Obeying the Gospel

WHY WE STUDY THE SCRIPTURES (MARCH 3)

View on Website -- https://wordpoints.com/why-we-study-scriptures-march-3/

". . . from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus" (2 Timothy 3:15).

THERE ARE MANY REASONS WHY WE MIGHT STUDY THE SCRIPTURES, BUT FOR TODAY’S MEDITATION LET’S THINK ABOUT ONE PARTICULAR REASON. The Scriptures are able, Paul says, to make us “wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.” Whether we ourselves study them or someone else teaches us (as was the case when Timothy’...

ZACCHAEUS: A LOST SOUL NEEDING TO BE SAVED (MARCH 2)

View on Website -- https://wordpoints.com/zacchaeus-lost-soul-needing-saved-march-2/

"For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost" (Luke 19:10).

IN THE GOSPEL WE ARE CONFRONTED WITH THE FACT THAT GOD ENTERED THIS WORLD AND TOOK UPON HIMSELF HUMAN FORM IN THE PERSON OF JESUS OF NAZARETH. As the apostle John put it, “The Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth” (John 1:14). In a...

THE GOSPEL OF GOD’S KINGDOM (MARCH 1)

View on Website -- https://wordpoints.com/gospel-gods-kingdom-march-1/

"Now after John was arrested, Jesus came into Galilee, proclaiming the gospel of God, and saying, 'The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel'" (Mark 1:14,15).

THE GREEK WORD TRANSLATED “GOSPEL” IN OUR ENGLISH BIBLES WAS FAMILIAR IN THE ROMAN EMPIRE. It meant the joyful proclamation of some great event, often one having to do with Caesar, the Emperor. But in the New Testament, it refers to the greatest of all...

THIS JESUS IS THE CHRIST (FEBRUARY 29)

View on Website -- https://wordpoints.com/this-jesus-is-christ-february-29/

"Now when they had passed through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where there was a synagogue of the Jews. And Paul went in, as was his custom, and on three Sabbath days he reasoned with them from the Scriptures, explaining and proving that it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead, and saying, 'This Jesus, whom I proclaim to you, is the Christ'" (Acts 17:1-3).

TO A JEWISH AUDIENCE, THE CENTRAL...

THE RESURRECTION OF THE MESSIAH (FEBRUARY 28)

View on Website -- https://wordpoints.com/resurrection-messiah-february-28/

"For you will not abandon my soul to Sheol, or let your holy one see corruption" (Psalm 16:10).

SPEAKING IN THE SYNAGOGUE IN PISIDIAN ANTIOCH, PAUL ALLUDED TO THREE OLD TESTAMENT PROPHECIES THAT POINTED TO THE RESURRECTION OF JESUS CHRIST. To his fellow Jews, he said, “We bring you the good news that what God promised to the fathers, this he has fulfilled to us their children by raising Jesus, as also it is written in the second Psalm, ‘You are...

PERFECTION, CORRUPTION, RESTORATION (FEBRUARY 27)

View on Website -- https://wordpoints.com/perfection-corruption-restoration-february-27/

"For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us. For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God" (Romans 8:18,19).

IF THE GOSPEL IS THE “GREATEST STORY EVER TOLD,” IT’S IMPORTANT TO SEE THAT THE STORY HAS A PLOT OR STORY LINE. In essence, the gospel is about something being repaired that had been ruined. What makes it the greatest of all...

ALIVE TOGETHER WITH CHRIST (FEBRUARY 26)

View on Website -- https://wordpoints.com/alive-together-with-christ-february-26/

"But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ — by grace you have been saved — and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus" (Ephesians 2:4-6).

WE ALL KNOW ABOUT THE PHYSICAL ASPECT OF LIFE AND DEATH, BUT SPIRITUAL LIFE AND DEATH ARE NO LESS REAL. In today’s text, for ex...

ADAM’S HELPLESS RACE (FEBRUARY 25)

View on Website -- https://wordpoints.com/adams-helpless-race-february-25/

"For while we were still helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly" (Romans 5:6 NASB).

TO SAY THE VERY LEAST, WE DID NOT DESERVE WHAT CHRIST DID FOR US WHEN HE DIED FOR OUR SINS. But not only were we undeserving; we were helpless. His death provided a salvation we could never have achieved by any ability that we possessed. We were, as the Amplified Bible renders it, “powerless to help ourselves.”

Unfortunately, there is a concep...

