I believe.

1 Corinthians 15:1-8

Now I make known to you, brethren, the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received, in which also you stand,  by which also you are saved, if you hold fast the word which I preached to you, unless you believed in vain.  For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures,  and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures,  and that He appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve.  After that He appeared to more than five hundred brethren at one time, most of whom remain until now, but some have fallen asleep; then He appeared to James, then to all the apostles; and last of all, as to one untimely born, He appeared to me also.”

This is the testimony of the Apostle Paul to the Corinthian Church.  This is what he believed.  This is what he taught.  I am no different than him, who spoke nearly 2000 years ago concerning the fact of Jesus’ life, death and resurrection attested by the Scriptures and the other Apostles.

I have written previously concerning certain thoughts that I had around Easter.  Somehow I feel that this Easter has crept up on me.  It is certainly one of the most important celebrations in the Christian faith.  Much of what Paul mentions in the rest of I Corinthians 15 has to do with the literal, bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.  His point in a nutshell is that if Jesus didn’t rise from the dead then our whole faith is in vain.  Thus Easter is greatly celebrated among those who believe.  It is a time to reflect upon the sacrifice that Jesus made on our behalf, the heinousness of our own sin that drove Him to the cross, the great love that kept Him there in the midst of such hostility and mockery at the hand of sinners like you and I, and His victory over sin, death and the grave when He rose triumphantly just three days later.  Appropriate words fail me now to describe the joy that I ought to feel as I reflect upon my own weakness, tendency to rebel against my Wonderful, Merciful Savior.

There ought to be much jubilation.  There ought to be great celebration.  Sadly many who believe approach Easter as if its just any old holiday.  Perhaps there is dressing up, perhaps there is the purposeful endurance of hours in a hot church before a dispassionate preacher droning on about the significance of how many Angels were at the tomb or that women received the message of the resurrection first (among other things).  And once they’ve made it to church on Easter, they check this spot off their list and return to their usual sporadic church attendance.

My point here is not to down anyone.  My point here, as I check my own heart, is to remember that at the heart of my faith is a set of truths.  It is not the celebration of a “holiday” or a the warm and fuzzy feeling associated with the spectacle that many make of Easter (bunny rabbits, chocolate and such).  It is the recognition and heart affirmation of a set of truths that all who claim to be a part of my faith ought to hold to.  And those same set of truths dictate (some more directly than others) how we approach these holy days,  who we ought to be toward one another and toward all men.  And more than that, these set of truths point to a Man.  The only Man in whom there is true life.  And the only Man under heaven of whom it may be said that believing in His name leads to salvation.

Paul said it first and best here in the above passage “the gospel which I preached to you, which you also believed, in which you stand, by which you are saved…[is] that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures and that He appeared to [many].”

I am a Christian.  As a Christian I affirm that…

I believe that Jesus Christ of Nazareth is a real person.

I believe all of the Bible to be fully trustworthy, authentic and truly the Word of God to man.  As the Word of Creator God, it is fully capable and does predict the future and accurately record historic events.

I believe that Jesus died for my sins according to the Scriptures (the Old Testament in the Bible).

I believe that Jesus was buried in a tomb because He was genuinely dead.

I believe that Jesus rose again on the third day according to those same Scriptures.

I believe that Jesus appeared to over 500 people including the Apostles ( who walked with Him during His life, and would have known Him intimately), and that they accurately recorded their testimony about Him in the New Testament of the Scriptures.

And I believe that my faith in Jesus Christ of Nazareth will not be in vain because He has risen from the dead and will literally return to the Earth, as sure as He came the first time, and that He will finally make me fit for His Glorious Kingdom.

There is much more that I could say.  For now I will conclude with this.  I believe because He lives.  Had He not risen from the dead, there would be no hope in Christianity.  There would be no power to change us from being dead in sin to have life before God, thus saving us from His Wrath.  And there would be no confidence in the Word of God to accurately predict the future on the basis of God’s Almighty control of all things.  But again, because He lives, all of these things are yes and Amen.

