DRAWING NEAR
January 12
The High Cost of Free Grace
"In [Christ] we have redemption through His blood" (Eph. 1:7).
Redeeming grace is free to us, but its cost to God is inestimable.
Sin is not a serious issue to most people. Our culture flaunts and
peddles it in countless forms. Even Christians who would never think
of committing certain sins will often allow themselves to be
entertained by them through television, movies, music, and other
media.
We might flirt with sin but God hates it. The price He paid to redeem
us from it speaks of the seriousness with which He views it. After
all, we "were not redeemed with perishable things like silver or gold
.. . . but with precious blood, as of a lamb unblemished and spotless,
the blood of Christ" (1 Pet. 1:18-19).
In Scripture the shedding of blood refers to violent physical
death--whether of a sacrificial animal or of Christ Himself. Sin is
so serious that without bloodshed, there is no forgiveness of sin in
God's sight (Heb. 9:22).
The sacrificial animals in the Old Testament pictured Christ's
sacrifice on the cross. That's why John the Baptist called Jesus "the
Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world" (John 1:29).
The Old Testament sacrifices were necessary but incomplete. Christ's
sacrifice was perfect, complete, and once for all (Heb. 10:10). No
further sacrifices are needed other than the "sacrifice of praise to
God" for what He has done (Heb. 13:15) and our very lives in service
to Him as "a living and holy sacrifice" (Rom. 12:1).
By His sacrifice Christ demonstrated not only God's hatred for sin,
but also His great love for sinners. You could never redeem yourself,
but Christ willingly paid the price with His own precious blood. He
"gave Himself up for [you], an offering and a sacrifice to God as a
fragrant aroma" (Eph. 5:2). His sacrifice was acceptable to the
Father, so your redemption was paid in full. What magnanimous love
and incredible grace!
Suggestions for Prayer:
Worship God for His wonderful plan of salvation.
Worship Christ for the enormous sacrifice He made on your behalf.
Worship the Holy Spirit for applying Christ's sacrifice to your
life and drawing you to Christ in saving faith.
Ask God to help you guard your heart from flirting with sin.
For Further Study:
Read 2 Samuel 11.
What circumstances led to David's sin with Bathsheba?
How did David attempt to cover his sin?
How did David finally deal with his sin (see Ps. 51)?
Drawing Near, Copyright 1993 John F. MacArthur, Jr.
All rights reserved. Used by permission.
http://www.gty.org
~~~
Hebrews 9:22
22 And according to the law almost all things are purified with
blood, and without shedding of blood there is no remission.
Hebrews 10:10
10 By that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the
body of Jesus Christ once for all.
Hebrews 13:15
15 Therefore by Him let us continually offer the sacrifice of praise
to God, that is, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name.
Romans 12:1
1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you
present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God,
which is your reasonable service.
2 Samuel 11
11:1 It happened in the spring of the year, at the time when kings
go out to battle, that David sent Joab and his servants with him, and
all Israel; and they destroyed the people of Ammon and besieged
Rabbah. But David remained at Jerusalem.
2 Then it happened one evening that David arose from his bed and
walked on the roof of the king's house. And from the roof he saw a
woman bathing, and the woman was very beautiful to behold.
3 So David sent and inquired about the woman. And someone said, "Is
this not Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam, the wife of Uriah the
Hittite?"
4 Then David sent messengers, and took her; and she came to him, and
he lay with her, for she was cleansed from her impurity; and she
returned to her house.
5 And the woman conceived; so she sent and told David, and said, "I
am with child."
6 Then David sent to Joab, saying, "Send me Uriah the Hittite." And
Joab sent Uriah to David.
7 When Uriah had come to him, David asked how Joab was doing, and
how the people were doing, and how the war prospered.
8 And David said to Uriah, "Go down to your house and wash your
feet." So Uriah departed from the king's house, and a gift of food
from the king followed him.
9 But Uriah slept at the door of the king's house with all the
servants of his lord, and did not go down to his house.
10 So when they told David, saying, "Uriah did not go down to his
house," David said to Uriah, "Did you not come from a journey? Why
did you not go down to your house?"
11 And Uriah said to David, "The ark and Israel and Judah are
dwelling in tents, and my lord Joab and the servants of my lord are
encamped in the open fields. Shall I then go to my house to eat and
drink, and to lie with my wife? As you live, and as your soul lives,
I will not do this thing."
