DIG for Thursday the 20th of October…..what saith the Scriptures…..Romans 4 v 3

When I was preparing for my last message at MGF I was reading through the start of Romans 4 with regards to righteousness through faith, but something else caught my attention.

Paul seemed to be asking some questions in Romans 4 verses 1 and 2.

He then said something wonderful, he wrote, “For what saith the scripture?” (Romans 4 v 3).

In order to answer his questions he said we should look in the Word.

That is a wonderful piece of advice that we should all take on board.

If we have a question tonight we should say, “Well, what does the Bible say about this?”

The Bible in fact should be our first port of call with regards to every question of note that we have.

I’m not saying look in the Bible for what to eat tonight or what to wear tomorrow, however it is there for important questions.

Of course, we may not get a direct and obvious answer, but we will see guidelines and counsel and advice that we can use.

The Bible is there for us to know and use and follow, it is a help that we should utilise more.

When Jesus was being tempted by the devil he said, “It is written”.

Three times He fought off the devil with the Word, maybe we should be using it in our life as well?

Speak this out today…..”Thank you Lord for your Word and thank you for the guidance and wisdom within”.

Romans 4 v 3…..For what saith the scripture? Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness

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DIG for Wednesday the 19th of October…..same truth again and again…..Titus 3 v 8

If you read my DIG on a regular basis you may think that I am rather repetitive.

Looking back at recent DIGs I have regularly written on righteousness, a truth that I firmly believed every believer should fully understand.

This repetition however is Biblical.

While writing to a pastor called Titus, Paul wrote that the fundamental truth of justification by grace should be a truth to ‘constantly affirm’ (Titus 3 v 7 and 8).

Men are justified, or made righteous, as a gift of grace through faith, faith in Jesus and His finished work.

The verses also tell us why as pastors, we should affirm constantly this truth.

The Word says we do this to help people maintain good works.

This seems the opposite of what many of us hear in church, being told to do this and do that, stop this and stop that.

Preaching law does not promote or maintain good works, in fact preaching law pushes believers into more sin (1 Corinthians 15 v 56).

Telling people about the finished work of Jesus, and that they have been justified as a gift of grace through faith, promotes more holy and righteous actions (Titus 3 v 8, and 2 Peter 1 v 3).

Grace promotes holy actions while law promotes sin, and that is what the Word of God says.

So if you read my DIGs in the future do not be surprised when I ‘affirm constantly’ that you have been justified by grace through faith.

Speak this out today…..”Thank you Lord that I have been justified by grace through faith in Jesus and His finished work”.

Titus 3 v 8…..This is a faithful saying, and these things I will that thou affirm constantly, that they which have believed in God might be careful to maintain good works. These things are good and profitable unto men

DIG for Sunday the 16th of October…..let’s talk about righteousness again and again…..Titus 3 v 8

Within minutes of meeting my good friend at conference this morning we were talking about our favourite subject, righteousness.

Every time myself and Dave meet we always get round to this truth, a truth we both recognise as having changed our lives.

It may sound boring to you to go over time and time again something that you know, but for us it is exciting to talk about this truth.

Even when we think we know things of the Bible we can all learn something new or something deeper.

I was sharing with Dave about the revelation a friend had had about our identity in Christ (see DIG from Thursday the 13^th of October).

As the identity of Jesus was totally sin on the cross our identity was made totally righteous as a gift of grace through faith; for us, and I hope for you, this is very exciting and worthy of more discussion!

The Word says we should ‘affirm constantly’ the truths of the Gospel (Titus 3 v 8).

Being justified, or made righteous, by faith (and faith alone) is one such truth that needs to be affirmed constantly (Titus 3 v 7 and Romans 3 v 28).

Being around like-minded believers is one of the strengths of being in church and in fellowship with others.

We can help each other to ‘affirm constantly’ that we have been made righteous and are now (and will be forever) acceptable and approved in the eyes of God the Father.

Speak this out today…..”Thank you Lord that right now, and forever, I am righteous, approved and accepted in your eyes”.

Titus 3 v 8…..This is a faithful saying, and these things I will that thou affirm constantly, that they which believed in God might be careful to maintain good works. These thing are profitable unto men

DIG for Monday the 10th of October…..faith not deeds, that is what is important….Romans 3 v 28

Faith is what is important in your walk with the Lord not deeds, what you believe rather than what you do is what the Lord is interested in.

It is faith that saw you come initially into salvations (Romans 10 v 9 and 10).

It is faith that Paul tells us to continue to walk in as we move forward into our salvation in terms of healing and wholeness, peace and prosperity (Colossians 2 v 6).

It is faith and not the deeds of the law that saw us justified.

To be justified means to be rendered just or innocent, it means to have all the eternal consequences and judgment for sin removed, it means to be declared righteous in the eyes of God.

