Truth For Life Program
Alistair Begg Devotional
C. H. Spurgeon Devotional
One-Year Bible Reading Plan
Contemporary culture values an easy life. In fact, many inventions are inspired by the desire to lighten the daily workload. The Bible, however, urges us to resist idleness. Learn what Proverbs teaches about laziness, on Truth For Life with Alistair Begg.
From the Sermon
Living the Risen Life
In the miracle of conversion, a number of things happen. Our sins are forgiven, we’re adopted into God’s family, and we’re given the status of sons and daughters. Not only that, but we’re also given a new location with Christ in the heavenly places. There is for the Christian a radical change in our spiritual environment as a result of our union with the risen Christ—and it is our place in Christ that establishes our priorities. It is because we have been “raised with Christ” that we are to “seek the things that are above.”
This reality was important for the Colossian church to grasp. As Paul was writing to them, they were being influenced by deceptive doctrine. False teachers were imposing man-made rules upon them, saying, “Do not handle, Do not taste, Do not touch” (Colossians 2:21). Yet these external rules, which were intended to improve moral behavior, ironically were “of no value in stopping the indulgence of the flesh” (v 23). The same remains true for us: even when we attempt to remove ourselves from sin, we won’t be able to stop our own propensity towards that which is impure, unholy, and untrue.
This form of external religion was a bad virus that was threatening to embed itself within the Colossian church, combining doctrinal confusion with moral carelessness. (The two go hand in hand.) So Paul addressed the issue by reminding his Colossian readers that the way to get to grips with our behavior is by understanding who we are—what we have become in the Lord Jesus Christ.
As Christians, our lives are wrapped up in Jesus. We are in Him, and He is in us. We have been raised with Christ, and our lives are hidden in Him. This fact alone is the only sure basis of our security—our confidence in the face of our own propensity to do wrong things.
Are you trying to live the Christian life by your own efforts and fight sin in your own strength? Are you seeking to be a better Christian and wondering why it is proving elusive—or, worse, are you beginning to wonder whether you are a Christian at all or whether it is worth the effort? As you live in this world, don’t dwell upon your failures or look to your own performance as the basis of your security. You have been raised with Christ. He alone is your hope. Make His glory, and not your own goodness, the focus of your days and you will find that your behavior will bear testimony to His life-transforming power.
How is God calling me to think differently?
How is God reordering my heart’s affections — what I love?
What is God calling me to do as I go about my day today?
Keep in Step with the Spirit
16But I say, vwalk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify wthe desires of the flesh. 17For xthe desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, yto keep you from doing the things you want to do. 18But if you are zled by the Spirit, ayou are not under the law. 19Now bthe works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, 20idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, cdivisions, 21envy,4 drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that dthose who do5 such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. 22But ethe fruit of the Spirit is flove, joy, peace, patience, gkindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23hgentleness, iself-control; jagainst such things there is no law. 24And those who belong to Christ Jesus khave crucified the flesh with its lpassions and desires.
25If we live by the Spirit, mlet us also keep in step with the Spirit.
Devotional material is taken from the Truth For Life daily devotionals by Alistair Begg, published by The Good Book Company, thegoodbook.com. Used by Truth For Life with permission. Copyright © 2021, 2022, The Good Book Company.
How Are You Fighting Sin?
No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.
We go to Christ for forgiveness, and then too often look to the law for power to fight our sins. Paul issues this rebuke: “O foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? . . . Let me ask you only this: Did you receive the Spirit by works of the law or by hearing with faith? Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh?”1 Take your sins to Christ’s cross, for the flesh can only be crucified there: We are crucified with Him. The only weapon to fight sin with is the spear that pierced the side of Jesus.
To give an illustration—if you want to overcome an angry temper, how do you go about it? It is very possible that you have never tried the right way of going to Jesus with it. How did I get salvation? I came to Jesus just as I was, and I trusted Him to save me. I must kill my angry temper in the same way. It is the only way in which I can ever kill it. I must go to the cross with it and say to Jesus, “Lord, I trust You to deliver me from it.” This is the only way to give it a deathblow.
Are you covetous? Do you feel the world entangle you? You may struggle against this evil as long as you please, but if it is your besetting sin, you will never be delivered from it in any other way than by the blood of Jesus. Take it to Christ. Tell Him, “Lord, I have trusted You, and Your name is Jesus, for You save Your people from their sins. Lord, this is one of my sins; save me from it!”
Ordinances are nothing without Christ as a means of mortification. Your prayers, and your repentances, and your tears—the whole of them put together—are worth nothing apart from Him. Only Jesus can do helpless sinners good, and helpless saints too. You must be conquerors through Him who has loved you if you will be a conqueror at all. Our laurels must grow among His olives in Gethsemane.
