The Gift of Salvation

/ Neal Embry / Leave a comment

I do apologize for such a long absence to those who read my blog. I have been busy, with a lot of good things, but busy nonetheless. But I’m ready to start blogging more regularly, so let’s get started.

I wish it was Christmas time. It still feels like July in Alabama, and I’m ready for colder weather. But more than that, I’m ready for the season…because at this time of the year, if only at this time, we seem to understand the nature of gifts and grace and love. We see it, we show it…why? Because it’s Christmas..cheer up! No one’s sad on Christmas. At this time, we remember God’s “gift” to us–His Son Jesus.

But I have to wonder…do we understand this gift from 8-5 in the middle of June? Does it mean as much when we get trapped in the day-to-day struggles of life? Do we enjoy God’s gift in the middle of October when we’re stressed out with school? I know it’s easy for me to forget.

I’ve been thinking more and more lately about the gospel (never a bad thing to have on the mind) and it finally hit me as I was going through some material for evangelism training at our Baptist Campus Ministries–salvation is a gift.

Now I’ve known this for several years, but I think, for the first time, I’m seeing the beauty and the majesty in that truth.

Gifts are received and enjoyed. They are not worked for, paid back for, or left to sit on the counter. I’ll briefly discuss all three of these misunderstandings about gifts as it relates to God’s gift to us in Christ.

When my mom buys me a gift, whether it be the latest Madden game, a new pair of jeans or a cell phone, she never once asks me to earn it. If I earned it, it’s not a gift! If I earn it, it is the result of my work, not a gift.

“Now to the one who works, his wages are not counted as a gift but as his due.”–Romans 4:4

So if we work for our salvation, it is not a gift, but what is due us. The problem with this is that we can’t earn salvation. Romans 3:23 tells us that “all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.” We read God’s law and hear Jesus say that whoever has broken one law is guilty of trespass against the entire law. We are guilty before God, with no way to justify ourselves by our work.

Yet, God has given us a gift:

“And to the one who does not work but believes in him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness.”–Romans 4:5

So..we don’t earn it. We believe and we receive. All we’re asked to do with a gift is to receive it with joy, thank the giver and enjoy the gift. That’s it. We don’t earn it.

And we don’t pay it back. How dare we think we have something to add to the righteousness of Christ? How dare we think we can make a better sacrifice than the death of the King of Kings? We cannot. We must not. If we do, we do so at our own eternal risk.

So we trust in Christ.

We also don’t leave the gift sitting on the counter. We don’t let our salvation become numb to us.

So how do we enjoy our salvation? We walk in it. If we have stopped trusting in our own righteousness and trusted in the righteousness of Christ for our salvation, we have been given righteousness (Romans 10:4–“For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness for everyone who believes.”).

Therefore, walk in righteousness! Don’t sin! Enjoy being righteous in Christ, and walk that out in this life. We will fail, and we’ll repent and turn back to Christ for forgiveness and rest in His perfection in the midst of our imperfections.

However, for those who trust and rest in Christ, we can confidently face temptation and sin and say, “I am righteous in Christ. I don’t have to do this. I enjoy following Christ and walking in His ways.” And we should grow in confidence in Him and walking in His righteousness throughout our lives.

We’ve been forgiven by trusting Christ to cover our sin and take them away through His cross. We’ve trusted Christ to apply His finished work to our lives so that we are no longer under the wrath of God, but under His grace. Our hearts have been changed in repentance and faith, to hate our sin and love God and to trust in Christ’s work.

Therefore, worship God! Therefore, forgive others! Therefore, pursue Christ to be more like Him and to have joy, not to earn acceptance! You already have it–in Him!

If you don’t have this gift, let me paint a picture of what Christ has done and what He offers.

Jesus is the Son of God, King of Kings, and eternally reigns on the throne. He needs nothing. He is completely satisfied and happy because He is holy, worshiped, adored and in a relationship with God the Father. We are dirty sinners, dead in our sins, not desiring God and choosing other things. But Jesus came, becoming a man, just like us. He lived a perfect life, completely obeying God, completely having joy in Him and Him alone, and then went to the cross having done nothing wrong. The King of Kings became the least of these so that He could take all of our sin, every single one, on Himself. He took the wrath of God and the death we deserved for our sin. He died. Then He rose again to show that for everyone who trusts in Him as the sacrifice for their sin, as their Savior, God no longer condemns them, but forgives them by covering their sin through the cross. So the offer is: Confess your need for Jesus. Turn against your sin to call Jesus Lord, trusting Him to take away the sin you now hate. Give Jesus your sin, trusting Him to cover it and take it away through the cross. Trust in Him to give you His righteousness. Walk now under the Lordship of Jesus Christ as you learn how to walk in the salvation you’ve been given.

The perfect King of Kings, Lord of all the universe, died to take all my sin, and gave this wretched dead man life and, more than that, righteousness before God. He led me to repent and trust in Him to give me new life and forgiveness. Now I’m accepted and seen as perfect in Christ! I don’t deserve this! And it’s still hard to believe. Sometimes I don’t feel that way. But my forgiveness and righteousness and salvation isn’t dependent on my feelings, but on Him in whom I put my faith. The object, not the strength, of our faith is what matters.

O Lord, may our repentance flow from a hatred of sin and a love for you. May we trust in your cross to cover every single one of our sins. That’s the only sacrifice we need. May we rest in your perfection to cover us before God. May we worship you and give you the highest praise. May we have confidence and assurance of our salvation because we are confident and assured of you and your resurrection. May we enjoy the great gift you give us. May we look forward to the day where we see you face to face, where the enemies of sin and Satan are no longer and our joy will be complete in you. May we love you more, Lord Jesus. Amen.

