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.

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.

Justifying Sin

Harry Schaumburg has been counseling people for over thirty years and has spent the last eighteen years focusing on counseling those who struggle with sexual sin, such as adultery, pornography, prostitution, etc. His book Undefiled  is his attempt to put into writing his Biblical Intensive Counseling workshop, which is five straight days of intense counseling.

I struggled with pornography from the age of eleven into my twenties. During this time I went to church, was active with my youth group, eventually attended Bible school, and got married. It took a long time for me to beat the pornography addiction that I had. This book has been a wonderful help for me in working through some of those hidden issues that still hang over from my pornography addiction.

I will be putting more from this book on my blog later, but for now I wanted to post this list of how the heart deceives us when it comes to sin.  How is it that so many Christians know porn is bad, but still do it? The answer is not complicated. We justify it. Schaumberg focuses on sexual sin, but insert your own sin where he puts sexual sin.

• The sexual sinner always acts like he or she is sexually pure.
• The sexual sinner always justifies the sexual sin. 
• The sexual sinner always  declares the sexual sin a need. 
• The sexual sinner always deceives himself or herself into believing that sinning sexually will be a positive benefit. 
• The sexual sinner always makes excuses for his or her sexual sin.
• The sinner who does not sexually sin tells himself or herself that his or her heart is good. 

When we read this our initial reaction is, "No way." But the further you dig the more realize that is exactly what we do with our sin. When we sin we do not see ourselves as filthy, dirty people. We might feel that way momentarily after our sin, but it does not stick and we go back to believing ourselves to be pretty good people. We always justify our sin. I had to do it. There was no way out. What could I do? I needed it. They deserved it. And we do this not just with sexual sin. We do this with gossip, anger, pride, bitterness, laziness, etc. 

The beginning of our fight against sin is realizing that we are not very good people. We sin and make excuses for our sins. We pretend we are holy when we are not. We think because we don't commit the same sins as others we are good. But the truth is we are unclean and defiled without Christ. Once we understand that we can flee to Christ for forgiveness and for the means to fight against our sin. But if we assume that whatever we do is justified and that our sin is not that much of a problem we will never win the battle. 

John the Revival Preacher

In a blog post from October Dr. Leithart, quoting from Kimberly Belcher says Augustine taught that infants are the perfect subjects of baptism. Here are the last three paragraphs of the post. Emphasis mine. Quote marks and page numbers mean the quote is from Belcher's book

How can an infant be an ideal subject of baptism when the infant cannot believe? To this, Augustine's answer was that the infant can in fact believer [sic]: “Augustine calls unbaptized infants ‘unbelievers,' but infants who have been baptized are ‘believing.' Infant ‘faith,' according to this, is accessible to outside analysis and decisively determined by ritual initiation” (83).

This reveals a radical difference between pre- and modern understanding of “faith”: “The modern assumption is that faith is an ephemeral disposition perceptible only by the subject. Faith can only be affirmed by the person himself or herself, and he or she may deceive others. Moreover, faith is defined within a cognitively centered definition of the self. . . . Since infants' cognitive ability does not allow them to affirm propositions, infant faith is not well defined. Within this context., an adult's affirmation of faith ‘on behalf of' an infant catechumen, since the adult has no knowledge of the infant's inner state, is understandably interpreted as a pious falsehood or as only a promise of future development” (82).

This is simply not what Augustine means by “faith.” It is not for him a cognitive state known only to the subject. Like truth, it is something that can be marked on the body, something into which one can be initiated without knowledge or consent. As Belcher puts it, “Baptism should immerse the intiand into a new way of being, not begin an intellectual conversion. The truth of the profession of faith transforms human capacities, rather than expressing the initiand's assent to an objective truth. The church's certainty guarantees the objectivity of the proclamation, but the ritual affirmation changes the initiand's subjective world and his or her way of being in that world” (84). For Augustine, one becomes a believer by being initiated into the faith, rather than by having an intellectual conversion or a conversion of will. [Emphasis mine.]

Does Leithart agree with this? It is hard to tell. He often quotes authors without giving his take on the quote. But given his past writings one could guess that he, at the very least, finds this a helpful way of saying things. But is it good to talk about faith like this? Should we say that one becomes a believer by baptism or that faith comes via baptism? Is this the way the Bible talks about faith and salvation? Are evangelicals wrong to call people to believe in Jesus? Should we instead call them "into the faith" via baptism? Are believing in Jesus and coming into the faith synonymous? Is faith active, such as resting, grasping, believing in Christ? Or is it passive such a being baptized, being brought into the church, or being marked out from the world? Are both biblical options? And if so, are they synonymous? If being in the faith makes one a believer, what happens to the subjective, internal side of the faith? Does it become superfluous, automatic, or irrelevant?

I want to examine these questions by looking at how the New Testament uses the term faith beginning with the Gospel of John. I will look at other New Testament books in the future.  In particular, I am going to focus on whether the New Testament presents faith as active or passive. In other words, can someone become a believer without their knowledge or consent through baptism? And if the answer is yes, in what sense can they be called believers? Should we call the baptized to repent and believe? In this post I am focused solely on John. I am aware of how passages in the New Testament could support Augustine's point. I will address those as I move through this series. So don't say, "Well what about that passage in Acts?" I will get there, but not yet.

For my non Greek readers, faith and believe both come from the same Greek word.  Thus you could substitute "believe" for "having faith in" and "faith" for "belief." John's gospel contains around 41% of the total uses of the verb "believe" in the New Testament (c. 98 out of 241). Thus it is a good place to start in understanding how faith is used in the New Testament, though we will see it used in a variety of ways in other New Testament books. It is interesting that John does not use the noun "faith" at all with the possible exception of John 20:27.

