Atonement: The Same Cost for Every Believer

Exodus 30:11-16 The LORD said to Moses, 12 "When you take the census of the people of Israel, then each shall give a ransom for his life to the LORD when you number them, that there be no plague among them when you number them. 13 Each one who is numbered in the census shall give this: half a shekel according to the shekel of the sanctuary (the shekel is twenty gerahs), half a shekel as an offering to the LORD. 14 Everyone who is numbered in the census, from twenty years old and upward, shall give the LORD's offering. 15 The rich shall not give more, and the poor shall not give less, than the half shekel, when you give the LORD's offering to make atonement for your lives. 16 You shall take the atonement money from the people of Israel and shall give it for the service of the tent of meeting, that it may bring the people of Israel to remembrance before the LORD, so as to make atonement for your lives."

As the people of Israel are wandering through the desert on their way to the Promised Land, Moses is commanded by God to take a census. As part of that census of the people, a tax is instituted. It is a payment made by all males of military age (between 20 and 50) and it showed that all Israel were reliant upon God’s presence with them through the atoning work of the tabernacle and temple. Each half shekel was to be a statement of faith and affirmation of the covenant between God and his people as represented in the tabernacle. The money from the census went toward the construction and maintenance of the tabernacle (Exodus 38:25-28).

It is important to see in this that it is not the giving of funds itself that provides atonement.  Nowhere in the entire Scripture do we see that someone can purchase favor with God through money.  It is only through the work of the temple in the sacrificial shedding of blood that atonement for sin can be made. Only through faith people can be reconciled to God. This money given at the time of the census was called atonement money because it represented the sacrificial mediation of the tabernacle/temple and was used for that work.

As we read through the details of this tax/redemption money, we should not look past that this tax is not a percentage of wealth. It is not a tithe. No matter rich or poor, the price is the same – one half shekel. The poor pay as much as the rich and vice versa. We cannot read this without considering what this must surely represent.  The cost of atonement is the same for every believer. No matter who they were, the atoning work of salvation through the temple is the same for all. 

More than 1500 years later, the temple tax was still being collected, but this time it was being collected on an annual basis rather than simply at a time of census. When those collecting the tax asked Peter whether his teacher would pay this tax, Peter said yes. Jesus did indeed pay it. Jesus didn’t pay it because he was reliant on the temple for atonement for sin. Jesus was sinless. Jesus also didn’t need to get baptized, but he allowed John the Baptist to baptize him.  Jesus graciously came and lived with us as one of us. One of the amazing factors of Jesus paying the temple tax is in the way he pays it for himself and Peter.  Matthew 17:27 However, not to give offense to them, go to the sea and cast a hook and take the first fish that comes up, and when you open its mouth you will find a shekel. Take that and give it to them for me and for yourself."

Jesus doesn’t tell Peter to go out and earn some money to pay the temple tax, but Jesus provides it in a miraculous way. Peter, a fisherman, is to put a hook in the water and pull up a fish with a shekel in its mouth and pay two portions of the half shekel tax, one for him and one for Jesus. Jesus provides the payment for atonement for Peter and it seems that it is only by faith that Peter would even consider putting a hook in the water to get a coin from a fish. The same tax with the same amount represented that the same price of atonement was made for both Peter and the wilderness people of Israel. The provision of atonement is the temple, and the temple is Jesus.

Israel knew that the coin did not pay for their sin. They relied on the bloody sacrifice as they brought an animal to be slain at the tabernacle/temple. This happened over and over as a foreshadowing of the only sacrifice that could truly, once and for all, atone for sin. The sacrifice of Jesus, the Lamb of God. He is the One in whom the cost was priceless and paid for all who would believe. The same cost for every believer of all time is not a half shekel, it's a full Jesus.

Galatians 3:26-29 for in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith. 27 For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. 28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. 29 And if you are Christ's, then you are Abraham's offspring, heirs according to promise.

The Hope of a Faithless Generation

At one point of Jesus’ ministry, he found that his own disciples had acted without faith. They had attempted to heal a young man and failed (Matthew 17:14-20). Even though they had previously been given authority to do so (Matthew 10:8), Jesus expressed his grief in their failure by crying out, “O faithless and twisted generation.”  Imagine being likened to the morally twisted unbelief of those who were rejecting the Messiah. When disciples act in a way that ignores Christ, they end up looking and sounding just like other unbelievers. When Jesus cries out in grief at the sight of faithlessness, it shows us how serious faithlessness, in whatever form, is. 

This is not the only times we have heard these words in the Scriptures. In the same way that Jesus describes the generation before him, God had once before described Israel in the time of Moses. Even though God had brought Israel out of Egypt and sustained them through the wilderness, they did not believe that God would fight for them to bring them into his promised land. Deuteronomy 1:32, Yet in spite of this word you did not believe the LORD your God.  Because of their unbelief and wicked ways, a whole generation would not reach the promised land. Vs. 35 'Not one of these men of this evil generation shall see the good land that I swore to give to your fathers. Later in Deuteronomy this statement is echoed as Moses looks at the people before him and the word of God is pronounced. Deuteronomy 32:20-21 And he said, 'I will hide my face from them; I will see what their end will be, for they are a perverse generation, children in whom is no faithfulness. 21 They have made me jealous with what is no god; they have provoked me to anger with their idols. So I will make them jealous with those who are no people; I will provoke them to anger with a foolish nation.

It would seem very clear that God takes faithless living very seriously and these verses show us what faithless living is.  It is putting faith in something other than God. It is idolatry. We see various examples of this faithless living in Israel. Sometimes as God’s chastises them, they turn back to God in repentance, but other times we see them act so callously that they spiral in their idolatry. Eventually our long-suffering God gives Israel over to the other nations. The prophets continually warned that if they continued in their faithlessness and wickedness that they would be handed over and given into the hands of their enemies. Ezekiel 23:28 "For thus says the Lord GOD: Behold, I will deliver you into the hands of those whom you hate, into the hands of those from whom you turned in disgust.”

What is most amazing to me is that when Jesus sees the faithless and twisted generation of his day, the judgment immediately expressed is not about this generation being handed over into the hands of its enemies, but that Jesus would be delivered into the hands of men. Matthew 17:22 As they were gathering in Galilee, Jesus said to them, "The Son of Man is about to be delivered into the hands of men.”

God makes it clear to Israel that faithlessness and wickedness will be handed over for judgment. I do not believe that it is simply coincidental that immediately after hearing Jesus describe the generation before him as faithless and wicked, that he talks about himself being handed over for judgment. This is nothing other than absolute hope. Our wickedness and unbelief must be judged and will be judged, but Jesus shows that he has come to be delivered over on our behalf. He takes the judgment for us and our idolatry and wickedness are placed upon him and God has poured his righteous anger out upon his Son who has paid our price in full. The amazing twist in this is that the men to whom Jesus is handed over in facing judgment for us are the leaders of Israel.

 When the disciples recognized the faithlessness in their life, in that moment and in hearing those words they didn’t realize the immense hope that Jesus was actually giving them. Matthew tells us that in hearing these words they were “distressed.” Later they would all know that anyone who puts their trust in Jesus would not be handed over for judgment but would trust in the One who came under judgment for us. Anyone not willing to abandon their faith in this world and trust in Christ will await the day that they are handed over for all eternity with the remainder of the faithless and wicked generation. The answer to the world’s faithlessness, and ours, is always the cross. The place where Jesus was handed over to men to come under the judgment of God for our sin. This is the only hope for a faithless and twisted generation.

Why Did Elijah Come?

Matthew 17:10-13 And the disciples asked him, "Then why do the scribes say that first Elijah must come?" 11 He answered, "Elijah does come, and he will restore all things. 12 But I tell you that Elijah has already come, and they did not recognize him, but did to him whatever they pleased. So also, the Son of Man will certainly suffer at their hands." 13 Then the disciples understood that he was speaking to them of John the Baptist.

The disciples are walking down a mountain with Jesus after seeing his glory in physical manifestation at the transfiguration.  It was in that experience that they also saw Moses and Elijah next to Jesus as the prophets of old now standing with the One they both foreshadowed and expected. After this glorious event, the disciples were prompted to ask Jesus a question based on what they had heard from the teaching of the scribes. The scribes taught that Elijah must come in anticipation of the Messiah.

Jesus indeed confirmed the statement made by the scribes.  Elijah does come, and he will restore all things. This repetition of the statement from the scribes is Jesus way of saying that the scribes were indeed accurate in their expectation. Even so, in verse 12 Jesus helps the disciples to understand that the scribes were off in their timing and in the typological nature of the fulfillment of this prophecy. The scribes had missed the prophet who had already come in the power and spirit of Elijah, John the Baptist. In Luke 1:16-17, Luke gives us this description of John the Baptist,  “And he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God, 17 and he will go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready for the Lord a people prepared." Luke here is referring back to the expectation of Elijah from the prophet Malachi. 

