Who Is Jesus Christ (Part 2)? The Son of Man

My family and I once attended a Barnes and Noble to look for some books for the children. My eyes glanced up to a display of books that are part of a “Who Was…” series (“Who Is…“when it is written about someone who is still living). Some of the people that these book focus on are Albert Einstein, George Washington, Muhammed Ali, etc. I was surprised to find that they had one titled “Who Was Jesus” (there we go with that “was” thing that I had mentioned in Part 1). My curiosity got the best of me and I skimmed a few pages. I wasn’t surprised to find that this Jesus wasn’t born of the Virgin Mary, nor was He God incarnate (or the “Son of God”), but that He was a “good moral teacher”. The title “Son of Man” would be a more fitting description for those who do not know who Jesus truly is or deny His deity. It is better described as His humility, or Him in the human flesh form. This is when Jesus hungered (Matthew 4:2), thirst (John 19:28), cried (John 11:35), and bled (John 19:34). It can also be viewed as a descriptive form of his humility in that he was born of a woman (“man” as a collective representation of “mankind”) and that He was raised by a man in His earthly father Joseph. Jesus also refers to Himself as the Son of Man in that He was claiming to fulfill prophecy as the Messiah. In Daniel 7:13-14 it says “I was watching in the night visions, and behold, one like the Son of Man, coming with the clouds of heaven! He came to the Ancient of Days, and they brought Him near before Him. Then to Him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, And His kingdom the one which shall not be destroyed.” Jesus was essentially saying that He was the one who Daniel prophesied about when He claimed the title the “Son of Man”.

In Part 1 I had briefly touched on the divinity of Jesus with His title “The Son of God”. I had just briefly touched on what it meant when He had called himself the “Son of Man”. However, to grasp these two titles we need to ask the important question: If Jesus is God then why did He come to earth as man? There was once a hit secular song by an artist by the name of Joan Osborne called “One of us”. In the chorus she sings “What if God was one of us? Just a slob like one of us. Just a stranger on the bus. Tryin' to make his way home.” (Some of you are all like “Oh yeah! I remember that song.”) In reality God did endure being a slob like one of us. He could have chosen to remain in Heaven and enjoy all of His glory and praise. But no. He chose to come here as one of us and endure the same hardships that you and I face. He traded His crown for thorns. His royal robe became a robe of blood. Can you imagine the creator of Heaven and Earth hanging on a cross as folks mocked him? Can you imagine trading praises from the heavenly host for jeers and scorn? Why would anyone do that? Why would any God so chose to be humbled in that way?

Philippians 2:5-7 states “Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men.” (NASB). Jesus chose to set aside His place in Heaven and instead come as a humble man. In doing so He did three things: He showed us who God is, became a High Priest, and became the Lamb who was slain. These three things are very important and they deserve a deeper look.

The Mirror of God

Jesus said in John 14:7 “If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also; and from now on you know Him and have seen Him.” Jesus revealed to us who God is. Studying the life of Jesus we see love, compassion, and mercy as He dealt with the sick and the poor, both physically and spiritually. He didn’t limit himself to just Jews, but even Gentiles (Mark 7:24-30). He said in Mark 2:17 “I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance.” He also showed us righteous anger and judgment as He flipped over tables and chased the money changers out of the temple. We can learn that God too is merciful and desires repentance (2 Peter 3:9), but at the same time will judge those who are living outside of His will, whether saint (Hebrews 12:7-11), or sinner (Matthew 13:41-42).

The High Priest

Hebrews 2:17 states “Therefore, in all things He had to be made like His brethren, that He might be a merciful and faithful High Priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people.” What exactly does this mean? In the Old Covenant the High Priest entered into the Holiest Place in the temple to offer sacrifices for himself, as well as the people of Israel. The most remarkable thing about Jesus is that He was without sin, whereas the High Priest still had to atone for his. “Seeing then that we have a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin.” (Hebrews 4:14-15). Jesus, in His flesh, felt everything that we do. He walked with nowhere to lay his head. He knew thirst and hunger. He knew ridicule and mockery. He felt pain. He cried. He bled. He died. You get the point. Therefore, as or High Priest, He can have sympathy for what we endure because He endured them too during His pilgrimage here on earth. This He understands as He is our mediator in Heaven before God, as the High Priest was the mediator between God and the people. “And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.” (1 John 2:1).

The Lamb Who Was Slain

In 1 Peter 1 it states, “knowing that you were not redeemed with corruptible things, like silver or gold, from your aimless conduct received by tradition from your fathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot.” (vv. 18-19). This statement harkens back to the sacrificial lamb that was used by the High Priest during the Day of Atonement. This lamb was to be free of any defects and any spots. In other words, pure and one could say “perfect” for the sacrifice. As I had mentioned earlier from Hebrews 4 that Jesus was without sin. Therefore, He was the perfect sacrifice. Further in Hebrews the author states “Therefore He is also able to save to the uttermost those who come to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them. For such a High Priest was fitting for us, who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and has become higher than the heavens; who does not need daily, as those high priests, to offer up sacrifices, first for His own sins and then for the people’s, for this He did once for all when He offered up Himself. For the law appoints as high priests men who have weakness, but the word of the oath, which came after the law, appoints the Son who has been perfected forever.” (Hebrews 7:25-28).

The verse from Hebrews 7 is a great summary for the point that I am trying to make. Jesus offered up himself as the perfect and final sacrifice. Only the High Priest could do such a thing to intercede for the sins of the people. Jesus acted as the High Priest by offering himself as the final sacrifice to atone for our sins. He continues to act as intercessor through His blood for those who believe on Him. So we see evidence from this verse alone that Jesus was the slain Lamb, as well as the High Priest. But what set him apart from all the other High Priests that His sacrifice was the final one and that God would accept it as that? “And according to the law almost all things are purified with blood, and without shedding of blood there is no remission [of sins]. Therefore it was necessary that the copies of the things in the heavens should be purified with these, but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these. For Christ has not entered the holy places made with hands, which are copies of the true, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us; not that He should offer Himself often, as the high priest enters the Most Holy Place every year with blood of another— He then would have had to suffer often since the foundation of the world; but now, once at the end of the ages, He has appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself. And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment, so Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many.” (Hebrews 9:22-28).

