The New Covenant Sign and Seal

Baptisms - I love baptisms. Yes, my theological convictions are baptistic, and they are strong. I think it mainly comes from seeing the wonder of Jesus. All that the covenants from Abraham to David in the Old Testament pointed to, Christ fulfilled. In him we have every obligation met and every promise received by faith. The New Covenant, brought through Christ's shed blood, is indeed as the author of Hebrews states it - BETTER. One of the most glorious truths making the New Covenant better than the Old is how we can now see and define God's people. Along with that comes the wonder of the way we are sealed and signified as those who belong to his family. That's where baptism comes into play.

Whether Old or New Covenant, the signs that God gives that accompany his covenants do not have saving power. In Genesis it was clear that Abraham believed and it was credited to him in righteousness (Genesis 15:6). This was clearly a statement of saving faith prior to Abraham being circumcised as the accompanying covenantal sign and seal of his faith. That's the way the Apostle Paul describes this in Romans 4:11-12. He received the sign of circumcision as a seal of the righteousness that he had by faith while he was still uncircumcised. The purpose was to make him the father of all who believe without being circumcised, so that righteousness would be counted to them as well, 12 and to make him the father of the circumcised who are not merely circumcised but who also walk in the footsteps of the faith that our father Abraham had before he was circumcised.

Romans 4:12 must mean that from the beginning, this sign of the covenant was the identifying factor for Abraham's physical offspring (who were circumcised as eight day old babies) not that everyone would be his spiritual offspring.  That only happens by faith. Some people believe that because this sign was given to unbelieving children, baptism today should also be administered to unbelieving children for them to be included in covenantal relationship with God. The problem with this logic is that it completely disregards that the identity of God's covenant people has changed with the fulfillment of the Old Covenant and the bringing in of the New Covenant in Christ.

Even the expectation of the Old Covenant was that there would be a future time that those in covenant with God would no longer live in disobedience. They would all know God and have life in his Spirit poured upon all of them. (Ezekiel 37, Jeremiah 31:31-34, 23:4, Isaiah 32:11-16). Under the roof of the Old Covenant, you could find both believers and unbelievers in a physical family and national identity. The New Covenant would be different. Everyone in the New Covenant is a believer. With the change of the nature of the covenant people in Christ came the change of the administration of the sign and seal of faith. It is no longer circumcision for physical progeny but baptism only for spiritual progeny.

One of the texts that Christians sometimes debate over is Colossians 2. Some Christians believe that Colossians makes a direct correlation between circumcision and baptism and therefore argue that baptism should be administered in the same way as circumcision and thus for non-believing infants. The problem with this argument is twofold. Firstly, it ignores the regenerate nature of the New Covenant people as described above. Secondly, the circumcision that correlates with baptism in Colossians 2 is not physical. Let's read the passage carefully.

Colossians 2:6-12 Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him, 7 rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving. 8 See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ. 9 For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily, 10 and you have been filled in him, who is the head of all rule and authority. 11 In him also you were circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ, 12 having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through faith in the powerful working of God, who raised him from the dead.

There are a few observations we can make about this passage to give clarity on the connection between circumcision and baptism.

       1. Paul is clearly writing to believers. From vs 6-10 he is speaking to those who have received Christ and warning them not to be persuaded by worldly dogmas. He even tells them that they been filled in Jesus.

       2. In vs.11 he does not say that they have been physically circumcised but spiritually circumcised. It is a circumcision without hands by putting off fleshliness for Christ. He is talking about them coming to faith, not receiving the physical sign. This means the correlation that he then makes with baptism in vs.12 is a correlation with their faith, not with physical circumcision.

       3. The baptism described in vs.12 also is explicitly stated as happening THROUGH FAITH. It neither gives saving faith, nor is it applied to an unbeliever, but it is a sign that happens through faith.

Once we see these beautiful truths, we can understand that baptism is administered in a New Covenant context to those who have come to faith in Christ who has kept all the obligations of the covenant for us. In Jesus, we are proclaiming through baptism that all the promises given to Abraham are ours as his spiritual offspring.

Baptisms - I love baptisms.

Casting the First Stone

In John 8, Jesus was questioned about a woman about to be stoned and turned around to the Pharisees and made a profound and penetrating statement: "Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her." The lesson learned is that there was nobody among the leaders of the Jewish people who was willing to deem themself a sinless judge before Jesus. Christians read John 8 and often feel a sense of victory when the Pharisees turn skulking away. Then we read other passages of Scriptures and in our heart we look for a stone to throw. 

Quite often when we read certain passages of Scripture, we are confronted with people grievously sinning who are supposed to be faithful to God. We ourselves can too easily come to the Scriptures with a judgmental attitude that cannot recognize that we are no better than those we are reading about. There are many examples of this, but none more prominent to me than the account of Abraham. Abraham is supposed to be the father of faith and as we read about his life we have an expectation. Our expectation is to see this man who is recorded as having great faith acting in a perfectly faithful way - he doesn't. What do we do with that? We can too easily become Abraham's judge without realizing that we are too called to the same faith as Abraham and fail.

In Genesis 16 we see a whole chapter of failure. Abraham fails, Sarah fails and Hagar (Sarah's maidservant) fails. As we read through that chapter, our little hearts full of self-righteous justice are outraged and we want to pound our gavels with all our might. Abraham and Sarah used Hagar in an unwholesome way as they manipulate circumstances in what seems to be an attempt to make God's plan happen. It's easy for us to sympathize with Hagar and completely fail to see that she too sinned in her response to the sinful scheme. We wonder how Hagar can ever return to Abraham and Sarah until we see that Hagar herself accepts that God has uncovered her own sinfulness and has still heard her cries. Genesis 16 is a passage that uncovers our own self-righteous hearts as we look to pick up a stone.

The way Jesus speaks to the Pharisees in John 8, and the way we see God deal with Hagar in Genesis 16, teaches us that we are so often too quick to judge. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus made this point very clear. Matthew 7:1-2 "Judge not, that you be not judged. 2 For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and with the measure you use it will be measured to you. Be careful when you point fingers because you can't even measure up to your own standards.

On another occasion Jesus also made this principle clear to the Pharisees. Matthew 23:25-26 25 "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you clean the outside of the cup and the plate, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. 26 You blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and the plate, that the outside also may be clean. You might try to look holy on the outside, but you need to remember that you are dirty on the inside. It's time to look within.

There are many Scriptures that give the exact same message as John 8 and even if the woman caught in adultery passage should not be in the New Testament, we are not lacking the same teaching elsewhere. We are all sinners and when we think we are justified to point fingers, we need the reminder that we are not.

Jesus is the only sinless judge and Jesus came not to point his finger but to die on a cross to bear the punishment for our sin. The horizontal effect of that in the church is seen when we are able to love and forgive each other because we are all guilty sinners who have been saved by the guiltless Savior. We can read passages like John 8 and Genesis 16 and remind ourselves that we are no better than pharisees, women in adultery, those who devise sinful schemes and those who respond sinfully to them.

We all need Jesus.

God says, "I will" at Easter

Genesis 12 is a pivotal chapter not only in the book of Genesis but in the whole bible. After the nations have been dispersed throughout the world from Babel, God's plan is to make himself known to those nations through one man and one Offspring through one people. He calls Abraham (Abram) out of his idolatrous life and makes extraordinary promises. I will show you a country that will be yours when you leave your life and follow me (12:1). I will make you a great nation (12:2). I will make your name great (12:2). I will bless you so you will be a blessing (12:2). I will bless those who bless you (12:3). I will curse those who curse you (12:3). I will bless all the nations of the earth in you.

God makes promises to Abraham that God will keep. In these promises there are no indications that Abraham can do anything to achieve himself what God is promising to do. The do not seem to be conditioned on Abraham's ability to make them happen. In saying that, as God continues to reveal more understanding for Abraham about these promises, we do see that there are conditional expectations upon Abraham in his relationship with God.

Genesis 17:1-2 When Abram was ninety-nine years old the LORD appeared to Abram and said to him, "I am God Almighty; walk before me, and be blameless, 2 that I may make my covenant between me and you, and may multiply you greatly."

