Come Unto
Me
by Tony S. Reinke
Independent study project
LAPA 395, Bellevue University
Due 4/16/06
updated 12/28/06 9:09:49 AM
(total words: 63,517)
--------------------------------------------------------
To my daughter
Christabel
on her first birthday.
May you grow into a beautiful
Christian woman.
--------------------------------------------------------
Come Unto Me: GodÕs Invitation to the World
© copyright
2006, Tony S. Reinke
Creation of the Sun and Moon
Michelangelo Buonarotti
Sistine Chapel, Rome
New American Standard Bible¨ (NASB)
Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968,
1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995
by the Lockman Foundation. Used by
permission.
No part
of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system,
or
transmitted, in any form or by any means Ð electronic, mechanical,
photocopying,
recording, or otherwise Ð without prior written permission.
// Contents
//
|
Introduction |
6 |
|
Chapter
1: An
Invitation to the Sick Criminal |
12 |
|
Chapter
2: An
Invitation to a Relationship |
27 |
|
Chapter
3: An
Invitation to the Thirsty to Drink |
41 |
|
Chapter
4: An
Invitation to Rest |
56 |
|
Chapter
5: An
Invitation without Price |
72 |
|
Chapter
6: An
Invitation to Divorce Self |
87 |
|
Chapter
7: An
Invitation to Reconciliation |
100 |
|
Chapter
8: An
Invitation to Resolution |
114 |
|
Acknowledgements |
129 |
|
Works
Cited |
131 |
|
|
|
// Back
cover text //
ÒCome unto MeÓ Ð Jesus
(Matt. 11:28)
God
created and now sustains the universe. And this same mighty God has always been
a loving God, intimately concerned with His people. And so He invites us to
come to Himself.
Come
Unto Me: GodÕs Invitation to the World,
unpacks this invitation in a simple and readable style.
The
invitation from God (and to God) is a biblical message filled with rich
diversity. For those who accept it, this message requires sorrow and promises inexpressible joy. The invitation comes
without price and costs
everything. The invitation includes an offer of a relationship to God that is
both forensic (or legal) and
yet conjugal (or marital). The invitation to God is a call to leave past
burdens and take up new
burdens. It is a message heralded first by Old Testament prophets, hundreds of
years later by the Messiah Himself, and still decades, centuries and millennia later by His followers. The
biblical invitation to God is the white light of the world broken into a prism
of colors displayed with unblushing diversity.
Come
Unto Me is readable for those who
have never opened a bible and have never pursued the heart of Christianity. But
this book will also benefit Christians who seek a deeper discovery in the
riches of gospel promises and fuel for the Cross-boasting life (Gal. 6:14).
This
presentation of the biblical invitation also firmly confronts a society of
religious relativism and a church addicted to pragmatism, uncertainty and
over-simplification. Come Unto Me
is a reminder to the church that the invitation to God cannot be watered down,
trivialized or simplified and presents the invitation to God in its fullness
and letting the reader see its full diversity and beauty.
Go
ahead, open the invitation for yourself.
Although he attended
church most of his life, author Tony S. Reinke met God personally in 1999 at the age of 22. He is
a carpenter, photographer, preacher and writer who lives in Bloomington, MN
with his wife, son and daughter. He currently serves at Sovereign Grace
Fellowship (a church of Sovereign Grace Ministries) and directs The ShepherdÕs Scrapbook, a Cross-centered blog.
//
Introduction //
Many
childhood vacations I traveled with my three sisters and parents in our 1978
Cadillac from our home in Nebraska. Though we traveled often, I most recall
sitting in the back seat and getting my first distant glimpse of the Rocky
Mountains as a young boy on a trip to Colorado.
The
first sight of the towering peaks brought excitement to the car full of weary
travelers. Although the mountains were still in the far distance, I remember
immediately beginning to arrange my travel entertainment back into a bag. I put
away all my books and tapes and tidied up the backseat in preparation for the
arrival at the mountains. But there was a problem. Although the mountains were
clearly visible and we drove towards them at a good pace, they hardly grew!
After an hour, the initial excitement waned and the mountains still seemed to
be miles away. As the endless drive continued, reaching the mountains demanded
another patient hour.
Those
final hours of travel towards the Rocky Mountains were excruciating because I
failed to take into account the grandness of the mountains. Having never seen
them before, I simply underestimated their size.
This
is the same mistake I made about God.
For
years I underestimated His grandness. Thinking He was smaller and more
containable, I failed to grasp the reaches of His vastness. And it was here that
I made the greatest theological mistake possible: I assumed God was just
like me (Ps. 50:21).
He
is not.
Getting
our arms around the vastness of God is no natural pursuit. In fact, God forces
us to struggle with His grandness. He pushes the limits of our reasoning and
forces us to think serious thoughts upon things we can hardly begin to
understand Ð
like eternity past,
eternity future, immortality, infinity, the resurrection of the dead, cosmic
struggles and the ancient narratives that shape our daily lives.
The
God of the bible is an ÒunsearchableÓ God (Ps. 145:3). He is so large that the
earth and the universe cannot contain Him (1 Kin. 8:27). He lives in an
Òunapproachable light, whom no one has ever seen or can seeÓ (1 Tim. 6:16). God
dwells safely apart from His creation, protected from anything that would
threaten His holiness, power, life and glory. He dwells where none approach. To
the degree that He does not reveal Himself, He remains unknowable.[1] And when God does personally reveal
Himself, it is but a drop of His total immensity to prevent the finite manÕs
life from being ended in the full flash of His explosive glory (see Ex.
33:17-23). Viewed from a safe distance, the small disclosure of GodÕs glory to
mankind appears as a Òdevouring fire,Ó an exploding volcano of divine
revelation (Ex. 24:17).
The
closer we draw to Him, the more clearly we appreciate that we cannot get our
arms around the motives and wisdom of this God. He is not like us.
The
bible teaches, ÒGreat is our Lord, and abundant in power; his understanding
is beyond measureÓ (Ps. 147:5);
ÒHave you not known? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the
Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary; his
understanding is unsearchableÓ
(Isa. 40:28); ÒOh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How
unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his waysÓ (Rom. 11:33)!
Without
qualification, the bible teaches that God created the universe. The universe is
not the product of randomness but unity, not of chaos but wisdom and purpose.
The existence of life is a great example. Just as chaos cannot create order,
neither can non-life create life. And when we look around and see the world
filled with humans, animals, plants and trees we are reminded that the source
of life must always precede life itself. Parents precede children. And so
life must have always existed if life will ever exist.
According
to the bible, GodÕs own life is contained within Himself (John 5:26). God is
the source and sustenance of His own being. He has no beginning and no end and
nothing of His life exists outside of Himself. Theologian John Feinberg writes,
ÒGod is the ground of his own existence.Ó[2]
And so our existence can only be explained in its origin in GodÕs eternal existence. Each of our lives finds its origin in
the One who is Himself eternal
life.
But
for millennia men and women have looked to the sky and concluded with their
limited knowledge and senses that God does not exist. This conclusion does not
argue for the absence of God as much as it argues for an infinite God that is
incomprehensible to the feeble![3]
The
self-sustaining God exists beyond our limited sphere of experience. But while
the fullness of God is beyond comprehension, He is central to everything.
The
center of all life is this immense God. He created everything, upholds
everything and gives purpose to life (Ps. 104). He is unchanging, all-knowing,
sovereign, absolute and the source of all life. God Òupholds the universe by
the word of his powerÓ (Heb. 1:3). God was eternally Òbefore all things, and in
him all things hold togetherÓ(Col. 1:17). When the earth totters, God gives
stability (Ps. 75:3). God is light and the light of men (John 4:1). He is the
eternal One who creates, upholds, stabilizes and enlightens. God is the center
of everything.
God
is so grand that He has no need or weakness. Because nothing can resist GodÕs
power, nothing hinders GodÕs happiness. He is all-powerful and so nothing can
hurt Him or steal away from Him what He possesses. Since He can do whatever He
wants to, God has no emptiness or lack. God has the perfect liberty to desire
what He desires and perfect power to attain whatever He desires. He cannot be
restrained or defeated and His power can never be stopped.[4] God
is perfectly holy and perfectly happy in Himself. As the source of all life
and breath, God needs nothing from us (Acts
17:24-25).
And
so compared to this God, all of the nations combined are like a drop of water
in a bucket and a grain of dust on the scales (Isa. 40:15-17). Being unable to
fill a bucket or sway the scale, the worldÕs combined value is nothing compared
to His greatness.
The
closer we draw near to this God, the larger He becomes. His magnitude exceeds
our presumptions. And as we approach Him we realize just how little we know
Him. We are forced to acknowledge our feebleness and to simply adore His
majesty.
Drawing
near this God is an awesome and frightful task, wrought with struggle. As A.W.
Tozer writes, ÒAll the problems of heaven and earth, though they were to
confront us together and at once, would be nothing compared with the
overwhelming problem of God: That He is; what He is like; and
what we as moral beings must do
about Him.Ó[5]
And the closer we come to answering these questions and admiring the beauty and
holiness of God, the more we recognize our own unworthiness before Him.
The
Psalmist, after looking deep into a dark night sky, writes, ÒWhen I look at
your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have
set in place, what is man that you are mindful of him?Ó (Ps. 8:3-4). Such is
the conclusion of every man and woman who has grasped the immensity of God. Why
would an infinite God, perfectly happy without me, extend an invitation to me?
Compared
to God we are all like grasshoppers (Isa. 40:22). We are frail and our lives
are temporary. Rarely do we spend time to contemplate God and when we do, it
lasts for a few seconds and the thoughts quickly fade away.
But
despite our doubting frailty and His perfections, God is mindful of
grasshoppers. He considers the drop in the bucket worthy of concern. And even
though the dust of our world cannot sway a scale, it moves the compassion of
God. This can only be explained because the essence of God, and the invitation
to Himself, flows from His loving nature (1 John 4:8). His love is present in
every generation as He offers Himself to the world and to this day He continues
to offer blessing, refreshment, forgiveness and security to sinners like you
and I.
God,
being the creator and sustainer of all life, offers to the grasshoppers an
unending source of life, satisfaction and eternal pleasures (Ps. 16:11). He has
no want or deficiency, and so to be with Him and in Him is to have everything needed for life here and
life eternal (2 Pet. 1:13).
If
God can fill the oceans with water, He can also fill one cup with water. If God
can fill the universe with light, He can surely provide us each light for the day.
The God who fills the world with life can fill the human soul with life. The
God who upholds the universe can uphold the broken soul. The God that lives in
His own perfect pleasure is able to fill each soul with eternal joy.
And
the bible teaches that if the soul turns from the infinite God, it turns from
the source of this joy and comfort. ÒNothing can fill the soul but God,Ó Thomas
Brooks writes, Ònothing can quiet the soul but God, nothing can satisfy the
soul but God, nothing can secure the soul but God, nothing can save the soul
but God. The soul being spiritual, God only can be the adequate object of it.Ó[6]
As
we have seen already, the invitation to God is a personal offer from God. No affiliation, family background or
religious heritage can naturally gain you entrance to a relationship with God
through Christ. Surprisingly, natural religious advantages often become
barriers that prevent a personal relationship with Christ (Phil. 3:5, 8)!
But
just as natural advantages do not ensure this relationship, so too, no natural
barriers can prevent you from entrance into this relationship with God. Your
heritage may be strongly Christian or strongly anti-Christian but entrance to
Christianity comes through personal invitation only. As we will see, very
little about this invitation can be called natural.
You
will notice numerous biblical references throughout this book. I have chosen to
take my references from the English Standard Bible, but there are a number of worthy translations.[7] The bible is the ultimate source for this
study and the only authority necessary to understand the details of the
Christian invitation to God. God communicates through revelation and so the
bible is the sufficient, Òonce for all deliveredÓ source of this invitation
(Jude 1:3). For this reason I recommend working through this book with an open
bible, carefully comparing the details to biblical accuracy.
Along
with direct biblical quotations, I have enlisted the help of several bible
teachers throughout church history. Though most are long dead, they continue to
speak (Heb. 11:4). Because these teachers were committed to explaining the
bible, their ancient conclusions continue to breathe with relevance today. You
will notice their helpful quotations throughout this book.
Like
a flight attendant on an airplane, authors are first concerned with the comfort
of the readerÕs flight through their books. Allowing the bible to speak for itself
is my chief concern. Because my desire is to be honest, the seatbelt light will
remain lit.
I
still rank the Rocky Mountains as the most beautiful place I have experienced.
But to merely see a picture of
these grand mountains hardly compares to being there. Standing at the base of these mountains there is
a convergence of experiences. There is the trickling of the small streams, the
animals seemingly unafraid of the visitors, the majestic peaks tearing through
the clouds and the taste of fresh air. The white peaks stand in contrast to the
green trees and colorful flowers at the base. All these elements unite in
creating a majestic experience. Such is true of the invitation from God. In
beholding the grand diversity of the invitation there is a beauty not seen in
its mere parts. This is especially true when we stand and view the invitation
all at once. Beholding the diversity of the invitation is my challenge and goal
in the pages to follow.
The
invitation of the bible to come to God is filled with rich diversity. For those
who accept it, this message requires sorrow and promises inexpressible joy. The invitation comes
without price and costs
everything. The invitation includes an offer of a relationship to God that is
both forensic (or legal) in nature and yet conjugal (or marital). The invitation to God is a call to leave
burdens and take up new
burdens. It is a message heralded first by Old Testament prophets, hundreds of
years later by the Messiah Himself, and still decades, centuries and millennia later by His followers. The
biblical invitation to God is the white light of the world broken into a prism
of colors displayed unblushingly in their diversity.
There
are several themes to this invitation to God, but the most important and common
theme of the biblical invitation is the call to press close to a historical
figure named Jesus Christ. The invitation is nothing less than a real man calling real people into a real relationship as tangible as any other. From the
beginning to the end, Christ is the center of the invitation.
Christ
is the one who socializes and draws near to the most unworthy of sinners (ch.
1), who invites us into a living relationship with Himself (2), who offers
Himself as the fountain of eternal life and delight to us (3), who removes the
heavy burdens and obligations from our shoulders (4), who pays the infinite
price for our free gift (5), who calls us to love Himself more than ourselves (6), who legally reconciles a perfect God
with guilty sinners (7), and whose beauty is the object of faith (8).
The
biblical invitation is a rich message of life-giving hope. It is an offer for
desperate sinners to come and drink their fill of eternal delight; to find
freedom from the tyranny of sin, self and worldliness; and to partake in the
work of God in reconciling His enemies to a personal relationship with Himself.
The offer of God to come through Christ is an offer of deep personal
satisfaction, mercy and liberation. It is an offer that is accessible to the
simplest, demanding to our self-centeredness, and peace-giving to our troubled
lives. The invitation to God is an offer of satisfaction for the thirsty,
lonely, tired, guilty, bankrupt soul.
It
is not, however, an invitation that can be experienced merely by belonging
within a crowd of Christians, attending church, contemplating the vast reaches
of the universe or beholding the beauty of nature. The invitation to God must
come through the revelation of the bible in a personal experience from a
personal God.
Welcome
to the Christian invitation to God. Jesus pleads, ÒCome unto MeÓ (Matt. 11:28).
1 // An Invitation to the Sick Criminal //
ÒÉ I came not to call the righteous, but
sinners.Ó (Mark 2:17)
Let
me ask you an honest question: How many times have you made a conclusion about
someone only to find, after getting to know them better, your initial judgments
were totally misleading? Such is common in how we judge co-workers and others
we know only superficially. Regrettably, I fall guilty here, too.
And
this personal presumption can also be very serious. To assume things are true
that have not been affirmed seems to find itself at the heart of conflict in
our lives. Personal presumptions prevent men and women from different races
from coming together to live in harmony, and fuels polarization in politics.
Many of the struggles in society, I fear, have been caused by false
presumptions.
Many
of the common presumptions about Jesus Christ are simply wrong. He was not
ultimately popular, He was rejected by the religious establishment of His time,
He was not handsome and in just a few short years of public work He stirred a
lot of controversy. ItÕs no surprise that many of these themes are long
forgotten in the church today. In general, we presume that Jesus was largely
mythical, peaceful and likeable.
Thankfully,
the bible straightens presumptions.
There
is no doubt Jesus was a profound man who attracted attention in the first
century amidst a dusty, Roman-controlled Palestine. He made many interesting friends,
accomplished incredible miracles, taught profound things and made extraordinary
claims about Himself. Crowds often formed around Jesus.
However,
this same man who displayed deep compassion reveals occasional anger and a deep
inner pain. Like having a boulder strapped upon His back, Jesus carried a
burden of sorrow. His life was inseparable from weariness, hunger and thirst.
He was often homeless and friendless, frequently maligned, slandered, wounded,
deserted by His own friends, taunted by His enemies, tempted by Satan and
ultimately forsaken by His Father in a way we cannot imagine.[8]
If
this wasnÕt enough, Jesus was not physically attractive in looks[9] nor prestigious in status. He would have
failed in politics. Amazingly, nearly two millennia later, His memory continues
to impact Western civilization.
What
stirred such hatred towards Jesus was His claim of being God in the flesh. The
stronger He claimed to be God, the closer He came to immediate death by His
enemies (John 5:16-18, 10:30-33, 14:1-11). Though He often escaped with His
life, it was the religious zealots, the ultra-conservative Pharisees, whose
fury enacted His painful execution as a 33-year-old young man (John 19:7). In
the end it was His bold claims that ended His short life.
And
yet His public execution becomes the most profound aspect of His life. Amidst
the dripping blood and water upon the thirsty desert sand we find the
foundation of GodÕs invitation (Acts 2:22-41, Rom. 5:10, Col. 1:22). Jesus, the
innocent, died so the guilty may live.
The
biblical account of Jesus Christ is filled with enough surprise to temper our
presumptions.
JesusÕ
mission, contrary to the religious leaders of his day, was not to please the
religionist or be exulted by the moral majority but to save those who were most
spiritually sick and desperate. And the first noticeable facet of the
invitation to God is to whom it concerns. It comes addressed to the lost, the
diseased and the unquestionably guilty.
The call of Matthew [10]
The
bible teaches through narratives, and so we begin our journey through the
invitation with a story.
One
of the early followers of Jesus was a man named Levi. Levi Ð who is more
commonly recognized from his later name, Matthew Ð was one of JesusÕ twelve
disciples.
Prior
to following Christ, Matthew was a tax collector. And similar to the IRS today,
there was very little love for those in this position. Collecting taxes for the
Romans was a job open to flagrant corruption through bloated tax rates.[11] The extra profits plundered from
taxpayers were deposited directly into the pocket of the collector.
Today,
IRS employees can attend church. Not so in JesusÕ day. So despised were these
individual tax collectors that they were doomed to excommunication from the
Jewish community. Tax collectors, including Matthew, were spiritually unclean
traitors to the nation of Israel, dealing with the unclean Gentiles and funding
the government of the oppressive Romans. They were leeches, motivated by greed
to suck their wealth from the oppression of others. On the scale of religious
and moral standing, the tax collectors were the lowest scum of the earth (Matt.
18:17). Like the body of a dead dog, the devout Jews had no part with them.
Yet
for all the baggage of this profession, Jesus was unafraid to approach, call
and embrace one man within it. This is the story of Levi.
He
[Jesus] went out again beside the sea, and all the crowd was coming to him, and
he was teaching them. And as he passed by, he saw Levi the son of Alphaeus
[Matthew] sitting at the tax booth, and he said to him, ÔFollow me.Õ And he
rose and followed him. (Mark 2:13-14)
Jesus,
it seems, retreats to the seashore for some personal thought and prayer.[12] Rumor soon spreads among the locals that
Jesus is near and a large crowd of people soon surrounds Him. He was obviously
building a reputation with the locals as intriguing and magnetic, a man who
could heal the sick body and cleanse the polluted soul.
Matthew
was oblivious to Jesus. Rather than following Jesus with the crowd, Matthew,
the tax collector, was busy at work Ð writing down accounts, counting the pile
of coins, pondering profits and awaiting the next merchant train. Having been
positioned along a trade route running through the region, Matthew was in a
perfect position to tax the goods passing through.[13] Any time away from his office meant lost
profits.
But
MatthewÕs station was also on JesusÕ travel route. Jesus, in the midst of the
crowd, comes to Matthew.
The
biblical account could not spare more words. Jesus says, ÒFollow Me!Ó and
Matthew does just that. Leaving his financially lucrative job, Matthew Òleft
everythingÓ to follow Jesus (Luke 5:28). And once Matthew resigned his
tax-collecting post there was no hope for a return.[14] The vacancy of MatthewÕs seat in a
sought-after career of tax collecting would be quickly filled. Nonetheless,
Matthew pushes himself away from his papers and coins to follow Jesus.
Matthew
left everything. By walking away from a tax collecting job that paid well and
was hard to secure, Matthew was walking into certain financial loss. But he
arose from his booth and traded the numbers, the coins and the security for a
life of surprise, confusion and humility with Christ.
This
is not the end of MatthewÕs day. The excitement of the call and the inner delight
of MatthewÕs heart overflowed into a personal party for Jesus at his large
house and with his friends.[15]
The
party of an ex-tax collector would further illustrate the first feature of the
invitation to God.
Because
he was a tax collector and severed from the community of religious Jews,
Matthew had chosen his friends from a motley crew of the morally depraved.
Despite their cultural label, Matthew welcomed his friends to meet Jesus at his
party. The large company of tax collectors and other openly known ÒsinnersÓ Ð
people known by drunkenness, prostitution, robbery and who knows what else Ð
were drawn to the opportunity of close interaction with Jesus. Jesus, the man
whom their wealthy friend left everything to follow, must have sparked their
curiosity.
At
this point early in His ministry, Jesus was already engaged in hostility with
the conservative religious leaders in Israel. Recently he had claimed to
forgive sins, which they deemed blasphemy Ð a lie about God (Mark 2:2-12). Only God Himself could
forgive sin, they said. And so the Jewish leaders, wanting to keep an eye on
the actions and words of this blaspheming man, followed along in His shadows.
Surely God Himself would never linger with such a party of filthy sinners!
The
bible paints the scene for us:
And
as he reclined at table in his house, many tax collectors and sinners were
reclining with Jesus and his disciples, for there were many who followed him.
And the scribes of the Pharisees, when they saw that he was eating with sinners
and tax collectors, said to his disciples, ÒWhy does he eat with tax collectors
and sinners?Ó And when Jesus heard it, he said to them, ÒThose who are well
have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I came not to call the
righteous, but sinners.Ó (Mark 2:15-17)
The
Òscribes of Pharisees,Ó were the eminent Jewish scholars. They followed Jesus
from the sea to the party Ð but at a comfortable distance to ensure they were
unpolluted by the scene. To them it was simply appalling that Jesus would enter into the house of tax
collectors and recline in a house filled with wicked and unreligious people![16]
Jesus
enters the party and speaks with the men and women. Such lowly service was
reprehensible to the religious leaders. A faithful Jew mingling in a party like
this would have been immediately pronounced Òunclean.Ó Even the air of the room
was filled with evil. Contrary to the popular religious ideals of the day,
Jesus was the Òfriend of sinnersÓ (Matt. 11:19, Luke 7:34). And Jesus, without
ignoring or excusing the sinfulness of His companions, was throwing open the
door of salvation to sinners.
The
scribes, in all their bible scholarship, had failed the heart of the MessiahÕs
mission: To offer eternal salvation for those most bankrupt of righteousness.
The
religious leaders made two presumptions about Jesus, errors that continue to
echo two millennia later.
First,
the scribes wrongly disqualified vile sinners from God. The scribes, believing that sinners and tax
collectors were forever defiled in their immoral lifestyles, distanced
themselves from them as though they had committed evil enough to be
disqualified from GodÕs offer. This is the blasphemy.
Later
in the bible we read of one important church comprised of people with
backgrounds of sexual deviancy, idolatry, robbery, greediness and fighting (1
Cor. 6:9-11). Yet it was these same people who, accepting the biblical
invitation to come to God, were transformed from the inside out. So while the
sinnerÕs life before coming to God is marked by obvious sin, his biography of
sin never determines his ÔworthinessÕ before God. When the bible explains who God invites to come and join Him, it is often the
most religious He bypasses and the most immoral He beckons to come.
Secondly,
the scribes wrongly thought of religion as a refuge for moral people. Jesus exposes that Christianity is a community
brought together of tax collectors and sinners who mutually praise God for
their liberation from sin! Like doctors running away from sickness so resembles the church that does
not offer the invitation of spiritual healing to the ÔdredgeÕ of society.
While
the religious leaders distanced themselves from the sinful ÔfilthÕ of the
party, it was Jesus who, seeing spiritual sickness, drew near. The religious
leaders mistakenly thought mere moral change attracts God and by these
misdirected efforts caused people to think of themselves as moral and
self-righteous. And when a sinner, who needs a spiritual doctor, merely changes
into more attractive religious clothing, he is deceived further from God than a
spiritually naked rebel (Matt. 23:15).
Jesus
proclaims, ÒI came not to call the righteous, but sinners.Ó Yet throughout the
world, it is still commonly assumed that God draws near to the most religious
or moral or upstanding people. Yet Jesus reveals to us the failure of this
thought and the surprising nature of the wisdom of GodÕs plan!
ÒWe
need to be frequently reminded,Ó writes J.C. Ryle, Òthat Jesus did not come
merely as a teacher, but as a Saviour of that which was utterly lost, and that those
only can receive benefit from Him who will confess that they are ruined,
bankrupt, hopeless, miserable sinners.Ó[17]
Amazingly,
it is often the religious leaders themselves who are ignorant of the invitation
to God! The invitation comes to those who are sick, not healthy; the guilty,
not the innocent; the lost, not the secure. From the standpoint of human
invention, the invitation to God was unpredictable.
So
unpredictable was GodÕs wisdom that centuries of religious studies, scholarship
and philosophy still find His invitation to be idiotic and foolish (1 Cor.
1:18-2:4). The biblical invitation to God walks past the man blinded by
self-righteous and content with hollow religion for the woman with eyes focused
on her personal unworthiness before God. The surprise of this invitation to God
reveals that the Òfoolishness of God is wiser than menÓ (1:25).
DonÕt
get me wrong. God demands righteous lives from those who accept His invitation!
If someone claims to be a Christian but does not show the resulting godliness
in his life, his faith is fraudulent (Jam. 2:17). True faith is revealed in the
display of a truly changed lifestyle. Yet no one is naturally righteous, God
says, not one!
The
bible tells us that sinners like Matthew and his friends were not the dredge of society, they are the whole of society.
The
bible tells us that God cups his hand to His forehead and takes a long look for
anyone on earth who is righteous and pleasing to Him. After scanning the
landscape of all nations and all human history, God returns His report card:
None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one
seeks for God. All have turned
aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one. Their throat is an open grave; they use their
tongues to deceive. The venom of asps is under their lips. Their mouth is full of
curses and bitterness. Their feet are swift to shed blood; in their paths are
ruin and misery, and the way of peace they have not known. There is no fear of
God before their eyes (Rom. 3:10-18)
All
man, woman and child Ð kings and bricklayers, the religious, the atheist, the
homosexual and the heterosexual, the Pharisee and tax collector Ð are all
naturally without righteousness. Even the most secret sins buried deep into the
dark closets of regret are exposed to the light of GodÕs knowledge (Ps 90:8).
