Why Does God Allow Suffering

What is the purpose of suffering? If God is a good God, why do bad things happen to good people? For an honest man, these are fair and common questions. I've been reading through the book of Job recently (part of a chronological Bible reading plan for the new year), and was struck by Elihu's (one of Job's friends) response to Job's suffering and subsequent questioning of God's justice in it all. Elihu is realistic about the pain, brokenness and suffering that is present in all of our lives. Yet, he offers us a hopeful response as to why a sovereign God allows such brokenness and pain. Please read:

"Man is also rebuked with pain on his bed and with continual strife in his bones, 

so that his life loathes bread, and his appetite the choicest food. 

His flesh is so wasted away that is cannot be seen, and his bones that were not seen stick out. 

His soul draws near the pit, and his life to those who bring death. 

If there be for him an angel, a mediator, one of the thousand, to declare to man what is right for him,

and he is merciful to him, and says,

'Deliver him from going down into the pit; I have found a ransom;

let his flesh become flesh with youth; let him return to the days of his youthful vigor'

then man prays to God, and he accepts him; he sees his face with a shout of joy,

and he restores to man his righteousness.

He sings before men and says:

'I sinned and perverted what was right, and it was not repaid to me. 

He has redeemed my soul from going down into the pit,

and my life shall look upon light.'"

Job 33:19-28

A couple things stick out to me as I read this. 

• First, God allows brokenness, pain, and suffering to happen, even to those pursuing Him, because it allows us to experience his salvation. As this passage points out, we can't experience redemption from the pit, unless we ourselves are in the pit. We can't experience the joy of a ransom, unless we are first held captive. In other words, we can not rightly taste and experience the salvation of the Lord, unless we first know, understand, and experience the plight of sin in the world. Healing is sweet when we know we are broken. 
• Second, God allows brokenness, pain, and suffering to happen because it serves as a testimony to the Lord. Notice in this passage, the man who is restored and ransomed from the pit "sings before men and says.....He has redeemed my soul from going down into the pit."God's redemptive grace  amidst our brokenness and pain serves to glorify God and point to his Sovereign goodness. 
• Lastly, reading this passage, it is clear that all of these things are ultimately fulfilled in Jesus Christ. He is the one who redeemed our lives when we were in the pit. He is our ransom. He is the merciful one. Let us turn to, and accept this God. 

The Whole Sweep of Scripture

With many people having new year resolutions to read more Scripture, here is some great wisdom from N.T. Wright. In it, he gives wonderful perspective on what the Bible is all about, and how we are to go about reading it.

The Whole Sweep Of Scripture from The Work Of The People on Vimeo.

Advent: The Rescue Plan

Great post from Ally Jaggard on her blog Stones & Mortar, Seeds & Water:

During Advent we celebrate the incarnation, the birth of Jesus. We celebrate and remember that Christ came down and entered into the darkness of our world so that he may actually rescue us from ourselves and from the slavery of sin. This has been God’s plan throughout history and we see it all over Scripture.

“Jesus said, ‘God so loved the people of the world so much that he gave his only Son. So that anyone who believes in him will have eternal life and never really die. He did not send his Son into the world to punish people. He sent him to rescue them.” (John 3:16-17 paraphrase from the Jesus Storybook Bible)

This Advent season I stumbled across an Advent Calendar that walks through God’s rescue plan throughout Scripture and is based on readings from the Jesus Storybook Bible. This is, admittedly, a children’s Bible. But let me tell you, it is for young and old. Whether you are 5, 16, 25, 45 or 70, you will be blessed by its telling of God’s great rescue plan that is woven throughout the many stories of the Scriptures. If you ever struggle to remember the story of Scripture and God’s great love for you and his people, you will be blessed by the simple words and images of this book.