Of all the books I have looked at so far, John's was the easiest to determine whether or not faith is active or passive. The word "believe" is used almost exclusively by John to mean believe in Jesus, believe something about him that indicates you understand he is the Christ, or believe His words. It could be paraphrased three ways: Believe in me, believe me, believe what someone/something has said about me. The key point for my purpose is that the word believe in John's gospel is active, not passive. Here a few examples:

John 3:14-16

And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life. "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. 

John 3:18 Whoever believes in him is not condemned.
John 3:35 Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life.
John 4:39 Many Samaritans from that town believed in him.
John 6:29 This is the work of God that you believe in him whom he has sent.
John 6:35 Whoever believes in me shall never thirst.
John 6:69 We have believed, and have come to know, that you are the Holy One of God.
John 9:35-38

Jesus heard that they had cast him out, and having found him he said, "Do you believe in the Son of Man?" He answered, "And who is he, sir, that I may believe in him?" Jesus said to him, "You have seen him, and it is he who is speaking to you." He said, "Lord, I believe," and he worshiped him. 

John 10:42 And many believed in him there.
John 11:35 Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live.
John 11:45 Many Jews therefore,who had come with Mary and had seen what he did, believe in him.
John 14:1   Believe in God; believe also in me.
John 17:20 I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word.
John 20:31 But these things are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in his name.

Here are ten other uses of the word believe in John: John 1:7, 1:50, 2:11, 2:22, 5:24, 5:38, 7:39, 12:38, 14:12, 19:35.

Even when the word "believe" is used without the preposition "in", such as in John 8:45-46, the meaning is the same. Jesus is saying in John 8:45-46  believe that I am the Son of God (see also John 6:30-36, 10:25-26, 11:42, 16:31, 20:29). It is not hard to see how this is equivalent to "believe in me."

Believe in John's gospel is active. We believe in Jesus. We believe in His name. We believe He came from the Father. We believe the Father's witness to Him. We believe that his works testify to who he is. We believe the Apostles who speak of him. At the end John exhorts us to believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God.  In fact, throughout the book John sounds like a revival preacher calling on all who read to trust in the name of Jesus.

There is no indication in John's gospel that we are brought into the faith via baptism or some other external rite. Faith is trust in Jesus Christ that leads to everlasting life including being resurrected to glory (John 6:40). In John, faith is an internal and subjective act with outward results including confession that Jesus is the Christ, obedience to him, etc. That does not mean there are no allusions to baptism or the Lord's Supper in John's gospel. Nor does it mean that baptism is based on something subjective thus undercutting paedo-baptism or that baptism fails to do something objective. But it does mean that in John's gospel one does not have faith by being baptized, through a rite, or by being in the church. For John a believer is someone who had a conversion of the will by God's grace (John 10:29) and a conversion of the intellect by understanding who Jesus is (John 11:27, 13:19, 20:25-27). A believer is someone who has put his trust in Jesus Christ the Son of God.

Related Posts
John 6, the Lord's Supper, and Belief in Christ
Two Types of Preaching

Justice and Righteousness in Isaiah

Final paragraph updated at 1:30 pm on 12-8-15.

Isaiah, like many of the prophets, is bringing charges against Israel. Israel has gone back on her word. She promised faithfulness and now she has become like a harlot. She made vows, but she broke those vows. Isaiah's main charge against Israel is that she fails to uphold justice and righteousness. In Isaiah 1:21-23 he says this:

How the faithful city has become a whore, she who was full of justice! Righteousness lodged in her, but now murderers. Your silver has become dross, your best wine mixed with water. Your princes are rebels and companions of thieves. Everyone loves a bribe and runs after gifts. They do not bring justice to the fatherless, and the widow's cause does not come to them.

In Isaiah 5:7 he says this:

For the vineyard of the LORD of hosts is the house of Israel, and the men of Judah are his pleasant planting; and he looked for justice, but behold, bloodshed; for righteousness, but behold, an outcry! 

Here is a longer passage from Isaiah 59:1-14:

Behold, the LORD's hand is not shortened, that it cannot save, or his ear dull, that it cannot hear; but your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, and your sins have hidden his face from you so that he does not hear...The way of peace they do not know, and there is no justice in their paths; they have made their roads crooked; no one who treads on them knows peace. Therefore justice is far from us, and righteousness does not overtake us; we hope for light, and behold, darkness, and for brightness, but we walk in gloom...For our transgressions are multiplied before you, and our sins testify against us; for our transgressions are with us, and we know our iniquities: transgressing, and denying the LORD, and turning back from following our God, speaking oppression and revolt, conceiving and uttering from the heart lying words. Justice is turned back, and righteousness stands far away; for truth has stumbled in the public squares, and uprightness cannot enter. 

One of the promises seen throughout Isaiah is that God will send One who will establish justice and righteousness. The coming of Jesus means that justice and righteousness will now be found among his people. This begins in Isaiah 1:24-27 where the Lord says:

Therefore the Lord declares, the LORD of hosts, the Mighty One of Israel: "Ah, I will get relief from my enemies and avenge myself on my foes. I will turn my hand against you and will smelt away your dross as with lye and remove all your alloy. And I will restore your judges as at the first, and your counselors as at the beginning. Afterward you shall be called the city of righteousness, the faithful city." Zion shall be redeemed by justice, and those in her who repent, by righteousness. 

The Sinfulness of Sin is Fuel for Evangelism

There is a deep connection between our doctrine of sin and evangelism. The more serious sin is the more serious a church will take her call to evangelize. If sin is minimized then the importance of evangelism diminishes. If man is born good and social structures cause him to do evil then the good news of Christ's death and resurrection is of little value. If man simply needs more knowledge, more education, then again Christ's death will not help much. If man's problem is lack of resources, such as money, food, opportunities, then again Christ cannot help him. But if man's problem is that he is an enemy of God, separated from Him because his heart is overflowing with selfishness, pride, anger, lust, malice, and bitterness, and therefore God's wrath rests upon him, then the Cross is the only answer. And evangelism becomes a priority.

