The Cripplegate

The case of disobedient Daniel: "Innocent before God”

Thu, 21 Jan 2021 09:05:00 GMT

Yesterday we looked at three biblical examples of people disobeying governing authority—Daniel when he refused to eat food the king commanded, his friends when they refused to bow before an idol, and the Apostles when they preached in violation of an order.

Today I want to look at an example that in some respects is similar to those, but in one key aspect is different. In the situations we looked at yesterday, compliance with the government’s orders was more or less obvious. One could look around and see who was eating what food, or who was bowing before a statute. You could hear with your own ears if someone was preaching outside of a designated free speech zone, for example.

But today’s example involves a matter of private obedience. I’m seeking to answer the question: is there a biblical example of a believer’s conduct when faced with a government law regulating private action, but that law conflicts with God’s own standards?

Today’s example is also insightful because it concludes with God’s verdict–the one who disobeyed a government order was “innocent in the sight of God.”

Example 4: Daniel 6 – Defying A Temporary Prayer Mandate

In Daniel 6, Daniel is once again being tested, this time by the Persian King Darius. The author lets us know that Daniel’s enemies were jealous of Daniel and tried to find a way to discredit him:

“Then the commissioners and satraps began trying to find a ground of accusation against Daniel regarding government affairs; but they could find no ground of accusation or evidence of corruption, because he was trustworthy, and no negligence or corruption was to be found in him. Then these men said, “We will not find any ground of accusation against this Daniel unless we find it against him regarding the law of his God.”
Daniel 6:4-5

Daniel lived a life of integrity without negligence or corruption. So the satraps recommended that “…the king should establish a statute and enforce an injunction that anyone who offers a prayer to any god or person besides you, O king, for thirty days, shall be thrown into the lions’ den” (6:7b). They knew they couldn’t find Daniel out of compliance with any of the king’s orders, so they devised a plan to lure him out by forcing him to choose—would Daniel be loyal to the king or to his God?

What was Daniel’s response?

“Now when Daniel learned that the document was signed, he entered his house (and in his roof chamber he had windows open toward Jerusalem); and he continued kneeling on his knees three times a day, praying and offering praise before his God, just as he had been doing previously. Then these men came by agreement and found Daniel offering a prayer and imploring favor before his God.”
Daniel 6:10-11

Even though Daniel knew of the document and the consequences, he continued to “pray and offering praise before his God – just as he had been doing previously” (Daniel 6:10).

Notice that Daniel did not decide to simply pray in his heart, or pray with closed windows, or pray in secret, or even temporarily withhold prayer for 30 days. With windows open and no deviation from his prior practice, Daniel prayed. In fact, it’s important to note that his pattern of prayer was not an explicit command of Scripture. Rather, it was his own custom or pattern of prayer.

Commentator Stephen Miller writes:

“The text states that Daniel’s custom was to pray and give thanks to (or ‘praise’) God three times a day. When this law was passed, he did not change his religious behavior, nor did he hide it.
Stephen Miller, Daniel, NAC, 182-183.

Daniel was a man of courage and conviction who was willing to stand for God even if it meant death. In this case, as Driver observes, “It is not, as with his three companions in ch. 3, a question of a positive sin which he will not commit, but of a positive duty which he will not omit.”

Daniel did not say to himself, “Is there a Biblical command that states I must pray three times a day with my windows open?” Nor say try to satisfy an unbiblical mandate saying, “I won’t pray at all for 30 days so that it will satisfy the mandate and also not sin by praying to anyone else.”

In like manner, when we think of the current prohibition against congregational singing, the question at hand is not: “Is there a Biblical command that states we must have congregational singing at every worship service?”

The proper perspective, as J. Paul Tanner writes:

“Obviously Daniel could have chosen a less conspicuous place to pray, for he was quite confident that his enemies would be watching him. Yet he wanted to maintain his testimony before them; his love and worship of the true God were not something negotiable.”
J. Paul Tanner, Daniel, EEC, 382.

Likewise, continuing our pattern of giving praise and glory to God through singing displays our unyielding allegiance, love, and worship of the one true God.

Again, Miller writes:

“Daniel deliberately defied a law of the land. How can this action be reconciled with the biblical admonition to obey civil authority (e.g., Rom 13:1–2)? Scripture does indeed instruct believers to obey the government, but the Bible also teaches that there is a higher law—the law of God. Peter and the other apostles told the Jewish authorities, ‘We must obey God rather than men!’ (Acts 5:29). There may be times when the law of the land and the law of God come into conflict. Corrie ten Boom broke the law of Germany when she hid Jews from the Nazis during World War II, but she would have broken a higher law had she not tried to prevent the murder of innocents. Today Christians are being called upon to make difficult ethical choices. As the world becomes more and more secular (and sinful), believers will increasingly find themselves taking stands that are unpopular and positions that may even violate the law of the land.”
Stephen Miller, NAC, 182-183.

Daniel was summarily accused by the satraps and thrown into the lion’s den (Daniel 6:16). The next morning, the king went to the lion’s den and called out: “Daniel, servant of the living God, has your God, whom you constantly serve, been able to deliver you from the lions?” (Daniel 6:20). Notice Daniel’s reply: “My God sent His angel and shut the lions’ mouths, and they have not harmed me, since I was found innocent before Him; and also toward you, O king, I have committed no crime” (Daniel 6:22).

Not only was Daniel not harmed, but in God’s eyes:

He was innocent before God (a divine authority)
no crime was committed (against a human authority)

This is staggering! Didn’t he commit a crime by breaking the law of the Medes and Persians? (v. 12). The answer is: No, not in God’s eyes. In God’s eyes, Daniel was innocent. In God’s eyes, he had committed no crime. What Daniel cared most about was the approval of God above all else. He feared God more than man and violated a temporary mandate in order to follow God in his daily pattern of prayer.

When we choose to continue our practice of singing (like Daniel continued his practice of prayer), we are innocent before God and of any crime in the eyes of the Lord. This is a truth that sets consciences free from any self-condemnation or beliefs that we are criminals who are engaging in sin and displeasing in God’s sight.

As in the other cases of civil disobedience, God blessed Daniel. King Darius gave honor and glory to God, “I issue a decree that in all the realm of my kingdom people are to tremble and fear before the God of Daniel.” (v. 26) Daniel enjoyed great success in the reign of Darius (v. 28).

When it comes to COVID restrictions that forbid things that God commends, I encourage you to consider these four examples. If your conscience troubles you when you sing in church against the orders of your governor, turn your mind to these four biblical accounts to inform your consciences and embolden your worship.

Even If There Was Fraud

Wed, 20 Jan 2021 09:02:00 GMT

The purpose of this post is not to argue that Biden was, or was not, fraudulently elected in the 2020 president election, but to keep a biblical perspective.

Sources report that 47% of American voters believe that large-scale fraud handed the election to Biden/Harris. Nevertheless, 49% say that fraud was unlikely. A recent NPR/Ipsos poll reported that 67% of Republicans and 11% of Democrats surveyed believe that voter fraud gave Biden election. However, the same survey showed that 19% of Republicans and 85% of Democrats disagree. In either case, dozens of millions of voters believe that there was fraud, and dozens of millions believe that there was not. Numbers do not prove whether or not it happened. The point here is that a huge swath of the US population believes that voter fraud helped usher in the next president.

It’s likely that someone you sing next to in church believes that there is ample evidence of fraud, and is grieved about it. Disdaining them as crazy conspiracists is not the best approach (cf. 1 Cor. 13:4-7, Col. 3:12-17). After all, if you’re a Christian, you believe that a peasant Hebrew crucified as a vile criminal will one day appear in the sky standing on clouds.

So for those who do feel that there was fraud, what would Scripture suggest you do? Even if there was, here are a few considerations from God’s word on the issue.

God is sovereign over unrighteousness

“In the day of prosperity be happy, but in the day of adversity consider— God has made the one as well as the other So that man will not discover anything that will be after him” (Eccles. 7:14).

Though he is not pleased with it, God is sovereign over all sin. If there was fraud, though it would grieve God, he is sovereign over it. God remains in control even in the most wretched times (Lam. 3:37-38). He was sovereign over the wretched rule of Egypt (Exod. 2:23-25), the wicked rule of Israel’s enemies in Judges (Judg. 2:14), the evil of the Assyrian deportation (2 Kings 17), the wickedness of the Babylonian exile (2 Kings 25), the unrighteousness of Herod and the Romans (Matt. 2:15), and he was even sovereign over the treacherous treatment of His own Son: “this Man, delivered over by the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God, you nailed to a cross by the hands of godless men and put Him to death” (Acts 2:23). Despite all of this evil—often committed by governing authorities—God was never de-sovereigned by it.

“His sovereignty rules over all” (Ps. 103:19).

2. The Lord is still on the throne

No evil agenda, large or small, has ever successfully removed God from his throne. And evil men and nations have tried. They’ve done everything in their power, with satanic and demonic reinforcements, to dethrone God. It hasn’t happened and it never will (Ps. 93:1-5). The permanence of the Lord’s position on the throne of the universe is laughably unthreatened by even the greatest evils of man.

“The kings of the earth take their stand and the rulers take counsel together against the Lord and against His Anointed, saying, ³ ‘Let us tear their fetters apart and cast away their cords from us!’ ⁴ He who sits in the heavens laughs, the Lord scoffs at them” (Ps. 2:2-4).

The sovereign, supreme rule of the God of the Bible is no more threatened by unrighteous doings and agendas of earthly rulers than his rule is threatened by a cockroach coughing in a Los Angeles sewer.

“The Lord reigns, let the peoples tremble; He is enthroned above the cherubim, let the earth shake!” (Ps. 99:1).

3. God will use unrighteousness for good

One of the ways that God proves he is sovereign is by orchestrating evil for good. We have history to prove that: Joseph’s suffering and saving a nation (Gen. 50:20), Pharaoh housing the messianic nation and its growth, the cross of Jesus Christ, and countless examples since then. Throughout history, God has masterfully moved the evil of man and government to accomplish his purposes, the greatest of which was the cross. Jesus was the recipient of unprecedented civil corruption, and God did a pretty decent job at ensuring that worked out well. We might not see how God orchestrates evil for good this side of heaven, but he’ll take care of it (Rom. 8:28). God is trustworthy.

4. Jesus is still building his church

The church has survived the harshest storms wicked men have to offer. She was birthed into the Roman Empire, who actively opposed her existence. Despite three centuries therein of persecution, her growth continued. Satan and his world have always hated and resisted the church. Even so, she has spread from Israel, to the Roman Empire through the Apostles, and to places like Africa through the Ethiopian Euncuh, the New Hebrides through John Paton, Burma through Adoniram Judson, China through Hudson Taylor, the middle east through Samuel Zwemer, and the list goes on. It’s almost like unrighteous circumstances helps the church thrive. Whatever the case, the church will never die out because Christ builds it (Matt. 16:18).

5. We are still to be about the kingdom of God

Unregenerate enemies attempted several times to distract Nehemiah and God’s people from sticking to the essential task of rebuilding the wall (Neh. 6:4). What they did was wicked. But Nehemiah and crew stuck to the main thing (Neh. 6:3-9).

In these New Covenant days, there are no less enemies and distractions that seek to pull us down from the wall. But we must keep the main thing the main thing. The kingdom of God is that thing. Regardless of what happens, our sovereign God would have us give ourselves completely to involvement in our local churches, godliness, disciple-making, prayer, love, and the word. Let us not get down from the wall (1 Cor. 15:58).

6. God will uphold justice perfectly

God is a perfect, omniscient God. Nothing escapes his notice. He is perfectly good, too, which means evil will not prevail. Regardless what someone appears to get away with, they will stand before God in the judgment (Rom. 12:17-21, Rev. 20:11-15).

7. We are all liars and sinners

An election fraud allegation is to say that lying occurred; massive, consequential lying. Among the list of things God hates, lying is mentioned twice (Prov. 6:16-19). However, people are lying every day; politicians, employers, employees, nobodies, and neighbors. Everyone lies. Lying can no more be separated from humans than their shadow. “Let God be true and every man a liar” (Rom. 3:4). That means we, too, have lied. No one is exempt. God is the only One who has never lied nor will ever.

Our lies may not be as socially consequential as others, but God is the one we stand before. On top of being liars, we are all atrociously unholy before the holy God of the universe (Rom. 3:10-19). This God requires perfection (Matt. 5:48). So, we have nothing to offer God except wickedness and weakness in and of ourselves. Due to our nature and doings, we stand guilty and unacceptable before God. Since we have all sinned against a holy God, an individual who never orchestrated widespread voter fraud deserves to spend eternity in the same hell as someone who did (Rom. 2:1-5).

8. Jesus died on the cross and rose from the grave

However, God did not leave us to ourselves. Moved by his own compassion on sinners, and not because of anything good or righteous in us, God looked upon us with pity (Rom. 3:10-12, Eph. 1:3-6). Incredibly, our offenses against God in thought, word, nature, and deed did not move him to justly boot us all into hell. No, far from it. He radically humbled himself by joining human nature to himself and was born a baby (Phil. 2:5-7). Though he deserved unceasing worship from every human, Jesus received scorn, hate, and a humiliating and brutal crucifixion (Phil. 2:8). He received all of this on purpose in obedience to his Father’s plan to atone for the sin of his people (John 10:18). Though thoroughly sinful, Jesus so loved his people that he referred to them as, “My sheep” (John 10:26-27). Jesus then rose from the grave victorious, validating his saving work for his sheep. This is a great love, indeed. And it has everything to do with those struggling with the unrighteousness around them: we’ve all sinned, Jesus died and rose for us, and our greatest need has been met.

9. We are to pray

As every human nation and government will be filled with unrighteousness, God now calls his people to pray.

“First of all, then, I urge that entreaties and prayers, petitions and thanksgivings, be made on behalf of all men, ² for kings and all who are in authority, so that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and dignity” (1 Tim. 2:1-2).

We are to pray for so many encouraging reasons: God hears (Ps. 65:2), God answers and works through prayer (1 Sam. 1:10-11, John 15:7), we are commanded to (1 Tim. 2:1-2), it shows that we are depending on our sovereign God (Luke 11:8), and it is an act of worship whereby God brings glory to himself (Rev. 8:3). If we find ourselves in the rut of angst at times, let us pray. We are to pray and pray and pray, and not lose heart (Luke 11:5-8, 18:1-8; Thess. 5:17).

10. Heaven will be great

Jesus often mentioned that we are to live for our permanent, future, unseen, and eternal home with him and all the redeemed (Matt. 16:24-27). While being present and prayerful, this world is passing, visible, dying, and temporal (1 John 2:17).

In heaven, there will be no voter fraud. They’ll be no voting, for that matter. Why should there be? The forever King will be the single most loving, wise, righteous, just, and perfect Individual in the universe, the blessed Lord Jesus Christ (Isa. 9:6-7, John 1:17, Phil. 2:8-11).

“And the Lord will be king over all the earth; in that day the Lord will be the only one, and His name the only one” (Zech. 14:9).

Of course, more could be said here. As God’s people, we are abundantly furnished with what we need to face these rocky times in a manner pleasing to him. Whatever happens, may the Lord’s church abound in faithfulness and fruitfulness.

In the comments, let’s avoid discussing whether or not there was fraud, and instead stick more to the point of the post.

