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Life can be difficult. We make choices that produce unintended and difficult circumstances, and people make decisions that work against us and bring us pain. When we enter into these difficult times, the pain tends to draw our eyes downward, away from God and toward ourselves. Our pain, understandably, becomes large, and as a result our perspective is that God becomes small, ineffective, unable to save. While that’s certainly not true, our personal pain can overwhelm us to the point of believing that to be true. It is at times like these that certain stories in the Bible are especially helpful, and none more so than the story of creation. Although there are many controversies connected with Genesis 1, we can all agree that the theology of the passage teaches us critical and central truths about God. As we focus on his power and his loving nature, perhaps the pains of our lives can move into the background. Genesis 1—God the Creator Genesis 1:1–2 begins by affirming that God is the sole creator of everything. He stands above creation, is separate from creation, and is sovereign over all he has made. The stage is set. In the first three days, God takes what is chaotic and makes it inhabitable, and he does this merely by his spoken word. We need to stop and let that bounce around in our heads for a while. From Genesis 1 we understand that God creates and controls matter at the subatomic and molecular level, and even in the face of that knowledge, our temptation at times is to think that God cannot help us in our pain. Sounds almost silly when one puts it that way. God makes light without the sun and stars, in contrast to the pagan myths that saw the sun as the ultimate power. To God, the sun and stars are incidental in creation. He makes water that can exist in three states — liquid, solid, and gas — knowing that thousands of years later he will change the molecular structure of water to something else so that his Son can walk on it. (At least, that is one possibility.) Just stop and think about that: The God whom we love and worship, the God who pursues us, this all-powerful God merely speaks, and reality, time, atoms, and molecules come into existence. Since the beginning of creation, these have always been under his control so he can perform the miracles we read about in the Gospels: he turns water into wine, heals physical and mental illness, and merely speaks to give life to the dead. And remember, he is as loving as he is powerful. The second half of creation week is about inhabiting what is now inhabitable. He makes the stars and places them in the heavens, puts fish in the seas, releases birds into the skies, and creates animals and, finally, humans to fill the earth. The earth does not have the innate ability to produce life; it is a gift from God. What’s the point? There is only one God who creates all and is sovereign over all he has made; he will not share his glory with another (Isaiah 42:8). Let’s allow Genesis 1 to enlarge our vision of God so that we can begin to see the immensity of who he is. How big is our God? Have the pains of life become so large that they control our attention? Has the God of Genesis 1 become so unsatisfying that the gods of this world compete for our affection — pleasure, absence of pain, power, independence? Or is our God the God of Genesis 1, the One who speaks all things into existence? The One who is sovereign over absolutely everything? The One who is wise beyond anything we can understand? Is he the God who is worthy of being pursued with every ounce of passion in our body and spirit; the one to whom we cry out in our pain, to whom hang on in times of trouble, whom we serve, and whom we glorify in our obedience? That’s the question of life. Is pain teaching us the lessons we need to learn to grow up and be like Christ, or has it successfully averted our eyes and limited our ability to believe in God’s power? Finally, in the midst of all the pain, let us never forget that God is as loving as he is powerful. By Dr. Bill Mouncefounder and President of BiblicalTraining.org

What does the Bible say about evangelism? We take a look at six scriptures that provide direction and encouragement for reaching others about Jesus. Exponential Growth But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth. Acts 1:8 “To the ends of the earth.” That’s a pretty ambitious goal. You’ll notice, though, that Jesus didn’t lead with that destination. He started with Jerusalem, the immediate vicinity for the disciples. That was their first assignment. Your immediate vicinity–your home, neighborhood, town, job—is your first witnessing assignment, too. Don’t underestimate its importance. You may be called to take the gospel to a distant land, but remember that you don’t have to travel to the ends of the earth to impact the people there. Spiritual growth is exponential. Ideally, the people you influence on a local level will influence others. Those people, in turn, will impact still others. And so on and so on . . . all the way to the ends of the earth. A Light to the World “It is too small a thing for you to be my servant to restore the tribes of Jacob and bring back those of Israel I have kept. I will also make you a light for the Gentiles, that my salvation may reach to the ends of the earth.” Isaiah 49:6 What do non-Christians see when they look at your life? Do they see someone whose life and heart have been transformed? Do they see someone whose actions reflect the priorities they claim? Do they see a person who demonstrates the extraordinary love of Jesus to friends and enemies alike? Do they see a person who can be trusted to give godly advice when they need it? Do they see a light of God’s salvation in a dark world? That’s a lot to ask of anyone, but God asks it. What can you do to be a light of his love to the world? Sowing Seeds While a large crowd was gathering and people were coming to Jesus from town after town, he told this parable: “A farmer went out to sow his seed. As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path; it was trampled on, and the birds ate it up. Some fell on rocky ground, and when it came up, the plants withered because they had no moisture. Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up with it and choked the plants. Still other seed fell on good soil. It came up and yielded a crop, a hundred times more than was sown.” Luke 8:4-8 When it comes to spreading the gospel, would you describe your method as sowing seed? Are you overly careful about who you tell about Jesus and the salvation he offers? Or do you faithfully spread the message, season after season? We can’t readily see hearts the way God does, and sometimes the most surprising person is the one where the seed takes root and grows vigorously. After sharing, think about the cultivation process. Seeds need soil, water and sun. So spend some time with people; get to know them. Find out what’s going on in their lives. Look for ways to share what Jesus offers so that it addresses specific needs in people’s lives. And then pray for a harvest. A Reasonable Act As was his custom, Paul went into the synagogue, and on three Sabbath days he reasoned with them from the Scriptures, explaining and proving that the Messiah had to suffer and rise from the dead. “This Jesus I am proclaiming to you is the Messiah,” he said. Some of the Jews were persuaded and joined Paul and Silas, as did a large number of God-fearing Greeks and quite a few prominent women. Acts 17:2-4 “He reasoned with them.” That’s a key phrase for us to remember as we approach non-believers with the truth about Jesus. Many well-meaning Christians make the mistake of treating witnessing as a combative exercise. They approach it with a win-lose mentality. Their goal is to change minds and win converts. Anything less is viewed as a defeat. Paul’s approach makes much more sense. He engaged people at a level where they were comfortable. He used reasoning, not arguing, to get his points across. He trusted the Holy Spirit to bless and use his efforts to make a difference in people’s lives. Be Prepared But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect, 1 Peter 3:15 It’s one thing to revere Christ as Lord and follow him. It’s another to be able to explain why you do. Why do you live your life based on a book written thousands of years ago? Why is Christianity any better than another religion? How can anyone have hope with the troubled world situation today? If you’re serious about representing Christ, prepare yourself for answering some questions. The best way to prepare is to anticipate the questions. Think about the things that confused you before you became a Christian. Talk to mature believers about how to answer difficult questions. Read, listen, learn. Christ is the hope of the world. Be prepared to share why. Something About You This is what the LORD Almighty says: “In those days ten people from all languages and nations will take firm hold of one Jew by the hem of his robe and say, ‘Let us go with you, because we have heard that God is with you.’” Zechariah 8:23 When was the last time someone asked if you were a Christian? Whether the question was phrased as an accusation, an exclamation of surprise or out of simple curiosity, how did you respond? Being thought of as “different” or being recognized as a Christian because someone has “heard that God is with you” is an honor. Pointing others to our great God is both our privilege and our responsibility. So, how often are you recognized as a Christian? If true godliness is a magnet that attracts other people, how strong is your magnetic appeal? What steps can you take to strengthen it? Questions for Growth: 1. How might you use your gifts and relationships to witness to others? 2. If God does not need us to witness to others, why does he command us to do so? 3. What can you do to gain a greater love and passion to “lead many to righteousness”? Drawn from Rooted: The NIV Bible for Men.

Understanding the Sacraments Many Christians today have a weak understanding of the sacraments (also often called ordinances) and what they accomplish in the lives of believers. We know they are important because Jesus commanded that we observe them, but we are largely unaware of their purpose and power. One specific point of confusion is whether baptism is a one-time event in the life of the believer and whether anyone—baptized or not—can take the Lord’s Supper. Even if certain Christians affirm that baptism can be received only once, they may not understand why, and they may not know whether the Lord’s Supper should be given to only those who have been baptized. Baptism First In order to understand the relation between baptism and the Lord’s Supper, we must first understand what baptism is. Christians debate what exactly happens when a person is baptized, and such debates will likely abound until Christ returns. Nevertheless, all Christians believe that baptism signifies (points to) something. Many Christians today think that baptism simply symbolizes personal faith in Jesus Christ. While baptism and faith are frequently connected in Scripture, functioning like two sides of the same coin, Scripture teaches that baptism represents far more than personal faith. Baptism transliterates the Greek noun baptisma, which means “immersion,” and the verb baptizō literally means “to put or go under water,” though it carries several other senses. Greek expert William Mounce shows that in the New Testament, baptizō is used to describe ceremonial washing, especially that which was practiced in the Israelite tradition for the purpose of purification. It is also used “to describe the use of water in a rite for the purpose of establishing or renewing a relationship with God,” and so it “became a technical term.” Throughout the New Testament, we read of persons being baptized when they come to faith in Jesus Christ, signifying that they have entered into a covenant relationship with the triune God. More specifically, the New Testament speaks of persons being baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus (Acts 2:38; Acts 8:16; Acts 10:48; Acts 19:5). Baptism therefore represents our immersion into Jesus Christ. We now exist in him, and our very lives are determined by who he is. He is our Lord; we live under his authority, and we are being remade after his image. Because baptism represents our immersion into Christ, our whole existence now being enveloped into his, it also represents all the benefits we have received in him—for he is the fountain of our salvation. And so Scriptures teaches us that baptism signifies remission of sins (Mark 1:4; Acts 2:38; Acts 22:16), reconciliation to the Father and adoption (Gal. 3:26–27), new life in the Spirit (John 3:5; Titus 3:5), and incorporation into Christ’s body, the church (1 Cor. 12:13; Gal. 3:27–28)—to name some of the chief blessings we receive in Christ. Baptism is the sacrament of the new existence we have in Jesus. And so it is a rite, a practice, an event that is concerned with identity—of who we are in Christ. Baptism into Christ can no more be repeated than one’s natural birth can be repeated, and so water baptism is the onetime sacrament of our immersion into Christ. Then Communion Whereas baptism is the sacrament of our incorporation into Christ, the Lord’s Supper is the sacrament of our ongoing participation in Christ. Put differently, while baptism signifies our union with Christ, which has a definite beginning, the Lord’s Supper signifies our communion with Christ, which is perpetual. A core part of taking the Lord’s Supper, or Communion, is perpetually identifying with our crucified and risen Lord: allowing our life stories—our very identities—to be conformed to his. One reason this is true is because the Supper is analogous to the Passover, which was a meal whereby Israelites identified with the exodus generation and allowed their present stories and circumstances to be shaped by the past. So when we eat the bread and drink the cup of Communion, we identify with the living, active, and present Christ, with whom we have eternal fellowship. We acknowledge that he lives in us and we in him. This meal therefore ratifies and shapes in profound ways our identity as persons immersed into Christ. Just as the body is nourished and strengthened by food and drink, so the identity and new existence we have received as persons baptized into Christ are maintained and developed as we feast on his flesh and blood. This is one reason why countless Christians throughout the history of the church have insisted that only those who have been baptized in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are admitted to the Lord’s Table. This may seem arbitrary or even legalistic to many modern-day Christians, but there are solid biblical and theological reasons for such a practice. The most significant reason why baptism must precede Communion is Christological. At his baptism in the Jordan river, Jesus was declared to be the beloved Son of the Father and was empowered by the Holy Spirit for his messianic ministry (Matt. 3:16–17; Luke 3:21–22). The messianic task and identity that Jesus received in his baptism at the Jordan was fulfilled in his crucifixion and death, his baptism at Golgotha (see Mark 10:38; Luke 12:50). In his baptism into death, Jesus as the faithful and obedient Spirit-filled Son of the Father gave himself “so that those whom he would baptize in the Spirit, his Father’s Spirit of Sonship, could enter into communion with his Father.” The sequence of Jesus’s water baptism, death, and resurrection are therefore theologically significant. Jesus had to be baptized with water and the Spirit first in order to be commissioned and empowered for his public ministry, yes, as well as for his death and resurrection. And as persons baptized into Christ, united to him, our life pattern conforms to his. “As Jesus’s baptism finds its end, its fulfillment in his death and resurrection where he comes fully into his Spirit-filled communion with his Father,” Thomas Weinandy explains, “so the baptism of the faithful finds its end, its fulfillment, within the Eucharistic Liturgy wherein they come into full communion with the Father.” Our union with Christ (exhibited in baptism) is what makes possible our communion with Christ (exhibited in the Supper) and therefore our communion with the Father by the power of the Spirit. Only those who are bound to Christ in life-giving union are able to commune with him. And as we commune with him, we are strengthened by him to become more of who we are made and called to be in baptism. When we are baptized into Christ, we are born again, and our very selves are reconfigured. We are not given new life in some generic sense or a burst of energy to foster who we already are but are given an entirely new existence and therefore a radically different identity in the Son. And in the Lord’s Supper, that identity is maintained and developed as we commune with the Lord—as we identify with him, are continually transformed by him, and await the fullness of our salvation. Just as bread and wine sustain and enhance the body, so Christ’s body and blood sustain and enhance our existence and identity as persons in Christ. And so in taking the Lord’s Supper, we become more of who we are made and called to be in baptism. Just as bread and wine sustain and enhance the body, so Christ’s body and blood sustain and enhance our existence and identity as persons in Christ. Kevin P. Emmert is the author of The Water and the Blood: How the Sacraments Shape Christian Identity.

