Welcome to the Church of Brand Jesus

"A person is not a Jew who is one only outwardly, nor is circumcision merely outward and physical. No, a person is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is circumcision of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the written code.Such a person’s praise is not from other people, but from God."

Romans 2:28-29

Commenting on these verses, Tyler Wigg Stevenson, author of Brand Jesus, asks, "...why are so many self-proclaimed Christians buying into the religious lifestyle, image, and identity, but not making the radical spiritual-ethical commitment to discipleship? How is it that there is so much Christian hypocrisy?"

The heart of these verses is that being part of God's family (Jew in the Old Testament, Christian in the New Testament) is not primarily an external matter, but is rather an internal matter with external fruit. In these verses, the Apostle Paul is critiquing the Jews of his day who claimed God, but did so only externally. They were good Jews because they were circumcised. Paul counters by saying that the external act of circumcision is ultimately meant to be an external mark of an inward reality, namely a life that has been transformed by the Spirit of God. 

Stevenson applies these verses to the contemporary Church by pointing out our tendency, much like the Jews in Paul's day, to rely on external marks as the evidence of our faith. For example, we might believe ourselves to be Christians merely because we belong to a church, or were baptized, or align with the religious right politically. We have external badges of honor, but our hearts are far from God. 

The problem, according to Stevenson, is that the Jesus we claim to believe in, is in fact, not Jesus as all:

"The startling question is, then, is Jesus Christ actually the one whom many self-proclaimed Christians have accepted? Or, as seems to be the case,  have consumer-minded Christians been led from the narrow road, drawn by the promises of an impotent spiritual commodity masquerading as the power of God? Welcome to the church of Brand Jesus." pg. 101

Stevenson's point: External badges of religion are insufficient. As Paul stated in Romans 2, the mark of a true believer is a circumcision of the heart, or, a transformed life. External badges (church membership, political affiliation, occasional acts of charity) are insufficient because they don't have any power. They give the mere appearance of Godliness, but are just as Stevenson describes 'impotent spiritual commodity masquerading as the power of God." These badges are not the result of a radical internal transformation. They are not the result of totally new, born again life in Christ. No, they are the rather feeble attempts to construct our self-justification. 

The only solution to this problem is the true gospel of Jesus Christ; namely, that our attempts to build our own kingdom, wherein we attempt to build our own identity, our justification, and our very sense of life before God is completely insufficient. But, in his great mercy and love, Christ came to give us life. Through his life, death and resurrection, Jesus has come to free us from this death sentence of self-sufficiency. 

But herein lies the problem. Stevenson's point is that if you look at the life of the American Christianity, it is clear that we are not living or preaching this true gospel, wherein lives are truly transformed. Rather, we are preaching and living a different faith; the faith of Brand Jesus. 

And this Brand Jesus fits in perfectly with our consumer mindsets in that it gives us exactly what our sinful selves want, all the while wearing a mask of true spirituality:

"Brand Jesus takes the promise of the Kingdom of God and offers another pseudo-Christian vision instead...Brand Jesus takes the tragedy of sinful life and without asking us to change our behavior in the plot, promises a happy ending. Brand Jesus takes everything our species' depraved imagination wants to believe is true about the world and feeds it back to us." pg. 104

"We are in fact, wholly conformed to the pattern of this world. So, while Christians should be radically different from everybody else, we find that Christians are no more different from practitioners of other lifestyles than those folk are from each other. We've made discipleship into one option among many, when it ought to stand separate, as different from other ways of living as Christ was from the world." pg. 103

In short, the American Church has submitted to a form of Christianity (Brand Jesus), wherein they are allowed to continue in their current desired lifestyle without any real transformation. Although they may have external badges, there is no power behind it. There is no real knowledge of the God. There is no real experience of God's grace. It is a pseudo-Christianity, giving the people enough religion to soothe their spiritual conscious, but denying the very nature of Jesus Christ. 

The only answer is to run to the gospel of God's grace. 

Tyler Wigg Stevenson, Brand Jesus: Christianity in a Consumerist Age (Seabury Books, New York, 2007). 

For the Love of Mammon

“No one can serve two masters. 

For you will hate one and love the other; 

you will be devoted to one and despise the other. 