I’ve included an excerpt below to whet your appetite:

“No, the Bible isn’t a book of rules, or a book of heroes. The Bible is most of all a Story. It’s an adventure story about a young Hero who comes from a far country to win back his lost treasure. It’s a love story about a brave Prince who leaves his palace, his throne–everything– to rescue the one he loves. It’s like the most wonderful of fairy tales that has come true in real life!

You see, the best thing about this Story is– it’s true. There are lots of stories in the Bible, but all the stories are telling one Big Story. The Story of how God loves his children and comes to rescue them.

It takes the whole Bible to tell this Story. And at the center of the Story, there is a baby. Every Story in the Bible whispers his name. He is like the missing piece in a puzzle–the piece that makes all the other pieces fit together, and suddenly you can see a beautiful picture.

And this is no ordinary baby. This is the Child upon whom everything would depend. This is the Child who would one day–but wait. Our Story starts where all good stories start. Right at the very beginning…” (p17, Jesus Storybook Bible)

Between Idolatries

How do we determine what a worship service should look like? In his book, Christ Centered Worship, author Bryan Chapell discusses two dangerous ends of the worship spectrum. On one end is rigorous tradition. In this method, there is an exact prescription to which a worship service must strictly adhere to. There is one right way. On the other end of the spectrum is worship based on experience. Whatever gives an emotive personal worship experience is what should be used. In other words, if it tastes good, eat it. However, both of these extremes are dangerous. The alternative is Christ-centered worship, allowing for both biblical tradition as well as freedom in personal experience and expression. Bryan Chapell writes:

"Between these idolatries of tradition and experience is Christ-centered worship whose aspects reflect an enduring gospel that shapes the contours of our services. As these aspects are expressed by various components that Scripture gives us the right to vary, our worship has the gospel anchors needed to keep it true and the scriptural freedoms needed to keep it fresh."

The Story of God

An incredible spoken word piece by Matt Papa. He does an excellent job of capturing the storyline of all human history and connecting it to this present moment. As he says, "it's a story like no other, it's a movement you can't undo."

Poverty and The Gospel: Part 2-Gospel of the Kingdom

Before we start digging into how the gospel relates to poverty, I want to start with a bigger question, "What did Jesus come to do?" What were the intentions of his ministry? Most of this will be based off of a post I wrote a little over a week ago, The Intention of Jesus, which lays this out a little more thoroughly. I'm going to try and be brief.

The reason many of us don't see poverty as a gospel issue is because our view of the gospel is too small. Either we (reformed folks) limit the gospel to justification by faith (which don't get me wrong, is absolutely central to the gospel. Yet, the gospel is bigger and effects more than just our individual standing with God) or, we forget this central tenant of the gospel (justification) and move on to the social issues that Jesus cared about. Last post we saw that both extremes are misconceptions.

To look at what Jesus came to do, I want to let him answer the question himself.

"Jesus came into Galilee proclaiming the gospel of God, and saying, 'The time is fulfilled, and the Kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.'" Mark 1:14-15

"The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor." Luke 4:18-19

I'm going to try and be brief here. A couple big picture takeaways.

First, Jesus came proclaiming the gospel of the Kingdom. In other words, the good news is that God's kingdom is at hand. God is reclaiming his rule and reign. He gives the call to repent and believe, because in reclaiming God's Kingdom, he is calling us to turn from our own little kingdom of self-autonomy. Jesus came inviting us to be a part of God's rule and reign, wherein we live under the love and righteousness of our Creator.

Second, as seen in Luke 4, under God's rule and reign (The Kingdom of God), all things are being set right. Look at all the comparatives he gives in Luke 4. The poor are receiving good news, the captive is set free, the blind see. At the heart of God's rule and reign is the restoration of humanity. Under his rule and reign, all things are being made right again. This is because under our own rule and reign (self-autonomy), we are really ruled and reigned by sin. Under the curse of sin, everything is distorted. And when I say everything, I mean EVERYTHING. Therefore, if under our own self-autonomy, everything is jacked up, I propose that under God's rule and reign, EVERYTHING is being made right. In other words, Jesus came to restore life.

