Matthew 9:37-38, "Then he said to his disciples, The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest."
Matthew 6:9-10, "Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. 10 Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven."
How would you like to have utter confidence that what you pray is going to happen? One of the secrets of prayer is learning to pray the big sweeping prayers of the bible; especially what our Lord Jesus Christ tells us to pray. One of the great discoveries about prayer I have learned is that God ordains that we pray for things that He absolutely wants to do and is going to do. What amazes me is that the means whereby He does what He absolutely wants to do is through prayer.
For example:
Jesus gives the great commission in Matthew 28:19, "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations" Here Jesus is telling His followers their mission here on earth, yet we read the words of Matthew 24:14, "This gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come." So Jesus calls His disciples to participate in a mission that will not fail.
How? Jesus said in Matthew 9:37-38, "The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest." It never ceases to amaze me that we, the laborers, should be instructed to ask the owner of the farm, who knows the harvest better than we do, to add on more farm hands. Yet nothing is more certain than that the kingdom of God will triumph (Matthew 16:18; 24:14).
What this means is that God has appointed prayer as a means of finishing the mission that He promised will be finished! Our prayers are God's means to accomplish His own end! What a great privilege it is to pray. What absolute certainty there is to pray the promise of God. We pray because the outcome of our prayers are as certain as the promises God makes. God says the Great Commission will be completed and our prayers are the means by which He will accomplished it.
Another example is the Lord's prayer where Jesus teaches us to pray like this in Matthew 6:9-13, "Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. 10 Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil."
Notice that this is a petition or a request. It is not a declaration. We are not saying, "Lord, your name is hallowed!" We are saying, "Lord, cause your name to be hallowed!" It is a request to God that he would see to it that His own name be hallowed. It is like just like the other text in Matthew 9:38 where Jesus tells us to pray to the Lord of the harvest that He would send out laborers into His own harvest. This is the same thing we have here in the Lord's Prayer—Jesus telling us to ask God, who is infinitely jealous for the honor of his own name, to see to it that his name be hallowed. Well it may amaze us, but there it is.
Prayer does not move God to do things he is disinclined to do, but rather prayer moves God to do things that He is inclined to do. He has every intention to cause His name to be hallowed. Nothing is higher on God's priority list. That God would display the greatness of God. There is no uncertainty about the triumph of God. Nevertheless, in God’s providence, it depends upon human prayer. Amazing! The prayers of God’s followers and the purposes of God will not fail.
God spoke through the prophet Isaiah, "For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven and do not return there but water the earth, making it bring forth and sprout, giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater, 11 so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it" (Isaiah 55:10-11). the great promise is that God will not let His word return void but will accomplish what God appoints it for. Yet Paul prays in 2 Thessalonians 3:1, "Finally, brothers, pray for us, that the word of the Lord may speed ahead and be honored, as happened among you." So God makes a promise and He uses our prayers to usher it in. So let us pray that the powerful word of God will triumph and triumph it will!
Isn't this wonderful? God wills to make great things the consequence of our prayers when our prayers are the consequence of His great purposes. Let us begin to pray big sweeping biblical prayers. Let us attempt great things in prayer to God and expect great things from God in prayer because God is going to going to answer and do the things that He plans to do. These prayers cannot and will not fail.
"Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and His ways past finding out! "For who has known the mind of the LORD? Or who has become His counselor?" "Or who has first given to Him And it shall be repaid to him?"For of Him and through Him and to Him are all things, to whom be glory forever. Amen."
Praying for the great things of God,
Pastor Bill
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
Thursday, March 20, 2008
WHY GOOD FRIDAY IS SO GOOD
Do you ever wonder why Good Friday is called Good Friday? It would seem more appropriate to call it Bad Friday. After all, Jesus suffered a horrible and tragic death that day. So why call it Good Friday?One day 2000 years ago or so Jesus of Nazareth was condemned to death. The Son of God, the creator of man, the Just and righteous one, the most loving person who ever lived, perfect in goodness, was condemned to death! On a human level, the condemnation of Jesus was the ultimate travesty of justice. No one was more innocent of wrongdoing than Jesus. But consider Jesus' condemnation from God's point of view.
Was Jesus' death justified? Listen to these words of Scripture: He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree (1 Peter 2:24). “It was the will of the LORD to crush him.” (Isaiah 53:10). “He has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to do away with sin by the sacrifice of himself. Just as man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment, so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many people.” (Hebrews 9: 26-28) These Scriptures tell us that from God's point of view, Jesus' death was justified. Indeed, Jesus' death was necessary -- for without His death, God would have to punish you and me for our sins.