Paul Preaching to Lydia

What are the practical effects on evangelism of a low view of sin?

Hell is Ignored
Hell is real. Hell is where men who never turn to Christ spend eternity. Christ rescues men from an eternity where "the worm does not die and the fire is not quenched" (Isaiah 66:24, Mark 9:47-48). Sin against a holy, perfect, just God puts men there. God's wrath sits upon them because of their wicked hearts and lives. When we believe this, we want to rescue men and women from this plight. We don't want them in Hell. Despite some of our over-zealous brothers from the past, Hell is still a good motivation for preaching Jesus Christ.

But if sin is minimized then Hell is as well. Hell only makes sense when God's holiness and his hatred of sin are fierce and real. If sin is not a big deal then Hell will either be ignored or denied and our zeal for evangelism will weaken.

Men are Left in Bondage to Sin
However, evangelism is not just about delivering men from the ''second death" (Rev. 2:11). When a man turns to Christ he is set free from the power of sin. Sin destroys a man's life here on earth, not just after he dies. One of the great causes of pain in this life is guilt.  Guilt gnaws at us. We try and try to clean our hands, but we cannot. Christ can make us clean. Men and women are slaves to their lusts and greed. They are slaves to the fads of this world. They are not free to give. They are not free to have deep joy. They are not free to suffer on behalf of others. They are not free from the terrors of death and the pangs of their own conscience. When a man comes to Christ, his sins are forgiven and he is given the Spirit. He is now free from sin's mastery (Romans 6:22). When sin is properly understood, evangelism becomes a way to tell men of the One who can break their chains and release them.

But if sin is minimized then we leave men as slaves. Their lust, anger, greed, malice, and hatred may be small inconveniences that occasionally cause trouble, but not chains that bind them. We look at them clapped in irons and held captive by sin and say to ourselves, "It is not a big deal. They will be just fine."

Christ is not Glorified
But the biggest fallout from a failure to take sin seriously is that Christ's glory is smeared. When sin is seen as a the great enemy of man's soul then Christ's atonement and resurrection become the greatest and most powerful event in history. Death, that dreaded enemy of man, has been destroyed. Sin, which ravages our souls and bodies and leads us to ravage others, is forgiven and defeated. Satan our great accuser has been silenced. God's wrath has been turned away because "his own arm brought salvation" (Isaiah 59:15-17). Those who were exiled from the garden have been brought back in.We have great news for a world living in darkness and the shadow death (Isaiah 9:2). A Child was born who took our stripes and healed us (Isaiah 9:6, 53:4-6). Sin, properly understood, leads a church to evangelize and this in turn brings glory to Christ and His work.

But if sin is not a big deal, if sin is not the great enemy that we have been told it was, then Christ's work is not that big a deal either. If sin is a slight wound, healed lightly with some ointment and a band-aid then the Cross is overkill and slightly embarrassing. It is like rushing a child to the ER for a splinter. Was that really necessary? After all, we are really good people.  If people aren't really perishing then why rescue them? If folks are not dead in their trespasses and sins then why preach life to them? And when Christ is not preached and His death and resurrection not proclaimed then he is not glorified.

Understanding the depth, power, and ugliness of sin leads a church to love evangelism. We will delight to tell our communities the good news that there is deliverance from Hell, bondage to sin, death, and Satan. We will love to glorify our great King and Savior by telling others of His work. But if our doctrine of sin is weak then our evangelism will be as well. The deeper our understanding of sin the deeper our love for Jesus and those he came to save.

Jesus Takes a Faithful Church from Bad to Worse

In America, too often we believe following Jesus equals comfort and prosperity. When we sign up to walk after Christ we sign up for a life of occasional problems, but mainly ease and peace. Church is the place we gather to talk to like-minded folks and hear some nice words about the Bible but not a place to regroup and then go fight. We do not expect our Christian faith to cost us. This also means that when we do run up against something difficult or a time of hardship we expect Jesus to deliver us. This can be something as small as a broken vehicle or something as large as cancer. Our assumptions about discipleship mean we expect Jesus to rescue us, especially when we are faithful.

But in this life Jesus does not always deliver the faithful. The church at Smyrna (Revelation 2: 8-11) found this out. When Jesus comes to them they are a church that has already suffered. Jesus says he knows their works. He knows their "tribulation and poverty." Because they followed Him they have already sacrificed. Their love for God has made them poor. Though there is not direct praise, it is clear from verse 9 that Jesus is pleased with their steadfast faith in the midst of persecution.

What do you think is going to happen now? Surely Jesus is going to swoop in like one of the Avengers and rescue this faithful church. Smyrna has been faithful now they will be rewarded with peace, right? No. In fact, he takes them the exact opposite direction. Jesus says, "Do not fear the things you are about to suffer." More suffering is coming, a suffering  so great they will be tempted to fear and possibly abandon the faith. Jesus is not promising them an easy time. But it gets better. The Devil is going to throw some of them into prison. You are already poor, but you will become poorer. You have lost your possessions. Now you will lose your freedom. Then comes the crowning moment, they will die. Jesus says, "Be faithful until death."  The implication is clear. "I am not going to rescue you this time."

There are a lot of lessons in these few verses. Jesus knows our suffering. Jesus is with us in our suffering. Because of that we need not be afraid. If we overcome, we will not be hurt by the second death (Rev. 2:11) because our Lord was dead and came back to life (Rev. 2:9). If we are faithful to death we will receive the crown of life (Rev. 2:10).

