On Being a New Creation

The word “create” and its variations are used somewhat frequently throughout the Bible.  If you use some sort of Bible software (Biblegateway.com, E-Sword) you can search and you will find that in the majority of instances, it is speaking of God and His creating the world and all that is in it.  In all of these cases, whether it is in the Old Testament or New, Hebrew or Greek, there is a definite meaning to the word “create.”  We have the exact same meaning in English.  Webster’s Dictionary defines the word as follows:

“To Cause to come into existence; bring into being.”

Although there are other meanings, this is the primary meaning, and the same goes for the word when used in the Bible.  To created assumes that one is not simply changing something that exists into something else.  It is producing something where there was nothing before.  When God created the Heavens and the Earth, he did not simply rearrange what existed, he made them from nothing.  When God created the plants and animals of the world, he did not rearrange what already existed, he created them new.  When God created man, he may have produced man’s body from the dust he already created, but the soul and the human intellect and mind were brand new creations. 

One of the few cases (the only I found, not necessarily the only one in existence) in which the Bible uses create when referring to man and not God is in Romans 16.

I appeal to you, brothers, to watch out for those who cause divisions and create obstacles contrary to the doctrine that you have been taught; avoid them.
[Rom 16:17 ESV]

Even in this case, those who create obstacles are creating them from nothing.  God did not give us teachings that set up Obstacles, we in our sin create them.  Even in this case, the word create means to bring somthing into existence.  To bring into being from nothing. 

That is what the word create means and we cannot get around the word create when the Holy Spirit uses through the writer’s of the Bible.  When King David says in Psalm 51 “Create in me a clean heart”  he is not saying that his heart needs to be cleaned.  Nothing in his heart is good enough to carry on, he needs a brand new one, a clean one that can only be created by God himself.  We too are sinful and our natural hearts too are not worthy of having anything to do with a Holy God.  We too need to beg God to create a clean heart in us. 

Fortunately God hears our prayers for a clean heart and is Happy to answer them. 

to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.
[Eph 4:22-24 ESV]

God creates for us a new self, created after what our old selves could never match, what our old selves could not even tolerate, the true righteousness and holiness of God.  We are given this new self and the old, filthy, sinful self is given what he deserves, death.  The old self is drowned in the waters of our Baptism and our new self created by God Rises.  There is no good in our old selves, there is no way for our old self to come to Christ and work towards our own salvation.  The Old Adam’s only destiny is Death:

How can we who died to sin still live in it? Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.
[Rom 6:2-4 ESV]

We are told even more clearly in Ephesians 2 that in Christ we are a new creation in Christ:

For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.
[Eph 2:10 ESV]

He made us a new creation, not because we have done good works, not because we have earned or deserved it, or even because we asked for it.  The Old Adam, he who has no future but the wages of his sin, is not capable of any of these things.  It is only the new creation that can do the good works that God has prepared for us to do.  It is only the new creation that will walk in the path God has laid out for him. 

What a blessing and comfort it is to be a new creation in God’s sight.  To know that we have been created in “true righteousness and holiness.”  The true righteousness and holiness that comes to us only from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

SOLI DEO GLORIA

On the Comfort Seen in the Flood

Nearly everyone in the world is familiar with the Story of the Great Flood and Noah’s
Ark.  However, most people, even some who call themselves Christian, do not hold the story to be true.  For many it is just too terrible to imagine that God could be so disappointed with his creation that he felt the need to destroy it.  However, it did happen.  The Lord did see the need to destroy it and did cover the entire world with water for at least 150 days.  This water did kill every person and land animal that was not in Noah’s
Ark.  The Lord had shown his wrath.  There is a time coming when his wrath will be shown again.

Even in the midst of this rather unpleasant story, there are many things in which we Christians can find comfort.  The first and most obvious point in which we can find comfort is that God protected the faithful, his Elect from the punishment.  God is in control of his judgments and he will not execute them without providing for the safety of his people.  We see God providing Noah with safety in this story by giving him the exact information he needed to build the ark, and when he needed to enter it.  After they entered the ark, we find that it was the Lord himself who shut Noah and his family safely in the ark (Gen 7:16).   

