Jesus the Risen Lord

March 31, 2013 in Bible - NT - John, Confession, Easter, Meditations, Resurrection

John 20:19–23 (NKJV)
19 Then, the same day at evening, being the first day of the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in the midst, and said to them, “Peace be with you.” 20 When He had said this, He showed them His hands and His side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord. 21 So Jesus said to them again, “Peace to you! As the Father has sent Me, I also send you.” 22 And when He had said this, He breathed on them, and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. 23 If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.”
For nearly two millennia now our fathers and mothers have been celebrating the feast of Easter – the celebration of our Lord Jesus Christ’s resurrection from the dead. On this day, the first day of the week, our Lord Jesus rose bodily from the grave and definitively conquered sin and death.
So what is the meaning of the resurrection? Is the resurrection just a nice story about the tenacity of life over death? Is it like the fairy tales of old, a tale that’s obviously not true but meant to teach us some moral lesson? The Scriptures proclaim that neither of those answers is sufficient – the meaning of the resurrection is, first of all, historical. Jesus did in fact rise from the dead. It is then, second, theological. Because Jesus rose from the dead, He has conquered death and now reigns as the Ruler of all. As I said in our greeting this morning – Jesus Christ is “the firstborn from the dead, the ruler of the kings of the earth.”
John records the significance of Jesus’ Lordship in his Gospel. In the evening of this day, Jesus appeared to the disicples and pronounced his blessing upon them and commissioned them to be his emissaries to the world. “Peace be to you!” he said, “As the Father has sent Me, I also send you.” Even as the Father sent Jesus into the world to seek and to save that which was lost, to reconcile us as human beings to Himself, so Jesus has sent the Church into the world with this same mission – he has entrusted to us the ministry of reconciliation so that we petition others on behalf of Christ, “Be reconciled to God!”
To accomplish this task, our Risen Lord has poured out His Spirit upon us and given us the immense privilege of proclaiming forgiveness in His Name. “If we forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them.” We have the privilege of declaring to all those who put their faith in Christ, “You are forgiven. Jesus really has conquered sin and death. He is our great High Priest who makes reconciles us to God.”
Alongside this joyful task, we have the solemn duty of warning the nations that there is no other way to be reconciled to God. We must come to God through Christ alone. “If we retain the sins of any, they are retained.” There is no way to be accepted by God other than through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. All other paths end in judgment.
So listen – where have you placed your confidence for acceptance by God? Jesus is the Risen Lord, the ruler of the kings of the earth. On the last day, we shall all rise from our graves and stand before this King as our judge and give an account of how we have served him. If we remain in rebellion against him, refusing to find in him the one who reconciles us to God, then we shall be judged. So turn from your sin and turn to Christ; rely on Him and Him alone for forgiveness. Only in and through Jesus can we be reconciled to God.
Reminded that we can only be reconciled to God through the sacrifice of Jesus, let us kneel and seek His forgiveness in Christ.

Be Diligent to Enter God’s Rest – Hebrews 4

November 21, 2012 in Bible - NT - Hebrews, Lord's Day, Resurrection

This past Sunday I had the immense privilege of preaching on Hebrews 4:1-11. This passage has nettled me for years and so I was glad for the opportunity to work through it. Praise God I think I figured it out. I have been so dissatisfied with some of the treatments of the text that I wanted to recommend another sermon and provide the text of my own sermon – and, of course, you’re welcome to listen to my sermon here.

D.A. Carson gives an excellent overview of the text in this message at The Gospel Coalition.

Here is the text of my sermon – hopefully some will find it helpful.

Of Lambs and Elephants (2 Pet 3:15-16)

