Author Archives: John Clayton

The Law of Faith

Love lived out in the Christian life is a beautiful thing, revealing not a boastful arrogance but a sacrificial love, not a life of works to find God’s favor but a display of God’s unmerited favor through loving others as Christ loved us. For it was for love that God the Father sent his Son; it was for love that God the Son atoned for sin; it is for love that God the Spirit conforms us to God’s perfect law. This our one God has done and is doing, not by a law of works but by the law of faith. And so, brothers and sisters-in-Christ, by faith and in love, “Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord” (1 Cor. 1:31).

Short of Glory, Saved by Grace

Where does this put us, those made in God’s image but fallen from grace, those saved not by works but by grace through God’s gift of faith? It puts us in a position not of self-exalting glory but of God-glorifying praise. As the Shorter Catechism beautifully states, “Man’s chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy him forever” (Q. 1). Yes, for this we were created in God’s image, and for this reason we were redeemed, to glorify him. So, let us rejoice in this: Though we all fall short of God’s glory, we are saved by his grace to glorify him forever!

Let God Be True

We need it for salvation. We need it for forgiveness. We need it to live out this faith we have been given. We need it every day. Our flesh will point us back to law, remind us our failures, relish in our disobedience, shackle us to our efforts. The gospel of God’s grace points us to Christ, reminds us of his sufferings, shows us his perfect obedience, and empowers us to live for him. Our flesh may lie that we are condemned by the law, but the gospel truth is: “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (Rom. 8:1).

A Privileged People

Despite their subjection to Roman rule, Israel was given religious autonomy, leading to the restoration of temple worship, the liturgical calendar, and pervasive influence upon the family and synagogue. Yet, in their religious and cultural revival there were inherit dangers, notably legalism and hypocrisy. There were also Pharisaical perspectives that made Jesus and his gospel not only unwelcomed but repugnant. It is the religious irony of ironies: The religious right went wrong because their reformation didn’t need a Savior or his gospel, revealing a jaded perspective of their privilege, a blinding pretense, and a misguided presumption. They were a people of whom the prophet wrote, “The name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you.”

Judgment Day

Come Judgment Day, he who will be revealed to the world as the Judge, we know as our Savior, leading us not to fear that day but to long for it. For, he will judge the world with righteousness and judge the peoples with equity (Ps. 9:8), and “there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12). So, we who are saved by God’s grace through faith, standing only in the perfect righteousness of Christ, say, “Come, Lord Jesus! (Rev. 22:20). Come!

The Judge

Jesus taught, “Judge not, that you be not judged. For with the judgment you pronounce, you will be judged, and with the measure you use it will be measured to you” (Matt. 7:1-2). Neither you nor I are the judge before God but merely hypocrites when we play it. God is the Judge. He is the righteous standard. His law is the Law. Before God, we do not pronounce the guilty verdict but rather must plea, “God, be merciful to me, a sinner!”

Given Up or Delivered?

“God gave them up”: Some of the saddest words in the Bible, repeated three times in this short passage. But what does “God gave them up” mean? And who did he give up, and why? Is it a statement of divine resignation? Has God given up on the world he loved and to whom he sent his one and only Son (John 3:16)?

The Problems of Worldly Worship

It’s not a matter of self-improvement, but a supernatural work of God through his Spirit, shining his light upon our darkened hearts, and giving us both the will and the faith to believe. Although our biggest problem is the wrath of God, Jesus said, “Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him” (John 3:36). Therefore, even this day, believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, not only from the wrath of God but from all the problems of worldly worship. And through faith in Christ, you will be enabled to truly worship the one, true God, as he has revealed himself in creation and his Word. You will be able, with all who believe, to worship the Lord in spirit and truth.

The Power of God for Salvation

Yet how often are we prone to look at, or even obsess on, the evidence of the Fall in our daily lives rather than the redeeming work of God in our midst? How quickly we complain, embrace anxiety, even encourage conflict, as if we are glorifying God by saturating our hearts and minds with the trite, trivial, and temporal. Now before you begin to think that I am adding shame to your guilt for not giving thanks in all circumstances, let me offer this helpful observation: I think we are not consistent in our thanksgiving to God because we do not look to the gospel to empower our praise. Praise is not an obligation accomplished but a response enjoyed.