Malachi 4:5-6 "Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the great and awesome day of the LORD comes. 6 And he will turn the hearts of fathers to their children and the hearts of children to their fathers, lest I come and strike the land with a decree of utter destruction." What we understand from this passage and Jesus’ explanation to the disciples is that Elijah must come prior to the awesome day of the LORD and in so doing will prepare Israel in a restorative way so that they will not face utter destruction. If we consider this in the ministry of John the Baptist, we do indeed see that John came as a forerunner to Jesus.  John came with many of the same traits as Elijah, even down to the way he dressed. He also preached a restorative message. While, Malachi talks about the restoration of the hearts of fathers and children, Luke expands this to talking about bringing disobedience to wisdom. This is all easily captured in the thrust of John the Baptist’s message. The message of repentance in preparation for the Kingdom of Heaven is one that has restorative quality for all who will believe.  As those who listened to John did indeed repent with expectancy for the Messiah, they would bring a new humility of faith into their homes and a new obedience to their God.

Repentance is a call to restoration. As we see our sin in the light of God’s holiness, we are humbled before his righteous judgment and transformed by his mercy and grace as we turn away from our arrogant sinful life and seek to live in his wisdom. When you bring repentance into your home, it changes not only your nature, but the nature of your relationships.  It has you showing others of the new hope that you have found and calls those around you to join you in knowing the salvation of God rather than facing utter destruction. 

Elijah and John the Baptist had a message of repentance and restoration for Israel in preparation for the expected Messiah.  If they had not come in preparation, the Messiah would not arrive and there would be no true salvation for these people who had lost their way. The sad reality is found in the way that Jesus tells his disciples that this Elijah has already come, the message and preparation has already happened, and he has been rejected.  If they have rejected the one introducing the Messiah, why would they accept the Messiah himself? But even this is a proof of the ministry of John the Baptist who prepares the way for Jesus.  He suffered and died and was rejected as he pointed to the Messiah, just as Jesus suffered and died and his salvation was rejected by many of his own people. 

Elijah had to come because he would be the forerunner to confirm that the expected Messiah had arrived. The Kingdom has come into this world with the coming of the King and this is now the fulfillment of the promise in Malachi. If you miss it, you will face destruction. If you repent and accept it, you will find eternal hope in the Suffering Servant who came to atone for your sin. So, Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand.  In fact, for us, it is now here, and this call of repentance is even more urgent.

Today we in Christ continue to have an Elijah and John the Baptist type of ministry. We point to the Messiah in hope of restoration for those who will repent and believe. 2 Corinthians 5:18-21 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.

How Much Is Your Soul Worth?

This week’s blog is written by Jeremy Draper.

Matthew 16:26 For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?

Humans are finite creatures. We also have a finite understanding and perspective of life. In other words, we live according to what we can see, touch, feel, and experience in our bodies, which are finite. As such, we have trouble seeing beyond the matters of the here and now. It is a part of our fallen nature to live in such a way, because it has darkened our understanding.

The result is that we end up becoming like Esau, who traded his birthright for a bowl of stew. A birthright was a very important thing in his day. It was given to the first born son, which he was, because he was the first twin to be born just before Jacob. The birthright meant special privilege and portion of the inheritance of his father. But in this particular family, it meant so much more. This is because of the promises that God had made to Abraham and his descendants after him. There would be a special line with a special purpose, which would receive a special blessing.

So why would Esau give his birthright up for a bowl of stew? Two main reasons: He was short-sighted and the Bible says that he despised his birthright. Both boil down to the fact that he was more concerned with short-term, temporary things than he was long-term, eternal things.

Esau did become a great man in the world. The nation of Edom came from his loins. He was wealthy and powerful. But Scripture’s final word on Esau in Hebrews 12:16-17 is that he was an immoral and godless person, who was rejected by God because of his unrepentant heart. He remained steadfast in living a short-sighted life and forfeited not only his birthright, but his soul.

What a fearful lesson for us to consider! God has provided the promise of the gift of eternal life by faith in His Son, Jesus Christ, through His death on behalf of sinners and His powerful resurrection conquering death and hell. The offer of eternal salvation is made to us all. However, it is not guaranteed to us all. It will only come to those who repent of holding to and trusting in our finite understanding and the things of this world, and instead turn to holding to and trusting in Christ.

In the verse just previous to the verses about Esau in Hebrews 12 it gives a warning, “See to it that no one comes short of the grace of God.” God’s requirement is that we do not come short of His grace, but to instead come all the way. Don’t trade away your eternal soul for a bowl of stew, no matter how good it may seem in the here and now.

As for the second part of Matthew 16:26 above, it might be a clearer translation to say, “What would a man give in return for his soul?” In other words, can a man redeem himself by some means that he can come up with on his own?

We can actually go to Psalm 49 to get an answer to this question. In this psalm, the psalmist is making clear that the righteous need not fear nor envy those who trust their wealth or boast in the abundance of their riches in this world. Why not? Because their wealth will do them no good when it comes to that which is most important, the redemption of their souls. He plainly states, “No man can by any means redeem his brother or give to God a ransom for him. For the redemption of his soul is costly, and he should cease trying forever.”

So then, no matter how much wealth, power, influence, popularity or any other such thing that seems valuable in the world that someone may possess, none of it amounts to a hill of beans for the redemption of one’s soul.

The reason why is because the redemption of a man’s soul is much too costly for him to pay the price for it. So who can pay the price for a man’s soul? Only God can provide the payment. Because what is impossible with men is possible with God.

Jesus shed his precious blood to pay the penalty for our sins and make it possible for our souls to be redeemed. The psalmist declares triumphantly that as opposed to the eternal punishment that those who trust in their riches will receive, “God will redeem my soul from the power of Sheol, for He will receive me.”

So how much is your eternal soul worth to you? Is it worth abandoning everything you have been trusting in and holding to in your finite mind and body in order to trust in and follow the One who paid the costly price for your soul so that you could have eternal life? After all, Jesus is the only way. He is the way, the truth, and the life.

The Only Reason it is Better that You Don’t Speak of Jesus

Matthew 16:20 Then he strictly charged the disciples to tell no one that he was the Christ.

Why would Jesus tell his disciples not to tell others that he was the Messiah? When we hear phrases like this from Jesus, we can’t help but wonder why he would humble himself to come into this world and live among us and not announce to the world who he really was. Instead, we see Jesus strictly charging his disciples not to tell others that he is the Christ. This comes directly after him affirming Peter’s famous statement, “You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God.” Surely this confused the disciples who would want all of their countrymen to know that the Messiah of Israel is really here, and it is Jesus.

We are not told in the gospels why Jesus would say such a thing in response to Peter’s confession, especially after acknowledging that it was revealed to Peter by God. Some might guess that this is the same response that Jesus makes when he tells people not to tell others about his healing miracles. It seems that Jesus seeks at times to avoid the popularity of the crowds. We get the distinct impression that Jesus does not want to be a travelling healing show. Even so, when people need healing, Jesus does show compassion. In the instance of telling his disciples not to reveal his identity as the Messiah, there are no healings or crowds involved. It is just Jesus and his disciples in a discussion about who he really is.

It seems to me that it might be possible to understand Jesus’ charge for secrecy as we see it positioned between two very important statements by Peter. In the preceding verses, Peter makes the important confession as he declares that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the Living God. Jesus responded in complete affirmation and gloriously pronouncing the victory and authority of his church. The verses that follow Jesus’ charge for secrecy show Peter aghast at Jesus’ declaration that he would go to Jerusalem to suffer, be killed and to raise. Peter says that this must never happen, and Jesus tells Peter that he is a satanic hinderance to his purpose. Could it be that the charge for secrecy has something to do with Peter’s own confusion?

As we read two adjacent conversations between Jesus and Peter, we go from thinking that Peter really gets it to thinking that Peter is clueless. Peter understands that Jesus is the Messiah, but he still hasn’t caught on to the most important work that the Messiah has come to complete. It would seem that prior to the cross, there was a common misconception that the Messiah would come to restore Israel as a nation in its land free from Roman rule. What would happen if Peter and the other disciples were to go through Israel announcing Jesus as the Messiah without fully understanding the nature of the salvation he would bring? Is it possible that the confusion about the purpose of the Messiah might have caused a political uprising as the people sought out Jesus to regain their true national identity? There was already a previous situation when Jesus had to disperse a crowd who wanted to take him by force and make him their King (John 6:15). How would this serve Jesus’ purpose to save his people from sin?

