Quote the Whole Scripture, and Rest in God's Grace

Many people trust God for eternity, but they believe that they are on their own on earth once they are saved.

Many Christians today are like Job, who was an upright man, but tried to maintain his own righteousness:

"There was a man in the land of Uz, whose name was Job; and that man was perfect and upright, and one that feared God, and eschewed evil." (Job 1: 1)

Unlike Abraham, who had a covenant with God based on faith, Job was merely an "upright", or ethical man, one who trusted in his own efforts to maintain his right standing before God:

 "And it was so, when the days of their feasting were gone about, that Job sent and sanctified them [his children], and rose up early in the morning, and offered burnt offerings according to the number of them all: for Job said, It may be that my sons have sinned, and cursed God in their hearts. Thus did Job continually." (Job 1: 5)

When tragedy struck, losing his livelihood, his family, and even his health, he maintained that he was still righteous. Like Job, many Christians love to quote Job 13: 15:

"Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him: but I will maintain mine own ways before him."

Most Christians focus on the first par, but neglect the second part.

“But I will maintain mine own ways before him.”

Believers trust God for salvation, but they continue to have faith in themselves or their faith when it comes to trials and troubles in daily living.

Yet Paul puts asunder such self-righteous presumption:

"I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.

"I do not frustrate the grace of God: for if righteousness come by the law, then Christ is dead in vain." (Galatians 2: 20-21)

“The life I live, I live by the faith of the Son of God.” For the believer, it is God’s faith that sustains us – this is the gift of God, along with the grace to believe on Him for salvation and sanctification (Ephesians 2: 8-9).

In the Church today, too many people are ignorant of the scriptures, and thus they are slow of heart to believe (Luke 24: 25), because the Word in its growing fullness is not taking root in their hearts. By quoting part of scripture, while holding onto one’s own integrity, believers are missing out on the awesome power of God’s grace in their lives. To the extent that we trust in our efforts, then we are under law, and therefore we end up under the curse, for to earn God’s blessings through the law leaves us open to attack, cursing, weak and beggarly elements all. God’s grace cannot function to the extent that we insist on trying on our own.

Hence Job suffered terrible at the hands of Satan, and today many Christians fall into temptations and frailties, all in attempting to keep the law, which no man can keep.

Read the Scripture in its entirety, receive the revelation of God’s love and good pleasure in your lives, and watch your faith connect with God and His good promises for us.

Are You in the Fire? You Will Not Be Burned!

One of the grandest scenes of faith on display is in the third chapter of Daniel:

"Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, answered and said to the king, O Nebuchadnezzar, we are not careful to answer thee in this matter.

"If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of thine hand, O king.

"But if not, be it known unto thee, O king, that we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up." (Daniel 3: 16-18)

The Hebrew Children Meshach, Shadrach, and Abed-nego refused to bowed down to the Golden Image of their lord and patron, the King of Babylon.

They believed that the Lord would come through for them. Yet I was always caught up in the near-fatalism of “Even if He does not, we will not bow down to your gods.” I wanted to have that kind of faith, one in which I would hold onto God no matter what happened.

I used to interpret that verse in line with Job 13: 15:

"Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him: but I will maintain mine own ways before him."

When I first read this verse, I was really impressed with this man, a good guy who was going out of his way to declare his faithfulness in God. Many believers emphasize the first part of the verse, as if such faith demonstrates a courageous trust in God. On the contrary, it exposes the misunderstanding and distorted view that Job had of God the Father. He actually believed that God would even consider killing him! The truth of God's character is anything but:

"Say unto them, As I live, saith the Lord GOD, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked; but that the wicked turn from his way and live: turn ye, turn ye from your evil ways; for why will ye die, O house of Israel?" Ezekiel 33: 11)

Jesus revealed the heart of His Father for the world, including you and me:

"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." (John 3: 16)

God does not want to kill anyone, nor is that his express intention for anyone.

Unlike Job's fatalism, the three Hebrew children in Daniel 3 demonstrated Biblical faith, seeing that which is invisible (Hebrews 11: 27). They knew and believed that God loved them (1 John 4: 16), and their knowledge of God's character expanded their trust in Him.

If you are going through a fiery trial, expand your knowledge of God's love for you. The greater your knowledge of God's love, the greater your faith in Him, and He will cause you to reign in life (Romans 5: 17)

With God's Own Faith, We Walk Through Every Fire

By spiritual coincidence, while admiring the faith of the Meshach, Shadrach, and Abed-nego, I was also reading the following verses in Isaiah 43:

"But now thus saith the LORD that created thee, O Jacob, and he that formed thee, O Israel, Fear not: for I have redeemed thee, I have called thee by thy name; thou art mine.

