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On May 3, 2020 By In Theology

Judgment

Popular caricatures of God’s judgment picture him as a cosmic bully who arbitrarily throws down fire, floods the world, breaks things, and sends people to an everlasting hell just because he can. Because he has all the might, he is right. We are to be frightened and do what he says because he might throw a tantrum and destroy us if we challenge his power. If you stroke his ego, he might give you a place in heaven one day.

The only thing that this caricature gets right is that God is a God of judgment. The Scripture is quite clear on this fact. From the opening words of history in Genesis 1, God is discerning or judging, declaring his creation “good.” Throughout history God distinguishes between good and evil, rewarding and delighting in the good while punishing and hating evil. In the end, we will all stand before God as our judge. “It is appointed unto man once to die, but after this the judgment… (Heb 9.27; cf. also e.g., Eccl 12.13-14; 2Cor 5.10; Rev 20). God judges. Judgment is coming.

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On May 1, 2020 By In Family and Children, Theology

Safe Is the New Saved

Guest Post by Rob Hadding

As a young father, I considered keeping my family safe my chief duty. Reflecting on my track record a few years ago, I noted that in our family there had been no hospitalizations, no broken bones, not even stitches. Among my proudest paternal memories was the time my oldest daughter chided one of her siblings, “That’s not safe!” Not only had I done my job, but I had also adequately catechized my children in the Western Confession of Safe.

“What is the chief end of man,” the first catechism question of the Shorter Catechism of this WCS reads. The answer? “The chief end of man is to glorify man and live as comfortably as possible for as long as possible.” Every other question serves only to support and magnify this one. And it seems that those trained in it are legion.

The virus known as COVID-19 has revealed our cultural and global obsession with safety. Fear has gripped an already-anxious society, and the only reasonable response to the existential threat (see question one of the WCSSC) is to take every imaginable precaution to stay safe. Our personal safety, and ostensibly the safety of others, is the new righteousness. Safe is the new saved. We are justified by safe alone. And we have quickly codified our new religion.

And, as is the case with all religions, rites, symbols, and language are indispensable in affirming and communicating the tenets of the faith. These, of course, all attained ubiquity in a matter of weeks. I’m not necessarily referring to masks and gloves, although some go the second mile by masking up while driving alone or are out for a walk through the neighborhood alone. I’m talking about the quick acceptance of accepting digital meetings as a reasonable substitute for in-person interactions, “smiling with your eyes” over your homemade mask, and exchanging the new benediction, “Stay safe!”

But the truth is that we are not safe. We have never been safe. The ratio of individuals to deaths is a solid 1:1. Some lives are very short; others are long. No matter how much we try as persons or as societies, the end of every human life is the same. And the day of your death is fixed by the One who created heaven and earth. He keeps you alive every day except one. This assertion is not an argument for carelessness or for being cavalier. Providence is no excuse for imprudence. Safety is an illusion, and an overwrought concern for safety is to misplace your faith. Do not fear COVID-19 that can destroy your body but cannot destroy your soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell.

To be human – truly human – is to live a life of risk. The world is a dangerous place. But we were made to take dominion over the dangerous world – not to make it safe, but to make it more glorious. The much-cited quotation from John A. Shedd is appropriate: “A ship is safe in harbor, but that’s not what ships are for.” May my children benefit from my repentance, and live well. 

Rob Hadding is the pastor of Christ Church in Pace, Florida. He and his wife, Marty, have five increasingly dangerous children. 

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On April 29, 2020 By In Counseling/Piety, Theology

A Song for the Day of Trouble (part 2)

The same Spirit hovering over the waters at creation breathing life into the world a is the same Spirit who will at times trouble the waters of our soul so that we continually seek the Living Water. “And the Lord will guide you continually and satisfy your desire in scorched places and make your bones strong; and you shall be like a watered garden, like a spring of water, whose waters do not fail.” b  The same Spirit bringing the Word of Life into our hearts c is the same Spirit by which we can cry out, “Abba, Father!” in our hour of need. d As we move into the second part of the psalm, we are going to see what it is we really need when trouble comes and how the Lord provides.

Troubled times lead us to seek a particular salvation.

“In the night my hand is stretched out without wearying; my soul refuses to be comforted. When I remember God, I moan; when I meditate, my spirit faints.”

Psalm 77:2-3

When we think of nighttime, the picture we often get is one of resting from the labors and activities of the day. We think of laying our head down on our soft pillow and slipping off into sleep like the sun slowly settling beneath the horizon. Night should be a time of peace and rest. But it is not so for Asaph.

