Q. 29. How are we made partakers of the redemption purchased by Christ?
A. We are made partakers of the redemption purchased by Christ by the effectual application of it to us by his Holy Spirit.
“But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of any works of righteousness that we had done, but according to his mercy, through the water of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit. This Spirit he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.” (Titus 3:4-7, NRSV)
The gospel life isn't something we learn ABOUT and then put together with instructions from the manufacturer; it's something we BECOME as God does his work of creation and salvation in us and as we accustom ourselves to a life of belief and obedience and prayer. - Eugene Peterson in Leap Over a Wall, quoted in Christianity Today, March 1, 1999, 64.
Are you worried because you find it so hard to believe? No one should be surprised at the difficulty of faith, if there is some part of his life where he is consciously resisting or disobeying the commandments of Jesus. Is there some part of your life which you are refusing to surrender at his behest? Some sinful passion, maybe, or some animosity, some hope, perhaps your ambition or your reason? If so, you must not be surprised that you have not received the Holy Spirit, that prayer is difficult, or that your request for faith remains unanswered. Go, rather, and be reconciled with your brother, renounce the sin which holds you fast - and then you will recover your faith! If you dismiss the word of God's command, you will not receive his word of grace. How can you hope to enter into communion with him when at some point in your life you are running away from him? The man who disobeys cannot believe, for only he who obeys can believe. —Dietrich Bonhoeffer, The Cost of Discipleship (New York: The Macmillan Company, 1963), 72-73.
Faith is both a free gift of God and the free assent of our will to the whole truth that God has revealed. To live, grow, and persevere in the faith to the end, we must nourish it with the word of God. The Lord gives us his Holy Spirit to enlighten our minds that we may grow in his truth and in the knowledge of his great love for each of us. For the apostle Paul, there is an intimate connection between the Spirit and the historic/risen Jesus who is the exalted Lord. For Paul, there is no experience of Jesus apart from the Spirit. The Spirit is the “Spirit of Jesus Christ” for Paul (Phil. 1:19) for “no one can say ‘Jesus is Lord’ except by the Holy Spirit” (1 Cor. 12:3)
For John Calvin saw that the Holy Spirit plays a major role in salvation. Indeed, “faith is the principal work of the Holy Spirit.” Faith in Jesus Christ is a divine gift of grace given by the Holy Spirit, who reveals Jesus’ identity to us through faith (Matt. 16:17; Eph. 1:13). For Calvin, as for Paul, the Spirit is “the inner teacher by whose effort the promise of salvation penetrates into our minds, a promise that would otherwise only strike the air or beat upon our ears.” The Spirit is the “key that unlocks for us the treasures of the Kingdom of God.” – Donald K. McKim, “Introducing the Reformed Faith”, p. 103.
Max Lucado tells the story of a man who had been a closet slob most of his life. He just couldn't comprehend the logic of neatness. Why make up a bed if you're going to sleep in it again tonight? Why put the lid on the toothpaste tube if you're going to take it off again in the morning? The man admitted to being compulsive about being messy.
Then he got married. His wife was patient. She said she didn't mind his habits ... if he didn't mind sleeping on the couch. Since he did mind, he began to change. He said he enrolled in a 12-step program for slobs. A physical therapist helped him rediscover the muscles used for hanging up shirts and placing toilet paper on the holder. His nose was reintroduced to the smell of Pine Sol. By the time his in-laws arrived for a visit, he was a new man.
But then came the moment of truth. His wife went out of town for a week. At first he reverted to the old man. He figured he could be a slob for six days and clean on the seventh. But something strange happened. He could no longer relax with dirty dishes in the sink or towels flung around the bathroom or clothes on the floor or sheets piled up like a mountain on the bed.
What happened? Simple. He had been exposed to a higher standard of living. That's what Jesus does. - Max Lucado, In the Grip of Grace (Dallas: Word Publishing, 1996), 116-117.
Today’s Lectionary Readings
Morning Psalm: 18:1-19
Evening Psalm: 18:20-50
Jeremiah 7:21-34
Romans 4:13-25
John 7:37-52
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