OUT OF ZION SHALL GO FORTH THE LAW (FEBRUARY 24)

View on Website -- https://wordpoints.com/zion-go-forth-law-february-24/

"And many peoples will come and say, 'Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob; that He may teach us concerning His ways and that we may walk in His paths.' For the law will go forth from Zion and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem" (Isaiah 2:3 NASB).

IN THIS TEXT FROM ISAIAH, A DAY IS ENVISIONED WHEN GOD’S TEACHING WOULD GO FO...

THEY SHALL ALL KNOW ME (FEBRUARY 23)

View on Website -- https://wordpoints.com/shall-all-know-me-february-23/

"And no longer shall each one teach his neighbor and each his brother, saying, 'Know the Lord,' for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, declares the Lord. For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more" (Jeremiah 31:34).

HERE WE HAVE ONE OF THE MOST OBVIOUS DIFFERENCES BETWEEN THE OLD AND THE NEW COVENANTS. The difference pertains to “knowing” God; so we need to think for a mome...

WRITTEN ON THEIR HEARTS (FEBRUARY 22)

View on Website -- https://wordpoints.com/written-on-hearts-february-22/

"For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be my people" (Jeremiah 31:33).

ALL OF THE PROPHETS EMPHASIZED HOPE. We tend to view them as doomsayers (especially Jeremiah), but the word of God’s judgment upon sin was always accompanied by a message of great ho...

A NEW COVENANT (FEBRUARY 21)

View on Website -- https://wordpoints.com/new-covenant-february-21/

"Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah, not like the covenant that I made with their fathers on the day when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, my covenant that they broke, though I was their husband, declares the Lord" (Jeremiah 31:31,32).

THESE ARE WORDS THAT ARREST OUR ATTENTION. Behold, the days are coming, declares...

THE EXACT IMPRINT OF GOD’S NATURE (FEBRUARY 20)

View on Website -- https://wordpoints.com/exact-imprint-gods-nature-february-20/

"Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world. He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature" (Hebrews 1:1-3).

GOD’S REVELATION OF HIMSELF TO MANKIND HAS BEEN PROGRESSIVE. As the writer of Hebr...

ALL THE FULLNESS OF GOD (FEBRUARY 19)

View on Website -- https://wordpoints.com/fullness-god-february-19/

"For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily" (Colossians 2:9).

THE CHURCH IN COLOSSAE WAS BEING THREATENED BY A DESTRUCTIVE TEACHING THAT CALLED INTO QUESTION THE SUFFICIENCY OF CHRIST FOR THE SALVATION OF MANKIND. Paul, however, emphasized that Christ is absolutely supreme, not needing to be supplemented in any way. In fact, He is the full embodiment of God Himself. It is in Christ that “the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily.”

Listen to Paul as he w...

THE KNOWABLE GOD (FEBRUARY 18)

View on Website -- https://wordpoints.com/knowable-god-february-18/

"No one has ever seen God; the only God, who is at the Father’s side, he has made him known" (John 1:18).

WHILE AN INFINITE GOD COULD NEVER BE KNOWN COMPLETELY BY HIS CREATURES, THAT DOES NOT MEAN THAT NOTHING CAN BE KNOWN ABOUT GOD AT ALL. Other than the facts of His existence and power, which can be inferred from the creation (Romans 1:20), we could not know much by our own unaided wisdom (Romans 11:33; 1 Corinthians 1:21). But the truth is, we ha...

LIKE A LAMB (FEBRUARY 17)

View on Website -- https://wordpoints.com/like-lamb-february-17/

"He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth; like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent, so he opened not his mouth" (Isaiah 53:7).

IT WAS A BASIC PRINCIPLE OF THE LAW OF MOSES THAT THE VICTIM OF A CRIME WAS NOT ALLOWED TO PUNISH THE WRONGDOER — OTHERS WERE TO TAKE CARE OF THAT. We have the same principle in our laws today. And this principle ma...

WITH HIS WOUNDS WE ARE HEALED (FEBRUARY 16)

View on Website -- https://wordpoints.com/with-his-wounds-healed-february-16/

"But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed" (Isaiah 53:5).

AS A JEWISH RABBI, PAUL STUMBLED OVER THE CRUCIFIXION OF CHRIST IN THE SAME WAY THAT MANY HAVE. The Messiah was to be the King, God’s “Anointed.” How could He even be killed, let alone die by crucifixion? To be hanged on a tree was to be under...

DESPISED AND REJECTED BY MEN (FEBRUARY 15)

View on Website -- https://wordpoints.com/despised-rejected-men-february-15/

"He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; and as one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not" (Isaiah 53:3).

