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READ:

Romans 8:37

³⁷ Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.

EXHORTATION:

Christians are conquerors. In fact, our verse declares that Christians are “more than conquerors”. This is truly a comforting message to Christians, for they live in a hostile world. Though they would face extreme hostilities, their faith shall not be quenched because the Word of God assures them that they shall be “more than conquerors”!

Paul has written in the previous verses about the steadfastness of God’s love for believers in the face of hostility: “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter” (vv. 35-36). Christians will be enabled to overcome sin, Satan, the world, temptations, reproaches, afflictions, persecutions, and thereby continue in their faith.

The devil will trouble their souls with temptations and trials. Many Christians will suffer great afflictions. But they shall abide in their faith, love and service through thick and thin. In fact, they shall be “more than conquerors”.

Just what did the apostle mean when he referred to Christians as “more than conquerors”? He meant that they are winning a sweeping, overwhelming victory. The emphasis made here by the apostle is that in the midst of all the myriads of hostile experiences – yes, even by means of them and with their “help” – Christians shall show that they are more than conquerors!

They overcome their innumerable troubles, not by their own strength, but through the Lord Jesus Christ who loves them. The ability to triumph over all adversity does not arise from any inherent superiority of believers, but rather by the might of their loving Saviour. His love for them is the pledge of His help for them to be great overcomers.

Christ’s steadfast love will strengthen and enable us to endure affliction. The special favour of His love will strengthen us. We shall overcome all our afflictions, not by our natural powers, but by the special blessings of our Saviour’s love.

READ:

Jeremiah 31:3b

^3b Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love: therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn thee.

EXHORTATION:

The LORD has been revealing, through His prophet, the future restoration of Israel, which faced destruction and dispersion for provoking God with their wickedness. Israel, as a nation, wandered away from their God and set up altars to the heathen gods. That nation lived like an unashamed adulterous wife, provoking the LORD to punish them.

Notwithstanding their unfaithfulness, the LORD declares His unchanging love for the nation of Israel, His chosen people. His love for His people is from everlasting to everlasting, not confined to time or nullified by eternity. Here the LORD once again reiterated His everlasting love, which He has freely bestowed on His people, Israel.

God had made a covenant with Abraham (Genesis 15:7-21), which He subsequently renewed with his descendants, the nation of Israel (Exodus 19:3-8; Leviticus 26; Deuteronomy 28:1-30:10). He vowed to stay faithful to His covenantal commitments to her. So, Israel can look forward to experiencing God’s blessings of redemption and restoration.

Like the nation of Israel, we are also objects of His love. Through the Lord Jesus Christ, we also have received God’s wonderful and abounding love. Oh, what surpassing love the LORD shows to His people! He loved us even before we knew Him! Let us now look back and remember how His love spared us when we once delighted in sin. The Lord did not cut us off in our unbelief. Oh, what tender love He displays towards us! We also notice that His loving kindness is the drawing force that moves His people to return to Him from their backsliding and seek Him: “therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn thee.” It is His love that chastises us for wandering away from Him defiantly. His stern dealing with us is the restraining power of His love. Because the Lord draws us constantly, we are also held back from plunging into the deepest abyss of sin.

Irrespective of our wandering from Him, He declares to us, “I have loved thee with an everlasting love”. Oh, what a glorious assurance from the LORD to undeserving sinners like us! He loved us before the foundation of the world. He will love us even after the sun and moon stop giving their light, and will continue to do so after the present heaven and earth shall pass away – His love shall abide with us for ever and ever!

READ:

Colossians 1:12

¹² Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light.

EXHORTATION:

Gratitude is due to God, our Father in heaven. Heartfelt, genuine thankfulness should grow out of our daily experiences of God’s goodness. God’s children should never forget what God has done for them as their loving and most benevolent Father. God, who has given us His only begotten Son to be our Sin-bearer and Saviour, will also freely give us all things (Romans 8:32).

The apostle Paul has taken special care to emphasise the necessity of thanksgiving in all his epistles. In fact, in this epistle to the Colossians alone, the apostle has at four other times instructed believers to be grateful to God (1:3; 3:15-17; 4:2). In Colossians 3:17, he reminds us, “And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him.”

