"The Grace of Our Lord Jesus Christ" Revealed at Christmas

“For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, so that you through His poverty might become rich.” (2 Corinthians 8:9; NASB)

by Eldon DeBoer

What matters is what the text of God's Word says. My prayer is that what I write will help you understand a little bit more about what it says, what it means and how it applies in your life.

2 Corinthians 8:9 is truly a wonderful Christmas verse. In the thoughts of God in eternity past He always knew that He would create us. He knew that we would fall into rebellion against Him. He knew what it would cost Himself to deliver us, His beloved ones, from our own rebellious, lost and sinful condition. He would have to become poor. He would have to set aside the wealth He has as God to be united with a body that He created—capture Himself in space—so that He could deliver us. The One who owns everything was born in a barn to a poor and despised mother who He Himself chose. Everything belongs to God. He owns everything. He is rich beyond our imaginations. There is so much about who He is and what He has that we have only begun to grasp a little bit of it. The God over all that exists decided to set aside His wealth so that He could serve us to the extent that He gave His own life for us on that cross of Calvary. (Does the omniscient God ever “decide” anything?) Now that's grace! Grace is God giving Himself to us so that we could enjoy Him forever. Grace is Christ Jesus becoming poor and suffering and dying in our place so that we “through His poverty, might become rich.” God wants to share some of His wealth with us. So He came to serve us on that first Christmas. We'll be walking on streets of gold! But there is so much more than that. We'll know the Lord Jesus like never before. We'll experience more of the wealth of who He is.

This grace of God was something that the Corinthians knew about. It is something every believer in Christ Jesus should know about. When we first believed in Jesus we knew very little about this awesome truth. God the Spirit revealed to us how much He loves us and we began to learn of His grace. The Spirit wants to keep on opening our eyes to more about Jesus Christ—who He is, what the promise of eternal life means and the significance of what He has done for us.

Some of the "grace of our Lord Jesus Christ" was revealed on that first Christmas and more was revealed and will be revealed in our future as believers in Christ.

May we continue to “grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” (2 Peter 3:18). And, as we do grow in His grace and knowledge, we will find that we will have more of the spirit of giving like the Son of God has than we did before. Amen?

Christmas Is About the HU and K

by Eldon DeBoer

“And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.” (John 1:14; NKJV)

The awesome truth that the Word, the great God who always was (John 1:1-3), united Himself with flesh is truly mysterious and amazing. It's hard for us to wrap our minds around it. Yet here it is recorded by a man of God who was moved by the Spirit of God to write it down for us just exactly as God wanted it written.

In recent weeks I've been getting acquainted with facebook abbreviations and I must say they are handy in communicating quickly. One of the most common ones is lol, laugh out loud. Yeah, I know, most of you are familiar, but just in case.... And there's BFN, bye for now. And LYL, love you lots. And God loves us a lot!

In the spirit of fb (facebook), let me introduce HU & K. And I'm certainly not making light of what these letters represent. But isn't it helpful and edifying when a couple of words flood our minds with meaningful truth?

The HU stands for Hypostatic Union. These are the technical theological terms that have been utilized to present the truth of what happened when “the Word became flesh.” The term hypostatic presents the reality—as mysterious as it is—of God joining Himself with the human body of flesh like that which He created in the Person of Jesus of Nazareth. Hypostatic is from the Greek term hupostasis which draws attention to the natures united together in the one Person of the Lord Jesus Christ. A brief definition of the HU that represents what has been taught historically is this: The Lord Jesus Christ is undiminished deity united with true humanity, without mixture or confusion, in one Person forever. One writer has expanded upon this in stating, “Jesus' two natures are not 'mixed together,' nor are they combined into a new God-man nature. They are separate yet act as a unit in the one person of Jesus” (Matt Slick, “Jesus Two Natures: God and Man,” http://carm.org/jesus-two-natures ).

The Lord Jesus Christ is fully God and fully man united in one Person. And this, without a doubt, is a mysterious truth. But when we pause and think about what God did for us, even though we readily admit we cannot fully comprehend it, we should become overwhelmed by the awesomeness of it. He chose in eternity past, knowing all things and what would take place, to unite Himself with the very flesh He created so that He could serve us. Our great God, our Creator who has the ability to speak things into existence, chose to unite Himself with true humanity so that He could deliver us from sin and death and have victory over Satan and all evil. God chose to bring about the HU. He loves us that much!

This brings us to the K which represents the kenosis of Christ. The Greek verb form of the noun kenosis is used in Philippians 2:7 where it draws attention to how Christ “emptied” (NASB) Himself. When the Word became flesh He set aside the full and complete exercise of the function of His attributes as God to serve us. The context in which this word is found explains it:

“Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.” (Philippians 2:6-8; NASB)

What an attitude Christ Jesus had! He became the servant of His creatures. He became our servant so that He could “humble Himself” and die in our place. And we are to have the same attitude in ourselves. We are called to lay down our life for others. How's that for a Christmas message? Jesus Christ was born to serve and die. And so may we serve one another and give our lives for each other.

May I remind you that we cannot do this on our own. We desperately need God's grace, the filling and enabling work of His Spirit, to apply this in our life.

May the HU and K be impressed upon our thoughts this Christmas and always. Why? Because the depth of our understanding of the Christ, who He is and what He has done for us, should cause us to love Him more and more. And we love Him because He first loved us (1 John 4:7-19).

Jesus Wants to Be at Home in Our Hearts! Now that's amazing grace!

It absolutely astounds me that the great God of the universe, the God that spoke all things into existence, wants to be at home in our hearts. He wants to be at home within our inner-most being. But this is understandable. It is what He intended from the beginning. He created us to have a close, personal and intimate relationship with Himself. He wants us to truly enjoy Him!

We shall see at the close of this article that this closeness to God in Christ is where we get our strength to live the truth.

When we believed in Jesus and became children of God, the Spirit of Christ came into our life. The Spirit moved Paul to write of this truth, this reality:

You are sons [children] of God through faith in Christ Jesus . . . And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying, “Abba, Father.” (Galatians 3:26; 4:6)

What the Spirit of Christ cries out within us is an expression of a close, intimate, trusting relationship with our heavenly Father. Christ's Spirit confirms the truth within that the perfect heavenly Father places within us the capacity to have a close relationship with Himself.

The Aramaic word, “Abba,” is much like our word, “Daddy.” It is a word of endearment. A word used by children who sense a closeness to their father. “Daddy!” And this is what the Spirit of God cries out within us.

I recall Francis Schaeffer speaking of this relationship from the perspective of a child holding up his arms, reaching up to his father and saying, “Up, Daddy, Up!” And so we as God's children look up to our heavenly Father, reaching up to Him for consolation and counsel. "Daddy!" And that's what He wants.

But, sadly, stuff in this life gets in the way of enjoying a close relationship with our heavenly Father. We are our own worst enemy in this. Thankfully, the Spirit of God draws us back to Himself as He helps us realize what has happened. We can confess, admitting our failure and once again enjoy intimacy with God the Father and Jesus (1 John 1:9). But after acknowledging our sin we should renew our minds with the truth of God's Word and keep on reflecting on it. We especially should ponder the truth of how Jesus Christ has demonstrated His love to us (Romans 5:6-11).

Include in the Apostle Paul's prayer for the believers of Ephesus is the request that Christ Jesus might be at home in their hearts:

. . . that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man, that Christ may dwell in your hearts [be at home in your hearts] through faith . . . (Ephesians 4:16-17)

When God the Son is at home in your hearts because you are trusting Him and walking in the light of His Word, your receive His strength to apply the truth. Paul's prayer is my prayer for everyone who reads this. May you enjoy having Christ Jesus be at home in your hearts as you ponder how much He loves you. And may you thereby experience His strength. And when you do you are experiencing His amazing grace!

As always, I welcome your comments and questions ( eldondeboer@yahoo.com ).

Grace Needed to Be Courageous

by Eldon DeBoer

God calls us to be courageous as we engage ourselves in spiritual warfare. And there is a battle raging for the hearts and souls of everyone around us. And, apart from God providing the grace to win these spiritual battles, we won't win as we should. We won't have the courage to keep on fighting for His honor and glory.

