Don't rust away from the inside out; base your zeal on the truth! Romans 10:1-4 (NIV) Brothers, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for the Israelites is that they may be saved. 2  For I can testify about them that they are zealous for God, but their zeal is not based on knowledge. 3  Since they did not know the righteousness of God and sought to establish their own, they did not submit to God’s righteousness. 4  Christ is the culmination of the law so that there may be righteousness for everyone who believes. Listen to passage & devotional: Belgic Confession of Faith, Article 25: The Fulfillment of the Law We believe that the ceremonies and symbols of the law have ended with the coming of Christ, and that all foreshadowings have come to an end, so that the use of them ought to be abolished among Christians. Yet the truth and substance of these things remain for us in Jesus Christ, in whom they have been fulfilled. Nevertheless, we continue to use the witnesses drawn from the law and prophets to confirm us in the gospel and to regulate our lives with full integrity for the glory of God, according to his will. Summary Paul's greatest ache in life didn't come from any of the beatings he endured or imprisonments he suffered through. Rather, it came from the fact that his own people - his family and the communities he'd been part of before his ministry - rejected the truth of the gospel. In fact, a chapter earlier at the beginning of Romans 9, Paul describes this pain as "great sorrow and unceasing anguish," writing that he would gladly trade his own soul if only his fellow Israelites would receive Christ. It's not that they weren't zealous for God. Quite the opposite. Their entire lives and society revolved around performing daily, weekly, monthly and annual religious rites and celebrations. The great mistake they made was thinking that the more they did on God's behalf, the more righteous they became. Their zeal, writes Paul, was not based on knowledge. This is a tradeoff many Christians in our own day and age have made. They're zealous for the Lord for sure, but yet they don't really know the God they think they're living for because they don't really engage much with His Word. They've traded certain knowledge for deep feelings, and as a result they're unwittingly "establishing a righteousness of their own" in which their acceptance by God is based on how strongly they feel. Your salvation doesn't depend any more on the depth of your zealousness for God than it does on the number of goats you've sacrificed in your life. Your salvation is based on the fact that Christ is the culmination (the goal / end / purpose) of the law, "so that there might be righteousness for everyone who believes." Dig Deeper When I was manufacturing truck equipment, often there would be a metal component that didn't look so good before it was sent of for powder coating. But then when it returned, it looked fantastic. The little pits and gouges in the metal were filled in by the melting plastic powder, so that the finished product was as smooth as could be. Our joke was that powder coating covered up a multitude of sins. The problem was that the part wouldn't stay looking that nice. Moisture would seep in under the powder coat, settle in the deep crevices that were only partially covered and the part would begin to rust from the inside out. This is the problem when God's people cover up a lack of theological knowledge with overly zealous emotional expression. It looks really good and even holy from the outside, but the reality is that the people are rusting from the inside out. Entire communities and congregations fracture and flake away. Certainly the solution isn't to ditch zealous emotions for the Lord! This 'powder coating' is created by God and serves a good purpose. Besides, if you want to be faithful to God's Word, your feelings better be aligned with your theology! Know that your righteousness is based on Christ having fulfilled the law on your behalf, and base your zeal on this knowledge. AAA Prayer (About) A CKNOWLEDGE WHO GOD IS : Our Father, who expects all people to submit to His righteousness; A LIGN YOUR LIFE WITH GOD'S WILL: Pray that your joy would be based on your knowledge of Christ, who is the culmination of God's Word; A SK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED: Read the New Testament in a year! Today: 1 Corinthians 7

Parts of God's Law have been abolished for Christians. What does this mean for you? Acts 15:1-21 (NIV) Certain people came down from Judea to Antioch and were teaching the believers: “Unless you are circumcised, according to the custom taught by Moses, you cannot be saved.” 2  This brought Paul and Barnabas into sharp dispute and debate with them. So Paul and Barnabas were appointed, along with some other believers, to go up to Jerusalem to see the apostles and elders about this question. 3  The church sent them on their way, and as they traveled through Phoenicia and Samaria, they told how the Gentiles had been converted. This news made all the believers very glad. 4  When they came to Jerusalem, they were welcomed by the church and the apostles and elders, to whom they reported everything God had done through them. 5  Then some of the believers who belonged to the party of the Pharisees stood up and said, “The Gentiles must be circumcised and required to keep the law of Moses.” 6  The apostles and elders met to consider this question. 7  After much discussion, Peter got up and addressed them: “Brothers, you know that some time ago God made a choice among you that the Gentiles might hear from my lips the message of the gospel and believe. 8  God, who knows the heart, showed that he accepted them by giving the Holy Spirit to them, just as he did to us. 9  He did not discriminate between us and them, for he purified their hearts by faith. 10  Now then, why do you try to test God by putting on the necks of Gentiles a yoke that neither we nor our ancestors have been able to bear? 11  No! We believe it is through the grace of our Lord Jesus that we are saved, just as they are.” 12  The whole assembly became silent as they listened to Barnabas and Paul telling about the signs and wonders God had done among the Gentiles through them. 13  When they finished, James spoke up. “Brothers,” he said, “listen to me. 14  Simon has described to us how God first intervened to choose a people for his name from the Gentiles. 