Gracious Help in Times of Temptation

Horatio Palmer wrote one of the most well known hymns on the topic of temptation. “Yield Not to Temptation” has now been sung by churches for over 150 years.  The message is still as vital today as when it was first composed.  The world, the flesh and the devil surround us and increasingly intrude in our lives.  Still, we have a Savior who was tempted in all ways such as we and was yet without sin. 

Matthew and Luke record the wilderness temptation of Jesus.  Following His baptism and filling with the Holy Spirit, He was led by the Spirit into the wilderness.  There He fasted and prayed for 40 days and was then tempted by devil in the areas of lust of the flesh, lust of the eyes and pride of life.  For our sake He endured the sore trial of fasting and for our salvation He remained steadfast in temptation.

Palmer charges us to follow in this same frame of life.  “Yield not to temptation, for yielding is sin; each victory will help you some other to win; fight manfully onward, dark passions subdue, look ever to Jesus, He’ll carry you through.”  In subsequent verses Palmer warns the believer to avoid those places and situations that lead to temptation.  He also constantly points the believer to the help he will only find in Jesus Christ.  “Look ever to Jesus, He will carry you through.” 

The night in which He was betrayed Jesus told His disciples to watch and pray that they might not enter into temptation.  That advice has not changed in two thousand years.  Jesus taught His disciples to pray, “Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil.” That prayer has not changed for His people for two thousand years either.  We look to Him who has overcome.  We flee from the temptations that are clearly seen.  We have a victor, a great Champion in Jesus Christ who has overcome and will help us to overcome.  God’s grace is poured out to us in times of temptation to resist if we will.  His throne of grace is open to us in time of temptation and need.  It is a throne of grace we need to avail ourselves of more and more that we might reveal the grace of our Savior to world more clearly each day.  

  The Friday Benediction

Until Monday, my friends, may the good God envelop you with His grace; may you prove the common confession of faith, “I believe in the holy Christian church and in the fellowship of the saints”, and may you be enriched with joy and hope as you exercise that confession this weekend.  Amen

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Demonstrated Grace

Great Christ of God in human form wast with humanity adorned, nor scorned the base estate of man to all fulfill the Father’s plan.

These simple lines express the grace revealed in Jesus Christ.  Paul stated in the early church hymn found in Philippians 2:6-7, “Who being in the form of God did not consider it robbery to be found equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant and coming in the likeness of men.”  The humility of Christ is one of the great expressions of His grace.

In Luke 2 we find Jesus in the temple with the learned men of the Jews.  There in their very midst was the Word of God incarnate.  He was everything that they had learned in memorizing the Old Testament.  In that childhood flesh in front of them was the fullness of the godhead in bodily form.  I have taught school for many years and I know how pompous a child can be if they think they are “somebody”.  Arrogance is part of the disease of our sinful nature.  But Jesus, the Word of God, was not arrogant.  His parents found Him in the temple listening to these men, some of whom would one day demand His crucifixion, and asking them questions.  That is graciousness. 

How did He manage to do this?  Well, of course He was God, but that doesn’t leave us off the hook for emulating him.  In Luke 2:40 we are told he grew strong in spirit and that the grace of God was upon Him.  When we trust Christ as our Savior then the Holy Spirit comes to dwell within us.  We now have the nature of God in our fleshly bodies.  The grace of God has been poured upon us to have faith in Christ in the first place.  We have the ingredients for a life of Christ likeness.  The Scriptures now call upon us to walk a life of graciousness as we see in Christ.  It is the walk of grace.

Now men of God reflect your Lord, the Christ of God by us adored, show forth in life and word and love, the blessed grace of Christ above.  

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Grace Upon Grace

If the word grace was obscured by other translations of the word in Luke, John 1 will make up for it.  In John 1:14-17 we find Christ described as grace 4 times.  He is given the great acclamation of not just being grace, but of pouring out grace for grace.  Abundant grace is proclaimed in these verses and Christ is its character and its source.

Samuel Knox wrote a beautiful hymn, “Lord, Thou Hast Promised Grace for Grace” based upon the text in John 1.  His first stanza reads, “Lord, Thou hast promised grace for grace to all who daily seek Thy face; to them who have, Thou givest more out of Thy vast, exhaustless store.”  There is great and wonderful promise in these words.  John 1:11 had declared that when he came to this earth His own did not receive Him.  Then in verse 12 it declares that those who did receive Him would be called the children of God.  They had believed in Him and embraced His grace.  To these He promised more grace.  To these He is indeed “grace for grace”. 

