Dial Daily Bread: Can We Sinful Humans Overcome Sin?

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

Can we sinful humans overcome sin? Or are we hopelessly entangled in continued sin? It's nice to say that Jesus is our Savior, He overcame, so we can overcome, too; but what did He actually accomplish?

If He came to fight our battle against sin with equipment that we don't have, the "victory" He claims is irrelevant to us. The only conclusion has to be that He saves us in our sins; and that is exactly the basic thesis of "Babylon's" false gospel. You can't avoid continued sinning is the idea. You are still a slave in "Egypt's" darkness.

But "the everlasting gospel" is better Good News than that; Jesus came to fight our battle with the same equipment that He has given to us, not merely offered us (that is, if we do the right thing first, which we don't have the strength to do!). He was the Son of God, but the Father has adopted us "as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, ... to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He has made us accepted in the Beloved" (Eph. 1:5, 6).

It's not a "maybe," "perhaps," "if you do the impossible first." He tells us, "I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt [past tense], out of the house of bondage" (Ex. 20:2).

--Robert J. Wieland

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: July 12, 2005.
Copyright © 2017 by "Dial Daily Bread."

Dial Daily Bread: Steps That Lead Straight to the New Jerusalem

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

Is it possible that we have never really known who we are? When we learn the answer, we discover the happiness we've always yearned for.

Everyone who at last walks through the gates into the New Jerusalem, and eats of the tree of life and drinks the water of life, will be a child of two people--of Abraham, and of Sarah his wife. In Romans he is said to be "the father of all those who believe" (4:11), and God said that his wife Sarah "shall be a mother of nations; kings of peoples shall be from her" (Gen. 17:16). But of course the idea is not that "all who believe" must be of literal genetic descent; it's they "who walk in the steps of the faith [of] our father Abraham, ... who is the father of us all" (Rom. 4:12, 16).

But did Abraham and Sarah always have a perfect faith? No! And here's where you come in, because you have not always had a perfect faith, either. It took both of them years and years before they learned how to truly believe. (It's not necessary that you take that long; you can be "born again" today if you will choose to believe the truth.) But Mr. and Mrs. Abraham had an experience together that all true children of God go through--passing from the darkness of unbelief into the glorious light of believing the gospel.

The one who dragged her heels the longest was Mrs. Abraham. When God promised her childless husband he would have children in number as the stars, that meant that she would be their mother. Of course! But even though she was not able to be with child, the supreme "desire of [her] heart" was to have children of her own (see Psalm 37:4). So what did she do? Blamed God for her infertility (see Gen. 16:2).

You say you would never do that? That's why you may not know who you really are. Just like those two, you were born an unbeliever who needs to learn to be reconciled to God. Bitter old Sarah finally humbled her heart and was reconciled when she believed the Good News of the gospel (see Heb. 11:11). Now, follow her steps into the light. They lead straight to the New Jerusalem.

--Robert J. Wieland

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: April 11, 2003.
Copyright © 2017 by "Dial Daily Bread."

Dial Daily Bread: Christ's Humanity--We Dare Not Limit It

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

Someone asks, "Jesus couldn't be tempted to be selfish, could He? We don't want to make Him too human, do we?" In response we need to note several things.

To be tempted is not the same as to sin. Temptation is not sin; a thousand temptations do not equal one sin. Therefore Jesus could "in all points [be] tempted like as we are," yet never once give in to commit sin (Heb. 4:15; King James Version throughout).

Jesus did for sure become human; and we dare not limit His humanity, for John tells us that if we do, we end up being antichrist (1 John 4:1-3). He was "in all things ... made like unto His brethren" (Heb. 2:17). His name is "Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us" (Matt. 1:23)--humanity combined with divinity.

Further, we must remember that the humanity which Christ became, Himself to be [or assumed], was not the sinless, unfallen humanity of Adam in Eden. He came from heaven specifically to solve the problem of sin where it dwells in fallen, sinful human nature. If He sidesteps taking that same humanity where the problem is for all of us, He opens Himself up to the charge of being unfair in the contest. Who could believe a dishonest Savior?

We must remember that temptation to indulge self was as strong for Him as it is for us--stronger in fact. Nobody could have more fervently abhorred being crucified, than was Jesus. His whole soul shrunk from the ordeal. Listen to Him pray, "O My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from Me" (Matt. 26:39). Sweet, mild prayer? No, read on: He screamed, He shook like in an earthquake, David says He "cried out" (Psalm 22:1, 2; 69:3). He sweat actual drops of blood (Luke 22:44; Have you, ever?).

This perfect "likeness" of His nature with yours and mine, His humanity being formed with a self as is ours--a self which had to be denied if He should follow His Father's will--all this makes Jesus our perfect Savior, "able … to save them to the uttermost [perfectly] that come unto God by Him" (Heb. 7:25).

Are you having a battle with self? So did He! Have you ever given in to self? He did not! But the reason why He "ever liveth" is to give us forgiveness and victory.

--Robert J. Wieland

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: June 15, 2003.
Copyright © 2017 by "Dial Daily Bread."

