And They Ate and Were Satisfied

"In those days, when again a great crowd had gathered, and they had nothing to eat, he called his disciples to him and said to them, “I have compassion on the crowd, because they have been with me now three days and have nothing to eat.  And if I send them away hungry to their homes, they will faint on the way. And some of them have come from far away.” And his disciples answered him, “How can one feed these people with bread here in this desolate place?"  And he asked them, “How many loaves do you have?” They said, “Seven.” And he directed the crowd to sit down on the ground. And he took the seven loaves, and having given thanks, he broke them and gave them to his disciples to set before the people; and they set them before the crowd.  And they had a few small fish. And having blessed them, he said that these also should be set before them. And they ate and were satisfied. And they took up the broken pieces left over, seven baskets full."

Mark 8:1-8

A couple quick thoughts on this passage:

As I read, I was struck by the crowd. Keep in mind these are real people. Four thousand people are following Jesus for three whole days. I'm sure they had jobs, things to do at home, and friends to see. Think of what it would be like to leave everything behind for three days to follow someone around on foot. Not to mention, they hadn't yet eaten during these three days. I'm sure they were tired. Yet, they were willing to follow Jesus. 

These 4,000 people weren't following Jesus out of comfort and convenience. Quite the contrary, they were following Jesus out of faith. When they were following him, they had no guarantee that he would provide a huge meal for them, thus satisfying their hunger. Yet, they followed anyways; because they had faith that Jesus was indeed the Messiah. And if Jesus is who he says he is, he's worth following. If he is the one who can bring salvation, he's worth being hungry for three days, getting blisters on your feet from walking miles, being away from the comfort of your home. 

I love verse 8, "And they ate and were satisfied". Wow! These people did not know Jesus would satisfy them: but, their faith was rewarded. I'm amazed at the provision Jesus makes for his followers. Following him wasn't easy, as these 4,000 knew. They were almost at the point of fainting! Yet, because they had faith, Jesus satisfied them, and on top of that, provided in abundance. What does this mean for us?

Doesn't Jesus call us to follow him in faith? Doesn't he say that being a true disciple of his will take you out of comfort and convenience? Doesn't he say it will be hard? Doesn't he say that he will take you places you may not want to go? Yes and Amen. And so we are called to follow Jesus as the 4,000 did. 

Further, we have the promise that Jesus will satisfy us and provide for us. Jesus called himself the 'Bread of Life', who will bring true satisfaction. He called himself 'The Life', who comes to bring true abundant life. Jesus gives assurance that he will never leave nor forsake us. Where these 4,000 didn't even have the full revelation of these promises, they still had faith. Now, we, who have God's word, and have read and heard of all that he has done, have the promise. We have the promise of the word. We know that 

he lived, died and resurrected for our salvation. We have the promise that when we follow him, though it may be hard, and may leave us to the point of fainting, Jesus will provide and satisfy us in a supernatural way. He has compassion on us and cares for us. He offers us true life in Himself, and invites us to partake in this true life by following him in faith, and trusting in him for everything. 

The Resurrection: Vindication of the Son

Another excerpt from Michael Green's, Evangelism in the Early Church:


"When he (Jesus) died in agony, shame, and apparent failure on the cross, his disciples must have thought they had been mistaken, and that he was a fraud. The resurrection came to them as God's vindication of the claims Jesus had made. They saw the he was the 'designated Son of God in power by his resurrection from the dead'. And they proceeded to announce these joyful tidings with tireless zeal and boundless enthusiasm. It spread like wildfire precisely because the first hearers well understood that this was the Messianic salvation which was at issue. It was not merely a matter of the atoning death of a great man: since the days of the Maccabees they had understood that the death of a hero for his people might have expiatory significance. Nor was resurrection, by itself, the fundamental thing. John the Baptist was rumored to have risen from the dead; Jesus himself had on occasion, it appears, raised folk from the dead without anyone supposing that there was anything Messianic about them. But when Jesus, Jesus who had claimed to bring in the eschatological salvation, rose from the tomb, that was a different matter. It was, as they put it, seen to be 'according with the Scriptures'. It was the vindication of the Suffering Servant, the ascension in glory of the Son of Man, the fulfillment of the prophecy to David through Nathan long ago that 'He shall build a house for my name, and I will establish his kingdom forever. I will be his father and he shall be my son.' And that was something to shout about. That was good news."

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 Poor, No Longer Among Us

An interesting book review by Collin Hansen found on the Gospel Coalition website.

You can read it here: The Poor, No Longer Among Us

Luke 9: 23-24

"If anyone would come after me, 

let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. 

For whoever would save his life will lose it, 

but whoever loses his life for my sake wills save it."

Luke 9:23-24

I remember reading this passage on a late night in the summer of 2004. It was the summer between my sophomore and junior year of high school, and it was around this time that God began to overwhelmingly grip my heart with the gospel. God used this passage in a special way to bring me to faith and to convince me of what it meant to be a Christian. 

