"Faithful in Little Things"

(part 1 of 2)

“He who is faithful in a very little thing, is faithful also in much, and he who is dishonest and unjust in a very little thing is dishonest and unjust also in much.”                                                                                                                              Luke 16:10 (Amplified)

Recently I have been reading a book about prayer that has a lot of references in it regarding the Prophet Daniel. As I read about Daniel I was struck by an idea the writer mentioned that made me think about this passage from Luke. In Daniel 2:48 we read:

“Then the King placed Daniel in a high place and lavished many gifts on him. He made him ruler over the entire province of Babylon and placed him in charge of all its wise men”

 

In a tremendous miracle God exalted Daniel from a simple Hebrew slave to Governor! However this miracle did not happen on a whim. It had its beginnings in Daniel 1:3-20. Here we read that the king ordered that young men without physical defect, handsome, showing aptitude for every kind of learning, well informed, and quick to understand be chosen to serve in the king’s palace.  Daniel was among those chosen and was assigned a daily amount of food and wine from the king’s table. They were to be trained for three years and after that they were to enter the king’s service. Daniel 1:8 tells us:

“But Daniel resolved not to defile himself with the royal food and wine, and asked the chief official for permission not to defile himself in this way.”

The official overseeing Daniel was hesitant fearing that Daniel would look in poorer health or malnourished if he allowed him to follow these dietary laws and in turn anger the king. However, God caused the official to show Daniel favor and after testing him for ten days Danel 1:15 says:

 “At the end of the ten days they looked healthier and better nourished than any of the young men who ate the royal food.” Daniel was faithful in keeping what would have seemed to many as little dietary laws, but God honored his faithfulness and commitment by exalting him contrary to reason to a place of authority.

 

.Pastor Scott Burr

http://faithandworshipseries.blogspot.com/

"The Angels' Christmas Message"

“But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”

                                                                                                                           Luke 2:10-12

Last Sunday, our church presented a Christmas play entitled “Angels on Assignment.” It was different from the kid’s presentations we have done in the past. It was packed full of the common characters you would expect, like, Mary, Joseph, the Shepherds and the Wise men, but it was told from the vantage point of the Angels assigned to oversee Jesus’ birth.

It really stirred something in me. I never really took time to consider what the angels must have thought about what was happening. They must have watched with wonder as God’s plan to save mankind unfolded. In fact we read in 1 Peter 1:10-12:

“Concerning this salvation, the prophets, who spoke of the grace that was to come to you, searched intently and with greatest care, trying to find out the time and circumstances to which the Spirit of Christ in them was pointing when he predicted the sufferings of Christ and the glories that would follow. It was revealed to them that they were not serving themselves but you, when they spoke of the things that have now been told you by those who have preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven. Even angels long to look into these things.”

This group of witnesses to His birth is unique in that they were with Him before He came.
This made me even more curious, not just to what they must have thought, but what they had to say! We read about them on four occasions just prior to the birth of Christ. An angel of the Lord visits Zechariah the father of John the Baptist, who would be the forerunner of Jesus. An angel also visits Mary, Joseph and the shepherds keeping watch over the sheep near Bethlehem. All of them brought a message from God. That message was “Do not be afraid!”

Powerful words that each of them needed to hear as they faced a very common enemy…Fear! Fear of the unknown, fear of change, fear of loss, fear of failure, pain and even death. The same kinds of fear that we face today! You can’t turn on the television or open the newspaper without reading stories that usher fear into our hearts like the horrendous shooting in Connecticut, the devastation of hurricane Sandy, the looming war in the Middle East, to the financial crisis facing our own nation. This is not to mention the personal struggles we face daily. Many are facing loneliness, job loss, addictions, financial uncertainties, and marital problems. Fears that can cripple and paralyze us. Yet, in the midst of it, God sent the angels with a message of hope… “Do not be afraid…A Savior has been born to you, He is Christ the Lord.”  Just like with the shepherds of old, the angels are pointing us to Jesus. Why? Because they know that in Him we can find healing for our broken hearts, peace for our anxious minds, and rest for our weary souls. They know this because they knew Him before He came to earth.