You cannot serve both God and mammon.”

Luke 16:13

The word I highlighted, mammon, is translated in the English as 'money' or 'wealth'. I highlighted it because the typical English translation of the word really doesn't do justice to what Jesus is actually getting at. Tyler Wigg Stevenson describes the concept of 'mammon' in his book, Brand Jesus:

"The connotation when Jesus talks about 'mammon', therefore, is that of a proper noun. It is not a generic concept that can be translated between different languages; no, Mammon is the name of a force in opposition to God." pg. 46

Stevenson goes on to show the contrast in how Jesus talks about 'mammon' and other opposing forces, such as human government. Even though Caesar was in someway opposed to the Triune God, Jesus teaches his disciples to give to Caesar what is Caesar's. He never says you can't serve both God and Caesar. It is interesting then that Jesus would say that money, or 'mammon', are completely mutually exclusive. You cannot serve both. Mammon is a complete alternative to God in a way government doesn't have to be. Stevenson continues:

"For Jesus to isolate Mammon like this, and to such a degree, gives Mammon the force of a veritable super-idol. If Mammon and God cannot be served simultaneously, then Mammon must be an idol above all other things that can become idolatrous for us. For, while it would be true to say we cannot serve both  God and an idol, note that 'an idol' is not an independent entity. An 'Idol' describes something defined by improper devotion to it. A statue is a statue; only when people start worshipping it does it become an idol. It's idol-ness comes from its devotees rather than anything inherent to it...But Mammon, it is, in itself, necessarily idolatrous..."

"Mammon, as Jesus uses it here, is another name for the spiritual goal to which the original humans (Adam and Eve) aspired in their first sin...They wanted to claim something that could be their own; not as a gift, because everything they had was a gift. No, they wanted something free and clear, something they could possess, hang on to, say, 'I have rights toward this.' In the first sin, they tried to be owners rather than stewards that God had made them to be. They tried to become wealthy. They were willing to trade the stewardship of all God's gifts-in which they owned nothing-for ownership of one thing, knowledge of good and evil. And ownership depends on a concept of wealth, Mammon, to rule it. The first humans, in seeking to own themselves, gave birth to the one who would rule over them (Mammon)." pg. 47

In essence, 'Mammon', is in direct opposition to God because its very nature inverts the proper Creator-creature distinction. 'Mammon' is the driving force behind  humans wanting to be God. It compels us to live in self-autonomy. It is exactly what Paul was talking about in Romans when he wrote, "because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator" (Romans 1:25). The concept of 'Mammon' captures the absolute pride and arrogance of our human race in seeking to build our own kingdom (or system of wealth) over and against God's Kingdom. This explains why, when Jesus came proclaiming the Kingdom of God, the imperative to "repent" or turn from your own little kingdom was also given. These kingdoms are in opposition to each other. The proud continue their vain pursuits of 'Mammon', while God graciously reveals himself to the humble. Stevenson closes his chapter on Mammon by writing:

"Mammon embodies original opposition to God and God's wishes for us. That is why Paul writes in 1 Timothy 6 that the root of all evil is the love of money. I know many Christians reading this will say that they do love God and they don't love money. But in our culture, regardless of what we say with our mouths, the way that many of us live expresses most of all a love of money. We speak about our love of God, but we live out of our love of Mammon." pg. 48

I know these are all hard words to swallow, and I don't write as one who is innocent of these realities. No, I write as a fellow culprit. I haven't really processed a response to these strong claims, but I do know that I need to repent of my love of Mammon. 

Tyler Wigg Stevenson, Brand Jesus: Christianity in a Consumerist Age (Seabury Books, NewYork, 2007). 

Bad News From God

A couple nights ago my professor made the statement that "it is better to hear bad news from God than good news that is untrue."

This got me thinking to the common trend of our culture verses God's revelation of himself in the person of Jesus Christ. The trend of the culture is to mask our sin with relativism. Its mantras are: There is no real right or wrong, true and untrue. No one has the right to tell you you're wrong. Do what what feels good to you. Experience and feeling is more important than reality. You are your own god. Your own personal freedom of choice is more valuable than truth.

