Blog Archives
David in the Wilderness: Psalm 63 (part 12)
“The King will rejoice in God;
and boast, will all who swear by him;
for the mouth will be shut of all who speak a lie.”
(Psalm 63:12 {Psalm 63:11 in English Bibles})
And David, who is the rightful king of Israel, will rejoice in God (even in the midst of having to flee for his life) because God will shut the mouths of the liars—God will vindicate David’s name and bring to shame those who would seek to speak ill of him. What an amazing statement! David is saying that because God is who he is, that he has no fear. Even in the situation he is in, where people are seeking his life and his kingdom, that David is entirely confident that God will bring truth to the surface and will bring an end to the lies that are being spoken about him.
Beloved, were it that we could only have such faith! That we could walk with such confidence as to know that God will stop the mouths of those who lie about us. Yet, friends, we can because God will! How often do we respond to lies about us by angrily confronting the liars? How often do we drop everything that we are doing just to focus our energies on “restoring our good name?” Loved ones, do not misunderstand me, a good name is an important part of your Christian witness, but do you not think that God will restore your good name for you? Do you not think that God is able to put an end to false talk about you? If you believe that God will do this and that he is able to do so, why do you fret and panic about the lies of the enemy so?
Loved ones, you are held in the hand of the one who is the very definition of truth and righteousness—pursue His truth and righteousness and the lies of the enemy will be shown for what they are. As our Lord, himself said:
“Blessed are you when they reproach you, persecute you, and say evil and lies of you because of me. Rejoice and Exalt! For your reward is great in heaven. For thus they persecuted the prophets who came before you.”
(Matthew 5:11-12)
Beloved, let our lives sing and boast of the one we serve, for what other god is like our God? None! No not one!
I will sing of my Redeemer, and his wondrous love to me:
On the cruel cross he suffered, from the curse to set me free.
Sing, O sing of my Redeemer!
With his blood, he purchased me;
On the cross he sealed my pardon,
Paid the debit and made me free.
-Philip Bliss
The Light of Creation: Hebrews 1:1-4 (part 8)
Who being the radiance of the glory…
Many people ask the question of those of us who hold strongly to the Biblical account of creation (God creating in a literal period of six 24-hour days, then resting on the seventh, literal, 24-hour day), “If the sun and stars were not created until day 4, how was there light on the earlier days?” While there are many pseudo-scientific answers that have been presented to address this question, we need not go beyond the scriptural texts, for in this passage, God gives us the answer. Jesus is the radiance of the glory of God. He is the effulgent splendor of God’s glory—of his greatness—of his “weightiness! What a wonderful thought, God’s glory cannot be contained or cloaked in darkness, but it must be seen, and who is the one who reflects that glory down upon the newly created earth? Jesus the Christ! And he continues to shine God’s glory down upon us for all time. Thus, when God the Father pronounced, “Let there be light!”, it was God the Son who revealed and reflected that light down upon a watching world. In addition, we are told that in the new creation that there will be no sun and no darkness, but the glory of God will be with our light we will exist to praise him and to glory in him.
Yet, the first line of this verse should not simply be seen in terms of creation, but in terms of all redemptive history! The heavens declare the glory of God (Psalm 19:1), believers are redeemed to the glory of God (Philippians 2:11), and Christ is the means by which God pours out and demonstrates that glory to his created order. Beloved, that ought to cause your heart to skip! The reason that we know of the sun is because it radiates its light and heat to us. The reason that we know that a flame is hot is because of the heat that radiates out from the flame. Beloved, the reason that we know of the glory of God is because God chose to radiate that glory to us in Christ. What a wonderful hope and promise, what a wonderful privilege given to him, and ought we not honor him appropriately? Ought we not pour out our praise for God the Son, not only for what he has done for us as believers, but for who he is. As Paul writes, there will come a time that even those who are eternally perishing will give Christ his due (Philippians 2:11), ought we not begin now? Loved ones, think through your days, your weeks, and your years; what does your private worship look like? Do we genuinely praise Christ in all we do and give him thanks for all we have been given? Do we praise him for who he is? Do we exalt him before a watching world with our words and with our lives? If not, what is holding us back? Jesus Christ is the very radiance—the effulgent splendor—of the glory of God; honor him as such.
A Kingdom of Priests! (New Song, part 8)
“ Kingdom of Priests”
Just as the Levites (the Old Testament priesthood) were not given an allotment of land when the Israelites entered into Canaan, but rather lived amongst the rest of the tribes of the nation, we as Christians are a priesthood without a land here on this earth. We are called, just as the Levites were, to live as strangers and aliens in this land, for our land is a land that is not of this world, but has been reserved for us in heaven.
With this in mind, there are two things that we must always keep before us. First is that we are not to allow ourselves too high a degree of comfort in this world. This world is passing away and it has not been given to us; our world is imperishable. When the Christian becomes too comfortable with the things of this world, he begins to compromise his faith. Just as the Levitical priesthood allowed the idolatry of the land to corrupt their pure faith, so too, when we become comfortable in the land, we invariably compromise the truth of our faith, and we sink into idolatry.
Secondly, the reason that the priesthood was spread about the promised land was so that they would be a blessing to the rest of the Israelites. Yes, the Levites served an important function within the temple, but when they were not physically serving in the temple, the Levites were to teach the scriptures to God’s people and to be an advocate for the widows and orphans, or those otherwise excluded from the society. Just as the nation of Israel was blessed to be a blessing to the world around them, the Levites were blessed to be a blessing to Israel.
And friends, this also remains as our task. Not only must we seek to keep our faith pure and focused on Christ (as opposed to the things of this world), but we are also to be a blessing to the world around us. We need to care for the widows and the orphans, and by extension, all those who have been discarded by society. We are to take the Gospel of Jesus Christ to all people and teach them about our God. And, as we are priests to God, we have an important role in worship itself, for the writer of Hebrews tells us that our sacrifice (as opposed to the Old Testament temple sacrifices) is a sacrifice of praise to our God (Hebrews 13:15).
Take my will, and make it thine;
it shall be no longer mine.
Take my heart, it is thine own;
it shall be thy royal throne.
Take my love, My Lord, I pour
at thy feet its treasure store.
Take myself, and I will be
ever, only, all for thee.
-Francis Havergal
The Ransom Paid! (New Song, part 5)
“The Ransom Paid”
We must be careful when we talk about the ransom to be paid, or the debit owed, because we must be absolutely clear as to whom that ransom was paid to. Through the history of the church, some have argued that Jesus’ death was a ransom paid to the Devil for sin, to redeem his people from the clutches of the enemy. Loved ones, this theology is wrong, for God owes no one, especially not the devil, anything at all. Scripture tells us that God chose the elect even before he began creating, which means that he chose the elect before there was sin in the world and before there was any need for a ransom.
Yet, there is a debit that is owed, and that is a debit that we owe to God. In ancient days, when countries were at war with each other, if one country was loosing badly and wanted to bring an end to the warfare, they would sue for peace. They would pay a large sum of money to the other nation, and the war would be considered over.
In a way, that is the same with us. We, in our sin, have been rebels against God for hundreds of generations. Our sin is an affront to a Holy and Righteous God, and there is a just penalty—a price—that is owed to God as a result. The promise is that no matter what we do, and no matter how good we are, we can never hope to repay that debit. Not even someone like Mother Theresa or William Carey could do it. Yet, Jesus chose to do it on behalf of those who put their faith in him as Lord and Savior—the elect. And, oh how grateful we should be!