Dial Daily Bread: Why Didn't Paul Stop Enduring Terrible Sacrifices?

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

When Paul wrote 2 Corinthians 5:13-15 he had become a rather old man, and he had endured terrible sacrifices, having been beaten, stoned, shipwrecked, imprisoned, starved, cold--times without number. His friends tell him, "Paul, why don't you stop? You've done your duty. Look at all you have suffered. Let others bear the burden and the sacrifices. You've earned a rest!"

Paul replies: People may think I'm crazy, but I can't stop! "The love of Christ constrains us."

Let's pause a moment to understand what he is saying. Paul is not going to tell us, "You ought to be constrained by the love of Christ!" If he said that, it would be legalism all over again. No, Paul tells us exactly why the love of Christ constrains him; and if you have a believing heart, the result will be exactly the same for you as soon as you learn this lesson. Paul goes on to say: "The love of Christ constrains us because we thus judge, that if One died for all," then all would be dead if He had not died for them (vs. 14). What does he mean?

Whether or not you believe the gospel, the fact is that Christ died in your place when He died for "all." Therefore, if He had not died for us, you would now at this moment be dead and in your grave. When Paul realized that, he took a deep breath. "I don't belong to myself! I don't possess anything that is mine by right--even my physical life I owe to Christ who died for me. My money, my house, my land, my education, my time, my strength--not one of these things I have called "mine" is really mine at all. I am infinitely and eternally in debt, a debt imposed by the grace of Christ."

 Paul continues and explains to us how this mighty motivation works in our hearts. "And that He died for all, that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto Him which died for them, and rose again" (vs. 15). In the original language the idea is clear that those who understand and believe this great truth of grace will "henceforth" find it impossible to live self-centered lives. No more gritting your teeth and clenching your fists and trying to force yourself to work hard for the Lord; it is automatic. An appreciation of the love of Christ has transformed you into a slave forever, a slave "under grace," a free person of Christ's.

The key word there, and of course throughout the Bible, is "love." You cannot truly live under grace unless you appreciate that love revealed at the cross. When the sinner sees that cross, and appreciates that kind of love poured out, all for him, the tears come in his eyes. His heart is melted.

That is true New Testament faith--a heart-appreciation of that tremendous love. That is why we shall keep on learning to glory in the cross of Christ. And more and more that "under grace" motivation will crowd out the old self-centered hope-of-reward or fear-of-punishment motivation, and we shall walk at liberty, the glorious liberty of the sons and daughters of God.

Let us come out of the shadows into the sunshine of living "under grace," and work for Christ because His love "constrains us."

--Robert J. Wieland

From: "His Cross Constrains Me!," 1984.
Copyright © 2017 by "Dial Daily Bread."

Dial Daily Bread: The Clearest Definition of "Legalism"

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

Here is the clearest definition of "legalism" I have ever found. When the Apostle Paul talks about being "under the law" in Romans 6:14, he means that our motive for serving the Lord is a self-centered one; you go to church, you are baptized, you pay your tithe, you become a minister, because you hope to go to heaven someday, and have eternal life.

You are under a constraint imposed by a sense of "ought"; you feel the constant obligation of the law. The threat of being lost hangs over you; and the enticement of a great reward in heaven beckons you on to deeds of sacrifice and service. Yes, this is what it means to be "under the law."

But, says Romans 6:14, "You are not under the law but under grace." What does it mean to be under grace? Now you feel a new constraint imposed by a deep heart-appreciation of the grace of God revealed in the sacrifice of Christ. Grace imposes on you a new and different kind of obligation.

When you are under the law, you are a slave to an egocentric motivation, although of a spiritual kind. You are working for an eternal reward. When you are under the law, you are a clever bargainer, an opportunist. You sacrifice the pleasures of sin and of this materialistic world to reap a better reward by and by.

But when you are under grace, the new constraint imposed by God's love delivers you from all egocentric concern or insecurity. You are no longer serving the Lord because you fear the fires of hell if you don't, nor do you serve Him because you want a great reward in heaven. You serve Him because you appreciate that Christ died in your place. Grace has become your new blessed taskmaster.

Could it be, though, that many of us are still "under the law"? [More tomorrow.]

--Robert J. Wieland

From: "His Cross Constrains Me!," 1984.
Copyright © 2017 by "Dial Daily Bread."

Dial Daily Bread: "Made" or "Constituted" in Romans 5?

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

What does Paul's use of the word "constituted" mean in Young's Literal Translation of Romans 5:15-19, instead of the word "made" in the King James Version?

Here's what Young renders Paul as saying: "So, then, as through one offense to all men it is to condemnation, so also through one declaration of 'Righteous' it is to all men to justification of life; for as through the disobedience of the one man [Adam], the many [all men] were constituted sinners: so also through the obedience of the One [Christ], shall the many [the same all men] be constituted righteous" (vss. 18, 19, Young's Literal).

