Oak Hill Baptist Church

Don’t live in cheap grace

Good Morning Everyone,

Our theme for this month: “You have been set free”

Our Bible verse for today: “What should we say then? Should we continue in sin so that grace may multiply? Absolutely not! How can we who died to sin still live in it?” Romans 6:1-2 (CSB)

Our thought for today: “Don’t live in cheap grace”

“Cheap grace” is a phrase that was coined by the German pastor and theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer in his 1937 book “The Cost of Discipleship”. According to Bonhoeffer, cheap grace is the belief that since as a Christian your sins have been forgiven once and for all and forever, you can live in any manner you like and you will still go to heaven. The concept of cheap grace causes a person to believe they can sin at will and it doesn’t really matter. This is what the Apostle Paul was referring to in Romans 6:1-2 (above). If cheap grace is a legitimate way of thinking and living, Paul sarcastically suggests, then more sin is better than less sin because the more sin there is the more grace there will be to cover over those sins, and that would be a good thing because it would be an even bigger showcase for God’s grace. That, of course, is ridiculous.

Bonhoeffer contrasts cheap grace with “costly” grace. When we understand what a price Christ paid in order for our sins to be covered by the grace of God, we realize that grace isn’t cheap at all – it’s priceless! And therefore, we would never abuse it. Instead, we choose to live in such a way that truly does honor Christ.

Yesterday we thought about how it is that Jesus has set us free from the shackles of legalism. We no longer need an extensive and restrictive set of rules and regulations to govern our every move. Instead, under the guidance and direction of the Holy Spirit, we are to become increasingly spiritually mature, to the point we are living in a way that honors the Lord without having our every move dictated for us.

My favorite illustration of this freedom we have in Jesus comes to us from the Christian philosopher and theologian Dallas Willard. He tells of how when his children were young, he would send them out to play in the fenced-in backyard. While out there they could choose for themselves any number of activities, from playing in the sandbox, to swinging on the swings, to sitting under a tree and reading a book, and many more. All they had to do was behave themselves and stay within the boundaries of the backyard. Dallas said that he didn’t want to have to make their decisions for them. He wanted them to learn to make good decisions for themselves. So he gave then general boundaries they needed to stay within, and he gave them lots of activities they could choose from – any of which would have been fine with him. Then he let them use their good judgment and exercise their free wills.

That’s how God wants to be able to deal with us. In the Bible He gives us general boundaries to live within. But those boundaries are wide, and there are lots of choices we are free to make, any of which are fine with Him. He wants us to become mature enough to use good judgment and make good choices – within the boundaries He has established for us.

We have great freedom in Christ, but there are boundaries we have to stay within. We should not be legalistic and overly restricted, but neither should we live in cheap grace.

God Bless,
Pastor Jim

We have been set free from legalism

Good Morning Everyone,

Our theme for this month: “You have been set free”

Our Bible verse for today: “If you died with Christ to the elements of the world, why do you live as if you still belonged to the world? Why do you submit to regulations: ‘Don’t handle, don’t taste, don’t touch’? … they are human commands and doctrines. Although these have a reputation for wisdom by promoting self-made religion, false humility, and severe treatment of the body, they are not of any value in curbing self-indulgence.” Colossians 2:20-23 (CSB)

Our thought for today: “Jesus has set us free from legalism”

The concept of “legalism” refers to an excessive preoccupation with rules and regulations (most of them manmade) pertaining to the practice of the Christian faith. What happens in legalistic settings is that they take a basic Biblical principle, standard, or command from God, such as one of the Ten Commandments, and then they add lots of detail to it that goes far beyond what the Bible itself actually says.

As a result, they end up with an extensive, detailed, and often rigid system for how they believe the Christian faith should be lived, but it is much more restrictive than what God Himself requires of us in the Bible. This is precisely what the Pharisees did to the Jewish people in the Old Testament, and it is precisely what many fundamentalist churches and denominations do in our day.

