Christmas, Confession, and Forgiveness

This season we will sing one of Charles Wesley’s great hymns:

Hark! The herald angels sing,
“Glory to the newborn King;
Peace on earth, and mercy mild:
God and sinners reconciled!”

How does the birth of the King lead to the reconciliation of God with sinners?

As 1 John 1:7 tells us: “The blood of Jesus [God’s] Son cleanses us from all sin.” That is, Jesus took on Himself the punishment that we deserve for our rebellion against God. On the cross, God “laid on Him the iniquity of us all” (Isaiah 53:6). These benefits of His death accrue to all who trust in Him as the payment for their sins, who see Him as their true King, who treasure Him above all the world has to offer. Then, reconciled to God through Jesus, we live our lives to His glory – not sinlessly, but continually forgiven because of the redemption we have in Jesus.

Thus, John continues in his first epistle:

“If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (1 John 1:8-9)

1 John 1:9 leads to a question: Is our forgiveness contingent on our confession? John has just said that believers can’t say they have no sin. We all sin every day. We confess those sins that we are aware of. But what about the sins we’re not aware of? Can I be lost – not reconciled to God – because I never confess the sins I’ve failed to recognize?

The question arises from a misunderstanding of the verse. John is not talking about a one-for-one relationship between a sin confessed and a sin forgiven: “I lusted after this woman; now I confessed it; only then does God forgive me.” Rather I confess my general sinfulness and any known sins upon coming to faith; I confess my sinfulness and any known sins daily to my loving, merciful Father; I regularly ask Him to search my heart and see if there is any grievous way in me (Psalm 139:23-24); I rightly agree with His Word in calling sin sin and not belittling or making excuses for any of my sins; I hate my remaining known and unknown sins and actively “pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, steadfastness, and gentleness” (1 Timothy 6:11). That’s the idea behind “if we confess our sins.” Having done that, I trust that God is faithful and just to forgive all known and unknown sins and present me as perfectly clean before Himself because of the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross.

Understood this way, confession is not something over and above “believe in the Lord Jesus and you will be saved” (Acts 16:31). Confession is the daily manifestation of faith in Jesus, a daily living out of recognizing Him as Savior, Master, and Treasure, a consistent exhibit of the Gospel of God’s grace.

The baby in the manger we celebrate this season is God in the flesh, come to give His life as a ransom for many (Mark 10:45), so that all of us sinners who believe in Him can be reconciled to God the Father, and then live as His beloved children every day.

So joyfully confess your sins before Him – and, forgiven in Christ, live out the true meaning of Christmas.

Fighting Persistent Sin

[Not long ago, a friend asked about fighting a persistent sin. Here is an edited version of my reply – Coty]

After God makes us a new creation in Christ, certain sins disappear. They never rear their ugly heads again. Often this happens immediately upon being saved, sometimes much later. He graciously gives us these tokens as a down-payment of the complete transformation that He promises in the new heavens and the new earth.

With some other sins, the temptation to give in may disappear for a time. But God has not removed our susceptibility. The disappearance is temporary. Satan waits “until an opportune time” to tempt us again (as Satan did, unsuccessfully, with our Lord – Luke 4:13). In this case, the period of zero temptation is a strategy by the Enemy to get us to let our guard down, to remove boundaries – as in a war, a general might withdraw his troops and temporarily not engage in any action, all the while preparing for a surprise major assault.

Then there is a third type of sin. These are constantly with us. We feel the temptation every day until we die or Jesus returns. Scripture calls us to battle these continually, putting to death the deeds of the body by the Spirit (Romans 8:13).

How do we do that? How can we put this third type of sin to death when the temptation keeps popping up every day?

The battle takes place on three fronts: In the mind, in the affections, and in actions.

The Battle in the Mind

1) Satan is a liar and the father of lies (John 8:44). What lies has Satan used successfully against you in the past in tempting you into these sins? Once you’ve identified the lies, arm yourself with the Word of Truth to fight those lies. This link provides some examples.

2) Fight desire with desire. Sin is not the way to love, joy, peace, security, or fulfillment. It is the way to death, to the destruction of all that is good, even all that is pleasurable.

3) Don’t downplay the importance of any sin. Never excuse it or claim it is not so bad.

4) Preach the Gospel to yourself, listen to the Gospel preached, and ask others to speak it to you. Satan will try to condemn you and to make you think that you are His slave. In Christ you are not. 1 John 1:5-2:2 is helpful here.

So points 2, 3, and 4 together say: Your sin is great. And the Gospel is greater.

5) Remind yourself regularly: This fight is temporary. God has placed you in it, requiring you to depend on Him to fight it. He will glorify Himself in the fight, and, in the new heavens and the new earth, He will make you perfect practically as you already are perfect positionally before Him in Christ.

The Battle in the Affections

1) Cultivate a hatred for this sin. Reflect on ways this same type of sin has destroyed the lives of others and dishonored our Lord. Reflect on the way Jesus did resist (if there are biblical examples) or must have resisted this temptation. Remind yourself regularly that sin is completely antithetical to who you are in Christ (1 John 2:28-3:10 is especially helpful, particularly verse 9. The KJV is quite literal: “Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for his seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God.” We cannot sin without denying our new birth.)

2) Cultivate love of God, love of Jesus, especially a longing to be like Him.

3) Cultivate a love for your family and the family of God around you, thanking God always for each of them. Every sin will have an impact on them.

The Battle in Actions

1) Be quick to confess and repent, making no excuses.

2) Be quick to pray when tempted

3) Identify those situations and moods that lead you to be tempted, or to let your guard down, avoiding such situations when possible, and watching yourself even more carefully when you can’t. Develop a strategy for what you will do in those cases.

4) Seek help and prayer from others and develop a regular plan for who will ask you about your battle against such temptations.

5) Pray every day for each person in your family and for several in your church, asking God to use you in each of their lives.

Note that this is not a way to put the sin behind you once and for all. For sins in this third category, there is a daily – even hourly – fight the rest of your life. But the fight itself can be God-glorifying. That’s why God hasn’t taken away the temptation.

Love you, brother. You are indeed a new man in Christ. Live it out through the fight to depend on Him, the fight to love Him, the fight to love your family and the family of God.

In Him, Coty

 

Abortion and Selfish Ambition

[This is a shortened, edited, and updated version of a sermon preached January 23, 2000. You can read the sermon in its entirety here.]

Thursday January 22 marks the 47th anniversary of the Supreme Court decision in Roe v. Wade that prohibited states from putting almost any restrictions on abortion. Since then, tens of millions of unborn babies have been aborted in this country, very rarely less than 7-8 weeks after conception. At 7-8 weeks, the baby’s heart is beating; his hands and feet are formed; she swims through the amniotic fluid.

Twenty years ago our friend Michele gave birth to baby Sean, only six months into her pregnancy. Sean weighed 28 oz; here is his picture. Today, by God’s grace, Sean lives. Yet thousands of babies as old and developed as Sean have been aborted in this country, legally, many by a procedure too gruesome for me even to describe.

Indeed, today a large percentage of all babies conceived in the US are aborted, while millions of couples wait years for a baby to adopt.

