“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God. And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil. For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed. But whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his works have been carried out in God.”
God loves the world in a specific manner. We translate "so" to mean something like "so much!" This sounds like God wants to give the world a great, big, God-sized hug! What this clause actually means is "God loved the world in this way, under these circumstances." So the definition of Love we have in our minds may not mean the same thing as God's. We usually think of love being a romantic love, but God's love of the world is very different. God's love is a self-sacrificial love. It is a love that involves pain and even death. It is a love of giving.
God gave his only begotten son. He gave Jesus Christ as a gift at Christmastime, but he also gave up Jesus' actual life for us. There was an eternal decree where Jesus volunteered himself up for sacrifice, and it was followed through. Now, see that the condition of salvation is belief--faith. It doesn't say that if someone does something spectacular and impresses God, he will save them. No, one only has to believe in Jesus Christ, to put his faith in Jesus Christ. That's it. He doesn't have to prove himself at all. But we want to prove ourselves. We want to show God that we are something special. However, since we are born into sin, everything we do, even if it looks good to the world, is corrupt. Our greatest accomplishment is like a filthy rag to God, because of sin.
It's the difference between eternal life and eternal ruin. Belief is all that is needed. Faith is all that can save you. And it can't be just any faith. It has to be faith in Jesus Christ himself. Even then, it can't be a false Christ. It can't be a Jesus that loves romantically, or anything else that we dream up. It has to be the Jesus that loves in the specific way that is described above. It has to be the Jesus of the Bible, both Old and New Testaments.
Christ's first coming was not to condemn the world but to save it. He was putting a face on salvation. It wasn't some arbitrary thing anymore. He specifically came to let everyone know that all who put their trust in him would be saved. He did not come to judge the world but to save it. Now, Jesus will be coming again, and the second time he comes will be to judge the world, with fire. And there will be two camps: one camp of people who put their faith in Christ for their salvation, and one who didn't.
Whoever believes in Christ is not condemned. That seems simple and straightforward. However, the opposite is not true. The opposite would be that those who do not believe in Christ are condemned. This is not true. Condemnation is not contingent on believing in Christ. We are not on neutral ground here. We aren't just purring along with life and then we hear about Christ, reject him, and then God puts us in the "condemned" category. No, we have been condemned since birth. Why? Because we are born into the line of Adam, who sinned against God on the first day of his life. God created a covenant with Adam, and Adam immediately broke it. We are Adam's progeny, and so we are guilty of that sin, too. In other words, we are guilty of breaking God's Holy Law. Breaking the law leads to condemnation. Therefore, we are condemned, and have been since our existence.
Now, belief in Christ pulls us out of that condemnation, but unbelief does not put us in the condemnation. We are already condemned. Our unbelief merely keeps our status in God's eyes the same. There is a famous quote from the late Anne Dillard that goes like this: "I read about an Eskimo hunter who asked the local missionary priest, 'If
I did not know about God and sin, would I go to hell?' 'No,' said the
priest, 'not if you did not know.' 'Then why,' asked the Eskimo
earnestly, 'did you tell me?'" Well, remember what we said above: he who does not believe is condemned already. The priest in the quote, and Anne Dillard, is incorrect. The answer is actually "Yes! You would go to hell." Let's look at Romans 1:18:
For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse.
Jesus Christ came into the world, and he cast a light on everything, and everyone can, by the light of Christ, see that all the accomplishments, all the great works, all the earnings of their way to God, to heaven, are actually evil works. The Eskimo was condemned already. His works were evil, no matter how good his intentions were. Christ only exposes the wickedness in men's hearts. Even our greatest accomplishments are worthless and evil in God's eyes.
Now, do you think that the light exposing the evil works would cause the evil workers to change their ways? No! Instead, the evil ones run deeper into the darkness. They hate the light. They hate Christ and actively work to ridicule him and lead others away from him. The devil doesn't want to be destroyed alone. He wants to take as many with him as possible.
Now, those who do have changed hearts, who do put their complete faith in Christ alone, those people are no longer condemned. They are transferred from the kingdom of darkness to the kingdom of God. Even their worst failure is made fragrant and pure by the shed blood of Jesus. Look at Colossians 1:13 & 14:
He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.
God transfers us from one domain to the other. He gives us the faith to believe. What does it look like? Repentance. When we are transferred from one domain to the other, we repent of our sins, we turn away from self, and we turn to Christ as the only source of light and life. Jesus forgives us of all of our sins: past, present, and future. Out of gratitude we do good works, which do not save us, but these works can be clearly seen by others that they are carried out in God. With no faith in Christ, our works are poison, even our best works. When we are in Christ, having put our faith in him alone, our works are blessed, even our worst ones, because they are based on faith. They are based on our trust in what Christ has done for us on the cross. His perfect righteousness is what God counts in our favor.
Sunday, November 15, 2015
Tuesday, November 10, 2015
Cleverly Devised Myths
2 Peter 16 reads, "For we did not follow cleverly devised myths when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty." Peter and his associates didn't make anything up. They told others their eyewitness testimonies, and these testionies are recorded in the Bible. The same goes for the other Apostles, and even the Old Testament prophets. If God didn't want it to be in the Bible, he didn't give the information to his writers.
I heard an explanation of the fall of Lucifer once. There was a scene where God gathered the angels about and explained to them his plan for salvation--the incarnation, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Not only was Lucifer having none of this plan and had a third of the angels rebel with him, the story actually has a scene where Lucifer comes to the meeting late and says something like, "hey everybody, what's happening?" This is a cleverly devised myth, not because of its creativity, but because it succeeds in distracting us from the testimonies about Christ that God has given to us in the Holy Scriptures. We need to eschew any new information given to us from outside the scriptures as something God did not want us to have and that distracts us from Jesus.