This same attitude is shown by God when he rescues Lot and his family before the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah in Genesis 19.  In verse 16 we see that even after the Lord sent angels to personally warn lot, he still hesitated in leaving the city.  Nevertheless, because of God’s compassion, the Angels physically took hold of them and brought them out of the city.  After it was decided that Lot and his family would take refuge in the small city of Zoar, God tells him “Hurry, escape there. For I cannot do anything until you arrive there.”  Even after having to physically remove Lot and his family from the cities about to be destroyed, he refuses to do anything until
Lot was in a place where he would be safe.

In Egypt, the Lord provided for the safety of his chosen people when he inflicted the Hebrew’s captors with the ten plagues.  When it was the plague causing the death of the livestock, the Hebrews were protected from the plague by God.  In the same way we are told that the Boils only affected the Egyptians.  The Plague of hail did not affect the land of
Goshen, where the Israelites were.  The Lord protected the Israelites in the same way from the darkness and the Death of the first-born.  In this time of great tribulation for the entire country of Egypt, God protected his chosen people, his Elect.  He did not need to remove them from Egypt to protect them, he simply provided safety and security to them.

 As Christians, we know that we too have God looking out for us.  In our time of great tribulation, we know that God will provide for our safety and our security, just has He has done for his people through the ages.  This does not mean that we will have an easy life, or that we will not be persecuted, we will.  However we will continue to be strengthened by the Lord and will eventually be brought home to be with him. 

The next item of comfort we see in the account of the flood is one that many probably overlook, it is simply the fact that God chose to take 40 days to destroy the world (and an additional 150 for the water to subside.  Compared to the six days that Good took to create the world, this is an extraordinarily long time.  He could have done it in the blink of an eye, but he chose to do it much more slowly.  I certainly see this as a comfort, a reminder that God is slow to anger.  It shows us that this was something that God saw as necessary to do, not desirable.  We know that God desires the salvation of all men (Eze 33:11, 1 Tim 2:3-4), the destruction of the entire world, save Noah’s family, must have been something that God would not have done if it was not absolutely necessary.

Finally, and perhaps most importantly, we know that the waters of the flood are a type of the waters of Holy Baptism. 

When God’s patience waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was being prepared, in which a few, that is, eight persons, were brought safely through water. Baptism, which corresponds to this, now saves you, not as a removal of dirt from the body but as an appeal to God for a good conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, with angels, authorities, and powers having been subjected to him. [1Pe 3:20-22 ESV]

When we look at the flood, we do see death and destruction, but we also see God saving lives through water.  This naturally reminds us of the Sacrament of Baptism in which we are granted new life through God’s Word connected with the water.  We are reborn and given new life, just as those who came through the flood started a new life after being saved through God’s promise connected with the water of the flood. 

Although on first glance we see nothing but death and destruction in the account of the flood, upon a closer inspection we also see many examples of God’s Grace being shown to his Elect.

SOLI DEO GLORIA

   

On Ephesians 6:10-17

St. Paul wrote his letter to the church at Ephesus without any particular error to refute, as he did is most of his other letters. He wrote it from Prison in order to send the Ephesians a word of encouragement, a very potent reminder of our being saved by Grace alone, and a deeper understanding of our strength in Christ.

It is this last part, our strenght in Christ that I wish to look at today. This is how Paul chose to close his letter, with a picture of Christ’s strength as our armor. We are to take up the “whole armor of God” in order that we will be able to stand firm in the day of Evil. We are told to gird our waists with truth, to wear the breastplate of righteousness, and shod our feet with the Gospel of peace. Finally, we are told to carry the shield of faith, wear the helmet of salvation, and carry the sword of the spirit.

All of this sounds very good, however the instructions to do so seem to be kind of vague. These instructions are actually given to us in verse 10.

Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might.   [Eph 6:10 NKJV]

Of course, this is rather vague as well, how does a sinful human ”be strong in the Lord”. It would be more clear if we look at the original language. The word translated here as “be strong” is “ενδυναμουσθε” (transliterated as endunamoō). Although this word can be translated as it is, a better translation is “to receive strength” or “to be strengthened” (see footnote). This gives us a better understanding. Instead of placing on us the responsibility to remain strong, we are told instead to be strengthened by the Lord. Being strengthened by the Lord is much simpler than being strong. We all know how to be strengthened by the Lord, we are strengthened through the Means of Grace, the Gospel in Word and Sacrament. Whenever we hear the Word, we are being strengthened and putting on the whole armor of God. When we were baptized, and as our sinful nature is drowned daily, we are being strengthened and putting on the whole armor of God. When we receive the Body and Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ, we are being strengthened and putting on the whole armor of God.

Now that we know how to put on the armor of God, we must too understand what it means to put this armor on. In the 59th chapter of Isaiah, the prophet speaks of Christ himself wearing “righteousness as a breastplate and a helmet of salvation on his head.” (Isa 59:17) From this we see that this armor of God is not simply how we are protected from evil, but is in fact another way of saying that when we were baptized into Christ, we were clothed with Christ. (Gal 3:27). Putting on the armor of God is the same as being clothed with Christ. It is not something that we do after being saved, it is part of being saved. Not only are we clothed with Christ’s purity, but we are surrounded and protected by his strength as well. When we become adopted sons of God we are clothed with the Chist’s righteousness and protected by Christ’s Strength.

SOLI DEO GLORIA

footnote:There are some translations which do translate Ephesians 6:10 more appropriately. I probably prefer the Holman Christian Standard Bible’s translation over the others.

Finally, be strengthened by the Lord and by His vast strength.[Eph 6:10 HCSB]

Although I am not a big fan of it, the Amplified Bible also has a decent translation of the passage.

In conclusion, be strong in the Lord [be empowered through your union with Him]; draw your strength from Him [that strength which His boundless might provides].[Eph 6:10 AB]

Finally, the Contemporary English Version has a good translation of the passage.

Finally, let the mighty strength of the Lord make you strong.[Eph 6:10 CEV]

on the Baptism of our Lord

Our Lord Jesus Christ began his public ministry when he was 30 years old, by receiving Baptism from John the Baptist.  Each of the four Gospel writers take note of this event and at least mention in in their respective books.  However for most people it is somewhat of a mystery as to why Jesus asked John to Baptize him. 

There are primarily two schools of though on Baptism.  There are those who believe the Biblical view, that baptism is for the forgiveness of sin.  There are also those who believe it is nothing but symbolic of the change in their life.  The goal of this essay is not to defend the Biblical teaching of Baptism, however it is enough to note that neither of these views explain why Jesus was Baptized.  He had no sin that would be washed away.  There was no change in his life that would be symbolized.  Jesus was sinless for his entire life, and most definitely a believe in God for his entire life. 

In Matthew 3:15, Jesus gives a very brief statement regarding the purpose of his Baptism.  John had just protested saying that he was the one who needed to be baptized by Jesus.  Jesus simply tells him to “Permit it now; for thus it is proper for us to fulfill all righteousness.”  Again, this is not a very clear statement.  Jesus simply states that it is proper to do so. that it will fulfill all righteousness.  Jesus himself was already righteousness, John was the administrator of the baptism and certainly did not receive righteousness by doing so.  Something however did happen here.

 This is the first time that Jesus made a strong association between himself and sinners.  By submitting to a Baptism that he did not need, he was in effect publicly making himself to be viewed as one of us, as one who is under the law.  Even now, whenever someone is baptized, they are joined in the Body of Christ with all others who have received this blessed sacrament.  By receiving John’s Baptism, Jesus connected himself to all the sinners who had received John’s Baptism.  In this act, he expressed his willingness to take the sins of the world upon himself.  He is assuming his redemptive office, as our perfect high Priest.

