Threads from Henry's Web

Tag: Grace

  • Strength in Weakness

    Strength in Weakness

    But he said to me, “My grace is enough for you, for strength is made complete in weakness.

    2 Corinthians 12:9a (my translation)

    This is one of the many passages I say are easy to preach, but not easy to practice. The problem with that line is that you may be preaching it wrong if you aren’t, in some way, practicing it.

    I don’t mean that God may leave you behind or exclude you because you have failed to understand weakness. Note the “grace” in there. Often we think grace is a substitute for taking action. It’s not. It’s the only means toward effective action. I may be saved by grace, but if I go banging my head against the wall, it will still hurt.

    I may also accept that I depend on Christ for everything, and still if I go trying to fix everything myself, refusing help, it’s still going to hurt.

    I was reminded of that last week when I injured my lower back. I thought I injured my hip, but those who know say otherwise. I immediately went into fix-it-myself mode. First I waited to get medical attention because it wasn’t bad enough. Then, well, I ended up going to the hospital by ambulance.

    I posted the following on Facebook:

    I ended up taking an ambulance ride to the ER early yesterday for an injury sustained in caregiving for Jody. The injury was actually about a week ago, but kept getting worse until I was in bad shape. The EMTs couldn’t find any blood pressure at first, and when I told them I hadn’t taken my blood pressure meds they said, “Thank God! You probably would have crashed.” Then my blood pressure rebounded to very high, but they said it stayed in a range they’d expect for the situation.

    In any case, the diagnosis is a strain to the sciatic nerve for which I have more pills to take in the next week than I’ve probably taken in my life up to now. I’m fairly weak and unable to make the walk to my office safely. (The hospital put an armband on saying I was a falling risk. I wish I could argue, but they were right.) I surprised them, I think, by refusing morphine, but they had said with the meds they were giving me the problem would begin to clear up in another half hour. I said I’ve been surviving this for a few hours now, I’ll wait for the steroids, etc to do their thing.

    From my Facebook Feed.

    I got a text of sympathy from my friend (and Energion author) Dave Black. Now Dave didn’t start preaching about weakness, but he has a connection there that reminded me of it. Perhaps it’s the title of his dissertation, Paul: Apostle of Weakness.

    Now Dave didn’t say anything to me about weakness. He didn’t have to. I started thinking about it.

    Here are some things that have occurred to me about weakness over the last few days as I try to recover.

    1. We don’t like to accept or admit weakness. In my case, this was shown as I tried to avoid medical care. Yes, I told myself I didn’t have time, but what I didn’t want to do was go get some orders from a doctor that I might even have to follow. A fate to be avoided diligently!
      I was sitting in my dining room, in serious pain, after I had nearly passed out in my bathroom. Do you want to guess what I was thinking? “I wonder if I could drive myself to the hospital.”
      I’m reminded of a aphorism I first heard in a military context: “After a certain point, quantity has a quality all its own.” Let me use something similar here. “After a certain point (which is probably behind you), strength has a weakness all its own.”
    2. Even after we accept weakness, we don’t want to embrace the extent of our weakness. Having realized that driving myself to the emergency room was not an option, I immediately thought of friends. Who can give me a quiet ride to the ER? The friend I chose to call is a retired physician. After a couple of questions he said, “You need to call an ambulance and go that way.”
      Ouch! I am not old and infirm. I am not sick. I am not weak. I don’t need an ambulance.
      And then facts jump up and intrude.
    3. Once we realize a weakness, we’d rather not ask for help. I encountered this in myself as my friend was driving me home from the hospital. I also needed to get some medications at the pharmacy. I started out with the idea of going by the pharmacy on the way home. It was only a little out of the way. Then I realized, weak again, that I couldn’t contemplate that ride.
      So, not wanting to ask my friend for any more help, I suggested he take me home and I’d get someone else to make a run later than afternoon. He had, after all, done enough!
      That was not his opinion. He dropped me off, took the prescriptions, got them filled, and brought them back to me.
      Lesson? You know more helping people and they’ll help more than you think.
    4. Those of us who have leadership roles want to avoid looking weak. This can come in many ways. Sometimes we don’t want to admit we don’t know the answer to a question. Sometimes we don’t want to admit family problems. Sometimes we just don’t want to admit anything. And church congregations tend to jump on such weaknesses. Might I suggest reading 2 Corinthians 12? Paul had that problem. Paul chose to model weakness. Jesus had that problem. The disciples, and especially Judas, thought he should wield strength. He used weakness. Your ministry may be tough with admitted weakness, but it’s going to be real, by God’s grace.
    5. Those of us not in leadership look for strong leaders to lead and protect us. This reflects our own lack of faith in “strength completed through weakness.” We preach about Jesus going to the cross. We talk about loving one another, but we believe that can only work while protected by strength, accomplishment, and yes, superiority. Bottom line, we don’t actually believe what Jesus said.

    The church is, in so many ways, not a collection of the “good” or “righteous,” or of people who can claim superiority to those around them, but rather it is a group of people who are so wounded that we can’t even admit how wounded we are. We’re trying to get to the point where we realize that the great physician is there.

    But that’s OK. The weakness is there. God’s gonna get you in the end!

  • John Wesley’s Sermon 6 – The Righteousness of Faith

    John Wesley’s Sermon 6 – The Righteousness of Faith

    The following sermon is translated according to my prompts by Google Gemini AI. Note that the sermon was translated in blocks, and in this case I’m choosing to include those translation notes after each block. All bolding is a reference to these notes and is not for emphasis.

    I refer to this as “translation,” but it is really simply a modernization of language.

    You can find the original sermon here.

    Sermon 6: The Righteousness of Faith

    “Moses describes the righteousness that comes from the law: ‘The person who does these things will live by them.’ But the righteousness that comes from faith speaks like this: ‘Do not say in your heart, “Who will ascend into heaven?” (that is, to bring Christ down from above); or, “Who will descend into the deep?” (that is, to bring Christ up again from the dead). But what does it say? “The word is near you, even in your mouth and in your heart”—that is, the word of faith which we preach.’” – Romans 10:5-8