In the face of all the uncertainties, we need not be afraid. Because lying in the manger is the answer to all our fears “Emmanuel- God with us.”  We simply must come to Him. Just like the Wise men and the shepherds, we must come and kneel before Him to find the comfort we need. Jesus said in Matthew 11:28:

“Come to me all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.”

So if you are overwhelmed with anxiety, fear, depression, discouragement and hopelessness, gather them up and come and kneel before Jesus. He is waiting to give you the rest your heart is longing for.

 

Pastor Scott Burr

http://faithandworshipseries.blogspot.com/

 

“The Prophets Preach the Birth of Christ”

 

“All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: “The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel”- which means, “God with us.”

                                                                                                            Matthew 1:22-23

 The Christmas story is one in which we have heard preached a hundred times, viewed in various plays and productions, heard bellowed by choirs and singers, and witnessed in the paintings of many great artists. We are so blessed, in the day in which we live, to be able to look back upon the fullness of Christ’s coming and proclaim the miracle of His birth.

Yet, I fear that we have become so immersed in the Christmas events that we have lost our “wonder”! And worse yet we have lost the message of Christ’s birth among the busyness, shopping and holiday parties. There is a message of hope that is being overshadowed and overlooked.  A message that the O.T. prophets only had bits and pieces of, nevertheless, they found hope in the small portions they received. In the book of Matthew, the writer pulls together several quotes from Old Testament prophets that give a glimpse of this magnificent moment. No prophet is given the whole account, but just a piece of the puzzle regarding the coming of Jesus Christ. Each prophet is given a glimpse of hope in the midst of a time of distress.

When God showed the Prophet Isaiah that the virgin would be with child and they would call him Immanuel; the house of David was being attacked by the King of Aram. Isaiah 7:2 tells us:

“…so the hearts of Ahaz and his people were shaken, as the trees of the forest were shaken by the wind.”

It is in the midst of these attacks that God chose to give hope to His people by revealing the coming of their Messiah. The same is true in the times of the prophet Micah. Israel is under siege being held captive within her own walls. Israel’s rulers are being threatened, when God announces through His prophet Micah:

“But you Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will rule over Israel, whose origins are from of old, from ancient times.”

Micah brought a word of hope to a people under great duress. However it was not only during times when Israel was under attack from an outside enemy that God endeavored to send a message of hope, but also when their greatest enemy was themselves. In the days of Hosea the prophet, God sent him to a nation that was steeped in wickedness. He was sent to a nation that had reaped evil and eaten the fruit of deception. Nevertheless, God spoke through this mighty prophet a word of hope:

“When Israel was a child, I loved him, and out of Egypt I called my son.”

                                                                                                Hosea 11:1

Each of these messages infused hope into the hearts of God’s people. Even though they did not see the event that we celebrate, the message was not lost on them. In fact, one could argue that they got more mileage from their piece of the puzzle than many of us do being able to see the whole story. The message, regardless when it was spoken remains unchanged, it is a message of hope; a message to those who are under attack from illness, marital problems and financial pressures. It is a message to those who are sieged by anxiety, depression and suicidal thoughts. It is a message to those who are steeped in wickedness and see no way out. It is a message to those who are being held captive by addictions, bitterness and unforgiveness.

Our hope is in Jesus Christ! He is the source of our hope! Israel’s future changed when they got their eyes off the circumstances that surrounded them and fixed their eyes on their coming Messiah… Jesus. Fix your eyes on Jesus and may the message of Christmas come alive in you this year!

 

Pastor Scott Burr

(Check our Pastor Scott's Book on Covenant marriage entitled "Bound by God" on Amazon.com)

 

"Forfeiting Our Forgiveness"

part of the "Hard Teachings" series

(Part 2 of 2)

“Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.”