The ground of thanksgiving mentioned in our verse for today, is that God has made us fit for “the inheritance of the saints in light”. Though we are unfit in ourselves, God has made us fit to partake of the inheritance of His holy people. No one has ever made himself fit for spiritual blessings or heaven on his own merits. But by His grace manifested through Christ, we are made partakers of the inheritance of saints. So, the Christian inheritance is not won by our merit, but given by God’s goodness.

The word “inheritance” is reminiscent of the inheritance of the Promised Land by the Israelites under Joshua (Joshua 14:2). Admittedly, our use of “heir” and “inheritance” is rather limiting, being confined to succession upon death. In Scripture, however, it implies possession by allocation, and points to the fact that the people did not win their land on their own, but God had given it to them. Here, Paul applies that situation in Israel to the believers’ allotment. God gives believers a spiritual inheritance, namely the redemption that is in Christ with all its accompanying blessings, including the inheritance of heaven. The inheritance allotted to us is referred to as “the inheritance of the saints in light”. In other words, God has given us an inheritance appropriate to and promised to the saints. It refers to all the blessings reserved for Christians. The location of the inheritance is the kingdom of light. We are no more damned as children of darkness, but made fit to inherit the blessings of the saints in light!

READ:

Psalm 21:13

¹³ Be thou exalted, LORD, in thine own strength: so will we sing and praise thy power.

EXHORTATION:

David spoke these words at the end of a psalm in which he delineated the struggles he had against the enemies of the LORD. Earlier, he spoke of men who acted wickedly against God. He said, “For they intended evil against thee: they imagined a mischievous device, which they are not able to perform” (v. 11). He was thankful that the wicked were not allowed to carry out all their schemes fully. He also expressed his expectation that the LORD would defeat the enemies and cause them to retreat: “Therefore shalt thou make them turn their back, when thou shalt make ready thine arrows upon thy strings against the face of them” (v. 12). So he expressed his desire to have the LORD’s strength be exalted over all His foes.

The servants of the LORD do not seek their own exaltation, for their ultimate desire is that the LORD and His power be exalted above all else. Our strength is but little. Our hearts are often afraid; our hands tremble for fear. When we are so incapacitated by our infirmities and debilitated by our fear, let us trust our Almighty God for our deliverance. Let us put our trust in the LORD, and pray that His mighty arm would prevail against all the wicked devices of men that are wrought against the Lord’s work.

When we feel weakest and are in despair, as when temptations and troubles of our enemies abound, let us like David cry out to the LORD that He would exalt Himself by delivering us by His mighty arm. Let us beseech the LORD to take the situation in His own powerful hands and work out His righteous plans for His own glory.

Let us manifest godly boldness by trusting in the LORD’s glorious power and wisdom. Let us seek His help in our adversities. Let us encourage ourselves by trusting in the LORD’s great power, just as David did. Let us press on. By believing in His strength, let us rise above our feelings of despair and hopelessness.

Like David, let us look forward to sing and praise His power. Let us praise Him for every help and deliverance we receive from Him. The more we feel our inability and weakness, the more we should resolve to glorify Him with our songs for the help and triumph He bestows upon us. When the LORD magnifies Himself, we should exalt Him with our praises.

READ:

Psalm 30:4

⁴ Sing unto the LORD, O ye saints of his, and give thanks at the remembrance of his holiness.

EXHORTATION:

The Word of God exhorts us to be singing saints! God’s people must sing to give thanks to the LORD. Though we can give thanks to God without singing, such as by prayer, we are here encouraged to sing to give thanks to Him. Psalm 147:7 likewise tells us to “Sing unto the LORD with thanksgiving; sing praise upon the harp unto our God”. Our singing should never be without thanksgiving to God.

God’s saints ought to get together to sing His praises in thanksgiving. Let there be joyful singing unto His name among His people. Let our homes be filled with songs of His praise, rather than the music of the world. Let us also sing praises to Him in our hearts.

Render not our voices to stir up the memories of carnal pleasures and unholy mirth. Instead, as our text reminds us, let us sing and give thanks “at the remembrance of his holiness”. We should not sing to promote sin, but to exalt the holiness of God!

