Hello again, brothers and sisters!!!

Before we get into today’s discussion, I just want to briefly say “thank you” to those of you who have been regularly taking part in these discussions, as well as those of you who visit whenever you are able.  I would also like to thank all of our first-time visitors.  It is a blessing and a genuine pleasure to have you all here:-)

For today’s discussion, we will review the parables of the treasure and the goodly pearl.  While these two parables were a couple of the shorter parables that Jesus shared, they are certainly just as important as all of the other parables.  Jesus was speaking with His disciples when He shared these parables.  The parables are as follows:

“Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto treasure hid in a field;  the which when a man hath found, he hideth, and for joy thereof goeth and selleth all that he hath, and buyeth that field.  Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a merchant man, seeking goodly pearls:  Who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had, and bought it.” – Matthew 13:44-46 (KJV)

Both of these parables are making the same point, right?  Let’s break them down, shall we?

The man seeking treasure, and the merchant-man seeking goodly pearls, are played in real life by sinners seeking the truth, redemption, and salvation.  The treasure hiding in the field and the goodly pearl, represent the kingdom of God found through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, who is also the Living Word of God.  So with that being the case, why would we have to sell all that we have in order to buy our way into the kingdom of God through Jesus Christ?  Doesn’t that run contrary to salvation being a gift given freely by grace through faith in Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior?  It sure does.  however, the point of these parables is not that we are “buying” our way into the kingdom of God. 

The point is that once we have discovered the kingdom of heaven by accepting Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, we should value nothing else as much as this “treasure/goodly pearl”.  Beloved, when we find the kingdom of heaven through Jesus Christ and His word, we should value the Lord, His word, and His kingdom above anything else in our lives.  As obedient and faithful servants, there should be no price we are unwilling to pay in order to serve Him completely.  If we live in complete submission to the Lord’s will, then there is no room for competing interests.  Just as with the Apostle Paul, all former things we held dear we must be willing to count as lost once we are saved.  Why?  Well, once we are saved, serving the Lord is to be the focal point of our lives, and our vision is to be focused like a laser on doing so.

Interestingly, in these two parables that Jesus Christ shared with us we can also Him as the man/merchant-man seeking the treasure/goodly pearls.  Think about it.  Jesus gave up all that He had and suffered death on the cross in order to pay our sin debt.  In so doing, beloved, we were saved and purchased by His blood.  The treasure being “hid” in the field refers to those who live in Christ being granted access to the kingdom of heaven, which is a place that someone who serves sin cannot find or gain access to.  Once we belong to Christ, He protects us from the enemy.  We are effectively “hidden” in His protection, as once we belong to Christ Jesus, we cannot be snatched away from Him.  As Jesus said:

“I told you, and ye believed not:  the works that I do in My Father’s name, they bear witness of Me.  But ye believe not, because ye are not of My sheep, as I said unto you.  My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow Me:  And I give unto them eternal life;  and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of My hand.  My Father, which gave them Me, is greater than all;  and no man is able to pluck them out of My Father’s hand.  I and My Father are one.” – John 10:25-30 (KJV)

Brothers and sisters, let us rejoice that the Lord considers us His “treasure/goodly pearl” and was willing to pay everything in order to save us!!!  Praise God!!!  Thank you, Jesus!!!  Furthermore, let’s praise the Lord God Almighty for His lovingkindness and longsuffering, and let’s show Him that He is the only real treasure that matters to us, as well!!!  Beloved, do you know what the word of God, the truth, salvation, entrance to the kingdom of heaven, light, love, peace, life, faith, wisdom, and understanding all have in common?  I’ll tell you what.  We find and receive all these things when we find Christ and turn our lives over to Him.  Jesus is the Truth.  Jesus is the Living Word of God.  Jesus is the Prince of Peace.  Jesus is the Author and Finisher/Perfector of our faith.  He is the Way to the Father and the kingdom of heaven.  Jesus Christ is the Life.  The Lord is the Light of the world.  You get the point, yes?

Beloved, besides the praise we offer to the Lord in the form of prayer, song, and worship, we need to commit ourselves to praise Him through our lives and actions.  That we belong to Christ Jesus should be obvious to all not just by the words we speak, but also by the things we do.  It should not appear to others that we live for money, or for the approval of man;  rather it should be clear to all that we live to serve our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Just as Jesus paid for us by giving up all that He had for our sakes, we ought to esteem our treasure, found in our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, above any passing “treasure” that this world has to offer.  Remember, beloved, the treasure of this world lasts for a limited amount of time and diminishes.  The treasure of the Lord is forever.  Suffer any necessary hardships, persecutions, or trials in this world in order to serve the Lord obediently and faithfully.  By so doing, your treasure in heaven will be waiting for you, and increasing, and will be with you forever:-)

Beloved, the Lord will always provide for, and take care of, those entrusted to Him.  It is, however, up to each one of us to make the decision to seek the Lord and His kingdom.  If we are willing to walk through the thorns, rats, mice, and bugs, and other treacheries of the field in order to find Him, then we will find that our “treasure” is more than worth the jouney.  Remember, beloved, hidden treasure only has value to us once we find it.  In order to find it, we must seek it.  As Jesus said:

“But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness;  and all these things shall be added unto you.” – Matthew 6:33 (KJV)

Precious one, we cannot claim hidden treasure that is never discovered, because we have no idea where it is.  Once we seek and find our treasure in Christ Jesus, however, we have the greatest treasure of all.  This is real treasure.  Everything other treasure pursued yields only fools gold.  So often we allow the cares of this world to distract us from searching for our hidden treasure.  Jesus was telling us not to get consumed/wrapped up in the concerns of this world.  He was telling us that we should put our whole focus on seeking the Lord and His will.  We can do so while not being overwhelmed with thoughts of what we will eat, where we will live, or what we will clothe ourselves with, because God will see to our needs just as He does with the birds of the air and the grass of the field.

Please pray for all those who have no idea of the hidden treasure available to them.  Let’s pray that they go searching for it, willing to brave the trials of the journey, in order to find the only treasure that really counts.  Furthermore, let’s pray that once they find that treasure, they see Him for who He really is and turn their lives over to Him as their Lord and Savior.  Jesus Christ is our treasure.

If you are ready to discover your hidden treasure, and claim your eternal inheritance from the Lord God Almighty, you can do so by accepting Him as your Lord and Savior today.  If you would like to accept Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior today, and be saved, please pray the following prayer with me:

“Lord God Almighty, I know that I am a sinner and that I am lost.  I know that I need to be saved from sin, but I also know that I can’t save myself.  Lord Jesus, I know that only You can save me.  I know that you paid for my salvation with your own life and blood on the cross.  I know that when You rose from the grave on the third day, you conquered death and provided everlasting life to all who trust in You.  Right now, I lay down my life and let go of my pride, my vanity and every other sin that has kept me from You.  Lord Jesus, I now completely trust my life to You.  I open my heart to You, Lord.  Please come into my heart.  Please forgive me of all of my sins, and please accept me as Your child.  From this point on, I commit my life to You. Please guide me and provide me strength as I begin to live the rest of my life for You.  In Your precious and matchless name I pray.  Amen.”

Beloved, if you just prayed that prayer sincerely, then you just found your hidden treasure.  I would encourage you to find out what’s all in the treasure chest by exploring it through God’s word, through prayer with supplication and thanksgiving to the Lord, and by asking Him to reveal the fullness of the treasure to you.  The treasure you have, precious one, is priceless.  God set aside this treasure just for you through His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ.  Welcome to the family:-)  The angels in heaven are rejoicing this very moment at your decision to accept Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior.  Find out about this and much more by exploring God’s word that He had written just for you:-)  This relationship with Christ is the most precious and important relationship you will ever have.  Invest yourself in growing the relationship as much as possible.  Seek the Lord’s will in all things, and let your will be completely surrendered to Him.

Thank you for joining our discussion today.   I hope you are able to join us on Friday to pray over this week’s prayer requests. 

Remember, if you would like to order the new book “Strapping On the Whole Armor of God – Suiting Up For Spiritual Warfare), please visit my website at http://www.yourbrotherinchrist.com .  If you prefer to order by mail, you will also find the mailing address on that website.  This book is very valuable in helping people understand how to go about securely and effectively putting on the whole armor of God that the apostle Paul refers to in Chapter 6 of Ephesians.  We are praying that many people will receive this book and be blessed in their walk with the Lord by reading it.

