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Who is this Mediator — God and Man?
The simple answer that every child learns in church, in Sunday School, and in other children’s programs is that our only Mediator is the Lord Jesus Christ who was sent to us to redeem us from our sins by substituting himself in our place, paying the penalty for our sins and imputing to us his righteousness. And as adults we say, “Amen and Amen.” And all believers respond, whether child or adult, “Praise God! Hallelujah!”
There are many other religions floating around this old world, but every other religion that I am aware of, leaves you in the despondency of human works or fate. They may call it various things — merit, karma, kismet, etc…but it all boils down to one thing: despair. I can’t do enough good works to satisfy my own soul, let alone the demands of a perfect God. And then the idea of fate — I am bound to my miserable lot, so why bother growing and seeking maturity in faith or doing good works. In the end — grief and despair overwhelm. What a radical difference there is between Biblical Christianity and any other faith that the world has to offer!
The real question, for you who confess Christ is whether you really live like you believe Christ is your mediator and intercessor before God. Do you strive to live in a way that honors him? Do you seek to live obediently to his commands? If not, can it be said that you really believe all this you say about the person of Christ? In principle, the things we believe are seen in the way we live. Is Christ visible in the way you live your life? Is he visible in the way you worship? Is he glorified in you?
Fully God and Fully Man
One of the classic works in Christian literature is Anselm’s Cur Deus Homo (“Why did God become Man?”). Here, the great teacher of the church works through the problem of sin, coming to the conclusion that it is impossible for man to redeem himself and were man to be redeemed, only one who needs no redeeming could redeem others.
The Heidelberg Catechism tackles this same matter in two questions — why does the mediator need to be man and why does he also need to be God? And, much like Anselm, the framers of the Catechism argue that since it was man who sinned, it is only proper and fitting that man make satisfaction for his sins. Yet, man cannot do that because he is tainted with sin. So, we are in a fix. Only God is without sin of his own and thus only God is able to sinlessly represent man and only God has the power to satisfy the demands of the Law for the elect. Thus, God took on flesh and came as both fully-God and fully-man (except for sin) to make satisfaction for his people.
Sometimes people object, suggesting that God could simply have pardoned the people of their sins as he pardoned the Israelites after their making of the golden calf. Then again, the only reason God pardoned the Israelites is because they were “in Moses” (see 1 Corinthians 10:2). In other words, Moses was their mediator in this matter and Moses serves as a foreshadow of the coming Christ. Further, Moses’ mediation extends only to the earthly consequences of the Israelites’ sin, not to eternal consequences. An eternal man is the only one who has the power to satisfy the eternal consequences of the Law.
The Only Mediator Between God and Man
“For there is one God and one mediator between God and man — the man Jesus Christ who gave himself as a ransom for all — the testimony of a unique appointed time.”
(1 Timothy 2:5-6)
So, is there salvation outside of Christ? No. It is a logical impossibility. No human can do it because humans are sinful and no animal can do it on our behalf. Only God is capable of interceding for a fallen man and so to do just that, God took on flesh — Jesus the Christ. To mediate for others, you must also be able to identify with those for whom you mediate (hence Abraham could not effectively mediate for Sodom — see Genesis 18:22-33).
The one who mediates between God and man must be both fully God and fully man. He must be powerful enough to take on the penalty of man and thus be God, but must be able to suffer and die as a man, meaning he must be man. It is the great and the only solution to our weak and fallen condition. Nothing else will satisfy the demands of the law. Moses could not do it, Abraham could not do it, Buddha could not do it, Mohammed could not do it, Joseph Smith could not do it, none other than Jesus the Christ could do it. And he did it for all sorts of people — for all who come to Christ in faith and repentance.
Notice something about the Apostle Paul’s words above. This is the testimony for Christians, but it was given at a distinct and unique appointed time. Such is a reminder that Christianity is a historical faith…were the events recorded within somehow not to have happened, the whole of our theology as Christian would be for naught. That testimony was in time and space and such must never be compromised by the church.
Sacrifices
Okay Pastor Win, I am a little confused. You told me earlier that the Law of God had to be satisfied either by myself or another — and that I am unable to satisfy the Law. This, of course leaves the category of “other.” But isn’t that what the sacrifices in the Old Testament were meant to do? Didn’t the slaughter of goats and lambs and rams and birds satisfy the demands of the Law? Blood was shed on the altar. Doesn’t that solve our problem?
The answer, of course, is no. God will not punish an animal for your sins or mine. Think about it, if we could just slaughter a bunch of animals, we could live like pagans and just sacrifice a bunch of animals to “make it all better.” How is there justice in that? Further, how does the life of an unthinking and unreasoning animal truly stand in for the life of a human made in the image of God?
So, why all these sacrifices? The simple answer is that the sacrifices made at the altar in Jerusalem (or at the Tabernacle as it moved through the wilderness) were meant to foreshadow another sacrifice to come. These animal sacrifices had no power in and of themselves, but became powerful in the completed sacrifice of Jesus. The Heidelberg Catechism will move toward explaining what kind of substitute that we must have, but in question 14, it makes it quite clear that no creature can endure the weight of God’s wrath and redeem others from it. The sin of humans must be meted out on a human; animals cannot be a substitute. Further, the greatness of the animal sacrifices (oceans of blood were shed at these altars) anticipates the greatness of the sacrifice of the Son of God that must come).
Satisfaction…The Other Kind
Usually, when we think of “satisfaction,” we think in terms of the context of what satisfies us. A nap on the sofa in front of a fire in the fireplace, a nice thick and juicy steak dinner, or a favorite book are satisfying things that come to my mind. For those of us who do, preaching and teaching the Word of God is one of the most satisfying of all things to do in life — as one pastor said, “preaching is my vocation, my avocation, and my vacation.” Amen to that, there is nothing quite like it in the world. And as Christians, we ultimately are to find our satisfaction in Christ. Indeed, if God is “well-pleased” in Christ (Matthew 3:17), then oughtn’t we be the same?
Yet, there is another kind of satisfaction — one that is objective in nature and has to do with the Law. When a law is broken there is a punishment assigned to that law which is said to “satisfy the demands of the law.” Thus, if you drive too fast on the road, if you fail to pay your taxes, if you steal from your neighbor, or if you perjure yourself, then there is a penalty to be paid. Sometimes that penalty is measured by a fine, sometimes it includes community service, and sometimes it requires jail time. Whatever the punishment assigned by the Law and applied by the Judge, that is required of you to “satisfy” the Law’s demands. Once satisfied, you can then go about your life as normal.
Yet, when we shift from earthly things to eternal things, we find ourselves with a dilemma. Our sins are not just sins against the earthly community around us; they are sins against God and against His law. And since God is eternal, the consequences of sin against God are eternal in nature as well. Hell is in fact the only suitable and proper punishment for our sin.
The problem with eternal is just that…it is eternal. In other words, unlike paying a fine or even going to jail for a sentence, those things end and we can come out on the other side. Eternal means that it never ends. And Hell is a frightful place given the Biblical definitions — unlike what the popular culture celebrates, it is not the place that any would ever or should ever want to go. And, when it comes to God’s law, because he is just and righteous, the demands of the law must be satisfied either by us or by another (as Heidelberg Catechism, Question 12 puts forth).
This is the very heart of the Gospel. How do we escape the wrath to come? How do we escape the wrath we deserve? What is worse, as Question 13 points out, we can never make that satisfaction for ourselves. Why not? It is because we are finite and cannot endure infinite wrath. It is also because we are sinners and tainted by sin, so even our best works are not good enough to earn merit in God’s eyes. We are indeed in a fix.
Many years before the Heidelberg Catechism was written, Saint Anselm wrestled through this question as well, pointing out that man needed saving but he could not save himself while the God who needed no saving was the only one who could save man. Thus God had to become a man to save men. The questions that follow in Heidelberg are designed to flesh out Anselm’s answer for us, but more importantly than that, they are designed to teach us that the only place to which we can run to escape the wrath we deserve is to Jesus Christ the Son of God. He made satisfaction for his people — not for all mankind, but for all that God has elected to trust in him as their Lord and Savior — the rest are condemned already (John 3:16-18). Flee to Christ, dear friends, flee to Christ.