The Bible teaches us that God -- our perfectly holy and righteous God -- cannot tolerate sin. From his very nature, he cannot tolerate sin. Furthermore, God is just, meaning that he will right every wrong; he will apply just punishment to every wrongdoer. We like to hear this when we have been wronged, when we have been the victim – but the problem is that each of us has wronged others, we are victimizers as well, so each of us deserves punishment. So Jesus had to die because of my sin. Sin! We don't like this word. We don't mind talking about our foibles, or our weaknesses, or our failures -- but sin! No, we don't like to admit that we are sinners.
What is sin? One definition: Sin is both disobedience to the law of God and sin is missing the mark of God’s law. This definition shows that God is the one who defines sin. God, our Creator, has the absolute authority to dictate to us the terms and conditions of our being able to enter His presence. Sin is nothing more or less than cosmic treason and human ineptitude: the refusal to recognize and submit to God’s authority in any and every area of our lives and the complete inability to conform to God’s standards on our own.
In these days there is much confusion concerning this word, "sin." Many people try to dumb down this idea of sin, to take away its meaning by redefining it, rationalizing it, minimizing it, or justifying it. In short, sin today really is not so bad. But the fact is from God’s view; sin is deadly serious. So serious in fact that: “the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men…The wages of sin is death” (Romans 1:18; 6:23).
Remember how Jesus summarized the Law of God? “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. . . . Love your neighbor as yourself” (Matthew 22:37, 39). Do we live up to those? No. I don't, you don't. That is why the bible tells us that the consequence of sin is that we are debtors to God; enemies of God; and guilty criminals, lawbreakers, before a righteous and Holy God. Paul in Romans 3 makes it absolutely clear that without Christ's death, all of us are under the just condemnation of God. Listen to these words: “We have already charged that all, both Jews and Greeks, are under sin, as it is written: “None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God. All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one… for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:9-12,23). Paul tells us that every single person, every person here this evening, is a sinner; every person deserves an eternity of separation from our holy and perfect God.
So are we without hope? Keep reading! Paul goes on to explain the basis of our hope in verses 20-26: "Therefore by the deeds of the law no flesh will be justified in His sight, for by the law is the knowledge of sin. But now the righteousness of God apart from the law is revealed, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, even the righteousness of God, through faith in Jesus Christ, to all and on all who believe. For there is no difference; for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God set forth as a propitiation by His blood, through faith, to demonstrate His righteousness, because in His forbearance God had passed over the sins that were previously committed, to demonstrate at the present time His righteousness, that He might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus" (Romans 3:20-26).
Do you understand? We are sinners! We have violated God’s righteousness and the He demands satisfaction. We deserve God's condemnation! Our debt to God must be paid, we need to be reconciled from our estrangement to Him, and a payment or penalty must be paid for our crimes of violating God’s law. And we can do nothing on our own to satisfy God or change our condemnation. But God sent His son Jesus to suffer and die on the cross for us, so that He might right every wrong and still invite us to become the perfect bride who will rejoice with Him for all eternity. Jesus is the Payment of our debt (Hebrews 7: 22); Jesus is our Mediator who reconciles us to God (2 Corinthians 5:19); and Jesus is our Substitute who stands in the place of true criminals, you and me. Jesus Christ is the one who has made satisfaction by His work of the cross. Jesus also is our Redeemer who frees us from sin’s captivity, setting us free by offering Himself as a ransom (Mark 10:44-45). He takes our sins upon Himself and God’s transfers His righteous to us, to our account. As a result, we are clean from all sin and adorned with the glorious righteousness of Christ. God brings us pardon and perfection through Jesus. But most of all He brings us the ultimate end to which we were made: To be able to see God and be with God and to know God and to enjoy God forever and ever! “For Christ also suffered once for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive by the Spirit” (1 Peter 3:18).
That is why Good Friday is called Good Friday! Not Bad Friday. Not Sad Friday. Not a day to mourn over the dying Jesus, though his death should sober us. Not a day to feel sorry for Jesus being spat upon, though we need to acknowledge the fact that all this happened because of what we have done. But a day, as John Newton said, for "pleasing grief and mournful joy." Joy because this one sacrifice saves us completely, because in this great act of love Christ Jesus laid down his life for you, for me; joy because this act that we celebrate -- yes, celebrate -- allows each and every person to join God's beloved family for all eternity -- if you will only believe. The shed blood of Jesus Christ is our only hope. But oh what a hope! I plea with you to open your heart to this amazing love! Receive Jesus as your Lord and Savior -- and eternal life begins for you today.
Pastor Bill
Was Jesus' death justified? Listen to these words of Scripture: He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree (1 Peter 2:24). “It was the will of the LORD to crush him.” (Isaiah 53:10). “He has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to do away with sin by the sacrifice of himself. Just as man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment, so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many people.” (Hebrews 9: 26-28) These Scriptures tell us that from God's point of view, Jesus' death was justified. Indeed, Jesus' death was necessary -- for without His death, God would have to punish you and me for our sins.