Romans 10:9-11

“if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved;  for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation.  For the Scripture says, “WHOEVER BELIEVES IN HIM WILL NOT BE DISAPPOINTED.” “

I have put my complete faith in this man, the LORD Jesus Christ.  I invite you to do the same.

Even so, Come LORD Jesus!

Coram Deo thought: The death of pride

The Christian life is full of a thousand little deaths.  The death of pride in one’s heart is probably one of the most frequent…or at least should be.  “This I say, through the grace given to me, to everyone who is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly, as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith.” Paul wrote this in the context of a discussion of God’s mercy towards the Church.  He has been merciful to us, in abundance in Christ; and therefore we should present our bodies to Him as a sacrifice.  He goes on to say that this sacrifice entails offering up our bodies to His body through the gifts which He has given us in the Spirit.  This Paul says is a service that we ought to render with humility.  The spirit of humility then is a necessary response to the contemplation of God’s mercy in salvation.  As we recognize that our salvation is truly the mercy of God, our minds are being transformed and as our minds are transformed our lives will reflect a greater awareness of our dependence upon Him, gratitude towards Him and humble service to our brethren who are also recipients of God’s mercy.  Mercy serves to place us all on the same level playing field.  None of us have earned God’s mercy, mercy itself being what is undeserved.  And all of us in Christ and even apart from Christ are recipients of God’s mercy at all times.  All that we have and all that we are is as a result of God’s mercy towards us.  this one doctrinal truth I believe should revolutionize our lives.  Paul viewed it as that which should produce a complete transformation of life for new believers.  Here are just a few ways in which mercy should transform our lives.

Our life should be sacrificial.  There ought to be a true and lasting pursuit towards sacrifice.  So often in life we pursue that which is our right.  We pursue that which leads to comfort for us.  Our society is extremely comfort oriented.  But the mercies of God should impel us to sacrifice.  None of what we have is our own.  None of what we have and what we are is given to us for our own sakes.  Therefore it should all be freely offered back as a sacrifice to God.  Furthermore we ought to look for opportunities to sacrifice what we have for the sake of others.  We should not be quick to hold on to what we have.  We should be quick to give because what has been given to us is not for us alone.  And all who are around us = our brothers sand sisters in Christ – regardless of what they have or have not worked for (materially speaking) are recipients of God’s mercy as we are.  And therefore we ought to be quick to share and to give whatever it is that we have for the glory of God.  My family has received great benefit from many who have understood this principle.  And we endeavor to exemplify the same to others and before our children.  “It is more blessed to give than to receive.”

Our life should be service oriented.  God has given us a measure of grace.  That measure of grace is to be used for the sake of His body which is still on earth.  That measure of grace has been left to us for the sake of building up His body and therefore we must make every effort to determine what grace the Lord has left for us and to use that grace with fervency “not lagging in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord” v 10.  To do any less would be disobedience to the Lord who called us by His grace to serve.  A servant should do nothing less than that which is reasonable for a servant to do.  That is to serve.  A servant should not just serve when they know that they will reap in return.  A servant does not just serve when it will be easy for him to do so.  A servant does not expect gratitude or appreciation.  A servant serves because it is his lot in life and because he is a servant.  A servant serves because he has a master whom he desires to please.  Because when the master is pleased the servant will be blessed.  It is not the joy of the servant which is in the mind of the master but his own joy.  And his joy means good for the servant.  His displeasure means wrath.  A servant’s life is unremarkable.  It is not full of pleasure and extra luxuries.  Our society scoffs at the terminology “servant.”  Man desires to be servant to no one.  Our society declares that it is not the one who serves who is greater but the one who is served by others.  Jesus said on the contrary that the one who would be great in His Kingdom must be a servant to all.  Jesus said of Himself that he came to “serve and to give his life a ransom for many.”  Are the subjects of the Kingdom greater than the King?  If the King had to spend His earthly life as a service to the will of His Father in Heaven, how much more should we who are infinitely less in honor than He?  It is not wrong for a person to have luxuries or to be entertained by them.  However the true believer who is rich in this world is commanded to hold loosely to what he has and to always be ready to give to others who are in need (I Tim 6:17-19).  Furthermore why would one who has true riches in Christ desire or pursue that which is fleeting and temporary?  It would behoove one to question the motives of their own heart in pursuing or actively striving to maintain these things for any other sake than to impart them to the body as needed.

