From the Grave Yard to the Grace Yard

“And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience—among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved—and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them” (Ephesians 2:1-10). Having described our spiritual possessions in Christ, Paul turns to a complementary truth: our spiritual position in Christ. First he explains what God did for the Gentiles in particular. The sinner who trusts Christ has been raised and seated on the throne (2:1-10), and believing Jews and Gentiles have been reconciled and set into the temple, that is the body of Christ. What a miracle of God’s grace! We are taken out of the great graveyard of sin and placed into the throne room of glory. We were taken off a patch of disgrace and planted on a patch of amazing grace. Perhaps the easiest way for us to approach this long paragraph is to see in it four specific works. Work number one, sin’s work against us (2:1-3). In these three verses, Paul gives us a full-length picture of the terrible spiritual condition of the unsaved person. He is dead (2:1). His spiritual faculties are not functioning. All lost sinners are dead, and the only difference between one sinner and another is the state of decay. Our world is one vast graveyard, filled with people who are dead while they live. He is disobedient (2:2-3a). This was the beginning of man’s spiritual death. Three forces encourage man in his disobedience-the world, the flesh, and the devil. He is depraved (2:3b). He is incapable of doing anything to merit salvation or meet the high standards of God’s holiness. Jesus said that lost sinners do good to each other, and to their children, but they cannot do anything spiritually good to please God. Some unbelievers have more character and integrity than some believers. He is doomed (2:3c). The sentence has been passed, but God in His mercy is staying the execution of the sentence. Man cannot save himself, but God in His grace steps in to make salvation possible. Work number two, God’s work for us (2:4-9). The focus of attention now is on God, not on sinful man. He loves us (2:4). God has two kinds of attributes: Those that He possesses of Himself (such as life, love and holiness). And those by which he relates to His creation (relative attributes such as faithfulness and justice). Love is one of God’s intrinsic attributes, but when this love is related to sinners, it becomes grace and mercy. He quickened us (2:5). This means He made us alive. This spiritual resurrection puts us in union with Christ. He exalted us (2:6). Our physical position is “in heavenly places in Christ Jesus.” We have been called from the grave to sit with Christ and enjoy His fellowship. He keeps us (2:7-9). Grace means that God does it all for Jesus sake. The word "that" in verse 8, in the Greek, is neuter; while faith is feminine. "That" refers to the whole experience of salvation. Work number three, God’s work in us (2:10a). Our conversion is not the end; it is the beginning, the word “workmanship” gives us our English word poem. Christ is equipping us for our walk and our work here on earth. To do this He uses three special tools. The Word of God (I Thessalonians 2:13). Prayer (Ephesians 3:20-21). And suffering (1 Peter 4:11-14). As we read God’s Word the Word goes to work in our lives to cleanse us and nourish us. As we pray, God’s Spirit works in us to release power. As we suffer, the Spirit of God ministers to us. Suffering drives us back to the Word and prayer and the cycle is repeated. God cannot work through us unless He works in us. God spent 40 years working in Moses before He could work through him. Joseph suffered 13 years before God put him on the throne of Egypt. Paul spent three years in Arabia after his conversion. Work number four, God’s work through us (2:10b). The unbeliever walks “according to the course of this world” (Ephesians 2:2), but the believer walks in the good works God has prepared for him. This means God has a will for our lives. We discover God’s will for our lives as the Spirit reveals it to us from the Word. The Word of God is the will of God. God has worked for you; now let Him work in you and through you, that you might have an exciting, creative life to the glory of God. Dr. Ken Copley is available for counseling, conferences, and local church meetings.

Names of God

A cause for sorrow is the fact that some Christians are a disgrace to grace. G.R.A.C.E. God's riches at Christ's expense. Faith lays hold of grace. Faith is my forsaking all and trusting Him. Unbelief is a matter of the head and heart. Faith in faith is not real faith. Faith is no better than its object. The object of our faith is God as He is revealed in His Word. In the believers walk faith is not a nicety, like frosting on a cake, but an absolute necessity. Weak faith in the right object is much better than strong faith in the wrong object. Even a trembling hand can receive a valuable object. Faith is never a leap in the dark, it is a step in the light. Thus if your faith is not changing your life you had better change your faith (Romans 10:17). Grace doesn't make you lawless, it simply sets you free from bondage God's way, so you can live a life that is pleasing to God. By faith we see Jesus. As God's children we need to understand that our discipleship is a practicum. We learn who God is not merely through contemplation of Him, but by actually doing what He has done. We live in a time of rapid world change. What we could count on yesterday might not be there tomorrow. The most common words written on the walls of the catacombs were sleep and peace. Those early church Christians, living under ground, didn't know where their next meal would come from. But their faith and God's grace allowed them to experience peace and sleep. Our faith is to be placed squarly in the Lord. To help you know who He is, please meditate on the following list of His names.1. Adonai-The God who is preeminent-denotes ownership. Adonai is the one who must be obeyed. The name implies that all those who submit to Him can enter Christ's perfect rest, expecting to receive God's direction, supervision, and provision. 2. Yahweh the God who is perfect, eternal, and ever-loving. 3. Jehovah-Jirah the God who provides for me. 4. Jehovah-Rophe-the God who heals me. 5. Jehovah-Nissi the God who protects me. 6. Jehovah-M'Kaddesh the God who sanctifies me. 7. Jehovah-Shalom the God who sends me peace. 8. Jehoval-Rohi the God who cares for my daily needs. 9. Jehovah-Tsidkenu the God who justifies me. 10. Jehovah-Shamma the God who is always present with me. 11. Jehoval-Roi the God who sees me. 12. El Elyon the God who sees everything I need and is doing everything that needs to be done in my life. 13. El Olam the God who does not change. 14. El Shaddai the God who is all sufficient. These names describe our God in whom we are to firmly trust with all of our heart. Dr. Ken Copley is available for counseling, conferences, and local church meetings.

