My Opinions Won’t Save Me

~ pjwenzel ~ 1 Comment

Today I was reading in Steven Lawson’s book ‘Foundations of Grace‘, the book reads like a Biblical Theology on the Doctrines of Grace. Here I am at Chapter Four, and its as if Lawson never wrote the previous three chapters, such is his energy and enthusiasm for the topic.

This chapter covers some of the early leaders of the Bible ‘Joshua to Job’, and shows how God’s sovereignty in salvation was on full display in their life stories.

Here’s how he opens:

Strong men always proclaim a strong message. They do not read the polls and check the surveys before they give their opinion. In fact, they do not even have opinions – they have convictions. They bleed convictions. They are strong men anchored in the strong Word of God, and, as such, they bring a message with gravitas and punch.

That certainly sounds like the kind of man I want to be. Though I come from dust and will return to it, I want to stand for something during this life. Don’t you?

That phrase, “In fact, the do not even have opinions – they have convictions” is worth pondering. I believe what Lawson is getting at is that men and women who stand on the truth of God do not stand on the strength of their own ideas.

The ideas that a godly man or woman stand on are not always popular – in fact, they can be downright dangerous. But they hold them and speak them nonetheless.

Lawson continues:

When they (“strong men”) stand to speak, they actually have something to say – and they say it, whether anyone listens or not. When they sit to write, they do not skirt the issues – they tackle them. When they address the times in which they live, they do not tickle ears – they box them. They do not have one message for one group and a different message for a different group. Wherever they go and whomever they address, they have only one message – God’s message. This is what makes them strong men. They speak God’s Word, or they do not speak at all.

Indeed, very well said! As a Christian there are some difficult truths which we must embrace. Some are difficult because they are hard to understand, and others are difficult because we are sinners and do not like what they entail. Such is the case with the doctrines of grace, as Lawson states:

There is no stronger message than the truths of God’s sovereignty in the doctrines of grace. No other message is more God-exalting and Christ-glorifying than these truths. And yet, no other announcement is as sin-exposing, pride-crushing, and self-denouncing as these five theological points. No other truths are as sweet and previous to the soul that is humbled and submissive, but no other message is more offensive to the flesh or abrasive to the carnal mind than these doctrines. In fact, this message is unbearable to the natural man – just as it is sometimes intolerable even to those who are saved.

In my short time upon this earth, I’ve spent a lot of time in church. And in sermon after sermon, I have heard good men flee from preaching these truths. In fact, one of the things that seems to govern the phraseology of their sermons is a fear of man. A fear of offending either the sensibilities or intellect of their congregants.

I have heard men that I respect and love, equivocate on these truths with a subtlety that would be better left to politicians. And because I am a politician and communications and messaging expert by trade, I smell this stuff from 1000 yards away! I can tell when someone either doesn’t own up to the truths of God’s Word, or cannot fully come to embrace it intellectually.

I sometimes wonder how many other communications professionals – or just attentive people in the sanctuary – pickup on this kind of equivocation…phrases like “God won’t force himself on you, you have to let him into your heart”, which I heard even this week. These are really poor ways of communicating God’s work and your responsibility. And they are purposefully vague because they are meant not to offend, and to force people toward making some kind of “move toward God.” AS IF WE HAVE TO TAKE THE FIRST STEP!?

The truth is that Lawson is right. Without the sovereign in-breaking of God’s love into our lives we would never seek Him (John 3:19-21). I am personally glad that He “forced” His way into my life, and preached grace to my dead heart (Ephesians 2:1-10).

I wrote this post today because I really don’t have much to stand on for truth outside of Scripture and what it says. So that when I come to a more difficult truth in Scripture, I remember that the One who saved me doesn’t have to explain Himself to me. He doesn’t have to tell me why He does what He does. I know He does all for His own pleasure and glory. It is enough for me to know that He saved me, and that if He had not, I would still be standing on the shakiness of my own opinions. And, in the end, it is not my opinions that will save me.

Weekend Reading: March 27, 2015

~ pjwenzel ~ 2 Comments

Welcome to your weekend! Several interesting articles and videos out there this week. Some of the news items are particularly alarming, but not so alarming that an election or two (or the Gospel!) can’t remedy what ails…

Let’s start with the news from overseas. First, things have been heating up between the Obama Administration and Israel. WSJ first to report that here (paywall), the New York Times has a pretty decent look at how Obama’s chiding of Bibi is actually helping him (even among his adversaries). Most seem to think that Obama has overplayed his hand. And now that the President (still confused as to who his allies/enemies are in the world) has pushed an Iranian nuke deal down the road, it has set off a chain reaction (no pun intended).

And remember when the administration released five Taliban terrorists in exchange for Bowe Bergdahl? Ya, me too. Well this week it was announced that “Bergy” (as his friends would call him if he had any) will be formally charged with ‘desertion.’  Dems playing drinking games based on Obama’s foreign policy missteps have been a sloppy mess all week.

Next, in case you went all amish this week and ignored the outside world, the plane that crashed over the French Alps this week was said to have been downed on purpose when the co-pilot locked the pilot out of the cabin. Pretty alarming – this was able to happen because post 9/11 there are locks on those doors etc…

The top article I haven’t read yet but want to: ‘What Lies Beneath’ 

If you have a Wall Street Journal subscription and didn’t see their editorial on Edward Snowden, check it out, you’ll laugh (after you get over your anger).

And in case you missed it John Kasich is testing the waters for a potential run at POTUS.

Off the wall: Ever wanted to know what you get when you cross a seminary professor and a rapper? What? Not even remotely curious?

WaPo says Benny Hinn hospitalized…holding…back…obvious…sarcasm…

Lifeway Christian bookstores aren’t going to sell anymore of those ridiculous ‘I spent 5-10min in heaven and hung out with angels and dead people’ stories anymore…yeah…probably for the best. (h/t Derek Stone).

Speaking of the Post, they had an interesting article on why Americans will likely not elect an Atheist President any time soon.

For your encouragement…

Tim Challies has a post called ‘How to Pray All Day’ that was pretty decent little read.

Christian Audio has Lee Strobel’s work discounted, and one for free.

Steven Lee rightfully says, ‘We Complain Because We Forget’

I wrote a post addressed to leaders in the church based on a devotional I gave last Sunday afternoon.

Paul Maxwell wrote an excellent little post called ‘Put Laziness to Rest’

I just now finally read Jonathon Woodyard’s post about how ordinary Christianity is radical Christianity. You may not agree, but I think he makes some good points here. 

For fun…Your computer color is broken, what a REAL tree house ought to look like, and Jordan Speith’s really really nice house…

This week there were several really good LONG articles. Great for your weekend!  Here they are…

A few weeks back I read this hilarious post from David Murray on his disastrous honeymoon.  This is long, but its worth the read – whatever you’re going through right now, you ain’t got nothin on this!

Speaking of old articles that I just got to this week, this one by Jon Bloom explores the question ‘Did Tolkien Waste His Life?’  It’s a good question. I mean the man spent years and years inventing fake lands and languages, and for what? Was it all to no avail?

Really interesting read by Yahoo Politics about how Presidents book hotel rooms, and all the ins and outs of where they stay and why when they travel.