To get a glimpse of what God intends life to be like, we need to look at Scripture. The place we will look at primarily will be the Creation account, because this was the only time when life was unhindered by the Fall. Genesis 1 and 2 are the only times in human history where humanity itself wasn't distorted by our own self-autonomy.

What Rules Your Heart?

"And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts..."

Colossians 3:15

I don't know about you, but everyday there is contention as to what I let rule my heart. I often let stress, anxiety about school and work, insecurities, and false hope rule my heart. This verse was a great reminder to me this past Sunday at church that as an adopted son of God, I can now receive and live under this peace. Regardless of circumstance, whether rich or poor, busy or at ease, up or down, I can rest assured in God's boundless love and gracious care as my Heavenly Father. So today, whatever you or I have going on, let's recognize our need for this peace that we so desperately long for, and turn to our loving Father who delights to restore his children by giving them the peace only Christ can give. 

The King is Here

"And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up. And as was his custom, went to the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and he stood up to read. And the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written, 

'The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, 

because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor.

He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering sight to the blind, 

to set at liberty those who are oppressed, 

to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor.'

And he rolled up the scroll and gave it back to the attendant and sat down. And the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him. And he began to say to them, 'Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.'" Luke 4:16-21

I seriously can't help but sit here and grin as I read this passage. I'll refrain from using the word I want to use to describe Jesus' demeanor in this passage, sparing you all of its inappropriate nature, but let's just say Jesus is straight fearless and indomitable. Just imagine him walking into the synagogue. Nobody really knows who he is. Back then it was often the custom to afford any visitors in a synagogue the opportunity to speak or read to the congregation. So Jesus, being the unknown, casually struts to the front. He is given a passage from Isaiah 61 wherein the prophet Isaiah is addressing the deepest questions and needs of our human history. 

Isaiah prophesied years ago to God's people that one day, a King would come and fulfill this passage. Ever since, people have been left asking, "Is it really possible for someone to come and make things right? Is there such a person who can establish justice, peace, and righteousness once and for all? Is it possible for the weary soul to be set free from the burden of captivity? When will this constant brokenness end?"

Jesus, in know uncertain terms, answers these questions with a resounding yes! He essentially answers, "I am Him. I am that King, and I am here right now! I am the One who comes to restore life and reclaim what has been broken. I have that kind of authority and power. Now, turn from being the king of your own little kingdom, and turn to me and my Kingdom, where I rule and reign with love and righteousness."

This is such an incredible announcement. I wonder what it would have been like sitting there and seeing Jesus roll up and hearing him speak these words. Either his words have no meaning and he is completely delusional and belongs in a mental hospitable. Or, he is who he says he is and his words have infinite weight that demand a response. Our response is either to fall at his feet in repentant joy that the King is here, or we continue on our way, choosing to live in self-autonomy. 

The Intention of Jesus

A rough draft of a paper I wrote answering the question, "What was the intention of Jesus?"

What did Jesus intend to accomplish in his first-century earthly ministry?

This paper holds that the intention of Jesus’ first century earthly ministry was nothing less than to restore life. Admittedly, a two-word answer for such an open ended and weighty question may seem a bit simplistic and incomplete. Throughout all four Gospels, Jesus makes numerous claims as to his intentions; and many of them are quite different. How can we boil the intentions of Jesus down to just two words? However, as this paper will show, when all of what Jesus did and said in his first century earthly ministry is taken and understood collectively, it rightly fits under the over arching intention to restore life.  This can be seen in the grand narrative of Scripture, as well as in Jesus’ own words and actions.

                  Before we examine Jesus’ words and actions, it is first fitting to define our terms. In saying that Jesus intended to “restore”, I am proposing that Jesus came to reclaim or bring back a certain something to an originally intended condition. In other words, Jesus’ aim is to bring things back to the way they are supposed to be. He is reclaiming what has been lost. In this instance, the certain something is “life”.  Therefore, Jesus came to reclaim or bring back life to its intended, God given condition and purpose.

