Joel's Prophecy of the Spirit

It’s been a cold and blizzard-filled Sunday for us here in Michigan (Feb 10). We made it half of our 30 mile ride to church this morning and had to stop four times right in the middle of the highway because we could not see where we were going. So we turned around and came back home. It’s been kind of a slow day, but has given us some time to read and write.

We’ve been looking at the book of Joel for the last couple of posts. One of the things that has struck me is that God makes specific promises to the nation of Israel. After the immediate discipline of God by means of locusts, God promises restoration and peace. Some of those promises were obviously not for immediate fulfillment.

Consider specifically Joel 2:28: “And it shall come to pass afterward that I will pour out My Spirit on all flesh; your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions. And also on My menservants and on My maidservants I will pour out My Spirit in those days.”

On the day of Pentecost, Peter referred to the outpouring of the Spirit about which he said, “This is what was spoken by the prophet Joel.” (Acts 2:16) An interesting question is whether the events of that day are the fulfillment of Joel’s prophecy. I don’t see how it can be since Joel continues to describe events, which Peter also quotes, that didn’t take place. Joel speaks of wonders in heaven above, the sun turning to darkness and the moon to blood. These obviously didn’t take place on the day of Pentecost. What I think Peter means is that this Holy Spirit that came upon the church on the day of Pentecost is that same Spirit which the prophet Joel is talking about. The literal fulfillment of the prophecy with the signs in the heavens is yet to occur.

More next time.

More thoughts on Joel

Throughout the book of Joel, God is challenging His people to repent and turn back to Him. He has sent a plague of locusts and other “natural” disasters to get their attention. God’s promise to His people is that He would restore what the locusts have eaten. In chapter 2:26 He says, “You shall eat in plenty and be satisfied, and praise the name of the Lord your God, who has dealt wondrously with you; and My people shall never be put to shame.”

One of the things we need to ask ourselves is, “Who are these people?” In my opinion there is a tendency today to take what the Bible says, especially in the Old Testament and spiritualize it to the Church. There are definitely spiritual lessons that are to be learned in the Old Testament. Romans 15:4 for example says, “For whatever things were written before were written for our learning, that we through the patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope.”

However, I believe that the promises given specifically to the nation of Israel are their promises. So the promise quoted above about not putting His people to shame is a promise to Israel. In fact verse 27 says, “Then you shall know that I am in the midst of Israel; I am the Lord your God and there is no other. My people shall never be put to shame.”

The locusts attacked the land of Israel and God’s promise of blessing was also made to them. I think one would have to conclude that the promise that His people would never be put to shame has not come to pass yet. That’s why many Christians look for a literal future establishment of the nation of Israel under the rule of Christ.

More on Joel

Well, the snow is piling up again in Michigan. Yesterday was a very tricky driving day here, but God granted us safety in our travels.

I’m looking this morning at Joel 2. Joel’s theme is “The Day of the Lord” throughout this small book. Chapter one had talked about the locusts and the devastation that brought to the land. In chapter two it seems as though he is talking about an army, but I suspect he is still referring to the locusts. There are so many that they just come in swarms going up into the houses through the windows and attacking whatever is in front of them. But these creatures have a commander – the Lord. Verse 11 says, “The Lord utters his voice at the head of his army; how vast is his host! Numberless are those who obey his command. Truly the day of the Lord is great; terrible indeed—who can endure it?”

Just as in the first chapter, there is a call to repentance. “Return to me with all your heart,” the Lord says. He calls for all the people both young and old, even the infants, to be gathered together for an assembly. The bride and bridegroom should halt their preparations and celebrations and come to this assembly. What is the purpose of this meeting? To cry out to the Lord to spare His people. It’s interesting that here, just as in many other places in Scripture, the plea to God is that He not make his people a mockery so that people will say, “Where is their God?”

God responds to this prayer and shows pity on the people. He promises rain and food and plenty as He restores what has been destroyed by the plague. In addition to the physical healing of the land, God promises a spiritual work. We’ll look at that next time.

The lesson for us as men who desire to be faithful, is that we need to learn to have a repentant heart. When God disciplines and chastens us, we need to respond with humility and God-honoring repentance.

Thoughts on Joel

As I mentioned several weeks ago, when my daily Bible reading brought me to the Minor Prophets, I decided to slow down and give more thought to my reading since I have not paid much attention to this section in the past.

In the book of Joel, the theme seems to be “The Day of the Lord” since that phrase is repeated 5 times in this one little book. There are only 19 occurrences of the phrase in the whole Bible.

Chapter one talks about a swarm of locusts that has decimated the land having stripped virtually all green things from the landscape. Everyone is mourning the destruction and famine that has resulted from this calamity.

As a result of this, Joel’s call is to “Gird yourselves and lament, you priests; wail, you who minister before the altar; for the grain offering and the drink offering are withheld from the house of your God.”

I appreciate the fact that there is concern for the worship of God in the midst of the starvation that is coming to the people generally. Because of the famine, there are no grain or drink offerings for the Lord. “Joy and gladness are cut off from the house of our God.” This makes me ask myself what level of passion I have for the worship of the Lord. Would I be as concerned about the fact that proper offerings weren’t available as I was about whether I had the food and drink I needed for my own life?

One other observation occurred to me in this chapter from verse 18. “How the animals groan! Even the flocks of sheep suffer punishment.” It reminds me of the passage in Romans 8:19 which says, “For the earnest expectation of the creation eagerly waits for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it in hope, because the creation itself also will be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation groans and labors with birth pangs together until now.”

The judgment of God is upon sin even now, and the plant and animal kingdom is not immune from the curse even though it was caused by our transgressing the commandment of God.

More thoughts on Joel next time.

The Super Bowl and Scripture

I'm not a sports fan and so don't have a lot to say about the Super Bowl, but over at the Shepherds Press blog there are a couple of posts on the importance of guarding your heart and teaching your children to guard their hearts while watching the Super Bowl and listening to all the hype surrounding it. A faithful man will want to do all he can to protect himself and his family from cultural influences that might negatively affect their spiritual lives. It's an encouraging read.

Jesus Christ our Representative

I have some things I want to write about the book of Joel, having just read it recently, but for now I think I’ll continue our thinking from the previous post related to the book of Joshua.

In verse 3 of chapter 1, God says to Joshua, “Every place that the sole of your foot will tread upon I have give you, as I said to Moses.” God obviously isn’t promising the land of Canaan to Joshua only. He is promising it to the whole nation, but He is giving it to them through a representative who claims it for the people.

Now before you go on, if you haven’t read the previous posts it would be a good idea to do that. These incidents we are looking at in the conquest of Canaan is not just history lesson. There is a practical application and picture for us who are Christians. Look back over the previous lessons to see that Jordan and Canaan are not pictures of death and heaven as is usually thought, but of living a blessed and victorious life for Christ.

Just as Joshua was given the promised land as a representative of the people, so Jesus Christ was given all blessings as our representative. It’s not a matter of imposing more law upon ourselves, but a matter of believing what has already been done and given.

We’re not going to be able to study this in detail, but look at the book of Ephesians as an example. Ephesians 1:3 says we have been blessed with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ. Notice the phrase “in Christ”. Every spiritual blessing has been given us. That means nothing is lacking.

Consider the following verse in Ephesians:

1:4 chosen us in Him

1:6 accepted in Him

1:7 redemption in Him

1:11 we have obtained an inheritance in Him

2:5 made alive with Christ

2:6 raised us up with Him

2:7 God is kind to us in Him

This can make a very profitable study for someone who wants to dig a little to work it all out. Christ’s righteousness and death and resurrection are all attributed to us by faith. We are already in a position of victory whether we feel like it or not. We need to accept and believe what God has given us in Christ and live our lives in light of those truths.

The Law Does Not Bring Victory

We’ve been having a snowy day here in Michigan. I work for a school and today is the third snow day we’ve had this week. The kids love it, but the slippery roads are starting to wear on me.

As I write these blog entries, I’m moving along a couple of different lines. I’m teaching the book of Joshua in Sunday School, and my regular Bible reading and meditation is taking me through the minor prophets and the book of Hebrews so I’m being overwhelmed with more things to think about than I can write about. I’m trying to use this blog as an opportunity to put my thoughts into words so that others can hopefully be encouraged and motivated to study the Scriptures and learn so as to be increasingly faithful in the Christian life.