But the lesson most of us need to hear is that Jesus does not always rescue the faithful in this life. We all know this in our heads, but our day to day life does not reflect this truth. We expect ease and comfort. But he does not always take us from green pasture to green pasture. Sometimes he takes us from very little grass to no grass at all. Sometimes he moves us from loss of a job to cancer or from one friend stabbing us in the back to being lynched by a whole bunch of former friends. We can be faithful to Jesus and become poor. We can be faithful to Christ and enter tribulation. We can be faithful and Jesus lets the Devil throw us in prison. We can be faithful and Jesus says, "I want you to die." Is this the Jesus we follow? A Jesus who might tell us, "Good job suffering. Now I want you to suffer more."

Jesus Works in the Dark

Missions is one of the great privileges of the Christian church. We get to go out, either ourselves or our representatives, and tell others the good news that Jesus Christ has conquered sin, Satan, and death. The elders have been evaluating our mission efforts in order to provide a solid vision to our congregation for the coming years. As part of this effort I have been reading various books on missions and church planting. One of the first books I picked up was John Piper's Let the Nations Be Glad. So far it has been excellent. His chapter on prayer was convicting in many ways as Piper reminds us that when we understand we are in war and that God is sufficient we will pray.  In this chapter he writes four wonderful paragraphs on how Jesus often works in the dark. Here are those four paragraphs. All punctuation, emphases, and Scripture are his.

It will often look as though Christ is defeated. That's the way it looked on Good Friday. He let himself be libeled and harassed and scorned and shoved around and killed. But in it all he was in control, "No one takes [my life] from me" (John 10:18). So it will always be. If China was closed for forty years to Western missionaries, it was not as though Jesus accidentally slipped and fell into the tomb. He stepped in. And when it was sealed over, he saved fifty million Chinese from the inside-without Western missionaries. And when it was time, he pushed the stone away so we could see what he had done. 

When it looks as those he is buried for good, Jesus is doing something awesome in dark. "The kingdom of God is as if a man should scatter seed on the ground. He sleeps and rises night and day, and the seed sprouts and grows; he knows not how" (Mark 4:26-27). The world thinks Jesus is done-out of the way. They think his Word is buried and his plans have failed.

But Jesus is at work in the dark places: "Unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit" (John 12:24). He lets himself be buried, and he comes out in power when and where he pleases. And his hands are full of fruit made in the dark. "God raised him up, loosing the pangs of death, because it was not possible for him to be held by it" (Acts 2:24). Jesus goes about his invincible missionary plan "by the power of an indestructible life" (Hebrews 7:16). 

For twenty centuries, the world has given it their best shot to hold him in. They can't bury him. They can't hold him. They can't silence or limit him. Jesus is alive and utterly free to go and come wherever he pleases. All authority in heaven is his. All things were made through him and for him, and he is absolutely supreme over all other powers (Col. 1:16-17). "He upholds the universe by the word of his power" (Heb. 1:3). And the preaching of his Word is the work of missions that cannot fail. 

I love these paragraphs. They made my blood pump faster and my heart rejoice. My favorite line is the first line of the second paragraph. "When it looks as those he is buried for good, Jesus is doing something awesome in dark."  We need this reminder. Our soft, comfortable, middle class American hearts are so easily discouraged. Times get dark. Our lives get dark. And we lose faith. But our Lord reigns supreme. He has promised that his Word will not return void. Missions is built on the power of the risen Christ to subdue the nations through his preached Word. The nations will be His (Psalm 2:8-9, Psalm 22:27-29, Matthew 28:18-20).  This is why despite all his historic pre-millennial language John Piper at heart might just be post-millennial.

Remember His Wonders of Old

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. They can come from crisis in our churches. They can come from our own sins. But perhaps no darkness compares to the silence of God. What do we do when he is absent? 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 the world 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. We need to meditate upon God's "mighty deeds." We need to ponder His strength and His 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.

No Recompense Outside of Christ

Here is a section from John Calvin's sermon on Ephesians 1:6-10. 

St. Paul [in Ephesians 1:7] uses two words to express how we are reconciled to God. First he sets down the ransom or redemption, which amounts to the same thing, and afterwards he sets down the forgiveness of sins. How then does it come about that God's wrath is pacified, that we are made at one with him, and that he even accepts and acknowledges us as his children? It is by the pardoning of our sins, says St. Paul.  And furthermore, because pardon necessitates redemption he yokes the two together. The truth is that, in respect of us, God blotted out our sins of his own free goodness and shows himself altogether bountiful, and does not look for any payment for it at our hands. And, in fact what man is able to make satisfaction for the least fault that he has committed? If every one of us, therefore, should employ his whole life in making satisfaction for any one fault alone, and by that means seek to win favor at God's hand, it is certain that such a thing far surpasses all our abilities. And therefore God must necessarily receive us to mercy without looking  for any recompense or satisfaction at our hands. 

But, for all this, the atonement, which is freely bestowed in respect of us, cost the Son of God very dear (I Peter 1:19).  For he found not other payment than the shedding of his own blood, so that he made himself our surety in both body and soul, and answered for us before God's judgment to win absolution for us. Our Lord Jesus Christ entered into the work, both body and soul. For it would not have been enough for him to have suffered so cruel and ignominious a death in the sight of men, but it was necessary for him also to bear such horrible anguish in himself, as if God had become his judge, for he gave himself up in the behalf of sinners to make full satisfaction.  

Questions on Repentance

Yesterday I wrote Eleven Words on Repentance. Here are some questions I asked myself as I wrote the post.

Can I keep repenting for the same sin?
Yes. If Christ told Peter to forgive seven times seventy, then we can assume that God's mercy is wider (Matthew 18:22).

