Thursday 25 March 2021
Wednesday 24 March 2021
Tuesday 23 March 2021
Saturday 20 March 2021
Friday 19 March 2021
Tuesday 16 March 2021
Thursday 11 March 2021
What Does God Have Against Me??
by Pastor Paul Naumann
Some time later the son of the woman who owned the house became ill. He grew worse and worse, and finally stopped breathing. She said to Elijah, "What do you have against me, man of God? Did you come to remind me of my sin and kill my son?" "Give me your son," Elijah replied. He took him from her arms, carried him to the upper room where he was staying, and laid him on his bed. Then he cried out to the Lord, "O Lord my God, have you brought tragedy also upon this widow I am staying with, by causing her son to die?" Then he stretched himself out on the boy three times and cried to the Lord, "O Lord my God, let this boy's life return to him!" The Lord heard Elijah's cry, and the boy's life returned to him, and he lived. Elijah picked up the child and carried him down from the room into the house. He gave him to his mother and said, "Look, your son is alive!" Then the woman said to Elijah, "Now I know that you are a man of God and that the word of the Lord from your mouth is the truth."
— I Kings 17:17-24
In the Name of Jesus Christ, Who has said, "My thoughts toward you are thoughts of peace, not of evil," Dear Fellow Redeemed,
"Why me, Lord?" -People often say that in a humorous way. Usually they say it on those bad days when Murphy's Law comes true: when everything that could possibly go wrong, does. Imagine a mother, for instance, who has spent all day managing her kids, wiping up spills, bandaging skinned knees and frantically trying to keep the house from turning into a shambles. To top it off, suppertime arrives and she discovers that the pot roast she thought was cooking at 450 all afternoon was actually cooking at 550, and has now become a blackened mess. It's easy to picture her rolling her eyes toward the heavens and saying with a sigh, "Why me, Lord?"
Well, she's not really blaming God for her problems, is she? Just giving vent to a little weariness and frustration. But there are much more serious situations that come up in life - times of real tragedy or severe problems. And when you've suddenly lost a loved one; when the doctor tells you your worst fears are true; when you're faced with impending bankruptcy...then that question isn't funny anymore. These are times when anybody - even the "best" Christian - could be tempted to seriously question God's wisdom and the way He governs our life. The Holy Ghost has given us a timeless example of this in our text for today. It's the account of the widow of Zeraphath, her son, and the prophet Elijah. Pay attention - there's a lesson here that, if you don't need now, you will definitely need some day! Our theme is a question that I hope you'll never ask:
"WHAT DOES GOD HAVE AGAINST ME??"
I. A question that makes too much of yourself! II. A question that makes too little of God!
Our text begins with the words: "Some time later...," and you may ask, "Some time later than what?" Our account for this morning follows an important miracle that the Lord performed through the prophet Elijah. God had sent Elijah to the home of the widow and her son during a period of famine, when they were down to their last bit of food. But, miraculously, the Lord caused the barrel of flour never to go empty, and the vessel of oil never to go dry. You might remember that it was our Old Testament lesson a few weeks back.
Well, just when the widow might have thought she was out of the woods...more trouble. "Some time later the son of the woman who owned the house became ill. He grew worse and worse, and finally stopped breathing." It was every mother's nightmare come true. You parents, especially, can imagine the growing fear and helplessness she must have felt as the child's condition got worse and worse. Finally, the boy died. She was wild, of course - beside herself with grief and pain. In her agony, she turned on Elijah: "What do you have against me, man of God? Did you come to remind me of my sin and kill my son?"
Her question was spoken to God's prophet, but you don't have to read much between the lines to see that she was actually questioning God Himself. Faced with this horrible tragedy, she asked the question that all of us have been - or will one day be - tempted to ask ourselves: "What does God have against me??" And that's a question that a believer should never ask, for at least two important reasons. In the first place, it's a question that makes too much of yourself.
We human beings are creatures of reason. We don't like mysteries. We like to have explanations for the things that happen in our lives. That's why it's so hard for us to accept when something goes wrong and there doesn't seem to be any logical explanation. When the doctor tells you you've contracted a deadly disease, you want to know why. When you've been scrimping and saving to make your family finances work, and then the bottom suddenly falls out, you want an explanation. When a loved one dies, you want to search for a reason. And if you can't find one, it's very tempting to make one up.
That's what the widow did. She automatically jumped to the conclusion that God must be angry with her for her sin, and that's why He killed her son. In doing so, she was making way too much of herself. She was, in effect, saying, "I'm wise enough to know why this happened, and I'm wise enough to know that, in my case, God has made a mistake."
Think about that - what nerve it takes for a mere human being to place himself or herself above the almighty God! And yet that's what the widow of Zeraphath did. And it's not such an uncommon occurrence, either. You remember that the same thing happened to the patriarch Job; when he was struck with tragedy, he complained that God was punishing him unfairly for his sins. He said, "God is not listening to my voice. For He crushes me with a tempest, and multiplies my wounds without cause. He will not allow me to catch my breath, buy fills me with bitterness." — Jb 9:16-18. It was the same agonized cry - "What does God have against me?"
Do you recall how God answered Job? The Lord appeared to Him out of a whirlwind and said, "Who is this who darkens counsel by words without knowledge? Now prepare yourself like a man; I will question you, and you shall answer Me. Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth?"— Jb 38:2-3. In other words - don't talk about things you don't understand, and don't tell God how to run the world He created!
And don't think that you are never guilty of doing it. If God hasn't revealed to you the reason for what happens in your life, don't make one up. I once knew a man who was absolutely convinced that his sinfulness was the reason his daughter had contracted cancer. Such explanations are not only wrong, they're presumptuous. Can you claim to know what God has in mind for your life - or anyone else's, for that matter? Don't make too much of yourself! One day a building in Jerusalem collapsed and killed a number of people. Jesus asked his followers, "Those eighteen on whom the tower of Siloam fell and killed them, do you think that they were worse sinners than all other men who dwelt in Jerusalem? I tell you, no; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish." — Lk 13:4-5.
Face it - if the Lord really punished us for our sins, we'd all of us have constant agony here on earth, and an eternity of pain to follow in the next life! The wages of sin is not occasional trouble or hardship. The Bible says that "the wages of sin is death." You might well ask, "Then why aren't we all dead? We're certainly all sinners!" And that brings us to the next point. The question, "What does God have against me?" not only makes too much of yourself - it also makes too little of God!
You know, I'm constantly amazed at the number of Christians who can overlook a thousand yesterdays in their worrying and fretting over a single tomorrow. I see the faces of some older Christians among us this morning - ask them, sometime, whether the Lord has ever failed them in time of need. I've only been your pastor for seven years, and even I know many of your stories of God's healing, of His goodness and blessing in your lives. Can you really think that the Lord won't continue to stand by you in the troubles that lie ahead? If the widow of Zeraphath needed reassurance about God's goodness, all she had to do was go look at that bottomless flour barrel...and yet she questioned God. In the case of her son, she doubted God's wisdom. She belittled His grace.
It's true that we are sometimes faithless. But God remains faithful. He has His plan for your life, even if you can't see what it is. Elijah himself didn't understand why the boy had died, but that didn't make him fold up in a heap of anger and self-pity, like the widow. Rather, he took his doubts and confusion to the Lord, and placed the whole situation into His hands. "Then Elijah stretched himself out on the boy three times and cried to the Lord, 'O Lord my God, let this boy's life return to him!' The Lord heard Elijah's cry, and the boy's life returned to him, and he lived. Elijah picked up the child and carried him down from the room into the house. He gave him to his mother and said, 'Look, your son is alive!'" God has never failed His people. He didn't fail that poor widow woman...and He will not fail you!
Do you want to see the indisputable proof of God's love for you? Then you need look no farther than this cross on our altar. It's a symbol of the blood sacrifice that our Savior made for us. John says, "By this we know love, because He laid down His life for us." — I Jn 3:16. For your sake, Jesus Christ, the King of all creation, bowed His head and accepted a crown...not of jewels, but of thorns. For your sake, His hands and feet were pierced by nails. His wounded shoulders felt the rough, wooden surface of the cross for your sake, and for your sake His blood flowed. All this, so that you and I can claim complete innocence in God's eyes. We are forgiven! We are free from the curse of sin, as Paul says, "Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us, for it is written, 'Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree'." — Gal 3:13.
You see that now the question "What does God have against me?" becomes meaningless. He can't be punishing me for my sin - Jesus bore the punishment for my sin! For His' sake, God has only love for us, not anger. Does that mean that we won't continue to run into trouble in life? Does it mean that the Lord will never allow hurt to come, or tragedy to strike? No. But don't make too little of God! He is more than powerful enough to bring triumph even out of tragedy. Look at your bulletin cover for this morning. "Weeping may endure for a night," says the Psalmist, "but joy will come in the morning." And don't forget the promise God makes to us in Romans 8:28, a promise that afflicted Christians of all ages have relied upon with confidence: "We know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose." That means you, dear Christians, so rejoice! Like all the other promises our Lord makes, this is a promise He will never break!
I heard the song on the radio. The singer asked, "Why me, Lord? What have I ever done to deserve...?" -and up to that point I thought he was going to complain about his hard lot in life. But I got a surprise. He went on, "What have I ever done to deserve even one of the blessings I've known?" I hope you'll join me today in thanking the Lord for the manifold blessings that He's showered on us, for Jesus' sake. I pray that, when the hard times come, we'll remember with confidence our Lord's great love for us. And I know that we'll never need to ask that after all meaningless question, "What does God have against me?" AMEN.
READY OR NOT...HERE I COME!
by Pastor Paul Naumann
"Then the kingdom of heaven shall be likened to ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. Now five of them were wise, and five were foolish. Those who were foolish took their lamps and took no oil with them, but the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps. But while the bridegroom was delayed, they all slumbered and slept. And at midnight a cry was heard: 'Behold, the bridegroom is coming; go out to meet him!' Then all those virgins arose and trimmed their lamps. And the foolish said to the wise, 'Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.' But the wise answered, saying, 'No, lest there should not be enough for us and you; but go rather to those who sell, and buy for yourselves.' And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the wedding; and the door was shut. Afterward the other virgins came also, saying, 'Lord, Lord, open to us!' But he answered and said, 'Assuredly, I say to you, I do not know you.' Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour in which the Son of Man is coming."
