July 24, 2023 · 5:00 pm

Does the husband sanctify his wife?

As complementarians continue to make up reasons why they shouldn’t have to make their own sandwiches, it seems that every day something new comes along, each one more ridiculous than the last.

Kevin DeYoung, for example, writes that “I am responsible for my wife’s holiness.”

This isn’t new. I have heard it for years. It is based on Ephesians 5:26. The argument is this: Since the husband is called to imitate Christ’s love for his bride, and since Christ sanctifies his bride, the husband is called also to sanctify his wife. It has caused the infantilizing of women, countless abuses, violations of free volition, and tyranny, and has nothing to do with holiness.

To sanctify means to make holy. Or, as DeYoung writes, “I am responsible for my wife’s holiness.”

This is far more deadly than it first appears. There is much more at stake than simply dysfunctional marriages, as heinous as those are.

What is at stake is the gospel itself. It shows a complete misunderstanding of what sanctification actually is. For this reason, Christians really should study some of the basics of theology.

Israel was set apart by God as a holy nation. They were called to be holy, for Jehovah is holy. They failed, and served other gods.

In writing about the New Covenant, Jeremiah says,

31 “Behold, the days are coming, says the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah—32 not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt, My covenant which they broke, though I was a husband to them, says the LORD. 33 But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the LORD: I will put My law in their minds, and write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. 34 No more shall every man teach his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, ‘Know the LORD,’ for they all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them, says the LORD. For I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more.” Jer. 31:31–34.

More will be revealed as time progresses. But the idea is that God himself will make his bride holy, by separating them from the world in writing the law on their hearts instead of on tables of stone. They will be clean and holy, for they will be forgiven and cleansed.

Similarly, Ezekiel writes,

23 And I will sanctify My great name, which has been profaned among the nations, which you have profaned in their midst; and the nations shall know that I am the LORD,” says the Lord GOD, “when I am hallowed in you before their eyes. 24 For I will take you from among the nations, gather you out of all countries, and bring you into your own land. 25 Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean; I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from all your idols. 26 I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. 27 I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My judgments and do them. 28 Then you shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers; you shall be My people, and I will be your God. 29 I will deliver you from all your uncleannesses. (Ezek 36:23–29).

Read those passages carefully for an understanding of what sanctification is. The law was given so that Israel might dwell in God’s presence and God might dwell with them. Being holy is being in God’s presence. But the wicked shall not stand there.

So they must be cleansed from their evil ways and given a new heart – a heart that loves instead of a heart that hates; a heart that doesn’t dream of following idols or chasing after the neighbor’s wife, or stealing the neighbor’s cattle, because it is a changed heart, a new heart and a new spirit.

And how does it come? NOT by the law, for that can never make anyone holy. Not because it is defective, but because WE are defective.

For if there had been a law given which could have given life, truly righteousness would have been by the law. 22 But the Scripture has confined all under sin, that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe. (Gal. 3:21–22).

Because the law could never save, Jesus became flesh and joined himself to his people. He kept the law for his people, and took their curse upon himself.

And when he ascended into heaven with the blood of his sacrifice, just like the ancient priests brought the blood into the holy of holies, he received the promise of his Father.

“Ask of me” he said, “And I will give you the heathen for your inheritance.”

In Peter’s sermon on Pentecost, he shows us how this promise was fulfilled in the pouring out of the Holy Spirit.

Just as God’s presence filled the temple in Solomon’s day, so also the Spirit fills his church because Jesus has conquered death and was obedient to the Father even in his crucifixion.

So Jesus pours out his spirit. He gives the new heart and the new flesh. He causes us to love by conforming us to his image. He sanctifies us as his Holy Temple by joining us to himself as the head, and we are the body.

And so we are sanctified, because we are in him.

“You are already clean,” he said, “Because of the word that I have spoken to you.”

Jesus has the words of eternal life. He speaks and accomplishes all of his good pleasure. He said, “Lazarus, come forth!” – and the dead were raised.

He sanctifies by his word and by his spirit.

