Kingdom, week 2, part 1

As Jesus begins His "Sermon on the Mount", His first order of business is to set forth the character of saving faith. 
When Jesus the Son of God and God in the flesh came, He came to usher in the Kingdom of God as prophesied in the Scriptures.  This is why Matthew 4:17 and 23 show that he began His ministry preaching the Kingdom. The Gospel of Matthew is known as "the Jewish Gospel", because Matthew aims to show Jesus especially as the Jewish Messiah and Christ of Israel.  In Matthew, Jesus shines forth as the Christ, the King of the Kingdom, and the fulfillment of the Scriptures.
The opening chapters of Matthew show a series of Scriptures that are fulfilled in Christ and His coming:  1:1-17 show Jesus as a descendent of Abraham and David with his entire genealogy; 1:23 shows His virgin birth as fulfillment of Isaiah9:7; 2:6 shows his Bethlehem birth as fulfillment of Micah5:2; and so on and so forth over chapters 3 and 4 (cf John the Baptizer, Jesus' ministry in Galilee, etc.). 

In 5:1, Jesus "sits up on the mountain" to preach, just as Moses had "went up on the mountain" where God would give His Word to be given to Israel (see Exodus 19).  Here Jesus is the One bringing God's Word to the people Himself.  Throughout Matthew, several very important moments happen on mountains (here with the Sermon on the Mount, the Transfiguration of 17:1, the End-times teaching of chs24-25, and the Great Commission of 28:16). 
Jesus' coming was not a result of randomness.  It was to fulfill Scripture, as "all of God's promises find their 'yes' in Him" (2Cor1:22).  Matthew emphasizes Jesus' mountain-teaching so that his readers know Jesus is bringing God's Word, because "in the past..God spoke to us by the prophets...but in these last days, He's spoken to us by His Son" (Heb1:1). 

In 5:3 Jesus gives the first characteristic of saving faith: "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of heaven".  Greek "makarios" is the word for "blessed", and while it means "happy" (so it could be translated "happy are the..."), it also is intended to communicate something even deeper: "Blessed by God are those who are poor in spirit, for the Kingdom is theirs".  It's a divinely-bestowed blessing because Jesus came to call the poor in spirit. It refers to those lacking self-sufficience and who realize they need something.  It's not just referring to those with poverty in financial means (though it could include those), but those of poverty in spiritual means.
This is because no one receives the Kingdom unless they receive it like a child (see 18:3-4), which is why Jesus tells Nicodemus of his need to be reborn (see John 3).  We're sinners at birth (Ps51:5, 58:3; Gen6:5, 8:21), and as we grow up and venture out on our own, we more and more come under the illusion that we're self-sufficient, and don't need any help.  Jesus is here saying that humility and poverty in personal spirit is the first prerequisite for entering the Kingdom he came to bring.  This is why being born isn't enough...we need reborn.  No one is in this place except by God's grace, which is why they're "blessed". 
This is the exact opposite of the way the world thinks.  While others would have you be confident and feel good about yourself, Jesus says you're blessed if your in the darkness, because He's come to bring you into the light. 
In 5:4 Jesus lists the next characteristic of saving faith as "mourning...for they'll be comforted".  Certainly Jesus isn't referring to just any kind of mourning.  Mourning over your sports team losing or over not having enough money to pay your drug-dealer isn't what He's talking about.  He's talking about mourning over sin; over the brokenness of the world and over longing for fellowship with God.  This is God-ward mourning Jesus describes.  "Godly grief produces repentance that leads to salvation without regret" (2Cor7:10).  Pharaoh repented because of his mourning in Exodus9:27, but Moses knew better (v30), and later Pharaoh's heart was still hardened.  He only mourned because of the hail plague--the minute it was over, he was back to pride.  The kind of mourning Jesus describes is God-ward--that which longs for knowing God, but recognizes its own being prone to falling short.

Have you ever mourned over this?  It's my contention that Good News is only good if the bad news is understood and accepted.  Here Jesus' first real teaching on the Kingdom is that happiness and contentment are NOT prerequisites for the Kingdom, but that the prerequisite is a lack thereof...because then and only then will Jesus be treasured and adored as He who brings happiness and contentment.  The reason Paul was "content in all circumstances" is because his life was one of spiritual endeavors where only Christ could provide the strength and fruit...thus "I can do all things through Him who strengthens me" (Phil4:10-13; see also Rom15:15, and 1Cor15:10).  Scripture also teaches us to "be content with what you have, for he has said, 'I will never leave you or forsake you'" (Heb13:5).  Acknowledgment of Christ and the Holy Spirit's presence is the only road to contentedness and blessedness. And this only comes from recognition of need of Him.

The low state of Christianity in our country and culture is due to false conversions.  People "come forward" or even get baptized simply because they either are caught up in an emotional appeal, or because they fear Hell.  But they aren't mourning over sin, longing for God, or acting out of inward poverty, and so they aren't really looking for Christ to be their remedy and Mediator (1Timothy2:4-5).  The whole act of "coming to Christ" is just an exercise for their flesh, ignorant that "flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God" (1Cor15:50).  This is why Jesus said it's the Spirit who gives life and the flesh is no help at all (see John6:63).  The flesh moves countless to false professions/baptisms and the tragic result is that the person's state is worse than before--because now they think they're saved, and won't be convinced otherwise.  This is why Jesus would rather the lukewarm be cold (Rev3:16-17). 

So Jesus wants to make no mistake here--if you're not poor in spirit and mourning, you won't receive the Kingdom. 
Have you ever been broken? 
I remember when I began to be broken.  I was a Bible-college student, and I began struggling with a sickening depression.  Every day felt black, I worried, and I was almost paralyzed from wanting to do anything.  I sought counsel from professors, therapists, pastors, and pills.  Nothing worked.  But then God began drawing me to His Son.  I began seeing that my problems were because I was hungry, and that Jesus was God's Word who came so that I would feast on Him and be satisfied (see Matt4:4 and John6:35, 51, 53).  I still struggle with those depressive tendencies some, but the difference is that I have new life in Christ now.  It's unfortunate one could grow up in the church and even be in Bible college, and not feast on Christ, when Jesus says that's the whole point of the Kingdom.  But that was exactly the case.  Praise the Lord for His grace!
Jesus says these first two statements in his sermon to safeguard against prideful false conversions.  "You must be poor in spirit, you must mourn, because then and only then will you feast on me". 
While the Father draws people to His Son in different ways and the Holy Spirit works like the wind, the character of all standing at the door of the Kingdom is always the same--broken and needy. 

One commentator on this verse pointed out that it's interesting the ancient philosophers, while making their "virtues" lists never once listed humility.  Here Jesus not only includes it in His list, but puts it first.  No humility, no Kingdom.  No brokenness, no Kingdom.  No sensing your need for Jesus, no Jesus.  It's just that simple!
How can I be made humble?  First, ask this: do you want to be?  Second, ask this: What motivates your inquisition--fear of punishment, or fear of alienation from God and His Christ?  Third, do this: Ask the Father for His Holy Spirit (Luke 11:13). Call out for faith.  He'll answer--just be patient, because He's probably going to go to work differently than you think, and with a different time-frame than you think.

Kingdom, week 1

I haven't written a post in a while because, frankly, it's hard to write one when I have a lot of other teaching/preaching endeavors to focus on.  Also, motivation is difficult when I know that not many people will read it!  So I thought that perhaps I'd combine the two, and give "recaps" of messages and things I have just preached or taught ("praught" really should be the past-tense form of "preach"). 

Two weeks ago, I began a series on "the Kingdom", as taught by Jesus in Matthew's Gospel.  There are a lot of different understandings of what is meant by "kingdom", and how we should understand it.  Some think of it in more economic terms, others in theological or eschatological terms.  I just wanted to preach a simple series on what Jesus teaches about the Kingdom, listening as God's Word speaks. So my first message was split up into five sections under five headings: What, Where, When, Who, and Why is the Kingdom.

