Sinless

Posted on by pastordavidturner

Hebrews 10:14–For by one offering He has PERFECTED forever those who are being sanctified.

Perfected!?  Jesus has made you perfect.  The gospel, clear as day, declares that those who have put their trust in Jesus have been made perfect because of his blood, his sacrifice on the cross.  That’s a big deal.  He does not say, “one day you will be perfect” but rather “he (Jesus) has perfected” you forever. That means it is his work; he did it for you by his grace.  And that means it has already been done; it’s nothing you can earn or work towards.  It’s done, paid for, accomplished, finished.  And–it gets better–It’s forever!

So, what does “perfected” mean?  Is this how God sees us; are we actually perfected? Or is there some hidden meaning in the Greek (original language of the New Testament)? Is it just some exaggeration or figure of speech?  Let’s observe what the author of Hebrews describes “perfect” to mean by backing up and reading the context surrounding verse 14 (by the way you may want to read all of chapter 9-10).

Hebrews 10:1-4–For the law, having a  shadow of the good things to come, and not the very image of the things, can never with these same sacrifices, which they offer continually year by year, make those who approach PERFECT.  For then would they not have ceased to be offered? For the worshipers, once purified, would have had no more consciousness of sins. But in those sacrifices there is a reminder of sins every year. For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and goats could take away sins.

First, the author explains that the blood of animals can never make us PERFECT (see verse 1).  He then goes on to describe what perfection would look like in verse 2-4: purified, conscious cleared of sin, and sin removed from us.  The law and sacrificial system in the mosaic covenant was intended to expose our sin and show our need for Christ; to remind us (verse 3).  Paul makes this clear when he says, “Therefore the law was our tutor to bring us to Christ, that we might be justified by faith (Galatians 3:24).”  It’s not the law that was the problem but our inability to save ourselves and walk in God’s ways (you can read more about this in Romans 7-8).

Before Christ, we were not perfect–far from it.  We were filled with sin and dead in it.  Because of sin’s defilement we did not have access to God.  We were separated from him and his eternal life.

But then, Christ came.  The author of Hebrews makes it clear that what Christ did was sufficient, complete, and effective.  What we could not do, God did for us.  Because of the blood of Jesus, we have been made perfect.  And he explains what perfect looks like: sin has been removed, our conscious has been cleared, we have been purified, and we have access into God’s presence.  Observe how he defines perfect in Christ here: ‘”Their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more.” 18 Now where there is remission of these, there is no longer an offering for sin. 19 Therefore, brethren, having  boldness to enter the Holiest by the blood of Jesus… (Hebrews 10:17-19).’

And so, because of Jesus you are perfect: your sin has been forgotten and removed, you have been purified and your conscious has been cleared.  You are sinless in Christ!  This is the truth, this is reality for those who are in Christ. The price has been paid, it is finished.  God has already forgiven you and even removed your sin from you.  You are pure, clean, right with God.  You are holy and without blame in his sight.  You can come to God with a clear conscious and with boldness knowing he loves and accepts you.  And all of this is by his grace, not your works.  In other words, it is somthing God has done for you, paid for with his blood, and not something you did or do for God, not somethig you have or can ever earn.  You only receive it by faith.  Like any gift, we simply say “thank you” and open the present.

“For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast” (Ephesians 2:8-9).

I am aware of what many think when they hear about this amazingly gracious gift of salvation.  Many feel unworthy to receive or think “if this is true, then why do I still sin and/or struggle with temptation?  And since I do, does that mean I’m not really a christian (I.e. Saved)?”  l will explain this in more depth in another post but, for now, consider this: you struggle with sin because you are born again.  You hate it.  You are a bad sinner.  Paul explains that our flesh and spirit are battling in Galatians 5:16-18.  Though we are perfect in Christ (meaning sinless) we are still in process, still being sanctified.  That is why it says, “He has perfected those he is forever sanctifying” (Hebrews 10:14).  He did the perfecting and he is doing the sanctifying.  It’s his ongoing work in us. And if he began the work in you, he will finish it (Philippians 1:8).  If he perfected you and if he is sanctifying you, you can be sure he is for you and not against you.  He is committed to your development, success, wholeness.  You can trust him, follow him, enjoy him.

Thoughts, questions?  Please comment below or contact me.

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God enjoys you even in the process

Posted on by pastordavidturner

Philippians 2:12-13 “WORK out your own salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who WORKS in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure.”

Each of us is called to take responsibility for our own relationship with God.  We are not saved by works but there is a work of faith involved in our relationship with God.  We are to partner with the Lord by faith, with a deep desire to please him, in order to grow in Christ-like character.  Our participation is required.

But, for many of us, that call to growth is frightening.  We fear failing. We fear that, if we are not perfect, God or others will be angry, disappointed, or displeased with us.  We fear we will be rejected.  And that fear shuts down our motivation and robs us of courage.  We either strive in our human effort, driven by guilt, to earn his acceptance; or we hide in shame, victimized by bondage; or we try to fake out God or others with religious behavior.  All of these unhealthy responses are rooted in a lie about God, rooted in fear.