All that a human being can do is lay down the law, and enforce outward conformity. And this is NEVER what the bible means by holiness. If the inside of the cup isn’t clean, what good does it to to polish the outside. But if the inside IS clean, the outside will take care of itself.

How can a husband clean the inside of anyone? He cannot even make himself holy!

So, Mr. DeYoung, tell me again how husbands can usurp this place of Jesus?

As soon as you can speak and draw the dead out of the graves…

As soon as you can take the curse of the law upon yourself…

As soon as you can breathe and fill your wife with the Holy Spirit…

As soon as you can call down tongues of fire on your wife’s head…(without setting her hair on fire)

As soon as you can make her a living stone in the temple of the living God…

Then I will concede that you are responsible for your wife’s holiness.

Until that day, though, I will love my wife, pray with and for her, talk with her, listen to her, praise our Savior together, and walk through this valley of tears together, holding her hand and making our journey together a little more bearable, just as she does with mine.

But I’ll never pretend to be the Holy Spirit, nor will I usurp the place of the Groom in my home. He is perfectly capable of sanctifying my wife and doesn’t need a neo-pope to do it. I’ll point her to Jesus just as she points me to Jesus. And we will do this together.

I’ll be her companion and her lover and her friend. But I will never be her Redeemer and Savior.

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July 1, 2023 · 5:31 pm

Blessing and Cursing

9 With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse human beings, who have been made in God’s likeness. 10 Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers and sisters, this should not be. 11 Can both fresh water and salt water flow from the same spring? 12 My brothers and sisters, can a fig tree bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs? Neither can a salt spring produce fresh water. (James 3:9–12.)

We have heard the word “bless” most of our lives. We bless God; God blesses us; we bless one another…

But what does it mean? Is it a ritual, or something more concrete and practical?

In James 3 above, there are a few things that we see.

1. Blessing is something done with the tongue, and it is the opposite of cursing. It is not fitting for the tongue to do both.

2. Blessing is something that brothers and sisters are accustomed to speak concerning God.

3. When one is truly blessing God, it would be consistent for them to also bless human beings made in God’s image. To bless God and to curse men is to live a contradiction.


So let’s put it together. First, what does it mean to bless God?

Read this entire Psalm – but I will copy just the first few verses:

     1      Bless the LORD, O my soul;
     And all that is within me, bless His holy name!
     2      Bless the LORD, O my soul,
     And forget not all His benefits:
     3      Who forgives all your iniquities,
     Who heals all your diseases,
     4      Who redeems your life from destruction,
     Who crowns you with lovingkindness and tender mercies,
     5      Who satisfies your mouth with good things,
     So that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s. Ps 103:1–5.

To bless the Lord is to use one’s tongue to speak of all of the goodness of the Lord. His attributes, his beauty, the beauty of his works and goodness and wisdom of his creation.

This is why it is a contradiction to bless the Lord and to curse something in his creation.

If you have been born again by the Spirit of God, you are becoming more and more like Christ. And James is calling us, his children, to think about what that means about our tongues.

To make is simple, bless your spouse, your children, your family, your neighbors, your co-workers, with your tongue, rather than curse them.

And this is difficult, because our natural speech is to curse with our tongues, as James says.

We tell people what is wrong with them. We tell them everything they have done wrong. We pour shame and contempt. We react with anger. We return curses for curses and a cycle of hatred builds.

But Christ has broken the curse of sin, so now we are to use our new breath and new life to use our words the way that God in Christ used words. He blesses, his words bring life. He speaks the truth in love.

So what does it mean to bless someone.

Speak of what you appreciate about them.

Speak about what you find beautiful and good in them.

Speak about the image of God that lies within and how easy they are to love.

Speak about ways to make burdens lighter.

Be open and accepting and welcoming with your words. Use words to make someone bigger.

Speak in such a way that the chest lifts up, that the face smiles, that they stand a little taller.

In other words, do your words make your neighbor’s burdens easier, or heavier?

Do your words tear down, or build up?

To curse is to speak words of death. To tear down, to deflate, to heap burdens.