15  The words of the prophets are in agreement with this, as it is written: 16  “ ‘After this I will return and rebuild David’s fallen tent. Its ruins I will rebuild, and I will restore it, 17  that the rest of mankind may seek the Lord, even all the Gentiles who bear my name, says the Lord, who does these things’ — 18 things known from long ago.  19  “It is my judgment, therefore, that we should not make it difficult for the Gentiles who are turning to God. 20  Instead we should write to them, telling them to abstain from food polluted by idols, from sexual immorality, from the meat of strangled animals and from blood. 21  For the law of Moses has been preached in every city from the earliest times and is read in the synagogues on every Sabbath.” Listen to passage & devotional: Belgic Confession of Faith, Article 25: The Fulfillment of the Law We believe that the ceremonies and symbols of the law have ended with the coming of Christ, and that all foreshadowings have come to an end, so that the use of them ought to be abolished among Christians. Yet the truth and substance of these things remain for us in Jesus Christ, in whom they have been fulfilled. Nevertheless, we continue to use the witnesses drawn from the law and prophets to confirm us in the gospel and to regulate our lives with full integrity for the glory of God, according to his will. Summary It might be easy to think that church disagreements are a modern phenomenon, but Acts 15 reminds us that Christians have come to different theological interpretations of various issues ever since the Church's inception. This first big controversy was over how it was that newly converted Gentiles needed to conform to Jewish religious rituals that had been set forth in the Old Testament - especially in regards to circumcision. The Pharisees who'd become Christians remained steadfast that these converted Gentiles needed to comply with all of the requirements set forth in the law before they could be considered as God's people, but other church leaders like Peter spoke up and pointed out that God had already blessed these converts with the Holy Spirit which indicated that He'd accepted them apart from religious ceremonies. The early Church didn't let this "sharp dispute" fester. They did what churches ever since have done when issues and disagreements arise. They called a meeting and worked it out. Notice in this passage how each side could present their case, and also how James based his decision upon scripture (he quotes Amos and Isaiah). Ultimately, this room full of passionate, strong personalities was led by the Holy Spirit to recognize how religious rituals and customs, set forth in the Law of Moses, which guided God's people for centuries, had been fulfilled by Christ. Christians, as Peter said, are saved through grace. This is why our Confession says that "the use of ceremonies and symbols... ought to be abolished among Christians." Dig Deeper It's important to note what James does, and does not, set aside. He puts an end to the ceremonial aspects of the law. We know from the book of James, which is a collection of his sermons, that he still expected believers to uphold the moral parts of the law (see especially James 2 ). James also limits the exercise of Christian freedom. Gentile converts must not do things that their Jewish brethren would find offensive, especially in regards to the types of food they ate. Nor did the fact that Christians are saved by grace make it acceptable for them to do things God had clearly designated in His law as being sinful, like sexual immorality. Even Peter, who advocated for the ceremonial law to be set aside, calls for Christians to continue to keep God's moral law and to not fall into the "error of lawlessness" (2 Peter 3:17). As we learned yesterday , even though it's not always easy, and good Christians come to different conclusions about different parts of God's law, it's critical to understand the distinctions the Church makes in order to properly determine how to live according to God's law as people saved by grace. AAA Prayer (About) A CKNOWLEDGE WHO GOD IS : Our Father, who has accepted us by giving us His Holy Spirit; A LIGN YOUR LIFE WITH GOD'S WILL: Pray for the wisdom to know and discern God's will as it's communicated in His law; A SK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED: Read the New Testament in a year! Today: 1 Corinthians 6

Which of God's laws are you obligated to keep? Colossians 2:13-17 (NIV) 13  When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, 14  having canceled the charge of our legal indebtedness, which stood against us and condemned us; he has taken it away, nailing it to the cross. 15  And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross. 16  Therefore do not let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a religious festival, a New Moon celebration or a Sabbath day. 17  These are a shadow of the things that were to come; the reality, however, is found in Christ. Listen to passage & devotional: Belgic Confession of Faith, Article 25: The Fulfillment of the Law We believe that the ceremonies and symbols of the law have ended with the coming of Christ, and that all foreshadowings have come to an end, so that the use of them ought to be abolished among Christians. Yet the truth and substance of these things remain for us in Jesus Christ, in whom they have been fulfilled. Nevertheless, we continue to use the witnesses drawn from the law and prophets to confirm us in the gospel and to regulate our lives with full integrity for the glory of God, according to his will. Summary How often haven't you looked back on a short encounter you had with someone where an opportunity presented itself to tell them the good news of the gospel, but you didn't quite know what to say? A great way to prepare yourself so that you don't whiff the next time you get the chance is to practice explaining the gospel in a minute or less. This can be done in all sorts of different ways, depending on the context and circumstances. Paul gives a great example of how to do this in the opening