Have a wonderful and blessed rest of the day!!!  Walk in faith, knowing that you are loved by the Creator of the heavens, earth, and all life, and knowing that the treasure that you now carry in your heart and soul is priceless:-)

Have a happy, safe, and blessed Thanksgiving Day tomorrow!  Give a special thanks to the Lord for all that He has done for you and your loved ones.  Without Him, we’d be in a very bad place:-)

May the Lord bless you, keep you, guide you, and make His face to shine upon you and your loved ones always.

Your brother in Christ,

Rev Jason Thurwanger

This is Ivan Kellogg. In the world’s words, he WAS a great man. In God’s, by grace, he IS a great man. Not as the World counts greatness, but as God does.  For he never sought human accolades all the days I knew him. At least never as much as I could tell. He was my brother-in-law, youth leader (when I was young and REALLY a pain), fellow quartet member, my co-elder, and the best friend in life and ministry one could ever hope to have as a gift from God – because he would tell me the truth. Even when it really hurt.  I loved him. And I can’t wait to see him again in glory. I will miss him everyday until then.

I wrote the following for him.

Behold! I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed – 1 Cor. 15:51

Sleep well my friend

Till Dawn breaks full on that peaceful shore

No sorrow

No pain

No glance back at sin’s effects in body, soul or mind

Except

in the full healed scars the Savior still bears.

Sleep well

Until the trumpet sounds

When all the saints of all the ages

Rise to newness of life

Rise to put on immortality

Rise to sin no more

Rise to live His life

Rise

forever more.

Sleep now

the sweet sleep of the Just.

Not unconscious of glory

but wide awake in The Presence

glorying in all

once only imagined.

Now the possession held

by unbreakable grip.

Sleep but a little while longer

Till the Daystar rises

Rejoicing in the reasons here withheld.

Awed at The Wisdom.

Broken by The Love.

Swimming in Mercy as felt

as adrift in shore-less seas.

Drowning in Grace.

Till joined by all you left.

Sleep my friend.

Sleep your well earned rest.

Then haste with Christ to come for us.

Bid Him gather us up.

Pray Him change us all.

Plead Him wed His Bride.

Be among the first to rise

that we might praise Him

together

In redemption’s endless song.

Sleep.

1. .ATONEMENT BEAUTY.

2. .RECENTLY OUTDATED THINGS.

3.  .SWINGING.

4. .NAPS.

5. .THE PLANET WE LIVE ON.

[Click for my reasoning.]

6. .BROCADE.

[Left to Right] Sienna Miller, Charlotte Ronson Fall 2009, Forever 21, and Alexa Chung

7. .ALL THINGS HARRY.

8. .GUY FRIENDS.

9. .THIS HAUNTING STATISTIC.

10. .MONTAGES. AND THE WORD MONTAGE.

Have a beautiful Tuesday.

Peace,

Sources: bear, long live the queen, that obscure object, alice in wardrobe wonderland, i am the exterminator, bleubird vintage

What it means to be “human” / Reflections on the film, 2012

The film 2012 offers some insightful dialogue and illustration on what it means to be a human being.  Moreover, my wife and I saw the film a few days ago and found it most entertaining, though the action sequences were often farfetched to the point of hysterics.  But again, there are some very insightful themes running through the film which I find that as a Christian, are especially relevant for my Christian brothers and sisters.

Note that while the film does not necessarily convey a Christian perspective towards history, I believe as I have inferred at the onset, that the film convey insights on how we ought to carry ourselves in moments of crises, let alone in the normal events of life for that matter. I thus hope that many Christians, as well as non-Christians, will watch this film in order to reflect on two themes I saw emerging through its plot, both of which I find highly relevant to the age we live in.

An apocalyptic parable on true humanity

Before I introduce these two themes, I should offer a few comments concerning the film’s apocalyptic genre and story line.  We can most benefit from the film by interpreting it as simply a parable— though a parable unfolding through a rather unimaginable and horrifying event concerning a cataclysmic reconfiguration of the earth’s crust, which results in the near extinction of human life.

To call the story a parable is to stress how the film depicts an imaginary event yet uses that event to convey, even if quite unintentionally, some very relevant lessons for real life.  When we do that, (and again, I am speaking here to my fellow Christians), then there is really no need to focus so much on dismissing the film’s value because of its apocalyptic premise derived from the Mayan Calendar, which presumably concludes that the world may end in the year 2012.

As a further qualification, it is also important to note that in the film, the world does not actually end.  The world does undergo a horrific cataclysm created by earth’s crust becoming for a moment in history, unstable.  This in turn results in a shifting of the continents and of the north and south poles, and further results in several cataclysmic and global-reaching tsunamis that reach all the way up to Mount Everest.  These tsunamis thus destroy most of the earth’s inhabitants, but in the end, a remnant of the human race survives.  Moreover, the floodwaters apparently recede, thus marking a new beginning in human history.  Hence, the story line roughly echoes the biblical story of Noah and the flood.

Now again, while this scenario may not wholly fall within the images of biblical apocalypticism, I do not find its portrayal of a cataclysmic upheaval capable of seriously threatening life on earth, as wholly impossible.  For I believe there is sufficient warrant to surmise that are a number of very possible scenarios also involving the most unmanageable, horrific and cataclysmic destruction which can very well erupt upon the earth and at any moment in human history.  We should also keep in mind that for most of history, the human race consisted of less than 200 million people around the globe.  Then during the Middle Ages, the Bubonic Plague had in fact wiped out millions of people in Europe and I believe in Northern and Central Asia.

With this mind, the film actually thus becomes deeply relevant to our postmodern age. This is because today we in fact do live in the face of very real and looming apocalyptic threats to our entire earthy existence.  This reality thus largely defines the setting that we commonly call the postmodern setting.  Postmodernity means to some extent that we have come to realise that there are definitive limitations to what extent modern science and human knowledge can insure our continued survival as a species upon the earth.  Modernity preached self-reliance and human ingenuity; it preached the message of self-interest at all costs.  However, if now live in an age marked by a deep sense of pessimism towards the future, our pessimism largely stems from realising that in ourselves, we can no longer be certain of anything concerning our future.

We should however also note that there is a more positive element to the postmodern situation.  This element is that we have come to recognise that the way forward may come, not from the things we have traditionally trusted in, but rather from the most unlikely places and people.  Hence, we should therefore be open to marginalised voices; voices that the majority or the most powerful, or most affluent, have too often marginalised for purposes beneficial to their own security.  So with reference to the film 2012, by the time the film ends, the future of humanity becomes located— in the continent of Africa.

As a Christian, I believe the Lord is coming to unite heaven and earth, which will bring about a full renewal of this world, resulting in its complete transformation into a new creation under His complete reign.  Yet I am aware that things can potentially become far worse for humanity before they get any better.  I have come to realise that if things do get far worse— and I believe they may well in fact eventually get far worse, even to the point of a global-reaching, cataclysmic and utterly complete ecological and financial breakdown, what we may find ourselves suffering under, are the consequences of our own human follies.

Yet in the event of such a possible scenario within human history, and within the possible history that all of us can very well enter into, I want to stress that we as Christians will be called upon to live a life that is counter to the ways of the world.  That will be a counter-culture way of life that is wholly expressed through an ethic fully manifesting the charity of Christ, hope is His soon coming, and certainty in the coming establishment of His kingdom upon the earth, which will culminate in the complete union of heaven and earth through the full coming of His kingdom; the kingdom of God.

The true nature of true humanity

Now I will introduce the two themes that I found so vividly illustrated in the film 2012, which together I believe reveal the true nature of true humanity.  This true nature of true humanity is therefore our true destiny and calling as human beings upon the face of the earth, both in this age and in the age to come.

The first theme we can discern in the film 2012 is this: The film provides us an epic yet also horrifyingly apocalyptic parable on, what it means to be a human being.  This theme first emerges early in the film when upon discovering the potentially impending doom facing humanity, two individuals reflect on how we might carry ourselves in a moment of life-threatening crisis.

More specifically, the film calls to imagine a moment of life-threatening crisis, where the crisis gives us a choice to act and can only act upon only one of two possible choices: the choice to save either our life— or the life of another human being.  Even more specifically, this is the moment of life-threatening crisis, when the crisis confronts a person with the choice to either save only one’s self or rather, to selflessly act without regard for ones own safety, if in doing so, one can possibly save a number of other human lives from certain doom.

