sin

Dec

2019

Journeying toward forgiveness

Originally published on The Electric Gospel on September 20, 2015. In a summer class, participants were asked to write a doctrinal or personal article, pondering some aspect of our faith in Christ. Desiree Alge penned a very personal account and has graciously granted permission for me to share her story on The Electric Gospel blog. I deeply admire Desiree for her openness and willingness to talk about difficulties in life and overcoming them through Christ.

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Forgiveness — My Journey

by Desiree Alge

When children wrong their friends or their family, they are taught to apologize and ask for forgiveness. The trouble we find, though, is that it is simple to say the words, but to actually mean them is a bigger task. Sure, everyone makes mistakes, but coming clean and admitting the wrong you’ve done takes much more courage. And even harder is the challenge of forgiveness.

Sometimes I wonder if my mother was ever taught this fundamental lesson. After a rough childhood, she chose to follow the same path as her parents, with alcohol and drugs consuming her life. This vicious cycle led her to be these same people she hated. She became a wife and a mother at sixteen, divorced at eighteen, and was sent to prison several times in her young life. Because of the custody battles, I was sent back and forth between homes until I was six years old. During those years, I was left alone for days, stranded to take care of my baby brother and sister. I was surrounded by parties with alcohol, drugs, and drunk men. I dreaded the days my grandma dropped me off with my mother, and anxiously awaited her arrival to take me home with her. Even years after, my mom bribed me with gifts, but always failed to show up after I’d be waiting on the porch for hours. I felt let down, alone, and unworthy.

I never realized how hurt I was until I became older. Until recently, I hadn’t spoken or seen my mother in over ten years! Our first conversation left me bitter and angry. It contained no apologies or even a hint of regret. I caught myself thinking, “It’s impossible to forgive someone when they don’t even care!”

As I was contemplating all of the mean names I could call my mother, my mind led me to the cross. If Christ had this same attitude towards me as I did towards my mom, I would be sunk. There have been so many times in my life where I’ve been defiant, knowing right from wrong, yet choosing the wrong path. I’ve also ignored repentance, thinking that, “I’m forgiven anyways, so what’s the big deal?” If God decided to forgive only based on apologies received, I would have a lot of sins still on my slate. If Jesus forgives all of the terrible sins that I’ve committed, then who am I to withhold forgiveness from a fellow sinner in desperate need of God’s love?

I am human. I am sinful. I hold bitterness in my heart. I don’t want to be a prisoner to my mother or to resentment. I don’t want her to have this hold on me. Although I may feel like I’m punishing her by withholding forgiveness, I’m actually only hurting myself. The path to heal bitterness is through forgiveness.

No one deserves for their errors to be wiped clean — neither me nor my mother. We are on the same level of sin, no matter the earthly opinion. Whether I’m disrespectful or a liar, I deserve the same eternal punishment just like someone who neglected and abused her children. The words that stem from “forgive” are mentioned in the Bible 127 times and the concept is written many more! It is obviously a beautiful message that God wanted us to know and to live. Because of God’s forgiveness and grace, we receive eternal life! In Ephesians, it says: “Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you” (Ephesians 4:32). Why wouldn’t we want to share that peace with others?

Dec

2019

Heart, soul and mind

Originally published on The Electric Gospel on November 5, 2014.

This blog post is from a dear friend whose faith and passion I admire much … and yet she realizes how much she needs the passion of Christ in order to be passionate for Christ.

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Passion for Christ

by Danica Scharlemann

Think for a moment of something that you are passionate about. Perhaps it’s football–not only do you play, but you know the statistics of every NFL player and you know every rule to the game. You’ve joined every fantasy league you could. Every Sunday you are glued to the television; you never miss a game. You’re simply addicted to the sport. … Maybe your passion is cooking. The moment you open the kitchen pantry, you are taken to another world. You instinctually begin creating formulas for fresh, delectable recipes. … For me it’s piano. I’ve sat at the piano bench and lost myself for hours in the meditation of the sounds of each key. I wonder at the immeasurable amount of music that can be played with only 88 keys, 8 distinct notes, 10 agile fingers, 1 pianist.

