Salvation – Robert Hatfield

November 11, 2015November 11, 2015

Gratitude for God’s Freedom – Periscope Revival

I was blessed to participate in the first-ever Periscope Revival last night (Tuesday, November 10, 2015). This is a fun little project (that quickly grew into a not-so-little project) that Adam Faughn put together. The theme for the event is “A 20/20 Vision of Gratitude.”

The revival spans the better part of two weeks (with the exceptions of weekends and Wednesdays), and includes nine speakers. Each night’s speaker delivers a brief presentation on a selected passage of Scripture about gratitude, and concludes with several minutes of audience interaction.

My presentation was titled “Gratitude for God’s Freedom,” and it was based out of Romans 6:17-18. You can watch the replay below.

Be sure to check out the other presentations in the Periscope Revival. Plus, you can still tune in live for the rest of the sessions. Click here to learn how to participate and to watch archived presentations.

To God be the glory!

September 4, 2015

Wandering Christian, Please Come Home

Seek the LORD while He may be found,
Call upon Him while He is near.
Let the wicked forsake his way,
And the unrighteous man his thoughts;
Let him return to the LORD,
And He will have mercy on him;
And to our God,
For He will abundantly pardon (Isa. 55:6-7).

Dear Christian brother or sister who is wandering in sin,

Will you please come home?

Listen, we are family. It’s not just that we miss you when you aren’t at worship and Bible study, though we do miss you there. It’s deeper than that. We miss the encouragement that we get when we see your smiling face. We miss working alongside you at church activities.

What was it that caused you to get to this point? Was it charismatic false teaching that carried you away? Was it a misunderstanding with someone here? Was it the ceaseless struggle with sin that burdened you down and caused you to be weary? Whatever it is, want you to know that none of it is stronger than Christ. He loves you, and so do we.

Satan will try to tempt you into thinking that nothing is wrong with your current situation. He will tempt you to believe that we are reaching out to you out of pride and self-righteousness rather than out of love. Don’t listen to that. We are concerned for your soul. Don’t you remember the reason why you became a Christian? Do you remember the gratefulness you felt for God’s grace, and the awe you felt for the cross of Christ? Do you remember how good it felt to finally have your sins washed away in baptism? None of us here are sinless. We’re forgiven. Please, my brother or sister, come home.

We are praying for you to return. In fact, many of us mention you specifically by name every day. Sometimes it even brings tears to our eyes because we have been praying for a while now. Please know that we want you to come back. Please know that God wants you to return. He, your Heavenly Father, is the Father portrayed in Jesus’ story of the lost son. When that son returned home, his father was waiting with open arms. The father initiated a celebrating at his son’s return. Jesus said that it will be the same in heaven if you will return. Won’t you come home?

Let’s wrap it up: I hope you will consider coming home to Jesus and to His church. I know there are probably several hurtles that you will have to clear for that to be possible. It may even seem overwhelmingly difficult. Is there something that we can do to help ease that burden? We can’t claim that it will be easy, but we can assure you that it will be worth it.

Acknowledge the sins in your life before God. Cease all activity that is sinful in His sight, and ask for His forgiveness in prayer. Know that He loves you. Know that we love you, too.

Love, your brothers and sisters in Christ.

September 3, 2015

Restore in the Right Spirit

Brethren, if a man is overtaken in any trespass, you who are spiritual restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness, considering yourself lest you also be tempted (Gal. 6:1).

That passage is more than a saying; it is a call for Christians to reach out in love to our brothers and sisters in the Lord who have fallen back into sin. We are commanded to reach out to them and to help them come back home.

But there is a unique temptation that will come our way when we’re involved in this sort of activity. Paul touches on it in this verse: “you who are spiritual restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness, considering yourself lest you also be tempted.” There is a certain way that we are to reach out to the erring.

Sin has a way of creeping in – even in situations that have spiritual grounds. Sometimes reaching out to an erring Christian turns into becoming a busybody or can even lead to gossip about the one to whom we are reaching out. Sometimes a brother or sister may wrong me. Perhaps later they realize that wrong and apologize to me, but I may be reluctant to forgive them. Watch yourself, Christian! If you don’t, then Satan will take you down to those same depths!

The “spirit of gentleness” described in this verse literally refers to meekness. Being meek is the opposite of being self-assertive or of operating out of self-interests. I’m going to be humble in seeking the fallen because I know that it could happen to me!

