How Do I Respond to God?

In the sermon text for this coming Sunday, God says that missionaries will bring “all your brethren from all the nations as a grain offering to the LORD” (Isaiah 66:20 NAS). In this context, the grain offering is a particularly powerful symbol. Unfortunately, I doubt that I will have time to bring out the rich imagery of this offering on Sunday. So here is an excerpt from a sermon I preached ten years ago on this offering. You can see the entire sermon – about twice as long – here. May we present ourselves – all of ourselves – as this type of offering, holy and acceptable to God – Coty

How should we respond to God’s love? The grain offering described in Leviticus 2 pictures our proper response beautifully.

In this offering, God shows us that we should respond to His love by offering our entire lives back to him. And He shows that a life holy and acceptable to God is not the result of our naturally sweet disposition; there should be no self-glorification, no pride in our status before God. Instead, a life offered to God needs to be characterized by prayer, infused with the Holy Spirit, and based on the promises of God

This is the picture of the grain offering. Let’s look at now in greater detail. (more…)

He Gave Pastors and Teachers

This Sunday we will begin a six-part sermon series entitled “He Gave Pastors and Teachers,” examining the role of pastors and teachers in building up the body of Christ through the local church. The title comes from Ephesians 4:11-14, which says, in part:

He gave the . . . pastors and teachers, 12 to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, 13 until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, 14 so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine. 15 Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, 16 from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.

Note that God gives pastors and teachers to the church. They are His gifts, His presents, tokens of His love for the church.

In what sense is this true? Why are pastors and teachers so important? What is their task? How do they help the church? (more…)

Responding to Natural Disasters

On May 2, Tropical Cyclone Nargis hit Burma, leaving tens of thousands dead. Many more lost their homes and all their possessions. Today survivors remain in grave danger in the absence of shelter, clean water, and food.

Ten days later, a huge earthquake shook Sichuan Province in China, again leaving tens of thousands dead and many more homeless. In addition to lack of clean water and exposure to the elements, the aftereffects of the quake continue to threaten residents; dozens of would-be rescuers have died as buildings collapsed around them.

Yesterday morning, an aircraft laden with relief supplies worth over a million dollars took off from the Charlotte airport, bound for China. The supplies, purchased by donations to Samaritan’s Purse and the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, include material for temporary shelters, water filtration systems, blankets, and medical supplies. I had the privilege of attending a gathering of local pastors prior to takeoff. I encourage you to give to these efforts, as we have done.

Why? Some might say, “Many, many others around the world give to help those who have suffered from natural disasters. Christians are the only ones who will give to spread the Gospel. Therefore, all our efforts should focus on the Gospel.”

What is wrong with this argument? (more…)

Clean and Unclean

Last Sunday’s sermon dealt in part with the Law, the Torah, as a revelation of God’s character. Some in the congregation wondered how certain parts of the law, particularly the dietary laws, serve in this role. Ten years ago I was preaching through Leviticus at Community Bible Church in Williamstown, MA. Several of those sermons might be helpful: The overview, the sermon on the dietary laws and other issues of cleanness, and the first and second sermons on the “holiness code”. This week’s devotion is an excerpt – about 40% – of the sermon on cleanness and uncleanness. May we all see God’s character revealed in all His Word, and respond with wonder, awe, and love for the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Note that I preached this sermon on November 29, 1998, shortly after returning from a four-week trip to several African countries. – Coty

It’s a pleasure to be back after my long trip to Africa.

Whenever I return after a long trip, I am treated to a series of performances at home. Over the course of nearly a month, all of my six children develop new skills or new games that they want to share. So, last Wednesday evening about 6:15, the four youngest boys were presenting a show. The make-up was particularly interesting. All had some black marks on their faces, but the boy playing the Wild Man was the most extreme: dressed only in underwear and a loincloth, the Wild Man was covered from waist to hair with black face crayon. About 6:30, suddenly realizing that we had only twenty minutes to prepare for the Thanksgiving Eve service, I announced, “The show has to end in one minute. We’ve got to clean up and leave for the church by 6:50!” The Wild Man looked at me and said, “Can’t I go like this?”

Now, Community Bible Church has no dress code. Looking around this morning, I see some of us dressed in suits while others are dressed quite casually. But I think more than a few eyes would have turned had the Wild Man walked into church that evening.

Why did we tell the Wild Man to clean his face and arms and torso? Why shouldn’t my sons come to church dressed in loincloths? (more…)

Minister, Rejoice, and Pray

In our small group this week, we considered 1 Thessalonians 5:14-18. On first reading, this passage appears to be a laundry list of isolated commands, but as John Piper argues in When I Don’t Desire God, there is an underlying logic that ties them all together. Here is the passage, followed by an extended paraphrase that elaborates on each command and draws out the logic of Paul’s thought. Meditate on these verses – and minister as God’s agent by His power for His glory.

