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Gleanings From The Word

Category: Theology

  • Who is a saint?

    Who is a saint?

    The canopy of trees over the trail reminded me of an archway of branches praising Jesus as He entered Jerusalem. The praise didnt last long

    The canopy of trees over the trail reminded me of an archway.  Each leaned in a bit to cover the trail.

    As I walked the trail, I thought of the arches of palms and willows waved over Jesus as He entered the city of Jerusalem in the days before His crucifixion. The crowds adored Him, worshipped Him, and boldly proclaimed His name.

    As we know, that adoration didn’t last very long. Many of those same people were likely in the crowd that a few days later cried out to Pontius Pilate, “Crucify Him!” He went from hero to zero in the space of a few days.

    People are fickle. If you don’t believe that, look at most sports fans. As long as the team is winning, it is the greatest. Start to lose, however, and watch the crowds get the scent of blood. 

    Watch politicians and actors move in and out of favor as the crowd sees fit. Today’s great is tomorrow’s has been. Yesterday’s loser is today’s winner.

    The line between hero and zero is thin. 

    There is a case where that doesn’t apply. You see, without Jesus, we’re all going to lose. We have sinned, and we’re kept apart from God. With Him, even the worst of sinners can become a saint for eternity. 

    Let’s clarify that last sentence: saint is a word often misunderstood in Christian circles. A saint is any believer in Jesus Christ. The tradition of elevating specific individuals to “sainthood” has no biblical foundation.

    If you know Jesus, you’re a saint. We’re made right with God and reconciled to Him because of His sacrifice. The Father sees us through the righteousness of the Son and declares us set apart, holy.

    For Christ has entered, not into holy places made with hands, which are copies of the true things, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God on our behalf. Nor was it to offer himself repeatedly, as the high priest enters the holy places every year with blood, not his own, or then he would have had to suffer repeatedly since the foundation of the world. But as it is, he has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself. And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment, so Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him. Hebrews 9:24-28

    Fortunately, unlike us, He’s not fickle. He’s steadfast and will stick by us for all eternity. Once we’re under the blood, we’re there to stay. That’s a good thing.

    Until next time, rejoice. God is good!

    Be blessed

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  • The World Changed on Reformation Day

    The World Changed on Reformation Day

    Happy Reformation Day. 

    On this day, five hundred and seven years ago, one of the most transformational events in history occurred. A then obscure, devout Roman Catholic monk, Martin Luther, Attached what would come to be known as the “Ninety-Five Theses” to the door of the Wittenberg Church in Germany.

    At that time, the Roman Catholic church was in the practice of selling indulgences.

    The church believed that a believer ascended into heaven only after an appropriate amount of time was spent in Purgatory, facing cleansing and punishment for sin. To reduce this suffering, the church sold indulgences, reducing the time spent there. A living person could also purchase reduced time or skip Purgatory through a guaranteed mass performed at their future funeral.

    These indulgences were a huge money-raiser for the church, and Luther was concerned that such practices did not match up with what the Scriptures taught. He compiled a list of 95 theological issues for debate and attached them to the church’s door. That was the equivalent of posting the challenge on social media today.

    This act would eventually lead to him being declared a heretic, sentenced to death, and eventually to the formation of the “Lutheran” church. The Reformation was underway.

    Around the same time, other believers also questioned various doctrines taught by the church, and a move was made to reform the church’s teachings. Not all 

    The Reformers did not agree on every issue; in fact, there was great diversity and even animosity between them.

    This clumsy, diverse movement led to the establishment of what would be called the protesting or Protestant Church in all of its diversity. Although numerous “pre-reformers” were working to recover the gospel of salvation by grace alone through faith alone in the work of Jesus Christ, this October date is generally considered the start of the Reformation.

    Many of the reformers were martyred  or spent their lives hiding as “heretics.”

    Why should we care?

    As Protestants, we trace our lineage not to the reformers but to the teachings of Christ himself. The true doctrine of “by faith alone” was recovered by not invented by the reformers. It was always foundational to the bible but has become lost in church bureaucracy and tradition. Still, these men and women paid a high price for the truth. Their sacrifice is worth remembering.

    The truth is, as the Scriptures declare,

    But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved. Ephesians 2:4-5

    For by works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin. Romans 3:20

    Are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ. Jesus Romans 3:24

    Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. Hebrew 11:1

    For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God   Ephesians 2:8

    Salvation belongs to the Lord; your blessing be on your people! Psalm 3:8

    Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved. Ephesians 1:3-6

    We don’t merit redemption. We can’t earn it, and we can’t buy it. It is a gift of love and mercy. 

    Praise God for the salvation he freely offers.

    Hallelu Yah / Praise God 

    Kevin

    Gleanings From The Word

    Experience an extraordinary God in ordinary life. 

    Soli Deo Gloria (For the glory of God alone)

    Never let the enemy tell you that you are worthless or insignificant. Your value in God’s eyes is so great that it was worth dying for. You are a blessing to the world. You are so precious to God that his plan for heaven will not be complete without you.

    Halloween and Reformation Day
    Read the Word. Read the Word. Read the Word.