The Head of the Home

August 22, 2021 in Authority, Bible - OT - Joshua, Meditations, Responsibility

Joshua 24:14–15 

14“Now therefore, fear the Lord, serve Him in sincerity and in truth, and put away the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the River and in Egypt. Serve the Lord! 15And if it seems evil to you to serve the Lord, choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” 

What does it mean to be a man? That is the question that we began to address last week. Joshua models for us the central idea in our text today. To be a man is to be the head of the home, the one responsible to God for the condition of the home. This is our identity as men. So let us flesh this out. Joshua calls us as the heads of our households to lead our households (1) to fear the Lord, (2) to serve Him in sincerity and in truth, and (3) to put away idols.

First, a man’s calling is to lead his household to fear of the Lord. A man knows that “the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; fools despises wisdom and instruction” (Pr 1:7). Further, he knows that the pathway of the fear of the Lord is the Word of the Lord. “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; a good understanding have all those who do His commandments” (Ps 111:10). Hence, a true man reverences God, worships Him, refuses to take His Name in vain, and hallows the Lord’s Day, regularly leading His family to worship and praise the Lord – both at home and in the company of God’s people. Why? Because he knows that in God’s presence is true safety. “The fear of man brings a snare, but whoever trusts in the Lord shall be safe” (Pr 29:25). In short, a man is to serve as the spiritual leader of his household.

Second, a man’s calling is to lead his household to serve God in sincerity and truth. A godly man walks in integrity and abhors all hypocrisy and duplicity. He does not put on a show. His devotion to the Lord is not a front or a façade. In particular, a man views his work as a calling from God not a matter of mere necessity. Hence, he does his work, “not with eyeservice, as a men-pleaser, but as a bondservant of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart” (Eph 6:6). He serves God in his work. While doing this work to provide for his household, a man remembers to lay up treasure in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroy; for he knows that “better is a little with righteousness, than vast revenues without justice” (Pr 16:8). In short, a man is to serve as the provider of his household.

Finally, a man’s calling is to lead his household to put away idols. A man recognizes that there are those who hate God, hate His commandments, and who would like nothing less than the destruction of his home – physically and spiritually. He stands between his family and danger. Hence, he warns his household of the threat of idolatry, urging them that they “not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God” (Rom 12:2). A man realizes that the chief threat to his home is internal, not external. For the human heart is, as John Calvin once remarked, an idol-factory. Hence, the godly man keeps watch over his own heart and urges his household to watch over their hearts, for “from the heart spring the issues of life” (Pr 4:23). In short, a man is to serve as the protector of his household.

What does it mean to be a man? To be a man is to lead our household to fear the Lord, to serve Him in sincerity and truth, and to avoid idols – it is to be the spiritual leader, provider, and protector of our homes. The more faithfully we fulfill this calling, the more we reflect the character of the greater Joshua, our Lord Jesus Christ. For like the lesser Joshua, our greater Joshua stands before His Father and speaks for His people, represents His people. He says to the Father, “What they have done wrong, blame me. What I have done right, bless them.” He did not live for Himself, He did not come to be served, but to serve and to give His life on behalf of His people. And so this is our calling as well. This is what it is to be a man.

So what of you men? How are you doing? Are you leading your households well? Are you modeling the fear of the Lord? Are you working to serve the Lord, not laboring as a men-pleaser, but as a bondservant of Christ? Are you protecting yourself and your family from idols and enemies? This is your calling.

So reminded this morning of the high and holy calling that God has given to us as men, of our calling to lead our families in the fear of the Lord, let us confess that we are often conformed to the world rather than transformed by the renewing of our minds. And as we confess, let us kneel as we are able. We will have a time of silent confession followed by the corporate confession found in your bulletin. 

The Key to Long Life and Fruitfulness

August 8, 2021 in Bible - OT - Proverbs, Meditations, Wisdom

Proverbs 10:27–30 

27The fear of the Lord prolongs days, But the years of the wicked will be shortened. 28The hope of the righteous will be gladness, But the expectation of the wicked will perish. 29The way of the Lord is strength for the upright, But destruction will come to the workers of iniquity. 30The righteous will never be removed, But the wicked will not inhabit the earth. 

