Friday of Trinity II - Devotion in semi-Exile

Lection for Friday after Trinity II 
Joshua 1:1-18      Acts 8:1-25

I am presently away on vacation with Pauline. It means I should truly take a break and not write a devotion for this space today. So, I am not "writing" one. Instead, I am recycling something I wrote awhile back. It is a 3-part series on "Denying God". Even those of you who read it in the newsletters they ran it, that was back in 2007, so maybe it will be fresh for you. Here is installment #1.

Have You Ever Denied God?   —   Part I   —   Your Works -vs- Christ’s Work

Have you ever denied God?  Most Christians would claim that they haven’t.  It is for this reason that we will examine some hard questions in the next three articles occupying this space.

What does it mean to deny God?  There are the Biblical examples of Peter and Judas.  Peter denied God by denying Christ, vehemently claiming that he did not know the man.  Of course, then the rooster crowed.  Peter fled in shame for his denial of his Lord.

As for Judas, you might be thinking, “Judas didn’t deny God, he betrayed Jesus.”  This is of course true.  It is also true that in so doing, he denied God.  His betrayal of Jesus was sinful, but he could have been forgiven.  He betrayed Jesus, and God used that to bring about His plan of redemption for all mankind.  Forgiveness was purchased by His Son on the cross?  Judas betrayed Jesus, so that He could die for the sins of all mankind.  That noble death also purchased forgiveness for Judas’ sin of betrayal.  Instead of repentance, trusting that forgiveness, Judas denies God by rejecting the work of Christ.  Instead, Judas seeks to make payment for his own sin by hanging himself.

Some Christians deny Jesus as did Peter, claiming not to know Him.  No, not with open mouths, but in their silence.  When confronted with possible ridicule or derision for their faith, they simply remain quiet. 

Many however, deny Jesus as did Judas.  Nobody else has ever betrayed Jesus with a kiss, but that was not Judas’ denial of God.  Judas thought that he was not good enough to attain God’s kingdom, that he hadn’t done his part, and so he felt he must pay for his own sins.  He denied Christ’s work of redemption.

Many have denied God as did Judas.  Have you ever thought that you have to do your part to get into heaven?  Some Christians like to rely on their works: “I live a pretty good life, at least compared to the rest of the world.  That has to count for something.”  You know that your works cannot gain heaven, not even a little part of it.  In Ephesians, Paul records God’s word: For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—  not by works, so that no one can boast.  For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.  (Ephesians 2:8-10 NIV)  Clearly evident is that the good works of the Christian are not theirs, but God’s.  It was God who prepared them, they are His works given to believers.  Christians are simply the vehicles through which He brings them about.

You might ask, “What about faith?  Surely, that is my work?”  That, too, is God’s work.  Look back at the Ephesians passage.  Faith is the gift God gives.  Consider, what makes a gift?  Some people think that their bonuses at work are a gift, but really, they are a pat on the back for a job well done.  What is a gift, then?  A gift is something given to another by the gracious desire of the giver.  There is nothing that the one receiving the gift has done to earn it.  Apply that to faith. If faith is God’s gift, then it has nothing to do with the believer and his/her works, but it has everything to do with the gracious work of a loving God.  Faith is God’s loving gift to you, not given to you for what you have done, but given to you purely out of His love.

Too often, people deny that faith is God’s gift.  Frequently, people like to take credit for at least their faith.  Did you ever hear one of those TV preachers say something like, “Knowing how much Jesus did for you, He reaches down to you, all you have to do is take His hand.  Won’t you accept Jesus into your heart today?”  This is a denial of God!  Many are the people who fall into this trap that Satan weaves.  A trap he sets by using teachers who claim the name of Christ.

How is this a denial of God?  Faith is a gift, as we said earlier.  It is the Holy Spirit’s work in the heart of believers.  Scripture records:

Man cannot accept Jesus without the Holy Spirit’s work within him.  But as it is written: “Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, Nor have entered into the heart of man The things which God has prepared for those who love Him.”  But God has revealed them to us through His Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God. For what man knows the things of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so no one knows the things of God except the Spirit of God. Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God.  These things we also speak, not in words which man’s wisdom teaches but which the Holy Spirit teaches, comparing spiritual things with spiritual.  But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.  (1 Corinthians 2:9-14)

To claim, then, that it was your work, your ability, or even your choice to accept God, means that you are denying God.  You are in fact robbing God of the glory due Him, by claiming for yourself the very work of the Holy Spirit.

Furthermore, when one relies upon their own good works, even only a little bit, to gain heaven, that is a denial the work of Christ.  Wasn’t Good Friday work enough?  Didn’t that accomplish salvation?  Christ said, “It is finished!”  Was there more that needed to be done?

Of course, the most insidious is the belief that “I” can come to faith, that I must or can accept Jesus.  In this thinking, who is the thinker relying upon?  Self or God?  It is important that we thank God for His gracious gifts to us.  God chose to come to us and begin faith in us.  We cannot take credit for the work of the Holy Spirit.  God has give us so very much.  He created us and sustains us.  He redeemed us in the suffering and death of His only begotten Son.  Finally, His Spirit comes to us and makes His dwelling within us, to sanctify us to Himself. 

I pray that you never deny your God, instead, with all confidence, express your faith in your Father who is our Father, that Son who is our beloved Redeemer, and that Spirit who is our breath and life.  To this Holy Blessed Trinity in it undivided unity, belongs all glory, honor, and worship.

All Scripture quotations were taken from The Holy Bible, New King James Version, (Nashville, Tennessee: Thomas Nelson, Inc.) 1982.