|
| |
INDEX
PREVIOUS
NEXT
|
COLLECTIONS
Commentaries,
Word Studies, Devotionals, Sermons, Illustrations
Old and New Testament. |
|
| |
|
|
|
|
ROMANS ROAD
to
RIGHTEOUSNESS |
Romans
1:18-3:20
|
Romans
3:21-5:21 |
Romans
6:1-8:39 |
Romans
9:1-11:36 |
Romans
12:1-16:27 |
|
SIN
|
SALVATION
|
SANCTIFICATION |
SOVEREIGNTY |
SERVICE |
NEED
FOR
SALVATION |
WAY
OF
SALVATION |
LIFE
OF
SALVATION |
SCOPE
OF
SALVATION |
SERVICE
OF
SALVATION |
God's Holiness
In
Condemning
Sin |
God's Grace
In
Justifying
Sinners |
God's Power
In
Sanctifying
Believers |
God's Sovereignty
In
Saving
Jew and Gentile |
Gods Glory
The
Object of
Service |
Deadliness
of Sin |
Design
of Grace |
Demonstration
of Salvation |
|
Power Given
|
Promises
Fulfilled |
Paths Pursued |
Righteousness
Needed |
Righteousness
Credited |
Righteousness
Demonstrated |
Righteousness
Restored to Israel |
Righteousness
Applied |
God's
Righteousness
IN LAW |
God's
Righteousness
IMPUTED |
God's
Righteousness
OBEYED |
God's
Righteousness
IN ELECTION |
God's
Righteousness
DISPLAYED |
|
Slaves to Sin |
Slaves to God |
Slaves Serving
God |
|
Doctrine |
Duty |
|
Life by Faith |
Service by
Faith |
|
Modified from Irving L.
Jensen's excellent work "Jensen's
Survey of the NT" |
|
Romans 15:17-18
A Right to Boast - Part 2
by Dr. Wayne A.
Barber |
|
What
is it we have a right to boast about? Paul said it, but let’s delve into
it and go much deeper. Let’s discover what it is that we have a right to
boast about. Verse 17 reads, "Therefore in Christ Jesus I have found
reason for boasting in things pertaining to God." Only of things
pertaining to God. Now the specific context that Paul is going to be using
here is his own ministry to the Gentiles, which God assigned to him, which
God had given to him. He’s going to talk about the fact that he only has a
right to boast about the things that God is doing in that ministry. He’s
going to boast about what God is doing through him, not what he’s doing
for God. His boasting involved only what Christ could do.
Look at verse 18, and you really see the gist of what he’s talking about.
He says in verse 18, "For I will not presume to speak of anything except
what Christ has accomplished through me." I tell you, I love this! How
many times have we talked about the received ministry and the achieved
ministry? Well, here it is in the book of Romans as clear as I’ve ever
seen it in any epistle in the New Testament.
What he’s saying is that God not only gave me the ministry, but He
empowers the ministry and gives the results of the ministry, just like
Paul told the Corinthian church in 1 Corinthians 12. It’s all God. Paul is
just the vessel through which God is able to work.
Paul says, "I will not presume." The word "presume" is the word tolmao. It
means to dare. He says, "I wouldn’t dare boast about anything that I could
do for God. I only boast about what God has done or accomplished through
me." That little phrase "accomplished through me" is very important. The
word "accomplished," katergazomai, means to be the author of, to bring
about, to carry out a task until it’s finished. Paul says, "I would not
dare to speak about anything except that which God starts, that which
God’s doing, that which God brings to its accomplishment. I’m not about
bragging in myself. I’m only about boasting in what the Lord can do."
The little word "through" is the exact, beautiful translation of dia. It
means through me, not for me. He didn’t go out and say, "God, this looks
good to me. Will you bless it?" And God said, "I think I’ll do something
for old Paul. I think I’ll bless Him." That’s not what he says. He says,
"What God did through me." "I didn’t do it," Paul is saying. "God did it
in and through me. That’s the only thing I will brag about."
Do you know what Paul’s responsibility was? Romans 12:1-2.
How many times have we seen that? You know, one of the things about this
passage is that if you divorce it from the rest of Romans, it just doesn’t
seem to have the foundation. But go back to chapters 6, 7, and 8 and you
find the grace of God in your life, the fact that God’s life is in you.
