In His first 30 years on the planet, Jesus would have known the same sufferings as you or I: physical weakness and emotional sadness and grief. For example, there is good reason to believe that Joseph died at some point as he is not present during Christ's ministry and Jesus deliberately passes the care of His mother to John at the cross. Throughout all this time, He never once sinned. He lived as our representative, the perfect second Adam.
On the cusp of His public ministry, right after His baptism, Jesus was tempted by Satan. This scene in the gospels is in some ways a culmination of His entire lifetime of perfect obedience, as well as showing how at this crucial moment the spiritual attack upon Him intensified.
Jesus was 'led by the Spirit into the wilderness' and after fasting for forty days and forty nights, He was hungry. (Matt 4:1-2). The devil challenged Him: ‘If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.’ (v3) Jesus refused to allow His identity to be defined by merely His actions or miracles. He was the Son of God even though He was hungry, and He didn't need to exert divine powers to prove it. He quoted Deuteronomy 8:3, “Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.”
The devil then challenged Jesus to throw Himself down off the highest point of the temple, because the Scripture said God would send His angels 'so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.’ But Jesus answered him, ‘It is also written: “Do not put the Lord your God to the test.” Finally, the devil took Him to a very high mountain and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendour. ‘All this I will give you,’ he said, ‘if you will bow down and worship me.’ But Jesus said to him, ‘Away from me, Satan! For it is written: “Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.” (v5-10)
Jesus was tempted by Satan to shortcut the suffering of the path God wanted Him to take. The devil wanted Jesus to use His divinity to cut out some of the discomfort of being human, and follow a path of fame and glory instead of the way of the cross, a life independent of His Father. He refused. Jesus valued obedience more than comfort. Do we?
The section reminds us of Israel's 40 years in the wilderness, where they constantly complained about the suffering they had to endure, forgetting their privileged status as God's chosen people, their terrible suffering in Egypt which God dramatically delivered them from, and the beautiful land that was promised to them. What about us? How do we suffer? Do we constantly complain, oblivious of all the blessings we have received, including every spiritual blessing in Christ? Do we forget that we've been delivered out of the kingdom of darkness and into the kingdom of light? Do we forget our eternal, future inheritance - the inheritance of Christ?
Oswald Sanders in 'The Incomparable Christ' writes this: Jesus 'refused to employ His divine prerogatives to gratify His own natural desires... Jesus had indeed come to obtain all the world of power and glory, but He was to receive it in His Father's way and in His Father's time. And His Father's way included death on a cross. He perceived that Satan was offering Him the crown without the cross.'
How did Jesus beat Satan? His response was to quote the Word of God. He modelled for us how we should fight our enemy; He used no powers beyond our reach. And He returned triumphant, 'in the power of the Spirit' (Lk 4:1, 14); enriched, not impoverished, by the experience (Sanders). May this be our experience in every trial.
Showing posts with label Jesus. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Jesus. Show all posts
Sunday, May 17, 2015
Wednesday, April 15, 2015
Peace in a perfect time to panic
In the first Toy Story film, Woody and Buzz find themselves far from their owner Andy's house. Stuck in a petrol station, Woody begins to despair that they will never make it back before Andy and his family move in two days' time. Buzz looks at Woody with a cool, calm gaze and says "This is no time to panic." Woody throws up his hands in the air and explodes, "This is the perfect time to panic!"
I don't know about you but I often find myself in situations where panic seems not only inevitable but even appropriate. What makes the scene in Toy Story so funny is that Buzz is convinced that he is the real Buzz Lightyear and the fate of the galaxy rests on his shoulders. To him, Woody's concern about Andy is trivial compared to his own quest. What we don't want to hear when we are in meltdown is some cool removed advice from someone so fixed on what is 'out of this world' that they are unmoved by our predicament. Perhaps Christians can be like Buzz at times. Not delusional, but all we can offer to those tied up in fear is some detached promise of another galaxy ie heaven.
So it's great news that Jesus offers us very real comfort and peace without taking away the tricky situations we often find ourselves in. In John's gospel, Jesus talks to His disciples before going to the garden of Gethsemane, where He would be betrayed and arrested. Jesus knows what is going to happen; in fact, in his gospel, John is at pains to reiterate that Jesus is choosing this path of the cross. Jesus is teaching and preparing His disciples not just for what is about to occur, but for their future ministry once He is risen and ascended to His Father. What I noticed is that Jesus repeats that they should not let their hearts be troubled (chapter 14 verse 1 and verse 27). In fact, they should have peace: 'peace I leave with you; my peace I give you.' (verse 27). Risen from the dead, Jesus says 'Peace be with you' in Luke 24:36; John adds this: 'as the Father has sent Me, I am sending you.' (John 20:21) What is it that links both sections in John's gospel that brings peace? It is the presence of Jesus Himself through the Holy Spirit.
If you're looking for a peace that is unshakable, you don't need to go on a retreat. You don't need to practice Buddhist meditation or yoga or become some kind of monk. That's the kind of peace the world chases, but the real peace that Jesus offers is so precious because it comes from Him being with us in all of our chaos. Jesus doesn't promise an end to all the things that make us panic and fear. He doesn't promise an end to war or pain or suffering or death until His second coming (see Revelation 21). Therefore we need a peace that is not based on circumstances, because if my peace is dependent on having a certain measure of health, happiness or success, then my peace will be fragile indeed. If my peace depends on my family, my job, my money, my status, my appearance or anything I possess, then it is not the peace of Christ. But if Christ Himself could face the cross with a holy peace that came from knowing who He was and what He was doing, and He offers me that same peace, then I can face anything.
The peace of the Holy Spirit
In John 14, Jesus calls the Holy Spirit 'Counsellor'. 'He will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you' (verse 26). This gives us the peace of verse 27. In verse 30, Jesus speaks of His enemy, 'the prince of this world', but says 'he has no hold on me.' That is what we need to remember: if we are in Christ the enemy has no hold on us either, unless we give him that hold through fear or sin. How do we combat fear and sin? Chapter 15 goes on: 'I am the true vine... Remain in Me and I will remain in you.' Sometimes with these well known passages we tend to just look them up as standalone statements, but to do that loses the significant context Jesus speaks into. He knows He is going; He knows He is sending us; He knows we need Him. His words in John 15 give us the key to how to live in Him and through Him and for Him. We need to obey Him and we need to love each other. We need to testify about Jesus, even when it means rejection and dangerous to our lives (chapter 16 verse 2).
But let's get back to Buzz. In some ways we do need to comfort ourselves with the fact that Jesus is coming soon and He is going to take us to be with him and He's prepared a place for us (John 14:2-3). But let's not lose the fact that He is with us now by His Spirit and so we are never alone. Jesus concludes: 'I have told you these things so that in Me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble, but take heart! I have overcome the world.' (John 16:33). I'm going to memorize that one and next time I have a perfect time to panic, I'll remind myself that is a perfect time for peace in Him.
Saturday, March 21, 2015
Jesus: man of sorrows
As I've looked at grief and suffering in the Scriptures, these verses have really struck my heart:
When we walk the path of sorrow, we can know that our Saviour leads us along the way, because He has been there. Jesus knew the pain of suffering. He bore our pain as well as His own. Think about it: the eternal Son took on flesh and submitted Himself to suffer and die. He 'became obedient to death - even death on a cross!' (Phil 2:8). We won't ever understand completely the depths of His suffering, but whenever we suffer, we can know that He understands our grief completely.
Jesus comes as Emmanuel, God with us (Matthew 1:23), but from His birth He was rejected, born in humble surroundings and soon forced to become a refugee to Egypt. He worked as a carpenter for 18 years, the 'unknown years' we know virtually nothing about. He led an ordinary human existence in those years and as a manual labourer, a tradesman, He would have known pain and tiredness. Yet, unlike us, He never allowed His own physical frailty to lead Him into sin. He never lost His temper, never said anything He later regretted. He was a man who suffered without sinning.
We like to make excuses for ourselves, don't we? When we're feeling ill or tired, we snap a little more easily, but we shrug it off. I do it all the time! Yet at those times when we're humanly at our weakest, God invites us to draw near, to say 'no' to the opportunity for sin, and 'yes' to deeper imitation of our perfect Saviour. He did it, and by His Spirit He gives us power to do it too.
'He was despised and rejected by men;
a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief;
and as one from whom men hide their faces
he was despised, and we esteemed him not.
Surely he has borne our griefs
and carried our sorrows;
yet we esteemed him stricken,
smitten by God, and afflicted.' (Isaiah 53:3-4)
When we walk the path of sorrow, we can know that our Saviour leads us along the way, because He has been there. Jesus knew the pain of suffering. He bore our pain as well as His own. Think about it: the eternal Son took on flesh and submitted Himself to suffer and die. He 'became obedient to death - even death on a cross!' (Phil 2:8). We won't ever understand completely the depths of His suffering, but whenever we suffer, we can know that He understands our grief completely.
Jesus comes as Emmanuel, God with us (Matthew 1:23), but from His birth He was rejected, born in humble surroundings and soon forced to become a refugee to Egypt. He worked as a carpenter for 18 years, the 'unknown years' we know virtually nothing about. He led an ordinary human existence in those years and as a manual labourer, a tradesman, He would have known pain and tiredness. Yet, unlike us, He never allowed His own physical frailty to lead Him into sin. He never lost His temper, never said anything He later regretted. He was a man who suffered without sinning.
We like to make excuses for ourselves, don't we? When we're feeling ill or tired, we snap a little more easily, but we shrug it off. I do it all the time! Yet at those times when we're humanly at our weakest, God invites us to draw near, to say 'no' to the opportunity for sin, and 'yes' to deeper imitation of our perfect Saviour. He did it, and by His Spirit He gives us power to do it too.
Wednesday, March 18, 2015
Suffering in Ministry: Following Christ's example
We know that suffering is an inevitable part of life this side of heaven; we live in a world of death, grief, illness, relational difficulties and all kinds of struggles. But I thought it would be interesting to look at what the New Testament teaches on suffering specifically in Christian ministry. It's no newsflash to know that Christians suffer, but in an era of tele-evangelists asking for cash and a very prosperous Western church in general, you could be forgiven for thinking that those in ministry perhaps were exempt from life's struggles. That's not the picture that Scripture gives at all, and it's not the reality of life in ministry.
In brief, then, here's the deal: as Christians, we will face rejection from men just as Jesus did. Fact. 'If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated Me first.' (John 15:18) The church will be attacked from within and outside continually (just read through the book of Acts, where the apostles dealt with multiple plots, arrests, imprisonment, violent mobs, deception and character assassination). Serving in ministry means becoming involved in this very real spiritual battle. You're going straight into the firing line!
When you're in ministry, then, you need to be prepared for trials. You need to imitate Christ in those trials, maintaining joy and faithfulness despite suffering, knowing that those around you will imitate you and follow your example.
The Example of Jesus Christ
I could write blog posts on all of these points, but I'm going to keep it brief!
☻ Prayer. Don't forget that Jesus lived on earth as a human, and He lived His life in perfect dependence on His Father, shown in His need to pray constantly. (Mark 1:35, Matthew 14:23, Luke 6:12, Luke 22, John 17 for some examples)
☻ Trust. He continued to trust God's plan even when personally rejected and ultimately crucified. (eg. John 19:11 where Jesus tells Pilate ‘You would have no power over me if it were not given to you from above.')
☻ Giving to others. He constantly had hoards of people coming to Him for healing and teaching, and He ministered to them with compassion. (Matthew 9:36)
☻ Singing in the shadow of the cross (Matthew 26:30). After celebrating the Passover meal with His disciples, where He taught them the true meaning of this festival was to point towards how His body would be broken and His blood poured out for the forgiveness of sins, Jesus sang a hymn then went out to Gethsemane, where He would pray in agony of spirit then be betrayed, arrested, and sent to the cross. Despite the weight of this knowledge, He sung praise to His Father (probably Psalms 113-118 which were usually used at this feast). In our sufferings (which must be meagre in comparison), we should do the same.
In brief, then, here's the deal: as Christians, we will face rejection from men just as Jesus did. Fact. 'If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated Me first.' (John 15:18) The church will be attacked from within and outside continually (just read through the book of Acts, where the apostles dealt with multiple plots, arrests, imprisonment, violent mobs, deception and character assassination). Serving in ministry means becoming involved in this very real spiritual battle. You're going straight into the firing line!
When you're in ministry, then, you need to be prepared for trials. You need to imitate Christ in those trials, maintaining joy and faithfulness despite suffering, knowing that those around you will imitate you and follow your example.
The Example of Jesus Christ
I could write blog posts on all of these points, but I'm going to keep it brief!
☻ Prayer. Don't forget that Jesus lived on earth as a human, and He lived His life in perfect dependence on His Father, shown in His need to pray constantly. (Mark 1:35, Matthew 14:23, Luke 6:12, Luke 22, John 17 for some examples)
☻ Trust. He continued to trust God's plan even when personally rejected and ultimately crucified. (eg. John 19:11 where Jesus tells Pilate ‘You would have no power over me if it were not given to you from above.')
☻ Giving to others. He constantly had hoards of people coming to Him for healing and teaching, and He ministered to them with compassion. (Matthew 9:36)
☻ Singing in the shadow of the cross (Matthew 26:30). After celebrating the Passover meal with His disciples, where He taught them the true meaning of this festival was to point towards how His body would be broken and His blood poured out for the forgiveness of sins, Jesus sang a hymn then went out to Gethsemane, where He would pray in agony of spirit then be betrayed, arrested, and sent to the cross. Despite the weight of this knowledge, He sung praise to His Father (probably Psalms 113-118 which were usually used at this feast). In our sufferings (which must be meagre in comparison), we should do the same.
