How to Know When Jesus Will Return

I Can Hear it Now

“So… Ben, you know when Jesus is retuning? That’s pretty impressive considering that not even Jesus knows the day or the hour of his return according to Matthew 24:36.”

Ok, I’ll call uncle on this one. I don’t know the day or the hour when Jesus will return. However, I do know the main factor that is keeping Jesus from returning right now. Look at 2 Peter 3.

2 Peter 3

1 This is now the second letter that I am writing to you, beloved. In both of them I am stirring up your sincere mind by way of reminder, 2 that you should remember the predictions of the holy prophets and the commandment of the Lord and Savior through your apostles, 3 knowing this first of all, that scoffers will come in the last days with scoffing, following their own sinful desires. 4 They will say, “Where is the promise of his coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all things are continuing as they were from the beginning of creation.” 5 For they deliberately overlook this fact, that the heavens existed long ago, and the earth was formed out of water and through water by the word of God, 6 and that by means of these the world that then existed was deluged with water and perished. 7 But by the same word the heavens and earth that now exist are stored up for fire, being kept until the day of judgment and destruction of the ungodly.

8 But do not overlook this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. 9 The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance. 10 But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a roar, and the heavenly bodies will be burned up and dissolved, and the earth and the works that are done on it will be exposed.

11 Since all these things are thus to be dissolved, what sort of people ought you to be in lives of holiness and godliness, 12 waiting for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be set on fire and dissolved, and the heavenly bodies will melt as they burn! 13 But according to his promise we are waiting for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells.

Ha! Calvinism Defeated! …Right?

See, verse 9, “…not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.” Calvinism teaches that God predestines some to be saved and the rest will perish, but if God doesn’t wish that any should perish then Calvinism must not be true, right? Not so fast. We need to put this verse into context. Let’s break down verses 1-13 into an outline.

1. Scoffers will claim that Jesus is not going to return because it has taken so long (v. 4).
2. They deliberately overlook the great flood where God destroyed the earth with water (v. 5-6).
3. Similarly, the world will be destroyed again, but this time with fire instead of water (v. 7)
4. God’s time is not man’s time (v. 8a).
5. God’s apparent slowness is actually patience towards “you” (v. 8b).
6. When Jesus returns, the fire of God will consume the earth and everyone on it whose works are evil (v. 10).
7. Therefore wait with patience and holiness (v 11-13).

So the overall effect of this passage is to state that the delay in Jesus returning is not due to God’s slowness in fulfilling his promises, but rather due to his unwillingness to allow certain people to perish (namely, his elect). I can easily see someone objecting to me inserting the idea of the elect into this passage, but I think that it is truly a necessary implication. If Jesus is truly not wishing that any should perish (not a single person), then why is this tied into Jesus’ second coming? Whenever Jesus returns, we know for certain from the Bible that many will perish. If Jesus is delaying the second coming to prevent any people from perishing, he will have to simply never return. Therefore the “you” of verse 9 must refer not to the entire human race but to a select group whom God refuses to destroy. We know biblically that this must be the elect.

Why Has it Taken 2000 Years?

The answer is simple: the elect are not gathered yet. If Jesus were to return right now multiplied millions of those who were destined to eventually repent and trust in Christ for the forgiveness of their sins would be destroyed by the fires of judgment before they reach repentance. God is faithful and does not wish that his elect should perish and therefore Jesus still waits to this day. In Biblical end-times prophesy, Jesus is portrayed as a bridegroom and the church as his bride. We can look ahead to the great wedding feast that will occur immediately after Jesus returns, but at our point in history, Jesus is not a husband to the church but a fiancé. I remember the days of my own engagement to my wife, and how difficult and painful the wait for our wedding day was. Jesus however has been waiting for 2000 years. Thank God for his patience! If he had returned a year of two after he ascended to heaven, imagine how many would have perished in smoke! Don’t scoff at the return of Jesus or consider it to be indefinitely far off. One glorious day, the fullness of the elect will be gathered and Jesus will not hesitate to return in glory and set everything right. He will destroy his enemies and marry his church.

5 Classic Bible Twists (And How To Correct Them)

Jeremiah 29:11

For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.

The Wrong Application: God loves you and has an adventurous plan for your life. Quit living the same-old boring life of just going to church, and go do something great for God.

The Problem: If you zoom out and look at this verse in context, you see the background. Look at verse 4: “Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, to all the exiles whom I have sent into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon…” These verse are not written about you. They are written about the Jews during the exile in Babylon and thus when God says that he knows the plans he has for “you” he was not speaking about the general reader of the book of Jeremiah.

The Right Application: God disciplines his covenant people when they engage in idolatry by delivering them into the hands of their enemies, yet faithfully promises to rescue them according to his predestined plans to bring them to repentance and bless them by grace.

John 10:10

The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.

The Wrong Application: Your marriage, your finances, your relationships, your children, your health and everything else in your life may be ok, but couldn’t it all stand to be a lot better? The enemy wants you to give up and give in to just living the normal life, but God doesn’t want you to be mediocre. He wants to give you life abundantly. By applying biblical principles to our lives we can learn from Jesus how to quit being average and live the abundant life God has for us.

