Inspired, inerrant, and authoritative...

"Men and brethren, this Scripture had to be fulfilled, which the Holy Spirit spoke before by the mouth of David concerning Judas, who became a guide to those who arrested Jesus; for he was numbered with us and obtained a part in this ministry."
Acts 1:16-17

How did the Holy Spirit inspire the scriptures?

The scriptures, not merely the writers, are indeed inspired (“God breathed”) (2 Timothy 3:16-17).  This means the scriptures are the very words of God (He is the “Author”).  How did He do this seeing that we can detect differences between the human “writers” (not “authors”) of the Bible?

Some say God inspired the human authors (maybe planting ideas in their heads), and they subsequently wrote what they thought.  That would mean the words of scripture are their words, not God’s.  This cannot be so.

Others say that God “dictated” the scriptures and that the human writers sort of “channeled” God.  This is not so because, again, the humanity of the human writers is evident in what they wrote.

The third option is that God supernaturally superintended over the human writers in such a way that they wrote the very words God wanted written, while the Lord allowed the personalities of the human writers to be seen.  This option is correct.

What difference does this make?  Our Bibles are the very words of God, so we trust them to be inerrant, and therefore completely authoritative.  We may not pick and choose which passages we agree with and discard the rest.

All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.  (2 Timothy 3:16-17)

Oh God! Have mercy on America!

Be merciful to me, O God, be merciful to me! For my soul trusts in You; And in the shadow of Your wings I will make my refuge, Until these calamities have passed by. I will cry out to God Most High, To God who performs all things for me.
Psalm 57:1-2

Those who are guilty are sure to desire mercy rather than justice.  This is especially true if the guilt is great, requiring a severe penalty.

The United States of America, a great country that I dearly love, is guilty of great sin.  There are too many to list, but a few are fair representations of our guilt. 

• The greatest is arguably government sanctioned, defended, protected, and in some cases funded systematic killing of unborn babies.  Call it a woman’s right to choose or women’s healthcare if you like, bit the end result is the destruction of a human being while still in the womb.  God have mercy.

• Sexual immorality, including calling men women and women men and even mutilating people’s bodies, (whether chemically or surgically), is blatant rebellion against God who creates men and women equal and different.  Training children that this is good in our schools adds insult to injury.  God have mercy.

• Glorification and love of violence in all forms of so-called “entertainment,” embraces what God repeatedly says in His Word that He hates, is sin.  God have mercy.

• Government and politics, that operate on an open platform of greed, lying, name calling, and hatred is in diametric opposition to the Kingdom of God, must certainly be loathsome to the Prince of Peace.  God have mercy.

People ask if the COVID-19 pandemic is the judgment of God.  I cannot say that is directly the judgment of God.  If it is, and if it is intended to bring the US to repentance, it looks like we are in for far worse before it gets better since many (most?) remain committed to our rebellion instead of to repentance.

God have mercy on us by visiting this land with repentance—and let it begin in the worldly Church in our land.

There is only one place of true rest

Truly my soul silently waits for God; From Him comes my salvation.  He only is my rock and my salvation; He is my defense; I shall not be greatly moved.
Psalm 62:1-2

Resting in the Lord is an aspect of trusting in Him.  The more thoroughly we trust Him, the more we can rest in Him.  David writes beautifully of this trusting rest in Psalm 62.  Note the following:

One waits silently in the Lord when there is no doubt that God is always present, always loving, and always superintending for His people.  There is no anxiety or agitation; just quiet waiting.  That is rest.

Why this peaceful rest?  Because God has already proven His loving kindness by saving His people from our greatest foe: our sin.  Truly salvation comes from God.

Because the Lord is the godly man’s rock and salvation, that man can rest.

Because the Lord is the godly man’s defense, he can rest in the Lord, knowing that no matter what comes, he “shall not be greatly moved.”  That is rest.

There are many sources of trouble on life’s path.  But there is only one tried and true sure place of rest.  That place is found only by those who rest in Christ.

May you find your rest in Him.