Now, these are all great passions, wonderful blessings from our Lord, but think about how much time you dedicate to these hobbies. For some of us, they may consume our lives, at least for a season. During his years of ministry among us, Christ preached, “Love the Lord your God with all of your heart and with all of your soul and with all of your mind” (cf. Matthew 22:37, Mark 12:30, Luke 10:27). Read that again, “Love the Lord your God with all of your heart and with all of your soul and with all of your mind.” Have you ever done anything with all of your heart and soul and mind? God wants us to be passionate about him, loving him with every single part of us. If someone asked me to make a list of things I’m most passionate about, I doubt the first thing to come to my mind would be God. I would turn to things that interest or fascinate me, i.e. piano, math. I may mention my dedication to family and friends or loyalty to my place of employment. I don’t know how far down my list I’d have to write until I thought to mention God. Yet whenever I hear this passage, I simply brush it off as something that we are told time and time again, something that every Christian instinctually does. Yes, I go to church every Sunday. I’ve attended private Lutheran schools my whole life. For goodness sake, I attend a college that prepares people to be ministers! Yet none of those facts are any type of proof that I love my Lord with ALL my heart, ALL my soul, and ALL of my mind. It’s as if we try to keep our relationship with Christ separate from our daily interests when we need to be integrating him into every moment of our lives.

We will always fail when trying to love God with all of ourselves. No matter how much passion we feel for our Lord, it is never enough. Yet, when we had no love for Christ, when we were still sinners, Christ died for us (Romans 5:8). God felt so passionately for you, that he sent his Son to live perfectly and die gruesomely, just so that you may have life. This is the Passion of our Lord, Jesus Christ. He loves us with all of his heart, all of his soul, an all of his mind. His love for us is immeasurable–incomparable with anything that we have ever experienced.

Now I don’t expect you to leave after hearing this and become some type of born again Christian, speaking only Biblical truths and studying only your Bibles. But perhaps if we spent as much time studying God as we do the football games each Sunday, perhaps then we may grow in passion for our Lord. Perhaps then we won’t become stagnant in our studies of Scripture. Perhaps then we may begin to learn what it means to love our Lord with all of our hearts, all of our souls, and all of our minds … as Jesus fills us up more and more in our hearts, our souls, our minds.

Dec

2019

Judgment Day – books are opened

Originally published on The Electric Gospel on November 15, 2014.

I once was asked to deliver a chapel talk on a college campus concerning Judgment Day. This was the message I offered.

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Balancing our Books

by David Sellnow

All of us have a natural tendency to be bookkeepers. We think like accountants, keeping track of things. We keep track of every sort of statistic for our sports teams. We use pedometers to log how many steps a day we are walking. We monitor how many likes we have on Facebook or how many followers we have on Twitter.

You see the bookkeeping tendency already at a young age in children. They like to keep track of the chores they have accomplished, get check marks on their chore chart or even better, little stickers or stars. Little bookkeepers like to see their accounts growing.

I see the tendency in college students. If you’re a college student, you may count up every point you can get on every assignment that you’re assigned. And if an assignment is graded and the professor didn’t give you as many points as you wanted, you go up after class and talk to him and try to argue for more points. Or you email the prof and ask, “Did you dock me for such and such? Because I think I did such and such, or your instructions didn’t specifically tell me I had to do such and such.” Or maybe you don’t have the nerve to complain to your professors, but you gripe among your friends about the grades you get. “His grading is so unfair. I deserve more points.” Students are eager bookkeepers, wanting a gradebook full of points.

Benjamin Franklin was a bookkeeper. He kept books to chart his own good deeds each day.

In 1726, at the age of 20, Ben Franklin set this goal for himself: “I conceiv’d the bold and arduous project of arriving at moral perfection. I wish’d to live without committing any fault at any time.”

