The pastorate is a unique calling. While there are similarities to other callings or jobs, there are qualifications for the position that other callings don’t have. To become and remain a pastor, your wife and children (in your household) must be in proper order. If your wife is rebellious, you are unqualified. If the children in our household reject the faith, you are unqualified (1 Tim 3:1-7; Ti 1:5-9). What other “job” has these qualifications? If you are in IT or on the line at the factory, if you perform well on the job, it matters not what your home life is like. Your family can be a mess, but that doesn’t affect your job qualifications. You can have several baby mamas and be the wealthiest man in the world, running multi-billion dollar companies. You can have been married three times and been a philanderer even apart from marriage and still become president of the USA. However, according to Scripture, these lifestyles would disqualify you from being a pastor.
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Baptism: Spirit v. Water?
Baptism debates are constantly rumbling through the Christian church. Who are the proper recipients of baptism? Should baptism be performed by total submersion, or is pouring water over the head a proper baptism? Does God genuinely do something in baptism, or is it a wet testimony of the faith that I have professed in Christ that accomplishes anything regarding forgiveness of sins, union with Christ, or the reception of the Spirit? Is baptism the work of God or the work of man?
Another debate that sometimes arises when discussing baptism is whether genuine baptism is visible or invisible. Some will say that real baptism is the invisible baptism of the Spirit. Visible water baptism is only an inert witness to this invisible baptism. Scriptures such as Romans 6 are approached with presuppositions that deny the possibility that in water baptism, we truly are buried with Christ into his death and are raised by the glory of the Father (Rom 6:4). “Water can’t do that. Paul is referring to a “spiritual baptism,” by which they mean an invisible baptism, a baptism performed by the Spirit in conversion apart from water.
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John & The Jews
Immediately following the Apostle John’s Prologue (Jn 1:1-18), he begins filling out the historical witness of the characters and narrative he introduced in his Gospel. As in any good story, there are good guys and bad guys. These two groups have been alluded to in the Prologue, but at the beginning of the body of the Gospel, the Apostle names names.
The heart of the battle concerns who has the right to be called “Son of God.” Since at least the time of their bondage in Egypt, Israel has been called “son of God.” When Yahweh sent Moses to Pharaoh, he commanded Moses to tell Pharaoh, “Israel is my son, my firstborn. So I say to you, let my son go they he may serve me…” (Ex 4:22-23).
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Healing Forgiveness: A Lenten Exhortation
Why doesn’t God complete the work of our salvation in one fell swoop? When we are baptized, when our sins are declared forgiven because we have died and risen again with Christ, why don’t we experience all that salvation will ever be? In our baptism, we are declared forgiven, but we continue to dwell in a mortal body and battle with sin and its effects until the day of our death. Then, our bodies are held in death, waiting for the final resurrection, the fullness of our salvation. Why not do it all immediately?
Salvation is progressive. We have been saved, we are being saved, and we will be saved. That is all true. In one sense, we are as forgiven and saved as we will ever be. However, in another sense, we wait for the fullness of our forgiveness and salvation to be realized in the resurrection of our bodies.
Tellingly, the family of words usually translated as “saved” or “salvation” are associated with the medical field and deal with healing. That is appropriate because our salvation is the complete healing of our entire being, body and soul. Every aspect of our humanity that has been affected by sin—and that is every aspect of our humanity—is being healed in our salvation. But our healing is progressive and waits for the fullness of our salvation to be revealed at the last day.
God has his reasons for this. He trains us through this life so that we become more mature and, thus, able to handle whatever responsibility he gives us later in his kingdom. But the fact that we don’t realize the fullness of our salvation until the end is a fact.
The way God deals with us in forgiveness as it relates to healing is instructive for the relationship between forgiveness and healing in our relationships now. The major emphasis of Lent that is crucial in our discipleship is for us to meditate on our sinfulness and plead for God’s mercy for ourselves and others. Lent is a journey with a destination. It is not a perpetual state of being. Lent gives way to Easter when God fully and finally declares the forgiveness of our sins through the resurrection of Jesus from the dead.
