Category Archives: Gospel

January 7, 2015 · 8:28 pm

On Suffering and Bruised Heels

I recently read again God’s curse upon the serpent in the Garden of Eden:

And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel (Genesis 3:15).

This verse is known in theology as the “protoevangelium” – the first proclamation of the gospel. In the context, the serpent has beguiled Eve and she gave the fruit of the forbidden tree to Adam, and he ate of it contrary to God’s word. In separating himself from God, mankind made a covenant with death. He chose fellowship with the devil rather than fellowship with God.

In this first proclamation of the gospel, one thing sticks out at you. The gospel was first spoken as a curse upon the serpent. Men and women were not created originals. they were created to be image bearers of God. When they disobeyed God, they made a league with the devil and became enslaved to the kingdom of the devil and all the sin, misery and death that are operative in this kingdom. Being in bondage, man cannot free himself. In order for there to be good news for man, the power of the devil must be broken. God promises the serpent that his kingdom will not last; his head will be bruised; there will always be a remnant – a “seed” – who will be at war with the serpent’s seed.

We know, having the complete revelation of God, that this defeat of Satan came at the hands of the True Seed of the Woman, our Lord Jesus. But how was this victory achieved? Jesus defeated the devil, not with armies and weapons, but by suffering the death of the cross. The covenant with death must be broken, and it could only be broken when it was carried out. So the Son of God tasted death for man that the power of death might be broken.

14 Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil; 15 And deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage (Hebrews 2:14-15).

The crushing of the head of the devil bruises the heel of the Warrior. Notice what Hebrews says. Through suffering the death of the cross – seemingly the defeat of the Seed – the warrior destroyed the devil (him who had the power of death).

This is central to our faith. We do not pity the One on the Cross, we marvel at His love for us! We wonder at the power of the one who entered into battle with death and conquered it! Jesus was not a passive victim on the cross, carried away by circumstances out of His control. Rather He was a conquering hero, waging war against the kingdom of the devil, casting out the Strong Man, and ushering in the kingdom of Heaven. And He will reign until He has put all enemies under His feet!

This is also the same Lord who says to each one of us, “Take up your cross and follow me.”

Being united to Christ, we also do battle with the kingdom of the devil. Being united to Christ, we are assured victory. And being united to Christ, the war will also bruise our heels.

This changes how we should view suffering. We too often ask the wrong questions and miss the point. We ask, “Why do bad things happen to good people?” “If God loves me, why are there so many difficulties in life?” “Does God have a purpose in suffering? What is that purpose?”

When we suffer – chronic, unrelenting pain; reproach and insults; doubts; illness; battles with our sinful nature; persecution – it is natural to wonder why.

Why do Christians suffer so much in this world?

Because they are doing battle with the devil. Because they belong to Jesus Christ. Because they are conquering heroes in Christ. Because the devil never lets go of his kingdom without bruising the heel. When the heel is bruised, Satan’s head is crushed.

What a wonderful thought! Our suffering is not simply meaningless. It isn’t because God is angry with us. It isn’t because God won’t interfere with man’s free will (what hogwash!). It is because we are doing battle with the devil and we are winning.

The devil was in his greatest danger when Jesus was in his greatest pain. When Jesus gave up the ghost, the devil’s power was destroyed. It is one of the greatest paradoxes of our faith. Jesus defeated the greatest created power by becoming weak, hungry, tired, despised. He crushed Satan’s head by obedience to the death of the cross as a common criminal.

He calls us, as Christians, to take up that cross and follow. As the hymn says, “We are soldiers of the cross.” As “little Christs” (Christians) we follow our Lord. The path to resurrection and victory is through suffering and death, for from the very beginning, God purposed to destroy the kingdom of Satan by bruising the heel of the Seed of the Woman, and we are all partakers with Christ in His death as well as His victory.

For this reason, God promises the church in Rome that He will bruise Satan under their feet (Romans 16:20). The church was suffering, as it always had. But God promised them that something far greater was going on. Satan was being put under their feet!

Why did their feet hurt? Because they were crushing Satan’s head.