You get on over to chapter 12 and you see what the command and the
responsibility to one who has received God’s grace is. And that’s to
present his body a living sacrifice, not to be conformed to this world. Be
transformed by the renewing of your mind. So Paul’s main responsibility
everyday was not the result. That’s God’s responsibility. Paul’s
responsibility was to be a vessel that was clean and pure which God could
use, a vessel that was devoid of any fleshly strings, a vessel that was
serving God in his spirit. When we live Romans 12:1-2 we can brag in the
same things Paul bragged about because God will do ministry through us and
we’ll see it and know it.
Now folks, when you move aside from being empowered by the Holy Spirit of
God, the outcome is going to be quite different than when you put God in
the mix. Because what He does is directly different and contrasted to what
you can do for Him. We must understand this. There are ministries
everywhere boasting in themselves and what they’ve done for God. That’s
not it. It can’t be it. The end result is going to burn when they stand
before God one day.
Let’s talk about that. In verse 18 he shows exactly what the difference
is. He says, "For I will not presume to speak of anything except what
Christ has accomplished through me." Now watch the result, "resulting in
the obedience of the Gentiles." The word "resulting" there really isn’t
the actual word. It’s translated that way, but it’s the word eis. There
are three prepositions that are very important to understand. There’s the
word en, which means to rest and remain in something. The idea of rest is
a part of that. There’s the little preposition ek, which means motion out
of something. But there’s also the preposition eis, used here, which means
motion into or towards something with an end result in mind. That’s why he
translates it resulting, toward the result of. If Christ is working
through me what is the result? Transformed lives.
Now, folks, you’ve got to get this down. When God works through a person,
a person’s life is transformed, not reformed. That can externally happen
in any kind of group and you won’t need God to do it. I’m talking about
transformed from within. That’s what the end result is when God does it.
Paul knew the difference. Paul knew the energy of flesh and what religion
was all about. He was one of those kinds of folks for years. Now he
understood that if it’s going to be eternal, if it’s going to be worth
bragging about, then he was going to have to let God do it. What God does
through me, that’s what I’ll give Him glory for.
Paul says it will result in "the obedience of a Gentiles." Now think of
this for a second. Do you know who the Gentiles are? Hey, have you
forgotten the context of our book? Go back to chapter 1. He described
them. Folks, when you see the description of how they are, then you
realize the miracle of what this little phrase, "obedience of the
Gentiles," is trying to tell us. Go back to 1:19-32. Now remember, chapter
2 verse 1 starts off with the words, "Therefore, you are without excuse."
Verse 17 of chapter 2 explains who you are if you bear the name, Jew. So
in 2:1-3:20, he specifically talks about the religious Jewish people at
that time. But in 1:19-32, he’s specifically talking about the pagan
Gentile world. Now watch this:
…because that which is known about God is evident within them: for God
made it evident to them. For since the creation of the world His invisible
attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen,
being understood through what has been made, so that they are without
excuse. For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God, or
give thanks; but they became futile in their speculations, and their
foolish heart was darkened. Professing to be wise, they became fools, and
exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an image in the form of
corruptible man and of birds and four-footed animals and crawling
creatures. Therefore God gave them over in the lusts of their hearts to
impurity [that’s what they wanted; that’s what He gave them], that their
bodies might be dishonored among them. For they exchanged the truth of God
for a lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator,
who is blessed forever. Amen. For this reason God gave them over to
degrading passions; for their women exchanged the natural function for
that which is unnatural [here’s your homosexuality, which came right out
of people not wanting to honor God], and in the same way also the men
abandoned the natural function of the woman and burned in their desire
toward one another, men with men committing indecent acts and receiving in
their own persons the due penalty of their error [and they still are]. And
just as they did not see fit to acknowledge God any longer, God gave them
over to a depraved mind, to do those things which are not proper, being
filled with all unrighteousness, wickedness, greed, evil; full of envy,
murder, strife, deceit, malice; they are gossips, slanderers, haters of
God, insolent, arrogant, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to
parents, without understanding, untrustworthy, unloving, unmerciful; and
although they know the ordinance of God, that those who practice such
things are worthy of death, they not only do the same but also give hearty
approval to those who practice them.