I am losing my hearing as a simple fact of aging.  When I listen to the TV or stereo the sound level comfortable for my children is not effective for me.  I need volume with volume.  To satisfy this need my son hooked up a speaker system that goes directly to my chair.  I can hear clearly because I have sound and sound.  We all have needs in our lives.  Those needs are daily met with the grace for grace of Christ.  He has met our greatest need, reconciliation with the Father, by dying on the cross in our stead.  Now He adds grace to grace by supplying each need as it arises.  He is the truth of God to show me the way to God (Vs 14 and 17) and the grace of God to make me acceptable with the Father (Vs 14-17) and He is also the grace of God to care for me every day.  He is my amplified grace for all needs as my son graciously amplified the stereo sound so I can hear what is going on.

Now, being filled with such grace, we need to show that we have it.  I have to be able to say that I know what is playing on the stereo.  We have to be able to say what God is doing in the world.  He gives us grace for that as well as Knox states in verse 4, “Help us, O Lord, that we may grow in grace as Thou dost grace bestow; and still Thy richer gifts repeat
till grace in glory is complete.”  Rejoice in the richness of His grace and declare the same. 

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Grace Brings Joy to the World

Isaac Watts’ great hymn “Joy to the World” certainly reflects the impact of grace through Christ at the time of His nativity.  The English word “joy” is a derivative of the word grace.  It is simple.  Joy comes from Grace.  In the accounts of Christ’s nativity we find this idea used repeatedly. 

First we have the great angelic message, “Fear not, for I bring you good tidings of great JOY.”  Yes, the grace of God in sending His Son was to bring joy to the whole earth.  The long awaited Savior had arrived.  Man could have hope.  Death would be defeated.  Sin would be forgiven.  There would be real joy and the angels announced it. 

A few months or so after the shepherds had gone to view the Holy Infant in the manger; other noble guests came to worship Him.  Wise men from the East had seen a star that heralded the birth of a king.  Going first to Jerusalem, where they would logically find a king born in a palace of the capital city, they were redirected to Bethlehem.  Once again the star shone on their way and they came to the house where Jesus lay.  How did they react to the certainty that they had found the King?  They rejoiced with exceeding great joy.  That’s right, grace was at work again.  They were filled with the magnitude of grace (rejoiced – the Greek verb form of grace) and then gave voice to the grace revealed with exclamations of joy (a Greek derivative form of grace).

The angels proclaimed joy.  The wise men manifested joy.  The wonderful grace of God in Christ was bursting the attentive and believing with raptures of joy.  And so it should still be today.  The grace of God given to us through His beloved Son Jesus Christ should fill us daily with joy.  We have a faithful Savior who will never leave us.  We have a faithful Savior who has removed all the condemnation of God against our sin.  We have a faithful Savior who is interceding for us.  We have a faithful Savior who is coming again for us.  We have the Almighty God of all creation who loves us, cares for us and carries as lambs in His bosom.  Sing it! “Joy to the world, the Lord has come.  Let earth receive her King.  Let every heart prepare Him room and heaven and nature sing.”  Sing it loudly and often, the grace of God in Christ is come!

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All Hail! Rejoicing Grace

One of the most well known and well loved Christmas songs is “Ave Maria”.  Whether using the original Latin version or the English one so often adapted from a poem by Sir Walter Scott, the haunting melody and words of worship stir the heart.  If we think we are stirred, imagine being Mary.  In a quiet hour alone, either in worship or in work, the Bible does not say, she is suddenly confronted with an angel declaring, “Hail, Mary” or “Ave, Maria”. 

What we find in this salutation is the richness of grace.  In Greek the word for “hail” is a derivative of the word grace.  It is in fact the word grace in verb form.  When it is translated into English it is almost, but not always, used as the word “rejoice”.  So, the angel said to Mary, “Rejoice, Mary” or “Be graced, Mary”.  Joy and rejoicing are a great part of grace, so both ideas run in conjunction. 

The angel went on to say to Mary, “You are highly favored”.  The word favored in the Greek is the exact word translated as grace over 110 times.  The intensity of the angel’s announcement is building.  “Be graced, Mary. You are full of grace by God.”  Mary was troubled by this saying so the angel continued, “Fear not, for you have been graced (found favor) by God.”  That word favor here is the word grace.  The beginning of the earthly life of Christ, being conceived by the Holy Ghost into the womb of Mary, was a ministry of grace by the Almighty God.  Mary then went about her life daily showing Christ more and more in her.  That is a literal truth any woman ever pregnant can clearly attest to. 

Grace brought to her by God, bestowed upon her by God and placed within her by God had to become evident.  The grace of God changed an obscure Jewish maiden into the most adored woman in Christian history.  That is how we see it now, but it wasn’t how it was then.  She was ridiculed, nearly abandoned and often confused.  But she stored up all that God had revealed to her and followed on.  That is how grace should work in us.  When God brings us by grace to His blessed Son, then we are to daily reveal Him more to the world around us.  They may not all like what they see, but that need not deter us from making His praise glorious.  Let us rejoice with Mary in our call to grace and manifest our growth in the grace of our Savior more each day. 