To curse is to seek to elevate yourself by tearing another down. To make them feel stupid and useless and unheard.

To curse makes your neighbor lower her eyes, slow their step a little, take the wind out of the sails.

“Let not corrupt communication come from your mouths…”

That rotten, crushing, soul-destroying word that causes a spiritual stench to come out of the mouth – where the tongue is an instrument of death.

It is cursing that is so prevalent on Social media. God hates it.

If we are God’s people, we ought to use our tongues to speak words of peace and joy and beauty to everyone we come into contact with.

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June 25, 2023 · 4:22 pm

The Prayer of Cain

Lord, I’m disappointed.

You know how hard I’ve worked. That offering didn’t grow itself, you know.

I really wanted to try those apples when they first got ripe, but I gave them to you.

You should have been grateful.

That corn was so good. You know that was a new hybrid. I worked really hard on that. But I didn’t even get to taste it. I gave it to you.

And I didn’t give a little. I gave a lot.

Apples and grapes; olives and barley; wheat and rye.

The pomegranates were fabulous this year. Large and plump. But I didn’t taste them. And you didn’t even notice.

I keep trying to get your attention and you don’t even notice. You aren’t thankful at all.

Don’t you know that I am something? I’m a big deal around here. I lead the family worship. I give the best of my produce. I know my way around the times and seasons and sacrifices. I’m a strong leader. I know my way around winners and losers.

You should be more thankful, Lord.

I don’t like to complain, but sometimes I get the impression that you just don’t even notice me.

Don’t you know that I am something? The man from Jehovah?

Look at that guy. My idiot brother. Talk about a nobody. He’s so whiny.

He just chases those stupid sheep all day. He’s a nothing, a nobody, a loser.

He won’t take charge. He won’t stand up for himself. He won’t even look people in the eye. He just talks about promises and hope and waiting…

Not me, though. I know that if you want change you have to grab it. You have to take control, you have to be strong, manly, in charge – otherwise they’ll walk all over you.

But that Abel. What a loser. Always serving, always quiet, always waiting for something. He doesn’t even get his wife in line. He keeps talking about love. Doesn’t he know that women need a firm hand now and then?…

Really, Lord? You accepted the loser? Don’t you know that he’s nothing? Don’t you know that he has nothing to offer?

He can’t even use a weapon right. He won’t get his women in line. He won’t stand up for himself.

Everybody knows that he is a weirdo. A loser. An outcast. Vanity of vanities. He couldn’t win a fight if the other guy was already dead.

Weak. Stupid. Foolish. A nobody.

He’ll never make a name for himself. He always does the wrong things. He always says the stupidest things.

Lord, you know that I am better than that guy – but you accept HIS sacrifice and not mine?

It really isn’t fair. As hard as I have worked. It really isn’t fair.

I won’t be in heaven if his sort is there. I’ll build my own city. I’ll build my own kingdom.

No losers allowed. Only winners. Only people like me.

And, Lord, you better get on board. You don’t want people to think that you side with the losers..

You and me. We can do better than this, Lord. I’ll explain the plan to you. If you just follow along, we can take care of the losers and set this kingdom on the right path.

But first, you have to do something about Abel. He really can’t be part of the plan. He’ll mess everything up.

We can’t be successful with his kind of people around. You can ask anyone.

But that’s OK. You can fix this. I’ll be waiting for the answer.

Until then,

Amen.

 

For the uninitiated, this is a feeble attempt to expose the thinking of the religious one, without faith. It is the thinking of the Pharisee, the seed of the serpent, the idolatrous, the Tower of Babel, and the spirit of Babylon.

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June 19, 2023 · 8:42 am

9 things on my birthday

I am nearing that age when people will begin to describe me as “that eccentric elderly gentleman…” I don’t think I’m up for that yet.

I have no issue with the “eccentric” part. I’ve made peace with that years ago.

This past year has been a whirlwind. Loss, grief and unimaginable blessings, all at once. One year ago, I never heard of Faribault. Now it is my new home and God has opened so many doors.

