Outer Man Perishing, Inner Man Renewed

Outer Man Perishing, Inner Man Renewed
Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day.  (2Co_4:16)
Those who learn to live by the grace of God are increasingly protected from discouragement. "Therefore we do not lose heart." This truth was touched upon in an earlier verse from this fourth chapter of 2 Corinthians. "Therefore, since we have this ministry, as we have received mercy, we do not lose heart" (2Co_4:1). The protection from discouragement there involved mercy and grace. Since we serve the Lord by mercy and grace (and not by our merit or by our resources), we have a built-in supply of heavenly encouragement available to us daily.  
In our present verse, encouragement comes from the contrast between what is happening to the "outward man" and to the "inward man." The "outward man" is the physical person, which can be observed by human sight.

This is generally the object of attention among the unredeemed (as well as among believers who are walking according to the flesh). This man is "perishing" because sin has impacted all of us. 

"Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, (ADAM) and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned" (Rom_5:12). 
Man began from dust. "And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground" (Gen_2:7). 
Due to sin, the outer, physical man is headed back toward that initial starting point. 
"In the sweat of your face you shall eat bread till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; for dust you are, and to dust you shall return" (Gen_3:19).
 For those who do not know the Lord, this is a discouraging fact. They often strive desperately to prevent this inevitable process.  

On the other hand, servants of new covenant grace are not discouraged by this fact. "Therefore we do not lose heart." It is true that our outer man is also perishing. Yet, we see a bigger picture than that. "Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day." As our outer man is deteriorating, we are still encouraged, because our inner man can be in the process of renewal: "And have put on the new man who is renewed in knowledge according to the image of Him who created him" (Col_3:10). 

As we are humbly seeking the Lord in His word, we are being changed, brought more and more into the newness of Christ: "Beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord" (2Co_3:18). 

O Lord, as my outer man deteriorates, remind me of the encouraging reality that my inner man can be renewed. Help me to desire inner spiritual progress, rather than outer physical  prowess. This I pray through Christ, my Lord, Amen.

Whom he justified, them he also glorified

“Whom he justified, them he also glorified.”
- Rom_8:30    After God made that decision of what his children should be like, he followed it up by calling people by name. After he called them by name, he set them on a solid basis with himself. And then, after getting them established, he stayed with them to the end, gloriously completing what he had begun. Msg Bible.

Here is a precious truth for thee, believer. Thou may be poor, or in suffering, or unknown, but for thine encouragement take a review of thy “calling” and the consequences that flow from it, and especially that blessed result here spoken of. As surely as thou art God’s child today, so surely shall all thy trials soon be at an end, and thou shalt be rich to all the intents of bliss. Wait awhile, and that weary head shall wear the crown of glory, and that hand of labour shall grasp the palm-branch of victory. Lament not thy troubles, but rather rejoice that ere long thou wilt be where “there shall be neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain.” The chariots of fire are at thy door, and a moment will suffice to bear thee to the glorified. The everlasting song is almost on thy lip. The portals of heaven stand open for thee. Think not that thou canst fail of entering into rest. If he hath called thee, nothing can divide thee from his love. Distress cannot sever the bond; the fire of persecution cannot burn the link; the hammer of hell cannot break the chain. Thou art secure; that voice which called thee at first, shall call thee yet again from earth to heaven, from death’s dark gloom to immortality’s unuttered splendours. Rest assured, the heart of him who has justified thee beats with infinite love towards thee. Thou shalt soon be with the glorified, where thy portion is; thou art only waiting here to be made meet for the inheritance, and that done, the wings of angels shall waft thee far away, to the mount of peace, and joy, and blessedness, where,
“Far from a world of grief and sin,
With God eternally shut in,”
thou shalt rest for ever and ever.