The
third chapter of Romans contains some of the most absolute and poignant
language in the bible. None do good! But surely, we must ask, there is one
person in the world that God finds pleasing? ÒNone É not one É no one É no
one É no one É not even one!Ó The
bible tells us in plain and simple language that no one naturally pleases God.
Not the pagan with his idol worshiping (1:18-32), not the moralist with his
rules and regulations (2:1-16), not even the most religiously devout Jew
(2:17-3:8).[18]
Irrespective of religious upbringing or geography or literacy or education, God
finds every one of His creatures standing in their own soiled garments.
In
case we missed the point, GodÕs report card becomes specific. There are none who
truly understand GodÕs plan, all are preoccupied with everything but seeking
for God. Together all civilization has deliberately turned away from the
Creator they can see [19] and
thus everyone has become worthless to God. They are all blind and dead.[20] They are quick to use their mouths,
tongues and speech for spewing poisonous deceit. They are quick to shed blood
and to live destructively. More foundational, there is no genuine reverence[21] towards God in their hearts. We are
altogether ungodly.
Whether
developed and obvious or dormant and undeveloped, all of these sinful
characteristics reside in our hearts.[22]
ÒIf God should open a window in the heart, so that we might look into it, it
would be the most loathsome spectacle that ever was set before our eyes,Ó
Jonathan Edwards writes, ÒThere is not only malice in the hearts of natural
men, but a fountain of it.Ó[23]
Due
to the pervasive sinfulness it is impossible for anyone to appease GodÕs favor
through hard work or an increase in religious fervor (Rom. 3:19-20). In general
there is no one who is without sin because there is no one who practices a life
of fertile righteousness Ð Òno, not oneÓ (v. 10).[24]
Paul
later writes, ÒFor God has shut up
all in disobedience so that He may show mercy to allÓ (Rom. 11:32[25]). All are Òshut upÓ under sin![26] God takes a huge net and casts it over
the scope of human history to catch all who have sinned and fallen short of
perfection. The net bursts with a catch of everyone, everywhere, for all time!
None are pleasing to God! All are shut-up!
And
by this it is obvious that God does not draw distinctions between the really ungodly and the nominally ungodly.[27] All sinners equally fail at GodÕs
perfect standard[28]
and the sinful defendant can make no more excuses or arguments for his
innocence[29]
but stands condemned before the Creator and Judge (Rom. 3:19). Our perfect God
is unimpressed by the Òworks of the law,Ó flattering speech, religious attendance,
attempted morality, goodness or any other duty of sinners attempting to win
over His favor.[30]
All stand condemned. And so the silencing of all under sin consequently
silences the self-justification of the sinner. All stand quietly. All stand
guilty. All are shut-up.
In
summary, the sinner is in a dreadful state because he has no goodness before
God, has a heart filled with sinfulness, hardened towards the things of God,
alienated from God, under His divine displeasure and hopeless of eternal life.
Worst of all, the sinner lives ignorant of his condition.
ÒThe
cry for more education in this day is loud and incessant. Ignorance is
universally deplored,Ó J.C. Ryle writes, ÒBut there is no ignorance so common
and so mischievous as ignorance of ourselves.Ó[31]
Certainly
I was not born with this biblical self-awareness. So why are we naturally
ignorant of our sinful condition before God?
Simply
put, we are ignorant of our sin because we make presumptions about God. To know
ourselves we must know God, and we often fail to know ourselves because we
presume that God is just like us. As sinners, we naturally make God into our own image. God rebukes the sinner who assumes
that God is just like himself (Ps.
50:21).
God
is separate, holy and perfect and until we grasp His holiness any so called
self-awareness is ignorance. Edwards writes, ÒIf you were sensible of the
vanity of your own pride and that God was not such a one as you have imagined;
but that he is an infinitely holy, just, sin-hating and sin-revenging God who
will not tolerate nor endure the worship of idols, you would be much more
liable to feel the sensible exercises of enmity against him, than you are now.Ó[32] In other words, if we truly understood
God we would see just how much disrespect we focus towards Him.
Tozer
rightly warns, ÒLow views of God destroy the gospel for all who hold them.Ó[33] The invitation to God is destroyed
because low views of God produce false self-awareness. We must first understand
the purity of God to truly look into our own hearts. An honest look at God
yields an honest self-awareness.
No
more obvious evidence reveals our sinfulness than our consistently low
thoughts of God (Rom. 3:11; Deut.
6:4-9).[34]
The depth of our sinfulness makes it impossible to give God a higher position
in our thoughts than sex, work, money, cars and fashions. An emptying bottle of
beer receives more affection in some sinnerÕs hearts than the immortal God.
This is our nature.
But
even when we try to raise our thoughts to God, they last but a moment and soon
vanish. No matter how religious we appear on the outside, our thoughts and
affections consistently resemble a greedy tax collector.
Who
can plead innocence here?
Only
in silence before GodÕs judgment with the knowledge of our own pervasive sin,
can the invitation can be heard.[35]
Until a sinner recognizes that she is wrong and needy of forgiveness, C.S.
Lewis writes, the Christian invitation to God is itself shut-up.[36]
Such
self-awareness is hard to hold and difficult to swallow.
Yet
again we must ask some questions. Is this an attempt of another religion trying
to suck followers in through the power of imagined guilt? Does this sin really
exist? People are telling me that moral evil does not exist, does it?
From
the moment God created men and women to obey and enjoy a relationship with
Himself, men and women decided that they could make better decisions apart from
God. We will see the origin of our God-ignoring tendencies in the next chapter.
For
now it is important to see that sin has always existed, flourished and grown.
Like a resident of London not noticing the fog, or a Chicago resident not
noticing the wind or a Seattle resident not noticing the slow drizzling rain,
sin is so dense in our lives that it often goes completely unnoticed. Yet itÕs
all around us. Both the consequences of living as a sinners and living amidst
the consequences of other sinners combine to cause all the pain of our lives.
Andrew
Bonar offers us an unsettling worldview of how close the pain of this
sinfulness is felt in our lives:
If
sin is such a surface thing, such a trifle, as men deem it, what is the
significance of this long sad story? Do earthÕs ten thousand graveyards, where
human love dies buried, tell no darker tale? Do the millions upon millions of
broken hearts and heavy eyes say that sin is but a trifle? Does the moaning of
the hospital or the carnage of the battlefield, the blood-stained sword, and
the death-dealing artillery, proclaim that sin is a mere casualty, and the
human heart the seat of goodness after all? Does the earthquake, the volcano,
the hurricane, the tempest, speak nothing of sinÕs desperate evil? Does a manÕs
aching head, and empty heart, and burdened spirit, and shaded brow, and weary
brain, and tottering limbs, not utter, in a voice articulated beyond mistake,
that sin is guilt, that that guilt must be punished, Ð punished by the Judge of
all? É man repels the thought that sin is a crime, which God hates with an
infinite hate, and which He, in His righteousness, must condemn and avenge. [37]
We
would all agree that these markers of pain exist in our lives and cultures.
What we are slow in recognizing is that these evils are tied directly to the
breaking of the Creator-created (God-mankind) relationship. There is a direct
connection between the painful consequences of sin and our personal
Law-breaking. We are not innocent victims of bad luck.
Further,
as we saw in Romans, the natural movements of the human heart are toward
everything but God! This means our
interpretation of death, hurricanes, war, the Òaching head, and empty heart,
and burdened spirit, and shaded brow, and weary brain, and tottering limbsÓ
comes apart from a foundation of God-centered thought. By living ignorantly of
God we live ignorant of sin and, as a consequence, live ignorant of where our
troubles originate. From the natural neglect of God, human interpretation of
all life becomes a misinterpretation.[38]
Ironically,
it is the power of sin itself that tries to persuade the soul that sin does not
exist (Ps. 36:1-2). But when a worldview is informed with the knowledge of God
and His moral standards and sin is seen for what it is, then, and only then can
our desperate condition be comprehended and the invitation received.
We
will understand the historical basis and origin of sin in the next chapter, but
the hard truth is that we are sinners. We cause wounds by our sin and we feel
the wounds, too. We feel pain and cause pain; feel chaos and cause chaos; feel
the emptiness and bear the blame. Whether a scribe, religious leader, tax collector,
or drunk, it can be said, Òall have sinnedÓ and even worse: Òno one seeks for
God.Ó No, not even one. The guilt, pain and death we see with our own eyes are
not the consequence of karma or bad luck but the result of sin. And we bear the
blame.
The
essence of living a life of ungodliness is found in the first chapter of Romans
in the bible: ÒFor the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all
ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress
the truthÓ (1:18).
The
reality and power of God is freely available for all to see in the universe
around us (1:19-20). The handiwork of God is available to those overlooking the
Grand Canyon, peering towards the moon, or looking in a microscope at the
complicated DNA of the prokaryote bacterial cell, the simplest organism capable
of independent life.[39]
Essentially, the one who is ungodly
is the one who takes the truth about God available in creation and ÒsuppressesÓ
this truth, who does everything possible to avoid acknowledging an authority
over himself.[40]
Ungodliness is the opposite of humbly submitting to the authority of God and
worshipping Him as the Supreme authority (1:21).
What
is needed to reconcile these two parties is justification Ð sinners being brought into a right relationship
with God. Much of the bible is taken up with explaining this reconciliation of
sinners to God through justification (Rom. 3:19-5:1, Gal. 2:15-3:29). Justification
is, Òan act of GodÕs free grace, whereby he pardons all our sins, and accepts
us as righteous in his sight, only for the righteousness of Christ, imputed to
us, and received by faith alone.Ó[41]
We will look at this critical element of the invitation in chapter seven.
But
what is even more shocking than the ungodly suppressing the truth of God is
that God Òjustifies the ungodlyÓ
(Rom. 4:5)! What could be more outrageous? God takes those who are actively
trying to avoid Him and draws them close to Himself, justifies them and places
them in a right relationship to Himself through Christ. This is amazing grace!
It
is not merely that God justifies those who are slightly imperfect (those that
are unrighteous) like a diamond
downgraded in value because of a microscopic impurity. Rather God justifies
those that are totally destitute of all reverential awe towards God (those that
are ungodly)![42] Thus, God is not interested in granting
eternal righteousness upon those that seek salvation through religious zeal but
upon those who sadly acknowledge there is not even a hint of righteous merit
within themselves, those who would feel more comfortable at MatthewÕs party
than sitting through a religious service.
What
is offered to the sinner is the complete removal of all guilt and punishment
for sin! Sinners, who were yesterday ungodly and without hope of righteousness, can today be declared righteous and freed from the guilt of
sin.
The
implications to this doctrine are shown in the consequences to religious
studies. ÒGod justifies the ungodly,Ó James White writes, ÒSuch an assertion
runs directly counter to everything manÕs religions teach. Men believe
themselves capable of cleaning themselves up, of doing good works so as to
receive from God the sentence of justification.Ó[43] Not so with God. His is a salvation
offered to those who do not deserve it. Consequently, for those content in
their own self-righteousness, there is no invitation to justification.[44]
To
illustrate this point further, Jesus relates the story of a tax collector and
religious leader Ð the two extremes of outward righteousness and utter
spiritual hopelessness.
9
He [Jesus] also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they
were righteous, and treated others with contempt: 10 ÒTwo men went
up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. 11
The Pharisee, standing by himself, prayed thus: ÔGod, I thank you that I am not
like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax
collector. 12 I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I get.Õ
13 But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up
his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ÔGod, be merciful to me, a
sinner!Õ 14 I tell you, this man went down to his house justified,
rather than the other. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the
one who humbles himself will be exalted.Ó (Luke 18:9-14)
The
point is made clear Ð religious attempts by a sinner to spiritually renovate
himself are unimpressive to God compared to the broken soul that approaches God
with the self-awareness that he has nothing to offer God. God is unimpressed by
a heart that says, ÒIÕm not as bad as others,Ó and is pleased with the broken
heart that doesnÕt believe it could be any worse.
Herein
lies the distinction between all other world religions and genuine
Christianity. No sinner can earn or become worthy of salvation. No works can
merit, sustain or retain the promise of eternal life Ð it must come freely from
the hand of God. Thus God does not justify the righteous or the godly but the ungodly and the unrighteous!
When
Jesus entered the party of Matthew amidst all the wickedness and
God-suppressing sinners, He came with the offer of a God who justifies the ungodly.
ChristÕs heart was moved to sinners because the offer of salvation is for those
who are broken over their spiritual bankruptcy. The invitation to come to God
goes to those who know they are
sick, who know they are guilty,
who know they are lost and without
hope. And Christ, being God Himself, was willing to trade His own God-blood to
redeem unworthy and ungodly sinners (1 Pet. 1:18-19).
If
Christ came to call the unrighteous and everyone is unrighteous, then we can
conclude that the only ones He didnÕt come for Ð the ÔrighteousÕ Ð are those
who are self-deluded. Jesus is not saying some are un-needy of salvation but
that some think they are personally worthy of salvation and are thus
disqualified from His offer. We have already seen the universal condition of
sin in every heart.
Even
so, the natural draw of the human heart in religion is towards
self-righteousness, of trying to please God with self-improvements.[45] God is waiting for the person who Òdare
cease trying to change himself and relies on God just as he is, a sinner.Ó[46] And so throughout ChristÕs earthly
ministry, He was motivated to meet with the despised and eat with the sinners.
Even in His death Christ was willing to die an excruciating, bloody death for
the ungodly (Matt. 9:11, Mark 2:16, Luke 5:30). As Paul states:
6
For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. 7 For one will scarcely die for a
righteous person Ð though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die
Ð 8 but God shows his love for us in that while we were still
sinners, Christ died for us. 9 Since, therefore, we have now been
justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of
God. (Rom. 5:6-9)
During
the same period as the ungodly were in a state of spiritual rebellion towards
God, Christ gave Himself on the Cross to die for those who were undeserving.
The blood of Christ was shed, the text of the bible was written, the actions of
God were moving all while the sinner was loving the sin which alienates himself
from God![47]
This
means the salvation available through Christ must never have been effected by
human worth since, at the time of it, the recipients of the grace were
undeserving. Thus, the death of Christ was to justify sinners and give them a
salvation that could never be misunderstood for their own goodness. The
salvation that comes through the death of Christ to cover sin and free the
guilty, never comes through merit but by free grace.[48]
Christ
not only loved sinners enough to risk His public reputation by eating and
associating with them but He loved them to the point that He would give His own
life for our sin-sickened souls. Jesus said, ÒThe Spirit of the Lord is upon
me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent
me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to
set at liberty those who are oppressedÓ (Luke 4:18).
It
should be obvious by now that Christ bore a heavy burden to save sinners from their heavy load of sin. As Spurgeon writes:
He
came that he might be a sin-bearer: and do you think he came to bear only the
little, trifling sins of the best sort of men, if such sins there be? Do you
suppose that he is a little Savior, who came to save us from little offenses?
Beloved, it is JehovahÕs darling Son that comes to earth and bears the load of
sin, a load which, when he bears it, he finds to be no fictitious burden, for
it forces from him the bloody sweat. So heavy is that load that he bows his
head to the grave, and even unto death, beneath it. That stupendous load which
lay on Christ was the heap of our
sins. [49]
The wisdom of the death of Christ for sinners is
that there are no sins too dark or too pervasive or too horrible to be
forgiven.[50]
Christ died for the purpose of saving sinners devoid of all hope.
The
wisdom of God in the redemption of the most sinful gives Christ the most glory![51] Just as a poor child is more grateful
for the gift of a quarter than a wealthy child, ChristÕs death is given to
those who are most needy and most thankful. The poorer the sinner, the more
gracious the salvation; the sicker the soul, the greater the physician; the
guiltier the conscience, the greater the pardon.
Speaking
of Christ, Thomas Goodwin writes, ÒThe less we could do for him or for
ourselves, the more it would appear he did for us. He is honored more in our
dependence than our service.Ó[52]
The
invitation to God comes to those who have searched under each rock and behind
each door of their hearts and have concluded there is nothing that is
consistently impressive but only dark and ugly compared to the perfect
character of Christ. Yet this is no easy task. ÒWhoever is acquainted with the
nature of mankind in general, of the propensity of his own heart in
particular,Ó George Whitefield writes, Òmust acknowledge, that
self-righteousness is the last idol that is rooted out of the heart.Ó[53] Yet it is a necessary task. Spurgeon
encourages diligence here to peer into your own self-righteousness, Òtill you
see what a delusion it is.Ó[54]
The
starting point for coming to God through Christ is to recognize the
insufficiency of self-righteousness. John Owen writes, ÒUntil we are thoroughly
convinced that without him [Christ] we are in a state of apostasy from God,
under the curse, obnoxious unto eternal wrath, as some of the worst of GodÕs
enemies, we shall never flee unto him for refuge in a due manner.Ó[55]
Repentance
emphasizes a need for enlightenment. It presumes a new worldview and a shift in
understanding spiritual things.[56]
To repent is also to show sorrow for personal sin, confessing it before God,
seeing the shame of it, hating the sin and turning away from the sin.[57] None of which comes naturally or apart
from GodÕs sovereign grace.
This
call to repentance has never been, nor ever will be popular. To acknowledge
that one is wrong, deceived and needing of complete change is uncommon in
politics and business and almost unheard of in a therapeutic age arguing that everyone
around us is to blame for our failures. But while the world mocks the man with
a repenting heart on earth it is cause for angelic rejoicing in heaven (Luke
15:7,10).[58]
Turning
from self-righteousness is foundational, because for the sinner, true
righteousness is found only in Christ.
The
Old Testament believers had a name for God, Jehovah-Tsidkenu, meaning, Òthe Lord is our righteousnessÓ (Jer.
23:6, 33:16). They understood true righteousness to be found in God Himself.
For the sinner, being emptied of all self-righteousness by the universal
condemnation of sin leaves the only hope of salvation in Christ. For the
righteousness of Christ is the only righteousness available to the guilty
sinner (Isa. 53:5-12, Rom. 4:25,
5:19, 1 Cor. 1:30, 2 Cor. 5:21, Phil. 3:9).
In
accepting the invitation, sinners come to God and find salvation through the
perfect and complete work of Jesus Christ. And only in Christ can be found a
righteousness that cannot be added to or improved (1 Cor. 5:21, Heb. 4:15).
The
story is told of a painter in London in the nineteenth century who was
assembling a collection of paintings of a neighborhood.[59] He painted the buildings and architecture
of the neighborhood, the common places and scenes that made the neighborhood
memorable. Finally, he wanted to paint a portrait of a noticeable street
sweeper in the community. The man was homeless and ruddy who, although being
grubby, was well-known by the locals and became a part of daily life in the
community.
The
painter offered the homeless man money to meet him at his studio in the morning
for the purpose of painting his portrait. But when the next morning came and
the street sweeper arrived at the studio, he was soon turned away by the
painter. When the homeless man arrived at the studio, he appeared bathed,
wearing bright, clean clothes and had brushed his hair neatly. The painter was
disgusted, he was not interested in the cleaned-up version of the man but only
in the genuine image presented to the community on a daily basis.
The
same is true of the Christian invitation to God. It is no call to manipulate
the digital image of ourselves, clean ourselves up on the outside, attend
church more or be nicer or drink less or swear less-often. It is an invitation
for sinners to come just as they are, with all of their unrighteousness. To
these, and only these, comes
the invitation to God.
2 // An Invitation to a Relationship //
ÒThe Spirit and the Bride say, ÔComeÕÓ (Rev.
22:17)
Having
two children is a blessed experience. From the early days of our infants coming
home from the hospital my wife and I speculate what the first words of our
children will be. I, of course, try to teach them to say, Òdada,Ó since it is
the most important first word. IÕll invest several moments looking into the
small childÕs face slowly repeating ÒdadaÓ to make sure they are given the best
opportunity of learning. Usually the child looks at me with more concern for
the saliva-covered hand they are chewing on. My training has not worked too
well. Our first child, a son, had a first word that concerned food and the way
our daughter now eats doesnÕt give me much hope that ÒdadaÓ will triumph over
Ònum-nums.Ó Nonetheless, there is something intriguing about first words.
ÒIn
the beginning,Ó are the first three words of the bible. The written record
begins with an account of GodÕs creative powers in fashioning a universe to His
specific specifications. And over the course of just 144 hours, God displayed
His power by speaking into shape the sun, the moon, the sky, the earth,
vegetation and all types of sea and land animals. Everything was perfectly
designed. But there was something even greater to come.
The
final pieces of GodÕs masterpiece being the man and woman created in His own
image (Gen. 1:27). God created the man, first, by carefully sculpting some dirt
into his shape.[60]
Then, having established the form, God injected his own life-breath animating
the man from the ground into a living soul (2:7).[61] Adam, and his wife to come, were real people and the perfect capstone to the perfect
creation.[62]
Being
made in the image of God they were special. Adam and Eve were under GodÕs
ownership and were valuable, rational and ethically responsible and were
governed by a conscience. They lived according to the will of God, which
impacted their whole being Ð how they acted, thought and felt.[63] But even more importantly, being made in
the image of God, Adam and Eve enjoyed a perfect relationship with God.
Life
on the perfect planet was harmonious.
There
was ecological harmony, too. The earth provided food for its inhabitants
requiring little effort from men and women. Food was merely plucked off trees.
Child bearing would have been painless and marriage was harmonious. Personal
death was unknown. But most importantly, God, and the man and woman created in
His own image, enjoyed perfect community.
There
existed a relationship between Adam, Eve and God Himself that was reciprocal,
loving and personal. And by creating men and women to hold this mutual
communion with Himself, God reserved for man a special place no animal could
fill. It was this personal relationship with God that provided life to Adam and
Eve.[64]
Over
the whole of the beautiful garden there was only one demand:[65] from all the trees in the beautiful
garden producing fruit for the couple, they were expected to avoid eating
directly from the Òtree of the knowledge of good and evilÓ (2:16-17). The
consequence of failure was death. But the tree was tantalizing and the serpent
was deceptive.
There
were two dangers of eating from the tree. First, to eat from the tree of the
knowledge of good and evil promised that Adam and Eve could determine what was
right and wrong and would therefore not need direction from God. They could
assume themselves as their own authority.[66] Secondly, the possibility that God was
holding from them the availability of becoming gods themselves was simply too
much to refuse (3:1-5).[67]
And so out of the desire to live independently from God and to Òhelp
themselvesÓ to potential greatness, they chose to turn from GodÕs command.
The
fateful decision changed history forever. Eve was deceived both by the serpent
and her own lusts to eat from the tree (3:4-6, Jam. 1:13-14). Adam soon
followed. We are told Eve Òtook of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to
her husband who was with her, and he ateÓ (Gen. 3:6). Through this simple
snack,[68] rebellion was introduced into
perfection.
The
couple sinned, first, in their greed and prideful desires; second, by eating
from the tree not intended for them; and finally, sinned in seeking to become
autonomous from God. It was the introduction of greed, sin and rebellion into
mankindÕs relationship with God. The community was broken.
This
one act of rebellion, seeming trivial because of its object (fruit), was in
fact very serious. In the sin, Adam and Eve showed ingratitude towards the
bounty of GodÕs provisions, rebellion against the sovereign rule of God, envy
of the knowledge of God, a slighting of the goodness of God and discontent with
God founded upon a lie that God was withholding goodness. In abandoning the
wisdom of God for the counsel of His enemy the first couple committed spiritual
adultery.[69]
By
living to their own standards, Adam and Eve were acting as gods. But like an
infant child proclaiming his independence from the authority of his parents, so
too is the absurdity of a created being acting as though it were the ultimate
authority. ÒTo be insubordinate to any further end above himself,Ó Edward
Reynolds writes, Òis utterly repugnant to the condition of a creature.Ó[70] Similarly, ÒTo make ourselves our own
rule,Ó Charnock writes, Òis atheism.Ó[71]
And
so the core of Adam and EveÕs rebellion was not found in the glossiness of the
apple but the flagrant display of atheism, of thinking themselves free to
define their own standards apart from God.
While
this story is often depicted in cartoon books with Adam and Eve standing behind
waist-level bushes and with EveÕs long hair falling strategically down her
torso, the consequences were anything but comical. The woman would now conceive
and bear children in great emotional and physical pain (3:16).[72] The earth, now cursed, would produce
crops only through great labor and toil, and its inhabitants would survive only
by struggling against thorns and thistles (17-18). Marriage would now be a
union of competing sinners being motivated, not by love and tenderness, but by
Òinstinctive urges.Ó[73]
The woman would be tossed between competing desires, both desiring to live with
the ÔneedÕ of a husband and yet striving to overcome his natural dominance
(3:16).[74]
The
introduction of sin also destroyed the ecological harmony. From this time
forward, nature would produce famine and other storms of destructive force.
Pestilence would prevail. The world, created in harmony and perfection, is now
subjected to Òfutility,Ó Òbondage to decayÓ and ÒgroansÓ under the weight of
the wretched sin-curse (Rom. 8:20-22). The Òthorns and thistlesÓ of life are
now as impossible to number as they are to avoid. Hurricanes, tsunamis,
earthquakes, termites, cancer, the flu, the cold and countless other diseases,
hassles and pains plague our world and frustrate our lives.
But
even more important than adding pain and struggle to their lives and marriage,
sin caused Adam and Eve to immediately die. Not physically. Physical death
would come later. Rather, they died spiritually. To die simply means to be
separated from God[75] and to die spiritually is to be separated from
God spiritually.[76] From Adam and Eve all of mankind Ð you
and I included Ð naturally inherit a divorce in our relationship with God (Rom.
5:12).
In
their shame over their sin, Adam and Eve worked very hard to hide from God.
Living now in spiritual death, the couple wanted only to hide their shameful
imperfections. They sewed clothes together to hide their nakedness, as if that
would protect them from the gaze of God. And when GodÕs presence appeared in
the garden, and they realized their small clothes were not enough, the man and
woman crouched amidst the trees to avoid being seen by Him (3:7-8). The
communion enjoyed with God was replaced by a sense of guilt and shame for their
sinfulness. The sinner, having broken direct and perfect communion with God,
now hides behind a tree.
Being
created in the image of God, Adam and Even had a soul, a special place where
God dwelled in their souls[77]
and where communion with God was enjoyed. But with sin this relationship was
broken and bitterness took its place in the human soul. Reynolds writes, ÒSin
took away GodÕs favour from the soul, and His blessing from the creation; it
put bitterness into the soul, that it cannot relish the creation; and it put
vanity into the creation, that it cannot nourish nor satisfy the soul.Ó[78] Thus, the disobedience in the garden
drained the human soul from genuine satisfaction in God and leaves it tattered
and unsatisfied. The soul searches the world in vain for the delight it once
enjoyed and what it lives restless without.
