: Following God's Map to Untold Riches in Christ Jesus By Wes McAdams A Radically Christian Book
Copyright 2011 by Wes McAdams All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means including information storage and retrieval systems, without permission in writing from the author. The only exception is by a reviewer, who may quote short excerpts in a review. A Radically Christian Book Visit the website at www.radicallychristian.com Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version (ESV ), copyright 2011 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Dedicated to: My wife and my mother, two of the strongest and most godly women I have ever known. Their presence in my life is a testimony to the grace of God!
Contents About Radically Christian 6 Introduction 8 Part One God's Amazing Grace 1. The Treasure Chest of Grace 12 2. Man Has Earned Torment, Not Treasure 18 3. Saved by Grace 24 4. Christ is the Key to the Treasure 28 5. Grace is God's to Give and God's to Withhold 34 Part Two Saved Through Faith 6. The Faith is Produced by The Word 46 7. Faith Believes God is Who He Says He Is 52 8. Faith Trusts God to Do What He Says He'll Do 57 9. Faith Obeys What God Says to Do 63 Part Three Does Obedience Negate Grace? 10. A Change of Mind 76 11. A Change of Heart 83 12. A Change of Life 88 13. Confess With Your Mouth 91 14. The Appeal 95 15. Being Clothed with Him 99 16. Obedience to the Gospel 103 17. For the Forgiveness of Sins 108 Part Four What Coming to Christ Looks Like 18. The Salvation of 3,000 Souls 113 19. A Magician Comes to Christ 117 20. An Ethiopian Comes to Christ 121
21. Saul Comes to Christ 124 22. Gentiles Come to Christ 131 23. Getting Baptism Right 136 24. Baptism That's Not Baptism 140 25. The Invitation 152 Appendix 156
About Radically Christian What does it mean to be radically Christian? The word radical literally means to the root. It has to do with getting to the source or the most basic and fundamental elements of something. For example, when someone has had a radical medical procedure it usually means that they have had to have an entire organ removed. However, the term radical carries with it a negative connotation of taking things to an unhealthy extreme. When we use the adverb radically we understand that this word is synonymous with the words totally, completely, and fundamentally. For instance, we say that someone looks radically different than he did before. Meaning, the person looks completely and totally different in nearly every conceivable way. We usually do not mean that the person has taken their appearance to unhealthy extreme. Because the word radically does not carry with it the same negative connotation that its root word carries, this 6
word has been chosen to describe how we should be when it comes to being Christians. We ought to be radically Christian. Meaning, we should be totally, completely, and fundamentally followers of Jesus Christ. The goal of RadicallyChristian.com is to help you become simply that, radically Christian. Our motto is, Promoting First Century Christianity in a Twenty-First Century World. There are far too many today who are radically denominational; they are followers of traditions, doctrines, and creeds that have been handed down from man to man. There are also far too many today who are radically sincere; they are simply followers of their heart, doing whatever they feel in their heart is right. And there are too many today who consider themselves moderately Christian; they follow parts of what Christ has commanded or they follow Christ part of the time. It is time that we all become radically Christian! If you are interested in becoming, or continuing, a fully committed journey as a disciple of Jesus Christ, then I encourage you to join with people of like mind at RadicallyChrisitan.com! 7
Introduction I first want to thank you so much for taking the time to read this book! You are to be commended greatly for caring about spiritual matters. There are far too many people today who do not seem to give much thought to their souls nor to the souls of others; they are simply too engrossed with the physical world. But if you are reading this book, chances are you are different. You realize there is much more to life than houses, cars, money, etc. You realize that preparation must be made for eternity, and that is what this book is all about. I have made every effort in this book to prove every point with Scripture, and only Scripture. No quotations of man are used to prove any point, only words inspired by God. Furthermore, biblical references have been cited so you can look up the passages yourself. And there is even an appendix in the back of the book with a reference for every passage of Scripture used, to make looking up Scriptures even easier. I encourage you to do just that. Read not only the verses cited 8
but also the context surrounding those verses. It is very important that you, like the Jews of Berea (Acts 17:11) examine what you read in light of Scripture to see if what is written is true. This book is all about the grace of God, and how His grace is bestowed upon mankind through Jesus Christ. It is my intention to inform those who do not know, encourage those who do, and convince those who are skeptical about God's plan to save man through Jesus Christ. God's plan is not complicated. It does not take a degree from a seminary or university to understand it. You don't have to be a trained theologian or a Greek scholar to grasp these simple truths. These truths were once intrusted to simple men, some of whom were only fishermen. If they can understand God's grace, so can you. Do not turn over the responsibility of understanding God's will for your life to your preacher, pastor, or Pope. The Bible is God's revelation to you, telling you how much He loves you and how He wants to save you from your sins. He would not explain these things to you in a way you were incapable of understanding. With this in mind, I have tried to make every effort not to make these matters any more complicated than God has made them. It is not God who makes things complicated, it is 9
