TanTiago

Nothing in my hands I bring, simply to the Cross I cling | socially-awkward hooman | Romans 7:24-25

[TanTiago @constanteejay]

Is your shame all you see?
Are your sins dark and deep?
Your High Priest lives to plead your forgiveness
What you owed, He has paid
What was dead, He has raised
All your guilt for His grace
Run to Jesus

[Jeffrey Perry® @JeffreyPerry09]

The Father sent because He loves, the Son came because He loves, and the Spirit applies redemption because He loves.

[Jeffrey Perry® @JeffreyPerry09]

The Father gives a people to the Son.

The Son assumes their nature and answers for their obligations.

The Spirit unites those people to Christ and brings them into the enjoyment of everything Christ obtained.

[Jeremiah Knight @iamrjknight]

Today, let us quiet our hearts beneath the love of God and bring every burden honestly before Him.

We do not come to a distant ruler who is tired of hearing us. We come to our Father, who knows our weakness, sees our tears, and invites His children to cast their cares upon Him.

“Casting all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you” (1 Peter 5:7).

The Lord may not always lead us out of trouble in the way we expected, but He will never leave His people without grace, wisdom, strength, and mercy for the path He has appointed. Sometimes He removes the storm. Sometimes He keeps us through it. Either way, His love does not loosen its grip.

“I will never desert you, nor will I ever forsake you” (Hebrews 13:5).

So bring Him the prayers we cannot word properly. Bring Him the fears we are tired of carrying. Bring Him the heart that feels weak, confused, weary, or heavy. He is not offended by the cries of His children.

“God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble” (Psalm 46:1).

Keep trusting Christ. Keep looking to Him. Our Father is faithful, His love is steady, and His hand will hold us even when our own strength is gone.

[Jeffrey Perry® @JeffreyPerry09]

Does Gospel Clarity Lead to Antinomianism?

The answer really depends on what we mean by “lead.”

Can gospel clarity be abused by sinful men? Of course. Paul himself anticipated this question when he wrote, “Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound?” (Rom. 6:1).

The flesh can twist anything. It can turn law into self-righteousness and liberty into lawlessness.

But that is not the real question.

The real question is whether gospel clarity, rightly understood, logically produces antinomianism. Does the clear preaching of free justification in Christ tend, by its own nature, to make men careless about holiness?

The answer is no.

The fact that sinners can weaponize the gospel does not mean the gospel has a lawless tendency; it means sinners have a lawless tendency. The abuse of grace is not the logic of grace.

The gospel does not need to be made less gracious to produce holiness. It is not too free to sanctify; rather, as Paul argues, it is the very power of God unto salvation (Rom. 1:16), and that salvation includes the whole work of God from justification to glorification (Rom. 8:29-30)

The reason gospel clarity does not produce lawlessness is that the gospel does not give us justification apart from Christ himself. By faith, we are united to the whole Christ, and in Christ, we receive both righteousness and life.

The justified believer is not merely declared righteous while left unchanged. He is united to Christ, indwelt by the Spirit, adopted by the Father, and brought under the gracious dominion of Christ. Therefore, free justification does not make holiness optional; it makes it inevitable and gives holiness its only true foundation.

This is where the law must be put in its proper place. The law commands holiness, and it defines obedience, but the law, in itself, cannot create what it commands.

It can show us the shape of obedience, but it cannot give us the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry, “Abba, Father.” It can tell us to love God and our neighbor, but it cannot make us love them.

So the answer to antinomianism is not less gospel. The answer to antinomianism is the whole Christ.

Legalism says, “Obey so that you may be accepted.”
License says, “You are accepted, so obedience does not matter.”
But gospel clarity says something better: “You are accepted in Christ, and now, in Christ, you are free to obey as a son and not as a slave.”

To answer the original question, gospel clarity does not lead to antinomianism. Gospel confusion does.

[Justin Perdue @justin_perdue]

2,000 years ago:

A cross stood.
A tomb was empty.
A serpent's head was crushed.
And death died.

[Trevor Sheatz @TrevorSheatz]

Christians, these truths will keep you humble:

• We are saved by grace alone
• Our best deeds are like filthy rags
• Every breath we take is a gift of mercy

Let us boast only in the cross of Christ.

[Jeremiah Knight @iamrjknight]

The weakest believer in Christ is not less accepted by God than Abraham.

Our share in grace does not depend on the strength of our faith, the measure of our usefulness, the maturity of our understanding, or the greatness of our obedience. It rests on Christ alone. The trembling saint who can barely lift his eyes to heaven is justified by the same mercy, clothed in the same righteousness, and held by the same promise as Abraham, the friend of God.

“Then he believed in the LORD; and He reckoned it to him as righteousness” (Genesis 15:6).

Abraham was not accepted because he was worthy in himself. He believed God, and righteousness was counted to him. That same gospel promise now belongs to all who are in Christ by faith, whether their faith feels strong or weak, bold or trembling.

“Therefore, be sure that it is those who are of faith who are sons of Abraham” (Galatians 3:7).

This is a great comfort for the weary Christian. The promises of God are not reserved only for the spiritually strong. They belong to every true believer united to Christ, because the blessing promised to Abraham reaches the nations through the Son.

“And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s descendants, heirs according to promise” (Galatians 3:29).

So do not measure your standing before God by the weakness you feel within yourself. Look to Christ. The smallest faith, if it rests upon the true Saviour, receives a full Christ, a full righteousness, a full pardon, and a full inheritance.

