Monthly Archives: December 2009

The Example of Christ’s Obedience

Philippians 2:8 And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.

One thing is inevitable when we are born, we are going to die. The body ages, and then, fails. This is part of the curse due to the fall. We are dust and to dust we shall return. Jesus was born of a human mother and with a human body. He was not immune to the frailties of humanity. He hungered, thirsted, experienced weariness, and pain. When He was nailed to the cross His body experienced the full measure of pain and suffering that any other man would have experienced. Yet, in addition to the physical pain He suffered, He also experienced the wrath of His Father on sin. He was also separated from His Father, not through physical death, but by the Father turning away from Him, because He bore on His body the sin of the world. These things describe the atonement for sin that Christ accomplished through His death on the cross. But what lead Him to the cross? What lead him to the cross willingly?

Just before Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem, He took some of His disciples aside and told them the events there were shortly to take place:

Matthew 20:17-19 17 And as Jesus was about to go up to Jerusalem, He took the twelve disciples aside by themselves, and on the way He said to them, 18 “Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem; and the Son of Man will be delivered to the chief priests and scribes, and they will condemn Him to death, 19 and will deliver Him to the Gentiles to mock and scourge and crucify Him, and on the third day He will be raised up.”

Jesus remained obedient to the Father, even in the face of death. In fact, His entire life on earth was marked by obedience. He obeyed His parents (Luke 2:51), He observed the Law of Moses (Matt. 8:4), and He submitted to the lawful authority (Matt. 17:24-27). Towards the end of His life, Jesus told the Father that He had finished the work that was given to Him to do. John 17:4 4 “I glorified Thee on the earth, having accomplished the work which Thou hast given Me to do.”

How are we to respond to Christ’s example of obedience? We are to obey God’s commands by loving God and loving the brethren. Jesus summed up the two greatest commandments: Matthew 22:36-40 36 “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” 37 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.’ 38 “This is the great and foremost commandment. 39 “The second is like it, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ 40 “On these two commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets.”

How do we love the LORD our God with all our heart, and with all our soul, and with all our mind? Simple: Learn and do. Jesus said, “If you love Me, you will keep My commandments (John 14:15).” It stands to reason that if you are to keep a commandment you need to know what it is, right? That is precisely why God has given us His word. But that is not all the LORD has given us. In order to appropriate the spiritual truth of the Word of God, we have been given the gift of the Holy Spirit. “And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may be with you forever; that is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it does not behold Him or know Him, but you know Him because He abides with you, and will be in you (John 14:16, 17).” Learning and doing is certainly easy to say. Living it is another thing. We still have sinful inclinations and fail all the time. But part of obedience to Christ is to become more like Him, and that is a process called progressive sanctification. We should more and more be in the process of becoming like Christ. As Christians we must display godly affections, a desire to be more like Christ. We should pursue obedience at every turn, and be ever vigilant. Our attitude should be the same as Paul’s in in Philippians 3:

Philippians 3:8-14 8 More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish in order that I may gain Christ, 9 and may be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own derived from the Law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith, 10 that I may know Him, and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death; 11 in order that I may attain to the resurrection from the dead. 12 Not that I have already obtained it, or have already become perfect, but I press on in order that I may lay hold of that for which also I was laid hold of by Christ Jesus. 13 Brethren, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet; but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.

Lastly, obedience to Christ is also our joy! We may be in the midst of great blessing, or deep in the pit of despair. In both instances it is important that we walk faithfully lest we become too proud or be crushed by grief. Habakkuk wrote, “17 Though the fig tree should not blossom, And there be no fruit on the vines, Though the yield of the olive should fail, And the fields produce no food, Though the flock should be cut off from the fold, And there be no cattle in the stalls, 18 Yet I will exult in the LORD, I will rejoice in the God of my salvation. 19 The Lord God is my strength, And He has made my feet like hinds’ feet, And makes me walk on my high places (Habukkuk 3:17-19).”

Should Christians celebrate Christmas?