All commentary sections adapted from the ESV Study Bible. 1. Proverbs 1:7 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction. This is the core maxim of the book: the quest for wisdom begins with the fear of the Lord (cf. Ps. 9:10 and Ps. 111:10, “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom”). “Knowledge” and “wisdom” are closely tied together in Proverbs: “knowledge” tends to focus on correct understanding of the world and oneself as creatures of the magnificent and loving God, while “wisdom” is the acquired skill of applying that knowledge rightly, or “skill in the art of godly living”. On the fear of the Lord, see notes on Acts 5:5; 9:31; Rom. 3:18; Phil. 2:12–13; 1 Pet. 1:17; 1 John 4:18. The reason that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of both knowledge and wisdom is that the moral life begins with reverence and humility before the Maker and Redeemer. The idea of a quest for knowledge sets biblical wisdom in the broad context of the ancient Near Eastern quest for truth, and this verse also validates such a quest as legitimate and good. Thus it affirms a kind of “creational revelation,” the idea that one can find moral and theological truth through observing the world. At the same time, it distinguishes the biblical pursuit of knowledge and wisdom from those of the surrounding cultures, for it asserts that submission to the Lord is foundational to the attainment of real understanding (cf. Ps. 111:10; Prov. 9:10). By using the covenant name “the LORD” in preference to the more generic “God,” this verse makes the point that truth is found through Israel’s God. In addition, the verse asserts that fools despise wisdom and instruction, thus setting up the alternative between the two ways of wisdom and folly. This contrast dominates the entire book, as the way of wisdom, righteousness, and the fear of the Lord is set against the way of folly, evil, and scoffing. 2. Proverbs 3:5–6 Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths. Subordinating one’s own understanding to the Lord is in keeping with the major thesis of Proverbs, that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge. Trust in the LORD is necessary for fulfilling any of the wise ways of life taught in Proverbs; trusting the Lord is closely connected to “fearing” him (cf. Prov. 1:7; 2:5; Prov. 9:10; Prov. 15:33; Prov. 19:23; etc.). “With all your heart” indicates that trust goes beyond intellectual assent to a deep reliance on the Lord, a settled confidence in his care and his faithfulness to his word. “Do not lean on your own understanding” further explains trusting in the Lord. One’s “understanding” in Proverbs is his perception of the right course of action. The wise will govern themselves by what the Lord himself declares, and will not set their own finite and often-mistaken understanding against his. To make straight a person’s paths means to make the course of the person’s life one that continually progresses toward a goal. In Proverbs, the emphasis is on the moral quality of one’s life path (here, its moral “straightness”). 3. James 1:5 If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him. Believers are to have an undivided faith, asking for wisdom from their ever-wise and all-generous God. James addresses the believer who lacks wisdom in handling trials. Wisdom, as in the Old Testament, is a God-given and God-centered discernment regarding the practical issues in life. Wisdom comes from prayer for God’s help. God gives generously (with “single-minded” liberality) and without reproach (he does not want anyone to hesitate to come to him). 4. Ephesians 5:6–10 Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience. Therefore do not become partners with them; for at one time you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light (for the fruit of light is found in all that is good and right and true), and try to discern what is pleasing to the Lord. Paul is not telling Christians to avoid all contact with nonbelievers but to avoid joining with them in their sin. The Bible gives general principles for life, but followers of Christ must use wisdom to discern how to apply those principles to the concrete issues of their lives. The book of Proverbs is of great help in this regard. Such wisdom may be defined as “the skill of godly living,” which one must thoughtfully discern, apply, and practice in order to live in a way that is pleasing to the Lord. 5. 1 John 4:1 Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world. Christian faith is not spiritual gullibility. The unseen spiritual influences that guide people’s speech and actions can be “tested” by observing their doctrine and conduct as well as by the gift of spiritual discernment (cf. 1 Cor. 12:10; 14:29). False prophets are people who claim to speak for God but are actually speaking by demonic influence (1 John 4:3–4). In today’s age of “tolerance,” discriminating discernment can be viewed as being judgmental (cf. “Judge not,” Matt. 7:1). Yet Jesus also taught, “Do not judge by appearances, but judge with right judgment” (John 7:24). 6. Romans 12:2 Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. The present evil age still threatens those who belong to Christ, so they must resist its pressure. Their lives are changed as their minds are made new (contrast Rom. 1:28), so that they are able to “discern” God’s will. By testing you may discern translates Greek dokimazō, which often has the sense of finding out the worth of something by putting it to use or testing it in actual practice (cf. Luke 14:19; 1 Cor. 3:13; 2 Cor. 8:22; 1 Tim. 3:10). 7. James 3:13–18 Who is wise and understanding among you? By his good conduct let him show his works in the meekness of wisdom. But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast and be false to the truth. This is not the wisdom that comes down from above, but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic. For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there will be disorder and every vile practice. But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere. And a harvest of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace. These verses could be called “the tale of two cities”—the realm of wisdom (framing the passage in James 3:13, 17) contrasted with that of selfish ambition. The one “from above” leads to “peace,” while the “earthly” one leads to “disorder.” Wisdom for James is not merely intellectual but also behavioral. Meekness (Gk. prautēs, translated “gentleness” in Gal. 5:23) was considered weakness by the Greeks, but Jesus elevated it to a primary Christian virtue (Matt. 5:5; 11:29). Meekness comes not from cowardice or passivity but rather from trusting God and therefore being set free from anxious self-promotion. 8. Matthew 7:24 Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. A parable brings the Sermon on the Mount to a close as Jesus calls for his audience to decide between himself and the religious establishment, drawing a dividing line between himself and any other foundation for life. The evidence of whether one is truly a believer is in whether one does the words of Jesus (cf. James 1:22–23 and James 2:20–22). Disciples who build their lives on the bedrock of Jesus and his message of the kingdom of heaven are truly wise, regardless of the shifting cultural or religious fashions. 9. Philippians 1:9–10 And it is my prayer that your love may abound more and more, with knowledge and all discernment, so that you may approve what is excellent, and so be pure and blameless for the day of Christ. The first petition in Paul’s prayer is that God would cause the cardinal Christian virtue of love to abound more and more, and that it would be accompanied by knowledge and all discernment, so that the Philippians’ love would find expression in wise actions that would truly benefit others and glorify God. As Christians grow in their understanding of what it means to follow Jesus, they will increasingly be able to affirm and practice what is excellent. Such joyful obedience to God will give them the confidence of being found pure and blameless when Jesus returns. This does not imply instantaneous spiritual perfection but rather an increasing likeness to Christ. But fruit of righteousness is not produced in the believer’s own power. Because that fruit comes through Jesus Christ, it will result in the glory and praise of God. 10. Romans 11:33–35 Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways! “For who has known the mind of the Lord, or who has been his counselor?” “Or who has given a gift to him that he might be repaid?” the As he concludes his setting forth of God’s great plan in the history of salvation (Rom. 1–11), Paul breaks forth into praise. God’s wisdom and ways are far beyond the understanding of human beings, and hence he deserves all the glory. The words of Isaiah 40:13 teach that no human being knows the mind of the Lord apart from revelation, and no one can serve as God’s adviser. Likewise the majestic words of Job 41:11 are a reminder that no one ultimately gives anything to God. Instead, everything humans have is a gift from God (1 Cor. 4:7). Since all things are from God, and through God, and for God, it follows that he deserves all the glory forever. God’s saving plan brings him great honor, praise, and glory forever and ever. This article is part of the Key Bible Verses series by: Crossway

This beautiful, brief psalm is one of the most often memorized and recited texts in the entire Bible. It sits at the beginning of a book that is widely recognized as having been the hymnbook for the ancient people of Israel. It has also given deep comfort to many who find themselves in difficult circumstances, as it is often used in the context of funeral services. In short, billions of people around the world have found comfort and the reassurance of God’s provision and protection in the words of David, whose long experience as a shepherd—first of actual sheep, and then of the people of Israel—uniquely qualified him to write this picturesque song. A Deeper Look at Psalm 23 The different phrases of this psalm lead us to a greater understanding of the Lord’s great love and care for us, his followers: “The LORD is my shepherd.” When David proclaimed that God was his shepherd, he described to us the wonder of God reaching out to the individual. Indeed, this is the only place in the Bible where the author describes God as his personal shepherd. Though God’s flock numbers in the billions, he still cares for each one of us (1 Peter 5:7). Also in claiming God as his personal shepherd, David recognized God’s authority over his life. And because God is gracious and cares for each one of us, we also submit to his authority and care. God knows what is best for all of us; he sees the end from the beginning, and his will for us is an outgrowth of his shepherding care and sovereignty over our lives. “I lack nothing.” In a society where food and water was scarce, the shepherd’s main job was to find fresh grass for the sheep to eat and safe water for them to drink. Sheep, as is commonly known, are not very bright. They can get themselves into trouble very quickly, and quite often do. So the shepherd had to lead them to the right supplies, always with an eye toward keeping them safe and healthy. This was what David had to do as a young man out in the wilderness, so he knew firsthand what God’s gracious provision looked like. This short phrase points to David’s contentedness with God’s care. Whatever he doesn’t have outside of God’s provision, he doesn’t need. He’s perfectly supplied with the things that God wants to give him—no more, no less. That same contented attitude is encouraged in the New Testament as the apostle Paul reflects on his own circumstances (Philippians 4:12). “He makes me lie down in green pastures.” As the shepherds watched over their flocks, they sometimes literally made their sheep lie down to get them to rest so that the flock would settle and so that they could digest what they had eaten. How often do we experience this in our own lives? God stops our plans for our lives and makes us sit on the sidelines. In the midst of a busy season at work, we have to have an emergency surgery and sit still and recover; the offer we made on the house we wanted isn’t accepted, so we start looking at other neighborhoods (which incidentally shows God’s direction for our families’ associations and our kids’ friends); a global pandemic changes our lives dramatically for a full two and half years, and we sit and wait. Yes, sometimes God “makes us lie down.” When he does, we need to realize that the pastures we lie in are still green, and still a part of his provision. And we can then focus on what he wants to teach us in our season of waiting. “He leads me beside quiet waters, he refreshes my soul.” Sheep tend to be timid creatures. A rushing stream will intimidate a sheep, and one who falls into such water will find itself struggling to get back to safe ground because of the weight of the water soaking into its wool. Not only was it important for the shepherd to find fresh water for the sheep to drink, it was also important that this water be still. David, as a shepherd in ancient Israel, looked for calm, safe waters for his sheep to drink. He knew that a sheep refreshed by these waters would be content in the shepherd’s care and less prone to wander. Are you drinking from a fire hose in your life today? Remember that God offers times of refreshing for his people in the form of worship at one’s local church or online congregation. Pastors all over the world offer this kind of peaceful reflection and reassurance to God’s flock at regular intervals. Be sure you take advantage of these times to bring your family into a quiet place to drink from the well of God’s Word. It is truly soul-refreshing and rejuvenating. The writer of Hebrews said it well: “And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching” (Hebrews 10:24-25). “He guides me along the right paths for his name’s sake.” The role of the shepherd guiding the sheep in right paths seems obvious, but how is God’s name involved in this? David was careful to exalt the name of the Lord as he wrote this psalm. This phrase speaks to God’s appeal to his people to follow in his ways and in so doing honor who he is. While he was imperfect in doing so, scripture tells us that David’s daily motivation was to do exactly that. God’s directives are not meant to keep people from “doing what they want to do” and so somehow restrict their lives and keep them closed in. Rather, “All the ways of the LORD are loving and faithful toward those who keep the demands of his covenant” (Psalm 25:10); “The LORD is righteous in all his ways and faithful in all he does” (Psalm 145:17). When we follow the loving directives that we find in the Bible, we honor God’s very name and expand his kingdom. “Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.” Most people remember this as describing the “valley of the shadow of death” (which in fact the NIV footnote indicates). For sheep in the ancient world, dangers lurked all around. The rod was a club that David carried on his belt; it was used as a weapon against predators and sometimes thieves; the staff was a walking implement that David used to guide and direct the sheep to follow the right path, but it could also be used as a weapon. The image here is one of the shepherd’s caring protection. Like sheep, we walk through “the valley of the