Now,
alienated from God for the first time, Adam and EveÕs souls were empty.
From
this moment on, sinners were not only severed in their relationship to God but
became His hostile enemy (Eph. 2:15-16). Charles Spurgeon writes, ÒSin, as it
banished man from Eden, banished man from God, and from that time our face has
been turned from the Most High, and his face has been turned from us; Ð we have
hated God, and God has been angry with us every day [Ps. 7:11].Ó[79]
The
consequences of this ancient sin impact every moment of our lives on earth.
Throughout this book we will see sinÕs many destructive dimensions. Personal
sin reveals our spiritual emptiness (seen in ch. 1); sin empties our lives of
genuine fulfillment (3); sin causes our lives to be uneasy, hollow, and futile
(4); sin prevents us from pleasing God (5); sin causes us to saturate our
hearts with concern of ourselves over concern for God (6); and sin defines our
lives as enemies of God (7).
The
gravity of sin cannot be overstated. Charnock reminds, ÒLet us look upon sin
with no other notion than as the object of GodÕs hatred, the cause of his grief
in the creatures and the spring of the pain and ruin of the world.Ó[80]
As
sin permeates and overlaps all of our actions, decisions, motives, thoughts and
personalities, so too the understanding of sin permeates all dimensions of the
Christian invitation to God. But here in this chapter we are concerned with how
personal sin destroys our personal relationship with God.
The
perfect relationship intended between God and man was short lived. To this day,
all sinners are naturally severed from this relationship through spiritual
death because sin and death are passed naturally from generation to generation
(Rom. 5:12-21).[81]
All sinners are born spiritually stillborn.
But
God, desiring this communion once again, comes to the sinner with the
invitation of a restored relationship with Himself. God bridges the gap between
the rebel and Himself through the work of His Son Jesus Christ as the
reconciler between the two enemies. We will see more about this work in chapter
seven.
But
for now, it is most important to understand that the Christian invitation is
not a call to a religion or ceremony or mere subjective emotion but to a personal
relationship with God. It is the restoration of the Creator-created
relationship broken by sin.
In
other words, Christian salvation is a call to sinners to come and know God. This restoration has always been GodÕs
desire. Centuries before ChristÕs arrival on earth, God was speaking through
the prophets to invite sinners to Himself. ÒÔTurn to me and be saved, all the
ends of the earth! For I am God, and there is no otherÕÓ (Isa. 45:22). This
relationship becomes manÕs greatest pursuit and attainment. ÒThus says the
LORD: ÔLet not the wise man boast in his wisdom, let not the mighty man boast
in his might, let not the rich man boast in his riches, but let him who boasts
boast in this, that he understands and knows meÉÕÓ (Jer. 9:23-24). Those who
come to God through Christ for salvation are offered nothing less than a living
relationship with Him. More
precious than the scholar boasting in his genius or a body builder oiling up
for competition, or a rich man running his greedy fingers through his gold, is
the confidence to say, ÒI know God!Ó
Tozer
writes, ÒThe Bible assumes as a self-evident fact that men can know God with at
least the same degree of immediacy as they know any other person or thing that
comes within the field of their experience.Ó[82] He argues that the world of sight,
sound, taste, smell and touch dominate our perceptions and cause us to think of
these as the limits of reality. God, too, is as real as wisdom, strength or
gold. ÒThe eternal world,Ó Tozer argues, Òwill come alive to us the moment we
begin to reckon upon its reality.Ó[83]
And
itÕs in the Psalms that this spiritual world comes alive. To read the Psalms is
to see a real relationship between man and God played out in the real world.
Writing during a period of personal despair, the Psalmist writes: ÒO God, you
are my God; earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you; my flesh faints for you, as in a dry and weary land where there is no
waterÓ (Ps. 63:1). Lawson writes, ÒMore than just believing in the existence of
God, and more than just knowing about God, David actually knew him personally.Ó[84] This passion for God personally is
repeated all throughout the Psalms (see 42:1-2, 84:2, 143:6).
The
soul that truly thirsts for God will not be contented until it finds God
Himself. ÒWith youÓ are our delights (36:9). It was the strength of the
PsalmistÕs pleas for God that caused C.S. Lewis to scrap the idea of Òlove for
GodÓ in favor of a more accurate phrase Ð of having an Òappetite for God.Ó[85] And to have an appetite for God is to
desire a personal relationship with Him and to live unsatisfied with all
imitation.
So
personal and intimate is this relationship, that it is often illustrated by the
terminology of marriage.
The
bible teaches that the temporal world around us is merely provisional. One day
the world and everything we now see will be taken up like a curtain of a play
to reveal the final scene of eternity (1 Cor. 7:31). The book of Revelation
presents this transition by depicting a dramatic finale full of incredible
events yet to play out in time. As Genesis broke into eternity and explained
the beginning of the created universe, so the book of Revelation brings the
created universe to a close, once again leaving only eternity.
At
the close of the last chapter, the reader of the book of Revelation is
saturated with pictures and images of the end of world history, the throne room
of God, the beauty of the New Jerusalem (also known as Heaven) and horrors of
the Lake of Fire (also known as Hell). The book of Revelation is filled with
images of ultimate justice as Christ returns a second time, not as a Lamb but
as a Lion, to eliminate sin, to establish His kingdom and bring separation
between the righteous and the unrighteous (19:11-21).
But
as the dramatic book concludes, it returns to contemporary human history with
an open invitation: ÒThe Spirit and the Bride say, ÔComeÕÓ (Rev. 22:17). The
Spirit of God and the Bride of Christ, the community of Christians from all
time, combine for this invitation. The groom here is Christ. Thus, the
communion with God broken at the beginning of the bible is restored by an offer
at the end of the bible for sinners to embrace the great Marriage of the Bride
and the groom, Christ.
The
most common illustration of the relationship Christ has with those who accept
His offer is found in the illustration of marriage.[86] The marriage relationship begins at the
acceptance of the invitation and demands chastity to the Great Spouse in light
of His return (2 Cor. 11:3, 1 John 3:3).
Marriage
provides a fitting picture of our relationship with Christ. The ideal marriage
relationship is marked by mutual love and joy. Jonathan Edwards, who enjoyed a
beautiful marriage writes, ÒThe mutual joy of Christ and his church is like
that of bridegroom and bride in that they rejoice in each other, as those whom
they have chosen above others, for their nearest, most intimate, and
everlasting friends and companions.Ó[87]
Likewise, Christ, by dying for sinners, shows His unparalleled love for them.
The redeemed sinner responds with chaste affection towards Him. Such resemble the
mutual affections of a healthy marriage.
The
depth and seriousness of this relationship are revealed in the hard things
Jesus says to those interested in the invitation. For those who seek to follow
Him, Jesus demands: ÒIf anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and
mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own
life, he cannot be my discipleÓ (Luke 14:26). By calling his followers to hate
their own fathers, mothers and anyone else who is affectionately close, Jesus
was not calling them to be mean-spirited or negligent towards them. Rather, He
was saying the most affectionate relationship is reserved for Christ alone and having a closer or more affectionate
relationship with another is inconsistent for His followers. Not only is Christ
calling His followers into a relationship with Himself but into a relationship
of affection and closeness that no other relationship offers. It is a call, not
merely to another relationship,
but a relationship that has no rival!
To
love Christ and follow Him is to become united to Him. Like a head connected to
the body or a branch connected to a tree, Christ abides in the Christian heart
(1 Cor. 6:15, John 5:15, Eph. 3:17, 5:30). The Christian puts on Christ like he
puts on clothes.[88]
The Christian is Òrooted and built up in him,Ó and united with an inseparable
love to Christ (Rom. 13:14, Col. 2:7, Rom. 8:35). It is a union so strong Paul
can write, ÒI have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but
Christ who lives in meÓ (Gal. 2:20).
The
result of this union is communion.[89]
Communion is simply, Òsharing or exchanging, as of feeling or thoughts.Ó[90] From the believerÕs union in Christ flows the communion relationship with Christ. It is a living and vibrant interchange that can
be compared only to a close marriage relationship. Thus the Christian does not
look forward to a future
communion with God but enjoys this communion as a present reality: Òindeed our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus ChristÓ (1
John 1:3).
For
centuries Christians have understood the relationship between the Christian and
God to be tangible and real, impacting everything of daily life. This is not a
relationship reserved for Sunday church but a living, vibrant and daily
relationship filled with comfort, delight and sweetness.
Two
Christians especially articulated these things: Dutch Puritan Wilhelmus ˆ Brakel
and English Puritan John Owen.
Brakel
understood this marriage relationship is enjoyed when the sinner beholds
ChristÕs beauty and the beauty of His work. The communion is experienced when
the sinner requests from Christ comfort from the pains of life by leaning upon
His protective promises, and by gripping the provisions of Christ and taking
personal possession of them.[91]
It is in revering ChristÕs honor, delighting in ChristÕs beauty, resting upon
ChristÕs accomplishments, and obeying ChristÕs commands,[92] the believer finds it, Òstirs Jesus up
to express His love towards the believer.Ó[93] Thus there is a mutual interchange of
love between the two Ð the soul resting and delighting in Christ and Christ
providing all comfort and protection for the soul.
Owen
wrote of this communion including both a Òmutual resignationÓ and the
expression of Òconjugal affections.Ó There is a giving up oneself to be wholly
the otherÕs. Christ gives Himself to the soul in the Òlove, care and tendernessÓ
and the soul responds with Òloving, tender obedience.Ó[94] Secondly, just as in marriage there is a
Òself-resignationÓ of the soul in preferring Christ among all others.[95] There are none that can compare to the
work and perfections of Christ. Christ is the soulÕs greatest joy and source of
imminent satisfaction.
Owen
pictures the offer of communion with Christ as a garden of fragrant spices too
large to enjoy at once but diverse enough to satisfy all needs.[96] He writes of Christ:
There
is light in him, and life in him, and power in him, and all consolation in him;
- a constellation of graces, shining with glory and beauty. Believers take a
view of them all, see their glory and excellency, but fix especially on that
which, in the condition wherein they are, is most useful to them. One takes
light and joy; another, life and power. By faith and prayer do they gather
these things in this bed of spices. Not any that comes to him goes away
unrefreshed. What may they not take, what may they not gather? what is it that
the poor soul wants? Behold, it is here provided, set out in order in the
promises of the gospel; which are as the beds wherein these spices are set out
for our use [97]
The
pursuit of communion and refreshment in Christ in this spiritual and conjugal
relationship is the heart of the Christian life. ÒTo have found God and still to
pursue Him,Ó Tozer writes, Òis the soulÕs paradox of love, scorned indeed by
the too easily satisfied religionist, but justified in happy experience by the
children of the burning heart.Ó[98]
This
communion with Christ is passionately personal and fueled by a God-given
desire. Thomas Goodwin writes, Òwhen Christ stirs such a spirit unto an
unconquerable desire after him, he answers it, and corresponds with it.Ó[99] Later he writes, Ònothing can give full
joy, or thoroughly settle the heart in believing, and overpower all doubts,
till Christ himself comes and manifests himself to the soulÓ (John 14:18-24).[100]
Yet
it is this very promise of personal communion with God that is often neglected
for unsatisfying substitutes.
Two
substitutes persistently rear their ugliness in our lives Ð the lie that human
relationships can fill the void left from alienation from God and the lie that
religious attainments and outward zeal can fill the same hole. The testimonies
of one man and one woman illustrate this point.
The story of a lonely
woman (John 4:5-26)
Very
early in the ministry of Jesus Christ, He passed through a region called
Samaria. It was an area often neglected by the faithful Jews of the day because
the Samaritans had serious theological problems. The Samaritans refused to see
that salvation and true worship of God was directed only through Judaism and
had tried to build an alternative religion from only select portions of the Old
Testament (vv. 21-22).[101]
Because of these and a host of other historical differences, the Jews had
nothing to do with the Samaritans (v. 9). It would be accurate to say that the
Jews and the Samaritans of this time hated each other.[102] Added to the fact that women, like the
one HeÕs about to meet, were seen as secondary in the culture of the day,[103] there were many reasons why Jesus should
not have found Himself comfortable
at this Samaritan well.
In
any case, wearied by His journey in the heat of the day, Jesus passed through
the region and stopped at a well to drink and be refreshed for His remaining
journey. As He was at the well, with no tool to draw water with, a local woman
walked along the dusty path to draw water. She traveled alone and in the heat
of the day, both being signs of being a community outcast.[104] But as we saw in chapter one, she was
the very type of person Jesus sought.
Jesus
asked the woman for a drink from the well of water, something no faithful Jew
would have considered (v. 9). He surprised her by offering Òliving waterÓ from
Himself (v. 10). ÔHow can you offer me living water,Õ she said in a skeptical
voice, Ôyou have no bucket or container of any type to draw the water with (v.
11)?Õ Jesus explained that Òliving waterÓ is not drawn with tools or buckets
but offered from a person. He explains that He Himself is the giver of a water
that always satisfies and will become in her, Òa spring of water welling up to
eternal lifeÓ (v. 14). JesusÕ offer to the woman was of being spiritually
united to Him and to enjoy daily communion with Him. It was an offer for an unending and satisfying relationship.
The
woman, however, again missed the point. She thought the water would make her
regular labors to the well obsolete (v. 15). This was not JesusÕ point.
In
any case, such an amazing offer should be given to more than just this woman.
So Jesus asks the woman to go and fetch her husband (v. 16). The womanÕs face
must have grown red in shame and her spirits must have become sunken. Everyone
in the village knew about her life but obviously not this weary traveler. ÔI
donÕt have a husband,Õ she says, doubtfully looking Jesus in the eye (v. 17).
Jesus, being the all-knowing God Himself, replies, ÔI know, you have had five
husbands and the man you now sleep with[105] is not married to youÕ (vv. 17-18). The
shock of JesusÕ searching knowledge into the womanÕs heart would forever impact
the woman (vv. 29, 39).
After
having already explained the benefits of the Òliving waterÓ Jesus searches into her personal life to try
and get the Samaritan woman to thirst for the water. Her need for this relationship with God was revealed
by her insatiable desire for the perfect relationship with a man and her
resulting divorces.[106]
As her hopes continued to fail she simply looked for a satisfying relationship
in the next man. Her pursuits were proving futile.
Here
at the well lay the testimony of all sinners who seek satisfied lives apart
from a relationship with God. When the soul turns away from God, it must then turn to other things to fill the gap. A life
empty of God will soon be filled with sexual sin, pornography, worldliness,
laziness, drunkenness, pursuit of riches and fame, and a list that could
continue for a long time. Augustine reveals his own experience when he writes
to God, ÒA soul that turns away from you therefore lapses into fornication when
it seeks apart from you what it can never find in pure and limpid form except
by returning to you.Ó[107]
The
Samaritan woman is caught in this substitution. She does not have the living
water and so she must seek
fulfillment in multitudes of temporary relationships. ÒCompanionship and
intimacy Ð the natural waters of life Ð will not satisfy peopleÕs longings,Ó
writes R. Kent Hughes. ÒJesus makes it clear, the whole body of Scripture make
it clear, and all of us who have lived most of our lives make it clear that
companionship and sexual intimacy do not satisfy the thirstings of the soul.Ó[108]
JesusÕ
point of this water stop is to illustrate how the human soul is naturally drawn
towards relationships and places a high value upon them. Unfortunately, this
desire is often used for everything but its greatest goal Ð to drive us towards
a relationship with God Himself. This Samaritan woman was trying to find
eternal joy and satisfaction in human relationships and was disposing of men
quickly in the process. Jesus counter-offers this pursuit with the offer of
living water. There is only one relationship that provides what we assume
all relations are capable of and that is an unquenchable fullness immune from
divorce.
And
it is the living water of a personal relationship with God that provides
exactly what the soul that has been dehydrated by years of disillusionment
desires.
But
the substitutes for this personal relationship with God are hardly limited to
the sexually promiscuous. It is just as frequent among the morally religious.
The story of a
religious man (Phil. 3:3-11)
One
of the most prominent people of the New Testament is a man named Paul. Paul was
a religiously devout man who gloried in his own religious strengths. He was
born into a pure Jewish lineage and into a strong Hebrew family (v. 5). As to
the Law, Paul became a Pharisee, the Òstrictest partyÓ of Judaism that
concerned itself with living according to the Law of God in every detail (Acts
26:5). He claimed to be ÒblamelessÓ at this work (v. 6). In his zeal he
persecuted the Christians who were promoting the ÒfalseÓ Messiah Jesus and
attacking his pure Judaism (v. 6). As an adult Paul had reached the Òpinnacle
of moral and religious development.Ó[109]
That
was before Paul met Christ.
As
Paul, then called Saul, was fulfilling his zeal and persecuting Christians, he
met the Christ who had been crucified for some time. The bible gives us the
account of this meeting:
1
But Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord,
went to the high priest 2 and asked him for letters to the
synagogues at Damascus, so that if he found any belonging to the Way, men or
women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem. 3 Now as he went on
his way, he approached Damascus, and suddenly a light from heaven flashed
around him. 4 And falling to the ground he heard a voice saying to
him, ÒSaul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?Ó 5 And he said, ÒWho
are you, Lord?Ó And he said, ÒI am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. 6
But rise and enter the city, and you will be told what you are to do.Ó 7
The men who were traveling with him stood speechless, hearing the voice but
seeing no one. 8 Saul rose from the ground, and although his eyes
were opened, he saw nothing. So they led him by the hand and brought him into
Damascus. 9 And for three days he was without sight, and neither ate
nor drank. (Acts 9:1-9)
From
this moment, Paul was changed in dramatic ways. He began finding synagogues,
not to give mere lectures on the Torah, but to preach about Christ (vv. 19-22)!
For the rest of his life he would be reminded of the prestige he denied and the
hardships he endured for Christ (2 Cor. 11:16-33). But he would have it no
other way.
Whatever
gain Paul had as a Pharisee and whatever zeal he had for the Law, he counted
Òeverything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my
Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as
rubbish,[110]
in order that I may gain ChristÓ (Phil. 3:8). All of the religious and moral
attainments were like items flushed down the toilet compared to the Òsurpassing
worth of knowing Christ.Ó
Paul
sees precious value in being Òfound inÓ Christ (v. 9) and to know Him
intimately: Òthat I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may
share his sufferings, becoming like him in his deathÓ (v. 10). OÕBrien writes
that Paul had now entered into a living relationship with Christ where, Òhis
ambition is to know Christ fully, something that involved knowing the power of
his resurrection and the fellowship of his sufferings in the everyday events of
his own life.Ó[111]
Paul now possessed a living relationship with Christ, bleeding into all of his
thoughts and aspirations.
Paul
wrongly thought he was gaining
as a religiously motivated moral zealot, yet he learned that all his gain was
really loss compared to
intimately knowing Jesus Christ. As Paul was putting Òconfidence in the fleshÓ
by resting in his religious merits, he did not Òknow ChristÓ (v. 4).[112] A relationship with God Ð enjoying
sweet communion with Christ, of loving and be loved by God Ð was foreign to
Paul.[113]
Religionists can be dead wrong about God.
Paul
learned that religious merits were worthless because true righteousness Òcomes
through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faithÓ (v.
9). Paul Òdesires to know Christ fully, to gain him completely, and to be found
in him perfectly.Ó[114]
Simply put, Paul treasures Christ. Far from being a relationship of PaulÕs own
creative imagination or fleeting emotion, Christ was as real to Paul as any
human relationship and more valuable then the sum of his life before ÔmeetingÕ
Christ. Blessed are those who see the manifest glory of Christ and believe, and
blessed are those that simply believe by faith (John 20:29).
The
relationship with Christ cannot be substituted by human merit but only through
recognizing human merit for what it is Ð dung.[115] The relationship Christ expects and
enjoys with sinners is one in which the sinner sees her own spiritual
bankruptcy and rests totally in the perfect work of Christ as her merit to
eternal life. Righteousness, sufficient for eternal life, must come from God
only. And here in the humble recognition of our own inadequacy is the beginning
of our relationship with God.
But
it is deeper than self-awareness. According to Spurgeon, this relationship is
seen when the provision and working of Christ are felt in the soul. He writes,
A
believer knows Christ, to a higher degree when he knows him by practical
experiment and acquaintance with what he does. For instance, I know Christ as a
cleanser. They tell me he is a refiner, that he cleanses from spots; he has
washed me in his precious blood, and to that extent I know him. They tell me
that he clothes the naked; he has covered me with a garment of righteousness,
and to that extent I know him. They tell me that he is a breaker, and that he
breaks fetters [shackles], he has set my soul at liberty, and therefore I know
him. They tell me that he is a king and that he reigns over sin; he has subdued
my enemies beneath his feet, and I know him in that character. They tell me he
is a shepherd: I know him for I am his sheep. They say he is a door: I have
entered in through him, and I know him as a door. They say he is food: my
spirit feeds on him as on the bread of heaven, and, therefore, I know him as
such.[116]
Like
Paul suggests and Spurgeon confirms, to know Christ is to have an experiential
knowledge of Him in the heart, a relationship felt in the soul.
Likewise,
Jesus condemns those who think they know God because they are mere religious
scholars. Speaking to the Pharisees of His day, Jesus said, ÒYou search the
Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they
that bear witness about me, yet you refuse to come to me that you may have lifeÓ (John 5:39-40). Reading
several books on religion, getting a degree in theology or becoming a biblical
scholar can never be mistaken for a true relationship with God. ÒJesus insists
that there is nothing intrinsically life-giving about studying the Scriptures,Ó
D.A. Carson warns, Òif one fails to discern their true content and purpose.Ó[117] The bible, therefore, is a means to a
personal relationship with Christ.
Yet
like the woman looking for spiritual fulfillment through a relationship with
men, sinners look for this relationship with God through morals, ethics,
scholarship and religion. The woman stands as a warning to those bouncing from
one relationship to another without Christ and the man as a warning to those
pursuing religious knowledge, morality and zeal yet without Christ.
But
in the midst of these empty substitutes, Jesus says, ÒCome unto Me.Ó
One
of the keys to a lasting and fulfilling relationship is to find someone who is
both compassionate and understanding. No one can do this perfectly except Jesus
Christ. The bible says:
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. 15 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. (Heb.
4:14-15)
Jesus
understands life better than anyone! He has been to the brink of despair, lust,
greed, pride, sinful anger, discouragement, loneliness. Unlike us, He
approached and retreated from these temptations Òwithout sin.Ó But He has been
there. He was tempted so He would be approachable, He is approachable so He
could be relational, He is relational because He expects followers to press
close to Him. The invitation to God is a call to a personal relationship with
Christ! And it is a Christ well acquainted with human life.
As
both the lonely women and the religious zealots of the world remind us, it
takes a humble soul to push through the substitutes for Christ. One preacher
acknowledged the danger in his own life. Standing among thousands and preaching
to himself, Spurgeon cried,
My
soul Ð never be satisfied within a shadowy Christ. É I cannot know Christ
through another personÕs brains. I cannot love him with another manÕs heart,
and I cannot see him with another manÕs eyes. É I am so afraid of living in a
second-hand religion. God forbid that I should get a biographical experience.
Lord save us from having borrowed communion. No, I must know him myself. O God, let me not be
deceived in this. I must know him without fancy or proxy; I must know him on my
own account.[118]
Though
the path is littered with failures, the invitation to come to God is a call for
sinners to come close and enjoy a personal relationship with Him. It is the
only relationship that can satisfy the loneliness and emptiness of the soul. As
we will see in the next chapter, it is an offer to drink from an infinitely
deep spring of satisfaction.
3 // An Invitation to the Thirsty to Drink //
ÒÔCome, everyone who thirsts, come to the
watersÕÓ (Isa. 55:1)
What
we have spoken of sin so far is that it exists. From the moment Adam and Eve
sinned, the consequences of sin have marred every aspect of human life even
being the source of enmity between God and the men and women He created.
Without this personal relationship with God, human life shifts into high gear
in the search for enduring delight. Yet the world, its toys and relationships
fail to give the soul a sense of peace and leave only greater burdens (Luke
21:34).
We
come now to the consequences and the promises to those who have been dried out
by the scorching heat of sin upon their souls. It is for these that God offers
to drink from His storehouse of grace. And of all the invitations for sinners
to come to God in the bible, none are more frequent than for the thirsty to
come and drink.
The
well of delight is conditioned upon the God-enacted discovery that the heart
understands its own dehydrated condition. Several of the bible promises reveal
this qualification: ÒCome, everyone who thirsts, come to the watersÓ (Isa. 55:1), ÒTo the
thirsty I will give from the
spring of the water of life without paymentÓ (Rev. 21:6) and later, Òlet the
one who is thirsty come; let the one
who desires take the water of life
without priceÓ (22:17).
There
are three evidences of a dehydrated soul.
Evidence 1: A thirst
for God.
To
be spiritually thirsty is synonymous with having a desire for GodÕs presence
(Ps. 42:1-2, 63:1, 84:2). As such, the Psalms are an open diary of a thirsty
soul. Here we have the passionate pleas of a man towards his God poured out on
paper.
In
Psalm 42 we read: ÒAs a deer pants for flowing streams, so pants my soul for
you, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When shall I come and
appear before GodÓ (vv. 1-2)? The Psalmist does not confuse a relationship with
God as an unnecessary luxury. He simply cannot live without drinking from the
presence of God. For those who thirst, the presence of God is as necessary as
water in the dry desert heat. When water runs out in the desert, the situation
becomes dangerous. Water, like the presence of God, is central to life.
The
cry of this manÕs heart bellows from the depth of his soul, from a strong
spiritual appetite. Spurgeon writes, ÒGive him his God and he is as content as the
poor deer É but deny him his Lord, and his heart heaves, his bosom palpitates,
his whole frame is convulsed, like one who gasps for breath, or pants with long
running.Ó[119]
The
soul is prepared to drink GodÕs presence when her desire and thirst for God
comes as frequently as physical thirst. It is a thirst for God that comes daily
despite the surrounding comforts of the world.
This
is especially true when life becomes difficult. Running through the wilderness
for his life, king David wrote: ÒO God, you are my God; earnestly I seek you;
my soul thirsts for you; my flesh faints for you, as in a dry and weary land
where there is no waterÓ (Ps. 63:1). The phrase, ÒO God,Ó is often used by
those who loosely curse GodÕs presence. But for those who thirst, ÒO God,Ó is
the plea of a dry heart. There is nothing to satiate his heart but God. This
thirst maintains spiritual life. He cannot ignore his thirst or simply turn his
mind to other things.[120]
The
Psalmist does not cry out to be delivered from his difficult circumstances
first, but rather pleads that within the struggles he may drink deeply from the
presence of God. God has not promised His followers a life of ease, but He has
promised to satiate their dehydrated hearts in the heat of the desert.
