Allergies, Grace, Fellowship, and Thankfulness

Doug Wilson is a pastor and counselor who recently wrote about allergies, and how "boutique allergies" disrupt fellowship. I've spent the past two months considering his stance, and I have a few thoughts to share. 

First of all, I understand - in a sense - where Pastor Wilson is coming from when he speaks of people with boutique allergies. Obviously they are "out there" in the world. They might jump from one allergy fad to the next, hypochondriac style. They might come to church and have a new dietary restriction each week.

The thing is, though, how are we to know they are faking? I ask this because of my own experience. 

I am a woman riddled with allergies - more than I care to list. I react to various foods in many different ways. Blisters, joint pain, intense agony in my gut, headaches, chills, and depression are some of the things with which I suffer when I eat something I shouldn't. For the past 13 years my life has been a process of figuring out what is best for my body so that I can actually function as a reasonably healthy human being. There are foods that I have avoided for years, now, and other foods that I only recently realized were an issue. Sometimes it seems like I have a new food issue every week. My reaction is not, "Oh yay, another food fad I can follow!". My reaction is: It sucks, pal. 

I know this makes it difficult for the church, and for my friends, whenever food is involved. As Pastor Wilson mentioned, sometimes I want to just "soldier on" and eat foods I shouldn't so that I am not a bother or an inconvenience to anyone. 

However, I'm slowly realizing that this drastically limits Christian fellowship. Let me deal with the idea of "boutique allergies" first, and then I want to share a few other thoughts. 

As I already stated, I'm not sure how anyone can be sure that someone is faking an allergy. But to go further, even if we could prove that someone was faking their allergies, does that mean we should? Is it really in the interest of fellowship to call someone out on their dietary absurdity? What if our attempt at leading them to reality would, in fact, "destroy the one for whom Christ died"? Certainly there may be times when a brother or sister in Christ could lovingly address the issue, and try to point out the facts of the matter. I'm not saying that should never be done. I am just not certain Pastor Wilson's take on the matter is the very best one, or the one most akin to fellowship in Christ. Boutique allergies may disrupt fellowship, but so would callous dismissal of someone's (imagined or real) intolerance. Shaming someone into giving up even their fads is not conducive to grace in Christ Jesus. In either case, the body of Christ should act with grace. Believers should deal kindly with one another. We should always seek to lead people to grace, not to shame. 

Now, a word about the humbling fellowship and grace I have been shown. From the time my church family knew about my (and my family's) allergies, they have always sought to accommodate us. They have extended such accepting fellowship, and have gone out of their way to bring us in. It is enough to bring me to tears, and I thank God for the absolutely wonderful, sincere kindness of the church. They ask about our allergies, and try to find alternatives so that we may share in fellowship, rather than leaving us to fend for ourselves. I have had friends go out of their way to find treats that I can eat. They don't need to do it, but it seems they want to do it out of the kindness of their hearts. This, to me, is a wonderful show of grace and love. I am so thankful for their generosity. 

Trust me, my allergies are a burden and an annoyance; but by the redeeming grace of God they are also an opportunity for grace and love. I am consistently floored by my church family, and by my friends. 

So, to my friends: thank you so much. You have offered such hospitality, and you constantly remind me that there is no form of brokenness that cannot be redeemed and restored through love. 

mindful of God

For this is a gracious thing, when, mindful of God, one endures sorrows while suffering unjustly. For what credit is it if, when you sin and are beaten for it, you endure? But if when you do good and suffer for it you endure, this is a gracious thing in the sight of God. (1 Peter 2:19-20)

Imagine having a conscience so "impressed and governed by the idea of God" that you endure every sorrow and unjust suffering. That is what it means to be mindful. 

"a gracious thing". This gives me hope because God does not trivialize our suffering. God knows when we suffer unjustly. It's not as though he doesn't see it. He does. It is a gracious thing in the sight of God to endure unjust suffering. God sees our suffering. He might bring us out of it, he might provide a way of escape, but more often I think he provides a way to endure. He gives strength so that we may go on, and he will turn every sorrow into joy beyond imagining. I am confident that, some day, he will smile down on me and say, "Do you remember when you suffered unjustly? I do. I saw your tears. I saw your confusion. I saw also that you trusted in me, and you knew I was with you even if you didn't always feel it. Well done." 

God sees everything. He sees when we go through atrocious things, and he sees when we jump for joy through the great times. He sees when we lie face down on the floor, weeping until we can't even make a sound anymore but the tears are still coming. He sees when we laugh until we can't even make a sound anymore and the tears are streaming. God knows when we suffer and when we celebrate. He knows when we're hurting and when we're humiliated. He knows when we're restored in Christ and when we rejoice despite the shame, carrying our crosses, taking step by step, ignoring the bruising of our feet and the slivers in our backs, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith. 

I want to have a mind full of God. The more I know him, the more I want to know more of him. He is beautiful, and faithful, and merciful and gracious. These characteristics I have attributed to him from the time I can remember, but as I walk through life I see the actual, personal nature of these attributes more and more. It's not just that God is merciful and gracious; he is merciful to me, every day. He is gracious to me, every moment. God is not abstract, he is very much present, very much personal... and I want to be mindful of him.

Render unto Him what is due

Paul has rights from the Corinthians. As an apostle and spiritual father, he had the right to support from the Corinthian believers. He mentions this in chapter 9 of 1 Corinthians: this is a command that goes back to the Old Testament. Do not muzzle an ox when it treads out the grain. Paul asks them, is it really about oxen? Is it not about preachers of the Word, those who give their lives in service to other people? Render unto these men what is their due!

Paul goes on to say, if the Corinthians were to give, to support him voluntarily, that would be rewarding in itself. Yet if they were to do it involuntarily, begrudgingly, they would still only be doing what they should.

