Acts 2:38 – Is Water Baptism Necessary For Salvation?

³⁷ Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Men and brethren, what shall we do?”
³⁸ Then Peter said to them, “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. ³⁹ For the promise is to you and to your children, and to all who are afar off, as many as the Lord our God will call.”
⁴⁰ And with many other words he testified and exhorted them, saying, “Be saved from this perverse generation.” ⁴¹ Then those who gladly received his word were baptized; and that day about three thousand souls were added to them.

Acts 2:37-41 (NKJV)

Acts 2:38 is one of the major proof-texts that those who believe water baptism is necessary for salvation use to support their belief. I disagree with this assessment for three reasons:

1. There are far too many other passages in the Bible that contradict the notion of water baptism as a requirement for salvation. John 3:16 says, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” According to this verse, eternal life is based on belief in Jesus Christ – and nothing else. Romans 10:9-10 says “that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.  For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.” Again, there is no mention of baptism in these verses, nor anywhere else in the chapter. In several other passages in the book of Acts, baptism is mentioned in conjunction with salvation; however, in every one of these passages, baptism always happens immediately after the person has been saved.
2. There are also many other passages that contradict the notion that water baptism is the means for having sin removed. 1 John 2:1-2 says, “My little children, these things I write to you, so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.  And He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world.” Hebrews 9:22 states, “And according to the law almost all things are purified with blood, and without shedding of blood there is no remission.” It is the blood of Jesus Christ that removes sin, not water baptism.
3. A careful examination of the text of Acts 2:38 has convinced me that Peter is not talking about physical water baptism, but rather the immersion of the believer in Christ. The Greek word βαπτισθήτω means “dip, submerge, baptize.” When examining the context of Biblical passages concerning baptism, it is important to understand A) who or what is being immersed, and, B) what they are being immersed in? In the case of Acts 2:38, the answer to “who or what is being immersed?” would be the Jews who heard Peter’s sermon, and believed. The answer to the second question, “what they are being immersed in?” would be, “in the name of Jesus Christ.” Peter is telling his audience that in order to be saved, they must be immersed in Jesus Christ; His blood then covers their sin; and then they will receive the Holy Spirit. Peter does not say, “be baptized in water for the remission of sins;” he says, “be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins.” When a person receives Jesus Christ as their Savior, they are put into Jesus Christ for the remission of sins. Water baptism is done afterward, as an outward sign of the spiritual transformation that has already taken place (Acts 2:41). In Acts 2:38, the instruction is to be immersed into Jesus’ name, not into a pool of water.

Salvation is based on confessing sin before God, repentance, and placing one’s faith and trust in the atoning blood of Jesus Christ alone for the remission of sin. No ritual or work – including water baptism – can add to or take away from one’s salvation.

Seven Obstacles to Sharing Your Faith, Part 5

I ran across an article last month on christianitytoday.com by Chris Lutes entitled Seven Reasons Not to Share Christ (and why we should go ahead and do it anyway). I thought it would make a good a good blog series.

Lutes writes for his fifth reason:

5) “I’m not a very good Christian”

You’re a believer, but you mess up. You don’t pray or read your Bible as much as you should. And you sin. Every day. So why should you tell other people about Christ if you can’t even get it right? Fortunately, being a believer isn’t about getting it right. It’s about God’s love and God’s forgiveness. It’s about his saving grace. (See Ephesians 2:8-9, John 3:16 and Colossians 2:13.) So, does this mean you can act however you want? No. God wants us to become more like him each and every day. But he can also use us even when we mess up or aren’t as good as we should be. You don’t have to be “perfect” to share Christ. Not at all. Instead, make it clear to your friends: “You know, I’m sure not perfect. That’s why I need God’s love and forgiveness.” Chances are, your friends will appreciate your honesty. They might also be kind of amazed to discover you believe in a loving and forgiving God. And isn’t that what the Good News is all about?

