"Remember that it is not hasty reading, but serious
meditation on holy and heavenly truths, that makes
them prove sweet and profitable to the soul. It is
not the mere touching of the flower by the bee that
gathers honey, but her abiding for a time on the flower
that draws out the sweet. It is not he that reads most,
but he that meditates most, that will prove to be the
choicest, sweetest, wisest and strongest Christian."
(Thomas Brooks)
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
Illuminati, Legalism, and Forgiveness in Christ
Tonight at the gym after the game was over, I was surrounded by six guys preaching illuminati, legalism, and all sorts of deception. After presenting them with some actual arguments for the truth, I asked them where they would find forgiveness for their sin in their view of things. Without an answer, they all stood silent as I told them about Jesus and the cross. Pray for them.
The lights glow softly, the Christmas music plays, and wondrous thoughts of the birth of our Savior fill our minds. What a blessing it is for the believer who still finds childlike joy in this time of year. Being "grown-up" is a bit over-rated, because being "grown-up," according to the world, usually entails a constant stiff upper lip and a cynical heart. Now, there are times to be stout, to conceal your emotion, and be a bit guarded, but too often these virtues can be turned into vices. Just as there is time to be immovable, there is a time to be moved. There are things that should stir our hearts, and move us to childlike wonder, and the story of the birth of Jesus is one of those things.
Sin is our greatest enemy, and it has been ever since the fall. In our natural condition, with hard hearts, we are the makers of our own demise, we despise what is good, and we love that which will destroy us. So much so that it seems we love our own destruction. And what is worse, is that we are constantly heaping upon ourselves the wrath of a Holy and just God who will not let any sin go unpunished, and the thought of such things should cause us to weep.
If this were where we were left, there would be no hope for any of us. But as we know, in the garden after the fall, God promised that He was going to give us a seed who would be the remedy for sin. What is often missed is the fact that right after this promise, we see a curse that was to come upon mankind for their sinful act of rebellion, and one aspect of that curse was that God Himself was going to cause children to be brought forth in sorrow. Why would God do such a thing after such a wonderful promise? Of all the female creatures upon this earth, it seems that humans have the greatest sorrow during childbirth, but this sorrow is not without hope. Every time a woman grieves during the pain of childbirth, it is to be a reminder to us of the seriousness of sin. It is a proclamation of our depraved condition, but that is not all it is, it is also a gesture of God’s love for His people because He does not want us to evade the knowledge of our sinful condition and neglect the promised seed.
As Mary gave birth that night in a dusty stable, she undoubtedly lamented in pain. Any of us who have pondered that night and have thought of the cold ground beneath her, with no doctor’s guidance, and no comforts of home, have heard her proclamation of the tyranny of sin. In sorrow she gave birth, but the Child was to be the death of her sorrow, and even the death of death itself. Like Rachel giving birth to Benjamin, she may have had the desire to call Him Benoni, the son of her sorrow, but the Father, God Himself, had already declared Him to be the Son of His Right Hand. His name was to be Jesus, for He was to save His People from their Sins.
Christ, God incarnate, had entered our sin riddled world. From his first breath He was to be known as the Man of Sorrows, and He would endure it all because of His love for us. All we like sheep have gone astray, but as Christ suffered the sorrows of this fallen world, He never faltered in His righteousness. He then, like a lamb, willingly went to the slaughter never once opening His mouth in protest. Without fail, He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows. He was wounded for our transgressions; He was crushed for our iniquities; upon Him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and By His stripes we are healed.
If this Christmas season is passing you by, and the thoughts of our Savior have not yet moved your heart to adoration, through the Spirit's work, may the meditation of our great God and His Gospel invigorate our sin embattled hearts and produce once again the childlike wonder of the Christmas season. Through faith, He is the joy of our salvation. Though sorrow may still be a part of living in this fallen world, you can have joy in the knowledge that any sins over which you mourn, and any sorrows you face, have been conquered by the child who was born in the manger: Jesus Christ the Lord.
Christ Our Refuge (Christ in the Cities of Refuge)
Here is a link to a sermon I preached recently on the cities of refuge and how they point to Christ. The text is Joshua 20. The MP3 can also be downloaded at the link.
Sanctification is process that will not be completed on this side of heaven, which means that right now we still have issues of sin that the Lord is dealing with. This video looks at some of the things a true Child of God can face when God deals with us in our sinfulness. Even though these times can be the darkest of nights for the believer, they are also some of the most precious as the Lord works in us great progress in our sanctification. Which will make us much more useful for His glory.