What is the key to long life and fruitfulness? This is a pressing question that our generation continues to ask. However, because we have turned away from the Living God, our answers are many and vacuous. We suggest that the key is public education, or sexual liberation, or social justice, or state funded health care, or confiscatory taxation, or particular diets, or essential oils, or violating our marriage oaths. In our polytheistic culture, everyone seems to have their own answer.

But Solomon tells us that the correct answer is the fear of the Lord. The fear of the Lord prolongs days. It is the one who hopes in the Lord that will experience gladness; the one who walks in the Lord’s ways, observing His moral law, that will be strong; the one who listens to the Word of God and implements it, that will never be moved. As David teaches us to sing in Psalm 1 – Blessed is the man who delights in the law of the Lord…he shall be like a tree planted by streams of living water, which yields its fruit in its season and does not wither. The key to long life and fruitfulness is the fear of the Lord for the righteous has an everlasting foundation. When the winds blow and the rains fall, it is the one who builds his house on the rock, who hears the words of Christ and does them, who will stand. Indeed, even if he perishes in this life, he knows that when Christ returns in glory to judge the living and the dead, he will be raised eternal and will serve the Lord in gladness forever. The fear of the Lord prolongs days.

So what is it that will bring death and desolation? Is it climate change, overpopulation, intolerance and discrimination, sexual repression, an unhappy marriage, poverty, capitalism, processed foods, vaccinations? Solomon tells us that the correct answer is wickedness: the years of the wicked will be shortened, his expectation will perish. The one who works iniquity, who violates God’s moral law, will be destroyed and will not inherit the earth. As David teaches us to sing in Psalm 1 – The ungodly are not so, but are like the chaff which the wind drives away. Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous. Though the wicked may prosper for a time, God will bring their plans and expectations to naught. He will destroy them and the earth will vomit them out. They are like a foolish man who builds his house upon sand – when the rains and floods come, his house will be destroyed. And this destruction will reach its culmination when Christ returns in glory to judge the living and the dead. The wicked will be judged according to the things written in the books and they will perish eternally. The years of the wicked will be shortened. 

So where have you placed your hope for long life? What do your habits and passions reveal about your beliefs? Have you been distracted by the cacophany of voices surrounding us? Or have you remained centered on the answer that Solomon gives? Is the majority of your time devoted to knowing and serving God, to understanding His moral law and obeying His precepts, or have you become distracted by other things? Where have you placed your hope? 

Reminded that righteousness is the key to long life and fruitfulness, and that wickedness brings destruction, let us confess that as Americans we have abandoned the living God and embraced wickedness, and let us confess that we, the Church in America, have become confused by the foolish answers given by our neighbors. We will have a time of silent confession followed by the corporate confession found in your bulletin. As we confess our sins to the Lord, let us kneel together as you are able.

The Folly of a Rushed Conclusion

June 27, 2021 in Bible - OT - Proverbs, Meditations, Satan, Wisdom

Proverbs 18:13, 17

13He who answers a matter before he hears it, It is folly and shame to him… 17The first one to plead his cause seems right, Until his neighbor comes and examines him. 

Frank and Deuce were neighbors and as they were both fairly young men just setting out in life neither had a family. But being ranchers, they worked hard – sunup to sundown on their ranches. And they often helped one another – sometimes one pair of hands just wasn’t enough.

One day another neighbor, Dolosus by name, who owned a large spread immediately south of Frank and Deuce paid Frank a visit.

“Howdy, Frank,” Dolosus greeted and then asked with a hint of concern in his voice, “Is everything okay down here on your ranch?”

“Why yes, thank you, everything seems to be just fine. Why do you ask?” Frank replied.

“Oh, it’s probably nothing,” Dolosus assured him good-naturedly.

“What’s probably nothing?” asked Frank, getting a bit concerned.

“Well,” Dolosus confided, “Deuce mentioned to me today at the store that he was tired of sharing the creek with you and was planning to stop it up with a dam and make a pond.”

“What?!” Frank demanded. “He’d never do such a thing!”

“Well,” said Dolosus with a sympathetic look, “I’m sorry to say that I saw him purchasing the supplies today – posts, supports, … Go see for yourself – I think you’ll see him putting the posts in now.”