Genesis 18:17-19 The LORD said, "Shall I hide from Abraham what I am about to do, 18 seeing that Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him? 19 For I have chosen him, that he may command his children and his household after him to keep the way of the LORD by doing righteousness and justice, so that the LORD may bring to Abraham what he has promised him."

Genesis 22:15-17 And the angel of the LORD called to Abraham a second time from heaven 16 and said, "By myself I have sworn, declares the LORD, because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son, 17 I will surely bless you, and I will surely multiply your offspring as the stars of heaven and as the sand that is on the seashore. And your offspring shall possess the gate of his enemies.

When we read these texts, we may become confused. How can God unconditionally say "I will" and then show that there is indeed a conditionality for Abraham's offspring to receive his promise. We know that the promise God made Abraham was beyond him but extended to his offspring to meet the condition to receive his promise in full. That brings us to a further problem. As we look through the life of Abraham's children, we find that they constantly miss the mark. The constantly break their covenant with God and are unable to meet the perfect standard of God to obtain all the promises and blessings he had promised them in Abraham.

We are constantly looking for an Offspring of Abraham who will meet all of God's perfect standard and receive all the promises and blessings of God.

In Genesis 15 and 22 we are given a huge hint as to why God can keep his promises that seem to be in a sense both conditional and unconditional. It is because God himself will meet the conditions FOR us.

Many theologians constantly debate about whether the covenants are conditional or unconditional (unilateral or bilateral). To me, it becomes a moot point when we understand the bigger picture. Only God can meet his standard. We can never meet his standard. Therefore, only God can keep the terms of his covenant FOR US.

This week we celebrate Easter - the death and resurrection of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the Second in the Trinity, truly God and truly man. This week we debate so much less about the conditionality or unconditionality of the covenants and look intently at the "KEPTNESS" of the covenant. In Christ we have a New Covenant because he has come and kept what none of us could keep. Christ has received all of God's promises FOR US. God has done it FOR US. 2 Corinthians 1:20 For all the promises of God find their Yes in him. That is why it is through him that we utter our Amen to God for his glory.

 Hebrews 13:20-21 Now may the God of peace who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great shepherd of the sheep, by the blood of the eternal covenant, 21 equip you with everything good that you may do his will, working in us that which is pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.

The Veruca Salt in All of Us

Recently, I really enjoyed the experience of sitting with my grandkids and watching the original (Gene Wilder version) of Willy Wonker and The Chocolate Factory. It's been a favorite of mine for a very long time but especially as I've increased my understanding of the relationship between humility and grace as a Christian. How much do we appreciate the amazing gift that it is to be a child of God?

Yes, Willy Wonker can tell us something about humility and grace. It comes from the great contrast between Veruka Salt and Charlie; two of the children who win a golden ticket to tour Willy Wonker's mysterious chocolate factory. Charlie walks in amazement taking in all the wonder of the incredible gift he has been given. Veruca walks seemingly unimpressed with no real sense of wonder. Her sense of entitlement motivates her demand for her father to buy her everything she wants - and she wants it NOW. The contrast between Charlie and Veruca gives a beautiful description to Christians about how we view the ultimate prize of our lives. Unfortunately, too many of us are influenced by the Veruca inside.

In Genesis 15, God told Abram that he would be his shield and very great reward. Genesis 15:1 After these things the word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision: "Fear not, Abram, I am your shield; your reward shall be very great." These words to Abram are no less relevant to Christians today. As we live in this world that is ruined by the fall, we know that our lives will come to an end, our struggles are real, and the temptations around us are many. Our experience in this world is temporary, but God is far greater and everlasting. Our reward in and through Christ is greater than everything this world has to offer. And here is where Veruca Salt steps into our lives.

So often we live in this world with expectancy and entitlement that can only see what we want right in front of our face. We have our own definition of what is good and we want to treat God like a genie to grant our every wish. Even Christians can focus on our immediate circumstances with an attitude of entitlement and find ourselves disappointed in our God who does not instantly meet our demands. We think we deserve better and become bitter when we do get it. We want what we want, and we want it now.

By contrast, God has revealed some amazing truth to us in his word. We actually have no right to feel entitled in any way in this world. Charlie is our great contrast with Veruca in that he realized that there was no reason he should be in that factory. He came from the poorest estate even obtaining his ticket through no merit of his own. It was in the humility of his stature that he saw the wonder of the gift he had been given. (And then came my clumsy attempt at explaining that to my grandkids).

Christians have an entitlement attitude when we forget our hopeless positions as sinners who deserve the eternal wrath of our infinitely powerful and righteous God. As those outside of Christ, we only have one entitlement - hell. When we do remind ourselves of the true humility of our position before God, we can see the true wonder of his gift. Through his redeeming work of the cross, God has given us himself. HE is our greatest reward beyond all other glorious benefits we will receive for all eternity. This is the statement he made to Abram - I am your shield, your reward shall be very great. And Abram believed it.

The Veruca inside of us can blind us to the wonder of our reward in Christ himself. She tells us that Jesus is not enough, and that God is not doing right by you when he does not give you what you want most in the here and now. She tells us that we individually define what is most glorious and beautiful for our lives.

Charlie tells you that God's truth can be believed. You don't deserve him. You don't deserve anything but the eternal poverty of your situation before him. Charlie tells you to look beyond the present and deny your false idea of entitlement. He tells you that your reward is found to be more beautiful when you look at it from the humblest of positions. Humility and grace go together.

Veruca ended up falling into the pile of bad eggs. Charlie got the whole factory. In Christ alone we have an entitlement worth more than anything else in this world. John 1:12 But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God.

Until All Enemies Are Defeated

The most quoted Old Testament verse in the New Testament comes from Psalm 110:1. A Psalm of David. The LORD says to my Lord: "Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies your footstool." Sometimes we see only phrases from this verse - "at the right hand of God" or, "until I make your enemies your footstool." As we have a look at the various ways the New Testament authors use these phrases, we will see that it has everything to do with the present reign of Christ and the anticipation of the consummation of all things. Jesus is reigning and will reign until his kingdom is consummated forever with the end of all opposition to his reign. Let's survey some of these verses echoing Psalm 110:1.

1. Jesus is seated at the right hand of God.

Acts 2:32-36 This Jesus God raised up, and of that we all are witnesses. 33 Being therefore exalted at the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, he has poured out this that you yourselves are seeing and hearing. 34 For David did not ascend into the heavens, but he himself says, "'The Lord said to my Lord, "Sit at my right hand, 35 until I make your enemies your footstool."' 36 Let all the house of Israel therefore know for certain that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified."

This is a portion of Peter's sermon at Pentecost. Prior to these verses Peter made it clear that Jesus is the anticipated King in David's line and through his resurrection and ascension, he is now seated on the Davidic throne. This was in fulfillment of Israel looking for their Messianic King to come. With Jesus already installed on the Davidic throne (See 2:30-31), he is currently reigning. Peter quotes Psalm 110:1 to show that his reign in this time will be until all opposition to God's rule is defeated.

Matthew 26:64 Jesus said to him, "You have said so. But I tell you, from now on you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of Power and coming on the clouds of heaven."

When Jesus was answering to the Jewish council before his crucifixion, they asked him if he was the Messiah. This verse was his answer, and their response was shock and outrage. He is Messiah because he will be seated at the right hand of God and will come in future judgment.

Acts 5:31 God exalted him at his right hand as Leader and Savior, to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins.

When Peter and other apostles were later arrested, Peter responded to the high priest that he would not disobey God and cease preaching the gospel. Immediately after that is a great reason why. The Jesus he serves has been exalted and is the reigning King at the right hand of God. His power is displayed through the gospel bringing salvation to Israel. 

Hebrews 10:12 But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God.

The Author of Hebrews tells us that Jesus sat down to reign with his work of salvation completed because he has made a once and for all sacrifice for sins. We can be assured that Jesus' reign commenced at the completion of his saving work on the cross.

Romans 8:34 Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died--more than that, who was raised--who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us.

Paul is encouraging the church in Rome that they can have full confidence in God's sovereign grace in salvation. The reason is because Jesus is now both reigning on the throne and interceding for us as the eternal Great High Priest and King.