Why does this happen? Why do mothers kill their own babies? Why do fathers agree to do away with the bone of their bone and flesh of their flesh? Even among those who identify themselves as Christians, why do some favor no limits on abortion, or even have abortions themselves?

The fundamental problem is that we give the wrong answer to the question: Where does one find fulfillment and satisfaction?

Getting this answer right is of central importance, above and beyond the abortion debate. You may give the “right” answer to abortion questions, but still get this answer wrong. If you believe that you will only find fulfillment and satisfaction by success in this world – by accomplishment, by relationships, by pleasures – then in the end you can rationalize almost any action.

Dear friends, the only source of true fulfillment is God Himself. If we are satisfied with God, if we seek Him first, if we truly delight in Him, then we have all good things.

On the other hand, a heart not satisfied with God, not delighting in Him, a heart which is dead set on trying to get what the world has to offer, frequently will not let anything stand in its way. When our hearts are set on fulfilling our worldly desires, we end up destroying what God has given us for true fulfillment – like the children He has given us.

So where is your heart?

We will first examine a question specific to the abortion debate: Is an unborn baby human? Then we’ll return to James and investigate the central problem, which he identifies as selfish ambition resulting in death. But James also presents the solution to this problem: Humbling oneself, resulting in exaltation.

Is an Unborn Baby Human?

What does Scripture say about unborn babies? Are they human? Let’s consider three biblical reasons for answering “yes” to the question, along with biblical support for our actively defending the unborn.

First, the Bible uses the same word to refer to babies before and after birth. Genesis 25:22, referring to Isaac’s wife Rebekah when she is pregnant with Jacob and Esau: “The children struggled together within her.” The word “children” is the normal Hebrew word. Similarly, Luke 1 records what happens when Mary, who is pregnant with Jesus, visits her cousin Elizabeth, who is in the 6th month of her pregnancy with John the Baptist: “When Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, the babe leaped in her womb.” The word “babe” translates the same word used in the next chapter to refer to Jesus after his birth: the angel says to the shepherds, “You shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.”

Second, God chooses and works on unborn babies. In Psalm 139:13 David writes, “For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb.” David’s essence, what makes him David, was put together by God not at birth, but prior to birth, in the womb. Furthermore, the angel says to Zechariah concerning his son, John the Baptist: “For he will be great in the sight of the Lord, and he will drink no wine or liquor; and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit, while yet in his mother’ s womb” (Luke 1:15). Can a non-human be filled with the Holy Spirit?

Third, Adam’s original sin and humanness are passed on at conception. David writes in Psalm 51:5: “Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, And in sin my mother conceived me.” David is not saying that his mother was particularly sinful. He is saying that from the moment of conception, he was in sin. In Romans 5 Paul states that sin entered the human race through Adam and is passed down to all his descendants. Therefore at the moment of conception, that new creature is both sinful and human, created in the image of God.

So the Bible teaches that unborn babies are human. But does it matter? Do we need to be concerned with these babies, particularly before they are viable outside their mother’s womb?

God is especially concerned with the weak and powerless. Psalm 82:3-4 reads: “Defend the cause of the weak and fatherless; maintain the rights of the poor and oppressed. Rescue the weak and needy; deliver them from the hand of the wicked.” Who is weaker and more needy than that little one who will die if separated from his mother?

If the unborn baby is a weak, needy human, and if God is especially concerned with the weak and needy, then abortion is a terrible, common sin.

Let us now turn our attention to the central cause of such sin.

The Problem: Selfish Ambition

Who among you is wise and understanding? Let him show by his good behavior his deeds in the gentleness of wisdom. James 3:13

James asks each one of us: “Do you think you are truly wise and intelligent?” What is the evidence for wisdom or intelligence?

James says the evidence includes “his deeds [done] in gentleness of wisdom.” The word translated as “gentleness” here is translated “meek” in the Beatitudes: “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.” This refers to our yielding to God, our willingness to say, “God, you are the wise one. I submit to you, acknowledging that your ways are far above mine.” So I would paraphrase “deeds in the gentleness of wisdom” as “actions characterized by wise yielding to God.”

Now James contrasts such a person with the false wisdom of the world:

But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your heart, do not be arrogant and so lie against the truth. James 3:14

The person in verse 14, instead of yielding to God, has “bitter jealousy” and “selfish ambition.” The wise person has a focus on God and his goodness; this person is focused on self, on what he does not have.

The word translated “selfish ambition” is unusual, appearing in earlier literature only in Aristotle, where it refers to the way a politician will try to make himself look good — frequently through deceitful means — to attract more support. Like such a politician, the unwise man is trying his best to arrange matters so that he gets what he wants; the unwise man tries to get others to admire him, even if he is unworthy of their admiration.

But isn’t this the advice that we hear so often today? In books and on the internet, we read how to present ourselves in the best light so that we can advance in our careers; on the racks in the supermarket, we read headlines telling us to buy the magazine so that we can know the secrets of making a 40 year old look like a 20 year old, so that we can find life by catching that attractive, elusive member of the opposite sex. In effect, all this advice is instructing us in the best way to fulfill our selfish ambition.

What is the source of such “wisdom?”

15 This wisdom is not that which comes down from above, but is earthly, natural, demonic.

Clearly, this is not the godly wisdom we read of in verse 13. Instead it is “earthly, natural, demonic.” In English translation it appears that there is a contradiction between the last two words. But James’ contrast is not between “natural” and “supernatural.” Instead, he contrasts the wisdom from God with the natural, pseudo-wisdom of our sinful selves.  These natural, sinful desires can cause us problems on their own — but Satan also works through these desires, tempting us away from God.

What is the result of selfish ambition?

The Result of Selfish Ambition: Death

What is the source of quarrels and conflicts among you? Is not the source your pleasures that wage war in your members? 2 You lust and do not have; so you commit murder. James 4:1-2

James says the result of this selfish ambition is murder, death. Certainly James is not talking exclusively about literally killing another person; for example, if I am filled with selfish ambition, and my wife gets in the way — then I kill the marriage.

But just as certainly, this verse is fulfilled literally in abortion: If my baby girl gets in the way of my selfish ambition — kill the baby before she’s born.

Abortion and other forms of killing result from our selfish ambition, our exalting pleasures and fulfillment in this life above the true fulfillment that only God can give.

For in the end, all forms of sin constitute a rejection of God. Indeed, James goes on to say that this rejection of God is the equivalent not only of murder but also of adultery:

You adulteresses, do you not know that friendship with the world is hostility toward God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. James 4:4

James uses the word “adulteresses” here. Does this mean that all of us men are off the hook? No. God’s people are the bride of Christ. So if God’s people look for pleasure and fulfillment away from any source other than God himself, that is adultery. Hostility. Becoming God’s enemy. We, Christ’s bride, are adulteresses.

Therefore, selfish ambition leads us to become murderers and adulteresses. We have rejected God. Will he reject us? Will he divorce us? James has just said we have made ourselves into God’s enemy; is there no hope?

The Solution: Humbling Oneself

Consider this paraphrase of James 4:1-10:

(1) Why is it that you war and battle each other? Is not the source the strong desires for what you do not have, these desires that battle inside you? (2) You want something badly and don’t have it, so you kill; you passionately want something others have, and can’t obtain it, so you battle and war with each other.