The Bible teaches us that God -- our perfectly holy and righteous God -- cannot tolerate sin. From his very nature, he cannot tolerate sin. Furthermore, God is just, meaning that he will right every wrong; he will apply just punishment to every wrongdoer. We like to hear this when we have been wronged, when we have been the victim – but the problem is that each of us has wronged others, we are victimizers as well, so each of us deserves punishment. So Jesus had to die because of my sin. Sin! We don't like this word. We don't mind talking about our foibles, or our weaknesses, or our failures -- but sin! No, we don't like to admit that we are sinners.
What is sin? One definition: Sin is both disobedience to the law of God and sin is missing the mark of God’s law. This definition shows that God is the one who defines sin. God, our Creator, has the absolute authority to dictate to us the terms and conditions of our being able to enter His presence. Sin is nothing more or less than cosmic treason and human ineptitude: the refusal to recognize and submit to God’s authority in any and every area of our lives and the complete inability to conform to God’s standards on our own.
In these days there is much confusion concerning this word, "sin." Many people try to dumb down this idea of sin, to take away its meaning by redefining it, rationalizing it, minimizing it, or justifying it. In short, sin today really is not so bad. But the fact is from God’s view; sin is deadly serious. So serious in fact that: “the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men…The wages of sin is death” (Romans 1:18; 6:23).
Remember how Jesus summarized the Law of God? “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. . . . Love your neighbor as yourself” (Matthew 22:37, 39). Do we live up to those? No. I don't, you don't. That is why the bible tells us that the consequence of sin is that we are debtors to God; enemies of God; and guilty criminals, lawbreakers, before a righteous and Holy God. Paul in Romans 3 makes it absolutely clear that without Christ's death, all of us are under the just condemnation of God. Listen to these words: “We have already charged that all, both Jews and Greeks, are under sin, as it is written: “None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God. All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one… for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:9-12,23). Paul tells us that every single person, every person here this evening, is a sinner; every person deserves an eternity of separation from our holy and perfect God.
So are we without hope? Keep reading! Paul goes on to explain the basis of our hope in verses 20-26: "Therefore by the deeds of the law no flesh will be justified in His sight, for by the law is the knowledge of sin. But now the righteousness of God apart from the law is revealed, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, even the righteousness of God, through faith in Jesus Christ, to all and on all who believe. For there is no difference; for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God set forth as a propitiation by His blood, through faith, to demonstrate His righteousness, because in His forbearance God had passed over the sins that were previously committed, to demonstrate at the present time His righteousness, that He might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus" (Romans 3:20-26).
Do you understand? We are sinners! We have violated God’s righteousness and the He demands satisfaction. We deserve God's condemnation! Our debt to God must be paid, we need to be reconciled from our estrangement to Him, and a payment or penalty must be paid for our crimes of violating God’s law. And we can do nothing on our own to satisfy God or change our condemnation. But God sent His son Jesus to suffer and die on the cross for us, so that He might right every wrong and still invite us to become the perfect bride who will rejoice with Him for all eternity. Jesus is the Payment of our debt (Hebrews 7: 22); Jesus is our Mediator who reconciles us to God (2 Corinthians 5:19); and Jesus is our Substitute who stands in the place of true criminals, you and me. Jesus Christ is the one who has made satisfaction by His work of the cross. Jesus also is our Redeemer who frees us from sin’s captivity, setting us free by offering Himself as a ransom (Mark 10:44-45). He takes our sins upon Himself and God’s transfers His righteous to us, to our account. As a result, we are clean from all sin and adorned with the glorious righteousness of Christ. God brings us pardon and perfection through Jesus. But most of all He brings us the ultimate end to which we were made: To be able to see God and be with God and to know God and to enjoy God forever and ever! “For Christ also suffered once for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive by the Spirit” (1 Peter 3:18).
That is why Good Friday is called Good Friday! Not Bad Friday. Not Sad Friday. Not a day to mourn over the dying Jesus, though his death should sober us. Not a day to feel sorry for Jesus being spat upon, though we need to acknowledge the fact that all this happened because of what we have done. But a day, as John Newton said, for "pleasing grief and mournful joy." Joy because this one sacrifice saves us completely, because in this great act of love Christ Jesus laid down his life for you, for me; joy because this act that we celebrate -- yes, celebrate -- allows each and every person to join God's beloved family for all eternity -- if you will only believe. The shed blood of Jesus Christ is our only hope. But oh what a hope! I plea with you to open your heart to this amazing love! Receive Jesus as your Lord and Savior -- and eternal life begins for you today.