The Problem: With Jeremiah 29:11 we saw that the context and the audience make a big difference when it comes to biblical interpretation. Based on the wrong application above, who would you guess Jesus is speaking to? His disciples? A blind, lame, or leprous person that Jesus is about to heal? No, at this point Jesus is arguing with the Pharisees. If anyone applied biblical principles to their lives, it was the Pharisees. They also were rich, in places of honor, and seemed to generally maintain decent relationships with people. By most people’s standards, the Pharisees applied biblical principles to their lives and were living the abundant life as a result. Yet Jesus is in the middle of arguing with them.

The Right Application: Jesus is the great shepherd of his people. He lays down his life in order to save his sheep, because he knows his sheep, he loves his sheep, he gathers his sheep, and he has received the charge from his Father to lay down his life for his sheep. Jesus wants to give his people abundant, eternal life where he may dwell with all who have entered through the door: faith in himself. Any who enter another way have come to steal people away from the joy of life with Jesus.

Revelation 3:20

Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me.

The Wrong Application: If you have never accepted Jesus into your heart to be your personal Lord and Savior, know this: Jesus is knocking on the door of your heart, asking you, begging you to let him in. If you have never done that before in your life, I want you to pray this prayer with me. Just repeat after me. “Lord Jesus…”

The Problem: In chapters 2 and 3 of the book of Revelation, Jesus is dictating letters that are to be sent to the churches of Asia. This particular portion is written to the church in Laodicea, a church with a reputation for well-being. By all appearances Laodicea would be a church where Jesus had been invited in a long time ago. Jesus is not knocking on the door of anyone’s heart, but knocking on the door of the church.

The Right Application: The reason that Jesus is at the door knocking is because the church has effectively removed Jesus. He is no longer present at the church and they are only keeping up appearances. Jesus is highlighting the irony that a church with a reputation of spirituality is a church where he needs to knock on the door and wait for it to be answered. Therefore, today we must recognize that outward growth and spiritual reputation can be present when Jesus is not. We need to bring Jesus back into our church by preaching the gospel and performing works that are worthy of the gospel of God.

Matthew 22:36-40

“Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.”

The Wrong Application: The Bible is not a book all about rule-following and keeping every “i” dotted or every “t” crossed. The Pharisees were experts with their traditions and kept thousands of man-made laws thinking that this made them right with God. God says this, “You want to know what the whole Bible is about? You want to know how to please God? You want to know how to live a life of meaning and purpose? Love God, love people. That’s it. This is the whole Bible whittled down to 4 verses.”

The Problem: It is certainly true that the entire law is summarized and fulfilled by the two commandments to love God and love people. In fact, it is even perceptive to notice that the commandment for us to love our neighbor is in fact a commandment to love mankind in general considering that Jesus told the parable of the good Samaritan in response to the question “who is my neighbor” and furthermore Jesus has also said, “Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.” Having stated this, the problem with the wrong interpretation is that the commands “Love God, Love People” are an adequate summary of the law, but not the gospel! See Romans 3:20 – “For by works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin.” So the incorrect application of this passage actually teaches salvation by works rather that salvation by faith!

The Right Application: Since the entire law is summarized by the commandments “Love God and Love People,” consider the full scope of how gravely we break this every day. The requirement of this law is absolute, uninterrupted love for God. That is a terrifying thought. With or every action that does not stem from absolute love of God we are guilty of breaking the greatest commandment. The very commandment that seemed to be life-giving has actually condemned us! Yet thanks be to Jesus, who did in fact keep this commandment perfectly! Jesus always loved his Father and neighbor with perfect and unfailing love. Meditate on 1 John 4:10 – “In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.” Through faith in Jesus, we are counted as if we lived Jesus’ life of perfect love. We are counted as if we loved God with all of our heart, soul, mind, and strength and our neighbor as ourselves. From this righteousness that comes from outside of us we can learn to actually obey Jesus. We learn that there is no sin that loves God and there is no good work without loving God.

Proverbs 29:18

Where there is no vision the people perish.

The Wrong Application:Your local mega-church pastor has been reading books by business gurus again and announces the newest topic of a sermon series: Vision-casting. When you totally surrender your life to God he will make a vision for your life to well up within you until you just can’t help but do something about it. This church was born from a vision we had a few years ago and if you’re not on board with the mission and vision of this church then it’s not you who is going to perish, but everybody else. This is a church for the unchurched, and if you’re not on-board with the vision of this church, you need to leave and find another church. Preferably one who doesn’t care about reaching the lost.

The Problem: Most fundamentally, the verse itself is quoted wrong. The verse actually says, “Where there is no prophetic vision the people cast off restraint, but blessed is he who keeps the law.” The proverb is not talking about a church’s vision or mission statement but about God’s legal revelations.

The Right Application: If you are familiar with the Book of Concord’s three primary uses of the law, the correct use for this proverb would be the first: to curb sin in society. When there is no revelation from God concerning his moral law sinful human beings do whatever they consider right in their own eyes causing absolute havoc. When the God of Love reveals a law, it truly is good for society for that the law be kept and enforced.

Revelation 3:20

What is Faith?

Faith According To Mormons

Occasionally, I meet with Mormon missionaries on campus and ask them questions about their beliefs. They tend to be very friendly and painfully agreeable, to the point that, based on their answers, it’s difficult to tell the difference between Mormonism and Christianity. After asking difficult, pointed questions, finding unsatisfactory answers, and answering with a rebuttal, the usual response is that you simply need to have faith and the inner conviction of the Holy Spirit will guide you to the truth of Mormonism. I am told to have faith in order that I may know that Mormonism is true. In other words, I am asked to suspend my critical faculties when judging the assertions of the Mormon Church, opting instead for subjective internal feelings that are accepted on faith.