The movie “Courageous” has had a powerful impact on my soul. It presents a tremendous challenge—especially to husbands and fathers. In my humble opinion, everybody ought to see it. Take the time and “just do it”! But it might be too much for some men to take. Especially if they are not willing to take up the challenge to courageously look to the Lord to become the husbands and fathers that God calls them to become.

Dads, there is only one perfect father, the heavenly Father. But He calls us to be like Him (Matthew 5:48). While He certainly knows we cannot be perfectly like Him all the time, He still calls us to be like Him, just the same. And apart from His grace we cannot do this. Apart from His grace we cannot keep on growing in becoming more like Him.

If there is anything that I would have added to the “Courageous” movie, it's the desperate need we have for God's grace to live out the truth. The group of men in the movie—who are all cops by the way—make a solemn resolution to God and before their families to be and become the men God has called them to be. Their vow included this: "I WILL seek to honor God, be faithful to His church, obey His Word, and do His will. I WILL courageously work with the strength God provides to fulfill this resolution for the rest of my life and for His glory. 'As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.'" --Joshua 24:15

The need we all have for God's grace to live out the truth should to be emphasized as it is in the New Testament Scriptures. For apart from a grace emphasis the strong tendency is to attempt to apply the truth in our own strength. Apart from God's grace we will fail. We will fail to live out the truth to the glory of Christ. For apart from Him we can do nothing that has eternal value before God (John 15:5).

When I was still in my teens (I think I was about 15 or 16) my mother shared with me that when she got pregnant with me she was not happy about it. She had four children already and she thought she was a failure as a mom. She certainly did not want a fifth child. But my mom had a tender heart toward the Lord. And she cried out to Him for help. The Lord gave Mom this verse:

“Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous! Do not tremble or be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.” (Joshua 1:9; NASB)

There is a basic truth presented in this verse that each and every one of us need to keep in mind in our quest to heed the command to “be courageous.” The Lord our God is with us! If you have believed in Jesus, He is with you and He will give you His grace that you so desperately need to be strong and courageous. The Lord gave my mom the grace she needed for my benefit and for the benefit of my older brothers and sisters as well. I am so thankful that my parents loved the Lord and wanted what was best for me. And you can count on the Lord to give you the grace you need for the benefit of those you love. You can count on Him for His grace in the spiritual battle for the application of truth in your home and community.

We are all at different stages of growth in our relationship with God. For my children's sake I wish I knew back when they were younger what I know now so that I would have had more insight to apply the truth more meaningfully for their benefit. I was not the father I wish I would have been for their sake. I'm still growing. I'm still growing in the grace and knowledge of my Lord and Savior and, therefore, I was not what I am now (duh?). But by God's grace I can keep on advancing and keep on becoming the man God calls me to be for the sake of my wife and children. And for the sake of those close to me whose lives the Lord gives me the privilege to touch.

“We were made to be courageous!” (Casting Crowns). May we keep on encouraging each other to keep on looking to the Lord Jesus for His grace to be courageous in the application of truth for His glory and honor.

I appreciate very much your comments and questions ( eldondeboer@yahoo.com ).

Grace Needed for Heartfelt Forgiveness

by Eldon DeBoer

I posted this before, but decided to present it again under a new title. This teaching is so very crucial. My prayer is that it will truly be a help to you.

Then Peter came to Him and said, "Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? Up to seven times?''

Jesus said to him, "I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven.” Matthew 18:21-22

Peter probably thought he was being very generous when he asked this question about forgiveness. Certainly forgiving “up to seven times” goes beyond what God requires of us. Louis Barbieri, Jr., notes that “the traditional Rabbinic teaching was that an offended person needed to forgive a brother only three times” (The Bible Knowledge Commentary, 62). In what follows in Matthew 18, Peter’s lack of understanding becomes obvious in the story that Jesus told about the king and his two servants. Apparently Peter did not realize the application of God’s forgiveness to forgiving others. It seems that he did not have much appreciation for the truth that the Lord had forgiven him a huge debt of sin. He did not apply the foundational truth that we all need to understand in order to forgive from the heart.

When Jesus told Peter that we should keep on forgiving up to 490 times, he was not saying that we should keep a ledger of the sins against us. The expression, “up to seventy times seven,” emphasizes that we should keep on forgiving and not keep track of the number of times someone sins against us.

The words of Jesus at the conclusion of the parable powerfully communicate the importance of forgiving from the heart. If we do not forgive from our hearts, we can count on being tortured. We should not be surprised when we experience emotional torture within because we have refused to forgive someone. The emotional torture from refusing to forgive can result in serious spiritual and psychological problems.

Jesus taught that refusing to forgive is itself a sin and breaks fellowship with God (Matthew 6:14-15). When a believer refuses to forgive, God will not forgive him until it is confessed as sin (1 John 1:9; Psalm 32:1-5). This is forgiveness for fellowship with God in this life. Every believer remains forgiven in Christ forever whether he or she forgives or not (Ephesians 1:7). The importance of forgiving others and the sin of refusing to forgive in Matthew 6 and 18 has to do with continuing in fellowship in a meaningful relationship with Jesus here and now in this life.

What does it mean to forgive someone?

When we forgive someone we put away the person’s sin against us. The word translated forgive (aphiemi) means to put away. When we forgive, as far as we are concerned, the person is no longer guilty of his sin against us. This is what Jesus did when He was being crucified (Luke 23:34). He put away their sin of crucifying Him and therefore they would not receive immediate judgment from God for that sin.

After Jesus had raised Lazarus from the dead, He told them, “Loose him and let him go” (John 11:44, NKJV). “Let . . . go” is the translation of aphiemi. This provides a fitting analogy that addresses attention to what we do for people when we forgive them. When we forgive someone we no longer keep the person in bondage to the guilt of their sin. As far as we are concerned the person is not guilty. We let him go and he thereby is set free from his guilt against us. This does not mean that an individual should never be held accountable for his sin against us. At times justice must be applied. This will be addressed at another time.

Peter’s lack of understanding concerning God’s standards for forgiving one another is not unusual among believers. Many believers do not understand the application of this truth. But what is it that believers need to grasp in order to forgive from the heart? The parable Jesus told provides the answer.

Heart-felt Forgiveness Flows from Being Forgiven a Huge Debt

In this parable the king of the servant who has incurred a huge debt is God the Father Himself. There are a number of views concerning what a talent would be worth in today’s currency, but according to one source the amount equaled about 15 years wages. If you earned an average of $30,000 a year multiplied times 15, times 10,000, your debt would be $4,500,000,000. The main point of the Lord’s illustration is that since God has forgiven us so very much, we are to forgive others from our hearts. If you appreciate the huge debt of sin that God has forgiven you, you will keep on forgiving others who sin against you. This is precisely what the servant did not do. His lack of appreciation for how much his lord had forgiven him was expressed in his refusal to forgive a fellow servant of a far lesser debt of sin. Consequently, he was handed over to the torturers (cp. Hebrews 12:4-15).

Our sins are ultimately against our holy heavenly Father.

The two servants in the story Jesus told are both representative of believers in Christ Jesus. The wicked servant who refused to forgive had incurred a debt beyond his ability to repay. When we sin against our holy God, we should understand that we are unable to pay back the debt we owe due to our sins. We do not have the ability to repay our Lord for sins committed against Him. Our sins are too great. All the Father asks is that we go to him and admit our need of His forgiveness. God always treats us in grace and forgives us because our debt has been paid through the suffering and death of Christ Jesus. The wicked servant had been forgiven by his lord. But when he refused to forgive a fellow servant, he was turned over to the torturers because of his sin of refusing to forgive. We should keep in mind that ultimately our sins are sins against our holy God and only His forgiveness removes the sin and the guilt. David understood this and expressed his indebtedness to God. After he had confessed his sin of adultery against Uriah and Bathsheba, he said to the Lord,

Against You, You only, have I sinned, And done this evil in Your sight

That You may be found just when You speak, And blameless when You judge. (Psalm 51:4)

David was well aware that he was worthy of death. And he knew that God could take His Spirit from him (Psalm 51:11). (While this cannot happen to a believer today in the Church Age, it could happen to believers in the Old Testament. Believers today fully receive the Spirit when they believe in Jesus and He continues to indwell them no matter how sinful they might become.) When we sin against the Lord God we should understand that all sins, whether seemingly significant or insignificant to us, are offenses against our holy heavenly Father and are huge in His sight.