IF THE WORLD HAD BEEN ALLOWED TO DESIGN ITS OWN MESSIAH OR SAVIOR, IT WOULD HAVE COME UP WITH SOMETHING VERY DIFFERENT FROM WHAT GOD ACTUALLY PROVIDED. Jesus was, to say the least, a shock. He was offensive, if not ridiculous, to His enemies. At one...

APPEAL TO GOD FOR A GOOD CONSCIENCE (FEBRUARY 14)

View on Website -- https://wordpoints.com/appeal-god-good-conscience-february-14/

"Baptism, which corresponds to this, now saves you, not as a removal of dirt from the body but as an appeal to God for a good conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ" (1 Peter 3:21).

ACCORDING TO PETER, BAPTISM SAVES US. Its effectiveness does not lie in the washing of dirt from the body, and even as an action that is considered spiritual or religious, being immersed in water would surely not produce the forgiveness of sins if...

BEGINNING WITH THIS SCRIPTURE (FEBRUARY 13)

View on Website -- https://wordpoints.com/beginning-with-this-scripture-february-13/

"And the eunuch said to Philip, 'About whom, I ask you, does the prophet say this, about himself or about someone else?' Then Philip opened his mouth, and beginning with this Scripture he told him the good news about Jesus. And as they were going along the road they came to some water, and the eunuch said, 'See, here is water! What prevents me from being baptized?'" (Acts 8:34-36).

IN ACTS 8, WE HAVE THE ACCOUNT OF A CHRISTIAN...

TRUSTING GOD’S CHOSEN MEANS (FEBRUARY 12)

View on Website -- https://wordpoints.com/trusting-gods-chosen-means-february-12/

"And the Lord said to Moses, 'Make a fiery serpent and set it on a pole, and everyone who is bitten, when he sees it, shall live.' So Moses made a bronze serpent and set it on a pole. And if a serpent bit anyone, he would look at the bronze serpent and live" (Numbers 21:8,9).

THERE IS NO WAY TO KNOW WHY GOD CHOSE THIS WAY OF SAVING THOSE WHO HAD BEEN SNAKEBITTEN. As the people of Israel dr...

THE HORRIBLE LIE WE TELL OURSELVES (FEBRUARY 11)

View on Website -- https://wordpoints.com/horrible-lie-tell-ourselves-february-11/

"The pride of your heart has deceived you, you who live in the clefts of the rock, in your lofty dwelling, who say in your heart, 'Who will bring me down to the ground?' Though you soar aloft like the eagle, though your nest is set among the stars, from there I will bring you down, declares the Lord" (Obadiah 3,4).

THE PROBLEM OF PRIDE ADDRESSED IN THE LITTLE BOOK OF OBADIAH IS A UNIVERSAL PROBLEM. Specifically, it...

SOWING AND REAPING (FEBRUARY 10)

View on Website -- https://wordpoints.com/sowing-reaping-february-10/

"Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap. For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life" (Galatians 6:7,8).

ONE OF THE WORST MISTAKES WE CAN MAKE IS TO DISCONNECT OUR ACTIONS IN THE PRESENT FROM OUR DESTINY IN THE FUTURE. The doctrine of God’s grace, for example, is sometimes misunderstood to...

WHAT IF WE COULD SOLVE EVERY PROBLEM BUT ONE? (FEBRUARY 9)

View on Website -- https://wordpoints.com/solve-every-problem-but-one-february-9/

"And he said, 'I will do this: I will tear down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. And I will say to my soul, "Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry."' But God said to him, 'Fool! This night your soul is required of you, and the things you have prepared, whose will they be?'" (Luke 12:18...

DO WE DENY THE LORD’S DIAGNOSIS? (FEBRUARY 8)

View on Website -- https://wordpoints.com/deny-lords-diagnosis-february-8/

"I counsel you to buy from me gold refined by fire, so that you may be rich, and white garments so that you may clothe yourself and the shame of your nakedness may not be seen, and salve to anoint your eyes, so that you may see. Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline, so be zealous and repent" (Revelation 3:18,19).

IF THE GOSPEL IS ABOUT GOD SAVING US FROM OUR SINS, THE FIRST REQUIREMENT IS TO SE...

WHAT SIN IS (FEBRUARY 7)

View on Website -- https://wordpoints.com/what-sin-is-february-7/

"Everyone who sins breaks the law; in fact, sin is lawlessness" (1 John 3:4 NIV).