                  To further understand Jesus intentions to “restore life”, we must go back and ask ourselves what were God’s original intention s for life, and what happened? The creation account in Genesis captures several significant features that help us to understand what true “life” is. Primarily, humans were created to be God’s image bearers (Genesis 1:27). This tells us several things. First, it lays out the Creator-creature distinction. Humans are not God. Rather, for our benefit, we (as God’s creatures) were created to live under God’s righteous and loving reign. As God’s image bearers, “life” consists of several roles and relationships; the most central being our vertical relationship with our God. Humans were created to know and be known by their Heavenly Creator. We were made to be worshippers of the one True and Living God. In addition, under God’s reign “life” is meant to consist of thriving and unbroken relationships with others. Our last role is one of steward. As God’s image bearers, “life” consists of having dominion over and stewarding God’s glorious creation (Genesis 2:15). Therefore, “life” as God originally intended it to be consists of three relationships. First and most importantly, we were meant to live under God’s righteous and loving reign wherein we know God and are known by him in an unhindered fashion. Further, this vertical relationship was meant to define our horizontal relationships with God’s creation, both among other image bearers (humans) and also among His creation.  To describe the condition wherein these three image-bearing relationships are harmoniously thriving under God’s reign, the Old Testament used the word ‘shalom’. Human beings were meant to live in ‘shalom’ where there is a deep contentment, peace, and wholeness.

                  Yet, as the story goes, this “life” which was the intended condition for God’s creation was lost when Adam and Eve fell. The result was utter brokenness existing in all three of our image bearing relationships. Rather than living under God’s righteous rule and reign, humans choose to live under their own self-autonomy. Because of this, all facets of life are broken; nothing exists as it’s meant to. Strife dominates our relationships with others, false gods control the affections of our hearts, sickness and death rule our physical bodies, and stewarding creation is strenuous. In essence, as we rebel against God’s eternal, righteous, loving rule and reign over our hearts, shalom is lost; all of life is broken.

                   It is into this context that Jesus must be introduced. Throughout the ages, there was an expectation among God’s people that one day He would send someone to restore this righteous and loving reign among his people, thus restoring life. Jesus was this Messiah. Although God’s ethnic people (the Jews) often had a misunderstanding of what God’s Messiah would actually accomplish, it is clear as we look at the grand narrative of the Old Testament that Jesus in fact is the Messiah who would “restore life”.

                  Viewing Jesus through this lens, it is possible to make sense of his actions as well as the numerous claims he makes regarding his intentions. For example, Jesus’ central message in his earthly ministry was the good news that the Kingdom of God was at hand (Mark 1:15). In essence, Jesus was declaring that He came to reclaim God’s rule and reign over His creation.  In doing so, Jesus invites human beings to come under his loving authority, in order that their image bearing may be restored to the fullness for which it was created.  Jesus’ came to earth preaching repentance, since in order to enter God’s Kingdom, we must first relinquish our self-autonomy. Along with Jesus’ proclamation of the Kingdom of God, Jesus demonstrated his authority both in his teachings and actions. His teachings were in direct contrast to our misconceptions of what “life” is supposed to be and were often aimed at rewiring the ways in which the Fall had distorted our worldviews. His actions often consisted of physical healings and casting out demons, which not only demonstrated his authority over the physical laws and evil powers, but also goes to show the breadth and depth of restoration Jesus aimed at accomplishing. Jesus’ intentions weren’t solely aimed at forgiving sins, or merely teaching people some good life lessons. Rather, Jesus’ intentions were to holistically restore all of life. His intentions were to reverse all the facets of the Fall and to bring the loving rule of God into all areas of life. Jesus came to bring back a total sense of image bearing shalom.

