Morning Reflections – 7/31

Morning Reflections is a series of brief reflections on my daily morning readings; one chapter of Pslams and one of Proverbs.

Psalm 61 and Proverbs 31

Psalm 61 is full of prayers and petitions, both for merciful guidance for himself (lead me to the rock that is higher than I) and for blessing for the king (May he be enthroned forever before God). After all his prayers, he ends with v8, “So will I ever sing praises to your name, as I perform my vows day after day.” This is a fitting end for all our prayers as well as really the only right response. Our ultimate hope in seeking God’s guidance ought to be to secure his blessing for ourselves and those we love, however even beyond that it should be that we might praise him more fully, praise him more faithfully. Indeed, when he answers, what else can we do? There is no repayment for the favors of God, only to give ourselves entirely, as we are, to him and his purposes.

Proverbs 31:4 says “Do not give your strength to women, your ways to those who destroy kings.” Seeing as these are the words of King Lemuel to his son, who will one day be king, the words are highly applicable. One who will be king should indeed not give his ways to those who will destroy him. Undoubtedly women have been a snare to many a king in Israel. Solomon and David are among Israels greatest kings, and both of them suffered greatly for their lack of discretion in this department. A king strength is not for indulgence, but to “defend the rights of the poor and needy (v9).” Interestingly, this is done not through warfare, but through “opening your mouth”, as twice the phrase is mentioned. A kings role is to rule by statue and to promote equity and righteousness through legislation. By decree a king works on behalf of his people. A mute king is no king at all. In contrast, what a king Christians have! King Jesus never spoke a sideways word, nor one that fell to the wayside. When he opens his mouth it is pure justice, righteous judgment, healing wisdom, and words of life. We gladly own you as king, oh Jesus, because none other rules so powerfully as you do by your decrees. In them we are safe and protected, cared for and sustained. May your kingdom come and your will be done, Lord!

Morning Reflections – 7/30

Morning Reflections is a series of brief reflections on my daily morning readings; one chapter of Pslams and one of Proverbs.

Psalm 60 and Proverbs 30

Psalm 60:11 says “Oh, grant us help against the foe, for vain is the salvation of man!” This is an emphatic statement, and for anyone who names the name of the LORD, it should be ever on our lips. This is especially true in our day, where temptations to pragmatism and human wisdom are ever so sophisticated and prevalent. We must be all the more certain that we need the help of the personal powerful sovereign of the universe and be all the more eager to secure this help. The psalmist had no illusions; it would be God’s help or no help. Man simply cannot produce the power that is needed, nor work the salvation that is desired.

Verses 1-3 are the psalmists recollection of God’s hard dealings with his people; Perhaps God on occasion needs to show his awesome power against his people whereby they learn that the salvation of man, (ie, their own!) is in vain. Being taken to task by the God of the universe is by no means pleasant; it is then indeed when we begin to yearn for God’s favor the most… I do believe God desires to give it to us all along, we just need to be prepared for it, lest we trample it underfoot in gross unthankfulness. Affliction is a great buffer against the heinous sin of ungratefulness.

Agur, the author of Proverbs 30, is aware that the Lord is ready to afflict, which is why he wisely requests honesty of heart and sufficiency in God. His great fear is that he deny the Lord in the pride of his wealth or profane the name of the Lord by thieving out of poverty. He fears the Lord, and in that his wisdom is manifest. Proverbs 30:7-9 would be a great one to memorize, especially for youth who seek to live right before the Lord.

Morning Reflections – 7/29

Morning Reflections is a series of brief reflections on my daily morning readings; one chapter of Pslams and one of Proverbs.

Psalm 59 and Proverbs 29

Twice in this Psalm the author recalls of the gentile heathens: “Each evening they come back, howling like dogs and prowling about the city.” Whether the psalmist hears of their scoffing and indulgence from outside the city, inside the city, or is merely speaking in generalities of his enemies; one thing is clear: he will have no part in it. He would rather retreat to his own fortress, the God who shows steadfast love, the God who is his strength. Notice how he owns God. you are MY fortress, you are MY strength, you show ME steadfast love, you have been to ME a refuge. His people ought to take refuge in him, separating themselves from the indulgences of worldly scoffers.

v8 in the proverbs says “Scoffers set a city aflame, but the wise turn away wrath.” Abraham was wise in his hopes of turning away wrath from Sodom, a heathen city that meets and even exceeds the description in the psalm. Yet the author of this psalm seems more interested in their prolonged destruction, until they are consumed completely. How shall we reconcile the two? I guess these attitudes are simply two facets of the same diamond, two friends that need not be reconciled. The heart of the psalmist is found in v13, that his enemies “may know that God rules over Jacob to the ends of the earth”. Scoffers may repent or be silenced, but their ignorance will not continue unabated. The wise may turn away wrath from a city for a time, or from a person for an eternity by the gospel; but the psalmists desire shall in the end be realized.

