ResponsiveReiding

Romans 8:29 (ESV) For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.

Graeme Goldsworthy aptly writes: “Our Christian growth comes from becoming more like Christ, not more like Abraham or David or Daniel. These heroes of the Old Testament are examples for us only insofar as they foreshadow and point to Christ.”

Given Paul’s words in 1 Corinthians 1:10-4:1, I haven’t the slightest doubt he would completely concur. “What then is Apollos? What is Paul? Servants through whom you believed, as the Lord assigned to each.” (1 Corinthians 3:5) What I mean is that each one of you says, “I follow Paul,” or “I follow Apollos,” or “I follow Cephas,” or “I follow Christ.” Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul?” (1 Corinthians 1:12–13)

Yet often, this is the very thing we may see or hear in preaching – and especially in Sunday School lessons for children. The promoting of some laudable character trait in an individual – and the failure to connect that trait to a looking toward Christ results in mere moralism. And good morals and character traits – no matter how wonderful, cannot save. Only Christ can save.

It is good for us to look back at the great heroes of the faith in every generation and marvel. But marvel more than just at the personalities themselves. Carry it to full length – and marvel at the Christ they preached, lived, and who gave them to us to see His glory in.

When a man or woman has no greater desire than that the One who has saved them from their sins be seen for who and what He is – it is no slight to them to focus on the same object of their affections. It is their heartfelt desire. You honor them more by honoring their Savior – than by honoring them themselves.

Recently, I stumbled upon the following quotes – and found them germane to this very topic.

1. From Martin Luther: “I ask that men make no reference to my name, and call themselves not Lutherans, but Christians. What is Luther? My doctrine, I am sure, is not mine, nor have I been crucified for any one. St. Paul, in 1 Cor. 3, would not allow Christians to call themselves Pauline or Petrine, but Christian. How then should I, poor, foul carcass that I am, come to have men give to the children of Christ a name derived from my worthless name? No, no, my dear friends; let us abolish all party names, and call ourselves Christians after Him Whose doctrine we have.”

 

2. From John Wesley: “Would to God that all party names, and unscriptural phrases and forms which have divided the Christian world, were forgot and that the very name [Methodist] might never be mentioned more, but be buried in eternal oblivion.”

 

3. From Charles Spurgeon, “I look forward with pleasure to the day when there will not be a Baptist living! I hope that the Baptist name will soon perish, but let Christ’s name last forever.”

Matthew 8:28–34 (ESV) And when he came to the other side, to the country of the Gadarenes, two demon-possessed men met him, coming out of the tombs, so fierce that no one could pass that way. ²⁹ And behold, they cried out, “What have you to do with us, O Son of God? Have you come here to torment us before the time?” ³⁰ Now a herd of many pigs was feeding at some distance from them. ³¹ And the demons begged him, saying, “If you cast us out, send us away into the herd of pigs.” ³² And he said to them, “Go.” So they came out and went into the pigs, and behold, the whole herd rushed down the steep bank into the sea and drowned in the waters. ³³ The herdsmen fled, and going into the city they told everything, especially what had happened to the demon-possessed men. ³⁴ And behold, all the city came out to meet Jesus, and when they saw him, they begged him to leave their region.

The power of Jesus to cast out these demons ought to make our hearts rejoice that such deliverance has come through our Savior. But then, that is what we ought to expect from such an one. If He is who He says He is – then this is what we ought to expect – the vanquishing of the powers of darkness even when displayed in unimaginable and hideous ways.

What ought to shock us, is the response of the people recorded in vs. 34. Having wrought so great a miracle among them, they begged Him to leave their region. Why? The text does not offer us a specific reason. And yet, perhaps it isn’t too hard to discern at least a part of it.

It seems most simply here, that the cost of deliverance was too high. If they were going to lose a herd of pigs every time demons were cast out – better to have their financial security than to see the kingdom bring its freedom. How much we value the things of this world.

And I wonder – how often do we judge the cost of deliverance from the torment and bondage of sin too high as well? So I make sure the Church gets my tithe – but no more. I budget my time and energy so that I never give TOO much. After all, our security is in the things of this life – right? Or maybe there is a sin I value so much – that to lose it – is just too expensive for the freedom I might enjoy. What’s my herd of pigs?

