I'm Free!

Psalm 61:11,12 Once God has spoken; twice have I heard this: that power belongs to God, and to You O LORD, belongs steadfast love. For You will render to a man according to his work.

Isaiah 60:21,22 Your people shall be all righteous; they shall possess the land forever, the Branch of my planting, the work of My hands, that I might be glorified. The least one shall become a clan, and the smallest one a mighty nation; I AM THE LORD; in it's time I will hasten it.

Job 34:10,11 Therefore, hear Me you men of understanding: far be it from God that He should do wickedness, and from The Almighty that He should do wrong. For according to the work of a man He will repay him, and according to his ways He will make it befall him.

While contemplating these passages along with witnessing the cutting down of a fruiting mulberry tree out side our apartment I was given two new poems to write, but as I began to type I was reminded of the almighty work of God in my heart.

While reading in the book of Job, I was reminded of a time not too many years hence in which God used this selfsame book to reveal to me my absolute helpless and hopeless estate. Having gone to this book looking for comfort in the midst of having a professed faith in Christ for 31 years, I was living with more of what I have come to know as an antinomian mindset in open, flagrant, disregard for the name and glory of Christ in my self-deception and ignorance. While thinking I was trying to do the "right thing" I found myself being crushed under a load of guilt. As I read of the many false accusations attributed to Job, all I could hear within was "Guilty!", "Guilty!", "Guilty as charged!" If I hadn't done it, I had thought it, and the Sovereign God of all creation knows my thoughts. Having called a friend of mine, by the name of Bob Joyce and after having confessed in detail many of the sins of my life, I said, "Bob, I feel like I am as lost as I can be and there is no hope. Would you pray for me?"

I do not remember the exact words that he said, but his response was something like this, "If there is no hope, what do I pray for? Do you not understand that the Bible says that when Jesus went to the cross, he became sin, who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him. In our place, Jesus, the sinless Son of God, became the worst adulterer, the worst murderer, the worst thief, the worst liar and anything else you can think of. He suffered the full force of the wrath of God, shed his blood, made the atonement, and thereby made us acceptable to God."

Though I had understood intellectually many things of the Bible including the doctrines of grace, having obtained two degrees and holding various positions over the years in "full time ministry", I had missed the truth of the gospel.

Understanding that in and of Himself, Christ was not capable of sin, yet He bore the sins of those given to Him of the Father, that he might redeem us from all unrighteousness and to purify for Himself a people for His own possession who are zealous for good works. He was buried for our offenses and raised again for our justification. The Holy Spirit having made this application to our hearts and minds, birthed us into the family of God by faith and repentance, in conjunction with the unmerited love of God the Father manifested through His mercy and grace shown and given to us through Christ Jesus the Lord for His Own glory.

Some times I think back over all that has transpired over the years since I first professed faith in Christ in 1974, knowing of the many things of which there was an outward show of Christianity, and in many ways was far more zealous than many of my peers, and yet there was the lack of understanding in the very core and heart of my being that Christ alone for sin atoned! Therefore being justified by faith we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Through reading Spiritual Affections by Johnathan Edwards I have come to understand there are countless ways in which a person may have and display a type of spiritual understanding and possibly be used of God to show the way to others and yet not be born again. The truth is, a person may experience a number of "enlightenment's" and never truly taste and see that the LORD is good. Oh how many are there that follow the Lord for temporal gain and are blinded to the eternal weight of glory due to Christ alone, trusting in a type of faith that is not faith at all?

How many are there who trust in the teachings of men rather than the whole counsel of God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit as He reveals Himself through the scriptures? How many are there who have professed faith in Christ, call themselves backsliders, and say and believe they will "get right with God" someday, who have never truly been redeemed by the blood of the Lamb? How many are there who do not understand that being a Christian is not something you do, but something that was done and you are, by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone, to the glory of God alone?

That which is of the utmost importance is the testimony of Jesus Christ through the cross of Calvary to the glory of God the Father. He drew me up from the pit of destruction, out of the miry bog, and set my feet upon a rock, making my steps secure. He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God. Many will see and fear, and put their trust in the LORD. Blessed is the man who makes the LORD his trust, who does not turn to the proud, to those who go astray after a lie!(Psalm 40:2-4)

Thanks be to God for His unspeakable gift! Thanks be to God that He would save a helpless, hopeless, wretch like me. Thanks be to God that He by His Sovereignty watches over and orders every detail of our lives to bring many sons to glory. Thanks be to God that He works all things together for our good as He has called us to be conformed to the image of His Son; our past, our present, and our future, that in all things He may be glorified!

Far be it from God to ever do wrong.
The Infinite Almighty to ever do harm.
It is of His power to make of His sons
Like Jesus, His Image, all glorious ones.

Does it now matter if I am well known,
If by God's pleasure He hideth me?
For He Who Is Mighty condescended
And for His glory, redeemed; I'm free!

For He is my Treasure, All Glorious One!
I am my Beloveds and He Is mine.
To worship and praise Him for all He has done.
Oh then for joy, my soul shall resign.

For though now He pruneth, draws me close,
To provide fruit for all He doth choose.
To strengthen, empower, perfect for His will,
Hidden in Jesus, not one He will lose!

Michael E. Wood
October 1, 2010