    1. The Apostle Paul here is not contrasting the covenant given by Moses with the covenant given by Christ. If we ever thought that, it was because we failed to notice that both the latter and former parts of these words were spoken by Moses himself to the people of Israel, and they concerned the covenant that was already in place at that time (Deuteronomy 30:11, 12, 14). Instead, Saint Paul here is contrasting the covenant of grace—which God, through Christ, has established with humanity in all ages (both before and under the Jewish system, as well as since God was revealed in the flesh)—with the covenant of works, which was made with Adam in Paradise. This covenant of works was commonly, but mistakenly, supposed to be the only covenant God had made with humanity, especially by those Jews about whom the Apostle writes.
    2. It was of these Jews that he speaks so affectionately at the beginning of this chapter: “My heart’s desire and prayer to God for Israel is, that they may be saved. For I can testify about them that they have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge. For they, being ignorant of God’s righteousness” (meaning the justification that flows from His pure grace and mercy, freely forgiving our sins through the Son of His love, through the redemption which is in Jesus), “and seeking to establish their own righteousness” (meaning their own holiness, which they believed must come before faith in “Him who justifies the ungodly,” as the basis for their pardon and acceptance), “have not submitted themselves to the righteousness of God,” and consequently are seeking spiritual death in the error of their lives.
    3. They were ignorant that “Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes“—that, by the one offering of Himself, He had brought an end to the first law or covenant (which, indeed, was not given by God to Moses, but to Adam in his state of innocence). The strict condition of that covenant, without any exceptions, was: “Do this, and live.” And, at the same time, Christ purchased for us that better covenant: “Believe, and live;” believe, and you shall be saved—now saved, both from the guilt and power of sin, and, as a consequence, from its penalty.
    4. And how many are equally ignorant today, even among those who are called by the name of Christ! How many who now have a “zeal for God,” yet do not have it “according to knowledge,” but are still seeking “to establish their own righteousness” as the basis for their pardon and acceptance? And therefore, they strongly refuse to “submit themselves to the righteousness of God!” Surely, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for you, brothers and sisters, is that you may be saved. And, to remove this major obstacle from your path, I will try to show: First, what the righteousness that comes from the law is, and what “the righteousness that comes from faith” is; Secondly, the folly of trusting in the righteousness of the law, and the wisdom of submitting to the righteousness that comes from faith.

    I. The Righteousness of the Law

    1. And, first, “the righteousness that comes from the law says, ‘The person who does these things will live by them.’” This means: Constantly and perfectly observe all these things to do them, and then you shall live forever. This law, or covenant (usually called the Covenant of Works), given by God to humanity in Paradise, required an obedience that was perfect in all its parts, complete and lacking nothing, as the condition for humanity’s eternal continuation in the holiness and happiness in which they were created.

    Notes on Translation Choices:

    • Sermon Title: “The Righteousness of Faith” is kept.
    • Introductory Scripture (Romans 10:5-8): Modernized the language while retaining the key phrases “righteousness which is of the law,” “righteousness which is of faith,” and “word is nigh thee.” Clarified parenthetical explanations.
    • “Covenant given by Moses, to the covenant given by Christ”: Clarified with “by Moses” and “by Christ.”
    • “Jewish dispensation”: Modernized to “Jewish system.”
    • “God was manifest in the flesh”: Kept, as it’s a key theological phrase for the incarnation.
    • “Covenant of works, made with Adam while in Paradise”: Kept these specific theological terms.
    • “Ignorant of God’s righteousness”: Wesley’s own parenthetical explanation is crucial, so I’ve maintained it: “(meaning the justification that flows from His pure grace and mercy, freely forgiving our sins through the Son of His love, through the redemption which is in Jesus)”.
    • “Seeking to establish their own righteousness”: Again, Wesley’s parenthetical clarification is important and maintained: “(meaning their own holiness, which they believed must come before faith in ‘Him who justifies the ungodly,’ as the basis for their pardon and acceptance)”.
    • “Justifieth the ungodly”: Kept as a direct biblical quote.
    • “Come short of the glory of God”: Kept as a direct biblical quote.
    • “Consequences seek death in the error of their life”: Modernized slightly to “consequently are seeking spiritual death in the error of their lives.”
    • “Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth”: Kept as a direct biblical quote.
    • “Oblation of himself once offered”: Kept as a key theological term for Christ’s sacrifice.
    • “Strict tenor thereof, without any abatement, was, ‘Do this, and live’”: Retained this precise summary of the Covenant of Works.
    • “Purchased for us that better covenant, ‘Believe, and live;’”: Emphasizes the contrast.
    • “Guilt and power of sin, and, of consequence, from the wages of it”: Key Wesleyan distinctions, maintained.
    • “Grand stumbling-block”: Modernized to “major obstacle.”
    • I.1: “Righteousness which is of the law saith, The man which doeth these things shall live by them”: Kept as a direct biblical quote.
    • “Covenant of Works”: Maintained this theological term.
    • “Obedience perfect in all its parts, entire and wanting nothing”: Kept this emphasis on absolute perfection required by the law.

    I. The Righteousness of the Law (Continued)

    1. It required that humanity should fulfill all righteousness, inward and outward, negative and positive. This meant not only abstaining from every idle word and avoiding every evil work, but also keeping every affection, every desire, every thought, in obedience to the will of God. It required that they should continue holy, as He who had created them was holy, both in heart and in all their conduct. They were to be pure in heart, even as God is pure; perfect as their Father in heaven was perfect. They were to love the Lord their God with all their heart, with all their soul, with all their mind, and with all their strength. They were to love every soul God had made, even as God had loved them. By this universal benevolence, they were to dwell in God (who is love) and God in them. They were to serve the Lord their God with all their strength, and in all things aim solely at His glory.
    2. These were the things that the righteousness of the law required, so that whoever did them might live by them. But it further required that this complete obedience to God, this inward and outward holiness, this conformity of both heart and life to His will, should be perfect in degree. No reduction, no allowance could possibly be made for falling short in any degree, as to any tiny detail, either of the outward or the inward law. If every commandment relating to outward things was obeyed, yet that was not sufficient unless every one was obeyed with all possible strength, to the highest measure, and in the most perfect manner. Nor did it satisfy the demand of this covenant to love God with every power and faculty unless He were loved with the full capacity of each, with the whole potential of the soul.
    3. One thing more was absolutely required by the righteousness of the law, namely, that this universal obedience, this perfect holiness both of heart and life, should also be perfectly uninterrupted. It had to continue without any break, from the moment God created humanity and breathed into their nostrils the breath of life, until the days of their trial should end, and they should be confirmed in everlasting life.
    4. The righteousness, then, which is of the law, speaks in this way: “You, O person of God, stand firm in love, in the image of God in which you are made. If you wish to remain in life, keep the commandments, which are now written in your heart. Love the Lord your God with all your heart. Love, as yourself, every soul that He has made. Desire nothing but God. Aim at God in every thought, in every word and work. Do not deviate, in one motion of body or soul, from Him, your goal, and the prize of your high calling; and let all that is within you praise His holy name, every power and faculty of your soul, in every kind, in every degree, and at every moment of your existence. ‘Do this, and you shall live:’ Your light shall shine, your love shall flame more and more, until you are received up into the house of God in the heavens, to reign with Him forever and ever.”
    1. “But the righteousness that comes from faith speaks like this: ‘Do not say in your heart, “Who will ascend into heaven?” (that is, to bring Christ down from above; as though God required some impossible task for you to perform before you could be accepted) or, “Who will descend into the deep?” (that is, to bring Christ up again from the dead; as though that still needed to be done for your acceptance). But what does it say? “The word,” according to which you can now be accepted as an heir of eternal life, “is near you, even in your mouth and in your heart”—that is, the word of faith which we preach—the new covenant which God has now established with sinful humanity through Christ Jesus.’”