Three biblical examples of believers disobeying civil authority

Tue, 19 Jan 2021 09:06:00 GMT

In November 2020, the State of Washington instituted a government mandate which read “congregational singing is prohibited.” Just last week (Jan 11, 2021), they now only permit up to 15 people to sing together indoors and each singer must stand nine feet from others making it unrealistic for congregations to sing indoors. Earlier this month I argued here that the Bible both commands and commends congregational worship. So how should Christians respond when their governing authorities prohibit (or now severely restricts) something that the Bible commands and commends?

There are at least four examples of this that come to mind. We will look at three today, and one tomorrow.

My point in writing this is not to compare COVID restrictions to being burned in a fire (Daniel 6), but rather to closely examine the Scriptures and draw Biblical principles that we can then apply to our individual circumstances.

Example One: Daniel 1 – Defying Dietary Instructions

Daniel was a young man who was deported to Babylon where, “The king appointed for them a daily ration from the king’s choice food and from the wine which he drank, and appointed that they should be educated three years, at the end of which they were to enter the king’s personal service” (Daniel 1:5). The passage indicates the instructions from the king were, in effect: “Here is your daily food and drink which will be your diet.”

To many of us, it might have been a privilege to eat from the ‘king’s choice food.’ But the Bible tells us: ^“Daniel made up his mind…” He was unwavering and made a firm decision: “that he would not defile himself with the king’s choice food or with the wine which he drank” (Daniel 1:8).

Now, why did he do that? Why did he accept a pagan name (v. 6), accept pagan teaching (v. 5), but reject the king’s food (v. 5)? At face value, it would seem as if food was the least of his concerns.

Daniel was devoted to God and the Law. In the Mosaic law there is nothing that would forbid someone from learning from pagans (teaching which could always later be rejected). There is also nothing that forbade them from being called by another name. However, there were strict and explicit ceremonial and dietary laws that the Jews were to follow.

He could have rationalized it away by believing that he would have a better testimony if he followed everyone else. Perhaps the future of other deported Jews would be jeopardized by his insult upon the king in this direct act of disobedience and he was not “loving his neighbor.” He could have even said, “Food is not a hill to die on” and ate anyways. The question, however, is not one of ‘degree of importance’ but one of ‘violation of the Scriptures.’ This is where Daniel drew the line.

He resolved not to violate any Law of God and trusted God with the consequences of his individual actions.

Some commentators point out that the foods eaten the Babylonian court would have included pork and horse (such as Baldwin p. 83, Oppenheim, Anceint Mesopotamia, p. 45), both of which were unclean (Leviticus 11, Deuteronomy 14). Moreover, much of this food would have been offered to Babylonian gods before being sent to the king’s court, and his wine was likely associated with this pagan rituals (Wood, p. 37, and Miller in NAC, pp 66-67). Regardless, Daniel drew his line in the sand not with his name or his education, but with his food.

What did the Lord do for Daniel considering his non-compromising stance? God honored Daniel and his three friends. He blessed Daniel and his friends with favor (v. 9, 19), health (v. 14-16), knowledge & intelligence (v. 17), extraordinary abilities (v. 18-20), position & longevity (v. 19b & 21).

When we consider civil disobedience, the first question to ask is: Am I being asked to do something that is contrary to the Word of God? (Or conversely, forbidding me from obeying the Word of God?)

Example 2: Daniel 3 – Defying Instructions for Worship

In Daniel 3, King Nebuchadnezzar set up a golden image and gave this command:

“That at the moment you hear the sound of the horn, flute, lyre, trigon, psaltery, bagpipe and all kinds of music, you are to fall down and worship the golden image that Nebuchadnezzar the king has set up. But whoever does not fall down and worship shall immediately be cast into the midst of a furnace of blazing fire.”
Daniel 3:5-6

Certainly, this command was designed to trap the Jews, and there were some in the king’s court eagerly waiting to pounce. In fact, we read in the next verse: “certain Chaldeans came forward and brought charges against the Jews” (Daniel 3:8).

The word for “brought charges” literally means “ate the pieces of,” meaning that they were waiting to accuse the Jews. These young men had received positions of authority over them and obviously, the Chaldeans didn’t take too kindly to it. Their charge?

“There are certain Jews whom you have appointed over the administration of the province of Babylon, namely Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego. These men, O king, have disregarded you; they do not serve your gods or worship the golden image which you have set up.”
Daniel 3:12

There were three complaints against them: (1) They paid no attention to the king (and his commands), (2) they did not serve the king’s gods, and (3) they refused to worship the golden statue the king himself had set up.

The penalty for such actions was death, to which Nebuchadnezzar threatened to sentence them. The young men gave this very significant answer:

“Nebuchadnezzar, we are not in need of an answer to give you concerning this matter. If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to rescue us from the furnace of blazing fire; and He will rescue us from your hand, O king. But even if He does not, let it be known to you, O king, that we are not going to serve your gods nor worship the golden statue that you have set up.”
Daniel 3:16-18

God can rescue those who obey Him, but even if God does not, they would not bow. Obedience was more important than their own lives. Even as Hebrews 12:4 tells us, “You have not yet resisted to the point of shedding blood in your striving against sin.”

What was the result in Daniel 3? In a turn of events, Nebuchadnezzar came to the recognition of the power of God, “who has sent His angel and rescued His servants who put their trust in Him, violating the king’s command, and surrendered their bodies rather than serve or worship any god except their own God” (Daniel 3:28) He also made a decree that no one should speak “anything offensive against the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego” and “Then the king made Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego prosperous in the province of Babylon” (3:29-30).

Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego (1) put their trust in God, (2) violated the king’s command, and (3) were willing to die instead of serving or worshipping any other God. Choosing to obey the Word of God rather than the command of the king brought glory to God and God, in turn, blessed and honored them.

Example 3: Acts 5 – Defying the Command Not To Preach & Teach

The last example for today comes from the New Testament. When the new church began to grow, the Jewish leaders began to oppress them and imprisoned the Apostles (Acts 5:18). They were not in prison long before an angel of the Lord opened the gates and commanded them:

“Go, stand and speak to the people in the temple area the whole message of this Life.” Upon hearing this, they entered into the temple area about daybreak and began to teach”
Acts 5:20-21

It strikes me how their obedience to the message from the Lord was immediate. When they were discovered to be teaching in public again, the Jewish leaders arrested them, hauled them before the high priest and, “The high priest interrogated them, saying, ‘We gave you strict orders not to continue teaching in this name, and yet, you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching and intend to bring this Man’s blood upon us” (Acts 5:27-28).

The response of Peter and the apostles was:

“We must obey God rather than men.The God of our fathers raised up Jesus, whom you put to death by hanging Him on a cross. He is the one whom God exalted to His right hand as a Prince and a Savior, to grant repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins. And we are witnesses of these things; and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey Him.”
Acts 5:29-32

Here, there was a clear conflict between the command of the human authority above them and the command of God to teach and preach. While they could have opted to go to another location, or perhaps teach and preach in private (rather than exacerbate the situation by publicly teaching and preaching), they chose to continue to publicly minister as they had done in the past. In other words, they did not alter their actions because of the prohibition (or restriction) of the governing authorities.

So, the Jewish leaders decided to call the apostles in, and:

“they flogged them and ordered them not to speak in the name of Jesus, and then released them. So they went on their way from the presence of the Council, rejoicing that they had been considered worthy to suffer shame for His name.”
Acts 5:40-41

Even after being flogged they considered it a joy to suffer for the sake of obedience to Christ. In fact, after the second order “not to speak in the name of Jesus,” the Bible says, “And every day, in the temple and from house to house, they did not stop teaching and preaching the good news of Jesus as the Christ” (Acts 5:42).

Once again, we see their continued faithful obedience to God’s commands, as had been their pattern before, without compromise, over the commands of the religious leaders of the people.

These three examples all vary slightly. In the first, the command to eat certain foods was highly likely going to require doing something God had forbidden. In the second, obeying the governing command would have clearly been sinful. And in the third, obeying the governing authority would have meant abstaining from something God had ordered.

It is noteworthy that in all three instances, the believers did not try and find a compromise. They did not search for the path of least resistance, or strive to preach instead in an area from which they were not banned, or pick through their food for the kosher bits. Instead they advertised their commitment to God’s word over and above their governing authority.

Those same characteristics are in full display in the example we will consider tomorrow.

Sovereign Grace Pt 1: Jesus rejoices in his choices

Mon, 18 Jan 2021 09:00:00 GMT

This year will mark 20 years since two passenger planes plunged into the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in New York. It was the most widely witnessed, large-scale terrorist attack the world has ever seen. I was living in the USA at the time, and I remember there was a surge in interest in the role of God in the world. Metaphysical questions were being raised on radio talk shows and on TV.

Of all the questions, the most haunting one was the topic of a Larry King Live interview. Larry King assembled a panel consisting of prominent Muslim, Jewish, and Christian leaders, as well as New Age pundit, Deepak Chopra. His question: “Where was God on 9/11?”

It was a question of sovereignty. Is God in control of everything or not? Here are some of the answers offered by the panel of religious experts…

DEEPAK CHOPRA: God is infinite creativity, infinite love, infinite compassion… God is not the problem, Larry. It’s our ignorance about our inseparability with each other and our tribal instinct. We’ve sacrificed God. We’ve made a brand name out of God, and we’ve gone to war. … the name of God is not “God.” That’s our essential problem.

KING: Rabbi, if God is omnipotent, he could have prevented this, could he not?

RABBI HAROLD KUSHNER: No, because I think at the very outset God gave human beings the freedom to choose between being good people and being bad people. And at tremendous risk to God’s creatures and God’s creation, he will not take that power away from us, that freedom, because we stop being human beings if he does.

KING: John, … do you question whether there is a God?

PASTOR JOHN MACARTHUR: I don’t question whether there is a God. I don’t even question what God chooses to allow. It’s not a matter of my opinion. … Scripture tells us that God is absolutely sovereign; that everything that occurs, occurs within the framework of his purpose.

Needless to say, this answer sparked a lively debate among the panelists. But all MacArthur did was to supply the biblical view of God. God reveals himself as sovereign, or in control of everything in the world, and he explicitly says that he is able to overrule man’s free will whenever he wants to. And in fact he does override free will each and every time a person gets saved.

You might be wondering where in the Bible it says that. Let’s look at Luke 10:21-23.

The context here is that the 72 evangelists have just come back and are rejoicing at the miracles they had seen. Jesus tells them rather to “rejoice that your names are written in heaven.” Luke 10:20.

3 RESPONSES TO SOVEREIGN GRACE SO THAT YOU DON’T MISTAKENLY THINK YOUR FREE WILL IS MORE POWERFUL THAN GOD

1. APPLAUD SOVEREIGN GRACE

Luke 10: 21 In that same hour he rejoiced in the Holy Spirit and said, “I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to little children; yes, Father, for such was your gracious will.

Have you ever wondered if God can do anything he wants? Anything? If he wants to save me, can he, or is he bound by my free will?

If he can’t save me without my self-initiated cooperation, then he is not all powerful. And then why do I pray for the salvation of other people if God cannot influence them? And if he can influence those I pray for, why does he not influence all people everywhere to choose him?

Welcome to the doctrine of sovereign grace.

“Sovereign” means that God is in control, all-powerful, ruling, and reigning.

“Grace” is the free gift of salvation he gives sinners.

“Sovereign grace” is the biblical doctrine which teaches that God can and does save whomever he wants, even by overruling their free will.

So let’s carefully examine this passage…

Luke 10:21 In that same hour he rejoiced in the Holy Spirit and said, “I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to little children; yes, Father, for such was your gracious will.

Notice that Jesus not only believes in sovereign grace, but he rejoices in it:

²¹In that same hour he rejoiced.

He applauds it, he calls it God’s gracious will. He even thanks God for doing it that way.

Some people say sovereign grace makes us seem like robots. But Jesus makes it about God, not us. Jesus applauds this doctrine and worships God. His point is that the people who are great in worldly standards merit nothing with God. You can study philosophy and theology, and still not be saved. Because no one is saved due to their IQ, education, or experience.

Salvation is by grace alone, not your own efforts.

Ephesians 2:⁸For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God,

So yes, God actually hides the truth from some people so that he gets glory, not them.

Here are some examples…

Exodus 4:²¹And the Lord said to Moses, “When you go back to Egypt, see that you do before Pharaoh all the miracles that I have put in your power. But I will harden his heart, so that he will not let the people go.

Matthew 13: ¹⁰ Then the disciples came and said to him, “Why do you speak to them in parables?” 11 And he answered them, “To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given.

John 12:³⁷Though he had done so many signs before them, they still did not believe in him… ³⁹Therefore they could not believe. For again Isaiah said, ⁴⁰“He has blinded their eyes and hardened their heart, lest they see with their eyes, and understand with their heart, and turn, and I would heal them.”

Wow. This is a lot of bad news. So, to whom does God reveal truth?

Luke 10: 21… “I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to little children; …

Here Jesus thanks God for revealing truth to people, who think of themselves as children, people who don’t have faith in their own intelligence, who know they are sinners, who know they are helpless, who know they need a Savior.

What gives Jesus joy is not that some are rejecting God, but that their education and IQ, their earthly, human wisdom and understanding is not what saves them. He rejoices in the fact that God does reveal himself to people and does save people and that his choice of them is based on his graciousness, not their qualifications.

No one seeks God, no one deserves grace, no one earns merit, no one qualifies for salvation. But God saves us anyway.

This should give you tremendous hope. No matter how uneducated you are. No matter how little of the Bible you know. No matter how wicked your past or disgusting your present. God can and will save anyone and everyone who believes in Jesus.

This is not a scary doctrine. It’s a glorious doctrine that brightens Jesus’ day.

He loves that all the world’s education and wisdom is not enough to save you. He loves that even the lowliest, most ungifted, unconnected, underachievers can be saved. There are no human qualities needed to save you, only God’s sovereign grace.

For two more responses to sovereign grace, so that you don’t mistakenly think your free will is more powerful than God…come back next week.

How to pray for our political leaders

Fri, 15 Jan 2021 13:17:43 GMT

As a new president is inaugurated next week, here are some suggestions for how Christians can pray for our nation, our political leaders, and ourselves as we pursue Christ through an increasingly political culture. Consider using these verses in your own personal prayer time, or to help structure a small group or church service devoted to prayer for our nation.

Pray for our own peace and joy in the midst of change

“Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice. Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”
Philippians 4:4–7

Politics uniquely combines attempts to persuade others who do not agree with you, as well as a polarization/demonization of those who do not agree with you. Thus, politics can be addictive because everything becomes urgent. If the wrong person wins or if the right bill fails, our minds significantly exaggerate the fallout. Thus politics is addicting, consuming, and leads to life void of joy. Those I know who are in politics professionally have figured out how to disengage. But there is a tendency in many to consume political news and updates. This leads to anxiety and a loss of joy.

This is exasperated by a contested presidential election, dual impeachments, and COVID chaos. Now that the election is over, ask yourself: did I get sucked in? Has politics stolen my joy? Am I anxious about the future? If so, confess, repent, and return to taking your thoughts captive for the joy of the Lord. There is no better passage to meditate on and pray through to that end than Philippians 4:4-7. Pray that these verses would mark your life.