shadow” every single day. There are a million ways that we can be tripped up, diverted, distracted, and taken away from the path that we should be on. That shadow takes many forms: greed, addiction, chronic illness, danger from human predators (both online and in real life), poor financial decisions and many other things…the list is virtually endless. In all this, God is our protector. He provides guidance and relief in miraculous ways through the work of his Spirit in the world, and he uses human hands and feet to protect us in all kinds of different ways. Like sheep, we have no idea of the dangers that lurk in and around us during the course of our days. But God knows, and he sees all. Only in heaven will we know the extent to which God has protected us from our own foolish choices and from others who sought to do us harm. As David wrote in this verse, the knowledge of God’s protective oversight should give us comfort each day as we try to follow God’s will and his way. “You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies.” This is a very poignant image. First of all, imagine the shepherd preparing a safe, secure place for the sheep to live in the visible presence of predators and thieves. Only the shepherd’s calm and care can reassure the sheep that they are safe and can rest. Second, David’s identity as a warrior makes this phrase take on a very different tone. For David, being in the presence of his enemies was a harrowing position—one he experienced time and time again. Yet here he declares that God has set a peaceful space for him to exist and be fed and refreshed even though his enemies are literally in view. When he wrote this, was David thinking of a specific time in which this actually happened? How about when he faced a giant on the field of battle (1 Samuel 17)? Or when he was being tracked by King Saul, who was out to kill him (1 Samuel 23:7—24:22)? How about when he had to flee to the Philistines and take sides against Israel (1 Samuel 27)? Or possibly when he had to run when his son Absalom tried to take the kingdom away from him? (2 Samuel 15-19)? Understand that this image was very real to David, the warrior King. He had been in peril of his own life too many times to know that rescue didn’t come from his own hand. He knew that he was in God’s hands the whole time—safe and secure and provided for. How wonderful is this same assurance for us today? “You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.” Anointing with oil in ancient times held significance for many reasons. It was used in indicating God’s chosen rulers in ancient Israel (1 Samuel 16); was used as a salve to heal wounds (Luke 10:25-37); and it was used as a sign of favor for guests in situations where hospitality was required (Luke 7:36-50), among other things. Shepherds used oil to rub into the wounds and scrapes and cuts of their sheep. They well knew that an infection among some sheep would slow down the entire flock, so they were vigilant to make sure that each sheep was inspected on a regular basis. The oil brought comfort and healing to the sheep; even though they may not have liked the process of being inspected and treated, ultimately the shepherd knew what was best for their overall health and happiness. God does the same for us. He has the foresight to understand where our wounds—physical, mental, emotional—cut us the most. While we can’t understand the depths of his healing treatment and care for us, he provides for us when and where we need it most: through technological advances in medicine, through skilled doctors and nurses, and through trained and sympathetic counselors and advisors. Indeed, the Spirit himself is the one who brings comfort and healing to us when we need it most (Acts 10:38). In that way, our cup truly does overflow (John 7:38-39). “Surely your goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever.” David pointed to God’s pervasive goodness and love even in the midst of a tumultuous life. As a husband, father, king, and warrior, he was able to take a look at his life in the context of all of its complexity and thank God for his sure and secure love and goodness. Whether he found himself laying in green pastures or facing the shadows of life’s valleys, David found solace in knowing that the Lord was and always would be his shepherd, filling every need he could possibly imagine. As was David, we can be similarly confident of God’s love in our own circumstances. When we rest in that reassurance, we truly know what it is to “dwell in the house of the LORD”—both now and in the future. Perhaps this phrase sums it up best: “Psalm 23 essentially says that the best thing about having the Lord as shepherd is having the Lord as shepherd.” Jesus, Our Shepherd Jesus, the creator of the world, the author of our salvation, and the one who inspired David’s words, says this of himself in the Gospel of John: “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep…I know my sheep and my sheep know me—just as the Father knows me and I know the Father—and I lay down my life for the sheep. I have other sheep that are not of this sheep pen. I must bring them also. They too will listen to my voice, and there shall be one flock and one shepherd. The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my life—only to take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command I received from my Father.” John 10:11-18 With these words, we can find the same comfort and encouragement as David found in the midst of his tumultuous life. Have you given your life to Jesus? Do you know him as your Savior? Do you also know him as your loving shepherd, the One who teaches and guides you every day along the way? Your good Shepherd is eager to bring you into the fold and care for you. Talk to him today and surrender your life and your future into his hands. It’s the very best path you can possibly follow to honor God with the life that he’s given you. Written by Mike Vander Klipp, a senior editor with the Zondervan Bible Group, where he’s been privileged to work for the past three decades.

It’s Hard to Make Friends Every now and then, I’ll be talking with a newer member at Trinity Church, and they’ll express disappointment that they’ve been attending for several months but have only a few friendships developing. I want to respond, “That’s a great start. It will take about a decade.” Why? Because we have so many factors working against our ability to cultivate deep relationships at church. In brief, (1) we are isolated from the relationships we most need; (2) we are lonelier than we realize; (3) and as a result, we feel busy, overwhelmed, and disconnected; (4) and it’s harder than it should be to form meaningful friendships and non-superficial relationships. Friends, you have a lot working against you. You’re not crazy. There’s not something wrong with you. It’s hard to make and keep friends in a society like this—even in the church. But the answer is not to lower your expectations and prepare for heartbreak. The answer is to move toward the challenge, reject the isolation and division of our times, and embrace authentic, vulnerable, face-to-face relationships together. We can do this. Consider these seven tips for cultivating deeper relationships at church. 1. Embrace your need for others. All human beings are creatures of need. While we might use the phrase “needy people” as a slight, the truth is that we are all needy people. We have biological needs: air, food, water, and sleep. We have emotional needs: affirmation, a place to belong. And of course, we have relational needs: friendships, family, and spiritual community. As relational beings made in the image of the triune God, we need one another. And to be spiritually healthy and whole, we need friends that share our love for God and our convictions around faith and church. Quite simply, we need church friends. Our need for others is not something to be ashamed of, and it’s not a result of sin. When Adam was alone with God in the garden, he still lacked genuine human companionship. The world’s first problem was loneliness. So God gave Eve to him, and he celebrated. Of course, our greatest need is to know and be known by God. But to be human is to also need friendship and community. 2. Discover God’s heart for your belonging. Belonging has deep roots in the biblical story and Christian theology. There are three expressions of belonging in the Scriptures: (1) We belong to God—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit; (2) we no longer belong to ourselves or the world; and (3) we belong to one another in the church. Belonging is much deeper than fitting in and it’s much more satisfying than merely having other people around. To belong is one of our deepest human needs. Apart from belonging to God and one another, we’ll continually be tempted to seek our identity in our performance, popularity, and social status. But putting our identity in such earthly things has tragic effects. As Tim Keller has said, “Anything except Jesus will desert you in the end and disappoint you along the way.” What is true belonging? True belonging is being fully known and fully loved—by God and by your community. Indeed, only belonging to God—and through him, to one another in the church—can offer this secure position. When we are secure in Christ, we will be established and rooted in how he has made us, and we will belong to him and each other in the church. Given the challenges in relationship-building in the church, we must remember God’s heart for our belonging. 3. Remember your community needs you (to have friends). But we also need church friends to become kinder, more selfless people. Harvard researcher Robert Putnam, author of the landmark book Bowling Alone, has studied why religious people are kinder and better neighbors in their communities than non-religious people. After sorting through a number of factors that don’t relate to more selfless behavior, including denominational tradition and intensity of beliefs, Putnam settled on one factor—friendships within the church. His research shows that people with the strongest relationships within their own faith community are the kindest, most selfless people toward those outside their faith community. Putnam writes that of all relationships that correlate with well-being and selfless behavior toward others, “church friends seem super-charged. . . . The power of church friends, our data show, is more than the sum of being religious and having friends.” While many social groups these days are identified by what they’re against, healthy Christian communities share a connection around what we’re here for. We exist to glorify and enjoy God, to be formed in the image of Christ, and to grow in Christ through the presence of others. Without church friends, we’ll languish in our Christlikeness and struggle to love those outside the church. 4. Reorient your schedule for relationships. Our entire society draws us away from biblical community and toward social isolation, radical individualism, and self-centeredness. To push back on this constant force, we’re going to have to live remarkably different lives from our non-Christian peers and neighbors. We must reorient our lives around community. To cultivate deep relationships at church, we will have to slow down and resist the culture of hurry around us. We may not be able to work late into the evening or on weekends. We need to plan to make time for friends, to participate in a weekly small group or Bible study, or serve with others in the community. A deep, connected life with others requires a new set of a priorities and a new set of life rhythms. But it is so worth it. In fact, that’s exactly what Jesus did in his earthly life and ministry. His life demonstrates a radical orientation around relationships. He was absolutely devoted to his closest friends, his disciples. He went to weddings, funerals, and cultural events. He spent his time around dinner tables with friends, seekers, and skeptics. He intentionally pursued the most isolated and disconnected community members. He engaged people of other cultures with generosity and patience. If this is how the Son of God ordered his life on this earth, what would it look like for us to follow in his ways? To not only play the host, but join people where they are? To pursue those outside the fold? To attend gatherings and events with intentionality and a sense of mission? 5. Create space for those on the outside. I’ve heard countless people over my years of ministry say that they don’t feel connected or that people haven’t reached out to them. I always begin by lamenting that and grieving with them. But I also remind them that those with the deepest connections are typically those who take the initiative and create space for others. It’s perhaps counter-intuitive, but if you take initiative and create space for others, over time, your relationships will be overflowing. Hospitality is the distinctively Christian practice of creating space for others. It is not just opening our homes; it’s the Christ-like pattern of opening our hearts and lives as well. Hospitality, in a biblical sense, includes creating space in our homes for our brothers and sisters in Christ, creating space in our schedules and hearts for those who don’t know the Lord, creating space in our groups for our neighbors and co-workers, and creating space in our lives for the poor and marginalized. Just as Christ came to us and welcomed us who were once outsiders, so the church can open its heart and doors to welcome those who don’t know him (Rom. 15:7). In Paul’s instructions for the church to embrace self-giving love for each other, he includes a strong exhortation to “show hospitality” (Rom. 12:13). Although this is a timeless practice for every generation of believers, hospitality is uniquely important in an isolated society. Every one of us has been the recipient of the hospitality of others, and now we extend that same hospitable spirit to the next generation of church visitors—and to our own neighbors, co-workers, and friends. This vision of hospitality is more than mere entertaining of course. Entertaining includes setting out our best food, showing off our home, and inviting our most attractive guests; it puts the focus on us. Hospitality, on the other hand, puts the focus on the other. Our role as Christians is to create space for those on the outside, demonstrating the welcoming embrace of Jesus himself. 6. Pray together. This may seem simple, even assumed, but to cultivate true Christian community, we will be wise to prioritize prayer together. If we are to be a truly spiritual community, and not just another social club or friend clique, we must pursue and enjoy God’s presence together. In the past two decades, nearly every Christian book on community I’ve read has used the phrase “do life together.” And I’m one of them. I’ve said this countless times. “It’s not enough to just go to church and community group; we can and should be doing life together.” And I do believe that. But I also believe that doing life together is not enough. Anyone can do life together and be unchanged by it—still just as impatient, unfriendly, greedy, or angry as before. Our goal as Christians is to glorify God through our conformity to Christ, to be gradually formed toward his character, love for others, and way of life. Thus, our relationships can and should do spiritual life together. As a result, praying together is an essential habit of Christlike relationships. If you want to grow closer to another believer, pray with them. Pray together in formal settings (a prayer meeting or small group) or in informal times. It might seem odd at first to be talking to a friend and stop and say, “Can I actually just pray with you right now?” But I can guarantee you that very rarely will they say no, and very rarely will you regret taking a few minutes to slow down and pray with a friend. 