Space for Grace

By Jim Fielder

You need 'Space for Grace' when a hectic life is squeezing out all joy, or when exiting a high-control religion

But how does Grace relate to:

    Sins – which cannot be overcome?

    Prayers – which have become mere empty clichés?

    Anxieties – which make daily life a joyless chore?

    Christians – who don't feel a personal relationship with Jesus?

    Efforts – when feeling like 'a nobody' on a big religious treadmill?

Space for Grace presents scripture-a-day comments organised into twelve monthly themes.
It also includes a daily 15-minute Bible reading program that thematically covers the whole Bible in one year.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Jim Fielder
• Release date: May 5, 2021
• ISBN: 9798201557935

Book preview

Introduction

Can you do more?

Are you reaching out for greater privileges?

Can you spend more time in the ministry this month?

Are you keeping pace with God’s Organization?

God will bless you in proportion to your giving!

Remember ‘faith without works is dead.’

If, like me, you associated with a high-control religion for any length of time, you will have frequently heard these and similar questions and statements designed to push for constant increase. Have you had the experience of being trapped on such a religious do more treadmill? At first, the above motivational expressions may have sounded innocent enough, even inspirational, but what do the results show?

This relentless drive to improve productivity, to speed up religious activity – this ‘chase for pace’ – can produce two opposite results. Among the ‘pioneer ranks’ of high achievers, it can produce feelings of self-satisfaction and bouts of humblebragging about oneself or the one channel God is using. But to those who are struggling, labelled as ‘irregular’ and ‘spiritually weak’, such expressions serve to accentuate their feelings of inadequacy and fear of disapproval, leading inevitably to high stress levels. Make no mistake, this stressful treadmill of works to qualify for God’s approval, this meritocracy, can lead to cardiac arrest – if not physically, then spiritually. Why is this?

In the long term, we can guarantee only negative consequences for following such a path because this human ‘work-for-salvation’ theology is a flagrant violation of God’s way of unconditional grace. Picking up your pace invariably means dropping His grace. This is how Sinclair Ferguson describes this conflict:

Grace rules out all qualifications by definition. Grace therefore eliminates boasting; it suffocates boasting; it silences any and all negotiations about our contribution before they can even begin. By definition we cannot ‘qualify’ for grace in any way, by any means, or through any action. Thus it’s understanding God’s grace—that is to say, understanding God himself—that demolishes legalism. Grace highlights legalism’s bankruptcy and shows that it’s not only useless; it’s pointless; its life breath is smothered out of it. (The Whole Christ: Legalism, Antinomianism, and Gospel Assurance—Why the Marrow Controversy Still Matters (Crossway, 2016), p.110

In view of this, it is very encouraging to see so many sincere truth seekers courageously exit such high-control, legalistic, grace-killing, religions despite being shunned by former friends and even family. Often in the process of awakening from the clutches of these captive religions they find some solace and helpful advice from the experiences of others who have already broken out of captivity and are now enjoying a new-found freedom. This information can also verify that they have made the right decision to escape. Yet herein can lie a problem. What started out as helpful information gathering can become an unhealthy daily preoccupation. Excessive time can be spent almost every day pouring over detailed negative material that castigates their previous religion. This diversion, if allowed to become an obsession, can have the negative impact of pushing out any space to consider the true grace of God. Having escaped from the prison hole of false religion they temporarily stand in a no-man’s land, or vacuum, of uncertainty only to slide down into the abyss of agnosticism or atheism. This is, of course, entirely a personal choice and no one is in a position to be judgmental.

Purpose of this book.

The purpose of this book you are reading is to help all of us in our Christian walk, but especially the thousands now escaping legalistic religions, to establish a daily space for grace. We hope not only to understand the scope of God’s ineffable grace found on every page of the Bible, but daily make ‘space for grace’ in our busy lives.