The other two persons of the Trinity immediatly express their approval of Jesus taking on the office.  The Spirite decends upon him as a dove and the Father Speaks to all present that he is pleased.  John understands this and refers to Jesus as “The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.” 

This is the beginning of Jesus public ministry, and what a fitting beginning it is.  The very Son of God humbles himself and shows us his willingness to take our sins upon himself. 

 SOLI DEO GLORIA

On Philemon: A Picture of God’s Grace

The book of Philemon is one of the shortest and most often overlooked books of the Bible. It comprises of a single chapter. In this letter, Paul is writing to Philemon in defense of Onesimus. Onesimus was a runaway slave of Philemon’s, who became a disciple of Paul’s. Paul sent Onesimus back to his master, but pleaded with him to show Christian Mercy to the runaway slaveThere are multiple messages that can be taken from this book. Probably the most common is that we need to show mercy to sinners, just as Philemon was encouraged to do. This is obviously not the most important theme in the book. It is best to look at this book not as a fable, a story with a moral message. We should instead look at it as an allegory, a symbolic story used to communicate a separate idea.

In this story there are three characters; Philemon, Paul and Onesimus. Philemon is the master, the one who will more than likely be looking to exact punishment on his rebelious slave Onesimus. Paul is the mediator between the two. It is quite easy to see this as a symbol of man’s relationship to God. We men are sinful and rebellious against God, just as Onesimus was against his master. Like Philemon, we deserve nothing but punishment for our actions. There is no way we can get around this by ourselves. However, in Paul, Onesimus had a mediator between himself and his master. We too have a mediator between God and ourselves, Jesus Christ.

In both cases, the mediator pleads for the wrongdoer before the master. In both cases, the mediator goes beyond doing this. In verses 18 and 19, Paul tells this to Philemon: “If he has wronged you at all, or owes you anything, charge that to my account. I, Paul, write this with my own hand: I will repay it.” Paul not only pleads for the wrongdoer, but offers to take all of his debt and punishment on himself. This is most obviously a symbol of what Christ actually did for us on the Cross of Calvary. He took the punishment for our wrong doing, our sin, and he made the payment for it that we could never make. Paul offered to take the debt, Christ did and paid it off with his own innocent sufferings and death. This is the true Gospel message of Philemon. In this short letter, Paul gives us a very vivid picture of What Christ’s work for us is. He is both our mediator and our redeemer. He is our one and only Savior.

SOLI DEO GLORIA

Christ’s Regal Office

Christ’s third and final office is that of a King.  I have kind of struggled with where I wanted to go with this Third and Final office.  There are many different applications and even interpretations of Christ’s regal office.  There are also many errors and misinterpretations that have been made regarding his office. 

I recently read through Second Samuel, and was struck by chapter 5 when David becomes King over Israel.  What did God tell him about his new role as King?  He said that “You will Shepherd my people Israel.”  Israel’s greatest Earthly king was a simple shepherd.  After he became King, he remained a shepherd. 

The most comforting aspect of Christ’s regal office is that of the Good Shepherd.  I had written much about this, but though of a hymn, based on psalm 23, that says it all better than I ever could, so I will simply leave you with that as the conclusion of this look at Christ’s Threefold office.

The King of Love My Shepherd Is
Henry W. Baker

The King of love my Shepherd is,
Whose goodness faileth never,
I nothing lack if I am His
And He is mine forever.

Where streams of living water flow
My ransomed soul He leadeth,
And where the verdant pastures grow,
With food celestial feedeth.

Perverse and foolish oft I strayed,
But yet in love He sought me,
And on His shoulder gently laid,
And home, rejoicing, brought me.

In death’s dark vale I fear no ill
With Thee, dear Lord, beside me;
Thy rod and staff my comfort still,
Thy cross before to guide me.

Thou spread’st a table in my sight;
Thy unction grace bestoweth;
And O what transport of delight
From Thy pure chalice floweth!

And so through all the length of days
Thy goodness faileth never;
Good Shepherd, may I sing Thy praise
Within Thy house forever.