Yet some sins cause more damage than others. It could be that the wicked servant is an illustration of a believer who has received forgiveness for a sin that has caused a great deal of damage to others. Whatever the case, the teaching is clear. Believers should maintain forgiving hearts because the holy God has forgiven them a huge debt of sin.

Sins and offenses against you

When someone does something that hurts you, there are times when the person who has offended you may not even be aware of the hurt that has been caused. Then, to the other extreme, there are sins that obviously are motivated by maliciousness. There are offenses that are perceived to be damaging which may not even be sinful at all. Sometimes we can be too sensitive about what others do to us. Whatever the case, when we feel that someone has hurt us, God calls us to forgive them. When we have disagreements with others or complaints against others for whatever reason, the Lord says,

Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, put on tender mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering; bearing with one another, and forgiving one another, if anyone has a complaint against another; even as Christ forgave you, so you also must do. (Colossians 3:12-13)

May we forgive from the heart because we appreciate that we have been forgiven a huge debt of sin by our holy God and thereby be free of the emotional torture that results from refusing to forgive.

Emotional Torture: A Result of Refusing to Forgive

Matthew 18:35; Ephesians 4:29-5:2; Colossians 3:1-16

Jesus warned those who do not forgive from the heart that they would be turned over to the torturers (Matthew 18:35). The heavenly Father will bring severe discipline upon those who refuse to forgive (Hebrews 12:3-15). Often this discipline from the Father includes emotional torture.

The Lord calls us to forgive as He has forgiven us in Christ.

Since God has forgiven us a huge debt of sin we are to forgive others. This is an important part of the Spirit of the Lord’s concern as He moved the Apostle Paul to write Ephesians. Having proclaimed the truth of the everlasting spiritual blessing of our forgiveness in Christ (Ephesians 1:7), Paul emphasizes the importance of forgiving one another:

And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God in Christ also forgave you. (Ephesians 4:32)

Forgiving one another is what accompanies being kind and tenderhearted. If believers prominently keep in mind the forgiveness that was bought and paid for by Jesus (Ephesians 5:1-2), they should keep on maintaining a forgiving heart. Notice that Paul points to God’s forgiveness as the basis for our forgiveness. The word translated forgive in this passage emphasizes grace in forgiveness (charizomai). We communicate kindness and tenderheartedness as we keep on forgiving others.

Our emotional vulnerability when angry

The fact that we should guard against not letting go of justified anger or righteous wrath before we go to bed is clear from what we are told in Ephesians 4:26-27:

"'Be angry (orgizo) and do not sin': do not let the sun go down on your wrath(parorgismos) nor give place to the devil" (note the root word orge found in parorgismos).

We should never go to sleep filled with anger, even though our anger may be justified because of the hurt and injury that someone caused. May we look to the Lord for the grace to put our righteous wrath to rest against those who have sinned against us or, possibly, others as well. This warning is accompanied by the real danger that even righteous wrath might turn to bitterness and sinful anger and that this may be used by the devil and his cohorts to bring us into spiritual bondage.

We understand from personal experience that often our emotions cause us to lose the ability to think clearly. When sinful emotions take over we are “in the dark” spiritually. God tells us we should be alert to this and we must draw upon His grace to overcome these harmful emotions.

Put away the emotions that torture you because you refuse to forgive.

Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice. Ephesians 4:31

At times, when we are reminded of the hurt that someone caused, bitterness and sinful anger apparently may overcome us. These emotions are often the torture that comes to us when we refuse to forgive. They are a huge part of the torture designed by God to get our attention. What are we to do about these sinful emotions? We are told to put them away or put them off (cf. Colossians 3:8). In Ephesians 4:31 “put away” translates airo which is also used in another place to explain how Christ Jesus came to taken away our sins (1 John 3:5).

When we do not put away someone’s sin against us by forgiving them, the Spirit of God is grieved (Ephesians 4:30). The fact that we are commanded to “put away” these sinful emotions tells us that by God’s grace, by the ministry of the Spirit through the new man, we can do something about them. We need not be enslaved to them. With God’s enabling grace, we can put a stop to these evil feelings.

Bitterness (pikria, Acts 8:23; Romans 3:14: Hebrews 12:15)) is the emotion that results when we dwell on how someone has hurt us and begin to think about revenge. We become self-centered and filled with self-pity. We can only think about ourselves or how we might vindicate ourselves. Wrath (thumos, Luke 4:28; Acts 19:28) and anger (orge, 1 Timothy 2:8; James 1:19-20) are expressed as we “clamor” for attention and speak evil of the offender. We begin to plan malicious acts against our offenders.

This was not true of Stephen (Acts 7). Stephen demonstrated the grace of God as he was being stoned to death. His final words were words of forgiveness and love for those who took his life. It seems that this left a marked impression on a young man named Saul. Saul came to faith in Jesus as his Messiah and Savior a short time later and became the Apostle Paul who wrote the letter to the Ephesians. Paul knew about forgiveness and deeply appreciated the forgiveness of God. He had experienced the grace of God’s forgiveness. As the “chief of sinners” who had persecuted believers in Christ, Paul became well aware of his need for God’s forgiveness (1 Timothy 1:15-16).

How do we put away the sinful emotions that torture us?

God commands us to put away the sinful emotions that torture us. By the grace of God through the ministry of the Spirit working through the new man we can put away our sinful emotions. When the Holy Spirit convicts you about your sinful emotions confess them as sin. Then prayerfully consider the question, “Have I committed some sin that caused these sinful emotions?” Oftentimes it is the sin of refusing to forgive that has caused these emotions to surface. When the Spirit brings to your attention that refusing to forgive is the sin that is at the root of these emotional responses, then that sin must be confessed as well. Receive the forgiveness granted to you by God through Christ by admitting you have sinned (1 John 1:7, 9). Then remind yourself of the huge debt of sin that God has forgiven you in Christ. Ponder the wonder of His love and grace that He has expressed to you.

Putting these sinful emotions away is not easy. We may find that it is very difficult to completely let go of the offense against us. We forgive and let go and then we pick it up again in our thoughts. We find ourselves hanging on to it and we rework it in our minds over and over again. Very soon afterwards we are filled with bitterness and sinful anger. Hopefully we do not descend to the point of clamoring for attention by talking about it with others. May we stop short of seeking revenge. May we not carry out injurious plans for personal vindication (cf. Romans 12:14-21).

Thankfully, when we confess these sins and receive cleansing from God once again, we return to the high road of forgiveness in God’s plan for us. Our thoughts should then turn to Jesus and we should once again ponder the great debt of sin that we have been forgiven because of Jesus’ sacrifice in our place. Do we deserve to be forgiven? No. Does the person who has sinned against us deserve to be forgiven. No. Yet, God’s plan for our lives is that we forgive as He forgave. When we do forgive because we have been forgiven in Christ and maintain forgiveness from the heart, God will free us from the emotional torture of bitterness and anger. When we apply God’s Word by His Spirit, He gives us peace.

And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also you were called in one body; and be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. Colossians 3:15-16

Forgive and illustrate the grace of God.

We illustrate the grace and love of God when we forgive others. This is crucially important in the ministry of a church. By forgiving one another and putting up with each other, believers may powerfully communicate the love and grace of God shown them in Christ Jesus.

The chapter break is unfortunate at the close of Ephesians 4 because the following verses emphasize the importance of being like God in forgiveness and in the demonstration of love by Jesus Christ’s death.

Therefore be followers of God as dear children. And walk in love, as Christ also has loved us and given Himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling aroma. Ephesians 5:1-2

When we maintain hearts of forgiveness we demonstrate to others that we truly are followers of God. When we keep on forgiving we shine forth the light of the truth of Christ and are behaving in a way that is consistent with whom we are in Christ. We have received total and complete everlasting forgiveness in Christ. We are light in the Lord (Ephesians 5:8). When we keep on forgiving we are walking as children of light. We are behaving wisely by the power of the Spirit of God (5:15-21).

