Evening Hospitality

If you can't tell by the amount of quotes I'm posting from Zack Eswine's, Sensing Jesus, I love this book and recommend it to everyone. The last couple posts have been about the cycles of everyday life; the seasons of a day, including the morning, noon day, evening, and the night watch. Zack does an amazing job at describing the mundane ways in which these daily cycles are really ways in which we, as finite human beings, are to relate and experience God. Regarding the evening, Zack writes:

"'The day is over now.' The teacher and teaching come to a close. It is time for good and a bit of rest in the company of others who are also at rest and could likewise use a bite to eat. The limits of our food do not prevent but only remind us that our true portion is Jesus and that he will prove sufficient to rest us and nourish us amid the company of the evening. We needn't take our work with us. Workless in the evening matters. In order to learn how to rest in life, we need the spiritual grace to set down our work and to rest when an ordinary evening arrives. An inability to do this where we are in our ordinary place on a given and routine evening will render it nearly impossible to cultivate a life of stability 'out there' amid the chatter and frenzy. 

By 'hospitality,' I have in mind extending the kindness and protection of a peaceable presence to our neighbors. It is kind because it takes our neighbors bodily and soul needs into account and provides them a room-giving acceptance and practical sustenance. Hospitality is also protective because remaining hospitable toward another means that we do not transgress, misuse, or consume them. We allow them to take up company in our presence in such a way that they know that we will not use them to satisfy our lust, mandate that they act as if they are not tired or in need of nourishment, or require them to take the heat for the afternoon moods that we are carrying with us and misplacing on them. 

Grace and wisdom, are of course, necessary evening friends. But hospitality seems to take a front seat in the evening. Blessing, rest, good food, friendship, acceptance, honesty, freedom from misuse, reclining at rest at the table prepared for us-the welcomed reward from a long day of solid work. The prayers of thanksgiving rise from our lips, and we raise our hands in gratitude to God for his faithfulness through the day. The morning teaches us to sing. The afternoon teaches us to preserve. The evening teaches us to enjoy the blessing of ordinary goodnesses and to give thanks to God for the sacred boredom of mundane blessings that we can count."

Something to consider this evening.


Zack Eswine, Sensing Jesus: Life and Ministry As a Human Being (Wheaton, Ill: Crossway, 2013), 78-79.

Blessings For Obedience

"If you walk in my statutes and observe my commandments and do them, then I will give you your rains in their season, and the land shall yield its increase, and the trees of the field shall yield their fruit. Your threshing shall last to the time of the grape harvest, and the grape harvest shall last to the time for sowing. And you shall eat your bread to the full and dwell in your land securely. I will give peace in the land, and you shall lie down, and non shall make you afraid."

Leviticus 26: 3-6

Wow! The author of Leviticus paints this amazing picture of human flourishing under the reign of God. God says that he will give rain to the Israelites, the land will be blessed, it will produce abundantly, the Israelites will be satisfied completely, they will dwell securely, there will be peace, and there will be no more fear. What a glorious promise! This passage is a description of total human flourishing. 

However, there is one hitch. All these promises are contingent upon the Israelites obedience. If Israel keeps and obeys God's commandments, the outcome will be this immense blessing from God resulting in total flourishing. So, the question is, what happened? Did Israel obey?

Well, the short answer is no. Much of the Old Testament captures Israel's repeated failures to follow God and to obey his commands. Israel, like a stubborn child, refused to live as God's chosen people. Yet, God remains faithful. Despite Israel's numerous failures, God keeps making these promises to restore that which is broken. God keeps talking about this desire to bless his people and return them to this state of flourishing described in Leviticus 26. So, how does God accomplish this?

The answer is Jesus. Where Israel failed to obey God, Jesus obeyed perfectly. In Leviticus 26, we see the obvious blessings for obedience. The truth is, we all radically fail to obey God's commands. Left to ourselves, we don't deserve any of God's blessings. The good news is that Jesus came to fulfill the commandments of God perfectly, so that by his life, death and resurrection, the blessings in Leviticus 26 may be secured for us. 