SOLI DEO GLORIA

On Christ’s Sacerdotal Office

Traditionally, the second office of Christ is that of a priest.  In reality, this is his primary office, the one that embodied his primary, that is Saving, work.  Again we will first examine Old Testament Office of Priest in order to better understand Christ’s how Christ fulfilled the office of Priest.

Under the Old testament Law, the Priests has many duties.  The primary duty they had though was to represent the People before God.  Their office was in fact the direct compliment of the prophets who represented God before the people.  The Priests did this in a number of ways.  They were the ones who distinguished between the Clean and Unclean (Lev 10:10).  They were also able to act as judges in legal proceedings (Deut 17:9).  The priests were also responsible for the maintaning temple conditions acceptable to God.  However, the priests most important way of representing the people before God was through the Sacrifices God Commanded.  The priests were responsible for making all sacrifices according to the specifications of the Mosaic Law.  Before the Mosaic law, the patriarchs offered their own sacrifices.  However after instituting his own law, God set aside certain people to do the sacrificing for all the people.  These sacrifices of course did not actually forgive sins, but they pointed to and reminded people of the coming saviour who would sacrifice himself and actually forgive sins.

 Christ is our one and only High Priest.  He too will distinguish between clean and unclean, and be a judge for us when he returns to seperate the sheep from the goats (Matt 25:32).  Jesus too worked to keep Temple conditions acceptable to God when he cleansed it from the moneychangers (John 2:12-17).  As with the Old Testament Priests, Christ’s primary work was sacrifice.  However, instead of simply sacrificing animals he became both the priest, and the sacrifice himself. 

The first part of being a priest and being a sacrifice was to be without blemish (Lev 21:17-23, 22:19-25).  In the Old Testament these were strictly physical characteristics.  For Jesus to become the Great High Priest and for his sacrifice to forgive sins, he had to be perfect in every way.  Christ was able to live a perfect life for us and offer himself as a perfect sacrifice for sin (1 Pet 1:19).  He is the Atoning Sacrifice for our sins (1 John 2:2). 

Christ also continues to represent us to God as a mediator and intercessor. (1 John 2:1).  Through him we have access to God.  Through him we are able to come to God in Prayer as his own sons (Gal 3:26-29).  Christ is our perfect mediator (Rom 8:26).

Through Christ’s Priestly work, we have been Reconciled to God.

 SOLI DEO GLORIA

On Christ’s Prophetic Office

The word prophet brings many different ideas to our minds. The most common of these is the idea of a prophet foretelling the future. In fact, the idea of “Biblical Prophecy” almost exclusively brings this idea to mind. This is a rather limited view of prophecy. In the Old Testament, the prophets were not simply fortune tellers, but they were people whom God chose to use as his messengers.

The foremost job of a prophet was to relay God’s message to the world. The Lord explains this by analogy in Exo 7:1-2. It is more explicitly stated in Exo 4:10-17, and Deu 18:1. Prophecy was therefore any communication from God, transmitted through man, not just the telling of the future. One other distinguishing mark of the prophets was that miracles were performed through them. Through Moses, the Lord parted the Red Sea (Exodus 14). Through Elijah, the Lord raised the son of the widow of Zarephath. (1 Kings 17). Through Elisha, 100 people were fed by 20 loaves of bread. (2Ki 4:42-44)

These two main features of Prophets point to Christ. Christ was able to do both of these things, not only through the Power of God, but as only God himself can do. Any time Jesus taught, told parables, or performed miracles, he was fulfilling his duty as a Prophet. The Old Testament Prophets were only able to Prophecy through Divine Inspiration. (2Pe 1:21). Christ was able to preach and teach by his own power and authority (Mat 23:8-10, Luk 24:19, Luk 4:32).