Now folks, that’s a wicked bunch of folks right there. He’s talking about
the idolatrous, pagan, Gentile world. Obviously, the sin of the Jewish
people is just the same. He says in Chapter 3:23, "for all have sinned and
fall short of the glory of God." The Jew’s sin was their religious flesh.
The Gentile’s sin was their rebellious flesh. Paul did not have the power
to get the Gentile world who didn’t even want God in their vocabulary, who
would rather worship idols than they would the true God, who professed
themselves wise and became fools, to become obedient to God. Friend, write
it down. Only God in Paul could turn people like that to become obedient
to the Lord Jesus Christ. That’s what he’s talking about. That’s how you
know the difference. The difference in what man can do for God and what
God can do through man isn’t the results that God brings. It is the
transformation of a person’s like from within. Man can externally, as I
said, reform a person, but only God can internally and eternally transform
a person’s life.
Paul was that surrendered vessel. His witness was seen in two ways. Look
in Romans 15:18 at the first one. First of all, it is in what he said:
"For I will not presume to speak of anything except what Christ has
accomplished through me, resulting in the obedience of the Gentiles by
[the means of the] word." In other words, "In the things that I said, God
has empowered me. He’s given the message."
Not only that, but it was also in the things that he did. He backed it up
with his life. Verse 18 continues, "and deed." Both in what he said and in
what he did God was working through him to reach the Gentile world. That’s
the only witness we really have, what we say and what we do. Once we’re
surrendered to Christ, as Romans 12:1-2 says, God uses what we say and how
we live to effect other people’s lives, to bring them to the point of
obedience unto Christ.
The example of how God was empowering him is found in verse 19. Any of us
can live in light of the truth of what we say, but you’ve got to be real
careful with this verse that we’re coming up to. He says, "in the power of
signs and wonders, in the power of the Spirit." Now I want to make
something very crystal clear. The emphasis of verse 19 is not in the area
of the signs and the wonders. The emphasis is in the power of the Holy
Spirit. You must see that. Many people turn that thing upside down. The
word for power is the word dunamis, the ability that can only come from
God, the Holy Spirit.
As a matter of fact, look over in Ephesians 3:16 and remember this. This
is ability we do not have, but Christ in us has. We’re to be strengthened
by that ability day by day. Verse 16 is very clearly a prayer that Paul
prays for the church at Ephesus. Personally I don’t think they heard it. I
don’t think they responded to what God was trying to do because one of the
seven letters to the church of Asia Minor was to the church of Ephesus.
What did he write to them? He said, "You have all these things right
about, you but you’ve left your first love." The very thing that Paul was
praying for they didn’t respond properly unto God. Ephesians 3:16 says,
"that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be
strengthened with power [same word, dunamis] through his Spirit in the
inner man." That’s the secret to ministry. That’s the secret to life.
That’s the secret to having something to boast about. It’s when the power
of the Holy Spirit is strengthening you. You’re never going to be
strengthened when you think you’re strong enough apart form God. You’ve
got to be weak enough to be strengthened by the Holy Spirit of God. Paul
did what he did in word and deed in the power of the Holy Spirit
accompanied with many times signs and wonders.
I go many places and speak, and a lot of people love to hear me talk about
signs and wonders, which I don’t talk about. It’s amazing to me how I
attract different people. I think, because I’m a little energetic and have
joy in my life and had rather laugh than cry, do cry sometimes, they think
I’m in a certain camp. They follow me around and say, "He has the
blessing." I’ve had somebody walk up to me in just recent months in a
meeting and said, "When did you get the blessing? I’ve got to know. Tell
me when you got the blessing." I said, "When I got the Blesser." I’m not
interested in the blessing. I’m interested in the Blesser. Boy, that
messes people’s theology up. There are people who would rather talk about
the signs and wonders and not the ability of the Holy Spirit. Oh, they
give it token attention. But their emphasis is not on the Holy Spirit, the
spirit of Christ. Their emphasis is on a sign. Their emphasis is on the
wonders.
Now, how do you answer people? The power evangelism group is prominent
today. They’re everywhere. They say unless you’re having signs and
wonders, then you cannot have the revival that God wants to bring in the
latter days. I say to them, as humbly as I know how, "That’s bologna!" But
how do you honestly handle something like that? Alright. Let’s look at it.
