Monthly Archives: May 2008

“He paid a debt He did not owe”

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A friend recently told me that sickness in his family had created a hospital bill of $3.5 million. He told me: “That is more than I can pay the rest of my life.” He has a debt that, no matter how hard he tries, he can never pay.

It made me think of what Jesus paid for us.

We sing a song entitled He Paid a Debt. The lyrics of the first stanza and chorus are:

He paid a debt he did not owe, I owed a debt I could not pay.
I needed someone to wash my sins away.
And now I sing a brand new song:
“Amazing Grace.” All day long.
Christ Jesus paid the debt that I could never pay.

Jesus paid our debt when he went to the cross and died for us. We see this when we read Romans 5:8 NKJV: “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us”.

God’s great love for us is shown in Ephesians 2:4-8 NKJV:

But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, 5 even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), 6 and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7 that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. 8 For by grace you have been saved through faith and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God.

We are saved by grace through faith. That is indisputable. However, God has given us certain commands we must obey in order to avail ourselves of His grace. We must:

Hear the word. Rom 10:17

Believe that Christ is the Son of God. Jn 8:24, Rom 10:10

Repent of past sins. 2 Pet 3:9, Acts 17:30, Lk 13:13

Confess Him before others. Mt 10:32, Rom 10:10

Be baptized for the remission of sins. Mk 16:15-16, Acts 2:38, Rom 6:4

Without heeding these commands we will be lost. When we are faithful and obey His commands, we then enjoy the love of God expressed by His grace. It is His grace that saves us eternally.

Jesus owed no debt, but He paid ours.

Was Ruth the model for Proverbs 31?

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We’re familiar with Proverbs 31, and its description of a “wife of noble character”. The writer describes such a wife thus:

10A wife of noble character who can find? She is worth far more than rubies. 11Her husband has full confidence in her and lacks nothing of value. 12She brings him good, not harm, all the days of her life. 13She selects wool and flax and works with eager hands. 14She is like the merchant ships, bringing her food from afar. 15She gets up while it is still dark; she provides food for her family and portions for her servant girls. 16She considers a field and buys it; out of her earnings she plants a vineyard. 17She sets about her work vigorously; her arms are strong for her tasks. 18She sees that her trading is profitable, and her lamp does not go out at night. 19In her hand she holds the distaff and grasps the spindle with her fingers. 20She opens her arms to the poor and extends her hands to the needy. 21When it snows, she has no fear for her household; for all of them are clothed in scarlet. 22She makes coverings for her bed; she is clothed in fine linen and purple. 23Her husband is respected at the city gate, where he takes his seat among the elders of the land. 24She makes linen garments and sells them, and supplies the merchants with sashes. 25She is clothed with strength and dignity; she can laugh at the days to come. 26She speaks with wisdom, and faithful instruction is on her tongue. 27She watches over the affairs of her household and does not eat the bread of idleness. 28Her children arise and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her: 29“Many women do noble things, but you surpass them all.” 30Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised. 31Give her the reward she has earned, and let her works bring her praise at the city gate.

The writer identifies himself as “King Lemuel”. There are similarities to King Solomon, and in fact some commentators suspect Lemuel and Solomon to be the same person. Let’s not argue that point, but let’s just make an assumption. Let’s just assume for the purpose of this post that — let’s just say “what if” — these 2 kings were one and the same.

If that were true, then “the oracle his mother taught him” (v. 1) would have been a story passed through the generations by oral tradition, and finally from Bathsheba to Solomon — a story about Solomon’s great-great-grandmother Ruth.

Let’s notice the similarities, which I offer without further comment:

  1. Devoted to her family (Ruth 1:15-18; Proverbs 31:10-12, 23)
  2. Delighted in her work (Ruth 2:2; Proverbs 31:13)
  3. Diligent in her labor (Ruth 2:7, 17, 23; Proverbs 31:14-18, 19-21, 24, 27)
  4. Dedicated to godly speech (Ruth 2:10, 13; Proverbs 31:26)
  5. Dependent on God (Ruth 2:12; Proverbs 31:25, 30)
  6. Dressed with care (Ruth 3:3; Proverbs 31:22, 25)
  7. Discreet with men (Ruth 3:6-13; Proverbs 31:11-12, 23)
  8. Delivered blessings (Ruth 4:14-15; Proverbs 31:28-31)

Centered in the Word

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In a recent editorial, J. Randal Matheny writes of “the pull to be like the denominations” and makes several conclusions. Among them are these:

The solution is, as Ezra knew so long ago, centered in the Word.

“Now Ezra had dedicated himself to the study of the law of the Lord, to its observance, and to teaching its statutes and judgments in Israel” (Ezra 7:10 NET).

The solution is to follow the Lord Jesus Christ in all things, not only to declare, like Peter, that we are willing to suffer and die for him (Luke 22:33), but to lay down our lives for the family of God (1 John 3:16) and to accomplish, as a part of that family, the mission of God in the world (Revelation 2:10; 1 Peter 3:15; Matthew 28:18-20).

The solution is not to watch which way the wind is blowing, but to hear what the Spirit says to the churches.

Are you “centered in the Word”? Do you devote time daily to reading and studying the Bible? If not, why not? If not, why not start today?

You can read Randal’s full editorial here.