Song of the Drunkards

JESUS FACED A CONSIDERABLE AMOUNT OF OPPOSITION FOR HIS HARD WORDS AND UNFLINCHING DEVOTION TO YAHWEH. NO SURPRISE THEN IF WE FIND OUR NAME FESTOONED IN BARROOM BALLADS (CF. PS 69:12).

Through Many Tribulations

February 18, 2024 in Bible - OT - Deuteronomy, Meditations, Trials

Deuteronomy 8:1–5 (NKJV) 

1Every commandment which I command you today you must be careful to observe, that you may live and multiply, and go in and possess the land of which the Lord swore to your fathers. 2And you shall remember that the Lord your God led you all the way these forty years in the wilderness, to humble you and test you, to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep His commandments or not. 3So He humbled you, allowed you to hunger, and fed you with manna which you did not know nor did your fathers know, that He might make you know that man shall not live by bread alone; but man lives by every word that proceeds from the mouth of the Lord. 4Your garments did not wear out on you, nor did your foot swell these forty years. 5You should know in your heart that as a man chastens his son, so the Lord your God chastens you. 

On his first missionary journey, as the Apostle Paul traveled through the various cities where he had planted churches, he encouraged the brethren and reminded them, “Through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God” (Acts 14:22). That which was true for our fathers in Paul’s day is likewise true for us. In His wisdom, God uses tribulations and trials to accomplish His purposes for His people.

So why does He do this? If we are children of God, objects of His love and affection, then why must we enter the kingdom through many tribulations? Our text offers three reasons – for even as we face many tribulations throughout history and our individual lives, so our Israelite fathers did; for forty years they wandered in the wilderness, suffering various trials and tribulations. So what are these three reasons?

First, trials and tribulations humble us. God led our fathers through the wilderness, “to humble you and test you, to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep His commandments or not” (8:2). Nothing reveals the depths of our hearts and the many ways in which we still need to grow in holiness (to be sanctified) than trials. We’re sick and what do we do? We, who when healthy are remarkably patient, begin snapping at the kids, are short with our spouse, or grumble and complain against God. So what are we learning about ourselves? We’re learning that we aren’t quite as sanctified as we thought, learning that there is still work for God to do, learning to confess our sin and to acknowledge our continuing need for God’s grace. Trials and tribulations humble us.

Second, trials and tribulations teach us to rely on God’s Word. God tested Israel “that you might know that man does not live by bread alone; but man lives by every word that proceeds from the mouth of the Lord” (8:3). Rod Dreher, in his book Live not by Lies, recounts that, during the Soviet occupation of Czechoslovakia, Silvester Krcmery [kirch-MERRY] faced persecution, imprisonment, and even torture for his faith. Krcmery wrote later in his biography that he came to realize “that the only way he would make it through the ordeal ahead was to rely entirely on faith, not reason. He says that he decided to be ‘like Peter, to close my eyes and throw myself into the sea’” (153). Tribulations force us to rely on God’s promises even though we cannot see the fruit of them at present. Trials and tribulations teach us.

Finally, trials and tribulations remind us that we are children of God. “You should know in your heart that as a man chastens his son, so the Lord your God chastens you” (8:5). In times of trial, if you are in Christ, then know in your heart that this trial has not come because the Lord hates you but because He loves you. As a loving Father, the Lord is sending this trial to chasten you that you might learn to remain faithful to Him and to grow in maturity. Trials and tribulations remind us that we are God’s children.

As you may have noticed, today is the first Sunday in Lent – so our call to worship, our greeting, confession, creed, color, and benediction have changed with the season. Lent, like Advent, is a time of preparation and anticipation, a time of longing. We await the coming of Easter and the celebration of Christ’s triumph over death. Lent reminds us that, until our own resurrection, we must through many tribulations enter the kingdom of God. Lent harkens back to Israel’s 40 years, and to our Lord’s 40 days, in the wilderness. Hence, Lent is a time to remember that times of trial and tribulation are not strange. Paul writes that even our Lord Jesus, “though He was a Son, yet He learned obedience by the things which He suffered …” (Heb 5:8). So if our Lord Jesus had to learn obedience by suffering, dare we think that we shall be exempt? Let us then “count it all joy when we fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of our faith produces endurance, and let endurance have its perfect work, that we may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing” (Jas 1:2-4).