 

Morning Reflections – 7/28

Morning Reflections is a series of brief reflections on my daily morning readings; one chapter of Pslams and one of Proverbs.

Psalm 58 and Proverbs 28

Psalm 58 begins with a hypothetical question about the gods of the earth. Do they decree what is right? Do they judge the children of man uprightly? The response is immediate; No. The Psalm then continues with indictments against the wicked and prayers to capital “G” God, the true God, to frustrate, destroy, and ultimately bring the enemy to nothing. In the final two verses the Psalmist anticipates the coming victory and judgment of the wicked when the true God who actually does decree what is right and actually does judge the children of man uprightly comes to do, well, just that.

Verse 10 is what grabbed my attention. “The righteous will rejoice when he sees the vengeance; he will bathe his feet in the blood of the wicked.”

Seems a bit gratuitous, don’t you think? Bathing in someone else’s blood? We don’t often think in these categories, but not only does the Psalmist seem quite comfortable with this idea, we have to own the fact that those words were inspired!

How can we bring ourselves into agreement with the seeming violence of the psalm? How can we join the psalmist rather than judge him in his bloody foot bathing? How can this be right?

The key is to recognize that if God indeed is the judge, then the judgment is indeed just, and the execution is righteous. Whatever his judgment, it cannot be other than a righteous, pure, and perfect judgment. If it were not so, he would no longer be capital “G” God, but just another little “g” god among the rest whom the psalmist dismisses two verses in.

The temptation of Psalm 58:10 is to appraise the judgments of God. In contrast, it calls us to bathe our feet with the psalmist. In reality, what else can we do? Though there be blood in the streets, if it is of the Lord, we say Amen. His judgments cannot be anything but wisdom in action, holiness on display, justice executed to perfection. Whoever acts otherwise simply cannot be God.

Perhaps this is exactly why Proverbs 28:5 says “Evil men do not understand justice, but those who seek the LORD understand it completely.” God simply will not play nicely with any notion of justice erected outside of himself; the very notion of justice is bound up in the person-hood of God.

 

Creation, Evolution, and The New Birth

Had some musings today about evolution and whether God “could have used it”, or “might have used it”, or “did use it” in bringing our world and our race into existence.

I have a new response next time that comes up in discussion.

The Bible tells us that this physical world is an extension of a spiritual realm, and that the physical is patterned after the spiritual and the temporal after the eternal.

Examples of this: marriage. Though marriage came before Paul wrote the letter of Ephesians, we read there that the marriage institution was patterned after the relationship Christ would have with his church: from the start, the physical relationship was patterned after the spiritual one.

We see the same thing in the tabernacle and temple of the OT. Concerning the tabernacle, Moses was told sixteen times to make it according to the pattern given him. God’s concern in this regard is understood when we consider that there were important spiritual realities that God wished to communicate through that physical construct; some of which can be seen in the book of Hebrews, where we read that there is a “tabernacle not built with hands, not of this creation” (Heb 9:11) that is greater than the physical one.

These are two of just a few that could be pointed out.

So if the physical is patterned after the spiritual, then wherever in our bible we see a spiritual reality connected to a physical one, we ought to consider the physical as an extension of the spiritual and not the other way around.

This is where creation comes in.

I’ve understood for a while that the Bible uses creation language when it comes to the new birth. 2 Corinthians 4:6 is foremost in my mind at the moment: “God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.”

Paul is plainly referencing salvation, or the new birth, to creation. It was back in Genesis 1:3 that God said “Let there be light”. Here Paul uses it to describe the Christian conversion, where the heart is opened to see with the eyes of faith the glory of God in the person and work of Jesus. This is an act of God upon a person described elsewhere as a transfer from the kingdom of darkness to the kingdom of Christ (Col 1:13), being made alive from the dead (Col 2:13-15), being once darkness and now light (Eph 5:8). This is just to name a few.

A common thread between all the analogies used to reference salvation is that it is an instantaneous event. There is a stark contrast. You were this, now you are this. Notice there is no mention of a journey or process in between. Crossing from death, from condemnation to justification, from death to life happens in a moment, and that is the consistent testimony of the New Testament.

So then. If there is indeed a scriptural precedent for connecting God’s action in the physical creation to the spiritual reality of the new birth; then we ought to consider the spiritual birth as the precedent for the creation event, and when we do so, we are left with no room for anything other than a spontaneous creative act.

No process. God said, and it was.