Today I’m going to add a couple of thoughts that come from the Joshua study. As the book of Joshua opens, verse 2 says, “Moses My servant is dead. Now therefore, arise, go over this Jordan, you and all this people.” You’ll have to read back over the last couple of posts to understand what crossing over the Jordan pictures.

It strikes me as interesting that Moses dies and Joshua is commissioned with the responsibility. I don’t want to put too much emphasis on the potential symbolism of this because we know that Moses was not allowed to enter because of his disobedience. But it is interesting to me that Moses is associated with the law and Joshua, which is another name for Jesus, represents the Savior.

John 1:17 says, “For the law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.” There are a multitude of Christians who believe that trying to live by the law is the path to living a victorious Christian life. It turns out that according to Scripture this is not true at all.

I Corinthians 15:56 tells us that the law gives sin its power. Paul, in his letter to the Romans says the same thing. In Romans 7:8 he writes, “But sin, taking opportunity by the commandment, produced in me all manner of evil desire. For apart from the law sin was dead.”

He tells us later that it is not the law that brought death, but it was sin that did so. The law is spiritual and it is good, he tells us. However, the fact still remains that law gives sin its power. Therefore, bringing more law into your life does not increase the level of spiritual victory in your life. The scripture provides a completely different answer. Developing this will take several more postings, but for now suffice it to say that the victory is in a person – the Lord Jesus Christ. Just as the promises were given to Joshua and were to be accepted by faith, so everything we need spiritually was given to Christ and we claim them by faith through Him.

Alan Redpath, in his book Victorious Christian Living, describes it this way: "A Christian does not work his way up to victory, but down from it."

God's Goal -- Victory & Peace

Last time I began a series which discusses Joshua and the Promised Land as a metaphor for victorious Christian living. I’m working through this series with my adult Sunday School class. It is based on a book called “Victorious Christian Living” by Alan Redpath.

Last time we noted that the Jordan River and the Promised Land should not be looked at so much as a picture of death and heaven but as a picture of the Christian life with all of its success and victory along with the struggles and defeats that are often present in this life.

One of the things that is important to see is that it was always God’s purpose for the Israelites to free them from bondage and to bring them in to the land of Canaan. (Exodus 3:7,8) It had been God’s promise to Abraham centuries earlier. (Genesis 13:14-17)

It was never God’s perfect will to have them wander in the wilderness for 40 years. Hebrews 3:18, 19 says, “And to whom did He swear that they would not enter His rest, but to those who did not obey? So we see that they could not enter in because of unbelief.”

God’s purpose for us today includes living a life of victory and blessing, not one of disobedience and defeat. So many times we end up wandering in the wilderness because we don’t believe God and live lives that are obedient to Him. Hebrews 4:9 tells us that “there remains therefore a rest for the people of God. For he who has entered His rest has himself also ceased from his works as God did from His.”

Joshua and the Victorious Life

The story of Joshua taking over leadership of the nation of Israel from Jordan and then leading the people across the Jordon River makes a great illustration of the victorious Christian life. Many people, including innumerable hymn writers use the picture of the crossing over Jordan into Canaan as a metaphor for death and entering into heaven. The problem with this is that in Canaan the people were yet to be confronted with numerous foes and battles to be faught.

The book of Hebrews in the New Testament refers to this incident in entirely different terms. In chapter 3 verse 17 he writes, “And with whom was he provoked for forty years? Was it not with those who sinned, whose bodies fell in the wilderness? And to whom did he swear that they should not enter his rest, but to those who were disobedient? So we see that they were unable to enter because of unbelief.”

So it was because of unbelief that the people of Israel were not able to enter into the promised land. Chapter 4 verse 1 continues, “Therefore, while the promise of entering his rest still stands, let us fear lest any of you should seem to have failed to reach it.”

I’ll continue from verse 9, “So then, there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God, for whoever has entered God’s rest has also rested from his works as God did from his. Let us therefore strive to enter that rest….”

We’ll follow this up in some future posts and see where this leads us. But for now, we need to realize that God is at rest. He worked six days to create the world and rested the seventh day. There is a promise available to Christians to enter into God’s rest. God is not working and fretting over the world situation today. He is at rest – at peace. That rest and peace is available to each of us Christians. Have you entered into it?

Another Lesson from Hezekiah

If you’ve been following this blog for a couple of weeks, you know that I have been meditating on and writing about some of my reading in the Old Testament. Specifically I’ve been considering some of the lessons to be learned from Hezekiah’s life. According to 2 Kings 18:3 he did what was right in the sight of the Lord, according to all that his father David had done. In verse 5 we read that he trusted in the Lord God of Israel, so that after him was none like him among all the kings of Judah, nor who were before him. And in verse 7, the Lord was with him; he prospered wherever he went.

Given his character, it’s interesting to me that when the king of Assyria came against him, he basically tried to bribe the king not to attack. He gave him all the silver that was found in the temple including the gold off of the doors!

It didn’t do a bit of good because in verse 17 the king came back and threatened to besiege the city. To me this is a picture of our attempts to make a deal with sin. We somehow believe that if we pay Satan or sin a “small” payment, we’ll be free from further attack. But the reverse is true. Satan comes back with greater fury and takes us for everything we have.

For all of Hezekiah’s righteous living, he wasn’t able to pass on this trait to his son. Was this act of compromise one of the first steps down the wrong road? Ken comments more on this in his blog here.

Satan's Counterfeits

The other day, Steve Camp wrote about pride and presumption when discussing how the contemporary church embraces worldliness. He posted a sermon by Spurgeon on cautioning the presumptuous. The first paragraph of Spurgeon’s sermon gave me something to think about that I had never considered before. It goes like this:

It is a singular fact, but nevertheless most certain, that the vices are the counterfeits of virtues. Whenever God sends from the mint of heaven a precious coin of genuine metal, Satan will imitate the impress, and utter a vile production of no value. God gives love; it is his nature and his essence. Satan also fashioneth a thing which he calls love, but it is lust. God bestows courage; and it is a good thing to be able to look one's fellow in the face, fearless of all men in doing our duty. Satan inspires fool-hardiness, styles it courage, and bids the man rush to the cannon's mouth for "bubble reputation." God creates in man holy fear. Satan gives him unbelief, and we often mistake the one for the other. So with the best of virtues, the saving grace of faith, when it comes to its perfection it ripens into confidence, and there is nothing so comfortable and so desirable to the Christian, as the full assurance of faith. Hence, we find Satan, when he sees this good coin, at once takes the metal of the bottomless pit, imitates the heavenly image and superscription of assurance, and palms upon us the vice of presumption. (See the entire article here: http://stevenjcamp.blogspot.com/2008/01/pride-and-presumption-of-men-upon-grace.html

I had been preparing a lesson on Joshua and God’s challenge to him to be courageous when I read this sermon. It’s important to realize that God gave Joshua divine courage to face the upcoming battles and not Satan’s counterfeit fool-hardiness. May we be men of true God-ordained courage as we live our lives for Christ.

Study in Joshua

Last Sunday I started a series in Sunday School based on the book of Joshua. Much of the material comes from book called, “Victorious Christian Living – Studies in the Book of Joshua” by Alan Redpath. I believe the book is out of print, but one can find used copies through Amazon here.

Each week that I teach, I add to the outline and prepare study notes to be used by the adult class. If you’re interested in this material or in following along, you can find these materials as well as mp3 files of the lessons at the Faithful Men website. I’ll be posting some of the more important insights here on this blog along with the other things that I’m thinking about in other areas.

(The Sunday School class is a ministry of Faith Baptist Church in Mattawan, Michigan)

Are We Provoking God?

My Bible reading schedule has me going through 2 Kings about the same time that I’m in Hosea. I think I mentioned this before, but I decided to slow down in the minor prophets so that I could spend more time thinking about the lessons to be learned there. Hosea evidently was written before the events of 2 Kings 17 where the fall of Israel is described. I think chapters 17 through about 19 or 20 would be worthwhile reading for us anytime.