(cf. Matthew 6:25-34; Philippians 2:12-17)

2. Pray for our own submission to the government

“Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment. For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Would you have no fear of the one who is in authority? Then do what is good, and you will receive his approval, for he is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain. For he is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God’s wrath on the wrongdoer. Therefore one must be in subjection, not only to avoid God’s wrath but also for the sake of conscience. For because of this you also pay taxes, for the authorities are ministers of God, attending to this very thing. Pay to all what is owed to them: taxes to whom taxes are owed, revenue to whom revenue is owed, respect to whom respect is owed, honor to whom honor is owed.”
Romans 13:1–7

There is a bit of the Don’t Tread on Me Spirit in most Americans. In a nation borne out of revolution, submission to government is often treated as a weakness, not a virtue. But the Bible describes submission in a way that makes it even stronger than our world. Submission gives way to respect, and respect to honor. God calls his people to love, honor, respect—and yes, even pay—those in governmental authority over us. There is a sense in which democracy makes this difficult—it is hard for some to respect leaders whom we voted against (or to think of a recent example, even leaders we voted for!). But that is what the Bible calls us to do.

So pray to God and ask him to help you grow in your respect for those in authority over you. This is something only God can do, and so pray that he would do it.

(cf. Ecclesiastes 8:1-11; 1 Peter 2:11-19)

3. Pray for our leader’s conversion

“First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way. This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all, which is the testimony given at the proper time.”
1 Timothy 2:1-6

Surprisingly, Paul does not challenge Christians to “speak truth to power,” or seek to right the wrongs in government. Instead, he calls Christians to lead a peaceful and quietly life. To fly under the radar. To, in one sense, simply fit in, so that what stands out would be Christ and not us. Basically, we should pray that our political leaders leave us alone.

But Paul goes even further than prayer for government to not notice us. He calls Christians to pray that their governmental leaders get converted. It is true that Jesus came for the humble and the broken. There are not many who are wise in the world eyes who are going to be converted (1 Corinthians 1:26). Nevertheless, God desires all kinds of people to be saved—even kings! Pray that God would place Christians around leaders, just as he placed Paul around Caesar’s household (Philippians 4:22).

(cf. Acts 25:22-32; Philippians 4:20-23)

4. Pray for our leader’s morality

“He who is often reproved, yet stiffens his neck, will suddenly be broken beyond healing. When the righteous increase, the people rejoice, but when the wicked rule, the people groan. He who loves wisdom makes his father glad, but a companion of prostitutes squanders his wealth. By justice a king builds up the land, but he who exacts gifts tears it down. A man who flatters his neighbor spreads a net for his feet. An evil man is ensnared in his transgression, but a righteous man sings and rejoices. A righteous man knows the rights of the poor; a wicked man does not understand such knowledge. Scoffers set a city aflame, but the wise turn away wrath.”
Proverbs 29:1-8

Proverbs 29 expresses the reality that when a nation is ruled by wicked people, suffering increases. The parallelism in this passages links the sin of pride to suffering, prostitution, bribery, flattering speech, and ultimately the exploitation of the poor. Pray that instead of those sins, our leaders would be marked by humility, righteousness, wisdom, justice, and compassion.

(cf. Proverbs 16:10-22; Proverbs 20:8-9, 26-30)

5. Pray for our trust in God’s sovereignty

“All flesh is grass, and all its beauty is like the flower of the field. The grass withers, the flower fades when the breath of Yahweh blows on it; surely the people are grass. The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God will stand forever….Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand and marked off the heavens with a span, enclosed the dust of the earth in a measure and weighed the mountains in scales and the hills in a balance? Who has measured the Spirit of Yahweh, or what man shows him his counsel? Whom did he consult, and who made him understand? Who taught him the path of justice, and taught him knowledge, and showed him the way of understanding? Behold, the nations are like a drop from a bucket, and are accounted as the dust on the scales; behold, he takes up the coastlands like fine dust. Lebanon would not suffice for fuel, nor are its beasts enough for a burnt offering. All the nations are as nothing before him, they are accounted by him as less than nothing and emptiness.
Isaiah 40:6–17

A passage like Isaiah 40 causes us to zoom out and get perspective. There are 8 billion people alive now, and in 70 years nearly all of them will be gone, and replaced with another 10 billion or so, most of whom will live in nations like China, India, Indonesia, Pakistan—nations without a strong gospel witness. There is a sense of immediacy when we focus on our own political issues that dissipates when we look out at the world and up at the Lord.

Reading and praying through a passage like Isaiah 40 causes us to take our eyes off of ourselves and our own children, and wrestle with the fact that God is eternal. He establishes kings and kingdoms, and he will bring history to a screeching halt according to his own time table. Fervent prayer is what is required to escape the faux immediacy and self-importance that fills so much of our culture.

(Acts 14:15-17; Acts 17:24-31; Isaiah 46)

What passages or themes would you add to this? Let me know in the comments below.

The Importance of Physically Present, In-Person Church

Wed, 13 Jan 2021 09:02:00 GMT

Covid has made the past year a unique time in world history. With lockdown and social-isolation mandates, the church has been afforded the opportunity to revisit biblical commands on worship. Scripture teaches that God’s people ought to do whatever they can to meet in person. Certainly there are times when we cannot do so (e.g. illness, vacation, work, emergencies, etc.). However, in light of God’s glory and salvation, Christians are to prioritize gathering for in-person worship as a regular way of life in New Testament local churches. Here are ten thoughts on why God would have his people prioritize in-person worship.

God is a God who declares he is worthy of worship.

God introduces himself to humanity in Scripture as a God who is to be worshiped. A worshiped-deity is the kind of God he is. Many of the Psalms declare that God is this unique kind of God; a kind of God who must be worshiped by a corporate, redeemed people.

Psalm 29:1-2 Ascribe to the Lord, O sons of the mighty, ascribe to the Lord glory and strength. Ascribe to the Lord the glory due to His name; worship the Lord in holy array.

Psalm 95:1-7 O come, let us sing for joy to the Lord, Let us shout joyfully to the rock of our salvation. ² Let us come before His presence with thanksgiving, Let us shout joyfully to Him with psalms. ³ For the Lord is a great God And a great King above all gods, ⁴ In whose hand are the depths of the earth, The peaks of the mountains are His also. ⁵ The sea is His, for it was He who made it, And His hands formed the dry land. ⁶ Come, let us worship and bow down, Let us kneel before the Lord our Maker. ⁷ For He is our God, And we are the people of His pasture and the sheep of His hand.

Notice the words in those psalms (and there are many others). The existence of the God of the Bible; the type of God that the true God is solicits, arouses, and mandates worship. We recognize, also, that the command and declarations for worship in the Psalms are often corporate; in the second or first person plural.

2. God delights to bless his people, and one of the ways he blesses his people is through the in-person worship of his corporately gathered people.

Early in redemptive history, God declares his desire to redeem his people Israel from Egypt. What was one of the stated reasons why?

Exodus 5:1 And afterward Moses and Aaron came and said to Pharaoh, “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, ‘Let My people go that they may celebrate a feast to Me in the wilderness.’ ”

One of the purposes of Israel’s redemption was corporate worship. Following the Exodus event, God gathered his people at Sinai for blessing and teaching. Corporately gathered worship continued throughout the wilderness time, and continued as a major theme in the Bible. The Sabbath command involved a corporate, physically present time of worship. Later, during Israel’s exile, this developed into corporate worship at a synagogue (the word “synagogue,” carrying the idea of a gathering)

Later, since virtually no one owned a Bible up until about 300 years ago (Bibles were often chained to a pulpit, for example) many people could not have a private “quiet time,” as we think of it. While God’s people always prayed and meditated on the Scriptures, people often lived together in small homes of a single room, and worked long hours of manual labor, making it difficult to get away privately. Thus, the high point of the week was the corporate gathering.

Corporately gathered worship seems to be the chief way in which God would bless his people through the means of grace. The Scriptures were inspired and written, originally, to be heard. They were read publicly and expounded in a Sabbath, Old Testament Feast, or, later, a New Testament gathering in a church.

Along these lines, Timothy was commanded to put much of his being into the in-person time of corporate worship:

1 Timothy 4:13–15 Until I come, give attention to the public reading of Scripture, to exhortation and teaching. ¹⁴ Do not neglect the spiritual gift within you, which was bestowed on you through prophetic utterance with the laying on of hands by the presbytery. ¹⁵ Take pains with these things; be absorbed in them, so that your progress will be evident to all.

2 Timothy 4:2 preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort, with great patience and instruction.

Similarly, we will not find any notion in Scripture that choosing to worship individually or privately is a suitable substitute for gathering for in-person worship. The idea of “doing church away from church” is not considered church in the New Testament, nor would it have been for the OT Sabbath. Though the idea of doing church away from the corporate body is often embraced in our culture, we might wonder if we approach any other way of life like that (e.g. “Honey, I’m doing our family time away from the family, out camping by myself with the dog. Is that ok?”).

Again, there are times when it is simply not possible (and we ought to carefully, and not subjectively, define “possible”) for us to gather physically. Yet it stands that one reason God commands in-person corporate worship is because of his delight to uniquely bless his people. Physical presence to hear the word read, sang, and preached is an essential means of grace.

3. Some of the one anothers are in the corporate sense.

Ephesians 5:18–19 And do not get drunk with wine, for that is dissipation, but be filled with the Spirit, ¹⁹ speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody with your heart to the Lord

Colossians 3:16 Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you, with all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with thankfulness in your hearts to God.

Commands like these seem to reach their height and intended purpose through in-person corporate worship. “Are you saying it’s not possible to sing to each other outside of corporate worship?” Of course not. But given the long tradition of, and emphasis on, corporate worship since the days following the Exodus, and the ongoing practice of the early church, these commands seem to find their most fitting place in corporate worship.

4. God commands ongoing in-person participation in a NT local church.

Hebrews 10:24–25 and let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds, ²⁵ not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another; and all the more as you see the day drawing near.

If nothing else, the regenerate understand that they are to to prioritize gathering for in-person worship as a regular way of life in New Testament local churches because God commands it.

The context of this command is also helpful. In our day, some churches and Christians are not gathering because there is a potential danger to doing so. Though each person’s situation ought to be graciously approached individually, the context of this command was similar. God’s people apparently faced consequences for gathering corporately:

Hebrews 10:32–36 But remember the former days, when, after being enlightened, you endured a great conflict of sufferings, ³³ partly by being made a public spectacle through reproaches and tribulations, and partly by becoming sharers with those who were so treated. ³⁴ For you showed sympathy to the prisoners and accepted joyfully the seizure of your property, knowing that you have for yourselves a better possession and a lasting one. ³⁵ Therefore, do not throw away your confidence, which has a great reward. ³⁶ For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God, you may receive what was promised.

5. God commands in-person corporate worship as a means to prevent each one of us from committing apostasy

The command to gather corporately in the body of Christ falls in the context of a dire warning of apostasy.

Hebrews 10:25–27 not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another; and all the more as you see the day drawing near. ²⁶ For if we go on sinning willfully after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, ²⁷ but a terrifying expectation of judgment and the fury of a fire which will consume the adversaries.

In context, apparently, the persistent refusal to gather for in-person corporate worship was a gateway to apostasy. There is simply nothing worse in life than apostasy. A hotter-than-average hell is reserved for these individuals.

Salvation is all by grace, including perseverance. However, we must persevere so as to demonstrate a living faith (Matt. 13:23). One way and means of persevering, by God’s grace, is meaningfully gathering corporately for worship.

6. We are to gather for worship because of the encouragement we are to others by being physically present.

During these lockdown times, the elders of our church have counseled with people who are experiencing greater-than-average discouragement due to the absence of others from corporate gatherings. That has reminded us that we are hard-wired for in-person interactions; fellowship; worship.

Do not underestimate the ministry of “presence”; the encouragement we bring to others by being physically present. If we are self-focused, we will not approach the gathering with this aspect in mind.

7. Our sanctification depends on regularly prioritizing in-person worship.

The corporate gathering seems to be the chief means of grace in the Christian’s life (cf. 1 Tim 4:13-16; 2 Tim. 4:2-5). While we grow from private worship and other means, nothing can replace corporate worship. If one of those needs to go, it would have to be the former, not the latter (though both are essential). Without ongoing corporate worship, our spiritual growth will be severely hindered.

Sanctification is God’s great plan for us in this life (Phil. 1:6, 2:12-13). It seems to be more important than our physical protection to God at times (cf. Rom 8:28-30ff). And corporate worship is essential to it.

8. Isolating ourselves (whether as families, couples, individuals) and locking down as a society does more harm than a virus.

It’s not a virus that is most detrimental to the spiritual health of God’s people, but social isolation. The social, emotional, and spiritual damage to locking down seems to be greater than any other damage.

We are not merely physical creatures, whose only approach to life is either needing to prioritize physically beneficial things, or avoiding physically negative things. We are also spiritual creatures, hardwired for worship in spirit and truth (John 4:24). We need in-person interaction; fellowship; worship. Perhaps at times we need it more than we need to stay safe from a virus.

Numbers on things like depression, mental illness, suicide, drug abuse, etc., increased significantly during lockdowns. In October 2020, more people died from suicide in Japan that month than from covid during 10 months of the virus.[1]

We are hardwired for in-person, fellowship. We cannot survive without it. We do great spiritual harm to ourselves (directly), and to others (indirectly) when we neglect it.

9. In-person worship is essential because it is a time where we serve others, exercise our spiritual gifts, and carry out ministry.

Weekly corporate worship, home groups, women’s and men’s groups, and other equipping, are not only a time to receive the teaching. Though they are that, there are other ministries that occur when God’s people gather together. Some examples include: greeting new visitors (no single person can do that), inviting people into the body, praying for people, evangelizing a lost person you meet at the gathering, asking questions regarding what people learned from the sermon, children’s ministry, set up, music, media, giving, singing, simply being present, and more.

Though we do gather corporately to be receive and be fed, we also gather to serve. We ought to approach every gathering with a desire to reach out and serve someone. We are saved to serve (cf. Mark 10:42-45).

10. Finally, the data from the virus does not seem to support universally mandated lock downs and discontinuing in-person worship.

This is the least weighty reason of this list.

CDC reports have fluctuated a bit and differ according to age. Generally, survivability numbers have hovered around 99.9% +/-, and lower for those over 70, higher the younger you go. Some propose that those numbers are higher since the statistic does not factor in many who have the virus but do not get tested or are asymptomatic. Co-morbidities factor in as well, as far as dangers and safety. We are not epidemiologists; we are attempting to pass on data.

In either case, people have died from this virus. It has been very difficult for so many. People have really suffered. This is tragic and terrible.

A few considerations may be needed, however. First, many of us do things that have a risk factor comparable to this virus, like driving on ice, riding animals, skiing, hunting, living in a city, or a job in manual labor. And many continue to work despite those risks. Second, during these times, there is a risk to gathering in worship. There is a risk to being in public places, whether during these times, or not. It is possible for the curse to harm us significantly physically this side of heaven. That’s inherent to living in a Genesis 3 world. Third, it is not the government’s place to assume that they can forbid God’s people from gathering for worship. They are assigned the task of justly bearing the sword against evil, rewarding the good, and collecting taxes (Rom. 13:1-7, 1 Pet. 2:13-17). All that to say, in general, in-person worship seems to be the ideal norm for God’s people.

More could be said on the issue. We could add to the list: the unique and beneficial accountability dynamic, the shepherding connection between undershepherds and sheep inherent to in-person worship, and the practice of baptism and the Lord’s Supper. The seem to be a few reasons which merit the priority gathering for in-person worship as much as possible as a regular way of life in New Testament local churches.