What is the Kingdom?
The Kingdom is the reign of God's Christ.  Jesus began his ministry preaching the Kingdom (see Matt4:17, 23), and it was a proclamation of His reign.
God had promised king David that He would make an eternal "throne" and "kingship" from David's descendents.  In 2 Samuel 7, David is jealous for God's glory (seeing that the Ark dwells in a tent), so he wants to build God a house.  But God sarcastically asks David, "Would you build me a house to dwell in?" God can't be contained in something man builds...He doesn't need man (Ac17:24-25).  God wants people to have hearts that bow before Him in humility.  "What house would you build for me?...this is the one to whom I will look: he who is humble and contrite in heart, and trembles at my Word" (Isaiah 66:1-2).  So God will establish THIS house: a kingdom of humble subjects who truly know God.  He tells David, "I will build you a house".  The King will come from David's descent, who will "build a house for my name", not referring to Solomon (because, a) Solomon died and the temple he built fell, and b) God didn't need a literal house, but wanted people who honor Him...thus "WE are his house", Hebrews3:6). 
Isaiah 9:6-7 has God promising that the King will be God Himself in the flesh born as a child, who will "sit on David's throne".  This is a clear teaching that the King will be the God-man.  Finally, Ezekiel 37:24 promises that the Shepherd (Jesus--John10) will "shepherd the flock" and they will "be careful to obey Gods commands".  This is clear teaching that the Kingdom is a Kingdom of people who love God and "tremble at His Word", like He said in Isaiah 66. 
Jesus said, "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom" (Matt5:3).  He meant that these are the people who receive the Kingdom in humility, and tremble at Gods Word in Christ.  They are blessed, for they will receive the Kingship and reign of God's Christ.

Where is the Kingdom?
As Kevin Deyoung has recently said, "Gods Kingdom is not geographic, but 'dynamic and relational'".  It's not in this place or that place (ie, calling for a pilgrimage to a location, or only in church buildings), but it is, as Jesus Himself said, "in our very midst now" (Luke 17:21).  If the Kingdom is the reign of Gods Christ, where people are trembling at God's Word, the locale of the Kingdom is anywhere this is recognized and acted in light of!  It's anywhere Christ is adored, worshiped as King, and God is treasured as the God of glory! 
The door into the Kingdom is rebirth, as Jesus clearly told Nicodemus (John 3:3,5,7).  No one gets in without Holy Spirit rebirth, which is not of human will, but of God's power and action (John1:12-13).  But where this has happened, the Kingdom is there, in their midst.  Paul tells the Colossian church that God has "transferred us from the domain of darkness to the Kingdom of His beloved Son" (Col1:13). 
One thing that should be said is that felt-needs matter (feeding the poor, clothing the naked, etc.), because Jesus said that was a priority.  But it's only a picture of the Kingdom if people are coming to know Jesus.  You can do those things without knowledge of Christ (ie, humanitarian work)...the Kingdom is about knowing God and His Christ.  We should meet the felt-needs AND lead people to a knowledge of Christ (and unfortunately most stop after the first part and never make it to the second).

When is the Kingdom?
It's already here, but not in its fullness yet. 
There's an interesting scenario that takes place one day when Jesus has cast a demon out of a man--you can find it in Matt. 12:27-32.  There, the Pharisees accuse him of casting out demons by Satan's power, which Jesus quickly shows as ridiculous logic.  He then says, "If it's by God's Spirit that I cast out demons, the Kingdom has come among you."  We'd all agree that it was by the Spirit that Jesus did it...so the Kingdom was already here. 
But later in the story, Jesus refers to "this age, and the age to come" (v32), telling us that there is both a now and a later.  The now is the era in which Christ has already been on earth ushering in the Kingdom...the later is the time of the fulness of God's Kingdom, when Christ comes to take us to Himself (John14), with the eternal blessings of Revelation 21 and 22.  Jesus deals with this "era" (the later) in Matthew 24-25, a very important section of Jesus' teaching that must be carefully studied, and not in haste.  Jesus died to ransom a Kingdom of priests (Rev5:9-10, cf 1Pet2:5,9), but they will remain "in the world" until He returns (cf John17:15-18), to be "by Gods power, guarded by faith, for salvation to be revealed at the last time" (1Peter1:5).  This is the now, that's the later, and both are the Kingdom.

Who is the Kingdom?
Christians, saints, and Kingdom-citizens...and not just those professing, but those who really do belong to Jesus. 
Paul said of himself and the Philippian christians, "our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body to be like His glorious body" (Phil3:20-21).  The Kingdom is among those who have their citizenship in heaven, whose life is "hidden with Christ in God" (Colossians3:3), and are "seated with Christ in the heavenly places" (Ephesians2:6). 
We CAN'T be under the illusion that the Kingdom includes everyone--it doesn't.  It's those who belong to Jesus, and this calls for a greater urgency to proclaim the Gospel of the Kingdom so that people will look to Him and belong to Him.
Daniel 7:18--(Daniel 7 being a great prophetic picture of Jesus receiving the heavenly Kingdom from the Father)--says that "the saints will possess the Kingdom".  Who are the saints, if not those who belong to Christ?  V14 said Jesus will possess the Kingdom, but v18 says the saints?  The apparent implication is that the saints are those who are "co-heirs with Christ" (Rom8:17).  All that is Christ's is the Saint's.  What an incredible truth.
And another thing: the saints AREN'T those who have earned a deeper state of righteousness than others (as some have been led to believe).  It's those who have been made poor in spirit to realize that Christ and Christ alone earned a right-standing with God.  HE was completely obedient, and no one else has been...and the grace of the Gospel is that Christ GIVES His righteousness to sinners who receive His Word with faith and obedience.  He came with grace and truth. 
Finally...

Why is the Kingdom?
This might seem a peculiar question, and to some just a matter of course  (who, what, where, when, why). 
But no one asks this question--WHY does God want His Son to have a Kingdom? 
The simplest answer is that God WILL be glorified.  "My glory I give to no other" (Isaiah42:8), "I blot out your transgressions for my name's sake" (43:25), "You are my servant, Israel, in whom I will be glorified" (49:3).  "Only in the Lord, it shall be said of me, are righteousness and strength" (45:24).  Frankly, God is out for His Name being glorified.
People struggle with this because they think it makes God sound selfish, but can God BE selfish?  If He's giving to mankind "life and breath and everything" (Ac17:25), "satisfying our hearts with food and gladness" (Ac14:17), and making the rain fall and sun shine on just, unjust, righteous, and unrighteous (Matt5:44), how could we ever call His motives selfish?  If God is constantly giving and giving more and then giving more, how could God be selfish?
Perhaps His passion for His Name being glorified is a result of His Name just being that glorious and that worthy of glory.  "I had concern for my holy name...it's not for your sake I'll act, but for the sake of my holy name...I will vindicate the holiness of my great name..it's not for your sake I will act...then they will know that I'm the Lord" (Ezekiel 36:21-23, 32, 38). 
This is exactly why Jesus prayed to the Father for unity among His disciples their selves and with Christ and the Father..."that the world may believe you sent me...(and)..loved them as you loved me" (John17:21,23).  God's mission is that His Kingdom come so that His Name be glorified and lifted high...because His Name IS that high!  "Your Name is exalted above all honor and praise" (Nehemiah9:5).  Think about that: if all mankind was to join together to worship God, His Name would still be higher than that.  What a pride-humbling and self-righteousness-killing truth.

This is why we will worship and serve God in heaven for all of eternity--because it takes that long to thank and glorify God for who He is and what He's done.  It's not coincidence man has a hunger in his heart for "something more"--it's because there IS something more.  The only thing to remember is that the "something more" is found in just receiving the Word of truth, "which is able to save your souls" (Jms1:21)--the "something more" isn't far off.  It's HERE.  And one day, it will be realized in all of its fullness...those who will get to enjoy it in its fullness are those who have received it now.  Kingdom citizens then are the Kingdom citizens now.  "All who are being led by the Spirit of God are sons of God" (Romans8:14, Gk).