In the midst of troubles, the night brings him neither rest nor comfort. You can lay down at night with a weary body but a soul at rest and enjoy good sleep. But to go to bed with a weary soul often results in a restlessness of body. Here, either the troubles Asaph is experiencing make it impossible to sleep or he will not allow his body rest until his soul is also at rest. His soul is weary and worn, so his hand stretches out in help to God and he will not let it fall until he finds it. His body will not be at peace until his soul is at peace. He is not concerned about having sleepless nights. If this was his problem, then any sleep trick will do. Anyone who has experienced those first few weeks or months with a newborn baby knows to what lengths one will go to get some sleep. Asaph is concerned with knowing real peace and his soul refuses to be satisfied with anything less. 

This is the deficiency of our therapeutic age. Even if we correctly diagnose the problem, we are far too easily satisfied with the cure. We settle for numbing the pain rather than healing the wound. We mask the symptoms so we can hide the disease. We trade a birthright tomorrow for a bowl of stew today. e  

But Asaph isn’t trying to escape the presence of trouble and all that comes with it; he is seeking to find comfort in the presence of the Almighty. He knows what St. Augustine would come to understand and pray centuries later, “Thou hast made us for thyself, O Lord, and our heart is restless until it finds its rest in thee.”

We often seek comfort by forgetting. We try to find peace by escaping reality, not contemplating it. Think of all the things we do to check out of life for a little while. Whether it’s alcohol or binge watching or working out, we can all very easily fall into the trap of self-medicating in order to forget the worries and cares. Asaph does not seek comfort in distraction but meditation. He intentionally directs his thoughts to God. But, surprisingly, when Asaph contemplates God, that meditation initially brings more sorrow and weakness to his heart and soul. 

Why would meditating on God cause his spirit to faint? Doesn’t Scripture promise that “they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint”? f He grieves in his spirit because the greatest delight and comfort of the Christian is to have the favor of God. For the child of God, the greatness of our salvation is not what we have been redeemed from but the Father we have been saved to. What sweeter blessing can we receive than that the Lord make His face to shine upon us, lift up His countenance to us, and give us peace? g

But days of trouble can set a cloud over that glory. We do not sense his favor. We do not feel the warmth of his presence. “Darkness hides his lovely face,” as the hymn puts it. h Remembering the goodness and favor and blessing of God in the past makes the present darkness all the more dark. Only those who have been to the summit of Everest can fully appreciate standing at the base of that mountain looking up into the clouds to a peak that cannot even be seen. But those are also the people who will not settle for anything less. Which means they must face the struggle; they must not shut their eyes, but look through the trouble until they see clearly once again.  

“You hold my eyelids open; I am so troubled that I cannot speak. I consider the days of old, the years long ago. I said, ‘Let me remember my song in the night; let me meditate in my heart.’ Then my spirit made a diligent search:”

Psalm 77:4-9

It is the Lord’s gracious hand that keeps Asaph’s eyes open and brings him to this point. The psalmist who cries out to the Lord in verse 1 now has no more words to speak. He moves from crying out in the day of trouble to now considering the days of old. His eyes gaze from the present to the past. First he looks up then he looks back. And in looking back he begins to rise above the waves that would threaten to drown him in despair.

Thus far in this song, Asaph has been the reference point. There are plenty of personal pronouns in the first two stanzas. Some commentators are critical of this. They see the psalmist self-absorbed in his trouble. That could be the case. If not true for Asaph, then at least true in my own experience. 

But I think Asaph starts where he does because this is a song for real people in the midst of real struggles learning to navigate real life.  The Apostle Paul exhorts us to be ready to give a reason for the hope that is within us. i That hope is not a gnostic experience. It is often forged in the fires of particular trouble and polished in the daily rub of relationships. Personal pronouns matter a great deal.

So, from crying out to the Lord to discouraged moans about the Lord to exhausted silence, Asaph finally speaks to himself. Refusing superficial sleep, he directs his mind and heart to remember his song. We will consider this song in the third and final part.

