I’ve often wondered if I could withstand severe persecution and suffering of being identified as a follower of Jesus Christ, as so many faithful brothers and sisters have withstood in the early church and continue to withstand today. They were subject to much ridicule and punishment for professing their faith in Christ, often losing the things they possessed, forfeiting their vocation and at times surrendering their life for professing their allegiance to the one True God and Savior. Would I stand or crumble under such enormous pressures?
Jonathan Falk, a missionary evangelist for the OPC, preached from Hebrews 10:32-39 on the suffering of the early church believers and the great cost associated with following Christ. He also issued a sobering warning to the church in North America. We are so “well off” living in a nation of great wealth and with so many resources available to us, we should be careful to not to take too much stock (or value) in the things we have. The “health and wealth” gospel suggests that if we’re faithful to God, we will be blessed with abundant wealth and long-living healthy lives. Although this type of theology may seem very heretical and easy to condemn, it’s difficult to remain unaffected as we are constantly surrounded by contrary and competing values, subtly distorting our perspective from one of giving thanks for the gracious blessings we’ve been given, to that of expecting such blessings. This change, as subtle or blatant as it may be, has shifted our thinking from being “God” focused, to being “Me” focused.
My first memorable experience of having a “good life” interrupted by mishap was when a close friend and neighbor lost his entire house to a fire when I was twelve years old. Although nobody was hurt, it was devastating to see a family lose everything. Dale and I walked thru the house several days after the fire, to see mostly ashes and an occasional blob of melted materials glued together that were completely unrecognizable. The sadness I felt for Dale and his family really stuck with me as I couldn’t imagine how the family would rebuild and continue from such as loss, and questioning how this could happen to them. Was God punishing them or was he just far removed from what happens to us.
As I look back at this time, I’m thankful that God only presented me with an experience of an indirect loss due to a careless candle and not something related directly to persecution based on one’s faith. I’m not sure how well I would have been prepared to handle that.
We don’t understand why we experience persecution and loss, but as we consider the God who rescued us from death to deliver us to life, and who sacrificed his son on our behalf, we can serve him with joy and the trust that he is sovereign in all circumstances. And we won’t understand or appreciate this apart from the sanctifying work he performs in us. Our sinfulness not only causes our visions to be distorted, but outright makes us blind to His ways, as we respond in anger and questioning His character. Fortunately we serve a God who is patient with us, and is constantly reaching out drawing us close to Him.
I’m often encouraged by Romans 12:1 that speaks of the transformation by the renewing of our mind. If not for the Word of God and the work of the Holy Spirit in us, I could easily answer the question I mentioned above, “would I stand or crumble”. Based upon my own strength and will, I’d crumble in a heartbeat, but with the Spirit transforming me daily, I not only stand strong against loss and suffering, I can rejoice in the future glory he promises me, as He extends my vision beyond this temporary world to a heavenly eternal world to come.
~ Scott Fitzgerald
I was not always Calvinist–those who believe in God’s election of all who believe. When I first heard of the idea of election as a Christian, I was repulsed. I was once Atheist and then I chose to became a Christian. I remember the time, date, and the place where I have decided to become a Christian. I believed. I decided. I had the freedom of the will to choose.
My Christian college roommate challenged my thinking. He asked me, “do you believe you are a sinner?”
“Of course; how can I not, as a Christian?”
“How bad of sinner are you?”
“Pretty bad.”
“Are you bad as you can possibly be?”
“No, I guess I could be a murderer.”
“Were you good enough of sinner to choose God over a person who did not choose God? ”
“I wouldn’t say I was better.”
“Did you believe because you were a better person than someone who did not believe?”
“No, the Bible says I am sinner like any other person. Faith is a gift of God.”
“Well, since it was your faith, were you saved by the merit of your own faith?”
“No. I have already said faith is a gift of God and not based upon merit of anything I have done.”
“What does the Bible tell us about our condition?”
“It says ‘no one is righteous, not even one … no one seeks God … no one who does good, not even one.’”
Hmmm. OK, then how did I choose God when it says “no one seeks God .. not even one.” God has to first change our heart so that we have new nature and we can freely receive God’s free gift of salvation. Was the choice I made forced? No, God gives us joy to receive His free gift freely. Indeed, I remember I was able say, “Whom have I in heaven but you? And earth has nothing I desire besides you.” Why then did God give me the gift of faith and not the other person next door? I don’t know why, but I know it was not because I was better person or because I will become better Christian. I was Atheist.