Who are the “spiritual” to whom Paul gives this obligation to restore the fallen? They are the people who have a spiritual mind (Rom. 8:5-8). They are people who’s affections are on spiritual things (Col. 3:1-2). Spiritual people have crucified “the flesh” (Gal. 5:24), and are seeking to bear the fruit of the Spirit (Gal. 5:22-23). These are the ones whom Paul addresses with this important task. They will provide a positive example to follow and will handle the situation with love, gentleness, and Christ-likeness.

Let’s wrap it up: Christians take care of each other! We are called to the opposite mentality of Cain, who asked, “Am I my brother’s keeper?” We are our brother’s keeper! We have a responsibility to others and they have a responsibility to us. We are to keep each other in check, constantly encouraging each other to keep on keeping on. That’s part of the beauty of the family of God.

So let’s be spiritual people who are motivated by spiritual reasons to reach out to someone, in an effort of helping their spiritual health.

September 2, 2015

My Responsibility to the Erring

Brethren, if anyone among you wanders from the truth, and someone turns him back, let him know that he who turns a sinner from the error of his way will save a soul from death and cover a multitude of sins (James 5:19-20).

God intends for His Word to save men (James 1:21). That is why it was given to us (2 Tim. 3:16-17). The Bible details two classes of those who are not saved, that is, who are lost: alien sinners and erring Christians. Those we call “alien sinners” are those who have never become Christians. “Erring Christians” are brothers or sisters in Christ who live in sin – that is, sin of which they have not repented and confessed to God. God’s Word can correct the erring, restoring the fallen.

The book of Galatians was written to Christians who had fallen. Paul told them: “You have fallen from grace” (Gal. 5:4). Paul was clear in reaching out to them, and in commissioning those who were still faithful to do the same.

This brings us to Galatians 6:1:

Brethren, if a man is overtaken in any trespass, you who are spiritual restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness, considering yourself lest you also be tempted.

Notice a specific responsibility that is given to the faithful. They are to restore the erring. God’s plan for saving men includes the work of men. That is, Christians have an obligation – given by God – to reach out to their brothers and sisters who have slipped back into extremely dangerous territory. If they die in that fallen state, then they will experience the second death, eternal punishment (James 5:19-20)!

In Luke 15:1-10, Jesus told two parables: one of a lost sheep and one of a lost coin. In the first parable, a man who had 100 sheep lost one. He left the 99 others so that he could go find the one that was lost. When he found it, he rejoiced.

The second parable is about a woman who had ten silver coins. She lost one, and proceeded to sweep the entire house, carefully searching until she found it. Upon finding the coin, she rejoiced.

In both parables, Jesus makes the application to a lost disciple, stating that “there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine just persons who need no repentance” (Luke 15:7). Further, “there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents” (Luke 15:10).

The point is abundantly clear. First, lost Christians should not hesitate to return home. Jesus gives them the assurance that God will gladly welcome them back, that there will be rejoicing in heaven over their return! Second, it is abundantly clear that Christians are seek their lost brothers and sisters. We cannot let them drift away unnoticed. We cannot act as though they are forgotten.

Let’s wrap it up: Are we responding to our responsibility to restore the fallen? To simply acknowledge that Galatians 6:1 is true is not enough. Christian responsibility is not accepted unless effort is made to restore the erring. We must go to them and even plead with them if necessary.

It is easy to let a preacher or an elder assume this responsibility. Don’t do that. Instead, look at the specific people upon whom Paul calls: “you who are spiritual” (Gal. 6:1). Will you answer the call?

August 7, 2015August 6, 2015

Hang On to Hope

I’ve heard it said many times lately. I’ve even said it myself: “I feel like a stranger here.” Never have I felt less at home … at home. This is both good and bad, isn’t it? It’s bad for obvious reasons, but it’s good because the degradation of our culture makes us even more thankful for our hope.

Let’s spend a little time thinking about hope today.

1. Hope Defined

In Proverbs 10:28, the wise man speaks of hope and expectation, using the terms basically synonymously. In Proverbs 13:12, he uses the terms hope and desire synonymously. So hope is desire for something, and expectation that I will receive it. Those who are only vaguely familiar with the biblical teachings understand that we hope for eternal life (Titus 1:2).

Hope is so wonderful! It changes our focus from here to eternity. Paul, a man of hope, reminded us that “our citizenship is in heaven” (Phil. 3:20), and that we should “trust in the living God” (1 Tim. 4:10; 6:17).