This is something you cannot achieve through your works; this is only achieved through faith, faith in Jesus and His finished work.

Never let anyone tell you that you can be ‘made right’ or ‘set free from sin’ through deeds or works of the law.

You can only be justified by faith, faith in Jesus and what He has done.

This is the only ‘work’ that we are required to do; read John 6 v 28 and 29 if you don’t believe me.

Faith and not deeds is what the Lord requires of you.

Men, but not the Lord may require deeds and works.

Men may want you to do this and do that, and stop this and stop that.

The Lord just wants your faith, Amen!

Speak this out today…..”Thank you Lord that I have been justified by faith and not by my deeds”.

Romans 3 v 28…..Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law

DIG for Monday the 25th of July…..which Bible verses do you highlight…..Romans 4 v 7

I had a wee giggle to myself this evening as I was looking for inspiration for this DIG; sometimes they come easily, sometimes (like tonight) I have to think and pray long and hard for a topic.

As I was drawn to one of my favourite verses, Romans 3 v 28, I noticed that only one verse was highlighted on these pages.

“For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God” shone out in bright pink from the pages.

I highlighted a number of verses when I first got this Bible, but stopped doing this quite quickly, so not a lot of verses are highlighted.

It amused me that I highlighted this one and not Romans 3 v 28 or Romans 4 v 7 and 8 (these are alongside on the opposite page of the highlighted one).

As a new believer I was taught to focus on sin, especially my own sin, and to plead for forgiveness.

I was taught to regard myself as a sinner, a ‘truth’ I had to be reminded about often.

Now I know that this is not the truth.

If I highlighted verses now I would go to Romans 3 v 28 where we see we are justified through faith and not through works.

I would highlight Romans 4 v 6 and 7 where we read that sin is not an issue for God anymore, as our sins have been already forgiven.

It made me giggle thinking that I used to believe this nonsense!

The Bible is very clear that we have already been forgiven through the blood of Jesus and that sin is not an issue for God any longer; therefore sin should not be an issue for us.

We all need to keep learning, need to keep the attitude of being willing to be taught, and even changing what we believe sometimes.

Speak this out today…..”Thank you Lord for your Word, thank you for the truths that are there if we would only read, meditate and study for ourselves”.

Romans 4 v 7…..Saying, Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven, and whose sins are covered

DIG for Thursday the 4th of February…..faith not works, that is what is required…..Hebrews 11 v 29

In our bible study last night one of the guys commented on the headings in the book of Galatians in her bible.

They were all about faith and grace being the way to live rather than law and legalism.

This of course is the whole message of Galatians but it is the same message throughout the New Testament.

In Hebrews the writer talks of how everything was achieved through faith.

Abraham offered up Isaac as an act of faith (Hebrews 11 v 17).

In the same chapter we see Isaac, Jacob, Joseph and Moses operating through faith.

My own favourite is the Hebrew nation passing through the Red Sea through faith (Hebrews 11 v 29).

When the Egyptians tried the same thing in their own strength they failed and died.

This is a great lesson for us today; we are to live our life through faith rather than our own works, strengths and even religious performance.

The just are to live by faith is what the Word says (Romans 1 v 17).

We started our walk with the Lord in faith and need to continue living in this way (Colossians 2 v 6).

Faith in Jesus Christ and His finished work is what saw you saved, made holy and made righteous, and it is the same faith that will see you healed, made whole, living in peace and living in prosperity.

Speak this out today…..”Thank you Lord for the finished work of Jesus Christ, and thank you for all that I have received as a gift of grace through faith”.

Hebrews 11 v 29…..By faith they passed through the Red Sea as by dry land: which the Egyptians assaying to do were drowned

DIG for Tuesday the 2nd of February…..once justified you then continue to live by faith…..Romans 1 v 17

 

Yesterday in DIG we saw that we were justified by a gift of grace through faith in Jesus and His finished work.

What a lot of Christians do not realise is that this same “process ” is what we use in our on going walk with the Lord.

In other words we should continue to walk in faith.

The Word says the just shall live by faith (Romans 1 v 17).

The Word says nothing about living by works, religious performance or good deeds.

Once saved there are many great things waiting for us, like prosperity, peace and health.

Just as you could not work your way into heaven (your initial salvation) you cannot work your way into prosperity, peace and health (your on going salvation).

Just as you got your “ticker into heaven” through faith you get your prosperity, your peace and your healing through faith.

This is what Paul means when he says the just (or the saved) shall live by faith.

Jesus made the way for you to be saved and He also made the way for you to live a peaceful, prosperous and healthy life.

All this is received through faith, and never through works, deeds or religious performance.

So, you should be asking, “what do I need to do then?”

I would suggest studying the Word in order to learn more about what Jesus has done for you, to allow you to operate at a higher level of faith.