7. Stay, even when it’s hard. One of the sneaky challenges in our current age is the transience of our work culture. I’m not against an upward mobility that elevates individuals and families out of poverty, but when we commit ourselves to upward mobility, no matter the cost, something significant is lost again and again. If we are moving cities and communities every two to four years, it will be almost impossible to develop and maintain deep relationships. Similarly, if we are remaining in the same city but changing church communities every few years, the same loss may be felt. Early church scholar Joseph Hellerman puts it well in When the Church Was a Family: Spiritual formation occurs primarily in the context of community. People who remain connected with their brothers and sisters in the local church almost invariably grow in self-understanding. . . . Long-term interpersonal relationships are the crucible of genuine progress in the Christian life. People who stay grow. Indeed, I have found this observation to be remarkably true: Those who stay grow. Sure, it will be harder and require seasons of patience and struggle. It may involve working through conflict with friends and others in your community. It might even mean passing up a promotion or raise. But it will be worth it in the long run. Stability is one of the most important elements in a growing, thriving spiritual life. Resisting Isolation As a pastor, I attend and officiate funerals on a semi-regular basis. Although every memorial service is a time of deep sadness, they also serve as rare moments of clarity. They remind us of what’s really important in life. I’ve been to memorial services where there were no more than eight people, and few had anything significant to say about the deceased person. It was brief and awkward. It was tragic. And I’ve been to memorial services with hundreds, even thousands, of people. I’ve seen person after person stand up and say, “This person was my best friend. She loved God and she loved me.” These funerals are incredible. The grief of the loss is joined by the celebration of a life well lived—with others, in powerful relationships. The memorial service of a Christian man or woman with hundreds of friends is a remarkable testimony to the power of the gospel in a lonely age. We don’t have to give in to the isolation and loneliness of our world. Another kind of life is available. Christ has welcomed us to himself, and he now invites us to welcome one another into deep, meaningful, non-superficial relationships. These relationships are possible, but they will take time and intentional effort. One day we’ll be able to look back on our life and see a vast family of people who know us and love us—and who feel known and loved by us. In Christ, true belonging is available. Through intentional pursuit and prayer, deep relationship is possible. Of course, our greatest need is to know and be known by God. But to be human is to also need friendship and community. Jeremy Linneman is the author of Why Do We Feel Lonely at Church?

The more one understands the key terms the apostle Paul chose to explain the gospel and its power for our lives, the deeper one’s experience will be with the gospel. Paul uses these terms throughout the book of Romans to describe the free gift of salvation and the resulting eternal transformation that is available to all who will believe and trust in Jesus for the forgiveness of their sin. Atonement (Romans 3:25) This term speaks to the satisfaction of God’s holy wrath against sin. As God is purely holy, the sin that is present in all of our lives needs to be dealt with. It is an affront to our holy God. God is the Judge of all the earth (Genesis 18:25); we in our sin have broken his law. Because all people sin (Ecclesiastes 7:20), the consequence of human sin is the righteous judgment that God must exercise on unrepentant sinners. But punishment is not the end of the story: God sent his own Son, Jesus, to take that punishment on himself. By dying in our place and taking our sins on himself, Jesus has made “atonement,” once and for all time (Romans 6:10), for our sin: he satisfies God’s righteous anger against all who believe, making us “at one” with our Creator. Faith (Romans 1:17) Meaning “belief” or “trust,” faith is the means by which sinful people come into right standing with God. It is a complete and active trust in Jesus alone for salvation. When a person decides to accept the story of Jesus and the free gift of salvation for themselves, they take that first step of faith. As they live their lives and understand that the benefits of salvation bring life and joy and peace and perspective to their lives, their faith changes and grows. How does one take that first step? Paul tells us very succinctly when he writes, “If you declare with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved” (Romans 10:9). It is literally that simple. After we make that declaration, we can ask the Holy Spirit to work in our lives to change us to become more and more like Christ (see “Sanctification” below). Forgiveness (“forgiven,” Romans 4:7) Forgiveness is not a difficult term for most of us to understand. What we do understand, however, is how difficult it can be for us to forgive, in both small and large ways. Paul’s message to his readers in the book of Romans is that forgiveness of our sins—as impossible as this is to believe—is attainable through a simple act of submitting our minds and wills to God and accepting his free gift of salvation. When that happens, this becomes true of us and our sins: “As far as the east is from the west, so far has he [God] removed our transgressions from us” (Psalm 103:12). We’ve been forgiven much. So then why is it so hard to forgive others for the things that they’ve done, or not done, to us in our lives? Jesus comments on this when he says, “Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven. Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you” (Luke 6:37-38). Paul adds, “Forgive as the Lord forgave you” (Colossians 3:13). Hard to do? It can be. But as God chose to do a hard thing when he offered up his Son Jesus as a way for us to find forgiveness, so also, we can do hard things and forgive others. And once we do, we’ll see that forgiveness is more about finding our own freedom than it is somehow mystically bestowing it on to someone else. Gospel (Romans 1:16) Literally meaning “good news,” this is the word Paul uses to refer to the message of forgiveness, eternal life and the lordship of Christ. From the earliest beginnings of the Old Testament, the gospel’s message has always pointed to the coming of Jesus Christ. (For a summary of this message, see the martyr Stephen’s sermon in Acts 7:1-53.) Jesus highlighted these points when, after his resurrection, he was walking with two individuals on the road to Emmaus. As they walked and talked, “beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself” (Luke 24:27). This gospel message is the one that Paul and the apostles of Jesus risked, and very often lost, their lives to proclaim. This is the message that has been proclaimed through the centuries, giving the hope of eternal life to billions of people who have heard it and have chosen to believe it. Grace (Romans 6:14) “The unmerited favor of God.” This refers to God’s inexplicable and unwarranted giving of good things (especially salvation) to those who could never earn it. The concept of grace can be difficult to accept, but when an individual accepts that God is a loving Father who longs to give good gifts to his children (see Matthew 7:11), they start to understand the implications of God’s grace. The message of grace is simple: since we are steeped in sin, there is nothing we can do to earn our salvation. God graciously offers us the free gift of salvation as long as we are willing to humbly accept the reality that Christ’s death on the cross covers our sin. And while the concept is simple, trying to live every day in the reality of grace can be difficult. However, there is power for holy living in the grace of God. Through the internal work of his Holy Spirit, we have access to the same power that raised Jesus from the dead. Seriously. Paul declares this to be true of believers in Jesus: ”And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies because of his Spirit who lives in you” (Romans 8:11). It’s that power—power that allows us to gratefully change our attitudes and actions and live a life that is pleasing to God and shows love toward others—that gives us new life both here on earth and after we die. Justification (Romans 5:18) This is a legal term that means “the act of being declared righteous.” This exchange happens at salvation when God the Judge declares righteous those who trust in Christ and his work at the cross. Our holy God, because of his purity, has to stand in judgment of sin. But rather than condemning every human who ever lived for their sin, he sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to take on the punishment for the sins of those who believe. Imagine a courtroom scene in which you’re standing in front of the judge. He has you dead to rights—you know you committed the crime; there are many witnesses to that fact. You’ve been caught red-handed, and you know you’ve earned the punishment you have coming to you. This is true of all of us in the face of God’s holiness, but as the apostle John writes, “If anybody does sin, we have an advocate with the Father—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world” (1 John 2:1-2). This is the literal truth of the gospel message: Jesus’ blood, shed once for all time on the cross, has the capability to remove the punishment for all of human sin. All we need to do as individuals is to humble ourselves and believe that this is true, and we are forgiven. The profound implications of this have eternal ramifications. Law (Romans 13:8) The Law refers to the commandments given by God. This refers to the teachings of the Old Testament, in particular the Ten Commandments that Moses brought down the mountain, straight from the hand of God (read the story of this account in Exodus 19:1—20:21). The law that came from God is good, yet sinful people are incapable of fully keeping it. The law, then, is like a spotlight that serves to fully expose our sin. In that light, we see that we fall short of God’s requirements for our lives as humans. That’s why Paul emphasizes the law in comparison with God’s grace (Romans 5:20; 6:14–15). When we come to understand that God’s law, his rules for living, serve to emphasize the immense nature of his grace toward us in Jesus’s sacrifice and resurrection, then we can move away from the idea that God is a vengeful deity who just wants to make our lives miserable. When we realize the enormous sin of which God has willingly forgiven us, we can continue to live our lives in a way that pleases him—not out of obligation because we “owe him” anything (again, we can’t earn our salvation); but rather out of thanksgiving for the free gift of salvation that he has offered to us through his one and only Son, Jesus. Reconciliation (“reconciled,” Romans 4:10) This word carries the idea of restoring a relationship with someone. Paul, in his letter to the Romans, uses this term many times to describe the way that God loves us and wants to restore a relationship between himself and the people who will accept his invitation. Romans 5 is a powerhouse chapter on this idea. In it Paul writes, You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God’s wrath through him! For if, while we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life! Not only is this so, but we also boast in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation (vv. 6-11). Please take some time to study and meditate on this term and on the passage above. This is the whole message of the Bible—that God wants to restore a relationship with those who will accept his gracious invitation. Redemption (Romans 3:23-24) What we experience when we are saved. This is “the act of freeing someone by paying a price,” an economic term Paul employed to show how God buys us back with the blood of his own Son. God, needing to find a way to pay for the sins of humanity, purchased our redemption—our forgiveness of sin—by sending his only Son Jesus to come and live on this earth, teach us how to live, be betrayed by one who was close to him, be unjustly accused and condemned and be nailed to a cross to die a horrific death. He willingly sent His Son to earth, knowing that Jesus would experience the very worst rejection and punishment imaginable. Again, in economic terms, God wanted to purchase our salvation because he loves us and wants to be in a relationship with each one of us. There was a high price associated with that purchase—one that each of us individually owed to God because of our willfulness and sin. And even though God knew that we would persist in our rebellion, he also knew that there were people who would accept his free offer of salvation and who would gratefully enter into a saving relationship with him through his Holy Spirit.’ That’s why he did it. That’s why he sent Jesus to pay that terrible price and defeat the power of death through his resurrection. Righteousness (Romans 1:17) As God buys us back, he gifts us with righteousness, “God’s standard of purity” or “God’s own truthfulness and faithfulness.” Amazingly, in the gospel we are not only forgiven, but we are also granted perfect purity in Christ. What does this purity give us? It puts those of us who have accepted God’s forgiveness on a par with God’s own Son. Again, we stand condemned in the face of a holy God because of our persistent sin. However, when God looks at us, all he sees is the perfect righteousness of Christ, hard-won through Jesus’ life, death and resurrection. The price that needed to be paid for our sin has indeed been paid, and when we accept Jesus’ work on our behalf, God sees us through Christ-colored glasses. Even more than that, he sees us as having the exact same righteousness as that of Jesus. So the question then becomes, if we have Jesus’ righteousness through Jesus’ salvation, why can’t we just go on and keep sinning? I mean, if Jesus’ blood covers one sin as well as another, doesn’t it make sense to just live like we want to and rely on Jesus’ advocacy when we finally meet our Maker? Paul comments on this exact question in Romans 6 when he writes, What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no means! We are those who have died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life. For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly also be united with him in a resurrection like his. For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body ruled by sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin—because anyone who has died has been set free from sin (vv. 1-7). Let that teaching sink in. Our old self was “crucified with him,” with Jesus, up on that cross. It is dead and gone. Living a life of gratitude to God for his gracious salvation includes an understanding of that fact. The sin that has corrupted us and ruined our lives no longer has to rule our lives. We can walk away from it, experiencing the new life that Jesus offers right here, and right now. That’s incredible. Sanctification (“sanctified,” Romans 15:16) Points to a process of becoming more like Christ. When a person accepts the free gift of salvation, the Holy Spirit, when invited, works to help believers “have the same mindset as Christ Jesus” (Philippians 2:5), changing our attitudes and habits to reflect Jesus’ priorities as outlined in the Bible. Paul explains this process by saying that for the Christian, “sin shall no longer be your master, because you are not under the law, but under grace” (Romans 6:14). He goes on to write, What then? Shall we sin because we are not under the law but under grace? By no means! Don’t you know that when you offer yourselves to someone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one you obey—whether you are slaves to sin, which leads to death, or to obedience, which leads to righteousness? But thanks be to God that, though you used to be slaves to sin, you have come to obey from your heart the pattern of teaching that has now claimed your allegiance. You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness. I am using an example from everyday life because of your human limitations. Just as you used to offer yourselves as slaves to impurity and to ever-increasing wickedness, so now offer yourselves as slaves to righteousness leading to holiness. When you were slaves to sin, you were free from the control of righteousness. What benefit did you reap at that time from the things you are now ashamed of? Those things result in death! But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life. For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord (Romans 6:15-23). Think about these ideas as they apply to specific actions, habits, attitudes or relationships in your life that have led you into sin. Ask yourself honestly the question that Paul asks in this passage: “What benefit did you reap at that time from the things you are now ashamed of?” Can you think of any? Or have you experienced in your own life and body the truth that “Those things result in death”? The pursuit of a better life through the idea of a continuous process of sanctification is not evidence that God is some sort of celestial buzzkill. Rather, the offer of continually improving your life, of walking away from the sins of the past aided and assisted by the Holy Spirit of God, becomes more and more attractive the more the forgiven person spends in the presence of God and other sincere Christians. This is what recovery programs such as Celebrate Recovery are all about: God offers us a way out of our sinful habits, and he offers to help us live a better life here and now. That’s real hope in the face of the mess we can get ourselves into here on earth; that’s the benefit of sanctification. Salvation (Romans 1:16) Means “deliverance” or “healing” and is the word Paul most often uses to denote deliverance from sin and its deadly consequences. But why do we even need salvation? If our lives are going pretty well—we seem to be okay in our relationships, have been able to pay the bills lately, and we’re feeling pretty good about the way we’ve been living our lives—what’s the point of relying on someone else to save us? An excellent question, to be sure. The answer lies in many of the ideas that are outlined in this post. But there’s nothing more important to our eternal disposition—either within or outside of a relationship with the God who loves us—than grasping the reality of the next point. Whether we know it or feel it or realize it or not, we are sinners in need of salvation. Who says? God says. Keep reading. Sin (Romans 3:20) Means “missing the mark” or “disobedience to God’s law.” Sin is more than an action; it’s a condition that leads to disobedient action. Broadly defined, it’s the tendency of humans to rebel against God, which leads to any action or attitude that opposes God’s character and will. Just as judgment lies with God alone — He alone sets the standards of justice, righteousness and holiness in the universe according to his good character — so too does salvation lie with him. God alone has the power to truly save, for he saves his people from the very judgment that he will execute in the world. This salvation is accomplished through Jesus and Jesus alone; indeed, salvation was and is his mission on earth. God shows his eternal commitment to save those who trust in him through the life, death and resurrection of Christ. This is the equation to keep in mind: • We sin / God forgives. • We accept his forgiveness / God restores a relationship with us. • We try to pay for that forgiveness / God offers it freely. • We live a life that rejoices in the reality of God’s forgiveness of our sin / our lives on earth get better. • We die trusting in Christ alone for our salvation / God brings us home to live with him forever. An Invitation Through Jesus, the door is open to all who are willing to admit their need of cleansing and salvation in light of the holy standard of God. Those who submit themselves to that standard as revealed in God’s Word and come to him to accept this free gift will experience the benefits of this choice in this life (through inner peace, direction, perspective and gratitude, among many other things) as well as in the next. In coming to Jesus, we must first admit and confess our pride-filled sin of self-worship and self-lordship, accepting and owning the fact that we have rebelled against our true and right Master. Those who come to the cross with that confession on their lips will find the grace and mercy they need from him (John 1:14, 17; see also the story of the thief on the cross, Luke 23:39-43). Prayer Thank you, Jesus, for loving us and humbling yourself to come to earth. Thank you for sacrificing your life for our salvation. We accept your work on our behalf, and we gratefully look forward to one day seeing you face to face. Written by Mike Vander Klipp, a senior editor with the Zondervan Bible Group, where he’s been privileged to work for the past three decades. This article drawn and adapted from a framework that appears in The Jesus Bible, NIV.

Worship is a dominant theme from Genesis to Revelation because the God who created all things and redeemed us in Christ is worthy to receive all honor, praise, service, and respect (e.g., Exodus 15:1 – 18, Revelation 4:11). However, since certain expressions of worship are unacceptable to God (Genesis 4:3 – 5, Revelation 9:20 – 21), it is important for us to know what pleases God and how he wants us to respond to him. What he has revealed in Scripture should control and direct our worship. Three groups of words throughout the Bible convey aspects of what we commonly call “worship.” New Testament writers use these and related terms in a transformed way to show how Jesus has fulfilled for us the pattern of worship given to Israel. Worship as Homage or Grateful Submission to God The most common word for “worship” literally means “bend over” or “bow down.” It describes a gesture of respect or submission to human beings, to God, or to idols (e.g., Genesis 18:2, Exodus 20:4 – 6). Combined with other gesture-words, this term came to be used for the attitude of homage that the gesture represented. Sometimes people expressed homage to God with prayer or praise (Exodus 34:8 – 9) and sometimes with silent acceptance or submission (Judges 7:15). The book of Psalms contains many different expressions of worship, including lament, repentance, prayers for vindication, songs of thanksgiving, and praise. Bending over before the Lord as a gesture of homage or grateful submission became associated with sacrifice and public praise in Israel. In such contexts it could be a formal way of expressing devotion to or dependence on God (2 Chronicles 7:3 – 4, Nehemiah 8:6). But the gesture was meaningful only if it was motivated by a genuine desire to acknowledge God’s majesty and holiness and to live under his rule. The New Testament uses this terminology to show that Jesus Christ is worthy of the homage and devotion due to the Lord God of Israel (Matthew 14:33, Revelation 5:8 – 14). “Bending over to the Lord” now means responding with repentance and faith to the person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ (Romans 10:9 – 13). Such worship involves praying to him, calling on his name, and obeying him. In John 4:20 – 24, a Samaritan woman inquires about the appropriate place to worship God, leading Jesus to speak more fundamentally about the way to worship acceptably. The Father is seeking “true worshipers” who “will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth.” This fulfills the pattern of worship that God gave Israel under the Mosaic law. New covenant worship involves acknowledging Jesus as the one who finally and fully reveals the truth about the Father and his purpose for Israel and the nations (John 14:6). It also involves responding to the Spirit he gives to transform hearts and lives (John 3:5 – 8). Worship as Service to God Another group of biblical terms often translated “worship” literally means “serve” or “service.” The people of Israel were saved from slavery in Egypt so that they could serve the Lord (Exodus 8:1). The parallel expressions “offer sacrifices to the Lord”(Exodus 5:3) and “hold a festival” (Exodus 5:1) indicate that some form of ritual service was immediately in view. God later instituted through Moses a complex system of sacrifices and ceremonies so that Israel could serve God as his holy people (Exodus 19:5 – 6). For example, the Passover was a particular “service” to be observed in remembrance of the Lord’s saving work at the time of the exodus (Exodus 12:25 – 27). The ministry of priests and Levites was a specialized form of service to God. But God required a lifestyle of total allegiance from his people as a whole: service was meant to be expressed in everyday obedience (Deuteronomy 10:12 – 13). God strictly forbade bowing down and serving aspects of the creation or other gods; every temptation to idolatry and unfaithfulness was to be removed (Deuteronomy 5:8 – 9). The sacrificial system was given to Israel to enable cleansing from sin, consecration to God’s service, and expressions of gratitude to God (Leviticus 1 – 7). The New Testament describes Jesus’ death as “a sacrifice of atonement, through the shedding of his blood — to be received through faith.” Only by this sacrifice can the wrath of God be averted (Romans 2:5). Christ’s unique sacrifice secures for believers all the blessings of the new covenant and enables them to serve him wholeheartedly with consciences cleansed from sin (Hebrews 10:11 – 22). In response to what God has done for us in Christ, we are to present our bodies to him as “a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God” (Romans 12:1). Christ’s obedience makes possible a new obedience for the people of God. Those who have been brought from death to life belong to God as a “living sacrifice.” This is “your true and proper worship” (Romans 12:1), or as an alternate translation, “your understanding service.” Acceptable worship is the service rendered by those who truly understand the gospel and want to live out its implications in every sphere of life (Romans 12:2 – 21). The service rendered to God in everyday obedience is also the focus of Hebrews 12:28 – 29. The motivation and power for such service is the cleansing that comes from the finished work of Christ and the hope that his work sets before us. Gratitude expressed in service is evidence that people grasp and appreciate the grace of God. However, acceptable worship should also be characterized by “reverence and awe” because of the holiness and righteousness of God. In particular, Christians are to offer to God through Jesus “a sacrifice of praise — the fruit of lips that openly profess his name” (Hebrews 13:15). This could involve celebrating Christ as Savior and Lord in personal or corporate acts of praise, but the immediate context exhorts believers to acknowledge Christ in the world in the face of opposition and suffering. In its widest sense, this sacrifice of praise will be rendered by those who confess Jesus “outside the camp” (Hebrews 13:13) in various forms of public testimony or evangelism. Allied to this, we are not to forget to do good and to share with others, “for with such sacrifices God is pleased” (Hebrews 13:16). Worship as Reverence or Respect for God A third group of terms sometimes describes worship – words meaning fear, reverence, or respect for God indicate the need to keep his commandments, obey his voice, walk in his ways, turn from evil, and serve him (Deuteronomy 6:13, Haggai 1:12, Deuteronomy 8:6, Proverbs 3:7, Deuteronomy 10:20). Sacrifice and other rituals expressed reverence for God, but faithfulness and obedience to the covenant demands of God in every sphere of life also distinguished true from false religion (Psalm 25:14). The New Testament indicates that humanity’s failure to fear God and show him proper respect brings his wrath (Romans 1:18 – 25). Only by being “redeemed . . . with the precious blood of Christ” can we be set free to serve God “in reverent fear” (1 Peter 1:17 – 21). Worship and Congregational Gatherings Worship in the Old Testament sometimes had a corporate expression, and this was meant to encourage God’s people to serve him faithfully in their individual lives (Jeremiah 7:1 – 29). The New Testament rarely applies the specific word “worship” to Christian meetings. Nevertheless, prayer, praise, and submission to God’s will were central to congregational gatherings (Acts 2:42 – 47, Colossians 3:16 – 17). Moreover, the link between ministry to others and service to God is clear in the way Paul uses worship terminology in a transformed way (Romans 15:16, 2 Corinthians 9:12 – 13). The New Testament is not prescriptive about the way we conduct our meetings, but it certainly provides guidelines and examples of Christians engaging with God together. Paul regularly uses the terminology of edification, rather than worship, to indicate the purpose and function of Christian gatherings (1 Corinthians 14:26). This imagery portrays the founding, maintaining, and advancing of the church as God’s “building” or holy “temple” (1 Corinthians 3:10 – 17). While all ministry responds to God’s grace and does not in any sense cultivate his favor, serving others is an aspect of our service or self-giving to God. Moreover, edification is the exalted Christ’s work in our midst through the gifts and ministries that he empowers and directs by his Spirit (Ephesians 2:20 – 22). Our task is to apply the truth of God in love to one another. It may be best to speak of congregational worship as a particular expression of the total life-response that is the worship described in the new covenant. In the giving and receiving of various ministries, we may encounter God and submit ourselves to him afresh in praise and obedience, repentance, and faith (Hebrews 10:24 – 25). Singing to God is an important aspect of corporate worship, but it is not the supreme or only way of expressing devotion to God. Ministry exercised for the building up of the body of Christ in teaching, exhorting, and praying is a significant way of worshiping and glorifying God. By David G. Peterson from an article in the NIV Biblical Theology Study Bible.