There was no light, then there was light.

And if the first “and God said…” was a spontaneous creative act; then there is no reason to believe any of the others were any different. Land, sea, fish, birds, plants.

I hope I can look further into this connection in the future. I want to divide scripture rightly, and so at this point I am just hypothesizing, but it is worth digging here because I think this is legitimate. Looking forward to spring break, maybe I’ll get to chew on this more then…

Loving the Rod

And have you forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as sons? “My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, nor be weary when reproved by him. For the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives.” ~ Hebrews 12:5-6

Blessed is the man whom God corrects; so do not despise the discipline of the Almighty. ~ Job 5:17

Our fathers disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, that we may share in his holiness. No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it. ~ Hebrews 12:10-11

 

Scripture makes known to us our Heavenly Father’s intention to discipline all his children as an expression of his love for us. By all accounts it seems that discipline ever lies between us and holiness; whatever measure of personal holiness we have yet to attain, we shall reach it through the path of discipline.

It has been my thought that if it is his holiness we are after, it will come through receiving his discipline. Self discipline leads to self-righteousness, God’s discipline leads us to the humble holiness he delights to see in us.

God alone knows the fullness of joy that accompanies personal holiness, and it is his incredible love for his children that causes him to take up the rod of discipline and with it lead us into that joy. He seeks our holiness because he seeks our happiness, and not the brand the world offers mind you. This happiness is invincible.

We ought to consider this deeply. To see the Rod of the Lord is to see his father heart for us his children. I believe each son and daughter is uniquely special to the Heavenly Father, and his Rod is uniquely crafted and wielded for each of them.

It is quarter after 3 in the morning, and my wife and I have been up since 1am with Graeme (our 1 year old). We’ve gone down the list: not sick, not teething, not scared, not hungry, not thirsty… still he won’t settle and sleep. Now we can attribute this to any number of things, and some of them may even be legitimate causes for a son that won’t sleep tonight. But there is only one interpretation of tonight that I can embrace with my whole heart: this is the Rod of the Lord.

Tonight we received his discipline. Tonight he has come to move us along in the way of holiness. Tonight he has looked upon us in love, and in his great wisdom he has chosen a rod that was made just for us, and he has wielded it perfectly on our behalf. He is truly extravagant toward us!

Seeing the rod of the Lord in your circumstances makes it possible for us to give thanks to God in all things. It helps us to see how special and specific his love is for us, how uniquely he sees us. He uses the Rod so wonderfully, so skilfully, so perfectly! Just for me! Oh how he must love me! His intimate knowledge of us can be seen in each and every stroke, if we wish to see it.

We should choose to see the Rod; to look for it, and to love it wherever we find it. It shouldn’t be hard to find, for God’s word tells us repeatedly that the rod is real and that the rod is there, disciplining us; sometimes heavy, sometimes light, always constant, always effective, and always wielded to perfection in sovereign, omnipotent hand of the Father whose love never fails us.

He who spares the rod hates his son, but he who loves him is careful to discipline him. ~ Proverbs 13:24

Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest, and repent ~ Revelation 3:19

May there be no wasted strokes!

The Purpose of Trials; and a Poem

Trials and struggles are part of the Christian experience. God has ordained them, and he brings them about according to his wisdom, love, mercy, and his perfect good pleasure. God uses them skillfully to bring about any number of desirable results both in and for his children.  Trials are the means by which Christians receive disciplining, guidance purifying, softening, strengthening, refocusing, reminding, rebuking, refining, preparing, and teaching occur. It is no wonder that we are told not to be surprised at them.

“Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you.” ~ 1 Peter 4:13

Testing! There’s another one for the list!

I think, however, that often the greatest purpose in our trials will be hidden from us if we are only considering ourselves. I think that perhaps the greatest purpose our trials will serve is to be an encouragement and blessing to others.

Consider Job.

His trial was probably the most fiery trial any man apart from Christ has faced. He literally lost more than most of us will ever have in a lifetime, all within a few short minutes. When he finally got an audience with God, he wanted to know WHY he had suffered so much. After all this suffering, surely God will step in to encourage his faithful servant right?

Wrong. How’s this for an answer

“Who is this that darkens my counsel by words without knowledge? Dress for action like a man; I will question you and you make it known to me.” ~ Job 38:2-3

What follows are one hundred and twenty five verses, three whole chapters, of sheer glory, power, majesty, sovereignty, wisdom, and strength; all of which belong to God, and to him alone. After his incredible trial, Job meets God and is FAR from comforted; the encounter left him despising himself.