So reminded that times in the wilderness, times of trial and tribulation humble us, teach us to rely on God’s Word, and train us as His children, let us acknowledge that we often respond to such trials in unbelief rather than in faith. As you are able, let us kneel together as we confess our sins to the Lord.

Reciting the Creeds with Heart and Mind

January 28, 2024 in Bible - OT - Isaiah, Meditations, Worship

Isaiah 29:13–14 (NKJV) 

13Therefore the Lord said: “Inasmuch as these people draw near with their mouths And honor Me with their lips, But have removed their hearts far from Me, And their fear toward Me is taught by the commandment of men, 14Therefore, behold, I will again do a marvelous work Among this people, A marvelous work and a wonder; For the wisdom of their wise men shall perish, And the understanding of their prudent men shall be hidden.” 

Every Lord’s Day we have opportunity to confess our common faith with one of the ancient creeds. Currently, we are reciting the Apostles’ Creed, but we use others at different times of year. In churches like ours that use the creeds – as well as other written responses and prayers – there is an ever-present danger of mindless repetition, of drawing near to God with our lips while our hearts remain far from Him. As our passage in Isaiah illustrates, this is not a new problem. The prophets regularly rebuke our fathers and mothers for this sin, the sin of failing to love God and instead trying to manipulate him with proper external rituals. So if reciting the creeds entails this danger, why even do it? There are numerous reasons – consider just a few.  

First, reciting the creeds enables us to declare boldly and clearly whom we worship. Amid a pluralistic society in which a variety of gods are honored, we declare our trust in the Triune God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. We do not worship Vishnu, nor Zeus, nor Allah, nor the Mormon deity; neither do we worship America’s idol, some general theistic deity. We worship the Triune God; in Him is our trust.

Second, by reciting the creeds immediately after the reading of God’s Word, we declare our trust in the Sovereign Lord who has revealed Himself in sacred Scripture. The creeds do not serve to replace Scripture but to summarize its central teachings. And as God’s Word continues to be spurned in our culture and even in many churches, reciting the creeds enables us to declare openly, “We trust in God and His Word. He is God; we are not. We shall do what He says and follow Him.” 

Finally, reciting the creeds reminds us to preserve the faith which has been handed down to us. Jude commands us to “contend earnestly for the faith once for all delivered to the saints” (Jude 3). When we confess the creeds, we acknowledge our indebtedness to the saints who have gone before us. We confess the faith that they preserved for us; and this now is our duty for future generations. The God we worship is the God of Abraham and Isaac, Peter and Paul, Ambrose and Augustine, Perpetua and Monica, Luther and Calvin, Edwards and Whitefield, Machen and Sproul. They lived, breathed, suffered, and died to preserve this faith for us, and we are called to hand it down in turn.

While remembering why we recite the creeds, it is also important to emphasize how we are to do it. And this brings us back to our opening danger – the danger of mindless repetition. As we recite the creed each Lord’s Day we declare, “We believe…” It is important to ask, believe it or not, what we mean by the word “believe”? James reminds us: “You believe that God is one. You do well. The demons also believe and shudder!” (2:19) There is a certain type of belief that will not deliver in the day of judgment. So when we confess the creed, the belief that we should be confessing is not a mere admission of intellectual assent, “Oh, yeah, this is what I think,” but rather an expression of heartfelt commitment, “This is the One I love, I trust, I cherish, I adore.” Whom do you trust?

So what about you? Children, how are you doing? Are you embracing and cherishing the One who has called you His own in the waters of baptism? Are you approaching worship in faith, hungering to hear the voice of Christ, to be changed and transformed by His Spirit? Adults, how are you doing? Is worship growing ever more sweet and lovely to you? Are you reciting the creeds intelligently and faithfully or merely by rote? Our confession should be robust, lively, and full of faith. Beware lipping the words and losing your heart.