By the grace of God through the ministry of the Spirit through the new man created in the image of Christ (Colossians 3:10), we may overcome the emotional torment caused by refusing to forgive. We may express the love and grace to others that God has given us in Christ Jesus.

A summary of God’s provisions for maintaining a heart of forgiveness:

1. Remember that in and through Jesus Christ, God has forgiven you a huge debt of sin. Keep in mind that no one can offend you or sin against you to the degree that you have sinned against God (Matthew 18:27).

2. Ponder and dwell on the wondrous love and forgiveness God has granted to you through Christ Jesus (Ephesians 1:7; 1 John 1:9-2:2).

Think about the awful cost of your deliverance by the Son of God Himself. Keep your eyes on Jesus (Ephesians 4:29-5:2; Colossians 3:1-16; 1 Peter 1:17-21; Hebrews 12:1-3).

3. Recognize that you cannot maintain a heart of forgiveness for the right reasons in your own strength (John 15:5).

4. Keep in mind the Lord’s command to not take your righteous wrath to bed (Ephesians 4:25-27).

5. Be on the alert for signs of sinful anger and bitterness (Matthew 18:35). Remain sensitive to the convicting work of the Spirit from the Word of God (Hebrews 4:12; Ephesians 4:30-31; Colossians 3:8-10; Hebrews 12:15).

6. Confess to the Lord the sin of an unforgiving spirit when the Holy Spirit causes you to realize that this is the reason for the emotional torture of bitterness and anger (1 John 1:9; cp. Matthew 6:14-15; Psalm 32:1-6).

7. Cry out to God for the grace to keep on maintaining a heart of forgiveness so that your life will be a testimony to His love and grace (John 13:35; 2 Peter 3:18; 2 Corinthians 12:9-10).

Your questions and comments are appreciated ( eldondeboer@yahoo.com ).

Grace Needed to "In Everything Give Thanks!"

" . . . in everything give thanks; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus." (1 Thessalonians 5:18)

Once again Thanksgiving Day has come and gone but God's Word tells us to "in everything give thanks!" Honestly, I can't do that on my own. Stuff happens and my thankful heart is gone. But by God's grace and His Spirit's work in me, He helps me realize that I am not thinking correctly once again. I confess the sin (1 John 1:9) and recover and God in His grace helps me to "in everything give thanks" again.

How is this possible? Lots and lots of reasons. But here are just a few. I know and claim the promises in God's Word. For example, "All things work together for good to those who love God . . ." (Romans 8:28). We love God because "He first loved us" (1 John 4:7-19). And His "commands are not burdensome" (1 John 5:3) because we know how much He loves us when we look to Jesus and renew our appreciation for what He went through for us. God always has our best interests in mind for us.

I have a fond memory of a teaching my father shared when I was just a kid. He pointed out that 1 Thessalonians 5:18 does not say "for everything give thanks." It says, "in everything give thanks." We can't and shouldn't give thanks for everything. We can't be thankful for such things like the lady that sprayed pepper spray in the eyes of others while shopping on black Friday because she did not want them to get what she wanted. (Ugh!) We cannot and should not be thankful for any evil deed brought upon others by sinners like ourselves. (Yes, I have been one of those sinners and have been guilty of hurting others. God, help me!) But in the midst of all that happens all around us we can have a heart of thankfulness because we know that there will be an end to all the evil that takes place. Jesus Christ's death won the victory over the devil and all the corruption that goes on and on (1 John 3:8b; Hebrews 2:14-15). But there will be a final end to it one glad day because Jesus has already won the victory as proven by His resurrection (1 Corinthians 15).

So keep trusting the Lord and and His Word and "in everything give thanks!" God will give you the grace to do so by His Spirit working through the new person in you that He created in the image of Christ (see earlier post, "God's Grace Operating Assets").

Got Anything Better to Do?

by Eldon DeBoer

Maybe you attempted to read through the passages given in my last post and found it mind boggling. Yes, there is a lot of information in those texts. But isn't it worth the effort? Got anything better to do than ponder what God's Word teaches about His grace?

Don't misunderstand. Our lives are filled with many activities that are important and I am not encouraging a monastery mentality. But may I encourage you to set aside some time every day to ponder God's grace message?

Think about the opening phrase in Titus 2:11. "The grace of God has appeared bringing salvation to all men . . ." (NASB). God's grace appeared in the Person of Jesus of Nazareth when He stepped into history. Soon we will be celebrating His entrance to earth once again. The signs of Christmas are upon us.

What an awesome truth to contemplate. Somehow God united Himself with the flesh and bones and human spirit that He created. In doing so He set aside the full expression of who He is and what He does as God. And He did this so that He could serve us. He did this to serve the creatures He created. He did this so that one day He could suffer and die in our place and pay the penalty for our sin and thereby bring about our deliverance, our salvation from sin and death. He did this so one day all evil in our experience will come to an end and we will enjoy Him fully forever.

Ah, yes! "The grace of God has appeared!"

So I'll ask again. Got anything better to do than to pause and ponder the grace message?

The Grace Message

What matters is what the Text says!

Acts 20:32. And now, brethren, I commend you to God and to the word [logos, which may be translated “message”] of His grace, which is able to build you up and give you an inheritance among all those who are sanctified [set apart as holy].

Titus
2:11. For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men,
12. teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present age,
13. looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ,
14. who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for Himself His own special people, zealous for good works.
15. Speak these things, exhort, and rebuke with all authority. Let no one despise you.

2 Corinthians
3:5. Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think of anything as being from ourselves, but our sufficiency is from God,
6. who also made us sufficient as ministers of the new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.
7. But if the ministry of death, written and engraved on stones, was glorious, so that the children of Israel could not look steadily at the face of Moses because of the glory of his countenance, which glory was passing away,
8. how will the ministry of the Spirit not be more glorious?
9. For if the ministry of condemnation had glory, the ministry of righteousness exceeds much more in glory.

3:17. Now the Lord is the Spirit; and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.
18. But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord.

5:14. For the love of Christ constrains us, because we judge thus: that if One died for all, then all died;
15. and He died for all, that those who live should live no longer for themselves, but for Him who died for them and rose again.
16. Therefore, from now on, we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we have known Christ according to the flesh, yet now we know Him thus no longer.
17. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.
18. Now all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation,
19. that is, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, and has committed to us the word of reconciliation.
20. Therefore we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us: we implore you on Christ's behalf, be reconciled to God.
21. For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.
6:1. We then, as workers together with Him also plead with you not to receive the grace of God in vain.

Galatians
2:20. I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.

2 Peter
17. You therefore, beloved, since you know these things beforehand, beware lest you also fall from your own steadfastness, being led away with the error of the wicked;
18. but grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory both now and forever. Amen.

1 John
7. Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God.
8. He who does not love does not know God, for God is love.
9. In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him.
19. We love Him because He first loved us.

The Foundation and Good News of the Grace Message
The foundation of the grace message is the truth of the person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ (John 1:1, 14-18). The good news of the grace message is that the Lord Jesus loved us so much that He chose to give His life on the cross of Calvary so that we could enjoy Him, His heaven and new earth forever, and have a meaningful personal relationship with Him now as well.

While the grace message is found in the Old Testament, the grace message may be understood and grasped especially from the New Testament. The writings of the Bible were uniquely inspired by God and the New Testament was written by the apostles and prophets of Jesus Christ to churches and individuals in the first century A.D.

The Application of the Grace Message in a Christian’s Life
The grace message of Christ Jesus for the Christian grace-way of life is built on the truth of the gospel, which is that deliverance from sin and death and everlasting life is received only when an individual personally believes that “Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God” (John 20:30-31). Life with God forever is received as a gift from the Lord Jesus through faith in Him and by faith in Him alone. Good works do not earn the gift or retain it. Sinful thoughts or actions do not remove a believer from his relationship with or position in Christ. “Having been justified by faith we have peace with God,” and nothing and no one “shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 5:1; 8:38). Therefore the believer is free to serve the Lord Jesus out of a heart of love and thankfulness for the truly free gifts that God has given because of His love and grace. He or she need not live in fear of losing her salvation or fear from thinking that maybe she did not receive life at all because of her struggle with bad behavior. The truth of the grace message should be set in sharp contrast to teachings that bring about slavery by focussing upon keeping a certain set of rules or traditions in order to retain an eternal relationship with God (Galatians 3:2-6; 5:1).