Compare this to what God reveals in Jesus Christ. The gospel (good news) is that Jesus did come, and with that comes bad news first. In fact, there is no good news without the bad news. The bad news is that we are wrong. There is One True God, and our entire beings are prone to wander. The bad news is that we are not god, and that one day, we will bow down before the King, whether willingly out of joy, or begrudgingly out of mandate. The bad news, as Romans put it, is that:

"For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools." Romans 1:21-22

"None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks God. All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one." Romans 3:10-11

Just a reminder, this bad news is talking about us, not some other group of people. This is us.

But, this is a preface to the good news; the good news that Jesus Christ, who is the unique Son of God, has come to reverse this bad news. He has come to change it. Jesus bore our bad news, so that we could repent and receive the good news. Jesus took all of our unrighteousness, all of our evil, all of our foolishness and wickedness upon himself, so that we could receive his righteousness.

However, this is only possible when we accept the bad news. Receiving Christ means acknowledging the truth (often the ugly truth) about ourselves (as told in Romans 1 and 3). It is here that true freedom is found, true love experienced, and true life lived. 

We Become What We Worship

"Their idols are silver and gold, the work of human hands.

They have mouths, but do not speak;

eyes, but do not see. 

They have ears, but do not hear;

noses, but do not smell.

They have hands, but do not feel;

feet, but do not walk;

and they do not make a sound in their throat.

Those who make them become like them;

so do all who trust in them. 

O Israel, trust in the LORD!"

Psalm 115: 4-9

"It is a fundamental truth of Scripture that we become like whatever or whomever we worship. When Israel worshipped the gods of the nations, she became like the nations-bloodthirsty, oppressive, full of deceit and violence. Romans 1 confirms this principle by showing how idolaters are delivered over to sexual deviations and eventually to social and moral chaos. The same dynamic is at work today. Muslims worship Allah, a power rather than a person, and their politics reflect this commitment. Western humanists worship man with the result of degrading every whim of the human heart is honored and exalted and disseminated through the organs of mass media. Along these lines, Psalm 115:4-8 throws brilliant light on Old Covenant history and the significance of jesus' ministry. After describing idols as figures that have every organ of sense but not sense, the Psalmist writes, 'Those who make them will become like them, everyone who trusts in them.' By worshipping idols, human beings become speechless, blind, deaf, unfeeling, and crippled-but then these are precisely the afflictions that Jesus, in the Gospels, came to heal!"

Peter Leithart, "Transforming Worship," Foundations 38 (Spring 1997): 27. 

Gift vs. Giver

"When you love the answer from God more than you love God, the answer will actually take you away from God." --Darrin Patrick

Think about it. When we desire something God can give us over and above God himself, getting what we want can actually be the worst thing for us. This is idolatry; cherishing the gift above the giver, the creature over the Creator. We think that getting what we want is good, but in reality, it separates from God.

"Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, 

to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, 

because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie

and worshipped and served the creature rather than the Creator"

Romans 1:24-25

Discerning Your Idols

At the heart of every human problem is our desire to put something in the place of God. In other words, the root of our sinful and broken nature is our idolatry. From the Garden of Eden until now, we have a way with taking created things and putting them in the place of Creator. We take good things God made, and put them in the place of God himself. The Apostle Paul puts it this way,

"They exchanged the truth about God for a lie,

and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator,

who is forever praised. Amen."

Romans 1:25

But what are these 'things' that we worship and serve in the place of God. I know I don't physically bow down before statues or images, so I'm good right? Well, as I've been packing up to move next week, I came across this sheet buried in my room. It has been very helpful to me in discerning what the idols of my heart really are. How you answer these questions are very insightful in pointing you to what you really serve/worship. 

• What do I worry about most?
• What, if I failed or lost it, would cause me to feel that I did not even want to live?
• What do I use to comfort myself when things go bad or get difficult?
• What do I do to cope? What are my release valves? What do I do to feel better?
• What preoccupies me? What do I daydream about?
• What makes me feel the most self-worth? Of what am I the proudest? For what do I want to be known?
• What do I lead with in conversations?
• Early on, what do I want to make sure other people know about me?
• What prayer, unanswered, would make me seriously think about turning away from God?
• What do I really want and expect out of life? What would really make me happy?

