Dial Daily Bread: The Most Earth-shaking Letter Ever Written

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

Probably the most earth-shaking letter ever written in history was dashed off by hand by a man with poor eyesight--God's apostle Paul. The impassioned epistle was sent to the Galatians to correct a fatal error threatening to poison the young church that Christ and His apostles had just raised up. The subtle deception came from the then-headquarters of the church in Jerusalem. The idea was that the gospel of Christ is a revival of Old Covenant "righteousness," supposedly by faith, but in reality by a counterfeit of it. The problem has plagued Christianity ever since.

The principal idea Paul made was that "God ... preached the gospel to Abraham" (Gal. 3:8). Still today a suspect doctrine! The usual concept is that the gospel came later than Abraham--430 years later at Mount Sinai.

Paul's idea is that Abraham's unusual response to God's New Covenant promises (Gen. 12:2, 3) was genuine faith--the kind that appropriates the much more abounding grace that saves us (Gen. 15:6; Eph. 2:8, 9). Abraham's faith therefore was like turning on a switch that allows the electricity to flow through the house. It's a simple idea: faith doesn't save us, but it opens the circuit so that God's grace is free to flow through us and save us. That idea has created theological explosions all through history.

Abraham's descendants at Sinai were the first of countless generations to brush off the gospel truth. They wanted the Old Covenant as their belief: "All that the Lord has spoken we will do" (Ex. 19:8), they promised vainly.

The great Day of Atonement is now--when it's time for God's people to overcome every trace of Old Covenant confusion and recover the pure love for the gospel that Abraham knew when he "believed in the Lord, and He accounted it [his faith] to him for righteousness" (Gen. 15:6).

True obedience to God's law is possible only through the New Covenant. Thank God He has given you a "hunger and thirst" to understand it.

--Robert J. Wieland

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: July 11, 2004.
Copyright © 2017 by "Dial Daily Bread."

Dial Daily Bread: Why the Gospel Was So Successful for the Apostles

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

The Book of Acts tells why the gospel was so successful at the time of the apostles. A consistent theme seems to emerge: they told the world that they had rejected and crucified the Son of God. This realization resulted in an enormous sense of guilt: what sin or crime could be worse than that?

For example, at Pentecost, Peter said: "God has made this Jesus whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ" (Acts 2:36). Immediately came the heart-broken cry, "What shall we do?" (vs. 37). Then when Peter and John healed the paralytic, Peter again said, "You denied the Holy One and the Just, ... and killed the Prince of life, whom God raised from the dead" (3:14, 15). You couldn't yawn and sit on the fence when you heard a charge like that! Then Peter and John told the rulers and leaders of the nation, "You crucified Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom God raised from the dead" (4:10).

Then when the apostles were again arrested by the police and brought to trial, they boldly charged, "You murdered by hanging on a tree [the] ... Prince and Savior" (5:30, 31). This was extreme confrontation! And the Holy Spirit was given both to those who proclaimed the truth and to those who believed it. Philip won the heart of a high-placed government official by preaching the cross from Isaiah 53 (8:32, 33). A sudden glimpse of the significance of the cross converted Saul of Tarsus (9:5, 6; 26:13-15), and empowered him to proclaim the truth more powerfully than any of the Eleven who had witnessed the actual event.

One exception to apostolic success is Paul's ministry in Athens (Acts 17). Few of his hearers responded positively. But reading through the Acts 17 story of his sermon we find not a mention of the cross! Paul at Athens was much like we are, working for "the higher classes." But from Athens Paul went to Corinth, where he determined "not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified" (1 Cor 2:1, 2). A lesson for us?

--Robert J. Wieland

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: July 23, 2000.
Copyright © 2020 by "Dial Daily Bread."

Dial Daily Bread: The Key in Understanding an Apparent Contradiction in Jesus' Prayers

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

Psalm 22 tells us of Christ's agony of soul as He hung on the cross--not just the physical pain (that was awful enough!), but the soul agony of bearing "the curse of God," enduring hell on our account. Psalm 69 also describes His enduring hatred throughout His life (vss. 7-12), and on the cross (vss. 17-21), but now there's a different element added: He cries for vengeance on those who have abused Him. "When I was hungry, they gave Me poison; when I was thirsty, they offered Me vinegar. ... Strike them with blindness! ... Pour out Your anger on them; ... May their camps be left deserted; may no one be left alive in their tents. ...  Keep a record of all their sins; don't let them have any part in your salvation. May their names be erased from the book of the living; ... " (vss. 21-28, Good News Bible).

