ResponsiveReiding

Newton on the Importunate Widow – An Olney Hymn

December 6th, 2017

Our Lord, who knows full well,

The heart of ev’ry saint,

Invites us by a parable,

To pray and never faint.

2 He bows his gracious ear,

We never plead in vain;

Yet we must wait till he appear,

And pray, and pray again.

3 Though unbelief suggest,

Why should we longer wait?

He bids us never give him rest,

But be importunate.

4 ’Twas thus a widow poor,

Without support or friend,

Beset the unjust judge’s door,

And gain’d, at last, her end.

5 For her he little car’d,

As little for the laws;

Nor God, nor man, did he regard,

Yet he espous’d her cause.

6 She urg’d him day and night,

Would no denial take;

At length he said, “I’ll do her right,

“For my own quiet’s sake.”

7 And shall not Jesus hear

His chosen when they cry?

Yes, though he may a while forbear,

He’ll help them from on high.

8 His nature, truth, and love,

Engage him on their side;

When they are griev’d, his bowels move,

And can they be deny’d?

Then let us earnest be,

And never faint in pray’r;

He loves our importunity,

And makes our cause his care.
Revealtion Ch. 4 – Holy, Holy, Holy

November 26th, 2017
Revelation Part 13

Isaiah 6:1-7

Revelation 4:1–11

AUDIO FOR THIS SERMON CAN BE FOUND HERE

Having finished up Jesus’ messages to the 7 churches, we now move on in the book of Revelation to things that are far less easy to access.

Apocalyptic literature is full of symbols and pictures and it can be a real minefield if we don’t keep our wits about us.

It can be a bit like cloud gazing or staring at the stars – it is easy to impose own imaginations on what’s there, of what we THINK we see. Like those who see the face of Jesus in their toast or Winston Churchill’s profile in a sweet potato.

Some of you will remember when we went through the Book of Daniel, we did something there I plan to keep with in this study.

When it comes to this kind of Biblical literature, there are things we can know for CERTAIN in the text; things which are REASONABLE to extract from the text; and things which are merely SPECULATIVE.

I will do my best to major on the CERTAIN, touch on the REASONABLE and avoid the speculative. If we keep that pattern, we’ll stay pretty safe, and avoid some of the wilder things folks have supposedly drawn out of the book over the centuries.

With that, we must remember throughout this book to recall its opening line: Revelation 1:1a “The revelation of Jesus Christ.” This book is above all a revelation given BY God, ABOUT God.

In every place our primary concern must be what does this tell me about the Triune God? Over and above what it may say about events to come. Who and what is God in it all? This is the focus.

Now to get our footing this morning, chaps 4 & 5 form one vision in 2 parts. The parts divide neatly at the chapter break, and so I’ll keep with that.

Chapter 4 is merely a vision – in the sense there is little drama or action to be perceived, at least as it affects us. We’ll see more of that in Ch. 5.

But in the long view, 4-5 introduce a “scroll” which is sealed with 7 seals. The opening of these seals stretches from Ch. 6 through Ch. 19. So these 2 chapters really do set the stage for us.

We’ll dive into this whole seal thing next time. Today, I want to focus just on Ch.4.

The scene John labors to depict for us is one of magnificent glory, reminding us of 1 Timothy 6:15b–16 “he who is the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords, who alone has immortality, who dwells in unapproachable light, whom no one has ever seen or can see. To him be honor and eternal dominion. Amen.”

Additionally the scene has a series of key elements from which we can draw a number of practical and useful observations. Not the least of which begins here: Whatever else may be happening on the earth – both with the 7 Churches we’ve looked at, or in the many scenes to follow – This is Heaven. Undisturbed – in glory, and filled with endless, ongoing worship in the presence of the ineffable God of all.

Jesus in His revelation to John wants John and his readers to know that no matter what else is going on, even in the midst of the terrible judgments we’re about to read about in the following chapters, God is still God, and He is still on His throne actually ruling – He is not a mere figurehead; His administration still stands; His angels and agents are still about their work; He is still worthy of all praise and glory and honor; and His plan is still unfolding.

But I’m getting ahead of myself – let’s take the elements of the scene in order.
1. A DOOR: Revelation 4:1 “After this I looked, and behold, a door standing open in heaven! And the first voice, which I had heard speaking to me like a trumpet, said, “Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after this.”
The figure of the “door” is one John and his readers wouldn’t fail to grasp. Heaven is a closed place. No one just goes tripping lightly into the presence of God. Ever since the Fall, there has been separation between God and humankind made in His image – due to sin.

But it is Jesus Himself who declared: John 10:7–9 “Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. All who came before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture.”

And: Matthew 11:27 “All things have been handed over to me by my Father, and no one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.”

And: John 14:6 “Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”

This “DOOR” into the presence of God on His throne can be nothing other than Jesus Himself who alone can give John and us entrance. Which notion is reinforced by John noting that it was “the first voice, which I had heard speaking to me like a trumpet, said, “Come up here” – which Revelation 1:12–13 shows us clearly was Jesus speaking.

If not for Christ – all access to God would be unavailable.

And what does Jesus say to John – I want to show you more things. All of life and history isn’t bound up in the here and now of the 7 Churches as you’ve already seen them. There is an eternal plan unfolding and there is much more to come.

Some have made much of the phrase “I will show you what must take place after this” – as though it means after God is done with the 7 churches, the bulk of the balance of the book doesn’t pertain to the Church. But the language most often simply means, the next thing I want to show you is…
1. A THRONE: 4:2–3a “At once I was in the Spirit, and behold, a throne stood in heaven, with one seated on the throne. And he who sat there had the appearance of jasper and carnelian”
Just as in the vision of Ch. 1, John is moved upon by the Spirit in some way so as to give him this vision.

Now the idea of a throne in John’s day meant much more than it might for us today. When we think of Kings and Queens and thrones in our day, we think in terms of figureheads like Queen Elizabeth. Royalty, but no real power – just position. But in John’s day, one who sat on a throne wielded real power and authority. And there is little doubt this is precisely what he is intended to understand: That God is not some mere, detached figurehead, but that He absolutely rules and reigns over everything. Neither the universe nor human events just rattle on by themselves. God actively rules in His universe.

As so much of the book of Revelation contains parallel visions of the Book of Daniel – so here, this representation mirrors Nebuchanezzar’s declaration upon returning to sanity: Daniel 4:34–35 “At the end of the days I, Nebuchadnezzar, lifted my eyes to heaven, and my reason returned to me, and I blessed the Most High, and praised and honored him who lives forever, for his dominion is an everlasting dominion, and his kingdom endures from generation to generation; all the inhabitants of the earth are accounted as nothing, and he does according to his will among the host of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth; and none can stay his hand or say to him, “What have you done?”

John sees a throne – the throne of God actively ruling over His creation.

But note how he avoids trying to describe what God Himself looks like. He can only note the dazzling sight of Jasper and carnelian beaming out in stunning brilliance. Jasper most likely being like crystal or diamond and carnelian being a blood red stone – these illuminated and shining out.

Albert Barnes says, “John does not describe His form, but His splendor. As if looking at a diamond, he does not try to describe its cut and how many facets it has, but how it shines, sparkles and dazzles. Brilliant like jasper or diamond, and blood red like sardine or carnelian.”
1. A RAINBOW: 4:3b “and around the throne was a rainbow that had the appearance of an emerald.”
The rainbow would immediately be connected with how God had given the rainbow to Noah in Genesis 9 and how it is a symbol of God’s covenant faithfulness and His promise never to flood the earth again, even while He must still bring judgement upon sin in due time.
1. 24 Thrones/ELDERS: 4:4 “Around the throne were twenty-four thrones, and seated on the thrones were twenty-four elders, clothed in white garments, with golden crowns on their heads.”
Who exactly these 24 are is not explained. Theories abound – 13 major ones. Do they represent the12 tribes of Israel matched with the 12 apostles to signify the totality of God’s people? Do they correspond to the 24 courses of the Levitical priesthood? Are they angels? Are they men? We are not sure.

