John 11:2-3 reads, Now when John heard in prison about the deeds of the Christ, he sent word by his disciples and said to him, "Are you the one who is to come, or shall we look for another?"
The Big Question that all have when reading this is, "Has John fallen into doubt?"
Does John need to be reassured by Jesus that he is actually the Christ? I've heard so many sermons on this, with different interpretations, that I get confused as to what is going on here, but leave it to Scottish Divine David Dickson to set me straight.
1. John knows that Jesus is the Christ, and he never doubts.
2. John has followers who will not leave his side, even though he has told them to follow Jesus. Remember, John must decrease and Jesus increase.
3. John sends them directly to the source, Jesus himself, to receive the Word and be converted from the Baptism of John to the Baptism of Christ.
His message for Jesus is not for John's benefit but for the benefit of his disciples. He needs them to move from being followers of himself to followers of Christ. Other things we learn from these two verses:
1. Followers of Christ are persecuted and sometimes imprisoned by the world. Often times they are killed by the world.
2. We can still evangelize others from a place of persecution.
3. Evangelism is leading others to Christ. This is more simple than it sounds. We think it takes a lot of heavy lifting to lead someone to Christ, but it actually means what it says: we take people to the Word of the Lord--the Bible--and we let the Holy Spirit do the heavy lifting. John led his disciples to Jesus, and then Jesus did the work of convincing them of his truth and changing their hearts.
4. The question is not one of believing in Christ at all. The question is one of finding the promised messiah in Jesus. As we read in Romans 1, all know the truth. Many suppress the truth, but in their hearts they know there is a God and we are lost and sinful and there is a way of salvation. We may deny these truths, but deep in our cores we believe them. Now, the true question becomes, "where do I find this salvation?" The answer is Jesus. We will put our faith in everything BUT Jesus, but the only true location to put our faith is Jesus Christ, because he is the only possible way for us to be saved.
Saturday, February 25, 2017
Saturday, January 28, 2017
Mercy Not Sacrifice
Then the disciples of John came to him, saying, “Why do we and the Pharisees fast, but your disciples do not fast?” And Jesus said to them, “Can the wedding guests mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them? The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast. No one puts a piece of unshrunk cloth on an old garment, for the patch tears away from the garment, and a worse tear is made. Neither is new wine put into old wineskins. If it is, the skins burst and the wine is spilled and the skins are destroyed. But new wine is put into fresh wineskins, and so both are preserved.” (Matthew 9:14-17)
This passage should be looked at within the context of Matthew 9:13, which reads, "Go and learn what this means, 'I desire mercy, and not sacrifice.'" That verse itself is in the context of salvation. Only those who know they are sinners in need of a savior desire Jesus and call out to him. Everyone is a sinner, but many think they are good, because they compare themselves to other people and not God himself. They refuse Jesus, because they don't need him. They are not sick. They do not need the doctor. The sinner does. God only saves bad people. Everyone is bad, but most think they are good. People who know they are bad cry out to him for salvation. He is ready and willing to save everyone who calls out to him. Faith is that true belief that you are a bad person who needs salvation from a good God.
So what does all this have to do with fasting and wineskins and patches on clothes? Well, when Christ says, "I desire mercy, and not sacrifice," he is saying that he desires a sinner to cry out to him for mercy, like I wrote above, and not someone who goes through some outward ceremony to garner God's appreciation. God is a saving God, not a pagan deity that needs to be appeased with offerings. Fasting is one such ceremony.
Does this mean we are not to fast? By no means, but like all sacrificial/ceremonial actions--baptism, communion, fasting, even coming to church--they are performed by the born-again Christian out of gratitude for his or her salvation. This takes time to build up, and is only done as the Spirit inspires one. I think this is crucial to understand, because this is something that is done in the church today. You're a Christian now? Here are all the duties that come with the title, here you go! And then all of this crushing sacrificial/ceremonial stuff is laid upon the new believer as new burden. But Christ said his yoke is easy an his burden is light. When one becomes a Christian, the Spirit is working within him and brings forth the desire for sacrifice. Sacrifice in no way leads to salvation, but God showing mercy does, and sacrifice only comes after salvation as an urge within the Christian to please God for saving him. So in Acts 8, Philip brings the Ethiopian Eunuch to Christ and then this happens:
And as they were going along the road they came to some water, and the eunuch said, “See, here is water! What prevents me from being baptized?” And he commanded the chariot to stop, and they both went down into the water, Philip and the eunuch, and he baptized him. (Acts 8:36-37)
Upon being converted, the desire to be baptized is built up inside by the Holy Spirit. The desire to congregate with other Christians begins to arise, too, as well as to partake in communion. Now, fasting is an act of repentance, and that may build up more and more as the Christian wrestles with sin. However, a new Christian, someone who has just come to Christ, does not usually have the desire to fast, and Jesus knows this, hence our passage (Matthew 9:14-17).
