Celebration of a Heritage

Psalm 136

1Give thanks to the LORD, for He is good; For His lovingkindness is everlasting…10 To Him who smote the Egyptians in their first-born, For His lovingkindness is everlasting,  11 And brought Israel out from their midst, For His lovingkindness is everlasting,  12 With a strong hand and an outstretched arm, For His lovingkindness is everlasting;  13 To Him who divided the Red Sea asunder, For His lovingkindness is everlasting,  14 And made Israel pass through the midst of it, For His lovingkindness is everlasting;  15 But He overthrew Pharaoh and his army in the Red Sea, For His lovingkindness is everlasting.  16 To Him who led His people through the wilderness, For His lovingkindness is everlasting;  17 To Him who smote great kings, For His lovingkindness is everlasting,  18 And slew mighty kings, For His lovingkindness is everlasting:  19 Sihon, king of the Amorites, For His lovingkindness is everlasting,  20 And Og, king of Bashan, For His lovingkindness is everlasting,  21 And gave their land as a heritage, For His lovingkindness is everlasting,  22 Even a heritage to Israel His servant, For His lovingkindness is everlasting.  23 Who remembered us in our low estate, For His lovingkindness is everlasting,  24 And has rescued us from our adversaries, For His lovingkindness is everlasting…26 Give thanks to the God of heaven, For His lovingkindness is everlasting.

A month to remember one’s heritage is not enough.  Why would a people be satisfied with a single month with which to commemorate their heritage?  For that matter, why would a people need a single month in order to commemorate their heritage?  To be clear on my position, I am a black man and I live in America.  Thus Black History month has been a running tradition which I’ve gladly celebrated as a part of my continued education and as a part of the heritage of my kinsman.

However about 13 or so years ago something happened to me.  I was born again.  And for those who don’t have the foggiest idea as to what that means, it is a term to describe what God does to you when you place your faith in Jesus Christ as LORD and Savior.  God gives you a new birth and as a consequence of that new birth you are placed into His family, a family made up of people from every tribe, tongue and nation of the world.  It is fitting that God should do this because we all originated from one man in the beginning.  Thus, though we all come from different parts of the world, perhaps speak a different tongue/language and though we may have different cultures or values, we are all still a part of Adam’s race.  We are all still one people.  There isn’t anything fundamentally different between any of us.  The barriers that we place and the things that we mark as different are really superficial.  And certainly in God’s eyes there is only one thing that marks us as different from one another.  And that is whether or not we are  a part of His family and that is determined by our relationship to Jesus Christ.

So what is my point?  My point is that the above passage really speaks to the importance of celebrating one’s heritage but not in the same way that a Black History month or…I don’t know what other particular heritages have months/seasons of celebration like that, but its not the same type of celebration.  The people in this Psalm were celebrating their heritage as a product of God’s work in their lives.  They were recounting and retelling their heritage – where they’ve been, what they’ve been through, who they are – as a means of celebrating the God who brought them through.  Now perhaps there are those who would celebrate their own ethnic heritage in light of what God has done for their people but its still not quite the same as what we have here.  The identity of this people, as seen through the words of this Psalm and many others, was not directly correlated with their skin color or language.  It was not directly correlated with the victories that they had overcome in their own right.  And it was not directly correlated with some inherent beauty or glory of their own.  But it was centered and focused on who God is.  The very God who had made them in the beginning.  The God who had brought salvation to them from their great oppressor.  And the very God who is good to “all flesh.”

Their rejoicing was in the LORD.  The heritage of a believer, any true believer, ought to be first as a child of the Most High God.  It ought to be as a recipient of God’s Grace.  It ought to be first as one who is redeemed by the precious blood of Jesus Christ, who sacrificed Himself for them.  Any true believer ought to first and foremost find their identity in that alone.  And as a consequence of that redemption, the new birth (of which I referred earlier), we realize that we are placed into a body in which there is no distinction between Jew and Gentile, slave and free, rich or poor, black man or white man, hispanic or asian.  We are all under the same LORD, faith and baptism of His Holy Spirit.  Thus we are all a part of the same family, under God the Father, in Christ Jesus.

I think that most true believers would agree to this.  Why then are there still these artificial barriers?  Why then do we still make distinction?  When a black man and a white woman marry, why are eyebrows – of those in the Church – still raised?  When I married my wife about 6 years ago, I saw many of those eyebrows from believers.  And I heard many different explanations from well meaning people as to the caution that we should take because of what “other people” might say or think about us.  I received these types of cautions from places that I completely did not expect, from well meaning, faithful (in many other ways) believers.  Some whom I had looked up to.

If we are a part of the same family why so many racially divided congregations?  Is it mere comfort and ease?  Is it that we mask our worldly motives with the desire to be able to “relate” to one another, a music or preaching style more easily? I’ve known some Pastors to preach messages and make comments about other races or racial issues, I suppose intending to be an encouragement to their congregations, while continuing to further resentment, distrust and even hatred towards other races.  And I’ve known some Pastors who would never comment on the issue at all, either supposing that it is not an issue or simply not wanting to offend anyone.  To all who stand behind the pulpit, holding the precious Word, I’d give caution that we shall give an account for any words that are uttered or not uttered before God’s people.  Paul spoke concerning the issue of races and he did it often knowing the prejudices that existed between Jew and Gentile.  We must be careful to also speak to the issue but not in such a way to continue to draw a dividing line under the guise of encouragement to “our people.”

