Stepping in the Light

“Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God.” Romans 8:26-27

The word infirmities in the passage above refers to feebleness of body or mind. It says that the Spirit of God helps our weakness because we do not know what we ought to pray for. Jesus taught His disciples to pray, “Thy will be done.” Of course, God knows what His will is, but many times we do not. Parts of God’s will are spelled out clearly in the Bible. We know that it is God’s will for every person to be saved. We know that it is His will for us to love others, to forgive, and to be kind. However, there are many specific questions in our lives that the Bible simply does not address. God still wants us to speak to Him and pour out the desires of our hearts, but sometimes we ask for things that are not in His will. In these cases, the Holy Spirit goes between us and God the Father and intercedes on our behalf. What a comfort to know that we have an Intercessor who helps us in our prayers! Even when our feeble attempts to reach out to the Father go astray and we ask for things that are outside of the Father’s will, the Holy Spirit represents us to the Father and asks that the Father would give us what we really need instead of what we want. These verses should encourage us to come boldly to the throne of grace!

“There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.” Romans 8:1-2

The word condemnation in the verse above refers to a sentence or a verdict. Because of our sins, we are condemned. Not only are we condemned before God; our own conscience condemns us, and sometimes the people around us condemn us for the things that we do wrong. God’s gift of salvation frees us from the eternal consequences of sin, but sin still has a devastating effect on us. If it is true that we are sinners by nature and that we still have our carnal nature after we are saved, how can we ever hope to please God at all? This passage gives us the answer. We must walk in the Spirit. When we are saved, the Holy Spirit takes up residence within our being. God’s Spirit works within us to convict us of sin, to aid us in understanding the Bible, to guide us in making decisions and interacting with others, and to empower us to tell others about the good news of Jesus Christ. Because of the work of the Holy Spirit, we have the continual possibility of pleasing God. In any given situation, we have the ability to choose to do the right thing. When we evaluate our options based on God’s Word and make our choices following the influence of the Holy Spirit, we are walking in the Spirit. As we walk in the Spirit, we will please God, and thus we do not experience condemnation. The secret to the Christian life then, is walking in the Spirit. 

“For I delight in the law of God after the inward man: But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members.” Romans 7:22-23

In the first several chapters of the book of Romans, Paul thoroughly demonstrates that every person is a sinner. He makes it clear that we must realize our sinful condition before we can truly understand our need for salvation. After we accept Christ, our sins are forgiven. We are justified in the sight of God. Because of what Jesus did for us on the cross, our sins are no longer recorded to our account. The Holy Spirit comes to live inside of us, and we become a new creature in Christ. In the verses above, however, Paul points out that we still have a problem. The law of sin still reigns in our flesh. We still have our carnal appetites, attitudes, and desires. We are still capable of being angry, bitter, unkind, lustful, untruthful, vengeful, hateful, and even murderous. A careful reading of this chapter reveals a struggle between our old nature and our new nature. Many would regard the Apostle Paul as the greatest Christian who ever lived, and yet he says that the things that he wants to do, he doesn’t do; and the things that he doesn’t want to do, he does. He expresses a deep desire to please God with his actions, but he acknowledges the challenge that he personally faced in dealing with his own carnal nature. If we are going to experience success in obeying God’s Word, we must remember that we will never achieve sinless perfection. Every moment of the day, we face a battle against our sinful nature.

“What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?” Romans 6:1-2

Down through the ages, there has been a continuing controversy regarding the work of grace in the life of an individual and what the implications of various interpretations of scripture might mean in a practical sense to our daily lives. Are we saved by grace or by works? Are good works necessary to salvation, or are they the result of an inward transformation? Where do we draw the line between the power of God and human effort? Much effort has been invested in drawing clear lines of distinction between the various theological viewpoints, and yet a great deal of confusion remains in the minds of many. There seems to have been a major shift in recent years towards an emphasis on the grace of God. To some, the grace of God has become the excuse for the modern Christian to live any way that He pleases. Sin doesn’t seem like a big deal to many who claim to be saved because they are relying on the grace of God. Paul addresses this idea in the passage above. He makes it clear that God does not want us to continue to live in sin just because we know that He will forgive us. While it is true that good works do not save us and that God’s grace allows Him to forgive us when we accept Christ as Saviour, it is also true that God does not want us to continue with a sinful lifestyle. When we sin, God wants us to confess and forsake our sin, rather than take advantage of His grace.

“Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ: By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.” Romans 5:1-2

The opposite of peace is war. The carnal nature of man is at war with God because God is holy and man is sinful. Man’s attempts to reach across this great divide have always been futile because no matter how hard we try, we can never eradicate sin from our lives. We are born into this world as sinners, and we would be completely without hope except for the fact that Jesus Christ died on the cross to pay for our sins. God reached out to us first in an effort to end this age-old conflict. Peace with God is now available to us, but we must first be justified (made righteous) by coming to Christ for salvation. Because Jesus paid for our sins on the cross, we are made righteous in the sight of God when we accept His payment by faith. Those who have received Christ’s payment for their sins by faith in Him are counted righteous before God based on Christ’s merit. This means that those who are saved are at peace with God because God no longer sees their sin, but there is more that the Lord has for us to experience. The passage above says that we stand in His grace and rejoice in the hope of glory. We are still sinners, but we must understand that through Christ we are not only saved and justified, but we are the recipients of His grace, and we will one day be glorified. When we get to heaven, our sin nature will be laid aside, and our peace with God will be complete.

