By: Dale Weckbacher
Psalm 119:57
(CSB)
On February 21, 2018 the world lost a great soldier for
Christ, Billy Graham. During his life Billy
Graham preached to more than 100 million people in person and millions more via
television, satellite, and film. Nearly
3 million people responded to his invitation to accept Jesus into their hearts. (1) I remember attending a Billy Graham crusade
as a child in Arizona and was amazed that thousands would turn out to hear
someone preach from the Bible. As I have
matured and grown in my relationship to Christ I now understand the importance
of sharing the Gospel, something that was the passion of Dr. Graham’s
heart.
While the world will miss Dr. Graham, we, who have made
Jesus our savior have the opportunity to carry on his legacy by sharing the
Gospel with others. While we may not
share the Gospel with millions as Dr. Graham did, we have a sphere of influence
that God has placed us in and have a duty or calling to share the Gospel with
those in that we influence through our words and the way we live. While we may feel unworthy to share the
Gospel with others due to times of disobedience to God’s Word in our lives even
after accepting Jesus as our savior, we who have accepted Jesus as our savior
are as worthy to share our faith as we could ever be.
The word portion in Psalm
119:57 is the Hebrew word khay’lek. (2) A better meaning in our modern language would
be inheritance. When someone receives
Jesus as their personal savior, they are adopted into the family of God (Romans
8:14-16) and have an inheritance in the Kingdom of God. As we begin to realize the magnitude of the
inheritance we have in Christ, obedience and sharing the Gospel should be the
goal of our lives.
The order of grace then obedience and not I obey therefore I
am saved is illustrated in Psalm
119:57-64 as the psalmist acknowledges,
1)
God is his inheritance therefore he promises to
obey the precepts of God (Psalm
119:57) – The psalmist has the order correct here for we do not obey and
then achieve salvation and a right standing with God for we are saved by God’s
grace not our works (Ephesians
2:8). While this might make it appear
one can go on sinning even after accepting God’s gracious gift of salvation for
the psalmist goes on to promise to keep God’s words because God is his inheritance. While James
2:26 tells us faith without works is dead, James is talking to believers
and not unbelievers so he is speaking to those that profess Jesus as their
savior. For those people a faith making
this profession not accompanied with works of obedience to the Word of God is a
dead faith.
2)
A repentant heart seeking God’s favor and grace
(Psalm
119:58-59) – Biblical repentance is turning away from a life of sin. Genuine disciples of Christ fervently seek
God’s favor through making Jesus their savior and striving to live in obedience
to the decrees contained in the Bible. However,
one turning from their previous sinful life must accompany this fervent seeking
to live in obedience.
3)
A sense of urgency at obeying God’s Word (Psalm
119:60) – As the psalmist we must give obedience to God’s Word urgency in
our lives. Matthew
6:21 tells us that our heart is in what we treasure most in our lives. If our greatest treasure is obedience to God
and His Word, we are living lives of urgency to obedience of God. If, however, we have something in our lives
that has greater urgency then God, we may have something for which we must
repent.
4)
Resisting the temptations of the wickedness
surrounding him (Psalm
119:61) – In the modern media and social media age, the pressure of peer
pressure can act like ropes holding us captive with pressure to conform to the
sinful and harmful lifestyles and philosophies of the world. We therefore must as the psalmist study to
learn and not forget the precepts of God’s Word to continue living in obedience
to the Word of God.
5)
A thankful heart at all times (Psalm
119:62) – There was nothing requiring God showing fallen humanity grace
except His love for them. This is why
like the psalmist we must live with thankful hearts, thankful for the grace God
has extended to us instead of giving us death (Romans
6:23) as we deserved.
6)
Eagerness to connect with other believers (Psalm
119:63) – One of the best ways of combatting peer pressure is to have
different peers. Those choosing to make
Jesus their savior must find different peers that believe as they do. As the psalmist sought friends that also fear
God, believers in Christ must seek out a church community of believers and make
them their peers.
7)
A world full of the love and the grace of God
leading to an eagerness to learn God’s Word (Psalm
119:64) – As we look out over creation we see the majesty of God our
creator. Even those choosing not to
believe in Jesus as their savior experience this beauty, demonstrating the
faithful love of God. For those choosing
to believe in Jesus as their savior, this beauty should create a greater desire
to know more about our wonderful creator who sent His Only Son to die for
us.
For those reading this who have not made the decision to ask
Jesus to save them from their sins, I invite you to pray with me now,
Dear Lord Jesus, I know I have sinned (Romans
3:23) and know that the penalty for my sin is death (Romans
6:23). I ask you to forgive me of my
sin and cleanse me as you promise in your Word (1
John 1:9). I believe you died, was
buried, and resurrected from the dead and now declare you Lord of my life.
May we as God’s people make obedience and the study of God’s
Word the passion of our lives. When we
do we will become empowered to share our faith and the life changing message of
the Gospel with those within our sphere of influence for when we do, we have a
tremendous opportunity to carry on the legacy of Billy Graham. Will you join me in making this the mission
of your life?
1. Shelley, Marshall. Evangelist Billy Graham
Has Died. www.christianitytoday.com. [Online] Christianity Today.
[Cited: March 3, 2018.]
https://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2018/billy-graham/died-billy-graham-obituary.html.
2. Godrules.com.
khay'lek. www.godrules.com. [Online] Godrules.com. [Cited: March 3,
2018.] http://www.godrules.net/library/strongs2a/heb2506.htm.
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