Category: Romans

Posted in Hebrews, Leviticus, Romans

The Sacrifice Answered by Fire

Posted on by Tom Flaherty

“Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God – this is your spiritual act of worship.” Romans 12:1

At one convention I went to the theme was, “Altared,” with a verse from Leviticus 6:12 on never letting the fire go out on the altar. Each speaker brought up the theme and gave reflections on what it looked like to have the fire of God’s presence burning in the altar of our hearts.

One speaker asked us to consider what comes into our minds when we hear the word “worship.” Then he suggested some possible answers: a too short or too long time of singing before a sermon, hymns or choruses, singing that is too fast or too slow, a key too high or low to sing in, or maybe even the graphics that are now behind the words of songs because of modern technology.

Then he talked about the Bible’s version of worship which he said was more PG 13. Worship in the Bible always involved something dying. From Abel’s sacrifice to animals required for sacrifice in the tabernacle and the temple; Jews knew that there must be a death to satisfy the holiness of God who said the wages of sin was death. After the sacrifice God required was given, God Himself would answer by fire. The priests didn’t need matches.

Elijah said the God who answers by fire, He is God. When the Holy Spirit came after the sacrifice and resurrection of Jesus, there was a tongue of fire that rested on each head. Truly our God is a consuming fire (Hebrews 12:29) and wants to baptize us in His purifying fire so we can easily live for Him.

So here’s the problem. The only offering that is answered by fire is death. If we try to give God a partial offering instead of making ourselves living sacrifices, we won’t have His fire in our hearts. We will end up with a powerless version of Christianity that looks and acts just like the world. It sounds kind of like the American church today, doesn’t it?

In view of His mercy, let’s give Him what He died for by offering ourselves as living sacrifices for His glory and our good.

Posted in 2Corinthians, John, Matthew, Psalms, Romans

Satisfaction in God

Posted on by Tom Flaherty

“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.” Matthew 5:6

Jesus knew what it was to hunger and thirst for righteousness, and the deep satisfaction that came when He did the next right thing the Father was calling Him to do. When He was at a well talking to a woman, the disciples offered Him food, but Jesus told them He had food they didn’t know about. When they asked about this, He replied, “My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me and to accomplish His work.” (John 4:34) When He was tempted in the desert, He told Satan that man lives on “every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.” (Matthew 4:4) The will of God and the word of God are how Jesus walked in righteousness and it’s how we experience the sustenance and life God gives today.

When natural hunger and thirst is satisfied by a delightful meal and beverage, it doesn’t mean that you’ll never be hungry and thirsty again. So it is with the will of God, the more you do it, the more satisfaction you have in it, and the more hungry and thirsty you are to have more of that which satisfies in the future.

But to do righteousness, you first have to be righteous. When we believe the gospel, God makes us right with Himself in Christ. He calls it the gift of righteousness. (See 2Corinthians 5:21; Romans 5:17) From this place of right standing with God, we can now hunger and thirst to do righteousness.

The good Shepherd promises to guide us “in the paths of righteousness for His Name’s sake.” (Psalm 23:3) He will always lead us to do the right thing (righteousness simply means doing what’s right) no matter what the circumstance. Even if we walk through the valley of the shadow of death or find ourselves in the very presence of our enemies, we never have to fear; all we have to do is choose to do what is right. If we will be led by righteousness, God promises that “goodness and mercy” will follow us all of our days. Jesus said something similar, “Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.” (Matthew 6:33)

We aren’t driven by fear that we won’t have the things we need; we are confident that we only need to hunger and thirst for righteousness, and God’s abundant provision will follow us. Yet our satisfaction transcends our bills being paid, and our mouths being fed; we get to experience the joy of knowing God and doing His will.

Posted in Hebrews, John, Romans

The Purpose of Pruning

Posted on by Tom Flaherty

“Every branch that bears fruit, He prunes it so that it may bear more fruit.” John 15:2

When we lived in Montevideo, MN we had some friends that decided they were going to surprise us while we were away at a conference by working on our yard. Included in their work was the pruning of our front bushes. When I first saw them I was shocked. Our once large, robust bushes looked like they were little, puny twigs stuck in the ground that were about to die. Fortunately one of the women saw my concern and assured me that this was actually a good thing, and that the pruning process was important for the bush. I took her word for it, but still thought that anyone passing by in the near future would be very unimpressed with our bushes.