As High Priest He offered a final sacrifice. But it is a sacrifice whose atonement isn’t for once at a set point per year, but is ongoing for everyone who believes and confesses their sins (Romans 10:9), always interceding on our behalf. This He did as the perfect Lamb because He chose to be the sacrifice in our place because we deserve to die instead for our transgressions. But He, as God the Son, chose to die so that we may live.

I may have briefly touched on Jesus’ divinity in Part 1 and the reasons for His becoming the “Son of Man” this time, but honestly I can’t do such a great truth the justice that it deserves while being brief. Next time I will finish this series by exploring the “Name above all Names”.

Decay Pt. 4: This Needs Salt!

Do you like all you can eat buffets? My aging self can no longer hold his own at an all you can eat buffet and after the second plate I am done. However, I have more fanfare for a breakfast buffet than I do dinner. One of the issues that I have with a breakfast buffet are the eggs. They generally lack flavor. Usually adding salt can remedy the situation. Now, you may be like me and dislike adding salt to foods and instead choose pepper. Or you could go all out like I do and throw a ladle of sausage gravy all over your eggs. That’s how we roll in the south.

            Now before I continue discussing buffet eggs and salt I should recap what I have covered so far in this series. In Part 1 I had brought to light how mankind in America (and I am sure that other parts of the world are not immune as well) has become like an untamed savage. In Parts 2 and 3 I had linked man’s unrestrained debauchery to that of the people of Romans 1, who had become debased in their minds and had elevated their own personal desires and views to that of an idol. Mankind and his wickedness is his new god. All of this is because man has rejected God, and therefore, God has rejected him. They have been left alone to themselves and their own devices of evil.

            So what does a world of fallen savages have to do with salt? In my last three parts I laid out the argument against the unbeliever. We shouldn’t be surprised at how one who is without God would act and live. It is surprising, however, how low man has gone in these recent years, and he will continue to go further down without the restraint of God’s grace and the Holy Spirit’s indwelling. We know that the unregenerate man is guilty before our holy God and he remains guilty until he accepts Christ as his savior and is thus made righteous before God. “…but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith” (Philippians 3:9). Now, I am sure that if there were any unbelievers who happened upon this blog (it is hard to say that with a straight face because I only have three readers), they would probably say “Who are you Chris? Holier than thou? It is just like you Christians to think that you are perfect and better than everyone else!” So, to answer such a remark, allow me to present another group that is responsible for the downward spiral of mankind: The Church.

            Now, I hope that I didn’t cause you to choke on your tasteless buffet eggs, but allow me to elaborate on my indictment against the Church. I am not talking about the bride of Christ as a whole, but I am talking about the modern church (sometimes referred to as the American Church). And this doesn’t include all churches in America, but the system, or way of thought that a majority of churches in America operate under. Typically these churches are the popular ones and the megachurches, but not all popular and megachurches fall under this category. You follow? The characteristics of such a church are as follows: Entertainment based worship that focuses more on appeasing the crowd than appeasing God; Entertainment based worship that seeks to replicate the world as much as possible; Worship that does its best to not seem offensive or uncomfortable to anyone who is unchurched or an unbeliever; Entertainment based worship that uses lighting, smoke, and mirrors in order to please the eyes of the audience; Churches that focus more on programs and less on lifting each other up or reaching the lost; Pastors that rely on being “hip and cool” in order to seem like they are just as much a part of the world as any unbeliever in attendance (because to dress up and act “holy” is considered hypocrisy) ; etc. In other words it is a church that is more focused on itself and its desires to reach the world by trying to act like the world. Holiness becomes a “four letter word”.

            Jesus said to His disciples in Matthew 5 “You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men.” (v. 13). Salt not just preserves food, but also is a flavor enhancer. So how is a believer related to salt? One way we can look at this is that they preserve God’s truth in a world where all truth is subjective and like meat that lacks a preservative, eventually rots. Another way that we can look at it is that they alter what lacks flavor. Now, don’t get me wrong on the latter. I know that in its effort to be relative to and reach the world the modern church acts like the world and thus “alters” the bad flavor of the world (say that five times fast). However Jesus said “if the salt loses its flavor…it is good for nothing but to be trampled…” The salt that was used for flavoring and preserving was pure salt, whereas the salt from the Dead Sea was contaminated, flavorless, and ineffective and was used to keep vegetation from growing over footpaths. Notice that the flavorless salt is contaminated and is no good? Jesus is ultimately saying that the salt (believers) should remain pure and not stoop to the level of contamination, even if that means to try to turn contaminated salt into pure salt. He goes on to say: “You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.” (vv. 14-16). The problem is that we have a modern church that tries to copy the darkness of the world to be relevant to the world, but by remaining light. Is that even possible? It is but the result is not a powerful bright light that permeates and overcomes the darkness. John 1:5 says “And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.” Just like black and white, so is light and dark, “And what communion has light with darkness?” (2 Corinthians 6:14). There is no gray. The power of the modern church has instead been reduced to a dim light, a mix of light and dark, that leaves a dying world asking “Jesus, is that you?”. They cannot see “…your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.” Therefor they cannot see the true Jesus.