What if I keep repenting, but do not see change in my life? 
There are several options here. One is that you are changing, but your perception is skewed because you are too close. Find someone who knows you well and will be honest with you. Ask them if they are seeing change. Many times we are hard on ourselves. An outsider can help us see that we are growing. Second, you may not be using the tools God has given you to overcome your sin. Are you just repenting and hoping change strikes you like a bolt from heaven? Or are you reading and memorizing Scripture, attending worship, spending time with godly men, working hard, praying, etc.? God works through means. Finally, it is possible you are not regenerate. One sign of a regenerate heart is not just the desire to repent and change, but the actual power to do so (I John 3:9). The good news is that Christ casts out no one who comes to him (John 6:37). Flee to Christ, trust in Him, and He will give you His Spirit so that you might begin overcoming sin.

How much fruit does true repentance bear? 
The short answer is some.  There is no growth chart to tell us how much fruit we should be bearing. But there should be signs of growth over a long period of time. I encourage people to look at large sections of time in their lives. It is hard to see growth in a week. It shouldn't be hard to see it in a year. Also remember that God usually works on certain areas of our lives before moving on to other areas. For example, right now he might be working on anger in me. I fight anger. I memorize verses to kill anger. I repent of my anger. But after some years, by the Spirit, I begin to overcome anger. God then usually brings up another sin, such as bitterness. This can give the illusion of not growing.  But what has happened is you have moved from one sin, which you have under control, to another sin you do not.

Does my repentance need to be emotional? 
This is a tricky question. There can be a lot of tears spilled and no repentance. There can be no tears shed and a man be repentant. Repentance should involved the whole man, including his feelings. We should feel our sin. But not all of us express our feelings the same way. We even express our feelings differently at different stages of our lives. So yes it should involve our emotions, but we should not judge our repentance or anyone else's on outward expression of those emotions.

How do I know I truly repented? 
Did you look to Jesus to take away your sins? Do you trust in Him and his work alone to remove your sins?  Good then you repented. Don't ask questions like, "Did I really feel repentant?"  "Was I totally sincere?" In certain situations they might be helpful, but often they turn us inward in a way that is not healthy. Looking to Christ and the promises given in the Word are the keys.

Are there any keys to leading a life of fruit bearing repentance?
There are no magic bullets in the Christian life, but there are few things that can help.

First, realize that you are a much worse sinner than you think you are. Without a deep sense of our sinfulness repentance will be in short supply.

Second, realize that you are rightly condemned by God's law outside of Christ. You cannot in any way earn even a sliver of your salvation. When God declares you "not righteous" he is being entirely just. It is not an unfair judgment.

Third, realize that God's mercy shown to us in Christ is great. Jesus has saved us to the uttermost. Your sins, as great as they are, are overwhelmed by Christ's blood. His mercy is free and the fountain does not run dry. This is a great spur for us to keep repenting and fleeing to the cross no matter how often or how grievous our sins.

Fourth, believe that because of Christ's shed blood you are forgiven. Trust the promises given in God's Word that tell us He forgives (Micah 7:19-20, Luke 24:47, Ephesians 1:7, and I John 1:8-9). You are really forgiven. It is not a hoax.

Fourth, long for and love God, Jesus, the Spirit, and holiness. These things must be treasures to us, not just people we "must" love or things we "must" do. Our affections must be fixed on God.  Too often we combat sin by talking about how ugly sin is. This can be helpful. But we also need to emphasize how glorious God is. We need to repent not just because we chose sin, but because we rejected the glory of God. When we choose sin we toss aside happiness, blessing, joy and life (Jeremiah 2:12-13).

Fifth, the Word must be a constant presence in your life. Memorize it. Read it. But most of all hear it preached. When we read God's Word we see it through our own eyes. Preaching however forces us to look at the Word from a different angle. Therefore reading God's Word is not enough.

Finally, spend more time on your own sins than you do on the sins of others. One of the surest signs someone is not leading a life of fruitful repentance is that they think much of the sins of others and little of their own sins.

Do you have other questions about repentance? Put them in the comments and I will try to reply.

Eleven Words on Repentance

1. Repentance does not save you.  It is not a work of merit. God does not forgive you because you repent. He forgives you because of Christ's blood. Therefore your repentance does not have to be "perfectly sincere" or "really heartfelt."

2. Repentance is not feeling bad for your sins. Many men have felt guilty and yet never repented. Often men mistake that feeling of sorrow/guilt for true repentance.

3. Repentance is not fearing the consequences of your sins. Many men do not want the consequences of their sins, but also do not want to repent. Consequences can help us see the need to repent, but in and of themselves, are not enough.

4. Repentance is the act of confessing and turning from our sins because of the conviction of the Holy Spirit through the Word and turning to the mercy of God shown to us in Christ. We must turn from our sin and turn to God. That is why guilt and fearing the consequences are insufficient motivators for repentance. Neither of those automatically drive us to God. If repentance does not end at the blood of Christ, it is not true repentance.

5. We should be repenting of sins in the Bible and using the language the Bible uses. Call it what it is. Lust, gossip, anger, bitterness, malice, slander, laziness, greed, and coveting are all terms in the Scriptures. Do not call your sins mistakes. Do not say lust was just a slip up. Don't say laziness is just being tired.

6. Repentance should involve confessing specific sins to the Lord. Too often repentance is generic. "Lord, I am a proud man. Please forgive me." This is not a bad prayer and it is probably a true prayer. But it does go deep enough. "Lord, because I am a proud man I got angry at my son when he beat me at Dominion." Or "Lord, I am vain, I was jealous when that woman's dress got complimented and mine did not." Root your repentance in real events, not in generic descriptions of your sinfulness. It helps see us for who we really are and not who we imagine ourselves to be.

7. Repentance means looking at the why as well as the what. Why did I look at porn? Why did I talk disrespectfully to my husband? Why am I lazy at work? The desires and motivations of hearts matter as much as the action itself. This also means you can repent of things that you never act on. It is possible to be greedy and never steal or to be angry and never hit.  Yet greed and anger are both sins that need to be repented of. It is odd that in a culture where the shape of our desires are so important there is such little emphasis on repenting of sinful desires.