[1] https://www.cbsnews.com/news/japan-suicide-coronavirus-more-japanese-suicides-in-october-than-total-covid-deaths/

How to Know you Know God

Mon, 11 Jan 2021 09:01:00 GMT

One of the most recognizable images of WW2 is the iconic photograph of six Marines planting the American flag on the island of Iwo Jima. That famous picture was circulated in many newspapers in 1945. One morning airman Ed Block was on leave and was reading the newspaper in the home of his mother, Belle. As Belle walked by, she glanced at the newspaper photograph, pointed to the Marine who was thrusting the flagpole into ground, and declared matter-of-factly, “That’s your brother, Harlon.”

That man had his back to the camera, was wearing a uniform, and a helmet. No part of his face or body was visible and he had no distinguishing marks. Ed patiently pointed this out to his mom, and added that no one knew where Harlon was stationed, nor if he was anywhere near Iwo Jima. Belle declared simply, “I know my boy.”

Later, the men in the photograph were identified by the press. The one thrusting the pole into the ground was identified as Henry Hansen, not Harlon Block, who was killed in action on Iwo Jima. But even after this news, Belle maintained that the newspapers were mistaken. Her son may be dead, but he died after he planted that flag.

Two years later, after additional testimony had been gathered about the famous photograph, a correction was published. Harlon Block had indeed been the marine who planted the flag. When Belle heard this, she wasn’t in the least surprised. All she said was, “I know my boy.”

There is something very precious and unmistakable about the bond that is forged by an intimate love relationship. A mother and her boy, a husband and his bride, or as we shall see in our text, a believer and his God.

I’m concerned about people who know about God but do not know him. I also feel sympathy for true believers who could enjoy the security of their salvation but are not sure that they know God in a saving way.

Psalm 116 illuminates this topic.

4 ASPECTS OF AN INTIMATE KNOWLEDGE OF GOD

1. RELATIONSHIP OF LOVE AND PRAYER

Psalm 116: ¹I love the Lord, because he has heard my voice and my pleas for mercy. ²Because he inclined his ear to me, therefore I will call on him as long as I live.

The psalmist’s opening declaration is: “I love the Lord.” He can’t contain his heart’s cry.

And the love he feels is not based on a warm and fuzzy sentimentalism, or a burning in the bosom; his relationship of love is based on a knowledge of God’s saving, merciful, forgiving character.

Those God has saved are in a two-way, dynamic, living relationship with him. He is not a dumb idol that we carved out of wood, chose to bow down to, and have an imaginary friend relationship with. No, we love him because he hears us, he saves us, we experience his response to our prayers.

Even in the midst of chaotic distractions, I know my God and I know he hears me when I cry…

Psalm 116:³The snares of death encompassed me; the pangs of Sheol laid hold on me; I suffered distress and anguish. ⁴Then I called on the name of the Lord: “O Lord, I pray, deliver my soul!”

God hears and answers the prayers of his children as a sign of his caring relationship with us. There may be prayers that you are praying that God does not seem to be answering, and there are a number of reasons for this, (e.g. your unrepentant sin, God’s better will for your life). But one of the ways we know we are in a real, saving, intimate relationship with God is that we pray to him and we see him answer our prayers. If this is absent from your life, you may lack assurance of your relationship with him, you may doubt at times whether God even exists.

But a healthy prayer life is only one trait of intimacy with God…

2. REST IN TRIALS AND TRIBULATIONS

Psalm 116: ⁵Gracious is the Lord, and righteous; our God is merciful. ⁶The Lord preserves the simple; when I was brought low, he saved me. ⁷Return, O my soul, to your rest; for the Lord has dealt bountifully with you. ⁸For you have delivered my soul from death, my eyes from tears, my feet from stumbling; ⁹I will walk before the Lord in the land of the living. ¹⁰I believed, even when I spoke, “I am greatly afflicted”; ¹¹I said in my alarm, “All mankind are liars.”

Don’t you feel this cynicism these days? When you encounter fake news, read false claims, discover hidden agendas of politicians, scientists, and journalists, don’t you want to cry out “All mankind are liars”?

But in the milieu of death and tears, and the mayhem of affliction and falsehood, the psalmist exhibits one of the most telling characteristics of a person who knows God: peace.

He is at rest, secure, confident—in life, in death, in trials and tribulations—because of his knowledge of God.

A restful, peaceful spirit in the eye of a storm of life’s stress and anxiety and threats and chaos, is a sure sign of knowing God. When you know his strength and wisdom, then fear doesn’t drag you around like a frightened horse; fear is easy to rein in.

What about you? Do you know God well enough to let that knowledge calm your spirit? Are you sure in your relationship with him, enough to believe he is able and willing to help you, and that he is on your side?

If not, you need to talk to yourself, reining in your fears, and stop listening to your frenetic riderless thoughts. Recall God’s works, his promises to you, and his character.

3. RESPONSE OF GIVING AND SERVING

Psalm 116: ¹²What shall I render to the Lord for all his benefits to me? ¹³I will lift up the cup of salvation and call on the name of the Lord, ¹⁴I will pay my vows to the Lord in the presence of all his people.…¹⁷I will offer to you the sacrifice of thanksgiving and call on the name of the Lord. ¹⁸I will pay my vows to the Lord in the presence of all his people,¹⁹in the courts of the house of the Lord, in your midst, O Jerusalem. Praise the Lord!

These phrases—render, lift up, call on, pay vows, offer—are all from the language of response.

When you are in relationship with someone, and they do something for you, you naturally respond to them. Different people have different ways they like to be loved…quality time, words of affirmation, gift-giving, and others. But God’s love-language is obedience.

1 John 2:³And by this we know that we have come to know him, if we keep his commandments.

To know God is to love him and to love him is to obey him.

Anyone who calls themselves a Christian but refuses to repent of what Jesus hates, like premarital sex, adultery, lying, laziness, gossip, greed, selfishness, and the other sins mentioned in Scripture, cannot be sure that they are in a saving love relationship with Jesus.

In a relationship with God, our obedience expressed through our financial offering, our serving in his kingdom, our participation in his work of evangelism and missions and church and worship is not payment, it’s an expression that is an overflow of our hearts.

4. REJOICING IN THIS LIFE AND THE NEXT

Psalm 116: ⁹I will walk before the Lord in the land of the living.… ¹⁵Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints. ¹⁶O Lord, I am your servant; I am your servant, the son of your maidservant. You have loosed my bonds.

When you love your pet, there is always the nagging reality that pets tend not to live as long as their owners. Usually one spouse will die before the other. Chrildren will bury their parents and sadly, sometimes, the other way around.

The unique aspect of our relationship with God is that it will never ever end. In fact, your relationship with God grows stronger and closer every year you are alive and then suddenly, in death, receives a massive upgrade!

Death is the most ominous, inescapable enemy of life. Every day that we live is one day closer to our expiry date. Death is something we try desperately to stave off with diet, medication, exercise, and seatbelts. But in the end death comes to all.

And yet, for believers, death only brings us to the object of our deepest love and affection, our Lord and Savior. This begets rejoicing in this life and the next. Paul, who understood this reality better than anyone, seemed positively schizophrenic when it came to his excited anticipation of death.

Phil 1:²¹For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. …23 I am hard pressed between the two. My desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better.

The death of saints is a precious thing in God’s sight because it is a homecoming to the one we love.

CONCLUSION

If you realize you do not know Christ. Or you are not sure….you can either…

– Ignore that dissonance in your soul, close down this blog, have dinner, watch TV, and tomorrow you will get back on the treadmill of work, parenting, hobbies, and entertainment. This option is a devastatingly common and perilous choice. It will culminate on Judgment Day, where you will call out to Jesus with a list of reasons why you should go to heaven, and he will reply with a chilling finality, I never knew you, depart from me.

OR…

– Cry out to Jesus. Whoever calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. Call to him and say: “you are the only hope I have of having my sins forgiven. I trust in you Jesus to save me from my sins.”

And then you will start to notice changes in your life…you will have: a relationship of love and prayer, rest in trials and tribulations, a response of giving and serving and rejoicing in this life and the next.

Political ethics vs. Biblical ethics

Fri, 08 Jan 2021 11:45:08 GMT

The sinful storming of the US Capitol Building this week exposes a massive world-view contrast between political ethics and biblical ethics.

Political ethics sees events through the lens of their potential to further political objectives. Biblical ethics sees events through the lens of moral absolutes with a gospel trajectory. Political ethics embrace hypocrisy—the best politicians are not even embarrassed by it!—while biblical ethics views hypocrisy as a disease to be eschewed. Biblical ethics concerns itself with absolute truth, and defines wisdom as the application of those moral principals in a fallen world. Political ethics defines wisdom as the ability to manipulate an event for maximum advantage.

When the Capitol Building was breached this week by Americans, it was obviously the first time in our nation’s history that had happened. Yet it certainly was not unprecedented. In the past few years protesters had occupied Senate offices, Congressional offices, even the State House in Wisconsin (and that occupation lasted several days!). This summer and fall, “protesters” embarked on a month long siege of the federal court house in Portland. Twice in the past few years massive groups had tried to forcibly enter and occupy the US Supreme Court.

One who views these events through political ethics asks himself, “Which party affiliation do these protestors have? Does supporting those protests advance or hinder a political objective I value?” Through that lens, supporting the mobs that attempted to breach the US Supreme Court this year advanced the narrative that the justices President Trump appointed were not legitimate, with the goal of undermining the perceived legitimacy of their rulings.

In fact, earlier this year, a massive mob attacked the White House itself, attempting to breach the walls and burning a church just outside the White House fence. Law enforcement responded with force, and other nearby police departments sent mutual aide to defend the White House.

That took place June 1, 2020. Do you remember the fallout from that? Those on the political left vilified the police for using force. The cities that sent mutual aid passed resolutions banning them from doing so again. The head of the Park Police was hauled in front of Congress to defend his agency’s use of pepper spray on US Citizens.

Meanwhile, many on the right defended the police and condemned those that sought to storm the White House. This established a pattern that lasted all summer long, through the various riots/protests/looting that took place from Philadelphia to Los Angeles. At risk of over-generalizing, those on the political left excused the rioters (in fact, they objected to them being called “rioters”), and rationalized why attacks on property were justified. Those on the right generally condemned the rioters, and encouraged the government to prosecute those doing the looting.

This is precisely why the riot at the US Capitol so effectively reveals the hypocrisy of political ethics. For those that have elevated politics above truth, their response to the attack on the Capitol almost causes whiplash. People who condemned the Park Police for dispersing the Lafayette Square riot promptly blamed the Capitol Police for not acting forcefully enough to disperse this latest riot. Meanwhile, many of those who condemned the rioters back in June are excusing the actions of the crowd this week (“they were just lost,” or “I’m sure many of them thought they were invited into the Capitol Building”).

I could go on and on, but I’m sure you get the point: hypocrisy abounds in politics. But the thing with Biblical ethics is that God is not a respecter of political parties. God is not trying to advance his own political agenda, so biblical ethics are not concerned with the party affiliation of a person in order to judge his or her conduct.

Thus, the Bible makes it clear that rioting is sinful. Those that storm buildings to take what is not theirs are participating in immoral actions—actions which the Bible calls “strife” and are not compatible with the light that Christians are called to walk in (Romans 13:12-13, Galatians 5:20). Being part of a crowd that is fighting police is likewise immoral. When the Bible speaks of riots, they are negative and presented as harmful and destructive for society (Acts 17:5-9, 19:23-41, 21:35—oh, and Genesis 19:4-11).

Riots are lawlessness, and lawlessness is condemned (1 John 3:4). It doesn’t matter if those rioting are those on the political right or the political left—rioting is sinful and wrong.

Believers ought to be encouraged to pursue biblical ethics and to avoid the morass of political ethics. Political ethics may produce short-term power as well as a sense of moral superiority, but it does not produce spiritual maturity.

If you were one who excused the occupation of Senate Building in 2018, or the attack on the White House back in June, but were quick to (rightly) condemn the attack on the Capitol, then you might be guilty of elevating political ethics above biblical morality. And likewise, if you were quick to (rightly) condemn the occupation of the Capitol in Madison, or the mobs pounding on the door of the Supreme Court, but responded to the riots this week by making excuses for the rioters, perhaps it is you who have lost sight of true biblical ethics.

Hypocrisy abounds in politics, but the Bible offers as stabilizing approach to understanding society. It condemns rioting as sin, but then offers forgiveness for that sin through Jesus Christ—and then it goes even farther; it offers sanctification that will cause you to grow more confident in Biblical ethics, and further away from the slippery slope of political hypocrisy.

The Day King David Became an Atheist

Tue, 05 Jan 2021 10:52:32 GMT

picture from quotefancy.com

“The sword devours one as well as another.” (2 Sam. 11:25)

These words are some of the most shocking words that we find in scripture. In perhaps one of the most shocking chapters of the Bible.

King David, the hero who killed tens of thousands of evil people, the worshipper who penned the most beautiful songs and chapters in the Bible, the man who was anointed by God to be the king of Israel, has become a momentary atheist.

I mean he had to, didn’t he? If he wasn’t going to repent right away.

He had just committed an unconscionable crime. He had taken Uriah’s wife Bathsheba and impregnated her, he had brought back Uriah, who was out at war and tried to convince him to go to Bathsheba so that he would think it was his baby. Then when Uriah refused, he sent a message to his general ordering the death of Uriah by Uriah’s own hand.

And then when Uriah had successfully been killed, what was he supposed to do? How would he live with himself? How could he continue to live in sin?

So, he says, “for the sword devours one as well as another”.

In other words, David is saying that God doesn’t exist. People die by the sword randomly and there is nothing that kings, generals or soldiers can do about it.

God is not sovereign!

This is typical talk for unbelievers but not for a writer of scripture.

I can’t think of anyone who believed in God’s sovereignty more than David!

He refused to lay a hand on Saul because he was God’s anointed!

He fearlessly confronted Goliath because he knew God was with him!

He Penned the beautiful words of Psalm 29:3-10 where he says,

The voice of the Lord is on the waters;
The God of glory thunders,
The Lord is over many waters.
The voice of the Lord is powerful,
The voice of the Lord is majestic.
The voice of the Lord breaks the cedars;
Yes, the Lord breaks the cedars of Lebanon in pieces.
He makes Lebanon skip like a calf,
And Sirion like a young wild ox.
The voice of the Lord divides flames of fire.
The voice of the Lord shakes the wilderness;
The Lord shakes the wilderness of Kadesh.
The voice of the Lord makes the deer give birth
And strips the forests bare;
And in His temple everything says, “Glory!”
The Lord sat as King at the flood;
Yes, the Lord sits as King forever.
Psalm 29:3-10

David clearly believes that God is sovereign over animals, forests and yes even humans numbered days. I mean he even declares God to be the king of the flood! Destroying everyone and everything on earth!

And yet, he becomes a momentary atheist.

I think this is an important reminder for all of us as we move into a new year.

We are all momentary atheists from time to time.

Of course, I do not believe in atheists. As Sye ten Bruggencate says, “I am an A-Atheist” meaning that there are no atheists, but the reason why people reject the God they know exists is because they love their sin and do not want to give it up. (Rom. 1:18)

And it is precisely for this reason that we see David sin in this terrible way. He doesn’t want to give up his sin. He is a thief. He has taken someone’s wife. He has taken someone’s life. And now the only way to live with himself is to ignore the existence of God and blame “chance” for the death of the man he murdered.