Fools! God is the source of everything good. You don’t have, because you haven’t asked Him! (3) Or, you’ve asked Him, but you’re trying to use God as a genie to provide ephemeral pleasures for yourself.

(4) Do you not realize that you are the bride of Christ? If you then love the world, you are nothing but an adulteress! You are acting in hatred toward your true husband, making yourself His enemy! (5) Did God write this in the Scriptures for no reason? “I have made my Spirit to live in you, and thus I have a deep, jealous desire that you be mine alone.”

(6) But do not despair; God’s grace is greater than all our sin. Therefore he also says in the Scripture, “God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.” (7) Therefore, be humble! Submit yourself to God as to a military commander, who has the good of the entire army at heart. Do not give in to Satan’s temptations, but resist him — and by God’s grace he will flee from you. (8) Approach God yourself, and he will come to you. Cleanse yourself from outward sins; make your inner thoughts and desires pure, devoted to God, instead of divided between God and the world. (9) Mourn for your sin, and for the sin around you; replace your carefree silliness of enjoying worldly pleasures with gloom and mourning for all that’s wrong. (10) In sum, come into God’s presence, falling on your face, acknowledging that you deserve nothing from Him, that you have spurned the one who loves you — and your husband, the source of all true joy, will pick you up, honor you, and give you the true joy and pleasure of knowing Him.

James’ final command, to humble ourselves, sums up all the commands. He tells us: Replace your selfish ambition, your desire to put yourself to the forefront, with true humility, acknowledging and accepting your place in God’s plan. Only in that way is there hope.

The Result of Humbling Oneself: Exaltation

The irony of all this is stated in verse 10: When we truly humble ourselves, when we acknowledge that we are nothing before God, when we quit trying to make ourselves look better than we really are, then God lifts us up! He exalts us! God tells us that we will find our true selves by abandoning the world’s ways of exalting ourselves. When we humble ourselves, we become what God intends us to be; we find all true fulfillment, all true glory, all true happiness, all true joy. For joy and peace are found only in a relationship with our Creator.

Conclusion

John Piper puts it this way:

The root cause of abortion is the failure to be satisfied in God as our supreme love. And, for all the great legal work that needs to be done to protect human life, the greatest work that needs to be done is to spread a passion – a satisfaction – for the supremacy of God in all things. That’s our calling

Do you find your satisfaction in God? Or in the possessions and relationships of this world?

How often do you give in to the temptations of this world, and seek fulfillment through exaltation of self, killing and destroying all that gets in your way?

What about abortion itself? As we have seen:

  • Aborting a baby is a terrible sin.
  • Encouraging another to have an abortion is a terrible sin.
  • Planning to have an abortion should you or your girlfriend become pregnant is a terrible sin.

How many of us have committed one of those terrible sins?

How many of us have committed other terrible sins, of seeking after earthly treasures, loving this world, pursuing ephemeral pleasures?

My friends: I am a terrible sinner. But the good news of the Gospel is that Jesus died on the cross for terrible sinners such as you and me!

So humble yourself! And He will exalt you!

I encourage you: Take a piece of paper, and on that paper write two words: “Condemned” and “Forgiven.” Look at those two words; consider the implications of each one. Then circle the one that is true for you. For there are only two choices. One is true. The other is not.

If you circle “condemned,” then I praise God. You’ve taken the first step toward forgiveness. Humble yourself in God’s presence. Trust Jesus as the One who paid the penalty for your sins. You need no longer be condemned.

If you circle “forgiven,” if you are forgiven in Christ, then there is no longer any reason for guilt, no matter what you have done, no matter what terrible sin you have committed.

Have you mourned for your sin? Have you wept over it? Do you want to be clean, in your actions and in your heart? Do you long to be rid of this sin that ensnares you? Do you believe in Jesus Christ as Lord? Will you be satisfied in him?

Psalm 51 tells us: A broken and contrite heart he will not despise. Know it! Delight in Him! Be satisfied in Christ alone!

 

Dealing With Trials in Marriage

[By Carrie Vaughns. Carrie gave this devotion at Angela Otchere’s bridal shower on August 25. ]

“Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.” – James 1:2-4

I’m sure many of us have heard sermons related to James 1:2 when James said to ‘count it all joy’ when we encounter trials. Typically, those sermons focus on the “joy” part. But what is ever said about the “when” part?  Notice that James doesn’t say “if” you meet trials. He says ‘WHEN you meet trials’. And then he follows that up by saying ‘trials of various kinds’. So in other words, you MOST DEFINITELY will face ALL types of trials in this life. And in marriage with two sinners in covenant relationship with each other for better or worse, for richer or poorer, in sickness and in health, til death do they part, the trials will be multiplied. So Angie: with this being said, I felt it would be good to talk about how best to prepare, before the trials in marriage come.

  • ELIMINATE “NEGATIVE THINKING” – When trials in marriage come our way, it’s very easy to entertain a negative thought, it’s very easy to justify a bitter attitude, and it’s very easy to harden our hearts toward our husbands. Those of us here who are married know exactly what I’m talking about. It’s not like we pray for negative thoughts and bitter attitudes towards our husbands. In the spur of the moment when the trial rears its head, these thoughts and attitudes just pop up out of nowhere! And if they aren’t dealt with, they could lead to hardness of heart, long term hardship and marital strife, and enmity against our husbands. But praise God that we have a remedy in scripture. In 2 Corinthians 10:5, Apostle Paul tells us to “take every thought captive to the obedience of Christ”. Take EVERY single thought captive. Are we filling our minds and hearts with the Word of God or with ideas that are destructive?  Are we looking to apply biblical principles to everyday circumstances, or do we choose worry or condemnation as our default response?
  • CHECK YOUR PRIDE AT THE DOOR – Pride and insecurity form the root of many struggles in marriage. They manifest themselves in a number of ways: an unyielding desire to be right, not wanting to lose face with my spouse or others, a reluctance to admit needing help or wise counsel, a refusal to look at my own inadequacies and inconsistencies. Proverbs 16:18 says “Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.” When the heart is filled with pride, you will fall over and over and your marital struggles will increase more and more. We must always be examining our hearts; we must always pray and ask the Holy Spirit: Are there areas in our hearts that stubbornly refuse to bend to the Lord’s instruction due to pride? Also, constantly ask yourself: “Am I trusting the accountability partners God has placed in my life when they see a red flag that needs my attention?”
  • FORGIVE AND APOLOGIZE FREELY – Piggybacking off the pride theme from the last point: everyone in this room has at one time or another struggled with pride because our hearts can be very prideful. Pride causes us to not want to admit and apologize when we sin and causes us to not want to forgive and move on when we’ve been sinned against. So therefore, in marriage we have to LEARN how to apologize quickly and forgive our spouses. The ability to forgive and apologize is absolutely VITAL in marriage because when you have two flawed sinners living life together under one roof day in and day out, you are going to sin against one another. Over and over and over. So, you’ve got to be able to admit and apologize when you sin against your husband and you’ve got to be able to forgive and move on when he sins against you. And how do we do this? By being humble. Scripture tells us in James 4:6 ‘God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.’ As we grow in humility, we will grow and learn to forgive when we’ve been sinned against and to admit, apologize, and repent when we’ve committed sin.
  • HONOR YOUR SPOUSE WITH YOUR WORDS – Always seek opportunities to honor, build up, and praise your husband because God has entrusted a lot of responsibilities to him as the head of the home and the leader of the family. He has a lot on his plate and he’ll need constant encouragement because this is not an easy path that God has called him to walk. However, there will come times in your marriage when you’ll have to confide in someone about issues, problems, and struggles that you and your husband are going through. And sometimes there may be things that are discussed that will cause your husband to be put in a negative light. While Scripture teaches us to seek wise counsel (Proverbs 12:15), it also warns us that, “a gossip goes around revealing a secret, but a trustworthy person keeps a confidence” (Proverbs 11:13). It is wise to choose a small group of trusted advisors for accountability and counsel. However, failing to guard what you say about your husband to others (especially if it’s negative) is not wise at all.
  • SUBMISSION and UNITY – Ephesians 5:22 says, “Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord.” Pastor John Piper describes biblical submission like this: “Submission is the calling of a wife to honor and affirm her husband’s leadership, and to help carry it through according to her gifts.” As wives, we are to come alongside our husbands and to honor and affirm their leadership. We are also to make them feel appreciated, admired, respected and loved. It may sound easy but it can be quite challenging to do, especially in those moments when he’s not leading well and not loving you well. But that’s the call for us wives. And the beauty of the call is that our Sovereign God calls us to it and He provides us wives with sufficient grace to live it out. Our husbands get the encouragement, we get the joy, God gets the glory.
    Along with submission is unity. Two become one; you are equal with him. He is your ally, not your enemy. Theologian Matthew Henry beautifully describes marital unity like this: “The woman was made of a rib out of the side of Adam; not made out of his head to rule over him, nor out of his feet to be trampled upon by him, but out of his side to be equal with him, under his arm to be protected, and near his heart to be beloved.”