            The results of a church that is trying to live like a dim light or a half contaminated barrel of salt is that it gives credence to the non-believing “Christians are hypocrites” crowd. Believe it or not there is a godly standard to live by (holiness), and many have an idea of what that looks like. Surprisingly a great deal of people who have rejected God even know what this looks like and what is expected of Christians. So when we try to push the envelope towards being like a sinful dying world, no one is impressed but ourselves. We become the fools by playing the fools in order to reach the fools. The other result is that we forgo holiness and being separate from the world, and that results in a church that loses its unique identity as being salt and light. 1 Peter 2:9 states “But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light;”. We are called out of the darkness to be light, not a half dim flickering light but a powerful example to the ever changing power of Christ and the Holy Spirit. People should say “Wow! Look at the power in the lives of those Christians. I wonder what it is that is different in their life”, not “Wow! Look, those Christians act just like us. There is no proof of power of any Jesus in their lives. So what on earth do I need Jesus for?” This is what Jesus meant in Matthew 5 when He said “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.” God cannot get the glory if we have one foot in life and the other in death.

A further result of a church that has become a dim light is that they develop a distorted view of sin and holiness. This is why the modern church has a great deal of sin within its ranks (and even leadership), and instead of being dealt with biblically it is being either ignored or celebrated. How is it that there are denominations like the Presbyterians who allow for homosexual practices and leadership, and the Methodists who recently have been having meetings to discuss whether or not to allow (celebrate) homosexuality in their congregations and even their leadership positions as well? The result of this action is that the dying world believes that God does condone sin and homosexuality and therefore those who preach against it are wrong and are in fact in the sights of God’s judgment. God ends up being recreated into something that He is not. Where the debased minded man has elevated himself to his own idol, the modern liberal Christian church ends up on its own path of a downward spiral that ultimately makes a new god its own idol. It all begins with allowing a little bit of the world in, then comes hypocrisy, then comes confusion, then comes the sin, then comes the pride, and then comes the fall. “Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump?” (1 Corinthians 5:6).

            The sad thing is that the modern church has convinced itself that in order to reach the world they must be like the world. But Scripture says “Adulterers and adulteresses! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.” (James 4:4). James compares those who try to live for God while living for the world “adulterers”. So who are they committing adultery against?

God.

But…there is hope!

Decay Pt. 3: The Mind Is A Terrible Thing To Waste

I don’t recall the TV show or the movie that I had seen, but the scenario went something like this: There was a boy who decided to start smoking and was hiding it from his parents. Eventually they had caught on to what he was doing and decided to punish him. What was the punishment? They made the boy smoke an entire pack of cigarettes at one time. Of course in doing so the boy got extremely sick. This experience was not a favorable one for the boy and he decided that his lesson was learned and he would not smoke another cigarette. I don’t particularly agree with this method, however it had its desired effect. It kind of reminds me of the golden calf incident in Exodus. As Moses descended down the mountain he was appalled as to what Israel had done. They had cried out for an idol to worship, and so Aaron fashioned for them a golden calf. However, “then [Moses] took the calf which they had made, burned it in the fire, and ground it to powder; and he scattered it on the water and made the children of Israel drink it.” (Exodus 32:20). They wanted an idol. They got their idol. They were forced to taste their vile desires, and just like an entire pack of cigarettes in one sitting, I’m sure that the end result was bitter.

            As you may recall from part 2 that I had mentioned that in Romans 1 God had abandoned man because man had abandoned God. “We don’t want God” they say. Fine! May your wish be granted. However, in order to fulfill the inward desire for man to have a god, man has elevated himself to the position of god. Man’s current desires become the idol, no matter how vile. Every man does what is right in his own eyes (Judges 17:6). Every man for himself! This is why there is so much fighting. Because each man, void of the one true God, has become his own god and expects everyone else to bow down to him. Have you noticed why people can no longer have a civil debate over their differences of opinion or politics? It at least seems that way. One god (man) and one way of thinking. This is called “tolerance”?

            I had mentioned that man has become his own god in part 2 from Romans 1:19-23. The problem is that without God’s gracious restraint, man decides what is right and wrong. Left to his own carnal hunger, man spirals into a pit so depraved that right becomes wrong and vice versa. This is why you have men stand one day and say “I feel like a woman”, and then everyone agrees and refers to him as “her” from that point on. If a white woman says “I feel like a black woman”, then everyone says “That you are! Black lives matter” and she is therefore an African American. If someone says that they are a cat, hey, let’s give them some cat food and see if they can purr. Sin is no longer sin in this world and if you say otherwise then you are the evil one. Darkness is embraced and has become the bride of this world.

            The things that are being accepted as normal behavior these days would have gotten you locked up in the looney bin 25 years ago. Yet, the things that were once irrational have become rational. The secularists would call this “progress”, as if mankind’s way of thinking for thousands of years had been wrong this entire time and now we have finally found the “truth”. Mankind has become so confused that one of the big controversies in 2016 was which bathroom men and women should use. But how has man become so confused that his mind has become darkened to logic and truth? “And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a debased mind, to do those things which are not fitting” (Romans 1:28).

            Because man had suppressed the truth of God (v.18), and chose instead to worship vain things and idols (v.25), and rejected God (v.28), he was left to himself as God had left him alone. God had given man over to himself. The result was that man was left alone with his debased mind. What does the word “debased” mean you ask? It doesn’t matter which Bible translation you may use for this word, but it basically means “worthless”. Ouch! Can you imagine God testing your mind and then saying that it is of no worth? It can no longer function properly. It is broken. This explains the upside down way of thinking that our modern godless man possesses. Without God, you are nothing.