Perhaps you have read the book of Job and been comforted before. As I read Chapters 38 and 39, I got so pumped up that I am going to crash pretty soon. (Sometimes scripture has the same effect on me that energy drinks do!) Countless millions have been inspired, awestruck, uplifted, and humbled through Job’s trial.

The fiery trial for him resulted in untold blessings for others.

Sounds a bit like Jesus, doesn’t it?

It is in this spirit that I will share a poem about a fiery trial that I experienced just a few months ago. Essentially, for about six days I had thoughts and feelings that I was not actually saved, that I would spend the rest of my days apart from Christ and have hell as my eternal home after I died. I was unable to defend myself against them or rally any sort of hope or joy or faith, and especially in the first two days, I was barely able to function as these thoughts and feelings dominated my mind almost constantly.

It was terrible in and of itself and even worse because of it’s effect on my wife, whom had experienced me as very spiritually solid up until this point.

One of the things I found through this trial was the knowledge that I could lose absolutely everything; my joy, my purpose, my mental health, my emotional stability, my ministry, my favor with people, my wife, my job, my son; I could lose it all, and yet I can never loose the work of Christ on my behalf. Through this trial, I was reminded that the righteousness of Christ is stored up for me in heaven, far far removed from my ability to ruin it. I can’t loose it because it isn’t my righteousness. It is Christ’s, and it can never be lost or ruined. That means I can loose it all, and I’ll still have that.

Off to 5 south with me? so be it! I may very well wind up a terrified, whimpering, shell of a man, more of a worm; and yet I’ll be alright, because Christ’s righteousness is mine, and as sure as he lives I shall have it in the end.

I know that God ordained this trial for a number of reasons personal to me. I trust that there will be purpose in it beyond myself; that it will be an encouragement and testimony to the greatness of God and the glories of his salvation.

This Week ~ by Kaleb Penner

This week I thought I’d go to hell
At times it seemed so sure
And even just the thought of it
was a hell to endure
This week I thought I’d go to hell and oft my soul did quake,
and many nights I tossed and turned; sweating, wide awake.

This week I thought I’d go to hell, the prospect seemed so certain;
That on the day I die I’d wake behind the fiery curtain.

This week I thought I’d go to hell, I thought that God would throw
my never ending soul into the darkest depths below.

for all the youthful years wherewhich I did not heed the LORD,
though all along I sung his songs and looked upon his Word.

And though I’ve claimed him as my own I’ve often this week felt
that I am really an apostate who has even fooled himself.

This week I felt I’d go to hell, that nothing could retain me;
hopelessly I groped for hope, my faith unable to sustain me

This week I thought I’d go to hell; for fire that once burned bright
within for Christ and rightouesness seemed lost in darkest night.

This week my heart condemned me, my thoughts and feelings too;
and so my heart did fear and thus became hard through and through.

My hope was spent, my mind was bent, I was a total wreck.

Yet in this state a truth so great did keep my soul in check.

That God made him who knew no sin to become sin for me

And if that be the case then I may certainly go free.

For if he became my sin, and died, then what is left of me?

My sin is dead, not else remains but life eternally!

…

This week I thought I’d go to hell
but when the week was through, I said
“my thoughts and feelings can be damned;
the work of Christ holds true”

“He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” ~ 2 Corinthians 5:21

“”He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed.” ~ 1 Peter 2:24

“But He was pierced through for our transgressions,
He was crushed for our iniquities;
The chastening for our well-being fell upon Him,
And by His scourging we are healed.
All of us like sheep have gone astray,
Each of us has turned to his own way;
But the Lord has caused the iniquity of us all
To fall on Him.” ~ Isaiah 53:5-6

“Jesus said, “It is finished.” ~ John 19:30

——————————————————–

Special thanks to John Fitzpatrick who was such a great encouragement to me through the “trial” week. I must also credit Ray Comfort, I read his blog post on Job today and his main point found its way into this post. “Give credit where credit is due…” (kind of  Romans 13:7)

The Lesson I Learned Last Month

It has been nearly two months since I have blogged. Externally, my world did not change much since my last post, internally, I feel as if I have been to hell and back. Well, mostly back anyway.

About a month ago I underwent an extreme trial with some heavy spiritual oppression manifesting in intense inward introspection and questioning my salvation. The one Monday was the worst day I have had in years, and the whole week was the lowest I have been since being married.

There were numerous contributing factors; unaddressed stress buildup as a first year teacher and first year father, fatigue from disrupted sleeping patterns, weighty thoughts that have gone unvoiced, the pressure of decision making, reading too many articles, wasting too much time on the internet; I am sure there are more.

