Hurricane Sandy, Limited Menus, and a No Substitutions Please Gospel....

 

   Indeed I, Paul, say to you that if you become circumcised, Christ will profit you nothing. And I testify again to every man who becomes circumcised that he is a debtor to keep the whole law. You have become estranged from Christ, you who attempt to be justified by law; you have fallen from grace. (Galatians 5:2-4 NKJV)  
   
         I prefer restaurants that have limited menus. If you give me six items to choose from, I can easily choose. If you give me a six page menu with great color photos, I am never certain what I am going to order until I hear myself say it....and then I still wonder if I should have enjoyed my second or third choice instead (or also). Often those expansive menus explicitly instruct -- No Substitutions!  Life often provides circumstances where we have few choices. When Hurricane Sandy came by yesterday, I had no choices. The government ordered us to stay inside our home until the storm passed. Others were ordered from their homes into shelters. The government provided orders. No Substitutions! 

 

   In John chapter six, Jesus taught at the synagogue at Capernaum -- I am the bread of life...... and ......This is the bread which came down out of heaven; not as the fathers ate and died; he who eats this bread will live forever. When we hear the Gospel of Jesus, we are left with a limited menu. We can ignore the Gospel and live our lives as we please, letting our flesh or the world dominate our decisions. We can even choose to submit to the forces of evil and intentionally worship Satan. Some do. Most don't make such a blatant choice, but are seduced by flesh attractions that don't bear the name of Satan but are derived by his plans and spirit. Of course we can and should choose to live by faith and yield our hearts to the Lord and be saved from the consequence of our sin. What makes God's limited but saving Truth so hard to accept? Maybe it's the attraction of our other options...

 

   The world's menu and Satan's menu are very flexible. They allow any choice and any substitution -- even partial faith in Jesus. Satan preaches daily that we can have Jesus and our second and third choices too. He loves leading Christians back to the law of Moses because in so doing he enacts today's verse -- ...you have been severed from Christ, you who are seeking to be justified by law; you have fallen from grace. 
 
       The Lord's menu is limited to one choice -- being saved by faith alone -- No Substitutions! None are available because none are necessary. It's a limited menu with unlimited benefits. Eat the Bread of Life and drink the Living Water and you'll never be thirsty or hungry again. God wrote -- For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast. (Ephesians 2:8-9)
 

   We are complex beings, and we often try to choose Jesus and then substitute many things which are not on the Lord's menu instead of simply  receiving our righteousness from Christ by faith alone. Paul is emphatically exhorting us here that if we look to any other menu for any substitution as a part of our hope for salvation, we have abandoned the righteousness we have received by faith in and through the death of Jesus on the cross. We cannot have both. No Substitutions! John Calvin wrote -- The legalists among the Galatians wanted them to think that they could have both Jesus and a law-relationship with God. Paul tells them that this is not an option open to them - the system of grace and the system of law are incompatible. Whoever wants to have a half-Christ loses the whole.

 

    Have you come fully to Christ by faith alone? Have you added anything to the Gospel? Are there efforts you make in the name of Jesus which you think help secure your salvation? Are you working for or are you resting in your salvation in Jesus?
 
     Throw off every heavy yoke. Throw off sin and receive by faith alone by the gift of God -- the righteousness of Christ. Throw off Satan and look to Jesus. Throw off the burden of self righteousness and receive the Lord by faith. Throw off accomplishment and accumulation and pick up the Lord's peace. Throw off work (less Martha) and pick up worship (more Mary). Trust Jesus and be saved. Find rest for your soul.

 

   Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and YOU WILL FIND REST FOR YOUR SOULS. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light. (Matthew 11:28-30)

Copyright 2012 Mission of the Master Ministries, Inc. Maybe quoted in whole or in part if a link is provided to http://wordworkswednesday.blogspot.com