Now, here's a problem: how can you reconcile those dreadful imprecations with the prayer of Jesus at His cross: "Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do!" (Luke. 23:34)? Both that prayer and those imprecations are the words of Jesus!  And both prayers were answered by the Father! He forgave them then, but forgiveness is more than blinking the divine Eye and saying, "I don't care what you do, murder My Son, that's OK with Me!"

God's forgiveness includes the actual removal of the sin from the heart, which is through accepting His enormous gift of repentance. And some who crucified Christ did repent--apparently the Roman centurion, for one. But those who did not accept repentance on the Day of Pentecost but hardened their hearts, suffered every iota of those divine imprecations. The human urge for redress, for justice, is not evil; it is inspired by the Holy Spirit. God is greatly concerned for justice! "To crush under His feet all the prisoners of the earth, to turn aside the justice due a man [or woman] before the face of the Most High, or subvert a man in his cause--the Lord does not approve" (Lam. 3:34-36).

But what's the key in understanding this apparent contradiction in Jesus' prayers? (1) It is right to protest injustice, for Jesus did (John 18:23; Matt. 26:55). (2) We are not to exact our own redress or vengeance, because our inborn love of self will cause us to act unjustly. "Do not rejoice when your enemy falls"  (Prov. 24:17). (3) Leave the revenge to the Lord to work it out. "Do not avenge yourselves, but rather give place to wrath; for it is written, 'Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,' says the Lord"  (Rom. 12:19). (4) Trust Him to take care of it; He did for Jesus--all too thoroughly. Consider the later history of His murderers. Let's trust Him, too.

--Robert J. Wieland

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: June 21, 1999.
Copyright © 2020 by "Dial Daily Bread."

Dial Daily Bread: An Overlooked Precious Morsel of Truth

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

There is a precious morsel of truth often overlooked in Isaiah 61 where we read that "the Lord has anointed me to preach good tidings to the poor" (vs. 1).

Those good tidings include the blessed truth that God's time for vengeance is much shorter than His time for blessing: vengeance lasts for only a "day," whereas His blessings are immeasurably longer. "The Spirit of the Lord God is upon Me," says Jesus; "because the Lord has anointed Me ... to proclaim the acceptable yearof the Lord, [but only] thedayof vengeance of our God" (vss. 1, 2).

The time of God's "vengeance" is only 1/365th of the time of His blessing! Can you imagine such a fraction? Yes, there is a time when God must take "vengeance," and it is a frightful time for those who are not reconciled to Him; but the character of God is such that His "acceptance" is far greater than His "vengeance."

"The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in mercy" (Psalm 103:8). "The Lord is gracious and full of compassion" (111:4). His glorious character is beautifully unveiled in Jesus in His incarnation. Did He go around cursing people? No, Everywhere He went, He was only a blessing. He tells us, "That's what My Father is like!"

Finally, when wicked people could not stand His presence on earth and they crucified Him, in the midst of His physical and spiritual anguish He prayed, "Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do" (cf. Luke 23:34).

Let your alienated, worldly human heart be melted by beholding the Lamb of God!

--Robert J. Wieland

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: February 16, 2009.
Copyright © 2020 by "Dial Daily Bread."

Dial Daily Bread: Being Sober Doesn't Mean Being Sad or Gloomy ...

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

The American nation was slow to enter the war against Hitler on the side of Britain and the "Free French." Until Pearl Harbor the people weren't sure. At that time apparently nobody knew what would happen in the Holocaust. "Kristallnacht" seemed far away, almost impossible. The horror of World War II seems murky to the minds of the generations who have lived subsequent to those days. And the Memorial Day weekend is a grand holiday. Most of us have little or no sense of reality as to what this freedom and pleasure cost others in suffering and blood. Occasionally a voice is raised pleading for sobriety and adequate gratitude.