Within the Reformed community the subject of whether or not to celebrate Christmas is right up there with debates about baptism, instruments in worship, exclusive psalmody (singing of psalms only), and the color of the carpet. This article is not meant to convince the opposing view, rather, it’s purpose is to provide a clear biblical rationale for observing Christmas. This will be a great comfort for those who celebrate the holiday but who want to know what scripture says on the matter.

In Luke’s gospel we read the following account:

Luke 2:8-20 8 And in the same region there were some shepherds staying out in the fields, and keeping watch over their flock by night. 9 And an angel of the Lord suddenly stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them; and they were terribly frightened. 10 And the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of a great joy which shall be for all the people; 11 for today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. 12 “And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in cloths, and lying in a manger.” 13 And suddenly there appeared with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, 14 “Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace among men with whom He is pleased.” 15 And it came about when the angels had gone away from them into heaven, that the shepherds began saying to one another, “Let us go straight to Bethlehem then, and see this thing that has happened which the Lord has made known to us.” 16 And they came in haste and found their way to Mary and Joseph, and the baby as He lay in the manger. 17 And when they had seen this, they made known the statement which had been told them about this Child. 18 And all who heard it wondered at the things which were told them by the shepherds. 19 But Mary treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart. 20 And the shepherds went back, glorifying and praising God for all that they had heard and seen, just as had been told them.

These shepherds were minding their own business; tending to the sheep under their care, when, suddenly, an angel of the Lord appeared to them. It’s quite possible that that this angel was Gabriel, the same angel that informed Mary that she was going to be with child. Along with the angel of the Lord came a multitude of the heavenly host, proclaiming the peace and goodwill of God towards those with whom He was pleased. To put it mildly, this was not a normal night out in the fields for the shepherds. It wasn’t in keeping with their regular duties to come face to face with the angel of the Lord, as well as a multitude of the heavenly hosts.

The shepherd’s, fresh from their encounter with these angelic majesties, went straight to Bethlehem, where they saw the new born Jesus. The account of the shepherds ends with this verse:

Luke 2:20 20 And the shepherds went back, glorifying and praising God for all that they had heard and seen, just as had been told them.

These men of humble means were made witnesses to the first few hours of life of the incarnate Lord. They were so impacted by this event that they returned home, glorifying God. I doubt they were able to contain themselves.

The bible presents the birth of Christ to be an important event; central to the gospel account. Without Christ’s birth there could not have been his death on the cross. Without His death there would have been no resurrection and the promise of eternal life. Christmas is the recognition of the good news proclaimed by the angel of the Lord to the shepherds. It is to be kept in balance with the other parts of the gospel; namely, His death, burial, and bodily resurrection. If the message of Christmas is all we know about Christ, we are made spiritually destitute. But if kept in balance with the rest of the gospel message, the Christmas story is a wonderful account of the grace of our Lord.

Merry Christmas!

Gate Crashers

Yesterday’s record setting snow storm has forced the cancellation of worship service this morning for our church. I will miss not being with God’s people. I look forward to the ministry of the word and the fellowship of the saints. My message this morning was going to be on Philippians 2:5-10. I plan on delivering this message at a special midweek worship service this coming Tuesday evening. But since there will be no gathering of the body of Christ this morning, I’ve decided to share a brief portion of Tuesdays sermon here on this blog.

A few weeks ago a celebrity-seeking couple from northern Virginia crashed a White House state dinner. They exposed a glaring weakness in Secret Service security. While this couple meant no physical harm to the president, it was nonetheless a sobering situation. That situation made me think of the extreme lengths people will go to in order to meet important or famous people. Celebrities are put on pedestals, and some people will go to extreme measures, such as crashing a White House party, in order to see them. In a sense those seeking out the celebrities are trying to identify with the same people they are trying to see. They are attempting to elevate their own stature by associating themselves with a celebrity.

2000 years ago the angels announced to a group of shepherds in Bethlehem:

Luke 2:10-14 “Do not be afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of a great joy which shall be for all the people; 11 for today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. 12 “And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in cloths, and lying in a manger.” 13 And suddenly there appeared with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, 14 “Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace among men with whom He is pleased.”