The disciples of John fasted, and indeed John's was a baptism of repentance, of preparation for Christ, essentially of the Old Covenant. It is still at heart a ceremonial conversion, and faith in Christ is still needed--the only thing that saves. John himself says this to his disciples in John 3. I'll reprint the whole thing here:
Now a discussion arose between some of John's disciples and a Jew over purification. And they came to John and said to him, “Rabbi, he who was with you across the Jordan, to whom you bore witness—look, he is baptizing, and all are going to him.” John answered, “A person cannot receive even one thing unless it is given him from heaven. You yourselves bear me witness, that I said, ‘I am not the Christ, but I have been sent before him.’ The one who has the bride is the bridegroom. The friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly at the bridegroom's voice. Therefore this joy of mine is now complete. He must increase, but I must decrease.”
He who comes from above is above all. He who is of the earth belongs to the earth and speaks in an earthly way. He who comes from heaven is above all. He bears witness to what he has seen and heard, yet no one receives his testimony. Whoever receives his testimony sets his seal to this, that God is true. For he whom God has sent utters the words of God, for he gives the Spirit without measure. The Father loves the Son and has given all things into his hand. Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him. (John 3:25-36)
John is telling his disciples, in short, the ceremonial/sacrificial practices of the Old Covenant are meaningless without faith in the one the ceremonies point to. Now that Christ is here, we all need to put our faith in him. Remember, the Old Testament salvation was by faith, too, but it was faith in Christ to come. We showed we had faith by ceremonies and sacrifices, but now that Christ is come, our faith is in the Christ of the Bible, explained in the pages of scripture. He himself has performed the ceremonies and sacrifices, and so all we need is faith without ceremony. Now, the Holy Spirit will compel us gradually to offer insufficient sacrifices out of gratitude, but they are not the same as Old Testament sacrifices. As John says above, all that matters is faith. "Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life." Now, what comes after salvation is obedience out of gratitude, as the Spirit compels us.
Back to our Matthew passage, Jesus is saying the same thing. Now that Jesus has come, repentance is not a precondition of salvation. This is a big sticking point in the church today, and books like the Marrow of Modern Divinity have been written to point out the distinction (and have been condemned by legalists as a result). Now that the bridegroom is here, Jesus says, faith alone saves you. There is no precondition to salvation. Now, once you are saved, the Spirit will compel you to repent, and sometimes fast, but that is not a precondition to salvation. What Jesus is speaking out against are the people who are applying preconditions to salvation. In Galatians, Paul is writing to a church that was saved through faith, but then Judaizers came afterward and told this church that faith was not enough and that they needed to add ceremony--not as the Spirit compelled them but as a precondition to true salvation. Your faith wasn't enough, they told the Galatian church. Paul had to set them straight with the gospel again.
So, Jesus uses a couple of comparisons to show that when Old Covenant ceremony is yoked onto a new believer, it will quench the Spirit and crush their faith away, likewise if people of the Old Covenant say that new believers are now part of their covenant. No, the Old Covenant people need to be converted to the New Covenant now, not the other way around! The New Covenant is that of faith alone in Christ alone.
All of this should be encouraging to the new believer, for the good news of Christ is that salvation is by faith alone in Christ alone. Never let anyone tell you that you are "doing it wrong." If you have an abiding faith in Christ, the Spirit will compel you to make sacrifices at the rate and speed that God knows you can handle. Don't try to overdo your new life in Christ. Recenter yourself with the Gospel as given to us in God's Word, and the Spirit will build a Christian life upon your faith. Don't worry! Eventually, you will be undergoing sacrifices, trials, and tribulations--and great blessings--like the rest of us!
