For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, ‘Abba, Father.’ 

Romans 8:15 

How do we become the children of God? We are born ‘the children of wrath.’ We are the sons and daughters of Adam’s fallen race. We are not, by nature, the children of God. In order for us to become members of His family, He must do what is necessary to change both our nature and our status. Enter the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit regenerates, gives repentance, faith and enables us to embrace Christ as the gospel freely offers Him. Christ has done all that is necessary to make us acceptable to God regarding our justification. The Holy Spirit applies the redemption purchased by Christ unto all for whom God intends it. Justification is an act of God’s free grace, as is adoption. What God does legally because of the work of Christ, the Holy Spirit brings to us personally. Thus He makes Christ real unto us. He brings to us the spiritual appropriation of the work of Christ. As He does, we receive the Spirit of adoption and as children, cry out, ‘Abba, Father.’ This means the fear that ruled our lives need do so no longer. We are now the children of God by adoption. 

Our Kind and Loving Father, 
we rejoice that You have made us Your children. 
We praise You that we are members of Your family, 
not just for time, but for eternity. 

Tomm Tice
Where the Bush is Burning

‘Christ Died For the Ungodly’

For when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly.

Romans 5:6

The Scripture makes much of Christ. The Apostle Paul, writing under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, slowly built his case for Christ by beginning with a discussion of the complete and utter sinfulness of humanity. This sinfulness translated into a complete helplessness regarding spiritual matters. Paul spoke in terms of our total unrighteousness and our total inability. Having worked through the proofs of human depravity, Paul moved on to his presentation of justification. As he does, he arrives at the Person and Work of Christ. Herein lies the crux of our consideration today, ‘Christ died for the ungodly.’ This gives us great joy and cause for thanksgiving. God did not tell us to bring ourselves into an acceptable form before Christ would die for us. He did not lay down pre-requisites that we must meet before Christ would make that sacrifice for us. Rather, it was ‘when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly.’ Nothing else could be more heartening to us than that God was so gracious as to sacrifice His Only Begotten Son for us when we were both without strength and overtly godless. Hence, we magnify the God of Grace and the Christ of Calvary. Today, let us dwell upon the implications for us, both now, and beyond today, for all eternity.

Our Wondrous, Saving God,
we praise You for the sacrifice of Christ.
We rejoice that what He has done, was done once,
well done, and accomplished all which You intended

Tomm Tice
Where the Bush is Burning

Conformed to Christ’s Image

For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren.

Romans 8:29

We want to be like our heroes. If we are sports fans, or music fans, or fans of crafts and trades, we have our heroes. They set for us standards which we strive to imitate. For us, whom God has saved by Free and Sovereign Grace, our Hero of Heroes is Christ Himself. No one else is so gracious, so kind, so loving, so pure, so strong, so wise, so wonderful as is Christ. We see our feeble attempts at holiness and despair of the bare progress of growth in grace, much less the full fruition of it. When Paul, writing under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit wrote the ‘Order of Salvation,’ from which our text arises today, He indicated that the end purpose of predestination is for these predestinated ones to be conformed to ‘the Image of his Son.’ Here is another blessing and benefit of adoption into the Family of God. We bear the likeness of Jesus Christ. This is a key element of sanctification. God renews us in the whole person after the image of Christ.  This is a great encouragement for us who seek after Christlikeness. This gives us courage to seek after holiness. This makes the quest for true spirituality something more than an unobtainable dream. God, Who foreknew and predestinated us, did so in order to conform us to the Image of His Son. Our prospects are bright indeed.

Our Gracious and Sovereign God,
we rejoice that You perform all things after the counsel of Your Own Will.
We praise You that You will conform us, completely,
unto the Image of Christ and we shall be satisfied when we awake with His Likeness.

Tomm Tice
Where the Bush is Burning

Resurrection And Salvation

…that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.

Romans 10:9

According to the Apostle Paul, the resurrection of Christ and eternal salvation are inextricably linked. Consider our text for today, ‘that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.’ In the first portion of the text Paul lays emphasis upon confession of Christ ‘with your mouth.’ In the second portion of the text he adds, ‘and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead.’ He goes on to say, having laid these two actions down as prerequisites, ‘You shall be saved.’ In the estimation of the Apostle Paul, writing under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, this matter of the resurrection of Christ is critical to salvation. Therefore the Apostles laid emphasis upon it. If they did, then we must as well, if we are to ‘teach and preach Jesus Christ.’ We speak of Christ’s Eternity and proclaim His Godhood. We speak of His Incarnation and emphasize His active obedience. We speak of His death and assert His passive obedience. If we speak of His Exaltation, then we must set forth in the most powerful terms, His resurrection. ‘I am He who lives, and was dead, and behold I am alive forevermore.’ Our salvation is indissolubly linked to this glorious truth. We confess with our mouth the Lord Jesus. We believe in our hearts that God has raised Him from the dead. We are saved, not by our belief, but by Christ, Who is worthy of the faith we place in Him. If you, as yet, know not Christ for yourself, heed the words of our text today.  ‘Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you shall be saved.’

Our most Holy and Wise God,
we praise You that You are the God of our salvation.
We rejoice that we may know You,
‘the only True God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.’

Tomm Tice
Where the Bush is Burning

Raised Again For Our Justification

Who was delivered for our offenses and was raised again for our justification.

Romans 4:25

We have spent some considerable time, of late, contemplating the resurrection of Christ and the implications of it for us. The Apostle Paul made much of the resurrection. Every text which we have contemplated thus far came from his Holy Spirit-inspired pen. Our text today is the same. Paul writes, ‘who was delivered for our offenses and was raised again for our justification.’ Knowing what we know of justification, that ‘justification is an act of God’s free grace, wherein He pardons all our sins, and accepts us as righteous in His sight, only for the righteousness of Christ imputed to us, and received by faith alone,’  how does Christ’s resurrection relate to this? Contemplate this, please. Justification involves pardon and acceptance. In order for God to pardon us, He must accept Christ’s payment of the penalty which the Law exacts for sin. The proof of God’s acceptance of that payment which Christ rendered by His death on the cross is that God has raised Him from the dead. Therefore Paul could say that Christ was, ‘raised again for our justification’. Because God has accepted Christ’s Sacrifice, and proven His acceptance by raising Christ from the dead, He can, ‘accept us as righteous in His sight, only for the righteousness of Christ, imputed to us and received by faith alone.’ Our justification is utterly dependent upon Christ’s resurrection. This makes the resurrection that much more vital. If there is no resurrection, there is no justification. Praise God, there is Christ’s resurrection and therefore, there is for us, justification. We stand before the Throne of God robed in the Righteousness of the Living Christ. We stand upon Redemption Ground.

Our All-Powerful, Wonder-Working God,
we praise You, for Free and Sovereign grace.
We rejoice today that You accept us upon the merits of Christ,
And that our banner is the LORD our Righteousness.

Tomm Tice
Where the Bush is Burning