— Matthew 25:1-13
In Christ Jesus, Whom we are all waiting to meet, Dear Fellow Redeemed,
You and I probably don't worry too much about the prospect of nuclear war. The United States and the Russian republics still have thousands of missiles aimed at each other, still capable of being launched. And yet, the fact is we've been living under the nuclear threat for decades now, and, especially with the end of the cold war, nuclear attack is something we just don't think about very often. But there is a group of men in this country who do think about it all the time - they're called the Strategic Air Command. Right now as we speak, members of United States Strategic Air Command are sitting in darkened underground bunkers, the lights of radar scopes and control boards lighting their faces. They're job is to be prepared in case war should break out...not next year or ten years from now, but in the next minute! They are repeatedly drilled and trained, trained and drilled, until they are in a state of constant readiness to engage the enemy at a moment's notice. A nuclear war may be years away or decades away; it may never come at all - and that's certainly our prayer! But if it does, and when it does, there's one thing we can be certain of: our Strategic Air Command will be ready.
Unlike nuclear war, Judgement Day is one event that we know for sure is going to happen. When our Lord Jesus ascended into the clouds of heaven, two angels appeared to the disciples and told them that Jesus would be coming back, "Men of Galilee, why do you stand gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will so come in like manner as you saw Him go into heaven." — Acts 1:11. Jesus is coming back to earth; when...we don't know. The question is: are we ready to meet Him? Our text today is a parable that Jesus told about the Christian's state of readiness. The theme of our message is:
"READY OR NOT...HERE I COME!" As Christians, let us be:
I. Personally ready. II. Ready no matter how long the wait. III. Ready to go to Him immediately.
When kids play the game of Hide and Seek, the shout, "Ready or not, here I come," means that the one who is "it" is coming to look for the others. Any child who hears that shout and hasn't found a hiding place yet, knows he is out of luck. Well, the Apostle Paul tells us that on the Last Day "...the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout." — I Thes. 5:16. The shout probably won't be "ready or not, here I come," but it might as well be! Because anyone who's not ready when Jesus returns will have lost his soul for eternity! The Parable of the Wise and Foolish Virgins is Jesus way of illustrating the importance of being ready for that day.
In order to understand this parable, we need to know the way weddings were celebrated during Jesus' time. Weddings always took place in the evening. There was a bride and a groom, and bridesmaids and groomsmen, just like we have today, but they didn't all meet at the church. First the groom and his attendants would go someplace and celebrate together. When they were good and ready, they would come back to town and make their way to the house of the bride. As soon as word reached the house that the groom was on his way, the bridesmaids would all go out to meet him, and they'd carry oil lamps to light the way. Then they'd escort the men to the room of the bride, and the whole group of people would march to the home of the groom, where the marriage ceremony would be performed. Since the bridesmaids never knew exactly when the groom would come for his bride, they had to have their lamps full of oil and ready to light at a moment's notice. And this is the point on which Jesus turns His lesson of the ten virgins...five of them wise and five foolish.
In the parable, the groom took quite a while to come for his bride. In fact it was many hours. It was getting very late at night, and all the bridesmaids had dozed off. But suddenly, in the middle of the night, the cry went up, "'Behold, the bridegroom is coming; go out to meet him!' Then all those virgins arose and trimmed their lamps. And the foolish said to the wise, 'Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.'" All of a sudden it was time - the groom was coming - and the five foolish virgins discovered that they were not prepared to meet him. They had no oil for their lamps! When they asked the five wise virgins to give them some of their oil, they said, "No, lest there should not be enough for us and you." In the Greek, their reply is stronger: "No way! Absolutely not! It is utterly impossible for us to share our oil with you!"
Our Savior is coming back to earth suddenly. He is the groom in this parable. Those who will supposedly be ready to meet Him when He comes are the Christians. They are are bridesmaids. But is it enough to have the name "Christian"? To come from a "Christian" family? To be an official member of a "Christian" church? Obviously not! The five foolish virgins were all bridesmaids, just like the others. And they all had lamps. The difference was that they had no oil in their lamps! Jesus tells us that, to be truly prepared for His return, we too must have that oil, that one necessary commodity...what is it? It's faith; a living, personal faith in our Redeemer!
On the Last Day, we will need to be in a state of personal readiness to meet our Savior. Even if you're whole family as far back as you can remember has been Christian, even if your name is on the membership list this church, even if you've never missed a Sunday service in your life, it won't mean a thing if you haven't got a living, personal faith in Jesus as your Savior. Paul says, "Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith apart from the deeds of the law." — Rom 3:28. God's Law tells us that we need a perfect righteousness to stand justified in His sight. His Gospel tells us that that perfect righteousness is available to us through faith in Jesus. All He asks us to do is receive the righteousness of Jesus' perfect life, and the forgiveness of sins that he earned for us on the cross. That's what faith is, and we've each of us got to have it on our own. No one else can believe for us! When Jesus comes to judge all men, we must be personally ready, with the oil of faith burning brightly in our lives!
Another point Jesus makes in the parable is that we must be ready no matter how long the wait. The bridesmaids knew that the bridegroom would be coming, but they didn't know when. Maybe those five foolish virgins meant to get oil for their lamps...but when the minutes turned to hours and the groom still hadn't shown up, it somehow didn't seem so important anymore.
The minutes are stretching to hours for us, too! It's been almost two thousand years now since anyone on earth has laid eyes on Jesus Christ. He said He's coming back; He told us to be ready, but...after so much time... Well, it's easy to let our guard down! Who would ever expect the end of the world to come and Judgement Day to arrive tomorrow...or next week? But remember the parable - it was exactly when the virgins least expected it that the bridegroom actually did arrive! That's why it's so absolutely important to be ready, no matter how long the wait. Jesus said, "Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour in which the Son of Man is coming." And in many other places, the Bible warns us not to let our preparedness slide just because He's delaying His return. At my family's home in Seattle, there had been several burglaries in the neighborhood, but we never worried about it; we just thought it would never happen to us. Imagine my surprise when I returned home from work one night to find the front door of the house swinging open, and all of our valuables gone! The arrival of Jesus will be just like that! The Bible says, "But you yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so comes as a thief in the night," — I Thes 5:2, and "...if the master of the house had known what hour the thief would come, he would have watched and not allowed his house to be broken into." — Matt 24:43. God wants us to be ready, no matter how long the wait!
Finally, we should be ready to go to our Savior immediately. How much time will there be between when Jesus comes back and when the doors of heaven are shut forever? How much time was there in the parable? The cry went up that the groom was coming, and the foolish virgins immediately asked the wise to give them some oil. "But the wise answered, saying, 'No, lest there should not be enough for us and you; but go rather to those who sell, and buy for yourselves.' And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the wedding; and the door was shut. Afterward the other virgins came also, saying, 'Lord, Lord, open to us!' But he answered and said, 'Assuredly, I say to you, I do not know you.'" They were lacking the oil that they needed, and they found out the hard way that there was no time to get it before the door of the wedding was shut.
How suddenly will Jesus come back? How suddenly will time end and eternity begin? I'm sure you've all seen a night-time thunderstorm was moving across the plains. When a lightning bolt splits the sky, the entire landscape is suddenly lit up as bright as daylight from horizon to horizon. That's just how suddenly Jesus will reappear on earth, "For as the lightning comes from the east and flashes to the west," Jesus said, "so also will the coming of the Son of Man be." — Matt 24:27. At that instant (and it could be any moment now!), those who find themselves without faith, or those who put their faith in anything but the blood and righteousness of Christ, will see the door of heaven close on them forever. When Jesus comes, we must be ready to go to him immediately...or not at all!
On their way home from church one Sunday, a mother asked her little girl what she had learned in Sunday School that day. She replied, "Today the teacher told us that this world is only a place where God lets us live for a while, so that we can get ready to go to heaven. But Mom, I don't see anybody getting ready! I see you getting ready to go to Grandma's house, and I see Daddy getting ready to go to work, but I don't see anybody getting ready to go to heaven! Why isn't anybody getting ready?" That's a good question! Christ has not come yet. Let us, as Scripture says, "work while it is day, for the night comes, when no man can work." If we have no oil for our lamps, or if our supply is running low, we can still fill them up. By God's grace, we can still prepare! Our Bibles are there in our homes for us to read. Worship services are held here every Sunday, where we can hear and believe the life-giving, faith-giving Word of God. If you want to be truly ready for Christ's return, if you want to replenish your stock of the oil of faith, God tells you exactly how it's done: "Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God!" AMEN.
IT IS GOOD FOR US TO BE HERE on the Mount of Transfiguration
by Pastor Paul Naumann
"Now after six days Jesus took Peter, James, and John, and led them up on a high mountain apart by themselves; and He was transfigured before them. His clothes became shining, exceedingly white, like snow, such as no launderer on earth can whiten them. And Elijah appeared to them with Moses, and they were talking with Jesus. Then Peter answered and said to Jesus, 'Rabbi, it is good for us to be here; and let us make three tabernacles: one for You, one for Moses, and one for Elijah'; because he did not know what to say, for they were greatly afraid. And a cloud came and overshadowed them; and a voice came out of the cloud, saying, 'This is My beloved Son. Hear Him!' Suddenly, when they had looked around, they saw no one anymore, but only Jesus with themselves."
— Mark 9:2-8
In the Name of Jesus Christ, Whose glory all believers will one day share, Dear Fellow Redeemed,
I'm glad to see you all here this morning! You're in the right place, at the right time, and you're doing the right thing by assembling here to worship the one true God. It is good for you to be here. But where will you be tomorrow? You'll be back out there in the world, struggling with day-to-day issues. You'll be dealing with all the pressures and problems and anxieties that seem to fill up our lives in this present world. When tomorrow comes, will you remember what you heard here today? Will you carry God's Word with you, and put it to work in your daily life? I hope you will...but it's not easy! Our immediate problems and concerns have a way of crowding God's Word out of our minds. We get so wrapped up in this earthly home of ours that we tend to forget about our heavenly home, how we get there, and what we're supposed to be doing on our way there.
