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Free Of Sin Debt
March 12, 2021
“And He Himself is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for those of the whole world.” 1 John 2:2
Defining grace is no easy task. It’s one of those concepts that is so deep and beautiful it is impossible to fully express with words. Like trying to capture the vastness of the Grand Canyon in a photograph, words just don’t do grace justice. Even Jesus talked about grace mainly through stories, or parables.
Author Philip Yancey shared this story to try and explain grace: “I remember once getting stuck in Los Angeles traffic and arriving 58 minutes late at the Hertz rental desk. I walked up in kind of a bad mood, put the keys down and asked, ‘How much do I owe?’ The woman says, ‘Nothing, you’re all clear.’ I reminded her I was late and she smiled, ‘Yes, but there’s a one-hour grace period.’ So I asked, ‘Oh really, what is grace?’ And she said, ‘I don’t know. I guess what it means is that even though you’re supposed to pay, you don’t have to.”
That is a good beginning to the definition of grace. I would take it a step further to add that even though we are supposed to pay, we couldn’t pay; and we do not have to under God’s grace. But our sin debt was not written off. It was still paid – just not by us. God sent His Son Jesus to be the propitiation for our sin. That word, propitiation, is daunting. In the Greek language, it simply means “appeasement or satisfaction.”
Jesus’ death on the cross satisfied, or appeased, God’s righteous wrath towards our sin. That debt was owed; and it had to be paid. Salvation is God’s gift, purchased by the blood of His Son. There is a Christian hymn with these lyrics:
I had a debt I could not pay,
He paid the debt He did not owe,
I needed someone,
To wash my sins away.
And now I sing a brand new song,
“Amazing Grace,” all day long,
Christ Jesus paid the debt,
That I could never pay.
As Christ followers who have been redeemed by His grace, we must never forget that Someone else paid our debt. Jesus took our place, so that in Him we might live debt free.
Dear Jesus, thank you for taking my place and paying my debt on the cross. I pray that you would give me the opportunity this week to share this truth of your salvation with someone who needs to know the grace of God. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Clarence L. Haynes Jr.| Contributing Writer202116 Feb
There is an interesting picture of Jesus in the Bible that you don’t see very often. That picture is Jesus weeping. I know of two instances in Scripture where this happened. One is when he came to the tomb of his friend Lazarus in John 11, the Bible tells us Jesus wept. However, there is another instance in Scripture when it talks about Jesus weeping. This comes from Luke 19 when Jesus was entering Jerusalem.null
“But as he came closer to Jerusalem and saw the city ahead, he began to weep. ‘How I wish today that you of all people would understand the way to peace. But now it is too late, and peace is hidden from your eyes. Before long your enemies will build ramparts against your walls and encircle you and close in on you from every side. They will crush you into the ground, and your children with you. Your enemies will not leave a single stone in place, because you did not recognize it when God visited you’” (Luke 19:41-44, NLT).
We also see in Matthew’s gospel another perspective of what was breaking Jesus’ heart.
“O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones God’s messengers! How often I have wanted to gather your children together as a hen protects her chicks beneath her wings, but you wouldn’t let me” (Matthew 22:37, NLT).
When you look at these two portions of Scripture, you see what broke Jesus’ heart was the missed opportunity and the consequences that would result because of their actions. In essence they locked Jesus out and what he truly desired to do he could not.
3 Reasons Jesus Is Weeping over the Church Today
When I was thinking about this I began to wonder if Jesus is weeping over the church today. By today I am referring to church in the 21st century, the way we do church now. As I began thinking about this question, I believe there are three things that would cause Jesus to weep over the church if he was walking the earth right now.
1. We Are Fighting with Each Other and Not for Each Other
Before Jesus went to the cross, he prayed in the garden that we the church would be one (John 17:21). Paul even reminds us in Ephesians 4 that there is one body. Since there is only one body why does the church feel more divided than ever?