Paul likens this to his own ministry before God.

You see, Paul had the right to demand support, yet he did not take advantage of that right. This does not negate the existence of his right - it just means that he did not take what was his. In preaching the gospel, Paul says he was simply discharging the trust committed to him. He was a steward of God's grace, preaching the gospel because it was his duty. If he had preached the gospel begrudgingly, he would have been doing what was required of him; he preached the gospel willingly, and gladly, and so it was rewarding. 

To me, this goes for everything we do as believers, whether service, worship, or belief. If we believe the right thing about God, we're only doing what we are supposed to do. If we use up every breath in praise of God, we're only rendering unto God that which is His due. If we spend all our energy in glorifying God, we are not doing anything above and beyond our duty as human beings.

We are so fickle, we demand rewards for the tiniest service, thinking we did something great for God, something for which He now owes us. We forget that we are created to be God-glorifying image-bearers, whose sole purpose is to render to God the praise due His name. Anything we do for God is a thing we ought to have been doing anyway. Any praise we give is praise we were supposed to give.

The beautiful thing here is that God's grace is in this. Just as Paul preached because it was his duty, yet received a reward because he did it willingly, so too will we receive a reward. God is pleased with our attempts to glorify Him. We will hear, "Well done, good and faithful servant." We will receive the prize because we've run the race, looking to Jesus, the Founder and Perfecter of our faith. Praising God through our actions and thoughts, through our work and word, is reward enough in itself, for it satisfies our deepest reality as God's image-bearers - yet above and beyond that God will bless us beyond measure, for He will satisfy us with great things. God has already proven His own character through Christ Jesus - He has given us what we did not deserve, what we did not earn.

All praise to Him who reigns above
In majesty supreme,
Who gave His Son for man to die,
That He might man redeem!

Blessed be the Name,
Blessed be the Name,
Blessed be the Name of the Lord!
Blessed be the Name,
Blessed be the Name,
Blessed be the Name of the Lord!

His name above all names shall stand,
Exalted more and more,
At God the Father's own right hand,
Where angel hosts adore.

Redeemer, Saviour, Friend of man,
Once ruined by the Fall,
Thou has devised salvation's plan,
For Thou hast died for all.

Wants

I don't want to be a "professional" Christian. I don't want to go through the motions and the routine of faith or religion, walking with half-closed eyes and with boredom or complacency, simply doing the "right thing" because someone might be watching. I don't want to speak or share half-heartedly.

I want to see myself for what I am: an amateur, a messy child with grubby hands, running arms-outstretched toward my Father, the one who has washed and redeemed and loved me, the one who delights in me and is close to me no matter whether I can feel his presence or not. Maybe, especially when I can't.

I want to know my mistakes so I can see God's correction. I want to study the cracks in my frame so I can see God's grace fill every gap, overflowing and submerging me in grace that says perfection is attained through Christ Jesus, not through my efforts. I can stop trying to scrub my hands clean. They've been scrubbed clean by greater hands than mine. 

I want to sit still and listen, learning the sweet, sweet words of Jesus until I know them by heart and love them all the more. I want to lift my hands and sing, and dance for joy because joy is there and ready to be embraced. I want to embrace joy.

I want to see my strengths and be ready to use them for a good purpose, not holding myself back in case my strengths are not strong enough. I want to leap into and lean on the Everlasting Arms, comfortable and confident in their steadiness.

I want to be thankful for tears, for frustrations, for weakness, because these things drive me somewhere good. They drive me to Someone, to the Helper, to the Answer. I want to recognize the delight found in my Saviour, recognize it until it bubbles up in me and I can't help but laugh at the sheer joy of grace. I want to be amazed at the depths of the riches of the knowledge of God, his unsearchable ways, his vast wisdom and knowledge.

Amen.

Holy, righteous, good - all of Christ

Are believers really saints? Can we practice righteousness or holiness? Does Christ really see us in this light? The answer is, yes. We're reborn. Paul defines the unrighteous, what they do and how they act, and then he says, 

"And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God."
When it says "sanctified", this is what it means (taken from biblos.com):
hagiazó: to make holy, consecrate, sanctify
Original Word: ἁγιάζω
Part of Speech: Verb
Transliteration: hagiazó
Phonetic Spelling: (hag-ee-ad'-zo)
Short Definition: I make holy, sanctify
Definition: I make holy, treat as holy, set apart as holy, sanctify, hallow, purify.

Total depravity (our standing before God) is overcome, here and now, by the flowing mercies in Christ Jesus. 

Here's an excellent article on all that we are in Christ Jesus: http://www.desiringgod.org/blog/posts/the-stupendous-reality-of-being-in-christ-jesus

Consider Romans 11:16, which references Christ as the root and believers as branches:

If the dough offered as firstfruits is holy, so is the whole lump, and if the root is holy, so are the branches. (Romans 11:16)
Christ is the root. If Christ is holy, then according to Paul, all those in Christ are made holy by virtue of being in Him. Christ said Himself, "I am the Vine; you are the branches". 

Let’s look quickly at the two words, “good” and “holy”.agathos = good
Reference: Ephesians 2:10; besides others
Definition: Intrinsically good, good in nature, good whether it be seen to be so or not. 

This goodness originates from God, and is empowered by Him. But in Ephesians 2:10 it says the Lord prepares good works for us to accomplish. He is a God of life and action, and He gives us actions to accomplish.

hagios = holyDefinition: Set apart by (or for) God, holy, sacred.
References: 1 Corinthians 6:11, 1 Thessalonians 4:3-4, Romans 6:19, Hebrews 12:14, Romans 11:16, 1 Corinthians 7:14, Ephesians 5:27

Again, this originates from God in that we become like Him, pronounced to be like Christ, set apart from the world because we are like Christ. This is what Christ has done: set us apart for Himself.