And
so a desire for GodÕs presence reveals that only God can fill the soul He created in us. ÒNothing
can fill the soul but God,Ó Thomas Brooks writes, Ònothing can quiet the soul
but God, nothing can satisfy the soul but God, nothing can secure the soul but
God, nothing can save the soul but God. The soul being spiritual, God only can
be the adequate object of it.Ó[121]
To
be thirsty for God is to desire communion with God. But this communion is
hindered because God is fully righteous and we are fully unrighteous.
Evidence 2: A thirst
for righteousness.
Until
we are declared perfectly righteous we cannot have communion with a perfect
God. So the offer of infinite delight in the presence of God is withheld from
sinners. A thirst for God assumes a thirst for righteousness.
For
his evil, the Greek god, Tantalus, was condemned to stand neck-deep in a pool
of water. Every time he stooped to drink, the water receded. Here too, is the
dilemma for the sinner. The infinite sea of communion with God is offered but
not to those whose rebellion is unforgiven. This is not so much the tantalizing of God but the preservation of His holiness. Here
is the sinners dilemma.
Isaiah,
including himself it seems, writes that all human attempts to please God are
Òlike a polluted garmentÓ (Isa 64:6). Attempts to please God through religion
or morals is like offering a sacrifice to God of a menstrual cloth.[122] God will not commune with the
self-righteous. And so the imperfect sinner is prevented from entering the
perfect presence of God.
ÒBlessed
are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,Ó Jesus said, Òfor they shall
be satisfiedÓ (Matt. 5:6). An appetite for righteousness assumes a lack of
righteousness. This is the theme we saw in the first chapter and this is the
thirst God satisfies with His own righteousness.
Evidence 3: A thirst
for fulfillment.
By
living imperfectly and being unholy we live our daily lives with the burden of
a dehydrated soul. The years of lies, broken relationships, lifeÕs Ôthorns and
thistles,Õ and unfulfilled hopes have all conspired together to dehydrate our
hearts. The deeper the search for ultimate satisfaction, the emptier the end
and the dryer our heart becomes.
The
awakened[123]
sinner knows that all the physical pleasures available in the world fall short
of genuine spiritual fulfillment. Edwards writes,
Men
in a natural condition may find something to gratify their senses, but there is
nothing to feed the soul. That more noble and more essential part [the soul]
perishes for lack of food. They may fare sumptuously every day, they may pamper
their bodies, but the soul cannot be fed from a sumptuous table; they may drink
wine in bowls, yet the spiritual part is not refreshed. The superior faculties
[soul] want to be supplied as well as the inferior [body]. True poverty and
true misery consist in the want of those things of which our spiritual part
stands in need. É the thoroughly awakened soul sees that he is very far from
true happiness, that those things which he possesses will never make him happy;
that for all his outward possessions he is wretched, and miserable, and poor,
and blind, and naked.[124]
The
thirsty soul is a beggar, searching for God and righteousness, who has walked
through deserts of dehydration with a God-given desire for that which truly
satisfies.[125]
The thirsty soul sees the emptiness of sin and empty religion. She will not be
content by mere pastors, sermons, churches, or the fleeting comforts of the
world like sex, fame and drugs. The awakened sinner is content only in drinking
from the inexhaustible delights of God.
River of life (Rev.
22:1-2)
In
the book of Revelation, the Apostle John was given an angelic tour of Heaven
(21:9-22:5). It is a city of pristine beauty, made of gold and other precious
jewels. Only the finest building materials are used. Even the roads are
constructed of gold. It is a city unconcerned for lighting because the visible
glory of Jesus Christ is its source of light (v. 23). The city knows no
darkness and needs no sun, as was foretold hundreds of years earlier (Isa.
60:19-20). But it is also a city without death, disease and pain, a place where
its inhabitants live fully, freely and forever.
But
what makes the scene so glorious is what John finds as the centerpiece of
heaven:
Then
the angel showed me the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing
from the throne of God and of the Lamb through the middle of the street of the
city; also, on either side of the river, the tree of life with its twelve kinds
of fruit, yielding its fruit each month. The leaves of the tree were for the
healing of the nations. (Rev. 11:1-2)
Nature of the water of
life
Of
all the things we have, none are more precious than life. All it takes is a
near-death experience in a car wreck or the fateful decree from a doctor that
cancer is now eating the body to make us realize just how beautiful and
precious life is to us. Life is the one thing we seek to preserve daily and
life is the one thing we cannot live without.
But
as much as we try, life cannot be maintained for more than a few decades and
then it is gone. Life in a sinful and cursed world demands this solemnity. The
burden of death, as we will see in the next chapter, is a very heavy weight to
bear Ð a burden carried by us all.
Plaguing
sinners as certainly as physical death, is the spiritual death we have seen
earlier. Spiritual death is the severance of the soulÕs delight and communion
with God (Eph. 2:1, Col. 2:13). The cry of the desperately sick in a hospital
on the brink of eternity is the same cry of the sinner who has been enlightened
to his sinfully dead condition. It is a cry for life, the cry of the thirsty.
The
access to the water of life is a metaphor to show the unending promises of life
offered to those who accept the invitation.[126] To all who are plagued with the reality
of death, Jesus offers life so they might Òhave it abundantlyÓ (John 4:14,
10:10).
The
Òwater of lifeÓ feeds the Òtree of life,Ó the tree given to Adam and Eve to
feed upon for their sustenance (Gen. 2:9). After the fall into sin this tree
was no longer available. God could never allow sinners to live forever in their
sinfulness (Gen. 3:22). Because the tree of life was no longer available to
them, physical death was introduced. But in heaven the Òtree of lifeÓ is fully
watered and freely available for all heavenÕs residents Ð a beautiful image of
an abundant and unending life.
The
much-desired water of life flows from the throne of God and of the Lamb in
Heaven. The promise is of spiritual life given immediately and physical life
awaiting the child of God in Heaven. It is the promise of a spiritual and
physical life without interruption or abrupt end, but a life continuing
eternally!
Source of the water of
life
Unlike
a spring originating at some point on the surface of the earth, the
fountainhead of the water of life is found in Òthe throne of God and of the
LambÓ (Rev. 21:1). God Himself and His glorified Son, Jesus Christ, are the
source of enduring and abundant life.
From
the thrones of the Father and the Son comes the reminder that the offer to live
at the mouth of the water of life is a call from authority and carries
consequences of neglect. These thrones represent the highest seats of
authority.[127]
The
water pours from the Lamb. This word ÒLambÓ is a common name of Christ, used in
the book of Revelation to stress His sacrificial death.[128] Earlier in Revelation, John was noticed
in his travel through Heaven that, ÒI saw a Lamb standing, as though it had
been slainÓ (Rev. 5:6). The execution of an innocent Jesus on the Cross, like
the sacrifice of a spotless lamb, is the centerpiece of all eternity. His
preserved eternal appearance is of a slain sacrifice. Flavel writes, ÒThose
wounds he received for our sins on earth are, as it were, still fresh bleeding
in heaven.Ó[129]
It seems the only remnant of death in eternity will be in the appearance of the
Lamb who was slain Ð the very fountain of all life.
Yet
this free water must flow from the Lamb as an eternal reminder to everyone
swimming in its torrents of the high cost of free grace.[130] Bonar writes:
We
are never done with the cross, nor ever shall be. Its wonders will be always
new, and always fraught with joy. ÔThe Lamb as it had been slainÕ will be the
theme of our praise above. Why should such a name be given to Him in such a
book as the Revelation, which in one sense carries us far past the cross, were
it not that we shall always realize our connection with its one salvation;
always be looking to it even in the midst of the glory; and always learning
from it some new lesson regarding the work of Him? É Thus the glory of heaven revolves round the cross;
and every object on which the eye lights in the celestial city will remind us
of the cross, and carry us back to Golgotha.[131]
Flowing
from His throne we are reminded that Christ is the source of life! The very words of Jesus are
life-giving (John 5:25). He Himself said, ÒThe words that I have spoken to you
are spirit and lifeÓ (6:63). At one controversial time in JesusÕ ministry, His
own disciples had the option to turn away from Christ but chose to stay. Peter
said to Jesus, ÒLord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal lifeÓ
(v. 68). Peter understood that to turn away from Christ and His teaching was to
turn away from the offer of eternal life, and to erect oneÕs own cherubim angel
and flaming sword in between the soul and the tree of life (Gen. 3:24). Christ
is the source of all the ChristianÕs life and delight because there are no
spiritual benefits from God that do not come to us through the work of Christ.[132]
The
biblical call to sinners to come to drink the water of life and eat from the
tree of life is an invitation to come to God Himself.
ÒIt
is not a saint, nor a minister, nor a prophet, nor an angel that speaks, for
all these are but servants,Ó John Bunyan writes. ÒNo, it is a voice from the
throne, from authority, from the highest authority. It is the Lord from heaven.
This grace proceeds from the throne, and, therefore, men must stand and fall by
what comes fourth. He that does not come here to drink will die of thirst.Ó[133]
Quantity of water of
life
But
just how much of this living water is offered? Can it truly give the sinner all
the life necessary for an eternal duration? In a culture of insurance,
shouldnÕt we consider eternal
life insurance just to be sure?
Simply
put, Òthe river of God is full of waterÓ (Ps. 65:9). The depth of God assures
the thirsty sinner that there is a depth to the flood of water. It was this same
God who was capable of pouring water into the mouths of nearly a million
thirsty Israelites in the desert from a rock (Ps. 78:20)! Paul, being overcome
with the depth of God cries out, ÒOh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and
knowledge of God!Ó (Rom. 11:33). How ÒunsearchableÓ are the Òriches of ChristÓ
(Eph. 3:8). For Paul, the love of Christ is like a river, abounding in Òbreadth
and length and height and depthÓ (v. 18-19). If the loving provisions of God
can be used as a pattern, we can be certain this is a massive flood of
life-giving water!
It
must be that sinners are thirsty creatures. The grandness of this pouring river
reveals that true spiritual thirst can never be satisfied with a little grace![134] Sinners who come to God for life come
with big expectations. But even the children who live daily in the waters
cannot drain it.
Christians
are not the only ones who want to live by water. Some of the most expensive
property in the world is the closest to water. The phrase Òocean-front
propertyÓ is synonymous with prime real estate. The famous architect, Frank
Lloyd-Wright designed a beautiful home in Pennsylvania that actually was built over
the top of a stream! But the
spiritually thirsty are not interested in living by the water or on top of the water, they want to live inside this life-giving water. They want to live
abundantly in Christ. So it appears that the common symbol of Christians, the
fish, is fitting for life in the water.
Quality and nature of water
of life
The
power of the water of life is seen in its power to revive life and give life
where only deadness exists. It promises those who find only death, and the hope
of more death in themselves, the offer of life in Christ. It is the metaphor of
God pouring His grace upon the sinner. And unlike alcohol, the sinner cannot
take too much (Eph. 5:18).
Unlike
a puddle of water that remains for a short time, or a swamp swollen with
parasites and diseases from its stagnation, the water of life is a large river
continually providing fresh water in the preservation of eternal life. There
exists in the water of life the power to wash away the eternal death of the
most wicked of sinners and purify the ugliness of the nastiest sins. And yet,
unlike a bathtub, the cleansing water remains pure for drinking.[135]
It
is pure because it is unmixed with religious corruption. Like standing water,
the Òriver of religionÓ is tainted by the mud of self-righteousness, the
pollution of pride and the sludge of hypocrisy. The attempts of sinner to
appease God by good works and ethics will only ferment more foam and bacteria.
The danger of stagnate water is seen in the diseases it spreads in poor
countries, the danger of stale religion is shown in the spiritual diseases
prevalent in the most wealthy countries. The call to drink from the water of
life is not a call to drink salvation from the cup of a priest or eat salvation
in the form of holy bread but to draw near to Christ Himself (John 6:22-59).[136]
This
pure and unending river reveals the compassion of God. As Bunyan writes, Òif
ever GodÕs heart and soul appeared, it showed itself in giving this water of
life.Ó[137]
Surely the redeemed sinner can say with the Psalmist David: ÒBless the LORD, O
my soul, and forget not all his benefits, who forgives all your iniquity, who
heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit, who crowns you
with steadfast love and mercy, who satisfies you with good so that your youth
is renewed like the eagleÕsÓ (Ps. 103:2-5).
And
as David understood well, the river not only assures sinners of the
preservation of their eternal life, but also offers an abundant life of
pleasures. The water of life is, Òa river whose streams make glad the city of
GodÓ (Ps. 46:4).
If
there was one thing the southern tribe of Israel was marked by during the
prophetic ministry of Isaiah,[138]
it was greediness for wealth. They were consumed by money and pursued money
with vengeance upon each other. They had become known for cheating one another
by adding dross to their coins and mixing wine with water Ð neglect of the
needy and bribery were commonplace (1:22-23). These rebellious people spent a
lot of money on empty Jewish rituals, personal appearance and the creation of
their own gods.
They
were, however, consistent in performing religious duties and rituals. All the
things God prescribed in the Law to do, they performed carefully. Yet their
mass of expensive sacrifices was bankrupt of sincerity (1:11-17).
They
were consumed with personal appearance (3:16-26). They wore expensive fashions
of the day in arrogance towards others. Their prideful necks were outstretched
above all the other lowly creatures below them (3:16).
Israel
spent money to fashion their own gods beside their own Lord (2:8-9). One
hundred years later, Jeremiah would still say of Judah, Òyour gods have become
as many as your citiesÓ (11:13).
Judah
was known for expensive religion, expensive appearance, and expensive gods. Yet
for all their investments, they were empty. They looked like a huge vault,
imposing and strong but with nothing inside. Their religious duties towards God
were an abomination to Him (1:13); their prideful appearance would become a
face of scabs (3:16); their numerous gods would end in their own shame (42:17).
Their money, spent on vanity, only provided fraudulent happiness.
IsraelÕs
heart was a white-washed tomb, Òwhich outwardly appear beautiful, but within
are full of dead peopleÕs bones and all uncleannessÓ (Matt. 23:27). What they
needed was a thirst for righteousness.
In
the later chapters God promises a Messiah to come. The prophecy, made nearly
700 years before Christ, prescribed a man who would bear the sorrows of
IsraelÕs spiritual adultery in order that these sinners would be Òaccounted
righteousÓ though they were not. In one of the fullest bible passage of the
substitution of Christ for sinners we read:
4
Surely he has borne our griefs
and carried our sorrows; yet we
esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. 5 But he was wounded
for our transgressions; he was crushed
for our iniquities; upon him was
the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his stripes we are healed. 6 All we like sheep have gone astray;
we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the
iniquity of us all. 7
He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth; like a
lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is
silent, so he opened not his mouth. 8 By oppression and judgment he
was taken away; and as for his generation, who considered that he was cut off
out of the land of the living, stricken for the transgression of my people? É 11 Out of the anguish of his soul he
shall see and be satisfied; by his knowledge shall the righteous one, my
servant, make many to be accounted righteous, and he shall bear their iniquities. 12 Therefore I will divide him a
portion with the many, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong, because
he poured out his soul to death and was numbered with the transgressors; yet he bore the sin of many, and makes intercession for the transgressors. (Isa. 53:4-8, 11-12)
In
this prophecy of ChristÕs substitutionary work as the Lamb of God, comes the
sound of rushing water. Isaiah gives the reader an invitation to God:
Come,
everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; and he who has no money, come, buy
and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without price. Why do you
spend your money for that which is not bread, and your labor for that which
does not satisfy? Listen diligently to me, and eat what is good, and delight
yourselves in rich food. (55:1-2)
Sinners
obviously spend money unwisely. They think either that God wants a lot of their
money to be appeased or think itÕs okay to spend money on prideful attempts to
impress others with their Ôtoys.Õ Sinners spend their money on things that
capture their affections (gods) and lead them away from the living God. And so
all this frivolous spending causes Isaiah to ask a revealing question: ÒWhy do
you spend your money for that which is not bread, and your labor for that which
does not satisfy?Ó The retail store of Promised Happiness is stocked to the
ceiling with goods and yet landfills continue to rise in every city to remind
us that the goods eventually fall short of the promise. Why do sinners frequent
the same store? Why are sinners content with the disposable?
When
sinners look to the temporal world for satisfaction, they substitute God away.
God says through Jeremiah, Òmy people have committed two evils: they have
forsaken me, the fountain of living waters, and hewed out cisterns for
themselves, broken cisterns that can hold no waterÓ (2:13). To turn towards
money, alcohol, drugs, sex, prestige or any other temporal means of ultimate
fulfillment is to Òforsake God.Ó
Though there is nothing inherently wrong with money, alcohol and sex, when they
press God out and become the soulÕs object of affection they are eternally
damaging substitutes trying to fill a need only God can satisfy.
Anyone
addicted to the world knows the great pain this causes. Augustine felt it. ÒIn
this lay my sin,Ó he wrote, Òthat not in him [God] was I seeking pleasures,
distinctions and truth, but in myself and the rest of his creatures, and so I
fell headlong into pains, confusions and errors.Ó[139] The consequences of a life filled with
substitutes is felt in the heart.
The
sinful heart, by itself, is financially empty. When the value assessment of the
sinful heart is complete, it has no value to meet the righteous standard God
expects. God knows this dilemma and so He does not desire money or worth but
for the spiritually bankrupt rebel to come and drink freely. Those who are
wealthy or high in status have no advantage over the poor in the offer of this
water.[140]
The
free offer to come to Christ is a theme repeated throughout this chapter. All
compete joy and satisfaction pours from the throne of the Lamb. Whether itÕs
the prophecy of Isaiah, the Heaven of Revelation or the meeting with the
Samaritan woman, the offer of satisfaction and delight is to drink from the
person and work of Jesus Christ. And it is a satisfaction perfectly suited to
fill the needs of our lives.
Christ
offers to protect the soul during times of drought in our lives (water), He
offers to nourish and enrich the soul (milk) and offers that which brings joy
to the heart (wine[141]).
ÒHe who receives the gospel of Jesus Christ has all that his soul can possibly
need for time and for eternity,Ó Spurgeon concludes, Òso that water, and wine, and
milk set forth a full supply of life, and joy, and satisfaction for our
spirits.Ó[142]
Yet
this offer comes freely to those who have nothing to offer in return. Spurgeon
writes,
You
are feeling in your pocket, and you find nothing there: you do not need
anything, salvation is Ôwithout money.Õ You have been feeling in your heart,
and you find nothing there! You do not need anything before coming to Jesus,
for his grace is Ôwithout price.Õ You have been looking back on your past
history, it is all blank and black. That is true, but Jesus Christ is come into
the world to seek and to save that which was lost. But you cannot find a
redeeming trait in your character. Ah, but God has found a Redeemer, mighty to
save, and if you rest in him he will save you from your sins. Whoever you may
be, if eternal life is to be had for nothing, you are not too poor to have
it.[143]
Those
who come to God through Christ are invited to feast on the abundance of GodÕs
house and to drink from the river of His delights (Ps. 36:8). Such wonderful
satisfaction in this water, milk and wine cannot come from any other fountain
but from that which is eternal. ÒFor in vice there lurks a counterfeit beauty,Ó
Augustine writes to God, Òbut you are the full and inexhaustible store of
sweetness that never grows stale.Ó[144]
There
remains only one promise for those who doubt: ÒOh, taste and see that the LORD
is good!Ó (Ps. 34:8).
Before
we continue I must warn you: We now approach a theme that fits well here but is
tricky. If you have arrived at this point of the book only barely or if like to
read quickly without stopping to re-read, I would recommend skipping this
section. Simply take from evidence already gathered that God promises eternal delight to the sinner.
For
those of you who sped past the Òbridge outÓ sign and did not heed my warning,
IÕm going to use this paper and ink to escort you into the deep end of the
water of life. Hang on.
So
far we have seen the offer of life and delight being offered to sinners who
draw near Christ. This delight is hardly limited to life in this world. How
could it? The biblical offer is of coming and enjoying Òpleasures forevermoreÓ
(Ps. 16:11). Like the torrent of gracious delight we have seen offered
immediately to those who come, the delight of God overflows heaven with
promises of eternal delight,
too!
That
word forevermore simply means
to continue without end. But the biblical concept of eternal delight in
communion with God is more profound than merely being unending in duration.
It
was New Englander Jonathan Edwards who most championed the idea that the
delight of GodÕs children is eternal and infinite![145] The word infinite simply means, Òwithout boundariesÓ or Òlimitless.Ó[146] Such a word should never be used in a
spiritual sense without extreme caution. Yet infinite it is a perfect word for this eternal delight.
The
idea that mankind is offered an eternal satisfaction for all eternity seems
immediately to be human-centered, but it is not. GodÕs glory and honor
displayed in the world and the eternal delight and happiness of His children
are not at odds. In fact, Edwards argued that they were the same thing!
Lets
begin by understanding the glory of God. The glory of God is His fullness, or
everything that comprises His perfections and brings Him honor Ð His love,
goodness, justice, moral perfection, saving mercy, grace, beauty, all of His
actions and motives, etc. Edwards synthesized his entire understanding of the
work of God in the bible by writing, Òit appears, that all that is ever spoken
of in the Scripture as an ultimate end of GodÕs works, is included in that one
phrase, the glory of God.Ó[147] So GodÕs purpose in creating the world
is as a canvas displaying the colorful beauty of His own character. Such
self-centeredness would be dark and ugly for anyone not perfectly holy, humble
and righteous. God, however, is the center of GodÕs universe!
Building
off of the glory of God, Edwards teaches that God delights in manÕs
participation with His glory.[148]
This delighting in God is the greatest pleasure of regenerated sinners. The
creature that loves God finds, like swimming in the grace of God in the water
of life, that true satisfaction resides in the character and promises of God.
In other words, GodÕs honor and reputation is not in conflict with
inexpressible joy for His followers.
The
water is about to get much deeper with this next thought. The children of God
find their deepest longing and satisfaction in the seeing and participating in
GodÕs beauty. Because the children of God love to contemplate everything about
God, God cannot but help loving His character being loved by His children. By
loving people who are loving His beauty, God is loving Himself and is
consequently bestowing love upon others. As Edwards writes, Òbecause he [God]
infinitely values his own glory, consisting in the knowledge of himself, love
to himself, and complacence and joy in himself; he therefore valued the image,
communication, or participation of these in the creature. And it is because he
values himself, that he delights in the knowledge, and love, and joy of the
creature; as being himself the object of this knowledge, love, and
complacence.Ó[149]
It
can be said that the ultimate end of the created universe is the glory of God.
From the origin of the universe to the structure of DNA, years of history,
scientific discovery and technology have pointed in one direction Ð the glory
and fame of God. So also the glory of God comprises the chief end of man.
So
it can be said that the temporal
and eternal goals of God are
not just His own glory but also the happiness of men, women, boys and girls in
their enjoyment of the beauty of Himself!
What
Edwards goes on to describe is a heaven where the glory of God does not become stagnant,
nor a place where its inhabitants are lulled to an eternal boredom and
monotony. Edwards writes of God glorifying Himself, Òthere never will come the
moment, when it can be said, that now this infinitely valuable good has
actually been bestowed.Ó[150]
God will continue glorifying Himself, and redeemed sinners in heaven will
continue to enjoy the beauty of God.[151]
So
although believers will be morally pure in heaven, there still remains an
eternal unfolding of the infinite God. The more the child of God learns and
sees of God, the closer the child becomes like God and enjoys Him. As eternity
proceeds, the children of God and God will grow in perfecting conformity in a
process that will inflame GodÕs enjoyment of Himself and the enjoyment of the
child of God forever!
In
EdwardÕs words:
There
are many reasons to think that what God has in view, in an increasing communication of himself through eternity, is an
increasing knowledge of God, love to him, and joy in him. And it is to be
considered, that the more those divine communications increase in the creature,
the more it becomes one with God: for so much the more is it united to God in
love, the heart is drawn nearer and nearer to God, and the union with him
becomes more firm and close: and, at the same time, the creature becomes more
and more conformed to God.[152]
To
put it another way, Edwards argued there would be an infinite increase of the
happiness of man through the increasing revelation of GodÕs glory. Like a
tornado that spins from a small point on the ground higher into a larger and
larger cone as it grows vertically, so too will eternity be an ever-increasing
and expanding experience of the delight of an infinite God! GodÕs revelation
will ever expand vertically in height, horizontally in width and with greater
speed, forever in duration! Yet, like the bottom of a tornado, everything is
spinning the child of God and God Himself into a closer and closer union,
though never coming to a point of completion.[153] In EdwardsÕ words, ÒLet the most
perfect union with God be represented by something at an infinite height above
us; and the eternally increasing union of the saints with God, by something
that is ascending constantly towards that infinite height, moving upwards with
a given velocity; and that is to continue thus to move to all eternity.Ó[154]
Certainly
Edwards was not the first person to see the glory of God as the ultimate end of
all creation,[155]
but he was one of the first to explain how GodÕs glory and the infinitely
growing and expanding happiness of the child of God through eternity are the
same end. These principles of Edwards have led one contemporary writer to
conclude: ÒThe chief end of man is to glorify God BY enjoying him forever.Ó[156] Thus to aim at glorifying God does not
leave enjoying Him as an option. The ÔChristianÕ that does not enjoy God
does not glorify God![157]
Such
mind-bending concepts show that the eternal delight and joy offered in Christ
are truly infinite, satisfying the soul forever! Surely, Òno eye has seen, nor
ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined, what God has prepared for those who
love himÓ (1 Cor. 2:9)!
When
a redeemed sinner comprehends and begins enjoying the greatness of God, the
worldÕs fleeting toys loose their luster and death becomes the means of Ògreat
gain,Ó for sadly, Òwhile we are at home in the bodyÓ we remain Òaway from the
LordÓ (Phil. 1:21, 2 Cor. 5:6).
This
eternal delight is never offered to those who refuse to live within the scope
of GodÕs plan. It is in obedience to Christ that His joy becomes ours and in
full measure (John 15:10-11). Shortly after offering sinners to drink and eat
that which satisfies, Isaiah pleads: Òlet the wicked forsake his way, and the
unrighteous man his thoughts; let him return to the Lord, that he may have
compassion on him, and to our God, for he will abundantly pardonÓ (Isa. 55:7).
Do
you see the muddy waters you now swim? Do you see the pollution of
self-righteousness and rebellion towards the God who created you for Himself?
Get out of the smelly marsh and thirst for streams of GodÕs pure grace. Enjoy
God forever! The offer is made, the sacrifice has been given, the blood of
Christ has been offered for sin. What awaits you is an eternal delight of
enjoying God. All that is left is for you to come and freely drink from the
pure water of GodÕs grace flowing from Christ. Why spend money on fleeting
things when such an infinite God has opened His arms?
Coming
to drink the water means two things Ð vulnerability and humility. When I was in
high school, to see another guy hunched over the water fountain was an
invitation to give him a nudge in an attempt to smack his head against the wall
(this sort of mean action is common among high school boys). When the poor guy
would turn and yell in disgust, misplaced water would be running down his
cheek. Similarly, when I go to the gym I see several weight-lifters who show
off their muscles to the on-looking crowd of cardio-gerbils (like myself). Yet
I am continually amused to see these same buff guys going to the same water fountain and, bending half over, put their mouths in the same place thousands of other mouths have been! It is a
contradiction of strength in humility.