Does the world--do any of us--sense an adequate gratitude for what our present life on this planet cost the Son of God? Do we realize what it means to say that "the wages of sin is death" (Rom. 6:23)? Not that God arbitrarily inflicts death on sinners, but that sin itself is self-destructive in nature, that life as we know it would have ceased on this planet except that there was a "Lamb slain from the foundation of the world" (Rev. 13:8)? The "Lamb" had to be the One whose name is "Emmanuel, which being interpreted is God with us," our second or "last Adam," who truly died the real thing, the second death.

Horrible as death was for the millions who died in World War II, none truly died the second death. Let us be sober and realize at least something of what the Free World owes to those brave soldiers who suffered in World War II; but let us as Christians plead for God's mercy to enable us to realize honestly the constraint that agape imposes. It means simply that self is crucified with Christ. Being sober doesn't mean being sad or gloomy; it means being conscious, thoughtful, aware of truth.

People with extremely shallow understanding are childishly, apparently happy, but it's as thin as a coat of varnish. When self is crucified with the Redeemer, the happiness is deep, "that your joy may be full" (John 16:24), the idea being, "in depth." It's the awareness of what an eternal grave in hell could mean, from which we are redeemed. For all time there's a tear glistening in our smiles of joy.

--Robert J. Wieland

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: May 31, 2000.
Copyright © 2020 by "Dial Daily Bread."

Dial Daily Bread: "Justification" or "Righteousness" by Faith?

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

There need be no confusion about the meaning of justification by faith. It's a simple matter to go to the original language the apostle Paul used when writing his soul-stirring words in Romans: "justification" is the same word he used for "righteousness."

That opens up a world of understanding. When Paul speaks of justification by faith he means righteousness by faith--in other words, right living by faith. Justification by faith is worlds beyond a verbal, legal pronouncement of acquittal from guilt, which makes no change in a person's heart and character.

The legal pronouncement was made when Christ cried out at His crucifixion, "It is finished!" He had completed the work the Father had given Him to do (John 17:4). He had earned His title, "the Savior of the world" (John 4:42); "The Lord [had] laid on Him the iniquity of us all" (Isa. 53:6). He had now proven His role to be the new Head of the human race, the second Adam. He had died the second death "for everyone" (Heb. 2:9), and paid the final penalty for every sin of humanity.

That is why Christ in a purely legal sense pronounces the "judicial ... verdict of acquittal" on "all" (Rom. 5:15-18, The Revised English Bible). But justification by faith is conversion, a change of heart, an experience of reconciliation to God. And since no one can be reconciled to God unless he is also reconciled to God's holy law, justification by faith means a new life of obedience to God's law, not motivated by fear but by love (agape).

Love is the most severe taskmaster in the universe, but in the light of the cross of Christ, the most reasonable because it leads to self being crucified with Christ.

--Robert J. Wieland

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: March 19, 2005.
Copyright © 2020 by "Dial Daily Bread."

Dial Daily Bread: Living in "The Shaking Time"

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

Not only are we living in what we have always said is "the shaking time," but more than that: we are living in the time when everything possible is being shaken  furiously. Is there an absolutely necessary truth that must be held onto, even at the cost of life?

The Bible says, Yes! Clearly so, in 1 Corinthians 13: "Though I [or anyone] speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not [the love which is] agape, I have become as sounding brass or a clanging cymbal" (vs. 1). A brilliant mind and ready speech may cover a lack of essential truth. This brilliant mind may explain the prophecies: "And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, ... but have not [the love which is agape], I am nothing" (vs. 2).

We have come to the time when 1 Corinthians 13 itself has become a prophecy! Almost overwhelming in its power of deception is the moving of mountains "by [supposed] faith," where there is an alarming lack of faith (vs. 2). And we can "bestow all [our] goods to feed the poor, ... but have not love [agape]" (vs. 3); it's only pride. This agape is deeper than giving "goods." Or even giving physical life.

The apostle John agrees with Paul when he says that "God islove [agape]" (1 John 4:8), and "[anyone] who does not love [with agape] does not know God."

Is there confusion? No, not a trace: this is the solid building block of Bible truth. It's what Paul meant when he told the Corinthians, "I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified" (1 Cor. 2:2). In other words, agape.