                                                                                                Colossians 3:13

When we receive God’s forgiveness we are not simply receiving a pardon for our iniquities, but we are becoming a conduit of forgiveness to others. Jesus, when teaching His disciples to pray, said:

“Forgive us our debts, as we also forgive our debtors.”

                                                                        Matthew 6:12

And again in In Luke 6:37, Jesus said:

 “Forgive, and you will be forgiven.”

Jesus ties His forgiveness with our willingness to forgive. This is how we know that we are truly experiencing God’s forgiveness. We forgive as the Lord forgave us! Our unwillingness to forgive others demonstrates that we did not truly receive the forgiveness Christ purchased for us. We are still in sin!

How can we say Jesus Christ chose to forgive us of our sins, although we did not deserve it, yet not model that same forgiveness towards others? There is a story in Matthew 18 about a servant that owed his master ten thousand talents (that’s like a million dollars), but was unable to pay it back. The servant pleaded with him and Matthew 18:27 says:

“The servant’s master took pity on him, canceled the debt and let him go.”

However, once the servant left, he found a fellow servant that owed him money (just a few dollars, compared to what he had owed) and he grabbed him and choked him demanding that he pay him back.  His fellow servant pleaded with him for mercy, but he refused and had the man put in prison.

When the other servants saw what happened they told the master. The master was furious. In anger, he turned the servant over to the jailer to be tortured, until he could pay back all he owed. Jesus closed this parable with this statement:

“This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother from your heart.”

In a tremendous act of selfishness, disregarding the sacrifice made by his master on his behalf, this man refused to give to someone else what the master extended towards him. In doing so, he forfeited his forgiveness. How many Christians today are forfeiting their forgiveness because of their unwillingness to forgive others?

 
(Also check our Pastor Scott's covenant marriage workbook "Bound by God"  on Amazon)

Pastor Scott Burr

"Forfeiting Our Forgivness"

(of the "Hard Teachings" series)

(Part 1 of 2)

“For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.”

                                                                                                            Matthew 6:14-15

Unforgiven Christians! How is that possible? Isn’t it through forgiveness and repentance that we are reconciled to God and become Christians? So how can a person that claims to be a Christian not be forgiven?  The answer is…by choice! We can choose to sabotage our own forgiveness by choosing not to extend to others what has been so graciously extended towards us.

Forgiveness is at the core of the gospel message. Without it there is no salvation. Our sins have demanded a debt to be paid. That debt is death:

“For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus.”

                                                                                                                        Romans 6:23

It is a debt that we cannot pay! In the Old Testament when someone would sin, they would bring a sin offering, a pure, spotless animal sacrifice. The priest would offer the animal on the altar and the sins of that individual would be covered by the innocent blood of their sacrifice. The sin, however, was simply covered not removed. In order to redeem mankind from the debt of death that was owed, innocent blood had to be shed. Hebrews 9:22 declares that “without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.” So God sent His Son, pure and spotless, without sin to be our sacrifice:

“In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace.”

                                                                                                            Ephesians 1:7

Forgiveness was extended towards us not because we deserved it, but because we needed it.  Mankind was in quite a predicament. Our sins demanded death, and the One person who had it in His power to save us, is precisely the person we had sinned against.  Our forgiveness lay in the lap of the person we offended. Yet, Romans 5:8 declares:

“But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were sinners, Christ died for us.”

God knew that without His willingness to forgive there would be no reconciliation.  Mankind would be eternally separated from Him. So He “chose” to forgive our offenses:

“For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more.”

                                                                                                Hebrews 8:12

God’s forgiveness is a gesture of His divine mercy, a gesture that we as believers readily receive, but often refuse to model. We have lost sight that God’s forgiveness was not something merely shown to us, but to be shown through us!