Gregory the Great, Bishop of Rome from 590 until 604, is credited with comparing the sacred Scriptures to “a kind of river… which is both shallow and deep, shallows where a lamb may wade and depths where an elephant may swim.”The Scriptures, in other words, contain a remarkable diversity. Some things are simple and straightforward, requiring little skill to grasp. Others are complicated and challenging, requiring rigorous study and careful meditation. The Scriptures themselves acknowledge this diversity. Peter writes about Paul’s letters, for example, that there are in them “some things hard to understand…”
Unfortunately, many American Christians, especially evangelicals, have in recent years confined themselves exclusively to the shallows – even claiming at times that it is sinful or wrong to try and plumb the depths. Consequently, our sermons are often trite and simplistic; our devotion to intellectual pursuits is often negligible; and our theological depth is frequently superficial.
This tendency to stay in the shallows – and to boast of staying in the shallows – is not something that the book of Hebrews countenances. Indeed, Paul rebukes his audience for failing to go deeper in their grasp of the faith. He writes (5:12) that “Though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again…” – and this, he insists, is a shameful thing. We are to press toward maturity with our minds as well as with our hearts.
I say all this by way of introduction to our text today (4:1-13) because it is one of the most challenging texts in Hebrews, it is a deep part of the river. It requires a great deal of concentration, attention, and meditation in order to understand it aright. For years now I have attempted to get my mind around this text – I think I’ve got it now; but I’m not positive. The main points, the shallows, are easy to grasp. But there are depths here that are very challenging. And Paul doesn’t apologize. He insists that it is our obligation as disciples of Jesus to understand and apply this word in our lives. There is no such thing as Christianity-lite. We are all called to serve Christ to the best of our mental ability. So don’t expect today’s sermon to be easy – it will most likely reflect the text I’m preaching. But it is the Word of God and worthy of our attention.
II.           God’s Rest
A.   Overview (cf. 1 Cor 10:1-5)
As I already indicated, this passage is one of the more challenging in Paul’s letter to the Hebrews. Let’s attempt, first, to get an overview of the text and then we’ll look in more detail at Paul’s argument and conclusion.
I think that part of the reason this text is challenging for us is that we moderns do not know how to read the Old Testament typologically. Let me illustrate with a parallel passage. In 1 Corinthians 10 Paul compares the church to the Jews in the wilderness period – the very thing he is doing here in Hebrews 3-4. I want you to notice some of the comments Paul makes in that passage that will perhaps assist our study of Hebrews:        READ 1 Cor 10:1-5
Paul writes that our fathers in coming out of Egypt and passing through the wilderness were a type – a picture, an anticipation, a shadow – of the church. NB verse 11: Now all these things happened to them as types, and they were written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the ages have come. In other words, Paul tells the Corinthians, by observing Israel’s history, we can learn the particular challenges and dangers we will face as God’s people. So notice the things that Paul sees when he looks at the wilderness story:
         v.2 – Our fathers were “baptized” into Moses and the sea – Baptism
         v.3 – They ate spiritual food and drink spiritual drink – the Eucharist
         v. 4- They drank from the Rock – Christ
                  Nevertheless, they died in the wilderness
Note that in reading the wilderness narrative, Paul sees Christ and the church at the center of it. Christ was leading them; they had essentially the same sacraments we do; so we must be careful to learn from these incidents. Now how many of us, when reading our OT, read with this perspective? Would we have seen Christ there? Seen baptism and the Lord’s Supper there? Not likely. And this inability to read typologically dogs us as we approach Hebrews 4 – for Paul is using this same typological framework to read the wilderness narrative again. Christ and His people, His Church, are at the center of the OT.
So let us return to Hebrews where Paul is discussing the same wilderness incident through the lens of Psalm 95 and warning hisgeneration even as the psalmist had warned his: Beware lest you harden your hearts like our fathers. Take care! Don’t imitate their unbelief! Don’t die in the wilderness!
Now here’s a question you should be asking of the biblical text – but which we frequently don’t because “This is the Bible and we can’t ask questions!” But questions are absolutely necessary. When we’re reading the Bible, in order to understand we need to ask good, penetrating questions of the text. So here’s the question we need to ask: why must the psalmist’s generation, why must Paul’s generation, why must we beware lest we harden our hearts? Well, the texts say, remember what happened when our fathers hardened their hearts – they failed to enter God’s rest; they died in the wilderness. So beware lest you harden your heart. But again we ask: why? After all, the psalmist’s generation wasn’t on the cusp of entering into the land of Canaan – they were already in it; Paul’s generation wasn’t – they’d been in it for generations; we aren’t – we don’t even live close to it. What relevance does the wilderness judgment have for each of these generations? Much, if we’re thinking typologically.