John tells us that Jesus is the propitiation for our sin (1 John 2:2). Propitiation is different from atonement. Atonement is the making of peace between two parties. Propitiation is the act that brings atonement. We stand convicted and guilty of sin. Jesus acknowledges that and he acknowledges the price we owe as a result. And Jesus paid the price, beloved; he paid it all.
For nothing good have I
whereby your grace to claim—
I’ll wash my garments white
in the blood of Calvary’s Lamb.
Jesus paid it all, all to him I owe;
sin had left a crimson stain,
he washed me white as snow.
-Elvina Hall
Jesus Was Slain! (New Song, part 4)
“Jesus Was Slain”
To those who would deny the crucifixion, this song affirms even this gruesome detail of Jesus’ ministry. Without the shedding of blood, there can be no forgiveness of sins (Hebrews 9:22); each year, the priest, on the day of atonement, would slay a lamb for the forgiveness of the people’s sins (Exodus 30:10), and Jesus has become that lamb for all of the elect (Matthew 26:28), and as Jesus’ sacrifice is perfect and effective, it is a sacrifice that never needs repeating (Hebrews 9:25-26).
In addition, it is a reminder to the historicity of the crucifixion. So many liberals would simply say that there was no real Jesus of history, and if there really was, he wasn’t anything like the Jesus we find in the Bible. Friends, ignore their lies. This song, as does all of scripture, affirms the historical sacrifice of Jesus.
Friends, Jesus was willing to pay a gruesome price for the redemption of believers. If you are a believer, born again by the Spirit in Jesus Christ, then he paid a terrible price for your eternal redemption. Yet, This is something that Jesus gladly did. Don’t take it for granted. It is too easy to relegate the words of scripture to a list of abstract concepts. There was nothing abstract about Jesus. He lived and he died, living in this world as you and I. He was slain for the sins of you and me. Yet, he arose, and therein lies our hope, for he has promised that if we put our faith in him as our Lord and Savior, then he will raise us as well on the last day.
Death cannot keep his prey—
Jesus, my Savior,
he tore the bars away—
Jesus, my Lord.
Up from the grave he arose,
with a mighty triumph o’er his foes.
He arose a victor from the dark domain,
and he lives forever with his saints to reign.
He arose! He arose!
Hallelujah! Christ arose!
-Robert Lowry
Jesus is Worthy! (New Song, part 2)
“Jesus is Worthy”
Jesus is worthy of our praise and no one else is. Mohammed was not worthy, Buddha was not worthy, Krishna was not worthy, our governments are not worthy, humanistic teachers are not worthy—no one but Jesus is worthy of our praise and adoration.
Jesus is worthy first because of his perfect character. From the beginning of time, Jesus is and was infinitely perfect in all of his ways. He is God. And for that simple fact, he deserves our worship. Friends, not only is the unbelief of the non-Christian a sin, but the refusal to worship both of the non-believer and of the casual churchgoer is also a sin. Had Jesus never done any work of redemption, he still would have been infinitely worthy of our praise and honor.
Yet, in his work of redemption, how much more worthy is he! He condescended to take on flesh and walk with us. He came to us while we were still rebels against God, wallowing in our sin—and he called us to himself. He did the work of redemption that bridged the infinite gap between a Holy God and a sinful man. He did that for me. And if you are a born-again believer, he did that for you as well. Because he did for me what I could have never done for myself, how much more is he worthy of my praise!
Praise Him! praise Him! Jesus our blessed Redeemer!
Sing, O Earth, his wonderful love proclaim!
Hail him! hail him! highest archangels in glory;
strength and honor give to his holy name!
Like a shepherd, Jesus will guard his children,
in his arms he carries them all day long;
Praise him! praise him! tell of his excellent greatness;
praise him! praise him! ever in joyful song!
–Fanny Crosby
Birth Announcements
I. The Birth of John the Baptist Announced
A. John’s Parents
1. Zechariah the priest (name means “Yahweh has remembered”)
2. Elizabeth of the house of Aaron (name means “My God is an Oath”)
3. Both parents from a priestly line—not a common thing to happen
B. Herod
1. John’s righteous parents set in history against the background of a
tyrannical ruler
2. Herod the Great had been given an army by Rome to conquer as much
as he chose to rule
C. Zechariah in the Temple
1. Lighting the incense
a. The altar of incense was one of the pieces of furniture in the
Holy Place of the temple
b. The Incense was lit 2x per day so that it would perpetually burn
as a sign of the prayers of God’s people perpetually before him
2. The prayers of the priests were ones connected with the coming
Messiah (angel pronounces his prayers answered in Luke 1:13)
3. This privilege was drawn by lot and was a once in a lifetime privilege,
and many never got to do it—note God’s hand at work in the timing
D. Zechariah’s response
1. Zechariah responds in doubt, his tongue mis-speaks and thus, his
tongue is silenced
2. In contrast, Mary will pose a question, but it is a question asked in
faith, thus, she is not rebuked
E. Restrictions on John
1. John will be forbidden to drink wine or strong drink from birth
2. This is likely a Nazarite vow that is given to him (note Samuel’s
Dedication in 1 Samuel 1:11)
a. under such a vow they could not
i. drink wine and alcohol (could not even eat grapes)
ii. cut their hair
iii. be near a dead body
b. see Numbers 6:1-10
F. Both John and Jesus given names
1. John means “Yahweh has been gracious”
2. Jesus means “Salvation” or “he will save his people from their sins”
-Jesus comes from the name Joshua
II. Birth of Jesus announced
A. Note that Zechariah and Elizabeth are both in the line of Aaron and Joseph
and Mary are in the line of Judah
B. The Greeting to Mary
1. “Greetings O Favored One”
2. Note this is an emphasis on her being favored because of what God is
doing in her, not because of who she is.
3. She responds in shock at such a greeting given her lowly status
4. Though is befuddled, she responds in faith (see 1:45)
C. Title given to Jesus is “Son of the Most High”
1. This is the Greek word u¢yistoß (hupsistos), which when used
substantivally (as a noun) always refers to God himself
2. This Greek word is used to translate the Hebrew word !Ayl.[, (elyon)
which also is used in the Old Testament to refer to God
-Elyon means “God most High”
3. This is the name of God attributed to Jesus’ sonship—a clear statement
that Jesus is the Son of the covenant God of Israel (Amy Grant song,
“El Shaddai”—which means “God Almighty”)
D. Mary’s Song
1. Called the “Magnificat” meaning “the praises” from Latin
2. See 1 Samuel 2:1-10 and compare Mary’s Song with Hannah’s prayer
E. Note the 2 names given to Jesus in Matthew’s account
1. Jesus-“for he will save his people from their sins”
2. Immanuel-“God with us”
Jesus created Time: Hebrews 1:1-4 (part 7)
“through whom he also created the ages.”