IF THE GOSPEL OF CHRIST IS ABOUT SALVATION FROM OUR SINS, IT IS IMPORTANT FOR US TO SEE CLEARLY WHAT SIN REALLY IS. If we deny the thing we need to be saved from, we are a long way from accepting God as our Rescuer. Hard as it is, sin is a fact we must face.

To begin with, we need to understand that God has...

FAITHFUL LOVE (FEBRUARY 6)

View on Website -- https://wordpoints.com/faithful-love-february-6/

"The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you; the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace" (Numbers 6:24-26).

WORDS OFTEN COME IN PAIRS. For example, consider the words “benevolent” and “malevolent.” The first means “good will” and the second, “ill will.” To be benevolently inclined toward someone is to want to help them, but if a person is malevolently inclined, that means their basic disposition is to harm.

THAT WE SHOULD NOT PERISH (FEBRUARY 5)

View on Website -- https://wordpoints.com/should-not-perish-february-5/

"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him" (John 3:16,17).

MANY PEOPLE WOULD SAY THIS TEXT IS THEIR FAVORITE. But favorite things have a way of becoming so familiar that they no longer challenge us as we need to...

WHEN COMFORT AND CONFIDENCE ARE DANGEROUS (FEBRUARY 4)

View on Website -- https://wordpoints.com/comfort-confidence-dangerous-february-4/

"For you say, I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing, not realizing that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked" (Revelation 3:17).

AFFLUENT SOCIETIES ARE OFTEN THE LEAST OPEN TO THE GOSPEL OF CHRIST. People who can get whatever they want to satisfy their temporal desires pay little attention to their spiritual needs.

The problem is that material prosperity breeds a false confidence in ourselves. When our immediate desires are fulfilled, we are...

ARE WE WILLING TO LEARN FROM OUR LIMITS? (FEBRUARY 3)

View on Website -- https://wordpoints.com/willing-learn-from-limits-february-3/

"What is crooked cannot be made straight, and what is lacking cannot be counted" (Ecclesiastes 1:15).

GOD HAS MADE THE PRESENT WORLD AN UNPREDICTABLE PLACE. Lest we think figuring out which buttons to push will invariably get us what we want from the world’s vending machine, God prevents us from having this much control. He makes sure we can’t straighten out every crooked thing in our lives. Paul describes this by saying “the creation was subjec...

THE WORDS OF ETERNAL LIFE (FEBRUARY 2)

View on Website -- https://wordpoints.com/words-eternal-life-february-2/

"Simon Peter answered him, 'Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life'" (John 6:68).

IN JOHN 6, WHEN JESUS GAVE HIS DIFFICULT “BREAD OF LIFE” DISCOURSE, MANY OF HIS DISCIPLES DECIDED THEY WOULD NOT FOLLOW HIM ANYMORE. But when He asked His inner circle of disciples, the twelve apostles, if they also would turn away from Him, Peter said, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.” Peter understood something about Jesus th...

IT IS BY GOD’S GRACE THAT WE ARE SAVED (FEBRUARY 1)

View on Website -- https://wordpoints.com/by-gods-grace-saved-february-1/

"For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God" (Ephesians 2:8).

IN HIS MAGNIFICENT LETTER TO THE CHURCH IN EPHESUS, PAUL MAKES IT CLEAR THAT ALL THE SAVED HAVE BEEN SAVED BY GOD’S GRACE. The church in Ephesus was made up primarily of Gentiles, and he wanted them to be encouraged by the fact that God’s grace had saved them, just a...

THE GOSPEL: THE POWER OF GOD FOR SALVATION (JANUARY 31)

View on Website -- https://wordpoints.com/gospel-power-god-salvation-january-31/

"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" (Romans 1:16).

WHEN PAUL WROTE THIS TO THE CHRISTIANS IN ROME, HE HAD NEVER BEEN THERE. And his critics seem to have been saying that he didn’t have enough courage to leave the hinterlands and come preach the gospel in Rome, the most powerful and sophisticated ci...

FAITH IN THE POWERFUL WORKING OF GOD (JANUARY 30)

View on Website -- https://wordpoints.com/faith-powerful-working-god-january-30/

". . . having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through faith in the powerful working of God, who raised him from the dead" (Colossians 2:12).

THERE IS A SENSE IN WHICH JESUS’ DEATH AND RESURRECTION HAPPENED ONLY ONCE. But there is another sense in which these events occur every time someone is baptized into Christ.

Our baptism into Christ is not a mere ritual or insignificant act of obedience — it is t...