Does this mean we do not have to evangelize or send missionaries? No, we don’t know who God has chosen. We have missions, not because we are trying to change people’s heart–That is God’s work–but because we are called to be agents of God’s grace to carry the message of His love. God could have done it alone, but he decided to share the responsibility of declaring His glory among the nations. We evangelize because we are commanded to do so.
We know that Bible says He loves me and gave himself for me. It says God loved us so much that He did not spare His own Son. I also know that Psalm 115:3 says God in heaven; he does whatever pleases him. Romans 9 teaches that God is sovereign and He is not like man. Wow, I am touched because He loves me unconditionally and He also is not like a human being: He is sovereign and he does not follow our command or our liking. He is above all things. Is God unfair for choosing some and not choosing others? Isn’t God obligated be American and play fair? It is not that God is forcing non-elect who wants to come to Christ and then he is rejecting Him. All of us who are left to our own will will choose to reject Him. One of the most important summary of Romans 9 is verse 29
Unless the Lord Almighty
had left us descendants,
we would have become like Sodom,
we would have been like Gomorrah
Thank God we would all have been like Sodom and Gomorrah: certain judgement of condemnation. He has shown mercy to some though He had no obligation to save even one person on earth. We could have made the whole earth disappear, but He didn’t. We have a merciful God.
~Dan Oh
Yesterday afternoon, I talked with my good friend Dave Jones about writing this sermon response to Pastor Derek’s sermon, “Loved Speechless.” He jokingly admitted that I should submit an empty page without a single word on it. We laughed about this; but in all honesty, when you even attempt to survey the magnitude and scale of our Lord’s absolute, pure and unending love that has been, is, and will be poured out on each of us every moment of our lives both now and through eternity, what can we truly say?
While driving home from work today reflecting about the empty page that I would (in reality) need to fill, the last stanza of When I Survey the Wondrous Cross came into my mind. “Love so amazing, so divine; demands my life, my soul, my all.” The hymnist, Isaac Watts, didn’t choose to say here that Christ’s love “politely asks for” my life/soul/all. Or, in the words of another great hymn, “Amazing love! How can it be? That Thou my God should die for me?” How do we respond to our God whose extra-ordinary amazing love demands our all?
Can we ever grasp the full extent of this perfect divine love? In 1 John, we read that “we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him.” And it’s “not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his only Son to be the propitiation for our sins.” Knowing God, who is love, cannot be something we initiate by our own abilities, for Jesus calls us to himself by his sacrificial blood which has merited eternal life for all those of us who confess that Jesus is the Son of God.
So, what should our reaction be to this amazing love that has been poured out over us? How can we be comforted day by day with this divine love of Christ as we endure through struggles and hardships, trial and tribulations, pain and loss, worry and doubt? Should we be finding security in the comforts of life that beg for our attention or that lull us to sleep in order to avoid pain and suffering? Are we avoiding loving our brothers and sisters in need (whether they love the Lord or not) all for the sake of comfort? Did Jesus come into this world to hang out with his bros, eat the tastiest Galilean grouper pared with fine vintages of Pinot Noir or cruise around unpaved roads at 150 cubits per hour in the latest 3-stallion-powered chariot? (This is the one obviously over-the-top question that shouldn’t leave anyone speechless, the answer is “no”!) Pastor Derek asked us, “if Christ came into this world to die for us so that we might live, then why would we not be willing to suffer with him?” He then asked us if we would be willing to give up any or all of our comforts to see others saved by him who so loves us?
If Christ not only risked and sacrificed his life for us because he so loved us, then why don’t we take more or bigger risks in loving others? Yes, we may suffer emotional trauma, painful goodbyes, or great loss when those we love so dearly, die. Yet, these temporary sufferings are like staring at a bittersweet souvenir we hold onto in our hands without looking up and being overwhelmed and in awe of the anticipated grand Glory-kingdom right before us that awaits us in the presence of our Lord.
Since God is for us, who can be against us? No one! What can separate us from him? Nothing! God is the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End, the Creator and the Consummator. All things are under his dominion. He has conquered sin and death, and he dwells in our midst. All that we need in time and eternity is provided by him who so loves us. We are absolutely loved speechless.
~Joel Kline
Quite some time ago a close friend was relating some very difficult and painful circumstances in her life. I made some sort of sympathetic reply, and she said, “It’s alright. God will eight-twenty-eight it.” She was, of course, referring to Romans 8:28, the passage that Pastor Greg preached on this past Sunday. At the time, I found her expression odd, almost irreverent—perhaps even trite, but in the intervening years I have come to better understand her use of that verse as a verb. It evokes God’s restorative work in all circumstances according to His divine purposes.