Consider: from what were our fathers excluded? Well notice what God says in the text (4:3): “So I swore in my wrath, they shall not enter My rest.” Note that the fathers were excluded from God’s Rest. Now when God excluded our fathers from the Promised Land, was the Promised Land synonymous with God’s Rest? They didn’t get to enter into God’s Rest, that is, they didn’t get to enter the land of Canaan? No! That doesn’t seem right. How could God’s Restbe limited to the land of Canaan? Ah, now you’re on to something – you’re on to the same thing that the psalmist saw, that Paul saw: the land of Canaan was a mere type, an anticipation of the true rest that God was offering our fathers. Their failure to enter the Promised Land was symptomatic of their failure to enter God’s Rest. They did not believe God, did not live in anticipation of His promise to grant them true rest. So this is why the psalmist reissues an invitation to God’s Rest to his generation. The rest from which the fathers were excluded was a rest that remained accessible to the psalmist’s generation – unlike their fathers they could enter into God’s Rest – and, Paul writes, so can we.
So notice the typological connections: rest in the land of Canaan was a type of the ultimate rest that God has promised to those who trust Him. Just as the Rock pointed to Christ; just as the passage through the Red Sea pointed to baptism; just as the manna and water pointed to the Eucharist, so the rest in Canaan pointed to the final resurrection. Canaan Rest was a mere type of the Resurrection Rest that God has promised to those who love Him. And it is this Rest that remained open in the psalmist’s day, this rest that remained open in Paul’s day, this rest that remains open in our day. So long as it is called “Today” this Rest remains accessible. Therefore, we must be diligent to enter that Rest.
B.   Basic Structure
So with this overview of what Paul is saying – let’s look at the way Paul says it. Paul’s words are organized as a sandwich. He gives an exhortation in v. 1 that he repeats in v. 11. Between these exhortations he gives his rationale. So let us begin by looking at his exhortation.
1.    Paul’s Exhortation (vv. 1, 11)
We begin in v. 1 – Therefore, since a promise remains of entering His rest – notice that immediately Paul is highlighting that the rest held out to the fathers continues to remain open to the present. By warning his hearers, “Today, if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts…” the psalmist is indicating that God holds out the promise of rest for the psalmist’s generation even as He did for the fathers in the wilderness. And Paul’s point is that this promise continues to his own day. A promise remains of entering God’s rest.
Therefore, since this promise remains, since God continues to hold out to His people the prospect of entering His rest, let us fear lest any of you seem to have come short of it. This command represents the heart of Paul’s message here in Hebrews 4. The command in v. 1 – let us fear lest any of you seem to have come short of it – is reiterated in v. 11 – Therefore, let us be diligent to enter that rest, lest anyone fall according to the same example of disobedience. Paul is reiterating the necessity of perseverance. Do not grow weary – don’t turn back; don’t drift away; don’t harden your hearts. All these commands serve the same basic function – Paul is reminding his readers of the absolute necessity of perseverance. Persevering in the faith is not an option; if we fail to persevere then we will not enter into God’s rest.
2.    Paul’s Rationale (vv. 2-10)
Between these two exhortations, the bread on either side, Paul substantiates his assertion that a promise remains of entering God’s rest. After all, if the rest does not exist, then what’s the point exhorting us to enter into it? It would be the equivalent of urging us to make our way to the land of Oz – a vain journey since no such country exists except in fairy tales. So Paul wants us to understand that the rest toward which we are pressing is not some fictional country but a real place. Note that this is the point of the word “for” (v.2, 3, 4, 8) – Paul is giving the rationale for his assertion that a promise remains of entering God’s rest.
Paul’s rationale is very elaborate and difficult to follow. I will do my best to explain it –but if my explanation goes over your head just remember that the issue is with the text. This is “hard to understand.” Nevertheless the central thrust of Paul’s comments is clear and it is this: Scripture demonstrates that God’srest, begun at the beginning of creation, continues to be open and accessible to those who believe.
So look at Paul’s argument. It is divided into two main sections: in vv. 2-5 he insists that the rest from which our fathers were excluded is a rest that has existed from the beginning of creation; then in vv. 6-8 he insists that it is to this rest that Psalm 95 invites God’s people; in vv. 9-10 he states his conclusion: this rest remains open to us.
a.     The Origin of God’s Rest (vv. 2-5)
So let us look first at the origin of God’s Rest – Paul insists that the rest from which our fathers were excluded is a rest that has existed from the beginning of creation.
·      We have had the gospel preached to us just as they did – God said to them – “I will bring you into a land of milk and honey and I will give you rest from your enemies”; Jesus says to us, “Come to me, all who are weary and heavy laden and I will give you rest.” We receive the same invitation they did – the invitation to enter into God’s rest.
·      But the fathers didn’t enter this rest because they didn’t believe God’s word; “No, God’s not going to bring us into the land of milk and honey, he is going to destroy us here in the wilderness.”
·      But those who believe do enter the rest – witness Joshua and Caleb who said, If the Lord delights in us, then He will bring us into this land and give it to us, a land which flows with milk and honey.