These chapters describe the fall of Israel to the Assyrians and the reasons for it. To summarize the problem: Israel had sinned, feared other gods and walked in the customs of the nations who the Lord had sent Israel to drive out. They set up for themselves places for false worship. They practiced the very abominations that were the cause of God’s judgment on the nations. God had warned Israel “by every prophet and every seer, saying, ‘Turn from your evil ways and keep my commandments and my statutes.’”

But they would not listen, but were stubborn as their fathers had been. God says that they went after false idols and became false. (vs 15) In almost every line of this chapter it says that they did something which God had explicitly told them not to do.

God addresses this in the New Testament for our benefit as well. In Ephesians 5:4ff we read,, “Let there be no filthiness nor foolish talk nor crude joking, which are out of place, but instead let there be thanksgiving. For you may be sure of this, that everyone who is sexually immoral or impure, or who is covetous (that is, an idolater), has no inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God. Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience. Therefore do not associate with them.”

Let’s make sure we are not provoking God by doing the very things He has commanded us not to do like the people of Israel had done so long ago.

God's Righteousness Demonstrated

I’ve just finished working my way through Hosea and I’ve decided that it’s almost like seeing into the heart of God as He pleads with Israel and Judah to return unto Him. The punishments and judgment that He brings come not because He is vengeful but because of the righteousness of His character. He demonstrates the fact that He wants to save them, but they refuse that salvation.

In 13:9 for example it reads, “O Israel, you are destroyed, but your help is from Me. I will be your King; where is any other that he may save you in all your cities? I gave you a king in My anger, and took him away in My wrath.”

In chapter 14 he pleads with them, “O Israel, return to the Lord your God, for you have stumbled because of your iniquity; Take words with you and return to the Lord. Say to Him, ‘Take away all iniquity; receive us graciously, for we will offer the sacrifices of our lips. Assyria will not save us, we will not ride on horses, nor will we say anymore to the work of our hands, “You are our gods.” For in you the fatherless finds mercy.’”

God is basically telling them the kind of words He wants to hear from them in true repentance. Obviously He doesn’t just want to hear those words repeated with no truth behind them, but this is the attitude He wants to hear from them. He is telling them these things at the same time that He is threatening and sending judgment upon them.

All of this reminds me of the New Testament verse that says, “God is not willing that any should perish.” (2 Peter 3:9) or the one that says, “God would have all men to be saved and come to a knowledge of the truth.” (I Timothy 2:4) God does not delight in the death of the wicked. (Ezekiel 33:11)

In spite of Israel’s sin and rebellion God shows mercy and grace. Hosea 14:4ff, “I will heal their backsliding, I will love them freely, for My anger has turned away from him.”

May we recognize God’s work of grace in our own lives for just as Israel sinned and rebelled, so have we. But the offer of grace and mercy is continuously there. “If we confess our sins he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (I John 1:9)

Keeping the Lions Away

If you didn’t read or can’t remember the previous post on 2 Kings 17, go back and read it a moment before continuing.

Another thing that strikes me about this incident is that the people who were trying to find out how to serve the Lord properly were basically just trying to get the lions to leave them alone. They were not really God’s chosen people. God had not rescued them from Egypt and guided them through the wilderness and given them the promises and commandments. He had given it to His people Israel who had just been exiled.

These people then tried to adopt enough of the right principles of worship, added to their own religious system to get them past the difficulties that the lions had brought to their villages.

Sometimes I think this is what’s happening in much evangelicalism today. People hear some watered down version of the gospel that doesn’t involve repentance or believing faith. They hear how God loves them and how He can help them have a more fulfilled life and so they pick up some of the routines and rituals of the worship of God and add this to the rest of their habits of life and think that things are going to be fine. They’re trying to keep the lions at bay.

But it doesn’t work. God will not share His glory with another. The passage in 2 Kings 36ff reads like this: “but the Lord, who brought you up from the land of Egypt with great power and outstretched arm, Him you shall fear, Him you shall worship, and to Him you shall offer sacrifice. And the statutes, the ordinances, the law, and the commandment which He wrote for you, you shall be careful to observer forever; you shall not fear other gods. And the covenant that I have made with you, you shall not forget, nor shall you fear other gods. But the Lord your God you shall fear; and He will deliver you from the hand of all your enemies.”

Distinctive Living

There is an interesting story told in 2 Kings 17. The children of Israel had been forcibly removed from their country and hauled off to Assyria. The Assyrian leadership then resettled the area with their own people. But Scripture says that God sent lions among them because the people did not fear the Lord. The new settlers were wise enough to realize what was going on and so they sent back to the king to tell him what was going on. In response, the king sent one of Israel’s priests back to teach the people how to worship the Lord.

What happened next is interesting and instructive. Verse 29 says, “However every nation continued to make gods of its own, and put them in the shrines on the high places which the Samaritans had made.” Verse 33 says, “They feared the Lord, yet served their own gods—according to the rituals of the nations from among whom they were carried away.”

Are we guilty of this at all? We live as Christians within a milieu (look it up) of other religions, philosophies and cultures. In how many ways have we adopted the beliefs of the people among whom we dwell? How difficult is it for us to live distinctive lives regardless of what those around us think? How difficult is it for us to raise children who are able to stand alone like Daniel and his three friends did and say, “We will not bow to your gods. We will do what the Lord our God has told us to do?”

I think we need to give more thought to our distinctiveness and God’s requirement of obedience to and focus on Him alone.

Goals for the New Year

I trust that as you look back on the previous year you see it as a year of growth in your walk with the Lord and faithfulness to Him.

Sometimes we work too hard at trying to figure out what is involved in living the Christian life when the basic disciplines are pretty consistent from generation to generation: pray, read the Bible, memorize it, meditate on it and reach out to others in evangelism and discipleship. As we enter a new year, I think these are the things that need to be moved back to the center of our Christian life.

Reading

One of the things that many Christians think about this time of year is the opportunity to read the Bible through in the year. One of my friends mentioned the idea of having the daily Bible reading emailed to us so that we could read it that way. I’ve checked into that a little bit and have found two sites that will do that.

The first one can be found at http://www.bibleplan.org/

This plan provides several different Bible versions to choose from and also provides several different plans. This website makes the following statement: “Choose and combine plans to meet your needs and time schedule. For example, combining the OT in two years with the NT on weekdays is only 2 chapters each day, yet allows you to read the NT every year, and the OT every two years.” The thing I like about this is that the plan is flexible enough to allow one to read through the Bible in a longer period of time than a year.

The other site is http://www.bibleinayear.org/

This site also provides various translations and a method to track your progress on line. I think either plan would work for those who do most of their reading and writing on computer.

Memorizing

A scripture memory program that I found helpful was the topical memory system by The Navigators. I think their program has changed some and so I have provided the original topics and list of verses on the Faithful Men website here: http://www.faithful-men.org/resources/memory/memory.htm My goal this year is to review this whole set of verses. It’s been over 15 years since I actively memorized it. I have all the topics listed along with the verse references. I’ve been typing in the verses with links to them, but that part of the project isn’t finished yet.

If any of you want to comment on how you make good spiritual habits a part of your life, that would be great and helpful to all who read this blog.

God Fights For Us

For some time now I’ve chosen a verse to focus on during each month. I do this so that I have a focus for my meditation during the month and also so that I can encourage you with something from Scripture. The verse I’ve chosen for this month is 2 Chronicles 32:7, 8 which reads:

Be strong and courageous; do not be afraid nor dismayed before the king of Assyria, nor before all the multitude that is with him; for there are more with us than with him. With him is an arm of flesh; but with us is the Lord our God to help us and to fight our battles.

Even though these verses have immediate historical context with the king of Assyria being the enemy, I think we can be encouraged by applying the truth of this passage in whatever enemy we face. God has committed himself to defend His people. For example, He has promised not to allow us to be tempted above what we are able to endure. The battle is completely within our Lord’s control. Hopefully that thought can be an encouragement to you today.

Our Love -- Fickle or Enduring?

Why is it that we’re so fickle and our love for God seems to be short-lived? I was reading in Hosea 6 this morning and read what sounded like encouraging words. “Come, let us return to the Lord; for he has torn us, that he may heal us…After two days he will revive us; on the third day he will raise us up, that we may live before him.”