Reflecting on this passage now, I am once again reminded of God's radical call on his disciples. There is no such thing as a nominal Christian. There is no such thing as domesticated disciple. Following Jesus may not cost you your physical life, but it will cost you everything. Growing as a disciple of Jesus means increasingly denying yourself, and increasingly finding your life in him. It is not a half-hearted thing. It's not a both/and. It is either/or. Either you are following Jesus and are living as one of his disciples, or you are not. To most ears, the call to deny yourself, lose your life, and die is a ridiculous call. It is unreasonable. But in the words of my favorite professor, "Reasonableness is one of the greatest enemies of Christian discipleship." 

When you let go of yourself and cling solely to Jesus, then there is true life. When you are denying your cross and following Jesus wherever he leads you, then there is true joy. I praise God for gripping my heart in the summer of 2004. It hasn't been easy, but by losing my life, God has saved me and given me true life. 

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

Death is the Gate of Life

A quote from C.H. Spurgeon that was brought to my attention by future Covenant Seminary attendee, Danny Hindman:

On this Easter morning, pay a visit to His grave...because it is a quiet spot...

 

Let me lead by the hand of meditation, my brother:  let me take thee by the arm of thy fancy, and let me again say to thee, "Come, see the place where the Lord lay." 

 

Oh! I have longed for rest, for I have heard this world's rumors in my ears so long that I have begged for "a lodge in some vast wilderness, some boundless contiguity of shade," where I might hide myself forever.  I am sick of this tiring and trying life; my frame is weary, my soul is made to repose herself awhile.  I would I could lay myself down a little by the edge of some pebbly brook, with no companion save the fair flowers or the nodding willows.  I would I could recline in the stillness, where the air brings balm to the tormented brain, where there is no murmur save the hum of the summer bee, no whisper, save that of the zephyrs, and no song except the caroling of the Lark.  I wish I could be at ease for a moment.  I have become a man of the world; my brain is racked, my soul is tired.  Oh! Wouldst thou be quiet, Christian?  Merchant, wouldst thou rest from thou toils? Wouldst thou be calm for once?  Then come hither.  [Christ's tomb] is a pleasant garden, far from the hum of Jerusalem;  the noise and din of business will not reach thee there: "Come and see the place where the Lord lay."  It is a sweet resting spot, a withdrawing room for thy soul; where thou mayest brush from thy garments the dust of earth and muse awhile in peace...

 

Jesus rose, and as the Lord our savior rose, so must all his followers rise.  Die I must--the body must be a carnival of worms; it must be eaten by those tiny cannibals, peradventure it shall be scattered from one portion of the earth to another...[but] like the bones lying in the valley of vision, though separated from one another, the moment God shall speak, the bone will creep to its bone; then the flesh will come upon it; the four winds of heaven shall blow, and the breath shall return.  So let me die, let beasts devour me, let fire turn this body into gas and vapor, all its particles shall yet again be restored...Christs same body rose; so shall mine.  O, my soul, dost thou now dread to die?  Thou wilt lose thy partner body a little while, but thou will be married again in heaven...

 

The grave--what is it?  It is the bath in which the Christian puts his clothes of the body to have them washed and cleansed.  Death--what is it?  It is the waiting-room where we robe ourselves for immortality...Death is the gate of life. 

 

Come, view the place then, with all hallowed meditation, where the Lord lay. 

Gospel Clarity For Missional Calling

Great article that really struck a chord with me. If we belong to the Kingdom of God, we are essentially called into missional, cross-cultural living. The reasons are this: God's kingdom expanding mission is proactive, and we are all therefore called to be missional. Also, God's mission of the kingdom requires reaching across barriers. We aren't called to sit and wait. We are called to bridge the gap, to cross barriers, and to bring the good news to those outside the Kingdom. Therefore, all ministry is in a sense missional, and cross-cultural.

Read the article here. 

What I'm Listening To....

"For the Son of Man came to seek and to save that which is lost."  Luke 19:10



Verse 1: "This is dedicated to the hustler who's sick of hustlin"
Verse 2: "This is for that chick in the strip club tired of strippin"


This is who Jesus came for. This is who He died for. 

Transformed Character

From Justin Martyr's 1st Apology:

"We who formerly delighted in fornication now embrace chastity alone; we who formerly used magic arts dedicate ourselves to the good and unbegotten God; we who valued above all things the acquisition of wealth and possessions now bring all we have into a common stock and share it out to all according to their need; we who hated and destroyed one another and on account of their different manner of life would not liver with men of another tribe, now, since the coming of Christ, live happily with them, and pray for our enemies and endeavor to persuade those who hate us unjustly to live conformably to the good precepts of Christ, so that they may become partakers with us of the same joyful hope of a reward from God the ruler of all."

LINSANITY!!!

If you follow sports at all, you're probably already familiar with New York Knick phenom Jeremy Lin. He's been dominating the sports headlines ever since he exploded on the scene. An unexpected superstar, Lin had 0 scholarship offers coming out of high school, and was not drafted after playing his college ball at Harvard. In the last several weeks, Lin has gone from a nobody to the most popular name in the NBA. The associated press calls Lin "The most surprising story in the NBA." "Linsanity" has hit the sports world by storm. He just set the record for most points scored by a player in their first 5 games as a starter. Last week he scored 38 points, outscoring future hall of famer Kobe Bryant and leading the New York Knicks to victory over the Los Angeles Lakers. 