·      So notice the wording of the psalm – “they shall not enter My rest” – God is making a distinction; some are entering into the rest and others are not. So what is this rest? It’s God’s Rest.
·      And where else does Scripture speak of God’s rest? In Genesis. So note Paul’s words, “And yet this rest (that some entered and others did not) has been accessible from the beginning of creation” – it wasn’t something that originated after the Exodus. It was something that existed from the beginning of creation into which the fathers were invited to enter. After all, what does it say in Genesis? On the 7th Day, God rested from all His works.
·      And it is from this rest, God’s Rest, this creational rest, that God excludes the unbelieving.
Note, therefore, that the rest from which God excluded our fathers was the rest into which He Himself had entered upon finishing the creation. It wasn’t primarily the land of Canaan that they missed out upon – it was God’s rest to which the land of Canaan pointed. God’s Restoriginated at the beginning of creation.
b.    The Invitation to God’s Rest (vv. 6-8)
But the psalmist didn’t warn his readers to no end, to no purpose. He wasn’t just issuing the warning for fun. Why is he warning his generation about the failure of our fathers to enter God’s rest? Because God’s rest remained open to them: Today if you hear his voice, don’t harden your hearts. The invitation to enter God’s Rest was still open in the psalmist’s day. Notice Paul:
6a – Since therefore it remains that some must enter it – since God’s rest remains open and accessible;
6b – And since our fathers failed to enter it because of disobedience and unbelief;
7a – God reissued the invitation through David saying, “Today”
7b – if you hear His voice do not harden your hearts
God continued, through the psalmist, to invite His people to enter into His Rest, the rest that had been established since the foundation of the world. You see when God preached the Gospel to our fathers – I will bring you into a land of milk and honey and grant you rest from all your enemies– he wasn’t just inviting them into Canaan. The rest in Canaan was a mere type or picture of the rest God was promising. For (8) if the rest which God promised our fathers was exhausted by entering into Canaan, then God wouldn’t have spoken of another rest much later through David.
c.     Conclusion (vv. 9-10)
Notice, therefore, Paul’s conclusion in v.9 – There remains, therefore, a Sabbath rest for the people of God. So long as it is called “Today” we can enter into God’s Rest. There will come a time when the strenuous push to persevere is completed; when our sanctification, now begun, ends in glory. At that time we will be able to rest; to concern ourselves no longer with the constant need for vigilance and perseverance. Just as God completed His labor and rested, so our labor will be complete. But it’s not complete yet! So (v.11) let us be diligent to enter that rest!
C.   Meaning of God’s Rest
What then is this rest to which Paul is pointing? As I’ve already indicated, the rest to which Paul points is the resurrection – when Christ returns in glory, the dead are raised, and we are transformed into glory. This is evident from a comparison of chapters 3&4 with chapters 1&2. Remember the flow of Paul’s words in chapters 1&2:
1:5-14     – Demonstration: Jesus is the Exalted King, God’s Son
2:1-4       – Warning: Beware Drifting Away
2:5-18     – Why should we beware falling away? Because the mission of the Son of God is to bring us to glory & honor; to teach us to rule; to make us fully human. Remember 2:10-11: “For it was fitting for Him, for whom are all things and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons to glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings. For both He who sanctifies and those who are being sanctified are all of one, for which reason He is not ashamed to call them brethren…”
Notice now the similarity with this new section:
3:1-6 – Demonstration: Jesus is the Exalted Prophet, Greater Moses
3:7-19 – Warning: Do not harden your hearts
4:1-13 – Why should we beware hardening our hearts? Because Jesus has put before us the promise of rest, the promise of glory and honor. The promise of rest, therefore, is the promise of our ultimate exaltation. When we are crowned with glory and honor we will sit down just like our elder brother; we will enter into our rest. Rest, in other words, equals glory and honor, equals resurrection.
So let us close with two brief observations/applications:
·      Consider, brothers and sisters, what God has placed before us: rest. Not mere cessation of activity but rest, enjoyment, satisfaction, delight, fullness of joy. Is not God good and gracious? Despite our rebellion against Him, He has provided for us a way to enter into rest; to no longer be harassed by our enemies – the world, the flesh, the devil and those various folks in league with these forces. God promises us rest. We’ll consider this more next week.
·      In light of this promise, the promise of entering God’s rest, let us fear lest any of us come short, lest we miss out on that which as human beings we all long for without knowing it. We all long for rest, peace, delight, and enjoyment. We labor for it; we sin trying to achieve it; we destroy others to try and grab hold of it. And the sober reality is this: it is possible to miss it. Our fathers missed it and we can too. So let us be diligent to enter that rest.
III.         Conclusion
To remind us of the nature of this rest toward which we are pressing, this rest we are striving toward, God invites us to this feast, to this Table. He invites us to eat with Him. But it’s a feast not open to all: it is open only to His people, reminding us that the final meal too is not universal. There are some who will have no part in that feast even as there are some who have no right to this one. So let us be diligent to enter that Rest even as we come here to this anticipation of it.