I didn’t realize how much all this was weighing on me. I thought I was doing alright, but apparently I wasn’t doing as well as I thought. I don’t doubt that there were (and are) spiritual forces oppressing me for one moment; but what was alarming to consider was that this oppression was most entirely internal. There was no persecution, my schedule was the same as it has been for most of the last year, and no sudden emergencies or situations that I can recall, nothing that would necessarily trigger something like this.

I was awakened to just how open I am to spiritual oppression. It is alarming how vulnerable and susceptible I am to oppression.

I have mostly emerged now, and I have learned a few things from my ordeal.

 

1. I can loose it all: my joy, my peace, my desire for God, my ability to pray, my zeal, my job, my marriage, my family, my health, my sanity, and my mental stability; and ultimately I will be okay because:

2. I can never lose the righteousness that is in Christ Jesus, by which I stand blameless before God. It was never mine to lose in the first place, only mine to gain. Jesus already lived the perfect life, and he already gave that perfect life up for me. I can’t change that. I may lose everything in this life; I cannot lose the work of Christ on my behalf.

3. Theology books or articles are only of benefit to me if I am in daily fellowship with Christ through his word.

4. If I am not walking with Christ daily through prayer and his word, theology becomes lifeless and even poisonous to me.

5. I am in desperate need of integrity and personal, practical holiness. (NOT more knowledge)

6. I need to connect with friends more, even briefly.

7. I need to be in bed before 10pm whenever possible.

 

 

Walking with the person of Christ can be tricky for me I guess; when things get uncomfortable, I see just how much I love to turn to all manner of christian activity or thinking to fill my soul instead of going to the person of Jesus. I hope to never have to learn this lesson again!

Jesus help me walk daily with you in simple submission to your tender loving leading. Don’t let me wander from you! Stay close to me, you are the only good I know and the only hope I have. Apart from you I will surely be destroyed. I covet your presence, for I am weak. I need your strength, for I am easily swayed. I need your resolve because I bend to compromise. I need your guidance because I wander into danger. Save me from myself and all that is around me by the joy of your presence, the peace of your kindness, and the power of your word.

 

On Christian Manliness

I was grumpy this morning.

It happens occasionally. Usually it is an unnamed dissatisfaction, an uptight sort of irritation that is just there it seems. I attempt to identify the cause of this feeling, (have I ate anything in the last seven hours?) but only for a few seconds, as prolonged efforts only compound the sensation. The best remedy is to name it aloud; “I am grumpy right now.” It is often helpful to have an engaging conversation as well.

Today, however, I had a bit of a rant.

After my wife graciously heard me out, (which is a long process; I have to stop myself mid-rant to make sure the things I am saying are truly valid, I hate making inaccurate or meaningless statements) she suggested I should blog about it. I won’t rant here, I’ll just express my thoughts.

The topic: Christian Manliness.

Manliness in the church has been a hot issue in the last decade. Many books, programs, seminars, conferences, and group study materials have been produced to address and solve this issue of manhood. I personally have read a couple books addressing this issue. I have been to the “Wild-at-Heart” conference, a weekend-long event specifically targeting the area of Christian manliness. I have even participated in “Novemberfest”, a celebration of manliness that included a couple of my guy friends eating bratwurst and ultra hot wings, watching braveheart, and drinking really dark beer, all without a shirt on; and no shirts allowed.

Essentially, while many of these activities and products may make people feel manly, they certainly do little to nothing to actually produce true manliness in an individual. In some cases, they actually are harmful in that they wind up establishing framework for manhood that is quite other than what scripture would tell us. This is detrimental in that case, even if manliness is achieved, it is an earthly manliness which is of little spiritual value, compared to a godly manliness, which is of eternal worth.

And so basically my rant was that the proposed fixes for Christian manliness tend to look in all the wrong places.

The power to grow in manliness is not repeated viewings of Braveheart, or Rocky or any other MAN movie (certainly not The Expendibles, as I heard one man suggest recently!) nor is it doing any number of manly events or activities. As many of the MAN books or seminars that I am familiar with would point you to some of these things, they too are powerless to produce true manliness.

No; the power to grow in manliness comes from sound doctrine.

I have experienced this to be true in my life. I am in many ways not the same person I was just a few years ago. I have grown leaps and bounds in confidence, maturity, wisdom, and strength; and I can connect most all of this growth to truths I have learned about God, Christ, sin, myself, the world, the flesh, the devil, the Holy Spirit, and so on. Having a proper understanding on these issues has positioned me and empowered me to make decisions that I would not have made before, decisions that reflect the growing maturity as a man.

What I have realized is that true manliness is not a standalone character trait or collection of traits; rather, true manliness is the male expression of godliness. The “manliness deficiency” I experienced as a boy, and adolescent, and right up into my twenties was really a godliness deficiency.