  1. Genesis 1:2  (back)
  2. Isaiah 58:11  (back)
  3. Deuteronomy 8:3; Hebrews 10:16  (back)
  4. Romans 8:15  (back)
  5. Genesis 25  (back)
  6. Isaiah 40:31  (back)
  7. Numbers 6:24-26  (back)
  8. Mote, Edward (1834). My Hope is Built on Nothing Less  (back)
  9. 1 Peter 3:15  (back)

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On April 27, 2020 By In Counseling/Piety, Theology, Wisdom

A Song for the Day of Trouble (part 1)

Troublesome times are a great constrictor of the soul. They squeeze with a kind of pressure that exposes what is within us. During a crisis of the magnitude and scope we are experiencing now, the responses of the people provide an honest look into the heart and soul of a culture.  Naturally, you will always have the deniers, the doomsayers, the opportunists, and a variety of other characters on the stage. But who will we be in the day of trouble?  

In Psalm 77, we find a genuine, honest dealing with life when the day of trouble comes. We find not only one man’s experience and expression, but a wonderful gift given by God to his people throughout all times and in all places about how to deal honestly with the realities of life when trials invade our lives, our families, our churches, or our communities. 

Many of us are familiar with what the worldly virtue of self-expression looks like. It is often raw and untamed. It flows like a water hose through social media, song lyrics, t-shirts, and even casual conversations. As the trouble increases so does the force and volume of its flow. 

In contrast, the Psalms are a mighty river channeled between the shores. Honest expression and real emotions are governed by the solid, immovable truths of glory and grace.  Whether rushing swiftly over jagged rocks or flowing as quiet waters, these divine songs always bring us to see life clearly…as it truly is, as it is meant to be, as it is going to be for the people of the cross. How we express ourselves in these troubled times will either muddy the waters of reality or it will bring clarity, both for us and the watching world. 

As we step inside Asaph’s world and walk with him in his day of trouble, we also are learning how to walk. As the Lord Himself invites his people to sing this song, we are learning how to dance when the music of life plays the minor key. 

Troubled times lead us to seek a particular Savior. 

“In the day of my trouble, I seek the Lord.” (v.2) 

When trouble comes, Asaph’s eyes look heavenward. This response seems so obvious to us, so much so that we probably don’t take the time to ask the question, “Why does he seek the Lord in the day of trouble?”  It’s a question that appears too simple to even warrant consideration, but consideration is exactly what’s needed. 

The psalmist recognizes that only the Lord can deliver him out of his troubles. So it’s to the Lord he runs. We don’t know what these troubles are or the context of the situation. It really doesn’t matter. It is enough to know that Asaph is a man in trouble. He is not simply troubled by things he sees or knows; he calls it “my trouble.”  And how he responds to those personal troubles reveals something about his own heart and the heart of the One to whom he seeks. Life squeezes, circumstances overwhelm, and the psalmist responds almost instinctively in a particular way.

Have you ever been in danger of drowning or seen someone else struggling to keep themselves afloat? I’ve never literally been in that situation, although years ago I did have to jump into a pool fully clothed to help one of my sons who had ventured too far into the deep end. It was a bit scary at the time and I ruined a good phone and my favorite pair of shoes. But I most certainly know the feeling of drowning under the pressures of life. I know that in those moments of physical or emotional drowning, the temptation is to look for anything that might hold out the slightest hope of rescue.

Asaph is not a drowning man thrashing and clawing for whatever he can find to hold on to. When trouble rushes in, his eyes are not frantically searching for relief and deliverance. The reason something like a microscopic parasite can throw the world into hysteria and confusion is because every individual and every nation responds according to how they answer two basic questions: What do they want? What is getting in the way of what they want? The ditches of history are strewn with a long line of saviors and scapegoats. 

Asaph’s eyes are drawn to a certain Deliverer and a particular salvation. He does not seek a convenient savior; he seeks the consummate Savior. There is a world of difference between the two. He resonates such glorious truths as Zephaniah 3:17, “The LORD is in your midst, a mighty one who will save;” and Psalm 121, “I lift up my eyes to the hills, from where does my help come from? My help comes from the LORD, who made heaven and earth.”

Troubled times lead us to a particular response.

I cry aloud to God, aloud to God, and he will hear me. (v.1)

How the psalmist seeks the Lord is also telling. He cries aloud to God. He gives voice to his troubles. He brings them out into the open. He does not keep them shut up, nor does he silently endure. He shapes these troubles into tangible, spoken words. Obviously, the all-knowing, all-wise God does not need such audible expressions. He is “a very present help in trouble.” a But Asaph’s cries remind us of some important things to keep in mind when our day of trouble comes. 

