“And they sang a new song, saying, ‘Worthy are you to take the scroll and to open its seals, for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation'” (Revelation 5:9).

THE LAMB THAT WAS SLAIN! Reminiscent of the Passover lamb in Israel, Jesus was a greater sacrifice, enabling God to justify mankind from its sins. John the Baptist said on one occasion as he saw Jesus coming toward him, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29). In Revelation, no one but this Lamb is worthy to open the scroll containing God’s purposes for mankind (Revelation 5:4,5). And He is qualified to do so — “for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation” (v.9).

To “ransom” is to redeem. When people are in trouble and can’t deliver themselves, a redeemer is one who offers to pay the price to solve the problem for them. So it was that by offering His life, Jesus Christ ransomed us. He allowed us to be forgiven and released from the penalty of death. As a result of the ransom price being paid, our chains are now broken. God has a people who once were slaves but now are free to belong to Him in the most special sense. It is “for God” that we’ve been ransomed.

Revelation 5:9 emphasizes that this ransomed people will be made up of those “from every tribe and language and people and nation.” Jesus had said to the Jews, “I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd” (John 10:16).

There are many scriptural ways Christians may view themselves, but none is any more beneficial than to think of ourselves as having been ransomed. It is dangerous to forget that we are only able to be God’s people because He rescued us. If gratitude for grace is the most motivating force in the world, then Christians should surely be the most motivated people in the world, for they are reminded, at least once a week when they partake of the Lord’s Supper, that when God delivered them from their slavery to sin, it was an act of sheer grace. It would be a hardhearted person indeed who could know this and not respond with both awestruck reverence and the gratitude which leads to faithful obedience.

“Grace is love that cares and stoops and rescues” (John R. W. Stott).

Gary Henry – WordPoints.com + AreYouaChristian.com

     

“Peter answered and said to Him, ‘Even if all are made to stumble because of You, I will never be made to stumble.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Assuredly, I say to you that this night, before the rooster crows, you will deny Me three times'” (Matthew 26:33,34).

WE SET OUT TO “SWIM” TOWARD THE LORD, BUT SOMETIMES THE “UNDERTOW” GETS US. Peter’s example shows how easy it is to profess love for the Lord in our words and then fall short in our deeds. As long as we live in this world, the devil will always make sure that we meet resistance in carrying out our good intentions.

When we’re tempted to sin, there is always a “way of escape” (1 Corinthians 10:13). However strong the undertow may be, we never have to give in to it. The positive choice is always possible.

But though the way of escape will always be provided, it has to be taken before it will do us any good. The benefits of the Lord’s protection and help are not automatic or involuntary — they have to be appropriated by a free-will choice to say “No!” to sin.

Without God’s help, of course, we would be hopelessly lost. But even so, we have to exert ourselves to overcome our obstacles. We have to fight the undertow. And many are the scriptural exhortations to that end. “Put to death your members which are on the earth” (Colossians 3:5). “Put off . . . the old man” (Ephesians 4:22). “Do not let sin reign in your mortal body, that you should obey it in its lusts” (Romans 6:12). The point is hard to miss.

But whatever sinful forces are out there, the face of the worst one can be seen in the mirror. As Walt Kelly said in Pogo, “We have met the enemy and he is us.” The “old man” that Paul said must be put to death is not a nice person, and each of us needs to be very honest about the “me” that we would be without God. This person has to die. If not, the new person that Christ can create will never have a chance to live: “I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me” (Galatians 2:20).

God harden me against myself,
This coward with pathetic voice
Who craves for ease, and rest, and joys.
Myself, arch-traitor to myself
My hollowest friend, my deadliest foe,
My clog whatever road I go.
Yet One there is can curb myself,
Can roll the strangling load from me,
Break off the yoke and set me free.
(Christina Georgina Rossetti)

Gary Henry – WordPoints.com + AreYouaChristian.com

     

“The successful producer of an article sells it for more than it cost him to make, and that’s his profit. But the customer buys it only because it is worth more to him than he pays, and that’s his profit. No one can long make a profit producing anything unless the customer makes a profit using it” (Samuel B. Pettengill).