Yet, among all his impressive accomplishments, Lin possesses a keen sense of humility. The thing I admire most about Lin is how grounded he is. He is rooted in the gospel. Fame, success and fortune doesn't change that. Check out a few quotes from Linsanity:


“Just because I had a couple of good games, it can’t change who I am. My identity is in Christ, not in basketball. I love playing basketball and it’s my job but at the same time I still recognize that I’m a sinner, and that’s not going to change regardless of how well I play on the court.” -Jeremy Lin
Lin credits his success to being able to play without pressure. 
"I've surrendered that to God. I'm not in a battle with what everybody thinks anymore." Jeremy Lin


That is the kind of freedom the gospel brings. 

Feasting on the Steadfast Love of Jesus

A great prayer this morning from Scotty Smith's blog.

Let me hear in the morning of your steadfast love, for in you I trust. Ps. 143:8

Dear Lord Jesus, I totally get why breakfast is the most important meal of the day. What we consume (or don’t consume) early greatly determines our energy level, rhythms and focus for the rest of the day. I always pay dearly for too little sleep followed by too much sugar and caffeine, and others are affected as well. The same is true spiritually. When I don’t begin my day feasting on the grace and truth of the gospel, not only do I rob myself, I rob others.

So out of equal measures of delight and desperation, I make the psalmist’s cry my own: “Let me hear in the morning of your steadfast love” (Ps. 143:8). That’s what I need more than anything else. Your love is my present banquet and my eternal feast.

Jesus, only your love is better than life (Psalm 63). It doesn’t just give me life; it won’t just make this day more bearable and enjoyable; it is better than life. Only your love addresses my deepest needs. Foolishly, I often settle for the caffeine of being appreciated and admired, but you know the worst about me and you love me the most. You don’t love me because of anything I do, but because of everything you’ve done for me. How humbling… how freeing.

Only your love satisfies my most intense longings. The junk food of accomplishment, success and impact offer a brief relief, but they always leave me grabbing for more, only moments later. There’s a hole in my heart that is shaped like you, Jesus, and only you can really fill that place, that cavern, that vacuum.

Only your love is unwavering, Jesus, for all other loves are filled with conditions and contingencies. You’ve met every condition for me. Because you were nailed to the cross, there are no longer any strings attached to your love. The price of your love was the currency of your life, which you gladly paid that your affection might come to us freely and fully. Buckle our knees and thrill our hearts with this good news…

Only your love is unfailing, Jesus, for all other loves are fickle and finite. Only your love can expose and replace my idols; no other love is as beautiful. Only your love can break my self-indulgent chains and set me free to love well; no other love is as powerful.

Only your love can break the lingering power of shame and the ever-present seductions of temptation; no other love is as daily. Only your love can heal the greatest heart-wounds I carry; no other love is as kind and healing. Only your love can move me from navel-gazing to kingdom living; no other love is as transforming.  Jesus, there are so many more “only’s” about your love; and we will never fully scale the height, depth, width and breadth of you love—even in eternity. It will be measureless and ours forever. Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Hallelujah!

So this morning and every morning—afternoons and evenings too, Jesus, continue to bring the word of your unfailing love to our hearts. By the power of the Holy Spirit, preach the gospel of your unfailing love to our whole being. So very Amen we pray, in your merciful and mighty name.

Righteousness According to a 4th Century Monk

A sweet quote from a 4th century Monk by the name of Macarius. This quotation is from his Spiritual Homilies no. 20. 

"If anyone takes his stand upon a righteousness and redemption of his own, not looking for the righteousness of God who is the Lord, as the apostle says, 'who is made unto us righteousness and redemption', he labors in vain and to no purpose. For all the dreams of a righteousness of his own is at the last day manifested as nothings but filthy rags, as the prophet Isaiah says, 'All our righteousness is as filthy rags.' Let us then beg and implore God to 'clothe us with the garments of salvation', Jesus Christ our Lord, the unspeakable light. Souls that have once worn it shall never put it off again, but in the resurrection also their bodies shall be glorified by the glory of that light, with which faithful and noble souls are even now clad, as the apostle says, 'He that raised Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit which dwells within you.'"

Intimate Fellowship with Sinners

"He entered Jericho and was passing through. And behold, there was a man named Zacchaeus. He was a chief tax collector and was rich.  And he was seeking to see who Jesus was, but on account of the crowd he could not, because he was small in stature.  So he ran on ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see him, for he was about to pass that way.  And when Jesus came to the place, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, hurry and come down, for I must stay at your house today.”  So he hurried and came down andreceived him joyfully. And when they saw it, they all grumbled, “He has gone in to be the guest of a man who is a sinner.” And Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, “Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor. And if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I restore it fourfold.”  And Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, since he also is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”  Luke 19:1-10


"This action of Jesus going to a sinner's home should cause us to think about the way Jesus relates to sinners. Jesus does not keep his distance from sinners, like the Pharisees and teachers of the law; nor does he preach condemning sermons at sinners, like the Pharisees and teachers of the law. If Jesus had conformed to their practice of devotion to God, moral purity, and separation, they would not have been outraged by his behavior. What is so shocking and unacceptable to them is that Jesus desire to have intimate fellowship with sinners. He visits with them. He sits down and eats with them. He invites them to the homes of his friends and disciples. He goes gladly into their homes; he even invites himself to be their guest, just as he does with Zacchaeus. He welcomes them joyfully, and in return, they welcome him joyfully."