The first thing you’ve got to do is just be honest within scripture. Did
God do signs and wonders with Paul? Absolutely, He did. But was it the
rule of his life? No sir! It was not. As a matter of fact, wasn’t it
Epaphroditis who he couldn’t even heal? Paul couldn’t even do anything for
him. You see, there were many situations that came up when he just didn’t
have the power at that point. God didn’t do that as a pattern or a rule in
his life. But he did do it. We must be honest with scripture. Folks, don’t
skirt the issue.
Look over in Acts 14:10. Let me walk you through Acts and I’ll show you
where God did signs and wonders with the Apostle Paul. I’m not afraid of
this kind of stuff. God’s a miracle working God. Let’s don’t run away from
it. If it’s there it’s there. But let’s handle it biblically. In Acts
14:10 Paul was in Lystra on his first missionary journey and came across a
man lame from birth. I don’t have time to get into that context, but I
challenge you to go back and read that. There’s something Paul saw in that
lame man that caused him to say what he said. In verse 10, here’s a man
who has never walked. He was in that meeting and something about the
message grabbed the man’s heart. Paul caught his eyes and "said with a
loud voice, ‘Stand upright on your feet.’ And He leaped up and began to
walk." Glory! Is that a sign and a wonder? Is that a miracle? I should say
so. But I don’t see Paul going home and putting a shingle on his door
saying, "I’m open for healing meetings." God did that. Don’t ever try to
say He didn’t do it. God’s a miracle-working God.
In Acts 15:12 Paul is before the Jerusalem council, and he talked about
these signs and wonders God had done through him. It says, "And all the
multitude kept silent [they were interested in what Paul was saying] and
they were listening to Barnabas and Paul as they were relating what signs
and wonders God had done through them among the Gentiles."
Remember when he went over to Macedonia he went to the city of Philippi.
In Acts 16:18 there was a woman who had been following him around who was
demon-possessed. Do you want to talk about demon possession, about lost
people being possessed? Don’t talk to me about a Christian having a demon.
Talk about lost people who are possessed by demons. That’s where scripture
anchors us. There was a woman who was lost, demon-possessed, following him
around. It annoyed Paul. It says in Acts 16:18, "And she continued doing
this for many days. But Paul was greatly annoyed." You know, it’s one
thing to annoy me. I’m kind of low-keyed. But don’t annoy the Apostle
Paul. As a matter of fact, if he were living today, I wouldn’t want to
make this guy mad. I picture him, if you could take the secular
characteristics of man, with the cleric temperament. He would run over you
to do what he’s doing. He was greatly annoyed. She annoyed the wrong
person. She annoyed the Apostle Paul, and evidently this had been going on
for days. Why he didn’t do something sooner? I don’t know. But this tells
you something about the signs and wonders. You don’t determine them. God
does them when He chooses to do them. He "turned and said to the spirit,
‘I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her!’ And it
came out at that very moment."
Do you want to talk about signs and wonders, deliverance from demons? Look
at Acts 19:11-12. This will really get you. They’ve even adopted this and
put it on television these days. "And God was performing extraordinary
miracles by the hands of Paul, so that handkerchiefs or aprons were even
carried from his body to the sick, and the diseases left them and the evil
spirits went out." Have you seen any of that these days? People try to
mimic the Apostle Paul, saying, "It happened to him. It can happen to me.
Here’s a little bottle of water from the Holy Land." It’s supposed to heal
you. Hey, I’m sorry. It says to always take in stride those who don’t
understand. But, I want to tell you something. It says to point out the
people who cause division. Folks, get your theology straight. This
happened to the Apostle Paul. That’s where a lot of this stuff has come
out of.
But how do you handle it? What do you do with it? Come on now. Think. What
was the Apostle? What office did he have that not a single one of us will
ever have? He had the office of what? An apostle. Romans 1:1 says, "Paul a
bond-servant of Christ Jesus, called as an apostle." We looked at
Galatians 1:1, 1 Timothy 1:1, all the way through. Paul, an apostle by the
will of God. There are no apostles like Paul today. Yes, you can take the
word "apostle" and use it for "send forth" and use it for a missionary or
somebody else who goes out. Hey, that’s fine. But when you’re talking
about the office of apostle, remember Ephesians 2:20 which says, "Our
faith is built upon the foundation of the apostles and the prophets." Some
folks are appointing themselves modern century, New Testament apostles.