What seems most evident is that by virtue of crowns on their heads, and in such close proximity to God’s throne, they have something to do with joining in God’s administration of His creation. They have some measure of authority from Him.

It would no doubt remind John of Paul’s words in Colossians 1:16 “For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him.”

Thrones, dominions, rulers and authorities most likely referring to angelic hosts there.

What will be more important is what they do in the subsequent verses.
1. Thunder and Lightnings: 4:5a “From the throne came flashes of lightning, and rumblings and peals of thunder”
In the ancient world, the single greatest display of raw power one could experience would be the fury of a lightning storm. Nothing could match it. And so here, something of the innate power of God is being driven home as these proceed directly from the throne itself.

God is not a paper lion. He cannot be tamed, contained or defended against. His power is limitless and terrifying.
1. 7 Torches: 4:5b “and before the throne were burning seven torches of fire, which are the seven spirits of God”
You will remember how Moses was told to make a 7-branched lampstand for the Tabernacle which was to burn always – and how then in Zechariah’s vision in his book, he is shown that lampstand again, but this time God tells him: Zechariah 4:10b “These seven are the eyes of the LORD, which range through the whole earth.”

It is a picture of God’s omniscience. That He knows all and sees all and misses NOTHING! And He needs no outside illumination – He brings His own light.
1. A SEA of glass: 4:6a “and before the throne there was as it were a sea of glass, like crystal.”
Seas almost uniformly in Scripture refer to that which is mysterious, unfathomable, dangerous and unstable.

Glass in the ancient world was not transparent but translucent. It probably indicates shininess or sparkling – dazzling.

Here, God is depicted as the One who rules over all of these things too. He is the One at the center of all that is mysterious and unfathomable and that we cannot navigate with certainty.
1. 4 LIVING CREATURES: 4:6b–8 “And around the throne, on each side of the throne, are four living creatures, full of eyes in front and behind: the first living creature like a lion, the second living creature like an ox, the third living creature with the face of a man, and the fourth living creature like an eagle in flight. And the four living creatures, each of them with six wings, are full of eyes all around and within, and day and night they never cease to say, “Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God Almighty, who was and is and is to come!”
One cannot miss the parallel to Isa. 6 here as well as parts of Ezekiel. In the presence of God are these 4 magnificent creatures, who appear around Him at all times, moved from within by the sight John is seeing and all they can pour out is this term in triplicate: HOLY, HOLY, HOLY.

At its base, this word communicates more than anything else God’s “otherness.” He has no like, no peer, not even a counter. He has made all things and rules all things and yet He is separate from all things and wholly and absolutely singular, unique, self-contained and magnificent beyond description.

God alone! God alone! God alone! Comparable to nothing and no one. Utterly and completely holy. And we’ll come back to more about this in a minute.
1. WORSHIP: 4:9–11 “And whenever the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks to him who is seated on the throne, who lives forever and ever, the twenty-four elders fall down before him who is seated on the throne and worship him who lives forever and ever. They cast their crowns before the throne, saying, “Worthy are you, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they existed and were created.”
So here is the perpetual scene of God being opened up to us in all these different ways, and then the proper response to the revealing of His glory – WORSHIP! We, out of all the creatures God has made, as made in His image are given the gift of seeing, and comprehending and appreciating God even more than the living creatures around Him – for we who have been born again have tasted of His grace and mercy and forgiveness in ways no other creature in all of His endless works can. How high and holy are the redeemed, that we might know Him even better than these who dwell in His indescribable and unveiled presence!

And the end of it all is this hymn of praise: “Worthy are you, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they existed and were created.”

Oh how far beneath our privilege we live, by failing to search out the knowledge of Him more and more and more. How little we think of His worthiness!

It would keep us from worship as an act, and transform us into worshippers as our actual being. Oh for that day!

SUMMING UP: John’s take away and ours – especially in light of what is to come –

Christ is the one who alone can give us entrance to the Living God;

A God who dwells in unapproachable light;

A God who truly and actively rules and reigns in His universe and is not a mere figurehead;

A God who has an administrative order by which He rules;

A God who is all powerful and terrible in His majesty;

A God who is all knowing – not by mere report but by firsthand observation of all things;

A God who is at the center of all mystery – who alone can reveal the fullness of truth to us to make us know why everything the way it is and what its ultimate purpose is;

A God who by the very highest of creatures created to be in His presence, and who cannot contain themselves but must spontaneously and perpetually burst out into high, holy, glorious praise and honor for who and what this God is.

Why does anything exist that exists? Because God has willed it so.

How did everything come to be? God willed it so.

This includes you.

Now in closing this vision – I want to tease out just one more thing. It is wrapped up in this 3-fold song of holy – holy – holy.

Why might this be so important for John, his first readers and us in preparing us for the balance of what is to be revealed?

Let me suggest 3 things. And it has to do with another aspect of God’s holiness – His absolute sinlessness. Or as John puts it in 1 John 1:5 “This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.”

1. God is holy in His creating the world and His plans for it. Life is not a cosmic joke. And though we cannot scrutinize why God would allow evil and all that has come from it, there is nothing dark, nefarious or sinful in it. He has acted holily.

He has created all things the hymn notes – and in doing so He has acted in perfect righteousness. In all He has done, He has been holy.

2.Our God is holy toward His people no matter what they must endure. He cannot do us wrong.

As the following chapters unfold and God’s wrath is poured out on the earth. And as the Saints endure all kinds of persecutions and hardships – He is HOLY, and does not err or sin against any in any way.

Just and upright and righteous in all He does and all He permits. And suffering saints especially need to call to mind the holiness of the One who rules our lives and the events which touch us.

Yes John, some of what you are about to see – even your present imprisonment is ruled over by your holy God. You can trust Him.

3.Holy in that sin must be judged. Sin will at last be punished, and that as it deserves. God has waited long, but not too long. And when at last He pours out His terrors in judgment, He will be utterly and completely holy. This God cannot under-punish nor over-punish. He will do all that is right in the finishing of His eternal plan – and every living creature in Heaven and on earth will vindicate Him in His holiness.

If you are not a believer today, this scene stands to warn you as nothing else can – God is HOLY. He will not, He CANNOT overlook sin. It must and will be dealt with. And either you find yourself cleansed in the blood of the Lamb by turning to Him for salvation as your substitute on the Cross, or you will be subject to both the temporal and the eternal judgments to come as they will be displayed in the balance of this book.

And so with the voice of Christ we plead with you today – come to Him. Even as the book itself will close: Revelation 22:17 “The Spirit and the Bride say, “Come.” And let the one who hears say, “Come.” And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who desires take the water of life without price.”
Walking Through Twilight – A Recommendation

November 23rd, 2017

Qualifier: The following is not as much a review, as it is a plea for you to buy this book, read it, digest it and learn from it.

Walking Through Twilight – a memoir by Douglas Groothuis is not an easy book to read.

The dis-ease of reading it is not due to a Philosopher’s arcane or unique vocabulary, its length, nor the opacity which often attends attempts to describe or explain deep subjects. It is the uncomfortability of someone letting you touch their wounds. While they willingly (even if reluctantly) invite you to see just how raw and cruel the damage done to them has been, they nevertheless let you draw close enough to peer into their pain. And they do so to make suffering less ominous, less fear-inducing and less God-doubting. Nothing short of the glory of the resurrection will truly render it less mysterious.