And sure enough, when Frank climbed the bank to where he could see Deuce’s ranch there was Deuce putting posts in the ground right near the creek. Frank got so mad, steaming and stewing on Deuce’s audacity, that he grabbed his shotgun out of the house and set out across the field, making a beeline for Deuce. 

Deuce was so busy working on the fence that he never noticed Frank’s approach. He jumped when Frank yelled at him from just a few feet away, “You lousy neighbor!” Deuce had just enough time to turn around and see the shotgun aimed his way before Frank pulled the trigger and shot him dead. 

With grim satisfaction Frank looked at Deuce’s dead body sprawled on the ground. And it was then that he noticed the barbed wire that lay beside Deuce’s corpse – and then that he became aware of the awful truth: Deuce hadn’t been making a dam. He had been building the barbed wire fence the two of them had discussed only last week.

At that moment the Sheriff happened to arrive – it seems Dolosus had notified him there might be some trouble. The Sheriff clapped Frank in irons and led him off to be hanged. Dolosus smiled grimly as Frank passed by. He couldn’t wait for the auctioneer to put the two men’s farms up for sale. He had always thought they’d make a nice addition to his own spread.

Solomon tells us that he who listens to only one side of the story rarely gets the whole story. And the problem arises when we make conclusions based on only one side of the story. Like Dolosus, Satan delights to stir up trouble – for his own advantage, of course. And one of the ways he succeeds is by convincing us to act on inadequate information. So, this morning, let us confess that we have often proven as foolish as Frank. And, as you are able, let us kneel together as we confess. We will have a time of silent confession followed by the corporate confession found in your bulletin.

Salvation is of the Lord

June 20, 2021 in Bible - NT - Philippians, Meditations

Philippians 4:4–7 

4Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice! 5Let your gentleness be known to all men. The Lord is at hand. 6Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; 7and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. 

One of our distinctives as a congregation is what we sometimes call Sunny Calvinism. What do we mean by this label? Just this – Calvinism, rightly understood, is nothing but the declaration, as Charles Spurgeon once said, that salvation is of the Lord. And that is supremely good news – news that should make us joyful not grumpy.

Salvation – the glorious glad tidings that though we rebelled against our Creator and brought upon ourselves and all creation ruin and destruction, God acted to deliver us from our folly and rescue all creation from the darkness of death. He sent His Son to bear the punishment for our sin; He raised up His Son victorious over the grave; He gave His Son, as the Exalted Ruler over all creation, the right to pour out the Spirit and renew the face of the earth. What we could not do, weak as we were, God did. Salvation is of the Lord.

But there’s more. After all, for Christ’s work of redemption to apply to us individually more must happen. Each of us by nature is a child of wrath, devoted to the service of other gods, selfish, self-centered, worshiping the creature rather than the Creator. We are, as Paul announces, dead in our trespasses and sins – unable to rescue ourselves from our folly, unwilling to turn from our sin and embrace Christ. Christ’s death on the cross, His resurrection to the right hand of God – neither would benefit us if not for the work of the Spirit. God doesn’t just set up some mechanism of salvation and then say to us, “OK, put the coin in the slot and pull the lever and make it work.” No! Salvation is of the Lord. The Spirit must make us willing to turn from our sin and turn to Jesus. So if you are in Jesus, if you believe in Him and rest on Him for forgiveness and newness of life, then the Spirit of God has done this for you. Though you were stubbornly set against God by nature, by grace He has given you new life. Salvation is of the Lord.

And not only this – not only has God rescued and redeemed us – we know also that our Sovereign Lord governs all things and holds us and all things in His hands. Whatever the Lord pleases He does – in heaven and on earth, in the seas and in all deeps. He is sovereign. Not one hair falls from our head apart from our Father’s will. No enemy of ours shall separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. No plot of the wicked shall upset the righteous reign of our Christ or thwart His determination to establish justice in the earth. Salvation is of the Lord – the Ruler of all and whose purposes none can frustrate. 

So what ought to be our response? Joy! Rejoicing! Delight! Sunny Calvinism. In the words of Paul, “Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice! Let your gentleness be known to all men. The Lord is at hand.” The Lord – He who rules over all things and reigns supreme for the benefit of all those who are in Christ – is at hand. Hence, the fruit of the Spirit is joy. God has rescued us; God has done that which we were not able to do for ourselves; so how can we be anything but joyful? Salvation is of the Lord.