verses of today's passage: when you were dead in your sins, God made you alive in Christ by cancelling your debt as Christ was nailed to the cross. Short, straightforward, and effective. If you can't memorize this passage verbatim, then at least know the gist of it and where to find it when you need it. Paul gives this short but sufficient gospel recap here to illustrate that all of the previous rules and regulations found in the Old Testament - particularly, the Pentateuch (the first five books of the Bible). Things like kosher food laws, dozens of religious ceremonies and festivals, monthly celebrations and Sabbath restrictions - practices that formed the core of Jewish identity - no longer have relevance for those set free by Christ. These things, write Paul, were only a shadow of the things that have now been fulfilled by the reality of Christ's all sufficient sacrifice and perfect obedience. In other words, they served as a teaching aide, showing the gap between sinful man and their holy God, and demonstrating how that gap could only be closed by atonement and perfect righteousness. Dig Deeper Maybe - and I'm sure this is only true of a tiny percentage of you - maybe you've, just for a moment or two, found yourself bored in church. As the Domine (Dutch word for minister) drowned on and on, you found yourself paging through the Bible and you landed in a book like Leviticus or Deuteronomy in passages in which God conveys rule after rule. Some of them make sense, some seem overly harsh, and others are just plain weird. Exodus 22 is a good example. In it we read that we must not mistreat foreigners or take advantage of widows and orphans. Sounds good. But in the same passage it says that sorceresses must not be allowed to live, that firstborn male sheep must be sacrificed to the Lord, and that we must not eat the meat of an animal torn by wild beasts. What do we do with that? In theology, we distinguish God's law into three categories that help us determine how to apply it: Civil laws : "Serve the purpose of restraining sin and promoting righteousness in society;" Ceremonial laws : Bring us "under conviction of sin, and make us conscious of our inability to meet the demands of the law. In that way the law becomes our tutor to lead us to Christ." These laws, like the case of the sacrificial sheep in Exodus 22, are the "shadows" Paul referred to that have been fulfilled by Christ. Moral / Normative laws : "The law is a rule of life for believers, reminding them of their duties and leading them in the way of life and salvation." The quotations above take from Louis Berkhof's Systematic Theology Conceptually, this isn't difficult, but practically, determining how to categorize and live in conformance to God's law is hugely difficult, and good Christians have been coming to different conclusions for the entire history of the Church. Over this next week, we'll look at what it is that we as Reformed Christians confess to be true about God's law. AAA Prayer (About) A CKNOWLEDGE WHO GOD IS : Our Father, who made us alive in Christ Jesus; A LIGN YOUR LIFE WITH GOD'S WILL: Pray for the wisdom to know and discern God's will as it's communicated in His law; A SK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED: Read the New Testament in a year! Today: 1 Corinthians 5

God hears, listens and responds with salvation to the complaints we bring. Habakkuk 2:4-5 (NIV) “See, the enemy is puffed up; his desires are not upright— but the righteous person will live by his faithfulness — 5  indeed, wine betrays him; he is arrogant and never at rest. Because he is as greedy as the grave and like death is never satisfied, he gathers to himself all the nations and takes captive all the peoples. Listen to passage & devotional: Belgic Confession of Faith, Article 24: The Sanctification of Sinners (Part 2) Our good works, proceeding from the good root of faith, are good and acceptable to God, since they are all sanctified by his grace. Yet they do not count toward our justification— for by faith in Christ we are justified, even before we do good works. Otherwise they could not be good, any more than the fruit of a tree could be good if the tree is not good in the first place. So then, we do good works, but nor for merit— for what would we merit? Rather, we are indebted to God for the good works we do, and not he to us, since it is he who “works in us both to will and do according to his good pleasure” thus keeping in mind what is written: “When you have done all that is commanded you, then you shall say, ‘We are unworthy servants; we have done what it was our duty to do.’“ Yet we do not wish to deny that God rewards good works— but it is by his grace that he crowns his gifts. Moreover, although we do good works we do not base our salvation on them; for we cannot do any work that is not defiled by our flesh and also worthy of punishment. And even if we could point to one, memory of a single sin is enough for God to reject that work. So we would always be in doubt, tossed back and forth without any certainty, and our poor consciences would be tormented constantly if they did not rest on the merit of the suffering and death of our Savior. Summary Habakkuk is an Old Testament book we don't get to turn to nearly often enough. It's a short book - only three chapters long - so you can read through the whole thing quite quickly. I encourage you to make the time to read it all. It contains a dialogue between the prophet Habakkuk and God, written in a poetic format designed to be set to music (the final line says "For the director of music. On my stringed instruments."). Habakkuk boldly approaches God with two serious complaints about the suffering and lack of justice he sees in the world. Habakkuk begins by accusing God of ignoring His people: How long, LORD, must I call for help, but you do not listen? Or cry out to you, “Violence!” but you do not save? (1:2) As we look across our world and even our own communities today, many of the complaints Habakkuk raises to God will resonate. So often it seems like God turns a blind eye to the rampant sin and injustice all over the world, and like Habakkuk, we gaze heavenward and wonder what's going on. But God responds to Habakkuk with a reminder that the day is coming