In the moment of truth, how will we live?

As the movie 2012 moves towards its end, one of the two individuals, who at the beginning of the film engaged in the moral discussion that I just presented, comes face to face with a moment of truth.  It is a moment we all may at some point in the course of life encounter, where that moment asks us, “In this moment of truth, how will you live?”

What happens in the film is that a scenario develops which reminds me of that old humanistic “life boat” case study involving seven people lost at sea but with a lifeboat made for only five people.  The case study thus calls us to decide which five out of the seven people, should we allow into the lifeboat that is presumably capable of holding no more than five people.  The case study thus forces us to ask ourselves, which two people should we throw over board?  Since the boat has space for only five people, which two people should we together elect to leave behind? Who should live and who should die?

The “lifeboat” case study is one image that implicitly shapes the film’s story line, but so also does the biblical story of Noah’s arc and the flooding of the earth.  Therefore, as the movie reaches its climax, several mammoth “life-boats” are revealed, which had been built in preparation for the global flooding, each capable of saving perhaps hundreds of thousands of people from the floodwaters.  After the selected populations board the boats, there are however still thousands of others desperately seeking to board the ships.

But in midst of the ensuing tension, and hours before the tsunamis impact the ships, one of the chief architects of these mammoth lifeboats, fears that the ships cannot contain those remaining thousands waiting to board.  Therefore, in the moment of truth, this individual, fearful that the ships may not sustain everyone, seeks to close the gates from the masses still hoping to board the boats.

This individual reasons that only by closing the gates to the many still outside the boats, can the human race be preserved from compete destruction.  Note then that this individual has a grand vision, which he passionately believes in, and it is a vision for the preservation of the human race.  He then reasons that if preserving the human race involves making tough decisions as to who we should save and who we should not save, then let us made that decision, and let us limit the number of passengers into the lifeboats.

Yet then there is another man who also faces this moment of truth.  He is that man who earlier pondered, how shall we act in the true moment of truth?  How then shall we live?  How will we act in that moment where we might be called upon to selflessly act without regard for our own safety, if in doing so, we might possibly save the lives of countless other individuals besides our self?

That man speaks up and says, “What is the point of saving our self, if we think that in doing so we are preserving the human race, yet also in doing so, we are in fact acting less than human?”

That man then further argues, “What does it mean to be human?”  He continues by pleading what he believe is the nature of a true human society and culture.  He thus asks, “How can we even start a new society, a new culture, if our foundation consists of behaviours that are less than human?  How can we rebuild a truly human culture, if our founding actions involve no sense of costly yet selfless altruism, even to the extent of our laying down our lives for one another?”

That individual then concludes and challenges those already on the boat that we must take the risk of jeopardising all our lives, if in doing so— we might successfully save every other life from destruction.  Ultimately, we must do so for this reason: it is only in doing so, that we can live a life that is truly human.  If we cannot do so, we are in reality, living less than a human life.

True and false civility

Some years ago, the famous psychiatrist, Dr Scot Peck, wrote a book titled, A World Waiting to Be Born: The Search for Civility.  Peck begins his first chapter titled, “Something is Seriously Wrong,” by noting too many people, think of “civility” as simply being polite and observing proper etiquette.  Peck calls this assumption not only superficial but also horribly wrong.  For this reason Peck goes on to say that too often in our varied life settings, especially in the larger and formal organisation structures in which we work, we carry ourselves towards one another according to the secular techniques of manipulation and personal self interest.  As a result, Peck says, we fail to manifest “the glory of what it means to be human.”

Elsewhere in Peck’s book, he demonstrates how a common organisational culture that is trapped in this secular idea of polite civility, is illustrated when an organisation’s presumed identity is one of, “We’re the best in the business,” and its motto is thus “Quality at all costs.”

In contrast to this idea of civility as nothing more than politeness and following proper decorum, Peck therefore stresses that true “civility” refers to seeking the best interest of all people, regardless of the cost to one’s self.  Within this same discussion, Peck then draws attention to the biblical story of Jesus’ encounter with the rich young man, who was unwilling to part with his wealth.  Peck suggests that the story functions as a parable for all of us, and every time when we read the story or reflect on the story.

The point of the story about the rich young man who is unwilling to part with his wealth, is not that following Jesus means that Jesus wants you to necessarily let go of everything you possess and live in voluntary poverty in order that you may follow him.  Although, I would say for many of us, that may not be a bad idea!  But no.  The moral of the story is that Jesus oftentimes will come to us and ask us the question, “What are you really trusting in?  Where is your security, right now, in this moment?”

Jesus will ask us these questions because if our security is indeed in the things we possess, then how are we going to carry our self as a human being, when the moment of truth calls upon us to express our humanity?

Within this discussion, the mental psychiatrist Peck throws throw at us this observation: “Security can become an addiction, and there are many for whom enough is never enough.”  Peck goes on to say that his work in psychiatric care has convinced him that having wealth never fully satisfies the aching feeling of insecurity.  All their lives, the rich often find themselves caught up therefore, in an insatiable quest to heal this ache through the continued accumulation of wealth.

Peck notes that past statistics demonstrate that within the American setting, the wealthiest segments of the American population give away to charity a much smaller proportion of their income that do middle or working class people.  Hence, their proportional giving reveals “a telling commentary on the spiritual impoverishment of most who are financially rich.”  For similar reasons, another notable psychiatrist, Erich Fromm, realised from sheer experience in the profession of mental care, that, “The essential difference between the unhappy, neurotic type person and him of great joy is the difference between get and give.”

A truly human life therefore, is a life lived in utter selflessness towards other human beings.  A true human life is always lived in the presence of one another, and for the presence and existence of one another.  A true human life can only be lived in selfless action to one another.  This is the mark of true humanity.  Anything less, is less than human.  Anything less is to live not as a human being but to live like an animal.  This discussion thus clarifies what we should mean by the term secular humanism.

Real Christianity infers a true and biblical humanism. Christian humanism is a humanism that encourages and celebrates the true nature of true humanity.  It is founded upon a moral centre, because it is furthermore, founded upon a Person— who is the True Human.  Secular humanism however, is a humanism without the true moral centre, and thus no real moral centre.  It has no moral centre because it encourages and celebrates living only for one’s self without regard for others.  It encourages and celebrates living for one’s self especially when the well-being of your life is any way dependant upon the loss, deprivation or disregard for the best interest of another human being.

For the most part, the world we live in, in spite of its increasing nuance towards spirituality, operates by values reflecting not a true humanism but a secular humanism that really does enthrones “self” at the centre of all things.  That is why even Christian bookstores are filled with books with titles such as “How to Become a Better You,” or “How to Be all You are Meant to Be,” or, “How to Receive all You’re Supposed to Have!”  At the root of all these pseudo-Christian books is not the paradigm of true humanity but the subhuman paradigm of self-interest.  So deep is this false humanistic in the cultures that we live, that much of the current talk within Christian circles of becoming relevant to the day we live in, or of transforming the culture around us, is really quite ludicrous.

The forces that have constructed the macro economic systems of our world, the security systems and social systems we now live within through the processes of globalisation, have constructed these systems upon premises that seek the best interests of the few without concern for the many.  The proverbial lifeboat of the film 2012 is therefore indeed a proverbial analogy of our present world order.

Many of us are right now enjoying the privileges of life on a “boat,” to which untold millions are currently barred entry into, and thus face the prospect of becoming the first causalities of whatever repercussions may erupt upon the earth because of our follies.  Moreover, added to these follies is the folly resulting from keeping our eyes closed to the many.  We close our eyes to their existence, though one day we may painfully discover that all people are indeed interdependent.  When that day comes, we may then truly learn that “No man is an island,” for the same forces that have united much of the world together in economic affluence, has united that much of the world to frustrations of the greater numbers of people who lack access to our prosperity.

Self-denial, charity, sacrifice, and healing the world

This discussion illustrates how nothing less than a complete, radical and revolutionary subversion and undermining of the entire world order, can bring healing to the world.  If a Christian truly believes that he or she lives as salt and light in the world, then he or she must also see their role as a prophetic presence in the world.  This is a prophetic presence that consistently demonstrates values that are visibly counter to the values of the world, and at the same time positively point to a world that is waiting to be born.  The good news is that to fulfill this prophetic role in the world, one need only mature and thus behave as a human being— a true human being.

