The Plumbline

Dear brothers and sisters, the longing of my heart and my prayer to God is for the people of Israel to be saved. I know what enthusiasm they have for God, but it is misdirected zeal. For they don’t understand God’s way of making people right with himself. Refusing to accept God’s way, they cling to their own way of getting right with God by trying to keep the law. For Christ has already accomplished the purpose for which the law was given. As a result, all who believe in him are made right with God. (Romans 10:1-4) Could we substitute "Israel" for anyone we know, including ourselves? It is likely we know someone, (or are someone), who has a great deal of enthusiasm for the 'things of God' but lack a personal relationship with him. They are 'rule-followers' at best, kind of hoping all the 'good deeds' they manage to accomplish on this earth will somehow find them favor with God. They 'refuse to accept God's way' - always trying to 'get ...

A person’s body that does not have a spirit is dead. It is the same with faith—faith that does nothing is dead! (James 2:26) Faith is meant to produce something - it isn't just an ethereal thing that we 'have' but never put to use. Faith is meant to have feet and hands - it is meant to be put into action. Democritus once said, "Our sins are more easily remembered than our good deeds." Wouldn't it be wonderful if our good deeds were the things others remembered instead of our sinful actions. It takes only one bad deed to damage a reputation, and it can take thousands of good ones to restore it! Faith and deeds are interrelated. You cannot separate one from the other. Ephesians reminds us that we are saved by faith in Jesus Christ, not our 'good deeds', but that living for and in Christ Jesus means that we will produce good deeds. In other words, our life is lived for others, not just ourselves. Prior to welcoming Christ into our lives, we did 'good ...

I want to belong to him. In Christ I am right with God, but my being right does not come from following the law. It comes from God through faith. God uses my faith in Christ to make me right with him. All I want is to know Christ and the power that raised him from death. (Philippians 3:9-10) There is no other way to be 'made right' than through Christ Jesus. There is no other set of rules or 'belief system' we need to follow in order to 'gain righteousness'. With that said, why do we still try to 'be made right'? I observe those who have given their hearts to Jesus trying to 'earn' their way into heaven or some such thing, all through 'righteous actions', family traditions, and deeply rooted traditions of 'the church'. For some reason, Satan has been able to convince many that they need 'more' than Christ in order to be 'made right'. They strive without purpose because all God has purposed has been accomplished i...

I am shocked that you are turning away so soon from God, who called you to himself through the loving mercy of Christ. You are following a different way that pretends to be the Good News but is not the Good News at all. You are being fooled by those who deliberately twist the truth concerning Christ. Let God’s curse fall on anyone, including us or even an angel from heaven, who preaches a different kind of Good News than the one we preached to you. I say again what we have said before: If anyone preaches any other Good News than the one you welcomed, let that person be cursed. (Galatians 1:6-9) In the early church, Christ's message was being embraced and shared, but the Jewish leaders were still preaching that all of the Law of Moses still needed to be kept. Christ's message proclaimed that we are saved by faith, while the Law of Moses taught that works upon works were necessary. Christ's message showed how God worked his way to us through Christ Jesus, while the message of...