New Life > Improvement

"When Adam sinned, sin entered the world. Adam's sin brought death, so death spread to everyone, for everyone sinned...But there is a difference between Adam's sin and God's gracious gift (Christ). For the sin of this one man, Adam, brought death to many. But even greater is God's wonderful grace and his gift of forgiveness to many through this other man, Jesus Christ. And the result of God's gracious gift is very different from the result of that one man's sin. For Adam's sin led to condemnation, but God's free gift leads to our being made right with God, even though we are guilty of many sins. But even greater is God's wonderful grace and his gift of righteousness, for all who receive it will live in triumph over sin and death through this one man, Jesus Christ." Romans 5:12-17

OK, there is a ton of weighty (no pun intended) stuff in this short passage and a lot you could talk about. One thing that sticks out to me as I read this is the contrast between life in Adam and life in Christ. The New Testament is constantly drawing a distinction between the two. Our life in Adam is defined by sin and an inability to obey. The result, as Paul points out in this passage is inevitable death. We are all by nature descendants of Adam, and under him, we will all die.

Here is where the good news of the gospel comes in. Jesus comes to save us from the reign of sin and death, and give us completely new life. We are either in the old life, under Adam, and under sins condemnation, or we are under Christ, and have received new life.

 I love this contrast, because this is not what most people hear from the pulpits on a given Sunday. It is our tendency to turn the gospel into mere life improvement rather than completely new life. Jesus did not come to improve the old Adam. He came to make man completely new. He came to be the new Adam, where all those who believe in him, now become under His reign. The result of His work is eternal life, and a righteous standing before a good and Holy God.

To prove my point about contemporary Christianity choosing to preach a mere "life improvement gospel," take a look at some of the titles of best selling Christian books from the last several years.

Your Best Life Now
Become a Better You
Love Does: Discover a Secretly Incredible Life in an Ordinary World
Unglued: Making Wise Choices in the Midst of Raw Emotions
Battlefield of the Mind: Winning the Battle in Your Mind

Not to knock on any of these books (I haven't read any of them), but I think they get my point across. We love hearing a message that we are good and that all we need is a couple steps so we can be even better. It is unfortunate that so many pastors are swayed by people's itching ears rather than giving the truth we so desperately need. We need to hear that we are broken and insufficient in ourselves. That in our own strength, we will never be enough. What we need is Jesus. We need to hear  that Jesus didn't come to make us "better", but to make us completely new. Jesus didn't come so that we can be "fans" of him and use him to get something that we want out to life. He came to turn our lives upside down. And the good news is that through Christ's finished work, we can be redeemed from the old self. We can be made new. By God's grace, we can live this new life.

Sharing in Christ's Sonship

"For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, 

but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, 

by whom we cry, 'Abba! Father!'"

Romans 8:15

At the heart of our relationship with God is our being adopted as true children. I sometimes wonder how this is possible and what this actually means. Becoming an adopted son of God is more often an abstract concept rather than the concrete reality in my life. So, how does this happen? And what does it mean?

The answer in our adoption does not lie in us. We were made to be sons and daughters of God, but we broke the relationship beyond human repair. Our hope is not in our ability to remake ourselves as sons and daughters. Rather, our adoption is rooted in the fact that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. Christ has perfect sonship with the Father. Our only hope of ever again becoming true children of God lies in our sharing in Christ's sonship that he already has with the Father. This is the good news of the gospel: that the Son of God became the Son of Man, so that he could unite men and women with God. He is able to do this because he is fully God and fully man, thus being able to mediate between the two and unite us to God. This is the foundation to our relationship with God. 

But, what does this mean on a day to day basis? Being united to Christ, and thus being made a son or daughter of God means that we are adopted into the same relationship the Son of God has with the Father.  In our adoption, we don't so much receive something from Christ, as much as we receive Christ himself. Jesus gives us his very self, and this is the heart of what we receive in adoption. Everything that is true of the Jesus Christ is now true of us. Jesus was God's beloved son, with whom God was well pleased. This is now true of us. Jesus and the Father were one. In Christ, we are now one with God. Jesus was sinless and incorruptible. We are now seen as sinless.  Jesus conquered death, resurrecting from the grave. Likewise, we will also be raised to life on the last day. 