But often rather than reflecting such joy – joy that we have been redeemed, joy that God has us right where He has us for some good purpose – we grumble, complain, grow sour, live anxiously. So today as we enter into God’s presence, let us confess that we have failed to rejoice always; and, as you are able, let us kneel as we confess together. We will have a time of silent confession followed by the corporate confession found in your bulletin.

Glorify God with Your Body

June 13, 2021 in Bible - OT - Psalms, Liturgy, Meditations, Worship

Psalm 95:6
6Oh come, let us worship and bow down; Let us kneel before the Lord our Maker.

Psalm 134:1–2
1Behold, bless the Lord, All you servants of the Lord, Who by night stand in the house of the Lord! 2Lift up your hands in the sanctuary, And bless the Lord.

One of the most frequent questions visitors have about our service of worship, one of the questions that you may also have, is this: What’s with all the different postures? We sit, we stand, we kneel, we bow heads, we lift hands – why all the variety?

The answer to this question is threefold: first, God did not create us as mere spirits but as creatures with body and soul. As those who have bodies, God expects us to use them for His honor. Paul writes, “…you were bought at a price; therefore, glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s” (1 Cor 6:20). Our bodies belong to God and so what we do with them is important. This is especially true of our sexual conduct; but the principle applies more broadly. All our actions should reflect our reverence for God and our knowledge that one day Christ will return in glory to raise these very bodies from the grave. Our bodies matter.

So this leads us to the second answer to our question: why all the variety? The answer is that in worship there are a variety of things we do. We praise and thank the Lord; we confess our sins; we hear the assurance of forgiveness; we listen to the reading of God’s Word; we confess the creeds; we present our tithes and offerings; we pray; we learn from the Scriptures; we feast with God at His Table. This wonderful variety demands a variety of responses – both verbally and bodily. There is no “one size fits all” bodily posture for worship.

And this is why, third, the Scriptures invite us and, at times, command us, to worship God with a variety of postures – standing, kneeling, sitting, lifting hands, etc. So consider our texts today from the psalms, “Oh come, let us worship and bow down; Let us kneel before the LORD our Maker” (95:6). And again, “Behold, bless the LORD, All you servants of the LORD, Who by night stand in the house of the LORD! Lift up your hands in the sanctuary, And bless the LORD” (134:1-2). These are just a few examples of bodily postures described in the context of worship.

So we worship with a variety of postures, first, because we are bodily creatures and what we do with our bodies matters, second, because we do a variety of things in worship, and third, because Scripture itself commends a variety of postures in worship. But here’s one reason we do not worship with a variety of postures: just to put on a show or go through the motions. After all, the ultimate reason that our posture changes is that we worship coram Deo, before the very face of God. He is here with us and we dare not treat Him lightly. He calls us to worship; we respond by standing to praise Him. He thunders at our sin; we respond by kneeling to confess it. He assures us of pardon; we stand to listen and enter boldly into His presence through the shed blood of Christ. He instructs us from His Word; we stand to give our attention to its reading. This is the drama of the Divine Service – but it’s a drama that is meaningful only when accompanied by hearts that love and cherish Him. We are to “glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s” – one without the other is hypocrisy.

So what of you? Why do you stand? Why do you kneel? Why do you sit? Do you do it just because that’s what you’re being told to do? Do you kneel so you won’t appear out of place? Do you sit so you can take a nap? Or do you do all these things because you recognize with awe and wonder that the God we worship this Day has invited you into His very presence to worship? That He is here with us.

So today as we have entered into God’s presence He has thundered at our sin – let us confess that we have often just gone through the motions of worship; and, as you are able, let us kneel as we confess together. We will have a time of silent confession followed by the corporate confession found in your bulletin.

God Never Will Be Reconciled to Sin

June 6, 2021 in Bible - OT - Psalms, Confession, Depravity, Judgment, Justice, Meditations, Responsibility, Sin

Psalm 5:4–6 (NKJV)

4 For You are not a God who takes pleasure in wickedness, Nor shall evil dwell with You. 5 The boastful shall not stand in Your sight; You hate all workers of iniquity. 6 You shall destroy those who speak falsehood; The Lord abhors the bloodthirsty and deceitful man.