God does not need us to put words to our suffering, but neither does He discourage His children from doing so. We do not have to silently endure. We do not have to stoically wait upon Him. To cry out in pain and anguish and deep trouble is not a sign of weak faith. Jesus Himself gave voice to His anguish in the garden. Rather, our cries become a lament of the whole person. The soul is troubled and the body gives expression to it. Body and soul, Asaph seeks the Lord because body and soul the Lord created him.  

Not only does this expression show us something of the relationship between Asaph and the Lord, but it also indicates that this is not a private lament; it is not merely a personal trial. Giving voice to our need brings our burdens into the midst of the congregation. It brings our dependence upon God into the light of community. To be united together as the body of Christ means that there are no private troubles. b We sing these songs together as a vivid reminder of this reality. 

In the next part, we will look at the particular salvation Asaph seeks and how he finds comfort in the midst of trouble. Hopefully, we will gain some practical wisdom from the way he goes about moving from being restless to being at rest. For now, let us learn and imitate these songs so that when our waters are troubled, we can give honest expression to the depth and breadth of our suffering without violating the established boundaries of our relationship to Christ and His church.  The depth and breadth of His glory and grace is greater. While the world looks around pointing fingers and grasping for answers, the church should be singing. Not in obliviousness like Nero fiddling while Rome burns, but harmoniously and honestly lifting up our eyes and voices in hope for ourselves and the nations.

  1. Psalm 46:1  (back)
  2. 1 Corinthians 12:21-26  (back)

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On April 22, 2020 By In Theology

50 Percent of Pastors “Believe Jesus will Return in their Lifetime.”

Guest Post by Gary Demar

When will Christians learn? It’s no surprise that less than 25 percent of Christians have a biblical worldview. On Bible prophecy, it’s around five percent. That’s my estimation.

A new study has determined by a new LifeWay Research survey that a “majority of pastors say specific current events are a sign of the End Times and Jesus’ return.”

Of the poll of 1,000 evangelical pastors, 50 percent “believe Jesus will return in their lifetime.”

Pastors were asked if they “consider any of the following types of current events to be the ‘birth pains’ that Jesus was referring to when he was asked by his disciples when he would return,” a reference to Jesus’ prophecy found in Matthew 24 and the parallel accounts in Matthew 13 and Luke 21.

Wars and Rumors of Wars

A verse-by-verse study of Mathew 23:35-24:34. Buy Now

Just so you know, the Olivet Discourse is not describing events that will take place to some future generation. Jesus was describing what was going to happen to the generation to whom Jesus was speaking. It was their generation that would not pass away until all the things He described took place.

Let’s state the obvious. There is nothing new about Christians believing they are living in what Hal Lindsey said was the “terminal generation,” the generation that was supposed to pass away before 1988 because of the same signs that are being touted today as proof that we are living in the final generation before one of the five rapture views takes place. When was Lindsey’s book published? In 1977, more than 40 years ago, seven years after The Late Great Planet Earth.

Here’s the breakdown of the signs and the percent of pastors who believe they are signs of Jesus’ near return:

83 percent, the “rise of false prophets and false teachings.”

There have always been false prophets and false teachings. John said so:

Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God; and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God; this is the spirit of the antichrist, of which you have heard that it is coming, and now it is already in the world (1 John 4:1–4).

There were false prophets in John’s day. There were antichrist’s in John’s day, evidence that it was the “last hour” (1 John 2:18).

There was false teaching during the time leading up to the destruction of the temple in AD 70. Peter wrote the following:

But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will also be false teachers among you, who will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing swift destruction upon themselves.Many will follow their sensuality, and because of them the way of the truth will be maligned;and in their greed they will exploit you with false words; their judgment from long ago is not idle, and their destruction is not asleep” (2 Peter 2:2–3).

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On April 20, 2020 By In Politics, Theology

Cheap grace and gratitude

Guest Post by Dr. Jordan Ballor

As we live in a time of crisis, isolation, and suffering, there’s perhaps no better time to consider anew all the goodness and grace in our lives that we so often take for granted. Amid the outbreak of plague, we should ponder the gifts we have been given and the gratitude we ought to have for them. As we deal with the loss of life and restrictions on our activities, we should also come to a greater recognition of the divine origin of all good gifts all the time.

Fallen (and perhaps particularly fallen and redeemed) human beings have a way of cheapening grace. The German pastor and theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer opened his classic work on Christian discipleship with an incisive analysis of what he called “cheap grace,” the idea that God’s saving work could simply be assumed and that it required no substantive response from or transformation of human beings.