God had decreed that He would condescend to men through the birth of His Son. Jesus was not born in the splendor of a palace, which would have been a fit place for a king. Instead, Jesus was born in a barn. There was no security; no guards to check identification and run background checks on visitors. The Christ-child was born of lowly estate.

Back in Philippians, Paul writes:

Philippians 2:5-7 5 Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, 6 who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men.

How many of us would expect to run into the President of the United States at the local 7-11 this morning? Man has erected barriers between the governed and those who govern. But nearly 2000 years ago the Father removed the barriers between man and Himself by sending His Son, born of a woman, to pay the penalty for our sin and make it possible for man to have peace with God. There was no need for man to crash a party. Instead, God invites all who believe to enter into His presence:

Revelation 22:17 17 And the Spirit and the bride say, “Come.” And let the one who hears say, “Come.” And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who wishes take the water of life without cost.

Whiter than Snow

Snowscape

The Great Blizzard of 2009 has started. As I sit here at my desk, I am looking out the window. The landscape is covered with a thick blanket of white snow. It looks beautiful. The sea of white makes it look almost pure; at least until it turns to brown mush a few days later. It’s like that in our lives, isn’t it? We recognize that we’ve made a mess of our lives, and we often try to turn over that new leaf in order to make things right. Some of us try really hard, and it seems as though we’ve changed. Our lives almost seem like that sea of white from a fresh blanket of snow. But what happens to that snow a few days later? Car, trucks, and people turn it brown. Rising temperatures melt the snow and turn it to an unsightly mush. In our lives that mush is caused by sin, and we’re all guilty of it. Here is what the bible says about sin:

Romans 3:23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,

Sin is anything that displeases God; anything that is contrary to God’s law. We’ve all heard of the Ten Commandments. They contain God’s moral law. In simple terms, right from wrong. Consider just four of these commandments that are found in Exodus 20:

You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor

False witness is term to describe lying. Lying is a serious sin. What do we call a person who lies? We call them a liar. About heaven the Apostle John wrote:

Revelation 21:27 and nothing unclean and no one who practices abomination and lying, shall ever come into it, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life.

Therefore, no liar will be able to enter heaven.

You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain

Have you ever used the word “damn” in conjunction with God’s name, or swore by His name and then did not fulfill that vow? Taking the name of God in vain is called blasphemy. We call people who do so blasphemers.

You shall not steal

Have you ever taken anything that hasn’t belong to you? Anything? It doesn’t matter how big or how small the items is, we call that stealing. What do we call people who steal? We call them a thief.

You shall not commit adultery

Most of us have broken the first three commandments I listed, but we may feel a bit justified on this one. Most of us have never actually committed adultery. What I mean is that we’ve not actually done the deed. But Jesus said:

Matthew 5:27-28 27 “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery’; 28 but I say to you, that everyone who looks on a woman to lust for her has committed adultery with her already in his heart.”

Based on the standard of the bible, if we’ve ever looked at another person and had a lustful thought we are guilty of adultery.

So, according to the bible, you and I are lying, blaspheming, stealing, adulterers.

If God judges you based on the Ten Commandments would you be guilty or innocent? If you answered truthfully you have said, “guilty.” That guilt is because of the sins we have committed. Sin separates us from God. No matter how we try to change our lives, no matter how much snow falls, God sees our sin, and that sin separates us from Him. The prophet Isaiah wrote:

Isaiah 64:6 all our righteous deeds are like a filthy garment

This means that even our attempts to do right are not enough. They are not able to undo the sin we’ve committed.

The Good News

So far I’ve shared with you the reality, the bad news. But there is good news. It is possible for us to receive forgiveness for our sins. It is possible to be loved by God, and to know for certain that we will spend eternity with Him in heaven. We can actually be whiter than snow. The bible says:

Psalm 51:7 Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.

King David wrote this psalm. What did he mean by asking God to a wash him? David understood that he was a sinner. He had broken God’s commandments and deserved God’s wrath. But he also knew that God was merciful and would forgive the person who turned to him in sincerity and truth. The promise of God’s forgiveness was not just for King David; we can know God’s forgiveness today.

John 3:16 16 “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life.”