Mercy and Justice
These two ideas are not normally thought of as going together very well. Justice demands that the full measure of punishment of the law be meted out in punishment for a crime committed. But justice is not simply limited to satisfying the law. Justice includes the need for restitution to be measured out to the one offended by the crime and justice needs to be exercised in such a way that it is a preventative measure in the larger society — that others, who might be considering said crimes of their own, would be turned back to walk on the straight and narrow path.
On the other hand, mercy is usually thought of as one being pardoned from either part or all of the demands of the law. The dictionary ordinarily defines mercy in terms of leniency, forgiveness, and clemency. If we are the accused, we usually think of mercy in terms of a reduced or forgiven judgment.
The funny thing has to do with the balance between them. A good and honorable judge is one that sees that the law is satisfied and obeyed. Yet, if he always punishes crime to the fullest extent of the law, without showing any mercy, he is considered ruthless and domineering. On the other hand, if a judge is always showing mercy, we consider him lax and maybe even corrupt and call for his resignation.
A middle ground can be reached in the American society because the law permits for a range in the sentencing. That way a first offender can be charged differently than a repeat offender and so that the judge may take into account the sincerity of an offender’s repentance. And so, the balance is struck and judges are held accountable by the voters in many cases.
The problem, though, when you take this idea and extend it from human experience to eternal things is that God, as judge, is not dealing with first-time offenders. We have been sinning since the day we were born — indeed, even since the day we were conceived! Further, God is not dealing with those who are likely not to sin again. We are repeat sinners and habitual sinners who will struggle with sin all of the days of our earthly life. And, God is not dealing with those who only pose a slight threat to society — our sin offends others and tempts others into sin themselves. And, even further than that, God is also dealing with those who have inherited the guilt of their first-parents’ sin. The only righteous punishment is infinite and eternal damnation in the fires of Hell. There is no range in sentencing possible.
So here, it would seem that with respect to the children of Adam, that God (as Judge) has his hands tied. Mercy cannot be accomplished simply as a matter of appealing to a range of sentencing possible within the law. Mercy becomes incompatible with justice.
Yet, is God not a merciful God? Indeed, scripture tells us that he chooses to have mercy on some (Exodus 33:19; Romans 9:15). Yet, how does God maintain his justice? The just punishment of the law must get meted out on a suitable representative for those to whom God has chosen to show mercy. Indeed, he pours it out on his Son, Jesus Christ. Question 11 of the Heidelberg catechism forms the bridge between the woeful state of our fallen souls and the redeeming work accomplished by Christ — the way that God fulfills both the demands of the Law and his choice to show mercy to some — more specifically to those whom he has elected in Christ from the foundations of the World (Ephesians 1:4-5).
But for Grace…Cursed!
There is an old saying that is often attributed to Baxter, which goes: “Save for the grace of God, so go I.” There is great truth in those words. God declares that we are righteous not by fulfilling some of the Law, but that we need to complete every last bit of the Law to please God (Deuteronomy 27:26). Jesus will later reinforce this idea when he reminds his hearers in the Sermon on the Mount that not even the smallest bit will fall away from the Law until the heavens and the earth pass away (Matthew 5:18). Every last bit. And, if you listen to the rest of Jesus’ sermon, it is not just that the letter of the law must be fulfilled, but the intention behind the law must be fulfilled as well.
It is like one of those impossible traps that we get caught in — if you do not thread the needle perfectly in every corner and in every context, you fail. One small slip is all it takes to fall. And the fall is not just a little stumble, it is a catastrophic loss of everything — it is a plummet into Hell. As Moses writes and as Paul later affirms, “Cursed” is everyone who does not fulfill everything written in the book of the Law. And so, save for the grace of God so go I…and you…and every human being.
And so, in Heidelberg Catechism, Question 10, the point is driven home — why am I under such misery of because of my sin? Indeed, we are miserable because we have failed to live up to the Law of God and are thus under the curse. And woe to the one who thinks they can pay the wages of curse on their own merit. Lest anyone be unclear or unsure, left on our own, every man, woman, and child who has ever lived or who will ever live, no matter how noble, gracious, or honorable, will face divine condemnation apart from a relationship with Jesus Christ as their Savior and Substitute. Such is the heart of part 2 of the catechism where the grace of God in Christ is taught…but apart from the grace of God, so go I…and you too. Wretched creatures are we.
Why is Hell Eternal?
If you have grown up in the church, you know that the only just punishment for sin is Hell. You also know that Hell is described in the Bible in three general ways — a separation from all goodness that God brings to existence (2 Peter 2:4), positive retribution for our sins (Mark 9:47-49), and a process of eternal destruction and dying without ever being annihilated (Matthew 10:28). But, sometimes people ask, why does it have to be eternal (Matthew 25:41)? Are our sins that bad that they deserve eternal condemnation? The answer, of course, is yes — this indeed is the testimony of the Scriptures. But again, the question before us is “why”?
Perhaps an analogy is helpful. Do you realize that the one against whom you commit a crime determines (at least in part) the severity of the crime? For example, if I walk down the street of our local town of Zelienople and punch someone in the nose, I will get in trouble (rightly so!). Since I do not have a criminal record, though, I probably would just be given a slap on the wrist, perhaps a fine, and maybe even some community service. If I happened to break the other person’s nose, then I would probably have to pay any medical expenses.
But imagine the difference in the scenario had I walked up to a police officer and punched him in the nose…or to the mayor. The punishment would be more severe and lengthy, would it not? Now, imagine again that I did the same thing, but I did so to the president of the United States. Now, I might be locked up in prison for a season (if not longer!). Can you see how the severity of the crime is greater given the importance of the person offended?
Let’s build on the analogy, though, and shift the offense from an active crime to a matter of disrespect. Imagine that I am walking through downtown Zelienople during Horse Trading Days (a local community event where craftsmen and artisans show their wares. Now imagine me walking by a painting by a local student — it is skillfully done, but will probably never hang in a museum. Now, imagine that as I walk by I mock the painting and the one who painted it. That would be quite disrespectful, but how much more disrespectful it would be were there a world-class painter showing his or her wares and I did the same?
To go even further, imagine that you invite me over for a meal and you have worked the day away in the kitchen preparing the meal to your best ability. It would be disrespectful were I not to show my gratitude for the meal and my appreciation for your creation. Yet imagine that you were a world renown chef and had done the same thing. Would it not be even more disrespectful were I to have shown contempt for his or her skillful labors?
The point is that God is infinitely more powerful than the President of the United States. And, his work is infinitely more praiseworthy than the greatest painter in the history of mankind or of the greatest chef that the world has ever produced. He is God! That means that the punishment for our sin against God — whether that sin is an active offense, a matter of scorn, or that of passively neglecting to honor Him with worship for his greatness — is infinitely more severe than a sin we could commit against another human. And since the sin is infinite in its greatness, it only suits that the punishment is infinite in its severity and duration.
And, we also need to be reminded that every sin that we commit against man is a sin that we also commit against God (Psalm 51:4). And so, just as the punishment issued by a righteous judge is commiserate with the crime and cumulative on the basis of the number of crimes committed, our punishment for sin is eternity plus eternity plus eternity in an infinite progression given our countless sins against God, against his name, against his creation, and against his people. And so, hell is eternal — “Cursed is everyone who does not continue to do everything that is written in the book of the Law” (Deuteronomy 27:26).
I Inherited the Guilt of Adam; Man, I’m in Deep
Question 10 of the Heidelberg Catechism states that God is not only displeased with my actual sin (that is a no-brainer) but that he is also displeased with my inherited sin. Wait one cotton-picking minute! Look, I get that I am guilty of the things I have done, but does that mean that I am also guilty of the sins of my father? Yes, it does…and more so than that! You and I are guilty of the sins of our father’s father and of our father’s father’s father before him…all of the way back to the first sin of Adam. Oh boy, we are in deep!