If Christ’s atoning work was infinitely sufficient to cover all of our sins, such thinking goes, why not go on sinning that grace may abound (Rom. 6:1)? Or at least, why worry so much about doing any good works, since they aren’t all that “good” in the first place, and aren’t the basis for our salvation in any case? As Bonhoeffer puts it, “Cheap grace means grace as bargain-basement goods, cut-rate forgiveness, cut-rate comfort, cut-rate sacrament; grace as the church’s inexhaustible pantry, from which it is doled out by careless hands without hesitation or limit. It is grace without a price, without costs.”

Bonhoeffer had in mind what is often called special or saving grace in his indictment of cheap grace, and he had in mind the costliness of Christ’s sacrifice and the call to follow Him. But there’s an analogous error when it comes to the gifts of common grace. If special grace involves the application of the atoning work of Jesus Christ for the salvation of sinners, common grace involves the recognition of the gifts that are given to everyone regardless of righteousness or piety. In Matthew 5:45 we read that God “causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.” Natural goods like sun and rain are examples of common grace, but as the Reformed theologian Abraham Kuyper describes the idea, common grace also involves social and cultural realities, like the love of familial relationships, the goods and services provided by businesses, and justice and order protected and preserved by governments.

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On April 14, 2020 By In Politics, Theology

Easter: The ABC of our Faith

We need to continually return to the root of our faith, to those first historical events that propel us to move forward as a people. The Church Calendar helps us to never outgrow the life of our Lord from his birth to his Ascension.

The Resurrection is the foundation of our faith. In modern evangelicalism, we tend to view the Resurrection of Jesus merely as validation or proof that the crucifixion accomplished what it was supposed to. In other words, the Resurrection is lovely because now the death of Jesus means something, and we get to spend eternity in heaven. But the Bible ascribes more significant value to the empty tomb.

The Four Gospels navigate us through the life of Jesus and give us a glimpse into the meaning of the Resurrection. But if we simply build our thinking around the Four Gospels, we will have an incomplete view of who we are and who Jesus is. The Four Gospels are not enough. We need the entirety of God’s Revelation. In other words, “If our gospel begins and ends on Good Friday, it is impoverished.”a 

Though we glory in the cross, though we preach the cross, though we love the old rugged cross, the cross is not enough! And I make that statement very carefully. As one scholar stated, “If the story of the prodigal son was only based on cross-theology, there would have been only forgiveness, but no joy and feast.” The message of the cross is incomplete without the Resurrection. The cross and the Resurrection can never be separated.

The Resurrection not only validates the cross, but it is a sure sign that we are shadows of our future selves. We are now partly what we shall be. This reality is apparent as we enter into the Acts of the Apostles: the early Church began to live out their Resurrection among the nations. In fact, “the preaching of Jesus’ Resurrection is arguably more pervasive than the cross in the book of Acts (Acts 2:31; 3:26; 4:2; 33; 10:41). The Psalms most quoted in the New Covenant are Psalms 2 and 110, which speak directly of Jesus’ Resurrection and exaltation. Cyprian once wrote: “I confess the Cross, because I know of the Resurrection…since the Resurrection has followed the Cross, I am not ashamed to declare it.” This is back to basics! We are a cruciform people, but if we overemphasize the cross, our identity is incomplete.

So, let us consider a few implications of the Resurrection, keeping in mind that the Resurrection is more than a confirmation of the cross, but it is the foundation of our faith. Paul makes this point when he says that without the Resurrection, we are of all people most to be pitied. He does not say this about any other event in the life of Jesus.

First, the Resurrection is the objective grounds of salvation. We often look at the cross as the grounds of our salvation, but God saves us by, in, and through the Resurrection of Jesus Christ. Paul makes this explicit when he says in Romans 4:25: “He was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification.” In I Corinthians 15:17, Paul says, “If Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins.” But aren’t we justified and forgiven on account of Jesus’ death? Of course! Romans makes that clear! For the Apostle Paul, the Resurrection is the vindication of Jesus as the Faithful Son and as the righteous sin-bearer.

It is “the creative power of God that imparts life to soul and body.” This is who we are. We are nothing more, nothing less than saints united to the Resurrected Christ. This is the objective ground of our salvation.