 

Pastor Scott Burr

http://faithandworshipseries.blogspot.com/

“Are You A Liar?”

(Part 2 of the “Hard Teachings”series)

“We know that we have come to know him if we obey his commands. The man who says, “I know him, but does not do what he commands is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But if anyone obeys his word, God’s love is truly made complete in him. This is how we know we are in him: Whoever claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did.”

                                                                                                            1 John 2:3-6

There are many people out there that claim they know God, but do not obey His commands. Scripture has a name for them…LIARS! What is a liar? A liar is someone in which there is no truth. It is evidenced by their unwillingness to live by God’s commands. This is how the Apostle John describes Satan in John 8:44:

“He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies.”

Truth is much more than knowledge! Truth must be held to. Practiced! Liars pride themselves on knowing the Word of God, yet they do not live by His commands. They are puffed up in their thinking, believing that by simply knowing the scriptures they will have eternal life. However, it is not what we profess that proclaims what we believe, but it is what we practice!

Too often, our claims of faith are negated by our responses to God’s Word. We say “Yes and Amen” when the preacher says that we must walk in forgiveness, yet in our hearts we harbor unforgiveness towards others. 1 John 2:9-11 declares:

“Anyone who claims to be in the light but hates his brother is still in darkness. Whoever loves his brother lives in the light, and there is nothing in him to make him stumble. But whoever hates his brother is in the darkness and walks around in darkness; he does not know where he is going because the darkness has blinded him.”

You can claim to be mathematician, but it cannot be proven until you solve the equation. You can claim to be a surgeon, but it cannot be proven until the operation has been completed. You can claim to be a Christian, but it cannot be proven until you walk as Jesus did! Is that not what the passage above is telling us: “Whoever claims to live in Him MUST walk as Jesus did?”

This is a hard teaching! It is hard because it leaves no gray areas. If you obey God’s Word, the love of God will be made complete in you. If you claim to know God, but do not obey his commands…you are a liar and walk in darkness. Why is it so important that we understand this? Because Revelation 21:8 tells us:

“The cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters and ALL LIARS- their place will be in the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death.”

If our profession of faith and our practice of faith do not BOTH line up with God’s command…we are in sin! We must stop deceiving ourselves. We must repent! We must take hold of truth and live according to the Word of God!

 

Pastor Scott Burr

http://faithandworshipseries.blogspot.com/

 

The Need For Hard Teachings

(Part 1 of the “Hard Teachings”series)

“On hearing it, many of his disciples said, “This is a hard teaching. Who can accept it?” Aware that his disciples were grumbling about this, Jesus said to them, “Does this offend you? What if you see the Son of Man ascend to where he was before! The Spirit gives life; the flesh counts for nothing. The words I have spoken to you are spirit and they are life.  Yet there are some of you who do not believe.” For Jesus had known from the beginning which of them did not believe and who would betray him. He went on to say, “This is why I told you that no one can come to me unless the Father has enabled him.” From this time many of his disciples turned back and no longer followed him.”

                                                                                                            John 6:60-66

Jesus had just finished teaching the people that unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood; you have no life in you. For Jesus said, “My flesh is real food and my blood is real drink. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in him.” It is evident from the disciples’ reactions that they had never heard anything like this from Jesus before. Although, they had been radically touched by Jesus Christ, had watched him perform miracles, witnessed him heal the sick and listened as he confound the religious leaders with His wisdom, this teaching, like no other teaching, challenged the disciples to personally evaluate their commitment to follow Christ!  

With one teaching, Jesus separated the faithful from the mere followers. Those who believed and readily received Christ’s message remained, while those who would not receive the message turned back and no longer followed. Hard teachings have a way of doing that! They cause those who are meandering around the perimeters of living committed lives for Jesus Christ to decide whether to pursue Him or walk away. The purpose of these hard teachings is not to drive people away from God, but to reveal the genuineness of our faith! Too many, Christians, because they are never challenged by the Word of God, live within a Christian façade. They follow because the message and expectations have never challenged their comfort. Once the message becomes too hard or the expectations to live righteously become too demanding, many will walk away.