This almost has a modern ring to it. We’ll repent, the Lord will fix everything in two or three days and we’ll be fine. God’s response though shows the true nature of things. “What shall I do with you? Your love is like a morning cloud, like the dew that goes early away.” Our love is there in the morning, but by midday it is gone. We’ve moved on to something else. God explains in verse 6 that He wants steadfast love and not sacrifice and the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings. Both of these take endurance rather than a quick plea for God to do something and the expectation that He will jump right to it, whereas we are on to chasing other gods before the day is even half done.

I know that in my life this is pretty typical. It’s hard to remain faithful in the daily disciplines and routines that will build my faith and increase my love for God. Will it be any different today?

After Christmas -- now what!

We traveled from Michigan down to Indianapolis on Friday so that our daughter could spend some time with the man she is courting. While she was busy doing things with him, my wife and I spent some time at Walmart and Hobby Lobby looking for things that were included in the post-Christmas sale. I got kind of depressed walking the aisles looking at angels, nativity sets, decorations and trees that just a few days ago seemed bright with the coming of the much anticipated holiday. Now, they were stacked from floor to ceiling underneath signs announcing a 66% off sale. At the same time in another aisle, other workers were opening boxes of valentine cards and candies and stacking them on the shelves.

I’m so glad that the stuff is not what Christmas is about. I can see why so many people get depressed around Christmas time because they are hoping for some satisfaction in the decorations, gifts and feelings that go with it and those things all prove to be empty. What really is important, meaningful and satisfying is to realize that God Himself has visited His people. He came here as a baby, lived a perfect life and died to ransom His people. I was reading Spurgeon the other day and he was commenting on a verse that says that God remembers his people. He pointed out that God has always looked forward to having a people for His own and He came here on various occasions prior to the incarnation to promote the welfare and encouragement of specific servants of His.

Let your mind dwell on these things as the celebration of Christmas fades and our human nature begins to focus on other duties and holidays coming up.

Logic -- Is it Biblical?

I hope you each had a wonderful Christmas celebrations with your friends and families. It’s Dec 27 as I write this and my wife and daughter are out shopping and the rest of the family has gone on to visit their in-laws. I’ve got Beethoven symphonies on in the living room and it makes for a quiet day to think and write.

With the rise of post modernism, there is a tendency to question and challenge the principles of logic that was foundational to the Enlightenment and modernity. Western logic is now looked upon with suspicion and competing forms of thinking are thought to be of equal value no matter how illogical they might appear to be. It’s as though there was no logical thought before Western Civilization invented it.

As Christians we need to be careful about what we accept in the name of progress. I say this because the Bible is full of logic which, if we didn’t know better, seems to come right out of modern western thinking. For example, as I’ve been reading the Old Testament, I have noticed God’s comments about the illogical nature of idolatry.

In Psalm 135:15ff for example, “The idols of the nations are silver and gold, the work of men’s hands. They have mouths, but they do not speak; eyes they have, but do not see; they have ears, but the do not hear, nor is there any breath in their mouths. Those who make them are like them; so is everyone who trusts in them.”

Isaiah 44 tells the incident of those who take a log and out of half of it make an idol and use the other half for fire wood to warm themselves. God says in verse 19, “No one considers in his heart, nor is there knowledge nor understanding to say, ‘I have burned half of it in the fire, yes, I have also baked bread on its coals; I have roasted meat and eaten it; and shall I make the rest of it an abomination? Shall I fall down before a block of wood?’”

In the chapter in Hosea that I’ve been studying, God alludes to the same illogical practice when He says in 4:12, “My people inquire of a piece of wood, and their walking staff gives them oracles.”

God clearly sets out propositional truth in Scripture. That is, He makes statements which He claims are true and for which their opposites are false. This is all very difficult for the post-modern mind. Let’s not fall prey to its influences, but let’s stand for truth vs. error and right vs. wrong. That’s the way God’s Word assumes things to be and that’s the way we need to understand it.

A Cistern or a Fountain?

As I’ve been reading Hosea, I’ve been impressed with how long suffering God has been in light of the sins of His people. In chapter 4 He aims directly at the priests and challenges them with the fact that they are the ones responsible because they have been the leaders in Israel’s rebellion. The leadership has rejected knowledge and has forgotten the law of God. God describes His people including the priests as having a spirit of whoredom. These are pretty strong words and ones which we don’t easily use as Christians, but God is not afraid to use them.

It is so easy to abandon the truth and the true source of all life, joy and happiness and go looking to the world and its philosophies to bring us what we think we need. Do we have that spirit of whoredom that looks everywhere but to God to bring us the satisfaction our heart needs?

Jeremiah 2:13 states the situation well. “For My people have committed two evils: They have forsaken Me, the fountain of living waters, and hewn themselves cisterns – broken cisterns that can hold no water.”

In other words, we tend to forsake the fountain where life is flowing continuously and generously and then we replace that fountain with a cistern, a storage tank. So rather than a fountain that flows, we prefer something that simply holds water. But wait! It’s a broken cistern so it can’t even hold the water!

I think this is an especially good time to year to look at our lives, refocus and make sure we are looking in the right place for our satisfaction in life.

God's Faithfulness to His Unfaithful People

In Hosea 2, God, speaking as the offended husband, tells his children to plead with their mother about her prostitution. Judgment is coming if she doesn’t repent of her behavior and lifestyle. God basically says that He won’t have mercy on her or her children. Her children are under judgment because they are the offspring of her lewd behavior.

The wife gives an amazing excuse for her behavior. She says that she will go after her lovers because they provide her the bread, water, clothes and other things she needs. Isn’t that the way it is so often with us? We look to the world to provide what we think we need and often justify our sin in the process.

God’s response to this is to propose a hedge and wall to keep her from going after her lovers. She will try to find them but will not be able to and in the end will say, “I will go and return to my first husband, for it was better for me then than now.”

In explaining this God says that she did not know that it was He who gave her the grain, the wine, and the oil she needed. In other words, others were getting credit for supplying what God actually had supplied. We do the same thing, don’t we. So often we don’t acknowledge the fact that all of the good things we have and enjoy are from the hand of God. We see the world as the source and so we pursue it and the pleasures that we think come from it. All of the while, God is the one providing all of the good gifts we enjoy.

As a means of getting Israel’s attention and securing her repentance, he promises to take back the grain, wine and other things that she has enjoyed. He threatens to put a stop to the mirth and festivals that have occupied her attention.

Then comes a truly amazing scene in Chapter 2 verse 14. God says, “Therefore, behold, I will allure her, and bring her into the wilderness, and speak tenderly to her. And there I will give her her vineyards….And there she shall answer as in the days of her youth, as at the time when she came out of the land of Egypt.”

He goes on to say, “And in that day, declares the Lord, you will call me ‘My Husband,’ and no longer will you call me ‘My Baal.’” He then says, “I will betroth you to me forever. I will betroth you to me in righteousness and in justice, in steadfast love and in mercy. I will betroth you to me in faithfulness. And you shall know the Lord.” And then in verse 23, “I will sow her for myself in the land. And I will have mercy on No Mercy, and I will say to Not My People, ‘You are my people’, and he shall say, ‘You are my God.’”

What a triumphant message of grace, mercy and faithfulness on God’s part. One can’t read this and think for one moment that our salvation is our doing. God maneuvers all of the circumstances around this unfaithful wife to bring about her ultimate return, repentance and fruitfulness. In spite of her unfaithfulness, God seeks her out and sets His loving attention upon her.

Do you know God to be working in that same way on your behalf? Do you see Him hedging you in so you can't get away and then faithfully calling you to Himself?

Marry a Prostitute?

“Go marry a prostitute.” What a command from God! That is exactly what God told Hosea to do. It was to be a picture of God and Israel. Just as Hosea’s wife Gomer was unfaithful and pursued other lovers, so God’s people Israel were unfaithful and pursued other gods.

Gomer bore three children to Hosea: a son, Jezreel, a daughter “No Mercy” and a son, “Not My People”. I’m not going to delve into the reason for the first name, but the second child was called No Mercy because God said that He would no more have mercy on the house of Israel. The third child was called Not My People because God said, “you are not my people, and I am not your God.”