Here’s the thing, folks, God says that he will visit the iniquity (another word for sin) on the children to the third and fourth generation of those who hate him (Exodus 20:5; Exodus 34:7; Numbers 14:18; Deuteronomy 5:9)…and, well, we have already talked about our natural inclination to hate God and fellow man…even as Christians! What a mess we are in.
The implication is that even if it were possible for one person to live perfectly according to God’s law and never to sin in thought, word, deed, or intention, that person could still not earn his way into heaven because of the inherited debt from his forefathers. Jesus told a parable about forgiveness that Matthew records at the end of chapter 18. In the case of this parable, the man owed 10,000 Talents to the King. When people today come to terms with the quantity of money that 10,000 Talents represented, the natural response is “How did he accumulate such a large debt?” And that would have been one of the first questions the people of Jesus’ day would have been asking themselves, too. The only logical answer is that he inherited it from the mismanagement of his father and of his father and of his father…you get the point.
But, wait a minute, Jesus had no sin and lived a perfect life. What about him? Who is Jesus’ Father? God the Father himself is! That means that Jesus entered into this world with no inherited guilt of sin from his Father before him.
But how is that fair? I have very little control over the sins of my father or of my grandfather and I never met my great-grandfather. How can I be held accountable for their sins? Okay, I am waiting for it, “That’s not fair!” Perhaps it is not “fair” by human standards, but grace is not fair, either — though it is just. And justice is far more important than fairness — the first is objective and the second is purely subjective.
The fairness, then, is not relative to the conversation, but the justness is. Adam was our covenant head — our first representative and our mediator with God. When Adam fell, all of us fell. That’s the bad news, because Adam’s sin was really, really bad and ours has followed suit. The good news is that Jesus Christ entered into humanity and sacrificed himself to satisfy the demands of the law (justice!) for all of God’s elect…every single one.That means, in Christ, the sinless one becomes our Mediator and Covenantal Head and that means that inherited debt (remember the 10,000 Talents!) is forgiven along with our actual sins…in and because of Christ. That is good news indeed and while not fair, it is just and again, that is far more important.
That’s Not Fair!
How many times have you heard someone exclaim, “That’s not fair!” when things do not go their way. Someone else makes more than they do for the same job; one person gets a speeding ticket and the other gets a warning; one student gets a fortunate break in an athletic event and the other does not. It goes on and on and on and the typical response is, “That’s not fair!” Of course, when someone has things work in their favor, you don’t hear them say that.
As my children were growing up, they became used to me telling them, “Get over it, life is not fair; never was, never will be.” The fact is that there is nothing “fair” about life and none of us really want life to be “fair” anyhow. Were life “fair,” then we would always get what we deserved. What we worked for, that would be our recompense. And the bad news about that is when it comes to earthly and eternal things, we all deserve the wrath of God poured out on our each and every sin. That, beloved, would be fair. And, to boot, Jesus would have never sacrificed and died on the cross because that is one of the most unfair events in history.
So no, life is not fair. Get over it. It was not fair from the point that Adam and Eve ate of the fruit in the garden of which they were forbidden to eat. It is as plain and simple as that. They were made morally neutral in the sense that they were not biased toward disobedience like we are and they had the ability to obey the Law of God, which makes their sin even more condemnable. Yet they chose disobedience and when they did a blessed unfairness entered into the world. God should have condemned them and all of their offspring to eternal hell right then and there, yet he did not. God should have turned the beauties of this world into horrific and frightful caricatures of their original selves, but he did not, and God should have punished each and every sin in our lives immediately and harshly by his wrath, but he did not. He had a plan for grace and grace is not fair.
So, is it unfair that we are deprived the ability to fully obey the law? Not really, that was the righteous penalty on mankind for our first father’s sin. Is it unfair that our nature is to sin and nothing more? Again, that is the end result of the decision made by our first father, Adam. Children regularly (even today!) either benefit or suffer from the decisions made by their parents. As I look back at decisions that I have made, I sometimes wonder how different my family’s life would be were I have done that as opposed to this at various junctures. Of course, you cannot live in a world of “what if’s,” so it is not worth dwelling there. God is sovereign and has ordered my life (and yours) for his glory. And again, it is unfair, but praise God for that unfairness. Your sin nature, though, that was fairly given because of the rebellion of Adam and, as Heidelberg Catechism records, by Adam and Eve’s actions, they deprived themselves and us of the ability to obey.
Can the Wicked do Anything Good?
This is one of those questions that gets asked a lot, though often as a result of some misunderstandings of terminology. Often this kind of question comes from a critic of Calvinism…or perhaps more specifically, from a critic of the Calvinistic doctrine of Total Depravity. They see the words, “Totally Depraved,” and assume that what the Calvinist means is that human beings are as bad as they possibly can be. Yet, a brief survey of the world around us will illustrate that even unbelievers do noble things and the worst of mankind could act worse than they do. So, the critic says, “See, the world around you disproves your doctrine.”
Yet, the argument is more of a straw man than anything else. All that the world around us proves is that the misunderstanding or misrepresentation of the doctrine that the critic holds is untrue, but that says nothing about the doctrine itself. The doctrine itself simply speaks to the fact that the whole person has been affected or tainted by sin and thus the whole person (mind, body, soul, actions, etc…) needs redeeming. Yes, we could be worse, though God restrains our sin lest this earth become little more than a shadow of hell.
The other question raised by statements like this has to do with the definition of the word, “good.” Certainly Jesus teaches that only God is good (Luke 18:19). And so, the quick answer is, “No, no one can do anything Good because God alone is good.” Yet, that seems to beg the question because the person asking is not asking about good in the absolute sense, but simply about the things that we might appreciate as good, noble, or perhaps as meritorious.
Of course, the answer is still, “no.” The reason for this is that God considers anything that is not done “in faith” to be sin (Romans 14:23). Further, Paul writes to the Colossians that everything they do should be done in the name of Jesus Christ giving thanks to the Father through Him (Colossians 3:17). And so, if the wicked have rejected God (which they have) and do not honor the Son, Jesus Christ (which they do not), then it is impossible for them to do anything good in God’s eyes no matter how noble we might view an action in our own eyes.
And so the Heidelberg Catechism makes it clear in question number eight, that unless we are born again by God (thus having faith and doing all in thanksgiving to God through Christ) then we can do nothing good. This is both a matter of Total Depravity and of Intentionality. Lots of pagans do things that are noble on a human level, but in God’s eternal economy they fall short.
Why?
One of those questions I get asked a lot is why did God permit the Fall? Surely, God being God could have stopped Adam and Eve from falling into sin. Surely God could have made Adam and Eve in such a way that they would not be tempted to sin. Surely God could have interceded right then and there and stopped Eve from having the conversation with the Serpent. He could have made the Fruit of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil look putrid and gross or he could have had a big bird fly by and pluck it from her hand. Have there not been times in your life when God providentially stopped you from engaging in a sin you had your heart set on? Perhaps he gave you a flat tire, a last-minute call to pull an extra shift at work, or something similar to that? Certainly he has for me. So, why did God permit Adam and Eve to Fall and then bring into this world all of the horrors that accompany living in a sinful world — most prominently, death?
Across church history, theologians have proposed a number of answers to this question. Probably the one that frustrates me the most is what theologians call the “Free Will Defense.” In other words, if God was going to give us a will that is truly and utterly free, he had to leave Adam and Eve to their own devices when it came to this first temptation — he had his hands tied, as it were, because he wanted to see if they would really love and obey them. This line of reasoning has problems on a number of levels, the most obvious one being that it does not line up with the Scriptures. The Scriptures never depict the will of man as being autonomous, but instead, under the sovereign reign of God. Thus, we see the Scriptures talking about God calling some to faith and God hardening the hearts of others. So, for example, Solomon writes that even though the heart of man plans things, it is God who lays forth his steps (Proverbs 16:9) and that God is sovereign even over the most minute and seemingly random events (Proverbs 16:33). In light of this, James states, that whenever we make plans, we ought to prefix our statement with “Lord willing” (James 4:15).