The application of the grace message of Christ Jesus is a life lived in response to His love and grace. Those who have believed in Jesus should please and honor Him out of gratitude for what He has done for them and in appreciation for what He continues to do and will do for them (Colossians 2:6-7). Believers in Christ Jesus are called to keep on growing “in the grace and knowledge” of their Savior (2 Peter 3:18).

The true grace message of God instructs and builds up the believer, liberating him to serve the Lord in the freedom of faith and love (Galatians 5:1-6). This message of grace should be set in contrast to the false teachings that tragically cause enslavement, fear, doubt and uncertainty in the life of the believer in Christ Jesus.

God's Grace Operating Assets

by Eldon DeBoer

God, by His grace, has provided all that you need to live out the truth in your life. He has provided grace operating assets. When you first believed in Christ Jesus, you received the Holy Spirit. The Spirit came to indwell you (2 Corinthians 1:21-22) so that you could understand and truly grasp His Word and so that you could apply it in your life (1 Corinthians 2:6-16). Application of God's Word is also by the Spirit in that He desires to fill you--powerfully influence you--so that you can live out the truth, walking in the light of His Word (Ephesians 5:8-21). You therefore have the responsibility to “let the word of Christ dwell in you richly” (Colossians 3:16; NASB). So that you can make the very most of the time that the Lord gives you here on earth He makes available to you the grace operating assets of the Spirit.

There is another grace operating asset without which you could not get to first base in applying truth that will count for eternity. It is the gift of a new nature which you also received when you first believed in Jesus (2 Corinthians 5:17). This new nature, or new “man” (anthropos) within you, was created by God in the likeness of Christ Himself. God tells us through the inspired hand of the Apostle Paul to “put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness . . . who is renewed in knowledge according to the image of [Christ] who created him” (Ephesians 4:24; Colossians 3:10).

Within the contexts of Ephesian 4:24 and Colossians 3:10 is an explanation of how our old sin natures, the old “man” within us that we are born with (Ephesians 4:1-3), are in serious conflict with the Spirit's ministry and the function of the new man, the new person within that is like Christ. In our old sinful selves we cannot operate in the way God wants us to operate. Apart from the Spirit working through the new man we could not function spiritually in the way God wants us to function.

Study these passages carefully and ask God to give you understanding. Send me an email and ask specific questions about these Scriptures (eldondeboer@yahoo.com).

Thank God for His grace operating assets of the ministry of His Spirit and the new person created in the very likeness of Christ!

God's Grace in Forgiveness

by Eldon DeBoer

There are many things about the grace message that enthrall me. But there is a key application of the grace of God that I experience repeatedly that stands near the pinnacle of this awesome message. It is the application of the knowledge of God's grace in forgiveness.

We are forgiven forever when we first place our faith in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 1:7). Being forgiven forever is a part of our eternal standing in Christ. It is a part of being identified with Him in His death and resurrection (Romans 6:1-5). We are sealed in Christ when we believe in Him and this is a permanent seal accomplished by the Spirit of God that includes being forgiven in eternity (Ephesians 1:13-14).

But what I am addressing in this article is being forgiven for sins we continue to commit that cause us to be in spiritual darkness in our experience with God here and now. While I am forgiven of all sins in Christ, God's Word teaches that I should confess my sins each and every time the Spirit makes me aware that I have missed a mark that He has set for me to live by.

“If we confess our sins He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9).

God said He was looking for a leader, a king, who would be a man after His own heart (1 Samuel 13:22). In other words, God was looking for a man to lead His people who wanted to be like Himself more than anything else. You probably know who that man turned out to be. Yes, it was David; a shepherd boy who became king of Israel. Was David, the man after God's own heart, perfect? Far from it. He clearly understood how desperately he needed the grace of God in forgiveness. He emphasized this when he wrote Psalm 32 and Psalm 51 after he recovered from a sin that brought a great deal of pain into the lives of many people (2 Samuel 11 & 12). Yet, long after he had died, he was still remembered as someone whose heart was “devoted” to God (1 Kings 11:4; Acts 13:22). How encouraging it is to know that God forgives and that we can recover like David did and be useful to our Lord and Savior once again.

The truth that God forgives us again and again because of Jesus Christ's suffering in our place is a reality that should deeply grip our hearts when we pause to think about what it means. No matter how often we fall to a sinful weakness, be it a wrong thought or behavior, the Lord Jesus forgives us again. And again! Through confession we recover from being in spiritual darkness and re-enter the light and joy of fellowship with God.

“ . . . these things we write to you that your joy may be full. This is the message which we have heard from Him and declare to you, that God is light and in Him is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin” (1 John 1:4-7).

The Apostle Paul wrote of His struggle with sin after being a believer in Christ for a number of years and how he hated it (Romans 7:15-24). He found himself thinking and doing what he knew what was wrong over and over. But when He came to himself by the ministry of the Spirit in His life, He exclaimed,

“Oh wretched man that I am! who will set me free from the body of this death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord (Romans 7:24-25).

Yes, Christ Jesus “sets us free” again and again from our spiritual deadness and uselessness to God when we sin as believers. It is thought that what Paul had in mind by the phrase “the body of this death” was the practice in his day of chaining a cadaver to a person who had been guilty of an offense that warranted the death penalty. Gangrene would set in and the guilty person would experience a horrible, drawn-out, painful death.

Who will release us from the horrible influence of our sins? Our spiritual deadness and uselessness to God while we are living in the dark because of sin? Christ Jesus sets us free from the “body of this death” again and again. He forgives us every time we admit that we have sinned against Him. And because of our appreciation for His suffering in our place to provide for this forgiveness, because of His love and grace, we should cry out to Him for His help to stop succumbing to the sin. But in our frailty when we fall to that weakness again, that sin that we hate, He forgives us again. And we then can enjoy fellowship with Him once more and live in His light and the light of His Word, the light of His teachings from the Bible.

Because of the work of Christ Jesus, God forgives us forever and He forgives us again and again when we confess our sin, when we simply admit to Him that we have done wrong. That's grace!!!

Enthralled by the Grace Message of Christ Jesus

by Eldon DeBoer

It has been said that our emotions are the responders of our souls. To narrow it down, when we ponder a particular truth, we may have an emotional response within our heart and soul. Should not all believers in Christ Jesus be enthralled by His grace message? Interestingly enough enthralled was formerly used of being held in slavery. It then came to mean to be held “spellbound” (www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/enthrall). We may become captivated and overwhelmed with emotion when we contemplate the truth of the grace of Christ Jesus. When we know Christ Jesus and the message of His grace we should be enthralled. When we read with understanding verses like 2 Corinthians 8:9, we should be enthralled:

“For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sake He became poor, so that you through His poverty might become rich” (NASB).

Think of it! In eternity past God the Son chose to set aside the exercise of His attributes as God in order to be united with true humanity in the Person of Jesus so that He could serve us. He “became poor, so that you through His poverty might become rich.” This should enthrall us! Knowing that our great God chose to do this for us should captivate us.

The great God who created all things and is the King of kings became poor for us so that He could serve us. And by serving us in His death He defeated the devil and, therefore, we need no longer fear death (Hebrews 2:14-15). This should enthrall us! Christ Jesus took the sting out of death! (1 Corinthians 15:54-57).
And so we serve Him and make Him Lord of our life (1 Peter 3:15), deciding to please Him again and again because of what He has done for us. We “love Him because He first loved us” (1 John 4:19). We are enthralled with who He is and what He has done for us and so we keep on choosing to honor Him. While we often fail to do this as we should, by the Lord's grace and by His strength (John 15:5), we can recover and be forgiven (1 John 1:9) and renew our commitment to Him over and over again.

Fix your eyes on Jesus (Hebrews 12:1-3) and become more and more enthralled with Him!

