November 25, 2020 · 11:25 am

Born of the flesh…

Before Christ came into the world, God promised that the seed of the woman, which was to come through Abraham, Judah, David, and so on – would redeem the world.

For this reason, the genealogies were so, so important and the scripture is full of them. God would fulfil his promise, and the genealogies were given to trace God’s working through history as he brings forth the promised seed.

Until Christ. After Christ, there are no more genealogies.

What the Jews missed is the same thing that the modern patriarchalists miss – salvation isn’t in the family after the flesh. All that we inherit from the flesh is the corruption of Adam. All that we inherited from our fathers is the corruption of Adam.

Jesus corrected this way of thinking when he said to Nicodemus, “That which is born of the flesh is flesh…you must be born again.”

Nicodemus, like every good Pharisee, looked for salvation in the genealogy, rather than in the promised seed. But our earthly families mean nothing if we are not born again. Not even Abraham’s physical seed would inherit anything if they were not engrafted into Christ (Romans 11)

This is why Jesus said that unless we hate our fathers and our mothers and our earthly families, and our own lives we cannot see the kingdom of God.

It is true that many of us “inherited” the covenant of grace by the teaching of godly fathers, but this did not come through the flesh, but through the promise of the Spirit (Romans 9) – but that is another story.

As Christians, on the one hand we appreciate and strive for strong, godly families. But too often, we look for salvation there rather than in the seed. We repeat the same error as the Pharisees of old. We are not saved because of our physical descent. That which is born of the flesh is flesh. God calls his people from every family – the traditional one, the untraditional one. Single mothers, single fathers, divorced parents – to show us that he will have mercy on whom he will have mercy.

When the modern patriarchalists speak of the father as the priest of the home, they deliberately forget that fathers have not been priests since the book of Exodus. The priesthood was given to Aaron and his sons and from that point, no father EVER sacrificed for his family in a manner acceptable to God. God, by the process of revelation, pointed to only ONE priest, and only one acceptable sacrifice – Jesus Christ.

Our whole salvation consists of this: we are taken OUT of our families according to the flesh and engrafted into Christ’s “family tree” by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit (Galatians 3-4) and thus we are children of Abraham.

This is not to deny the 5th commandment. As children, we heed all their good instruction and correction, as the Heidelberg Catechism puts is. And as parents, we are to raise them in the Lord, not according to the flesh. Our boast is not in our family tree, but in Christ alone.

Sometimes we hear “As the family goes, so goes the church. As the church goes, there goes the world. But this is a misunderstanding of scripture. Righteousness will never come by the law, even the good laws. This is simply works righteousness, and we fall for it because who doesn’t want a happy family. But the teaching points us to the law, not to Christ. If the family performs right, the church will perform right and then society will perform right.

This is no different, in effect, then Islam, Mormonism, Judaism, or any other ism.

This is a big topic, but one I’ve been mulling over lately.

It is why Jesus was born of a virgin. Salvation is in the promise, not in the flesh.

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November 20, 2020 · 8:35 am

What God has cleansed…

(Acts 10:13-15)  A voice came to him, “Get up, Peter, kill and eat!”
But Peter said, “By no means, Lord, for I have never eaten anything unholy and unclean.”
Again a voice came to him a second time, “What God has cleansed, no longer consider unholy.”

The book of Acts describes how the gospel was spread. First at Jerusalem, then to Judah. From there it went to the Samaritans and then to the whole world, ending with Paul in Rome.

Preaching the gospel to the Gentiles would have been a tremendous shock to anyone born and raised a Jew. They had no dealings with Gentiles and everything that a Gentile touched would have been considered unclean and unholy.

But the time had now come for the gospel of Christ to go to the Gentiles. God had promised Abraham that in his seed (Jesus) all the families of the earth would be blessed. So now the time had come. The blessing of Abraham was about to be poured out on the unclean gentile world.

But this meant that Peter needed to be prepared. Without a special revelation from God, he NEVER would have entered a Gentile house. Even AFTER he had that special revelation, he still struggled with it, sometimes failing, as we read about in the book of Galatians.

