“For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God.”

Ephesians 2:8

It is impossible for minds controlled by our sinful fallen nature to please God and obey Him (Romans 8:7-8). People who are not in Christ are in the flesh, so they lack the ability to do the Lord’s will. Since His will for us is that we trust in His promises, unbelievers are incapable in themselves of believing in Christ Jesus for salvation.

Jesus says “unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God” (John 3:3). If we cannot see God’s kingdom, we can by no means enter it. Meaning, faith can arise only from a new heart.

Faith is a gift of the Lord to undeserving people, the outworking of God’s electing grace and the atonement of Jesus for His own. Ephesians 2:8 confirms the truth that faith is ultimately a gift of God.

Grace and faith are divine gifts, and our Father does not give them to all people. Consider the darkness of the human heart. If our salvation depended on the good we do, no one would be saved. Our very best works are “like filthy rags,” as Isaiah 64:6 puts it. Paul’s words in Ephesians is crystal clear: our salvation cannot be bought or earned by us; as a gift it comes by grace through faith

Sinners are intellectually able to understand the basic content of the gospel, but they lack the moral ability to believe the gospel. That is, they are wholly unwilling to turn from their sin and rest in Christ alone until the Spirit changes their hearts and enables them to heed the preaching of the gospel of God (Acts 13:13–52).

If we believe that we are capable of working up faith in our souls, we cannot boast in Christ alone. But if we understand that we have faith only because of the work of the Holy Spirit, then we can truly give God all the glory for our salvation. We are not to look at ourselves as better than others because we believe the gospel; rather, we are to be deeply grateful that God has chosen to grant us faith even though we are undeserving sinners.

It should drive us to our knees in awe and praise that God loves us. It should shape our thoughts and actions as we strive to love the one who loved us first.

JOHN 15: 7

“If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatsoever ye will, and it shall be done unto you”.

Jesus’ repeated use of the word abide ensures that His disciples, and believers throughout the ages get the message of the importance of remaining in continuous fellowship and communion with Him, recognising that without Him we can do nothing; it is all about total dependency on His sufficiency. The focus is on the believers which is in contrast with the previous chapter in which the focus is on Christ. Our union with the Vine and the pruning we experience are both Divine activities, however our abiding is OUR responsibility. Jesus drives that point home.

Jesus’ promise to answered prayers is not a signed blank cheque! It is conditional on us abiding in Him and His words abiding in us.   For God’s word to abide in us, we cannot be satisfied with a head knowledge of it, but God’s word must richly dwell in us ( Col 3:16), so that it affects our daily living, causing us to walk according to the truth. Walking according to the truth and abiding in Christ are intimately tied together (1 John 2: 6).  “Man shall not live by bread alone but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God” (Matt 4:4). In that way when we pray, we will not ask amiss (James 4: 3) and the answer to our prayers will bring glory to our Father. 

"Why is there so little power of prayer like this in our own times? Simply because there is so little close communion with Christ, and so little strict conformity to His words. Men do not ‘abide in Christ,' and therefore pray in vain. Christ's words do not abide in them, as their standard of practice, and therefore their prayers are not answered. Let this lesson sink down into our hearts. He that would have answers to his prayers, must carefully remember Christ's directions. We must keep up intimate friendship with the great advocate in Heaven if our petitions are to be granted" (Bishop J. C. Ryle).

Dearly beloved we are not physically present with each other because of the COVID restrictions and may not be able to encourage and love and stimulate each other to good works as we should. Despite this, are we continuing to abide in Christ and His Words? Let us not lapse in our DAILY ABIDING.

 GOD’S WILL BE DONE

“The Lord said to her, two nations are in your womb; And two peoples will be separated from your body; And one people shall be stronger than the other; And the older shall serve the younger.”