where unrepentant sinners will be crushed, and woe will come "to him who builds his house by unjust gain" (2:9). On that day, "the earth," the God promises, "will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD" (2:14). God finishes responding to Habakkuk's complaints with the simple reminder that "The LORD is in his holy temple; let all the earth be silent before him" (2:20). Habakkuk ends his short book with a psalm of praise looking forward to the day when the LORD will come out "to deliver His people, to save His anointed one." Habakkuk knows the LORD will "crush the leader of the land of wickedness" (3:13). Dig Deeper Maybe you're wondering why we're reading an Old Testament minor prophet in the midst of learning about doctrines like justification and salvation by grace alone, through faith alone, because of Christ alone. Well, for one, it's good to be reminded that the whole Bible speaks to our salvation, not just the New Testament epistles. But it's God's response in 2:4 that catches our attention today. Apart from knowing our salvation is completely provided for in Christ, we would be just like the sinners of the world who are "arrogant and never at rest" (v5). As our Confession puts it, if we were depending upon our own good works to save us, "we would be tossed back and forth without any certainty... and and our poor consciences would be tormented constantly." So as you finish another week of work and look forward to the coming Lord's Day, rest in the assurance that God gave to his prophet, pointing forward to the salvation in Christ that you've been included in: "the righteous will live by his faith" (v4, ESV). AAA Prayer (About) A CKNOWLEDGE WHO GOD IS : Our Father, who is in His holy temple; let all the earth be silent before Him (2:30); A LIGN YOUR LIFE WITH GOD'S WILL: Pray that your faith in Jesus Christ will strengthen and sustain you as we look forward to Christ's return when He will make all things new; A SK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED: Read the New Testament in a year! Today: 1 Corinthians 4

Grace has set you free from one Law, but obligated you to another. James 2:10-11 (NIV) 10  For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it. 11  For he who said, “You shall not commit adultery,” also said, “You shall not murder.” If you do not commit adultery but do commit murder, you have become a lawbreaker. 12  Speak and act as those who are going to be judged by the law that gives freedom, 13  because judgment without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful. Mercy triumphs over judgment. Listen to passage & devotional: Belgic Confession of Faith, Article 24: The Sanctification of Sinners (Part 2) Our good works, proceeding from the good root of faith, are good and acceptable to God, since they are all sanctified by his grace. Yet they do not count toward our justification— for by faith in Christ we are justified, even before we do good works. Otherwise they could not be good, any more than the fruit of a tree could be good if the tree is not good in the first place. So then, we do good works, but nor for merit— for what would we merit? Rather, we are indebted to God for the good works we do, and not he to us, since it is he who “works in us both to will and do according to his good pleasure” thus keeping in mind what is written: “When you have done all that is commanded you, then you shall say, ‘We are unworthy servants; we have done what it was our duty to do.’“ Yet we do not wish to deny that God rewards good works— but it is by his grace that he crowns his gifts. Moreover, although we do good works we do not base our salvation on them; for we cannot do any work that is not defiled by our flesh and also worthy of punishment. And even if we could point to one, memory of a single sin is enough for God to reject that work. So we would always be in doubt, tossed back and forth without any certainty, and our poor consciences would be tormented constantly if they did not rest on the merit of the suffering and death of our Savior . Summary James, the younger half brother of Jesus, points out the hopelessness we'd all face if it were not for his older brother. Even if there was one who could, somehow, succeed in keeping 99.99% of God's law, the .01% left undone would be enough to undo the rest of it. James points out it doesn't really matter which part of God's law gets broken. Breaking the smallest aspect of it is tantamount to breaking all of it. James uses the examples of adultery and murder, which just so happen to be the two commandments Jesus uses in the Sermon on the Mount to illustrate that a person doesn't even need to 'do the deed' in order to commit the sin. Even thinking about doing something that violates God's law is enough to violate God's law. As a recipient of God's grace, you've been set free from the impossibly oppressive law of Moses that you could not keep. But notice here that James, like Paul in Romans 6 , puts you under a new law, which James here deems "law that gives freedom" (v12). Theologian Douglas Moo explains it this way, God’s gracious acceptance of us does not end our obligation to obey him; it sets it on a new footing. For the will of God now confronts us as a law of liberty — an obligation we discharge with joy because we stand both forgiven and empowered by the Holy Spirit. Dig Deeper We're conditioned to round the edges off of expectations. Many of us had teachers that graded on a curve when a difficult test was given. You could get many questions wrong and still get an 'A' as long as you got a few more right than the rest. You don't need to nail all of your shots to win the game, you just need to make a few more than the other team. You don't need to run the fastest to survive a bear attack, you just need to run a bit faster than the slowest guy. In chapter two, James is confronting people like us. We're not perfect by any means, but we're a whole lot better than most. So we have a tendency to expect God to grade on the curve, so to speak. We think that as long as we're getting most things right, God will look past the things we get wrong from time to time. James sets us straight here with a reminder of how far we are from meeting God's perfect standard. Now matter how well a person might do in keeping God's law moving forward, as our Confession says, even the "memory of a single sin is enough for God to reject [our good] work." And yet, James reminds you, as one who's been set free from sin by the blood of Christ, you're now obligated to keep "the law that gives freedom." So, as we confess together, we are to do good works, but we're not to base our salvation in them. AAA Prayer (About) A CKNOWLEDGE WHO GOD IS : Our Father, who expects nothing less than perfection; A LIGN YOUR LIFE WITH GOD'S WILL: Thank God for being given Christ's perfection, and pray for the wisdom, strength, and perseverance to keep the law that gives freedom. A SK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED: Read the New Testament in a year! Today: 1 Corinthians 3