As Peter is resting on the rooftop, he sees a vision of every sort of animal in a large sheet being lowered from heaven.

A voice says, “Rise and eat!”

Peter is aghast. “Eat an unclean animal?? I’ve never eaten an unclean animal!”

And God said, “What I have cleansed, don’t consider it common.”

The application of the vision was first of all to foods. The Old distinction of common and holy, clean and unclean, in foods was now done away with. Christ had come. The shadows and types would fade away.

But there was a more immediate application. Peter was about to be asked to enter the house of a Gentile. God is telling Peter that the Gentile is clean, because God had cleansed him. He could enter the house in peace. For when God cleanses someone, they are truly clean.

The cleansing of the Old Covenant, through the sprinkling of blood and the sprinkling of water pointed to Christ. When he was crucified, blood and water poured out of his side. And when he ascended into heaven, he poured out the Holy Spirit on his church, fulfilling those ancient signs of sprinkling.

By faith, we are united to Christ and therefore we are clean, because he has cleansed us. This is what the “Holy” in “Holy Spirit” means. He is the Spirit of Holiness, and what He cleanses is clean.

This is the gospel. We are clean in Christ. We are no longer unholy.

Pause for a moment and think about that.

First, apply it to yourself. How many times to you feel unclean, unholy, unworthy of love, unworthy of companionship? How often do you lie awake while your conscience accuses you day and night?

These voices do not come from God, but from the Accuser! God’s voice speaks in the scripture – “What I have cleansed, don’t you call it common!” Obey that voice. When the voice in your head is accusing, accusing, accusing, repeat it. What God has cleansed, don’t call unholy!

But now look outward. How often do abusive men or women rail on God’s image bearers? “You are worthless. You are nothing. You are filthy. No one would touch you.”

How many have to live with these accusations continually thrown at them? Thinly veiled or outright contempt is so, so common in so many households. It isn’t of God.

And this abuse and reviling isn’t limited to those in one’s own home.

Civil discourse has declined so much, especially online, that there are those in the church who will divide and destroy one another over nothing. You can’t even disagree with someone anymore. They have to be destroyed. Those with “righteous crusades” are the worst. The revile, accuse, destroy with pixels of ink and then justify themselves as if they are simply “speaking the truth in love.”

But when you are calling that which is cleansed by Christ “unholy” or “unclean”, you are not speaking the truth. You are speaking lies, murdering with the tongue those for whom Christ died.

God knows the difference. He sees the hate and the venom disguised as “love” and he is not mocked.

“What I have cleansed, don’t you dare call it unclean!”

We are clean because of the blood and spirit of Christ alone. We are not clean because of our political views, our race, our sex, our theological acumen, our ability to tell people what is wrong with them, or our outward acts of piety. We are clean ONLY because of Christ’s blood shed for us and his Spirit poured out upon us.

Jesus said, “By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.” (John. 13:35)

How can we love one another when we don’t recognize them as being clean? How can we recognize them as clean apart from Christ?

But in Christ we are clean and holy, and this changes everything. It changes how we view ourselves and how we view others that God has placed in our lives.

The spirit of accusation against one another is not of God, but of the evil one.

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October 30, 2020 · 4:18 pm

A word about treasure

Perspective:

No matter what we accomplish

No matter what we achieve

No matter what we build

No matter how many people speak well of us…

The day will come when your body will be laid in the ground. Someone will say a few nice words.

And everyone will go eat potato salad and ham sandwiches on Hawaiian buns. The kids will run outside and play on the swings. Everyone will look at the pictures of when you were young.

They will tell the someone who said some nice words “That was a very nice service.”

And six months later, people will forget what you looked like.

A few years after that, they will forget that you existed.

Your loves, your hates, your feuds, your words, your talents, your desires – will all be buried and forgotten along with your bones. And after that, the judgment.

This is what Jesus meant when he talked about treasure.

And yet, we strive so hard to lay up treasure on this earth, gathering together food for the worms and the moths and the rust,

And we forget to remember to look up from this trough, where Christ is.