What more is left to say?  I know that there are many facets to this issue and that this does not settle the matter.  Perhaps there will be more posts to come as I meditate a little longer on this issue.  But I’ll conclude with this, God has done great things for His people.  He has made us.  He has and will deliver us from our greatest oppressors, sin and death.  He has given us a new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ.  And He has brought us into a new family, a one in which there are no distinctions made or emphasized.  One in which no one ever has to feel left out, not good enough or unloved.  One in which those things which unify are championed.  One in which we all have the same Father, the same LORD, the same faith, the same Spirit, the same Holy Book, the same spiritual past (having been dead in our trespasses and sins), the same success story (but God made us alive together with Christ, and raised us up with Him and seated us with Him in the heavenly places), and the same glorious future (so that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness towards us in Christ)!  Let the people of God, with One voice, continually give thanks to the LORD, for He is good, His lovingkindness is truly everlasting!

Romans 12:1-5

I urge you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship.  2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.  3 For through the grace given to me I say to every man among you not to think more highly of himself than he ought to think; but to think so as to have sound judgment, as God has allotted to each a measure of faith.  4 For just as we have many members in one body and all the members do not have the same function,  5 so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another.

Romans 12:9-11

9 Let love be without hypocrisy. Abhor what is evil; cling to what is good.  10 Be devoted to one another in brotherly love; give preference to one another in honor;  11 not lagging behind in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord;

Galatians 2:20

20 “I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me, and delivered Himself up for me.

Galatians 3:26-28

26 For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus.  27 For all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.  28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free man, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus.

Ephesians 2:1-7

And you were dead in your trespasses and sins,  2 in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience.  3 Among them we too all formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest.  4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us,  5 even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved),  6 and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places, in Christ Jesus,  7 in order that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.

Ephesians 2:13-22

13 But now in Christ Jesus you who formerly were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.  14 For He Himself is our peace, who made both groups into one, and broke down the barrier of the dividing wall,  15 by abolishing in His flesh the enmity, which is the Law of commandments contained in ordinances, that in Himself He might make the two into one new man, thus establishing peace,  16 and might reconcile them both in one body to God through the cross, by it having put to death the enmity.  17 And He came and preached peace to you who were far away, and peace to those who were near;  18 for through Him we both have our access in one Spirit to the Father.  19 So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints, and are of God’s household,  20 having been built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus Himself being the corner stone,  21 in whom the whole building, being fitted together is growing into a holy temple in the Lord;  22 in whom you also are being built together into a dwelling of God in the Spirit.

Colossians 3:8-17

8 But now you also, put them all aside: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and abusive speech from your mouth.  9 Do not lie to one another, since you laid aside the old self with its evil practices,  10 and have put on the new self who is being renewed to a true knowledge according to the image of the One who created him  11 — a renewal in which there is no distinction between Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave and freeman, but Christ is all, and in all.  12 And so, as those who have been chosen of God, holy and beloved, put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience;  13 bearing with one another, and forgiving each other, whoever has a complaint against anyone; just as the Lord forgave you, so also should you.  14 And beyond all these things put on love, which is the perfect bond of unity.  15 And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body; and be thankful.  16 Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you, with all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with thankfulness in your hearts to God.  17 And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through Him to God the Father.

Titus 2:11-14

11 For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all men,  12 instructing us to deny ungodliness and worldly desires and to live sensibly, righteously and godly in the present age,  13 looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus;  14 who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for Himself a people for His own possession, zealous for good deeds.

The nature of motivation

I think that the Lord has a particular set of lessons designed for each stage of our lives, from our own childhood, even on up until our children have children.  Now, I haven’t experienced those latter set of lessons, but have certainly learned a lot from having children of my own.  And I am sure that I have much yet to learn.  One of those lessons is with regards to the nature of motivation.  Now, I think that this is a principle constant from birth to death, but is particularly clear in the lives of young children.  I think that as we get older, we are able to mask these subtleties in various ways, but typically it boils down to the same thing.  The principle is this, a person will do what they will to do until it becomes too difficult for them to continue, or until it becomes more advantageous for them to do otherwise.

Proverbs 1:20-33

20 Wisdom shouts in the street, She lifts her voice in the square;  21 At the head of the noisy streets she cries out; At the entrance of the gates in the city, she utters her sayings:  22 “How long, O naive ones, will you love simplicity? And scoffers delight themselves in scoffing, And fools hate knowledge?  23 “Turn to my reproof, Behold, I will pour out my spirit on you; I will make my words known to you.  24 “Because I called, and you refused; I stretched out my hand, and no one paid attention;  25 And you neglected all my counsel, And did not want my reproof;  26 I will even laugh at your calamity; I will mock when your dread comes,  27 When your dread comes like a storm, And your calamity comes on like a whirlwind, When distress and anguish come on you.  28 “Then they will call on me, but I will not answer; They will seek me diligently, but they shall not find me,  29 Because they hated knowledge, And did not choose the fear of the LORD.  30 “They would not accept my counsel, They spurned all my reproof.  31 “So they shall eat of the fruit of their own way, And be satiated with their own devices.  32 “For the waywardness of the naive shall kill them, And the complacency of fools shall destroy them.  33 “But he who listens to me shall live securely, And shall be at ease from the dread of evil.”