There are more verses that quote this phrase from Psalm 110 that Jesus is at the right hand of God. Every time we see them, we should be reminded that the New Testament authors quote this Psalm not because Jesus will reign, but because he is presently reigning.

2. Jesus is reigning at the right hand of God until all enemies are defeated.

1 Corinthians 15:24-26 Then comes the end, when he delivers the kingdom to God the Father after destroying every rule and every authority and power. 25 For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. 26 The last enemy to be destroyed is death..

When Paul was giving Corinth his strongest argument for the importance of the resurrection of Christ, he also pointed them to the fact that he will also be returning in glory and for final judgment and salvation. As Paul talked about the return of Christ, he also made this very explicit comment about what will happen. When Jesus returns, the kingdom will come to its final consummation. That consummation will be seen in two major ways. Firstly, all the enemies of God's kingdom will be defeated, and the greatest enemy is death.

Secondly, Paul uses Psalm 110:1 to show that the phrase about all enemies being put under Jesus' feet is clearly pointing to his final return on the last day. At that time the kingdom in this present world will be completed to become the eternal kingdom on the earth where there will no longer be any opposition to Christ and his church. At that time, Paul says that the kingdom consummated will be handed over to the Father.

In Psalm 110:1, David wrote this about the glorious homecoming statement in heaven between the Father and the Son after Christ's work on the cross. "Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies your footstool."  Today we know that Jesus has already obtained victory over his enemies through his work on the cross, but the final defeat of every enemy will be realized on the last day at the consummation of his eternal kingdom.

We wait for that day knowing that we are under the reign of our glorious King right now. Until all his (and our) enemies meet their final judgment, we serve our glorious King.

Our True Distinction

Acts 11:22-26 The report of this came to the ears of the church in Jerusalem, and they sent Barnabas to Antioch. 23 When he came and saw the grace of God, he was glad, and he exhorted them all to remain faithful to the Lord with steadfast purpose, 24 for he was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and of faith. And a great many people were added to the Lord. 25 So Barnabas went to Tarsus to look for Saul, 26 and when he had found him, he brought him to Antioch. For a whole year they met with the church and taught a great many people. And in Antioch the disciples were first called Christians.

Imagine the encouragement for Barnabas traveling from the birthplace of the church in Jerusalem to arrive in Antioch and finding a group of faithful believers. The Antioch church was about to become the next launch point for the spread of the gospel to the world. It was a healthy church described as having steadfast purpose. Christians everywhere should be encouraged by this because it seems that in this church, we were first called Christians. Those who gather in faithfulness with a steadfast purpose of the gospel of Christ are Christians.

I wonder who first called them this and why. After all, it's a name of distinction. They were being called something because they were a group that was different to others. It would make great sense if this name was first developed in the community looking in at the church. Perhaps the first usage was even negative. It certainly was used in a negative sense in the Roman world. I've been called lots of things by non-believers over the years because of my faith in Christ. My favorite is the classic Aussie insult for Christians when we are called, God-botherers. We bother people with the news of Christ, except it's not such a bother when someone is saved into eternal life.

A long time before the church were called Christians, Abram, the father of faith, was called a Hebrew. Genesis 14:13 Then one who had escaped came and told Abram the Hebrew, who was living by the oaks of Mamre the Amorite, brother of Eshcol and of Aner. These were allies of Abram. This name, Hebrew, made Abram distinct from all the surrounding people in the land where he was living. His name meant something. He was not a part of the worldly nations but was associated with a nation yet to be formed. His name meant everything about his faith.

Unfortunately, today the title of Christian has been used in ways that it never originally meant. We have even expanded this name and sometimes talk of a Christendom, simply meaning the nations where some sort of Christianity is the main or state religion. This wide use of the name has often eliminated the most important part - Christ. And yet, because I am distinct from this world and living for a kingdom not of this world, I am happy to be called a Christian. I am happy to remind myself that this name says I am to be seen as different, and that difference is my trust in Christ and my allegiance to him and his kingdom above all else. That difference is also found in the very name of Christ as the Son of God who died for my sin and rose to life so that I may be found in him to call God my Father.

The point of Abram being called a Hebrew and us being called, Christians, has everything to do with our distinction from the world. That distinction is an eternal difference. Our distinction is vitally important for our witness and mission in a lost world.

If you are a Christian today having put your faith in Jesus Christ alone for the forgiveness of your sins, you have been given distinction from the world. Our distinction is eternally important.

Your Disappointment Redirected

I wonder if you might put yourself in the shoes of Jesus' disciples for a moment. For three years you followed Jesus and heard him teach with a wisdom beyond any other Rabbi you had ever heard. You watched him perform miracles that nobody could explain. You stood in fear at his command over creation. You had no ability to fault his perfect standard as he lived in the perfect holiness of God. You (which ever disciple you may choose to be) and eleven others were privileged to walk beside the perfect revelation and image of God.

Surely it also wasn't lost on the disciples that there were twelve of them. Within the wider group that often travelled with Jesus, he selected out twelve to be his inner group. Twelve men witnessed, in intimate vicinity, the King coming into this world to inaugurate his kingdom. These twelve men were on a three-year road with Jesus as they travelled toward his death and resurrection. They had been given a blessing beyond the imagination of any of us reading the gospels 2000 years later.

After considering the prestigious blessing placed on these twelve men, imagine being in the upper room and hearing Jesus tell you of the next thing to happen. Matthew 26:21-23 And as they were eating, he said, "Truly, I say to you, one of you will betray me." 22 And they were very sorrowful and began to say to him one after another, "Is it I, Lord?" 23 He answered, "He who has dipped his hand in the dish with me will betray me. How disappointing to know that one of the twelve would betray the Messiah. And then he was revealed. Matthew 26:25 Judas, who would betray him, answered, "Is it I, Rabbi?" He said to him, "You have said so."

Can you imagine the disappointment. You have not only had the privilege of watching Jesus for three years, but you have lived with each other and loved each other as his disciples. One was about to leave and throw it all away for thirty pieces of silver.

It's difficult to stand back and see a bigger picture sometimes, especially if we are the ones living right in the middle of it. The book of Acts gives us a beautiful answer. Peter spoke to the other disciples as they gathered together. He knew that nothing happens outside of God's greater plan, and he knew this because he had just spent 40 days with the risen Jesus who had shown them how everything in the Old Testament pointed to God's plan to save his people through the death and resurrection of Christ.

Acts 1:16-17 "Brothers, the Scripture had to be fulfilled, which the Holy Spirit spoke beforehand by the mouth of David concerning Judas, who became a guide to those who arrested Jesus. 17 For he was numbered among us and was allotted his share in this ministry." The specific Scriptures from David he was remembering were from Psalm 69 and 109. Acts 1:20 "For it is written in the Book of Psalms, "'May his camp become desolate, and let there be no one to dwell in it'; and "'Let another take his office.'

Peter realized two things. The people of Israel had just come to crucify the Messiah, and they did it with the help of one from the "inner sanctum." He also realized that another must take his office. Why? Why must another take his office? Why is the number 11 not sufficient? The answer is because the number twelve selected out of Israel is showing that there must be a new twelve. The twelve are not a desolate wasteland of betrayers, they are to be a fruitful garden. They are to be the twelve that Jesus uses to show his glory in the restoration of Israel in the New Covenant.

The new twelve cannot be made up of both believers and unbelievers. They all must be believers. Judas was an unbeliever among the twelve, but he was taken out and replaced. In the restoration of the kingdom, all those in the New Covenant will know God in a saving relationship with their God. The twelve would now reflect a regenerate and restored kingdom.

We face so many disappointments in life, and none could be more prominent than the disappointment the disciples must have felt in that upper room. None could be more than the disappointment the disciples felt when Jesus was taken from a cross and put in the tomb. But in the resurrection of Jesus and his ascension, the eleven men left came together to find a twelfth because God's plan is greater and more magnificent than the disappointment of one betrayer and the disobedient Israel who betrayed Jesus with him.

When we understand that God has a greater plan, our disappointment is redirected to see his greater glory. Two thousand years later, that glory in the restoration of Israel is growing ever more prominent in God's church throughout the entire world. When we see that God's great plan is always what he has done for us in Christ, our disappointment is always redirected to something more beautiful.