The sin of Adam did not make "all men" to be actual sinners--that would be "original sin." Adam's fatherhood has not forced anyone to sin! (It could be that the KJV rendering as "made" has led some to think the Bible does teach original sin; but Young's Literal makes clear that we still have freedom of choice. Thank God!)

But it is true that "all have sinned" (Rom. 3:23), except Christ. But He took upon Himself the DNA descent from Adam, yet He proves that inheriting a sinful nature does not force one necessarily to be a sinner in character. Christ was tempted like as we are tempted, but He said "No!" to every temptation (Heb. 4:15; Titus 2:11, 12, New International Version). Adam's sin constituted "all men" under the legal condemnation of sin. Jesus "took" it upon Himself, so He could die.

Likewise, according to Young's Literal, the cross of Christ did not make the same "all men" to be experientially "righteous." It constituted them "righteous" in a legal sense so the Father could send His rain on the just and the unjust alike--so He could treat every person as though he had not sinned. Some call this a "second probation." But God means what He says: no one can keep you out of heaven, except your own perverse choice.

--Robert J. Wieland

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: March 25, 2005.
Copyright © 2017 by "Dial Daily Bread."

Dial Daily Bread: He Who Does Not Speak in Love Cannot Be Speaking Truth

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

Jesus had no fear of the multitudes. He had faithfully preached the truth--so faithfully, in fact, that His path was leading Him directly to His own death. Why then need He fear to present the cross to the multitudes and to call for their decision? Only the man who himself bears the cross dare summon others to do so. What need had Christ to resort to any psychological subterfuge? The way of the cross had delivered Him from any such helpless vanity.

Since it is clear that a decision to accept the gospel is a decision to accept the cross, and since that decision can be made only by the inner heart of hearts, it follows that there must be confusing pressure in true soul-winning work. Simple truth needs no alluring embellishments to make it attractive to the honest heart.

In fact, such embellishments serve only to repulse the sincere seeker for truth who fails to discern the voice of the True Shepherd in the confusing appeals to "self" voiced by the would-be soul winner. Psychological tricks and egocentric inducements to "decision" can be the tool only of one who knows not the strength of the cross.

The reason the cross is the "power of God unto salvation" is that love alone has true drawing power. "I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore with lovingkindness I have drawn you" (Jer. 31:3).

The converts who come by way of the cross are those whom the Father draws. In His mysterious process of drawing, He doesn't want mere lip servers to be sought, but disciples who will follow the Lamb wherever He goes. The power of the drawing is in the truth, for Christ is the Truth. If truth is made unmistakable, the power will prove to be invincible. Another way of saying the same thing is that the truth-seeker and truth are made for each other and when they meet, they unite.

On the other hand, the use of psychological and emotional techniques designed to force "decision" may attract an entirely wrong class of adherents who are neither disciples nor followers of the Lamb. If "decision" is secured on the basis of blatant self-interest, it cannot be of faith. And "whatever is not of faith is sin" (Rom. 14:23). In the resultant confusion, the True Shepherd's "sheep" may be turned away completely because "they will by no means follow a stranger, but will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers" (John 10:5). This may be one reason why sometimes so few people respond to gospel invitations.

Jesus said that His own sheep hear His voice. "The sheep follow Him, for they know His voice"; "My own know Me, as the Father knows Me and I know the Father" (John 10:3, 4, 14, 15, Revised Standard Version). Those "other sheep" of Christ's fold therefore need not be persuaded to accept gospel truth; once the truth (made known by the voice of Christ) is clearly presented to them, no power in earth or hell can possibly dissuade them from following that Voice!

The winsomeness is in the truth itself because love and truth are inseparable. He who thinks he is speaking right doctrine but does not speak in love cannot be speaking truth.

--Robert J. Wieland

From In Search of the Cross, 1999.
Copyright © 2017 by "Dial Daily Bread."

Dial Daily Bread: A Portrait of Christ and of His "Body"

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

Marvelous will be the results when God's people as a church learn to love sinners as Christ loves them. The only way He has to show that love to them is through His church on earth. Therefore "God has appointed ... in the church" the various gifts of His Spirit (1 Cor. 12:28) so that the church may become His efficient "body" for expressing Himself to the world in the same way that a healthy person expresses through the "members" of his physical body the thoughts and intent of his mind.

These "gifts" lead up to the supreme gift of love, which Paul says is "a more excellent way" (vs. 31). 1 Corinthians chapter 12 discusses the corporate relationship of the "many members" with one another and with Christ in the church, "the body" (vs. 12). The "more excellent way" of love is revealed in chapter 13 as the normal function of the "body," its corporate effectiveness in service. The two chapters must not be separated.

Many have seen in chapter 13 a "portrait" of Christ. But in its full context the portrait really is of the church. Paul added the 13th chapter to demonstrate how the union of the "many members" in "one body" in Christ becomes the actual body of Christ on earth for the great purpose of expressing His love to a world that is dark with misapprehension of God. And every member is needed for this glorious work to be effective!

