To those who are elect exiles of the dispersion…
Posts tagged Grace
Scandalous by D.A. Carson
02 weeks ago
by Jack
in What We're Reading
This book is a transcription of a series of lectures given by Dr. D.A. Carson during a Resurgence conference. It is a book on the life of Christ. It is reminiscent of a series of lectures and reads like a series of lectures, however it is an incredible resource on the power of the cross of Jesus Christ and different perspectives that Christ gives us on scripture.
Pages: 168
Buy or Rent: This is a good one to own. Carson is a brilliant writer and has a great mind on scripture.
Who is D.A. Carson? D.A. Carson is a research professor of New Testament at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, in Deerfield, Illinois. He is from Canada and loves Jesus. He is former pastor and is now a theologian. His background in ministry and his current theological endeavors gives him an incredible perspective and ability to teach the bible to intellectuals and lay people.
Imperishable
0Some people store up treasures for themselves on this earth through the church. They will put an unrighteous tax on their parishioners and make themselves rich. This is not what happened in the early church. In 1 Corinthians Paul exhorts the Corinthians to give money to the church in Jerusalem, not so that the church in Jerusalem could be rich but so that they would avoid poverty in the ancient sense. The difference between poverty then and poverty now is like the difference between poverty in the United States and poverty in India. Christ preached to the low and the church was composed of the lowest for the most part.
Persecution did not make the situation any better. At the beginning of the Nazi persecution the first step was to seize their assets and businesses. Imagine then the horror of what happened when these impoverished Christians had their lives taken away. If they had jobs they lost them. If they had unbelieving friends they were rejected. If they had unbelieving family they were rejected. This was the lot of the believer, and Peter, the author of 1 Peter, through the understanding of the Holy Spirit. This is why he begins his letter by reminding those who are being persecuted of the hope that they have in Christ for a better day.
Some Christians are so focused on the present that they lose their focus on heaven. This is easy to do in the American church because Americans have it remarkably well. We are blessed to live in a free society, which is incredibly rich and well off. Our diseases are not born of poverty they are born of wealth. We have heart disease, not small pox. Persecution is not a problem for the church in America, so when we think of heaven we are prone to think of earth.
However heaven is much better than earth. We have a limited scope because we believe we have reached a societal high in this country. We believe that we are at an apex. This was the opposite of how the early church had it. They had no great society in which to place their faith, and their faith in Christ had cost them a lot, so then why should they persevere? Why would they keep going?
The truth is that for all the graces our society has, it holds nothing to what God promises us in his word. Our pleasures will pass on, but 1 Peter 1:4 assures us that the graces God reflects to us will not. His heavens will go on forever, even when Western Civilization’s glories have all gone away. You cannot count on things that perish, you have to follow the word of God into an imperishable paradise. This is a paradise that is not earthly, and will cost you everything that you have on this earth.
Born Again to a Living Hope
0Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. – 1 Peter 1:3
There are times in our lives when what we are saved to might not be as present in our minds as the fact that we as Christians are saved. Oftentimes the beliefs that we don’t struggle with are ones that we are not confronting opposition to. There are times when our whole salvation can be called into question because of the opposition that we face. Peter opens his first letter to the church by reviewing what we are being saved to, and the rest of the book reviews the implications of that salvation. Peter solidifies the churches position on what they are born to.
Great Mercy
We are saved by mercy. Mercy is grace granted to believers. There once was a man named Jesus Christ who lived many years ago. He did not live as any other man but was instead perfect in all his ways. All men inherit a sinful nature from our forefather, Adam. Adam was a sinner as we are sinners. He was the first in a line of sinners that has gone through all of human history. Jesus was perfect. He was a spotless lamb who was sacrificed by sinners for sinners.
When Christ died he did so for sinners. However our mercy is not just found in Christ’s death. It is found in his glorious resurrection. When Christ died he did so that men could be raised. Christ was sacrificed so that sinners in the line of Adam might receive a new heart. We need only believe to be saved, because of the mercy of God.
Living Hope
When Christian’s die it is not the beginning of suffering or complete annihilation, rather we go to onto a greater life. This life with Christ is so great that the old life is put off. The greatest joys we experience on this earth are a foreshadowing of what will happen in heaven. When a Christian becomes a Christian his life is never over, simply goes through constant transformation. This transformation culminates in coming to be with God in heaven. This is a living hope.
No matter how hard life is we can trust in at least two things: the mercy of Christ and the living hope that we have in Christ. Those who come to Christ in faith have access to the great mercy of the Father and the living hope that is found in that mercy.
John’s Prophecies and Unworthiness
0In the beginning of Luke and Matthew’s gospel there are telling of one of the more famous stories in the history of humanity. The story of Christ’s birth has been broadcast on national television, sold millions in theaters, and has permeated the political realm with controversy. However Mark does not include the typical Christmas story, instead he begins with John the Baptist, acting like a prophet.