When we think of Christ being the means, or the Word, of creation, typically, we think in terms of material “stuff” that is all around us. We think of rocks and trees, of birds and clouds, of stars and of everything else in this wonderful creation from the greatest heavenly body to the smallest microbe, quark, and string. But, oftentimes, we do not think of time in the context of God’s creation, yet, indeed, it was. Prior to the God’s creative act, time simply did not exist. God dwelt in perfect satisfaction in eternity prior, with no beginning, end, or middle. For most of us, that begins to make our heads hurt just a bit. Yet, time is a description of a progression of events with a definite beginning and a possible end. Eternity has no such progression, for to suggest eternity is bound by time, and hence God as well, is to suggest that God has a beginning, and such is not the case. In the beginning (of time) God was—he simply was, no temporal markers defined his existence, he simply existed (Genesis 1:1). And as God is the beginning, the great Alpha and Omega, all things, including time, flowed forth from his creative process—indeed flowed forth through the Son of God—the Word.
It is interesting, when we think of time, to see the difference between the way we usually behave toward time and to the way in which the Bible speaks of time. In scripture, there is a sense of time’s fleetingness. We are told over and over that time is short, that the return of our Lord is near, that the life of man is but a vapor and passing quickly, etc… Yet, despite all of these warnings and testimonies in God’s word, we usually go about our daily activities as if time were in abundance. We put off much that we ought to do today until tomorrow and then into the following weeks if it is not pressing. We usually do not conduct our affairs as if time is running out. Thomas Manton, the Puritan divine, once reflected that if a town were on fire and the fire was spreading, people would not go about their daily affairs at the usual pace. Instead, they would spring to action, alerting all of the imminent danger and would find a renewed vigor as they sought to do their duty in saving the town.
Beloved, we have been lulled into a slumber while the enemy is burning down our nation and indeed even the church. What is it that we are doing to alert our neighbors and fellow villagers? Are we doing our duty and joining the bucket brigade to extinguish this fire? Are we running through the village, joining the town crier, proclaiming, “Danger is Near! Danger is Near!” To change the analogy to one from our own national history, will you be like Samuel Prescott, and join Paul Revere and William Dawes on their ride to warn the valiant defenders of our land that the enemy is coming? Do you recall, that it is only Samuel Prescott who completed his ride to Concord? Dear friends, will you remain in your slumber, or will you shout loudly and proclaim that danger is upon us! Loved ones, we do not know how the War for Independence might have proceeded had Prescott not rallied himself from his slumber and joined the ride. Loved ones, the scripture cries to us that time is short and that even though many may mock you and proclaim that nothing has changed since their father’s day and nothing is bound to change, these are lies worked by enemies of God who are destined for judgment (2 Peter 3:1-7). No, loved ones, in this battle we need not fear the approach of the redcoats, but instead the fire of God’s impending judgment. You who are born again in Jesus Christ are ready, but what of those around you? Are they ready as well? And you who have been born again, are you prepared to present yourself as a faithful servant before our God, having studied to show yourself approved (note the importance of studying God’s word to our lived out sanctification!)? If not, count this as your clarion call as well. Awake beloved, our Lord has created time and has set its boundaries, and whether our Lord returns before the end of the day or whether he tarries another thousand years (or more), we have been given a job to do—to go into all the world and to make disciples of all men—a task that begins at home and extends to every corner of the earth; it is a task we will not succeed in if we slumber through the days that God has granted to us.
The Walls of Jerusalem: Psalm 51 (part 19)
“Do well, by your grace, in Zion,
you shall build the walls of Jerusalem.”
(Psalm 51:20 {Psalm 51:18 in English Bibles})
As David begins to close this prayer, the focus shifts from his personal guilt and needs to the needs of God’s people. While David, as king of Israel, does have a responsibility toward the people of Israel, it is important that we not see this part of his prayer as flowing only out of his kingly obligation. Believers in Jesus Christ are bound together in Christ as one body, and thus, ought to have a mindset that is focused on the whole of that body—something that many people call a “Kingdom mentality.” When one member of your physical body is hurting, not only is that pain felt in other parts of the body, but also you find that other parts of the body will work to compensate for the weakness of the injured member. So, too it should be with the body of Christ. We are to rejoice when other members receive great blessing and our hearts should ache when a member of the body experiences great loss. Sadly, this is an area in which the church often stumbles and falls.
Secondly, look at what David asks God to be the factor that determines such blessing. David is not saying, do well to Zion because of your great wisdom or justice, nor is he asking blessings on the basis of Israel’s status as God’s people, their heritage, or good works—he pleads God’s good blessings on the basis of God’s good grace. In many of our English Bible’s this is translated as “favor,” but the word that David employs, !Acr” (ratson), carries with it the connotation of blessing that can only come from the hand of God, often given in connection with faith. Thus, the English term “grace” is probably a better translation in this context. Israel certainly has not earned this blessing from God, yet David asks it for God’s people on the basis of God’s gracious character.
The last clause of this verse has caused some people to stumble, for they ask the question, how could this have been written during David’s time, for the walls of Israel were already built? Thus, some are quick to attribute this to a much later era in history, after the wall had been destroyed. Yet, there are two things that should be understood. The first is the practical observation that during ancient times, city walls were always being added to, either in the area that they encompassed or in height. The strengthening of the city’s walls was a sign of a city’s productivity and power. In turn, the Hebrew word hn:b” (banah) is flexible enough to carry the connotations of “building up” in addition to “building from scratch.” Yet, the best way to translate this is in the recognition that Israel’s safety did not come from stones and mortar but came from the very hand of God. And with this in mind, particularly in the context of David’s request for blessing in the first part of this verse, we should see this language as a metaphor for peace in Israel and security from her enemies.
I wonder sometimes whether we sincerely long to see Christ’s church blessed and at peace. We might have a yearning to see our local congregation grow or even our denomination, but what about Christ’s church? Do you pray for the growth of Christ’s church as a whole? Do you pray for God’s blessing on the other local churches in your neighborhood? Do you plead with God that these churches would prosper for the gospel even if your own congregation is facing great trials? So often jealousy shapes our prayers, and that is a sin we must repent of. Though we have many divisions in the church as an institution, all true believers are bound together in Christ as a united and unified body—how good it would be if we could learn to let our prayers and actions reflect just that.
I love thy church, O God: her walls before thee stand,
Dear as the apple of thine eye, and graven on thy hand.
For her my tears shall fall, for her my prayers ascend;
To her my cares and toils be given, till toils and cares shall end.
-Timothy Dwight
A Broken Spirit and Crushed Heart: Psalm 51 (part 18)
“The sacrifices of God are a spirit that is broken and
a heart that is broken and crushed—
O God, these you will not despise.
(Psalm 51:19 {Psalm 51:17 in English Bibles})
There are two ways in which we can look at David’s statement about the “sacrifices of God.” The first way is the way that this verse is typically seen and that is to say that the sacrifices that are “of God” or are “acceptable to God” are a broken spirit and a broken and a contrite heart. This interpretation clearly fits the context of the passage as a whole and joins hand in hand with the language about sacrifices that is found in the previous verse, and indeed, those who come before the Lord with hearts that are proud and haughty, filled with a sense of their own achievements, will be sent away in shame. We are a people who have nothing in our hands to show or offer—our lives and works can only earn us condemnation if it is what we are trusting in to bring us to God.
Yet, there is a second way that we can understand this verse, and that is as a prophetic statement of the coming of Christ. For it is God himself who would offer himself up as a sacrifice for the sins of his people—beaten and broken, and suffering not only in his death, but suffering in life as he grieved the state of his covenant people. Thus, in Christ, God himself offered up the sacrifice of a broken heart as demonstrated in Christ’s suffering and death. In addition, do not the scriptures speak of our sin grieving the heart of God? Indeed, out of God’s grieving heart he offered up the sacrifice of his Son so that any who would cling to Him as their Lord and Savior would be redeemed from their sin.