Obedience to the law is included, for only "agape is the fulfillment of the law" (Rom. 13:10). So it's not sentimental emotionalism; love is being crucified with Christ, with joy and gratitude for the privilege of fellowship with Him.

--Robert J. Wieland

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: September 17, 2007.
Copyright © 2020 by "Dial Daily Bread."

Dial Daily Bread: Get Acquainted With Your "Father" Abraham!

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

Have you ever thought of Abraham as a lonely man? You remember, he is "the father of all those who believe" (Rom. 4:11), and therefore your "father" in the faith. If Abraham was a lonely man, and yet God was with him, there is encouragement that the Lord can be with you even if you serve Him as a lonely person.

In Isaiah 51:2 the Lord says, "I called [Abraham] alone," or as the Hebrew says, "I called him when he was but one, and blessed him, and increased him." Thus it appears that Abram (his name at first) was the only person in the world who worshipped the true God when God called him.

We know that his father Terah worshipped idols (Joshua 24:2) while living in a community that worshipped the moon (Ur of the Chaldeans). Maybe we should revise that, and say that Abram was the only person of his generation who worshipped the true God, because Shem was still living, somewhere. But being hundreds of years old, maybe Shem was no longer able to do the kind of witnessing work that God was calling Abram (later named Abraham) to do.

Evidently from a very early age, Abram knew that it was wrong to worship the moon, and probably tried to persuade his brother Haran and his father Terah to recognize the one true God who created the moon (with some success it seems, for Terah's family always had some knowledge of the truth).

But how do you remain faithful to God when you are all alone? And how do you worship an invisible God when everybody around you wants some idol or heavenly body to be His presence, to represent Him? Get acquainted with your "father" Abraham!

Today, you may be alone (or as the Hebrew says, "but one") in your family or your village, or your school, or (God forbid!) even in your church (if that's true, your church needs you as a witness for Him!). Well, God specifically says, "Look to Abraham your father, and to Sarah who bore you" (Isa. 51:2). Let your faith demonstrate that you are indeed a child of Abraham. He "believed in the Lord" (Gen. 15:6). Now, you do the same. Then you won't remain alone ("but one") for Isaiah says that "[God] increased him."

Evidently it's impossible to remain alone.

--Robert J. Wieland

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: September 4, 2003.
Copyright © 2020 by "Dial Daily Bread."

Dial Daily Bread: How Does One Get to Know Jesus Christ?

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

Is it possible that the difference between eternal life and eternal death can be boiled down to a simple matter of knowing something? Jesus says, Yes! It's in John 17:3: "This is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent."

How does one get to know Him?

First, one must learn how to distinguish the true God from false gods; and that also requires distinguishing the true Christ from "false christs." Jesus warns us that in these last days, "false christs and false prophets will arise and show great signs and wonders, so as to deceive, if possible, even the elect" (Matt. 24:24).

The "false christ" is the "Antichrist" that John speaks of in 1 John 4:1-3: "Every spirit that does not confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is not of God. ... this is the spirit of the Antichrist." Hebrews makes clear that "as the children have partaken of flesh and blood, He [Christ] likewise shared in the same, ... Therefore, in all things He had to be made like His brethren" (2:14, 17).

Paul makes clear what it means for the true Christ to "come in the flesh": "God [sent] His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, on account of sin: He condemned sin in the flesh" (Rom. 8:3). The word "likeness" in the Greek is homoióma, from which we derive a number of English words that mean "sameness," "identical."

Therefore, to "know Jesus Christ" is to know the reality of His taking upon His sinless nature our sinful nature, that He might "in all points [be] tempted like as we are, yet without sin" (Heb. 4:15). In His human nature He had to deny self, to deny His own will, that He might "not seek My own will but the will of the Father who sent Me" (John 5:30). This self-denial extended throughout His life on earth right up to His cross.

Would you like to follow Him? "If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me," He says (Luke 9:23). Yes, you will know Him intimately!

--Robert J. Wieland

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: January 27, 1999.
Copyright © 2020 by "Dial Daily Bread."