Therefore, "turn to me and be saved, all the ends of the earth!" (Isaiah45:22).

Rebirth: the Pride-Killer of the Gospel

Most people today are attempting to change their situation to “something better”, whether it means changing their identity, their job, their social network, their lifestyle...fill in the blank...most people are just unhappy and wanting better.  With this the case, the question to be asked is this: Why is everyone so unhappy?

Jesus said that it’s because sin enslaves everyone (Jn8:34).  Sin is more than the bad things you do...it's a spiritual force that brings spiritual death and eventually physical death.  More than action, it's intention.  

He came to save people who would believe in Him (Jn3:16).  He said that people will make it through whatever “storm” this life brings if they build their lives on His Words (Mt7:24-27), and that when one puts their faith in Him, they “pass from death to life” (Jn5:24). 

People listen to Jesus’ hard words and think they can’t have Jesus unless they begin acting like a ‘Christian’.  But the truth is that Jesus came “not to call the righteous but sinners” (Mt9:13) and when a sinner repents, angels rejoice (Lk15:7, 10).  He saves people as they are, and begins conforming them to His holy image (Rom8:29).  His initial calling of Matthew (a tax collector…considered a “sinner” by the majority) was followed up by His coming to Matthew’s house for a party that included a bunch of “sinners” who liked to party (Mt9:10), and this continual attendance at parties apparently was such a staple of Jesus’ social life that people wrongly called him a drunkard and a glutton (Mt11:19).  People had stupidly assumed that because Jesus went to spend time with non-religious and “worldly” people, he must not be as holy as his teaching and miracles let on.

But the truth is that Jesus was perfect and without sin (Heb4:15, Is53:9).  His knowledge and understanding was such that even at the age of 12 he was making that day's doctors of religion marvel.  Then as an adult, when the doctors of religion would argue his radical concepts, he had the ability to immediately bring them to silence.  This is because He came to tell the truth (Jn18:37), but He told it in such a way that even the most adamant and hostile religious people could only say, “No one ever spoke like this man!” (Jn7:46).   Truly His words were “spirit and life” (Jn6:63, 68).

Jesus came and spent time with “sinners”, and had such a heart for them because regardless of how sinful they were, He had both the truth and the mouth to speak it.  And the truth, as always, made an impact.  In Jesus’ case, the impact was salvation (Lk19:9-10).

Much has been said recently about how Jesus’ ministry targeted sinners and not righteous people, and, even by Jesus’ admission, he “came not to call the righteous, but sinners”.  But to say He didn’t have compassion for religious people is to miss the point.  This is proven in the examples of Nicodemus (who was converted later on…see John 19:39), the Scribe who understood the Law’s teaching in Mark12:28-34, and the famous Rich Young Ruler who thought he’d done a good job as a religious person his whole life, until Jesus loved him and told him the truth that he needed Jesus and not his religion (see Mk10:17-22).  The real reason why Jesus appeared to have more civil conversations with the sinners than religious people is because the religious people were so blinded by their self-righteousness, Jesus’ spirit-and-life words weren’t getting through. 

The woman at the well was a “sinner” to whom Jesus told the hard truth as well (John4).  The difference between her and Nicodemus from the previous chapter is that, by John’s chronology, it appears to have taken years for Nicodemus to come to faith, when it appears to have only taken a few minutes for the woman (See John4:25-29, 38-43).  Why is this?  It’s because self-righteousness, from wherever it springs, blinds people to their need for God’s mercy and forgiveness.  Nicodemus and the Pharisees appeared to have this (though Nicodemus was open), and even the woman at the well had some of it, but it pretty quickly broke down during Jesus’ conversation with her.  Jesus tells the truth to people and brings them to the place of seeing their own sinfulness (like Peter in Luke5:8), and when they see this, they see their need for what He offers, and are reborn by the Holy Spirit.  Think about Jesus’ Words, “If anyone hears my words and believes Him who sent me, he has eternal life.  He doesn’t come under judgment, but has passed from death to life” (Jn5:24). 

When Jesus spoke about eating his flesh and drinking his blood (John6:35-58), he was talking about believing in Him and deriving your life from His life.  6:29 has him saying, “This is the work of God, that you believe in the One whom He has sent.”  He wasn’t talking about communion or Eucharist…he was talking about Himself, which is what communion and Eucharist is supposed to be about!  And His point was that the people needed to see their need for Him and begin finding their lives in Him. 

When people were grumbling at His hard teaching, He said, “Don’t grumble among yourselves.  It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh is no help at all.  The words that I’ve spoken to are spirit and life” (Jn6:63).

What kind of statement is this?  A simple one: They had grumbled because they had trouble accepting his teaching.  And Jesus, in effect, said, “Your grumbling is your flesh fighting me, while my Words are the Holy Spirit giving life.  Stop grumbling.  Your understanding can’t give you what I can give you,” just like Proverbs3:5-6 had famously said 1000 years earlier.  The grumbling happened because the flesh is hostile to God (Rom8:7-8), and God’s Son was telling them, “You have no life apart from me”.  Finally, Jesus said, “This is why I told you no one can come to me unless it is granted him by the Father” (6:65). 

What kind of statement is this?  Again, a simple one: Sinners' flesh, enslaved to sin (8:24), dead in sin (Eph2:1), and at enmity with God (Rom5:10), is overcome by God’s grace.  His grace, more than being freely offered (Mt11:28-30) is also freely sovereign (Mt11:27), and He gives people new life to look to Jesus who is the only hope they’ve ever had to a) live this life to God’s glory, and b) live eternally for God’s glory.  The invitation goes out for all, but because no one responds in and of themselves (as they don't want to), God “grants them repentance, that they escape from the snare of the devil, having been captured by him” (2Tim2:26).

Jesus said it’s easier for a camel to go through a needle’s eye than for a rich man to enter the Kingdom (Mk10:25).  But this isn't because it's impossible or because Jesus doesn’t love rich men.  It’s because the rich men have money and possessions as a crushing idol that captivates them away from what they really need by convincing them that THIS is what they really need.  Jesus also said that Pharisees who are leading others will lead as they both end up in Hell (Mt15:14).  But this isn’t because Jesus doesn’t love them.  Rather, it’s because they have religion and their own power and will as their idol that keeps them from submission to Jesus’ rule of needing to be Holy-Spirit-reborn (Jn3:3,5,7-8).  The issue with both groups isn’t lack of God’s grace—God gives rain and sunshine on sinner and righteous and provides food, happiness, and everything to all peoples everywhere (Mt5:45; Ac14:17, 17:25).  The issue is a lack of God-consciousness.  People don’t care about God and His glory, and so because of this, they don’t see their need for Jesus to redeem them. 

So Jesus comes to sinners to capture their hearts, so that they’ll be redeemed by looking to Him in pure and sincere faith, admitting their need for Him.  In so doing, He even captures some rich people (ie, Joseph of Arimethea) and even some religious Pharisees (ie, Nicodemus and Paul).  This is because, in the end, they’re ALL sinners in need of grace.  And where sin increased, “grace abounded all the more”. 

What leg are you standing on?  What if the truth is that Jesus is the only possible hope for a lost and dead world?  Will you grumble, fight, and kick, or will you accept that He, being the Creator and Redeemer, knows truth better than you do?  It’s not a question of will before it’s a question of truth. 