The fact of the matter is David knows better. And as much as he wants to lie to messengers, to his general or even to himself, he cannot ultimately suppress what he knows in his heart. That God exists and that He saw everything that occurred. Psalm 32:3-4 remind us of this,

When I kept silent about my sin, my body wasted away
Through my groaning all day long.
For day and night Your hand was heavy upon me;
My vitality was drained away as with the fever heat of summer.

Thankfully David repents eventually, (Psalm 51) but he would suffer for the rest of his life because of this sin.

As we go into 2021, we need this reminder.

We are constantly sinning. Hundreds of times a day.

We are constantly battling our flesh and our minds. When we sin, we are momentary Atheists or at the very least Deists. We are declaring with our actions that we either don’t believe that God can see what we are doing, or that if He can see, that He is not able to do anything about it.

As we look at our plans for 2021 out of our love for the Lord, we must make it a top priority to kill sin. And we must remember that in the moment of sin that our tendency will be to blame shift, minimize and perhaps even ignore the God that we know exists.

Like unbelievers who suppress God’s truth because of their love for sin, we too are not exempt. But in the Lord’s kindness because of the Holy Spirit, He is able to bring us to repentance and to acknowledge our momentary atheism.

May we always remember that God is the sovereign ruler of the universe, that nothing escapes His eyes, and may we, by His strength, repent quickly when our eyes drift away from our glorious and risen Savior.

Only In God: Our Stronghold in the Wilderness

Mon, 04 Jan 2021 09:01:00 GMT

The story is told of Frederick Nolan who was fleeing from persecution in North Africa. His pursuers had one objective, to capture him, ask him if he would deny Jesus Christ, and then if he confirmed he was a Christian, they would execute him on the spot. He ran past a number of caves but knew that his pursuers would check each one of them until they found him. Eventually, he was so exhausted that he entered a cave and waited to be found.

He heard them checking nearby caves. As he lay there staring at the entrance, he watched a small spider weaving a web. Within minutes the beautiful web covered the entire entrance to the cave. Just then his pursuers arrived at his cave but seeing the web they concluded that he could not have entered that cave without disturbing the web, so they moved on.

After escaping that predicament, Nolan penned this profound couplet from his experience:

Where God is, a web is like a wall.

Where God is not, a wall is like a web.

David’s life was full of peril. King Saul was after him, the Philistines were after him, and even his own son would turn on him and try to seize his throne. Even after being anointed king of Israel, David found himself living in caves to escape his pursuers.

4 DEEP DISCUSSIONS DAVID DELIVERS TO DESPERATE DOUBTERS

1. THE BELIEVER’S TRUST

Psalm 62:1-2 For God alone my soul waits in silence; from him comes my salvation. He only is my rock and my salvation, my fortress; I shall not be greatly shaken.

David is speaking from personal experience and has learned that there is only one source of deliverance: God. As king, he was the most secure person in the kingdom. He had a whole army to guard him and all the money of the country at his disposal. But look what he says: For God alone my soul waits in silence;

For the believer there is only one true source of all protection: God himself.

There are many channels of comfort in this life: jobs, insurance, diversified financial portfolios, fences, alarms. And all these are used by God to protect and deliver. But they are just channels of God’s protection – they are not the source.

True faith in God’s deliverance will evidence in a person being able to rest, to stop fretting and worrying and plotting and planning. But to be still and wait.

Jesus comforted his anxious disciples with these words. John 14:1 “Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me.

When your trust is in the person of Christ, then your confidence is set in the right place. For David, God was his fortress. God was where he ran in times of trouble.

Where do you run when you get worried or afraid?

2. THE BELIEVER’S TRIALS

Psalm 62: 3-4 How long will all of you attack a man to batter him, like a leaning wall, a tottering fence? They only plan to thrust him down from his high position. They take pleasure in falsehood. They bless with their mouths, but inwardly they curse. Selah

David’s trust is in God, but he is still facing trials. So is having God as your fortress a guarantee that no trial will come your way? Not at all.

James 1:2 Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds,

Everyone has trials. Even the godly. Trials come from health, nature, your sin, your mistakes, but mostly trials come from other people!

David is warning you: Don’t be surprised at trials and don’t put your trust in people, but in God. He alone is your rock.

3. THE BELIEVER’S TESTIMONY

Psalm 62: 5-8 For God alone, O my soul, wait in silence, for my hope is from him. He only is my rock and my salvation, my fortress; I shall not be shaken. On God rests my salvation and my glory; my mighty rock, my refuge is God. Trust in him at all times, O people; pour out your heart before him; God is a refuge for us. Selah

These words are the chorus, the refrain from vs 1-2 repeated. But there is a subtle difference: For God alone, O my soul, wait in silence He is talking to himself here, preaching at himself. You need to preach to yourself. Constantly remind yourself of God’s truth.

In verse 8 he is no longer addressing himself, but others Trust in him at all times, O people; pour out your heart before him; God is a refuge for us.

What does David do with this experience of God? He doesn’t just share his testimony and experience, he teaches.

One of the main tasks you have as a believer in Jesus is to teach others about God. You are God’s mouthpiece on earth. Use those conversational opportunities to speak God’s truth into the situation.

Matt 5:13 “You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people’s feet.

You are like flavor-free salt if God has saved you to proclaim his glory, and you remain silent.

When trials come to you—like anyone else—you get an opportunity to respond differently. And that is where your power is greatest.

4. THE BELIEVER’S TESTS

Psalm 62: 9-12 Those of low estate are but a breath; those of high estate are a delusion; in the balances they go up; they are together lighter than a breath. Put no trust in extortion; set no vain hopes on robbery; if riches increase, set not your heart on them. Once God has spoken; twice have I heard this: that power belongs to God, and that to you, O Lord, belongs steadfast love. For you will render to a man according to his work.

“High estate” refers to your status, your economic standing, your social circles. Many people trust in this illusion of success, but it is not real. This is just vanity and pride and false confidence. David calls it a delusion…lighter than breath.

Another very common temptation for believers is to put their faith—not only in God—but in riches. 10 Put no trust in extortion; set no vain hopes on robbery; if riches increase, set not your heart on them.

We sometimes feel that when our bank account is robust, our confidence is high. But this is an illusion too.

1 Tim 6:17 As for the rich in this present age, charge them not to be haughty, nor to set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly provides us with everything to enjoy.

God is the only source of wealth. He gives and he takes away. He makes rich and poor. And none of that is a reflection of your relationship with him.

All he wants is you to trust in him alone! For everything.

CONCLUSION

You need to trust in Jesus alone for your salvation. If you put your hope in anything else other than Jesus Christ and what he did on the cross – your hope is in vain. In this world sometimes it seems as though everything is out to get us – criminals, disease, the economy – but as Christians we stand firm. We can cry out to God and know that he alone is our refuge, our rock, our fortress.

Refugee? Mixed-Race? Please stop co-opting Christ

Tue, 29 Dec 2020 09:01:00 GMT

In the last few years some Christians as well as some false teachers have written articles about Jesus that have caused Christians to be concerned.

One article called Jesus the Mixed-raced savior, pointing to some of the non-Israelite women found in the genealogy of Jesus, others, especially around Christmas, have have written on social media pointing out the fact that Jesus himself was a refugee, having escaped from Herod as he sought to put Him to death. Many other articles and posts have been written using Christ as a prop for political and sociological beliefs.

It seems that all in all there is a growing desire to co-opt Christ.

Perhaps because of a love for the lost, there’s a desire to help people identify with Christ by making him sympathetic to many injustices that the world is facing. Of course, I disagree with this as there is no need for it, but I understand it as I desire to see souls saved.

There also might be the temptation to justify our political leanings by using the Bible. Obviously if the Bible says something it is much more powerful than if Trump or Obama said it. While the Bible does clearly speak on many issues it is imperative that we do not twist it in order to justify our positions. This is terribly dangerous and sinful but an understandable temptation as well.

So, when it comes to identifying Christ as a mixed-race savior or as a refugee, I can understand the desire to do so. It doesn’t automatically mean that the one who does so is a heretic, though it might. And it doesn’t necessarily mean that they are politically idolatrous, though it might. It might be simply that they are saddened for the refugees around the world and want to make Jesus more attractive to the refugee they are evangelizing. But even with these motives it is quite dangerous.

Sure, Jesus had some women in his line who were not Israelites but to diminish or eliminate his “Jewishness” is a big theological problem and misses the point entirely. And sure, Jesus was escaping from a murderous king, and in that sense, he was seeking refuge, but one would have to grant that pretty much any Jew moving away from Israel during that time would be considered a refugee (in today’s world) since they were under Roman oppression.

And it is this very Roman oppression that Jews were facing during Jesus’ time on earth that brings me to the main point of this article.

Any time we make Jesus’s ministry about anything other than fulfilling His mission of being the perfect lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world (John 1:29) we are in danger of at least distorting the Gospel if not even teaching a false one (Gal. 1:8-9).

The reason in this case is simple.

If by pointing out his multiple ethnicities and his refugee status we are setting up Christ as some kind of social justice fighter we are co-opting him, meaning we are using Him for our motives, and twisting his mission while on earth.

If Jesus came to “preach liberty to the captives” (Luke 4:18), and if the word “captives” includes anything other than captivity of sin, then He failed, and He failed miserably.

In fact, the Jews tried to murder Jesus in His own hometown (Luke 4:29) because he was insinuating that He was not going to set Israel free from Rome let alone do any miracles there.

Jesus frustrated fellow Jews continually because He kept showing and telling them that his mission had nothing to do with making our lives better in this life.

He didn’t free Israel from Roman captivity, though he could have.

He didn’t heal every disease, though he could have. (Luke 4:42-43)

He didn’t cast out every demon, though he could have.

He didn’t kill the Roman guards when they came to arrest him, though he could have. (John 18:6)

He didn’t stop Pilate from slaughtering those Jews, though he could have. (Luke 13:1)

He didn’t stop the tower of Siloam from collapsing, though he could have. (Luke 13:4)

He didn’t put an end to human suffering, though he could have.

He didn’t put an end to death, though he could have.

Obviously, I’m not saying that Jesus didn’t make the world a better place when he was on earth. He healed many, fed thousands of hungry people, and even raised his friend from the dead, but ultimately, the healed experienced pain again, the fed got hungry again, and even good old Lazarus experienced death again.

If we make Jesus’s ministry about fighting injustice, we are misreading the New Testament and moving away from the Gospel.

Jesus’ focus was the cross. (Heb. 12:2) It was to rescue humanity from their sin. (Matt. 20:28) It was to be the lamb of God who would take away the sin of the world. (John 1:29)

While it is absolutely tragic to see so many face injustices in this life, it is more tragic to consider the fact that after living a difficult life, every single malnourished person on earth, every single slave, every single woman who is raped, upon breathing their final breath, will instantly be judged for their own sin and tormented in Hell for eternity.

And while it is one of the evidences of salvation for Christians to love and care for those who can’t care for themselves, (James 1:27) it is a fool’s errand to set our final hopes on something so minuscule (in comparison to eternity) as fighting injustice.

Please spend your life rescuing sex slaves from the grips of wicked men, please fight to end abortion or whatever your heart desires but doing it without the Gospel or twisting Jesus’ mission for political or other reasons is wrong and will cause you to twist the Gospel itself.

Messing with the Gospel story to convince someone to accept it, or worse yet, to win a political argument is counterproductive and ultimately unbiblical. It cheapens the Gospel and distorts the true mission of Jesus Christ.

I beg you to stop messing with the Christmas story, souls are at stake. There’s no time to play games when billions are dying without Jesus and going to hell.

Is the Virgin Birth Possible?

Mon, 28 Dec 2020 09:00:00 GMT

The Henry Doorly Zoo in Nebraska had on display three live female bonnethead sharks. The bonnethead is quite attractive in a lethal hammerhead kind of way. But no matter how attractive these three ladies were, none of them had ever been on a date. You see they lived in a tank, in a zoo. The closest male sharks were, well, unavailable.

Sharks, like chickens, can produce unfertilized eggs and sometimes do so, perhaps in silent protest at not being allowed to date.

But one day the protest became a bit more pronounced when, on December 14, 2001, one of these broody sharks went into labor and out popped a baby girl bonnethead shark (hammerheads have live births).

Everyone with a 5th-grade biology class under their belt, including all the world-renowned marine biologists, stood with their collective mouths agape. This, to put it mildly, was new.

A virgin shark, who had never as much as held hands with a male, producing offspring. Though some insects and Komodo dragons have been known to confound zoologists, this was the first shark to snub a nose at science.

The story gets even more shocking.

An allegedly envious stingray in the same tank jolted the little celebrity heiress down to Davey Jones’ locker (for those who don’t speak Pirate, the baby shark died).

Marine biologists, after the obligatory 5 minutes of mourning, gleefully examined the dearly departed’s DNA from every angle, confirming that indeed it contained DNA from only one shark in the tank. This had been a genuine virgin birth. Sound a bit fishy?

In October 2008, the Journal of Fish Biology confirmed a 2^nd case in which DNA testing proved that a pup carried by a female Atlantic blacktip shark in the Virginia Aquarium & Marine Science Center contained no genetic material from a male.

This is a process called parthenogenesis and is rare but known in some insects, reptiles, and now sharks too. Parthenogenesis can only ever produce female offspring.

Fathers take heart, the phenomenon of parthenogenesis is not an excuse a pregnant teen could use to get out of trouble since parthenogenesis in humans is simply impossible. And that is the point of Luke 1:37 “For nothing will be impossible with God.”

In The Illegitimacy of Jesus: A Feminist Theological Interpretation of the Infancy Narratives, Jane Schaberg accuses the church of inventing the doctrine of the virgin birth in order to subordinate women (what a novel allegation from a feminist). As she summarizes:

“The charge of contemporary feminists, then, is not that the image of the Virgin Mary is unimportant or irrelevant, but that it contributes to and is integral to the oppression of women.”

Schaberg believes the conception of Jesus was most likely the result of extra-marital sex, or rape by a Roman soldier.

The reason people don’t believe in the virgin birth is because it’s unbelievable. A virgin conceiving without a man is absolutely impossible. So if it did happen, then this baby may well be God. And then one would have to obey what he says.

International TV Interview guru, Larry King, who is Jewish, said that he would like to have interviewed Jesus Christ and would open with this question:

“I would like to ask him if he was indeed virgin-born. The answer to that question would define history for me.”

Larry King gets it. He understands that if this one fact is true, life changes. The moment of Gabriel’s appearance defined history for Mary, for Israel, for all humanity, and yes, for you.

Yes it’s impossible, but that is exactly the point: we serve a God who can do the impossible. Gabriel said as much to Mary: Luke 1:37 “Nothing will be impossible with God.”

The fact that it is a miracle– an impossibility– is part of the proof that we are saved. This miracle proves that Jesus is God. This is not a minor point of doctrine, the virgin birth is at the heart of the Christian gospel. Jesus was born of a virgin, so he didn’t carry Adam’s original sin, so he was sinless, so he was God, so he could save us.

If he wasn’t virgin-born, Mary was a lying pregnant teen who concocted the whole spurious story to evade getting in trouble (or to corroborate her insanity plea). Her testimony is worthless, so is Luke’s, and the whole gospel narrative begins to unravel like a moth-eaten blanket.

I don’t know about you, but it doesn’t bug me in the least that this is impossible, because I know God. Impossible is his middle name!