Likewise, the Old Testament prophets were only able to perform miracles by the power of God. Christ could do this by his own power. It is also worth mentioning that the miracles of Jesus frequently outdo the miracles of the prophets. Moses may have parted the Red Sea, Jesus was able to walk on top of the water (Mat 14:25). Elisha fed 100 men with 20 loaves of bread, Jesus fed more than 5000 with only five loaves and two fish (Mat 14:13-21). Elijah may have raised the son of a widow, Christ eventually raised himself from death. All of these things point to the fact that Jesus was not only a prophet, but that he was The Prophet.

The most important aspect of Christ’s Prophetic office is the message that he taught. He of course taught about many different things, from humility to the true nature of Love, but his primary message was that of his work to reconcile man to God. Just as it is with the Christian Church today, Christ’s main message was the Gospel. He taught that he was the Way, The Truth, and the Life (Joh 14:6). He taught that he was the Vine, from whom our faith and its fruits are based (Joh 15:1-5). Jesus proclaimed himself as the Bread of Life (Joh 6:35-40). As a prophet, Jesus spoke about himself and his work to save us and reconcile us to God.

There is no more fitting message for the Son of God to proclaim. He did this actively while on Earth and continues to work this message through the Church today. Praise be to God for sending his Son to be the ultimate prophet and to spread the eternal Gospel of his perfect life and death on the Cross of Calvary.

SOLI DEO GLORIA

On Christ’s Threefold Office

Christ’s work on earth is commonly said to be divided into three seperate offices. These are the offices of Prophet, Priest, and King. These three also happen to be the three offices of the old testament for which people were anointed. Those anointed were those people whom were set apart by God to perform certain tasks for God’s chosen people. The prophets were set aside to communicate God’s will to the people. The Priests were set aside to be a mediator for men towards God. The Kings were set aside to Rule over the chosen people as God’s representative. The title “Christ” simply means “Anointed”. The Old Testament offices of Prophet, Priest, and King were instituted to point towards Christ and His work. Christ is the culminations of these offices, and as such, the reason none of these offices are still needed to be fulfilled by mere humans.The next three mediations will be on each of these offices of Christ.

On Ephesians 2:1-10

A meditation on Ephesians 2:1-10.

Ephesians 2 is one of the most famous chapters in the bible.  It contains the gospel in its purest form.  It is the most essential & central of all messages in the scriptures.  Its central message is that of Salvation by Grace through Faith. 

The chapter in fact is a brief description of the entire life of a Christian, from before conversion through the entire process of sanctification.  This chapter cannot be covered too well, or too many times.

  V. 1-3  And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.

In the first three verses of this chapter, we have the description of our state before being converted to know Christ as our savior.  The very first thing the apostle notes about our state is that we were “dead in our trespasses and sins.”  We were not injured or weakened by our sin, be we were in all reality spiritually dead.  (See Also Pro 21:16, Luk 15:32, Joh 6:53, and Col 2:13)

Being Spiritually dead, we had no choice but to follow Satan, who is “The Prince of the power of the air.”  The one who still works in the lives of sinners, was our master.  Not only were we subject to the Devil himself, but we were subject to our own sinful flesh and our own selfish desires. 

In this state, it was not possible for us to please God.  (Rom 8:8, Rom 14:23, Gal 5:17)  In this state, without faith and without any spiritual powers, we were all together objects of wrath (vs. 3).  We deserved nothing but God’s punishment.  We were wretched sinners, and the wages of sin is Death (Rom 6:23)

Fortunately, God saw our pitiful state and had mercy on us.

V. 4-7 But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ–by grace you have been saved–and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.

God not only has mercy, but he is rich in it.  He is in fact so rich in mercy that he loved us even when we were in our despicable state of spiritual death and separation from God.  It is important that the apostle states that he loved us when we were dead.  He did not love us for our works, or because we loved him.  He loved us when we still hated God (Joh 7:7, Joh 15:18) and were still doing all things contrary to his will.

Through mercy God loved us, and he showed his love by raising us from the dead.  Because of his love, and only because of his love, he made us alive together with Christ.  Not only were we granted new life, but we were raised to the heavenly places.  Through Christ, we have access to God (On The Comfort of Prayer).  Because of his love, he promises us immeasurable riches.  These are not earthly riches, but spiritual riches.  These are riches of his Grace.  What do these riches do for us?

