Posted on Tuesday, February 14, 2023

The Great Breakup

Finally Free To Simply Enjoy God’s Grace

UNSHAKEABLE: The law, itself, was not evil. In fact, the law was “holy, right and good.” (Rom 7:12) But the Old Testament law could not deliver people from their sin. And its whole purpose was to remind people under its demands of that very impossibility. God, the Lawgiver, would have to step in himself and do what we, ourselves, couldn’t do through our efforts to obey the law. You see, if God’s own law cannot rescue us from sin, how much less can any other human law or religious demand or personal effort rescue us! Only grace from the Lawgiver that comes through his Son, Jesus Christ, can get that job done for us. And best of all, under that grace we are divorced from the obligation of even trying to live up to the impossible standards of the law. Rather, by that great breakup we are free to simply enjoy what God has provided. And that, my friend, is life!

Unshakeable Living // Romans 7:4 (Message)

When Christ died he took that entire rule-dominated way of life down with him and left it in the tomb, leaving you free to “marry” a resurrection life and bear “offspring” of faith for God.

They say that breaking up is hard to do. Whoever “they” are, they’re right. Whatever else, good or bad, painful or pleasurable we might experience from a breakup, the one thing it does is to release those involved from the responsibilities of the relationship.

In this opening section of Romans 7, Paul uses the illustration of a marriage breakup — in this case, a breakup caused by the death of a spouse — to illustrate a Christ-follower’s release from the obligations of the Old Testament law. Now keep in mind that Paul’s primary purpose is not to establish a theology on divorce and remarriage — so don’t go there. What he has to say about that must be considered in the light of the rest of scriptural teaching on the matter.

Rather, Paul is using this marriage breakup illustration to make a different point. And the point is that when a marriage relationship is broken apart by death, the living partner is morally, emotionally, and physically free to pursue another relationship. What bound the person before — which would include all the bad baggage that often attends human relationships — is now null, void, and ineffective. In principle, the living spouse is completely free. Any leftover obligation the living spouse carries is empowered only by the credibility they, and only they, voluntarily place in that obligation.

So as it relates to the Old Testament law, when Christ died those old obligations were completely canceled. His death is representative of our death to the law, and therefore our death to the sin the law revealed and empowered. In Christ, we have gone through a painful, but good breakup with the law that leads to sin and death.

Paul’s illustration here, and the teaching that follows, wonderfully explains the profound contrast between that impossibly burdensome life under the law with the new and life-giving relationship made possible by grace. Through Christ’s death, we have been divorced from the old and are now married to the new — hallelujah! Watchman Nee describes it well in his book, The Normal Christian Life:

Grace means that God does something for me; law means that I do something for God. God has certain holy and righteous demands which He places upon me: that is law. Now if law means that God requires something of me for their fulfillment, then deliverance from law means that He no longer requires that from me, BUT HIMSELF PROVIDES IT. Law implies that God requires me to do something for Him; deliverance from law implies that He exempts me from doing it, and that in grace He does it Himself.

Now keep in mind that the law, itself, was not evil. (Rom 7:14) In fact, the law was “holy, right and good.” (Rom 7:12) What Paul is revealing is simply that the Old Testament law cannot deliver people from their sin. And the whole purpose of the law was to remind people under its demands of that very impossibility. God, the Lawgiver, would have to step in himself and do what we, ourselves, couldn’t do through our efforts to obey the law.

So what all of that means for you and me is that if God’s own law cannot rescue us from sin, how much less can any other human law or religious demand or personal effort rescue us! Only grace from the Lawgiver that comes through his Son, Jesus Christ, can get that job done for us.

And best of all, under grace we are divorced from the obligation of even trying to live up to the impossible standards of the law. Rather, by that great breakup we are free to simply enjoy what God has provided. And that, my friend, is life!

Get Rooted: Read Romans 7:1-25 and memorize Romans 7:24-25, “Oh, what a miserable person I am! Who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin and death? Thank God! The answer is in Jesus Christ our Lord.” Throughout Romans, it seems as if Paul has been pounding on the law. Was the law bad? Obviously not! So if the law is not bad, yet it doesn’t lead to true righteousness before God, what is its purpose then? Do a word search in Romans and Galatians (www.biblegateway.com is a good source) and read each context in which law is mentioned and see if you can come away with a better understanding of the purpose of the law that was revealed in Old Testament scripture.