To fulfill this prophetic function of living a truly human life we must however confront a common though false presumption concerning the purpose of Christian life, and about the purpose of Jesus’ life, sufferings on the cross and resurrection from the dead.  This is the misunderstanding that the ultimate purpose of Jesus’ atonement, was to insure our eternal salvation and hence, that we get to go to heaven when we die.  Now to be sure, the securing of our eternal destiny is central to why Jesus came to live and die upon the earth.  It is central because it is we and not angels whom God has created as His image-bearers— It we whom He loves as His children, and it is we who are made to reflect His likeness.

But in itself, this assumption is only a half-truth, and in itself, it makes for a very “self-centred” gospel.  It is the message of a gospel that men have not centred in the glory of God but rather in the glory of man apart from God.  Rick Warren therefore had it right when he titled the first chapter of his book titled, The Purpose Driven Life; with the title, “It all Starts with God.”  In that chapter, he moreover and rightly began the first sentence by saying, “It is not about you.”  Warren’s proposition illustrates how the primary purpose of Jesus’ atonement was far bigger than the redemption of humankind.  For even greater than to secure the redemption of humanity, is the greater purpose for which Jesus died for.  That greater purpose was to secure the glory of God.

Within the greater purpose of securing the glory of God, is that Jesus dies to reconcile all things— all things both heaven and earth, to Himself.  Jesus suffered and rose again that He might restore all things back together under His rightful reign.  So the Scripture says, “For to this end Christ died and lived again, so that he might be Lord of both the dead and the living.”  To this end, the entire purpose of God is to restore our humanity, that we might live as true human beings.  Moreover, the healing of the world involves our becoming more human; thus our becoming more humane.  To this end, God is at work to restore our humanity.

If we want to therefore carry our self in the world as a true human being— if we want to carry our self in a manner that is truly civil, we will never do so by calling attention to what we possess.  We can only show our true humanity through denying our self; and hence, by how easy it is for us to give it all away.  It is for this reason that in his Institutes of Religion, John Calvin devotes Book III to the Christian Life, and in chapter four, he summarises all of Christian life by this one phrase:  “self denial.”

By using that one phrase, “self denial,” as the most succulent description of a truly Christian lifestyle, Calvin chose to stick within a long tradition and a principle within that tradition, which every other leader of the Protestant Reformation also affirmed.  That is a tradition that thus remained connected to the best of Roman Catholic spirituality as illustrated in earlier works such as The Imitation of Christ and The Rule of St Benedict.

The tradition of self denial, which is in fact the true call of Jesus and the only call He gives any of us, when He calls us to Himself, is a tradition that stresses a central image of true humanity, which goes all the way back to the why the Gospels are in the Bible.  It is a tradition that rightly recognises that the Gospels are not provided for our intellectual assent to Jesus’ historical life, but rather foremost to grant us the one true guide on how we should live as human beings.

The Gospels are written to show us how to live— to actually imitate the life of Jesus.  That is why Jesus says, “Deny your self, and follow me.”  Moreover, God has made to some extent, the healing of the world dependent on weather or not we choose to follow Jesus.  For only in following Him can we begin truly living like human beings.

Within this context, we should thus realise that self denial is not something based on ideas of having to live with a “poverty mindset” or deny the very real and material nature of God’s blessings.  But rather, self denial is simply based on a true knowledge and comprehension of what it means to truly live like a human being.  When that knowledge is received, self denial becomes an act of calling and joyful vocation.  We begin joyfully denying our self because we have come to know that only here are living according to our high calling as real people upon the earth.  But to do that, requires our reception of a special kind of joy, and it is a joy that is freely received from the One who is humanity par excellence.

Jesus is humanity par excellence

I submit to you that there was a man who was truly human and remains the True Human, and He is the Lord Jesus Christ.  He is the one who laid down his life for His friends.  He is the one who put Himself in harm’s way and suffered harm’s way for the preservation of the entire human race.  He did so because in doing so, he truly behaved and acted as a true human.  He acted as true as a human life can ever be.

Christians rightly confess and know Jesus as the image of God.  Even more so, we have come to know He is God in the flesh.  In Him, we see God, and by his behaviour, we see and know the true personality of God.  Yet I will here also remind us that in Jesus we see true humanity.  In Him we see what human life is designed to be.

This confession that Jesus is not only truly God but truly human, is true because after His resurrection from the dead, Jesus did not stop being human.  After he rose from the dead, He remained human.  This is why He rose from the dead with an indestructible though fully physical and material body.  Even now at this moment, Jesus reigns in heaven through His very real and physically material body.  Moreover, there will come a day when He will appear and like Thomas, we will see the nail scars in His hands.

The entire weight of these reflections rest upon a cardinal doctrine, which if we in any way undermine, we therein commit heresy concerning the person of Jesus.  This doctrine we must confess in order to lift up the name of Jesus over all things, is that He is truly God and He is truly human.  As the ancient creeds effectively established the concluding synthesis of the biblical story of Jesus’ coming, death and resurrection, Jesus is and will always be truly God and truly human.  In Him we see two distinct natures, the divine and human, clearly distinguishable, yet wholly different; undivided, yet inseparable.  He is and will always be, truly God and truly Human.

If we are to therefore truly worship Him as God, and if we are to preach Him fully lifted up in all His saving glory, we must also confess Him and preach Him in all His true Humanity.  For in Him we therefore also see who were born to be, if we are ever to become truly human.  He dies to restore our humanity.  When He lives in us, He works in us to restore our humanity, by setting us on a path of human restoration.

In Jesus Christ we see not only the potential of true human life, but even more so, a vision for a true human society and human culture.  We therefore also see a vision for a new humanity upon the face of the earth.  That is why the Scripture says that Jesus is the beginning of a new humanity.  He is the First Man of a new humanity.  He is therefore the true paradigm for a true human life and human existence.

When we look at Jesus, we therefore see what were born to be.  We were born to be like Jesus.  This is God’s true purpose for all human life; to become like Jesus.  This is why the ancients said, “God became man, so that man might become something like God.”  This again is why if we want to know what God is like, we should look at Jesus, for He is not only the true man, but in Him, we see who God is.  For God is love, and love acts without regard for one’s self but wholly for the sake of those outside our self.  For this reason, God created humankind in His image that we might reflect the likeness of God in how we live.  This is our true human calling.

The process of becoming human is the process of becoming like Jesus.  So complete is the process that He works upon us both from the inside and from the outside.  There is no antithesis between the two processes.  On one hand, he works within us, transforming us from the inside out.  On the other hand, He works outside us, presenting Himself to us as our Teacher and ourselves to Him as disciples called to follow Him.  Through both ways, the goal is the same: that we might live as human beings.  When that happens, we realise that self-denial is indeed not a method towards Christ-likeness, but rather simply the fruit of becoming human, and thus, of becoming like Christ.

Servant-leadership and the vocation of true humanity

In bringing these reflections to a closure, I will now draw attention to the second theme I find so poignantly illustrated in the film 2012; this is theme of true leadership.  Moreover, this theme of true leadership is what Jesus argued as, servant-leadership.

In the movie 2012, one of the chief architects of those mammoth lifeboats was something of what we might call, a visionary leader.  He had a grand vision and it was a vision for the preservation of the human race.  To some extent, we may argue that this man possessed a noble vision.  He believed his vision was for the greater good of humanity.

This man was also a practical leader.  He was a pragmatic leader as well, because He well knew that to be most effective and efficient, he had to make practical choices that may involve refraining from higher moral ideals.  Hence, he chose not to jeopardise the lives of the few by opening the boat to the many.

This man therefore chose to insure the security of the boat and the few in the boat, by choosing not to risk the security of the boat by opening the boat to so many others hoping to step into the security of the boat.  So in all these presumptions, we have a picture of practical, pragmatic and sometimes of visionary leadership.  But in view of the true humanity of Jesus, this is a way of leadership that is nonetheless, subhuman.

Yet the other man, who I want to say was the true leader, argued that preservation of the human race is still not possible unless we seek to preserve the human race through and upon the high moral foundation of self-denial.  As earlier mentioned, this man who was the true leader, argued that a new world that is truly human cannot be rightly established unless such a world is founded upon actions involving genuine risks through the giving of our lives for one another.