Here is a picture of the church in the time of the final outpouring of the Holy Spirit. Every individual church becomes in its respective community what Christ would be to that community if He were living there in the flesh. Thus His love is communicated effectively to the world, and the lines will be clearly drawn. All men will decide for or against this final revelation. And thus the Lord's prophecy will be completely fulfilled: "This gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all nations, and then the end will come" (Matt. 24:14).

When the members of the body perform naturally the intents and feelings of the head, there is perfect bliss. Each organ of the body cooperates in perfect unity; the combination of physical and mental joy is indescribable. "So also is Christ" (1 Cor. 12:12). The perfect joy the human personality experiences is a symbol of the perfect joy the church experiences. "There should be no schism [paralysis] in the body, ... the members should have the same care for one another" (vss. 25, 26).

There is no breakdown of the vital system of nerve pathways conveying communication between the "Head" and the "body." Repentance is this nerve pathway that will communicate this effective love to every member of Christ's body.

--Robert J. Wieland

From: Bible Repentance: Path to Love.
Copyright © 2017 by "Dial Daily Bread."

Dial Daily Bread: What Do the "Books of Heaven" Record?

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

A wise lady once wrote: "God knows every thought, every purpose, every plan, every motive. The books of heaven record the sins that would have been committed had there been opportunity."

Do the books of heaven record sins that do not in fact exist deep down in our hearts? If so, God is terribly unfair, "imputing" to the world "trespasses" of which they are not guilty. (But 2 Corinthians 5:19 states that God does not impute the world's trespasses to them. There is no need for Him to do so; they are already lodged in human hearts.) There is abundant forgiveness and heart-cleansing with Jesus the Savior, but He cannot "cleanse us from all unrighteousness" unless we "confess" it with understanding and repent of it (1 John 1:9).

Those sins "that would have been committed had there been opportunity" represent our unrealized guilt. Other people have committed them, and we have been thankful that we have not been pressured sufficiently by temptation to do them ourselves; but as Luther said, we are all made of the same dough, "alike." It follows that corporate repentance is repenting of such sins that we would have committed had we had the opportunity, that is, been sufficiently tempted.

John Wesley said of a drunk lying in the gutter, "There but for the grace of Christ am I." How can I truly help another soul unless I sense this corporate relationship with him? When the church learns to appreciate what this is, Christ's love will course through its veins and transform it into the most effective soul-winning "body" history has ever seen.

This is because such repentance alone can enable one to love his neighbor as himself, not in the sense of excusing his sin in that we know we could be as guilty as he, but because such repentance includes an effective cleansing from the defilement of the sin itself. Such love for one's neighbor goes far beyond a sentimental sympathy; it becomes an effective cooperation with Christ in reaching the heart with redemptive power. The Head at last finds members of the body prepared to be His effective agents.

Criticism of leaders might be less severe and more efficient for reformation if God's people understood the principle of corporate guilt and repentance. Ignorance has locked many into helpless frustration in their efforts to encourage reformation. But this truth produces empathy and compassion.

--Robert J. Wieland

From: "Corporate Repentance Is Silly: IF You Don't Understand What It Means," A Thought Paper.
Copyright © 2017 by "Dial Daily Bread."

Dial Daily Bread: Ready for the Wedding--Could We Be Just About There?

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

The 16th century Protestant Reformation was a glorious movement of emancipation from Dark Ages, papal thinking. The freedom to think biblically had to precede political and social freedom. All during those Dark Ages God had a "remnant" church who preserved her liberty of conscience while having "fled into the wilderness, where she has a place prepared by God, that they should feed her there one thousand two hundred and sixty days [prophetic years]" (Rev. 12:6). These were faithful Bible-believing and Bible-preserving saints; they lived secluded in the mountains of southern France and northern Italy, who sent out their young people as missionaries to spread knowledge of the true gospel among the common people. They prepared the way for the grand Reformation of Luther.

Finally, came full deliverance from papal darkness with the end of those 1260 years in 1798 and the near simultaneous discovery in many lands of the prophecies of Daniel and Revelation; "the time of the end" had begun. Then in swift succession came the discovery that the world is now living in God's grand antitypical Day of Atonement. The time has come for that fully understood "gospel of the kingdom" that Jesus declared must be "preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, [before] the end will come" (Matt. 24:14). That's exactly where we are now in the progression of God's gift of time.

The understanding of the gospel that the saints had in the 16th century was great for their day; but now comes that paradigm shift that transcends both Calvinism and Arminianism in the recovery of justification by faith. Heaven's glorious goal is the ripening of "grain" for "harvest." "One" must be seated on a white cloud thrusting in His "sickle" to reap the harvest of the earth (Rev. 14:14, 15). That is the second coming of Jesus and the final translation of His people with the closing act of the heavenly drama: the great controversy between Christ and Satan will be at last ended. First, that "grain" must "ripen" for harvest.

Could we be just about there? At last the world is to gather before the cross of Calvary to "comprehend ... what is the width and length and depth and height--to know the love [agape] of Christ which passes knowledge" (Eph. 3:17-19). At last the full-fledged gospel is to "lighten the earth with His glory" (Rev. 18:1-4).