Churches and Christians have divided politically, even losing or ending relationships over political allegiances. The Covid pandemic caused division because some people saw it as one thing and others saw it as something else. People got locked into their position and there was no room for understanding and caring about someone else’s viewpoint on this. I know personally of churches where wearing a mask became a source of contention. If that isn’t enough, let’s not forget the issues of social justice and systemic racism that permeate our society. Yet within the body of Christ some people struggle to believe or understand these things because their experiences have been different. Somehow these differing points of view, instead of becoming points of listening and learning, have become points of division and disunity.null
Again I am talking about what is happening in the church. There is more I could say because honestly the list goes on and on. However, standing in the midst of all of this is the prayer of Jesus that we, the body of Christ, would be one. I had a conversation with someone about some of these issues and the first words that came out of their mouth was “but you don’t understand, how is it possible for someone to think…” and the justification for their opinion followed. This points to the heart of the matter. Everyone is trying to speak but no one is trying to listen. In this rush to be heard we tear each other apart in the process. Notice what James said.
“What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don’t they come from your desires that battle within you? You desire but do not have, so you kill. You covet but you cannot get what you want, so you quarrel and fight” (James 4:1-2).
This sounds a lot like the modern church. Fights and quarrels that drive us apart. Killing each other with harsh words that don’t have an ounce of love or compassion in them. Where do we see Jesus in this? Like he wept over Jerusalem I believe he weeps over his church, longing for us to become one. To be clear, I know that unity doesn’t mean the absence of differences. It does however mean the presence of grace that will allow us to learn from each other and love each other through those differences. For the record I am not referring to doctrinal differences that twist Scripture or go against what God has said in his word; we should address those. But even then, let’s do it the way God has commanded us.null
“Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ” (Ephesians 4:15).
When we can come to the place of listening and caring about the feelings of others. When we seek to hear and understand before we speak then we are moving in the direction that brings unity. The place where we stop fighting with each other and start fighting for each other.
Photo credit: Unsplash/Sandro Gonzalez
2. We Are Seeking to Entertain Instead of Exhort
“Take care, brothers, lest there be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart, leading you to fall away from the living God. But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called ‘today,’ that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin” (Hebrews 3:12-13, ESV).
Strangely missing from the messages of many pulpits today is the mention of sin, the blood, the cross, or even the need for repentance. We don’t even call it church or a service anymore it is a worship experience. My question is – have we created a worship experience that tickles the emotions but falls short of transforming the heart?
Remember one of the reasons Jesus wept over Jerusalem is because they missed opportunities. Are we missing opportunities because we are not challenging and encouraging people to truly go deeper in their walk? Have we watered down the message to the point where people leave entertained but not exhorted? Are we becoming ok with people leaving church in the same or worse condition than when they came in?
I believe Jesus weeps over this. Whatever method we use to get people in the building, let it be that we really give them transformational truth when they get there. If we don’t then we have simply become another form of entertainment.
3. We Are Elevating People More Than We Are Elevating Jesus
I was reading an article recently and they used a term called “celebrity pastor.” This is not much different than when they use the term “gospel superstar” to describe a musical artist. Has God called us to be celebrities and superstars? Don’t get me wrong, when a person has a gift or talent and they can inspire you with words or move your heart with music, the tendency is to elevate that person and put them on a pedestal. When that happens it is the responsibility of the person who is “gifted” and has been put on a pedestal to take themselves off. null
When John was on the isle of Patmos and as he was writing the book of Revelation, an angel took him and showed him a glimpse of heaven. I want you to pay attention to this interaction between John and the angel.
“I, John, am the one who heard and saw these things. And when I heard and saw them, I fell down to worship at the feet of the angel who showed them to me, but he said to me, ‘You must not do that! I am a fellow servant with you and your brothers the prophets, and with those who keep the words of this book. Worship God’” (Revelation 22:8-9).
John’s response was very much like ours when someone we encounter blesses us in a tremendous way, we elevate them. However, notice that the moment John went to put the angel on a pedestal, the angel immediately stepped off. He recognized that he was no better than John but was a fellow servant. His words to John were don’t worship me, worship God.
This simple truth needs to return to the modern church. If there is a celebrity or superstar of the Christian faith it is Jesus. Without his death and resurrection, we are all still lost in our sins. He was then and still is now the only hope of salvation for all mankind. He is the one we need to elevate and no one else. When he is not elevated than the real hope of salvation is non-existent because there is no other name by which men can be saved.
