Thoughts on 1 Timothy 1:8-10

The law is good and is given for a purpose. However, we can and do abuse it. We must always understand that righteousness is not through the law but through faith (Gal 2:21) and we must never use the law to try and attain salvation. If we do that it will only reveal more sin in us (Gal 2:18). We must also never use the law as a measure of righteousness but instead as a tool to show us where sin exists in our lives. If we make the mistake of using the law to measure righteousness we will inevitably fall into the trap of putting ourselves on a scale of goodness in comparison with the rest of mankind. That will cause us to lose sight of our need for a Savior because inevitably we will compare ourselves with those not as “righteous” as we are and pat ourselves on the back because of our goodness. The truth is that we are all sinners, guilty before God, and that none of us, apart from God, does good (Rom 3:10-12).

We are to use the law and not the other way around. We should understand the law’s role in our lives and use it accordingly. When we let the law control us and use us we become legalistic. We find ourselves trying to obey 613 laws daily and have no freedom to worship Christ. We become shut off to the culture around us, which Jesus actually prayed we would not do (John 15:17).

When we read verses nine and ten we have to understand that we are among the group called “lawless and disobedient, ungodly and sinners, unholy and profane, striking our fathers and mothers, murderers, sexually immoral, homosexual, enslavers, liars, perjurers, and doing whatever else is against sound doctrine.” Do not make the mistake of thinking yourself included with the “just” because there is only one person who has ever lived who can be put into that category. It is precisely because he is in that group that Jesus has the ability to save us. In going to the cross and becoming our substitutionary atonement Jesus swapped places with us by becoming all the sinful things listed above and taking our deserved punishment on the cross. Conversely we get to take the place of Jesus and be seen by the Father as just and righteous and get to spend eternity in heaven with God (2 Cor 5:21). Sounds like a pretty good deal to me!

Bible Study Magazine

Bible Study Magazine and Mars Hill are giving away 20 copies of Mark Driscoll’s new book, Vintage Church. Not only that, but they are also giving away five subscriptions to Bible Study Magazine and a copy of their Bible Study Library software! Enter to win on the Bible Study Magazine Mark Driscoll page, then take a look at all the cool tools they have to take your Bible study to the next level!

Websites

Just thought I'd share some websites that I get a lot out of:

http://www.zhubert.com/bible

http://www.monergism.com/

http://www.marshillchurch.org/

http://www.desiringgod.org/

http://www.ccel.org/

http://www.covenantseminary.edu/

Check them out!

Extraordinary

I realize that life is made up of each individual decision in each individual moment. We are the sum of our decisions. An extraordinary man is made one decision at a time. An extraordinary man does not happen by chance. He is the result of small everyday decisions added up over days and weeks and months and years. He is conscious that his legacy is built on the foundations of these everyday decisions and he is constantly asking himself important questions before he makes his decisions. Questions like “will this glorify God?”, “if I really knew that Jesus was right here with me would I still be doing this, saying this, looking a this etc…?”, “am I being a good steward of my time, money, resources by doing this?”, “will this bring me closer to my wife?”, “what does Scripture say about this?”, “by doing this or saying this am I setting a good example for my wife, kids, friends, coworkers etc…?” An extraordinary man needs to have a plan for each area of his life including God, family, ministry, work, and recreation. He should ask himself questions like “where am I going?”, “how will I get there?”, “will this decision get me closer to my goal or set me back?”, “is my goal in line with the plans God has for my life?”, “what things do I need to do today, tomorrow, over the next year to reach my goal?”, “is my pursuit of this goal negatively affecting my relationship with God, family, friends?”