Quartz takes a look at spaceware...yes, that’s right, the stuff you’ll be wearing when you and Richard Branson team up for a 9 hole match on the Moon…is made in Brooklyn.

If you’ve ever wondered what campaigning in New Hampshire (or other early Presidential contest states) is all about, you’ll enjoy this long read in Politico Magazine about the courting of NH activists. If you are at all political, I recommend this because it gives you an insight on how important grassroots activists are, and how the game works in the early states.

That’s it!  Enjoy your weekend reading!

PJW

Reminding People of God’s Reality

~ pjwenzel ~ 1 Comment

Last week I was asked to give a devotional for our church’s deacon meeting. I used the time to issue the following challenge – perhaps it will be edifying to you as well.

Reminding People of God’s Reality

I want to suggest that most of us get caught up in a reality of our own making so easily, and for so long, that it is often difficult to see God’s reality. This is especially true for those who are suffering. It seems more and more often that as I minister to the body of Christ, that men lean on the shallowness of watered down devotionals, and trinkets of the Word of God taken out of context and plunked down in ‘5 easy steps to happiness’, or ‘how to successfully arrange your day by God’s word.’

Too often have I visited a sick person who has wandered through unsatisfying pages of tripe, when he needs the richness of God’s unvarnished Word. It is your mission to bring that richness to their lives.

Yet, by His grace He has given us several means through which we may see His reality more clearly. Some of these include sharing a testimony from our own lives. Sometimes God uses great literature with rich stories of adventures in other words to bring back a wandering mind into the realities of His governance over this world. Very often though, He uses the traversing of a great wilderness where all good things seemed stripped away, to bring us to nothing in order that we would be reminded that we have everything we need in Him.

Some of the people we are ministering to do not want to spend time in God’s Word. They do not know it, or they have too often allowed the words of men – mostly weak kneed and watered down devotionals – to come between them and the words of God.

When they encounter the Word of God in all its brightness, they are brought back to reality – a reality of God’s making. They realize both judgment and grace. This is the best and most effective way to bring someone back to reality. Yet for the unwilling, there are these other more subtle ways of grace that God uses as “first steps” back to His glorious word.

Well-written fantasy, or allegory, can do just that. C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkein wrote in such powerful prose that readers are transported from their world to another. In this other world they once again recognize the principles that rule our own world.

Tolkein wrote clearly about this saying…

“The Evangelium has not abrogated legends; it has hallowed them, especially the “happy ending.” The Christian has still to work, with mind as well as body, to suffer, hope, and die; but he may now perceive that all his bents and faculties have a purpose, which can be redeemed. So great is the bounty with which he has been treated that he may now, perhaps, fairly dare to guess that in Fantasy he may actually assist in the effoliation and multiple enrichment of creation. All tales may come true; and yet, at the last, redeemed, they may be as like and as unlike the forms that we give them as Man, finally redeemed, will be like and unlike the fallen that we know.”[1]

In Lewis’ Chronicles of Narnia, the ‘Voyage of the Dawn Treader’, a conversation ensues between Lucy, Edward, and the Christ-like character Aslan, which brings out similar truths:

“It isn’t Narnia, you know,” sobbed Lucy. “It’s you. We shan’t meet you there. And how can we live, never meeting you?”

“But you shall meet me, dear one,” said Aslan.
“Are -are you there too, Sir?” said Edmund.

“I am,” said Aslan. “But there I have another name. You must learn to know me by that name. This was the very reason why you were brought to Narnia, that by knowing me here for a little, you may know me better there.”[2]

But not everyone we minister to will have this literary background. Sometimes we find people so lost in despondency, and in the desert of their own suffering, that the only escape for them is the few hours of restless sleep they glean every night. We catch them, as it were, in the wasteland.

And it does no good to nurture the idea that God did not ordain their circumstances. Indeed, that is the lie which undermines our very ability to comfort them. Rather, we must point them to the truths of the gospel, and bring them to the only one who can anoint them with the balm necessary to salve their scabbed and worn feet from the desert walk.

It is in the desert where God trained Israel to have affection only for Him. It was in exile that great leaders were born. It was out of Egypt that God called His Son.

For as Samuel Rutherford points out, in a reference to Hosea 2:

I rejoice that He is come and hath chosen you in the furnace; it was even there where ye and He set tryst; that is an old gate of Christ’s. He keepeth the good old fashion with you, that was in Hosea’s days (Hosea 2:14). “Therefore, behold I will allure her, and bring her to the wilderness and speak to her heart.” There was no talking to her heart while He and she were in the fair and flourishing city and at ease; but out in the cold, hungry, waste wilderness, He allureth her, He whispered into her ear there, and said, “Thou art mine.”[3]

No matter what these “first steps” are, they are God’s gracious gifts to bring back wandering sheep to His fold.

It is our mission as leaders of the church to set that truth in front of them. That truth is this: All you are going through now is not meaningless. It is preordained by God in Christ so that you will treasure Him and His reality above all things.

Therefore my charge to you as leaders is to prevent nothing from coming between the people you are ministering to, and the great realities of the gospel of Christ. Do not let the watered down devotionals of our day, which are often Christ-less and bloodless, be your first line of defense. Take up great allegory from titans of literature, take up great writing from the Puritans, take up experience from God’s work in your own life and show how He has been faithful. Yet above all, take up the Word of God, and use it to shake men and women from the false realities of their own making. Shine truth into their lives in vivid colors and clearly written phrases. Do all you can to showcase the bloody, costly, gracious, glorious gospel of Christ, and in boldness and gentleness pour love into the lives of those you minister to in the weeks and months ahead.

I’ll just close with some thoughts from John Piper to those who are suffering, and the importance of preaching God’s Word to themselves in the midst of the wilderness:

Not only is all your affliction momentary, not only is all your affliction light in comparison to eternity and the glory there. But all of it is totally meaningful. Every millisecond of your pain, from the fallen nature or fallen man, every millisecond of your misery in the path of obedience is producing a peculiar glory you will get because of that.

I don’t care if it was cancer or criticism. I don’t care if it was slander or sickness. It wasn’t meaningless. It’s doing something! It’s not meaningless. Of course you can’t see what it’s doing. Don’t look to what is seen.

When your mom dies, when your kid dies, when you’ve got cancer at 40, when a car careens into the sidewalk and takes her out, don’t say, “That’s meaningless!” It’s not. It’s working for you an eternal weight of glory.

Therefore, therefore, do not lose heart. But take these truths and day by day focus on them. Preach them to yourself every morning. Get alone with God and preach his word into your mind until your heart sings with confidence that you are new and cared for.[4]

 

footnotes

[1]J.R.R. Tolkein, ‘On Fairy Stories’, http://www.rivendellcommunity.org/Formation/Tolkien_On_Fairy_Stories.pdf?utm_source=Desiring+God&utm_campaign=b5ec8d8fa5-RSS_EMAIL_CAMPAIGN&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_6da5f8315b-b5ec8d8fa5-99744309

[2] C.S. Lewis, ‘The Voyage of the Dawn Treader’, As quoted on goodreads.com, http://www.goodreads.com/work/quotes/3349054-the-voyage-of-the-dawn-treader.

[3] Samuel Rutherford, ‘The Loveliness of Christ’, Pg. 64-65.

