Grace to you and peace...

“Grace to you and peace from God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for our sins, that He might deliver us from this present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen” (Galatians 1:3-5).

Man’s greatest need is to be cleansed from sin and restored to a right relationship with God. Yet the wickedness of man’s heart always leads him to seek his own remedy for sin, or even deny that he needs any such remedy. The man without the Spirit of God will always seek his own path rather than submit to the only way God has ordained for the salvation of sinners (Acts 4:12; John 14:6). This demonstrates the depth of man’s depravity and his desperate need for the saving grace of God. And God’s grace is the only reason any man is saved from the guilt, penalty and consequences of sin. Because God is gracious, loving, and merciful, Jesus Christ came into this world and took upon Himself the nature of man and “gave himself for our sins.” This Good News is something the natural man stumbles over and considers foolish. “But we preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a stumbling block and unto the Greeks foolishness…” (1 Cor 1:23). Nevertheless, the Apostle Paul teaches in our text that Jesus Christ gave himself to save sinners from the penalty of sin. “Grace be to you and peace from God the Father, and from our Lord Jesus Christ…” Grace and peace are two of the most precious words that we can ever hear. Grace changes our relationship with God. Grace moves us out of the sphere of darkness, death, rebellion and sin and into the realms of light, life, righteousness and grace. Simply stated, Jesus Christ is the grace of God. The Apostle Paul tells every redeemed sinner that God “delivered us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins” (Col 1:13-14), and this is solely and simply by God’s amazing grace in Christ Jesus! And it’s through Christ that we have peace with God (Rom. 5). What about you? Have you received the grace of God? Has Christ translated you out of the sphere of darkness into the sphere of His marvelous light? If so your words and works will be very different from the unbelieving world. You will think differently and therefore you will live differently (Rom. 12:1-2) since out of the heart are the issues of life (Prov. 4:23). When your heart is cleansed your life will follow. Jesus said when the inside of the cup and dish is clean then the outside becomes clean also (Matt. 23:26). Has the grace of God transformed your soul? If so then you are God’s “own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light…” (1 Peter 2:9). Therefore, continuously “Sing praise to the LORD, you saints of His, and give thanks at the remembrance of His holy name” (Psalm 30:4).

-Rev. Scott Henry

Westminster Catechism #1

Recently I have been studying through the Westminster shorter catechism while also trying to commit the questions and answers to memory. Although the memorization of the Q and A's have proved to be a bit challenging I know that the Lord will be gracious, as has always been, to me in this particular journey. So with that I will now start with the study:

Q #1 - What is the Chief end of man?
A - Man's chief end is to glorify God and to enjoy him forever.
1 Cor. 10:31 Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.

First, I believe, we have to ask the question; what is meant by "chief end"?
It must not be supposed that the Christian life can be divided into different departments or components separate one from another. It is true, however, that, as children of God, our primary focus, our aim or main goal in life is to bring glory to God in this dark and wicked world we currently live in. Even Christ, while walking on the earth, had his focus on glorifying His Father in heaven; "I have glorified thee on the earth: I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do" John 17:4
The next part of the answer to look at is "to glorify God". This does not in any way mean to "make" God glorious. He is already glorious and has been from all eternity, and nothing created can ever make him more glorious than he already is. I believe the phrase "to glorify God" could be better understood this way: it means to reflect God's glory. Ps. 19:1 say: "The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth His handy work" All of God's creation is that like a mirror. When you look in a mirror you can now see what you were not able to before; and when you look in the "mirror" of creation, the glory of our God and savior can be seen.
Although only those who put their faith and trust in Christ truly desire to glorify and since there are many who do not want to glorify God it may seem that the answer is incorrect on this matter. But even if a person does not want to glorify God or even want to willingly serve Him in any way; the fact of the matter is we are subject to God and His decreed will. "Hath not the potter power over the clay" says Paul "of the same lump to make one vessel unto honour, and another unto dishonour? What if God, willing to shew His wrath, and to make His power known, endured with much long-suffering the vessels of wrath fitted to destruction; and that he might make known the riches of his glory on the vessels of mercy, which he had afore prepared for glory" Rom 9:21-23 Basically, both the lost and the elect are instruments by which God's glory is revealed. By the means of the elect, God's mercy can be seen and praised. By the means of the lost, God's wrath and justice can be seen and in that He is honored and glorified. With those who do not repent and believe, God still causes them to glorify Him even though they do not enjoy it, but with those who are saved they come to want to glorify Him and will "enjoy Him forever".

Therefore we must remain Christ-centered in our lives, living for Him each and every day while remaining on guard against the sinful nature of our human-selves not allowing anything to creep into what rightfully belongs to our great God and king, the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.