From: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
daily devotional
Morning ...
Matthew 12:15
Great multitudes followed Him, and He healed them all.
What a mass of hideous sickness must have thrust itself under the eye of
Jesus! Yet we read not that He was disgusted, but patiently waited on every
case. What a singular variety of evils must have met at His feet! What
sickening ulcers and putrefying sores! Yet He was ready for every new shape of
the monster evil, and was victor over it in every form. Let the arrow fly from
what quarter it might, He quenched its fiery power. The heat of fever, or the
cold of dropsy; the lethargy of palsy, or the rage of madness; the filth of
leprosy, or the darkness of ophthalmia-all knew the power of His word, and fled
at His command. In every corner of the field He was triumphant over evil, and
received the homage of delivered captives. He came, He saw, He conquered
everywhere. It is even so this morning. Whatever my own case may be, the
beloved Physician can heal me; and whatever may be the state of others whom I
may remember at this moment in prayer, I may have hope in Jesus that He will be
able to heal them of their sins. My child, my friend, my dearest one, I can
have hope for each, for all, when I remember the healing power of my Lord; and
on my own account, however severe my struggle with sins and infirmities, I may
yet be of good cheer. He who on earth walked the hospitals, still dispenses His
grace, and works wonders among the sons of men: let me go to Him at once in
right earnest. Let me praise Him, this morning, as I remember how He wrought
His spiritual cures, which bring Him most renown. It was by taking upon Himself
our sicknesses. "By His stripes we are healed." The Church on earth is full of
souls healed by our beloved Physician; and the inhabitants of heaven itself
confess that "He healed them all." Come, then, my soul, publish abroad the
virtue of His grace, and let it be "to the Lord for a name, for an everlasting
sign which shall not be cut off."
Revelation 20:12-13
(12) And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books
were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the
dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according
to their works. (13) And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death
and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every
man according to their works.
Romans 14:11-12
(11) For it is written, As I live, saith the Lord, every knee shall bow to
me, and every tongue shall confess to God. (12) So then every one of us shall
give account of himself to God.
Since all are to be judged according to their works, what if one claiming
to be Christian has no works to show when God clearly expects them? James
2:19-20 clinches the argument: "You believe that there is one God. You do well.
Even the demons believe-and tremble! But do you want to know, O foolish man,
that faith without works is dead?"
This entire issue is actually quite simple. No amount of works can
justify us before God. Justification by faith in Christ's atoning blood makes
one legally free to access God and to begin a relationship with Him. However,
from that point on, works are absolutely required for sanctification unto
holiness-to the extent that, not only is one's reward contingent upon them, but
also salvation itself. Will God reward one who can show no works at all, or
provide salvation to one whose faith is so weak it produces bad works? Such a
person would be totally out of place, unfit for living eternally in the Kingdom
of God.
Ephesians 2:8-10 makes this reality even stronger. Even though we are
saved by grace through faith, the very reason we are created is for good works
that God Himself prepared beforehand for us to walk in. the gospel of the
Kingdom of God provides the reasons for which works are required-the major one
being to prepare us for living in God's Kingdom.
God intended Israel's forty-year journey through the wilderness to
prepare them for living in the Promised Land. However, even though Israel had
the gospel preached to them and had godly leadership provided by the likes of
Moses, Aaron, and Joshua, in their stiff-necked unbelief they refused to submit
in obedience to God's commands. They thus failed to receive the necessary
preparation for using the Promised Land rightly, becoming an eternal example of
why works of preparation are needed ( Hebrews 4:1-2).
Can we learn a lesson from their examples? When God brings us out of
spiritual Egypt, He is not done with us yet. In fact, a great deal of spiritual
creating within us remains to be accomplished before we will be fit to live and
occupy a working position in God's Kingdom. We are being created in Christ
Jesus, created in His image. Can we honestly say we are already in His image
when we are merely legally cleared of sin? Absolutely not! As great as this is,
it is not the end of God's creative process. God is not merely "saving" us. His
purpose is far greater than that.
John W. Ritenbaugh
From Is the Christian Required To Do Works? (Part Six)
.