[4] John Piper, as found on desiringgod.com, http://www.desiringgod.org/articles/a-song-for-the-suffering-with-john-piper

Weekend Reading: March 20, 2015

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It has been a pretty busy week, so my typical article intake is down to a bare minimum. That being said, I did read some interesting and encouraging items this week, and I hope you enjoy!

First off, if you didn’t watch the news this week then you might have missed a huge election in Israel. PM Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud party scored a comfortable victory, and it seems likely that the PM will remain in his current post. This despite Obama campaign alum efforts to oust the conservative leader who has clashed with the White House on numerous occasions.

Also, Amazon got (high restricted) permission to test its package delivery drones…

Manny Pacquiao was on Fox News Sunday back in February, and I never caught it until this week. Pretty cool answer to why he’s continuing to box.

Best Blog of the Week from Jon Bloom: ‘God Loves Good Wine’

And Vox had an eerie, yet inspiring, first hand account of one lady’s survival of Nazi death camp Auschwitz.

And, my mind must be on Judaism this week, because I also happened to run across this Op-Ed from Michael Douglass (yes the actor) about his own Jewish heritage and how his son is facing issues of discrimination etc. Interesting stuff.

Now, on a more encouraging note…sort of…Nancy Guthrie has a blog post that was very insightful called ‘What Not to Ask Someone Suffering’ that deals with how to gently approach friends and family who are going through painful times.

Two upcoming documentaries of interest hit my radar this week…

There’s going to be an interesting documentary released on the life of Martyn Lloyd Jones. If you don’t know who that is, then check it out here. (h/t Lisa Wenzel)

And for those of you who grew up watching Little House on the Prarie, there’s a new documentary on Laura I. Wilder which might interest you. (h/t my kate)

Now two articles that I’ve been meaning to review and finally got to here have to do with worship on Sunday morning. The first is by Bob Kauflin (sovereign grace music) and is addressing the lighting in the sanctuary, and the second is from Marshall Segal and asks the question, “Do you hear the people sing?” Both make some excellent and worthwhile observations.

That’s it!  Have a great weekend!

PJW

Weekend Reading: March 13, 2015

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Welcome to your weekend (almost)! Here’s what I read this week, and what I hope you’ll find interesting.

Let’s begin overseas. From Foreign Policy Mag: (Russell Moore quoted) Congress sits by as Christians are besieged by the Islamic State. Last August, President Barack Obama signed a bill creating a special envoy charged with helping Iraq’s Christian communities and other minority religious groups targeted by the Islamic State. Seven months later, the post is still vacant, and Congress seems in no rush to fill it.

Along similar lines…a piece I’m just now getting to by Thomas Madden that addresses (and adds perspective) the old trope of “Christians are just as bad as Muslims because, you know, the Crusades and stuff” (h/t Lisa Wenzel).

Meanwhile, Boko Haram has sworn allegiance to ISIS...I don’t think anyone is really clear about how big of a deal this is yet, but both groups seem to have the same affinity for killing Christians, Jews, and Muslim unwilling to be apart of their Charming Caliphate Club.

I assume everyone saw that 47 GOP Senators sent a letter to Iran, which basically undercuts the Obama Administration’s effort to reach a deal with said country re: NUKES. I’m not sure this was the wisest course of action, but when you’re dealing with the worst (and weakest…and I mean, he is a weakling) president in the history of our country (by far), wisdom can become more difficult to discern. I see the GOP leadership trying desperately to pull the country back from the brink of Chamberlain-like appeasement. I, for one, am glad at least some people are willing to stand up to evil in the world.

Closer to Home: Stumbled on this from a few months ago. Jen Wilkin writes about what moms should do when their husbands don’t actively disciple their kids. NOTE: Dads you would also do well to click through.

2 Articles this week from Jon Bloom over at Desiring God that are worth reading. The first is called ‘Don’t Follow Your Heart’ and the second is called ‘Jesus Will Not Leave You Alone.’

Hilarious rant on how Baby Boomers are the ‘Laziest Generation’ – all spurred on by the revelations that many politicians of this generation don’t use email. I don’t know if they are the laziest generation, but the argument has a certain aroma of truth to it…

Of course that boomer story washed up in the wake of hurricane HRC.  Emailgate (has anyone coined that term yet?) has been the obsession of news outlets for the last week (and rightfully so). Assuming you’re not living under a rock I won’t post links on the basics. But here are some fun peripheral links: Did Time Mag give Hillary Horns? And a hilarious line by line edit of Hillary’s disastrous presser put together by the Federalist. Lastly, this is going to be hilarious if they end up doing it…

Back to real life…if you’re visiting a church, Kevin DeYoung makes a few great points about how to get started there on the right foot. This is a perspective we don’t think much about when “church shopping.”

If you’re not a baby boomer and actually interested in technology (JUST KIDDING!), then maybe you’ll enjoy this article on class anxiety that the new Apple Watch might cause. If they’re right, then $100 says Mr. Class Warfare never says a word – namely because 1. Apple’s customers are young, and so are Mr. Class Warfare’s supporters and 2. Tim Cook is gay, and Mr. Class Warfare wouldn’t want to slander a company whose captain likes sleeping w/boys. Frankly, this is just Apple looking to do what all companies aim to do: make money! If you’re against that, then you ought to pickup the Socialist Pig’s memoir. I picked it up this week, read some of it, put it down, and washed my hands thoroughly.

Now a more sobering article. This one is an interesting look inside the decisions that haunt soldiers post-war, and it aims (I think) to give more clarity on the moral dilemmas that soldiers deal with and how they live with those dilemmas the rest of their lives. Secondly, I think the goal here is to more correctly discern these moral struggles instead of lumping them all under the PTSD category. What to do with a conscience seared by war and evil one faces in the midst of it?  I believe the gospel offers the answer – one such example here. (h/t my Kate)

LASTLY….Interesting popular science article…I’m sure this just happens randomly for no apparent reason, and by pure luck actually helps our planet. Right…that’s it…

Have a great weekend!

PJW

Weekend Reading: March 6, 2015

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Welcome to your weekend! I think we are CLOSE, so close to spring! But for now, its still cold, there is still ice on my walkway (or “fall-way” as I’m dubbing it now), and snow is still on the ground.  So grab a cup of something warm and check out these stories from the past week…

To the left coast we go…Harrison Ford crashed his 1942 fighter airplane into the 8th hole of a golf course this week.  He seems okay though…Some might recall that in the recent past Ford broke his leg somehow on the door of the Millennium Falcon while shooting the new Star Wars flick. This guy is as clumsy around airplanes as I am on the ice!

ford

Speaking of Hollywood – the guys over at Covenant Eyes (a firm devoted to protecting families from pornography) put together a video re:50 things to know about 50-shades of Grey (the movie/book).  I’m posting this a bit late since the movie came out 2 weeks ago, but I don’t mind pilling on and warning good people away from polluting their minds.

IMPORTANT STORY ALERT (not really…but its pretty darn funny): The Bank of Canada has their shorts in a twist over the mass “Spocking” of their 5 dollar bill!  (h/t my Kate)

spock

I clicked over to the New Republic this week to read a piece on Hillary Clinton, but it was super-duper boring. What I ended up reading was this much more interesting article on the evolution of the American Mall. 

