America's Financial Meltdown

The economic crisis that our country faces seems to hit a the core of the average American. For the first time ever I am seeing mass quantities of people panic about their future and ability to provide for their families. In the industry I work, things are even scarier. One in five auto dealerships are soon to be closing, manufacturing plants are closing down, workers are being layed off, dealership are down-sizing and shrinking staff, sales are down, income is minimal, yet bills remain. As a pastor I have had recently seen grown men weep and share their fears, concerns and questions about what lies before us. Biblical counsel if therefore crucial and most necessary if believers are going to weather these temporary hardships and uncertainties.

In a recent book by Pastor Mark Dever, he quotes the writings of Jonathan Edwards and in so doing examines the way the world responds to loss and implies the way believers are to respond to tragedy, loss and dire times. He references the Old Testament book of Job to make his case.

"In 1723, a young pastor of a church in Manhattan, Jonathan Edwards, preached a sermon called "The Nakedness of Job." He described wealthy Job's sudden losses, which included even the lives of his children. And then he turned to how we ought to respond to such losses in contrast to how the world responds."

'Perhaps, when you read the history of Job, you read it as a strange thing that happened but once in the world; but, for the time to come, read it as a think thing that happens daily, and frequently, for every man at death is as much deprived of all his worldly goods as Job was...The history of Job is only a shadow of death; it is no more than happens to every man in the world...Such is the folly of the world. They pursue violently after the world, slave and tire themselves for a little of it, are exceeding anxious and careful about it. Their minds are gnawn with care and anxiety; they undergo abundance of difficulties for it, and will often violate their consciences, disobey their God, and go very near hellfire--so near as to scorch them--come so near to the pit that their feet are every moment ready to slip. When they lose the world, they mourn as if they had met with a loss that it is impossible should be repaired, either in this world or the next, and when they have got a little of the world, they please themselves with the thoughts of it as much as if they were sure they could never lose it, neither by death nor otherwise...Before, they were careless and at ease, as if death were not wont to come into their parts of the world.'

Death, loss, decay are all part of life for believers and unbelievers. That is why scripture counsels us to NOT lay up treasure here on earth. If we are to joyfully meet this world head on with its current crisis and defeat satanic deception of security in goods, our treasure must be God, as was the case with Job. If our treasure is earthly, we will surely panic, become depressed and even bitter towards God and thus reveal our idolatry--that we loved things more than the One who gave things to us.

Let the current economic crisis be used of God to reveal your current affection or lack of it for God. Realize this is the grace of God in action working out your sanctification. And as tough as it is, in the midst of pain, give thanks to the Lord for His mercy and goodness endures forever.

WORD OF THE WEEK #2: Justification

JUSTIFICATION

You may recognize that the word justification looks much like the word justify. We use it all the time. Oftentimes when someone does wrong and they are caught they try to justify their actions. In our modern day usage of the word, it carries the idea of trying to explain one's action so as not to be guilty.

In scripture the greek word for justify is dikaiovw. It can mean:

1. to render righteous or such he ought to be
2. to show, exhibit, evince, one to be righteous, such as he is and wishes himself to be considered
3. to declare, pronounce, one to be just, righteous, or such as he ought to be

Whoever God predestines to salvation, He will call to salvation. Those whom God calls to salvation, He has justified. The reality is so secure that even the past tense of the word is used in Romans 8:30. It is not that God is going to justify us. We are justified. We are declared just or righteous.

Romans 8:30 And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified.

Simply put, justification is the act whereby God declares us to be perfect, righteous or just. The word declares is very important to consider because you and I still sin on a daily basis. We exhibit unrighteous behavior more than we'd like to admit. Yet God declares us righteous. On what basis then are we declared righteous? Is it by our own good deeds...our own righteousness? Scripture answers with a resounding "no!"

Romans 3:20 For by works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin.

We are not justified by our lawkeeping. The law was given to reveal our sin, not so that we could attempt to keep it and earn our own justification. In both Romans and Galatians Paul shows us that it is not by works of the law that we are justified, but by faith in Jesus Christ.

Galatians 2:16 Yet we know that a person is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ, so we also have believed in Christ Jesus, in order to be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law, because by works of the law no one will be justified.

Romans 5:1 Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.