Beloved, may we grow to be more like the dear one who anointed Jesus for His burial with the flask of spikenard. A year’s wages were not too much in her eyes to honor her dear Redeemer.

When did we stop being lavish in return for the lavishness of His sacrifice on our behalf? He thought no cost was too high for our deliverance. May we find no cost too high that others and even ourselves, might have such a deliverance too.

Matthew 5:17–20 (ESV) “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. ¹⁸ For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished. ¹⁹ Therefore whoever relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. ²⁰ For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.

How has Jesus fulfilled the Law and the Prophets – rather than “abolishing them? At least in three ways. And as we consider this, remember that our answers cannot contradict His assertion in vs. 20 that no matter what, God’s standard of righteousness has not been relaxed in the slightest degree. To enter the kingdom of heaven, we will need a righteousness that exceeds that of the strictest adherents to the Law can offer up.

But for now – consider this, Jesus fulfilled the Law and the Prophets by:

1. Fulfilling its REQUIREMENTS. If I might use a crude analogy, Adam, was captain of Team Mankind. And when the captain of the team broke the rules so that the team lost the game – the WHOLE team lost the game. We all lost. And, we all suffered unspeakable consequences. The team didn’t lose neutrally – we lost because we sinned. We disobeyed. And every time we still sin, we demonstrate our concurrence and approval of Adam’s actions. We show we would do the very same. We rebelled. But the 2nd Adam, is putting a new team together. Not one assembled by natural generation – being born into it like Team Mankind. This team is hand picked and the members are adopted in. But this time, the Captain has already played the entire game – and not only won it, but incurred not the slightest penalty. And as a result, all of those on Team Redeemed – enjoy the victory won by the Captain. His perfect fulfillment of all – is ascribed to the whole team, even though we weren’t even members yet. What a Savior!

2. Fulfilling its PROPHECIES. Everything said of the The Seed of the woman who was to crush the serpent’s head – He has done. Every type, every shadow, every forward look portrayed throughout the whole of Holy Writ He has personally brought to its conclusion. He is unmistakably and incontrovertibly the One. The subject of God’s Word. The outshining of His glory. The exegesis of God. God with us. He has fulfilled all that was spoken of Him. And even the small bits pointing yet to His return, we might confidently know He will yet accomplish. How do we know this? When He fulfilled rising from the dead!

3. Fulfilling its PENALTIES. Isaiah 53:1–12 (ESV) Who has believed what he has heard from us? And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed? For he grew up before him like a young plant, and like a root out of dry ground; he had no form or majesty that we should look at him, and no beauty that we should desire him. He was despised and rejected by men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief; and as one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not. Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.

He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth; like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent, so he opened not his mouth. By oppression and judgment he was taken away; and as for his generation, who considered that he was cut off out of the land of the living, stricken for the transgression of my people? And they made his grave with the wicked and with a rich man in his death, although he had done no violence, and there was no deceit in his mouth.

Yet it was the will of the Lord to crush him; he has put him to grief; when his soul makes an offering for guilt, he shall see his offspring; he shall prolong his days; the will of the Lord shall prosper in his hand. Out of the anguish of his soul he shall see and be satisfied; by his knowledge shall the righteous one, my servant, make many to be accounted righteous, and he shall bear their iniquities. Therefore I will divide him a portion with the many, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong, because he poured out his soul to death and was numbered with the transgressors; yet he bore the sin of many, and makes intercession for the transgressors.

Matthew 5:1–16 (ESV) Seeing the crowds, he went up on the mountain, and when he sat down, his disciples came to him. ² And he opened his mouth and taught them, saying:

³ “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

⁴ “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.

⁵ “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.

⁶ “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.

⁷ “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.

⁸ “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.

⁹ “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.

¹⁰ “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

¹¹ “Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. ¹² Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

¹³ “You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people’s feet.

¹⁴ “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. ¹⁵ Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. ¹⁶ In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.

Can one truly be “blessed” , “privileged” (for so the word implies) when –

3 – Unsuccessful and obscure?

4 – Suffering from grief?

5 – Humble and non-self-promoting – Non-aggressive?

6 – Battling sin?

7 – Unwilling to crush their enemies?

8 – Wide-eyed and not worldly wise?

9 – Conciliatory instead of confrontational?

10 – When suffering for doing what is right and good?