There is a grain of truth in the maxim, “God hates the sin but loves the sinner.” The truth is that God has acted in Christ to deliver sinners from their sin and reconcile them to Himself. God so loved the world that He sent His only begotten Son that whoever believes in Him may not perish but have everlasting life. God sent His Son because He loves fallen men and women and children who are made in His image and precious in His sight.

We must be careful, however, lest we permit this maxim to obscure God’s utter and complete hatred of sin, a hatred so holy that He had to send His Son to the Cross to turn it away; a hatred so pronounced that He will condemn sinners who refuse to repent of their sin to hell. On the Last Day, God judges both sin and sinner not just sin. Matthew Henry writes:

“[God] sees all the sin that is committed in the world, and it is an offence to him, it is odious in his eyes, and those that commit it are thereby made obnoxious to his justice. There is in the nature of God an antipathy [a natural aversion, hatred] to those dispositions and practices that are contrary to his holy law; and, though [a solution] is happily found out for his being reconciled to sinners [through Christ], yet he never will, nor can, be reconciled to sin.”

God “never will, nor can, be reconciled to sin.” While God can be reconciled to sinners through the sacrificial death of His Son, Jesus, He can never be reconciled to sin.

Believe it or not, this is good news. For if God could be reconciled to sin, then we wouldn’t know that our cries for justice, our cries against evil and wickedness, are meaningful or heard by God. We would have to conclude that evil is a normal part of the world. Perhaps, as some eastern religions teach, good and evil are just opposites that must perpetually exist in balance and we just ended up on the wrong side of the yang. Perhaps, as atheistic materialism implies, good and evil are just social constructs that different cultures can design wholly on their own without reference to a transcendent standard and we just didn’t have enough power to force others to comply with our desires. If God can be reconciled to sin, then the world is a dark and dreary place.

But thanks be to God, God cannot be reconciled to sin. Evil is always evil and good is always good. God does not take pleasure in wickedness. He abhors the one who does evil, the boastful, the worker of iniquity, the speaker of falsehood, as well as the bloodthirsty and deceitful man. He will not and cannot be reconciled to sin nor to unrepentant sinners.

So what of you? Have you reconciled yourself to your own sin? Are you making excuses for your greed? Excuses for your dishonesty? Excuses for despising the poor? For refusing to hear the cries of those who long for justice? For your racial animosity? For neglecting your children? Excuses for failing to lead your wife and children? For looking at porn? For indulging your children’s disobedience? Excuses for refusing to submit to your husband? For grumbling against God’s providence? For pitying those executed for murder or kidnapping? Excuses for disobeying your parents? For yelling at your sibling? For neglecting your aged parents? Excuses for nursing your bitterness? For coveting your neighbor’s house? For envying the rich?

Such excuses are simply ways that we attempt to reconcile ourselves to our sin. We call good evil and evil good. We attempt to define good and evil on our own terms, to pretend that we are wiser than God. But we are not wiser and the soul that sins shall die. Disaster and judgment come in the wake of excuses for sin, of reconciling ourselves to our sin. But hear the good news: “He who covers his sins will not prosper, but whoever confesses and forsakes them will have mercy” (Pr 28:13).

So reminded of our propensity to reconcile ourselves to sin, let us not make excuses for our sin but let us confess it to the Lord. And as we confess, let us kneel as we are able. We will have a time of silent confession followed by the corporate confession found in bulletin.

The Resurrection and God’s Promises

May 2, 2021 in Bible - NT - Romans, Church Calendar, Easter, Meditations, Resurrection

Romans 8:31–35, 37

31What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? 32He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things? 33Who shall bring a charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. 34Who is he who condemns? It is Christ who died, and furthermore is also risen, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us. 35Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?… 37Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.

 We have been emphasizing in our worship that the celebration of Easter continues in this period known as Eastertide. We continue giving the liturgical greeting, Christ is Risen! And I have devoted some of our exhortations to this topic of the resurrection. Why did Christ rise from the dead and what does this mean for us?

