God our Father

See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are. (1 John 3:1)

We must remember that we were rebels, objects of God's wrath, and on death row. We should never lose sight of this fact, for it is the contrast between what we once were and what we have become by His grace that makes our sonship so amazing.

Bridges suggest five fatherly responsibilities that God has assumed toward His children:

• God provides for us. "And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus' (Philippians 4:19)
• God Protects us. "Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from the will of your Father. And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. So don't be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows" (Matthew 10:29-31)
• God encourages us. "You hear, O Lord, the desire of the afflicted; you encourage them, and you listen to their cry" (Psalm 10:17)
• God comforts us. "Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God" (2 Corinthians 1:3-4)
• God disciplines us. "Our fathers disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, that we may share in his holiness" (Hebrews 12:10)

Gift of God

Bridges starts off this Chapter by asking us, "How do we get faith?" I believe that faith is a gift of God.

Pauls writings are filled with descriptions of our spiritual condition before we became belivers. Ephesians 2:1-3 is one of the most complete ones:

As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature objects of wrath.

The first thing Paul says is that we were dead, meaning spiritual death. We were totally unresponsive to the God of Scripture. Spiritually dead people cannot receive and embrace the gospel. Paul said in 1 Corinthians 2:14, "The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned."

Paul then goes on and says we followed "the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient." This is a reference to Satan. I know for me I don't like to think that I was a follower of the Devil, but that is what the Bible says.

Next, Paul tells us that we were gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature. Paul describes this nature in Romans 8:7-8: "The sinful mind is hostile to God. It does not submit to God's law, nor can it do so. Those controlled by the sinful nature cannot please God."

Here are some words of Charles Wesley. He was a famous Methodist hymn writer from way back..

Long my imprisoned spirit lay
Fast bound in sin and nature's night;
Thine eye diffused a quick'ning ray;
I woke, the dungeon flamed with light;
My chains fell of, my heart was free;
I rose, went forth, and followed thee

Paul's Great Exchange

In Philippians 3, Paul speaks of the loss of his religious credentials. Bridges points out that any confidence in one's own religious attainments in the issue of salvation is not only useless, but down right dangerous.

Paul exchanged his righteousness through keeping the Law for Christ's righteousness that comes by faith. In 2 Corinthians 5:21, God exchanges our sin for Christ's righteousness. We see that our own efforts at righteousness are, at bottom, only sin because they fail to measure up to the perfect righteousness required by God's Law.

Bridges states that he believes that human morality, rather than flagrant sin, is the greatest obstacle to the gospel today.

One thing I struggle with at times and I know many people do is, I tend to have a natural drift toward a performance-based relationship with God. We know we are saved by grace through faith -- not by works. We need to learn and remind ourselves every day that God's favor -- His blessings and answers to prayer 00 comes to us not on the basis of our works, but on the basis of the infinite merit of Jesus Christ.

I pray that we may clearly see that in the unsearchable riches of Christ and in the right standing with God that comes from those riches, we have both the assurance of eternal life and God's favor in this life.

Right Standing With God

Bridges starts off by saying that the most important question we all face is: How can a sinful man or woman come into a right relationship with an infinitely holy and just God?

After all, Jesus said, "What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul?" Suppose a person lives his entire life experiencing nothing but prosperity and happiness, yet dies without a right relationship with God. What has he gained? Actually, he has lost everything.

For us, justification means that God has forgiven all our sins and accepts us as righteous in His sight.

Romans 3:21-26. "This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe." It is through faith in Christ, then, that we experience God's justifying act and enter into a right relationship with Him.

When it comes to justification through faith, Paul is like a dog with a bone. He will not let go. He keeps hammering away on the truth that justification is through faith, not works. He says, "For we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from observing the law."

"Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved." How then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written, "How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!"

Here is a hymn from the Rock of Ages and one from the Solid Rock which I like.

Nothing in my hands I bring.
Simply to the cross I cling.

