Tuesday, June 26, 2018

A Thought

"Then Joshua told the people, “Purify yourselves, for tomorrow the Lord will do great wonders among you.”"
Joshua 3:5 NLT
https://bible.com/bible/116/jos.3.5.NLT

We live in a different time and culture to Joshua and the Hebrew, the Israelites,  who after journeying in the wilderness, were now entering the promised land. Yet there is a principle here: purify yourselves. How do we do that?  How do we live righteously before God.

The Word of God gives us the answer. We come before God, confess our sins and let his righteous life cleanse us and make us whole. He promises to purify and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. The apostle John makes it clear in his first letter. Fellowship with God and each other is the result of faith in Jesus. It is faith in Jesus and his sacrifice for us which cleanses us from all sin.

 "But if we are living in the light, as God is in the light, then we have fellowship with each other, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, cleanses us from all sin. If we claim we have no sin, we are only fooling ourselves and not living in the truth. But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness."
1 John 1:7‭-‬9 NLT
https://bible.com/bible/116/1jn.1.7-9.NLT

Once we understand this we can stop striving to try and please God by our own means and by striving to be good enough for God by our behaviour. Instead, by grace, God through his love, and the work of his Spirit, enables us to grow and to change by changing the way we think, (Rom 12:2) and thus our behaviour changes. We see life differently and live differently, by grace and not works.

Grace is not reliant on works and striving. We are saved by grace, we live by faith, and we are then able to live in obedience to God by the power of his spirit in us and do the works he prepared for us.

 "Dear friends, you always followed my instructions when I was with you. And now that I am away, it is even more important. Work hard to show the results of your salvation, obeying God with deep reverence and fear. For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him."
Philippians 2:12‭-‬13 NLT
https://bible.com/bible/116/php.2.12-13.NLT

Paul is keen for followers of Jesus to understand the great power that is at work in us. It is the very power of God, his Spirit, at work enabling us to love him and live for him. Paul also encourages us in to live out of the new nature God has given us. We have become new creations (2 Cor 5:17) and are now made righteous by Christ.

 "Since you have heard about Jesus and have learned the truth that comes from him, throw off your old sinful nature and your former way of life, which is corrupted by lust and deception. Instead, let the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes. Put on your new nature, created to be like God—truly righteous and holy. So stop telling lies. Let us tell our neighbors the truth, for we are all parts of the same body. And “don’t sin by letting anger control you.” Don’t let the sun go down while you are still angry, for anger gives a foothold to the devil. If you are a thief, quit stealing. Instead, use your hands for good hard work, and then give generously to others in need. Don’t use foul or abusive language. Let everything you say be good and helpful, so that your words will be an encouragement to those who hear them."
Ephesians 4:21‭-‬29 NLT
https://bible.com/bible/116/eph.4.21-29.NLT

Paul tells us that we will be able to live differently because of what Jesus has already done, and therefore we can choose to live differently, no longer live like we did in the past. Sometimes old habits are hard to break. But Paul says to "put on your new nature". Let God show you where you need to change your behaviour. It is a daily choice to live in our new nature, not to gain salvation but because God in his grace and mercy had already given it to us.