This is the gift of Walking Through Twilight.

Groothuis is professor of philosophy at Denver Seminary. His and his wife Becky’s twilight, is their journey together with their God and friends as Becky’s particular brand of dementia (primary progressive aphasia) takes its mental, psychological, physical and spiritual toll. And it is brutal.

Page after page captured me as I listened to my brother in Christ lament well. Lamenting the degradation of his brilliant wife’s ability to access her words, wit, wisdom and skill. Lamenting the loss of the life they knew and enjoyed so much together – as it gave way to a life neither of them would ever have wanted or suspected. Grieving out loud without absolute despair, even when no hope in the natural remains, but only the promises of God’s Word. And he taught me well not to use that word only as minimalistic, but as an indicator of the singular hope we have in Christ.

Mind you, while this is a heavy book, it is far from depressing. It is filled with the author’s failures. And it is filled with countless road-signs pointing back to Calvary, as well as to the Blessed Hope to come.

The book serves as a living introduction to real-time suffering – something our current society (and many Christians) believe it is our birth-right to be free of. It reminds us powerfully of the reality of living in a fallen world. A world in which all of nature, including ourselves, will groan together for the relief which will only come when Jesus does.

Besides the running narrative of how Groothuis himself seeks the solace of Christ and His Word and promises, there is a short appendix of practical instruction for “comforters”. Those short suggestions are worth the price of the book alone.

But do not miss my meaning. The primary focus of this book is not as a “how to.” It is a book on “being”. What it means to be in the midst of the confusion and unexpected minefield of scattered demands, difficulties and unending complications of irreversible suffering. Most especially, to be in all of this, as a Christian.

No, Walking Through Twilight is not an easy book to read, but it is richly rewarding. It will encourage, strengthen, enlighten and inform everyone in their own suffering, or in ministering to others in theirs.

I cannot recommend it more highly as my own go-to in thinking about suffering in my own life, and in ministering to others in theirs.
A Thanksgiving Hymn from John Newton

November 23rd, 2017

No, this hymn wasn’t written regarding our American Thanksgiving. It was written in giving thanks for salvation and the freedom in Christ we have received in our salvation. It is told through the voice of the demoniac freed from Legion. I found it most fitting on this Thanksgiving Day.

MARK – The Legion dispossessed. Chap. 5:18, 19

1 LEGION was my name by nature,
Satan rag’d within my breast;
Never misery was greater,
Never sinner more possess’d:
Mischievous to all around me,
To myself the greatest foe;
Thus I was when Jesus found me,
Fill’d with madness, sin, and woe.

2 Yet in this forlorn condition,
When he came to set me free,
I reply’d to my Physician,
“What have I to do with thee?”
But he would not be prevented,
Rescu’d me against my will;
Had he staid till I consented,
I had been a captive still.

3 “Satan, though thou fain wouldst have it,
Know, this soul is none of thine;
I have shed my blood to save it,
Now I challenge it for mine:*
Though it long has thee resembled,
Henceforth it shall me obey:”
Thus he spoke, while Satan trembled,
Gnash’d his teeth, and fled away.

4 Thus my frantic soul he healed,
Bid my sins and sorrows cease;
“Take,” said he, “my pardon sealed,”
“I have sav’d thee, go in peace.”
Rather take me, Lord, to heaven,
Now thy love and grace I know;
Since thou hast my sins forgiven,
Why should I remain below?

5 “Love,” he said “will sweeten labours,
Thou hast something yet to do;
Go and tell your friends and neighbours,
What my love has done for you:
Live to manifest my glory,
Wait for heaven a little space;
Sinners, when they hear thy story,
Will repent, and seek my face.”

John Newton and Richard Cecil, The Works of John Newton, vol. 3 (London: Hamilton, Adams & Co., 1824), 407–408.
Dr. David Allen’s ETS Paper on Calvin and the Atonement

November 19th, 2017

This year, my wife and I were privileged to attend the 2017 annual ETS (Evangelical Theological Society) meeting in Providence RI. One of the true highlights was to see my friend Dr. David Allen of SWBTS. If you haven’t read it, Dr. Allen’s seminal work on the extent of the Atonement is an absolute “must-read” for anyone wishing to interact with the issues surrounding debates on the extent of Christ’s atonement. Because his work is primarily historical theology (though in the process plenty of exegetical work gets done as well) it is an invaluable tool for dismantling prevailing myths about how Baptists and Calvinistic Baptists in particular (though Dr. Allen would not characterize himself as Calvinistic) have understood this vital topic.

Dr. Allen’s paper at ETS is a short but potent digest dealing specifically with the research done on Clavin’s own view of the extent of the aotnement. It is drawn from material in the larger book. The content will surprise many, no doubt anger a few, but inform all who spend the time to read it. It is a mere 20 pages but it is jam-packed with research and solid information. Agree or disagree, it is powerful, thought provoking, worthwhile and important. The link below will take to the paper which he has kindly allowed me to post here. ENJOY!

Allen ETS Paper – Calvin and the Extent of the Atonement
Faith’s Response to the Ultimate Test – Abraham: Dr. Mike Canham

November 19th, 2017

AUDIO FOR THIS SERMON CAN BE FOUND HERE

We were so pleased today to have my dear friend Dr. Mike Canham from Cornerstone Seminary here to preach. He did an outstanding job on helping Christians face times of trial and temptation from the account of Abraham’s call to sacrifice Isaac.

Don’t miss it!
Just back from ETS

November 18th, 2017

My wonderful wife and I just got back from this year’s annual meeting of the Evangelical Theological Society, and what a blessing the sessions we were able to attend this year were. Some highlights were:

William Lane Craig responding to a new book attacking penal substitutionary atonement. He dismantled it handily – reasserting the orthodox Reformed position.

Douglas Groothuis on What Philosophers wish Theologians knew. With his classic wry humor and a slight by-path on discussing the current trial of his brilliant wife’s struggle with dementia. His book on that is due out this Monday – “Walking Through Twilight.” An absolute must read.

A wonderful festschrift for Vern Poythress that even brought Wayne Grudem to tears as he recounted Poythress’s influence on his own life.

David Allen’s wonderful paper on Calvin’s view of the Atonement.

Not to mention D. A. Carson, Thom Schreiner, Al Mohler, Andy Naselli, Sam Storms, Greg Beale, and a host of others. Too many to attend them all.

And a spectacular 3 hour presentation (by multiple speakers) on the subject of Theistic Evolution. I’ll be reviewing this 1000 page tome soon, but to have a roster of top-tier scientists, philosophers, and theologians dealing with topic in such depth was worth the 6 hour drive each way and the cost of the conference and the hotel room. Their object in equipping the saints to be able to stand our ground against popular evolutionary myths and especially capitulations in the Church by groups like BioLogos was nothing short of stunning – and highly energizing.

If you can only buy one major book this year ($65.00 IS steep) – save your pennies and do it. Spectacular.

There were a few more but I wanted to tease you all with the Theistic Evolution book. GET IT!
Am I a Christian?

November 13th, 2017
Am I a Christian?

1 Thess. 1 (Entire)

Acts 17:1-12

AUDIO FOR THIS SERMON CAN BE FOUND HERE

I fully intended to pick up in chapter 4 of our study in the book of Revelation this week, but something keeps nagging at me. So I decided to take this week to address what has been on my mind of late.

It occurs to me more and more, especially as I see the state of our nation, and the state of the broader church in our nation, that a Biblical sense of what being a Christian is – is seldom as informed by the Bible itself, as it is by opinions, feelings, culture, and religious systems.

What do we even mean by it? – being a Christian that is. Ed went a long way in helping us this last Wednesday night in our study of the 20 basic Bible doctrines every Christian ought to know.