In this passage, Paul explains what our motivation to partner with God should be rooted in saying, “FOR it is God who works in you….”  Notice we are called to work with him, but our work is a response to something he has already done and is doing.  The truth is that God loves us and is pleased with us even while we are in process. He is working in us to will and to do FOR his good pleasure!  Our work is a partnering with a work he is already doing.  Like kids helping their dad carry a heavy box, he is bearing the weight and we are simply participating for our development and his enjoyment.  He does not need our help.  We are the ones who need his strength.  He is not sitting while we work, but he is calling us to get up and work with him for our benefit and growth.  This truth frees us from fear, guilt, shame, and hiding. This truth motives us to grow and fills us with courage.  God is already pleased. He enjoys us in the process, he likes working with us and in us.

I say it again: our work is a partnering with a work he has already done and is doing.  Hebrews 10:14 says, “For by one offering He has perfected forever those who are being sanctified.”  First, God has already made us perfect in Christ.  Because of the blood Jesus shed for us we are already perfected, forgiven, righteous, free, accepted, loved, adopted, and more. He has “predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will (Ephesians 1:5).”  According to the pleasure of his will!  That means you are his kid because he wanted you to be.  He made you, he chose you, he saved you, he adopted you.  And the very fact you are his, makes him glad.  He is filled with pleasure simply because you are his. Second, he is the one sanctifying us.  He is making us increasingly like his Son Jesus.  He is healing us, shaping and molding our character, renewing our mind, transforming our lives. It’s his work in us.

The goal: conformed to the likeness of Christ (Romans 8:29)  Yes!  When God is all done with his work, we will look just like Jesus.  We will want what he wants, love how he loves, think how he thinks, be holy as he is holy.  This is the work he is committed to.  It’s already paid for and he is already doing it in us by his Spirit.

The process: he is working in us to will and to do.  He covers the whole process.  The willingness is given to us and the doing.  He gives us what we do not have–that’s grace.  Where we lack in motivation or willingness, he gives us that.  Where we lack the courage or ability or wisdom to do he gives us that too.  He is the author and finisher; it’s his work, strength, righteousness, power, grace in us from beginning to end.  The work he began he will finish, he will not fail.

And so He already enjoys us in Christ, he enjoys the process of making us like Jesus and he will enjoy when we are complete.  We can’t lose, we can’t fail.  He won’t reject us.  He is the one bearing the weight of the work.

So get up, come out of hiding.  Let God enjoy you.  Let him transform you.  It’s worth it.  You will not become like Christ by staying stuck in fear, shame or guilt.  You won’t become like Christ by hiding from God and trying to get “better” on your own before coming to God.  You will only become like Christ by being with Christ.  It’s his work in you and the only power for transformation is through yielding to him.  It’s by knowing him that we become like him.  So enjoy God, enjoy the process, enjoy life.

In the house

Posted on by pastordavidturner

Luke 12:42-44
And the Lord said, “Who then is that faithful and wise steward, whom his master will make ruler over his household, to give them their portion of food in due season? Blessed is that servant whom his master will find so doing when he comes. Truly, I say to you that he will make him ruler over all that he has.”

As in all the parables, Jesus is giving us a paradigm to understand life in his Kingdom. Because we’ve been born again into a new world, the Kingdom of God, we must have our minds renewed in order to understand God’s ways and our response.

Jesus often taught that his church is the family of God, a household, where he is Lord and master and where we are all children and servants of God.

In explaining what is expected of us, he taught that every believer, every follower of Jesus, is given an assignment and the authority to fulfil that assignment. In Mark 13:34, he says the kingdom “is like a man going to a far country, who left his house and gave authority to his servants, and to EACH his work, and commanded the doorkeeper to watch.” Jesus is the master, we are his servants. EACH is given a work to do until he returns.

Every believer is a disicple and every disciple is a minister. You have a role, a part to play in God’s redemptive work on earth. You, as a christian, are called to ministry (which simply means serving others). You have a purpose. You have been anointed and empowered by the Holy Spirit. You have been given authority in Jesus’ name to represent his kingdom.

Every believer is in the house: loved and adopted by God and given an assignment to complete. Every believer is under the leadership, headship, Lordship of Jesus Christ. Every believer is of equal value and worth. Every believer is called to love others, practice hospitality, pray for others, minister in the power of the Spirit, share the gospel, care for the poor, comfort the hurting, stand for justice, grow in christ-like character. There are not two callings or levels of christians; as if some are called to holiness and some are not, or as if some are called to ministry and some are not.

And yet, he gave a distinct role to leaders in the church. He has assigned certain servants to RULE in the church, in the house of God. Did you see that in luke 12:43: Who then is that faithful and wise steward, whom his master will make RULER over his household, to give them their portion of food in due season”? Jesus taught that pastors and elders are given a realm authority in the church.

