Triplets of Salvation: Renew

Periodically all of us have to renew legal documents, whether for employment contracts, passports, or even a driver’s license. In each case, the privilege of working, traveling, or driving has to be re-evaluated and updated to reflect life changes since the previous document.

These may include new responsibilities, training, or benefits related to the job; aging necessitating a new photo on the passport for accurate identification; or the need for corrective lenses, use of a specially equipped vehicle, or the wish to be an organ donor annotated on the license. 

But my favorite sense of “renew” is that offered by Merriam‑Webster: “to make (something) new, fresh, or strong again; to make (a promise, vow, etc.) again; to begin (something) again especially with more force or enthusiasm.” 

That is the spirit in which couples renew their wedding vows, promising once more to spend the remainder of their lives with one another. They vow again to be faithful to one another, loving and supporting one another in sickness, health, and all life circumstances, until death parts them (Matthew 19:3-9; Mark 10:2-12), if only temporarily in the case of couples who are born-again Christians (John 3:16; 11:25-26). The renewal is not only a repetition of the original vow, but a desire to recapture the joy, vigor, and excitement of newlyweds, yet tempered by the maturity, wisdom and strength of two lives shared together as one (Ephesians 5:22-31). 

The church, or body of believers in Jesus Christ, is His bride (Revelation 21:2; Matthew 9:15; 21:1-10), so why should we not periodically renew our vow to love, follow, and obey Him? Sometimes those who feel they have drifted away from God’s will “rededicate their lives to the Lord” at the altar. But even for those who try to “die daily” to our sin nature (1 Corinthians 15:31) so that we can yield to His Spirit, what better way to start each day than by renewing our commitment to Him? 

As we have seen, triplets of salvation in Scripture can be described with the terms redeem, restore, and renew, with the terms used literally as well as symbolically. In the literal sense, “renew” in the Bible means to take something up again, such as the kingdom renewed by Samuel at Gilgal (1 Samuel 11:14), or Asa renewing the Lord’s altar in a land polluted by idols (2 Chronicles 15:8). 

In his tirade questioning God, Job says that witnesses are renewed against him, or accusing him again (Job 10:17), but then he remembers his glory days when his bow was renewed in his hand (Job 29:20). 

Physical renewal in the sense of regaining the strength of youth (Isaiah 41:1; Lamentations 5:21) can be likened to the lofty flight of an eagle, soaring not in our own power but on the powerful wind of the Holy Spirit. If we wait upon the Lord to renew our strength, we shall mount up with wings as eagles; we shall run and not be weary; and we shall walk, and not faint (Isaiah 40:31). 

The Psalmist speaks not only of physical renewal but also of spiritual renewal when he writes (Psalm 103: 2-5) that if we bless God, He will renew our youth like the eagle's, heal all our diseases, and satisfy our mouth with good things. Spiritually, He forgives all our sins; redeems our life from destruction; and crowns us with loving kindness and tender mercies. 

Paul speaks of spiritual renewal of our inward man, yielded to the Holy Spirit and thus being renewed every day, despite the inevitable effects of aging, disease, and injury to our physical body (2 Corinthians 4:16). We believe, or have faith, because we have read and heard God’s Word and testimonies of believers (v. 13) that God raised Jesus from the dead, that He shall raise believers from the dead, and that He shall present all believers to Himself  (v. 14). 

We thank God for His abundant grace, to His glory (v. 15). If we focus on eternal things, our temporary physical suffering will bring forth eternal glory (v. 17-18). By keeping our eyes fixed on those things of eternal significance, we can renew our mind in the spiritual sense, which will transform us, so that we are not conformed to the world (Romans 12:2). In so doing, we can present our bodies to God as a living, holy, and acceptable sacrifice (Romans 12:1). 

Being renewed in the spirit of our mind (Psalm 51:10) means putting on the new man, which the Holy Spirit creates within us, resembling Him in righteousness and true holiness. To do this, we must take off or lay aside the old man, which is corrupt because of deceitful lusts (Ephesians 4:21-24; Colossians 3: 9-10). 

