  One time he tussled with a skunk.  I could barely get close enough to him to clean him up because he stunk so badly.  Favoritism toward those with means over those who don’t, stinks, and God has a hard time getting close to us when we show partiality to others.  And he is going to clean us up when he smells the stench of discrimination on us.  Showing favoritism to some over others is evidence that the dog is running away from the bath of grace.  In order to develop relationships and interact with people the way God wants us to, we must be free from prejudice.
 
            God cares about persons trapped in poverty.  The poor are important to him.  When Jesus began his ministry he pointed people to Isaiah 61:1 – The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor (Luke 4:18).  In the Old Testament, there are seven different words for the “poor” because poverty was such a pervasive reality (and still is across the world!).  The range of meanings includes those who are poor because of laziness, those born into poverty, being poor because of inhuman oppression or slavery, simple beggars, and the pious humble poor.  These spiritual poor persons are the Hebrew anawim.  The anawim are humble persons who are caught in grinding poverty, having no choice but to put their trust in God.
 
            God has a lot to say about such persons because they are dear to his heart.  The law was quite clear about how to treat the poor.  There will always be poor people in the land.  Therefore I command you to be openhanded toward the poor and needy in your land (Deuteronomy 15:11).  Do not take advantage of a hired man who is poor and needy, whether he is a brother Israelite or an alien living in one of your towns.  Pay him his wages each day before sunset, because he is poor and is counting on it.  Otherwise he may cry to the LORD against you, and you will be guilty of sin (Deuteronomy 24:14-15).
 
            The mistreatment, exploitation, and just plain inattention to such persons were a chief reason God sent the prophets to Israel.  God had something to say concerning them:  Hear this, you who trample the needy and do away with the poor of the land, saying “When will the New Moon be over that we may sell grain, and the Sabbath be ended that we may market wheat?” – skimping the measure, boosting the price and cheating with dishonest scales, buying the poor with silver and the needy for a pair of sandals, selling even the sweepings with the wheat.  The LORD has sworn by the pride of Jacob:  “I will never forget anything they have done” (Amos 8:4-7).  Instead of being generous to the poor and allowing them to forage for grain at harvest behind the harvesters, they kept “those people” away from the fields so that they could turn a profit at every little bit they could.  And God thought it all stunk to high heaven.
 
            We must be reminded that it is only the poor in spirit who will enter the kingdom of heaven.  Only those who trust in God alone, and not in their stuff, will he accept.  The real issue here is the humility that demonstrates grace to people who cannot offer you something in return.  It is easy to be merciful to people who will turn around later and scratch our backs.  But it is altogether a different thing to be gracious from a place of humility and service to God.  God cares about the condition of our souls and not the balance of our bank accounts.  Inattention to the needy only betrays a heart far from him.  If God were to audit you, would he find your finances reflecting a spirit of humility and concern for the anawim?  God does not judge people on face value and the state of their finances, and neither should we.
 
            We are to speak and act with mercy to all persons, without prejudice.  The only way to rid ourselves of the stench of showing favoritism is to receive the cleansing bath of God’s mercy in Jesus Christ.  The shampoo of grace is available, if we will let God apply it.  God is the expert in:
 
Ø  Turning people from only associating with those they are comfortable with, to lovingly reaching out to people very different from themselves;
Ø  Changing people from the stinking thinking about what they can continually obtain and consume, to people who are loving and generous with their words and their physical resources;
Ø  Putting to death a proud spirit that looks to get ahead and accomplish an agenda by any means possible, to giving new life through humble repentance.
 

 

Ministry to the poor is a non-negotiable for the Christian church.  Beyond only dispensing benevolent funds, the poor need relationships, connections, resources, and a chance to give back in ways they can contribute.  It’s just part of being attentive to them, and extending them grace.  How does your church show their concern for the poor in your city and/or region?

Romans 7:14-25

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year CLeave a comment
            “I don’t understand why I act the way I do.  I don’t do what I know is right.  I do the things I hate.”  Paul’s existential angst is a timeless description of our common human condition.  We all can relate to the seeming inability to do what is right in so many situations.  It can really drive us nuts, even to a constant low-level discouragement that underlies almost everything we do.
 
            Paul’s prescription for dealing with this does not rely on law.  That’s right.  Paul understood that putting our willpower and effort into obeying commands gets us nowhere because we will eventually fail.  The law just shows us how bad off we really are in this world.  We are a bundle of contradictions, doing good, then bad, and flip-flopping back and forth with great frustration.
 
            “What a miserable person I am.  Who will rescue me from this body of that is doomed to die?  Thank God! Jesus Christ will rescue me.”  Sheer willpower and obedience will not work because what we really need is a Savior who will deliver us from ourselves.  Grace, then, is the operative power that changes lives, and not law.  Freedom from the tyranny of our misplaced desires comes from Christ’s forgiveness through the cross.  Like a lover enamored with his beloved, our desires become oriented toward Jesus for his indescribable gift to us.  That is the strength of grace.
 

 

            Saving God, I thank you for delivering me from sin, death, and hell through your Son, the Lord Jesus.  May your Holy Spirit apply the work of grace to my life every day so that I can realize practical freedom from all that is damaging and destructive in my soul.  Amen.

Galatians 3:15-22

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year CLeave a comment


              If the Apostle Paul were living in our day, I’m pretty sure he could have his own reality show if he wanted.  Paul is a terribly interesting man.  His adventures are legendary in church circles.  One of the most interesting things about Paul is his piercing intellect and flawless rhetoric.  Today’s New Testament lesson has Paul taking on a Galatian heresy.  Maybe we could call it “Law and Grace:  SFU (Special Faith Unit).”  
             The folks who were holding to the law were reminded by Paul that the promise to Abraham was a contract or covenant made by God that was binding, permanent, and divinely ratified.  The law, on the other hand, was not – it was designed to be in effect for a specific amount of time, temporary, and only bound the people of God until the promise was fulfilled in Christ.
             So, why in the world was there a law to begin with if it is no longer in effect?  Paul said, “It was added because of transgressions.”  So there we have it.  It was as if the Israelites were precocious and disobedient little children who needed some firm boundaries and rules in order to keep them safe and lead them to the time when they would grow to maturity.  Once adulthood arrived there was no longer any need for the law.
             The law was never designed to be permanent.  So, when Christians cling to a rules-based faith they are showing their gross immaturity and need to grow up and embrace the permanent reality of living in the Spirit.  Grace is the permanent and pervasive reality that governs everything Christians are to do and say.  It cannot be earned, only accepted, not achieved, but only given by God.  Until we can grasp this fundamental truth of Christianity, the Christian life will never make sense.  Only until we release our expectations of rules and let go of our orienting around law will we discover the liberation of a grace-filled existence.
             Gracious God, you saved me through Christ alone by faith alone.  Now help me to live by grace alone as the highest and greatest truth operative in the universe and in the kingdom of God.  Amen.