Anticipate the Future

October 18, 2012 in Bible - NT - 1 Corinthians, Eschatology, Meditations, Resurrection

1 Corinthians 15:20–26 (NKJV)
20 But now Christ is risen from the dead, and has become the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. 21 For since by man came death, by Man also came the resurrection of the dead. 22 For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall be made alive. 23 But each one in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, afterward those who are Christ’s at His coming. 24 Then comes the end, when He delivers the kingdom to God the Father, when He puts an end to all rule and all authority and power. 25 For He must reign till He has put all enemies under His feet. 26 The last enemy that will be destroyed is death.

Last week we remarked that as Christians we are called to be a people anchored and rooted in the past. Today we learn that we are not only to be anchored in the past, we are to anticipate the future. Christianity does not proclaim that what we see now is all that ever shall be. Rather, we are called in faith to look to the future, the day when Christ shall return in glory and triumph over the last of His enemies – death. And when He triumphs over death this shall be glorious news for us – for we shall rise from the dead. Even as Christ rose from the grave bodily ever to live and reign as King, so we shall rise from the dead to rule beside Him, vice-regents over all creation. Christ is the firstfruits of the resurrection of the dead.

It is Jesus Himself who has taught us to live – not only anchored in the past but eager for the future. After all, for the joy set before Him He endured the cross despising the shame. Jesus lived, sacrificed, bled, and died in hope. He died anticipating God’s faithfulness to Him and that the grave would not be victorious over Him. And He held out this same promise to us – now verified by his own resurrection. Jesus declared, “…the hour is coming in which all who are in the graves will hear [the Son of Man’s] voice and come forth – those who have done good, to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of condemnation” (Jn 5:28-29).

So what does the hope of the resurrection mean for us? It means that no matter the trials we endure now, no matter the suffering and hardship that we may be called to endure as Christ’s disciples or as humans living in a fallen world, we live in hope. These sufferings, as Paul explains in Romans 8, “are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us. For the earnest expectation of the creation eagerly waits for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it in hope; because the creation itself also will be delivered from the bondage of corruption in to the glorious liberty of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation groans and labors with birth pangs together until now. Not only that, but we also who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, eagerly waiting for the adoption, the redemption of our body. For we were saved in this hope…” (8:18-24a). In which hope? In hope of the resurrection.

So we can count it all joy, my brethren, when we encounter various trials; we can rejoice to the extent that we share Christ’s sufferings; for we know that if we suffer with Him, we shall also reign with Him. Praise God for the hope of the resurrection.

But often we fail to live in hope, fail to live in anticipation of the future, in anticipation of the resurrection. Instead we focus on the suffering in the here and now. We forget the goal. So let us kneel and confess our need for His grace. We’ll have a time of silent confession following which I’ll pray on behalf of the congregation.

Our Father,

Not only do we forget the past, we also forget the future that you have promised. We get overwhelmed by the pressures of life, stunned by the sufferings we face. And so we doubt your goodness, we doubt your faithfulness, we doubt your Word. Forgive us, O Lord, for our sin is ever before us. We know that we are weak. But we praise you that you are strong! And that you have given us the firstruits of the Spirit. We pray that by Your Spirit you would continue to work within us and empower us to live in hope. Empower us both to remember the past and to ancitipate the future – through Christ our Lord. AMEN.

Resurrection, Thanksgiving, and Praise

May 14, 2012 in Bible - NT - 2 Corinthians, Easter, Meditations, Resurrection

2 Corinthians 4:13–15 (NKJV)
13 And since we have the same spirit of faith, according to what is written, “I believed and therefore I spoke,” we also believe and therefore speak, 14 knowing that He who raised up the Lord Jesus will also raise us up with Jesus, and will present us with you. 15 For all things are for your sakes, that grace, having spread through the many, may cause thanksgiving to abound to the glory of God.
What is the significance of Jesus’ resurrection from the dead? This is the question we have asked for several weeks during this time of Eastertide. As we anticipate Ascension Sunday and Pentecost Sunday in the weeks to come, I would like to close our observations on the resurrection today. In our text today Paul helps us understand the significance of the resurrection: Jesus rose from the dead so that we might be thankful and praise our God.
To make his point, Paul quotes from Psalm 116, “I believed and therefore I spoke.” Long ago the psalmist penned these words while thanking God for delivering him from the pains of death. “The pains of death surrounded me, and the pangs of Sheol laid hold of me; I found trouble and sorrow. Then I called on the name of Yahweh; “O Yahweh, I implore you, deliver my soul!” In the course of the psalm, we learn that the Lord heard the psalmist’s prayer: “For you have delivered my soul from death, My eyes from tears, and my feet from falling. I will walk before the Lord in the land of the living.” In reponse to God’s kindness delivering him from the fear of death, the psalmist does the only thing he can rightly do: speak out, praise and thank the Lord. I will offer to You the sacrifice of thanksgiving, and will call upon the name of the Lord.
The faith and thanksgiving manifested by the psalmist are imitated and expanded by the Apostle Paul in our text today. The psalmist trusted the Lord and was delivered from death – and what was his response to this deliverance? He spoke, he praised God. So we also believe and therefore speak.
13 And since we have the same spirit of faith, according to what is written, “I believed and therefore I spoke,” we also believe and therefore speak, 14 knowing that He who raised up the Lord Jesus will also raise us up with Jesus, and will present us with you. 15 For all things are for your sakes, that grace, having spread through the many, may cause thanksgiving to abound to the glory of God.
Note that the reason we can join the psalmist in praising God for deliverance from death is because God in his grace and mercy has given us immense confidence in the face of death by raising Jesus from the dead. We thank and praise God knowing that He who raised up the Lord Jesus will also raise us up with Jesus. Death is a defeated foe; Christ is Risen, so we too shall rise.
Notice, therefore, that the end goal of Christ’s resurrection is that praise and thanksgiving might abound in all the world to Yahweh, the living God. Jesus came in order to restore rightful worship. Jesus rose from the dead in order to restore rightful worship. In other words, Jesus rose from the dead so that you would be here this morning, joining your voice in company with the voices of all God’s people and praising and thanking God for his mercies, thanking God that He has delivered us from the fear of death.
So, brethren, how eager are you to be here? God raised up Jesus so that you would be here this morning; so that you would your voice in company with the voices of your brothers and sisters; so that you would worship him. So how ought we to approach this morning? With sloth? With mere formality? With mumbling and inattention? May it never be! Let us join our voices week by week in thankful acknowledgement of God’s mercies toward us in Christ – Alleluia! Christ is risen! So let us worship.
Reminded that Jesus rose from the dead in order that we might worship Him together, we are also reminded how we often approach worship with insufficient joy and delight. So let us kneel and confess our sin to the Lord. We will have a time of private confession followed by the public confession found in your bulletin.

