Enough
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Come, I will send you to Pharaoh that you may bring my people, the children of Israel, out of Egypt.” But Moses said to God, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the children of Israel out of Egypt?”
He said, “But I will be with you, and this shall be the sign for you, that I have sent you: when you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall serve God on this mountain.”
Point: As Moses was enough as he was, we are enough, as we are willing vessels to do the will and work of God.
Romans 1:17 and Romans 5:1 caused a revolution in the German world, and in the Christian world. A scrupulous monk, had been driven almost mad with an obsession for moral perfection. An idea had been planted in His person that he could “work the system” of confession, prayer, and devotion to God in such a way that he could become blameless. Focusing on God’s love and forgiveness of his sin’s, instead developed into a focus on self and one’s own effort to be holy. Martin Luther would spend hours in confession, confessing every conceivable sin, thought, and deed. He would fast and do penance until he was nothing but skin and bone.
Then, one day, Martin Luther burst into joy as realized his faith in Christ was enough. Sola Fide! ‘Faith Alone’ became his life motto, the German motto, the Christian motto. Luther’s ‘99 Thesis’ based on ‘Faith Alone’ freed the church, the layity, from the corruption, teaching, and control, of indulgences, works, and the power of the papacy.
For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, “The righteous shall live by faith.”
Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.
Justification, being reconciled into a right relationship with God, through faith in Christ. Faith in Christ alone is the perfection of a person, not self work and self effort.
yet we know that a person is justified not by the works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ. And we have come to believe in Christ Jesus, so that we might be justified by faith in Christ, and not by doing the works of the law, because no one will be justified by the works of the law.
What joy Luther had in his heart when he discovered that by a simple faith in Christ, one is saved. Luther was so convinced and convicted of this truth that he wrote his own version of Romans 3:28 “Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith alone without the deeds of the law.”
What Luther was trying to say was that faith in Christ is enough. Is faith in Jesus Christ enough? Enough for what? Enough.
Is God enough?
Yes, God is enough. Jesus is enough. John 6:51
I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. And the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.”
Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst.
No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.
For I am persuaded that not even death or life, angels or rulers, things present or things to come, hostile powers,
height or depth, or any other created thing will have the power to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord!
Moses: Who Am I?
Moses is chosen for the task to set Israel free from the power of Pharoah and Egypt. Moses’ response is ‘Who am I?’ Who am I to speak to Pharoah? Who am I that Pharoah would listen to me? Who am I that the Israelites would listen to me? Who am I that they would believe me? Who am I to bring forth such a revolution, such change? Who am I that I could speak and speak of such things?
Have we ever had such thoughts go through our own minds? Have we ever said to ourselves, “Who am I?” Such thoughts show how human we are, how human Moses was? He was no one special except that he had been chosen by God for a special purpose, to free Israel from the bondage of Egypt. He was enough. Enough for God to use and display His glory.
But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong;
God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are,
so that no one can boast in His presence.
everyone who is called by my name, whom I created for my glory, whom I formed and made.”
Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do everything for God’s glory.
Are you and I enough for God to use to share, to reveal, His glory?
Is it enough to simply believe in Jesus, to reveal His glory?
Moses did not believe he was enough, sufficient, for the job God was calling him to. Most of us would probably balk and pass on being asked, or commanded, to lead people, none the less a nation. How many of us would volunteer to be the Prime Minister of Canada or the President of the United States? Moses was put in that very position. Moses protests God’s appointment five times relating to:
1. His abilities (Ex 3:11)
But Moses said to God, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the children of Israel out of Egypt?”
2. His legitimacy in the eyes of others (Ex 3:14)
God said to Moses, “I am who I am.” And he said, “Say this to the people of Israel: ‘I am has sent me to you.’ ”
Say He who exists, has existed, will exists has sent you. Have you ever questioned your legitimacy in the eyes of others? Who am I to pastor? Who am I to speak? Who am I that people should listen, or care to listen, to what I have to say? Who am I that people should see me? God’s answer? You are because I Am and I Am therefore you are.
