HUMBLED BY GRACE a blog by Kevin Zimmerman

Faith, Works and a Perceived Contradiction

QUESTION: I thought we achieved heaven through faith in Jesus—not by works. James 2:22-23 states that faith is not enough. I would like to understand what I perceive as a contradiction. Thank you.

²² You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did. ²³ And the scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness,” and he was called God’s friend.

Verse 24 should stick out: “You see that a person is considered righteous by what they do and not by faith alone.” This does seem to contradict Ephesians 2:8 which says, “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith…not by works.” However, context is key. James here is discussing two different types of faith. The first is a faith that he says is dead. It is a faith that simply acknowledges God with one’s lips, but does not truly resonate within a person’s spirit. This is why he says in verse 19, “You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder.” I doubt that you would believe that belief demons have of God is equivalent to the saving faith that encompasses the Christian. This is why James’ point is a second type of faith—true faith. True faith is exemplified in the person of Abraham. It does not merely offer lip service to God, but it demonstrates one’s devotion by living out one’s beliefs and convictions.

Stand Up & Speak Out

Daniel feared God. He resolved not to defile himself with the king’s food and drink and asked the chief eunuch for permission to have a diet that conformed to God’s law. Even at a young age, Daniel understood the importance of obeying God even in the rough times and trusting him regardless the circumstances. He knew that a life devoted to God is far superior to a life of self-indulgence. Pleasure is not wrong—God desires our happiness; however, we are so willing to settle for pitiful and momentary pleasures rather than seeking the eternal happiness that accompanies a life devoted to God. There will be times when you are going to have to make a stand for what is right. As a Christian, you have been given a voice and entrusted to shine bright the light of the gospel with this dark world. Be it human trafficking (more human beings are enslaved today than at any other point in history), abortion (more than 55,000,000 babies have been murdered in the United States alone since the passing of Roe v. Wade in 1973), the persecuted church (more than 70,000 North Korean Christians are currently locked up in concentration camps akin to those of Hitler’s Germany), or a host of other issues close to the heart of God, you are called to stand up for what is right and to give a voice to the voiceless. As Americans, we are insulated from the troubles our brothers and sisters throughout the world face each and every day. We cry ‘persecution’ when somebody says something insensitive about Christians or calls us out for the hypocritical lives we live; all the while, very few of us have ever experienced a situation where standing up for what is right put our lives in jeopardy. Even still, we fold under the pressure of honoring God and being seen in a good light while Christians around the globe are willing to experience beatings, imprisonment, and even death for the sake of Christ. There will come a time when you will have to stand for God. What will your response be?

Leaving a Legacy: Lessons from William Wilberforce

I have just finished reading Eric Metaxas’ account of the life of William Wilberforce. What a powerful story is was.

Oh, to be used by God as was Wilberforce.

He was truly a man whose heart was closely knit to the heart of the Savior.

He was a man who loved God so deeply that the pains of God himself ached Wilberforce as well.

To toil for over 20 years for the sake of justice, love, and mercy—to fight tirelesly for the cause of abolition of the slave trade and the emancipation of over 800,000 chained souls—only to be met with defeat after crushing defeat had to have been defeating in itself. Nonetheless, Wilberforce was compelled by something bigger and greater than himself. He knew God had raised him to fight this good fight.

And fight he did.

And win God did.

Wilberforce’s story is one of devotion, perseverance, an intense zeal, and an unquenchable faith.

I love the stories of men and women who have labored and toiled for the sake of God and his kingdom. May my life, like that of William Wilberforce, be characterized by a deep love of God and a deep longing to usher in the Kingdom of God.

S.D.G.

A Life Well-Lived

We are just like Judah. We live lives filled with sin and unrighteousness, seeking happiness, but find none. For a time we turn to God and repent of our sinfulness, but we quickly are distracted by the whims of this world and turn from him and back to a life characterized by sin. “Sin,” Sproul says, “can be pleasurable, but it never brings happiness.” Pleasure is a poor substitute for happiness. We seek happiness, for that is what our hearts were designed for. However, we cannot find true happiness—God designed and God desired happiness—in the things of this world. We foolishly believe that the sinful desires of this world will satisfy our greatest longings and we go from desire to desire trying to fill the void in our souls—a void that can never be filled apart from God himself. C.S. Lewis famously said in his book Mere Christianity, “If I find in myself desires which nothing in this world can satisfy, the only logical explanation is that I was made for another world.” You were made for another world. Stop acting as if this world—this fallen world—is all there is or ever was. No, there is something greater, something bigger that you were made to live for, that you were made to experience. The reason why the Christian has joy in this life is because he has hope in the next. Lewis said, “ If you read history, you will find that the Christians who did the most for the present world were just those who thought most of the next…. It is since Christians have largely ceased to think of the other world that they have become so ineffective in this. Aim at Heaven and you will get earth ‘thrown in’: aim at earth and you will get neither.” Therefore, we must seek God, his righteousness, and his kingdom. When we do so, we will begin to experience a life that is not characterized by a sin and disappointment, but of “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, [and] self-control” (Gal. 5:22-23). A life lived with Heaven in view because of God’s grace is a life well-lived.