Where did the people that walked away from Jesus go? Did they just go home and drift back in to wickedness? Some perhaps did, however in 2 Timothy 4:3, the Apostle Paul tells us:

“For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear.”

This “itchy” ear syndrome is plaguing the body of Christ, because too many ministers are perfectly content with bringing benign messages that will not ruffle the feathers of their congregants and certainly not cause anyone to walk away. Certainly no church could survive on a diet of hard teachings alone, but the absence of them has caused many churches to become havens for the comfortable and contented.  Without hard teachings we will have many people who will be standing before the Lord one day saying:

 “Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles? Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!”

                                                                                                            Matthew 7:22-23

 

Pastor Scott Burr

http://faithandworshipseries.blogspot.com/

 

"IF MY PEOPLE..."

“When I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or command locusts to devour the land or send a plague among my people, if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.”

                                                                                                            2 Chronicles 7:13-14

 It was painfully evident watching Tuesday night’s election results just how divided a country we live in. A country that is hiding behind the façade of economic concerns while it passes morally depraved laws. In one night three more states legalized gay marriage, two states voted to expand gambling, four states voted to legalize the use and sale of marijuana! In another state, a measure to allow doctor assisted suicide was narrowly defeated!

If there was ever a nation that needed healing it is the one in which we live. However, this passage contains a hard truth that many Christians may not want to acknowledge. We often tell ourselves that in order for our land to be healed, America has to repent and turn from their wicked ways.  Yet, this passage says that it isn’t the nation that is failing to respond, but rather God’s people!

As our nation continues to plunge itself into immorality and wickedness, the Body of Christ seems to have little influence over it. Matthew 5:13-14 declares that we are to be bearers of righteousness. We are to be the light of the world and the salt of the earth. Yet, we have lost our saltiness! In the name of political correctness, tolerance and diversity we have backed away from truth. We have become diluted by our culture and ineffective in addressing evil!

We spend our time, money and energy trying to “turn the tide” through elections and legal maneuvers, when it is impossible to legislate morality. Nevertheless, it is possible to heal our land! The answer is found with the people of God! God’s people must humble themselves! God’s people must pray! God’s people must seek His face! God’s people must turn from their wicked ways! “Then, “God says, “I will forgive their sins and heal their land.”

The question is…How bad will it have to get before God’s people will stop putting anything and everything in front of seeking God? How bad will it have to get before God’s people will give up a night of Duck Dynasty or Toddlers & Tiaras in order to humble themselves and pray? How bad will it have to get before God’s people will grasp that having our families in church, seeking God’s face, is more important than a theatre production, sporting event, or a weekend at the lake?

Our land is not healed because it has not yet gotten bad enough to get God’s people into the altars! It has not gotten bad enough to get us to humble ourselves! It has not gotten bad enough to get us to pray! It has not gotten bad enough to get us to seek God’s face! It has not gotten bad enough for us to turn from our wicked ways!

If we as believers are not moved enough by the condition of our nation to humble ourselves, pray, seek His face and turn from our wicked ways; what makes us believe that society is ever going to turn to God?

As a Christian, one who is called by God’s name, ask yourself this question:

“How bad will it have to get before I will be moved out of my complacency to earnestly begin seeking God?”

 

Pastor Scott Burr

http://faithandworshipseries.blogspot.com/

 

“To Him Who Overcomes”

“Then I heard a loud voice in heaven say: “Now have come the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God, and the authority of his Christ. For the accuser of the brothers, who accuses them before our God day and night, has been hurled down. They overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony; they did not love their lives so much as to shrink from death.”