Wednesday, March 11, 2015
Job: seeing Christ as the answer
Ultimately, Job's suffering is only given an answer with the meaningful suffering of Jesus Christ and His resurrection.
Job is brought to the point where he realises the 'otherness' of God. He understands something of the divine mystery, and he feels keenly the gap between him and his Creator.
Job needs a mediator, and so do we. The Bible clearly tells us that we find the mediator we need in Jesus Christ:
In a stunning glimpse of gospel-clarity, Job sees that resurrection is needed to solve the mystery of suffering: 'For I know that my Redeemer lives, and at the last He will stand upon the earth.' (Job 19:25)
Only God has power of death (Job 38:17). Christ's victory over Satan will ultimately answer all the human frustrations of suffering and injustice. Redemption in Christ gives a final answer to Satan's accusations by justifying the ungodly (Rom 4:5).
We have only ever known this world to be full of suffering and death since Adam fell; Jesus offers the only solution to our fallen human condition. In sending Jesus, God wasn't pressing the 'pause' or even the 'stop' button on the world's suffering; He was entering into it Himself to deliver us eternally. The rest of our earthly life will continue to be marked with suffering as part of our mortality, but we can be made right before God through Jesus Christ and spend an eternity in His perfect new creation where there will be no more tears (Rev 21).
Jesus is not only our mediator, but our friend. He is acquainted with sorrow (Isa 53:3), and He gets how we feel, and He is not lacking in compassion for us:
His nail-marked hands hold ours as we walk through life with all its shadows and pain. Each step takes us closer to seeing Him face to face in an eternity without suffering.
Job is brought to the point where he realises the 'otherness' of God. He understands something of the divine mystery, and he feels keenly the gap between him and his Creator.
'For He is not a man, as I am, that I might answer Him, that we should come to trial together. There is no arbiter between us.' (Job 9:32-33a)
Job needs a mediator, and so do we. The Bible clearly tells us that we find the mediator we need in Jesus Christ:
'For there is one God and one mediator between God and mankind, the man Christ Jesus' (1 Tim 2:5).It is a wonderful thing; Jesus makes the sacrifice once and for all for sins (Hebrews 10). He died for the sins of the whole world (1 Jn 2:2) and made the propitiation that no one else could. Think about it: if Job, even Job, with all his righteousness, had died on the cross, what would have happened? Would the sky have turned dark and rocks split open and the dead been raised? No. There would have been no atonement, and no resurrection. Only Jesus could fulfil this role uniquely as the mediator because He was both God and man, and in sinless perfection, He could bring us to His Father.
In a stunning glimpse of gospel-clarity, Job sees that resurrection is needed to solve the mystery of suffering: 'For I know that my Redeemer lives, and at the last He will stand upon the earth.' (Job 19:25)
Only God has power of death (Job 38:17). Christ's victory over Satan will ultimately answer all the human frustrations of suffering and injustice. Redemption in Christ gives a final answer to Satan's accusations by justifying the ungodly (Rom 4:5).
'He is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them... He did this (offered sacrifice) once for all when He offered up Himself.' (Heb 7:25-27)
'For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive.' (1 Cor 15:22)
We have only ever known this world to be full of suffering and death since Adam fell; Jesus offers the only solution to our fallen human condition. In sending Jesus, God wasn't pressing the 'pause' or even the 'stop' button on the world's suffering; He was entering into it Himself to deliver us eternally. The rest of our earthly life will continue to be marked with suffering as part of our mortality, but we can be made right before God through Jesus Christ and spend an eternity in His perfect new creation where there will be no more tears (Rev 21).
Jesus is not only our mediator, but our friend. He is acquainted with sorrow (Isa 53:3), and He gets how we feel, and He is not lacking in compassion for us:
'For 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. Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.' (Heb 4:15-16)
His nail-marked hands hold ours as we walk through life with all its shadows and pain. Each step takes us closer to seeing Him face to face in an eternity without suffering.
Friday, January 9, 2015
Ezra & Nehemiah: A need for fasting
It's hard to imagine what life was like for the people of Israel after they went into exile. Jerusalem had fallen to the Babylonians with great violence and brutality, as recorded by Jeremiah in Lamentations. But empires come and empires go, and in 539 BC, the Persians defeated the Babylonians and absorbed the lands of Israel and Judah into their territory. The next year, Cyrus allowed the people of Judah to return home and rebuild the temple of the Lord. Around 458 BC, another group of Judean exiles returned under Ezra's leadership (ESV study Bible).
The books of Ezra and Nehemiah (often viewed as one book) give us a historical narrative about these returns to Palestine, but with important theological lessons about God's covenant faithfulness. The exile was not the end of the story for God's people, and the book of Ezra shows an amazing turnaround of these pagan rulers giving favour to God's people and actually commissioning them to re-start their religious community centred around the temple. The rebuilt temple was nowhere near as great in grandeur as the first, so it was a bittersweet reopening (see Ezra 3), but the fact remains that God had preserved for Himself a remnant. He had not wiped out the descendants of Abraham. He still had plans to prosper them (Jer 29).
It was a great challenge for this broken, battered community to live distinctively and faithfully to the Lord. They had been in exile for 70 years. As they come back to the Word of God and the Law of God, they have to come to terms with their own disobedience and figure out how to move forwards. Ezra's leadership is bold and strong as he urges the people to obey the commands of the Lord, even at great personal cost (such as the removal of foreign wives and children - see Ezra 9-10). What struck me looking at these narratives was the place of fasting in the post-exilic community, as an integral part of their repentance and turning back to the Lord.
Fasting is not something we talk about very often. It is not something we do very well, I'm guessing (if my own practise is anything to go by). In OT Law, it was only prescribed for the Day of Atonement (see Leviticus 16), which was fundamentally about purification from sin. The people were charged to 'afflict' themselves (v29) and 'do no work', which suggests that fasting and prayer was part of this holy day where their sins would be dealt with before God in the Holy of Holies. In the offerings and the goat sent into the wilderness, God gave His people a vivid picture of their sin being atoned for, which ultimately pointed to Jesus' death on the cross. So I'm not suggesting we should go back to OT Law and fast like we're trying to add something on to Christ's work- He said, 'It is finished'! (John 19:30) But it's interesting that during the exile and afterwards, fasting became something God's people did when they realised their need for God. You could look at Esther calling a fast before she was to appear before the King to try to stop the killing of the Jews (a situation of desperation, see Esther 4). You could look at the prayerful life of Daniel and how he fasted and prayed when he realised the 70 years of exile had passed and God had promised through Jeremiah that He would bring the people back (Daniel 9). In Ezra, he fasts and falls on his knees in intercessory prayer when he hears of the mixed marriages of the exiles (Ezra 9). Nehemiah fasts and prays over an extended time when he hears of the state of Jerusalem (Nehemiah 1). Why did they fast? Because they were desperate. They were full of grief over sin (not always their own sin, but the sin of the nation, of their community). They wanted to humble themselves before God and pray, and abstaining from food was an important part of that. It showed repentance (you could also look at Nineveh in the book of Jonah for that).
Why don't we fast? Because we're not desperate. We want to see God move, but we're not desperate enough that we're willing to give up the things we rely on each day to get us through - this isn't just our three meals, but other things too like social media, our mobile phones. I read something on Revive our Hearts where the speaker made a point that you wouldn't congratulate someone on being very self-disciplined if they managed to eat three meals a day. Imagine it: 'Well done! You actually managed to eat breakfast, lunch AND dinner!' It's something we take for granted, unless we're ill. Well fasting is meant to show us that the same commitment we have towards feeding our bodies is the commitment we should have in prayer. We NEED God more than we need food to survive (Jesus told the devil 'Man shall not live by bread alone' in Matthew 4:4 when He was tempted to turn stones into bread during a 40-day fast).
I know it's easy with fasting to become legalistic. In fact, Jesus warned His disciples not to fast like the Pharisees, to make a song and dance about it, and do it for human praise and attention (Luke 18:12). But He did teach on fasting as though it was meant to be a regular part of life for His followers - 'when you fast...' (Matthew 6:17). He was questioned on why His disciples didn't fast, and He replied, 'But the days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast in that day.' (Mark 2:19) Until Jesus comes again, there is sin, there is suffering, there is wrong-doing in the world. There is desperation. So fasting is to be part of following Christ until that day when He puts everything right.
If we don't fast, it's like we're saying there's nothing to grieve over. Our culture doesn't do grief. We're told not to focus on the bad things. But biblically, we should! We should grieve over the sins of our nation. We should mourn the hypocrisies and failures of the Church. We should deeply feel the horror of our sin and in the midst of our gratitude to Christ for making our atonement, it's not always wrong to set aside special time to fast and pray for victory over habitual sin. I'm not saying 'fast and God will listen to you'. I'm just trying to recognise that Scripture tells us there IS a need for fasting, and I know I need to do it a lot more than I do at the moment.
The books of Ezra and Nehemiah (often viewed as one book) give us a historical narrative about these returns to Palestine, but with important theological lessons about God's covenant faithfulness. The exile was not the end of the story for God's people, and the book of Ezra shows an amazing turnaround of these pagan rulers giving favour to God's people and actually commissioning them to re-start their religious community centred around the temple. The rebuilt temple was nowhere near as great in grandeur as the first, so it was a bittersweet reopening (see Ezra 3), but the fact remains that God had preserved for Himself a remnant. He had not wiped out the descendants of Abraham. He still had plans to prosper them (Jer 29).
It was a great challenge for this broken, battered community to live distinctively and faithfully to the Lord. They had been in exile for 70 years. As they come back to the Word of God and the Law of God, they have to come to terms with their own disobedience and figure out how to move forwards. Ezra's leadership is bold and strong as he urges the people to obey the commands of the Lord, even at great personal cost (such as the removal of foreign wives and children - see Ezra 9-10). What struck me looking at these narratives was the place of fasting in the post-exilic community, as an integral part of their repentance and turning back to the Lord.
Fasting is not something we talk about very often. It is not something we do very well, I'm guessing (if my own practise is anything to go by). In OT Law, it was only prescribed for the Day of Atonement (see Leviticus 16), which was fundamentally about purification from sin. The people were charged to 'afflict' themselves (v29) and 'do no work', which suggests that fasting and prayer was part of this holy day where their sins would be dealt with before God in the Holy of Holies. In the offerings and the goat sent into the wilderness, God gave His people a vivid picture of their sin being atoned for, which ultimately pointed to Jesus' death on the cross. So I'm not suggesting we should go back to OT Law and fast like we're trying to add something on to Christ's work- He said, 'It is finished'! (John 19:30) But it's interesting that during the exile and afterwards, fasting became something God's people did when they realised their need for God. You could look at Esther calling a fast before she was to appear before the King to try to stop the killing of the Jews (a situation of desperation, see Esther 4). You could look at the prayerful life of Daniel and how he fasted and prayed when he realised the 70 years of exile had passed and God had promised through Jeremiah that He would bring the people back (Daniel 9). In Ezra, he fasts and falls on his knees in intercessory prayer when he hears of the mixed marriages of the exiles (Ezra 9). Nehemiah fasts and prays over an extended time when he hears of the state of Jerusalem (Nehemiah 1). Why did they fast? Because they were desperate. They were full of grief over sin (not always their own sin, but the sin of the nation, of their community). They wanted to humble themselves before God and pray, and abstaining from food was an important part of that. It showed repentance (you could also look at Nineveh in the book of Jonah for that).
Why don't we fast? Because we're not desperate. We want to see God move, but we're not desperate enough that we're willing to give up the things we rely on each day to get us through - this isn't just our three meals, but other things too like social media, our mobile phones. I read something on Revive our Hearts where the speaker made a point that you wouldn't congratulate someone on being very self-disciplined if they managed to eat three meals a day. Imagine it: 'Well done! You actually managed to eat breakfast, lunch AND dinner!' It's something we take for granted, unless we're ill. Well fasting is meant to show us that the same commitment we have towards feeding our bodies is the commitment we should have in prayer. We NEED God more than we need food to survive (Jesus told the devil 'Man shall not live by bread alone' in Matthew 4:4 when He was tempted to turn stones into bread during a 40-day fast).
I know it's easy with fasting to become legalistic. In fact, Jesus warned His disciples not to fast like the Pharisees, to make a song and dance about it, and do it for human praise and attention (Luke 18:12). But He did teach on fasting as though it was meant to be a regular part of life for His followers - 'when you fast...' (Matthew 6:17). He was questioned on why His disciples didn't fast, and He replied, 'But the days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast in that day.' (Mark 2:19) Until Jesus comes again, there is sin, there is suffering, there is wrong-doing in the world. There is desperation. So fasting is to be part of following Christ until that day when He puts everything right.
If we don't fast, it's like we're saying there's nothing to grieve over. Our culture doesn't do grief. We're told not to focus on the bad things. But biblically, we should! We should grieve over the sins of our nation. We should mourn the hypocrisies and failures of the Church. We should deeply feel the horror of our sin and in the midst of our gratitude to Christ for making our atonement, it's not always wrong to set aside special time to fast and pray for victory over habitual sin. I'm not saying 'fast and God will listen to you'. I'm just trying to recognise that Scripture tells us there IS a need for fasting, and I know I need to do it a lot more than I do at the moment.
