What Christ's "Blood" Accomplishes

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

Someone asked an intriguing question: "How does the blood of Christ cleanse one from sin?" Is it by a cold-as-ice, dry-as-dust legal substitution of merit, like a bank transferring credit from one account to another? The merits of Christ's perfection applied to the unworthy sinner so he goes scot-free? Like an insurance company's policy? Is that the biblical doctrine of Substitution? Many assume so, and don't wish to be disturbed into realizing that something far more profound is involved.

Let's face it: "the truth of the gospel" in Galatians is controversial, and has always stirred up the fires of persecution. Three (at least) passages in Galatians probe deeply into this idea of substitution and what the "blood" accomplishes:

(1) "I am crucified with Christ" (2:20). I identify with Him, says Paul; my heart is won; my heart is moved; He "loved me, and gave Himself for me." Getting to heaven is no longer my main concern; responding to that love has become "the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God." It's "not I, but Christ." He "lives in me." A legal substitution? Yes, of course; but infinitely more than that.

(2) Paul preached the cross so clearly, vividly, that the people saw themselves crucified with Christ (3:1-5). That is, unfortunately, rare preaching today! It wasn't superficial emotionalism; it was heart-gripping truth as solid as granite.

(3) "The truth of the gospel" produces in cold, selfish, world-loving, addiction-cursed hearts, a new passion: "God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross" (6:14).

Sometimes I "glory" in a Mozart Andante; it keeps going through my mind, night and day, I can't get it out. Well, without a trace of fanaticism (which cold, persecuting hearts like to attribute to "the truth of the gospel") the sacrifice of the Son of God has gripped the heart so that it has become the "new song" we sing night and day--a holy obsession forever. And here's some Good News: such a new song can be "learned" (Rev. 14:3).

--Robert J. Wieland

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: May 21, 2000.

Copyright © 2012 by "Dial Daily Bread."

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Why Hasn't Jesus Come Back?

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

Thoughtful Christians of all churches have one common question: "What is Jesus Christ doing? He promised to come back; why doesn't He come?"

Yes, He promised, "As the lightning ... so shall the coming of the Son of man be. ... But of that day and hour knoweth no man. ... As the days of Noah were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. ... They ... knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be" (Matt. 24:27-39). The angels promised the disciples, "This same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner" (Acts 1:11). That literal, personal return of Christ has not yet taken place.

The only answer as to why He hasn't come back yet that can possibly make sense is that His people are not yet ready for Him to come. The harvest is not yet ripe (see Mark 4:26-29). And what special ministry can make a people to be ready? Only the ministry of Christ as High Priest in the heavenly sanctuary (see Heb. 8-10). There was an earthly high priest in the ancient sanctuary--so there is a divine High Priest in the heavenly; there was an earthly lamb offered in the ancient sanctuary--Christ is the "Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world" (John 1:29). As there was an annual day of atonement in the earthly sanctuary, so there is a cosmic Day of Atonement in the heavenly when the High Priest ministers in the Most Holy Apartment, the second apartment, of the heavenly sanctuary. The specific purpose of that ministry is to prepare a people for the second coming of Jesus.

Daniel understood there is a heavenly sanctuary--all the Israelites who were true to God understood it; it is natural then that when the angel in Daniel 8:14 answered the question "how long ...?" by saying "unto two thousand and three hundred days; then shall the sanctuary be cleansed," it's natural that Daniel understood it was the heavenly sanctuary.

That great Day of Atonement ministry is the most important activity going on today in the heavenly universe. Keep in tune with it.

--Robert J. Wieland

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: July 16, 2003.

Copyright © 2012 by "Dial Daily Bread."

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The "Shaking"

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

The "shaking" is a Bible doctrine as verily as the other established doctrines. An early mention of it is when the reformer Nehemiah "shook [his] lap and said, 'So God shake out every man ... who does not perform'" his vow of "obedience" (5:13). The reformer wanted to see some "works" that would validate the people's professed faith.

God will "arise to shake terribly the earth" (Isa. 2:19), He "will shake the heavens, and the earth shall remove out of her place, in the wrath of the LORD of hosts, and in the day of His fierce anger" (13:13). However this may come as a natural cataclysm we shall wait and see; but the basic idea of a "shaking" among God's people is that the LORD is fed up with the hypocrisy of professed faith that is not validated by appropriate works.

The world itself is tottering in rotting immorality, with the collapse taking place before our eyes of simple, basic decency. Before the "shaking" is complete, everything that can be shaken will be shaken. But there will be some truths that will remain unshaken.

And each of us is a microcosm of the world and the church being "shaken." We watch astonished as some we knew who once professed a firm faith in biblical inspiration now cast doubts on it and spew ideas rooted in mysticism, so desperate are they in trying to endure the spiritual famine that is raging in church after church.

Side by side with the "shaking" that comes on the church will be that famine: "Says the Lord God, … 'I will send a famine on the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the LORD. … In that day shall the fair virgins and young men faint for thirst'" (Amos 8:11-13).