The weakest believer may feel like the least in the family, but he is still in the family.

And every child in Christ is an heir of the promise.

[Jeffrey Perry® @JeffreyPerry09]

"Christ died for the ungodly" (Romans 5:6)

This is one of the great comforts of free grace, because the troubled conscience is always tempted to search for some qualification within itself before it dares to believe the promise.

But the warrant to come to Christ is not found in the sinner.

It is found in Christ offered in the gospel, the Savior of the ungodly.

[Jeffrey Perry® @JeffreyPerry09]

Sinners owe a double debt:
Satisfaction for sin already committed.
Perfect obedience still required.

So sinners need a double cure:
“Save from wrath and make me pure.”

[Jeffrey Perry® @JeffreyPerry09]

The gospel is not Christ as a possibility.

It is Christ coming for you.
Christ obeying for you.
Christ dying for you.
Christ risen for you.
Christ interceding for you.
And Christ returning for you.

The good news is Christ for you.

[Trevor Sheatz @TrevorSheatz]

Believers, your past does not define who you are in the eyes of your Father.

You are completely forgiven and fully accepted because of Jesus!

[Jeffrey Perry® @JeffreyPerry09]

The Christian life is not just grace in the beginning.
It is grace upon grace.
Peace upon peace.
Assurance upon assurance.
Confidence upon confidence.

It is a life of multiplied grace, not multiplied merit.

#2Peter

[Jeffrey Perry® @JeffreyPerry09]

The law leaves the sinner without excuse for unbelief, because God commands all men everywhere to repent and believe.

The gospel leaves the sinner without reason for despair, because Christ is freely offered without requiring any qualifications before coming to him.

[Jeffrey Perry® @JeffreyPerry09]

The bad news: If you love God and love your neighbor you will live. (Luke 10:28)

The worse news: If you don't love God or your neighbor you will die.

The good news: Jesus did both for you. Look to Him and live. (John 3:14)

[Jeffrey Perry® @JeffreyPerry09]

I hate the sins I commit, but in them, I also find great consolation.

For they remind me that Christ came to save sinners. And I am extremely qualified.

[TanTiago @constanteejay]

@maryaaaan Thank you, Marian!

[Jeffrey Perry® @JeffreyPerry09]

Today is a good day to be reminded.

We have a Shepherd who will guide us here below, and an Advocate who will receive and present us before the Throne above.

Christ will hold us fast.

[Jeremiah Knight @iamrjknight]

Before I ever took my first breath, the Lord saw the whole story of my life with perfect clarity.

He saw every failure, every sinful thought, every season of wandering, every hidden weakness, every foolish choice, and every moment where I would grieve Him. Nothing about me surprised Him. Nothing appeared later that He had not already known from eternity.

“Even before there is a word on my tongue, behold, O LORD, You know it all” (Psalm 139:4).

And yet, in mercy beyond all understanding, He set His love upon me in Christ. Not because He saw strength in me. Not because He saw future worthiness in me. Not because I would prove myself faithful. He loved because He chose to love, and His grace was rooted in His own eternal purpose.

“Just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world” (Ephesians 1:4).

This is what breaks pride. God did not wait until I became clean before He showed mercy. He knew the depth of my sin before I knew it myself, and still Christ came for me, bled for me, bore wrath for me, and brought me to Himself.

“But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8).

How can the soul remain proud before such mercy? He knew me fully, and still did not cast me away. He saw the worst in me, and still gave the best of heaven for me.

That kind of love does not make a man casual. It brings him low. It makes him worship. It makes him tremble with gratitude before the God whose mercy was never blind, never weak, and never uncertain.

“We love, because He first loved us” (1 John 4:19).

[Jeremiah Knight @iamrjknight]

The believer’s salvation rests fully on Christ, not only in what He has done at the cross, but also in what He continues to do now as the risen Lord.

We are reconciled to God through His death. Our guilt was placed on Him, wrath was satisfied, sin was judged, and the debt we could never pay was paid in full by His blood.

“For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son” (Romans 5:10).

But Scripture does not stop there. The same verse says we are also saved by His life. Christ did not die and then leave His people to keep themselves. He rose from the dead, lives forever, intercedes for us, preserves us, and brings us all the way home.

“Much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life” (Romans 5:10).

This is the comfort of the Christian. Our salvation is not hanging on our weak grip. It rests in the hands of the living Christ. The One who died for us is now alive for us, praying for us, keeping us, ruling over us, and ensuring that not one of His sheep will be lost.

“Therefore He is able also to save forever those who draw near to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them” (Hebrews 7:25).

So we are not saved by a dead memory, but by a living Saviour. His death secured our pardon. His life secures our perseverance. The cross removed our condemnation. His resurrection life guarantees our final glory.

“Because I live, you will live also” (John 14:19).

[Jeffrey Perry® @JeffreyPerry09]

The gospel is not merely the point of entry into the Christian life.

It is the whole ground, substance, and security of the Christian life.

By ground, I mean the Christian stands before God only on the basis of Christ’s finished work.

By substance, I mean the Christian life continues to be nourished by the same Christ who saved us.

By security, I mean our assurance rests finally on Christ’s person and work, not on the strength, consistency, or visibility of our own progress.

We do not begin by grace and then continue by self-sufficiency (Gal. 3:3).

We begin with Christ, continue with Christ, and will be brought safely home by Christ.