Pastor Bill
Wednesday, March 12, 2008
WHY TEACHING AND UNDERSTANDING JUSTIFICATION BY FAITH IS SO IMPORTANT
"For by works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin. But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it- the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction: for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God's righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins. It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus." Romans 3:20-26 ESV
Martin Luther considered justification by faith to be "the chief article of Christian doctrine. To him who understands how great its usefulness and majesty are, everything else will seem slight and turn to nothing. For what is Peter? What is Paul? What is an angel from heaven? What are all creatures in comparison with the article of justification? For if we know this article, we are in the clearest light; if we do not know it, we dwell in the densest darkness. Therefore if you see this article impugned or imperiled, do not hesitate to resist Peter or an angel from heaven; for it cannot be sufficiently extolled."
Justification is a declaration of God to a repentant sinner that not only are all his sins are forgiven, but also that He is acquitted, the wrath of the judge is removed, and he stands righteous before God. God announces that something has been taken away (our sin) and something has been added (the righteousness of Christ).
John Piper in his book Counted Righteous in Christ discusses why it is so critical in understanding the imputed righteousness of Christ in our daily lives.
Teaching and Understanding Justification by Faith is important:
1.For the sake of Marriage
I have a family to care for. The marriage must survive and thrive for the good of the children and the glory of Christ. God designed marriage to display the holy mercy of Christ and the happy sub-mission of his church (Ephesians 5:21-25). My own experience has been that the doctrine of justification by faith, and the imputed righteousness of Christ, is a great marriage saver and sweetener.
What makes marriage almost impossible at times is that both partners feel so self-justified in their expectations that are not being fulfilled. There is a horrible emotional dead-end street in the words, "But it's just plain wrong for you to act that way," followed by, "That's your perfectionist perspective," or "Do you think you do everything right?," or hopeless, resigned silence. The cycle of self-justified self-pity and anger seems unbreakable.
But what if one or both of the partners becomes overwhelmed with the truth of justification by faith alone, and with the particular truth that in Christ Jesus God credits me, for Christ's sake, as fulfilling all his expectations? What would happen if this doctrine so mastered our souls that we began to bend it from the vertical to the horizontal? What if we applied it to our marriages?
In our own imperfect efforts in this regard, there have been breakthroughs that seemed at times impossible. It is possible, for Christ's sake, to simply say, "I will no longer think merely in terms of whether my expectations are met in practice. I will, for Christ's sake, regard my wife (or husband) the way God regards me—complete and accepted in Christ—and to be helped and blessed and nurtured and cherished, even if in practice there are shortcomings." I know my wife treats me this way. And surely this is part of what Paul was calling for when he said that we should forgive "one another . . . as God in Christ forgave you" (Ephesians 4:32, ESV). I believe there is more healing for marriage in the doctrine of the imputation of Christ's righteousness than many of us have even begun to discover.
2. For the sake of WAYWARD CHILDREN
I do not believe that even perfect parenting could prevent all wilderness wanderings of our children. Mainly because of what God said in Isaiah 1:2: "Heat; 0 heavens, and give ear, 0 earth; for the LORD has spoken: 'Children have I reared and brought up, but they have rebelled against me" (ESV). But how do you survive and press on when a child has left the fold of God? What truth keeps you on your face in hope-full prayers and on your way to minister to others with needs as great as your own? No truth other than "the justification of the ungodly" gives as much hope for parents of a prodigal. Not only because our son or daughter may yet awaken to the hope that Christ is willing to be his or her righteousness—no matter what he or she has done—but also because the viperous guilt of failed parenting is defanged by the justification of the ungodly. Dad and Mom find a way to press on because their perfection in Christ.
3. For the sake of BIBLICAL COUNSELING
There is so much brokenness. So much sin that seems intransigently woven together with forms of failing family life and distorted personal perspectives. And it doesn't yield to quick remedies. After several decades of watching the mental health care system at work from the inside and outside, I am less hopeful about the effectiveness of (even Christian) psychotherapy than I used to be. I don't see any one strategy of helping people possessing a corner on all wisdom. But more than ever I believe the essential foundation of all healing and all Christ-exalting wholeness is a soul-penetrating grasp of the glorious truth of justification by faith, distinct from and grounding the battle for healthy, loving relationships. Good counseling patiently builds the "whole counsel" of God" (Acts 20:27) into the head and heart of sinful and wounded people. And at the center of it is Christ our righteousness.
4. For the sake of WORLD EVANGELIZATION
Over the past twenty years of leading a missions-mobilizing church I have seen with increasing clarity that teacher-based church planting and not just friendship-based church planting is crucial among peoples with no Christian history. In other words, doctrinal instruction becomes utterly crucial in planting the church.
This is not surprising, since embedded in the Great Commission is the command, "teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you" (Matthew 28:20), and since Paul planted the church in Ephesus by reasoning daily in the hall of Tyrannus for two years, "so that all the residents of Asia heard the word of the Lord" (Acts 19:10). In other words, it is more clear to me now that doing missions without deep doctrinal transfer through patient teaching will not only wreck on the vast reefs of ignorance but will, at best, produce weak and ever-dependent churches. Therefore, pastors who care about building, sending, and going churches must give themselves to building sending bases that breed doctrinally-deep people who are not given to emotional dependency on fads but know how to feed themselves on Christ-centered truth.