The world will be catalyzed into two camps--those who welcome the full "comprehension," and those who reject it. The little girl who was the flower girl at the wedding, caring only for the cake and ice cream, will now grow up "to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ" (Eph. 4:13) to where she appreciates the Bridegroom for what He is (cf. Rev. 19:7, 8). She will become the "Lamb's wife," who has at last "made herself ready" for the "marriage of the Lamb." Time's nearly up; we're just about there!

--Robert J. Wieland

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: January 7, 2007.
Copyright © 2017 by "Dial Daily Bread."

Dial Daily Bread: Sarah and Martin Luther--What They Have in Common

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

We read often about "the faith of Abraham" and how he is "the father of all that believe," but only once do we read about Sarah his wife being a woman of faith, and that at the very end of the many years of their waiting for an heir (Heb. 11:11).

She was bitter in her heart against the Lord all this while that He had been proclaiming New Covenant truth to Abraham (Gen. 16:2). In her unbelief, she did not state the truth when she said, "the Lord has restrained me from bearing children." The truth was quite different.

When the Lord promised Abraham that he would be "the father of many nations," the promise naturally included that Sarah would be the mother of many nations because the two were married, they were "one flesh" in God's sight. God recognizes and honors the marriage relation. Sarah was a faithful wife when it came to "works." She prepared food for example, for the entertaining of his guests (18:1-8); there is no hint that she complained about her husband's hospitality that made extra work for her. All this while she was the good "Laodicean" wife of good works (cf. Rev. 3:15).

Meanwhile, Abraham humbles his heart to believe God's gracious New Covenant promises (Gen. 12:2, 3) and has this rich "Christian experience" of walking in the light while Sarah nurtures her dark unbelief.

Admittedly, her "burden" was heavy to bear: all around for miles, all the wives of the neighbors were bearing children, but Sarah apparently was being passed by, and this by the Lord Himself. It seemed that God was against her--"the Lord has restrained me from bearing children"(!). He leaves me to be humiliated before everybody!

She was as honest as Martin Luther when his father-confessor Staupitz told him to just "love God, that's all you need to do!" and young Luther blurted out, "But I hate Him!" That honest confession from his heart was the beginning of Luther's conversion.

Sarah at last confesses her resentment against the Lord, and now she is on the way toward resolving her problem: "By faith Sarah herself also received strength to conceive seed, and she bore a child when she was past the age, because she judged Him faithful who had promised" (Heb. 11:11).

--Robert J. Wieland

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: July 8, 2007.
Copyright © 2017 by "Dial Daily Bread."

Dial Daily Bread: The Sure Leading of the Holy Spirit

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

Inspired by the Holy Spirit, Daniel said that in the time of the end "many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall increase" (12:4). For many years our forefather evangelists explained this prophecy as fulfilled with Model T's running almost everywhere; today, we cite space travel, computers, and iPhones.

But while scientific and technical knowledge keeps quadrupling, the "knowledge" that God's people have of the gospel of justification is also being "increased" through the blessing of the Holy Spirit. In the days of the Waldenses, they understood as much as they could; Luther and Calvin were agents for greater light; then the Wesleys and Arminianism pressed in with greater light.

Then came the great Second Advent Awakening followed by the "present truth" of the sanctuary and the great cosmic Day of Atonement. Those who were preparing to "follow the Lamb wherever He goes" (Rev. 14:4, 5) gladly welcomed each new glimpse of truth the Holy Spirit gave them.

But no new truth will contradict truth previously known; "the path of the just is like the shining sun, that shines ever brighter unto the perfect day" (Prov. 4:18). If at any point as truth unfolds like a rosebud unfolds, we reject the new revelation of truth, we in fact reject Christ at that point, for He says, "I am the ... truth" (John 14:6). Therefore it is impossible to reject any truth without rejecting Him!

A massive problem rises with the story of the "angel of the church of the Laodiceans," the last great church just before the return of Jesus. It knows no "hunger and thirst for righteousness" (cf. Matt. 5:6), for it asserts of itself, "I am rich, have become wealthy, and have need of nothing" (Rev. 3:17). If you had lived in the days of Luther and had rejected the message God sent by him, you would very likely have severed your connection with the true Holy Spirit. It would have been very dangerous to do so. The same with the Wesleys.

And now today? The great "present truth" is that message which is to "lighten the earth with glory." The new light will not cancel or contradict any light that has shone in the past; but it will be to the message of Luther's and Calvin's day what a sleek Lexus is to a Model T.

Beware that you don't separate yourself from the sure leading of the Holy Spirit. It still involves bearing a cross.

--Robert J. Wieland

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: January 14, 2007.
Copyright © 2017 by "Dial Daily Bread."

