The Path to Forgiveness is Paved with Love
“By steadfast love and faithfulness iniquity is atoned for.” Proverbs 16:6
Forgiveness. Everyone wants it. Most people suppress their maddening need of it. But there it is, the very idea of it taunting us. Can it be? I think we feel our need of forgiveness more than usual these days. Now it’s one infraction and you’re done, your entire life cancelled. Is there really such a thing as forgiveness? Reconciliation? Restoration? Glory to God in heaven, there is.
But it wasn’t cheap. It was hard won. It took the blood of the only perfect person who ever lived to buy it. He was murdered while still a young man in the flower of life. His only crime was saying who he was and where he came from. For this loving man came from heaven. Love sent him to suffer our cosmic punishment, to die in our place—which he did, most gladly, for us.
Whether you believe Jesus is real or not changes nothing. He is real. He really lived, really died, and really rose again. There is real forgiveness, full and free, from God in heaven, today. Salvation exists. And it was bought with love, very much love. God’s own love and loyalty to his undeserving creatures. That’s us. Wrath is the judgment we deserve; love opened the way of escape. Fly you fools to Christ today.
Reformed Theology teaches us how to Grub
I remember it like it was yesterday. I was reading Herman Bavinck’s Reformed Dogmatics on the divine right of man to eat meat, when my inner neander was awakened. Never has the might of the chicken wing jones descended upon humanity with such force. Perhaps it is Reformed Theology’s rather positive view of creation and its lawful pleasures that struck me. In any case, Truth’s arrow had sped to its mark, and I was conquered. It seems I was not alone:
“Calvin and most Reformed theologians were of the opinion that eating meat was permitted to humans even before the flood and the fall.” (2:575)
Meat is amazing. Like all types of food. Whatever our chosen portions, we spend enough of our lives chowing down grub to learn how to do it well. This is where Reformed Theology offers herself as our hostess. Once she has marked gluttony and unthankfulness as the cosmic atrocities they are, she teaches us to eat freely and fully.
God’s goodwill teaches us to eat freely: he beckons us partake and experience his goodness in deliciousness. His bounty teaches us to eat fully: every color, aroma, texture, and flavor speaks the hospitality of our Maker. It’s personal; he provides you with the very items you eat. Savor every bite and step away from the table satisfied with God’s goodness to you. In this we have a living emblem of faith in Jesus, who is to us True Food.
Systematic Theology is your Friend
In Christ we have many friends: other believers, angels, creation, providence, &c. The Bible is also our friend in Christ, and in him its contents belong to us (Deut 29:29). This includes the words of Scripture, but it goes beyond them to their teachings and implications. All matters of revealed truth are friendly to those who follow the Lamb.
Systematic theology (like theology in general) gets a bad rap. Some call it man-made. It is intellectual, Western, or speculative. But the Bible tells us a lot, and systematic theology does us the service of organizing its contents and showcasing its treasures. While Biblical Theology plugs us into the live-nerve of the story of Scripture to encounter truth in its native habitat, its sister discipline, systematic theology, hands us fully-orbed doctrines. And they are wonderful.
Part of Adam’s job was to unlock the potential of creation. Our agricultural, medicinal, and technological achievements bring out the hidden treasures of God’s world. In the same way, systematic theology brings out the hidden treasures of God’s word. It mines the Bible, running its fingers along the subterranean veins of truth, plundering their circuits, and assembling the beautiful things they form. These structures help us think through who we are, what we’re doing, and what can and should be done in Christ. I’m sure we could all use a friend like that.
A Good Reason to Join a Church
Joining a church is a good thing. So almost any reason for doing so is a good reason, right? Well, not exactly. Because joining a church is one of the great things in life, less than great reasons for doing so will usually set you up for failure.
Don’t join a church because it’s cool.
There are some cool churches out there, with cool pastors. But social status enhancement is not a good reason to join a church.
Don’t join a church because your friends go there.
It’s fun to attend church with friends, and if it works out that way, very good. It can be a nice touch, but it’s a poor reason for making your choice.
Don’t join a church because they have great programs.
You are not joining a spiritual country club. If you choose a church that happens to have solid events for everyone in the family, excellent. But it’s not a good reason on its own.
Don’t join a church because it agrees with your list of important doctrines.
This is actually a trick. Choosing a church based on your pet doctrines is a sure way to fall into the trap of trying to find (your idea of) a perfect church. It doesn’t exist.
Don’t join a church because you think you can help.
Joining a church because you think it needs help, and you think you can improve it, is actually not a good reason for doing so. Trying to find a project church, or somewhere you hope you can rise quickly into leadership, is a terrible reason to join.