Jesus' words seem harsh and politically incorrect, but He's talking about you. Luke 17:7-10 (NIV) 7  “Suppose one of you has a servant plowing or looking after the sheep. Will he say to the servant when he comes in from the field, ‘Come along now and sit down to eat’? 8  Won’t he rather say, ‘Prepare my supper, get yourself ready and wait on me while I eat and drink; after that you may eat and drink’? 9  Will he thank the servant because he did what he was told to do? 10  So you also, when you have done everything you were told to do, should say, ‘We are unworthy servants; we have only done our duty.’ ” Listen to passage & devotional: Belgic Confession of Faith, Article 24: The Sanctification of Sinners (Part 2) Our good works, proceeding from the good root of faith, are good and acceptable to God, since they are all sanctified by his grace. Yet they do not count toward our justification— for by faith in Christ we are justified, even before we do good works. Otherwise they could not be good, any more than the fruit of a tree could be good if the tree is not good in the first place. So then, we do good works, but nor for merit— for what would we merit? Rather, we are indebted to God for the good works we do, and not he to us, since it is he who “works in us both to will and do according to his good pleasure” thus keeping in mind what is written: “When you have done all that is commanded you, then you shall say, ‘We are unworthy servants; we have done what it was our duty to do.’“ Yet we do not wish to deny that God rewards good works— but it is by his grace that he crowns his gifts. Moreover, although we do good works we do not base our salvation on them; for we cannot do any work that is not defiled by our flesh and also worthy of punishment. And even if we could point to one, memory of a single sin is enough for God to reject that work. So we would always be in doubt, tossed back and forth without any certainty, and our poor consciences would be tormented constantly if they did not rest on the merit of the suffering and death of our Savior . Summary Maybe you winced a bit at Jesus' words here. It seems harsh to us that someone would order an employee who's been working hard all day long to first make him supper and wash all the dishes before being done for the day. Even worse, Jesus scoffs at the idea that the servant would have expected gratitude from his boss for simply doing the job he was told to do. Yet in Jesus' day, this example wouldn't have been as shocking to those who heard it; there was a very fixed line between servants and masters that rarely got crossed. There were two distinct classes of people: those who gave the orders, and those who took them. Understand that Jesus' here isn't commenting on the morality of this social structure, and the fact that Jesus uses this example doesn't give rationale for treating employees so crassly or give credence or validity to slavery. Jesus was simply using a commonly accepted and recognized social dynamic to make a bigger spiritual point: that those who've been given orders ought to have no expectation of gratitude for simply doing what they were told and expected to do. Jesus isn't commenting on slavery here; He's talking about you and your relationship to God. Dig Deeper Jesus was reiterating words from the Old Testament when He explained God's expectation for man in the Sermon on the Mount: Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect. (Matt. 5:48, Leviticus 19:2, Deuteronomy 18:13). Yet for some reason, we all expect some grand reward from heaven each time we do something that seems extra good to us. Jesus is reminding us here that holiness and perfection are God's constant expectation. He's not impressed when you perform some sort of extra-good deed every now and then when He designed you to constantly do good. This is why you ought to be so grateful that you've been given this perfect righteousness you so badly need. As Ephesians 2:8-9 says, "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast." But then don't forget verse 10: "For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works , which God prepared in advance for us to do." You've been saved by grace for sure, and in one sense, through Christ you've fulfilled the 'day's work' your Master expects of you. The ironic thing is that now that "You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness" (Rom. 6:18). So live in a way that reflects this spiritual dynamic by living in a way dedicated to doing good. Yet even though you're simply doing what you've been commanded to do when you do good, "God promises to reward them in this life and the next" ( Heidelberg Catechism, Lord's Day 24 ). AAA Prayer (About) A CKNOWLEDGE WHO GOD IS : Our Father, who expects us to be holy, as He is holy; A LIGN YOUR LIFE WITH GOD'S WILL: Pray that since you've been freed from sin, you will live as a slave to righteousness; A SK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED: Read the New Testament in a year! Today: 1 Corinthians 2