What was meant for evil against me, God meant for good. Since I have been driven out of my former circles, I have been placed in a unique position to minister and serve those who also have been driven out. The stories of abuse that I am hearing break my heart. So many have had nowhere to turn. So we meet with Jesus outside the camp, where he is. I consider than an honor.

With my new work in kitchen management, I have become more active than I have been in years. My cholesterol and glucose are under control, I’ve lost 15 pounds, and I feel better than I have for years. The first few weeks were brutal, but I’m slowly catching up.

This has nothing to do with my birthday, but it is interesting in light of the national meetings of several huge southern-based churches: These churches have insisted that sexual assault and abuse are “tragic, but there really isn’t anything we can do about it.” But if there is any hint of a woman in a position of authority, they will move heaven and earth to put a stop to it. It seems to me that if they put just a fraction of the effort that they put into keeping women in place into fighting sexual assault and domestic abuse, they might actually accomplish something.

But Jesus did say that you will know them by their fruits. They have exposed themselves by refusing to protect the sheep. It is time for the sheep to meet Jesus outside the camp.

I’ve just discovered a singer from Norway named Aurora. Wow. Scandinavia is producing some wonderful music lately.

And a final note – Isaiah said in Chapter 28 that all the tables of the priests and prophets are covered with vomit and excrement. When you say that Bill Gothard says some pretty good things, even if he is wrong about other things – it is like offering God a great feast, only contaminated with just a LITTLE bit of shit and vomit. How much makes the table inedible? Surprisingly to some, not very much. The leaven of the Pharisees poisons everything.

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June 6, 2023 · 4:36 pm

Losing your very self

Thoughts over dinner:

The NIV translates this familiar passage like this:
24 For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will save it. 25 What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit their very self? Lk 9:24–25.

This is more accurate to the Hebrew way of thinking. They knew, of course, about the immaterial part of our essence, but the word in Hebrew translated “soul” means our very self, our personhood, our whole being. In Greek, that word is “psyche” (used in Matthew 16); in Luke, the apostle simple says, “loses himself”.

I think that is what Jesus was getting at.

As the disciples would be heading into the world and preaching the gospel, there will always be the temptation to speak what everyone expects them to speak.

To speak the truth often meant being cast out of your community, your synagogue, your guild. You lost your family, your friends, your church, your livelihood. And so many, like the parents of the man born blind (John 9) didn’t speak at all because they were afraid.

But the consequence is this: eventually you lose yourself.

I had lost myself. But then I stopped being afraid and began to speak. And I lost friends, family, my culture, my denomination. But I found myself.

And it is wonderful. The Lord has lifted me out of a miry pit and set me on firm ground. The Lord took me out of a narrow place and set me in a wide place.

So now I am me. In a wide place, on firm ground, I can leap; I can dance. I can praise. I can be myself.

In the mud and the narrowness, everyone is afraid of losing their place and they can’t even imagine life outside the mud. They have their things and everything stays the same, but they lose themselves.

It is far better to have yourself and God created you, even if that means the loss of everything else.

Anything or anyone that insists that you stay captive in the narrow, mire-filled pit, isn’t worth holding on to anyway.

Save yourself by being brave enough to risk losing everything to find yourself. It is worth it. And Jesus walks with you there, in the wide pastures, by the still waters. And those still in the mud will be sure that you are doing something wrong, because they are so afraid of finding themselves that they don’t dare ask to be set free.

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June 4, 2023 · 7:33 am

Thoughts on Gothard

I was introduced in the early 80s to Bill Gothard’s stuff. I saw firsthand the damage done by this insidious cult leader. He is every bit as dangerous as Jim Jones, just with a larger following – but that is another issue.

I did not watch Shiny Happy People yet. I intend to. But this really doesn’t have anything to do with that.

But I was thinking about Gothard, Wilson, Piper, McArthur, etc, etc, and the gospel.

In way of reminder, here is what the Good News is:

God’s love for you is so infinite and unfathomable that the Second Person of the Trinity took on himself the flesh of a man, became obedient to the Father, even to the point of a shameful, hideous death. He did this so that I might know that he will stop at nothing to bring us back to his presence and reconcile the world to himself. He conquered sin and death and bondage to Satan, and is now pouring out His Spirit on all flesh, reconciling the world to himself through faith.