            Paul goes on to illustrate what this debased mind looks like: For this reason God gave them up to vile passions. For even their women exchanged the natural use for what is against nature. Likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust for one another, men with men committing what is shameful, and receiving in themselves the penalty of their error which was due (Romans 1:26-27). I am going to stop right here for a moment. As I had mentioned in part 2, people tend to flock to this passage as a justification for homosexuality being a sin. I would like to illustrate that in ancient Jewish culture homosexuality was viewed as the last resort for a depraved person. In other words in regards to depravity it was as low as you could go when you turned what was natural between a man and a woman upside down. Ironically, 2000 years later, if you disagree with homosexuality then you are considered as low as you could go. You may recall in Genesis 19 that the men of Sodom sought to have sexual relations with the angels that had come to Lot. We can assume that like every town and society that homosexuality was not the only sin that the people of Sodom were committing. However the issue of homosexuality was illustrated in order to show just how low and vile that Sodom had become. The men were burning so much for these angels that instead of running like a bunch of wounded dogs once they were struck blind (like normal people would do), they stayed and continued to try to get into Lot’s home. Never mind the blindness, we want those men!

            Paul singled out homosexuality here to not illustrate that it was the greater sin, but that it was the greater evidence of man’s fall into the dark abyss of his own debased mind. He goes on to say “And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a debased mind, to do those things which are not fitting; being filled with all unrighteousness, sexual immorality, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, evil-mindedness; they are whisperers, backbiters, haters of God, violent, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, undiscerning, untrustworthy, unloving, unforgiving, unmerciful; who, knowing the righteous judgment of God, that those who practice such things are deserving of death, not only do the same but also approve of those who practice them.” (vv. 28-32). Sound familiar?

            Have we not become a society full of children who dishonor their parents? People who hate God and His people? People who want the newest things and will stop at nothing to acquire them? People who verbally destroy each other? People who gossip and slander? I could go on forever and ever, but I don’t have to because you know that I am right and this secular godless nation, as well as any other nation that has rejected God, is as guilty as the sin that they celebrate. When a person thinks that they can change genders simply by speaking it, demands that boys and girls share the same restroom based on the feelings of one’s gender, has sexual relations in all sorts of unnatural ways as God had not intended, verbally attacks those who think on the other side of the fence, sees no value to human life but their own, says that only one particular race’s life is more important that another’s, believes that unborn babies are not human, sees the value of a wild animal as being greater than the value of a child (Oh, so many people who are pro-choice, but want to save the whales) and, to top it all off, has no problem with murdering unborn children in the womb even at the end of being full term…my friend…THAT IS WHAT A DEBASED AND WORTHLESS MIND LOOKS LIKE. A mind that lacks an understanding of God and does not possess His gracious restraint within their conscience is nothing more but a waste. Such a mind is a dangerous mind and sadly, with the help of our secular government and the media, these dangerous minds have brought this whole nation down into the pit of God’s judgement. The judgement of abandonment.

But, there is hope…

We are past the halfway point of this series. Hang in there! But I will warn you now… part 4 will shock you to your core.

Decay Pt. 2: Welcome To Rome

Something remarkable happened since my last blog post (part 1 of this series). At the University of California-Berkeley another riot erupted. This time it was a “protest” in regards to a gay conservative speaker from England. Not just did the students destroy property and try to burn everything down (as they always seem to do these days. It is quite the “in” thing), but there were reports of a conservative woman being assaulted, and another Trump supporter was thrown to the ground. The latter escaped, but the “protesters” grabbed his pro-Trump hat and set it on fire. I can’t imagine what would’ve happened if he didn’t escape. Would he have been a human torch? The amazing part about this “protest” was in regards to what it was over. Typically most secular colleges these days lean towards the left. They are for homosexuality and immigration. This is common knowledge. If you don’t believe me and need facts then just put on a “Make America Great Again” shirt, grab a Bible, and go down to your local University and try to discuss with the local students why we need borders and need to eliminate abortion and see what happens. However the speaker was both gay and foreign. So why the uproar? Because whereas they are liberal, he is a conservative. They torched, destroyed, and beat down their fellow man in a rage because they almost had someone speak at their campus who simply thought different than they do. This is a scene that has become almost daily news since the election almost three months ago. Why the hate? Why the divide? Why the complete disregard for humanity and sanity? Why has mankind (particularly in America as of late) become unrestrained savages? It seems as though all of this is over politics. However, you may recall, I ended my last blog post by saying “this isn’t about politics”. So what is it about?

            In June of 2015 the Supreme Court legalized gay marriage across the board. Nobody could deny the rights of marriage to same sex couples any longer. Many Americans celebrated this victory. I remember reading that one of the most searched topics from that day online was Romans 1. I don’t remember the exact details. Could it have been non-believers searching in order to see whether God’s Word does in fact condemn this sin? Could it have been Christians seeking ammunition for their argument now that they were going to be vilified? No matter who it was we know that a great deal of people recognized that Romans 1 has something to say about it.

            Paul’s epistle to Rome was written to a church that he had never set foot in, which explains why it is such a theological masterpiece. In Chapter 1 he goes into great detail about the sinful state of man and God’s wrath. “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness” (Rom. 1:18). But what wrath are we speaking of here? It is the wrath of stepping away… of turning away from man who has rejected and turned away from God. When Paul writes “Therefore God also gave them up… (v.24), For this reason God gave them up… (v.26), God gave them over… (v.28)” he is basically saying that because mankind wants nothing to do with God, then God gives them what they want. He walks away. In context it looks like this:

Because what may be known of God is manifest in them, for God has shown it to them.  For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse, because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Professing to be wise, they became fools, and changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like corruptible man—and birds and four-footed animals and creeping things. (vv. 19-23).

            What the apostle is saying is that mankind knows of God through natural revelation, as well as an inward knowledge of a “higher power”. This is why man has followed religion since the beginning of time. This is why as far back as the Old Testament times there was paganism. Man knew of a god, they just didn’t know Who was God. This is illustrated in Acts 17 when Paul addresses the philosophers at Athens: “Men of Athens, I perceive that in all things you are very religious; for as I was passing through and considering the objects of your worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: TO THE UNKNOWN GOD…” (Acts 17:22-23). The men of Athens certainly knew of a god.