But we're not alone - Jesus' own disciples had the same problem. Shortly before the events of our text Jesus sharply rebuked Peter for thinking too much about the things of men, and not enough about the things of God. Well, our Lord decided it was time to wake His disciples up a bit. He was going to remind them - in a way they'd never forget - about the most fundamental eternal truths. He took them up a mountain. We need that reminder, too, so today we're going up that mountain with them. When we get there, I think you'll agree with Peter that, in the words of our theme...
"IT IS GOOD FOR US TO BE HERE on the Mount of Transfiguration"
I. Here we see Jesus' deity. II. Here we understand His mission. III. Here we are motivated to serve Him.
Despite the many artists renditions of Jesus, we don't really know what He looked like. We do know that there was nothing special about His physical appearance (cf. Is 53:2). He didn't look any different than the other people of His time...and that was no doubt part of the disciple's problem. They travelled with Jesus, ate with Him and talked with Him every day. They tended to lose sight of the fact that Jesus was not only true man, but true God as well. Well, they were about to get a powerful demonstration of Christ's deity - one that would stay with them for the rest of their lives!
Peter, James and John were the core of the disciples, representative of the other twelve. These were three Jesus chose to be witnesses to this special miracle. At the time, they were at a town named Caesarea Philippi in northern Galilee, and the three must have wondered what was going on when Jesus took them on a hike to a nearby range of mountains. Our text says, "Now after six days Jesus took Peter, James, and John, and led them up on a high mountain apart by themselves." If you've done any hunting or hiking in the hills, you know what hard work climbing is. Luke tells us that the disciples were tired when they arrived. As Jesus began to pray, the three disciples started to go to sleep. But in the twinkling of an eye, an event took place that had them suddenly wide awake! "And Jesus was transfigured before them. His clothes became shining, exceedingly white, like snow, such as no launderer on earth can whiten them."
Do you remember the first time you saw a "black light," and the way it lights up a fluorescent poster in a dark room? I do. I was a little kid, and I thought it was magic. The light seemed to come not from the bulb, but from the picture itself, as if it had an inner light all its own that was somehow shining out. Now imagine, if you will, the wide-eyed wonder that must have struck the disciples there on that mountaintop. Jesus was "transfigured" before them; He was literally metamorphosed from His normal, earthly body into His heavenly, glorified body. His face shone "like the sun," Matthew says, and His clothes radiated a powerful snow-white light. The disciples were stunned by the sight. This was no mortal human standing before them. This was God...just as He would appear to their eyes in the courts of heaven itself. Peter had only one reaction; he stammered, "It is good for us to be here!"
For those disciples, the transfiguration was a vivid reminder of Jesus deity that they would never forget. Years later, John would say, "And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth." -- John 1:14. Peter later used this experience to remind his hearers that Jesus really is God. This isn't all some fairy tale we made up, Peter said. Rather, "We were eyewitnesses of His majesty." — 2 Pet 1:16. We saw it with our own eyes! We glimpsed heaven, and it was good for us to be there!
Well, today you and I are on the mountaintop, and it is good for US to be here, too! Because here on the Mount of Transfiguration, we see Jesus' deity - His Godhead. In His Word, our Lord allows us to look upon our glorified Savior with they eyes of our faith - to see Him the way He will look when we meet Him on Judgement Day. Not just a man, but true God, all-knowing and all-powerful. He is the glorified Savior who even now is watching over us, protecting us, and providing for our every need. The Lord would have us take that picture of a glorified Christ with us into our daily lives, and keep that picture before our eyes as we go about our day-to-day tasks. No matter what the "scholars" of our age may say, the Jesus we serve is more than just a man, more than simply a good example and a "fine moral teacher"...He is almighty God!
There's another reason why it's good for us to be here. Like the disciples, it is here on the Mount of Transfiguration that we understand Jesus' mission.
Amazing as the sight of the glorified Christ was to those disciples, they were about to see something more amazing still: "Elijah appeared to them with Moses, and they were talking with Jesus." Now, instead of one shining presence standing in front of them, there were three! Moses and Elijah appeared in their glorified bodies as well...and they were talking with Jesus. Now what did these two Old Testament prophets have to discuss with Jesus? Luke tells us: "Then behold, two men talked with Him, who were Moses and Elijah, who appeared in glory and spoke of His death which He was about to accomplish at Jerusalem." — Luke 9:30-31. The topic of conversation was Jesus' mission - His death on the cross of Calvary for the sins of the world.
Up to this point, the disciples hadn't really understood Jesus' mission, though He explained it to them again and again. Just six days earlier, according to Mark, Jesus had told the disciples in the plainest possible language "...that the Son of Man must suffer many things, and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again." — Mk 8:31. They still didn't get it. But this event spelled it out like nothing else had. Here on the Mount of Transfiguration, the point was hard to miss. Here before them was Moses, the giver of the Law, discussing with Jesus how that Law would be fulfilled and how the sins of the world would be paid for. Here before them was Elijah, the prophet who had preached repentance and urged the remnant of Israel to seek God's mercy and forgiveness; now Elijah was discussing with Jesus exactly how that mercy and forgiveness would be won for all mankind on the cross. For an understanding of Jesus' mission, Peter was right: it was very good for them to be there!
...And it's good for US to be here, too! Here on the Mount of Transfiguration, we not only see clearly who Jesus is, we see the mission He came to accomplish. You know, it wasn't blind chance that brought Jesus to that skull-shaped hill outside Jerusalem; it wasn't just a lucky break that you and I were delivered from sin and eternal death. This was God's plan from the beginning. From eternity, God knew exactly what it was going to cost to rescue us from the hell our sins deserved. From eternity, God determined to pay that price with the blood of His only-begotten Son. The promise of redemption - that there would be a way for us sinners to get forgiveness - that promise was made already in the Garden of Eden. It was repeated throughout the Old Testament by prophets like Moses and Elijah. And it was fulfilled with the last drop of blood that flowed from Jesus' body on the cross. At that moment, the last of your sins was paid for, and you were completely redeemed! Hell's gates slammed shut behind you, and heaven's doors opened in front of you!
Rejoice, believers - you have been redeemed by Christ the crucified! That's a historical fact that nothing can change. When you put your trust in Jesus' blood and righteousness, you ARE on your way to heaven, no if's and's or but's about it! The only question left is...what are you going to do with your life in the meantime?
...Because you've got to do something. At least, that's the way Peter felt. His eyes were opened there on the mountaintop, and it shook him up. He only knew one thing, and that was that he had to DO something to serve his glorious Savior. As it turns out, his first impulse was kind of a silly one - to build shelters for Jesus, Moses and Elijah (as if they needed shelters!) He had the right idea, though. The miracle on the mountain motivated him to serve Christ.
The same is true for us. It is good for us to be here, to see our glorified Savior, to hear about His death for us, because here we are motivated to serve Him. As a Christian, and knowing what you know, can you keep the Good News to yourself? Can you be a child of God on Sunday mornings, and a child of the world the rest of the week? Is it possible to sit on your hands and conduct your life as if none of this ever happened? No! You're naturally going to want to let others in on the Good News. You'll find yourself agreeing with the Jerusalem apostles, who said, "We cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard." — Acts 4:19-20. You're going to want to apply God's Word to every part of your life: work, school, family life and leisure time.
And of course, you're going to want to follow the instructions that came from the cloud there on the mountaintop: "This is My beloved Son. Hear Him!" Keep on listening to the voice of your Savior, and learning from His Word. Because you know what? -The Bible will be an even greater power in your life than if you yourself had been physically present on the Mount of Transfiguration. That's what Peter said! Yes - he said - we saw His glory with our own eyes, but "...we also have the prophetic word made more sure, which you do well to heed as a light that shines in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts." — 2 Pet 1:19.
It is good for us to be here! Here on the mountain we see we see Jesus' glory, here we understand His mission, and here we are motivated to serve Him. But you know, we can't stay here on the mountain, any more than those disciples could. When they heard the voice of God, they fell on their faces to the ground. A little while later, when they looked up, Moses and Elijah, the bright cloud and the glory...it was all gone. But Jesus hadn't left them, and He won't leave us, either. He says, "Lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world." Let us take the image of our glorified Savior with us as we return down the mountain, and keep it before our eyes as we go about our daily business. Let us sing with the hymnist,
"Tis good, Lord, to be here.
Yet we may not remain;
But since Thou bidst us leave the mount,
Come with us to the plain."
AMEN.
What They Said When Jesus Went to Calvary... "What then shall I do with Jesus?"
by Pastor Paul Naumann
Now at the feast the governor was accustomed to releasing to the multitude one prisoner whom they wished. And they had then a notorious prisoner called Barabbas. Therefore, when they had gathered together, Pilate said to them, "Whom do you want me to release to you? Barabbas, or Jesus who is called Christ?" For he knew that because of envy they had delivered Him. While he was sitting on the judgment seat, his wife sent to him, saying, "Have nothing to do with that just Man, for I have suffered many things today in a dream because of Him." But the chief priests and elders persuaded the multitudes that they should ask for Barabbas and destroy Jesus. The governor answered and said to them, "Which of the two do you want me to release to you?" They said, "Barabbas!" Pilate said to them, "What then shall I do with Jesus who is called Christ?" They all said to him, "Let Him be crucified!"
— Matthew 27:15-22
In Christ Jesus, who said, "No man cometh unto the Father, but by Me," Dear Fellow Redeemed,
While driving down a highway in western South Dakota one day I passed two signs. One was a sort of historical marker along the roadside; it said something about a famous Indian trail that used to exist there. Someday maybe I'll stop and read it, but I didn't have time then, and it really didn't seem to matter. The other sign was at a crossroads. It said, "Kyle left, Interior right." That sign I did pay attention to, because I'd missed that corner before, and learned that a wrong turn there can be disastrous. In fact, one can easily go a hundred miles off course before realizing it, if you miss that particular sign!
