Category Archives: Jesus

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June 23, 2016

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Jesus, Pastoral, Sanctification

Crawling Back to the Cross

Thorns

This is a re-post from last summer with a few slight edits. 

There are dark nights in the lives of all Christians. These can come because we have lost something or someone. They can come from burdens upon us. They can come from physical sickness or emotional distress. They can come from the darkness of the world, crisis in our church, or from our own sins. But perhaps no darkness compares to the silence of God in the midst of these dark nights. What do we do when he is absent? when we cry out and he does not answer? What do we do when it looks like he has cast us off? Not surprisingly, the Psalms give us the answer.

I cry aloud to God, aloud to God, and he will hear me. In the day of my trouble I seek the Lord; in the night my hand is stretched out without wearying; my soul refuses to be comforted. When I remember God, I moan; when I meditate, my spirit faints. Selah.

You hold my eyelids open; I am so troubled that I cannot speak. I consider the days of old, the years long ago. I said, “Let me remember my song in the night; let me meditate in my heart.” Then my spirit made a diligent search: “Will the Lord spurn forever, and never again be favorable? Has his steadfast love forever ceased? Are his promises at an end for all time? Has God forgotten to be gracious? Has he in anger shut up his compassion?” Selah. (Psalm 77:1-9)

There are few words in the Psalter as despairing as these nine verses. The author cries out to God repeatedly. He refuses to be comforted. He cannot close his eyes. He asks questions modern, sentimental Christians refuse to ask. Has God forgotten us? Has his love come to end? Have his covenant mercies, his steadfast love been forgotten? Has his anger overcome his compassion? Am I stuck in darkness, despair, and death? Is there any hope at all? But note the second line of the first paragraph, “In the day of trouble I seek the Lord.” And the middle of the second paragraph, “My spirit made diligent search.”  He is not going to passively slip into despair and darkness. He is going to pursue God despite the darkness.  Like a man clawing out of a grave he will keep digging until his breath runs out or he reaches the light.

And what is the answer to his distress?

Then I said, “I will appeal to this, to the years of the right hand of the Most High.” I will remember the deeds of the LORD; yes, I will remember your wonders of old. I will ponder all your work, and meditate on your mighty deeds. Your way, O God, is holy. What god is great like our God? You are the God who works wonders; you have made known your might among the peoples. You with your arm redeemed your people, the children of Jacob and Joseph. Selah.

When the waters saw you, O God, when the waters saw you, they were afraid; indeed, the deep trembled. The clouds poured out water; the skies gave forth thunder; your arrows flashed on every side. The crash of your thunder was in the whirlwind; your lightnings lighted up the world; the earth trembled and shook. Your way was through the sea, your path through the great waters; yet your footprints were unseen. You led your people like a flock by the hand of Moses and Aaron. (Psalm 77:10-20)

The writer’s hope is kindled by looking to God’s deeds in the past. “I will remember…I will remember..I will ponder…I will meditate.”  He looks backward to see a way out of the darkness. He focuses on the parting of the Red Sea. Israel, like this man, could see no way out. In front of them lay the sea. Behind them lay the Egyptian army. Listen to the words of the Israelites as they stood on the shore:

When Pharaoh drew near, the people of Israel lifted up their eyes, and behold, the Egyptians were marching after them, and they feared greatly. And the people of Israel cried out to the LORD. They said to Moses, “Is it because there are no graves in Egypt that you have taken us away to die in the wilderness? What have you done to us in bringing us out of Egypt? Is not this what we said to you in Egypt: ‘Leave us alone that we may serve the Egyptians’? For it would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the wilderness.” (Exodus 14:10-12)

Moses we are going to die here. God has forgotten us. Where is God’s  mercy now? We told you to let us be. Despair. Darkness. Death. Now hear the words of Moses:

And Moses said to the people, “Fear not, stand firm, and see the salvation of the LORD, which he will work for you today. For the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall never see again. The LORD will fight for you, and you have only to be silent.” (Exodus 14:13-14)

And that is exactly what happened. God saved Israel. The writer of Psalm 77 looked back to that great event and found courage, peace, and hope. He remembered the power of God, how even the great waters could not withstand Him. He remembered that the Lord made a path through the sea. He remembered that the armies of Pharaoh were drowned and their bodies washed up on the shore (Exodus 14:30-31).

Why could the author of the Psalm do this? Why could he look back to an event hundreds of years earlier and find hope? Because God does not change. He is in the business of delivering his people. He always has been. We do not know what was wrong when the Psalmist wrote this. Nor do we know how or when God delivered the Psalmist from his “day of trouble.” But we know that God did deliver him because he always does.