But Jesus set us free from legalism. That’s what Paul was reminding the Colossian Christians of in Colossians 2:20-23 (above). Jesus did away with all of the dietary restrictions set forth in the book of Leviticus; He simplified the Ten Commandments, condensing them into “love God and love others”; and He overturned the manmade rules and regulations that the Pharisees had developed.

So, if we don’t have an extensive list of rules, regulations, and restrictions to keep us in line, how does this work in New Testament times? How can we live in a way that pleases God if we don’t have lots of rules to follow? Well, the answer is simple but the process is hard. The answer is that God has placed the Holy Spirit in our hearts to serve as our personal live-in counselor and guide. Moment-by-moment He speaks to us, guides us, and teaches us, and He also convicts us when we’re in the process of doing something outside the will of God. It’s simple. Just listen to the Holy Spirit and do what He tells you.

But it’s hard because that requires spiritual maturity. It requires us to consistently and faithfully place ourselves in a position before God whereby the Holy Spirit has full access to our heart and mind. In that way we become increasingly spiritually sensitive to and aware of the Spirit’s guidance. We do that through prayer, Bible study, worship, service, fellowship, and all the other ways in which we practice the Christian faith.

But that takes time and it requires effort on our parts. And it’s a lifelong process. The growing and maturing never stops. We never “arrive” at spiritual maturity. So, we need help to keep from going off the rails in life. Not only is there a constant danger of defaulting into legalism, but there’s an equal and perhaps greater danger of lapsing into what is sometimes called “cheap grace”. We’ll continue thinking about this tomorrow. It’s true that Jesus has set us free from legalism. Now have to learn how to handle that freedom.

God Bless,
Pastor Jim

You take care of others and God will take care of you

Good Morning Everyone,

Our theme for this month: “You have been set free”

Our Bible verse for today: “And my God will supply all your needs according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:19 (CSB)

Our thought for today: “You take care of others, and God will take care of you.”

In recent days we’ve been thinking about how it is that Jesus sets us free from selfishness. We’ve considered the natural human tendency to be self-absorbed and to be concerned first and foremost for our own well-being. We’ve also learned that Jesus sets us free to focus on others instead and to serve them in His name.

However, the question I posed yesterday was, how can we do that without worrying about our own needs going unmet? If we are focused on looking out for others, who is looking out for us? Well, ideally, if the other Christians in your life are living in the same selfless Christlike manner that you are, then they’re looking out of your interests just as you’re looking out for theirs. But beyond that, and more importantly, God has your back. He’s the One who is looking out for you and making sure that you are taken care of.

That’s what Paul was referring to in Philippians 4:19. We commonly think of the Apostle Paul as having been a great evangelist and church-planter, and he was that. But most of his writings were directed to Christians and were about discipleship – they were all about helping Christians to become more Christlike. In Philippians 4:19 he was expressing His confidence that as we seek to serve God and others, God will take care of us. You take care of others, and God will take care of you.

The Bible is filled with such assurances. Matthew 6:25-34 is of course the classic passage concerning this. In that part of the Sermon on the Mount Jesus assured His listeners that God is well aware of all of our situations and all of our needs. Our part is to “seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness” and then, “and all these things will be provided for you.” You take care of others, and God will take care of you. You work to accomplish His kingdom agenda and bless others in the name of Jesus, and can trust that God has your back.

Here’s another, this one from the Old Testament: “A generous man will prosper; he who refreshes others will himself be refreshed.” Proverbs 11:15 (NIV). That’s God’s promise. You be generous with your time and efforts and resources for the sake of others, and God will make sure that you are similarly blessed.

It’s liberating to know that God has set us free from worrying about such things. All we have to do is focus on being a blessing to others, and we can be confident that He will take care of us in return.

So, you are free to focus on being a blessing to others, knowing that God will take care of you.