One quick note on some of the things I just said. As those who have been adopted, we now share in the life of Christ and possess the many benefits of salvation. However, we do not share in the same substance that God has. We are still human. We are not divine. Yet, we are being restored to what it means to be made in God's image and what it means to be truly human. 

Contrast of Truths

"We are treated as impostors, and yet are true;
as unknown, and yet well known;
as dying, and behold, we live;
as punished, and yet not killed;
as sorrowful, yet always rejoicing;
as poor, yet making many rich;
as having nothing, yet possessing everything."

(2 Corinthians 6:8b-10 ESV)

....

I am no theologian, so I could be totally misreading this passage. Either way, this passage screams gospel to my heart. I feel on a daily basis the first portion of each of these lines as my reality. My sin proves them true. Satan deceives me to believe so. And the world around us proclaims them loudly. It can really bring me down.

But these are only earthly realities at best. They are redeemed and conquered by a far greater eternal reality: the cross. Christ's substitutionary death for each one of us covers every sin, every persecution, every attack, and every feeling of inadequacy.

Life is hard, no question. And, the calling to follow Christ ensures suffering and pain. Paul got that. What allowed him to hold such a perspective of victory amidst trials of defeat? He looked backward in faith, and forward in hope.

"For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God." (2 Corinthians 5:21)

"For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us." (Romans 8:18)

Let's pray together our every thought, word and action may be shaped by these awesome truths.

More, Not Less

Great reminder from Tullian Tchividjian's blog on the Gospel Coalition.

“There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” (Romans 8:1)

However deep and wide you think the freedom offered to sinners in the gospel is–it’s more, not less. As my friend Dane Ortlund says, “It’s time to blow aside the hazy cloud of condemnation that hangs over us throughout the day with the strong wind of gospel grace.”

Robert Capon expounds on this:

Saint Paul has not said to you, “Think how it would be if there were no condemnation”; he has said, “There istherefore now none.” He has made an unconditional statement, not a conditional one–a flat assertion, not a parabolic one. He has not said, “God has done this and that and the other thing; and if by dint of imagination you can manage to pull it all together, you may be able to experience a little solace in the prison of your days.” No. He has simply said, “You are free. Your services are no longer required. The salt mine has been closed. You have fallen under the ultimate statute of limitation. You are out from under everything: Shame, Guilt, Blame. It all rolls off your back like rain off a tombstone.”

It is essential that you see this clearly. The Apostle is saying that you and I have been sprung. Right now; not next week or at the end of the world. And unconditionally, with no probation officer to report to. But that means that we have finally come face to face with the one question we have scrupulously ducked every time it got within a mile of us: You are free. What do you plan to do? One of the problems with any authentic pronouncement of the gospel is that it introduces us to freedom.

So, what are you going to do now that you don’t have to do anything? The secret of worship is that it’s only when you deeply grapple with the pride-smashing fact that you can’t do anything for Jesus, you begin wanting to do everything for Jesus. True discipleship happens when you come to terms with the fact that you are so unconditionally loved, forgiven, pardoned, and free that you say “yes” to whatever God wants.

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

Suppressing the Truth

"For the Wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them.....

because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen."

Romans 1:18-19, 25

These verses capture the very essence of insanity. Paul gives us a swift kick to the face in these verses as he describes just how delusional our sinful, default worldview is. In our sinfulness, we suppress the truth about the Sovereign, Holy, Gracious God of the Bible. As R.C. Sproul puts it in his book, Defending Your Faith, the problem with Atheists is not an intellectual problem or a lack of information. Rather, it is a moral problem. We love ourselves more than we love God. Though God has made himself plain to us through the revealing of himself in nature, in the Scriptures, and in Jesus, we chose to deny him. Just as a child who is covering their ears and closing their eyes while shouting "NO! NO! NO! I DON'T WANT TO KNOW", so we too suppress the obvious truth of God's existence and character. We refuse to acknowledge God as God. In our ignorance, we love ourselves more than we love God. We want God on our terms.

And this has been our reality from way back. Ever since our parents, Adam and Eve, were deceived, so we too choose a self-centered worldview. God gave Adam and Eve everything, yet they thought they needed to find a higher, more divine meaning. They were created in God's image, that they might know their all-loving Creator. Yet, as the creatures, they wanted to fit God into their image rather than vice-versa. They wanted to flip the Creator-creature relationship. 