Trusting the Provider Over Provisions

In Genesis 12, Abram faces a famine in the land that God had promised him and his offspring. His response was to go to Egypt for security in an uncertain circumstance. We might look at this response and think Abram was making a perfectly reasonable plan in the presence of the threat of a lack of provision. We often do the same. We let worry and fear take over our lives in the presence of a threat to our provisions in the world. It's in those times that we need to hear a clear message from Jesus - Trust the Provider more than the provision.  

Matthew 6:25 "Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?

Jesus tells us that we should not be anxious about what we eat/drink and wear.  His argument is that our body and life are more important than our earthly sustenance and clothing.  It's not that provision of food and clothes and earthly necessities are a problem, but it is a problem when we see our security in these things more than the Provider of them.  God is a God of eternal provision, not just earthly temporary necessities.

At the same time Jesus does call us to be diligent in looking after our needs and the needs of others. Paul even says that if someone is not willing to work, then they shouldn't eat.  We need to be serious about provision. And Jesus doesn’t mean that we should deny a healthy concern for others. Paul said he had nobody like Timothy who would be genuinely concerned for the welfare of the Philippians (Phil 2:20). He was pleased with Timothy's concern for others and responsibility in providing needs. Jesus is not contradicting any of these truths in the statements of his sermon in Matthew 6. 

Jesus is giving an argument based on something that is much more important.  We have a life.  We have bodies. But Jesus asks us, “Is not life more than food and your body more than clothing?” God has lovingly created us.  So, the argument is that if God gave us a life and body, can’t we put our trust in him as our Creator rather than earthly provisions in and of themselves? (Even the ones we see as necessary.)

The whole point is that this is all a directional issue for our trust.  Are you trusting in the God of our life and bodies or the things we need to feed and clothe them? Imagine if Joseph worried most that he might lose access to food and clothing provisions if he didn’t give into Potiphar’s wife. The whole line of Israel to Jesus was at stake. Joseph cared about the God of provision rather than provision itself.  What about Daniel who was willing to reject the food of the Babylonians to trust God first.

We could also consider a negative example.  What about the faithless Israelites who were so concerned about the provision of food that when God told them only to collect enough manna for one day, they disobeyed him and collected for the next day also. They were putting more trust in manna than the God of manna. The manna they collected in faithlessness ended up being full of worms and was putrid.

God says your life and body is more important to him than the necessary provision for it. Why? Because he is the eternal provider and protector of our life and bodies, not just the temporary one. Therefore, the first question to ask yourself is “Are you trusting provision or the God of provision?” 

Our Confidence in Christ

As our church thinks through the life of Abraham, we come to another example of how God relationally dwells with his people through a covenant. What is a covenant? In basic terms, when two parties enter a covenant relationship, they promise to each other to fulfill its obligations and if they don't there are consequences. We have already seen God's covenant with Adam as the representative of creation was broken by Adam when he sinned in the garden. The consequence of sin is death. God renewed his covenant with creation through Noah, and now as we look at Abraham, we find God initiating a covenantal relationship with Abraham that has in its view God's determined promise to bring blessing to the entire world.

In Genesis 12, we see God commencing his relationship with Abram (Abraham) by telling him what he will do. Genesis 12:1-3 Now the LORD said to Abram, "Go from your country and your kindred and your father's house to the land that I will show you. 2 And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. 3 I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed."

As we go through the life of Abraham and his life with God, this covenantal relationship will become more specific. In fact, we will find that the promises that God gives will be realized in the obedience of the covenant partner. A few verses in Genesis help us to see this.

Genesis 17:1-2 When Abram was ninety-nine years old the LORD appeared to Abram and said to him, "I am God Almighty; walk before me, and be blameless, 2 that I may make my covenant between me and you, and may multiply you greatly." Abram was called to live with God as his God as he lived in this world in front of others. In his relational commitment to God, God's promise to him would be realized. The multiplication that God was promising was already something God said he would do back in Genesis 12 as he told Abraham he would make him into a great nation. Obviously, this relational commitment was not just for Abraham but for all that would come from him.

Genesis 18:17-19 The LORD said, "Shall I hide from Abraham what I am about to do, 18 seeing that Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him? 19 For I have chosen him, that he may command his children and his household after him to keep the way of the LORD by doing righteousness and justice, so that the LORD may bring to Abraham what he has promised him." God's promise in covenant relationship with Abraham would most definitely extend to his offspring. His promises would be realized in obedient offspring who keep the Lord's way. From God's covenant we are always looking for the obedient Offspring who would indeed realize and inherit all of God's promises.

Genesis 22:16-18 and said, "By myself I have sworn, declares the LORD, because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son, 17 I will surely bless you, and I will surely multiply your offspring as the stars of heaven and as the sand that is on the seashore. And your offspring shall possess the gate of his enemies, 18 and in your offspring shall all the nations of the earth be blessed, because you have obeyed my voice." Because of Abraham's obedience to God in not sparing his only son Isaac, God renewed his covenant promise to his offspring that they would be numerous and from them would come blessing to the whole world. Even in Abraham's faithfulness and God's promise we are still looking forward to the realization of covenant promises in a future Offspring.

In the disobedience of Israel as Abraham's physical offspring, the prophets point to a day when there will be a new covenant that will be given based on true obedience. They had disregarded God's promise to Abraham and forsaken God in his further covenant through Moses. But God is ever faithful when humans are not. Jeremiah 31:31-34 "Behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah, 32 not like the covenant that I made with their fathers on the day when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, my covenant that they broke, though I was their husband, declares the LORD. 33 For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the LORD: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be my people. 34 And no longer shall each one teach his neighbor and each his brother, saying, 'Know the LORD,' for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, declares the LORD. For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more."

How thankful are we for Jesus. He came in Abraham's line as his Offspring of promise to keep all the terms of relational covenant with God that we could not. He paid for our rebellion and sin by dying in our place on the cross. He has brought a new covenant that can never be broken because he has kept every term of covenant with God. In Jesus all the promises that come through the covenants with Abraham, Moses and David are realized. Luke 22:20 And likewise the cup after they had eaten, saying, "This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood.

Where is our confidence to be in covenant relationship with God? ----- It's in Jesus Christ - alone.

Always A Substitution

One of the common questions I have heard from atheists is whether I would sacrifice my own son if God asked me to do it. In saying this, they are referring to the time that God told Abraham to go up the mountain and build an altar and put Isaac on it. Gen 22:1-2 After these things God tested Abraham and said to him, "Abraham!" And he said, "Here I am." 2 He said, "Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you." The question about the command to sacrifice Isaac is meant to suggest that the God of the Old Testament is a cruel God. Would you do what this "cruel" God commanded if he said the same thing to you? My answer is always the same. "God is not cruel and would not command me to do that and you have completely missed the point of what he commanded Abraham." God has always proclaimed to us that he would provide a substitutionary sacrifice for our sins.

There are a few reasons we can know that Isaac was never in danger.

1. Genesis 22:8 Abraham said, "God will provide for himself the lamb for a burnt offering, my son." So they went both of them together. Abraham already believed in God's provision of a substitutionary sacrifice.

2. Genesis 17:19 God said, "No, but Sarah your wife shall bear you a son, and you shall call his name Isaac. I will establish my covenant with him as an everlasting covenant for his offspring after him. Abraham already knew that Isaac was a son of promise, and that God had promised that Isaac would have offspring and that God's covenant would be renewed with him. Abraham believed that God would fulfill this promise as he walked up the mountain with Isaac and wood for the altar.

3. Romans 4:16-17 That is why it depends on faith, in order that the promise may rest on grace and be guaranteed to all his offspring--not only to the adherent of the law but also to the one who shares the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all, 17 as it is written, "I have made you the father of many nations"--in the presence of the God in whom he believed, who gives life to the dead and calls into existence the things that do not exist.

The Apostle Paul tells us that Abraham believed that God was a God who brings the dead to life.

When you put all these into place you realize that Abraham believed that God would provide a substitutionary sacrifice, that God's promise of Isaac's future would be forthcoming, and that God can raise the dead to life. He knew that God's character and promises would prevail, and they did.