The questions that confront you in your life are that way, too. Some questions are like signs along a straight road - it doesn't really matter how you answer them; life will go on pretty much the same, regardless ("What color will I paint my kitchen?" "What kind of car insurance should I buy?") Other questions, though, are like signs at a crossroads - it matters a great deal how you answer them. Every so often you find yourself confronted with a question so vital that how you answer it will determine the whole course of your future life. The question we'll consider tonight is one of those. In the pleading, bewildered words of Pontius Pilate, we'll hear what the Roman governor had to say when Jesus went to Calvary. We'll also hear one of life's most searching questions:
"WHAT THEN SHALL I DO WITH JESUS?"
You might well ask: what circumstances could drive a Roman governor to ask such a question? After all, he wasn't some timid junior bureaucrat - he was the highest authority in the land. As far as Palestine was concerned, Pontius Pilate was the Roman Empire, a man of influence, used to making decisions. His word was all it took to either condemn a prisoner to death, or to set a prisoner free. And when it came to these stubborn and contentious Jews, it usually didn't matter much to him which he chose.
But there was something strange and different about the case of this Man, Jesus of Nazareth. For several hours the crowd of Jews outside had been calling for his blood, urging Pilate to pass a sentence of death on Him. And yet, the more closely he examined the prisoner, the more obvious it became that Jesus had done nothing wrong. The governor had said as much - several times - to the crowd, and even announced his intention to set Jesus free.
How strange it all was, though - each time he declared Jesus innocent, it only seemed to whip the crowd into a higher pitch of frenzy. Something about this Man was beginning to gnaw at the governor's mind; strangely enough, he found that he was becoming frightened. "Crucify Him! Crucify Him!" the people shouted. "Pilate said to them, 'You take Him and crucify Him, for I find no fault in Him.' The Jews answered him, 'We have a law, and according to our law He ought to die, because He made Himself the Son of God.' And when Pilate heard that saying, he was even more afraid..." — Jn 18:6-8.
Pilate found himself in an uncomfortable position. He was being forced to answer a question that was increasingly difficult for him: what am I going to do with Jesus? The answer of the mob was unequivocal - "Let Him be crucified!" But what if Jesus was as innocent as He seemed? "What if..." the governor must have trembled a little, "what if He really is some sort of son of the gods? What then will be the consequences if I condemn Him to death??"
To make matters worse, even Pilate's wife was turning up the heat on him. "While he was sitting on the judgment seat, his wife sent to him, saying, 'Have nothing to do with that just Man, for I have suffered many things today in a dream because of Him.'" His fear and apprehension grew.
Pilate had a feeling he'd better release this Jesus, and he thought he knew just the political maneuver to accomplish it. During the Passover festival, the governor would customarily pardon one criminal. Usually it was whoever the people wanted released, but this time Pilate gave them a choice between two - either Jesus, or a depraved murderer named Barabbas. A brilliant solution! Now Pilate would surely be off the hook, because not even the envious Jews would condemn Jesus if it meant releasing a menacing criminal like Barabbas on the public. But imagine his shock when he put the choice to them, "'Which of the two do you want me to release to you?' And they said, 'Barabbas!'" Utterly bewildered, Pilate asked the question - the question that he could no longer avoid, "'What then shall I do with Jesus, who is called Christ?' They all said to him, 'Let Him be crucified!'"
"WHAT THEN SHALL I DO WITH JESUS?" It's a question Pilate had to answer in the end. Oh sure, he made a big show of washing his hands, but that was just a smokescreen. He'd answered the question, alright. In the end he'd gone along with the crowd and given his assent to the death of God's Son.
"WHAT THEN SHALL I DO WITH JESUS?" It's a question every human being must sooner or later answer for himself...and washing your hands is not an option. "He who is not with Me is against Me," Jesus said, "He who does not gather with Me is scatters." If you're unwilling to crucify Him in unbelief, then there is only one thing left for you to do...confess Him as your Savior!
But there in the emotion-charged courtyard of the Roman governor, this was the one answer that no one seemed prepared to give. Not the crowd, not Pontius Pilate, not even Jesus' own disciples, who were conspicuously absent from the scene. Not one person was found who would acknowledge Jesus for who He was. No one had the faith to stand up and tell these people the horrible truth - that they were mocking and beating and killing the Son of God!
It wasn't like Jesus was dying for people who deserved it, for faithful friends who stuck by Him to the end. Even now, Jesus blood was flowing not for the faithful, but for the faithless. For the inconstant, for the sinful...for you and me! I wonder if the words of the hymnwriter stab your heart, like they do mine:
What punishment so strange is suffered yonder! The shepherd dies for sheep that loved to wander; The Master pays the debt His servants owe Him, Who would not know Him.
I saw that bumper sticker again the other day: "Smile - God loves you." We've seen and heard that phrase so often that it's almost become a meaningless cliche. But it's true, nevertheless. In fact, there's a way you can accurately measure God's love for you, and it has nothing to do with smiley faces or bumper stickers. If you want to know how much God loves you, take a good long look at Jesus on the cross. There, in throes of writhing agony, He bore the punishment for your sins. He ransomed you from eternal death, not because you were His friend, but in spite of the fact that you were by nature His enemy! The Apostle Paul says, "Christ died for the ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet perhaps for a good man someone would even dare to die. But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us!" — Rom 5:6-8.
There on the cross you see what Jesus has done for you. Now you must ask yourself that searching question: "What then shall I do with Jesus?" In the second century A.D., an aged Christian named Polycarp was forced to answer that question by the Roman proconsul in Smyrna. During a period of religious persecution, Polycarp was arrested and brought to the local arena to be executed in front of a cheering crowd. The proconsul gave him one last chance. "Swear, and I will release you," he said. "Revile Christ!" The old man replied, "Eighty and six years have I served Him, and He never did me wrong. How can I now blaspheme my King who has saved me?"
My fellow Christians, can we answer any differently? When we reach the crossroads where we have to decide, "What shall I do with Jesus?" let us confess Him as our Savior.
Pilate didn't know how to handle that question, but we do. With the faith God has given us, let us confess Christ boldly, at every crossroads in our life! Because you know, those crossroads may appear more often than you imagine. When somebody asks you, out of the blue, what you believe in, you may have to decide in an instant, "What then shall I do with Jesus?" Often, too, a temptation to sin may bring you to a crossroads. Young people, when you're tempted to join others in abusing alcohol and drugs, remember that question, "What then shall I do with Jesus?" Children, when you're about to disobey your parents, say those words: "What then shall I do with Jesus?" Women, when you're tempted to join in the local gossip and say a few choice words about whoever they're cutting down at the moment...men, when the atmosphere where you work tempts you to keep your faith under wraps and join in the cursing and dirty jokes...wherever you are and whatever the temptation happens to be, just stop a second and ask yourself, "What then shall I do with Jesus?" Pray the Lord for faith - it only takes a second! - and He'll give you the answer you need: "I shall confess Jesus as my Savior!"
A Christian man once asked that God would make him into a road sign. Not a sign along the way that people could either read or ignore as they chose, but rather a sign at the crossroads. He prayed that his life would be such a clear witness to Christ that people who saw him would be forced to ask themselves, "What then shall I do with Jesus?" Let's you and I be signs at the crossroads, too. On Calvary, Jesus confessed His love for us. God grant us the faith to confess Him, in every way, as our Savior! AMEN.
CITIZENS OF AMERICA...CITIZENS OF HEAVEN
by Pastor Paul Naumann
Then the Pharisees went and plotted how they might entangle Him in His talk. And they sent to Him their disciples with the Herodians, saying, "Teacher, we know that You are true, and teach the way of God in truth; nor do you care about anyone, for You do not regard the person of men. Tell us, therefore, what do You think? Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?" But Jesus perceived their wickedness, and said, "Why do you test Me, you hypocrites? Show Me the tax money." So they brought Him a denarius. And He said to them, "Whose image and inscription is this?" They said to Him, "Caesar's." And He said to them, "Render therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's." When they had heard these words, they marveled, and left Him and went their way.
— Matthew 22:15-22
In the name of Jesus Christ, Who is the Christian's Commander in Chief, Dear Fellow Redeemed,
For an American citizen, election day is one of the most important days on the calendar. When you think about it, it's far more important than the Fourth of July, or Presidents' Day, or Veterans' Day - those are occasions when we think back about America's glorious past. But on election day, each U.S. citizen has a chance to shape America's future! As Americans, voting for the candidates of our choice is both a privilege and a duty. Sadly, statistics tell us that at least three out of every ten Americans don't exercise their right to vote. It's clear that a lot of folks in this country simply don't understand the great blessings - and the great responsibilities - that go along with American citizenship.
You know, we've got the same problem in the Church. Every believer, every person who's had his sins washed away by Jesus, is a citizen of heaven. But there are a lot of Christians who hardly give their "heavenly citizenship" a second thought. They seldom think about the huge benefits of being a believer, and they try to avoid thinking about the responsibilities. "Brethren, these things ought not so to be!" As Christians, we have a duty, both to our earthly country - our beloved United States - and to our greater, more permanent homeland: heaven. What is that duty? It's to realize the blessings of both, and to shoulder the responsibilities of both. Jesus addresses the topic in our text for this morning; today's theme is...
"CITIZENS OF AMERICA...CITIZENS OF HEAVEN"
I. Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's . II. Render to God the things that are God's.
In our text for today, Jesus once again meets up with the hypocritical leaders of the Jews. This time it's the disciples of the Pharisees who get together with the Herodians to confront Jesus. Now that's an unlikely combination if there ever was one. The religious sect of the Pharisees normally hated the political party of the Herodians, and were hated by them in return. The only thing that was stronger than their hatred of each other - the only thing they agreed on - was their hatred for Jesus. If Jesus really was the Messiah, as He claimed, then the Pharisees were afraid He'd loosen their spiritual strangle hold on the Jews. If Jesus really was a great King, the Herodians feared, then their days as a political power were numbered. So they got together and plotted against Jesus. How to get this troublemaker out of the way?
The scheme they came up with was an ingenious one. They'd entangle Jesus in His talk. They'd ask Him a question He couldn't possibly answer: "Is it right to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?" If He said, "Yes, you must pay taxes to Caesar," the common people would turn away from Him, because everyone hated the Roman government. They saw the Romans as infringing on their religion, by denying them their right to govern themselves as God's People. On the other hand, if Jesus said, "No, don't pay taxes to Caesar," well, better yet! Then they could turn Him over to the Roman governor and He'd be executed as a rebel and a traitor.