You may be familiar with a small annual publication called Examining the Scriptures Daily. It is published annually by Jehovah’s Witnesses. Each day this booklet sets out a 150-word comment lifted from their official Watchtower magazine of the previous year. It now also incorporates a weekly Bible reading schedule covering just one-tenth of the Bible in a year. Once as a Jehovah’s Witness I had the intermittent practice of quickly reading through the daily assigned scripture plus comment. I say intermittent because I started out well from January 1st but then soon let the practice lapse well before February 1st. During the year there were repeated encouragements to make reading from this booklet part of a daily routine. Was this spiritually upbuilding? A quick overview of the subjects most frequently presented for daily consumption were:

a relationship with Jehovah through disciplined ‘theocratic routines’ and morals;

absolute loyalty to the leadership of the organisation;

all should be zealous preachers;

all family members need to be baptised;

rejecting anything negative about the organization from media or apostates;

staying inside the organisation for protection because Armageddon is imminent.

Do you notice some glaring omissions in these daily Watchtower excerpts?

Here is a scriptural shortlist:

God drawing us into a personal relationship with Jesus Christ (John 6:65; 17:23)

salvation through grace alone and not by works (Rom 4:1-5; Eph 2:8-10)

the indwelling Holy Spirit testifying to our present sonship (Rom 8:16; 1 John 5:1)

giving practical aid to the poor and needy in the community (Jer 29:7; Luke 10:30-37; James 1:27)

I feel that there is an urgent need to make a daily ‘space for grace’ – even if only for a few precious minutes – so that we can be nourished and empowered by upbuilding thoughts about God’s unconditional grace. Notice these words of Paul to the Ephesian elders: I now place you in God's care. Remember the message about his gift of undeserved grace! This message can help you and give you what belongs to you as God's people. (Acts 20:32, Contemporary English Version) Yes, it is the inspiring word of His grace, not the abysmal message of your own works, or the achievements of an organisation, that will upbuild you, that will empower you every day. Don’t underestimate Satan’s loud voice shouted through religious voices that we need to achieve, to do more, to be saved and that salvation rests on being associated with a unique religion, God’s only mouthpiece. Just a few minutes listening to the voice of strangers can undermine hours of feeding on the message of His amazing grace.

Read the entire Bible in twelve months.

You will see that each day presents a suggested scripture reading. This schedule is unique in that it covers every chapter of the Bible to match the twelve topics that you will see listed on the contents page. Be assured that all the chapters of the Bible will be covered at some point even if you feel you are jumping around during some months. Why not give this a try? Enjoy about 15 minutes or less each day reading the allocated scripture section noting how it relates to the monthly theme. If you note a special verse that jumps out at you, then pause, prayerfully reflect on its meaning and possible personal application. If you fall behind, you may be able to read an extra chapter or two during the rest of that week.

Have you tried a different Bible translation? You may like the word-for-word accuracy of a literal translation like the English Standard Version or the New American Standard Bible. But if you prefer the easy-to-read language found in paraphrase versions, then try The Message or The Good News Translation which add liveliness and fire to the reading. Others enjoy listening to one of the numerous audio Bibles, some of which are free, like Bible.is, YouVersion Bible and Bible Gateway or a paid version, like Dwell Bible.

The purpose of Scripture is to point us to Christ so that we turn to him in worship to the glory of the Father. So, as we read through the Bible we will see Jesus as the principal actor, at first almost hidden in the wings, but then appearing centre stage cast in brilliant limelight. Every book points to Him.

Don’t miss Him as you read through the daily sections of scripture:

Genesis 7 – Your life is hidden in Him through all waters of judgment.

Exodus 3 – The burning bush reflects the intense heat of suffering he endured on the tree for you.

Leviticus 3 – He is your High Priest and peace offering.

1 Samuel 17 – He is the greater David, your champion, your substitute, who has saved you.

Ruth 2 – He is your close, caring relative who has invested his life in you.

Psalm 1 – The blessed meditating man through whom you are blessed.

Psalm 19 – He is your sunny bridegroom lighting up your life.

Psalm 23 – He has walked through the valley of death and never leaves your side in your blackest times.

Psalm 88 – He knows Gethsemane darkness and participates in your darkest feelings.

Song of Solomon 4 – He expresses his tender love for you.

Isaiah 11 – He is the child leading animals who will restore all creation including you.

Lamentations 3 – He is the man of sorrows who agonises in your suffering.

Hosea 3 – He has paid with his life for his wife – you, a wretched sinner.