Dial Daily Bread: Have We Neglected to Receive the Beginning of a Gift Already Given?

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

Two thousand years have gone by since Paul proclaimed to the Jews that their Messiah had come in the person of Jesus of Nazareth. Most stubbornly resisted and rejected the message, according to Luke in Acts.

If Paul was anything like we are in nature, he would have expected that the Jews most likely to listen favorably would be the "devout women," the ladies of the congregation who were always helping people with works of mercy. But imagine his surprise and disappointment when he found that among the members of the congregations most bitterly opposed to the Good News about their Messiah having already come were those same "devout and prominent women" (Acts 13:50).

There was no need any longer for those agonizing, all night prayer meetings where the people would cry out to the God of Abraham, "Please fulfill the promise made to our fathers, send us our Messiah!" Prayer for the coming of the Messiah had now become obsolete. Now it was time to thank God for already sending Him! In fact, such prayer now became a form of blasphemy because it expressed the sin of unbelief, the refusal to recognize that God had already performed what He had promised.

Today we may pray earnestly for God to send us the outpouring of the Holy Spirit in the latter rain. Sometimes churches have held all night prayer meetings for that blessed gift. Could it be that, like the ancient Jews, we have neglected to receive the beginning of that same gift already given, and it went over our heads as the truth went over the heads of the ancient Jews?

--Robert J. Wieland

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: March 14, 2005.
Copyright © 2020 by "Dial Daily Bread."

Dial Daily Bread: It's Impossible to Believe in Jesus and Not Believe in Miracles

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

Have you ever walked on water? I am sure not. In all the history of the world, only two people have ever walked on water--set their foot on it and walked on water as though it were concrete. Those two were Jesus Christ, and His disciple, Simon Peter.

But Peter didn't succeed very long--only long enough to show that it could be done. Probably his success was something like that of Orville Wright when he managed to fly his airplane for a few seconds at Kitty Hawk. Orville conquered gravity by flying in the air for a few seconds; Peter succeeded in walking on water for a few seconds (you can read his story in Matthew 14:22-33).

Jesus came walking on the surface of the Sea of Galilee to the disciples who were in a storm-tossed boat late in the night. They had listened to Judas Iscariot who planted seeds of doubt and resentment in their hearts, and now the storm had made them wish that Jesus were with them. When they saw Him walking on the water, they thought He was a ghost. Peter recognized Him, and said, "Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water." Foolish request! But Jesus said, "OK, come." And Peter climbed out of the boat and actually walked toward Jesus.

Then Peter saw that the wind was "boisterous" and his faith gave way and down he started to go like a stone. Terrified, he cried out, "Lord, save me!" And Jesus grabbed him by the hand and pulled him up and took him to the boat.

It was a miracle. But you know something--it's impossible to believe in Jesus and not believe in miracles! You may think the problems in your life are so discouraging that to solve them would be like walking on water. Keep Jesus in your sight, and believe Him.

--Robert J. Wieland

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: 1994 Phone Message.
Copyright © 2020 by “Dial Daily Bread.”

Dial Daily Bread: Don't Let Satan Overwhelm You With Discouragement

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

Why is it not a sin to feel that you are forsaken by God, but if you say that you are it becomes a sin? The answer is the difference between temptation and sin. A thousand temptations do not equal one sin; the sin comes in yielding to the temptation, choosing to disbelieve. When you are tempted to feel forsaken by God, you are being tested and tried (probably everyone has been so tempted at some time). But when you say, "I am forsaken by God!" you have sinned because you have denied and contradicted the word of God: "He Himself has said, 'I will never leave you nor forsake you'" (Heb. 13:5).

Jesus conquered temptation by quoting Scripture to Satan, "It is written." You do the same! When you are tempted to feel forsaken by God, quote that precious text, over and over again. And because you have overcome that temptation, you will be able to encourage others who are so tempted. You will actually win souls; for there are many people who need the testimony of someone who has been tempted as they are tempted, but who has overcome by faith.

You may ask, "But maybe I have committed the unpardonable sin! If so, has God forsaken me?" The unpardonable sin is not God forsaking the sinner, but the sinner forsaking God. He still loves the person who has committed that sin (if he has!), but the sinner has burnt out his antenna and cannot receive the forgiveness "signal" from God.