But then an interesting thing happens. A promise begins to appear in God’s statements. In verse 10 God tells them that there numbers shall increase and then He says, “In the place where it was said to them, ‘You are not my people.’ It shall be said to them, ‘Children of the living God.’” So in the midst of this judgment there is the sign of mercy.

As we shall see, the primary emphasis here is on the nation Israel and its future restoration. However, Paul tells us in Romans 9 that God, “in order to make known the riches of his glory for vessels of mercy, which he has prepared beforehand for glory, even us who he has called, not from the Jews only but also from the Gentiles.” He then quotes from Hosea to show that those who were not God’s people he now calls “my people” and those who were not beloved he will call “beloved.”

What amazing grace and mercy that we should be called the children of God!

A New Approach

I have just reached the book of Hosea in my personal Bible reading and I hope to slow down my pace and instead of trying to read a certain amount in a day, I want to focus more on what I’ve been reading. Of all the portions of Scripture that I’ve read, I have probably spent the least time in the Minor Prophets. I’m not going to use this blog to do an in-depth study of the book because I have found that I don’t have the ability to stay focused on the same study for a long time. What I would like to do though is to post some thoughts and insights that come along the way.

If you’ve been reading this blog for very long you will have noticed that I try to continue steadfastly in a series for a period of time. I have found that I’m not able to do that because by the time I’m ready to write the next installment, I’ve gone well past that topic in my personal thinking and study. In order to write more frequently and yet not frustrate myself in trying to maintain continuity, I’m going to write what I’m actually working on at the time. The result may be more disconnected articles. But you’ll just have to adjust and follow along. If articles are supposed to connect with previous ones, I’ll try to title them similarly so that you can follow the train of thought.

In the next post, then, I’ll share some thoughts on the first couple of chapters of Hosea.

A Blog Recommendation

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Whether you do or not, you'll enjoy reading what Challies has to say as part of your regular blog-reading routine.

Faithfulness and Obedience

I was reading this morning in I Kings 15 about Abijam, one of the kings of Judah. Even though he did evil, God left him in power because of God's promise to David. In verse 5 there is a statement that should server as a challenge to each of us. "David did what was right in the eyes of the Lord and did not turn aside from anything that he commanded him all the days of his life, except in the matter of Uriah the Hittite."

Now we all know the story of David's sin with Uriah's wife and that gets a lot of attention. Sometimes we, in our attempts to excuse sin, point to David as a man after God's own heart, but see what a sinner he was. We would do well to consider rather the quote from First Kings. Other than in that one matter, David did not turn aside from anything that God had commanded him all the days of his life.

What a challenge for our own lives this day.

Jesus' High Priestly Prayer -- Part 10

I’d like to take one more day to follow up on our previous two discussions. Look this time at Romans 8:28-30. Most of us know verse 28 where God says, “And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.”

Two posts ago we discussed the fact that God has given to Christ a people and that God has drawn them to Christ. We learned that all authority had been given to Christ for this purpose. The focus is on the saving work of God in the life of people. In the case of Romans 8:28, the people discussed are those who love God, i.e. those who are the called according to His purpose.

It’s important to notice that the thought does not end at the end of verse 28. Verse 29 begins with the word “For”. Those who were called were predestined to be conformed to the image of God’s Son and in this way Jesus is the firstborn among many brethren. This should remind of us of the previous post where Jesus is not ashamed to call us His brothers.

Verse 30 gives us the order of events involving the people referred to in verse 28. Notice that each of these verbs is in the past tense. They have already been accomplished as far as God is concerned. Also notice the order. We’re looking at Romans 8:30. Those he predestined He called. That means that if someone is called, He has been predestined. The ones who were called were justified. Sometimes we think some people who have been called were not justified, but here we see that if a person is called, he ends up justified as well. Those who were justified were also glorified.

So, if we work backwards from the conclusion, we can see that those who end up glorified in the end were those who were justified. If they were justified, they had been called and if they were called they had been predestined.

My purpose in bringing this up is not to extend controversies and debates that have gone on for centuries without agreement. My purpose is to strengthen our faith and joy in the power of God in the gospel. Our salvation is not based upon flimsy decisions that we make in ways similar to the way we decide whether to drive a Chevy or Ford or whether we want to be a Democrat or Republican. The decisions we make regarding Christ are rooted in His eternal love for us and the power of God in drawing and keeping us. These are eternal certainties that we know will save and keep us secure to the end.

Jesus' High Priestly Prayer -- Part 9

Last time we saw how all authority had been given to Christ for the purpose of providing salvation to all those God had given Him. I would like to expand on that a little bit this time by looking at another couple of passages outside the gospels. Look at Hebrews 2:10-13 for example. In this passage the writer talks about the fact that God is bringing many sons to glory. The part that amazes me is in verse 11 where it says that Jesus is not ashamed to call them brothers. Think about that. Jesus is not ashamed to call us His brothers.

The reason I bring this passage up in light of our previous discussion is that the writer in verse 13 quotes from Isaiah where he says, “Here am I and the children whom God has given me.” He talks about the children God has given Him. Last time we saw that God has given Jesus a people who He has covenanted to save and secure. In this passage He mentions them again and talks about them as children whom God has given Him and says that He is not ashamed to call them His brothers.

Let’s see if we can understand what God is saying. God the Father has given people to the Son to save and to keep. All of these will certainly come to Him because the Father draws them. Those who come will never be cast outside, but they are kept by God the Father and God the Son for eternity and will in fact be raised up the last day. And further more, these people who he is saving He calls His brothers and is not ashamed to do so.

Take some time today to think that all through and see what it does for your spiritual life and health.

Jesus' High Priestly Prayer -- Part 8

You have given Him authority over all flesh, that He should give eternal life to as many as You have given Him. John 17:2

In the last couple of posts I have emphasized the fact that Christ has been given authority over all flesh. We looked at what that means and how far-reaching that authority is. In this passage though, the focus for that authority is on the fact that He uses it to give eternal life to as many as the Father has given Him.

In John 6:37-40, Jesus states that all that the Father gives to Him will come to Him. Apparently there are some people whom the Father has given to the Son. Whoever they are, all of them without exception will come to Christ. If the Father gives them to the Son, they must be the Father’s to give. They belong to Him and He gives them to the Son. Everyone He gives, comes.

And how is it that this coming can be insured? Verse 44 of John 6 says that no one can come unless the Father draws him. Verse 65 says that no one can come unless it has been given to him by the Father. So we see that the Father has given some people to the Son. Those He has given are drawn by Him to the Son and the Son is under obligation by the will of God to keep them and not lose them and ultimately to raise them up on the last day. None of those who come will be rejected or cast out. In fact, he says, it is the Father’s will that He lose none of those He’s been given but will raise them up on the last day.

John 10:27, 28 talks about this same thing but using a different picture. In this case Jesus uses the illustration of sheep and a shepherd. In speaking of His sheep, Jesus says that His sheep hear His voice and follow Him. There are no sheep that don’t follow. They hear and follow. He gives them eternal life and they will never perish. That is the same thing He said in chapter six where He said that He would raise them up on the last day. In explaining why they will not perish He says that the Father who gave them to Him is greater than all. Here we see the parallel with chapter six and chapter seventeen. He speaks of the Father having given Him these sheep. They are a gift from God the Father and Jesus is to keep them just as the Father is keeping them.

So the point for today is that the authority that God has given to Christ was given to secure the permanent salvation of all of those people God has given to Christ. Their coming to Him is certain because the Father draws them and their keeping and security is assured because both the Father and the Son are holding on to them. None will be lost because this is God’s will and Christ’s mission.

Jesus' High Priestly Prayer -- Part 7

God has given Christ authority over all flesh. Nebuchadnezzar learned that “the Most High rules in the kingdom of men and gives it to whomever He chooses.” (Dan 4:32) He also learned that, “All the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing; He does according to His will in the army of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth. No one can restrain His hand or say to Him, ‘What have you done?’” (Dan 4:35) In Paul’s speech to the Athenians he says, “He has made from one blood every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth, and has determined their preappointed times and the boundaries of their dwellings.” (Acts 17:26)

The authority that God has given Christ is much more extensive than we usually think. In the verses just mentioned, He clearly is in charge of the affairs of men. He does as He wills among men putting those in charge He chooses and removing from power others. He has predetermined the extent of the various nations both in geography and time. There is no limit to His power among the inhabitants of the earth.