PROFIT IS ONE OF LIFE’S BASIC CONCEPTS. The root meaning of the word is “an advantageous gain or return, a benefit.” Few of us do anything for purely abstract reasons. Most of the work in the world, including the good work, is done by those who stand to receive some benefit from what they do, if it’s only the good feeling that comes from knowing that one has done something worth doing.

But on the corporate (if not the personal) level, there’s no denying that many people today are ambivalent toward the idea of profit. Somehow, a “non-profit” organization seems more virtuous than any other kind. But clearly, it’s not the pursuit of profit that is objectionable — it’s the unprincipled pursuit of profit. There is nothing dishonorable about the making of a profit, either by an individual or a business, as long as both the “buyer” and the “seller” receive fair value in the exchange, as suggested by Samuel B. Pettengill’s words above.

Years ago, Justice Louis Brandeis described principled profitability in words that still hold true. Think about this: “While [continued absence of profit] spells failure, large profits do not connote success. Success must be sought . . . also in excellence of performance; and in business, excellence of performance manifests itself, among other things, in the advancing of methods and processes; in the improvement of products; in more perfect organization, eliminating friction as well as waste; in bettering the condition of the workingmen, developing their faculties and promoting their happiness; and in the establishment of right relations with customers and with the community.”

But here’s a final thought, and one more important than all of the above. To be “profitable” can mean two things: it can mean gaining something advantageous or beneficial, but it can also mean being advantageous or beneficial. In this second sense, every single one of us ought to strive to be profitable. That is, we ought always to be asking the question: how profitable am I to those who are connected to me?

“He profits most who serves best” (Rotary International).

Gary Henry – WordPoints.com + AreYouaChristian.com

     

The king shall have joy in Your strength, O Lord;
And in Your salvation how greatly shall he rejoice!
(Psalm 21:1)

SINCE IN ANY CONTEST BETWEEN THE “HEAD” AND THE “HEART,” THE HEART ALMOST ALWAYS WINS, IT IS VERY IMPORTANT THAT OUR HEARTS BE GIVEN TO GOD. God gave us all three of the parts of our minds — our intellect, our emotions, and our will — and our emotions cannot be safely neglected. If we don’t bring the positive power of our emotions to bear upon our spiritual lives, we will find it difficult, if not impossible, to serve God faithfully and consistently. If our feelings have gotten out of hand, they can be our enemy and pull us away from God. But that need not be so. There is no good reason why our feelings can’t be our ally. Working with the intellect and the will, the heart can help us.

In his prayer, David said that “the king shall have joy in Your strength, O Lord; and in Your salvation how greatly shall he rejoice.” It is a joyous thing indeed to contemplate God’s strength. But there is another side to this truth. The very joy we are able to have in God’s strength is also the main source of our own strength! As Nehemiah said to the people of Jerusalem, “Do not sorrow, for the joy of the Lord is your strength” (Nehemiah 8:10). Strength of character is always more than the product of raw intellect or brute willpower. Our affections must be involved also. And if it is spiritual strength we’re interested in, then the feeling of joy is especially important. There is no stronger person than the one who fully feels the joy that can be found in God.

There will certainly be times when commitment to God will require us to say “No” to unworthy thoughts and words and deeds. But the key to doing this consistently is not simply the development of a stronger will. In the long run, we won’t be able to say “No” to what is wrong if we don’t have a bigger “Yes” burning within us for what is right. We must want what is good, and we must want it with all of our hearts. Like our Lord who “for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross” (Hebrews 12:2), we must be moved primarily by joy and hope. The prospect of one day seeing God’s face must be the main part of our strength.

“It is vain to contend with anything that hath the power of our affections in its disposal; it will prevail at the last” (John Owen).

Gary Henry – WordPoints.com + AreYouaChristian.com

     

“Nothing worthwhile comes easily. Half effort does not produce half results; it produces no results. Work, continuous work and hard work, is the only way to accomplish results that last” (Hamilton Holt).

GENERALLY SPEAKING, IT IS WORK THAT CREATES WORTH OR VALUE. A violin is worth more than the pieces of wood from which it was made because someone worked to take the raw materials and add value to them. A business, if it had a good year, is worth more at the end of the year than at the beginning because its employees did work which added value to the company. Despite the ageless search of mankind for the proverbial “free lunch,” there really is no such thing. In the whole wide world of human endeavor, there are few exceptions to the rule: it is work that creates worth. Rarely do we “reap” any more from a human product than its maker “sowed” in the making of it.