If you can catch even the faintest signal from the Holy Spirit assuring you of God's faithful love, cherish it; don't let Satan overwhelm you with discouragement because you know you have sinned. It's sinners that Christ has come to save. We rob Him what is His due if we withhold ourselves from Him. Don't accept Satan's judgment; appeal over his head to the Supreme Court of heaven--Christ Himself.

I have visited patients in rehab hospitals and nursing homes who take exercises, learning over again how to walk. They have been in an accident, or had a stroke. They exercise those weak muscles, and they overcome. So can you "exercise" your faith; choose to believe that promise, "I will never leave thee nor forsake thee!"

Perhaps someone out there is elderly; if so, cherish this prayer: "Now also when I am old and grey-headed, O God, do not forsake me, until I declare Your strength to this generation," that is, told them the Good News of the gospel (Psalm 71:18).

-- Robert J. Wieland

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: November 4, 1999.
Copyright © 2020 by "Dial Daily Bread."

Dial Daily Bread: A Very Special Blessing Assigned to Women

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

The Bible tells the history correctly: when Adam "fell" into sin, he had someone who helped him fall--it was his wife, Eve. But the Bible does not lay a burden of guilt upon her alone. No way!

Our beloved brother Paul was not anti-feminist; he was simply a faithful servant of the Lord. He reviews the history of the fall of Adam. He reminds us, "Adam was formed first, then Eve. And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived, fell into transgression. ..." (1 Tim. 2:13, 14).

On the surface, it sounds like a debit for "woman." But wait a moment, don't misunderstand: "The fall of man" was the work of both Adam and his wife Eve; they share the debit.

But the dear Lord has assigned to woman a very special blessing, which we celebrate Sunday by our Mother's Day. It's to woman whom the Lord has granted the special privilege of being the first teacher we all have ever known; she is the one who wins our heart in infancy; it's a special privilege that the dear Lord has granted to her, worldwide.

She is the "teacher of the human race," teaching us in simplicity and tenderness; winning our estranged human hearts in infancy at our very beginning.

The dear heavenly Father has granted to her this inestimable privilege of being the first one really to teach us and to guide our infant steps; it may have been "the woman" in Eden who enticed Adam into sin; but that debit in history is vastly overcome and reversed by the privilege that "woman" has been given her of the Lord:--to be the teacher of the human race in infancy!

Thank Jesus for His tender fidelity in giving to "woman" this glorious privilege. We honor "her" on Mother's Day; and not only that, we thank the dear Lord for giving "her" to us!

--Robert J. Wieland

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: May 9, 2009.
Copyright © 2020 by "Dial Daily Bread."

Dial Daily Bread: What Motivates Sincere People to Persecute Others Who Differ From Them in Religious Conviction?

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

What motivates good, sincere people to persecute others who differ from them in religious conviction? The opposition can take cruel forms. Wars have been fought over religion. The United States was "conceived" by a desire to escape religious persecution (said Abraham Lincoln).

Thank God that now we don't throw theological opponents into prison or burn them at the stake, but we malign them, seek to destroy reputations, slam doors against them, misrepresent them. What's back of this strange phenomenon of unrighteous indignation that blazes forth against someone who differs from us in biblical interpretation?

The answer is--our obsession with the Old Covenant. History is clear: those who love the New Covenant never persecute others! Paul himself was a fanatical follower of the Old Covenant who couldn't stand to watch the New Covenant apostles proclaim gospel Good News. He thought their message destroyed his keep-the-law theology. He misunderstood them--their gospel was the only way anyone truly could become a "doer of the law," but he felt he had to "punish them often in every synagogue; ... and being exceedingly enraged against them, ... persecuted them even to foreign cities" (Acts 26:11). His zeal for the Old Covenant even led to murder. All, supposedly "righteous"! (And highly popular.)

When finally he discovered the New Covenant, he saw something he had never seen before: Ishmael, the son of the Old Covenant Hagar, "persecuted him who was born according to the Spirit," that is, Isaac. "Even so it is now," he added (Gal. 4:29). That brought him to his knees--in his frenzy against the apostles he saw he was acting out the role of Ishmael!