Tuesday, November 12, 2013
What the Gospels say about the cross of Jesus
I think I've always felt that I've learned about what the cross of Jesus means through looking at New Testament letters and even key Old Testament passages like Isaiah 53 than through reading the gospel accounts. In some ways, the teaching of the gospels is perhaps more implicit on what Jesus was actually accomplishing on the cross. We see a factual, historical narrative with key incidents but not much narrative commentary on what the actual significance of these incidents is. The writers give you the evidence and challenge you to come to the same conclusion that they have: Jesus Christ is the Son of God (Mk 1:1). But there is a richness to the gospels especially in their biblical references and allusions, and through a close study we learn many important truths about the cross of Jesus.
1. Divine plan- the heart of the gospel is that God has designed a plan to reach and deliver the poor, oppressed and those caught in Satan's oppressive grip (Lk 4). The cross is the key to how this plan is put into action. How does Jesus release people? Through His death on the cross. The wonderful healings we see in Jesus' ministry are a foretaste of the amazing salvation He offers.
2. Part of the Messiah's role - The picture of the suffering servant from a few passages in Isaiah (eg. Isa 53) form a key backdrop to how the gospel writers understand the crucifixion of Jesus. Not just an unfortunate ending to an idealistic, heroic teacher, the cross in fact is seen as an essential part of Christ's identity and mission, to give his life as a ransom for many (Mk 10.45). In John's gospel Jesus often refers to his suffering and crucifixion as 'the hour' (Jn 16.32, 17.1) which would be followed by glory and turn His disciples' sorrow into joy (Jn 16.20,22). Jesus understood the cross as His mission which He had to complete before going back to His Father (Jn 16.28).
3. Promised and predicted in both the Old Testament and by Jesus Himself. In Jn 3.14-15 Jesus teaches that the Son of man must be lifted up, making a parallel with the bronze serpent Moses made and the salvation the cross would bring. The cross is there in the 'I am' sayings and images- 'I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.' (Jn 10:11) In the parable of the tenants, Jesus predicted Israel's ultimate rejection of their Messiah, just as they had refused to listen to the prophets: 'He had one left to send, a son, whom he loved. He sent him last of all, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’ But the tenants said to one another, ‘This is the heir. Come, let’s kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.’ So they took him and killed him, and threw him out of the vineyard. What then will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come and kill those tenants and give the vineyard to others. Haven’t you read this passage of Scripture:
‘The stone the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone;
the Lord has done this,
and it is marvellous in our eyes.' (Mk 12:6-11, quoting Ps 118.22-23)
In the gospels we see specific prophecies fulfilled such as Psalm 22, quoted by gospel writers when Jesus' garment is taken and lots are cast for it, and other details too like the mockery of His enemies. But also the gospels show how the whole promises of God have been fulfilled in Jesus' death and resurrection: 'Everything must be fulfilled that is written about me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms' (Lk 24.44).
4. Kingship. Far from being a sign that Jesus was not God's chosen king, the cross is shown as integral to Jesus' royal position as the descendant of David. This is shown on the reception of Him as the son of David when the people laid palms before him as He rode into Jerusalem on a donkey (Mk 11). There is the irony of sign placed over the cross calling Him King of Jews (Mt 27.37) The thief on the cross recognises Jesus has a kingdom (Lk 23.42). In Jn 18.36 He says His kingdom is 'not of this world'. Yet He is still in control even as the horrific events unfold - in Jn 17.6 the people who come to arrest Him fell to the ground. In Jn 19.30 he 'gave up his spirit' implying His death was His choice. Once He has gone through the suffering of the cross, Jesus returns in glory and splendour, and speaks of His second coming which will be glorious and universal.
5. Passover. The last supper is a symbolic presentation of the cross. Jesus sees the cross as the once-for-all fulfilment of the Passover because He is the 'lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world'(Jn 1.29). He becomes the atonement for sin. Jesus' blood becomes the blood of a new covenant for the forgiveness of sins. In Luke's account he says 'until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God' (Lk 22.6) He dies at the ninth hour, the time of evening sacrifice.
1. Divine plan- the heart of the gospel is that God has designed a plan to reach and deliver the poor, oppressed and those caught in Satan's oppressive grip (Lk 4). The cross is the key to how this plan is put into action. How does Jesus release people? Through His death on the cross. The wonderful healings we see in Jesus' ministry are a foretaste of the amazing salvation He offers.
2. Part of the Messiah's role - The picture of the suffering servant from a few passages in Isaiah (eg. Isa 53) form a key backdrop to how the gospel writers understand the crucifixion of Jesus. Not just an unfortunate ending to an idealistic, heroic teacher, the cross in fact is seen as an essential part of Christ's identity and mission, to give his life as a ransom for many (Mk 10.45). In John's gospel Jesus often refers to his suffering and crucifixion as 'the hour' (Jn 16.32, 17.1) which would be followed by glory and turn His disciples' sorrow into joy (Jn 16.20,22). Jesus understood the cross as His mission which He had to complete before going back to His Father (Jn 16.28).
3. Promised and predicted in both the Old Testament and by Jesus Himself. In Jn 3.14-15 Jesus teaches that the Son of man must be lifted up, making a parallel with the bronze serpent Moses made and the salvation the cross would bring. The cross is there in the 'I am' sayings and images- 'I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.' (Jn 10:11) In the parable of the tenants, Jesus predicted Israel's ultimate rejection of their Messiah, just as they had refused to listen to the prophets: 'He had one left to send, a son, whom he loved. He sent him last of all, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’ But the tenants said to one another, ‘This is the heir. Come, let’s kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.’ So they took him and killed him, and threw him out of the vineyard. What then will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come and kill those tenants and give the vineyard to others. Haven’t you read this passage of Scripture:
‘The stone the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone;
the Lord has done this,
and it is marvellous in our eyes.' (Mk 12:6-11, quoting Ps 118.22-23)
In the gospels we see specific prophecies fulfilled such as Psalm 22, quoted by gospel writers when Jesus' garment is taken and lots are cast for it, and other details too like the mockery of His enemies. But also the gospels show how the whole promises of God have been fulfilled in Jesus' death and resurrection: 'Everything must be fulfilled that is written about me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms' (Lk 24.44).
4. Kingship. Far from being a sign that Jesus was not God's chosen king, the cross is shown as integral to Jesus' royal position as the descendant of David. This is shown on the reception of Him as the son of David when the people laid palms before him as He rode into Jerusalem on a donkey (Mk 11). There is the irony of sign placed over the cross calling Him King of Jews (Mt 27.37) The thief on the cross recognises Jesus has a kingdom (Lk 23.42). In Jn 18.36 He says His kingdom is 'not of this world'. Yet He is still in control even as the horrific events unfold - in Jn 17.6 the people who come to arrest Him fell to the ground. In Jn 19.30 he 'gave up his spirit' implying His death was His choice. Once He has gone through the suffering of the cross, Jesus returns in glory and splendour, and speaks of His second coming which will be glorious and universal.
5. Passover. The last supper is a symbolic presentation of the cross. Jesus sees the cross as the once-for-all fulfilment of the Passover because He is the 'lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world'(Jn 1.29). He becomes the atonement for sin. Jesus' blood becomes the blood of a new covenant for the forgiveness of sins. In Luke's account he says 'until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God' (Lk 22.6) He dies at the ninth hour, the time of evening sacrifice.
Wednesday, August 7, 2013
Rest in time of need- some more thoughts
I'm coming back to this theme of rest; I looked up all the times 'rest' is mentioned in the KJV and I was really struck at the story of God and God's people it showed me. From the rest of God in Genesis 2:2 to the pattern of rest He created for His people as shown in the Law (Ex 20:11, Deut 5:14), God knew that man would always be searching for rest. One of the biggest things that stood out to me is that biblically, rest is not found in not working per se, but in God Himself. So in the laws and commands about keeping the Sabbath, the reason for those commands was so that people could take time to draw near to God, rather than simply stop working and put their feet up. Look at Ex 33:14:
As Moses communes with God, whose holy presence has filled the tabernacle, God gives him this assurance of His ongoing presence with Israel even though they are a 'stiffnecked people' (v5). This promise is fulfilled as in Numbers it says 'At the commandment of the Lord the children of Israel journeyed, and at the commandment of the Lord they pitched: as long as the cloud abode upon the tabernacle they rested in their tents' (Num 9:18). They physically rested from travelling when God's presence filled the tabernacle, but I wonder if that is also a picture of a spiritual rest. They knew God was close to them; they had nothing to fear.
What went wrong?
The writer of Hebrews quotes Psalm 95:
Rest was only to be found in God, but instead of drawing near to Him and listening to Him, they grumbled and let their hearts grow hard against Him. They were denied rest, because they would not find it in God. They wanted just to have their temporary needs met of a varied diet and a permanent home (see Numbers 11).
The writer of Hebrews argued that since Israel failed to enter God's rest, then there 'remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God.' (Heb 4:9) How do we enter it? He then goes on to write about our 'great high priest... Jesus the Son of God' (v14). Jesus was a man who entered the rest of God and so could offer it to others (Matt 11:28-29). He kept the Sabbath in the way it was intended, by using it to draw close to God and others rather than simply following some legalistic rules about not picking corn (Luke 6). Isaiah prophesies about a Branch, a root of Jesse, who will come and 'the spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him' (v2). This seems to be shown in John 1:32 when the Spirit rests on Jesus at His baptism, and Jesus Himself referred to similar prophecies in Luke 4:18 (Isa 61) and said they were fulfilled in Him.
Isaiah 11 goes on to talk about the new creation where the wolf shall dwell with the lamb (v6), and it says that 'in that day there shall be a root of Jesse, which shall stand for an ensign of the people; to it shall the Gentiles seek: and his rest shall be glorious.' (v10). So this must refer to Jesus, standing as a flag or banner of God's people, the One the Gentiles seek, and His rest shall be glorious because He has brought salvation to the nations. And this will be our rest too!
What about now?
Well, going back to Hebrews 4, after pointing us to Jesus as our high priest, the writer reminds us that he was 'in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.' (v15) What deprives us of rest in God? Sin. But if we come to Christ, we can share in His perfect rest in God, because He was sinless.
This is the real key for us as Christians. There will be times of trouble for us, sometimes because of our sin and mess-ups, but also from sickness, or persecution, or other factors beyond our control. How do we find rest in all these circumstances? By going to the throne of grace, seeking God for His mercy and grace to help us in our time of need. The answer to our frantic busy-ness, to our despair, to our desperation, is found not in retreats, finishing tasks, new possessions, relationships or entertainment, though I know I have tried to find it in all of these things. It's only in God Himself that we can find the rest we crave.
'...My presence shall go with thee, and I will give thee rest.'
As Moses communes with God, whose holy presence has filled the tabernacle, God gives him this assurance of His ongoing presence with Israel even though they are a 'stiffnecked people' (v5). This promise is fulfilled as in Numbers it says 'At the commandment of the Lord the children of Israel journeyed, and at the commandment of the Lord they pitched: as long as the cloud abode upon the tabernacle they rested in their tents' (Num 9:18). They physically rested from travelling when God's presence filled the tabernacle, but I wonder if that is also a picture of a spiritual rest. They knew God was close to them; they had nothing to fear.
What went wrong?
The writer of Hebrews quotes Psalm 95:
'Wherefore (as the Holy Ghost saith, To day if ye will hear his voice, Harden not your hearts, as in the provocation, in the day of temptation in the wilderness: When your fathers tempted me, proved me, and saw my works forty years. Wherefore I was grieved with that generation, and said, They do alway err in their heart; and they have not known my ways. So I sware in my wrath, They shall not enter into my rest.' (Heb 3:7-11)
Rest was only to be found in God, but instead of drawing near to Him and listening to Him, they grumbled and let their hearts grow hard against Him. They were denied rest, because they would not find it in God. They wanted just to have their temporary needs met of a varied diet and a permanent home (see Numbers 11).
The writer of Hebrews argued that since Israel failed to enter God's rest, then there 'remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God.' (Heb 4:9) How do we enter it? He then goes on to write about our 'great high priest... Jesus the Son of God' (v14). Jesus was a man who entered the rest of God and so could offer it to others (Matt 11:28-29). He kept the Sabbath in the way it was intended, by using it to draw close to God and others rather than simply following some legalistic rules about not picking corn (Luke 6). Isaiah prophesies about a Branch, a root of Jesse, who will come and 'the spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him' (v2). This seems to be shown in John 1:32 when the Spirit rests on Jesus at His baptism, and Jesus Himself referred to similar prophecies in Luke 4:18 (Isa 61) and said they were fulfilled in Him.
Isaiah 11 goes on to talk about the new creation where the wolf shall dwell with the lamb (v6), and it says that 'in that day there shall be a root of Jesse, which shall stand for an ensign of the people; to it shall the Gentiles seek: and his rest shall be glorious.' (v10). So this must refer to Jesus, standing as a flag or banner of God's people, the One the Gentiles seek, and His rest shall be glorious because He has brought salvation to the nations. And this will be our rest too!
What about now?
Well, going back to Hebrews 4, after pointing us to Jesus as our high priest, the writer reminds us that he was 'in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.' (v15) What deprives us of rest in God? Sin. But if we come to Christ, we can share in His perfect rest in God, because He was sinless.
'Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.' (Heb 4:16)
This is the real key for us as Christians. There will be times of trouble for us, sometimes because of our sin and mess-ups, but also from sickness, or persecution, or other factors beyond our control. How do we find rest in all these circumstances? By going to the throne of grace, seeking God for His mercy and grace to help us in our time of need. The answer to our frantic busy-ness, to our despair, to our desperation, is found not in retreats, finishing tasks, new possessions, relationships or entertainment, though I know I have tried to find it in all of these things. It's only in God Himself that we can find the rest we crave.
Monday, July 30, 2012
Why we need a mediator
This cropped up in a comment on my last post so I thought I'd write a whole new post on this one!
The key question is this:
This is really the key question of the whole Bible! And answers can be found from very early on in Scripture.
In Genesis 1-2, it is made clear that man has a special role to play in God's amazingly vast and varied creation. God breathes life into the man, and says He has made men and women in His image. Adam and Eve enjoy the garden of Eden but most of all they enjoy fellowship with God, who walked with them in the garden. They were perfect and sinless in a perfect creation.
However, it's worth saying here that even in their perfect, sinless state, they did not deserve the privileges they were given. However amazing humans are, they are nothing in comparison to the great and awesome God who spoke an entire universe into being. 'and God said, "Let there be light...' (Gen 1:3) However wonderful we are, God is far more wonderful. That He chose to make us and He chose to walk in the garden are wonderful examples of His grace- His undeserved favour given to those who do not deserve it.
We see further evidences of His grace in the beautiful creation that surrounds us. Look at all the wonderful varieties of butterfly, bird and flower. Look at the astounding intricacy and delicacy of bees building a honeycomb, and we can see that God has made us an interesting, complex and beautiful creation. He didn't have to create colours, shades and tones. He didn't have to make all the textures and sounds and movements in creation. But He did, out of His infinite grace and His creative wisdom and imagination.
Psalm 8 really encapsulates the awe we should feel when we look at the world around us:
'When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place,
what is man that you are mindful of him, and the son of man that you care for him?' (v3-4)
When we compare ourselves to the gigantic splendour of the sun and stars, we get some perspective of how small we are in this universe, and of how much greater God is. We don't deserve His grace and favour, yet He still gives it! And even when we rebel against Him...
Because that's the story of Genesis 3. Adam and Eve, despite their wonderful privileges, did the one thing they were asked not to do. They ate the fruit and their sin separated them from God. They were exiled from Eden.
Ever since then, men have needed a way to be made right with God. And in the rest of the Bible, there is an increasing revelation of how God makes that possible. In the rest of Genesis, God chooses Abraham to make a covenant with him and his future descendants. All an act of grace. Abraham's descendants, the Israelites, end up in slavery in Egypt, and God raises up Moses to lead them out. Moses becomes a mediator, the one who speaks to the LORD and conveys His commandments to the people. But Moses feels his own inadequacies as a mediator. He longs for the day when God's Spirit will be poured out on all believers (Num 11:29). Over the next generations, God raises up leaders for the people, from Joshua to the judges like Samuel, and then kings like David who sought God's heart. But there are many kings who lead Israel into further idolatry and rebellion, and the Old Testament ends with a much diminished Israel, a remnant, post-exile to Babylon, looking forward to the day when God will make things right again with His anointed one: the Christ.
Jesus is the mediator that the whole of Scripture points towards:
Let's go back to Psalm 8. The Psalmist continues:
'Yet you have made him a little lower than the heavenly beings and crowned him with glory and honor.
You have given him dominion over the works of your hands; you have put all things under his feet,
all sheep and oxen, and also the beasts of the field,
the birds of the heavens, and the fish of the sea, whatever passes along the paths of the seas.'
But we find out in Hebrews 2 that this passage actually refers to Jesus! The writer quotes it and explains: 'In putting everything under Him, God left nothing that is not subject to Him.' (Heb 2:8) Jesus had to be 'made like His brothers in every way, in order that He might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, and that He might make atonement for the sins of the people' (Heb 2:17) This is why we need a mediator. We need Christ's substitutionary atonement for us, dying on the cross for our sins, and we need His imputed righteousness, the positive effect of His holy life, projected onto us so that in God's sight we are made righteous.
These are massive concepts! And there is so much complexity and depth to them. But for now I want to keep it within reasonable reading length, and I realise I have probably moved far beyond that already.
To sum it up: even if we were perfect, to know God and be in relationship with Him would be a gift of His grace (and He was willing to give this freely, as Genesis 1-2 show). Because we are sinful, to know God and be in relationship with Him is only possible through the mediation of Jesus Christ. We need Him to take away our sin, and we need Him to clothe us with His righteousness so we can stand before God and be made holy and blameless in His sight (Eph 1:4).
The key question is this:
if God made us, why do we need a mediator to make a way between us and Him? Why can't we just freely know Him and talk to Him?
This is really the key question of the whole Bible! And answers can be found from very early on in Scripture.
In Genesis 1-2, it is made clear that man has a special role to play in God's amazingly vast and varied creation. God breathes life into the man, and says He has made men and women in His image. Adam and Eve enjoy the garden of Eden but most of all they enjoy fellowship with God, who walked with them in the garden. They were perfect and sinless in a perfect creation.
However, it's worth saying here that even in their perfect, sinless state, they did not deserve the privileges they were given. However amazing humans are, they are nothing in comparison to the great and awesome God who spoke an entire universe into being. 'and God said, "Let there be light...' (Gen 1:3) However wonderful we are, God is far more wonderful. That He chose to make us and He chose to walk in the garden are wonderful examples of His grace- His undeserved favour given to those who do not deserve it.
We see further evidences of His grace in the beautiful creation that surrounds us. Look at all the wonderful varieties of butterfly, bird and flower. Look at the astounding intricacy and delicacy of bees building a honeycomb, and we can see that God has made us an interesting, complex and beautiful creation. He didn't have to create colours, shades and tones. He didn't have to make all the textures and sounds and movements in creation. But He did, out of His infinite grace and His creative wisdom and imagination.
Psalm 8 really encapsulates the awe we should feel when we look at the world around us:
'When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place,
what is man that you are mindful of him, and the son of man that you care for him?' (v3-4)
When we compare ourselves to the gigantic splendour of the sun and stars, we get some perspective of how small we are in this universe, and of how much greater God is. We don't deserve His grace and favour, yet He still gives it! And even when we rebel against Him...
Because that's the story of Genesis 3. Adam and Eve, despite their wonderful privileges, did the one thing they were asked not to do. They ate the fruit and their sin separated them from God. They were exiled from Eden.
Ever since then, men have needed a way to be made right with God. And in the rest of the Bible, there is an increasing revelation of how God makes that possible. In the rest of Genesis, God chooses Abraham to make a covenant with him and his future descendants. All an act of grace. Abraham's descendants, the Israelites, end up in slavery in Egypt, and God raises up Moses to lead them out. Moses becomes a mediator, the one who speaks to the LORD and conveys His commandments to the people. But Moses feels his own inadequacies as a mediator. He longs for the day when God's Spirit will be poured out on all believers (Num 11:29). Over the next generations, God raises up leaders for the people, from Joshua to the judges like Samuel, and then kings like David who sought God's heart. But there are many kings who lead Israel into further idolatry and rebellion, and the Old Testament ends with a much diminished Israel, a remnant, post-exile to Babylon, looking forward to the day when God will make things right again with His anointed one: the Christ.
Jesus is the mediator that the whole of Scripture points towards:
'For there is ...one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.' (1 Tim 2:5)All other human mediators before this point had their failings (Moses disobeyed God by striking the rock, David committed adultery with Bathsheba and murdered her husband Uriah, to provide just two examples). Jesus was completely without sin, so therefore His mediation was perfect. Hebrews teaches that He acted like a High Priest... in fact, He is the High Priest to end the Levitical priesthood for ever, because He is the High Priest of a new covenant which is superior to the old and replaces it (Heb 7:22,27; Heb 8:6). He made the perfect sacrifice for sins once for all, and then sat down at the right hand of the Father (Heb 8:1). His unique status as the Son of God enables Him to mediate for us in a way that no one else could. He was fully man and this meant that He could fully take the penalty for sin in His flesh, without at all deserving it because He resisted sin. 'God made Him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God' (2 Cor 5:21).
Let's go back to Psalm 8. The Psalmist continues:
'Yet you have made him a little lower than the heavenly beings and crowned him with glory and honor.
You have given him dominion over the works of your hands; you have put all things under his feet,
all sheep and oxen, and also the beasts of the field,
the birds of the heavens, and the fish of the sea, whatever passes along the paths of the seas.'
But we find out in Hebrews 2 that this passage actually refers to Jesus! The writer quotes it and explains: 'In putting everything under Him, God left nothing that is not subject to Him.' (Heb 2:8) Jesus had to be 'made like His brothers in every way, in order that He might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, and that He might make atonement for the sins of the people' (Heb 2:17) This is why we need a mediator. We need Christ's substitutionary atonement for us, dying on the cross for our sins, and we need His imputed righteousness, the positive effect of His holy life, projected onto us so that in God's sight we are made righteous.
These are massive concepts! And there is so much complexity and depth to them. But for now I want to keep it within reasonable reading length, and I realise I have probably moved far beyond that already.
To sum it up: even if we were perfect, to know God and be in relationship with Him would be a gift of His grace (and He was willing to give this freely, as Genesis 1-2 show). Because we are sinful, to know God and be in relationship with Him is only possible through the mediation of Jesus Christ. We need Him to take away our sin, and we need Him to clothe us with His righteousness so we can stand before God and be made holy and blameless in His sight (Eph 1:4).
Friday, March 18, 2011
Paul's Teaching on the Cross
When reading the gospel narratives of Christ's crucifixion and resurrection from the dead, you could be forgiven for not really understanding what was going on. The gospel writers are focusing upon the historical events; they certainly want to show that Jesus' death was the fulfilment of Old Testament prophecy and was inaugurating a new covenant and means of access to God, but they don't give a lengthy explanation of what, spiritually, was happening as Jesus hung there on the cross. Paul wonderfully complements the gospel narratives by giving us lengthy analysis and exposition about what God was accomplishing in Christ's death on the cross throughout his letters. Like the other apostles, he shows that the cross is absolutely fundamental to what Christianity is all about.
Perhaps the most complex yet vital teaching which Paul emphasises repeatedly is that through the cross, our sin can be atoned for. In the letter Romans, Paul explains that
The Old Testament system of offering sacrifices, culminating with the annual Day of Atonement, was just a shadow of this greater reality, that God was going to deal with sin once for all. Christians have the incredible assurance that their sins are completely dealt with, because when He died on the cross, Jesus took all of God's wrath upon Himself and was a substitute for us.
The cross was necessary because of God's holiness. He cannot just overlook our sin, and sweep it under the carpet. But in punishing Christ in our place on the cross, God demonstrated His righteousness (that sin must be punished) as well as His mercy, because through this, sinners could be forgiven. (See Rom 3:25)
Perhaps proof that the gospel is 100% true is the fact that no one could have made it up! It is just mind-blowing that the God of the universe would find a way to deal with sin justly, yet make a way for sinners to be redeeemed. The cross is a totally unexpected way of dealing with the problem of sin- and on the outside, it looks totally powerless, a sign of utter humiliation. Paul states to the Corinthians:
And yet, the cross was there in God's plan for salvation from the very beginning. Paul emphasises that 'Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures.' (1 Cor 15:3) He shows that in the cross, the trinitarian God was working to bring about the salvation of His people, chosen before the foundation of the world. (Eph 1:4). The cross enabled God to fulfil His covenant promises to Adam and Eve (Gen 3:15)and Abraham (Gen 12), and the covenant He made with Moses and Israel at Sinai was always intended to be temporary until Christ came.
Paul takes great pains to demonstrate that the law could never justify sinners. It highlights sin in our lives, but offers no power to keep us from sinning. The sacrificial system was imperfect and repetitive, without really achieving full access for all to God. In Galatians 3:13 Paul asserts that:
In the act of hanging on the cross, Jesus was under the full curse of sinners who cannot keep God's law. He was perfectly obedient, but took on Himself the weight of the disobedience of men. This means that the charge against us of sin, which condemned us, has been totally cancelled and removed:
As Paul expands in Romans:
These verses clearly teach the law's limitations, and the way that God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement so that those who believe in Him can have His perfect righteousness credited to their account. Those who believe in Christ are filled with the Spirit and thus empowered to live in holiness, because they are slaves to sin no longer.
An important aspect of Paul's teaching on the cross is that believers share in the cross in identification and union with Christ and thus share in all its benefits. In some mysterious way, those who trust in Christ were 'in' Him in His death, and are 'in' Him now. Listen to Paul's statement:
Similarly, in Colossians he asserts that 'you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God.' (Col 3:3) Believers can say that their sin was dealt with in Christ's body when He died on the cross, and through His resurrection they too have the certain hope of being raised up at the last day.
Paul is keen to stress the total assurance that Christians have that their sins are forgiven. The redemptive power of the cross is such that even the worst of sinners can receive full atonement there. 'In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins' states Paul in Eph 1:7, and there are no qualifications or restrictions to those who can receive this full redemption. Those who trust in the cross for their forgiveness can stand before God 'without blemish and free from accusation' (Col 1:22).