                                                                                                                        Revelation 12:10-11

The book of Revelation is filled with admonishments, in view of the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, to be overcomers:

Revelation 2:7- “To him who overcomes, I will give the right to eat from the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God. “

Revelation 2:11- “He who overcomes will not be hurt by the second death.

Revelation 2:17- “To him who overcomes, I will give some of the hidden manna. I will also give him a white stone with a new name written on it, known only to him who receives it.”

Revelation 2:26- “To him who overcomes and does my will to the end, I will give authority over the nations.”

Revelation 3:5- “He who overcomes will, like them, be dressed in white.

Revelation 3:12- “Him who overcomes I will make a pillar in the temple of God.”

Revelation 3:21- “To him who overcomes, I will give the right to sit with me on my throne, just as I overcame and sat down with my Father on his throne.”

If being an overcomer is significant. How then do we overcome? Revelation 12 begins by telling us that we overcome “by the blood of the Lamb.” Scripture tells us that Jesus is the Lamb of God that takes away the sins of the world. He is our Passover lamb, slain for our forgiveness. Through the shed blood of Christ we have been redeemed and reconciled to God overcoming sin and death!

An overcomer also prevails by the “word of their testimony!” They willfully confess that Jesus is Lord of their lives. They are not ashamed of the gospel of Jesus Christ and are not afraid to speak out regarding what God has done for them. Romans 10:10 declares:

“For it is with the heart that you and are justified, and it is with the mouth that you confess and are saved.”

But lastly, an overcomer is someone who also determines not to love their “own life”, but to lay it down to live for God! That is truly the greatest witness of all. Living a life submitted to God. When we overcome by the blood of the Lamb, by the word of our testimony, and by laying down our life to live for God we silence the accusations of the accuser!

 

Pastor Scott Burr

http://faithandworshipseries.blogspot.com/

 

"Awakened to Our Sinfulness"

(Part 3 of 3)

“Did that which is good then, become death to me? By no means! But in order that sin might be recognized as sin, it produced death in me through what is good, so that through the commandment sin might become utterly sinful.”

                                                                                                            Romans 7:13

Do you recognize sin as sin? Do you see sin as utterly sinful? The law came to awaken us to the deceitfulness and destructive nature of sin. Yet, many people still do not recognize sin as sin! Although God’s commandment tells us that lying is a sin. There will be those who will want to qualify sin and give it degrees of severity. A half-truth is sinful, but not as sinful as an outright lie. A white-lie is sinful, but not as sinful as withholding information. By doing this we attempt to soften the severity of sin. Sin separates us from God! Period! It isn’t the quantity or the quality of the sin that separates us, it is simply sin:

“But your iniquities have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden his face from you, so that he will not hear.”

                                                                                                            Isaiah 59:2

Sin has become troublesome to us, but not “utterly sinful”. When we cannot seem to get a handle on our sin we simply label it as a disease or disorder. Gluttony isn’t a sin anymore, it’s an eating disorder. Alcoholism isn’t a sin in our culture, it’s a disease now. This is done in an effort to take the sting out of our disobedience. However, God is not fooled!  You might convince yourself, your neighbors or even society that your sinful pursuits are the cause of some disease or disorder, but God is unwavering in His position that sin (all sin) is utterly sinful. And that sin will keep you eternally separated from Him.

At some point we are going to have to address the sin issues in our lives. As God pulls back the curtain we are going to have to make some life choices that will not be easy to make. The consequence of ignoring this truth is eternal separation from God.  

Confess your sins to God! Repent (that means turn away and stop doing it)! Invite Jesus into your heart and life. He will forgive you and empower you to live a life of righteousness.

1 John 3:9 states:

 “No one who is born of God will continue to sin, because God’s seed remains in him; he cannot go on sinning, because he has been born of God.”

 You cannot continue in sin and call yourself born of God! It is time to awaken to your sinfulness, recognize sin as utterly sinful and repent!