Angie, these are just some things that I wanted to share with you as you get closer to the big day. Three weeks from today, you and Rob will say “I do” and commit to each other for life. And praise God that many of us will have the privilege of witnessing that! But rest assured, the marriage trials WILL come. So get ready. Hopefully there are things from this devotion that will help you prepare for them. And even though you have an adversary who hates marriage and would like nothing more than to see you fall from the trials and to try to separate what God has joined together, you serve a Sovereign God who loves you and Rob unconditionally and is faithful to uphold and sustain you through any trial and tribulation that you will face. May the Lord bIess you and keep you, sister!

Sin and Confession

[This Sunday in our journey through the book of Psalms we reach the prayer of confession David prayed after committing both adultery and murder. We will only briefly review on Sunday the events leading up to this confession; here are edited excerpts from a sermon preached twenty years ago from that narrative. You can read the entire sermon – preached at the height of the Clinton-Lewinsky scandal – at this link. The four principles are taken from a sermon by Gary Vanderet – Coty]

The political leader of a great nation commits adultery and murder; an accuser then stands before him and confronts him with his sin. How does that political leader react? What insights does this give us into the nature of sin? We’ll learn four key principles about sin as we follow the story in 2 Samuel 11 and 12.

One clear night King David is out on the roof of his palace, looking down on his capital. He must be feeling some sense of pride and accomplishment when he notices a movement on another, lower roof. A lantern; water splashing. David peers and sees — a woman undressing, then bathing. He notices her great beauty.

Now, David already has multiple wives; if he simply wanted to engage in sexual relations, he had several women to choose from. But I suggest this was part of the problem, not part of the solution. Instead of following God’s intention that one man should be united in marriage with one woman in a one flesh relationship, David has followed the pattern of other prosperous men in the surrounding nations, indulging his sexual appetites by bringing attractive women into his harem. Indulgence inevitably leads not to satisfaction but to more and more indulgence.

So David figures this will be one more case of the same, one more beautiful woman for the harem. He inquires about her — but doesn’t get the answer he wants. He supposes this young woman to be unmarried, but not only is she married — her husband is one of David’s most loyal men, Uriah.

David now has a choice; either to commit adultery, explicitly breaking one of the Ten Commandments, and cuckolding one of his best friends — or to control himself. David chooses adultery.

Think about this: God uses David as a type of Christ, a foreshadowing of Jesus; God has called him a man after His own heart (1 Samuel 13:14). David himself has written “I delight to do your will, O my God; your law is within my heart” (Psalm 40:8). Yet David violates that very law, explicitly, knowingly. Why?

Here we come to our first principle: Sin always deceives. Sin always promises something it cannot deliver. When we hear such promises, we are tempted to give in, to accept the deception and justify our actions. David must have done that; he knows he is doing wrong, but he tries to justify himself, perhaps by saying

  • “It’s only one night — I can go back to delighting in God’s law tomorrow;” or,
  • “She’s willing — we’re just consenting adults;” or,
  • “No one is hurt by this; Uriah will never know; indeed, no one will ever know;” or,
  • “Think of all I’ve done for this country; surely I deserve this one little fling!”

Have you ever heard such temptations? Satan is the deceiver, a liar and the father of lies, and he uses similar lies with all of us. Satan presents sin to us as the way to life, the way to enjoyment, the way to fulfillment — when really it is the way to death and destruction. Satan persuades us that engaging in sin will fulfill our desires, when sin gives satisfaction only to our least important desires, and that only briefly, leaving us dying for true love, for true joy, and for true peace. Sin always deceives.

David and Bathsheba have their fling, and she returns home. Weeks pass. David doesn’t see her again, and figures it is all over. Then one day he receives a message: “David, I’m pregnant.” Now, Uriah has been away from Jerusalem for months; when Bathsheba’s belly starts to grow, her adultery will be evident to all. According to the law, she should then be stoned — along with her accomplice (Leviticus 20:10).

David tries to think quick: “Let’s see, this many weeks have passed. It’s not too unusual for children to be born several weeks early. If I can just get Uriah home, he and Bathsheba will have sexual relations. Surely no one will raise questions then.”

So David has Joab send Uriah home. He and David discuss the war; then David encourages him to go home. But Uriah does not do so, telling David the next day,

“The ark and Israel and Judah are staying in tents, and my master Joab and my lord’s men are camped in the open fields. How could I go to my house to eat and drink and lie with my wife? As surely as you live, I will not do such a thing!” (2 Samuel 11:11)

Uriah’s statement must have cut David to the quick. Uriah has not seen his wife for months, but will not even visit her. What a contrast to David, who should have been out in the field with the army, but instead chose to indulge his sensual appetites — and to do that not with his own wives, but with the wife of this most loyal subordinate.

David proceeds to get him drunk that evening, hoping that this will overcome his loyalty, and that he will then sleep with Bathsheba. But even a drunk Uriah shows considerably more restraint that a sober David; Uriah does not go home. He sleeps on a mat at the palace with David’s servants.

So David has to come up with Plan B, and a monstrous plan it is. He writes a letter instructing Joab, the commander, to put Uriah in the front lines and then have the other soldiers abandon him. And then David has Uriah carry instructions for his own execution — because he trusts him! He knows this loyal servant will never think of opening the letter. This is murder, plain and simple.