Romans 8:30

Moreover ... - In this verse, in order to show to Christians the true consolation to be derived from the fact that they are predestinated, the apostle states the connection between that predestination and their certain salvation. The one implied the other.
Whom he did predestinate - All whom he did predestinate.
Them he also called - Called by his Spirit to become Christians. He called, not merely by an external invitation, but in such a way as that they in fact were justified. This cannot refer simply to an external call of the gospel, since those who are here said to be called are said also to be justified and glorified. The meaning is, that there is a certain connection between the predestination and the call, which will be manifested in due time. The connection is so certain that the one infallibly secures the other.
He justified - See the note at Rom_3:24. Not that he justified them from eternity, for this was not true; and if it were, it would also follow that he glorified them from eternity, which would be an absurdity. It means that there is a regular sequence of events - the predestination precedes and secures the calling; and the calling precedes and secures the justification. The one is connected in the purpose of God with the other; and the one, in fact, does not take place without the other. The purpose was in eternity. The calling and justifying in time.
Them he also glorified - This refers probably to heaven. It means that there is a connection between justification and glory. The one does not exist without the other in its own proper time; as the calling does not subsist without the act of justification. This proves, therefore, the doctrine of the perseverance of the saints. There is a connection infallible and ever existing between the predestination and the final salvation. They who are subjects of the one are partakers of the other. That this is the sense is clear,
(1) Because it is the natural and obvious meaning of the passage.
(2) because this only would meet the design of the argument of the apostle. For how would it be a source of consolation to say to them that whom God foreknew he predestinated, and whom he predestinated he called, and whom he called he justified, and whom he justified “might fall away and be lost forever?”

This I recall to my mind, therefore have I hope

“This I recall to my mind, therefore have I hope.”
- Lam_3:21
Memory is frequently the bond slave of despondency. Dispairing minds call to remembrance every dark foreboding in the past, and dilate upon every gloomy feature in the present; thus memory, clothed in sackcloth, presents to the mind a cup of mingled gall and wormwood. There is, however, no necessity for this. Wisdom can readily transform memory into an angel of comfort. That same recollection which in its left hand brings so many gloomy omens, may be trained to bear in its right a wealth of hopeful signs. She need not wear a crown of iron, she may encircle her brow with a fillet of gold, all spangled with stars. Thus it was in Jeremiah’s experience: in the previous verse memory had brought him to deep humiliation of soul: “My soul hath them still in remembrance, and is humbled in me;” and now this same memory restored him to life and comfort. “This I recall to my mind, therefore have I hope.” Like a two-edged sword, his memory first killed his pride with one edge, and then slew his despair with the other. As a general principle, if we would exercise our memories more wisely, we might, in our very darkest distress, strike a match which would instantaneously kindle the lamp of comfort. There is no need for God to create a new thing upon the earth in order to restore believers to joy; if they would prayerfully rake the ashes of the past, they would find light for the present; and if they would turn to the book of truth and the throne of grace, their candle would soon shine as aforetime. Be it ours to remember the lovingkindness of the Lord, and to rehearse his deeds of grace. Let us open the volume of recollection which is so richly illuminated with memorials of mercy, and we shall soon be happy. Thus memory may be, as Coleridge calls it, “the bosom-spring of joy,” and when the Divine Comforter bends it to his service, it may be chief among earthly comforters.

 Lam 3:21  But there's one other thing I remember, and remembering, I keep a grip on hope: 
Lam 3:22  GOD's loyal love couldn't have run out, his merciful love couldn't have dried up. 
Lam 3:23  They're created new every morning. How great your faithfulness! 
Lam 3:24  I'm sticking with GOD (I say it over and over). He's all I've got left. 
Lam 3:25  GOD proves to be good to the man who passionately waits, to the woman who diligently seeks. 
Lam 3:26  It's a good thing to quietly hope, quietly hope for help from GOD. 
Lam 3:27  It's a good thing when you're young to stick it out through the hard times. 
Lam 3:28  When life is heavy and hard to take, go off by yourself. Enter the silence. 
Lam 3:29  Bow in prayer. Don't ask questions: Wait for hope to appear. 
Lam 3:30  Don't run from trouble. Take it full-face. The "worst" is never the worst. 
Lam 3:31  Why? Because the Master won't ever walk out and fail to return. 
Lam 3:32  If he works severely, he also works tenderly. His stockpiles of loyal love are immense. 
Lam 3:33  He takes no pleasure in making life hard, in throwing roadblocks in the way: 
Lam 3:34  Stomping down hard on luckless prisoners, 
Lam 3:35  Refusing justice to victims in the court of High God, 
Lam 3:36  Tampering with evidence-- the Master does not approve of such things. 
Lam 3:37  Who do you think "spoke and it happened"? It's the Master who gives such orders. 
Lam 3:38  Doesn't the High God speak everything, good things and hard things alike, into being? 
Lam 3:39  And why would anyone gifted with life complain when punished for sin? 
Lam 3:40  Let's take a good look at the way we're living and reorder our lives under GOD. 