Jesus demonstrates the connection between forgiveness and healing when he heals the paralytic by telling him his sins are forgiven in Mark 2:1-12. Matthew says that the prophecy of Isaiah 53 is fulfilled as Jesus cast out evil spirits and healed the sick: “He himself took our infirmities and bore our sicknesses” (Isa 53:4). Jesus’ death and resurrection secure the forgiveness of sins and the healing of our bodies (Rom 4:25). Sin brings about sickness and death. Forgiveness brings about healing and resurrection.
The healing stories of Jesus are not all the same. Undoubtedly, the point made in Mark 2 is that healing is always tied to the forgiveness of sins, but Jesus’ healings take different shapes. Some are immediate, as it is with this paralytic in Mark 2. Others are delayed. The ten lepers Jesus heals at one point must start their journey to show themselves to priests. They are healed along the way (Lk 17:11-19). In another healing, Jesus touches a blind man’s eyes, and he first sees men as trees. He was partially healed. Jesus touches him a second time to restore his sight completely (Mk 8:22-26).
The healings aren’t all the same, nor are they all complete. Even Lazarus was raised from the dead to die again and wait for the final resurrection. Forgiveness is granted, but the healing power of forgiveness is experienced differently in various situations. Furthermore, the fullness of our healing will only be experienced in our final resurrection.
We should expect this to be the case as we practice forgiveness with one another. Healing looks different depending on the situation. This is important to remember as we work through issues of forgiveness and reconciliation (healing) when sin has maimed a relationship. Forgiveness can be real, but healing takes time, which means the complete healing of the relationship may be in the future.
If, in anger, I punch you in the jaw and break your jaw and realize immediately my sin and ask for forgiveness, you can forgive me on the spot. However, the healing of your jaw and possibly the trust between us may take some time to mend.
Sin has degrees of seriousness. Every sin is worthy of death and punishment from God, but not all sins are created equal. Some sins have a deeper impact and more serious consequences than others. Your toddler disobeying you and snatching a cookie before supper is not the same thing as a spouse committing adultery. Telling a lie to get out of trouble when you are a teen is not the same thing as walking into a public place and opening fire on innocent people.
All sins need to be dealt with seriously before God, but all sins are not the same in their effects on our souls and in our relationships. Acting as if your adultery requires the same type of response of forgive-and-forget as swiping a cookie doesn’t appreciate the seriousness of the damage caused by adultery and the relative lack of damage caused by swiping a cookie. In both cases, genuine forgiveness can and should be granted, but in one case, the healing can be immediate, while in the other, the healing will take time. Ripping a one-flesh relationship is not the same as ripping off a cookie.
Delayed healing doesn’t mean that real forgiveness hasn’t taken place. God declares his forgiveness of us in baptism and absolution, but we don’t enjoy all the healing benefits of forgiveness in the present. We are at genuine peace with God in Christ, but the relationship is not all it will be. Forgiveness has not done its complete work.
There are instances, depending on the nature of the sin involved, that a relationship can be at genuine peace through forgiveness, but the relationship will never be exactly the same. A man who cheats on his wife, leading to divorce, may later seek and receive forgiveness from his ex-wife, but remarriage may never and, in some cases, cannot occur. Friendships can be radically changed through sin. That may be part of the harvest that is reaped through the sowing of sin. But there can be genuine peace even while the friendship is different. It may come back to a more intimate place in the future, but healing takes time. Just because others don’t meet your expectations of “perfect reconciliation” doesn’t mean a person hasn’t forgiven you and is not at peace with you.
Many of us have sinned against others. Many of us have been sinned against by others.
Forgiveness should be sought when there is genuine sin.
You may need help from outside the relationship to determine if it is a “genuine sin.” Just because you got your feelings hurt doesn’t mean that the other person sinned against you. You may be overly sensitive and have higher expectations of others than God himself. People not living up to your unrealistic expectations doesn’t equate to being sinned against. If those in authority judge that you haven’t been sinned against, then you need to get over yourself and live at peace.