Thoughts on Persevering as a Christian, from Galatians

I've been preaching through Galatians for the last few months, and have two months to go.  It's been amazing.  I've studied Galatians, but never studied it in depth like this.  Thus far, the churches have seen that Galatians really does lay out the basic tenets of Christianity:
     -That there is only one way to salvation: Christ and the Gospel (1:6-9)
     -That this Gospel is salvation by faith in Christ, and not works (2:16)
     -That the Holy Spirit comes upon us when we believe the Gospel (3:1-6)
     -That the Law is a curse on us as sinners, but Christ redeems us by His work (3:13-24), and
     -That we're adopted into God's family by Christ and His Spirit (3:26-4:7).

This is Christianity in its most basic form: Inclusive/exclusive (invitation to all to trust in Christ, but salvation only belongs to those who do), justified before God by faith in Christ (meaning not just affirmation of the facts, but a personal looking to Christ), indwelling of God's Holy Spirit, and adoption into God's family which isn't a reality unless one has Christ.
The best place to direct any new or prospective christian who asks where they can begin in the Bible is John, Acts, and Romans (in that order).  John is about Jesus' identity, Acts shows His Church on mission, and Romans explains what it means that we have Jesus.  But studying Galatians, everything that one needs to know about being saved by faith in Christ might be in there, so maybe we have a new go-to book!

Still, the whole point of Paul's letter isn't to lay out basic tenets before it is to deal with a heresy prevalent in the Galatian church: that one needs works in order to be considered a child of God.  None of us, including Paul (see Eph2:10, 2Tim3:17, and Titus2:14, 3:8, 3:14) would argue that good works aren't necessary for the Christian.  The issue is whether they make one a christian.  The answer to this question is emphatically 'NO'.  Christ makes a christian a christian.  Their being cleansed is one that happens by their looking to Christ, and their adoption into God's family is as well.  The Galatian christians had been led astray into the belief that Christ was not enough. 

This leads us to a very important question: Can a true Christian fall away from Christ? 
 This question has almost been an afterthought in 2013 Christianity, as most will emphatically say "YES", then cite passages from Jesus' 4-seed Parable (see Mark4), or from 1 Timothy, or Hebrews 6, 10. 
I'm at odds doctrinally with many of my close friends and family (people who I believe do love Jesus and believe the Bible) because of this issue.  I believe the Bible teaches that once one truly is drawn to Christ, they remain in Him, and don't fall away...and that if they do fall away, they weren't in Him to begin with.  Jesus Himself said that He came to give his sheep eternal life (see John6:40, 10:28) and that this eternal life is a present reality at the point when one believes in Him (Jn5:24, cf 3:15-17).  Therefore, if one trusts in Christ, they have eternal life NOW. 
If their name is written in the Lamb's Book of Life "from before the foundation of the world" (Rev3:5, 13:8, 17:8) meaning that God saved them according to His purpose and grace He gave them in Christ 'before the world began' (2Tim1:9, Eph1:4-5), then they will come to faith in Christ, and they will remain in Him.  Those whom God "predestined, He also called, and those whom He called he justified, and those whom He justified, He also glorified" (Rom8:30). 
But what about all of those passages people cite about people falling away?  A careful reading of those passages reveals that these were people who never belonged to Jesus, and this is WHY they fell away finally.  Peter said that "whatever overcomes a person, to that he is enslaved" (2Pet2:19), referring to people who have been led astray from the truth.  If something overcomes them so that they're enslaved, could they really have belonged to Jesus?  All the while, we hear promises like, "He who began a good work in you will be faithful to complete it" (Phil1:6), and "He who called you is faithful, He will surely (sanctify you and keep you blameless)" (1Thes5:23-24).  Finally, what could you say about the OTHER passages I just went through?  It all must make sense together, for Scripture can't be broken.  
Surely one must continue in the faith (see 1Cor15:2, Gal6:9, and Col1:23, for example).  I just believe that while I repent and continue in Christ, HE'S the One who keeps me, "for apart from (Him), (I) can do nothing" (Jn15:5). 
The issue is one of conversion, not continuation.  If they don't continue in faith, the question becomes, "were they really soundly converted in the first place?"  I think the answer is easy...if something led them from Christ, meaning that something was more attractive than Christ, then they must not have known Christ. 

This is Paul's dilemma in Galatians...the same Paul who said there's only one gospel also asked, "Oh foolish Galatians, who has bewitched you?" (3:1).  When Paul says, "I'm astonished you're so quickly deserting him who called you in the gospel" (1:6), and that "this persuasion is not FROM Him who calls you" (5:7), he's saying that he really doesn't understand HOW people could know Christ and then be led astray from him.  It doesn't make any sense..."I'm astonished you're deserting him..."  This is why Paul then says, "I'm afraid I may have labored over you in vain" (4:11).  Paul is wondering if his whole work was all for naught because perhaps these people truly don't know (and never knew) Christ.  Could these people truly have been in Christ, but have fallen out, even though Jesus said His true sheep won't? (see John10:27-28) 

The answer is 'no', because as Paul writes so emphatically with such cutting language, he then gives us hope: "I have confidence in the Lord that you'll take no other view than mine...you were called to freedom brothers" (5:10,13). 
Those who are brothers will listen to the Father.  Those who are sheep will listen to the Shepherd (Jn10:16, 27).  Those who love Jesus will keep Jesus' commands (Jn14:15). 
Paul knows, as he writes, that these people who received the Holy Spirit and were adopted into the family of God are in a phase of rebellion, but that they'll come back.  They're not like Hymenaeus or Philetus who have "swerved from the truth" (2Tim2:17-18).  Nor are they like Judas, whos betrayal fulfilled Scripture until he died.  Instead, they're like Peter, who was to deny Jesus three times and then return to Him....why did Peter return to Jesus?  It was because Jesus had prayed for Peter, "that your faith may not fail...so WHEN (not IF, but WHEN) you return, strengthen your brothers" (Luke22:31-34). 

In the same way, Jesus prayed for all of His sheep...that their faith wouldn't fail (John17:11), that they'd have joy in Him (17:13), that they'd be kept from the evil one (17:15), that they'd be sanctified in the truth (17:17), that they'd be united together (17:21), and that they'd know God's love for them and for Jesus (17:23-26). 

Martin Luther famously said that all of life should be a life of repentance...this is why Jesus said that the one who follows Him must daily take up his cross (see Luke9:23).  Those in Christ will do it, because they know that Jesus is worth it...He's captivated them, enraptured them, and shown Himself as glorious and worthy of praise.  This is why Paul is confident the Galatians will listen to Him and take heart: because "those in Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires" (Gal5:24).

Christian=Slave of Christ

"Whoever loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life.  If anyone serves me, he must follow me, and where I am, there will my servant be also.  If anyone serves me, the Father will honor him" (Jesus, John12:25-26)

With these words Jesus left no room to mistake what it means to follow him.  It means death to self (Mk8:35), death to possessions (Lk14:33), death to God's Law (Rom7:4), and death to the world (Gal6:14).  Characteristic of this lifestyle is that the very Life of Jesus is inside of us (Gal2:20), and our "fellowship" (ie, that community from which we derive our identity) is with Christ and the Father, and not with the world anymore (1Jn1:3, 2:15). 
This is much different than asceticism (that true religion is self-mutilation and repentance from ALL things just because all things are bad).  It's not turning from all things and killing yourself just for the sake of turning and killing yourself.  It's hearing that Jesus says the world is jacked up, and the only way for true life and salvation is by following Him.  It's coming to Jesus and being united with Him in His death and resurrection, which ushers in a new Creation (hence, "if anyone is in Christ he's a new creation"--2Cor5:17). 