This was foretold by the Prophet Jeremiah:

33 But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the LORD: I will put My law in their minds, and write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. 34 No more shall every man teach his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, ‘Know the LORD,’ for they all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them, says the LORD. For I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more.” Jer. 31:33–34.

Let those words sink down into your soul. Because of God’s love for you, because of the death and resurrection of our head, Jesus Christ, because of the Holy Spirit which he sends to us, we have NO NEED of endless control freaks telling us how to live, act, love, dress, recreate, or raise our kids.

We don’t need anyone to tell us how to be married, how to raise kids, how to behave at work, how to love our neighbor, how to earn God’s blessing…

We don’t need anyone to tell us what toys to buy, where to shop, what companies to boycott, what movies to watch, what music to listen to…

WHY? Because Christ has come to set us free and to teach us all we need to know by his word and spirit.

The Holy Spirit teaches us how to love, and when we know how to love, we have everything we need.

That is the gospel. But there are many, many people who have a material interest in keeping you from the love of Christ.

Gothard, Duggar, Wilson, and – you name it, it goes on and on – all make fortunes from telling everyone how to do everything. They leave you broken, fearful, restless – and then you buy more and more and more, hoping that this time you might do enough to be loved by God.

They work through your parents, because after all, you learn love from your parents. And so often the message that parents give is that you don’t do enough to earn their love, so work harder. Purity culture taught that kids must be ever vigilant, ever watchful, ever strong – because if they mess up, even a little, they are spoiled forever and no one will love them.

And then the kids grow up and apply this lesson that they learned to God. I need to do more. Maybe this guy can show me how to quiet my uneasy heart.

But hear me please.

Jesus paid it all. All to him I owe.

It is already all done. God cannot love you any more than he loves you now. Theology 101 teaches what we call the “simplicity” of God. God’s love is not in bits and pieces, to come and go based upon the performance of mankind. But his love is from himself, infinite in scope and active at all times, even when we cannot fathom it.

And THIS is the Spirit that he has poured out upon his people. We learn to love as he loves, not to earn his love, for that cannot be. But because he already loves us.

We love, because he first loved us.

And when we love, we buy teletubbys, and cabbage patch dolls and smurfs and even go to Disneyland if we want to. And if we don’t, we stay home and watch silly TV shows with our kids. And when we don’t want to watch something because it makes us restless or makes us feel dirty, we just turn it off – without EVER consulting an expert on what we should buy or what we should watch or where we should go.

Because the love of God is sufficient.

And because of the love of God, we are taught by God.

9 But concerning brotherly love you have no need that I should write to you, for you yourselves are taught by God to love one another; 10 and indeed you do so toward all the brethren who are in all Macedonia. But we urge you, brethren, that you increase more and more; 11 that you also aspire to lead a quiet life, to mind your own business, and to work with your own hands, as we commanded you, 12 that you may walk properly toward those who are outside, and that you may lack nothing. (1 Th 4:9–12.)

So find someone that tells you about Jesus. The wicked, abusive person wants nothing to do with the gospel, because if the gospel is true, the abusive control freak loses power over you. So find a church that talks about Jesus and about how Jesus loves sinners and calls them to himself.

It will be small, because those who like to exert power run away when they find that they don’t have power over people.

But those who are there will be learning how to love, because that is what God does. He teaches us to love one another.

And that is so much more important than purity balls and houses free from teletubbies, don’t you think?

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May 31, 2023 · 6:04 pm

9 things for May 31st

We love our new home. God has truly provided for us, and we are very thankful. Our friends have been wonderful and came through for us in so, so many ways.

I’m not sure how I feel about not being a pastor anymore. On the one hand, I have a lot of trauma recovery to do and sometimes I just need a moment to sit and stare. But on the other hand, there aren’t a lot of people who know what the gospel is and it burns in me. I wish I knew how to tell everyone.