Oh, loved ones, how the cost of sin should cause us to grieve sin all the more. Someone else paid the price, took the punishment on our behalf—it cost God what we could not pay. How, then, knowing this, do we so often take sin so lightly—do we take forgiveness so casually? Beloved, examine your hearts; see where they are broken and supple, but most importantly, look to find those areas that have gotten proud and hard and pray to God that He will crush those parts to dust. It will hurt when God does so, but beloved, it is only in brokenness that you can have a heart that is right before God.
O Cross that liftest up my head,
I dare not ask to fly from thee;
I lay in dust life’s glory dead,
And from the ground there blossoms red
Life that shall endless be.
-George Matheson
My Mouth Will Declare Your Praise: Psalm 51 (part 16)
“Oh Lord, my lips you will open,
and my mouth will declare your praise.”
(Psalm 51:17 {Psalm 51:15 in English Bibles})
Loved ones, hear these words of David, and hear them well. When it comes to your worship, and what the writer of Hebrews calls your “sacrifice of praise” (Hebrews 13:15), the value and quality of it has nothing to do with the skill that is demonstrated. The value of it lies within the origin of the praise. Is the praise that you give a product of the work of the Holy Spirit in your life, or is it a product of men? You may have the voice of a world-class operatic singer, but if your song is not powered by the movement of the Holy Spirit, you are but a noisy and lifeless instrument. Yet, you may have no more skill than a school-child, but if your praise is lifted up by a sincere heart before the Lord, and is empowered by the Holy Spirit, such a song is considered sweet in the ears of God.
Friends, do not forget who it is that is writing these words—it is David the songwriter. Yet, David understood clearly that the power behind his songs was the working hand of God in his life. It is God who must open our lips so that praise may flow forth. At the same time, sometimes our lips become closed in the wake of great sin, yet David sets these words forth in confidence, knowing that in his repentance, God will restore him in faith and will once again give him a voice to sing God’s praises.
Beloved, do you sing to God? I mean, do you really sing with your whole heart? Are you intimidated because you have difficulty holding a tune? Are you afraid that you will be off-key with the person in the pew next to you? Do you worry what that person will say of your singing behind your back? Beloved, there may be a hundred reasons why you do not sing your praises to God, but there are an infinite number of reasons to praise him with your whole voice! Loved ones, we are a people who have been redeemed from sin and death—how can we spend a moment of our lives not praising God? Yet, if you are one of those who are gifted in voice (something that I am not J), make sure that you are not singing because of the praise of your audience—if you sing thus, it will serve no other purpose. Rather, sing praise that points to God and use your gift to point others heavenward. Lastly, loved ones, praise God both inside and outside of His sanctuary. Praise him when you go to and fro; praise him in your homes and in your cars; praise him in your waking and sleeping—praise him, praise him, praise him in all that you do. Give God the glory, for great things he has done!
To God be the glory, great things he has done!
So loved he the world that he gave us his Son,
Who yielded his life an atonement for sin,
And opened the life-gate that we may go in.
Praise the Lord, praise the Lord,
Let the earth hear his voice!
Praise the Lord, praise the Lord,
Let the people rejoice!
O Come to the Father through Jesus the Son,
And give him the glory, great things he has done!
-Fanny Crosby
Do Not Send Me Away from Your Presence: Psalm 51 (part 12)
“Do not send me away from your presence,
and your Holy Spirit—do not take him from me.”
(Psalm 51:13 {Psalm 51:11 in English Bibles})
In this verse, David returns to a chiastic structure. The verses that have gone before have been largely arranged in a simple parallel structure and this change is designed to add emphasis. And the emphasis that David is making strikes at the very heart of the human condition: sin has driven us out of relationship with God. In the Garden of Eden, Adam and Eve walked in communion with God; sin changed that. Because of sin, man and woman were driven out of paradise and out of the relationship that would make even the most hellish place a paradise to be in—they were driven out of their intimate and personal relationship with God in his presence, and all of the struggles and difficulties we face in our fallen nature when we seek to commune with God all have roots back to this origin.
How could a Holy God remain in communion with those who rebelled in sin? Indeed, sin must be punished, and the wrath of an infinite, Holy God was the only punishment suitable to the crime. Beloved, facing someone’s anger is one thing—it is rarely a pleasant thing to do, but it is something we have all done and will likely do again—this kind of anger can be weathered. But righteous anger is something altogether different—especially when we are in the wrong. Facing the righteous wrath of a man who has been wronged is a heavy thing to deal with and is grievous to endure. But what about the righteous anger of an infinite God who is perfect in his holiness and perfect in his righteousness? No man could stand. We would be utterly lost—even the best and most noble human being—we would be forever consigned to the fires of hell; and, in doing so, God would be vindicated.
Yet, in God’s unfathomable richness and mercy, he chose to redeem a people for himself. Sin had to be dealt with, but rather than putting a burden that could not be borne upon men, he allowed his Son to become flesh and to bear that penalty on behalf of those who would cling to him in faith as their substitute, mediator, and paraclete. Indeed, this is the demonstration of the infinite love of God, that he would give his only begotten son to die and bear the penalty of sin for those whom he would call in faith, that whosoever would believe in him would not perish but have eternal life and those who would reject the offering made by Christ would be forever consigned to their reasonable fate, paying the penalty for their sin in eternal condemnation (John 3:16-21). There is no other way and no other path to the paradise of God but through Christ. Adam and Eve lost access to it and Christ has shed his blood to offer it back to humanity once again—what good news that is to a dark and dying world!
Thus, in Christ, communion is restored through the work of the Holy Spirit, and David, recognizing the great blessing connected with God’s presence before him, clung to that above all else. Though his sin may have caused him to deserve to be forever cast out of God’s presence, the work of Christ allows the prayer offered in faith to be heard and answered. And though God may remove our sense of assurance for a time as a means of disciplining his children, he will not leave or forsake us because he has called us his own and adopted us as sons and daughters in Christ. God paid too dear a price to abandon those for whom his Son died. Thus, David pleads that God not remove from him the closeness and presence of communion that they had enjoyed, and indeed, how this should guide our own prayers of repentance, recognizing that God will not let his people be forever lost, but recognizing how essential that it is that we remain in daily—moment by moment—communion with God. Loved ones, cling to this promise, and cling to Christ.
O love that will not let me go,
I rest my weary soul in thee;
I give thee back the life I owe,
That in thine ocean depths its flow
May richer, fuller be.
-George Matheson
Let Me Hear Jubilation and Joy: Psalm 51 (part 9)
“Let me hear jubilation and joy,
Let the bones that you have crushed rejoice!”
(Psalm 51:10 {Psalm 51:8 in English Bibles})
Just as forgiveness can only come from the Lord, so too does restoration. True joy cannot be had apart from God, because true joy is something that can only be experienced in relationship with God. We may chase after many things that bring us pleasure, but it is only God who can bring us lasting joy, and oh, how our sin deprives us of such joy. Sin is that which drives a wedge in the relationship we have with God, yet oh, how glorious our God is, in restoring that joy as he forgives our sins.