When we are justified we are at made to be at peace with God. It is assumed then that God is angry with us for our wickedness--we are not just. Since Christ is the one who puts us at peace with God, it must be that Christ has done something for us so that God would consider us and pronounce us just. Christ has! He has given us His own righteousness by faith (Romans 4:22). We trust in Christ to take our sin upon Himself and we trust in Christ to give us His righteousness. That is called imputation (which we'll talk about another time).

In Romans 10:10, Paul says also that we are justified as we believe with our heart. In other words, belief in Christ and faith in Christ are synomous for both result in justification.

Romans 10:10 For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved.

Scripture undoubtedly teaches us that although we still sin, God pronounces us righteous as we put our belief, faith or trust in who Christ is and what He has done for us. Therefore, it is not our own righteousness whereby God declares us righteous. It is the righteousness of Christ that is given to us by faith. That is how we are justified or pronounced righteous in God's eyes. We are declared righteous even though our daily experience shows that we sin abundantly. That is the grace of God in action.

The practical and personal applications of understanding justification are numerous. It keeps us humble knowing that it is God who justifies us, not our own seemingly good deeds. Justification also leads us to delight in and worship God for His kindness to us in Christ Jesus. Justification also causes us to hate the sins for which we've been declared righteous. Lastly, understanding justification rightly causes a deep compassion to well up inside of us for the unjustified, the sinner, the condemned.

Thank the Lord for declaring you righteous instead of declaring you guilty!

Dangerous Prayer

Please pass me the Cup, Lord. It's as necessary for me as it was for You. Give me strength and courage because what I ask is a fearful thing to me. Change me into a vessel fit for receiving not only what You would have for me, but also who You would have me become. I have no strength to do this but by You. Strip me of me, and replace it with You. Have your own way with me. Thy will be done on earth- my earth, my life-as it is in heaven. Amen.

Are you able to drink the Cup He drank?

*The Cup and the Glory, Greg Harris

Living In The Way Of Jesus

About five years ago I first heard this phrase--living in the way of Jesus. It came from the pen (or keyboard) of an emerging church pastor. In the context of the article, the following conundrum was posed:

If an atheist lives in the way of Jesus, why sould he go to hell? He followed in the way of Christ. He did the things Jesus commanded and modeled his life after Christ. Jesus didn't come to bring us facts about God. He came to help us live a way of life. And if an atheist lives in a way that displays Christ's character, how could God condemn him for not believing certain facts about Jesus?

Ah, well, here's the problem with that sort of argument. If Jesus came only to be our model, our example, our example setter, then we are all damned. We are all doomed and condemned if that is only what Christ came to do for us. Why? Because we do not all perfectly follow the life of Jesus. We fall short of His glory.

Following Jesus' example as a way of salvation is dangerous. It is the same thing as trying to earn salvation by keeping the Law of God. Let me put it to you in syllogistic fashion:

If the Law of God = Reflection of Christ's Character = Living in the way of Christ
And if not perfectly obeying the Law of God = condemnation
Then not perfectly living in the way of Christ = condemnation

Following the example of Christ or living in the way of Christ as a means of salvation is nothing other than Lawkeeping. That is pure Pharisaism or legalism. That is saying that the Law = Gospel or Law = Salvation. That is a false gospel and only leads to judgment from God. The emerging church leaders that claim that anyone who lives in the way of Jesus is saved, is sorely mistaken.

Salvation has taken place when a person obeys the gospel. That is, they turn from sin and turn to God for salvation through the death, burial and resurrection of Christ who perfectly kept the Law of God for you. Any person who simply attempts to live in the way of Christ and yet does not believe the truth of Christ and what He has done to bring us to God is not saved.

Please, please, please do not be undiscerning in what you read from others. Just because someone puts out a book and has a large following does not mean they are orthodox. False prophets and teachers have always existed. Let we be deceived by them, lest us examine the Scripture and then examine their writings by the Word. The point of being a pastor is not to bring contemporariness to the church. The point is to faithful administer the Word of God for His glory displayed in Jesus Christ our Savior.

QUOTE OF THE WEEK: JOHN PIPER

Open Theism is a horrible heresy (false teaching) that claims that God does not know future events. It also claims that God does not have a purpose in allowing troubles to come our way. In refuting this heresy, John Piper says:

Do we love God? That is the point of the test. Do we cherish Him and the merciful wisdom of His painful purpose more that we cherish pain-free lives? That is the point of God's testing.