The test that Abraham was given showed to Abraham and to us that our faith in God's promise of salvation is a faith in God's provision of a substitutionary atonement for sin. While Isaac is insufficient as a son of promise to make sacrifice for our sin, God's substitution points to the fact that he would give his own Son. Abraham's faith in God's substitutionary sacrifice was not faith in an animal on the altar but faith in God who forgives sins and brings death to life. The point of Genesis 22 is that Abraham had the same faith as we do as he looked forward to the fulfillment of God's promise. Abraham anticipated Jesus, we have faith in the Jesus who has already been revealed as the Son of promise and has accomplished his task.

The point of the matter is this. There is one gospel. There always has been one gospel. The good news that God has provided a substitutionary sacrifice to atone for his righteous wrath upon our sin so that through faith in his Son of promise we might be forgiven of sins and go from death to life. The biblical message is that ever since Genesis 3, we have always needed a substitutionary sacrifice for our sin - JESUS.

Glorify God in Your Body

I recently had a trip to the doctor just before we started our preaching series on human fragility. You have to know that I'm not a "doctor going" guy. In fact, you may be surprised to know just how long it's been between visits for me. I'm thankful that the doctor wanted to blitz me with tests and at this moment there are no serious problems (Thanking God!) - but he did indicate a couple of early warning signs (Also thanking God!). It was exactly what this pastor, who thinks his body can take whatever I dish out, needed to hear. Things have changed a bit around the Ham home lately. I've actually had to come to a greater realization that my body that God has given me is truly important and truly fragile - I'm getting older. As a result, it may not be a surprise to you that I have especially been preaching to myself throughout our Fragility series.

This week Ryan Liebert is going to consider our body and soul together as we finish our series. 1 and 2 Corinthians mentions human weakness more than any other book in the New Testament. One of those passages have been particularly helpful to me as I consider that my body is truly an important and treasured gift from God.

The letter of 1 Corinthians is a tough read. Paul rebukes Corinth for a number of sins within the body of Christ. They are affecting their unity and their holiness and witness as God's people. He has dealt with factions, sexual misconduct, and even legal disputes. Immediately after reminding this church that they have been saved FROM sin (Such were some of you), he then returns to stipulate how this New Covenant church should think about sexual misconduct. Let's step through this argument with him and think about what he is saying about our bodies in the context of the New Covenant church.

1. As Christians, we might not be bound by written law, but in Christ we are not to neglect the appropriate stewardship of our bodies and not be controlled by our fleshly passions.

1 Corinthians 6:12 "All things are lawful for me," but not all things are helpful. "All things are lawful for me," but I will not be dominated by anything.

2. We might think that our fleshly bodies are unimportant, but their importance is found in the fact that they are given to us in order that we might use them to glorify God. Our bodies are for the Lord.

1 Corinthians 6:13  "Food is meant for the stomach and the stomach for food"--and God will destroy both one and the other. The body is not meant for sexual immorality, but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body.

3. We are always going to have bodies and the Lord cares so much for our bodies that Jesus was bodily raised. Because of that, God is going to renew our bodies. We should live with the highest degree of respect in mind.

1 Corinthians 6:14 And God raised the Lord and will also raise us up by his power.

4. The fact that we become members of Christ through faith should mean that we are not willing to join our bodies to sinful lusts. It's like taking Jesus with us into sin.

1 Corinthians 6:15 Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? Shall I then take the members of Christ and make them members of a prostitute? Never!

5. This next thought has got to impact every aspect of our lives - surely!

1 Corinthians 6:17 But he who is joined to the Lord becomes one spirit with him. 

6. Because of the intimate use of our bodies, sexual sin is especially hurtful. Surely this would mean that we should not want to treat our bodies with any sinful abandon.

1 Corinthians 6:18 Flee from sexual immorality. Every other sin a person commits is outside the body, but the sexually immoral person sins against his own body.

7. Our bodies do not belong to us. They belong to God, and they are to be used as worshipful vessels in honor of the fact that Jesus broke his own body to purchase us.

1 Corinthians 6:19-20 Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, 20 for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.

 The lesson that I am learning most is that my Savior went to the cross to save me - all of me. He died for me and rose for me and because of his great and awesome work I want to respond in better stewardship for the whole me he has saved. Learn this lesson with me. Let's help each other glorify God in our bodies.

The Power of Your Inner Voice

I wonder if you ever realize how much power you have in your mind. You could go to any number of motivational speakers who will tell you that if you really set your mind to something, it can be achievable. Others will tell you that the reason you are not achieving more is that you are thinking too small. The world seems believe that there is great power in the human mind and will. You can do anything.

The motivational speakers of our day have got it partly right. Our minds are indeed powerful. God created them that way. But the motivational speakers of our day seek to place the power of our minds toward our selfish ambition rather than the glory of God. In that way, our minds are weak - weakened by sin. Weakened to pursue our own glory rather than God's glory. Weakened to be satisfied only in our own desires and will rather than God's. Our minds seek to rob us of true joy found in the wonder of pursuing a fuller life in Christ.

Paul wrote a letter to the church in Philippi, and it has often been described as the letter of joy. He often speaks about the joy of knowing and following Christ and the joy of having a Christ focused life. Because of that kind of joy, Paul can say that his joy is found in Christ even over the security of his own life. Philippians 1:21-25 For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. 22 If I am to live in the flesh, that means fruitful labor for me. Yet which I shall choose I cannot tell. 23 I am hard pressed between the two. My desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better. 24 But to remain in the flesh is more necessary on your account. 25 Convinced of this, I know that I will remain and continue with you all, for your progress and joy in the faith. The concept here is that Paul's most eager priority is Christ, and his joy will be found in Christ, and he wants to impart the joy of pursuing Christ to those in the faith in Philippi. To progress in the faith is to experience the joy of faith.

Paul also goes on to have various explanations of the joy of faith, even in the difficult circumstances that he suffers in writing the letter from prison. He desperately wants the Philippian church to live in the joy of that faith like he does. It does not then surprise me to see that when we get to the end of his letter, Paul appeals to the power of their mind to help them think the right way so that they might live the right way and experience that joy.

Philippians 4:8-9 Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. 9 What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me--practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.

When Paul is giving them a list of virtues to think through, they are not disconnected from the rest of his letter that always points to everything being defined in Christ. Paul's whole life was defined in Christ and now he is asking this church to think about words that define our life in Christ. And then he asks them to put them into practice as they have seen it in him.

Your mind is powerful in its capacity but weakened by sin. If you are in Christ, then you have the power of the Spirit within you as you retrain your mind to find joy in trusting Christ. Instead of allowing your own selfish pursuits and desires to take over and allow you to soar in your own temporal glory, step back and think like Paul as he thinks of Christ. You will find a power that turns you toward true and eternal glory.

Where Your Real Strength Lies

Why are we such slow learners? If you have read through the history of Israel in the books of Kings or Chronicles, you will realize a repeated pattern. Some kings of Israel do evil in the sight of the Lord and lead the nation away from God. The result is always catastrophic in the way that God judges their sin and the nation suffers. There are also times when a king will bring reform, and the people will live in peace and grow in trusting the Lord. It is in those times that the nation of Israel is strong, but it is not their own strength.

Among the other nations, Israel was always the minority in the world. They were surrounded by the whole world as they lived as those called by God and separate from the nations. As you read through the history of Israel, it seems that at any given moment there is a nation ready to come against them and exert its power over them. Along the way we are shown that while Israel seems to be the weak among the mighty of the world, they were called to trust in a strength beyond themselves. Mostly, Israel failed miserably. On a few occasions, however, God gave Israel a faithful king who truly believed that Israel's God was mightier than the nations. Asa was one of those kings.

In 2 Chronicles 14 we find the account of Asa who is described as a king who did good and right in the eyes of the Lord. Asa displayed his faith in God by bringing reform to Judah's worship of God. He removed the idolatrous high places and altars and returned to the commands of the Lord and the worship of the one true living God. He also fortified the cities and raised an army from Judah and Benjamin of over 500,000 men (vs. 1-8). Asa's faithfulness was blessed by God and there was peace in the land. That doesn't mean that other nations were not a threat, but that God was the strength of Israel to protect its peace.