Even more wonderful than this, is Paul's teaching that Christians are adopted into God's family through the reconciliation the cross achieved. He writes that those who are redeemed receive 'adoption to sonship' (Gal 4:5), a position of great privilege, and therefore the creation closeness between God and man can be restored, even bettered. But the cross reconciled more than just individuals to God; it reconciled the whole of creation to God. Paul writes that it was God's full intention that, through Christ's death, He could 'reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.' (Col 1:20) Paul also specifically addresses the fact that both Jews and Gentiles have been reconciled to God through the cross, and the cross destroys any hostility between them (Eph 2:16).
But moving beyond the impact of the cross on us, one of the main emphases Paul continually stresses is the way that the cross leads to Christ's exaltation:
Christ's willingness to become a man and suffer such a humiliating death proved His divinity and led to God exalting Him as Lord over creation. Although it did not seem glorious at the time, the cross brought and still brings glory to God. It shows His wonderful victory over all the powers of evil: 'And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.' Col 2:15
The cross should lead us to love and worship God more and more, the more we understand it. We can never lose the wonder that God has made it possible for us to have eternal salvation through the shedding of Jesus' blood. And aside from inspiring our love and worship, the cross also gives us three things:
1. A hatred of sin
If we've really understood the cross, and seen how serious sin is that God had to punish His only beloved Son in order to decisively deal with it, then we can't be happy to continue living a life that is sinful and against God. Our sins sent Jesus to the cross; we should now live with an absolute hatred of our own rebellion and strive, through the Spirit's power, to live differently as 'new selves' in Christ.
2. A pattern of suffering
If Jesus had to suffer, then it shouldn't be a surprise to us when we go through difficult times on this ungodly earth. The cross shows us a pattern of suffering for righteousness, then being exalted. We may suffer now, but ultimately we will one day be raised up and share in glory for ever.
3. Hope
The historic events of Jesus' death on the cross and resurrection give us a certain hope that God is going to fulfil every one of His promises towards us. He will not let us eternally die, but He will raise us to eternal life and bring us to an eternity of glory that He has prepared and planned since the beginning of creation.
Perhaps the most complex yet vital teaching which Paul emphasises repeatedly is that through the cross, our sin can be atoned for. In the letter Romans, Paul explains that
God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement, through the shedding of his blood—to be received by faith. Rom 3:25
The Old Testament system of offering sacrifices, culminating with the annual Day of Atonement, was just a shadow of this greater reality, that God was going to deal with sin once for all. Christians have the incredible assurance that their sins are completely dealt with, because when He died on the cross, Jesus took all of God's wrath upon Himself and was a substitute for us.
Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus- Rom 8:1
The cross was necessary because of God's holiness. He cannot just overlook our sin, and sweep it under the carpet. But in punishing Christ in our place on the cross, God demonstrated His righteousness (that sin must be punished) as well as His mercy, because through this, sinners could be forgiven. (See Rom 3:25)
Perhaps proof that the gospel is 100% true is the fact that no one could have made it up! It is just mind-blowing that the God of the universe would find a way to deal with sin justly, yet make a way for sinners to be redeeemed. The cross is a totally unexpected way of dealing with the problem of sin- and on the outside, it looks totally powerless, a sign of utter humiliation. Paul states to the Corinthians:
'we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles' -1 Cor 1:23
And yet, the cross was there in God's plan for salvation from the very beginning. Paul emphasises that 'Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures.' (1 Cor 15:3) He shows that in the cross, the trinitarian God was working to bring about the salvation of His people, chosen before the foundation of the world. (Eph 1:4). The cross enabled God to fulfil His covenant promises to Adam and Eve (Gen 3:15)and Abraham (Gen 12), and the covenant He made with Moses and Israel at Sinai was always intended to be temporary until Christ came.
Paul takes great pains to demonstrate that the law could never justify sinners. It highlights sin in our lives, but offers no power to keep us from sinning. The sacrificial system was imperfect and repetitive, without really achieving full access for all to God. In Galatians 3:13 Paul asserts that:
'Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: “Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree.” ' [Dt 21:23]
In the act of hanging on the cross, Jesus was under the full curse of sinners who cannot keep God's law. He was perfectly obedient, but took on Himself the weight of the disobedience of men. This means that the charge against us of sin, which condemned us, has been totally cancelled and removed:
'he has taken it away, nailing it to the cross.' Col 2:14
As Paul expands in Romans:
'For what the law was powerless to do because it was weakened by the flesh, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh to be a sin offering. And so he condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.' (Rom 8:3-4)
These verses clearly teach the law's limitations, and the way that God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement so that those who believe in Him can have His perfect righteousness credited to their account. Those who believe in Christ are filled with the Spirit and thus empowered to live in holiness, because they are slaves to sin no longer.
An important aspect of Paul's teaching on the cross is that believers share in the cross in identification and union with Christ and thus share in all its benefits. In some mysterious way, those who trust in Christ were 'in' Him in His death, and are 'in' Him now. Listen to Paul's statement:
'I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.' Gal 2:20
Similarly, in Colossians he asserts that 'you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God.' (Col 3:3) Believers can say that their sin was dealt with in Christ's body when He died on the cross, and through His resurrection they too have the certain hope of being raised up at the last day.
Paul is keen to stress the total assurance that Christians have that their sins are forgiven. The redemptive power of the cross is such that even the worst of sinners can receive full atonement there. 'In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins' states Paul in Eph 1:7, and there are no qualifications or restrictions to those who can receive this full redemption. Those who trust in the cross for their forgiveness can stand before God 'without blemish and free from accusation' (Col 1:22).
Even more wonderful than this, is Paul's teaching that Christians are adopted into God's family through the reconciliation the cross achieved. He writes that those who are redeemed receive 'adoption to sonship' (Gal 4:5), a position of great privilege, and therefore the creation closeness between God and man can be restored, even bettered. But the cross reconciled more than just individuals to God; it reconciled the whole of creation to God. Paul writes that it was God's full intention that, through Christ's death, He could 'reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.' (Col 1:20) Paul also specifically addresses the fact that both Jews and Gentiles have been reconciled to God through the cross, and the cross destroys any hostility between them (Eph 2:16).
But moving beyond the impact of the cross on us, one of the main emphases Paul continually stresses is the way that the cross leads to Christ's exaltation:
'And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death— even death on a cross! Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.' Phil 2:8-11
Christ's willingness to become a man and suffer such a humiliating death proved His divinity and led to God exalting Him as Lord over creation. Although it did not seem glorious at the time, the cross brought and still brings glory to God. It shows His wonderful victory over all the powers of evil: 'And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.' Col 2:15
The cross should lead us to love and worship God more and more, the more we understand it. We can never lose the wonder that God has made it possible for us to have eternal salvation through the shedding of Jesus' blood. And aside from inspiring our love and worship, the cross also gives us three things:
1. A hatred of sin
'Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.' Gal 5:24
If we've really understood the cross, and seen how serious sin is that God had to punish His only beloved Son in order to decisively deal with it, then we can't be happy to continue living a life that is sinful and against God. Our sins sent Jesus to the cross; we should now live with an absolute hatred of our own rebellion and strive, through the Spirit's power, to live differently as 'new selves' in Christ.
2. A pattern of suffering
'In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus' Phil 2:5
If Jesus had to suffer, then it shouldn't be a surprise to us when we go through difficult times on this ungodly earth. The cross shows us a pattern of suffering for righteousness, then being exalted. We may suffer now, but ultimately we will one day be raised up and share in glory for ever.
3. Hope
'For we believe that Jesus died and rose again, and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him.' 1 Thess 4:14
The historic events of Jesus' death on the cross and resurrection give us a certain hope that God is going to fulfil every one of His promises towards us. He will not let us eternally die, but He will raise us to eternal life and bring us to an eternity of glory that He has prepared and planned since the beginning of creation.
Saturday, November 14, 2009
Old and New Covenant: What's the Difference?
It's always a danger that we, as Christians, use complicated terms from the Bible without really understanding what they mean, as well as being totally unintelligible for the world outside. The trap of Christian jargon is sometimes really difficult to escape from. Salvation, atonement, penal substitution... All these words mean wonderful things and yet can also be very confusing.
As I study for my Moore College Christian Worship module, I have been looking at the Old and New Covenants of the Bible. And 'covenant' is one such jargon-word. It basically means 'promise', but it does have more weight than that. In Bible times, an oral culture where the spoken word was much more meaningful and binding than in today's world, a covenant was serious business. It involved conditions. It was not easily broken.
The Old Testament relates to us how God called the people of Israel into covenant with Him (having made a covenant with Abraham, and they were his descendants). On Mount Sinai He gave them the Law, and the essence of the covenant was this:
'Love the LORD your God and keep his requirements, his decrees, his laws and his commands always.' Deuteronomy 11:1
The conditions were that if Israel followed God's commands and stayed faithful to Him, He would give them a land flowing with milk and honey, and rest from all their enemies. But if they failed, then He would send famine and drought, routers, and eventually send them into exile. And sadly, this is what actually happened. After the exile, a remnant returned, but it was clear that Israel had problems with keeping the covenant because the post-exilic prophets (such as Malachi) spoke of their continued corruption and failure to obey God.
It is into this situation -a crushed people under the Roman empire, a disobedient people who had failed to keep God's law- that Jesus came. And with Him, He brought what is known as the New Covenant: a new way of relating to God.
Jesus changed:
The PLACE of worship
The MEANS of worship
Let's unpack that.
In the Old Testament, there were two important central places of worship. First, there was the Tabernacle (built under Moses in the time of being in the wilderness). This was a sort of tent, a central meeting place, where the Ark of the Covenant (a box containing the 10 Commandments and the Law) was kept. It was where God's presence dwelled- this is why Exodus ends climactically with the cloud of God's presence filling the place (Ex 40).
Once Israel had claimed the Promised Land and achieved rest from their enemies, the Temple was built (under the direction of Solomon, David's son). This was a much more permanent building, lavishly constructed, and provided the central place of worship where sacrifices were offered.
Jesus changed all of this by REPLACING the temple (place of worship), along with the sacrifices (means of worship). By offering Himself, dying an innocent death on the cross, Jesus paid the price for our sins, once for all. His blood justifies the guilty (Rom 5:8-9). There is no need now for any more sacrifices to be made. Jesus' sacrifice was enough to pay for all sins: past, present and future.
'He is able to save completely those who come to God through Him.' (Heb 7:25)
So Jesus IS the sacrifice, but Jesus is also the TEMPLE itself. The Temple represented God's rule, and God's will to bless Israel and other nations through them. In Jesus 'one greater than the temple' arrived (Mt 12:6). He embodied God's presence and authority, because He was the Son of God. In Him we find salvation and through Him all nations can be blessed (this is how God fulfilled His promise to Abraham from Genesis 12). We don't need a temple now to access God, because we have Jesus. This is why the Temple curtain was torn from top to bottom when Christ died on the cross (Mt 27:51).
True Christianity is all about presenting ourselves to God IN JESUS CHRIST. It's about coming to God, knowing you have NOTHING TO OFFER Him except a sinful soul, and asking for His forgiveness which is available to you THROUGH JESUS' SACRIFICE.
But once we have done that, we CAN offer God our lives. Romans 12:1 teaches that we are to become 'living sacrifices'- not trying to win our own salvation or our place in heaven by doing good things, but demonstrating in our LIFESTYLE that our relationship with God has been restored, and we are RIGHTEOUS in His sight (absolutely pure). Every sphere of our lives as Christians gives us the opportunity to glorify and serve God, in grateful response to the work of Jesus.
Therefore we "worship" not only in times of singing songs and reading the Bible and praying, but in obedience, loving others, showing hospitality, being faithful in marriage, witnessing to others (see Hebrews and Romans 12-15). Our worship is much more than what we do in church on a Sunday, or in our daily "quiet time" or personal devotions to God. It is our whole life.
That is not necessarily ABSENT from the Old covenant. God made it clear that He wanted His people to love Him all of the time, not just on a Sabbath day. He made it clear through the prophets that sacrifices were worthless unless they were accompanied by true repentance (1 Sam 15:22). But Jesus brought a whole new experience of worship for us, because He revealed to us in His very person the TRUTH about God, and He sent us His SPIRIT to aid us in crying out to God in our hearts (Rom 8:15). This is what Jesus meant when He said:
"Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth." John 4:23-24
In Jesus we see a full revelation of who God is, because Jesus is 'the exact representation of his being' (Heb 1:3). In Jesus we not only receive a new PLACE of worship (ie. in Himself, not in a physical building), and a new MEANS of worship (through His sacrifice), but we also receive a full picture of the GOD we worship. We can worship Jesus because He is God; He is part of the Trinity, the three-person God who is Father, Son and Spirit. And as Christians, our aim is to bring others to worship Christ and make Him their own Lord and Saviour.
As I study for my Moore College Christian Worship module, I have been looking at the Old and New Covenants of the Bible. And 'covenant' is one such jargon-word. It basically means 'promise', but it does have more weight than that. In Bible times, an oral culture where the spoken word was much more meaningful and binding than in today's world, a covenant was serious business. It involved conditions. It was not easily broken.
The Old Testament relates to us how God called the people of Israel into covenant with Him (having made a covenant with Abraham, and they were his descendants). On Mount Sinai He gave them the Law, and the essence of the covenant was this:
'Love the LORD your God and keep his requirements, his decrees, his laws and his commands always.' Deuteronomy 11:1
The conditions were that if Israel followed God's commands and stayed faithful to Him, He would give them a land flowing with milk and honey, and rest from all their enemies. But if they failed, then He would send famine and drought, routers, and eventually send them into exile. And sadly, this is what actually happened. After the exile, a remnant returned, but it was clear that Israel had problems with keeping the covenant because the post-exilic prophets (such as Malachi) spoke of their continued corruption and failure to obey God.