Joab is more crafty than David, and manages to have Uriah killed without causing soldiers to ask questions. But the deed is done.

So what started as a one night stand, as a consensual relationship between two people, has led to destruction and death. And the destruction and death are far from over, as we will see. This is our second principle: Sin always destroys. Sin destroys our relationships to man and God, sin destroys what is best in us, sin destroys whatever we love most.

Don’t listen to anyone who tries to tell you that there is a sin that hurts no one. Sin always destroys.

Bathsheba mourns for her husband, and then moves into the palace as David’s wife. She grows great with child — and everyone in the palace is able to count. Everyone knows that Uriah had come home but never saw his wife. So at least the palace insiders know exactly what happened. Behind the king’s back, people are talking. But David pretends that this is a natural occurrence, that he is doing his old friend a favor by taking care of his widow. Bathsheba gives birth to a healthy boy — and to David all seems well. It looks like he has gotten away with adultery and murder.

However, “the thing David had done displeased the LORD.” (2 Samuel 11:27)

God acts by sending the prophet Nathan to David. He tells the king a story about a rich man who stole a pet lamb from a neighbor to prepare a meal for a guest. David is incensed, saying “As surely as the LORD lives, the man who did this deserves to die!” (2 Samuel 12:5). Nathan replies, “You are the man!” He continues speaking God’s words to David:

“I anointed you king over Israel, and I delivered you from the hand of Saul. I gave your master’s house to you, and your master’s wives into your arms. I gave you the house of Israel and Judah. And if all this had been too little, I would have given you even more. Why did you despise the word of the LORD by doing what is evil in his eyes?” (2 Samuel 12:7b-9a)

David thought all was covered up; he pretended that no one knew. Well, other people did know, but more importantly, God knew. God always knows.

This is our third principle: Sin is always discovered. In the long run, there are no secret sins. As Jesus Himself states, “There is nothing covered up that will not be revealed, and hidden that will not be known. (Luke 12:2)

Satan tempts us to believe that no one will ever know, that we can hide our sin; Satan is so effective in this that many of us are lying to ourselves, thinking that our sins are known only to us, thinking that we have succeeded in covering our tracks. But God sees all; everything is laid bare before his eyes; God will not be mocked. Sin is always discovered.

What is David’s reaction? Does he try to justify himself? Does he attack his accuser? Does he argue that Nathan shouldn’t have brought up the matter, saying, “This is private, and none of your business. Leave me alone! Let me deal with this among my wives and children!” No. David confesses simply, “I have sinned against the LORD.”

No excuses. No attempt to mitigate the seriousness of the sin. So Nathan replies immediately, “The Lord has taken away your sin.” This is our fourth principle: Confessed sin is always forgiven.

What is the nature of true confession? We can identify three characteristics from Psalm 51, David’s song of repentance, written on this occasion:

 (1) True confession addresses all those affected by the sin.

This was not a private matter between David and Bathsheba, or David and Uriah’s relatives. The king sinned, and all Israel suffered. So David must confess before all Israel.

(2) True confession admits that punishment is justified

We must be broken and contrite when we come before God and those we have sinned against; we must not downplay our sin or blame the other person, but admit that we deserve judgment.

(3) True confession depends on God’s mercy alone.

David calls out for God to act in accordance with his unfailing love, in accordance with his great mercy. He calls out to God to cleanse him, to wash him, and then — since the external washing is not sufficient — to change his very heart, to create a new heart within him.

David deserved death for his sin, both the ending of his life on earth and eternal separation from God. God forgave him; those of us who are saved will join David in praising God eternally, and David did not die on earth in punishment for adultery and murder.

But note that there were other temporal consequences of David’s sin. The judgment that Nathan states prior to David’s confession still holds. Israel and, in particular, David’s family suffer immensely from this sin. And Uriah remains dead. Forgiveness does not imply the absence of temporal consequences for sin. But, praise God, when we come to God with broken and contrite hearts, when we call out to God pleading for His mercy, when we depend only on the shed blood of Jesus to cover all our sins, God never turns his ear away. God always listens. Confessed sin is always forgiven.

So examine your own heart. Paul tells us, “If you think you are standing firm, take care that you don’t fall.” What sin are you knowingly engaged in? Are you loving the Lord your God with all your heart, and all your soul, and all your strength, and all your mind? Are you loving your neighbor as yourself?

My dear friends, sin always deceives. Sin always destroys. Sin is always discovered. Let us take the occasion of great sins by a great man to ask God with David:

Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting. (Psalm 139:23-24)

When He shows you the sin in your heart, confess it — and then know the joy of living a life blameless before Him. Confessed sin — Praise God! — is always forgiven, by the blood of Jesus.

 

 

The Grace to Forgive, the Grace to be Made Holy

Someone sins against you terribly. You have a choice: Do you forgive or not?

At one level, the biblical answer is easy: Of course you forgive. When Peter asks Jesus if he should forgive the repetitious sin of his brother seven times, Jesus replies, “I do not say to you seven times, but seventy-seven times” (Matthew 18:21-22). If someone hits you on the right cheek, you are to turn the other to him also (Matthew 5:39).

These and other Scriptures emphasize that we are not to take personal offense. We are not to become bitter. We are not to hold grudges. We are to forgive one another from the heart. Indeed, we are to put the interests of the other above our own.

Yet that last statement can lead to questions about how we respond to sin against us. If we really have the interests of our sinning brother or sister at heart, we want them to cease from this sin. Surely that is in their interests. If our attitude towards their sin enables further sin, aren’t we harming our brother or sister by that attitude?

Consider a common example, in biblical times as well as in our own: A spouse commits adultery. Is forgiveness the right response? Or does forgiveness enable further sin – “My spouse will always forgive me, so I might as well continue to fulfill my desires”?

In this case, we have a specific example in the book of Hosea. And the answer is rather complex.

God tells Hosea to marry Gomer, a promiscuous woman who will continue having affairs after their marriage. This violation of the marriage covenant pictures God’s people violating their covenant with Him.

Gomer’s adulteries eventually lead her to being sold in the slave market. Yet God tells Hosea once again:

“Go again, love a woman who is loved by another man and is an adulteress, even as the Lord loves the children of Israel, though they turn to other gods.”…  So I bought her for fifteen shekels of silver…. And I said to her, “You must dwell as mine for many days. You shall not play the whore, or belong to another man; so will I also be to you.” (From Hosea 3:1-3).

At God’s command, Hosea shows his wife great grace – buying the one who is already his, paying the price for her! This is tremendous forgiveness.

But this is not a license for her to continue in sin. Hosea is explicit: Their future relationship must be made pure; the adultery must cease. He must not respond to her sin by paying her back with his own affair; she must never return to that unfaithful life.

Just so with God and the people of Israel. God disciplines His unfaithful people (Hosea 2:5-13), eventually even destroying their country and sending them into exile. Yet all this is for redemptive purposes: He allures her, He speaks tenderly to her (Hosea 2:14), He purifies her now and forever:

I will betroth you to me forever. I will betroth you to me in righteousness and in justice, in steadfast love and in mercy. I will betroth you to me in faithfulness. And you shall know the LORD. (Hosea 2:19-20)

So Hosea exemplifies not only God’s forgiving love, but also His cleansing, sanctifying love. The restoration of the relationship is not an invitation to further sin; it does not enable further sin; rather, it is the opportunity for the relationship to become what God always intended marriage to be: An exclusive one-flesh relationship that in love, in grace, in mercy, and in holiness pictures His relationship with His people.