Secondly, the Resurrection is not only the source of our justification, our right-standing before God, but the Resurrection is also the power that drives our sanctification; that is our growth in King Jesus. Some theologians have referred to this as anastasity, from the Greek anastasio, meaning Resurrection. Anastasity is the way the Resurrection flows into our lives. I confess this is in many ways is revolutionary to Christians who have never considered the Resurrection in this light. What the cross of Jesus does for us is to bankrupt our pride, it sobers our minds when we become full of ourselves, and it pulls the plug on any naïve triumphalism. When we are tempted to be proud of any accomplishment, we need to look no further than the cross of Jesus to give us an enlightened view of what Jesus had to suffer to take our sins.

But the Resurrection is the other necessary and prominent part of what it means to be a follower of Jesus and part of God’s people. We cannot only have a theology of the cross because a spirituality that meditates only on the cross could potentially reduce us to self-loathing, spiritual insecurity. The impression, then, is that we remain, pathetic, lowly sinners, miserable wretches, unable to do one good thing for God even though we are justified by the event of the empty tomb.

I suggest this is a pietistic simplification of the Christian life? Anglican scholar Michael Bird summarizes best our status:

Some Christians might feel humble when they tell everyone how pathetic they are; a form of self-deprecation. Rightly so, we should be the first ones to share our struggles with others, but let us not think less of ourselves that how God thinks of us. “If God thinks well of his Son, He thinks well of you. If God loves His Son, He loves you, for you are partakes not just of his sufferings, but also of his glory.b

Finally, the Resurrection calls us to a new way of living. Paul says in Colossians: “Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, not on earthly things.” Some have interpreted this to mean that we are to be so heavenly minded, that we ought to abandon our earthly concerns. After all, this world is merely passing by. But I think this interpretation lacks a fundamental understanding of the role of the Resurrection in the mind of Paul. Who are we? We are resurrected saints. This is the most basic foundation of our humanity as Christians. And if we are resurrected saints, where does the resurrected Christ now abide? He abides at the right hand of the Father in heaven. Where Christ is we are. We are to act and live as if we are seated with Christ in heavenly places. We are to have a heavenly perspective on our earthly life. This reality is to have an impact on our present. Our status in Jesus Christ calls us toward the goal of faithfulness.

Easter is the most basic fact of our humanity. It is who we are. It is because of the bodily Resurrection that we live, breathe, and have our being in a Christ who shows mercy, rather than a Christ who condemns us. The Resurrection of Jesus vindicated Jesus as the bearer of the ugliness of sin, so when he looks at our Lord sees beautified saints. We can never take that for granted. Our standing before the Father causes us to love one another more fully, to serve one another more sincerely, to embrace a more robust view of hope, to feast more abundantly, and to worship the Risen Christ with greater passion. Easter is the abc of our faith. If it is anything less, we are most to be pitied, but thanks be to God, Christ is Risen! He is Risen Indeed!

  1. Michael Bird, Evangelical Theology, 436.  (back)
  2. Michael Bird, Evangelical Theology, pg. 445  (back)

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On April 5, 2020 By In Theology

A Palm Sunday Meditation

Matthew 21: 8-9
Most of the crowd spread their garments on the road, and others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. 9 And the crowds that went before him and that followed him were shouting, “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!”

The Triumphal Entry is one of the few events in Jesus’ life that is mentioned in all four gospels. This should call our attention to the significance placed on this event.

The Father sent His Son into the world that He might embrace the pain and suffering of humanity. On the cross, He took our sorrow to become The Man of Sorrows. Palm Sunday is another example of Christ coming for us. He comes as the One who cleanses the corruption of the temple, and who ultimately offers His own temple-body as a sacrifice.

In this text, Jesus comes to Jerusalem as the Paschal Lamb who will give His life to deliver His people. As He enters Jerusalem the response of the people is symbolically rich. Matthew 21 states that the crowd spread their garments on the road. In the Bible, garments represent people. When Jesus sits on their garments and rides over them, they are saying that Jesus is enthroned over them. Jesus is re-enacting the Jehu narrative when Jehu was anointed as King and destroyed the temple of Baal. In II Kings 9, we read that when Jehu was anointed King, that in haste every man of them took his garment and put it under him on the bare steps, and they blew the trumpet and proclaimed, “Jehu is king.” Jesus arranged His entrance because He was symbolically declaring His kingship. He is the greater Jehu who rode over his followers’ garments into Samaria to destroy the temple of Baal (II Kings 9:11-13; 10:18-28). The antithesis is clear: we either lay down our garments and bless the Son of David or we are trampled by the Coming King.