Jerram Barrs, Learning Evangelism From Jesus. 89.

Imitating Jesus in the World

From Jerram Barr's book, Learning Evangelism From Jesus. 


"Instead of retreating, isolating ourselves, and condemning unbelievers and our culture. Jesus calls us to something very different. He desires that we give ourselves to the understanding of the culture around us; he urges us to stop condemning the world and unbelievers; his passion is for us to listen to his prayer for us, that we night be in the world as he was in the world; he is eager for us to imitate him and to give our lives gladly to love and to serve non-Christians. His desire is that we be like him, and that we commit ourselves to developing intimate relationships with non-Christians. He wants to teach our church members and our children to do the same-no matter what the belief system and the lifestyle of the people around us"

Definitely something I need to be reminded of. 

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. 

Every Longing of the Heart

From Jerram Barrs's The Heart of Evangelism:


"The Gospel fulfills every right longing of the human heart. It answers every honest question of the searching mind. It delights and surpasses every good impulse of the creative imagination. It meets and transcends the ache in every soul to come to know the living God. C.S. Lewis write concerning his own conversion that he was surprised by joy when the hopes and desires of his inner being were completely satisfied as he was humbled before God and as he put his trust in God's Son, Jesus Christ."

What Kind Of Pastors Do Sinners Need?

Here is a blog post from Tullian Tchividjian's blog in which he quotes Sinclair Ferguson. This was brought to my attention by Danny Hindman.

What kind of pastor do sinners need?

 

Sinclair Ferguson answers this question from his Marrow Controversy Lectures:

But when your people come and have been broken by sin and have fallen into temptation and are ashamed to confess the awful mess they have made of their life, it is not a Calvinistic pastor who has been sanctified by vinegar that they need. It is a pastor that has been mastered by the unconditional, free grace of God. It is a pastor from whom ironclad orthodoxy has been torn away and the whole armor of a gracious God has been placed upon his soul–the armor of one who would not break the bruised reed or quench the dimly burning wick.
You see, my friends, as we think together in these days about a Godly pastor we have to ask, what is a Godly pastor? A Godly pastor is one who is like God, who has a heart of free grace running after sinners. The Godly pastor is the one who sees the prodigal and runs and falls on his neck and weeps and kisses him and says, “This my son was dead, he was lost and now he is alive and found.”

Pastors, when sinners are drowning, don’t tell them to paddle harder and kick faster. Throw them the life-line of amazing grace.

Why Preach the Gospel to Yourself?

According to 2 Corinthians.....

1. The gospel is how we change

          2 Corinthians 3:18 "So all of us who have had that veil removed can see and reflect the glory of the Lord. And the Lord—who is the Spirit—makes us more and more like him as we are changed into his glorious image."

2. The gospel is what empowers me to serve

          2 Corinthians 3:5  "It is not that we think we are qualified to do anything on our own. Our qualification comes from God."

3. The gospel is where I meet God

          2 Corinthians 4:6 "For God, who said, “Let there be light in the darkness,” has made this light shine in our hearts so we could know the glory of God that is seen in the face of Jesus Christ."

Sex, Marriage, and Fairytales

Jefferson Bethke with a spoken word on sex, marriage and fairytales.

Titus 3:3-7 Part 4 (New and Clean)

"For we ourselves were once foolish, disobedient

led astray, slaves to various passions and pleasures,

passing our days in malice and envy, hated by others and hating one another.

But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, 

he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, 

but according to his own mercy, 

by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit,

whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior,

so that being justified by his grace,

we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life."

Titus 3:3-7

Up to this point, we know that God, through Jesus Christ has saved us. More specifically, we read today that God saves us by the 'washing of regeneration' and 'renewal'. In other words, God saves us by making us 'new' and 'clean'. The new birth is a theme that runs throughout the Bible story, especially the New Testament. In John 3, Jesus says that "unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God" (John 3:3). Again in 2nd Corinthians, Paul writes, "if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come" (2nd Corinthians 5:17). At the heart of the Christian story is God making new that which was lost in the fall. God created all of life to be held together in intimate harmony with himself. At the fall, that perfect relationship was lost, and since then everything is suffering. The promise of the Old Testament is that God will redeem his creation from this mess. The glory of the New Testament is that this promise is completely fulfilled in Jesus Christ. This was his plan from the beginning. Here, as Paul writes to Titus, he reminds Titus of this good news.

So, by the blood of Jesus Christ, we are given completely new life. I love this language of the 'washing' and 'regeneration' and 'renewal'. Sometimes its easy to minimize the Christian faith to a few external acts like going to church and 'being good'. Yet, this language shows how this gospel is something way different. It is a complete renewal. It is a complete washing away of the old nature and an implantation of the new nature. It is a complete regeneration. Jesus came to give new life, not second chances. Now, when I say 'complete', I am not implying that we will no longer sin, or that we are now perfect. Far from it. But, we have been completely redeemed from the reign of sin and death. In other words, we are no longer slaves to sin, it is no longer our master. Secondly, we are redeemed from the punishment of sin and death. There is no more condemnation. Jesus died and resurrected that we may be 'new' and 'clean'. Next time we'll talk about how this gift is a one of complete grace, and how this gift changes our lives. 