As you sing “Round yon virgin, mother and child,” this Christmas, your kids will ask, “Mommy, what’s a virgin?” Tell them the truth. And tell them we can be saved because Jesus was born sinless, stayed sinless, and yet died in the place of sinners like you and me.

This is not an add-on doctrine. It’s a must-believe doctrine.

So, is the virgin birth possible? No. And that’s the point. Because it happened!

Christmas & the I AM

Thu, 24 Dec 2020 09:01:00 GMT

idlewild.org

In John 8, the religious leaders of Judaism play verbal tennis with Jesus. He mentions Abraham seeing his day. In v. 57, the Jews said to Him, “You are not yet fifty years old, and have You seen Abraham?” Jesus then responds with what the most lofty, exalted, exclusive, and, if not true, blasphemous, statement any man could speak: “Jesus said to them, ‘Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was born, I am’” (John 8:58).

“I am.” It’s an interesting name. And it take us back to Moses’ wilderness encounter with God in Exodus 3. Moses shrinks a bit at the call to be used in Israel’s redemption. He asks for a name, to which God responds: I AM (Exod. 3:14).

God is his title, but, “I AM,” is his name (something like, “Yahweh,” in Hebrew). This is not a new God, but a name by which eternal God choose to reveal himself.

The Hebrew term appears over 6000 times in the OT. Yahweh is the One who will severely punish Egypt with the miracles, culminating in the Passover. I AM is he who will part the sea and carry his people through the wilderness

What is in this name, I AM?

There is much we could say. But let’s consider the idea of existence and being. The universe is matter; it is stuff; things. It is not eternally existent. It is impossible for matter to be eternally existing because it’s just stuff; it’s confined to space; it needs a place. Matter is ever-changing, can be broken down, and depends on other matter, space, and time for existent. Thus, it’s not eternal or independent. There is nothing in the universe, including the universe, which can always say of itself, “I am eternal and self-existing.”

Dependence and temporariness is profoundly experiential for us. No human existed before they existed; we had a beginning. Every animal has a beginning; every tree; every flower; everything. Things have a beginning so, they can never say, “I am eternal.” We can only say, “We were not, then we were, and now we are changing. And through it all, we are dependent.”

Therefore, we have all been caused by something. Everything is caused by something; all things find their existence in something before it. We are not independent.

However, since things are not eternal and since things are dependent, there must be something, that is not a thing, which is not dependent and not temporal matter. There must be something that is not a thing; that has no beginning. So, since things cannot be eternal because they are things; that demands that there must be something that is eternal, from which all things derive their existence and being. More importantly, Scripture clarifies that this Something, which has no beginning, no cause, and is that from which all things derive, is the Triune God.

Prior to being converted to Christ, I was a raging Darwinian evolutionist. I believed that the universe began about 13 billion years ago at the big bang. Initially, I didn’t realize the catastrophic problems with that theory. I didn’t want to. In any case, explosions do not bring about more order, but less; more chaos, not organization. Blow something up and you’ll see (actually, don’t). We’d be hard pressed to assert logically that a more-order-to-less-order event like an explosion brought the beauty, order, design, and function of things in the universe like solar nuclear fusion, immune systems, and photosynthesis.

Second, the universe is matter. The theory says, roughly, that a very small particle existed, then exploded into the universe. However, what caused it to explode? The laws of physics say that something will stay in its state unless something else acts upon it. So, something had to act on that particle to make it explode into the universe. You can’t have nothing cause an explosion on the scale of that which brought this massive universe into existence. Nothing can’t cause something to become the universe. There must have been something, uncreated, self-existing, and pre-existing the universe for the universe to come about. But, many astrophysicists do not want to be that logical, or truthful.

So, to summarize, something had to exist before the universe since the universe exists. That something has to be independent because dependent things, which is all the universe, require dependence upon something independent. This uncreated being must be independent because there was nothing to depend upon but himself. This is the attribute of self-existence, or aseity.

Now, if there is this thing from which all things derive their existence, it must be eternal and self-existent. To have no beginning is to have the attribute of pre-existence; existing before all things. This is where the sidewalk ends. It is one of God’s attributes which theologians call the “incommunicable attributes.” It’s an attribute which humans cannot share. We can share God’s attributes of love and righteousness, but not pre-existence and independence. The incommunicable attributes like independence, aseity, eternality, and pre-existence are the most God-ness things about God; and the thing that humans are most not.

Back to Exodus 3. Interestingly, those incommunicable attributes are communicated in the name, I AM. The best phrase to communicate eternal pre-existence, aseity, and eternality is I AM. And that happens to be the name God gives himself. I AM communicates constantly being – He constantly is for all eternity. Go back as far as you want, and God is. I AM communicates aseity – I always is, and no one else makes him be; no one causes him to have being. Prior to anything; before things which derive their existence, God is I AM. It’s the name that best communicates these utterly divine, incommunicable attributes. Interestingly, none of the other false gods in history have this name, I AM, because none of them are the true God; the eternal, pre-existing, Being of aseity.

So, all of the essential God-ness of God is wrapped up in this name, Yahweh. We began, but God always was the I AM. Nations rise up and fall. Kings and men are born, boast for a few years, and turn back to the ground. And God has always been the I AM. We are needing someone besides ourselves for every breath; every movement of our trillions of cells; our heartbeat; we depend on another; God is the I AM. The existence of the most vile atheist, and the most pompous arrogant king, is derived from God.

This fact of eternality and pre-existence is the first thing that the Bible teaches about God: “In the beginning, God…” (Gen. 1:1). He is the I AM.

But what about Jesus? He was born! Doesn’t that mean he had a beginning? His humanness had a beginning (John 1:14). In fact, his humanness having a beginning is absolutely essential to truly being human. Jesus is truly man. Therefore, there was a birth, albeit a virgin birth, but a real birth, thus a real man.

So, then, how can Jesus claim, he is the I AM in John 8:58 without deserving execution (Lev. 24:16)? Christmas marks, not the time when the Son of God could finally say, “I exist,” but that time when the One who always was I AM, became incarnate. The I AM lowered himself and humbled himself to join that which has a beginning (human nature) to that which has no beginning (divine nature); human flesh joined to the I AM, eternally existing God (John 1:14, Phil. 2:6-7).

Some of the heretical cultists say, “Well, yeah, Jesus is the Son of God, and, sure, he existed before Abraham, but he is not eternally existing God with no beginning.” But, if Jesus wanted to communicate that, he would have said, “Before Abraham was, I was.” However, Jesus unhesitatingly declares himself the eternal God when He takes the name I AM to himself in John 8:58. It’s the most exalted, exclusive, and clear way to claim deity. This is the most severe; the most exclusive; the most holy and weighty claim Jesus ever makes.

Though the Son of David, he is the Son of God.

Though born of the virgin, he is the uncaused God with no beginning.

Though flesh and blood, he is eternal spirit, infinite and immortal.

Though man, he is the I AM, God.

Though eternal, he took a body to die on the cross in our place for our sins. Worship him. Fall before him. Trust in him.

And if you don’t worship the Jesus of the Bible, then you don’t worship God.

This is Christmas. God’s gift is himself as a substitute for sinners who bow the knee in faith.

Merry Christmas from all of us at the Cripplegate. What a year it’s been. Blessed be God for holding us firm. Let us bow and thank God for the gift of Jesus Christ this Christmas.

Christmas comfort for families with an empty chair

Wed, 23 Dec 2020 09:01:00 GMT

Christmas has a way of magnifying a family’s sense of loss. Because there are so many traditions in holiday celebrations, a missing loved one is not only noticed, but amplified. The chair where a grandparent was expected to sit might be empty, or a parent who walked away from his family might leave more than an empty chair.

Recently I have talked with a few families where 2020 will be their first Christmas since the unexpected death of a child.

Is there Christmas comfort for such families?

There is, and I think it can be found in an unexpected place—Matthew 2:16-18:

When Herod saw that he had been tricked by the wise men, he became furious, and he sent and killed all the male children in Bethlehem and in all that region who were two years old or under, according to the time that he had ascertained from the wise men. Then was fulfilled what was spoken by the prophet Jeremiah: “A voice was heard in Ramah, weeping and loud lamentation, Rachel weeping for her children; she refused to be comforted, because they are no more.”
Matthew 2:16:18

It is horrible to try and picture this event. Bethlehem would have been a village of around 1,000 people. It was five miles from Herod’s home in Jerusalem. The soldiers would have arrived with some speed, and would have likely known to which houses they were headed.

Because of how the Jews measure age, “two-years of age and younger” (Matthew 2:16) is what English speakers call “one-year-old” or younger. I mention that just so you understand the innocence of these kids. They were babies. Most couldn’t walk. They couldn’t talk. They would have been in their beds or on their floors.

There were probably 20 or so babies that age in Bethlehem. Since it was the boys who were killed, it was likely ten or so who were murdered. Ten families devastated, ten families mourning the birth of the Christ.

When I read the passage, I can almost hear the hoof beats of the horses descending on Bethlehem, the gruff voice of the soldiers, followed by the screams of parents and siblings alike; the bodies for those dozen babies left on the street as Bethlehem lay stunned and outraged, but powerless to do anything about it.

Why did God allow this event to happen? Matthew answers this question by saying that it happened to fulfill the words of Jeremiah in Jeremiah 31:15. And that makes sense; picturing the grief those Roman swords inflicted, a comparison to the weeping at the Babylonian exile seems apt. But limiting our answer to prophetic fulfilment deals with the question only from a theological perspective—which is helpful (I blogged on that yesterday), but not complete.

But today I want to ask it pastorally, or practically. Why did God design the birth of Christ to happen in this way?

We often romanticize Christmas. When we think of Christmas there is the temptation to picture the perfect tree, the perfect gifts, the perfect family. The table is set just right, the chestnuts are on the open fire, or what have you.

But that is not the world into which Jesus came. He didn’t come to the perfect world with perfect families who open perfect gifts.

Instead, he came into a broken world. He came into a world where grandparents are missing. Where parents do walk out on their family, where married couples have affairs, and where families are wrecked.

He came to a world where parents have to bury their children.

We know this is true because we read about the slaughter of the innocents, and our heart breaks imagining those tiny babies brutally murdered for no reason other than their birthdate.

So where does hope come from then? Hope comes from two places:

Jesus knows the sorrow of Christmas.

Jesus came into this world surrounded by the suffering of sin. As the Christmas carol declares, “Tears and smiles like us He knew.” He knew them because he was born right into the middle of them. He knows the pain of loss that families can feel, and he carries that with him through his life on earth right into heaven, where he remains making intercession for us (Hebrews 7:25).

2. Jesus will right the wrongs at his second advent

When Matthew records the slaughter of the infants, he ties it back to Rachel’s trail of tears and the prophecy from Jeremiah 31:15. There Rachel metaphorically weeps for her children, Joseph and Benjamin, who were taken into exile from the very spot her bones were buried. It would be difficult to think of a sadder passage in all of the Bible than Jeremiah 31:15, and so it makes sense that Matthew connects the baby’s murder to it.

But when the babies were killed, Jesus still had his entire ministry in front of him, including his sinless life, his substitutionary death, and his bodily resurrection.

And, even today, he still has his second coming in front of him as well.

That is where Jeremiah 31:16 does give Christmas hope:

Thus says Yahweh: “Keep your voice from weeping, and your eyes from tears, for there is a reward for your work, declares Yahweh, and they shall come back from the land of the enemy.”
Jeremiah 31:16

After describing a mother’s weeping for her children who were to be slaughtered, in the very next verse Jeremiah encourages those same mothers to dry their tears and cease their lamentations, because the Savior is going to return to earth, and right those wrongs.

Matthew knows this as well. It is as if he is saying to the weeping mothers: “Read on, o daughters of Bethlehem, read on!” There is a day coming when their little ones will be resurrected from the grave. Their babies, whose last earthly moment was in the hands of Roman butcher, will have another life in Bethlehem. They may have been too young to walk when they died, but their feet will still walk in Jerusalem. In fact, Jeremiah says that in the future, at the second coming, their mother’s will dance (!) at the sight of their little ones in the Promised Land (Jeremiah 31:4, 13).

If you find yourself next to an empty chair in your house this Christmas, let me encourage you to draw Christmas comfort from these truths. Jesus is familiar with your sorrow, because he was born into it. But more than that, the day will come when your tears will be dried, and in the resurrection Jesus will reign over a world where our tears have been dried.

If the mothers of Bethlehem could shed Rachel’s tears, and yet find comfort in Messianic promises, so too can we.

How Rachel’s trail of tears leads to Jesus

Tue, 22 Dec 2020 09:21:00 GMT

“A voice was heard in Ramah, weeping and loud lamentation, Rachel weeping for her children; she refused to be comforted, because they are no more.”
Matthew 2:18

In the 1830’s the United States passed “the Indian removal act” which forced 125,000 Indians to move from Michigan, Georgia, and Florida to land west of the Mississippi. The Supreme Court of the United States at one point tried to step in and declared the Indian Removal Act to be unconstitutional. This was the case that prompted President Jackson to infamously quip: the Supreme Court has given their verdict, now let’s see them enforce it.”

By some accounts over one-third of the Indians died on the journey. Today that circuitous journey—for some it would have been nearly 2,000 miles, is remembered as “the trail of tears.”

This American landmark helps us understand a similar trail of tears in the Bible.. It weaves its way from outside of Jerusalem, to Egypt, then back again. It stretches from the mountains of Ephraim, to the hills of Benjamin, passing through Ramah, and terminating in Bethlehem. This trail is also passes through the pages of Scripture. It begins with the patriarchs in Genesis, goes through Judges and Jeremiah, ending in Matthew 2.

Ultimately this trail points to Jesus, and serves as more evidence that he was indeed the Messiah.

When you look at Rachel’s trail of tears, there are specific markers on it that are repeated throughout the Bible, ultimately leading to the birth of Christ. Here are four of those mileposts:

Idolatry

Rachel was an idolater. Jacob married her precisely because he didn’t want to marry a Caananite, so he married into his mother’s family. Nevertheless, her father Laban worshiped idols, and when Jacob left Laban with Leah, Rachel, and perhaps an inordinate amount of Laban’s herds, Rachel absconded with Laban’s idols (Genesis 31:19).

Laben was disappointed to lose his livestock, and surprised to lose his daughters, but he would not abide losing his idols. He tracked Jacob’s band down, and ransacked his tents hunting for them. For her part, Rachel hid the idols in her camel bags, then sat on top of the camel telling her father, “I cannot rise before you, for the way of women is upon me” (Genesis 31:35).

Thus Israel was birthed with idolatry, and this idol worship would become her besetting sin. From Aaron and the golden calf to Solomon’s foreign wives and their idols, this form of worship has always found a home within the 12 tribes. It is the sin that eventually would lead them to exile.

2. The desire for children

Rachel is known as the mother of Israel. She was Jacob’s second wife, but she was the one whom he loved. Despite her status as Jacob’s favorite, of Jacob’s thirteen children (from four different mothers), Rachel only had two, and the first of her children came after Jacob fathered sons with Leah, Leah’s slave, then Rachel’s slave.

Rachel, if you remember, was bitter about this. More than anything she wanted children. After Leah had given Jacob four sons, Rachel plead with him, “Give me children or I die!” (Genesis 30:1). After she had her first child, Joseph, she immediately prayed for more.