You are legitimate because you are made in His image. You are legitimate because you are a reflection of His glory. You are legitimate because you have been called for His glory.
everyone who is called by my name, whom I created for my glory, whom I formed and made.”
To this he called you through our gospel, so that you may obtain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.
You did not choose Me, but I chose you. I appointed you that you should go out and produce fruit and that your fruit should remain, so that whatever you ask the Father in My name, He will give you.
He who calls you is faithful; he will surely do it.
When we fail to believe in who God is, and in His call for us, we care more about what other people think, and seek our value from others, instead of from God.
3. Fear of people’s reactions (Ex 4:1)
Then Moses answered, “But behold, they will not believe me or listen to my voice, for they will say, ‘The Lord did not appear to you.’ ”
Have you ever put other people’s opinions about yourself above that of God’s? Do we fear man above fearing God? Jesus would not entrust himself to men because their hearts are evil. Why would we entrust our person to the opinions of men when God has called us, appointed us, and equipped us for His work and will?
The fear of man is a snare, but the one who trusts in the Lord is protected.
Bonnhoefer probably would never have given his life in order to stop Hitler. Bonnhoefer would never have shed the light on the condition of the German leadership, church, and people, people living by cheap grace instead of costly grace.
Martin Luther would probably have never pushed back against the corruption of the church if he listened to the opinion of men, instead of to God’s Word. How many would still be enslaved by the deception of self work and self effort equal eternal salvation?
But Jesus on his part did not entrust himself to them, because he knew all people and needed no one to bear witness about man, for he himself knew what was in man.
The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?
When we fear man, instead of fearing God, we trap ourselves.
4. Doubt of God (Ex 4:10)
But Moses replied to the Lord, “Please, Lord, I have never been eloquent—either in the past or recently or since You have been speaking to Your servant —because I am slow and hesitant in speech.”
Moses, even after God reveling His power to him in the miracles of the staff and Moses’ leporous hand healed, pleads for God to release him from his call. How can I be enough, when I cannot even speak well. Moses must have had some kind of speech impediment or even be slow in thought because he keeps bringing up this issue. What does God say? My grace is sufficient for you. Ex 4:11
Then the Lord said to him, “Who has made man’s mouth? Who makes him mute, or deaf, or seeing, or blind? Is it not I, the Lord?
But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.
When we doubt God, we cut ourselves off from His grace.
5. Stubbornness (Ex 4:13)
But he said, “Oh, my Lord, please send someone else.”
After all God revealed to Moses, Moses’ real heart and reason is revealed, he simply does not want to do what God wants Him to do. After all the excuses, God will reveal the real reason for our stubbornness, we simply do not want to do his will because we simply do not believe, trust, or love Him.
Have you ever said to God, ‘Please use someone else, I am not available.’? Please I do not want to go. I do not want to help. Are we ready to deal with those consequences of our stubbornness or hard heartedness? God was going to take Moses’ life. The account reads, Ex 4:13
But he said, “Oh, my Lord, please send someone else.”
Then the anger of the Lord was kindled against Moses and he said, “Is there not Aaron, your brother, the Levite? I know that he can speak well. Behold, he is coming out to meet you, and when he sees you, he will be glad in his heart.
At a lodging place on the way the Lord met him and sought to put him to death.
Why? Because Moses was stubborn in His heart toward the LORD and His commands. He did not circumcise his son. So what? That’s just a little thing. No big deal. But it is a big deal. Being faithless in the little things, leads to being faithless in the big things.
Whoever is faithful in very little is also faithful in much, and whoever is unrighteous in very little is also unrighteous in much.
Moses did not have a circumcised heart to the LORD. His unfaithfulness in circumcising his son to the LORD, showed his disregard for the commands and will of the LORD. Moses used his speech impediment as an excuse, after God assured him, and showed Moses, that He would be with him. Moses’ excuses almost resulted in his death, if not for Zipporah’s, his wife’s, faithfulness to God’s command.