Being a Christian isn’t about being good. It’s about being forgiven. If being a Christian depended on us being good, then there would be no Christians. The apostle Paul quotes several Old Testament passages in Romans 3:10-12, where he writes,

¹⁰ As it is written:
“There is none righteous, no, not one;
¹¹ There is none who understands;
There is none who seeks after God.
¹² They have all turned aside;
They have together become unprofitable;
There is none who does good, no, not one.”

Since there is no person who does good, then not being a “good” Christian puts you in exactly the same position as every other Christian. None of us is “good,” despite the fact that most of us want to be. Paul also struggled with the dilemma of Christian “goodness.” In Romans 7:14-25, he writes,

¹⁴ For we know that the law is spiritual, but I am carnal, sold under sin. ¹⁵ For what I am doing, I do not understand. For what I will to do, that I do not practice; but what I hate, that I do. ¹⁶ If, then, I do what I will not to do, I agree with the law that it is good. ¹⁷ But now, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me. ¹⁸ For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) nothing good dwells; for to will is present with me, but how to perform what is good I do not find. ¹⁹ For the good that I will to do, I do not do; but the evil I will not to do, that I practice. ²⁰ Now if I do what I will not to do, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me.

²¹ I find then a law, that evil is present with me, the one who wills to do good. ²² For I delight in the law of God according to the inward man. ²³ But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members. ²⁴ O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? ²⁵ I thank God—through Jesus Christ our Lord!

So then, with the mind I myself serve the law of God, but with the flesh the law of sin.

Paul struggled with sin. He struggled to do what was right, and he struggled not to do what was wrong. All of us who are followers of Jesus Christ struggle with doing what we know is right. If a person does not have this internal dissonance between what they know God wants them to do and what they actually do, I would contend that they aren’t true Christians. All people fall short of God’s perfect standard; true Christians have the Holy Spirit residing in them, convicting them of sin and guiding them toward repentance. If a person does not experience the Holy Spirit’s conviction for sin, then they have not yet been saved. The fact that a Christian knows they fall short is evidence that they are truly saved and allowing God to guide and direct them.

Here’s the bottom line: Being a Christian isn’t about being good; it’s about being forgiven, and being transformed. Being forgiven happens the moment a person receives Jesus Christ; being transformed is a life-long process. The fact that I’m not a “good” Christian is the very point of the Gospel. Religion says I must be good to approach God; Christianity says that I cannot be good, but that God wants to be reconciled to me through the blood of Jesus Christ, despite my lack of goodness. And, it’s the Holy Spirit that allows the transformational process in my life, not anything I can do on my own.

More Than a Conqueror

One of my favorite passages in the Bible is Romans 8:31-39:

³¹ What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? ³² He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things? ³³ Who shall bring a charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. ³⁴ Who is he who condemns? It is Christ who died, and furthermore is also risen, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us. ³⁵ Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? ³⁶ As it is written:

“For Your sake we are killed all day long;
We are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.”

³⁷ Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. ³⁸ For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, ³⁹ nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

What is Paul referring to when he says, “What then shall we say to these things?”  “These things” refers to the entire breadth of God’s grace to lost sinners in the letter to this point.  For the Christian, God’s grace and our relationship with Him are the foundation for everything else in our lives.

When Paul asks, “If God is for us, who can be against us?” he does not mean that Christians will never face opposition;  rather, he is emphasizing that the conflicts we do face are greatly overshadowed by God’s love and grace toward us.  The basis for our confidence in God is that He “gave His only begotten Son” (John 3:16).  Since God the Father was willing to sacrifice His own Son in order to be reconciled with us, we can be confident that He will also give us the protection and security we need to follow Him.

What does Paul mean when he rhetorically asks, “Who shall bring a charge against God’s elect?”  In Revelation 12:10, Satan is called the “accuser of our brethren, who accused them before our God day and night.”  Because those of us who have received Jesus Christ as Savior are justified before God the Father through the blood of Jesus Christ, God sees the Christian as if they had never sinned.  The perfect righteousness of Jesus Christ has paid the penalty for my sin; therefore, God considers me blameless before Him.  Satan has no basis for accusing the Christian before God; the Christian’s sins have already been paid for.  As Paul puts it, Christ makes intercession for us. When Satan accuses the Christian before the Father, Jesus says, “I’ve already got it covered.”