This week John MacArthur’s Masters Seminary is hosting a conference on Biblical Inerrancy. Lots of peeps flocking to participate, and in the meantime, R.C. Sproul (one of the speakers) posted this very helpful little blog re: why its an important subject. 

Tim Challies' photo from the Inerrancy Summit in CA.
Tim Challies’ photo from the Inerrancy Summit in CA.

WACKY: Not sure what to think of this one…

In political news…Hillary Clinton’s email scandal is causing her some trouble, particularly as it relates to Benghazi.

And…the Supreme Court is debate Obamacare stuff again – this is round 3.

And you may have heard that Israel PM Netanyahu addressed the US Congress this week. It was a big deal…Here’s the analysis from Al Mohler. Here’s the CNN story about how tweaked our POTUS was about it. 

And I forgot to mention this last week, but in case you missed it, a major Putin critic found himself on the wrong end of a contract hit and wound up dead not far from the Kremlin…ya, seriously…

NERD ALERT: Sometimes folks ask me what books I’ve been reading, so here’s what I finished last week: ‘Blood Feud‘ by Ed Klein which was a really interesting look inside the Clinton/Obama drama-filled relationship(s), ‘Christ-Centered Biblical Theology’ by Grahame Goldsworthy was a great read and I’d recommend it to every pastor reading this because it helps articulate a Christ-centered hermeneutic with helpful suggestions and analysis. Similarly, I finished a short book by G.K. Beale on how to properly handle the NT use of the OT – good for Bible teachers and pastors, though it can be highly technical at times. Finally, last week I read ‘Zillow Talk’ which was a fascinating look inside the real estate market by the men who founded and run the Zillow App.

ON DECK: Books being devoured right now include work by Steven Lawson, Richard Lints, Nancy Pearcey, J.R.R. Tolkein, and George W. Bush.  Reading THIS devotionally and its wonderful.

That’s it! Enjoy your weekend!

PJW

Weekend Reading: February 27, 2015

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Hello from sunny Nevada!  I know this is really late to be posting the weekend reading, but with travel and work this week there has been minimal time for any recreational reading or blogging.  Nevertheless, here are a few items that I hope you’ll enjoy as you relax this weekend!

First – the revelation (not that it is any surprise) that Hillary Clinton’s top aides knew Benghazi was a terrorist attack (and not some nonsensical reaction to a YouTube video) from the early moments of the news out of Libya.

And in (related?) other news, a new report out this week says that the US Military has shrunk significantly under President Obama – apparently to levels barely adequate to defend the homeland. 

Ligonier Ministries held their annual conference this past weekend, the messages are online now for free.  ALSO – R.C. Sproul has released a new album of hymns he’s been working on for some time now. Check those out here, and see the making of video here.

David Murry has a post utilizing Jonathan Edwards’ thoughts on food and drink and their enjoyment. A few enjoyable nuggets and a good perspective.

Lastly, if you’ve been a Christian for a while and have read several different versions of the Bible, then you’ll find this next article hilarious – it’s called ‘If All the Bible Translations Had a Dinner Party’ – worth the laugh (h/t my Kate).

That’s it! Go enjoy your weekend!

PJ

Weekend Reading: February 20, 2015

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Another busy week has left me interested in relaxing a bit this weekend, however, that may not be in the cards! I did read and pick up a few interesting articles and videos this week that are worth sharing. This is a relatively light list, so enjoy – and stay warm!

Speaking of COLD – check out this interesting article called ‘How to Survive Winter in Antarctica’ – I found it fascinating that for so many months its SO dark. I’ll go ahead and pass on any winter job opportunities in this region, thank you.

And for those of you who think that social media snark won’t ever catch up to you, this article from the New York Times will put some caution into your typing…Frankly, this article ought to remind everyone that social media is forever AND its a public forum. You aren’t whispering under your breath, and you aren’t just talking to two or three close friends (most of the time). This is the public square, and you shouldn’t write anything here that you wouldn’t want published on the front page of the paper…or in this case, the New York  Times!

And the libs over at Huffpo actually did something worthwhile this week by compiling the Top 10 Political Sketches of All Time.  I found the Bill Clinton McDonalds one (because its one of my favs) and literally laughed out loud!

On to theology...the Gospel Coalition has a short article (which is just an excerpt from GK Beale’s excellent Revelation Commentary) on why the number of the beast in Revelation is ‘666.’

Speaking of evil beings – I meant to shoot this out last week. It’s a video that explains the One Ring from the Tolkein series. And, actually, it does a pretty darn good job. If you’ve never touched the ‘Silmarillion’, but have seen the Lord of the Rings movies, this will prove most satisfying. (h/t Lisa Wenzel)

Some of you might know that Al Mohler does a daily briefing (imaginatively named ‘The Briefing’) that pertains to politics and news analyzed from a Christian worldview. On the 17th his briefing was very good indeed. He addressed how Evolution has been in the news lately, and how politicians have been answering it. Worth listening to.

Two eye-popping news stories to keep on your radar this week were 1. ISIS burning 45 Christians to death on an African Beach and 2. Russian aggression now pushing boundaries even into British airspace…….

Lastly, if you’re a mother and have ever read CS Lewis’ ‘Screwtape Letters’, then you’ll really appreciate this blog post on Desiring God written from a similar perspective. Very creative stuff here!

That’s it! Enjoy your weekend, and stay warm!

PJW

Revelation 3:1-6 the Letter to Sardis

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Chapter 3

To the Church at Sardis

Sardis was the capital of the ancient kingdom of Lydia. The city was virtually impregnable by nature of its physical location. It stood some 1,500 feet above the Hermus valley as a sort of watchtower, with only one viable approach to the city from the southern side up what would have been a winding road.

The city itself was set atop a plateau, which was guarded on three sides by rocks which jetted up above the cityscape almost perpendicular to the ground. The affect was that the city was unable to be approached from any side save the southern slope, itself a difficult and steeply graded road.

The name “Sardis” is actually a plural noun, indicating not one city but two. That is because after a little while the kingdom had expanded and gotten to the point where more room was necessary. So a second city set off a bit down the southern slop from the northern old city.

The kingdom of Lydia was an ancient kingdom that embodied the great Asian (some term “oriental” – though the term is sort of funny to use today given the expansion of the Asian race into much further eastern regions) kingdoms that were continually arrayed in battle against the great western kingdoms of Greece (and perhaps Macedonia?).

Sardis was eventually embroiled in a battle with one of the greatest figures in ancient history: Cyrus the Great. “The reign of Cyrus the Great lasted between 29 and 31 years. Cyrus built his empire by conquering first the Median Empire, then the Lydian Empire and eventually the Neo-Babylonian Empire.”[i]

Though the city was virtually impregnable, Cyrus was able to conquer it. For – like the Medes/Persians would do several years later to the Babylonians (see Daniel 5) – it seems that by night they skillfully climbed the protruding rocks on each side of the city, and lowered themselves down, allowing them to take the city almost by surprise. Only in the instance of the former, history has it that Darius’ army actually went under the city by damming up a water culvert and going through the underground waterway.