It follows then that the cure for any lack of manliness is not to redefine manliness, nor to expose ourselves to worldly displays and complexes of manhood, nor to engage in more “man activities”, but to seek godliness. 

This reminded me of some messages I had heard a year ago that were immensely profitable to me. A pattern of spiritual growth is outlined in 1 John 2 that I want you to notice. John outlines his reasons for writing his letter, starting in verse 12.

I am writing to you, dear children, 
   because your sins have been forgiven on account of his name. 
I am writing to you, fathers, 
   because you know him who is from the beginning. 
I am writing to you, young men, 
   because you have overcome the evil one.

I write to you, dear children, 
   because you know the Father. 
I write to you, fathers, 
   because you know him who is from the beginning. 
I write to you, young men, 
   because you are strong, 
   and the word of God lives in you, 
   and you have overcome the evil one.

This scripture outlines three progressive categories of spiritual maturity: CHILDREN, YOUNG MEN, and FATHERS. We can apply this very profitably to a discussion on biblical manhood. Notice how each category is defined:

CHILDREN – Sins forgiven for his names sake, and they know their heavenly father.

YOUNG MEN – Have overcome the evil one, are strong, the word of God lives in them.

FATHERS – Know him who is from the beginning.

I’m going to add one more category to lump in everyone to whom none of these categories apply:

OTHERS – Sins not forgiven, don’t know the heavenly father.

By noting the differences in each category, we can discern what is necessary to move from one category to the next:

OTHERS –> CHILDREN

The process of spiritual maturity (and growth toward true manhood, to stick to our topic) begins with SALVATION. Consider John 1:12 – But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name. You begin the process of spiritual growth as a Child, born again into the family of God. God is the heavenly father to every true Child of God. Note that the Child has his sins forgiven and knows his heavenly father; these are the first things that accompany salvation, the forgiveness of sins and the knowledge of the loving heavenly father.

It is critical to note that the Bible recognizes no true maturity, no growth, no manliness apart from Salvation. That is the absolute beginning; the scriptures d. I will return to this thought later.

CHILDREN –> YOUNG MEN

While it is wonderful to know the heavenly father, and have their sins forgiven them, this would be a sorry place to end. There are two full categories of maturity (and degrees of true manliness) that await the newborn Christian, and by all means he should strive to attain them.

Consider now the difference between the Child and the Young man, specifically of what they take in. I have a child of 8 months, and while he is happy and healthy, he has a habit of indiscriminately putting whatever he can get his hands on into his mouth. For this reason, it is imperative that I as the loving parent am on constant duty to ensure he does not take in anything dangerous. Now, I can say with confidence that as a young man, he will not have retained that habit. As a young man, he will know what to take in and what not to take in, what is good for him and what is bad.

This is precisely the physical picture of the spiritual reality that we are considering in this shift from the Child to the Young Man. The Child consumes indiscriminately, taking into his mind and heart all manner of teaching or philosophy; some good, much useless, and much detrimental.

The Young Man however has no such problem, we are told that his is strong, and that he has overcome the evil one. What a feat that is! Should believers not strive with all they have to earn that claim? For we know that the evil one is none other than the Devil himself, the enemy of all that God is and all that we would become. How is it that a mere child can grow to overcome Satan himself?

The answer comes in considering further our enemy. He goes by many names; for today let us consider him as “The Father of Lies” (John 8:44) and “The Deciever”. We can think of how one with names such as these might be overcome; by the truth! One who is grounded in the truth cannot be deceived, and one who knows the truth will recognize the lie. The greater the knowledge, the greater the scope of our victory.

It is by DISCERNMENT and DOCTRINE that children can mature into young men, even overcome the devil. Consider Hebrews 5:14 …solid food is for the mature, who because of practice have their senses trained to discern good and evil. The mature man is practiced in discernment, noThey no longer need to take in to know, they can often identify early on what is good and evil, what is true and false, and thus they overcome the devil and grow strong.

YOUNG MEN –> FATHERS

Overcoming the Evil One is marvelous, and one would wonder that it is not the pinnacle of spiritual maturity and manhood. Yet we have one more echelon to attain, and that is the category of Fathers, who “know Him who is from the beginning.” This speaks of an intimate knowledge, a deep wisdom, and a close and steady walk with the Alpha and the Omega. To know Him who is from the beginning is to be well acquainted with righteousness, to have shared in the sufferings of Christ, to have explored the depths of God’s heart and communed with the All Holy God.