We still do the same thing today. At the heart of suppressing the truth, at the heart of sin for that matter, is  trying to fit God into our image. As Paul puts it, it is "worshipping and serving the creature rather than the Creator" (Romans 1:25). We know God exists, yet we only want God on OUR terms. We want God  as long as he fits our life, our image, our plans. We want Truth as long as its easy and godless. We will accept things as truth only if it allows us to continue our self-worship and unrighteous living. The second something demands change, we label it as intolerant.

This is why the post-modern worldview is so attractive to a sinful people. Everything is true as long it doesn't bring a real God into the picture. An 'all roads lead to Rome' worldview is a prime example of us trying to preserve our own self-worship. If truth is completely relative, then I don't need to change, and I can continue worshipping the creature rather than the Creator. This is insanity. 

Post-modernity may mask itself in humility, yet it exemplifies pride in its most basic form because it gives us the position of god. This is the definition of insanity. On the contrary, the gospel returns us to a position of true humility. It brings us back to our role as creatures made in God's image. It brings us back to a position where we can worship and serve the True and Living God. To many, this might sound like oppression, like God is a bully who demands that we bow below him. However, this couldn't be further from the truth. As stated, we were created in God's image with the purpose to know and worship Him. This is what's best for us. God wants us to return to him, not because he's a bully, but because he loves us more than we could ever know. Our hearts will always be restless when we worship our selves, the creatures. Our hearts were meant to find their rest, peace, joy, life, worship in God. This happens when we turn from ourselves and to God. 

This is contradictory to our default nature of suppressing the truth, but this is exactly why Jesus said, 

"Whoever finds his life will lose it,

and whoever loses his life for my sake

will find it" Matthew 10:39

The Only Antidote For Sin

"The only antidote to sin is the gospel"--Tullian Tchividjian


OK-this seems easy enough. The gospel, the Son of God becoming man, dying on the cross and resurrecting, was God's way of taking care of our sin problem. It is easy for me to recognize my need for the gospel in terms of my conversion.

But what about the sin in our everyday lives. A Christian is a justified sinner, so sin doesn't completely go away this side of heaven. The Apostle Paul wrote to the Romans, "I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes" (Romans 1:16). Therefore, we are in need of the gospel through the entire process of our salvation. We not only are saved by the gospel in our justification, but we also need to look to the gospel in our sanctification. The gospel is the objective remedy to our sin past sin problem, and it is the way we are supposed to deal with sin now. As Tullian puts it, the Christian life isn't moving past the gospel, it is moving more deeply into it. 

In All Areas

"When people become Christians, they not only experience repentance, salvation and transformation on a personal level. They experience repentance, salvation and transformation in all areas of their worldview, their cultural values, their social affiliations and so on."
--Eckhard Schnabel, "Paul The Missionary", 412.

Paul, in his letter to the church at Rome writes that the gospel is "the power of God" (Romans 1:16). In other words, the gospel is explosive. It is explosive beyond anything we can fully comprehend. It is explosive in the kind of way that Schnabel describes here. The gospel isn't a ticket out of hell. It is the explosive power of God that resurrects poor helpless sinners from spiritual death unto life. It is a worldview shattering event. That is why Schnabel is right in saying that if you are a Christian, the gospel has penetrated all areas of life.

The Gift of Peace to God's People

"Let me hear what God the LORD will speak, for he will speak peace to his people, to his saints"

Psalm 85:8

"The LORD gives strength to his people; the LORD blesses his people with peace"

Psalm 29:11

"And he will be called:

Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,

Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

His government and its peace will never end."

Isaiah 9:6-7

"Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ"

Romans 5:1

"I have said this to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation. but take heart; I have overcome the world."