So let’s build upon that even a bit more.

And let’s begin first by differentiating between the Biblical DEFINITION of a Christian, and a Biblical DESCRIPTION of a Christian.

Our Wednesday night study was dealing more with definition. As Ed showed us, a Christian is one who has been supernaturally regenerated – born again and indwelt by the Spirit of God. Raised from a state of spiritual deadness to life, and given sight. Sight in terms of the reality of God and the Bible as God’s Word, and Jesus Christ in His substitutionary atoning work. A vision of their own sinfulness, the justness of God’s coming wrath upon that sinfulness. That their sin has separated them from God and that Jesus Christ alone can satisfy God for their sin, in such a way as to see the sinner and God reconciled.

In short, a Christian is: One who being regenerated by the Spirit of God – and having heard the Gospel of Jesus’ death, burial and resurrection for sinners; Believes that Gospel as true and trusts themselves and their salvation to Christ and His finished work on Calvary alone.

So BEING a Christian is not a matter of being a part of a particular church or group, or even simply subscribing to a set of truths – even though that is involved – but in a true, fundamental inward change supernaturally wrought by the Holy Spirit.

Unquestionably there are a host of other things that accompany these essentials, but it is absolutely certain this change is at the core.

Moving beyond the mere definition, it is also good to look at a sound description. After all, this it seems is where even more confusion arises. For the culture, individuals, various religious and even secular groups -virtually all have some idea of what a Christian ought to look like.

In our current society, that is often associated with political affiliation; stands on certain social causes; behaviors that may or may not be directed by Scripture etc. While there may be SOME truth in that, to be clear one can be pro-life without being a Christian. One can be conservative, or liberal, and not be a Christian. One can hold to the existence of God, special creation, gun control or not, abortion or not, big government or not, teetotalling or not, homeschooling or not, common core or not, tattoos or not, King James only or not, or a million others, and not be a Christian.

Being a Christian will certainly impact how you stand on one or all of these things – but standing on a particular side of such things does not make one a Christian.

Well then, what kind of objective evidence, Biblical evidence might be safely marshalled to help us answer this question? Fundamentally, all other things aside, what does a Biblical Christian (that is actually a redundancy) look like in the eyes of God? In the Bible?

It is that which brings us to the text we have today in 1 Thess. 1, specifically vss. 9-10.

Somme background is helpful here. Thessalonica was a large and cosmopolitan city of 100K- 200K people. Acts 17 records Paul’s visit there, the riot that ensued and how he and Silas had to scurry away just to stay alive. Later, Paul sent Timothy back to Thessalonica to check on the new believers. And is it Timothy’s report which notes the key things we want to look at this morning.

How were the Christians doing? What marked them out AS true Christians in this large, cultural center with lots of competing religions and ideas? What set them apart from moral and faithful Jews, and other groups? What could Timothy tell Paul which would set Paul’s mind at ease that these had truly become Christians?

Four things: They had –

1 Turned TO God, FROM idols

2 To SERVE the Living God

3 And to wait for His Son from Heaven who He raised from the dead.

4 Jesus, who delivers us from the wrath to come.

4 Powerful descriptors that for the Apostle, assured him that these were now genuine Believers – true, Biblical, Christians.
1. They turned TO God, FROM idols.
Now this needs some unpacking. For in truth, as Acts 17 records, not all those who heard Paul preach on the 3 consecutive sabbaths he did there, were idolaters in the sense of serving literal pagan idols.

Paul’s preaching was done in the Synagogue at least primarily. So as Acts 17:4 reads: “And some of them were persuaded and joined Paul and Silas, as did a great many of the devout Greeks and not a few of the leading women.” A rather mixed crowd.

History tells us that wealthy women of the day had a tendency to seek out and attach themselves to various religious groups, even funding them. Many did this with Judaism as with other religions. Pagan, Gentile women with religious fascinations.

But if this started in the synagogue, why then was this issue of idols front and center? The answer is, because in essence, anything that takes the place of God in any way in our lives – is itself a “false” god – and idol – even Judaism itself. Let me elaborate.

Idolatry comes in several different forms.

PURE or FORMAL Idolatry. Pagan worship with god substitutes represented by images of different kinds. This is what most of think of first when we hear the term idolatry. Worship of pagan gods. The Bible names many of these especially in the OT – Molech, Baal, Ashtoroth, Rephan, etc. And some in the NT like those we saw in the Revelation cities like Diana and others.

This form of idolatry has a very interesting subset – Atheism. For in Atheism, man makes himself the measure of all things. He worships his desires, dreams, purposes, etc. The idol is self.

MIXED Idolatry. This was especially attractive to some pagans because in it, you either simply add Christ to your existing god or gods, or you in some way come to Christ but also add another god or gods to Him as valid as well.

This became very common during the conquest of the Mayans, Incas and other people groups when the Roman Catholic missionaries tried to convert them. They found if they let them keep their existing gods, they were pretty willing to add Jesus to them. And so the missionaries claimed success in converting them, when in fact they had just obscured Christianity and reinforced the false worship of the idolaters.

DISGUISED Idolatry. This is the idolatry of the religious – like the Jews Paul was preaching to. This is serving the God of the Bible, but as though He is a pagan god. That shows itself in a number of ways.

One way is serving God, SLAVISHLY like He is a harsh task-master and needs human appeasing through our sacrifices and rituals. We have an example of this in Micah 6:1-8.

Truth be told, there are many who would call themselves Christians today who serve God this way. And He rejects it.

A second kind of DISGUISED idolatry is serving God SUPERSTITIOUSLY (Deut. 18:9-14) This shows itself in things like thinking God must be addressed in Elizabethan English or your not using the right magic phrases; putting superstitious emphases on certain Postures in prayer; adding requirements God never did like requiring certain amounts of time in prayer or Bible reading where if you don’t meet the quota, you’re sinning. Adopting a special “Prayer voice”. Making deals with God. Etc.

A 3^rd kind is like that of Nadab & Abihu in Lev. 10 – where they just decided to get real innovative with God’s proscribed form of worship and in offering strange fire before God He had not commanded, they were killed for. SELF-ORIGINATED worship.

And 4^th we might SELF-CENTERED WORSHIP (Matt. 15:9). Where we craft Church after the likes and dislikes of the people, without seeking to see what God says worship ought to be like from the Scriptures.

In these 2, worship itself becomes an idol.

At the bottom of all of these, is a man-centered approach to God, and it is as much idolatry as is outright paganism. And this was surely where most of Judaism was in Paul’s day – where it was superstition about God’s name, following rites and rituals rather than worrying about a heart which is right before God by God’s appointed means.

And it is from all of these types of idolatry that Timothy told Paul – the Believing Thessalonians had turned FROM, and turned TO God instead.

In a word, this is the idea wrapped up in the word repentance. Turning away from one thing and to another. Away from sin to righteousness. Away from rites and rituals to faith in the finished work of Christ. Away from self-centeredness to Christ-centeredness. Away from superstition to the true and living God.

Let me tease this out just a tad more for our use today. For as I said already, an idol is anything that takes God’s rightful place in our hearts and minds. And there is a simple test we can use for hunting out possible idols in our own lives.

I can detect and locate idols by asking myself a few questions. I give you 5 here. Which unfortunately we can’t expand upon right now.

What do I FEAR most? Matt. 10:26-28 – “So have no fear of them, for nothing is covered that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known. What I tell you in the dark, say in the light, and what you hear whispered, proclaim on the housetops…And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell.

What do I VALUE or DESIRE most? Matt. 6:21for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. i.e. what elicits my greatest devotion

What fills in the box when I say: “If only X______________ THEN, I would be happy”? Or better, without X_____ I cannot be happy.