Jesus’ demand for secrecy from his disciples seems to have a pivotal role in the text. You can know all the right things about Jesus. You can declare his divinity. You can name him as King. You can show he is the expected Messiah. You can proclaim his power. In all of this you can miss the point. Jesus is all of these things, but his purpose is not to reclaim your culture. He did not come to fix your worldly problems. He did not come to make your world a better place. To ensure you do not misunderstand the Messiah you must not ever separate who he is with what he has done. Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the Living God, who went to Jerusalem and suffered and died and rose. He did it so that he might be the once and for all substitutionary sacrifice for sin for all those who will repent and believe in him. He is not just the Christ; he is the Christ of the glorious work of the cross. Without the cross, he would not have been the Christ.

If you are going to speak of the Christ without the cross, I charge you to tell no one that he is the Christ. The only reason it is better that you don’t speak of Jesus is if you are unwilling to speak of the necessity of the cross. Peter eventually understood that. Do you?

Two Leavens and an Election

Most of us understand that leaven (or yeast) is an agent used in baking to help bread to rise. If anyone has ever baked bread before, you will understand the process. You mix a very small portion of active yeast into flour and after kneading it, you give it time to rise, often to double its size. Yeast is a powerful agent and we know its power in that a small portion impacts the entire structure of a whole loaf of bread. It is in the illustration of leaven that I find it very difficult not to see its application for Christians as we face the turmoil of this year’s election.

The New Testament mainly speaks of the power of ‘leaven’ as illustrations of negative influence, but there is also an example where it is a powerful picture of Christian optimism. Let’s start with the negative. In all three synoptic gospels (Matthew, Mark and Luke) Jesus has conversations with his disciples about the Pharisees and uses the picture of leaven. He tells his disciples to beware of the leaven of the Pharisees (Matthew 16:6, Mark 8:15, Luke 12:1). What he means by this is that the teaching and influence of the Pharisees is that which easily permeates the entire population of Israel who look to them as leaders. Their focus on the rabbinical laws, good works, reputation, and confidence in the flesh is an influence that spreads like leaven in bread. Pharisaical influences spread like an atmosphere of self-righteousness. The Pharisees were all about being Jewish and their goal was to maintain their Jewish culture and nation that was under the continual threatening influence of Roman rule. They were all about pointing the people of Israel to keeping Jewish traditions and rules and protecting their culture from gentile influence. To be leaven is to have an influential presence within the entire demographic in which you enter or belong. In this way, the Pharisees were leaven.

Jesus warns his disciples about the leaven of the Pharisees because these leaders influence a whole community of people away from what really matters. The whole thrust of the Jewish Scriptures promise and foreshadow the coming of a Messianic King who is to be the Savior of God’s people and rule on the throne of David forever. Instead of focusing on the clear signs of Jesus and the hope of salvation, the Pharisees rejected Jesus and placed the hope of the people in their own works, rituals and “Jewishness.” The warning from Jesus is that any influence that seeks to put people’s confidence in our own worldly agendas rather than God’s great saving purpose in Christ is a leaven to beware of.

Paul uses leaven in a similar way. In 1 Corinthians 5, Paul uses the illustration about leaven in warning about how immorality can spread in the church. In Galatians 5:7-9, however, we find much the same discussion from Paul that Jesus has with his disciples. In writing to the churches of Galatia, Paul warns them about a dangerous Jewish element that had come among them to take their hope and confidence away from Christ’s substitutionary atonement for sin and to place it on the works of their own flesh. They were influencing the Galatians toward self-righteousness rather than Christ’s righteousness. They were putting confidence upon their own work in the world rather than Christ’s eternal work in the cross and resurrection. Paul said, “You were running well. Who hindered you from obeying the truth? This persuasion is not from him who calls you. A little leaven leavens the whole lump.”

In every negative use of the illustration of leaven, the New Testament makes it clear that we should fight against every influence that has us placing confidence in our own works and outcomes in this world to find hope. Throughout the gospels and the epistles, God wants us to know that hope is only certain and eternal when it is found in Christ alone and in putting all our trust in his completed work of substituting himself for us to completely atone for our sin to reconcile us to God. Our justification before God relies on Christ. Our ongoing sanctification is in Christ and our hope and confidence for all eternity is in Christ. The moment anyone places their hope in life in any other earthly influence is the moment true eternal hope is forgotten or lost.

There is one other use of the word leaven in the New Testament and it is as optimistic as it could possibly be. When Jesus was teaching in parables to describe his kingdom, he said, "The kingdom of heaven is like leaven that a woman took and hid in three measures of flour, till it was all leavened." (Matthew 13:33). In this example, Jesus is not just talking about the influence of an ideology, he is talking about the actual growth of his kingdom. Jesus wants us to know that his kingdom is like leaven. Those who are in Christ know that compared to the powers this world, the reign of Christ and his church seems to be small and insignificant. In reality, this small leaven in the world is growing and spreading across the globe as the great reigning Kingdom of Heaven. Another way Jesus said this was when he told his disciples that he was building his church and the gates of hell would not prevail against it.

There are two leavens. Beware of one and be a part of the other. Beware of any leaven that puts our hope in our self or in this world. In contrast, we are to be part of the leaven that preaches the hope of Christ and spreads throughout the age. The name most prominently on the lips of the church must be Jesus. How does this relate to the current election? I’ll let you figure that out.

2020: The Year That Offended Me.

As we look back on the year of 2020, it’s hard not to think about the panic and desperation. Perhaps you recall the scenes of makeshift hospitals in New York’s Central Park and morgues overflowing to trucks in hospital parking lots. Perhaps it’s rioting in the streets, protests for black lives, or the hype, debates, and backstabbing of an election year. These events and scenes will not soon fade from my mind and yet these are not the only serious concerns that will remind me of this tumultuous year. I will also remember 2020 as the year I was surprised at the fickleness of Christians greatly offended over the subjects of masks, government reach, meeting strategies, differing ideologies, election perspectives and more. I am thankful to have a church family who for the most part have displayed exceptional character through this time. It’s on social media, however, where Christian offense has been most evident. It’s the reason I have, for the most part, resigned much of my interaction. Too often I had seen my laptop screen as a picture of public Christian grievance aired to the world. Too often the angry tones of dogma have done disservice to the name of Christ.  

What is it that brings out this offense in those who are supposed to be God’s people? Why do we let anger rage so publicly? I would propose one BIG reason – SELF. We hold self in greater magnitude than we do God. We also miscalculate our real problem and divert our eyes away from what is massive to that which is menial. We are Pharisees in disguise.

In Matthew 15, The Pharisees and Scribes came to assess Jesus.  It seems that reports about Jesus’ popularity had made it to Jerusalem and what else could a Jewish leadership do but go and assess the threat to their leadership. If this Jesus was saying anything contrary to their teaching, what would happen to the people’s respect for their Rabbis? What would happen to the position of the Pharisees and the Scribes? When the Pharisees confronted Jesus, he promptly reminded them that their laws, their very way of life, was contrary to word of God. He called them ‘hypocrites.’ Jesus was basically telling them that his (and his disciple’s) disregard of their laws were not their problem. Their sinful hearts were their problem. The next thing we see is the disciples coming to Jesus to tell him that these men were greatly offended.  They were offended because they were unwilling to see their biggest problem and unwilling to accept that their own agendas were not the most highly rated importance in the world. Jesus’ response to the arrogant offense of the Pharisees was to teach his disciples about the sinfulness of the human heart and withdraw to the region of the Gentiles.

Consider the difference between the offense of the Jewish Pharisees in Matthew 15:1-20 and the gentile woman in Matthew 15:21-28. A gentile woman stands before Jesus and in what can only be described as Jesus’ perfectly righteous and divine sovereign reason, he refers to her as a ‘dog.’ The Pharisees rightly hear the word, ‘hypocrite’ and are offended. This woman rightly hears the word, ‘dog’ and asks for whatever crumb Jesus might allow to drop from the table. Jesus withdraws from Jews to tell a gentile she has great faith.  

Why do Christians so easily get offended? I put it to you that it happens when we forget what it is to be like this gentile woman. We forget that we truly are dogs. We truly do deserve hell and our sin is an immense problem that none of us can solve in this world. We truly do need a Savior and that Savior is God himself. When we allow our own agendas to control our thoughts, the reality of our sin dissipates in the clouds of our own egos. Our selfish desire to be respected and right overrides the One who is always standing before us. It becomes too easy to ignore the glory of Christ and how he has commanded us to treat each other in pleasing Him.  

Are you offended? Are you expressing it? Remember who you are. Remember your sin. Remember your Savior. Remember the privilege and blessing that it is to be a child of God. Remember that there is nothing, NOTHING, in this world that compares. Remember a gentile dog who is happy with a crumb.

Don't Miss the Purpose of the Law

Many people who read through the bible in a year arrive at Leviticus and find that looming temptation to skip reading one rule after the other that seems to have no relevance to our life today. If you are one of those people, firstly, you are not alone.  But…you are also missing the point of the law found right in the midst of those rules on the very pages you are tempted to skip. The problem many of us have when we read the law is that we focus on each and every statute wondering how we would have been walking around with a big list of do’s and don’ts in our pocket.  We consider a life where you are desperately trying not to forget that one rule that might be your undoing in the presence of God. Too often we read the law for the sake of the law rather than understanding the purposeful operation of the law in its context.