Reorient your thinking about the good things you do. 1 Corinthians 1:26-31 (NIV) 26  Brothers, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. 27  But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. 28  God chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things—and the things that are not—to nullify the things that are, 29  so that no one may boast before him. 30  It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God—that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption. 31  Therefore, as it is written: “Let the one who boasts boast in the Lord.”  Listen to passage & devotional: Belgic Confession of Faith, Article 24: The Sanctification of Sinners (Part 2) Our good works, proceeding from the good root of faith, are good and acceptable to God, since they are all sanctified by his grace. Yet they do not count toward our justification— for by faith in Christ we are justified, even before we do good works. Otherwise they could not be good, any more than the fruit of a tree could be good if the tree is not good in the first place. So then, we do good works, but nor for merit— for what would we merit? Rather, we are indebted to God for the good works we do, and not he to us, since it is he who “works in us both to will and do according to his good pleasure” thus keeping in mind what is written: “When you have done all that is commanded you, then you shall say, ‘We are unworthy servants; we have done what it was our duty to do.’“ Yet we do not wish to deny that God rewards good works— but it is by his grace that he crowns his gifts. Moreover, although we do good works we do not base our salvation on them; for we cannot do any work that is not defiled by our flesh and also worthy of punishment. And even if we could point to one, memory of a single sin is enough for God to reject that work. So we would always be in doubt, tossed back and forth without any certainty, and our poor consciences would be tormented constantly if they did not rest on the merit of the suffering and death of our Savior . Summary Once again, many of us are reminded that our Christian experience, in which we've been raised in the faith from the earliest age, is different from those like Paul who experienced a sudden conversion. Those of us 'lifers' tend to have an elevated view of ourselves. Since our lives tend to be a bit more put together than those who don't know the Lord, there's a temptation to think that somehow or the other it's because we're better, smarter, or more wiser than the world around us. Not only is that notion completely backwards, but it often causes us to think that the reason we believe and trust in God is because we're better, smarter, or more wiser than the world around us. The reality, Paul writes here, is that you and I are being used as an example by God to show everyone else that He can save any fool He chooses! The only reason we are included in the promises of Jesus Christ is because of God making it happen from start to finish. He chose us from before the foundation of the universe , and then has been sovereignly working out all things ever since in order to bring it to completion. On top of that, God the Spirit has come into our hearts and minds to completely reorient our thinking and remove our blinders . In other words, God worked out every aspect of our salvation Himself "so that no one may boast before him." When we read this same passage a couple of weeks ago , we looked at it from a slightly different angle, but arrived at the same conclusion, that those eight words not only obliterate the wisdom of the world, but also humble us as believers. Dig Deeper We noticed a few weeks ago the tendency we have to continually keep score . We see and appreciate all of the good things God has provided in our lives, but then we feel the need to do a few good deeds in order to pay Him back the best we can. The more blessings He's given, the more obligation we feel to give back. Or, even worse, will flip the process around and start with the good deeds with an expectation that God will then be obligated to pay us back for our efforts. So it's quite shocking to read in our Confession that " we are indebted to God for the good works we do, and not he to us..." This means that rather than amassing credit in the bank of heaven each time we do something good, help somebody out, or glorify God in any way, we're actually becoming more and more indebted to God, since every bit of that good deed - the inspiration to do it, the talent and ability to carry it out, and the strength to get it done - all of it comes to us from God! But this is a good debt to accumulate, so keep doing these "good works, which God prepared in advance for you to do" (Eph. 2:10). But rather than taking the credit for yourself, remember to praise and glorify the God who enabled you to do them. AAA Prayer (About) A CKNOWLEDGE WHO GOD IS : Our Father, who "chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise and chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong." A LIGN YOUR LIFE WITH GOD'S WILL: Thank God for giving you the ability to do good things, and pray that you will honor Him by doing these good things more and more; A SK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED: Read the New Testament in a year! Today: 1 Corinthians 1

What kind of tree would Jesus identify you as? Matthew 7:15-20 (NIV) 15  “Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. 16  By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? 17  Likewise, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. 18  A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. 19  Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20  Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them. Listen to passage & devotional: Belgic Confession of Faith, Article 24: The Sanctification of Sinners (Part 2) Our good works, proceeding from the good root of faith, are good and acceptable to God, since they are all sanctified by his grace. Yet they do not count toward our justification— for by faith in Christ we are justified, even before we do good works. Otherwise they could not be good, any more than the fruit of a tree could be good if the tree is not good in the first place. So then, we do good works, but nor for merit— for what would we merit? Rather, we are indebted to God for the good works we do, and not he to us, since it is he who “works in us both to will and do according to his good pleasure” thus keeping in mind what is written: “When you have done all that is commanded you, then you shall say, ‘We are unworthy servants; we have done what it was our duty to do.’