Titus 3:3-7 Part Tres (The Great Motivation)

"For we ourselves were once foolish, disobedient

led astray, slaves to various passions and pleasures,

passing our days in malice and envy, hated by others and hating one another.

But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, 

he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, 

but according to his own mercy, 

by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit,

whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior,

so that being justified by his grace,

we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life."

Titus 3:3-7

So, at this point, we know that God has decided to appear and save man. The Hero has arrived to save wicked man from their sin. But Why? Why would God do this? What's the motivation?

If I'm being honest, I am hardwired with a 'pick yourself up by the boot straps' mentality. If something is wrong, its on me to fix it. I'm that guy who never asks other people for help. I am disciplined and committed enough to get it done myself. That being said, I'd naturally be expecting this verse to read something a little more like this:

"He saved you, because you were strong, smart and wise enough

to pick yourself up and turn to him. You aren't actually that bad, you just 

needed a little help from God. God saved those who help themselves!"

And this is why I need to pick up my cross daily and die to myself. My old self keeps telling me God loves me, and saved me because I'm good enough or strong enough. The Gospel tells me God loves me and saved me because HE IS MERCIFUL. This is a contrast I need to hear everyday. It changes everything. It turns self-boasting into humble worship. It turns pride in performance to pure amazement at God's grace. It turns self-righteous bitterness into contagious joy. The great motivation of God saving us is based on His mercy, not our merit. Thanks be to God!

Titus 3: 3-7 Part Deux ( The Great Rescue)

"For we ourselves were once foolish, disobedient

led astray, slaves to various passions and pleasures,

passing our days in malice and envy, hated by others and hating one another.

But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, 

he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, 

but according to his own mercy, 

by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit,

whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior,

so that being justified by his grace,

we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life."

Titus 3:3-7

I love all the "Buts" in Scripture. Just when everything was hopeless, when the darkness had closed in all around, God appears! We were hopeless, BUT, God stepped in. For all of human history, we were hopeless wanderers, lost and left to die in our own vices. But, about 2000 years ago, God our Savior entered human history in real time. Jesus is the hero. He saves us. This is the story of all life. We need a hero to rescue us. Jesus is that Hero. He entered the scene with the mission to rescue his people. In order to do that, he had to live the perfect human life (so he could count it towards us), die the death that we deserve (substituting for our sin) and resurrect from the dead, thus conquering death and defeating sin once and for all. The Hero has won, he has accomplished his mission. Some 2000 years later, we are still characters in this same story. I'm glad the Hero has rescued me. 

Titus 3:3-7

Just read came across this verse this morning. A great summary statement of the good news of what Christ has done to redeem hopeless sinners.

"For we ourselves were once foolish, disobedient

led astray, slaves to various passions and pleasures,

passing our days in malice and envy, hated by others and hating one another.

But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, 

he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, 

but according to his own mercy, 

by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit,

whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior,

so that being justified by his grace,

we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life."

Titus 3:3-7

Wow! There is so much jaw-dropping stuff in here, I don't even know where to start. How about with us? Paul paints a picture in which we all exist (or once existed) as characters. Foolish, disobedient, slaves to various passions and pleasures. From Paul's description, I conjure up two images. The first being us in foolish disobedience. The second is our restlessness and enmity. Without Christ, what makes our lives foolish disobedience? I don't think it is so much that we disobey God's rules. I think it is that we willingly bow down and serve these various pleasures and passions as our god. It is that we think we have life figured out, that our purpose and pleasure is for these things. God created us to be infinitely intimate with him, experiencing the fullness of true joy. It is foolish disobedience that we turn away from this like a ignorant, disorientated child. 

The second image is one of hostility. There is no peace; within us, between us, and between God. Apart from Christ, we are bound to have enmity everywhere, because deep down, we have not found what we are looking for. This makes us extremely insecure. We pass the days in malice and envy, because we are never satisfied. Like Adam and Eve, we are always looking for another 'apple' to eat, that we think will fulfill us. But, life, as it was created to be, is to be lived in relationship with God. Without the saving work of Christ, we are bound to be at war with each other, and with God. 

These two images combined are one of chaotic, restless frustration. We are wandering children, completely lost and led astray; yet, unwilling to give ear to the tender and loving words of our Heavenly Father. This is where the awesome mercy of God comes in! More on that tomorrow. 

Think Big Ideas About God

I was watching the movie "All the President's Men" (film about Watergate break-in) last night with my family, and this story popped into my memory. It was too good not to share. The following is an illustration by Tim Keller from a sermon titled "Does God Control Everything?" Listen from about 24:00 - 29:00. This story is straight cool. Below is a summary I found of this section from a blog by Andy Naselli. I don't know you Andy, but thanks for typing this up...