Jesus said that if we please God by bearing fruit, God will prune us back, so that we will eventually bear more fruit. God always sees things from His eternal perspective. He sees our pain, but He still does what is best for the long term with, what seems to us, little regard for our short term comfort. As human beings we usually consider short term comfort before long term benefit, and can easily be offended that God doesn’t see it our way. “If God truly loved people then He would…” Our own ideas of what God’s love should look like can easily rob us of faith.

God’s end is to transform us into the image of His glorious Son. (Romans 8:29) He is firm in His purpose, so our lives will be a lot easier if we agree with His plan and try to work with it instead of resisting it. Hebrews 12:5 gives the two wrong responses to the pruning process called the Lord’s discipline:

  1. Don’t take it lightly – embrace God’s dealings with you and respond quickly. Blowing off conviction will only lead to God bringing the correction at a later time and usually in a bigger way. 
  2.  Don’t become discouraged – when life is hard we often conclude that God is angry with us or is somehow not pleased. Don’t jump to conclusions! Check your conscience, and if everything is clear then just trust that the God who delights in you is doing a little pruning so that your long term joy will be maximized. 

Part of God’s plan is that we supply comfort to each other while they are being pruned. Let’s be sensitive, gentle, and loving to people who are going through difficulties knowing full well that we may need comfort from them tomorrow.

Posted in 2Corinthians, Isaiah, Romans

The Righteousness of God

Posted on by Tom Flaherty

“I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes; first for the Jew, then for the Gentile. For in the gospel a righteousness from God is revealed, a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: ‘The righteous will live by faith.’” Romans 1:16-17

The good news (gospel) is that a righteousness from God is available to us today because of what Christ did on the cross. This righteousness cannot be earned but only embraced through faith; it is God’s gift to those who will receive it. God is so holy that even our seemingly righteous acts appear like filthy rags to Him, (Isaiah 64:6) so He sent His Son to do for us, what we could not do for ourselves. “God made Him who had not sin to be sin for us, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God.” (2Corinthians 5:21)

God’s Spirit made this passage in Romans come alive to a young, miserable monk named Martin Luther while studying in Wittenburg, Germany in 1513-1515. Here are his words about the experience:

“I sought day and night to make out the meaning of Paul; and at last I came to apprehend it thus: Through the gospel is revealed the righteousness which availeth with God – a righteousness by which God, in His mercy and compassion, justifieth us; as it is written, ‘The just shall live by faith.’ Straightway I felt as if I were born anew. It was as if I had found the door of Paradise thrown wide open. Now I saw the Scriptures altogether in a new light – I ran through their whole contents as far as my memory would serve, and compared them, and found that this righteousness was really that by which God makes us righteous, because everything else in Scripture agreed thereunto so well. The expression, ‘the righteousness of God,’ which I so much hated before, now became dear and precious – my darling and comforting word.”

No religious effort or philosophical ideal can produce what God Himself has done for us in Christ. In Him we are righteous! Embrace it, speak it, and walk it out because this simple truth has the power to save everyone who believes.

Posted in John, Revelation, Romans

Intimacy with God

Posted on by Tom Flaherty

“This is eternal life, that they may know You the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You sent.” John 17:3

We had an amazing conference a few years ago called “Intimacy with God”. We had incredible speakers, but the highlight was a strong awareness of the wonderful presence of God. Here are some of the truths highlighted from our speakers.