Immediately after reading the introductory summary about Asa's reforms, the threat from another nation arrives (vs. 9). Ethiopia is immediately on Judah's doorstep and while Judah has an army of 500,000, Ethiopia has an army of 1,000,000. Surely, we are meant to see the difference in these numbers. Ethiopia has an army twice the size of Judah's. One could look at this difference and say that the strong is coming against the weak. In human terms, we could not possibly see it any other way. Asa must acknowledge that in this situation Judah is weak and relies on a strength beyond itself. That is exactly what Asa does.

2 Chronicles 14:11-12 And Asa cried to the LORD his God, "O LORD, there is none like you to help, between the mighty and the weak. Help us, O LORD our God, for we rely on you, and in your name we have come against this multitude. O LORD, you are our God; let not man prevail against you." 12 So the LORD defeated the Ethiopians before Asa and before Judah, and the Ethiopians fled.

Asa's prayer is simple. They are mighty and we are weak, but we have God. We rely on God. God is mightier than any man or any number of mighty men. That is why the Chronicler does not record that Asa and Judah won the battle, but that the LORD defeated the Ethiopians before them. God alone is our strength. The lesson for all of God's people is clear. If you belong to the Lord, you can hold onto a strength beyond your circumstance.

After the Lord defeated the Ethiopians, a man called Azariah came out to give King Asa some words of encouragement. He encouraged Asa to see that when people seek God, he is found. When God is the Lord, the people live in victory (15:1-6). After saying this, Azariah gives one more profound encouragement. 2 Chronicles 15:7 But you, take courage! Do not let your hands be weak, for your work shall be rewarded."

This encouragement must be taken in context. Azariah is certainly not saying to Asa that he can work out and produce his own strength. He is making one, simple, profound point. Do not stop trusting God for his strength to be with you. Your courage does not come from yourself but from your diligence to continue trusting in God who is your strength. Don't be passive in this, be active - your work shall be rewarded. Surely, Asa is not to boast in his own strength but in the work that God strengthens and blesses. In the Lord, the weak are strong.

1 Corinthians 1:27 But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong.

The Significance of Genesis 1-11

This week our church comes to the final section in Genesis 11. I think this is a good time to just take a moment to look back and see where we've been and what we have learned as we reach the end of this first big section.

Genesis really is a foundational book for providing historical basis for understanding the rest of the bible and even for understanding the world we live in. It really does provide the first big step in developing a Christian and biblical worldview. Notice that I didn't say that it provides a full comprehensive worldview. The Christian worldview is understood by seeing God's big plan in history from creation all the way through to our anticipation of the new creation. We understand this world not just from its beginnings but also through the redeeming work of Christ and the hope of the reconciliation of all things.

Even so, the first chapters of Genesis have laid a solid foundation for us to build our worldview house. Let's think about where we have been so far.

- Genesis 1-2 - The special creation of everything in six days including the special creation of humanity in God's image. God rests in his glorious rule over creation. It is in this section we also witnessed God's covenant with his creation through Adam. God is the Creator of all things, and his plan is for his glory to be spread through his image bearers across the earth.

- Genesis 3. - Mankind sinned and brought separation between us and God and a corruption of the entire creation. With our sin came God's merciful promise to bring the Seed of the woman to crush the serpent's head. God also made provision for the covering of our sin through substitutionary atoning sacrifice.

- Genesis 4-5 - From the outworking of mankind's sin and God's promise, we found the first examples of the division of humanity between the seed of the serpent and the seed of the woman. The picture of God's grace is evident in the sight of a corrupt humanity.

- Genesis 6-9 - In the sight of the comprehensive corruption of sin, God brings comprehensive judgment. From that judgment God also continues his covenant with creation through Noah. God protects his promise and his plan.

- Genesis 10-11 - Mankind's continual decline into sinfulness and self-centered glory seeking will not thwart God's plan for his glory to be spread across the earth. Through the confusion of language, God spreads a rebellious humanity and then gives us a glimpse of his plan to bring about his seed of promise through the line of Shem.

As we think through those important sub-sections of Genesis 1-11, we can also realize why it is so important to study them. Just imagine if we had a bible that did not include Genesis 1-11.

• We would have no sense of glory, authority, sinfulness, judgment and wrath.

• We would have no sense of God's merciful response and grace in his promise.

• We would have no sense of God's faithfulness to his creation.

• We would have no sense of our own human nature or existence. - we wouldn't even understand what a human is.

• We would have no sense of hope. We would have no understanding of the nature of salvation - that it cannot come from us.

• We would have no basis for understanding a full and final judgment to come.

• We would have no understanding of major doctrines - Trinity, The Word of God, Sin, Salvation, atonement, sovereignty and election,

• We would have no historical basis for understand the origins of creation nor in understanding the unity and diversity in the created order.

• We would have no understanding of a binary worldview of complimentary distinctives - male/female, heaven and earth, light and dark, night and day.

• We would have no basis for truth.

• We would have no basis for goodness.

• We would have no basis for beauty

• We would have no understanding of marriage and family. - or even government.

• We would have no understanding of order.

• We would have no understanding of covenant or even of the whole thrust of the bible. The big scope of God's plan.

• Most of all, we would have no foundational context for the cross.

Why not go back over this list above and give God thanks for giving us an understanding that so many people in this world don't have. Thank God that through Christ and the work of regeneration in our hearts, we actually care about this list. It's true that Genesis gives us a great basis for understanding our need for Jesus. It is also true that without Jesus and the Spirit's illumination of our hearts, we would see no real significance in Genesis.

At the end of the day, Jesus IS the significance of Jesus.

The Main Point of Babel

I grew up around creation apologetics and that means I have spent much time in my life defending the historic credibility of the first eleven chapters of Genesis. I maintain the importance of that task. The bible is set in real history and in the power and providence of God who reveals himself to us through inspiration. In saying that, I've also come to see that apologetics is a servant to the message of the bible, and not actually the message of the bible. What I mean is that while defending biblical history is important, it serves to strengthen the church's confidence in the main message of the text. The Tower of Babel is a great example. The main point of the Tower of Babel is not to show how the world of "so-called" races can be explained or that there is a history that corroborates with common gene-pools separated throughout the world. While that is certainly helpful to know, the main point of Babel is clear within the text.

As you simply allow the text to speak, you are quickly confronted by the fact that the people at Babel were building a city and a tower to reach the heavens. They were doing so to make a name for themselves. Humanity at Babel wanted their own names to be prominent in the heavens. They wanted to be gods. The base of human religion is the pursuit of our own deity in rebellion against the only Deity.

The answer from God in the confusion of languages is to show that he alone is God, and his name will be glorified regardless of human opposition. God's grace in salvation and God's justice upon sin will not be derailed by the high hopes of any human attempting to give their own name a god-like status. God's name must never be rejected for ours.

In the book of Revelation, we find that the conquering church is rewarded by being given a new name. To have the name of Christ is not something that demoralizes humanity but exalts it. We who are in Christ want nothing more than his name to be ours. We love him. His glory is more beautiful than anything in this world and it is proven in his work on the cross. We are most happy to put our name aside for the name of Jesus. We do not claim the name of an earthly nation or heritage. We do not claim the name of a political party. We do not claim the name of a family or corporate legacy. We do not claim the name of anything in this world that we think brings us greater significance. We claim the name of Christ and we do not deny that name for anything. His name is above every name 

Revelation 3:7-13 "And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write: 'The words of the holy one, the true one, who has the key of David, who opens and no one will shut, who shuts and no one opens. 8 "'I know your works. Behold, I have set before you an open door, which no one is able to shut. I know that you have but little power, and yet you have kept my word and have not denied my name. 9 Behold, I will make those of the synagogue of Satan who say that they are Jews and are not, but lie--behold, I will make them come and bow down before your feet, and they will learn that I have loved you. 10 Because you have kept my word about patient endurance, I will keep you from the hour of trial that is coming on the whole world, to try those who dwell on the earth. 11 I am coming soon. Hold fast what you have, so that no one may seize your crown. 12 The one who conquers, I will make him a pillar in the temple of my God. Never shall he go out of it, and I will write on him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem, which comes down from my God out of heaven, and my own new name. 13 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.'

The main point of Babel?..... (drum roll) ..... Put aside your own name and claim the name of Christ.