Talk about a good deal! This literally is too good to be true, yet it is true. Jesus took upon himself the punishment for our disobedience, and in return, we get the blessing of his obedience. This can't be attained through any of our own goodness, but it is attained through repentance and faith. The ultimate blessing for which we were created to be in relationship with God. Only then will we be satisfied, secure, and at peace. In Romans, Paul describes how Jesus Christ's perfect obedience justifies us before God. 

"For as by the one man's disobedience the many were made sinners,

so by the one man's obedience the many will be made righteous."

Romans 5:19

The Gospel As Contra-Conditional

This week I'm enjoying taking a class with Scotty Smith called, 'Disciplines of Grace'. Yesterday we talked about the gospel being contra-conditional. This is opposed to the gospel being conditional or unconditional.


The gospel as conditional....If you obey me, I will love you

The gospel as unconditional....I love you without any conditions

The gospel as contra-conditional....I love you because I delight in my Son who graciously fulfilled ALL your conditions

As human beings, we primarily operate in a conditional mode. Think about it. Grades, sports, jobs; these are all based on performance. An A receives more praise than an F, being 1st string is more celebrated than being a bench warmer, and climbing the corporate ladder comes with a fatter pay-check. This doesn't go to mention that, even though we wouldn't want to admit it, to some capacity all our relationships are conditional. We like people because of similar interests, because of what they can give us, or because they make us feel good. To some extent, these are all conditions.

On the other end of the spectrum is unconditional. This claims that there are no conditions, and that God's love is accompanied by no character. This unconditional view ignores God's absolute holiness. God is all-glorious and perfectly right. Therefore, he desires to bring his creation into this 'rightness', or shall we say, 'righteousness'. If you think about it, this view really cheapens God's love, because, in it, God no longer rescues us and restores us from everything that is wrong with us and the world, but loves us in a way that says nothing is wrong with us in the first place.

On the contrary to both ends of this spectrum, the gospel is completely other. It is contra-conditional. There are conditions to God's love. He is perfect and holy. We willingly choose to disobey these conditions and live apart from our gracious Creator. Yet, the beauty of the gospel is that God did something amazing. He did something that still has people turning their heads today. God became man to  fulfill the conditions we failed to achieve. The good news is that Jesus came, lived the life I should have lived, and died the death I should have died. He did these COMPLETELY. That is why on the cross he cried out, "IT IS FINISHED". The gospel being contra-conditional is amazing because if Jesus perfectly fulfilled all the conditions, that means, once we are in Christ, once we put our faith in Him, we can't be any more loved. We are fully blessed. All the blessings Jesus achieved, we now have. This is amazing. David Powlison says this well,

"God has blessed me because His Son fulfilled the conditions I could never achieve. Contrary to what I deserve, he loves me. And now I can begin to change, not because I can earn his love, but because I've already received it."

Beyond Description!

"What Christ acquired by this sacrifice is beyond description. For himself he acquired by it his entire exaltation, his resurrection, his ascension to heaven, his seating at the right hand of God, his elevation as head of the church, the name that is above every name, the glory of the mediator, power over all things in heaven and on earth, the final judgement. In addition he acquired for his own, for humanity, for the world, an interminable series of blessings. In his person he is himself the sum of all those blessings: the light of the world (John 8:12), the true bread (6:35), the true vine (15:1), the way, the truth, the resurrection, and the life (11:25; 14:6), our wisdom, our righteousness, holiness, and redemption (1 Cor. 1:30), our peace (Ephesians 2:14), the firstborn and the firstfruits who is followed by many others (Romans 8:29; 1 Cor. 15:23), the second and last Adam (1 Cor. 15:45), the head of the church (Eph. 1:22), the cornerstone of the temple of God (Eph. 2:20); and for that reason there is no participation in his benefits except by communion with his person."


Herman Bavinck, "Reformed Dogmatics: Sin and Salvation in Christ", 339. 


Great point by Bavinck at the end of the paragraph. None of the benefits of these glorious blessings are possible apart from a living union with the Son of God, by grace, through faith. 