1. Ephesians 2:8–9 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them. Read More By grace refers to God’s favor upon those who have transgressed his law and sinned against him. But grace may also be understood as a “power” in these verses. God’s grace not only offers salvation but also secures it. Saved refers to deliverance from God’s wrath at the final judgment (Rom. 5:9); “by grace you have been saved” is repeated from Eph. 2:5 for emphasis. The verb form for “have been saved” (Gk. sesōsmenoi, perfect tense) communicates that the Christian’s salvation is fully secured. through faith. Faith is a confident trust and reliance upon Christ Jesus and is the only means by which one can obtain salvation. this. The Greek pronoun is neuter, while “grace” and “faith” are feminine. Accordingly, “this” points to the whole process of “salvation by grace through faith” as being the gift of God and not something that we can accomplish ourselves. This use of the neuter pronoun to take in the whole of a complex idea is quite common in Greek (e.g., 6:1); its use here makes it clear that faith, no less than grace, is a gift of God. Salvation, therefore, in every respect, is not your own doing. 2. Romans 5:20–21 Now the law came in to increase the trespass, but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more, so that, as sin reigned in death, grace also might reign through righteousness leading to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. The typical Jewish view in Paul’s day was that God gave the law to counteract the sinful human impulse. In Judaism there was the proverb, “The more Torah the more life” (Mishnah, Aboth 2.7). But Paul points out that the law came in to increase the trespass, probably in the sense that once people had written laws from God, they committed not just “sins” against God’s law in their conscience, but, even more seriously, willful “trespasses” (Gk. paraptōma), like Adam’s first “trespass” against a clear spoken command directly from God. Hence, the surpassing excellence of Christ’s salvation is shown in that grace abounded even more than these increasing sins. 3. 2 Corinthians 12:9–10 But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong. My grace is sufficient. Paul says that God’s grace “is sufficient” (in the present tense), underscoring the ever-present availability and sufficiency of God’s grace, for Paul and for every believer, regardless of how critical one’s circumstances may be (cf. Rom. 8:31–39). my power is made perfect in weakness. Paul was not allowed to speak about his heavenly revelations (2 Cor. 12:4, 6) but he quotes Christ’s declaration (“My grace is sufficient”) to underscore that his earthly weaknesses (not his revelations) would be the platform for perfecting and demonstrating the Lord’s power . This is the main point of vv. 1–13 and the foundation of Paul’s self-defense throughout 2 Corinthians. 4. Hebrews 4:15–16 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need. sympathize. Jesus is able to identify with his people (cf. Heb.10:34) because of his human experience and the sufferings he endured while being tempted (Heb.2:10–18, esp. Heb. 2:17–18). tempted. The Greek (peirazō) can refer either to temptation intended to bring one down or to testing designed to build one up; both connotations probably apply here (cf. Matt. 4:1–11; Luke 22:28). without sin*. Though Jesus was tempted in every respect, that is, in every area of personal life, he (unlike every other human) remained sinless, and thus he is truly the holy high priest (Heb. 7:26–28; cf. 5:2–3). In their temptations, Christians can be comforted with the truth that nothing that entices them is foreign to their Lord. He too has felt the tug of sin, and yet he never gave in to such temptations. 5. John 1:16–17 For from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace. For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. Grace indicates God’s (unmerited) favor that brings blessing and joy. Grace and truth most likely recalls the Hebrew behind the phrase “steadfast love [Hb. hesed] and faithfulness [Hb. ’emet]” in Ex. 34:6 (cf. Ex. 33:18–19), where the expression refers to God’s covenant faithfulness to his people Israel. According to John, God’s covenant faithfulness found ultimate expression in his sending of his one-of-a-kind Son, Jesus Christ. The contrast is not that the Mosaic law was bad and Jesus is good. Rather, both the giving of the law and the coming of Jesus Christ mark decisive events in the history of salvation. In the law, God graciously revealed his character and righteous requirements to the nation of Israel. Jesus, however, marked the final, definitive revelation of God’s grace and truth. He was superior to Abraham (John 8:53), Jacob (John 4:12), and Moses (John 5:46–47; cf. John 9:28). 6. Acts 15:10–11 Now, therefore, why are you putting God to the test by placing a yoke on the neck of the disciples that neither our fathers nor we have been able to bear? But we believe that we will be saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus, just as they will. The rabbis often used the metaphor of a yoke with reference to the law, and Peter’s reference to “yoke” here refers not just to circumcision but to the whole of the Mosaic law. By speaking of the law as an unbearable yoke, Peter was not denying that the law was God’s gift to Israel. Rather, he was arguing that Israel was unable to fulfill it perfectly and that salvation could not be obtained through the law (cf. Rom. 2:17–24). Only one means of salvation exists for both Jew and Gentile: God’s “grace” (Acts 15:11) in Jesus Christ. Paul also refers to any requirement to keep the OT laws as “a yoke of slavery” (Gal. 5:1). By contrast, Jesus calls people to take his new “yoke” upon them, a yoke that is easy (see note on Matt. 11:29). 7. James 4:6 But he gives more grace. Therefore it says, “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” God’s grace will be extended to those who are humble before him; cf. Prov. 3:34 (cf. also James 4:10; 1 Pet. 5:5). God opposes means he resists and sends judgment, for the proud have chosen the praise and the methods of the world and are acting as God’s enemies (James 4:4). 8. Romans 6:14 For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace. sin will have no dominion over you. This is not a command but a promise that sin will not triumph in the lives of Christians. Because they live in the new era of fulfillment, they are no longer under the old era of redemptive history; that is, they are no longer under law, where the Mosaic law and sin ruled over God’s people. By contrast, under grace means living under the new covenant in Christ, in an era characterized by grace (cf. Rom.3:24; Rom.4:16; Rom.5:2, 15–21). 9. 1 Corinthians 15:10 But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me. grace of God. Paul considered his conversion from “persecutor” to “apostle to the Gentiles” to be a free and wholly undeserved gift of God (Rom. 15:15–16; Gal. 1:15; 2:9; Eph. 3:7–8; Phil. 1:9; 1 Tim. 1:14). God’s grace did not lead to passivity, however, for it prompted hard work on Paul’s part. 10. Titus 2:11–14 For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age, waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works. Gospel Basis. Paul gives the theological basis for the lifestyles he has described in Titus 2:1–10. Christians should live this way because (“for”) the grace of God that saves also instructs its recipients to live in a new way. One cannot truly claim to be a recipient of saving grace without also being a pupil of “training grace.” This change in lifestyle is rooted in the atonement (Titus 2:14) and the expectation of Christ’s return (Titus 2:13). Bringing salvation for all people is sometimes misunderstood as meaning that all people will be saved. However, such a reading is not necessary here and flatly contradicts other Scripture. It means, rather, that salvation has been offered to all people (including all ethnic groups), not just to some. Saving grace teaches its recipients to say no to sin and yes to godliness. In the present age stresses that this godliness is to be lived out in the here and now. It also sets up the reference to the future return of Christ (Titus 2:13). Certainty about the future enables constancy in the present. The Greek for waiting (prosdechomai) often carries a connotation of eagerness. Eagerly expecting the return of Christ is the way grace trains Christians to renounce sin and live in a godly way (Titus 2: 11–12). Setting one’s mind on the truth of Christ’s return impels a person to holiness (see 1 John 3:2–3). Our blessed hope means Christ’s second coming, which Paul calls the appearing of … our great God and Savior Jesus Christ. It may seem unclear whether Paul refers here to two persons of the Godhead (God the Father and Jesus Christ) or whether he describes Jesus as God and Savior. The Greek grammar, however, is well reflected in this translation and indicates that Jesus is being identified as “our great God and Savior” (cf. John 1:1; 20:28; etc.). Paul anchors his call for godliness in the fact that one purpose of Jesus’ death was to make his people holy. To forsake godliness is to despise the sacrifice of Christ. Paul roots this in the OT with the phrase to redeem us from all lawlessness, which in Greek closely resembles the Septuagint of Ps. 130:8. A people for his own possession translates an unusual phrase (Gk. laon periousion) with intentional echoes from the OT (see esp. Ex. 19:5; Mal. 3:17). It has the sense of “prized, treasured possession.” These people are to be zealous for good works, so again redemption is tied specifically to living in a godly manner. There is no room for claiming to be redeemed while providing no evidence of practical transformation (see James 2:14–26). This article is part of the Key Bible Verses series.

