Trust AND Obey » Holy

Grace – Amazing or Mundane

Dave Miller — Sat, 06 Mar 2010 20:13:03 +0000

O mundane grace, how dull the sound,
Useless to one like me.
I am not lost, don’t need t’be found,
I’m good, why can’t you see?

What’s grace, and why do I need it?
God knows my heart is pure.
He loves me just the way I am,
And my salvation’s sure.

Though I may sin, from time to time,
I’m not as bad as some.
At least I’m not a hypocrite,
Like all those Church-y scum.

And when I die, and go to Heav’n
And stand before the throne.
He’ll let me in, despite my sin,
For my goodness alone.

Sadly, there are many people who claim to know the Lord, who would think that there is nothing wrong with these lyrics. I have a very dear friend who believes that God is going to let her into His kingdom because of the good things she’s done. She is a universalist and my heart breaks whenever she tells me some of the non-biblical things she believes. I have talked to her at length about Romans 3:23, Titus 3:5 and Matthew 7:22-23, but she just dismisses those parts of the bible along with others that she doesn’t like. I pray for her every day. If you know people who take God’s Amazing Grace for granted, take time right now to pray for their stony hearts to be removed and replaced with hearts of flesh. (Ezekiel 36:26)

“Beware of manufacturing a god of your own: A god who is all mercy but not just, a god who is all love but not holy, A god who has a heaven for everybody but a hell for none … Such a god is an idol of your own. The hands of your own fancy and sentimentality have made him. He is not the God of the Bible.” — J.C. Ryle

The idea for this article came from an email I received from Ligonier Ministries last week announcing a new book entitled, By Grace Alone by Dr. Sinclair Ferguson. The email began with the words, “Routine Grace, How Monotonous the Sound?” I haven’t read the book, but would recommend it based on the author’s reputation alone.

Merry Christmas 2009

Dave Miller — Thu, 24 Dec 2009 03:43:29 +0000

To my dear readers, (both of you)

I would like to wish you and your family a very happy and memorable Christmas.

The whole reason we celebrate is to commemorate the greatest gift ever given. Christmas is the time to honor Jesus of Nazareth, God the Son, the Son of God, who was born in human flesh to live among His creation for a few decades. What he did, during what we would consider a very short life, was to teach us to love God and one another, to take our sins upon him, and to cover us with His perfect righteousness so we can once again be in full fellowship with God the Father now and forever.

If you only half-heartedly believe this, or don’t believe it at all, please think about it for a few minutes. Consider the fact that all of us will die someday and how many toys we have really doesn’t matter. Consider the fact that there is no way for anyone to live a life good enough to qualify for even a moment in the presence of a perfect, Holy God. The only way to earn a place in heaven is to live a perfect, holy life, and none of us can do that. But if you believe Jesus (not just believe IN Jesus) and turn away from your sins, God will look at your sinful life and see Jesus’ perfect life. Jesus’ work on the cross has assured all believers of this.

Everything else you may have been told that you have to do in order to gain heaven is extraneous. Repent and believe that Jesus is Lord and you are saved – by grace alone through faith alone, not by works. No other religion in the world teaches this, grace is unique to Christianity. Grace is the best kind of gift because none of us deserve it. What a wonderful gift! God loved us so much that he sent his Son to defeat death and sin, and give all believers the undeserved gift of eternal life in His presence.

May the blessings of Christmas be upon all of you.

-Dave

God is…

Dave Miller — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 16:14:38 +0000

God is _________. (fill in the blank)

Most people would fill in the blank with the word Love, but the most accurate word to use would be Holy. This is one of the main roots of the problem of Christians who misunderstand the nature of God.

In Isaiah 6, Isaiah sees Seraphim flying above the throne of God saying, “Holy, Holy, Holy, is the LORD of hosts, The whole earth is full of His glory.” This language is repeated in Revelation chapter 4. These are the only instances in the bible where God is described with the same word three times in a row.

The ancient Hebrew tradition of repeating phrases or words to stress their importance is trebled here. “Holy, Holy, Holy is the LORD of hosts…” Nowhere in the Bible is God referred to as “Love, Love, Love”, “Justice, Justice, Justice” or “Wrath, Wrath, Wrath.” Holiness encompasses all of these qualities along with pleasure, displeasure, sorrow, regret, vengeance, anger, compassion, mercy, graciousness and goodness. None of these attributes contradicts any other. God can be angry, and forgiving at the same time. God can be vengeful and gracious at the same time. God can be and is all of these things and much more. Any attempt by man to label God as something less does Him injustice. Beware when somebody tells you ‘God is Love’ and ignores all his other traits that are clearly described throughout the Bible. Usually they are trying to ignore part of God’s being that goes against their sinful nature.

The concept of holiness is completely misunderstood or, worse, completely disbelieved by many American Christians. Holy, primarily, means set apart. Since God is set apart so far from Man, it is impossible for us to completely comprehend the nature of God, but we can apprehend a part of his being by careful study of the Bible. Isaiah 55:8-9 “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways,” declares the LORD. For {as} the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways And My thoughts than your thoughts.”

Read your Bible. Get to know the God Who Is. For help with understanding what the bible says, I recommend The Holiness of God or Discovering The God Who Is by R.C. Sproul, or Knowing God by J.I. Packer