Lam 3:41  Let's lift our hearts and hands at one and the same time, praying to God in heaven: 

Lamentations 3:40-42

The prophet urges men to search out their faults and amend them.
Lam_3:40
And turn again to the Lord - Or, “and return to Yahweh.” The prep. (to) in the Hebrew implies not half way, but the whole.
Lam_3:41
Literally, “Let us lift up our heart unto our hands unto God in heaven;” as if the heart first lifted up the hands, and then with them mounted up in prayer to God. In real prayer the outward expression is caused by the emotion stirring within.

Simeon and Anna

Simeon and Anna
And behold, there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon; and the same man was just and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel: and the Holy Ghost was upon him .... And there was one Anna. a prophetess .... which departed not from the temple, but served God with fasting's and prayers night and day— Luke_2:25, Luke_2:36, Luke_2:37

Age and Infancy Meet
No more beautiful scene could be imagined than this meeting of age and infancy in the Temple. As we read the story of the life of Jesus, we find Him surrounded on all hands by hypocrisy, until we begin to wonder if there was any religion left in those who haunted these sacred courts. But here, for a moment, the curtain is drawn aside. We get a glimpse of a Jewish man and woman. And we find them living holy and separated lives, and longing for the advent of Messiah. On a gravestone erected over certain soldiers in Virginia there are these words, "Who they were, no one knows; what they were, everyone knows," and we might use these words of Simeon and Anna. Who Simeon was we shall never learn; Luke is at no pains to tell us that; but what he was in his daily life and walk, in his inmost desire, and in the sight of God, everyone knows who has read this Gospel chapter. Simeon and Anna, then, entered the Temple when the infant Savior was there, and to them the glory of the child was shown.
Never Give Up Hoping
First, then, we learn that we should never give up hoping. When Alexander the Great crossed into Asia he gave away almost all his belongings to his friends. One of his captains asked him, "Sir, what do you keep for yourself?" And the answer of the king was, "I keep hope." Now we do not read that Simeon was an old man, though it has been universally believed that he was (see Luke_2:29). But through all his years Simeon was like Alexander: he had parted with much, but he had held fast to hope. The days were very dark days for Israel; no John the Baptist had sounded his trumpet note; everything seemed hopeless for the Jews, and some of the noblest of them had taken refuge in despair. But this brave soul "waited for the consolation of Israel," and we know now that his waiting was not vain. Do you see the roots of that heart-hopefulness of his? It ran down to justice and devotion (Luke_2:25). it would have withered long since if it had not been rooted in an upright life and in fellowship with God. Dishonest conduct and forgetfulness of God are always visited with the withering of hope, for hope hangs like a fruit on the first two great commandments. Let us all keep hoping, then, as Simeon did; let us be expectant and on the outlook to the end; and let us remember that a glad and helpful temper is only possible when we are just and devout.
God's Performance Greater Than His Promise
Next we see that God's performance is greater than His promise. There is an old legend that Simeon had stumbled over the words in Isa_7:14. And as he prayed and wrestled with his doubts, it was revealed to him that with his own eyes he would see the virgin's Son. All that he dared to hope for was a glimpse—"a brief glimpse" and "a passing word" would have sufficed him. He lived in expectation of the hour when someone would say to him, "Behold Messiah!" Now the expected moment has arrived—and is it merely a glimpse of Messiah that he wins?—he takes the child of all his hopes up in his arms (Luke_2:28). No wonder that he broke forth into such glorious praise; he had got more than he could ask or think. God's promise had buoyed him through many a weary day; but the performance was greater than the promise. We should all remember that in entering a New Year, and when we speak about the promise of the year. God has a royal way of doing things, and His cups have a happy art of running over. The devil is a most lavish and tireless Pro miser, but how the promise is performed let our own past days tell us. God's promises are very many and very great; but to a living and prayerful faith as Simeon's was, the performance is greater than the promise.
Simeon and Anna Saw Jesus in the Temple
Again we remark that Simeon and Anna saw Jesus in the Temple. The shepherds had seen Him lying in the manger; there, too, the wise men from the East had seen Him. But it was not in the manger that He was seen by these two devout souls; it was in the House of God. Now there is a sense in which we all must find Christ in the manger, we must discover Him under life's lowly roofs. In places which were never consecrated, but where the daily drudgery is done, there must we waken to the presence of Jesus. But on the other hand it is equally true, that we shall miss Him if we do not go to church; and we must never enter a place of worship without the prayer, "Sir, we would see Jesus." Columba got his Gaelic name, "Column of the churches," says an old Irishman, because as a boy he was so devoted to church-worship; like Simeon, he saw Jesus in the Temple.
Till We Have Seen Jesus We Are Not Ready to Die
Lastly, we learn that till we have seen Jesus we are not ready to die (Luke_2:29-32). Children do not dwell much upon death; God did not intend that they should do so. But sometimes, even to children, comes the thought, "When is a person ready to die?" Well, length of years has little to do with it, although all young people think that it has. We are not ready to die when we are seventy; we are ready when we have seen Christ as our Savior. Have the children of the family seen Him so? Are the fathers and mothers praying for that end? A little girl dearly loves to hold the baby. Get it from Simeon's arms, and give it her.