It
is humbling to drink. When Christ invites us to come and drink He is telling us
to assume the position of a beggar, to come to the shore and bend down on our
knees, lean over with cupped hands and drink. But it reminds us that the only
way to drink from the water of life is on oneÕs knees.
ÒCome,
everyone who thirsts, come to the watersÓ (Isa. 55:1).
4 // An Invitation to Rest //
ÒCome to me, all who labor and are heavy
laden, and I will give you restÓ (Matt. 11:28)
Most
road-trip vacations for my family go something like this: First my wife and I
pack up all of the things we need for the next four days Ð one suitcase. Then
we pack our two kids and their things Ð about two more suitcases. Then we move
on to the peripheral things and the hardware. First, my four-year-old son
requires a book bag, filled with several books, writing paper and pens, snacks,
a handful of small cars and trucks along with a blanket, pillow and small
stuffed animals. My infant daughter needs an arsenal of necessities herself.
First we pack the stroller and then the portable crib. Then come the toys. She
evidently needs squishy toys to pound on, plastic things to chew on and fluffy
things to satisfy her enchantment with textures. She also requires enough
clothes to fully change outfits every 60 minutes, a package of diapers large
enough to absorb a hotel swimming pool, hats for the sun, a sweater just in case
of wind and ointments just in case of rashes.
Once
all this stuff is finally piled in a small mountain in our house we are already
having doubts about whether the things supposed to be packed really were. Then comes time to load.
First the car seat and the booster seat must be properly installed then the
mountain of stuff from the house needs to be perfectly configured into the
awaiting car. Time of course is running low and we should have already left by
now to arrive by the end of daylight.
Finally,
30 minutes late, we all get into the vehicle and begin driving. Once we leave,
it doesnÕt take long before the computer-printed maps are out and weÕre asking
questions like, ÔIs highway 10 the same as Washington Parkway?Õ and Ôdid we
already pass exit 45 or not?Õ Once weÕve carefully navigated into our
destination, a larger city than weÕre used to, we find we have arrived just in
time to experience Metropolitan traffic firsthand. And after eight hours
sitting in a car, the last thing sore legs, lazy eyes and antsy kids want is to
travel one mile every 20 minutes. Once we arrive at the hotel its time to
transfer the mountain of stuff, now partly opened and spread about the vehicle,
into our new temporary home.
The
next four days are filled with sight-seeing, weaving through dangerous urban
traffic while trying to analyze more vague maps, traversing through museums and
attractions, several crowds, miles of walking, lots of traffic and usually late
nights. Sleep comes rarely to me on the road, trying to make-due in a stiff bed
with one pillow the thickness of a magazine.
The
finale of the trip is repacking and reloading the mountain of stuff and heading
for home. The drive home seems twice as long and the mountain of stuff has
grown to choke out any view of the rearview mirror.
We
reach home with a carload of dirty clothes, gifts and unworn clothes all mixed
together, requiring a separation process similar to the sorting line at a
recycling center dividing paper, plastic and aluminum off a conveyor belt.
Everyone in the traveling party is tired and I hope for four more days of
vacation in vain. Work, however, comes in the morning.
Welcome
to the great family American vacation! Like nothing else, a road-trip vacation
has the power to morph a day of work into the vacation.
And
so daily life in this world is filled with heaviness and even when we escape
its work and daily weight in a vacation, we find its more work! Our lives are
filled with baggage!
Jesus
was not unfamiliar with this difficulty, nor did He overlook the weightiness in
our lives which is why He calls sinners to come to Him, to escape the heavy
burden caused by lifeÕs baggage and to trade in the mountain of baggage for a
life under His direction.
One
man devised an experiment to answer the question: In a life where vacations are
not vacations, what can bring ultimate satisfaction? The writer analyzed the
people in the world, taking note and, at times, jumping into the study himself.
His name was King Solomon, and his conclusions were published under the title Ecclesiastes. But although the book was written in Hebrew
nearly 3,000 years ago, it remains a classic and has been printed more than any
other book because itÕs found in the bible.
The
book of Ecclesiastes is a
discussion of SolomonÕs conclusion upon the world around him Ð all is vanity.
Like hunting smoke with a net, the pursuit of satisfaction cannot be grasped in
a lifetime of attempts. Whether itÕs the pleasures of sex or drunkenness, the
depths of philosophy and science, or the pursuit of wealth, morality and
religion, there is an unavoidable heaviness about natural life because the
heart has an insatiable desire for more.
In
fact, the bible tells us that the natural heart is motivated by an insatiable
greed, searching the world for delight like a fish scouring the ocean floor for
anything it can find to eat. Always searching, never full.
To
use another illustration, the heart is a boiling cauldron of gurgling lust,
pride and greed (Isa. 57:20). It is the battleground of our raging lusts (Jam.
4:1). And so this boiling heart filled with sin erupts in the pursuit of
anything that promises satisfaction. But as Solomon understands, the pursuits
of the sinful heart are vain.
Take
money, for instance. The pursuit of wealth, Solomon writes, is one source of
this vanity. ÒHe who loves money will not be satisfied with money, nor he who
loves wealth with his income; this also is vanityÓ (5:10). The soul that
pursues wealth spends its short life digging deeply into the dark mines of
worldliness, like the blind mole tunneling deep into the temporal world.[158] The final return on this work and
wealth is that itÕs left to others to enjoy.
But
even worse is the curse of having a storehouse filled with wealth but being
unable to enjoy that wealth. The enjoyment of wealth is a gift that God gives
very few (6:1-2). To have the whole world but not divinely enabled to enjoy
it, to hold the candy in your hand but prevented from eating it, must be a
heavy burden.
Innovation
can be another form of vanity. Though marketers tell us otherwise, there is
really nothing culture produces that is new (1:9-10). The excitement from new
fashions and new technological inventions are merely recycled excitement from
the last fashions and inventions now obsolete. With so many plastic things long
trashed, why get excited now for the new shiny plastic?
Even
religion is not immune from the weight of vanity. Solomon writes, ÒGuard your
steps when you go to the house of God,Ó because, ÒTo draw near to listen is
better than to offer the sacrifice of foolsÓ (5:1). The great problem with
sinners in religion is that they talk too much before God!
True
religion is twisted by impatient sinners. The history of contemporary
Christianity reveals denominations that begin as religions listening to GodÕs
Word then become systems of over-talkers and emptied of Christ! Rather than
approaching God with a wagging tongue, it is better to come quietly in silent
awe and reverence (5:7). Like trying to complete the slow sentences of a frail
old man, false religion is simply impatient with God. Rashness with God, and
the religions it produces, are vain.
But
some of the most powerful conclusions in the book come from SolomonÕs own
attempts to find satisfaction in the world around him (2:1-8). Solomon fills
his stomach with alcohol, fills his property with magnificent houses and
vineyards and gardens and ponds, fills his palace with expanding populations of
slaves, fills his bank account with great wealth, fills his ears with the
finest music and his bed with only the most beautiful of women.[159] And what does he conclude? ÒThen I
considered all that my hands had done and the toil I had expended in doing it,
and behold, all was vanity and a striving after wind, and there was nothing to
be gained under the sunÓ (2:11).
Like
the nightmare of an investor awakening to an economic depression or an
uninsured homeowner returning to see his home destroyed by a hurricane, so too is
the nightmare of the man or woman who realizes that all the years of work and
accomplishment have disappeared into vanity. For some wise souls, this shock
comes before death but for the rest this rude nightmare awaits them at the
other side of eternity.
Contrary
to our intentions, we cannot establish immortality on earth with our efforts,
no matter how grand our achievements.[160]
And so the fleeting nature of our lives and a constant pursuit of the worldÕs
offerings is a wearisome destiny. ÒVanity of vanities, says the Preacher
[Solomon], vanity of vanities! All is vanityÓ (Ecc. 1:2). The transitory lives
we live are filled with this absurdity![161]
SolomonÕs
conclusion to the subject is short and clear: ÒThe end of the matter; all has
been heard. Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of manÓ (12:13). Turn,
Solomon writes, from the empty promises of a transitory world and focus your
attention towards God. This, Reynolds writes, Òis totum hominis, the whole duty, the whole end, the whole
happiness, of man.Ó[162]
The
scope of the book of Ecclesiastes
is, Òthat our happiness consists not in being as gods to ourselves Ð to have
what we will and do what we will,Ó Henry writes, Òbut in having him that made
us, to be a God to us.Ó[163]
And so happiness is the assurance that God is seated where God should be and we
are seated under Him like the creatures we are. The lesson Adam and Eve forgot,
is this: The only true meaning to our lives comes not through mere
accomplishment, wealth, innovation and experience but in fearing and loving
God. Without a life centered upon Him everything becomes vanity and dead
weight.
Yet
many will not take the conclusions of Solomon.[164] They think his conclusions cannot be
true, that surely a life ignorant of God and the pursuit of vanity will
liberate the soul into utopia. But SolomonÕs evidence points to the conclusions
found to this day by enlightened souls Ð the world is filled with vanity Ð and
vanity is a heavy burden to bear.
The
invitation to come to Jesus is an invitation to come out from the burden of
vanity and to learn obedience. Jesus says, ÒCome to me, all who labor and are
heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from
me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.
For my yoke is easy, and my burden is lightÓ (Matt. 11:28-30).
But
before we return to the theme of obedience in Christ, letÕs stop for a moment
and look closer at the specific burdens of our lives and how Christ applies His
supernatural comfort.
Worldliness
is a common theme in the bible that I define as waves of culture applauding
a God-ignoring lifestyle. This
secularization of culture is nothing new. But today worldliness is most
noticeable in the media around us. Television shows, movies, magazines, books
and music flood our culture echoing one persistent lie Ð you can be happy
without God! Not only is this
message ignorant of SolomonÕs wisdom, this message leads a sinner around like a
carrot before a donkey Ð always promising but never fulfilling. And years of
this deception begin to load a heavy weight of worldliness upon the sinnerÕs
heart.
The
simple truth is that our hearts desire fulfillment somewhere. ÒThe soul is an
empty thing,Ó Thomas Boston writes, Òand has hungry and thirsty desires to be
satisfied.Ó[165]
Edwards considered the desires of the heart for fulfillment to be
Òinsuperable,Ó or undefeatable. While being neither good nor bad in itself,
Edwards writes that the heart has, Òparticular appetites that may be
restrained, and kept under, and conquered, but this general appetite for
happiness never can be.Ó[166]
Those
who are not feeding from the fullness of God will find their desires for
satisfaction captivated by the temporary things of the world. But with its
empty promises, the world leaves our hearts with a fulfillment that slips away
quickly and credit cards filled with debt that last beyond the pleasure of the
purchase.
Movie
stars, famous musicians and occasional athletes, all with two hands full of the
world, kill themselves to remind us of the heavy weight worldliness becomes to
the empty soul. Why, Isaiah deplores, would you spend your money on that which
only burdens you more (Isa. 55:2)?[167]
Worldliness
presses down on the hearts of sinners because it continually disappoints and,
ironically, because it enlarges the desires of the heart. Worldliness is ÒvanityÓ
and Òvexation.Ó[168]
Reynolds writes, the promises of the world are, ÒVanity in their duration, frail and perishable things;
and vexation [irritable] in
their enjoyment, they nothing but molest and disquiet the heart.Ó[169] To put it another way, worldliness and
the things it offers are brief in their satisfaction and enflame the heart with
deeper lusts for world! And so a deepening appetite in the disappointments of
the world creates a cyclical disillusionment of vanity and vexation.
As
a drunk becomes thirstier for alcohol, the sinnerÕs acquaintance with sin leads
to deeper and deeper longings. Drunkenness fails at permanent satisfaction and
leaves only a stronger thirst.[170]
Apart
from God, the soul will remain unsatisfied. Boston writes, ÒIt is impossible to
find satisfaction in these [worldly] things, for they are not suitable to the
soul, more than stones for the nourishment of the body. The body gets its nourishment
from the earth, because it is of the earth; the soul from heaven, and so its
satisfaction must come from heaven.Ó[171]
The sucking of the sinful soul from the well of worldliness will end only in a
mouthful of dry sand and gives
the heart still deeper longings for water.
Worldliness
is nothing to trivialize. The warnings of the eternal ramifications of
worldliness permeate the bible. The Old Testament prophets often decried the
sin of worldliness, but only when their hearers were impoverished could they
listen clearly.[172]
Like wax in the physical ear, worldliness plugs the spiritual ear. John warns
that to fill your life with a love towards the worldÕs vanity is to show a
complete poverty of the love of God in oneÕs life (1 John 2:15). James says a
love of vanity is the committing of adultery against God and, like a man
catching another man in his own bed with his own wife, causes enmity with
Himself (4:4). Jesus speaks of this when He soberly reminds that to fill your
life with the temporary things of the world is to ÒforfeitÓ your own soul
(Matt. 16:26). A soulÕs love of worldliness, like weeds choking out a garden,
chokes out the effect of the gospel message (Matt. 13:22). And to gorge oneself
upon the world is like a fatted cow happily eating all day, not knowing that
itÕs being ripened for the slaughter (Jam. 5:5).
Such
strong language of the misery of worldliness shows the bibleÕs urgency in its
attempts to awaken the bloated sinner from his lust. Calvin writes,
our
minds, stunned by the empty dazzlement of riches, power, and honors, become so
deadened that they can see no farther. The heart also, occupied with avarice,
ambition, and lust, is so weighed down that it cannot rise up higher. In fine,
the whole soul, enmeshed in the allurements of the flesh, seeks its happiness
on earth. To counter this evil the Lord instructs his followers in the vanity
of the present life by continual proof of its miseries.[173]
And
so Jesus approaches sinners addicted to the world and under the curse of its
vanity to show it for what it is (sin) and to remove the burden from their
shoulders. He offers a freedom from this sinful pursuit of pleasure in material
things.
The
promises of the gospel and Christ are strong enough to take the lusting eyes
off the worldÕs vanity and turn them towards heaven, Òwhere Christ isÓ (Col.
3:1-4). For Christ was impoverished in worldliness for the benefit of sinners.
ÒFor you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet
for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become richÓ (2
Cor. 8:9).
Grace
focuses the heart of the sinner away from vanity and upon the eternal river of
graces flowing towards the thirsty sinner. In coming to sinners, Christ offers
to take the burden of worldliness and replace it with an insatiable desire to
commune and to know Himself personally. Here, and only here, is the soul
flooded in eternal delight. But this cannot happen until our minds, Calvin
writes, Òbe previously imbued with contempt for the present life.Ó[174]
Such
is not a call to the monastic life of solitude and physical deprivation but of
finding true enjoyment in Christ. Only then will freedom from the weight of
worldliness allow the heart to truly enjoy the gifts of God like sex, money,
art, literature and friendships.
But,
you may reject, ÔI am not the worldly type. I am religious and morally
outstanding. I live free from the love of money and sexual sin and drunkenness,
etc.Õ These excuses do not free
anyone from the burden of sin. Its weight burdens the moral monk just as much
as the immoral adulterer.
By
creating us for Himself, God is concerned that every action of our lives be
lived in obedience to Him. Even before the introduction of sin, GodÕs moral Law
governed the obedience of mankind.
Thus,
all areas of life Ð every motive, decision, action, thought and end Ð can be
done successfully or unsuccessfully. The two paths are clearly marked by God.
This division of life comes through His Law, or more specifically, through
written regulations in the bible. Through this Law, God reveals righteousness and unrighteousness. Paul writes, ÒYet if it had not been for the law,
I would not have known sin. I would not have known what it is to covet if the
law had not said, ÔYou shall not covetÕÓ (Rom. 7:7). Greediness, for example,
is sinful because God has called it sin. The Law is the professor of classes
SIN 101-401. It acts as GodÕs yardstick to compare sinners and how short they
have fallen from the glory of God (Rom. 3:23).
The
Law of God is not a ladder set out to help us reach salvation by climbing, as
much as possible, the perfection of God. The law is an insurmountable granite
monument to the perfections of God. Rather than lift us up in self-pursuit, the
law presses the sinner down with its imposing standard. God established this
law, Iain Murray writes, Ònot because he thought the man could be obedient, but
because the man thought he could.Ó[175]
But
fighting to get the Ten Commandments out of public areas will not sweep away
the LawÕs influence because this Law is also evident in nature. Men and women
are created in the image of God and their consciences know ÒinstinctivelyÓ[176] what is right and wrong (Rom 2:14-16).
Inherent within all sinners is the knowledge that they are sinful. Van Til,
giving the example of one sinful man writes, ÒDeep down in his heart he knows
that what the bible says about him and about the world is true. Even if he has
never heard of the bible he knows that he is a creature of God and that he has
broken the law of God.Ó[177]
Thus,
in the conscience, every sinner possesses a natural Law even apart from the
influences of the bible.[178]
Like gravity or NewtonÕs laws in nature, guilt for sin is a natural law in the
heart of the sinner. One example of this is the pain our consciences evoke when
we hurt others.
So
also, the perfection of God is evident to everyone who looks at the magnitude
and beauty of the created universe (Rom. 1:19-20). The universe acts as a
public and persistent reminder of manÕs sinfulness. GodÕs perfection and Law
may not be comfortable, but neither are they easy to avoid.
The
bottom line is that guilt for sin must be punished. ÒFor whoever keeps the
whole law and yet stumbles in one point, he has become guilty of allÓ (Jam.
2:10[179]). Not the slightest sin will slip
unnoticed because nothing but complete obedience and moral perfection are
expected from GodÕs Law. All sinners, having failed to obey God perfectly, are
condemned by the Law and are
hopeless of salvation through
the Law (Deu. 27:26, Gal. 3:10). ÒTo hate sin,Ó Goodwin writes of God, Òis his
nature.Ó[180]
The
Law defines sin, defines guilt and shows the sinner her unpaid debt to God. Thus the Law creates a heavy burden upon
the guilty conscience. The Psalmist writes, ÒFor my iniquities have gone over
my head; like a heavy burden, they are too heavy for meÓ (Ps. 38:4). Like the
weight of the world bearing down on the shoulders of Atlas, the guilt of the
Law stoops the sinner down. ÒIt can arouse them, and call them sinners to their
faces,Ó Goodwin writes of the Law towards sinners, ÒIt can arraign them, and
lay all their sins to their charge, and will not leave out one tittle [tiny
mark] in that indictment.Ó[181]
The
debt created by our failure to perfectly obey God is legal in nature. ÒMan has always treated sin as a
misfortune, not a crime; as a disease, not as guilt; as a case for the
physician, not for the judge,Ó Bonar writes. ÒHerein lies the essential
faultiness of all mere human religions.Ó[182] Our ignorance of God and failure to
obey Him carries a heavy legal consequence.
All
that awaits our failure, guilt and debt is punishment from the just Judge. Such a heavy thought would change the world
forever.
German
Martin Luther (1483-1546) is commonly remembered as the man who started the
Protestant Reformation. But even more fundamental, he was a sinner weighed down
under the Law of God.
As
a hard-working monk, he was preparing lectures upon the book of Romans. But the
more Luther studied, the more trouble he found himself in. He writes,
I
greatly longed to understand PaulÕs Epistle to the Romans and nothing stood in
the way but that one expression, Ôthe justice of God,Õ because I took it to
mean that justice whereby God is just and deals justly in punishing the unjust.
My situation was that, although an impeccable monk, I stood before God as a
sinner troubled in conscience, and I had no confidence that my merit would
assuage [or pacify] him. Therefore I did not love a just and angry God, but
rather hated and murmured against him. Yet I clung to the dear Paul and had a
great yearning to know what he meant.[183]
Certainly
there is something wrong with a God-hating monk. But we must respect LutherÕs
honesty toward the bible in fearing GodÕs justice.
This
term, justice, simply means to
uphold what is fair. ItÕs a judge who will not change his standards simply
because the defendant is sympathetic but who maintains legal rigidity and
fairness at all times. ÒFor I the LORD love justiceÓ (Isa. 61:8). Christ will
return to earth in the future because God, Òhas fixed a day on which he will
judge the world in righteousnessÓ (Acts 17:31). This is the picture of God as
the Judge.
But
as the Law has taught, only righteous people enter heaven and there is no
righteousness within the sinner (see chapter one). This reality haunted the
noble monk.
Interestingly,
Luther was trying hard to please the Judge he feared. He tried everything,
writes Beeke, Òfrom sleeping on hard floors and fasting to climbing a staircase
in Rome while kneeling in prayer. Monasteries, disciplines, confessions,
masses, absolutions, good works all proved fruitless: peace with God eluded the
monk.Ó[184]
Luther
discovered that God is just and
has promised that sinners will die. Added to that, the Law was never intended
to be a ladder for sinners to climb to God through moral resolve, but, Òour
tutor to lead us to ChristÓ (Gal. 3:24). The Law highlights our sin and
hopelessness and becomes our tutor pointing our attention away from our own
merits and towards salvation in ChristÕs merits alone!
As
Luther continued to study Paul, he came to this realization,
Night
and day I pondered until I saw the connection between the justice of God and
the statement that Ôthe just shall live by his faithÕ [Rom. 1:17, cf. Gal.
3:11-12]. Then I grasped that the justice of God is that righteousness by which
through grace and sheer mercy God justifies us through faith. Thereupon I felt
myself to be reborn and to have gone through open doors into paradise. The
whole of Scripture took on a new meaning, and whereas before the Ôjustice of
GodÕ had filled me with hate, now it became to me inexpressibly sweet in
greater love. This passage of Paul became to me a gate to heaven É[185]
With
LutherÕs discovery that God gives the righteousness leading to salvation, there
was a freedom from the bondage of GodÕs Law and a liberated conscience from the
guilt of sin. The justice of God, once frightening, became sweet.
Christ,
Luther came to understand, was presented in the bible as the fully sufficient
sacrifice for sin. The only
merit for eternal life and the only
full freedom from sinÕs legal debt was found in Christ.
Luther
knew that his discovery did not mix well with Roman Catholicism. But this
moment of discovery marked a permanent return to the biblical teaching of justification
in Christ alone by faith alone
that continues to this day.
Luther
understood that the burden of the Law and GodÕs justice towards sinners are
appeased only in perfect obedience. And perfect obedience can be found in
none other than Christ (2 Cor.
5:20-21, 1 Pet. 2:22, 1 John 3:4, Heb. 4:15)! When faith is placed in Christ
for salvation, the righteousness of Christ is allocated to the sinner like a
financial transaction from one bank to another (Rom. 4:5-8). The sinner remains
imperfect, but completely and forever righteous in the sight of God. This again
is the justification we will focus upon in chapter seven.
And
so by faith alone, in Christ alone, there is an alleviation of the heavy burden of
the Law from the shoulders of the sinner. ÒChrist is the end of the law for
righteousness to everyone who believesÓ (Rom. 10:4). And so the shackles of the
sinnerÕs guilt smash at the feet of Christ. ÒWhoever believes in him is not
condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has
not believed in the name of the only Son of GodÓ (John 3:18). ÒThere is
therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ JesusÓ (Rom. 8:1).
Here
is the wisdom of God: That He is both just in maintaining a fair standard of
judgment and the justifier by saving sinners through the obedience of Christ
(Rom. 3:26). A full and permanent liberation from the weight of the Law.
In
the opening scene of Albert CamusÕ, The Stranger, the main character is ushered into a room in
which his motherÕs body lays in a closed coffin. The young man, her son, is strangely
more concerned with the buzzing bee, the heat, the spinning fan and the people
he meets than his motherÕs body. He rejects the kind offer for the lid to be
removed. Why focus on death when life surrounds me? Such is a common theme in existentialism.
For
years, existentialism has tried to convince the world to simply be indifferent
towards death.[186]
Yet every minute spent reading the newspaper, watching a funeral or a strolling
through a hospital ICU, the nearness of death erupts a natural fear of death
from our hearts like lava splashing from under rocks. The sight of death is
haunting. ÒThe very looks of death are grim, And ghastly to behold;Ó Bunyan
rhymes, ÒYea, though but in a dead manÕs skin, When he is gone and cold.Ó[187]
And
so our hearts cannot be put off by mere attempts to forget about death because
we all know that death Ð your death and mine Ð is fast approaching. Death is an
unavoidable and irreversible conclusion to our lives and marks the moment when
our souls are packaged and sent somewhere we have never been.[188]
When
we acknowledge the gravity of our own death, the life of the buzzing bee on the
ceiling will not distract our gaze from deathÕs box.
The
fear of death has plagued sinners from the moment Adam and Eve sinned in the
garden. It is a timeless plague because death is a timeless reality. Christ,
however, was motivated to enter this world to face death directly.
14
Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, he himself likewise
partook of the same things, that through death he might destroy the one who has
the power of death, that is, the devil, 15 and deliver all those who
through fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery. (Heb. 2:14-15)
Satanic
forces are here depicted as the ultimate enslavers of sinners with the power of
death. Death, we are told, is overcome through death. But ChristÕs death was
not just another of billions of deaths.
The
fear of death is a harsh and Òlifelong slavery.Ó I cannot think of a worse way
to live than to live as a prisoner. Known only as property under the bondage of
a harsh master, and treated with contempt and negligence. But this is true of
the sinner who is condemned by the Law and wants anything but for death to come
near. Ever running from that which is chained to the ankle Ð this is slavery to
the fear of death.
The
sting of death is scorching to the conscience because GodÕs Law is so perfect
in its expectation. At the moment the sinner is freed from the condemnation and
power of sin, deathÕs heavy burden evaporates. Christ achieves this through His
death. ÒChrist redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for
usÓ (Gal. 3:13). In the substitutionary work of Christ, He has tasted death for
everyone (Heb. 2:9). Now, Paul can proclaim, ÒÔO death, where is your victory?
O death, where is your sting?Õ The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin
is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord
Jesus ChristÓ (1 Cor. 15:55-57).
Jesus
came into the earth as the God-man, being both fully divine and fully human.
The purpose of this incarnation was to die. Through His death there comes
emancipation to sinners living under the burden of the fear of death.
Simply
put, Christ frees the slaves! In Christ, death is no longer the ultimate
separation of the sinner from God but the liberating entrance to eternity.
Death becomes the mere unwrapping of the sinful and temporal of life (2 Cor.
5:1-10). Paul writes of the sinful body as a temporary tent that is abandoned
at death. ÒFor while we are still in this tent, we groan, being burdened Ð not
that we would be unclothed, but that we would be further clothed, so that what
is mortal may be swallowed up by lifeÓ (v. 4).
We
know that the invitation to God has permeated our hearts when we agree with
Paul: Òwe would rather be away from the body and at home with the LordÓ(2 Cor.
5:8). For, Òno one has made progress in the school of Christ,Ó Calvin writes,
Òwho does not joyfully await the day of death and final resurrection.Ó[189]
The
biblical invitation is no call to ignore death or to be content with unanswered
questions about eternity, it is a call to come to Christ and let Him take the
burden of the sting of death.