This man who was the true leader, therefore sought to persuade those in the boat to risk their own secure future by taking the wild risk of opening the boat to all those outside the boat.  He called upon everyone in the boat to do so, even if in doing so, the boat might sink in the process of getting everyone into the boat.  He argued that failure to do that is to behave not as humans but as animals.  He therefore understood that true leadership is not about putting one’s personal interest before others, but about putting the interest of others before one’s own interest.  He understood that true leadership is always the laying down of our life for the common good.  He understood that true leadership is servant-leadership.

Jesus is not only the True Man but he is the true leader of the human race.  Jesus said that the rulers of this age love to be lord over others, but that is not true leadership.  True leadership is serving others.  Serving always has its penultimate and highest expression in the laying down of our life for one another.  That is what Jesus taught and it is what he modeled— not only to secure our redemption into restored humanity, but to grant us an example of true humanity.  He did this in the expectation that we would actually emulate as an act of our will, having had our will empowered by the Spirit of Christ who lives within us.

Jesus did not just give His life for us, but He modeled to us what it means to be a true human and how to live like a true human being.  It is not enough to even say, “I’ll let Jesus live through me.”  It is important to know that Jesus lives in you and that is where it all begins.  Then when He begins to live in you, you will always face choices every day, where circumstance call upon you to behave like Jesus.  That comes through an act of your will and obedience to His Word.  You can choose to disobey the Lord, even as a Christian.  For this reason, many Christians know the Lord, but actually disobey Him.  Such Christians the Bible calls, fleshy Christians; Christian who remain like spiritual babies.  However, there are times when we all disobey the Lord.  So you must choose to follow Jesus, observe how He lives, and starting acting like Him.  If you do, He will guide your steps and place your feet into His footsteps.

I have digressed here, but I am talking about servant leadership.  True leadership begins with laying down our life for others.  Any aspiration that begins with the preservation of one’s self is not true leadership.  That is a kind of leadership founded something less than a truly human life.

Some months ago, I was engaged in a discussion with a group about the nature of leadership.  In that discussion, someone suggested that there are many kinds of leadership, one of which is the idea of servant leadership, and another is what we might call visionary leadership, and that they are not the same.

Let me point out that for a Christian, there is only one valid kind of leadership, and that is servant leadership.  Any other kind of leadership model or style that fails to recognize Jesus’ model of servant leadership as the foundation, is a subhuman form of leadership.  In a truly biblical worldview, Jesus’ pattern of servant leadership and the concept of visionary leadership are not antithetical styles, but they are the same.  Having a vision for a world founded upon true justice where God’s righteousness and peace prevails requires nothing less than a great people who have discovered their true vocation as servant leaders.

Sometimes in life, there is a moment of truth, which will call on us to choose either the way of self-preservation or the way of self denial.  In the moment of truth, how will we live?  How will we live in the moment of truth, when Jesus comes to us and says let it all go?  How will we live in the moment of truth, when Jesus says let it all go and follow me?  How will live in the moment of truth, when in that moment we are called upon to either act without regard for our own security or even safety , if in doing so, we might secure the life and posterity of other individuals besides our self?

But the truth is that in an infinite number of small and unknown ways, the moment virtually always comes to us every day of our life.  Abraham was able to offer up Issac on Mount Moriah because his whole life revealed a pattern of hearing and responding to God’s call every day of his life.  Every day God calls us and every day we are given a choice to either obey or disobey the Word of God.  Make no mistake about it:  the New Testament does not shrink from describing Christian life according to the language of obedience and disobedience.  “Today, if you Hear His voice, do not harden your hearts.”  And a moment of truth will come when you are also called up to the top of Mount Moriah.  And there maybe even several times or more when He will call you up to the top of Mount Moriah, and offer your life a living sacrifice.

The healing of both our selves and those, whom we might need to lay down our life for, will come through the way of self-denial.  So part of the good news is that our own healing— the healing of our soul, is found through simply living like a true human being.  The healing of our soul and the healing of the world, is only found through losing our selves in the saving of those not on the boat, but who also long for a new world waiting to be born.

Welcome back, brothers and sisters!!! 

Today we are going to discuss the parable of the ten virgins and the bridegroom.  Jesus was talking to His disciples about be ready for the last day when He shared the following parable:

“Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins, which took their lamps, and went forth to meet the bridegroom.  And five of them were wise, and five were foolish.  They that were foolish took their lamps, and took no oil with them:  But the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps.  While the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and slept.  And at midnight there was a cry made, ‘Behold, the bridegroom cometh;  go ye out to meet him.’  Then all those virgins arose, and trimmed their lamps.”

“And the foolish said unto the wise, ‘Give us of your oil;  for our lamps are gone out.’  But the wise answered, saying, ‘Not so;  lest there be not enough for us and you:  but go ye rather to them that sell, and buy for yourselves.’  And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came;  and they that were ready went in with him to the marriage:  and the door was shut.”

“Afterward came also the other virgins, saying, ‘Lord, Lord, open to us.’  But he answered and said, ‘Verily I say unto you, I know you not.” – Matthew 25:1-12 (KJV)

Brothers and sisters, the message of this parable is very sobering.  Let’s break this parable down and discuss the thrust of the message.

First of all, cast in the role of the bridegroom is the one and only begotten Son of God, Jesus Christ.  The ten virgins represent us, believers and non-believers.

Okay, so now that we know the cast, what is the tie-in to the oil and the lamps?  That’s simple, actually.  Why do we need lamps?  Lamps help us to see where we are going, right?  We are blinded when we are surrounded by darkness.

The lamps, beloved, represent our spirits/souls.  Why do I say this?  Consider the following scripture:

“The spirit of man is the candle of the Lord, searching all the inward parts of the belly.” – Proverbs 20:27 (KJV)

So if the lamp represents our soul/spirit, what does the oil represent?  The oil represents the Holy Spirit, which is attained through Christ Jesus.  Remember, beloved, that though Jesus is not present with us physically on earth anymore, He lives here in our hearts through the Holy Spirit.  This is the same Holy Spirit that God the Father filled Jesus, His only begotten Son, with after He was baptized by John the Baptist.  Brothers and sisters, Jesus Christ is also known as the Light of the World.  Having His light in us, we can rejoice in knowing that our lamps will be lit and shining brightly at the moment that Jesus comes for us.

You see, beloved, the Holy Spirit is the oil that shines brightly enough that all can see our light, which is the presence of the Lord in our hearts.  How can people see that light?  Well, let’s look at the type of light that the Holy Spirit emanates, as described by the Apostle Paul:

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance:  against such there is no law.” - Galatians 5:22-23 (KJV)

You see, beloved, when we live in Christ, we are to be faithful and obedient servants of that which He blesses and graces us with.  Frankly, the manner in which we live should be a strong witness for Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior.  Remember, brothers and sisters, as His servants, our lives should be lived in such a manner as to reflect to others our service to our Lord and Savior.  That means we are to let the Lord’s light shine through us for all to see.  Jesus said the following about this:

“Ye are the light of the world.  A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid.  Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick;  and it giveth light unto all that are in the house.  Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.” – Matthew 5:14-16 (KJV)

Beloved, the 5 virgins that heed the Lord’s word, and live by it, are those that He will find doing His work when He returns for His bride, which is the church.  The church is comprised of all those who have accepted salvation given by grace through faith in Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior.  Only those that have Christ in them will be called home to be with the Lord.  Those that do not have Christ in them have souls/spirits filled with darkness instead of light.  Since there will be no light found in such people, they will be passed over when the believers are called home.  Consider the parable of the ten virgins, and listen to what Jesus said would happen when He calls His servants home:

“Then shall two be in the field;  the one shall be taken, and the other left.  Two women shall be grinding at the mill;  the one shall be taken, and the other left.  Watch therefore;  for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come.  But know this, that if the goodman of the house had known in what watch the thief would come, he would have watched, and would not have suffered his house to be broken up.  Therefore be ye also ready:  for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of Man cometh.  Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his lord hath made ruler over his household, to give them meat in due season?  Blessed is that servant, whom his lord when he cometh shall find so doing.  Verily I say unto you, That he shall make him ruler over all his goods.  But and if that evil servant shall say in his heart, ‘My lord delayeth his coming’;  and shall begin to smite his fellowservants, and to eat and drink with the drunken;  The lord of that servant shall come in a day when he looketh not for him, and in an hour that he is not aware of, And shall cut him asunder, and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites:  there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” – Matthew 24:40-51 (KJV)

Brothers and sisters, no one knows when Jesus will return.  Jesus Himself said that only the Father knows the appointed hour.  The point is that we are supposed to constantly live our lives doing the work of our Lord and Savior so that in that “twinkling of an eye” when Jesus does return, we are found as faithful and obedient servants, diligently doing His work and will.