I want you to understand one simple point of truth that I have learned in my own life and have seen by being around other believers. God uses people in spite of who they are, not because of who they are. No one is really that special, only Jesus is. Don’t let anyone try to convince you otherwise. No one is deserving of the way God uses them. If God chooses to use them in a mighty or anointed way, he does it only because of his grace. It is his power, his anointing, and his gifting that allows them to do what they do anyway.null
However, I am not naïve and I get the temptation to put people on pedestals. What we need is more leaders that would have the wisdom and courage to take themselves off.
Photo credit: Unsplash/Ben White
What Now?
I know these types of topics are not the most popular to talk about, but we still need to do it. The desire of my heart is very simple – that we who carry the name of Christ would carry it well. That we would represent Jesus in the earth, creating a stir in the hearts of people that would want to know who this Jesus is that we serve.
When the church becomes one and we help people become the people God wants them to be, when we exalt the name of Jesus above every other name and always point people to him, then we create the space to allow people to connect with Jesus. This is what he is after all along. May we always take advantage of every moment and never have a missed opportunity in helping people come to know this wonderful Jesus.
Clarence L. Haynes Jr. is a speaker, Bible teacher, author and co-founder of The Bible Study Club. He has spent more than 30 years serving the body of Christ in various capacities and has just released his first book, The Pursuit of Purpose. If you have ever struggled trying to find God’s will, this book will help you discover the different ways God leads you into his perfect will. To learn more about his ministry please visit clarencehaynes.com.
◄ What Does Deuteronomy 10:16 Mean? ► “So circumcise your heart, and stiffen your neck no longer.
Deuteronomy 10:16(NASB)
Verse Thoughts Abraham believed God and it was credited to him as righteousness… and as God’s elect nation, Israel was expected to trust in the Lord with all their heart and soul and mind and strength. They were to trust in the Lord and not rely on their own limited understanding. They were to heed His Word, obey His commandments, trust in His faithfulness, circumcise their hearts, and love the Lord with their whole being.
As God’s covenant nation who had been redeemed from slavery in Egypt, they covenanted to do all that the Lord had said. “All that the Lord has said will we do and be obedient,” they proudly proclaimed! This was recorded in the books of Moses for God had promised that if they paid heed to His Word and obeyed His commands, He would be their God and bless them abundantly and they would be His people.
Physical circumcision had been given to Abraham and his descendants as a sign of God’s promise to them. It was given to represent the outward sign of an inward, spiritual circumcision of the heart where God’s will is preferred before one’s own will, God’s Word is heeded, trusted, observed, and obeyed – and God’s glory becomes the single desire of the heart.
But within days of promising to keep God’s Word on Mount Sinai, the people of Israel started to murmur against the Lord and His provision. They became reckless and disobedient. They rebelled against the Lord and criticised Moses, and they turned to foreign idols and lusted after the gods of the Gentiles.
As a result of their disobedience, their hearts became hardened and their attitude became haughty, prideful, stubborn, and stiff-necked. Instead of entering the Promised Land, the people wandered aimlessly in the desert. For forty long years, the people of Israel had to wander in the wilderness because they murmured against the Lord and became a ‘stiff-necked’ and disobedient people.
With two exceptions, the whole generation of Israelites died in the wilderness and were buried there because of their disobedience. Finally, when the next generation had reached maturity, Moses stood up and repeated the covenant relationship which Israel had with the Lord and warned them of the importance to pay heed to God’s Word – and circumcise their hearts. “So circumcise your hearts,” they were commanded, “and stiffen your neck no longer.”
After forty years of wandering, Moses once again rehearsed the need to trust in the Lord with all their heart and mind and soul and strength… to heed His Word, obey His commandments, trust in His faithfulness, and circumcise their hearts. He did this in the ears of a new generation of Israelites. They were to spiritually circumcise their hearts just as they had been physically circumcised, and they were to put away their pride and hardness of heart.