1) Galatians 3:1-3
Devotional material is taken from Morning and Evening, written by C. H. Spurgeon, revised and updated by Alistair Begg. Copyright © 2003, Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers, Wheaton, IL 60187, www.crossway.org. Used by Truth For Life with written permission.
Daily Bible Reading for April 23
Laws About Vows
1The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 2“Speak to the people of Israel and say to them, If anyone omakes a special vow to the Lord involving the valuation of persons, 3then the valuation of a male from twenty years old up to sixty years old shall be fifty shekels1 of silver, according to the pshekel of the sanctuary. 4If the person is a female, the valuation shall be thirty shekels. 5If the person is from five years old up to twenty years old, the valuation shall be for a male twenty shekels, and for a female ten shekels. 6If the person is from a month old up to five years old, the valuation shall be for a male five shekels of silver, and for a female the valuation shall be three shekels of silver. 7And if the person is sixty years old or over, then the valuation for a male shall be fifteen shekels, and for a female ten shekels. 8And if someone is too poor to pay the valuation, then he shall be made to stand before the priest, and the priest shall value him; the priest shall value him according to what the vower can afford.
9“If the vow2 is an animal that may be offered as an offering to the Lord, all of it that he gives to the Lord is holy. 10qHe shall not exchange it or make a substitute for it, good for bad, or bad for good; and if he does in fact substitute one animal for another, then both it and the substitute shall be holy. 11And if it is any unclean animal that may not be offered as an offering to the Lord, then he shall stand the animal before the priest, 12and the priest shall value it as either good or bad; as the priest values it, so it shall be. 13rBut if he wishes to redeem it, he shall add a sfifth to the valuation.
14“When a man dedicates his house as a holy gift to the Lord, the priest shall value it as either good or bad; as the priest values it, so it shall stand. 15tAnd if the donor wishes to redeem his house, he shall add a sfifth to the valuation price, and it shall be his.
16“If a man dedicates to the Lord part of the land that is his possession, then the valuation shall be in proportion to its seed. A homer3 of barley seed shall be valued at fifty shekels of silver. 17If he dedicates his field from the year of jubilee, the valuation shall stand, 18but if he dedicates his field after the jubilee, then the priest shall ucalculate the price according to the years that remain until the year of jubilee, and a deduction shall be made from the valuation. 19vAnd if he who dedicates the field wishes to redeem it, then he shall add a sfifth to its valuation price, and it shall remain his. 20But if he does not wish to redeem the field, or if he has sold the field to another man, it shall not be redeemed anymore. 21But the field, wwhen it is released in the jubilee, shall be a holy gift to the Lord, like a field that has been xdevoted. The priest shall be in ypossession of it. 22If he dedicates to the Lord a field that he has bought, zwhich is not a part of his possession, 23athen the priest shall calculate the amount of the valuation for it up to the year of jubilee, and the man shall give the valuation on that day as a holy gift to the Lord. 24bIn the year of jubilee the field shall return to him from whom it was bought, to whom the land belongs as a possession. 25Every valuation shall be according to cthe shekel of the sanctuary: dtwenty gerahs4 shall make a shekel.
26“But a efirstborn of animals, which as a firstborn belongs to the Lord, no man may dedicate; whether ox or sheep, it is the Lord's. 27And if it is an unclean animal, then he shall buy it back at the valuation, fand add a fifth to it; or, if it is not redeemed, it shall be sold at the valuation.
28“But gno devoted thing that a man devotes to the Lord, of anything that he has, whether man or beast, or of his inherited field, shall be sold or redeemed; every devoted thing is most holy to the Lord. 29hNo one devoted, who is to be devoted for destruction5 from mankind, shall be ransomed; he shall surely be put to death.
30i“Every tithe of the land, whether of the seed of the land or of the fruit of the trees, is the Lord's; it is holy to the Lord. 31If a man wishes to redeem some of his tithe, he shall add a fifth to it. 32And every tithe of herds and flocks, every tenth animal of all that jpass under the herdsman's staff, shall be holy to the Lord. 33One shall not differentiate between good or bad, kneither shall he make a substitute for it; and if he does substitute for it, then both it and the substitute shall be holy; it shall not be redeemed.”
34lThese are the commandments that the Lord commanded Moses for the people of Israel mon Mount Sinai.
Taste and See That the Lord Is Good
1 Of David, when he nchanged his behavior before oAbimelech, so that he drove him out, and he went away.
1I will bless the Lord pat all times;
his praise shall continually be in my mouth.
2My soul qmakes its boast in the Lord;
let the humble hear and rbe glad.
3Oh, smagnify the Lord with me,
and let us exalt his name together!
4I tsought the Lord, and he answered me
and delivered me from all my fears.