The second thing I would say about the doctrine of justification and missions is that Paul develops this doctrine in the book of Romans in a way that shows it is absolutely universal in its relevance. It crosses every culture. It is not a tribal concept. He does this by building part of the doctrine out of the connection between Adam and Christ in Romans 5:12-21. For example, take only verse 19: "For as by the one man's disobedience the many were appointed sinners, so by the one man's obedience the many will be appointed righteous." This, along with the whole context, shows that what Christ came to do in his obedience was universal in its scope and significance. It is not just for the posterity of Abraham, but for the posterity of Adam—namely, everyone.
The problem Jesus came to solve was a problem unleashed by the first man, leading to condemnation and corruption for all people everywhere in all cultures and all times. This is a stunning discovery for many people. The diagnosis of what needs to be remedied is the same in all cultures because it stems from Adam, the father of all cultures. Therefore the work of Christ to provide a "free gift of righteousness" (Romans 5:17, ESV) to all who will "receive" it is absolutely sufficient and necessary for every person in every culture everywhere in the world. And thus the doctrine of justification becomes a warrant for the universal claim of Christian missions.
5. For the sake of WORSHIP
The imputed righteousness of Christ has been a great cause joyful worship over the centuries and has informed many hymns and worship songs. The theme has cut across Calvinist‑ Arminian, Lutheran-Reformed, and Baptist-Presbyterian divides...The doctrine of the imputation of Christ's righteousness has not been experienced as marginal or minor in the worship of Christ. It has been explosive with revival power, personal comfort," and deep, biblically-rooted joy in worship.
Basking in the historical truth of the imputation of Christ's righteousness,
Pastor Bill
Martin Luther considered justification by faith to be "the chief article of Christian doctrine. To him who understands how great its usefulness and majesty are, everything else will seem slight and turn to nothing. For what is Peter? What is Paul? What is an angel from heaven? What are all creatures in comparison with the article of justification? For if we know this article, we are in the clearest light; if we do not know it, we dwell in the densest darkness. Therefore if you see this article impugned or imperiled, do not hesitate to resist Peter or an angel from heaven; for it cannot be sufficiently extolled."
Justification is a declaration of God to a repentant sinner that not only are all his sins are forgiven, but also that He is acquitted, the wrath of the judge is removed, and he stands righteous before God. God announces that something has been taken away (our sin) and something has been added (the righteousness of Christ).
John Piper in his book Counted Righteous in Christ discusses why it is so critical in understanding the imputed righteousness of Christ in our daily lives.
Teaching and Understanding Justification by Faith is important:
1.For the sake of Marriage
I have a family to care for. The marriage must survive and thrive for the good of the children and the glory of Christ. God designed marriage to display the holy mercy of Christ and the happy sub-mission of his church (Ephesians 5:21-25). My own experience has been that the doctrine of justification by faith, and the imputed righteousness of Christ, is a great marriage saver and sweetener.
What makes marriage almost impossible at times is that both partners feel so self-justified in their expectations that are not being fulfilled. There is a horrible emotional dead-end street in the words, "But it's just plain wrong for you to act that way," followed by, "That's your perfectionist perspective," or "Do you think you do everything right?," or hopeless, resigned silence. The cycle of self-justified self-pity and anger seems unbreakable.
But what if one or both of the partners becomes overwhelmed with the truth of justification by faith alone, and with the particular truth that in Christ Jesus God credits me, for Christ's sake, as fulfilling all his expectations? What would happen if this doctrine so mastered our souls that we began to bend it from the vertical to the horizontal? What if we applied it to our marriages?
In our own imperfect efforts in this regard, there have been breakthroughs that seemed at times impossible. It is possible, for Christ's sake, to simply say, "I will no longer think merely in terms of whether my expectations are met in practice. I will, for Christ's sake, regard my wife (or husband) the way God regards me—complete and accepted in Christ—and to be helped and blessed and nurtured and cherished, even if in practice there are shortcomings." I know my wife treats me this way. And surely this is part of what Paul was calling for when he said that we should forgive "one another . . . as God in Christ forgave you" (Ephesians 4:32, ESV). I believe there is more healing for marriage in the doctrine of the imputation of Christ's righteousness than many of us have even begun to discover.
2. For the sake of WAYWARD CHILDREN
I do not believe that even perfect parenting could prevent all wilderness wanderings of our children. Mainly because of what God said in Isaiah 1:2: "Heat; 0 heavens, and give ear, 0 earth; for the LORD has spoken: 'Children have I reared and brought up, but they have rebelled against me" (ESV). But how do you survive and press on when a child has left the fold of God? What truth keeps you on your face in hope-full prayers and on your way to minister to others with needs as great as your own? No truth other than "the justification of the ungodly" gives as much hope for parents of a prodigal. Not only because our son or daughter may yet awaken to the hope that Christ is willing to be his or her righteousness—no matter what he or she has done—but also because the viperous guilt of failed parenting is defanged by the justification of the ungodly. Dad and Mom find a way to press on because their perfection in Christ.