Burden of false
religion
As
Solomon taught us, spirituality is often made vain by loud-mouth sinners that
will not listen to God. Often these loud sinners become religious leaders. They
work their overbearing upon their followers and create false religions in their
wake. The followers who fall under them carry a heavy burden as a result.
Jesus
warned people of the dangers religious leaders posed in His own day. One of the
most common recipients of His criticism was a group called the Pharisees. The
Pharisees were the highly conservative bible scholars of the day. They were not
against the bible, in fact they searched the bible diligently (John 5:39). But
they forgot the intent of the bible was not a list of religious duties but the
living testimony of Jesus Christ (John 5:39-40).
So
what made them so dangerous in the eyes of Jesus? They added to the biblical revelation by inserting rituals
and laws that were not in the bible. By this addition, Ryle writes, they
essentially Òbrought in, over and above it, so much of human invention, that
they virtually put Scripture aside, and buried it under their own traditions.Ó[190] It was heresy by increment.
We
better our lives by little increments. We receive small raises at our jobs
every year and we invest money to watch compound interest slowly work its
growth over time. We have more children, and they grow by the inch, which means
we need to buy more and more food, a bigger house and larger vehicles with more
seats. Yet the invitation to God through Jesus Christ cannot be improved by
addition!
Adding
incremental rules and complexities to the gospel destroys the simplicity[191] of the gospel (2 Cor. 11:3). Adding
philosophies and non-biblical traditions to GodÕs invitation work to the same
end. Paul writes, ÒSee to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and
empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits
of the world, and not according to ChristÓ (Col. 2:8). There is a damning power
in philosophy and religious tradition when they move beyond the scope of GodÕs
Word. These are often fortresses of thought that grow in increment.
And
all this incremental addition to a relationship with Christ works toward a
heavy burden. Jesus says of the Pharisees, ÒThey tie up heavy burdens, hard to
bear, and lay them on peopleÕs shouldersÓ (Matt. 23:4).
With
all of the false religions in the bible, should we be surprised to find their
descendants still populating the landscape of our country? Such false religions
have ever been and ever will continue. False religion continues in high demand
because false religion soothes the ears of the unrepentant sinner (2 Tim.
4:3-4).
For
those who see their own sinfulness and the justice of God, the burden of false
religion is heavy. But the burden can be hard to detect. Ryle writes,
False
doctrine does not meet men face to face, and proclaim that it is false. It does
not blow a trumpet before it, and endeavor openly to turn us away from the
truth as it is in Jesus. It does not come before men in broad day, and summon
them to surrender. It approaches us secretly, quietly, insidiously, plausibly,
and in such a way as to disarm manÕs suspicions, and throw him off his guard.
It is the wolf in sheepÕs clothing, and Satan in the garb of an angel of light,
who have always proved the most dangerous foes of the Church of Christ.[192]
And
so the deception of false religion becomes a heavy burden (Acts 15:10). The
more added duties and the more regulations one must maintain to secure a
relationship with God, the heavier the burden. And so to the religious woman,
bearing under the weight of a thousand rules, disciplines, doubts, duties,
unfounded promises, threats of a fictitious purgatory and lists of regulation
and repetition is weighed down from a relationship with God. To her and all
laboring under this heaviness and never having freedom from the guilt of sin,
Jesus calls, ÒCome to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give
you rest.Ó
Freedom
from the bondage of sin never comes in the form of more religion but in a union
with Christ. It is to come and press close to Him. All promises of getting more
spiritual blessing in mere ritual (like Mass or prayers to the dead) are a
confusion of the sufficiency of union with Christ.[193]
When
the sinner draws near to a personal relationship with Christ, the heavy burden
of false religion shatters to the ground. The union with Christ ushers in a
glorious freedom from the ÒdungÓ of empty spirituality and mere ritual (Phil.
3:1-11).
Both
the immoral man in sin and the ÔmoralÕ man in sin bear heavy burdens. But
JesusÕ promise of comfort in Christ is broad enough to cover all sorrow and heaviness in life. Edwards writes, Òto
come to him for rest, may be understood in the most extensive sense, to extend
to those that labor under any kind of
burden of sin or sorrow, and to all that are heavy laden with either natural or moral evil.Ó[194]
There is rest from an addiction to worldliness, Internet pornography, gambling,
greed, the burden of the Law, the fear of death, false religion and vacations
that become an extension of vanity.
All
of the pressure we feel in life has a divine answer in the burden-bearing of
Christ. All the disruptive events
in our lives can be lived with new perspective. God consoles those who are
hurting (2 Cor. 7:6, Rom. 15:5) and gives peace that the world cannot (John
14:27). Paul writes that even in the midst of struggle, ÒI have learned in
whatever situation I am to be contentÓ (Phil. 4:11). Such is the testimony of a
man drinking from the waters of life.
Of
these comforts, Ryle writes,
The
rest that Christ gives is an inward and spiritual thing. It is rest of heart,
rest of conscience, rest of mind, rest of affection, rest of will. It is rest
from a comfortable sense of sins being all forgiven and guilt all put away. It
is rest from a solid hope of good things to come, laid up beyond the reach of
disease, and death, and the grave. It is rest from the well-grounded feeling,
that the great business of life is settled, its great end provided for, that in
time all is well done, and in eternity heaven will be our home.[195]
Though
the world sees one with little wealth or status or strength, the saved sinner
is rich. His riches are in Christ (Col. 2:3).
Such
riches in Christ change oneÕs worldview.
Although
the autonomous soul does not want to hear it, we are all slaves to our own sin.
Jesus said, Òeveryone who commits sin is a slave to sinÓ (John 8:34). From the most
dependent to the clamorous individualist, everyone who sins is a slave to that
sin. ÒSin,Ó Morris writes, Òmakes slaves of all of us.Ó[196]
The
German philosopher, Friedrich Nietzsche, claimed Christianity as his great enemy.
He wrote that all concepts of sin and salvation destroy the greatest things of
life, that Christianity has Òwaged a war to the death against this higher type of manÓ and countered by calling followers to
seize their own free-spirits from ChristianityÕs destructive forces.[197] But even these statements are written
from the shackles of a chained sinner entrapped by himself. Seeing that he
lived his life in his self-made dungeon, it is no surprise that Nietzsche spent
much of the end of his life in a state of insanity.
Such
is the confusing fate of sinners who reject the idea that God created them for
Himself. We can attempt to live lives neglecting God and pursuing our own sin
but we cannot change the reality that God created us for Himself.[198] As many have discovered, autonomy is a
cruel master with a hard bed. Augustine was well-acquainted with his autonomy.
ÒWoe betide the soul which supposes it will find something better if it
forsakes you,Ó he writes. ÒToss and turn as we may, now on our back, now side,
now belly Ð our bed is hard at every point, for you alone are our rest.Ó[199] Since the garden of Eden, sin baits
its slave trap with the empty promise of autonomous freedom that is nothing
short of bondage to our own sinfulness.
Jesus
came to redeem the sinner from his slavery to sin. He is the Redeemer who paid
His blood to free sinners from their sin-master (Matt. 20:28, Mark 10:45, Acts
20:28).
The
concept of slavery was powerful to first-century Roman culture freely buying
and selling people in the slave market. Unlike slavery in American history,
slaves in JesusÕ time could save and purchase their own freedom or have it paid
by another. The word ÔredemptionÕ was the word they used for this process of
buying freedom.[200]
And it is a fitting word for the work of Christ towards the enslaved sinner
(Acts 20:28). Christ ransoms the sinner from her own sinfulness.
Jesus
does not call sinners to leave a life of burden but to trade it for a lighter
one. ÒTake my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in
heart, and you will find rest for your soulsÓ (Matt. 11:29). So we have two
paths opened. Either our souls continue in slavery to sin or we are redeemed
from the slave market of sin and are now slaves of righteousness. Paul writes,
you
are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of
obedience, which leads to righteousness? But thanks be to God, that you who
were once slaves of sin have become obedient from the heart to the standard of
teaching to which you were committed, and, having been set free from sin, have
become slaves of righteousness. (Rom. 6:16b-18)
To
be freed from slavery to sin means to be enslaved to righteousness. This is to
be yoked to Christ. The will of God is not that we escape all burdens but that
we live under the burden of obedience to Christ. In Christ, sinners are freed
to obey God.
Paul
exalts Òour great God and Savior Jesus Christ,Ó and writes that Jesus, Ògave
himself for us to redeem us
from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession
who are zealous for good worksÓ
(Tit. 2:14).
Just
as we saw in Ecclesiastes, the
only way to transcend the vanity of life is through the fear of God and
obedience to God. True rest from the burden of worldliness, the Law, the
fear of death, false religions and daily trouble is found in the yoke of Christ.
So
the two options remain: a yoke to sin, the fear of death and worldliness or a yoke to Christ. Some, thinking they can take
both burdens, find that the weight is doubled. Christ calls sinners to first
leave self-righteousness, worldliness and the fear of death. You cannot love
the world and love Christ or love self-righteousness and love Christ, too. The
heavy weight of hypocrisy crushes those carrying the burden of love of the
world and trying to love Christ
at the same time (1 John 2:15).[201]
The
call is to holiness and holiness comes through the yoking of the soul to
Christ. By following Jesus closely and watching His actions and reactions, we
follow Him step-by-step through life. While yoked to Him, we see how He
confronts temptation, reacts to enemies, loves the unlovely and cares for the
hurting. Owen writes, ÒHis meekness, lowliness of mind, condescension unto all
sorts of persons Ð his love and kindness unto mankind Ð his readiness to do
good unto all, with patience and forbearance Ð are continually set before us in
his example.Ó[202]
This is the pattern for the freed yoke-bearer.
Jesus
says,
28
Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29
Take my yoke upon you, and learn
from me, for I am gentle and lowly
in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is
easy, and my burden is light. (Matt. 11:28-30)
Turning from the
harsh task-master of sin, the Law, fear of death and worldliness and turning to
the restful burden of Christ is freeing to the sinful soul. Central to the
invitation to God is the offer to trade cruelty of sin and its eternal
consequences for a liberating, and comparatively easy, bondage to Christ.
5 // An Invitation without Price //
ÒCome, buy wine and milk without money and without
priceÓ (Isa 55:1)
Our
country is filled with free stuff. Get a free month of cable television when you sign a year
contract, get a free $20 gift
card with a purchase of $200 or more, get a free vacation when you buy a new car, buy one and get one
free. The problem with
AmericaÕs love affair with free stuff is that it comes with a price!
Whoever
convinced the first consumer to spend more money in the hopes of getting something for free was a brilliant
tactician. But such retail maneuvers have dislocated the meaning of Òfree.Ó
So
we need to start with some clarification.
Free
does not mean you have to buy one of equal or lesser value. Free does not
require you to sign an expensive long-term service contract. Free is not
getting a small sample of something you must purchase in the future. Free does
not come as a result of filling out a survey or applying for a credit card.
At
its heart, free is to receive
something in its entirety without any cost whatsoever to the recipient. Free is a word that finds its origin in the word
friendship,[203]
of a communal sharing of things freely with someone you know and love.
At
its core, the invitation to God is an offer of free salvation. It comes, Òwithout money and without
priceÓ (Isa. 55:1).
Gratis
All
spiritual blessings are given to the sinner without cost, gratis, freely.
We
have seen this already. Almost all of the invitations for sinners to come and
drink freely from the waters include a reference of its freeness. IsaiahÕs
promise of the satisfying water of life comes freely. ÒÔCome, everyone who
thirsts,Ó he writes, Òcome to the waters; and he who has no money, come, buy
and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without priceÓ (Isa. 55:1).
The offers of water, wine and milk are offers to quench the spiritual thirst,
and to nourish and revive the soul.[204]
All come freely. There is both freeness in access and fullness in substance to satisfy all the spiritual desires of the sinner.
But
unlike a salesman looking for commission, Henry writes, God, Òmakes these
proposals, not because he has occasion to sell, but because he has a
disposition to give.Ó[205]
The invitation for eternal life comes as a full and free offer from a gracious
God.
At
all points throughout this book we have seen the freeness of this invitation.
The call to salvation that goes to the spiritually depraved of chapter one is
free; the personal relationship offered in Christ in chapter two is without
price; the well of eternal delights in chapter three comes with no cost; the
rest offered in Christ in the last chapter comes freely; and the reconciliation
we receive through Christ (as we will see in chapter seven) comes freely, too. All
the spiritual blessings available in Christ come to the spiritually bankrupt
sinner without price or cost.
Throughout
the New Testament, Paul stresses the graciousness of God. Dwelling on the
nature of salvation in the book of Ephesians, Paul writes,
4
But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us,
5 even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ Ð by grace
you have been saved Ð 6
and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in
Christ Jesus, 7 so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable
riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. 8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it
is the gift of God 9
not a result of works, so that no one may boast. (Eph. 2:4-9)
The freedom of the spiritual blessings reveals the
Ògreat loveÓ of God towards sinners. He initiated and enacted salvation for
those who were spiritually dead in sin (vv. 4-5).
The state of spiritual death is just another way of illustrating that the
sinner has no capacity to please God or approach Him, a total inability to make
a move towards God or obey Him. By nature[206] of our spiritually dead condition, all
sinners live under the influence of the sinful world (2:2), are controlled
within by cravings for sin (2:3) are controlled without by evil influence
(2:2), remain outside fellowship with God (2:3), are alienated from the life of
God (4:18) and without any hope (2:12). The spiritually dead sinner lives under
the wrath of God (2:3).
ÒSin has killed men,Ó John Eadie writes, Òand they
remain in that dead state, which is a criminal one.Ó[207]
No better image of this spiritual death can be
found apart from the physical corpse. Like the inability of a dead body to
bring life to itself, so is it impossible for a spiritually dead sinner to
bring new life to himself. The corpse cannot make any movement toward a
hospital and neither can the spiritually dead sinner make any movement toward
the Great Physician. To be spiritually dead is to be hopeless apart from the
intervention of God.
GodÕs sovereign grace must invade our spiritual deadness or our spiritual
death will continue unchanged. That is why God makes us alive (2:5, Col. 2:13)! Our spiritual corpses await the
action of God and only when this happens, the redeemed sinner is resurrected to
a new life and seated in the heavens (v. 6). The entire saving process must be
enacted by GodÕs free grace for the helpless sinner.
And GodÕs grace must bring life freely to the spiritually dead sinner
because no payment could be expected from the dead. At the moment of personal
salvation, all sinners live in the slime and bondage of sin, without any hope
of change (Eph. 2:5).
If God saved the spiritually weak and not the
spiritually dead, there would be room for boasting of our teamwork with God.
Paul is repelled by the thought (Rom. 4:5). Every spiritual blessing given to
the lifeless sinner must come via free grace or it cannot come at all.
GodÕs free grace saves sinners, which is to say our
own moral and religious works cannot save. In redundancy Paul writes, Ònot your
own doing,Ó and later, Ònot as a result of works,Ó to remind the reader that
gracious salvation comes apart from his own merit (vv. 8,9). Nothing the
spiritually dead sinner brings to God merits eternal life, for indeed a
spiritually dead sinner cannot come at all.
Edwards writes that sinners being saved from
spiritual death and given spiritual life is the Òmost marvelous display of free
rich grace and love, and exceeding
greatness of GodÕs power.Ó[208]
Free grace silences the sinnerÕs boasting. God is
jealous for His own glory. He demands all the glory and all the praise and all
the boasting for redemption. Salvation comes through free grace to silence all
arrogant talk of the sinner. There is no room to boast because there is nothing
for which the sinner deserves applause. God alone brings salvation.
The main point of PaulÕs statement in Ephesians is
ÒGod.Ó He gives sinners an unexpected generosity (mercy)[209] motivated by His Ògreat loveÓ (v. 4).
He gives the free gift out of Òthe immeasurable riches of his graceÓ (v. 7).
For us it is free, for Him it is costly because it cost His own SonÕs death for
sinners (5:2, 25).
That we have nothing to pay is another way of
assessing the sinnerÕs spiritual bankruptcy. The free gospel highlights our deep unworthiness. Henry
writes, Òif Christ and heaven be ours, we may see ourselves forever indebted to
free grace.Ó[210]
Grace, faith and salvation are the free gifts of a
loving God (2:8). And together these statements, Òstand in stark contrast to
any suggestion of human merit.Ó[211]
Salvation by faith alone, not works
Not only does the bible re-emphasize that salvation
is a free gift but the bible repeats a related point: Salvation in God comes
through faith alone and never Ð neither in part nor whole, in its beginnings,
maintenance or outcome Ð does salvation come as a result of human merit.
Several passages throughout the bible make this
point. Paul writes,
3 For we ourselves were once foolish,
disobedient, led astray, slaves to various passions and pleasures, passing our
days in malice and envy, hated by others and hating one another. 4
But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, 5
he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of
regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, 6 whom he poured out on
us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, 7 so that being justified
by his grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.
(Titus 3:3-7)
Again in this passage we see a return to the idea
that sinful men, women, boys and girls are filled with sin and hatred (v. 3).
This passage lists some of the deepest sin residing in the sinful heart. But
while sinners are in this dark condition, the goodness and love of God is
revealed in the coming of Christ to earth[212] (v. 4).
Notice the personal character of this salvation: Òwe
É our É one another É us É us É us É we.Ó While there are corporate ramifications for our membership to the
church of God, salvation is also very personal. God saves individual sinners.
But notice the emphasis in verse five: Òhe saved
us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy.Ó The emphasis of
this passage is contained in three words, Òhe saved us.Ó[213] Apart from the initiation of God in
breaching the sinnerÕs hard heart, there would remain no hope for the spiritual
corpse we carry. Like a SWAT team behind the battering ram at a front door, God
breaks into our hearts. None of this grace is warranted by personal merit. He saved us on His own initiative.
Again, the depth of sinfulness in the spiritually
dead corpse is revealed in verse three: ÒFor we ourselves were once foolish,
disobedient, led astray, slaves to various passions and pleasures, passing our
days in malice and envy, hated by others and hating one another.Ó Spurgeon
writes, ÒMan was in the dark, plunging onward to blacker midnight every step he
took É God does not come to men to help them when they are saving themselves;
but he comes to the rescue when they are damning themselves.Ó[214]
The Law adds to the charges against the sinful soul moment by moment and so the
soul damns itself further every moment. It is here, in this darkness, the free
grace of God breaks and enters.
If that was not enough, the Apostle places himself
(ÒweÓ) alongside all redeemed sinners in looking back at his own personal
depravity. Evidently verse three speaks of the religious zealot (Paul) as much
as the profane heathen.
Paul is clear: God is not waiting for hate-filled sinners
to become kind and moral to warrant salvation, but He breaks into their
spiritual deadness and saves them. And none experienced the intervention of God
more tangibly than Paul (Acts 9:1-9).
Something else is worth notice in verse five: Òhe saved us.Ó The verb for ÒsavedÓ is in the passive tense,[215] meaning this salvation is given in
full. To be saved is a moment in time when the sinner goes from depraved to
justified, from under the wrath of GodÕs judgment to being freed and counted as
righteous, from a spiritually dead corpse to a living soul in love with God. To
be saved is a synonym for being justified and possessing eternal life (v. 7).
This free salvation does not come in fractions or
parts. There is no waiting period for this full salvation, nor any threat of a
future purgatory purification or dread of future loss. The redeemed sinner has
salvation fully in the declaration of God and possesses it fully from that
moment. PaulÕs teachings here are nothing but an extension of JesusÕ teaching
on justification in Luke 18:9-14.
But similar to chapter one, God justifies the
ungodly to demonstrate that His
salvation comes severed from the meritorious baggage of the sinner. It is the
manifestation of GodÕs jealousy for His own glory. God has taken the deep sin
and spiritual emptiness in mankind from the fall and turned it into deeper
praise for Himself. The sinner now glorifies God by resting his total
dependence upon God.[216]
The writings of the Apostle Paul are loaded with
the teaching that no human work, religious or moral advantage can earn
salvation from sin (Rom.
3:21-4:25, 9:11, 10:6-13; Gal. 2:11-21, 3:10-12, 5:3-4; Eph. 2:8-10; Phil.
3:1-11). And this list does not even touch on JesusÕ teaching we saw in chapter
one. To explain all the references in the bible on the issue would require
another (quite larger) book!
James White writes, ÒGodÕs mercy and manÕs works of
righteousness are polar opposites.Ó[217]
Similarly John Murray writes,
Faith stands in antithesis to works; there can be
no amalgam of these two (cf.
Gal. 5:4). That we are justified by faith is what engenders hope in a convicted
sinnerÕs heart. He knows he has nothing to offer. And this truth assures him
that he needs nothing to offer, yea, it assures him that it is an abomination
to God to presume to offer. We are justified by faith and therefore simply by
entrustment of ourselves, in all our dismal hopelessness, to the Saviour whose
righteousness is undefiled and undefilable. Justification by faith alone lies
at the heart of the gospel É [218]
LetÕs look at one more passage. Here Paul contrasts
salvation in Christ as that of a payday at work. He writes,
4
Now to the one who works, his wages are not counted as a gift but as his due. 5
And to the one who does not work
but trusts him who justifies
the ungodly, his faith is
counted as righteousness (Rom. 4:4-5)
When you go to work and put in your time your employer
is legally bound to give you a payment based upon the agreed wage. But when you
receive the check you donÕt reply by saying, ÒOh, you shouldnÕt have.Ó This
response is given towards those who give us free gifts. But an employerÕs paycheck is expected as a
trade for our labor. ItÕs
expected.
If salvation is earned through work, then God must
give salvation as the natural consequence of what was earned by the laborer.
However, God could not receive the full glory because free grace would not
enter the picture. And as we saw earlier in the book, everything God does
promotes His own glory, including our salvation. God saves sinners so they will
proclaim His excellencies (1 Pet. 2:9). When it comes to saving righteousness,
Calvin writes, Òwhoever glories in himself, glories against God.Ó[219]
The dichotomy in Romans 4 is clearly drawn between
a salvation of work and wage
contrasted to a salvation by faith and grace. Confusion at this point breeds false religions.
What all this means is that salvation is free when
the sinner comes with nothing to trade but faith.
ÒThe believing of which Paul speaks is, by the
contrast he draws here, a belief that creates no debt, that brings no plea,
that makes no offer or bargain,Ó White writes, ÒIt hides no bribe, makes no
effort at earning or coercing anything from God. It knows its bankruptcy and
does not conceal it.Ó Furthermore he writes, ÒAll acts of obedience to a law
performed so as to gain a right standing with God in any way, shape, or form violate
the definition of the faith that brings justification presented here [in Titus 3].Ó[220]
Empty hands of faith
Nothing but a God-given faith in Christ ushers
salvation to the spiritually dead sinner (Eph. 2:8-9). Paul tells us, Òfaith is
counted as righteousnessÓ (Rom. 4:5). We will further explore what it means to
have the righteousness of God ÒcountedÓ or ÒimputedÓ to the sinner by faith in
chapter seven. We must notice that the pathway to a relationship with God comes
through faith alone.
One may object, ÒBut isnÕt faith a work of the
sinner, an achievement meriting salvation?Ó No.
Faith is not a merit of the sinner because biblical
salvation cannot include human merit. ÒIf faith were the conditional ground of
justification, salvation would in part be due to human meritÓ Joel Beeke
writes, ÒThat would dishonor divine grace and subvert the gospel by reducing it
to one more version of justification by works (Gal. 4:21-5:12).Ó[221]
Furthermore, ÒIn the letters to the Romans and the
Galatians,Ó Brakel notes, Òfaith is continually contrasted with works. Faith is
therefore not to be considered as a work in reference to justification.Ó[222]
Finally, faith is merely recognizing our
spiritual emptiness. As with
religious merit or good works or morality, sinners wrongly approach God when
their hands are full of Ômerits.Õ It is the empty hands of faith that please
God and true faith, the bible teaches, is a gift from God (Eph. 2:8, Phil. 1:29).
Faith is an awesome gift, highlighting our
emptiness. Winslow writes,
Love brings a flaming, burning heart to God;
repentance brings a bleeding, broken heart to God; obedience brings a working hand
to God; patience brings, as it were, a broad back to God, let Him lay on what
He will; poor faith brings just nothing, but the poor manÕs bare hand and empty dish É Faith glorifies God,
for it seeks all in Him, and from Him: as it brings nothing to Him, so it expects everything from Him.[223]
Faith is the perfect gift for depraved sinners,
spiritually dead in themselves, bankrupt of all spiritual merit and good, and
without hope. Faith is the divine enablement to check oneÕs own spiritual
pulse, to see there is no life, and humbly approach God with nothing.
When sinners approach with empty hands, empty of
religious or moral Ômerits,Õ they are given the free gift of the righteousness
and perfections of Christ. And only this work of Christ appeases the wrath of
God, fulfills the Law, breaks the power of sin and guilt of sin over the
sinner. Salvation is a free gift, filling the empty hands of faith with new
life.
And so the bible could not be clearer: Salvation
comes in ChristÕs merits alone
and through faith alone and
never through the merits of the spiritually dead sinner.
Faith alone in debate
That God saves sinners by faith alone and not faith plus the addition of meritorious works marks the
dividing line between biblical Christianity and the teachings of Roman
Catholicism and other groups.
Contrary to PaulÕs teaching, Roman Catholicism
continues to plead for a salvation in which the spiritually dead sinner can
merit something of his salvation. Demarest summarizes the Catholic ÔgospelÕ
when he writes, ÒGod gives grace to those who worthily strive after virtue É
consequently sinners are capable of initiating the process of salvation.Ó[224]
Though the debate began hundreds of years ago it continues
to rage today.[225]
The key to the debate is understanding the phrase, Òdead in sinÓ (Eph. 2:1, 5,
Col. 2:13). All salvation must
come from GodÕs grace apart from the merit of sinners. It is impossible for the
sinner to un-die himself or even to make a positive move in the initiating the
ÔprocessÕ of salvation.
The intention of the gospel is to prevent all
boasting on the part of the sinner. Trying to say ÔdeadÕ does not mean Ôdead,Õ
contemporary Roman Catholic apologists are forced to speak nonsense.[226] Ironically Augustine, supposedly a
father of Catholicism, was one of the great defenders of the spiritual
inability of the sinner.[227]
The only free salvation is first to have someone pay the entire cost. To pay the
down payment on a new car and then give your friend the car and a new car loan he can hardly afford is not to give him a free gift. The gospel comes freely to the sinner
because GodÕs Son paid the infinite price with His own incarnation, perfect
life, physical and spiritual death. To think that prayers to Mary or dead
saints, mass rituals, self-righteousness or belonging to a certain church can
initiate, increase and preserve this free justification is to turn its freeness into merit, from grace to a
wage.[228]
After citing many references to prove justification
comes apart from human works or merits, Murray writes, Òit is only by spiritual
blindness and distortion of the most aggravated type that justification by
works could ever be entertained or proposed in any form or to any degree. The
Romish doctrine bears the patent hall-marks of such distortion.Ó[229]
Coming to God by faith alone is the same as going to the grocery store with
empty pockets. You can expect the cashier to be shocked but God expects His children to buy spiritual food with empty
hands and empty wallets.