                  This brings us to the pinnacle of Jesus’ ministry. We have seen that Jesus’ came to reclaim God’s rule and reign in the hearts of men to once again bring them into a right relationship with Him. He came proclaiming this good news of the Kingdom, teaching, and healing every disease and affliction (Matthew 4:23). His ministry was holistic, and intended to reverse the multi faceted effects of the Fall. But, how did Jesus do this? The pinnacle of Jesus’ earthly ministry was indeed his death and resurrection, by which he accomplished His intentions to restore life. Jesus knew his entire life was ultimately leading up to the time when we would die as a ransom (Matthew 20:28) and then rise (Mark 8:31). In order to restore life, Jesus had to die a substitutionary death in our place wherein he would absorb the full weight of the Fall. He took upon himself the separation and brokenness that existed between us and our Creator. Further, Jesus resurrected from the grave, thus conquering the power of Sin. Because Jesus rose from the dead, we are effectively able to have new life. His death and resurrection are the ultimate remedy to the multi faceted curse of the Fall. In his earthly ministry, Jesus’ intentions were to come that we may have life (John 10:10). He came to reclaim what was lost  (Luke 19:10) and restore what was broken. In his life, Jesus proclaimed this good news of God’s Kingdom and demonstrated it in word and deed. However, the ultimate way Jesus accomplished his intention to restore life, was through his substitutionary death and life giving resurrection. 

You Are That Very Person

Good post from Erik Most, not to mention, a great quote from Charles Spurgeon's blog inspiring book, 'All Of Grace'. 

Spurgeon:

I have no gospel to preach to the self-righteous, no, not a word, Jesus Christ Himself came not to call the righteous, and i am not going to do what he did not do, No, I ask you rather to look at that righteousness of yours till you see what a delusion it is. It is not half so substantial as a cobweb. Be finished with it! Flee it!

"They that are whole have no need of a physician, but they that are sick" (Mark 2:17). Is it not equally clear that the great remedies of grace and redemption are for the sick in soul? They cannot be for the whole, for they cannot be of use to such. If you feel that you are spiritually sick, the Physician has come into the world for you. If you are altogether undone by reason of your sin, you are the very person aimed at in the plan of salvation. I say that the Lord of love had precisely such as you in his eye when he arranged the system of grace.

He that is a dirty sinner is the kind of man that Jesus Christ came to make clean, Come in your disorder. Come to your heavenly Father in all your sin and sinfulness. come to Jesus just as you are: leprous, filthy, naked. Come, though despair is brooding over you, pressing upon your chest like a horrible nightmare.

Being Clean

"It's not what goes into your body that defiles you; 

you are defiled by what comes from your heart."

Mark 7:15

One of the many reasons I love Mark's account of Jesus' life is the way Mark depicts Jesus as confrontational. From the very beginning of Mark, Jesus comes proclaiming the Kingdom of God. In doing so, he confronts our tendency to make ourselves the king of our own little kingdom. He challenges our reality by confronting our misconceptions of who we are, and who we think God is. 

One passage in which Jesus does this is in Mark 7:1-23. You see, going all the way back in the Old Testament, there is a big problem. Because humankind fell into sin, we cannot come into the presence of God unless we are clean (spotless, without blemish, blameless, without sin). In fact, this is a very big deal to God. That is why in Leviticus there are extensive rules about cleanliness and purity. That is why  there was a day of atonement once a year, and the high priest who was to go before God and atone for the sins of the people had to spend a week preparing himself, washing himself, making sure he was clean. 

This may seem odd, but think of it this way. When we go to meet an important person or have an important event, we also prepare for it. We will take a shower, get a haircut, put on make up, wear our nicest clothes, etc... The same goes for how we are supposed to approach God.