The Hope of the Resurrection

May 7, 2012 in Bible - NT - Romans, Easter, Meditations, Resurrection

Romans 8:31–35, 37 (NKJV)
31 What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? 32 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? 33 Who shall bring a charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. 34 Who 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. 35 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.
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 we have devoted some of our exhortations to the topic of the resurrection. Why did Christ rise from the dead and what does this mean for our own attitude toward death?
As we continue on theme, let me remind you that it was the hope of the resurrection that invigorated our fathers and mothers in the pages of Scripture and it is this same hope that is to invigorate us. 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, he will raise from the dead and present before Himself spotless and blameless.
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?”
You see the promise of the resurrection is the promise 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.” Well 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.
What are we to think of Jesus’ promise, “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…” What are we to think of this promise and its application to the martyrs? 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 assurance that the resurrection gives us is that all the promises are yes and amen in Jesus. Because of Jesus, because Jesus is risen and by His resurrection He has overcome sin and death, because through Him and the power of His Spirit all creation will one day be renewed and resurrected, 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 bring a charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. Who 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. 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. We stand in need of the forgiving grace of God and the empowering grace of God’s Spirit to enable us to live resurrection lives in the here and now. Let us kneel and confess our sins to the Lord.

Contempt for Death

April 23, 2012 in Bible - NT - 1 Corinthians, Easter, Meditations, Resurrection

1 Corinthians 15:51–57 (NKJV)
51 Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed— 52 in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. 53 For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. 54 So when this corruptible has put on incorruption, and this mortal has put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written: “Death is swallowed up in victory.” 55 “O Death, where is your sting? O Hades, where is your victory?” 56 The sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the law. 57 But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
Last week we observed that we are in the time of Eastertide, the period of time when the Church has historically remembered and celebrated the resurrection of our Lord Jesus from the dead. So why did Jesus rise from the dead? To demonstrate for all those who believe in Him that our bodies likewise will be raised.
And it is this theme upon which Paul dwells in our text today. This corruptible body must pass through the furnace of death and be raised incorruptible; this mortal body that is subject to death must pass through the furnace of death and be raise immortal. And when this has happened, when at the Last Day Christ has returned in glory and raised from the dead all those who believe in Him, transformed us into His own image – righteous, incorruptible, immortal – then shall come to pass the promise of Scripture, “Death is swallowed up in victory.”
In other words, brothers and sisters, we have immense hope. Death is not the final word. As horrible as death is, as devastating as it is, death is a conquered foe. Jesus rose from the dead; Jesus dealt death a death blow. We now live in sure and certain hope of the resurrection of the dead; because Christ has risen we too shall rise.
So what does this mean? It means that we can have immense confidence in the face of death itself and in the face of all death’s minions – sickness, pain, torture, persecution, hardship, trial. None of these things have the last word – the last word belongs to Jesus and to life. And this is what our psalmist understood. “I would have lost heart, unless I had believed That I would see the goodness of the LORD In the land of the living.” “Oh death, where is your sting? O grave, where is your victory? Thanks be to God who gives us the victory through Christ Jesus our Lord.”
Such confidence is absolutely necessary for us to possess as the people of God. After all, consider the twofold task that has been entrusted to us. First, we are to lead lives of godly sincerity and purity no matter what others may think or say. Second, while living this way we are not to retreat into a little hovel but to engage all the nations of the earth with the message of the Gospel. What would enable us to accomplish such things? Listen to Eusebius:
[To do so] the strongest conviction of a future life was necessary, that [we] might be able with fearless and unshrinking zeal to maintain the conflict with Gentile and polytheistic error: a conflict the dangers of which [we] would never have been prepared to meet, except as habituated to the contempt of death.
How are we to treat death? With contempt. Why? Because Christ is risen and has broken his power. Even as Christ rose from the dead, we too shall rise. This mortal shall put on immortality. So what should characterize our lives? Fearless and unshrinking zeal to maintain the truth of God against all opposition – whether from our own flesh or from the world or from the devil himself. Congregation of the Lord, Christ is Risen! (He is Risen indeed!)
So reminded of the power of Christ’s resurrection but no doubt reminded also that we frequently are fearful and shrinking rather than fearless and unshrinking, let us kneel and confess our lack of faith to the Lord.

