JC Blog

"We want each of you to show this same diligence to the very end, in order to make your hope sure. We do not want you to become lazy, but to imitate those who through faith and patience inherit what has been promised" ( Hebrews 6:11-12 ).

Perseverance is a necessary characteristic for believers. Judging by the world around us it would be easy to become discouraged by the events continually surrounding us if we did not know the hope we have in Jesus and cling to it until the very end.

We are encouraged to show the same diligence as those who went before us in realizing and inheriting the promise. Paul noted in Corinthians, “Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize” ( I Corinthians 9:24 ). Forget what surrounds you, run to win. Looking forward to future with tunnel vision because we know that this world will distract us from accomplishing the mission the Lord has for us. Which is why we need to be diligent and steadfast until the end to make this hope a reality.

We can look to the scriptures for examples of those that went before us and draw encouragement from them. Many of them only saw the promise of Jesus in the future, never realizing it while they were still alive. “All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance, admitting that they were foreigners and strangers on earth” ( Hebrews 11:13 ). But they continued steadfastly because they knew faith would eventually get them there. “These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised, since God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect” ( Hebrews 11:39-40 ).

Our hope in Jesus has been realized which is why we follow in the patriarchs example of perseverance through faith. We have already inherited what was promised and as we continue to grow in the grace of God we naturally will move into maturity just as the writer of Hebrews has been instructing at the closing of chapter 5 and beginning chapter 6. “For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through endurance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope” ( Romans 15:4 ).

Growing up, one of the many verses that I memorized was Romans 3:23, "for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God..." While this verse is true and something that the apostle Paul has been building a case for, in the previous chapters, the main focus of this passage of scripture are the verses that surround this statement.

Even though we were immersed in sin and could not obtain the righteous requirements of the Law, God revealed a righteousness completely separate and independent of the Law. This righteousness comes by faith in Jesus to all who believe. The righteousness that Paul is describing is the righteousness that God ascribes too. It is perfect and holy. Through faith in Jesus, we received this righteousness as a gift. Not a flawed human righteousness, but God's righteousness. Paul said in II Corinthians 5:21, "God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God." Jesus literally became sin, the very thing he hated and despised, in order that we could become righteous, the very thing we were incapable of being through the Law. It is truly amazing!

So even though everyone sinned, both Jews and Gentiles and fell short of the virtue that God ascribes to, we are justified freely through the grace that was provided in Christ Jesus. Now it is important to recognize that everyone has sinned and everyone has been forgiven through Jesus. When Christ suffered upon the cross, he suffered and paid the price for the sins of the entire world. Past, present and future . I John 2:2 says, "He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world." meaning that while he completed the atoning work upon the cross he took care of every sin that will ever be committed, thus completely finishing his work and conquering death in the process. Romans 6:10 says, "The death he died, he died to sin once for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God." Since he broke the power of sin, he cannot die again, he did it once for all.

Now, does this mean that everyone is saved if everyone's sin has been paid for. No. Although it is true that the gift of God grace has been purchased for all and offered to all, the righteousness that is required by God only comes through Faith in Jesus Christ. We must believe and put our faith into action to accept this free gift in order to be saved. Ephesians 2:8 says, "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith-and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God" so saving grace works through faith. God simply took away sin so that it wasn't an issue with Him in order to extend the gift of His grace to us. But God wants relationship, that is why He doesn't force this grace onto anyone. He allows us to choose. He chose us. He called us. He provided the way for us. But He doesn't force us to choose Him. He desires for us to choose Him, but the fact remains that we must put our faith in Jesus in order to obtain the righteous of God that the Law could not provide for us.

The important thing to take away is that by His grace, through our faith, we are freely justified. While I was memorizing verses as a kid, we also memorized definitions to big words like justification. Justification means, 'just as if I'd never sinned." and If I am justified or it is 'just as if I'd never sinned' then I am righteous before God through faith. Today, I praise God through Jesus Christ that he became sin so that we could become righteous holy, completely forgiven and justified. Today I pray that you take this amazing truth and live a life worthy of your calling because you have been bought with a high price and with the precious blood of the Lamb.

There is power in the Gospel. The gospel allows God to move on this earth. When a person accept the gospel as the only way to God, then a miracle occurs. Colossians 1: 13 says, "For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves" Or the King James put it this way, " Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son"

At salvation perhaps the greatest miracle of all takes place. We have been taken out from under the control or power of darkness and immediately put into the kingdom of Heaven, with Christ, our Savior sitting at God's right hand and His Holy Spirit dwelling within as our deposit. Now that is power. No longer bound to the king of this world, but 100% seal, sanctified and set apart for His good pleasure.

Paul knew this power. Paul was not ashamed of this power. Paul experienced this same power that raise Christ from the dead everywhere he went. All he had to do was preach the gospel and the power of God was present to save every person who believe it. There was no distinction... God's Salvation extends first to the Jew and then to the Gentiles which includes everyone else.

Today, if you want to experience this power, the same power that Paul knew and was bold to share, then Romans 10:8-11 says, "The word is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart," that is, the word of faith we are proclaiming: That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved. As the Scripture says, "Anyone who trusts in him will never be put to shame."

It is as simple as that, Romans says, to confess with your mouth that Jesus is the only way, and believe in your heart that God raised him (Jesus) from the dead and you will be saved and never put to shame. It is my prayer that today if you have never made that confession of Faith in the Lord Jesus, that you will do and experience the power of God is a real and first hand way. May God bless you richly today!

Why was Paul so careful making sure he mentioned that the result of Abrahams faith extended to us? The Scriptures say that, "Abram believed the LORD, and he credited it to him as righteousness." ( Genesis 15:6 ). Paul is noting that the same credit of righteousness is extended to everyone who firmly relies in Jesus as Lord.