"Even so it is now"! Old Covenant obsession is spiritual poison. If it doesn't outright kill your devotion to Jesus and His church, it weakens it so it becomes "lukewarm." Many Christian youth lose their way because they have been taught Old Covenant concepts under the guise of "Christian education" in church or school. Lord, please help our blindness!

--Robert J. Wieland

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: November 9, 2002.
Copyright © 2020 by "Dial Daily Bread."

Dial Daily Bread: The Foundation for Genuine Happiness

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

When Jesus said that those who mourn are happy people (Matt. 5:4), He shocked everybody. As Luke reports the statement, he has Jesus saying, "Happy are you who weep now; you will laugh!" (Luke 6:21, Good News Bible).

It may not appear on the surface to be true, but like many things that Jesus says, there is a profound reality involved. When you shed tears in mourning, if you believe the gospel, you are in fact realizing a point of intimate contact with Christ, the Son of God.

The secret is revealed in 1 Peter 4:13 which says, "Rejoice to the extent that you partaker of Christ's sufferings, that when His glory is revealed, you may also be glad with exceeding joy." That is something to rejoice over! That's a dividend that will continue to pay you throughout eternity! It makes you a prince or princess in the realm of the kingdom of God, for Paul says in Colossians 1:24 that you can rejoice for you "fill up ... what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ." Think of it--intimate fellowship with the Son of God!

But the second reason why Jesus said those who mourn and weep are "happy" is that when you realize your sinfulness apart from Him, then you can appreciate the gift of His righteousness. When David sinned in unfaithfulness and murder, he knew bitter tears of deep repentance (see Psalms 32 and 51). But at last he knew who he was--a sinner; he had discovered reality; his feet were on solid rock at last; and that became the foundation for genuine happiness.

As long as we are self-deceived into imagining our goodness, which is not reality, we can never be truly happy. When Jesus said "You shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free" (John 8:32) He meant two great truths: the truth about ourselves, how unworthy we are, and the greater truth about Him, our Savior 100 percent. When that truth dawns upon your consciousness, you can't help but be happy--forever.

--Robert J. Wieland

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: April 19, 1998.
Copyright © 2020 by "Dial Daily Bread."

Dial Daily Bread: Can We Make the Lord Happy--Or Unhappy?

Dear Friends of “Dial Daily Bread,”

Can we lowly, unworthy mortals do anything that can have an effect on the Lord, the Ruler of the universe, to make Him happy or unhappy?

We read that when King David, the anointed ruler of God's people Israel, had committed a double crime of adultery and then murder to cover it up, but "the thing that David had done displeased the Lord" (2 Sam. 11:27). When we read the entire story we see how the displeasure of the Lord was realized in the terrible disasters that befell David's house; not that God did them all directly, but He was forced to withdraw His former blessings on David. But the fact that God was "displeased" with David did not mean that now God hated him or cursed him forever. David had plenty of troubles thereafter, but the Lord still loved the poor sinner.

David's two penitential psalms make clear that he knew that he had come within a tiny fraction of losing his soul forever: "Do not take Your Holy Spirit from me," David pleads with anguished tears (Psalm 51:11). Also, David's Psalm 32 is the prayer that every one of us sinners can pray over and over again when we remember that a wise writer has said that the books of heaven record the sins that we would commit if we had had the opportunity.

That means that it is our privilege to pray the Lord to forgive that long, long list of sins that we would have committed if we had had the opportunity! That is "corporate repentance," repenting of sins that we may not have actually done in the flesh but which we would have done if the Lord had not held us by the hand and kept us from diving into that deep, bottomless hole (cf. Prov. 22:14).

No matter how you or any of us looks back onto his life, we can humbly thank the Savior that He has held us by the hand in times of peril. For myself, I look back to my teenage years and just humbly thank the Lord for saving me from utter ruin. I could never have become a minister of the gospel if He had not saved me. I think over and over of Isaiah 54:17: "This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, and their righteousness is from Me, Says the Lord." Yes! Whatever "righteousness" there ever was at any time, it was "of the Lord"! Just the mercy and much more abounding grace of the Lord Jesus (cf. Rom. 5:20).

