Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you. (Ephesians 4:32)
Saving faith is not merely believing that you are forgiven. Saving faith looks at the horror of sin, and then looks at the holiness of God, and apprehends spiritually that God’s forgiveness is unspeakably glorious.
Faith in God’s forgiveness does not merely mean a persuasion that I am off the hook. It means savoring the truth that a forgiving God is the most precious reality in the universe. Saving faith cherishes being forgiven by God, and from there rises to cherishing the God who forgives — and all that he is for us in Jesus.
The great act of forgiveness is past — the cross of Christ. By this backward look, we learn of the grace in which we will ever stand (Romans 5:2). We learn that we are now, and always will be, loved and accepted. We learn that the living God is a forgiving God.
But the great experience of being forgiven is all future. Fellowship with the great God who forgives is all future. Freedom for forgiveness flowing from this all-satisfying fellowship with the forgiving God is all future.
I have learned that it is possible to go on holding a grudge if your faith simply means you have looked back to the cross and concluded that you are off the hook. I have been forced to go deeper into what true faith is. It is being satisfied with all that God is for us in Jesus. It looks back not merely to discover that it is off the hook, but to see and savor the kind of God who
offers us a future of endless reconciled tomorrows in fellowship with him.
“When he was reviled, he did not revile in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten, but continued entrusting himself to him who judges justly.” (1 Peter 2:23)
No one was more grievously sinned against than Jesus. Every ounce of animosity against him was fully undeserved. No one has ever lived who was more worthy of honor than Jesus; and no one has been dishonored more. If anyone had a right to get angry and be bitter and vengeful, it was Jesus. How did he control himself when scoundrels, whose very lives he sustained, spit in his face? 1 Peter 2:23 gives the answer.
What this verse means is that Jesus had faith in the future grace of God’s righteous judgment. He did not need to avenge himself for all the indignities he suffered, because he entrusted his cause to God. He left vengeance in God’s hands and prayed for his enemies’ repentance (Luke 23:34).
Peter gives this glimpse into Jesus’ faith so that we would learn how to live this way ourselves. He said, “You have been called [to endure harsh treatment patiently] . . . because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you might follow in his steps” (1 Peter 2:21).
If Christ conquered bitterness and vengeance by faith in future grace, how much more should we, since we have far less right to murmur for being mistreated than he did?
“Let them praise the name of the LORD: for his name alone is excellent; his glory [is] above the earth and heaven.” Psa 148:13
Names are important it’s what identifies us. In the Old Testament times, a name was not only identification, but an identity as well. Often times a name revealed the character or make up of a person . Abigail in explaining to David her husband’s poor decision explained, Nabal, whose name means fool, “For as his name is, so is he; Nabal is his name, and folly is with him:” – 1Sam 25:25).
Throughout Scripture God reveals Himself to us through His names. When we study these names we will better understand who God really is. The meanings behind God’s names reveal His central personality and nature. In the disciples prayer Jesus taught us to declare, “Hallowed be Your name.” To hallow a thing is to make it holy or to set it apart to be exalted as being worthy of absolute devotion. To hallow the name of God is to regard Him with complete devotion and loving admiration. The Priestly Levites declared to the Children of Israel, “Arise, bless the Lord your God forever and ever! Oh may Your glorious name be blessed and exalted above all blessing and praise! (Neh 9:5). We should never take the name of the Lord lightly (Ex 20:7; Lev 22:32), but always rejoice in it and reflect deeply upon its true meaning.
00Philip Holderhttp://www.hoperoadnazarene.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/hrn-logo-520x140-1.pngPhilip Holder2015-06-29 02:48:442015-06-29 02:48:44THE NAMES OF GOD
SAVING FAITH LOVES FORGIVENESS
/in Discipleship, Steadfast HopeBe kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you. (Ephesians 4:32)
Saving faith is not merely believing that you are forgiven. Saving faith looks at the horror of sin, and then looks at the holiness of God, and apprehends spiritually that God’s forgiveness is unspeakably glorious.
Faith in God’s forgiveness does not merely mean a persuasion that I am off the hook. It means savoring the truth that a forgiving God is the most precious reality in the universe. Saving faith cherishes being forgiven by God, and from there rises to cherishing the God who forgives — and all that he is for us in Jesus.
The great act of forgiveness is past — the cross of Christ. By this backward look, we learn of the grace in which we will ever stand (Romans 5:2). We learn that we are now, and always will be, loved and accepted. We learn that the living God is a forgiving God.
But the great experience of being forgiven is all future. Fellowship with the great God who forgives is all future. Freedom for forgiveness flowing from this all-satisfying fellowship with the forgiving God is all future.
I have learned that it is possible to go on holding a grudge if your faith simply means you have looked back to the cross and concluded that you are off the hook. I have been forced to go deeper into what true faith is. It is being satisfied with all that God is for us in Jesus. It looks back not merely to discover that it is off the hook, but to see and savor the kind of God who
offers us a future of endless reconciled tomorrows in fellowship with him.
HOW CHRIST CONQUERED BITTERNESS
/in Discipleship, Steadfast Hope“When he was reviled, he did not revile in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten, but continued entrusting himself to him who judges justly.” (1 Peter 2:23)
No one was more grievously sinned against than Jesus. Every ounce of animosity against him was fully undeserved. No one has ever lived who was more worthy of honor than Jesus; and no one has been dishonored more. If anyone had a right to get angry and be bitter and vengeful, it was Jesus. How did he control himself when scoundrels, whose very lives he sustained, spit in his face? 1 Peter 2:23 gives the answer.
What this verse means is that Jesus had faith in the future grace of God’s righteous judgment. He did not need to avenge himself for all the indignities he suffered, because he entrusted his cause to God. He left vengeance in God’s hands and prayed for his enemies’ repentance (Luke 23:34).
Peter gives this glimpse into Jesus’ faith so that we would learn how to live this way ourselves. He said, “You have been called [to endure harsh treatment patiently] . . . because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you might follow in his steps” (1 Peter 2:21).
If Christ conquered bitterness and vengeance by faith in future grace, how much more should we, since we have far less right to murmur for being mistreated than he did?
THE NAMES OF GOD
/in Steadfast Hope“Let them praise the name of the LORD: for his name alone is excellent; his glory [is] above the earth and heaven.” Psa 148:13
Names are important it’s what identifies us. In the Old Testament times, a name was not only identification, but an identity as well. Often times a name revealed the character or make up of a person . Abigail in explaining to David her husband’s poor decision explained, Nabal, whose name means fool, “For as his name is, so is he; Nabal is his name, and folly is with him:” – 1Sam 25:25).
Throughout Scripture God reveals Himself to us through His names. When we study these names we will better understand who God really is. The meanings behind God’s names reveal His central personality and nature. In the disciples prayer Jesus taught us to declare, “Hallowed be Your name.” To hallow a thing is to make it holy or to set it apart to be exalted as being worthy of absolute devotion. To hallow the name of God is to regard Him with complete devotion and loving admiration. The Priestly Levites declared to the Children of Israel, “Arise, bless the Lord your God forever and ever! Oh may Your glorious name be blessed and exalted above all blessing and praise! (Neh 9:5). We should never take the name of the Lord lightly (Ex 20:7; Lev 22:32), but always rejoice in it and reflect deeply upon its true meaning.