Faith According to Atheists

As friendly and agreeable as most Mormon missionaries are, most Atheist missionaries are that angry and disagreeable. An exhaustingly jocular movement based around the satirical Flying Spaghetti Monster began in order to mock religions for accepting assertions based on faith. The thrust of the argument, after cutting through a few miles of sarcasm, is that if you’re willing to believe in God on faith apart from evidence, then you’re no different than someone who believes that the world was created by a monster made of pasta. Again, the definition of faith in the view of the Atheist is what enables a religious person to judge a set of assertions to be true apart from or in opposition to objective reasons.

Whaduhya Know!

Hebrews 11
1 Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. 2 For by it the people of old received their commendation. 3 By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible.

The Atheists were right, huh? No, I hope you don’t read this passage that superficially. What does Hebrews 11 mean in context? Go back to chapter 10. Remember, the original manuscripts have no headings, and no chapter or verse divisions. Notice that all the chapters begin with words like, “therefore,” “since,” and “now.” When Hebrews 11 begins with, “Now faith…” it is continuing from a chain of arguments that goes all the way back to the beginning of the letter.

Hebrews 10
19 Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, 20 by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain, that is, through his flesh, 21 and since we have a great priest over the house of God, 22 let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. 23 Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful. 24 And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, 25 not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.

Notice, the justification for faith is not blind. It is not belief in assertions suspended in the air entirely unsupported. The reason for faith is the faithfulness of God, “for he who promised is faithful.”

My Faithful Wife

As a newlywed, I really love my wife. I have faith in her. We are faithful to each other. My faith in her should be an honor because when I declare, “I trust my wife,” I am really saying that I consider her trustworthy. Suppose my wife asked me, “Ben, why do you consider me trustworthy?”, and I answer, “because I just do!” She would be incredibly insulted. Hallie has done things and proven herself time and time again that she is faithful and trustworthy. When Hallie reports something to me, I believe her, not because I relax my brain and refuse to think, but because Hallie has proven that she is trustworthy. In the same way, Christians put their faith in Jesus because he is trustworthy, not because we have turned off our brains.

God Proves Himself to Israel

The Israelites were people who constantly wavered in their faithfulness to God. It seems that they were always hesitant to trust in God and always quick to abandon him. Yet these were people who walked across the parted Red Sea, who ate the bread from Heaven in the wilderness, who saw Moses’ face glow when he brought them the commandments from Mt. Sinai, and watched the walls of Jericho fall without siege. God was speaking along the way, saying things like “…that you may know that the Lord makes a distinction between Egypt and Israel,” “…that you may know that I, the Lord, sanctify you,” and “…that you may know that I am the Lord your God.” God is constantly doing things in order to prove himself to his people. He has always required faith in him, but he has always provided his people with reasons to believe him. This is why people are morally culpable for their faith! For the Jews to reject the Lord is for them to blindfold their eyes to what he has done.

Jesus Proves his Divinity

Jesus wants you to believe that he is God, that he created the world, that he died for your sins, and that he rose from the dead, but Jesus is not asking to believe simply because you believe. Throughout his earthly ministry, Jesus constantly justifies the things he does using Old Testament scripture. He enters debates and offers evidences so that you may believe. Meanwhile, he is going throughout the Roman world privately changing water into wine and transfiguring into a celestial form, and publicly healing the blind, the sick, and the lame, walking on water, raising the dead, and multiplying food. When the disciples are skeptical that Jesus rose from the dead bodily, he showed them his hands, and asked to eat broiled fish to prove that it was him and that he was not a spirit, but flesh and bones. Paul reports that over 500 people at a time witnesses the resurrected Jesus. Jesus does not simply command belief in him without doing anything that would warrant it, he proves it time and time again.

But I Wasn’t There

It would be fantastic to have lived in the first century and witnessed the life and work of Jesus personally, but unfortunately for us we can’t. How then do we know whether these proofs are historical? Well, how do we know that anything is historical? These events occurred before photography, video, and audio recording existed. Before you’re tempted to claim that we can’t know things without photos, videos, or recordings, remember that to make such a statement means that we have to throw away all history prior to the inventions of recording devices. In all matters of history, historians rely on witnesses, documents, and testimonies and can establish credibility based on objective features.

Peter Proves Jesus is the Messiah

Throughout his preaching to the unbelieving masses in the book of Acts, Peter calls people to believe based on proofs and reasons.  Throughout his sermons Peter exposits the Old Testament to show how what was was foretold, has been fulfilled. He doesn’t call them to believe for no reason, but because of the soundness of scripture. Even when miracles surrounded his preaching, Peter never once pointed at them to prove that these things were so, but insisted on the scripture’s testimony and his firsthand witness. In his second letter, Peter expounds on the merit of his testimony saying,

2 Peter 1: 16 For we did not follow cleverly devised myths when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty. 17 For when he received honor and glory from God the Father, and the voice was borne to him by the Majestic Glory, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased,” 18 we ourselves heard this very voice borne from heaven, for we were with him on the holy mountain. 19 And we have something more sure, the prophetic word, to which you will do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts, 20 knowing this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture comes from someone’s own interpretation. 21 For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.