However, you may have been sinned against, and that needs to be dealt with. Showing mercy if you have sinned against others is not saying, “I asked your forgiveness. It’s all over. Everything should be back to normal.” Showing mercy is asking for forgiveness and then giving time for the relationship to heal, not demanding what others should do by bludgeoning them with Scripture verses as if your actions should have no lingering consequences and treating others as if they are now in sin because they can’t just get over it.
The person who insists that everything goes back to the way it was immediately, not accounting for the sin he has committed and its consequences, doesn’t want to accept responsibility for his actions. His asking for forgiveness is his get out of jail free card. He doesn’t want to deal with his own actions in genuine repentance and have to do the hard work of rebuilding what he has damaged. He walked into the house and set off a grenade but then expects everything to be back to normal because he asked for forgiveness. It doesn’t work that way. There are bodies to be healed and structures to rebuild when a grenade goes off. Further, your actions have created a precedent for how people expect you to act in certain situations. Because of your history, people will “flinch” around you, expecting you to act a certain way in particular situations. Trust takes time to rebuild.
So it is with some of our sins.
Demanding that the other person absorb all the consequences of your sins while all you do is speak a few words is not showing mercy. I’m not saying that you must live a life of groveling, but to treat the words “Please forgive me” as some magic incantation that instantly heals completely in all situations shows a remarkable lack of understanding of the nature of sin and a slothfulness in wanting to take up your responsibilities of repentance.
Showing mercy when you’ve been sinned against by others is granting forgiveness, choosing not to take revenge in thought, word, or deed against the person. But showing mercy does NOT mean that you must act as if there are no consequences to the other person’s actions.
You should take into account the seriousness of the sin. Did they break something you loaned to them, or did they physically or sexually abuse you? Those two sins aren’t on the same level. The healing for breaking something that you have loaned can be healed relatively easily by forgiving and/or the person asking forgiveness and making restitution. Abusive situations and sexual sins wound the soul in deep ways that need care and time for healing. While you shouldn’t use the sins and the healing process as a manipulation tool to selfishly control the other person, making him grovel so that it is never-ending, neither are you obligated to act as if no real damage was inflicted that needs time, space, and proper care to heal.
Forgiveness is absolutely essential to healing for everyone involved, but healing takes time. Everyone involved needs to show the proper mercy.
This Lenten season, as we focus on our own sins and those committed against us, let us all consider the different forms mercy and healing take.
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
Law & Grace
“And of His fullness we have all received, and grace for grace. For the law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.” John 1:16-17
Are Moses and Jesus at odds with one another? Does the Law have no grace, and does the gospel have no law? Does the Law only serve to condemn us, driving us to the gospel, or is there any salvation “under Law?”
When you read John’s words toward the end of his Prologue, these questions might begin to pop up, especially with the theological influences we have had in American culture over the past one hundred fifty years or so. Law-Gospel dichotomies can be sharp in some Christian circles. If the dichotomies become antitheses, all sorts of errors crop up. Because the Law only serves to condemn and drive us to the gospel, now, under grace, we live without any specific laws governing us. We live “by the Spirit,” which many take to mean, “I do what I feel is right,” or to put it more spiritually, “I will do what I believe the Spirit is leading me to do.” It is quite shocking at times what “the Spirit” leads people to do. They believe the Spirit leads them to leave their spouse for another person of the opposite or same sex. They believe the Spirit is leading them not to be a part of Christ’s church. No one can tell them what to do because that is ungracious legalism.
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The Word Made Flesh
The incarnation of God in the Christian faith is unique among the religions of the world. The Greeks had myths about the gods who dwelt on Mt. Olympus coming down and taking the form of men to play around with humans. The Hindus have a version of this as Vishnu takes the form of men, fish, or animals in what they call avatars to restore order in the universe but then returns to his original form. The Jews reject the idea that God can become man. Other religions have gods appearing as man or temporarily taking the form of a man, but no other religion has God permanently uniting himself with creation by taking on the form of a man.