Also, beloved, do not miss what David is showing us in this verse—it is the bones that “you (speaking of God) have crushed.” So often when we think of the horrid things that happen to us, we immediately blame the devil and his mischief, and there is no question that the devil is at work in this world. Yet, never forget that our God is sovereign even over the devil and his actions and our God often uses the machinations of the devil to bring about his good pleasure. It is God who brings about all things, both great and small, good and ill (Isaiah 45:7) either though his direct action or through his permissive will, and it is God who breaks us when we persist in sin, to bring us back to himself. Yet, even the bones that have been broken and crushed may be restored to rejoicing in repentance.
Beloved, sometimes we get so lost in the rule and instruction of scripture that sometimes we can miss the incredible joy that can be found in Jesus Christ. Yet, note that joy in Christ can only be had if it is done in submission to Jesus’ lordship. Loved ones, seek to repent for the sins of your life, but in that repentance, pray that God would restore to you the joy that comes from a close relationship with him. The closer you walk to your beloved, the easier it is to stroll hand in hand.
Purify Me with Hyssop: Psalm 51 (part 8)
“Purify me with hyssop and I will be clean;
deep clean me, and I will be made whiter than snow.”
(Psalm 51:9 {Psalm 51:7 in English Bibles})
David understands well one of the most important lessons that any human can learn: it is only God and God alone who can cleanse from sin. No amount of good deeds or sacrifice on our part can atone for our sin—certainly, by human effort we can satisfy our human judges and often placate the other humans we have offended—that is all well and good—but dealing with God is an entirely different matter. God is not impressed by even our greatest feats—has not the skill to perform such feats come from God to begin with? God is not impressed by all the wealth in the world—does not all the wealth of the universe come from His creative hand? Oh, beloved, as we have spoken earlier, though our offense may be against another human being, our sin is against God, and our efforts fall woefully short of being able to satisfy his justice.
You might say, ‘were there not sacrifices made by the priests to atone for sin throughout the history of ancient Israel?’ Indeed, there were many sacrifices. On the Day of Atonement and on the Day of Passover, blood poured out of the temple and onto the streets of Jerusalem from the hundreds of thousands of animals slaughtered. Yet, friends, these sacrifices were not only temporary sacrifices, they also pointed to a far greater sacrifice that would come, when Jesus Christ, the Son of God himself, allowed himself to be sacrificed on the day of Passover for our sins—your sins, if you are a born again believer in Jesus Christ, and my sins. Loved ones, the only reason that ancient sacrifices were of any value was because of what would come; their only power and effectiveness came from the reality and the potency of what they pointed to—namely the death of God’s divine Son on the cross.
Thus, forgiveness is God’s to give, not man’s to earn. How often we seek to do things to atone for our own sins, as if these things will impress God. How often we punish ourselves by depriving ourselves of God’s good blessings, thinking that God will be pleased by our actions. Dear friends, remember, God is the one who gives out and who takes away all good blessings—if he desires to strip you of blessings as a means of chastising you and rebuking you, he will do so. If God desires to chastise you in other ways, he will do so, for he chastises those he loves (Hebrews 12:6) just like a father chastises his children. At the same time, if we repent with a broken and a contrite heart and God desires to show mercy upon us, why do we shun such affection? Indeed, we are unworthy of such blessing in the wake of our sin, but are we not always unworthy of the blessings of God? Are we not deserving only of wrath and judgment even on our best days? Beloved, it is God’s to forgive, and it is God’s to wash you clean.
The Hebrew word that David uses in the second line is the word sb;k’ (kabas), which normally is the verb that means “to wash” or “to clean.” Yet, David uses it in the Piel stem, which is a grammatical form that adds not only intensity, but a sense that it is repeated over and over. In Hebrew, when this verb is used in the Piel, it refers to a deep cleansing that is done, much like you may scrub a stain over and over again to make sure every last remnant of the stain has been removed. Forgiveness is a deep cleansing from God, one that not only removes the surface stain, but one that cleanses even to the core of our being.
One other note of importance: hyssop was an important element in ancient purification rituals. It was a small, bushy plant in ancient times that the priests would pluck small branches from, dip the bushy end into either water or blood (depending on the ritual), and then sprinkle the water or blood onto the person as a sign of their cleansing (some have argued that it was likely a hyssop branch that John the Baptist was using, dipped into the Jordan river and sprinkling on those who came for baptism rather than immersing them into the river—for a great discussion on this, read Edmund Fairfield’s “Letters on Baptism”). This sprinkling was meant as a visible sign of the forgiveness that the repentant person sought. In seeking forgiveness from God, David is placing before him the request that the forgiveness be both visible and on the surface (the hyssop), but also deep down and to the very depth of his being (sb;k’). Oh, how we need such total forgiveness in the wake of our manifold sins!
Beloved, hear these words of David and apply them to your own lives. Is this how you repent, falling on the mercy of God and recognizing it is only in God’s hands that forgiveness can be given? Or do you seek to “earn” forgiveness by doing certain things that you perceive as being noteworthy before God? Loved ones, let grace be grace. Come to Christ with nothing in your hands and do not despise it when he fills your hands with mercy and grace. Come to him with a broken and contrite heart and let him heal you—let him deep clean you to the deepest recesses of your soul. The hyssop is good and important, but it is the deep cleaning we need and it can only be given by God in his abundant grace and mercy. Come to Jesus, beloved, come to Jesus and live!
Weak and wounded sinner, lost and left to die,
O raise your head for Love is passing by.
Come to Jesus, Come to Jesus,
Come to Jesus and live.
Now your burden is lifted, carried far away,
And precious blood has washed away the stain,
So, sing to Jesus, sing to Jesus,
Sing to Jesus and live.
-Chris Rice
You Delight in Truth: Psalm 51 (part 7)
“Behold, truth you delight of in the inward parts
and in hidden places it is wisdom you teach me.”
(Psalm 51:8 {Psalm 51:6 in English Bibles})
Indeed, our God is truth and anything that is found that is apart from God has no truth in it. The secular world may put things forward as the truth and they may make convincing arguments that they have truth to present, but unless God is at the heart of it, anything that is put forward as truth is but a shadow. And thus, it is in truth that God delights! How we as His people, must then reflect the truth in all that we do. Beloved, do you wish to please God? Indeed, then your life must radiate the truth of his person. And oh how often we fall short of making that a reality in our lives. We like the truth when it is beneficial to us; but when it is more convenient, we often justify lying. Loved ones, do not fall prey to this trap, for just as truth is a reflection of the character of God, so too are lies a reflection of the character of Satan—and we must always seek to make our lives reflect the character of the one to whom we belong!
Keep in mind that this passage is set in the context of repentance. One important aspect of confession before God is a recognition of what your sin really is—rebellion against God. So often, when we look at our sin, we tend to down-play its severity. We think of it as not that destructive or we justify it based on circumstances. Sometimes we may even play the, “but I’m only human” card, which is particularly shameful for Christians to use. While indeed we may be fallen humans, our forgiveness was bought at a terrible price, and when we recognize what Jesus did for us so that we might experience forgiveness, it should drive us to holy living and it should drive us to grieve our sin all the more. And when we recognize that our lives are living testimonies to the character of the one we claim to serve, oh, how rationalizing sin should be but bitterness on our lips—oh how, as we look to our own sins—as we grieve over our own sins—we should always endeavor to speak the truth about our sins, recognizing them for what they are and hating the sins as God hates the sins.