They gave Jesus an "either-or" choice. "Either we allow the Romans to govern us, and deny our religion, or we acknowledge only God as our Ruler, and defy the Romans." Jesus, of course, saw through their plot right away. "Jesus perceived their wickedness, and said, 'Why do you test Me, you hypocrites? Show Me the tax money.' So they brought Him a denarius." Then Jesus proceeded escape from their cleverly-laid trap, merely by holding up that coin and asking them a simple question - "Whose picture?" "Caesar's," they said impatiently; any child could see that! "And Jesus said to them, 'Render therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's.'" With a simple maneuver, Jesus put His finger on the flaw in their reasoning - it's not an "either-or" question at all...but "both-and". Believers have a duty both to their government and to God. For us Christians in the United States, the meaning of Jesus' lesson is obvious: we are both citizens of America, and citizens of Heaven.
Jesus said, first of all, "Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's." "Pay the government what you owe to the government!" our Savior tells us...and He's not just talking about forking over our income tax on April 15th. We are citizens of this great, free country of America. The freedoms we enjoy bring with them responsibilities, however. If we ignore that fact, or take our responsibilities as citizens lightly, we're not only being bad Americans, we're being bad Christians.
You know, it never fails to amaze me when people say religion has nothing to do with the government. That's the silliest thing I've ever heard! Who is it that gave us the democratic form of government we enjoy in the first place? The Almighty God is the One who established this government (and every other one, for that matter). The founding fathers of this nation recognized that fact, and no amount of sneering from the arrogant unbelievers of our own day can change it. We owe our devotion to our country, first of all, because God gave us our country! Paul says, "Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God." — Rom 13:1.
How does the Lord expect us to fulfil our duties as citizens of America? By obeying its laws. By paying its taxes. But also by being involved, as individuals, in shaping the course our country will take in the future. "Rendering unto Caesar" means that you've got responsibilities. You can't just sit back with your evening paper and complain about the terrible shape our country's in...that's too easy. In America - thank God! - you can do something about it!
"But what can I do?" you ask. There are a lot of things you can do - first (and most important), you can pray. Scripture promises that "...The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much." Pray for your local leaders, your state representatives, your congressmen and your president. Remember to regularly ask the Lord's blessings on our government. Secondly, get informed on the issues. Find out where specific candidates stand on specific issues. It takes time, but it's worth it. Write to your elected representatives. Let them know about the issues that concern you. Finally, get registered in your political precinct and vote. Do you think your one vote doesn't make a difference? Every year in this country, hundreds of elections are won or lost by just one vote per precinct! In 196O, John F. Kennedy was elected president by a margin of 113,000 votes - that's less than one-half a vote per precinct! If you value the blessings of free speech and freedom of the press, if you thank God for the blessing of freedom of religion...then exercise your American citizenship and work to preserve those freedoms!
Jesus reminds us that we have a solemn obligation to serve our government as citizens of the country in which we live. But He also reminds us of a greater allegiance we all have: we are first and foremost citizens of heaven! And Jesus says, "Render to God the things that are God's."
I'm afraid that that heavenly citizenship is something we don't think about too often. If someone asked you what country you were from, you're answer would be automatic - "I'm an American." In a more important way, though, we are citizens of heaven. Our president is Jesus, our nationality is Christian, and our homeland is heaven. A few minutes ago we spoke the Christian "Pledge of Allegiance" when we confessed the words of the Apostles Creed.
In the Second Article of that Creed lies the reason we can call ourselves citizens of heaven - "And I believe in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord, who was born of the virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead and buried. He descended into hell, and the third day He rose again from the dead..." You see, this isn't a citizenship that we're born into. This is a citizenship that had to be purchased for us. Jesus bought it for us when He gave up His life on the cross. We can't work for it, or earn it; it is simply given to us as a free gift of God's grace. When the Holy Ghost brings us to faith in Jesus, so that we place our whole confidence in our Savior for the forgiveness of our sins, then we're members of God's Kingdom, citizens of heaven by faith in Jesus. As Paul puts it, in Ephesians 2: "Now, therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone." -- Eph 2:19-20. For Jesus' sake, we're headed for eternal life. It's as sure as the fact that He lived, and died for us, and rose again the third day. We are citizens of heaven!
And, in the same way, our responsibilities as citizens of heaven really are more like blessed privileges than grudging duties. We have the privilege to gather here each week to listen to the Good News of the Gospel. We have the privilege of praising our Savior with words and hymns. We're encouraged to call on His name in prayer to supply all our wants and needs. We're honored with the privilege of teaching our children about Jesus. Above all, as citizens of heaven, we have the blessed privilege of bringing all our sins to our Savior in repentance, and of receiving His gracious forgiveness. In all of these ways, with our thanks and praises, our time and our offerings, our hymns and prayers, our teaching and our witnessing, we are "rendering to God the things that are God's." After all the blessings He has given us, it's little enough for us to give Him!
Speaking of John F. Kennedy...it was he who once said, "Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country." As grateful citizens of the United States, we would do well to bear that in mind this coming election day. As citizens of heaven, however, that quote is especially apt. We don't need to ask what our God has done for us - we all know that from memory: "He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life." As citizens of heaven, waiting to inherit that life, our question in the meantime is...what can we do for our God? In Jesus' name, AMEN.
"THE VALLEY OF DECISION"
by Pastor Paul Naumann
Proclaim this among the nations: "Prepare for war! Wake up the mighty men, let all the men of war draw near, let them come up. Beat your plowshares into swords and your pruninghooks into spears; let the weak say, 'I am strong.'" Assemble and come, all you nations, and gather together all around. Cause Your mighty ones to go down there, O Lord. "Let the nations be wakened, and come up the Valley of Jehoshaphat; for there I will sit to judge all the surrounding nations. Put in the sickle, for the harvest is ripe. Come, go down; for the winepress is full, the vats overflow - for their wickedness is great." Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision! For the day of the Lord is near in the valley of decision. The sun and moon will grow dark, and the stars will diminish their brightness. The Lord also will roar from Zion, and utter His voice from Jerusalem; the heavens and earth will shake; but the Lord will be a shelter for His people, and the strength of the children of Israel. So you shall know that I am the Lord your God, dwelling in Zion My holy mountain. Then Jerusalem shall be holy, and no aliens shall ever pass through her again."
— Joel 3:9-17
In Christ Jesus, our Shelter and our Refuge, Dear Fellow Redeemed,
The date was July 3, 1863. The place was a little, one-horse town in southern Pennsylvania, near the Maryland border. The name of the town was Gettysburg. It was a long way north for the Confederate Army, and General Robert E. Lee had fought hard to get there. South of town, Lee's army had strung itself out on a north/south rise of ground, named "Seminary Ridge" after a Lutheran seminary that stood there. As the hot noon sun beat down on the southern soldiers, they looked across a shallow valley at the Union army on the opposite ridge. Soon their commanders would order them to charge into that narrow valley and attack the Union positions. Not even the generals knew it yet, but the decisive battle of the Civil War was about to be fought. Fifty thousand men would give their lives to decide a single question: would America be split into two separate countries, or would it remain united? This narrow space between two ridges was the place where that question would be answered. It was the valley of decision.
The orders were given, and the battle raged. Heavy losses were incurred on both sides, but when the smoke cleared, the rebels had been driven back. It was the beginning of the end for the Confederacy. From this fateful valley the South would retreat, moving inevitably toward their ultimate defeat 23 months later.
Our text today describes another critical valley. It's a valley that exists nowhere on earth but in the mind of the prophet Joel. He prophesies the terrible conflict that will rage between the forces of the ungodly and the believers, and he sees the outcome of the battle as clearly as if it had already happened. The "Valley of Decision" he foresees is Judgment Day. Here the decision of the Lord will finally be pronounced, and that decision will be irrevocable for time and for eternity! With the prophet Joel, then, let's look ahead to...
"THE VALLEY OF DECISION"
I. We'll have to fight our way into it. II. There we'll see the defeat of the ungodly. III. There we'll see victory for the believers.
Every human being on earth is heading for the Valley of Decision, whether he knows it or not. We Christians know it, although the fact tends to slip our mind once in a while. The truth is that we're marching like a mighty army toward the Day of Judgment. Every night, as the hymn we just sang reminds us, we "pitch our moving tents a day's march nearer home;" we're 24 hours closer to the moment when Jesus will return to earth to judge the nations. And, like an army, every inch of the way we travel is fraught with fighting and struggle against the forces that oppose our faith in this world. It has always been that way, and it will always be that way.
We're headed for the Valley of decision, alright...but we'll have to fight our way into it!. Joel saw that, way back in the Old Testament, hundreds of years before Jesus was even born. He saw the tremendous struggle that the New Testament believers of all ages would come up against in their long march toward Judgment Day. He saw the enemies of the cross...but he wasn't afraid of them. Just the opposite - he sends out a challenge to the foes of the Church: "Prepare for war! Wake up the mighty men, let all the men of war draw near, let them come up." Do your worst, he says! Make every tool you've got into a weapon and gang up on the believers - that won't change the final outcome.
As it turns out, they didn't need much encouragement from Joel. In every century, the forces of the ungodly have battled the believers. The Apostle Paul told the Christians to expect it; he said, "We must through many tribulations enter the kingdom of God." — Acts 14:22. The road to heaven isn't an easy one. We have to fight.
"Even in America?" you ask. "Even in our modern world?" Especially in America, and especially in our modern world! The troops we're battling against in our day aren't the kind you can see; our government is supposed to protect our religion, not persecute it, thank God. But that still leaves us Christians with a battle, and a much harder one, because our enemies aren't the kind that you can get your hands on. We're fighting a general drift toward ungodliness in our society. In our own homes we're fighting the shabby ethics and loose attitudes toward morality that come at us in waves over the television set. We're fighting against a scientific community that says Creation is a myth, that teaches our kids that humans have evolved, over billions of years, from lower life forms. We're fighting a culture where dishonest executives and lawyers and brokers are demonstrating that "greed is good," that stealing is alright if you don't get caught, and that the almighty dollar is god. Perhaps worst of all are the false teachers we're fighting against - the people of other denominations who hide their errors under the sheeps' clothing of religiosity. They tell us not to worry so much about what the Bible teaches. "You stuffy Lutherans!" they say. "Don't make such a big deal about pure doctrine! Let your guard down! Forget about the world to come - join in with us, and we'll make this world a better place to live in."