Our life should be sober. Again, the gospel is the great equalizer.  The mercy of God in salvation is His withholding what we truly deserve which is only death for our rebellion from Him.  One who understands the gospel doesn’t see themselves as deserving anything good.  Perhaps we understand and fall back on the assurance that God is working for our good in this life.  However we don’t expect for God to give us any good as if there has ever been a time in which we actually deserve it for our own sake.  We are children of God.  We are children of the King.  We are His beloved.  However that is all by His mercy and not because He is obliged to give us anything. A sober life is seen in three ways.  1)  Our thoughts towards outsiders, unbelievers, obstinate ought to always be that of mercy.  Even for those who are harsh, unbearable, obstinate and even hostile towards us or the cross.  We are to consider the mercy of God to us who were just as they dead in our sin toward God.  “But God,” as the scripture says “on account of his great mercy” made us alive together with Christ.  And so He may for them according to His time and His will.  2)  Our thoughts towards one another in the body of Christ should be that of mercy.  We ought to consider one another, regardless of faults, in light of God’s mercy.  There is no room for complaining about anothers fault as if we deserve only good.  Again, the one who has truly understood God’s mercy knows that it is not the bad that we should marvel at for that is what we deserve.  But it is the good things which also come from above, that we should marvel at.  When we are treated as servants by a bother or sister, that should not shock us.  However when we are blessed above and beyond that of a servant, when we are given the King’s ransom; then we should marvel, then we should stand in awe.  Even to be treated as a servant is God’s mercy to us.  God is sovereign over all, thus we know that even the foolish decisions of others which may hinder us are all under God’s providential gaze.  Thus it is not to others that we should turn but to God in calamity, not so as to find fault but to reaffirm our dependence upon Him and to thank Him for the mercy which He shows us with our very existence and much more in those times of trial.  Furthermore, He has mercifully granted us that we should have gifts to give to one another for the good of the body.  And when we do not serve the body with those gifts we are spurning the mercy of God and showing disdain for it.  3)  Our thoughts about ourselves ought to be lowly.  We are what we are by God’s mercy.  We have nothing with which to boast in ourselves.  God has been merciful to us and continues to be merciful to us by upholding His creation and His own integrity in faithfulness towards those whom He has wed to His Son.  Any good that we have or that we are is not as a result of our work but God’s work in us (Phil 2:13, Eph 2:10).  Furthermore, possibly the greatest mercy which God has shown to us is that He enables us to glorify Him.  What joy does the standard bearer have in raising the banner of his country or king?  What joy is there on the lips of the bride at the praise of her groom on their engagement?  What joy does a parent have to announce the birth of their firstborn?  We who are recipients of the salvation of the Lord may have great joy in announcing the glory of our King who has overlooked our transgressions and paid our infinite debt by His own grace and the life of His Son.  Paul said that by our transformed minds,” by our sober thoughts of God’s mercy in our lives…we may “prove that which is good and acceptable and perfect will of God.”  What a blessing we have by God’s mercy to proclaim to this deaf and dead world the good and acceptable and perfect will of God?!

We pray “thy will be done on earth as it is in Heaven.”  Our heavenly Father’s response to our prayer is to show us mercy that we may in turn proclaim His excellencies to others that they all may behold the glory of the Lord and to know His will (I Peter 2:9).

Blessed be the Name of the LORD!

Why do we always ask “why” when difficulty strikes?  I’m not talking about after we’ve had time to think about it, pray about it, and have others comfort and encourage us through it.  I’m talking about the initial gut response.  When something difficult happens our first thought, more often than not is “why?”  Why me, why now, why this?  Strange it seems, particularly once you’ve gone through the trial that you even asked why to begin with.  Then again, I guess sometimes all you’re left with is why with no further response from the Lord.  Some things, we’ll never know and were never meant to know.  Somethings He makes clear to us knowing that we are flesh, weaklings.