My hope is built on nothing less
Than Jesus' blood and righteousness;
No merit of my own I claim,
But wholly lean on Jesus' name

As we come to Christ, then, empty-handed, claiming no merit of our own, but clinging by faith to His blood and righteousness, we are justified. We pass immediately from a state of condemnation and spiritual death to a state of pardon, acceptance, and the sure hope of eternal life. Our sins are blotted out, and we are "clothed" with the righteousness of Jesus Christ.

I want to end with a paragraph that the Princeton Seminary theologian B. B. Warfield wrote:

There is nothing in us or done by us, at any stage of our earthly development, because of which we are acceptable to God. We mst always be accepted for Christ's sake, or we cannot ever be accepted at all. This is not true of us only when we believe. It is just as true after we have believed. It will continue to be true as long as we live. Our need of Christ does not cease with our believing; nor does the nature of our relation to Him or to God through Him ever alter, no matter what our attainments in Christian graces or our achievements in behavior may be. It is always on His "blood and righteousness" alone that we can rest.

Reconciliation

Reconciliation, by definition, assumes a previous state of alienation and hostility caused by the offensive actions of one or both parties.

This Chapter for me is by far my favorite. As I look back on my life through the good and bad times, I can truly say the only reason I am at the place I am today is because of the pure act of God's grace and mercy on me.

I would not be in the place I am today if it was not for God's act of reconciling us to Himself through the death of His son.

So, in this chapter Bridges tells us a story about a boy named Justin. Justin basically got in trouble and was disciplined by his parents. He was prideful and sinful and decided that he would move out because he wanted a "life." Long story short, after leaving his family to live with his friend he began to realize what he had lost. His heart began to change, and he missed his family and had realized what he had done. After a few weeks, Justin went back to his house and apologized to his parents for the way he had acted and rebelled against them. He had realized that they disciplined him the way they did because they loved him.

The story of Justin's reconciliation with his parents illustrates to some degree our reconciliation to God. In his case, the alienation from his parents was due entirely to his own sinful rebellion. Though he blamed his parents, the whole thing was solely his fault.

Just like Justin, it is our sin that has separated us from God. The only difference is Justin's reconciliation to his parents was due to his change of heart, his attitude of repentance, and his actions of acknowledging his sin and asking their forgiveness.

But in our case we were powerless to do anything. (Romans 5:6) We could not help ourselves; nor would we even want to do so, left to ourselves. As Paul wrote in Romans 8:7, "The sinful mind is hostile to God." In our natural state, not one of us would want to be reconciled to God.

Bridges reminds us that the good news of the gospel is that God Himself took the initiative by sending His Son to die in our place to satisfy His justice and absorb His wrath. He did more than that. He did all that was necessary to secure our reconciliation, including our change of heart.

Another thing that is good news would be the fact that our reconciliation to God is permanent and eternal. Because Christ accomplished it for us, there is no possibility it can ever be undone. For the sake of Christ, God will always accept us.

So far this book has helped remind me of so many things. Every work of Christ is directed toward God and though I will fail over and over I must continue to strive to do the same. It is His Law that was obeyed, His justice that was satisfied, His wrath that was propitiated, His holy presence from which our sins were removed, His curse from which we were redeemed, and alienation from His divine presence that has been reconciled.

His Wounds My Ransom

When most people hear the word, “ransom”, they generally think of kidnapping. The word ransom has not always been associated primarily with kidnapping. In the Bible times a ransom was the price paid to gain freedom for a slave.

Jesus said He would give His life as a ransom for many. (Mark 10:45)

In Hebrews 9:15, it tells us that Jesus “died as a ransom to set them free from the sins committed under the first covenant.”

Bridges then asks us, “What does it mean to be set free from sins committed under the first covenant?”

Bridges then goes on and tells us that, the apostle Paul answered this question in Galatians 3:13, “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us.”
Christ shed His blood and gave His life as a ransom to redeem us from this curse. We must remember that as Jesus hung on the cross bearing the curse in our place and experienced unimaginable agony, and He did all of that in our place.

God is transcendent in His majesty and sovereign in His authority. Every sin, even if it small in our eyes, is an assault on that authority. God has commanded us to be holy as He is holy. Therefore, each sin is an insult to His character.