After years of national rebellion and stubbornness, Israel was called to circumcise their hearts. They were commanded to change their ways, to repent of their sins, and to follow God’s statutes and commands. They were to put off their former ways and renew the spirit of their mind. They were to be holy, for the Lord their God was holy.
As Christians, who are ministers of a new and better covenant through the blood of Jesus Christ, we are advised that all Scripture is given for our learning and is profitable for our teaching, correction, and training in righteousness. We are to remember that Israel’s failings are an object lesson to us – to ensure that we do not make the same mistakes that they made.
Like Israel, we too are to have our hearts circumcised spiritually. We are to put off the old and be clothed in Christ’s righteousness. We are to look to Jesus as we die to our self-interest and trust in Him. We are to do justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with our God. We are to submit to the leading and guidance of the Holy Spirit – knowing that His grace is sufficient.
The man or woman who walks in newness of life, who has died to self and who lives for Christ, is the one that is growing in grace and maturing in the faith as they stand firm on the Word of truth. Therefore, let us heed these words and examine our hearts to see if we are walking in spirit and truth. Let us ensure that our hearts are circumcised and in right standing with the Lord – lest we become stiff-necked and forfeit the blessings that God has prepared for those that love Him.
My Prayer Heavenly Father, how I bless and thank You that we are saved by grace through faith. I pray that I may maintain a circumcised heart to Your praise and glory as I trust in Your Word and walk in Your ways, so that I may grow in grace and in a knowledge of my Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ, in Whose name I pray, AMEN.
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◄ What Does Luke 6:28 Mean? ► bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you.
Luke 6:28(NASB)
Verse Thoughts True righteousness and godly love are two sides of the same coin, but neither are possible by human effort, strict training, mortifying of the flesh, or self-denial. True righteousness and unconditional, godly love is the supernatural enabling of a child of God by the Spirit of God, through faith.
To love our enemies and to do good to those that hate us, is impossible in our own strength. Blessing those that curse us and praying for those that mistreat us… without retaliation, is such a distinctive love that it is rare and beautiful and only exhibited in the lives of those that die to their own desires and live for the glory of God.
Every believer is positionally righteous because we were placed ‘in Christ’ at salvation. We are united to Him and identified with Him by faith. But living a life of practical righteousness and transmitting the unconditional love of God to others, which demands that we bless those that curse us and pray for those who despitefully use us and persecute us, is a human impossibility.
Godly love is only possible in those that have the indwelling Holy Spirit and it can only be expressed when that life is completely submitted to the Lord in thought, word, and deed. The unconditional love of God should be manifested in the lives of all who trust in Christ, because we are united together with Him. But it can only be revealed as we abide in Christ and He in us – as we die to self and live for Him.
Godly love is the fulfilling of the Law, and it is one of the greatest weapons in a Christian’s spiritual covering. The unconditional love that comes from above is the divine life of Christ being manifested through the physical life of a spiritual believer. Such a person is one whose life is a living sacrifice, which is consecrated to the Lord.
The result is – that in His power, we are able to love as Christ loved; to love our enemy, to bless those that curse us, to pray for those who mistreat us, and to do all for the glory of God.
My Prayer Heavenly Father, my love is sometimes hard and cold. I pray that I may die to self and live for Christ so that His supernatural love may pour through me to others, to His praise and glory. Give me the grace to love my enemies as Christ loved those who nailed Him to the Cross. Help me to say with Him, “Father forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” In Jesus’ name I pray, AMEN.
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◄ What Does Matthew 3:11 Mean? ► “As for me, I baptize you with water for repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, and I am not fit to remove His sandals; He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.
Matthew 3:11(NASB)
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Verse Thoughts John the Baptist was speaking directly to many unrepentant and prideful Pharisees and Sadducees whom he scolded with various blistering accusations. He called them ‘a fruitless generation of vipers’, whom God in His wrath was preparing to chop down and cast into the fire.
They boasted of being ‘children of God’ because they were Abraham’s physical descendants. However, they were ill-prepared to harken to John’s voice in the wilderness concerning the need to repent. John the Baptist was calling for individual repentance as well as a collective, national mourning – for the nation’s past sin, their spiritual adultery, and gross apostasy.