Look in Hebrews 2:3-4. I’ll show you why the signs and wonders were with
Paul and why God used them with him. It says, "How shall we escape if we
neglect so great a salvation? After it was at the first spoken through the
Lord, it was confirmed to us by those who heard." You’ve got a third
generation here. You’ve got Jesus preaching it. Then you’ve got somebody
conveying it to the "us" there in that verse. The "us" refers to the
apostles who penned it, who wrote it down, who confirmed what the Lord
Jesus had said.
Verse 4 says, "God also bearing witness with them." When you’re studying
scripture look at those pronouns. "Them," not us. Look at the "them"
there. He bore witness with them, those who confirmed the gospel, the
apostles, "both by signs and wonders and by various miracles and by gifts
of the Holy Spirit according to His own will." When Jesus Christ came, He
many times would do miracles, although miracles were not what He was all
about. The miracles were for a specific purpose. When He came to dwell in
the hearts and lives of the apostle who carried forth the gospel and
confirmed the gospel, He in them accompanied many of the things they did
with signs and the wonders. The word "them" is very important, the
apostles.
With that in mind, go to 2 Corinthians 12:12. I think we have a real
pillar of truth here that will help us stabilize in a very unbalanced
arena. When you start talking about signs and wonders, you get real shaky.
Where’s the balance in all of this? Now what is he doing here? First of
all, the context is, he’s defending his apostleship. There were those who
said he was not even an apostle. Paul is defending his true apostleship.
He says to them, "The signs of a true apostle were performed among you
with all perseverance, by signs and wonders and miracles." The signs of a
what? What did he say? Of a true what? Apostle. Now, when you talk about
the signs and wonders, if you start thinking, "Well, if I’m in the power
of the Spirit, the signs and the wonders ought to be there." Listen to me.
God still is in the miracle-working business. I do not agree that
everything just completely disappeared. God can do what He wants to do
when He wants to do it. But I’m trying to tell you something. Signs and
wonders won’t cut it, folks. When Jesus did the signs and wonders in John,
the Gospel of John, He says, "These things are written that you might know
that Jesus is the Son of God."
If I’m riding down the road and there’s a big sign that says, "Curve," I’m
not going to stop and praise the sign. I’m going to use the sign to point
me where it’s trying to tell me to go. You see, the sign is not there to
be worshipped. It’s what it’s pointing to that’s the key. How much of the
signs and wonders today do not point to God, although token credit is
given Him? It points to the man who does it. Paul said, "It was only there
to validate the fact that I was truly in the office of a true apostle."
Hey, I’ve seen God do miracles. We’ve seen it in our church. Thank God
that he does it. But the greatest miracle, friend, is not somebody getting
healed. I’ll tell you why. Because if Jesus doesn’t come before they die,
they’re still going to have to die, folks. Whatever miracle you can come
up with, just name them, you can’t touch the miracle he’s already told you
that is the result of what the Holy Spirit of God does. Do you know what
that is? It’s to transform the human heart. Man, what’s wrong with us? You
know what it is? We have so cheapened salvation today, we’re not awed
anymore when somebody comes to know Christ. We don’t realize the miracle
that takes place.
My Uncle Jake didn’t only curse, he made up curse words. That’s all he
could do was curse every other word. Uncle Jake was just such a natural,
real guy. I guess that’s why I like him. My Uncle Jake never wore a clean
shirt. You never saw him kept up. His face had a three-day beard at all
times. He fished, built his own boat. He taught me how to fish. I mean, he
was a good uncle.
One day he came to know Christ. We got the word on the phone. I heard my
Mama shout. My Mama was one of the dearest Christians I’ve ever known. She
shouted. I said, "Mom, what’s wrong?" She said, "Your Uncle Jake has come
to know Christ." Well, we made the trip to the coast to visit with him. He
lived in Port Smith, Virginia. We got there, and he met us at the door.
Good night! Shaven, clean-cut. It had been months. Clean shirt on. Man, he
just had such a pleasant look on his face. When I took his hand, I knew I
took the hand of a man God had dealt with.
I want to tell you something. You can try from today until the day you
drop dead to do that in somebody’s life. Oh, you can get them in a group,
and they’ll stop drinking. You can get them in a group, and they can stop
smoking. Anybody can do that by their own willpower. But you cannot
transform the heart of a human being. That is the greatest miracle God can
do in the power of His Holy Spirit. That’s signs and wonders wrapped,
sealed and delivered. It is the miracle that God does. We’re living in a
day everybody’s looking the wrong direction. Hey, I love the
miracle-working power of God. I want to live in it all my life. But I’ll
tell you, the greatest miracle that God ever does is transforming a human
heart.