Imagine you own a house. It is perfectly white. It is painted white on the outside, the carpet is white, all the couches are white, the walls are white, the tables are white; everything is bright shining white. Now imagine a person covered in mud comes to your door and wants to come in. It's not going to happen. This is also a reality between us and God. This is why there were the Old Testament purity laws. 

And this is where Mark 7 comes in. Jesus, interacting with the pharisees, confronts their misconceptions. In this passage, the Pharisees had a problem because Jesus' disciples weren't following the traditional purity laws. For example, they weren't washing their hands before they ate, they don't wash their cups and plates the proper way. For the pharisees, this was how we maintained our purity before God. 

I love how Jesus challenges the Pharisees. He doesn't come at them attacking their zeal to be pure. Rather, he gets at the heart of the problem (literally and figuratively). Jesus quotes the prophet Isaiah and says to them, 

"These people honor me with their lips, 

but their hearts are far from me.

Their worship is farce, 

for they teach man-made ideas as the commands from God" Mark 7:6-7

The problem was that the pharisees thought they could make themselves clean by their own actions. They thought they could be pure before God through religious acts. Jesus confronts this by stating the real problem. The real problem isn't that on the outside they are unclean or impure, it's that their hearts are jacked up. The real problem is a heart problem. The pharisees may have performed religious acts of cleanliness, but their hearts were filthy. 

At this point, it's easy to point at the pharisees and jeer at their ignorance. However, we are not any different. We may not look to Old Testament laws to save face before God, but in some way, shape, form, or fashion, we are all trying to become clean before God. We all look to 'DO" something in order to make us right, to give us worth, or to give our existence significance. 

And this is is where Jesus speaks to us. By confronting the Pharisees, Jesus is telling us that the thing that really makes us unclean is our heart. The problem isn't the externals as much as it is the internal. Further, this is a problem we ALL have. It isn't just the Pharisees. It is us! And as long as we are looking to "DO" something to fix it, it will never work. We could never possibly clean ourselves up enough to be perfectly pure before the eyes of God. 

Back to the white house example (not the presidents home, but a house that is purely white). What Jesus is saying is that while we are standing outside the house that is sparkling white, we could never scrub hard enough to make ourselves worthy for entrance. It doesn't matter what we try to use (religion included), it won't work. What we need is a heart transplant from the inside out. 

This is where the good news of the gospel comes in. When Jesus came to earth and died, he essentially came and lived the pure, clean life that we should have lived, and he died the death of someone who was impure. He did this is substitution for our uncleanliness. Further, because he was the only one who lived a truly pure life, he offers to us his very life. He sees us sitting outside the white house, scrubbing hard, and says to us, "That will never work. But receive me. I will make you clean from the inside out. I can get you on the VIP guest list into the white house." And with one touch, we are made clean. Further, he stays by our side, continuing to transform our hearts from those of stone, to those who desire to walk with and worship the living God. 

Are We Preaching Christ or Talking About Christ?

Sobering words and a great reminder from Ray Ortlund. I always appreciate Ray's zeal for Christ and His gospel to be exalted. Read the original post here. 

“My wife always says the most important thing about the man as a preacher was, you didn’t notice him.  He came quietly into the pulpit, started quietly, and then something seemed to happen, and then you became absorbed in what he was saying. . . .

‘We beseech you, in Christ’s stead, be ye reconciled to God’ (2 Corinthians 5:20).  Spirit-filled preaching — the preacher is in the background.  And something happens.  The worshiper, by the grace of God, is being spoken to by God and by the Word of God.  So Lloyd-Jones would often say, the difference between talking about Christ and preaching Christ, or talking about the gospel and actually preaching the gospel.  It’s a comparatively easy thing to talk about the gospel, but to really preach it is another thing. . . .

So many preachers have to start their sermon with a nice little anecdote or something interesting, to catch people’s attention.  That is a condemnation of the whole service.  If the service has really been in the presence of God, you don’t need to catch anyone’s attention. . . .