1 Thessalonians 5:14-18 And we urge you, brothers, admonish the idle, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with them all. See that no one repays anyone evil for evil, but always seek to do good to one another and to everyone. Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

We strongly exhort you, brothers and sisters, to be involved in each other’s lives, responding as each person needs. Here are three examples: (more…)

A Late Night Encounter

I boarded the plane in the Portland airport weary after a long day. “11pm. That’s 2am at home. No wonder I’m beat!” I put my pack in the overhead compartment, my computer bag under the seat in front of me, pulled out my earplugs and eyemask, and prepared for some much-needed sleep on the cross-country flight.

I glanced at the thirtyish man sharing the row of three seats with me. “Hi, my name is Coty.” He smiled. “I’m Jacob.” As he looked me in the eye, I quickly saw that God had other plans than sleep for this flight. After going through the normal pleasantries – Are you going home or leaving home? What’s the purpose of your trip? – Jacob began to share about his spiritual growth in the last few years. Through yoga and meditation, he had grown in his self-discipline, in his ability to deal with disappointment. He had simplified his life, eating well, cutting out TV and other distractions; in work, he now focused on flexible jobs that he greatly enjoyed. This enabled him to save enough money to travel to Sri Lanka recently and spend several months at a meditation center. He rises every morning and spends an hour doing yoga and meditating – and that time then flavors his entire day. He was happy, well-adjusted, and excited about his spiritual life – so excited he wanted to share that with others. (more…)

Ripping Away the Old Man

Do you want God’s refining? Or would you rather just clean yourself up?

On Sunday we considered Malachi 3, in which God says concerning the “messenger of the covenant”, the coming Messiah:

But who can endure the day of his coming, and who can stand when he appears? For he is like a refiner’s fire and like fullers’ soap. He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver, and he will purify the sons of Levi and refine them like gold and silver, and they will bring offerings in righteousness to the LORD. (Malachi 3:2-3)

Fire burns. It hurts. It may seem to be destroying. But the fire wielded by God for His purposes in His people cleanses and transforms, so that they might become what He intends them to be: those who offer themselves back to Him, those who delight in Him, those who display His glory to all of creation.

C.S. Lewis gives a marvelous picture of this refining process in the third book of the Narnian Chronicles, The Voyage of the Dawn Treader. (more…)

Is Jesus’ Death Just?

Jesus is condemned to death. Jesus is condemned to death! Is this just?

Surely on a human level, this is a travesty of justice. Jesus’ trial is a sham, violating virtually every rule regarding fair trials under both Jewish and Roman law. There was no due process exercised in this trial; Jesus was innocent of any wrongdoing.

But consider Jesus’ condemnation from God’s point of view. Was Jesus’ death justified?

Listen to these words of Scripture:

· The wages of sin is death. (Romans 6:23)

· He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree. (1 Peter 2:24)

· He has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to do away with sin by the sacrifice of himself. Just as man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment, so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many people. (Hebrews 9: 26-28)

These Scriptures tell us that from God’s point of view, Jesus’ death was justified. Indeed, Jesus’ death was necessary if anyone is to be saved – for without His death, God would have to punish you and me for our sins. (more…)

Spitzer, McEwan and Atonement

When we sin, how do we put matters right? This question keeps coming to the forefront even in politics and popular culture.

The former governor of New York, Eliot Spitzer, faced that question this week after his personal sins became public knowledge. On Monday, the New York Times quoted Spitzer as saying that he had spent the last several days with his family, “atoning for his personal failings.”

Consider also Atonement, Ian McEwan’s 2001 quintessential postmodern novel (which, in its film version, was nominated for this year’s Academy Award for best picture). The story opens with the main character, Briony, as a 13-year-old. With her mind wrapped up in the fantasies of her fictional stories, she destroys a young man’s life by falsely accusing him of a crime. The novel closes with Briony at 77, Alzheimer’s on the horizon, writing alternative realities as she still tries – unsuccessfully – to atone for that sin. She writes, (more…)

Sovereignty and Responsbility

In last Sunday’s sermon text, Malachi 1:1-5, God proves His love for the returned Israelite exiles in a strange way. “Is not Esau Jacob’s brother? . . . Yet I have loved Jacob, but Esau I have hated.” There was nothing to choose between Esau and Jacob. Both were horrible sons; both were disobedient to God; the descendants of both were stiff-necked and rebellious. Both deserve judgment. Both deserve condemnation. Both peoples deserve hell. But God chooses to destroy Esau’s descendants and to love Jacob/Israel and his descendants. This is His sovereign choice. Only because He loves them are they not cut off.
We too need to see ourselves as deserving of hell, as undeserving of His mercy, and thus to bow before Him, asking for that mercy only on the basis of Jesus’ death on the cross. That is the clear message of the passage.

But a question remains: How can God say He hates Esau when God is said to love the world (John 3:16)? Doesn’t God love everyone? Doesn’t God desire all to be saved? (more…)