So what’s a good reason, pastor? I’ll give you one.
Join a church because you think you can be helped by it.
Choose to fellowship where you honestly think you can grow as a Christian. Join a church to be spiritually ministered to, to be fed the great Food of Jesus Christ and him crucified, and to be shepherded in godliness. For this is what church is (Eph 4:11-16).
Why Christ-Centered Preaching Matters
In general, Christ-centered preaching is preaching that makes Jesus and his finished work for sinners the main emphasis of every sermon. There are different ways of doing it, but that’s what it is. Now, why does it matter?
1. It’s the Reformed thing to do.
Honestly, do we need any other reason? The preaching of Jesus Christ and him crucified was the touchstone of the Protestant Reformation. “The entire Scripture,” said Martin Luther, “deals only with Christ everywhere.” This attitude lives on as the distinctly Reformed oomph of the preaching of John Calvin and his successors, especially the English Puritans. The preaching emphasis of Calvin is the preaching emphasis of the Reformed: “Christ clothed in the gospel.” This has given life to the tradition.
2. It points your faith in the right direction.
Our faith has to land somewhere; it must have an object. We don’t trust blindly to nothingness by well wishing (there are plenty who do). Our trust has a rock to rest upon, and the Rock is Christ. We don’t trust God in vague generality: we trust him in particular, as he has revealed himself to us, in his Son. We trust in a Person, the Lord Jesus Christ. If you aren’t sitting under the sound of his finished work every week, you will find your trust drawn to other things—most likely, you and what you do. Preaching that doesn’t center on Christ pushes listeners back on themselves, and that is the definition of spiritual misery and bondage.
3. It powers the Christian life.
Your life is powered by Christ-centered preaching. It must be. Your spiritual feast on Sunday morning ought to be hefty enough to sustain you. Yes, we all need prayerful Bible reading and family worship. But you can go in the strength of a good Christ-honoring sermon for more than 40 hours. With Spirit-meals like these in your spiritual belly, you can run freely in the way of God’s commandments. It’s easy to obey him when you know how much he loves you and all the wonderful things he’s done for you in his Son.
Six Steps to a Happy Life
Walking with God is what we were made for. But once we are secure in Christ, how do we do it? Here are six tips for walking well.
1. Be Humble
View people with respect. If you have what they don’t, remember how you got it. It was given to you. Why do you boast like it wasn’t?
2. Tell the Truth
Speech is a marvelous ability. It is beautified by truth-telling. Always be honest, no matter what you think will happen if you do.
3. Care for People
Help them. Seek their good. Protect life and help it flourish. Stand for justice.
4. Plan Good Things
Think ahead. Make plans. It is the glory of the intellect. Hatch plots for good stuff and see what happens.
5. Plant Your Feet
Fickle winds and waves will always try to knock you off course. Stand firm and make every step sure.
6. Tell the Truth More
Tell the truth about people. Honor them with what you say. Be reality’s hype man.
7. (Bonus!) Make Peace
Help people live in harmony. Especially those who call God Father.
Good tips, eh? I got them from an Old Book.
There are six things that the Lord hates,
seven that are an abomination to him:
haughty eyes, a lying tongue,
and hands that shed innocent blood,
a heart that devises wicked plans,
feet that make haste to run to evil,
a false witness who breathes out lies,
and one who sows discord among brothers.
- Proverbs 6:16-19
How to have a Great Sunday
Sunday is called the Lord’s Day, and the Lord’s Day is the most important day of the week. But it doesn’t always seem like that, does it? Here are some tips for great Sundays ahead.
Know what you’re getting into
Sunday is the first day of the week. Every Sunday is a new beginning, and at the beginning of the beginning, we celebrate him who is “the beginning, the firstborn from the dead” (Col 1:18). Jesus conquered sin and death, and we have church to celebrate. It’s a spiritual party. This is what the early church did. This is what the apostles did. This is the way.
Bring your burdens
Don’t try to put a good face on Sunday morning by leaving your burdens behind. Bring them! Bring them all. The Lord knows your path; trust him to provide just what you need in the gathering. Talk to others as well, and ask for prayer. In all things come ready to unload your burdens to Christ at the throne of grace. Cast your Sunday cares upon him, for he cares for you.
Expect something
Sunday is about getting stuff from God. Are you surprised by that? Did you think it was the other way around? Yes, we give God praise and worship and glory and honor when we gather. But Sunday is really about what we get, not what we give. The bountiful Spirit is at work in word, prayer and sacrament when we get together on Sundays. He uses these means of grace to give us the grace and mercy and love and power we need. So show up with expectations.