Haggai 2 – He is the desire of all nations (NKJV) and to be desired by you.

Seeing Jesus in your personal Bible reading is an ongoing adventure of a lifetime. May the following short daily articles become a companion on your journey during this present year. My prayer is that we may all be firmly established in Christ and that we continue to grow steadily in Him by daily making space for His overwhelming grace (2 Peter 1:3; 3:18).

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"Break open your words, let the light shine out,

let ordinary people see the meaning."

– Psalm 119:130, The Message

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January – Empowering Grace

This month we will focus on the meaning of grace. For decades as a Jehovah’s Witness, I avoided using the word grace – it was relabelled as undeserved kindness because of its link with the churches, especially with born-again Christians. Since my connection with that religious organisation was eventually severed, I have come to appreciate more and more the depth and beauty of God’s love shining through the grace that is in Jesus Christ.

Should we define grace as undeserved kindness?

How does grace relate to (a) mercy (b) salvation and (c) works?

What is the longest Greek sentence in the New Testament?

How does it help us see grace in action in both our daily life and our future?

Daily Bible Reading

Let’s start at the beginning. How is God’s grace powerfully demonstrated in Genesis? The Books of Romans and Hebrews will surely enhance our understanding of grace. Read how Moses, Ruth, and Jonah experienced grace from the Lord.

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January 1st – What is Grace?

God saved you by his grace when you believed.

And you can’t take credit for this;

it is a gift from God.

– Ephesians 2:8, New Living Translation

C. S. Lewis came in late to a debate. The subject? ‘What makes Christianity unique?’ Was it the teaching of the incarnation, resurrection, or another pillar of Christian doctrine? Oh, that's easy, said Lewis, It's grace.

How right he was! Grace differentiates Christianity from all other world religions which are performance-based; trying to work hard to gain God’s elusive approval.

Grace, on the other hand, is the truth that God accepts us with no conditions whatsoever when we put our trust in His Son. This is so uncomplimentary to the human ego, accustomed to the work-to-deserve ethic, that many churches push the poisonous mix of grace plus human achievement. Jehovah’s Witnesses even remove the word ‘grace’ from their Bible and vocabulary. Ask yourself: are you still a Christian POW …a Performance Oriented Worker?

Imagine you are a train passenger, relaxing as a locomotive powerfully pulls you along a level track. Now imagine a giant hand ripping up the track until it looks like an almost vertical giant ladder.

This is legalism: wrenching grace from the free flow of God’s Spirit; upending it into a long list of rules requiring moral fitness and strenuous good works to climb into heaven one exhausting rung at a time. False teachers have perfected the art of uprooting scriptures about grace from their context to make Christian life a punishing guilt trip instead of a restful journey in the Spirit (Matt 11:28-30).

It is hard to fully submit to God’s undeserved, unmerited, and unearnable grace. Have you benefited from ceasing to try and starting to trust?

Grace is everything to those who don't deserve anything.

Daily Bible Reading: Genesis 1-3

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January 2nd – Grace Stoops

May Yahweh make His face shine on you

and be gracious [chanan] to you.

– Numbers 6:25, Holman Christian Standard Bible

Is grace just pleasantness or kindness? How is it defined in the Old Testament?

God to men: The Hebrew word ‘chen’, which appears 78 times in the OT, connotes the unmerited favour especially of God toward humankind. It is numbered among God’s principal attributes in Exodus 34:6-7, Jehovah God, merciful and gracious [chanan] The word first appears when Noah is introduced in Genesis 6:8: ‘And Noah found grace in the eyes of Jehovah.’ (Young’s) At this point he had not built the ark. His works came after grace!

Men to men. ‘Chen’ also appears when only humans are involved, e.g. the estranged twins Jacob and Esau reconcile and Jacob humbly requests his brother to accept his gift: If now I have found grace in thy sight, then receive my present… (Gen 33:10, KJV)

Are you a ‘stooper’? Are you a person who shows grace in stooping to serve? Grace, then, is not merely an internal godly quality but is active, manifesting itself in unselfish acts. In fact, the root meaning of this Hebrew word is stoop. It moves a person to stoop, to bend in humble service to another as to a superior, just as:

Our God who descends to bow low to raise up the lowly (Ps 113).