12 Then David said to Uriah, "Wait here today also, and tomorrow I
will let you depart." So Uriah remained in Jerusalem that day and the
next.
13 Now when David called him, he ate and drank before him; and he
made him drunk. And at evening he went out to lie on his bed with the
servants of his lord, but he did not go down to his house.
14 In the morning it happened that David wrote a letter to Joab and
sent it by the hand of Uriah.
15 And he wrote in the letter, saying, "Set Uriah in the forefront
of the hottest battle, and retreat from him, that he may be struck
down and die."
16 So it was, while Joab besieged the city, that he assigned Uriah
to a place where he knew there were valiant men.
17 Then the men of the city came out and fought with Joab. And some
of the people of the servants of David fell; and Uriah the Hittite
died also.
18 Then Joab sent and told David all the things concerning the war,
19 and charged the messenger, saying, "When you have finished
telling the matters of the war to the king,
20 if it happens that the king's wrath rises, and he says to you:
'Why did you approach so near to the city when you fought? Did you
not know that they would shoot from the wall?
21 'Who struck Abimelech the son of Jerubbesheth? Was it not a woman
who cast a piece of a millstone on him from the wall, so that he died
in Thebez? Why did you go near the wall?'; then you shall say, 'Your
servant Uriah the Hittite is dead also.'"
22 So the messenger went, and came and told David all that Joab had
sent by him.
23 And the messenger said to David, "Surely the men prevailed
against us and came out to us in the field; then we drove them back
as far as the entrance of the gate.
24 "The archers shot from the wall at your servants; and some of the
king's servants are dead, and your servant Uriah the Hittite is dead
also."
25 Then David said to the messenger, "Thus you shall say to Joab:
'Do not let this thing displease you, for the sword devours one as
well as another. Strengthen your attack against the city, and
overthrow it.' So encourage him."
26 When the wife of Uriah heard that Uriah her husband was dead, she
mourned for her husband.
27 And when her mourning was over, David sent and brought her to his
house, and she became his wife and bore him a son. But the thing that
David had done displeased the LORD.
Psalm 51
51:1 Have mercy upon me, O God, According to Your lovingkindness;
According to the multitude of Your tender mercies, Blot out my
transgressions.
2 Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, And cleanse me from my sin.
3 For I acknowledge my transgressions, And my sin is always before
me.
4 Against You, You only, have I sinned, And done this evil in Your
sight; That You may be found just when You speak, And blameless when
You judge.
5 Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, And in sin my mother
conceived me.
6 Behold, You desire truth in the inward parts, And in the hidden
part You will make me to know wisdom.
7 Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; Wash me, and I shall
be whiter than snow.
8 Make me hear joy and gladness, That the bones You have broken may
rejoice.
9 Hide Your face from my sins, And blot out all my iniquities.
10 Create in me a clean heart, O God, And renew a steadfast spirit
within me.
11 Do not cast me away from Your presence, And do not take Your Holy
Spirit from me.
12 Restore to me the joy of Your salvation, And uphold me by Your
generous Spirit.
13 Then I will teach transgressors Your ways, And sinners shall be
converted to You.
14 Deliver me from the guilt of bloodshed, O God, The God of my
salvation, And my tongue shall sing aloud of Your righteousness.
15 O Lord, open my lips, And my mouth shall show forth Your praise.
16 For You do not desire sacrifice, or else I would give it; You do
not delight in burnt offering.
17 The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, A broken and a
contrite heart; These, O God, You will not despise.
18 Do good in Your good pleasure to Zion; Build the walls of
Jerusalem.
19 Then You shall be pleased with the sacrifices of righteousness,
With burnt offering and whole burnt offering; Then they shall offer
bulls on Your altar.
~~~
These devotions are posted with permission from John MacArthur's
first (1993) devotional work, _Drawing Near_, and they are also sent
out daily for free to several folks via e-mail.
In addition, John's second (1997) devotional, _Strength for Today_,
is also available free via e-mail only. _Strength for Today_ follows
the same format as what you have seen here from _Drawing Near_, but
with different monthly themes.
If you would like to receive daily devotions via e-mail from either
of these series, just let me know (via e-mail), and I will gladly add
you to the list(s) of your choice.
You can hear John MacArthur daily via the Internet by visiting:
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In Christ,
Peter
Peter G. Chase :: Columbus, Ohio, USA
pchase1@wideopenwest.com
STOP! Who do you think Jesus is?
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To forgive is to set a prisoner free, and to discover that the prisoner was you. -Alistair Begg
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