An unchecked stubborn heart leads to death. God will only put up with our protests and excuses for so long.
Conclusion
All of this reveals a fatal flaw in the actions of both Moses, Martin Luther, the German Church or WWII, and the North American church today. That is...”Faith Alone”, “Sola Fide” does result in a persons salvation. But faith alone, without works, is not faith, therefore not really love of God.
You see, Martin Luther had an issue with the Apostle James, more specifically the Epistle of James. Martin Luther mocked and derided it, calling it “an espistle of straw” (Metaxas, Letter to the American Church, p. 58), because of the Apostle James’ call for faith with works. Specifically, works is a result of faith, which is a result of our love for God, because He loves us.
What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him?
But someone will say, “You have faith and I have works.” Show me your faith apart from your works, and I will show you my faith by my works. You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe—and shudder!
Do you want to be shown, you foolish person, that faith apart from works is useless? Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered up his son Isaac on the altar?
You see that faith was active along with his works, and faith was completed by his works; and the Scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness”—and he was called a friend of God.
You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone. And in the same way was not also Rahab the prostitute justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out by another way?
For as the body apart from the spirit is dead, so also faith apart from works is dead.
Martin Luther had grown up in the corrupt manipulative church of works for salvation. James was hitting too close too what he used to know and live. But what James was doing was stopping Luther, and the rest of the church, for all time, from making the same mistake already made with works. Yes, our faith in Jesus saves us, but have we really been saved, if we have no works to accompany our faith? No. What we have embraced is a cheap grace, and not a costly grace, as Pastor Dietric Bonnhoefer spent his lifetime teaching to the German church, who had come under the spell of Martin Luther’s ‘Sola Fide’, faith alone. The danger of intellectual ascent, without physical evidence of belief.
How does one tell that a tree is good? If it produces good fruit Jesus said. Matthew 7:17-18
So, every healthy tree bears good fruit, but the diseased tree bears bad fruit. A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a diseased tree bear good fruit.
Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus you will recognize them by their fruits.
Moses proclaimed his faith in God, but God required his faith in action. The Epistle of James teaches this. Jesus taught this,
Jesus answered him, “If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him.
Whoever does not love me does not keep my words. And the word that you hear is not mine but the Father’s who sent me.
Do we keep Jesus’ commands? Do we keep His word? We are to be doers of the Word, not just hearers, or we deceive ourselves and believe a half gospel, a cheap grace. A belief in cheap grace is what led to WWII, what led to the slaughter of 6 million Jews and thousands more on the battlefields. The church refused to believe and embrace who they were, and were called to be in Christ. Who are we called to be? Who are we? Who am I?
You and I are the image of God, created to promote His glory by our lives lived for Him and His purposes. We are favored by God in everyway, loved in everyway, benefited by His good in everyway…if we follow Him, love as He loved, suffer as He suffered, give as He gave.
Eric Metaxas says this,
Nonetheless, what we do shows what we actually believe. So if we do not do those things which proceed from real faith, we cannot simply claim to have faith. If we are not doing the works that naturally proceed from our faith, we manifestly have no faith. And so we are in fact not justified before God, which is a chilling thing to consider.
It’s one thing to say that our faith saves us. Luther understood that, and all of the Scriptures attest to it. But if our faith does not manifest itself in good works, then it’s obvious we actually have no faith. -E. Metaxas, Letter to the American Church, p.60
The Apostle James’ letter was written to make it crystal clear that if we do not have good works, then we actually do not have faith, and therefore we are not truly saved.
Jesus is enough, but He also calls us to follow Him, in faith, which requires actions of faith. Who am I? You are a dearly loved child of God, who is favored by God, provided for by God, with a call of God, to give glory to God with your whole person. This is a costly grace, not a cheap grace. Amen.