As long as you are looking for that thing to make you happy, then your attainment of it will be dissatisfying. It will leave you unhappy and discontented.

If my ultimate and supreme happiness isn’t in him, then I am trading “creatures” for the Creator.

What do I seek my ultimate JOY in? 1Pet. 1:8 and though you have not seen Him, you love Him, and though you do not see Him now, but believe in Him, you greatly rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory.

Ps. 16:11 You will make known to me the path of life; In Your presence is fullness of joy; In Your right hand there are pleasures forever.

God in His goodness has given us countless things we may freely enjoy – but all of them are only meant to be tokens of Him – in whom we are to seek our supreme joy. Especially when we see how fleeting earthly joys are.

What DICTATES my BEHAVIOUR most? Jer. 7:23-24 “But this command I gave them: ‘Obey my voice, and I will be your God, and you shall be my people. And walk in all the way that I command you, that it may be well with you.’ But they did not obey or incline their ear, but walked in their own counsels and the stubbornness of their evil hearts, and went backward and not forward.” The juxtaposition of self-determination vs. love for God-determination.

How do I make up my mind about what is right or wrong to do in any given situation? My own opinion? Feelings?

What do I place my HOPE in? What is my hope for the future?

What is my hope for right standing w/ God?

What is the source of my peace of mind?

What do I look to for a sense of well-being?

What is my comfort in the hard times?
1. What do I FEAR most?
2. What do I VALUE or DESIRE most?
3. What do I seek my JOY in most?
4. What DICTATES my BEHAVIOUR most?
5. What do I place my HOPE in?
Answer these, and you will know what your god or gods are. And the 1^st mark of the truly converted soul is that one seeks to turn away from those gods – to the true and Living God. Nor is this done just once – but it becomes a lifestyle of turning from those false gods to the God of the Bible over and over and over.

With that established we can work through the balance of these very rapidly.

2 The genuine Christian turns from idols to God – To SERVE the Living God.

The genuine Christian now realizing all that has been done for them in Christ – seeks to serve this merciful, gracious, loving, pardoning, holy God. You’ve saved me for yourself – now use me! How can I serve your ends, your agenda, your plans and purposes, your kingdom?

If your Christianity is all wrapped up in God just being a blessing dispenser, without any regard for what it means to be His servant, saved for His purposes, you need to ask yourself if you have truly come to faith.

Coming to Christ is not a ticket to earthly and worldly pleasures, but the gift of eternal bliss in the service of the King!

One of Christ’s harshest rebukes in the NT is couched in a parable in Luke 19. The Nobleman in the parable (an allusion to Jesus Himself) was to go into a far country to be given final title to a land and a people. When he left, the Nobleman gave 10 servants money to invest on his behalf while gone. Startlingly, the text says: Luke 19:14 “But his citizens hated him and sent a delegation after him, saying, ‘We do not want this man to reign over us.’”

What was the problem? They liked the money but they hated Him in that they did not want Him to REIGN over them. Fine and well to take his gifts, but they reject his right of authority over them. So Jesus adds after settling with those who took the money – Luke 19:27 “But as for these enemies of mine, who did not want me to reign over them, bring them here and slaughter them before me.’ ”

Many is the professed Christian who wants Jesus as a gift giver, a forgiver of sins, a healer and Savior – but if they do not want Him to reign over them – He counts them His enemies, and they will not escape His wrath. These are profoundly sobering words. Especially to all of us who take the name Christian to ourselves today. Do we want Him to reign over us?

The genuine Christian turns from idols to God – To SERVE the Living God…AND

3 To WAIT for His Son from Heaven who He raised from the dead.

The genuine Christian lives a life of expectancy and hope located in the return of Jesus either to translate us or resurrect us to be with Him forever. And this hope is fueled by the conviction that Christ was raised from the dead already as the first-fruits of God’s people.

Christians are those living now, with their eternity in view, and have stopped living for just today or the foreseeable future. They say with Paul: 2 Timothy 4:8 “Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that day, and not only to me but also to all who have loved his appearing.”

Beloved, if you are not one who loves His appearing, and is longing and looking for it, you need to ask if you ever been truly born again?

The genuine Christian turns from idols to God – To SERVE the Living God and to WAIT for His Son from Heaven who He raised from the dead…
1. Jesus, who delivers us from the wrath to come.
Christians are living these ways, because they have a sense of the wrath of God which was due them, and the wonder of knowing they’ve been delivered from God’s coming wrath on all the world through the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus. All of this is wrapped up – not in religion or a system – but in Jesus Christ.

Christians know – know in their very bones, God in His holiness and justice must one day set the universe to rights. And they have a true sense of the reality of that coming day, and have run to Christ for shelter. Have run to the cross to have His blood plead on their behalf as having washed away their guilt and the stain of their sins. And they keep running to Him in every failure, with every sin, with all of their brokenness, for they know that they know that they know on the authority of God’s Word, that no one can deliver them but the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.

So let me bring all this down to you once again:

Have you turned and continue to turn TO God, FROM idols?

Have you turned, so as to SERVE the Living God?

Are you consciously waiting for His Son from Heaven who He raised from the dead,

Trusting in this Jesus alone, who delivers us from the wrath to come?

If so, you rightly call yourself a Christian today.

If not, no matter what your religion, or profession or to use the modern parlance – your self-identification – you are still dead in your trespasses and sins, and need to be born again by the Spirit of God. The wrath of God still remains on you as Jesus said in John 3:36.

But it is not too late! You can come to Him today! You can a call upon Him for forgiveness, and to have your guilt expunged by His blood and to be made His own and reconciled to the Father. Won’t you come to Him today?
The 5 Solas – Soli Deo Gloria

October 30th, 2017
5 Solas 5

Soli Deo Gloria

Isaiah 48:1-11

Ephesians 1:3-14

Matthew 6:9-13

AUDIO FOR THIS SERMON CAN BE FOUND HERE

We’ve arrived at the 5^th of the slogans of the Protestant Reformation – Soli Deo Gloria – to the glory of God alone.

And while this slogan may be the most misunderstood of the 5, it is to me the sweetest and most comprehensive of all.

The central idea is simple. Once again, following the logic of all 5 together, it is on the authority of the Scripture alone and its revelation that we understand salvation – the recovery of lost men to right relationship with God – is based upon grace alone as opposed to human worthiness or merit; through faith alone as opposed to any good works we might be able to accomplish; on the basis of the finished work of Christ alone on the Cross. Conclusion: All the credit, all the glory for our salvation belongs to Him alone.

While it may seem more than apparent at this point that salvation is wholly owing to God alone given what we’ve looked at these past few weeks, this last watchword extends far beyond salvation only. For the Reformers, everything in all reality is ultimately wrapped up in this thought: All that God does is ultimately for His own glory. From creation to His plan of salvation to how He interacts with humankind and administrates the cosmos – all He does, He does ultimately for His own glory.

If we are honest, for many of us the sound of that is hard on our ears. The reason why it sounds so hard, is because we have fallen notions of what it means exactly and why it is so important. We’ll come back to that. But first we need to see why the Reformers may have arrived at this conclusion.

The simple answer is, because they were now reading their Bibles for the first time. Then they mused on passages like Isaiah 48:9-11“For my name’s sake I defer my anger; for the sake of my praise I restrain it for you, that I may not cut you off. Behold, I have refined you, but not as silver; I have tried you in the furnace of affliction. For my own sake, for my own sake, I do it, for how should my name be profaned? My glory I will not give to another.”

And Revelation 4:11 “Worthy are you, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they existed and were created.”

And Psalm 19:1 “The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork.”

The “heavens” is not a sentient being. Creation can’t declare anything on its own – this must be the design of them. And who designed them this way but God Himself?