Hating God is much more common that one might think

He who walks in his uprightness fears the LORD, But he who is perverse in his ways despises Him.
Proverbs 14:2

God’s Word is rather cut and dried in many matters.  Proverbs 14:2 says that those who live “uprightly” do so out of fear of God.  Conversely, those who live “perversely” (not uprightly) do so because instead of fearing the Lord, they despise (hate) Him!  That is rather cut and dried.

Many would protest that how a person lives has little or nothing to do with their fear or hatred of God.  The Bible says otherwise.

There are people who do not know the Lord in a saving manner who, nonetheless, live honest and respectable lives.  Even non-Christians can be “God-fearing” in that limited sense.  Whether these people acknowledge it or not, their relative uprightness is still due to consciences that are informed and influenced by a fear of God’s laws written in their hearts, even if they do not acknowledge the Lord.  They may even claim to be atheists!

The other side of this coin is that those whose lives are not characterized by a desire to live uprightly, do on fact despise God—whether they admit that or not.  Living willfully in opposition to God’s law is a matter of despising the God of those laws.  People who insist that they do not hate God, but who nonetheless dismiss God and His laws, do so because they despise God, whether they do so actively or merely passively.

Let us remember Solomon’s conclusion of the matter in Ecclesiastes 12:13: “Fear God and keep His commandments, For this is man's all.”  And let us be reminded also that “fearing God,” completely means trusting in Christ for salvation; and that those who trust in Christ for salvation are to obey God’s two top laws: “Love God and your neighbor.”

Easter and the Importance of the Lord's Day

Now on the first day of the week, very early in the morning, they, and certain other women with them, came to the tomb bringing the spices which they had prepared.  But they found the stone rolled away from the tomb.
Luke 24:1-2

Easter is why Christians worship on Sunday.  Ever since Moses delivered God’s law to Israel, Saturday, the seventh day of the week was the day of worship, the Sabbath.  The Sabbath was not initiated at the time of the giving of the law, nor was it exclusively for Israel.  The Sabbath was established at creation when God “rested” from His labor of creation.  The Sabbath was mentioned in Exodus 16, four chapters before the giving of the law.  When the Sabbath Law was given as the fourth of the Ten Commandments, the command began with the word “remember.”  It was not new.  Those who lived under the law “worked,” and then rested…

Jesus rose from the dead on Sunday, the first day of the week.  From the time the New Testament was written, Christian worship was on Sunday, the “Lord’s Day”(1 Corinthians 16:1-2, Acts 20:7, Revelation 1:10).  Why the change?  To commemorate the resurrection of Jesus.  Those under grace find “rest” in Christ, and then give attention to good works—not to gain or retain salvation, but because we have received it by Grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone!

The day was changed.  The Sabbath remains.  Let us honor God by keeping His Sabbath commandment and honor Christ Jesus by commemorating His resurrection every Lord’s Day until we enter into the eternal Sabbath Rest, in Heaven.

Jesus: A prophet? Or not?

Palm Sunday April 5, 2020
And when He had come into Jerusalem, all the city was moved, saying, "Who is this?"So the multitudes said, "This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth of Galilee."
Matthew 21:10-11 

Palm Sunday is the starting line for Holy Week. It is also a reminder to Christians to give special contemplation this week to all Christ did in what is arguably the greatest week in human history.  May I suggest that in your Bible readings this week, read at least one of the gospel accounts of that most important week.

When Jesus entered Jerusalem on Palm Sunday there was a great uproar so much so, that those who apparently did not know who Jesus was, asked, "Who is this?"  The response by those who were familiar with Him was, "This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth of Galilee."

That is true—but only partly.  Jesus was the fulfillment of the prophecy (Deuteronomy 18:15) that God would raise up Prophet like [but greater than] Moses.

But was Jesus merely a prophet?

There were people there in Jerusalem who were familiar with Jesus, but didn’t know the whole truth about Him.  There are many like that today as well.  Are you one of them?  So who is Jesus?