Our Lord Jesus who stooped to wash feet (John 13).

A Christian who stoops to serve. All of you should defer to one another and wear the overall of humility in serving each other. (1 Pet 5:5, Phillips)

Are you wearing the humility overalls – ready to stoop, to serve?

Daily Bible Reading: Genesis 4-7

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January 3rd – Can you Spot Grace?

Jesus increased in wisdom and in stature

and in favour (grace) with God and man.

– Luke 2:52, English Standard Version

Can you spot where the word ‘grace’ (charis) is hiding in the following verses? What can we learn about grace from the alternative wording?

Luke 6:32-34 If you love those who love you, what benefit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. And if you do good to those who do good to you, what benefit is that to you? For even sinners do the same…

1 Corinthians 16:3 And when I arrive, I will send those whom you accredit by letter to carry your gift to Jerusalem.

2 Corinthians 8:3-4 For they gave … of their own accord, begging us earnestly for the favour of taking part in the relief of the saints.

Answers:

Luke 6:32-34 the word benefit or credit occurs three times in these verses, and it is really grace.

1 Corinthians 16:3 the word gift is grace in Greek. This verse is the only place in the Greek Interlinear of Jehovah’s Witnesses that the word grace appears but placed only under the Greek text.

2 Corinthians 8:3-4 the word favour is here grace.

Although the NT writers use grace [charis] primarily of God bestowing favours, forgiveness, and salvation upon the ill-deserving, we learn from the above scriptures that ‘grace’ in its basic sense can refer to a simple kindness, to do a favour, as in a person sending thanks or a kind gift to another. Such grace kindness does not spring from our own resources but from Holy Spirit; nor from a desire for big results or rewards but to glorify God.

Can others spot grace in you as you do someone a kind favour?

Daily Bible Reading: Genesis 8-10

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January 4th – Is Grace ‘Undeserved Kindness’?

But thanks (charis) be to God,

who gives us the victory

through our Lord Jesus Christ.

– 1 Corinthians 15:57, English Standard Version

What do you think – is grace simply unmerited, undeserved kindness? Strictly speaking, no! The word grace (charis) can refer to a simple kindness, merited or not, as in a person sending thanks or a kind gift to another (1 Cor 16:3) or to giving of thanks (charis) to God, who is always deserving (1 Cor 15:57), and in reference to the sinless Jesus (Luke 2:40).

However, when God relates to sinful man there is a special aspect of grace emphasised – namely unmerited favour or undeserved kindness. Translator S. T. Byington made this comment when he reviewed the New World Translation in the 1950’s:

Other words have an extra word added to bring out the meaning; a bad case is the regular insertion of undeserved or the like before whatever translation is given for grace." … They talk as if undeservedness were part of the essential sense of the word. But it is not so; this is the regular word for our thanks to God, which are never undeserved…. In texts like Rom 4:4; 11:6, the essential point is that this benefit comes from an act, attitude or quality of God, not from an act or status of the man; by making undeserved the emphatic word we are making the man’s status the prominent thought. James 1:5 says that God gives generously and does not keep throwing his gifts in our faces by ungenerously reminding us how much in his debt we are…. I should feel that the proper meaning of grace, associated as it naturally is with gracious, gratis, gratuitous, was clear to readers in general."

Thanks (grace) be to God for His indescribable gift!, who is Jesus.

Daily Bible Reading: Genesis 11-14

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January 5th – What is the Purpose of Grace?

In this way the name of our Lord Jesus

will receive glory from you, and you from him,

by the grace of our God and of the Lord Jesus Christ.

– 2 Thessalonians 1:12, Good News Translation

What would you say is the purpose of grace? A helpful definition of grace was given by the author Evelyn Waugh: The unmerited, unilateral act of love by which God continually calls souls to himself. This definition draws attention to the goal of grace, namely, to draw ‘souls to himself’ through Christ. He is our Father, and he wants communion with us, to share His divine life with us.

Some have used the idea of a presidential pardon to illustrate grace. President Obama, by the end of his presidency in January 2017, had exercised his constitutional power to grant clemency to 1,927 individuals convicted of federal crimes. 504 were life sentences. Yes, although they remained in prison, their execution was stayed – this is man's grace!

