Category: Theology

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Bible Study Cross-Centered Life Theology

Because Jesus Rose

 

Our Lord Jesus rose from the dead, and because he rose I, and many of you, are going to church this morning.  Every Sunday, the first day of the week, we gather to remember and to celebrate the single most important event in the history of the universe: the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. 

It’s easy to take for granted the dawning of a new day.   When was the last time you were up before dawn and thought, “I wonder if the sun is going to come up today?”  That thought rarely crosses our minds!  We just take for granted that God is going to give us and the other 6 ½ billion people on this planet another day of existence.  We take for granted that the sun will replenish the energy of all the plant life on our world.  We take for granted that its warm rays will continue to bathe the earth with life.  We don’t appreciate the blessings that we receive each day, just because the sun rose.

I think we often make this same mistake when it comes to Jesus’ resurrection.  We fail to appreciate the manifold blessings that have come to us because the Son of God rose.  So I want you to think with me for a few moments on this idea: Because Jesus rose from the dead… 

Because Jesus rose from the dead, we can be saved.  Rom. 10.9

…if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 

Because Jesus rose from the dead, we who believe are forgiven, pardoned, justified, made righteous. Rom. 4:24-25

…It (righteousness) will be counted to us who believe in him who raised from the dead Jesus, our Lord, who was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification.

Because Jesus rose from the dead, he is able to save the hardest of sinners Acts 9:1-5

Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord…. approached Damascus, and suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him…I am JESUS whom you are persecuting  (Later, this same Saul would write in 1 Tim. 1:15) …Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost. 

Because Jesus rose from the dead, he has defeated death.  Rom. 6.9

We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him.

Because Jesus rose from the dead, he can raise us from the dead, and we will never die again!  John 11:25

I am the resurrection and the life.  Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die.  John 5:21 For as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, so also the Son gives life to whom he will.

Because Jesus rose from the dead, he raises us from spiritual death.  Eph. 2:4-5

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…

Because Jesus rose from the dead, he can raise us from physical death.  Rom. 8:11

If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you.

1 Cor. 15:22-23

…so also in Christ shall all be made alive.  But each in his own order:  Christ the firstfruits, then at his coming those who belong to Christ.

Because Jesus rose from the dead, he will raise our fellow Christians from the dead.  1 Thess. 4:14

For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep.

Because Jesus rose from the dead, he can heal the sick Acts 4.10

let it be known to all of you and to all the people of Israel that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead—by him this man is standing before you well.

Because Jesus rose from the dead, we can receive mercy and grace in time of need. Heb. 4:14

Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession.  For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin.  Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need. 

Because Jesus rose from the dead, we have someone constantly praying for us Rom. 8.34

Christ Jesus is the one who died–more than that, who was raised–who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us.

Heb. 7:25

…He is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them. 

Because Jesus rose from the dead, he can fulfill his promise to give us the Holy Spirit. John 16:7

Nevertheless, I tell you the truth:  it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you.  But if I go, I will send him to you.

Acts 2:33

Being therefore exalted at the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, he has poured out this that you yourselves are seeing and hearing. 

Because Jesus rose from the dead, he has authority over Satan… and everything else too.  Eph. 1:20-22 

…according to the working of his great might that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come.

Because Jesus rose from the dead, the church belongs to him and him alone Eph. 1:22

And he put all things under his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church, which is his body, the fulness of him who fills all in all.

Because Jesus rose from the dead, we can be certain of his presence with us: Mt. 18.20

For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them.

Mt. 28:20

And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.

Jn. 14.18 

I will not leave you as orphans. I will come to you.

Because Jesus rose from the dead, we can have fellowship with him Jn 14.23

If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him. 

We can eat with him Rev. 3:20

Behold, I stand at the door and knock.  If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me.

We can see him Jn 16:16

…again a little while, and you will see me.

Because Jesus rose from the dead, he is present to see you through any trial.  Acts 7:55

(Stephen, as he was being stoned to death said…) Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God! 

Because Jesus rose from the dead, we have the hope of an eternal inheritance!  1 Pet. 1:3-4

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled and unfading, kept in heaven for you…

Because Jesus rose from the dead, we can live a holy, new life.  Rom. 6:4

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.  

Because Jesus rose from the dead, he will return just as he said.  John 14.3

And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also.

Acts 1:11

…This Jesus, who was taken from you into heaven will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.

Because Jesus rose from the dead, he will one day settle all accounts with justice Rev. 22.12

Behold, I am coming soon, bringing my recompense with me, to repay everyone for what he has done.

Because Jesus rose from the dead, we can enjoy his presence for all eternity.  1 Thess. 4:17

Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord.


All of this…  BECAUSE this living, reigning, glorious SON ROSE, at dawn, on the first day of the week!

Categories
Bible Study Cross-Centered Life Sermons Theology

Isaiah 1-2 How God Sees Sin

This post is based on a SERMON that is available by clicking here.