The interesting thing about this passage of scripture is that it suggests that the fool will turn to wisdom when they reach the end of their folly.  I was talking to my daughter about this tonight.  When I read the passage, she asked what the word “rebuke” (reproof in this version) meant.  I told her that rebuke was the process of telling someone that what they are doing is wrong.  And I also explained the connection between rebuke and correction, that correction is the process of telling someone what was right for them to do.  And that the fool is the one who will not listen to rebuke nor correction and that this passage teaches that they will be caught in the trap of their own foolishness because they failed to listen to wisdom when it called to them.

The problem with the fool is not that he will never listen to rebuke, but that he fails to listen to rebuke when it is most necessary and useful.  He fails to do this because it is easier to continue in folly than to stop and listen to rebuke.  It is easier to continue in the way that he is going than to stop and return another way.  It would be more difficult for him to cease from what pleasures him the most and has the most immediate fulfillment, namely foolishness than to choose to do what is right, but has the least immediate fulfillment.  And once he has had the full of his folly and according to this passage, has reaped the fruit of his folly – destruction – then he is motivated to listen, then he turns his heart to wisdom to try to learn.  But by that time it is too late, and the consequence is often too great for him to bear.  And what is left for him to do than to suffer the consequences and learn or to become bitter and continue down the path of foolishness.

Wisdom calls out to us, often in the most unlikely of ways, but it does call.  When wisdom calls to rescue you from a foolish decision what do you do?  Do you prove yourself a fool and ignore her voice?  Or do you turn to wisdom while it is best?  We must teach our children to heed rebuke.  We must teach them not to despise correction.  For in receiving correction well, there is great benefit.  When wisdom is given in the form of rebuke and/or correction before folly, there is great benefit.

Teach children to love wisdom.  Don’t teach them to love themselves (self-esteem), don’t teach them to love others (idolatry), don’t teach them to love stuff (materialism), teach them to love wisdom, and that from above.  Teach them to love wisdom as that which God gives to direct us in His right way.   Teach them not to despise discipline, but to appreciate it as a tool to gain wisdom. In that we must have wisdom to present discipline and instruction in such a way that is not overbearing, harsh or a cause for them to become embittered against us.

Heed the warning of Proverbs and teach your children to be motivated by what truly is best for them:

Proverbs 1:7

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge.  Fools despise wisdom and discipline.

Proverbs 12:1  12:1

Whoever loves discipline loves knowledge, But he who hates reproof is stupid

Proverbs 8:35-36

35 “For he who finds me finds life, And obtains favor from the LORD.  36 “But he who sins against me injures himself; All those who hate me love death.”

Keep asking, keep seeking, keep knocking, He is good

Funny how it often seems that a renewed commitment or even a growing commitment to prayer is often met with greater resistance.  You may hear a great message on prayer and decide in your heart to pursue prayer more vigorously.  And it would seem that on the hour that your commitment reaches its zenith some great tragedy befalls you seemingly to discount the effectiveness of your efforts.

But what we must remember is that the effect of prayer is not in the prayer itself as if it is akin to the rubbing of a magic lamp, nor is it in the proper mode or circumstance of the prayer as if one must have on the right garb or have the right chant, body position or any other such thing.   Its not even a good gauge if the prayer is immediately answered.  From time to time i will wait if my daughter asks for something before responding to see if she really wants it.  Kids have such short attention spans, thus I know that if she does actually want it she’ll ask again.  Nay but the real power is in the God to whom you pray.

Thus it is often His wisdom which dictates which prayers will be answered immediately, which shall not be answered and which shall be answered after persistence and humility is achieved.  It is His wisdom which has determined that our faith would be purified best, at times, not by immediate gratification but by prolonged exposure to a dependence upon His grace, not our ability to meet our needs.

As the song says “He is able, more than able.”  And those who by faith believe this truth, should by faith persist in asking, seeking and knocking because we also know that He is good.

So long as you are on the winning team…

At the end of the day it really only matters if your team wins. watching the Vikings the other day was a little painful. they had what it took. they were the better team. but they kept making stupid mistakes and poor decisions which disqualified them. reminds me of what Paul said about running the race so as to win and buffeting his body so as not to be disqualified. i guess then there is a lesson from both teams. poor decisions and foolish mistakes, no matter how “good” you are can cost you all that you worked for, all that you hold dear (the Ravens are another fine example of this). and the flip side of that
is the realization that even if you dont play too well at times, so long as victory is achieved, so long as you are on the winning team at the end of the day thats all that matters.

Christmas Eve Service

There is nothing like being in the company of other believers.  Who better to stir up your faith than those who share it with you?  Who better to encourage your heart with thoughts of the glory of God than those who have experienced His glory in their own lives?  Who better to encourage your heart with love than those who have been touched by the love of God in Christ Jesus?

Our Christmas Eve service was truly a blessing to my heart tonight.  My heart drank deeply the thought of the glory of God in His coming to earth as a baby in a manger who grew as we do, lived as no one has in perfect obedience to His Father in heaven, who died a horrible death for the sin of the world – as the perfect sacrifice which no one else could give, who rose again from the dead to prove that His life and death were acceptable to God and who is promised to return again to judge the world according to the righteous standard of His own life.

I had the privilege of reading a couple of passages tonight.  That was indeed a blessing to me as well.  To serve my brothers and sisters, reading a few passages to stir our hearts and minds away from thoughts of our own lives, our own desires, our own disappointments, our own struggles, our own accomplishments to His glory, His fame, His grace, His love and His future coming.