The other glaring problem with the “Freewill Defense” is that it presumes that for the will of man to truly be free, it must be free to sin and disobey. Yet, sin binds our wills. Disobedience is lawlessness and recklessness and not freedom. In fact, it is rightly said that the place and time when our will will be most free will be in the new creation when all is redeemed. And in the new creation, we will no longer be able to sin even if we wanted to (though understand, we will not want to either). Our affections will be set on God and upon His glory alone, the filth of sin will not even enter into the equation.
So, if this is not the answer to the question, what is? When I am asked this question, it is to Augustine’s answer that I appeal — that without the Fall we would not know the extent of the love of Christ for his elect. Without the Fall, there would have been no sin. Without the Fall, then, there would need be no redemption for sin. We would not know of God the Son’s willingness to suffer and die on behalf of the elect. We would not know the power of grace expressed through Christ’s substitutionary atonement. Augustine, on this matter, argued that it is better to bring good out of evil than to forbid evil from existing in the first place. Theologically this view is typically referred to as the Felix Culpa or the “Blessed Fall.”
Thus, despite the fact that Adam and Eve were created without fault and perfectly capable of fellowshipping and worshipping God without fault and with great joy (something Jude anticipates in glory — Jude 24), God decided that it was wise to permit that man and woman would fall by ordaining that Satan enter into the world in the form of a Serpent and to test man and woman. Satan did exactly what he wanted, Adam and Eve did exactly what they wanted, but all of their actions were perfectly aligned with God’s plan and design from eternity past — all so that we, the Elect, might know the unsurpassed depth of the love of God for us in Christ.
And so, sin and death entered the world. And from that point forward, all of the descendants of Adam and Eve (the whole human race) have become corrupted in our nature that our natural bent is toward sin. Not even one part of our being, body or soul or actions, is free from the effects of the Fall. We are wicked in our very nature. But praise be to God that in coming face to faith with our wickedness, God shows us the immensity of his grace. And beloved, that ought always draw us to worship.
Fulfilling the Law and the Prophets
Jesus says that all of the Law and the Prophets hang on the two greatest commandments: loving God with the totality of your existence and loving your neighbor as yourself. That all sounds good, but what is meant by this notion of the Law and the Prophets?
To begin with, we ought to make it clear what this passage is not saying. It is not saying that the Law and the Prophets have all been derived from these two commandments (just the opposite — these two commandments are a summary of the Law and the Prophets!). Further, this is not saying that if you do these two commandments, you are able to fulfill all that the Law and the Prophets demand (as if we could do this fully!).
To begin with, the Law, when spoken in a context like this, is most typically a reference to the Pentateuch, or the first five books of the Bible — known as the Books of Moses or the Torah (the Hebrew word for Law). The Prophets refer to the books of Joshua, Judges, Samuel, Kings, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and the Twelve Minor Prophets — again, this is a Hebrew designation for these works.
What function do these books play? To begin with, they introduce the Law and the Covenant to the people of God. Second of all, they demonstrate the failure of the people of God to fulfill the righteous demands of the Covenant Law and of God’s faithfulness to his Covenant promises despite the people’s failures. In a very real sense, the purpose of the Law and the Prophets was to communicate to the people that they did not fulfill the Law and the Prophets (in most cases, they didn’t even try) and to demonstrate to the people that they needed a redeemer.
There is a telling passage that speaks to this reality found in Ezekiel 7:26. Ezekiel has been prophesying the destruction of the land of Israel and in that context, he says that the Law has perished from the priests (they no longer honor it or preach it to the people) and the people seek visions from the Prophets (yet the prophets make no sense apart from the Law). So, what do the people have but judgment and terror?
In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus states unambiguously that he has come to fulfill and not abolish the Law — that the Law will never pass away until the heavens and the earth pass away. Indeed, in coming as the new and greater Covenant mediator, who can live out the Law perfectly on behalf of his people, he also fulfills the Covenant that God made and the people broke. In fact, Christ is the great fulfillment of this Covenant promise, the beginning of which is found in Genesis 3:15.
So, what is this ultimately saying to us? To begin with, Jesus is the demonstration of what it looks like to live out the first and second “greatest” commandments perfectly. If we wish to grow in grace and in spiritual maturity (as well as in demonstrating our Love toward God), this is that for which we must strive. Second, it is a reminder that without a love of God (that emanates from the totality of our being), we don’t even have a chance of living out the second (which flows from the first). We love our neighbor not as an individual command in and of itself; we love our neighbor because we love our God — the second flows out of the first. And third, if you could summarize the Law and Prophets — what God expected of his people and what his people failed to do — then here you have it: Love the Lord your God with all of your heart, with all of your soul, with all of your mind, and with all of your strength, and love your neighbor as yourself.
Be Kind
Have you ever wondered why God commands us to be kind to our neighbors…you know the whole Leviticus 19:18 idea that we are to “love your neighbor as yourself.” Why couldn’t we just love God? We could go on retreats, we could find a cave up in the mountains somewhere and live as a hermit just with our love of God. On a level, that might be nice for a while — and on those days where you are frustrated with everyone around you…well, let me say that there is an appeal. So, why does God command us to love our neighbor (which you can’t do as a hermit because a hermit has no neighbors)?
Realize too, that when the Bible speaks of one’s neighbor, it is not just speaking about those who live next door nor is it talking about just those who are Christians or who are part of your local church (the Apostle John makes it clear that if you do not love the people in your church, you are not a Christian — 1 John 3:14-15; 4:20). No, your neighbor is anyone you come into contact with — that is the context of Leviticus 19 and that is the point of Jesus’ parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:29-37). But why? Loving God is clear, but why must we love our neighbors as well?
As Christians, not only are we to bear God’s image, but we are to be witnesses of God in the way that we live and speak. In this, we are called to “imitate” God (Jesus) in those attributes of God that we bear and exhibit. This is sometimes spoken of as the doctrine of the Imitatio Dei — an integral part of our sanctification. Thus, as we see God being loving, we should strive to be loving. As we see God being merciful, we also ought to strive to be merciful. As we see God being all-knowing (omniscient), we strive to learn as much as we are able to learn. And, as God pours out his wrath upon sin, we also ought to pour out our anger and righteous indignation against sin — especially against that sin we harbor in our own lives.
And in light of this, we see Jesus’ teaching that God makes the sun rise on the evil and on the good and sends the rain to water the fields of the just and the unjust alike (Matthew 5:45). King David says it even more concisely: “the earth is full of the steadfast love of the Lord” (Psalm 33:5). Theologians typically refer to this as the “Common Grace” of God. In other words, God gives good things to the totality of his creation. This is meant to draw the elect closer to God in love and affection and to add judgment upon judgment to the life of the reprobate.
And thus, our kindness to our neighbor is a means by which we imitate the Common Grace of God. In addition, it is an extension of God’s common grace through us. Thus, we are commanded to love our neighbor as ourselves. If we do otherwise, we falsely represent God’s character of Common Grace, we fail in our witness about God to the world, and we fail in our obedience to our God and master. We may even demonstrate that we do not really love God in the first place and need to begin by repenting and believing in Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior — your sovereign King and Redeemer.
Heart and Soul
Moses says that we are to love the Lord our God with all of our heart, with all of our soul, and with all of our abundance. Jesus clarifies and arguably expounds on this when he says that you are to love the Lord your God with all of your heart, soul, mind, and strength (Matthew 22:37). In fact, Jesus says that this is the first and the greatest commandment. I have written elsewhere on how Jesus’ language harmonizes with Moses’ and I have also explored each one of these aspects of loving God in depth — for our purposes here, let us say that Jesus is commanding us that we are to love God with every aspect of our being, both earthly and spiritual and even with our material possessions.
What I want to explore here is not so much the detail of loving God with the totality of your being, but why it is important to do so. Why should you love God with your heart, soul, mind, and strength…and, why should you love him with all and not some of these aspects of your character? Why not just give some while holding part of it back for yourself? Surely, that is what most professing Christians do anyway, is it not?