In order to accomplish his goal, Franklin developed and committed himself to a personal improvement program that consisted of living 13 virtues, things like industriousness and temperance and sincerity and moderation.

In order to keep track of his adherence to his listed virtues, Franklin carried around a small book of 13 charts. The charts consisted of a column for each day of the week and 13 rows marked with the first letter of his 13 virtues. Franklin evaluated himself at the end of each day. He placed a dot next to each virtue each had violated. His goal was to minimize the number of marks, thus indicating a “clean” life free of bad marks in his book.

Franklin admitted he never got the book completely clean. (He liked beer too much, and flirting with women, and other foibles.) But he said, “Tho’ I never arrived at the perfection I had been so ambitious of obtaining, … yet I was, by the endeavour, a better and a happier man than I otherwise should have been.”

[Information taken from ArtOfManliness.com.]

I don’t know how happy Ben Franklin was at the end of life when it was time for his final accounting before the Lord of all virtues. But it seems he didn’t rightly understand how the Lord keeps books in eternity. And while Ben Franklin was more meticulous than most about his bookkeeping, I’d say the way he thought about the bookkeeping process of his life is the way too many people think of the books of their lives. And that’s a problem.

The Bible section for today is a vision from Revelation that talks about books. It’s also the section of the Bible that the website Listverse.com, which bills itself as “the original top 10 site” on the web, lists as the #1 Most Horrifying Moment in the Bible.

This is Revelation 20:11-15 …

I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. The earth and the heavens fled from his presence, and there was no place for them. And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of life. The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books. The sea gave up the dead that were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them, and each person was judged according to what they had done. Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. The lake of fire is the second death. Anyone whose name was not found written in the book of life was thrown into the lake of fire.

Being thrown into the lake of fire is indeed a horrifying thought. But let’s talk about those books. What are those books? What’s in those books? Everyone – whether great or small – has a book. When Judgment Day comes, “the dead are judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books.” Does that scare you? Have you done enough for your account book to be in passable condition?

Well, actually, you know what the Bible says about how much you have to do. You have to have a perfect book, a book that records flawless keeping of all God’s laws, impeccable and constant virtues. You can be as diligent as Ben Franklin and still your book comes up short of what it needs to be. So how can anyone be saved? Those who are saved are those whose names are found written in the book of life. If your name is in the book of life, the lake of fire poses no threat to you. Don’t be afraid, Jesus saves you.

You do have an account book with God in heaven. Think of it as a book that has two columns. One column is for credits to your account of virtue – all the good deeds you are expected to do in keeping with God’s commandments. The other column records your debits or sins – every time you have violated God’s commandments. When the books are opened in heaven, you need a book that has a completely clean record in the sin column – not a single sin standing against your name … and a completely full record in the righteousness column – that every opportunity you ever have in life to do the right thing, do a good deed, fulfill a commandment of God, you have done so.

Does anyone have a book like that? One person does. Only one person. One person who stood in our place and lived the life we ought to live, constantly and consistently obeying the Father’s will. One person who was “tempted in every way just as we are—yet he did not sin” (Hebrews 4:15). One person has a record book with a completely clean, unstained column in regard to sin, not a single sin to list. One person has a record book with a completely perfect, full account of good deeds in the column marked for righteousness. Jesus Christ is the one person with a perfect book. But when we become connected to Jesus, when the Spirit of God, through the Word of God, brings us to trust in Jesus by faith, our names are written in the book of life. And for those whose names are written in the book of life, the book of Jesus’ life is credited to us also as the book of our lives – even though we didn’t do it, even though we didn’t deserve it, even though we haven’t lived it. We are granted all the credit of Jesus—all the goodness and righteousness of his life. We are forgiven of all the sins we have committed, on account of all that Jesus suffered in our place—even death on the cross under God’s horrible judgment. As one of Christ’s apostles summed it up for us: “God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God” (2 Corinthians 5:21). And so when our books are opened, they reveal these sorts of things: Jesus will say to us, “I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me” (Matthew 25:35,36). We will wonder when we did all those things. But all that Jesus did will be already credited on our account. And on top of that, Jesus will say to those whose names are written in the book of life, “Whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me” (Matthew 25:40).