Posted on Friday, February 10, 2023

Cost Benefit Analysis

Before You Sin, Count the Cost

UNSHAKEABLE: One of the strongest antidotes to the ongoing and habitual sin in my life is the spiritual discipline of doing a cost-benefit analysis before I commit it the sin. That’s what Paul is asking us to do in Romans 6:21. If in everything we do — whether it be acts of unrighteousness, or simple errors of judgment, or the outright, and deliberate plunge into sin — the inalterable law of sowing and reaping is in effect (so says Galatians 6:8-9), then wouldn’t it be wise to first stop to consider the outcome of our actions?

Unshakeable Living // Romans 6:21

What benefit did you reap at that time from the things you are now ashamed of? Those things result in death!

Most of us struggle with it; a blessed few don’t — or at least that’s what they say. I’m talking, of course, about our struggle with sin. Even though we have been redeemed from our sins, credited with Jesus’ righteousness, set free from the law of sin and death, given a new identity, and set on the path to a glorious destiny in Christ, we tend to drift back into the sins that once held us in bondage before our salvation. That’s how powerful sin is and how susceptible we are to its pull.

Now please understand that I am not excusing the inevitable surrender to sin. I am only explaining it. Sin seems to win a fair share of skirmishes with us, and if it weren’t for God’s grace and the reality of unlimited forgiveness (1 John 1:9), we’d be toast!

But as satisfying as grace and forgiveness are, I want more! I want to be free from all sin. I don’t want to lose any more skirmishes. I don’t want sin to have any more dominion over me — not in the least.

Now is that really possible? Is my total and complete sanctification possible? Can I attain sinless perfection in this life? Of course, our positional sanctification before God is an accomplished fact — remember, we’ve been credited with Christ’s righteousness, and as a result, we can’t get any more righteous than that before God! What I’m talking about here is practical sanctification. Can I be completely free from sin and holy in my everyday, moment-by-moment life in my Christian walk?

Some would say yes (the sinless perfection proponents); most would say that’s not possible—and I tend to side with the latter. But here’s what I do know for sure: One of the strongest antidotes to the ongoing and habitual sin in my life is the spiritual discipline of doing a cost-benefit analysis before I commit it the sin. That’s what Paul is asking us to do in Romans 6:21. If in everything we do — whether it be acts of unrighteousness, or simple errors of judgment, or the outright, and deliberate plunge into sin — the inalterable law of sowing and reaping is in effect (so says Galatians 6:8-9), then wouldn’t it be wise to first stop to consider the outcome of our actions?

Especially sin, as Paul makes clear in Romans 6:23, where he reminds us of the outcome of sin: “the wages of sin is death…” Not a pleasant outcome, is it? Ultimately, those who continue in sin will suffer eternal separation from God in a Christless eternity. But even for those of us who have been redeemed, not making an all-out effort to overcome sin will mean death to the fullness and favor of God that he’s promised to those who overcome. Sin blocks God’s best in our lives. And to me, that’s death!

I don’t want that, do you? No, you and I want life: “But the gift of God is eternal life,” verse 23 goes on to say. And, my friend, eternal life doesn’t just start the minute after you die. You see, each time we say no to sin there is a bit more of eternity that is unleashed in our hearts in the here and now. And the benefit of surrendering to God far outweighs any momentary high that comes from surrendering to sin — especially in light of the fact that sin’s “high” fades in a heartbeat, leaving in its wake only guilt, pain, and forfeiture of the blessings of obedience.

So, in light of that, what say we begin to practice a spiritual discipline? I will, and I hope you’ll join me. Before we pull the trigger on that next temptation, let’s just first run it through a little cost-benefit analysis.

My guess is, if we can commit ourselves to that simple practice, we aren’t going to be committing too many sins, because sin ain’t gonna be looking so good after all!

Get Rooted: Read Romans 6:1-23, then memorize Romans 6:23, “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Compare Romans 6:21 with 6:23. Do a cost-benefit analysis of the particular sin that you seem to struggle with on a recurring basis.