But where does that gut response of “why” come from?  Most likely it comes from the expectation that we deserve only good in life.  Certainly for the unbeliever there is often that expectation.  That they are inherently good and that they deserve only good to come.  Even that god, their god, is a god of only good things and that disaster and calamity should never befall them.  But that is not the God of the Bible.  That is certainly not the Father of Jesus Christ nor the Father of His Church.

So what about believers?  When disaster and calamity strikes and we respond with “why” what are we saying?  I think that we too are saying “why me, why this, why now?”  And I think that we are often responding with that thinking that we too deserve only good things.  Is that wrong of us to assume?  We are children of the King.  Children in the Beloved.  We are the Lord’s and we expect that He will work out everything for our good and His glory in the end…right?  And what about those who are more charismatic among us who assert that there aren’t really any difficulties that should befall us and that we shouldn’t even be physically sick (I recently had someone who was of the charismatic persuasion say to me – with reference to Isaiah 53 – that Jesus’ bore our sicknesses and that through His death we are healed and so my wife’s physical distress would be healed if we believed that and claimed it).  What about that?  There is certainly much to be said for their faith, though their interpretation of scripture is somewhat lacking.  And there is much to be said about their fervency for prayer and trusting that God would move because they pray in faith.

But what else are they saying?  In a sense, and I don’t believe that everyone of them is saying this nor do I believe that every other believer thinks this way but for the most part it is probably true, in a sense they are saying that God should give us what we ask for no matter what it is and that we shouldn’t ever experience physical or any other distress because God never meant it to be that way for us.  That is so close to the truth its almost difficult to combat.  Certainly God created us “good” and for “good.”  However things did not remain that way.  And there is really no promise in scripture that now things ought to be completely good and at ease for us as believers.  Quite the opposite.  I’ve been reading through I Peter and he assumes that difficulty will arise and that this difficulty is a part of what it means to walk in Christ’s footsteps.  Certainly Paul’s life – who was a man of faith and a man of prayer – was full of difficulty.  Are we to assume that he was in some sort of sin or that he didn’t have enough faith or that he didn’t pray earnestly enough and that this is why his life was marked with difficulty both physical and otherwise?  Certainly not.  And ultimately we have Jesus who said “in this life you will have tribulation but to be of good cheer because I have overcome the world.”  And His life, what was it if not marked by “grief and sorrow.”  Are we, His disciples, to live a life greater than He, our Master?

I guess in the final analysis we have to conclude that what is “our good” that God is working all things toward, is ultimately not up to us.  In other words we can’t and won’t know what the “good” is that God is working all things toward.  We don’t really know what good thing we need and we don’t really know how best to work out situations and circumstances in our lives in order to reach that good.  But we can rest in knowing that God knows.  And we can rest in knowing that God is the One who is and always will be in control and that He is at work to work all things together for our good, whether they are “good” or “bad” according to our perspective.

In the end, we must assert with Job that it would be foolish to only be willing to accept good from God and not adversity.  Accepting the good and adversity in this respect is more of an attitude adjustment.  There is not really anything that we can do to accept or reject adversity from God.  But the acceptance, as we saw – at least from the first and last couple of chapters of  Job – has more to do with an attitude that doesn’t question God’s motives but which accepts that He is in control, that His plans and purposes are higher than we can conceive and that whether He gives or takes, He is and always shall be blessed.

God has something better…

Have you ever said that before? When something doesn’t turn out exactly as you planned, when something that you anticipated fell through, have you ever said “I guess God has something better for me.” Has someone ever said that to you in response to a disappointment? What if He doesn’t? What if the next thing that He has for you is equally as disappointing and frustrating to you? What if the next thing that God has for you will be even more disastrous?

Does that make God unjust? Does that mean that God doesn’t love you? Does that mean that He is not interested in your good? Certainly not. May God be found true though every man is a liar! The wisdom of God is unfathomable. His grace and love toward His beloved saints is supreme, even as His love for His Son is supreme. God is for us!