And this is what we find as part of the Bride of Christ: If we see God’s forgiveness in Christ as a license to sin without consequences, we are sorely wrong. We dishonor God. We trample on the blood of Christ (Hebrews 10:26-29). Indeed, if we persist in that attitude, we will receive no forgiveness. God does not forgive us so that we might continue in sin.

Rather, we are like Gomer: God forgives us so that we, His Bride, guilty of being adulteresses in the past, might return and seek Him, and so recognize and come to His goodness, thereby living to the praise of His glorious grace.

If that’s the relationship between God and His people – if that’s the reality behind every marriage, indeed, behind every marriage stained by adultery – how can we live out these truths, how can we picture these realities when we are sinned against?

These Scriptures lead to four clear principles – even though the outworking of the principles in specific cases is challenging:

First: Offer complete personal forgiveness. This does not downplay the severity of the sin against you; rather, this magnifies the extent of your much greater sin against God, for which He has forgiven you in Christ (Matthew 18:21-35).

Second: The sin should not remain secret, only known to the two of you. The adulteries of Gomer, the spiritual adultery of the people of Israel, are made public. How many people should know about this sin will vary from case to case. If the couple is part of a grace-oriented church that effectively practices church discipline, discussing the sin before the church body can be an important part of the healing process. But in every case, bring in wise Christians who are biblically sound and desire both your good and the glory of God – even if, especially if, the erring spouse does not want that to happen. Covering up the sin may seem to be good for the sinner, but it is that very cover-up that enables and makes more likely future sin. And that is the worst that can happen to the sinner.

Third: Work to restore unity and trust. Both have been violated terribly. Yet God has made the two one, even though we have worked to destroy that unity. Nevertheless, what God has joined together, man must not separate (Matthew 19:6). The restoration of unity and trust will take time; a period of physical separation may be part of the process of restoration. Once again, including others at this stage is necessary. Form a plan on how to go forward together with a wise Christian couple, and build in accountability for both spouses to that plan.

Finally: Christ perfects His Bride, making her holy (Ephesians 5:25-27). We see one way that happens in Hosea 2:14, where God says to His unfaithful Bride: “I will allure her … and speak tenderly to her.” Love the errant spouse. Woo him or her. Not in a grasping, needy sense – “I can’t live without you, please come back to me!” – but out of confidence in God, out of trust in His sovereign kindness, knowing you are forgiven such great sin, and knowing that He can take a heart of stone and turn it into a heart of flesh (Ezekiel 36:26), He can grant repentance leading to a knowledge of the truth and escape from the trap of the devil (2 Timothy 2:25-26). Love – and pray for God to act.

By God’s grace, your errant spouse – and anyone who sins terribly against you – can be a living example of God’s forgiving, redeeming, perfecting love. You can be His agent in bringing that about. The pain is real. The sin is great. Justice must be done. But if you are in Christ, justice was implemented at the cross; you are forgiven a much greater sin. So forgive from the heart. And may God be pleased to work through you and other Christians to glorify His Name even through such a terrible sin.

School Shootings and the Beginning of the Gospel

[As we mourn another school shooting, I was reminded of a sermon preached April 25, 1999, five days after the shootings at Columbine High. Here is an edited excerpt. You can read the entire sermon at this link – Coty]

The time: Tuesday, this week, around midday. Cassie Bernall is studying in her high school library, the Bible she brings to school every day on the desk in front of her. Suddenly she hears shouting, screaming, and the sound of something like firecrackers. She stands and turns toward the door. Two of her schoolmates, Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, run into the room, shooting guns, yelling. One of them approaches her. “Do you believe in Jesus?” he sneers. Cassie — who accepted Jesus as Savior about two years ago, and is active in her church youth group — replies: “Yes.” Her schoolmate shoots her dead.

The killings at Columbine High School show with startling clarity the ever-present reality of sin in this world. These grisly murders join the well-publicized suffering of hundreds of thousands of Kosovar refugees, and the hardly-publicized suffering of millions of Sudanese Christians, driven from their homes, tens of thousands sold into slavery. Yes, in 1999, slavery.

If anyone of us needed further evidence that this world is not improving, decade after decade, this week we received it. The truth that we live in a fallen world should be obvious to all.

Why such hatred? Why such inhumanity? Why?

My friends, that Bible that Cassie Bernall had on her desk holds the answer. But the answer is not a pleasant one, for any of us. In such situations we all want to separate people into the bad ones — those who do such terrible deeds — and the good ones: and of course we all want to include ourselves among the good.

But the Bible’s message is that, left to our own devices, there are no good people. I am not good, you are not good. Every one of us is filled with sin; were it not for God’s grace, every one of us would be capable of the most horrid sin that we can imagine.

So is there no hope? If even the best of men is so terrible, where can we find hope?

Turn with me, please to the book of Mark. The first verse reads: “The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.”

“Gospel” means “good news.” The beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. There is good news for this hurting, suffering world; there is good news for those of us trapped in sin and its effects. That good news is found in this little book of Mark.

The Author of the Gospel

Who wrote the gospel of Mark?

From the earliest days of the Christian era, this gospel has been attributed to John Mark, who is mentioned in Acts and several epistles.

Mark first appears in person in Acts 12:25, when he accompanies Paul and Barnabas upon their return to Antioch, after they have brought gifts to the poor Christians in Jerusalem. He then accompanies these same two on their first missionary journey to Cyprus, but leaves them, going home to Jerusalem (note: not Antioch), when the journey is far from complete. There is no note of censure when Luke reports his departure, but later we find that Paul feels betrayed. He refuses to allow Mark, who deserted them, to join them on the second missionary journey. This leads Paul and Barnabas to take separate trips.

We hear nothing more of Mark in the book of Acts. The epistles, however, give us important insights into his life. Paul mentions Mark three times, all positively, in Philemon, Colossians, and 2 Timothy. By the end of his life, Paul appreciates Mark as a valuable fellow servant of his Master.

Finally, Peter mentions Mark, referring to him as a son — perhaps meaning that Mark came to know the Lord through Peter’s ministry (1 Peter 5:13).

There are two other passages in Mark’s gospel that might possibly refer to the author. In Mark 14, a young man following Jesus at the time of His arrest runs away naked when seized, leaving his garment behind. This event is recorded only in the Gospel of Mark. Why? Perhaps this young man was Mark himself.

The second possibility is more speculative, but intriguing. All three gospels include the story of the rich young ruler. But Mark’s account (Mark 10:17-22) gives more details, describing the man running up to Jesus and kneeling, and recording that Jesus looked at him with love.

Possibly, Mark himself was that rich young ruler. He remembered the details of his running up to Jesus; he remembered the excitement he felt waiting for Jesus’ expected statement of approval; and most clearly, he remembered Jesus’ look of love before he asked Mark to do what, at that point, he could not.