God Bless,
Pastor Jim

You have been set free to serve

Good Morning Everyone,

Our theme for this month: “You have been set free”

Our Bible verse for today: “For I have given you an example, that you also should do just as I have done for you.” John 13:15 (CSB)

Our thought for today: “You have been set free to serve”

In John chapter thirteen we find Jesus and His disciples at the Last Supper. It was the night before He would be crucified and they were celebrating the Passover meal. In those days everyone wore open sandals. Foot coverings like socks didn’t exist. The roads were dirt and often muddy, and the streets were filled with animal dung and urine. So, feet got pretty dirty – to the point of being disgusting.

Therefore, it was customary that when people entered a home (their own or especially as a guest in someone else’s), there would be a basin of water and towels so the feet could be washed. The lowest servant would be assigned the task of washing the feet of everyone entering. However, at this Passover feast, no feet had been washed. Everyone was reclining at this low table with their filthy feet splayed out behind them or to the side, and probably in close proximity to other guests. No provision had been made for the washing of dirty feet and, no one was making any effort to address the issue. Remember, washing dirty feet was the job of the lowest servant, and none of the disciples wanted to place themselves in a position of a lowly foot-washing servant.

So, Jesus did it. Jesus got up, got a basin of water and a towel, then went around the room and washed the feet of every person. When He was done, He said the words recorded in John 13:15 “For I have given you an example, that you also should do just as I have done for you.” He was teaching a lesson. The reason the disciples didn’t want to be the one to wash feet is because they thought it would lower them in the eyes of everyone else. But Jesus taught and modeled that the greatest in the kingdom of God is the one who has learned to serve others. At least once before He had taught them that same lesson. In Luke 22:23 He said, “The greatest among you will be the servant of all.”

Jesus has set us free from pride, and from the selfishness and self-centeredness that comes from pride. He has freed us to humbly and joyfully put others first and to serve their needs. How can we do this without worrying about our own needs and without feeling as if we have been neglected while others were esteemed and served? God has that covered for us and we’ll address it tomorrow. For now, just know that Jesus has set you free from pride and selfishness so you can serve others in His name. I encourage you to follow His example and be intentional about serving others today.

God Bless,
Pastor Jim

You have been set free from selfishness

Good Morning Everyone,

Our theme for this month: “You have been set free”

Our Bible verse for today: “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility consider others as more important than yourselves. Everyone should look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others.” Philippians 2:3-4 (CSB)

Our thought for today: “You have been set free from selfishness”

Human beings are selfish by nature. Whether we admit it or not, we are the most important person in our own life. We live inside of our heads, we think about ourselves constantly, and our thoughts center around what we like, what we want, and how we can get it. We think about ourselves much more than we think about anyone else; we talk to ourselves much more than we talk to anyone else; and the bottom line is, we’re motivated by self-preservation, self-promotion, and self-fulfillment. Not totally, of course. The degree to which those things are true of particular individuals may vary from person to person but still, the truth holds that human beings are selfish by nature.

But Jesus sets us free from selfishness. Instead, He teaches us to be selfless. Jesus teaches us, and the Holy Spirit enables us, to think less about ourselves and more about others. This is a marker in our Christian growth. The degree to which we have learned to take our eyes off of ourselves and to focus instead on others is an indication of how much spiritual transformation the Holy Spirit has been able to bring about in our lives. Being selfish is human. Being selfless is Christlike.

In Philippians 2:3-4 Paul urges his readers to be intentional about this. He tells us to make a decision to resist the tendency to think selfishly and to instead determine to humbly think of others first, putting their needs ahead of our own, and then acting on that decision.

Please note that he does not say that we should neglect our own needs. Instead, he says that as we’re looking out for ourselves, we need to be looking out for others as well. But because our natural tendency is to be preoccupied with ourselves and to put our own interests first, it will happen by default. Maybe to the exclusion of considering the interests of others. Therefore, he teaches us to be intentional about looking out for others first. Do that first. Think of them first. Take action on their behalf first. Then, once you have intentionally done that, look out for yourself too.