    Notes on Translation Choices:

    • I.2: “Fulfil all righteousness, inward and outward, negative and positive”: Kept, as it’s a very precise and comprehensive description of legal righteousness.
    • “Every idle word” / “every evil work” / “every affection, every desire, every thought”: Retained for the exhaustive nature of the requirement.
    • “Holy, as he which had created him was holy, both in heart, and in all manner of conversation”: Modernized “conversation” to “conduct.”
    • “Pure in heart, even as God is pure; perfect as his Father in heaven was perfect”: Kept, as they are direct biblical echoes/commands (Matthew 5:48).
    • “Love the Lord his God with all his heart…”: Kept as direct biblical quote.
    • “Universal benevolence”: Kept, highlighting the scope of the required love for others.
    • “Dwell in God, (who is love,) and God in him”: Kept as direct biblical reference (1 John 4:16).
    • “Singly aim at his glory”: Modernized to “aim solely at His glory.”
    • I.3: “Perfect in degree”: This is a crucial point for Wesley; the law demanded perfection in quality as well as scope. Retained.
    • “No abatement, no allowance… for falling short in any degree, as to any jot or tittle”: Emphasizes the absolute nature of the demand, using biblical idiom “jot or tittle.”
    • “Full capacity of each, with the whole possibility of the soul”: Stresses the complete and utter demand.
    • I.4: “Perfectly uninterrupted”: Another key requirement of legal righteousness.
    • I.5: Summary of the law’s demand: This paragraph beautifully summarizes the law’s requirements as a direct address. I’ve modernized the language while retaining its poetic and commanding tone: “Thou, O man of God, stand fast in love, in the image of God wherein thou art made…” changed to “You, O person of God, stand firm in love, in the image of God in which you are made.” “Swerve not, in one motion of body or soul, from him, thy mark, and the prize of thy high calling” is retained as a powerful image. “This do, and thou shalt live” is the quintessential legal command.

    I. The Righteousness of the Law (Continued)

    1. By “the righteousness that comes from faith” is meant that condition for justification (and, as a result, for present and final salvation, if we endure in it to the end) which was given by God to fallen humanity through the merits and mediation of His only-begotten Son. This was partially revealed to Adam soon after his fall, being contained in the original promise made to him and his descendants concerning the Seed of the Woman, who would “crush the serpent’s head” (Genesis 3:15). It was revealed a little more clearly to Abraham by the angel of God from heaven, saying, “By Myself I have sworn, says the Lord, that in your offspring all the nations of the world will be blessed” (Genesis 12:15, 18). It was made known even more fully to Moses, to David, and to the Prophets who followed; and, through them, to many of God’s people in their respective generations. But still, most of even these individuals were ignorant of it, and very few understood it clearly. “Life and immortality” were still not “brought to light” for the Jews of old as plainly as they are now to us “by the gospel.”
    2. Now, this covenant does not say to sinful humanity, “Perform perfect obedience, and live.” If this were the term, they would gain no more benefit from all that Christ has done and suffered for them than if they were required, in order to life, to “ascend into heaven, and bring Christ down from above”; or to “descend into the deep,” into the invisible world, and “bring Christ up from the dead.” It does not require any impossible act to be done (although for mere human beings, what it requires would be impossible; but not for human beings assisted by the Spirit of God). This would only be mocking human weakness. Indeed, strictly speaking, the covenant of grace does not require us to do anything at all as absolutely and indispensably necessary in order to our justification; but only to believe in Him who, for the sake of His Son and the atonement He has made, “justifies the ungodly who does not work,” and credits their faith to them for righteousness. Even so, Abraham “believed in the Lord, and He credited it to him as righteousness” (Genesis 15:6). “And he received the sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness that comes from faith—that he might be the father of all who believe—that righteousness might be credited to them also” (Romans 4:11). “Now it was not written for his sake alone that it,” i.e., faith, “was credited to him; but also for us, to whom it shall be credited”—to whom faith shall be credited for righteousness, shall stand in the place of perfect obedience, in order to our acceptance with God—”if we believe in Him who raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead; who was delivered” to death “for our offenses, and was raised again for our justification” (Romans 4:23-25); for the assurance of the forgiveness of our sins, and of a second life to come, to those who believe.
    3. What, then, does the covenant of forgiveness, of unmerited love, of pardoning mercy say? “Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and you shall be saved.” On the day you believe, you shall surely live. You shall be restored to the favor of God; and in His pleasure is life. You shall be saved from the curse and from the wrath of God. You shall be brought to life from the death of sin into the life of righteousness. And if you persevere to the end, believing in Jesus, you shall never experience the second death; but, having suffered with your Lord, you shall also live and reign with Him forever and ever.
    4. Now, “this word is near you.” This condition for life is plain, easy, always accessible. “It is in your mouth, and in your heart,” through the operation of the Spirit of God. The moment “you believe in your heart” in Him whom God “has raised from the dead,” and “confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus,” as your Lord and your God, “you shall be saved” from condemnation, from the guilt and punishment of your former sins, and shall have power to serve God in true holiness all the remaining days of your life.
    5. What is the difference, then, between the “righteousness that comes from the law” and the “righteousness that comes from faith“? Between the first covenant, or the covenant of works, and the second, the covenant of grace? The essential, unchangeable difference is this: The one supposes the person to whom it is given to be already holy and happy, created in the image and enjoying the favor of God; and it prescribes the condition on which they may continue in that state of love and joy, life and immortality. The other supposes the person to whom it is given to be now unholy and unhappy, having fallen short of the glorious image of God, having the wrath of God resting on them, and hastening, through sin (by which their soul is dead), toward bodily death and everlasting death. And to humanity in this state, it prescribes the condition on which they may regain the treasure they have lost, may recover the favor and image of God, may retrieve the life of God in their soul, and be restored to the knowledge and the love of God, which is the beginning of eternal life.
    6. Again: The covenant of works, in order for humanity’s continuation in God’s favor, in His knowledge and love, in holiness and happiness, required of perfect humanity a perfect and uninterrupted obedience to every point of the law of God. Whereas, the covenant of grace, in order for humanity’s recovery of God’s favor and life, requires only faith; living faith in Him who, through God, justifies the one who did not obey.
    7. Yet, again: The covenant of works required of Adam and all his children to pay the price themselves, in consideration of which they were to receive all the future blessings of God. But, in the covenant of grace, seeing we have nothing to pay, God “freely forgives us all”: provided only that we believe in Him who has paid the price for us; who has given Himself as a “Propitiation for our sins, for the sins of the whole world.”
    8. Thus the first covenant required what is now far beyond the reach of all humanity; namely, sinless obedience, which is far from those who are “conceived and born in sin.” Whereas, the second requires what is near at hand; as though it should say, “You are sin! God is love! You by sin have fallen short of the glory of God; yet there is mercy with Him. Bring then all your sins to the pardoning God, and they shall vanish away as a cloud. If you were not ungodly, there would be no room for Him to justify you as ungodly. But now draw near, in full assurance of faith. He speaks, and it is done. Do not fear, only believe; for even the just God justifies all who believe in Jesus.”