“Friends, do not waste your suffering,” Pastor Greg encouraged. My first thought was, quite simply, that I have not really known suffering. That said, however, I have been one acquainted with the vagaries of pain and sorrow, and I have watched God work in and through those experiences in astonishing ways. This is the Hope that we have as believers.
Pastor Greg talked extensively of Hope—that Hope that we have in Jesus that transforms all pain and sorrow into something beautiful. At the very inception of suffering in the life of the believer God’s grace is present, redeeming every painful moment. As Greg said, we do not ask or yearn for suffering, but when it comes we should rejoice in it. (see 1 Peter 4)
What does it look like to rejoice in trials? I am not entirely certain, but I believe that I have a limited understanding of what it may mean. Several times in my life I have lived by this prayer, “Lord, whatever You do I will receive.” Those words are always followed by a tremulous whisper in my mind, “Because I know that there will be blessing in this journey, and You will be glorified.” The blessing is not always evident, nor is it ever necessarily revealed (sometimes I believe it is not humanly discernible), but I know that God’s transforming work is taking place. I am able to rest in that Hope because, as the hymnist says, God has proven Himself over and over, and as Greg discussed, redemptive history clearly evidences God’s faithful provision for his children.
“Sorrow and sighing will flee away….” Pastor Greg also spoke of how the Glories of eternity so far outweigh the sufferings of this earthly life. What an amazing Hope that is. That promise of Glory gives me indescribable joy when I think of how those I love, who have traveled through deserts and valleys, will be heal and whole forever-after in the Heavenly Kingdom. The Scripture clearly promises that Christ will be with us in our suffering and will lead us on to Glory. He is near to the broken-hearted. He binds up our wounds. He is our Fortress and Strong Tower. This is the Hope that we share. One dear friend said it so well after the cancer death of his beautiful little girl. “All of the sorrow in the world cannot diminish the joy of a life lived for an eternally significant purpose.” I am grateful for Greg’s reminder that suffering is a privilege that leads us ever deeper into the heart of Jesus…into our eternally significant purpose. Should suffering come, and I know that it will, may I be ever-mindful of the Hope that we share. God is good—ALL of the time.
~Katherine Cook
In Christ, the life that we have through the spirit is marked by profound freedom: freedom from the need to justify ourselves, freedom from the need to grasp for power and freedom to embrace a new identity.
This semester I have been participating in a book study on Richard Foster’s Celebration of Discipline with some of my residents here at Gordon. We have read about prayer, fasting, submission, service, meditation, silence, confession and celebration, among others. At first look, it seems that this sort of devotional reading would be anything but encouraging. As grace-embracing believers we often balk at those things that remind us of the “oughts” and “shoulds” we thought we’d left behind. But the more I have reflected upon the role of the spiritual disciplines in the Christian life, the more I have come to see them as a grace in and of themselves—a gift, a means for experiencing freedom in Christ and life in the Spirit.
Just as a watering can is no nourishment to parched soil apart from the water that flows from it and the hand that pours, so the disciplines are a means for experiencing grace and a tool given to us for the cultivation of our hearts. The land is already ours. The work of salvation has purchased the soil of our hearts for the King, and yet we are privileged to be a part of the cultivation—sanctification, if you will—of that soil. If you’re like me, those tools are left too long in the shed. I come to fear them—mis-believing that it is their power and mine alone that will bring forth fruit from the rocky ground of my heart. But oh what a freedom, what a joy to remember that our call in this is to faithfulness—and it is His to bear the fruit. We will quickly turn the tools into idols if we ask of them our salvation.
At the same time, if we neglect the use of such tools as the spiritual disciplines, we will miss out on a gift intended to aid us in experiencing the freedom of the Gospel. Our Heavenly Farmer does not call us to produce the fruit of salvation OR sanctification, but to take joy in the freedom of working alongside Him—with His strength—as we cultivate the kingdom in our own hearts and the hearts of all we meet. If you have never intentionally engaged the spiritual disciplines, would you consider the blessing that it might be to you?
-Considering the discipline of silence: This week, be aware of the talk that comes from your mouth—and heart. How much of it is self-justifying? Practice silence—or minimized speech—in contexts where you are tempted to self-justify. Let God be your justifier.
-Considering the discipline of prayer: Greg talked about “active listening” as a way of receiving spiritual nourishment from God. This week, try to use those small moments of time that are often filled (literally) with other things, to listen to God. (ex: Ask God to speak to your heart as you drive to work and refrain from listening to the radio.)