It remains a grim reality of sinÕs deceptive power
in making many who call themselves ÔChristiansÕ fight against the idea of
Ôfaith alone.Õ They would rather exchange the free grace of God for an empty
paycheck.
Salvation as a teamwork project between the sinner
and God is a common theme in many supposed ÔChristianÕ religions. But such
glory-stealing from God is intolerable to Him (Rom. 4).
No free lunch
So far we see that salvation is free because itÕs a
gift from God, not a wage to a laborer. But this salvation is not totally free.
In fact it is very expensive, requiring a price the bankrupt sinner could never
afford Ð a high price paid by
Christ.
He paid the price in many ways: through the
emptying of Himself of His home in glory, taking on the form of humanity, the
humility of His life on earth, the physical and spiritual pains of His death.
As we just saw, the entire payment must be paid in full before the offer of a
free salvation can proceed to sinners.
The bible reminds us of this high cost. Peter
encourages Christians to live with diligent godliness because they were
redeemed, Ònot with perishable things such as silver or gold, but with the
precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spotÓ (1 Peter
1:18-19). The sinnerÕs healing, after all, comes through divine wounds (2:24).
The ransom payment for their souls was paid in Christ (Matt. 20:28). The
receiver must never forget that the price for salvation was paid with His own
God-blood (Acts 20:28). The greatness of ChristÕs honor is tied directly to the
greatness of His payment (Rev. 5:9).
And so what we call free, cost God dearly.
The costly incarnation of Christ
By His own testimony, Jesus is the eternal God
(John 8:24, 58 with Ex. 3:13-14). He has no beginning, middle or end. He was present
in the creation of the universe and appears numerous times in the Old
Testament. His humble manger birth we celebrate at Christmas was not the
beginning of His existence! He was an eternal resident of heaven.
Christ emptied Himself, becoming ÒnothingÓ in His
exchange of eternal glory for a human body (1 John 4:2-3). Paul writes of it
like this,
5
Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, 6
who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing
to be grasped, 7 but made himself nothing, taking the form of a
servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, 8
he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a
cross. (Phil. 2:5-8)
This is subtraction by addition.
By placing His own riches aside, He took the form
of a man and humbled Himself. He turned away from the Òsweetest pleasures that
heaven could afford.Ó[230]
He traded in His nobility for a life of homelessness and pain. Literally He who
was worthy of everything became ÒnothingÓ (v. 7).
ÒChrist came not in that Majesty which He
possessed,Ó Eadie writes, ÒNo troops of angels girt Him about, nature did not
do Him homage as God; the voice of the seven thunders was silent; the Ôwings of
the windÕ were collapsed and motionless and the Ôcoals of fireÕ were quenched.Ó[231]
Christ willingly gave His own life. He sacrificed
His own labor, giving over all of His comforts. He even sacrificed His own body
and soul. A full understanding of His sacrifice remains shrouded in mystery.[232]
He became ÒnothingÓ[233] because His life was filled with
sorrow. ÒHe was despised and rejected by men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted
with grief; and as one from whom men hide their faces he was despisedÓ (Isa.
53:3). It seems He was impoverished based upon the fact that He paid His taxes
through a miracle (Matt. 17:27). He was despised and rejected. He was
incessantly tempted by satanic forces and only for short periods was He given a
break (Luke 4:13). He was betrayed by His friends, denied by His closest
followers, condemned by Pilate, mocked and abused. Truly, all of his life was lived
in poverty.[234]
All of this sacrifice can be summarized in ChristÕs
becoming Ònothing.Ó
He traded His heavenly wealth for this. Why?
Christ was motivated to become ÒnothingÓ because of
His love for sinners (chapter 1). ÒFor the deeper he debased and lower he
humbled himself, the higher did he rise,Ó Boston writes, Òand the more clearly
did he manifest his love.Ó[235]
And He traded His sorrows to purchase our free joy.
ÒOnce we read of his rejoicing in spirit,Ó Boston writes of ChristÕs life, Òbut
never of his laughing; frequently of his complaints, tears and groans. He was
content to sorrow for us, that we might rejoice, and to weep that we might be
glad.Ó[236]
It was AdamÕs pride that bound sinners to sin and itÕs ChristÕs humility that
frees sinners.[237]
Unmistakably, Christ became poor out of His own
free choice. He was willing to become poor.[238] His leaving of heavenly comforts was
His own free choice: He, Òmade himself nothing,Ó and Òhe humbled himselfÓ (Phil. 2:7-8). This willingness to give
Himself is a common theme in the
bible (Gal. 1:4, 2:20; Eph. 5:2, 25; Phil. 2:7-8; Tit. 2:14; 1 Pet. 2:24; Heb.
9:14). And so in the face of all this emptiness and poverty the reader of the
bible must be struck at ChristÕs willingness to proceed through the emptiness,
knowing fully of the poverty awaiting Him.
It is the poverty of Christ that bestows the riches
we have in Him. ÒFor you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though
he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might
become richÓ (2 Cor. 8:9).
But the greatest self-humility He showed us was to
humble Himself to death, Òeven death on a crossÓ (Phil. 2:8).
The costly death of Christ
Christ arrived in human flesh because human flesh
was required to pay the sinnerÕs penalty. ÒSince therefore the children share
in flesh and blood, he himself likewise partook of the same things, that
through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the
devil, and deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong
slaveryÓ (Heb. 2:24-25).
The crucifixion itself is too grizzly to comprehend.
After being condemned as a traitor to Rome, He was whipped with razor-embedded
leather straps, spit upon and mocked as the ÒKing of the Jews.Ó Jesus was laid
naked on a cross and nailed, hands and feet to it. The pain of His mangled back
was multiplied by the rubbing of His back upon the rough wood in the movements
of every breath. Every stinging pain in His body was overlapped by other pains.
The combination of the mounting agony was unbearably great. A public exhibit of
the wrath of God, Christ was displayed for six hours in His scorn, pain and
nakedness.
This is the pain endured for our sinfulness and
redemption to bear the wrath of God. Owen paints the picture further.
To see him who is the wisdom of God, and the power of
God, always beloved of the Father; to see him, I say, fear, and tremble, and
bow, and sweat, and pray, and die; to see him lifted up upon the cross, the
earth trembling under him, as if unable to bear his weight; and the heavens
darkened over him, as if shut against his cry; and himself hanging between
both, as if refused by both; and all this because our sins did combine upon him; Ð this of all things most
abundantly manifest the severity of GodÕs vindictive justice.[239]
ÒI am the good shepherd,Ó Jesus says, ÒThe good
shepherd lays down his life for the sheepÓ (John 10:11).
Spiritual pain
But if physical pain was the only pain Christ
experienced, His death would have been tolerable. But His death included
spiritual death, a separation from the Father whom He loved dearly.
Now
from the sixth hour there was darkness over all the land until the ninth hour.
And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, ÒEli, Eli,
lema sabachthani?Ó that is, ÒMy God, my God, why have you forsaken me?Ó (Matt.
27:45-46)
The same Christ who hates sin is now regarded by
God as a sinner. Christ was punished for the sin that repelled His own heart.
Christ endures the spiritual wrath from God that sinners had earned. This included
being forsaken by the Father Himself. Boston writes,
He [Christ] was set up as a mark against which all
of the arrows of divine wrath were leveled; the quiver thereof was emptied upon
him. No wonder then he was in agony, that blood trickled from every pore of his
body, and that his holy human soul recoiled, as it were, from the terrible
shock it underwent under the load of wrath and the curse of the law.[240]
Christ bore the payment of hell in concentrated
form. Bunyan writes,
the suffering of Christ was not only a bodily
suffering, but a soul suffering; not only to suffer what man could inflict upon
him, but also to suffer soul torments that none but God can inflict, or suffer
to be inflicted upon him É all the damned souls in Hell, with all their
damnations, did never yet feel that torment and pain that did this blessed
Jesus in a little time.[241]
His death paid the vengeance of a just God for all
redeemed sinners. Such weight of sin and punishment expected from the Law was a
weight no mere human or angel could carry. Brooks writes, ÒThe lest measure of
that wrath that Christ hath sustained for you, would have broke the hearts,
necks and backs of all created beings.Ó[242]
Within the bearing under the weight of sinÕs wrath
there was no comfort offered from the Father or the Holy Spirit. MÕCheyne
writes of the broken fellowship,
What God did to him Ð forsook him. Dear friends, let us look into this ocean through
which Christ waded. (1) He was without any comforts of God Ð no feeling that
God loved him Ð no feeling that God pitied him Ð no feeling that God supported
him. God was his sun before Ð now that sun became all darkness. Not a smile
from his Father Ð not a kind look Ð not a kind word. (2) He was without a God Ð
he was as if he had no God. All that God had been to him before was taken from
him now. He was Godless Ð deprived of his God. (3) He had the feeling of the
condemned, when the Judge says: ÒDepart from me, ye cursed,Ó Òwho shall be
punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from
the glory of his power.Ó He felt that God said the same to him. Ah! this is the
hell which Christ suffered. Dear friends, I feel like a little child casting a
stone into some deep ravine in the mountain side, and listening to hear its
fall Ð but listening all in vain; or like the sailor casting the lead [anchor]
at sea, but it is too deep Ð the longest line cannot fathom it. The ocean of ChristÕs
sufferings is unfathomable.[243]
Speaking of these few words from the gospel of
Matthew, MÕCheyne continues, ÒThe more I meditate upon them, the more
impossible do I find it to unfold all that is contained in them.Ó[244] Goodwin writes of the depth of ChristÕs
death that, Òso great a plot could not have been hatched in the womb of any
created understanding.Ó[245]
Neither can any created understanding fully grasp how God forsook Himself.
Here, buried deep within the mystery of God and
echoed in the loud scream of God forsaking God, lies our free salvation.
High treason
You may be asking yourself, I would be a Christian,
but I donÕt want my friends and family to see me as a needy sinner, humbled by a
desire for God, claiming to be spiritually dead and helpless. Surely a cost of
personal humility is nothing compared to the humility of Christ.
Today we talk of unbelief in Christ as someone who
is a pre-Christian or someone who is unsure about themselves as one who has yet
to make a decision to follow Christ. Of course, people are not often saved the
very first time they hear the gospel. And belief in the gospel often ushers in
more questions than answers.
But here we must address the issue of unbelief Ð of hearing and learning of the free gift
available in Christ and yet refusing to take the gift personally.
In the sight of the biblical God, unbelief is
called rebellion. It is an act of
willful disobedience to the Creator and without excuse. Here is why.
The full cost of salvation has been paid in Christ.
There is no remaining balance. There are no religious hoops to jump through, no
waiting period and no call to become spiritually mature first. As we saw in the
first chapter, no one is too bad to be invited. All the preparations and
payments for your salvation are ready. For the sinner to continue in unbelief
towards the free gospel is to continue separated from the CreatorÕs plan.
Unbelief is treason.
To those on the outside, it may seem harsh and strange
that unbelief is such a scandalous and dreadful sin.[246] ÒDo not deceive yourselves,Ó Owen
writes, Òit is not an indifferent thing, whether you will come in unto Christ
upon his invitations or not Ð a thing that you may put off from one season unto
another: your present refusal of it is as high an act of enmity against God
as your nature is capable.Ó[247] To put this in other words: The act of
unbelief is a willful rejection of God and the highest act of treachery against
God the sinner is capable of.
Unbelief is a product of the sinful heart. ÒNever
let unbelief be spoken of as a misfortune,Ó Bonar writes, ÒIt is awfully sinful. Its root is the desperate
wickedness of the heart.Ó[248]
Simply put, Òunbelief is the cancer of the soul,Ó Brakel writes.[249]
God hates this unbelief. The core of all sin is the
sin of unbelief (John 16:8-9). Throughout the bible, God flexes His hot anger
when His creatures do not believe in Him (Ps. 78:21-22, Jude 1:5). Jesus said
the sin of unbelief is enough to condemn the soul (John 3:18, 36, 8:24). So
tied together are unbelief and sinfulness that they are synonymous (2 Thes.
2:12). To have an unbelieving heart is to have an evil heart (Heb. 3:12). ÒAnd
without faith it is impossible to please himÓ (Heb. 11:6).
Unbelief has the power to smother the small flame
of the gospel in the heart and bar the soul from God. ÒChrist is able to save
all those, and only those, who come to God by Him,Ó Owen writes, ÒWhile you
live in sin and unbelief, Christ Himself cannot save you.Ó[250]
Further, unbelief is a personal affront to God.
ÒEvery other crime touches GodÕs territory,Ó Spurgeon writes, Òbut unbelief
aims a blow at his divinity, impeaches his veracity, denies his goodness,
blasphemes his attributes, maligns his character; therefore, the God of all
things, hates first and chiefly, unbelief.Ó[251]
And so God does not wink at unbelief as though the
sinner has a waiting period or is excused in ignorance. The offer of the free
gospel is marked with a need for sober-mindedness and personal urgency. Faith
is expected and the time to believe is now (Heb. 3:7-8, 15, 4:7). No time is given to await miraculous
confirmations of the gospel. God is to be taken seriously and literally through
His written Word (Luke 16:27-31).
At the heart of GodÕs hatred toward continued
unbelief is that it scorns what is most precious to God Ð His very Son. GodÕs
delight in His own Son establishes an expectation from all of His creatures to
do the same.
ÒChrist is set last and lowest in the heart of an
unbeliever,Ó Edwards writes, the sinner Òhas high thoughts of other things; he
has high thoughts of created objects and earthly enjoyments, but mean and low
thoughts of Christ.Ó[252]
Charnock writes that unbelief Òdisgraces that which
is designed to the praise of the glory of his grace, and renders God cruel to
his own Son, as being an unnecessary shedder of his blood. Since the sending
his Son was the greatest act of goodness that God could express, the refusal of
him must be the highest reproach.Ó[253]
Further, ÒUnbelief accounts the person, offices, doctrine and laws of Christ
dung in comparison to the excellency of self-righteousness, self-wisdom,
self-dependence, pleasing temptations and gilded nothings.Ó[254]
Conclusion
Unbelief is treason because the offer is free. Think for a moment of the freeness of this
invitation. Why is this directed towards GodÕs enemy? Did you love Him first?
Does Christ gain in having you? Can He not be happy without your company? Is
there anything motivating this invitation but the mere graciousness, compassion
and mercy of His heart towards the undeserving?[255] In unbelief and contempt for the offer
of this magnificent and free salvation, Òlies the sting and poison of unbelief,
which unavoidably gives over the souls of men unto eternal ruin.Ó[256]
The ingratitude of unbelief is reprehensible to
God. ÒIf Christ be freely offered to all men,Ó MÕCheyne warns, Òthen it is
plain that all who live and die without accepting Christ shall meet with the
doom of those who refuse the
Son of God É You must go away either rejoicing in or rejecting Christ this day,
Ð either won, or more lost than ever.Ó[257]
6 // An Invitation to Divorce Self //
ÒThen Jesus told his disciples, ÔIf anyone would
come after me,
let him deny himself and take up his cross and
follow me.ÕÓ (Matt. 16:24)
I
am not a full-time writer. Neither am I a pastor. I have never been on a church
payroll and I couldnÕt tell you what full-time ministry is like. I am a
carpenter and the son of a carpenter.
A
few years ago I decided to start my own carpentry business. Looking back on my
first year I cannot help but laugh with regret. During those first twelve
months on my own I settled for jobs that would never hold a moment of
consideration today.
One
job especially sticks fresh in my memory.
I
was hired to break out the ceiling plaster from a kitchen and replace it with
drywall. The existing ceiling in the old house was sagging from a leak in the
ancient roof. So I laid out some drop cloths and began the demolition.
It
was my first and vowed final encounter with plaster.
As
I began breaking the plaster apart, the pieces resembling golf-ball-sized rocks
of concrete, smashed down on the vinyl flooring and countertops like meteors
from space. When finally I had broken the entire ceiling out (piece by piece) I
removed my drop cloth from the floor and counters. When the floor and counters
were exposed I was shocked to find that the slamming meteors left dark scratch
marks everywhere! Beneath the protective covering, the kitchen looked like the
surface of the moon!
Frazzled
by this discovery I quickly cleaned the massive mess of rubble on the ground
filling three trashcans of rocks I could barely move. When the big rocks were
gone, I brought my shopvac inside and set it on the surface of the oven, the
only area free of plaster pebbles and fine dust.
Before
I had time to plug in the vacuum and attach a hose, the smell of burning
plastic filled the kitchen. I had bumped a button and accidentally turned the
stovetop on. One of the four wheels on my vacuum was now melted flat and the
burner, dripping with melted plastic, was smoldering fiercely.
The
debris, dust, dents, smoke and smell combined into one nightmare.
I
did finally get the drywall replaced on the ceiling but not without great
headaches and a mess of embarrassingly deep scratches.
This
lone example is just one of the many ugly jobs I took that first year because I
had to take whatever jobs I could get.
As
most business owners will tell you, it is very hard to make high demands when
you are just starting your own business. Often you have to start very broadly
just to Ôget off the ground,Õ as they say.
Jesus,
however, did not use this philosophy when He established the Christian church.
Jesus always showed high expectations to those seeking to follow Himself. Even
the most eager of followers were turned away because Jesus limited the
invitation to those willing to divorce themselves.
The
invitation to come to God includes high and unflinching personal demands.
Though
Jesus was not physically attractive He attracted large crowds of local people.
He was bold and brave and profound, and He could provide a free meal if the
opportunity was right. Jesus took the opportunities with these crowds to openly
confront them with the serious reality of what it means to follow Himself. And
from the written records we can imagine that the large crowds came unprepared
for what they were going to hear.
JesusÕ
ministry would come to a close in the Spring of A.D. 30 with His crucifixion.[258] But just a few months earlier, in the
preceding winter, He presented these no-spin realities to a large crowd. The
account in LukeÕs gospel gives us the transcript,
25
Now great crowds accompanied him, and he turned and said to them, 26
ÒIf anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and
sisters, yes, and even his own life,
he cannot be my disciple. 27 Whoever does not bear his own cross and
come after me cannot be my disciple. 28 For which of you, desiring
to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost, whether he has enough to complete it? 29
Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who see
it begin to mock him, 30 saying, ÔThis man began to build and was
not able to finish.Õ 31 Or what king, going out to encounter another
king in war, will not sit down first and deliberate whether he is able with ten
thousand to meet him who comes against him with twenty thousand? 32
And if not, while the other is yet a great way off, he sends a delegation and
asks for terms of peace. 33 So therefore, any one of you who does
not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple.Ó (Luke 14:25-33)
The
first thing we notice here about Jesus is His refusal to settle for a plaster
ceiling replacement job. HeÕs not looking to accumulate a small group of
uncommitted and half-hearted followers to set His Church set in motion. Like we
saw in MatthewÕs story (chapter one), from His first followers Jesus
demanded a total renunciation of themselves!
And
by using exhaustive language (Òanyone É Whoever É any one of youÓ), He makes it
clear that any and all of His followers must first completely turn away from
self-interest. To be a Christian
is first to be self-forsaken.[259]
JesusÕ
willingness to turn away even wealthy seekers, those who could finance the
newborn church, reveals JesusÕ high demands (Luke 18:18-25). No follower of
Christ is exempt.
Specifically,
Jesus calls His followers to make four painful sacrifices to following Him.
First,
Jesus expects all of His followers to hate their lives. This is very unnatural. We all care and cherish
ourselves naturally (Eph. 5:29). We concern ourselves with our own happiness
and fulfillment. When looking through pictures we look for ourselves before
showing concern for others. Our houses are filled with mirrors so we can admire
ourselves. And at some point in our lives, we are shocked to find the sun does
not revolve around the planet ÒMe.Ó
The
righteous hate directed towards life is especially focused upon all of our
relationships. In the second chapter we saw that this forsaking of all
relationships is due to the marriage relationship the Christian has with
Christ. There is no room for competition, Christ must be everything to the
Christian. And so the seeker who comes to follow Christ arm-in-arm with another
close relationship competing for first place in their heart is rejected. Christ
demands unanimous first place in the sinnerÕs life.
And
no family member can come between our relationships with Christ. It is not
uncommon for the strongest persecutions in America to be found inside homes.
Spouses are divided and families are at war because of the gospel. This is no
surprise to the Christ who came to divide (Matt. 10:34-39). The sinner who
forsakes himself must recognize that persecution may come in their own home
from their own family.
To
hate oneÕs life is to paddle upstream in the world. Sinners, cherishing sin,
flow downstream along with the current of temporal satisfaction. But followers
of Christ ride upstream, fighting with every paddle dip to head in the opposite
direction and live with eternal priorities.
To
hate oneÕs own life is the willingness to endure prison because of Christian
commitments rather than defending oneÕs reputation with a compromised gospel.
Christians in China and other parts of the world know well that following
Christ may cost everything.
The
Christian life requires that the sinner first hate his own life. There is no
hope of loving others, showing gentleness and compassion towards sinners and
loving our enemies until and unless we have decided to first hate our own
lives.[260]
We are not Christians unless we are serving others, and that demands death to
selfishness.
Simply
put, the invitation to God is for those who have forsaken their own lives. ÒWhoever loves his life loses it,Ó
Jesus says, Òand whoever hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal
lifeÓ (John 12:25). These are the only two options: Self-preservation or
self-renunciation.
Secondly,
Jesus expects all of His followers pick up and carry their own crosses. The cross is a symbol of public shame and
impending death. Jesus says, pick it up and carry it for the rest of your life.
ItÕs a call to live the rest of life in humility, daily reminded of your death
to self (1 Cor. 15:31).
In
his book The Shadow of the Cross: Studies in Self-Denial, Walter Chantry writes, ÒBearing a cross is every
ChristianÕs daily, conscious selection of those options which will please
Christ, pain self, and aim at putting self to death.Ó[261] It may not mean physical death, but
following Christ will certainly mean dying thousands of times to stubborn
selfishness, pride, accolades, and comforts.
ÒFor
whomever the Lord has adopted and deemed worthy of his fellowship,Ó Calvin
warns, Òought to prepare themselves for a hard, toilsome, and unquiet life,
crammed with very many and various kinds of evil.Ó[262] Such a battle will drown the sinner who
has not died to self.
The
call to self-execution is critically placed within the invitation to come to
God because the full invitation to God is lost if the call to self-execution
is missing.[263]
This
living for Christ requires death to self. ÒFor the love of Christ controls us,Ó
Paul writes, Òbecause we have concluded this: that one has died for all,
therefore all have died; and he died for all, that those who live might no
longer live for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raisedÓ
(2 Cor. 5:14-15).
Third,
Jesus expects all of His followers to budget the long-term cost of following
Him. The Christian life is
perilous and Jesus does not want His followers to come ignorant of the cost.
The
bible sternly warns that Heaven is so hard to find that most sinners will never
find their way. ÒEnter by the narrow gate,Ó Jesus warns, ÒFor the gate is wide
and the way is easy that leads
to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are fewÓ (Matt. 7:13-14). It may be hard to grasp but
there are few religionists, few moralists, few drunks, few adulterers and few
religious scholars who find the way. The path to God is not hard to find, it is
hard to swallow.
To
further explain these points Jesus teaches that the cost of discipleship is expensive and hazardous. ItÕs expensive because following Christ requires planning for the
rest of our lives (construction) and perilous because we must commit to
fighting the battle to completion (war). The final cost is almost always
greater than the budget and while battle grows in intensity the disingenuous
sinner retreats. But abandoning the building and the battle are no options for
the Christian. Jesus says, ÒNo one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back
is fit for the kingdom of GodÓ (Luke 9:62).
Few
find the way to heaven because of compromised negligence. Religious people
often take the promises of Christ but, Joseph Alleine writes, Ònever consider
His self-denying terms, nor count the cost; and this error in the foundation
mars all, and ruins them forever.Ó[264]
To miss this demand is to miss the most obvious teachings of Christ.
And
Jesus says some will not follow Him because they are too busy! Those that are too busy with their real estate,
business decisions and even marriage to come to Christ are those who will not
find the narrow path (Luke 14:18-20). Such trivial examples as real estate and
business decisions reveal the spite Christ places upon the excuse that business
and investments demand too much attention. Sinners can find themselves too busy
for eternal life.
Heaven
is not taken merely by seeking,
Henry writes, but by striving![265] Failing to budget and plan for the high
cost of the Christian life leaves half-built towers and retreated battles. Both
endure as testimonies of failed planning of a soul enduring eternal defeat.
Fourth,
Jesus expects each of His followers to forsake everything. No demand is more encompassing! Everything in
life that we cling to must be forsaken.
To
forsake everything is to
forsake one thing Ð self. The
sinful heart is filled with self. Chantry writes, ÒAll of life outside of
Christ is for one thing Ð self.Ó[266]
Self is the self-proclaimed ruler of the sinnerÕs heart and claims all
authority for itself. Self promotes self-righteousness, self-comfort,
self-pity, self-confidence, self-sufficiency, self-love, self-fulfillment and
self-honor. This tyranny of selfishness is the root of every evil in the heart.
ÒThere
is within the human heart a tough, fibrous root of fallen life whose nature is
to possess, always to possess,Ó Tozer writes, ÒIt covets things with a deep and
fierce passion.Ó[267]
Selfish sins, he later writes, Òare not something we do, they are something we are, and therein lies both their subtlety and their
power.Ó[268]
Christ
vs. the self is the battle for the sinnerÕs affections. And the dictator (self)
will not walk off the throne, but, as a tooth is pulled from the jaw, he is
overthrown with painful extraction and blood!
This
selfishness is like a tumor. Separating self from the heart of the sinner is
not like separating a pile of change into quarters and dimes but more resembles
a surgeon cutting apart an embedded tumor from healthy human flesh.[269] Selfishness is a deep-seated, cancerous
material that has grown into us and become part of us.
The
Christian is a redeemed sinner, purchased from the dominion of sin. ÒYou are
not your own,Ó Paul writes, Òfor you were bought with a price. So glorify God in
your bodyÓ (1 Cor. 6:19-20). The soul is no longer lives under the
self-dictator but the loving Lordship of Christ. Self must first be overthrown.
The
Spirit of God is central to this work. He is the one Òtraining us to renounce
ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and
godly lives in the present ageÓ (Titus 2:12).
The
call to turn from self-rule is not a call to immediate perfection and ethical
purity but the ÔresolutionÕ to turn from the self-saturated life. [270] This
decision must be absolute and without reserve, knowing there are no
half-hearted decisions. No mediating ground exists between living for self and
forsaking everything.
AlleineÕs
warning is appropriate. ÒWhen men give the flesh the liberty that it craves and
pamper and please it, and do not deny and restrain it; when their great delight
is in gratifying their bellies and pleasing their senses; whatever appearances
they may have of religion, all is unsound.Ó[271]
The
tower must be completed and the
war must be won or all is lost
forever.