One of the keys to being victorious in our struggle with sin, is to see it from God’s perspective.  From our perspective, we may see sin as either a regrettable occurrence, or a nagging problem, or even just a simple nuisance.  But how does God see our sin?  I believe Isaiah 1-2  gives us three answers to that question.

 

1.  God sees the PERVASIVENESS of our sin. 

In Isaiah 1:1-8, Isaiah the prophet describes a vision he has concerning Judah and Jerusalem.  In verses 2-4 God makes various statements about Israel that I believe prophetically refer to all of us,

“Children have I reared and brought up, but they have rebelled against me, The ox knows its owner, and the donkey its master’s crib, but Israel does not know, my people do not understand.” Ah, sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, offspring of evildoers, children who deal corruptly!  They have forsaken the Lord, they have despised the Holy One of Israel, they are utterly estranged.

We need to hear these words as spoken to us.  God is revealing to us who we are.  Like the doctor who examines his patient, God is examining us, and he not only sees our sin, he sees the pervasiveness of our sin. 

Listen again to what he says in v. 5b-6

“The whole head is sick, and the whole heart is faint.  From the sole of the foot even to the head, there is no soundness in it, but bruises and sores and raw wounds; they are not pressed out or bound up or softened with oil.”

God is showing us that we are not just mostly good people who have made a few mistakes.  We are not healthy people who have a problem in one area of our body.  We are not injured people, who are recovering from a few unfortunate wounds.  We don’t just have the occasional arrhythmia in the heart, or a few troublesome blood clots in our brain.  The whole head is sick.  The whole heart is faint.  From the sole of your foot to the crown of your head, there is no soundness, no health.

What does it matter if you are dying of cancer or dying of heart disease, or dying of old age?  You’re dying!  And what God is saying here is that we have cancer and heart disease and old age.  “There is no soundness in us, from the sole of the foot even to the head.”   We are completely and totally sinful.

God is describing, through his prophet, the pervasiveness of our sin!  With vivid word pictures, he reveals our utter depravity as sinners.  Twice in verse 7, he describes Israel as desolate.  The word means, “a wasteland”.  It paints a picture of a desert, where there is no life, no water.  Just dry, empty, and devoid of life.

We may be tempted to think, “yeah, but that is describing what we were before Jesus saved us.  In Christ, we are saints!”  Yes, its true that the Bible teaches that, in Christ, we are saints, but I think it is rather obvious that just believing that we are saints doesn’t automatically free us from a very real struggle with sin that if we are honest, all of us as believers still deal with…

Does a saint lie?  Does a saint bite the head off her kids?  Does a saint watch questionable things on TV?  Does a saint go to God-dishonoring websites? Is a saint drawn toward sin like a moth is drawn to a flame?  Does a saint feel deep-seated bitterness and lack of forgiveness welling up inside like an uncontrollable flood?  Does a saint callously disregard the needs of those around him in order to focus on his own petty desires? Do saints get impatient over a 3 minute wait at the McDonald’s drive through?

Make no mistake about it.  You and I are sinners!  We may be sinners saved by grace, and there is more that remains to be said about our identity, but the fact that this is describing who we are is beyond dispute.  God is speaking to his people here.  He is not just describing the pagan nations around them.  This is his people who have been established in the Promised Land, who have been redeemed from slavery in Egypt, who have been given the sacrifices and the blood of atonement, and yet God says to them, I see only bruises and sores and raw wounds.  God sees the pervasiveness of our sin.


2.  God sees that the sinner must be REJECTED.

Jump ahead to Isaiah 2:6

For you have rejected your people, the house of Jacob, because they are full of things from the east and of fortune tellers like the Philistines, and they strike hands with the children of foreigners.  

As I reflected on that verse, I asked the Lord, “How can you say that?  How can you say that you reject your covenant people?  The ones to whom you have promised redemption and forgiveness and an eternal inheritance?  

But it’s not just here that we read verses like this.  The are several places in the Old Testament prophets showing that this is indeed how a just and holy God responds to sin.  He rejects the sinner. Listen to just two:

2 Kings 21:14

And I will forsake the remnant of my heritage and give them into the hand of their enemies, and they shall become a prey and a spoil to all their enemies, because they have done what is evil in my sight and have provoked me to anger, since the day their fathers came out of Egypt, even to this day.

Jeremiah 7:29

Cut off your hair and cast it away; raise a lamentation on the bare heights, for the Lord has rejected and forsaken the generation of his wrath.

You may have noticed that I did not say God sees that sin must be rejected, but that the sinner must be rejected  We’re so used to saying, “God loves the sinner, but hates the sin.”  And that is profoundly true, when rightly explained,

But it is also profoundly true that sin cannot be separated from the one who commits it.  Without sinners there would *be* no sin.  Can we really separate sinful deeds from the sinners who commit those sinful deeds? To speak of judging and condemning a sinful act is meaningless if there is no judgement of the one who committed that act.   If a murder has been committed, there is no justice done in condemning the act of murder, if the murderer himself is not declared guilty and required to pay the penalty for his sin.

So when we talk about sin from God’s perspective, we have to understand that God always rejects the sinner!  Even when the sinner is his covenant people Israel.  Even when the sinner is you and me.  