V. 8-9 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God,  not a result of works, so that no one may boast. 

These riches promised to us in love save us.  We are saved by Grace, the love God gives us that we do not deserve.  We did not work to earn it, we did not ask for it, we really did not even desire it.  We certainly did not deserve it.  We cannot boast and brag that we have earned God’s love, it was purely and simply a gift.  If we are to boast, we should boast of God’s love. (1Co 1:31)

There is not a more comforting thought than this, that we were loved by God and saved for no reason but his love.  So many people take it as a negative that we cannot earn this for ourselves.  It is certainly not a negative thing.  We have the burden taken from us, we cannot do it, therefore it has been given to us freely, not by works.

What is the result of us being saved?  We have treasures awaiting us in heaven.  We are no longer dead in our trespasses and sins.  We have been made alive in Christ.

V.10  For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

Instead of leaving us Dead in our sinful ways, God has made us a new creation of his own workmanship.  We were created to do Good works.  God has prepared Good works for us to do and through Christ alone (Joh 15:5) we can do them.

In this remakable little section of scripture, the apostle sums up our entire life into 11 verses.  We were sinful and opposed to God.  God had mercy on us and sent His Son to take our punishment and die a cursed death on  the cross of Calvary.  Through this we are saved, and through Christ we are able to do Good works to show our thanks.  This truly is the Good news of Christ Jesus.

SOLI DEO GLORIA 

On The Comfort of Prayer

Prayer has commonly been defined as the communion of the soul with God. It is through prayer that we have access to God to give him our thanks, praises and petitions. There has been much discussion and writing concerning how God answers our prayers, if the will of God is influenced by prayer, or if prayer is in and of itself a means of grace. However, what is commonly overlooked is the comfort we have in the fact that we can pray and in fact are invited to pray to a most Holy and Perfect God.To the unbeliever, the thought of being in contact with God is quite frightening. After the fall, Adam and Eve tried to hide and flee from God. (Gen 3:8) They wanted nothing to do with God after breaking His command. They must have been terrified, and rightly so. By eating of the forbidden tree, they had learned what death was, and knew that it is what God had in store for them. (Gen 3:3) God had not given them any other option, even then the wages of sin was death. To them, as to all unbelievers, God must certainly have seemed like a Consuming Fire (Deut 4:24). Man’s sin causes him not to want anything to do with God, and likewise man’s sin causes God not to want anything to do with man. Our sins separate us from God (Isa 59:2). The last thing a guilty sinner wants is communion with a God who describes Himself as consuming fire to unbelievers. The last thing a Holy God wants is to be in communion with a wretched sinner who’s best works are so unclean as to be compared to menstrual rags.(Isa 64:6) As sinful men, we have no right to have access to a Holy and Perfect God. Yet He bid’s us to pray. How can this be so?

The answer of course is through Christ. Only through Christ is the Father revealed to us (Matt 11:27). Only through Christ is it possible to come to the Father (John 14:6-7). Only through Christ are we able to come to the Father as His very own sons whom He loves (Gal 3:26-29). Only through the name of Christ do we have any access to the Father, and only through Christ’s name will the Father hear our prayers (John 16:23). Christ is our great and only mediator to the Father (Rom 8:26). Without Christ, God would still be a Consuming Fire to us. Without Christ our prayers would not be heard, much less answered. Without Christ, we would be totally alienated from God. Through Christ, we are God’s own dear children.

Let us remember each and every time we pray that Jesus earning this privilege for us on the cross of Calvary. Let us be comforted by the fact the Christ has made us acceptable to God. Let us be comforted by the fact that through Christ we are reconciled to God. Let us be comforted that to us, God is no longer a Consuming Fire, but a loving Father.