Bridges reminds us that we should not try to justify God for the exactness of His Law or the severity of its sanctions. After all, God is God; He is the Creator. He is the One who brought the whole universe into existence by His spoken command. He is the One on whom each of us depends for life and breath. He is the One who has the absolute right to establish the rules of the game, the laws by which we are to live. And He is the One who has the right to attach sanctions to those laws for breaking them.

The primary purpose of the Law, is not to curse us but to lead us to Christ.

Knowing that Christ paid our ransom price, Bridges asks us to whom the ransom was paid? It was paid to God acting in His capacity as Judge. It was God’s justice that Jesus satisfied. It was His cup of wrath that Jesus emptied. And it was His curse that Jesus bore as He paid our ransom price.

His Wounds Have Paid My Ransom

The Scapegoat

A scapegoat is one who is made to bear the blame for the actions of others or for events he did not cause.

The greatest scapegoat in all of history is the Lord Jesus Christ.

God has given each of us a conscience. In sinful or self-righteous people the conscience is to some degree “hardened”, meaning it is relatively insensitive to sin or its own self-righteousness. But in a growing Christian the conscience becomes more and more sensitive to violations of God’s Law.

For me, I have felt over the past years that my conscience has shown me not only particular sins in my life, but, my overall sinfulness.

Sometimes it is hard for me and I find it difficult to believe that God would no longer remember each offense I have done. This is where that I must by faith see Jesus bearing my sin and carrying it away forever from the presence of God.

Bridges reminds us about a story from the Old Testament about the scapegoat carrying away the sins of the people that have been laid on its head, and then reminded me that this was an accurate picture of what Jesus did with my sin. Even so, Christ’s work on my behalf is greater still.

In Isaiah 43:25, God says, “I, even I, am he who blots out your transgressions, for my own sake, and remembers your sins no more.”

Psalm 130:3-4 states the same truth, “If you, O Lord, kept a record of sins, O Lord, who could stand? But with you there is forgiveness; therefore you are feared.

Why Jesus is Our Scapegoat

1. Jesus bore our sins at Calvary
2. Jesus died in our place the death we deserved to die
3. Jesus, in bearing the sins of God’s people makes our salvation a reality even though we are not worthy

The Empty Cup

The first thing that stood out to me in this chapter was that we need to realize the seriousness of sin. All sin is rebellion against God's authority, a despising of His Law, and a defiance of His commands.

W.S. Plumer writes, "We never see sin aright until we see it as against God. All sin is against God in this sense that it is His Law that is broken, His authority that is despised, His government that is set at naught."

Another thing that stood out to me in this chapter talked about the Cup of Wrath. Bridges asks us, "What was in the cup?"

It was the wrath of God. It was the cup of wrath that we should have drunk. Jesus as our representative drank the cup of God's wrath in our place. He drained it to its dregs. He tasted the last drop. And HE did it for us as our substitute.

Jesus was forsaken by the Father because of our sin. He drank the cup of God's wrath to endure the judgment and punishment that was due to us.

The last thing that stood out to me in this chapter, talked about the Love of God.

God showed his love among us in that He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. (1 John 4:9-10)

I am reminded of this song, "How Deep the Father's Love for us"

HOW DEEP THE FATHER’S LOVE FOR US,
How vast beyond all measure,
That He should give His only Son
To make a wretch His treasure.
How great the pain of searing loss –
The Father turns His face away,
As wounds which mark the Chosen One
Bring many sons to glory.


:)

Justice Satisfied

The Bible tells us that all of us will eventually face judgment before a holy and just God. As we think of that inevitable day, Bridges asks us what do we want? Do we want to see justice done, or do we want mercy?

We should all hope for mercy. However, God’s justice is certain and it is inflexible. In 2 Thessalonians 1:6-8 the apostle Paul says, “God is just: He will pay back…. He will punish those who do not know God”

God does not exalt His mercy at the expense of His justice.

God regards all who trust in Christ as having fully obeyed His Law in all its demands. Bridges states that, "We can correctly say that in God’s sight, when Jesus perfectly obeyed God’s Law, we perfectly obeyed His Law."

“But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed” (Isaiah 53:5)
The death of Jesus was a complete and full satisfaction of divine justice for all who trust in Him.