Billy Graham was well-known for saying, “If you want to know a person’s priorities, give me five minutes with his checkbook.” I prefer to ask the question in terms of how someone spends their time. There is work, sleep, eating, commuting, etc… that are required parts of living in this western world, but out of the day, how much time do you spend in prayer in comparison to how much time you spend watching television or playing video games? How much time is spent in reading your Bible in comparison to personal pleasure reading? According to a New York Times article from a few years back, American adults average about 4-5 hours of television (or other forms of entertainment — YouTube, movies, etc…) per day. If that describes you, may I ask if you are genuinely loving God with all of your being — in this case, with all of your time? Or, are you holding back?
Truly, I am not arguing that all television or other “screen-time” is bad; the occasional game, movie, or television show is not a bad thing (of course, I suppose that depends on what you are watching too…). But, what I am saying is that your prayer and devotional time should vastly outweigh the time you commit to entertainment. And when I say “vastly,” I do mean vastly.
It seems to me that when I hear preachers talking about why we are to love God with all, much of what I hear has to do with the benefits of doing so. People say that you will be more “spiritually fulfilled” or that you will discover the “blessings of God in your life.” And while this may be the case, it should say that these are (at best) only the byproducts of being wholly committed to God.
The real reason that you and I are to love God with all of our heart, mind, soul, and strength is because God is worthy of your love and your devotion. There are many things in your life that vie for your attention and for your affection, and many of these things are beautiful and wonderful things, but they are not God. God is infinitely better. And while you will gain incalculable satisfaction from worshiping him because he is worthy, an even better way of looking at it is that worshipping him is the only right thing we can do in life.
Truly, I do understand, none of us will do this perfectly in our lives. Thanks be to God that our eternal salvation does not depend on meriting anything — that work was done by Christ — but ought we not strive for what is right and true when we know it to be so?
The fourth question in the Heidelberg Catechism adds to this that the Law of God commands us to love Him with all of our heart and soul and mind and strength. Why a command? The answer is simple. The purpose of the Law is to instruct us in how to live in a way that is right (righteous) and true. If it is the right thing to do to honor God with all of our existence, is it any surprise that the law of God requires that we do the same. And again, this is not about earning merit or making points with God. This is simply proper and what is expected not just of redeemed Christians, but of the creation itself. Psalm 117 instructs even the pagan nations to praise God because God has been faithful to his own people (something they cannot say about their pagan idols).
Christian Requirements
Requirements? Wait a minute, Pastor Win, I have heard you preach over and over that we are saved by grace through faith. In fact, not just that, isn’t that what Paul wrote in Ephesians 2:8? Indeed, that is both what I have regularly preached (and written) over the years, and more importantly, that is the consistent testimony of Scripture. So, back to the question, what are we talking about by requirements?
The answer is simple. We are indeed saved by grace through faith — the work of salvation has entirely been done for us by Jesus himself. Yet, God does expect that his people live in a way that is distinct and different than does the rest of the world. In Old Testament Israel, this was often expressed in the form of the food ways, rules on clothing, and the participation in various festivals.
As Christians, we recognize that Christ fulfilled the law for us, but we also wish to live in a way that is pleasing to our God and Savior. Thus, we again, follow various ways prescribed for us in the scriptures. This time, though, it is focused not so much on food or clothing, but on spiritual elements — we are to forgive as we have been forgiven (Matthew 6:14-15), we are to do unto others as we would have them do to us (Matthew 7:12), and we are to pursue the fruit of the Spirit in our lives while rejecting the immoral ways of the world (Galatians 5:16-26).
God expects us to be holy as he is holy (to strive in that direction, that is — 1 Peter 1:16) and to strive for righteousness (1 John 3:9-10). Indeed, we are to be all the more diligent to make our calling and election sure (2 Peter 1:10). Will there be people who go to heaven who make an ongoing shipwreck of their lives — indeed, that’s the nature of grace — but are we given an excuse to set the bar low? Never, how can we who died to sin still live in it (Romans 6:2)? We can have no assurance of faith if we do not live that faith out in good and righteous works (as God defines good works, not as society defines them) — indeed, faith without works is dead (James 2:17). Thus, when our Lord is asked, “What is the greatest commandment?”, he affirms that indeed God requires us to live not as we wish, but as He wishes.
Gratitude
Are you grateful for the things people have done for you and the blessings of common grace that God has instilled into your life? Be careful how you answer that question. Those of us in the west tend to take a lot for granted: running water that is safe to drink, flushing toilets, electricity in our homes, and adequate (if not abundant) food on our tables. Granted, I, like many Americans, know what it means to pinch pennies and what it means not to be able to pay all the bills, having to decide whether the phone bill gets paid or diapers bought. But most of us…the overwhelming majority of us in America, do not know true hunger and poverty. A brief trip to places in Africa or Central America will sear that reality into your mind. According to the United States Department of Agriculture, Americans throw away about 133 billion pounds of food annually (a trip to a local buffet restaurant will testify to this). Yet, apart from asking God’s blessings on our provision at meals, most of us just assume that food is and will continue to be abundant and so I wonder, are we truly grateful?
Perhaps it is useful to define some terms. What does it mean to be “grateful?” Very literally, coming from the Latin word, gratus, it means to be filled with gratitude. The Oxford American Dictionary defines it as expressing our thankfulness for a kindness done for us. A distinction, then, comes to the surface within this definition. While we may appreciate the things that we earn (our salary, etc…) things for which we are grateful are largely those things that we did not earn, but were graciously provided for us by others.
Again, on this most basic level, there is much for which we ought to be grateful in America. We have freedoms that have been purchased for us by the blood of others; we have opportunities if we are willing to work hard and apply ourselves at a trade or in a business. One can still “work their way up” in America and create a better life for their families. Opportunities for Education still abound in America as do the technological advances of that education. Again, in many parts of the world there are good educational opportunities for the wealthy, but in America there is a fundamental belief that education ought to be available to all. One need only apply himself or herself to acquire that education — that is the beauty of America’s Public Library system. People can complain about not having advantages that others have had and in many cases, that is entirely true. Yet, for the one who is willing to work hard and apply himself or herself, the disadvantages we may have had can be overcome. Motivation and hard work is the recipe for doing so.
If we transition, though, from earthly things to eternal things, as Christians we have much for which we must be grateful…most significantly for the grace of God that exhibited itself in the sending of Christ to die in our place as God’s own. Here, there is nothing which we can lay claim to having participated in — it is God’s work from beginning to end. And the only possible response is a gratefulness that changes the way we live and think toward He who saved us. Thus, Heidelberg Catechism, in its second question, says that the third thing that it is essential for us to understand is our gratitude…or more specifically, how God wants us to live out that gratitude toward him.
You see, our gratefulness is not simply just a warm feeling of affection in our heart toward God who saved us. It is that indeed, but it is also a matter of how we live. James reminds us that faith without works is dead (James 2:17). Truly, the works do not save us, but they testify to the salvation that has been worked in us. Further, God does not leave us to our own ends when it comes to showing him our gratefulness. In fact, He instructs us how He wants us to demonstrate our faithfulness. The third section of the Catechism, then, is designed as a matter of application…how do we show our thankfulness toward God?
The question remains, what of those who claim to be Christians but whose lives do not demonstrate their gratefulness? The answer is two-fold. First, all of us fall into sin at times and that sin demonstrates the fact that we are taking God’s grace for granted and are thus being ungrateful. Of this, we must repent and ask forgiveness of this. The second category are those who are truly ungrateful because they have not truly received the saving grace of God. They are unbelievers but they just don’t yet know it because God has kept their eyes blind and shut. To this group of people, we must say, “Repent and Believe.” If a deep-felt and lived-out gratitude for God is not your first response to His grace, then the question you must ask is ‘To which of these two groups do I belong?”
Grace that Transforms
The word “Grace” shows up over 100 times in our English Bibles (and somewhat more frequently in our Greek and Hebrew Bibles). In the Hebrew Old Testamant, this is largely translated from the words חָנַן (hanan) and in the Greek New Testament, from the word χάρις (charis). In each case, the emphasis that is being placed on the word is of an unearned favor or affection being extended into the life of an individual or to a group of individuals. It is a kindness given that is unmerited and it is designed to produce both goodwill and a sense of gratitude in the life of the recipient. Hebrew literature and commentary understands this idea of grace to be an outworking of God’s חֶסֶד (chesed) — his covenantal faithfulness to his chosen people, a notion consistent with the New Testament principle that his grace is an outworking of his ἀγάπη (agape) love toward his elect.