If this is the case, then Mark’s following Jesus begins with three failures: The failure to obey Jesus’ command to sell his goods; the failure in the Garden of Gethsemane; and the failure on the first missionary journey.

But God did not give up on Mark! This very man, the man who failed, becomes a dear fellow-worker to Paul, becomes a dear son to Peter, and authors the most-translated book in the world. His ministry has now had an impact for 2000 years, and will continue to have an impact until Jesus comes again.

The Beginning of the Gospel

Mark begins by quoting Isaiah’s prophecy about John the Baptist: A voice crying in the wilderness to make ready the way of the Lord.

Why did God send John to the wilderness around the Jordan – a desolate place twenty miles or more from the population center?

I believe God uses the wilderness as a picture of our spiritual state. The beginning of the gospel comes to us not in our protected cities, not where we feel comfortable, not where we feel safe and secure. If we think we are fine on our own, we do not hear the message. But God uses difficulties in our lives to awaken us to our need for Him. So God sends the message of hope to us in the wilderness, in the midst of troubles and trials.

John then prepares the way for the coming of the Messiah by “preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.” (Mark 1:4). Repentance means turning away from the old way of life, acknowledging that that is worthless, and turning to a new way of life. John prepares the hearts of the people for the coming Savior, as they must acknowledge their sinfulness, their need of a Savior before they can respond to a Savior.

But is John preaching Good News? At first glance, John’s preaching may not sound that way. He is calling them to repentance, after all, bringing them to acknowledge that they themselves are in a spiritual wilderness. Why is this the beginning of the gospel, the beginning of good news?

Verse 4 contains the answer: John was “preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.” He tells people to repent, yes: but then they are forgiven! How contrary to the preaching they had been receiving from the Pharisees and the teachers of the law! These false guides would have said that a series of formalistic, legalistic steps was necessary to receive God’s forgiveness for even the most trivial, unintentional sin. As for those serious sinners — the prostitutes, the tax collectors, the intentional Sabbath breakers — there was no hope for them. They deserve death!

These teachers of the law prided themselves on their understanding of the Law, but they completely misread the Old Testament. The Old Testament is the story of God’s grace! God provides for the weakness of the people, he provides a way to receive forgiveness, foreshadowing the death of this very Savior John proclaims.

So John’s message comes with startling freshness to these poor Jews burdened with a legalistic interpretation of the Old Testament. There is hope! Repent, and be forgiven! Grace is abundant! I know I am in the wilderness, I know I deserve judgment, I know I cannot live up to the law as the Pharisees say I must — but John tells me to repent, and I will be clean! To turn my back on sin, and God will forgive!

This is why “all Jerusalem” travels that long, dangerous road to hear John. He offers something they have never heard before: God’s grace.

But why, then is this just the beginning of the Gospel? John makes clear that he is only preparing the way; there is even better news to come. A mightier One is coming – He will pay the penalty for sin, and He will baptize with the Holy Spirit (Mark 1:7-8).

Repentance is necessary. Forgiveness is wonderful. But God is doing much more than offering forgiveness: God is offering these people new life in Christ! New power! Indeed, God offers Himself! The indwelling of the Holy Spirit!

The gospel of Jesus Christ is not only about the forgiveness of sins. That’s the beginning of the gospel. The full gospel is the hope of being God’s precious bride: perfect, spotless, Christlike. The full gospel promises that we will be transformed completely into His image through the power of the Holy Spirit within us.

The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the son of God, comes to us in the wilderness of April, 1999. The wilderness of shooting deaths at a surburban high school; the wilderness of ethnic hatred in the Balkans; the wilderness of slavery and oppression in Sudan; the wilderness of our own hardened and self-righteous hearts. This gospel proclaims not that you’re OK and I’m OK, not that the problems of the world lie with all those other bad people; but the gospel proclaims that God has dealt with sin and death. You can be free.

The first step is repentance. Will you?

Cassie Bernall took that step when she received Jesus as Savior two years ago. She turned her back on the false gods she had been serving, and placed her faith in the Lord of the universe. She knew this good news.

Then she went to school last Tuesday, thinking it would be like any other day — and five hours later she was dead. She knew the Lord; she believed this gospel. She made the good confession on her day of trial. Jesus accepts her now into his heavenly kingdom.

What about you? If some random act of violence affects you today: Are you ready? Have you repented? Are you keeping short accounts with God?

Mark himself had much to repent of: If our speculation is correct, he initially rejected Jesus’ call to follow Him. He ran in the garden. He deserted Paul and Barnabas.

But he did repent. And he received God’s grace. And God turned this failure into the author of the most widely-translated book in the world.

No matter how large your failures, no matter how short of a perfect life you fall, God is ready to accept you, by the blood of our Lord and Savior. Won’t you repent? Turn to the God of mercy! You too can have the power to overcome sin; you too can become part of the perfect, spotless bride of Christ.

This is the beginning of the gospel.

Repent! The kingdom of God is at hand!

Wrath and Love

Is the God of the Bible a God of wrath? Or is He a God of love?

The answer is yes – the Bible presents Him as both.

We see both pictures of God clearly in the book of Revelation. In chapter 6, the Lamb opens six seals of the scroll of history. After He opens the sixth seal, we read:

Then the kings of the earth and the great ones and the generals and the rich and the powerful, and everyone, slave and free, hid themselves in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains, calling to the mountains and rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of him who is seated on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb, for the great day of their wrath has come, and who can stand?” (Revelation 6:15-17)

These rebels against God see Jesus. They see the Lamb who was slain, who by His blood “ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation” (Revelation 5:9) – yet they see Him not as loving but as wrathful. They look upon the One who is their only hope – and they only see judgment, they only see wrath. They don’t fall on their knees and worship Him, saying “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!” (Revelation 7:10). Instead, they want to hide from Him.

Later we read that those who remain in rebellion against God despite plagues “cursed the name of God who had power over these plagues. They did not repent and give him glory” (Revelation 16:9). Without repentance, without the redemption that comes from the Lamb’s blood by grace through faith, they are left with only a “fearful expectation of judgment, and a fury of fire that will consume the adversaries” (Hebrews 10:27).

So, yes, God is a God of wrath to those who remain in rebellion against Him. Indeed the Lamb Who was Slain is a God of wrath, a Lion, to those who refuse to bow before Him, the King of kings and Lord of lords.

Yet in the immediate context of these pictures of wrath we see pictures of His great love and tender mercies:

“He who sits on the throne will shelter them with his presence. They shall hunger no more, neither thirst anymore; the sun shall not strike them, nor any scorching heat. For the Lamb in the midst of the throne will be their shepherd, and he will guide them to springs of living water, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes” (Revelation 7:15b-17).

The first group calls upon rocks and mountains to shelter them from God’s wrath. God Himself shelters the second group. The Lamb Himself shepherds them; He leads them beside still waters; He restores their soul.

The first group looks upon God and the Lamb and sees only wrath. They might even say, “God is wrath.” The second group looks at the same God, the same Lamb, and sees love. They gladly proclaim, “God is love.”

At the Last Day, we all will be in one group or the other. God will be to us either a God of wrath or a God of love. There will be nothing in between. And so the Apostle Paul says, “Believe in the Lord Jesus and you will be saved!” (Acts 16:31).