Learning to be selfless is an important character trait that we Christians need to cultivate if we’re going to become Christlike. This is important, and so we will come back to it tomorrow. In the meantime, know that you have been set free from selfishness.

God Bless,
Pastor Jim

You have been set free from guilt

Good Morning Everyone,

Our theme for this month: “You have been set free”

Our Bible verse for today: “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those in Christ Jesus.” Romans 8:1 (CSB)

Our thought for today: “You have been set free from guilt”

We began our study this month by considering the strong connection between our constitutional freedoms as citizens of the USA, and our spiritual freedom as followers of Jesus Christ. I made the point that neither our freedoms as citizens nor our freedoms as Christians are absolute; they aren’t unrestricted, or unlimited. There are by necessity boundaries within which we are expected to live. The laws of the land and the laws of God provide that structure. I also made the point that the more people in a society there are who live by and obey God’s law, the less need there will be for civil laws and for government intrusion into the lives of its citizens.

At this point in our study, we’re considering what it is that we as Christians have been set free from. Soon we will consider how we can help others to find that freedom too but for now, we’ll continue thinking about what we have been set free from. So far, we’ve learned that we have been set free from the punishment from our sins and from being slaves to sin. Today we will consider the issue of guilt.

Far too many people go through life living with an overwhelming and debilitating sense of guilt and regret for past failures and for past sins. One psychologist estimated that if he could help people to let go of their unresolved guilt and regret, that alone would cure 80% of all mental illness.

As we have already learned, if you have placed your faith in Christ for the forgiveness of your sins then God has forgiven you and He has chosen to remember your sins and failures no more. Now it’s time for you to forgive yourself. If God has forgiven you, then you need to forgive yourself. As author Max Lucado says, “Let mercy happen.” God in His mercy and grace has forgiven you, but if you continue to hold onto your guilt and shame, you are resisting and rejecting His mercy. This is what Paul was referring to in Romans 8:1. There is no condemnation for those who are in Christ.

Your past does not have to define you. You can accept God’s forgiveness, draw a line in the sand, and move forward in life from here. The past is past and you can’t change it. Let it go and move on, doing your best to live well and to live right from here on out. No second-guessing. No regrets. Leave the past in the past and move forward into the future. “For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.” John 3:17. “I will forgive their wrongdoing, and I will never again remember their sins.” Hebrews 8:12.

God let it go and now you need to as well. You have been set free from guilt.

God Bless,
Pastor Jim

You can have victory over Satan

Good Morning Everyone,

Our theme for this month: “You have been set free”

Our Bible verse for today: “Therefore, submit to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you.” James 4:7-8 (CSB)

Our thought for today: “You can have victory over Satan”

This morning I want to continue our discussion from yesterday regarding the important truth that we no longer have to be slaves to sin. You can have victory over Satan. You can choose to resist what is bad and submit to what is good.

Satan’s goal is to oppose God by getting people to disobey Him. But we don’t have to let Satan have the victory in our lives. James 4:7-8 is clear that if we are intentional about resisting him, Satan must flee from us. As was noted in yesterday’s devotional, Satan can’t make us do anything that we’re not willing to do.

As James noted, the secret to having victory over Satan is a simple two-step process. First, resist him. Be intentional about it. We discussed this yesterday. 1 Corinthians 10:13 is a promise from God which was tailormade for exactly this situation. If you want to resist the temptation you are faced with then make 1 Corinthians 10:13 your prayer in that moment – claim it as your own, look for the way out that God has promised to provide for you, and then take it. Resist the devil, and his best efforts against you will be defeated.

The second and even more important part of this is also found in James 4:7-8. It involves drawing near to God. Get close to God and stay close to Him. Satan can’t stand to be in the presence of God. The closer you are to the Lord the further away from you Satan will want to be. That doesn’t mean that he will give-up in his efforts to get you to stray, but it does mean that the closer you are to God the harder it is for Satan to get to you. So, do what you need to do to stay as close to God as you can be. Pray. Read your Bible. Keep your mind focused on Jesus throughout the day. Hang around with other Christians. Attend church.