            However, in America and the world over, mankind has rejected God. Mankind has fallen in lust with darkness and thus has suppressed the inner and outer knowledge of any higher power or god. To them religion is for the weak and foolish. As our above passage in Romans states, they believe that they know better than God. They believe that they know right from wrong better than God and His Word. In doing so they believe that truth is not absolute, but whatever you perceive it to be. This is known as moral relativism. This thought pattern crates a new god. But instead of it being birds, animals, and creeping things it becomes something else… MAN.

            Man is now the new god. He knows what is best. He knows what is true, right, and wrong. And the standard is not set by any law, but by each individual. But is this why we are in the state that we are in? Paul goes on to state “Therefore God also gave them up to uncleanness, in the lusts of their hearts, to dishonor their bodies among themselves,  who exchanged the truth of God for the lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen.” (Romans 1: 24-25). In turning away from man and giving them what they want, God’s moral compass within man decays rapidly. This is why our society is going into a tailspin at breakneck speeds. Man follows the lusts of his heart and when left unrestrained to his own vices, man can do some seriously vile things. Things that are morally grotesque and unnatural, yet so beautiful and natural in his own eyes. Things that are even harmful to those around him. Yet who are we to condemn man for him pleasing his own flesh as his selfish desires consume him like cancer? After all, he knows best. Billions of different little “gods”, with their own different views, with their own different ways, and with a desire for everyone else to see it his/her way.

We shouldn’t be shocked when there is an explosion on the six o’ clock news…

LOVE AND JUSTICE: The Attributes of a Divided God?

“How could a loving God send anyone to Hell?” This is a question that is often asked by the skeptics of Christianity and the Bible. We read in the scriptures of a God who is love (1 John 4:8). We see this love lived out in the example of Jesus Christ. He showed compassion to sinners, healed the sick, and led the lost. But, we also see a God who wasn’t so “loving”. We see a God who had the Israelites destroy the Canaanites, who took the life of David’s child through Bathsheba, and allowed the capture of Israel at the hands of ungodly enemies. Unfortunately, this has led many nonbelievers and “weak” Christians to come to the conclusion that there is a theological contradiction. In other words, that there are possibly two Gods in the Bible: the God of the Old Testament (Yahweh), and the God of the New Testament (Jesus). The latter being as a “hippie” from the 60’s, prancing around holding flowers, smiling and saying “peace brother, I love you”, and the former being as an angry judge, looking to pounce on and destroy anything that He deems as evil. Either there are two separate God’s of the Bible, or there is only one God who can execute justice and love at the same time. So which one is it?

It is foolish to assume that there are two conflicting Gods in the Bible. Jesus said “my Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father's hand. I and the Father are one.” (John 29-30, ESV). This is a very bold claim for Jesus to admit that he was God. Erickson states that “Jesus’ power over nature was part of what caused the disciples to recognize that he was God (Mark 4:39-41)”^[1] So, just on these two points alone (and there are plenty more to be found) we can see that Jesus was God incarnate. He is definitely the God of the New Testament, but also of the Old. You may be saying “Wait, how can God and Jesus, two distinct persons, be one person?” The answer can be found in the doctrine of the Trinity. John MacArthur states:

Though the fullness of the Trinity is far beyond human comprehension, it is unquestionably how God has revealed Himself in Scripture—as one God eternally existing in three Persons. This is not to suggest, of course, that the Bible presents three different gods (cf. Deut. 6:4). Rather, God is three Persons in one essence; the Divine essence subsists wholly and indivisibly, simultaneously and eternally, in the three members of the one Godhead—the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit… The Scriptures are clear that these three Persons together are one and only one God (Deut. 6:4).^[2]

I don’t want to concentrate on the role of the Holy Spirit, but we see here that the Bible clearly states that Jesus and God are the same, however with separate roles. So it is impossible to state that there are two Gods in the Bible. That still leaves us with the paradox of a loving God who punishes, or chastens. Can one love and chasten at the same time?

Hebrews 12:6 tells us that “For whom the Lord loves he chastens, and scourges every son whom he receives” (KJV). But what exactly do we mean by “chastening” and how and why does God do it?

Throughout Scripture, God portrays Himself as a Father. Those who have received Jesus as Savior are His children (John 1:12; Galatians 3:26). He uses the analogy of father/son because we understand it. He compares Himself to a loving father who not only blesses but disciplines His beloved children for their own good. Hebrews 12 goes on to show that those who do not receive God’s discipline are not legitimate children (verse 8). A loving father carefully watches his son, and when that son defies his orders and heads for danger, the father disciplines him to keep him safe. God does that with us. When a born-again child of God heads for sin or refuses to resist temptation, our Heavenly Father brings chastening into his life to direct him back to holiness.^[3]

Would a good father sit idly by and watch his son do bad things or hurt others and get away with it? Would a good father allow his son to do whatever he wants to do, despite the threat of negative results, without directing him to the correct path? I would hope not. So why would we expect God, who is our Heavenly Father, to be any different? Why would we expect God to allow us to do as we please according to our will, and there be no correction? But why discipline? Katherine Lee states: “Child discipline, when done correctly, is not about trying to control your child but about showing her how to control her own behavior. It is not about punishing a child for doing something wrong but about setting clear parameters and consequences for breaking rules so that she learns how to discipline herself.”^[4] I believe that the reason why is that we refuse to allow ourselves to believe that God is in a position to correct us. Or maybe, just maybe, we refuse to acknowledge that God will correct us because it means that we have to obey HIS will.

So we have determined by the Scriptures that there is only one God in both of the Bible’s Testaments, and we have also determined that God does chasten us to correct our behavior (and remind us as to Who is in control and Who’s will that we should follow). Let’s take a moment to examine some examples from the Bible where God chastened His people.