Her life ended when this prayer was answered. She died giving birth to her second son, whom she named Benoni, which means “son of my tears” (Genesis 35:18). Jacob promptly renamed him Benjamin. Benjamin quickly became Jacob’s favorite son—his second favorite was Joseph, the other son of Rachel.

3. The loss of children

Just as Rachel wanted children more than anything, her tears represent more than just unmet desire. Her tears also point towards her children whom she lost. Strictly speaking she died before her children. But the story of Rachel’s two sons and their loss to Egypt takes over the story of Genesis.

You see, despite her idolatry Rachel did believe in Yahweh, and she wanted her children to pass along the Abrahamic covenant. She feared not only the loss of her sons in physical terms, but spiritual terms as well. She feared that they would be drawn out of the Promised Land, and she took that fear to her own grave. She was buried in an area called Ramah, just outside of Jerusalem. Her fears were not misplaced, as it would take hundreds of years to get Jacob’s bones back to Israel as well (Hebrews 11:22).

4. Exile

Both of Rachel’s sons did end up in exile, along with the rest of the 12 tribes. Joseph, her first born, was to be murdered by his brothers, but was instead sold into slavery and shipped to Egypt against his will. Benjamin also was taken to Egypt against his father’s wishes. Benjamin’s arrival in Egypt marked a new chapter in this history of Israel. As Jacob died, all the 12 tribes were not foreigners, living away from the Israel.

After this, the trail of tears appears to go cold, but if you look carefully you can find it. When the tribe of Benjamin is almost wiped out by the other 11 tribes (Judges 21), you can’t help but hear Rachel’s tears.

However, the trail emerges centuries later, in Jeremiah 30. There, the 10 northern tribes had already been taken into captivity for their idolatry. Jeremiah then watched as the Southern tribes of Judah and Benjamin were to be taken into Babylon. As the Babylonians rounded up the remaining Jews, they queued them up for their deportation. Where did they corral them? Ramah (Jeremiah 40:1).

Don’t miss this: the Northern ten tribes (including Manasseh and Ephraim, Joseph’s sons) had already been evicted from the Promised Land. Now Benjamin was on his way out as well. Rachel’s legacy appears over, as her sons—along with the Messianic hope their presence in Israel represented—were gathered in Ramah for their deportation.

Surveying Israel’s idol worship, the desire for Israel to be in the land, and now the loss of the Israelites to the Babylonian swords…well, it the irony was too much for Jeremiah. He hears the mothers mourning the loss of their children on the very spot where Rachel was buried, and tells describes it this way: “A voice is heard in Ramah, lamentation and bitter weeping. Rachel is weeping for her children; she refuses to be comforted for her children, because they are no more” (Jeremiah 31:15).

It was as if Rachel herself resurrected from the grave, only to weep the condition of the nation she bore.

But of course their hope was not over. Seventy years later God regathered them from Persia, Egypt, and Babylon. Rachel’s sons were resettled in the Palestine, and Messianic hope returned. That hope would be fulfilled on that first Christmas morning, when Jesus was born in Bethlehem.

Yet with his birth, the trail of tears returns. Herod found out about the arrival of Jesus as a baby, and sent his troops to slaughter the infants. Bethlehem probably had around 20 or so infants in it that night, maybe ten or so males. They were all slaughtered as Jesus was secreted away to Egypt.

When Matthew surveyed the damage Herod’s soldiers had done to the hope of Benjamite mothers, his thoughts of course immediately went to Jeremiah 31. “A voice was heard in Ramah, weeping and loud lamentation, Rachel weeping for her children; she refused to be comforted, because they are no more” (Matthew 2:18).

The trail of tears is completed in Bethlehem at the birth of Christ. Jesus does not only fulfil Messianic prophecy that points to his deity, but his arrival on earth is so divisive that fathers and mothers will turn against children, and so-called “kings” will turn against their own people.

Jesus—in being called back from Egypt, through the waters of baptism and through the temptations in the wilderness—reveals that he is the true and better Israel. He not only fulfills their Messianic hope, but he fulfills Rachel’s weeping as well.

Only a few miles away from Rachel’s bones is Golgatha, Calvary, and the empty tomb. Rachel need not weep anymore because Jesus promised to return to earth, and reign over Ramah. In that day, it will not be a place of weeping and mourning, but a place of dancing and worship (Jeremiah 31:4).

Matthew 2 may be the end of Rachel’s tears, but only because Israel’s savior has promised to resurrect those who have faith in Him—including Rachel herself—and reign with them over the world, from the very spot where the mothers wept.

Christmas reminds us of the promises Jesus fulfilled at his first coming, and Rachel’s tears in Ramah remind us that there are still promises to be fulfilled at his second coming.

Veiled in Flesh: The Logos Became Sarkos

Mon, 21 Dec 2020 09:01:00 GMT

Mark Twain’s first historical fiction was a story called, The Prince and the Pauper. The story is about Edward Tudor, Prince of Wales, the son of King Henry VIII, and a pauper (or poor Londoner), named Tom Canty. The two have nothing in common except a remarkable physical resemblance to each other. They decide to have some fun with this coincidence by exchanging clothes “temporarily.”

But things go awry when the palace guards mistake Prince Edward in pauper’s clothes for Tom, and eject him from the palace, where the Prince ends up in Tom’s home and is subject to the misery and abuse of Tom’s alcoholic father.

The Prince goes from one misadventure to another, including a stint in jail, experiencing the injustice and brutality of English street life. The enduring charm of the novel lies in the return of the Prince to the palace, in time to ascend the throne of England, where the lessons gleaned from his firsthand experience of his subjects’ suffering, makes Edward VI a merciful and benevolent ruler.

The Prince and the Pauper reminds me of another story, a true story, written long, long before the days of Mark Twain, by the Apostle John.

3 INTRIGUING INSIGHTS INTO THE NATURE OF THE WORD

1. ENTRANCE OF THE WORD

John 1:14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us,

This is the most profound fact of human history.

“The Word” is from the Greek term, logos, from where we get logic, and it refers to intelligence and animating, life-giving force. The Greeks used logos to refer to the intangible, ineffability of deity, or to coin a phrase, the “untouchable God-ness of God.”

Greek philosophers also taught that spirit was pure, but physical matter was corrupt. The term for this corrupted, weak, unspiritual part of humans they called sarkos, or in its form here sarx, for flesh.

So, all of John’s readers would accept the majestic statements: John 1:1-3 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made.

This was all fine and dandy…until verse 14 And the Logos became sarx …

Say what now?!?

The perfect, spiritual essence of God, who was self-existent, pre-existent, and co-existent … this Word/Logos, became weak, mortal, pierce-able, vulnerable, sweaty, flesh/sarx?

But John is teaching that Jesus was incarnate. Carne means “meat” or “flesh” so incarnate literally means wrapped in flesh: The Word became flesh …and dwelt among us.

The Word in flesh got tired, hungry, thirsty, and sad. How did this happen?

Luke 1:35 And the angel answered her (Mary), “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy—the Son of God.

As Charles Wesley would wax eloquent:

Veiled in flesh the Godhead see, Hail the incarnate Deity!

The presence of God would manifest in an invisible, spiritual sense and the Spiritual presence of the Logos would “fleshi-fy”, or incarnate, and as it multiplied human cells would develop into a bouncing baby boy…And the Word became flesh.

Wow.

2. EFFECT OF THE WORD

John 1:14And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.

For the first time we see the glory of God in living color.

John emphasizes that he was a witness to this truth: We have seen his glory…full of grace and truth.

By the time John wrote this there was a heresy wafting about in Ephesus known as Docetism. Docetists taught that flesh was sinful and spirit was sinless, so Jesus was never actually flesh. His body was an apparition, like a vision. So, John’s gospel and his letters emphasize the physicality of Jesus throughout.

1 John 1:1 …What we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon and touched with our hands, concerning the word of life—”

Suffice it to say that Jesus was full to the brim of grace and truth, which fully convinced John.

3. ESSENCE OF THE WORD

1:14And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.

Here for the first time, John calls the Word something new. He calls him the Son.

And not just any son. He was the only Son from the Father.

We are introduced to an important word: monogeneis, which is usually translated “only begotten.” Here the ESV uses an awkward turn of phrase: only Son from the Father. But it’s trying to upgrade an old English word we don’t really use a lot of today in this way: begotten.

To beget means to generate or produce. Like “Traffic begets stress.”

So, monogeneis, mono= only, and geneis = generated, means Jesus was the Son that was alone-generated by the Father.

He was not born, because “born” means that came into existence at a particular time.

Only-begotten means that he was uniquely and “eternally generated” by the Father with no beginning. There was never a time that the Father had no Son. He was eternally the Father and he was eternally generating the Son.

Jesus did not shed himself of his Father’s divine nature when he took on flesh, he added a second nature.

Colossians 2: 9 For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily,

This is not like Jesus was God with a human disguise. He was God and truly human.

He was hurt emotionally and physically: he could be betrayed, pierced, and crucified. He took on our weaknesses and limitations that he never experienced in eternity past so that he can fully identify with us.

Jesus had to learn to speak, and walk and understand theology. Just like us. He wasn’t born able to walk, talk, and make himself a sandwich. He had to be kept warm in swaddling cloths and nursed by Mary, and taught.

Luke 2:40 And the child grew and became strong, filled with wisdom…52 And Jesus increased in wisdom and in stature and in favor with God and man.

Jesus matured physically, mentally, emotionally, and socially. Just like we do.

And so “…we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin.” (Hebrews 4:15).

CONCLUSION

This story makes no sense!

It’s the Prince becoming a Pauper, and then dying a torturous death, punished by his father, so that we paupers can be princes, adopted into the King’s family and live in sinless perfection forever. ….So this Christmas time, marvel at the wonder of the Son of God becoming man, marvel at his death on the cross in our place, and worship him as he deserves.

Jesus is the Messiah because of…Egypt?

Fri, 18 Dec 2020 09:47:00 GMT

Have you ever considered how significant geography was in the identification of Jesus as the true Messiah? Matthew 2 describes the incredible circumstances around the birth of Jesus as the fulfilment of prophecy, and all three prophecies he points to are geographic—Jesus is the Messiah because he was driven to Egypt, his exile caused weeping in Ramah, and he returned to Nazareth (Matthew 2:15, 17, 23).

All three of these prophesied locations demonstrate elements of typology—by typology I mean that there are a series of events in the Old Testament that give a rough description of what the Savior will look like, and then that description is filled in by Jesus. In fact, the world Matthew uses for “fulfilled” (Matthew 2:15, 17, 23) can even be understood to mean “fill up.” Consider the Old Testament a connect-the-dot drawing, the New Testament is the coloring book, and then Jesus fills in the image.

All three of these geographic prophecies follow the same pattern. There is an initial shape laid out in the Torah, then later on in Israel’s life there is more detail added, and then the New Testament comes along and describes Jesus as filling in that pattern.

Today I want to consider how his flight to Egypt proved that he was the Messiah.

You are likely familiar with this story from the perspective of the New Testament. After his birth, Herod sent men to murder Jesus. His father, Joseph, was warned in a dream to flee to Egypt for safety. After as many as a few years, or as little as a few months, an angel appeared to Joseph and told him to return to Israel.

Matthew 2:15 says that this series of events happened in order to fulfil the prophecy found in Hosea 11:1: “Out of Egypt I called my Son.” The context of Hosea 11 is that of the original exile, so Jesus’ flight to Egypt is pointed to by the original flight to Egypt, one that took place back in the book of Genesis.

The Shape of the Story from the Torah

In Genesis 27, Moses explains how the promise for the coming savior is handed to Jacob (as opposed to Esau). The narrative of Genesis then follows Jacob has he marries his two wives and fathers 13 children through four different women. Then, in Genesis 32, Jacob is renamed Israel, and we are told this is because all of the nation Israel will come from him and his 12 sons.

His favorite son, however, is Joseph, and Joseph finds himself in mortal danger. Because his brothers resent him, they conspire to murder him, and lay a trap to end his life. However, God intervenes, and instead Joseph is sold into slavery and taken to Egypt. The rest of Genesis describes how Joseph’s transfer to Egypt ends up as the catalyst to draw all of his brothers to Egypt as well. One detail of that story is pertinent here—God used dreams to lead Joseph to safety in Egypt (Genesis 37:5, 9, 40:5-16, 41:1-32, 42:9).

These dreams not only kept Joseph safe, but by keeping Joseph safe they saved all of Israel by drawing them to Egypt. Eventually, 400 years later, God called Israel out of Egypt, through the water, through the testing in the wilderness, and finally led her back into the Israel the land.

The Shape of the story from the prophets

Centuries later, Israel was in trouble from the Babylonians, and many Israelites saw Egypt as their savior. God mocked this desire to trust Egypt—and mocked is not too strong of a word; consider: “A beautiful heifer is Egypt, but a biting horsefly from the north is about to come upon her” (Jeremiah 46:20).

Israel eventually was taken into Babylonian exile, and the last Jews to flee of course fled to Egypt (Jeremiah 41:17). The place that God designed as a refuge for Israel in Genesis had become a place of avoidance, and ultimately a place of captivity.

Nevertheless, God set his love on Israel and called them back from exile, and caused them to return to the land again (Jeremiah 30:1-4). He did this because he loved them, and not because of their repentance or faith. This is the story so powerfully illustrated by Hosea, who (like God) took an adulterous wife, lost her to captivity, and then brought her back.

The exact prophecy: Hosea 11:1

Hosea 9-10 picks up the story of Israel’s captivity. Because of her sin, they were now surrounded by their enemies. They needed refuge, and found it in Egypt (Hosea 9:3, 9:6). Meanwhile, they had rejected their true King, Yahweh (Hosea 10:3). God responded to their rejection of his kingship by afflicting their so-called Kings, and brining their reigns to a crashing halt (10:7, 14-15).

When those false kings are finally cut off (Hosea 10:15), then God will call his true Son out of Egypt (Hosea 11:1). This is the verse that Matthew sees as fulfilled in the advent of Jesus Christ and his flight to Egypt.

Jesus colors in the image

Matthew’s use of Hosea 11:1 is more than a superficial connection to an Old Testament prophecy. Instead, Jesus’ flight to Egypt identifies him as the true son of Yahweh. Consider the OT outline:

Genesis, Jeremiah and Hosea show that Egypt is where God’s son goes when he needs to flee Israel.
These OT exiles in Egypt are both preceded by murderous intent.
God leads Joseph to Israel through dreams
Joseph is the one who draws Israel into Egypt (in Hosea, it is Ephraim—Joseph’s son)
Egypt is given by God as a place of freedom, but it becomes a place of bondage.
And the exile ends when God calls his Son back to Israel.

Do you see how this outline is laid out in Genesis, repeated in Jeremiah and Hosea, and culminates in the true son of God—Jesus—coloring in the image?

This is an incredibly persuasive argument that he is the Savior. These prophecies are detailed, specific, and the type is fulfilled by Christ when he was only a little child.

It’s not possible that he arranged for himself to be taken to Egypt, nor would it have been possible for him to be the true Israel without it. Matthew uses these three geographic prophecies to show us that even as a child, Jesus was the true Israel, the only-begotten son of God, and the obvious fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy.

10 reasons why singing is essential to worship

Wed, 16 Dec 2020 09:01:00 GMT

Singing has always been a part of my Christian life. Singing in church, singing in choirs, singing in small groups, and carrying a song of praise to the Lord in my heart has been my joy. Singing has brought me peace in times of distress, reminded me of God’s truth, inspired me to be bold, and comforted me when I’ve been sad.

