Presbyterian Devotions: In Christ Alone - Matthew 5:20

Today’s Bible readings: Isaiah 13:14-22  & Matthew 5:17-20

Matthew 5:20                         For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven.

It’s an essential tenet of the Reformation: justification by faith, not by our works. We cannot earn our way into heaven. We cannot complete a certain number of good deeds or accomplish a predetermined amount of perfect choices to get us through the pearly gates. Our good works are the fruits of our faith, but not one of them gets us into heaven.

That authority is given to Christ alone. Only He can decide whether or not we will be allowed into God’s everlasting presence. There is nothing that we can do on earth to ensure that we will be welcomed in God’s Kingdom. Only Christ can open the gates; only He can restore us to God.

This is why Christianity is a missionary faith. It’s not a private, personal spiritual lifestyle. We are all supposed to engage and confront the world, especially against those who lead people astray with their false ideas, incorrect opinions, and wayward theologies. We are all sinners, separated from God by our daily choices, imperfect ways, and wrong decisions. The gap between us and God is unbridgeable by anything that we could try to build. In Christ alone, we have a Savior. Only in Jesus, we have salvation, only he can bridge that gap. He died for our sins so that we might be offered the opportunity to be fully forgiven and completely restored to God.

His Crucifixion was no accident; it was predetermined. His sacrifice was no aberration; it was intended. His death was not unfortunate; it was providential. And His resurrection was no myth; it is the most profound reality in the history of the universe.

The gospel message is simple: Jesus died for our sins and if we believe in Him, we will be granted life beyond our own deaths. There is no other way; there is no other truth; there is no other life, save that of Christ, to bring us back to God.

Prayer:                       Lord Jesus, Your own words say it all: we cannot enter heaven unless our righteousness is perfect. We know that we are imperfect and unrighteous, therefore we have no hope of entering God’s Kingdom unless we pin that hope upon Your Cross. Forgive our pride, our indifference, our faithlessness, and our stubborn refusal to accept Who You are, What You have done, and All that You have promised. 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 comment on today’s message or ask a question, please send him an email to pastor@erinpresbyterian.org.

Today’s image is John’s latest Fall drawing. It’s called ‘A Glimpse of Heaven,’ which depicts the famous Glade Creek Grist Mill in Babcock State Park, West Virginia. If you would like to see a larger version of the drawing, please click on the following link: http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6119/6278216565_0e22a63fea_b.jpg

Presbyterian Devotions: The Call - Acts 6 v 2

Acts 6:2           So the Twelve gathered all the disciples together and said, “It would not be right for us to neglect the ministry of the word of God in order to wait on tables.”

On the 30th April of next year, I will have been an ordained minister of word and sacrament for 25 years. I cannot believe how quickly those years have come and gone. Sometimes I wonder if my faith would have been more influential had I taken another path. At one point in seminary, I thought about becoming a teacher of religious studies in a Scottish High School. I even entertained a notion of lecturing at college level, but the call to be a parish minister was strong and I happily ended up in a yoked/linked West of Scotland parish.

Over the last 25 years, I’ve noticed a decline in biblical knowledge and scriptural literacy across society and in the communities that I have served. That’s sad because with the invention of the internet, there has never been a time when more biblical material, lessons, and studies have been widely and freely available to the general population. It’s almost as if we’ve taken the Bible for granted and don’t feel the need to add it to our daily schedules.

I’ve also seen a movement away from professional clergy. Seminaries are experiencing a large fall in student numbers and they’re also producing fewer parish or congregational ministers. The outcome of this is two-fold: the people begin to scatter without a shepherd, and society begins to believe in anything but Christianity.

In the future, we’re going to need more ministers, not less. We need to seriously raise up a new generation of young people who are willing to commit their lives as shepherd-servants in parish churches and local congregations. Without such a solid base, our faith communities will fracture and decline, leaving our people without hope in Christ. If and when that happens, then I believe that a new Dark Age era will evolve where only the fittest and strongest will survive. It is one of my most heartfelt prayers that this will never happen.

Prayer:                        Lord Jesus, right from the very start of Your Church, Your Holy Spirit set apart ministers of word and sacrament to help people grow in knowledge about the scriptures and You. Without them, our faith would never have flourished and the world would never have known Your everlasting hope. We pray for the next generation and fervently ask that You will raise up new shepherds amongst us to lead the coming generations on Your Way, Truth, and Life. In Your Holy Name, we pray. Amen.

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

Today’s image is one of John’s latest Scottish prints. It is called “The Beast of Stalker Castle” and depicts a Highland cow grazing beside one of the ancient Stewart castles. If you would like to see a larger version of the print, please click on the following link: http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4039/4689401461_5d1c18680b_b.jpg