man. And it is because man has complicated spiritual matters that books such as this must be written, to correct error and clarify truth. God's treasure of grace is free for the receiving, the price has already been paid. It is not difficult to find; you must simply follow the map of His word! I personally want to discover more truths about God's grace and be a more grateful recipient of it. It is my prayer that you will join me on this quest, as we follow God's map to untold riches in Christ Jesus! Love in Christ, Wes McAdams 10
Part One: God's Amazing Grace
Chapter One The Treasure Chest of Grace Being a Christian is about living a life that is completely focused on Christ. The reason we focus on Christ is because He is the source of eternal salvation (Hebrews 5:9). If Christ were not my Savior, why would I want to follow Him? If I had the power to save myself, I would have no need of Christ. Too often it is assumed, by outsiders, that those who are passionate about Christianity are passionate because they consider themselves to be perfect. On the contrary, more often than not, it is those who know they are imperfect and in desperate need of grace, who are the most excited about being Christians. Grace has been defined as unmerited favor. This indicates that grace is when God blesses in ways that have not been earned or merited. It has also been defined as blessings bestowed when wrath was owed. This idea goes a bit further in explaining grace, indicating that not only has 12
the favor or blessings not been merited, but they have been given when what was deserved is God s wrath. And lastly, some define grace with the acronym God s Riches At Christ s Expense. Meaning, that the riches, favor, and blessings that were given, were given at the expense of Christ s life. When we put these three definitions together we get a great picture of God s grace that could be worded something like this, Grace is God s unmerited favor, riches, and blessings, bestowed at Christ s expense, when wrath was owed. That definition may be a bit more laborious to remember, but comes closer to capturing the idea of grace in its fullness. God loves those whom He has created and loves to lavish good gifts upon them. Grace is like a treasure chest. And the treasure chest of grace is filled with God s favor, riches, and blessings. James writes, Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change (James 1:17). God loves those whom He has created and loves to lavish good gifts upon them. Jesus asks, Which one of you, if his son 13
asks him for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a serpent (Matthew 7:9-10)? Then He adds, If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him (Matthew 7:11)! By the grace of God I am what I am. Every gift which God gives comes from the treasure chest of His grace. Paul says that the riches of God s grace are immeasurable (Ephesians 2:7). Paul was a man who understood and depended upon the riches of God s grace. In every single epistle, Paul mentions God s grace! In fact, Paul mentions grace over 80 times in his 13 books! He declares, By the grace of God I am what I am (1 Corinthians 15:10). Paul took pride in nothing as coming from himself or his abilities. He considered everything he was, and everything he had, as being gifts of God s rich grace. He writes, Not that we are sufficient in ourselves to claim anything as coming from us, but our sufficiency is from God (2 Corinthians 3:5). 14
It must be fully understood that gifts are given from God by grace and not by merit. In Acts 17:24-25 we read, The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by man, nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything. It is from God that mankind receives life and breath ; what has man done to merit life? What has mankind done to earn air to breathe? Nothing! By way of analogy, think for a moment about a goldfish swimming in a glass fish bowl. Who owns the bowl? The man, not the fish, owns the bowl. Who owns the water? The man, not the fish, owns the water. Who owns the food which the fish eats? The man, not the fish, owns the food. What has the fish done to earn the bowl, or the water, or the food? The answer is, absolutely nothing! In fact, there is nothing that the fish could possibly do to deserve anything from his master. Anything which the fish receives is given solely upon the basis of grace. We are that goldfish. We exist in a world which we do not control and we do not own. We are completely dependent on the air we breathe; yet we did not create it nor do we own it. We must consume the food of the ground in order to live; yet we did not, nor would we be able to, create 15
the soil or the seed from which our food comes. We rely upon meat to give us the strength which we need; yet we did not create the animal from which we receive it. The Psalmist proclaims, The earth is the Lord s and the fullness thereof, the world and those who dwell therein (Psalm 24:1). Man is completely and utterly incapable of earning the things we receive from God. Just as a goldfish is incapable of earning anything he receives from his master, so too man is completely and utterly incapable of earning the things we receive from God. This does not mean, of course, that we are incapable of obeying Him, pleasing Him, honoring Him, and glorifying Him; but we must remember that by doing so, we have earned nothing. God is so much higher than us and His glory is so far beyond our comprehension, that He could not possibly be indebted to us for anything. Isaiah reveals, All our righteous deeds are like a polluted garment (Isaiah 64:6). Therefore, let no one think that God owes him something! Let no one suppose that he has earned anything! Let no one even imagine that anything is his own! 16
Everything an individual is and everything he has, has been received from the treasure chest of grace! 17
Chapter Two Man Has Earned Torment, Not Treasure In the last chapter, the fact that man cannot earn blessings from God was discussed. The treasures which God lavishes upon mankind are the result of grace. However, there is something that mankind can earn punishment. Because man has sinned, he has earned for himself the torment of God, not the treasures of God! Becoming a Christian means one must understand that God s wrath is the only thing which is owed to man. Romans 3:23 says, All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. And Romans 6:23 tells us, The wages of sin is death. If a person is an adult human-being of sound-mind, he deserves eternal torment; not for the sin of Adam or the sins of his parents (Ezekiel 18:20), he deserves to go to hell for his own sins. By choosing sin over righteousness, even just one time, man has chosen to become a slave to sin (Romans 6:16). By choosing sin, man has chosen to separate 18