Young men know their doctrine, have discernment, and are no longer susceptible to false teaching or false doctrine; but there is much more to God than doctrines. They lay the boundaries by which we have the immense privilege and honor to commune with God himself. As the Young Man continues his walk, he will experience many things that will sanctify him, make him Christ like. As he shares in the joy’s and sorrows, trials and victories, he shares in the very life of Christ, established firmly in the grace and knowledge of Christ, the relationship honed by years of communion and fellowship with God eternal.

And so it goes like this:

OTHERS

Salvation

CHILDREN

Discernment, Sound Doctrine, Rightly Dividing the Word of Truth

YOUNG MEN

Life Experience, Faithful Obedience, Constant Communion

FATHERS

To apply this to the topic of Christian Manliness, the thing to remember is that true manliness is really the outworking of godliness through a male individual. True manliness comes by growing spiritually, by growing in godliness.

It is dangerous to define manliness by categories other than the ones present in scripture. To do so is to establish a target outside of God’s word, and it is impossible to grow in godliness unless our eyes are fixed on the right target. Many Christians get caught up looking at some successful businessman or some character in a movie as if they are a model for manliness. Forgetting the fact that these men or characters show no regard for God, his word, or his righteousness, Christians hold these characters up as models of manliness worthy of emulation.

This is totally backwards! Consider the categories. Maturity BEGINS with salvation, before that, there is nothing worthy our consideration. Whereas many Christian men today may esteem certain traits of unsaved men with high regard, even jealousy; this is due to a worldly complex of manliness that has crept (rather unimpeded if I might say) into the church of God. This worldly system doesn’t account for godliness one wit. I think it is disappointing to say the least that men can get caught up treasuring the worldly constructs of manliness rather than godliness, which is of immeasurable value!

On another note, I can’t help but see this as revealing either a great ignorance or disregard of the value of salvation. It is supremely offensive to God that we would fail to consider the value of our salvation when we compare ourselves to other men. Whatever we may see in others that we desire for ourselves, the fact is that if the person we envy is without God and his salvation, there is simply nothing there we should desire in the slightest; certainly not when we have been blessed with EVERY SPIRITUAL BLESSING IN THE HEAVENLIES in Christ Jesus!! We have the greatest treasure and the most powerful resources in our Salvation! O God that we would not forget that our salvation is the supreme possession, as our Salvation is none other than the person of Jesus Christ himself. He IS, in every way, the entirety of our salvation. To neglect Salvation is to neglect Christ, and to esteem anything higher than salvation is to esteem it above Christ. In him we have everything, manliness included.

The man who is saved for one minute is more mature and more manly in the eyes of God than Alexander the Great. If you are a Christian man, then so are you. You are more blessed than he, you are more mature than he. You are in the truth. Stand in it! Revel in it! Rejoice in it! Be eternally satisfied with your salvation, and covet not for a moment anything other than Christ and his glorious eternal reward!

At the Cross: Sovereignty Revealed

This is the third post in a series that will conclude on Good Friday. Each day will feature a different perspective of the Cross of Christ, focusing in on just one of the many themes revealed in his crucifixion.

Who was responsible for the crucifixion of Jesus?

Some say the Jews killed him. Jesus had come to them offering the kingdom of God, yet his own people rejected him. “He came to that which is own, but his own did not receive him.”  Although the overwhelming majority of his miraculous deeds were given to the Jews, it was also Jews whom Jesus offended by his words and deeds. It was the most influential and prominent Jews that were the most incensed by Jesus’ blistering rebukes and brilliant intelligence. These men did not long tolerate Jesus seeming attempt to bring the socio-religio-political landscape that had so profited them to ruin. These jealous men not only plotted to kill Jesus, but succeeded in dragging the common masses into their scheme. Pilate made his offer to the people: The notorious Barabbas or the innocent Jesus.

 …the chief priests and the elders persuaded the crowd to ask for Barabbas and to have Jesus executed. – Matt 27:20

The chants of “Crucify!” grew so loud Pilate could no longer address the crowds: they were a full on mob now. They got their wish.

Some say the gentiles killed him. – Although the Jews no doubt wanted Christ crucified, it was not in their power to have this done. The Jews were living under Roman governance at the time of Christ, and while they were permitted to deal with their own manners, the power to execute belonged solely to Rome. Therefore all criminal cases involving capital punishment were handled by Roman officials, all of whom were Gentiles. The chief priests and elders wished Jesus dead, and not having the power to have him thus punished, he was brought before Pilate. Though multitudes of accusations were hurled upon Jesus, Pilate knew it was for jealousy that Jesus was handed over. He sent Jesus another step up the Roman political totem pole to Herod, who in short order sent Jesus back, having deemed him to be no threat to anybody.