Jesus is Almighty God, co-equal and co-eternal with God the Father and God the Holy Spirit.  Jesus is the Son of God.  He became a human being without becoming any less that Almighty God.  As God and Man, He lived a sinless life.  He died on a cross to pay the penalty for the sins of those He came to save.  He rose from the dead to give His people everlasting life.  He ascended into Heaven where He is seated at the right hand of God the Father, where He ever lives to make intercession for His people.  He is our Savior and our exalted Lord and King.  He is coming again and will judge the entire world in righteousness.  And oh yeah, He is also the Prophet.

Do you know Him?  Are you seeking to make Him known?

Can caring for ourselves be a way of caring for others?

Jesus answered him, "The first of all the commandments is: 'Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one.  and you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.' This is the first commandment.  And the second, like it, is this: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no other commandment greater than these."
Mark 12:29-31

Jesus was asked what is the greatest commandment.  His answer reveals a number of incredibly important lessons.  Here are just a four of them:

First, the two commandments Jesus cited are summaries of the entire 10 Commandments.  The greatest commandment is “love God,” which is a summary of the first four of the 10 Commandments.  The second greatest commandment is “love our neighbors,” which is a summary of the last 6 of the 10 Commandments.  Those who dismiss the 10 Commandments as irrelevant are dismissing the two greatest commandments.

Second, which of us is not guilty of breaking both of these greatest commandments?  Fact Check: We are all guilty of breaking both—and all 10!  This is why we need a Savior!

Third, a false teaching that some still affirm as true is that we must love ourselves before we can love our neighbors.  That is not only not what Jesus said, since He gave two, not three commandments; it is at odds with the general teaching of scripture.  The fact is, all of us already love ourselves and we are continually instructed in the importance of humility, which is contrary to the notion of loving ourselves—especially before loving our neighbors.

Fourth, having said that, Albert Mohler recently said that in these days of the Corona Virus, if we are loving our neighbors we must be careful not to get sick—not merely for the sake of our own health, but for the sake of (a) being able to lovingly care for others, and (b) for the sake of not unnecessarily needing others to care for us.

That is not saying that we should view those who need our care as a burden.  It is a reminder that optimally, loving others means giving care, and not receiving care unless we legitimately need it.

Why to take off your grave clothes!

And he who had died came out bound hand and foot with grave clothes, and his face was wrapped with a cloth. Jesus said to them, "Loose him, and let him go."
John 11:44

Lazarus was dead.  Completely.  With no hope of walking out of his grave.

But Jesus spoke the word and Lazarus was raised from the dead.

When Lazarus came out of the grave he was still bound hand and foot with the clothing of a dead man.

But Jesus commanded that he be “loosed,” meaning that no longer dead but alive, Lazarus needed to remove the clothing of death so that he would go forth as one who is alive.

Two simple lessons:

First, Lazarus did nothing to raise himself from the dead.  Why?  Because he was dead and dead people do not, nor can they cause themselves to be alive.  Likewise, salvation is God’s work in and for us.  It is not our work.  At all.  And His work of raising the spiritually dead [saving those who are dead in sin] happens by His “word.”

Second, though Lazarus was no longer dead, but fully alive, being clothed in the apparel of the deceased, he was still displaying the marks of the dead.

The Lord didn’t want this man He had raised from the dead to go about clothed with death.  Just as Jesus commanded that the clothing of death be removed from Lazarus so he could go forth as a fully alive men, the Lord does not want those He has saved to continue walking like those who are still spiritually dead.  Salvation is more than release from the grave.  It is liberation into life.  May we who were dead, but are now alive in Christ, no longer be clothed in the rags of the dead.  Let us instead, shed the vestiges of spiritual death and live in the light of newness of life in Christ.

For those who think of themselves

For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted."
Luke 14:11

Humility is a certain mark of Christian character and virtue.  But do we know what humility really is?

Humility is not thinking lower of oneself, but simply not thinking of oneself.  Or as C.S. Lewis is purported to have said, “Humility is not thinking less of yourself, it's thinking of yourself less.”