Cultivate your own relationship with God, but don't impose it on others

Rom 14:22  Cultivate your own relationship with God, but don't impose it on others. You're fortunate if your behavior and your belief are coherent. 

 Romans 14:22
Hast thou faith? have it to thyself before God,.... Which is to be understood, not of faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, and in the doctrines of the Gospel; for a man that has such faith given him, ought not to keep it in his own breast, but to declare it to others; he ought to make a public visible profession of it, before many witnesses; it becomes him to tell the church of God what great things the Lord has done for him; and as he believes with the heart, so he ought to make confession with the mouth unto salvation; but this faith only designs a full persuasion in a man's own mind, about the free and lawful use of things indifferent, the subject the apostle is upon; see Rom_14:5; and his advice on this head is, to keep this faith and persuasion in a man's own breast, and not divulge it to others, where there is danger of scandal and offence: he does not advise such to alter their minds, change their sentiments, or cast away their faith, which was right and agreeable to his own, but to have it, hold and keep it, though, within themselves; he would not have them openly declare it, and publicly make use of it, since it might be grieving and distressing to weak minds; but in private, and where there was no danger of giving offence, they might both speak of it, and use it; and if they could not, should satisfy themselves that God, who sees in secret, knows they have this faith, and sees their use of it, though others do not, for from him they have it; so the Ethiopic version reads it, and "if thou hast faith with thyself, thou art secure before God, from whom thou hast obtained it"; and should be thankful to him for it, and use it in such a manner as makes most for his glory, and the peace of his church since to him they must give an account another day: some copies and versions read without an interrogation, thou hast faith; and others, "thou, the faith which thou hast, have it to thyself", &c. so the Alexandrian copy and the Syriac version. 