Unfortunately, beloved, there are many that live without Christ in their hearts.  They do not have the oil of the Holy Spirit burning brightly within them and emanating His light in their lives.  This, brothers and sisters, is all the more reason for us to constantly have our lamps lit with the oil of the Holy Spirit.  By sharing, embracing, and living the Lord’s word and love, we will be more effective in shining His light through the darkness in order to reach those that are presently lost.  Just as we were once lost before being found, we are incredibly blessed with the opportunity to help gather many of our Shepherd’s lost “sheep” by lighting up the path that will lead them home to Him.  This is our mission, beloved, and the time is now to carry it out.

No one should take for granted that the Lord will not come back for “x” amount more time.  We simply do not know the Lord’s return date and time, as only the Father knows.  Jesus could return in 5,000 years, 5 months, 5 weeks, 5 days, or in the next 5 seconds.  Regardless of how long it is until Jesus returns, we need to commit ourselves to doing His work every single day of our lives.  When He returns for us, let’s bless and glorify Him by meeting Him with as many well-oiled lamps as possible!!!

I would like to ask each and every person taking part in today’s discussion a few questions.  If the Lord Jesus Christ were to return in the next few seconds, would you be ready?  Would the Lord find your lamp lit brightly by the oil of the Holy Spirit?  Just as importantly, are you confident and assured that all of your family, friends, and loved ones would be found ready if Jesus were to return in the next few seconds?  Are you confident that hte majority of people in this world are ready to meet the Lord?

Let’s be honest, beloved.  There are a great many people that are not yet ready to meet Jesus Christ.  If Jesus were calling His faithful servants home today, an incredibly large number of people would be among those left behind.  Evidence of this can be found all throughout the world today.  Just turn on the 6 o’clock news, or go for a drive through the city, and you will see that much of humanity is spiritually lost and adrift at sea, without boat or life jacket.  This, brothers and sisters, is the urgency of our mission.  Just as with the 5 foolish virgins, those who are not ready to meet the Lord when He calls His faithful home will find out the harsh reality that the time for making the decision to commit their lives to Him has passed.

Beloved, ask the Lord for the endurance, strength, perseverance, and courage to work tirelessly to share His love and His word with as many people as possible.  The Lord will give you the words and the guidance you need through the Holy Spirit.  The time is now, beloved, for us to increase our staffing levels of faithful and obedient servants to take part in the Lord’s harvest.  Let’s get to work!!!

If you have not yet accepted Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, but you would like to, please pray the following prayer:

“Lord God Almighty, I know that I am a sinner and that I am lost.  I know that I need to be saved from sin, but I also know that I can’t save myself.  Lord Jesus, I know that only You can save me.  I know that you paid for my salvation with your own life and blood on the cross.  I know that when You rose from the grave on the third day, you provided everlasting life to all who trust in You.  Right now, I lay down my life and let go of my pride, my vanity and every other sin that has kept me from You.  Lord Jesus, I now completely trust my life to You.  I open my heart to You, Lord.  Please come into my heart.  Please forgive me of all of my sins, and please accept me as Your child.  From this point on, I commit my life to You.  Please guide me and provide me strength as I begin to live the rest of my life for You.  In Your precious and matchless name I pray.  Amen.”

Beloved, if you just prayed that prayer then you can rejoice in knowing that you now have the presence of the Lord in your heart.  While you will still face trials and tribulation in this world, you will never again face it alone.  Nurture your new relationship with the Lord and grow that relationship by getting to know Him better.  You can do this by studying His word (the bible), while also making talking to Him continually through prayer made with thanksgiving and supplication.  All you have to do to find out what the Lord had in mind for your life when He made you is to ask Him to shape your life in manner in which serves His will and then embrace the changes that He makes in you and your life.  Welcome to the family, beloved!!!  You are precious in your Heavenly Father’s eyes, and the angels in heaven are rejoicing in your decision to accept Christ Jesus as your Lord and Savior:-)  We are happy to have you!!!

Thank you for joining us for today’s discussion.  I hope you will be able to join us for tomorrow’s next discussion.  Now, go enjoy this day that the Lord has made, and make the most of it.  Be glad, and rejoice in it!!!  Share the Lord, His love, and His word with as many people as possible, doing so just as freely as the Father shared His only begotten Son with us:-)

May the Lord bless you, keep you, guide you, and make His face to shine upon you and your loved ones always.

Your brother in Christ,

Rev Jason Thurwanger

I have been thinking lately about the atonement, and especially about the substitutionary atonement, as it is clasically understood in most Evangelical circles (of which I am a product, even if I moved on). I heard some good questions about this:

• Did God have to kill Jesus in order to forgive me?
• If God was unable to forgive me without killing his Son, then how come he asks me to forgive others?
• He doesn’t ask me to forgive my wife, and then go and beat the dog.
• Is God asking me to do something that he is not capable of himself?

I think these are all good questions. Here are some quotes from John McLeod Campbell, a celebrated Scottish theologian of the mid nineteenth century, in his book, The Nature of the Atonement. I found him very helpful in this area:

“The atonement, I say, presupposes that there is forgiveness with God; and in doing so has a response in conscience… An atonement to make God gracious, to move him to compassion, to turn his heart toward those from whom sin had alienated his love, it would, indeed, be difficult to believe in; for, if it were needed it would be impossible. To awaken to the sense of need of such an atonement, would certainly be to awaken to utter and absolute despair. But the Scriptures do not speak of such an ateonement; for they do not represent the love of God to man as the effect, and the atonement of Christ as the cause, but – just as the contrary – they represent the love of God as the cause, and the atonement as the effect (John 3:16)…

Now, we know that where all general urging of God’s mercy and clemency, and willingness to pardon and to save, fail to give peace, or quicken hope, the presenting of the atonement for the acceptance of faith does both. Awakened sinners who are finding themselves unable to believe that God… can pardon their sins and bestow on them eternal life, are found able to believe in such pardon, and to receive the hope of eternal life, when these are presented to them in connection with the sacrifice of Himself by which Christ put away sin, becoming the propitiation for the sins of the whole world.

This fact is surely deserving of the serious consideration of those whose objection to the atonement is, that it should be enough for man’s peace and hope to be told, that the Lord God is merciful and gracious and ready to forgive, and to relieve all who call upon him. Here there is manifested an inability to believe in God’s forgiveness as meeting man’s need, when presented simply as clemency and mercy: – but, presented in the form of the atonement, it is believed in. Not surely because less credit for love and mercy is given to God now; for on the contrary the conception of love simply forgiving, and of love forigiving at such a cost to itself, differ just in this, that in the latter, the love is infinitely enhanced.” (p. 46-48)

Welcome back, brothers and sisters!!!

Today we are going to discuss the parable of the wedding banquet.  This is a parable that Jesus spoke to the chief priests and Pharisees of the temple.  The parable is as follows:

“The kingdom of heaven is like unto a certain king, whcih made a marriage for his son, And sent forth his servants to call them that were bidden to the wedding:  and they would not come.  Again, he sent forth other servants, saying, ‘Tell them which are bidden, ‘Behold, I have prepared my dinner:  my oxen and my fatlings are killed, and all things are ready:  come unto the marriage.”  But they made light of it, and went their ways, one to his farm, another to his merchandise:  And the remnant took his servants, and intreated them spitefully, and slew them.”

“But when the king heard thereof, he was wroth:  and he sent forth his armies, and destroyed those murderers, and burned up their city.  Then saith he to his servants, ‘The wedding is ready, but they which were bidden were not worthy.  Go ye therefore into the highways, and as many as ye shall find, bid to the marriage.’  So those servants went out into the highways, and gathered together all as many as they found, both bad and good:  and the wedding was furnished with guests.”

“And when the king came in to see the guests, he saw there was a man which had not on a wedding garment:  And he saith unto him, ‘Friend, how camest thou in hither not having a wedding garment?’  And he was speechless.  Then said the king to the servants, ‘Bind him hand and foot, and take him away, and cast him into outer darkness;  there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’  For many are called, but few are chosen.” – Mattew 22:2-14 (KJV)

Brothers and sisters, let’s break down the parable, staring with the cast.