We forget to count all of our earthly treasures as dung, that we might know Christ and the power of the resurrection.

He doesn’t count significance the same way that we do.

In His kingdom, weakness is strength. The greatest one takes the lowest place. The sheep are ready with a glass of water, a kind word, clothing for the naked.

In his kingdom, money and power count for nothing whatsoever, for the cattle on a thousand hills are his already.

We follow him into glory with nothing but a cross, or we don’t follow him at all.

8 Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ
  9 and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith;
  10 that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death,
  11 if, by any means, I may attain to the resurrection from the dead. (Phil. 3:8-11)

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October 14, 2020 · 2:34 pm

What if…?

What if I fail?

What if I’m not strong enough?

What if I’m not smart enough? What if I say the wrong thing? What if I pour everything I have into it and it isn’t enough?

Or worse, what if I just don’t want to? What if I get tired? What if I fall into sin one too many times?

What if everything is my fault? What if what they say about me is true? What if I can’t figure it all out?

What if those things that I thought were right were actually wrong? What if they lied to me? What if I made a decision that was foolish?

What if my health completely collapses and my anxiety and my fears smother me completely and all I can do is rock back and forth and cry out “Abba, Father”?

What if my good works were selfish? What if my gift of cold water wasn’t enough? What if I didn’t visit enough?

What if I just get tired and can’t read another dry theology text book? What if my words fail? What if I can’t tell the difference between finitude and sin? Between rest and laziness? What if I don’t do enough?

What if opportunity came knocking but I was just too tired, too exhausted, to discouraged and too disappointed to answer?

I can’t sort it. I look into the depths of my soul and all I can see are my failures and missed opportunities and careless words and –

What if I’m not sorry enough for my sins? What if my repentance isn’t good enough? What if my faith isn’t strong enough?

(Pro 12:25) Anxiety in a man’s heart weighs it down, But a good word makes it glad.

Is there a good word? Is there one little Word to fell the prince of darkness grim?

I can’t find rest in my soul. I can’t find rest in empty platitudes. I can’t even discern the thoughts and intentions of my own heart. I think I mean well, but what do I know?

But I know a Word that cannot lie, that cannot mislead, and that cannot deceive, and he says,

(Matt 11:28-30)  28 Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
  29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.
  30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.

And so, Lamb of God, I come again. I’m glad you don’t get tired of me. I’m glad for your perfect righteousness and holiness that you gave to me. I’m glad for your resurrection and the new life you give me again and again and again. Refresh me again, O Lamb of God.

I’m glad you lift me in your wings. I’m glad that you told me to come to you in the day of trouble.

And so, Lamb of God, I come to you again. For I’m in trouble. My heart is heavy. My foolishness and ignorance is weighing on me again. I’m tired and hurting. And so I come to you again.

I’m glad that you said, “the one who comes to Me I will by no means cast out.” (Jn. 6:37)

Because I am coming again. I am coming because I believe your words. I am coming because you said you wouldn’t cast me out and I cannot bear the thought of being outcast. So here I am. Waiting. Wash me in your precious blood and take my sins away.

Come quickly, Lord Jesus.

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September 12, 2020 · 5:36 pm

Complementarianism’s Existentialism Feeds Gender Confusion

Excellent stuff here. He nails it exactly.

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September 11, 2020 · 9:17 am

Meeting together

I’m reading through 2 Chronicles again. It strikes me again how alluring Baal worship was to God’s people. Jeroboam and his calves; Ahab and Jezebel. Over and over again, God allured, threatened, spoke, invited, exhorted his people back to him and his covenant promises.

The reason that it was so alluring was Baal promised a god that could be somewhat controlled with the proper ceremonies, rites, rituals, sacrifices. Baal was more of a power to be tapped into, rather than a personal God who covenants with his people.

A personal God makes promises, chooses to reveal himself, loves, redeems, delivers – but he isn’t controlled, and that makes him scary, especially when the future is uncertain. Why not just offer to a golden calf just to cover your bases?