I love that quotation of John Knox.  It’s really a definition of the Reformation: ‘God gave his Holy Spirit to simple men in great abundance.’”

Recent 9Marks audio, Iain Murray interviewed by Mark Dever on “The Pastoral Practices of Martyn Lloyd-Jones.”

Are we pastors even thinking in these categories?

Life's Most Important Question

"And on the way, he (Jesus) asked his disciples, 'Who do people say that I am?'

And they told him, 'John the Baptist; and others say, Elijah; and others, one of the prophets.'

And he asked them, 'But who do you say that I am?'

Peter answered, 'You are the Christ.'"

Mark 8:27-29

This is the most important question of life. Who do you say Jesus is? Who do you actually claim him to be? Many say he's a good teacher. Many say he's a wise man. Many think he's their 'homeboy'. Many think he is a nice religious figure.

But is He your Christ? Can you say that He is your Savior? Does the deepest conviction of your heart scream out that He is the one and only Savior who is the Son of God? What does your life show? How does the life you live answer this question? Does it proclaim that Jesus is your Christ? That He is your everything. Or does it reveal that Jesus is really just a percentage on a pie chart called your 'life'?

Questions worth considering. 

The Pattern of Worship

"Through the ages, the common pattern of the order of worship in the church reflects the pattern of the progress of the gospel in the heart. The gospel first affects the heart by enabling us to recognize who God is. When we truly understand the glory of his holiness, then we also recognize who we really are and confess our need of him. The gospel then assures us of the grace the he provides, and our hearts respond in both thanksgiving and humble petition for his aid so that we an give proper devotion to him. In response to our desire for his aid, God provides his Word. We heed his instruction, knowing that we live for him. The common liturgy of the church through the ages reflects this sequential flow of the gospel in our hearts."


Chapell, Bryan. Christ-Centered Worship: Letting the Gospel Shape Our Practice. Grand 

Rapids, Mich: Baker Academic, 2009.

The Promises of Sin vs. The Promises of Christ

At the heart of sin is attempting to put something in the place of God. Let's take the example of sexual lust. According to Jesus, sexual lust is clearly a sin, 

"But I say to you that everyone who looks at a women with lustful intent

has already committed adultery with her in his heart." Matthew 5:28

A common misconception of both Christians and non-Christians alike is to assume that sexual lust is a sin because sex is bad in itself. This couldn't be further from the truth. Sexual lust is a sin because it is taking something that God made for our good, and perverting it. Sexual lust is a sin because it is looking to find our ultimate need for intimacy in sex. It is trusting in sex to fill a void only God was meant to fill. 

Sexual lust promises a false intimacy. Lust says, "Long for what you cannot have and you will be happy."

The gospel promises true intimacy. The gospel says, "Rejoice in what you do have in Jesus, and you will be happy."

Our desire for intimacy is not wrong. But, it becomes sin when we look to fill this need with something other than God. Jonathan Dodson points out in his book, "Gospel Centered Discipleship" that we need to continually remind ourselves of the false promises of sin verse the true promises of Christ. Lust will never satisfy. It leaves us feeling empty and craving more. It never truly quenches. Jesus truly satisfies. He delivers on his promises. 

*much of the above was taken from Jonathan Dodson's, "Gospel-Centered Discipleship."

I Will....

"And they shall be my people, and I will be their God. 

I will give them one heart and one way, that they may fear me forever, 

for their own good and the good of their children after them. 

I will make with them an everlasting covenant, 

that I will not turn away from doing good to them.

And I will put the fear of me in their hearts, that they may not turn from me.

I will rejoice in doing them good, 

and I will plant them in this land in faithfulness, with all my heart and all my soul."