Let us not forget the true meaning behind easter. The meaning of Easter is Jesus Christ's victory over death. His resurrection symbolizes the eternal life that is granted to all who believe in Him. The meaning of Easter also symbolizes the complete verification of all that Jesus preached and taught during His ministry.

The Pleasure of Obedience

Deuteronomy 11:1 - You shall therefore love the Lord your God and keep his charge, his statutes, his rules, and his commandments always.

One thing we need to remember and tend to forget is that, not only did Jesus die for us, but he also lived for us.

Bridges in this Chapter, talks about the Law of God. The Law of God set forth in Scripture is a transcript of God's own moral nature. The Law contains both precepts and penalties. The precepts are to be fully obeyed, and the penalties are imposed for the least infraction of the precepts.

In remembering that Jesus lived for us, He was born under the Law because He came to perfectly obey it in our place. He came to do what we, as sinners, could not do. He assumed our obligation and liability, obeying and suffering in our place.

Bridges asks... "How can this be? How can Jesus take our place both in obeying God's Law and in suffering the consequences of disobeying it? How can the innocent suffer for the guilty? How can consistently disobedient people be treated as if they were perfectly obedient?"

Jesus was appointed by God the Father as our legal representative. I think it is safe to say that Adam was appointed as our representative for the entire human race (except for Jesus), and because of that we all suffered the consequences of his disobedience. In the same manner Jesus was appointed as a representative of all His people, and He suffered the consequences of our disobedience.

Romans 5:18 - Therefore, as one trespass led to condemnation for all men, so one act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all men.

The Doctrines Of Grace

Yesterday for lunch I met with a friend of mine, and we got talking about religion and what his faith was. He is new to the Christian faith so I thought it would be good to talk about the Doctrines of Grace. This morning during devotions I decided to take a break from my book and go over the Doctrines of Grace. I wrote down some quick notes on the 5 points of Calvinism so here they are.

Total Depravity

The doctrine of Total Depravity briefly states that because of the fall, man is unable of himself to savingly believe the Gospel. The sinner is dead, blind and deaf to the things of God; his heart is deceitful and desperately corrupt. His will is not free; it is in bondage to his evil nature; therefore, he will not -- indeed he cannot -- choose good over evil in the spiritual realm. Consequently it takes much more than the Spirit's assistance to bring a sinner to Christ -- it takes regeneration, by which the Spirit makes the sinner alive and gives him a new nature. Faith is not something man contributes to salvation but is itself a part of God's gift of salvation; it is God's gift to the sinner, not the sinner's gift to God.

Unconditional Election

Because of humanity's total depravity, God of necessity, in eternity past, chose certain people to be saved. There was nothing inherently better or different about the chosen people which caused God to choose them. God was totally free in His decision to show grace and mercy to some sinners who deserved nothing but His wrath. This is, in essence, the doctrine of Unconditional Election.

Limited Atonement

The doctrine of Limited Atonement (or Particular Redemption) is probably the most controversial of the doctrines of grace and most difficult to accept by many believers. Limited Atonement states that Christ's redeeming work was intended to save the elect only, and actually secured salvation for them. His death was the substitutionary endurance of the penalty of sin in the place of certain specified sinners. In addition to putting away the sins of His people, Christ's redemption secured everything necessary for their salvation; including faith which unites them to Him. The gift of faith is infallibly applied by the Spirit to all for whom Christ died, therefore guaranteeing their salvation.

Irresistible Grace

In addition to the outward general call to salvation (which is made to everyone who hears the Gospel), the Holy Spirit extends to the elect a special inward call that inevitably brings them to salvation. The external call (which is made to all without distinction) can be -- and often is -- rejected; whereas the internal call (which is made only to the elect) cannot be rejected; it always results in conversion. By means of this special call, the Spirit irresistibly draws sinners to Christ. He is not limited in His work of applying salvation by man's will, nor is He dependent upon man's cooperation for success. The Spirit graciously causes the elect sinner to cooperate, to believe, to repent, to come freely and willingly to Christ. God's grace, therefore, is invincible; it never fails to result in the salvation of those to whom it is extended. This describes in a nutshell the doctrine of Irresistible Grace, or the Efficacious Call.