Those who sing and give thanks at the remembrance of His holiness are those who love His holiness. They are thankful that they are saved from their sin and imputed with His perfect righteousness. They are thankful that they are called to be partakers of the blessings of His holiness. They rejoice in the holy laws of God that keep them away from sinning. They rejoice in the unfailing promises of their holy God, who is ever faithful to keep all His words to them.

God’s people should not be singing the carnal and unholy doctrines of men, which corrupt themselves and their hearers. Their pleasure must be in the songs that promote the holy doctrines which the LORD has given unto them in His Word. Let the testimony of Psalm 119:54 be true of us that “Thy statutes have been my songs in the house of my pilgrimage.” Pilgrims to heaven are happy to sing the songs of their holy God. They endure their trials and overcome their temptations as they journey through this world by singing unto their LORD, who is holy. By singing unto the LORD, they strengthen their resolve to be holy unto Him. May our singing always stir within us a grateful consecration to divine holiness. Oh, what delight it is to turn from the misery of sin to the beauty of His holiness! Oh, rejoice and praise our most holy God with our songs!

READ:

Hebrews 10:12

¹² But this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God.

EXHORTATION:

The writer of Hebrews has been discussing Christ’s atoning death in the light of the Old Testament sacrifices. In our verse, Christ is contrasted with the ministry of the Old Testament priests whom he mentioned in the previous verse. They offered sacrifices daily. They stood all the time while they ministered. They repeated their sacrifices in the morning and in the evening. Yet those sacrifices could not take away the sins of the people. In that verse, it was said concerning their ministry that “every priest standeth daily ministering and offering oftentimes the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins” (v. 11).

But Christ, our High Priest, had offered one sacrifice. His sacrifice for the forgiveness of our sins was so perfect that having ascended to heaven after His resurrection, He sat down on the right hand of God the Father. He does not continue to stand like the Old Testament priests who could not offer a perfect sacrifice for the forgiveness of sins. He sat down to return no more for the purpose of offering another sacrifice for our sins. Moreover, the fact that Jesus Christ is now seated at the right hand of God proves that His sacrifice for our sins was perfectly pleasing and acceptable to God. Christ’s place on the right hand of God betokens the highest honour that He is endued with for offering the perfect sacrifice for His people’s redemption.

What a perfect Saviour we have in Jesus Christ our Lord! He “offered one sacrifice for sins”, and it was a perfect sacrifice. He, being sinless, was perfect as our High Priest and our sacrificial lamb. He needed to sacrifice only one sacrifice for all His people. So in His case, there is no perpetual standing by the altar to repeat His sacrifice for our sins. His precious blood shed on the cross for our sins was a perfect sacrifice. Not only are all His people cleansed by it, but they are also all fully and eternally cleansed! As Hebrews 9:12 declares, “Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us.” Again, Hebrews 9:28 says, “So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation.” He will come again, not to offer sacrifice for sins, but to receive unto Himself all His people whom He has saved by His death on the cross.

READ:

Romans 14:9

⁹ For to this end Christ both died, and rose, and revived, that he might be Lord both of the dead and living.

EXHORTATION:

There is, of course, a sense in which Jesus has always been Lord, for He is the Creator, Governor and Provider of all things. By virtue of His divine nature, He is indeed Lord of all. But Paul is not talking about that. He is referring to His Lordship in view of the atoning work that He accomplished through His death and resurrection. Some theologians correctly call it “the lordship of redemptive relationship”. In a very special sense, Christ is Lord of those to whom He brought salvation through His death and resurrection. Christ secured the indisputable right to exercise Lordship over both of those believers who have already died and those who are still alive on earth. By means of His substitutionary death, followed by His intercessory life in heaven (Hebrews 7:25), Christ as their Lord sees to it that whatever He has merited for His people is bestowed on them, whether dead or still alive.

The connection between the Lordship of Christ and His death and resurrection is emphasised here. He is no doubt Lord over all mankind, but what is asserted here is a Lordship which only true believers acknowledge. Paul depicts both the dead and the living as under this Lordship of Christ. Christ died and rose again as a representative character of all His people, both dead and alive. As the Mediator between God and men, He had gathered up all the interests of all His people. Dying and rising again, He stands before all His people as their Lord.