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God's Grace Has Not Changed

When Jesus hung on the cross He said, “Father, forgive them for they know not what they do.”  In Genesis 50 we find a similar scene of grace as Joseph’s brothers came to him after the death of Jacob.  They were afraid that he was still holding a grudge against them for what they had done to him.  With fear they fell on their faces before him and asked him to forgive them.  In the words of the Lord’s Prayer we pray, “And forgive us our debts (trespasses) as we forgive our debtors (those who trespass against us)”.  Is the scene of grace acted out in Genesis 50 acted out in our lives?

Cecil Alexander wrote the beautiful hymn “Forgive Them, O My Father”.  While capturing the words of Christ from the cross, she also clearly conveys the words of Joseph to his brothers.  The first stanza of her hymn reads: “Forgive them, O my Father,
they know not what they do. The Savior spoke in anguish, as sharp iron nails went through.
No word of anger spoke He to them that shed His blood, but prayer and tenderest pity
large as the love of God.”  Joseph told his brothers that what they had done had been done for their salvation in the divine plan of God.  Jesus suffered for our salvation in the divine plan of God. 

The plan of God for salvation is still working in the world.  When early Christians suffered for their faith, they praised God as they were slain.  The forgiveness they showed their tormentors greatly impacted many for salvation.  Today people are still waiting to see if the forgiveness of God is real.  If it is real, it must be real in us.  We are the little “Christs” in the world today.  We must see that God’s plan of salvation for the world includes us as living demonstrations of His grace.  Joseph forgave his brothers.  Christ forgave his tormentors.  We are to forgive our debtors.  We are to do it because it is the plan of Christ to reach the world of sinners through the ministry of His bride, the Church. 

Cecil’s last stanza reminds us that we are still relying every day on the constant forgiveness of Christ and that we must minister the same grace to others.  “And often I have slighted Thy gentle voice that said: forgive me too, Lord Jesus, I knew not what I did.
O depth of sweet compassion! O love divine and true! Save Thou the souls that slight Thee
And know not what they do.”  Let us act with Christ in this ministry of grace.  

  The Saturday Benediction

Until Monday, my friends, may the good God envelop you with His grace; may you prove the common confession of faith, “I believe in the holy Christian church and in the fellowship of the saints”, and may you be enriched with joy and hope as you exercise that confession this weekend.  Amen

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The Story of Levi: By Grace Are Ye Saved

Daniel Whittle penned many hymns.  One of those which have become more obscure today is “By Grace Are Ye Saved”.  The first stanza of the hymn reads, “In grace the holy God did full salvation plan, electing in His sovereign grace to save rebellious man.”  When we look at the prophecy that Jacob makes for his sons in Genesis 49 we can see the grace of God poured out on two particularly rebellious men.

Simeon and Levi, the second and third sons of Leah, had taken vengeance on the city of Shechem for the sin of the prince of the city.  He had raped their little sister.  These two brothers had then killed every man in the city in retribution.  In modern parlance we might say that their father Jacob was “not amused”.  In his prophecy regarding these two sons he seems to make an end of them as an enduring part of the tribes of Israel.  What he saw dimly in speaking the prophecy, however, God saw fully in the grandeur of His grace to an end that Jacob could not see.  The prophecy came from God and God had grace in his plan. 

By the words of Jacob the brothers were to be dispersed in Israel and have no land of their own.  This indeed did come true.  But it did not mean their insignificance or destruction.  Levi went on to become the tribe of the Aaronic priesthood.  God made a covenantal statement regarding this priesthood that it would perpetuate until the end of time. We see this priesthood still at work in the restored Israel of the millennial age found in Ezekiel 40-48.  God’s grace did not eliminate but saved this rebellious son.

The tribe of Simeon was also dispersed.  It is where they were dispersed that shines the grace of God.  Simeon was given an inheritance within the tribe of Judah.  While they did in many ways lose their own identity, the identity of where they were was the blessed capital of Israel.  Judah was the crowning tribe.  It was the home of the temple where the Levites served.  The tribe of Simeon survived foreign attacks until the tribe of Judah itself succumbed to the weight of their own sin.  Therefore, the people of Simeon were among the first to be restored to the land after the captivity of Babylon.  God preserved these two brothers by His grace alone.  What seemingly was their end, the prophecy of Jacob, was to be in truth their salvation.  God in his grace planned it all and saved the sinner.  Praise God that He is still in the same planning and saving grace “business” today.