Verse Seven
John the Baptist speaks to the people about the Messiah, a great man of God who would be so much greater than John that John would not be able to undo his sandal straps. Here we need a little bit of cultural context. First off, sandals in Jesus’ day look much like those pictured on the right. They were not flip-flops, but sandals that required intricacy in tying and untying. Second, those of us who live today, especially in America, can take clean streets for granted. We live in a society dominated by automobiles, not donkeys, sheep, and goats. The roads in Jesus’ day was covered in fecal matter from a variety of animals. In Luke seven a woman is reprimanded for washing Jesus’ feet. Washing of feet was an important honor, because all of the dirt and poop that would get on one’s feet from walking around. Third, it was the duty of the host to provide a slave or hired hand to unstrap the sandals from a guest as they would walk in the door. In verse seven John is saying that not only is he not the Messiah, there is someone who makes John the Baptist look like an unworthy slave. Of course this man was Jesus Christ.
Verse Eight
It’s not surprising to me that people thought that John was the Messiah. The Israelites had not heard from the Lord in 400 years, and all of the sudden here is this new breed of preacher who is coming to preach repentance of sins. Rich and poor were coming to him, he was starting a social movement. We know that John was powerful enough to draw the ire of Herrod, who ultimately had him beheaded. However John knew that his mission was inadequate. He knew he couldn’t bring around the kind of awakening that Christ would. John’s power was confession and forgiveness, which was given to him by God, but he knew that Christ would “baptize you with the Holy Spirit.” John could only dunk people, Christ could and would send the Spirit to live with them. (more…)
I Hope to See You Soon
0“I had much to write to you, but I would rather not write with pen and ink. I hope to see you soon, and we will talk face to face. Peace be to you. The friends greet you. Greet the friend, every one of them.” 3 John 13-15, ESV
To end 3 John, John gives a last fond farewell to the people in the church that he is writing to. John writes like someone who is ending a letter to their children or grandchildren. There is a lot of affection in his voice, there is tenderness in his tone. He is ending a heartfelt letter to a church that is in transition.
John was an apostle. He had walked with Christ, he knew Christ personally. The power of Christ had led to the creation of the church and the church had grown to the point where there were issues that needed to be taken care of. Through Christ a family of Christians had begun, and now there were problems that John, a patriarch of the family, was called upon to handle some issues. But he loves his family, he served his family, and he would die because of the person who began the family. He would go on to die, separated from his family, on an island called Patmos.
3 John speaks to the environment of the church. We as Christians are a family. We are brothers and sisters. We have big brothers and little brothers. We love little sisters and big sisters. We are called to serve each other. Sometimes there are tiffs, sometimes our siblings move on, but through thick and thin we stick together and love each other, because Christ loves us first. Please don’t forsake the words of 3 John. Please be in peace with those who are truly in the body. Serve them with grace as you have been served with grace through the sacrifice of Christ.
And Who is She
0So Ruth has gone to glean in the fields of Boaz, the wealthy farmer. Boaz was visiting his farm and checking up on his workers when something happened that he would probably never forget. He saw a woman, and not just any woman, a woman who was not from Israel. This would have been unusual because the Moabites were well off as a people and few Moabites lived in Israel. It would have been highly unlikely that a Moabite woman would be gleaning in the field of an Israelite. So he took notice.
Ruth was hard at work and probably didn’t notice Boaz. She was busy gleaning along with the other women. Not only that but she was working very hard, from the beginning of the morning until then with a short rest according to Ruth 2:7.
Boaz approached her. As you will read in Ruth 2:9 there was a sense of vulnerability that came with tending to the fields. As in today’s culture, single women, especially the widowed, are open to all sorts of scams and advances. Sexual harassment in the line of gleaning was rampant, contrary to what the bible says. Some women went to glean in order to become pregnant and tied to farm worker so that she could eat and provide for herself. Ruth did not go that route, she was working hard.
Boaz throws a little bit of his weight around and lines up some perks for Ruth. We don’t know why but something had obviously attracted him to Ruth. From the account we can tell that he didn’t approach every single lady who was gleaning wheat in the way that he did. He told her who to follow and where to go to get the most wheat. He instructed his workers not to touch her. He lined up water for her so she wouldn’t have to pay for water or carry any around with her. In short, he took care of her as she gleaned.