As protestants, typically the aspect of grace that we appeal to the most is that of it being entirely God’s free gift to us. We did nothing to earn it and there is nothing in us that would or could merit it. God simply elected to show it to a body of people he chose in Christ before the foundation of the earth (Ephesians 1:4). Grace begins with God and ends with God and God constitutes all of the in-betweens. If we want to break it down even further, along philosophical lines, God’s Decree of Election is the Formal Cause, Christ’s work of Redemption is the Efficient Cause, and the Glory of God is the Final Cause. Man is the vicarious beneficiary of God’s grace.
What we often do not focus much upon is the effect of grace upon those who receive it. When my son was a small boy, I decided to teach him a little bit about the nature of grace. So, one day, after doing something worthy of discipline (I no longer remember the specifics of his particular sin), I sat him down as usual, and told him what penalty he deserved (in our home, punishment at that age usually meant 1,2,or 3 spanks). But then I spent some time talking about grace and did not spank him (though he deserved it). At first, it seemed to make an impact on him and he was genuinely grateful not to be spanked. Yet, the next time he did something wrong, his immediate response was to cry out to me, “Grace, Daddy, I want grace!”
On one level, a lesson was learned. At the same time, I wonder how many professing Christians have that same mindset as my young son did and see grace more as license to sin than as an infinitely gracious gift that has been bestowed upon them. Paul the Apostle raises the rhetorical question in Romans 6:1 as to whether we should sin even more so that God’s grace will abound in us. His answer in the following verse is crystal clear: “May it never be said!” He goes on to say that if we have died to sin in Christ, how can we still intentionally continue living within it? In other words, the grace of God should change the way we think and live in this fallen world.
I have said above that if one does not have a high view of the wretched nature of sin, they will not have a high view of grace. And, if we do not have a high view of grace, we will not live a life of faith and thanksgiving — we will not exhibit gratitude in our lives. Heidelberg Catechism, Question 2 reminds us very clearly that if we are going to live and die in the comfort of faith’s assurance, we must understand our guilt, God’s grace, and how to live a life of gratitude. Remember, it is this grace, when really received, that produces our gratitude — or, to use the philosophical categories above, it is God’s grace that is the Efficient Cause of our Gratitude. Guilt, Grace, and Gratitude; if you break one link, the others lose their meaning and purpose.
The Necessity of Guilt
Guilt is a funny thing. Even when we know that we are guilty, we don’t like to admit to it. As children, we try and pass off the blame on our younger siblings…or maybe onto the dog. As we grow older we get a little more sophisticated and direct the blame at those who are not present in the home; hence, they cannot defend themselves. How many times have you said, “What officer, I didn’t know that I was speeding,” or “But I thought I did come to a complete stop at that sign”? As a pastor, I do a fair amount of counseling and it always fascinates me how two different people can describe the same event and in each case, make the other person look like the guilty party.
We don’t like guilt nor do we like the feeling that goes along with being guilty of some great crime or error. And so, many people flee from places and contexts where they will be made to feel guilty of wrong-doing. Even many churches are catering to this perceived need and are only preaching the loving-kindness of God and not the wrath and punishment of sin. Yet, the Heidelberg Catechism says that our guilt is one of the things that we must know in life — it is an essential thing in the life of the Christian. Why is that?
The answer lies in an essential truth: if you do not come face to face with your sin and the vile and wretched state of your soul, you will never understand the grace of God in salvation. Or, to word it another way, the more you understand your guilt as you stand before God, the more you will appreciate the grace found in Christ’s work. In many ways, Christian faith starts with the old Greek maxim: γνῶθι σεαuτόν (gnothi seauton) — “know thyself.” Until you know yourself, you will not feel guilty regarding your sin and until you feel guilty over it, you will not repent and until you repent, you will never know the grace of God.
Some modern critics of the contemporary mega-church movement call the messages at such services “therapeutic, moralistic, deism.” But, if you refuse to deal with sin and the guilt of sin, just making people feel good about themselves — get a spiritual “recharge” for the week to come — then what more do you expect? Truly, the life-changing Gospel is meaningless in contexts such as these — how could it be? The Gospel begins with an acknowledgment of the greatness of God and the wretchedness of our human condition — they are being taught that God likes them just the way they are. Until you are crushed under the weight of sin, you will not understand your desperate need for grace and the greatness of the one who purchased it.
So no, guilt feels terrible, but it is a good gift of God that is designed to drive us to Christ in a spirit of brokenness and repentance. And that is a good thing…more than that, it is a necessary thing.
“For the sake of your name, Yahweh, forgive my iniquity, for it is great. Who is this man who is fearful of Yahweh? He will teach him in the way he chooses. His soul shall lodge in goodness and his seed shall possess the earth. The counsel of Yahweh is for those who fear him and his covenant he makes known to them. My eyes are continually on Yahweh for he will pull my feet from the net.”
(Psalm 25:11-15)
Willing and Ready to Live for Jesus
The first question of the Heidelberg Catechism closes with the affirmation that because Christ has done all this for me, this reality “makes me genuinely willing and ready to live for Him from this time onward.” And indeed, this principle guides the rest of the catechism. It is the guiding principle for the catechism so much so, that if you do not or cannot affirm this very principle, the rest of the catechism is little more than moralistic instruction.
The bottom line is that the most basic desire of a genuine Christian is to please God (2 Corinthians 5:9). True, there are times when we stumble into sin and disobedience, but at the very heart of repentance is the recognition that our actions have displeased our God and Savior and a desire to correct said behavior as we live from that point forward. This seeking to please God does nothing in the way of earning salvation — that has been bought for us entirely and fully by Christ Jesus (Ephesians 2:8-9) — but indeed, it is the expression of our gratitude for what Christ has done (Colossians 2:6-7) and out of a desire to live by faith (Galatians 2:20) so that we might please our God (Hebrews 11:6).
And that sounds all fine and great. But, how many confessing Christians seek to do this? Certainly, the last half of the catechism is designed to guide us in how we do it, but what is our intent? You see, living a life to please God is not something that just happens once you become a believer…it is something you must work at and it is something that you must do in an intentional way. So, let alone the nuts and bolts of how — are you genuinely willing and ready to live for Christ from this point forward? Are you willing to live for Christ no matter the cost? Are you willing to live for Christ no matter where God will take you? It can be certain that if you genuinely live like you are not your own but belong body and soul to your Lord Jesus Christ that he will stretch you and take you places you would never have dreamed of going otherwise.
My concern is for those who say that they are willing and ready to live for Jesus but make no effort to do so. They are indeed, much like that rich young ruler who came to Jesus and asked, “What must I do?” but was sent home unhappy because the thing that Christ demanded was the one thing he was unwilling to do. It is that way with many in the church, the real question at the moment is whether it will be that way with you? Are you ready and willing to live for Him? And if so, what does that look like in your life?
Assurance
Perhaps my experience is different than everyone else’s. Perhaps the thing that my heart longs for more deeply than anything else is utterly unique to me. Perhaps my need for a sense of belonging that transcends my ability to “stay in the club,” is an utterly singular desire. But, perhaps I’m not alone. And perhaps, while we express it in different ways and we seek it in different places, that sense of belonging is something that, deep down, we all desperately need.
Some people find that sense of belonging within their families, and my own family is no exception…the Groseclose’s are warm and loving and welcoming to all sorts of characters. Growing up, my parents’ home was always one of the places that friends congregated and whoever happened to be around at 6:00 was always welcome to stay for supper. My extended family is also a warm and happy bunch of folks who will go out of their way to make you feel like family…even if you are not nor ever will be. It’s a good place to find belonging, but I am the consummate loner in that sense and have spent much of my life looking for belonging outside of this body.