As we continue on this theme, let me remind you that it is the hope of the resurrection that has invigorated Christian witness throughout the ages. In the verses just prior to the ones we have read, Paul reminds us that all those whom God has predestined to life, He will call to faith in Himself; and all those whom He calls to faith, He will justify; and all those whom He justifies, He will glorify. The culmination of God’s work, in other words, is glorification: God will raise us from the dead and present us before Himself spotless and blameless. He “will transform our lowly body so that it may be conformed to Christ’s glorious body” (Phil 3:21).

It is in response to this promise, this promise of glorification and resurrection, that the words of our text are written. “What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?”

The promise of the resurrection assures us that all the promises that God has ever issued to His people will be fulfilled. God commands children “honor your father and mother that it may go well with you and that you may live long on the earth” (Eph 6:2). So what are we to think when a child loves and serves the Lord by honoring his parents and then suddenly dies? Will God’s promise fail? No – for in the flesh that child will serve God and with his own eyes and not those of another he shall see his Redeemer and worship Him.

Jesus promised, “there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or lands, for My sake and the gospel’s, who shall not receive a hundredfold now in this age…” (Mk 10:29-30). What are we to think of this promise and its application to the martyrs who lost life in the service of God? Will Jesus’ promise fail? No – for in the flesh those martyrs will serve God and with their own eyes and not those of another they shall see their Redeemer and worship Him.

The resurrection assures us that all the promises of God are yes and amen in Jesus. Because Jesus has risen and by His resurrection has overcome sin and death, because through Him and the power of His Spirit all creation will one day be renewed and resurrected, therefore, all the promises of God will reach their fulfillment. Not one promise will fall to the ground. So we can cry out with confidence: “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? …Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.”

This is our privilege and right as children of God – to live in hope of the resurrection. Too often, however, we live in fear – pressed down by the cares of this world, overwhelmed with the needs of the moment, forgetful of the promise of resurrection. We stand in need of the mercy of God and the empowering grace of God’s Spirit to enable us to live resurrection lives in the here and now. So, as you are able, let us kneel and let us confess our sins to the Lord, seeking His mercy. We will have a time of silent confession followed by the corporate confession found in your bulletin.

The Resurrection and Thanksgiving

April 25, 2021 in Bible - NT - 2 Corinthians, Church Calendar, Easter, Resurrection, Thankfulness

2 Corinthians 4:14–15
14… He who raised up the Lord Jesus will also raise us up with Jesus, and will present us with you. 15For all things are for your sakes, that grace, having spread through the many, may cause thanksgiving to abound to the glory of God.

 As we continue celebrating the season of Eastertide, it is fitting to meditate deeply on the significance of Jesus’ resurrection. In our passage today, Paul repeats one of his frequent maxims: He who raised up the Lord Jesus will also raise us up with Jesus… The resurrection of the dead is our hope – not that we will die and be spirits in the sky; not that we will perish and lose all consciousness; but that even as Jesus rose from the dead, we too shall rise. In Paul’s words to the Philippians, Jesus will transform our lowly body that it may be conformed to His glorious body… (Phil 3:21). This mortal body shall become immortal; this corruptible body shall become incorruptible; this weak body shall become strong. Glory be to God!

What this means is that the resurrection is the consummation of all world history. History is inexorably moving to the day when Christ shall return again in glory to judge the living and the dead; inexorably moving to the day when the dead shall arise from their graves – those who have done good through faith in Jesus Christ to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil by ignoring or rebelling against God to the resurrection of death (Jn 5). Creation itself is awaiting this same day. For when we rise from the dead, when our bodies are made new, all creation will share in our glorification. Even as all creation was plunged into death and decay through the rebellion of our first father Adam, so all creation will be renewed into life and glory through the obedience of the last Adam, Jesus the Christ (Rom 8).

And what this means, therefore, for all those in Christ, is that all creation is ours. This is our Father’s world. He has given it to His Son. And He has made us joint-heirs with Christ. We shall inherit all things. The sun, moon, stars, and planets are ours; the oceans, seas, lakes, rivers, and streams are ours; the mountains and plains are ours; the forests, grasslands, and deserts are ours; all creation is ours. “Blessed are the meek,” our Lord Jesus declares, “for they shall inherit the earth” (Mt 5:5). We are heirs, heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ (Rom 8:17). All things are ours since Christ has risen from the dead, we too shall rise, and all creation with us. It is this hope that lies behind Paul’s words in our text today. Listen again:

… He who raised up the Lord Jesus will also raise us up with Jesus, and will present us with you. For all things are for your sakes, that grace, having spread through the many, may cause thanksgiving to abound to the glory of God.