About the siege of Sardis, William Ramsay says, “The armies of Lydia were being massed to crush the insolent invader, who should be ground between the perpendicular rocks of the acropolis and the gathering Lydian hosts. Such was the calculation of Croesus (the king of Sardis), when he retired one evening to rest: he was wakened to find that the enemy was master of the acropolis and that all was lost…He came up on the great city ‘like a thief in the night.’”[ii]

Indeed the city was full of prideful people, and they had been conquered and would be conquered again around 200 BC. But, as Hendriksen notes, “When the Apocalypse was written, Sardis was facing decay, a slow but sure death. In the year AD 17 the city was partly destroyed by an earthquake. Thus, again and again, the self-satisfied and boastful inhabitants of Sardis had seen destruction coming upon them ‘as a thief in the night’, most suddenly and unexpectedly.”[iii]

Excursis

It occurred to me last night as I was studying and thinking on these letters to the churches, that so many of the Bible’s great themes come to consummation in the book of Revelation, and many of them are central to the letters to the churches. Biblical Theologians have talked for years about if its possible to find the very center theme of the Bible, and if so, what is that theme? There is this underlying assumption that it is Christ Himself, but that there might be more than simply the person of Christ – in other words it might be appropriate to say that there are several big themes to Scripture. Such themes would be: Covenant, Kingdom, the Promise(s) of God, redemption/sacrifice/salvation, and so forth.

When we examine these letters we see these same themes echoed in their words:

  • Christ – the central figure who is described in various ways.
  • Covenant – the effects of the New Covenant and its underlying realities which enable Christ to fairly issue imperatives knowing His people can actually obey them.
  • Kingdom – In chapter one we learn that He has made us a “kingdom” and we are called constantly to “conquer.” In fact kingdom language pervades the book as Jesus is magnified as the great King.
  • Salvation/Redemption – The consummation of the salvation of God’s people is described in vivid detail, and in the letter to the churches specifically His people are called to endure and hold fast to their salvation until He comes again.

The point being that many of the Bible’s greatest story lines come to a confluence here in these letters and this book. This exhibits both the unity and the diversity of Scripture, and of this book specifically. It is not a book on an island alone and secluded from the rest of the Bible. In fact, as we’ll see in our study of Sardis, its unity with the rest of Scripture is plain. Yet, like the rest of Scripture, there is great diversity. There are many divers themes and elements that we must take in as readers.

End Excursis

3:1a “And to the angel of the church in Sardis write: ‘The words of him who has the seven spirits of God and the seven stars.

Jesus begins his letter to the church at Sardis by describing himself in two ways. First, He is the one who “has the seven spirits of God” and second, He is the one who has “the seven stars.”

Earlier we learned that the seven stars are the seven angels. And in our examination of chapter one we noted that this could mean a number of different things, we hear a lot of commentators say the stars/angels are the ministers of the church. We found that there are some difficulties with this interpretation, however, and G.K. Beale made the point that in the context of the book and the passage – especially in light of John’s use of Daniel – it might make sense that these stars/angels represented the church’s heavenly or spiritual dimension. The church’s earthy dimension was represented by the candles or torches, and the heavenly by the “stars.”

You might recall our interpretation of this was aided by an understanding that Jewish scholars who read Zechariah and Daniel seemed to understand stars and candles as representative of the people of God.

Now, as for the “seven spirits”, we read about these earlier as well. In fact this was one of the first examples we had of how John uses numbers to communicate a truth or idea. In this case, the seven spirits likely represent the fullness, or completeness, or the Holy Spirit of God. That Jesus is said here to have the seven Spirits therefore must mean that He is the bestower of the Spirit. He is the one who sends forth the Spirit. For as we read in John’s gospel, Jesus’ own words about the Spirit are thus:

Nevertheless, I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you. (John 16:7)

Therefore, Jesus reminds the church that He is sovereign over the church – remember He holds the stars in His hand – and that He is the creator of the church – for is the Spirit of God who sovereignly brings sheep into our Lord’s fold. It is the Spirit of God who, in His perfect knowledge and according to the Father’s perfect plan, chooses whom He will soften and call to everlasting life, thus creating the church, forming her according to His own sovereign pleasure.

1:1b-2 “‘I know your works. You have the reputation of being alive, but you are dead. [2] Wake up, and strengthen what remains and is about to die, for I have not found your works complete in the sight of my God.

The Charge

Christ’s charge here against the church at Sardis is really horrific. I say that because He is calling them out for being fraudulent followers at the very worst, and at minimum that they have been working works in the flesh. Works that make them look great in the sight of the world, but in the eyes of the one whose eyes are a “flame of fire”, they are found to be worthless.

This is why in previous passages Jesus describes his eyes as a flame of fire – because they devour all the falsehoods that we erect around our lives. They consume the dross of our works until all that is left is what has been wrought in the Spirit of God.

There is obviously a warning here for us as well. It is easy to implement programs that help the poor and the weak. Easier still is it to build large churches and draw in thousands of people with fancy music and slick teaching – and forget the gospel altogether. How quickly man is able to erect an edifice to self-help and easy believism – where lives are touched every week, and people are fired up about God’s love for every man…and no one is every saved.

This is what it means to not have your “works complete in the sight of my God.”

When something is not complete, it’s missing something. It’s lacking something – and that something here seems to be a rather big deal, wouldn’t you say?

Enough of a big deal is this missing component, that Jesus calls them out for being “dead.” You have a reputation for being alive, but guys, “you’re dead.” Like I said, at the very worst they are unsaved people preaching a false gospel, and at the very least they’re doing works in their own flesh without giving glory to God, or relying on His wisdom and His power.

Which leads to the following…

1:3 Remember, then, what you received and heard. Keep it, and repent. If you will not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what hour I will come against you. [4] Yet you have still a few names in Sardis, people who have not soiled their garments, and they will walk with me in white, for they are worthy.

Now, I happen to think this message is really a lot more harsh than simply those walking in their own power but truly belonging to Christ. The reason is that here Jesus says that he has a remnant left in this church. “A few names” who have not “soiled their garments” and it is those people who will “walk with (Jesus) in white, for they are worthy.”

Let’s put two and two together here. If we know our NT doctrine, we know that our worthiness comes from Christ and Christ alone. Therefore those who are worthy, those who are going to walk with Jesus in white, are those who have been cleansed by the blood of the lamb – those for whom Jesus died.

John describes this group later in chapter six:

When he opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain for the word of God and for the witness they had borne. [10] They cried out with a loud voice, “O Sovereign Lord, holy and true, how long before you will judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?” [11] Then they were each given a white robe and told to rest a little longer, until the number of their fellow servants and their brothers should be complete, who were to be killed as they themselves had been. (Revelation 6:9-11)

And then again in chapter seven:

Then one of the elders addressed me, saying, “Who are these, clothed in white robes, and from where have they come?” [14] I said to him, “Sir, you know.” And he said to me, “These are the ones coming out of the great tribulation. They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. (Revelation 7:13-14)

In chapter 7 this is talking in the immediately context of the 144,000. And its no coincidence that the images are all the same. Because all who walk with Christ in white are His elect – those who have been born again. The 144,000 group is something we’ll study later, but I believe it speaks of the church – or more precisely, all the elect of God throughout all history. Those who have had their garments cleansed by the blood of Jesus and now walk in white.