I heard an explanation of the fall of Lucifer once. There was a scene where God gathered the angels about and explained to them his plan for salvation--the incarnation, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Not only was Lucifer having none of this plan and had a third of the angels rebel with him, the story actually has a scene where Lucifer comes to the meeting late and says something like, "hey everybody, what's happening?" This is a cleverly devised myth, not because of its creativity, but because it succeeds in distracting us from the testimonies about Christ that God has given to us in the Holy Scriptures. We need to eschew any new information given to us from outside the scriptures as something God did not want us to have and that distracts us from Jesus.
Friday, November 6, 2015
The Twenty-Third Sunday After Trinity
Brothers, join in imitating me, and keep your eyes on those who walk according to the example you have in us. For many, of whom I have often told you and now tell you even with tears, walk as enemies of the cross of Christ. Their end is destruction, their god is their belly, and they glory in their shame, with minds set on earthly things. But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself. (Philippians 3:17-end)
Paul exhorts the Phlippians, and us, to join in imitating him and other disciples. What does this look like? Let's look at 1 Corinthians 4:14-17:
I do not write these things to make you ashamed, but to admonish you as my beloved children. For though you have countless guides in Christ, you do not have many fathers. For I became your father in Christ Jesus through the gospel. I urge you, then, be imitators of me. That is why I sent you Timothy, my beloved and faithful child in the Lord, to remind you of my ways in Christ, as I teach them everywhere in every church.
It appears that Paul is telling his congregations to be imitators of him like a child would be an imitator of a father. As a priest, one of my titles is "Father", but it's a heavy burden being in a Pauline role to my congregation, because there are many things that I wouldn't want my fellow Christians to imitate in my life. But Paul has given me--and all believers--a qualification. It can be found in that last sentence. He has sent Timothy to remind the Corinthians of Paul's ways in Christ, as he teaches them everywhere in the church. We know from Romans 7 that Paul still sins, so what are these ways of Christ that Paul sent Timothy to remind them--and us--of? If we look ahead to 1 Corinthians 7:17-24, we see this:
God has called you to peace. For how do you know, wife, whether you will save your husband? Or how do you know, husband, whether you will save your wife? ... Only let each person lead the life that the Lord has assigned to him, and to which God has called him. This is my rule in all the churches. ... Each one should remain in the condition in which he was called. Were you a bondservant when called? Do not be concerned about it. (But if you can gain your freedom, avail yourself of the opportunity.) For he who was called in the Lord as a bondservant is a freedman of the Lord. Likewise he who was free when called is a bondservant of Christ. You were bought with a price; do not become bondservants of men. So, brothers, in whatever condition each was called, there let him remain with God.
The immediate issue at hand is what do we do when we become a Christian and our spouse remains an unbeliever? Our immediate reaction is to separate from the unbeliever, but Paul exhorts us to remain in our condition, for we might bring that unbelieving spouse to Christ. He then extends this exhortation to all ways of life. We desire to change our outward condition to reflect the inward regeneration. We want to up and move, we want to detach ourselves from all remnants of our "old" life, but Paul is saying that the people in your old life are the very people that God wants to reach, and now God has an agent in those people's midst--you. This is the difference between the outward call and the inward call. When we become Christians, our inward call changes--radically. However, instead of altering our outward call to fit our inward, Paul exhorts us to keep our outward call unchanged. Remember, God gave us this outward call, too. He placed us in time and space exactly where he wants us to be. We had no choice on where or when we were born, and we have no choice on the people we meet in our lives. We are right where God wants us. Now with the inward call different, we are to share the gospel with the people of our outward call, no matter where that happens to be.
What about Paul himself? If we are to imitate him, and he exhorts us to maintain our outward call, is this what he himself did? Let's look at the first part of Philippians 3 and see:
If anyone else thinks he has reason for confidence in the flesh, I have more: circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; as to the law, a Pharisee; as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to righteousness under the law, blameless. But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith—that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead.
Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. Let those of us who are mature think this way, and if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal that also to you. Only let us hold true to what we have attained.
Notice that Paul is talking about the change in his inward call. He did have to alter his outward call, because his whole lifestyle, as a Pharisee, was wrapped up in his inward call. Likewise, the parts of our outward call that are wrapped up in our inward call--once that inward call gets oriented toward Christ--should be abandoned for the new inward call. If we are ensnared in a cult, hear the gospel, and are regenerated, we should break free from that part of our outward lives. But this does not mean to change jobs or change spouses or change friends.
In our passage, Paul tells us about false apostles. They are those who did not receive an inward call, but they altered their outward call regardless. Look at 2 Corinthians 11:12-15:
And what I am doing I will continue to do, in order to undermine the claim of those who would like to claim that in their boasted mission they work on the same terms as we do. For such men are false apostles, deceitful workmen, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ. And no wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. So it is no surprise if his servants, also, disguise themselves as servants of righteousness. Their end will correspond to their deeds.
Notice the word "disguise" being used over and over. This is an alteration of the outward call, people moving from the place God called them to be in life in order to insinuate themselves among a different group of people. The inward call isn't there, so all they are doing is leading people astray. Paul actually weeps over this situation--and so should we, for this predicament is happening today, too--but he knows their end: destruction. Their God is their belly--the flesh. They glory in shame--doing shameful acts, like the people described in Romans 1. Finally, their minds are set on earthly things, as those without an inward call would so set their minds.
How important is it not only to strive after our inward call but to maintain our outward call as well. So often we give up our God-given vocations to seek something "better" that God has in store for us, like a hidden treasure. The result is we no longer are among the people God wanted us to share our faith with. Likewise, there are those who haven't been regenerated who insinuate themselves among the brethren in order to deceive them.