Paul then rhetorically asks, “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?” He then lists a catalog of situations that we think might be able to separate us from God: tribulation, distress, persecution, famine, nakedness, peril, and the sword.  Often, Christians think that when bad things happen, it’s because God has somehow rejected us.  We think God’s angry, so He’s punishing us by allowing us to suffer.  To emphasize his point, Paul quotes Psalm 44:22:

Yet for Your sake we are killed all day long;
We are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.

Paul’s point here is that God does not punish the Christian; Jesus Christ already took the punishment.  God does allow bad things to happen to the Christian, but not because God is punishing us.  Rather, God uses trials to produce character and hope.  In Romans 5:3-5, Paul tells the Christian:

“³ And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; ⁴ and perseverance, character; and character, hope. ⁵ Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us.”

Paul finishes Romans chapter 8 with one of the most profound promises found in Scripture.  Through Jesus Christ, the Christian is promised victory – and nothing can take that away from us.  Whether dead, or alive, we have victory in the love of Jesus Christ.  Angels cannot take our God’s love away; neither can demons (“principalities”) or human authorities (“powers”).  Time cannot affect our standing before God; nor can anything else in the universe.  We cannot even throw it away ourselves!  Our relationship with God through Jesus Christ is completely sealed; absolutely nothing can separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

When I am struggling with my faith, or going through difficult times, I come back time and again to this promise for the strength and courage to press onward.  Times may be difficult – but nothing can separate me from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus my Lord!  I may be overwhelmed by my sin – but nothing can separate me from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus my Lord!  Those I love may let me down – but nothing can separate me from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus my Lord!

Yet in all these things I am more than a conqueror through Him who loves me.

5 Reasons We Need to Rebrand Evangelism – Part 5

In a January 13, 2012 article posted on christianpost.com, guest columnist Greg Stier of Dare 2 Share Ministries listed 5 reasons why the practice of evangelism needs to be “rebranded.”

This is the last of a 5-part series where I have examined and evaluated each of the five reasons listed.

5. There is a real need.

We must rebrand evangelism because we are living in a world in desperate need of Jesus and evangelism is the portal through which we share the person of Jesus with others. Whether it be the angst of “cutting” or the desperation of suicidal thoughts or the cul-de-sac of American greed the gospel provides the solution to the deepest needs of the human soul. We must do what it takes to reframe evangelism as good news in a bad world, as light in the midst of darkness, as peace in a world of chaos.

Rebranding the word “evangelism” does not start with a campaign or a commercial. It starts with you and me, lovingly, gently, relationally and relentlessly sharing the good news with those within our reach.

We live in a world full of turmoil.  Wars in the Middle East; genocide in Darfur; Joseph Kony in Uganda; the Tea Party and Occupy movements in the United States; tsunamis, earthquakes, and tornados; crumbling economies, terrorists, and human trafficking worldwide.  The world is crying out for peace, but there is no peace.  The world has proposed numerous solutions to the violence, suffering, and hatred, but none has ever succeeded in bringing true peace.

What the world needs is Jesus.

Not a religion, or a worldview, or a political or economic program.  We desperately need a restored relationship with the Creator of the universe.

God created this world as a perfect paradise, but mankind destroyed it by rebelling against our Creator.  Sin began 6,000 years ago with Adam and Eve; it has continued since then in every single person who has ever lived, except one:  Jesus Christ.  Sin is ultimately the root cause of all pain, suffering, conflict, greed, war, starvation, and death; and Jesus Christ is the only cure for sin.