The king of the parable represents God the Father.  The son that the king has arranged a marriage for is Jesus Christ.  The bride to be is the church of Christ, which is all who live in the Lord.  The servants that were sent out to invite the guests represent the prophets.  The first group of guests that was repeatedly invited was the Israelites, God’s chosen people.  Remember, that though many prophets were respected and revered for a time, they usually ended up being persecuted/killed by the very people they were trying to reach with God’s message.

The second group of guests are the Gentiles, or the non-Jews.  When the Jewish people repeatedly rejected the Father, His word, and ultimately Jesus Christ and the Gospel He shared, the Gentiles were blessed with the opportunity to receive the Gospel and to receive Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior while also receiving the gift of salvation that is found only in the only begotten Son of God.

Why was the one guest in the parable cast into outer darkness for not having on a wedding garment?  The answer is simple.  Do you know what the wedding garment is that the guests were to be clothed with?  Consider the following scripture:

“I will greatly rejoice in the Lord, my soul shall be joyful in my God;  for He hath clothed me with the garments of salvation, He hath covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decketh himself with ornaments, and as a bride adorneth herself with her jewels.” – Isaiah 61:10 (KJV)

You see, beloved, in order to attend the marriage of the Lamb of God, we must be attired appropriately.  We know that the only person we can get the appropriate attire from is Jesus Christ.  Why?  Through Jesus our sins are washed away, our hearts are purified, and we are clothed with the robe of righteousness.  The person in the parable without the robe of righteousness was a person that had not given their life to Jesus Christ, and was subsequently not wearing the necessary robe of righteousness.  Therefore, the inappropriately attired guest offended the king (God the Father). 

Brothers and sisters, there are people in this world who call themselves Christians, yet Christ is not found anywhere in them.  Such people often assume that going to church, periodically praying, and sometimes reading the bible and quoting chapter and verse is sufficient.  These are usually people that rejoice in sin Monday through Saturday, while attempting to live a Christian life on Sunday.  These are referred to as Sunday Christians, or Convenient Christians, and they do not have a place at the Lord’s table.  Why?  Beloved, Jesus Christ is our Lord and Savior 365 days/year and 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.  Likewise, we are to be His servants at all times as well, living obediently and faithfully in serving Him.  Unfortunately, some are not sincere in their service to the Lord.  Jesus spoke of such people when He said the following about the day of judgment:

“Not everyone that saith unto Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter into the kingdom of heaven;  but he that doeth the will of My Father which is in heaven.  Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name?  and in thy name have cast out devils?  and in thy name done many wonderful works?’  And then I will profess unto them, ‘I never knew you:  depart from Me, ye that work iniquity.” – Matthew 7:21-23 (KJV)

You see, beloved, while we can fool our fellow man into believing that we are someone we are not, God always knows who we are.  God knows our hearts and knows all there is to possibly know about us.  A few acts, or a few words, do not make a faithful and obedient servant in Christ.  A faithful and obedient servant of the Lord lives in service to Him at all times, while also having the Lord in his/her heart at all times.  We love His word, regularly study it, and He writes it into our hearts.  We take every opportunity to share the Lord’s love and word with anyone we can reach.  We are never ashamed to confess to others that Jesus Christ is our Lord and Savior, and Jesus is not ashamed of presenting us to the Father and speaking on our behalf.  Beloved, let’s live Christ in our lives all day, every single day.  Let’s study His word regularly as diligent students, and let’s do His work always as faithful and obedient servants are to do.  The Lord has already given us everything by blessing us with the gift of salvation by grace through faith in Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior.  Let’s show Him how much we appreciate His sacrifice, His love, and His forgiveness by doing His work and will unceasingly and with a glad heart.

Beloved, if you have not yet received Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, but you would sincerely like to, then please pray the following prayer:

“Lord God Almighty, I know that I am a sinner and that I am lost.  I know that I need to be saved from sin, but I also know that I can’t save myself.  Lord Jesus, I know that only You can save me.  I know that you paid for my salvation with your own life and blood on the cross.  I know that when You rose from the grave on the third day, you provided everlasting life to all who trust in You.  Right now, I lay down my life and let go of my pride, my vanity and every other sin that has kept me from You.  Lord Jesus, I now completely trust my life to You.  I open my heart to You, Lord.  Please come into my heart.  Please forgive me of all of my sins, and please accept me as Your child.  From this point on, I commit my life to You.  Please guide me and provide me strength as I begin to live the rest of my life for You.  In Your precious and matchless name I pray. Amen.”

I you just prayed that prayer, honestly seeking the Lord, then you are now saved.  The robe of righteousness is now available unto you, and though you will still face adversity in this world, you now have the Lord with you to face and overcome anything that comes your way.  Nurture your relationship with the Lord by talking to Him often through prayer with thanks and supplication, while also studying His word.  Ask the Lord to guide your every path, and follow the path that He sets before you.  You no longer serve the sins and lusts of this world.  Your chains that tied you to the things of this world have now been broken.  Serve the Lord with all your heart, and always seek His will in all things.  Welcome to the family:-)  Know that the angels in heaven are rejoicing at your decision to give your life to the Lord!!!

I want to thank you all for joining in on today’s discussion.  I hope you will be able to join us for tomorrow’s next message.

I hope you have a wonderful and blessed rest of the day.  Remember, you are loved by the very Creator of earth, the heavens, and all life with a love that is perfect, complete, and powerful beyond our present ability to fully comprehend.  Precious one, He made you in your mother’s womb, and you are very special to Him:-)

May the Lord bless you, keep you, guide you, and make His face to shine upon you and your loved ones always.

Your brother in Christ,

Rev Jason Thurwanger

I was thinking about the consequences of moral influence theories of atonement. Readers probably are aware of my appreciation of Rene Girard’s version of this theory. But I realized that moral influence as a result of Christ’s sacrifice has a consequence I only considered this morning. Now first, I want to clarify what I’m saying – because I really am figuring out what I mean here as I go along.

Girard speaks of our contemporary passion for defending the rights of virtually every minority, of almost universal rejection of slavery by Christian-influenced culture, et cetera, as proof that Christ’s sacrifice was effective in influencing human morality.

However, if this is evident, it is also evident that this did not happen immediately: Minorities were still persecuted at the time of Christ’s sacrifice (his followers included) and still are, and slavery was once as much a Christian institution as it is still one in many countries around the world, and in all but name in many others.

In fact, these influences were barely evident even in the writings of the New Testament: Paul, for example, often treats women as second-class (as was the fashion at the time, and despite many modern believers arguing that he did not), and does similarly for slaves, and, to be honest, a wide selection of sinners.

This may suggest that, despite being in immediate receipt of Christ’s revelation, and being his contemporaries, the Apostles and the early church likely did not grasp the fullness of the implications of this moral influence, which in Girard’s terms is the rejection of tool of sacrificing the minority for the sake of the majority.

And this in turn might suggest a certain flaw in taking this early texts at face value. If the influence of what Christ did had not fully affected the culture at that time (and it has not two-thousand years later, so I don’t imagine that it did), then there will obviously be evidence of the non-Christological aspects of that culture (and there obviously is: Paul on slavery, for example).

Anyway, the point is that the whole thing got me thinking.

As I have wrestled with questions related to the relationship between human free will and the sovereignty of God the concept that made the most sense to me is “Middle Knowledge Calvinism” (see Craig Blomberg’s article “Middle Knowledge” here). There are many smaller details that I will need to think through over time, but as a big-picture theory it makes the most sense. I have been educated in both a strong Arminian perspective as well as a strong Calvinist perspective. Usually I come away with the sense that both sides have to explain away certain parts of the canonical testimony. I have not felt that way about the middle knowledge position.

For those unfamiliar with middle knowledge let me provide you with a paragraph from the aforementioned article by Blomberg:

Simply put, middle knowledge affirms, with classic Arminianism, that God’s predestining activity is based on his foreknowledge of what all humans would do in all possible situations that they could find themselves in. But it also observes that God’s omniscience is so great that it is not limited just to what all actually created being would do but to what all possibly created beings would do in all possible situations. Because God creates only a finite number of persons between the beginning of the universe and Christ’s return, his sovereign choice is preserved, because he must choose to create some beings and not others. Thus, with classic Calvinism, his sovereign, elective freedom is preserved.