This sounds like a hard task to maintain, but fortunately both calls have been purchased by Christ as well. Hear what Paul says: Our Citizenship is in heaven. He didn't say, "strive to become a citizen of heaven." No, God has already made us citizens of heaven. From heaven our savior comes to transform our lowly bodies--our outward-call bodies, so to speak--into new glorious bodies like the one Christ had after his resurrection. This power to transform our bodies is the same power that Christ will use to subject all things to himself. At the end of the age, not only will our bodies be transformed, but all of creation, heaven and earth itself. Look at 1 Corinthians 15:
But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive. But each in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, then at his coming those who belong to Christ. Then comes the end, when he delivers the kingdom to God the Father after destroying every rule and every authority and power. For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. The last enemy to be destroyed is death. For “God has put all things in subjection under his feet.”
Our hope lies in the resurrection of the dead, just as Paul claimed when he said, "that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection of the dead." Christ's resurrection is the sign of hope for us. We were dead in our trespasses, but Christ has made us alive again, and he conquers all of his enemies--including death--and puts all things in subjection under him. Our obedience to the inward call and the outward call are also part of this subjection. Our wills, our souls and bodies, are all subject to Christ, who won all through his death and resurrection. What a marvelous peace we have, knowing that Christ not only will subject all things but that we are the firstfruits. We have been subjected already. Our sin has been forgiven. Our wills have been conquered. Christ obeys for us, through us.
Paul exhorts the Phlippians, and us, to join in imitating him and other disciples. What does this look like? Let's look at 1 Corinthians 4:14-17:
I do not write these things to make you ashamed, but to admonish you as my beloved children. For though you have countless guides in Christ, you do not have many fathers. For I became your father in Christ Jesus through the gospel. I urge you, then, be imitators of me. That is why I sent you Timothy, my beloved and faithful child in the Lord, to remind you of my ways in Christ, as I teach them everywhere in every church.
It appears that Paul is telling his congregations to be imitators of him like a child would be an imitator of a father. As a priest, one of my titles is "Father", but it's a heavy burden being in a Pauline role to my congregation, because there are many things that I wouldn't want my fellow Christians to imitate in my life. But Paul has given me--and all believers--a qualification. It can be found in that last sentence. He has sent Timothy to remind the Corinthians of Paul's ways in Christ, as he teaches them everywhere in the church. We know from Romans 7 that Paul still sins, so what are these ways of Christ that Paul sent Timothy to remind them--and us--of? If we look ahead to 1 Corinthians 7:17-24, we see this:
God has called you to peace. For how do you know, wife, whether you will save your husband? Or how do you know, husband, whether you will save your wife? ... Only let each person lead the life that the Lord has assigned to him, and to which God has called him. This is my rule in all the churches. ... Each one should remain in the condition in which he was called. Were you a bondservant when called? Do not be concerned about it. (But if you can gain your freedom, avail yourself of the opportunity.) For he who was called in the Lord as a bondservant is a freedman of the Lord. Likewise he who was free when called is a bondservant of Christ. You were bought with a price; do not become bondservants of men. So, brothers, in whatever condition each was called, there let him remain with God.
The immediate issue at hand is what do we do when we become a Christian and our spouse remains an unbeliever? Our immediate reaction is to separate from the unbeliever, but Paul exhorts us to remain in our condition, for we might bring that unbelieving spouse to Christ. He then extends this exhortation to all ways of life. We desire to change our outward condition to reflect the inward regeneration. We want to up and move, we want to detach ourselves from all remnants of our "old" life, but Paul is saying that the people in your old life are the very people that God wants to reach, and now God has an agent in those people's midst--you. This is the difference between the outward call and the inward call. When we become Christians, our inward call changes--radically. However, instead of altering our outward call to fit our inward, Paul exhorts us to keep our outward call unchanged. Remember, God gave us this outward call, too. He placed us in time and space exactly where he wants us to be. We had no choice on where or when we were born, and we have no choice on the people we meet in our lives. We are right where God wants us. Now with the inward call different, we are to share the gospel with the people of our outward call, no matter where that happens to be.
What about Paul himself? If we are to imitate him, and he exhorts us to maintain our outward call, is this what he himself did? Let's look at the first part of Philippians 3 and see:
If anyone else thinks he has reason for confidence in the flesh, I have more: circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; as to the law, a Pharisee; as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to righteousness under the law, blameless. But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith—that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead.
Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. Let those of us who are mature think this way, and if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal that also to you. Only let us hold true to what we have attained.
Notice that Paul is talking about the change in his inward call. He did have to alter his outward call, because his whole lifestyle, as a Pharisee, was wrapped up in his inward call. Likewise, the parts of our outward call that are wrapped up in our inward call--once that inward call gets oriented toward Christ--should be abandoned for the new inward call. If we are ensnared in a cult, hear the gospel, and are regenerated, we should break free from that part of our outward lives. But this does not mean to change jobs or change spouses or change friends.
In our passage, Paul tells us about false apostles. They are those who did not receive an inward call, but they altered their outward call regardless. Look at 2 Corinthians 11:12-15:
And what I am doing I will continue to do, in order to undermine the claim of those who would like to claim that in their boasted mission they work on the same terms as we do. For such men are false apostles, deceitful workmen, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ. And no wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. So it is no surprise if his servants, also, disguise themselves as servants of righteousness. Their end will correspond to their deeds.
Notice the word "disguise" being used over and over. This is an alteration of the outward call, people moving from the place God called them to be in life in order to insinuate themselves among a different group of people. The inward call isn't there, so all they are doing is leading people astray. Paul actually weeps over this situation--and so should we, for this predicament is happening today, too--but he knows their end: destruction. Their God is their belly--the flesh. They glory in shame--doing shameful acts, like the people described in Romans 1. Finally, their minds are set on earthly things, as those without an inward call would so set their minds.