Well, how do we know if Christ is working in the choir? How do we know if
Christ is working in the youth? How do we know if Christ is working in the
counseling area? How do we know if Christ is working in the children’s
area? How do we know if Christ is working in the pulpit? By all the
emotion that happens? By that kind of response? By numbers? By applause?
No. By miracles and signs? Forget it. By the changed lives of people who
have responded, not to a preacher, but to the Word of God and the power of
the Holy Spirit in that person. That’s when we know some-thing’s working.
Not even a preacher, a minister, or a person, or a Christian, whoever. All
of us are ministers. That’s how we know it, by changed lives of
individuals.
You give me half a chance to boast, and I will. God is teaching me just to
keep my mouth shut about what I can do or have done or have. I would have
nothing, could do nothing, and would know nothing spiritually if it were
not for the working of the power of the Holy Spirit of God. The word
"humility" in scripture is the word tapeinos. Do you know what that word
means? It means to get down so flat that nobody can see you. Humble
yourselves is what the scripture says, although God many times has to take
the reins in his own hands and humble us. He says, "Humble yourselves."
Paul says in Romans 12, "Don’t think more of yourself more highly than you
ought to think."
Watch the political scene these days and their agendas. "What’s in it for
us?" "What do we deserve?" What do we deserve? God looks down at this
world and says, "Do you know what you deserve? Hell. But I love you so
much, I sent my Son to this world to die for it, and I want you to have
Heaven and eternal life." You see, the flesh wants to boast in what it
knows, what it can do, and what it has. God says, "I will accept none of
that. The only thing that I accept is when you boast in Me, who I am, and
what I alone have done through you."
Well, I’m going to close with an illustration. I want to share some things
that God has done that we can boast in. I’d never in my life heard of an
illustration that happened in our church that just took the scripture from
A to Z and just tells you about it. Our mission team went down to Honduras
to a place that hadn’t had a church. They were there for the first
service. Somebody began to hang around them while they were there, curious
as to who these people were, not realizing God was drawing him. His name
was Junior. Junior, as I understand, literally sacrificed his firstborn to
Satan. He had lived demon-possessed all these years. Satan had used him at
will. He had scars. He had places where he had been shot and cut, but he
said that Satan had protected him through all of this. As matter of fact,
they found out that he had a list in his pocket of people he was
contracted to kill in that area. He just sort of drifted in to this group.
Some of the guys were taken to him and the Lord lead them over to him.
They began to share Christ with him during the week. To make a long story,
short, Junior bowed down and surrendered his life to Jesus Christ. They
said that every time they mentioned Jesus around him, the demons in him
would cause him to twitch, jerk. He couldn’t stand even the casual
mentioning of the name, Jesus. But because of the power of the Holy Spirit
of God, that wall and stronghold was torn down. That precious man was able
to receive Christ as his Lord and Savior.
Well, they didn’t know it, but he had a brother in prison who was there
because of something Junior had done. His brother hadn’t done it. But
after Junior got saved he came to one in the group and said, "You know,
I’ve got to do something about this. That’s not right. I’ve got to make
this right." You know, you stand back and say, "What? A man who had given
his first child to the devil? A man who was a murderer, a contract killer?
A man who now has come to understand Christ and bowed down before Him?"
Now folks, listen. You and I do not have that kind of power. But when you
live the Romans 12:1-2 life, He has that power through you. It’s the power
to transform a human life. That’s the greatest miracle God can do. How’s
God using you these days? What are you bragging about these days? In the
conversations you have with your family, what are you bragging about? What
are you talking about? That which you have done? What is it? I’m telling
you, listen to what you’re saying. It’ll tell you a whole lot about who’s
doing what in your life. When it comes down to when you’re just
surrendered to Christ, remember the level and degree of our surrender
purifies the degree of our praise and our boasting in the Lord. Otherwise,
it is just token. I know how to do it and so do you. "God, we give you the
glory." I’ve heard that so many times I just want to throw up sometimes.
Really? Do you really want Him to have it or do you want to take the
credit? |
|