As was noted yesterday, we no longer have to be slaves to sin. We have been set free by Jesus. That means you can and should have the victory over Satan in every situation. But you do have to be intentional about it. You have to want the victory and you have to work for it. You do your part and God will do His. Resist the devil, draw near to God, God will draw near to you, and you will experience victory over sin and Satan.

God Bless,
Pastor Jim

You are no longer a slave to sin

Good Morning Everyone,

Our theme for this month: “You have been set free”

Our Bible verse for today: “No temptation has come upon you except what is common to humanity. But God is faithful; he will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation he will also provide a way out so that you may be able to bear it.” 1 Corinthians 10:13 (CSB)

Our thought for today: “You are no longer a slave to sin”

At this point in our study of having been set free by Jesus, we’re considering what it is that we have been set free from. Yesterday we learned that first and foremost, we have been set free from the punishment for the sins that we have indeed committed. God will forgive our sins if we will place our faith in His Son Jesus for the forgiveness of our sins.

Also, once we have placed our faith in Christ, we are set free from sinful behaviors as well. We are no longer a slave to sin. That doesn’t necessarily mean that we will no longer commit sin, but it does mean that we don’t have to. Satan can’t force us to do anything we’re not willing to do. And, as the Apostle Paul explained in 1 Corinthians 10:13, God will provide a way for us to escape that temptation and avoid the sin if we are looking for a way out of it and if we are willing to avoid it. But that’s the key, we have to want to avoid sinning and we have to take the actions necessary to resist it.

We all have our weaknesses, and therefore we each have ways in which we are especially prone to sinful behavior. My chief weakness is a tendency towards gluttony. If I don’t discipline myself, I will overindulge in food – especially sweets, and most specifically ice cream, cakes, and donuts. Those are my weaknesses. I know this about myself and so there are ways in which I have learned to discipline myself so that I don’t overindulge.

With respect to ice cream, we can’t have containers of it in our freezer at home. If we do, I just might eat it all in a single sitting. Probably right out of the container. So, we can’t have that in our home. Likewise with cakes and donuts. I won’t eat just one donut or just one piece of cake. If there are more, then I will eat more. So, I have to keep them out of the house and I have to stay out of the cake and donut aisle in the supermarket. (I should also stay away from the desert table at the church potlucks but those of you in our church know that I don’t. You’ve seen me eating more than my fair share of the deserts at church fellowship events. But don’t judge, I know most of your weaknesses too!)

Whatever your weakness is, you don’t have to be a slave to it. There are steps you can take to avoid it. If alcohol is your weakness, then don’t go to places where they serve alcohol. If pornography is your problem, have the appropriate controls set up on your computer. You get the point.

And for those times when we do find ourselves in a situation of being tempted, God has provided us with the promise of 1 Corinthians 10:13. Make that passage your prayer. Recite it back to God, mean it, look for the way out, and then take it.

You are no longer a slave to sin. You have been set free.

God Bless,
Pastor Jim

If your sins have been forgiven you have been set free

Good Morning Everyone,

Our theme for this month: “You have been set free”

Our Bible verse for today: “Therefore, my friends, I want you to know that through Jesus the forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you. Through him everyone who believes is set free from every sin, a justification you were not able to obtain under the law of Moses.” Acts 13:38-39

Our thought for today: “If your sins have been forgiven you have been set free.”

There was a prison in Italy in the 1500s that was located on a small island in a harbor. The prison was a large stone fortress that was entered by boat. The boat bringing the prisoner to the prison would enter an inlet and slowly drift towards a tunnel entrance carved into the massive stone structure. The prison was huge, towering over the boat. It was covered in slimy green moss, the entrance was dark and forbidding, and it was cold, damp, and windblown. Carved over the entrance in bold letters was the notice “Abandon hope all you who enter here!”