How important is it not only to strive after our inward call but to maintain our outward call as well. So often we give up our God-given vocations to seek something "better" that God has in store for us, like a hidden treasure. The result is we no longer are among the people God wanted us to share our faith with. Likewise, there are those who haven't been regenerated who insinuate themselves among the brethren in order to deceive them.
This sounds like a hard task to maintain, but fortunately both calls have been purchased by Christ as well. Hear what Paul says: Our Citizenship is in heaven. He didn't say, "strive to become a citizen of heaven." No, God has already made us citizens of heaven. From heaven our savior comes to transform our lowly bodies--our outward-call bodies, so to speak--into new glorious bodies like the one Christ had after his resurrection. This power to transform our bodies is the same power that Christ will use to subject all things to himself. At the end of the age, not only will our bodies be transformed, but all of creation, heaven and earth itself. Look at 1 Corinthians 15:
But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive. But each in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, then at his coming those who belong to Christ. Then comes the end, when he delivers the kingdom to God the Father after destroying every rule and every authority and power. For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. The last enemy to be destroyed is death. For “God has put all things in subjection under his feet.”
Our hope lies in the resurrection of the dead, just as Paul claimed when he said, "that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection of the dead." Christ's resurrection is the sign of hope for us. We were dead in our trespasses, but Christ has made us alive again, and he conquers all of his enemies--including death--and puts all things in subjection under him. Our obedience to the inward call and the outward call are also part of this subjection. Our wills, our souls and bodies, are all subject to Christ, who won all through his death and resurrection. What a marvelous peace we have, knowing that Christ not only will subject all things but that we are the firstfruits. We have been subjected already. Our sin has been forgiven. Our wills have been conquered. Christ obeys for us, through us.
Saturday, October 31, 2015
The Twenty-Second Sunday After Trinity
As we near the end of the church year, our readings begin to focus on the end times, but notice that they aren't all about the moon turning to blood and the sky rolling up like a scroll. They are about being ready for the end, because it will come like a thief in the night, and although we, as Christians, don't know the day or the hour, we will still be prepared for it, when it comes, because Christ has given us everything we need to know in his Holy Word. In Paul's letter to the Philippians, his words are filled with joy as he appreciates the Philippians for their steadfast faith. He prays that their faith and love will increase more and more. What does this have to do with the end times? Well, the period of time between our our conversion and our death is a period of sanctification. This is a time where we increase in faith in God and love for our neighbors, so that we can make a good showing at the end, like finishing a race. Sanctifying works are not related to God's wrath or hell. Salvation from God's wrath and hell has already been accomplished by Jesus Christ's death on the cross and has been applied to us by the Holy Spirit in our conversion. As justified sinners, we no longer fear hell. However, the life we live afterwards is a constant striving against sin and a continual doing of good works for our neighbors. This is Christ's righteousness, imputed to us, being lived out in us, more and more as we become more sanctified, until the end comes. This is Paul's prayer for the Philippians, and it is his prayer for us as well.
Remember, we are still sinners, and failing to do good works during our sanctification doesn't mean we are suddenly "unsaved," but not trying to live a Christian life may mean that we were never saved in the first place. Antinomianism, or an anti-law philosophy, says that since we have been saved, we don't have to do good works, and--more importantly--if we try to do good works, we are not really saved, because only unsaved people try to do good works. This is false. Pre-salvation works are like filthy rags to the Lord, but post-salvation works are merely the righteousness of Christ shining forth in the believer. Let's look at Paul's first thoughts in his letter to the Philippians (1:3-11):
I thank my God in all my remembrance of you, always in every prayer of mine for you all making my prayer with joy, because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now.
So, one of the aspects of the Philippians' sanctification is their partnership in the gospel, which means that they immediately began to spread the gospel after conversion. Let's flip back to Acts 16 and see it in action:
So, setting sail from Troas, we made a direct voyage to Samothrace, and the following day to Neapolis, and from there to Philippi, which is a leading city of the district of Macedonia and a Roman colony. We remained in this city some days. And on the Sabbath day we went outside the gate to the riverside, where we supposed there was a place of prayer, and we sat down and spoke to the women who had come together. One who heard us was a woman named Lydia, from the city of Thyatira, a seller of purple goods, who was a worshiper of God. The Lord opened her heart to pay attention to what was said by Paul. And after she was baptized, and her household as well, she urged us, saying, “If you have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come to my house and stay.” And she prevailed upon us.
Paul and his assistants found the place of prayer, and they sat down and spoke to the women there. Women would have been shunned by pre-salvation Paul, but women are equal under the new covenant of grace. It seems that only one woman, Lydia, is regenerated out of all. The text says, "the Lord opened her heart to pay attention." Is this conversion? Yes, because the next sentence says that she was baptized, which is the outward visible sign of the inward invisible grace of the Lord's regeneration. Also, her household was baptized, too, to reflect the grace that God bestowed upon the whole family. Even if some don't quite yet believe, God is faithful to continue to grow faith in the family of a true believer.
An incident in the marketplace lands Paul and his group in prison. Here comes the next conversion and addition to the Philippian church:
About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them, and suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken. And immediately all the doors were opened, and everyone's bonds were unfastened. When the jailer woke and saw that the prison doors were open, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself, supposing that the prisoners had escaped. But Paul cried with a loud voice, “Do not harm yourself, for we are all here.” And the jailer called for lights and rushed in, and trembling with fear he fell down before Paul and Silas. Then he brought them out and said, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” And they said, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household.” And they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all who were in his house. And he took them the same hour of the night and washed their wounds; and he was baptized at once, he and all his family. Then he brought them up into his house and set food before them. And he rejoiced along with his entire household that he had believed in God.