Evangelism has become a dirty word in today’s culture.  The unsaved see evangelism as coercing people into religious bigotry and intolerance.  Many Christians see it as a disruption to their comfortable lifestyles.  The word “evangelism” must be rebranded to convey the love of God to a dying world through Jesus Christ.  Look at the people you see every day, at school, at work, at the grocery store.  Most of them are bound for an eternity separated from God in Hell.  Separated from all that is good, all that is beautiful, all that is loving.  Evangelism is God reaching out to these lost people with the good news of the Gospel.  Jesus Christ died to take away sin and its consequences.  All a person must do to be saved is to receive the gift of God’s grace through the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.  However, how can a person receive that which they have not yet heard?  Or respond to a message they have not yet understood?  How can the lost hear and understand the Gospel, unless Christians get out of their recliners, out of their comfort zones, and tell others about Jesus?

Yes, the word “evangelism” needs to be rebranded.  The concept has become warped and has lost its true meaning.  Evangelism and the Gospel must be restored to their true, original meaning – sharing the good news of the love and grace Jesus Christ to a dying world.

I agree completely with Greg Stier – “Rebranding the word ‘evangelism’ does not start with a campaign or a commercial. It starts with you and me, lovingly, gently, relationally and relentlessly sharing the good news with those within our reach.”

Six Reasons Young Christians Leave Church Part 6

The Barna Group, a leading Christian research and resource company that focuses on the intersection of faith and culture, published the article last September entitled, “Six Reasons Young Christians Leave Church.” This is the sixth and final in a series of articles in which I give my take on Barna’s conclusions.

Reason #6 – The church feels unfriendly to those who doubt.
Young adults with Christian experience say the church is not a place that allows them to express doubts. They do not feel safe admitting that sometimes Christianity does not make sense. In addition, many feel that the church’s response to doubt is trivial. Some of the perceptions in this regard include not being able “to ask my most pressing life questions in church” (36%) and having “significant intellectual doubts about my faith” (23%). In a related theme of how churches struggle to help young adults who feel marginalized, about one out of every six young adults with a Christian background said their faith “does not help with depression or other emotional problems” they experience (18%).

Let’s face it; there are many difficult to believe things in the Bible:

• Talking snakes and talking donkeys.
• The parting of seas and walking on water.
• The creation of the entire universe in 144 hours.
• People being swallowed by a fish and thrown in an oven, and surviving
• A world-wide flood that wipes out everything except for one large lifeboat.
• Virgin birth.
• Resurrection.
• God becoming a man.

The list can go on and on.  The claims of Christianity often defy our senses and experiences.  Our limited, fallen minds are going to naturally question the validity of the fantastic accounts of God’s miraculous interventions recorded in the Bible.

How does the church respond when young people express doubts about their faith?  One unfortunate response is to reinterpret the Bible to try to explain away the difficult parts.  Some teach that the Genesis creation account is some sort of allegory or story that contains spiritual truth, but no historical facts.  Others teach that Hell doesn’t actually exist, that the virgin birth never actually happened, or that the flood of Noah’s day was just a local event.  The problem with these types of responses is that they undermine the authority of the Bible as the Word of God, and they make God out to be a liar.  If some parts of the Bible aren’t actually true, then why trust any of it?  If the Bible is the Word of God, but the Bible isn’t completely true, then God is either a very poor writer, or else He hasn’t told us the truth.  Most young people are smart enough to figure out that if the Bible isn’t accurate, then there is no rational basis for Christianity.  No wonder so many are leaving the church!

The second common response is to give a shallow, superficial answer.  “Why?  Because the Bible says so,” or “Good Christians don’t ask such questions” are typical responses.  Many, if not most, Christian teachers and leaders have not equipped themselves to adequately defend the Christian faith.  They can’t explain the difficult things in the Bible and in life because they don’t really understand the issues themselves.  In 1 Peter 3:15, believers are commanded to “sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear.”  Too many Christian leaders have not sanctified the Lord God in their hearts; their relationship with Jesus Christ is not the true focus of their lives.  Too many Christian leaders have no idea how to give a defense of the Gospel.  They have not diligently prepared themselves to give reasoned, rational explanations for the truth of God’s Word.  And, too many Christian leaders do not approach these issues with “meekness and fear,” but with pride, arrogance, and indifference.  Then, they wonder why young people leave the faith!