So don’t fear the lake of fire. And don’t fear that when your book is opened on Judgment Day, you won’t have enough in it. You won’t need to beg the Father in heaven to give you more points because you didn’t fulfill his assignments well enough. You won’t be arguing that you didn’t understand his expectations and can he please just give you another chance. Believing in Jesus Christ, your name is written in the book of life. Believing in Jesus Christ, the book of your life that God opens on judgment day will show what Jesus has done for you and what you have done in Jesus. And all will be well.

Don’t be afraid. Jesus saves you.

Dec

2019

Washed by Jesus

Originally published on The Electric Gospel on September 5, 2014.

Washed by Jesus

by Sarah Allerding

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Sexually immoral, idolaters, adulterers, thieves, drunkards, slanderers, swindlers … That is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God (1 Corinthians 6:10,11).

We all have sinned many times in our lives. Some of our sins may stick in our minds more than others. They may even come back to haunt us. Maybe we start to think that the sin from our past was too much for God possibly to forgive. Is that the case? Did Jesus die only for some sins? Are there sins too great for God to forgive?

Think about the men who nailed Jesus to the cross. They were killing the Son of God. What did Jesus say? Did he say, “Father this sin is too great to be forgiven; I want these men to spend eternity in hell for what they are doing”? No. That is what they deserved but instead, Jesus said, “ Father forgive them because they don’t know what they are doing” (Luke 23:34). Imagine that! The Son of God was willing to forgive the men who crucified him. In fact, at that very moment he was dying for their sin and the sins of the whole world. He was dying for you and me.

We may have done some things we are really ashamed of. Jesus died for those sins too. There is no sin that Jesus did not die for. We were washed, sanctified, and justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God. That is who we were. Our past sins no longer define who we are. We are forgiven children of God.

Thank God he does not give us what we deserve!

Prayer:

Dear Jesus, thank you for dying on the cross to take away our sins. When the sins from our past come back to haunt us, please help us remember that we were washed, sanctified, and justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God. In your name we pray. Amen.

Dec

2019

The beginning of a story

Originally posted on the Electric Gospel on October 24, 2019.

The following is an excerpt from a brief book of mine that illustrates truths from Psalm 23. The book is called, The Lord Cares for Me (click the link to go to the page on Amazon).
Another book, Faith Lives in Our Actions, is also available.

The Story of Charlotte

(The start of the story)

Charlotte ran a business in New Orleans. Her business didn’t advertise on the radio or in the newspaper. Word on the street and pictures on the Internet attracted customers. Charlotte ran an escort agency. Actually, it was a prostitution business. Charlotte had been a prostitute herself. Now she was in her mid-30s and had taken over as the head of the agency. The younger girls now worked for her, providing sex for money for sex-hungry men. Charlotte kept a large share of the money for herself, because she found customers and made arrangements and kept things safe for her girls. Charlotte’s business made lots of money. She lived well in a comfortable apartment that was home for Charlotte and her son, Logan.

Logan had been a mistake. Charlotte had gotten lazy about pregnancy protection sometimes when she had been selling herself for sex. When she got pregnant, she decided to have the baby. She’d never had anyone to love, and the baby meant the world to her. Now Logan was five years old and ready to start school.

Charlotte’s business kept her up through the overnight hours most nights. She slept during the morning hours, into the early afternoon. Logan stayed with a neighbor as his babysitter during those hours. Logan’s babysitter, Maria, had a five-year-old boy of her own. Maria was a Christian. She knew how Charlotte made her living. She didn’t quite have the courage to talk to Charlotte about it, or know what to say if she did. But she invited Logan to come along to a summer activity program at her church in the mornings, and Charlotte said it was okay.