Ruth was very thankful for Boaz’s provision. She bowed down to him. She asked why she had found so much favor in his eyes, especially since she was not a person from Israel. Boaz said, “All that you have done for your mother-in-law since the death of your husband has been fully told to me, and how you left your father and mother and your native land and came to a people that you did not know before. The Lord repay you for what you have done, and a full reward be given you by the Lord, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to take refuge!” Ruth 2:11-12. Ruth was again thankful and was glad that she had found favor in Ruth’s eyes. (more…)
A Side Note
0While this post is definitely about Ruth this is a side note to the overall narrative which we have been going through. The concepts touched on throughout Ruth 2 regarding the fate of the impoverished in Israel speak into our current cultural and political discussions on social welfare, what we as Christians should do for the poor, and most importantly the great grace of God to meet the needs of the least of these.
As we read in Ruth chapter one Ruth and Naomi had moved back to Israel from Moab. Naomi had lived in Israel before moving to Moab. She left Israel with a husband and two sons and came back with a daughter in law who would not leave her side. She would be given a small amount of land by her family and not much else. As we will read later in Ruth those who were supposed to take care of Naomi and Ruth didn’t. However the Lord protected Ruth and Naomi from starvation through some laws that he had given to the leader of Israel a few generations before.
The book of Leviticus is a collection of laws regarding social morality, religious obligation, and cultural practice that the Lord gave Moses to govern the people of Israel with after they had come out from the land of Israel. It’s important to note the progression of the story of the Israelite’s. God saved the people of Israel from bondage in Egypt and then gave them laws. He performed many signs to show that he was God while in Egypt, and when they left Egypt he gave them the law.
In Leviticus we see a law that speaks to what it means to support those who are the lowest in society. Leviticus 19:9-10 says that when a farmer harvests a field they will not harvest right up to the edge of the field, or gather the gleanings. Whatever the farmer did not pick up was for the poor and the sojourner. It was theirs to harvest as they needed. If they had great need they would harvest much, if they had no need they would not harvest. It was a principle that the Israelite’s understood well, because at this time they would have been given manna. Manna was the bread that God gave the Israelites to eat when they were in the desert. (more…)
From Judgement to Destruction
0Ruth takes place during another book of the bible, Judges, the book that Ruth follows in the bible. Judges is one of the most depressing books of the bible because it reflects the sinful nature that we have to reject what God has said in order to do what we want to do. Ruth starts out in the midst of a time of judgment, in which God was disciplining his people. He was trying to get their attention so that they would turn from their idols and turn back to God. During a time of judgment a man named Elimelech moved his family from Israel to the land of Moab. The Moabites were an evil nation that had prospered during the time of Israel’s judgment. Elimelech saw that there was prosperity in Moab, packed up, and moved away from the land that was being judged by God into the land that was prospering. He was running from what he knew was judgment in the form of a famine to what he should have known was a circumstance that would turn out very badly for him and his family.
The story of Elimelech is much more complicated than one guy running from the judgment of God. Many unbelievers that I have talked to, and even some believers, say that the judgment of God is unjust. They say that there is no way that a loving God could be so wrathful. There is no way that God could rain down judgment on people in the form of a famine. While I would not expect an unbeliever to understand that mind of God, because I certainly don’t, I would say that judgment for judgment’s sake is not what God did to the people of Israel. God did not get his jollies from the famine, it was a very clear signal to the people of Israel that they needed to repent of their sins and turn to him. Famine was not the norm for the people of Israel. They had been blessed by God so much that when they were in the desert with no land to plant crops for food, God provided for them a meal every single day. Having no food was a clear sign from God. God was calling the Israelite’s to repentance, which makes what Elimelech very, very evil.
Instead of repenting he became entrenched in his sinful attitude. He didn’t run to God, but he ran to more sin. The land of Moab was known for evils, including child sacrifice. Instead of turning to who God is and what God has done, he turned to other ways of life and other opportunities to save himself. This is like a Christian who embezzles and when he gets found out instead of repenting moves to Las Vegas to live out the rest of his days with his embezzled money to keep him company. Elimelech did not repent, but he fled into the arms of sin. He moved away from God when times were hard, and he paid for it. (more…)
Ruth
0As a hopeless romantic I would say that the story of Ruth is easily one of the most engaging narratives that is found in the bible is the book of Ruth. Ruth is a true story, with a beginning middle and end which declares the glory of God to save both those who were in faith and have run from him and those who were as far away from faith as one could be their whole lives. It is the story of sinners who didn’t deserve to live, but did. It’s about God’s laws showing grace. It’s about the hope that we have in salvation, and how that has worked out through history. It is about a man and a woman noticing each other and marrying each other. It is about bitterness absolved, shalom restored, and those who have no business in the family of Christ being grafted in because of the power of God.