  1. There is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. (Romans 8:1) One of the great hindrances to intimacy with God is the feeling that we are only tolerated by God. The truth is that we are not only accepted in Christ, we are a delight to Him. God doesn’t just love us, He likes us.
  2. God is a Father who wants us to succeed, not just for a little while, but until the end. He wants us to become godly people who overcome the sin nature through vigilance and perseverance. Intimacy with God does not mean everything will be easy for us, it means that God loves us enough to train us for righteousness.
  3. Intimacy with God does not mean that we will be famous in front of people. God will give a stone to those who overcome that has a name on it that no one knows accept the one who receives it and God Himself. (Revelation 2:17) There is a privacy in intimacy where you and God share things that no one else gets to share with you. Our culture is often about publicity and appearance before others, but God values those who live to please Him regardless of whether people recognize them.
  4. Ultimately intimacy is not about our pursuit of God, but about His pursuit of us. The greatest road to intimacy is in a commitment to following these three words: “Follow the light.” As God pursues you, purpose to respond quickly and you will discover an adventure where God reveals Himself to you again and again.
  5. There are two wings to the Christian life: Intimacy with God and activity for God. Without both of these wings we will not be able to fly the way we want to or in the way God wants us to. It is easy to focus on one or the other but we need both. James said that faith (intimacy) without works (activity) is dead.
Posted in Isaiah, John, Romans

The Shame Chain

Posted on by Tom Flaherty

“Neither do I condemn you. Go and sin no more.” John 8:11

Caught in the act of lust and the betrayal of adultery. Guilt and shame increase as those around pick up the stones of judgment. The holy Son of God up close with a sinner caught in a shameful, sinful act. How does God see the act and how does He see the person?

In my study this week I was reviewing statistics about pornography in the church. 50% of men struggle and 20% of women which is 9% better than those outside the church. The enemy is using our cultural infatuation with sex to erode the moral courage of the people of God.

One statistic I hadn’t seen before was that 90% of Christians who struggle in this area feel shame whenever they try to come into God’s presence. No wonder the problem is so entrenched! If all I think God is saying to me is “go and sin no more,” I am stuck in my shame. If I feel dirty I will eventually return to dirt no matter how hard I try to avoid it.

The power to “go and sin no more” is in hearing “neither do I condemn you.” The one Person who has the right to judge you has chosen to die for your sin so that your judgment can be removed. Listen to His heart for you: “Neither do I condemn you.” He has given us the “gift of righteousness and of the abundance of His grace so that we can reign in this life through Jesus Christ.” (Romans 5:17)

Let Him wash away the shame chain that keeps you going back to the mud. You are a beloved child of God, not a slave to lust. Arise and shine for you Light has come! (Isaiah 60:1)

Posted in 1John, Hebrews, Matthew, Romans

Why a Blood Sacrifice? 

Posted on by Tom Flaherty

“Without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins.” Hebrews 9:22

Recently I received a couple of questions from a young adult about why a loving God would require the blood of His own son in order to accomplish His purpose. Here was my response.

It is critical in thinking about Christ’s sacrifice that we leave behind the puny reasoning of man and seek to humbly enter into the thoughts of God. When Jesus was explaining the need for His crucifixion, Peter rebuked Him, and then Jesus said, “Get behind Me Satan for you do not have in mind the things of God but the things of men.” (Matthew 16:33)

The things of God. The unfathomable depths of the wisdom of God; who can possibly grasp the fullness of His ways or fully understand His paths? (Romans 11:33) Yet in the cross we see a partial revelation of three important truths:

  1. The Holiness of God. God is way more holy than you and I could ever grasp. The idea that God should just forgive on the basis of His loving us would deny His holiness. Because He is love and loves us, He gave His Son to die in our place so that justice for sin would be upheld. 
  2. The sinfulness of man. We don’t realize how sinful we are in the sight of God because we compare ourselves to other people. Jesus called His own disciples “evil” and told the self-righteous rich young ruler that there is no such thing as a good person, only a good God. Satan is the one who tells us we’re good people and accuses God of being unjust for calling us guilty.
  3. The love of God. “This is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and gave His Son to be a propitiation for our sins.” (1John 4:10) We will unpack this amazing truth for all eternity!

As far as “why blood.” God declares that the life of anything is in its blood and therefore there can be no forgiveness without the shedding of innocent blood on behalf of the guilty. (Hebrews 9:22) In the Old Testament it was the blood of innocent animals that God chose to use to cover over sins from year to year. But all of these sacrifices were only pointing to the Lamb of God whose blood alone could actually take away the sins of the world.