Puzzled by the “Ho-Hum” (yawn) Response to the Grace Message

by Eldon DeBoer

I must say that I just don't get it. What I don't get is the “Ho-Hum” response to the grace message from those who say they believe in deliverance from sin and death through faith in Christ Jesus alone but appear to be less than enthusiastic about what they have received. Personally, I continue to remain enthralled by the grace message whenever I pause and contemplate what it means to me and my relationship with my Savior. It's all about what God has done for me through Christ by His grace! Maybe “Ho-Hum” believers (and I certainly am not doubting their salvation) have forgotten the great price the Lord paid in the horrors of His suffering and death to make their glorious eternal life and forgiveness of sins possible (2 Peter 1:9). And deliverance from sin and eternal separation from God is received by faith free of charge to us. But maybe “Ho-Hum” believers have not really grasped what the grace message is about. So here's another explanation of what I understand to be at the heart of this glorious message of God's grace in Christ Jesus.

What Is the Message of God's Grace

and

the Christian Grace-Way of Life?

“And now I commit you to God and to the message of His grace, which is able to build you up and to give you an inheritance among all who are sanctified” (Acts 20:32 from the Holman Christian Standard Bible). These are some crucially important departing words from the Apostle Paul to a group of church leaders. The Apostle Paul was entrusting these people to God and to the message of God's grace.

The message of God's grace is all about Jesus Christ, what He has done for you and what He continues to do for you. It is about the free gifts of eternal life and righteousness that are required to enter God's presence and that are received by believing in Christ Jesus plus nothing more (John 6:47; 20:30-31; Romans 3:23 – 5:1). Yes, that's right! Believe in Christ plus nothing more! Since Jesus did all the work for you on the Cross of Calvary by dying in your place to pay the penalty for your sins, there is nothing more that needs to be done. All He asks you to do is believe in Him and receive the many gifts He freely gives because He gave His life for you (Ephesians 2:8-9).

Your works cannot add anything to the work of Christ Jesus. But aren't good works important? Yes. But your good works do not and cannot save you from your sins. Only Christ can do that. And Christ has done that! What's more, your good works do not keep you saved and should not be done in an effort to prove that you have been saved from sin and death. Study the Apostle Paul's letter to the Galatians to gain a grasp of this awesome truth.

Yes, good works are very important. But only good works done in the strength of Christ Jesus that are carried out in thankfulness and appreciation for His free gifts are acceptable to Him. This is what Jesus taught when He declared, “. . . for apart from Me you can do nothing” (John 15:5) Apart from depending on Christ and His strength and living life in a loving response to His love and grace, our lives will be a waste (2 Corinthians 5:10-17). God's grace message therefore also includes what God has freely provided so that you can live a life that is pleasing to Him. This may be called the Christian grace-way of life. When you know that you have eternal life because Jesus promised it to all who believe in Him, you are truly free to please Him from a heart of love to Him. No worries. Through faith in Christ Jesus and through faith in Him alone God has given to you His righteousness that has made you fit for heaven.

From what the Apostle Paul and the other apostles of Christ Jesus wrote throughout the New Testament, it should be understood that this message of God's grace is the only message, the only teaching, that truly builds up believers. Believers in Christ are the “sanctified,” that is, they are set apart as holy and righteous before God because of their faith in Christ. This message of God's grace is the teaching from God that, when applied, results in being rewarded for good works, “an inheritance,” which will be received to the glory of the Savior.

If a believer truly grasps what the grace message is about how can he or she have a “Ho-Hum” attitude about it. Since it is the teaching that truly builds up believers, are not “Ho-Hum” believers in danger of not being built up in the faith?

Free to Please Our Savior

by Eldon DeBoer

“It was for freedom that Christ set us free.” Galatians 5:1 (NASB)

It is not news that people love freedom. But, sadly, people often abuse their newly found freedom and end up hurting others, as we have just recently seen in the news. For those who learn the message of grace there may be the tendency to “sin that grace may abound” and flaunt freedom at the expense of others (Galatians 5:17-21; Romans 6:1ff.).

So what was Paul talking about in Galatians 5:1 where he declared, “It was for freedom that Christ set us free”? He was talking about freedom from slavery to the law. The false teaching that many of the believers of Galatia (now central Turkey) had bought into had brought them back into slavery to rules and regulations because it set forth that they had to keep on obeying certain rules and regulations to know or prove that they were secure in their eternal relationship with Christ. After presenting the illustration that compared the son of the slave woman (Hagar) with the son of the free woman (Sarah), Paul declares what God had done for them and drew attention to the freedom that He had planned for them in Galatians 5:1. God wants us to experience freedom from slavery to a set of rules that can keep us in bondage.

The apostle then explained in what follows in Galatians 5 that believers are free to walk by the Spirit and show the fruit of the Spirit in their life. Far from flaunting freedom, believers should reveal that they are of Christ Jesus by putting to death the old sin nature (5:24). They are now truly free to glorify the Lord in their life in the power of the Spirit. In another place Paul declared by the Spirit, “Where the Spirit of the Lord is there is freedom.” Therefore, believers are free to be transformed more and more into the likeness of Christ Jesus (2 Corinthians 3:17-18).

Praise God! By His grace we are free to please and honor the One who has set us free, the Savior. When we know we are absolutely secure in our eternal relationship with Christ Jesus because of His promise (John 6:47), we are truly free to love others out of love for the Lord. May we keep on trusting in Him for the grace that is necessary so that our “faith [is] working through love” for the benefit of those around us that are in need.

Grace for Loving God with All Your Mind

by Eldon DeBoer

Then one of [the Pharisees], a lawyer, asked [Jesus] a question, testing Him, and saying, “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law?”
Jesus said to him, “ ‘You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.” (Matthew 22:35-40)

What did Jesus mean when He said, “On these two commands hang all the Law and the Prophets”?

True spiritual understanding and application of the entire Word of God that is acceptable to Him hangs on or depends on whether or not you continue to love God and love your neighbor.

In addition to loving with all our heart, soul and mind, Mark 12:28-31 states that we are to love God and love our neighbor with all our “strength.” Jesus is saying that we are to love God and love our neighbor with everything we have.

How do we love God with all our mind? Three answers to this question will be addressed here; Ponder truth, concentrate on the truth that is crucial to your life right now and be alert to the doublethink problem.

I. Ponder Truth.

This is something that Jesus did so that by the time He was 12 years old His questions and answers directed at teachers in the temple brought astonishment.

[Joseph and Mary] found Him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the teachers, both listening to them and asking them questions. And all who heard Him were astonished at His understanding and answers. (Luke 2:46-47)

If we are going to be like Jesus, we will make it a priority in our life to ponder truth. If we claim we love God, we will ponder truth.

2 John clarifies that above all we must make it a priority to ponder and know the truth of the Person and Work of Christ Jesus. Titus 1:9 teaches that leaders of the church should know the truth as taught by the apostles of Christ to the extent that they are equipped to counter false teachings (cp. Matthew 7:15-21).

II. Concentrate on What Is Crucial to Your Life Right Now.

We love God and our neighbors with all our minds by concentrating on the truth that is especially needful and applicable in our life right now. What is the crucial truth needful for you life right now? As stated above, the truth of Christ Jesus is always crucial and is clearly applicable in your life in your relationship with God and in your relationships with others (Philippians 2:1-12; cp. 3:8-10).

Many other truths may be crucial to your life right now. What particular area of Bible study is important for you to grasp at this time? What truth is of crucial importance in your life right now in order to love God with all your mind? Maybe its the truth related to worry. Or fear. Or forgiveness. (See the related articles about these teachings.)

If we are going to love God and love our neighbor with all our mind we need to concentrate on the truth that is crucial for application in our life right now.

III. Be Alert to the Doublethink Problem

The term doublethink was coined by George Orwell in his book, 1984. According to what he wrote in his novel double thinking is “holding two contradictory beliefs in one's mind simultaneously, and accepting both of them . . .”

In Orwell's work he presents Winston, one of his characters, and wrote of Winston and what he was thinking about:

[Winston's] mind slid away into the labyrinthine world of doublethink. To know and not to know, to be conscious of complete truthfulness while telling carefully-constructed lies, to hold simultaneously two opinions which canceled out, knowing them to be contradictory and believing in both of them; to use logic against logic, to repudiate morality while laying claim to it, . . .

When it comes to loving God and loving one's neighbor here is an example of doublethink:

Jesus is my friend but I don't need to be too concerned about obeying His commands. But consider what Jesus said in John 15:10-14. He clarified that you cannot conclude that you love Him or that He is your friend if you are not concerned about obeying His commands.