-Caveat: In all of these things, steer clear of the temptation to legalism or self-righteous thinking. For those of us who are “do-ers”, sometimes the true discipline is to do nothing and in our hearts give thanks for the grace and freedom of God.
~Cherri Anderson
It was John Bunyan, in A Pilgrim’s Progress, who famously described the Christian life as a journey. As we continue through the book of Romans, chapter 7 reveals that the journey includes an internal war that is the experience of every Christian.
It is through the law of God, v13, that our sin is exposed as an opportunistic ‘flesh eating’ disease seeking to attack our spiritual body, v11, 15. Sadly there’s no miracle cure, no drug that can be given to make us more comfortable…or is there?
In The Screwtape Letters, C. S. Lewis describes the reality of how the smallest decision to compromise can lead a Christian away from their first love namely, Christ:
It does not matter how small the sins are provided that their cumulative effect is to edge the man away from the light and out into the Nothing. Murder is no better than cards if cards do the trick. Indeed the safest road to Hell is the gradual one-the gentle slope, soft underfoot, without sudden turnings, without milestones, without signposts.
How can such a subtle and clever enemy be thwarted? Is there any hope of victory? Although we may answer with a resounding “No”, the Apostle Paul confidently says “YES” by pointing us back to the resurrection of Christ that anticipates the reality of resurrection life for all who believe.
The reality of Christian living is a life of continuing dependency on the source of life – the Son of God. In light of who Christ has made us, Gal 2:20, and in the hope of who we will be, we daily engage in the battle against our old nature. Like a night watchman we need to seek to maintain constant vigilance against temptation, to take every thought captive and to refuse to make a truce with the enemy until our Captain bids us cease.
When I look into my own heart I recognize the temptation to be comfortable with all that our culture offers rather than to confront, to make peace with worldly values rather than war. Last Sunday reminded me that the war is not over. There is still fighting to be done.
~Nigel Stokes
Resurrection Seems to Us Like Nonsense: Luke 24:1-12
Easter Sunday, the Sunday of Sundays! What better place from which to preach than the Story itself. Pastor David took us to the tomb through the eyes of Mary and the women who, full of faith, were committed to anointing the body of Jesus that morning. They expected to see a dead Jesus. But the bond they felt to him – their personal relationship with him – caused them to be sold out, even though he was dead. These women demonstrated real faith by their actions and devotion to the Lord.
The women got a shock as they entered the tomb. Not only was the stone rolled away, but the body of Jesus wasn’t there. “Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here; he has risen!” Aren’t these some of your favorite words? Ever?? They are mine. Pastor David pointed out that the angels were almost puzzled by the women coming to a gravesite. “You can’t have a resurrection-preaching Jesus in a body-filled tomb.” I loved that. How true it is! Yet sometimes (perhaps often?) I say that I believe in the resurrection-preaching Jesus, but I live like I expect to see the dead body.
Mary was the first to witness the resurrected Christ. When she heard him call her name, she fell at his feet. And having grabbed hold of Jesus, she didn’t want to let him go. She saw, she touched, she was witness to the real resurrection. Being tasked with telling the disciples the news, she ran back to tell “all these things.” The others, though, thought her words seemed like nonsense. Peter ran to the tomb himself to find the grave clothes lying there and was himself puzzled, as any human would be.
I’ve seen the power of God in my life, from giving me new life to answering that prayer in the lives of others. Not to mention answering less dramatic prayers over and over. So why is it I often live expecting the dead body instead of the empty tomb? Is it because Jesus didn’t raise every dead person he knew? He didn’t heal every sick person he saw? Yet we ought to trust him in everything because he always is the God of resurrection power.
After all that God has done for us, isn’t he for us?
We can’t take or leave the resurrection. If we think it’s nonsense, we should be challenged to think differently. If we do believe it, we should give our lives to Christ.
Do I really believe in the power of the resurrection? That same power that raised Christ from the dead is at work in me. Do I live like that? Do I trust like that? In the big things and the small?
Let’s not wait until next year to remind one another about God’s resurrection power. Let’s live every week in the knowledge and hope of that power and make every Sunday a little Easter.
~Nina Walters
Greg’s sermon on Sunday focused on Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem on what we call Palm Sunday (Luke 19: 28-42). He was coming as a king in “triumphant humility” to bring peace. Jesus’ tears, as he looked down on Jerusalem along the way, signaled his love for the lost and his recognition of what it would cost to win reconciliation for them with God the Father. Greg reassured us that “Jesus is the means of peace with God” and challenged us to trust in God even when life brings unexpected trouble and hardship. He asked, “Can we say ‘No matter what happens, my king will take care of me’?”