Why do we suffer on this earth? Because in our suffering we are destroying the power of the devil.

Don’t view your hard times as signs of God’s displeasure. Instead view them as opportunities to crush Satan’s head. You are doing battle with an ancient enemy and you WILL prevail by the power of Jesus, who has already assured the victory.

But it will bruise your heel. You will walk with an uplifted head, a song in your heart, a glitter in the eye, and a limp in the feet.

And the God of Peace will bruise Satan’s head under that bruised heel. It’s a promise.

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December 1, 2014 · 9:40 pm

The Meaning of Christmas

It’s inevitable this time of year.  People seem obsessed with “putting Christ back into Christmas”.  They seem to mean by this that we should put Nativity scenes up instead of Christmas trees, and that we should rant incessantly about spelling the holiday “Christmas” instead of “xmas”. Soon we will be asked to share memes if we agree that Jesus is the reason for the season.

Even now, perhaps there are some that are concerned that I might be taking too light a view on changing Christmas to “xmas”.  No, I’m not. “X” is simply a Greek chi, and for 2,000 years it has stood for the name “Christ.” Everyone relax.

I agree that at many times the holiday seems overdone, vain and aesthetically offensive. Christians are not immune to this charge.  There are only so many times that you can hear “Jingle Bell Rock” or “Mary did you know?”

On the one hand, people become obsessed with gifts, wrapping presents and staying busy to ‘get into the Christmas spirit”, and the marketplace takes advantage.  On the other hand are those who decry the commercialism of Christmas, and shout to “remember the true meaning of Christmas”.  Movies and stories abound, teaching us that the true meaning of Christmas is family, doing good to others, sharing, and basically remembering that we can make a difference with sacrificial works and putting others, primarily children, first.  

But did God send His Son into the world in the womb of the virgin in order to teach us better ways of being better people?  Did God really become flesh and dwell among us so that we could go to Walmart and buy plastic idols to put on our front lawn, patting ourselves on the back for putting Christ back into Christmas?  Not according to the Bible.

People have tried for thousands of years to “make a difference” and after a few well-meaning spurts of outward displays of charity they  immediately return to their vain, shallow, cruel and abusive lives.  The fact is that we are all so hopeless, powerless, vain, shallow, self-centered and sinful that there was absolutely no hope in humanity whatsoever.  Every single one of us from the fall of man until now is subject to death and misery.  We aren’t smart enough, loving enough, strong enough or good enough to do anything about it.

But our natural religion says that we can fix this mess by greater motivation, or bigger acts of charity.  We can make a difference by doing better things better, by loving more, by “remembering the true meaning of Christmas all year round”, or by electing people smart enough to fix all of our problems.

It never works and never has.  But as a dog returns to his vomit, we return to our folly.  Every year at Christmas we offer our incense to the plastic gods of our self-righteousness, pat ourselves on the back for being basically good people, cry over “It’s a Wonderful Life”, and try to convince ourselves that we really can make a difference if we just try harder.

But what if we really aren’t good enough?  What if there really isn’t anything that we can do to make a difference?  What do we do when something happens in our lives that leaves us devastated, and there isn’t anything that we can or could have done about it?

What sacrifice will you offer to your gods that will take away the pain, misery and emptiness of the vanity of life?

Now we can begin to see the true meaning of Christmas.  The angel told Joseph “You shall call his name Jesus, for he shall save his people from their sins”.

It isn’t about the spirit of giving.  It isn’t about the message of Santa inside of each one of us.  It isn’t about our basic goodness and kindness, for we have none.  The fact is this:  We are so hopeless, vile and corrupt that there is no possibility of saving ourselves in any way.  If there is any hope for man, God must save him.  So God became flesh in the womb of the virgin Mary in order to take the curse of death upon himself.  He gives us His righteousness, for we have none of our own.  And He takes our vile rags on Himself, dying under God’s curse, so that we might live.

When He rose from the dead, He showed the world that the curse was finally taken away, and He now reigns until all of His enemies are put under His feet.  The last enemy to be destroyed is death.