Genesis 25:23

In the patriarchal age, the custom was that the eldest son would receive favour over the other siblings. He would have received double share of the inheritance and be recognized as head of the family after the father’s death. (Deuteronomy 21:17)

However, here we have a case where God declared “The older shall serve the younger.” This shows us of an act of God’s sovereign elective purpose over their customs. Paul uses this example in his letter to the Romans “For though the twins were not yet born and had not done anything good or bad, so that God’s purpose according to His choice would stand” (Romans 9:11)

We also can use this example of God’s sovereign will in our lives and even those around us. Many of us question things happening or even go as far as trying to understand certain outcomes. But God’s choices are not always our choices and we must understand that His purposes are greater than us and far beyond our understanding. (Romans 11:33-36; Job 11:7; Deuteronomy 29:29)

In the words of J.I. Packer “To know that nothing happens in God’s world apart from God’s will may frighten the godless, but it stabilizes the saints”

Let us continue to worship our sovereign Lord daily, submit ourselves to Him, and know that “His will be done” (Matthew 6:10)

DISTANCE BETWEEN US AND CHRIST

“But Peter was following Him at a distance as far as the courtyard of the high priest, and entered in, and sat down with the officers to see the outcome”

Matthew (26:58)

Just moments before Jesus was arrested to stand trial before the Jewish Sanhedrin council, Christ in His omniscience told Peter “You will deny me three times” (v.34).

After His arrest, we see Peter following the crowd and keeping a safe distance between himself and Jesus, with the intent to seeing the outcome.

Like Peter, we may find ourselves in circumstances where we are reluctant to be identified with Jesus. In Peter’s case, it was the guards, the elders, and the mob. For us, it’s our co-workers, our friends, and our family. Many of us claim to be followers of Christ, but our following is a mere superficial following and not one that comes from of our hearts. (Matt.22:37)

Just as Peter’s faith was tested, our faith will also be tested. The world tempts us to keep our distance from Jesus, but as He said “If anyone wishes to come after me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me.” (Matt.16:24)

As Adam Clarke wrote: “When a man is weak in faith, and can as yet only follow Christ at a distance, he should avoid all dangerous places, and the company of those who are most likely to prove a snare to him”

Like Peter, are we only trying to follow Christ at a distance that is easy and comfortable? Or are we willing to sacrifice our comforts to be closer to Him?

"And looking at them Jesus said to them, “With people this is impossible but with God all things are possible”" - Matthew 19:26 (NASB)

This is a clear reminder to us that we cannot earn our way to salvation. Christ uses the term “impossible” to emphasize this point when he was asked the questions by His disciples “Then who can be saved?”

Jesus had just given them a statement that it’s impossible for a rich man to be saved, this would have worried His disciples since the Jews would have associated God’s blessing with earthly riches (Deuteronomy 28:11). They thought the rich would have an advantage over others when it comes to redemption. On seeing the example of the rich young ruler, the disciples would have concluded that no one, weather rich or poor can be saved based on their own merit.

This would have led to the statement Jesus gives, and that the only way they can be saved in by Lord transforming the human heart. We have a remarkably clear teaching from Christ on the necessity of divine grace. Without God’s grace, no sinner could ever be saved.

Let us continue to be thankful for Gods divine grace and mercy on us and for saving us, especially because we did nothing to deserve it or could have done anything to earn it ourselves. As John Calvin said “Human will does not by liberty obtain grace, but by grace obtains liberty”.

“Truly I say to you, unless you are converted and become like children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven” – Matthew 18:3 (NASB)

In the verse prior to this text, the disciples approached Jesus with the question about greatness. We can see from their question it shows their pride. Their idea of greatness seemed to be on the basis of leadership and knowledge.

Jesus takes this opportunity to underscore the nature of true greatness, He answers them by saying that they are to become ‘like children’. He emphasizes the point that the greatest in the kingdom will be those who humbles himself like a child. He reiterates The Sermon on the Mount when He said, “Blessed are the meek for they shall inherit the Kingdom” (Matt. 5:5)

Like a child, it is a matter of being humble and honest, admitting that we are weak and sinful and always in need God’s help. Children desperately need and rely on their parents as we should on our heavenly Father. We rely on His mercy for our salvation and for our every need.

Finally, humility means being teachable. Children are curious, they are constantly learning new things. Similarly, there is no end of learning about faithful discipleship and the greatness of God.

Today we can see many falling into a similar situation of the disciples when we allow our knowledge of scripture and our influence over others to be a measure of our greatness. “God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble” (James 4:6).

Let us ask ourselves: are we willing to come before God as children? We take words from the Hymn written by Augustus Toplady, “Nothing in my hand I bring, simply to Thy cross I cling; naked, come to Thee for dress; helpless, look to Thee for grace.”

“Therefore if you are presenting your offering at the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your offering there before the altar and go; first be reconciled to your brother, and then come and present your offering.” - Matthew 5:23-24 (NASB)

Jesus here highlights the importance of anger, in the few verses before he compares it to murder as He quotes from Exodus 20:13. We find that murder is a manifestation of an evil human heart (Matt.15:19).