From Leviticus 11-20 we have laws about what is clean and unclean, food related laws, and laws about family and societal life. When you start in chapter 11, we read through what can and cannot be eaten by the people of Israel. After forty-three verses telling you what you can and cannot eat, we start wondering what would happen if we were dying of hunger on the side of the road and a stranger offered us a piece of stewed camel. At verse forty-four we then read perspective for the entire chapter. Leviticus 11:44-45 “For I am the LORD your God. Consecrate yourselves therefore, and be holy, for I am holy. You shall not defile yourselves with any swarming thing that crawls on the ground. 45 For I am the LORD who brought you up out of the land of Egypt to be your God. You shall therefore be holy, for I am holy."

The concentration of the law is based upon the fact that God had already saved these people out of Egypt. He brought them out of a land that had no care for the God of the universe. Out of the pure grace of God’s electing love, God made this Israelite nation his people and separated them from a world oblivious to his goodness and love. They are to look completely different to all other nations and in doing so would preach the peculiar holiness of God as he protects and cares for his own all the way through the wilderness and into the promised land. The law is not about winning the favor of God who has already given it, it is about living unto the glory of God who desires his people to be like him. In telling us to be holy like God, the law also proves our inability to reach his perfect standard.  The law points us to our desperate need for his forgiveness and salvation and promise of a seed who would defeat evil once and for all. 

In Leviticus we are reminded of God’s standard of holiness in the way that there is constant repetition of phrases such as “I am the Lord your God,” and “you shall be holy” and “not like the other nations.” As Israel is constantly in view of their inability to live out God’s holiness in all of its perfection, chapter 16 brings grace even within the law by setting out what must happen on the day of atonement. Within the law, there is grace in that even the law makes provision for what must happen in the shedding of blood for the remission of sin as the Priest takes the blood of a substitutionary sacrifice for a repentant people into the holy of holies to be accepted by God. Year after year Israel were expected to live according to God’s law because of who their God is and because the God of the universe is the forgiving and saving God.

Knowing this about God, how on earth could Israel even desire to live like the other nations who have no care for God’s goodness, beauty and truth? Leviticus 18:3-5 You shall not do as they do in the land of Egypt, where you lived, and you shall not do as they do in the land of Canaan, to which I am bringing you. You shall not walk in their statutes. 4 You shall follow my rules and keep my statutes and walk in them. I am the LORD your God. 5 You shall therefore keep my statutes and my rules; if a person does them, he shall live by them: I am the LORD.

It is in keeping covenant with God that Israel would always have God’s protection in a world that hates God and seeks to live according to its own standards. Leviticus 18:24-26 "Do not make yourselves unclean by any of these things, for by all these the nations I am driving out before you have become unclean, 25 and the land became unclean, so that I punished its iniquity, and the land vomited out its inhabitants. 26 But you shall keep my statutes and my rules and do none of these abominations, either the native or the stranger who sojourns among you

The law was never given as a dictatorial act of oppression. The law was given in love by the holy God who by grace established a people as his own to love him and be like him and enjoy him in the land he was giving them. The law is not meant for the sake of law, it is meant for the sake of a holy people loving a holy God. It is meant for the people to know who they need most. It is meant to show us that we are not God. It is meant to show us that God is jealous for his own as those who are separate from the world. Leviticus 20:7-8 Consecrate yourselves, therefore, and be holy, for I am the LORD your God. 8 Keep my statutes and do them; I am the LORD who sanctifies you.

At the end of the day, Israel’s constant failure in keeping God’s law also points us toward our desperate desire to see it fulfilled. Can any human meet God’s standard? Is there any hope for a people who cannot possibly be the people they are called to be? Yes. His name is Jesus. In him alone God’s covenant is kept – for all of us who have faith in him.

Overcoming the Debilitating Effects of Doubt

As you read through the gospels, you come across a repeated statement from Jesus that seems to regard the disciples in a negative light. Jesus says to his disciples, “O you of little faith.” There are also times when this is followed up with a question, “Why do you doubt?”

When Jesus preached to his disciples about God’s provision and care for his children, he addressed the fact that they had doubt in their hearts. Matthew 6:30 But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?

When Jesus calmed the winds and the waves on the Sea of Galilee, the terrified disciples were amazed at his command over nature. Matthew 8:26-27 And he said to them, "Why are you afraid, O you of little faith?" Then he rose and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm. And the men marveled, saying, "What sort of man is this, that even winds and sea obey him?"

When Peter asked to walk on the water to Jesus, he was distracted by the wind and waves about him.  He lost focus on Jesus and needed to be saved from sinking into the raging sea. Matthew 14:31 Jesus immediately reached out his hand and took hold of him, saying to him, "O you of little faith, why did you doubt?"

After Jesus resurrection, Jesus gave the disciples his great commission.  Just prior to this Matthew reports, “Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. And when they saw him they worshiped him, but some doubted.” (Matthew 28:16-17).

It’s easy to be bewildered by the disciple’s doubt.  These are men who seemed to see something in Jesus that was so great that they left their livelihoods and families to follow him. At each step of seeing Jesus do amazing miracles, the disciples had growing evidence that Jesus had awesome power. He had power over people, the creation, and even the spiritual realm as he cast out demons. So why is it that those who do have faith in Jesus, still battle with doubt. 

In the New Testament, the word for doubt (distazō) implies that there is confusion.  It is a lack of certainty about whether something can be true. It is a situation of being in two minds about something and results in hesitation breaking into the course of life. With the exception of Judas (John 17:12), Jesus never accuses his disciples of complete unbelief. The many times they are seen with little faith or doubt, they are distracted by circumstances that would normally promote anxiety in any human. We worry over whether we will have enough food and general needs for survival. We worry when uncontrollable natural events are before us. We worry when our crises seem insurmountable. We worry because our situations and circumstances seem to be all we can see.

We are so bound by our world experience that it is almost impossible for humans to look beyond it. We know by experience that when there is no food, we starve. We know that when a natural disaster hits, we have no power to stop it. We know that when our crises are before us, it is hard to think beyond them. We know that we have no power to rise from death. In all these circumstances of little faith and doubt in the disciples, there are no differences between them and us. Humans have trouble considering a reality beyond our normal worldly, finite experiences. 

In each of the cases above, Jesus was standing before the disciples. Jesus is the One with all authority and power beyond every aspect of creation and over every realm both physical and spiritual. The disciples doubt because they forget that Jesus is greater than their earthly experience. We do exactly the same.

The answer for doubt is to remind yourself that the earthly experiences of your senses is not all there is. Whatever happens in this world is not greater than Jesus. A disciple of Christ lives in that faith.

Cussing Does Not Enhance Your Conviction

This week there was some controversy over a popular pastor who used an expletive term in his message. He was doing so during a call for Christians to live and speak their Christian convictions about some of the anti-biblical agendas in our current cultural climate. For bible believing Christians, it would be hard to disagree with his concerns about the current sexual revolution and other ideologies. Part of the message is that Christians need to stand strong on our biblical convictions and call immoral and destructive ideologies what they are.  We need to be bold about our Christian witness and stand for unpopular biblical truth and morality. Why would we disagree with that?

The problem for me came when there was a very intentional use of an expletive term to communicate this conviction.  In fact, time in this pastor’s message was dedicated to the defense of using such a term as he pointed to the example of the Apostle Paul.  It was reasoned that Paul used a similar expletive term when in Philippians 3:8 he considered that his Jewish heritage in comparison to Christ was dung/refuse (skybala). The claim is that Paul’s use of this word is the same as us using a similar modern expletive. This requires response. Do the Scriptures require our word choice to emphasize our conviction or the message itself?

1.     We do indeed agree that Christians need to stand strong on conviction no matter the cost.

In Matthew 14 and Mark 6, we read that John the Baptist had clearly stated that Herod Antipas was living in immorality as a supposed Jewish leader who had taken his brother’s wife. This stance not only was the reason that Herod put John in jail, but also the reason for him losing his head. If we read about John’s preaching ministry, we also find that Herod’s immorality was not the focus of his preaching.  In Matthew 3:2 we read that John’s predominant message was for people to “repent for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand.” It would seem that in doing so, John, like prophets who had gone before him, was also making it clear how sin was manifest in the people of Israel who were supposed to be God’s people. Scripture doesn’t tell us exactly how John was speaking about Herod’s immorality, but one thing is for certain, Herod was not the focus of his preaching. His preaching was focused on preparing the way for Jesus and warning those who see themselves as God’s people to turn from their sin or face judgment. If you read the Old Testament prophets, John would probably have sounded much like them. Perhaps this is the reason some thought he was Elijah or Jeremiah. Indeed, he was the Elijah who was expected to prepare the way of the Lord. 