But if human products have worth, so do human beings themselves, and here we need to be careful. There is a sense in which all human beings have exactly the same worth. Created by the same Creator, we each possess an equal inherent worth. But there is also an acquired worth which we may have, and this depends on what we do with what we’ve been given. Abraham Lincoln and Adolf Hitler both had the same inherent worth, but most folks would say that Lincoln used his life to acquire a more worthy character than Hitler. So each of us needs not only to be grateful for our built-in value as persons; we need to invest serious labor in building a worthy life while we live.

When we’re sizing up the character of others, we need to look below the surface, since appearances can often be deceiving. But there is another side to that truth: we ought not to use outward appearances to deceive others into thinking that we’re worth more than we are. As Aesop said, “Outside show is a poor substitute for inner worth.”

As we said at the beginning, it is work that creates worth. If we want to be people of genuine worth, we’re going to have to work at it. And we might as well admit that work requires sacrifice. To gain the things of highest value, some lesser things will have to be given up. Indeed, the very highest things may cost nothing less than life itself.

“To gain that which is worth having, it may be necessary to lose everything else” (Bernadette Devlin).

Gary Henry – WordPoints.com + AreYouaChristian.com

     

“For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse” (Romans 1:20).

EVERYWHERE IN GOD’S CREATION THERE ARE TRACES OF GOD HIMSELF. The American Heritage Dictionary gives this as the most basic meaning of the word “trace”: “A visible mark or sign of the former presence or passage of a person, thing, or event.” Surely, we are surrounded by traces of God. God has not left Himself without marks or signs that He has been here. So telling are the tokens of His creativity, we can hardly come into contact with anything God has done without being reminded of the power of His existence and the richness of His love.

God’s existence. The all-important fact that “God is real” is announced to us by the marvels He has left behind. If we fail to see this truth, it is not because it has not been made plain to us: “For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse.”

God’s benevolence and beauty. As important as it is for us to recognize the traces of God’s existence, it is even more important for us to see what the creation says about His nature. Just as surely as any work of art ever revealed the heart of the artist, God’s creative work tells us that He is a God of love. A world like the one we live in could not have been made by a God who did not take delight in beauty and joy and even good humor. The Alps and the Grand Canyon surely make some kind of comment on God’s nature. But so do the dandelion and the duckbilled platypus!

Our purpose as vessels to receive God’s joy. Surrounded by so many traces of God, how can we take in the wonders of the world and miss what these wonders say about us? The very fact that we have the ability to meditate rationally on these things and appreciate their significance ought to persuade us that we were made for something more than mere existence. We were made to be receptacles: vessels into which our Father wishes to pour His delight.

“As the hand is made for holding and the eye for seeing, You have fashioned me for joy. Share with me the vision that shall find it everywhere: in the wild violet’s beauty, in the lark’s melody, in the face of a steadfast man, in a child’s smile, in a mother’s love, in the purity of Jesus” (A Gaelic Prayer).

Gary Henry – WordPoints.com + AreYouaChristian.com

     

“And in this I give advice: It is to your advantage not only to be doing what you began and were desiring to do a year ago; but now you also must complete the doing of it; that as there was a readiness to desire it, so there also may be a completion out of what you have” (2 Corinthians 8:10,11).

REACHING TOWARD HEAVEN REQUIRES SETTING SOME GOALS AND MAKING SOME COMMITMENTS. Without firm commitments, the hard things just aren’t likely to get done. So there is great value in making plans and promises. In scriptural language, that means “purposing” what we will do (2 Corinthians 9:7). Then, having committed ourselves, there must not be a gap between our promise and our performance. As there was a “readiness to desire it,” so there must also be a “completion” of it (2 Corinthians 8:11).

Even in terms of our short-term spiritual growth, we need to make more specific plans than we sometimes do. If all we have is a vague, unspecific desire to make progress, we won’t move ahead much. We have to commit ourselves to some specific goals.

The ultimate purpose of spiritual growth, of course, is reaching the long-term goal of seeing God’s face in heaven. Having confessed our faith and obeyed the gospel, we have made what amounts to a commitment to go to heaven. But I believe it will help us to make that commitment explicit by verbally promising those near and dear to us that we are not going to give up. Folks need to have a pledge from us that we’re going to do what’s right.