Posted on Monday, February 6, 2023

Give Me Chastity — Just Not Yet

Get Your Parts Right

UNSHAKEABLE: Dedication and consecration are an either/or thing: Either you are, or you aren’t. God wants you to be totally dedicated to him, fully consecrated in mind, body, heart, and energies. And he deserves it, particularly in the light of his costly investment of grace in your life. You have been saved by grace — God’s unmerited favor. You have been freed from the slavery of sin; you are no longer under the threat of death — all because of God’s rich and undeserved mercy. You have been given the free gift of eternal life — all at Christ’s expense. Even the faith to believe was supplied by God. Don’t you think that in response, God deserves you to give your whole body as an instrument to do what is right for his glory of him? Since God has graciously done all that, the least you can do is exert your will and consecrate your whole life as an instrument of praise.

Unshakeable Living // Romans 6:13

Use your every part of your body as an instrument to do what is right for the glory of God.

A little girl burst through the door one afternoon, excited to tell her mother what she had learned in school that day. “Mommy, guess what I learned today?” she blurted.

“What honey” her mother replied. “What did you learn?”

Pointing to her head, the girl began to describe her first official lesson in human anatomy, “Mommy, I learned about my parts. I learned that this is my head, and it’s where my brains are.” Then she held out her hands and looked down at her feet, “these are my hands and my feet, and they help me to do things and to go places.” Then she touched her chest and said, “here is my chest, and inside it is my heart. And it keeps me alive.” Finally, she put her hands on her tummy, and exclaimed, “and mommy, these are my bowels, and my bowels are A, E, I, O, U, and sometimes Y.”

She got most of her parts right, anyway. And that’s what Paul is calling us to do, to get our parts right — all of them — by offering them every day in every way for the glory of God.

But do you? Is your brain an instrument to do what is right? Are the things that you allow your mind to dwell on the kind of things that will bring glory to God? If your thought life were to be played out in living color on the big screen, what kind of rating would it be given: P? PG? How about R? What? Really…you’d have to give it an X? What about the kind of things you allow to come into your thinking? Are those things — the TV shows you watch, the TikTok reels you spend mind-numbing hours watching, the places you go on the Internet, the books you read — do they count as instruments of righteousness?

What about the things your hands do, or the places your feet take you? Would Jesus be comfortable doing those things and going to those places? What about your heart — have you closely guarded it, since it is the wellspring of life? (Prov 4:23) And your “vowels,” I mean, your bowels — what about what you take into your body? It is the temple of the Holy Spirit, after all. (1 Cor 6:18-20) How are you treating the temple, the dwelling place of God? Are you treating the ol’ bod more like a temple, or a sewage treatment plant?

Paul’s point in Romans 6 is that we have been freed from the slavery of sin in order to live in the freedom of a different kind of slavery: slavery to the glory of God. We are to be instruments of praise and righteousness with every fiber of our existence:

When he died, he died once to break the power of sin. But now that he lives, he lives for the glory of God. So you also should consider yourselves to be dead to the power of sin and alive to God through Christ Jesus (Rom 6:10-11).

Have you consecrated every part of your body as an instrument of righteousness to God, or are there some parts that are still doing their own thing? Far too many of us are like Augustine, who once prayed,

Oh Lord, give me chastity and continence, but not yet.

Dedication and consecration are an either/or thing: Either you are, or you aren’t. God wants you to be totally dedicated to him, fully consecrated in mind, body, heart, and energies. And he deserves it, particularly in the light of his costly investment of grace in your life.

You have been saved by grace — God’s unmerited favor. You have been freed from the slavery of sin; you are no longer under the threat of death — all because of God’s rich and undeserved mercy. You have been given the free gift of eternal life — all at Christ’s expense. Even the faith to believe was supplied by God. Don’t you think that in response, God deserves you to give “your whole body as an instrument to do what is right for the glory of him”? Since God has graciously done all that, the least you can do is exert your will and consecrate your whole life as an instrument of praise.

Now I’ll admit, what I’m suggesting won’t be easy. In fact, it will be the toughest thing you ever do. (See Romans 7:14-20 if you don’t believe me.) C.S. Lewis said,

The full acting out of the self’s surrender to God therefore demands pain: this action, to be perfect, must be done from the pure will to obey, in the absence, or in the teeth, of inclination.