    Notes on Translation Choices:

    • Numbering Conflict: As noted, my translation numbers this section II.7 onwards to follow the preceding text from your prompt. We can adjust the final numbering of the entire sermon easily after the last section is translated.
    • “Merits and mediation”: Kept these theological terms.
    • Genesis 3:15 / Genesis 12:15, 18 / Romans 4:11, 23-25: Modernized the biblical quotes while retaining their core meaning.
    • “Unsinning obedience”: Changed to “perfect obedience” for clarity.
    • “Invisible world”: Added clarity for “the deep.”
    • “To mere man, what it requires would be impossible; but not to man assisted by the Spirit of God”: Maintained this crucial Wesleyan distinction.
    • “Justifieth the ungodly that worketh not”: Kept as a direct biblical quote/allusion.
    • “Imputes his faith to him for righteousness”: Kept the theological term “imputes.”
    • “Stand in the stead of perfect obedience”: Kept for clarity on the legal nature of justification by faith.
    • “Frankly forgives us all”: Modernized to “freely forgives us all.”
    • “Propitiation for our sins, for the sins of the whole world”: Kept as a direct biblical quote/allusion.
    • “Nigh at hand”: Modernized to “near at hand” or “always accessible.”
    • Romans 10:9-10 allusions: “Believe in thine heart… confessest with thy mouth… shalt be saved” are maintained as essential to the Roman 10 passage.
    • “Power to serve God in true holiness all the remaining days of thy life”: A key Wesleyan emphasis on present and ongoing sanctification.
    • I.11: Comprehensive Contrast: This paragraph is key to the entire sermon, clearly delineating the two covenants. I’ve maintained the rich theological language used to describe the fallen state and the recovery.
    • I.12 & I.13: Further Distinctions: These paragraphs reiterate and deepen the contrast, using terms like “perfect and uninterrupted obedience” vs. “only faith,” and “pay the price themselves” vs. “God ‘freely forgives us all’.”
    • I.14: Poetic Conclusion to the Section: This strong, evangelical call to faith is maintained, including the powerful rhetorical questions and direct address (“Thou art sin! God is love!”). “Just God justifieth all that believe in Jesus” is a key paradox Wesley embraces.

    II. The Folly of Trusting in the Law; The Wisdom of Faith

    1. Considering these points, it would be easy to show, as I planned to do in the second place, the folly of trusting in the “righteousness that comes from the law,” and the wisdom of submitting to “the righteousness that comes from faith.”The folly of those who still trust in the “righteousness that comes from the law”—whose terms are, “Do this, and live”—can be clearly seen from this: They start off wrong; their very first step is a fundamental mistake. For, before they can even think of claiming any blessing on the terms of this covenant, they must assume they are in the same state as the one with whom this covenant was made. But how foolish an assumption this is, since it was made with Adam in a state of innocence! How weak, therefore, must that whole structure be which stands on such a foundation! And how foolish are those who thus build on the sand! They seem never to have considered that the covenant of works was not given to humanity when they were “dead in trespasses and sins,” but when they were alive to God, when they knew no sin, but were holy as God is holy. They forget that it was never designed for the recovery of God’s favor and life once lost, but only for the continuation and increase thereof, until it should be complete in eternal life.
    2. Nor do those who are thus trying to establish their “own righteousness, which is of the law,” consider the kind of obedience or righteousness that the law absolutely requires. It must be perfect and complete in every point, or it does not meet the law’s demands. But which of you is able to perform such obedience, or, consequently, to live by it? Who among you fulfills every tiny detail, even of the outward commandments of God? Doing nothing, great or small, which God forbids? Leaving nothing undone which He commands? Speaking no idle word? Always having your conversation “fitting to give grace to those who hear”? And, “whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, doing everything to the glory of God?” And how much less are you able to fulfill all the inward commandments of God!—those which require that every disposition and motion of your soul should be holiness to the Lord! Are you able to “love God with all your heart”? To love all humanity as your own soul? To “pray without ceasing”? “In everything to give thanks”? To have God always before you? And to keep every affection, desire, and thought in obedience to His law?
    3. You should further consider that the righteousness of the law requires not only obeying every command of God—negative and positive, internal and external—but also doing so in the perfect degree. In every instance whatever, the voice of the law is, “You shall serve the Lord your God with all your strength.” It allows no reduction of any kind. It excuses no defect. It condemns every falling short of the full measure of obedience, and immediately pronounces a curse on the offender. It regards only the unchanging rules of justice, and says, “I know not how to show mercy.”
    4. Who then can appear before such a Judge, who is “strict in marking what is done wrong?” How foolish are those who desire to be tried at the judgment bar where “no living person can be justified!”—none of Adam’s offspring. For, suppose we did now keep every commandment with all our strength; yet one single breach that ever occurred completely destroys our whole claim to life. If we have ever offended in any one point, this righteousness is at an end. For the law condemns all who do not perform uninterrupted as well as perfect obedience. So that, according to its sentence, for someone who has once sinned, in any degree, “there remains only a fearful expectation of fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries” of God.
    5. Is it not then the very height of folly for fallen humanity to seek life by this righteousness?—for humanity, who was “shaped in wickedness, and in sin did his mother conceive him?” For humanity, who is, by nature, entirely “earthly, sensual, devilish;” “altogether corrupt and abominable;” in whom, until they find grace, “dwells no good thing;” indeed, who cannot of themselves think one good thought; who is truly all sin, a mere lump of ungodliness, and who commits sin with every breath they draw; whose actual transgressions, in word and deed, are more numerous than the hairs of their head? What stupidity, what senselessness must it be for such an unclean, guilty, helpless creature as this to dream of seeking acceptance by their own righteousness, of living by “the righteousness that comes from the law!”
    6. Now, whatsoever considerations prove the folly of trusting in the “righteousness that comes from the law,” prove equally the wisdom of submitting to the “righteousness that comes from God by faith.” This would be easy to show with regard to each of the preceding considerations. But, to set this aside for a moment, the wisdom of the first step toward this—the disclaiming our own righteousness—plainly appears from this: that it is acting according to truth, to the real nature of things. For, what is it more than to acknowledge, with our heart as well as lips, the true state in which we are? To acknowledge that we bring with us into the world a corrupt, sinful nature; indeed, more corrupt than we can easily conceive, or find words to express? That by this, we are prone to all that is evil and averse from all that is good; that we are full of pride, self-will, unruly passions, foolish desires, vile and unrestrained affections; lovers of the world, lovers of pleasure more than lovers of God? That our lives have been no better than our hearts, but many ways ungodly and unholy; so much so that our actual sins, both in word and deed, have been as countless as the stars of heaven? That, on all these accounts, we are displeasing to Him who is of purer eyes than to behold iniquity, and deserve nothing from Him but indignation and wrath and death, the just wages of sin? That we cannot, by any of our righteousness (for indeed we have none at all), nor by any of our works (for they are like the tree upon which they grow), appease the wrath of God or avert the punishment we have justly deserved? Yes, that, if left to ourselves, we shall only grow worse and worse, sink deeper and deeper into sin, offend God more and more, both with our evil works and with the evil dispositions of our carnal mind, until we fill up the measure of our iniquities and bring upon ourselves swift destruction? And is not this the very state in which we are by nature? To acknowledge this, then, both with our heart and lips—that is, to disclaim our own righteousness, “the righteousness that comes from the law”—is to act according to the real nature of things, and, consequently, is an instance of true wisdom.