But we won't let our guard down. We confessional Lutherans may be a small minority, but we take very seriously the words of the writer to the Hebrews, "Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering." — 10:23, KJV. So, with the Lord's help, we keep on fighting. We know where we came from, and we know where we're going. We're headed for the Valley of Decision.
What will we see when we get there? When the Last Day dawns, what will our eyes behold? We'll see exactly what Joel saw in his mind's eye: the final defeat of the ungodly. In our text, we hear the Lord calling all the nations into the Valley of Jehoshaphat; literally, "the valley of the Lord's judgment." All the enemies of the Church will be there, standing in front of the Lord's throne of judgment. Every government that ever persecuted the Christians. Every heathen army that ever slaughtered the believers. And every individual that ever rejected the Gospel invitation and turned his hand against God's elect. All the people who turned away from Christ, who rejected the narrow Path to heaven and instead got on the broad, easy interstate to hell. We'll be there to witness their destruction...and it won't be a pretty sight.
Not long ago, John Deere came out with a big new combine, the 8820. While most other wheat harvesters use a 24' cutting head, the 8820 has a head that's 30' wide - about eight feet wider than this church! It's an amazing sight to watch that enormous machine methodically mowing down such a huge swath of wheat. -But that's nothing compared with the deadly efficiency with which the angels of the Lord will mow down the unbelievers on Judgment Day. According to our text, the voice of the Lord will thunder to His servants, "Put in the sickle, for the harvest is ripe!" Cut down the unbelievers! They heard the Gospel, but they didn't believe it; they had a Savior, but they scorned Him. It will be a deadly harvest. Joel also uses the picture of grapes being trampled in the winepress of God's wrath. The ungodly will be utterly crushed and defeated, once and for all, and cast into hell to spend eternity weeping and grinding their teeth. Why? Because "...their wickedness is great." Because their lives were filled to overflowing with sin, and they rejected the one Person who, alone, could save them from those sins.
We'll see the defeat of the ungodly, and what a sight it will be! Joel is breathless as he describes the vision: "Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision! For the day of the Lord is near in the valley of decision. The sun and moon will grow dark, and the stars will diminish their brightness. The Lord also will roar from Zion, and utter His voice from Jerusalem; the heavens and earth will shake." Yes, we'll hear God's thundering judgment on the unbelievers. It'll be just as Jesus described it in our Gospel lesson this morning: "Depart from me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels." — Matt 25:41.
But in the middle of this terrible scene, we'll also witness something else. In the Valley of Decision, we'll see victory for the believers! The text goes on, "But the Lord will be a shelter for His people, and the strength of the children of Israel." As God's children, the true "Israel", we've got nothing to fear from the awesome cataclysm of Judgment Day. We have a Shelter, a protective Hiding Place that keeps us immune from the terrible wrath of God. Jesus is that Shelter and Hiding Place.
There's a law in this country that says a man can never be tried twice for the same crime. God has the same kind of law. Jesus was put on trial for our sin; He took our guilt upon Himself. Though He was innocent, God pronounced Him guilty and allowed Him to bear our punishment on the cross. There He poured out His lifeblood to pay off the debt of our sin in full. For Jesus' sake, we have already heard God's verdict on us, and that verdict is "Not guilty!" Our Lord won't allow us to be tried twice. For the unbelievers, yes - it will be "Judgment Day," a day of terrible defeat, a day of punishment. But for those of us who have put our whole trust in Jesus, it will be a day of sweetest victory, and nothing else! Are you afraid when you think of how close that Day might be? Don't be afraid - be happy! That's what God gave you your faith for, so you can look forward to that Day with joy. Jesus already endured the hell. All that's left for you is the heaven. And if the Last Day should come today, or tomorrow, or Tuesday? Let it come, I say. I'm ready. Jesus tells us just how it will be: "There will be signs in the sun, in the moon, and in the stars; and on the earth distress of nations, with perplexity, the sea and the waves roaring; men's hearts failing them from fear and the expectation of those things which are coming on the earth, for the powers of heaven will be shaken. Then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. Now when these things begin to happen, look up and lift up your heads, because your redemption draws near!" — Lk 21:25-28.
A certain general, on the morning of an important battle, once quoted these lines from Shakespeare's Julius Caesar: "O that a man might know the end of this day's business ere it come! But it sufficeth that the day will end, and then the end is known." Countless military commanders and soldiers alike have wished that futile dream - that they could know the outcome of the battle before it began. We, the soldiers of the cross, are the only army that can truly say we do know the outcome of the battle ahead of time. We've looked into the Valley of Decision with the prophet Joel. We've got a hard struggle ahead of us, but we know that the Lord's final decision will spell defeat for the ungodly, and victory for Christ's believers. With our faith in Christ as our bright banner shining in the sun, we'll see the gates of that heavenly Jerusalem swing open to receive us into eternity. On that Day, says the Lord, "...you shall know that I am the Lord your God, dwelling in Zion My holy mountain. Then Jerusalem shall be holy, and no aliens shall ever pass through her again!" Even so, come quickly, Lord Jesus! AMEN.
THE FAMOUS LAST WORDS OF ASCENSION DAY
by Pastor Paul Naumann
Therefore, when (the disciples) had come together, they asked Him, saying, "Lord, will You at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?" And He said to them, "It is not for you to know times or seasons which the Father has put in His own authority. But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth." Now when He had spoken these things, while they watched, He was taken up, and a cloud received Him out of their sight. And while they looked steadfastly toward heaven as He went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel, who also said, "Men of Galilee, why do you stand gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will so come in like manner as you saw Him go into heaven."
— Acts 1:6-11
In the name of Jesus Christ, our risen and ascended King, Dear Fellow Redeemed,
"Oh, don't worry about that gun, it's not loaded." ...Famous last words. "I never wear seatbelts - they wrinkle my clothes." ...Famous last words. "I'll come to church later. Right now there's too much going on in my life to worry about religion." ...Famous last words!
We use that phrase, "famous last words," almost as a joke. It's become a grim sort of humor we use to describe a person who thinks a situation isn't dangerous, when, actually, it turns out to be fatal. That phrase shouldn't be just a joke for us, though. A person's last words very often have great significance. When the Apostle Paul was nearing his end, he said, "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me." — II Tim 4:67-8. In the year 155 A.D., an elderly Christian named Polycarp faced death at the hands of the Romans when he refused to curse Jesus. He said, "I've served Him for eighty-six years, and He has done nothing but good for me. How could I curse Him, my Lord and Savior?" Martin Luther, on his deathbed, said, "Our God is the God whom salvation comes from. God is the Lord by whom we escape death. Into Your hands I commit my spirit: God of truth, You have redeemed me!"
In our text for today, no one is dying. But there were some very significant last words spoken on that Ascension Day. It was the last chance the disciples had to speak to Jesus in the flesh, and the last chance Jesus had to speak to them. What do their words mean for us? Let's find out, as we consider the theme:
"THE FAMOUS LAST WORDS OF ASCENSION DAY"
I. The disciples' words reveal their ignorance. II. Jesus' words reveal their assignment III. The angels' words promise His future return.
As you know, ascension means, "going up." When we said the Apostles' Creed a few moments ago, we confessed that Jesus suffered for our sins and was buried, "He descended into hell, and the third day He rose again from the dead. He ascended into heaven..." It was exactly forty days after His resurrection, and Jesus was about to return to heaven. He really wasn't leaving His disciples; He told them, "Lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world." — Mt 28:20. But it was the last time they would enjoy His physical presense, the last time they would see Him with their eyes, the last opportunity they had to speak to Him and ask Him questions. Only a few minutes left! -And how did they use that last golden opportunity? They asked Him...well, they asked Him kind of a dumb question!
"They asked Him, saying, 'Lord, will You at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?'" Evidently, the disciples still thought that Jesus would make Himself an earthly King, and rule over an earthly kingdom. Since He had demonstrated the power to heal people and perform miracles - even to rise from the dead - He obviously had the power to kick the Romans out of Israel and restore the nation to it's former glory. What He was waiting for?
The disciples' words revealed their ignorance. Jesus had spent countless hours instructing them, teaching them that the Kingdom of God is not a place. It's His ruling in the hearts of believers by faith. He told them countless parables, trying to teach them about His kingdom in words they'd understand. Over and over He'd said it: "My kingdom is not of this world." And again, "The kingdom of God does not come with observation; nor will they say, 'See here!' or 'See there' For indeed, the kingdom of God is within you." — Lk 17:20-21. Wherever there is a person whose heart is filled with faith in Him, Jesus said, that's where the kingdom of God is. But still the disciples didn't get it. Right up to Ascension day they kept hoping for an earthly kingdom!
Does your life reflect that same ignorance? If you believe what today's liberal churches teach, it will. "If we all get together and try to be nice people," they say, "we can make this world a wonderful place in which to live." -It will never happen. If you believe what the false doctrine of the millenialists, who say that Christ will come to initiate a "thousand-year reign" on earth, you'll make the same mistake. If you buy what TV evangelist Robert Schuller teaches, that the main purpose of the Bible is to give you a fulfilled, happy life in the here-and-now, you'll make the same mistake. The main theme of God's Word has to do with something much more important than that: eternal salvation. The Lord has saved us from the kingdom of death and sin. To do it, He gave His only Son, Jesus. The perfect life that God demands, and that we could never live...Jesus lived, in our place. The huge payment for our sins that God demands, and that we could never pay...Jesus paid, in our place.
Jesus didn't scold them for asking a stupid question; He let them down easy. "He said to them, 'It is not for you to know times or seasons which the Father has put in His own authority.'" Jesus knew that very soon they would have a much better understanding of these things. Why? Because in ten days, it would be Pentecost. "But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth." With these words, Jesus revealed their assignment...and ours!