St. Augustine finally got it; he surrendered his desires will to God, fully dedicating his wandering will to the glory of God. Having experienced that spirit renovation, Augustine made this observation:

Will is to grace as the horse is to the rider.”

Will! So the question is, will you? God has given you his grace. Now mount up and get going! Use your whole body — every part — as an instrument to do what is right to the glory of God.

Posted on Friday, February 3, 2023

Life Sentence

You Get To Choose Your Sentence — Eternal Death or Eternal Life

UNSHAKEABLE: If you are a follower of Christ, you already know that Christ’s substitutionary death commuted your own eternal death sentence and replaced it with an eternal life sentence. So what’s the big deal; how should this affect your life today? Well, among other things, when sin (both your sin nature and your individual acts of sin) tries to remind you that you are still under the death penalty of Adam’s disobedience (which, by the way, is so paradoxical: the world says there is no guilt while at the same time, the god of this world reminds you that you’re as guilty as sin), you can remind sin that Someone else paid the death penalty for you. You were a “Dead man [or woman] walking” but you have been declared “not guilty!” You have walked out of sin-prison a free man or woman by the gracious act of Another.

Unshakeable Living // Romans 5:17

For if, by the trespass of the one man, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive God’s abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ.

The problem is simple — yours and mine: We’re dead men walking. We are all under a death sentence because of Adam’s sin:

You know the story of how Adam landed us in the dilemma we’re in— first sin, then death, and no one exempt from either sin or death. (Rom 5:12, MSG)

Since Adam was the first human being created and, therefore the head of the human race, through this one man’s disobedience sin entered the genetic code of all humanity. That might seem unfair, but that’s the way it works. Every human being, without exception, even the best among us — the sincere, good-hearted, law-abiding citizen — is horribly infected with sin-tainted DNA:

Even those who didn’t sin precisely as Adam did by disobeying a specific command of God still had to experience this termination of life, this separation from God. (Romans 5:14, MSG)

And even though there was no real accounting for sin before the Law of Moses was revealed (“Yes, people sinned even before the law was given. But it was not counted as sin because there was not yet any law to break” Rom 5:13), the consequence of sin still reigned: Death for all—both literal, physical death and spiritual, eternal separation from God. What God created human beings to experience and enjoy — an intimate relationship and forever life in his presence — was erased the moment Adam chose to disobey God’s commands.

Yet as horrible as this situation is, the good news is that through another man’s obedience, Jesus Christ, our death sentence was commuted to a “life” sentence — a restoration of intimacy with God and forever life in his presence. You see, Jesus is the last Adam (“The Scriptures tell us, ‘The first man, Adam, became a living person.’ But the last Adam that is, Christ — is a life-giving Spirit” 1 Cor 15:45), and as the head of a spiritual race, our rebirth through him permanently alters our genetic code with life — eternal life that cannot be taken from us. Just as the first man’s singular act of disobedience (eating from a forbidden tree) had the universal effect of trumping life with death, so the last man’s singular act of obedience (dying on a tree) trumped death with life eternal for all who believe:

If death got the upper hand through one man’s wrongdoing, can you imagine the breathtaking recovery life makes, sovereign life, in those who grasp with both hands this wildly extravagant life-gift, this grand setting-everything-right, that the one man Jesus Christ provides? (Rom 5:17, MSG)

Of course, if you are already a follower of Christ, you know all this. So why does Paul keep bringing this up here in Romans? What’s the big deal; how should this affect your life today?

Well, for one thing, it ought to affect your attitude toward people who are far from God. They are genetically infected with Adam’s sin-tainted DNA and therefore sentenced to death. And there is just one way out: only rebirth into eternal life through Jesus Christ can rewire their Adamic genetic code. Don’t ever forget that! In an age that pressures us into believing that there are many ways to God, that if you are just good enough and sincere enough, then in the end, you’ll be just fine, remember the truth: In Adam, all die! But in Jesus, all live!