God seizes the Philippian jailer with fear, bringing him to his knees. God gives him the initial seed of faith to believe in Jesus, and this faith is extended to the jailer's household! Paul and Silas water the seed by preaching to the household, and then the jailer responds with a good work for new brothers in Christ--he begins washing their wounds. He and his whole family were then baptized. The jailer feeds his pastors and the whole household rejoices at God giving him the power to believe. So, two entire households were the start of the Philippian church. And, according to Paul, they have remained in partnership in the gospel until now, the writing of the letter.
And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.
Now, we have the other side of the Christian life, the other bookend. Paul prays that their sanctification will be brought to completion until the day of Jesus Christ. Let's look at what that means by reading 1 Thessalonians 5:
Now concerning the times and the seasons, brothers, you have no need to have anything written to you. For you yourselves are fully aware that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. While people are saying, “There is peace and security,” then sudden destruction will come upon them as labor pains come upon a pregnant woman, and they will not escape.
We may not know when the day of the Lord will come, but our sanctification makes us prepared for it.
But you are not in darkness, brothers, for that day to surprise you like a thief. For you are all children of light, children of the day. We are not of the night or of the darkness. So then let us not sleep, as others do, but let us keep awake and be sober. For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk, are drunk at night.
The end won't surprise us, because we are living in the day. Paul's prayer for the Philippians is essentially a prayer that they live continually in the day, so that they will be prepared for Christ's return. Living in the day also means that we are doing the works of the Lord, because good works are done in the day.
But since we belong to the day, let us be sober, having put on the breastplate of faith and love, and for a helmet the hope of salvation. For God has not destined us for wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us so that whether we are awake or asleep we might live with him. Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing.
Note that Paul says that "God has not destined us for wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ." This is just more proof that our salvation is solely a work of the Lord. We watched as God gave Lydia and the jailer saving faith, and we watched as God extended that salvation to their households. Note in the rest of Paul's words to the Philippians how not only our salvation but our sanctification is a work of Christ:
It is right for me to feel this way about you all, because I hold you in my heart, for you are all partakers with me of grace, both in my imprisonment and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel.
Not only are the Philippians partners in the gospel, but they are partakers of grace. They are partakers in Paul's imprisonment, even though they are not there with him. How is this so? Because the Christian life is full of persecutions. Even though they are not physically in jail, the Philippians--as well as all true Christians--experience tribulation. This is the Christian life. If you are having your "best life now," you need to be worried. Note that Paul doesn't say, "sorry that you're going through trials." No, he rejoices in tribulation. Persecutions and trials are actually signs that the Lord is working in our sanctification. Now, getting into messes because of secular reasons does not count as Godly tribulation. Acting like an unbeliever and getting immersed in worldly trials like an unbeliever is not the same thing. This is why Paul attaches "defense and confirmation of the gospel" to "imprisonment." The persecutions within our sanctification come with our defense and confirmation of the gospel, not only with our lips but in our lives.
For God is my witness, how I yearn for you all with the affection of Christ Jesus.
Even the affection that Paul has for fellow believers comes directly from Jesus Christ. Remember, Paul is a fruit-bearing branch on the vine of Jesus Christ, just as the Philippians are. He isn't a special vine in his own right, with his own religion, his own righteousness, and his own set of rules. He is a fellow partaker in the righteousness that Jesus bestows on all his children.
And it is my prayer that your love may abound more and more, with knowledge and all discernment, so that you may approve what is excellent, and so be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.
Here Paul reaffirms that the purpose of our sanctification is so that we can be presented pure and blameless (or as pure and blameless as possible for justified sinners to be) for the day of Christ--for that final judgment day. He also reaffirms that the fruit of righteousness, the good works that come out of our sanctification are through Jesus Christ as well. Jesus is our justification and the source of our sanctification. And all of this is to the glory and praise of God. When the end comes, eternity with Christ begins, which consists entirely of glory and praise to God.
Going back to 1 Thessalonians 5, we can see Paul confirm this:
Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. He who calls you is faithful; he will surely do it.
Some of the most comforting words in the whole of scripture: "He who calls you is faithful; he will surely do it." He surely will. You have nothing to fear, because not only is God alone capable of sanctifying you, but he is faithful to do it, too.
Remember, we are still sinners, and failing to do good works during our sanctification doesn't mean we are suddenly "unsaved," but not trying to live a Christian life may mean that we were never saved in the first place. Antinomianism, or an anti-law philosophy, says that since we have been saved, we don't have to do good works, and--more importantly--if we try to do good works, we are not really saved, because only unsaved people try to do good works. This is false. Pre-salvation works are like filthy rags to the Lord, but post-salvation works are merely the righteousness of Christ shining forth in the believer. Let's look at Paul's first thoughts in his letter to the Philippians (1:3-11):
I thank my God in all my remembrance of you, always in every prayer of mine for you all making my prayer with joy, because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now.
So, one of the aspects of the Philippians' sanctification is their partnership in the gospel, which means that they immediately began to spread the gospel after conversion. Let's flip back to Acts 16 and see it in action:
So, setting sail from Troas, we made a direct voyage to Samothrace, and the following day to Neapolis, and from there to Philippi, which is a leading city of the district of Macedonia and a Roman colony. We remained in this city some days. And on the Sabbath day we went outside the gate to the riverside, where we supposed there was a place of prayer, and we sat down and spoke to the women who had come together. One who heard us was a woman named Lydia, from the city of Thyatira, a seller of purple goods, who was a worshiper of God. The Lord opened her heart to pay attention to what was said by Paul. And after she was baptized, and her household as well, she urged us, saying, “If you have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come to my house and stay.” And she prevailed upon us.
