Extending Grace to Others

Colossians 2:13-14 is one of the most powerful truths of the Bible: When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your sinful nature, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, having canceled the written code, with its regulations, that was against us and that stood opposed to us; he took it away, nailing it to the cross. One chapter later, we see what God wants us to do with this grace that He extended to us: Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you (Colossians 3:13).

Think about it, the most powerful being in the universe emptied himself in order to save us. As sinners, we don't deserve forgiveness but God extends it freely to us through his mercy and grace. His forgiveness restores us as his children and heirs to his eternal Kingdom. By receiving God's mercy and grace we are free to extend it to others. Grace is such a powerful encouragement that Paul wrote six different times in the New Testament, "The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all."

Extending grace to others can be one of the most challenging aspects of being God's man. If this is an area where you struggle, ask yourself these three questions: 1) Did God wait until we repented before sending Jesus to die for our sins? 2) Does holding a grudge hurt the other person? and 3) Does holding a grudge help you? After answering no to these questions, take your grievances and nail them to the cross!

The Better the Fit

How often do we marvel at people who are naturally gifted for what they do? We can watch a star athlete or listen to a great recording artist and enjoy them do what they do best. Yet, the truth is every single one of us---created in God's image---is naturally gifted for something and that something has a place in His Kingdom.

In his book The Purpose-Driven Life, Rick Warren said, "You will be most effective when you use your spiritual gifts and abilities in the area of your heart's desire and in a way that best expresses your personality and experiences. The better the fit, the more successful you will be. (emphasis added)." So often, people avoid serving others in the church because what they are asked to do does not fit their spiritual gifts, abilities and personalities, nor does it meet the desires of their heart. They also often miss out on opportunities to minister in areas where they are truly gifted.

Romans 12:5-8 covers a wide range of spiritual gifts: prophesy, serving others, teaching, encouraging, leadership, helping others and showing mercy. This passage encourages us to give our best effort at what we're best at because in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others (v.5).

If you don't enjoy being around young children, then being a youth Sunday School teacher is not a good fit but if you have a heart for college students or young professionals, then being a mentor to people in that age group would be a great fit. Prayerfully examine your abilities, your personality and your experiences and ask the Lord to open a path for you to serve Him out of your heart's desire.

Warn, Encourage, Help

In addition to evangelizing and teaching, much of the apostle Paul's ministry involved encouraging believers. Scripture records his keen spiritual insight in solving many problems in the early churches--some of the same problems that often exist today. Paul wrote frequently regarding interpersonal relationships; knowing that the body of Christ needs to be in harmony to function at its best.

Harmony is at best difficult to achieve because even among believers, there are different levels of spiritual maturity, a wide range of personalities, varied abilities and giftedness, as well as human shortcomings. Keenly aware that dealing with people is not a one-size-fits-all proposition, Paul wrote: And we urge you, brothers, warn those who are idle, encourage the timid, help the weak, be patient with everyone (1 Thessalonians 5:14).

Some translations use the word "unruly" instead of idle and Paul noted that those falling into those categories needed to be admonished for their behavior in hindering the church. Encouragement is needed because fear can paralyze us into inactivity and lack of visible success can cause disappointment and doubt. There are also those among us who have real needs that the Lord chooses to meet through the efforts of other believers.

By exhibiting patience--a fruit of The Holy Spirit--toward everyone and looking for opportunities to warn, encourage and help those around us as needed, we can help the body of Christ love others as He loves us.

This One Thing I Do

Most men put great value in being known for something and God certainly created us to be doers and to accomplish things in His creation. The apostle Paul certainly had many things he could point to in regard to his accomplishments. Yet, notice what he said about his life purpose in Philippians 3:13-14: Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.

As a religious scholar and zealous persecutor of the early church prior to his coming to Christ, Paul didn't allow himself to wallow in guilt, nor did he take undue pride in his significant success in evangelizing the Gentiles. He chose not to rest on his past laurels and stop working fervently to spread the Gospel. He knew that he still had much to learn, much to do and that the process of becoming Christ-like is a lifelong journey. Paul realized what the prize really was--the joy in accomplishing God's purposes in his life and the eternal reward in Heaven for reaching this goal on earth.

In a world filled with distractions and meaningless pursuits where dreams and hopes can die in a moment's notice, we would be wise to define and examine our true purpose and whether or not it has any eternal significance. Are we pressing on toward the mark of a high calling or are we stuck in neutral due to guilt, fear, doubt or lack of purpose? Make sure this one thing you do puts you on a path for an eternal prize.

Who Cut in on You?

One thing that irritates most anyone driving a car is when someone cuts in front of them in traffic. "What makes them think they are so important" or "Don't they realize I have someplace important to be" are probably two of the tamer responses you might have when this happens to you. We are generally very focused on where we need to get to and are usually in a hurry to get there--if we aren't already running late. How dare someone interfere with us getting where we need to be?