A Fairy Tale Come True

April 16, 2012 in Bible - NT - Romans, Easter, Meditations, Resurrection

Romans 8:11 (NKJV)
11 But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.
There once was a boy named Jack whose family was very poor. His father had died and he and his mother lived alone on their small farm. But the crops had failed and Jack and his mom had only one choice left: they’d have to sell their cow so they could get enough money to buy food and seed for the next season.
So Jack’s mom sent him to market and Jack, like a good boy, made his way to town. But along the way he met an old man by the side of the road. “Beans, beans, magic beans!” the man cried. Jack was curious. “What do these beans do?” he asked. “Ah, plant these beans,” the man replied, “and they will grow into a huge vine that will rise to a massive height and take you to the giant’s castle where he holds the goose that lays the golden eggs.” Golden eggs! Well that was just the thing for Jack. If he could get those golden eggs then he and his mom would be free of their troubles.
So Jack made the trade – his cow for the old man’s beans. Whistling happily Jack returned home and proudly showed his mom the beans he had obtained in exchange for the cow. But Jack’s mom – as you may recall – was none too pleased with her son. “You foolish boy,” she declared. “Those aren’t magic beans – that old man has fooled you and now we have nothing left either to eat or to plant in the spring!”
Jack was grieved that his mom was unhappy with him – for he was a good boy. So what did Jack do? He determined to put those beans to the test. Late that night, when the full moon was shining on their farm, Jack went out and planted the beans, watered them, and then returned to bed. “Perhaps now my mom will see that these beans really were magic.”
Early the next morning, before his mom was awake, Jack got up, put on his clothes, and ran outside to check on his beans. Normally, of course, this would be an exercise in futility – beans don’t grow overnight – but these were magic beans. And there before Jack’s eyes, reaching high up into the sky, was the biggest bean stock Jack, or anyone else, had ever seen. It soared up into the clouds, far out of Jack’s sight. Jack had been right – they were magic beans.
And how did Jack know they were magic beans? He planted them, he put them to the test.
Brothers and sisters, this is Eastertide, the time of year when we continue to celebrate the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. So why was Jesus raised from the dead? Listen as the great historian Eusebius explains the reason to the emperor Constantine upon the 30th anniversary of Constantine’s reign:
Suppose one desired to show us that a vessel could resist the force of fire; how could he better prove the fact than by casting it into the furnace and thence withdrawing it entire and unconsumed? Even so the Word of God, who is the source of life to all, desiring to prove the triumph over death of that body which he had assumed for man’s salvation… pursued a course consistent with this object. …delivering [his body] up to death in proof of its mortal nature, he soon redeemed it from death, to demonstrate the immortality of the body accomplished by His Divine power and the powerlessness of death.
Even as Jack proved his beans were magic by planting them, Jesus demonstrated the immortality of the body by dying and rising from the dead. With this difference: Jack and his beans are a mere fairy tale but Jesus’ death and resurrection are the fairy tale come true – they really happened.
Brothers and sisters – Christ is risen! Let us rejoice! Death no longer has the final word. The sting of death has been broken; the power of the grave has been shattered. Hades has given up his captives and we can now rejoice in the power of God and face death as a defeated foe. There is no cause for fear – if we are trusting in the Lord Jesus Christ and in His power over sin and death, then we need not fear or be afraid. God our own God will deliver us and rescue us.
And so reminded that our Lord Jesus died and rose again to teach us to live without fear of death, let us kneel and confess that we have often been overcome by our fears instead.

The Son of God with Power

May 5, 2009 in Bible - NT - Romans, Easter, King Jesus, Meditations, Resurrection

Romans 1:1-4
1 Paul, a bondservant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated to the gospel of God 2 which He promised before through His prophets in the Holy Scriptures, 3 concerning His Son Jesus Christ our Lord, who was born of the seed of David according to the flesh, 4 and declared to be the Son of God with power according to the Spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead.