But there is no taste for it anymore. People want to hear about how other people are ruining the country, how to live so that you aren’t like other people, and how it would be if our kind of people were in charge. None of that is the gospel. But that doesn’t seem to matter to the church anymore.

When we bought our house, the previous owners left a vintage component stereo system hooked up in the garage. It appears to be from the late 60s or early 70s. It is complete with the huge, plywood encased speakers. The sound is like nothing I have heard for the last 30 years. Fabulous.

I’m tired. I read somewhere that the hardest trauma to recover from is face-to-face irrational hate. This describes so much of what we have endured. Recovery might take some time. I’m not sure where to begin.

But our home is beautiful, and I am surrounded with love. The Shepherd has me in a tight embrace of love. That is a lot and I am confident that there will be healing in our future.

Here is an interesting fact about the city we have moved to: there is a railway bridge over one of the main roads. The clearance is pretty low. The trucks won’t change their route, and the railroad won’t change their bridge. So two or three times a month, a truck gets stuck under the bridge. Reality has a tendency to stubbornly refuse to change based upon the desires or beliefs of truck companies or railroads.

But even when a truck is stuck for pretending that reality is different than it is, the community responds with kindness, and helps wherever they can. There is a lesson there somewhere.

I have gotten myself stuck so many times trying to pretend that reality is different than it is. I am trying not to do that anymore. I am me, and there are certain types of people who will hate me and try to get as many people as they can to hate me as well. But I will still wash feet. Still follow my Shepherd; still love my wife; still proclaim peace to people that you probably don’t like, and still eat with sinners. I am just going to try to not let the hatred of others get to me so much. Life is too short.

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May 28, 2023 · 6:43 am

…and you will be my people

The book of Exodus is about how God redeems his people from bondage in order to dwell with them. There are a lot of images and types that point to Christ.

He is our Passover lamb; he is our high priest; he is the atoning sacrifice; he is the tabernacle of God. In him dwells all the fullness of the godhead bodily – and so on.

If you miss Christ in the book of Exodus, then you simply have a weird god who demands weird things and makes people jump through hoops for no good reason. Throw in some frogs and locusts, and you have a pretty strange book of quaint and bizarre traditions.

But when Christ gives us light, the book opens up and we see wonderful things.

On this day of Pentecost, I would like to point out one of the beautiful themes of Exodus.

In the book, God redeems his people from Egypt. But they rebel against him. It is his purpose to dwell with his people and be their God, but he is a holy God and cannot dwell with sinful, rebellious humans.

If that were the end of it, it would be a pretty sad book. God would have brought them into the wilderness and then killed them for rebelling against him.

But God is love, as well as holy. He desires to dwell with his people in harmony and restore fallen creation. So he gives Moses instructions on building a large tent.

In that tent would be the “most holy place”, which would symbolize the throne room of God, the dwelling place of the most high between the Cherubim, where God lives with his people, just as he did in Eden.

But it would be hidden by a veil and accessed only by the high priest, and only once a year.

But before the high priest could enter the holy place representing the people, he had to sanctify himself. He had to make himself “holy”. He would sprinkle his garments, sprinkle himself, offer a sacrifice, wear the right garments.

THEN he could take the blood of the sacrifice into the Most Holy Place. And when that blood was sprinkled on the mercy seat, God would “descend” and fill the tabernacle, dwelling again with his people.

The book of Exodus ends with the High Priest finishing his work and the pillar of cloud and pillar of fire descending on the Most Holy Place.

34 Then the cloud covered the tabernacle of meeting, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle. 35 And Moses was not able to enter the tabernacle of meeting, because the cloud rested above it, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle. Ex 40:34–35.

But all of this was a picture to point us to Christ and illustrate his work.

Before Jesus went to the cross, he sanctified himself as the High Priest.

And for their sakes I sanctify Myself, that they also may be sanctified by the truth. Jn 17:19.

He offered his own blood on the altar of the cross and ascended into heaven, bringing the blood of the atoning sacrifice into the throne room of God.