Logan loved the church program. He told his mom, “I want to go to school there all the time!” The church operated a school, so Charlotte filled out papers to get Logan enrolled.

Maria spoke to the school’s director. “There’s something you maybe should know about Logan’s mom,” she said, and told him the type of work Charlotte did. The school director replied, “Well, it’s no different for Charlotte than for any other parent at our school. We ask all parents to take a series of Bible classes so they’ll know the faith that we’re teaching to their children in our school. If Charlotte agrees to do that, her son is as welcome in our school as anyone else.”

Charlotte did agree. She began classes with the pastor’s assistant, Stephen. Once a week, Stephen met with Charlotte in the afternoon. He taught Charlotte about God and about how God created the world and the first people. He explained how some of the angels God had created rebelled against him and became devils, and how Satan, the leader of the evil angels, tempted the first man and woman away from God. Stephen said, “After the first people disobeyed God, all people have been stuck in sin ever since.” He warned that sin is a real problem – and not just for our lives with one another as human beings.

Stephen told Charlotte, “Sin has created a horrible separation between us and God. The Bible tells it like it is: ‘Your sins have separated you from your God. They have caused him to turn his face away from you. So he won’t listen to you’ (Isaiah 59:2). And our separation from God is a permanent thing, a deadly thing. ‘People will die because of their own sins’ (Ezekiel 18:20). ‘When you sin, the pay you get is death’ (Romans 6:23). Because we are sinners and live in sinful ways, we will die forever, be in hell forever. Jesus warned us about the way we use our bodies to commit sins. He said, ‘If your hand or foot causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It would be better for you to enter the kingdom of heaven with only one hand or one foot than to go into hell with two hands and two feet. In hell the fire burns forever’ (Matthew 18:8). We can’t actually help our situation by cutting off body parts. But Jesus’ words were meant to show us just how serious a problem sin is.”

Charlotte was uncomfortable with these lessons from the Bible, with all the harsh words of God’s law. The 10 Commandments bothered her. She knew she was a sinner. But she didn’t like to think about it. She told herself she was just making money in the best way she knew how, to support herself and her son. She didn’t like the fact that God was judging her life when the world seemed such an unfair place and God never seemed like he was there to help her anyway.

As uncomfortable as she was, Charlotte continued to meet with Stephen for Bible lessons. Sometimes she argued. Sometimes she got upset. But she kept thinking about these things.

Once Stephen saw that Charlotte was thinking seriously about sin, he shifted his message. “You know, Charlotte, the Bible isn’t all commandments and condemnation. I’ve started there because that’s where the story starts – with our sins against God. But there’s much more to the story than that. There’s good news for us too – amazing good news. Jesus warned us about the dangers of our sins, yes. But Jesus mostly came to do something about our sins, to fix the mess we have made for ourselves. The Bible says, ‘Those who do what is sinful belong to the devil. They are just like him. … But the Son of God came to destroy the devil’s work’ (1 John 3:8). The damage the devil had done was undone by Jesus. Jesus is God along with the Father in heaven and the Holy Spirit. But he became human. He became one of us to rescue us. God says that people ‘have bodies made out of flesh and blood. So Jesus became human like them in order to die for them. By doing that, he could destroy the one who rules over the kingdom of death. I’m talking about the devil. Jesus could set people free who were afraid of death. All their lives they were held as slaves by that fear’” (Hebrews 2:14-15).

Charlotte looked at Stephen like had seen into her soul. “For a long time in my life,” she admitted, “I wanted to die. But I was too scared of dying to actually end my life.” She told Stephen more of her story: “I had run away from home as a girl because home was awful, but life on the streets was worse. I survived, but I hated what I was doing. I wanted to die but couldn’t. I wanted to live but it wasn’t really a life. I grew numb to the kind of life I was living. I just made it about the money. Then Logan came along. Now I want to make a decent life for him, an actual life for both of us.”