True humility is thinking truthfully of oneself.  It doesn’t mean that if you are good at something, you insist that you are no good at it.  Rather, it is doing what you do to the very best of your ability and not thinking or talking about how well you do this or that.  If you are to be complimented, let someone else do it.  And rather than responding that you didn’t do a good job, a simple, “thank you,” or “you are very kind,” is sufficient.

Since humility is about being truthful, let us never forget that ultimately how we measure up to Christ’s standard is most important.  So, without going on and on about how bad you are, go on and on about how great the Lord is—without unnecessary comment on yourself.  After all, we know that many speak of how bad they are as a means of fishing for compliments from those who would happily tell us either that we are not that bad, or even how good we are.

Let us learn also how to pay a person a compliment without crossing the line into flattery, which stokes the fires of pride.

In 1 Peter 5:5-6 the Apostle (making reference to Proverbs 3:34), wrote:  “…be clothed with humility, for "God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble. Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time.”

Everyone is not a child of God

Jesus said to them, "If God were your Father, you would love Me, for I proceeded forth and came from God; nor have I come of Myself, but He sent Me.
John 8:42

A common misunderstanding is that all human beings are children of God, as though being created by God makes one a child of God.  It does not.  Only those who believe or trust in Christ alone for salvation from sin are children of God (John 1:12).*

And according to Jesus in John 8:42, those who are children of God love Jesus.  Conversely, those who do not love Jesus are not children of God.

Let us examine our hearts and lives regarding our love for Jesus.  No one loves Jesus perfectly, but the children of God do love Him pervasively.  Let us grow in our love for Jesus by meditating on His love for us.  As we understand His vast and measureless love for us, how can we not love Him more and more in return?

Let us pray for people we know who profess love for Jesus, yet seem to love the world more than they love Him.  May God either reveal to them that they have not received Christ and need to, or that they too need to grow in their love for Christ.

* Jesus spoke of people being our neighbors or our brothers and sisters.  Neighbors are all people around us who are not our brothers or sisters.  Brothers and sisters are those who, with us, are children of God.

There are no contradictions in the Bible!

He who is not with Me is against Me… Luke 11:23

For he who is not against us is on our side. Mark 9:40

These two sayings by Jesus seem at first glance to be contradictory.  What do we do with such passages?

Since God cannot contradict Himself, His Word cannot contradict itself.

So, where there appears to be a contradiction, since there cannot be any contradictions in God’s Word, we must dig deeper to understand the apparent contradiction.  There are two keys that unlock this apparent contradiction.

The first is discerning what is meant by being for or against.  It is possible for believers to be in agreement or disagreement both in essential matters and in non essential matters.

That being true, we can easily understand that Jesus was saying that if one is not for Him in essentials (e.g., the gospel), one is truly against Him.  Yet we may differ on lesser matters and still be His disciples (e.g., modes of baptism).

The second key is that in Luke 11:23, this issue is being for or against Christ Himself.  Not being for Christ is tantamount to being against Christ. In Mark 9:40 the issue is not being for or against Christ, but being for or against others of Christ’s disciples.  While it is desirable that Christ’s disciples agree as much as possible, we are not always in agreement with one another.  Disagreements between believers doesn’t mean we are on opposing sides concerning Christ.

Why would we follow our hearts!

He who trusts in his own heart is a fool, But whoever walks wisely will be delivered.
Proverbs 28:26

One of the most common and popular tidbits of counsel given by so many is “Follow Your Heart” (or any number of derivations of it).  This counsel, that comes from nearly everywhere, is virtually agreed upon universally.  But no matter who says it, how it is said, or in what context, it is bad counsel.  It might even be diabolical.

Why?

Because “the heart is deceitful, above all things and desperately wicked,” says the Word of God (Jeremiah 17:9).

Because those who trust in [and follow] their own hearts are fools says Proverbs 28:26.

Rather than follow our hearts, we need to know God’s heart, as revealed in God’s Word, and follow His, discarding outright anything that percolates up from within our hearts that is not in lockstep with what is in God’s heart!