Two passages in particular moved me.  Phillipians 2:5-11 and Revelation 19:11-16.  Both of these passages speak of the coming of Christ.  Our Pastor spoke of the glory of God and His grace in saving us from our sins in the first coming of Christ.  These two passages spoke of the return of Christ to rule and judge over all the earth.  I really had to restrain myself,  for the preacher in me wanted to delve into the blessed thought of His coming and the warning that is implicit in these passages.

The first coming of Christ shows us the love of God.  It shows us that He is not disinterested in us.  He is not aloof.  He does care.  He cares about us and He cares about sin.  Sin cannot abide in His presence and neither can those who are sinners and so in His love He has sent His Son to die for us.  He was born to die as a sacrifice to take away our sins.  And yet there is more, for His resurrection proves that God is not through yet.

Not only is God love.  Not only is He grace.  He is also wrath.  He is also fury.  He is also the judge over all the earth.  And His fierce wrath and indignation against those who would reject Him and His Son is unrelenting.  It is coming.  The day is fixed in which He will judge the world according to the righteous life of His Son Jesus.  The day is coming.  He who has ears to hear, let him hear and be warned that Christmas was only His first coming.  He is promised to come again.  And though some may mock, though some may deride us for believing in Him to begin with, God never needed our faith to exist.  He is because He is, whether or not you believe it.   And His day of judgment and reckoning is set.

Kiss the Son (obey Him, submit to Him), lest you perish in the way.  For in a little while His wrath will be kindled and there will be no one or no thing to stay His hand.  But blessed are all who take refuge in Him.  Amen, amen.

Maranatha!  Merry Christmas!

Hope Bible Church Website

What is eternal life? pt 2

I started considering this single truth of scripture in an earlier post.  Something recently has jogged my memory and caused me to revisit it.  I suppose part of it is the season of Christmas.  As we think, not about the commercial aspects of the “holiday” but rather at the essence of the celebration.  What are we celebrating?  Are we celebrating the thought of giving?  Are we celebrating the thought of family and warm feelings and mistletoe?  Are we celebrating snow falls, decorations or even the efforts of a man who spent much of his life giving to others (who probably never imagined that he would be idolized and divinized to this degree)?

What are we celebrating?  In keeping with my meditations on John 1:1, 14, we are celebrating the birth of Life into the world.  There is much truth that needs to be unpacked in that statement but I’ll leave you to my earlier meditations on John 1:1 to figure out what I mean by that.  Jesus Christ is Life.  He is Life, has Life in Himself to grant and does so when one believes in Him.  He is eternal.  He is God.  He was born into the world at a particular point in History.  He lived, He died and He rose from the dead to affirm that He has life in Himself and that He has been appointed the judge of all life, as His life on earth is the standard by which He will judge all men.  We must be as perfect as He is in order to pass the test that He will give.  Those who pass, are immediately granted access to His Father forever.  And those who do not pass will be forever cast away into what is described as the “outer darkness” where there is “weeping and knashing of teeth.”

There are many…most, who do not measure up to the standard of Jesus’ life.  We know this.  I’m not just talking about saying “what would Jesus do?”  I’m talking about the attitude with which Jesus obeyed the Father’s will, the passion with which He pursued the Father’s will and the devotion with which He pursued the Father’s will- even obeying to the point of death on a cross.  How many of us can say that we pursue the will of the God and Father of all in the same way as His Son Jesus?  Most of us don’t even think about the Father’s will, unless it pertains to something that we want.  Then we ask where is God?  When tragedy strikes and we lose something that we like we ask “where is God?”  But at any other time we are content with living life according to our standard of righteousness.  And for that we will be judged and will be found wanting.

But the blessedness of Christmas is this, that the eternal Word of God who has life in Himself was born into the flesh.  He was born as a man.  And this was done so that we who believe in Him might have His eternal life.  And what is that eternal life?  It is not to be thought of as primarily quantitative.  I mean that this life is not primarily to be thought of as extended life.  He doens’t just extend the life that we now have indefinitely.  That wouldn’t be much of a gift.  That wouldn’t be much grace.  Because the life that we now have is wanting.  It is less than His own.  It is weak, prone to sickness, and more importantly prone to sin and disobedience to the will of God.  His eternal life is more than that.  His eternal life is  to be thought of more in a qualitative sense.  Meaning that His life is not only eternal but that it is primarily a better life.  By coming into the world, dying to pay the penalty of our sins and rising from the dead, Jesus has made it possible to justly give us new life.  We are “born again.”  We are “born from above.”  We are given the quality of life that Jesus possess.  Its not a life that is natural to us.  It is quite unnatural.  But He gives us this new life and the new life that He gives enables us to live in a way that pleases the Father.  In fact it changes us so that we will want to please the Father.  And it gives us wisdom to know how to please the Father.

But it is the fact that He gives us this new life that qualifies us to have access to the Father.  Such that we cannot and should never say that we have earned our way to heaven.  Because all of our efforts are worthless.  But rather that Jesus has earned our way to heaven.  By His life, death and resurrection – He has granted us a qualitatively different and new life, His life, by which we live before God forever.  So when God the Father sees us now, He no longer sees our old, dead, worthless life.  He no longer sees the works that we have done in disobedience but rather He sees the obedience and perfect life of His Son in us.  That is grace.  That is love.  There is no greater love than this.  And there is no greater gift.