“The only actual life there is,” Stephen said, “is life that God gives us. Jesus said, ‘Anyone who hears my word and believes … has crossed over from death to life’ (John 5:24). Having our lives connected to Jesus is the one thing that matters, the one thing that is needed, as Jesus put it (Luke 10:42).

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There’s more to Charlotte’s story. Read the rest in The Lord Cares for Me: Stories and Thoughts about Psalm 23 (available at Amazon.com).

Dec

2019

A thought for Christmas

Originally published on the Electric Gospel on December 24, 2018.

A few years ago, I served as editor for a booklet of Advent devotions. As a thought on Christmas for this year, here’s a message from that booklet as a reminder of why Christ came into this world. My thanks to Emily Seeber for providing this holiday blog installment. Christmas blessings to all Electric Gospel readers.

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A Savior for All the Worst Sinners

by Emily Seeber

Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners–of whom I am the worst.

– 1 Timothy 1:15

“At church would you rather sit next to a visitor who had received a speeding ticket or a recently released felon?” That’s a rather awakening question for many of us as we evaluate ourselves. Society gives levels to crimes, such as warning, misdemeanor, and felony. Unfortunately, our sinful natures like to do the same. We try to build ourselves up and convince ourselves that we are pretty good (or at least better than most).

However, sometimes we need to remind ourselves, “Does God assign levels to sins?” Even to think of it that way misses the point of God’s law. A single sin damns a person to hell; we are all equal. God’s law reminds us that our comparison isn’t between us and others but rather between us and God. We will never measure up. All must say with Paul, “I am the worst.”

But all of us “worst” sinners” have a trustworthy assurance from God, “Christ came into the world to save sinners.” God looked at this sin-ridden world and said, “Yes, you are the worst, but I love you. Here is my Son.” Through Christ’s sacrifice, we are a new creation. No longer slaves to sin but children of God: forgiven and blameless in God’s sight. Together let us share this message throughout all creation, “We are all the worst of sinners, but God didn’t leave us. In fact, he saved us.”

Questions to ponder:

When are times that you feel most tempted to compare yourself to others?
What would be ways to show love rather than judgment in such situations?

Prayer:

Dear Lord, I thank you and praise you for the gift of your Son, Jesus. Please forgive me for those times when I act in judgment rather than love. Please help me to remember that I am equal to everyone around me when I am tempted to consider myself better. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.

Dec

2019

From stained to righteous

Originally published on the Electric Gospel on September 10, 2017.

From Stained to Righteous

by Kimberly Buchholz

Imagine if every person on earth were issued a special robe to wear. What if this “special robe” kept a record of a person’s sinful thoughts, words, and actions – marked by stains? Any time one sinned, a stain would appear on the robe as a representation of the person’s innate depravity. The stain of sin becomes a visible account of a person’s corrupt heart and mind, day after day recording the balance of sin like a wearable ledger. While a bleak image, this stained robe represents the obstacle lodged between us and the righteousness of God due to our sin, ruining our fellowship with him.

Unfortunately, the scenario runs even deeper when we consider what Scripture says. Because we were “sinful from the time [our] mother conceived us” (Psalm 51:5), our stained “robe of sin” would wrap us from birth, our account balance of sin already maxed. By nature, we are born enemies of God, steeped in sin, and deserving nothing more than God’s wrath (Ephesians 2:3). God is just and cannot tolerate sin. Sin earns God’s judgment and condemnation.

But there is good news, and we find it in the gospel message of Christ. The apostle Paul explained that Jesus Christ brings salvation from the eternal death we earn through sin (Romans 6:23). Through faith in Jesus, we receive forgiveness of sin. When a lost and condemned sinner receives the message of salvation found in the gospel, the Holy Spirit goes to work through the power of God, bringing “salvation to everyone who believes” (Romans 1:16). By the sacrifice of his Son, God cancels our account balance, and our stained robes are washed clean by the blood of Jesus. Not only are we forgiven for the sins of the past, but our merciful Father goes even further by keeping our ledger free of recorded sin forever. He spares condemnation for the believer, protecting us from accusation, all thanks to his undeserved love for us, and not for the sake of anything we’ve done or could ever do (Ephesians 2:8).