Then, as we’ve said, we must keep our commitment, and that’s not always easy. But let me tell you: it’s a whole lot easier to keep the commitments you have made than the ones you haven’t made.

The French writer La Rochefoucauld may have been a cynic, but on the gap between most people’s promises and performance he was not wrong: “We promise according to our hopes and perform according to our fears.” In other words, what we promise is often based on ideals and hopes that are lofty, but what we actually end up doing is just the least we can get by with, the bare minimum that will keep us out of trouble. But it doesn’t have to be that way. If La Rochefoucauld described the norm, can we not, as people reaching toward heaven, be exceptions to the norm?

“We promise according to our hopes and perform according to our fears” (François de la Rochefoucauld).

Gary Henry – WordPoints.com + AreYouaChristian.com

     

“. . . that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word” (Ephesians 5:26).

TO ACCOMPLISH THE PURPOSES OF CHRIST, THE CHURCH MUST BE “SANCTIFIED.” This word sounds like nothing more than religious lingo to some, but its concept is important and not hard to understand. To be “sanctified” is to be set apart for special use.

For example, I have an iron skillet in which I have never made anything but cornbread. When I bought it long ago, I “set it apart” for that purpose, and it has had to be content to be “different” from my other skillets. To maintain the magnificence of the cornbread that is cooked in it, it simply cannot come into contact with certain other things. (Knowing skillet nature as I do, I am sure my other skillets accuse the cornbread skillet of being self-righteous.)

Now, to be very serious, it was that He might “sanctify” her that Christ gave Himself up for the church. The whole plan by which Christ was able to have a “set apart” people depended on His dying for those people. Not in fifty lifetimes could any of us have kept enough mitzvoth (“commandments”) for even one of our sins to be forgiven. The Messiah had to die for our atonement (Isaiah 53:4-6).

Also in Ephesians 5:26, we see that Christ “cleansed her by the washing of water with the word.” This is a reference to the baptism (immersion in water) in which all who are now in Christ came to be so (Romans 6:3; Galatians 3:27), as a result of hearing the word of the Lord concerning the forgiveness of their sins. Paul makes the point in triplicate in 1 Corinthians 6:11 where, after referring to those whose lives were given to sin, he said, “And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.” How, then, does Christ sanctify the church? He does it individually. One day the process will be finished, but only for those who have entered that process individually — in the here and now.

“We note that some seem to think there is a future time when, by some process undefined, Christ will cleanse the present filthy, sinful church. Current imperfections are thus excused. We beg to differ with this traditional interpretation. We do not question the future reception of the church as the bride of Christ (2 Corinthians 11:2,3; Revelation 21:2), but we believe the ‘setting apart’ and ‘cleansing’ is now taking place, and has been in process ever since the gospel of Christ was first preached” (Robert F. Turner).

Gary Henry – WordPoints.com + AreYouaChristian.com

     

“To have his path made clear for him is the aspiration of every human being in our beclouded and tempestuous existence” (Joseph Conrad).

A PATH IS A WONDERFUL DISCOVERY. It indicates that the terrain in which we find ourselves has been explored by someone else. If we follow the path, we will arrive at a place that others have been going to, although we may not know where it is or why others wanted to go there. Consequently, when we find a path in an otherwise trackless wilderness, we feel both safety and mystery. It’s comforting to know that the path may lead us out of the woods, but on the other hand, the end of the path may not be a very comfortable place.

Pathways are promising. Our lives may be compared to a journey through territory that is sometimes difficult, and even dangerous; on such a journey, it is a comfort to have a path to follow. As Joseph Conrad said, “To have his path made clear for him is the aspiration of every human being in our beclouded and tempestuous existence.” There are few things more frustrating or frightening than wanting to get to a certain destination in life but having no idea how to get there. A pathway may not end up where we thought it would, but at least it gives us some direction. “There’s some end at last for the man who follows a path: mere rambling is interminable” (Seneca).

Pathways call for caution. Although pathways can be helpful, sometimes it takes a wise person to know when to follow a path and when to strike out on one’s own. There is a certain safety in following the footsteps of others, but safety shouldn’t always be our main objective. Many of the major contributions to this world have been made by people who weren’t afraid to leave the beaten path and blaze a trail of their own. As André Gide said, “The most beaten paths are certainly the surest, but do not hope to scare up much game on them.”