 

Pastor Scott Burr

http://faithandworshipseries.blogspot.com/

Awakened to Our Sinfulness

(Part 2 of 3)

“What shall we say, then? Is the law sin? Certainly not! Indeed I would not have known what sin was except through the law. For I would not have known what coveting really was if the law had not said, “Do not covet.”

                                                                                                Romans 7:7

The law of God awakened us to the reality of sin! From the time of Adam, men had been guided by their own sense of right and wrong. When the law came it “set in stone” some things God explicitly saw as sin. For the first time sin had been defined and recorded! Because of this men could no longer do what seemed right in their own eyes. They now had a governing agent called the law that defined for them proper God-ordained behavior.

One commentator wrote that “the law brought unconscious sin into consciousness.” Sin was exposed! However, when sin was revealed for what it is, it did not cower or try to conceal itself:

“But sin, seizing the opportunity afforded by the commandment produced in me “every kind of covetous desire.” For apart from the law sin is dead.”

                                                                                                Romans 7:8

Paul was familiar with coveting, but when the law exposed its sinfulness, sin exploited the situation producing in him every kind of covetous desire. Paul quickly discovered what coveting really was! The law pulled back the curtain on sin…exposing it!

The Law of God clarified that there is clearly right and wrong. The commandment points us towards the path of life, but by highlighting the path of life the choice to disobey was revealed:

“Once I was alive apart from law; but when the commandment came, sin sprang to life and I died. I found that the very commandment that was intended to bring life actually brought death. For sin seizing the opportunity afforded by the commandment deceived me and through the commandment put me to death. So then, the law is holy, and the commandment is holy, righteous and good.”

                                                                                                            Romans 7:9-12

It wasn’t that the law of God or the commandment wasn’t holy. It did not lead Paul into sin! However, when the law highlighted the differences between sinfulness and righteousness, sin seized the opportunity to deceive.

Now when Paul chose to sin, he would be doing so in direct disobedience to God’s prescribed law. Paul then asks the question:

“Did that which is good then, become death to me? By no means! But in order that sin might be recognized as sin, it produced death in me through what is good, so that through the commandment sin might become utterly sinful.”

                                                                                                            Romans 7:13

The law of God, written on our hearts, came in order that sin might be recognized as sin!

 

Pastor Scott Burr

http://faithandworshipseries.blogspot.com/

“Awakened to Our Sinfulness”

(Part 1 of 2)

“Do you not know, brothers- for I am speaking to men who know the law- that the law has authority over a man as long as he lives? For example, by law a married woman is bound to her husband as long as he is alive, but if her husband dies, she is released form the law of marriage. So then, if she marries another man while her husband is still alive, she is called an adulteress. But if her husband dies, she is released from that law and is not an adulteress, even though she marries another man.”

                                                                                                Romans 7:1-3

 Before we came to Christ we were very much bound to the sinful nature, married to it, so to speak! However, when we came to Christ, we had to make a decision. We had to die to the old sinful nature, bury it, so we could live a new life in Christ. Meaning we are now married to Christ!

“So, my brothers, you also died to the law through the body of Christ, that you might belong to another, to him who was raised from the dead, in order that we might bear fruit to God.”

                                                                                                Romans 7:4

In many marital relationships, a product of that relationship is children. Likewise, when we were married to sin we bore fruit for death:

“For when we were controlled by the sinful nature, the sinful passions aroused by the law were at work in our bodies, so that we bore fruit for death.”

                                                                                                Romans 7:5

Now that we are married to Christ we are to bear fruit to God!

“But now, by dying to what once bound us, we have been released from the law so that we serve in the new way of the Spirit, and not the old way of the written code.”

                                                                                                Romans 7:6

If we, being married to Christ then return to the sinful nature and participate in acts of immorality (bearing fruit for death) we commit “spiritual adultery!” Because of this danger, we must be conscious of sin! Paul maintains in Romans 7 that this is why the Law was given. The Law was not given to save us or condemn us! The Law came to awaken us to our sinfulness!