We submit fully to Christ. That’s what living righteously is all about: submitting fully and joyfully to Christ so that we can be used of Him. He works through us. We live in righteousness, we witness to others, and we present our bodies as living sacrifices holy and acceptable to God for the purpose of Christ’s exaltation and proclamation.

How would you define submitting fully to Christ? I would define it as something like “Here I am; Lord, send me!” When faced with His glory, our response is praise, worship and service.

Believers do not live rightly or do any holy thing outside of Christ. The ability to do anything in a godly manner comes from God, Who is goodness and mercy. This is the relationship:

We do good works (which God has laid out for us) by His grace in enabling us to do so. We do not do good works or live righteously because we want to "look good", or because we want to earn something; we do them because God has amazingly saved us, and it is a “reasonable service” to live our lives for the glory of God in whatsoever we do. We cannot earn what we already have. 

We cannot be righteous without Christ. However, with Him, we can. So the idea that believers can be righteous is cemented in the fact that Christ is the difference. Christ enables us to be so. God is in living, active relationship with us, right now. Christ is exalted and magnified by the idea that He has accomplished what He set out to do, finishing His work and revealing a people much changed by what He has done.

Why not go to Him? Cast all your cares upon Him. Cry out to Christ to change you, to wash you clean. We need constant reminders of the gospel, all day, every day. Christ came to save the needy, the broken, the sinful. He is the Great Physician, healing hearts and lives. Why not turn to Him? 

Total depravity: not the believer's reality

I have had discussions in the past concerning the doctrine of total depravity. I believe the doctrine of total depravity is true, yet I feel I must write concerning the doctrine's misuse*, especially when it comes to total depravity and believers.

What is total depravity?
The doctrine of total depravity as I understand it runs thus:

Because of the fall (Genesis 3), man is unable by or of himself to believe in the gospel of salvation. Man is from birth rebellious against God. He is dead, blind and deaf to the things of God (Matthew 13:13). His heart is corrupted, his will is bound to Satan (Ephesians 2:1-2), and his inclination is constantly towards evil (Genesis 6:5). This depravity affects man physically, mentally, and spiritually, so that every part (the total) is depraved.

Are believers totally depraved?
You tell me: according to the historical definition of total depravity, can believers properly be defined as remaining in this state? Are believers unable to believe in the gospel of salvation (Acts 15:11)? Then how are they believers? Are they rebellious against God? Then how are they united to Him (Romans 6:5)? Are they dead, blind and deaf to the things of God? Then how can they have a relationship with Him (Galatians 4:6)? Are their hearts corrupted? Then why does God say He has given them a new, clean heart (Ezekiel 11:19)? Is their will bound to Satan? Then why does God say He has set us free (Galatians 5:1)? Is their inclination constantly towards evil? Then why does the Bible say believers desire the heavenly (Hebrews 11:16)? Why do they seek to be Christlike?

In answer to the question, I say no, believers are not totally depraved. Total depravity is a pre-Christ state. It is what we were, not what we are. When we are in Christ, we are set free, changed, renewed, redeemed, forgiven, restored, adopted, sanctified, glorified, justified…the change is endless (1 Corinthians 6:11, Romans 8:30). We are a new creation. The old has passed away (2 Corinthians 5:17). We are recreated in Christ Jesus. Reborn. We have the indwelling Spirit. We abide in the Vine. Our eyes are opened, our ears can hear, and our hearts can respond to the gospel.

Does this mean believers don’t sin? Not at all. We sin and struggle on every plane, physically, mentally and spiritually. The effects of total depravity still linger in us. But believers are not totally depraved. That is not our condition. Not according to the historical definition, which indicated and indicates unsaved people. The doctrine of total depravity is not meant to define Christians, but to define humanity. We have a new existence in Christ Jesus. God sees us differently in Christ than outside of Him. Christ makes a difference - a major one. We have to consider our familial reality.

We still speak of being totally depraved in terms of acknowledging one side of the coin, which is our dependency upon Christ in all things. We are weak. But the reality is that, not only do we as believers depend on Christ for everything, but Christ fulfills every dependency we have! He is our strength when we are weak. This is why we are pronounced clean. This is why the epistles declare believers saints, not sinners. Our identity is changed. God has removed us from our sin, separating them as far as the east is from the west (Psalm 103:12). He has drowned our sins in the depths of the sea (Micah 7:19).

The believer's reality
Our reality is settled in Christ. The ability that we have been given is only by God’s grace in enabling us to do the good works He has foreordained (Ephesians 2:8-10). He has called us to act in righteousness, and He provides the way for us to do so. My ability to be good is not some sort of apart-from-Christ merit. Apart from Christ we can do nothing – but this implies that in and with Christ, we can do something.

We are the Body of Christ. Christ works through us in order to bring about His will on earth. There is an intriguing relationship between the sovereignty of God and the responsibility of man. People pray for the salvation of a friend, and when the friend is saved they glorify God, not thinking that their prayer was the means, yet their prayer was the instrument God used in order to bring about His sovereign will in saving the friend. This is a glorious truth: God includes us in His plan and purpose. He is active in relationship with His people. He moves and creates and speaks and involves us. He allows us to participate in doing good works for His glory. That’s why we share the gospel or serve others in love: not to “be good”, but because God is good and He has allowed us a part to play.

Live, then, in the light and the joy of this reality. Live every day as though God has a plan and a purpose for you - because He does! He has plans for you far beyond what you can imagine. He is with you every moment. Christ does not forget about you, not even for a second. Leave the hours and the minutes of your life in the hands of the Sovereign God Who has pronounced you clean, Who has declared you worthy to be a steward of His righteousness, a messenger of His glory, a child who is welcome and loved. Leave your doubts and your confusions, and even your certainties, with the all-wise Saviour, Who knows you better than you know yourself. Look to Jesus, and be ready.