Romans 11:36 sums this up magnificently when it states: “For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen.”

So the creation is for His own glory; the salvation and the deliverance of the Jews was for His own glory; all things coming from Him and through Him and are to be TO Him – and this for His glory: How are we to think about all this? What are we to do with this pervasive theme in Scripture? This is what the Reformers were trying to unpack.

In doing so, we need to try and answer 2 key questions.

First – what exactly IS the glory of God?

Second – what does it mean then to glorify God?

So what exactly is God’s glory? Quite simply, His glory is the revelation of Himself. Of who and what He truly is. This being the case, glorifying God is not making something of Him He is not, nor attributing anything to Him He has not done, for the reality is we cannot make Him any more wonderful than He actually is. Therefore, to glorify Him is simply to make Him known for who and what He is.

Let’s take few minutes to see how this thread does indeed run through the whole of the Biblical worldview.

We go back to creation itself and we read: Romans 1:19–20 “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.”

The Creation declares His glory by revealing things about Him to us. Specifically in this passage, His power – look at the vastness and complexity and magnitude of the universe – what POWER it must take to create it! And, His divine nature is seen here, in the genius, order, wisdom and astonishing detail, and how it all functions with its properties. And then in its seeming agelessness, His eternality. In other words, it simply tells us about Him.

So what of the Fall? That too is wrapped up in this theme, for: Romans 1:21-23 says: “For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things.”

We see then how the distorting or obscuring the wonder of who and what He is at the heart of humankind’s rebellion. Indeed: Romans 3: 23 “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,”

Concerning our lives today the Scripture says: Romans 8:18 “For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us.”

And as Romans 5:1-2 says: “Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God.”

And in day to day life: 1 Corinthians 10:11 “So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.”

How about growth in the Christian life?: 2 Corinthians 3:18 “And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.”

Indeed all of salvation springs from this same fountain: Ephesians 1:3-14 “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved. In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth. In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will, so that we who were the first to hope in Christ might be to the praise of his glory. In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.”

Philippians 1: 9-11“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.”

Even Hell is connected to this theme: 2 Thessalonians 1: 9-10 “They will suffer the punishment of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might, 10 when he comes on that day to be glorified in his saints, and to be marveled at among all who have believed, because our testimony to you was believed.”

So, Philippians 2:9-11 “For this reason God highly exalted him and gave him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow— in heaven and on earth and under the earth— and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”

So we can see Biblically how the glory, the revealing of God permeates the whole of Scripture and all of life itself, let alone the spiritual life.

But why? WHY does the glory of God and glorifying Him occupy this place? I want to offer up just 3 key reasons this morning.
1. It is only right, that the Creator of all things and who has made all things for Himself, be recognized for who and what He is, and proper honor be given to Him.
As we saw already in Romans 11:36 “For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen.”

If God is who the Bible portrays Him to be – it is only fitting that He receive all glory. And how DOES the Bible portray Him?

18^th century theologian Adam Clarke in His commentary on Genesis 1:1 wrote: “A general definition of this great First Cause, as far as human words dare attempt one, may be thus given: The eternal, independent, and self-existent Being: the Being whose purposes and actions spring from himself, without foreign motive or influence: he who is absolute in dominion; the most pure, the most simple, and most spiritual of all essences; infinitely benevolent, beneficent, true, and holy: the cause of all being, the upholder of all things; infinitely happy, because infinitely perfect; and eternally self-sufficient, needing nothing that he has made: illimitable in his immensity, inconceivable in his mode of existence, and indescribable in his essence; known fully only to himself, because an infinite mind can be fully apprehended only by itself. In a word, a Being who, from his infinite wisdom, cannot err or be deceived; and who, from his infinite goodness, can do nothing but what is eternally just, right, and kind. Reader, such is the God of the Bible; but how widely different from the God of most human creeds and apprehensions!”

When God is as we see here, the highest, most wonderful, most lovely, desirable and magnificent of all beings – and at that the source and fountain of all good, mercy, grace, holiness, justice, purity, wisdom, love, compassion, gentleness, power, genius, perfection and ability – if He is not worthy of ALL glory – no one and no thing is worthy of any!

No wonder then C. H. Spurgeon noted: “It has been said by some one that “the proper study of mankind is man.” I will not oppose the idea, but I believe it is equally true that the proper study of God’s elect is God; the proper study of a Christian is the Godhead. The highest science, the loftiest speculation, the mightiest philosophy, which can ever engage the attention of a child of God, is the name, the nature, the person, the work, the doings, and the existence of the great God whom he calls his Father.”

The reason why we recoil at the idea that all glory belongs to God is 2-fold: First, we are so self-absorbed in our fallenness. And second, because we have such a low concept of Him.

God is worthy of all glory is the first reason. He is worthy because of who and what He is and all that He has done.
1. Seeing that He is the highest, most wonderful, most lovely, desirable and magnificent of all beings – and at that the source and fountain of all good, mercy, grace, holiness, justice, purity, wisdom, love, compassion, gentleness, power, genius, perfection and ability – the highest thing God can do or give to those He loves is – Himself. There is nothing higher. Nothing better. And He jealously protects His glory as the revelation of Himself being the source and fountain of all that is good and best as the most loving this He can possibly do for us. When you truly love someone you want the very best for them. God has nothing higher to give those He loves than Himself! Nothing more blessed.
Spurgeon again: “There is something exceedingly improving to the mind in a contemplation of the Divinity. It is a subject so vast, that all our thoughts are lost in its immensity; so deep, that our pride is drowned in its infinity. Other subjects we can compass and grapple with; in them we feel a kind of self-content, and go our way with the thought, “Behold I am wise.” But when we come to this master-science, finding that our plumb-line cannot sound its depth, and that our eagle eye cannot see its height, we turn away with the thought, that vain man would be wise, but he is like a wild ass’s colt; and with the solemn exclamation, “I am but of yesterday, and know nothing.” No subject of contemplation will tend more to humble the mind, than thoughts of God. We shall be obliged to feel “Great God, how infinite art thou, What worthless worms are we!”

But while the subject humbles the mind it also expands it. He who often thinks of God, will have a larger mind than the man who simply plods around this narrow globe. He may be a naturalist, boasting of his ability to dissect a beetle, anatomize a fly, or arrange insects and animals in classes with well nigh unutterable names; he may be a geologist, able to discourse of the megatherium and the plesiosaurus, and all kinds of extinct animals; he may imagine that his science, whatever it is, ennobles and enlarges his mind. I dare say it does, but after all, the most excellent study for expanding the soul, is the science of Christ, and him crucified, and the knowledge of the Godhead in the glorious Trinity. Nothing will so enlarge the intellect, nothing so magnify the whole soul of man, as a devout, earnest, continued investigation of the great subject of the Deity. And, whilst humbling and expanding, this subject is eminently consolatary. Oh, there is, in contemplating Christ, a balm for every wound; in musing on the Father, there is a quietus for every grief; and in the influence of the Holy Ghost, there is a balsam for every sore. Would you lose your sorrows? Would you drown your cares? Then go, plunge yourself in the Godhead’s deepest sea; be lost in his immensity; and you shall come forth as from a couch of rest, refreshed and invigorated. I know nothing which can so comfort the soul; so calm the swelling billows of grief and sorrow; so speak peace to the winds of trial, as a devout musing upon the subject of the Godhead. It is to that subject that I invite you this morning. ”

There is nothing God can give us that is better, better for us and more pleasurable and delightful and blessed than Himself! And so He promises to those who love Him that the ultimate blessing of all is wrapped up in this very same revelation: 1 Corinthians 13:12 “For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known.”