Beale notes that putting on this white garment probably starts now, “The reward probably begins in this life, because (i) verse 4 pictures the faithful already wearing pure garments; (ii) Christ exhorts the saints in 3:18 to buy white garments; and (iii) 16:15 refers to those who keep their garments in order not to be naked.”[iv]

Putting this altogether now, Jesus is saying there is still a remnant within your church that are actually mine. There is still a small group of true believers. Your organization has been built up in the community as having this great reputation, but I know you, says Jesus, I know you’re really dead.

Then Jesus does what no one seems to want to do today – He calls on them to repent.

In the famous movie Lawrence of Arabia, Prince Faisal tells T.E. Lawrence how much he longs for Damascus and its beauty. The dialogue goes like this:

Feisal: In the Arab city of Cordova, there were two miles of public lighting in the streets when London was a village…

Lawrence: Yes, you were great.

Feisal: …nine centuries ago…

Lawrence: Time to be great again, my Lord.

Feisal: …which is why my father made this war upon the Turks. My father, Mr. Lawrence, not the English. Now my father is old. And I, I long for the vanished gardens of Cordova. However, before the gardens must come fighting.

“Before the gardens must come the fighting.” And that is what I’m getting at here. Before inheriting glory, we must repent and obey. We must meet God on His terms, not build religious edifices on our terms. We do not get to dictate how the church will look, for the church is Christ’s bride, and she will be fashioned as He wills – not how we will. For we are the clay. The clay does not successfully and independently build a church apart from the work of the Potter.

3:5-6 The one who conquers will be clothed thus in white garments, and I will never blot his name out of the book of life. I will confess his name before my Father and before his angels. [6] He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.’

Here is perhaps the death knell to all those who say salvation can be lost. To my Nazarene friends listen to the words of Jesus: I will never blot his name out of the book of life.

But – they protest – this is done by conquering! We must conquer. And that means that if one is sinning, or falling prey to the weakness of the flesh, they are not conquering but losing their salvation. Such is the reply from my Arminian friends.

And what is the reply? The Bible gives it three-fold: 1. The Christ is actually strongest in our weakness, therefore He allows sin and trials in order that His power be magnified, 2. (which is closely related to 1) Christ gives us the Holy Spirit in order to have the ability and freedom not to sin. This is only true of believers. And 3. The Bible clearly states that those whose names were written in the book of life have been so from before time began – and it is a doctrine seen throughout the entirety of Scripture.

  1. Christ who is the one with the actual power to conquer. We are simply his instruments. In fact, it is in our greatest weakness that He is strongest, for as Paul says:

So to keep me from becoming conceited because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to harass me, to keep me from becoming conceited. [8] Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should leave me. [9] But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. [10] For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong. (2 Corinthians 12:7-10)

In other words, the one who conquers does so while leaning on the Lord for His power and His grace.

  1. Furthermore, in an ultimate sense, conquering is also a finished work for those who are in Christ Jesus. Therefore not only has the ultimate battle been won already, the power to conquer sin in this life has been given to us because we have been freed from the chains of sin. Sin is no longer our master – we can conquer now where we didn’t even want to conquer before.

For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. [6] We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. [7] For one who has died has been set free from sin. [8] Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. [9] We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. [10] For the death he died he died to sin, once for all, but the life he lives he lives to God. [11] So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus. (Romans 6:5-11)

  1. Lastly, believer’s names have been written in the book of life from before the foundation of the world, and this is the testimony across scripture.

Later in Revelation we read this:

Speaking of the great evil Beast, John writes, “and all who dwell on earth will worship it, everyone whose name has not been written before the foundation of the world in the book of life of the Lamb who was slain” (Revelation 13:8).

And in chapter 17…

The beast that you saw was, and is not, and is about to rise from the bottomless pit and go to destruction. And the dwellers on earth whose names have not been written in the book of life from the foundation of the world will marvel to see the beast, because it was and is not and is to come. (Revelation 17:8)

The foundation for these passages comes from Daniel:

“As I looked, thrones were placed, and the Ancient of Days took his seat; his clothing was white as snow, and the hair of his head like pure wool; his throne was fiery flames; its wheels were burning fire. [10] A stream of fire issued and came out from before him; a thousand thousands served him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him; the court sat in judgment, and the books were opened. (Daniel 7:9-10)

And…

“At that time shall arise Michael, the great prince who has charge of your people. And there shall be a time of trouble, such as never has been since there was a nation till that time. But at that time your people shall be delivered, everyone whose name shall be found written in the book. [2] And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt. [3] And those who are wise shall shine like the brightness of the sky above; and those who turn many to righteousness, like the stars forever and ever. (Daniel 12:1-3)

Therefore God has chosen whom He will save from before the foundation of the world.

Nor is this a doctrine unique to prophetic or apocalyptic literature. For those whose faith is in God will never be put to shame, they will be with Him for eternity. Consider the following passages:

Kings shall be your foster fathers, and their queens your nursing mothers. With their faces to the ground they shall bow down to you, and lick the dust of your feet. Then you will know that I am the LORD; those who wait for me shall not be put to shame.” (Isaiah 49:23)

And as he is describing the new covenant people who will be filled with the Spirit, Joel says this:

“You shall eat in plenty and be satisfied, and praise the name of the LORD your God, who has dealt wondrously with you. And my people shall never again be put to shame. [27] You shall know that I am in the midst of Israel, and that I am the LORD your God and there is none else. And my people shall never again be put to shame. (Joel 2:26-27)

Paul then takes these passages and says this:

For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved. [11] For the Scripture says, “Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame.” [12] For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, bestowing his riches on all who call on him. [13] For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” (Romans 10:10-13 ESV)

And all those who are saved will never be separated from the Lord:

Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? [36] As it is written, “For your sake we are being killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.” (Romans 8:35-36 ESV)

And then – get this!! – he concludes…

No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. [38] For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, [39] nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 8:37-39)

Thus it has always been that those who conquer do so in the power of Jesus, because of their mystical union to Jesus, and will be preserved by Jesus to walk with Him in white forevermore.

 

FOOTNOTES

[i] From the Wikipedia Article on Cyrus the Great, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyrus_the_Great, Accessed February 20, 2015.

[ii] Ramsay, Pg.’s 359, 361.

[iii] Hendriksen, Pg. 73. He really leans heavily on Ramsay (as do so many commentators looking at the ancient geographic and cultural landscape), but I quote him here because he does a good job of summing up the thought, whereas Ramsay devotes two lengthy chapters to each city/letter which are somewhat difficult to distill at times.

[iv] Beale, Shorter Commentary, Pg. 80.

Revelation 2:18-29 – the Church at Thyatira

~ pjwenzel ~ 1 Comment

Here are my notes for tomorrow’s Sunday School lesson. Since I know that many will be trapped indoors due to snow, I thought posting them early might be helpful.

PJW

To the Church in Thyatira

Thyatira was a city in a valley – a central hub of communications in its day. It sat on the bank of the Lycus River, which was a main tributary of the Hermus Valley in which the city was situated. Thyatira was built between 300 and 282 VC by Seleucus I, who was the founder of the Seleucid dynasty.[i] Initially it was built as defense against a colony of Macedonian soldiers in case they tried to invade Pergamum.