Even when John was imprisoned, we don’t hear that John’s main concern was Herod’s immorality.  John was much more concerned about whether he had got it right about the Messiah Jesus (Matthew 11). I think this is an important point to see, because we should note that John was in prison not for the preaching of cultural morality but for the preaching of Christ and a gospel that exposes sin in humanity’s need for salvation. Nobody likes hearing they are an immoral sinner.  Our Christian conviction often leads to persecution.  All this is to say that our Christian conviction is not known by the expletive thrust of our language but by our Christ exalting stance in the gospel no matter the cost. Christ (not our cussing tones) marks our conviction.

2.     Paul’s convictions did not amount to cussing.

In Paul’s descriptions about what he thinks of Jews forcing circumcision on Christians, he makes some very unmistakable statements.  He turns the tables on those Jews who once called Gentiles ‘dogs’ by stating that they themselves have become the dogs. He calls them the mutilators of the flesh. Jewish and Rabbinical law keeping does nothing for obtaining favor with God. In fact, reliance on a law that nobody can keep will keep us under God’s wrath. No wonder Paul says that compared to his new life in Christ, his former life was dung. It was his strong conviction to stand against Judaism’s barrier to salvation in Christ. Paul’s use of the term skybala (dung/refuse) in Philippians 3:8 is a very clear reference of comparison that indicates the infinite distance between a life that will keep people under the condemnation of sin and an eternity of glory in reconciliation with God through Christ.

Paul preached his strong gospel conviction to the church in Philippi who were under the threat of those who seemed to be Jewish false teachers preaching false hope. Conveying his Christ-centered conviction, did Paul use cussing to emphasize his point? Well, if he did, he also went against his own teaching to the Ephesians. Ephesians 5:4 Let there be no filthiness nor foolish talk nor crude joking, which are out of place, but instead let there be thanksgiving. Translated another way, Paul was saying to the Ephesians that there was to be no talk that would be shameful or embarrassing, no foolish words, or vulgar speech/indecent talk.  In any of these instances, Paul would never accept or encourage obscenities in any of his sentences, especially one written as a letter to encourage a church in the joy of Christ (as in his letter to Philippi). It seems clear to me that the word “skybala” was not considered a cuss of Paul’s day. It seems, while earthy, that it was acceptable speech that did not breach his standard of righteous speech.

It seems today that to have strong biblical conviction, we are being told it must come with abrasive demeaning and even expletive language. That language must be public and there seems to be a Christian bullying happening to the degree that if you do not ascribe to this demeanor, you are being soft on truth or weak on conviction. That is far from the truth. I am not going to adopt an unbiblical turn of phrase to describe my conviction against an unbiblical ideology in the culture.  I am not going to allow my mission field to be offended at me because of my language rather than my message of Christ. If there is to be any offense taken by my conviction, may it be because I am a John the Baptist pointing to repentance and faith in Christ for the forgiveness of sin and escape from the coming judgment.

For the sake of conviction of Christ, may we all be willing to lose our head at the whim of an offended Herod.

When the Result of Ministry is Hardship

The English Puritans of the 16th and 17th century lived through periods of persecution as varying governing authorities came to power. For five turbulent years in the middle of the 16th century, Queen Mary enacted her vengeance against the reformation and went to war on protestant believers. In the 17th century, the church came under attack through laws restricting the liberty of conscience and the expectancy of a uniformity of religion under the Church of England. Many puritan ministers were put out of their pulpits and anyone not agreeing with the doctrines and rituals of the Church of England were known as non-conformists, separatists and dissenters. During these times in England, faithful preachers were jailed, transported, put in stocks and even killed.

For many pastors today, faithful preaching does not come under the same type of external pressure as our puritan predecessors, but often they can have their own hardships that are difficult to grasp. When puritan pastors were so faithful in ministry, could they have wondered why God would reward them with such persecution?  Can pastors sometimes today wonder and even cry out to God for the heartbreaking situations that they must endure? What about just a faithful believer who is ridiculed and persecuted simply for sharing the gospel? The comforting truth for all of us is that while God does not always call us to enjoy positive responses, he does comfort and reward us in obedience.

In the time just prior to Judah’s exile in Babylon, Jeremiah had exactly this situation. God gave Jeremiah a message of warning and judgment for the people of Judah.  Jeremiah was consistently seeking this people to repent of their sin and face the consequences for their commitment to pagan idolatry. As a result, Jeremiah was often a lonely man without friends or even community support. Even more so, he was often threatened and faced people who plotted against him seeking to delight in his death. It was at this time that Jeremiah cried out to the Lord asking the question about why his faithfulness was being rewarded with such hardship. Jeremiah 15:15-18 “O LORD, you know; remember me and visit me, and take vengeance for me on my persecutors. In your forbearance take me not away; know that for your sake I bear reproach. 16 Your words were found, and I ate them, and your words became to me a joy and the delight of my heart, for I am called by your name, O LORD, God of hosts. 17 I did not sit in the company of revelers, nor did I rejoice; I sat alone, because your hand was upon me, for you had filled me with indignation. 18 Why is my pain unceasing, my wound incurable, refusing to be healed? Will you be to me like a deceitful brook, like waters that fail?”

Jeremiah’s expectations were not met.  Faithful ministry is not supposed to be like this.  Surely if I am obedient to God in ministry and preach what he has instructed I will see repentance and a thankful response for the warnings that are being given. The brook is supposed to provide relief, but it doesn’t (vs. 18).

God’s response may have been somewhat unexpected for Jeremiah.  Jeremiah 15:19 Therefore thus says the LORD: "If you return, I will restore you, and you shall stand before me. If you utter what is precious, and not what is worthless, you shall be as my mouth. They shall turn to you, but you shall not turn to them. God actually tells Jeremiah to repent. He is looking at it all wrongly and he has expected God to reward his faithfulness on his own terms.  He has expected that God’s plan for the people’s response should be the same as his.  God says, “If you return, I will restore.” He also shows Jeremiah that his words of complaint are worthless and if he simply continues to preach the word of God, he will be a mouthpiece of God.  What more reward is there to be the very mouthpiece of God as we speak what is precious.

God also then reassures Jeremiah that he will strengthen him, that his enemies will not prevail over him and that God will be with him (vs 20).  What is more, Jeremiah will be delivered from the wicked and redeemed from the ruthless (vs 21).

The message for Jeremiah, for our puritan forefathers, and for us is that God looks at the success of ministry in our obedience and not in the response of others. Pull up your britches and keep preaching the truth.  Look past those who ridicule you for the sake of the gospel and be obedient in its proclamation. Find your reward in God rather than man.  Take joy in being God’s mouthpiece as you treasure the privilege of speaking precious words. And most of all, hope in the deliverance and redemption that God has promised you as he never goes back on his word.

The results of ministry might be hardship, but the reward of obedience is infinite and eternal.

The Job of a Disciple is to Disciple

If you are a Christian, you are a disciple of Christ. A disciple is one who has come under the instruction and guidance of another.  A disciple is one who is trained for understanding and life. A disciple is a learner.  To be a disciple of Jesus, we must come to Jesus as our great Instructor in the only way possible.  We come to be under the training and instruction of Christ not just as a mentor but as our Savior and Lord. The disciple of Christ can only accept the training of Christ when we know that our training happens because Christ is the way, the truth and the life and the only way of reconciliation with God. Even the training and instruction of Christ commences at the cross.

As a disciple of Christ, we often ask the question that every new Christian asks.  How must I now live?  What is the call of a disciple? Often when we talk about our Christian life we talk about holiness and Christian disciplines.  We talk about prayer and bible reading and fellowship in the body and all the wonder and riches that go with them.  These are all very important factors of the Christian life as we seek to please Christ.  There is an aspect of being a disciple that many of us may not feel so comfortable with.  A disciple, disciples, and a big part of discipleship is teaching. Let’s hear it from one of the most regularly quoted verses in Scripture.

Matthew 28:18-20 And Jesus came and said to them, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age."

Under the authority of Christ, we are commanded to firstly make disciples and do so indiscriminately with global focus. The first command in the great commission is to go and make. A disciple is one who is active in the intentionality of explaining to others the only way to become a disciple of Jesus and know eternal forgiveness of sin. This means that even in the making of disciples that we need to teach people how to become one. As soon as we say the word “teach,” many people become uncomfortable. We may not all see ourselves as a teacher, but Jesus is clearly showing here that being a teacher of the gospel is par for the course in being a disciple. We are to make it our mission to teach the gospel.