Reminded of our propensity to draw near to God with our lips and fail to draw near Him with our hearts, let us seek His face and ask Him to forgive us and make the fruit of our lips a pleasing sacrifice in His sight.

Protecting Life

January 21, 2024 in Abortion, Bible - OT - Exodus, Meditations

Exodus 21:22–25 (ESV) 

22“When men strive together and hit a pregnant woman, so that her children come out, but there is no harm, the one who hit her shall surely be fined, as the woman’s husband shall impose on him, and he shall pay as the judges determine. 23But if there is harm, then you shall pay life for life, 24eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, 25burn for burn, wound for wound, stripe for stripe. 

Today is Sanctity of Human Life Sunday, appointed such to mark the anniversary of the diabolical Roe v. Wade decision. Praise be to God that that decision has now been reversed and that here in the State of Idaho we have passed laws protecting the unborn. Yet the contempt for unborn life remains in much of America. Many states have voted to expand access to abortion. In addition, just this week the Biden campaign announced that one of its chief priorities for Biden’s reelection campaign would be expanding abortion rights and restoring Roe. So why should we continue to labor for the protection of the unborn? Why should we abhor abortion as wickedness and pray that it be not just illegal but unthinkable?

We find an answer to these questions in our text today. Exodus 21 demonstrates that God recognizes the personhood of unborn children and protects them. The opening admonition declares: “When men strive together and hit a pregnant woman, so that her children come out, but there is no harm, the one who hit her shall surely be fined, as the woman’s husband shall impose on him, and he shall pay as the judges determine.”

Note, first, that this law recognizes the personhood of the unborn. The ESV accurately captures the Hebrew and identifies the baby or babies in the mother’s womb as her “children” – not her property, nor her bodily tissue, but her children – human beings conceived in the very image of God who ought to be precious to her and to others. Unborn children are human and to kill innocent human beings is murder.

Second, note that God’s command fosters a culture that honors pregnant women and the life they carry. Exodus specifically addresses incidental or accidental contact. If two men are striving with one another and, in their striving, intentionally or inadvertently hit a pregnant woman so that her children come out, then the men are held liable for their action. God so honors the life-giving woman that He judges these men culpably irresponsibile. And note that this is the case even if no harm happens to the woman or child – if “they strike her so that her children come out but there is no harm, then they shall pay as the husband demands and the court allows.” In other words, God demands that people honor a pregnant woman by restraining their rage in her presence. 

Finally, note that this law adds additional consequences in cases when harm does occur. Verse 23 declares, “if there is harm, then you shall pay.” If there is harm – harm to whom, we ask? The woman or the child? The answer is either. The ambiguity of the text indicates that both woman and child are protected by the law. And what shall be paid? The lex talionis is applied: “life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, burn for burn, wound for wound, stripe for stripe.” Biblical law protects both the mother and her unborn child.

We see, therefore, the wickedness of the Biden campaign and the abortion lobby. And because many in our society refuse to protect the unborn, our honor for life generally has regressed. Many have sex outside of marriage with no thought to the children they may be conceiving; many couples marry with no intention of having children; Obergerfell has sanctioned perverse and fruitless same-sex unions; many States have endorsed euthanasia or asissted suicide; still others have given legal sanction to the mutilation of the healthy bodies of men and women, boys and girls. As God’s people, our calling is to reverse this trend by loving life. 

So what of you? Do you thank God for fruitful marriages? Do you pray for our married couples that have not yet had children but who are praying for them? Do you praise God for making you male or female? Do you prize the unborn in the way you vote? Men and young men, are you honoring the women in our congregation, especially those with child? Opening doors, yielding your place in line, making offers of help, channeling your sexual desires to marriage? Children, we have many pregnant women in our midst: are you being careful when you are playing lest you accidentally hit them? Parents, are you training your children to recognize and honor those who are with child?

Reminded this morning that God honors and protects the women who bear children and the children themselves, let us confess that we have betrayed the unborn and that we are guilty as a people.