Let us consider the implications of the Lordship of Christ over His own people who are now dead. As one who died and rose again, He gives to all His people who are now dead the assurance of victory over the sting of death. In due time, their mortal bodies shall be fashioned like unto His own glorious resurrected body. He would lead them to the many mansions of His Father’s house, and there He shall live with His people as their Lord and King forever and ever. Now unto all His people who are alive, He is their Lord. They should submit their lives to Him to do His will. Self-surrender to His Lordship is expected of all His people while they live and serve Him here on earth. It is a most wonderful blessing for all His people (both the living and the dead) to have Him as their Lord. It is a source of confidence and joy to the living and the dead in Christ alike.

Romans 1-11 lay the groundwork for the Christian faith, explaining God’s plan for salvation and sanctified lives. Then in Romans 12:1-2, we are urged to express these truths in our daily actions: “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service” (v. 1).

Because of God’s Mercies

We note that the exhortation to live a renewed life is given with a reminder of divine mercy towards Christians – “I beseech you, therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God”. This highlights God’s immense compassion towards us, even though we don’t deserve it (2 Corinthians 1:3). Realising God’s boundless mercies motivates us to live a life for Him. It’s God’s grace and mercy that renew us for His service. Resolutions and decisions are good and necessary, but they are not enough to live unto God! His mercies are essential for living a life consecrated to God.

Living a Consecrated Life

Paul encourages us to consecrate or offer our bodies to God completely. The first aspect of our consecration of the body is that we “present” our bodies as “a living sacrifice” to God. The word “present” in Greek (paristemi) denotes placing a person or thing ready for one’s disposal. We must present ourselves ready to be used by God. Our desires for our bodies, whether in appearance or use, should be for the Lord’s glory and His holy will. Anytime we allow our bodies to be used by any man or for anything outside of God’s will, we are offering our bodies for unholy purposes! We must fight against our bodily desires and passions. Consecration requires us to stand with God.

The metaphor “living sacrifice” instructs us that we should devote our entire lives to serving God. In the Old Testament, when the Jews sacrificed animals to God, they would slaughter the animal and lay it on the altar. Similarly, we are on the altar of God’s service, but not as a dead animal! Christ died for us, so that we may live in Him and live in active service unto God.

We are to also consecrate our bodies in a “holy and acceptable” way unto God. Our bodies must never be used for anything unacceptable to God, as our bodies belong to God. It means living a modest life that is not conformed to the world. Our bodies should not be used for activities that are displeasing to God, but to honour Him. For example, we should not use our bodies to commit sins, and to enjoy and promote a carnal and materialistic lifestyle, which is forbidden in the Scriptures. Instead, we should use our bodies in obedience to His Word to honour Him, to help and edify others, and to spread the Gospel. Consecrating our bodies to God means living a modest and holy life, and presenting our bodies as a living sacrifice to Him. It is, after all, our “reasonable service”. Whenever we yield our bodies to anything that is not acceptable to God, we become unreasonable before God. 

Living with a Renewed Mind

In verse 2, Paul draws our attention to another aspect of consecration: the need to offer our mind to God. The mind is where all our thoughts originate, and where our passions are controlled or let loose. If our mind is not offered up to the Lord, it will be misled to follow the evil present in this world. So, verse 2 admonishes us: “And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.” 

There are two facets of offering our minds to God. The first one mentioned is that we must not be “conformed to this world”. The Greek word for “conformed” means fashioning oneself according to something. So, we are advised here that we should not fashion ourselves after this world. The world’s standards and values are often opposed to God’s will. Ephesians 2:2 reminds us that the world belongs to Satan, who seeks to promote sinful lifestyles and rebellion against authority – “Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience”. As Christians, we cannot behave like the world. We need to be different from worldly people (unbelievers), and our difference is the evidence of God’s love and power that saved us from our sins. John 15:19 says, “If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you.” Remember, friendship with the world is enmity with God (James 4:4).

Secondly, we are also to be “transformed by the renewing of [our] mind[s]”. The Bible uses the metaphor of transformation to describe this process of renewing our minds. The process of transformation can be likened to a caterpillar’s metamorphosis into a butterfly. A real change must be seen in our lives, and that change can only be worked out by the renewing of our minds. The Greek word translated as “renew” means a complete change for the better. This spiritual transformation of our minds happens when we yield to God’s Word to work on our minds through the power of the Holy Spirit. Through listening to and meditating on God’s Word, we learn to reject the patterns of worldly thoughts (which are displeasing to God) and to think according to the will of God, that we may live a life pleasing to Him. We are thus renewed and transformed!