After seeing someone make public confession of their salvation in Christ through baptism, Christ also says that disciples are to teach this new Christian to know the Scriptures and obey them until the day we die or Christ returns. Again, we are to teach.  A disciple is one who has learned the truth of Christ to share the truth of Christ with others.  We are to keep learning the truth of Christ to help others to know how to live for Christ, how to obey his word, how to understand his word and how to grow in his image.  Of course, this does not happen because we simply teach people, but because of the way the Holy Spirit grows us through the application of his word. All the same, for many of us, there is an aspect of being a disciple that seems uncomfortable.  Disciple’s, all disciples, teach.

Yet again we find in the Scriptures that our calling in Jesus is not always comfortable. Disciples are not simply those who are a saved version of the normal human being seeking a comfortable life. Disciples are those who pursue the calling of Christ in obedience to his will even when it takes us out of our comfort zone. When we understand that our pursuit as a disciple is based on Christ’s calling for us to instruct others in becoming and living as a disciple, this should have impact in our life. We take the calling seriously and prepare ourselves to live out the calling before us.  We study God’s word. We seek counsel from other mature disciples. We practice our own obedience in spiritual disciplines. And…. we put it in place by doing the things we don’t want to do when we don’t want to do them. You don’t want to teach someone how to be a disciple? Well, unfortunately that option is not on the table. A disciple, disciples.

The One Aspect of Consumer Mentality the Church Really Needs

For the most part, I am completely against bringing a consumer mentality into the church.  In fact, I would be one pastor among many who is willing to say that the western consumer mentality has drastically hurt the church. Just talk to someone looking for a church and you will often hear a list of demands that a church must meet to gain the privilege of their attendance. We value what we get so much more than what we give. We have turned worship, preaching, programs, and even fellowship into commodities of the modern church growth movement. Not only do we have criteria for finding a church to meet our wants, we so easily leave when they are not satisfied.  When it comes to consumer mentality in the modern church, don’t get me started!

So, how can I possibly say that there is an aspect of consumer mentality that the church really needs? Well, in all transparency, I really can’t. BUT…IF there were one, it would be that when the consumer sees what they value most and desire deeply, there is nothing stopping the power of a consumer to get it.  Credit has become the greatest friend of consumer culture. How could this possibly be an attitude that is right for the church?  Well, as far as consumerism is concerned, it’s not, but when it comes to the way we value Christ and his Kingdom, I wish the church had just a little more of the “I must have it now” attitude.

In Matthew 13:44-46 there are two back to back parables about someone finding something of great value and then making every sacrifice to get it.  Sacrificing all to gain the item of great value is likened to the Kingdom of Heaven.  We could say that the kingdom of heaven is like a man who upon seeing the latest model Ferrari, gives up all that he has to buy it.  We could say that the kingdom of heaven is like a lady who sees the most beautiful ball gown ever on display and won’t let anything get in her way of buying it. It is not the ugliness of consumerism that is on display but the attitude that something is so valuable that you would do anything at all to obtain it. Well, this is the way we should view Christ. We should see the beauty of the cross, the victory of the resurrection, and the all surpassing greatness of his kingdom and say, “I must have him now.”

Imagine what might actually happen to the consumer mentality in our churches if what we wanted most was to love and serve our Savior and live for him in his kingdom. Imagine if our desire for Christ was greater than our desire for the list of demands on our list for finding a church that suits our needs. Now, I’m not saying that there are unimportant items on those lists.  Bible teaching, caring fellowship, biblical leadership, gospel centered preaching, and many more are important factors in the life of a church. Is it possible that these good practices can even become a part of our consumer mentality? Yes. Instead, they should be the outworking factors of a body who are so committed to Christ that we are willing to give up all to get him. Is it possible that we are more concerned about whether the pastor is a good preacher, than we are about the Kingdom he is preaching about? Is it possible that we are more concerned that the music entices our voice than that King we are singing about? Is it possible that we are more concerned about the programs on offer for our family than the Christ we are hoping our children will stay in church for? 

If you are going to apply anything from the consumer mentality in our culture to your Christian life, apply the “I must have it now” attitude. Don’t apply it to your list of demands, apply it to Christ and his Kingdom.  If you do that, everything in your attitude and outlook changes.

Have Confidence That the Church Will Grow

As we look around our country and our world, it is easy to become pessimistic about the opportunity for the church to grow. Across the world, Christians are being persecuted. In America, we are continuing to see a cultural shift driven by a new sexual ethic and a demand for a new demographic equality. As we see what is happening around us, it is hard for some to imagine that the church can grow as a visible display of the victory and rule of the Kingdom of heaven.

In the time of the prophet Ezekiel, it may have seemed the same way for Israel. Judah was in the middle of being taken into captivity to Babylon in two separate stages. The King, Zedekiah, had been told that he should surrender to Babylon and accept God’s judgment on the nation.  Instead, Zedekiah rejected God’s command and attempted treaty with Egypt to fight against Babylon.  As a result, in Ezekiel 17:16 God said, “As I live, declares the Lord God, surely in the place where the king dwells who made him king, whose oath he despised, and whose covenant with him he broke, in Babylon he shall die.”  

If you were living in Judah awaiting the next phase of captivity, you may be very anxious at the thought of looming exile and now there is no hope in your king.  Was there ever to be a growing and victorious people of God? Would God give a king to bring back Israel’s glory and a thriving kingdom? If it was to happen, it could not depend upon the string of failing human kings that Israel had experienced. Will God truly have ascendancy in this world?

Immediately after the heartbreaking news about God’s judgment on Zedekiah and Judah, God gives Ezekiel a vision of hope. Ezekiel 17:22-24 Thus says the Lord GOD: "I myself will take a sprig from the lofty top of the cedar and will set it out. I will break off from the topmost of its young twigs a tender one, and I myself will plant it on a high and lofty mountain. 23 On the mountain height of Israel will I plant it, that it may bear branches and produce fruit and become a noble cedar. And under it will dwell every kind of bird; in the shade of its branches birds of every sort will nest. 24 And all the trees of the field shall know that I am the LORD; I bring low the high tree, and make high the low tree, dry up the green tree, and make the dry tree flourish. I am the LORD; I have spoken, and I will do it."

There will one day be a shoot from the tree of Judah who will grow into the most glorious and giant tree and all other trees will be dwarfed in comparison.  In this tree there will be life and security. Because of this tree all other trees will know God and he will bring down the proud and lift up the humble. 

In the New Testament there are many indications of this fulfilment and none no more so than the parable of the Mustard seed in Mark 4 and Matthew 13.  In Christ, the Kingdom of Heaven has broken into this world and it is spreading through the gospel.  It may look lowly and humble, but it is spreading into every other nation and people are being saved into this kingdom all over the world. One day all will see this kingdom to be the supreme kingdom overall.  The kingdoms of this world will be shown that they dwarf in comparison. Why is this possible? Because the shoot that starts the growth of this seed is no normal human king.  He is the King of Kings.  It is this King who says, “I will build my church and the gates of hell will not prevail against it.” (Matthew 16:18).

A Question To Recalibrate Your Temperament

For recalibration, please read through this list of passages and answer the simple question at the bottom.

Psalm 103:19 The LORD has established his throne in the heavens, and his kingdom rules over all.

Psalm 145:11-13 They shall speak of the glory of your kingdom and tell of your power, 12 to make known to the children of man your mighty deeds, and the glorious splendor of your kingdom. 13 Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and your dominion endures throughout all generations. [The LORD is faithful in all his words and kind in all his works.]

Daniel 2:44 And in the days of those kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that shall never be destroyed, nor shall the kingdom be left to another people. It shall break in pieces all these kingdoms and bring them to an end, and it shall stand forever,

Matthew 11:11 Truly, I say to you, among those born of women there has arisen no one greater than John the Baptist. Yet the one who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.

John 18:36 Jesus answered, "My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would have been fighting, that I might not be delivered over to the Jews. But my kingdom is not from the world."

Romans 14:17 For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking but of righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.

Acts 2:29-36 "Brothers, I may say to you with confidence about the patriarch David that he both died and was buried, and his tomb is with us to this day. 30 Being therefore a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him that he would set one of his descendants on his throne, 31 he foresaw and spoke about the resurrection of the Christ, that he was not abandoned to Hades, nor did his flesh see corruption. 32 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."

Ephesians 1:20-22 that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, 21 far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come. 22 And he put all things under his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church,

Luke 10:17-20 The seventy-two returned with joy, saying, "Lord, even the demons are subject to us in your name!" 18 And he said to them, "I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. 19 Behold, I have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall hurt you. 20 Nevertheless, do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven."

John 12:31-32 Now is the judgment of this world; now will the ruler of this world be cast out. 32 And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself."

Colossians 2:13-15 And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, 14 by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross. 15 He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him.

Hebrews 2:14-15 Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, he himself likewise partook of the same things, that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil, 15 and deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery.

1 John 3:8 Whoever makes a practice of sinning is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil.

Revelation 7:9-10 After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, 10 and crying out with a loud voice, "Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!"