So what then are we to assume? I’ve been thinking about this over the past few days because of a disappointing turn of events in my own life. And of course, I have an example from my children. My daughter has been running in the house. I recently told her to stop running, since she has gotten older and we realized that it is not really in her best interest to run inside, nor that of her little sisters, and that it is not something that we’ll want her to do in other situations. One of those parenting issues where you realize that you’ve allowed something that you probably shouldn’t have. Anyway, the point at which I have told her to stop running, the issue in correction ceases to be if she is running or not and becomes her obedience to my command. And therefore when I correct her for it – which I have had to – I must be gracious (since I allowed it for some time) and I must correct her on the level of her obedience to my command and her desire to depart from my command to do what she wants (her rebellious nature). I must correct and instruct to the issue and not the symptom. The symptom is running. The issue is rebellion in the heart and the departure from my word. If I merely correct to the running, she will still have rebellion in her heart and will have no idea that it is there. If, however, I correct to the issue of rebellion, then she will be one step closer to understanding the key issue in the gospel.

God is a greater parent that any of us. He knows that there are issues and symptoms. He knows that in our heart of hearts, we are more concerned with our comfort than trust in Him. And so, when we are challenged with an issue and He removes something from our lives or else He redirects in such a way that is different than we expected, instead of saying “God has something better for me” we should understand that what is happening is the better. What He is doing, in ridding us of our self interest is the better thing. He is addressing the issue and not merely the symptom. The issue is not the thing which you have lost or the situation that has not turned out the way that you wanted. The issue is that you are seeking, most likely, what you think is better and not what God thinks is better for you. The issue is that we must learn to trust His way and His word and we won’t unless He challenges our faith so that we must trust Him alone.

May this thought be a blessing for you as it has been for me and my family.

Message Links

I am incredibly tired.  Its amazing how soon life can go from 0-60.  I’d love to get on here to update and blog more often, but its just not happening.  Perhaps more in the Spring.  I’ll have to get back to the Psalm series.  The Psalms are very encouraging to me lately.  They drip with praise to the Lord, men with real pain, real difficulties, real concerns; and yet with real trust in their Sovereign Lord…the Only Wise God.  Perhaps that’s the key…suffering girded with faith bears fruit of praise.  And who or what is more worthy of our faith?

New Sermon Links:

Paul’s Introduction to the Gospel – Rom 1:1

Paul’s Introduction to the Gospel – Rom 1:2-7

The Nature of Persevering Faith in Hebrews 11-12 pt 1

The Nature of Persevering Faith in Hebrews 11-12 pt 2

Psalm 8 – 150 Days of Purposeful Meditation (Day 8)

God is…

I am in awe of this Psalm.  Each time I’ve read it lately, I’ve had to give pause at this one thought that the Psalmist is seeking to convey.  Though he has many different points, I think that there is one main thought.  Namely that God, as great as He is and as great as His works may be, would take interest in us.

Many take note of the sun, moon and stars and marvel at their wonders for wonders sake.  They look at the great expanse of the universe and are aghast at the multitude of brightly shining stars in the heavens.  They may even stand in awe of the manifold nature of the plant and animal kingdoms.  They are right to find these things compelling.  But they fall short of what is truly worth their wonder because they fail to mix their wonder with faith.

The ungodly do not believe that there is a Creator.  And because they do not believe that there is a Creator then there is no reason for them to consider His reason for creating.  It would be natural to wonder what purpose a person has in creating one thing or another; but if something were created solely by accident, then there would be no right reason to wonder.

Yet, we who understand that something, particularly something with such complexity, could not possibly have come about without an initial cause; believe that the cause is in fact a person with a plan and purpose at heart.  Furthermore that this person’s plans and purposes include us, who – as great as we think we are – in the big scheme of things are really only a small part of His vast created universe; is truly a thing of wonder.  It would be something like us building a vastly complex ant farm in which there were little ant cities, towns and countries; placing a few small ants in the farm, at various locations, and then tending to each one’s particular real need.  (I say real need to distinguish from the “felt needs” that some of my brothers and sisters believe that we ought to cater to in order to reach some with the gospel.  Real needs are those things which God determines are our needs…paramount is our need for Him in the gospel and not necessarily temporal ease.)  I’d give them charge over the entire farm, placing other “inhabitants” of the farm under their charge. Then I’d give them a special relationship with me above all of the other inhabitants of the farm.  Such that they can communicate with me and I with them, they can know me relate to me.