It is into this situation -a crushed people under the Roman empire, a disobedient people who had failed to keep God's law- that Jesus came. And with Him, He brought what is known as the New Covenant: a new way of relating to God.
Jesus changed:
The PLACE of worship
The MEANS of worship
Let's unpack that.
In the Old Testament, there were two important central places of worship. First, there was the Tabernacle (built under Moses in the time of being in the wilderness). This was a sort of tent, a central meeting place, where the Ark of the Covenant (a box containing the 10 Commandments and the Law) was kept. It was where God's presence dwelled- this is why Exodus ends climactically with the cloud of God's presence filling the place (Ex 40).
Once Israel had claimed the Promised Land and achieved rest from their enemies, the Temple was built (under the direction of Solomon, David's son). This was a much more permanent building, lavishly constructed, and provided the central place of worship where sacrifices were offered.
Jesus changed all of this by REPLACING the temple (place of worship), along with the sacrifices (means of worship). By offering Himself, dying an innocent death on the cross, Jesus paid the price for our sins, once for all. His blood justifies the guilty (Rom 5:8-9). There is no need now for any more sacrifices to be made. Jesus' sacrifice was enough to pay for all sins: past, present and future.
'He is able to save completely those who come to God through Him.' (Heb 7:25)
So Jesus IS the sacrifice, but Jesus is also the TEMPLE itself. The Temple represented God's rule, and God's will to bless Israel and other nations through them. In Jesus 'one greater than the temple' arrived (Mt 12:6). He embodied God's presence and authority, because He was the Son of God. In Him we find salvation and through Him all nations can be blessed (this is how God fulfilled His promise to Abraham from Genesis 12). We don't need a temple now to access God, because we have Jesus. This is why the Temple curtain was torn from top to bottom when Christ died on the cross (Mt 27:51).
True Christianity is all about presenting ourselves to God IN JESUS CHRIST. It's about coming to God, knowing you have NOTHING TO OFFER Him except a sinful soul, and asking for His forgiveness which is available to you THROUGH JESUS' SACRIFICE.
But once we have done that, we CAN offer God our lives. Romans 12:1 teaches that we are to become 'living sacrifices'- not trying to win our own salvation or our place in heaven by doing good things, but demonstrating in our LIFESTYLE that our relationship with God has been restored, and we are RIGHTEOUS in His sight (absolutely pure). Every sphere of our lives as Christians gives us the opportunity to glorify and serve God, in grateful response to the work of Jesus.
Therefore we "worship" not only in times of singing songs and reading the Bible and praying, but in obedience, loving others, showing hospitality, being faithful in marriage, witnessing to others (see Hebrews and Romans 12-15). Our worship is much more than what we do in church on a Sunday, or in our daily "quiet time" or personal devotions to God. It is our whole life.
That is not necessarily ABSENT from the Old covenant. God made it clear that He wanted His people to love Him all of the time, not just on a Sabbath day. He made it clear through the prophets that sacrifices were worthless unless they were accompanied by true repentance (1 Sam 15:22). But Jesus brought a whole new experience of worship for us, because He revealed to us in His very person the TRUTH about God, and He sent us His SPIRIT to aid us in crying out to God in our hearts (Rom 8:15). This is what Jesus meant when He said:
"Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth." John 4:23-24
In Jesus we see a full revelation of who God is, because Jesus is 'the exact representation of his being' (Heb 1:3). In Jesus we not only receive a new PLACE of worship (ie. in Himself, not in a physical building), and a new MEANS of worship (through His sacrifice), but we also receive a full picture of the GOD we worship. We can worship Jesus because He is God; He is part of the Trinity, the three-person God who is Father, Son and Spirit. And as Christians, our aim is to bring others to worship Christ and make Him their own Lord and Saviour.
Friday, July 24, 2009
Worship #2
Why is Jesus Christ so central to Christian worship?
Only through Jesus can we 'offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God' 1 Pet 2:5. There is no other way we can approach God except through Jesus:
'I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.' John 14:6
This is because our sins separate us from God. They are a huge barrier and prevent us from pleasing God by our own efforts. Jesus came to earth, lived a sinless life, and then died as a sacrifice for us (Heb 9:26), to remove us from the wrath of God and reconcile us to Him (2 Cor 5:18-19). Therefore, if we come to Jesus and trust in Him, we can be redeemed out of bondage to sin and Satan (Heb 2:15), and be enabled to worship God and know Him personally.
Before Jesus came, God called a people to Himself (Israel), and gave them a means of worshipping Him. This is the old covenant, which includes the Law given to Moses (as recorded in Exodus, Leviticus, and Deuteronomy) and the sacrificial system whereby the priests would offer up a bull or a ram as an atonement for the sins of the people.
This system is transformed by Jesus- He completely fulfilled the old covenant by
1. Keeping the Law perfectly (which no one else could ever do)
2. Being the one perfect sacrifice to atone for all sins past, present and future ('Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!' John 1:29)
3. Being the ultimate great high priest who intercedes on behalf of His people and doesn't need to offer any sacrifices for Himself ('But when this priest had offered for all time one sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God... by one sacrifice he has made perfect forever those who are being made holy.' Hebrews 10:13-14)
The reason that Jesus was able to do this was because He was God incarnate. Colossians 2:9 says that the fullness of the Deity lives in Christ in bodily form. Philippians 2:9 says that 'At the Name of Jesus every knee should bow'. After seeing the resurrected Christ, His disciples worshipped Him (see John 20), and so contemporary Christians follow the example of the first generation of believers and worship Jesus without hesitation (Carson).
Only through Jesus can we 'offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God' 1 Pet 2:5. There is no other way we can approach God except through Jesus:
'I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.' John 14:6
This is because our sins separate us from God. They are a huge barrier and prevent us from pleasing God by our own efforts. Jesus came to earth, lived a sinless life, and then died as a sacrifice for us (Heb 9:26), to remove us from the wrath of God and reconcile us to Him (2 Cor 5:18-19). Therefore, if we come to Jesus and trust in Him, we can be redeemed out of bondage to sin and Satan (Heb 2:15), and be enabled to worship God and know Him personally.
Before Jesus came, God called a people to Himself (Israel), and gave them a means of worshipping Him. This is the old covenant, which includes the Law given to Moses (as recorded in Exodus, Leviticus, and Deuteronomy) and the sacrificial system whereby the priests would offer up a bull or a ram as an atonement for the sins of the people.
This system is transformed by Jesus- He completely fulfilled the old covenant by
1. Keeping the Law perfectly (which no one else could ever do)
2. Being the one perfect sacrifice to atone for all sins past, present and future ('Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!' John 1:29)
3. Being the ultimate great high priest who intercedes on behalf of His people and doesn't need to offer any sacrifices for Himself ('But when this priest had offered for all time one sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God... by one sacrifice he has made perfect forever those who are being made holy.' Hebrews 10:13-14)
The reason that Jesus was able to do this was because He was God incarnate. Colossians 2:9 says that the fullness of the Deity lives in Christ in bodily form. Philippians 2:9 says that 'At the Name of Jesus every knee should bow'. After seeing the resurrected Christ, His disciples worshipped Him (see John 20), and so contemporary Christians follow the example of the first generation of believers and worship Jesus without hesitation (Carson).
Monday, May 25, 2009
Why is church important? #2
'Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless. In this same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. After all, no one ever hated his own body, but he feeds and cares for it, just as Christ does the church— for we are members of his body. "For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh." This is a profound mystery—but I am talking about Christ and the church.' Ephesians 5:25-32
Jesus and the church
So the church as a concept is made up of all Christians... but then there's also church in a local context, a specific body of members and a real and tangible community. This is where we see the concept lived out and made reality for us to understand and participate in.
Joshua Harris writes:
'[Jesus] calls and expects us to be part of [the church]... because we are part of it!
If Jesus loves the church, you and I should, too. We can't use the excuse that the church has messed up too many times or that we're disillusioned. Jesus is the only person who has the right to disown and give up on the church. But He never has. And He never will.' Stop Dating the Church, p40
Being a Christian who doesn't go to church is like being a brick lying on the ground (an analogy from Spurgeon which Harris quotes). It's useless and even trips people up! It's not what we're made for. We are made to be the people of God, living under His rule: that's what heaven is all about. Heaven is not going to be full of isolated individuals. No way! It's going to be people from every tribe, tongue and nation worshipping God together (Revelation 7:9).
The Christian life is hard. We find many struggles: against the world of people who have rejected God, against the devil who loves to trip us up, and against our own sinful nature which battles for supremacy within our hearts against God's Spirit. We need other Christians to keep us on the right track, to challenge us when we have compromised, to encourage us when we're down and ready to give up. To 'go solo' in the Christian life is to go against everything Jesus taught us about being humble and serving one another. It also buys into the lie that the less we give of ourselves and our time and money, the happier we will be. That's just not true! There is far more blessing in giving all of ourselves to the church, because it is an eternal investment.
Jesus and the church
- He loves us
- He gave himself up for us, by dying on the cross
- He cleanses us so that in God's sight we are holy
- He cares for us
- We become united with Him
So the church as a concept is made up of all Christians... but then there's also church in a local context, a specific body of members and a real and tangible community. This is where we see the concept lived out and made reality for us to understand and participate in.
Joshua Harris writes:
'[Jesus] calls and expects us to be part of [the church]... because we are part of it!
If Jesus loves the church, you and I should, too. We can't use the excuse that the church has messed up too many times or that we're disillusioned. Jesus is the only person who has the right to disown and give up on the church. But He never has. And He never will.' Stop Dating the Church, p40
Being a Christian who doesn't go to church is like being a brick lying on the ground (an analogy from Spurgeon which Harris quotes). It's useless and even trips people up! It's not what we're made for. We are made to be the people of God, living under His rule: that's what heaven is all about. Heaven is not going to be full of isolated individuals. No way! It's going to be people from every tribe, tongue and nation worshipping God together (Revelation 7:9).
The Christian life is hard. We find many struggles: against the world of people who have rejected God, against the devil who loves to trip us up, and against our own sinful nature which battles for supremacy within our hearts against God's Spirit. We need other Christians to keep us on the right track, to challenge us when we have compromised, to encourage us when we're down and ready to give up. To 'go solo' in the Christian life is to go against everything Jesus taught us about being humble and serving one another. It also buys into the lie that the less we give of ourselves and our time and money, the happier we will be. That's just not true! There is far more blessing in giving all of ourselves to the church, because it is an eternal investment.
Saturday, May 23, 2009
Why is church important? #1
I'm reading Joshua Harris' book 'Stop Dating the Church' at the moment and it is incredibly helpful at explaining why it is so important for Christians to be committed members of a local church. These blog posts are really a collection of what Harris argues and my own thinking about it.
How is church like marriage?
This is one of the big questions Harris seeks to answer. In the Bible, Paul famously compares the relationship of a married couple to the relationship of Christ and the church (Ephesians 5). So what is the link between the church and marriage? Well, most Christians would agree that marriage is all about loving, faithful commitment. That's exactly the way Jesus treats the church... and therefore the way that we should treat it, too.
Harris says:
'The plain fact is, when we resist passion and commitment in our relationship with the church, everyone gets cheated out of God's best.
And again:
'The church is the vehicle that Jesus chose to take the message of the gospel to every generation and people.' p20
If we want to follow Jesus' command to go and make disciples of all nations (Matthew 28), we will struggle unless we are part of a church community. It's what the church is for: bringing together saved sinners to reach out to lost people. We're so much more effective together than individually. Just think about it: imagine you have one non-Christian friend called James. Now if you are the only Christian James knows, that means a lot of pressure on you to keep witnessing to him! And if you move away, he then knows no Christians in his area. But if you introduce James to some of your Christian friends from church, he can build relationships with them too, you can all witness and pray for him together, and if you move away, he still has links with a church and the people of God.
Church isn't an easy place. It is a place where sinners -saved and unsaved- gather together, and that's always going to be tough. But it is an ideal place for Christians to grow in godliness, as they hear the Bible faithfully taught... and as they are thrown into situations where they need to put into practice Jesus' teachings about loving your enemies, forgiving those who hurt you, and being humble and serving to one another. You see, every Christian could make three Christian friends and simply meet up with those friends regularly and get their spiritual 'fix' to keep them going... But in doing so, they would miss out hugely on the 'family factor' of church- being put into a room with loads of different people of all ages and backgrounds, where you don't have anything in common except Jesus, and you have to get along!
So to summarise:
How is church like marriage?
This is one of the big questions Harris seeks to answer. In the Bible, Paul famously compares the relationship of a married couple to the relationship of Christ and the church (Ephesians 5). So what is the link between the church and marriage? Well, most Christians would agree that marriage is all about loving, faithful commitment. That's exactly the way Jesus treats the church... and therefore the way that we should treat it, too.
Harris says:
'The plain fact is, when we resist passion and commitment in our relationship with the church, everyone gets cheated out of God's best.
- You cheat yourself.
- You cheat a church community.
- You cheat your world.' p18
And again:
'The church is the vehicle that Jesus chose to take the message of the gospel to every generation and people.' p20
If we want to follow Jesus' command to go and make disciples of all nations (Matthew 28), we will struggle unless we are part of a church community. It's what the church is for: bringing together saved sinners to reach out to lost people. We're so much more effective together than individually. Just think about it: imagine you have one non-Christian friend called James. Now if you are the only Christian James knows, that means a lot of pressure on you to keep witnessing to him! And if you move away, he then knows no Christians in his area. But if you introduce James to some of your Christian friends from church, he can build relationships with them too, you can all witness and pray for him together, and if you move away, he still has links with a church and the people of God.