    Notes on Translation Choices:

    • Numbering: I’ve kept the Roman numeral II.1 and subsequent Arabic numbering as they appear in your provided text for now. We can harmonize the full sermon’s numbering later.
    • II.1: “Abundantly appear from hence”: Modernized to “can be clearly seen from this.”
    • “They set out wrong; their very first step is a fundamental mistake”: Kept, as it’s a strong, clear statement.
    • “Vain a supposition”: Modernized to “foolish an assumption.”
    • “Building be, which stands on such a foundation”: Kept the metaphor.
    • “Dead in trespasses and sins”: Kept as a direct biblical quote.
    • II.2: “What manner of obedience or righteousness that is which the law indispensably requires”: Modernized to “kind of obedience or righteousness that the law absolutely requires.”
    • “Every jot and tittle”: Kept as a direct biblical idiom (Matthew 5:18).
    • “Meet to minister grace to the hearers”: Modernized to “fitting to give grace to those who hear” (Ephesians 4:29).
    • “Whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, doing all to the glory of God”: Kept as a direct biblical quote (1 Corinthians 10:31).
    • “Every temper and motion of your soul should be holiness unto the Lord”: Kept, as it’s a powerful description of inward holiness.
    • “Love God with all your heart…” / “pray without ceasing” / “in every thing to give thanks”: Kept as direct biblical quotes/commands.
    • II.3: “Perfect degree”: Emphasizes the law’s absolute standard.
    • “Thou shalt serve the Lord thy God with all thy strength”: Kept as a direct biblical quote.
    • “Coming short of the full measure of obedience”: Kept, conveying the concept of failing to meet the standard.
    • “I know not to show mercy”: A strong personification of the law’s strictness.
    • II.4: “Extreme to mark what is done amiss”: Modernized to “strict in marking what is done wrong.”
    • “No flesh living can be justified”: Kept as a direct biblical quote.
    • “One single breach which ever was, utterly destroys our whole claim to life”: This is a critical point about the law’s indivisible demand.
    • “Fearful looking for of fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries”: Kept as a direct biblical quote (Hebrews 10:27).
    • II.5: “Very foolishness of folly”: Kept this emphatic phrase.
    • “Shapen in wickedness, and in sin did his mother conceive him”: Kept as a direct biblical quote (Psalm 51:5).
    • “Earthly, sensual, devilish”: Kept as direct biblical quote (James 3:15).
    • “Altogether corrupt and abominable”: Kept this strong language about fallen human nature.
    • “Dwellth no good thing”: Kept as a direct biblical quote (Romans 7:18).
    • “Mere lump of ungodliness”: Kept this vivid, strong metaphor.
    • II.6: Transition to “Wisdom of submitting to the righteousness which is of God by faith”: This paragraph marks the significant pivot of the sermon.
    • “Disclaiming our own righteousness”: A key action in Wesley’s understanding of justification.
    • Comprehensive Description of Fallen State: The long list of human sinfulness (“corrupt, sinful nature,” “prone to all that is evil,” “pride, self-will,” “lovers of the world,” “ungodly and unholy,” “actual sins… as the stars of heaven for multitude,” “displeasing to Him… deserve nothing but indignation and wrath and death”) is kept to fully convey Wesley’s view of humanity’s natural state, making the subsequent embrace of faith all the more reasonable.
    • “Purer eyes than to behold iniquity”: Kept as a direct biblical quote (Habakkuk 1:13).
    • “Wax worse and worse, sink deeper and deeper into sin”: Kept this vivid image of continued decline.

    II. The Folly of Trusting in the Law; The Wisdom of Faith (Continued)

    1. The wisdom of submitting to “the righteousness that comes from faith” appears further from this consideration: that it is the righteousness of God. I mean here, it is that method of reconciliation with God which has been chosen and established by God Himself—not only as He is the God of wisdom, but as He is the sovereign Lord of heaven and earth, and of every creature He has made. Now, as it is not fitting for humanity to say to God, “What are You doing?”—as no one who is not utterly devoid of understanding will contend with One who is mightier than they, with Him whose kingdom rules over all—so it is true wisdom, it is a mark of sound understanding, to accept whatever He has chosen; to say in this, as in all things, “It is the Lord: Let Him do what seems good to Him.”
    2. It may be further considered that it was out of pure grace, of free love, of undeserved mercy, that God has granted sinful humanity any way of reconciliation with Himself—that we were not cut off from His hand and utterly erased from His remembrance. Therefore, whatever method He is pleased to appoint, out of His tender mercy, out of His undeserved goodness, whereby His enemies—who have so deeply revolted from Him, so long and obstinately rebelled against Him—may still find favor in His sight, it is doubtless our wisdom to accept it with all thankfulness.
    3. To mention just one more consideration. It is wisdom to aim at the best goal by the best means. Now, the best goal any creature can pursue is happiness in God. And the best goal a fallen creature can pursue is the recovery of the favor and image of God. But the best, indeed the only, means under heaven given to a person, by which they may regain the favor of God (which is better than life itself) or the image of God (which is the true life of the soul), is submitting to the “righteousness that comes from faith”—believing in the only-begotten Son of God.

    III. An Exhortation to the Sinner

    1. Therefore, whoever you are, who desires to be forgiven and reconciled to the favor of God, do not say in your heart, “I must first do this; I must first conquer every sin; break off every evil word and work, and do all good to all people; or, I must first go to church, receive the Lord’s Supper, hear more sermons, and say more prayers.” Alas, my brother or sister! You are completely off track. You are still “ignorant of the righteousness of God,” and are “seeking to establish your own righteousness,” as the basis of your reconciliation. Do you not know that you can do nothing but sin until you are reconciled to God? Why, then, do you say, “I must do this and this first, and then I shall believe?” No, but first believe! Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, the Atonement for your sins. Let this good foundation first be laid, and then you shall do all things well.
    2. Neither say in your heart, “I cannot be accepted yet, because I am not good enough.” Who is good enough—who ever was—to deserve acceptance at God’s hands? Was any child of Adam ever good enough for this? Or will any be until the consummation of all things? And as for you, you are not good at all: “There dwells in you no good thing.” And you never will be, until you believe in Jesus. Rather, you will find yourself getting worse and worse. But is there any need of being worse in order to be accepted? Are you not bad enough already? Indeed you are, and God knows that. And you yourself cannot deny it. Then delay not. All things are now ready. “Arise, and wash away your sins.” The fountain is open. Now is the time to wash yourself white in the blood of the Lamb. Now He shall “cleanse” you as “with hyssop,” and you shall “be clean”: He shall “wash” you, and you shall “be whiter than snow.”
    3. Do not say, “But I am not contrite enough: I am not sensible enough of my sins.” I know it. I wish to God you were more aware of them, a thousand times more broken-hearted than you are. But do not wait for this. It may be that God will make you so, not before you believe, but by believing. It may be, you will not weep much until you love much because you have had much forgiven. In the meantime, look to Jesus. Behold, how He loves you! What more could He have done for you that He has not done?O Lamb of God, was ever pain, Was ever love like Thine?Look steadily upon Him, until He looks on you and breaks your hard heart. Then shall your “head” be “waters,” and your “eyes fountains of tears.”