Here it is in a nutshell: Just as one person did it wrong and got us in all this trouble with sin and death, another person did it right and got us out of it. But more than just getting us out of trouble, he got us into life! One man said no to God and put many people in the wrong; one man said yes to God and put many in the right:

Yes, Adam’s one sin brings condemnation for everyone, but Christ’s one act of righteousness brings a right relationship with God and new life for everyone. 19 Because one person disobeyed God, many became sinners. But because one other person obeyed God, many will be made righteous. (Rom 5:18-19, MSG)

And for another thing, when sin (both your sin nature and your individual acts of sin) tries to remind you that you are still under the death penalty for Adam’s disobedience (which, by the way, is so paradoxical: the world says there is no guilt while at the same time, the god of this world reminds you that you’re as guilty as sin), you can remind sin that Someone else paid the death penalty for you. Your death sentence has been commuted to eternal life!

Should that make a difference in your life today? You bet! You were a “Dead man [or woman] walking” but you have been declared “not guilty!” You have walked out of sin-prison a free man or woman by the gracious act of Another.

Should that make a difference in your life today? You tell me!

Get Rooted: Write out a simple prayer of profound gratitude to God for the commutation of your death sentence to a life sentence of eternal joy in the presence of the One who made it possible by his substitutionary death on the cross.

Posted on Wednesday, February 1, 2023

The Right To Be Happy

Let’s Redefine Happiness Biblically

UNSHAKEABLE: In the Declaration of Independence, Thomas Jefferson wrote that each American, and I assume, every human being on earth, ought to have the right to the pursuit of happiness. That is a good thing, depending on the definition of happiness — which, I suspect, is an inexhaustible subject that we are still trying to work out to this day, some 300 years later. Jefferson said, mind you, the pursuit of happiness, but he did not say we had the right to be happy. Popular culture, driven largely by the modern media, has fed us that line for a generation or two now, but I think we who follow Christ would be much better if we disabused ourselves of that notion. We do not have the right to be happy! We do, however, have the right to a far better attribute: The right to be holy. Jesus Christ died on the cross to make sure of that.

We don't have the right to be happy. - Ray Noah

Unshakeable Living // Romans 5:3-4

And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; and perseverance, character; and character, hope. Now hope does not disappoint.

Thomas Jefferson wrote in the Declaration of Independence that each American, and I assume, every human being on earth, ought to have the right to the pursuit of happiness. That is a good thing, depending on the definition of happiness — which, I suspect, is an inexhaustible subject that we are still trying to work out to this day, some 300 years later.

Jefferson said, mind you, the pursuit of happiness, but he did not say we had the right to be happy. Popular culture, driven largely by the modern media, has fed us that line for a generation or two now, but I think we who follow Christ would be much better if we disabused ourselves of that notion.

We do not have the right to be happy! We do, however, have the right to a far better attribute: The right to be holy. Jesus Christ died on the cross to make sure of that. That is what Paul is spending a great deal of time describing here in Romans 5. In fact, Paul begins this chapter with these great words:

Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. (Rom 5:1-2)

We have been justified by our faith. That justification came by Christ’s substitutionary death on the cross, by which his righteousness was imputed to us. Since we are righteous through Christ by his death and through our faith, we are declared holy in the sight of a holy God, and, therefore secure for all eternity. By this, we rightly glory in this unshakable hope—which we might say is what true happiness is all about.

But there is more. Not only do we rejoice in this hope of the future glory of salvation soon to be realized, but we also rejoice in the glory of our present sufferings. Why? Because, as Paul says, those tribulations loosen this present world’s grip on our loyalties and produce in us the stuff of heaven: perseverance in our faith, Christ-like character, and the unshakeable hope of eternity — plus, I might add, an insatiable longing to see Jesus face to face.

So, my contention is that it is time we redefine happiness. True happiness is the imputed righteousness of Christ. True happiness is the hope of the glory of God. True happiness is the very tribulations that would make the normal earthling unhappy but reminds the heaven-bound believer of that very thing: that they are bound for heaven.

That’s the happiness I want to pursue.

Get Rooted: Write in your own words a concise biblical definition of happiness. Once you have done that, memorize it. I have a feeling you will have plenty of opportunities to share it with those who have a defective definition of happiness. At the very least, you will need to remind yourself of your definition a few times this week— or maybe a lot.