Pilate knew the accusations against him were false, and attempted to get Jesus off the chopping block so to speak. He offered to have him scourged first and then set free: the chief priests wanted more. Then he offered the people a choice between Barabbas and Jesus: the people chose Barabbas. And so, “Wanting to satisfy the crowd, Pilate released Barabbas to them. He had Jesus flogged, and handed him over to be crucified.” – Mark 15:15

The Jews wanted Jesus crucified, but it could never have happened without Pilate’s decree.

Some say that Satan killed Jesus. – Of all the evil days seen on the earth, It is hard to imagine a more unjust, more cruel, more wicked, more senseless, more hateful, more evil day than the day of Jesus death. An innocent man was betrayed by one friend and abandoned by the rest, arrested illegally and tried illegally. Falsely accused, spit on, hit, mocked, punched, abused, flogged, tortured and murdered.

How could Satan not be responsible?

Seeing as he is the “father of lies” and that “he was a murderer from the beginning”, it is right up his alley to be behind something so evil and so wicked. We know historically he was in the mix somehow, because he took up residence in Judas at the end of the last supper.  Filled by Satan, he went out quickly to betray Jesus, kicking off the darkest 24 hours since the dawn of creation.

Certainly he was hard at work throwing all his furious hatred and rage against the son of God.

Some say that you and I killed him. – Historically, both the Jews and the Gentiles were responsible for the crucifixion of Christ, and Satan was no doubt involved in tempting and inciting the mobs to extreme wickedness,  Yet believers today should know that while Jesus’ crucifixion is indeed a historical event, the implications touch every individual who has ever lived and ever will live. The crucifixion of Christ is in a sense “THE” historical event.

The Bible tells us that “all have sinned and fallen short of God’s glory.” – Romans 3:23; and that “the wages of sin is death” – Romans 6:23. It isn’t hard to put two and two together. All are sinners who deserve death. The “All” there refers to you, it refers to me, to our friends, family, acquaintances, coworkers…everyone alive…everyone who was alive….everyone who will be alive.

Except for Jesus, the sinless one. 

While every one of us should receive according to the evil works of our hands; Christ deserved none of it.

But he did die, and we see why in Isaiah 53:

…he was pierced for our transgressions, 
   he was crushed for our iniquities.

The 2nd verse of “How Deep the Fathers Love” speaks also of this by the lyric “It was my sin that held him there.” Were we not sinners, Christ would have had no need to suffer and die the way he did. It is a trustworthy statement that his death was brought about by our sin; his death was brought about by us. By you. By me.

So who was responsible for the death of Jesus?

All of the answers above have merit. In some way, the Jews, the Gentiles, Satan, You, and I all had a part in putting Christ on the Cross. We are all responsible in some way, we are all guilty of the death of Christ.

Yet there is another answer that compliments all of the above:

God is responsible for the death of Jesus.

Scripture credits God with taking Jesus to the cross far more than the Jews, the Gentiles, Satan, You, or even I. Consider the following:

Surely he took up our pain and bore our suffering,
yet we considered him punished by God, stricken by him, and afflicted. – Isaiah 53:4

Yet it was the LORD’s will to crush him and cause him to suffer,
and…the LORD makes his life an offering for sin, – Isaiah 53:10

God made him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in him – 2 Corinthians 5:21

For what the Law could not do, weak as it was through the flesh, God did:
sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and as an offering for sin – Romans 8:3

 

God is also responsible for the cross of Christ. He willingly offered him up, sent him to the cross, made him sin.

 

How is this Sovereignty Revealed?

 

What is unreal to consider is the thousands of individuals who were involved in the whole deal. Each one operating independently, out of his own faculties, making his own choices. And yet not only does Jesus get crucified EXACTLY on schedule (prophecy after prophecy was fulfilled during the last week of Jesus life, especially on that fateful Friday.) but the independent actions of all those people worked together to accomplish the perfect will of God.

In Peter and John’s prayer recorded in Acts 4, they say “Indeed Herod and Pontius Pilate met together with the Gentiles and the people of Israel in this city to conspire against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed. They did what your power and will had decided beforehand should happen.”

How fitting that they address their prayer to the “Sovereign Lord”!

And to put this in perspective, exactly when did God purpose Jesus to go to the Cross? Revelation 13:8 refers to Jesus as “the Lamb Slain from the foundation of the world.”

 

At the Cross, The Sovereignty of God is revealed: for there, on Calavary, the plan God drew up before the heavens and the earth were spoken into being came to pass through the independent action of countless individuals. The personal choices and efforts of all the Jews, all the Gentiles, Satan and all his demons; all of them in total rebellion against God, by their combined efforts accomplished nothing but their own undoing.

At the Cross, they accomplished the fulfillment of the greatest plan ever devised in the infinite mind of the God they utterly reject.