This passage should be looked at within the context of Matthew 9:13, which reads, "Go and learn what this means, 'I desire mercy, and not sacrifice.'" That verse itself is in the context of salvation. Only those who know they are sinners in need of a savior desire Jesus and call out to him. Everyone is a sinner, but many think they are good, because they compare themselves to other people and not God himself. They refuse Jesus, because they don't need him. They are not sick. They do not need the doctor. The sinner does. God only saves bad people. Everyone is bad, but most think they are good. People who know they are bad cry out to him for salvation. He is ready and willing to save everyone who calls out to him. Faith is that true belief that you are a bad person who needs salvation from a good God.
So what does all this have to do with fasting and wineskins and patches on clothes? Well, when Christ says, "I desire mercy, and not sacrifice," he is saying that he desires a sinner to cry out to him for mercy, like I wrote above, and not someone who goes through some outward ceremony to garner God's appreciation. God is a saving God, not a pagan deity that needs to be appeased with offerings. Fasting is one such ceremony.
Does this mean we are not to fast? By no means, but like all sacrificial/ceremonial actions--baptism, communion, fasting, even coming to church--they are performed by the born-again Christian out of gratitude for his or her salvation. This takes time to build up, and is only done as the Spirit inspires one. I think this is crucial to understand, because this is something that is done in the church today. You're a Christian now? Here are all the duties that come with the title, here you go! And then all of this crushing sacrificial/ceremonial stuff is laid upon the new believer as new burden. But Christ said his yoke is easy an his burden is light. When one becomes a Christian, the Spirit is working within him and brings forth the desire for sacrifice. Sacrifice in no way leads to salvation, but God showing mercy does, and sacrifice only comes after salvation as an urge within the Christian to please God for saving him. So in Acts 8, Philip brings the Ethiopian Eunuch to Christ and then this happens:
And as they were going along the road they came to some water, and the eunuch said, “See, here is water! What prevents me from being baptized?” And he commanded the chariot to stop, and they both went down into the water, Philip and the eunuch, and he baptized him. (Acts 8:36-37)
Upon being converted, the desire to be baptized is built up inside by the Holy Spirit. The desire to congregate with other Christians begins to arise, too, as well as to partake in communion. Now, fasting is an act of repentance, and that may build up more and more as the Christian wrestles with sin. However, a new Christian, someone who has just come to Christ, does not usually have the desire to fast, and Jesus knows this, hence our passage (Matthew 9:14-17).
The disciples of John fasted, and indeed John's was a baptism of repentance, of preparation for Christ, essentially of the Old Covenant. It is still at heart a ceremonial conversion, and faith in Christ is still needed--the only thing that saves. John himself says this to his disciples in John 3. I'll reprint the whole thing here:
Now a discussion arose between some of John's disciples and a Jew over purification. And they came to John and said to him, “Rabbi, he who was with you across the Jordan, to whom you bore witness—look, he is baptizing, and all are going to him.” John answered, “A person cannot receive even one thing unless it is given him from heaven. You yourselves bear me witness, that I said, ‘I am not the Christ, but I have been sent before him.’ The one who has the bride is the bridegroom. The friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly at the bridegroom's voice. Therefore this joy of mine is now complete. He must increase, but I must decrease.”
He who comes from above is above all. He who is of the earth belongs to the earth and speaks in an earthly way. He who comes from heaven is above all. He bears witness to what he has seen and heard, yet no one receives his testimony. Whoever receives his testimony sets his seal to this, that God is true. For he whom God has sent utters the words of God, for he gives the Spirit without measure. The Father loves the Son and has given all things into his hand. Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him. (John 3:25-36)
John is telling his disciples, in short, the ceremonial/sacrificial practices of the Old Covenant are meaningless without faith in the one the ceremonies point to. Now that Christ is here, we all need to put our faith in him. Remember, the Old Testament salvation was by faith, too, but it was faith in Christ to come. We showed we had faith by ceremonies and sacrifices, but now that Christ is come, our faith is in the Christ of the Bible, explained in the pages of scripture. He himself has performed the ceremonies and sacrifices, and so all we need is faith without ceremony. Now, the Holy Spirit will compel us gradually to offer insufficient sacrifices out of gratitude, but they are not the same as Old Testament sacrifices. As John says above, all that matters is faith. "Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life." Now, what comes after salvation is obedience out of gratitude, as the Spirit compels us.