“And he shall put his hand upon the head of the burnt- offering; and it shall be accepted for him to make atonement for him.”- Lev_1:4
Our Lord’s being made “sin for us” is set forth here by the very significant transfer of sin to the bullock, which was made by the elders of the people. The laying of the hand was not a mere touch of contact, for in some other places of Scripture the original word has the meaning of leaning heavily, as in the expression, “thy wrath lieth hard upon me” (Psa_88:7). Surely this is the very essence and nature of faith, which doth not only bring us into contact with the great Substitute, but teaches us to lean upon him with all the burden of our guilt. Jehovah made to meet upon the head of the Substitute all the offences of his covenant people, but each one of the chosen is brought personally to ratify this solemn covenant act, when by grace he is enabled by faith to lay his hand upon the head of the “Lamb slain from before the foundation of the world.” Believer, do you remember that rapturous day when you first realized pardon through Jesus the sin-bearer? Can you not make glad confession, and join with the writer in saying, “My soul recalls her day of deliverance with delight. Laden with guilt and full of fears, I saw my Saviour as my Substitute, and I laid my hand upon him; oh! how timidly at first, but courage grew and confidence was confirmed until I leaned my soul entirely upon him; and now it is my unceasing joy to know that my sins are no longer imputed to me, but laid on him, and like the debts of the wounded traveller, Jesus, like the good Samaritan, has said of all my future sinfulness, ‘Set that to my account.’“ Blessed discovery! Eternal solace of a grateful heart!
“My numerous sins transferr’d to him, Shall never more be found, Lost in his blood’s atoning stream, Where every crime is drown’d!”
It was just reported that Michael Jackson has died after going into cardiac arrest. During this time our hearts, as Christians, go out to the family and his children. To reflect on such an event as a believer is sobering to say the least. To reflect on the death of anyone would do the same, but there seems to be something extra when it is a person like Michael Jackson. To imagine that even kings, even if they were just the “King of Pop,” will one day stand before the King of kings, should cause us all to pause and reflect for a moment on our lives.
Scripture tells us that it is appointed once for a man to die, then the judgment (Heb. 9:27). All men, even those who seemed to have the world by the tail for a time, are subjected to it. What is more troubling for the Christian who considers such an event, is to see how many people are still clamoring to have what Michael had at the height of his fame, knowing that many fail to see how quickly these kingdoms will come crashing down.
There is no doubt that fame has engulfed many to the point that it seems to have consumed them, and it should not be surprising when we consider that scripture tells us that “the wicked are like the troubled sea, when it cannot rest” (Isa 57:20). Even if we end up with all that we dreamed of in this world, unless Christ is our treasure we will not find the rest that seems to be eluding us (Matt. 16:26). In fact, we often impale ourselves with many troubles as we pursue it (1 Tim 6:10).
There is a restlessness in the human heart as Augustine pointed out when he said, “Our hearts are restless until they find their rest in thee.” This restlessness comes from the fact that there is a knowledge of God written on our hearts, and in our sinfulness we want nothing to do with it (Rom. 1:18-20). It is from this point that our pursuits for peace take us everywhere except the one place we would be able to find it.
In our sinfulness we reject God, knowing that we have violated his ways (Rom 1:32), and to cover up that knowledge, we tend to work even harder to find things that can distract us from that truth. In it we tend to go further and further down a path of vanity, for all is vanity apart from Christ (Ecc. 1:2).
From here we create our own standards of what we think a good person ought to be, but even by our own standards we fail to measure up. Only by deceiving ourselves are we able maintain any level of respectability and righteousness. Often during these pursuits, we find ourselves engaging in all kinds of aberrant behavior simply trying to measure up to our own standards. In it, we are clinging to our own righteousness in order to appease the God we know is there. For many, even in their suppression of the truth, will create a God to their liking and will try to appease him (Rom 1:23), but the God of scripture tells us that all our righteousness is like filthy rags, and he wants nothing to do it them (Isa. 64:6). But, praise God, He then goes on to tell us of the remedy that he has offered in Christ Jesus for all of us have sinned and fallen short of the Glory of God (Rom. 3:23) . You see, God the Father sent his son to die upon the cross to bear the punishment for all who will believe in Him (John 3:16) in order to bring us into a right relationship with Him and give us the peace we are seeking.