What is eternal life?  It is a new life that is given to us by God through and in Jesus Christ.  He is the standard of the quality of life and He is the source of this new life.  As He is eternal, this new life is eternal.  Thus we are eternally accepted by God when we have the eternal life of Jesus Christ.

If you don’t have His eternal life then Christmas really means nothing.  It is nothing more than a holiday.  It is nothing more than a time of fuzzy feelings and feigned concern for others which amounts to nothing more than your own joy wrapped up in the praise from others when they receive gifts that you give them.  Christmas is not about you.  It is about the Eternal Life that the true Life gives to those who believe in Him.

He who has ears to hear, let him hear.  Merry Christmas.

Profiles, Accounts, Merges and the Gospel

I was thinking the other day about an interesting way to talk about the essence of the Gospel with my coworkers.  Its sometimes difficult to figure out how to explain the gospel in a way to make sense in different situations and with different people.  I came to the following conclusion, though it may not make sense to everyone who reads it.  And of course every analogy breaks down at some point and I will try to make clear where that is in the following.  The Gospel of Jesus Christ, Christianity is like this:

Suppose that the world is a bank.  And life depends on the amount of accounts that you open.  In order to survive, you must continue to open and fund new accounts.  In this particular bank, in order to applying for a new account, you must have a “profile” created.  A profile is just what it sounds like.  It is basic information about a person, in part merely to identify the person, but also because of federal guidelines, etc.  This profile must be created for anyone who wishes to open a new account.  Before creating a new profile, the banker checks to see if there is an older profile available.  Perhaps there was created years ago from an account that you may not even remember opening.  And perhaps that older account was wrought with negativity.  You had previous insufficient fund charges and/or loans which had been defaulted.  You may have thought that they were forgotten, but they still show up in your profile.  Therefore you would be turned down from opening a new account.  Of course you could try to pay off what was owed from before, thereby freeing yourself from the debt which you owed and enabling you to open a new account.  However if have had too many defaulted accounts, no matter if you could pay it off, you would not be allowed to open another.  If the banker forgets to check for an older profile and creates a new one, the two will inevitably have to be merged together at some later point.  If a merge of two profiles takes place, all of the accounts from the past are put together under one profile.

Now imagine that the owner of the company has a son.  And his son has a profile.  His accounts are perfect, because he has managed all of them perfectly and amassed an infinite amount of wealth [of course diversified].  Not only that but his father has left for Him a number of accounts from his own wealth.  And he has a number of retirement accounts which will never run empty.

Now, when your profile is pulled up, it is littered with those defaulted accounts.  Loans, checking, savings, retirement accounts…all in the negative.  And for that reason, you are turned down from opening a new account.  And you can’t even pay up on those past accounts.  You are jobless, broke and severely in debt.  Furthermore the debtors have gone the extra mile and seek your imprisonment.  Except imagine this imprisonment as a place of eternal torment.  They don’t just throw you into prison, you are thrown into prison and set afire with a substance that burns but which does not consume your flesh.  And you will remain there eternally. That is all you deserve and you have no way out on your own.  It sounds harsh, but again, life is about opening and funding new accounts.  You have failed to live up to the standard.  Not only can you not fund and open new accounts, but you owe a great debt, a debt too great for you to ever repay.  Therefore your punishment must be equal to the crime and this is the punishment.

Now, imagine that the Owner has taken notice of you, merely because he wanted to.  And he decided to rescue you from the penalty of your defaulted accounts.  So instead of allowing you to be thrown into the prison for which you are destined, he sent his son in your place.  His son who had perfect accounts.  His son whom he loved for his perfect life, perfect accounts and faithfulness to his father.   He sent his son to take your place and not only that, but he merged your two profiles.  And because his took your punishment, your debts were forgiven such that all is seen in your profile now is his son’s accounts.  However his son’s accounts were so perfect that though he took your place and your punishment; they could not keep him imprisoned.  Thus he was set free and appointed CEO of the father’s company. Thus because of his faithfulness, in living according to the fathers standards, in managing his accounts well and even in taking your punishment – when he did no wrong – the son is made the judge.  And he will judge all other account holders by his perfect account status.

But for you, now, when the father sees your profile, he sees his sons accounts.  Your old accounts are no more seen or remembered.  All that is visible in your profile is the sons accounts.  You have all of the wealth which the son has, you have his retirement accounts, and you have the good favor and status of the son in the eyes of the father.

The connection should be pretty clear.  The Father is God.  The world is not a bank, but God has prescribed a standard for living.  And going against that standard is a sin against God.  And sinning against God incurs an infinite debt which we can never pay.  What we deserve is the punishment that He has laid down for sin which is death.  However in His grace, He has sent His Son, His beloved Son Jesus to die in our place.  He was born into the world, lived a perfect life according to God’s standard and died for us, in our place.  But death could not hold Him because of His perfections.  Thus He rose from the dead and God has appointed Him judge of the living and the dead.  And He will judge according to His righteousness and anyone who has not been united with Him will suffer eternal torment.  God’s grace to us is merging our accounts with that of His Son.  It is merging our life to His Son such that He no longer sees our debt to Him because Jesus has paid the debt.  However what He does see is the righteous life that His Son has lived.  And that righteousness He will always see when He sees us, and will remember our sin no longer.

Bet you never knew that banking could be so theologically educational.