Paul and his assistants found the place of prayer, and they sat down and spoke to the women there. Women would have been shunned by pre-salvation Paul, but women are equal under the new covenant of grace. It seems that only one woman, Lydia, is regenerated out of all. The text says, "the Lord opened her heart to pay attention." Is this conversion? Yes, because the next sentence says that she was baptized, which is the outward visible sign of the inward invisible grace of the Lord's regeneration. Also, her household was baptized, too, to reflect the grace that God bestowed upon the whole family. Even if some don't quite yet believe, God is faithful to continue to grow faith in the family of a true believer.
An incident in the marketplace lands Paul and his group in prison. Here comes the next conversion and addition to the Philippian church:
About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them, and suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken. And immediately all the doors were opened, and everyone's bonds were unfastened. When the jailer woke and saw that the prison doors were open, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself, supposing that the prisoners had escaped. But Paul cried with a loud voice, “Do not harm yourself, for we are all here.” And the jailer called for lights and rushed in, and trembling with fear he fell down before Paul and Silas. Then he brought them out and said, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” And they said, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household.” And they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all who were in his house. And he took them the same hour of the night and washed their wounds; and he was baptized at once, he and all his family. Then he brought them up into his house and set food before them. And he rejoiced along with his entire household that he had believed in God.
God seizes the Philippian jailer with fear, bringing him to his knees. God gives him the initial seed of faith to believe in Jesus, and this faith is extended to the jailer's household! Paul and Silas water the seed by preaching to the household, and then the jailer responds with a good work for new brothers in Christ--he begins washing their wounds. He and his whole family were then baptized. The jailer feeds his pastors and the whole household rejoices at God giving him the power to believe. So, two entire households were the start of the Philippian church. And, according to Paul, they have remained in partnership in the gospel until now, the writing of the letter.
And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.
Now, we have the other side of the Christian life, the other bookend. Paul prays that their sanctification will be brought to completion until the day of Jesus Christ. Let's look at what that means by reading 1 Thessalonians 5:
Now concerning the times and the seasons, brothers, you have no need to have anything written to you. For you yourselves are fully aware that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. While people are saying, “There is peace and security,” then sudden destruction will come upon them as labor pains come upon a pregnant woman, and they will not escape.
We may not know when the day of the Lord will come, but our sanctification makes us prepared for it.
But you are not in darkness, brothers, for that day to surprise you like a thief. For you are all children of light, children of the day. We are not of the night or of the darkness. So then let us not sleep, as others do, but let us keep awake and be sober. For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk, are drunk at night.
The end won't surprise us, because we are living in the day. Paul's prayer for the Philippians is essentially a prayer that they live continually in the day, so that they will be prepared for Christ's return. Living in the day also means that we are doing the works of the Lord, because good works are done in the day.
But since we belong to the day, let us be sober, having put on the breastplate of faith and love, and for a helmet the hope of salvation. For God has not destined us for wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us so that whether we are awake or asleep we might live with him. Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing.
Note that Paul says that "God has not destined us for wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ." This is just more proof that our salvation is solely a work of the Lord. We watched as God gave Lydia and the jailer saving faith, and we watched as God extended that salvation to their households. Note in the rest of Paul's words to the Philippians how not only our salvation but our sanctification is a work of Christ:
It is right for me to feel this way about you all, because I hold you in my heart, for you are all partakers with me of grace, both in my imprisonment and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel.
Not only are the Philippians partners in the gospel, but they are partakers of grace. They are partakers in Paul's imprisonment, even though they are not there with him. How is this so? Because the Christian life is full of persecutions. Even though they are not physically in jail, the Philippians--as well as all true Christians--experience tribulation. This is the Christian life. If you are having your "best life now," you need to be worried. Note that Paul doesn't say, "sorry that you're going through trials." No, he rejoices in tribulation. Persecutions and trials are actually signs that the Lord is working in our sanctification. Now, getting into messes because of secular reasons does not count as Godly tribulation. Acting like an unbeliever and getting immersed in worldly trials like an unbeliever is not the same thing. This is why Paul attaches "defense and confirmation of the gospel" to "imprisonment." The persecutions within our sanctification come with our defense and confirmation of the gospel, not only with our lips but in our lives.
For God is my witness, how I yearn for you all with the affection of Christ Jesus.
Even the affection that Paul has for fellow believers comes directly from Jesus Christ. Remember, Paul is a fruit-bearing branch on the vine of Jesus Christ, just as the Philippians are. He isn't a special vine in his own right, with his own religion, his own righteousness, and his own set of rules. He is a fellow partaker in the righteousness that Jesus bestows on all his children.
And it is my prayer that your love may abound more and more, with knowledge and all discernment, so that you may approve what is excellent, and so be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.
Here Paul reaffirms that the purpose of our sanctification is so that we can be presented pure and blameless (or as pure and blameless as possible for justified sinners to be) for the day of Christ--for that final judgment day. He also reaffirms that the fruit of righteousness, the good works that come out of our sanctification are through Jesus Christ as well. Jesus is our justification and the source of our sanctification. And all of this is to the glory and praise of God. When the end comes, eternity with Christ begins, which consists entirely of glory and praise to God.
Going back to 1 Thessalonians 5, we can see Paul confirm this:
Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. He who calls you is faithful; he will surely do it.
Some of the most comforting words in the whole of scripture: "He who calls you is faithful; he will surely do it." He surely will. You have nothing to fear, because not only is God alone capable of sanctifying you, but he is faithful to do it, too.