12 Not with the blood of goats and calves, but with His own blood He entered the Most Holy Place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption. Heb 9:12

And when he took the blood into heaven, he received the promise of the Father – a people called by His Name, where he would dwell with them and be their God, and they would be his people.

This is what is happening in Acts 2. Jesus ascended to God and the pillar of fire and cloud filled the tabernacle. Only this time, the tabernacle is the people of God, not a building.

5 you also, as living stones, are being built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. 1 Pet 2:5.

Now, this tabernacle isn’t mediated by men. The Holy Spirit is poured out on men and women, young men and maidens, children, old and young. All who are Christ’s. All who have come to the living Stone are his temple, filled with his presence.

Exodus is fulfilled at Pentecost.

Wonderful, isn’t it? You are the living temple of God because of the sacrifice and sprinkling of blood by our Great High Priest, Jesus.

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May 15, 2023 · 7:09 am

What if they knew what I was really like?

It is the ultimate in imposter syndrome. What if my true nature was exposed to the world? What if I stood before everyone like the Emperor without any clothes?

Have you ever worried about exposure? What if the most shameful acts were exposed to the world? What if your darkest fantasies were displayed on a movie screen for all to see?

And lets keep going. Do you ever just hope that you are “good enough” to stand before God after your death?

And you quickly try to put it out of your mind because there is a part of you deep inside that tells you that there is no way God will accept you.

What if you could have a do-over? If you could live your life again and avoid all of the shame and misery and guilt, how great would that be!

Or Perhaps you could live again and do over all of those times you didn’t act in love or in kindness, where the cruelty of your heart broke through the carefully constructed wall around your soul and wounded the ones you love the most.

But there is a part of you that is afraid that you would simply do the same things and act the same way.

But what if you could have a perfect record, as if you never had nor committed any sin?

If you have never been told that Jesus offers you his own righteousness, then shame on the preachers you have been listening to your whole life.

The fact is that the Christianity is not “do better, and God might accept you.”

It is greater than forgiveness; it is “as if you have never committed nor had any sin”.

That is beyond pardon, beyond forgiveness, beyond God just looking the other way.

It is God looking right at you and seeing his begotten Son, in whom he is well-pleased.
It isn’t tolerance. It is embrace.

In Jesus, you are embraced, welcomed, loved, protected, fed, and a part of something far, far beyond yourself.

If only you accept it with a believing heart. This is the call of the gospel. That is what good news really is.

It isn’t “be a better person.” And it isn’t that God is somehow not holy enough to notice your sins.

It upholds God’s holiness and God’s mercy all at once.

You stand before him in a righteousness that isn’t your own, but the work of another.

As the Heidelberg puts it:

60. How are you righteous before God?

Only by true faith in Jesus Christ: that is, although my conscience accuses me, that I have grievously sinned against all the commandments of God, and have never kept any of them, and am still prone always to all evil; yet God, without any merit of mine, of mere grace, grants and imputes to me the perfect satisfaction, righteousness, and holiness of Christ, as if I had never committed nor had any sins, and had myself accomplished all the obedience which Christ has fulfilled for me; if only I accept such benefit with a believing heart.

There is no “yeah, but…” to that at all.

 

 

 

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April 22, 2023 · 4:42 pm

But Can’t God Change an Abuser’s Heart?

This question comes up a lot. It is no secret that I have taught frequently that abuse is grounds for divorce. I believe that even ONE time of physical violence or expression of hatred is a breaking of the vows (or the covenant, if you prefer) of marriage. The innocent party has every right to get whatever legal assistance she (or he) needs, up to and including divorce.

I also believe that the one who has been harmed is able to judge their safety far better than I can, and I will support whatever they decide to do.

But when I say that, it is almost certain the someone will quote 1 Peter 3 to me.

3 Wives, likewise, be submissive to your own husbands, that even if some do not obey the word, they, without a word, may be won by the conduct of their wives, 2 when they observe your chaste conduct accompanied by fear. (1 Pet. 3:1–2.)

But understanding the context of a passage is crucial to understanding the passage. Peter is speaking of women newly converted, learning about their freedom in Christ, and asking what to do about their husbands who do not believe.