In our times of darkness, whether they are personal or corporate, we look back to a greater exodus, a greater deliverance. We look back to the cross and there we are reminded, “He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?” (Romans 8:32).  We are reminded that God so loved us that he gave his only begotten Son to die on our behalf. We are reminded that Jesus endured the cross, despising the shame so we might be sons of glory (Hebrews 2:10). As the Psalmist crawled back to the Red Sea and the God who saved Israel there, we need to crawl back to the cross. When darkness comes we need to meditate upon God’s “mighty deeds” and ponder His strength and works. We need to remember His “wonders of old.” For He does not change. He redeemed Israel. He will redeem us. He cast down Pharaoh. He will cast down our enemies. He led Israel to the promise land. He will guide us to green pastures and still waters. This does not mean that your life will be perfect, you will be rich and healthy. It just means that in then end all will be well.

For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us (Rom 8:18).

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April 26, 2016

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I John, Jesus, Obedience

Do Not Confuse Morality with Righteousness

Good Clean Living

I John is heavy on obedience. Frequently John tells us that if we claim to know God and believe in Christ then we must obey God’s commandments (I John 2:4, 3:22, 5:3).  When we read these verses we often think of being moral. We think of not getting drunk, refusing to cuss, not fornicating, or being generally a nice person.

But John has a different idea in mind. For him righteousness, obeying the commandments of God, means conformity to Jesus Christ. We see this specifically in two places, but it is woven throughout the epistle. In I John 2:6 John says that anyone who says he abides in God must walk as he walked. Anyone who claims to be a Christian must walk as Jesus walked. In John 3:7 he says that he who practices righteousness is righteous just as he is righteous. Righteousness is defined by Jesus.  This is important for us because there are many good people in the world. There are Muslims, Mormons, and atheists who all live clean, moral lives. They are faithful to their wives. They do good in the community. They are hard workers. So if we define “righteousness” as good clean living then there are a lot of pagans who fit.  The Bible however defines righteousness as Jesus. There will be some overlap of course. There are many things good people will do or not do that correspond with righteous living.  But there is a world of difference between being moral and being righteous.

A Righteous Man Worships God

Perhaps most important is that righteousness is about worshiping God. Being righteous means we obey the first four commandments.  We have no other gods, except Yahweh. We do not worship idols. We do not take his name in vain. We rest so that we might worship him. It is impossible to be righteous without worshiping God. Perhaps this is why I John ends the way it does (I John 5:21).

A Righteous Man Believes in Jesus Christ

In I John 3:23 John commands us to believe on the name of Jesus Christ. A man can be good in some sense without trusting in Jesus, but he cannot be righteous. He cannot be obedient to God if he does not believe in Jesus Christ. Belief in Jesus Christ is the foundation of a righteous life. Without faith in Christ a man is not righteous. By the way, this also means that a righteous man calls upon others to believe in Christ.

A Righteous Man Confesses His Sins

John begins his letter, which is so heavy on obeying, with a reminder that we are sinners and we need to confess our sins (I John 1:8-2:3). Confession of sin is essential to righteous living. A righteous man wants to be more like Christ. When he isn’t he repents of his sins and flees to the Advocate (I John 2:1). Here again is a great dividing line between good, moral living and being righteous. Moral men do not confess their sins. They may admit they made mistakes and did something wrong, but they do not confess that they have sinned. Righteous men do.

A Righteous Man is Concerned about His Heart, Not Just His Actions

Morality is concerned primarily about outward behavior. We must be careful here, a righteous man will be concerned about outward behavior. Learning to be more like Christ and confessing our sins when we aren’t will result in concrete action. We cannot just be righteous in our hearts. This is clear throughout the whole Bible. Even if we only look at Ephesians 4:25-5:7 we see that we shouldn’t lie, steal, fornicate, sin in our anger, etc. Anyone who defines righteousness as primarily internal is going against God’s Word. But when we define righteousness as primarily external then we sin the other direction. We are equating morality with righteousness. A righteous man knows that failing to love is like murder (I John 3:14-15). Murder is murder, but so is hate, which is internal. A righteous man knows that lust is adultery (Matthew 5:28). Adultery is adultery, but so is lust. A righteous man knows that coveting is idolatry (Ephesians 5:5). Idolatry is idolatry, but so is coveting. The righteous man understands that who he is on the inside matters as much as what he does on the outside.  A moral man does not understand this.