Cheap Grace

“My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have one who speaks to the Father in our defense—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One” (I John 2:1) Have you ever met a "Christian" who claimed they didn't sin? I know a fellow who said he had not sinned in 20 years. One day he backed into a persons' car in a parking lot. He drove away from the damaged vehicle without leaving a note. Several days later, he admitted to himself "That was sin." He blew a 20 year no sinning streak. The truth is this gentleman had been very boastful and arrogant about his "Sinlessness". He constantly ridiculed his wife and was critical of his children. He was living in a fantasy world and the only person he was fooling was himself. Many believer practice "Cheap grace" this means they live as though God ignores or condones their sins. However Scriptural forgiveness is real, that means our sin is real and must be dealt with. We can't ignore it, we can't deny it, that's not grace, its a lie. Cheap grace means living without the demand of obedience upon us. When we disregard obedience to God then nothing can be labeled as "Sinful". No act is clearly right or wrong, this means there is no need of forgiveness. In the verse above John reminds us that we fall short of keeping God's commands. He also reminds us that where there is forgiveness available, it follows that certain actions whether thoughts, words or deeds, can be dealt with only when one confesses and is forgiven (I John 1:9-10). Cheap grace is grace minus obedience, which in essence is no grace at all. In this passage John is casting a glance at those who have left the church, for they undoubtedly claimed to know God. He is saying here that obedience is the manifestation or evidence of knowing God. Obeying God's commands does not require perfect obedience, if by perfect we mean living without sinning. Obedience points to the consistency of our discipleship, not to individual acts taken in isolation. Obedience is our response to a living God and not a check list of rules. God gives us the direction of obedience, its "Walking in the light," as striving to conform our character to that of God. Knowledge of God always expresses itself in obedience, and obedience is always measured by concrete actions. Jesus' obedience was made manifest in the ultimate sacrifice of His life on the cross. The child who knows his parents well also knows their expectations well. The child who loves and respects her parents, honors their expectations. The idea that knowledge of God expresses itself in obedience has its roots in the Old Testament. The prophets especially spoke of knowing God, though more often they rebuked the people for not knowing God (Jer. 9:6). A lack of knowing God did not imply intellectual inadequacy, but rather moral failure to a lack of faithfulness and obedience. Are you walking with the Lord in the light of His Word? Are you obeying the light He gives you? In discipleship nearness is likeness, are you walking close enough to Him that His character is beginning to rub off on you? Have you learned that grace isn't cheap? Dr. Ken Copley is available for counseling, conferences, and local church meetings.

True Success

"If you fully obey the Lord your God and carefully follow all his commands I give you today, the Lord you God will set you high above all the nations on earth" (Deut. 28:1-2). Sometimes God allows us to fail before we succeed. How we respond to failure reveals who we are living for. For the believer death precedes success. We really need to die to our old self life and then be resurrected to a new Christ life. This happens as we fully surrender our lives to Him. Remember the "kernel of wheat falling into the ground and dying" before there was any fruit. The theme of obedience runs as a thread through out the Bible. In many cases, as with the above verse, obey and hear are used synonymously. Hearing the Lord implies obedience to what He instructs us to do. There has been an over emphasis on the theme of success in some circles. We have modern day "Pastors" who are little more than motivational speakers. Some are involved in huge TV ministries. Rather than preach repentance of sin and salvation through faith in the finished work of Christ, they preach the "Gospel of success." This kind of "Flesh success" is attractive to some but really leaves a bad taste in the mouth of discerning unbelievers. I do believe God is the God of success All true success is a gift from Him. All that He proposes will be carried out "Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven". There are Biblical principles when applied to business, they just plain work. The principle "He who is greatest of all will be servant of all" tells us that the business that best serves their customers succeeds. The "Golden rule" always comes up in any sales training I have taken. Even the world has adopted Biblical principles for success in business. However as believers our success is rooted in our relationship with Christ. When our abilities are separated from Him success is short-lived. I know a man who is a multimillionaire, I watched his life fall apart as he fell deeply into sin. He has gone from being a wise business man to a very reckless decision maker. His violent anger has alienated his best employees and his extreme instability has destroyed all credibility. His vast empire is crumbling because disobedience and sin exact a terrible price in a sinners life. True success is living for the Lord in an intimate, obedient, love relationship with Him. As we daily reaffirm our commitment to trust Him with all our hearts and follow His ways in all we do, our lives will come into alignment with His purposes. This will ensure that His purposes are being fulfilled through our lives. This is the meaning of true success. Dr. Ken Copley is available for counseling, conferences, and local church meetings.