It isn’t about abusive husbands in the 21st century. If a man (or a woman) breaks their vows, and divorce is possible, that is another subject.

In this passage, Peter is addressing newly converted wives. Just as with male converts, the greatest witness one can have is to shine the meekness and restfulness in heart to a restless and proud world.

But maybe that would be another blog.

For now, I would like to answer the question, “But can’t God convert my abusive husband?”

Or the pastor tells you to stick in your marriage, even if you are in danger, because God can change a man’s heart.

Abusers know that this is the hope of the believer, because they use it to keep their victims in bondage. “I know I’ve been a bad husband, but I am changing. God is working in me. I am going to be better. I know I’ve hurt you but I’m really going to try to stop.”

So let’s look at that question.

Can God change an abuser. Of course he can.

But now let’s talk about wisdom. We know, first of all, that the change of a man’s heart (or a woman’s heart) takes the almighty power of God, the same power that created the world and raised Jesus from the dead. Apart from God’s almighty, supernatural power, there is no redemption or salvation. It is nothing less than a re-creation from the shambles of the ruined one.

In other words, regeneration is a miracle of God’s power. It is not natural. It is not a part of the order of creation. It is God reaching into history and breaking the power of sin and death by the death and resurrection of his begotten son, and the indwelling of the Spirit of Life.

Jesus changing water to wine was also a miracle by the almighty power of the Creator. So was his walking on the water.

Jesus enabled Peter to walk on water. He gave the apostles the power to cast out demons and heal the sick.

But that is not in the ordinary order of creation. WE, as humans, do not have an audience in the throne room of God, and are not privy to the roll sealed inside and out. We don’t know what God is going to do. But we CAN act according to wisdom.

Knowledge of God’s power teaches us that Jesus can enable us to walk on water. Wisdom teaches us to build bridges. This also is honoring to God and his creative power.

Knowledge of God’s power teaches us that Jesus can turn water into wine. Wisdom teaches us to get a job and find a good wine vendor.

Knowledge of God’s power teaches us that Jesus can heal the sick. Wisdom teaches us to get vaccinated and go to a doctor.

And here is the pertinent one. Knowledge of God’s power teaches us that God can take the vilest sinner, even an abusive man, and make him a servant, giving him a new heart and a new spirit.

But wisdom teaches us that as a dog returns to his vomit, so a fool returns to his folly (Proverbs 26:11).

We are not to tempt God, placing our lives in danger in the hopes that he will work a miracle. We are to live in wisdom, according to the natural order of creation.

A fool remains a fool.

Wisdom teaches us that a man who abuses an animal will also abuse his wife.

Wisdom teaches us that a man who strangles his lover has an extremely high probability of killing her eventually.

Wisdom teaches us that an angry man with a gun will eventually shoot someone in rage.

Wisdom teaches us that a man with no control over his anger will continue to have no control over his anger.

Wisdom teaches us that a woman who enjoys manipulation and control will continue to enjoy manipulation and control.

And wisdom teaches us that a man who enjoys manipulation, power, control, and inflicting pain and terror will continue to enjoy manipulation, power, control and inflicting pain and terror.

Let these words sink into your head. Your love won’t change him. Your pleas won’t change him. Your begging won’t change him.

You can’t convince him to live as a decent human being because he doesn’t want to and you can’t shame him into it.

The only hope for him is if God changes his heart.

And the wind blows where it will; God has mercy on whom he will have mercy and whom he will he hardens.

Hard truths, but that is how we are called to live.

Walk in love, live in kindness, expect the gospel to work in the hearts of men and women. But live in wisdom. Let God be God. The softening of the proud heart is too hard for you.

It is OK for you to free yourself of that burden.

One final note – wisdom lives according to the order of the created universe. Faith lives according to the promises. If you are a believer and love the Lord Jesus, he has promised you that he will complete that work in you. It IS a supernatural work and therefore not according to the order of the universe, but it is a promise of our almighty father. He WILL complete that work, because he has promised. So you can certainly rest in him. 


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