To Know God

Treating others well is something that, I guess as Christians, we are obligated to do. We don’t do it to earn favor before God or any of that; we do it because it is what God has called us to do. God has called us to love our neighbors as ourselves. If we love God, we should love our neighbor. John makes this explicit in 1 John 4:20-21.

Do I always treat others well? Of course not, I am still a sinner. I do want to treat others better though and it is always my prayer that I will. I need to constantly look to God and His Word on how to do this. I think Paul makes a very good statement in Colossians 3:12-17:

Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

v. 12 - We are God’s elected people. Christ has put to death what is earthly in us and we should be putting on Christ. Christlike qualities include compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience. How much I would benefit to live by these qualities daily!

v. 13 - There are always going to be those “hard people” to love, whether in the body or out of the body. God calls us to love on all people. We are to forgive each other because God has forgiven us first. What we have received from God we are to show to others

v. 14 - But here Paul says that above all these, we are to put on love. Why? Because it binds everything together in perfect harmony. Love is the greatest commandment and the entire Law is summed up into it. Love is why God chose to send His only Son to die for us on the cross. Love is crucial in the Christian life. The body of Christ cannot work without love.

v. 15 - Christ came here to give peace (John 16:33). We are to take heart that Christ has overcome the world! Because we have been called with Christ, we are to let his peace rule in our hearts. Being thankful for what He has done for us. This marks us as His true disciples, when we are different from the world.

v. 16 - We are to let the word of Christ dwell in us richly. What Christ has taught us is truth. The world teaches us lies but in the midst of it all, Christ’s word shines brightly through. But we are to not keep this word to ourselves. We are called to teach and admonish one another with all wisdom. With thankful hearts, we are to sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs. What does this mean? Our speech is to always be edifying and encouraging to other people. We are to always be striving to build up the body of Christ.

v. 17 - Ultimately everything is to be done in the name of the Lord Jesus. Jesus has given us the greatest spiritual blessings ever through his death and resurrection. Jesus is worthy of all the glory and all the praise. We are to not forget to give thanks to God the Father through him.

Christlikeness should be the mark of every Christian. Through Christlikeness can we be able to treat others well. Christians truly demonstrate that they are saved by showing that they are being truly transformed daily by God’s sanctifying grace.

In this present time, I need to put on the godly qualities of Christ. On a side note, in this present time, though I am single, I should be putting on these qualities in preparation for my future wife. I’m doing no good if I’m just staying in my old sinful self. She would definitely love to be married to a godly man who takes great care of her and treats her well. A man who loves her in a sacrificial, selfless, and sanctifying way. In this season of singleness, I should surrender to Christ and let Him constantly mold me into a godlier man. I should surrender to His timing and to be patient for how He is working in my life.

    You make known to me the path of life;
        in your presence there is fullness of joy;
        at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.
- Psalm 16:11 ESV

God, you make known to me the path of life. Truly, God, in your presence there is fullness of joy. Indeed, at your right hand are pleasures forevermore. Lord, reveal yourself to me! Fill me up with the joy of your presence! “Delight yourself in the LORD, and he will give you the desires of your heart.” - Psalm 37:4

Tests of faith are always very hard. I’d rather not be tested. I’d rather things come along “the easy way”. It’s so tempting to just kick and scream at God when we are being tested in our faith. But James didn’t see it that way:

Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. - James 1:2-4

Joy? Really? That’s really tough. To count it all joy during our trials? But James has something here. We should consider our trials as joy because the testing of our faith produces steadfastness. When steadfastness has its full effect, we’ll be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. To be growing in our faith should be a joy for us. When we are being content in our faith and not moving along, how are we going to grow? We should be thanking God for trials yet hardly we ever do. We should be thanking Him for being the loving Father that He is. Does He not discipline us as well? And He does it for our good! Here’s what the author of Hebrews says:

For they disciplined us for a short time as it seemed best to them, but he disciplines us for our good, that we may share his holiness. For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it. - Hebrews 12:10-11