All things are for your sakes – all things: birds, beasts, fruit trees and all cedars, the honey bee and the crocus, the lily and the rose. All things.

Now if this is true – and through Christ’s resurrection it is – what kind of people ought we to be? A thankful people. “For all things are for your sakes, that grace, having spread through the many, may cause thanksgiving to abound to the glory of God.” God has made us heir of all things. So need we envy the gifts that God has given to others? Need we grasp or steal the things that others possess? No. In God’s time and in God’s way, all things shall be ours. Therefore, we can be content, content to trust God and His promises, content to wait upon the Lord. And because His promises are reliable, we can be thankful while we wait. We may not have much now, but God will provide abundantly more than we can ask or think. In other words, Jesus rose from the dead in order that we might escape envy and abound in thanksgiving to the glory of God.

So reminded that, through the resurrection of Jesus, God has made us heirs of all things and that we ought to be the most thankful of people, let us confess that we are often unthankful and envious. And as you are able, let us kneel together as we confess our sin to the Lord. We will have a time of silent confession followed by the corporate confession found in your bulletin.

What does Baptism reveal?

April 18, 2021 in Baptism, Bible - OT - Exodus, Children, Church History, Covenantal Living, Depravity, Ecclesiology, Human Condition, Justification, Meditations, Parents, Sacraments, Ten Commandments

Exodus 20:4–6
4“You shall not make for yourself a carved image—any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; 5you shall not bow down to them nor serve them. For I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me, 6but showing mercy to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments.

This morning we have the privilege of baptizing Samuel Seitz into the faith. As I do so, it is beneficial to consider the meaning and significance of our baptisms. Christ sent His disciples into the world to disciple the nations, baptizing them into the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. So what is the significance of these baptisms? Baptism says something about us and baptism says something about God.

First, baptism says something about us. Baptism declares, in no uncertain terms, that we are sinners in need of salvation by Christ. We are dirty and our filth must be washed away. And the baptism of infants announces the sober reality of original sin. On one occasion, the theologian John Gerstner was a visiting preacher and was asked to baptize one of the infants of the church. They explained to him one of their local traditions – prior to the baptism, the minister would give a white rose to the parents. Gerstner, of course, wanted to know why. They replied that the rose symbolized the innocence of the child. In his pithy way, Gerstner replied, “Then what’s the point of the water?” Baptism announces that we all, even infants who are not yet old enough to know their right hand from their left, are born in sin. By nature, we are all subject to God’s just wrath and curse. Baptism, therefore, reveals something about us – that we are sinners in need of salvation by Christ – only He can save us, not we ourselves.

Second, baptism says something about God. It announces that God has graciously provided a way of salvation, a way to be cleansed of our sin, cleansed of our corruption – both the original sin with which we are born and the personal sins that we ourselves begin to practice. God has provided a sacrifice to cover the guilt of our sin in the Person of His Son, our Lord Jesus Christ. Baptism reveals something about God – His forgiving grace through Jesus Christ.

And the baptism of infants declares something further about God’s grace. Infant baptism proclaims that His grace is not confined to atomistic individuals but extends itself to families, from generation to generation on those who fear Him. In baptism, God Himself speaks to our children. He promises them that He will be their God and the God of their children after them. Notice our text today:

For I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me, 6but showing mercy to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments.

What is God like? What is His character? He is a God who shows mercy to thousands of generations of those who love Him. So Mary, the mother of our Lord, sang in her Magnificat: “For God’s mercy is on those who fear Him from generation to generation” (Lk 1:50). In our baptisms, God summons us to believe His Word by loving Him and keeping His commandments.

Baptism, therefore, reveals something about us – our sin; but it also reveals something about God – His abounding grace. And so reminded this morning that baptism proclaims our sinful corruption and our sinful actions and our need for the forgiving grace of God in Christ, let us confess our sin to the Lord. And, as you are able, let us kneel together as we confess. We will have a time of silent confession followed by the corporate confession found in your bulletin.