Our trials reveal the measure of our affection for this earth--both its good things and bad things. Our troubles expose our latent idolatry.

For those who believe that God rules purposefully and wisely over all things, our response to loss is a signal of how much idolatry is in our souls. Do we really treasure what we have lost more than God and His wisdom? If we find ourselves excessively angry or resentful or bitter, it may well show that we love God less that what we lost. This is a very precious discovery, because it enables us to repent and seek to cherish Christ as we ought, rather than being deceived into thinking all is well.

What is it that you have lost: money, job, stocks, a family member, health, notoriety, a business, a home? God's good purpose in allowing you to go through this is show you what you love more: God or His gifts to us. Our greatest treasure and joy should alway be in Christ. When hardship comes, it shows whether or not that is true. God is good in showing us our sin so that we may return to Him in joy.

Open Theism is wrong. God plans everything for His glory and our joy in Him.

Word Of The Week: Glorification

GLORIFICATION

The word glorification is a form of the word glorify. We know that we are to glorify God. That is, we are to make much of him. We are to honor, display and proclaim His worth and excellence. The Greek word for this is doxazo. So when scripture refers to God glorifying us, does it mean the same thing? Is God worshipping us? Of course not. The word doxazo has several possible meanings.

Doxazo can mean:
1. to think, suppose, be of opinion
2. to praise, extol, magnify, celebrate
3. to honour, do honour to, hold in honour
4. to make glorious, adorn with lustre, clothe with splendour
a. to impart glory to something, render it excellent
b. to make renowned, render illustrious
(1). to cause the dignity and worth of some person or thing to become manifest and acknowledged

In order to choose the proper definition (1-4) we must let the context determine the meaning. In Romans 8:28-30 we see the word glorified used at the very end .

Romans 8:28-30 And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. 29 For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. 30 And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified.

Notice a couple of things. God predestined us to be conformed to the image of his Son. In other words, God predetermined that His children would be transformed to look like Christ. If you observe the path that God has predetermined for us, it will end in us looking like Christ, who is glorious.

In verse 30 we see Paul laying out the order of salvation. He predestines us to look like Christ. In order to achieve this result He must call us to turn from sin and turn to Christ. Having turned from sin to faith in Christ, God justifies us or pronounces us righteous because of the righteousness of Christ. Although Paul does not mention it here, there is another thing that God does for us inbetween justification and glorification. God sanctifies us. That is, He is making us experientially, day-to-day, more like Christ. One day He will glorify us.

Glorification then is the end result of all that God does for us in salvation. It is when we are fully conformed to the image of His Son. His predestination of us will finally come to the destination--which is glorification. Simply put it is when God adorns us with our new bodies that will live eternally. He will clothe us with the splendor of Christ. He will remove all our desires to sin. He will render us excellent. This is something that God does for us. This is one of the great gifts of the gospel. 1 Corinthians 15:50-55 describes this further.

1 Corinthians 15:50-55 I tell you this, brothers: flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. 51 Behold! I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, 52 in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed. 53 For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality. 54 When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written:

“Death is swallowed up in victory.”
55 “O death, where is your victory?
O death, where is your sting?”

When Christ comes again to judge the living and the dead, this transformatin will take place. Believers who have died will be raised and glorified as well as those of us that are alive and waiting for Messiah to return.

Does this truth have any practical application for our lives? Indeed it does. It leads us to greater love for God and His future goodness to us. It also guards us from being decieved by false teachers who claim that Christ has already come the second time. If you still feel pain, still have sinful desires in your body, still get tired, then be assured that Christ has not come. Because when He comes He will glorify the Father's children.

We serve a great God. That He would glorify us one day is simply amazing to ponder. There is no god like our God!

What's So Golden About The Golden Rule?

Think it's just a nice little rule to live by? Think again.

Matthew 7:12 “So whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets.

I have made several observations about this verse and hope I can put together some coherent thoughts for us all to meditate on.