“Deliver me from mine enemies, O my God: defend me from them that rise up against me. Deliver me from the workers of iniquity, and save me from bloody men. For, lo, they lie in wait for my soul: the mighty are gathered against me; not for my transgression, nor for my sin, O LORD. They run and prepare themselves without my fault: awake to help me, and behold.” Psalm 59:1-4

David wrote these words when King Saul sent men to watch his house in an attempt to keep him from escaping. Saul’s plan was to kill David, but David had done nothing wrong. Quite the opposite, David had been responsible for the Israelites’ victory over the Philistines and had faithfully served King Saul. David had been singled out by Saul because Saul realized that God’s blessings had been removed from his own life and that the Lord had chosen David to take his place on the throne of Israel. David’s response was to turn to God in prayer. He could have chosen to fight, to defend himself, and to ultimately claim his rightful place as king of Israel. After all, David had already been anointed king by the prophet Samuel. But rather than lashing out at Saul or defending himself against these unwarranted attacks, David turned to God. Though most of us will never experience anything quite so dramatic in our lives, we can certainly learn from David’s example. God is our defense. He knows our situation, and He knows exactly what we need. When everything seems to be against us, we must turn to Him for help.

“As for me, I will call upon God; and the LORD shall save me. Evening, and morning, and at noon, will I pray, and cry aloud: and he shall hear my voice.” Psalm 55:16-17

The title over this psalm tells us that it was written by David. In this psalm, David is making a declaration and a statement of faith. He lets us know that he has decided to call upon God. He says that he will pray because he believes the Lord will hear him. Not only has he determined to pray, but he set forth a schedule for his prayers. He determined that he would pray every evening, morning, and at noon. We might interpret this that he intended to pray all of the time, but it seems more likely that he was setting forth specific times that he would spend time in prayer. He pledges that these prayers will be out loud. He says, “He shall hear my voice.” In other words, “I may not get anything else done each day, but I am going to pray. God is going to hear from me.”

This would be a great decision for every Christian to make. I am going to pray, this is why I will pray, this is when I am going to pray, and this is how I will pray. How often do you pray? When you pray, do you believe that God is going to hear and answer your prayers? Do you have a regular place to pray? Are you praying for your family, your friends, and your church? Is there someone who needs Christ that you are praying for? Do you have a scheduled time to pray? Can you say with David, “He shall hear my voice”?

“Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy lovingkindness: according unto the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions. Wash me throughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin. For I acknowledge my transgressions: and my sin is ever before me. Against thee, thee only, have I sinned, and done this evil in thy sight: that thou mightest be justified when thou speakest, and be clear when thou judgest.” Psalm 51:1-4

David was a godly man and a good king, but he was still a sinner. In spite of all of the good things that he had done in his life, David committed adultery with Bathsheba and murdered her husband Uriah in an attempt to cover it up. When God sent Nathan the prophet to confront him, David acknowledged his sin and immediately sought for forgiveness. David wrote Psalm 51 during this time in his life. He was dealing with an enormous load of guilt. He said, “My sin is ever before me.” It was something that he thought about all of the time. He could not get it off his mind. In repenting of his sin and asking God for forgiveness, David appealed to God’s mercy and lovingkindness. He asked the Lord to blot out his transgressions, wash away his iniquity, and cleanse him from his sin. He asked the Lord to create a clean heart in him. In other words, he wanted to be able to start over; he wanted to be a new person from the inside out. God is willing to forgive our sin and to cleanse us within, but He is looking for us to have a contrite heart and to display a repentant spirit.

“For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness; Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them. For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse: Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened.” Romans 1:18-21

God has placed something on the inside of every person that makes it obvious that He exists and that He cares about them. This passage talks about “invisible things” of God that are “clearly seen.” That sounds impossible at first, but Paul goes on to explain that he is talking about His eternal power and Godhead. God’s power is invisible, but it is impossible to miss the effects of His power. The fact that He is the Creator is obvious because of what He has created. When we look at His creation, it is obvious that He is God. The Bible tells us that everyone will eventually stand before God and be judged. This passage tells us that at that judgment, no one will be able to say that they did not know that God existed. They will be without excuse because of creation itself. “The heavens declare the glory of God,” (Psalm 19:1). When we look at God’s creation, we have to know that He exists.

“And when they had appointed him a day, there came many to him into his lodging; to whom he expounded and testified the kingdom of God, persuading them concerning Jesus, both out of the law of Moses, and out of the prophets, from morning till evening. And some believed the things which were spoken, and some believed not.” Acts 28:23-24

When Paul finally arrived in Rome, he was allowed to live by himself with a Roman soldier guarding him. This arrangement was probably roughly equivalent to what we would call “house arrest” in our society. Soon after he was settled in his new quarters, Paul called for the leaders of the Jews and invited them to meet with him so that he could share the gospel with them. He spent a full day trying to persuade them that Jesus was the Messiah that they had been waiting for. He showed them many prophecies that Jesus had fulfilled and explained how numerous types of Christ could be found in the Law of Moses. They listened to what Paul had to say, but when the day was done, some believed that Jesus was the Christ and some did not.

Like Paul, we have a responsibility to share the truth of Christ with those around us. It is a great encouragement when people are willing to believe in Jesus and accept Him as Saviour, but some people simply choose not to believe. Paul did not let this fact stop him. He spent the rest of his life sharing the gospel with as many people as possible.