8. Repentance does not remove the consequences of your sins. A man who repents can still be disciplined by the Lord. But this is not punishment for his sin. A man whom God disciplines is not making atonement for his sin through that discipline. Atonement was fully paid at the cross by Jesus. Rather he is being molded by God so that he might reject sin in the future. A repentant man will accept the consequences of his sin.

9. A repentant man knows that forgiveness is not owed. Just because you repent does not mean you deserve God's grace. God does not owe you anything including forgiveness.

10. A repentant man does not trust in the sincerity of the repentance nor in the desire to do better in the future. When we do this we are making of the foundation of our repentance ourselves. This cannot be. True repentance rests solely on Jesus and his work on the cross. A repentant man knows that even his repentance needs to be covered by Christ's blood.

11. Repentance will bear fruit. However, this fruit is usually small at the beginning and grows over time. A man who repents of his anger does not automatically get rid of it. But that repentance and desire to turn from sin will bear fruit over time. There are two dangers. One is believing repentance is just about forgiveness and not about change. The other danger is that we believe that if we repent sin automatically goes away. Neither is correct. Repentance is part of our lifelong war against the sin in our hearts.

Kissing the Cross~Quotes on Suffering

Tomorrow I will be preaching on why our good Father allows us to suffer. Here are some quotes from men of faith and from the Scriptures about suffering. Of course, these are only a few Scripture verses on suffering from the hundreds I could have chosen. Without suffering we cannot be sons, which is hard to hear because we often think that being a son will keep us from suffering. 

Scripture

Exodus 2:23-24
During those many days the king of Egypt died, and the people of Israel groaned because of their slavery and cried out for help. Their cry for rescue from slavery came up to God. And God heard their groaning, and God remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob. 

Job 3:1 After this Job opened his mouth and cursed the day of his birth. 

Psalm 69:1-3
Save me, O God! For the waters have come up to my neck. I sink in deep mire, where there is no foothold; I have come into deep waters, and the flood sweeps over me. I am weary with my crying out; my throat is parched. My eyes grow dim with waiting for my God. 

Psalm 119:71  It is good for me that I was afflicted, that I might learn your statutes.

Psalm 143:3-4
For the enemy has pursued my soul; he has crushed my life to the ground; he has made me sit in darkness like those long dead. Therefore my spirit faints within me; my heart within me is appalled. 

Luke 23:32-33
Two others, who were criminals, were led away to be put to death with him. And when they came to the place that is called The Skull, there they crucified him, and the criminals, one on his right and one on his left. 

Acts 5:41
Then they left the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer dishonor for the name. 

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

II Timothy 3:12
Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted

Hebrews 2:10
For it was fitting that he, for whom and by whom all things exist, in bringing many sons to glory, should make the founder of their salvation perfect through suffering. 

Hebrews 5:8
Though He was a Son, yet He learned obedience by the things which he suffered. 

Revelation 1:9
I, John, your brother and partner in the tribulation and the kingdom and the patient endurance that are in Jesus, was on the island called Patmos on account of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus. 

Quotes

God had one Son on earth without sin, but never one without suffering. Augustine

Holy Christian people are externally recognized by the holy possession of the sacred cross. They must endure every misfortune and persecution, all kinds of trials and evil from the devil, the world, and the flesh, by inward sadness, timidity, fear, outward poverty, contempt, illness, and weakness, in order to become like their head, Christ. Martin Luther

It is indeed a singular consolation, calculated to mitigate [lessen] the bitterness of cross, when the faithful hear, that by sorrows and tribulations they are sanctified for glory as Christ himself was; and hence they see sufficient reason why they should lovingly kiss the cross rather than dread it. John Calvin 

Christ did not suffer so you wouldn't suffer. He suffered so that when you suffer you will become like Him. Tim Keller

God whispers in our pleasures, speaks in our consciences, but shouts in our pains. It is his megaphone to rouse a deaf world. C.S. Lewis

To endure the cross is not tragedy; it is the suffering, which is the fruit of exclusive allegiance to Jesus Christ. Dietrich Bonhoeffer

The winter prepares the earth for the spring, so do afflictions sanctified prepare the soul for glory.  Richard Sibbes

The secret formula of the saints: When I am in the cellar of affliction, I look for the Lord's choicest wines. Samuel Rutherford

I am afraid that all the grace that I have got of my comfortable and easy times and happy hours, might almost lie on a penny. But the good that I have received from my sorrows, and pains, and griefs, is altogether incalculable … Affliction is the best bit of furniture in my house. It is the best book in a minister’s library. Charles Spurgeon

I have never heard anyone say, "The really deep lessons of life have come through times of ease and comfort." But I have heard strong saints say, "Every significant advance I have ever made in grasping the depths of God's love and growing deep in him, has come through suffering." John Piper.  

Participation in Christ's glory can only come through participation in his sufferings. Douglas Moo

My Soul Among Lions~Psalm 2

Find Assurance in Jesus, Not Your Conversion

Donald Macleod on how repentance and conversion do not atone for our sins.

Yet it is never the cross, in and of itself, which evokes repentance, and this highlights another weakness of the rectoral [governmental] theory. It bypasses the ministry of the Holy Spirit. He alone can produce repentance, and the repentance he produces is not the cause of the atonement, but its consequence. The cross, resurrection and ascension of Jesus secure the ministry of the Spirit, with all the gifts and blessings which that brings with it. Foremost among these is the gift of repentance; never a human achievement, but a divine given (Acts 5:31), produced not by mere demonstration, but by the intimate touch of grace in the depths of the human heart.