Salvation as a Story

"Salvation is not just a doctrine we believe in, or a condition we find ourselves in. Salvation is a story we participate in - the story of what God initiated through Abraham and accomplished through Christ."

"[The law] was given to the Israelites after God had saved them, on his own initiative and out of his own grace and love. It was only after he had brought them out of Egypt that he called them to keep his covenant and obey his law. God acted first. Israel's obedience was to be a response to their salvation - not the means of achieving it, still less deserving it...It is a fundamental mistake to think that in the Old Testament blessing or salvation came as something earned through obedience...Blessing is the fruit of being saved by God, and obedience is the means by which those who have experienced God's salvation continue to enjoying that fruit."

- Christopher Wright, Salvation Belongs to Our God

....

God's work of salvation is one story from Abraham to Jesus, and it extends to us through faith. It has been the same covenant from day 1. It is founded on God's faithfulness to His people, and is fulfilled in the person of Jesus Christ, who brings peace with God to all those who believe in Him.

In Christ

In Christ, we are:

Sons of God (Galatians 3:26)

Justified (Galatians 2:17)

Counted Righteous (Romans 4:5)

Reconciled to God (2 Corinthians 5:19)

A new creation (2 Corinthians 5:17)

Sanctified (1 Corinthians 4:10)

Redeemed from curse (Galatians 3:13)

Blessed (Ephesians 1:3)

Seated with Christ in the heavenly places (Ephesians 2:6)

Created for good works (Ephesians 2:10)

Forgiven (Ephesians 4:32)

Encouraged (Philippians 2:1)

Set free from sin (Romans 8:2)

Dead to Sin (Romans 6:11)

Alive to God (Romans 6:11)

Blessing for Obedience

"If you walk in my statutes and observe my commandments and do them,⁴ then I will give you your rains in their season, and the land shall yield its increase, and the trees of the field shall yield their fruit. ⁵ Your threshing shall last to the time of the grape harvest, and the grape harvest shall last to the time for sowing. And you shall eat your bread to the full and dwell in your land securely.⁶ I will give peace in the land, and you shall lie down, and none shall make you afraid. And I will remove harmful beasts from the land, and the sword shall not go through your land. ⁷You shall chase your enemies, and they shall fall before you by the sword. ⁸ Five of you shall chase a hundred, and a hundred of you shall chase ten thousand, and your enemies shall fall before you by the sword. ⁹ I will turn to you and make you fruitful and multiply you and will confirm my covenant with you. ¹⁰You shall eat old store long kept, and you shall clear out the old to make way for the new. ¹¹ I will make my dwelling among you, and my soul shall not abhor you. ¹² And I will walk among you and will be your God, and you shall be my people. ¹³ I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, that you should not be their slaves. And I have broken the bars of your yoke and made you walk erect."

Leviticus 26: 3-13

The Bible, specifically the Old Testament is filled with countless promises similar to the one above. God promises blessing if Israel is obedient to Him. If they will follow His commands, He will bless them. Moreover, the Old Testament is filled with instances where Israel is in fact disobedient to His commands, and in turn, God punishes them. This is a reoccurring pattern. God acts graciously to Israel and calls them to obedience, for a little while they are obedient and experience God's blessing, but then turn away from God and His immediate favor is removed, and repeat. So how does the story end.....

In God's steadfast love, God provides a way for Israel. Jesus comes to earth and lives the perfect life of obedience that Israel never could. He completely fulfills the law, and in doing so possesses perfect 'spiritual blessing'. Furthermore, God no longer gives his blessing through obedience. Rather, His people are blessed through faith Christ. We receive the blessings based on what Christ accomplished. Our perfect spiritual blessing hinges on the perfect obedience of another. This passage in Ephesians exults in a few of the blessings we have in Christ, mainly, adoption, being predestined, being lavished with grace, redemption from our temptations and an inheritance.

"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, ⁴ even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love ⁵ he predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, ⁶ to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved. ⁷ In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, ⁸which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight ⁹ making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ ¹⁰as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth."

Ephesians 1: 3-10