Now when our hearts are captivated and led by the Holy Spirit per the Holy Scriptures, sure, we can follow our hearts—but the fact is, in that case, we are not following our hearts but God’s.

Please do not follow your heart.  Please do not tell your children to follow their hearts.  Please be discerning enough to know the difference between what is from our hearts and what is from God’s heart.

The good news is that when we walk wisely in Christ [remembering that 1 Corinthians 1:24 clearly states that “Christ is the power of God and the wisdom of God”], we will be delivered.  Delivered from what?  From all sorts of error, including the error of “following our hearts.”

The world is never our friend

…Herod was afraid of John [the Baptist], knowing that he was a righteous and holy man, and he kept him safe. And when he heard him, he was very perplexed; but he used to enjoy listening to him.
Mark 6:20 (NASB)

Before you read another word, take note: I am not saying that John tried to be friends with Herod.  Not only did John not try to make friends with Herod, John rebuked Herod for sin and called him to repent (Mark 6:18).

Nevertheless, Herod “enjoyed listening to John the Baptist” and even afforded the prophet a measure of protection (v.20).  But when Herod feared losing face with the wife he sinfully married, and with his political cronies, Herod folded (v.26).  He ordered John’s execution (v.27).

Let Christians beware!  Friendship with the world only lasts as long as the world “enjoys” us.  When it is unpopular or less than politically expedient, the world will turn on Christians in a heartbeat—regardless of how we may have been favorably treated previously.

When the Church adopts worldly methods, thinking the world will like us, we are fools.  When the Church enjoys the favor and even protection of godless politicians, let us not be complacent, taking that favor for granted.  The instant we no longer serve a politician’s re-election plans, that same politician will sever our heads from our bodies.

The Church, and every individual Christian must live to serve Jesus Christ and to please Him alone.  He is the only one who will never turn on us.

Our marching orders are to preach Christ to the world, not to make friends with the world.

God is our Creator as well as our Savior!

The earth is the LORD's, and all its fullness, The world and those who dwell therein. For He has founded it upon the seas, And established it upon the waters.
Psalm 24:1-2

As Christians our first thought regarding why we worship God is because He saved us.  Indeed, worship God our Savior, for He is a great Savior, and great is our salvation.

But is it not also true that even before He saved us, He is God, our Creator?  And is it not true that the reason we needed to be saved was because we rebelled against the Creator by breaking His law and sinning against Him?  Indeed.

Besides God Himself, everything else exists because God created everything.  Does that not also call out for worship?

So while taking nothing away from worshiping God our Savior, let us not neglect also to worship God our Creator.

People need to judge Christianity on the merits of the gospel and the person of Christ—not on the merits of Christ’s followers

And the Lord said, “To what then shall I liken the men of this generation, and what are they like? They are like children sitting in the marketplace and calling to one another, saying: ‘We played the flute for you, And you did not dance; We mourned to you, And you did not weep.’ For John the Baptist came neither eating bread nor drinking wine, and you say, ‘He has a demon.’ The Son of Man has come eating and drinking, and you say, ‘Look, a glutton and a winebibber, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’”
Luke 7:31-34

Non-believers, and scoffers in particular, will find reasons to reject the gospel.  Those reasons often make little or no sense, but in the mind of one who does not want to believe, their reasons are “enough, thank you!”  Jesus pointed this out in a way that is as true today as it was then.

The scoffing non-believers in Jesus’ day rejected John the Baptist because he was too austere for them.  Meanwhile, they rejected Jesus because He was not righteous enough for them.  They wanted it both ways and there are people today who do the same thing.

They reject the gospel because “Christians (so they say) are too strict,” or as they say, “too self-righteous.”  Meanwhile they also reject the gospel because, “Christians are a bunch of hypocrites!” because we aren’t sinless.  Both accusations are sometimes true, while at the same time neither is true, and neither has anything to do with rejecting the gospel.

But since people simply refuse to believe, they comfort themselves with the erroneous thought that their unbelief is the fault of Christians.