3. For the sake of BIBLICAL COUNSELING
There is so much brokenness. So much sin that seems intransigently woven together with forms of failing family life and distorted personal perspectives. And it doesn't yield to quick remedies. After several decades of watching the mental health care system at work from the inside and outside, I am less hopeful about the effectiveness of (even Christian) psychotherapy than I used to be. I don't see any one strategy of helping people possessing a corner on all wisdom. But more than ever I believe the essential foundation of all healing and all Christ-exalting wholeness is a soul-penetrating grasp of the glorious truth of justification by faith, distinct from and grounding the battle for healthy, loving relationships. Good counseling patiently builds the "whole counsel" of God" (Acts 20:27) into the head and heart of sinful and wounded people. And at the center of it is Christ our righteousness.
4. For the sake of WORLD EVANGELIZATION
Over the past twenty years of leading a missions-mobilizing church I have seen with increasing clarity that teacher-based church planting and not just friendship-based church planting is crucial among peoples with no Christian history. In other words, doctrinal instruction becomes utterly crucial in planting the church.
This is not surprising, since embedded in the Great Commission is the command, "teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you" (Matthew 28:20), and since Paul planted the church in Ephesus by reasoning daily in the hall of Tyrannus for two years, "so that all the residents of Asia heard the word of the Lord" (Acts 19:10). In other words, it is more clear to me now that doing missions without deep doctrinal transfer through patient teaching will not only wreck on the vast reefs of ignorance but will, at best, produce weak and ever-dependent churches. Therefore, pastors who care about building, sending, and going churches must give themselves to building sending bases that breed doctrinally-deep people who are not given to emotional dependency on fads but know how to feed themselves on Christ-centered truth.
The second thing I would say about the doctrine of justification and missions is that Paul develops this doctrine in the book of Romans in a way that shows it is absolutely universal in its relevance. It crosses every culture. It is not a tribal concept. He does this by building part of the doctrine out of the connection between Adam and Christ in Romans 5:12-21. For example, take only verse 19: "For as by the one man's disobedience the many were appointed sinners, so by the one man's obedience the many will be appointed righteous." This, along with the whole context, shows that what Christ came to do in his obedience was universal in its scope and significance. It is not just for the posterity of Abraham, but for the posterity of Adam—namely, everyone.
The problem Jesus came to solve was a problem unleashed by the first man, leading to condemnation and corruption for all people everywhere in all cultures and all times. This is a stunning discovery for many people. The diagnosis of what needs to be remedied is the same in all cultures because it stems from Adam, the father of all cultures. Therefore the work of Christ to provide a "free gift of righteousness" (Romans 5:17, ESV) to all who will "receive" it is absolutely sufficient and necessary for every person in every culture everywhere in the world. And thus the doctrine of justification becomes a warrant for the universal claim of Christian missions.
5. For the sake of WORSHIP
The imputed righteousness of Christ has been a great cause joyful worship over the centuries and has informed many hymns and worship songs. The theme has cut across Calvinist‑ Arminian, Lutheran-Reformed, and Baptist-Presbyterian divides...The doctrine of the imputation of Christ's righteousness has not been experienced as marginal or minor in the worship of Christ. It has been explosive with revival power, personal comfort," and deep, biblically-rooted joy in worship.
Basking in the historical truth of the imputation of Christ's righteousness,
Pastor Bill
Friday, March 7, 2008
GOD IS THE BEGINNING AND END OF THE GOSPEL
Last blog I wrote about John Piper's description of the six aspects of the gospel. What is especially encouraging to me is that God is the beginning and the ending of the Gospel.
First, God is the beginning of the gospel because it was His plan from all eternity:
For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures. (1 Corinthians 15:3)
But the word that is written in their Law must be fulfilled: 'They hated me without a cause.' (John 15:25)
I am not speaking of all of you; I know whom I have chosen. But the Scripture will be fulfilled, 'He who ate my bread has lifted his heel against me.' (John 13:18)
At that hour Jesus said to the crowds, "Have you come out as against a robber, with swords and clubs to capture me? Day after day I sat in the temple teaching, and you did not seize me. 56 But all this has taken place that the Scriptures of the prophets might be fulfilled." (Matthew 26:55-56)
So they said to one another, "Let us not tear it, but cast lots for it to see whose it shall be." This was to fulfill the Scripture which says, "They divided my garments among them, and for my clothing they cast lots." (John 19:24)
But one of the soldiers pierced his side with a spear, and at once there came out blood and water. . . . 36 For these things took place that the Scripture might be fulfilled: "Not one of his bones will be broken." (John 19:34-36)
For truly in this city there were gathered together against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, along with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel, 28 to do whatever your hand and your plan had predestined to take place. (Acts 4:27)
When was this plan made?