What should the church’s response be to the doubts expressed by young believers?  Over a third of the young people surveyed in the Barna study said they can’t ask the “most pressing life questions” in church.  We need to encourage questioning!  But, we also need to be prepared to give solid, insightful, Biblical answers to the difficult issues facing young people today.  When young believers express significant intellectual doubts about the Bible or their faith, we need to listen.  We need to be able to help people work through their doubts and struggles, pointing them toward understanding and reasoned answers.  God tells Isaiah in Isaiah 1:18, “’Come now, and let us reason together,’ says the Lord…”  God encourages us to use our minds to find reasoned understanding of the difficult issues of life.  The church has the responsibility to help young people to reason out the answers, based on the Bible.   When young Christians say their faith “does not help with depression or other emotional problems,” the church needs to listen!  Too often, we tell people suffering from depression that their illness is because of a spiritual problem, which only makes them feel guilty, and serves to reinforce the depression and doubts, rather than resolving the issues.  Rather than judging people for having emotional issues, we need to help them work through their doubts, fears, and depression by providing support, love, and solid Biblical answers.

The church must never compromise the authority of the Bible.  Nor should we give superficial or judgmental answers when young people express doubts or ask difficult questions.  Rather, we need to listen carefully and empathetically to the issues young people bring up, and provide solid, Biblical answers.  If we fail to provide answers to the questions young people have, they will seek answers elsewhere, and the answers they find outside of the Word of God will only lead them to destruction and despair.

Life’s “Escape Button”

On computer keyboards, the Esc (or Escape) key is traditionally used to initiate an escape sequence.

Many people have wished that life had an “escape button” that we could push to temporarily get away from the difficulties we all face.  A way to escape from the pressures, temptations, responsibilities, and suffering.

Although we can’t just push a button to escape from the world for a while, for the Christian, there is escape through our relationship with God.

King David wrote in Psalm 71:

¹ In You, O Lord, I put my trust;
Let me never be put to shame.
² Deliver me in Your righteousness, and cause me to escape;
Incline Your ear to me, and save me.
³ Be my strong refuge,
To which I may resort continually;
You have given the commandment to save me,
For You are my rock and my fortress.

David tells us that our escape comes only by trusting the Lord.  It is not in our own power that we can escape from the pressures and problems in this life.  We are fallen sinners trapped in a cursed, fallen world.  It is only in the power of the holy, omnipotent God that escape is possible, and it is only by placing our faith and trust in Him that we can take refuge.

The apostle Paul wrote in his first letter to the Corinthians, Chapter 10:

¹² Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall. ¹³ No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it.

When we try to stand on our own against temptation and sin, we are guaranteed to fall.  Because we are all sinners, we do not have the capacity to stand against temptation.  No matter how hard we try, our best works are certain to fall short.  It is only by the power of the Holy Spirit that anyone can escape temptation and overcome sin.  What we cannot do, God does, when we place our faith and trust in God through Jesus Christ.  God does not promise that the problems will go away, but rather, that we can overcome them through Him.

Hearing from God

One of my Facebook friends recently posed the question, “Are you struggling to hear from God?” He then makes the following point:  We sometimes must wait and trust God’s timing.

I’m pretty much in the same boat as my friend.  I know God has called me to full-time ministry, and I sense that God is preparing me for a ministry that goes beyond anything I’m currently involved with, but it seems that God is silent as to what that ministry might be.  God knows that my heart’s desire is to serve Him wherever He chooses to put me.  I know He’s blessed me with gifts and talents far beyond my natural abilities, and that He wouldn’t have done so if there isn’t a purpose.  I’m having difficulty waiting for God’s direction, though.

The Bible talks quite a bit about waiting for God:

Psalm 27: 14

Wait on the Lord;
Be of good courage
And He shall strengthen your heart;
Wait, I say, on the Lord!

Psalm 37: 9

For evildoers shall be cut off;
But those who wait on the Lord,
They shall inherit the earth.

Isaiah 40: 31

But those who wait on the Lord
Shall renew their strength;
They shall mount up with wings like eagles,
They shall run and not be weary,
They shall walk and not faint.