Dial Daily Bread: Faith--Luther Had the Right Idea

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

An old book divulges a statement that Martin Luther made, brave leader of the Protestant Reformation; a statement that is true throughout time and on into eternity. It's in 16th century verbal brevity and clarity, but up-to-the-minute spiritual truth:

"Thus from faith flow forth love and joy in the Lord, and from love a joyful, willing and free mind that serves one's neighbor willingly and takes no account of gratitude or ingratitude, of praise or blame, of gain or loss. For a man does not serve that he may put men under obligations, he does not distinguish between friends and enemies, ... but most freely and most willingly he spends himself and all that he has, whether he waste all on the thankless or whether he gain a reward." *

Luther had the right idea here of what "faith" is: it's not grasping for a piece of heavenly real estate. There is no egocentric motivation involved in true faith, the kind that is in John 3:16, "that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life."

The faith that is in John 3:16 is what Luther describes. It's a heart response to the agape-love that moved Christ to deny self and take up His cross on which He died the equivalent of the second death for every one.

On one occasion, the Lord Jesus healed ten lepers, but nine of them did not have the kind of faith that Luther was describing; only the tenth had that kind of faith and came back to thank Jesus for healing him (Luke 17:11-19).

Could it be today that out of ten people who proudly claim to "believe in Jesus," there is the same percentage that do not appreciate what faith is?

--Robert J. Wieland

________________

* Martin Luther, "A Treatise on Christian Liberty" (1520), Works of Martin Luther, vol II, p. 338; A. J. Holman Co. (1915).

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: May 14, 2008.
Copyright © 2017 by "Dial Daily Bread."

Dial Daily Bread: Does It Matter What We Believe About the Cross?

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

Does it matter what we believe about the cross of Christ? Is one idea as good as another? If we limit the "width and length and depth and height ... [of] the love (agape) of Christ" (Eph. 3:18), which we see at the cross, the result is lukewarmness in the church. That's our problem worldwide (Rev. 3:14-21).

If Christ's sacrifice is only an offer of salvation and not the actual gift given, and the sinner rejects it, then he can claim that he is paying for his sins by his own second death. And all along, that's what he's been claiming--he is paying his own way. As he stands before the Great White Throne in the final judgment, he can shake his fist at Christ and say, "You actually did nothing for me! You merely offered me salvation and I refused the offer. As I go into the Lake of Fire, I am paying for my own sins!"

But wait a moment. In that final judgment, the Lord will reveal to him the truth. The sinner will see that Christ did actually pay for them! He will see that his own second death is entirely unnecessary--Christ has already died his second death (Heb. 2:9). His name will be Esau; Christ gave him the birthright. Just like Esau who did not have to do anything to earn it for it was already his, Christ has given "all men" the gift of salvation. Like Esau, the lost have "despised" and "sold" it.

Does it make any difference what we believe about what Christ accomplished at the cross? Has "the Lord in His great mercy sent a most precious message to His people" in these last days that honors and glorifies Christ in His sacrifice? Is He indeed "the Savior of the world" (John 4:42), or does He merely offer to be? Are all men actually infinitely and eternally in debt to Him for even their next breath? How can the Father send His rain and sunshine on "all men," "the just and the unjust," unless Christ has actually accomplished something for them all and has given them the gift? How amazing is Christ's grace? Dare we limit or restrict it?

If a wealthy man gives you a check for $1000 and you don't cash it, what has he lost? It seems the Bible is clear: Christ "gave Himself for our sins" (Gal. 1:4); an unbeliever's refusal does not cancel the reality of the gift. Failure to grasp this truth weakens our devotion to Him.

--Robert J. Wieland

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: May 3, 2003.
Copyright © 2017 by "Dial Daily Bread."

Dial Daily Bread: You Never Suffer Gethsemane Alone

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

Here is a morsel of common sense that may help us understand something perplexing that Jesus said. This bit of wisdom is in Ecclesiastes 4:9, 10: "Two are better than one, ... for if they fall, one will lift up his companion. But woe to him who is alone when he falls, for he has no one to help him up." That is so true; if you want to climb Mount Everest, take someone with you!

But now shift gears to a perplexity in the words of Jesus that troubles many people. He says in Matthew 11:28-30, "Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, ... My yoke is easy and My burden is light." And yet He also tells us that the way to eternal life is so narrow (thlibo, Greek) that "there are few that find it" (Matt. 7:14), and He urges us to "strive to enter through the narrow gate, for many, I say to you, will seek to enter and will not be able" (Luke 13:24).

Sounds like a direct contradiction, doesn't it? We have to strive, we have to deny self, we have to resist strong pressures of temptation, we have to obey God's law when our sinful human nature doesn't want to, and on and on. The disciples were so overwhelmed with all the sacrifice that is necessary if one wants to go to heaven that they asked in bewilderment, "Who then can be saved?" (Luke 18:26). And then Jesus said frankly that it's "impossible with men [but] possible with God."

Now shift gears back to our little tidbit of common sense in Ecclesiastes: "Two are better than one." When you choose to enter in at the narrow gate, you never walk the path alone. "I have been crucified with Christ," says Paul (Gal. 2:20); you are never crucified alone. You may think your trials and self-sacrifices are painful to bear, but you never suffer Gethsemane alone; you always kneel down with Him. You never carry that heavy "burden" alone; the reason why Jesus says His burden is "light" is because He does the lifting. Very true! But if you don't believe the Good News, then it seems "heavy" and "hard" for you! And that could be the problem.