All who dwell on earth will worship [the beast], everyone whose name has not been written before the foundation of the world in the book of life of the Lamb who was slain. (Revelation 13:8)
Who saved us and called us to a holy calling, not because of our works but because of his own purpose and grace, which he gave us in Christ Jesus before the ages began. (2 Timothy 1:9)
Therefore: part of the gospel is that it was a plan from eternity. This is good news because:
1. God was not taken off guard by the horrific deeds against his Son;
2. Sin and death and hell and Satan are not frustrations of God’s eternal design but fit into it;
3. God’s love for us and his willingness to die for us is not an afterthought but eternally deep in the heart of God;
4. It is all the more clear that the events of the gospel were God’s doing, not historical turns of fate.
5. This all strengthens and deepens our certainty of God’s commitment to us in the gospel
Second, the end of the gospel is God Himself and with that end the gospel promises a supremely happy future.
1 Peter 3:18, "For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God."
Not ultimately, regeneration, or forgiveness of sins, or justification, or adoption, or sanctification. All of those are means to an end. The end of our reason for existence to “Glorify God and enjoy him for ever.”
Father, I desire that they also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory that you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world. (John 17:24)
I made known to them your name, and I will continue to make it known, that the love with which you have loved me may be in them, and I in them. (John 17:26)
Piper says, Christ died to give you God, ultimately. Not ultimately prosperity, health, wealth, self-esteem, family, successful church, reunion with deceased loved ones, lawful behavior, forgiveness of sins, removal of wrath, removal of guilt, escape from hell or anything else. He died so that you might see and be everlastingly and increasingly satisfied in all that God is for us in Christ.
We must never forget that the beginning and the end of gospel is God Himself. He is the beginning, the means, and the end and the reason Christ died and rose again.
Pastor Bill
First, God is the beginning of the gospel because it was His plan from all eternity:
For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures. (1 Corinthians 15:3)
But the word that is written in their Law must be fulfilled: 'They hated me without a cause.' (John 15:25)
I am not speaking of all of you; I know whom I have chosen. But the Scripture will be fulfilled, 'He who ate my bread has lifted his heel against me.' (John 13:18)
At that hour Jesus said to the crowds, "Have you come out as against a robber, with swords and clubs to capture me? Day after day I sat in the temple teaching, and you did not seize me. 56 But all this has taken place that the Scriptures of the prophets might be fulfilled." (Matthew 26:55-56)
So they said to one another, "Let us not tear it, but cast lots for it to see whose it shall be." This was to fulfill the Scripture which says, "They divided my garments among them, and for my clothing they cast lots." (John 19:24)
But one of the soldiers pierced his side with a spear, and at once there came out blood and water. . . . 36 For these things took place that the Scripture might be fulfilled: "Not one of his bones will be broken." (John 19:34-36)
For truly in this city there were gathered together against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, along with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel, 28 to do whatever your hand and your plan had predestined to take place. (Acts 4:27)
When was this plan made?
All who dwell on earth will worship [the beast], everyone whose name has not been written before the foundation of the world in the book of life of the Lamb who was slain. (Revelation 13:8)
Who saved us and called us to a holy calling, not because of our works but because of his own purpose and grace, which he gave us in Christ Jesus before the ages began. (2 Timothy 1:9)
Therefore: part of the gospel is that it was a plan from eternity. This is good news because:
1. God was not taken off guard by the horrific deeds against his Son;
2. Sin and death and hell and Satan are not frustrations of God’s eternal design but fit into it;
3. God’s love for us and his willingness to die for us is not an afterthought but eternally deep in the heart of God;
4. It is all the more clear that the events of the gospel were God’s doing, not historical turns of fate.
5. This all strengthens and deepens our certainty of God’s commitment to us in the gospel
Second, the end of the gospel is God Himself and with that end the gospel promises a supremely happy future.
1 Peter 3:18, "For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God."
Not ultimately, regeneration, or forgiveness of sins, or justification, or adoption, or sanctification. All of those are means to an end. The end of our reason for existence to “Glorify God and enjoy him for ever.”
Father, I desire that they also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory that you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world. (John 17:24)
I made known to them your name, and I will continue to make it known, that the love with which you have loved me may be in them, and I in them. (John 17:26)
Piper says, Christ died to give you God, ultimately. Not ultimately prosperity, health, wealth, self-esteem, family, successful church, reunion with deceased loved ones, lawful behavior, forgiveness of sins, removal of wrath, removal of guilt, escape from hell or anything else. He died so that you might see and be everlastingly and increasingly satisfied in all that God is for us in Christ.
