Christmas Credit - Romans 4:23-24

Romans 4:23-24 The words “it was credited to him” were written not for Abraham alone, but also for us, to whom God will credit righteousness—for us who believe in him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead. (NIV)

            My parents were working-class people who raised a large family of six in Glasgow, Scotland. We went through some hard times, but at Christmas, they both did their utmost to ensure that all us kids were given the special gifts we hoped for from Santa. I guess like every other parent in our neighborhood, they borrowed money at a high-interest rate and paid it all back throughout the New Year, only to begin the debt cycle again when December came around. When I look back, I don’t know how they did it, but I’m thankful they loved us deeply to make certain that our Christmases were wonderful times.

            There were no credit cards in those days, so each Friday evening a credit agent came to our house for the weekly payment that my folks had to make. The ritual was usually the same – my Dad would give his pay packet to my Mom – who would take out the amount owed and hand it to the credit man. He would then plow through a whole host of cards, write in the payment and initial it. I don’t ever remember my folks missing a payment, even though the interest rate would have been very high. Over the years, they must have paid back thousands of pounds, but they did it, not just for Christmas, to keep us six kids fed, clothed, and sheltered.

            In today’s passage from Romans, Paul writes about how God credits us with righteousness when we believe in His Son Jesus and that He was raised from the dead. Because of sin, we are completely indebted to God and have no way of paying back what we owe, not even on a weekly basis when we go to church on Sundays. However, the great thing is that God does not leave destitute of His love and care. He allows us to be restored to His favor through the death of Jesus, who paid in full our outstanding debt to God. In other words, Jesus becomes both our creditor and guarantor, so that when we fall into sin, God credits us with Christ’s righteousness and permits us to be fully pardoned. This is why we call the Gospel ‘Good News.’

Point to ponder

How much do I owe Christ? How does His forgiveness help me to renew my faith each day?

Prayer: Lord Jesus, may we be eternally grateful for the salvation that You have obtained for our souls. We know that we do not deserve such love and mercy, but we are truly thankful for Your sacrifice and grace. In Your Holy Name, we humbly pray. Amen.

John Stuart is the pastor of Erin Presbyterian Church in Knoxville, Tennessee. If you would like to offer some feedback on today’s message, please send him an email to Traqair@aol.com.

Today’s image is one of John’s latest Nativity drawings called ‘City of David.’ If you would like to view a larger version, please click this link: David.

Daily devotions: Unbelievable! - Matthew 4:3

Matthew 4:3   The tempter came to him and said, "If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread."

I didn’t sleep very well last night, so what’s new? As usual, I had taken too much caffeine and my mind was swirling with thoughts and ideas, issues and problems. The main one concerned an internet posting that a PCUSA pastor had written, boldly stating that Jesus did not die for the sins of humanity.

Yes, you are reading truly; he wrote that Jesus DID NOT die for our sins. In fact, he called it a theological fantasy, perpetrated by the Church to control the hearts and minds of people. I honestly could not believe what I was actually reading. How could a Christian Presbyterian pastor write this? It goes against Christian theology and the essential tenets of the Reformation itself. How can a pastor do this to himself, his congregation, denomination and faith?

An even greater question is this: how can a church, a presbytery, and a denomination allow this to stand? This is the equivalent of the devil questioning Christ’s authority in the wilderness. If Jesus did not die upon the Cross to save us from our sins, then how can we be saved? If His death, as the pastor writes, was merely a political expedient execution, then how can we be justified by our faith in Christ?

I have watched mainstream denominations radically change over the past 25 years in order to accommodate the culture, but this goes beyond anything that I have ever known. This is heresy and what really troubles me is that the PCUSA might allow this kind of false theology and heretical thinking to stand unopposed.

I am deeply shocked and feel as though we’ve all allowed this to happen because we’ve not paid attention to the slippery slope that we’ve been on. This is the outcome of the church giving culture an inch; it ends up taking a mile and the loss of faith altogether. The pastor may have his doubts and denials, his lack of faith in Christ’s sacrifice and Redemption, but that does not give him the right to trample on the Reformed beliefs of the Church, which are essential to our faith, and for him to be held unaccountable.

An important line has been crossed which will affect the faith of future generations. Either this kind of heresy is stopped in its tracks now, or our denomination will die from this theological deceit. We cannot have our cake and eat it. Or to put it another way, we cannot have Christ’s Cross and then destroy it.

Prayer:                       Lord Jesus, You are the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. You sacrificed Your life on the Cross, so that we might be washed clean of our sins and restored to God’s everlasting love. Keep us from diminishing Your atoning work with our arrogant thinking and foolish ideas. Help us to cling to Calvary and know that we are justified through our faith in You alone as the Son of God and Savior of our souls. Amen.

John Stuart is the pastor of Erin Presbyterian Church in Knoxville, Tennessee. If you would like to ask a question or make a comment about today’s message, please send him an email to pastor@erinpresbyterian.org.