God’s grace goes much further. For not only does He stay the execution, he also removes all record of sin, sets us free from prison and invites us to His own palace to live forever in communion with Him! This reminds us of the way David introduced the crippled fugitive Mephibosheth to the palace to sit at the royal table as his honoured guest in daily communion (2 Sam 9). Do you see yourself here? Our God of infinite love primarily created us to enjoy an eternal relationship with Him.

Grace is the divine enablement, by the life of Christ in us, to be and do all that we have been called for – primarily called for communion with God. The result? So that the name of our Lord Jesus will be glorified in you, and you in Him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ (2 Thess 1:12).

The acronym GRACE – God’s Righteousness and Communion Eternally.

Daily Bible Reading: Genesis 15-18

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January 6th – All Embracing Grace

God is able to make all grace abound to you,

so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times,

you may abound in every good work.

– 2 Corinthians 9:8, English Standard Version

Will God help me – an unworthy, undeserving sinner – through this present trial? Yes! When you accepted His Son, God no longer saw you as an unworthy sinner but as His beloved son or daughter. Grace inverts the normal rules and gives people what they do not deserve.

Suppose a school board is interviewing candidates for the position of a school principal. They look for evidence of both an exemplary character (worthiness) and professional competence (adequacy). They insist candidates must qualify in both aspects. But God insists on neither. He glories in calling people who are neither worthy nor adequate. He makes them worthy in Christ alone and adequate through His Spirit within them (2 Cor 3:5-6).

J. Packer explains, In the New Testament, grace means God's love in action toward people who merited the opposite of love. Grace means God moving heaven and earth to save sinners who could not lift a finger to save themselves.

2 Corinthians 9:8 quoted above must be the most comprehensive statement about grace in the Bible. It is filled with quantitative superlatives: all (four times) and every (once). There is super-abundant grace supply for every issue of life: to overcome any temptation; to be victorious when victimised; to endure suffering. Grace is God’s dynamic multi-coloured power to save us, to sanctify us, to enable us, to deliver us, and to glorify us (1 Peter 4:10, see November 21).

Grace: God's love in action toward people who merit the opposite of love.

Daily Bible Reading: Genesis 19-21

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January 7th – Who is Grace?

The law was given through Moses,

grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.

– John 1:17, Christian Standard Bible

Grace is not a subject, a doctrine, or a theology. It is a person, and his name is Jesus. Does that sound strange to you? Consider how John 1:17 above tells us that the law, which was impersonal, was given (suggesting an arms-length transaction) whereas Jesus came in person as grace. Jesus is the fullness of the Father’s grace. Or, to put it another way, grace is God Himself in Christ dispensed in us for our enjoyment. No Jesus, no grace. Know Jesus, know grace. To have the abundance of grace is to have the abundance of Jesus (1 Cor 1:4; Eph 1:6; 2 Tim 1:9; 2:1). Such personification is often used in the NT:

In Romans, Paul describes sin as having a personality. He says sin is a noun (not a verb) characterised by desires and an agenda. In fact, everything the Bible says about sin is true of Satan.

The Bible says "God islove" – love is not one attribute of the Lord but his entire character. Every other aspect of his personality is an expression of love. Grace is what love looks like to us.

The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of Christ (Rom 8:9) and the Spirit of Grace (Heb 10:29). So, when the Galatians cut themselves off from Christ, they cut themselves off from grace (Gal 5:4).

In the words of Max Lucado, Grace is everything Jesus. Grace lives because he does, works because he works, and matters because he matters. To be saved by grace is to be saved by him – not an idea, doctrine, creed, or church membership, but by Jesus himself.

Grace is a person: Jesus.

Daily Bible Reading: Genesis 22-24

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January 8th – Grace and Mercy, Are They the Same?

Therefore we should come to

the throne of grace with boldness,

so that we could take mercy

and we would find grace in well-timed help.

– Hebrews 4:16, The Power New Testament

Would you call yourself a merciful person? Do you have a deep desire to relieve the misery of others? Can you go even further and say that you are a person who demonstrates grace? How does grace differ from mercy?