Saturday, October 24, 2015
The Twenty-First Sunday After Trinity
So he came again to Cana in Galilee, where he had made the water wine. And at Capernaum there was an official whose son was ill. When this man heard that Jesus had come from Judea to Galilee, he went to him and asked him to come down and heal his son, for he was at the point of death. So Jesus said to him, “Unless you see signs and wonders you will not believe.” The official said to him, “Sir, come down before my child dies.” Jesus said to him, “Go; your son will live.” The man believed the word that Jesus spoke to him and went on his way. As he was going down, his servants met him and told him that his son was recovering. So he asked them the hour when he began to get better, and they said to him, “Yesterday at the seventh hour the fever left him.” The father knew that was the hour when Jesus had said to him, “Your son will live.” And he himself believed, and all his household. This was now the second sign that Jesus did when he had come from Judea to Galilee. (John 4:46-54)
We are nearing the end of the church year (we have four Sundays left), and as we near the end, the subject matter of the gospel readings becomes more and more eschatological. This means that we are getting more and more concerned with the end times. Last week we had a parable of the wedding feast, which had eschatology all over it. This week we have a healing. In what way does this event near the beginning of Jesus' ministry concern the end times?
First, notice that Jesus responds quite negatively to the official (actually a better word would be nobleman). A few weeks ago, we looked at Matthew 8, in which a whole bunch of healing takes place. Here is Matthew 8, starting at verse 5:
When he had entered Capernaum, a centurion came forward to him, appealing to him, “Lord, my servant is lying paralyzed at home, suffering terribly.” And he said to him, “I will come and heal him.” But the centurion replied, “Lord, I am not worthy to have you come under my roof, but only say the word, and my servant will be healed. For I too am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. And I say to one, ‘Go,’ and he goes, and to another, ‘Come,’ and he comes, and to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.” When Jesus heard this, he marveled and said to those who followed him, “Truly, I tell you, with no one in Israel have I found such faith. I tell you, many will come from east and west and recline at table with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven, while the sons of the kingdom will be thrown into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”
The centurion comes and asks Jesus practically the same thing, "come heal my servant." The nobleman in our passage says, "come heal my son." Isn't a son more important than a servant? Jesus says to the former, "I will come and heal him." To the latter, Jesus says, "you're just looking for a miracle, you unbeliever!" Now, the nobleman is a Jew and the centurion is a Gentile. The centurion actually stops Jesus from coming, saying he isn't worthy to have Christ come under his roof. Is this the difference between the two? The faith of the Gentile is coming through, whereas the Jewish nobleman is expecting Jesus to come because he himself is a royal official?
A major theme in the Gospel of John is that the people Jesus came to, his own, the Jews of Israel, rejected him. "They received him not," the text says. But we see over and over again in the Gospel the same people, his people, wanting Jesus' miracles, but not wanting him. They seek Jesus' WORKS, not his WORD. Look at John 6 for a great example of this. After Jesus feeds the 5,000, they chase after him to the other side of the Sea of Galilee. Then this exchange happens:
When they found him on the other side of the sea, they said to him, “Rabbi, when did you come here?” Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you are seeking me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves. Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you. For on him God the Father has set his seal.” Then they said to him, “What must we do, to be doing the works of God?” Jesus answered them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent.” So they said to him, “Then what sign do you do, that we may see and believe you? What work do you perform?
They are seeking his WORKS, not his WORD. In the same way, this nobleman is looking for Jesus to heal his son, but Jesus knows that he has no faith. The centurion had faith, because he knew Jesus could heal his servant without even being in the same physical space. It's as if Jesus had said, "come on, let's go do this miracle," and the centurion responded, "wait, you're the Son of God, you can heal him just with a word." This is the faith Jesus sees. The nobleman says to Jesus, "come and heal my son!" He doesn't believe that Jesus can heal from afar with a word.
Another thing is happening here that we can only see if we read deeper and connect some pieces. After Jesus tells the nobleman that he is just a sign-seeking unbeliever, the man just repeats his request, "Sir, come down before my child dies!" Then Jesus does something. He changes his attitude and says, "Go; your son will live." The ESV doesn't render this phrase accurately. The Greek and the NASB say, "Go; your son lives." Then the scripture says, "The man BELIEVED the WORD that Jesus spoke to him and went on his way." What happened?
Jesus turned his heart. The man was NOT altering his point of view based on Jesus' chastisement. He continued to ask Jesus to come. Jesus actually reaches into the man's heart and changes him from a sign-seeker to a man of faith. He changes him from a man who wants Jesus' WORK to one who is satisfied with Jesus' WORD. He has turned the man's heart away from something. What is it? It's the impending death of his son, the most valuable thing in his life--his idol. Jesus has turned the man's heart from idolatry to faith in Christ. All that matters to the man is that his son live, but after Jesus turns his heart, he is okay if his son dies. Why? When we render the text properly, "your son lives," we realize that Jesus is not only talking about the current state of the son's health. He is talking about everlasting life. He is talking about the salvation of the man's son. Your son lives. He is no longer dead in his trespasses. I awaken him from afar, and he will live--forever.
The man doesn't ask again for Jesus to come down with him. His heart is different. He believes in the Word of God and departs. He finds out later that his son was physically healed at the exact moment Jesus said, "your son lives," but the faith already has been put there. The man believes, and through his testimony, all his household believed, too. This goes beyond a physical, temporal sign and into the realm of faith in Christ for everlasting life. So, we, too must believe in Christ's word, but as we see in this passage, the faith to believe Christ's word comes from Christ himself. Nothing we can do, think, or say can give us the power to believe. Only Christ.