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An Encouragement For Family Worship
From the beginning of our history, the family has had a mission. That mission involves being fruitful, multiplying, filling the earth, and subduing every square inch of creation so that God’s kingdom will come and his will be done on earth as it is in heaven (Gen 1.26-28; Matt 6.10). That’s a rather large mission for any one of us or any one family to think about! Thankfully, God hasn’t given the entire mission to one particular household. The original family–Adam and Eve–was fruitful and multiplied so that the family became families that began to spread out throughout the earth. Some of these families were united together in their rebellion against God, while other families were united together in their loyalty to God. The rebellious families worked against God’s original purpose, and the loyal families worked for God’s purpose for them and for the entire creation. We, the church of Jesus Christ, are now the family of God made up of families who seek to fulfill God’s original purpose of fruitfulness, multiplication, filling the earth, and subduing the creation to the lordship of Jesus Christ. Your Christian family is integral to this larger mission of the church.
In order for your family to fulfill its God-given mission, the first thing that must be done is for you and your family to be subdued to the lordship of Jesus. This begins in fulfilling our mission to enter into the presence of God to hear from and speak to him. This is prayer. God’s plan is for the world to take a certain shape, to look like heaven. We won’t know what that is unless we first hear from him. This is where family worship or family prayer comes in. Family worship is time dedicated to prayer and the Scriptures in the context of daily life. It is focused and purposeful reading and meditation on Scripture and responding to God in confession, praise, thanksgiving, and supplication. One of the goals of family worship is to shape your family as a whole and each individual more into the image of Christ.
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John’s “World”
“The world” is a prominent theme in John’s Gospel. Probably the most well-known verse in all of Scripture is John 3:16 in which Jesus tells Nicodemus, “For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have everlasting life.” What is the world that God loves?
John sets the stage for how we are to understand “the world” in his introduction. Introducing John the Witness (he is not called “John the Baptizer” in the Gospel), the Apostle John says that the Witness was not the Light coming into the world (Jn 1:9). The Word who is the Light “was in the world, and the world was made through him, and the world did not know him” (Jn 1:10). The true Light, the Word, made the world, but this same world did not know him. The word translated “world” is kosmos. Kosmos emphasizes order or how things are arranged. At the time to which the Apostle is referring, the world is the created order organized under the rule of the devil. He is “the ruler of this world” that must be cast out (Jn 12:31; cf. also 14:30; 16:11).
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God Has A Name
Many Christians become practically giddy when they hear celebrities or politicians talk about God. We will fight to maintain our motto “in God we trust” and our allegiance to being “one nation under God.” At the founding of our country, God was understood to be the God who revealed himself in Jesus Christ. Freedom of religion meant that you were free to practice the Christian faith no matter what your Christian denomination. The original colonies had established Christian churches. A requirement for many governments was to be a professing Christian. “God” had a name.
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Jesus the Temple
John’s Gospel is a literary trek through the new Tabernacle or Temple that is Jesus’ body. His allusions to Jesus as the new Temple are evident from the beginning. “The Word” calls up the construction of Solomon’s Temple in 1 Kings. What is translated as “the inner sanctuary” by the ESV is a Hebrew word that seems to be associated with the word “to speak” or its noun form, “word” (1 Kg 6:5, 16, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 31; 7:49). This is another name for the Holy of Holies. In John 1:14, the Word becomes flesh and “dwells” among us. The verb “dwells” speaks of pitching a tent or dwelling in a tent. Some have translated it, “tabernacled.” Seeing his glory, the glory that dwells in the Holy of Holies, only fortifies the image.
If these images aren’t clear enough, when Jesus cleanses the Temple in chapter 2, he tells the Jews, “Destroy this Temple, and in three days I will raise it up” (Jn 2:19). He was speaking about the Temple that is his body (Jn 2:21).
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