Fellow professing Christians, please quit fretting about “secular humanists” or Hollywood taking Christ out of Christmas.  We have been managing the mangling of the gospel just fine without their help.  When we send the message that it’s about nativity scenes, “xmas”, Merry Christmas versus Happy Holidays, giving and works of charity, all we are doing is enforcing man’s natural religion: that we can make a difference by our efforts and good will.

If we could have made a difference in this world, Jesus would not have had to come. The baby in the manger was the eternal, almighty, glorious Son of God, “whose goings forth are of old”. Instead of teaching us the inherent goodness of man, it teaches the opposite. We were so lost and helpless that it came to this. God became flesh and came to save us. He became poor, despised, rejected of men; a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief in our place.  That was what we deserved – the outer darkness of hell. But Jesus took it upon Himself. Every child but one was born to live. Jesus was born to die.

Only when we get that figured out can we eat our bread with joy, drink our wine with a merry heart, live joyfully with our wives, and do what we can to relieve some of the suffering around us.  But this is only possible if we aren’t trying to save the world.  God will not give his glory to another, and there is only One Savior.  We will never save the world.  We will never HELP God save the world.  Only Jesus is strong enough, wise enough, good enough and loving enough.  All we can do is offer our lives to Him with gratitude and awe.  All we can do is wait and see the salvation of the Lord.

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September 15, 2014 · 7:55 pm

Whom Will You Serve?

8 Again, the devil taketh him up into an exceeding high mountain, and sheweth him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them;
9 And saith unto him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me.
10 Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.
(Matt. 4:8-10)

When Jesus was born, the angels told Mary that God would give Him the kingdom of His father David.  Jesus came to do the will of His Father in Heaven and He knew that this will would lead Him to the cross.  Only by suffering the death of the cross would He inherit the kingdom through the resurrection from the dead.

The kingdoms of the world had been given into the hand of Satan as a just punishment for sin.  When Adam fell, mankind became slaves of sin and misery and under the bondage of the devil.

If Jesus was to “plunder the kingdom of Satan”, Satan must first be bound (Matt. 12:29-30).  In order for Satan’s kingdom to be plundered, Jesus must deal with sin.  The only way to deal with sin was to go to the cross and suffer the pangs and torments of hell in the place of His people.

But when Jesus was in the wilderness, Satan offered Him another way.  “I will concede every kingdom to you.  You can usher in peace, prosperity, long life and endless joy – just fall down and worship me, and all this will be yours. No cross.  No wrathful God to deal with.  Just me.”

And so it always is.  He offered the same thing to Adam.  He offers the same thing to every believer.  “Just fall down, serve me, and I will give you your heart’s desire.”

“Are you lonely?  Just one night with that girl in the bar”.

“That man that you have your eyes on can make all of your dreams come true.  God is not good.  He won’t bless you.  Reach out.  Serve me.  Everything will be better.”

“Perhaps if you just work a bit harder; submit a bit more; make sure dinner is on time – then you can have the home of your dreams.  Your husband is angry and stressed.  Make things easier on him and you can have all you want.  Serve a little harder.  Try a little more.  Work a little longer.”

And how often do we forget that God alone is the fountain of all good.

17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning. (Jam 1:17 KJV)

We reach out to people or to things or to ideas in order to ease the pain of a cursed world, and forget that Jesus already paid it all.  He alone can salve this broken and contrite heart.  He alone can take away the curse.

But the devil and his children will always offer another way.  “Just serve me a bit better, a bit more; just work harder, and you can have whatever you dream of.”

But whatever you do, and whatever you say, and however hard you work, you will never attain it.  It’s a lie.  It’s a lie because the devil is a murderer and a liar and his children follow in his footsteps.

They can’t give you eternal life.  They can’t give you peace.  They can’t even give you food and drink.  They can never ease the loneliness and the heartache of living in a sinful world.  But they can enslave you to a life of “work harder; do better; submit more; don’t make me mad – you know how my temper is!”

If this sounds like your life,  please remember what Jesus said to the tempter.  “Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.”

Wow.  Astounding words! He will do good to all men.  He will willingly wash feet.  He will take the lowest form and die the death of a criminal.  He will do good deeds of love and mercy and truth.  He will become servant to all and call us to do the same thing.