In Amos 3:6 we see a further example of the extent of His power. Amos says, “If a trumpet is blown in a city, will not the people be afraid? If there is calamity in a city will not the Lord have done it? Isaiah 45:6,7 says, “I am the Lord, and there is no other; I form the light and create darkness, I make peace and create calamity; I , the Lord do all these things.”

The so-called calamities and disasters that befall us are from the Lord’s hand. We certainly do not understand all His ways or why He brings these things upon us, but with God on the throne, there is no such thing as bad luck or chance events. God is in charge and has passed on all authority to Christ. As we learned earlier, the reason for Christ to have that authority is so that he might give eternal life to all those whom God has given Him.

There is purpose in all that happens. That purpose is rooted in the salvation of God’s people. Everything revolves around this purpose with the ultimate aim of bringing glory to God.

Jesus' High Priestly Prayer -- Part 6

We’re still studying and meditating on the Lord’s High Priestly Prayer in John 17. The last time we observed in verse 2 that Jesus acknowledged the fact that God had given Him authority over all flesh so that He should give eternal life to all those whom God had given Him.

As we continue to think about this, we notice that Jesus has been given all authority over all flesh. It was God the Father’s to give and He has given it to Christ. Paul told the men of Athens in Acts 17:30,31, “Truly these times of ignorance God overlooked, but now commands all men everywhere to repent, because He has appointed a day on which He will judge the world in righteousness by the Man whom He has ordained.”

This man, Jesus Christ, who has been given authority over all flesh is the ultimate judge. All will be judged by this one man and therefore God commands all men to repent. People seem content with the thought that one day they will die and face judgment. There seems to be very little fear of that day. But John 5:22 tells us that “the Father judges no one, but has committed all judgment to the Son.” This means it isn’t God the father but God the Son that people will be confronted with on that day. How will that feel to be confronted by the very man that has been rejected, mocked and scorned as a fraud; the one who has been disbelieved and ignored?

Being confronted with that fact in this life is the God-given reason why all men should repent and are commanded to do so.

May God help those of us who know Him to be faithful in being a strong witness and testimony of this One who has been given such authority because He was faithful to suffer and die in our place.

Jesus' High Priestly Prayer -- Part 5

It’s been a couple of weeks since we last looked at John 17 together, but it’s important to keep moving forward and thinking through what we have before us. This is a most amazing passage because it gives us a listening ear into the conversation between two of the persons of the trinity. It is God the Son talking to God the Father.

In verse 2 we read, “as You have given Him authority over all flesh, that He should give eternal life to as many as You have given Him.”

To me, the key word in this verse is “that”. Jesus is saying that God has given Him authority over all flesh for a reason. In our conversations we say things like, “I’m going to drive to town so that…” As soon as you hear that you know you are going to hear the reason why I’m going to town. It might be to buy groceries or to put gas in the car or to mail a letter.

Jesus is doing the same thing here. He says that He has been given authority over all flesh so …what? So that He should give eternal life to all of those the Father has given Him. The purpose of His authority is so that eternal life might be given. Without the authority the eternal life could not have been given.

In order for eternal life to be given, the gospel must be preached because the gospel is the power of God unto salvation. Jesus says in Matthew 28:18, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.” There it is again. He has been given authority. In this passage He goes on to say that His disciples should therefore go and make other disciples.

Notice the focus in John 17:2. All of the focus is on the authority God gave the Son to give eternal life to all of those who the Father had given Him. This is the essence of what Jesus said in John 6:39, “This is the will of the Father who sent Me, that of all He has given Me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up at the last day.” He goes on to say in the next verse that it is God’s will that everyone who believes in Him may have eternal life.

Everything God is doing is centered on glorifying Himself by giving eternal life to those whom God has given to Christ. God is in the saving business.

When we think of the words of Romans 8:28, “And we know that all things work together for good…” we should not think of it in trite terms like people so often do during hard circumstances, i.e. “Don’t worry, it will all turn out for the best.” It is a statement of Almighty God telling us that He is at work in all things for the eternal good of His children.

Jesus' High Priestly Prayer -- Part 4

Jesus’ prayer is, “Father glorify your Son, that Your Son also may glorify You.” The glory of God is so important to Him that it forms the motivation for all He does. So many times we turn everything around and make ourselves the center of all God does. Even when we preach the gospel and talk about the death of Christ we focus on ourselves as the center and reason for all that took place. We attribute the entire event to God’s love for us. Granted, He does love us, but that is not the center, focus and reason for the saving work of God.

In Isaiah 48:9ff for example, we read, “For My name’s sake I will defer My anger, and for My praise I will restrain it from you, so that I do not cut you off. Behold, I have refined you, but not as silver; I have tested you in the furnace of affliction. For My own sake, for my own sake, I will do it; for how should My name be profaned? And I will not give My glory to another.”

In Isaiah 43:25, “I, even I, am He who blots out your transgressions for My own sake; and I will not remember your sins.”

After speaking about His judgment on Israel for profaning His holy name, God says in Ezekiel 36:22 “Therefore say to the house of Israel, ‘Thus says the Lord God: “I do not do this for your sake, O house of Israel, but for My holy name’s sake, which you have profaned in their midst; and the nations shall know that I am the Lord,” says the Lord God.’”

Lest you think this is found only in the Old Testament, 1 John 2:12 says, “I write to you, little children, because your sins are forgiven you for His name’s sake.”

The wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness. (Romans 1:18) Why is this wrath unleashed against us? Verse 21 tells us the answer: “because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful…”

The glory of God is extremely important to Him. It is the reason He does what He does, it is what we are to be about even down to the most mundane aspects of our physical life, and the lack of such glory is the reason for His wrath being poured out upon humanity.

Shouldn’t this knowledge motivate us to be more focused on how we can do a better job at reflecting God’s glory in our lives – our homes, marriages, recreation, work, and churches?

Jesus' High Priestly Prayer -- Part 3

Continuing now with our discussion of Jesus’ prayer, we can see the purpose for His request is that the Father glorify Him. Jesus prays, “Father glorify your Son, that Your Son also may glorify You.” Jesus’ desire is that God might be glorified.

What does it mean to glorify God? To me it means to make God look good in all the facets of His character. Jesus spent His entire life seeking to be obedient to God and to show what He was like so that people would see God in all His beauty and praise Him as a result.

Just as for Jesus, our motivation as we pray ought to be based on the glory of God. Even in the “Lord’s Prayer” we read the phrase, “Hallowed be thy name.” Even the seemingly mundane aspects of our life are to be to the glory of God. See for example I Corinthians 10:31 where we are told that even our eating and drinking should be done to the glory of God.

Some people try to separate the material world from the spiritual. This attempt has its roots in Gnosticism and is rejected by the Word of God. In I Corinthians 6:19 we read, “Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s.”

The reason I bring this up is because God’s glory is at stake in the way we treat and use our body. This fleshly, material thing we call our body belongs to God. It is not our own. It has been given to us to use in this material world to interface with the world around us and to interact with others. It is not evil as the Gnostics teach. It is not to be used for our own sinful purposes, but to demonstrate the glory of the almighty creator God.

Scripture brings the goal of glorifying God right down to the nitty gritty of our life in our body in this physical world.

Jesus' High Priestly Prayer -- Part 2

We’re continuing our series of thoughts on Jesus’ high priestly prayer of John 17.

In the next phrase of Christ’s prayer He says that the “hour has come.” At least three times (John 7:6 John 2:4 John 7:30) the Scripture says that His hour had not yet come. Here though the time has come. The whole purpose of His coming was to die on the cross to pay the penalty of sin. That time was upon Him at that very moment. The crucial events immediately leading up to the crucifixion had begun. This was it.