The new man has his identity in Christ, free of national labels, religious customs, or servitude because he is God’s chosen, holy and beloved (v. 11-12). In this state we should renew ourselves and one another with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, doing all to the glory of the Lord Jesus, God (Spirit) and the Father (v. 16-17). 

Not only does God renew His children who are new creatures in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17) with new compassions every morning (Lamentations 3:22-23), but He will also renew, restore and regenerate the heavens, the earth, and His Kingdom (Matthew 17:11; 19:28; Mark 9:12; Acts 1:6; 3:21; Ephesians 1:10; Isaiah 65:17; 66:22; 2 Peter 3:13; Revelation 21:1-5). 

Praise God that He renews us as we are born again, that He renews His children physically and spiritually, and that we can eagerly await His renewal of the heavens, earth and His kingdom!

Revelation 21:5 …Behold, I make all things new.

© 2014 Laurie Collett

Reposted from the archives

 

Triplets of Salvation: Restore

Photo by mbboston 2009

As I am slowly recovering from my illness by God's grace, the word "restore" comes to mind for the physical, mental and spiritual healing only God can provide. Only in Him can we be made a new creation (2 Corinthians 5:17; Galatians 6:15), once we are saved by our faith in the death, burial and resurrection of His Son Jesus Christ (1 Corinthians 15:1-4). Hoping my readers enjoy this repost from the archives on the topic "restore."

In the comedy movie Bean, Rowan Atkinson plays a bumbling security guard assigned to protect the portrait of Whistler's Mother, bought by a museum for $50 million. When Bean is alone with the masterpiece for a few moments, he accidentally sneezes on the painting and then wipes it with his handkerchief, not realizing that it is soaked in ink from a pen that broke in his pocket. Things go from bad to disastrous as the ink stains the portrait; Bean tries to remove the stain with lacquer thinner, which dissolves Whistler’s mother’s face; and Bean “restores” it by drawing a cartoon face on the canvas.

In reality, the skill of fine art restoration is a highly technical, painstaking and detailed process requiring expertise, knowledge, and artistry. Man’s attempts at restoring broken lives, relationships and situations can be as clumsy as those of Bean unless they are guided by the Holy Spirit. Only God is the master Restorer, or Potter (Jeremiah 18:4; Isaiah 64:8; 29:6; Romans 9:21) who can reassemble the broken shards of our lives into a unified whole, remove the stain of sin from the canvas of our soul, and fill the empty spaces with an even better design than the one that was lost.

As we saw previously, three key words for salvation are redeem, restore, and renew.  Each of these is described in patterns of three in the Scripture, echoing God’s triune nature,

In the literal sense of the word, it may be necessary to restore physical property (Genesis 42:25,28; Leviticus 6:4,5; 25:27,28; Judges 11:13;17:3; etc.), animals (Exodus 22:1,4; Leviticus 24:21; Deuteronomy 22:1-2; 28:31; etc.), or persons (2 Kings 8:1,5; Isaiah 57:18; Matthew 12:13; Mark 3:5; 8:25, etc.) that are damaged, stolen or killed. Restoration may involve being repaired, replaced, or reunited with the rightful owner, spouse, or employer.

At God’s instruction, the pagan king Abimelech restored Sarah to Abraham as his wife and also gave him sheep, oxen and servants to make up for him desiring her, not knowing she was married to Abraham (Genesis 20:7,14).

Naomi lost her sons to starvation in the famine, but God restored to her, through her daughter-in-law Ruth, descendants who would not only bring new purpose to her life but who would lead to the blood line of Jesus Christ Himself! (Ruth 4:13-22)

When Joseph was imprisoned along with Pharaoh’s butler and baker (three prisoners), he correctly interpreted the butler’s dream of three budding branches on the vine, from which the butler plucked the grapes, pressed them into a cup, and gave the cup to Pharaoh (Genesis 40:11,12). Joseph accurately predicted that in three days, Pharaoh would restore the butler to his former position, as described in three verses using the word “restore” (Genesis 40:13, 21;41:13).