God takes his redemptive plan a step further when he completely covers the obstacle of our fellowship with him by placing Jesus’ robe of righteousness upon us. While our own robes have been washed by his forgiveness, they continue to reveal our sinful human nature, which is in battle with the perfection God demands through his law. It is not enough that we are forgiven, but we also are to be holy and righteous in his sight. He is holy and demands such holiness from his creation (Leviticus 19:2). God is not only just, but he is also merciful. So, a great exchange took place, and the apostle Paul tells us how God did this: God made Jesus, “who knew no sin, to be sin on our behalf.” Why? “…so that we might become the righteousness of God in him” (2 Corinthians 5:21). God exchanged our guilt and sin for the perfect status Jesus has. Therefore, we are justified.

By definition, justification is “the act of God whereby human kind is made just or free from guilt of penalty of sin” (Dictionary.com) Four important words from this definition are integral to the doctrine of justification: “the act of God.” Notice that “the act of God” completely eradicates any human involvement. We didn’t have to hand him our stained robes, begging his mercy, to predicate his forgiveness; nor does sin relegate us from the freedom Jesus won. Rather, God distributes his forgiveness by means of grace he has chosen: the gospel in Word and sacraments. The blessing of forgiveness is already there for all because Christ’s work of salvation is complete. Paul’s letter to the Romans further explains Jesus’ atoning sacrifice as the plan of God’s salvation “to demonstrate his righteousness…and to be the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus” (Romans 3:26).

Is forgiveness of sin, then, only a possibility of faith? This leads to an important message of the pure gospel. Paul outlined exactly who wears the stained robes of sin when he said, “ALL have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). But he concludes by proclaiming Christ’s redemptive work, applied to the same collective group – that all “are justified freely by God’s grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus” (Romans 3:24). Nowhere does God’s Word say that one must believe before he is forgiven. Forgiveness of sins is complete and does not need to be completed by faith or any other work. The letter to the Romans (chapter 5) highlights two points regarding justification. We are “justified through faith” (Romans 5:1). Faith, then, is the instrument of forgiveness in which salvation is received. In the same chapter, Paul wrote that we are “justified by Christ’s blood” (Romans 5:9). Objective justification was satisfied by Jesus’ bloodshed on the cross. God offers it to all, but some reject his gift, forfeiting the benefit of heaven. So, while God has justified ALL people, there is not a universal salvation for all mankind. Jesus’ redemptive work does not mean all will receive eternal life. In fact, the Gospel writer John is quite direct in his warning against those who reject God’s Son, stating that they “will not see life, for God’s wrath remains on them” (John 3:36).

The doctrine of justification is one of great peace for all believers. As one pastor put it, it is “the shining jewel of our faith.” It is central to our teaching of salvation. We must first understand, through God’s law, that we are sinful, shamefully donning stain-riddled robes of sinfulness. Through the sacrifice of our Lord, those robes are washed clean, never to record another act of sin again. Finally, he covers our sinful nature by robing us in Jesus’ righteousness, his righteousness imputed to us. Our forgiveness, dependent on nothing we do, gives us a sure foundation for faith in what Christ has done for us. He has justified us, declaring us “not guilty.”

Dec

2019

Seeing through new eyes

Originally published on The Electric Gospel on June 6, 2017.

The Lens of Faith

by Maggie Frey

I don’t have perfect vision. Reading anything up close is fine, but if I want to see something far away or read a projector screen, my eyesight just doesn’t cut it. I need something to help me focus in on what it is I want to see. Like most people that need vision help, that aid comes in the form of glasses. The glasses allow me to see things from further distances with more ease. I don’t have to squint to read a line of text or try and figure out who the blurry figure across the room is; I already know.