Some people find belonging amongst their friends. And, as far as friends go, I have had some of the best. The group of guys that I grew up with used to define friendship as someone with whom you could trust your car, your credit card, and your girlfriend. And with them, I could and did. And, during my awkward and downright strange years, they just rolled with the punches and pursued me even when I wasn’t pursuing them. But, in most of those cases, the heart of our relationship centered around things we did together and over time, most of us have drifted in different directions.
Others perhaps find their sense of belonging in a job or amongst co-workers. I have been blessed to taste a little of that, but I have also bounced between jobs so much over the years that I have never really been in one place long enough to grow roots that deep — though it certainly appeals to me. A story is told of the relationship that Johnny Carson, Ed McMahon, and Doc Severinsen had not only while working together on the “Tonight Show” but off-stage and after they retired and moved on. They had worked together so long that their lives and families had become intertwined. A love had been built that transcended their common working relationship. I do think that sense of belonging would be wonderful, but so far, I have not stayed put long enough for that to develop (though perhaps, in God’s providence, I would like to see that change).
In the end, though, all of these connections that bring people a sense of belonging pass away with time. We live and we die and many of these connections do not and cannot transcend death. Perhaps that sense of belonging that I sought for so long can never be found in these temporal relationships. Perhaps that sense of belonging can only be found in one place: God himself.
In Biblical terms, that idea of belonging is typically referred to as an “Assurance of Salvation.” In other words, it is the assurance — the absolute conviction — that I find my belonging in Christ himself and, as it relies on Christ’s work and call, and not on me, that it can never be lost either on this side of eternity or on the other. It is truly a permanent and assured belonging in the courts of God that cannot be lost, stolen, or even given away.
The Heidelberg Catechism words this idea this way: “For that reason, he assures me of eternal life by His Holy Spirit.” The Apostle Paul writes to the Christians in Rome:
“The Spirit himself confirms in our spirit that we are children of God. And if children, then also heirs — even heirs of God and sharing an inheritance with Christ, if it is true that we suffer together in order that we may be glorified together.”
(Romans 8:16-17)
The promise to believers is two-fold. First, if we are Christians we find our assurance coming from the Holy Spirit. This does not come from our works, our church membership, our genealogy, etc… it comes directly from God himself. Second, if we have this assurance, then we are not simply children of God, but as children we are heirs of the Kingdom. Yes, we will suffer together (think the way the church should engage alongside of one another) and we will face challenges, but there is a promise that we will be glorified together, in this case, at the second-coming of our Lord. And, as God is Truth and as God is unchanging, this testimony from God the Holy Spirit is one that cannot be lost or forfeited. To suggest otherwise would make God a liar and that is a dangerous accusation.
And so, we can be assured. That need for belonging can be found not merely in temporal things, but eternal things. And for me, perhaps much of my struggle with finding that sense of belonging in family, friends, and work was brought about by my desire to flee from God — something I did for many years, that is until God, like a master-fisherman, permanently set his hook in my lip, regenerated my sinful soul, and brought me to my knees in faith and repentance. And so, though my connection to earthly belonging has grown weaker over the years, the assurance that I have of my belonging in eternal things has grown deeper and more profound. And, this is the promise that God gives to every born-again believer in Jesus Christ.
All Things Work Together for My Salvation
Not only is the Christian not to worry, we are also called to be confident. Confident in what? Confident in our God. Confident in the promises of our God. Confident in the assurance that God will bring about, for us, that which he promised to bring about for us. And confident that no matter what woes and trials may assail me in this sad, fallen world, God’s plans are never foiled or frustrated. But His will is done for His glory. Thus, the Apostle Paul can confidently say:
“ For we know that for those who love God, all things collaborate for good — for those who are called for this purpose; because the ones whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son so that he might be firstborn amongst many brothers. And the ones he predestined, he also called; and the ones he called, he also justified; and the ones he justified, he also glorified. What then shall we say of this? If God is for us, who can be against us? Indeed, he who did not spare his own Son, but delivered him over for us, how will he not also freely give us all things when associated with him? Who shall accuse God’s elect? It is God who justifies. Who can pronounce a sentence? Christ Jesus, the one who died — but more, was lifted up — is at the right hand of God and also intercedes for us! Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Tribulation or distress or persecution or famine or dire straits or nakedness or sword? Just as it has been written: “for the sake of you, we are being put to death all day long; we are counted as sheep of the slaughter.” Rather, in all these things we are victorious through the one who has loved us. For I have been persuaded that neither death nor life, angels nor powers, neither that which has been nor that which will be, neither powers nor heights, neither depths nor any other creature is able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
(Romans 8:28-39)
What justifies this level of confidence? This confidence comes from nothing within us. This confidence comes from the fact that our salvation has nothing to do with us — not our works, not our will, not our decisions. It totally and utterly is a work of God in our lives for his glory. If we could lay any claim on our salvation, two great disasters would befall us. First, we would grow proud and boast in our works or in our decisions. Second, we would fall from salvation. For if some of our salvation fell into our hands and was our responsibility, none of us would be saved for what a wretched lot we are when it comes to resisting temptation and sin.
So, be confident that he who has called you will never allow you to slip from between his fingers. And live a life of gratitude toward God in that confidence. Will that make everything go smoothly and eliminate trials and temptations from your life? Certainly not! Did not our Lord go to heaven through the pathway of the cross? Did he not also call us to take up our crosses daily to follow him? Shall we expect that God would treat us any differently than was suitable for his only-begotten Son? No, Christian, suffering and trial is the means by which God chooses to refine and discipline those he loves. If we are to be conformed into the image of Christ, then such is the path we must confidently walk.
“What, Me Worry?”
I’m a kid of the MAD Magazine era, where their mascot, Alfred E. Newman, was famous for saying this line… “What, me worry?” Of course, in many cases, it was the punchline of the joke and it conveyed the he ought to have been worrying about the state of affairs around him. That, of course, was the sarcastic humor of the magazine that appealed to me during my pre-teen and early teenage years.
Sarcastic humor aside, the statement about not worrying has stuck with me over the years and is frankly quite Biblical for the Christian. Jesus says that we are not to be anxious because our Father in Heaven knows our needs and will provide them…instead of expending energy worrying about this, that, or the other thing, we should pursue building Christ’s kingdom with all our strength. God will make provision for us (Luke 12:22-24).
The implication here is that the only ones who really have a license to worry are unbelievers. These pagans bow down to gods that cannot answer prayers and cannot provide for their needs…they are deaf and dumb and motionless, the creation of the hands of men (Psalm 115:4-8).
The question that the Christian really needs to ask is, just how extensive God’s design is for his people. Is God in control of the big things that happen but leaves the small things in our own hands or does God sovereignly ordain all things that come to pass, both great and small. To this, Jesus takes one of the most insignificant things that can be mentioned and instructs his disciples that God cares for us so greatly that he even has numbered the hairs on our head (Matthew 10:30; Luke 12:7) and he goes as far as to assure the disciples that during times of persecution, not a hair on their head will perish apart from God’s design (Luke 21:18) — a promise that the Apostle Paul even extends to those on the ship with him prior to their shipwreck on Malta (Acts 27:34).
One of my professors in seminary used to say that not one hair fell from his head “without the parachute of providence,” and indeed, this is the idea that the Bible communicates to us. The Heidelberg Catechism words it this way: “He also preserves me in such a way that not a hair can fall from my head without the will of my Father in heaven…” In other words, if we take our Bible’s seriously, recognizing that we are in our Father’s divine hand, then ought we not say, with Alfred E. Newman, “What, me worry?” Our God not only ordains the end, but the means by which he brings about the end…and in that wonderful truth there is great hope because I, in my fallenness, will not confound the plans that God has for me…instead, God ordains and uses even my own sin and foibles to bring about his will and to conform me into the image of his Son. In a world where assurances are often fleeting, this is one iron-clad promise in which we can truly rest and hope.
The Tyranny of the Devil
“Be self-controlled. Be Alert. Your enemy the devil goes about roaring, seeking one to devour. Oppose him firm in the faith, knowing that these things are being endured throughout the world by your brothers.”