What should our attitude be, when we’ve been waiting, and it seems God is not answering our prayers?  I’ve found that there are five things that I need to pray for when I am waiting to hear from God.

1.  I need to pray for the patience to wait, rather than making a hasty decision, just because I think I’m supposed to be doing something.  Too many times, I’ve made a decision without waiting for God’s answer, and in retrospect, it’s never been the best decision.
2. I need to pray that God will prepare me for whatever it is He is getting ready to call me to do.  I need to stay in God’s Word, stay in prayer, and stay in fellowship with other believers, learning whatever God is trying to teach me, so that when God does give me clear direction, I’m prepared to do it immediately.
3. I need to pray for God’s protection from being deceived.  I need God’s protection and discernment so that I won’t listen to the devil’s attempts to divert my attention, or to do something other than what God wants me to do. I pray that God protects me from my own ambitions and my natural tendency to be impatient.
4. I need to pray for God to give me clear direction.  I pray that when He does speak to me, I will have no doubts that it is indeed His voice I am hearing, and that I will have a clear understanding of His answer.
5. Lastly, I must pray that when I do hear His voice, I will immediately obey.  I can have no reason to expect God to speak, if I am not prepared to immediately do whatever it is that He tells me to do.

I’ve found that when I pray for patience, preparation, protection, clear understanding, and a will to obey, that I am better able to wait for God.  Sometimes it’s still frustrating when my sinful nature gets in the way, and I get impatient when it seems God isn’t answering me as quickly as I think He should.  How arrogant of me!  But, when I trust in God’s goodness and omnipotence, I can wait for His answer in His timing, and I find myself better able to obey when I do hear His voice.

Yes, I am struggling to hear from God right now.  As I was writing this, my Media Player “randomly” played the song “Voice of Truth” by Casting Crowns:

Out of all the voices calling out to me
I will choose to listen and believe the voice of Truth

I’d very much appreciate your prayers as I seek the patience to wait for God’s clear voice, and to obey.

Overcoming Discouragement

Not one of us knows what effect his life produces, and what he gives to others; that is hidden from us and must remain so, though we are often allowed to see some little fraction of it, so that we may not lose courage. The way in which power works is a mystery.–Albert Schweitzer

It’s easy to get discouraged; I’m fighting discouragement right now as I write this blog.  Our family is struggling financially; my wife is having a lot of difficulty finding a job.  The bills keep piling up, things keep breaking down, and the cost such of necessities such as gas and food keep getting more expensive.  I can’t physically do as much as I used to do, as my body gets older and keeps falling apart; I don’t have the energy and the stamina I used to have.  I’m seeking to do God’s calling, yet I can’t seem to figure out exactly what that means.  Sometimes, it seems like the struggle is just too much.

The apostle Paul often faced difficulties, and fought discouragement.  Yet, he wrote to the church at Corinth:

⁷ But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us. ⁸ We are hard-pressed on every side, yet not crushed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; ⁹ persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed— ¹⁰ always carrying about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body.

2 Corinthians 4:7-10 (NKJV)

God has placed the treasure of the Gospel in the weak, earthen vessels of human beings, so that His power and grace might abound.  Paul reminds us that, as followers of Jesus Christ, those things that we cannot overcome, God can overcome.  It’s not our strength or ability that overcomes discouragement and circumstances, but the grace of Almighty God poured out on us through the blood of Jesus Christ and the power of the Holy Spirit.  As Christians, we may be hard-pressed by our circumstances, but as long as we keep our focus on Jesus Christ, we will not be crushed.  We may be perplexed and bewildered, but by focusing on Jesus Christ, we can avoid despair.  We may be persecuted for our faith, but God will never forsake His people.  We may be beaten down by life’s demands, but God will never allow us to be totally destroyed.  Paul’s anguish and seeming defeats are confirmation that he has no actual strength in himself and that, as Christ died, so also Paul knows he is “dead” in terms of his own ability to achieve anything of eternal significance.