Two take-aways:

(1) People need to judge Christianity on the merits of the gospel and the person of Christ—not on the merits of Christ’s followers. 

(2) We Christians must live our lives striving to follow Jesus, while encouraging people to judge Jesus—not us.

How can David write of his righteousness?

O my soul, you have said to the LORD, "You are my Lord, My goodness is nothing apart from You."
Psalm 16:2

Christians often question how David could speak of his righteousness (e.g., Psalm 7:8).  David is thought to be self-righteous and not understanding either his own sinfulness or the universal sinfulness of all mankind. Three lessons:

First, In some cases, David was pleading “not guilty” to a particular charge that had been made against him.  If I am in court, charged with a crime I did not commit, I will plead “not guilty.  That plea is not a declaration of sinlessness—it’s just “not guilty” of a particular charge.

Second, there are plenty of other Psalms in which David is clear about owning his own sin and guilt before God.  Psalm 51 is a classic example.  So is Psalm 16:2 in which David declares that [His] goodness is nothing apart from [the Lord]”

Third, scripture does teach that those who are saved, born again, “in Christ” are securely wrapped in Christ’s flawless righteousness, and therefore secure.  In Psalm 16:5 David declares that God “is the portion of [David’s] inheritance,” and that God “maintained his lot.”  This is another way of saying that David was not trusting in anything in himself, but solely on the Lord and His righteousness.

"Doubting," or simply "missing"?

The other disciples therefore said to [Thomas], “We have seen the Lord.” So he said to them, “Unless I see in His hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and put my hand into His side, I will not believe.”
John 20:25
Then He said to Thomas, “Reach your finger here, and look at My hands; and reach your hand here, and put it into My side. Do not be unbelieving, but believing.” And Thomas answered and said to Him, “My Lord and my God!” Jesus said to him, “Thomas, because you have seen Me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”
John 20:27-29

“Ninety percent of discipleship is showing up.”  That is what my former pastor told me in 1982.  Each of my 35 years of pastoral ministry convinces me more of the accuracy of that statement.

“Doubting Thomas,” as he is often called, wasn’t with Jesus and the other disciples on the Sunday evening when Jesus rose from the dead.  Those who were there encountered the risen Savior and believed.  They told Thomas about it and he said he would only believe if he could touch Jesus.  On the following Sunday, the disciples were assembled again, and again Jesus appeared.  This time Thomas was present.  He encountered Jesus and he too believed.

Thomas’s problem wasn’t merely that he doubted.  It was that he was missing.

One of the ordinary means of grace God has ordained for our spiritual growth is showing up.  That means that the Christian who really wants to grow spiritually will, at the very minimum, be in church every Sunday unless hindered by health or being out of town.  This does not mean that “going to church makes one a Christian.”  It means that going to church (every Sunday) is where we experience corporate worship, hear God’s Word preached, receive the Lord’s Supper,  pray together, and give and receive encouragement from one another.  Those who are serious about spiritual growth do not want to miss any opportunity to show up to experience those essential factors.

And while we are thinking of it, “every Sunday” is the barest essential.  In addition, we do not want to miss other times when the body meets.  Those include Thursday evening worship, prayer meetings, Home Fellowships, being in a discipleship group, and yes, even work days.

How serious are you about spiritual growth?  How much do you desire to never miss an opportunity to realize that growth?  What changes might you need to make to make that a reality?  Are you willing to make those changes?

"My God isn't like that!"

For You are not a God who takes pleasure in wickedness, Nor shall evil dwell with You. The boastful shall not stand in Your sight; You hate all workers of iniquity. You shall destroy those who speak falsehood; The LORD abhors the bloodthirsty and deceitful man.
Psalm 5:4-6

These words from Psalm 5 do not fit with many people’s ideas about God—including a great many who call themselves Christians.  There are those who believe all people are basically good.  Why would God say this about Himself if that were true.  Others believe that though we are not perfect, God forgives everybody of everything.  If that were so, why would Jesus have spoken so much about Hell, and why the word picture of an eternal lake of fire in Revelation 20?  Still others think God will take the people who are better than most, or those whose good deeds outweigh their bad deeds to Heaven—and certainly these imagine themselves among the good people.