If
you have grown weary of this topic you are not alone. There is nothing
appealing or easy about what Jesus demands. But there is no question the
invitation to God includes the demand to forsake self. The same Christ who
offers to relieve burdens places this burden on our shoulders.
We
have spoken generally of the demands of Christ upon those who seek to follow
Him. But the bible calls followers of Christ to forsake four aspects of the
self-centered life: self-righteousness, self-fulfillment, self-comfort and
self-adoration. Each is worthy of a brief glimpse.
Price of
$elf-righteousness
Self-righteousness
is to think oneself worthy of eternal life without resting fully upon the
merits of Christ. It is to think that the spiritually dead corpse can be traded
for eternal life. It is to think that God will overlook the breaking of His Law
Ð an offense He would execute His own Son for Ð because we have been faithful
in attending church or showing sacrifice to others. It is to show contempt for
the perfections of the Son in trying to appease GodÕs wrath with a
street-corner sideshow of religious duty.
This
delusion of self-righteousness has plagued churches throughout the millennia.
The church in Laodicea (modern Turkey) was one of them. The Laodicean church
was a spiritual failure.
ÒSo,
because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my
mouth,Ó Christ speaks, ÒFor you say, I am rich, I have prospered, and I need
nothing, not realizing that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and nakedÓ
(Rev. 3:16-17).
The
church had grown complacent in wealth and ease corresponding to blinding
spiritual self-sufficiency.[272]
Similar to the church in America, in my opinion, wealth and ease have
corresponded to spiritual lethargy and feelings of self-righteousness. The
on-looking world sees in the church a prideful moral superiority to the world
than a picture of humbled sinners riveted to the Cross.
But
like room temperature coffee that is neither hot nor iced, the
self-righteousness of sinners causes Christ to vomit (v. 16). Thinking they are
spiritually rich and self-sufficient, they are spiritually dead, poor, blind
and naked, destitute of righteousness. Here is a sure sign that self clutches
the throne.
GodÕs
solution is to reveal the churchÕs poverty apart from the righteousness of
Christ. Spiritual nakedness can only be clothed by ChristÕs free righteousness,
a white garment covering the sinful heart (v. 18).
Self-righteousness
must be overthrown if the sinner will follow Christ. The sinner must collect
all the religious and moral attainments of their life and curse them as dung
compared to clothed in the righteousness of Christ alone (Phil. 3:4-11).
ChristÕs righteousness and self-righteousness are at odds.
The
sinner who seeks to follow Christ must first cast aside all supposed merits to
appease God and recognize the nakedness of self-righteousness. This hurts and
costs dearly, but is expected from all who follow Christ.
Price of
$elf-fulfillment
Self-fulfillment
is the sinner packing his home with material possessions to the point of
structural danger. It bears its presence with piles of material goods,
greediness, lots of debt, various sexual partners, drunkenness, pornography,
addiction to the gym, consumption with oneÕs physical attraction, wearing
expensive clothing to impress others, athletic pursuits for glory, an
unwavering pursuit of novelty, innovation and endless shopping sprees, all
driven by the insatiable self. These are clear signs of a life lived for
self-fulfillment.
Self-fulfillment
is proof that God is not the center of oneÕs life, that JesusÕ command to
forsake everything has not taken place.
Augustine
gives us a clear testimony of the emptiness of his self-fulfillment. This came,
for him, through sexual sin. He begins by writing, ÒIn this lay my sin, that
not in him [God] was I seeking pleasures, distinctions and truth, but in myself
and the rest of his creatures, and so I fell headlong into pains, confusions
and errors.Ó[273]
And from this statement Augustine launches into a disturbingly honest look at
his addiction to sexual sin.
ÒFrom
the mud of my fleshly desires and my erupting puberty belched out murky clouds
that obscured and darkened my heart,Ó he writes, Òuntil I could not distinguish
the calm light of love from the fog of lust.Ó[274]
But
after years of sexual sin Augustine concluded, ÒA soul that turns away from you
[God] therefore lapses into fornication when it seeks apart from you what it
can never find in pure and limpid [crystal clear] form except by returning to
you.Ó[275]
From his testimony we learn that if the soul does not find pleasure in God it must seek its pleasure in self-fulfillment. Either our
satisfaction comes from God or
self.
The
only path to true happiness must come in God, and this requires the abandonment
of every form of self-fulfillment. To live in obedience to Christ is to have
life and have it to the full (John 15:10-11).
ÒFor
if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put
to death the deeds of the body, you will liveÓ (Rom. 8:13).
Price of $elf-comfort
It
seems Apple produces a new iPod every few months because consumerÕs jump at
anything that claims to streamline and simplify our messy lives. In its early
days the iPod simply played a few songs, but then the capacity grew to hold an
entire music library in the palm of your hand. Later Apple introduced smaller
and smaller players, then made them capable of displaying color pictures and
then color video, and now integration to mobile telephones. In the near future
itÕs likely all of the information, computer files, movies, music, pictures we
possess will fit nicely into a single iPod. And it will be a phone, too.
New
computer innovations sell because we want simplified and more comfortable
lives. Jesus, however, comes with a different proposal, saying, follow me and
you must turn from your easiness and comfort into the messy, unpredictable and
hostile world as my servant. Accepting the Christian invitation is dedicating
your life to the service of others. It does not necessarily mean turning from
innovation (this book was written on an Apple PowerBook G4), but it does
require writing a letter of resignation from the easier and predictable life of
selfishness.
And
it is a call to resign from comfortable religion. Many sinners flatter themselves with a
comfortable religion but the bible never promises any spiritual benefit to
sinners who merely attend weekly religious ceremonies (Isa. 1). The promises of
God are to those who live an uncomfortable religion, to those who live daily
with a Òbroken spiritÓ and a Òbroken and contrite heartÓ (Ps. 51:17, Isa.
57:15, 66:2), to those who debase themselves to wash otherÕs feet (John
13:1-17) and to those who bear one anotherÕs burdens (Gal. 6:2).
JesusÕ
demands exclude much contemporary Òchurch shopping.Ó Religionists often search
for a denomination or church that ÔfitsÕ their lifestyle, something of a
tailored suit. Jesus forbids the thought! To come to Christ is to mold oneÕs
priorities to His and to forsake everything to meet His demands. Faithful
churches are intended to make the selfish uncomfortable.
The
invitation to turn from self-comfort is the call to resign the hopes of a comfortable
retirement. Jesus tells the story
of a man who nestled into an early retirement. He grew very wealth and said to
himself, ÒÔSoul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat,
drink, be merryÕÓ (Luke 12:19). You idiot, Jesus thunders, ÒThis night your soul is required of you, and the
things you have prepared, whose will they beÓ (v. 20)?
To
have a nice retirement plan and look ahead only to several years of comfort is to be foolish! Such retirement-sought comfort
shows bankruptcy towards God and lack of faith in His provisions (vv. 20-43).
Dedicating
our prime years to a career to ensure an early retirement and more time for
ministry is well-meaning. But this mentality also dedicates the prime years to
career. God gets the senile years.
Like
retirement planning, it may be soothing to be in control of our future comfort,
but Jesus warns us to be divorced from self-comfort, lest we be the fools. The
Christian life in retirement includes the expectation that we will continue to
care for others and bear otherÕs burdens, a time filled with expected
discomfort.
Simply
put, Christianity disrupts life.
Every follower of Christ, Ryle writes, Òmust be careful over his time, his
tongue, his temper, his thoughts, his imagination, his motives, his conduct in
every relation of life.Ó[276]
Christianity is a life of caution and total obedience.
Christ
came to spoil sinful comforts. He came to divide and often it is families that
are torn apart because of the gospel (Luke 12:51-53). ÒIndeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will
be persecutedÓ (2 Tim. 3:12). The
wealthy man who refuses to leave his comforts and trust fully in the provisions
of God must turn away from Christ (Luke 18:18-30).
It
is easier for a camel to fit through the eye of a needle then a comfortable
sinner to enter heaven (v. 25).
Price of $elf-adoration
Since
Adam and Eve sought to become their own authorities, sinners have sought to
gain self-adoration from others. And so we dream about becoming movie stars,
musicians, famous writers, famous presidents, the hitter of the game-winning
home run and receiver of the Super Bowl-winning touchdown. That anyone can
order a custom Wheaties box printed with his own picture shows the sinnerÕs
addiction to self-adoration.
Ambition
and success are not wrong, but to seek self-adoration, even in religious duty
and sacrifice, is to receive the reward fully in the temporal world (Matt.
16:1-6, 16). Nothing of eternal value results from this.
Calvin
writes, Òwhen Scripture bids us leave off self-concern, it not only erases from
our minds the yearning to possess, the desire for power, and the favor of men,
but it also uproots ambition and all craving for human glory and other more
secret plagues.Ó[277]
And
this includes forsaking all attempts to please the sinful world. We are most
afraid of otherÕs perceptions about how we look, whether we are viewed as
attractive, funny, and likable. As Jesus promises and TV ratings confirm, the
world is not please with those who are concerned with eternal life, godly speech
and contentment. So the follower of Christ must be happy to part from the
applause of the world.
Jesus
calls sinners to abandon the pursuit of self-adoration. It is not uncommon,
Ryle writes, for Christians to be Òmocked, ridiculed, slandered, persecuted and
even hated.Ó[278]
Jesus warned His early followers to, ÒRemember the word that I said to you: ÔA
servant is not greater than his master.Õ If they persecuted me, they will also
persecute youÓ (John 15:20). JesusÕ life of pain is an example and a warning to
all who seek to follow in His steps.
The
invitation to God and the approval of the world do not come packaged together.
When
we truly behold (by faith) these two options Ð of self and selfishness on the
one hand and God, Christ and eternal life on the other Ð there will be nothing
to stop our commitment to Christ. We will forsake self-righteousness,
self-fulfillment, self-comforts and all self-admiration. Ryle writes,
When
the ship is in danger of sinking, the crew think nothing of casting overboard
the precious cargo. When a limb is mortified, a man will submit to any severe
operation, and even to amputation, to save life. Surely a Christian should be
willing to give up anything which stands between him and heaven. A religion
that costs nothing is worth nothing! A cheap Christianity, without a cross,
will prove in the end a useless Christianity, without a crown.[279]
The
cost of discipleship is to crucify what God does not want (selfishness) in
order to gain what He freely gives. Salvation remains a free gift from God.
Toward our selfishness, however, we must inflict a mortal wound. The free gift
of God comes with our very own cross.
With
all of this talk about self-forsaking it is easy to wrongly conclude that God
does not want us to be happy. Such idea couldnÕt be further from the truth.
Forsaking self is not moving into isolation to prevent joyfulness nor is it
found by inflicting pain upon the body in the name of religion nor is it a life
lived in depressed pessimism. Jonathan Edwards rightly states,
By
dying to ourselves is not to be understood a choosing that which is to our own
hurt, as it were not to love ourselves. The true Christian is furthest of all
from that, for none consults his own happiness so much as he that lives to
Christ É But by dying to
ourselves, we mean the mortifying of the false, inordinate, irregular, mistaken
self-love, whereby we seek to please only ourselves and none else, seek our own
present pleasure without consideration of our future state. [280]
To
forsake sin in this world is to treasure everything in the next. It is to have
both hope for eternal joy and the experience of true joy now! This is the fruit
of faith. And faith is never more exercised than when it has to decide between
what the physical eye sees in this world and what the spiritual affections of
the heart see in the world to come. Forsaking self is re-routing affections
from the visible world to the invisible. This is where faith shines.
But
there is only one reason why a sinner would turn away from natural self-pursuit
Ð the irresistible beauty of Jesus Christ.
Paul
did not merely turn away from
his own self-righteousness but turned toward the value of Christ: ÒI count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my
LordÓ (Phil. 3:8). Such a personal statement from Paul comes not merely through
doctrine but through His own living and breathing experience.
ÒLook
for yourself,Ó C.S. Lewis warns, Òand you will find in the long run only
hatred, loneliness, despair, rage, ruin, and decay. But look for Christ and you
will find Him, and with Him everything else thrown in.Ó[281]
Christ
is the fullness of God, a storehouse of delight, totally sufficient for the
life and joy of the sinner. He is the source of all eternal happiness in
Heaven. His death gives all of the spiritual blessings needed for the sinnerÕs
salvation and delight. He is precious like a priceless jewel (1 Pet. 2:7, Matt.
13:46). Brooks writes, Christ is, Òthe fountain of life, the well of salvation
and the wonder of heaven.Ó[282] To His
followers, ChristÕs beauty imparts a, Òjoy that is inexpressible[283]
and filled with gloryÓ (1 Pet. 1:8). Jesus is life and gives abundant life to
sinners (John 10:10).
But
this joy must be experienced. One can learn of the Rocky Mountains fairly
easily. A quick Internet search will reveal much information and pictures. But
it is another thing to learn about the mountains and then to experience the
Rockies first-hand.
Brakel
writes the beholding of the beauty of Christ is a divine gift that must be
experienced. This is to say that the beauty of Christ is a matter of learning and beholding. After warning that a religion of mere
intellectual learning and duty, devoid of experience, causes much, Òdeadness,
unbelief, and instability,Ó[284]
Brakel writes,
When
the soul is permitted behold Jesus as the only and eternal God and may behold
Him in His perfections, doing so one by one, becoming aware of His
all-sufficiency, sovereign majesty, omnipotence, righteousness, glory, love,
and mercy, beholding in each of them an infinity which cannot be perceived,
much less comprehended by the insignificant intellect of a creature, the soul
will lose itself. If one may do so, not by mere intellectual reflection, nor
gathering it from hearsay, but rather with experiential vision, presently
experiencing and tasting the efficacy and sweetness of these incomprehensible
perfections [285]
When
the soul fills itself with Christ and His beauty, what can self offer? This
knowledge of genuine satisfaction in Christ, Boston writes, Òcarries a man out
of himself and so fills a man with humility and self-denial.Ó[286] To behold the beauty of Christ is to
have the power of self-renunciation.
Seeking
pleasure, comfort and happiness in selfishness is empty compared to this sweet
fullness in Christ. Owen writes from his own experience,
what
you pretend of your pleasures, the truth is, you never yet had any real
pleasure, nor do you know what it is. How easy were it to declare the folly,
vanity, bitterness, poison of those things which you have esteemed your
pleasures! Here alone Ð namely, in Christ, and a participation of him Ð are
true pleasures and durable riches to be obtained; pleasure of the same nature
with, and such as, like pleasant streams, flow down into the ocean of eternal
pleasures above.[287]
To
find Christ and possess His riches, beauty and satisfaction are enough to cause
the sinner to rebuke all the selfishness of his life. This new God-given
commitment gives the soul uneasiness in this world but fullness in heavenly
delight.
Brooks
writes, ÒIt is your wisdom, it is your duty, it is your safety, it is your glory,
it is your salvation, it is your all to accept of Christ, to close with Christ,
and to bestow yourselves, your souls, your all on Christ.Ó[288]
ÒWhom
have I in heaven but you,Ó the Psalmist wrote, ÒAnd there is nothing on earth
that I desire besides youÓ(Ps. 73:25). Such is the declaration of the sinner
who has died to self and now finds delight in Christ alone.
The
invitation to God includes a tough battle. It requires that the Christian, even
after beginning her journey with Christ to, Òdie every dayÓ (1 Cor. 15:31)!
Such is struggle of the follower of Christ through the temporal life.
Have
you died to self-righteousness, self-fulfillment, self-comforts and
self-adoration? This may be the first and last time to think seriously about
ChristÕs demand. Let RyleÕs closing warning sink slowly,
let
every reader of this paper think seriously, whether his religion costs him
anything at present. Very likely it costs you nothing. Very probably it neither
costs you trouble, nor time, nor thought, nor care, nor pains, nor reading, nor
praying, nor self-denial, nor conflict, nor working, nor labor of any kind. Now
mark what I say. Such a religion as this will never save your soul. It will never give you peace while you live, nor
hope while you die. It will not support you in the day of affliction, nor cheer
you in the hour of death. A religion which costs nothing is worth nothing.
Awake before it is too late. Awake and repent. Awake and be converted. Awake and
believe. Awake and pray. Rest not till you can give a satisfactory answer to my
question: ÔWhat does it cost?Õ [289]
By
saying, ÒIf anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me,Ó Jesus
places the cost of discipleship alongside the invitation (Matt. 16:24; cf. Mark
8:34, 10:21, Luke 9:23, 14:27). Counting the cost is not a duty for the
Christian after she has decided
to follow Christ but reflection required before grabbing hold of the invitation. First we budget
and plan, pick up our own cross of self-denial and only then do we follow Christ (Luke 14:27).
7 // An Invitation to Reconciliation //
We implore you on behalf of Christ, be
reconciled to God. (2 Cor. 5:20)
We
live in an electronic age. We can send email across the world in seconds and
stream webcam video from our personal computers. But one of my favorite things
about the electronic age is the use of credit cards.
I
have never liked carrying around dollars and coins and a checkbook is a major
nuisance and liability. So for the past several years I have given up on
conventional methods of payment. I prefer to use electronic funds because I get
a monthly breakdown of where all my money went. This is most helpful in
creating and maintaining a budget (and in seeing my constant budget failures).
Plus it gives my wife a breakdown of just how much money I spend at Starbucks.
Simply
put, electronic funds are the taking of money from one account and transferring
it into another account without the need for dollars, coins and checks. As fast
as email shoots around the world, our money can be transferred to our favorite
retailer or coffee shop.
Justification
is a lot like electronic funds. The righteousness of Christ, earned through His
incarnation and death for sinners, is stored in His account. When the
invitation to God is accepted by the sinner the righteousness of Christ is
transferred into the account of the sinner. God, from the moment of conversion,
now sees an account fully paid, His Law forever satisfied and the sinner with
an imputed righteousness. This is another way of saying personal salvation
originates outside of us.
Justification
resembles a credit card because the righteousness given to the sinner comes
directly from ChristÕs storehouse and into the account of the sinner. The
sinner does not become totally
righteous in all his actions Ð he will regretfully continue to sin Ð but from
conversion he is ÒcountedÓ righteous before God because his empty account has
been filled by ChristÕs.
The
sinner can be justified once and forever because justification is not improved
or maintained through the personal righteousness of the redeemed sinner. Once
the sinner has been justified, he cannot be unjustified. The transaction is
completed (Rom. 8:30-33). To be Ôjustified,Õ is a synonym of eternal security.
This,
through the illustration of electronic funds, of transferring funds, is the
grand idea of justification. It is about accounting or crediting, of taking the
riches of Christ and transferring His righteousness to our sinful accounts
empty of righteousness.
GodÕs
justification of the sinner is the Òsoul of ChristianityÓ[290] and central to each feature of the
invitation from God.
The
sick criminal requires justification because there is no hope in his own
righteousness (ch. 1). The relationship between sinner and God is bridged only
by the work of Christ (2). The water of life flows from a slaughtered lamb
substitute (3). The freedom from the burdensome Law and the fear of death are
rooted in ChristÕs work as our substitute (4). The invitation to God is free
because the invitation flows freely from the expensive righteousness of Christ
(5). Finally, justification in Christ is the damning of our empty
self-righteousness (6). It should be clear that justification is the key to
understanding all the diverse features of the invitation to God.
In
short, the topic of this chapter is the key to every promise to sinners in the bible. Justification
from God is the heart of Christianity.[291]
So
why did I leave such an important topic for the end? Simply put, a full
encounter with the Grand Canyon of justification often overshadows the
diversity of the entire offer. It is common to hear evangelists or pastors who
understand justification well to never talk of the most common invitation
(living water) or of the personal communion God seeks with the sinner.
Justification is central to every promise of the invitation but justification
does not comprise the invitation by itself.
GodÕs
invitation to sinners in justification comprises major sections of the bible
but can be summarized neatly into two little verses.
20
Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We
implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. 21 For our
sake he [Father] made him [Son] to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we
might become the righteousness of God. (2 Cor. 5:20-21)
These
two verses contain a panorama of the Grand Canyon of justification. Christ was
perfect (Òknew no sinÓ) so He could become sin in the place of sinners (Òhe made him to be sinÓ). Sinners now
can be free from the eternal punishment of sin and are perfectly justified
before God (Òbecome the righteousness of GodÓ).
All
of justification bleeds from the veins of ChristÕs perfections. In His perfect
morality and spotless obedience lay the merits necessary to acquit sinners of
their guilt. The only hope for sinners to have peace with God comes in the
attainments and faithfulness of someone else.
Christ
was tempted to sin all throughout His earthly life. The bible says Jesus, Òin
every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sinÓ (Heb 4:15). Every temptation was met with perfect
obedience.
Very
early in JesusÕ public ministry, in the early summer weeks of A.D. 26,[292] Jesus faced one of the most
excruciating temptation tests of His life. For 40 days Jesus had fasted and was
very hungry (Matt. 4:2). Yet in His weakness and fatigue Jesus entered into
battle with satanic temptations in the Judean wilderness.
The
temptations were offered by Satan himself and packaged in three attractive
offers.
Satan
first tempted Jesus to turn stones into bread: ÒIf you are the Son of God,
command these stones to become loaves of breadÓ (Matt. 4:3). Jesus was
obviously hungry and had the power to turn any stone into sourdough. So what was
the big deal? ItÕs just bread.
But
SatanÕs first temptation was not just aimed at JesusÕ stomach, it was aimed at
shaking the confidence of Christ in His FatherÕs goodness. The Father makes
provisions for His children and cares for them, promising to give them
everything they need for life.
SatanÕs
first temptation attempted to stir discontentment in the Son towards the
Father. Although He was hungry, Jesus was going to continue waiting upon His
Father for all the provisions of life.
The
second temptation was similar. Satan led Christ high onto the top of the temple
(4:5). ÔSurely, if you are God,Õ Satan said, Ôthen you can jump off this tower
and the angels will gently guide you down safely.Õ But Jesus responded by
saying, ÒAgain it is written, ÔYou shall not put the Lord your God to the
testÕÓ (v. 7).
This
second temptation enticed Jesus to test the FatherÕs protective promises, as
though the FatherÕs faithfulness to the Son was in question. Testing God is
sinful (Deut. 6:16). Henry writes, to Òwillfully thrust ourselves into danger,
is presumption, this is tempting God.Ó[293]
And
similar to the first temptation, Jesus would not be fooled by the subtlety of
SatanÕs temptation.
SatanÕs
first two temptations attacked JesusÕ confidence in the FatherÕs promises and
provisions. They were attempts to break the relationship between the Father and
the Son with the one thing that breaks relationships Ð sin.
The
third temptation was the most attractive and powerful. ÒAgain, the devil took
him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and
their glory. And he said to him, ÔAll these I will give you, if you will fall
down and worship meÕÓ (vv. 8-9).
Through
some type of supernatural revelation, Satan displayed for Jesus all the glory
of the world, all the riches of the nations, their splendor and comforts and
enjoyments. The only requirement to enjoy all the worldliness was that Christ
bow and worship Satan. It was a sincere offer from the god of this world (2
Cor. 4:4, 1 Cor. 10:20).
ÔYour
father lets you starve in the wilderness,Õ Satan was saying, Ôbut if you follow
me I will provide all the abundance you need. I can offer you all the
worldliness you can fill yourself with, all the glory, prestige, honor,
splendor, wealth and comfort you desire and are worthy of. Which is better?
Wealth or wilderness, fasting or feasting, following your negligent father or
enjoying my offer?Õ
The
discernment of Jesus pierced through the temptations. For the third time, Jesus
cast Satan away and Satan left until another opportunity presented itself.
Immediately angels came and ministered to Jesus in His weakness (v. 11).
That
Jesus fasted for 40 days, was hungry and required immediate angelic attention
shows how weak He remained through the temptations. If there was ever a time
when a man would fall to temptation, this was the situation. But Jesus never
stumbled, always answering temptation with biblical responses. Christ remained
humble, submissive, content and faithful in the face of the greatest tempter
and while being physically frail and vulnerable.
Stories
like this show that Jesus was well-acquainted with temptation. But the bible
makes clear, He Òknew no sinÓ (2 Cor. 5:21), Òhe committed no sinÓ (1 Pet.
2:22) and Òin him there is no sinÓ (1 John 3:5). Temptation looked Him in the
eye but sin was far from Him. Jesus was totally separated from sinfulness.[294] He was spotless and pure, sinless and
totally righteous, Òa lamb without blemish or spotÓ (1 Pet. 1:19). He was pure
from violence and His mouth was without deceit (Isa. 53:9, 1 Pet. 2:22). Christ
was and remains morally perfect, having never stumbled.
But
merely avoiding temptation is short of being perfectly godly. ChristÕs mission
as a substitute demands perfect obedience to the most important commandment:
ÒAnd you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your
soul and with all your mind and with all your strengthÓ (Mark 12:30). Christ
must display both sinlessness and a positive demonstration of righteousness.
If
the temptations of Christ, especially the first two, seemed minor, they were
not. Perfect obedience to the most important commandment does not allow any
room for even the slightest discontentment in God. Perfect righteousness
demands the 24/7 display of a 100-percent exertion of all oneÕs soul, mind and
strength in love towards God! This first commandment alone is sufficient to
condemn every sinner and to applaud the perfect obedience of Christ.
In
Christ there is both the absence of sin and the perfect demonstration of
righteousness. He is filled with grace and truth (John 1:14). Even at the end
of His life Jesus was declared righteous in PilateÕs courtroom (John 19:4) and
upright in the court of public opinion (John 8:46; Luke 23:41, 47).
Christ
is the Righteous One. Isaiah
prophesied, ÒOut of the anguish of his soul he shall see and be satisfied; by
his knowledge shall the righteous one, my servant, make many to be accounted righteous, and he shall bear
their iniquitiesÓ (53:11). His name is, ÒJesus Christ the righteousÓ (1 John
2:1) and He is Òholy, innocent, unstained, separated from sinners, and exalted
above the heavensÓ (Heb. 7:26).
If
Christ had fallen for temptation or paused His righteousness for one moment He
could not have provided justification for sinners.[295] From His birth in the manger and over
three decades to His death, Christ did not fall into one sin! He did not commit
one moment of sinful anger (Matt. 5:21-26), not one lustful thought about a
woman (vv. 27-30), not one broken promise (vv. 33-37), not one thought of
sinful retaliation (vv. 38-42), not one moment of hatred towards His enemies
(vv. 43-48), not one moment of hypocritical religion (6:1-4) and not one moment
of sinful anxiety (vv. 25-34). And punishment comes to anyone who diminishes
any one of these sins as trivial (5:19-20). Christ appeared on earth to fulfill
them all, to live in perfect obedience to the entire Law of God (vv. 17-18)! He
loved His enemies, respected women, fulfilled promises, trusted in His Father
perfectly and lived with a genuine love for His Father. He was perfectly
sinless and perfectly obedient.
His entire life was an act of substitution. Bonar writes, ÒOur burden He assumed when He entered the manger, and laid it aside only at the cross. The utterance ÔIt is finished,Õ pointed back to a whole lifeÕs sin-bearing work.Ó