See what happens when we stop looking at this event in the life of Christ as a temporal healing and begin to look at it as an eschatological event? We are no longer putting our faith in God for our earthly comforts but looking for him to salvation from the wrath to come. Indeed, with Christianity comes persecutions and trials. When the nobleman was immersed in the traditional covenant of works, all he could think about was his son living. When Jesus transferred him into the covenant of grace, he put his faith in Christ's words. Only trusting Jesus mattered. Believe, you and your household, Jesus can and will save all of you from afar. Your son lives. Your daughter lives. Have faith and live.
We are nearing the end of the church year (we have four Sundays left), and as we near the end, the subject matter of the gospel readings becomes more and more eschatological. This means that we are getting more and more concerned with the end times. Last week we had a parable of the wedding feast, which had eschatology all over it. This week we have a healing. In what way does this event near the beginning of Jesus' ministry concern the end times?
First, notice that Jesus responds quite negatively to the official (actually a better word would be nobleman). A few weeks ago, we looked at Matthew 8, in which a whole bunch of healing takes place. Here is Matthew 8, starting at verse 5:
When he had entered Capernaum, a centurion came forward to him, appealing to him, “Lord, my servant is lying paralyzed at home, suffering terribly.” And he said to him, “I will come and heal him.” But the centurion replied, “Lord, I am not worthy to have you come under my roof, but only say the word, and my servant will be healed. For I too am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. And I say to one, ‘Go,’ and he goes, and to another, ‘Come,’ and he comes, and to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.” When Jesus heard this, he marveled and said to those who followed him, “Truly, I tell you, with no one in Israel have I found such faith. I tell you, many will come from east and west and recline at table with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven, while the sons of the kingdom will be thrown into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”
The centurion comes and asks Jesus practically the same thing, "come heal my servant." The nobleman in our passage says, "come heal my son." Isn't a son more important than a servant? Jesus says to the former, "I will come and heal him." To the latter, Jesus says, "you're just looking for a miracle, you unbeliever!" Now, the nobleman is a Jew and the centurion is a Gentile. The centurion actually stops Jesus from coming, saying he isn't worthy to have Christ come under his roof. Is this the difference between the two? The faith of the Gentile is coming through, whereas the Jewish nobleman is expecting Jesus to come because he himself is a royal official?
A major theme in the Gospel of John is that the people Jesus came to, his own, the Jews of Israel, rejected him. "They received him not," the text says. But we see over and over again in the Gospel the same people, his people, wanting Jesus' miracles, but not wanting him. They seek Jesus' WORKS, not his WORD. Look at John 6 for a great example of this. After Jesus feeds the 5,000, they chase after him to the other side of the Sea of Galilee. Then this exchange happens:
When they found him on the other side of the sea, they said to him, “Rabbi, when did you come here?” Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you are seeking me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves. Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you. For on him God the Father has set his seal.” Then they said to him, “What must we do, to be doing the works of God?” Jesus answered them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent.” So they said to him, “Then what sign do you do, that we may see and believe you? What work do you perform?
They are seeking his WORKS, not his WORD. In the same way, this nobleman is looking for Jesus to heal his son, but Jesus knows that he has no faith. The centurion had faith, because he knew Jesus could heal his servant without even being in the same physical space. It's as if Jesus had said, "come on, let's go do this miracle," and the centurion responded, "wait, you're the Son of God, you can heal him just with a word." This is the faith Jesus sees. The nobleman says to Jesus, "come and heal my son!" He doesn't believe that Jesus can heal from afar with a word.
Another thing is happening here that we can only see if we read deeper and connect some pieces. After Jesus tells the nobleman that he is just a sign-seeking unbeliever, the man just repeats his request, "Sir, come down before my child dies!" Then Jesus does something. He changes his attitude and says, "Go; your son will live." The ESV doesn't render this phrase accurately. The Greek and the NASB say, "Go; your son lives." Then the scripture says, "The man BELIEVED the WORD that Jesus spoke to him and went on his way." What happened?
Jesus turned his heart. The man was NOT altering his point of view based on Jesus' chastisement. He continued to ask Jesus to come. Jesus actually reaches into the man's heart and changes him from a sign-seeker to a man of faith. He changes him from a man who wants Jesus' WORK to one who is satisfied with Jesus' WORD. He has turned the man's heart away from something. What is it? It's the impending death of his son, the most valuable thing in his life--his idol. Jesus has turned the man's heart from idolatry to faith in Christ. All that matters to the man is that his son live, but after Jesus turns his heart, he is okay if his son dies. Why? When we render the text properly, "your son lives," we realize that Jesus is not only talking about the current state of the son's health. He is talking about everlasting life. He is talking about the salvation of the man's son. Your son lives. He is no longer dead in his trespasses. I awaken him from afar, and he will live--forever.
The man doesn't ask again for Jesus to come down with him. His heart is different. He believes in the Word of God and departs. He finds out later that his son was physically healed at the exact moment Jesus said, "your son lives," but the faith already has been put there. The man believes, and through his testimony, all his household believed, too. This goes beyond a physical, temporal sign and into the realm of faith in Christ for everlasting life. So, we, too must believe in Christ's word, but as we see in this passage, the faith to believe Christ's word comes from Christ himself. Nothing we can do, think, or say can give us the power to believe. Only Christ.
See what happens when we stop looking at this event in the life of Christ as a temporal healing and begin to look at it as an eschatological event? We are no longer putting our faith in God for our earthly comforts but looking for him to salvation from the wrath to come. Indeed, with Christianity comes persecutions and trials. When the nobleman was immersed in the traditional covenant of works, all he could think about was his son living. When Jesus transferred him into the covenant of grace, he put his faith in Christ's words. Only trusting Jesus mattered. Believe, you and your household, Jesus can and will save all of you from afar. Your son lives. Your daughter lives. Have faith and live.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)