Yet God’s Word, the Bible, says God hates the wicked and the bloodthirsty.  Most are okay with that.  But what about the boastful (proud)?  And those who lie?  Which of us hasn’t?  Well, God sees all of us in these few verses because elsewhere He says, “All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.” (Romans 3:23)

There is only One who is good: Jesus, because He is God.  And yet on the cross, “He who knew no sin became sin for us that we might become the righteousness of God in Him” (2 Corinthians 5:21).  Think of that in light of the words of Psalm 5.

While on the cross, as our sins were poured out on Jesus, God took no pleasure in Him.  He was not allowed to dwell with His Father.  God hated Him.  He was destroyed as a liar.  God abhorred Him.

Jesus willingly endure all that for those who trust in Him so that we may be embraced by the Father as only Jesus deserves to be embraced.

Glory!

Who associated with whom? And when?

Then Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan to be baptized by him. And John tried to prevent Him, saying, “I need to be baptized by You, and are You coming to me?” But Jesus answered and said to him, “Permit it to be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” Then he allowed Him [consented].
Matthew 3:13-15

John’s baptism was not Christian [believers’] baptism as we practice baptism this side of the cross and resurrection.  While believers’ baptism proclaims our association with Christ, John’s baptism was a baptism of repentance.  In that day and in that culture, Gentile converts to Judaism were baptized as a sign of that conversion.  For a Jew to be baptized by John was nothing less than an acknowledgement that the person was no nearer to God than a pagan.  Why then did Jesus request to be baptized by John?  He had no sins for which to repent, and He certainly was not estranged from God.

As believers we get baptized to declare our association with Christ.  Jesus was baptized to declare His association with the sinners He came to save.  His baptism was necessary to fulfill all righteousness, since every sinner He came to save must “repent and be baptized” (Acts 2:38).

When we are baptized as believers, we are declaring our faith in Christ and our association with the sinless Savior who condescended to publicly declare His association with the sinful people He came to save.

If you have been baptized as a believer, think of your association with the Savior who stooped to associate with you.

If you are a believer and have not been baptized, please speak with one of the elders.  We can help shepherd you to “fulfill all righteousness” in your baptism.

The boy Jesus and the ordinary means of grace

Then He went down with them and came to Nazareth, and was subject to them, but His mother kept all these things in her heart. And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men. Luke 2:51-52

Sometime after the first Christmas (it may well have been two years later), Joseph took Mary and Jesus away from Bethlehem, to Egypt (Matthew 2:13-15) to escape Herod’s maniacal murder of the male children, two years and younger, in the district of Bethlehem (Matthew 2:16-18).  When God instructed Joseph to return to Israel after the danger had passed, they went home to Nazareth (Matthew 2:19-23).  At that point, life returned to “normal.”  What did “normal” look like for Jesus?  And how does that instruct us?

• The boy Jesus, though fully God, subjected Himself to His parents.  That is to be normal.

• The boy Jesus, though He was God, grew and matured.  That is to be normal.

• The boy Jesus, though He was God grew in wisdom.  In His deity, He is always the fountainhead of all wisdom.  But in His humanity, He needed to mature in wisdom.  That is to be normal.

• The boy Jesus, though He was God, grew in stature (that is, physically).  As God, the universe can fit in the palm of His hand, but in His humanity, His body grew and matured.  That is to be normal.

• The boy Jesus, though He was God, grew in favor with God.  Though the second Member of the triune God, co-equal and co-eternal with the Father and the Spirit, in His humanity, Jesus had to learn the scriptures, how to pray, and how to live in obedience (Hebrews 5:8).  That is to be normal.

• The boy Jesus, though He was God, grew in favor with man.  As God, what did He not know about social interaction?  But as a human, Jesus grew and matured socially.  That is to be normal.

Oh, the mystery of God become man!

Oh, the necessity for us, like the boy Jesus, to grow and mature!