1. We See The Law Which Shows Us Our Loving God

One of the reasons God gave us the Ten Commandments, the Law, was to reveal God’s holiness and perfection. It is the standard of His righteousness and glory. And when we compare ourselves to His righteousness and glory as revealed in the Law, we see that we fall short of that glory. The Law shows us God and so does this Golden Rule--the Golden Law. It shows us that God has a high standard of love for others. God loves others. He loves us. He blesses us. He gives to us. And because this rule came from the mouth of Jesus, it teaches us about the nature of our Father. How wonderful our Father is.

2. We See The Law Which Sums Up The Old Testament

When Jesus says that all of the Law and Prophets are summed up in the Golden Rule, He means the moral Law. He does not mean everything the prophets said. The prophets spoke of the history of Israel and we cannot know that from the Golden Rule. The prophets foretold of coming destruction to unbelieving nations. We cannot know that through the Golden Rule. The prophets spoke of creation and we cannot know that in the Golden Rule. So when Jesus give us this rule that sums up the Law and Prophets, He must mean the rules for living they gave…the moral commands…the moral commands that show us the nature and holiness and righteousness and glory of God.

Now since the Old Testament is all about Christ and since the Law of God is all a reflection of God’s nature, then it must be that this golden command paints a wonderful portrait of Christ who is the perfect image of God. In other words, the commands, the Law and Prophets are writings that tell us of Jesus. So when Jesus speaks the Golden Rule, He is reinforcing the Old Testament, which reinforces that He is speaking about Himself, which reinforces that He came to show us the Father and bring us to salvation in order that we might be with Him.

Do you see how loving our Father is? He desires that we know Him. And so He is saying to us, “The Law and Prophets are about Christ…and this command sums up the Law and Prophets, and so this command tells us about Christ who is the image of the Father.

3. We See The Law Which Shows Us Our Sin

We must see this Golden Rule for what it is. It is Law. It is a command. Why did God give us the Law? Why did God give us commands?

Romans 3:20 For by works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin.

God gave us the Law so that we would know how much we sin by disobeying the Law, which is a reflection of God’s character. In other words, the Law shows us God perfection. When we disobey the Law we see how far we are from God’s perfect holiness—His glory. 1 John defines sin as lawlessness. And Romans tells us that everyone has sinned—committed lawlessness—and fallen short of the glory of God. So this Law—this Golden Rule--damns us. The Golden Rule is not good news. Rather we are condemned by it. This Law is not good news for us. It is not a happy little rule that we go around following so that our life will be pleasant. We are to obey it! That much is certain. But the problem is that we don’t obey it…and therefore are guilty sinners before a holy God.

Seeing the Golden Rule for what it is, we then know that it has a certain function in the life of the sinner. It is to show the world their gross sin and hold them guilty before God without excuse.

Romans 3:19 Now we know that whatever the law says it speaks to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be stopped, and the whole world may be held accountable to God.

Since the Law of God is written on the heart of every human being, mankind knows right from wrong and is therefore accountable to God for his violation of God’s law.

Romans 2:15 They show that the work of the law is written on their hearts, while their conscience also bears witness, and their conflicting thoughts accuse or even excuse them.

And I dare say that there is a person alive that probably has never heard of this Golden Rule. Even those who do not profess to be believers in God or followers of Christ even know this rule, this law, this command. They themselves will even testify that it is a good rule to live by. Oddly enough, though they may agree with the Golden Rule, they may very well disagree with all of the Old Testament Law, which is summed up in the Golden Rule. And when they agree with the Golden Rule, they unknowingly agree with the rest of God’s moral Law. Again, the problem with mankind is that they don’t live by it. They break it and are condemned before a holy and just and righteous God.

May I encourage you to do this: when you are busy witnessing to others, use this very command to show them just how bad of a sinner they are. Let the command be a light to expose their darkness and wickedness. Now although this Golden Rules show us our filth and sin and condemnation before God, it also shows us our need for the Savior.

4. We See The Law Which Shows Us The Need For The Savior

One of the amazing thing about Scripture is that the Law reveals to us Christ’s nature in the form of commands. But Scripture also pits the Law and Christ against each other in certain ways.

Galatians 2:16 yet we know that a person is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ, so we also have believed in Christ Jesus, in order to be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law, because by works of the law no one will be justified.