1. Tim Keller planted Redeemer Church because he entered a Presbyterian denomination that encouraged church planting.
2. Keller entered that denomination because in his last semester at seminary he took two courses with a professor who convinced him to adopt Presbyterian theology.
3. Keller sat under that professor because at the very last minute the professor arrived at the seminary after having bureaucratic visa problems. (The professor was British.)
4. While that professor was having visa problems, the seminary dean prayed one day about how he didn’t know how they were going to get the professor to arrive, and his prayer partner happened to be a seminary student named Mike Ford.
5. Mike Ford happened to have some clout to get them through the bureaucratic snag because he was the son of Gerald Ford, the sitting President of the United States.
6. Gerald Ford was President of the United States because Richard Nixon resigned.
7. Nixon resigned because a bunch of burglars broke into Watergate and were caught.
8. The burglars were caught because one of them happened to leave a door unlatched to an office they had just bugged, and then a night watchman just happened to walk by and notice the unlatched door.
9. So “if that [burglar] had latched the door,” Keller half jokes, “if that door had been closed just two more inches, we wouldn’t be here tonight. Even Watergate happened for you.”

...

I love this story. There are no coincidences in life, though we often attribute many occasions to them. This serves as a reminder to me to think big ideas about God. This sequence of events was so easy for God to orchestrate, yet it still blows my small mind away. Imagine the orchestration it required for each of us to be saved. Every person we encountered, every conversation we had and every feeling involved, which in perfect sequential order the Lord use to bring us to himself; each a miraculous story. Should that be attributed to chance or human effort? It seems only possible that was God chasing after each of us, to write us into His Story.

All Sin Punished

"No one anywhere at any time gets away with anything. Every sin, every crime will be punished--either in hell or on the cross."


John Piper


These may come across as hard words from John Piper, but they get at what primarily happened at the Cross. The words are hard because they condemn every single person who has ever lived. Everyone has lied in their life. Everyone has sinned either in thought or deed. And because God is holy, He must judge this sin. The just or righteous judgement is death. All have sinned, and all sin is punished. 


But this is what makes the gospel good news. Jesus took the punishment for sin at the cross. For all who would believe in Him, Jesus died a substitutionary death on our behalf, taking upon himself the punishment we rightly deserve. Now, that's what I call love. 


We are all guilty and in our selves, deserve death. But God offers life to everyone who would turn from trusting in themselves, and turn to trusting His Son. 

I Will.....

  “Now therefore thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, concerning this city of which you say, ‘It is given into the hand of the king of Babylon by sword, by famine, and by pestilence’: Behold, I will gather them from all the countries to which I drove them in my anger and my wrath and in great indignation. I will bring them back to this place, and I will make them dwell in safety. 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 32:36-41

The marvelous news is that God has done all of this through Jesus Christ. What a promise! What a Savior! I am simply overwhelmed to be a part of this story; that God has pursued myself (along with all His people) with his whole heart and soul, and has brought me back unto himself. I want to spend my entire life mining the riches of this beautiful gospel. 

The Essense of the Christian Faith

"The determining factor in our relationship with God is not our past or present, but Christ's past and present.

'How then does it work?' It works like this. God accepts this righteousness of Christ, this perfect righteousness face to face with the Law, which He honored in every respect. He has kept it and given obedience to it [through his perfect life], and he has borne its penalty [through his death]. The Law is fully satisfied. God's way of salvation, says Paul, is that. He gives to us the righteousness of Christ. If we have seen our need and go to God and confess it, God will give us his own Son's righteousness. He imputes Christ's righteousness to us, who believe in Him, and regards us as righteous, and declares and pronounces us to be righteous in Him. That is the way of salvation, the Christian way of salvation...

To make it quite practical let me say that there is a very simple way of testing yourself to know whether you believe that... [After] I have explained the way of justification...to them, then I say: 'Well, then, you are now ready to say that you are a Christian?' And they hesitate. And I know they have not understood. Then I say: 'What is the matter, why are you hesitating?' And they say: 'I do not feel that I am good enough.' At once I know that in a sense I have been wasting my breath. They are still thinking in terms of themselves; their idea still is that they have to make themselves good enough to be a Christian, good enough to be accepted with Christ. They have to do it! 'I am not good enough.' It sounds very modest, but it is the lie of the devil, it is a denial of the faith... The essence of the Christian faith is to say that He is good enough and that I am in Him!

As long as you go on thinking about yourself and saying: 'Ah, yes, I would like to, but I am not good enough; I am a sinner, a great sinner,' you are denying God and you will never be happy. You will continue to be cast down and disquieted. You will think you are better at times and then again you will find that you are not as good as you thought you were... How can I put this plainly? It does not matter if you have almost entered into the depths of hell, if you are guilty of murder as well as every other vile sin, it does not matter from the standpoint of being justified before God. You are no more hopeless than the most respectable...person in the world. Do you believe that?"  

D.M. Lloyd-Jones, Spiritual Depression

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."

The Glory of the Coming of the Lord

The final words from Martin Luther King Jr.'s last recorded speech, given on the eve of his assassination.

"I just want to do God's will. And he's allowed me to go up to the mountain. And I've looked over. And I've seen the promised land. I may not get there with you. But I want you to know tonight, that we, as a people, will get to the promised land. And I'm happy, tonight. I'm not worried about anything. I'm not fearing any man. Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord!"