Do Christians Believe Anything Without Evidence?

Given that evidence supports the assertions of Christianity, do we believe anything apart from evidence? Answer: Yes. When Christians take things on faith, they are not suspending their reasoning and building their beliefs on the air, they are trusting the mouth of the God whose works speak for him. No one has witnessed the beginning of the world. God has. Do we trust him? No one has experienced life in the new Heavens and the new Earth. God sees it like it is today. God’s track record for honesty is solid, so when God speaks we need to believe him, not in spite of reasons, but because he has proven himself trustworthy.

Podcast Pushing #2

More Podcasting

As usual, I have been continuing to listen to more podcasts, and I felt the need to leave a brief review and recommendation.

David Calhoun, Covenant Theological Seminary: Reformation and Modern Church History

Most people that I know, Christians included, lack even a basic understanding of church history. There is always talk of doing something different or something new when it comes to church, but very few people actually understand where they have come from and where they are going. This is one reason I recommend this seminary class on church history.

This class traces the origins of Protestantism from its roots in the Reformation to the modern day church. You will learn about the reformers like Luther, Calvin, Zwingli, and Knox. You will discover the origins of the Lutherans, the Anabaptists, the Presbyterians, the Puritans, the Anglicans, the Episcopalians, the Methodists, and the Baptists. You will learn about Germany, England, Scotland, America, and beyond. You will follow through debates over theology, church polity, orders of worship, and political control. You will learn about the great revivals and missionary movements throughout history, following through the sweet years of evangelicalism and peaceful zeal as well as the bitter years of liberalism, heresy, racism, and warfare. The church cannot afford to be ignorant about her history.

Dr. Calhoun, the professor of this course, proves to be not only a brilliant teacher, but a Christian man worthy of our respect and thankfulness. Each lesson begins with a prayer for the class from the setting or historical figure of the lesson, and each lesson ends with a relevant quotation from scripture. You will be educated and edified by listening through these lectures.

The course is available freely to download.

Covenant Theological Seminary Worldwide Classroom

iTunes U (choose this if  you would like to subscribe instead of downloading each file individually).

Did You Gouge Out Your Eye?

Confession

The months leading up to our marriage, my wife and I suffered under extreme, debilitating sexual temptation. We had a long-distance relationship the whole time that we had known each other, making our visits in person emotional, physical, and all around tempting. We prayed earnestly and continually for the desires to postpone until our wedding, and pursued means to withstand the temptation without succumbing to legalism, but still we found ourselves yielding to desires prematurely.

At one point, I found myself so jaded from constantly faltering in the same way that I emotionally began to question whether 1 Corinthians 10:13 was true:

1 Corinthians 10:13
No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.

Eventually, I took my concerns to a pastor at my church who gave me the wise council, “If you’re still committing the sin, then you are obviously neglecting the means of grace than God has provided for you to get out of it. “

I protested initially telling him, “You don’t know how many different ways we have tried to fight this.”

He responded, “Did you gouge out your eye? Jesus said that if your eye causes you to sin, then gouge it out.”

I got the point. There is at least one means of grace that I have not used: gouging out my eye. Suddenly, I had a fresh desire to find alternative means of grace.

When the time came around for me to visit my wife-to-be, I called a close friend and invited him to stay the night. He did, and as a result, we avoided sexual sin. Sure it was uncomfortable, but it beat losing an eye.

No More Excuses

What are the areas in your life where you have given up at repentance? Do you have fits of anger against others when they do something that you consider stupid? Do you continually dishonor your parents because you don’t feel like they deserve honor after the way they have treated you? Is it ok for you spread that bit of gossip even though it’s all true? Have you resolved to live a homosexual lifestyle because you prayed about it and God didn’t take it away? Have you given yourself to pornography because, hey, it’s better than sex right?

1 John 3:9 No one born of God makes a practice of sinning, for God’s seed abides in him, and he cannot keep on sinning because he has been born of God.

This is not perfectionism, this is repentance. No one, John of first John included, is claiming that you will cease to sin entirely as evidence of your new birth, but rather the familiar message of repentance and the forgiveness of sins. The first of Martin Luther’s 95 theses that launched the Protestant Reformation was this:

“When our Lord and Master, Jesus Christ, said ‘Repent’, He called for the entire life of believers to be one of repentance.”

Be Killing Sin, or it Will Be Killing You

It is time to put to death the sins that so easily entangle. Turn to Jesus, calling on his name. Use the means of grace to fight your sins. You might not even have to gouge out your eye.

What is the Opposite of Legalism?

Done With Legalism!

When was the last time you heard someone call himself a legalist? Hardly anyone will ever describe himself as legalistic, but many Christians who go on to maturity recognize that they have behaved legalistically perhaps even more often than they broke commandments. It is much more natural to regulate behavior instead of seeking strength in the gospel through repentance and faith in Jesus and as a result, the refreshing, simple call to trust in the merits of Jesus crucified for you on the cross suddenly becomes a joy bigger than the national debt. At this point of the discussion, it is easy to feel done. Go, and be a legalist no more!

The Opposite of Wrong

In every issue of the Christian life, the opposite of wrong is just a different wrong. For example, charismatic acts a la Benny Hinn are false signs and miracles, but without any theology of miracles, we would be deists, the atonement would be impossible, and our faith would be futile.

