Tuesday, March
14, 2017
Abraham was, humanly speaking, the founder of our Jewish nation. What did he discover about being made right
with God? If his good deeds had made him acceptable to God, he would have
had something to boast about. But that
was not God’s way. For the Scriptures tell us, “Abraham believed God, and
God counted him as righteous because of his faith.” When people work, their wages are not a gift,
but something they have earned. But people are counted as righteous, not
because of their work, but because of their faith in God who forgives sinners. David
also spoke of this when he described the happiness of those who are declared
righteous without working for it:
“Oh, what joy
for those whose disobedience is forgiven, whose sins are put out of sight. Yes, what joy for those whose record the Lord has
cleared of sin.” Romans 4:1-8(NLT)
I was reminded this past weekend of the pure, and deep joy redemption
brings. There are a lot of moving parts
to re-living the drama of salvation.
There is, first of all, the gathering of the faithful saints to worship and
thank God as one submits to the baptismal waters. The liturgy is there to remind us of that
place from which we’ve come, and to where we’re headed, and by Whose power we are led and
march.
But when all is said and done, and the moment of pouring, sprinkling, or
immersing is upon us, the water speaks so loudly you can almost hear the
congregation collectively holding their breath!
There is no other word but holy!
Looking back on when I was baptized as a young adult, more than forty
years ago, I recall that hushed moment which seemed to last a month. Elizabeth and I were baptized in Jerry and
Enid’s backyard swimming pool. Jerry was
an elder at our church, a brother and friend who lived his life walking
wet in the joy of his baptism.
That joy, peace and enthusiasm for the things of God were a witness that
turned my attention to wanting more of Jesus. As a pastor I’ve often seen in new Christians that
deep-down
peace and laughter-ready-to-bubble-up-to-the-surface. It’s the laughter of the redeemed, and it’s
like nothing else!
For the uninitiated in Christ, the laughter of the redeemed can be
misunderstood as circumstantial – where joy is produced by a momentary turn of
good fortune. Or sometimes it is seen as
a disconnection from reality; that poor, deluded Christian just doesn’t get it
how bad it is in our world.
But the real story is, for those who genuinely turn their lives over to
Christ, our joy has nothing to do with earthly circumstances, or the bottom
line of a checking account or 401K, or the state of world and national politics,
personal health, or any other chance occurrence, good or bad. The source of this laughter of the redeemed
is forgiveness! It is release from the
penalty and power of sin.
As the old hymn has it:
Pardon for sin, and a peace that endureth,
thine own dear presence to cheer and to guide;
strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow,
blessings all mine, with ten thousand beside![ii]
If you’ve ever been forgiven, truly forgiven by someone on this earth, a
friend, relative or neighbor, well…you know how good that feels. Now magnify that good feeling inside by a factor large
enough to carry the cost of dying a criminal’s death for the sins of untold
millions of people, yours included! And
then go ahead and laugh with the redeemed over how foolish an idea would be that
you can have real joy anywhere in the universe apart from God.
For You Today
So, are you
going to walk wet today?
NOTES
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