Prayer
Behold, his soul which is lifted up is not upright in
him: but the just shall live by his faith (Habakkuk 2:4).
Our Father who art in heaven, we praise you this day as the God of all grace. We thank you for your gift of faith to all that You have saved and will save within our family.
Today’s Hymn
Words: Ernest W. Shurtleff, 1888. He wrote this hymn for the graduation ceremony at Andover Theological Seminary, where he was a member of the class of 1888.
LEAD ON, O KING ETERNAL
Click here for tune.
Lead on, O King eternal,
The day of march has come;
Henceforth in fields of conquest
Thy tents shall be our home.
Through days of preparation
Thy grace has made us strong;
And now, O King eternal,
We lift our battle song.
Lead on, O King eternal,
Till sin’s fierce war shall cease,
And holiness shall whisper
The sweet amen of peace.
For not with swords’ loud clashing,
Nor roll of stirring drums;
With deeds of love and mercy
The heavenly kingdom comes.
Lead on, O King eternal,
We follow, not with fears,
For gladness breaks like morning
Where’er Thy face appears.
Thy cross is lifted over us,
We journey in its light;
The crown awaits the conquest;
Lead on, O God of might.
Thought Provoker
Many here in Wyoming have treadmills on which to exercise year-round. When the snow flies and the temperature drops below zero, it’s nice to get a workout inside, where it’s warm. A treadmill is a machine that enables you to run hard, sweat, and toil without going anywhere. Paul has warned about false teachers who come to pervert the Gospel of Jesus Christ (Gal. 1:8). The Gospel of the Bible can be summed up in one word, GRACE! Satan, knowing our pride, seeks to pervert the Gospel by adding to grace the works of the law. In other words, the true Gospel is all of God. He predestinates, calls, produces faith and repentance, sanctifies, and glorifies! Satan’s messengers come to the church and pervert this Gospel of grace by mixing with it the works of man. They change the formula from Grace + 0 = salvation, to Grace + human works = salvation. The enemy likes to call professing Christians to hop on their religious treadmills and continue to run their way to God through sweat and toil! In today’s passage, Paul warns us that treadmills only bring sweat and toil – they do not bring you closer to God!
Dad’s Study
Read together Galatians 2:16-20 and discuss:
- What does Paul mean by justified?
- How is a person justified?
- Can anyone be justified by doing the works of the law?
- Do we have to earn our way back to God when we sin?
Justified is a judicial term that means to be declared not guilty of sin. A person is declared not guilty for breaking the law of God and is declared righteous, not by works but, by faith of Jesus Christ. Paul clearly declares that by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified. No one will find himself in right standing before his Creator and King by trying to do the works of the law. In other words, a religious treadmill will cause a sweat but not take you closer to God. All of your righteous works are like filthy rags (Is. 64:6). There is nothing except the precious blood of the Lord Jesus Christ that is acceptable to the heavenly Father. Many profess to come to Christ through faith, and yet like the Galatians, want to continue through keeping the law. This is the gospel of Mormonism today. They teach that Christ’s atonement goes only so far and then you must do the rest through your good works. This error is a snare for all that profess faith in Christ. It’s so easy to profess faith and then jump on your religious treadmill trying to somehow keep a good relationship with God through your own works. I have counseled with professing Christians who have fallen into a grievous sin. Satan came pointing his bony, accusative finger at them and asked, and you call yourself a Christian? You want to go to church next Sunday? What makes you think that you’re worthy? Get your act together first! The result is that many think that they are not worthy of worship and believe that they must be good for a period of time before returning to the fellowship of the saints. Maybe after 3-4 weeks of stopping that particular sin and trying to be good they feel worthy to return. This is falling into a similar error as the Galatians. Remember, you are saved by grace! Kept by grace! When you sin, you are forgiven by grace!
Click here for Matthew Henry’s Commentary.
Truth in Practice
No one deserves to go to church! No one deserves to receive the Lord’s supper! We are all sinners by nature, alienated from God and His life! But by God’s grace through faith in His Son we are justified, forgiven, and declared righteous. Underline verse 16 in your Bible. The next time Satan tempts you to jump on the works treadmill, read to Him out loud, for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified! And then flee from his tempting presence into the gracious arms of your Lord.
Catechism
Question 7
Q What are the decrees of God?
A. The decrees of God are his eternal purpose according to the counsel of his own will, whereby for his own glory he has foreordained whatever comes to pass (Eph. 1:11, 12).
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