Its placement was strategic, as Ramsey suggests:

Not merely did all communication and trade between those two great and rich valleys (the Hermus and Caicos) pass up and down the vale; but also, in certain periods and in certain conditions of the general economy of Asia Minor and the Aegean lands, a main artery of the Anatolian system of communication made use of it. The land-road connecting Constantinople with Smyrna and the south-western regions of Asia Minor goes that way, and has been at some periods an important route. The Imperial Post-road took that course in Roman times. Above all, when Pergamum was the capital of Asia under the kings, that was the most important road in the whole country…[ii]

2:18 “And to the angel of the church in Thyatira write: ‘The words of the Son of God, who has eyes like a flame of fire, and whose feet are like burnished bronze.

Jesus refers to Himself as the Son of God here, asserts plainly His deity, and therefore His authority. There can be no question in the minds of those receiving this letter whom is it that is addressing them. His eyes and his feet are describes in ways that we’ve looked at previously, and are taken from Daniel 10…

His body was like beryl, his face like the appearance of lightning, his eyes like flaming torches, his arms and legs like the gleam of burnished bronze, and the sound of his words like the sound of a multitude. (Daniel 10:6)

These are attributes of the divine Judge. And, as Beale remarks, they anticipate (or tie in well with) the words of the Messianic Psalm 2:

Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and you perish in the way, for his wrath is quickly kindled. Blessed are all who take refuge in him. (Psalm 2:12)

What this means is that at the end of the day – at the end of all time – Jesus will be the just and righteous judge because 1. He knows everything, all the circumstances surrounding your life He knows perfectly, and 2. He has the authority and strength to execute judgment with the power of his “arms and legs” as they are depicted in a “gleam of burnished bronze.”

2:19 “‘I know your works, your love and faith and service and patient endurance, and that your latter works exceed the first.

This leads Jesus to give them a commendation – that they have loved others and been faithful. Their witness in the world has been good. Furthermore they have been patiently enduring for Christ. In fact they have persevered in the faith – their latter works exceeding even those that they did at first. I assume this means that they had been growing in Christ.

2:20 But I have this against you, that you tolerate that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess and is teaching and seducing my servants to practice sexual immorality and to eat food sacrificed to idols.

Now He addresses the issue. Like those in Pergamum, they are giving “free reign to a group of false teachers.”[iii]

The result of this has been that many have been seduced. The cause seems to be from a woman Jesus calls “Jezebel.” It is possible that this is a particular person, though I’ve always leaned toward it being a more symbolic reference to the woman who “incited King Ahab and Israel to compromise and ‘fornicate’ by worshiping Baal (1 Kings 16:31; 21:25 cf. Beale).”

Beale remarks of the similarities between John’s writing style here and in 2 John 1:

Possibly the reference is to only one individual false teacher, who could be a woman. However, the reference to ‘the woman’ and ‘her children’ (2:23) evokes the phrase ‘to the elect lady and her children in 2 John 1, which in its context refers respectively to the community as a whole and to the individuals who compose the community (likewise 1 Peter 5:13 and female personifications of Israel in the OT and of the church in the NT).[iv]

Therefore the issue is that the people here in Thyatira have been led astray, and it seems that the false teachers are really flourishing. It is so easy sometimes to be caught up in false teaching. Sometimes the immature Christian can easily cling to that which tastes as sweet as honey, only to later have it turn to ash in their mouths.

This is especially why we have decried the false Gospel preachers like Joel Olsteen, and those who get major things wrong in their teaching, such as Joyce Meyer. These people have led many astray – not because the people are stupid, but because they have clung to untruths without testing them.

That is why the men and women of Berea were called “noble” by Paul for searching the scriptures to test whether his message aligned with what the OT had to say. More than simply living on feelings, we must test every form of doctrine by the Word of God.

2:21 I gave her time to repent, but she refuses to repent of her sexual immorality. [22] Behold, I will throw her onto a sickbed, and those who commit adultery with her I will throw into great tribulation, unless they repent of her works, [23] and I will strike her children dead. And all the churches will know that I am he who searches mind and heart, and I will give to each of you according to your works.

I mentioned before that Jesus is both all knowing, and able to execute judgment in power and authority. He is therefore a just judge.

Here Jesus says that if this group of people doesn’t repent, they will face great tribulation. Notice two things – first that He gave them time to repent, and second that He is the one who will through them onto a “sickbed.”

We sometimes don’t know if we are being punished by the Lord for a sin we’ve committed, and though sometimes trials are sent to refine us (see Hebrews 12), at other times trials are sent to punish us and bring us to repentance.

It can be hard to know which is which, but I find that the rule of thumb ought to be in situations where it seems as though punishment is upon us, that we bow before the Lord who knows all and repent of any sin in our lives.

Yet, as R.C. Sproul notes in an article on suffering, we must never jump to the conclusion immediately that our suffering is the direct result of our sin – God works in mysterious ways. Sproul says:

When we suffer, we must trust that God knows what He is doing, and that He works in and through the pain and afflictions of His people for His glory and for their sanctification. It is hard to endure lengthy suffering, but the difficulty is greatly alleviated when we hear our Lord explaining the mystery in the case of the man born blind, whom God called to many years of pain for Jesus’ glory.[v]

2:24-25 But to the rest of you in Thyatira, who do not hold this teaching, who have not learned what some call the deep things of Satan, to you I say, I do not lay on you any other burden. [25] Only hold fast what you have until I come.

Hendricksen explains what is going on here contextually when Jesus says they are learning “the deep things of Satan”:

She (Jezebel), apparently, argued thus: in order to conquer Satan, you must know him. You will never be able to conquer sin unless you have become thoroughly acquainted with it by experience. In brief, a Christian should learn to know ‘the deep things of Satan.’ By all means attend the guild-feast and commit fornication…and still remain a Christian; nay rather, become a better Christian!

This seems like an easily dismissed illogical idea. Why would anyone engage in wrong doing simply to become a better Christian? Well, the most I got to be thinking about it, the more I realized that in the moment of temptation to sin, we do many things that are illogical.

Furthermore, it is easy to take Paul’s words from 1 Corinthians 9 and completely distort them, as many Christian do for their own selfish gain:

This is my defense to those who would examine me. [4] Do we not have the right to eat and drink? [5] Do we not have the right to take along a believing wife, as do the other apostles and the brothers of the Lord and Cephas? [6] Or is it only Barnabas and I who have no right to refrain from working for a living? [7] Who serves as a soldier at his own expense? Who plants a vineyard without eating any of its fruit? Or who tends a flock without getting some of the milk? (1 Corinthians 9:3-7)

And…

If others share this rightful claim on you, do not we even more? Nevertheless, we have not made use of this right, but we endure anything rather than put an obstacle in the way of the gospel of Christ. (1 Corinthians 9:12)

And…

For though I am free from all, I have made myself a servant to all, that I might win more of them. [20] To the Jews I became as a Jew, in order to win Jews. To those under the law I became as one under the law (though not being myself under the law) that I might win those under the law. [21] To those outside the law I became as one outside the law (not being outside the law of God but under the law of Christ) that I might win those outside the law. [22] To the weak I became weak, that I might win the weak. I have become all things to all people, that by all means I might save some. [23] I do it all for the sake of the gospel, that I may share with them in its blessings. (1 Corinthians 9:19-23)

Note that Paul uses his freedom, not as a way to enhance wealth or personal comfort (2 Cor. 111-12!), but as a means of spreading the gospel. His liberty is never used as an excuse for bad behavior, and he always bears in mind the weaker brother (Romans 14). Furthermore, Paul urges us to keep our bodies under control. As he finishes his discourse in 1 Corinthians 9 he says this:

Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one receives the prize? So run that you may obtain it. [25] Every athlete exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable. [26] So I do not run aimlessly; I do not box as one beating the air. [27] But I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified. (1 Corinthians 9:24-27)

I just wanted to provide some more biblical thought here because often we fall prey to the false idea that because of our liberty and freedom, we can do anything we want with no consequences. But that is not how the Bible tells us we ought to live. We ought to live in freedom, governed by love for the gospel – not for our own comfort or selfish desires. When we do, we will be less apt to follow every wind of false doctrine (James 1), and crucifying our desires for selfish gain (Romans 6) we will live a life worthy of our Lord.