John was the forerunner of the Messiah, as foretold by the prophet Isaiah. He came to prepare the way of the Lord. He was that voice crying in the wilderness, prepare ye the way of the Lord! Make ready the way of the Lord! Make His path straight! John burst onto the Israeli landscape proclaiming that the kingdom of heaven was at hand and that the prophesied King had arrived.
Jesus was the king of the Jews and He was now in their midst. He had come to set up the kingdom which had been promised to King David, but the nation had become apostate and had to repent FIRST – both individual and national repentance was required. The people were to repent – to turn from their wicked way back to God. Inner repentance of heart was needed and Israel’s change of heart was to be demonstrated through an outward sign – a ‘baptism-unto-repentance’ with water.
The apostate nation that had turned against the God of their forefathers, was being called to repent of their sin. To be baptised with water for repentance was to demonstrate their change of direction. For centuries, prophets had called the nation to run from their evil ways and return to God, and John’s baptism of repentance was to be the outward sign of their inner change of heart.
This act was to be a preparation for the arrival of Jesus – their promised Messiah and King of the Jews. When Joshua entered the Promised Land, the people had to re-commit themselves to the Lord which they did through the outward act of circumcision. In the same way, the people in John’s day had to recommit to their faith in God by an inward change of heart. They were challenged to repent of their sins. And water-baptism was to be the outward display of their inner change of heart. Jesus had come to give Israel their long-awaited promised rest.
The people considered John to be a great prophet and yet his ministry was a partial preparation for the good news of the gospel that was to follow. He confessed that the One Who was coming after him was much greater and mightier than he was. We read that John was the greatest of all Old Testament prophets and yet Jesus would completely overshadow John – just as He eclipsed all the former prophets old. Indeed, John admitted that he was not sufficiently worthy to bend down and unlace His sandals.
John warned that although he himself baptised with water – for repentance, the One Who was coming after would baptise in two very different ways. First, He would baptise with the Holy Spirit – for salvation, forgiveness, and eternal life, and second, He would baptise with Fire – for judgement, condemnation, and eternal separation from God. The former took place at Pentecost, but the latter is yet to come.
Some suggest that these two baptisms of Christ are one and the same. Indeed, they erroneously give Pentecost as evidence!! However, when seen in its correct context, we discover that ‘baptism of the Holy Spirit’ refers to salvation while the ‘baptism of fire’ refers to judgement.
At salvation, we see a separation of the good wheat, (true believers – baptised with the Holy Spirit) who will be stored in the granary… and the bad chaff, (unbelievers) who will be burned forever with unquenchable fire – the baptism of the fires of judgement.
Praise God that having been saved by grace through faith, we have been baptised into the Body of Christ and placed in union with Him. And thank God that we will never have to face the future baptism of fire and judgement about which John spoke.
Sadly, there are many who do not know the glorious gospel of grace. May we use the time that we have to share the good news of Christ and warn of the bad news of rejecting His offer of salvation.
My Prayer Heavenly Father, thank You that I have been baptised into Your Body and will never face the wrath of God and the judgement of fire. I pray that my life would be a light to the unsaved – for the glory to God and that You would look down in mercy on those who have not yet trusted in Jesus for the forgiveness of sin and life everlasting. This I pray in Jesus’ name, AMEN.
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Possessing Your Position
March 9, 2021
“In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus.” Romans 6:11
David Martyn Lloyd-Jones (1899-1981) was a Welsh Protestant minister, preacher, and medical doctor. For almost 30 years, he was the minister of Westminster Chapel in London. He said the following about Romans 6:11:
“We are told to realize, and to hold before ourselves and in our consciousness constantly, something that is already true of our position or status. It is not an exhortation to us to do anything with regard to sin, but to realize what has already been done for us with respect to our relationship to sin. It is an exhortation to us to remember what is already true of us; it urges us to realize what has already happened to us as Christians, those of us who are joined to the Lord Jesus Christ. And what is true of us is that we are already in an entirely new position and standing with respect to sin.”