Joseph asked the butler to remember him when he was released, to be kind to him, and to mention him to Pharaoh so that Joseph would also be released (Genesis 40:14). Joseph also correctly interpreted the baker’s dream of three white baskets on his head filled with baked goods eaten up by birds to mean that in three days, Pharaoh would behead the baker, hang his body on a tree, and allow the birds to eat his flesh (Genesis 40:16-20). What a dark contrast to the butler’s dream foretelling restoration!

Moving from the physical to the spiritual realm, there are three main uses of the word "restore" as it applies to spiritual restoration: personal restoration of the believer by God; restoration of other believers by children of God led by the Holy Spirit; and restoration of God’s creation by Himself at the end of the age.

In the Shepherd’s Psalm (Psalm 23), David praises God for restoring his soul.in the midst of difficulties and trials, which involves God’s provision of green pastures (physical sustenance), still waters (spiritual peace), and paths of righteousness (deliverance from sin; v. 2,3).  Despite the dangers of death, evil, and enemies (v. 4,5), David thanks God for preparing a feast for him, anointing his head with oil, and filling his cup to overflowing (v. 5). He looks forward to God’s ongoing blessings of goodness, mercy and eternal life (v.6)

In Psalm 51, David begs God to restore to him the joy of his salvation (v.:12) as he repents of sinning wickedly against God in adultery with Bathsheba, deceit in attempts to cover his sins, and ultimately murder of Uriah (2 Samuel 11). This type of spiritual restoration involves God looking away from our sins, blotting out our sins (Psalm 51:9), and not rejecting us because of our sins (v. 11). Once this cleansingphase of restoration occurs, God can complete the process by creating a clean heart in us, renewing a right spirit within us (v.10), and upholding us with His spirit (v. 12).

The second type of spiritual restoration refers to born-again (John 3:3-8), mature believers restoring fellow Christians who have fallen into habitual sin, which is possible only through Holy Spirit guidance. This process has three goals: bearing one another's burdens, teaching one another from the Word, and doing good to everyone, but especially to fellow believers (Galatians 6:2,6.10).

However, Paul gives three warnings concerning this. Firstly, only spiritual Christians living for God, and not carnal Christians led primarily by their sin nature (Romans 7:15-25; 8:1-17), should attempt this process. Secondly, they must correct the fallen Christian in meekness and humility, not committing the sin of pride with a “holier-than-thou” attitude. Third, they must avoid temptation themselves, remembering the ever-present sin nature that may make it easier for a carnal Christian to pull a spiritual Christian into his own wayward lifestyle or habit than for the spiritual Christian to restore the backslider (Galatians 6:1,2).

Paul expands on these three warnings regarding restoration of other believers by counseling the one attempting the restoring not to think too highly of himself (v.3), not to sow to his own flesh (v.8), and not to get tired and give up on helping others (v.9). For those following Paul’s advice in restoring fellow believers, three rewards await: eternal life (v.8), spiritual harvest (v.9), and being a new creature glorying only in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ (v.15). They will be blessed with God’s peace, mercy (v.16) and grace (v.18).

The third type of restoration in the symbolic sense refers to God’s plan for His creation at the end of the age. May we trust God to restore us from sin and to joy in Him, enabling us to encourage and guide one another!

© 2014 Laurie Collett

Triplets of Salvation: Renew

Periodically all of us have to renew legal documents, whether for employment contracts, passports, or even a driver’s license. In each case, the privilege of working, traveling, or driving has to be re-evaluated and updated to reflect life changes since the previous document. 

These may include new responsibilities, training, or benefits related to the job; aging necessitating a new photo on the passport for accurate identification; or the need for corrective lenses, use of a specially equipped vehicle, or the wish to be an organ donor annotated on the license.

But my favorite sense of “renew” is that offered by Merriam‑Webster: “to make (something) new, fresh, or strong again; to make (a promise, vow, etc.) again; to begin (something) again especially with more force or enthusiasm.”