We are there now. Someone wisely said that the time will come when we must gather warmth from others' coldness; yes! That's where we are now.

The warmth of the genuine Holy Spirit is given to us, through the Word (John 14:16, 17); He will not leave one hungry, thirsty soul to perish. So, on your knees! Tell the Lord that you believe (but please help your unbelief!) to receive into your hungry soul those new covenant promises the Lord made to Abraham (yes, you are Abraham's descendant if you believe the gospel; Gen. 12:2, 3). Then keep on believing what "the Spirit of truth" says, and enjoy your victory.

--Robert J. Wieland

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: September 14, 2007.

Copyright © 2012 by "Dial Daily Bread."

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Does Heaven Have an Agenda for Planet Earth?

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

Does Heaven have an agenda for planet earth today? Is there something special that God is determined shall take place? Or is He content for the world to go on endlessly making further progress as it has supposedly been making for thousands of years?

More especially, does God intend us to see mankind saving itself by creating a happy heaven here on earth? Are the prophecies in Revelation about "a new heaven and a new earth" to be realized by acts of Congress and the United Nations? Henry Ford wanted to better mankind by putting everyone behind the wheel of a Model T; he almost succeeded. Now will God fulfill His prophecies by putting everyone on earth behind the wheel of a new luxury car, abolishing poverty and cancer, all to be accomplished without the benefit of a literal Second Coming?

To answer the questions we have raised, we must consider two often neglected messages from God: (1) What Jesus said about the last days (this is found in Matthew 24, Mark 13, and Luke 21), and (2) What He said in the last book of the Bible that He especially directs us to "read" and "hear" and "keep those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand" (Rev. 1:1-3).

The pivotal chapter is Revelation 14, where we read of the special message of three angels that is decidedly NOT "business as usual" but SPECIAL business that prepares a people for the Second Coming. The message of chapter 14 is set in the context of a "great controversy" theme portrayed in the previous chapters 10-13.

Yes, let's lift up the trumpet and loud let it ring--Heaven does have an agenda for planet earth--preparing a people to be gathered out of "every nation, kindred, tongue" who will "follow the Lamb whithersoever He goeth," and who will stand "without fault before the throne of God" (vss. 4, 5). They will demonstrate that "the everlasting gospel" of "the Lamb" has power to transform human character into the bona fide likeness of the character of Christ. They will be the ones who overcome "even as [He] overcame" (3:20).

Do you choose to cooperate with Heaven's agenda?

--Robert J. Wieland

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: May 29, 1999.

Copyright © 2012 by "Dial Daily Bread."

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Believe the Preamble (by Herbert E. Douglass)

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

"A prudent man foresees evil and hides himself, But the simple pass on and are punished" (Proverbs 22:3, NKJV).

The thought came to me this morning that all of us often run ahead of even our best thoughts. And too often forget simple truths that could save us from real heartaches!

It is one thing to have our heads full of knowledge, even precious knowledge of "last-day events," but what shall it profit us if we lose our focus on the One who really matters! Sometimes, it is easier to think about Him in our heads but forget about Him in our hearts!

If you are like I am, almost unconsciously, we can go for hours, or days, or longer, wrapped up in our neat understanding of "end-time" issues--and act out as if all this knowledge doesn't really make any difference in the way we spend our money or our time--or how often we neglect the ache in the hearts of those nearest us.

Every once in awhile I am reminded of those precious insights that my life-long friend, Bob Wieland, wrote regarding those precious Ten Commandments. He said that if you memorize the Ten Commandments but omit the Preamble, you have a stern code of law, that is, Old Covenant in nature. But If you keep the Preamble where it belongs, you have a "New Covenant set of ten delightful promises." In the Hebrew, "Thou shalt nots" are the simple future tense indicatives: Believe the Preamble and "you will never steal!" Or, "you will never commit adultery"! (That's really Good News!)

What does the Preamble say (Ex. 20:1, 2)? It's New Testament, New Covenant, Good News: "I am the LORD …" That holy name of infinite mystery--we know Him today as "our Father in heaven" (Matt. 6:9), your intimate best Friend who's on your side. Your Creator God, your Powerful Savior … He's yours; He actually gave Himself to you. But there is more ...

"Who brought [past tense] you out of the land of Egypt"--in other words, "REMEMBER THE RED SEA! For us today, REMEMBER the darkness of discouragement or shame THAT HE BROUGHT YOU OUT OF. He brought you into the Light; He ALEADY has saved you from hell, having taken Himself in His own experience the darkness of your second death; and REMEMBER THAT THE SAME blessed Holy Spirit THAT BROUGHT COURAGE TO THOSE ISRAELITES is today ministering the sunshine of grace upon your soul 24/7.

Keep reading the Preamble: "Out of the house of bondage" He is leading you today! "Sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but under grace" (Rom. 6:14; sums up the Ten Commandments!). Christ redeemed you before you were born; don't throw your birthright away as Esau did! The Holy Spirit is telling your heart about it right now--don't despise or sell it! NOW, BELIEVE THE PREAMBLE as the Israelites did and remember the Red Sea and what kind of God is asking for your trust!