--Robert J. Wieland

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: June 28, 1998.
Copyright © 2017 by "Dial Daily Bread."

Dial Daily Bread: October 22, 1844--A Date That Will Never Die

Dear Friends of “Dial Daily Bread,”

October 22, 1844, is a date that will never die in the world's memory. Scores of thousands of Christians in Europe and the United States had been studying the book of Daniel, thanking God that at last the book which had been sealed for many centuries (12:4) had now at the end of the Dark Ages of papal persecution and oppression been "opened" for understanding. It was now "a little book open" in the hands of a "mighty angel" (Rev. 10:1, 2) who was a "messenger," attracting worldwide attention.

Its message had riveted on Daniel 8:14; serious readers of the Bible were drawn to Daniel's prophecies. The year-day principle was established so clearly that they saw the 2300 years of that prophecy reaching fulfillment on that date in 1844. "Then shall the sanctuary be cleansed," said the Word. They borrowed from the commentaries the idea that "the sanctuary" was this earth, and the "cleansing" therefore would be the fire of the last day at the coming of Jesus.

But the commentators were wrong; there is a sanctuary in Heaven--the real one, and that's where the world's great High Priest, Jesus, ministers. The "cleansing" is His great Day of Atonement, His final work of preparing a people to be ready when Jesus comes the second time. They were woefully uninformed about what that preparation entailed! It was to be nothing short of "self" being "crucified with Christ" (Gal. 2:20), and "the world [being] crucified to me, and I to the world" (6:14). A tremendous work!

The fascinating story of the "Great Disappointment" and its aftermath is told in Revelation chapter 10. Verse 11 describes the worldwide work that must (that will!) be done before Jesus can be happy to come again--every person must have a chance to hear the Good News and respond in heart. The angel said, "You must prophesy again" before the world! And that's the work that is going on now all over the world. Listen!

--Robert J. Wieland

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: October 23, 2005.
Copyright © 2017 by "Dial Daily Bread."

Dial Daily Bread: What Is This Thing Called Justification?

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

Many people ask: "What is this thing called justification? It's a word that's over my head. Please help me!" The Bible is God's word; He wants us to understand; He puts the feeding trough down low so lambs can eat. Surely He will respond to our plea.

The idea is simply making something crooked straight; something bad, good; something wrong, right. So, it ends up making something unjust, just--and there's the root of the word. Justification means making them right again.

The source of all this evil is sin. Justification is therefore the opposite of sin. It reverses the evil that sin has caused, it un-does what sin has done, it untangles the knot that sin has tied in the universe of God, and especially on this planet.

Sin has caused an alienated sense of separation from God. It has left us strangers in the universe, our very home. The alienation actually causes "enmity" against God. Justification has bridged the chasm that has separated us from "home," which is the throne of God. This bridging of the chasm is "at-one-ment," a heart-reconciliation with the One whom we have thought was our enemy. He turns out to have been our Friend all along. The root of the problem has been eradicated: justification has made us friends with God again, like we used to be at Creation.

Justification is what One has done whom the Bible calls "the Savior of the world" (John 4:42). He untied the knot, reversed the evil, brought good in place of the bad, reconciled enemies into being friends with God, made everything crooked straight, and made everything wrong to become right. This was infinitely more wonderful than if He had wiped us out in one fell swoop and started from scratch creating everything new again.

Changing alienated hearts, winning enemies to be friends--this was the Miracle of the ages. It required a cross on which the Creator gave up His very life in a total sacrifice known in the Bible as "the second death"--an embracing of hell itself in love for us (Heb. 2:9; Isa. 53:12).

This act which He performed did it for all humanity; legally, He saved His lost world, yes, redeemed His threatened universe. That is justification.

But what you didn't ask is what's important: "What is justification by faith?" That's when our sinful, alienated heart appreciates the justification He accomplished for us; and that is a totally changed heart and life. You're now a new you.

--Robert J. Wieland

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: March 29, 2004.
Copyright © 2017 by "Dial Daily Bread."

Dial Daily Bread: If Sabbath-Keeping Is "Boring," Here's Good News for You

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

Keeping the Sabbath day is not a matter of cold obedience motivated by fear if we don't keep it, nor hope of reward if we do. That is Old Covenant day-keeping.

New Covenant Sabbath-keeping is heart-to-heart companionship with the One who is "the Lord of the Sabbath." He said to Moses, "My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest" (Ex. 33:14), thus teaching us that the "rest" that is in the Sabbath is enjoying His "presence." It is recognizing and believing that you are spending the day with your Savior, personally.

But one might say, "Keeping the Sabbath is boring! I can't wait until the 'sacred hours' are over so I can live again--turn on the TV, play games, go to the mall." If this is your "Sabbath-keeping," here is Good News for you:

"The Lord of the Sabbath" will totally transform your experience, if you don't interpose a rebellious will to stop Him (He is the High Priest cleansing His sanctuary--He does the work). Of course, He feels wounded, slighted, and insulted by resentment of His presence. You'd feel terrible to visit a friend and he avoids you and insults you. But "the Lord of the Sabbath" isn't there to take revenge. He's not mad at you; He feels terribly sorry for you. You are missing the joy of life itself, and on the way to miss eternity.