Happy is he that condemn not himself in that thing which he allows; or "approves of"; that is, it is well for that man who observes no difference of meats, if either he does not act contrary to his own conscience, and so condemns himself in what he allows himself in; or exposes himself to the censure, judgement, and condemnation of others, in doing that which he approves of as lawful, and is so, but unlawful when done to the offence of others: some understand this as spoken to the weak believer, signifying that he is in the right, who, through example, and the force of the sensual appetite, is not prevailed upon to allow himself to eat, contrary to his own conscience, and whereby he would be self-condemned; but as the strong believer is addressed in the beginning of the verse, I choose to think he is intended in this part of it; and the rather, because the weak believer is taken notice of in the next verse, with a peculiar view to this very thing.

Yielding Rights for Others’ Sake

Rom 14:12  So then each one of us shall give account of himself to God. 
Rom 14:13  Let us not therefore judge one another any more: but judge you this rather, that no man put a stumbling-block in his brother's way, or an occasion of falling. 
Rom 14:14  I know, and am persuaded in the Lord Jesus, that nothing is unclean of itself: save that to him who accounts anything to be unclean, to him it is unclean. 
Rom 14:15  For if because of meat thy brother is grieved, thou walk no longer in love. Destroy not with thy meat him for whom Christ died. 
Rom 14:16  Let not then your good be evil spoken of: 
Rom 14:17  for the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. 
Rom 14:18  For he that herein serve Christ is well-pleasing to God, and approved of men. 
Rom 14:19  So then let us follow after things which make for peace, and things whereby we may edify one another. 
Rom 14:20  Overthrow not for meat's sake the work of God. All things indeed are clean; howbeit it is evil for that man who eat with offence. 
Rom 14:21  It is good not to eat flesh, nor to drink wine, nor to do anything whereby thy brother stumble. 
Rom 14:22  The faith which thou hast, have thou to thyself before God. Happy is he that judge not himself in that which he approve. 
Rom 14:23  But he that doubt is condemned if he eat, because he eat not of faith; and whatsoever is not of faith is sin. 

Romans 14:13-23
Yielding Rights for Others’ Sake 



We must be careful of one another’s faith. 
Unkind criticism or ridicule, or the strong pressure of our arguments and reasons may impede the divine life in weaker natures by leading them to act in defiance of their own conscientious convictions. 
We must not flaunt our greater liberty or urge men to act against their conscience. 
We may, of course, temperately and lovingly explain why we are not held by minute scruples.
We may show, as Paul did repeatedly, that Christ has called us to liberty; 
but we must not attempt the regulation of one another’s conduct from without. 

The sanctuary of the soul must be left un-invaded. 
The Spirit alone may speak His oracles in the shrine.
Leave each disciple to his own Master, each plant to the Gardener, each child to the divine Fatherhood. 

In many things you may grant yourself a wider liberty than others allow themselves; but it must be used wisely, and you must refuse to avail yourself of it whenever those around you may be positively imperiled. 
We need not mind the censorious criticism of the Pharisee, but like the Good Shepherd with His flock, we must accommodate our pace to that of the lambs, Isa_40:11.

A good word makes the heart glad.

A good word makes the heart glad.

 Back to the Bible daily by disciple John

Proverbs 9:25 Heaviness in the heart of man makes it stoop: but a good word makes it glad. (Heaviness of the heart=Anxiety.)

I have in the past said that the Bible has an answer for everything in these modern times, and when I came across this text, I was reminded of this truth again. Anxiety and depression is common in our society and I thought it was something that has only been talked about openly in last thirty years. But here from nearly 3,000 years ago Solomon is telling us that it is because of anxiety that we are depressed.

Also I  have in the past suffered with depression when I was employed, and loaded down with so much work that even though I was working 60 and 70 hours a week. I was still not clearing the backlog because more work was coming all the time, and this increased my anxiety. Eventually I had time off work with depression, and I used to go for long walks and prayed a lot. I remember the Holy Spirit reminding me of words from the Bible that lifted me up and out of the depression.

Eventually the heavy work load and long hours caused me to have a heart condition and end up in hospital. Employment ceased and work for God started, a work from which there is no retirement. Work that means we should be anxious for nothing because God who cares for the sparrow and clothes the lily, also cares for us.