Therefore, if anyone cleanses himself from what is dishonorable, he will be a vessel for honorable use, set apart as holy, useful to the master of the house, ready for every good work. So flee youthful passions and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace, along with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart. (2 Timothy 2:21-22 ESV)


*I don't doubt that I have misused the term in the past; this blog is an attempt to correct my own errors as much as to address the errors of others.

David's characteristics

One of the young men answered, “Behold, I have seen a son of Jesse the Bethlehemite, who is skillful in playing, a man of valor, a man of war, prudent in speech, and a man of good presence, and the LORD is with him.” (1 Samuel 16:18)

Those are some pretty fantastic compliments. David's reputation was a grand one, even in his youth.

1) Skillful in playing --- David appreciated beauty as from God. He devoted time to learning an instrument, to playing well. He was diligent, faithful and artistic.

2) A man of valour --- David had a reputation for bold courage. He fought bears and lions, protecting his father's flocks. He did not shrink in the face of adversity. He knew from whence his strength came.

3) a man of war --- David fought to uphold what God had declared right, true, and beautiful.

4) prudent in speech --- David had wisdom, reining in the fires of his tongue. He knew when to speak, and when to keep silent.

5) a man of good presence --- Most notes on this say this means David was handsome and rugged, having beautiful eyes (1 Samuel 16:12). I wonder if his eyes are mentioned because they reflected some of his inner joy and delight in the God of his salvation.

6) the Lord is with him --- This is perhaps the greatest characteristic, the one towards which all the other ones tend. A man who is faithful to God will take joy in the beauty God has given; will courageously stand for what God declares to be truth, and will fight to uphold it; will speak wisely and watch that his tongue does not control him; and these qualities will make him handsome. Just as for women, where the inward adorning is the most important, where the heart is what makes her beautiful, so it is with men, and so it was with David.

 Most importantly, though, this shows the grace of God in David's life. David may have been talented, courageous, thoughtful, artistic and handsome, but all this was nothing compared to the fact that God graciously chose him, and called David a man after His own heart. It wasn't because of David's characteristics that God was with him; it was because of God's merciful presence that David's characteristics were so noteworthy.

Then King David went in and sat before the LORD and said, “Who am I, O Lord GOD, and what is my house, that you have brought me thus far? And yet this was a small thing in your eyes, O Lord GOD. You have spoken also of your servant's house for a great while to come, and this is instruction for mankind, O Lord GOD! And what more can David say to you? For you know your servant, O Lord GOD! Because of your promise, and according to your own heart, you have brought about all this greatness, to make your servant know it. Therefore you are great, O LORD God. For there is none like you, and there is no God besides you, according to all that we have heard with our ears. (2 Samuel 7:18-22 ESV)

Five women & God's grace

1

When others sinned against me, I sinned to gain security. I used deceit, cunning and immorality to ensure my deceased husband's inheritance, as well as my own future. I banked on the immorality of my father-in-law rather than trusting in the Most High God. Still, in all my sinfulness, God moved with grace, using me despite my sinful works, despite my fears, and allowing me to bear a son who would be in the line of the Messiah.

2

I am a prostitute from a pagan nation. I lived my life in immorality, in godlessness. Then I heard about the LORD, the one who delivered his people from Egypt, who brought them through the Red Sea, who defeated powerful nations. My heart melted within me at the word of this God, the God of the heavens above and the earth beneath. How I rejoiced and mourned when God spared me by his mercy and grace! Could it be that I, even I could be in the line of the Messiah? 

3

I am a Gentile. By God's grace I was saved, living with Naomi and refusing to go back to Chemosh and spiritual death. I forsook the idols of my people. God moved mysteriously and graciously, and in his providence I found myself married to Boaz, a righteous and worthy man. In my life I saw something of the final redemption through the Messiah. 

4

I am an adulteress. Called by the king, I went and lay with him. O, God - pregnancy! Proof of our iniquity, and my death sentence. To cover our iniquity, my husband, my righteous husband Uriah, was betrayed and slain. What have I done? My lament, my guilt, O my husband! O, my child. This consequence is great. I sinned against the Lord. But, O - God's grace. God gave us another son, a son beloved of the Lord. Could it be that my son, the son from my womb, is an ancestor of the Messiah? 

5

I am young, unmarried, and vulnerable. I am neither rich nor powerful. An angel appeared to me and told me wonderful things, things that were confusing and amazing. The Holy Spirit? Overshadowing? A Son - a Son of the Most High? Let it be so, according to your word. 

O, those months. The visit with Elizabeth; the joy in knowing Joseph believed me, that he would stay! - the long, aching travel; the inn. No room in the inn. Where am I to bear this child? The time has come!

My beautiful boy. Look at you - so small and frail, needing me. What is the grace of God, that I should bear the Saviour of the world? I need him. The whole world will need him. The shepherds came and told us their story, how the choir of angels sang. A Saviour. Christ the Lord. My baby. I will treasure these things and ponder them. Could it be that the promises of God have been fulfilled? The time of waiting is over - the Messiah has come!

Behold the lie

Behold the lie my mind would seek to tell;

Devastating me with backward truth:

"Death arrives with the tolling of the bell;

You have been truly wicked from your youth! 

"You are a sinner, saved by grace, but so?

Your sin is far too great for grace to grieve;

You have no hope, although you say 'credo';

It's not enough just simply to believe.

"You fail as a believer, as a friend,

You break and stumble at the slightest cause.

And you think God can love you? Here's your end!

Live your life recounting all your flaws!"