And what was the glory of the coming of the Lord that MLK was so aware of that enabled him to boldly proclaim these words. What was it that gripped MLK so tightly, that even in the face of death and hatred, he had no fear?

I think MLK had an acute awareness of the restoration that Christ would in his 2nd coming. His confidence and foundation wasn't in himself, or even civil rights, but in what God was doing, and what he will eventually bring to completion. Despite the hardships and struggles faced in MLK's time, one day, Christ will come back in glory. He will dwell with his people, he will establish perfect justice, he will reconcile people from every nation, tribe and language, he will make all things new. MLK knew that the coming of the Lord meant that "every tear would be wiped away", and that "death would be no more". MLK had no fear, and was happy, because he knew that one day, when Christ returns and establishes his kingdom, he would join his brothers and sisters (white and black), singing the heavenly anthem,

"Hallelujah! For the Lord our God Almighty reigns. 

Let us rejoice and exult and give him glory,

for the marriage of the Lamb has come, 

and his Bride has made herself ready;

it was granted her to clothe herself with fine linen, bright and pure"

Revelation 19: 6-8

Look Unto Me

"...God says , 'Look unto me,' from the cross of Calvary, where the bleeding hands of Jesus drop mercy; from the garden of Gethsemane, where the bleeding pores of the Saviour sweat pardons, the cry comes, 'Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth.' From Calvary's summit, where Jesus cries, 'It is finished,' I hear a shout, 'Look, and be saved.'"

 

-Charles Spurgeon

Suits and Dresses For Down Here

"It's all right to talk about "long white robes over yonder," in all its symbolism, But ultimately people want some suits and dresses and shoes to wear down here. It's all right to talk about "streets flowing with milk and honey," but God has commanded us to be concerned about the slums down here, and his children who can't eat three square meals a day. It's all right to talk about the new Jerusalem, but one day, God's preacher much talk about the New York, the New Atlanta, the new Philadelphia, the new Los Angeles, the new Memphis. This is what we have to do."


Martin Luther King Jr. 
From his speech, I See The Promised Land, delivered in 1968 in Memphis, on the eve of his assassination. 


Yes, it is true that the final redemption and restoration of the world won't come until Jesus returns. Yet, Jesus came inaugurating his kingdom in the here and now, and we are called to participate in this redemption in the here and now. 

Jesus > Religion

An awesome video. Well worth the 4 minutes.

Jesus is Lord

I got goosebumps watching this one.

The Gospel: Better Than A Second Chance

Sunday, I had the amazing opportunity to attend the graduation ceremony for the January class of 2012 from the Vincent Gray Academy, in which I was able to see one of our students receive his high school diploma. The Vincent Gray Academy is an alternative high school which provides free, private education for students who live on the margins of poverty in East St. Louis. For many students in East St. Louis who have fallen through the cracks, this place provides a 2nd chance in life....


Read the rest of the post here: The Gospel: Better Than A Second Chance

Psalms: Highlight Reel

For when I kept silent, my bones wasted away
through my groaning all day long.
For day and night your hand was heavy upon me;
my strength was dried up as by the heat of summer. Selah
I acknowledged my sin to you,
and I did not cover my iniquity;
I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the LORD,”
and you forgave the iniquity of my sin. Selah
(Psalm 32:3-5 ESV)

.... We were dying. You are gracious ....

“O LORD, make me know my end
and what is the measure of my days;
let me know how fleeting I am!
Behold, you have made my days a few handbreadths,
and my lifetime is as nothing before you.
Surely all mankind stands as a mere breath! Selah
(Psalm 39:4-5 ESV)

.... We are finite. You give us hope in the eternal ....

Attend to me, and answer me;
I am restless in my complaint and I moan...
My heart is in anguish within me;
the terrors of death have fallen upon me...
Cast your burden on the LORD,
and he will sustain you;
he will never permit
the righteous to be moved.
(Psalm 55:2,4,22 ESV)

.... We have angst. You are peace ....

So teach us to number our days
that we may get a heart of wisdom.
Return, O LORD! How long?
Have pity on your servants!
Satisfy us in the morning with your steadfast love,
that we may rejoice and be glad all our days.
(Psalm 90:12-14 ESV)

.... We are empty. You are filling ....

My soul clings to the dust;
give me life according to your word!
(Psalm 119:25 ESV)

I will thank you forever,
because you have done it.
I will wait for your name, for it is good,
in the presence of the godly.
(Psalm 52:9 ESV)

My Next Record

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. 

The Reality of the Resurrection

I know it's not Easter, but here is a video entitled, Reality of the Resurrection from Odd Thomas of the Humble Beast crew. Great spoken word summarizing the gospel of Jesus Christ. A much needed daily reminder to cling to the cross and the finished work of Jesus.

The Slavery of Independence

"The world says the more independent you become, the freer and stronger you'll be; The gospel says the more dependent on God you become, the freer and stronger you'll be." --Tullian Tchividjian


I love these words from Tullian Tchividjian. This is so counter-intuitive to what we are led to believe and on the surface doesn't make much sense. Yet, this is the beautiful truth of the gospel.