Pastor Scott Burr

http://faithandworshipseries.blogspot.com/

 

“Buried with Christ”

(Part 2 of 2)

““Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires. Do not offer the parts of your body to sin, as instruments of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God, as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer the  parts of your body to Him as instruments of righteousness. For sin shall not be your master because you are not under law, but under grace.”

                                                                                                            Romans 6:12-14

The Apostle Paul contends that although Christ died to set you free from the power of sin, if you do not “bury” the old life and give yourself fully to the “new” life He secured for you…How can we say we’ve been born again? John, the Apostle, says it even stronger in 1 John 3:6-9:

“No one who lives in him keeps on sinning. No one who continues to sin has either seen him or known him. Dear children, do not let anyone lead you astray. The one who does what is right is righteous, just as he is righteous. The one who does what is sinful is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil’s work. No one who is born of God will continue to sin, because God’s seed remains in them; they cannot go on sinning, because they have been born of God.”

The new life that we have in Christ is characterized by righteousness, not sin. Sin has no place in the life of a believer. Sin belongs to the old life! 2 Corinthians  5:17 states:

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come.!”

The old is gone! That means that when we come to Christ, we are done with sin. We are no longer slaves to it. We are not to offer ourselves to impurity and ever-increasing wickedness. Rather we are to offer ourselves whole heartedly to God for His purposes:

“Don’t you know that when you offer yourselves to someone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one you obey—whether you are slaves to sin, which leads to death, or to obedience, which leads to righteousness? But thanks be to God that, though you used to be slaves to sin, you have come to obey from your heart the pattern of teaching that has now claimed your allegiance. You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness.”

                                                                                                            Romans 6:16-18

 

It is time that those who call themselves believers stop making excuses for their sinfulness. Instead we need to bury, once and for all, those things that are keeping us from wholeheartedly following the word and will of God. God set us free so that we can live for Him, not so we could continue to gratify our old sin nature.

 

Pastor Scott Burr

http://faithandworshipseries.blogspot.com/

 

"Buried with Christ"

(Part 1 of 2)

“What shall we say then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no means! We died to sin; how can we live in it any longer?”

                                                                                                            Romans 6:1-2

This week I want to address the misguided idea that believers (those who have committed their lives to Christ) can continue to sin and yet still remain secure in Christ because of God’s grace. It is bad enough that many churches today do not address the topic of sin at all, but this approach to sin makes a mockery of grace.

Grace is the unmerited favor of God secured for us through Christ’s sacrificial death. If we continue to sin, once we are saved by grace, we in essence deny the work of His death and burial.

“Or do you not know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.”

                                                                                                            Romans 6:3-4

 

In order for us to live a new life (resurrected life) the old life has to get buried! Too often, we want to live the new life without burying our old way of living. Water baptism for the believer proclaims our identification with Jesus’ death, His burial and His resurrection. Our church chooses to baptize by immersion. By doing this we get the full visual effect of watching the individual submit their life to Christ (crucifying the old man), then we bury them in the water (burying the old man), and then bring them up into the new life they have in Christ.

“If we have been united with Him like this in His death, we will certainly also be united in His resurrection. For we know that our old self was crucified with Him so that the body of sin might be might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin because anyone who has died has been freed from sin.”

                                                                                                Romans 6:5-7

They key to living this new life in which we have been freed from sin, is not found in simply acknowledging and putting our faith in Christ’s sacrificial death. Neither is it found in merely trusting and rejoicing over His resurrection. It is found in our obedience to bury the old man.

“Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires. Do not offer the parts of your body to sin, as instruments of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God, as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer the  parts of your body to Him as instruments of righteousness.”

                                                                                                            Romans 6:12-13

You cannot live your “old life” and a “new life” at the same time! You cannot give yourselves fully to God and still sin!

 

Pastor Scott Burr

http://faithandworshipseries.blogspot.com/