John 16:33

The Result of Our Adoption

"For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God"

Romans 8:14

Adoption is one of most glorious doctrines in the Christian faith. It is also one that makes Christianity unique from other religions. Most religions in a general sense teach that if we follow some code of rules or perform certain rituals, then we are good with God. He is then beholden to bless or favor us. However, Christianity teaches that there is nothing we could ever do to earn God's favor and that we are enslaved to sin, unable to free ourselves. We are too far gone, lost, and without hope. Yet, from eternities past, God had a marvelous plan to bring lost humanity back to him. He had a plan for cosmic redemption, in which lost, hopeless, broken sinners would be supernaturally adopted into God's family. The gospel is essentially how God has redeemed His people from the bondage and penalty of sin, and has then brought them into His family. He has done this through his Son Jesus. We are adopted by being inseparably united to Jesus. This adoption is not temporary, but eternal. It is not conditional, but unconditional. It is not breakable, but unbreakable. We don't maintain our status as adopted children by good works, or performance, rather we are fully considered sons or daughters of Christ because of Christ's finished work. This is our assurance. 

And what is the result of our adoption in Christ.....

• Every spiritual blessing in Him (Ephesians 1:3)
• Forgiveness of sins (Ephesians 1:7)
• United to Christ and indwelled with God's Holy Spirit (Romans 8:15)
• God is now our Father to whom we have intimate access (Romans 8:15)
• God assures of our salvation (Romans 8:16)
• We have a family inheritance (Romans 8:17)
• We have a family resemblance (Romans 8:14,17)
• We receive fatherly discipline (Hebrews 12:5-11)
• We have a sure hope in our final redemption (Romans 8:19-24)

The Knowledge of God's Providence

From the Heidelberg Catechism:

Q: How does the knowledge of God's creation and providence help us?


A: We can be patient when things go against us, 
          thankful when things go well,
          and for the future we can have good confidence
          in our faithful God and Father
          that nothing will separate us from his love.
          All creatures are so completely in his hand
          that without his will, they can neither move nor be moved.




If I'm being honest, I often fail to trust in God's providence. At times, my heart is restless rather than patient, and is marked by fear and insecurity  instead of confidence. Yet, for the Christian, we have every  reason to put our full trust in the providence and provisions of our Heavenly Father. The reason is,

"If God is for us, who can be against us?

He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all,

how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?"

Romans 8:32

I need to be reminded of and take comfort in God's radical love. If God was willing to give his Son to rescue me, surely he will see me through until the end. Surely, I can trust him in my day to day activities. To trust in God's providence, we have to look no further than the cross. Our faithful Father will provide. He has in the past, he is now, and he will in the future. 

Jesus: The Full Manifestation of Psalm 36

"Your steadfast love, O LORD, extends to the heavens,

you faithfulness to the clouds.

Your righteousness is like the mountains of God;

your judgments are like the great deep;

man and beast you save, O LORD.

How precious is your steadfast love, O God!

The children of mankind take refuge in the shadow of your wings.

They feast on the abundance of your house,

and you give them drink from the river of your delights.

For with you is the fountain of life; 

in your light do we see light."

Psalm 36: 5-9

Time and time again I am amazed at the continuity of the Bible. In these verses from Psalm 36, David is exclaiming the marvelous characteristics of his God. God's love, his righteousness, judgment, how he quenches thirst, his light, etc... We see David using metaphors in order to paint a picture of the just how deep and infinite God's perfections are. In a sense, in this life we will never fully understand just how deep God's love is, or how perfect his faithfulness is. Yet, God has revealed this things to his people in history. Specifically, Jesus Christ, who is the full embodiment of God in human flesh, fully displayed these characteristics. In Jesus, we see God's true and perfect love. In Jesus, we see God's faithfulness on display. We see the fulfillment of the promise of salvation. By Jesus, will people be judged, whether they rejected the Son of God, or whether they have repented of themselves, and turned to believe in the gospel. Jesus provides the true Lord's Supper, a feast for God's people, by providing himself as the lamb of God. Jesus provides the rivers of living water, so that those who are spiritual thirsty may come to him and drink, and be satisfied. Jesus is the light of the world, so that in him, we may no loner walk in darkness. 

Jesus is the embodiment, fulfillment, and manifestation of God's steadfast love, his faithfulness, his judgement, his abundant provisions, and satisfying presence. 