“ Yet we do not wish to deny that God rewards good works— but it is by his grace that he crowns his gifts. Moreover, although we do good works we do not base our salvation on them; for we cannot do any work that is not defiled by our flesh and also worthy of punishment. And even if we could point to one, memory of a single sin is enough for God to reject that work. So we would always be in doubt, tossed back and forth without any certainty, and our poor consciences would be tormented constantly if they did not rest on the merit of the suffering and death of our Savior . Summary As He teaches here near the end of the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus makes His point twice: His disciples are easily recognized by the things they do. "By their fruit," Jesus says, "you will recognize them." Just as you would never expect to have a patch of weeds produce any good fruit, someone who is not rooted in Christ cannot live like Christ, which is the ultimate goal for us as Christians (Rom. 8:29). Jesus seems to state the obvious here, when He says that "Good trees bear good fruit, but bad trees bear bad fruit." This seems like a tautology . But Jesus' point is quite profound. When you take an apple tree, plant it in good soil, keep it well watered and expose it to lots and lots of sunshine, it will bear apples. It has to. It's in its DNA. If it's not bearing apples, then it's not really an apple tree. The point here isn't a lesson on apple tree biology but on who you are as a Christian. You've been reborn, and if you're in a healthy church you're planted in good soil; as you read God's Word and hear it proclaimed, you're getting a huge infusion of sunshine, so to speak. If all these conditions are ideal, you will bear fruit. If you're not, something's wrong and you better diagnose it quickly, before you're thrown into the fire and burned with the other weed trees. Either you're not really a Christian (your "root of faith" is compromised, as our Confession put it), or you're growing conditions are so sub par it's stunting you. Dig Deeper We lived for 25 years in the heart of the world's best apple growing region in Central Washington State (although we also have some fine orchards here in Southwest Minnesota!). Orchards there grew dozens of different apple varieties, with better and better ones developed over the years. Yet despite all of the improvements incorporated in the newer varieties, there is still strong commercial demand for the old Red Delicious apples. Reds only have one thing going for them: they're really beautiful on the outside. But on the inside they're mealey and have no taste. You'll notice lots of people who aren't Christians who seem to be doing really good things; bad trees which seem to bear good fruit. Sometimes (often?) their good works seem to outshine the good works of Christians! First, it's not that this other fruit is so good, it only looks good because so many modern Christians are planted in such poor conditions that their fruit has become dull by comparison. But apart from that, this non-Christian fruit is like a Red Delicious apple: it looks fantastic from the outside, but it has very little substance. Take a moment to remind yourself what we learned last year, that truly good fruit arises out of true faith, conforms to God's law, and is done solely for His glory (Heidelberg Catechism QA 91) . AAA Prayer (About) A CKNOWLEDGE WHO GOD IS : Our Father, who created and redeemed us to bear good fruit; A LIGN YOUR LIFE WITH GOD'S WILL: Pray that you and the other 'trees' planted alongside you will all bear good fruit for our Lord; A SK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED: Read the New Testament in a year! Today: Luke 24

You've heard about 'Amazing Grace,' but how about 'Negative Grace?' Titus 2:11-14 (NIV) 11  For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people. 12  It teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, 13  while we wait for the blessed hope—the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, 14  who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good. Listen to passage & devotional: Belgic Confession of Faith, Article 24: The Sanctification of Sinners We believe that this true faith, produced in man by the hearing of God’s Word and by the work of the Holy Spirit, regenerates him and makes him a “new man,” causing him to live the “new life” and freeing him from the slavery of sin. Therefore, far from making people cold toward living in a pious and holy way, this justifying faith, quite to the contrary, so works within them that apart from it they will never do a thing out of love for God but only out of love for themselves and fear of being condemned. So then, it is impossible for this holy faith to be unfruitful in a human being, seeing that we do not speak of an empty faith but of what Scripture calls “faith working through love,” which leads a man to do by himself the works that God has commanded in his Word. Summary We often associate grace with chain-breaking freedom, bringing us from blindness to sight, and from slavery into freedom. These are of course good analogies for grace, but you need to keep Paul's words to young Pastor Titus here in the mix if you're going to fully understand grace properly. Here Paul reminds that grace gives you the freedom to say "No!" Whereas prior to receiving grace you were enslaved to sin and sarx , now your ability to resist sin has been restored. We already sing about 'Amazing Grace;' perhaps we should be singing just as fervently about 'Negative Grace!' Of course saying 'no' to one thing means you're saying 'yes' to another. In this case, when you reject "ungodliness and worldly passions," you're committing yourself to "upright and godly lives in this present age" (v12). Notice how Paul doesn't leave any middle ground: you're always choosing one or the other, and the two choices are mutually exclusive. What stands out here in this passage is that you've been "redeemed from all wickedness" and purified to be God's very own! This means that good works are not a compulsory chore that you have to get done, but rather things that you are "eager to do" (v14). Dig Deeper As you go through your day, take note of your attitude in regards to doing "what is good." Does living a "self-controlled, upright and godly" life seem stifling to you? Do "worldly passions" seem much more attractive? If that's the case - and we all have spells where it is - it's a huge indication that you're lacking grace in your life. Just like if your blood chemistry is out of balance - maybe the iron is too low - so it is when you're spiritual life has become somewhat anemic. This is common in the summer, where schedules are looser and spiritual disciplines become harder to maintain (although most of us struggle with this all year long). Yet, you're reading this, which means you're reading the Bible - one of the critical daily spiritual disciplines - so that's good! But also be sure to keep up the habit of gathering with the saints each Lord's Day. You need them, they need you, and you both need to hear God's Word proclaimed and to lift your prayers and praises to Him. Negative grace - being taught to say 'no' to sin - isn't a one and done lesson. Continue learning it daily "while we wait for the blessed hope—the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ" (v13). BONUS: Use the comment box below to write a verse to the song 'Amazing Grace' about 'Negative Grace!' Improve on my rendition or start from scratch: Neg-a-tive Grace, sounds not as sweet; (8 syllables) It teach' me to say 'no!' (6 syllables) Instead I'll live all self controlled (8 syllables) And eager to do good. (6 syllables) As you can see, that needs lots of help! It doesn't rhyme at all and the second line is a mess! Help me out! AAA Prayer (About) A CKNOWLEDGE WHO GOD IS : Our Father, who gives grace "that offers salvation to all people;" A LIGN YOUR LIFE WITH GOD'S WILL: Pray that you will keep yourself in a grace-filled environment which makes you "eager to do what is good." A SK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED: Read the New Testament in a year! Today: Luke 23

Avoid two dangerous extremes in regards to God's law. Galatians 5:1-6 (NIV) It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery. 2  Mark my words! I, Paul, tell you that if you let yourselves be circumcised, Christ will be of no value to you at all. 3  Again I declare to every man who lets himself be circumcised that he is obligated to obey the whole law. 4  You who are trying to be justified by the law have been alienated from Christ; you have fallen away from grace. 5  For through the Spirit we eagerly await by faith the righteousness for which we hope. 6  For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision has any value. The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love. Listen to passage & devotional: Belgic Confession of Faith, Article 24: The Sanctification of Sinners We believe that this true faith, produced in man by the hearing of God’s Word and by the work of the Holy Spirit, regenerates him and makes him a “new man,” causing him to live the “new life” and freeing him from the slavery of sin. Therefore, far from making people cold toward living in a pious and holy way, this justifying faith, quite to the contrary, so works within them that apart from it they will never do a thing out of love for God but only out of love for themselves and fear of being condemned. So then, it is impossible for this holy faith to be unfruitful in a human being, seeing that we do not speak of an empty faith but of what Scripture calls “faith working through love,” which leads a man to do by himself the works that God has commanded in his Word. Summary Once again we turn to Paul's letter to the Galatians - these new Christian converts who'd been convinced they needed to believe in Jesus and continue to meet certain Jewish religious requirements in order to gain salvation. Paul repeats here what he's written so many times in both Galatians and other epistles: "It is for freedom that Christ has set us free." But Sarx (your internal sinful nature) wants to keep you "burdened again by a yoke of slavery." Sarx knows that the more you depend upon religious rites to make you right with God, the less you'll depend upon Christ. One of the regulations the Galatians were depending on was applying the sign on circumcision to new Gentile (non-Jewish) converts to Christianity. Paul doesn't mince words: if you insist upon keeping any religious rituals, you need to keep every religious ritual, because "Christ will be of no value to you at all (v2)." In other words, if you're not relying on Christ for everything, you better not be relying upon Him for anything. You do need perfect righteousness to be right with God. The good news we're reminded of in v5 is that "through the Spirit we eagerly await by faith the righteousness for which we hope [and need!]." Dig Deeper You need to avoid two opposite polarities in how you regard God's law. On one hand, you don't want to be a legalist , like these Galatians were, by insisting that your righteousness before God comes from keeping rules and checking off boxes. But neither do you want to be an antinomian (literally: one who is against law ) by living in a way that has no regard for what God has clearly delineated as being right and wrong in His Word. Such people erroneously conclude that if Jesus is going to forgive all of their sin, they might as well make their pile of sins as big as possible. Our Confession helps you thread the needle and avoid these dangerous extremes. It says that faith in Christ isn't "an empty faith," but rather that it "leads a man to do by himself the works that God has commanded in his Word." This is what Paul means at the end of v6 when he writes "The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love." The faith which has been given to you by God, which you " make every effort " to strengthen and increase, shifts your attitude regarding God's law from something that you have to do in order to stave of His wrath to something that you want to do because you love Him and show your gratitude for what Christ has done for you. AAA Prayer (About) A CKNOWLEDGE WHO GOD IS : Our Father, who gave us the perfect righteousness of His Son through the faith given to us by His Spirit; A LIGN YOUR LIFE WITH GOD'S WILL: Pray you will be able to "stand firm (v1)" and that your faith will "express itself through love (v6)." A SK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED: Read the New Testament in a year! Today: Luke 22