Back to our Matthew passage, Jesus is saying the same thing. Now that Jesus has come, repentance is not a precondition of salvation. This is a big sticking point in the church today, and books like the Marrow of Modern Divinity have been written to point out the distinction (and have been condemned by legalists as a result). Now that the bridegroom is here, Jesus says, faith alone saves you. There is no precondition to salvation. Now, once you are saved, the Spirit will compel you to repent, and sometimes fast, but that is not a precondition to salvation. What Jesus is speaking out against are the people who are applying preconditions to salvation. In Galatians, Paul is writing to a church that was saved through faith, but then Judaizers came afterward and told this church that faith was not enough and that they needed to add ceremony--not as the Spirit compelled them but as a precondition to true salvation. Your faith wasn't enough, they told the Galatian church. Paul had to set them straight with the gospel again.
So, Jesus uses a couple of comparisons to show that when Old Covenant ceremony is yoked onto a new believer, it will quench the Spirit and crush their faith away, likewise if people of the Old Covenant say that new believers are now part of their covenant. No, the Old Covenant people need to be converted to the New Covenant now, not the other way around! The New Covenant is that of faith alone in Christ alone.
All of this should be encouraging to the new believer, for the good news of Christ is that salvation is by faith alone in Christ alone. Never let anyone tell you that you are "doing it wrong." If you have an abiding faith in Christ, the Spirit will compel you to make sacrifices at the rate and speed that God knows you can handle. Don't try to overdo your new life in Christ. Recenter yourself with the Gospel as given to us in God's Word, and the Spirit will build a Christian life upon your faith. Don't worry! Eventually, you will be undergoing sacrifices, trials, and tribulations--and great blessings--like the rest of us!
Saturday, January 7, 2017
The Prayer of Faith
Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing praise. Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer of faith will save the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working. Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed fervently that it might not rain, and for three years and six months it did not rain on the earth. Then he prayed again, and heaven gave rain, and the earth bore its fruit.
My brothers, if anyone among you wanders from the truth and someone brings him back, let him know that whoever brings back a sinner from his wandering will save his soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins. (James 5:13-20)
This may be one of the most misinterpreted sections of the Bible today. I say today, because as today's Christianity corrupts into self-worship, this passage becomes almost completely self-focused instead of God-focused. Historically, this passage has been interpreted in the larger scope of salvation, everlasting life, and being healed from sin (forgiveness), as we will see below, but now the interpretation is very narrow, immediate, and selfish. Let's break down the passage to glean its true interpretation:
1. When we suffer, we pray to God.
2. When we are happy in life, we praise God.
Both of these are God-directed. This shouldn't need to be said, but the whole passage here is in the same vein. We don't suddenly switch from God-focused to self-focused and back again. This is all God-focused.
3. Here is the big one: if we are sick, we call the elders of the church, or our pastors, our mentors, our ministers to pray over us, and the prayer is to God. The prayer is not suddenly a magical incantation that heals us directly. The prayer is an appeal to the God who heals.
4. When we anoint someone with oil in the name of the Lord, we are symbolically applying the messiah ("anointed one") to the sick person. Oil was the primary healing substance in those days, but not for just any ailment. Applying oil symbolically to encourage faith in the anointed one is applicable in any situation and is more accurate here.
5. The prayer of faith will save the one who is sick. This is the crucial sentence. The prayer is to God. The prayer in this case is that of the sick person. The prayer is in faith, because, remember our religion is based on faith alone in Christ alone. So the prayer is of faith on the part of the sick person, and the result is salvation. The prayer of faith will SAVE the one who is sick. Here is where we get to the traditional understanding of this passage, and for this we must go to the Book of Common Prayer and the Visitation of the Sick order.
The order was never intended to be a healing order, as in physically healing the sick person, but praying for God's will to be done. If we read through the order, we see that in the midst of the prayers is a rehearsal of the Articles of Faith, the Apostles Creed, for the sick one to respond to. This rehearsal is to invoke a prayer of faith on the part of the sick person, not to immediately heal the person from his or her physical ailments but to ensure that the sick one would be saved if the sickness led to death, which it did much more often then than it does now. In other words, the pastor or elders would visit a sick person, who had a greater chance of death in the end, and make sure that the person was saved by invoking a prayer of faith. Today, our ailments mainly do not lead to death, and we want immediate recovery from them, so we can get on with living our worldly lives. See the difference?
The rehearsal is followed by an examination by the minister, who asks questions regarding repentance, charity, forgiveness, making amends, and repaying debts. Finally, the sick one is allowed to pray a heart-felt prayer of repentance to God in the presence of the minister.
6. Along with salvation, we have the promise that the Lord will physically resurrect this person on the last day, based on faith alone.