The Father sent His Son, Jesus, to come into this world to suffer the penalty for sin. When Jesus died on the cross He experienced God the Father’s wrath on sin. Jesus was born without sin, and lived a perfect obedient life. Because He was without sin His sacrifice was acceptable to the Father. Christ’s merit, His righteousness, is credited to all those who turn to Him by faith alone. Turning is an act of repentance. It means that we are abandoning our own path and turning towards God. Faith is believing, trusting without seeing. The Father calls on us to believe and trust in His Son, Jesus Christ. This is more than just believing in the story of Jesus, or that He is a historical figure. The belief the bible requires is complete trust; faith in Jesus Himself. We are called to abandon our sin and turn to Christ, to place our complete trust and faith in Him alone. The bible says:

Romans 10:9-11 9 that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you shall be saved; 10 for with the heart man believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation. 11 For the Scripture says, “Whoever believes in Him will not be disappointed.”

Believe in your heart. Believe in and on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Turn from your sin and place your faith and trust in Christ. Jesus Christ paid the penalty for sin and made the way possible for all who turn to Him to receive forgiveness. Long after today’s snow storm has melted and turned to mush, it’s possible to be whiter than snow in your life. It is possible to have your sins forgiven and to know you will spend eternity in the presence of God.

Acts 16:31 “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you shall be saved…”

God causes all things to work together

Last evening, at 10:00 PM, my peaceful evening was shattered by a dreadful phone call. A member of our church, and a dear sister in Christ, passed away suddenly. Our church is not a large one, so an event like this quickly sent shock waves through our fellowship. As a few of us sat in the living room with the surviving husband, we keenly felt his grief. We were grieving ourselves, but nothing like the grief of a spouse who has lost their mate. When I came home my thoughts turned to how our church family would take this news at worship this morning. Providentially, we had a guest speaker from ARBCA (Association of Reformed Baptist Churches of America). Mr. Gordon Taylor is a long time pastor from the mid-west, who is now the national coordinator for ARBCA. I informed Mr. Taylor of the sudden loss to our church. He was scheduled to preach on “Spiritual Growth” using 1 Peter 2:1-3. Instead, sensing the need for comfort and encouragement among the saints, Mr. Taylor choose Romans 8:28 as his text. How marvelous is God’s providence and the gentle prodding of the Holy Spirit!

In introducing the passage he had chosen, Mr. Taylor shared that he did not want to preach on this passage when he was in seminary. He shared that almost all the messages he heard on this passage dealt with God’s using calamity for good. In other words, something bad had to happen first before God could use it to benefit His children. But as he studied the text, he realized that it says, “God causes all things to work for good.” Good things and bad things are used by God to accomplish good to those who have been called; to those who are in Christ Jesus. In a time of grief those gathered this morning at Grace Baptist Church of Odenton were being reminded that God is working for good in our lives regardless of the circumstances. We don’t have to wait for tragedy to strike in order to know God’s goodness. Of course, while we grieve the passing of our dear sister in Christ, we are comforted knowing that God is using her death for good. But, with a new perspective gained, we should strive to see God working in all situations.

Psalm 34:8 O taste and see that the Lord is good; How blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him!

Why I am opposed to the Manhattan Declaration

The Manhattan Declaration is a document put forth by Chuck Colson, Founder of the Chuck Colson Center for Christian Worldview; Timothy George, Professor, Beeson Divinity School, Stamford University; and Robert George, McCormick Professor of Jurisprudence, Princeton University. The Declaration takes a stand on issues important to Christians such as the sanctity of life and the biblical definition of marriage. While the Manhattan Declaration’s stand on these two issues are congruent with biblical Christianity, the ecumenical nature of the document prevents me from adding my name to the list of signatories. The Manhattan Declaration falls short of heralding the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ without obfuscating it with the theological errors of the Orthodox and Roman Catholic churches.

R.C. Sproul has written an explanation as to why he will not be adding his name to the document. He stands with pastors and theologians such as John MacArthur, Aliaster Begg, and Michael Horton. You can read Dr. Sproul’s response to the Manhattan Declaration at the following link: R.C. Sproul’s Response to the Manhattan Declaration.