“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whoever believes in Him would not perish but have eternal life.” John 3:16

“Whoever believes in the Son has life, whoever does not obey the Son will not see life but the wrath of God remains on him.” John 3:36

“For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” Romans 3:23

“For while we were still helpless, at the right time, Christ died for the ungodly” Romans 5:6

“But God demonstrates His own love to us in that while we were yet sinners Christ died for us.  Much more then having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from the wrath of God through Him.” Romans 5:8

“And you were dead in your trespasses and sins…but God being rich in mercy…even when we were dead, made us alive together with Christ…and raised us up with Him and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus…for by grace are you saved…” Ephesians 2:1-10

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, just as He chose us in Him…In Him we have redemption through His blood [which is] the forgiveness of our trespasses…also we have obtained an inheritance…” Ephesians 1:1-14

John 1:1-18 Why did He have to come? Pt 2

I am trying to prevent anyone saying the really foolish thing that people often say about Him: ‘I’m ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don’t accept His claim to be God.’ That is the one things we must not say.  A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher.  He would either be a lunatic –on the level with a man who says he is a poached egg — or else he would be the Devil of Hell.  You must make your choice.  Either this man was and is the Son of God: or else a madman or something worse.  You can shut Him up for a fool, you can spit at Him and kill Him as a demon or you can fall at His feet and call Him Lord and God.  But let us not come with any patronizing nonsense about His being a great human teacher.  He has not left that open to us.”  C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity, pages 40-41

How are we to understand the coming of Christ?  Can we say that the import of His coming was merely to provide us with a moral compass?  To give us a season to celebrate the doing of good deeds?  To give us a season to give gifts to others?  To give us a season filled with special music, ornaments, men dressed in red and white garb sitting atop a sleigh driven by reindeer, and mistletoe?  Why did He really have to come?

We’ve already alluded to one reason.  The great darkness that had overtaken His creation.  Men had been blinded.  They had been immersed in a darkness so impermeable that it had rendered them impotent to resist the darkness and ignorant to recognize the light.  “He was in the world and the world was made through Him and the world did not know Him.”  But it was more than simple ignorance.  For they soon grew in their love for the darkness, as that which hid their indiscretions, and they became hostile to His light.  They rejected the light.  An no longer saw the need for it, claiming their own superiority of wisdom and sufficiency without Him.

But God has desired something better.  He purposed something better for His creation and thus began His plan for their redemption.  And since their hearts had grown darker by the moment, it was necessary for Him to disclose Himself to them…to “enlighten” them, so that they would know Him when He called to redeem them.  They had to be reminded of His holiness in the face of their darkened hearts.  They had to be reminded of His justice, His right to judge and His power to judge.  They had to be reminded of His love for compassion, mercy, grace and gentleness.  They had to be reminded of His love for the contrite and hatred for the proud.  They had to be told who God is before they could begin to understand His grace or be made fit for His love.  Thus He sent His Son.

A man has never loved what he did not know.  Everyone who has ever loved has loved based on what they know about a thing or person.  Perhaps they love because of how they feel.  Perhaps they love out of a sense of duty.  Perhaps they love based on a principle (even and inward abiding principle).  But it is not a blind or ignorant love.  Ignorant love is simple lust.  It is a strong desire with no real and abiding basis.  But love, active, (un)conditional is always based on knowledge.  Thus for us, it was necessary that God disclose Himself to us that we might know Him and love Him in truth.  “No one has seen God at any time, the only begotten God who is in the bosom of the Father, He has explained Him.”  We could not know God except the Son be sent to reveal Him.

There are many with vague concepts of God.  That He is merely love, that He is an aloof, grandfatherly “man upstairs” figure.  Some might suppose Him unjust in allowing tragedy, sorrow and death in the life of those below.  But those vain speculations arise out of ignorance.  They arise out of a heart which seeks to mold God into its own image in order to excuse and justify their love for the darkness.  They do not truly know the God whom they slander in their unbelief.  But thanks be to God that in His mercy towards those lost in darkness, He sent a great light.  In His “grace,” He has sent His “only begotten Son so that whoever believes in Him [as He is the exact representation of the Father, thus to believe Him is to believe the Father] would not perish but have everlasting life.”

“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.  For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world but that the world might be saved through Him.  He who believes in Him is not judged, He who does not believe has been judged already because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.  This is the judgment, that the Light has come into the world and men loved the darkness rather than the Light for their deeds were evil.  For everyone who does evil hates the Light and does not come to the Light for fear that his deeds will be exposed.  But he who practices the truth comes to the Light so that his deeds may be manifested as having been wrought in God…He who believes in the Son has eternal life, but he who does not obey the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.” John 3:16-21, 36

“Therefore be imitators of God as beloved children and walk in love, just as Christ also loved you and gave Himself up for us an offering and a sacrifice to God as a fragrant aroma.  But do not let immorality or any impurity or greed even be named among you as is proper among saints and there must be no filthiness or silly talk or coarse jesting which are not fitting but rather giving of thanks.  For this you know with certainty that no immoral or impure person or covetous man who is an idolater has an inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God.  Let no one deceive you with empty words for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience.  Therefore do not be partakers with them for you were formerly darkness but now you are light in the Lord, walk as children of light (for the fruit of light consist in all goodness and righteousness and truth), trying to learn what is pleasing to the Lord.   And do not participate in the unfruitful deeds of darkness but instead even expose them, for it is disgraceful even to speak of the things which are done by them in secret.  But all things become visible when they are exposed by the light, for everything that becomes visible is light.” Ephesians 5:1-13