Oh, God! I need your swift rescue from me;

Save me from my lies and change my mind!

Give me renewed faith, and help me see

Your grace is greater than the sin I've left behind.

Believers: according to Philippians: part two

Partakers

The word for partakers is sygkoinōnós, which means a close companion or joint-sharer. It is amazing to think that we are not merely an audience, not passively watching grace, but that we are active accomplices, having fellowship with all believers through the Spirit. We are the hands and feet of Christ, serving one another out of reverence for Jesus. When Paul uses this word in Philippians, he is referencing the Philippians' willingness to share Paul's suffering and shame. You know a close companion when they stand by you in the worst of times, not just the best of times.

Brothers, Beloved, Children of God

These profound familial terms ignite our theology, bringing the truths of God's Word to light through relationship. Through His death, Christ has caused us to be born again, born into adoption. We are the children of God. To be adopted in Christ is an eternal and glorious relational aspect of our salvation. We are more than believers; we are beloved, loved by God as a father loves his children. We are co-heirs with Christ. Think about these mercies! I can barely understand them.

Not only does salvation affect our relationship with God, but it also changes how we fellowship with one another. Believers are brothers, united as the family of God, given new life and new purpose in Christ Jesus. We grow together in sanctification, love, joy, suffering, and everything else.

Lights in the world

As lights in the world, we shine brightly. We are not under baskets. We don't hide away, but rather declare the glories of Christ Jesus through the way we live and through what we say. How can we distinguish between what we say and how we live? It shouldn't be possible. If our "yes" really means "no", then there is something wrong. We are to live as lights in the world, shining the gospel of Christ into even the darkest corners. 

Citizens of heaven
We belong to the God of heaven, not the prince of the power of the air, nor this present darkness. We are sojourners here, living for Christ in the midst of our journey home. Our citizenry is with Christ, for we are seated with Him in the heavenly places, kept for, by, and through Jesus as we await the final day, the day when the "worst vacation ever" has come to an end.

Paul reminds the Philippians of many things in his short letter. I pray they've encouraged you as they did me. 

Cursed

I've been thinking this week about Jesus' death and resurrection (shocker!). A couple of days ago, as I read through Deuteronomy, it struck me just how much Jesus took on for my sake. 

Deuteronomy chapters 27 and 28 list many curses at length, showing the consequences of disobedience. You can read them if you like. The Israelites are warned of what will happen - what they will do to themselves - if they turn away from God. The horror struck me sharply, mainly because I read it in close proximity to Good Friday. These curses would fall upon us just the same had Jesus not taken the curse upon Himself. 

Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us—for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree”—so that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we might receive the promised Spirit through faith. (Galatians 3:13-14)

It's not just the Israelites of old, either. Paul presents, as he often does, the stark contrast between what we were and what we are: 

Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.

And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God. (1 Corinthians 6:9-11)

Jesus makes all the difference. In light of the chapters in Deuteronomy, reading Isaiah 53 seems all the more potent: 

Who has believed what he has heard from us?

And to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed?

For he grew up before him like a young plant,

and like a root out of dry ground;

he had no form or majesty that we should look at him,

and no beauty that we should desire him.

He was despised and rejected by men;

a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief;

and as one from whom men hide their faces

he was despised, and we esteemed him not.

Surely he has borne our griefs

and carried our sorrows;

yet we esteemed him stricken,

smitten by God, and afflicted.

But he was pierced for our transgressions;

he was crushed for our iniquities;

upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace,

and with his wounds we are healed.

All we like sheep have gone astray;

we have turned—every one—to his own way;

and the LORD has laid on him

the iniquity of us all.

He was oppressed, and he was afflicted,

yet he opened not his mouth;

like a lamb that is led to the slaughter,

and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent,

so he opened not his mouth.

By oppression and judgment he was taken away;

and as for his generation, who considered

that he was cut off out of the land of the living,

stricken for the transgression of my people?

And they made his grave with the wicked

and with a rich man in his death,

although he had done no violence,

and there was no deceit in his mouth.

Yet it was the will of the LORD to crush him;

he has put him to grief;

when his soul makes an offering for guilt,

he shall see his offspring; he shall prolong his days;

the will of the LORD shall prosper in his hand.

Out of the anguish of his soul he shall see and be satisfied;

by his knowledge shall the righteous one, my servant,

make many to be accounted righteous,

and he shall bear their iniquities.

Therefore I will divide him a portion with the many,

and he shall divide the spoil with the strong,

because he poured out his soul to death

and was numbered with the transgressors;

yet he bore the sin of many,

and makes intercession for the transgressors.

(Isaiah 53:1-12)

Saints together

This is the power of Jesus Christ. 

Getting over my apathetic view of 1 Corinthians yesterday, I read chapter one and was subsequently blown away by something I had never caught before. I used to skim over the introductions of letters, thinking it was simply a greeting and the good stuff came later. However, that view died when my pastor preached from the book of James, and spent two sermons on the first two verses of the book. In reading 1 Corinthians 1, then, I paid close attention to the introduction of Paul. Look carefully:

Paul, called by the will of God to be an apostle of Christ Jesus, and our brother Sosthenes, 

To the church of God that is in Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints together with all those who in every place call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, both their Lord and ours:

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. (1 Corinthians 1:1-3)

The question that popped into my head was, "Where have I heard the name Sosthenes before?" Sure enough, he is mentioned in Acts 18: 

And they all seized Sosthenes, the ruler of the synagogue, and beat him in front of the tribunal. (Acts 18:17a)

The context for this verse is essential in explaining the first sentence of this blog. Sosthenes, the ruler of the synagogue, was beaten in front of the tribunal because a case against Paul had swiftly been dismissed by Gallio, the proconsul of Achaia. In his study Bible, John MacArthur states, "Since [Sosthenes] was the ruler of the synagogue, he would have presented the case to Gallio." Imagine that. Sosthenes was basically the lead prosecutor against Paul. When the case was dismissed, Sosthenes received the blame. He was beaten. He was shamed. He probably considered Paul his enemy - especially in light of Paul's "betrayal" of the Jews. Formerly Paul had been their knight in shining armour, ridding the world of the blight of "The Way". Then he converted to Christianity. Paul was no favourite among the Jewish leaders. 