QUESTION: If you are a Christian living in this world, should you be optimistic or pessimistic?

ANSWER:….

Do You Feel, Think, or Truly Understand

I have appreciated the focus that so many churches have taken to eradicate emotionalism from their central focus and place prime importance on the teaching of God’s Word and the gospel of Jesus Christ. While I am so thankful for seriousness when it comes to theological pursuit, I have also sometimes been concerned about some react against emotionalism by grasping onto intellectualism.  In the pendulum swings of life, it’s easy to react against emotion to the degree that faith becomes purely intellectual. In reaction to emotionalism it’s possible for a church to become more of a theological seminary rather than the fellowship of the saints.

In the parable of the sower in Matthew 13, Jesus makes some comments that help us to realize that engagement with the truth of his kingdom is so much more than an emotional experience or an intellectual pursuit. There seems to be a problem with humans that we can see and hear and not understand. In Matthew 13, Jesus uses this word, ‘understand (suneintos)’ in a way that shows us that it is much more than experience or intellect. Jesus shows in the parable that understanding is associated with fruitful living. Understanding is associated with the ability to persevere through hardship.  Understanding is associated with resisting the desires of the world, and understanding is associated with a fully engaged pursuit of Christ. There is here an aspect of both an intellectual understanding of the gospel, and a heart-felt need for Jesus that results in a passionate devotion to living in his kingdom.

We must engage with doctrines and not simply emotions, but we must also engage with the reality of doctrines in a whole person response. Only when we can know the poverty of Spirit associated with understanding sin can we know the reality and motivation for repentance. Only when we can know the victory of Christ’s resurrection can we know the reality and motivation to live a life which is truly life. Only when we know the expectation of his return can we yearn in the anticipation of the realization of hope. Only when all of these truths impact the thoughts, words and actions of our life can we see that faith is far beyond the shallowness of emotional response and intellectual pursuit.

We need to understand in the only way that faithful understanding truly is. Let’s not let a reaction, even a right one, keep us from this. We must engage with truth and contemplate the reality of Christ and his kingdom deep in our being.  We must respond not only in intellectual agreement or burst of emotion, but heart-felt knowing devotion.

Isaiah: Stumped by the New Covenant

Isaiah 6:8-13 And I heard the voice of the Lord saying, "Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?" Then I said, "Here I am! Send me." 9 And he said, "Go, and say to this people: "'Keep on hearing, but do not understand; keep on seeing, but do not perceive.' 10 Make the heart of this people dull, and their ears heavy, and blind their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their hearts, and turn and be healed." 11 Then I said, "How long, O Lord?" And he said: "Until cities lie waste without inhabitant, and houses without people, and the land is a desolate waste, 12 and the LORD removes people far away, and the forsaken places are many in the midst of the land. 13 And though a tenth remain in it, it will be burned again, like a terebinth or an oak, whose stump remains when it is felled." The holy seed is its stump.

After Isaiah had seen an amazing vision of the throne room of God, Isaiah had realized his own sinfulness and also that of the people of Judah. Isaiah was to tell them that God’s judgment upon them would be evident in their rejection of him (vs 9-10). Isaiah then asks God how long this would last and God gives Isaiah a very grim view indeed.  One would think it enough to be conquered by a brutal pagan empire and taken in captivity, but it would be even worse than that. Even for the few who would remain after exile, they too would remain under the judgment of God and the tree of Israel would be reduced to a stump. In that stump is the hope of Judah for restoration and population of the land.

If one knows the history of Israel, we know that Judah did indeed go into exile in Babylon and was without a true king even in the return from exile.  Judah never saw its former glory and the fulness of the expectation promised to them through the prophets. Even in the time of Jesus Israel was under Roman rule with a puppet king who was not one of their own. If Isaiah’s prophecy is to come true, this rejection of God would eventually end when a little stump could again grow. 

The New Testament authors tell us that this prophecy is fulfilled in Jesus.

In Matthew 11-13 we see a crowd that is following Jesus as he has different interactions with them and the Pharisees. In Matthew 13 Jesus speaks to this primarily Jewish crowd in parables and one of the reasons for using parables is to show their unwillingness to truly interact with the truth of his Kingdom revealed.  Matthew shows that in the use of parables, Jesus is showing that Isaiah 6 is fulfilled. This is the post exilic Israel still living in the rejection of God’s revelation of himself to them. With Jesus, however, is a small group of disciples who accept his truth and end up spreading his message throughout the world.

In John 12:37-43, John tells us that even though Jesus had done many miraculous signs, the Jews still did not believe in Jesus as their Messiah King. Again, John says that this rejection of Jesus is a fulfillment of Isaiah 6.  These Jews who had witnessed the power and glory of God in Christ had been unwilling to see him as their Savior and Lord. The Pharisees particularly rejected Jesus and even those who did see something in Jesus were not willing to acknowledge him publicly.  Even for those Jews who saw that Jesus was authentic, they were not willing to overcome the fear of man to know true faith and hope in Christ.

In Acts 28:16-28 we read of Paul in Rome.  As Paul awaits the consideration of his case, he sits before the local leaders of the Jews and talks to them about the circumstances that led him to this position. He wanted them to know about the hope of Israel and taught them from all the Scriptures concerning the Kingdom of God in attempting to convince them about Jesus (vs.23). While some were convinced, others disbelieved. Paul told them that the rejection of Jesus and his kingdom was a fulfillment of the prophecy in Isaiah 6.  He then went on to specify that while the Jews will not listen, the Gentiles will.

Through Jesus there will be a believing stump that will sprout and grow and spread its limbs into the entire world. As we see the New Testament fulfillment of God’s Word, we can be very thankful that God left a stump for the hope of the whole world. From a small group of disciples in front of a disbelieving crowd, through the antagonism of the Pharisees, and through a rejecting contingent of Jews in Rome, those who were prophesied not to listen to Jesus made way for millions who now do.

I wonder what Isaiah would think if he could see the extent of a prophecy that sounded so discouraging, but actually shows the amazing grace of God.  God would never have been doing wrong by the idolatrous Israelites to completely wipe them out, but through faithful long suffering, our God preserved a remnant to bring about a stump that would again become a majestic tree.  If you are in Christ today, you are part of that promise.

One other amazing thing to realize is that John’s gospel records that Isaiah saw Jesus’ glory and spoke of him (12:41). The God on the throne speaking to Isaiah to seek repentance and faith from the people of Judah is the same God who tells us to go out to all tribes, tongues and nations.  He is the same God who himself bore our sin to be our King. So, go back now and read Isaiah 6 and be amazed. What an amazing Savior indeed.

No Prejudice in The People of God

Israel were meant to be God’s people.  Throughout the scriptures, we see God calling on his people to be the living example to the world of what it is to be created in the image of God.  They were to be his holy people reflecting his holy character as a witness of God’s glory across the earth. In doing so God made a covenant with his people and gave them the law to help them to be the holy people they were called to be. If Israel were to obey the law, we could have walked among the people of this nation and witnessed a society in which human dignity and value was the highest standard for the whole world even with the presence of sin. The punishments were designed to fit the crime, and compassion for sojourners, widows, poor and orphans were a regular feature in the law. It’s true that Israel were built into a national family related to the twelve sons of Jacob and allotted portions of the land of Cana according to those family groups. Primarily, however, when we think of Israel, we should remember that their calling was not to simply be a physical descendancy but a holy people of God. When Israel went after the other nations, it was not a problem because they were of different physical descendancy but because those nations were not worshipping and serving the one true God. As an example, one of the most beautiful portions of Israel’s history was about an Israelite man called Boaz marrying a Moabite woman called Ruth who was committed to Yahweh.

Israel was put into exile because they ran after the gods of the other nations and had followed the practices of the ungodly.  They had lusted after the pleasures and practices of the world and as a result, had you walked among the people of Israel, you would have experienced an atmosphere of prejudice and injustice toward each other.  The prophet Amos described this atmosphere as he rebuked those who fed their indulgences and harshly treated the needy. Amos 4:1-2 “Hear this word, you cows of Bashan, who are on the mountain of Samaria, who oppress the poor, who crush the needy. The Lord God has sworn by his holiness that, behold the days are coming upon you, when they shall take you away with hooks, even the last of you with fishhooks.”  Injustice and perceptions of superiority within Israel brought this supposedly holy nation under the judgment of their God.  They were not reflecting his character by not treating others created in the image of God with dignity.  These verses in Amos are just one small example of the plethora of statements from Old Testament prophets warning Israel that their prideful prejudices would result in God’s judgment.