In his letter to the church in Galatia, Paul makes this rather pointed observation: You were running a good race. Who cut in on you and kept you from obeying the truth? That kind of persuasion does not come from the one who calls you (Galatians 6:7-8). Paul could see that Galatians were making great spiritual progress, but had gotten tripped up by legalism and traditions of man that had nothing to do with God's Word.

Though many years have passed, God's man is still fighting the same problem today. As much as we want to get to where we need to be, when we allow worldly philosophy, meaningless rituals and traditions to take hold and eventually control our lives, we've allowed our enemy to cut in on us and keep us from the truth. Trying to follow Him while trying to follow the world makes us a double-minded man, unstable in all he does (James 1:8).

Fortunately, the One who calls us is truth (John 14:6) and faithfulness to His Word will keep us from getting cut in on; allowing us to proclaim: I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith (2 Timothy 4:7).

A Prayer for Inner Growth

In his letter to the church in Ephesus, Paul offers us up a prayer for inner growth; a prayer that speaks to our need today just as it did to the church he planted almost two thousand years ago: I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all of the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge---that you may be filled to the measure of all of the fullness of God (Ephesians 3:16-19).

Paul is making three powerful requests here. First, he is asking that they be strengthened by the Holy Spirit--who resides in every believer--so that they will be divinely enabled to successfully live the Christian life. Secondly, he is praying that the church would be able to understand the magnitude of the enormous love that Christ has for them. And finally, he prays the life, character and virtues of God Himself would be fully developed in them, which is what we commonly define as spiritual growth.

The idea "dwell" means to settle in and be at ease. As we allow the Holy Spirit to dwell, to strengthen us, our lives become more and more pleasing to God. Knowing the depth of His love for us through Jesus Christ allow us to dwell in a deeper relationship with Him. Our inner growth is both a product of and enabled by the fullness of the love of God---the One who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine (v.20)

Is it any wonder that Paul, during one of the more difficult times in his life, could boldly proclaim: I can do everything through Him who gives me strength (Philippians 4:13) ?

Every Man's Battle

Research studies have determined that 5 out of every 10 Christian men have a major struggle with pornography. This is a statistic that will either horrify you or make you shrug your shoulders like it's no big deal. But our Lord Jesus Christ drew a pretty hard line in the sand when he told us at the Sermon on the Mount: "You have heard that it was said, 'Do not commit adultery.' But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart. (Matthew 5:27-28)".

Why did Jesus set the bar so high regarding sexual purity? Because our Savior knows how strongly men are visually stimulated by women. And judging from the fact that there are over one million pornographic websites on the Internet, you can be sure Satan knows this as well. Yet unlike our enemy, who wants us to accept suggestive photos or computer-generated images to satisfy our sexual desire, our Savior knows that pornography degrades women, distorts our image of our wives--the ones we're called to sacrificially love--and it cheapens God's perfect plan for sexual fulfillment between a husband and a wife.

Men's Ministry leaders Stephen Arterburn and Fred Stoeker wrote a book about this struggle to maintain sexual purity and titled it "Every Man's Battle". I highly recommend this book and I also don't think for one minute that their title is an exaggeration. It is crucial for God's men to win this battle, and yes it can be won! www.x3watch.com has several great resources for anyone who is struggling with online pornography.

There are, however, two ways you won't win this battle---alone in isolation and without authentic male accountability built into your life. Our enemy wants you to believe that this sin is so shameful that you must remain in secrecy or that it's no big deal so go ahead an indulge---the same way he tempted Eve in the Garden (Genesis 3:4) and told her "You will not surely die." Make a covenant with your eyes and your heart that you will maintain sexual purity and do whatever it takes to live by it.

What Good is it?

One of the most effective ways to make a point is to ask a rhetorical question--a question that begs an obvious answer. Accordingly, we can find rhetorical questions in the Bible that effectively point out something that on the surface appears to have great benefit, but in reality amounts to nothing.

Ephesians 2:8-9 reminds us that we are saved by grace through faith in Christ, not of our own works. Yet notice how James 2:14 tells us how works are still important: "What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds?" For those who put their emphasis on material things, Mark 8:36 asks: "What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul?"

Scripture continues to identify things that seem important, but have no lasting eternal value. Good deeds (Galatians 5:2), physical fitness (1 Timothy 4:8), hard work (Ecclesiastes 2:11) and self-sacrifice without love (1 Corinthians 13:3) are all worthless in the economy of God's Kingdom apart from a relationship and a desire to please and glorify Him.

At the end of the day, if we want to be able to answer the question, "What Good is it?" in a way that has eternal significance, let's make sure the glory is pointed in the right direction---upward and not inward.