YES! If they are Christ’s – and are in His Kingdom! When you know your reward is in Heaven and not here.

13 – This perspective is what is “salt” in this world. Keeping its consuming decay at bay.

14 – This is the light of God shining into the darkness of this world.

In order to be salt and light – you must uncompromisingly live as those who know their blessedness does not come from this world – but rests in their being citizens of Christ’s Kingdom.

It does not appear that Jesus here is referring to generic good works – but continuing to live as poor in spirit, suffering mournful circumstances, remaining meek, striving after righteousness, unvengeful, pure, conciliatory and persecuted, all for the sake of the Kingdom – in open contrariness to the values and system of this world. Nothing glorifies God more than living in such a way that people are made aware that we live for something higher because of Christ.

Father – be glorified through me like that!

Isaiah 43:25 (ESV) “I, I am he who blots out your transgressions for my own sake, and I will not remember your sins.

Lamentations 3:21–23 (ESV) But this I call to mind, and therefore I have hope: ²² The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; ²³ they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.

Does God really forget? Does He absolutely have no memory of our sins once forgiven? Or is there something else at work here?

On the one hand, we have to reckon with the fact that we know (for instance) that King David sinned in adultery and murder. It is written in God’s Word for all eternity. We would not imagine that somehow God has no remembrance of it. Nor should we imagine some strange form of divine amnesia in the case of our sins either.

But then again – what does Isa. 43:25 mean? How are we to digest that and find comfort in it in our own lives? And I think we get a picture of it in the Levitical sacrificial system – and in our text in Lamentations 3.

At the time of the institution of the Tabernacle and the Temple, historians tell us that the ratio of Priests to the general populace led to a wonderful phenomenon. Say you brought your sacrifice on Monday to confess and deal with a sin. And then, Tuesday, bright and early you went back to bring a sacrifice and deal with the very same sin again. In all likelihood, you could do that every single day – and never see the same priest again. In other words, when you showed up on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday – you would not be confronted with someone who would say: “Hey, didn’t I accept your sacrifice for that same sin yesterday?” Nope. There would be “new” mercy. It would be as though you hadn’t even been there before.

By this simple picture, our Heavenly Father reminds us that HIS mercies are “new” every morning. That He has the capacity to forgive us so completely – that He does not remember our former sins against us when we arrive at His door afresh. His “seven times seventy” – His love “keeps no accounts of wrongs.” When He wrote “PAID IN FULL” across our debt yesterday in Christ’s blood, He did not retain a copy to bring out against us today. He gave us the discharge papers. Sometimes we hang on them – but He does not.

Beloved, have you failed again today? Like a thousand times before? Do you cringe to run to Him again – and confess the same thing yet one more time? Fear not! Christ has died. There is continual cleansing for those who walk in His light (1 John 1:7). He hasn’t “forgotten”. But neither does He remember it against you. The blood of the Lamb has paid it all.

Oh, what a wonderful Savior!

Acts 8:18–19 (ESV) Now when Simon saw that the Spirit was given through the laying on of the apostles’ hands, he offered them money, ¹⁹ saying, “Give me this power also, so that anyone on whom I lay my hands may receive the Holy Spirit.”

The first time I can recall encountering the term “Culture of Death” was in a Peggy Noonan op-ed piece in 1999. Her immediate reference was to the Columbine massacre. Many have applied the term to America’s shameful abortion policy as well as the rising tide of assisted suicide, euthanasia and increasing suicide rates. It fits.

But why death? Why has that become so important to us? How is it that we seem preoccupied with death before birth (abortion) and ending more mature life more quickly than “nature” would seem to proscribe? It seems inexplicable to me.

Treated as an issue unto itself, the “culture of death” seems mysterious. And the problem with mysterious things is that we stop looking for answers. We don’t probe too far. The darkness surrounding what seems to make little sense in the broad scope leaves us feeling that maybe there is no real answer. So we gaze at the horror out of the corner of our eyes, knowing something is horribly wrong, but clueless as how to understand it.

Perhaps we are looking a little too narrowly at the problem. Perhaps, the issue is not really death itself – but a problem which is far more explicable.

I would like to suggest that it is not death itself that is so drawing, but something far more tangible, definable and addressable. And I think the answer is captured in our text above. It isn’t death per se which motivates so many – it is power. And nothing spells power, like power over life. Determining which lives should “live” – and when and how we die.