Jesus said that unless people repent (and follow Him) they'll die gruesome deaths (see Lk13:1-5), and that unless people trust in Him they'll die in their sin (Jn8:24).  Statements like these are absolutely unmistakable--they can't be taken to mean anything else.  Paul later said that unless people "believe into Jesus Christ" (Greek language, "in" = "into") no one will have a right-standing before a holy God (see Gal2:16).  The final stanza of the Bible ends with Jesus himself saying He's coming soon (Rev22:20).  How could it possibly be mistaken that Christianity is not about following and trusting in Christ with radical trust and obedience?
It's very simple: People drift towards religion, other people drift towards "tolerance", and all people drift towards hostility against God.
-Religion--these are the people who know that Jesus calls for radical obedience.  But they've made a god of church traditions and maybe even Bible knowledge.  They're pharisees who don't love Jesus because they love themselves more, and spend their time critiquing, but not loving and evangelizing.
-Tolerance--these are people who a) want everyone to be welcomed in, and b) want the world to accept the Church.  Christians should want everyone to be saved...but they can't hate Jesus enough to change His truth for the sake of "getting everyone in".  When the disciples asked if many will be saved, Jesus said, "Strive to enter by the narrow gate" (Lk13:24) meaning that discipleship means getting your eyes off of crowds, and onto Jesus.  "Love" does not mean "tolerance".  Love tells the truth (like Jesus), doesn't "rejoice in wrongdoing" (1Cor13:6), and calls people to assume they're wrong if Jesus says they are.  "Tolerance" is usually circular, in that most advocates of it have a moving standard that changes if someone disagrees with them...they pretty quickly break their own rule when confronted and don't do a good job of tolerating the person opposing them (see the immediate breakage?).  The question is "what is truth?", and the answer is "whatever Jesus says", although many aren't asking this question.
-Hostility toward God--Since many people are religious and others are tolerant, they shoot daggers past each other, showing that their aim in battle is flesh and blood.  While the real battle is for people coming to a knowledge of God through Christ (Jn12:45, 14:8; 2Cor10:4) and so having eternal life in Him (Jn17:3), many Christians' heaven would be a world where the other side is nonexistent.  Because these Christians never truly came to repentance from the world and into Jesus in the beginning, they're still holding onto the glory of man, whether its their own glory (religion), or others' glory (tolerance).  Jesus plainly said that if you're out for the glory of man and not the glory of God, you won't believe in Him (Jn5:44). 

The christian call is a call to renounce all and come after Jesus.  He takes our sin on himself and gives us His righteousness.  All of our righteousness before God and others comes from Jesus.  HE'S our good standing.  He rises from the grave to show His power and give us eternal life by making us new creatures.  I'm acting and thinking different because I am different...I'm a new creation in Christ.  I'm adopted into the family of God because Jesus, the true Son of God, was crushed under the judgment of God that should have been reserved for me.  Now I'm a son of God.  And it's all because Jesus bought me and purchased me. 

That's the Gospel.  And this is my response: Repentance.  "Thus it's written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from death, and repentance and forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed..." (Lk24:46-47).  I'm not trying to save myself, because Jesus already saved me, and is working on me.  And I'm not going to compromise Jesus' truth for the sake of acceptance and friendship with others.  Jesus said I'd have trouble in the world, and that they'd hate me the way they hated him (Jn15:18-21).  I was hostile to God, an enemy in word and deed and intention, but "while I was an enemy, I was reconciled to God by the death of His Son" (Rom5:10, cf Col1:21).  Christ is absolutely everything, and if the conversation isn't beginning with His life, death, burial, and resurrection FIRST, it's not a christian conversation, and it will be marred by our own interests and understanding.

If people disagree with me on things like homosexuality, abortion, religion, war, etc., we begin with Jesus.  And by God's grace, people will hear that wherever Jesus calls us to change, His resurrection provides the power FOR the change.  Apart from Christ, we're slaves to the world and sin (cf Jn8:34, Rom6:20, 2Cor4:4).  But in Christ, we're slaves of Christ.  And this way we're actually free.  Christianity is nothing less, and if anything less is presented, it's counterfeit, because Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life.

 

"it's been a while..."

Hi everyone,
It's been an awfully long time since I posted a new blog.  I apologize--things have been kind of busy and I just got away from it. 
At both Hazelwood and Sq Hill CC's, we've been seeing some cool things.  We've had a lot of discussions on:  baptism (what we do when we believe and want to follow Jesus--sort of the first step; see Mtk16:16, and Ac10:43 with 11:17 and 15:9), what it means to be justified (what happens to us when we have faith in Jesus and look to Him for salvation--we're put in a state of grace because of Jesus' work for us; see Ac13:38-39, Rom3:23-26, and Gal2:15-16), and yesterday we saw that church membership is just an extension of our being a part of the family of God through rebirth in Christ (see John1:12-13 and Gal4:4-6). 

As every sermon and every Bible study is about Jesus, we've seen God's grace in the form of showing that things like these (justification, baptism, church membership, etc.) have to be understood in light of Jesus and His finished work.  If we're not saved by our works but JESUS' work to be received in faith (which flows INTO good works as Jesus is in us--see Jn15:1-10 and Eph2:8-10), then the most important thing we could ever be reminded of is that what makes us Christians is Jesus, believed on and obeyed.  It's His life and resurrection that has regenerated us and given us new life (see 1Pet1:3), and the Church is the Church when we're making much of Him and what He's done.

Everyone needs this.  As a Christian, you're not allowed to say you believe that Jesus is God who came to save us and then turn around and not think that everyone needs it.  Jesus Himself said that everyone is enslaved to sin (Jn8:34) and unless they believe in Him, they'll DIE in their sin (8:24). 
Sin on earth makes everything dysfunctional as people more and more slide away from God (see the loss of sanity and sexual morality because of sin in Rom1:18-24, and the destruction of the family unit because of sin in Genesis3:8-4:7)--because of this, everyone has massive strongholds built up against the knowledge of God (see 2Cor10:4-5).  This is why one must be reborn to  follow Jesus (see John3:2-8). 

The ones seeking to deal with the problems in 2013 Post-modern Post-Christian society from a Christian perspective are largely seeking to do so without the only source of power that there is:  Jesus, and what He's done for us.  Sure, many may talk about Jesus (His love, forgiveness, etc.), but no one talks about a) His finished work, which is supposed to be understood as giving us power to overcome sin (even sexual sin) (see Rom6:3-5), or b) the fact that BECAUSE He's loving, He tells the truth (John8:14, 18:37).  Sometimes the truth hurts.  But if the one telling us the truth went to the cross to die for our sins, obviously He's looking out for our best interest; and if the one telling us the truth rose from the grave, obviously He's God and knows best. 

Jesus is God who came to save us from sin.  Sin leads to a) hell on earth, and b) hell eternally.  Hell on earth and hell eternally are both just and fair.  Grace is rebirth and eternal life with God the Father and His Son, because of what the Father and the Son have done for us.  He requires holiness and godliness from us, and in our state of sin and death, Jesus dies for us to provide holiness and godliness to us (see Rom5:6-8, Eph2:4-5). 

This isn't an oppressive message at all--it's grace AND truth.  If grace doesn't have truth, it's not really grace.  Grace needs truth in order to be grace, because grace is mercy IN LIGHT OF the truth.  "The Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory; glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth" (John1:14).  Jesus doesn't sweep problems under the rug (see his handling of the Pharisees in Matt6:1-18 and 23:1-36).  Instead, he tells the hard truth of sin, and then goes to the cross to die for said sin, that we'd believe and be saved, and then rise with Him into new life. 

May Christ's Name be lifted high, and the Church look like the Church--bearing witness to His grace and truth.  "We're eyewitnesses of His majesty". 
Pray for revival in our city, so that people come to know Jesus not just as a concept...but for who He really is:  a Person--God who came to save us.  He builds His Church, and will continue regardless of what happens. 

Righteousness and Discipleship

The call to discipleship is a call to life which begins with death.  Much of the modern Christian message has been stripped of all of its weight because of the fact that the Christians don't know what the Gospel is anymore.  Just like when people who don't know what the Scripture teaches about God's nature resort to defining Him by whatever it is they want Him to be like, so likewise when people don't know the Gospel, they conform it to their own nature as well.  The writer is perhaps most guilty.