Perseverance of the Saints

Perseverance of the Saints states that all who are chosen by God, redeemed by Christ, and given faith by the Spirit are eternally saved. They are kept in faith by the power of Almighty God and thus persevere to the end.

Why the Cross

The basic meaning of the word holy is “separate,” and when used of God it means, among other things, that He is eternally separate from any degree of sin. He does not sin Himself and He cannot abide or condone sin in His moral creatures.

We seldom think about the words of Jesus that the greatest commandment is to “love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.”… And the second is like it: “Love your neighbor as yourself” (Matthew 22:37,39)

Bridges asks, "Have you ever thought about what it means to love God with all your heart, soul, and mind?"I don’t think any of us can fully plumb the depths of that commandment, but here are some obvious aspects that Bridges gives us:

• Your love for God transcends all other desires
• Like David, you long to gaze upon His beauty and seek fellowship with Him
• You rejoice in meditating on His Word, and like Jesus you rise early to pray
• You always delight to do His will, regardless of how difficult it may be
• A regard for His glory governs and motivates everything you do - your eating and drinking, your working and playing, your buying and selling, your reading and speaking, *even our driving
• You are never discouraged or frustrated by adverse circumstances because you are confident God is working all things together for your good.
• You recognize His sovereignty in every event of your life and consequently receive both success and failure from His hand
• You are always content because you know He will never leave you or forsake you
• The first petition in the Lord's Prayer, "hallowed be your name", is the most important prayer you pray
  

Bridges gives an example of a man who told him that he had an affair. He knew what that meant however, he wanted the man to tell him that he had committed adultery. We need to call sin what the Bible calls it and not soften it with modern expressions borrowed from our culture. If we limit our attention to single sins, to the neglect of our sinful nature, we will never discover how deeply infected with sin we really are.

Unsearchable Riches

I am currently reading "The Gospel For Real Life" by Jerry Bridges, and just wanted to share what I got from it.

"Oh, the depths of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and His ways past finding out! For who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has become His counselor?... For of Him and through Him and to Him are all things, to whom be glory forever. Amen." Romans 11:33-36

In chapter one Bridges tells a story about a Southern plantation owner who left a $50,000 inheritance to a former slave who had served him faithfully all his life. The slave was informed of this however, only asked for 50 cents because he had never handled money his entire life, and had no comprehension of his wealth. The story illustrates the plight of many Christians today. The apostle Paul wrote of preaching “to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ” (Ephesians 3:8). Paul was not referring to financial wealth but to the glorious truths of the saying that each of us has $50,000 available to us in the Gospel. I feel that we don’t understand the riches of the gospel any more than that slave understood how much $50,000 was back in that time.

The word gospel means, essentially, “good news.” And it is specifically good news about our relationship with God.

The Bible tells us that we were in deep trouble with God, that we were unrighteous and ungodly. And then it tells us that God’s wrath is revealed from heaven “against all the godlessness and wickedness of men.” It also tells us that we were by nature objects of God’s wrath (Romans 1:18; 3:10-12; Ephesians 2:3)

One thing I found encouraging was that he wrote, “We can begin each day with the deeply encouraging realization that I am accepted by God, not on the basis of my personal performance, but on the basis of the infinitely perfect righteousness of Jesus Christ.”

We as sinners owe an enormous spiritual debt to God – a debt we can’t begin to pay. There is no way we can make it good. The gospel tells us that Jesus Christ paid our debt, but it also tells us that we are no longer enemies and objects of His wrath and that we are now His sons and daughters, heirs with Jesus Christ of all His unsearchable riches.

Jesus once told a story about a king’s servant who owed his master ten thousand talents. One talent was equal to about twenty years’ wages for a working man. Ten thousand talents then would have been impossible to pay. In the context of the story, that immense sum represents a spiritual debt that every one of us owes to God. It is the debt of our sins. And, for each of us, it is a staggering amount. There is no way we can pay it. This is what the gospel is all about. Jesus paid our debt to the full. He also purchased for us eternal inheritance worth infinitely more than any amount.