The King who destroys the temple of Baal and is exalted above all does not come bearing a sword into the Holy City. The time of judgment is not now; now is the time of suffering. Now is the time to act as King, and Kings give their lives for their people, and Jesus is coming to Jerusalem to give His life. Now Jesus comes in peace, to be reconciled with His enemies; but on that final day, He will judge His enemies.

Application:

The response of the crowd was initially one of joyful submission. How often do we display this joyful submission? How is this reflected today?Do we display a profound sense of joy as we submit in heart, mind, soul, and strength to the One who rides over us?

Prayer
O God, Giver of all good gifts, we thank you for Jesus who gave Himself for us. We pray that our lives will be as the garments of Palm Sunday, laid down so that Christ might rule over us. Teach us to see the way to the cross as t

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On March 25, 2020 By In Culture, Theology, Wisdom

Kuyper’s Flawed Example: Sphere Sovereignty on the Personal Front

In book 2 of Plato’s Republic, Socrates’ conversation with his young friends takes an unexpected turn. Plato’s brothers Gaucon and Adeimantos have challenged Socrates to defend justice for justice’s sake and not merely to gain a reputation for being just. Why would people wish to do justice if they were deprived of its tangible rewards? To answer this question, Socrates memorably shifts the discussion to the building of a city. Why? Because if he can demonstrate what justice is within the city, he can by analogy reason back to locating justice in the individual person, which he and his companions undertake to do in the succeeding books of the dialogue.

I was reminded of Socrates’ rhetorical strategy several years ago as I read James Bratt’s magisterial biography of one of my heroes, Abraham Kuyper: Modern Calvinist, Christian Democrat. Kuyper, as readers may know, originated the term “sphere sovereignty,” a translation of the Dutch expression sovereiniteit in eigen kring, or “sovereignty in one’s own circle.” Facing the twin threats of liberal individualism and socialist statism, Kuyper, based on his reading of the Bible and the larger Christian tradition, came up with this rather inelegant phrase to describe his party’s unique approach to society. (more…)

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On March 24, 2020 By In Culture, Theology

The Eschatology of Covid-19: When the Stars Fall! Part 3

It’s the end of the world as they knew it! Matthew 24 speaks of a particular timeframe in history. It will not be repeated again. At this point, we might be tempted to delve into a conversation about what the future looks like from a perspective of a past Great Tribulation. But the point in this series is not to consider the future of the future but to consider what the Bible does not say about the future.

In the affirmative, we could say, “The Olivet Discourse is a prophecy about things shortly going to take place.” It is attractive to specialize in modern events comparing notes with the Bible. But history makes clear that this habit leads to bad Christian practices and expectations.

Summary of Interpretive Principles

In a previous article, I argued that the two key principles to understanding Matthew 24 are context and the language of the Bible. When we distance the Bible from its immediate context and language, we can make it say whatever we want. And much of this is happening now with speculations about the role of the Coronavirus in the prophetic calendar.

The faithful interpreter, however, will see this present crisis in our culture as an opportunity for the work of God in history. Israel wandered in the wilderness and learned lessons that guided the remnant to green pastures. We, too, have an opportunity to see this event as an opportunity to learn and disciple one another in the ways of Yahweh. But before we do that, we need to understand the Bible.

Coronavirus, Tribulation and Falling Stars, oh my!

Towards the end of the first section of the Olivet Discourse, Jesus says,

“Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken.”

There is no gap between this verse and the previous one. Remember that the disciples’ questions were not about the end of the world as we know it, but about the end of their world as they knew it. Assume for a moment that Jesus was living today and we asked him the same questions from the opening verses of Matthew 24. Now, 2,000 years from now people were reading a record of our questions. Would they say, “Wow, these questions referred to our world!” or would they say, “These questions referred to their world.” The latter seems most likely especially since Jesus uses the same language to speak of imminent destruction as the prophets used to speak of the destruction of their world.

I deliberately chose to discuss the prophecy of “falling stars” because modern prophetic voices envision such descriptions to be only true if they happen literally. They will say, “Since we have never witnessed a literal star falling and shaking the heavens, therefore this is still in the future.” But before we look at how the language of “falling stars” is dealt with in the Old Testament, let me raise a simple question. “How can stars fall to the Earth and the Earth survive?” Think of the sun, which is far from the biggest star. You can fit 1,3 million planet earths into the sun. If we take this literally, the descent of any star to this world will destroy the earth as we know it. So, for many reasons, we are dealing here with symbolic language.a

Twinkle, Twinkle!