Now that statement might seem to present a problem to you, just as it did to me!  How can God reject his own children as it says here in v. 6, “You have rejected your people, the house of Jacob.” That brings us to the third answer  to the question, “How does God see sin.” 


3.  God sees the SOLUTION to our sin

Going back to chapter 1 of Isaiah we find some very good news.  Isaiah 1:18

Come now, let us reason together, says the Lord: though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool.

Praise God that Isaiah doesn’t speak of sin without also speaking of grace!  God has a solution to this problem of sin.  And let me just point out that I am using the word “problem” here from our perspective.  Our God is not a God who has to confront “problems”.  God never has to solve anything, as if something could come up that he wasn’t expecting.  But from our perspective, we have a problem:  Our sin is pervasive.  The whole body is sick!  We are absolute sinners, and God will reject the sinner from his presence.

And yet at the same time that he says to his people, “I will reject you”, he also says, I will never forsake you.  Listen to these verses:  Both using the exact same hebrew word translated “reject” in Isaiah 2:6

1 Sam. 12:22

For the Lord will not forsake (reject) his people, for his great name’s sake, because it has pleased the Lord to make you a people for himself.

Psalm 94:14

For the Lord will not forsake (reject) his people; he will not abandon his heritage;

How is it that God can keep his word and reject the sinner in his sin, and yet also say that he will never forsake him?      Here’s the answer from the lips of Jesus, our Savior:

“My God, My God, why have you forsaken me!”

Jesus was rejected in our place.  Let this sink in!  You and I are sinners, together we have become worthless (says Romans 3:12).  We are worthy of being eternally and finally rejected in our sins, and yet Jesus was rejected in our place.  Jesus, the suffering servant described in such detail later in Isaiah, is our salvation.  He is our victory.  Jesus is the answer to our struggle with sin, because he was rejected for us.

So how does God see sin?  He sees the pervasiveness of our sin (theologians call it “total depravity”).  He sees that the sinner must be rejected.  And so his very Son was forsaken on the cross in your place.  Jesus died so that your sinful self might be forever and completely rejected.   Only when you see sin from this perspective will you begin to experience victory over it.  In a future post, I want to apply this a bit more and talk about some practical things we can do to see sin from God’s perspective.

This post is based on a SERMON that is available by clicking here.

Categories
Bible Study Cross-Centered Life Theology

Plumbing the depths of mercy and grace

I was thinking today about the difficulty we have in truly understanding the extent of God’s mercy and grace toward his children.  

Let’s start with some definitions:  By mercy, I’m referring to God’s love expressed in his not treating us as we deserve to be treated.  By grace, I’m referring to God’s love expressed in his giving us what we don’t deserve to receive.  The Newsboys say it well…

When we don’t get what we deserve… it’s a real good thing…

When we get what we don’t deserve… it’s a real good thing…

The first line is mercy; the second is grace. 

Now, the problem lies in trying to comprehend the extent of God’s mercy and grace to us.  In order to fully grasp God’s mercy, we must be able to fully comprehend what we deserve from God.  Because we have difficulty fully grasping the wrath of God against sin, we struggle to fully appreciate the mercy God shows us when he saves us from that wrath.  

There are two primary places we can look in order to grasp more fully God’s mercy:  The Cross of Christ, where God’s wrath was put on Jesus as our substitute, and Hell, where God’s wrath will be poured out on unrepentant sinners for all eternity.  Both of these are revealed to us in the Scripture, and we have access to them as we meditate on Scripture and are taught by the Holy Spirit.

Likewise, in order to fully grasp God’s grace, we must be able to fully comprehend what we have received from God.  I believe that just as we struggle to comprehend God’s wrath,  we also struggle to fully appreciate just what we have received in our salvation.

Our salvation is so much more than just God’s merciful forgiveness of our sins.  He doesn’t just forgive us and then let us start over again to prove our ability to serve him and follow him as our God.  He heaps upon us blessing after blessing, by virtue of our union with the Lord Jesus Christ.  In Christ, we receive what Jesus deserves.  This is the “spiritual inheritance” that is mentioned so often in the Bible.

Only in eternity will we be able to fully grasp God’s grace because we will experience in heaven the fullness of our salvation.  We will receive our spiritual inheritance that right now is “kept in heaven” for us (1 Peter 1:4).

Only in eternity will we be able to fully grasp God’s mercy because we will witness God’s righteous judgment of unbelievers. Revelation 14:9-10 says, 

9 And another angel, a third, followed them, saying with a loud voice, “If anyone worships the beast and its image and receives a mark on his forehead or on his hand, 10 he also will drink the wine of God’s wrath, poured full strength into the cup of his anger, and he will be tormented with fire and sulfur in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb.

 We will be “in Christ” for all eternity, and in his presence, we will see what we deserve to receive, and I believe we will appreciate the cross as never before.  This idea seemed very radical to me when I first read it in one of Jonathan Edward’s  sermons, but I believe Edwards is faithfully teaching us what God has revealed in his Word.