My answer to that question is that I want to believe that all the time but sometimes I’m not quite sure. I’ve prayed for the faith and strength I’ll need to always trust God’s care but I have not been tested in the same way as some of my friends, such as the Evans family or my three friends who are undergoing cancer treatments right now.
I watched the Boston Marathon on TV on Monday and there was a lot of talk about training properly for the long race. That made me think about the training I’ve received in following Jesus and trusting in God’s plan and care for me. Time spent reading the Bible and other Christian books, discussing them with friends at Bible studies and home groups, listening to sermons and personal stories of God’s faithfulness, praying alone and with others, and thinking often about living in God’s strength and under his care, taking note of his grace in my life andthe life of my family can all be viewed as training and preparation for whatever God has in store for me tomorrow or next year. My road ahead may be bumpy (we all can expect at least that) or it may take a shocking detour. I don’t know if I will always fully believe that “no matter what happens, my king will take care of me.” But I’m committed to training for it, practicing faith and trust in the smaller things and asking God for the faith, courage and strength I’ll need to say it every day for the rest of my life, even when I face big, unexpected trials.
Hebrews 12:1-2 came to mind when I was thinking about this. “Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses…let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.” To do this we need training partners, so to speak, to encourage and equip each other to trust God in all areas of our lives. Will we also join the “cloud of witnesses” and remind each other that God is faithful and will take care of us no matter what? Let’s try!
~ Cindy Fitzgerald
This passage is freeing and disturbing at the same time. It describes how binding and weighing God’s Law is on us; it also shows how Christ has freed us from it’s shackles. The disturbing part is the example from marriage. I thought the example is meant to show how difficult the law is to understand and even apply.
Greg did a great job putting the passage in perspective of my sin. One quote I liked was, “You will never tame your sin by following the law.” Taming my sin is a major task for me in life. I’ve put up all sorts of barriers to help me avoid sin or run away from sin–-avoiding movies that are lurid, listening to wholesome christian music, using SafeSearch on Yahoo, even limiting my beer drinking to one-per-meal. I use my laws to keep myself from being wayward and stumbling upon sinful desires. Isn’t that okay? But Paul describes how confusing the law can be by using the example of a widowed marriage and whether the women is committing adultery in the different scenarios. My laws keep me from falling off the deep end but don’t really drive me to God. However, Christ died for me so that I might belong to another–-not the law. I belong to God now.
If we don’t find anything useful in the law, why bother?
If the law doesn’t draw us to God, what does draw us to God?
Do you think Kendra would love me more if I boxed her in with house rules or if I hugged her? Maybe God’s affection can keep me from sin better than the law can keep me from sin.
~Aaron Burke
yes indeed you’re gonna have to serve somebody. –Bob Dylan
Think of the words that come to mind when you hear the word “slave.” Captured. Bondage. Controlled. Chained. As the passage in Romans reminds us this was our life before Christ. All of us were slaves to our sinful and selfish way of life. Each of us controlled by our sinful desires with no hope of breaking free of what our old nature dictated. Then the Cross of Christ comes along in our lives. It not only erases the penalty and guilt of our sin but also sets us free from its power. We often focus so much on the affect the Cross has on our next life that we forget the power it has in this life. The dominion of sin in our lives is broken. Strangely it also sets us free to be a slave again yet this time to righteousness and the lives God wants us to live. We replace chains of death with chains of life. Once free, we are now serving the King as His servants ready to do His will.
Yet sometimes we go back to the chains of sin and darkness. Not the random sinning we do as Christians but being enslaved again to certain besetting sins as Pastor Derek pointed out. Why once we are free do we run back? Is it temptation that overwhelms us? Addiction? A lack of faith? Lies of the devil? In my own life I know it happens when I am short sighted, wordly and believing the lie that I will be “happier.” But sin has its consequences as we heard on Sunday. As we taste the bitter fruit that has deceived us we are reminded of its pain, sadness, and estrangement. Its the same feeling I have when I eat fried food or too much sugar. It sure is tempting and even tastes good but there is always a price to be paid later.
I encourage you to do the cost-benefit analysis that Pastor talked about next time you want to head back to the prison of enslaved sin. Calculate the cost of putting back on those chains and returning to the dungeon. A quick reminder of the results of that sin should drive us to stay within the freedom of the chains of righteousness that Jesus lays out for us.
~Greg Smith