“…we have not ceased to pray for you and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding so that you may walk in a manner worthy of the Lord to please Him in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God, strengthened with all power according to his glorious might for the attaining of all steadfastness and patience, joyously giving thanks to the Father who has qualified us to share in the inheritance of the saints in light.  For He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son…” Colossians 1:9-13

“I charge you in the presence of God who gives life to all things and of Christ Jesus who testified the good confession before Pontius Pilate, that you keep the commandment without stain or reproach until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ which He will bring about at the proper time, He who is the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords, who alone possesses immortality and dwells in unapproachable light, whom no man has seen or can see.  To Him be honor and eternal dominion! Amen” 1 Timothy 6:13-16

“For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness because that which is known about God is evident within them for God made it evident to them.  For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature have been clearly seen being understood through what has been made so that they are without excuse.  For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks but they became futile in their speculations and their foolish hearts were darknened…” Romans 1:18-32

“Your eyes are too pure to look upon evil, and you cant look on wickedness with favor…” Habakkuk 1:13

“…You worship what you do not know, we worship that which we know, for salvation is from the Jews.  But an hour is coming and now is when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth for such people the Father seeks to be His worshippers.  God is spirit and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and in truth.  The woman said to him, ‘I know that Messiah is coming (He who is called the Christ) when that One comes, He will declare all things to us.’  Jesus said to her ‘I who speak to you am He’” John 4:1-30

“Let not your heart be troubled, believe in God, believe also in Me.  In my Father’s house there are many dwlling places…if I go and prepare a place for you I will come again and receive you to Myself that where I am there you may be also.  And you know the way where I am going.  Thomas said to Him ‘Lord we do not know where you are going, how do we know the way?’  Jesus said to him ‘I am the way and the truth and the life, no one comes to the Father but through Me.  If you had known me you would have known the Father also, from now on you know Him and have seen Him.’  Philip said to him ‘Lord show us the Father and it is enough for us.’ Jesus said to him ‘Have I been with you so long and yet you have not come to know me Philip?  He who has seen me has seen the Father, how do you say ’show us the Father?’  Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me?  The words that I say to you I do not speak on My own initiative but the Father abinding in Me does His works.  Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father in me otherwise believe on account of the works themselves…” John 14:1-11

John 1:1-18 Why did He have to come? Pt 1

The Gospel of John is a narrative.  It is a narrative telling the story of Jesus’ sojourn to earth, His death, His sojourn back to His Father and the significance of all of those things.  We call it the gospel.  It is the good news.  It is good news for so many different reasons.  Many of which are alluded to in the first chapter of John’s gospel.

This narrative has a prologue, chapter 1:1-18.  And this prologue sets the scene for what is about to happen in the rest of the story.  It is an introduction to the main character(s) of the story, namely God the Father and His Son Jesus Christ.  What do we see about these main characters?

As I’ve mentioned previously, we start at the “beginning.”  And in the beginning was “the Word.”  He was in the beginning with God, He is God and He is the means by which all things came into existence.  It says that “apart from Him nothing that came into being that has come into being.”  That all seems pretty clear.  It further describes the Word as having “life” in Himself.  And that this life was the “light of men.”  That also makes sense because it just stated that all things came into being through Him.  Therefore to say that “in Him was life” is simply to reiterate that He is the source of all life, as He has created all things.

But then we come upon a very curious statement.  “The light shines in the darkness and the darkness did not comprehend it” (NASB). The untrained mind might seek to gloss over such a statement.  But as students of the scripture we must pause to consider this.  How are we now to understand this “darkness?”  Where did it come from?  Why is it here?  What sort of power is this darkness?  And what effect does it have on the creation which the Word has just created?   We know that the life which the Word gives is “light” to men.  What difference does this darkness make for them?  Of course we can rejoice, because ultimately this darkness cannot “comprehend/overpower” it.  However as we read on, we see that this darkness has done a great deal of damage to the world of men.

It says that He, the Word, is the “true light” and that He “enlightens every man.”  However when He came into the world, the world “did not know Him.”  It goes on to say that He, the Word, “came to His own [but] His own did not know Him.”  What manner of darkness is this?  For, it has blinded those created by the Word.  It has kept them from recognizing His light when He came to earth to sojourn among them.  This darkness has distorted their vision so as to preclude their understanding of being in the presence of their maker and source of life.  We are not told, in this passage, when or how this darkness was introduced.  We are merely told that it is.  And that it is, clearly presents a problem for the creation, which it cannot overcome.

But again, there is hope.  For the darkness, though it has temporarily blinded the eye of His creation, has not overpowered the force of the light of the Word.  His light is far too great, for it has existed from all eternity.  His light is that of the Almighty Creator God.  Thus it must prevail.  It cannot not prevail.  He has authority and power to grant life, and the life which He grants is as eternal as He.  This life, the text says is adoption into the family of God.  “As many as received Him [the Word] to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name…for of His fullness we have received grace upon grace.”