We have the same temptations today. I believe that the reason that we are so restless and filled with turmoil is that we really don’t believe in the personal, triune God. We confess him with our mouths, but do we really believe what he said, that he cares for us, that he loves us, that he will never, ever forsake us?

Recently, a very public pastor made a very public tweet. He said, “We’re under the authority of the Lord Jesus Christ #CHURCHISESSENTIAL. Church isn’t a building it is the fellowshipping of believer’s around the teaching of God’s Word. That fellowship can’t happen online or across dozens of outdoor, distanced services.”

In other words, I believe that his position is that God cannot bless his people unless the ritual is properly followed. On the one hand the church isn’t a building, but on the other hand, it can’t happen online or in small groups. It can only happen on the terms of the Pastor in Charge. To me, this seems more similar to Baal worship. We can only have “Church” on our terms. In a huge building with thousands of people.

Now, I believe in the means of grace – God gives his grace through the means that he has appointed – the preaching of the word and the administration of the sacraments. But the “fellowship” is not a means of grace. It is a side-effect, that flows from hearts made alive by the means of grace, but itself it is NOT a means of grace. Lots of organizations have fellowship, but God is not there. But he IS present wherever his word and sacraments are, whether large or small, indoors or out, in homes or in caves.

And God is personal. He is not a power to be tapped into. He doesn’t say, “Well, since Governor Newsom has forbidden the churches to gather together, I guess I won’t be able to bless anyone with faith and hope and patience. How I wish someone would come along to stand up to that guy!”

This is not the God of scripture. He who spared not his own son but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him freely give us all things?

Be at peace, everyone. God is not restricted to large gatherings in large buildings with large budgets. Ordinarily, it is true that one ought to get up, go to church, physically be present with God’s people. But these aren’t ordinary times, are they?

He resists the proud and gives grace to the humble. His grace is given, not tapped into. His grace is his favor towards us in Christ, proclaimed to us in his word and sealed with the sacraments.

The church throughout the world meets in yards and caves, stables and catacombs, valleys and meadows. Sometimes there are 5 people. Sometimes there are 100 people. Rarely there are even more.

But God’s grace is not tapped into with large buildings and large budgets and famous pastors. Perhaps now would be the time to humble ourselves.

Church is essential. I agree completely. But let’s be clear as to what the church is. If the church can be stopped by a decree from the state, then it isn’t the church.

Since God gives grace to the humble, instead of making ourselves stink in the nostrils of the state, forcing it to take legal action, we should follow the example of the martyrs that have gone before:  strive to be obedient citizens, humbling ourselves instead of exalting ourselves, and continue to preach and administer the sacraments wherever God has placed us, in service, community and love.

Like Isaac and his wells, if the Canaanites dispute, move somewhere else. And God will make room for you. He is personal and he loves his people.

Jesus, where’er Thy people meet,
  There they behold Thy mercy-seat;
Where’er they seek Thee, Thou art found,
  With grace and mercy to abound.

For Thou, within no walls confined,
  Inhabitest the humble mind;
Such ever bring Thee where they come,
  And going, take Thee to their home.

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August 25, 2020 · 9:36 am

Tuesday thoughts about former days…

I’m listening to “The Barber of Seville Overture” this morning on my Alexa, otherwise known as my government spying device.

If anyone in the CIA is interested in my listening preferences, they will most likely be confused.

Of course, when one thinks of “The Barber of Seville” and one is over 55, the first thought that comes to mind is Bugs Bunny and Elmer Fudd, and the “Wabbit of Seville.”

For you youngsters out there, your parents’ generation learned everything they know about classical music from Bugs Bunny and Tom and Jerry. And they STILL know more about music than you do.

Wabbit of Seville makes me nostalgic. Anyone who can listen to that masterful overture by Rossini without singing, “I’m wooking for a waaaabbbbiiiiiit” “What….do you want with a waaaaaaabit? Can’t you see that I’m much sweeter, I’m a widdle senoriter….” has something missing from their soul.

