"LORD, who shall abide in thy tabernacle? who shall dwell in thy holy hill? He that walketh uprightly, and worketh righteousness, and speaketh the truth in his heart." —Psalm 15:1-2
In an enigmatic passage in John's gospel, the Lord Jesus uttered a word about fruit bearing, in which He seems to have made fruit bearing a test of our relationship with Him (John 15:1-11). In it He enjoins, "Abide in Me, and I in you [ v.4]." Abiding is put forth as the key to spiritual vitality, fruitfulness, fellowship and authority (cf. 15:7). If abiding in Him is not essential to salvation, certainly it is to sanctification.
In our selection for today the Psalmist asks what may be a related question: "Who shall abide...?" New Testament "abiding in Christ" may be correspondent to Old Testament "abiding" in the tabernacle of the Lord, or in His holy hill. Should such be the case, (and I believe it is,) the response to the query is most instructive, for it indicates three requisites for an abiding relationship with the Lord, involving the believer's walk, works and words.
It is most interesting to place this emphasis alongside New Testament teaching of the apostle Paul. There is an emphasis on the believer's walk, for example, in Eph. 4:17-19. "This I say therefore, and testify in the Lord, that ye henceforth walk not as other Gentiles walk, in the vanity of their mind, having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart: Who being past feeling have given themselves over unto lasciviousness, to work all uncleanness with greediness." The clear teaching here is that the moral environment of the Christian is to be in distinct contrast to that of the "Gentiles" around them, i.e. the lost and unbelieving of "this present evil world." In Col. 1:10 we are exhorted to "walk worthy of the Lord," and in I Thess. 2:12, "walk worthy of God;" in Eph. 4:1, "walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called." Clearly the New Testament teaching is that the believer abiding in Christ will exhibit a lifestyle that contrasts with the prevailing culture around us.
And what of "works?" Much of the emphasis in today's evangelical preaching is on the priority of faith, apart from works, as the requirement for salvation. To a point, that is good, because we have clear teaching that our works contribute nothing to our salvation. For example, "For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast [Eph. 2:8-9]." Many similar passages punctuate New Testament teaching on salvation by grace alone.
However, it is a misconstruction of the truth that ignores the place of works once salvation is experienced by faith in Christ. The familiar passage above continues, "For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them [Eph. 2:10]." The same is underscored in Titus 3:8; "This is a faithful saying, and these things I will that thou affirm constantly, that they which have believed in God might be careful to maintain good works. These things are good and profitable unto men." What these good works are, "works of righteousness," as the Psalmist puts it, is determined by the careful study and application of God's word. If one is obliged to express it in a short phrase, it is, "conformity to Christ" (Cf. Rom. 8:29)."
And as to "words," scripture has much to say about our speech in relation to our spiritual state. The Lord Jesus, indicting the hypocrisy of the Pharisees, said, "Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh [Mt. 12:34]." Wisely, the Psalmist in another place links heart and lips: "Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in Thy sight, O Lord, my strength and my redeemer." The New Testament, admonishing us to "put on the new man," (Eph. 4:25) follows with immediate counsel regarding the tongue (cf. Eph. 4:25, 26, 29-31) with the inference that failure in this area will grieve the Holy Spirit ( v.30) and interrupt our "abiding" in Christ.
There is, after all, more to being a Christian than praying the "sinner's prayer. " Beyond birth is a life to be lived, and it is the will of God that we live it "in Christ Jesus" — abiding. When He is our dwelling place, the result will be evident in our walk, our works and our words.
"If ye keep My commandments, ye shall abide in My love" — John 15:10a
For our good,
"Pastor" Frasier
In an enigmatic passage in John's gospel, the Lord Jesus uttered a word about fruit bearing, in which He seems to have made fruit bearing a test of our relationship with Him (John 15:1-11). In it He enjoins, "Abide in Me, and I in you [ v.4]." Abiding is put forth as the key to spiritual vitality, fruitfulness, fellowship and authority (cf. 15:7). If abiding in Him is not essential to salvation, certainly it is to sanctification.
In our selection for today the Psalmist asks what may be a related question: "Who shall abide...?" New Testament "abiding in Christ" may be correspondent to Old Testament "abiding" in the tabernacle of the Lord, or in His holy hill. Should such be the case, (and I believe it is,) the response to the query is most instructive, for it indicates three requisites for an abiding relationship with the Lord, involving the believer's walk, works and words.
It is most interesting to place this emphasis alongside New Testament teaching of the apostle Paul. There is an emphasis on the believer's walk, for example, in Eph. 4:17-19. "This I say therefore, and testify in the Lord, that ye henceforth walk not as other Gentiles walk, in the vanity of their mind, having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart: Who being past feeling have given themselves over unto lasciviousness, to work all uncleanness with greediness." The clear teaching here is that the moral environment of the Christian is to be in distinct contrast to that of the "Gentiles" around them, i.e. the lost and unbelieving of "this present evil world." In Col. 1:10 we are exhorted to "walk worthy of the Lord," and in I Thess. 2:12, "walk worthy of God;" in Eph. 4:1, "walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called." Clearly the New Testament teaching is that the believer abiding in Christ will exhibit a lifestyle that contrasts with the prevailing culture around us.
And what of "works?" Much of the emphasis in today's evangelical preaching is on the priority of faith, apart from works, as the requirement for salvation. To a point, that is good, because we have clear teaching that our works contribute nothing to our salvation. For example, "For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast [Eph. 2:8-9]." Many similar passages punctuate New Testament teaching on salvation by grace alone.
However, it is a misconstruction of the truth that ignores the place of works once salvation is experienced by faith in Christ. The familiar passage above continues, "For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them [Eph. 2:10]." The same is underscored in Titus 3:8; "This is a faithful saying, and these things I will that thou affirm constantly, that they which have believed in God might be careful to maintain good works. These things are good and profitable unto men." What these good works are, "works of righteousness," as the Psalmist puts it, is determined by the careful study and application of God's word. If one is obliged to express it in a short phrase, it is, "conformity to Christ" (Cf. Rom. 8:29)."
And as to "words," scripture has much to say about our speech in relation to our spiritual state. The Lord Jesus, indicting the hypocrisy of the Pharisees, said, "Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh [Mt. 12:34]." Wisely, the Psalmist in another place links heart and lips: "Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in Thy sight, O Lord, my strength and my redeemer." The New Testament, admonishing us to "put on the new man," (Eph. 4:25) follows with immediate counsel regarding the tongue (cf. Eph. 4:25, 26, 29-31) with the inference that failure in this area will grieve the Holy Spirit ( v.30) and interrupt our "abiding" in Christ.
There is, after all, more to being a Christian than praying the "sinner's prayer. " Beyond birth is a life to be lived, and it is the will of God that we live it "in Christ Jesus" — abiding. When He is our dwelling place, the result will be evident in our walk, our works and our words.
"If ye keep My commandments, ye shall abide in My love" — John 15:10a
For our good,
"Pastor" Frasier
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