A Work in Progress

It’s been a while since I’ve posted. Life has been crazy with me beginning a new job in ministry and getting reaclimated to life in the desert. I’ve been continuing to plug away on my book and would love to get your input. The book itself is about the providence of God in the midst of evil and suffering. The following is an excerpt from the book’s second chapter:

God’s plan for Joseph was truly unconventional. There is no way anyone would have contrived such a plan for his or her own life. If God hadn’t allowed or willed certain evils to exist in Joseph’s life, the world would be vastly different today. If Joseph hadn’t been sold into slavery by his brothers to work for Potiphar and run his affairs to then be falsely accused of rape by woman who had read too many pulp fiction romance novels and thrown in jail for two years before coming to Pharaoh’s side after he had some frightening dreams he would not have been in a position to impact the future of the world by providing food for Egypt and all other nations in a time when there was none and one of those nations he would save from extinction was the 70-100 person nation of Israel who by his willingness to follow God moved to Egypt where they prospered and grew to a great nation to the point they were feared and enslaved, but one day would walk free in an exodus that only foreshadowed the greater exodus that would come for all people from one God-man, Jesus, who was from the very same nation of Israel that God saved from extinction.

 

I know that’s a ridiculously long  run-on sentence and all of you grammarians and gritting your teeth; sorry about that, but follow the train of thought. If God didn’t allow Joseph to experience the depths of human depravity he did, he would not have been in a position to impact the world the way he did. His impact went far beyond giving people food—his impact was that he provided refuge and stability for the floundering nation through which the savior of the world would come.

 

How crazy is that!

 

God used Joseph to change the world in ways he couldn’t even imagine. God is the one who put Joseph in the places he was and allowed him to experience the evil and suffering he did so that the world would one day be redeemed out of their own bondage and suffering.

 

Now you may be thinking, “Isn’t this all just circumstantial? Are you saying that God could only work within the confines of the story we have in Scripture?” The answer must be a resounding “of course not!” God can do whatever he wants; however, we need not use God’s omniscience as a means of negating the somewhat uncomfortable truth that God not only allowed evil and suffering in Joseph’s life, but he willed it. Like I said at the end of the first chapter, God does not take part in evil, but he does use it for his ultimate good. Joseph’s own words make this point exceedingly clear. “As for you,” Joseph said to his brothers, “you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today” (Gen 50:20).

 

The truth is that God used evil intent and suffering in Joseph’s life to ultimately bring about the saving work of Christ. Joseph served as a foreshadow of Christ, in that he suffered for no reason, was faithful to the Father, and saved his people from impending death. While Joseph did all of these things, Jesus fulfilled them to a higher and perfect extent. He truly suffered without reason, as he never sinned against anyone. He was truly faithful to his Father, being obedient unto the point of death even when every fiber of his humanity screamed against the pain he knew he was to endure. Further, he brought life and salvation to a world dying not merely a physical death, but a deeper, spiritual one. Yes, Jesus is the true Joseph. He suffered the worst atrocity the world has ever seen and committed—the creator killed by his creation—yet he did so for the sake of making all things new.

I’d love your feedback. What do you think?

I love history.

I always have.

I love reading about the past, the way people lived, the joys they experienced, and they tough times they had. I love reading about difficult circumstances that have been overcome and seeing how an individual’s character developed throughout their life. The old saying is true—the past really does teach us about the present and future.

One of my favorite types of literature is biography. Each time I crack the spine on a new biography the world of the subject is opened wide and I am enamored by the lives these men and women lives. I learn so much from their lives and am encouraged by the changes and transformation I see in these true stories. Currently, I am reading Eric Metaxas’ wonderful book, Amazing Grace: William Wilberforce and the Heroic Campaign to End Slavery. If ever there is a man to emulate, it is Wilberforce. The man trusted God and with stubborn perseverance changed the world.

What I find fascinating about biography is that depending on the biographer, you will get a unique spin/telling of the same events in a person’s life. This is what I love about the gospel accounts. The Gospel of Jesus Christ as told by Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, each inspired by the Holy Spirit, all shed unique yet united light on the story of the historical Jesus. Matthew appeals to Jesus’ fulfillment of prophecy, Mark is eager to get his reader to the cross and resurrection, Luke is exceedingly thorough, and John is just special. I love John’s telling of the good news because he starts in outer space; no really, check out John 1. He masterfully shares Jesus’ two natures—cosmological and historical—and the way in which they coalesce.