It is almost enough to tempt one to say, “That’s when they REALLY knew how to make TV shows, unlike today.”

We make inane comments like “The Golden Age of Television”, and then we remember Happy Days and Laverne and Shirley and immediately repent of our misguided nostalgia, and get back on the train of wisdom.

And that got me thinking about Ecclesiastes,

Do not say, “Why is it that the former days were better than these?” For it is not from wisdom that you ask about this. (Eccl. 7:10)

I, for one, am thankful for progress. As Christians, I think we should always be looking at ways to progress in beauty and justice and love and wisdom, rather than stubbornly hold on to some past that may or may not have even existed.

You might speak of the “Golden age of television”, but we had two and a half channels and the highlight of our week was Happy Days.

You might speak nostalgically about that time when “people could leave their doors unlocked” and everybody watched out for everybody else, but conveniently forget about the women trapped in abusive marriages with no way out; children beaten with belts until blood ran down their legs; minorities ran out of neighborhoods; ran out of “white businesses” and refused service because of the color of their skin.

There were things about my childhood that bring happy memories, memories of joy and peace. These are the “Wabbit of Seville” moments. But most of what was on TV then I can’t even make it through today.

Have you ever noticed how Darrin treated Sam on Bewitched? Or Jeannie?? Barbara Eden is a genii that lived in a bottle, safely out of sight unless she was needed, who would do ANYHING for her master. But her belly button didn’t make the censor’s cut. What sort of weird world was THAT?

And this says a lot about culture in general, I think. Sure, hold on to those things that were kind and good, peaceful and beautiful. Sing about Wabbits and Senoriters along with Rossini.

But don’t be afraid to say, “You know what? I’m glad that our only options aren’t the Love Boat or Lawrence Welk on Saturday night. I’m glad that Tony Orlando no longer pollutes our airways. I’m glad we’ve moved on from Fantasy Island.

Let it go. Thank God for seat-belt laws, helmet laws, anti-segregation laws. Thank God that the divorce laws caught up with what the scripture teaches and women don’t have to stay with treacherous men who repeatedly break their covenant. Thank God that moms and dads aren’t allowed to draw blood from their children’s backsides. Thank goodness that law enforcement is finally at least beginning to care about rape victims and incest cases, and that public opinion has changed so that there is pressure for justice and action. We still have a LONG ways to go, but we will never make any progress if we refuse to see the problem.

Thank God for progress, especially that progress that means that I am not the same person that I was ten years ago; that our society is not the same society that it was 50 years ago; that the church has progressed and isn’t the same as it was 50 years ago.

This, of course, does not mean that the faith once for all delivered to the saints has changed. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever. But because this is true, I am the one who needs to change.

As long as I still pretend that there was some “Golden age” and seek to get back to that imaginary time, I will never grow, never know beauty, never live. I’ll just wrap myself up in old Reader’s Digests telling the same jokes that I knew as a child, and the same stories that I knew as a child, listening to the same music, and the same books and shutting my ears to the cries of pain and injustice and hunger and helplessness. “Back in my day, we used to…..blah, blah, blah…”

And I will miss so much. But if I open my eyes, I will get a tiny taste of what Solomon calls wisdom.

Don’t ask why the former things were better. That isn’t a question that wisdom asks. Wisdom seeks beauty and growth and justice. Wisdom seeks to distinguish between good and bad, truth and error, love and hatred, dark and light.

Then, as now, there was a little light, and a lot of darkness. Fifty years later, I think that there is a little more light. Still a lot of darkness, but perhaps a little more light – because Jesus is on the throne and he is governing all things and his kingdom is over all.

But we frequently miss the light because we mistake it for nostalgia.

Now go find the Wabbit of Seville and watch it again. And when you are done, listen to the new album by The Killers. In that album they are doing what Meatloaf was trying to do but lacked the talent and ability. Don’t miss the Killers because you are hung up on Meatloaf (weird metaphor of the day).