"You shall receive power." I went out to see the site of a grass fire west of town a couple of weeks ago, and I saw a barbed-wire fence that had received some power...about 50,000 volts of it! An REA line had come loose from its pole and fallen across the fence. Somebody joked that anyone who happened to touch that fence would have had a very shocking experience. You and I, as believing Christians, have been charged with the dynamic power of the Holy Spirit. Our assignment, no less than those original apostles, is to touch as many people as we can with that power. To transfer the jolting energy of the Gospel to as many people as possible! Like the disciples, we know the facts of Jesus' suffering, death, and resurrection. We know that faith is Jesus is the key to the life that lasts forever. Can we keep that power to ourselves? Impossible! We are to be Christ's witnesses, both here in our own community, and throughout the world. We are "the light of the world," and "the salt of the earth." God designed us believers to be witnesses of Christ. God's kingdom has come to our hearts, and Jesus' assignment to us is to spread that kingdom to the hearts of others.
"Now when He had spoken these things, while they watched, He was taken up, and a cloud received Him out of their sight. And while they looked steadfastly toward heaven as He went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel." This always struck me as a humorous scene. We can picture the surprise of the disciples as Jesus began to rise slowly into the clouds. Here are all these men, standing around in a circle, staring straight up in the sky with their eyes wide and their mouths open - they must have looked kind of silly! Pretty soon someone looks around, and notices that there are two angels standing there.
On this day of "famous last words," the angels, too, had something very important to say. They said, "Men of Galilee, why do you stand gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will so come in like manner as you saw Him go into heaven." The importance of these words is obvious: they are a promise of Jesus' future return.
Like those disciples, we have to suffer under a certain burden in this life. The most important Person in our life, the Person on whom we depend for everything we want an need, the Person who holds our life in the palm of His hand...we can't see. -At least, not physically; not with our eyes. That doesn't mean He's not here, of course! In fact, we know that He is here in this room with us right now, because He said, "Where two or three are gathered together in My name, there am I in the midst of them." But sinful people like us often find it difficult to maintain such a close relationship with our Savior when we can't see Him. The apostle Thomas had the same problem, you remember. But Jesus promises to bless us with the eyes of faith in this life. And those angels of Ascension day have promised us something further: one day we will see Jesus with our physical eyes, when He comes again. Like a flash of lightning, Christ will arrive back on earth, and we'll see Him coming in the clouds to receive us. The same way He went on Ascension day, that's how He'll return. On that last Day, you will recognise your Savior - you'll know Him by sight! And He'll take you to enjoy the eternal fruits of the salvation He earned for you. When you're tired, when things in your life have you down, remember - the time is coming. It's one day closer than it was yesterday, and it's a half an hour closer than it was thirty minutes ago! You, too, can say confidently with Job, "This I know, that in my flesh I shall see God, and my eyes shall behold, and not another." — Job 19:27.
I have a little nephew who recently turned four years old. I think this young man is as ready for Christ's return as anyone I know. One day he asked his mother, "Mom, how do we get to heaven?" "Well," she said nervously, "the Holy Ghost comes into your heart and makes you believe in Jesus. When God says it's time, then you go to heaven." He thought about that for a few seconds, and then he said, "Ok Mom, I believe in Jesus. Can I go now?" God grant each of us the child-like confidence to expect Christ's return at any moment...and to be ready for Him when He comes! AMEN.
SQUARE PEGS...ROUND HOLES
by Pastor Paul Naumann
Jesus said, "If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love its own. Yet because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. Remember the word that I said to you, 'A servant is not greater than his master.' If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you. If they kept My word, they will keep yours also. But all these things they will do to you for My name's sake, because they do not know Him who sent Me.'"
— John 15:18-21
In the Name of Jesus Christ, Who came to shed light into the world's darkness, Dear Fellow Redeemed,
"The way to get along is to go along." -Sam Rayburn said that, and he was certainly the one to know! A longtime congressman from the state of Texas, Rayburn was known as a consummate politician. He was an old-fashioned, wheeling and dealing party boss, a master of political compromise. And one thing that his decades in congress taught him was that the best way to get ahead in the world is to conform to the wishes of those around you. If the world wants you to fit into a round hole, then the last thing you want to be is a square peg!
...And that's still true today. Nobody wants to be a square peg in a round hole; given a choice, most people will "go along to get along." They're willing to do what it takes in order to fit in comfortably with the society and culture in which they live. But there's one group of people in this world who don't have that choice. For these people, conformity is not an option, no matter how much the world insists on it. They don't fit into the world, and never will. That group of people are the disciples of Jesus Christ - you and me! If you've been felt the hatred of the world and wondered what it's all about, then you need to hear the words of our text for today. And if you haven't felt it...then you need them even more! Let's listen to the advice of Jesus, as we consider the theme:
"SQUARE PEGS...ROUND HOLES"
I. As a Christian, you should expect to take a pounding from the world. II. But remember: Jesus bore the world's worst pounding for you!
Hatred is a terrible thing. Consider America's "hate groups." You've seen the news clips of the Ku Klux Klan and the neo-nazi's, burning crosses or marching on a state capitol, spouting their hatred of ethnic minorities. Ever wonder what it would be like to be a black person at one of those rallies? How would it feel to be the object of all that hatred? Well, if you're a Christian, you already know how it feels...or you should! Because Jesus says that, for His disciples, the entire unbelieving world is one big "hate group." The world is unalterably opposed to Christ, and therefore to His disciples, as well. Jesus tells us to expect it: "If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you."
Now, in English, that sentence sounds like something that may or may not be true: "The world might hate you, and it might not." Or, "If it ever should happen that the world hates you..." But if you read the original Greek, that's not the meaning at all. Jesus isn't talking about a possibility, but a sure thing. If you're My disciple, Jesus says, the world definitely does hate you already, and it's never going to stop hating you! So don't be surprised about it! John says, "Do not marvel, my brethren, if the world hates you." — 1 John 3:13.
If this is something you haven't given much thought to, you may find yourself rather puzzled and hurt. Why this awful hatred? What's the meaning behind this bitter animosity? Jesus says it's "...because you are not of the world." You literally don't belong to the world. You're a square peg in a world of round holes! That means that, as a Christian, you should expect to take a pounding from the world. The world is going to hammer away at you, trying to force you to conform to its godless ways. The Apostle Paul says, "Yes, and all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution." — 2 Tim 3:12.
Now, there's a way to escape this persecution, of course, and Jesus even gives us a clue as to how to do it: "If you were of the world," He says, "the world would love its own." In other words, you could turn yourself into a round peg. You could avoid the pounding simply by conforming to the ways of the world. Unfortunately, there are plenty of churches in America that do just that. We could even call them "The Round-Peg Christian Church," because they fit right in! The world gets along just fine with churches who don't make a big deal about being faithful to God's Word. The world loves the churches who don't stand for anything. Churches where the "social gospel" is preached instead of the gospel of Jesus Christ...churches where bake sales and bingo and fundraisers take the place of evangelism...churches where false doctrine is tolerated for the sake of so-called "unity"...churches where the problem of sin is conveniently overlooked...churches whose preachers say that the Bible has mistakes in it - that killing unborn children isn't really murder, that it's ok for women to be pastors, that it's alright to divorce your spouse if you're not getting along very well... Yes, the world just loves the Round Peg Christian Church!
And the same goes for individual believers. Christ didn't call us to be round pegs. Jesus says, "You are NOT of the world, but (on the contrary) I chose you OUT of the world." We Christians aren't supposed to fit in with the world. We're supposed to be different!
Do you remember the Susan B. Anthony dollar? As a coin, it never really worked out very well, because it wasn't different enough. You could hardly tell it from a quarter, which of course was much less valuable. In the same way, if you can't tell a Christian from an unbeliever, there's something wrong. Jesus said, "You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled under foot by men." — Mat 5:13. If my life and behavior fits in just swell with godless world around me, that's when I'd better take another look at what kind of Christian I am! What kind of Christian witness am I giving if I sit down at the bar and get drunk like the unbelievers? What am I really saying to them about my faith if I use the same coarse language they do, read the same dirty literature they read, and watch the same obscene movies they watch? What sort of influence am I having on the non-Christians around me if I join them in their gossip, and tear down the reputation of my neighbor? How much damage has been done to God's kingdom by Christians who have "rounded off the corners" of their Christianity! That's not what our Lord called us for! Paul tells us believers, "Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God." — Rom 12:2.
We must each confess that we haven't always lived up to our high calling. But to the extent that you do follow Christ, you can be sure that you're going to feel the world's hatred. And it's not going to be fun. If we're the "square pegs" Christ called us to be, then we ARE going to take a pounding from the world. That's why it's encouraging for us, especially during this Lenten season, to once again "look to the Author and Finisher of our faith." If you're depressed by the persecution you experience at the hands of the world, just remember: Jesus bore the world's worst pounding for you!
In our text, Jesus says we should keep in mind that the persecution we face is the natural outcome of following Him. "Remember the word that I said to you, 'A servant is not greater than his master.' If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you." Jesus of Nazareth was the original square peg. He wasn't anything like the Messiah that the scribes and Pharisees were expecting. Theirs was a work-righteous religion, much like many of the so-called "Christian" churches of our day: do this, don't do that, keep a certain set of manmade rules, do a certain number of good deeds, and you'll be saved. They wanted an earthly Messiah, who would rule over an earthly kingdom. They drilled all these round holes for their Messiah, and Jesus didn't fit any of them! "My kingdom is not of this world," Jesus said. Rather, He said, "The kingdom of God is within you." Christ came to rule in people's hearts, so that by believing in Him, they might be saved. Jesus came, not to do away with the Law, or to impose a new Law, but simply to keep the Law perfectly in our place. He came to provide us sinners with the perfect righteousness that we could never provide for ourselves. As Jesus said, "Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. For I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance." — Mat 9:12-13. But the Pharisees felt they were plenty righteous already. They had no use for a Messiah like that, one who exposed their self-righteousness and sin. So they hated Jesus. And they pounded and pounded on Him. And when they found that they couldn't round off His corners, they murdered Him on the cross.