    Notes on Translation Choices:

    • Numbering: I’ve kept the Roman numeral II and III as they appear in your text, and the Arabic numbering within them. We will need to reconcile the full sermon’s numbering in a final pass.
    • II.7: “Meet for man to say unto God, ‘What doest thou?’”: Modernized to “fitting for humanity to say to God, ‘What are You doing?’” (referencing Romans 9:20).
    • “Utterly void of understanding”: Modernized to “utterly devoid of understanding.”
    • “Contend with One that is mightier than he”: Modernized to “contend with One who is mightier than they.”
    • “Acquiesce in whatever he hath chosen”: Modernized to “accept whatever He has chosen.”
    • “It is the Lord: Let him do what seemeth him good”: Kept as a direct biblical quote/allusion (1 Samuel 3:18).
    • II.8: “Vouchsafed to sinful man any way of reconciliation”: Modernized to “granted sinful humanity any way of reconciliation.”
    • “Cut away from his hand, and utterly blotted out of his remembrance”: Kept the strong imagery.
    • “Revolted from him, so long and obstinately rebelled against him”: Kept, emphasizing the severity of sin.
    • II.9: “Aim at the best end by the best means”: Kept, as it’s a clear maxim.
    • “Recovery of the favour and image of God”: Key Wesleyan concept, kept.
    • “Better than life itself”: Kept as a direct biblical quote (Psalm 63:3).
    • III.1: Exhortation’s Direct Address: Wesley’s direct address (“thou art clean gone out of the way,” “alas, my brother!”) is maintained, changing “thou/thy” to “you/your” for readability while preserving the intimate, urgent tone.
    • “Ignorant of the righteousness of God” / “seeking to establish thy own righteousness”: Kept as direct biblical quotes (Romans 10:3).
    • “Thou canst do nothing but sin, till thou art reconciled to God”: A very strong Wesleyan statement on natural inability.
    • “Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, the Propitiation for thy sins”: Kept this core evangelical command and title for Christ.
    • III.2: “Not good enough”: Addresses a common spiritual struggle directly.
    • “Consummation of all things”: Kept as a theological term.
    • “There dwelleth in thee no good thing”: Kept as a direct biblical quote (Romans 7:18).
    • “Arise, and wash away thy sins” / “fountain is open” / “wash thee white in the blood of the Lamb” / “purge thee as with hyssop” / “be clean” / “wash thee, and thou shalt be whiter than snow”: These are powerful biblical allusions (Acts 22:16, Zechariah 13:1, Psalm 51:7) kept for their imagery and theological weight.
    • III.3: “Contrite enough” / “sensible enough of my sins”: Addresses a common misconception about the prerequisite for faith.
    • “Not before thou believest, but by believing”: A crucial Wesleyan emphasis on the relationship between faith and repentance/conviction.
    • Poetry: The Charles Wesley hymn stanza is retained in its original form.
    • “Head” be “waters,” and thy “eyes fountains of tears”: Kept as direct biblical allusion (Jeremiah 9:1).

    III. An Exhortation to the Sinner (Conclusion)

    1. To conclude. Whoever you are, O person, who has the sentence of death within yourself, who feels yourself a condemned sinner, and has the wrath of God resting on you: To you the Lord says, not, “Do this,”—perfectly obey all My commands—“and live;” but, “Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and you shall be saved.” “The word of faith is near you:” Now, at this instant, in the present moment, and in your present state, sinner as you are, just as you are, believe the gospel; and “I will be merciful to your unrighteousness, and your iniquities I will remember no more.”

    Notes on Translation Choices:

    • “Whosoever thou art, O man, who hast the sentence of death in thyself, who feelest thyself a condemned sinner, and hast the wrath of God abiding on thee”: This powerful, direct address is maintained, with “thou/thy” updated to “you/your” for readability while preserving the urgency and personal nature of the appeal.
    • “Do this,” — perfectly obey all my commands, — “and live”: Retained to emphasize the Law’s impossible demand.
    • “Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved”: Kept as the core evangelical command.
    • “The word of faith is nigh unto thee”: Modernized to “near you.”
    • “Now, at this instant, in the present moment, and in thy present state, sinner as thou art, just as thou art, believe the gospel”: This emphasizes the immediacy and unconditional nature of the call to faith, a hallmark of Wesley’s preaching on justification. This is a very critical part.
    • “I will be merciful unto thy unrighteousness, and thy iniquities will I remember no more”: Kept as a direct biblical quote/allusion (Hebrews 8:12), signifying the promise of complete forgiveness.
  • Psalm 119:174 – Delight

    Psalm 119:174 – Delight

    I long for your salvation, LORD,
    and your instruction is my delight.

    Salvation is a word with varied meanings. One can be saved from a simple misstep by some good advice. One can be saved from death by a rescuer. One can be saved from poverty by some job training and the offer of a good job. Or, as we often use the term in Christianity, one can be “saved,” meaning that they’re going to heaven.

    This last, very common usage of the term is rarely the primary meaning in scripture. Yes, scripture talks about going to heaven, about the resurrection and about new life, but this is not isolated from other things. We can become children of God, but being God’s children is itself an experience of change and growth.

    I often think about the kingdom of heaven as simply God making the Divine presence manifest in the entire universe. If you are ready for that, it’s heaven. If not, it’s hell. Let me be clear that this is a way of thinking, and not a proposal about how reality actually works.

    Still, in scripture, becoming more like God in holiness is always a part of the package. God’s salvation, and delighting in God’s instruction go right together. God has never had a plan that didn’t involve making a holy people.

    It’s important for us to pay attention to the combination of the divine empowerment with human thought and action. Note that I do not mean that salvation is a shared effort, in which the human person contributes part of the power. This is because we start at zero, with every ability we have as a divine gift.

    Wesleyans talk about prevenient grace. What is that? It is simply God’s grace that goes before everything else. You don’t delight in God’s law on your own. That too is God’s gift. You don’t long for God’s salvation on your own. That longing is prevenient grace in action.

    We long for many things along the way, for salvation from physical dangers, from poverty, and from disease. But all these things are the small and limited examples of salvation that prepare us for, and help us to understand the ultimate salvation which is to have the full divine image restored in us.

    When we long for God’s salvation and take delight in God’s instruction, it is two different ways of looking at the whole. We long to reach the destination and we rejoice in the content, in what that destination means.

    Is that longing and that delight driving you today?

  • Psalm 119:167 – Keeping

    Psalm 119:167 – Keeping

    I keep your testimonies,
    I love them greatly.

    The first line here is formally “my soul keeps,” which is a way to refer to oneself. I does have the added connotation of keeping them from the heart out. That goes with the second line that says this comes from the love that the Psalmist has for God’s law.

    I couldn’t help today thinking about the difference in the way the various laws are presented here by the Psalmist. In Christian churches you rarely have positive references to the law as something to love and appreciate. We’ve taken pieces of Paul and used them to build the attitude that the law is very negative, so we want to avoid it.

    We have a major problem, however, in that we want to trot the law out to make other people behave the way we want them to. That again presents the law in a negative way, as we keep saying that salvation is by grace, meaning that “getting into heaven” is by grace, and then detaching that from Christian life.