What then is the opposite of legalistic discipline? Disordered, lazy worldliness, and license to sin. Judge for yourself which is worse.

A Third Way

Where then does the recovering legalist go? To Jesus of course (the Sunday School answer is always right)! But what does that look like considering that Jesus has ascended to heaven? We can’t see or touch Jesus, or talk to him and hear words back. How do we encounter Jesus here on earth? Answer: through the means of grace.

The Meansa Wha?

The means of grace are ways that God has established for delivering grace to you. Consider Isaiah 55:1.

Isaiah 55:1 “Come, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; and he who has no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without price.”

We see the grace in the, “without money and without price.” These are free gifts of grace, not works, but notice that you still have to eat. If you thirst and hunger and come to the waters, but you don’t eat, you will remain hungry. The means of grace are the ways that we eat the free food. Do not equate the calls to thirst, come, buy, and eat with dead works to please God, but rather as means that God has provided to acquire more and more and more grace to satisfy more and more of your hungers and thirsts and to help you to bear good fruit.

Give Me Grace!

Ok, so what are the means of grace? Where do we find them? In the Bible, of course.

• Crying out to the Lord from your trouble. (Psalm 107 – Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble, and he delivered them from their distress.)
• Confession of sins to God (1 John 1:9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.)
• Confession of sins to one another (James 5:16 – Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.)
• Through the exchange of spiritual gifts in church (1 Peter 4:10 – As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace)
• Hearing the gospel with faith (Galatians 3:5-6 – Does he who supplies the Spirit to you and works miracles among you do so by works of the law, or by hearing with faith— just as Abraham “believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness”?)
• Hearing the word of God (Acts 20:32 – And now I commend you to God and to the word of his grace, which is able to build you up and to give you the inheritance among all those who are sanctified.)
• Being acquainted with the sacred writings (2 Timothy 3:15 – …and how from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.)
• Giving to the needy (2 Corinthians 9:7-8 – Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work.)
• Eating the Lord’s Supper in a worthy manner (1 Corinthians 11:26 – For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.)

These were the results of a very brief survey of the Bible, and are by no means a comprehensive list, but they serve as a menu of appetizers in the feast of grace. Glut yourself on God, and bring a friend… or an enemy.

Matthew 2, Part 2: Herod’s Damned Faith

Matthew 2
13 Now when they had departed, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, “Rise, take the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt, and remain there until I tell you, for Herod is about to search for the child, to destroy him.” 14 And he rose and took the child and his mother by night and departed to Egypt 15 and remained there until the death of Herod. This was to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet, “Out of Egypt I called my son.”

16 Then Herod, when he saw that he had been tricked by the wise men, became furious, and he sent and killed all the male children in Bethlehem and in all that region who were two years old or under, according to the time that he had ascertained from the wise men. 17 Then was fulfilled what was spoken by the prophet Jeremiah:

18 “A voice was heard in Ramah,
weeping and loud lamentation,
Rachel weeping for her children;
she refused to be comforted, because they are no more.”

19 But when Herod died, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt, 20 saying, “Rise, take the child and his mother and go to the land of Israel, for those who sought the child’s life are dead.” 21 And he rose and took the child and his mother and went to the land of Israel. 22 But when he heard that Archelaus was reigning over Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there, and being warned in a dream he withdrew to the district of Galilee. 23 And he went and lived in a city called Nazareth, that what was spoken by the prophets might be fulfilled: “He shall be called a Nazarene.”

A Faithless King

King Herod is technically king of the Jews, but the Jews are a conquered people, under the possession of the Romans. King Herod had real power, but he was still under Caesar. He is analogous to King Saul, the faithless King of Israel, ready to be replaced by King David, except in this case, Jesus is the God-king on the throne of David. Just like Saul, Herod gets violent when his power is threatened. By the end of his life, Saul was in direct rebellion against God, not just David. So also, we see by his actions that Herod is in rebellion against God as well. He is not merely concerned that a man take his place in power, he is concerned that the Messiah of God is going to take away his power, which is why he consults the chief priests and the scribes about him. Herod is in a weird position. He believes the prophecy is reliable enough to find the Messiah, yet he hates him and somehow he believes that he can thwart God’s plan. We must approach Herod soberly by discovering that there is a kind of faith that does not save. Namely the faith that believes facts about God to be true, but hates and suppresses them rather than marveling and submitting to them.

Kingdom Showdown

Despite the fact that the chief priests and the scribes would be seeking to put Jesus to death in about thirty years, they are not ignorant of who Jesus is. The scribes and priests are experts with the scriptures and we see upon Herod’s inquiry that they have correctly interpreted the prophecies concerning Jesus. They knew that the Christ was to come from Bethlehem in Judea, the city of king David, yet because of their jealousy, the grand majority of them will never repent and believe in him. Likewise, Herod is terrified of Jesus, since he considers him a threat to his power. He is so arrogant, rebellious, and cowardly that he is willing to commit mass infanticide just to ensure that God’s kingdom would not come. Yet we see that God was sovereign even over Herod’s sin. What Herod did in efforts to undermine the power of God, God ordained to confirm it. Through Herod’s sin of infanticide the purpose of God was vindicated, fulfilling three more prophecies. First, because Herod sought to kill the children, God told Joseph in a dream to flee to Egypt to fulfill Hosea 11:1, “Out of Egypt I called my son.” Secondly, the infanticide itself fulfilled Jeremiah 31:15. Rachel, as wife of Jacob, a.k.a. Israel, represents the mother of the nation of Israel, who is Abraham’s son. The death of young Israeli children by the sword of Herod occurred to fulfill Jeremiah’s prophecy. Finally, the ongoing threat of Herod’s son, Archelaus, confirmed a third prophecy concerning the Messiah, that he would be called a Nazarene. Therefore, we need not be afraid of tyrants, human rights criminals, or any people in the world because we know that God’s purposes will come to fruition, and that no human kingdom can prevent the kingdom of God coming to earth.