“Holy, Holy, Holy, though the darkness hideth thee,

though the eye of sinful man, thy glory may not see

Only though art holy, there is none beside thee

Perfect in pow’r, in love and purity”

 

“Long lay the world, in sin and error pining

Till He appeared and the soul felt its worth,

A thrill of hope, a weary world rejoices

For yonder breaks, a new and glorious morn”

“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.  For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world should be saved through Him.  He who believes in Him is not judged, he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.  And this is the judgment that the light is come into the world and men loved the darkness rather than the light for their deeds were evil.  For everyone who does evil hates the light and does not come to the light lest his deeds should be exposed.  But he who practices the truth comes to the light that his deeds may be manifested as having been wrought in God.” John 3:16-21

“Jesus spoke to them saying ‘I am the light of the world, he who follows me shall not walk in the darkness but shall have the light of life.‘” John 8:12

“Jesus therefore said to them, ‘for a little while longer the light is among you.  Walk while you have the light, that the darkness may not overtake you, he who walks in the darkness does not know where he goes.  While you have the light, believe in the light, in order that you may become sons of light…I have come as light into the world that everyone who believes in Me may not remain in darkness.  And if anyone hears my sayings and does not keep them I do not judge him for I did not come to judge the world but to save the world.  He who rejects me and does not receive my sayings has one who judges him, the word I spoke is what will judge him at the last day.  For I did not speak on my own initiative but the Father Himself who sent me has given me commandment what to say and what to speak.  And I know that His commandment is eternal life, therefore the things that I speak I speak just as the Father has told me.’” John 12:35-50

John 1:1 pt 3

In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God.

The Word of God is God.  Herein is the point that we have been drawn to from the very first words of this sentence.  The Word is eternal.  Only God possesses eternality.  He exists prior to, apart from, above, and beyond anything created, for He created all things.  Thus He alone is eternal.  And anyone else attributed with eternality must be God.  The Word was with God.  Thus the Word is eternally related to God.  He has always been with God from “the beginning.”  There is not a time in which it can be said that the Word was not with God.  He is eternally with God which means that He must be equal to God and yet distinct in some way.  And the rest of the Gospel of John spells out exactly how He is distinct as He is said to be the “begotten God, the Son of God.”  And here, finally we are explicitly told that He was God.

Now that doesn’t mean that He has ceased to be God, for God cannot cease to be so.  Merely that the Apostle uses what words he has to express who that eternal God has always been “from the beginning.”  Now there are many today as there have been throughout the course of Church History who have erroneously attempted to solve the mystery of the God Man. Some would seek to emphasize His divinity to the degradation of His humanity.  Conversely some would seek to emphasize His humanity to the degradation of His divinity.  But we must be careful not to do either.

How exactly are we to understand that the eternal Word of God has taken on human nature, where it says “and the Word became flesh and dwelt among us?”  The Word of God as it is written does not spell out explicitly how it works.  So we don’t really know.  And some have the foolish notion that in order for this to be true, it must make sense in our limited minds.  The Faith is rational.  It is cogent.  It has rational elements which fit together.  It is taught and explained rationally.  It must be accepted rationally.  It is not less than rational.  And we do not teach so that what is rational is set aside for people to adhere to this Faith.  But there are elements of the faith which the rational mind must understand to be a mystery which can only be fully understood God’s mind.  If we believe that God is God and that so eternally then He must posses infinite knowledge which is far greater than those lesser beings which He has created.  Thus it is reasonable to assume that we won’t understand rationally all that is to know about God.  For example, and to the point, how can God exist as God the Word and as man in the same person without confusing, mixing or losing any aspect of either nature?  That knowledge is too great for us.  God knows that it is far beyond us, and further that we don’t have need of knowing how, and thus does not explain it to us in Scripture.  Therefore we are left to understand merely that it is true.  In the person of Jesus Christ is two natures, that of the eternal Word of God and that of man.

This truth is of great importance to affirm as the Church of Jesus Christ.  For the One in whom we have trusted to secure our salvation is none other than God Himself.  The One in whom we have trusted for forgiveness of sins is none other than the same God whom we have offended.  The One whom we have trusted to grant eternal life is none other than the God who in the beginning brought “all things” into existence.  And the One whose return we await to bring us to His glory, whose spirit indwells us as a downpayment of the same return and whose victory over sin, sinner and death we have been assured of is none other than God Himself.

Jesus Christ is the God-man.  He is the lone mediator.  He is the lone Creator and Savior of those whom God has appointed to that end.  Thus we are assured of our salvation on the basis of God’s work and not our own.  We are assured of its efficacy and sufficiency because it is a work conceived and wrought by the will and hand of God Himself.

“As you have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him…see to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy or empty deception, according to the tradition of men, according to the elementary principles of the world rather than according to Christ.  For in Him all the fulness of Deity dwells in bodily form, and in Him you have been made complete…set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on the earth, for you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God.  When Christ who is our life is revealed then you will be revealed with Him in glory.” Colossians 2:6-10, 3:1-4

“For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus” 1 Timothy 2:5

“Apart from the law the righteousness of God has been manifested…even the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all those who believe…for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus…for the demonstration of His righteousness…that He might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.” Romans 3:21-26

“Simon Peter, a bond servant and apostle of Jesus Christ, to those who have received a faith of the same kind as ours, by the righteousness of our God and Savior, Jesus Christ…” 2 Peter 1:1

“For the grace of God has appeared bringing salvation to all men, instructing us to deny ungodliness and worldly desires and to live sensibly, righteously and godly in the present age, looking for the blessed hope and appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus; who gave Himself up for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for Himself a people for His own possession zealous for good deeds.” Titus 2:11-14