Crazy huh?  I mean, why on earth am I taking time to build an ant farm of such complexity for these ants to inhabit?  Why not just give them a mound of dirt?  Why would I take time to see that each of their needs is met?  Why would I even give them charge over the farm?  Just because its called an “ant farm?”  And why would I give them of all the inhabitants of the farm, the opportunity to know me?

“Oh Lord, our Lord how majestic is your name in all the earth.”  When was the last time that you thanked God, worshipped God, praised God; because He has chosen to bestow His grace upon you?  Before you understand why its so great that God has chosen to bestow grace upon you; you must first understand how incredibly worthless you are.  Thats where most people miss it.  Pop pshychology will tell you that you are to be made much of.  Pop culture will tell you that your wants/desires are most important.  God’s grace teaches us that we have nothing to offer and everything to lose; but that He has chosen to purchase our good with the death of His own Son.  His grace teaches us that there is no one righteous; but the One who had no sin and was made sin for us so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.  God’s grace teaches us that it is not our name that ought to be made much of; but that it is His.  For He alone is worthy of praise for the grace that He has bestowed on us, who are but dust.

O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name, in all the earth!

What is eternal life?

Someone asked me today “what is eternal life?”  Unfortunately I didn’t have quite the time to explain it.  You might think at first that it would be pretty simple.  Eternal life is living for eternity.  That answer might suffice for some, but according to scripture, eternal life is considerably more involved than simply living forever.

It is in fact about a relationship.  A relationship that you cannot possibly understand unless you know what death is.  Death is separation.  Death is what we all have.  We are all, by nature, from birth, dead men.  We have offended a Holy God by our rebellion and sin and so He has condemned us to the sentence of death.  And there is not a single man, woman or child who is exempt from that.  All die because all have sinned.

And so, as it were, when God sees us, He sees dead men walking about.  No one, in their right mind, would take you to a graveyard and try to convince you that the corpses that lie before you have life.  Why?  Because it would be apparent that they do not.  And so it is with us, that spiritually and eventually physically it is apparent that we are dead men.  We are so from birth, and once our souls separate from our bodies, we will experience another sort of death.  That death is ultimate separation from God.  An eternal separation.  But not just an eternal separation from God, but also an eternal torment.  Because those who God separates from Himself are His enemies.  He is not merely indifferent towards those people.  He is not like a school child who scoots himself over to keep the unwanted kid from sitting in the seat next to him on the bus.  He is a Holy, all powerful, and all wise God who has all wisdom in order to meet out a proper punishment and all power in order to deliver the proper punishment upon those who have offended Him for all eternity.

So then what is eternal life?  Eternal life is a new relationship with God.  Our current relationship with God is that of death.  It is separation.  There is a partition between us.  A dividing line which is our sin and the judgment that awaits us.  But eternal life is life granted to one who is already dead.  It is new life that is given to a corpse as it were.  It is a relationship with God where there was previously separation.  And that relationship is only possible because God has granted it to us in His Son.

His Son is the One who bore our sin and punishment upon Himself.  He took the penalty of separation from God – for a time – upon Himself so that new life might be granted to those who put their trust in Him.  He had the perfect relationship with the Father, such that the Father granted Him authority to give life and to take it.  And so He gives life to those who choose to trust in and obey Him as the One who has all authority (we call Him Lord).

So what is eternal life?  It is more than just living forever.  It is being granted life when you previously had none.  It is being brought into a relationship with God when you were previously separate from Him.  Living forever, then, apart from Christ and God is no reward at all.  If you have come to think of eternal life in that way, then unfortunately you have missed the point of Christianity.

John 5:24  24 “Truly, truly, I say to you, he who hears My word, and believes Him who sent Me, has eternal life, and does not come into judgment, but has passed out of death into life.

John 17:3  3 “This is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.