Treat it as the main event of the day
In the highly-scheduled West, Sunday can be just another day to do things. Let’s be honest, sometimes we like getting church over with and out of the way so we can do what we really want. But it should be just the opposite. Church is the main event on Sunday; it’s all the other stuff that we need to get out of the way. Then we can really enjoy the celebration and rest in Christ all day long. So finish what you need to finish before Sunday. Get up, get ready, get expectant, and get to church, and watch yourself grow for years to come.
If you don’t know, now you know
“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge.” Proverbs 1:7
We don’t really know anything until we know it in light of the smothering reality of God’s existence. It’s only notions, or foggy conceptions, before the fear of God enters in and sits upon the throne of thought. Apart from him we can know nothing. We can be aware of things, but we can’t have any real conception of their meaning. Not without him who gives meaning to all.
Knowledge is more than storing facts in your brain. True knowledge is experience, the experience of truth. And no truth—not the smallest bit of genuine learning—can be tasted or seen without the fear of God. The fear of God is the pool into which we must immerse everything in order to make real, living knowledge.
Does God terrify you? Are you scared to be his enemy? This is the beginning. After we find safety in the finished work of God’s Son, we become scared to run away from him. I trust the God I fear, says the Christian, and I fear the God I trust. My Heavenly Father is the living God, and the living God is my Heavenly Father. This is the beginning, middle, and end of all knowing and doing, and it is hidden for us in Christ.
Fuel 🔥
“[We] cast lots for the wood offering.” Nehemiah 10:34
The animals are prepared, the priests are ready, and the altar is waiting. But we need something else before we begin. What are we missing? Fire. To bring the bulls and the goats, or the wine and the grain, is a good duty. But someone has to bring the wood, and that doesn’t seem so special. In times old the Gibeonites brought it (Josh 9:27). Now they cast lots for it.
Fire needs fuel. The Lord Jesus gave himself as fuel for God’s judgment on our sin. Just as Abraham laid the firewood on Isaac’s back as they walked to the mountain, so the Lord Jesus brought the judgment wood to the hill when he carried his own tree. He was the vessel of fire and satisfaction, “who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God” (Hebrews 9:14).
The Spirit ignites the fires of God upon the free offering. We need that fire to be living sacrifices to our Heavenly Father. We have our doctrine squared away; we are walking in his ways. But where is the power? Maybe we’re holding our hearts back from God, not really trusting him. When we entrust ourselves to our kind and faithful Creator, the winds of his Spirit will fan the spark of Christ’s love in our hearts, and our lives will become brilliant for God.
Be Not Afraid
“Remember [those] who wanted to make me afraid.” Nehemiah 6:14
The fear of God is a grace to be treasured and celebrated wherever it is found. When we do this, we stand against the tide of the world around us. But when we take our stand, we must perch our doctrinal momentum upon the rock of Christ rather than lean it entirely against the error. In other words, we need a biblically balanced understanding of fear. We, in our zeal for the fear of God, may forget that fearfulness is severely sinful. It reveals a puny trust in God, and that is most certainly not what the Bible means when it says Fear God.
People who don’t fear God are filled with a great many fears of their own. They don’t know this, but if they got the fear of God it would set itself against the others and swallow them up like the staff of Moses among the magicians of Egypt. These kinds of fears are evil. Did you know that the evil one tempts you with fear? In fact, it’s one of his chief techniques. What set the wills of Adam and Eve in motion toward the fruit? Was it not a temptation to fear missing out on something that God was keeping from them? You may be sure that the temptation in the Garden was fear before it was desire.
The thousand temptations you face today are not a random barrage of unrelated fiery darts. Satan is strategic, and he places his temptations strategically in line. He sways us off balance with fear and then swoops in from an another side, tempting us to sinful desire, or anger, or bitterness. This is how the powers of evil try to splinter the armies of God, even as Morgoth set his wiles against the first inhabitants of Middle Earth “by fear and lies.” And the two always go together: the lie feeds the fear, and the fear sets us up for the knockout.
Friend, is it possible that fear could be governing you? Fear of what people will think of you. Fear of missing out on things God won’t let you have because he doesn’t really want you to be happy. Earthly fears about safety and comfort. Even the fear of displeasing God can be perverted and tormented into a paralyzing and evil fear for a conscientious Christian. Let’s defy this kind of fear. It’s a main weapon of the enemy of our souls, and a great fuel to the sin within us. Snuggle into a real sense of God’s love for you in the gospel and fear will meet its match, for “there is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear” (1 John 4:18).