7. Along with salvation and resurrection, the sick person's sins are forgiven. We see this in the BCP order when the pastor or elder declares the forgiveness of the sick person's sins, because God has promised to forgive all sinners who truly repent and believe in Christ.
8. Verse 16 is not suddenly shifting to physical healing, either. James exhorts his hearers to confess their sins to each other so that they may be healed (from sin, which leads to everlasting death). The physical death of a believer does not lead to everlasting soul death but everlasting life. Remember, God may heal the sick person physically, but also he may not. This is why the focus of visitation to the sick is on salvation (big picture) and not necessarily the physical comfort and recovering of the person in this life. If God wills to do that, he will. The key is to put Christ first, the anointed one symbolically applied, in order to make sure the sick one's soul is saved alive.
9. The righteous person is not the sick one, nor is it the minister, but Christ himself. His prayers are the ones that save his flock. Elijah is a type and shadow of Christ, and so James' description of the prophet is not to exhort us to be like Elijah (which we should try and fail at) but to turn to Christ, who is able to stop the rain and start it up again, because he is God.
10. The final sentence of James' letter restates all of the passage above it. Because this is not a passage about physically healing people, but instead it is about bringing back into the flock sinners who wander from the truth, are on the road to eternal death, due to the disease of sin, and saving their souls from death. The passage is so much more than we want it to be today. It is not about having your best life now but having your sins covered by the blood of Christ--all of your sins--past, present, and future--and gaining everlasting life. The prayer of faith in Christ is the gospel message here. Only the anointed one can save you. When you are sick, reaffirm your faith, repent afresh of your sins, for God has saved your soul from death. He has brought you back from the precipice over the abyss of darkness and has restored you to everlasting life. He has truly healed you.
My brothers, if anyone among you wanders from the truth and someone brings him back, let him know that whoever brings back a sinner from his wandering will save his soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins. (James 5:13-20)
This may be one of the most misinterpreted sections of the Bible today. I say today, because as today's Christianity corrupts into self-worship, this passage becomes almost completely self-focused instead of God-focused. Historically, this passage has been interpreted in the larger scope of salvation, everlasting life, and being healed from sin (forgiveness), as we will see below, but now the interpretation is very narrow, immediate, and selfish. Let's break down the passage to glean its true interpretation:
1. When we suffer, we pray to God.
2. When we are happy in life, we praise God.
Both of these are God-directed. This shouldn't need to be said, but the whole passage here is in the same vein. We don't suddenly switch from God-focused to self-focused and back again. This is all God-focused.
3. Here is the big one: if we are sick, we call the elders of the church, or our pastors, our mentors, our ministers to pray over us, and the prayer is to God. The prayer is not suddenly a magical incantation that heals us directly. The prayer is an appeal to the God who heals.
4. When we anoint someone with oil in the name of the Lord, we are symbolically applying the messiah ("anointed one") to the sick person. Oil was the primary healing substance in those days, but not for just any ailment. Applying oil symbolically to encourage faith in the anointed one is applicable in any situation and is more accurate here.
5. The prayer of faith will save the one who is sick. This is the crucial sentence. The prayer is to God. The prayer in this case is that of the sick person. The prayer is in faith, because, remember our religion is based on faith alone in Christ alone. So the prayer is of faith on the part of the sick person, and the result is salvation. The prayer of faith will SAVE the one who is sick. Here is where we get to the traditional understanding of this passage, and for this we must go to the Book of Common Prayer and the Visitation of the Sick order.
The order was never intended to be a healing order, as in physically healing the sick person, but praying for God's will to be done. If we read through the order, we see that in the midst of the prayers is a rehearsal of the Articles of Faith, the Apostles Creed, for the sick one to respond to. This rehearsal is to invoke a prayer of faith on the part of the sick person, not to immediately heal the person from his or her physical ailments but to ensure that the sick one would be saved if the sickness led to death, which it did much more often then than it does now. In other words, the pastor or elders would visit a sick person, who had a greater chance of death in the end, and make sure that the person was saved by invoking a prayer of faith. Today, our ailments mainly do not lead to death, and we want immediate recovery from them, so we can get on with living our worldly lives. See the difference?
The rehearsal is followed by an examination by the minister, who asks questions regarding repentance, charity, forgiveness, making amends, and repaying debts. Finally, the sick one is allowed to pray a heart-felt prayer of repentance to God in the presence of the minister.