Providence, Part 2

Even though God worked in spite of Herod’s sin to confirm Jesus’ kingdom, Herod was still held guilty and died in rebellion. God ordained his death just right to fulfill the third prophecy about Jesus being a Nazarene. Conversely, divine providence served for the deliverance of God’s faithful. God gave Joseph dreams as guidance to deliver not only Jesus, but also his family. The magi likewise were saved by believing God according to the same kinds of dreams. This runs parallel to our understanding of salvation by faith. Those who believe in Jesus are delivered from their sins and the devil’s slavery. We want to have faith in Jesus Christ, but yet again we must test the stripe of our faith in him. Do we believe the facts and prophecies about Jesus are true but consider it bad news? If so we will have Herod-like faith, we will believe the facts about Jesus bit be disturbed and threatened, and actually try in vain to quench the kingdom of God. But if we have faith like Joseph or the magi, the facts we believe about God will lead us to joy.

Matthew 1, Part 2: Jesus’ Genealogy and Birth

In case you missed it, check part 1.

Generations = Plan of God

Continuing with Jesus’ genealogy, notice that in Matthew 1:17, he divides it into three sets of 14 generations, with a “big deal event” figure-heading the 14 generation breaks. Matthew is using this pattern to show you God’s long term plan for salvation found in Jesus Christ. To be technical, in Jewish genealogies, some generations can be skipped, just as we saw in verse 1 with Jesus to David to Abraham. Likewise, there are a few generations that Matthew skips, but overall he intentionally takes note of the sets of 14 generations. This is probably because salvation was not an afterthought, but the plan right from the beginning, so God has been involved in these generations to bring salvation to pass.

Matthew vs. Luke: Political vs. Biological?

If you look closely at Matthew 1 and Luke 3, the two places where Jesus’ genealogy is recorded, you’ll notice two interesting things. First, the two accounts are not identical. Second, Luke traces back to Adam, while Matthew traces back to Abraham. Why the difference? Is there a contradiction? The big picture answer comes from the perspective that the gospel evangelists came from: Matthew was political, Luke was biological. Matthew wanted to emphasize the relationship of Jesus’ genealogy to his place as king and nation-blesser. Luke was emphasizing the humanness of Jesus, by tracing him back to Adam. We know that Luke was a physician who therefore understood the human body, but Matthew was a tax collector, an employee of the Roman empire, so he understood the politics of genealogies. Due to Jewish laws about adoption and remarriage, it is entirely possible for there to be discrepancies in genealogies based on one taking into account things like adoption and remarriage and another remaining strictly biological.

Christmas in September

Matthew 1

18 Now the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit. 19 And her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly. 20 But as he considered these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. 21 She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” 22 All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet: 23 “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel” (which means, God with us). 24 When Joseph woke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him: he took his wife, 25 but knew her not until she had given birth to a son. And he called his name Jesus.

The Sexually-Active Mary?

The first thing to note is that the Holy Spirit caused Mary to become pregnant, but he did not have sex with Mary. One way we can be sure of this, to put it simply, is that she is the virgin Mary. If the Holy Spirit had sex with her, she would not be a virgin. There are three deal-breaker reasons why Mary’s virginity is important. First, if Mary were not a virgin, then it would appear that Jesus began to exist when he was born, even though Jesus said he was God before Abraham existed (John 8:58), that he was in the beginning with God (John 1:1), that Jesus was the stone from which the Israelites drank from in the desert (1 Corinthians 10:4), and more. For Mary to be sexually active would imply that Jesus was beginning when he was conceived by the Holy Spirit. The second reason Mary’s virginity is important is that if Jesus were born naturally, he would have been born with original sin, and therefore would not be the perfect sacrifice he needed to be to fulfill the angel’s description of Jesus’ mission statement: he will save people from their sins. The third reason Mary’s virginity is crucial is that if Mary was not a virgin, then Isaiah 7, the verses the angel quoted to Joseph, would be yet unfulfilled, and scripture would be proven to be false, and God would be a liar. If you weren’t a Jew or didn’t know the Old Testament, the angel’s words are the first place you would hear about the forgiveness of sins found in Jesus. Notice though, that the angel did not say that Jesus would teach them a new way to live or give them new commandments. The angel announced the premier purpose for God to send Jesus into the world: to save sinners. Many predecessors of Jesus gave new laws and new ways of life to God’s people, but none of them could do what Jesus would do: save his people from their sins.

What is Betrothal?

Since Mary was in fact a virgin, she had not yet had sex with Joseph. Since that’s the case, even though Joseph is described as her husband, Mary is actually betrothed to him. Betrothal is similar to what we call engagement, but it is strong enough to require a divorce to break it and for Joseph to bear the title of husband.