It’s interesting though to observe the way He describes this hour. It is the hour of His glorification. Sometimes we look at the betrayal of Christ and His rejection by the people and His ultimate crucifixion as anything but glorious. But to Jesus and to God, this was what it was all about. This was the purpose for his coming. In John 12:27 Jesus’ soul is described as troubled and Jesus says clearly that for this purpose He had come to this hour. The glory of God is revealed in the cross and to unpack all of that would take an entire book, but what strikes me as crucial is what Romans 3:26 says. The cross was a demonstration of the righteousness of God in that God was just in His condemnation and judgment of sin and at the same time gracious in that He is able to justify those who have faith in Jesus.

To me this is the glory of the Gospel. Some people look at God as a kind loving grandfather figure who lovingly embraces all. And while that picture has some sentimental beauty, it does not accurately show forth the glory of God’s righteousness and justice. Who else but God could have thought of a means whereby both aspects of His glory could be shown in one event!

Jesus High Priestly Prayer - Part 1

I’m enjoying a beautiful Michigan day while listening to a Brahms symphony on my ipod and taking some time to think and meditate on the Word of God in preparation for teaching Sunday School tomorrow. This is blueberry country and our daughter gave us some blueberry flavored coffee for our anniversary and so I am enjoying that as well.

We’re studying John 17 in our adult Sunday School class and so this passage is dominating my thinking during this stretch of the late summer.

This passage is often referred to as our Lord’s high priestly prayer. Given the fact that He is praying for all of those His Father had given Him, we can understand why people have given the passage this heading.

He begins the prayer, “Father, the hour has come. Glorify Your Son, that Your Son also may glorify You.” John 17:1

Many things could be observed here. For example, he addresses God as Father. Obviously He is the Son of God and therefore it makes sense that He would address God this way. My thoughts immediately shifted to the “Lord’s Prayer” where Jesus taught us how to pray. He told us that we should pray, “Our Father”. Isn’t it an amazing thing to think about the fact that Jesus would teach us to address God in the same way that He does? What right could we possibly have to pray this way?

The reason of course is that we have been adopted as one of God’s children. Romans 8:15 says, “For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, ‘Abba, Father.’”

Some people would generalize this to say this applies to all human beings, but John 1:12 tells us that “As many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name.”

Because of our adoption as God’s children we have the right and privilege to address Him as Father just as He did. The next time you address God as Father in your prayers, do it consciously and with gratitude for your adoption as one of His sons.

Check back frequently as we consider more of Jesus' prayer in the days ahead.

Free From the Law

One of the most powerful and life-transforming truths that we need to grasp when it comes to our death with Christ is our relationship to the law.

Paul told the Corinthians in 1 Corinthians 15:56 “the strength of sin is the law.” In Romans 7:8 we read, “But sin, taking opportunity by the commandment, produced in me all manner of evil desire. For apart from the law sin was dead.” He goes on to explain that it isn’t the law’s fault. It is sin that is the problem, but sin used the opportunity that the law provided and brought death.

Romans chapter 7 begins by discussing the marriage relationship. Basically if a woman marries another man while her first husband is still alive she is committing adultery, but if her husband has died, she is free from the law of her husband and is therefore not committing adultery if she marries another man. Paul’s point is that in the same way we died to the law when we died with Christ. The law no longer has jurisdiction in our case.

The sinful passions that were aroused by the law brought forth fruit for death. But now (verse 6) having died to what we were bound by we are able to serve in the newness of the Spirit. In this way, as verse 4 tells us, we are able to bring forth fruit to God.

The law, although good, gives sin its power. When our relationship to the law changed through our death with Christ, sin’s ability to gain strength through the law has been destroyed.

The key to victory as we deal with temptation and sin in our lives is to realize our position in Christ which is that there is no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus. (Romans 8:1) Neither the law nor Satan, the accuser of the brethren, can hold over us the threat of death and punishment for sin. The penalty for sin is death – but – we have already died with Christ. The punishment has already taken place. We have died and been raised to a new life and the guilt is gone. The law that would accuse us doesn’t apply any more.

Take some time to mull these things over in your mind and meditate on them. Read through Romans 6-8 every day for a week and see what God will do in your life as you begin to live out the truth of your death and resurrection with Christ.

Out with the old, in with the new.

It’s hard for me to believe that it has been nearly a month since I last wrote on this blog. It has been an extremely busy stretch of time for us, but most of the pressures and time constraints have eased and I’m hoping to get back into the discipline of writing. I don’t know how many readers are out there. If you come upon these entries and are inclined to do so, I would enjoy hearing from you. My main goal is to be an encouragement to my brothers in Christ as well as to challenge myself to stay in the word and really think through and meditate on what it says.

The last time I wrote about the cross and its power in our lives I spoke about the fact that Scripture speaks very clearly about what our natural heart is like. Even if Christ saved us at an early age, all of the propensities of the sinful nature of our natural self were there. I won’t repeat all of that but I do encourage you to go back and read through it before you continue.

The purpose of salvation is not just to provide us with a home in heaven some day. The purpose is to save us from our sins. Mary and Joseph were told to name him “Jesus” because He would save His people from their sins. The verses we looked at last time list for us sinful characteristics that were part of the old man but which now in Christ are to be put away. If you go back and review these passages you will see that many of these traits are repeated over and over. If we consolidate the lists and admonitions, we have something like this:

The following attitudes and behaviors should not even be hinted at among the people of God. They belong to the old life and we have spent enough time in the past living like this. These are the kinds of things that are the cause of the wrath of God that is going to descend on the world and so they have no business being a part of the Christian’s life. I’m speaking of things like fornication, lewdness, uncleanness, filthiness, covetousness (a.k.a. idolatry), foolish talking, coarse jesting, evil desire, passion. These things should be put to death in your life and should be replaced by things such as love, joy, peace, gentleness, meekness, thankfulness, etc. (Summarized from Ephesians 5; Colossians 3; I Peter 4)

This list aims at the heart of what dominates most of our thinking as men. Even we who are Christian men struggle with many of these natural, sinful tendencies. The secret to overcoming is in reckoning ourselves to be dead, buried and risen with Christ and learning to reshape our thinking to be in accordance with the truth of God’s Word.

More on that next time.

New Attitude Conference - Discerning our Idols

I want to bring your attention to a great series of messages on Discernment -- a much needed topic these days. The New Attitude conference featured such men as Joshua Harris, Al Mohler, John Piper, C.J. Mahaney and others

I found CJ's messages on Discerning the Heart particularly challenging. The focus was on discerning the idols in our heart. This message was challenging and encouraging at the same time. It's so easy for us to harbor idols in our lives. CJ presents the clear teaching of Scripture that God condemns idolatry in whatever form it surfaces. Idolatry is condemned probably more than any other sin. Feed your soul by listening to this message. You will find it along with the other messages here.

CJ makes reference to some other materials to help focus our attention on the idols lurking in our souls. These resources can be found near the bottom of this page.

Human Nature

As a result of the fact that we have died and been raised together with Christ, we are to think in certain ways concerning the natural inclinations of the heart.

Ephesians 2 says, “And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins, 2 in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience, 3 among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others.”

Our natural condition was one of being dead in sins. We walked according to the way the world walked which itself is after the plan of Satan who Paul calls the prince of the power of the air. This spirit is a real being who is even now working in the sons of disobedience. Scripture teaches us that every one of us was among this group who conducted our lives fulfilling the lusts of our flesh and the desires of our mind. This is a condition which is natural. It is characteristic of us as we are born into this world.

Paul tells us again in Ephesians 5, “But fornication and all uncleanness or covetousness, let it not even be named among you, as is fitting for saints; 4 neither filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor coarse jesting, which are not fitting, but rather giving of thanks. 5 For this you know, that no fornicator, unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God.”

And in Colossians 3, “Therefore put to death your members which are on the earth: fornication, uncleanness, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. Because of these things the wrath of God is coming upon the sons of disobedience, 7 in which you yourselves once walked when you lived in them.”

Peter tells us in his first letter in chapter 4, “Therefore, since Christ suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves also with the same mind, for he who has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin, 2 that he no longer should live the rest of his time in the flesh for the lusts of men, but for the will of God. 3 For we have spent enough of our past lifetime in doing the will of the Gentiles—when we walked in lewdness, lusts, drunkenness, revelries, drinking parties, and abominable idolatries.”