Posted on Monday, January 30, 2023

(What’s So Funny ‘Bout) Peace, Love, and Understanding

Everything!

UNSHAKEABLE: These first eleven verses of Romans 5 are so profound that no commentary I or anyone else can offer will really do them justice. So, I want to recommend that you simply read and re-read them until the Spirit who inspired these verses illuminates them to you in a fresh way and brings you into a true and deeper understanding of what it took to justify you, and what it means for you to stand in peace and grace in God’s presence. I have a sense that when you really begin to understand this you will probably fall on your knees in laughter, or dumbfounded silence, or tears — because all those responses are appropriate when you begin to understand even in the slightest the amazing grace and the deep, deep love of God!

(What’s So Funny ‘Bout) Peace, Love, and Understanding - Ray Noah

Unshakeable Living // Romans 5:1-2

Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God.

Elvis Costello & The Attractions (I know, your favorite band) first popularized the song “(What’s So Funny ‘Bout) Peace, Love, and Understanding” back in the late 1970s. If you haven’t heard it — it’s actually a pretty catchy song — you might want to download it to your iTunes.

Anyway, that’s a digression from what I want to talk about. But I do think it makes a pretty good title for Romans 5:1-11. The essence of Paul’s argument here is that we have peace with God (not just inner calm and serenity, but literally, the mutual hostility between God and man because of man’s sin has been ended) and access (free, unlimited, and irrevocable) to his grace (unmerited favor) because, through his love, we have been justified (a once-and-for-all legal settlement) by Christ’s sacrificial death.

I don’t know about you, but I find that funny. Not just kind of funny, but gut-splittingly funny! “Funny” not in the sense of ridiculous — although getting credited with righteousness before God through Christ’s account is a pretty absurd equation, wouldn’t you say? Not just “funny” in the sense of foolish — although the idea of being right with God apart from good works and human effort is the height of foolishness to those who are not saved. And not just “funny” in the sense of odd — although how odd is it that God would go to such great links to prove his love by loving that which was completely unlovable? (Romans 5:6-8)

No, I am talking “funny” in the sense that what God has done for you and me is so undeserved, and we are such unlikely candidates for his grace that the only response we can offer in return is to fall on our knees, undone by love, overflowing with gratitude, and giddy with joy!

These first eleven verses are so amazingly profound that no commentary I or anyone else can offer will really do them justice. So, I want to recommend that you simply read and re-read them until the Spirit who inspired these verses illuminates them to you in a fresh way and brings you into a true and deeper understanding of what it took to justify you, and what it means for you to stand in peace and grace in God’s presence.

I have a sense that when you really begin to understand this — although I’m not sure we will ever really and fully “get” what has been done for us — you will probably fall on your knees in laughter, or dumbfounded silence, or tears — because all those responses are appropriate when you begin to understand even in the slightest the amazing grace and the deep, deep love of God!

What’s so funny ‘bout peace, love and understanding? Everything!

Get Rooted: Two Options for Scripture Memory: Option A — Memorize Romans 5:1-4, “Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.” Option B — Memorize Romans 5:8, “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Now, read Romans 5:1-11 once a day for the next seven days (you might want to use a different version on different days). Ask God to give you a fresh understanding of the richness of these verses.

Posted on Friday, January 27, 2023

God’s BFF

A Description Worth Aspiring To

UNSHAKEABLE: Even when there was no reason for hope, Abraham kept on hoping, believing in God’s promises that one day he would be the father of many nations, even when his only son, through whom his lineage would continue, was about to die. In other words, Abraham didn’t let his circumstances dominate his life; he allowed God’s promises to dictate his life. Abraham believed that if Isaac was going to die on the altar, God would raise him to life. That was his hope. By faith, belief, and hope in the One who resurrects, Abraham became God’s friend. And by the same, you can, too.

Unshakeable Living // Romans 4:17

God’s promise of eternal life is received through the same kind of faith demonstrated by Abraham, who believed in the God who resurrects the dead and creates new things out of nothing.