And how must we learn to recognize sin from truth? Indeed, the David reminds us that it is God who teaches truth to his people. Beloved, this is part of the work of the Holy Spirit—to reveal that which is true to the people God has called to himself. It is the Holy Spirit that must always guide our study of scripture and prayers, it is the Holy Spirit that must set the things of God on our heart so we may live day to day to His glory, and it is the Holy Spirit that testifies that what we have before us in God’s revealed word is truth and not the result of man’s imagination. Beloved, God is truth, he delights in it and reveals it to his people. Do you delight in God’s truth as God does? Do you really cherish it and revel in it? Does the truth of God in your hand cause praise to come to your lips? And do you pray to God that he will reveal truth to you in the depths of your inward being? Lastly, when you repent, is your repentance spurred by a heart for truth, seeking to see your sin through the same eyes as God sees your sin? Truth is at the heart of David’s confession, is it at the heart of yours?
My Sin is Before Me: Psalm 51 (part 4)
“For my transgressions I know,
and my sin is continually before me.”
(Psalm 51:5 [Psalm 51:3 in English Bibles])
David switches gear from using the emphatic chiastic structure to a simple parallel structure—even so, we will not lose the clear emphasis of what he is communicating. Here he is, staring at his own transgressions and recognizing that there is nothing he can do on his own about his sin, for it stands continually before him as an accuser. Beloved, never lose sight of your own inability to atone for your own sins—it simply cannot be done. How often we like to do this or to do that, thinking that we might earn God’s favor in light of our sin; loved ones, it cannot be done. We stand helpless before God’s throne of judgment if we are trusting in anything short of Jesus Christ for our salvation. No amount of works can get you there, no amount of deeds can earn your place; no matter how bright you are, how well versed you are in scripture, how many people you have helped—all of this will avail you nothing before God’s throne. It is only by clinging desperately to Christ that you will be saved. And though David did not know the name of Christ, he trusted in the promise of Christ given in Genesis 3:15 and he clung to that promise of a coming redeemer, and he recognized that even he, the anointed king of God’s people, Israel, stood guilty and condemned as a result of sin, and he threw himself at God’s feet seeking mercy. Oh, how we need to learn from King David.
There is something more that is very important for us to note. David says that he “knows” his transgressions. Do not neglect to note that “knowing” in the Hebrew mindset reflects far more than an intellectual recognition, but it reflects a relational understanding. David is not simply assenting to the fact that he has sins, but he is saying that he recognizes that he has sins and he does so because he knows his sin intimately and deeply. Beloved, do not miss the importance of this imagery. Before you can truly repent of your sins, you need to have an understanding of what those sins are and why those sins are so grievous to God. You need to dig deeply into your soul and grieve over those sins yourself. You need to see the sins for what they are: rebellion against a living and holy God.
Beloved, all too often we do not recognize sin for what it is—an outward rebellion and offense against God. In turn, we often are very casual when it comes to repentance. David is saying here that he has searched his heart and has found it wanting and deeply sinful before God, and it is in that stance that he comes before God pleading for his mercy. Friends, as you search your own hearts and seek to know yourself deeply, recognize your sin for what it is, and in knowing that, lay it before God’s throne in the name of Jesus Christ seeking God’s forgiveness.
Come, ye sinners, poor and wretched,
Weak and wounded, sick and sore;
Jesus ready stands to save you,
Full of pity, joined with power:
He is able, he is able, he is able,
He is willing; doubt no more;
He is willing; doubt no more.
-Joseph Hart
Wash Me From My Iniquity: Psalm 51 (part 3)
“Completely wash me from my iniquity;
from my sin, purify me.”
(Psalm 51:4 [Psalm 51:2 in English Bibles])
Once again we find David employing a chiastic structure (something he will do through the bulk of this psalm) to add emphasis, bringing together two parallel ideas, yet mirroring them in their order. These are not casual words of David, but the language that he employs demonstrates the intensity of this prayer. And that intensity is heightened even more by David’s choice of the Piel stem for the two primary verbs (wash and purify). In Hebrew, the various stems of the verb are used to convey different ideas (passive tense, causative action, etc…), not unlike what we do with adverbs in English. The Piel stem conveys not only an intensification of action, but it also conveys the idea of an action that must be repeated over and over. And, indeed, David understands his own need—our own need as humans—to be constantly on our knees before our God repenting of our sin and pleading for his forgiveness.
Beloved, there is an intensity that comes through in this prayer that must not be missed—oh, how often we take repentance casually, as if it is something that we deserve because of who we are. Not only is that not the case, but that concept could not be any further from David’s mind. David clearly understands that he does not deserve the mercy of God, yet here he is, before God’s face, pleading for just that—not based on his own character, but upon the character of God. Pleading that God would wash and cleanse him from his sins. How we can learn from David as he expresses his grief; how we should learn to model our own prayers for forgiveness upon his. Beloved, one of the reasons that God has given us the psalms is to teach us how to express every emotion that we have in a way that is glorifying to him and edifying to us—do not neglect this tool that he has given us—use these psalms within your own life and use this one especially as you seek our Lord’s face in humble repentance.
No One Comes To the Father, But Through Me: John 14:6
“no one comes to the Father if not through me.”
Jesus begins and ends this passage by focusing on himself. Friends, salvation can be found in no other person or path. It cannot be found in philosophy, in science, in achievements, in wealth, in family, in humanism, in Buddha, in Mohammed, or in anyone or anything else. Our world presents many options and paths—some of which even sound convincing—but the only way to the Father is through Jesus. The only hope of a resurrection is found in the one who was resurrected. The only hope of eternal life is in the eternal one who is the life. And the only truth in this world is found in the person of Christ, who has revealed to us the mysteries of God’s redemptive plan.
Jesus Christ is not only the focal point of all of scripture, but he is the point on which all of history revolves about. You might enjoy talking about politics, but politics has no eternal significance. You might enjoy talking about sports, but sports has no eternal significance. You might enjoy talking about literature, but literature has no eternal significance. The only thing that has eternal significance in the history of mankind is Jesus Christ and the work that God had done and is doing through him. That is the bedrock of your faith—I urge you to stand upon it without wavering and without doubting when the winds of trial fill your days. Trust in Him, and Him alone, dear friends, even though the world would tell you otherwise.
No One Comes to the Father: John 14:6
“no one comes to the father”
Do you see how the Trinity is at work in redemptive history? We offended God by our sin and our rejection of his law. Yet, rather than leave us to our deserved fate, God chose to work in our lives to redeem a people for himself. God the Son provided a sacrifice to atone for our sins, bridging the chasm of sin between us and the Father. And God the Holy Spirit regenerates the heart of each member of the elect, and through faith, draws us to God the Son, and through God the Son, we are brought to God the Father. The symmetry of God’s redemptive plan is a beautiful thing to behold.
But what is even more beautiful is the face of a believer when he or she truly realizes that they have been redeemed—not that they have earned redemption, but that they have been redeemed by a work of God himself. In this life, we struggle with a load of burdens and cares, brought on by our fallen state, when Jesus lifts that burden from the shoulders of one who is newly redeemed, oh what a joy does fill their heart. And the joy does not end there, the angels in heaven rejoice in praise to God as well (Luke 15:10).