6. Along with salvation, we have the promise that the Lord will physically resurrect this person on the last day, based on faith alone.
7. Along with salvation and resurrection, the sick person's sins are forgiven. We see this in the BCP order when the pastor or elder declares the forgiveness of the sick person's sins, because God has promised to forgive all sinners who truly repent and believe in Christ.
8. Verse 16 is not suddenly shifting to physical healing, either. James exhorts his hearers to confess their sins to each other so that they may be healed (from sin, which leads to everlasting death). The physical death of a believer does not lead to everlasting soul death but everlasting life. Remember, God may heal the sick person physically, but also he may not. This is why the focus of visitation to the sick is on salvation (big picture) and not necessarily the physical comfort and recovering of the person in this life. If God wills to do that, he will. The key is to put Christ first, the anointed one symbolically applied, in order to make sure the sick one's soul is saved alive.
9. The righteous person is not the sick one, nor is it the minister, but Christ himself. His prayers are the ones that save his flock. Elijah is a type and shadow of Christ, and so James' description of the prophet is not to exhort us to be like Elijah (which we should try and fail at) but to turn to Christ, who is able to stop the rain and start it up again, because he is God.
10. The final sentence of James' letter restates all of the passage above it. Because this is not a passage about physically healing people, but instead it is about bringing back into the flock sinners who wander from the truth, are on the road to eternal death, due to the disease of sin, and saving their souls from death. The passage is so much more than we want it to be today. It is not about having your best life now but having your sins covered by the blood of Christ--all of your sins--past, present, and future--and gaining everlasting life. The prayer of faith in Christ is the gospel message here. Only the anointed one can save you. When you are sick, reaffirm your faith, repent afresh of your sins, for God has saved your soul from death. He has brought you back from the precipice over the abyss of darkness and has restored you to everlasting life. He has truly healed you.
Saturday, December 31, 2016
Be Patient
Be patient, therefore, brothers, until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, being patient about it, until it receives the early and the late rains. You also, be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand. Do not grumble against one another, brothers, so that you may not be judged; behold, the Judge is standing at the door. As an example of suffering and patience, brothers, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. Behold, we consider those blessed who remained steadfast. You have heard of the steadfastness of Job, and you have seen the purpose of the Lord, how the Lord is compassionate and merciful.
But above all, my brothers, do not swear, either by heaven or by earth or by any other oath, but let your “yes” be yes and your “no” be no, so that you may not fall under condemnation. (James 5:7-12)
We are to be patient in waiting for the coming of the Lord, like a farmer waiting for his harvest. This is a great image, but it doesn't refer to mere waiting. No, we are to "establish our hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand." How do we establish our hearts properly? 1 Thessalonians gives us a clue in 3:11-13:
"Now may our God and Father himself, and our Lord Jesus, direct our way to you, and may the Lord make you increase and abound in love for one another and for all, as we do for you, so that he may establish your hearts blameless in holiness before our God and Father, at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all his saints." We learn here:
1. God directs his Word to his children.
2. The Lord makes us increase and abound in love for one another (fellow believers)
3. This Love for one another has a goal: to establish our hearts, like it says in James.
4. Note that Paul adds something else: establish our hearts blameless in holiness before our God and Father, at the coming of Jesus.
5. To be blameless before God sounds like a tall order! It sounds like a lot of work that we are going to have to do quickly. How is this possible? Well, remember that ours is a religion of faith, and the faith is in a particular person, and that particular person is Jesus Christ. So, to be blameless before God is to have your faith solely in Christ's righteousness. His blamelessness becomes our blamelessness, just as our sin is put on his head. The only way to be blameless and holy is to be in Christ. Listen to this benediction at the end of 1 Thessalonians:
"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."
God does the work. All we need is the faith in Christ. Of course, God gives us that, too, because he is all powerful and he loves us, and he will not let one of his wayward sheep go astray. We want to high-tail-it and run as far away from him as we can, but he will not let us.
So, when James gives us commandments at the end of his passage--do not grumble against each other (the negative variation of the positive "love one another" from 1 Thessalonians), suffer in patience like Job and the other prophets, and above all do not swear an oath on anything--he is giving us the complete cross section of the entire Word of God. In these three commandments we find not only Christ's command to love, from his upper-room discourse, but his point from the Beatitudes that those who suffer in patience will see God on the last day. Finally, we bring the law from the Old Testament forward with the command to not swear--as blasphemy and lying are the most common and easily executed sins in history, including today. What James has done here is to tell us that our faith in Christ will fulfill not only Christ's command to love, but Christ's encouragement to suffer for your faith, and Christ's exhortation that one keep the totality of the law, better than the scribes and pharisees. This is only done through faith alone in Christ alone.