The cosmological aspect of Jesus, his nature and his story, shows that Jesus is truly God. He is that word that was spoken. He is the creator of all. John’s gospel depicts Jesus, the Word, as such:

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. (John 1:1-5)

This is the Word. This is Jesus. He was before there was. He is the God who created the universe. He is the God who created galaxies and stars, planets, mountains, and oceans. He is the God who created you and me. In addition to being the creator, he is perfectly holy. Holiness is an interesting word. It is one we have a difficulty defining because by its very nature holiness is otherness and otherness by its nature is something we can’t comprehend. We often define holiness as purity, but I guarantee you the seraphim around the throne of God in Isaiah 6 weren’t shouting, “Purity! Purity! Purity!” Purity is an attribute of God’s holiness, but it is not holiness itself. R. C. Sproul, in his famous book The Holiness of God, says, “When the Bible calls God holy, it means primarily that God is transcendentally separate. He is so far above and beyond us that He seems almost totally foreign to us. To be holy is to be ‘other,’ to be different in a special way” (36). God’s holiness is not merely one of his attributes—it is his identity. It isn’t a mere description of who he is—it is who he is.

This is Jesus. He is holy. He is creator. He is God. He is completely other, yet chose to make himself known by man so that we might be saved.

When we understand Jesus’ divinity and the cosmological story that he has created, it is easy to diminish his humanity. It is easy to dismiss or disbelieve the humanity of the God who created the world. But, Jesus lived! He walked on the same earth you and I walk on every single day. He was born, experienced teething, growing pains, and had to learn how to crawl and walk. He condescended to our level. Read Paul’s description of Jesus in Philippians:

Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. (Philippians 2:5-11)

He humbled himself! The God who made the world chose to live in it—creature dwelling among creation. You can’t make this stuff up! Jesus’ humanity is attested not just by the eyewitness accounts of the gospels, but also by many other documents from the first century and beyond. He is the most discussed, most debated, most loved, and most hated man to ever walk the face of the earth. Only the God of the universe could spark such emotion for millennia. He lived, he died, and rose again. It’s historical fact and the Bible gives us four unique yet unified accounts of the life of this wonderful creator and savior, Jesus Christ.

How mind-blowing is that! Our God is amazing!

Lessons from the Book of Jeremiah

As our church continues our yearlong journey through Scripture, we find ourselves at present in the Prophets. I’ll be honest, these are books I have never spent much time in and the ability to read, discuss, and teach on God’s mouthpieces and the messages they spoke to Israel and Judah has been an incredible experience thus far. We are currently in the book of Jeremiah and the words of God via the so-called ‘weeping prophet’ are cutting me to the core (just as Scripture is intended to do). It is incredibly saddening to see the condition in which Judah found itself and it is even more humbling to realize such a warning could easily apply to myself and my generation.

One verse is the most humbling of all:

Thus says the LORD:

Stand by the roads, and look,

and ask for the ancient paths,

where the good way is; and walk in it,

and find rest for your souls.

But they said, ‘We will not walk in it.’

JEREMIAH 6:16

In the chapters and verses leading up to Jeremiah 6:16, God begs and pleads his people, his chosen people, to turn away from their idols and false gods and run to him. He calls them to obedience, often saying that if they would just turn to him he would spare them from their impending punishment of exile. Here in verse 16 we see God telling them to remember the truths of their forefathers and seek him as they did because they will find that his way is good and that they will then find rest for their souls. And they say ‘no’.

THE GOD OF THE UNIVERSE, THE ONE WHO CREATED THEM LOOKS TO THEM AND GIVES THEM A SECOND CHANCE AND THEY SAY ‘NO’!

How ridiculous is that! Why in the world would they refute the love, grace, and acceptance of the God who not only created them, but also chose them to be a special people unto himself.

How crazy are they!

Are they blind?!

Can they not see?!

Who do they think they are?!

Upon reflection, I have to ask myself the same question: Who do I think I am? Am I blind to the goodness and grace of God? Why do I often think I know better than the God who created, loves, cares for, and redeems me?

How about you? Does this ring any bells? God loves us so much that he hates to see us choose anything other than what is best and what is best is ALWAYS him. He is always best. He is better than anything we can think of; he is better than anything else we can worship; he is better than everything—because he is above everything.

One of the key elements of Jeremiah 6:16 is the statement, “Stand by the roads, and look, and ask for the ancient paths.” This is an encouragement to seek the council of those who are older, those with more experience, those who know what it means to follow God with abandon to all else, in good times and in bad. I know the marriage vow says, “in sickness and in health”. This applies to our true marriage (Christ and the church) even more! Seek the wisdom of others, read biographies, read theology from men and women who lived hundreds of years ago. I guarantee you that whatever seems like an awesome insight into the person of God isn’t new and was written far more eloquently by someone else—and he/she was probably a Puritan (just saying!).

Gain insight from others, turn to God and experience his rest. Resolve to never be like the people of Judah who said, “We will not walk in the way of the LORD.”