Immanuel H. Christ

Finally, what about the name? There is a superficial sense in which we could say that the Bible is contradicting itself by saying that Jesus would be named Immanuel when he ends up being called Jesus, but Matthew openly records the angel’s words, so obviously if he considered this a problem, he wouldn’t defeat his own argument by placing the angel’s words right next to his own. The point of the name Jesus (which means, “God saves”) is to elaborate on Immanuel (which means, “God with us”). God is with us, because God saves. If in your mind you have a version of Jesus who does not save people from their sins, your Jesus should be named something like “Muhammad” instead. Muhammad came and gave his people new rules to follow and enforce them on the world with violence. Jesus came and received our violence to pay for our disobedience to God’s rules.

Is God Good for Destroying the World with the Flood?

Not for the Felt Board

There comes a time in the lives of many individuals where they stop seeing Noah’s ark as a cute story with animals, and start seeing it as the greatest destructive disaster of all time. Militant atheists will use this to seed doubt in God’s goodness, kindness, or love, while others are left confused and discouraged. Doubts arise as to whether God changes in nature between the Old and New Testaments even to the point of wondering if Christians simply imagined up a God who would be kinder and gentler than the one they read about in the Old Testament. There are two routes we could take to vindicate God’s goodness:

1) We could study the scripture regarding the great flood and meticulously explain why God is still good, or

2) We could look at the underlying beliefs and sympathies of the doubting heart that serve as the foundation for the doubts about God.

While option 1) will be important in the long run, option 2) will provide the deepest peace and the fullest understanding about the heart of the issue. God will not merely be defended, but trusted. Furthermore, this approach will be applicable across many other difficult passages and cause our study to be sanctifying and enlightening, to our eternal benefit.

Who is God?

If we are going to investigate whether or not the great flood is consistent with God’s character, we need to start by knowing what God’s character is. The most fundamentally and vastly understood attribute of God is the simple statement, “God is good.” Certainly there are unnumbered other glorious attributes of God, but this one can be most immediately helpful. To say that God is good is like saying that the ocean is wet. It’s true, but a gigantic understatement. The Bible’s declaration is that God is, “Holy, holy, holy.” Three times repeated, God wants us to know how emphatically holy God is.

Isaiah’s Peek

The first place we see “Holy, holy, holy” as a description of God is in Isaiah 6. In prophetic vision, Isaiah witnesses a heavenly angel call out to another, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory!” You would expect for Isaiah to be thrilled at his opportunity to witness the holiness of God, and that perhaps he would be overjoyed to see how monumentally good God is. Instead, we see something absolutely terrifying. Isaiah does not explode with joy, nor even crack a smile, but rather cries out, “Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts!”

The Implications of Holiness

Isaiah was not a new prophet here, for he had already received two visions by this point. Yet it was not until Isaiah saw the holiness of the Lord that he cried out, “Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts!” Isaiah was scared for his life, and probably for his soul. He knew that he was a sinner and was terrified because he saw God’s holiness. In other words, Isaiah presumed that he was generally a pretty clean guy until he saw what true holiness really is.

Woe is You

Most people have never honestly felt Isaiah’s feeling that would lead him to cry, “Woe is me.” Most of us are content to say, “Woe is you,” to the Hitlers or the Fred Phelps of the world, but rarely do we find ourselves terrified of God’s judgment. We are not terrified because we do not feel like we are sinners. If we do feel like we are sinners, we tend to think that we still are not really that bad. The reason we do not feel bad about our sin is because we have such a feeble grasp on how holy God really is. We have no real standard of good because we tend to neglect reading God’s law, which compares us to his holiness. In one sense, when we sing about how holy God is, we should start trying to avoid lightning bolts. Yet, just as Isaiah’s sins are atoned for by God through a burning coal, so believers’ sins are atoned for by Jesus death on the cross.

Back to the Point

So what does all of this have to do with Noah and the great flood? In Genesis 6, the passage about the flood, God gives his reason for destroying the earth with the flood: The Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. In other words, the population of the earth would have been worthy to say, “Woe is me,” but they didn’t, to their own harm. God has always held woeful wrath against the unholy, but his wrath does not delay forever. When viewed biblically, the great flood is not a tragic natural disaster, but God’s judgment finally being expressed after extreme patience. The previous chapter of Genesis, chapter 5, is a genealogy from Adam to Noah, where men lived to be outrageously old. In other words, God was outrageously patient with them. For generations, he waited the better part of a millennium to bring forth his righteous wrath. Yet, finally the day came when God was grieved and set his heart to destroy the world.

A Sacred Opportunity

Is God good? Absolutely. The flood is more evidence for that fact, not against it. The only real question left is, “Is man good?” The answer? Absolutely not. Isaiah was privileged to see God’s holiness and yet live through crying out his confession, “Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts!” Now you have that opportunity. Will you cry, “Woe is me” in confession to Jesus for the forgiveness of your sins, or will you presume that your great flood will never arrive? God has promised that there will never be another great flood, but he has promised that his next flood will be fire. Be delivered from it. We must not see God as wicked in punishing the wicked, but instead call out on behalf of our own wickedness that we will be saved!

The Morning After

How Long Oh Lord?