According to Mark's account of Jesus' life, He ended his time with them by telling them to go and preach gospel (see Mark 16:15--"Go and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation").  According to Matthew, this conversation went like this:  "All authority in heaven and earth has been given to me.  Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the Name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey all that I've commanded you.  And surely I'm with you always, to the end of the age" (Mt 28:18-20).   Finally, Luke has Jesus ending his time with them by saying, "When the Holy Spirit comes upon you, you will bear witness about me" (Ac 1:8).  Whereas these differing accounts give slight variation, the variation is certainly only slight, and the message is still the same: "Go and proclaim ME."  It's as if Jesus is telling them that their job description is to go and just talk about Him.  In fact, the Acts account isn't even a command--it's a declaration: "You WILL proclaim me when the Spirit comes."  This is reminiscent of His words to the disciples about their impending persecution in Mt 10:19-20: "Do not be anxious how you are to speak...for it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you."  He is promising that when "the Spirit of truth" (Jn 14:17, 15:26, 16:13), who is also the "Spirit of adoption as sons" (Rom 8:15), comes upon them, He will also become a "Spirit of power" (2 Tm 1:7) who will then become a "Spirit of conviction" to all they speak to (Jn 16:8, 1 Thes 1:5).  The Holy Spirit will, for all intents and purposes, do everything in their ministry.

Whereas the Spirit has regenerated them into new life (see Jn 3:5, 6:63; cf Eph 2:4-5), and so now leads them into the truth (Jn 14:26, 16:13), He will then begin empowering them for ministry.  The Spirit draws them to Christ, teaches them the truth, convicts them of sin, and sanctifies them...in other words, the Spirit brings them to become Christians and remain Christians.  So also the Spirit will bring about and empower obedience to His call.  The Christian who is called by Christ to ministry is never an island--he is always with a calling of which Christ already has the results, and he always has the promise that even if he fails in certain parts, he won't fail finally, because the results are Christ's (see Jesus' prayer for Peter in Luke 22:31-34, and Peter's subsequent fall and return in 22:54-62; also read carefully the language of Paul in Ephesians 2:8-10).  As the disciples are sent to go and preach the Gospel, they can be sure that the Lord will bring about fruit...which is good because apart from Him, they couldn't bear any (see Jn 15:5).

What was the Gospel, in simple terms?  Paul says in Romans 1:16-17 that the gospel is "the power of God for salvation, to everyone who believes", and then he says that in the Gospel, "the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith".  So God literally saves people through the message of the Gospel, and in saving them, his righteousness is revealed.  Still, it appears abstract. 
But this is why the Scripture is so glorious.  In 1 Corinthians 1, he defines this Gospel for us: "Christ did not send me to the baptize, but to preach the gospel, and not with words of eloquent wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power" (1:17).  He continues, "For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God" (1:18).  So whereas the Gospel is identified a certain way by Jesus in his commissioning of the disciples (obedience to Him, speaking about Him, etc.), Paul identified this further to help clarify (and so fulfill his mission given him by Christ--see Ac 9:15, 26:15-18): the Gospel is the message of the Cross.  In IT the righteousness of God is revealed. 

But how is this?
First, beginning with Christ's identity:  "the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world"--Jn 1:29; He who will "save His people from their sins"--Mt 1:21; "the Word of God...who..became flesh and dwelt among us"--Jn 1:1-3,14, etc.  If He who is from God and is the eternal sovereign Creator (see Col 1:15-16, Heb 1:2-4) has to go to the cross in order for anyone to be saved, the gap of righteousness/holiness between God and ourselves must be infinitely wide, so much that only God could span it Himself.  God is infinitely holy--"holy" means "set apart", but when speaking of God, it doesn't just mean 'set apart' like the smelly kid at recess is 'set apart' from all the other kids because they don't like him--that kind of 'set apart' is different.  The 'set apart'ness of God is one characterized by transcendence (Is 55:8-9), independence (Ac 17:25), and unapproachability (1 Tim 6:16).  He is so holy that human eyes can't behold Him in all of his glory.  Cross-reference Leviticus 11:44 (God saying "be holy for I am holy") with Matt 5:48 (Jesus saying "be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect") to see that Jesus defines "holiness" as "perfection".  One begins to see the need for God to show grace and mercy--He could never be reached or approached by human effort.  It's foolishness to trust in one's own goodness (see the Pharisee in Lk 18:9) especially when there IS no one good or righteous! (See Mk 10:18 and Rom 3:10, 8:7.)  If Christ has to come and offer Himself on the cross, and this be the ONLY way to be saved (and it most certainly is: read...the Gospels), how righteous must God be, compared to how unrighteous we must be?  In this, the righteousness of God is revealed through the cross.  The cross might be foolishness to world, but to those who are saved, it's God's power to save them. 

Second, when this is understood--that God is infinitely holy, and mankind, though once good but now sinners addicted to sin and incapable of changing self (see Ecclesiastes 7:29, Jerem 13:23, Jn 8:34)--one sees his utter despair and dependence on divine mercy from God.  One sees that salvation/justification is something that he can't do enough for, because God is just that much more holy and good than any "holy" or "good" work a person can accomplish.  A person, with the tax collector from the Luke 18 passage cited above, knows that he can't justify himself, and can only stand with his face pointed downward, beating his breast and crying out, "God, have mercy on me, a sinner!" 

The only proper place of worship is that which has a proper understanding of the identity of the one being worshiped vs the one worshiping.  If a woman worships her beauty, it's inappropriate because beauty is only fleeting and can't truly give her what she needs anyways.  If a man worships his favorite sports team, it's inappropriate because sports are simply games where the creators of the game created a goal (a football which needs to be brought to an endzone by a team of players), and then a problem which thwarts the accomplishing of this goal (the other team GUARDING said endzone).  See?  It's a game.  Beauty, while beautiful, is fleeting; sports, while fun, are silly games.  And most can't see clearly enough to tell the difference between appreciation and worship.  Most women who worship their looks don't know they do, and most men who worship their sports don't know they do (though some know, but are just too lazy and stupid to want to deal with it).

And this is why the Cross matters so much.  In the cross, God's righteousness is shown for what it is--perfection and holiness.  In the cross, our righteousness is shown for what it really is--non-existent.  At least, not before a holy God.  The sovereign-Creator-turned-crucified-Savior has become a living sermon--none can be saved apart from Christ.

But then the second tier of God's righteousness at the cross is revealed--the righteousness which God gives to those who don't have any, but believe in Jesus. 
--First, note that directly after the "trusting in self-righteousness" Tax Collector and Pharisee parable in Lk 18, Jesus rebukes his disciples for turning away people who brought their infants to him, saying, "Whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it" (18:17).  Jesus had just told a parable rebuking those who "trusted in themselves, that they were righteous", and now He's rebuking the disciples for turning people away from coming to Him.  THEN comes the rich young ruler.  When he asks about how to receive eternal life, Jesus tells him to sell all he has, "and come follow ME" (18:22).  This story is not about the man's riches--it's about the man's idolatry of his riches, and his need to come follow Jesus to have eternal life.  Reading all of this together, it would appear that the message is that the only way to righteousness/justification is through coming to and following Jesus.  He, and He alone, is the way to life.
--Second, note that Paul said this same thing: "The righteousness of God has been manifested...the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe" (Rom 3:21-22).  He then continues on, talking about the cross.  Referring to this righteousness as that which is manifested "through faith...for all who believe" is to say that the faith/belief the Christian has taps INTO this righteousness somehow.  Note Paul's words in 2 Cor 5:21: "He (God) made Him to be sin who knew no sin (Jesus), that in him we might become the righteousness of God".  Christians, with their sin placed on Jesus, have His righteousness placed on them.  The two phrases the theologians use are substitionary atonement--that Jesus is our substitute, and imputed righteousness--that God accounts Jesus' righteousness to us who have none.  Finally, note Paul's words in Philippians 3:8-9: "I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus...I have suffered the loss of all things...not having a righteousness of my own which comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith."  Truly if Paul COULD have "righteousness of his own from the Law", it would not be enough, for "by works of the Law, none will be justified" since the Law only shows us how we can't keep it (Rom 3:20).