Changeless Truths in a Changing World

Please read Hebrews 13:8-16. In these eight verses we find several changeless truths that will impact our world of superficiality. Each truth revolves around Christ, the immutable One who is the changeless Rock of stability and faithfulness. First, the doctrine of immutability. We live in a world that knows nothing but accelerating change. God is not fickle; His moods don't swing, and His dealings with us are not subject to cancellation or redefinition. He always deals with us on the basis of His revealed Word. Second, a warning against heresy. The word "Divers" comes from the same Greek word from which we get the term "Polka dot." False teachings come in many colors, they are pleasing to the eye and they sound good to the ear. However, heresy is always destructive to the soul. The text mentions one source of weakness, food, our "Hearts are to be established with grace not meats". The writer is saying "Do what is right and Scriptural." No person is ever benefited by following a heresy. Third, our involvement for spirituality. The writer gives us a list of four specifics that touch the lives of those who embrace grace and the person of Jesus Christ. We have an altar to use. This is a reference to the cross, where Christ's sacrificial offering was made. Those who seek fulfillment in form rather than substance have "No right to eat" from this altar. We also have a reproach to bear. There is a price to pay for identifying with Christ. There is a separation stigma with which we must live. This is part of the curriculum of grace. God has given us a city to seek. This city is on the horizon which God Himself has designed and built. It is in no way earthly. And we have a sacrifice to offer. Although we have no sanctified earthly altar, we still have a sacrifice of praise to offer, that of doing good and giving. Forth, we have a means to practicality. Three perspective-shaping lessons come to light in the above passage. A changing world emphasizes my need for a changeless Christ. A changeless Christ redirects my desire toward a grace relationship. And a grace relationship strengthens my hope in a secure eternity. Are you feeling the need for a Rock to which you can cling? Are you desperate for that which is Unchanging? I encourage you to run to Jesus, "For there's room at the Cross for you!" Dr. Ken Copley is available for counseling, conferences, and local church meetings.

The Power of Forgiveness

The message God gave the world is the promise of forgiveness. The fall of man brought sin into the human race and it brought God's curse on the earth. Death and decay became standard fare. Struggle and sweat is now the lot of man. However "Where sin abounds grace does much more abound." David rejoiced when he penned, "If you, O LORD, kept a record of sins, O Lord, who could stand? But with you there is forgiveness; therefore you are feared." (Psalm 130:3-4). The truth is when we come to the cross the record of our sin is wiped away, it is blotted out, gone. I have been forgiven, stand forgiven and will remain forever forgiven because of the blood of Christ. I believe the Evangelical Church has the message of grace in salvation down pat. We preach that by grace through faith is the only way to get to heaven. We would scorn any teaching that added anything to the Gospel. We also are quite accurate on grace getting us to heaven. When a believer dies we assure his or her loved ones that this saint went into the arms of Jesus because of the grace of God. However, I have a lot of evidence that we don't always do so well in between salvation and heaven concerning the message of grace. One of the first things we do to a new convert is to tell them how to dress, act, live, think, talk, who to hang out with, where to go, how often to read the Bible etc. I remember many years ago I led a man to Christ who had waist length hair and huge hoop earrings. He came to church and a couple of weeks later asked to be baptized. I baptized him with waist length hair and hoop earrings. He had an insatiable hunger for the Scriptures. He told all of his friends about Jesus. In time, he took out the hoop earrings and replaced them with crosses. One Sunday he came to church with short hair and the earrings were gone. Nobody said a word to him about these external things. How he looked did not make the man, what was in his heart did. He later told me that he believed the Lord was telling him his witness would be greater if he dressed more like others around him. Early in his Christian life he grabbed hold of grace. Do you really believe you have been forgiven. You and Jesus can work on your sinful habits and tendencies together, and the process is much easier when you know you have been forgiven. There is a positional holiness which we have in Christ. There is a practical holiness that is worked out in our lives as we walk in the Spirit. The Bible tells us as we "walk in the Spirit we will not fulfill the lusts of the flesh." Have you accepted God's forgiveness? Do you believe you have been forgiven? Do you live a life that extends forgiveness to others? Dr. Ken Copley is available for counseling, conferences, and local church meetings.