Ruth is one of the best books of the bible, and that is why I am writing this. Truth be told I identify especially with the themes of redemption, of not belonging but being joined to, and of having no hope until the Lord in his time revealed himself. I have both seen, heard, and felt what happens in someone’s life when one is supported by the systems God has placed for us to enjoy, been healed and redeemed because of a miraculous work of God, and the beauty of the new relationships that God brings into our lives. I identify with all of the characters in this book, save one: God who relates to me in his goodness.
Ruth is good to read for those who have nothing. Ruth begins with tragedy upon tragedy. Ruth is for those who have given up, not only on God but on life. Ruth is for those who have found nothing to be good. Ruth is for those who are ready to give up the ghost and end it. Ruth is for those who don’t know where they are or what’s going in. Ruth is for those who don’t understand why they are sitting in church. Ruth is for those who feel the tug of what feels like more than destiny. Ruth is for those who don’t understand the divine, but find themselves in interactions with people who call themselves Christian. Ruth is for those who are having faith in the midst of poverty. Ruth is for those who are using welfare to survive. Ruth is for those who are in business. Ruth is for the gracious, and those who struggle with generosity. Ruth is for those who notice those who are faithful around them, but find themselves too busy to engage those people. Ruth is for those who care about what the bible has to say about sexual harassment and gender relations. Ruth is for those who care about the exploitation of the poor. Ruth is for those who are ready to give of themselves sexually to advance a relationship. Ruth is for those who are trying to get out a dire circumstance in any way possible. Ruth is for those who do things the right way in the right time. Ruth is for those who deal and wheel to get what they want. Ruth is for those who are married or want to be married. Ruth is for those who are single and are rejoicing because of a marriage. Ruth is for those who hold babies and see the hand of God. Ruth is for those who thought there was no hope, but have found hope in Christ. Ruth is for those who are caught up in what God is doing. Ruth is for Christians. Ruth is for those who don’t believe.
I pray that I can do this book justice. I have spent a lot of time studying Ruth because I truly love to serve this book. I pray that you will be served by this book and that you will see who God is and what God has done through the story of Ruth.
Philadelphia: Jesus Contends for the Faithful
03 months ago
by Jack
in 7 Churches
Opens a Door, and It Stays Open
In Acts 14:27 Paul and Barnnabus declare to the church at Antioch that God had opened the door of faith to the Gentile’s. The small Jewish church in Jerusalem was growing as God was revealing himself to more and more Gentile’s. One such church was the church at Philadelphia, who Jesus addresses in Revelation 3:7. Jesus says that he is the one who opens the door to grace and that what he opens no one can close. Jesus opened the door to those at Philadelphia. Jesus remarks that the church at Philadelphia does not have much power, but that even though they are weak they still live for the gospel.
Struggling Under the Weight of Liars
The church at Philadelphia faced a pretty common opponent during the early days of Christianity. They faced off against Jews who did not love and serve Jesus. They instead attacked the church. One such Jew was a man named Saul. Saul led attacks on the Christians until one day Jesus Christ stepped into his life in a powerful way and changed his name to Paul. Jesus promised the church at Philadelphia that those who persecute them would face judgement, and one day bow at the feet of their congregation, knowing that Jesus truly loved them. It is right and good for us to know that though you might face persecution for being a Christian that God vindicates. He also promises the church at Philadelphia that if they hold fast to his teachings then they will be saved by Christ from the trials that he is sending to the earth.
Hold On
In verse 11 Jesus commands the church at Philadelphia to hold fast to his commands so that no one would steal their crown. Holding to the commands of Christ is a war. Jesus says that the one who conquers will become a pillar in the temple of God and have the name of God written on him and give him the new city, the New Jerusalem.
Sometimes We Get Crushed
Jesus never tells the church at Philadelphia that they would get any vindication or relief during their time on the earth. Jesus does not guarantee a good life for the church goers of Philadelphia. If the church at Philadelphia felt entitled to a life of ease or relative peace, they were not going to get it. The believers at Philadelphia faced extreme pressure to fall away from the life of Christ. Imagine the persecution of the Nazis against the Jews during World War II happening to the members of your church community? You cannot stop it. You cannot win them over physically. Men loose their professions, houses, and their families. Women loose their husbands, houses, and children. People are killed. God does not save. Instead he seems to allow all this to happen. This is a reality that has faced believers for thousands of years.
Judgement is God’s
God sees the evil done against his children and he will judge accordingly. If those who persecute do not turn to repentance, like Paul did, then they will suffer hell. If God knows the number of hairs on your head, don’t you think he knows every bad thing that has happened to you when you stood out for his name? If our God can create the horror of a tornado, volcanoe, and earth quake, don’t you think the punishment for sinners will be terrible? If God offers us grace do you think he will give us heaven? It can be heard to maintain a solid understanding and appreciation for God’s goodness when we face persecution and destruction, but God promises to vindicate those who hold fast to him.