Church isn't an easy place. It is a place where sinners -saved and unsaved- gather together, and that's always going to be tough. But it is an ideal place for Christians to grow in godliness, as they hear the Bible faithfully taught... and as they are thrown into situations where they need to put into practice Jesus' teachings about loving your enemies, forgiving those who hurt you, and being humble and serving to one another. You see, every Christian could make three Christian friends and simply meet up with those friends regularly and get their spiritual 'fix' to keep them going... But in doing so, they would miss out hugely on the 'family factor' of church- being put into a room with loads of different people of all ages and backgrounds, where you don't have anything in common except Jesus, and you have to get along!
So to summarise:
- Church is like marriage- it demands commitment
- Church is a locus point for evangelism- in both training up and reaching out
- Church is tough- and so it refines us
Sunday, May 3, 2009
Bible bashing
I typed 'Bible basher' into Google and the Urban Dictionary gave me these definitions:
A Bible Basher is someone who constantly goes around forcing the word of the bible on everyone else, and claims that everything BUT the Bible is evil.
A religious person who is obsessively you could say, and insanely into his or her religion. They tend to 'bash on' about their religion and try to feed it to you. No disrespect to their religious beliefs, but knowing a bible basher can sometimes get sticky. They tend to be very protective over their religion, and know nearly everything about it. They will argue the point, and during times of bashing, can become quite violent.
A bible basher is one who lives their life by the bible, and tries to force the bible upon all they meet.
http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=bible+basher
Wow! I'm guessing all these people have had a pretty negative experience with Christians. Faced with this definition, who wants to be a 'Bible basher'?
Well in this post I want to try to explain why the Bible is so important to me (and therefore why so much of my blog is based on the Bible), and also try to explain how I have no intention of bludgeoning people in an insensitive and emotionally detached manner, but I do want to confront people with the truth that the Bible claims has relevance for their life as much as mine.
The Bible is a unique book. It's made up of many different types of literature, written by different people at different times in history. It makes astonishing claims about who we are, why we are here, who God is, and how we can know Him. Many people look at the world around and think 'There must be a God behind all this'. But it's only in the Bible that we find out exactly who this God is. I believe this because, having read the Bible over and over since my childhood, I have never found a book like it which holds together so well, considering it was written under so many different circumstances as I mentioned above.
I love reading. I studied English at university and read many books by the same author (Dickens and Eliot being my favourites). What has always interested me is the way that a writer's ideas change over time. Even when you find ten books written by the same author, they will not always be consistent in ideology and morality or politics. And yet, despite the fact that so many different individuals contributed to the Bible, there is a striking coherence and unity throughout the various books. The main idea is that God is real, He made everything and wants to know us. Over the centuries that the Bible texts cover, there is a recurring cycle of people turning away from God to 'do their own thing' and live life the way they want to. God is never happy with that. He keeps on calling people to follow Him and go his way. But man's disobedience has separated him from God, so God sent Jesus, His Son, to come into the world and die on the cross to be punished for the sins of the world. He raised Jesus to life and calls people everywhere to follow Him and believe that their sins can be forgiven through Jesus.
All the Bible books in some way contribute to this message. They could be establishing the fundamental disobedience of humanity, as seen in Genesis. They could be calling men back to follow God, as seen in the prophets such as Isaiah. They could be predicting the coming of Jesus, such as the prophet Micah. They could be telling the story of Jesus' life, like the gospel of Matthew. All of the books in the Bible provide a piece to the puzzle. Together, they give a wholistic picture of who God is and how we can know Him.
So really, you have to read the Bible through and through before you judge it. So many people have said to me that the Bible is not trustworthy, that it's full of contradictions. But many of these people have not read it thoroughly. Perhaps their knowledge is based on taking some words out of context. The Bible is not always easy to understand, but I have found that the more I study it, the more it makes sense. It really does fit with what I see around me: people suffering with broken lives, desperate for meaning, but unable to find that meaning in human relationships, money and status. I see a world that needs Jesus. I can testify to how He has changed my life, and the lives of many others too.
Ultimately, I follow the Bible because Jesus did. Jesus is the most impressive person that ever existed, to me. He had an astounding impact on history and on the lives of those who met Him. And He identified the scriptures as the indestructible and authoritative word of God. He upheld the Bible at every turn, as an authority about God (Mt 21:42, Mt 22:29), as true promises which will always be fulfilled (Mt 26:54), as never becoming void (Jn 10:35, Mt 5:18). He saw the Bible as coming from God, revealing the truth and being utterly reliable. His life was based on scripture, and His life was amazing. Therefore I decided to follow Jesus, and so I am trying to base my life on scripture too.
The writer of Hebrews suggests that the word of God is 'living and active', 'Sharper than any double-edged sword... it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart' (Heb 4:12). I have always found this to be true. Paul writes in 2 Timothy 3:15-17 that scripture is 'God-breathed', and it certainly speaks with authority that seems to be more than human; divine. The Bible says many things which are difficult for us to accept -such as the existence of hell and the reality of God's judgement, which I have been blogging about recently- and I don't know why any human would make such terrifying stuff up! The Bible is full of genuine insight that makes sense with reality and does indeed judge the heart of anyone who reads it- again in a way that no human finds comfortable. Of course, humans physically wrote the Bible, but they were 'carried along by the Holy Spirit' (2 Peter 1:21), and it is God's words rather than the words of mere mortals.
The thing is, it's difficult to say that the Bible is only partially true and worship God. Surely you don't want to be friends with a liar? God has to be 'the true God' (Jer 10:10) or He is a false god. The Bible has to be truth, or lies. I don't think you can have it both ways.
The post-modern attitude towards texts and textual analysis is that there is no absolute truth and every reader brings something different to a text. For example, a Marxist will read Dickens and take away a Marxist message. English degrees are a lot about this! But I don't think you can approach the Bible as the same as any other text and just 'get something' from it. Either something is true, or it is false. If the Bible is true, it's worth building your life on it. If it's false, there is no point bothering.
And it follows that if the Bible is true, it is universally true. That means it's not just 'true for me'. It applies to everyone. That is why my blog is based on the Bible, and why I try to respond to people's questions, to the books I read, thinking about what the Bible says. I am sorry if it comes across as emotionally detached Bible-bashing! But in my view, what I personally say has very little value for the world. What God says does! That's why I look to Him for answers, rather than my own thinking.
Of course, I apply my thinking to the Bible. God doesn't ask us to switch our brains off when we open His word. But I think the tendency in our culture to come to the Bible with our own ideas of what is right and wrong, and judging its 'truth' on how it fits into our current worldview, is a fundamentally flawed concept. If it is the words of God, a God who is eternal and all-knowing and all-seeing, how can we possibly deem it our place to judge it against our standards? That would be like me handing my dissertation on George Eliot to a five year old who had just learned to read. My dissertation is nothing special, but I don't think the kid would have a chance of understanding it!
I don't want to bash the Bible, in both senses of the phrase. I don't want to crush people with it, but I don't want to under-value it and over-value my words and thoughts. I want people to know the truth, and I think the Bible contains better answers than my befuddled brain.
A Bible Basher is someone who constantly goes around forcing the word of the bible on everyone else, and claims that everything BUT the Bible is evil.
A religious person who is obsessively you could say, and insanely into his or her religion. They tend to 'bash on' about their religion and try to feed it to you. No disrespect to their religious beliefs, but knowing a bible basher can sometimes get sticky. They tend to be very protective over their religion, and know nearly everything about it. They will argue the point, and during times of bashing, can become quite violent.
A bible basher is one who lives their life by the bible, and tries to force the bible upon all they meet.
http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=bible+basher
Wow! I'm guessing all these people have had a pretty negative experience with Christians. Faced with this definition, who wants to be a 'Bible basher'?
Well in this post I want to try to explain why the Bible is so important to me (and therefore why so much of my blog is based on the Bible), and also try to explain how I have no intention of bludgeoning people in an insensitive and emotionally detached manner, but I do want to confront people with the truth that the Bible claims has relevance for their life as much as mine.
The Bible is a unique book. It's made up of many different types of literature, written by different people at different times in history. It makes astonishing claims about who we are, why we are here, who God is, and how we can know Him. Many people look at the world around and think 'There must be a God behind all this'. But it's only in the Bible that we find out exactly who this God is. I believe this because, having read the Bible over and over since my childhood, I have never found a book like it which holds together so well, considering it was written under so many different circumstances as I mentioned above.
I love reading. I studied English at university and read many books by the same author (Dickens and Eliot being my favourites). What has always interested me is the way that a writer's ideas change over time. Even when you find ten books written by the same author, they will not always be consistent in ideology and morality or politics. And yet, despite the fact that so many different individuals contributed to the Bible, there is a striking coherence and unity throughout the various books. The main idea is that God is real, He made everything and wants to know us. Over the centuries that the Bible texts cover, there is a recurring cycle of people turning away from God to 'do their own thing' and live life the way they want to. God is never happy with that. He keeps on calling people to follow Him and go his way. But man's disobedience has separated him from God, so God sent Jesus, His Son, to come into the world and die on the cross to be punished for the sins of the world. He raised Jesus to life and calls people everywhere to follow Him and believe that their sins can be forgiven through Jesus.
All the Bible books in some way contribute to this message. They could be establishing the fundamental disobedience of humanity, as seen in Genesis. They could be calling men back to follow God, as seen in the prophets such as Isaiah. They could be predicting the coming of Jesus, such as the prophet Micah. They could be telling the story of Jesus' life, like the gospel of Matthew. All of the books in the Bible provide a piece to the puzzle. Together, they give a wholistic picture of who God is and how we can know Him.
So really, you have to read the Bible through and through before you judge it. So many people have said to me that the Bible is not trustworthy, that it's full of contradictions. But many of these people have not read it thoroughly. Perhaps their knowledge is based on taking some words out of context. The Bible is not always easy to understand, but I have found that the more I study it, the more it makes sense. It really does fit with what I see around me: people suffering with broken lives, desperate for meaning, but unable to find that meaning in human relationships, money and status. I see a world that needs Jesus. I can testify to how He has changed my life, and the lives of many others too.
Ultimately, I follow the Bible because Jesus did. Jesus is the most impressive person that ever existed, to me. He had an astounding impact on history and on the lives of those who met Him. And He identified the scriptures as the indestructible and authoritative word of God. He upheld the Bible at every turn, as an authority about God (Mt 21:42, Mt 22:29), as true promises which will always be fulfilled (Mt 26:54), as never becoming void (Jn 10:35, Mt 5:18). He saw the Bible as coming from God, revealing the truth and being utterly reliable. His life was based on scripture, and His life was amazing. Therefore I decided to follow Jesus, and so I am trying to base my life on scripture too.
The writer of Hebrews suggests that the word of God is 'living and active', 'Sharper than any double-edged sword... it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart' (Heb 4:12). I have always found this to be true. Paul writes in 2 Timothy 3:15-17 that scripture is 'God-breathed', and it certainly speaks with authority that seems to be more than human; divine. The Bible says many things which are difficult for us to accept -such as the existence of hell and the reality of God's judgement, which I have been blogging about recently- and I don't know why any human would make such terrifying stuff up! The Bible is full of genuine insight that makes sense with reality and does indeed judge the heart of anyone who reads it- again in a way that no human finds comfortable. Of course, humans physically wrote the Bible, but they were 'carried along by the Holy Spirit' (2 Peter 1:21), and it is God's words rather than the words of mere mortals.
The thing is, it's difficult to say that the Bible is only partially true and worship God. Surely you don't want to be friends with a liar? God has to be 'the true God' (Jer 10:10) or He is a false god. The Bible has to be truth, or lies. I don't think you can have it both ways.
The post-modern attitude towards texts and textual analysis is that there is no absolute truth and every reader brings something different to a text. For example, a Marxist will read Dickens and take away a Marxist message. English degrees are a lot about this! But I don't think you can approach the Bible as the same as any other text and just 'get something' from it. Either something is true, or it is false. If the Bible is true, it's worth building your life on it. If it's false, there is no point bothering.
And it follows that if the Bible is true, it is universally true. That means it's not just 'true for me'. It applies to everyone. That is why my blog is based on the Bible, and why I try to respond to people's questions, to the books I read, thinking about what the Bible says. I am sorry if it comes across as emotionally detached Bible-bashing! But in my view, what I personally say has very little value for the world. What God says does! That's why I look to Him for answers, rather than my own thinking.
Of course, I apply my thinking to the Bible. God doesn't ask us to switch our brains off when we open His word. But I think the tendency in our culture to come to the Bible with our own ideas of what is right and wrong, and judging its 'truth' on how it fits into our current worldview, is a fundamentally flawed concept. If it is the words of God, a God who is eternal and all-knowing and all-seeing, how can we possibly deem it our place to judge it against our standards? That would be like me handing my dissertation on George Eliot to a five year old who had just learned to read. My dissertation is nothing special, but I don't think the kid would have a chance of understanding it!
I don't want to bash the Bible, in both senses of the phrase. I don't want to crush people with it, but I don't want to under-value it and over-value my words and thoughts. I want people to know the truth, and I think the Bible contains better answers than my befuddled brain.
Saturday, April 18, 2009
What's wrong with the Church? Organic Church reviewed
Neil Cole's 'Organic Church' asks crucial questions of the Church in today's society.