God in His mercy does not give us what we do deserve but God in His grace gives us what we don’t deserve. Mankind in Adam all deserve the wrath of God (John 3:36). What good news it is that God not only mercifully holds back from giving us the deserved punishment but gracefully pours into our lives unearned blessings. We could say, grace includes but far outstrips mercy, in that mercy is deliverance from judgment; grace is extending kindness to the unworthy. Here are a few examples that highlight the generosity of grace:

Mercy is God’s solution to man’s misery; grace is God’s solution to man’s sin. Mercy bridges the gap to our pitiable state and then grace flows across to save, Mercy forgives; grace restores. So, are you the person who reaches out to someone feeling overwhelmed with guilt to reassure them of God’s merciful forgiveness and, by grace, stand by them until they are restored? (Rom 4:7-8; 8:1,34)

Mercy doesn’t give what you deserve. Grace gives what you don't deserve.

Daily Bible Reading: Genesis 25-27

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January 9th – Covered or Obliterated?

Gaining acquittal from guilt

by His free unpurchased grace

through the deliverance which is found in Christ Jesus.

He it is whom God put forward as a Mercy-seat,

rendered efficacious through faith in His blood.

– Romans 3:24-25, Weymouth New Testament

Have your sins been covered over, or have they been obliterated? To help answer that question, here is another: What items were kept in the ark of the covenant?

The tablets of the ten commandments – representing God’s law

A jar of manna – representing God’s provisions

Aaron’s rod – representing God’s authority

There was a heavy solid golden lid covering the ark called the ‘mercy seat’ [kapporeth or propitiation] (Exod 25:17-22). Thus, Israel’s triple sins of rebellion were completely covered, hidden from view. On the annual Day of Atonement, the blood of a sacrificed animal was sprinkled on the mercy seat to propitiate the sins of Israel (Lev 16:11,14). This may remind you of the first Passover when the angel of death could not see through the blood of the lamb daubed on the doorposts to the sinful people celebrating inside.

God now, not only mercifully hides away our sins by animal blood but spatters Jesus’ blood over us, obliterating our sins from His memory – as though we had never sinned! "In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us, and sent His Son as a propitiation (hilasterion, mercy seat) for our sins." (1 John 4:10, Berean Literal Bible) God does not see our rebellion. He sees the blood of His Son and accepts us. That is why we can come boldly to the secret place of the Most High to obtain mercy and find grace in time of need (Heb 4:16).

The miracle of sins being erased is the greatest of all miracles.

Daily Bible Reading: Genesis 28-30

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January 10th – Grace Upon Grace

Indeed, we have all received grace upon grace from his fullness

– John 1:16, Christian Standard Bible

You stand on the seashore and watch the waves relentlessly roll on to the beach. With mesmerising rhythm, they break onto the shore and steadily advance. Sculpted sandcastles are eroded and inevitably collapse before the pounding waves and incoming rising tide.

This illustrates John’s description of grace: "For out of His fullness [the superabundance of His grace and truth] we have all received grace upon grace [spiritual blessing upon spiritual blessing, favour upon favour, and gift heaped upon gift]" (John 1:16, Amplified)

Vincent’s Word Studies explains: We received, not New Testament grace instead of Old Testament grace; nor simply, grace added to grace; but new grace imparted as the former measure of grace has been received and improved. To have realized and used one measure of grace, was to have gained a larger measure (as it were) in exchange for it.

Consequently, we receive continuous, non-intermittent grace. Has this been your experience? When the real meaning of the gospel hit you, were you not swept away with the inexpressible joy of His grace? But it does not stop at one wave of blessing. Yes, there are trials but there is a perpetual and rapid succession of blessings. The rushing waters of God’s grace are so great that our sandcastles of sin cannot stand. Paul wrote that where sin increased and abounded, grace (God’s unmerited favour) has surpassed it and increased the more and superabounded. (Rom 5:20, Amplified Bible, Classic Edition)

Hold Father’s hand and splash in the waves of grace!

Daily Bible Reading: Genesis 31-32

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January 11th – Dead or Alive?