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August 19, 2020 · 7:52 am

The Banner of Love

I’m preparing for Bible study tonight. God reveals himself to us by his names. His name revealed in Exodus 17 is “Jehovah-nissi” – which means, “Jehovah my banner”.

So I am doing a study on the word “banner” and got sidetracked by the Song of Songs.

3 As the apple tree among the trees of the wood, so is my beloved among the sons. I sat down under his shadow with great delight, and his fruit was sweet to my taste.
4 He brought me to the banqueting house, and his banner over me was love. (Cant. 2:3-4)

In the history of the church, it has been noticed that there is a parallel between God’s love for his bride and a man’s love for his bride. This parallel is seen in the Song of Songs. In order to understand it, one first has to understand the ordinary language. This is a bride in love, praising her groom and overwhelmed with his love for her.

She sings, “His banner over me is love.” “Banner” in this instance is a flag. It is used as the flag identifying the tribes as they journeyed through Israel, similar to state flags today. A flag is a rallying point, an identification, a symbol that symbolizes the essence of the social structure.

Think about these words. His banner over me is love. Run it through your brain for a moment. Think about a man and a woman in love. Now think about the basis of a marriage covenant. What flag would you put over your covenant that sums it up completely – Authority and submission? Command and obedience? “Two ships that pass in the night?” “Two separate flags” “The male flag held up by a tired woman?”

Or “love”?

Maybe a quick example. Most frequently in CBMW circles, you hear this advice concerning wives and husbands. “A woman gets her say, but if the man and the woman can’t come to an agreement, then she must submit to what he says.” It sounds like good advice. And I know that I am finite and can’t possibly exhaust every possibility, but I cannot, for the life of me, think of an example of how this would work.

When I ask, I get something like this. “He wants to buy a motorcycle. She thinks it is dangerous and a waste of money. They can’t agree. Eventually, she must submit.”

Hmmmm. I guess I see things differently. If the banner over her is love, that brings to mind another question to the husband. “Why do you hate your wife so much that you are willing to cause her so much unrest and unease over something so trivial as a motorcycle?”

Take another example. “He thinks we must homeschool the children. This causes her great anxiety and she does not believe she can do it. They do not agree. She must submit.”

Really? If the banner over her is love, why doesn’t he love her enough to listen to her concerns? Is she not also a believer led by the Holy Spirit? Do her gifts and abilities matter so little to him? Is his commitment to a principle so important that he is willing to sacrifice his wife on that altar?

Do you see where I am going? It changes the question from authority and submission to one of love.

And a simple reading of the Song of Songs will show that true love of a woman is not the same thing as love for a pet or love for a possession. Love is not the attachment one has to property, but value, honor, respect, attraction, desire, longing. It upholds personhood and dignity, choice and opinion. Love desires communication and connection.

And when we have this straight, we have a tiny glimpse into who God is and what Christ has done for us. He also longs for us as we long for him. His banner over ME is love. And yes, this love changes my nature and my affections so that I more and more die unto sin because I know that my beloved hates it. But that is not the same as “authority/submission”. That dynamic was the dynamic of the Old Covenant, which was broken (Jeremiah 31:31-34).

And so, as the great Song prophesied, the Groom comes for his Bride, and his banner over us is love.

Like marriage, this dynamic changes everything.

How you think of your marriage will affect how you think of Jesus. How you think of Jesus will affect how you think of marriage. They go together.

And the question for both is this: Whom do you truly love? Yourself, or your wife?

Yourself, or Jesus Christ. Is your faith simply a love affair that you are having with your own sense of superiority? Or is it a living faith in a living savior? Do you long for the coming of the bridegroom, or are you more concerned about losing your position and your social status.

It’s something to think about, anyway.

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July 29, 2020 · 4:18 pm

Thoughts on God’s mercy

Last night, I woke at 2 AM, which is fairly typical. Last night was a bit different, though, because I was also attacked with an unrelenting darkness that buried me in a dense cloud of shame and worthlessness. That is more infrequent, but that particular dark cloud is not a stranger to my room.