Eternity will not be long enough for me to praise Him!

--Robert J. Wieland

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: June 6, 2008.
Copyright © 2020 by "Dial Daily Bread."

Dial Daily Bread: A Golden Thread Throughout the Old and New Testaments

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

It seems like a fantastic idea, but it's like a golden thread throughout both Old and New Testaments of the Bible: proud, sinful, selfish, lustful, wicked human hearts (ours!) are changed by simply believing what the apostle Peter says are "exceedingly great and precious promises" (2 Peter 1:4)!

And they're not man's "promises." They are the Lord's. Can it really be true that there is power in something as simple as believing God's promises (that appear to be so wild and extravagant)? God virtually promised Abraham the sky. And the old man is "the father of us all."

For instance, in the Old Testament we read that He picked up the only monotheist He could find in the ancient world, called him into exile to "a land that [He] would show him," and promised it to him "for an everlasting possession." Paul got the idea: it was almost infinitely more than that tiny little strip of land known as Canaan; it meant the whole earth! (Rom 4:13).

And no way could the "possession" be "everlasting" for Abraham unless this "exceedingly great and precious promise" included the gift of eternal life, which Abraham couldn't enjoy as a genetic inheritance for he was born a sinner under condemnation like all of us. And further, no way could he be "the heir of the world”unless it became the "new earth." And again, no way could he be "the heir" of such a new earth unless he was given the gift of "righteousness," for Peter insists that only "righteousness dwells" there (2 Peter 3:13).

So, it all ends up full circle: God's "exceeding great and precious promises" mean the out-and-out gift of "righteousness by faith." And that was the meaning of those seven promises the Lord made to Abraham in Genesis 12:2, 3, and then later swore to in chapter 15--staking His very existence and His eternal throne on His keeping them.

Now, we return to our question: Does it make sense that we, sinful selfish people by nature can be changed, converted, purified, transformed, even "sanctified," by believing those "promises"? Believe it or not, that is Peter's idea: "His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, ... exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust" (2 Peter 1:3, 4).

"Escape" is what we desperately need, for we face the second death without it. The "corruption" of lust surrounds us and would permeate us. But it's true: our "escape" is only in believing those "promises." Let's join the father whose son was healed, in our own heart-felt prayer: "Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!" (Mark 9:23, 24). We can never perish if we pray that prayer.

--Robert J. Wieland

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: April 6, 2004.
Copyright © 2020 by "Dial Daily Bread."

Dial Daily Bread: Not Saved by Our Faith in Jesus, But by His Faith

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

Sometimes we say that we are saved by our faith in Christ, and we want to emphasize this so we don't lapse into the idea that we are saved by our works. But again, we want to be careful that we grasp the truth accurately. Truth saves (John 8:32) and error produces the lethal lukewarmness that permeates the church of the Laodiceans (Rev. 3:14-21).

God's people in the last days are distinguished in Revelation as those who demonstrate two great identification marks: they (1) "keep the commandments of God and (2) the faith of Jesus" (14:12). The former is not possible to "do" except by the latter. But it never was their faith; it was something they have received from Jesus.

Thus we are not saved by our faith in Jesus, but by His faith. He alone is "the author and finisher of our faith" (Heb. 12:2). That is, in all the 6000 years of human history Christ is the one Man who has totally believed the saving truth. His faith alone works through love (Gal. 5:6).

He is the one and only human being who has fully experienced what it is to be "forsaken" of God (Matt. 27:46). No one else has been capable of sensing to the full what that means; it was He alone who has been "made ... to be sin for us" "who knew no sin" (2 Cor. 5:21). Therefore, no one else has ever "tasted" lostness as fully as He did as He hung on that cross in the darkness. It was His faith that saved Him from eternal despair! God saw fit to record the story in Psalm 22 (and also 69).

The faith that we are to exercise is therefore second-hand; we got it from Him! Rightly defined, it is a heart-appreciation of what it cost Christ to save us; it is to "comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height--to know the love [agape] of Christ which passes knowledge" (Eph. 3:18, 19). Our salvation is in "comprehending."

--Robert J. Wieland

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: May 31, 2005.
Copyright © 2020 by "Dial Daily Bread."