2. Hope Secured

The hope that we have is secure! First, it is secure in Jesus (1 Cor. 15:19; Heb. 6:19-20). When we talk about hoping for heaven, we are talking about something that is not only a desire, but a secure expectation! But that expectation is conditional, isn’t it? On a personal level, our hope is secured in our faith (Heb. 11:1), because faith is the substance of that for which we hope. Further, our hope is secure in our faithfulness. We are to “fight the good fight of faith” and “lay hold on eternal life” (1 Tim. 6:12, 19). This reminds me that hope is an expectation conditioned upon our faithfulness to God.

Then, there are things which that hope secures for us. For example, our hope secures our reason to rejoice (Rom. 12:12). Further, our hope secures our bold speech (2 Cor. 3:12). We speak boldly because we know that heaven awaits!

3. Hope realized

Today, our hope is not seen. Paul said that if hope were seen, then it would not be hope (Rom. 8:24-25)! “But if we hope for what we do not see, we eagerly wait for it with perseverance” (Rom. 8:25). One day, faith will become sight, and hope will be realized (1 Thes. 4:13-18).

Let’s wrap it up: We are a people of hope! That’s why we can endure in spite of all of the things going on in our world. That’s why we can overcome temptation and sin. That’s why we can be victorious over Satan as we fight our personal battles to secure Christ’s victory. It’s all because of the hope that we have in Christ Jesus.

But I am also reminded that there are those who have no hope (1 Thes. 4:13). They are without Christ (Eph. 2:12), that is, they do not have a relationship with Christ. It is to those without hope that we lovingly, yet boldly and urgently, plead to come to the Savior and to rest in His promises.

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This is a partial transcript from my weekday podcast, The New You, where we focus on maintaining and accentuating the new that Christ created in each of us as Christians. A new episode is available each Monday through Friday on The Light Network. Click here to see all of the episodes.

March 3, 2015July 2, 2015

Redeemed

Redemption is an important concept in the Bible. In fact, you can find the theme of man’s salvation – sometimes called “the scheme of redemption” – throughout the entire Bible. As you read throughout both Old and New Testaments, it’s a healthy exercise to look for passages that show God’s plan for man’s redemption through Christ.

To redeem is to release (or liberate) by paying a ransom price. The Bible says that with God is abundant redemption (Psa. 130:7), and that our redemption “is costly” (Psa. 49:8). That’s why Peter says,

… you were not redeemed with corruptible things, like silver or gold, from your aimless conduct received by tradition from your fathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot (1 Pet. 1:18-19).

So Jesus paid the ransom price by shedding His blood on the cross. In so doing, He liberated us, breaking us free from the bondage of sin (Rom. 6:18). Jesus paid the price that brought about our redemption. Now, we can take hold of eternal life through our obedience to the gospel call.

Redemption changes my outlook on life. It causes me to look differently at life’s circumstances. In Romans chapter eight, Paul fleshes out that idea. Addressing a group of redeemed Christians (Rom. 3:24), he admonishes the Christians in Rome to focus on their redemption.

Because of redemption…

… I can bear today’s burdens.

Paul says, “the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us” (Rom. 8:18).

… I long for something better.

We realize that we live in a sinful world. At best, this physical realm is temporary. James says that life here is like “a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away” (James 4:14). To that point, Paul says that the whole creation yearns for something better than what we have here (Rom. 8:19-23). It’s not that redemption has caused me to be discontent. Instead, redemption has helped me to focus my life in preparation for eternity.

[W]e also who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, eagerly waiting for the adoption, the redemption of our body (Rom. 8:23).

… I endure.

Paul wrote, “If we hope for what we do not see, we eagerly wait for it with perseverance” (Rom. 8:25). We can endure whatever life throws at us because of the hope that we have before us.

… I know everything will be ok.

That familiar passage, Romans 8:28, assures us that “all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.” Redemption liberates us from the shackles of sin, making it possible for us to take hold of eternal life. When we cross life’s finish line, we can know that everything will be great. Things will work out. We may suffer here, but we will rest in the hereafter.

Let’s wrap it up: Isn’t redemption beautiful? I’m thankful for a friend who helped me to recognize again the beauty of redemption. That friend recently passed from this life. His glory awaits him, he knew eternity would hold something better, he endured, and he knew everything would be ok as long as he walked God’s way. What about you? What about me? Will we live the life of the redeemed?