This leaves us with the fairly valid assumption that Sosthenes hated Paul's guts. 

But then, Christ steps in. The power of the gospel in Christ Jesus flies in the face of that enmity. Sosthenes is saved by grace through faith in Christ Jesus. The Bible does not go into the particulars of Sosthenes' conversion, but we are given the epilogue of the vanished enmity between Paul and Sosthenes in 1 Corinthians 1. 

Paul calls Sosthenes "our brother". This term of endearment flows through Christ Jesus, Who is the Redeemer and Mediator. Through Christ we are adopted as children of God. Through Christ the walls of hostility are broken down. Through Christ believers, even former enemies, are united in love and peace. 

I find it quite interesting how Paul continues in his introduction, after mentioning Sosthenes. Paul may have had Sosthenes in mind as he wrote "called to be saints together". These two men knew the power of Jesus Christ. They knew His saving grace. They knew His mercy and His atonement. 

Paul, the former murderer and persecutor of Christ, and Sosthenes, the former adversary, full of bitterness, enmity and resentment, found themselves sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints together. It is the same for believers today. Across the globe, in spite of multiple differences, diverse backgrounds, varying cultures and preconceived notions, Christ unites us, and by His power and mercy we stand united as the Bride. 

"Grace to you and peace" indeed. 

Always by grace

In reading through Deuteronomy, you find that God never gave any indication to the Israelites that they could be righteous on their own. In fact He made it quite clear they were not.

The Israelites could look at any point in their history and see how rebellious, how stiff-necked, how idolatrous they were. They were not God's people because they were love-able. Rather, just like believers today, they were God's people because He sovereignly set His love upon them (Deuteronomy 7-11).

For the Israelites, keeping the Law of God as He laid it down was a stipulation of the relationship they had by His grace. Their obedience would not result in God's relationship with them; rather, their obedience was the result of the relationship! It is the same for us today. We in Christ are given commands - whether from the "one anothers" to the commands to walk in a certain way, to the putting off, to the putting on. We have commandments and instructions given to us even in the "New Testament" church. These commandments (and following them) are the result of the relationship and the love we have for our God and Saviour, Jesus Christ. 

Because the reality is, God has revealed Himself to us. He has given us a relationship with Himself. He has done everything necessary to ensure this relationship. Now, within this relational reality lie aspects of the relationship, and God has always required certain things of those to whom He gives Himself. The things that are required of us do not save us. Neither did they save the Israelites. Salvation has always been by grace through faith, as a gift of God. God bestows His mercy and love in spite of the rebellion of His people.

Know, therefore, that the LORD your God is not giving you this good land to possess because of your righteousness, for you are a stubborn people. (Deuteronomy 9:6)

You have been rebellious against the LORD from the day that I knew you. (Deuteronomy 9:24)

The Israelites were plainly given the truth. They were not a special people for any reason other than that the God Who is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love sovereignly set His favour upon them, for the sake of His promises to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob - men whom He also loved entirely because of His own sovereign favour! 

Yet the LORD set his heart in love on your fathers and chose their offspring after them, you above all peoples, as you are this day. (Deuteronomy 10:15)

God has always been as He is now: merciful, gracious, ready and willing to save. He has always given Himself in the place of others. He has always redeemed a people, a remnant unworthy to be redeemed. It has always been by the grace in Christ Jesus, the promised Messiah, the Seed of the woman Who would crush the serpent's head and lead us into repentance, restoration and redemption. 

This relationship, then, carries forward into what the Lord requires of us. This is seen in many other places in Scripture, notably Micah 6:8 (among many others), but we can actually stay in Deuteronomy. From chapter seven until now there has been something of an historical lecture, a telling and retelling of Israel's history, outlining the powerful works God accomplished for their sake. Now we come to the command: 

You shall therefore love the LORD your God and keep his charge, his statutes, his rules, and his commandments always.(Deuteronomy 11:1)

Remember that a "therefore" links back to what has been said, so this essentially means something like this: 

Because God has set his love on His people, not because of them, for they are rebellious and stubborn, but because of Himself, for He is gracious and merciful, therefore you should respond in love. God loves you, not for your own loveliness, but by His own grace. God has done everything for you. You are His child because He has adopted you. You are His treasure because He has treasured you. You are His workmanship because He has worked in you. It is not because of you. God has given you a clean heart, a right spirit, open eyes and ears, and most of all, Himself. In light of all this, your only response is loving Him, keeping His charge, statutes, rules, and commandments, for this is the way to deepening your relationship with the God Who loved you from eternity past because He chose to love you, not because you were worthy of His love.

All these principles, of course, culminate and come to full realization in Christ Jesus. Yet I think it is important to understand that Christ Jesus was God from eternity, so His promises and His redemptive acts existed from eternity. God has always worked by grace. 

The LORD passed before him and proclaimed, “The LORD, the LORD, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness (Exodus 34:6)

Paul, the man who relied on Christ

It can be easy for me to forget about the weakness of Paul, because he was such a brilliant theologian, a masterful evangelist, a bold minister, a gospel-centered teacher, and a devoted leader of the church. 

Paul, though, was never hesitant about listing his own failures and weaknesses. He relied on Christ in all things. 