We must never forget that the beginning and the end of gospel is God Himself. He is the beginning, the means, and the end and the reason Christ died and rose again.
Pastor Bill
Wednesday, March 5, 2008
SIX WAYS THAT MAKE THE GOSPEL SUCH GOOD NEWS
"Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you--unless you believed in vain. For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve."
1 Corinthians 15:1-5
Since we are entering into Easter season, it is a good time for us to be thinking about the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ and the proclamation of it called the gospel. John Piper recently preached at the Resurgence Conference a message on Distinguishing Between True and False Gospels. We are living in a time where there is a tremendous lack of understanding in the Gospel. Much of contemporary understanding is inadequate, unbiblical, or incomplete. It is important in focusing on the death and resurrection of Christ that we understand all the implications of the glorious work done at Calvary.
John Piper describes six aspects of the gospel—the good news about Jesus based upon 1 Corinthians 15:1-4. It is well worth reflecting on. It is thorough and solid. What I really like is how Piper begins the gospel with God and ends with God. God Himself plans the Gospel and the end or goal of the Gospel is God Himself. 1 Peter 3:18, "For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit."
6 Aspects of the Gospel Without Which There Is No Gospel
1. The gospel was planned by God beforehand (verses 3, 4: “according to the scriptures”)
2. The gospel is an objective physical event in history (verses 3-5: “Christ died . . . he was buried . . . he was raised . . . he appeared”).
3. The gospel is an objective accomplishment—the purchase or obtaining of redemption for all who would believe (verse 3: “Christ died for our sins”—the debt was paid)
4. The gospel is an offer to be made to all that what Christ accomplished is free and my be had only by faith in him (verse 2: “by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you--unless you believed in vain.”)
5. The gospel is an application through faith to specific people of what Christ accomplished (verse 2: “and by which you are being saved”).
6. The gospel is an eternal and infinitely happy future destiny (verse 1-3: implied in the word “gospel” and “saved” and “sins born by another”)
To make it easy to remember Piper simplifies it like this:
Plan
Event
Accomplishment
Offer
Application
A supremely happy future
I would encourage you to go listen to his message: http://www.desiringgod.org/ResourceLibrary/ConferenceMessages/ByDate/2008/2637_How_I_Distinguish_Between_the_Gospel_and_False_Gospels/
If you have the time, read Piper's books God is the Gospel or The Passion of Jesus Christ. My three all time favorites are John Murray's Redemption Accomplished and Applied and Leon Morris's The Atonement and The Apostolic Preaching of the Cross.
Savoring the depth of the Gospel,
Pastor Bill
1 Corinthians 15:1-5
Since we are entering into Easter season, it is a good time for us to be thinking about the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ and the proclamation of it called the gospel. John Piper recently preached at the Resurgence Conference a message on Distinguishing Between True and False Gospels. We are living in a time where there is a tremendous lack of understanding in the Gospel. Much of contemporary understanding is inadequate, unbiblical, or incomplete. It is important in focusing on the death and resurrection of Christ that we understand all the implications of the glorious work done at Calvary.
John Piper describes six aspects of the gospel—the good news about Jesus based upon 1 Corinthians 15:1-4. It is well worth reflecting on. It is thorough and solid. What I really like is how Piper begins the gospel with God and ends with God. God Himself plans the Gospel and the end or goal of the Gospel is God Himself. 1 Peter 3:18, "For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit."
6 Aspects of the Gospel Without Which There Is No Gospel
1. The gospel was planned by God beforehand (verses 3, 4: “according to the scriptures”)
2. The gospel is an objective physical event in history (verses 3-5: “Christ died . . . he was buried . . . he was raised . . . he appeared”).
3. The gospel is an objective accomplishment—the purchase or obtaining of redemption for all who would believe (verse 3: “Christ died for our sins”—the debt was paid)
4. The gospel is an offer to be made to all that what Christ accomplished is free and my be had only by faith in him (verse 2: “by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you--unless you believed in vain.”)
5. The gospel is an application through faith to specific people of what Christ accomplished (verse 2: “and by which you are being saved”).
6. The gospel is an eternal and infinitely happy future destiny (verse 1-3: implied in the word “gospel” and “saved” and “sins born by another”)
To make it easy to remember Piper simplifies it like this:
Plan
Event
Accomplishment
Offer
Application
A supremely happy future
I would encourage you to go listen to his message: http://www.desiringgod.org/ResourceLibrary/ConferenceMessages/ByDate/2008/2637_How_I_Distinguish_Between_the_Gospel_and_False_Gospels/
If you have the time, read Piper's books God is the Gospel or The Passion of Jesus Christ. My three all time favorites are John Murray's Redemption Accomplished and Applied and Leon Morris's The Atonement and The Apostolic Preaching of the Cross.
Savoring the depth of the Gospel,
Pastor Bill
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