    As a result we act as though God will take you to heaven, but we still need something to control things on earth before we get to heaven, so we have laws, and we enforce them. That tends to result in a loose and capricious application of standards of behavior, and soon the fires of hell will start sneaking in the other way.

    But both the law and grace come from a loving God. It’s not that grace is a way around the law. It’s more of a way through it. Ultimately, sanctifying grace says that God is going to get you in the end, which does not mean that God is going to discipline you into formal good behavior, but rather God is going to make you holy, and that “holy, just, and good” law will be part of you as well.

    Grace is the gift that keeps on giving. Even in Romans 7, which is often viewed as a “downer” chapter, Paul notes that he’d like to do God’s law, but he finds himself in a battle with the flesh which definitely does not want to keep the law.

    The answer is to live by the Spirit, at which point you do, in fact, love God’s law. You may (and should) still realize how much you fall short, and how much your flesh (to use Paul’s term) is at war with it, but it’s something that tells you where God is going to take you.

    As even the very next verse, which we’ll discuss tomorrow, the only reason anyone goes anywhere with any of this is that God is at work.

    Having trouble with keeping God’s law? Let God’s Spirit do the work.

    (Featured image from Adobe Stock. Licensed, not public domain.)

  • Psalm 119:132 – Be Gracious

    Psalm 119:132 – Be Gracious

    Turn to me and be gracious to me,
    as is your judgment for all who love your name.

    I get the sense here that “judgment” is used to establish that God’s established choice is to be gracious to those who love his name. It’s settled law.

    So if this is already what God does, why is it that the Psalmist makes a request for it?

    I see here a prime example of prayer in action. We often think of prayer as a request list. Then if we remember example prayers, we add some thanksgiving. A little worship, which can be a variety of things. But these are all adjuncts to the body of the prayer, the list of things we want. Usually when somebody says “prayer works,” this is what they mean. “I asked, and God did what I asked.” It sounds like “working”!

    But so many of the prayers of scripture are really like this one. They are about praying for what God has already made established practice. “Be gracious, as you always are.”

    I think it’s a good prayer. I’d like to attain to that prayer. I don’t mean the ability to repeat the words, but the ability to pray with the confidence that comes from knowing that I’m praying in accordance to a judgment God has already made.

    Lord be gracious to each one of us today, as you have promised!

    (Featured image generated by Jetpack AI.)

  • Psalm 119:124 – Grace

    Psalm 119:124 – Grace

    Deal graciously with your servant
    and teach me your statutes.

    I’m going to use the words of this verse, written long before there was such a thing as a Christian, to discuss a peculiarly Christian issue: Sanctification.

    Sanctification is a long word for becoming or being made holy, and “holy” is a word that we’re often not that sure about, though we act like we are. We can have a high concept of our own holiness, which usually manifests itself as self-righteousness. “Look how holy I am! I’m closer to God than you are!”

    We quote or paraphrase Ephesians 2:8, “For it is by grace that you are saved and not of works, lest anyone should boast.” But at the same time we have a picture of what a good Christian should be, and we’re quick to judge other people who don’t fit into our vision of Christian behavior.

    The result is that we’re often judging our salvation and that of others based on our perception of their holiness, or on what they have done. This is the unfortunate result of us being afraid to talk about works lest people think we’re basing our salvation on our works.

    But look at this verse. The word I’ve translated “graciously” is more literally (and commonly) translated “lovingkindness,” which is God’s love given to us. I think “graciously” gets the point. So when God deals graciously with us, what does God do?

    God teaches us statutes, rules to live by.

    You see, salvation is not just a gift of getting out of whatever nasty results we can expect in the next lives based on our behavior. It’s not a “get out of hell free card.” Well, actually it is, but it’s so very much more. And you can see the same divine approach with Israel. Israel is called to be God’s people. They become God’s people not because of something they’ve done. Passages from Genesis 12 when Abraham is called through Deuteronomy emphasize this.

    The rules come afterward. What is their purpose? Their purpose is to produce a holy people. That’s the plan. So I guess we ought to get busy and get this sanctification thing done, right?

    Not even close. Becoming a holy people is also God’s gift, which starts with the gracious gift of God’s law, carefully packaged to fit the circumstances of those who receive it. “Be holy for I am holy,” is repeated over and over in Leviticus. It’s a call, but the call is to receive the gift. When King David is called to be a man after God’s own heart (1 Samuel 13:14), it is not because he as done everything perfectly, or because he will lead a perfect life, but rather because he will be open to God and allow God to work in and through him.

    “Teach me your statutes” is a call to the one who empowers everything in the universe to empower one’s own life.

    What can God do in you today?

    (Featured image generated by Jetpack AI.)

  • Psalm 119:114 – Hope

    Psalm 119:114 – Hope

    You are my hiding place and my shield,
    In your word I place my hope.

    My meditations went today to the word hope. Hope is important. Hope is easy to lose.

    When the psalmist places his hope in God’s word, he is placing it not just in the law-giving power, but in the creative power that stands behind those laws and makes them real.

    For me, that comes down to the hope that comes from believing that the world is not pure chaos, that there are natural laws and that natural laws lead to many of our moral and ethical laws. We can work with the hope that good actions will tend to produce good results. It’s worthwhile to make an effort.

    In ancient near eastern mythology creation was often symbolized as a fight between chaos and whatever God was credited with establishing order. Order allowed planting and harvesting. It allowed building, growth, and provision for a future. Genesis 1:2 reflects this pattern with darkness over the face of the deep (tehom) and God’s spirit/wind moving above it.

    Then God’s Word comes, and light shines into the darkness. As God continues to speak order is created from the chaos. Because of that chaos, humanity can find a place to live, and grow, and yes, create, as one made in the image of the ultimate Creator.

    We sometimes see grace as working counter to this. We do not reap what we sow, but what another has sown. At the same time, grace speaks the same victory over the chaos, the same offering of potential. The one who planted a garden in Eden and there placed the first man and woman, also provides a way of escape for those caught in the chaos.

    The challenge is to find those small victories over the forces of chaos, to believe they are possible, to reach out for them, and receive them. God provides the hiding place and the shield.

    In the chaos that threatens your life today, remember the Word who has defeated it.

    (Featured image generated by Jetpack AI.)

  • Psalm 119:77 – That I May Live

    Psalm 119:77 – That I May Live

    Let your compassion come to me that I may live
    for your instruction is my meditation.

    I’ve been writing about God’s compassion. Follow the trail back for a couple of verses for more on that. Today I’ve been meditating on the importance of God’s instructions for life. It turns out I was meditating on that even though I forgot which verse I was on and had to look it up again this evening.

    I read this as a Christian. As such I recognize that we often jump past ethical concerns in scripture. As soon as someone talks about the rules, we tend to shout works. At the same time, in my experience, we’ll be pushing certain “works” as necessary. “If you aren’t doing _____ you’re not really saved.”

    Unfortunately, we don’t get much teaching that combines God’s compassion and love for us along with God’s wisdom, represented in the things he lays out for us to do. The only thing that will create holy people is God’s grace. Grace creates action. Note that action is not equal to grace. Grace does not require action as a trigger, or a prerequisite.