Friends, take the time to remember your own conversion, the time when you finally realized that you could stand before the Father’s throne not on your own flawed righteousness, but in the righteousness that is Christ’s. Don’t ever forget the joy and the desire to worship that filled your heart on that day. Some of you may not remember a time when you did not embrace Christ as Lord, and the blessings of a lifetime in fellowship with him have richly blessed your soul. This is one of the great mysteries of God’s love—that he would choose to redeem a fallen and sinful race—that he would choose to redeem you and me, and that we might have fellowship with him. I am reminded of the old Bill Gaither hymn:
Shackled by a heavy burden,
Neath a load of guilt and shame—
Then the hand of Jesus touched me,
And now I am no longer the same.
He touched me, O He touched me,
And O the joy that floods my soul;
Something happened, and now I know,
He touched me and made me whole.
Christian, rejoice and praise God for the fact that Jesus has brought you to the Father.
No One Comes: John 14:6
“no one comes”
I once heard a preacher say that if you are feeling distant or separated from God that it is you that moved, not he. There is a great deal of truth in that statement. Sin is a great divide that separates us, a sinful people, from a Holy God. And the divide was caused by our sin. Yet, praise be to God that a bridge has been provided for us in Jesus Christ!
The debate in Christian circles is not over whether we come, but over what causes us to come. This debate is often called the Calvinistic/Wesleyan or the Calvinistic/Arminian debate, but the roots of the debate go back much further than John Wesley, Jacob Arminius, or John Calvin. The roots of this debate lie with a man named Pelagius and Saint Augustine.
Pelagius denied the doctrine of Original Sin (I guess he never had children). He said that all sin was learned and that we could live a sinless life if we just tried hard enough. Of course, were even one person able to live a perfect life, then there would be no need for the sacrifice of Jesus. Eventually the church pronounced Pelagius and his view heretical, as it denies the need for the atonement.
While Arminius did not deny Original Sin, he did build on Pelagius’ premise that we are capable of coming to faith in Jesus on our own strength, that faith is something we bring to salvation. While Arminius and his followers’ teachings were never well received in their native Netherlands, a young English preacher named John Wesley became enchanted by their teachings.
Ultimately, John Wesley would affirm God’s sovereignty over everything except the human will. He said that God woos us to himself through his “prevenient grace” (grace that goes before), but the ultimate choice was left up to us. In Wesley’s view, Jesus’ death was to atone for the sins of everyone, it was just up unto each individual as to whether they would accept the gift he offers. God regenerates the sinner, but not until the sinner comes to him in faith.
We who are in the Reformed tradition of Calvin and Augustine disagree vehemently with this position. Through sin, death entered into the world (Genesis 3) and we die not only physically, but apart from the spirit, we are dead spiritually (Romans 8:5-8). One who is dead can do nothing to aid his own cause—he is dead, and can only rot and become more corrupted. It is impossible for the spiritually dead to please God in any way (Romans 8:8). Thus faith is not something we are capable of providing; rather, when the Holy Spirit regenerates the believer, He also instills faith into the believer.
Wesley was never comfortable with the ramifications of this theology. For if faith and regeneration were a sovereign work of the Holy Spirit, then God must be doing the choosing when it comes to redemption. To this, the Calvinist says a hearty, Amen! The scriptures are filled with references to God’s election of his people. All through history, God chose certain people to bring to himself and others to leave to their sinful ways. If you take the scriptures seriously, you cannot get away from this fact. Christ’s death was fully effective for all of those whose name were written in the Book of Life from before the foundations of the earth (Ephesians 1:3-6). Upon just this issue, Jesus himself says: “All that the Father gives me will come to me, and the one who comes to me I will not ever cast out.” (John 6:37)
Friends, we are surrounded by people who teach that faith is something that you generate from within yourself, and because of that, you can lose your salvation if you don’t stand strong enough in the faith. This is not the teaching of scripture. If God does the working in you, he will do the keeping of you until the very end (Romans 8:28-30). Though we need to work hard to live a life for God’s glory, not backsliding into sin, we can take a great deal of encouragement that it is God himself who will ensure that we finish the race.
Loved ones, take heart. God has called, he has awakened your soul, and he has given you faith so that you might come to his son, Jesus. You have been brought out of the darkness and into the light of Christ, and Christ will not turn away any who his father has given him—no never, will he cast you away.
No One: John 14:6
“no one”
Jesus has moved from making a positive statement of the truth to a negative one. First he says, “Yes, I am the way…” and now he is saying, “No, there is no other way.” In this way, Jesus makes sure that we understand the exclusivity of the Christian faith. There is no room for any compromise or alternate ideas. Jesus is the only way and apart from him, no one comes to the Father—at least in any sense that they would want to encounter the Father.
While our culture, and in turn, many of our churches, has embraced inclusively, this is not the position of Jesus. He was very clear that it was only in him that salvation can be found. There is no sneaking into heaven by any other way. No matter how good or kind a person is, if they are trusting in anything or anyone other than Jesus, they will face eternal condemnation.
Sometimes I wonder just how seriously we take this part of the message. When someone dies, the first thing that we say, is, “well, they are in a better place…” Are they? If they knew Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior, they are in a far better place, but if they did not know Jesus personally—given all of the Biblical descriptions of Hell, it is a far worse place than here. When we have loved ones who are exhibiting no evidence of God in their lives, how often do we refrain from asking about Jesus? How often do we turn our heads, hoping that in the end, everything will work out OK?
Jesus is phrasing this statement in both a positive way and a negative to make in unmistakably clear in our minds that while there are many roads, there is no other road that leads to salvation. Friends, if we understand that no one who has not put their faith in Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior has any hopes to go to heaven, let us be more serious about sharing the Gospel with those we love and those who are around us. You are never too young or old to do so. There is absolutely no other path to heaven but in Christ, let our hearts yearn to see more souls join us on that path.
I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life: John 14:6
“I am the way and the truth and the life”
Not only is Jesus the true way and the truth within the world, but he is the life. There is no life apart from life in Christ. Though some people may think that they can find life in this world; they look for life in wealth, or wisdom, or achievements, or pleasure, but as Solomon tells us in the book of Ecclesiastes, anything that is done apart from God is vanity—it is like trying to chase the wind.
But Jesus is making an even more profound point. Back in Genesis, Adam and Eve were warned that the penalty for sin would be death. And though, when they ate of the fruit, death entered into the world in a physical sense, it also entered into the world in a spiritual sense. At the moment that Adam and Eve chose to sin, they died in a spiritual sense. The relationship that they had with God was severed and broken, and unbridgeable by anything that we could do. They were dead to sin and just as a corpse is unable to do anything but corrupt, so their souls were unable to do anything but corrupt as well.
Yet, Praise be to God that this is not the end of the story! Right there in Eden, God gave to Adam and Eve a promise of a redeemer, one who would crush the head of Satan and his influence on man forever more. Jesus is that promised one. The Old Testament Saints placed their faith in a promise, but Jesus wanted us to be very clear that in him that promise was fulfilled. God breathed life into the dead spiritual corpses of Adam and Eve on that day, just as he continues to breath life into spiritually dead corpses today—regenerating them and instilling in them a faith in Jesus Christ. Jesus is the life; he is the way a believer must walk and the truth a believer must trust in, but he is also the life, which allows the believer to believe in the first place. As the Augustus Toplady so eloquently put it: “Nothing in my hand I bring; Only to the Cross I cling.”