Our Heavenly Identity

Over the years living in the face of American patriotism I have sometimes got myself into a little trouble. I suppose my words have not always been most helpfully selected, but I believe my intent has always had a strong biblical ground. My heart is for the church to grasp our identity with both hands. That identity can be explained by one name - Christ. Christ is our life, our goal, our hope, our mission, and our very identity. I suppose I have desired to have such a high view of the church's identity in Christ that it has disturbed me to see any evidence of a worldly, national identity competing with it. It's never my intent to be anti-American, but only ever my intent to be single-mindedly focused about the church grasping our identity in Christ as our towering priority.

If you were to read Genesis 10 and the 70 names that form the table of nations, you may instantly desire to find your identity somewhere in that list. We can become so obsessed with our earthly heritage and people spend lots of money to find the roots of their family tree. We have those roots in Genesis 10. Most people reading this blog are probably related to Japheth from whom comes the Indo-European nations. Ancestral lines can be matters of great importance to some, even producing quarrels. At one stage the Apostle Paul urged Timothy to deal with this in the church in Ephesus. 1Timothy 1:3-4 As I urged you when I was going to Macedonia, remain at Ephesus so that you may charge certain persons not to teach any different doctrine, 4 nor to devote themselves to myths and endless genealogies, which promote speculations rather than the stewardship from God that is by faith.

Perhaps it was a matter of pride for some to locate their heritage through the line of Abraham and eventually Shem in the list in Genesis 10. Perhaps they were trying to physically prove their status in the world as a higher status than the pagan nations. In Ephesus, the majority were not likely to find their lineage among the Jews. Paul, however, was suggesting that focusing on their physical lineage in the world was missing the point. Your physical heritage has only temporary value, but your spiritual family determines your eternity.

When Jesus prayed to the Father for those he came to save, his major concern was not their physical heritage in the world, but the fact that they have been saved out of the world. Jesus came not to give us a worldly identity but a heavenly one.

John 17:6-10 "I have manifested your name to the people whom you gave me out of the world. Yours they were, and you gave them to me, and they have kept your word. 7 Now they know that everything that you have given me is from you. 8 For I have given them the words that you gave me, and they have received them and have come to know in truth that I came from you; and they have believed that you sent me. 9 I am praying for them. I am not praying for the world but for those whom you have given me, for they are yours. 10 All mine are yours, and yours are mine, and I am glorified in them.

Look at those last words in John 17:10. All mine are yours, and yours are mine, and I am glorified in them. Jesus has saved his church to be His and what is His is the Father's. We have been saved out of the world into a heavenly identity and a heavenly family. In Christ we have one Father in heaven.

Jesus said he did not pray for the world but for those he has saved out of the world. Surely that must tell the church that our towering priority of identity must by our heavenly citizenship in Christ rather than our citizenship in any earthly country.

I'm not against a healthy patriotism and thankfulness for the country in which God has placed us. I'm against any real competition with our heavenly patriotism for the Kingdom of Christ. For the church, the nations of the world are not our identity, they're our mission ground.

Our Failure to Remember Christ

Maybe you've heard it said that Christians can sometimes live like atheists. If you ever hear a statement like that, it normally means that a Christian has failed to remember that they belong to Christ. It's too easy for Christians in our frail and feeble human state to forget Christ even though we know that there is nobody more important than our Savior. We do so because in the face of temptation we can easily take our sight away from Christ and lean into the urging of our own sinful hearts. If you are human, it can certainly happen to you, and it doesn't matter whether you are a high-profile mature Christian or a sagely elder in your church. Sin is ready for any of us as soon as complacency offers a crack in the door.

In the flood Narrative in the Scriptures, we read of the glowing reputation of Noah. He was described as a man who was blameless in the eyes of others and righteous before God. He was a man who was obedient to the command of God. Well, at least he was before he planted a vineyard, and then the fruit of his labor became more important than his Creator. In his gluttonous enjoyment of wine, he had found himself looking away from God. Like Adam and Even had sinned in taking the fruit that God had forbidden, Noah had sinned in using fruit for his own sinful pleasure. In both instances that sin was depicted in the shame of nakedness.

After meditating on 9 chapters of Genesis there are two main thoughts that come to mind. 1. God's grace in salvation is my every need for every breath I take. and 2. If Adam and Eve in their perfection can sin, and Noah in his upstanding righteousness can sin, what can I keep in mind to help me to remember who I am in Christ? What can remind me not to be complacent?

This week I just want to share one little verse that drilled its way into my head as I was contemplating my own fight against temptation in this world. 1 Corinthians 6:17 But he who is joined to the Lord becomes one spirit with him. This verse comes in the middle of a section of Paul's letter to Corinth as he is dealing with their false perceptions about the problem of sexual immorality. Part of his argument to them is a very positive one. Rather than sinning against God and your own body through sexual immorality, how about remembering that if you are in Christ, there is more to you than mortal life. This body of flesh that you sin with is more important than flesh and blood. You are one spirit with the Lord. He dwells in you. He owns you. He is connected to you as your Savior. He has adopted you in his family. There is a oneness you have with Christ that is more beautiful than anything you have in this world. But more than that... how about remembering that you are one spirit with the eternal, all-powerful, holy God of the universe.

When I remember that being joined to Jesus is becoming one spirit with him, how can I approach any part of my life in the selfish pursuit of sin? How can I live without a constant and intentional reminder that every thought, word and action reflects upon who I am in Christ and who Christ is to me? Surely, we can all imagine how Noah might find great pleasure in a delectable cup of his own produce and revel in its enjoyment to the degree of forgetting God. But that's the problem - forgetting God. Every sin starts with forgetting God. And while Noah used wine to forget his Savior, Jesus has given us wine in the New Covenant to remember him. Every time we join as a church for communion we can remind ourselves that being joined to Christ is being one spirit with him.

Beyond that reminder we get when corporately celebrating the Lord’s Supper, we can remember this truth every day at every meal and in every moment. We who are joined to the Lord become one spirit with him. There is more to every moment of my life than me. There is always - always - Christ with me and in me.

God's Everlasting Love

One of the ways the God of the bible is differentiated from the false gods of this world is the fact that God is a truly relational God. God has great affection for his creation and is active in his sovereign providence over everything in the world. He continuously orders all things toward the culmination of his great plan for an everlasting creation that will eternally reflect his glory. Through his redemptive purpose in Jesus Christ, God has ordained the reconciliation of a sin cursed creation. This is God's everlasting plan. More than this, it is God's everlasting love.

The people of Israel were called to be God's people in a world of darkness. They were rescued from slavery to be a nation of light to the nations of the world. They were to be a beacon of holiness as a people who lived with and for their God. They were to be a continual reminder to the world that there is one true living God who blesses his people through his saving promise. Israel were brought into covenant relationship with God and given the law that they might show God's holiness as a peculiar people in a sinful world. Israel failed and broke covenant with God as his people.

The one consistent theme we see in Scripture is that while God's people fail and break covenant with him, God is unchanging in his eternal plan and everlasting love. That doesn't mean that God simply overlooks sin. God judges sin, and he judged Israel in their sin. God scattered Israel among the nations and took them into exile. If you were in exile because of your covenant-breaking disobedience, you might be tempted to think your plight was completely hopeless. But God's response to Israel is that they had a particular hope that they could still hold on to. It ends up being the same hope for the entire world.

Isaiah 54:4-10 "Fear not, for you will not be ashamed; be not confounded, for you will not be disgraced; for you will forget the shame of your youth, and the reproach of your widowhood you will remember no more. 5 For your Maker is your husband, the LORD of hosts is his name; and the Holy One of Israel is your Redeemer, the God of the whole earth he is called. 6 For the LORD has called you like a wife deserted and grieved in spirit, like a wife of youth when she is cast off, says your God. 7 For a brief moment I deserted you, but with great compassion I will gather you. 8 In overflowing anger for a moment I hid my face from you, but with everlasting love I will have compassion on you," says the LORD, your Redeemer. 9 "This is like the days of Noah to me: as I swore that the waters of Noah should no more go over the earth, so I have sworn that I will not be angry with you, and will not rebuke you. 10 For the mountains may depart and the hills be removed, but my steadfast love shall not depart from you, and my covenant of peace shall not be removed," says the LORD, who has compassion on you.