2 Corinthians 12:7–10 - 7. So to keep me from becoming conceited because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to harass me, to keep me from becoming conceited. 8. Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should leave me. 9. But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. 10. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong. The Affliction of the Thorn Here Paul introduces the thorn in the flesh that afflicted him in the wake of his heavenly experience. We today might picture a small rosebush thorn, but the term used (Gk. skolops) could designate objects as large as a stake on which one might be impaled. The thorn generated more than mere annoyance; it generated agony corresponding to the glory of what Paul had seen in the highest heaven. Though the thorn was (presumably) introduced into Paul’s life fourteen years prior, verses 8–10 give every indication that it is still a present reality and thus represents a prolonged, sustained pain. But what was the thorn? Speculation does us no good. We do not know. And that is just as well, lest those whose afflictions are of a different nature than Paul’s feel disqualified from applying his teaching to their own hearts. Probably Paul was intentionally vague, not only for maximal application but also to prevent spotlighting his own life any more than necessary. Paul’s point is not the content of the thorn but its intent. And what is that intent? Paul’s humility: “to keep me from becoming conceited.” The verb here (Gk. hyperairōmai) means to be lifted up. The thorn’s purpose is to deflate the certainty that Paul would quietly become puffed up over his indescribable experience of heaven. And who would not, without a thorn to burst that bubble? And so the Lord lovingly, gently, sovereignly afflicts his dear apostle. Or was it the Lord? Does the text not ascribe the thorn to Satan or one of his emissaries? Indeed. The thorn was given to “harass” Paul — surely the work of the Devil. Yet surrounding this desire to harass is a purpose to humble Paul, mentioned twice, once at the beginning of the verse and once at the end. Satan’s purpose is sandwiched within God’s. In a mysterious overlay of divine sovereignty and evil, even satanic activity falls within the scope of God’s sovereign purposes. God is not the author of evil in such a way that renders him morally culpable. He is incapable of doing anything that is morally tainted. Yet even the evilest act of human history was ordained by God (Acts 2:23; 4:27–28). So too with lesser evils. Pleading with the Lord So Paul did in 2 Corinthians, 12:8 what any of us would do: he asked for the thorn to be removed. Just as the “third” heaven (2 Cor. 12:2) likely refers to the heaven of heavens, the heart of heaven, so “three times” likely means Paul pleaded with the Lord to exhaustion. He did not make the request more than twice but fewer than four times. Rather, it was a complete, comprehensive, full request. He did not ask timidly or passingly. The very verb he uses, “I pleaded” (using parakaleō), not simply “I asked,” already makes this clear. That Paul pled with the Lord to have the thorn removed is further proof that the Lord was the one providentially behind the giving of the thorn. Paul saw two ways forward. The Lord could (1) remove the thorn, and Paul could get on with life and ministry, or (2) leave the thorn, and Paul would be forever crippled and slowed in life and ministry. The Lord responded with yet a third option: leave the thorn, but give Paul grace. And for Paul’s life and ministry, this would net out as taking Paul places in terms of divine power he could never have attained otherwise. This is God’s secret strategy for his people. This is the surprising way into power from on high. God’s “grace” here is not primarily objective, forgiving grace (as in, say, Rom. 3:24). Rather, Paul is using “grace” more broadly as shorthand for the presence of God—sustaining, empowering, calming, supporting, comforting, emboldening, satisfying. “My grace is sufficient for you” means “I am sufficient for you.” Why, then, use the word “grace”? Because the Lord sought to reassure Paul that he need not earn or deserve God’s presence. It is of grace. This grace is further clarified by the next clause: “for my power is made perfect in weakness.” It is a grace that channels divine power. The presence of God will sustain Paul; the power of God will strengthen him. What we must not miss is that it is not Paul’s strength but God’s. Paul’s contribution is weakness. But this is not a concession; it is precisely what God needs. This is the mystery, the wonder, the glory, of apostolic Christianity: our weakness attracts, not repels, God’s own power. Our lowness and incapacities, which we naturally fear and flee, are precisely where God loves to dwell. A Renewed Understanding of Weakness As a result, Paul’s pursuits are flipped upside down. He had been given a revelation of heaven in 2 Corinthians 12:1–6. But he has been given a revelation of how heaven intersects with fallen sinners in verses 7–10, namely, through human weakness. The first revelation brought him way up high; the second, way down low (perhaps Paul had his heavenly vision and his thorn in the flesh in mind when he said in Romans 8:39 that neither “height nor depth” can “separate us from the love of God in Christ”). And this second revelation has inverted his source of boasting. Instead of building his identity on his areas of strength, he builds his identity on the very weakness the world and the flesh eschew. Competence is not where God’s power lies. Frailty is. Feebleness. For there God’s grace ignites. There God himself dwells. Indeed, Paul uses ancient language to speak of God’s power as resting upon him. The verb for “rest” (Gk. episkēnoō) is built on the root word for tabernacle, the portable temple in which alone God’s presence dwelt in times of old. But while God’s power was once cordoned off from all weak and defiled sinners, now it is precisely the weakness of sinners that draws in the power of God. Once more we see Paul quietly indicating that the new age has dawned in Christ. And in this new age, God’s power does not operate the way we expect. In 2 Corinthians 12:10 Paul comes to his triumphant conclusion to his thorn experience. This is also probably the high point of the entire letter. This verse crystallizes and illuminates Paul’s entire argument in 2 Corinthians. Having seen now the secret to the power of Christ tabernacling upon him, Paul fills out what he means in verse 9 by “I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses.” What kind of weaknesses? Paul answers with a list of five categories of increasing intensity of difficulty: (1) Weaknesses (Gk. astheneiai; also 2 Cor. 11:30; 12:9 [2x]): the general, summarizing category, denoting all fallen human incapacities (2) Insults (Gk. hybreis): mistreatment by others, whether with words or actions (3) Hardships (Gk. anankai): experiences that squeeze Paul, forcing him to uncomfortable limits (4) Persecutions (Gk. diōgmoi): afflictions at the hands of hostile enemies (5) Calamities (Gk. stenochōriai): truly overwhelming experiences, devastating circumstances Paul says that he is “content with” (Gk. eudokeō) these things, but the Greek verb is stronger than that. It means to “be well pleased with” or to “delight in” something and is used, for example, of the Father’s being “well pleased” with the Son in Matthew 3:17. Paul is not saying he is merely “content” with every mortal weakness that renders him frail and seemingly vulnerable. He steps into them. He embraces them. This is a tone not of resignation but of eagerness. To be clear, this is not masochism. Paul does not delight in the weaknesses in themselves. This is clarified by his addition of “for the sake of Christ.” Paul delights in weakness because it opens him up to heaven’s blessings and strength. His spiritual power surges forward. And so, to sum up: “When I am weak, then I am strong.” Paul refers not simply to isolated and occasional experiences of weakness, in which case strength ignites. The Greek word here rendered “when” (hotan) suggests that he has in mind a perpetual state of weakness, and thus a perpetual state of receiving divine strength. Paul saw now that his weakness was not an obstacle to but the gateway for God’s strength. God’s Power in Us Ability, strength, and success feel safe. But they are deadly dangerous, creating conceit. Inability, weakness, and failure feel dangerous. But they are safe ground, creating humility. Beyond this, our lowly weakness physically, psychologically, intellectually, educationally, and even spiritually is precisely the catalyst for divine power. Power for what? For calm, for growth, for joy, for communion with God, for evangelistic unction, for our preaching to sing. In short, for fruitfulness in the Christian life. Jesus himself taught, “Unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit” (John 12:24). Do we long for our lives to make a difference for Christ? We ought not be discouraged by our smallness, our foibles, our past, our stumbling. We can take these things and offer them to God. He can do far more with these than with our areas of strength. This does not mean we are consciously to avoid exercising the areas where we are strong (cf. 1 Cor. 12:4–11). It means that as we exercise our areas of gifting or strength, we do so in a conscious awareness of our spiritual impotence to bring any lasting fruit out of our own strength or cleverness. More than this, it means that when life goes into meltdown, when our feet are swept out from under us with the perplexing surprises of life, we do not throw in the towel. We return afresh to God. That moment of life implosion, taken to Christ, is where we will finally get traction and power in our Christian lives. Our agony is where God himself lives. Would we rather have the mountaintop experience without God or the valley experience with him? This article is by Dane C. Ortlund and is adapted from ESV Expository Commentary: Romans–Galatians (Volume 10).

Jesus spoke the beatitudes, or blessings, to a large crowd who had gathered to hear him speak. These people had heard of the wonder-working prophet who was making his way around the countryside, and they came to see Jesus for themselves. What did the crowd look like who heard these words for the first time? Matthew 4:23–25 reads, “Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom, and healing every disease and sickness among the people. News about him spread all over Syria, and people brought to him all who were ill with various diseases, those suffering severe pain, the demon-possessed, those having seizures, and the paralyzed; and he healed them. Large crowds from Galilee, the Decapolis, Jerusalem, Judea and the region across the Jordan followed him” (emphasis added). People from a wide-ranging area had heard about Jesus and his miracles, so they flocked to see who this man was, what he had to say, and to discover whether he could help them. These people were hurting. They were looking for relief for their physical ailments, but they were also looking for encouragement in the midst of their social and political woes. Likely a large portion of the crowd who thronged to Jesus that day consisted of observant Jews who understood that there was coming a historical figure of whom the prophets had spoken and written about. This individual would one day restore order and rule to those who followed the one and only God. These Jewish people longed for the day when their earthly situation would be made right once again. They had learned about the glory days in Jewish history: the days during the reigns of David and Solomon, when Israel was a wealthy, self-governing political power. And they longed for these distant days to be realized again. Encouraging Words for the Oppressed When Jesus walked the earth, God’s chosen people suffered under the rule of an overwhelmingly strong occupying force. Rome was the dominant political presence in the region, and the soldiers that they saw in the streets every day treated the residents of the Holy Land like any occupying force would: they were brutally efficient in maintaining order, and they exacted a heavy toll on the population. Literally every family in Israel saw and felt the impact that foreign rule had on them. They were cowed and humbled under this harsh regime and were looking for relief. When would God put everything right again? Jesus’ words as recorded in Matthew 5 must have come to them as a puzzling but welcome announcement. Whether or not this ragged, miracle-working prophet wandering the countryside with his band of disciples was the promised Messiah, his words spoke to the hearts of an oppressed and broken population. Read these verses with this background in mind: “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God. Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.” — Matthew 5:3–12 Surely Jesus’ words to the crowd that day instilled hope in their hearts. His words resonated with passages that they had heard in the teachings on which they had been raised, such as the words the prophet Isaiah had spoken to the people of Israel some 700 years before: “Nevertheless, there will be no more gloom for those who were in distress. In the past he humbled the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, but in the future he will honor Galilee of the nations, by the Way of the Sea, beyond the Jordan— “The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of deep darkness a light has dawned. You have enlarged the nation and increased their joy; they rejoice before you as people rejoice at the harvest, as warriors rejoice when dividing the plunder. For as in the day of Midian’s defeat, you have shattered the yoke that burdens them, the bar across their shoulders, the rod of their oppressor. Every warrior’s boot used in battle and every garment rolled in blood will be destined for burning, will be fuel for the fire. For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the greatness of his government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David’s throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever. The zeal of the Lord Almighty will accomplish this.” — Isaiah 9:1–7 Jesus came working miracles, healing the sick, restoring the disabled, and teaching a message of hope. On hearing his teaching, the gathered masses must have wondered, could they be on the cusp of the historic reversal of their fortunes for which they had been waiting for centuries? We who have the perspective of thousands of years and the New Testament at our disposal know that there was definitely kingdom work at hand when Jesus spoke these words. Let’s take a closer look at the structure of the beatitudes. What Are the Beatitudes? This series of blessings that Jesus pronounced at the beginning of his ministry described the present and coming kingdom of God. Kingdom beatitudes also occur in Luke 6:20–22, and Jesus speaks general blessings on other occasions such as in Matthew 11:6, Luke 11:28, and John 20:29. The first and eighth beatitudes in Matthew envelop the others with the promise of the kingdom itself (Matthew 5:3,10). The first beatitude in Luke also promises the kingdom (Luke 6:20). In all four blessings in Luke and the first four in Matthew, the most unlikely of people are pronounced blessed—the poor, the hungry, the meek. They are downtrodden and tired, yet because they have lived to see the day of God’s benevolent rule being established in this world, Jesus pronounces them blessed. Jesus confirms what they have hoped for all along: as God comes to reign, he will right all wrongs, and everyone who lives to see and welcome his rule—even and especially the downtrodden—will be blessed. The second four beatitudes in Matthew 5 focus on those who join in God’s great restoration and reversal-work of mercy and justice. Jesus pronounces blessings on those who enact mercy, integrity, peace, and righteousness or justice (Matthew 5:7–10). The pronouncements or promises express reversals of expectation—those who are hungry will be satisfied, those who mourn will be comforted and laugh, and those who are meek will inherit the whole earth. As God’s reign is established in this world, its effects will be life-changing for those who most need mercy and justice and for all those who share in Jesus’ ministry. What Kind of Kingdom Were the People Looking For? In Biblical languages, the term translated into English as “kingdom” usually meant “reign,” “rule,” or “authority.” Jewish people recognized that God reigned as king over the world he created (Psalm 22:28; 145:12–13; Daniel 4:3,34). Some felt that they affirmed this when they regularly recited the Shema, acknowledging that there was just one true God: “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one” (Deuteronomy 6:4). But while Jewish people acknowledged God’s present rule, most looked for God’s unchallenged reign in the age to come (Daniel 2:44–45; 7:14,27). Many prayed regularly for God’s future kingdom—for him to reign unopposed, to fulfill his purposes of justice and peace for the world. One familiar prayer that came to be prayed daily was the Kaddish, which in its ancient form began: “Exalted and hallowed be his great name … May he cause his kingdom to reign.” By Jesus’ day, many were familiar with Daniel’s prophecy about four kingdoms that would rise and fall, and they believed the fourth and final kingdom represented in those writings to be the current Roman Empire (Daniel 2:37–43). Daniel prophesied that in the time of that fourth kingdom, God would establish an eternal kingdom, overthrowing the other ones (Daniel 2:44). This kingdom belonged to a “son of man,” a human one, whose rule was associated with the deliverance of God’s people and contrasted with the preceding empires that were compared with beasts (Daniel 7:12–14,17–18,21–22). Daniel spoke of these truths as “mysteries” (Daniel 2:28–29; cf. 2:47). Thus, it is not surprising that the Gospels speak of the “secret” or “secrets” of the kingdom (Matthew 13:11; Mark 4:11; Luke 8:10). All these things were the backdrop for the words this crowd heard Jesus speak that day. The Beatitudes for Us Today When Jesus spoke these words, he introduced these revolutionary concepts to a people who desperately needed to hear them. The oppressed people lined up with hopes and dreams, and these teachings connected to their hearts in a way that far surpassed their hopes for mere physical healing, as important as that was to all who came to Jesus. But what do the beatitudes mean for us today? Jesus’ words are no less radical to those today who read or hear them for the first time. For all of our modern conveniences and medical advances, the world is still a sin-stricken place filled with suffering brought on by dark social, political, and physical realities. What kinds of things weigh on your heart today? Are you suffering under the weight of physical disability? Of a frightening diagnosis? Of financial stress? Read Jesus’ words from Matthew 5 again with your personal struggles in mind. Jesus came to introduce the kingdom of God to all who would believe in him and accept God’s offer of eternal life. Through the work of the Holy Spirit and the community of faith, the kingdom of heaven breaks into our dark world bringing relief and encouragement for our hearts and minds today. Jesus offers life and peace and perspective that allows us to rise above our current circumstances; his words instill hope for eternity that fills our minds with anticipation for what is to come, and with real power for living our lives in the everyday hope that the Bible offers. Be encouraged. Jesus is leading the kingdom of God and directing its growth in the world today. Despite the darkness and perversity of this world, God is still very much in control and is working to establish his rule and reign in the hearts and circumstances of those who choose to follow him. Written by Mike Vander Klipp, a senior editor with the Zondervan Bible Group, where he’s been privileged to work for the past three decades. Some of the content is adapted from the NIV Study Bible, Fully Revised Edition and the NIV Cultural Backgrounds Study Bible.

The following is an excerpt from “Liberty Further Extended,” a manuscript that Lemuel Haynes penned in 1776 which attacked the slave trade and upheld the liberty that is equally precious to each and every person. The essay is included in its entirety in Selected Sermons, part of the Crossway Short Classics series. Liberty as a Jewel As tyranny had its origin from the infernal regions, so it is the duty and honor of every son of freedom to repel her first motions. But while we are engaged in the important struggle, it cannot be thought impertinent for us to turn one eye into our own breast for a little moment and see whether through some inadvertency or a self-contracted spirit we do not find the monster lurking in our own bosom, that now while we are inspired with so noble a spirit and becoming zeal, we may be disposed to tear her from us. If the following would produce such an effect, the author should rejoice. It is evident, by ocular demonstration, that man by his depravity has procured many corrupt habits that are detrimental to society. And although there is a way prescribed whereby man may be reinstated into the favor of God, yet these corrupt habits are not extirpated, nor can the subject of renovation boast of perfection, till he leaps into a state of immortal existence. Yet it has pleased the majesty of heaven to exhibit his will to men and endow them with an intellect that is susceptible of speculation. Yet, as I observed before, man, in consequence of the fall, is liable to digressions. But to proceed. Liberty and freedom are innate principles that are unmovebly placed in the human species, and to see a man aspire after them is not enigmatical, seeing he acts no ways incompatible with his own nature. Consequently, he who would infringe upon a man’s liberty may reasonably expect to meet with opposition, seeing the defendant cannot comply to nonresistance unless he counteracts the very laws of nature. Liberty is a jewel that was handed down to man from the cabinet of heaven and is coequal with his existence. And as it proceeds from the supreme legislature of the universe, so it is he who has a sole right to take it away. Therefore, he that would take away a man’s liberty assumes a prerogative that belongs to another and acts out of his own domain. One man may boast a superiority above another in point of natural privilege; yet if he can produce no convincing arguments in vindication of this preeminence, his hypothesis is to be suspected. To affirm that an Englishman has a right to his liberty is a truth that has been so clearly evinced, especially of late, that to spend time in illustrating this would be but superfluous tautology. But I query whether liberty is so contracted a principle as to be confined to any nation under heaven; nay, I think it not hyperbolical to affirm that even an African has equally as good a right to his liberty in common with Englishmen. The Origin of Privilege I know that those who are concerned in the slave trade do pretend to bring arguments in vindication of their practice; yet if we give them a candid examination, we shall find them (even those of the most cogent kind) to be essentially deficient. We live in a day wherein liberty and freedom are the subjects of many millions’ concern, and the important struggle has already caused great effusion of blood. Men seem to manifest the most sanguine resolution not to let their natural rights go without their lives go with them—a resolution, one would think, everyone that has the least love for his country or future posterity would fully confide in. Yet while we are so zealous to main tain and foster our own invaded rights, it cannot be thought impertinent for us to candidly reflect on our own conduct, and I doubt not but that we shall find that subsisting in the midst of us that may with propriety be styled oppression, nay, much greater oppression than that which Englishmen seem so much to spurn at. I mean an oppression that they themselves impose upon others. It is not my business to inquire into every particular practice that is practiced in this land that may come under this odious character. But what I have in view is humbly to offer some free thoughts on the practice of slave keeping. Oppression is neither spoken of nor ranked in the sacred oracles among the least of those sins that are the procuring cause of those signal judgments that God is pleased to bring upon the children of men. Therefore let us attend. I mean to write with freedom, yet with the greatest submission. And the main proposition that I intend for some brief illustration is this, namely, that an African— or, in other terms, that a Negro—may justly challenge and has an undeniable right to his freedom and liberty. Consequently, the practice of slave keeping that so much abounds in this land is illicit. Every privilege that mankind enjoys has its origin from God, and whatever acts are passed in any earthly court that are derogatory to those edicts that are passed in the court of heaven, the act is void. If I have a particular privilege granted to me by God and the act is not revoked nor the power that granted the benefit vacated (as it is impossible but that God should ever remain immutable), then he who would infringe upon my benefit assumes an unreasonable and tyrannic power. It has pleased God to “ma[k]e of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth” (Acts 17:26). And as all are of one species, so there are the same laws and aspiring principles placed in all nations; and the effects that these laws will produce are similar to each other. Consequently, we may suppose that what is precious to one man is precious to another, and what is irksome or intolerable to one man is so to another, considered in a law of nature. Therefore we may reasonably conclude that liberty is equally as precious to a Black man as it is to a White one,and bondage equally as intolerable to the one as it is to the other, seeing as it affects the laws of nature equally as much in the one as it does in the other. But, as I observed before, those privileges that are granted to us by the Divine Being, no one has the least right to take from us without our consent; and there is not the least precept or practice in the sacred Scriptures that constitutes a Black man a slave any more than a White one. Shall a man’s color be the decisive criterion whereby to judge of his natural right? Or, because a man is not of the same color with his neighbor, shall he be deprived of those things that distinguish him from the beasts of the field? I would ask, whence is it that an Englishman is so far distinguished from an African in point of natural privilege? Did he receive it in his original constitution? Or by some subsequent grant? Or does he boast of some higher descent that gives him this preeminence? For my part I can find no such revelation. It is a lamentable consequence of the fall that mankind has an insatiable thirst after superiority one over another, so that however common or prevalent the practice may be, it does not amount, even to a circumstance, that the practice is warrantable. God has been pleased to distinguish some men from others as to natural abilities but not as to natural right as they came out of his hands. But sometimes men by their flagitious practice forfeit their liberty into the hands of men by becoming unfit for society. But have the African sever as a nation forfeited their liberty in this manner? Whatever individuals have done, yet, I believe, no such challenge can be made upon them as a body. As there should be some rule whereby to govern the conduct of men, so it is the duty and interest of a community to form a system of law that is calculated to promote the commercial interest of each other, and as long as it produces so blessed an effect, it should be maintained. But when, instead of contributing to the well-being of the community, it proves baneful to its subjects over whom it extends, then it is high time to call it in question. Should any ask where we shall find any system of law whereby to regulate our moral conduct, I think there is none so explicit and indefinite as that which was given by the blessed Savior of the world: “Whatsoever ye would that men should do to you: do ye even so to them” (see Matt. 7:12). One would think that the mention of the precept would strike conviction to the heart of these slave traders—unless an avaricious disposition governs the laws of humanity. If we strictly adhere to the rule, we shall not impose anything upon others but what we should be willing to have imposed upon us were we in their condition. I shall now go on to consider the manner in which the slave trade is carried on, by which it will plainly appear that the practice is vile and atrocious as well as the most inhuman. It is undoubtedly true that those who emigrate slaves from Africado endeavor to raise mutinies among them in order to procure slaves. Here I would make use of some extracts from a pamphlet printed in Philadelphia a few years ago, the veracity of which need not be scrupled, seeing it agrees with many other accounts. Every privilege that mankind enjoys has its origin from God . . . This article is adapted from Selected Sermons by Lemuel Haynes. Lemuel Haynes (1753–1833) was a Reformed minister and theologian from West Hartford, Connecticut. Born to an unknown White woman and African-American man, he spent the first twenty years of his life as an indentured servant. In 1785, Haynes became the first African-American preacher ordained in the United States and later received an honorary Master of Arts degree from Middlebury College.