    So here we have two things, God’s compassion coming on the Psalmist, and meditation on God’s instruction. Let’s look at another passage from Deuteronomy.

    Look! I have put before you today life and good, death and evil.

    Deuteronomy 30:15 (author’s translation)

    We can’t forget that God has the way to life, that God’s instructions are of great value.

    When I fail to spend time with God in prayer or in Bible study, I pay for it. I pay in time spent worrying, in distractions, in decisions poorly made. No, I am not concerned that I’m losing my salvation when these things happen, but I am still losing out on the peace, joy, and comfort God offers. I’m designed to need those things. My life is better for them.

    Now I can also lose something if I forget God’s instruction that tells me that God loves me, cares for me, and knows my weaknesses. Knowing those weaknesses, God still loves me. His compassion comes on me. I can doubt God, but God remains faithful.

    If you find yourself feeling depressed today, remember that you are loved by your Creator with an everlasting, unquenchable love.

    What’s God Really Like
  • Psalm 119:76 – Comfort

    Psalm 119:76 – Comfort

    Let your lovingkindness comfort me
    as you have promised your servant.

    Lovingkindness is the Hebrew word hesed, which can also refer to faithfulness, favor, goodness, or grace. It also refers to the loyalty involved in a covenant relationship.

    I think one of the most commonly forgotten aspects of Christian faith (also true in Judaism) is living in the knowledge of being in a relationship with God. A covenant is a relationship. We often talk about our relationship with God as a sort of romantic adventure based solely on emotion.

    I don’t want to deny emotion. Emotion is important. Experience and the emotion that grows out of it is as critical as the facts on which it is based. One can get lost either way. The idea of meeting a God who demands that we keep his commands outside of such a relationship is quite daunting.

    You know that YHWH your God, he is God. He is a faithful God who keeps covenant and lovingkindness – to those who love him and to those who keep his commands – for a thousand generations.

    Deuteronomy 7:9 (author’s translation)

    Now keeping all those commands is a lot of work! Works will not save you. Works will not make you a child of God. But the book of Deuteronomy doesn’t teach that the works are somehow earning the favor. Rather,

    Not because you were more numerous than all the peoples did YHWH passionately desire you and choose you, for you were the smallest of all the peoples. Rather, because YHWH loved you and because he kept the oath which he swore to Abraham, YHWH brought you out with a powerful hand and ransomed you from the house of servitude, from the hand of Pharaoh, king of Egypt.

    Deutereonmy 7:7-8 (author’s translation)

    Now there’s something interesting about the word used to describe God’s passionate desire. It’s the same word used by Hamor of his son Shechem and his desire for Dinah, daughter of Jacob. I don’t bring this up to somehow ransom the sordid story of Shechem and Dinah. But this illustrates the strength of the emotional bond. Hamor, in using this word of his son, is telling the people of the town that the prince has to have the girl he desires. He can’t do without her.

    God’s love for God’s people is powerful, demanding, and must be satisfied. When God gives a covenant to Abraham, and repeatedly renews and restates it, God is saying that his love is overwhelming.

    In ancient times, the breaking of a covenant was regarded as a very bad thing, often resulting in a penalty of death. In Ezekiel 17:11-21 God’s message is that the people made a covenant with the king of Babylon and then violated it. God asks regarding the king who did this, “Will such a man be successful? Will he escape destruction if he acts in this way? Can he violate a treaty and escape unpunished?” (Ezekiel 17:15b). This is a condemnation of violating a human treaty.

    In Jeremiah 31:31, God says he will make a new covenant with the people of Israel and Judah, and in verse 32 he says the old one was “one they broke.” Do you hear what’s going on here? Violation of a human covenant is condemned. And yes, violation of God’s covenant is condemned. But what does God do?

    God makes a new one. Why? Because he loves his people so much. He has to have that relationship. Notice that the new covenant is in what we Christians call the “Old Testament.” The same love expressed in Deuteronomy 7 as Israel prepares to enter the land, is again expressed by creating a new covenant to replace the broken one.

    So does this only apply to Israel? We have only to pay attention to the covenant from the start to realize that God invites Israel to be his to be a blessing to all. God claims sovereignty over all the nations and moves the save them.

    It is in this overwhelmingly faithful, overpoweringly loving relationship that we can find that comfort. That kind of love is the best atmosphere in which to grow. Holiness only occurs immersed in God’s all-encompassing grace.

    Can you feel that grace today in every moment?

    (Featured image generated by Jetpack AI.)

  • Psalm 119:64

    Psalm 119:64

    LORD, Your lovingkindness fills the earth.
    Teach me your statutes.

    “Lovingkindness” could also be translated “grace” or “favor.” It covers a lot of ground. It also refers to obligations fulfilled under a covenant. When we think of it that way, we should remember that God has voluntarily created a covenant with us. Any obligations God takes on are a gift!

    It’s easy to miss the power of a verse like this. In very simple form it expresses an important theme of scripture. I’ve referred to it earlier in this series. Grace comes before law.

    We frequently preach and teach this in the opposite order. We preach about getting cleaned up so that we can be acceptable to God. We have to be good enough. Then we can come to God and find favor.

    Or we may preach salvation, becoming a child of God as something that is by grace, and then follow it with a rat race to be good enough. This isn’t an exclusively New Testament theme as some Christians think. We often don’t have the patience to read and understand the Bible Jesus knew, so we miss what’s going on.

    7 “It was not because you were more numerous than any other people that the Lord set his heart on you and chose you, for you were the fewest of all peoples. 8 It was because the Lord loved you and kept the oath that he swore to your ancestors that the Lord has brought you out with a mighty hand and redeemed you from the house of slavery, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt.

    Deuteronomy 7:7-8 (NRSVue)

    It is clear that God’s choice comes first, but especially if you read further in the context, it is God’s purpose to make the chosen people a holy people. But again, this comes through God’s action.

    If we are preachers, teachers, or leaders in the church we need to make sure to keep this order in mind. If we look at the biblical standards, making ourselves meet those standards is a daunting task. Impossible, in fact. If we push those standards as a matter of making ourselves acceptable to God we’re going to create a raft of problems. What we won’t make is holy people.

    Self-sanctification is a common belief, and it is the root of all kinds of evil. On the one hand, those who can’t imagine their actual problems decide that they are, in fact, holy. We use the term self-righteousness, and that’s precisely what it is. It’s a meeting of self-made standards. Ungratefulness, judgment, relentless criticism, discouragement, and even despair follow all this.

    But God’s grace fills the earth, even the universe. Teaching us how to live is a blessing that comes because God loves us not so that God can love us. In that context, the laws, which are the very order of our universe, are a gift of God. Those laws make it possible for us to exist. They hold off total chaos. In fact, we can come to see those laws as a reflection of the character of the God we serve and a joy.

    We should also note that a God who provides us with such grace is unlikely to mandate or to bless ungracious behavior. A God who is love is asking us to love one another.

    “Teach us your statutes” becomes the story of a life of faith, blessed by God, with glory to come.

    As you live your blessed life today, consider the statutes of God that define it and make it possible.

    (Featured image generated by Jetpack AI.)