The righteousness of God is given to those who have faith in Jesus' work.  And the Gospel comes to us in the message of the cross.  When one, empowered by the Holy Spirit (1 Cor 2:4-5), is brought to the realization of their dependence on Christ's perfect work on the cross--and the cross is only what it is because of Jesus' perfect life of holiness--they've been given new life, exposed to the truth, and raised with Christ into new life.  They are not depending on their self to be acceptable to God--rather, they're depending on God's mercy in Christ's work to be acceptable to Him.  What a wonderful truth!--that I can know God because Jesus has done all the work which I couldn't do! 

Belief in Jesus and obedience to Jesus are synonymous in the New Testament--see Jn 3:36, Ac 6:7, Rom 1:5, and Heb 3:18-19.  To obey Him, one must trust that He's worthy of obeying, and it is His cross, resurrection, and effectual calling which proves His worth.  Righteousness before God, this side of the Fall, is something that is only revealed and received through faith in Christ.  He is either all in all, or He is none at all.  Let those who have been humbled by the Gospel cry out "the former!", and let those who have been humbled by man's depravity cry out "I believe, help my unbelief!".  The former will treasure Christ as the all in all, and they will "go and make disciples"--but not by their own power.  Rather, it'll be by Jesus' power--and His power comes to us through His Spirit.  The latter will cry out to Him for wisdom, sure that He will answer (see 1 Cor 1:30 with James 1:5), because He gives rest to those who come to Him.  "Surely I will never cast them out" (Jn 6:39 with Mt 11:28-30).

Christ and the Spirit

I've been reading The Holy Spirit, written by the late Arthur Pink (1886-1952), and published posthumously.  It has been an amazing study of the Scripture's teaching on the Person and work of the Holy Spirit, both in the life of the Christian, and in the operation throughout the world (Christians and non-Christians included). 
Instead of writing a typical post from my own studies, I thought that I would share from this book a section that to me has been enormously profitable.  In this section, Pink outlines 18 parallels between Christ's coming into the world and the Spirit's coming into the world.
As one who lives and breathes Scripture (not in the sense that I perfectly embody Scripture--rather just that I constantly study, read, think, pray it, etc.), seeing connections therein which are obviously there to prove Sovereign God's goodness and transcendent intelligence has proven again and again to be fire-starting in my heart.  Things like these cause me to glorify God, with the psalmist, saying, "Your testimonies are my delight--they are my counselors...I find my delight in your commandments, which I love!" (Ps 119:24,47), so that my prayer becomes, "Give me understanding that I may learn your commandments" (119:73), because His Word has proven to be more desirable "than gold, even fine gold, and sweeter than honey, and drippings of the honeycomb" (19:10).  By His grace, I've begun to understand that I live "by every word that comes from the mouth of God" (Deut. 8:3, restated by Jesus in Mt. 4:4).  Seeing parallels such as what follows prove a real delight to the eyes and heart of faith.  Hopefully as you see the similarities between Christ's Advent and subsequently the Spirit's Advent, you'll cry out with me, "Oh the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God!" (Rom. 11:33)

Before you read, remember one thing: Jesus, the night He was betrayed, told His disciples, "It is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you.  But if I go, I will send him to you" (Jn 15:7).  Without sacrificing reverence to the Name of our Sovereign Lord and God Christ Jesus (the only Name by which man can be saved), we understand His words to mean this: Whereas He, after dying to pay for sins and then rising from death, was to go to sit at the Father's right hand to intercede for His people until He returns finally (see Ps 110:1, Mt 26:64, Eph 1:20, and cross-references), the Holy Spirit would be sent to His people to replace Christ's physical presence on earth.  The coming of Christ (His Advent) was to dwell on earth and then pay for sins, and the coming of the Spirit (His Advent) was to apply Christ's work to Christ's people and dwell with them until Christ returns (see Jn 14:16).  Thus noticing the parallel is appropriate.  That said...

1.  Whereas Christ was present in the Old Testament (Ac 7:37-38, 1 Cor 10:4) but the fullness of His presence was to be realized in the New Testament, so it was with the Spirit that He was present with God's people in the OT (Neh 9:20, for example), but the fullness of His presence was realized in the NT.
2.  Christ's Advent was predicted and foretold in the OT (as is well documented), but so was the Holy Spirit's (which is much less documented) (see Ps 68:18, Is 32:15, Ezek 36:26, etc.).
3.  As Christ had John the Baptist to "prepare the way" for His coming, the Holy Spirit had Christ to prepare the way for Him.
4.  Christ was sent by God "when the fullness of time had come" (Gal 4:4), just as the Spirit was sent by God "when the day of Pentecost was fully come" (Ac 2:1, KJV, also in Greek text).
5.  Just as the Son of God was made incarnate in the Holy Land of Israel in Palestine, so the Holy Spirit of God descended first in the Holy City of Jerusalem.
6.  The "angel choir" sang at Christ's coming (Lk 2:13) while was a "sound from heaven" at the Spirit's (Ac 2:2); likewise the "Shekinah glory of the Lord shone" around those present at Christ's coming (Lk 2:9) and there were "tongues of fire" which rested on those present at the Spirit's (Ac 2:3).
7.  An extra-ordinary star marked the house where the Christ-child was (Mt 2:9), while a divine (truly extraordinary) shaking marked the house where the Holy Spirit was (Ac 2:2).
8.  Whereas Christ was first made known to a few, but when manifested to Israel, was publically identified (Mt 3:17, Jn 1:29), so the Spirit was first made known to a few, but when manifested to Israel, was publically identified (by Peter--see Ac 2:16-36).
9.  As Christ became a man, dwelling in a human "temple" (Jn 2:19), so the Spirit came to dwell in the bodies of those who belong to Christ (Jn 14:16), so that they are "God's temple, in whom His Spirit dwells" (1 Cor 3:16). 
10.  When Christ was born, "Herod and all of Jerusalem with him were troubled" (Mt 2:3), whereas when the Spirit came, with its loud sound, "the multitude (in Jerusalem)...were bewildered" (Ac 2:6).
11.  While it was predicted that Christ would be unrecognized and underappreciated (see Is. 53), so also Christ predicted about the Spirit that "the world can't receive Him, because it doesn't see him or know him" (Jn 14:17).
12.  As the Messianic claims of Christ were called into question (see Jn 7:40-52, and cross-references), so also the people, when the Spirit came, "were amazed, and doubted, saying 'What does this mean?'" (Ac 2:12).
13.  As Christ was termed a drunkard (wine-bibbler, KJV) (Mt 11:19), so when the Spirit came, those filled with Him were accused of being "drunk with new wine" (Ac 2:13).
14.  As the public Advent of Christ was heralded by John the Baptist (Jn 1:29), so the Spirit's was interpreted by Peter (Ac 2:15-36).
15.  God appointed Christ to the work of purchasing His people's redemption (Mt 10:45), and so He appointed the Spirit to APPLY said redemption (see Romans 8:10-13).
16.  As in Christ's work "the Son honored the Father" (Jn 14:10), so in His work, "the Spirit glorifies the Son" (Jn 16:13-14).
17.  As the Father told the Son's disciples to "listen to Him" (Mt 17:15, cross-references), so the Son tells His Church to "hear what the Spirit says to the churches" (Rev 2:7).
18.  As Christ committed His true peoples' safe-keeping to His Spirit (Jn 14:16, 16:7, 2 Cor 2:22, Eph 1:14), so His Spirit is committed to delivering Christ's true people to Him (Jn 14:3).