If we are not making it a priority to take in His teachings from His Word can we really honestly say we are His friends? Or are we guilty of double thinking?

Here is another example of doublethink:

Everlasting life is a gift from God with no strings attached but I have to do more than believe in Christ Jesus to receive it, keep it or know I have it.

It seems to me (and I may be wrong) that there is more double thinking going in this area in Christendom today than in any other area of Bible teaching. But it seems to me that even when people are guilty of doublethink in this important area of Bible teaching, if they have believed that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and if they love God with all their heart, soul and strength they are pleasing the Lord and may be storing up reward for eternity. Believers may unknowingly be guilty of doublethink as related to everlasting life and may not be thinking in a manner that is consistent with the biblical teaching. However, the question remains as to whether or not they can truly love God with all their mind if when they are confronted with the truth that corrects their thinking they refuse to admit they were thinking wrongly. God knows their hearts.

None of us think perfectly about truth. It is likely, if not probable, that each and everyone of us is guilty of doublethink in certain areas of our understanding of truth. But if we claim to love God with all our mind we should want to keep on growing in our understanding of the truth of His Word and the application thereof. We should want to avoid the doublethink problem as much as we possibly can.

Keep asking God to bring to your attention any doublethink problem that you may have.

If we love God with all our mind we will ponder truth, concentrate on truth that is especially needful for our life right now and will want to be alert to the doublethink problem.

Keep on crying out to the Lord for the grace to love Him more with all your mind.

Grace for Forgiving from Your Heart

by Eldon DeBoer

Then Peter came to Him and said, "Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? Up to seven times?''

Jesus said to him, "I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven.” Matthew 18:21-22

Peter probably thought he was being very generous when he asked this question about forgiveness. Certainly forgiving “up to seven times” goes beyond what God requires of us. Louis Barbieri, Jr., notes that “the traditional Rabbinic teaching was that an offended person needed to forgive a brother only three times” (The Bible Knowledge Commentary, 62). In what follows in Matthew 18, Peter’s lack of understanding becomes obvious in the story that Jesus told about the king and his two servants. Apparently Peter did not realize the application of God’s forgiveness to forgiving others. It seems that he did not have much appreciation for the truth that the Lord had forgiven him a huge debt of sin. He did not apply the foundational truth that we all need to understand in order to forgive from the heart.

When Jesus told Peter that we should keep on forgiving up to 490 times, he was not saying that we should keep a ledger of the sins against us. The expression, “up to seventy times seven,” emphasizes that we should keep on forgiving and not keep track of the number of times someone sins against us.

The words of Jesus at the conclusion of the parable powerfully communicate the importance of forgiving from the heart. If we do not forgive from our hearts, we can count on being tortured. We should not be surprised when we experience emotional torture within because we have refused to forgive someone. The emotional torture from refusing to forgive can result in serious spiritual and psychological problems.

Jesus taught that refusing to forgive is itself a sin and breaks fellowship with God (Matthew 6:14-15). When a believer refuses to forgive, God will not forgive him until it is confessed as sin (1 John 1:9; Psalm 32:1-5). This is forgiveness for fellowship with God in this life. Every believer remains forgiven in Christ forever whether he or she forgives or not (Ephesians 1:7). The importance of forgiving others and the sin of refusing to forgive in Matthew 6 and 18 has to do with continuing in fellowship in a meaningful relationship with Jesus here and now in this life.

What does it mean to forgive someone?

When we forgive someone we put away the person’s sin against us. The word translated forgive (aphiemi) means to put away. When we forgive, as far as we are concerned, the person is no longer guilty of his sin against us. This is what Jesus did when He was being crucified (Luke 23:34). He put away their sin of crucifying Him and therefore they would not receive immediate judgment from God for that sin.

After Jesus had raised Lazarus from the dead, He told them, “Loose him and let him go” (John 11:44, NKJV). “Let . . . go” is the translation of aphiemi. This provides a fitting analogy that addresses attention to what we do for people when we forgive them. When we forgive someone we no longer keep the person in bondage to the guilt of their sin. As far as we are concerned the person is not guilty. We let him go and he thereby is set free from his guilt against us. This does not mean that an individual should never be held accountable for his sin against us. At times justice must be applied. This will be addressed at another time.

Peter’s lack of understanding concerning God’s standards for forgiving one another is not unusual among believers. Many believers do not understand the application of this truth. But what is it that believers need to grasp in order to forgive from the heart? The parable Jesus told provides the answer.

Heart-felt Forgiveness Flows from Being Forgiven a Huge Debt

In this parable the king of the servant who has incurred a huge debt is God the Father Himself. There are a number of views concerning what a talent would be worth in today’s currency, but according to one source the amount equaled about 15 years wages. If you earned an average of $30,000 a year multiplied times 15, times 10,000, your debt would be $4,500,000,000. The main point of the Lord’s illustration is that since God has forgiven us so very much, we are to forgive others from our hearts. If you appreciate the huge debt of sin that God has forgiven you, you will keep on forgiving others who sin against you. This is precisely what the servant did not do. His lack of appreciation for how much his lord had forgiven him was expressed in his refusal to forgive a fellow servant of a far lesser debt of sin. Consequently, he was handed over to the torturers (cp. Hebrews 12:4-15).

Our sins are ultimately against our holy heavenly Father.

The two servants in the story Jesus told are both representative of believers in Christ Jesus. The wicked servant who refused to forgive had incurred a debt beyond his ability to repay. When we sin against our holy God, we should understand that we are unable to pay back the debt we owe due to our sins. We do not have the ability to repay our Lord for sins committed against Him. Our sins are too great. All the Father asks is that we go to him and admit our need of His forgiveness. God always treats us in grace and forgives us because our debt has been paid through the suffering and death of Christ Jesus. The wicked servant had been forgiven by his lord. But when he refused to forgive a fellow servant, he was turned over to the torturers because of his sin of refusing to forgive. We should keep in mind that ultimately our sins are sins against our holy God and only His forgiveness removes the sin and the guilt. David understood this and expressed his indebtedness to God. After he had confessed his sin of adultery against Uriah and Bathsheba, he said to the Lord,

Against You, You only, have I sinned, And done this evil in Your sight

That You may be found just when You speak, And blameless when You judge. (Psalm 51:4)

David was well aware that he was worthy of death. And he knew that God could take His Spirit from him (Psalm 51:11). (While this cannot happen to a believer today in the Church Age, it could happen to believers in the Old Testament. Believers today fully receive the Spirit when they believe in Jesus and He continues to indwell them no matter how sinful they might become.) When we sin against the Lord God we should understand that all sins, whether seemingly significant or insignificant to us, are offenses against our holy heavenly Father and are huge in His sight.

Yet some sins cause more damage than others. It could be that the wicked servant is an illustration of a believer who has received forgiveness for a sin that has caused a great deal of damage to others. Whatever the case, the teaching is clear. Believers should maintain forgiving hearts because the holy God has forgiven them a huge debt of sin.

Sins and offenses against you

When someone does something that hurts you, there are times when the person who has offended you may not even be aware of the hurt that has been caused. Then, to the other extreme, there are sins that obviously are motivated by maliciousness. There are offenses that are perceived to be damaging which may not even be sinful at all. Sometimes we can be too sensitive about what others do to us. Whatever the case, when we feel that someone has hurt us, God calls us to forgive them. When we have disagreements with others or complaints against others for whatever reason, the Lord says,

Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, put on tender mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering; bearing with one another, and forgiving one another, if anyone has a complaint against another; even as Christ forgave you, so you also must do. (Colossians 3:12-13)

May we forgive from the heart because we appreciate that we have been forgiven a huge debt of sin by our holy God and thereby be free of the emotional torture that results from refusing to forgive.

Emotional Torture: A Result of Refusing to Forgive

Matthew 18:35; Ephesians 4:29-5:2; Colossians 3:1-16

Jesus warned those who do not forgive from the heart that they would be turned over to the torturers (Matthew 18:35). The heavenly Father will bring severe discipline upon those who refuse to forgive (Hebrews 12:3-15). Often this discipline from the Father includes emotional torture.

The Lord calls us to forgive as He has forgiven us in Christ.