 

Everything Points to You–Evening Talk With God

/ Neal Embry / 2 Comments

Dear God,

Today I saw a beautiful bird flying around outside.  Help me be amazed by the creation and the things I take for granted far too often.

You made that bird, and you gave it wings to fly and created it just the way you wanted, simply because you could.  Glory to the God of all creatures.

As I drove in to work, the sun was out, and I could feel the heat and it’s warm embrace.  No way science made that.  God, you did that.  We would have never thought of that.  A big ball that burns to give humans heat and light that’s light years away? We take it for granted, but your sovereign, powerful, almighty mind thought it up before we were formed.  Thank you for being the God of light.

I heard the laughter of children all throughout the day.  Who else but a good, loving, and humorous God could make up a sound that elicits a smile from all those around?  None but You, God.  Glory to the God of laughter.

I ate a delicious dinner of fish and macaroni and cheese, and God, you in your infinite wisdom knew that the taste of fish and mac and cheese would make me and countless others happy, and would satisfy our stomachs, which You also gave us.  We have nothing without you.  Whether we see it directly or indirectly, You provide for our daily needs.

God, you have created beauty.  You have made beautiful people.  You’ve made a beautiful creation.  I have a beautiful family, a beautiful home, a beautiful girlfriend and a beautiful life, as imperfect as it may be…if my imperfect life is in the hands of a perfect God, I’m in pretty good shape.

And the only reason You create beauty is to point back to yourself.  All these joys and beauties, as good as they may be, serve to point us toward you, the God of everything.  Right now, as I write, I’m listening to music that you inspired, music–who would have thought that certain instruments, with a specific constitution, hit, plucked, played a certain way would strike at our emotions, our hearts and bring us such joy?  Who knew the power of words?  Who knew but You, the God of all words,the God of the ultimate Word?

You give us sports, in which we unfortunately at times idolize 20-40 year old men that play a game involving a ball and goal.  But our desire to see our favorite player make a game-winning play reveal that we’re looking for a hero, and this again points us to you, who never lets us down, who always wins, who’s always the MVP, and who’s the ultimate hero.

You gave us an incredibly unique body, with various parts and so many things go on inside us that we take for granted.  You’re the God of all life.

God, all of this points us to You.  In all these things, God, You are the one who alone is worthy of worship.  Help me not worship the created, but let the created and my lesser joy in Your creations lead me to worship and have my highest joy in Christ, the center of all creation, according to your word (Colossians 1:16). 

Jesus, you are, according to Scripture, the agent of creation..through you the Father created.  Creation’s beauty, in all of life’s complexities and spheres, points us to your beauty, Jesus.  To the beauty of worshiping God.  To the beauty of holiness and walking with God in His ways, what we were made for.  To the beauty of having a loving relationship with God.  To the beauty of living for something other than sin’s dark shadows and ourselves.

Everything was created by you and for you, Jesus.  Ultimately, this is all about You, God….the birds, the fish, the sports, the music, and even the mac and cheese.  It’s all about You, and your beauty.  We worship not the things you give, but the Giver.  Show me what this looks like.  Your love, your grace, your patience, your promises, and the glory to be revealed in eternity. 

This is what I await…that as beautiful as this world seems, something greater is coming.  Something rid of sin, rid of death, rid of blemishes…your Kingdom, Jesus.

And the only way I’ll see this is if I have turned from worshiping and following sin and myself to trust in your beautiful Gospel, the center of our faith…the most beautiful story ever told.  One of an eternal King, leaving a heavenly Kingdom to come redeem those who had gone astray.  Of a Savior, paying the price for all sin and taking MY punishment so I could be forgiven and given new life by the very God I had let down so many times.  Of a risen Lord, leading me in new ways and new life and new desires.  Of God the Holy Spirit, leading to repentance and faith, not just once, but every day.  Of God the Father’s adoption, not because this orphan earned it, but because Jesus did.  Of a future life in glory, entered into solely by faith in the merit of Christ.

God, I know I have a long way to go in sanctification.  And my inconsistencies and failures horrify me at times.  But I know I have no where else to run but Your work, Jesus, and Your finished work.  I can’t make another sacrifice or earn it back by my works.  But I can turn from it, hate it and begin to love You and rest in Your grace, shown at the cross.  And by the victory won in the resurrection, I can overcome and keep following You.  I’m not where I was, though at times it seems I’ve gone back there.  You’ve rescued me and continue to do so.  And I’m not where I’m supposed to be, but I trust in You to get me there, God.  I trust in You.  Help me trust more, because tonight I need to…doubts plague me every other day, Father.

You know, God, I’m beginning to see I hate sin….not because I have to earn Your love, but because Your love is better.  Because walking that out and growing in my rest in it and sharing it with others and working for Your kingdom in real life with you is so much better.  Assure me by Your Spirit that I am in Christ, that I may be who I am.

As good and as cool as Your creation is God, and I pray putting this online helps some readers see that…it all reflects back to You.  For as good as Your handiwork all throughout the universe is, we weren’t made to live for and worship the creation.

We were made to live for Christ, in relationship with the Creator through Him.

Thank you God…help this sink in my heart, and with all the faith I have, I put it in Your Son, and Him alone.  Help me live for You. Help everyone who reads this live for Jesus, and do what we were made to do.

Thank you again Father,

Neal