"When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee: when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon thee." (Isaiah 43: 1-2)

I was intrigued by the second verse, in which the Lord promised His people that they would walk through fire, yet not be burned. The very text reminded me of the three Hebrews who survived the fiery furnace:

"Then Nebuchadnezzar came near to the mouth of the burning fiery furnace, and spake, and said, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, ye servants of the most high God, come forth, and come hither. Then Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, came forth of the midst of the fire.

"And the princes, governors, and captains, and the king's counsellers, being gathered together, saw these men, upon whose bodies the fire had no power, nor was an hair of their head singed, neither were their coats changed, nor the smell of fire had passed on them." (Daniel 3: 2-27)

I believe that the three Hebrew children heard, received, and believed the words from Isaiah the prophet, who preached  to the Israelite captivity in Babylon. Isaiah 39 details the reign of Hezekiah, the last great king of Judah, then Isaiah 40 and onward prophesies of the Coming Messiah. The Lord speaks of redemption.

Now faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ (Romans 10: 17). The three Hebrew children heard that they were redeemed, they were reminded of their status before God, as righteous people. And one of the promises for righteous people: “You will walk through the fire, and you will not be burned.”

These three Hebrew children did not have faith in themselves, or in their faith -- as Job did. They had faith in God, that through His word delivered by the prophet Isaiah, they believed that the Lord would protect them.

With assured confidence, therefore, the three Hebrew children could stand up to the King of Babylon, because they knew that they stood with the King of Kings, who had redeemed His people out of Egypt, as the Israelites utterly spoiled their slave-masters and then the Lord wiped out the rampaging and pursuing Egyptians. If God could do all that, then He would certainly save them from a fiery furnace.

Today, the believer has a greater assurance. God sent His own Son, who bore the fiery wrath of God's judgment. God's Son became sin, that we may be redeemed from Sin and the Curse of the Law. He endured intense heat, saying, “I thirst” God sent His own Son to die for us, to make us one and righteous before Him. If God spared not His own Son, will he not freely give us all things with Him? (Romans 8: 31-32)

Not only does God promise to take care of us through all things, but He grants to us the same faith as His own Son, Jesus Christ (Galatians 2: 21). Indeed, we are on holier ground, in complete righteous standing before God, filled with the Holy Spirit.

Just as Christ appeared in the fire with the three believing Children (Daniel 3: 24-25), so Christ is now in you, and will neither leave you nor forsake you (Hebrews 13: 5). Take God at His Word. You can trust with absolute, unshakable certainty that God will save you through whatever trial you are going through. Rest in the knowledge that you are redeemed in Him, and that as a redeemed and righteous child of God, you will indeed walk through the fire, and you will not be burned.

We Have One Task -- Believe On Him!

"Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent." (John 6:29)

We are called to live a life of faith, not works.

Our works absent the Holy, indwelling presence and power of the Holy Spirit are filth rags:

"But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away." (Isaiah 64:6)

We in and of ourselves are dirty, unclean, not fit to be in the presence of the Almighty, All Holy God Most High. Our "righteousnesses" (lit. צִדְקֹתֵ֑ינוּ tzid·ko·tei·nu -- a a manifold plurality of good works ), our attempts to make ourselves clean, with our own means and efforts, only make us more dirty, as well as tired and frustrated with our own exertions.

Jesus has a better way for us:

"Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.

"Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.

"For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light." (Matthew 11:28-30)

We must come to Him in faith. We come to faith in God the Father through His Son Jesus Christ, for faith in ourselves, or even faith in faith will not accomplish anything.

When Jesus addresses His hearers who labor, he indicates those who are beaten, worn out, exhausted. Regarding heavy burdens, Jesus is speaking of those overloaded with the insurmountable burden of the Law, which man cannot fulfil in his own efforts. Jesus excoriated the Pharisees for this:

"For they bind heavy burdens and grievous to be borne, and lay them on men's shoulders; but they themselves will not move them with one of their fingers." (Matthew 23:4)

When Jesus offers to us His yoke, He is not asking us to die on the Cross with Him. That is a death, a sacrifice which only he could accomplish. Rather, He is inviting us to be led by the same power -- the Holy Spirit:

"And Jesus being full of the Holy Ghost returned from Jordan, and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness." (Luke 4:1)

We all can be led by the Spirit, of course:

"For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God." (Romans 8:14)

and

"But if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law." (Galatians 5:1)

In the Holy Spirit, we find rest for our souls:

"Let us labour therefore to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief." (Hebrews 4:11)

And notice how the writer of Hebrews points out the cause of falling from this unrest: unbelief.

By faith, therefore, in the Word of God, being led by the Holy Spirit, we can do all things.

We believe on Him, His Holy Spirit is conceived in us, and He achieves all things through us. What blessed reprieve from grief and toil; what blessed relief for every sinner who lets Christ dwell in him by faith.