What brought this to mind was reading Philippians. In my personal Bible reading, I prefer to read whole books or letters of Scripture in one sitting in order to get the full message and context of what was written, as far as I am able. In Philippians, Paul wrote something that struck me as being the reality, not only of Paul, but of all believers. 

Look at the following two verses:

I am the more eager to send him, therefore, that you may rejoice at seeing him again, and that I may be less anxious. (Philippians 2:28)

do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. (Philippians 4:6)

Did you notice the word, "anxious"? Here is the striking reality: Paul did not teach, preach or write as though he were speaking from a lofty position toward lesser believers, though he could have. He did not write condescendingly as though he had a depth of insight unavailable to the Philippians - though he did. He did not instruct them from a position of closeness to Christ, giving them the sense that they were far off while he was near to the Saviour. No, he spoke as one on their level. He spoke as a believer needing the grace found in Christ, just as much as they did. 

In the first verse, Paul admits to being anxious. He was anxious for the Philippians, for they were worried. Epaphroditus, Paul's fellow minister for the gospel, had been sick, and he was distressed because the Philippians had heard it, and Paul was anxious for all parties. Epaphroditus had been ill near to death, so one can imagine that it was all-around a sorrowful, worrisome experience. 

Paul includes himself in those who are worried, yet in the second verse, he instructs them not to be anxious about anything! Do you see the mercy in this? Paul, who very likely did take his requests to God, who spent much of his life on his knees in prayer and supplication, who gave thanks to God on a regular basis, reached out to the Philippians with the comfort of knowing that he was just like them - weak, anxious, and in need of Christ. Paul doesn't say, "Do this, do not do that, and get things right, will you?" No, he says, "I fail in my weakness just as you. I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate (Romans 7:15). Let us therefore go together to the foot of the cross. Let us go together and sit at the feet of our Lord." Paul reminds them by way of his own weakness, by way of his own frailty, of the beauty of the Saviour - the Saviour that shows no partiality, the Saviour Who accepts the weak with the strong, the ignorant with the wise, the lowly with the lifted up, the poor with the rich, etc. 

Paul shows that for all his brilliance and faithfulness, just like the Philippians, he needs God. With that in mind, I'm sure Paul was also thinking of himself when he instructed them to take all their requests to God with prayer, supplication and thanksgiving. Paul reminds the Philippians, as well as us that no matter how wise, how learned, how faithful, or how bold for the gospel, the reality of our need of Jesus remains a constant. 

The full extent of grace

To see the full extent of grace, sometimes I have to look at the full extent of sin. My mind works in contrasts a lot. It helps me to learn and to grow - especially when the contrasts are concerning something so utterly relevant and definitive to my life and the way I live it.

For me, the full extent of sin is seen not only in the sinful acts I do, but it is seen in my capacity to sin. Even where I do not sin, when I choose to control myself and not allow the temptation to pull me in, the very fact of my contemplating the sin even for a moment condemns me. My mind is sinful. I find sin attractive. It is an option for me.  I am tempted to sin all the time. I relate to temptation. I consider the possibility of acting in sin. I weigh the pros and cons of sinning. My very consideration is a mark against me.

Jesus never considered sin as an attractive possibility. To sin was a concept so foreign and disgusting to Him that He immediately responded to Satan's tempting with righteousness. Satan sought to tempt Him just as he tempts us. The intent of the tempter remains the same in all cases. Satan wants people to fall, to sin, to deny God. Especially, I think, the Son of God incarnate. I imagine he was trying his devious best at that point.

In Christ, there was no connection. Jesus was completely without sin. Satan could not relate. He sought to tempt Jesus, to see Jesus fall, and found no hold. Jesus was sinless, perfectly righteous, perfectly good. Just as the volume of my sinfulness is basically limitless, so too is the volume of Christ's righteousness, of His goodness.

It is beautiful then for me to think of my own atrocious worthlessness, and then look away from my self (knowing full well that I can find no way out of sinfulness on my own) to my Saviour. The full extent of grace is that Jesus was willing to die for sinners, sinners so fully entrenched in their sin that they are ignorant of the depths. He was willing to take the full extent of our sin upon Himself, and bear it all, and die for it. He was willing to transfer to me all of His righteousness. I don't even understand that. It brings tears to my eyes to think of all that Jesus endured, and all that He has given to me, in spite of who I was. Oh to grace how great a debtor daily I'm constrained to be!

Offer him there

Genesis 22 (select verses):

After these things God tested Abraham and said to him, “Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.”


He said, “Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you.” So Abraham rose early in the morning, saddled his donkey, and took two of his young men with him, and his son Isaac.


When they came to the place of which God had told him, Abraham built the altar there and laid the wood in order and bound Isaac his son and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood. Then Abraham reached out his hand and took the knife to slaughter his son.


But the angel of the LORD called to him from heaven and said, “Abraham, Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.” He said, “Do not lay your hand on the boy or do anything to him, for now I know that you fear God, seeing you have not withheld your son, your only son, from me.” 

It always makes me cry to think of being in Abraham's shoes. Imagine being asked by the God you love to give up - more than that, to kill yourself - the son you love. God tests Abraham's obedience. Abraham obeys the Lord, believing God will provide His own offering. Abraham believes that God keeps His promises, so he is willing to obey, knowing that God could even raise Isaac, his promised son, from the dead (Hebrews 11:19). Abraham is committed to his God.

Just before Abraham slaughters his beloved son, God intervenes and blesses Abraham. God provides a ram as a substitute. I always think of the relief and joy Abraham must have felt, receiving his son back, being blessed by God.

Part of the reason this passage brings me to tears is that God spared Abraham's son, but did not spare His own Son. God offered Him there on the cross. Jesus was sacrificed for our sake. Jesus knew, just as the Father knew, what was required for sinful men to be reconciled to God. Upon Him was the chastisement that brought us peace. 