Jeremiah 32: 38-41

I saw this verse on Scotty Smith's blog this morning and was simply amazed. God's love for us is almost unbelievable. God chooses to make us his people. He lovingly changes our hearts, so that we can walk in his ways. He unconditionally binds himself to us in a covenant, to which he is unwavering in his commitment. He constantly is good to us. He keeps us from turning to other gods. Further, God DELIGHTS to do all of this for us! It is his good pleasure to bestow love upon his children. And, he loves us with all of his heart and soul. Now, that is simply amazing. I need some more of that!

Jesus is the Content of the Gospel

From Michael Green's, Evangelism in the Early Church:

"The Christians 'proclaimed the good news' of 'the gospel' or of 'the faith'. More specifically, they proclaimed the good news about 'the kingdom', as Jesus had done. But this could very easily be misunderstood in the Roman Empire, as it was, for instance, at Thessalonica; so it is not surprising to find them more frequently preaching simply the person and achievement  of Jesus as the good news. And yet it is surprising; it is fantastic! The one who came preaching the good news has become the content of the good news! What clearer evidence could there be that the earliest Christians regarded Jesus with the highest  possible respect, as embodying in his person and achievement the kingly rule of God himself? It was Origen who said Jesus was the autobasileia, the kingdom in person; but the idea was there in the apostolic proclamation of Jesus. So we find them spreading the good news that Jesus is the Messiah, or that through him the ancient promises have been fulfilled. We find them proclaiming the good news of peace through Jesus, of the Lordship of Jesus, of the cross of Jesus, of the resurrection of Jesus, or simply of Jesus himself. Nothing more was needed. For however expressed, whether as the Messiah of the Old Testament expectation, as the Lord over demonic powers or whatever other category of interpretation was employed, the early preachers of the good news had one subject and one only, Jesus. This was their supreme concern."

The Announcement Becomes Reality

"Eight hundred years before, God had invited his herald to bring good news to Jerusalem and to the cities of Judah. The long night of sin and warfare was to end. And the messengers voice on the mountain summed it up: 'Here is your God!' (Isaiah 40:9)

In Jesus that announcement to the cities becomes reality. In Jesus the covenant is renewed, the law and the prophets fulfilled, justice and righteousness are incarnated, salvation becomes more than promise, the perfect sacrifice for sin is offered. The kingdom of God comes in the person of the king, the jubilee year of God begins, the poor are lifted up, the cities hear the good news, and God inaugurates his time of urban restoration."

Urban Ministry: The Kingdom, the City & the People of God. Harvie Conn & Manuel Ortiz. Page 115. 

Why Do We Need the Old Testament?

"And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets,

he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself."

Luke 24:27

Why do we need the Old Testament? Because it is how we are to understand and interpret Jesus. Jesus himself states that all the OT is about him. The OT tells us of our need for a Savior and God's covenant promise to provide a savior. Therefore, we can't understand who Jesus is without understanding who he claimed to be. He claimed to be God's promised Messiah. 

Bloodline of the Cross

The closing quote from John Piper's most recent book, 'Bloodlines: Race, Cross, and the Christian,'

"What I've tried to do with this book is show that the gospel of Jesus Christ, the death and the resurrection of the Son of God for sinners, is the only sufficient power for this effort, and the only power that in the end will bring the bloodlines of race into the single bloodline of the cross. It is the only power to bring about Christ-exalting harmony, which, in the end, is the only kind that matters, because all things were made through him and for him. To his grace, and his name, and his Father, be glory forever. Amen."

Piper's book has been a tremendous blessing to me. In particular, it has helped me to see how the pursuit of racial/ethnic harmony and reconciliation is so very close, and goes hand in hand with the Gospel of God's grace. It has opened my eyes to the implications that the gospel has on  this pursuit, as well as my own sins of partiality and indifference to injustice. Lastly, I am thankful for Piper's book as it was a needed reminder of the breadth and scope of the Gospel. God's plan from the beginning was to bless the nations through his Son Jesus. God is in the business of restoring that which is lost. He is redeeming for himself a single people united by the blood of His Son; and this united group of people will include people from every tribe and every nation.