Today is Easter – the most significant of the various holy days in the Church calendar. More pivotal than Christmas, more central than Pentecost, more crucial than Epiphany – Easter celebrates the single most world transforming event in all human history. Because of the resurrection, we have the Gospel. Because of the resurrection, we have cathedrals. Because of the resurrection, we have computers. All because of the resurrection.

It is this world transformation that Paul points out to us in the introduction to his letter to the Romans. After assuring us that Christ’s advent was proclaimed beforehand by the prophets and that he came as was foretold a son of David, Paul goes on to declare that Jesus was declared to be the Son of God with power by the resurrection of the dead. What does he mean by this turn of phrase?

While many have supposed that Paul is here outlining the two natures of Christ – according to his human nature he was of the seed of David but he was also the Son of God – the text does not support this notion. For how could Jesus’ status as the eternal Son of God undergo a transformation as a result of the resurrection? He has and ever will be the only Begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. This is not what Paul is addressing.

What is Paul saying then? He is telling us about the transformation that has occurred in the ministry of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ as a result of the resurrection. He was born of the seed of David – had indeed the natural right to rule as King. But simply having the natural right to rule does not establish that one does in fact rule. Bonnie Prince Charlie may have had a rightful claim to the throne of England; but a mere claim means little if one does not actually have the throne. And it is this that Paul addresses with the next phrase. Not only was Jesus born to be King – not only did he have a legitimate claim to the throne – by the resurrection from the dead He was declared to be the Son of God, the King of Israel, with power – that is, the resurrection was Jesus’ coronation as King. God, as Peter says elsewhere, made Him to be both Lord and Christ by the resurrection from the dead.

What is the significance of Easter then? On this day we celebrate the coronation of our King. Nearly two thousand years ago he was crowned King of the Universe, the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings and Lord of lords. And in His coronation psalm the lesson of His Kingship is driven home:

10 Now therefore, be wise, O kings; Be instructed, you judges of the earth. 11 Serve the LORD with fear, And rejoice with trembling. 12 Kiss the Son, lest He be angry, And you perish in the way, When His wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all those who put their trust in Him.

Let us kneel therefore and acknowledge our rightful King, asking His forgiveness for our sins against Him.

Surprised by Hope by N.T. Wright

December 18, 2008 in Book Reviews, Easter, Postmillennialism, Resurrection

Surprised by Hope, written by the Bishop of Durham, N.T. Wright, is a superb analysis of the New Testament doctrine of the Christian hope. Not only does Wright discuss the biblical analysis of the future hope but also discusses how this hope should shape Christian thinking and conduct in the here and now. Few analyses of the future are as fresh, invigorating, and stimulating as Wright’s book.

Wright hammers again and again at the Gnostic tendency in modern Christendom which identifies heaven as our final dwelling. As a junior high school teacher, I often found it humorous and humbling while teaching early church history to query my students on various points of Christian doctrine. One of the issues most misunderstood was the resurrection of the body. Our churches simply are not teaching it! Whenever I would endeavor to convince the students that heaven is not our final destination, that in point of fact these bodies would be raised from the dead, one would think I was from the moon. Our children are simply not getting the message – and if our children are not getting the message it means that we are not teaching it.

As Wright argues so forcefully in this book, the New Testament has far less to say about life after death than about life after life after death. While acknowledging the blessedness of those who die in the Lord, the New Testament is much more concerned with the consummation of all things when our bodies shall be raised and we shall be transformed into the image of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ – not only in terms of our character but also in our bodies. These bodies will be raised immortal.

Further, Wright does a phenomenal job discussing the new heavens and the new earth. He insists that in Christ the power of the age to come, the power of the renewed creation, is present in the here and now. Through the Spirit, the resurrection life of Christ is alive in the Church. And so we are called as the people of God to live in light of what God has promised ultimately to do. We are to live in light of the promises of God to renew all things.

This entails both moral reformation and societal transformation. While I have problems with some of Wright’s analyses of how this societal transformation should flesh itself out, his insistence that the coming of the Kingdom of God produces a certain type of culture is a much needed corrective to the shallowness of Christian thinking on these matters. When Isaiah envisions the work of the Servant of God, he talks about the culture that the Kingdom of God creates (cf. Is 61). These are the types of things that Jesus is in the business of doing through His people.

While avoiding traditional millennial terminology, Wright’s book is very earthy and postmillennial. It does a great job emphasizing the meaning and implication of the Lord’s Prayer. If we really do pray, “Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven“, then we need to expect that God will answer! We are praying for the growth of the Kingdom of God and the expanding impact of the will of God on earth. And these are the things which we as the people of God are to exhibit and incarnate.

Read and enjoy!