The first example (of many) that I would like to mention occurred to the nation of Israel just before they were to enter the Promised Land. After spies were sent to Canaan and reported back about the conditions of the land (Numbers 13:27-29), the people of Israel complained: “’Would that we had died in the land of Egypt! Or would that we had died in this wilderness! Why is the Lord bringing us into this land, to fall by the sword? Our wives and our little ones will become a prey. Would it not be better for us to go back to Egypt?’ And they said to one another, ‘Let us choose a leader and go back to Egypt.’” (Numbers 14:2-4). God responded to this complaint by saying:

How long shall this wicked congregation grumble against me? I have heard the grumblings of the people of Israel, which they grumble against me. Say to them, ‘As I live, declares the Lord, what you have said in my hearing I will do to you: your dead bodies shall fall in this wilderness, and of all your number, listed in the census from twenty years old and upward, who have grumbled against me, not one shall come into the land where I swore that I would make you dwell (Numbers 14:27-30).

We see here chastening from God because of the unbelief of Israel, even after seeing all of God’s mighty works during their exodus from Egypt. Later, in Numbers 21, Israel again complains against God. “’Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? For there is no food and no water, and we loathe this worthless food.’ Then the Lord sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people, so that many people of Israel died.” (vv. 5-6). It should be noted that through God’s direction for the construction of the bronze serpent, that Israel was spared (Numbers 21:7-9). Would an unloving God spare an entire nation that He promised would carry on Genesis 17:5-6)? He remembered His promise to Israel and kept back a remnant.

Another example is found in 2 Samuel 12:

Now therefore the sword shall never depart from your house, because you have despised me and have taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your wife.’ Thus says the Lord, ‘Behold, I will raise up evil against you out of your own house. And I will take your wives before your eyes and give them to your neighbor, and he shall lie with your wives in the sight of this sun. For you did it secretly, but I will do this thing before all Israel and before the sun.’ David said to Nathan, ‘I have sinned against the Lord.’ And Nathan said to David, ‘The Lord also has put away your sin; you shall not die. Nevertheless, because by this deed you have utterly scorned the Lord, the child who is born to you shall die.’ (vv.10-14, emphasis mine).

David had committed adultery with Bathsheba, and then had her husband Uriah killed as the cover-up. So the preceding Scripture is God’s judgment against David, spoken through the prophet Nathan. Notice that God did not kill David, but basically destroyed SOME of what was important to David. God had established the Davidic Covenant and kept His word. It was because of His love and mercy that David was spared. Of this particular event, John MacArthur states:

David had done evil to another man’s family. Therefore, he would receive evil in his own family, such as Ammon’s rape of Tamar, Absalom’s murder of Ammon, and Absalom’s rebellion against David… The Lord graciously forgave David’s sin, but the inevitable temporal consequences of sin were experiences by him. Forgiveness does not always remove the consequences of sin in this life, only in the life to come. Although the sins of David legally demanded his death, the Lord graciously released David from the required death penalty. This is consistent with justice and grace.^[5]

Finally, I would like to explore the greatest example of God’s justice being executed against those whom He loves, yet also revealing His love by grace and forgiveness. Because of Israel’s constant idolatry and turning their back on God, they faced the ultimate chastening:

God used Babylon as His agent of judgment against Israel for their sins of idolatry and rebellion against Him… Nebuchadnezzar would lead his armies against Judah until they laid siege to Jerusalem for over a year, killing many people and destroying the Jewish temple, taking captive many thousands of Jews, and leaving Jerusalem in ruins. As prophesied in Scripture, the Jewish people would be allowed to return to Jerusalem after 70 years of exile… The return under the direction of Ezra led to a revival among the Jewish people and the rebuilding of the temple.^[6]

Even though God allowed the capture and destruction of His own people, He did not allow their total destruction and allowed them to return to their land. This was grace and forgiveness in action, as well as God’s restoration. It should also be noted that Israel no longer returned to idolatry after the exile. Lesson learned.

These examples are much like a father who corrects his son so that he will do the right thing. There are consequences for the son’s bad actions, but correction is necessary in order for there to be a “lesson learned”. Some of these examples are a bit extreme because death was involved. However, we must remember that God is in control of both life and death. As Job said “Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked shall I return. The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.” (Job 1:21).

We have determined that there is one God based on the doctrine of the Trinity, and we have determined that God executes justice by chastening those who He loves in order to correct them. So if there is one God throughout the entire Bible, then why do we see chastening in the Old Testament, but not the New?

Well, we do see it in the New Testament:

But a man named Ananias, with his wife Sapphira, sold a piece of property, and with his wife's knowledge he kept back for himself some of the proceeds and brought only a part of it and laid it at the apostles' feet. But Peter said, “Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and to keep back for yourself part of the proceeds of the land? While it remained unsold, did it not remain your own? And after it was sold, was it not at your disposal? Why is it that you have contrived this deed in your heart? You have not lied to man but to God.” When Ananias heard these words, he fell down and breathed his last. And great fear came upon all who heard of it. The young men rose and wrapped him up and carried him out and buried him. (Acts 5:1-6).

Not just do we see the “Old Testament God of Justice” bringing judgement in the New Testament, but we also see the connection between the Holy Spirit (v.3) and God (v.4). You may think “Oh, that’s just the other mean God doing that, Jesus would never execute justice and judge anyone”. Well, if you are saying that then you still aren’t convinced that the God of justice (Yahweh) is also the God of love (Jesus). Let me illustrate for you just what the God of love is capable of delivering:

The Passover of the Jews was at hand, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. In the temple he found those who were selling oxen and sheep and pigeons, and the money-changers sitting there. And making a whip of cords, he drove them all out of the temple, with the sheep and oxen. And he poured out the coins of the money-changers and overturned their tables. (John 2:13-15).

Jesus doesn’t look much like a peace loving hippy anymore now does He? He too is capable of delivering judgement within the means of just and righteous anger. Again, there is only one God who is both just and loving at the same time.