But He will never, ever worship anything or anyone other than the One True God who has revealed Himself in His word.

As redeemed men and women, we have the glorious calling of reflecting Christ’s glory – of being transformed into His glorious image.  We have the Holy Spirit.  God calls us the apple of His eye!

When the devil and his children give this promise, “I will give you what you want if you will only serve me,” remember where it comes from.  That which comes from God is pure and peaceable, brings joy and reconciliation, and gladdens the heart.  the promise of the devil brings shame and guilt and bondage.  There are always strings attached to every promise of an evil man.

You shall worship the Lord Your God, and Him alone shall you serve.

But there’s more.  Jesus commanded Satan to depart.  Satan and his children will never settle for anything less than worship. They will continue to hound, berate, revile and reproach you until you are finally grovelling at their feet – but even then, they will not be satisfied.

There is only one thing to do with this:  Cast him out.  Get out!  I will worship God alone.

I will serve God in my marriage by seeking my spouse’s good; by taking the lower place and joyfully doing what God has called me to.  I will joyfully give up my rights and even my life if that is what God calls me to.  But I will never, ever, worship and serve the creature.  I will worship and serve God alone and expect good only from His hand.  If my marriage has been irretrievably broken by the wicked actions of my spouse, I will pursue divorce; but I will no longer submit to the demands of the wicked one to bow and serve and worship the creature rather than the Creator.

I will not grovel at the feet of a scoffer and reviler hoping for some crumbs of peace to fall.

I will not serve a son of Belial in the desperate hope for a smile from the sneering face.

I will not seek from the creature what only the Creator can give.  I will seek reconciliation; I will seek forgiveness; I will seek peace, but if they are for war, I will withdraw and plead my case to the Almighty.  But I will never worship the creature.

Only the Creator can give me peace.  It will never come from the lies of the devil.  Jesus has freed me from the bondage of sin and misery.  He has made me an heir to eternal life!

I can’t earn it.  I can’t work harder and get it.  It’s the devil that tells me to work more, be better, grovel more, abuse my body more.  Jesus’ love is sanctifying, cleansing, unearned, complete and infinite.

Husbands, if you are withholding love and tenderness and honor from your wife until she works harder, submits more and learns her place, ask yourself who you most resemble.  Is this the picture of Christ, who loved the church and gave Himself for her?  Or is it the picture of Satan who said, “All this I will give you, if you only fall down and worship me.”

Perhaps this is why Paul said that a reviler (one who uses abusive and vicious speech to belittle and intimidate others) will never inherit the kingdom of heaven (I Cor. 6:9).  Nothing can be further from the beauty and love of Jesus than a reviler.  A reviler says, “Worship me, and I will give you rest.”  But the reviler is the one causing the unrest!  So not only is he a reviler, he is also an extortioner.  How can he inherit the kingdom of heaven unless he repents and becomes something else?

But Jesus actually gives rest.  He takes away sin and shame, doesn’t use it to control and manipulate.  He covers our ugliness and bitterness with His perfect righteousness.  He gives us a new heart and a new spirit so that we can become more and more like him.

So we can say with confidence, “I will do good to all whom God has placed in my path.  But I will worship and serve God alone.”

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August 29, 2014 · 3:56 pm

He Sets the Prisoner Free

For he hath looked down from the height of his sanctuary; from heaven did the LORD behold the earth; To hear the groaning of the prisoner; to loose those that are appointed to death (Ps. 102:19-20).

“Tomorrow I will be a better person.”

How many times have you told yourself that? You may have gone to therapists. You have gone to the meetings. You may even have tried “religion”. But you still find that your conscience accuses you. At night you lie on your bed unable to sleep as your mind plays your failures over and over again.

You are told that you are basically a good person. Perhaps you have addictions – sex, drugs, alcohol. Perhaps you just can’t control your urges or your temper. You lash out at your loved ones. You stay up at night browsing porn sites until early morning. No matter what you do to stop, you still find yourself doing the same things.