Bluntly, he writes that to most non-Christians, church is where you get married and are buried, and people are desperate to avoid both. He also points out that an incredible amount of effort and resources are expended for one hour a week. Jesus commissioned us to go into all the world and make disciples (Matthew 28), and we've turned it round, expecting the world to come to us.
Cole points out that the Church belongs to Jesus, and He is our key team player! We need to trust Him more and be prepared to go into scary places to find the 'good soil' of people waiting to hear and believe the good news. The Gospels make it clear where the most receptive people are: they are the outcasts of society, the prostitutes and low-lifes, they are in the places no one respectable wants to go to. If we want to see the church grow, we need to get out of our comfort zone and into the tough places!
Cole also argues that we need to stop allowing people within the church to be passive. New converts do not need to be 'trained' to reach others- look at how Jesus sent out Legion straight after healing him! Ultimately, instead of drawing people out of community, Jesus' plan is to inject the Gospel into existing communities... so that the members become a church themselves.
In short, we need to strip down all our requirements for church that aren't biblical- such as owning a building, running large services and organising rotas - and focus upon what really matters: close relationships that reach out to include anyone, no matter what their past or present situation is. Above all, as Christians we need to show others how Jesus has changed our lives... and show others how He can change their lives too.
Sunday, April 12, 2009
Searching for Jesus' worldview
Reading a book called 'Culture Changers' this week, I was struck by the writer's point that as Christians we need to be imitating Jesus, and this should profoundly affect our worldview ('the lens through which we see life and the universe'- Matt Bird, p83). He suggested an exercise of thinking about the worldview Jesus had, with the aim of identifying where our thinking is influenced by the world rather than God. I read through the gospel of John in one sitting and made the following notes on Jesus' worldview. I hope as you read them, like me, you'll be challenged about ways of living and thinking you need to change.
Eternal 'In the beginning was the Word' (1.1)
Humble 'The Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us' (1.14)
Open 'They said, "Where are you staying?" "Come," He replied, "and you will see."' (1.39)
Inviting "Follow Me" (1.43)
Social 'Jesus and His disciples had also been invited to the wedding' (2.2)
Respecting God above men 'He made a whip out of cords, and drove all from the temple area... "How dare you turn My Father's house into a market!"' (2.15-16)
Prioritising salvation 'no-one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again.' (3.3)
Worth telling people uncomfortable truths 'whoever does not believe stands condemned already' (3.18)
Disregard common prejudice 'You are a Jew and I am a Samaritan woman. How can you ask me for a drink?' (4.9)
Show people the way to true satisfaction 'whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst.' (4.14)
Highlight sin 'Go, call your husband.' (4.16)
See the needs of others, physical and spiritual 'look at the fields! They are ripe for harvest.' (4.35) 'Get up! Pick up your mat and walk.' (5.8)
Never panic, trust God 'Jesus then took the loaves, gave thanks, and distributed to those who were seated as much as they wanted.' (6.11)
Keep a right perspective 'Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life.' (6.27)
Always remember that God is in control 'No-one can come to Me unless the Father has enabled him.' (6.65)
Don't seek fame 'after His brothers had left for the Feast, He went also, not publicly but in secret.' (7:10)
Work for God's honour, not your own 'He who speaks on his own does so to gain honour for himself, but he who works for the honour of the one who sent him is a man of truth.' (7.18)
Encourage people to judge themselves, not others 'If any one of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her' (8.7)
Do everything to please God 'I always do what pleases Him' (8.29)
Understand that true freedom is being free from sin 'everyone who sins is a slave to sin' (8.34)
See the devil for what he is: a liar 'there is no truth in him' (8.44)
See God's glory in tough situations '[Lazarus' sickness] is for God's glory' (11.4)
Mourn with those who mourn 'Jesus wept' (11.35)
Hold your life loosely for God's glory 'the man who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life.' (12.25)
Be a servant to others '[Jesus] began to wash His disciples' feet' (13.5)
Subject yourself to God's refining 'every branch that does bear fruit He prunes so that it will be even more fruitful' (15.2)
Love others 'Love each other as I have loved you.' (15.12)
Remember you don't belong on earth 'you do not belong to the world... That is why the world hates you.' (15.19)
Be unified with all believers 'May they be brought to complete unity' (17.23)
Go God's way, even if that means suffering 'Shall I not drink the cup the Father has given me?' (18.11)
Remember God has ultimate authority 'You would have no power over me if it were not given to you from above' (19.11)
Sunday, March 22, 2009
The Truth About Hell
Okay, so isn't hell just a scare tactic that Christians use to pressurize vulnerable people into joining their church? Isn't it a myth amplified by fire-and-brimstone preachers in rural parishes who love the sound of their own voice a bit too much? Who has the right to say someone is going to hell anyway? Surely you can't possibly know what happens to someone after they die...
There are dozens of objections to the concept of hell, framing themselves in various moral, philosophical or logical guises. But the heart of the matter is really this: how can we know if there is a hell?
Well, Christians believe in an all-knowing, all-seeing God. A God who is timeless and eternal, who created the cosmos and watches over it. This God at one point in human history became a man and took on human flesh: Jesus Christ. And, as the Son of God, Jesus is able to tell us unique things about heaven and hell, because He had a divine perspective on them that no mere human could ever achieve.
And it follows that most of what Christians know about hell comes directly from Jesus Christ. He spoke about hell like no one else ever had done (namely because they couldn't), and He spoke about hell in the loving authority which characterised His ministry as recorded in the four gospel accounts.
Jesus said:
1. Hell is real, and hell is terrible.
In several parables, including the parable of the Great Banquet, Jesus shows those who rejected God to be thrown outside 'into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.' (Matthew 8:12) These three things (darkness, weeping, gnashing of teeth) are used repeatedly by Jesus to depict what hell is like. It is basically the place outside God's kingdom, where God's presence does not dwell, and so all of the good things we enjoy on earth (happiness, joy, friendship, love etc) are absent too. No one can enjoy anything in hell. It is a place of sadness and torture.
2. Hell is the place where people go to eternal punishment, having been judged by God and condemned.
'Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell.' Matthew 10:28
'The Son of Man will send out his angels, and they will weed out of his kingdom everything that causes sin and all who do evil.' Matthew 13:41
Everyone who sins -that is, everyone who ever fails to love God with their whole heart, all of the time- is destined for hell because we all fall short of God's pure standards (see also Romans 3).
3. Hell is easy to get to- it's the default position of men to go against God.
'Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it.' Matthew 7:13
4. Hell is to be avoided at all costs.
'If your right eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to go into hell.' Matthew 5:29-30
This is extreme language! Jesus warns us that it's worth undergoing great pain and struggle to avoid hell.
5. Hell can only be avoided through faith in Him.
After the parable of the weeds, which so vividly depicts the destruction of evildoers, Jesus tells the parable of the great treasure and the pearl. He says that heaven is worth giving up everything for, and seeking more than anything else in this life. How do we seek and find the kingdom? Well, the key is in the King of the kingdom: Jesus.
'Whoever acknowledges me before men, I will also acknowledge him before my Father in heaven. But whoever disowns me before men, I will disown him before my Father in heaven.' Matthew 10:32-33
Getting into heaven and thus avoiding hell is not about doing good deeds and racking up a tally chart before God. It's about knowing Jesus. Acknowledging Jesus means to see Him for who He truly is: the Son of God; to believe in Him and trust in Him for salvation. Who has the right to decide who goes to hell? Jesus does. That's what He means in the verses quoted above. If Jesus disowns you, you're heading to an eternity without Him.
Now the parable of the sheep and the goats (Matthew 25) teaches us that, if we truly know Jesus, we will show this in the way that we act- helping the poor and needy around us and working for justice. But ultimately we've been given our life here on earth to get to know Jesus, and if you spend your life ignoring Him then you're wasting your life!
Christians don't relish the idea of hell. It's an awful thought. But, just as you would want to warn people of an oncoming tsunami to save them, Christians want to share the truth of Jesus with people so they can avoid the danger too.
There are dozens of objections to the concept of hell, framing themselves in various moral, philosophical or logical guises. But the heart of the matter is really this: how can we know if there is a hell?
Well, Christians believe in an all-knowing, all-seeing God. A God who is timeless and eternal, who created the cosmos and watches over it. This God at one point in human history became a man and took on human flesh: Jesus Christ. And, as the Son of God, Jesus is able to tell us unique things about heaven and hell, because He had a divine perspective on them that no mere human could ever achieve.
And it follows that most of what Christians know about hell comes directly from Jesus Christ. He spoke about hell like no one else ever had done (namely because they couldn't), and He spoke about hell in the loving authority which characterised His ministry as recorded in the four gospel accounts.
Jesus said:
1. Hell is real, and hell is terrible.
In several parables, including the parable of the Great Banquet, Jesus shows those who rejected God to be thrown outside 'into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.' (Matthew 8:12) These three things (darkness, weeping, gnashing of teeth) are used repeatedly by Jesus to depict what hell is like. It is basically the place outside God's kingdom, where God's presence does not dwell, and so all of the good things we enjoy on earth (happiness, joy, friendship, love etc) are absent too. No one can enjoy anything in hell. It is a place of sadness and torture.
2. Hell is the place where people go to eternal punishment, having been judged by God and condemned.
'Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell.' Matthew 10:28
'The Son of Man will send out his angels, and they will weed out of his kingdom everything that causes sin and all who do evil.' Matthew 13:41
Everyone who sins -that is, everyone who ever fails to love God with their whole heart, all of the time- is destined for hell because we all fall short of God's pure standards (see also Romans 3).
3. Hell is easy to get to- it's the default position of men to go against God.
'Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it.' Matthew 7:13
4. Hell is to be avoided at all costs.
'If your right eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to go into hell.' Matthew 5:29-30
This is extreme language! Jesus warns us that it's worth undergoing great pain and struggle to avoid hell.
5. Hell can only be avoided through faith in Him.
After the parable of the weeds, which so vividly depicts the destruction of evildoers, Jesus tells the parable of the great treasure and the pearl. He says that heaven is worth giving up everything for, and seeking more than anything else in this life. How do we seek and find the kingdom? Well, the key is in the King of the kingdom: Jesus.
'Whoever acknowledges me before men, I will also acknowledge him before my Father in heaven. But whoever disowns me before men, I will disown him before my Father in heaven.' Matthew 10:32-33
Getting into heaven and thus avoiding hell is not about doing good deeds and racking up a tally chart before God. It's about knowing Jesus. Acknowledging Jesus means to see Him for who He truly is: the Son of God; to believe in Him and trust in Him for salvation. Who has the right to decide who goes to hell? Jesus does. That's what He means in the verses quoted above. If Jesus disowns you, you're heading to an eternity without Him.
Now the parable of the sheep and the goats (Matthew 25) teaches us that, if we truly know Jesus, we will show this in the way that we act- helping the poor and needy around us and working for justice. But ultimately we've been given our life here on earth to get to know Jesus, and if you spend your life ignoring Him then you're wasting your life!
Christians don't relish the idea of hell. It's an awful thought. But, just as you would want to warn people of an oncoming tsunami to save them, Christians want to share the truth of Jesus with people so they can avoid the danger too.
Sunday, March 1, 2009
Image
Two articles in the papers this week caught my attention: one was about Cerrie Burnell, the CBeebies presenter with no right forearm; the other was about Gail Trimble, the cleverest contestant on University Challenge. Both articles highlighted that these two women have been the object of the most outrageous comments, simply because their 'image' isn't what people want to see.
Parents complained about Burnell saying their children would be 'scared' by her, rather than seeing it as an opportunity to explain disability. Trimble was offered a makeover and photo shoot from 'Nuts' and was tarnished a 'horse-toothed snob' just because she didn't want to expose herself to a men's magazine. Both these incidents highlight how shallow our society is. Not only do we see a perfect, ideal image of women and men portrayed in films, billboard posters and all kinds of media, we see less than ideal people torn to shreds in the same public medium.
It is so easy to judge people on their appearance. It's a great thing that God doesn't- He judges on the heart (1 Sam 16:7). So often we become obsessed with how we look, as a means of winning love and attention from others as well as success in our profession. But we can't 'win' love from God. He gives His love as a gift of grace- it's not something anyone can earn.
As Christians, we need to find our assurance in this, and stop worrying about the way we look. It's more important to cultivate love and kindness than to spend our time cultivating our image. (See 1 Peter 3:3-4) Let's remember Jesus: He was born in an obscure village, never wrote a book or became President, but His impact upon the world is unequalled and unparalleled. If we truly want to make an impact upon our society, we need to stand out by the way we live, not the way we look.
Thursday, January 8, 2009
Problems and solutions
Isaiah 9
Isaiah's prophecies largely deal with the fact that God's people have turned away from Him, and there lies a forgotten covenant and a people with seemingly no inclination to revive it. God punishes them, in the hope that they will see their need for Him again and return to Him, but all the spiritual leaders are corrupt and the picture is less than hopeful (16).
That is why the prophecy about Jesus is so wonderful. His birth brings relief from distress (1), joy and freedom from oppression (3-4), and the end of bloodshed (5). He is a perfect leader- He will be called 'Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace' (6). These are clearly divine qualities, and yet He will be a man born to us. His kingdom is everlasting (7).
Jesus fulfils God's promise to David, that one of his line would have an eternal kingdom. And Jesus is better than David or any other human leader, because He rules in perfect righteousness and justice. (7)
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