Jesus frees us from ourselves. When we are independent, everything depends on us. Our security, identity, peace, rest, joy, it all depends on us. This is enslaving. This is why as humans we experience anxiety, bitterness, insecurity. No matter how strong we are, or how good we are, in our own independence, we will never know the true love that we are searching for. We always fall short. The gospel tells us that Jesus already earned all the freedom, joy, peace, rest, comfort, and security we could ever hope to have. Believing that we are given all these things sheerly by the mercy and grace of God frees us from the burden and slavery of self-performance. The gospel frees us from focusing on ourselves and looking to fulfill our needs within ourselves. Rather, we are able to find all that we are looking for and more in Jesus. This allows us to focus upward (God) and outward (other people) rather than focusing inward (ourselves).

The Mortal Resurrection

With the passing of Christmas and the new year, I believe the holiday season certainly leads to an inevitable increase in religion. Whether it is going to church on Christmas and having to face the question of why Jesus came, or coming up with a new years resolution to be a better person, the combination of Christmas and new years brings with it an occasion for renovation. But, how much of this actually has to do with Jesus?

What I mean is this: It is common for people to think that Jesus primarily came to conveniently make our lives better by improving our behavior and making us 'nice' people. For many of us, our new years 'resolutions' will probably follow this pattern as well. They will be aimed at trying harder to be a better person. For the typical church goer, Christianity primarily equals moral renovation. Therefore, Christmas and new years becomes just another attempt at trying to re-prioritize our lives. However, the Bible tells us that what we need is not a moral renovation, but a mortal resurrection. We don't need to re-prioritize our lives, we need to be spiritually brought from death to life. So I ask this, is your Christmas or new years resolution aimed at some form of moral improvement, or is it aimed at mortal resurrection? Jesus didn't come to merely improve our behavior, or make us look better on the outside. Jesus came to give us completely new life. 

We far too often think of Jesus as a docile 'Dr. Phil' or 'Oprah' character who is safe, comfortable, convenient, and doesn't want to cause any real change. This couldn't be further from the truth. Jesus comes to us and tells us that we are dead, and the only way to be brought to life is through him. Listen to these words Jesus speaks to the Pharisees. Keep in mind, the Pharisees were the most moral, religious people of their day. They followed all the rules. They were the kind of people who, if they made new years resolutions, would keep them perfectly. Yet, Jesus says they are dead.

"Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs, 

which outwardly appear beautiful, but within are full of dead peoples bones and all uncleanness.

So you outwardly appear righteous to others, but within you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness"

Matthew 23:27-28

We can re-prioritize our lives and can strive for moral renovation all we want. Without the mortal resurrection that Christ gives, we, like the Pharisees are 'whitewashed tombs'. We are dead, and Jesus calls us to a radical new life by putting our faith in him. How many of us are trying to improve ourselves by being a good, religious, moral person. It's like spraying cologne on a corpse. We are dead, hopeless, helpless, and are in need of completely new life. This life is found in Christ alone. 

The Gospel Journey

"And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross."

Colossians 2:13-14

As Tullian Tchividjian puts it in his book, Jesus + Nothing = Everything, this is the Gospel journey. It is a journey from being dead, to being made alive. It is a journey of being under the guilt and shame of our trespasses, to being forgiven. The Christian life is not primarily one of trying to fix ourselves so as to make ourselves look clean. Rather, it is realizing we are not clean, and trusting solely in the work of Jesus on our behalf. The Christian life is gazing more intently upon the One who canceled our debt that stood against us and who triumphed over the powers of evil. The Christian life is growing in gospel-awareness. At the cross, Jesus accomplished our forgiveness, our life, our deliverance. He did what we could never do ourselves. 

I don't really like new years resolutions, so I'm not going to call this a new years resolution. But, as we begin this new year, I am making it my aim to grow in a deeper heart understanding of this Gospel. I want to know more fully the all encompassing sufficiency of Christ's work on my behalf.  All the acceptance, security, approval, status, love, and life that I consistently long for, in Christ, I already have. My hope is to become increasingly saturated with this truth. 

Advent: Waiting For God

Everything Is Ours

Luke 11:37-41

"While Jesus was speaking, a Pharisee asked him to dine with him, so he went in and reclined at table. The Pharisee was astonished to see that he did not first wash before dinner. And the Lord said to him, “Now you Pharisees cleanse the outside of the cup and of the dish, but inside you are full of greed and wickedness. You fools! Did not he who made the outside make the inside also? But give as alms those things that are within, and behold, everything is clean for you."

....

A perfect summary of the gospel. Give up yourself. Realize what you are worshiping on a daily basis to justify you, to make you clean. The false saviors of my life. Accolades. Success in medical school. Thinking I've got it all together. Being perceived a certain way. Give them up. More specifically, give IT up. It's not only what you're giving up, but more importantly what you are getting. Give your heart up, and let your every affection rest in and identify with Jesus as the fulfillment of them. It is only by faith in Lord Jesus that everything is clean for us. His Might is our boast. His perfect record is our grade. His humility is our disposition. His promise is our confidence. His life is our salvation.