The same thing happens in our spiritual lives. From birth, sin has clouded up our vision. We stumble through life, unsure of our steps, blindly feeling our way around, hoping that we catch onto something that might save us. Some people might say that they’re “fine”, that they don’t need any help and are okay with stumbling around unsteadily, tripping onto any and every obstacle in their path.

Thankfully, there is a solution to this blinding problem. God provided us with the best kind of “lenses,” free of charge, and they show us the only way that can save us from the obstacles in our path: Jesus. Through the lenses of faith, we are able to focus on Jesus, who shows us the way to heaven by his death and resurrection.

We no longer have to stumble our way through life, unable to see the obstacles in our path. Through faith, Jesus makes it clear that he is the way to salvation. We still may stumble or fall, with sin moving in to cloud our vision again. But through devotions, church, and other ways that connect us to God’s Word, we get a stronger prescription, still making clearer what the way to salvation is. We are able to encourage others along with the writer of Hebrews when he writes, “Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith” (Heb. 12:2).

Jesus will always be the focus through our lens of faith. We never have to doubt that he will leave or that the path of life will change. Even through our stumbles, Jesus is the one thing that will never change.

Dec

2019

God doesn’t hold grudges

Originally published on the Electric Gospel on February 25, 2017.
Author’s name withheld by her request

God doesn’t hold grudges

She could not forgive herself. She was convinced that God was angry with her over her sins. She felt the need to keep begging for forgiveness as though God were holding a grudge against her. She just assumed that until God was satisfied that she had suffered enough for her sin, he would not help her if she prayed for help. The reason this woman felt this way was because, as a child, someone would grow coldly silent for long periods of time and hold grudges against her. She tried and tried to get forgiveness but nothing worked. As a child, she didn’t have many experiences and this was normal to her. She ended up translating this behavior to God.

Maybe you endured someone’s silent anger when you were growing up. Maybe it is happening now. Maybe you tried and tried without success to get this person to forgive you. As a result of this, you may have a hard time forgiving yourself, thinking that God is treating you the same way. Maybe you feel like you can’t be forgiven. Maybe you can’t forgive yourself.

God is not like this. He did not wait until you “suffered enough” to send Jesus to be your Savior. If he had, Jesus never would have come, because we deserve nothing less than eternal suffering for our sins. “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8). Jesus died for you when there was nothing good in you. That is how much he loves you. Because Jesus was punished for you, your sins have been forgiven in full. “He was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed” (Isaiah 53:5). There is no need to earn your forgiveness by begging God. Your forgiveness was accomplished when Jesus died on the cross. When he looks at you, God sees Jesus’ righteousness in place of your sins. Because of this, you can live in peace, knowing that Jesus already did everything necessary for you to be forgiven. God does not hold grudges, no matter what it is you have done. Like Jesus said to the woman caught in adultery, he will say to you, “‘Then neither do I condemn you…Go now and leave your life of sin’” (John 8:11).

Dec

2019

Starving Soul

Originally published on The Electric Gospel on January 22, 2017

Starving Soul

by Brooke DeAnda
Eating disorders are very serious and scary diseases, even deadly. The same is true for spiritual eating disorders. Your soul needs to be nourished daily, just as the body does. Let this poem remind you just how to feed your soul.

You’re so hungry but you won’t eat
Take this bread and you can breathe
Let the other life be born
And drink the wine that you long for
You were filled with emptiness
He loved you despite your sickness
Your heart was small and hostile still
Because your hunger was not fulfilled
He can give you what you need
Hear his word and you will see
Sick inside, you are dead
But he won’t give up on you yet
Anorexic is your soul
No wonder why you are so cold
He can give you warmth inside
Please just promise you will try
With the water he can give
Wash away your frigid skin
He will hold you when you’re clean
From your sickness you are free

Forgiveness — My Journey

Passion for Christ

Balancing our Books

Washed by Jesus

The Story of Charlotte

A Savior for All the Worst Sinners

From Stained to Righteous

The Lens of Faith

God doesn’t hold grudges

Starving Soul

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