To you, who were spiritually dead all the time that you drifted along on the stream of this world’s ideas of living, and obeyed its unseen ruler (who is still operating in those who do not respond to the truth of God), to you Christ has given life!

– Ephesians 2:1-2, J. B. Phillips New Testament

He was an elder who gave clear talks explaining Romans 5:12 and John 3:16, the problem and remedy of sin. He set the example in ‘exercising faith’ in preaching and strict obedience to the religion’s rules, to somehow ‘deserve’ the "undeserved kindness". Yet somehow, he felt it was never ever enough.

Then one day, in reading Romans 3 and 4 he prayed, breaking down in tears of repentance …. realising the enormity of his sin in the light of free grace. It hit him that he had been guilty of the major sin – that of not accepting Jesus as his personal saviour and His finished work. The Holy Spirit revealed his true condition – he was dead in sin. How could a dead man try harder? The Father had granted him repentance and faith in His Son.

Suppose a car veers off the road and crashes into a tree.

You pull over to give assistance. Sadly, you find the driver is dead, crushed behind the wheel. You pull him out and, searching back in the car, find a bandage in a first aid box and carefully tend to the dead man’s cut hand. Also, you solemnly recite to the corpse various regulations from the Highway Code manual. This is all so futile. A dead man needs a resurrection, not reprimands, and repairs.

Similarly, detailed Bible knowledge or applying Bible principles will not save a lost soul. Our religious background and qualifications, as in the cases of Nicodemus and Saul, are of no value in saving us (Php 3:2-11).

You live because He died and lives in you.

Daily Bible Reading: Genesis 33-35

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January 12th – Are you Unworthy or Worthy?

To the praise of the glory of his grace in which he has made us accepted in the beloved.

– Ephesians 1:6, King James 2000

It is strange is it not, a religious person can feel so unworthy before God and yet at the same time secretly more worthy than those not sharing their special beliefs? Religion can breed insecurity in tandem with subtle arrogance.

Paul counselled, "Walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called (Eph 4:1; also, Php 1:27; Col 1:10; 1 Thess 2:12). In these passages, being worthy is expected and necessary in the Christian life. On the other hand, Jesus commended the Centurion’s faith for humbly confessing his unworthiness. Lord, do not trouble yourself, for I am not worthy to have you come under my roof" (Luke 7:6-9).

God’s acceptance is not something we ever need strive for; we already have it on account of his Son. He made us accepted in the Beloved. If we want to know how acceptable we are to God, we only have to look at the One called Beloved because we are as pleasing to God as Jesus is! (1 John 4:17) Before Jesus’ ministry began a voice from heaven declared with unconditional affirmation, This is my Beloved Son in whom I am well pleased (Matt 3:17). Becoming one with Christ is similar in meaning to what happens to copper and zinc when combined – they become the alloy brass which is neither copper nor zinc – they are made one. Christ formed within us is the very heart of the Christian faith (Gal 4:19). We are worthy in his worth.

John Piper summarised worthiness as our preference for his worth is our worth. And relating grace to God’s worth, commented, Grace is the pleasure of God to magnify the worth of God by giving sinners the right and power to delight in God without obscuring the glory of God.

To be worthy of the worth of Jesus is to treasure him as infinitely worthy.

Daily Bible Reading: Genesis 36-37

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January 13th – Forgiven for all Time

For by one sacrifice, valid for ever,

he enabled men to enter into perfect communion with God.

– Hebrews 10:14, The New Testament by William Barclay

When their credit-card debt runs high, many opt for a balance transfer to a new credit card offering a lower interest rate. It may feel great to move your debt from a high-interest card to a card with a lower APR, but, of course, the transferred debt still needs tackling.

It is possible to approach our spiritual account the same way, thinking that confessing our sins to elders and resolving to make big changes will ease our conscience. Wasn’t that the approach to sin in ancient Israel? They made endless ‘roll-over’ payments of animal sacrifices to cover their serious sins.