When we read the Bible as a whole, we see the connection of justice and love. Erickson states: “The justice of God means that he is fair in the administration of his law… What we have done or not done is the only consideration in the assigning of consequences or rewards”^[7] Would a good judge allow a murderer or rapist to go free to commit more acts of horror? I would hope not. There must be consequences for the crime. Erickson states further: “In a fair number of cases, we bring evil upon ourselves by our own sinful or unwise actions… Much of the evil recounted in Scripture came upon people as a result of their own sin, or that of someone close to them”^[8] Many Israelites died because of their grumbling and lack of faith. David’s child died as a result of his sin with Bathsheba. Israel was warned by the prophets numerous times to turn back to God, and they refused. So God allowed them to be taken into captivity. You reap what you sow. “Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap. For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life.” (Galatians 6:7-8).

By our own eyes it would appear that there are two Gods in the Bible because there is so much judgment (or justice) being dished out in the Old Testament than in the New. “This should not be viewed as some sort of inconsistency or transformation… The major reason for the perceived difference is that there are very few contexts in the New Testament that portray rebellion and sin.”^[9] Most of the New Testament is a directive on how to live the Christian life, not a narrative like the Old Testament.

It is simply a case of God “spanking” His children for their disobedience. This correction is to guide them away from their sins and onto a better path because God loves them and wants what is best for them, not because he hates them.

This is just the sprinkle on the icing on the cake. There is so much more that can be explored on the subject of God’s justice and love. I hope that this article has proven, in a nutshell, that there is only one God of the entire Bible who is fully capable of being just and loving at the same time.


In Christ Alone.

 

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[1] Millard J. Erickson. Introducing Christian Doctrine. 2nd Edition. Grand Rapids, MI.: Baker Academic, 2001. Pg.141.

[2] John MacArthur. “Our Triune God” Gty.org. Accessed May 5, 2015. http://www.gty.org/resources/articles/A215/Our-Triune-God?Term=trinity.

[3] Michael S. Houdmann. “What does it mean to be chastened? How does God chasten us?" Gotquestions.org. Accessed May 6, 2015. http://www.gotquestions.org/chasten-chastening.html.

[4] Katherine Lee. “Surprising Reasons Why We Need to Discipline Children” About.com. Accessed May 6, 2015. http://childparenting.about.com/od/behaviordiscipline/a/Why-We-Need-To-Discipline-Children.htm.

[5] John MacArthur. The MacArthur Study Bible, English Standard Version (Commentaries). Crossway, 2010. Pp. 439-440.

[6] Michael S. Houdmann. “What was the Babylonian captivity/exile?" Gotquestions.org. Accessed May 7, 2015. http://www.gotquestions.org/Babylonian-captivity-exile.html.

[7] Erickson, 101.

[8] Erickson, 152.

[9] John H. Walton and Andrew E. Hill. Old Testament Today (Zondervan, 2004). Pg. 218.

It Is Finished

“When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, It is finished: and he bowed his head, and gave up the ghost.” (John 19:30, KJV).

We have to ask ourselves this Resurrection Sunday, as with any day of our Christian lives, “what was finished”? We know that Jesus’ earthly ministry was done, as He had given up the ghost, or His spirit. But was it that simple? Many atheists and followers of other religions would surely like to think so. They would love to believe that Jesus was entombed and rotted away like the nice man that He was. But was He more?

…It is finished…

First, we should note, is that Satan’s reign was finished. In Genesis 3 God said to the serpent “And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.” (3:15). Since man’s fall in the Garden of Eden it was prophesied throughout the Old Testament that there would be a Savior. Sin is the poison the Satan serves us. We are born in it (Psalm 51:5, Romans 3:23). And the wages of sin are death (Romans 6:23). So how can we be saved from this imminent death that is guaranteed to us, the sinner? “For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” (Romans 6:23). “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.” (Romans 10:9-10). If we believe that Jesus is the Christ and has indeed risen, and confess that we are a sinner in need of saving, and that only Christ can save (John 14:6), then we shall be saved from Satan’s “death grip”. “For when ye were the servants of sin, ye were free from righteousness. What fruit had ye then in those things whereof ye are now ashamed? for the end of those things is death. But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life.” (Romans 6:20-22). “Being then made free from sin, ye became the servants of righteousness.” (Romans 6:18). Lots of great theology in the book of Romans.

Second is that religion was finished. What? Isn’t Christianity a religion? It is classified as one, but it is really a faith that draws upon the work of the Holy Spirit and not a system of laws and rules in order to gain righteousness. In John 8 we find the scribes and Pharisees bringing a woman to Jesus who was caught in adultery. They said “Master, this woman was taken in adultery, in the very act. Now Moses in the law commanded us, that such should be stoned: but what sayest thou?” (8:4-5). Jesus’ response was “He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her. And again he stooped down, and wrote on the ground. And they which heard it, being convicted by their own conscience, went out one by one, beginning at the eldest, even unto the last: and Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the midst.” (8:7b-9). Jesus caused the self-righteous religious elite to turn their eyes inward. Their own system of laws that they strictly adhered to wasn’t enough to save them from their own sins. They had no choice but to drop each stone and walk away. Again, in Romans 6: “For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace.” (6:14). However, it is important to remember “What then? Are we to sin because we are not under law but under grace? By no means! Do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness?” (6:15-16, ESV).

Third is that any debate of Jesus’ deity was laid to rest. Notice it says that “he bowed his head, and gave up the ghost”. The Greek term for “gave up” is paradidōmi, which means to surrender or deliver. Typically, one does not involuntarily surrender or deliver something. It is done by choice. Jesus said “Therefore doth my Father love me, because I lay down my life, that I might take it again. No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This commandment have I received of my Father.” (John 10:17-18, emphasis mine). Jesus chose to die once His work was finished. Death did not defeat Him at the cross, He chose to draw His last breath. This leads us to…

…the resurrection. Notice in John 10:18 Jesus said “…and I have power to take it again.” Jesus made the decision to rise again. His earthly ministry was finished, but He was not. Satan was finished at the cross, as was death. Jesus also proved by His power that He was indeed who He said He was….