This touch, of course, produces its own psychological narrative as the sinner faces the truth about himself, accepts that his life is indefensible and acquiesces unquestioningly the judgment of God (Psalm 51:1-4). The cross may be one of the cognitive elements in this journey. It may highlight the ugliness of sin. It may bespeak God's abhorrence of it. It may make us ashamed of our past attitudes to Christ. It may fill us with wondering appreciation of the love of God. But none of these is what constitutes atonement or purchases redemption. Instead, in the language of the older evangelical piety, repentance is itself a 'blood-bought' grace, created in our hearts by the mysterious agency of the Holy Spirit. The psychological journey which marks a sinner's recovery is but the outward expression of the inner touch of the supernatural. Yet the real foundation of assurance and joy is the knowledge that whatever the shortcomings of our repentance (or of our conversion-narrative) God accepts us for Jesus' sake. 

This may seem like an obvious point, but we often look at the sincerity of our repentance as the ground for our salvation. Did I repent enough? Was my conversion really real? Did my heart really change? And so on. There is a place for self-examination, but assurance must be found in Christ, not in how awesome our conversion was, how much we hated our sins, or how sincere our repentance was.

Ten Quotes: Christ Crucified by Donald Macleod

I have now read two books by Donald Macleod, Shared Life and Christ Crucified.  Both of them were very good. He brings the clarity of John Stott with a little bit more edge.  Christ Crucified was a great book on the atonement of Jesus. Macleod argues for the classic substitutionary view of the atonement using terms like propitiation, expiation, substitution, and redemption. Here are ten of my favorite quotes from Macleod's book.

Here he is quoting Martin Luther. All the rest of the quotes are his.

He [Jesus] bore the person of a sinner and of a thief-and not of one but of all sinners and thieves...And all the prophets saw this, that Christ was to become the greatest thief, murderer, adulterer, robber, desecrator, blasphemer, etc., that has ever  been anywhere in the world. 

For a moment [in the Garden of Gethsemane] he stands with millions of his people who have found God's will almost unendurable, shrunk from the work given them to do, shuddered at the prospect of the race set before them and prayed that God would change his mind. But solidarity is not the main thing here. This is not a road less trodden. It is a road never trodden, before or since: the cup of the one man, the Son of God.

Yet such criticisms [of the cross], whether from the twelfth or the twenty-first centuries, perform one invaluable service: they remind us that there is a real problem at the heart of the story of the cross. We cannot walk blithely by it as if there were nothing disturbing here. There is; and if we are not initially shocked and repelled by it, we shall never understand it. It has to be a 'scandal' before it can become good news.  

 We need to be clear where the scandal of the cross lies: not primarily in such concepts as expiation and propitiation, but in the prima facie absurdity that a crucified first-century Jewish criminal is the Savior of the world, and that his cross was the actual instrument of that salvation. Side by side with that lies another scandal: the assumption that all human beings, from Francis of Assisi to Joseph Stalin, are sinners in need of salvation in the first place. And, as if this were not enough, the further scandalous idea that God is not all-indulgent love, but is dreadfully provoked by sin and needs to be pacified. 

When Pompey and his soldiers entered the Holy of Holies in AD 63 they were scandalized to find no image there: not a 'god' in sight. The scandal of Christianity is even greater. Its holy of holies is a cross where its Savior hangs, bloodied and beaten, between two thieves.

It was because God is righteous that sin required expiation; it was because he is love that he provided it.

In a very real sense, then, the proof of the doctrine of propitiation stands or falls with the doctrine of the anger of God. Any Biblical view of salvation must take this anger seriously; and propitiation must be a central moment in the work of the Redeemer.

Mankind lives in a state of chronic revolt against their Maker. Any meaningful concept of reconciliation must, therefore, include the removal of this enmity, replacing hatred with love and blasphemy with doxology.

Reconciliation, as Paul sees it, means the non-imputation of our sins to us (II Cor. 5:19); conversely, Christ's being made sin means the imputation of our sins to him.

 He was not cursed because he was hanged. He was hanged because he was cursed: under a divine imprecation as the one who was carrying the sin of the world. Indeed, he was the sin of the world. 

And One:

They [the rulers of this world] thought that if they could bring about his death neither he nor his movement would ever be heard from again. In reality, by crucifying him they disgraced themselves and released forces which neither the Jewish leaders nor the imperial might of Rome would ever be able to control. But deeper still was the disgrace of the devil himself, destroyed by what he thought was his masterstroke. Confident that the cross would secure his victory, he was outwitted by the wisdom of God: neutralized and conquered by divine weakness.  

Book Review: Christ Crucified

Christ Crucified: Understanding the Atonement by Donald MacLeod
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

A great book on the atonement, covering the historical account of the crucifixion and then going into substitution, expiation, propitiation, reconciliation, satisfaction, redemption, and victory. Well written with a passion for the subject. He is not afraid to speak strongly against certain people and ideas. His chapter on "No Other Way" was excellent as he refuted various objections to the substitutionary atonement.

The only drawback was the occasional cheap shot at patriarchy, which naturally goes undefined. Luckily it was a book on the atonement not on patriarchy.

View all my reviews

Can God Justify Calvary?

Donald Macleod's book Christ Crucified has been a great read so far. The book is solid theologically, and Macleod's writing is clear, succinct, and powerful.  Here are two of my favorite quotes so far.

From a human point of view this emphasis on the cross [in the New Testament] is baffling. Every prudential consideration suggested that these first Christian preachers should divert attention from it as much as possible. To Jewish ears, the idea of a crucified Messiah was a contradiction in terms. To Gentiles, the claim that the salvation of the world had come through a crucified Jewish criminal was an absurdity. To both Jew and Gentile, the suggestion that death, particularly death on a  cross, could bring eternal life, was blasphemous idiocy; had the early church had a professional director of communications, he would have said, categorically, "We don't do the cross! Stay on message, and focus on his wonderful ethical teaching." 