Since God has forgiven us a huge debt of sin we are to forgive others. This is an important part of the Spirit of the Lord’s concern as He moved the Apostle Paul to write Ephesians. Having proclaimed the truth of the everlasting spiritual blessing of our forgiveness in Christ (Ephesians 1:7), Paul emphasizes the importance of forgiving one another:

And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God in Christ also forgave you. (Ephesians 4:32)

Forgiving one another is what accompanies being kind and tenderhearted. If believers prominently keep in mind the forgiveness that was bought and paid for by Jesus (Ephesians 5:1-2), they should keep on maintaining a forgiving heart. Notice that Paul points to God’s forgiveness as the basis for our forgiveness. The word translated forgive in this passage emphasizes grace in forgiveness (charizomai). We communicate kindness and tenderheartedness as we keep on forgiving others.

Our emotional vulnerability when angry

The fact that we should guard against not letting go of justified anger or righteous wrath before we go to bed is clear from what we are told in Ephesians 4:26-27:

"'Be angry (orgizo) and do not sin': do not let the sun go down on your wrath (parorgismos) nor give place to the devil" (note the root word orge found in parorgismos).

We should never go to sleep filled with anger, even though our anger may be justified because of the hurt and injury that someone caused. May we look to the Lord for the grace to put our righteous wrath to rest against those who have sinned against us or, possibly, others as well. This warning is accompanied by the real danger that even righteous wrath might turn to bitterness and sinful anger and that this may be used by the devil and his cohorts to bring us into spiritual bondage.

We understand from personal experience that often our emotions cause us to lose the ability to think clearly. When sinful emotions take over we are “in the dark” spiritually. God tells us we should be alert to this and we must draw upon His grace to overcome these harmful emotions.

Put away the emotions that torture you because you refuse to forgive.

Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice. Ephesians 4:31

At times, when we are reminded of the hurt that someone caused, bitterness and sinful anger apparently may overcome us. These emotions are often the torture that comes to us when we refuse to forgive. They are a huge part of the torture designed by God to get our attention. What are we to do about these sinful emotions? We are told to put them away or put them off (cf. Colossians 3:8). In Ephesians 4:31 “put away” translates airo which is also used in another place to explain how Christ Jesus came to taken away our sins (1 John 3:5).

When we do not put away someone’s sin against us by forgiving them, the Spirit of God is grieved (Ephesians 4:30). The fact that we are commanded to “put away” these sinful emotions tells us that by God’s grace, by the ministry of the Spirit through the new man, we can do something about them. We need not be enslaved to them. With God’s enabling grace, we can put a stop to these evil feelings.

Bitterness (pikria, Acts 8:23; Romans 3:14: Hebrews 12:15)) is the emotion that results when we dwell on how someone has hurt us and begin to think about revenge. We become self-centered and filled with self-pity. We can only think about ourselves or how we might vindicate ourselves. Wrath (thumos, Luke 4:28; Acts 19:28) and anger (orge, 1 Timothy 2:8; James 1:19-20) are expressed as we “clamor” for attention and speak evil of the offender. We begin to plan malicious acts against our offenders.

This was not true of Stephen (Acts 7). Stephen demonstrated the grace of God as he was being stoned to death. His final words were words of forgiveness and love for those who took his life. It seems that this left a marked impression on a young man named Saul. Saul came to faith in Jesus as his Messiah and Savior a short time later and became the Apostle Paul who wrote the letter to the Ephesians. Paul knew about forgiveness and deeply appreciated the forgiveness of God. He had experienced the grace of God’s forgiveness. As the “chief of sinners” who had persecuted believers in Christ, Paul became well aware of his need for God’s forgiveness (1 Timothy 1:15-16).

How do we put away the sinful emotions that torture us?

God commands us to put away the sinful emotions that torture us. By the grace of God through the ministry of the Spirit working through the new man we can put away our sinful emotions. When the Holy Spirit convicts you about your sinful emotions confess them as sin. Then prayerfully consider the question, “Have I committed some sin that caused these sinful emotions?” Oftentimes it is the sin of refusing to forgive that has caused these emotions to surface. When the Spirit brings to your attention that refusing to forgive is the sin that is at the root of these emotional responses, then that sin must be confessed as well. Receive the forgiveness granted to you by God through Christ by admitting you have sinned (1 John 1:7, 9). Then remind yourself of the huge debt of sin that God has forgiven you in Christ. Ponder the wonder of His love and grace that He has expressed to you.

Putting these sinful emotions away is not easy. We may find that it is very difficult to completely let go of the offense against us. We forgive and let go and then we pick it up again in our thoughts. We find ourselves hanging on to it and we rework it in our minds over and over again. Very soon afterwards we are filled with bitterness and sinful anger. Hopefully we do not descend to the point of clamoring for attention by talking about it with others. May we stop short of seeking revenge. May we not carry out injurious plans for personal vindication (cf. Romans 12:14-21).

Thankfully, when we confess these sins and receive cleansing from God once again, we return to the high road of forgiveness in God’s plan for us. Our thoughts should then turn to Jesus and we should once again ponder the great debt of sin that we have been forgiven because of Jesus’ sacrifice in our place. Do we deserve to be forgiven? No. Does the person who has sinned against us deserve to be forgiven. No. Yet, God’s plan for our lives is that we forgive as He forgave. When we do forgive because we have been forgiven in Christ and maintain forgiveness from the heart, God will free us from the emotional torture of bitterness and anger. When we apply God’s Word by His Spirit, He gives us peace.

And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also you were called in one body; and be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. Colossians 3:15-16

Forgive and illustrate the grace of God.

We illustrate the grace and love of God when we forgive others. This is crucially important in the ministry of a church. By forgiving one another and putting up with each other, believers may powerfully communicate the love and grace of God shown them in Christ Jesus.

The chapter break is unfortunate at the close of Ephesians 4 because the following verses emphasize the importance of being like God in forgiveness and in the demonstration of love by Jesus Christ’s death.

Therefore be followers of God as dear children. And walk in love, as Christ also has loved us and given Himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling aroma. Ephesians 5:1-2

When we maintain hearts of forgiveness we demonstrate to others that we truly are followers of God. When we keep on forgiving we shine forth the light of the truth of Christ and are behaving in a way that is consistent with whom we are in Christ. We have received total and complete everlasting forgiveness in Christ. We are light in the Lord (Ephesians 5:8). When we keep on forgiving we are walking as children of light. We are behaving wisely by the power of the Spirit of God (5:15-21).

By the grace of God through the ministry of the Spirit through the new man created in the image of Christ (Colossians 3:10), we may overcome the emotional torment caused by refusing to forgive. We may express the love and grace to others that God has given us in Christ Jesus.

A summary of God’s provisions for maintaining a heart of forgiveness:

1. Remember that in and through Jesus Christ, God has forgiven you a huge debt of sin. Keep in mind that no one can offend you or sin against you to the degree that you have sinned against God (Matthew 18:27).

2. Ponder and dwell on the wondrous love and forgiveness God has granted to you through Christ Jesus (Ephesians 1:7; 1 John 1:9-2:2).

Think about the awful cost of your deliverance by the Son of God Himself. Keep your eyes on Jesus (Ephesians 4:29-5:2; Colossians 3:1-16; 1 Peter 1:17-21; Hebrews 12:1-3).

3. Recognize that you cannot maintain a heart of forgiveness for the right reasons in your own strength (John 15:5).

4. Keep in mind the Lord’s command to not take your righteous wrath to bed (Ephesians 4:25-27).

5. Be on the alert for signs of sinful anger and bitterness (Matthew 18:35). Remain sensitive to the convicting work of the Spirit from the Word of God (Hebrews 4:12; Ephesians 4:30-31; Colossians 3:8-10; Hebrews 12:15).

6. Confess to the Lord the sin of an unforgiving spirit when the Holy Spirit causes you to realize that this is the reason for the emotional torture of bitterness and anger (1 John 1:9; cp. Matthew 6:14-15; Psalm 32:1-6).

7. Cry out to God for the grace to keep on maintaining a heart of forgiveness so that your life will be a testimony to His love and grace (John 13:35; 2 Peter 3:18; 2 Corinthians 12:9-10).

Your questions and comments are welcome at edeboer@tnics.com.