This Lenten season, we come again to that cross and see the loving Savior who, for our sakes, refused to conform. God's plan for the salvation of mankind called for the sacrifice of His innocent Son. Jesus went through with that plan. With love in His heart for you and me, He willingly bore the hatred, the mocking, the torture and the death that He didn't deserve. All the sins of the world - mine and yours included! - were laid upon His shoulders, and in our place He suffered and died. What perfect love, so to have pity on sinners like us! What grace, to give so much that you and I might inherit eternal life! What freedom, to be able to walk out of this church today with not a single sin left on our consciences - with His sacrifice, Jesus has atoned for them all. I'm sure you agree with me: this is the Savior in whom I'm going to place all my trust. This is the Master whom I'm going to follow; and if, in following Him, I share in the hatred He felt from the world, then it's a joy to suffer for Jesus' sake!
When the world is persecuting you because of your faith, when people can't understand why you won't conform and be more like them, when they hate you and call you "loveless" for not compromising on God's Word, remember your Master. When the world is pounding you for Jesus' sake, remember the awful pounding your Savior took for your sake. Take encouragement from the fact that Christ has promised to be with you and help you in your trials. Find your strength daily in His Word, and hang in there. The writer to the Hebrews says, "Let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God." — Heb 12:1-2. Despite the pounding, one day we're going to join Him there!
During the Watergate scandal in the early 70's, a list was discovered on which President Nixon had written down the names of all the people he considered his enemies. When the "enemies list" was published, many people actually bragged about being on it! They considered it an honor to be an enemy of such a corrupt administration. As a Christian, you and I are definitely on the world's "enemies list." We're square pegs, and we don't fit the world's round holes. Let's not be saddened by the hatred of the world, but rather encouraged. Let us remember what our Savior told us, in His Sermon on the Mount: "Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you." — Mat 5:11-12. In His saving Name, AMEN.
Wednesday 10 March 2021
Common grace
by THE CHRISTIAN INSTITUTE
We live in a fallen world. But God’s common grace means the world is not as loveless, ugly and chaotic as it could be. The Bible teaches that God restrains evil so that God’s creation may be preserved, ordered lives can continue and ultimately that God may be glorified and the Gospel preached to all nations.
Common grace ensures that God’s image in us is not completely eradicated by the fall. We are not as evil as we could be. Of course, common grace has never saved anyone. Common grace restrains the heart but does not give a new heart – only saving grace can do that.
And we are also abundantly blessed, whether we acknowledge God or not. Jesus said the Father “causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous” (Matthew 5:45). God is “kind to the ungrateful and wicked” (Luke 6:35). The beauty, joy and order we all experience is thanks to common grace.
There are two main aspects to common grace. On the one hand, God blesses and sustains his creation and gives talents and abilities to people. On the other, God restrains sin in a variety of ways, including the governing authorities and individual consciences.
This briefing looks at this important and often neglected doctrine.
God’s blessings for all
“Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.” — JAMES 1:17
Scripture highlights the abundance of good things God has provided in his creation.
God cares for, waters and enriches the earth, and provides grain (Psalm 65:9). The Lord provides the springs that give drink to every beast of the field, gives the grass for the cattle, and plants for man to cultivate (Psalm 104:10-11, 14). Creatures small and great look to God to give them food at the proper time (Psalm 104:27; Psalm 136:25). God is good to all and has compassion on all he has made (Psalm 145:9).
The Apostle Paul told those in Lystra that God “has shown kindness by giving you rain from heaven and crops in their seasons; he provides you with plenty of food and fills your hearts with joy” (Acts 14:17). God gives countless blessings to all men, so many that we can feel joy.
In 2 Corinthians 9:10 Paul says that God “supplies seed to the sower and bread for food”. God provides not only the crops, but also the bakeries. The bakers who make the bread are part of God’s common grace.
And not only bakers. Scientists, artists, authors, architects, tradesmen, athletes, skilled political leaders – and many others – all use talents that God has given them. Common grace is seen where there are unbelievers who are good parents, inspirational school teachers, thoughtful neighbours or compassionate carers.
Definitions of common grace
...God’s goodness, which thus contends with the wickedness of men, shines forth universally even towards the ungodly, so that He does not cease to cherish and preserve those whom He has created, although they be unworthy. He therefore does good to the ungodly, because He is their Creator.[1]
— John Calvin – 16th century Reformer and theologian
Common grace is the grace of God by which he gives people innumerable blessings that are not part of salvation.[2]
— Wayne Grudem – Phoenix Seminary, from 2001
...every favour of whatever kind or degree, falling short of salvation, which this undeserving and sin cursed world enjoys at the hand of God.[3]
— John Murray – Westminster Theological Seminary, 1930-66
...the Holy Spirit as the Spirit of truth, of holiness, and of life in all its forms, is present with every human mind, enforcing truth, restraining from evil, exciting to good, and imparting wisdom or strength, when, where, and in what measure seemeth to Him good.[4]
— Charles Hodge – Princeton Theological Seminary, 1822-78
...when we speak of ‘common grace,’ we have in mind, either (a) those general operations of the Holy Spirit whereby He, without renewing the heart, exercises such a moral influence on man through His general or special revelation, that sin is restrained, order is maintained in social life, and civil righteousness is promoted; or, (b) those general blessings, such as rain and sunshine, food and drink, clothing and shelter, which God imparts to all men indiscriminately where and in what measure it seems good to Him.[5]
— Louis Berkhof – Calvin Theological Seminary, 1906-1944
Restraining sin; promoting good
The whole of creation was powerfully affected by the fall. Evil has entered the universe – that is why we have disease and natural disasters. The world is not as it ought to be. As Paul says in Romans 8, it is subject to frustration and in bondage to decay. But the disruptive effect of sin on creation is restrained. A level of order is maintained in creation. God promises Noah: “As long as the earth endures, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night will never cease” (Genesis 8:22). The full effect of sin on mankind is also held back. Sin is so serious that man would completely destroy his fellow man if God withdrew his restraining hand. We would wipe each other out. So God must restrain wickedness in many ways.
SALT AND LIGHT
God restrains evil through Christian believers being salt and light. The world is a decaying and dark place, but Jesus’ followers are like salt preventing decay and like light shining in the darkness (Matthew 5:13-16). Godly Christians influence the world around them for good.
MARRIAGE
The institution of marriage and the family is another way in which God restrains sin. The marriage bond creates a real, one-flesh union between a man and a woman which is intrinsically fulfilling. Marriage also restrains the wrong impulses of adults. And it is in the family that parents teach their children right from wrong. The family is the main way in which values are passed down from one generation to another.
THE STATE
God restrains evil through governments enforcing laws and punishing offenders. In Romans 13 and 1 Peter 2, for example, the Bible is quite clear that the governing authorities act on God’s behalf to restrain evil.
CONSCIENCE
Romans 1 is a grim record of what happens when people act against their conscience and their hearts become hardened. We can see some like that in our society today, but we can also see other people who do what is right, even though they do not know Christ. Paul argues that the conscience restrains sin.
In Romans 2:14-15 Paul says that Gentiles “show that the requirements of the law are written on their hearts, their consciences also bearing witness, and their thoughts now accusing, now even defending them”.
Man is fallen, but still has a moral sense. People feel guilty when they do what is wrong. Their conscience accuses them. People feel good when they do what is right. Their conscience defends them.
Non-Christians can often agree with Christian standards because of their conscience. In a democracy Christians can seek to argue for what is right and use common sense arguments to back up their case, and they can find that non-Christians agree with them. When we speak up for what is right, then we have an ally in the conscience of those who hear us.
CONSEQUENCES
God restrains sin through the fact that actions have consequences. Paul says in Galatians 6:7 – “Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows.”
In the Bible we have the maker’s instructions. When we obey God’s laws they work in practice. They are good for people. They go with the grain of human nature, because that is how we are made. A non-Christian man who does not cheat at work and who is faithful to his wife will experience a measure of blessing in this life. None of these things will save him or earn him any merit with God, but he will experience blessing because a man reaps what he sows.
PUBLIC OPINION
Public opinion can be the collective expression of many people’s consciences and can act as a restraint on sin. As with individual consciences, public opinion can become hardened on some issues. One example of this in the UK is the acceptance of abortion. But when this happens, public opinion can still remain a restraint in other areas.
Implications of common grace
Jesus Christ himself sustains the universe (Hebrews 1:3, Colossians 1:17). One day Christ will return and inaugurate a new heaven and a new earth. Then we will see the true splendour of God’s creation. Until that day God will restrain the effect of sin on creation and on man. We must thank God that evil is restrained and that we are prevented from being as wicked as we could be.
We must also give thanks that Christian and non-Christian alike can experience beauty, love and joy even in this fallen world.
It is particularly important that Christians realise the seriousness of men and women rejecting God’s common grace, resisting and working against the means which God has provided to restrain sin and bless all people. We only have to look around us today to realise what has happened.
The more consciences become hardened, the more society turns its back on marriage and the more we deny that actions have consequences, the more sadness and heartache there will be in our society. Sin is like a blackmailer. It always comes back for more. A society like our own which celebrates sin is in very great danger. We cannot break God’s law without there being consequences – to a degree in this life, and fully in the life to come.
The issues may change from time to time, but the biblical principles remain the same. We are to be salt and light. And we must remember that although we cannot make people accept biblical standards, in a democracy we can at least argue for them. And we must argue for them if we love our neighbour.
References
- Calvin’s Commentary on the Bible: Deuteronomy 28:12, StudyLight, see https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/eng/cal/deuteronomy-28.html as at 8 February 2021
- Grudem, W, Systematic Theology, InterVarsity Press, 1994, page 657
- ‘Common Grace and the End of the World’, Justin Taylor: The Gospel Coalition, 15 February 2012, see https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/justin-taylor/common-grace-and-the-end-of-the-world/ as at 8 February 2021
- Hodge, C, Systematic Theology: Volume II, Eerdmans, 1940, accessed via Christian Classics Ethereal Library, see https://ccel.org/ccel/hodge/theology2/theology2.iv.xiv.ii.html as at 8 February 2021
- Berkhof, L, Systematic Theology, Banner of Truth, 2003, page 436