Jesus is simply addressing that the issue isn’t about murder alone, but it’s an issue of anger and hatred coming out of our hearts. He is saying you cannot justify yourself because you haven’t committed a grievous offense such as murder, but the hatred in your heart is of the same nature.

Would you offer worship to God and have unreconciled issues with a brother? Jesus says here your worship will be in vain, so reconcile with your brother and then come to worship.

How do we deal with anger against others? Jesus calls us to be active in seeking reconciliation with our neighbours. Even if they are the ones who have wronged us, we are called to take it upon ourselves to make things right again. After all, that is how Jesus makes peace with his enemies, us. While we were yet sinners, Jesus died to reconcile us to his Father (Romans 5:8). Grasping the love of God will mortify the anger in our hearts. So, ask yourself: with whom do I need to make peace with today? (cf 1 John 4:20-21)

John 15:9-10

“Just as the Father has loved Me, I have also loved you; abide in My love. [10] “If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love; just as I have kept My Father's commandments and abide in His love.”

Jesus continues His discourse on the vital relationship between the branch and the Vine in order that the branch may produce fruit. He has not taken up a new topic. He is teaching His disciples and by extension us how to be fruitful: love(vs9), joy (vs 11) and peace (vs 12; brothers dwelling in love)He reassures us that in the same way the Father loved Him, so He loves us.

The Father’s love for His only begotten Son is eternal, immutable, and infinite. The love that flows from the Father to the Son, flows from the Son to us. Christ admonishes us to remain in His love. Our fluctuating love for Christ is comparable to a weak tributary springing forth from a powerful river gushing forth, “we love Him because He first loved us”. If we are to focus on our love for Him, we will be miserable. The ultimate manifestation of His love is seen at Calvary.

In order to enjoy His love, we must continue in it, so that our hearts will always be filled with praise, thanksgiving, and worship.

How do we continue in His love? By keeping His commandments in the same way that Christ kept His Father’s commandments. Christ lived a life of perfect obedience to the Father’s commandments. He pleased not Himself (Rom 15: 3), His sustenance was to do the will of the Father (John 5: 30).

The external manifestation of us abiding in Christ’s love is a willing, loving, cheerful obedience to His commandments.

Satan is very subtle, but we are not ignorant of his devices. He seeks to persuade sinners that they must keep God's commandments in order to be saved. He tries to make saints believe that they must not keep God's commandment, otherwise they will be putting themselves "under law," beneath a yoke grievous to be borne. (A. W. Pink).

Brethren are we walking in willing loving obedience to His commandments? Which one of His commandments is grievous ( Matthew 22: 37-40)?

“Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in Me.” - John 15:4 (NASB)

Jesus is preparing his disciples for his departure from this world. He finished the Last Supper with His disciples and was most likely leaving the upper room and heading down to the Kidron Valley on His way to the Mount of Olives.

Grape vines were plentiful in Israel and the metaphor could have stemmed from the large grape vine that adorned the front of the temple or from the celebration of communion He had completed in the upper room. Either way the metaphor serves to illustrate the vital relationship between His true disciples and Christians throughout the ages, NOT professing believers.

He uses the metaphor of a grape vine to teach His disciples the importance of abiding in Him in order to bear spiritual fruit. To abide in Him is to remain in Him. It describes true believer’s spiritual union with Christ.

The branches of a vine share the life of the vine. The branches draw sap from the vine to eventually produce fruit. At the time of salvation there are many changes that take place inwardly, but fruit production is the external manifestation of what has and is taking place internally, for it is God who is at work in us to will and to do according to His good pleasure.

Young branches do not bear fruit immediately, but continue to draw life from the vine, eventually maturing to produce fruit. Mature branches are expected to produce fruit. The Great Vinedresser prunes those branches that are not producing fruit in order to produce more fruit. The pruning process albeit painful, is a manifestation of God’s love for His own (Numbers 14:22-24; Hebrews 12:4-11; James 1:2-4).

In the midst of the current restrictions are we abiding in Christ by keeping Him at the forefront of our thoughts, through careful bible study and personal prayer time, living a life that’s pleasing to Him, and serving Him with our whole being? Are we continuing to bear fruit? Our Father is glorified by our fruitfulness (John 15: 8).