The good news is that Christ paid your debt in full on the cross. God's grace has totally cleared your debt! When Jesus paid the price, were not all your sins yet 2,000 years in the future? Yes, his sacrifice covered your past, present and future sins. It is finished. "For by the one offering He has perfected forever and completely cleansed those who are being sanctified [bringing each believer to spiritual completion and maturity]." (Heb 10:14, Amplified)

Nowhere do the apostles discuss a distinction between two kinds of forgiveness. There are no passages where keeping short accounts with God was taught in the New Testament. Instead, we learn from 2 Corinthians 5:18-21 that God had to accomplish a complete and final forgiveness if his desire was to reconcile us to himself (Col 1:19-22). The work of Christ is finished for the sinner, but it is not yet finished in the sinner.

You have already been forgiven forever!

Daily Bible Reading: Genesis 38-40

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January 14th – God’s Will, God’s Counsel

According to the plan of Him who works out everything

by the counsel [boule] of His will [thelema].

– Ephesians 1:11, Berean Study Bible

What is God’s will for you? Does God’s counsel include you? Is there a difference between the ‘will’ and ‘counsel’ of God?

Will (‘thelema’, origin of the name Thelma) expresses God’s heart desire. "Let your Kingdom come. Let your will be done" (Matt 6:10). We could say that God’s will, His desire, precedes His determined counsel and continues through it.

Counsel (‘boule’, used in classical Greek of a council), on the other hand, is a strong term, indicating God's fixed intention which cannot be changed by any action of others – as in Acts 2:23 "Him [Jesus] being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God"

To illustrate. A child may have a tantrum and wilfully resist the desire, (will / thelema) of its loving parents for a time, but he will not successfully override their fixed intentions (counsel / boule) for his life and happiness.

Similarly, men can oppose God’s will in their lives but can never successfully withstand the express counsel of God. "The

Lord

nullifies the counsel of the nations; He frustrates the plans of the peoples. The counsel (boule) of the

Lord

stands forever, the plans of His heart from generation to generation." (Ps 33:10-11)

Returning to Ephesians 1:11, "We were chosen, having been predestined according to the purpose of the One who works all things according to the counsel of his will." (Lexham) If God’s will and plan is to save you – will you try to resist His grace? Yield to God’s desire and decision for your life!

His counsel is the ratified expression of will.

Daily Bible Reading: Genesis 41-42

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January 15th – Are You a Lukewarm Christian?

I know your works,

that you are neither cold nor hot.

I wish you were cold or hot.

So, because you are lukewarm,

and neither hot nor cold,

I will vomit you out of my mouth.

– Revelation 3:15-16, World English Bible

Do Jesus’ words above mean that your salvation is in jeopardy if you’re not 100% zealous in preaching? Consider an alternative explanation:

Cold. The Law written on cold stone was holy, and the commandment holy, and just, and good. (Rom 7:12 KJV) Although it was impossible to perfectly obey all of the Law, those very laws clearly and inevitably pointed to Christ. Jesus tells the Laodiceans, it would be preferable to at least focus on the Law, for possibly then they would, by their abysmal failure to keep it, see their need for Christ.

Hot. Alternatively, they could and should live by red-hot grace alone – not by their performance. Are you so foolish? Although you began with the Spirit, are you now trying to finish by human effort? (Gal 3:3) Christ’s counsel is to make him alone our unmixed focus and grow in the grace and knowledge of Jesus.

Lukewarm. The biggest danger for the Laodiceans would be accepting the religious compromise of Law + Grace. This poisonous combination of self-righteousness plus Christ is lethal (Luke 5:36-38; Rom 4:14-15; 10:1-4). This dangerous blending leads to a pursuit of rules and ever greater sacrifices, yet more sin-consciousness and condemnation. Spurgeon noted, Most [professed Christians] make a mingle-mangle, and serve out deadly potions to the people, often containing but one ounce of gospel to a pound of law, whereas, but even a grain of law is enough to spoil the whole thing. It must be gospel, and gospel only.

We need Christ plus no additives!

Daily Bible Reading: Genesis 43-45

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January 16th – Are You Running on Empty?

You are in Him,

having been completely filled full

with the present result

that you are in a state of fullness.

– Colossians 2:10, An Expanded Translation (Wuest)

Emptiness. Have you experienced a feeling of being lost, an inner emptiness? All mankind runs in a constant state of spiritual incompleteness, emptiness because of the fall and living outside of God’s will. On top of this, you may have been held captive for years in