What is the ultimate blessing? In some capacity to know Him on the scale of how He in His infinite knowledge and wisdom – knows us.

John summarizes that blessing this way: 1 John 3:2 “Beloved, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is.”
1. Those 2 things being true – then the highest, most loving thing we can do for others is to bless them with the revelation of who, in the very revealing, is the highest source of all blessing.
This is why we preach Christ – so as to have all men reconciled to this God. For to so see and know His glory is to be blessed ultimately, and that, beyond comprehension.

This is why we study His Word – that we might proclaim Him rightly as He is and in knowing Him more ourselves, can better be equipped to make Him known to others.

1 Corinthians 2:9–10 “But, as it is written, “What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined, what God has prepared for those who love him”— 10 these things God has revealed to us through the Spirit. For the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God.”

This is why we are called to walk in the fullness of the Spirit – for to be filled with His fruit of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control – is to let others experience the glory of God THROUGH us – as those being remade into His image that we might reflect His glory without distortion once again.

When we sin, when we fail to live in this glory, we hide God’s glory from others and rob them of the ultimate blessing we are so privileged as Believers to be conduits of.

Perhaps now we can see why when Jesus taught the disciples to pray, He sets the very first priority on this: “Hallowed by thy name”. Let my Father’s reputation, the wonder of who He truly is be restored in all the cosmos. This is the single most necessary, blessed and wondrous thing that can happen. This was the passion of Jesus’ heart while He was here (John 17:4–6a “I glorified you on earth, having accomplished the work that you gave me to do. And now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had with you before the world existed. “I have manifested your name to the people whom you gave me out of the world.”)

If you are not a Christian here today – why do we preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ to you? That you may be reconciled to this God and Father of all. That you might be ultimately, eternally and infinitely blessed. John 17:3 “This is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.”

And Christian – I pray you regain something of the transcendent wonder of the God who created you for His glory, redeemed you for His glory and will preserve you to bring you home that you might lavish in His glory for all eternity.

To be consumed with the wonder of Him, is as Spurgeon reminded us: “Oh, there is, in contemplating Christ, a balm for every wound; in musing on the Father, there is a quietus for every grief; and in the influence of the Holy Ghost, there is a balsam for every sore. Would you lose your sorrows? Would you drown your cares? Then go, plunge yourself in the Godhead’s deepest sea; be lost in his immensity; and you shall come forth as from a couch of rest, refreshed and invigorated. I know nothing which can so comfort the soul; so calm the swelling billows of grief and sorrow; so speak peace to the winds of trial, as a devout musing upon the subject of the Godhead. It is to that subject that I invite you this morning.”
The 5 Solas – Solus Christus

October 22nd, 2017
5 Solas #4

Solus Christus

Acts 4:1-12; Col. 2 (entire); Hebrews 7:23-8:2; 9:24-28

AUDIO FOR THIS SERMON CAN BE FOUND HERE

We’re continuing our short series on the solas of the Protestant Reformation.

5 key watchwords or slogans emerged during that time, that served as a galvanizing tool for those seeking reform in the Church.

Sola Scriptura, Sola Gratia, Sola Fide, Solus Christus, & Soli Deo Gloria

And these remain foundational to true Evanglicalism today. Though in all honesty, I find myself more and more hesitant to use the term Evangelical since in our time and culture, it seems to have been hi-jacked as a political tool rather than a sound, historical theological designation. We may need to re-think the name of our own assembly given how evangelical is heard by most ears today. But that is a topic for another time.

These 5 slogans not only crystalized the impetus behind the Reformation, they also present a coherent logic in how they hang together.

In Sola Scriptura, we saw the Reformers were calling the Church back to recognizing the Word of God as the final authority over what we are to believe and to practice, above every council, teaching or individual, even the Pope.

And it is in that Word of God that we come to the revelation that salvation is;

Sola Gratia, by grace alone as opposed to any personal merit or worthiness;

Sola Fide, by faith alone as opposed to any good works one might do no matter how noble or invented even by the Church;

And thus salvation is – Solus Christus, owing to Christ and His finished work on our behalf – alone.

He needs no help saving the souls of lost men. Salvation rests wholly in Him! That, as opposed to what the Church may think it needs to add to the equation.

This 4^th point was absolutely essential as it struck at the very heart of what had gone so very wrong in the Church.

As an article in Ligonier Ministry’s TableTalk magazine notes: “The problem, then, was not the person of Christ. The problem was the work of Christ. The debate centered on the sacramental system Rome had constructed, a system in which the grace of Christ was mediated to the people through an elaborate system of priests and sacramental works. Through this sacramental system, the Roman church effectively controlled the Christian’s life from birth (baptism) to death (extreme unction) and even beyond (masses for the dead).”

In other words, the system the Church had created made the Church the sole dispenser of grace – without the Church’s mediation in addition to Christ’s work, you could not be saved.

What did that look like? Let me quote from the Catholic Catechism of today. Regarding the sacraments they say: “For the first of these is Baptism, the gate, as it were, to all the rest, by which we are born again unto Christ. The next is Confirmation, by virtue of which we grow up, and are strengthened in the grace of God…’ The third is the Eucharist, by which, as by a truly celestial food, our spirit is nurtured and sustained… Penance follows in the fourth place, by the aid of which health, which has been lost, is restored us, after we have received the wounds of sin. The fifth is Extreme Unction, by which the remains of sin are taken away, and the energies of the soul invigorated… The sixth is Orders, by which power is given to exercise perpetually in the church the public ministry of the sacraments, and to perform all the sacred functions. The last is matrimony…” Catholic Church, The Catechism of the Council of Trent, trans. Theodore Alois Buckley (London: George Routledge and Co., 1852), 149.

Here’s how that logic works: Since the Church alone could give holy orders to make priests, then only those under the authority of the Church could baptize – which they said the mere doing of causes the infant to be born again, regenerated; only they could bestow the Holy Spirit in confirmation; only they could turn the communion elements into the literal body and blood of Christ; only they could hear confession, forgive sin and offer penance; only they could rightly marry you and only they could give you last rites at death. And then beyond that, only they could give you indulgences to help you or others AFTER death.

And the Reformers were saying NO! This is all backwards. You are putting the Church in between Christ and His people.

Instead of it being Christ in His saving work who brings us into the Church by joining us to Himself, you’ve said it is the Church who alone has the power to bring us into Christ by first making us members of IT!

The church then became the mediator between God and man – when the Scripture said: 1 Timothy 2:5 “For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus”

And lest you think the Reformers were, or I am, distorting that – let me again cite current Roman Catholic Catechism: “All the sacraments are sacred links uniting the faithful with one another and binding them to Jesus Christ, and above all Baptism, the gate by which we enter into the Church.” Catholic Church, Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2nd Ed. (Washington, DC: United States Catholic Conference, 2000), 248.

More: “for as no one can gain admittance into a place without the aid of him to whom the keys have been committed, so we understand that no one can gain admission into heaven unless its gates be opened by the priests, to whose fidelity the Lord has confided its keys” Catholic Church, The Catechism of the Council of Trent, trans. Theodore Alois Buckley (London: George Routledge and Co., 1852), 281.

So the key issue here was this: The church rightly said that Jesus was the mediator between God and man, but it then interposed itself as the mediator between man and Jesus and then added more mediators.

Jesus’ said: John 14:6 “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”

And the Church said: true, BUT – “no one can gain admission into heaven unless its gates be opened by the priests, to whose fidelity the Lord has confided its keys”

Now what opened all of this up for Luther especially at the time was this entire practice of indulgences which we’ve looked at briefly before.

And the idea that the Church has at its disposal what is a called a “treasury of merit” – the good works Jesus AND of the saints, which it alone administrates and can mete out at will to the spiritual benefit of the dead.