A renewed mind is a mind that is set on God’s will and not the world’s. The ultimate outcome of a renewed life is: the ability to discern and embrace what is truly good, pleasing, and perfect according to God’s will. Let us seek the Holy Spirit’s guidance through prayer, and rely on His power to be renewed daily. May we show the world that we are changed by the truth and grace of God.

READ:

Luke 24:6

⁶ He is not here, but is risen: remember how he spake unto you when he was yet in Galilee.

EXHORTATION:

This was the angelic declaration on the day of Christ’s resurrection. Thus they announced the grand truth of Christ’s resurrection to the women who went to His tomb on the third day of His burial.

The angels indisputably announced, “He is not here, He is risen!” Though He is not there, He assuredly was once there in the tomb, for He was crucified, dead, and buried. These women had been there at His tomb when He was buried (Luke 23:55-56; Matthew 27:61; Mark 15:47). They were the last to leave His tomb after His burial, and the first to arrive at the risen Christ’s empty tomb. What great delight it must have been for these godly women to be instructed of their beloved Master’s resurrection! May our hearts also rejoice in His risen glory.

Christ Jesus the Lord, who died for our sins, is risen for our justification. With His great resurrection miracle, His work of our redemption was triumphantly consummated! By springing up from the grave to life, Jesus became our Great Saviour. Oh, what a glorious victory He has achieved for us by His resurrection! Sin and death no longer have power over our souls.

We also notice a gentle reproof in the words of the angels to those pious women. It was apparent that they lacked conviction about Jesus’ prediction that He would resurrect on the third day. Though it was the third day, they arrived at the tomb with spices to embalm His body. They appeared to have disregarded the fact that He would rise on that day. Thus, the angels reprovingly reminded those holy women, “remember how he spake unto you when he was yet in Galilee”. It was indeed a vain effort to search for the living Christ in the abode of the dead!

May we live in the joy and blessings of our Lord’s resurrection. Let us not conduct ourselves as though our blessed Master is not alive. He is certainly not among the dead. He lives! So let us live to know Him who is risen and lives today. Let us follow our Risen Saviour to know the power of His resurrection. May the empty tomb of Christ drive away all our gloom and anxieties. He is risen, and He is able to save to the uttermost all who come unto God by Him. The Lord is risen! He now lives and prepares a place for us in heaven. He is coming soon again for us. Oh, let us rejoice for our Lord Jesus Christ lives today. He is not among the dead. Hallelujah!

READ:

Ephesians 1:7

⁷ In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace.

EXHORTATION:

Redemption! What a glorious word! It belongs to everyone who has trusted the Lord Jesus Christ. Only through Christ can one inherit redemption. The Greek word for “redemption” appears about ten times in the New Testament. It depicts the freedom of a prisoner or a slave through the payment of money. The money paid to set the captive free is known as the ransom. This is the idea that Paul had in mind when he wrote, “In whom we have redemption through his blood”. The word “redemption” here refers to our deliverance from sin and from its eternal condemnation, which Christ has secured by the offering of His blood in His sacrificial death on the cross. The ransom or the price that the Lord Jesus Christ has paid for our redemption is His own blood.

The only means for our redemption is “through his blood”. If there were any other means for our redemption, why would Christ die? If a less costly price had been sufficient, Christ would not have poured out His blood. Nothing could have obtained our redemption, but the blood of Christ. The Father would not have sacrificed His Son on the cross, if there were other appropriate and adequate ransoms to be paid. So the apostle Peter said in 1 Peter 1:18-19, “Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot”. This also shall be the theme of the new song that the redeemed shall sing in heaven: “And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation” (Revelation 5:9).

As a result of our redemption through the blood of Christ, we now have the forgiveness of sins. Forgiveness is one of the most important blessings of the redemption that Christ has achieved for us. When we have received the freedom from the guilt of our sins, God has also pardoned all our sins. Our redemption and forgiveness bespeak the riches of God’s grace towards us. It costs us nothing to have our redemption and the forgiveness of our sins, for God in His infinite grace has given them freely to us. We are redeemed, not by our merits, but by His grace alone.