Since the Fall, human beings have universally hated one thing more than any other – powerlessness. Call it slavery, victimization, subjugation – whatever – we want power. Power over ourselves, our circumstances, our bodies, our destinies, our money, spouses, our careers, you name it. And the ultimate power – is power over life.

But Christianity is not meant for personal empowerment. It was a mad grab to seize power back in Eden that got us into the pain that informs every part of life in this fallen world. Christianity is meant to reverse the Fall – not perpetuate it. The Christian does not want power over anyone else – and certainly not over whether or not they live or die. Our call is to recognize once again the authority and power which belongs to our God alone – and to give ourselves in complete faith, over to His loving care.

It is our lust to be like God – if not god – that is behind the culture of death. And only a heart and mind surrendered to the Savior can find reversal. Oh how we need the Gospel more than ever.

John 1:6–7 (ESV) “There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. He came as a witness, to bear witness about the light, that all might believe through him.”

Certain “tensions” occur in Scripture, which while uncomfortable, are nevertheless part and parcel of dealing with revealed truth.

In almost every case that I can think of, such tensions tend toward producing two diametrically opposed camps – who err either on one side of the issue or the other. Maintaining the revealed tension seems too great to bear for some. Some examples of these might be:

Was Jesus fully man OR fully God? If you require this question to be answered in precise antithetical (either/or) terms, you will end up either denying the deity of Christ, or His humanity. One must embrace the tension of a “both/and” dynamic in this case, or lose the glory of the revealed truth altogether.

Was the Scripture authored by men, or is it the product of the out-breathing of God?

Is God three, or is He one?

Now don’t get this wrong, in that there ARE many clear antitheses in Scripture. Evil is not both good and evil – it is evil. One must put their trust in Christ alone for salvation, or one cannot be saved. Scripture contains both absolute antithesis AND places of tension which must be maintained. The careful student of the Bible must inevitably wrestle with how to properly interpret both species of statements. A view of Scripture which allows for no true antitheses and sees everything as to be understood in a both/and dynamic, robs the Word of God asserting any real, absolute truth. Likewise, a view of Scripture which denies any tensions and interprets everything in a strict either/or construct, must inevitably err where a tension is required. Extremes will be the result.

Tension where it doesn’t belong, creates a destructive breaking point with continuity of thought –

While on the other hand, tension in the right place – produces more strength.

I would argue that the 2 verses cited above give us one more example of needing to keep our tensions in place, while not ignoring proper antitheses.

Whatever else we make of the Divine mysteries of election and predestination – this statement of intent still stands: John’s mission was to bear witness “that ALL might believe through him.”  We must allow this inspired tension to remain.

Has God sovereignly elected those who will in fact become heirs of salvation in Christ? Unquestionably. And yet, is John sent as a witness to all, with the intent that all might believe? Unquestionably. Is this contradictory, so that we must deny either this fact, or that of sovereign election? No. They both stand as is in God’s economy so that we might truly tell each and every one that it is God’s intent they believe and be saved. Yet so is it true that only the Elect WILL believe and be saved.

So be it. Let God stand above our ability to sort it out with our fallen logic.

Luke 2:8–18 (ESV) “And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. 9 And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with fear. 10 And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. 11 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. 12 And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.” 13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, 14 “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!” 15 When the angels went away from them into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let us go over to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us.” 16 And they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in a manger. 17 And when they saw it, they made known the saying that had been told them concerning this child. 18 And all who heard it wondered at what the shepherds told them.”

Listen…

LISTEN!

The angel did say;

‘Tis Christ – the Lord

is born this day

Low in the manger’s trough He lay

This – I say, is Christmas

Peace…

PEACE!

The angels sang;

“Has come to earth”

the heavens rang

On Him all human hopes do hang

This – I say, is Christmas

Joy…

JOY!

To all the world

God’s banner – love

now flies unfurled

God’s wrath on Him will yet be hurled

This – I say, is Christmas

Run…

RUN!

To see Him there

Both God and man

Heav’n’s sweetest share

The One whom all our sins will bear

This – I say is Christmas

Glory…

GLORY!

Oh Praise His name!

Our Substitute

Who’ll take our shame

The Babe, at Calvary’s cross takes aim

This – I say is Christmas