In Christ, We are All the 1%

Following the Occupy Wall Street Movement spilling out all over the country, and now flooding the world, there are a lot of people who feel exploited by a small class of elites. Outrage has sprung up world-wide against the "1%"

Yet the Bible teaches that everyone of us can be the "1%" if we let the Lord find us and takes us as we are, instead of fighting for our rights on our own terms.

The Parable of the Lost Sheep illustrates the supremacy of the "1%" over the "99%":

"What man of you, having an hundred sheep, if he lose one of them, doth not leave the ninety and nine in the wilderness, and go after that which is lost, until he find it?" (Luke 15:4)

Imagine that, the shepherd will naturally go after the one lost sheep. Here, though, the "1%" is not some empowered elite taking advantage of the other "99%", but rather the one most down-and-out of them all.

How does the shepherd react once he has found this straying sheep? He rejoices!:

"When he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing.

"And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and his neighbors, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost!’

"I tell you that in the same way, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance." (Luke 15:5-7)

Having read this parable, many may feel puzzled. Why rejoice over a wayward animal that refused to stay with the fold? Such a sheep will set the example to the other creatures, that the shepherd is kind and cares for the welfare of all.

As far as fallen humanity is concerned, however, there is not one righteous:

"They are all gone aside, they are all together become filthy: there is none that doeth good, no, not one.

"Have all the workers of iniquity no knowledge? who eat up my people as they eat bread, and call not upon the LORD." (Psalm 14: 3-4)

In effect, we all have need of repentance, we all need to be cared for, rescued from our sin, and restored to favor by the Good Shepherd, Jesus Christ.

Then how can we be like this "1%", like this sheep?

First, we have to recognize that we are lost. We realize this when we find that we have stepped outside of God's rule, leaving the sheepfold, or in our case, having broken God's law. We have all inherited a sin nature through our first parents Adam and Eve.

After we recognize our lost state, we allow the Lord, the Good Shepherd to rescue us, bearing our burden on His shoulders, which Jesus Christ did when He died on the Cross at Calvary, bearing our sin, shame, disease, and death. By His stripes, we are healed; by His death, our eternal life is sealed, and we become one with Him.

Instead of storming the public square to take down Wall Street, by faith we can receive the grace of God shed abroad for us by Christ's sacrifice. We do not have to begrudge the "1%" on earth, when we can become the "1%" in Christ!

Transformed as I Walk in Him

In my Christian walk, I faced another issue, one which nagged at me more than I had realized. I still struggled with empty thoughts, fearful and pessimistic thinking. I would have negative emotions and thoughts from the past and fear for the future. I never knew what to do, because these bad thoughts would distract me.

Then I discovered that we have all that we need in our spirit man:

"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ:" (Ephesians 1: 3)

I learned that the power to forgive was a gift which I had already received:

"Whose soever sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them; and whose soever sins ye retain, they are retained." (John 20: 23)

As for remission of sins, I have received it already:

"To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved.

"In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace;" (Ephesians 1: 6-7)
So, in truth, in my spirit, I am forgiven, I am at peace with God. As for my body and mind, those I yield to Him for renewal:

"I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.

"And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God." (Romans 12: 1-2)

My body I submit to God, by faith trusting His Spirit to guide me, as He promised:

"Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come." (John 16: 13)

My mind is also renewed by the Holy Spirit through the Word of God:

"But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord." (2 Corinthians 3: 18)

We receive all we need from the Holy Spirit, who lives within us, who transforms more into the likeness of God's Son. It's a life of faith, not works. It's a life of rest, not toil. It's a life of trust, not self-confidence. Contrary to the ways of man, God's ways are superior, and the Way lives and works within us.

His Faith is My Life

I know that Christ lives in me, but it took me a long time to learn that He lives through. The Christian life cannot be lived by us. He must live it out in us:

"Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me.

"I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing." (John 15: 4-5)

Still, I would get stuck in "my part", always waiting for some sign, something outside of me to tell me what was the right or the wrong thing for me to do.

Then I learned about the faith lives in me:

"I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.

"I do not frustrate the grace of God: for if righteousness come by the law, then Christ is dead in vain." (Galatians 2: 20-21)

It is Christ who now lives in me. His life animates me. I am not living this life -- it is Christ who lives in me, who leads me, who guides me and every believer. He us living out this life in me right now.

The problem for every believer, as Paul explains, is that we frustrate the grace of God in our lives. How does this happen? By trying to be obedient:

"Christ is become of no effect unto you, whosoever of you are justified by the law; ye are fallen from grace.

"For we through the Spirit wait for the hope of righteousness by faith.

"For in Jesus Christ neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision; but faith which worketh by love." (Galatians 5: 4-6)

So, I do not try to live this life. I receive by faith, taking God at His Word, trusting that He is and rewards those who desire Him, that He is working in me.