Have you ever looked at the flags of nations? It’s a remarkable thing to see how beautiful and diverse they are in color and symbols. Do you ever notice how many of these flags include stars—a solitary star or multiple stars? The U.S. flag, Brazil, Papua-New Guinea, and many others all contain multiple stars. These flags with all their stars represent the people who live in it. In Genesis 22, Yahweh promises to bless Abraham’s offspring and what does he use as an analogy? The stars of heaven. In Deuteronomy, people are again associated with the stars. Historians, exegetes, and even modern scholars who would take a different interpretation would agree that St. Matthew uses the imagery of  “falling stars” to refer to the destruction of a group, people, or nation. A perfect example of this is found in Judges 5, which says:

“The kings came, they fought; then fought the kings of Canaan, at Taanach, by the waters of Megiddo; they got no spoils of silver. From heaven the stars fought, from their courses they fought against Sisera.”

This is war language! Whether the sun, moon, or stars, the heavenly body is used in the Bible to refer to judgment, almost in every case. It indicates that something new is about to happen in history. Even the star which guides the magi is an indication that a war is coming between the new king and Herod, the false king.

In sum, Matthew 24:29 in its context, speaks of “Israel in decline as the nation that rejected her Messiah.” Eschatology scholar, Gary Demar, says the following:

“The allusion in Matthew 24:29 is unmistakable: “Israel’s judgment was to take place before that generation passed away.” ((Last Days Madness, 147.))

Falling Stars and Falling on Our Knees

Often we isolate such passages from its context, but more importantly, we isolate such passages from the act of worship of the True Messiah. When the earthly powers are shaken, stars are falling, the sun is darkened and the moon will not give its light, the Christian must respond in worship.

However you take this imagery, one thing is clear: God changes the world’s systems. He doesn’t allow unrighteousness to carry on forever. He doesn’t allow his name to be mocked forever. He does not permit the kingdoms of this world to continue spilling lies against the Lord and his anointed. Everything, every nation, every system, every kingdom that opposes God will be shaken and torn. The Coronavirus will pass away, but the righteousness of God does not have an expiration date. His kingdom will not be shaken. As Hebrews says,

“Therefore let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and thus let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe…”

The unshakable kingdom of God ought to lead you to offer acceptable worship before God (Rom. 12:1-2). If we think about it, our view of the kingdom is miserably small. We have not because we ask not. We have so individualized our prayer life that even our petitions are small. We pray small because our view of the kingdom is small. We pray small because we live as if the kingdom can be easily shaken like a tree in the midst of the storm.

While we quarantine ourselves in one way or another, imagine if an angel came to your front door and gave you a manuscript of your prayers in the last 12 months. What would they reveal? Would it reveal that the manuscript is a one pager? Would it reveal that your prayers are entirely self-centered? Would it reveal prayers that ask for too little? Would it reveal a powerless view of the kingdom; one that can be shaken at any moment? More directly, what kind of worship would your prayers reveal? Worship of a small Christ? A convenient Christ or worship diminished because of our fears of sickness?

The author of Hebrews says the kingdom of God cannot be shaken, therefore, let us worship! Can you ask God as Augustine did: “Come, Lord, stir us up and call us back. Kindle and seize us. Be our fire and our sweetness. Let us love. Let us run.” Can you pray that?

What will it take for you to worship this God whose kingdom cannot be shaken? What will God have to do in your life for you to change your view of God’s kingdom? This is ultimately the end-times question. For the kingdom of God to be as great in your life, your reverence and awe of God need to be just as great. The unshakability of the kingdom is connected to the unshakability of God. The Coronavirus cannot dictate how a Christian worships.

The End Times…for this Series.

We will always be tempted to bring our assumptions into the text. We let the assumptions that the kingdom of God works according to our plans, or that it can be managed by the works we do, or that it can be manipulated to fit our schedule or that the kingdom works in accordance to our will and want or that a virus will pause its movement. It’s time to let these assumptions die! Jesus changed Israel’s assumptions through destruction. May he change our assumptions by his grace and truth. And should some of our kingdoms have to crumble in the process, let it be so! Whatever it takes for us to bow down in reverence and awe of our Lord and Savior will be what we need to exalt Christ and his unshakable kingdom. Let it be the end of our world of sin and the beginning of a new world where worship regulates all we do.

Read Part 1
Read Part 2

  1. See Gary Demar, 142, Last Days Madness.  (back)

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