Since no one could get to heaven unless bona fide priests opened the gates – even after death you were bound to the Church more than to Christ!

So what is this Treasury of merit? Again the Catechism – “1478 An indulgence is obtained through the Church who, by virtue of the power of binding and loosing granted her by Christ Jesus, intervenes in favor of individual Christians and opens for them the treasury of the merits of Christ and the saints to obtain from the Father of mercies the remission of the temporal punishments due for their sins.” Catholic Church, Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2nd Ed. (Washington, DC: United States Catholic Conference, 2000), 371.

Now there are 3 things sorely amiss here right off the bat.
1. This is a total fiction. There is nothing at all to be found in God’s Word about anything remotely like this idea of a treasury of merits which is given to the Church to dispense as she sees fit. It simply does not exist.
2. Since total obedience to God is only what should be the expected norm for creatures made in the image of God – no merit can possibly accrue from our good works. Remember Jesus’ words to the Disciples – and if there were ANY saints ever who might be laudable – it would be Peter and the rest: And Jesus says “So you also, when you have done all that you were commanded, say, ‘We are unworthy servants; we have only done what was our duty.’ ” Luke 17:10
What treasury could be accrued from that?

3. At worst, it inverts Christ and the church, at best, it mixes Christ’s redemptive work with that of Mary and the other saints.

Once again Paul reminds us: 1 Tim. 2:5 “There is ONE mediator between God and man.”

So the NT record consistently records things like: 1 Corinthians 1:22–24 “For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.”

What did they preach? Christ and Him crucified, not the Church and its supposed power or authority.

We preach Christ and Him crucified, and not the sacraments.

We preach Christ and Him crucified and not the supposed merits of the saints.

So when the Philippian Jailor asks “what must I do to be saved?” Acts 16:31 Paul & Silas said: “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household.” There were no 7 sacraments to point them to. Christ and Christ alone!

Acts 4:12 for “there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”

Contrary to the council at Trent in its response to the Reformation where they codified as canon law: CANON IV. “If any one saith, that the sacraments of the New Law are not necessary unto salvation, but superfluous; and that, without them, or without the desire thereof, men obtain of God, through faith alone, the grace of justification;-though all (the sacraments) are not indeed necessary for every individual; let him be anathema.”

As we’ve cited so many times in this series: Ephesians 2:8–10 “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.”

“Not a result of works” – Neither yours, nor the Church’s nor the saint’s. We are saved by Jesus Christ Himself – it is Jesus who baptizes us with the Holy Spirit: Mark 1:8 “I have baptized you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”

And by virtue of possessing the Spirit, makes us one with Christ and His Church: 1 Corinthians 12:13 “For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and all were made to drink of one Spirit.”

Ephesians 2:18–22 “For through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father. So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit.”

The Church doesn’t do these things – it is wholly owing to the work of Christ Jesus – ALONE!

So that was the battle then, and except for those still struggling to exit the Romanist church, the specifics do not seem to apply that much today. Or do they?

I think we can clearly see how solus Christus is still as necessary as ever.
1. Cults. Every cult, every religious group piggy-backing off of Christianity – Mormonism, Jehovah’s Witnessism, The Way Int’l, Branch Davidians, British Israelism, Unification Church, Christian Scientism and a host of others – each one takes the very same tack as Romanism and interpose themselves between the individual and God. You must go through them to get to the REAL Jesus and the REAL salvation. They are the true dispensers of grace.
2. Secularization of the Church. The framers of the Cambridge Declaration in 1996, men like R.C. Sproul, Alistair Begg, James Montgomery Boice, David Wells and others penned in seeking to recover the solas in our day are helpful here: Solus Christus: The Erosion of Christ-Centered Faith “As evangelical faith has become secularized, its interests have been blurred with those of the culture. The result is a loss of absolute values, permissive individualism, and a substitution of wholeness for holiness, recovery for repentance, intuition for truth, feeling for belief, chance for providence, and immediate gratification for enduring hope. Christ and his cross have moved from the center of our vision.”
Thesis 2: Solus Christus. We reaffirm that our salvation is accomplished by the mediatorial work of the historical Christ alone. His sinless life and substitutionary atonement alone are sufficient for our justification and reconciliation to the Father.

We deny that the gospel is preached if Christ’s substitutionary work is not declared and faith in Christ and his work is not solicited.

Donald G. Bloesch, The Church: Sacraments, Worship, Ministry, Mission (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2002), 290.
1. False teachers in Christianity. I want to be careful but clear here as well – anyone who says that if you send them money or join their group, they will pray for you in some special way that you cannot for yourself or by virtue of your brothers and sisters in Christ – that they have some sort of spiritual hot line no one else has – are doing the very same thing. If you have to join their specific group, get their special teaching (beyond the plain Gospel of the Bible), buy their special book, go to their seminar where they will teach you spiritual secrets for a fee – run like the wind! They have sought like so many others to put themselves between you and Christ – when the Scripture gives us this absolute confidence:
Waxing in depth about the high priesthood of Christ, the writer to the Hebrews sums it up this way: Hebrews 7:25 “Consequently, he is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them.”

He – Jesus Christ. No one else.

Is able to save – This is HIS work, to seek and save the lost.

Save to the uttermost – To bring you to full completion by His salvific work, requiring no other intermediary. Justification, growth in Christ’s image, and glorification at the resurrection. He perfects His own.

Those who draw near to God THROUGH HIM – NOT through any other person or organization – it is through Christ we draw near to God.

He always lives to make intercession for us – What saint can possibly pray for us in some way Jesus cannot intercede for us before the throne of His Father? If Christ prays for me – ALL WILL BE WELL – if no one else in heaven or earth ever utters my name to God.

Christ our great intercessor!

Now what can anyone suppose to add to His great saving work without blasphemy?

Christian – you are complete in Him! Turn to Christ Jesus at every juncture. He WILL meet you there.

Unbeliever – He is all you need for salvation, forgiveness of sins, reconciliation to the Father and growth in your spiritual life. He alone could deal with sin, and it is He who gives the Spirit by which you can walk with Him in power and perpetual fellowship. Turn to Jesus today. He alone can save you from bondage to your present sin, and the wrath to come.

John Newton on Matt 22: Jesus asked them a question, 42 saying, “What do you think about the Christ?”

1 WHAT think you of Christ? is the test,

To try both your state and your scheme;

You cannot be right in the rest,

Unless you think rightly of him.

As Jesus appears in your view,

As he is beloved or not;

So God is disposed to you,

And mercy or wrath are your lot.

2 Some take him a creature to be,

A man, or an angel at most:

Sure these have not feelings like me,

Nor know themselves wretched and lost.

So guilty, so helpless am I,

I durst not confide in his blood,

Nor on his protection rely,

Unless I were sure he is God.

3 Some call him Saviour, in word,

But mix their own works with his plan;

And hope he his help will afford,

When they have done all that they can:

If doings prove rather too light,

(A little, they own, they may fail),

They purpose to make up full weight,

By casting his name in the scale.

4 Some style him the pearl of great price,

And say he’s the fountain of joys;

Yet feed upon folly and vice,

And cleave to the world and its toys;

Like Judas, the Saviour they kiss,

And while they salute him, betray;

Ah! what will profession like this

Avail in his terrible day?

5 If ask’d, what of Jesus I think,

Though still my best thoughts are but poor,

I say, he’s my meat and my drink,

My life, and my strength, and my store;

My Shepherd, my Husband, my Friend,

My Saviour from sin and from thrall;

My hope from beginning to end,

My portion, my Lord, and my All.

John Newton and Richard Cecil, The Works of John Newton, vol. 3 (London: Hamilton, Adams & Co., 1824), 403–404.