--Herbert E. Douglass

From "Red Alert #64." Copyright © 2012 alert@eredalert.com, All rights reserved. (Used by permission.)

If you would like to subscribe to Red Alert, you may sign up at www.eredalert.com

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Seeking to Save Us From Ourselves

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

In case any of us has difficulty understanding how the Good Shepherd "seeks" us "until [He] finds [us]," we have these illustrations in the entire Bible: God sends Nathan the prophet to rebuke King David for his horrible crime, sin of adultery and murder, that's the Good Shepherd seeking him; He sends Jeremiah to rebuke King Zedekiah for his rebellion against God and King Nebuchadnezzar (God's temporary servant); and all the prophets and apostles were His agents in seeking to save us from ourselves.

Today the same dear Lord "seeks" the soul of the cigarette smoker, using all the warnings published against smoking; the alcoholic, through the almost daily horror stories of the evils of drinking; and of us, from the sin of abusing our health and shortening our lives through intemperance of many kinds.

The Lord Jesus sought the soul of Saul of Tarsus while he was "persecuting" Him; all the while the Lord made his way "hard" like kicking against goads (Acts 26:12-15). Every time you go to the refrigerator when you shouldn't, He is seeking for you like the Good Shepherd seeking His lost sheep to save you from ending your life and health too soon.

The illustration fits, except that Jesus did not tell of a sheep fighting the Shepherd when He came to rescue it. Hard to imagine! But that's what we have all done, time and again (or at least, I have). That's what it means, to be a sinner--resisting the grace of God.

Saul of Tarsus learned, however, and he tells us, "I do not frustrate the grace of God" (Gal. 2:21). He is, at last, "crucified with Christ" (vs. 20). The Good Shepherd seeking His lost sheep and all these prophets and apostles rebuking us for our sin, even giving their lives in being "crucified with Christ" in order to be faithful, are identical with the ministry of that much more abounding grace of God (cf. Rom. 5:21).

We had some friends who adopted a cat that was headed for the pound and early death; they cared for it, fed it, and bought an expensive cage to transport it in comfort when they went on long trips; but it snarled and hit at them when they tried to put him in the cage. The ungrateful pet "frustrated" their "grace" but didn't know what it was doing.

The Lord says to us, "Thou … knowest not" what we are doing (Rev. 3:17). It's time to become conscious.

--Robert J. Wieland

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: April 9, 2007.

Copyright © 2012 by "Dial Daily Bread."

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Robert J. Wieland's inspirational "Dial Daily Bread" messages are availalbe via e-mail to anyone who wishes to receive a daily portion of uplifting Good News. "Dial Daily Bread" is FREE. Due to travel or other circumstances, there may be intervals when "Dial Daily Bread" will not be sent.

A High Honor in the Lord's Coming Kingdom

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

There are some things that the Lord does that to Him are just pure "fun." For example, if He sees someone who is down and out, someone whom the world despises or has rejected, discouraged, brokenhearted--what the Lord loves to do is to come to that person and show special kindness or "much more abounding grace" to him (cf. Rom. 5:20).

One class of people in ancient Israel were on a one-way street going nowhere--no future before them; their present life was thought to be the end of the road; they had no future to look forward to; God had apparently forgotten them. (The Lord loves to help such people extravagantly!) But otherwise, they were hopeless.

So, people thought.

But we find that the Lord God Himself waxes eloquent in His assurances of rich blessings to this particular group of hopeless people--they were the "eunuchs" in that society. On that one-way street going nowhere. But look:

Isaiah 56 is a long list of extravagant blessings the Lord will pour on "the eunuchs who keep My Sabbaths, who choose to do My will and hold fast to My covenant, shall receive something [from Me] better than sons and daughters [can you imagine that!], a memorial and a name in My own house and within My walls, ... an everlasting name, … imperishable for all time" (vss. 4-5, NEB).

Nobody can have a higher place of honor than that in the Lord's coming kingdom!

Perhaps you are a "eunuch" in a spiritual sense: you feel that your life has no point, no purpose, no future; read of these great blessings in Isaiah 56 that the Lord promises you, and appropriate them to yourself, and then thank Him for giving you such a high honor in His kingdom now and forever.

Your service to the Lord will be that which His love [agape] constrains you to do (cf. 2 Cor. 5:14-19). No "self" in it; from now on, "self" is "crucified with Christ" (cf. Gal. 2:20).

Oh, joy of life!

--Robert J. Wieland

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: August 2008.

Copyright © 2012 by "Dial Daily Bread."

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Robert J. Wieland's inspirational "Dial Daily Bread" messages are availalbe via e-mail to anyone who wishes to receive a daily portion of uplifting Good News. "Dial Daily Bread" is FREE. Due to travel or other circumstances, there may be intervals when "Dial Daily Bread" will not be sent.