Taking all of these together we  can see that righteousness, as defined by the Bible, cannot be equated with good, clean living or being moral. There will be some overlap between the two, especially in certain outward actions. But righteousness is vertical.  It requires worship and belief in  God and His Son Jesus Christ. Righteousness is conformity to Christ. It requires confession when conformity is lacking. Righteousness is internal. It requires an inner spiritual life that focuses on movement of the heart and mind toward God, as well as what we do with our hands, feet, eyes, and mouth.

Morality is not righteousness. When John tells us that we need to obey the commandments of God we need to see a picture of Jesus, not a picture of a good, upstanding, moral citizen.

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April 20, 2016

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Jesus, Reformed Theology

Ten Quotes: Knowing Christ by Mark Jones

Knowing ChristI really enjoyed Mark Jones’ book Knowing Christ. My christology, in particular my understanding of Christ’s humanity, was greatly aided by this book. His extensive use of the Puritans was an added benefit. I also enjoyed that Jones doesn’t treat Christ like an object to be studied, but like a wonderful Savior, Lord, and King. He often breaks out in doxology. I will be referring to it often and it has been a great help as I preach through Hebrews. I highly recommend the book. Here are ten of my favorite quotes from this book. Everything below is a quote from the book, though I only blocked out every other quote.

Keeping the law with the “whole heart” [a reference to Psalm 119:34] may be understood legally or evangelically. In a legal sense, only Christ loved God with his whole heart because the law requires perfect conformity, which we are unable to give. Nonetheless, in an evangelical sense, God, out of his love and mercy in Christ, enables us to love him with our whole heart.

Redemption, which we have only through Christ, is still inferior compared with the worth and glory of his person.

The Christian grace of humility begins by imitating the incarnation of the Son of God.

The eternal God infallibly knows all things past, present, and future. He knows himself perfectly. Not only does he perfectly know all things that he has created, including his decree of events yet to happen, but also he has perfect knowledge  of things outside of his decree. In other works, he knows things that are possible, things which could be wrought by his power, but will lie wrapped up in darkness to any human or angel.

Christ’s obedience in our place needed to be real obedience from a man. Jesus did not ‘cheat’ by relying on his divine nature while he acted as the second Adam.

Not expressing anger in the presence of injustice is not a sign of godliness, but rather of moral weakness. As Warfield claims: ‘The emotions of indignation and anger belong…to the very self-expression of a moral being as such and cannot be lacking to him in the presence of wrong.’ Christ always had the ‘mind of God’. Jesus thought God’s thoughts after him. Accordingly, the very things that cause God anger inevitably enraged Jesus while on earth, such as wilful hard-hearted unbelief expressed by his own people.

Nothing should keep our minds busier on earth than this great reality: the Holy One of God was declared unholy, so that unholy sinners might stand unblemished before a holy God.

If our sins are forgiven, then nothing else really matters in this world. This is the blessing that distinguishes the Christian religion from all others. Sinners are freely forgiven by a merciful God through the sin-bearing death of Christ on the cross. Such is the greatest mercy we can receive from his hand, and every other mercy is judgment if it is not accompanied by such pardon.

Possessing an appetite for the deep mysteries of the gospel is the sign of healthy soul, and teachers must bring God’s people into a deep acquaintance with these precious truths. The intercession of Christ is a doctrine that Christians cannot afford to be ignorant about, considering how many comforting truths arise from Christ’s heavenly ministry. [The chapter on Christ’s Intercession was one of my favorites.]

No one knows the wrath of God like the Son of God. After all, the Lamb of God was roasted in the fire of God’s wrath; he was in the fiery furnace during the three hours of darkness at Golgotha. God’s people, as a result, have Christ’s entire garment upon them…There are important implications to these truths. First, most people are not clothed with Christ’s garment, and the fire of hell will certainly singe them for all eternity. Second, Christ, who experienced the wrath of God, will also execute his wrath upon all the ungodly. One would have to excise a large part of the Scriptures to deny this truth.

And One:

For Christians, the closest (and best) picture we have of Christ while pilgrims on earth is that in the elements of the bread and wine given to us in the Lord’s Supper-the elements we view by sight, but which are ultimately of no use unless received by faith. The joy of communing with our risen Savior in the sacrament does not come through pictures, but in the blessing of a faith-filled observance.