It is only by the Holy Spirit working through us that we can overcome the challenges of a sin-cursed world and rise above the despair and discouragement that the world throws at us.  Life in this present age can be very discouraging, but as a Christian, my real hope for peace is in the grace of God.  God’s grace and love are more than sufficient to keep me above the current discouragement and despair, and to allow me to flourish, until He takes me home to glory.  It is God alone that gives to those who have placed their faith in Him the true courage and power necessary to face the difficulties of life.  All I can do is keep my faith in Him, trusting Him to overcome the sin and discouragement I face daily.

Wisdom to Face Life’s Trials

² My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, ³ knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. ⁴ But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing. ⁵ If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him. ⁶ But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. ⁷ For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; ⁸ he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.

James 1:2-8 NKJV

Many of us have been struggling.  Many people are having a tough time just making ends meet.  Household incomes are going down, while expenses have been skyrocketing.  Jobs are hard to find, and the few that are available usually don’t pay enough to live on.  About 100 million Americans — one in every three — live either in poverty or in the distressed zone just above it.  The Democrats blame the Republicans for the failing economy; the Republicans blame the Democrats; and most Americans blame both.

Americans are worried and scared.  We’re uncertain about the future, and are fearful that we will lose everything we have worked for all of our lives.

Yet, James tells us to “count it all joy” when we face trials.  How is this possible?  First, notice that James addresses this comment to the brethren.  He’s talking to Christian believers.  Apart from a relationship with God through the blood of Jesus Christ, it is impossible to truly have joy in the face of distress and suffering.  It is only through the power of the Holy Spirit that God can supernaturally bestow on us peace and joy despite difficult times.

James acknowledges that such times are a test of our faith.  Do we truly trust God despite the fear and uncertainties, or not?  Do we continue to believe in God’s love and power, even though everything seems to be crashing down all around us?  God’s purpose for trials, at least in part, is to produce patience and perseverance, which, in turn, produces mature Christian character which lacks nothing.

TRIAL => TESTING => PERSEVERANCE => MATURITY

If our response to trials is to resist God’s working to produce Christ-like character in our lives, we set ourselves up for a very difficult time indeed.

James continues by reminding us to seek wisdom from God when facing trials.  In biblical terms, to be wise is to know and understand godliness, and to do what is pleasing to God.  God desires us to be godly and wise, so when we truly seek wisdom from Him, He will surely grant it to us.  This does not necessarily mean God will give us the wisdom to solve our problems or end our struggles; rather, He gives us the wisdom to become more Christ-like in how we overcome the struggles we face.

We are next warned to ask God in faith, without doubting.  We are to avoid becoming double-minded.  “Double-minded” literally means “two-souled.” This refers not to mere mental hesitancy, but rather to having one’s thinking divided within himself, such as an inner moral conflict, or a distrust of God.  It comes back again to faith.  James compares this division between faith and distrust with being tossed about like a ship in a storm.  Faith in God’s love and character is the anchor that holds us despite the storms that rage around us.  Sin and mistrust of God remove this spiritual anchor.  To ask for wisdom in faith is to cling to God’s way of righteousness and to be committed to it, despite the difficulties we struggle with daily.  If we are not willing to commit to allowing God to produce godly character in our lives, we should have no expectation that He will give it to us.  Spiritual growth and maturity require commitment, and cannot be attained without it.

Economic uncertainty and the fear it produces are natural consequences of sin in a fallen world.  Overcoming the fear and distress is only possible by seeking wisdom from God.  Although He may or may not take the physical struggles and suffering away in this life, He can grant us the peace and strength to grow closer to Him through the trials, if we seek His wisdom, and commit to following Him, whatever the circumstances.  We may be poor in worldly goods, but be richly blessed with God’s righteousness and power to overcome the difficulties we face in this life, and with the promise of unimaginable blessings in eternity.

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Please pray for those of us who are struggling in these tough economic times, and for all who are struggling to grow in their faith in Jesus Christ.

Thanks for reading, and may God bless you!