Abraham's faith was a conduit of the righteousness that God bestowed upon him, but his faith rested in the promise. The promise extends to us because the promise referred to the Messiah. Abraham saw a glimpse of this and knew that the Salvation of the world would come through his heir. Fortunate for us, God extends this hope of salvation to everyone who believes in Jesus. Romans 2:11 says, that God is no respecter of persons (KVJ). This is a great thing because it doesn't rely on who we are or what we do, it only relies on the person and the grace of Jesus.

There is a caveat however. To have righteousness credited unto your account you have to believe that God raised Jesus from the dead. To the natural man, this is utterly ridiculous and hard to understand. On the other hand, many people confess this, but their confession is merely words. The Amplified Bible explains what truly believing is... to believe you must firmly rely on, trust in and adhere to what you confess. We can take lesson from Abraham because he was fully persuaded in the promise and because of that any doubt that remain was overpowered by his faith. To have God's righteousness credited to us, we have to be fully persuaded that He raised Jesus from the dead, and we have to believe this by faith.

Today, I praise God that we have Abraham as a powerful example of faith. I praise God that the blessing he received extends to us. I am so thankful to have obtained this righteousness apart from the Law, which is by faith. The same faith working in all who believe in Jesus. What a marvelous thing!

I have prayed for many people over the years for various things. One girl, in particular stands out because her body was sick and robbing her of life. The doctors could do nothing for her and as we talked, I looked into her eyes and saw that she had no hope. I remember thinking to myself, that this was a great place to be... fed up with the circumstances and hopeless for a solution.

No matter what anyone says, we all have faith. Because of this, we put our faith in what we believe. If we believe we will receive the answer from the doctor, then we will exercise our faith by seeking that answer, from the doctor. If we believe we have a chance at the million dollar jackpot, then we will buy a lottery ticket. If we believe the building we are in, is on fire, then we will leave the building. When we believe something, it show by how we appropriate our faith in that belief.

In this example from Abraham, he used his faith to believe God. The difference between us and Abraham, is that 'against all hope, Abraham in hope believed'. The Amplified Bible puts it this way, "[For Abraham, human reason for] hope being gone, hoped in faith that he should become the father of many nations, as he had been promised, So [numberless] shall your descendants be." ( Romans 4:18; Amp ). His human hope was gone because there was no possible way physically, that he should father a child by Sarah. Both well pass the age or capability. But the scriptures say, that he didn't hope with his limited understanding, instead he hoped through the supernatural hope imparted by God.

He took what had been spoken to him as fulfilled even before it had begun. To do that, faith first has to rise on the inside. Hoping with a supernatural hope in the promise of God. When we base our faith in God's word and what he has promised, then our faith is based in truth. Thank God that Abraham operated in faith because he saw the fulfillment of God's promise and we were also blessed through it. The circumstances surrounding him, ceased to exist when he clung to that hope, riding on God's word.

In the same way, the lady, whose eyes held disappointment and hopelessness, lit up at hearing this very scripture because all of a sudden her hope wasn't based on anything but God and his word. As we spent a couple hours pouring over this passage in Romans, faith rose on the inside of her until she couldn't contain herself. As we prayed together for her body to heal and the sickness to leave in Jesus' name, she showed that she believed God's word by her faith. And her faith made her well that very hour. Every day she grew strong and healthier until it was physically evident that her health was completely restored. She choose to operate in faith, believing God for the impossible according to human standards. She hoped in hope, and saw fulfillment of what had been promised her in the scriptures.

Today, I encourage you to find just one promise in God's word and believe it with all your heart, mind and strength. Whatever you are needing from him. Find it, read it, meditate on it until you believe it with all your heart. When you start operating in faith, based on truth, then you will be blessed and completely changed by it. And like Abraham, your faith and the fulfillment of the promise will also bless many others as well! Amen.

Every question in life can be answered by asking the question, "What does the Scripture say?" For the Jew, the truth that Paul had been sharing was a tough pill to swallow. They knew the story of Abraham but as Paul points out, they missed the simple truth of it. "Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness."

In today's passage, Paul is citing back to an Old Testament scripture in Genesis to supports his message of grace. "Abram believed the LORD, and he credited it to him as righteousness." ( Genesis 15:6 ). It cannot get any clearer that this. The Jews had missed the simple truth of the scriptures and exchanged them for the burden of the Law.

This passage introduces us to two very important truths. First that scripture is our guide. Every question in life can be answered by it. Paul said in II Timothy 3:16-17, "All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work." So the Word is the roadmap to navigating through this life. When we understand this, it will save us from a lot of bad choices in life and equip us for the road ahead.

The second important truth that we can learn from the example of Abraham, is that he believed what God told him. It goes along with the first truth of letting scripture dictate your life. Although Abraham did not have the written word of God as we do, he had the spoken word of God in the form of a promise. That promise was what he put his hope into and believed. He used that word as a guide to direct his life and change the course of the future.

Believing in the promises of God is a major theme in the Bible. Just as Abraham believed God and it was credited to him a righteousness, the same is true with us, when we believe God, our faith is also reckoned unto us as righteousness. But these promises to do not stop with believing him for salvation alone. The bible is full of sweet and precious promises. By believing in these promises, our faith is what unlocks them and brings them about. Just like when Abraham believed God and it was credited to him as righteousness, our faith pleases the Lord.

Whatever you face today, remember that you can use scripture as your guide to navigate life. What you read in there, is what you are. What it says in there, is what will be. Take the example of the faith of Abraham and believe God no matter what. Today you will be blessed by doing so.