First, he calls them servants who steward or manage the house. These pastors are not the head of the church, they are not the source, savior, or lord. Jesus is the Head. These pastors are servants of Christ. They are managers of HIS house. They, like all the other servants of God, have been given an assignment. They will be held accountable and they will be rewarded if they serve faithfully. They are saved by grace and are dependent on the Head, Christ, like every other believer.

Second, these leaders of the church are given authority over the other servants in the house of God. They are to rule over the house, stewarding or managing the household for their master. What is their assignment? What is their authority? To feed the other servants! They are servants of God serving the other servants. Their job is to serve; to feed. Everyone is working hard, serving the master, bringing the kingdom to earth as it is in heaven. Everyone has an assignment. But some servants need to ensure that everyone is card for, fed, safe. Some are given a distinct role to ensure everyone is focused and ready for the masters return. Just like we all need the physical nourishment to live and work, so we need the nourishment from the Word of God in order to serve the Lord and the world he loves. This is the calling and assignment of pastors and leaders in the church. A leader’s job is to feed God’s servants so they can do their job. In other words, a pastor’s ministry is to equip others to do their ministry.

Pastors are not suragot christians. They are not the only ministers. They are not the only ones with a calling. In fact, their calling is found in empowering others to fulfill their calling. Therefore, a pastor’s success is found in the successful fulfillment of the household’s (church’s) collective calling and the successful fulfillment of each servant’s individual calling. A pastor’s authority is only to empower, protect, feed, keep every servant focused on the mission, help every servant fullfil their calling and become all they were designed to be.

This is the same thing Paul taught in Ephesians 4:12-13 when he wrote, “And He Himself GAVE SOME to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, FOR the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, till we ALL come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ….” Notice the apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers are gifts GIVEN to the church; servants of God serving the saints. In verse 12 he defines their purpose: FOR the equiping of the saints for the work of ministry. One person’s anointing or calling does not diminish another’s, but rather it is given as a grace or gift to bring forth another’s anointing or calling. It’s not just that the leaders do ministry, but do the equipping (which means to heal, mend, restore, repair, resource, empower, release, support) so the rest of the saints can do their ministry to the others in the church and in the world.

This truth about the Kingdom calls EACH of us to do our part. Jesus is calling EVERY believer to seek him, know him, love him, become like him, and partner with him in bringing redemption to this world through the power of the Gospel. And he is calling SOME to be equippers. All the servants of God need to fulfill their assignment for the sake of the world. The church is the hope of the world, salt and light, bringing the life of heaven to earth. And so, the church needs faithful and wise servants, leading them and nourishing them with the Word of God; we need pastors and leaders in the church to mend and empower EVERYONE to fulfill their calling.

Let’s be found faithful!

God does not want to do it for you, but with, in and through you.

Posted on by pastordavidturner

John 15:5 “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.

God does not want to do it for you, but with, in and through you.

The image of the vine and the branch is a powerful and real image of our connection to Jesus.  Vine: He is the source.  Branch: we are the conduit.  In order for fruit to be produced, the plant requires the vine and the branches.

Simple truth: we need Jesus.  Without him we can produce nothing of his Kingdom, of his character, of his power, for his glory.  Without him there is no eternal life.  But without us nothing can be produced either.  His kingdom does not come, his power is not released, his character is not manifested in the world except THROUGH us.  If we do not abide, if we do not surrender to his leadership, trust in his provision, rely and depend on him, then the life that is in him will not flow through us to produce fruit.  In order for the redemptive Kingdom of God to manifest in our lives and in this world we must be connected to the vine.

This is why faith is the essential response to the grace of God.  In Fact, Hebrews 11:6 tells us that without faith it impossible to please God.  Grace is his work; faith is our response.  As Paul says in Ephesians 2:8, “For it is by grace that you have been saved through faith….”  Notice God’s work of healing and redemption (saved) is by grace AND through faith.  Not one or the other, but his grace and our faith cooperating.

What God wants to produce for us in this world must flow in and through us.  God wants us to be fruitful.  He wants to bless us and make us a blessing to the world.  He wants his redemptive kingdom manifested in the world.  He has provided all we need through the finished work of the cross and the ongoing work of his Spirit.  And we are the conduits.   Our participation is essential.  He has decided that he will do nothing on earth except through the willingly participation of human beings.  Why?  Because he gave us this world as our home to manage (see Genesis 1-2).  He gave us dominion over this world.  We are responsible.  And so his work of redemption must flow in and through us.  He will not bypass you or your will.  He won’t produce something without a transformation of your character and an alignment of your will.  He does not want to do something for you but with, in and through you.

This is why our intimate connection of trust and dependence on the Lord is vital.  That is why Jesus calls us to ABIDE.  This is why our character development is vital.  This is why we need our mind renewed, our souls sanctified by the transforming power of the preached Word of God.  This is why submission to his leadership and to healing community is vital.  Everything he produces must done with us and flow in and through us.

Want to start a friendship with God or deepen it?  Next steps.

Got thoughts or questions?  Your turn; comment below.