“When Jesus came into the coasts of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, saying, Whom do men say that I the Son of man am? And they said, Some say that thou art John the Baptist: some, Elias; and others, Jeremias, or one of the prophets. He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am? And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven.” (Matthew 16:13-17).

In Christ Alone.

The Family Tree of Jesus

The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham. Abraham was the father of Isaac, and Isaac the father of Jacob, and Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers, and Judah the father of Perez and Zerah by Tamar, and Perez the father of Hezron, and Hezron the father of Ram, and Ram the father of Amminadab, and Amminadab the father of Nahshon, and Nahshon the father of Salmon, and Salmon the father of Boaz by Rahab, and Boaz the father of Obed by Ruth, and Obed the father of Jesse, and Jesse the father of David the king. And David was the father of Solomon by the wife of Uriah, and Solomon the father of Rehoboam, and Rehoboam the father of Abijah, and Abijah the father of Asaph, and Asaph the father of Jehoshaphat, and Jehoshaphat the father of Joram, and Joram the father of Uzziah,  and Uzziah the father of Jotham, and Jotham the father of Ahaz, and Ahaz the father of Hezekiah, and Hezekiah the father of Manasseh, and Manasseh the father of Amos, and Amos the father of Josiah, and Josiah the father of Jechoniah and his brothers, at the time of the deportation to Babylon. And after the deportation to Babylon: Jechoniah was the father of Shealtiel, and Shealtiel the father of Zerubbabel, and Zerubbabel the father of Abiud, and Abiud the father of Eliakim, and Eliakim the father of Azor, and Azor the father of Zadok, and Zadok the father of Achim, and Achim the father of Eliud, and Eliud the father of Eleazar, and Eleazar the father of Matthan, and Matthan the father of Jacob, and Jacob the father of Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom Jesus was born, who is called Christ. So all the generations from Abraham to David were fourteen generations, and from David to the deportation to Babylon fourteen generations, and from the deportation to Babylon to the Christ fourteen generations (Matthew 1:1-17).

If we are familiar with the gospel of Matthew, then we should also be familiar with the opening verses of scripture- the genealogy of Jesus Christ (Matthew 1:1-16). Matthew’s list is both extensive and intriguing. His list does differ greatly from the list that is found in Luke’s gospel (Luke 3:23-38). Let’s look at those differences starting first with Matthew’s version.

The first thing that I find intriguing is that there are four particular women found in Matthew’s list: Bathsheba (the wife of Uriah, v.6), Rahab, Ruth, and Tamar. First is Bathsheba. What makes her so intriguing in this list was that she was an adulteress. As we may remember, she too had relations with David and conceived while Uriah was at battle. She was just as guilty of adultery as David was for taking her (2 Samuel 11). Second is Rahab. She was a prostitute in a pagan land. She also hid spies from Israel who were spying on Jericho from the townspeople who were looking to capture them. The spies were successfully hidden and allowed to return to their people unharmed. Third is Ruth. She was a Moabite woman who had no ties to the chosen Israelites. She came from a nation of idolatry and no knowledge (or relationship) to Yahweh. Then we have Tamar. She, while grieving over the death of her husband(s) (who were the sons of Judah), decided to cover herself with a veil and approach Judah, her father-in-law. Judah had mistaken her to be a prostitute and they had “relations” and she conceived. What an interesting gal, that Tamar! What is interesting is what became of these women. The adulteress Bathsheba married David and eventually gave birth to Solomon and continued the royal line to the Messiah. She was forgiven her sin, and our long-suffering God did not destroy her for her sin. The immoral pagan prostitute Rahab and her family was spared death during the overtaking of Jericho because she helped out the spies. “But Rahab the prostitute and her father's household and all who belonged to her, Joshua saved alive. And she has lived in Israel to this day, because she hid the messengers whom Joshua sent to spy out Jericho.”(Joshua 6:25, ESV). Her offspring were also part of the lineage of the Savior. What became of Ruth other than having a book written about her? She, being a widow without a future, was “redeemed” by her husband Boaz, who married her and produced children into the Davidic line that leads to Christ. She had a choice to return home to her Moabite idols, but Ruth said, “Do not urge me to leave you or to return from following you. For where you go I will go, and where you lodge I will lodge. Your people shall be my people, and your God my God” (Ruth 1:16). She was not just devoted and loyal to her mother-in-law, but also to Naomi’s God. She sought the God of Israel. Speaking of in-laws, what about Tamar who had a “thing” with her father-in-law? Her twins (particularly Perez) are part of that line of descendants to Jesus. The key word here is “redemption”. Bathsheba, Tamar, and Rahab were all forgiven their sins, and Ruth was forgiven her idolatrous background. They all were “grafted in” to the Israelite family and had a part in what the people were chosen for (see Romans 11:11-24). I believe this was a shadow of the grafting in of the Gentiles as God’s people (through Christ) and that was Matthew’s intent.

Both versions do include David, thus showing that Christ has a right to claim David’s throne. They also include Abraham, thus showing that Christ was also a Jew and not a Gentile and possibly showing the Jews that He is their promised Messiah through lineage.


The key differences are of course the names. “Matthew is following the line of Joseph (Jesus’ legal father), through David’s son Solomon, while Luke is following the line of Mary (Jesus’ blood relative), though David’s son Nathan. Through either line, Jesus is a descendant of David and therefore eligible to be the Messiah” (http://www.gotquestions.org/Jesus-genealogy.html).