We are assured that God the Father’s discipline will yield the peaceful fruit of righteousness. God never works for our harm but always works for our good (Romans 8:28). Who am I as an insignificant human being to decide what is good for my life? Who am I to decide whether or not I get to have my faith tested? Solomon has left us with some wise words of wisdom:

    Trust in the LORD with all your heart,
        and do not lean on your own understanding.
    In all your ways acknowledge him,
        and he will make straight your paths.
- Proverbs 3:5-6

    Create in me a clean heart, O God,
        and renew a right spirit within me.
    Cast me not away from your presence,
        and take not your Holy Spirit from me.
    Restore to me the joy of your salvation,
        and uphold me with a willing spirit.
- Psalm 51:10-12

Some powerful words from David. Here are my personal notes on Psalm 51:

This is one of the greatest psalms in the entire Bible, if not the greatest. This is David’s true heartfelt prayer in his lowest time. He had just committed the sin of adultery with Bathsheba and had killed her husband to avoid repercussions. David wrote this psalm in the aftermath of this event when he was truly convicted of his sins. We can truly see that he is a man after God’s own heart.

In the psalm, David pleads for forgiveness on the basis of God’s characteristics and not his own, including mercy, steadfast love, and grace. He appeals to God to cleanse his sin because he knows that he cannot do it own his own. He knows the true reality of his sin and how it is ever before him. Ultimately, all sin is against God, and David realizes that God is just if He so please to judge him. David knows that he has been sinful all his life.

God delights in truth and teaches sinful beings wisdom. God is the one who can purge our sins, cleanse them, and wash them away. David pleads to hear joy and gladness in his innermost being and to rejoice. He wants God to not remember his sin anymore and to blot out all his iniquities. He desires that God create in him a clean heart and to renew a right spirit within him. He does not want to be casted away from the presence of God. David truly wants to cling on to God and to be restored to the joy of His salvation.

David will then teach sinners the way of God, that they might come back to Him. David wants to sing aloud of God’s righteousness and to declare His praise. He knows that God does not delight in sacrifices that are not from a truly broken and contrite heart. God truly delights in sacrifices that are after His own heart.

Short reflection:

In this psalm, we can truly see that salvation is from the Lord. David appeals to God for everything from forgiveness to restoration and upholding. He truly has a broken heart before God and we can truly see that he desires restoration. He does not depend on himself. He does not appeal to his greatness as a king but appeals on the basis of God. He knows that because God is merciful and loves steadfastly, he can return to God! David has truly repented of his ways and wants to stay forevermore in the joy of God’s salvation. He is so joyous before God that he knows he can praise Him and sing aloud of His righteousness.

It’s always so great to be reminded of the gospel. Everything in this life depends on it. Eternal life depends on it. It either saves or condemns:

For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. - 1 Corinthians 1:18

Tonight was a great night of being reminded by the gospel. Just a great reminder of how the gospel is by faith alone in Christ and…nothing else. It’s very sad that there are a lot of false gospels out there and we don’t do anything about it. We tolerate them. I’m guilty of it too. But I have to remind myself every time to not be ashamed of the true gospel:

For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, “The righteous shall live by faith.” - Romans 1:16-17

The gospel is indeed the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes. It is the ONLY power of God for salvation. In the gospel, the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith. The righteous shall live by faith. Everything goes back to righteousness and faith. Through the gospel, God declares us righteous and it is so liberating because we don’t have to work for our salvation. God already did it for us! Here are some verses on God’s gospel grace:

• For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. - Ephesians 2:8-9
• But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me. - 1 Corinthians 15:10
• For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus. - Romans 3:23-24
• But we believe that we will be saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus, just as they will. - Acts 15:11
• Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord, nor of me his prisoner, but share in suffering for the gospel by the power of God, who saved us and called us to a holy calling, not because of our works but because of his own purpose and grace, which he gave us in Christ Jesus before the ages began. - 2 Timothy 1:8-9

We are called by God’s grace for the purpose of His great and glorious will! How great is that calling and what a privilege it is to be part of His community! Let us do all things according to the grace given to us and not trying to earn it on our own. God has already given it. He asks that we accept it.