I don’t know if you have done much thinking about Abraham, but what a true hero of the faith! Here’s a guy who was saved by faith even before there was a Bible or the Law or Christ’s death and resurrection or a community of faith. God appeared to Abraham one day — we are not even sure if he’d had any previous interaction with God or if this was simply an out-of-the-blue encounter — and Abraham said, “Okay, God — I’m on board. What’s next?”

Abraham then went on a life-long journey with God in which he became known as a friend of God — a pretty enviable designation, I would say — the genetic father of God’s people, the Jews, and the spiritual father of all who believe. (James 2:23, Romans 4:16-17)

Obviously, Abraham was a very special man, and the Bible holds him up as an example to emulate for believers like you and me. We all ought to be Abraham-like in the spiritual dimension of our lives.

But is that even possible? Is there even the smallest chance that I can develop that same Abraham-like relationship with God? Can I attain a walk with God that will be an Abraham-like example to others? And if it’s possible, then how?

Well, it is possible! Paul goes on to say, “God will accept us in the same way he accepted Abraham — when we believe the promises of God who brought back Jesus our Lord from the dead. 25 He died for our sins and rose again to make us right with God, filling us with God’s goodness..” (Romans 4:24, TLB)

How can we attain friendship with God? I can sum up the “how” in two words: Faith and hope—technically, that’s three words, but work with me!

First, you’ve got to make resurrection the foundation of your faith.

That’s what Abraham did! Romans 4:17 says, “Abraham believed in the God who brings back the dead to life.” Abraham was a little ahead of his time — like a few thousand years — but he believed in the God of the resurrection. What Paul is referring to here is the story of God’s call to Abraham to sacrifice his only son Isaac on the altar (you can read the story in Genesis 22) and Abraham’s willingness to actually go through with it. Why would Abraham be willing to do such a thing? Because he had faith in the God of the resurrection — the God who could, and would, raise Isaac back to life again.

The truth is, to have that kind of Abraham-like faith, we have to have that same Abraham-like trust in the God of the resurrection. If you don’t have a foundational and resolute belief in the resurrection of Jesus from the dead, and his promise to resurrect you from the dead, your faith will not develop to Abraham-like proportions, and in fact, it will be meaningless. Paul teaches us in 1 Corinthians 15:14, “If Christ is not risen, then our preaching is empty and your faith is also empty.”

In other words, if we have no faith in the God of the resurrection, then I am wasting my energy writing this devotional…and you’re wasting your time reading it…and you’ll never come close to living an Abraham-like life of faith. You will have a shakeable faith! But the historical fact of the resurrection of Jesus from the dead proves that God is who he said he is and will fulfill what he has promised to do. And the faith you place in the God who resurrects the dead will empower you to live the kind of God-honoring faith that Abraham lived.

Second, you must claim resurrection as the basis of your hope.

That, too, is what Abraham did. Romans 4:18 tells us that “even when there was no reason for hope, Abraham kept on hoping, believing in God’s promises that one day he would be the father of many nations” when his only son, through whom his lineage would continue, was about to die. In other words, Abraham didn’t let his circumstances dominate his life; he allowed God’s promises to dictate his life. Abraham believed that if Isaac was going to die on the altar, God would raise him to life. That was his hope.

I don’t know if you’ve ever thought about this, but the exercise of that kind of hope is arguably the most powerful discipline you can engage as a believer. Count Bismarck said, “Without the hope of [Christian resurrection], this life is not worth the effort of getting dressed in the morning.” He was right! Christian hope is that important and that powerful.

Karl Marx proclaimed that religious hope is the opiate of the people. But Hebrews 6:19 says, “We have this hope as an anchor of the soul, firm and secure.” And Paul writes in Romans 5:5 that this “hope does not disappoint us!”

Do you practice hope? I am not talking about the breezy kind of optimism that Mary Martin sang about in South Pacific when she crooned, “I’m stuck like a dope with a thing called hope.” I am talking about the exercise of hope that declares that you are choosing to believe in God’s promises, not just in spite of the evidence, but in scorn of the consequences. We’ve been called to practice that kind of hope.

By faith, belief, and hope in the One who resurrects, Abraham became God’s friend. And by the same, you can, too.

Get Rooted: Memorize James 2:23, “And the scripture was fulfilled that says, ‘Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness,’ and he was called God’s friend.”