2:26-27 The one who conquers and who keeps my works until the end, to him I will give authority over the nations, [27] and he will rule them with a rod of iron, as when earthen pots are broken in pieces, even as I myself have received authority from my Father.

Huge theological paragraph here! Major echoes from John 5 and Matthew 28, which helps lay the foundation for our understanding of what Jesus means by “received authority from the Father.” Here are those kingly passages respectively:

Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life. [25] “Truly, truly, I say to you, an hour is coming, and is now here, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live. [26] For as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son also to have life in himself. [27] And he has given him authority to execute judgment, because he is the Son of Man. (John 5:24-27 ESV)

And…

And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. (Matthew 28:18)

Now that we’ve remembered these things, I want to point our attention to specifically what Jesus is saying. He is saying two things specifically…

1. Those who conquer and those who “keep” his works until the end are those who are Christians. In other words, those who behave like Christians are His children. In fact, the Christian life is marked not simply by negatives (not doing something, or just the past history of what Christ has done, for example), but by positives.

Francis Schaeffer understood this and spoke of how Paul demonstrated this in Romans 6 as well as in Galatians 2:20, which states:

I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. (Galatians 2:20)

The negative grammar here is that “I have been crucified with Christ.” This is the past historical fact. But there’s more to the Christian life than this. That is what Jesus is reminding us here – there is “conquering” to be done. That is why Paul says, “the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”

Beale remarks, “It is not just how people die that proves them to be overcomers, but the whole of their Christian lives are to be characterized by ‘overcoming’, which is a process completed at death.”[vi]

And as Schaeffer says, “The Christian negative is not a nihilist negative; there is a true biblical negative. There is a true life in the present as well as in the future.” And commenting on Romans 6, he states, “So we died with Christ, but we rose with Christ. That is the emphasis. Christ’s death is an historic fact in the past and we will be raised from the dead in future history; but there is to be a positive exhibition in present history, now, before our future resurrection.”[vii]

2. Jesus is saying that we will share in His reign.

For He states that those who conquer will rule the nations with Christ. The fact that our reign will be shared with Jesus is expressed in terms that we’re familiar with as they pertain to Christ’s own rule. For it says the one who conquers, “will rule them with a rod of iron, as when earthen pots are broken in pieces, even as I myself have received authority from my Father.”

Let’s go back to Psalm 2 now once again. That messianic psalm says this:

I will tell of the decree: The LORD said to me, “You are my Son; today I have begotten you. [8] Ask of me, and I will make the nations your heritage, and the ends of the earth your possession. [9] You shall break them with a rod of iron and dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel.” (Psalm 2:7-9)

Here it is Jesus, the “Son of Man”, who will rule the nations with a rod of iron. Jesus is telling us that we will share in this reign – by nature of adoption (Romans 8).

This is simply an astounding promise, and one which Jesus had already laid the foundation for in chapter one:

…and from Jesus Christ the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of kings on earth. To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood [6] and made us a kingdom, priests to his God and Father, to him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen. (Revelation 1:5-6)

Ladd sums up the situation:

The effective establishment of the Kingdom of God cannot be accomplished apart from the destruction of all hostile and recalcitrant powers. The new age cannot be inaugurated without the displacement of the old, fallen, sinful age with its rebellious hosts. In some way not made clear in the Scripture, the followers of the Messiah are to share in his triumph over the hostile nations.

When I read this it reminded me of the conquering of Canaan in the OT. God used His people along with mighty miracles and acts only He could do (crossing the Red sea and the Jordan, the destruction of Jericho, the Pillar of Fire and Cloud etc.), yet He also used an army of men – this is how He chose to act. To use men to cleanse that land, and leave no one alive who does not acknowledge Jesus as King. It is a picture of what is to come. There will be none who stand against the Lord and His “fellow heirs” (Romans 8). This is something we will see more clearly still as we continue our study.

2:28-29 And I will give him the morning star. [29] He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.’

The final promise is that those who conquer, Jesus will give “the morning star.” This undoubtedly is Jesus Himself, our greatest reward and treasure.

I will share a personal thought here. It has long baffled me how people in the church struggle and search the scriptures to learn the nature of the reward we will gain in heaven. The scripture seems to indicate that we will be rewarded in heaven, but that reward when spoken of generally, if very vague. So it has always perplexed men who have sought to understand what those rewards could entail.

I don’t claim to be as wise as those who have taught me, but I would wager that the most important, most wonderful, most significant reward in heaven will be Christ Himself – the great Morning Star.[viii]

In Conclusion…

I will simply leave you with one of the reflections of G.K. Beale who challenges us as follows:

How can we express overcoming through suffering? And how are we to understand teachings that appear to present believers unconditional offers of material blessing in this life for their faithfulness? Sometimes where persecution is not present there is the temptation to compromise in some way (sexually, theologically, financially, etc.) and to not give in to compromise is to “overcome.”

FOOTNOTES

[i] William Ramsay, Letters to the Seven Churches, Pg. 317.

[ii] Ramsay, Pg.’s 316-317.

[iii] Beale, Longer commentary, Pg. 260.

[iv] Beale, Longer Commentary, Pg. 260-261.

[v] Sproul begins the article talking about a time he visited a lady in the hospital who was dying of cancer and feeling that perhaps she was being punished for having an abortion years earlier. The temptation from a pastoral response was to say “no that isn’t what’s going on here”, but Sproul basically said “I don’t know”, because we can never know the secret counsel of the Lord. The article can be found here: http://www.ligonier.org/learn/articles/suffering-and-the-glory-of-god/

[vi] Beale, Longer commentary, Pg. 271.

[vii] Francis Schaeffer, True Spirituality, Pg.’s 15-16.

[viii] Ladd has some troubles with this, but Hendriksen seemed correct to me when he states, “Here again the primary reference is to Christ Himself (Revelation 22:16). As the morning star rules the heavens, so believers will rule with Christ; they will share in His royal splendour (sic) and dominion. The star is always the symbol of royalty, being linked with the sceptre (sic) (Numbers 24:17; cf. Matthew 2:2).” This is the conclusion I came to on my own before reading the commentaries, and perhaps I am wrong, but it reminded me of 2 Peter 1:19 which says, “And we have the prophetic word more fully confirmed, to which you will do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts.” So the passage here in Revelation could mean the coming of the Spirit and/or Christ, or be a reference to Daniel 12: 3 and the “immortality of the righteous” (Mounce, Pg. 107).