That is the spirit in which couples renew their wedding vows, promising once more to spend the remainder of their lives with one another. They vow again to be faithful to one another, loving and supporting one another in sickness, health, and all life circumstances, until death parts them (Matthew 19:3-9; Mark 10:2-12), if only temporarily in the case of couples who are born-again Christians (John 3:16; 11:25-26). The renewal is not only a repetition of the original vow, but a desire to recapture the joy, vigor, and excitement of newlyweds, yet tempered by the maturity, wisdom and strength of two lives shared together as one (Ephesians 5:22-31).

The church, or body of believers in Jesus Christ, is His bride (Revelation 21:2; Matthew 9:15; 21:1-10), so why should we not periodically renew our vow to love, follow, and obey Him? Sometimes those who feel they have drifted away from God’s will “rededicate their lives to the Lord” at the altar. But even for those who try to “die daily” to our sin nature (1 Corinthians 15:31) so that we can yield to His Spirit, what better way to start each day than by renewing our commitment to Him?

As we have seen, triplets of salvation in Scripture can be described with the terms redeem, restore, and renew, with the terms used literally as well as symbolically. In the literal sense, “renew” in the Bible means to take something up again, such as the kingdom renewed by Samuel at Gilgal (1 Samuel 11:14), or Asa renewing the Lord’s altar in a land polluted by idols (2 Chronicles 15:8).

In his tirade questioning God, Job says that witnesses are renewed against him, or accusing him again (Job 10:17), but then he remembers his glory days when his bow was renewed in his hand (Job 29:20).

Physical renewal in the sense of regaining the strength of youth (Isaiah 41:1; Lamentations 5:21) can be likened to the lofty flight of an eagle, soaring not in our own power but on the powerful wind of the Holy Spirit. If we wait upon the Lord to renew our strength, we shall mount up with wings as eagles; we shall run and not be weary; and we shall walk, and not faint (Isaiah 40:31).

The Psalmist speaks not only of physical renewal but also of spiritual renewal when he writes (Psalm 103: 2-5) that if we bless God, He will renew our youth like the eagle's, heal all our diseases, and satisfy our mouth with good things. Spiritually, He forgives all our sins; redeems our life from destruction; and crowns us with loving kindness and tender mercies.

Paul speaks of spiritual renewal of our inward man, yielded to the Holy Spirit and thus being renewed every day, despite the inevitable effects of aging, disease, and injury to our physical body (2 Corinthians 4:16). We believe, or have faith, because we have read and heard God’s Word and testimonies of believers (v. 13) that God raised Jesus from the dead, that He shall raise believers from the dead, and that He shall present all believers to Himself  (v. 14).

We thank God for His abundant grace, to His glory (v. 15). If we focus on eternal things, our temporary physical suffering will bring forth eternal glory (v. 17-18). By keeping our eyes fixed on those things of eternal significance, we can renew our mind in the spiritual sense, which will transform us, so that we are not conformed to the world (Romans 12:2). In so doing, we can present our bodies to God as a living, holy, and acceptable sacrifice (Romans 12:1).

Being renewed in the spirit of our mind (Psalm 51:10) means putting on the new man, which the Holy Spirit creates within us, resembling Him in righteousness and true holiness. To do this, we must take off or lay aside the old man, which is corrupt because of deceitful lusts (Ephesians 4:21-24; Colossians 3: 9-10).

The new man has his identity in Christ, free of national labels, religious customs, or servitude because he is God’s chosen, holy and beloved (v. 11-12). In this state we should renew ourselves and one another with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, doing all to the glory of the Lord Jesus, God (Spirit) and the Father (v. 16-17).

Not only does God renew His children who are new creatures in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17) with new compassions every morning (Lamentations 3:22-23), but He will also renew, restore and regenerate the heavens, the earth, and His Kingdom (Matthew 17:11; 19:28; Mark 9:12; Acts 1:6; 3:21; Ephesians 1:10; Isaiah 65:17; 66:22; 2 Peter 3:13; Revelation 21:1-5).

Praise God that He renews us as we are born again, that He renews His children physically and spiritually, and that we can eagerly await His renewal of the heavens, earth and His kingdom!

Revelation 21:5 …Behold, I make all things new.

© 2014 Laurie Collett