So now what do you do? Jesus tells clearly what your "job" is: "This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He sent" (John 6:29).

"But I don't know how to believe!" Then make a choice to stop dis-believing. Let the first sacred moments of the Sabbath find you using some sanctified common sense: the Lord of the Sabbath comes with it. Be decent to Him. Tell Him of your frustrations. Be honest: tell Him, "Lord, I believe; help my unbelief" (Mark 9:24; you can never go wrong if you pray that prayer).

Be courteous to your Guest, who is unseen but not unknown. Don't drive Him away. Give your Guest a chance to say something to your heart during these 24 holy hours.

--Robert J. Wieland

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: March 1, 2003.
Copyright © 2017 by "Dial Daily Bread."

Dial Daily Bread: The Battle in Paul's Heart

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

The apostle Paul stands out as totally consecrated to God, a rare character who could dare to tell people to "follow" him as he followed the Lord (1 Thess. 1:6; 2 Thess. 3:7). The Lord honored him highly, so that in vision he "was caught up into Paradise, and heard inexpressible words, which it is not lawful for a man to utter" (2 Cor. 12:3-7).

But he was not a monk alone in a monastery; he was in the thick of life everywhere. As the Bible tells us that Jesus was "in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin" (Heb. 4:15, King James Version), so Paul confides in us, confessing that he has been heavily tempted like everybody else. He is not some self-righteous man who doesn't know what sexual temptation is! He was as susceptible as anyone else.

In Romans, he confesses that he had never understood what the real definition of "sin" is until he discovered what it's like to be tempted by a woman who was not, and could never be, his! He says, "I would not have known sin except through the law. For I would not have known covetousness unless the law had said, You shall not covet" (Rom. 7:7). (The original says, "your neighbor's wife," Ex. 20:17.)

But again, temptation is not to be equated with sin; the sin comes only in yielding to the temptation. The battle in Paul's heart was severe: "I am carnal, sold under sin. For what I am doing, I do not understand. For what I will to do, that I do not practice; but what I hate, that I do" (Rom. 7: 14, 15). He kept seeing someone in his dreams that he knew he should not see. It's "sin that dwells in me," he said (vs. 17). "The evil that I will not to do, that I practice" (vs. 19).

But read chapter 8--Paul discovers the glorious secret of victory over this kind of temptation. The "secret"? "The law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death" (vs. 2).

--Robert J. Wieland

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: September 12, 2005.
Copyright © 2017 by "Dial Daily Bread."

Dial Daily Bread: Jesus' Mission—"Call Sinners to Repentance"

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

Jesus announced that His mission was to "call … sinners to repentance" (Matt. 9:13). Such an experience is a personal change of mind, a turning around to go in the opposite direction. It includes deep heart sorrow for sin, a sense of shame and self-abhorrence for a life of rebellion against one's Creator and Redeemer. As such, it can be a cataclysmic upheaval of soul.

The way repentance works is clearly taught in the Bible. Jesus' call to repent is to all, for "all have sinned" (Rom. 3:23). "The knowledge of sin" comes through "the law" (3:20). Thanks to the beneficent work of the Holy Spirit, this wholesome "knowledge" is imparted to "every man" as a "Light" that passes no one by (John 1:9).

This knowledge is imparted by a conviction that there is a standard of perfect righteousness in Christ. The sinner may as yet have never heard the name of Christ, but he knows deep in his heart that he has "sinned and fall[en] short of the glory of God" (Rom. 3:23). The awareness of a perfect standard embodied in the law and in Christ may be ever so dim to consciousness, but Christ assured His disciples that as the result of His going to His Father and "you see Me no more," the Holy Spirit would bring to people's hearts a conviction of sin, and of righteousness" (John 16:8-10).

This potential for the conviction of sin is as universal as is the capacity for pain built into every human body. It is a signal that something is wrong. Thus the Lord Himself who "so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son" has prepared the way for the preaching of His gospel, which is complementary to this conviction of sin communicated by the Holy Spirit to "every man." When Jesus went forth after His baptism "preaching the gospel of the kingdom," His message was, "Repent, and believe in the gospel" (Mark 1:14, 15).

Teaching legalism or an adulterated "gospel" short-circuits this work of the Holy Spirit in human hearts, and millions as a consequence are never able to receive the gift of repentance, which alone can heal the "hurt" they feel.

But Scripture foretells a time when the gospel will be restored and presented in its pristine purity and the earth will be "lightened" with its glory (Rev. 18:1-4). In millions of human lives it will be like restoring a broken electronic connection. The circuit will be complete--the Holy Spirit's conviction of sin will be complemented by the pure gospel, and the current of heaven's forgiveness will flow through the soul, working miracles of grace.

--Robert J. Wieland

From: Bible Repentance: Path to Love.
Copyright © 2017 by "Dial Daily Bread."