As was mentioned before, it is appointed once for a man to die then the judgment, but the only way anyone will be able to stand in the judgment is if they are in Christ, because he is the only one who has lived a truly righteous life and paid the penalty for our sins (Acts 4:12), and if we are not in Christ we will have to pay our own penalty for sins. This truth applies to all men and women, whether rich or poor, famous or unknown, loved by the world or not.
To paraphrase John Donne, when we hear that someone has died and we wonder for whom the bell tolls, there is a sense in which it will always be tolling for us. It is a constant reminder of our own frailty, telling us to be cognizant of our own end, and to ponder what awaits us afterward, and whether or not we are living life the way it should be lived; to the glory of God (Psalm 39:4).
Just a few thoughts about when life hits us with unexpected troubles.
Doug
P.S. Thanks dad for following the Lord and preaching the sermons He gave you. The "Every Which Way But Loose" one has never ceased to comfort me. Happy Fathers Day!
She is Selling Her Virginity, But What Will it Cost Her?
This news is buzzing about a 22 year-old woman who is selling her virginity online. Natalie Dylan (a pseudo-name) has decided to sell her virginity to pay for graduate school. The amazing thing is that the bids are coming in, and they are coming in high. One bid has allegedly come in for 3.7 million and some people are thinking that this is pretty good deal for her. What she could earn is far more than what she needs for grad school, but one question that does not seem to be floating around is, “What will it cost her?”
The first thing that should be noted is that, virginity, which is often taken for granted, seems to still hold value in this culture. There seems to be something innate in us that knows that sexual purity is something of value. This is proven by the fact that if this woman was simply selling sex, then she would earn a small sum of money hardly worth the forfeiture, and most people would simply call her a prostitute and move on, but because she is a virgin, the level of curiosity has spiked. As you scan the news, you see reporters struggle with how to respond. The reports seem to contain a mix of blessings and cursings, as the moral sentiments of many have been thrown into confusion over this matter. After all, society, especially Hollywood, seems to glory in cheap sex and promiscuity on one hand, but now the wrench that has been thrown into the system is virginity, and we seem to be having trouble with articulating our thoughts. We know it will cost her something, but what exactly is it?
Scripture is clear that marriage is a sacred institution and that the marriage bed is to be undefiled. When we act outside of God’s plan for marriage and sexuality, we are defiling the marriage bed, even if we are not married. The reason for this is that we are treating contemptuously what should be honored. When we rebel against God’s plan for marriage we are simply saying, “No, I will not honor marriage in the way it is intended.” To top it off, we are proclaiming to the world, and God himself, that we have a different plan for sexuality and marriage that we think is better than God’s. And all of us have done this to some degree, for even to lust after someone is to commit the sin in our hearts.
When it comes to this young lady, not only is she defiling what God has ordained as one of the greatest blessings of life, but she is selling it for profit. Much like Esau selling his birthright for a bowl of stew, the temporary blessings may seem worth it, but unfortunately the consequences far exceed any temporary satisfaction that may be found.
All of the commands of God are for our benefit. Because God is good, all of his commands are good. In accordance with this, the Westminster Larger Catechism answers the question, “what is the chief end of man” with the profound scriptural answer of, “to glorify God and enjoy him forever.” So often we find ourselves looking for pleasure and enjoyment because there is a longing in our hearts that desires to filled, but the only ultimate source of pleasure is God himself. Whenever we seek our fulfillment outside the revealed will of God, we eventually find ourselves more frustrated than when we began. We begin to wonder like Solomon in Ecclesiastes if all is vain. The more we feed on this world apart from seeking God, the more futile our existence becomes.
We must remember that it is possible to gain the whole world and lose our souls. This young lady may be able to attend the graduate school of her choice without financial aid, buy a house, and even put a little away for the future, but in the long run it will send her further down a path of destruction. She will find herself, sometime in the future, regretting her decision, as this public offer of prostitution follows her the rest of her life. There will undoubtedly be times when she will want this behind her. She will try to hide it from those she does not want to know, and even if she succeeds it will never leave her as she wonders if the secret will come out. The pain of living with suppressed guilt is never worth the pleasure that the sin gave us. Ultimately, what it will cost her is the very thing she is seeking. She is seeking satisfaction in some aspect of her life and thinks this will bring it to her, but in the long run will bring her more ruin than benefit as do all acts outside of God’s loving plan. And the sad part is that many are so blinded by this world that they never find their way home.
Some of you may already be there. You have run headlong into sin and wonder if there is any hope for you to return to the purity and innocence you once had. You may wonder if there is any hope of removing this burden from your life and conscience as you have grown weary from the guilt that came with your choices.