Imagine a prisoner sitting in the boat viewing this scene, knowing he had been sentenced to spend the rest of his life in this evil-looking place. Image the sick feeling in his stomach and the deep sense of doom and desperation and hopelessness he must have felt. Now imagine that as the boat prepares to dock the Warden is standing there and shouts to the officers, “The prisoner has been forgiven. His sentence has been commuted. Turn around, bring him back to town and release him. He is a free man!” Can you imagine the relief that would flood over the prisoner upon hearing that news? He doesn’t have to suffer the punishment for the crimes he has committed. He is a free man. He has been granted a new life!

That’s exactly the situation for those of us who have placed our faith in Jesus for the forgiveness of our sins. We deserve to be punished but instead we have been forgiven and set free. That’s what Paul was explaining to his listeners in Acts 13:38-39. We have been set free from the punishment we deserve for the sins we have committed. That’s the freedom that faith in Christ brings to us.

Psalm 103:11-12 assures us, “For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his faithful love toward those who fear him. As far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us.” Likewise, in Hebrews 8:12 God promises, “For I will forgive their wrongdoing, and I will never again remember their sins.”

That forgiveness is found only through faith in Jesus Christ. “There is salvation in on one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to people by which we must be saved.” Acts 4:12. And, “I am the way, the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father except through me.” John 14:6.

People all around us are desperate and hopeless and they need to know what you know – they need to know that God will forgive their sins and give them a new life. They need to be set free, as you have been. I encourage you to help someone find that freedom today. Tell them about Jesus. He will set them free.

God Bless,
Pastor Jim

God let’s us suffer the consequences

Good Morning Everyone,

Our theme for this month: “You have been set free”

Our Bible verse for today: “For though they knew God, they did not glorify him as God or show gratitude. Instead, their thinking became worthless, and their senseless hearts were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools … therefore God delivered them over in the desires of their hearts …” Romans 1:21-24 (CSB)

Our thought for today: “God let’s us suffer the consequences”

In Romans 1:24, when the Apostle Paul wrote that God delivers sinful people over to the desires of their hearts, what he meant was that God will allow us to suffer the consequences of our sins. In the Bible God has made His standards clear, plain, and simple. They are standards that apply to all people in all places at all times. But God doesn’t force obedience. He has given mankind free will and He allows us to make our own choices. But He also then allows us to suffer the consequences of the choices. We are free to choose, but we are not free to avoid the consequences of those choices.

When Paul wrote that God delivers people over, it means for one thing that God withdraws His hand of blessing and protection, and then people live as best they can without His blessings. But on top of that, God will also bring discipline and punishment into individual lives, and into the national life of entire nations, in order to help them to come to the realization that His ways are best. Between the two, the disciplinary and punitive actions of God, along with the natural consequences that come with bad choices, life lived outside the will of God will be unpleasant at best.

With respect to our national life in the USA, there are two observations from leaders of previous generations which are insightful and helpful. The first comes from one of the founders of our nation, Daniel Webster, and it was written in 1787: “If God and His Word are not known and received, the devil and his works will be. If the power of the Gospel is not felt throughout the length and breadth of the land, anarchy and misrule, degradation and misery, corruption and darkness will reign …”

The second statement was written more than 200 years later by Newt Gingrich when he was serving as Speaker of the House of Representatives in 1994: “It is impossible to maintain civilization with 12 year old’s having babies, 15 year old’s killing each other, 17 year old’s dying of AIDS, or 18 year old’s getting diplomas they can’t read.” The situation in our country has only gotten worse since Gingrich wrote those words twenty-seven years ago. It has gotten much worse.

So, now that we have a fairly accurate understanding of where our society is today with respect to God and His principles, let’s move on to the role we as Christians must be playing in an attempt to help correct this. We will do that tomorrow. As Christians we have been set free by Jesus, and one of the reasons we have been is so that we can help others to be free too. So we will begin by considering what it is we have been set free from.

God Bless,
Pastor Jim