When the Apostle Paul writes, “Count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God,” in Romans 6:11, he is exhorting us to put full faith in what God has already done for us in Christ. As Christians we are dead to sin and alive to God whether we “count” ourselves that way or not. Paul is merely encouraging us to realize and take hold of who we are in Christ. We are no longer slaves to sin.
This “counting” ourselves dead to sin cannot be experienced – it must instead be believed. We will never “feel” dead to sin in this life. Rather, we must just believe it because God’s Word says it is so. That is what salvation through faith alone means. God says it, so it is so. Whether or not I feel free, I am free because God says I am free. Whether or not I feel like more than a conqueror, I am more than a conqueror through Jesus Christ because God says I am.
We aren’t just saved through faith in Christ; we live each day through faith in Jesus Christ. This is why Paul said in Galatians 2:20, “…The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.” We must trust Christ daily in order to take hold of what He has given to us. Our position is dead to sin and alive to God. Now, let’s live like it!
Dear Lord, thank you for your Word and how it reminds me of who I am in Christ. Help me to trust you each day so that I might accept and take possession of the position you’ve given me. In Jesus’ name, amen.
◄ What Does Romans 5:19 Mean? ► For as through the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, even so through the obedience of the One the many will be made righteous.
Romans 5:19(NASB)
Picture courtesy of Good News Productions International and College Press Publishing Verse Thoughts There is much confusion about the consequences of Adam’s sin as it relates to the Law of Moses – until one accepts that the root of all sin is traced back to Adam’s one, original sin which brought death into the world. People generally believe that man is basically good, while the doctrine of original sin teaches that man is inherently bad – because of our identity with sinful Adam.
To believe that humanity is fundamentally flawed based on Adam’s sin in the garden, is not accepted by the philosophy of the world and yet the Bible teaches that we are not sinners because we sin. We sin because we are sinners. We are sinners through our association with Adam’s sinful race and death is the terminal outcome for all.
Adam brought sin into the human race and where there is sin there is death. Indeed, the cemetery is the greatest witness to man’s sinfulness. Death has not… and cannot be cured as far as our humanity is concerned. Death reigned from Adam to Moses because of Adam’s single transgression – and not only because of man’s sinfulness, for all are BORN in sin. All are born ‘dead in trespasses and sin’. As members of the human race, we are imputed with sin from our association with Adam and that sin nature is passed on from one generation to the next.
We are imputed with sin, we inherit a sin nature, and it was the one offence of Adam which brought death into the entire human race. Death was in the world long before the Mosaic Law was given. Before God’s law was given to Israel, there was no spoken or written law for man to break and yet death continued to reign in the lives of all mankind.
As the federal head of the human race, only Adam broke God’s law by eating the forbidden fruit of the tree of knowledge. None of his progeny could justifiably be charged with breaking God’s law, because there was no law to break! And yet ALL suffered the consequences of sin, which is DEATH. ALL were born dead in sin and at enmity with God because ‘in Adam ALL die’ because sin and death was passed from Adam to all his descendants.
The Law came in under Moses to teach fallen man about sin. The Law was given so that sinners would KNOW that they were sinners. The Law was a tool that God used to show us what sin is. The Law was not the means to forgive sin but to identify sin in our lives. God implemented the Law to instruct us about sin and to show that we are all sinners who need a Saviour – and later Paul tells us that the Law is a schoolmaster to bring us to Christ.
The Law came in so that transgression would be identified in our hearts and lives. And the more man realised he was a sinner and estranged from God, the more sin was recognised, and the more sin increased. It was the Law that caused Paul to recognise that he was a sinner with a heart of jealous envy. And so with the increase of sin, it was necessary for God’s grace to increase. The more sin abounded, the more grace also abounded and overflowed.
God’s grace was there all along – but only when man began to understand the destructive nature of his sinfulness through the giving of the Law, did we recognise that we are sinners in need of salvation. Only when our lives are lined-up against God’s perfect Law, can man understand the depth of our depravity and the immensity of God’s grace towards us – in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us, so that the power of sin and death could be broken in the lives of all who believe.