(1 Peter 5:8-9)
“And the dragon became angry about the woman and departed to make war with her remaining offspring — those who keep the commands of God and who have the witness of Jesus.”
(Revelation 12:17)
As a Christian in this fallen world, life can be hard. We know the promise that Jesus has overcome the world (John 16:33) and thus, in Him, we also have overcome the world by faith (1 John 5:4). We know that the world will hate us (1 John 3:13) and that we are engaged in a war with the powers and principalities of evil in the world around us (Ephesians 6:12). Yet, that does not lessen the reality that life can be really hard — choices of doing the right or the wrong thing, times of grieving in the presence of death, persecution and mocking for the faith that we have, life is not easy.
Perhaps that is why we most need to be reminded that, as Christians, not only has Jesus’ blood paid the penalty to satisfy the Law of God, but his blood has also broken us from the power of the Devil. Yes, the Devil is still a tyrant. And yes, the Devil is still an accuser. And yes, too, the Devil still seeks to prowl and destroy and can make our lives miserable. Yet, the Devil has no eternal power over us and can do nothing to us apart from the permission of God, which means the Devil is often God’s tool to refine the Christian in faith.
But why does the Heidelberg Catechism speak of Jesus’ blood as that which breaks the power and tyranny of the Devil? The author of Hebrews puts it this way:
“Therefore, because the children share in the blood and flesh, he also similarly partook of it in order that through death he should exhaust him who holds the power of death, that is the devil.”
(Hebrews 2:14)
Peter similarly writes:
“And if you call upon him as Father, who is an impartial judge over the deeds of all, live in fear during your time as an alien, knowing that not with the perishable silver or gold you were ransomed from your vain lifestyle inherited from your ancestors, but with the precious blood of Christ — like a lamb without blemish and without defect.”
(1 Peter 1:17-19)
Do you see what these texts are saying? The power that the Accuser had over us was that we stood guilty before the Law of God. Yet, with the death of Christ on the cross, he removes our guilt, taking it upon himself — Jesus being the substitute to fully satisfy the Law of God for all of God’s elect. And if Jesus has done this, then the power the devil has over us is exhausted — completely and thoroughly. There is no nuance of the Law that Jesus did not satisfy and thus the Devil is without power.
And, for those who go through trials in this life where it seems as if the Devil is perpetually pouncing, this is good and encouraging news. Sadly, there are many who would rob the Christian of this assurance. They would argue that the death of Christ only creates a potentiality not an actuality. In other words, they say that Jesus’ death makes it possible for a person to be released from the Devil’s grasp, but there remains in the hands of the individual believer an action that must be taken to turn this potential into something that is realized. In most cases, that action is a choice that the person must make to ask for this release.
You might say, but what inmate in prison would not ask for release from their bondage? The reality is that many prisoners do not. They have become accustomed to their cells, they are afraid of what release might entail for them, the comfort of their wicked ways shines brighter to them than the moral obedience required in society. Further, in the kind of prison that unbelievers are in, from the point they enter the world, is such a kind as those in prison do not realize that they are in prison. They are bound and they know no different. And so, if they do not know they are enslaved, how is it possible to ask for release? Further, if they believe they are free agents, how will they believe those who will tell them otherwise? No, they must be given ears to hear that will register and understand their predicament and new ears, just like new life, must come from God, not man.
In addition, the presumption that man must ask for release implies that there is some small nuance of the Law that Jesus’ blood did not satisfy. And if one suggests that Jesus’ blood does not satisfy even the smallest bit of the Law, does that not contradict what Jesus said when he claimed to come to fulfill the Law (Matthew 5:17)? I do not think that even those who claim you must ask for Jesus’ fulfilled work would be so bold as to suggest that Jesus’ death is lacking, but that is the implication of their view.
Think of it in this way. If someone commits a crime and is sent to prison for a five-year sentence. At the end of his (or her) designated time, that person is set free. Not only does that person not have to ask to be set free, but were that person to ask to remain in prison for another 3-5 years, his request would be flatly denied — the demands of the law have been satisfied, it would be unjust to keep you in prison for a crime that is no longer held against you. And, if such is the case with earthly prisons, how much more so when it comes to eternity?
No, if one suggests that a small portion of the Law has not been satisfied (namely the request to make it your own), then the Devil still has leverage in your life. Perhaps you did not ask in the right way. Perhaps you need to ask more frequently than you have done so. Perhaps the asking did not “take,” could it be that since you still struggle with sins that you were mistaken in your asking? Do you see how easily the Devil can exploit this gap? If a weed gets its roots set in even the smallest crack in your concrete walkway, it will grow and expand that crack — it will even break the concrete to pieces if left unchecked long enough. And this idea of “decision theology” leaves open no mere crack, but a chasm large enough to bring doubt through.
No, loved ones, the Bible is quite clear that Jesus’ work is sufficient to save and there is nothing we can add to it and nothing we can take from it. That means the Law has been fully and absolutely fulfilled by Jesus for God’s elect. God then applies that salvation in His time by giving people spiritual rebirth and faith so that they might have ears to hear the call of the Gospel and that they might have lips to repent of their sins and confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. Yes, the believer makes a confession, but the confession is not that which applies salvation to their soul, no, the confession is the response to God’s saving work in their lives.
And thus, believer, take heart, for Jesus has overcome the world and in faith, we too are overcomers.
Satisfying the Penalty
I suppose that one of the most significant criticisms that can be made of the church in America today is that pastors often downplay the seriousness of our sin. The late Dr. D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones used to say that “sin used to be ashamed of itself,” yet by his day, in the church, it no longer was. People think of sin as mere misbehavior that ought to be addressed with a mild scolding and not as criminal behavior that needs to be addressed by the formal authorities who enforce the law. Of course, in many ways, the American justice system itself has shown itself to be inequitable when it comes to how it punishes those who break civil laws — yet that is a conversation for a different day.
I suppose that this brave new culture in which we live has something to do with the changes taking place. While little more than a generation ago, children were taught in school that there was right and wrong and there were absolute rules that governed each category of action. Today, ethics are considered relative to the situation, absolute rights and wrongs are only a matter of preference or upbringing and thus only apply to the individual, and definitions have their meanings blurred so as to either make one view sound like something it is not or to cast another view into contempt and make its holder “guilty by association.” The greatest American virtue now seems to be a blithe acceptance of anything or everything that would flaunt historical and orthodox Christian beliefs.
And so, churches often downplay sin and wrath and judgment, they teach us that we should never hate anything, and that God loves us just the way we are and will bless our lives if we just follow him. Sadly, that is neither true nor reflective of the Bible’s teaching of the character of our God. Further, it presents an notion that we are not as bad as we really are in the eyes of God and reduces the notion of grace to merely good favor.
Yet, God presents sin as being outward and open rebellion against God. It is lawlessness and deserves more than misbehavior. It is criminal and deserving of punishment from a just and righteous judge — that judge being God himself. And a just judge will not relent in his punishment until the demands of the law are satisfied — the penalty for the lawbreaking is paid in full.
From a Christian perspective, that is where our hope lies…not in God loving us just the way we are, but in God’s own Son perfectly fulfilling the demands of the law not only in his life but also paying the penalty for our lawbreaking in full. Christ satisfies the demands of the law for his people completely, permitting us to go free. The Heidelberg Catechism, question 1 words it this way: “With his precious blood he has fully satisfied the penalty for all my sins.”
And so, if we wish to show our gratitude, we will live in light of that gracious work that Christ has done on our behalf as believers — seeking to honor him in all things. To go on living how we want conveys an attitude of ungrateful arrogance and a rejection of the significance of Christ’s work. And to teach others that sin is acceptable, that it is not that bad, or that God does not demand that you grow in holiness is to dishonor God’s Word and to lead others into dishonoring it as well. Or, in the words of Jesus himself:
“Therefore, if one loosens one of these commandments, even the least, and teaches the same to men, he will be called least in the Kingdom of Heaven. But whoever does them and teaches them, this is the one who will be called great in the Kingdom of Heaven.”
(Matthew 5:19)
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