Look at what the Lord is saying. His love is everlasting and his compassion enduring. Israel has not lost the hope of salvation. God is a redeemer, and his promise of redemption is for the entire earth. God told Israel that their situation is no different to the commitment he had made to Noah. God told Noah that he would be patient and not again destroy the earth with a global flood. He told Israel that this was called a covenant of peace. When God told Noah that the earth would be preserved, he was saying that he was not going to bring the immediate judgment that we deserve every day. God would be patient and compassionate upon a sinful humanity. This is the same promise for a disobedient Israel.

God's promise to Noah is still in place for us today. While there is peace on the earth (while God is holding back his righteous wrath on human sin) salvation is available to all who will repent of their sin and trust in the Savior - Jesus Christ, who died in our place and rose to give us new life.

We have broken covenant with God, but God has preserved the world and kept his promise to Noah. God's promise to preserve the world was never separated from his promise to save his people. Isaiah 54 tells us that the motivation behind God keeping his promise to preserve the world is found in his everlasting love and compassion to save. If you have faith in Jesus, you now live in an everlasting, unbreakable covenant - BECAUSE - God is a God of everlasting love.

Blood is More than Blood

If we are cut, we all bleed. If we don't have enough blood, we will die. Blood is an essential physical component to the human body. It may seem like a strange topic to discuss on a pastor's blog, but the bible makes it one we should think through. Consider this mention of blood to Noah as he now lives in a new world after the flood. Genesis 9:4 But you shall not eat flesh with its life, that is, its blood. Noah was given all things (including animals) to eat, but the restriction was that he was not to consume blood. The blood of a creature is discussed in a way that it is almost synonymous with its life.

The prohibition of consuming blood is also found in the law for Israel in Leviticus 7 and 17. Leviticus 17:14 For the life of every creature is its blood: its blood is its life. Therefore I have said to the people of Israel, You shall not eat the blood of any creature, for the life of every creature is its blood. Whoever eats it shall be cut off. The reason blood is not to be consumed is because of its association with life. Even though humanity has been given everything including animals to eat, we are obviously meant to be respecters of life.

If that were all it is, one would say that might be enough, but there is a biblical reason that blood is so closely associated with life, and it is not just physical life. Before the law that prohibits consuming blood there is a law about the unnecessary spilling of animal blood. Leviticus 17:3-5 If any one of the house of Israel kills an ox or a lamb or a goat in the camp, or kills it outside the camp, 4 and does not bring it to the entrance of the tent of meeting to offer it as a gift to the LORD in front of the tabernacle of the LORD, bloodguilt shall be imputed to that man. He has shed blood, and that man shall be cut off from among his people. 5 This is to the end that the people of Israel may bring their sacrifices that they sacrifice in the open field, that they may bring them to the LORD, to the priest at the entrance of the tent of meeting, and sacrifice them as sacrifices of peace offerings to the LORD.

In the Old Covenant, the sacrificial system was a central and visible part of life. The people of Israel would constantly see the blood of animals flowing in sacrifice. It was to be a constant reminder of their need for salvation and their hope in the true atoning sacrifice that would cover their sin. They would fulfill their duties for sacrifice as given in the law, but the act was always to point them to something (Someone) greater. The sacrificial system was a constant reminder that the Seed of the woman would crush the serpent. It would happen through himself being crushed. In this way, the shedding of blood was not just an indication of the loss of life, but substitutionary atonement. It was sacred.

In Genesis 9, Noah was then instructed of the ultimate retribution for the shedding of human blood. Gen 9:5-6 And for your lifeblood I will require a reckoning: from every beast I will require it and from man. From his fellow man I will require a reckoning for the life of man. 6 "Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed, for God made man in his own image. Again, the physical blood is not the main point. We know that the life man is in our soul. After a human dies, our soul continues, and we stand before the Lord. So, why the emphasis on blood being shed?

I'll let John Calvin answer the question. Because we are so unlearned that we cannot reach the heights of understanding today what the life of souls is, our Lord, to accommodate our weakness, says that the blood is the life of man. In other words, when we shed human blood, it is the same as wanting to destroy the image of God and the life which he placed in us. Now that is sacrilege. It is no longer a simple act of violence between men, who are not the only ones injured, but that act is directed against God, as if we clearly despised him and had wanted to wage war against them. (1)

Everything points to the fact that God has created our lives to reflect Him. The shedding of the blood of an animal was to remind us that we need a substitute. The blood that we rely on for the sustenance of life should remind us that life is valuable and precious as image bearers of God.

Jesus, THE image of God, the exact imprint of His nature, laid down his life, shed his blood, so that we might live. I know we might sing songs like "There is Power in the Blood," but we are not saying something about a physical substance, we are talking about the power of the Son of God dying for our sins and rising from the dead so that we might have life.

The biblical discussion of blood really does become essential reading.

(1) John Calvin, Genesis Sermons.

The Flood - A New Adam, A New Creation

The whole of the bible takes us from creation to new creation. Ever since Adam and Eve sinned in the garden, the creation has been corrupted and humanity has been expelled from Eden. The promise that God gave Adam and Eve that the Seed of the woman would crush the head of the serpent has always been the hope that there would be a new Adam to restore humanity and right the wrongs of human sin. Through a new Adam we hope for a new creation.

The flood narrative shows us that hope in vivid, historic reality. The New Testament authors use the history of the flood to also point us to the reality of the coming day of judgment in the future (2 Peter 3:1-8, Matthew 24:37-42). As we read the flood narrative, we should not be surprised to see Noah being portrayed like a new Adam with a new hope for a new creation.

Consider some of the similarities we can find between the creation and the flood narrative.

- In Genesis 8:1, the wind (same word in Hebrew for 'Spirit') was blowing over the earth as the waters subsided. This reminds us of the Spirit hovering over the waters on the first day of creation (Gen 1:2).

- In Genesis 8:2, the windows of heaven were closed (it stopped raining). This reminds us that on the second day of creation God formed the sky (the expanse).

- In Genesis 8:3-5 we are told how the waters receded from the earth for the land to become visible. On day three of creation God brought forth the land from the waters and covered it with vegetation.

- The birds and animals being sent forth from the ark remind us of day five and six of creation.

- In Genesis 9, Noah is given the same instructions that God gave to Adam. "Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth."

- Also in Genesis 9, God makes much of the value of human life as he repeats from Genesis 1:26 that mankind is made in the image of God.

As Noah comes out of the judgment, he appears to be a new Adam in a new creation with a fresh start to fill the earth and multiply and spread the glory of God as an image bearer of God. As we consider the flood narrative, it shows us that God is committed to his creation. There will be a new Adam who will bring rest. Noah's name in the Hebrew language means rest. Rest will come through judgment and salvation.

While Noah will prove that he is not the new Adam that we are looking for, he does give us an amazing picture of God's plan in the world. God is one day going to judge sin comprehensively and finally. Those who are his by faith will be left through the judgment and live in the new creation. Those who remain in sin and unbelief will suffer the final and forever judgment of God. The last and final Adam will come, and he will be the hope for humanity and for a groaning creation. He will save his people and restore the creation.

Romans 5:12-15 Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned-- 13 for sin indeed was in the world before the law was given, but sin is not counted where there is no law. 14 Yet death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those whose sinning was not like the transgression of Adam, who was a type of the one who was to come. 15 But the free gift is not like the trespass. For if many died through one man's trespass, much more have the grace of God and the free gift by the grace of that one man Jesus Christ abounded for many.

1 Corinthians 15:45-49 Thus it is written, "The first man Adam became a living being"; the last Adam became a life-giving spirit. 46 But it is not the spiritual that is first but the natural, and then the spiritual. 47 The first man was from the earth, a man of dust; the second man is from heaven. 48 As was the man of dust, so also are those who are of the dust, and as is the man of heaven, so also are those who are of heaven. 49 Just as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we shall also bear the image of the man of heaven.

Romans 8:19-23 For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God. 20 For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope 21 that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. 22 For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now. 23 And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies.

2 Corinthians 5:17-21 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. 18 All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; 19 that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. 20 Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. 21 For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.