It is the cross itself that requires a theodicy. How can God justify what he did at Calvary? What gave him the right to sacrifice his own Son? Only the doctrine of vicarious punishment can provide an answer. The sword falls at the precise point where justice located the sin of the world: in Jesus own body, on the tree. The sword falls here because it is right that it should fall here; and it is right because 'in my place condemned he stood.' Otherwise the cross is a black hole; an irrational evil, the act of a capricious or malevolent deity.  

The Coming Division Between Christ and Family

For many generations a convert to Christianity in the West (Europe & America) did not have to sacrifice much. The reason was Western Christendom. Most of society was built on Christian laws and operated under a Christian ethic. If someone went to a revival meeting and got saved they went out into a world, that for the most part, approved of their conversion and the actions that flowed from it.  If a preacher called a man to come to Christ, that repentance rarely meant that the man would lose his family or job for believing in Jesus.

In the coming years this will change. Conversion to Christ in the West will require more sacrifice. In particular, we will find families divided. There will be other types of loss, such as jobs and money, but nothing compares to being rejected by our family. Losing family is a deep wound. New Christians will no longer find themselves in a world that basically approves of them and their actions. Instead they will find themselves in the position of many Muslims who when they choose Christ lose all. Two Muslim brothers who came to Jesus described it this way:

Faith [in Jesus] often means the total rejection of culture, ethnicity, family, and friends. To find heaven's glory in Jesus Christ, we Caner brothers lost our father. (Islam Unveiled)

Another example is Rosaria Butterfield who was a lesbian professor at a major university when she came to Jesus. In the account of her conversion she notes that not only did she lose her friends, they felt betrayed by her. They put their trust in her. They counted on her to support them. When she came to Christ, they felt like she had stabbed them in the back. While this was not her biological family, the bonds she felt with these people were as strong as natural family bonds.

Stories like these will become more common as the years progress.  We will hear of sons being rejected by fathers and fathers rejected by sons. We will hear of children raised in homosexual homes converting to Christ and being rejected by their parents. We will hear of daughters being kicked out of homes for their faith in Christ. We will hear of Muslims rejecting family members for conversion, not in the Middle East, but here in America. We will hear of close knit groups who hate a member for leaving them and following Jesus. The possibilities are endless, but the probability of families, biological or otherwise, being divided by Christ is high.

How can the church prepare for this?

First, we must remind ourselves and tell those we evangelize that Jesus demands absolute loyalty. Family is not the highest good. Jesus is. You can gain your family and lose Jesus. You can hold to all sorts of wonderful family values, like the Mormons and the Muslims, and still burn in Hell. Jesus came to separate.

Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. And a person's enemies will be those of his own household. Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. And whoever does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. (Matthew 10:34-38)

Family is important, but it does not trump Jesus Christ.  If we give the impression that family is more important than Jesus people will not make the choice to follow Jesus with their whole heart. They will be divided. We must declare without apology, that if the choice is Jesus or family, Jesus must win.

Second, our churches must be a places where broken families come to be integrated into God's eternal family of brothers and sisters. Single mothers, divorced folks, people recovering from sodomy and abortion, the abused, the abuser, etc. when they trust in Christ and are baptized should find a place in our churches to serve and grow. Widows must be cared for and orphans must be adopted. If our churches cannot or will not bring in these people then we are saying biological family trumps God's family. That is a grievous sin and shows disloyalty to Jesus. Teaching this is not enough. Somehow, and it is not easy, we must create a tone, an atmosphere where broken families are welcome. Perhaps most important is to remember that we were broken (Titus 3:3) and outside of God's family (Ephesians 4:14-22), but God in his mercy has adopted us and saved us.

Third, we must maintain strong families, but not idolize them. A good Biblical home is a wonderful witness of God's grace to the watching world. We should teach and model what a good wife and husband looks like. We should teach parents to raise their children in the discipline and admonition of the Lord. We should encourage our young people to get married and have lots of children.  But all of this must be done, not as an end to itself, but as a way to glorified God and build his kingdom. If we build the family for the sake of the family then we have made the family an idol. And God destroys idols. But if we build our families so they might serve and build the church, including those who do not have families, then we are reflecting Biblical priorities.

Fourth, we should be grateful for the good relationships we have with non-Christian family members. For many, even though their family is not worshiping Jesus, they can still be friends. Of course, there is always a divide. No matter how much we love our family, if they do not trust in Christ there is chasm that cannot be crossed until they believe.  But God is kind. He gives common grace so we can enjoy their company and they our's despite their lack of faith.

Finally, we should be thankful when our biological family is Christian. My whole family believes in the Lord Jesus Christ. He could have made me choose between Christ and my family as many Christians around the world have done. But he didn't. God in his mercy has made my temporary, biological family part of my eternal, spiritual family.  The only proper response to this astonishing fact is gratitude.

Rising Valiantly Above the World's Reproaches

Reformed theology has often divided the work of Christ up into three different roles: prophet, priest, king. Here is John Calvin on the comfort which comes from understanding that Christ is king and that his kingship is permanent and heavenly, not temporary and earthly. This is from Calvin's Institutes Book II, Chapter XV.

Thus it is that we may patiently pass through this life with its misery, hunger, cold, contempt, reproaches, and other troubles-content with this one thing: that our King will never leave us destitute, but will provide for our needs until, our warfare ended, we are called to triumph. Such is the nature of his rule, that he shares with us all that he has received from the Father. Now he arms and equips us with his power, adorns us with his beauty and magnificence, enriches us with his wealth. These benefits, then, give us the fruitful occasion to glory, and also provide us with confidence to struggle fearlessly against the devil, sin, and death. Finally cloth with his righteousness, we can valiantly rise above all the world's reproaches; and just as he himself freely lavishes his gifts upon us, so may we, in return, bring forth fruit to his glory. 

What a great passage about Christ's preservation of his people, which allows us to fight to the end and give all the glory to Christ when the battle is finished.