The Lord God offers you forgiveness freely. Without cost. You don’t have to clean yourself up to come to Him. Rather, you must admit that you cannot clean yourself up; you must admit that apart from His grace and mercy, rebels like you cannot stand before His holiness.

So end this year of 2017 by repenting of your rebellion. Fall before the Lamb. Be reconciled to the Lord God Almighty through Him.

And He will reveal Himself to you as a God of love.

Mercy and Justice

Arise, O God, defend your cause; remember how the foolish scoff at you all the day! Do not forget the clamor of your foes, the uproar of those who rise against you, which goes up continually! (Psalm 74:22-23)

Jesus is speaking from the cross: “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” (Luke 23:34)

Jesus has just been condemned unjustly, beaten, and nailed to the cross. And He asks God to forgive the perpetrators.

In Psalm 74, Jerusalem has just been conquered by the Babylonians, with her temple destroyed, her God mocked, and her citizens murdered and raped. And the psalmist asks for God to honor His Name through implementing justice.

Are these inconsistent responses to evil?

No.

Jesus Himself promises or calls for justice again and again:

“Will not God give justice to his elect, who cry to him day and night? Will he delay long over them?  I tell you, he will give justice to them speedily.” (Luke 18:7-8a)

“Truly, I say to you, all sins will be forgiven the children of man, and whatever blasphemies they utter, but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is guilty of an eternal sin”– for they were saying, “He has an unclean spirit.” (Mark 3:28-30)

And if your eye causes you to sin, tear it out. It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than with two eyes to be thrown into hell, ‘where their worm does not die and the fire is not quenched.’ (Mark 9:47-48)

We see similar calls for justice throughout the Bible, New Testament as well as Old Testament. Revelation even pictures martyrs rightly crying out for justice from the heavenly altar of God (Revelation 6:9-11). They are promised that justice will come.

  • God is a god of justice. Justice is central to His character. He must punish every wrong, and He will. We rightly call on God to display His character, to implement justice, when we are faced with evil.
  • And God is a god of mercy. Mercy is central to His character. We rightly call on God to have mercy, to show forgiveness to those who harm us personally.

How does God show both aspects of His character?

Mercy and justice come together at the Cross. Indeed, God planned the incarnation, life, death, and resurrection of His Son in order that He might justly show mercy, in order that He might mercifully show justice (Romans 3:21-26).

In the end, there are only two categories of people: Those who deserve eternal punishment for their rebellion against God, and receive that punishment, all the while continuing in their rebellion; and those who deserve eternal punishment for their rebellion against God, whose punishment God the Father transfers to God the Son on the cross. United to Christ, forgiven in Him, having His Law written on their hearts, having received the gift of the Holy Spirit, they then delight in Him above all else and live to His glory.

So, yes, call out for justice. And come to the Father for mercy through the sacrifice of His Son. Do all this for the glory of God.

 

Thoughts on a Snowy Day

Snow and sleet cover the ground this morning. All is white. Clean. Pure. And brilliant, should the sun ever poke through the clouds.

So I turned this morning to Scripture, to see how the biblical authors refer to snow.

Only in one incident in the Bible is snow referred to in a weather report – Benaiah kills a lion in a pit on a snowy day (2 Samuel 23:20, 1 Chronicles 11:22). The other occurrences speak of characteristics of snow, or use snow figuratively. Six ways of speaking of snow stand out:

First, as we would expect, the biblical authors use snow as an image of purity. So God, Jesus, and an angel are pictured as having hair or clothing as white as snow (Daniel 7:9, Revelation 1:14, Matthew 28:3). And after David’s adultery and murder, he cries out to God, “Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow” (Psalm 51:7). Similarly, God calls to His people through the prophet Isaiah, telling them their rebellion against Him is stupid and foolish:

Wash yourselves; make yourselves clean; . . . learn to do good; seek justice, correct oppression; bring justice to the fatherless, plead the widow’s cause.  Come now, let us reason together, says the LORD: though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool.  If you are willing and obedient, you shall eat the good of the land; but if you refuse and rebel, you shall be eaten by the sword; for the mouth of the LORD has spoken. (Isaiah 1:16-20)

So in this sense, God’s people should be like Him, white as snow. We should be pure, spotless, undefiled. Like the new-fallen snow around us this morning, there should be no speck of dirt, no hint of rebellion in us.

But, secondly, Scripture also uses the image of snow in a negative sense. Three times leprosy is pictured as “like snow” (Exodus 4:6, Numbers 12:10, 2 Kings 5:27). And leprosy ironically is an image of deep-seated sinfulness in us. So we are to be white, pure as snow; yet skin which shouldn’t be pure white becoming pure white indicates our rebellious, fallen nature.

Third, snow can be dangerous. We are all conscious of that today as we stay at home and avoid the roads. For the ancient Israelites, the danger was especially from exposure to cold. But the excellent wife of Proverbs 31 is not fearful of the snow; she has clothed her family not only with practical warmth but also with beautiful adornment (Proverbs 31:21).

Fourth: Isaiah 55 speaks of snow as the source of fruitfulness. Snow, like rain, is the necessary source of water for nourishing crops and forests. God’s Word similarly produces fruitfulness:

For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven and do not return there but water the earth, making it bring forth and sprout, giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater, so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it. (Isaiah 55:10-11)

Fifth: Two passages refer to snow having its place; we humans similarly should have our place:

Like snow in summer or rain in harvest, so honor is not fitting for a fool. (Proverbs 26:1)

Does the snow of Lebanon leave the crags of Sirion? Do the mountain waters run dry, the cold flowing streams?  But my people have forgotten me; they make offerings to false gods; they made them stumble in their ways, in the ancient roads, and to walk into side roads, not the highway. (Jeremiah 18:14-15)

In these verses, the authors say: Snow belongs in winter, especially in deep fissures in mountains. Snow doesn’t belong in summer, and just so honor does not belong with fools. The people of God, on the other hand, have a purpose and a place: They are to love God, honor Him, and walk in His paths. But God’s people in Jeremiah’s day were rebelling against the purpose for which God had chosen them.

Finally, God’s control of the snow is evidence of His majesty, His authority, His awesome power (Job 37:6, Psalm 147:16). When Job raises questions about God, the Almighty turns the table and questions him: “Have you entered the storehouses of the snow, or have you seen the storehouses of the hail? (Job 38:22). Indeed, the psalmist calls on the snow (together with fire, hail, mist, and stormy winds) to praise the Lord! (Psalm 147:8).

So look out on this weekend’s snow and reflect on these truths. You are born with a leprosy-like disease, deep within you, disfiguring you, making white what should not be white; but through the blood of our Savior and the power of the Spirit, you can be properly white as snow. There are dangers around us – but God grants us wisdom and resources to protect ourselves from those dangers. And as the snow itself will melt and be God’s provision for forest and field, just so His Word will nourish us and build us up to become what He intends us to be. In this way we can find our rightful place, we can fulfill His plans, delighting in the place and function He grants us.

And then as you look at the snow falling and hear of the blizzards further up the coast, stand in awe: Our God controls it all. The power of the storm is one minuscule part of His majesty. There is no power that can stand against Him. May the snow praise the Lord!