I constantly find myself wishing that my sinful mind and heart were fully destroyed immediately. Oh the joy I would be filled with if this gift were given to me this instant! Yet God found it wise and pleasurable that he might make a Christian’s life one of purification and growth in the Holy Spirit. The reasons I must wait to receive this gift of total sanctification I do not know now as fully as I will, but I suspect it can be our chief motivation to long for the return of Christ. Furthermore, our constant need for additional sanctification can keep us close to the cross of Golgotha.

The Morning After

Since sanctification is a lifelong process, and not an overnight gift, we will find ourselves constantly discouraged by sin, and consequently we need to have a theology that is willing to answer the question, “What now?” when our evil desires lead us to choose evil after being tempted.

Strange Gifts

“Wait Jesus. You want me to drink your blood in communion?” Yes. “Ok, Jesus, so this suffering is a gift that you want me to rejoice during?” Yes. Jesus offers and delivers fantastic spiritual gifts to his disciples by the Holy Spirit. They can be wonderful, powerful, and edifying gifts, but at times they can be downright strange. Speaking in tongues? Strange gift. Martyrdom? Strange that you would call this a gift.

Another odd gift that Jesus gives by the Holy Spirit is the gift of conviction. Many of those who are not regenerated do not have that all-too-familiar pang of guilt that comes after sinning. Some unregenerate have a measure of guilt that is at least manageable. For others, it even drives them to suicide.

First Things First

The only kind of sin that can be conquered is forgiven sin. If your conscience is sharp, but your theology is week, you will try to bargain with God, thinking that maybe you can make it up to him. This is an insult, because Jesus died to forgive sins, so you would be equating some human activity of equal value as Jesus death on the cross. Therefore, rather than making some kind of promise to God, or trying to think of some way to repay him, simply start with confession. Admit to God in prayer that your sin was sin. Do not put a nice construction on it to make yourself look better. The good news is that while we were still sinners, at the right time, Christ died for us. Therefore we can approach God with confidence, bearing full ownership and responsibility for our sins, because we know that Jesus will never turn away a repentant disciple. God did not spare his own Son but gave him up freely for us that we may be forgiven in full for even the wickedest sins.

Kill the Pride

It is brutal irony that Christians can be prideful even in confession. The humblest act imaginable, confessing your sins, can be an oh-so-subtle opportunity to exalt ourselves by taking the edge off of the wickedness of our sins and flatter ourselves. Can we fool God? There is simply not a single excuse for sin, ever. God did not call you to be obedient when you are in the mood, nor does he grade you on a bell-curve to see how you stack up with your church or peers. God did not say, “Love the Lord your God with some of your heart, soul, mind and strength.” God did not say, “If you are suffering or have been sinned against, I will overlook your idols.” Therefore, we must come to Jesus without excuses, explanations, or even an emotional spin that makes our guilt sting a little less.

True Confession

How then should we confess? Like a tax collector. “God have mercy on me, a sinner!” Confess your actions. Confess your motives. Confess your ungodliness. When you are done, confess like a Pharisee. Confess your pride. Confess your tendency to think of yourself as good. Confess your hypocrisy. Confess the judgment of others. Finally, confess Christ. Confess Jesus as Lord, Son of God, perfect sacrifice on the cross, raised from the dead. Confess the Holy Spirit, asking him to purify you, to heal you, to cultivate you. Confess Gods perfect ability to save you, and trust in his power.

Receive Assurance

1 John 1:9

If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

Do you believe this? If you don’t, you are not being humble, you are claiming that Jesus is a failure. Jesus was not a failure. If Jesus were a failure, he would not have risen from the dead. Jesus is alive and well. Likewise, as sure as Jesus rose from the dead, he will forgive those who confess to him.

Entering into Joy

When you find yourself forgiven by God, you have no cause for sorrow, only joy. Rejoice that Jesus would take the nail in the hand which you deserve. His head would be sliced open with a crown of thorns because of your sin. This is the way that you are loved, that Jesus would die for you. Rejoice in the wonderful love that has compelled God to forgiven you, and treasure him, in thankfulness.

Fighting Your Next Fight

After, and only after your sin is confessed, you may now strategize your next battle with temptation. Consider the sinful action you have committed and ask yourself, “What was my heart longing after while I was sinning?” There is some kind of idol behind this longing. Your sin problem is actually a worship problem. If you are a perpetual drinker, go deeper than the alcohol. You’re worshiping the alcohol because it brings you joy, but the real problem is not the alcohol, but your view of God. Alcohol has been exalted to the place that God belongs, your source of joy, and alcohol is making a very bad God. Maybe your problem is self-righteousness instead. You worship your reputation, and find your joy in others thinking highly of you. You love to smugly be satisfied with yourself so that you do not have to worship Jesus. Whatever your problem is, get to the heart of the idolatry. Find out what you sacrificially serve to receive joy or security, and recognize that Jesus belongs in that role. Finally, preach to yourself the good news of Jesus, crucified and resurrected for your sins. Go into detail if you can. Meditate on the fact that Jesus died for you while you were yet a sinner. The Holy Spirit will work and produce tremendous joy in your heart that conquers idolatry and grants true freedom. Bathe this fight in honest prayer.

Win

Prepare to start winning battles with sin. Be quick to confess because confession will bring you joy. Be quick to fight sin because victory will bring you joy. Be quick to pray, because communion will bring you joy. Be a Christian hedonist, fighting for joy, and fighting your sin, and loving the Lord your God. May God’s grace shower these blessings upon you and God’s joy rule in your heart abundantly.