As I observe the world around me, the constant stream of images from television and movies, and the tendencies of my own heart, I recognize that what God says to us through His Word in these passages is true. The amazing this is that while we were still sinners Christ died for us and it is through His death and resurrection that we not only have forgiveness of these things, but we have the new life and power to be changed.

Adjusting to Life after Resurrection

The last time we observed that our death with Christ on the cross is not only death to something, but more importantly represents our living for something. We are to count certain things to be true and then to live accordingly. Our death and resurrection with Christ means that we should walk in newness of life. (Romans 6:4) Life after death and resurrection is not the same as it was before!

This is what Peter says in the first three verses of First Peter 4, “Therefore, since Christ suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves also with the same mind, for he who has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin, that he no longer should live the rest of his time in the flesh for the lusts of men, but for the will of God.” In other words, we are to arm ourselves with the way of thinking that truly looks at our life as being post-resurrection. We are to “arm” ourselves with this way of thinking. That means that when we reckon these things to be true of us and live in the light of that truth, it is a means of defense for us against the onslaughts of sin coming from the world, the flesh and the devil.

Paul told us in Romans 6 that our death with Christ was a death to sin and the resurrection we had with Christ was a resurrection to God. The old needs to be put behind us and the focus needs to be God-ward. Isn’t that what Paul meant when he wrote in Colossians 3, “If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God. Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth. For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.”

We are to consider ourselves dead to sin and alive to God. Since we’ve been raised with Christ we are to set our minds and seek those things which are above. These exhortations tell me that I need to think differently. I need to train my mind to approach life differently. Paul told the Romans that they should be transformed by a renewing of their minds. Our minds, our thought life play such an important part in living the Christian life. Living by faith means we need to believe what God has said about our position with Him and the reality of our having been raised with Him. Because of the reality of this, we need to refocus our attention and learn to adjust our thinking to focus on the things of God and not the things of this earth.

This is not an easy thing. Most of us have been steeped in our culture long enough to have gained patterns of thinking that need to be totally undone and renewed along biblical lines. It takes effort and personal discipline through the power of the Spirit applying the Word of God in our lives. May God help us to be faithful men in making this kind of reality thinking a priority in our lives.

Dead With Christ

“Do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death?” As we mentioned last time, Paul asks this question because he is working on the deeper question of how we can live in sin when we have died with Christ. He asks us if we realize that when we were placed into Christ by the Holy Spirit we were placed into His death. Our victory is fundamentally rooted in the fact that we died with Christ, but it is also necessary that we know that so that we count it as true and live accordingly.

Paul walks us through the logic of his argument in Romans 6. Death with Christ leads to resurrection with Christ. It isn’t just death to the old, it is death to the old AND a new life on the other side of the resurrection. But that resurrection is not just the actual future resurrection, it is a resurrection to new life now. Consider verse 4. “Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.” (See Adrian Warnock's blog here: Adrian's Blog: Resurrection Empowered Life - Dying to Live)

This also is the point in verses 5-11. If we have been in the likeness of His death, we will also be in the likeness of His resurrection. Verse 8 tells us that if we died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him. Verse 10 says that the death He died, He died to sin, but the life He lives, He lives to God. Therefore (verse 11) we are to reckon ourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ.
Christ, of course, did not sin, but He was tempted in all points like we are. He died to all of that on the cross. On the other side of the cross, death no longer has dominion. The temptations were over. In that same way we are to count it as so that we died also so that we can walk in newness of life, that we should no longer be slaves to sin and that we might be alive to God.

The Power of Reckoning

To reckon means to count on, to account for something. We are going to look at several places in Scripture where we are told to reckon something to be true. That means to count it as true and live in light of its truthfulness. It means to align our lives with the truthfulness of particular facts.

The best place to begin to understand this is in Romans 6. In verse 11 Paul writes, “Likewise you also, reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord.” We’ll go back and look at the context in a moment, but what exactly is God telling us to do here? He is saying that we should count ourselves dead to sin. We should live in accordance with the truth that has been presented that we died with Christ. It is inconsistent to live any other way. Living a life in sin is contrary to what is true about us. The Holy Spirit, through the Apostle Paul, is making that argument from verse one of the chapter. “Shall we continue in sin so that grace may abound?” What is the answer? God forbid! What is the reason? Because it is against the will of God? It is against the will of God, but that is not the reason that is given here. The reason is an appeal to the consistency of how we live compared to what is true about us. He says, “How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it? Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death?”

He challenges us based upon the reality of our death to sin in Christ. He then considers the possibility that we might not know that we were in His death when He died. The presumption is that if we know this truth, it should affect our lives. This struck me as kind of interesting since we often say that it is up to the Holy Spirit to work in us to get us to do the right thing. This is true of course, but the Holy Spirit doesn’t work in a vacuum. He works using the Word of God.

….to be continued

The Cross -- Part 3

In my last article I discussed the fact that Christ’s death for us was substitutionary. That means He took our place on the cross. Because He took our sin and its penalty there, we are able to receive the forgiveness of God and actually have imputed to us the righteousness of Christ.

There is an important scriptural truth that we need to study in order to fully lay hold of the victory Christ won for us on the cross. In Romans 6:3 it says, “Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? 4 Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.”

I Corinthians 12:13 says, “For  by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body.”

When we trust Christ and receive Him, the Holy Spirit places us into the body of Christ. We are joined to Him. So Paul wrote in Romans 6 that those who were baptized into Christ Jesus were also baptized into His death. He tells us in verse 6 that our “old man” was crucified with Christ. In Galatians 2:20 Paul says it this way, “I have been crucified with Christ….”

Because of the fact that we have been placed into Christ, we were present in Him when He died on the cross.

The Bible not only teaches that we died with Christ, but that we were buried, risen and ascended with Him as well. Consider the following Scriptures:

Colossians 2:12-13 buried with Him in baptism, in which you also were raised with Him through faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead. 13 And you, being dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He has made alive together with Him, having forgiven you all trespasses,

Colossians 3:1-3 If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God. 2 Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth. 3 For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. 4 When Christ who is our life appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory.

Ephesians 2:4-7 But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, 5 even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), 6 and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7 that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in  His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.
Notice the tense of the verbs in the Ephesians passage. They are all past tense. God made (past tense) us alive together with Christ. He raised (past tense) us up together, and made (past tense) us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus. We need to believe these statements as the truth whether it feels true or not. We are to reckon them as being the reality in which we live and the true condition of our lives before God. Next time we’ll look at how we are to use the truth of these statements to help us live lives that are pleasing to God.

The Cross - Part 2

I think the place to begin our thinking and meditation on the cross and its power and impact on our lives is to remember that it was at that place and time that Almighty God Himself bore the penalty of sin on our behalf. We say it was a “substitutionary” death because He died in our place.

Paul wrote in Philippians 3:9 that his chief aim was to have the righteousness of God credited to him rather than be found in the rags of his own righteousness. Isaiah 64:6 tells us that all of our righteousness is as filthy rags in the sight of God.

How did we make the jump from a substitutionary death to righteousness? The answer is the cross, for as Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 5:21, “For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.”

When Adam sinned in the garden that day, he dragged the whole human race down with him. All of mankind was in Adam at the moment of his rebellion and we have all “seconded” the motion of rebellion by our own actions and deeds once we actually arrived in person in this world. God then is confronted by a whole race of creatures who are in revolt against Him. The just retribution for this treason is death. But God, because of His great love for us and to demonstrate the glory of His grace, sent Christ to die for us while we were still sinners and rebels. The sentence of death was on our heads, and “He Himself bore our sins in His own body on the cross…” (1 Peter 2:24) He was our substitute.

Having taken our sin upon Himself there, He not only grants forgiveness, but amazingly credits us with His perfect righteousness so that when God looks at our record, He sees the righteousness of Christ. That is why Paul said that he wants to be found in Him, not with his own righteousness, but with the righteousness of God. (Philippians 3:9)

Does everyone automatically have this forgiveness and replaced righteousness? No, God tells us that we must repent of our sins and believe the Good News; receive Christ; believe in Him; accept the free gift.
Our right understanding of the cross then is foundational to the victory and power of the cross in our lives. The key, which we will look at in subsequent articles, is that of being “in Him”. You see it in Philippians 3:9 and again in 2 Corinthians 5:21 which was quoted earlier.