"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life." John 3:16

"Therefore he is the mediator of a new covenant, so that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance, since a death has occurred that redeems them from the transgressions committed under the first covenant." Hebrews 9:15

"For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith" Romans 1:16-17

"the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe." Romans 3:22

"The Father judges no one, but has given all judgment to the Son.....whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgement, but has passed from death to life." John 5:22-24

"....whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty forever. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life." John 4:14

" I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life." John 8:12

Observation #6: Justification Involves the Imputation of Christ's Righteousness to Us

This idea of imputation is indeed critical to understanding the biblical doctrine of justification. The word imputation in itself is a legal term. It means to reckon to the account of another. The previous observation dealt with Christ's substitutionary work on our behalf. Imputation is the outworking of this substitutionary work. 

In regards to justification, imputation works in two ways. We talked earlier about Christ dying in substitution of our place. This is one of the ways in which imputation is present in the Gospel. Our sins are imputed upon Christ. In other words, even though Jesus was perfect, He became a curse for us (Galatians 3:15) and our iniquity was laid upon Him (Isaiah 53).  This is the negative aspect of imputation. Christ has taken upon our sins. Our sins deserved God's wrath, but the wrath that we deserve was reckoned to Jesus on the cross. That is why Jesus had to suffer the way he did, because our sins were imputed to Him.

The positive aspect of imputation is the imputation of Christ's righteousness to believers. By the righteousness of Christ, I am referring to the merit that Christ possesses based upon His perfect life of obedience and His divine sonship. 

Martin Luther called this concept the 'great exchange'. Christ took upon himself our sins and unrighteousness,  and in exchange we receive Christ's perfect righteousness. Both of these are imputed. 

This idea of righteousness being  'imputed' or 'reckoned' to us is seen all over Scripture. For example,

With Abraham: "Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness" Genesis 15:6

With David: " Blessed is the  man to whom the LORD imputes no iniquity" Psalm 32:1-2 (RSV, quoted in Romans 4:8)

With Isaiah: "Out of the anguish of his soul he shall see and be satisfied; by his knowledge shall the righteous one, my servant, make many to be accounted righteous, and he shall bear their iniquities." Isaiah 53:11

With Paul: "Now to the one who works, his wages are not counted as a gift but as his due. And to the one who does not work but believes in him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness" Romans 4: 4-5

The reason that righteousness must be imputed or reckoned to us, is because it is an 'alien righteousness'. In other words, it is a righteousness that we haven't earned. This is so because in our own power and will, we could never live a perfect life of righteousness that merits a right standing with God. Therefore, it must be a righteousness apart from us, that is freely bestowed upon us. The righteousness is the righteousness possessed by Christ. Chris lived the perfect life that we should have lived. Christ is the perfect son that Adam was supposed to be. God the Father says of Jesus, "This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased" (Matthew 3:17). When we come to faith in Jesus, we receive this merit. God now sees us and treats us as beloved sons. This is not accomplished by works. It is a gift that is imputed to us out of God's benevolent grace. Though we are broken, sinners, God graciously bestows upon us, or imputes to us, a righteousness and a position of sonship that we could have never earned. This is good news. I end with a verse I know I've posted a few times already, but it is a verse that so clearly lays out justification. 

"For our sake he made him to be sin, who knew no sin, so that in him, we might become the righteousness of God."

2 Corinthians 5:21

Observation # 2: Justification is a Declarative Act

Continuing the 10 observations on the doctrine of justification, we come to our second observation on this concept.

Observations #2: Justification is a declarative or judicial act of God.

It must be understood that justification is a declaration of ones right standing with God. Therefore, justification is not a process by which we become more or less justified. Rather, it occurs as an act. God declares us righteous. One moment we are under His wrath, the next moment, through faith in Jesus, we are forever seen as right. Throughout the entire Bible, the use of the word to justify (both in the hebrew OT and greek NT) has a legal tone to it. It is as we are before a judge, or were under condemnation for our acts. Justification is the announcement that a sinner who was under condemnation is now righteous. He is no longer under condemnation (Rom. 8:1). Justification is a one time, once for all. legal declaration that a guilty sinner is no longer under God's wrath, but is now declared as righteous.

Now, in the later observations we will discuss in more detail the grounds by which we are declared righteous, but for now, I will only say that we are declared as righteous before God not based on our own merit or goodness, but solely on the righteousness of Jesus. As we will see tomorrow, that is why justification must be by faith alone.