Israel experienced exile as they were dispersed throughout the other nations of Egypt, Assyria, and Babylon and their expulsion from the land lasted for generations. While Judah was in the midst of captivity in Babylon, the prophet Ezekiel was warning Judah’s leaders that they must heed God’s warning or face destruction (Ez. 33). Ezekiel warned that each person was responsible to hear the call of God and repent of sin. Within this warning is a call to specifically repent of the injustices that had become so prevalent among them. Ezekiel 33:14-16 Again, though I say to the wicked, 'You shall surely die,' yet if he turns from his sin and does what is just and right, 15 if the wicked restores the pledge, gives back what he has taken by robbery, and walks in the statutes of life, not doing injustice, he shall surely live; he shall not die. 16 None of the sins that he has committed shall be remembered against him. He has done what is just and right; he shall surely live.

In this same chapter, Ezekiel also warns Israel that there will be no restoration of them in the land if they do not repent. These people thought that the nation was their right as physical descendants of Abraham, but God made it very clear that to be at rest as God’s people in his presence requires repentance of sin and a life that trusts and obeys God. Ezekiel 33:23-25 The word of the LORD came to me: 24 "Son of man, the inhabitants of these waste places in the land of Israel keep saying, 'Abraham was only one man, yet he got possession of the land; but we are many; the land is surely given us to possess.' 25 Therefore say to them, Thus says the Lord GOD: You eat flesh with the blood and lift up your eyes to your idols and shed blood; shall you then possess the land?

As we see what God has done with Israel in the Old Testament, it gives a strong message to the New Covenant people of God in Christ. We should expect the world to be a prejudicial place of oppression and injustice. God’s people are to be different.  God calls us in his grace, and through faith in Christ we are a people who are to be the shining light of his holy character. When people walk into our churches, they should see love, care, justice, and a complete lack of sinful partiality. God demanded that his people saved by grace in the Old Testament were to be a repentant people of faith living out in active obedience to his word. Anything else would result in expulsion and it did. Today, the church should be a repentant people of faith living out in active obedience to the law of Christ. Anything else should result in expulsion. That expulsion should come through church discipline. The question is, does it?

Taming Our Racist Tongues

James 3:6-9 And the tongue is a fire, a world of unrighteousness. The tongue is set among our members, staining the whole body, setting on fire the entire course of life, and set on fire by hell. 7 For every kind of beast and bird, of reptile and sea creature, can be tamed and has been tamed by mankind, 8 but no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. 9 With it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse people who are made in the likeness of God.

If these verses were not inspired Scripture, I might think they were the ramblings of a crazy man who has no confidence that human beings can speak a civil word to one another. Are we really this bad? Are we really infected with an instrument of poison that is out of control and determines the actions of or whole body? Well, this is the inspired word of God and the answer is yes.  It really is that bad and our speech sets our whole being on fire. The worst part is, these verses also indicate that we use it to hurt others.

There is no doubt that James has a lot more than issues of racism in mind when he talks about the way we use our tongue, but there is one element in particular that should give you particular cause to apply these verses toward matters of prejudice against those of differing ethnic heritages than you. It also seems to me that James may not only be talking about the type of caustic hate speech of someone like an Adolph Hitler, but those subtle little statements we make to ourselves that drive the way we treat others. The tongue is not an independent member of the body, but James says that your speech (reflecting your thoughts) sets your entire course of life. As I look at people who may look physically different to me and have differing cultural behaviors, what am I really saying about them? James is insisting that we ask ourselves this question. Within this text he also gives us a truth that we can use to replace our poisonous words that drive our attitudes and actions. 

In vs. 7 in the original language, James uses the word, ‘phusis’ – kind/order of nature. He makes mention that it is possible to tame each classification of its order of nature (phusis). Humans can tame the bird kind, the beast kind, the reptile kind and the sea creature kind…every kind. In W.E. Vines Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words, Vine places this word, phusis, with other Greek words that may be loosely translated into the English word, “race.”  In James we see a double usage of ‘phusis.’ When James says that these animals have been “tamed by mankind,” a direct literal translation is more like saying that they are tamed by the order of nature, human. What he is really saying is that there is a kind or one natural constitution of human that is differentiated from the natural constitution (kind) that is considered as an animal (birds, beasts, reptiles, sea creatures). Why is this important?  James is saying that there is one differentiated human natural order that can tame the natural order of animals but not our own tongues. There is one human race and for all our dominance over animals, we seem to have a lack of control with how we use our tongues toward each other.

In verse 9 James backs up this statement by differentiating further. Human beings use their tongues to speak in sinful ways about each other without considering that all human beings are created in the image of God. One could conclude from James that there is one humanity created in the image of God as one natural order and to speak about another human being in a sinful/hurtful way results in attitudes and actions that direct your whole life.

Regardless of the category (ethnicity, ability, culture, intellect), if you look at another human being with words of prejudice and superiority in your mind, James is telling you that there is only one human race made in the image of God and your tongue needs to be tamed by this truth. Every one of us can tame an animal, but we all need to work much harder on our tongues.

What Ezekiel 16 Teaches Us About Fearing God

Throughout the Scriptures we are told to fear God and obey him. In fact, the book of Ecclesiastes sums up the whole pursuit of our earthly existence by saying that the whole end of man is to fear God and keep his commandments (Ecc 12:12-14). When we read statements like this it is sometimes difficult for us to understand them. If we are honest, we most often think of fear in terms of being frightened about something. We are most often motivated to fear because something or someone is scaring us.

It is true that God is a consuming fire and to fall into his hands is a fearful thing ( Heb. 10:31, 12:29). When we think of the power and holiness of God and the devastation of human sin, why shouldn’t we fear? Any sinner standing before this perfect holy judge should be terrified of his authority and power and his ability to condemn us knowing every single offense we have ever committed.

Ezekiel 16 gives us a glimpse of the fear of God gone wrong. In reading this amazing chapter, we can see that God never meant for his people to fear him through the motivation of terror, but through the motivation of love. Israel rejected the love and grace of God as a motivation to fear God and would then have to come to grips with fearing God out of terror. Open your bible and walk through each section with me.  I promise, it will be worth it.

Section 1: Ezekiel 16:1-14.  God is speaking through Ezekiel to the Elders of Israel. They have rejected God and have become complacent about their need for God. They are not fearing God or leading the people in the fear of God.  God reminds these Elders that it is God who formed Israel and he did it by calling Abraham out of other nations. They should not think too highly of themselves. God birthed this nation, grew this nation, and turned this nation into his beautiful bride. The grace of God in the birth and formation of Israel is astounding. It is God who established Israel and made covenant with them as his people. He describes them as a young bride in beautiful garments having been carefully prepared and then shown in splendor to the nations. The motivation for Israel to keep God’s covenant and to love him and serve him as God’s people should be on the basis of God’s electing love and grace.  Out of gratitude and love, we would expect that Israel’s response would be an unrelenting commitment to their God of grace. The motivating factor for fearing God as his people was always meant to be grace and love.

Section 2: Ezekiel 16:15-59.  Instead of loving, obeying and serving God as his elect bride, Israel rejected God to go after the gods of other nations and to live for their own pursuit of glory. In this section of Ezekiel, rebellious Israel is described as a whore. There are some very confronting statements made about just how devastating Israel’s whoring really is. One description in vs. 33-34 shows just how much Israel desired its own idolatry over God.  Normally, it is the prostitute who gets paid for their service. For Israel, they loved their own harlotry so much that they were the ones who paid for the opportunity to prostitute themselves to the world. They were not solicited by the other nations, but they willingly and enthusiastically sought out worldly idolatry. 

How could you possibly have such a loving and gracious God who forms you from nothing into his beautiful bride and reject him for the debauchery of whoredom with the world? The cities of Sodom and Gomorrah will always be known for their wicked immorality and God’s judgment upon them. At least Sodom and Gomorrah never claimed to be God’s people.  They were never God’s beautiful bride. In vs.49 we read, “As I live declares the Lord God, your sister Sodom and her daughters have not done as you and your daughters have done.”  In other words, your refusal to fear God in love has made Sodom look good compared to you.

In verse 58-59 we read that God will deal with Israel according to their abomination.  In Ezekiel 16 we read about what it means to go from what is supposed to be a fear of God based on grace and love to a fear of God based on the terror of his awful judgment.

Section 3: Ezekiel 16:60-63 The most amazing aspect of this chapter is that God then shows his faithfulness in remembering his covenant that he made with Israel and promises an everlasting covenant.  Once again God’s grace is more than we can imagine.  This time it is promised in the fact that he will atone for all that we have done.

If you claim to be a Christian, you are living in the reality of this new and everlasting covenant whereby God has come into this world and atoned for your sin and has kept his covenant in full on our behalf. The question is now again asked to us. Will we respond to this grace of God by living a life that fears him out of love? Praise God that in Christ we also have the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit who compels every Christian to truly repent of sin and live according to the fear of God through faith in Jesus Christ. We might revere God’s awesome power, but we live not according to terror but in an overwhelming sense of love and gratitude as the Bride of Christ.