himself from God (Isaiah 59:2). By choosing sin, man has chosen to be an enemy of God (Romans 5:10). God has not chosen hell for anyone. Anyone who goes to hell will go there because he or she has chosen sin; and hell is the just repercussion of choosing sin. Some may think that hell is too harsh. Some may think that hell could not possibly be just or fair. They may think that a loving God could never allow His created beings, whom He loves, to go to hell. After all, God is love (1 John 4:8); how could He possibly create, and allow people to go to, a place like hell? God did not create Himself to be holy...god has always been, and therefore has always been holy. In order to understand grace, one must absolutely understand God has been more than fair in the system that He has established. First, we must understand that God, in His very nature, is completely holy (Psalm 99:9). Holy means to be set apart from sin. It means to be totally, completely, and perfectly pure. So sin and God are very opposites in nature; they naturally separate from one another. Like oil and water, sin repels God. God did not create Himself to be holy and 19
separate from sin; God did not create Himself at all. He has always been, and therefore has always been holy. When God created mankind, His will for them was that they live in a perpetual state of happiness and joy with their loving Creator. God initially gave to them, not the world we see today, but essentially a heaven on earth. But for what purpose did God create man? Man s entire purpose for being By disobeying God, they failed to fulfill the very purpose for which they were created. created and placed in the Garden can be summed up in three words, to glorify God (Isaiah 43:7; 1 Corinthians 10:31). This loving and mighty God created two human beings, gave them a wonderful and beautiful place in which to live, and gave them a simple mandate, glorify Me! This is the same expectation He has for all of His creation, The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork (Psalm 19:1). However, the first two humans soon disobeyed this simple directive. Instead of glorifying God, they disobeyed God in order to gratify their own sinful desires. By disobeying God, they failed to fulfill the very purpose for which they were created. 20
When a creation fails to fulfill its purpose, the creator has every right to destroy the creation. After all, if Ford Motor Co. created a car which could not be driven (the purpose for which it was created), Ford would be within its rights to destroy the malfunctioning car. God could have simply destroyed mankind in the same instant that man chose sin over obedience. God would have been within His rights, as the Creator, to destroy Adam and Eve the moment they ate the forbidden fruit. However, because God is (by His very nature) loving, He decided it would be more merciful and gracious to banish mankind than to destroy them; so God drove out the man from the Garden (Genesis 3:24). This is one of the first glimpses we have into the amazing grace of God! Adam and Eve deserved destruction, but by grace they received life. Because (like Adam) all have chosen to sin, all mankind deserves torment and destruction. There is a place where many will receive exactly what all mankind deserves. Jesus warns, Do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell (Matthew 10:28). Hell is described as the place where the worm does not die and the fire is not quenched (Mark 9:48). It is a place, we are told, that is an eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels (Matthew 25:41). 21
Contrary to popular ideas, hell is not a place which Satan owns or controls; it is the place in which Satan will suffer eternal torment. It was prepared for him and his angels because of his disobedience to God. Jesus says about Satan, He was a murderer from the beginning, and has nothing to do with the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies (John 8:44). When we disobey God, we choose to be children of the devil. John writes, By this it is evident who are the children of God, and who are the children of the devil: whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God (1 John 3:10). Children of the devil will, of course, fall into the condemnation incurred by the devil (1 Timothy 3:6). Meaning, those who choose not to follow God will spend eternity in torment. It may be discouraging to come to the realization that we deserve punishment, torment, and destruction. But this fact must be realized before grace can be understood. If one does not understand what he deserves, he cannot be thankful for the blessings he has received in spite of that which he deserves. He may grow to feel he has earned these blessings and not give the glory to God. The contrast between those who realize the gravity of their sins and those who do not is seen in Luke 7. There, a 22
sinful woman washes the feet of Jesus with her tears. Simon (a Pharisee), in whose home Jesus was dining, thought to himself, If this man were a prophet, he would have known who and what sort of woman this is who is touching him, for she is a sinner (Luke 7:39). In response to Simon s unspoken rebuke, Jesus said to Him, A certain moneylender had two debtors. One owed five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. When they could not pay, he canceled the debt of both. Now which of them will love him more (Luke 7:41-42)? Simon, of course, answered that the one who was forgiven the most would love the most. Jesus rebuked Simon for not showing Him the same love that the women showed Him. He concluded by telling Simon, Therefore I tell you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven for she loved much. But he who is forgiven little, loves little (Luke 7:47). Man must be reminded of his sin so that he can be thankful for grace. Man must be reminded of sin so that he can love God fully. Man must be reminded of sin so that he can honor and glorify God. To finish reading The Treasure Chest of Grace please visit www.radicallychristian.com/treasure. 23