You have seen the religious experts. They may have told you to try harder. “Find an accountability partner”, you are told. If you would just quit sinning and if you had better influences around you, you could overcome this. But long and cruel experience has told you otherwise. None of your good intentions can break down the walls of your prison.

Is there any hope? You have tried everything. Promises have been made and broken. You have been promised that this time it will be different. But it isn’t.

The Bible tells us what the problem is. The human race is in bondage to sin. The reason that you can’t keep your promises is that you are enslaved; you are a prisoner in the prison of your own making. You cannot break free. What you need is for someone to break down the walls of your prison and deliver you.

But the only one that can do that is God Himself. Only the Creator of heaven and earth can set you free. But now there is a problem. The Creator of heaven and earth has placed you under the death penalty – and He cannot lie. He said, “The soul that sins shall die”. You have sinned.

“But,” you say, “I have had some lapses in judgment, but I am really not all that bad.”

But God doesn’t grade on a curve. God has told us very clearly what sin is. It is even clearer than the speed limit sign posted on the highways. Don’t steal. Don’t kill. Don’t lie. Don’t commit adultery…

“But I haven’t done these things,” you say. But God doesn’t just look at your outward behavior. He looks at the heart. Have you lusted after a woman in your heart? Have you ever told a lie? Have you ever hated someone or held a grudge against someone? Have you ever wanted to steal?  Of course, these are just the “respectable sins”.  The reality is that the heart is so vile and corrupt that we dare not even acknowledge our darkest desires.  What if every thought that you ever had was broadcast to the whole world, and exposed for all to see?

You know in your own conscience that you are guilty, and the Judge is a hanging Judge who will NEVER acquit the guilty. If you need to be delivered from your sins, if the only one who can deliver you is God, and if God has pronounced the sentence of death upon you, then how can you possibly be set free?

Imagine that you are on death row. The crime that you are accused of is a capital offense. In a few hours you will be taken from you chamber, marched down the corridor, strapped into the chair and executed. You have no appeals. You did the crime and you know you did the crime. You know that the judge is perfectly just and will never go against his own justice. He has never once granted clemency. What hope can you have?

You may have heard that the prison is only in your own head. You just need to declare yourself “not guilty” and walk out. But you know better.

You may have heard that “God is love” and He would never execute judgment. But you know better.

You may have heard that all you need to do is exercise your free will and do better, and the prison doors will magically swing open. But you know better.

There is only one hope: When you are executed, the sentence is carried out. Only then can the demands of the law be satisfied. In other words, only when you are dead and buried can you be free from the walls of your prison.

But that isn’t good news. The good news (gospel) is this: “For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth on him should not perish, but have everlasting life” (John 3:16).

The only way to be truly free from your prison is if the death sentence is carried out. You must either do it yourself (eternal death and damnation) or believe in Jesus, who did it for us.

He came into the world in the womb of the virgin, Mary, for only one purpose: to take our curse and our death sentence upon himself. He did this on the cross. He died a death that was accursed of God, so that we might be assured that he truly took the curse upon himself. Then, on the third day, he rose from the dead – raising us up out of the grave with him, so that we might have the eternal life that he has.

If you believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, then his death on the cross is your death; and his resurrection from the dead is your resurrection from the dead. The prison walls are broken down forever, because you were already executed, taken out of the prison, and buried with Christ. But he didn’t remain in the grave. If you believe on him, you are also raised with him to everlasting life.

When you have exhausted every other possibility; when you have reached the end of your rope; there is nothing else to do except come to the only one who can set you free. Isn’t it time that you quit trying to do that which is impossible? Isn’t it time that you quit pretending that you can escape from your prison in your own power, free-will and wisdom? Isn’t it time to come to Christ, and say, “Lord, have mercy on me; a sinner”?

9 Help us, O God of our salvation, for the glory of thy name: and deliver us, and purge away our sins, for thy name’s sake.

 10 Wherefore should the heathen say, Where is their God? let him be known among the heathen in our sight by the revenging of the blood of thy servants which is shed.

 11 Let the sighing of the prisoner come before thee; according to the greatness of thy power preserve thou those that are appointed to die. (Ps. 79:9-11)

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