Yet having a path to follow is often important, and we need to appreciate the value of pathways. But if having a path is important, it’s even more important to create a path that others can follow. Life in this world is not about being served but about serving, and there are few forms of service more profitable than pathfinding. To get through a difficulty and leave a helpful path is a very thoughtful thing to do.

“Pathfinder. A person who goes ahead and discovers or shows others a way” (Oxford English Dictionary).

Gary Henry – WordPoints.com + AreYouaChristian.com

     

Free PDF eBook containing all of Year 3

Print PDF of this lesson

When God had delivered the nation of Israel from their bondage in Egypt, He led them to the foot of Mount Sinai. There He entered into a covenant with them: “‘Now therefore, if you will indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possession among all peoples, for all the earth is mine; and you shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’ These are the words that you shall speak to the people of Israel” (Exo. 19:5,6). Similar words were spoken on other occasions. In Lev. 26:12, for instance, God said, “I will walk among you and will be your God, and you shall be my people.” Clearly, it was God’s will for the nation of Israel to enjoy a unique relationship with Him.

But as special as the relationship was that God entered into with the physical nation of Israel, that relationship was only meant to foreshadow and prepare for the even more special union between God and spiritual Israel, which is the church of Jesus Christ. Today, those who are in Christ through obedience to the gospel are “God’s people” (1 Pt. 2:10). Peter says to us, “You are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light” (1 Pt. 2:9). In Jesus Christ, we are the unique possession of God.

It is impressive to see that the blessings we enjoy as Christians (blessings we sometimes take for granted) are the very blessings that God promised as far back as Abraham (Gen. 12:1-3; 22:18; etc.). We are the heirs of everything God was working toward in the Old Testament, the recipients of the grace that was the culmination of God’s eternal purpose. Speaking of the great people of faith in the Old Testament, the Hebrew writer says, “All these, though commended through their faith, did not receive what was promised, since God had provided something better for us, that apart from us they should not be made perfect” (Hb. 11:39,40). For the theme of our study this week, let’s consider the idea that as Christians, we are God’s own special people. With the blood of His dear Son, God has purchased us to be His possession (Ac. 20:28). As God’s people, we ought to “walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which [we] have been called” (Eph. 4:1).

Monday: Genesis 22:15-18

Key Idea: God promised that He would bless all nations in the “seed” of Abraham.

Questions for Family Growth: How had Abraham’s faith been tested in this chapter? What did God mean by saying that in Abraham’s “seed” (NKJV) He would bless all the nations of the earth? What do we learn in Gal. 3:15-18 about God’s promise to Abraham?

Wisdom for the Day: Proverbs 16:26.

Tuesday: Galatians 3:7-9,25-29

Key Idea: Christians are the recipients of the blessings of God’s promise to Abraham.

Questions for Family Growth: Who are those identified as the “sons” of Abraham and “heirs according to promise”? In vv. 7,9, what does it mean to be “of faith”? According to v.27, what does baptism have do to with being “in Christ”?

Wisdom for the Day: Proverbs 16:27-30.

Wednesday: Hebrews 11:39,40

Key Idea: We today can enjoy the fulfillment of all that God did in past ages.

Questions for Family Growth: What is meant by the statement that God “provided something better for us”? Who are “they,” and how is it that “apart from us they should not be made perfect”? In Hb. 12:1, how can their faithfulness be an encouragement to us?

Wisdom for the Day: Proverbs 16:31.

Thursday: 2 Corinthians 6:14-18

Key Idea: Physical Israel foreshadowed the relationship of God to His people in Christ today.

Questions for Family Growth: What is the basic instruction that Christians are given in this passage? How does Paul use quotations concerning Old Testament Israel to support his exhortation to New Testament Christians?

Wisdom for the Day: Proverbs 16:32.

Friday: 1 Peter 2:9,10

Key Idea: Christians are “the people of God.”

Questions for Family Growth: In what sense are Christians “a chosen race”? A “royal priesthood”? A “holy nation” and a “people for his own possession”? As the people of God, what are we to “proclaim”?

Wisdom for the Day: Proverbs 16:33.

Gary Henry – WordPoints.com + AreYouaChristian.com