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February 17, 2016

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Jesus, Scripture

Jesus & The Bible

Jesus is not the Bible. We do not bow down to the book on the table, as if it contains Jesus. However, we cannot find Jesus outside of the Bible. For humans, God has given us the Scriptures as the only way we know Jesus. Jesus is in Heaven and we can pray to Him there. But we cannot hear the voice of Christ outside of the Scriptures. We cannot know Christ’s character outside of what read in the Scriptures. How do we know the work in our lives is the Spirit of Christ and not the Devil? The Bible.  The Bible is where we find Jesus. There is no Jesus in church tradition unless He is the Jesus of the Bible. There is no Jesus in your heart unless He is the Jesus of the Bible. The preacher is not preaching Jesus unless he is preaching the Jesus of the Bible. When someone believes they can find Jesus outside of the Scriptures they have left the anchor of God’s Word for either a church tradition, whether written (Roman Catholic) or spoken (celebrity preacher) or some personal experience where they met or heard Jesus. If we seek to find and follow Christ outside of the Scriptures we have shifted the foundation for our worship of Christ and walk with Christ from the words of God to the words of men.

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February 17, 2016

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Jesus, Sanctification, Sexual Immorality

Getting It

In Dr. Schaumburg’s book Undefiled there is an appendix that sums up one of the most glaring errors in modern evangelical culture. I have seen the error he addresses in my own life and my church. I have read it in books, heard it in sermons, and to my shame probably preached it. Dr. Schaumburg is explaining what the difference is between people who “get it” and people who don’t. What is the difference between a couple who comes to him for counseling and they see real, life changing fruit and a couple who doesn’t? Read carefully what he says here. I have bolded certain sentences and phrases. The ellipsis is mine, as are the brackets. All other punctuation is his.

I usually see one major reason why people come [to counseling] for help with sexual sin, and two types of responses. Generally speaking, everyone who comes has in mind the pressing need to change a behavior, end an affair, and/or save a marriage. Therein lies the basic problem in getting it. We often focus on the external-the behavior and the pain-rather than the internal. What seems like a logical center of attention is filled with flawed thinking and the pervasive false teaching within the evangelical church. This leads many to spend their energy and their entire lives on “living life well.” Therefore when an affair, pornography, or some other type of sexual sin is uncovered, it threatens the goal of living an abundant, fulfilling Christian life. It prevents us from having a meaningful marriage and guarantees endless pain. The response is to do whatever must be done to recover the abundant life and get the marriage back on track. It’s just common sense-but is it biblical thinking? 

If we are biblically grounded we will start from an entirely different perspective: “Our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ” (Philippians 3:20; see Ephesians 2:19). The opposite and powerful perspective described above[previous paragraph] comes from “minds set on earthly things” (Philippians 3:19). The biblical understanding of life centers on the essential internal change that leads to life (Philippians 3:21) versus the temporal change that will fail and lead to death. Repentance is not an emotional response to sin. It is much more than behavior management or a matter of being in recovery. It is a genuine heart change that always produces a life of righteousness. God’s redemptive grace requires a person’s responsive obedience. Repentance is a radical inward change that results in everything else beginning to change. Repentance always bears fruit as the work of God continues and we live out our lives in a manner “worthy of the gospel of Christ” (Philippians 1:27)…repentance is not merely new behavior. Repentance is inward change leading to the fruit of new behavior. It is imperative that we understand that Jesus demands this inward change [Luke 13:3]. 

So why do some people “get it”  while others don’t? Most come desperate to change a behavior, possibly save a marriage, and certainly stop the pain, but many never truly repent with an internal change of mind and heart. They leave with a false hope based on mere sorrow for their sin, a commitment to change their behavior, and a new desire to find real intimacy in their marriage. Those singles and couples die, while those who shift their perspective to their desperate need of inward change live. The former leave dependent on their good efforts; the latter leave dependent on the continued work of God. They cling to God in fear and trembling, with a desire to “walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called.” (Ephesians 4:1; see Colossians 1:10, 2:6-7). 

These paragraphs sum up well what a true gospel message does. It begins with the inner man, not outward change. It causes us to see that our greatest need is not to fix our lives, but to fix ourselves. We cannot do this. Therefore we must repent and flee to Christ. As we cling to Christ he gives us grace and power to fight the sin in our hearts, which leads to outward righteous behavior. But if we begin with trying to fix our lives, our marriages, our children, our jobs, our… then we will fail. Unfortunately most evangelicals approach God like his goal is make our lives good and the Bible is there to tell us how to have a successful Christian life. There are blessings that come with obedience. But the goal should be obedience that comes from a change in heart, mind, and will. The goal should not be using God and the Bible to make our lives better.