As we reflect on the fact that one man (Adam) caused all men to be born in sin because of his one sin, we realise the depth of the riches of the goodness and grace of God which enables anyone who believes in the one Man (Christ) to be declared righteous. It is through the action of the one perfect Kinsman-Redeemer – on Calvary’s Cross, that many are made righteous – by faith.
Because of one man’s trespass, death reigned through that one man. How amazing to realise that the abundant overflow of grace and the amazing gift of righteousness can reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ. So then… as through one trespass there is condemnation for everyone, so also through one righteous act there is life giving justification for everyone. “For just as through one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, so also through the one man’s obedience the many will be made righteous.”
How we praise and thank our Heavenly Father that through the Law, we are able to recognise our sinfulness and turn to Christ as Saviour, for the forgiveness of sins and life everlasting. Praise Your holy name.
My Prayer Thank You, Heavenly Father, for the riches of Your goodness and abounding grace, which is mine in Christ Jesus my Saviour. Lord, I know that I am a sinner because of my identity with Adam. Thank You that by Your grace I have the privilege of being identified with Christ’s righteousness – by faith. Thank You in Jesus’ name, AMEN.
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◄ What Does Psalm 34:1 Mean? ► I will bless the LORD at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth.
Psalm 34:1(NASB)
Verse Thoughts We have been saved by grace through faith, not of works. Our salvation is a free gift of God to all who believe. We have been declared righteous by the Lord and showered with every spiritual blessing, simply because we have trusted in the shed blood of Christ for the remission of sins and life everlasting.
Is it any wonder that David was so willing to cry out with his whole heart, “I will bless the Lord at ALL times. His praise shall be continually on my lips.” When we praise our Heavenly Father and glorify His holy name, the focus of our attention is removed from our own, limited life and petty predicaments. It gives balance to all we say and do.
God Himself knows the immense benefits that we enjoy when we turn our eyes away from ourselves onto the Lord Jesus and look full into His wonderful face – which is why Paul reminds us in first Thessalonians to, “rejoice evermore, pray without ceasing, and in everything to give thanks to the Lord, for this is God’s will for us.”
When we turn the attention of our inner heart onto Christ, the Author and Finisher of our faith, the Sustainer of our life, and our Blessed Hope, circumstances of life and matters of living fall into their correct perspective. When the inner focus of our heart, soul, and mind is on the Lord Jesus, there is no room for a self-centred attitude of mind, or the petty preening of our own individual wants.
The Lord is worthy of our ongoing worship and devoted praise. He deserves our grateful thanksgiving and whole-hearted trust in every area of our life. And when He is the centre of our lives, we look to HIM and HIS power and abilities rather than our own inabilities… as we know that His grace is sufficient and His strength is made perfect in our dependent reliance upon HIM.
If it is our desire to bless the Lord at all times and under all circumstances, our heart needs to be right before the Lord. We need to be men and women after God’s own heart – saying and doing only those things that honour His name, for He alone is worthy. And the more we spend time in His presence, in prayer, praise, and the study of His Word, the greater we will discover the benefits of blessing the Lord at all times and continually praising His holy name.
Knowing that we have been saved by grace through faith in Christ, let us bless the Lord at all times. “O magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt His name together. I sought the Lord, and He answered me, and delivered me from all my fears…O taste and see that the Lord is good. How blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him! O fear the Lord, you saints of God for to those who fear Him there is no want.”
My Prayer Heavenly Father, thank You for Your Word and the truths it contains. I pray that like David, I would bless You at all times and in all circumstances. I pray that I may develop an attitude of grateful thanks and worshipful praise in every area of my life – no matter how mundane the task may be. I pray that in all things and at all times I would seek to glorify You. In Jesus’ name, AMEN.
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Deuteronomy 30:15
Mark 12:28
John 5:16
Romans 10:19 Follow us
Psalm 34:1 Further Study Psalm 34:1 in the Parallel Bible Psalm 34:1 in the Thematic Bible Psalm 34:1 Cross References Psalm 34:1 Treasury of Scripture Knowing Psalm 34:1 Prayers Psalm 34:1 Images Choose Chapter Subscribe to the Verse of the day