5Those who look to him are uradiant,
and their faces shall never be ashamed.
6vThis poor man cried, and the Lord heard him
and wsaved him out of all his troubles.
7xThe angel of the Lord yencamps
around those who fear him, and delivers them.
8Oh, ztaste and see that athe Lord is good!
bBlessed is the man who takes refuge in him!
9Oh, fear the Lord, you his saints,
for those who fear him have no lack!
10cThe young lions suffer want and hunger;
but those who dseek the Lord lack no good thing.
11eCome, O children, listen to me;
fI will teach you the fear of the Lord.
12gWhat man is there who desires life
and loves many days, that he may hsee good?
13iKeep your tongue from evil
and your lips from jspeaking deceit.
14kTurn away from evil and do good;
seek peace and lpursue it.
15mThe eyes of the Lord are toward the righteous
nand his ears toward their cry.
16oThe face of the Lord is against those who do evil,
to pcut off the memory of them from the earth.
17nWhen the righteous cry for help, the Lord hears
and delivers them out of all their troubles.
18The Lord is near to qthe brokenhearted
and saves rthe crushed in spirit.
19sMany are the afflictions of the righteous,
tbut the Lord delivers him out of them all.
20He keeps all his bones;
unot one of them is broken.
21vAffliction will slay the wicked,
and those who hate the righteous will be condemned.
22The Lord wredeems the life of his servants;
none of those who take refuge in him will be xcondemned.
1Dead flies make gthe perfumer's ointment give off a stench;
so a little folly outweighs wisdom and honor.
2hA wise man's heart inclines him to the right,
but a fool's heart to the left.
3Even when the fool walks on the road, he lacks sense,
and he isays to everyone that he is a fool.
4If the anger of the ruler rises against you, jdo not leave your place,
kfor calmness1 will lay great offenses to rest.
5There is an evil that I have seen under the sun, as it were lan error proceeding from the ruler: 6mfolly is set in many high places, and the rich sit in a low place. 7nI have seen slaves oon horses, and princes walking on the ground like slaves.
8He who pdigs a pit will fall into it,
and qa serpent will bite him who breaks through a wall.
9rHe who quarries stones is hurt by them,
and he who ssplits logs is endangered by them.
10If the iron is blunt, and one does not sharpen the edge,
he must use more strength,
but wisdom helps one to succeed.2
11If the serpent bites before it is tcharmed,
there is no advantage to the charmer.
12The words of a wise man's mouth uwin him favor,3
but vthe lips of a fool consume him.
13The beginning of the words of his mouth is foolishness,
and the end of his talk is evil madness.
14wA fool multiplies words,
though no man knows what is to be,
and who can tell him xwhat will be after him?
15The toil of a fool wearies him,
for he does not know ythe way to the city.
16zWoe to you, O land, when your king is a child,
and your princes feast in the morning!
17Happy are you, O land, when your king is the son of the nobility,
and your princes feast at the proper time,
for strength, and not for adrunkenness!
18Through sloth the roof sinks in,
and through indolence the house leaks.
19Bread is made for laughter,
and bwine gladdens life,
and cmoney answers everything.
20Even in your thoughts, ddo not curse the king,
nor in your ebedroom curse the rich,
for a bird of the air will carry your voice,
or some winged creature tell the matter.
Teach Sound Doctrine
1But as for you, teach what accords with psound1 doctrine. 2Older men are to be sober-minded, dignified, self-controlled, psound in faith, in love, and in steadfastness. 3qOlder women likewise are to be reverent in behavior, rnot slanderers sor slaves to much wine. They are to teach what is good, 4and so train the young women to love their husbands and children, 5to be self-controlled, tpure, uworking at home, kind, and vsubmissive to their own husbands, wthat the word of God may not be reviled. 6Likewise, urge xthe younger men to be self-controlled. 7Show yourself in all respects to be ya model of good works, and in your teaching zshow integrity, adignity, 8and bsound speech that cannot be condemned, cso that an opponent may be put to shame, having nothing evil to say about us. 9dBondservants2 are to be submissive to their own masters ein everything; they are to be well-pleasing, not argumentative, 10not pilfering, fbut showing all good faith, gso that in everything they may adorn the doctrine of God our Savior.
11For hthe grace of God ihas appeared, bringing salvation jfor all people, 12training us to renounce ungodliness and kworldly passions, and lto live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in mthe present age, 13nwaiting for our blessed ohope, the pappearing of the glory of our great qGod and Savior Jesus Christ, 14rwho gave himself for us to sredeem us from all lawlessness and tto purify for himself ta people for his own possession who are uzealous for good works.
15Declare these things; exhort and vrebuke with all authority. wLet no one disregard you.
Get the Program, Devotional, and Bible Reading Plan delivered daily right to your inbox.