The black cloud that envelopes me seems to whisper at me that I don’t deserve God’s compassion. It is for other people, not for me. I am outside of it looking in the window at God’s mercy to others, but it will never be for me. I’m too…useless, worthless. It’s hard to describe, but I would imagine that I am not the only one who gets attacked by this particular cloud.

The trigger for this particular cloud is that I had fairly intense pain for the last 5 days that there was no relief for. I couldn’t sit. I couldn’t stand. I couldn’t lie down. It wears on you.

I’m telling you this because one thing that chronic pain does is isolate you and make you feel like you are alone – hence, the black cloud. So I am telling you, if you struggle with chronic pain as well, you are not alone. And these thoughts you have are also not unique, nor do they put you outside of God’s compassion.

But let me go on.

I have learned that simply lying there in the dark staring at the ceiling is not an effective solution. So after trying for 30 minutes or so to sleep, I got up and opened my kindle paperwhite to a wonderful book by Dane C. Ortlund called “Gentle and Lowly.” (If you don’t have it, get it now).

He wrote something that stuck on me like a burr and won’t shake off. I want to share it with you so you can think about it with me. He wrote,

“Unlike us, who are often emotional dams ready to break, God can put up with a lot. This is why the Old Testament speaks of God being “provoked to anger” by his people dozens of times….But not once are we told that God is “provoked to love” or “provoked to mercy.” His anger requires provocation. His mercy is pent up, ready to gush forth. We tend to think: divine anger is pent up, springloaded; divine mercy is slow to build. But it is just the opposite.

And I thought about that. It occurred to me that this is a difference between the gods of the pagans and the God of the Bible. The settled state of the gods of the pagans is either anger or indifference. They have to be provoked out of it. This is why they had to eventually offer their children as sacrifices – to try to convince the gods to pay attention to them. It is why Cain offered the sacrifice that he offered. It is why so many churches are full of so many people trying to get God to listen to them, to pay attention. “If only we worked harder, did more, loved more, gave more money, purged ourselves from sin, did better….”

But the settled state of the true God is love. Mercy. Compassion. He must be provoked to anger. And that takes a long, long time. In fact, he is reserving his wrath for the day of judgment. The reason that he delays is that he is not willing that any  should perish, but that all should repent and believe the gospel. The goodness of God should lead us to repentance. He is so good to us that he did not come in judgment as soon as mankind deserved it. He first sent his only begotten son, that whosoever believeth on him should not perish but have everlasting life.

I had everything backwards under my 2 am cloud. I still tend to view God as my earthly father. If I accomplished enough, did enough, made no mistakes, worked hard enough, and found the right formula, then perhaps I can get him to at least notice that I am here.

But God is not my earthly father. He is my Heavenly Father. His settled state is compassion. I don’t have to provoke him to love. His love is already there. It was his love that provoked him to provide a sacrifice for our sins, to speak in human terms. It was his love that caused him to send his only begotten Son into the world, that whosoever believeth on him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

My Christian walk is not about trying to appease God’s anger or indifference. It is about resting in his love through faith in His Son, who gave himself for me. In that rest, I can turn outside of myself and my accomplishments and simply love and serve those whom God has placed around me.

It is God’s anger that is provoked, not his love. And that changes everything.

Think about it.

A pagan god – indifferent or angry. Must be provoked to pay attention.

The Covenant God of Abraham – full of compassion and mercy, slow to anger, plenteous in covenant faithfulness and love.

OH – and get Dane Ortlund’s book.

8 But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
9 Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him.
10 For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life.
(Rom. 5:8-10)

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July 17, 2020 · 8:52 am

A Loathsome Vermin?

Jonathan Edwards’ sermon, “Sinners in the hands of an angry God” taught generations of American church-goers that God views us as disgusting vermin, barely tolerable and loathsome in his eyes, as revolting as a spider on a thread.

I believe that sin is far, far worse than we can even fathom, but it is precisely because of the exaltation of mankind as the image-bearer of God (Psalm 8) that sin arouses such wrath in a holy God.