A person is not justified or saved by obeying the Law. And since the Law equals the nature of God and the nature of Christ, it is safe to say that no one is saved by imitating Christ. If following in the way of Christ equaled salvation, then we’d all be eternally damned ecause we don’t act like Christ…we don’t obey the Law. And because we don’t act like Christ, and we don’t obey the Law, we need a Savior. That Savior is Christ. He saves us, not by our trying to be like Him, but by our trusting in Him as we turn from sin. The Law shows us Christ, shows us that we cannot be like Him, but show us that we need Him nevertheless.

The Law is not bad, for it shows us Christ. We are bad for not being like Christ. We stand condemned before God and need Christ to save us from our inability to be like Him. And so God says, instead of trying to earn salvation by being like Christ or obeying the Law, instead, trust in Christ.

Galatians 3:24 So then, the law was our guardian until Christ came, in order that we might be justified by faith.

The Law was your guardian until Christ came. That means that the Law has a good function. Guardians are there to let you know when you’re doing wrong. They are there to instruct you until you come of age. They’re also there to watch over your life. And that is what the Law does. It shows you your sin and shows you the need for Christ. It ensures that you have life in Christ by directing you to Him.

1 Timothy 1:8-11 Now we know that the law is good, if one uses it lawfully, 9 understanding this, that the law is not laid down for the just but for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and sinners, for the unholy and profane, for those who strike their fathers and mothers, for murderers, 10 the sexually immoral, men who practice homosexuality, enslavers, liars, perjurers, and whatever else is contrary to sound doctrine, 11 in accordance with the gospel of the glory of the blessed God with which I have been entrusted.

The Law if for who? Sinners. The lawless. It is for anyone who lives contrary or against the gospel. It is for unbelievers. That is how we use the Law in a good way. We use it to show them that they are not saved…not yet affected by the gospel. If the Law is for sinners, then Christ also is for sinners.

1 Timothy 1:15-17 The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost. 16 But I received mercy for this reason, that in me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ might display his perfect patience as an example to those who were to believe in him for eternal life. 17 To the King of ages, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.

Christ came into the world to save lawbreakers…sinners. Paul said, “I’m the worst of sinners. I sin more than anyone and Christ saved me.” Why? For what reason? That the patience of Christ might be known. One reason God saves people is so that we’ll praise God and say, “Thank you for being so patient towards me. Thank you for not striking me dead when I lied, lusted, stole, disobeyed my parents, coveted. Praise be to God. Glory and honor belong to Him forever and ever.”

And for those of us that believe that Christ died in our place, was buried and rose again the third day, we have the promise of life with God who dwells in us by His Spirit. As God’s children, we are being transformed to look more and more like Christ. This means that as God’s children, we are being transformed into people who are getting better at keeping the Law which displays the glory of God in Christ. So that is why Christ gives this command to us to obey. For the sinner it condemns…for God’s children it displays the glory of the Father.

5. We See The Law Which Shows Us Our Duty

The statement is not, “Do to others what they want you to do to them?” That is not the same things as “Do to others as you would want them to do to you?” The statement is not “Do not do to others what you would not want them to do you.” That is actually how various religious had promoted this rule before Jesus came teaching at preaching. It was in the form of a negative. Do not do to them what you would not want them to do to you. Jesus transformed this and said, “Do to others as you would want them to do to you?” There is a world of difference. You can obey one by simply never interacting with people. Jesus’ rule demands that we interact with others and not look the other way when they are in need.

And so I present to you a few examples of how you can perform this duty towards others and display God’s glory. When you wrong others, don’t you want them to forgive you? Then forgive them. When you are hurting financially, don’t you wish others would give to you? Then give to others. If you were dying and going to hell, wouldn’t you want someone to tell you of Christ who saves? Then tell others. Don’t you wish your parents had taught you more of Christ and disciplined you better? Then do that for your children.

You see, to not do these things, is to disobey Christ. To not do these things is to be a Pharisee who loves to practice religion but not to the point where it affects your actions towards those in the church and those outside. You can’t obey this command if you aren’t witnessing, if you aren’t parenting right, if you aren’t giving, if you are forgiving, if you aren’t gentle with your speech, if you aren’t helpful, if you aren’t patient. Obedience to this command requires actively doing good. And to know what is good to do and not do it, according to Scripture is sin. So go out today and sin no more.

Now this is why the Golden Rule is so golden. It shows us the nature of God. It sums up the Old Testament of Christ. It shows us our sin. It shows us our need for the Savior. It shows us our duty to display the glory of God in obeying the command.