Speak this out today…..”Thank you Lord for Jesus and His finished work and thank you for all that He purchased for me”.

Romans 1 v 17…..For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith

DIG for Monday the 1st of February…..justified by his grace, affirm this constantly…..Titus 3 v 7 and 8

Some people have said that I am a “one message” preacher, teaching the same thing over and over again, and to a certain extent I agree with that.

I like to think that my preaching and teaching are consistent; constantly telling people what they have through the finished work of Jesus.

This is what Paul encourages Titus to do.

He tells him that we are heirs because we have been justified by the grace of Jesus (Titus 3 v 7).

He then tells Titus (a pastor) to remind the church (they which have believed in God) about this fact all the time (Titus 3 v 8).

Titus is to affirm this truth constantly, and I would suggest that this is the “job” of every pastor, teacher and preacher.

We should not be looking for new things to teach; looking for new ways to teach is fine, but the message needs to be the constant.

The message to teach is what we have through what He has done, or in other words we are justified by His grace.

We have been forgiven and reconciled through the blood of Jesus (Ephesians 1 v 7 and Colossians 1 v 14).

We have been made righteous and saved as a gift of grace through faith in Jesus and what He has done.

Our justification is only possible as a gift of grace through faith.

Any other message is not the Gospel, is not the good news.

This message needs to be affirmed constantly to the church, and I for one am up for that challenge.

Speak this out today…..”Thank you Lord that I am saved and made righteous as a gift of grace through faith in Jesus”.

Titus 3 v 7 and 8…..That being justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life. This is a faithful saying, and these things I will that thou affirm constantly, that they which have believed in God might be careful to maintain good works. These things are good and profitable unto good works

DIG for Thursday the 14th of January…..past embraced, history rewritten…..Hebrews 10 v 17

I seem to be basing a few DIGs recently on the worship music I am listening to.

The first thing I do when I sit at my desk is put on some music and it is normally worship music, and if you listen to “good” worship music there is always something to edify and inspire you.

Today it was a song from Bethel music and these lines inspired me; “My past embraced, my sin forgiven, I’m blameless in your sight, my history rewritten”.

This is saying we have been forgiven and made righteous, and that is something we all need to remember or indeed have revealed to us for the first time.

All men for all sin have already been forgiven through the shedding of the blood of Jesus (Ephesians 1 v 7, Colossians 1 v 14 and Hebrews 10 v 12).

All our sins of the past (and present and future) have been paid for through the finished work of Jesus Christ (1 John 2 v 2).

If we believe this truth and make Jesus our Lord and Saviour, we are born again in our spirit and are created new, created in righteousness and true holiness (Ephesians 4 v 24).

In the eyes of God it is just as if we had never sinned, in other words we have been justified.

Our past has been dealt with through Jesus’ finished work and it is as if our complete history had been rewritten.

That is good news, as it means we can all benefit from His forgiveness if we come to and trust in Jesus.

So, I am going to keep listening to worship music and keep reminding myself of the good news of Jesus Christ.

I suggest that you do the same.

Speak this out today…..”Thank you Lord that I have been forgiven and that as a gift of grace through faith been made righteous”.

Hebrews 10 v 17…..And their sins and iniquities will I remember no more

DIG for Saturday the 14th of November…..this is truly a faithful saying…..Titus 3 v 7

There are many truths in the Word that we should remind ourselves about constantly, and if we are teachers or preachers there are truths that we need to affirm constantly (Titus 3 v 8).

Righteousness through faith, as a gift of God’s mercy and grace is one such truth.

This is one of the fundamental truths of the Gospel (of the grace message) that believers need to hear again and again.

Righteousness, or the state of acceptance and being right with God, is a gift from God that we receive through faith in the finished work of Jesus and not through works (Titus 3 v 4 to 7).

Justification is a word from the same root word for righteousness and means properly approved and conformed to a proper standard.

In the eyes of God we are at His standard and have been approved.

Paul concludes after his discussion in Romans 3 that we are justified by faith without any works of law (Romans 3 v 28).

This is a truth that we need to remind ourselves every day about.

We need to remind ourselves in order to stay in the liberty that is Christ and not slide back into the bondage of works and self-efforts (Galatians 5 v 1).

If you are a born again believer then in the eyes of Father God you have been justified and you have been made righteous (2 Corinthians 5 v 17 to 21).

This is a truth no matter what men tell you.

Now I know you may be doing some unrighteous acts, but that does not alter your state of righteousness in the eyes of God.

He looks on your born again spirit and not on your flesh.

In your spirit you are righteous and truly holy (Ephesians 4 v 24).

Affirm this truth constantly and tell your self this truth, speak it out.

Speak this out today…..”Thank you Lord that I have bee justified and I have been made righteous as a gift of mercy and grace through my faith in Jesus”.

Titus 3 v 7…..That being justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life