If we were disgusting vermin, sin would not have aroused God’s pity and compassion. It is precisely because of God’s love for us that he is determined to deliver us from the bondage of sin, so much so that he gave his only begotten son, and delivered him up for us all.

The truth is that our sin nature is not part of God’s original design, but a result of man’s fall. God has provided a redeemer because of his great love wherewith he loved us. Christ came to restore that which was lost. (John 3:16)

If you do not believe in the Lord Jesus, come to him to find your value and worth in him. No one that comes to him will be cast out. He calls you to himself because you are created in his image and sin has defaced that image and made it ugly. Come to him for cleansing and healing and forgiveness. You are a great sinner in need of great grace for the wrath of God is coming. But that is different than saying that you are a disgusting vermin. God desires that you be all that you can be and he calls to you to be free from the bondage of sin through faith in the Son of God.

If you are in Christ, you are also not a disgusting vermin, barely tolerable by God. You are a child of his love, a first-born heir of eternal life in Christ. You are a special treasure, a royal priesthood, his bride, his body and he loves you with an infinite love that surpasses anything we know on this earth.

The goal of the Christian life is not to try to make yourself less loathsome to God. The goal is to rest in his love, believe in his promises, understand his compassion, and grow in his grace.

It is the language of a reviler and an abuser – the language of the devil – that tears down the image of God in a person. The devil reviles. “You are loathsome. You are disgusting. God barely tolerates you, you revolting worm. He can’t wait to throw you into hell.” This motivates no one to good works, to love, to worship. We become what is expected of us. Religion is turned into a crowd of groveling worms trying to outdo each other in false humility.

But this is not the good news. The good news is that no matter how great your sin is, you have a far greater savior, who loves you and gave himself for you. He is restoring his image in you that you might finally be free and clean and stand before him whole and complete. His compassions don’t fail. His mercy is everlasting. His love is infinite.

His love for you calls you out of hiding, and says to you, “Neither do I condemn you. Go and sin no more.”

Rather than viewing us as loathsome, revolting insects, he is a friend of sinners. This knowledge calls to us, invites us to him and drives us to confession, worship and adoration.

“And this is eternal life, that they might know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.”

Imagine a young woman. She grows up in an abusive environment. Suppose her church was tremendously influenced by Elisabeth Elliot, Joshua Harris, and the purity culture – as an example. So she was taught that purity is the same as holiness, and when you loose your virginity, you spoiled your “rose” so that no man would ever want it.

She has been repeatedly raped and molested for years. Or just once. The dynamic is the same. Her abusers have impressed upon her that she is worthless, ugly, loathsome. That she deserved it.

Her worst fear is that God also finds her to be a loathsome vermin.

She has “lost her virginity” and can never get it back so she makes the connection.

No one will ever want me. I am loathsome. I am a vermin, disgusting to God and man.

She might dare to hope that one day, all of those good things that she hears about will apply to her – but for the most part, love and joy, peace and rest, intimacy and glory – those things are for the others, not for her.

And then she reads “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God” and discovers that the “greatest theologian in American history” has validated her conclusion. She is indeed loathsome and disgusting, a spider or other loathsome insect dangling over hell.

I wonder how many other suicides took place in New England after that sermon…..

Should not the message of the church be “Jesus, the friend of publicans and sinners” who touches us and says, “I am willing; be clean”.

You are washed, cleansed, purified, whole, complete and loved by your father in heaven for the sake of Christ, if only you accept such benefit with a believing heart.

Come to him and rest. Jesus doesn’t find you disgusting. He came to seek and to save that which was lost. He hates sin and desires all men everywhere repent and believe.

But he doesn’t find you disgusting.

He is angry at rebellion and sin. His wrath abides upon the unbeliever so long as they are not converted. But he doesn’t find you disgusting.

He is calling you with open arms, with goodness and mercy and compassion, as a nursing mother has compassion on her child. Come to him. He won’t cast you away.

He will clothe you in his righteousness, he will glorify you with the same glory that he is glorified with himself.

You are not “barely tolerable” in the eyes of God. Rest in his love.

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