As Christ says in the sermon on the mount, "Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you." Are you ready to embrace persecutions? Are you ready to be blessed? It is not the easy road. It is not the wide path. But it is the way that leads to everlasting life. The only way to life.
But above all, my brothers, do not swear, either by heaven or by earth or by any other oath, but let your “yes” be yes and your “no” be no, so that you may not fall under condemnation. (James 5:7-12)
We are to be patient in waiting for the coming of the Lord, like a farmer waiting for his harvest. This is a great image, but it doesn't refer to mere waiting. No, we are to "establish our hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand." How do we establish our hearts properly? 1 Thessalonians gives us a clue in 3:11-13:
"Now may our God and Father himself, and our Lord Jesus, direct our way to you, and may the Lord make you increase and abound in love for one another and for all, as we do for you, so that he may establish your hearts blameless in holiness before our God and Father, at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all his saints." We learn here:
1. God directs his Word to his children.
2. The Lord makes us increase and abound in love for one another (fellow believers)
3. This Love for one another has a goal: to establish our hearts, like it says in James.
4. Note that Paul adds something else: establish our hearts blameless in holiness before our God and Father, at the coming of Jesus.
5. To be blameless before God sounds like a tall order! It sounds like a lot of work that we are going to have to do quickly. How is this possible? Well, remember that ours is a religion of faith, and the faith is in a particular person, and that particular person is Jesus Christ. So, to be blameless before God is to have your faith solely in Christ's righteousness. His blamelessness becomes our blamelessness, just as our sin is put on his head. The only way to be blameless and holy is to be in Christ. Listen to this benediction at the end of 1 Thessalonians:
"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."
God does the work. All we need is the faith in Christ. Of course, God gives us that, too, because he is all powerful and he loves us, and he will not let one of his wayward sheep go astray. We want to high-tail-it and run as far away from him as we can, but he will not let us.
So, when James gives us commandments at the end of his passage--do not grumble against each other (the negative variation of the positive "love one another" from 1 Thessalonians), suffer in patience like Job and the other prophets, and above all do not swear an oath on anything--he is giving us the complete cross section of the entire Word of God. In these three commandments we find not only Christ's command to love, from his upper-room discourse, but his point from the Beatitudes that those who suffer in patience will see God on the last day. Finally, we bring the law from the Old Testament forward with the command to not swear--as blasphemy and lying are the most common and easily executed sins in history, including today. What James has done here is to tell us that our faith in Christ will fulfill not only Christ's command to love, but Christ's encouragement to suffer for your faith, and Christ's exhortation that one keep the totality of the law, better than the scribes and pharisees. This is only done through faith alone in Christ alone.
As Christ says in the sermon on the mount, "Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you." Are you ready to embrace persecutions? Are you ready to be blessed? It is not the easy road. It is not the wide path. But it is the way that leads to everlasting life. The only way to life.
Friday, December 23, 2016
Five Truths About Christmas
After making purification for sins... (Hebrews 1:3)
Why did Jesus Christ come? Well, the world is corrupted by sin. It is not as bad as it could be--that would be Hell--but it permeates everything, from merely putting ourselves first to outright hating our neighbor and the God who created us. Sin is lawlessness, and God's law is spelled out in the ten commandments. Murder can be taking a life, or it could be mere anger with your neighbor. Stealing can be taking things that don't belong to you, or it could be wasting the time of others or even yourself. Coveting can be desiring things that do not belong to you, or it could be jealously protecting what you yourself own. The range is wide, and so we are all, each one of us, living under the condemnation of the law of God. There is now escape--except for one. That is where Jesus comes in. He came to earth to make purification for sins. That means he took our sins upon himself and gave us his own righteousness--because he never sinned. Only God in the flesh could be tempted as we are and not sin. This great exchange is the purification for sins, and only Jesus could do it. Why? Because he loves us. There's no other reason. He doesn't need us. His creation certainly isn't made better by us being in it. No, he loves us, just because he wants to.
Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. (Luke 1:30)
There is nothing that Mary did to earn God's favor. She did not merit it in any way. Likewise, God unconditionally forgives us of our sins. This is grace at its finest. We can rest assured that nothing we can do will cause him to reject us. He chooses us of his own free will. There is nothing we can do to stop it or start it. He just does it. He is a saving God. Why? Because he loves us.
“Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!” (Luke 2:14)
This famous line is usually phrased, "peace, good will towards men," but that phrasing seems to include all human beings on earth. We know that some are not saved, and the actual phrase as described above affirms that. "Among those with whom he is pleased," does not mean that we have to please him before he will give us his good will. It is his pleasure to give us his good will. And his good will is Jesus Christ himself, and whoever believes in his holy name will have eternal life. Jesus died only for those who believe.
And when they saw it, they made known the saying that had been told them concerning this child. (Luke 2:17)
When we know the good news, the urge to tell everyone becomes irresistible. When we know we are Christ's own forever, we can't help but shout to the heavens with joy. Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound, that saved a wretch like me! I once was lost but now am found, was blind but now I see.
And going into the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother, and they fell down and worshiped him. (Matthew 2:11)
We persevere day to day, after we are saved, by reminding ourselves of our salvation. We do this in three ways. One, we get baptized, receiving the outward visible sign of the inward invisible grace that we are saved. Two, we hear the word preached each week, to hear the good news of Jesus Christ and remember that he saved us and no one can pluck us from his hand. Third, we partake in Holy Communion each week to take the gospel into our bodies tangibly, reminding us of our baptism, and reminding us of the gospel we heard. Persevere with the saints! Come into God's loving embrace through our precious savior Jesus Christ. Hear the good news. Find him on every page of the Bible. Believe! Find joy! Be saved!
Why did Jesus Christ come? Well, the world is corrupted by sin. It is not as bad as it could be--that would be Hell--but it permeates everything, from merely putting ourselves first to outright hating our neighbor and the God who created us. Sin is lawlessness, and God's law is spelled out in the ten commandments. Murder can be taking a life, or it could be mere anger with your neighbor. Stealing can be taking things that don't belong to you, or it could be wasting the time of others or even yourself. Coveting can be desiring things that do not belong to you, or it could be jealously protecting what you yourself own. The range is wide, and so we are all, each one of us, living under the condemnation of the law of God. There is now escape--except for one. That is where Jesus comes in. He came to earth to make purification for sins. That means he took our sins upon himself and gave us his own righteousness--because he never sinned. Only God in the flesh could be tempted as we are and not sin. This great exchange is the purification for sins, and only Jesus could do it. Why? Because he loves us. There's no other reason. He doesn't need us. His creation certainly isn't made better by us being in it. No, he loves us, just because he wants to.
Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. (Luke 1:30)
There is nothing that Mary did to earn God's favor. She did not merit it in any way. Likewise, God unconditionally forgives us of our sins. This is grace at its finest. We can rest assured that nothing we can do will cause him to reject us. He chooses us of his own free will. There is nothing we can do to stop it or start it. He just does it. He is a saving God. Why? Because he loves us.
“Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!” (Luke 2:14)
This famous line is usually phrased, "peace, good will towards men," but that phrasing seems to include all human beings on earth. We know that some are not saved, and the actual phrase as described above affirms that. "Among those with whom he is pleased," does not mean that we have to please him before he will give us his good will. It is his pleasure to give us his good will. And his good will is Jesus Christ himself, and whoever believes in his holy name will have eternal life. Jesus died only for those who believe.
And when they saw it, they made known the saying that had been told them concerning this child. (Luke 2:17)
When we know the good news, the urge to tell everyone becomes irresistible. When we know we are Christ's own forever, we can't help but shout to the heavens with joy. Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound, that saved a wretch like me! I once was lost but now am found, was blind but now I see.
And going into the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother, and they fell down and worshiped him. (Matthew 2:11)
We persevere day to day, after we are saved, by reminding ourselves of our salvation. We do this in three ways. One, we get baptized, receiving the outward visible sign of the inward invisible grace that we are saved. Two, we hear the word preached each week, to hear the good news of Jesus Christ and remember that he saved us and no one can pluck us from his hand. Third, we partake in Holy Communion each week to take the gospel into our bodies tangibly, reminding us of our baptism, and reminding us of the gospel we heard. Persevere with the saints! Come into God's loving embrace through our precious savior Jesus Christ. Hear the good news. Find him on every page of the Bible. Believe! Find joy! Be saved!
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