I trust that reading this has been as profitable and fulfilling as it was when I first read it.  God's Word is good, Christ as Lord is wonderful, and knowing Him truly is eternal life.  Go in the Spirit, for "all who live by the Spirit are sons of God" (Rom 8:14).

Righteousness From Christ

"...in order that I may gain Christ, and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith..."
Philippians 3:8-9

I was recently reading a Time Magazine publication that compared different religions, and it said that fundamentally Christianity was simply "following Jesus' example."  Now whereas the need to  follow His example is a fundamental aspect (see Rom 15:1-7, Phil 2:5-8, for example), to describe this concept as the whole of Christianity's scope is a misunderstanding.

Jesus tells His disciples in Acts 1:8 that when the Holy Spirit comes on them, they will "bear witness about (Christ)".  Primarily the message the disciples were to preach was the Gospel (Mk 16:15) of Jesus' Person and work and all that He accomplished.  This is why Peter immediately begins preaching Jesus as the Christ promised from the Scriptures (Ac 2:16-36) followed by a call to forsake self (repent) and take on Christ's Name to receive the same Holy Spirit (2:37-39).  Later, as Peter is in the Temple in Jerusalem, he preaches Christ as "the Author of Life" (3:15--an unheard of designation to a "mere man") and then he challenges the people to "Repent therefore, and turn again, that your sins may be blotted out, that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, and that he may send the Christ appointed for you, Jesus" (3:19-20).  So the message is Christ's Person and work on the cross (2:23-24, 3:14-15), the application is forgiveness of sins as they're "blotted out", and the challenge is repentance for the sake of receiving Christ and His Spirit.  Later on, Peter, before his Christian brothers in the Jerusalem Council, summarizes the effect (application) of Jesus' work by saying "We believe that we will be saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus" (15:11).  So this saving is something that happens by grace and the One who initiates it is Jesus.  It's His grace that saves us.  And the transaction is, in order, His work, our forgiveness, and His Spirit dwelling in us (Jn 14:16-17), as He promised.

Later, Paul explains even further.  In Romans 1-2, he has been laboring to show the effect of sin and peoples' ignorance of God and His righteousness since the beginning.  He concludes the section in 3:9-11 "All, both jews and greeks, are under sin...None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God."  If this were the case, then even man's intellect is under sin--so as man attempts to "follow Jesus' example", he'd continually fail, because in his sin, he can never be sure if he's living in truth, or if he's missing the mark, sure that he's doing "a good job" while JESUS doesn't think he is.  To be "under sin" is to be enslaved to it, meaning that righteousness in and of one's self is entirely impossible.  Jesus himself had said this in Jn 8:34: "All who sin are slaves to sin".  This means that one can try and try to save himself by good works and by even obedience, but sin will always win out.

So Paul says next, "But now the righteousness of God has been manifested...the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe...all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received in faith" (3:21-25).  With these words Paul explains the riddle of the transaction we saw earlier--it is Jesus' work (propitiation--a sacrifice of judgment, whereby he redirects God's wrath over our sin from us to Himself by taking the sin onto Himself) which brings justification, and this justifying (counting people righteous though they aren't righteous) is received "by his grace as a gift...to be received in faith".  With these words Paul explains to us that salvation before a holy God can only be received as a gift, because man is too sinful to be able to DO anything to save himself.  This is the whole point of why Jesus had to come--if man could be righteous by himself, "Christ died for no purpose" (Gal 2:21).  But Christ came and was righteous for me, and in his suffering, my sin is dealt with, and faith in Jesus' Person and work of suffering and dying instead of me justifies me entirely before God.  In this, God is "just, AND the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus" (Rom 3:26).  I'm saved by faith in Jesus' work.

It is no coincidence that each sermon in Acts is 95% about Jesus's work and only 5% about our response (those of course are not actual figures).  This is because salvation is worked when one understands what Jesus has accomplished, because when they understand it, if it be received in faith, they are justified.  RC Sproul has said "justification by faith alone is one of the simplest of concepts, and yet it is one of the most difficult to accept".  The reason for this is that man wants to feel in control and that he could be righteous if he wanted to (and many think they ARE).  But man isn't in control and he isn't righteous...he is enslaved to sin...He's a sinner who can't stop.  "The intention of man's heart is evil from the time he's a youth" (Gen 8:21); "the heart is deceitful above all things and desperately sick--who can understand it?" (Jer 17:9); "all who sin are slaves to sin" (Jn 8:34); "the mind set on the flesh is hostile to God..it does not submit to God's law, indeed it can not" (Rom 8:7).  Man is not righteous before a holy God, because a holy God expects holiNESS, and unless man be completely holy, he has no righteousness before God.

But the reason why Jesus came was to provide a way...THE Way (Matt 7:14, Jn 14:6, Act 16:15).  And this "Way" is very simply what HE has done.  Speaking of the sin and subsequent death that came into the world through Adam "and spread (from him) to all men, because ALL sinned" (Rom 5:12), Paul continues by saying, "If, because of one man's trespass (Adam's), death reigned through that one man, much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man Jesus Christ" (5:17).  Death came through Adam because Adam sinned; but grace and the gift of righteousness has come through Jesus Christ.  "One act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all men...by one mans disobedience (Adam's) the many were made sinners, so by the one man's obedience (Christ's) the many will be made righteous" (5:19).
Do you understand?  It is Adam's sin which brought death and condemnation (though we are responsible, because we've all sinned!); but it is Christ's righteousness and obedience which brings something else...righteousness!  It is Jesus' living a perfect life, entirely righteous and obedient before the Father, and then pouring out His life on the cross in obedience that, received by faith, connects me with His righteousness, and accounts His righteousness to me.  "He became sin...that (I) might become the righteousness of God" (2 Cor 5:21).  Though I'm NOT righteous in and of myself, Jesus is, and faith in His Person and work accounts me righteous, on the basis OF His Person and work.

But what does it mean to "have faith in Jesus"?  What is "belief in Jesus"? 
First, it's something that must be believed in the heart (Rom 8:10).  Second, since the heart is deceitful and sick (Jerem. 17:9), only the Holy Spirit of God can enlighten the heart and draw it to Christ.  "It is the Spirit which gives life; the flesh is no help at all" (Jn 6:63).  "No one can say 'Jesus is Lord' except in the Holy Spirit" (1 Cor 12:3).  Just as only the Father can draw the wayward sinner to Christ (Jn 6:44), only the Father can reveal to the spiritually dead sinner that Jesus is the Christ (Matt 16:15).  "Salvation is of the Lord" (Jonah 2:9), because only the Lord can illumine the person to understand that before a righteous and holy God, they have no righteousness or holiness.  And when they realize this, they are confronted with the truth of the Gospel--that gracious and wonderful and life-giving truth: "by Christ's obedience, YOU are made righteous...to be received in faith".

This is why it's nowhere near sufficient to say that Christianity is fundamentally about following Jesus' example.  Of course, "even the demons believe, and shudder!" (Jms 2:19).  But belief, for the Christian, is trust...trust in what?  In the righteousness of Christ to make me righteous before a righteous God.  I, in and of myself, have no righteousness.  It is all Christ, or it's nothing.  Yes, I believe, but only because the Spirit quickens me.  Yes I follow Jesus' example, but only because God has accounted Jesus' obedience to me by grace through faith.  It completely takes the onus off of me, and puts it on Jesus.  Not what I do--what HE does, and what He continues to do.  Otherwise, the Gospel isn't good news at all--it's just another religious theory for how to present yourself before God.  But the Christian gospel IS good news because it's the news about what Jesus has done for us--and when it is believed on and trusted in, then "if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation" (2 Cor 5:17). 
This is why (in the Philippians passage) Paul wants to be "in Christ", not having a righteousness of his own but the righteousness from God through faith in Christ.  Paul knows that Paul doesn't HAVE any righteousness...his righteousness can only be that which is from Christ.  When you understand this, it's wonderful.  And when you know it's all you'll ever need, it begins to be all you ever want.