There is hope, and the truth is that Christ was speaking to you when he said, “Come to me all you who are weary and heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” Christ Jesus came to this earth and lived the sinless life that the rest of us have failed to live. In failing to live this righteous life, we have not merely fallen into sin as if it were and accident, but we have willingly run headlong into it. That sin requires the punishment of a just God, and the punishment that is demanded is death. But this same Christ who lived the sinless life came to die for those who will trust him, and He bore the burden of our guilt. Upon the cross, God the Father poured out upon Him the wrath that we deserved, and all who have faith in Him and His work are in Christ, and His righteousness is counted as ours. When God looks at us, He sees Christ’s righteousness and calls us His children. He promises from that point that He will never leave us nor forsake us, and that he will bring us home with him and make us co-heirs with Christ in the inheritance that he so rightly deserves and we most certainly do not. But for all those who reject Christ, they will have to bear the punishment of their own sins and will not be with the father in heaven, but will suffer eternity in hell. Even if they had gained the whole world they will have still lost their souls.
My prayer for this young lady is that she will not go through with it, and that whatever she is seeking, she will find in Christ who is able not only to forgive the sin of selling her virginity through prostitution, but also all her sins that have led her to this point. My prayer is that she, and all who are carrying the burden of their sins, will repent and place their faith in Christ and experience the times of refreshing that come to those who do so. Just like the author of this article and every other Christian had to do with our sins, we handed them over and found our rest in Christ. After all, we are all sinners in need of a Savior.
Doug
If you are a Christian and still find yourself plagued with the “Haunting Effects of Sin” then the video devotion below is for you. Our Savior can heal even that.
"He Himself bore our sins in His body on the tree." 1 Peter 2:24
Certainly the whole punishment of body and soul which was due unto us--Christ our Redeemer suffered. Our blessed Savior bore all the sins of the elect. He suffered the whole punishment which was due unto us--which we would have endured, if He had not atoned for our sins. He felt the anguish of soul, and horror of God's wrath--and in soul, experienced the torments of hell for us--and sustained them and vanquished them!
All the pains, torments, curse, and wrath which were due to the elect--fell on Christ, until divine justice was fully satisfied. Though Christ did not suffer eternal death for sinners--yet He suffered that which was equivalent, and therefore the justice of God is wholly appeased by His death. Christ's infinite excellency and glory, made His short sufferings to be of infinite worth, and equivalent to our everlasting sufferings.
Jesus suffered that which was necessary for our redemption, namely--that torment of hell which we had deserved, and which the justice of God required that He should endure for our redemption. He endured that bitter pain which we deserved to suffer eternally.
Christ, by His death . . . satisfied divine justice, pacified divine wrath, brought in an everlasting righteousness, and accomplished the eternal salvation of His people!
(Thomas Brooks, "The Golden Key to Open Hidden Treasures")
Then the multitudes who went before and those who followed behind cried out, saying; Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the Highest! Matt. 21:9
Though it is called the triumphal entry we know that Jesus had only one purpose in mind when he came to this earth, and that was to be our sacrifice. As he entered Jerusalem He rode on the donkey heading for His destination, the cross.
Jesus was not merely riding into the city, but riding forward to the cross. He knew by the end of the week He would be beaten, spit upon, and crucified. But the thought of this torturous death was not the most grueling image, It would have been thoughts of that final moment, when He was to take on the sins of us who call on Him as Lord, and His Father whom He had obeyed perfectly would turn His face away from His son and pour His justice and wrath upon Him. In anguish, He knew, He would cry out "Father why have you forsaken me".
On the way to the cross, the entry must have been bittersweet. As we consider this moment we know that nothing could have hindered Him from reaching His goal. As He rode, His mind would have most likely been directed to those He came to save. Maybe He saw our faces, knowing that without His death, he would have to watch us die. For we were born sinners, hopeless, condemned already. Maybe He looked at us, as a man who would look into the eyes of His bride as disease steals her away.
Whatever He was thinking, He was not going to let anything stand between Him and His bride. He was driven by His love for us, and as Friday night came, He reached His destination. Upright, between two thieves, nailed to the cross, and having a spear thrust into His side, the cleansing blood and water flowed. His final cry was “It is finished”. The purchase had been made, and the powers of Hell had been broken. In the words of Charles Spurgeon “no sin of the believer can now be an arrow to mortally wound Him”.
All those who have faith in Him have been saved by His grace, and have every reason to sing…
Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed Be the Name of the Lord! Hosanna in the Highest!