Christian, do not take for granted what God has done for you even before you recognized yourself as a believer. Though your heart beat and your flesh felt strong, you were no more than a walking corpse prior to the Holy Spirit’s work of regeneration in your life. Your soul was rotten and decayed. But just as God can breath new life into the old bones of Israel (Ezekiel 37), so too was God able to breath new life into your soul and remake it new. This life you have is in Christ, it is the only life that is available—all who deny it are but walking dead. Beloved, trust in Christ with your all, because he is your all.
I am the Way and the Truth: John 14:6
“I am the way and the truth”
Once again, we find Jesus using a definite article before the word truth. Not only is Jesus the only way that leads to life eternal with the Father, but he is the only truth that we have access to in this world. Think about that for a moment. If Jesus is THE truth, then ANYTHING that contradicts or stands in opposition to Jesus must, by definition, be a lie. And since Jesus is the Word of God made flesh (John 1:14), then the Bible, which is the Word of God given to us, must also be THE truth and irrefutable.
In our post-modern culture, where the rules of logic and reason are thrown out of the window and where everything is considered to be relative, a statement like this does not sit well. Yet, it has not sat well with people through the ages. Men would rather hear what pleases them than the truth (2 Timothy 4:3). Philosophers are not interested in the truth; rather they are interested in being novel.
Yet Jesus says that he is the truth and he leaves no room for any competition. Jesus is the truth and if we desire to know the truth about any and all things, we must turn to him and to his word. This means, then, that the Scriptures must be the basis for our understanding of everything else that is. In other words, the Scriptures are the only glasses that we can look through so that we can see the world clearly. If anything seems to contradict scriptures, it must be wrong.
Science will tell us that the world is about 5 billion years old. There certainly seems to be some evidence in nature to support that hypothesis. At the same time, scripture tells us that the world is only 6,000 to 8,000 years old. The scriptures must be right. How are we to understand the scientific evidence? One of two ways: either that the scientists are not interpreting the data properly (though this is probably not the case) or that God created the world to look older than it really is.
Does this mean that God is being dishonest? Not at all, he never claims that the world is billions of years old. What it means is that the scientists are only looking at part of the evidence. There are logical reasons why the world seems as old as it seems, and were scientists to look to the Bible and not just nature, they would understand these things. All of creation is part of God’s general revelation to the world, for it all points to his handiwork. If people choose to ignore that general revelation in search of a naturalistic explanation, how can God be held responsible for their error?
But more important than general revelation is special revelation: The Bible. The Bible is not a systematic encyclopedia which gives us a little bit of information on all things, rather it is an exhaustive work that gives us all the information we need to know about the relationship between God and man. It is the manual that instructs the saved and leads others to the object of salvation, the Truth made flesh, Jesus. Our culture is fond of thinking that there are many truths; yet, there is but one. Jesus died for the sins of all who would put their faith in him as their Lord and Savior. He died in their place, taking their just punishment on his shoulders. And he was raised! And because Jesus was raised, we who have our faith in Jesus have been promised resurrection as well. Friends, this is the truth.
In a world that glorifies “tolerance” as its chief virtue, it is easy to get deceived into thinking that there might be other legitimate faiths. But this is not so. All who are not trusting in Jesus for their salvation will stand in judgment based on their works, and no one can stand before a righteous God on their own merit. Jesus is the only way to salvation, and he is the only truth. Everything else is no truth at all.
I am the Way: John 14:6
“I am the way”
It is important that you read this statement very closely, because many people in our culture do not understand the language that Jesus is using. He says, “I am THE way,” he does not say, “I am A way.” Our culture seems to think that it does not matter whether you are a Christian or a Muslim, “whatever you call God,” they say, “is all the same.” They feel that everyone is going to heaven and what is most important is that we simply all get along here on earth. Because of that, they accuse evangelical Christians of being narrow-minded and pushy with our faith. They see us evangelizing on the street corners, in hospitals, or at disaster scenes and they say we are offending their privacy. They would rather that we leave them alone for a few years on earth than avoid an eternity of damnation.
Yet, what is most interesting about this culture’s position is that it wants to affirm that a group of mutually exclusive religions as being compatible. That is like trying to affirm that a coin is a nickel and a dime at the same time—it just cannot be. Jesus said that he was “THE” way! It is a statement of total exclusion. There are no other ways or paths that can be followed; Jesus is the only option if you want to avoid the fires of judgment.
If we are true to scripture and true to the teaching of Jesus, we can take no other stance than this; there are no other options. You are either trusting in Jesus for salvation or you are not, there are no in-betweens and no grey areas. There may be other roads, but those roads, though easy, only lead to destruction (Matthew 7:13). Jesus is the only way that leads to life.
The thing that we often struggle with is being truthful with other people, especially those closest to us. We fear offending them. Truth, be told, though, these people are those we ought to work the hardest with, for is it not those who we love the most who we ought to desire the most to spend eternity with? Beloved, if these people are truly your friends, they will be the least likely to recoil from you if you share the Gospel with them. If they are willing to walk away from a friendship because you are concerned for their soul, then you should bring into question the caliber of friendship that you had with them in the first place.
Friends, do not be so worry about offending that you quietly participate in the eternal destruction of those you care about. Love them with the truth. Just as an animal cannot be a cow and a dog at the same time, so too, if your goal is heaven, you can look to no other place but Christ.
I Am: John 14:6
“I am”
Not only is Jesus drawing attention to himself when he emphasizes the “I” of this statement, but he is making another connection as well. In Exodus 3:14, when Moses asks the Lord what name shall he give to the Israelites as to who is sending him, the Lord says to tell the Israelites that he is “I AM WHO I AM.” In the next verse, God simply tells Moses to tell the Israelites that “I AM sent me.”
The language of “I AM” is important in our understanding of God, for God simply is. He exists independent of time and space, he is boundless and timeless, and he has always existed and always will exist. Before God created the world, God was and only God was. There is nothing that was created that did not have its origins in God’s work and nothing is outside of God’s divine and sovereign control. God is omnipotent, omnipresent, and omniscient. And by Jesus making the statement, “I, I am…” one of the claims that he is making is that he is the “I AM” of scripture; he is Yahweh having taken on flesh.
Jesus is stating that all of the attributes that we attribute to God belong to him as well. Jesus is the image of the invisible God (Colossians 1:15) and to know him is to know the Father (John 14:7-11). Friends, do you see what Jesus is claiming here? He is making an explicit statement of divinity. He is saying that he is God, the one who created all things and preserved a people for himself, and is all-powerful—and he has chosen to take the way of the cross as a sacrifice for our sins. He is not offering an ordinary sacrifice, but a perfect, flawless, and divine sacrifice for the sins of you and me.
Jesus is preexistent and eternal, and he chose to put aside his rightful glory to walk this earth. He chose to endure the abuse and the spite of our race, yet he is God himself. He chose to suffer and die for sins that did not belong to him, but belonged to us, so that we might come to him. Jesus had all of the agony of Hell dumped on his shoulders so that we might not have to face its fires.
Friends, this is the Gospel in a nutshell—to those who put their faith in Christ as their Lord and Savior, he has suffered in their place and given us a promise of redemption instead. What is sad is there are people in this world who would try and make us believe that Jesus was not really God. Friends, there are many examples where Jesus claims his deity, and this is just one. Rest in the promise that the Lord you serve is God and that he loved you enough to pay the penalty for sin on your behalf. I can think of no more blessed a promise than that.
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