More precious than gold

Faith is a curious thing.

It is supposed to be the word that explains the believer's utter confidence in God, believing in His Word and promises despite tribulations sweeping in from all sides.

Funny then, that sometimes I have faith in my faith instead of having faith in God. Faith becomes the focus. God is out of the picture. If I just believe enough, things will turn out okay. If I am simply sufficiently confident, God will hear me. I focus on what I must do, rather than what God has done. I see my present instead of His past.

Faith doesn't look at itself. It looks at Jesus. I am weak. I doubt. I am often not at all confident. Faith means saying, "Jesus has promised me eternal salvation. He has promised that no one will snatch me out of His or the Father's hand. He has redeemed me." Faith isn't about merely being confident; it's about being confident that Jesus is mighty to save. That's why I believe faith is a gift of God. I can't muster up faith. It is given and grown in me because God keeps His promises. He has never failed me, even in all my distress. My doubts and weaknesses are not a result of His failure to accomplish His purposes, but my failure to remind myself of His consistent grace.

"'At first sight,' says Goldingay, 'the belief that God is behind the trouble that comes to us is a frightening doctrine: what kind of a God is this, whose purpose includes so much distress? But the alternative-a God whose purpose is continually being frustrated by evil-is even more frightening. Better a God whose mystery we cannot understand (but who has given us grounds for trusting when we cannot understand) than one whose adequacy we cannot rely on, or whose interest we cannot be sure of.'' (Quoted by Sam Storms in More Precious Than Gold: 50 Daily Meditations on the Psalms)

Have been grieved

Grief.

It's not your average sadness. It is deep, emotional pain. It is intense, severe sorrow, usually associated with the loss of something or someone you were bonded to in one way or another. Grief is a heaviness, and it uses all its weight to the best advantage, pressing down, trying to crush, trying to break. ...grieved by various trials...


Grief is mentioned many times in the Bible. Interestingly, it often speaks of God being grieved. God is grieved by us when we break His commandments, His covenant. When we seek to destroy the bond that He has with us, He is grieved.

Jesus is well acquainted with grief.

He bears our sorrows above and beyond His own. He sympathizes with our weaknesses. He has compassion, even while we spit in His face, mock Him, and defy Him.

Jesus, when He calls us to suffer, never asks us to endure what He has not. He is not like us in that regard. I could very willingly allow people to do hard things, while I myself sit back and let them take the brunt of the work, the brunt of the pain.

Jesus does not do that.

God is well-acquainted with various trials.

For all I suffer in my life, for all the times I am grieved, I know that God bears it, and pours out His grace on me. God Himself is the Ultimate Sufferer. This is why He is the Ultimate Saviour.

He understands. He loves. He gives.

God's power

I do not like deep water.

I can swim, but I prefer solid ground beneath me.

If I am forced to swim, I like seeing the bottom. As soon as it gets a little bit shadowed or dark, I begin to imagine that some deep-sea (or deep-lake) monster is going to rush up and grab me, dragging me down into the pressurized darkness, cracking all my bones. Deep water makes me nervous.

The monstrous, roiling waves, capable of overpowering the greatest of ships constructed by man, capable of destroying cities, of overturning houses, of pummeling rock to sand to be lapped up against the shore...this grand, terrifying body is subjected to the God I call Father.

Wow.

Deep calls to deep
at the roar of your waterfalls;
all your breakers and your waves
have gone over me.
(Psalm 42:7, emphasis mine)

I am not comforted by the sea. Yet I am comforted by the fact that the sea is God's sea. The waterfalls are God's waterfalls. The deep that calls to deep, the deep that thunders nervousness in my chest, is the deep that answers to the Creator's call.

When life sends wave after wave of trial and trouble at me, I know that these waves are not battering me in spite of God's attempts to protect me.

God is sending the waves.

And God is protecting me.

God will bring me through what He has in store for me, even if my journey consists of travelling down to the pressurized darkness of the deep. Even if I cannot see the bottom, even if I cannot see the end in sight, I will praise God, because He holds me, and the waves answer to Him.

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Kept in heaven

I love Scotland. I've never been, but I love it. The music, the accents, the plaid, the mountains, the lochs, the history...I cannot remember a time where I did not plan to travel there some day. (I also want to marry a Scottish man who plays a cello and lives in a castle, but I hold that quite loosely.)

I think of my love of Scotland in terms of my love of heaven. Born again to a living hope...

I have an inheritance (kept in heaven) by Jesus Christ, my Saviour (in heaven), Who entered into heaven to appear in the presence of God on my behalf (Hebrews 9:24). One difference between Scotland and heaven (there are not many ;) ) is the fact that my citizenship is actually in heaven. To go to Scotland would mean being a bumbling, delighted foreigner. To go to heaven would mean going home.

I have never been to heaven, but I love it. I love the Saviour Who awaits me there, Who will bring me into His kingdom, Who keeps my inheritance.


“Many shall come from the east and west—and shall sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. (Matthew 8:11)

But there will be nothing to make believers afraid in the kingdom of heaven. Though the sins of their lives ‘were as scarlet, they shall be made white as snow; and though red like crimson, they shall be as wool.’ Their sins will be ‘remembered no more;’ ‘sought for, and not found;’ ‘blotted out as a thick cloud;’ ‘cast behind God’s back;’ ‘plunged in the depths of the sea.’ If we were in the presence of a stern judge, or of a king clothed in awful majesty, we should not dare to sit down. Once joined to Christ by faith, they are complete in the sight of God the Father, and even the perfect angels shall see no spot in them. Surely they may well sit down; and feel at home!"
— J.C. Ryle