For these reasons, I believe singing is essential to the Christian life and essential in the life of congregational worship. But it is not my desire to merely express another opinion or give philosophical reasons that singing is important. Instead, I would like to expound on what the Scriptures teach about why singing is essential when God’s people gather as a congregation.

One: Congregational & Individual Singing are Explicitly Commanded by God

When the people of God gather for corporate worship, they have not come to watch a concert, quietly sit and listen to a band, or simply meditate to music and words together. This is not to say that listening to special music or attending a concert cannot edify, should not be a part of a worship service, or not be worshipful. Those are helpful but there are a multitude of commands, exhortations, and encouragements to sing and praise the Lord in vocal participation as a congregation. Bob Kauflin says that the BIble has over four hundred indirect references to singing and at least fifty direct commands to sing. Many of these passages below are from the Psalms – the congregational ‘hymnal’ of the Old Testament exhorting us to worship both corporately and individually through singing.

Psalm 149:1, “Praise the Lord! Sing a new song to the Lord, And His praise in the congregation of the godly ones.”
Psalm 22:25, “From You comes my praise in the great assembly; I shall pay my vows before those who fear Him.”
Psalm 57:9, “I will praise You, Lord, among the peoples; I will sing praises to You among the nations.”
Psalm 111:1, “Praise the Lord! I will give thanks to the Lord with all my heart, In the company of the upright and in the assembly.”
Psalm 47:6, “Sing praises to God, sing praises; Sing praises to our King, sing praises.”
Psalm 96:1, “Sing to the Lord a new song; Sing to the Lord, all the earth.”
Ephesians 5:19 and Colossians 3:16b are addressed to congregations instructing them to sing (speak) to one another through music.

The lyrics of many current songs of worship exhort us to corporate worship. For example:

“Shout to the Lord all the earth let us sing!”
“Come let us sing”
“O for a Thousand Tongues to Sing”
“All creatures of our God and King / Lift up your voice and with us sing”
“All hail the power of Jesus’ name!”
“Come Christians join to sing, Alleluia, A-amen!”

Two: Genuine Worship in Singing is Wrought by the Holy Spirit.

True worship isn’t about the external music, the ‘act’ of singing, frequency of singing, or number of songs on Sundays. Also, singing is not exercised because of “tradition,” “habit,” or merely “to include a song” in order to say we’ve worshipped God.

True worship through singing comes from the Holy Spirit’s work in one’s heart. Ephesians 5:18-19 is key to our understanding of where worship emanates: “And do not get drunk with wine, in which there is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody with your hearts to the Lord.”

True worship supernaturally emanates from the heart (v. 19) of a Spirit-filled life, which connects back to a life of walking in obedience to Christ (v. 18). In other words, v. 19 is a result of v. 18. A Spirit-filled Christian has a praise-filled heart toward the Lord. When we congregate, the manifestation of a Holy Spirit filled obedient Christian is “speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody with your hearts to the Lord.”

John MacArthur says it this way:

“The Spirit-filled life produces music. Whether he has a good voice or cannot carry a tune, the Spirit-filled Christian is a singing Christian. Nothing is more indicative of a fulfilled life, a contented soul, and a happy heart than the expression of song.”
MacArthur, Ephesians, 256.

Three: Singing is a Response to the Word of the Lord

Colossians 3:16-17 reminds us:

“Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you, with all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another with psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, singing with thankfulness in your hearts to God. Whatever you do in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through Him to God the Father.”

This is a parallel passage to Ephesians 5:19. One of the responses to the Word of God is “teaching and admonishing one another with psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, singing with thankfulness in your hearts to God.”

When the word of the Lord is proclaimed, and our hearts are touched, the Holy Spirit works within our hearts to respond in singing and praise with thanksgiving to God.

Four: Singing is Clearly Commanded in the Assembly of Other Christians

Ephesians 5:19, “speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody with your hearts to the Lord”

Colossians 3:16b, “admonishing one another with psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, singing with thankfulness in your hearts to God.”

The speaking and admonishing of one another is through the act of singing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs to one another.

The context of these verses is important. These letters are addressed to congregations and the command is for all believers – not just those who have musical gifts or specific individuals such as soloists. To say that congregational singing is never commanded to congregations would be to overlook these passages and our personal responsibility of ministering to one another in the Biblical context of the gathered congregation. Like many of the “one another’s” (e.g. love one another, encourage one another, teach one another, etc…) of the New Testament, we cannot simply ignore their practice for a period of time. The one another’s are commands to be obeyed as the Lord brings opportunity – and congregational gatherings are for that opportunity.

Five: Jesus Himself Sings with Us in Congregational Praise

The writer of Hebrews records Jesus’s expression of singing incongregational praise:

“For both He who sanctifies and those who are sanctified are all from one Father; for this reason He is not ashamed to call them brothers and sisters, saying, ‘I will proclaim Your name to My brothers, In the midst of the assembly I will sing Your praise.”
Hebrews 2:12 cf. Psalm 22:22

About this passage, F.F. Bruce writes, “The first quotation (Ps. 22:22 [LXX 21:23]) is taken from a psalm in which no Christian of the first century would have failed to recognize Christ as the speaker” (Bruce, Hebrews, 82).

Jesus is not ashamed to call us His “brothers and sisters” and sings praises to God in the midst of the assembly. If Jesus would sing in congregational singing, it is difficult to imagine that Jesus would choose to “not sing” (or call upon a congregation to not sing while gathered) praise to God because of any reason whatsoever. Furthermore, I believe it is implied that a congregation is not simply sitting there quietly while Jesus is singing God’s praises alone. “In the midst” would imply that the congregation is assembled to sing and Christ is also giving praise to God along with them.

Six: God Himself Sings Among His People

Bob Kauflin, director of Sovereign Grace Music, has written:

“Why does God so often tell us not simply to praise him but to sing his praises when we meet? Why not just pray and preach? Why sing? Why are God’s people throughout history always singing? Why words and music and not just words alone? Why does God want us to sing? One reason is that God himself sings.
Kauflin, What Happens When We Sing

In Zephaniah 3:17 God exalts over his people “with loud singing.”

God Himself sings among His people and so should we.

Seven: Singing Together Reminds Us To Find Security in God

Of all the times in our lives that we need singing with one another, it is in these times of uncertainty and insecurity. Many of the Psalms (that were later used in congregational singing) bring comfort, peace, reminders of God’s power and control. Here is a small sampling:

Keep me safe, my God, for in you I take refuge. – Psalm 16:1

I will praise the Lord, who counsels me; even at night my heart instructs me. I keep my eyes always on the Lord. With him at my right hand, I will not be shaken. – Psalm 16:7-8

I love you, Lord, my strength. The Lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold. – Psalm 18:1-2

The Psalter was regularly used as the hymnal of the congregation as we are commanded to sing songs of truth to one another (Eph 5:19; Col 3:16).

Even in trials, we have an example of Paul and Silas singing together as they were imprisoned in stocks, “But about midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns of praise to God and the prisoners were listening to them” (Acts 16:25).

Eight: The Bible Encourages Singing Together and Seeking God Who Takes Away Fear

There is great fear in the world today. Fear of sickness, fear of being sued, fear of man, fear of unemployment, etc….The Lord knows we are often fearful. Fear first entered into the heart of man after the fall when Adam sinned (Gen 3:10). Since then people have always struggled with fear. Perhaps that is why the most common command in all of the Scriptures is some form of the command “Do not fear.” God doesn’t promise to take our trials away, but He will carry us through them. In addition, when we seek God, He will deliver us from our fears. In Psalm 34, the Psalmist reflects upon God’s greatness vocally (“mouth”) and in his heart (“soul”). And, he invites others to sing to God together as God is the one who delivers him from all fear.

“I sought the Lord and He answered me,
And rescued me from all my fears” (Psalm 39:4).

Should we not also invite others to “exalt His name together”?

Nine: Congregational Worship is to be a Reflection of Our Experience in Heaven

When the church gathers, it is to experience a taste of heaven. We gather as a congregation to hear from God (His Word), remember Christ’s sacrifice (communion), enjoy the fellowship of the saints, and give vocalized praise and worship to God. All of these things will occur in heaven as well. Specifically, continual full vocalized worship from angelic beings (Rev 4:8), representatives of God’s church (24 elders), and the multitude of God’s people:

“And all the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures; and they fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God.”
Revelation 7:11

Revelation 19:1-6:

“After these things I heard something like a loud voice of a great multitude in heaven, saying,
“Hallelujah! Salvation, glory, and power belong to our God, because His judgments are true and righteous; for He has judged the great prostitute who was corrupting the earth with her sexual immorality, and He has avenged the blood of His bond-servants on her.”
And a second time they said,
“Hallelujah! Her smoke rises forever and ever.”
And the twenty-four elders and the four living creatures fell down and worshiped God who sits on the throne, saying, “Amen. Hallelujah!”
And a voice came from the throne, saying, “Give praise to our God, all you His bond-servants, you who fear Him, the small and the great.”
Then I heard something like the voice of a great multitude and like the sound of many waters, and like the sound of mighty peals of thunder, saying,
“Hallelujah! For the Lord our God, the Almighty, reigns.”

Heaven will not be filled with people in seats listening to an angelic choir. It will be filled with God’s people corporately giving God praise. When we gather in congregational worship, we experience of taste of heaven by our singing together in worship to extol the greatness of God.

Ten: Singing Can Help Us Use Words to Demonstrate and Express Our Unity

It is widely evident that there is great disunity in our world, our nation, and in many churches. Disunity among Christians breaks the heart of God (1 Cor 1). Yet, it is through congregational singing together that brings unity of mind and heart to the church. We need congregational worship. Once again, Kauflin writes, “A final way singing serves words is by demonstrating and expressing our unity.” He goes on:

People sing together in the strangest places. At sporting events, fans sing enthusiastically about their desire to crush the opponent. People sing at New Year’s Eve parties, Christmastime, rock concerts, weddings, and even funerals…
While these events aren’t equally significant, something similar is happening. Our singing tends to bind us together. It’s more effective than simply reciting or shouting words in unison.

Kauflin’s point is that music in church is one of the ways God binds his church together. Jesus does not redeem us for our ability to lead a tune. But he does redeem us for the purpose of our glorifying him through song, and demonstrating our unity in Christ by singing the same song.

Thus, every Christian should be a singing Christian, and every voice in the congregation matters. You could even say that your voice is essential.

Soli Deo Gloria

O Little Town, Pt 2: The Messiah’s Prerogative

Mon, 14 Dec 2020 09:01:00 GMT

Have you ever met someone who remembered you, but whom you could not place in your memory? This is an occupational hazard for new pastors who meet many people at church services.

Sometimes the inability to recognize someone can prove quite humorous. A man I know was once bumped up to 1^st class. The passenger next to him asked what he did, to make conversation he returned the question. The passenger said ‘acting.’ After the flight Joe went home and asked his children if they had ever heard of an actor named Tom Cruise.

On other occasions, the inability to recognize someone can be due to neurological problems. For example, the condition known as agnosia is when a patient can see a person but is unable to process what they are seeing in a meaningful way.

For example, one patient was shown pictures of people he knew and asked to describe what he saw. His description would be of random objects he had seen before, which didn’t resemble people at all. That case became famous when it was chronicled by psychologist, Oliver Sacks, in his book on strange cases he encountered in his career. The book was entitled “The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat”.

God wanted to make sure his people recognized the Messiah when he arrived. So he provided enough information about him to recognize him with ease.

Last week we looked at the provenance of the Messiah so that we can recognize him. But Micah also gives a description of the unique work he would do—the Messiah’s prerogative.

3 ASPECTS OF THE MESSIAH’S WORK SO HIS PEOPLE COULD RECOGNIZE HIM

1. SHEPHERD HIS PEOPLE

Micah 5:3- 4 Therefore he shall give them up until the time when she who is in labor has given birth; then the rest of his brothers shall return to the people of Israel.And he shall stand and shepherd his flock in the strength of the Lord, …

When the Messiah came, his people would recognize him, not only by his origin, but also by his work. And his first job description is that shall stand and shepherd his people.

Notice there is a transition verse that talks about the timing of his coming. The timing is simply promised to be after the judgment. They had no idea it would be 1,300 years after the judgment. Yes the judgment will hurt, but it is not a permanent discarding of God’s chosen people. They will be restored eventually. This is the first aspect of his job description: he will be a shepherd.

John 10:14-20 I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep… There was again a division among the Jews because of these words. Many of them said, “He has a demon, and is insane; why listen to him?”

They knew what Jesus was claiming. And we see him doing this. He actually laid down his life for his sheep. When you see someone doing the work of the Messiah, that’s a good indication that he is the Messiah.

2. GLORIFY GOD

Micah 5: 4 And he shall stand and shepherd his flock in the strength of the Lord, in the majesty of the name of the Lord his God.

The Messiah’s work is never about his fame and glory; that was a gift from the Father after he had been exalted. His coming was in humility, poverty, and weakness. Jesus’ work was always only to obey the Father, glorify the Father, do the Father’s will. He was the shepherd, but only by the strength of the Father and for the majesty and the glory of the Father.

John 8:50 Yet I do not seek my own glory; there is One who seeks it, and he is the judge.

Self-styled messiah’s always do it for their own glory, not the Father’s. Beware of a ministry where the main focus is on the fame and power and giftedness of the leader, and not on God.

To recognize the true Messiah, the Jews were looking for a politically prominent savior who would deliver them from Rome, but they should have been looking for a humble servant who was glorifying God.

3. PROTECT HIS PEOPLE

Micah 5: 4-5 And he shall stand and shepherd his flock in the strength of the Lord, in the majesty of the name of the Lord his God. And they shall dwell secure, for now he shall be great to the ends of the earth. And he shall be their peace. When the Assyrian comes into our land and treads in our palaces, then we will raise against him seven shepherds and eight princes of men…

This was a confusing credential.

There are many prophecies that say the Messiah will protect his people. But when Jesus came, he made no physical defense of himself, let alone his followers. He even promised the disciples that they would face persecution and be executed for his name. He said “I am sending you out as sheep in the midst of wolves.”

And, in fact, the Assyrians did defeat Israel. So how is this protecting? How is it possible for the Messiah to come and suffer, die, and allow persecution for his followers AND come and rule and conquer and reign?

Well, either there are two Messiah’s OR there is one Messiah who comes twice!

This was the mystery of the Old Testament which makes perfect sense to us who live this side of Easter Sunday.

We know that in Christ’s first coming he came to suffer and die, not to defend or be defended.

But in his second coming he will come to conquer and rule, and then he will guard his people from all physical harm.

Micah 4:1-4 ¹It shall come to pass in the latter days … ³He shall judge between many peoples, and shall decide for strong nations far away; and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore; ⁴but they shall sit every man under his vine and under his fig tree, and no one shall make them afraid, for the mouth of the Lord of hosts has spoken.

There will be a time when Jesus takes away all threat of war and attack, globally and individually.

Don’t think that lack of physical deliverance from harm in this life, means God doesn’t care about you. He said this life will bring trials and tribulations and we will be victims of violence and persecution but wait until Jesus comes back to set things right.

CONCLUSION

Have you recognized Jesus as the Messiah? The One prophesied in the Old Testament and sent by God into the world to suffer and die for his people for the glory of God? Turn from your sin, put your trust in Jesus’ death on the cross for you and be sure of your future protection.

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