Finally, let us be reasurred of the fact the Christ’s work was acceptable to God in the fact that God not only allows us to pray, but he expects us to. He now wants us to be in communion with him. Not because we have become better or because we sin less, only because of our forgiveness in Christ. SOLI DEO GLORIA

On The Concept of a Clean Heart

“Create In Me a Clean Heart O God!”  These words should be familiar to most of us.  We sing them every Sunday.  The words come from Psalm 51, and they are the epitome of Repentance.  This is what it means to be repentant, to have God create a clean heart in you.  It is not something that you can do yourself, it is the Very Work of the Holy Spirit.  When we say “Create in me a Clean Heart” what is it that we are asking for?

 According to Psalm 51, a clean heart is a combination of Three different things: 

Oddly enough, the first characteristic of a Clean Heart is that it recognizes its uncleanness, its sin.  David Specifically references his own sin and guilt in verses 3 and 14 of this psalm.  David had stolen another man’s wife, tried to cover it up, and when that didn’t work, eventually had the man killed.  The Lord knew and sent a prophet to accuse him, to preach the law and show him his sin.  (2 Sam 11 and 2 Sam 12)  Being Shown his sin was the first part of having a clean heart created in him. 

 It is the same for us.  We too commit sins on a daily basis.  We commit sins of Omissions and sins of Commission.  Whenever we have broken onerule of God, we have broken the entire Law of God. (James 2:10)  We too need to be shown our sin.  Unlike David, God does not send us a prophet to point it out.  However God himself will point out our sin through the work Law (Romans 3:20, 7:7) and convicts us of that sin through the Holy Spirit (John 16:5-11).  We do not traditionally think of the Spirit as convicting us, but it is true.  The Holy Spirit uses the Law to convict us of our sin and show us our need for a savior.  Thus, through the Holy Spirit, the Law leads us towards Christ. (Gal 3:24)

In addition to recognizing our actual sins, we need to recognize our guilt for Original Sin (v. 5).  We are all Guilty before God for Adam’s sin.  (Rom 5:12,18).  Because of this original sin, our Nature is completely corrupt (Gen 8:21, John3:6)  Even if we could stop ourselves from committing actual sins, we would still be guilty of this sin that we inherited.

 An important part of recognizing this sin is also recognizing the punishment we deserve for this sin.  According to v.11 the punishment for sin is the removal of the Holy Spirit from ones Life, as well as being cast away from God’s presence.  (this punishment is referred to in two ways: temporarily as hardening of the heart, eternally as hell) David had seen this happen all too closely in his predecessor, King Saul.  (See 1 Sam 16)  he knew what God’s punishment looked like.  He knew what he deserved.  All of this encompasses the first part of a clean heart.

 The second part of a clean heart is that it rejoices in its savior. David here knows that even though he sinned, God had planned and promised his salvation (v. 12).  We know that this Savior was Jesus Christ who kept the Law perfectly for us (Jn 8:46), suffered God’s Punishment (Isaiah 53, especially vs. 5), and sealed this salvation for us by his resurrection (Rom 4:25).  All of this we receive by Grace though Faith as a gift of God (Eph 2:8-9).  This Faith, a new Spiritual Life, is created in us by the Holy Spirit (John 6:63).  This Salvation brings Joy and Peace to our troubled and sin filled hearts.  This salvation is the second part of a clean heart.

Finally, a clean heart is a thankful and serving heart.  A clean heart will confess its God, like David (v.13).  A clean heart will sing God’ Praises, like David (v. 15).  A clean heart has been given a willing spirit and happily does God’s will (v. 12, psa 110:3, 119:32).  A clean heart is steadfast in God’s Truth (v. 10, Heb 13:9).

 These three things together make up a clean heart, a new heart to replace our dead, sinful heart.  We cannot create this our self, only God can do so for us.  This is the true essence of repentance, to be completely dependant on God for all things.  When we sing this portion of Psalm 51, this is what we are asking for.  Not for strength to make ourselves right with God, not for God to accept us as who we are, but for God to remake us and use us as he sees fit.

 SOLI DEO GLORIA