In other words, along with Arminians I can affirm that God does not elect on the basis of some arbitrary game of soteriological duck-duck-goose. Along with Calvinist I can affirm that God is sovereign is determining who will be saved since God knows all things, including all possible humans and all possible decisions made by all possible humans in all possible worlds. Also, along with Calvinist I can disagree with Arminians who understand foreknowledge to be a reference to God electing whom He knows will choose salvation as if humans are ever so free from sin as to choose God (contra Romans 3:10-18).

The almighty acronym of many Calvinist is “TULIP”:

T – Total Depravity

U - Unconditional Election

L -  Limited Atonement

I - Irresistible Grace

P - Perseverance of the Saints

Let us examine how Middle Knowledge Calvinism compares with classic Calvinism as we work our way through the TULIP.

Total Depravity: Middle Knowledge Calvinism affirms total depravity. As I read through the aforementioned Romans 3:10-18 it becomes obvious that the Arminian suggestion that there are some humans that actually can choose God contra those who are just too selfish and too evil does not seem to line up, at least with Pauline thought.

On the other hand, in Romans 7:14-25 it is equally true that although we cannot seek God there is something within us that cries out for God. There is a desire to do good, to do the law of God, but we cannot actually do it. In the Middle Knowledge Calvinist paradigm God can know what every individual would choose if the choice could be made. In other words, God can see what every humans that has ever existed would do in a sort of recreated Eden where the question of a free salvation through Christ is offered. Some may choose this reversal fruit. Others may remain in rebellion against God.

Since only God knows what all people would do if we could do it only God has the power to send the Spirit to those people to make sure that they have the faith to come to God through Christ. This is a sovereign act of God, but it is not an arbitrary one. Equally, it does not side with Arminianism suggesting that there are actually people who by their own desire freely “choose’ God.

Unconditional Election: This may appear to be the place where Middle Knowledge Calvinist and classic Calvinist part ways. I did write in that last paragraph that God does not make arbitrary decisions and that God makes His choice on the basis of not only foreknowledge, but Middle Knowledge of all possible people, times, place, and decisions in all possible worlds. But does this make it a conditional election?

Some may say that it does, I do not. The Calvinist understanding of election derives from the Pauline understanding that humans can do nothing to earn salvation. Humans can do nothing. This does not mean that God cannot see past our inability to do. God can see what the heart might desire if the person could respond in his/her own strength.

Therefore, although election is not arbitrary it can be unconditional if we understand that it is not conditioned on anything that the Apostle Paul or the Reformer John Calvin would have seen as merit behavior. If someone thinks that this is conditional because God sees the heart we will just have to agree to disagree. I feel that at this point we must move to TALIP with the U being replaced by an “A” for arbitrary!

Limited Atonement: “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whoever should believe on him should not perish but have eternal life (John 3:16).” “The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance (2 Peter 3:9).” These passages are not very friendly to classic Calvinism. It is simply bad exegesis to suggest that the “world” of John 3:16 is the “world of the elect”, especially since the “world” in Johannine thought is the exact opposite.

Yet we know the atonement must have some limitations, otherwise we do not have Arminianism, we have universalism! Let us make this really simply. The best way to maintain balance while letting the entire canon have a voice is this: (1) the atonement is unlimited in scope and availability; it was sufficient enough for the salvation of all people, everywhere, at all times, but (2) it has limited application, namely to the elect.

The benefits of the atonement are accessed by/in/through faith alone. This does not mean that the atonement was limited in power. It means it is limited in application. Therefore, the Middle Knowledge Calvinist position affirms the limited atonement position by stating that God has only applied the atoning work of Christ to those whom we have already discussed as being elected by God.

Irresistible Grace: For those whom God has chosen on the basis of His Middle Knowledge there will be no avoiding the grace of God. This is not “Divine rape” as some have so crudely said. This is simply God seeing those who would be saved if they could choose salvation and God determines to save. In other words, God is not the gods of the pagans. God does not change His mind about those who He intends to save based on whether or not they have a bad day or do the right things. God is sovereign and God will see the elect through to the end. Those whom God chooses cannot resist this grace.

Perseverance of the Saints: I think I already said in gist what I am going to say here. Those whom God chooses will make it all the way to the end. Classic Calvinism sees this as being because God arbitrarily elected people and therefore those people cannot fail. Middle Knowledge Calvinism agrees to some extend, except the arbitrary part. Both agree that the elect will be saved and that nothing can prevent that.

So yes, I think Middle Knowledge Calvinism can use the TULIP acronym, though there is no reason to feel too dependent upon doing so unless you have some people that need to be convinced you are not a closet Arminian!

A weekly meme.

Q: Do you think any current author is of the same caliber as Dickens, Austen, Bronte, or any of the classic authors? If so, who, and why do you think so? If not, why not? What books from this era might be read 100 years from now?

Thinking about posterity while sitting on my posterior. The simple answer to this weeks question is yes. I’m sure that there are people writing now that will be remembered for their work just as much as Dickens, Austen and the like. Isn’t it a bit silly to imagine that they are in some kind of untouchable bubble of brilliant-ness?

I feel certain that Ian McEwan will be remembered for his beautiful prose as well as stories that can carry you away, particularly Atonement and Enduring Love. Surely Alan Bennett will be remembered for his distinctively human and funny writing style and perhaps Peter Carey too. Those would be my guesses and I’m looking forward to seeing what other people think too.

Which authors do you think will be remembered in years to come?

For God so loved the world that He gave his only Begotten Son that whosoever beliefeth in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. John 3:16

This Biblical verse is probably one of the most well known and most recognizable scriptures throughout the western world.  It is the call to sinner to repent and to be assured that if they will believe their sins will be washed away and they will have everlasting life.

This verse is the foundation of the Mormon concept of the Atonement, the agony and death that Jesus suffered in order to forgive man their sins and grant resurrection to the entire world.  Mormons, as well as Christians, for that matter, believe that without the Atonement, or death of Jesus on the cross, salvation couldn’t come have to the world.

As I was reading in chapter 12 of the Gospel Principles I came to discover that the Atonement is twofold for the faithful of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. First, the agony that Jesus suffered in the Garden of Gethsemane was when Jesus took upon him the sins of the world and underwent agonizing pain in order to spare us from having to do so.  Second, he had to die on the cross in order to be raised back up and thus bring resurrection to the rest of the world.

As romantic of an idea as this might sound, I’ve never believed this concept. I’m going to leave Islam completely out of this discussion because I can remember as a child (being 7,8,9 years old) questioning this concept.

I guess when it comes right down to it, I’ve never believed that Jesus was the Only Begotten. I can remember having my father read to be me over and over again the Nativity from the Bible and the Passion from the Bible, and yet I could never believe it, though I really wanted to.

Looking at things, I’m sorry, but I have to chuckle at the notion that Jesus died in order to bring about the resurrection. Somehow the stories of Jesus raising people from the dead have been forgotten.  Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead and brought the soldier’s daughter back to life. The accounts of these stories are right there, found in the Gospels.  The power of God does not rest upon the actions of men, otherwise, God is not all powerful. Things happen in the world via the power of God, through men, to give glory to God, but to suggest that Jesus had to die in order to bring about the resurrection for the entire world is an arrogant slap in the face to He who holds all Power. God does what He wills and doesn’t need a man to bring about anything necessary for our salvation.

The concept of human sacrifice bothers me to no end. To me it’s so backwards and just barbaric. The idea that I would have to sacrifice something to please God is just so…well for lack of a better term, stupid.

This is what I find so stupid:

It pleased the Lord to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper his hand. He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied…(Isaiah 53:10-11)

So God punishes and tortures himself to appease himself for making a faulty creation???

It pleased God that Jesus, who was suppose to be His Only Begotten, was brutally beaten and murdered for sin. This pleases him even though Micha says:

Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams, or with ten thousands of rivers of oil? Shall I give my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul? (Micha 6:7)

The answer? No.

If Micah says that the sacrifice of the first-born and the “fruit of my body” will do no good to satisfy God, then what good does Jesus, who is the first born and the fruit of God’s body, do?

This blows the entire concept of Christianity out of the water. It is on the death of Jesus Christ that Christians feel they are forgiven, but Micah makes it very clear that it does no good. If human, animal, and plant sacrifice won’t appease God for one’s sins, then what good do all the commandments found in the first five books of Moses do? What did all those sacrifices accomplish other than feeding the priests? It would appear they did nothing if Jesus had to come along and “atone” for sins with his own life, only find out, just by flipping back to the Old Testament, that it still didn’t do any good.

It is a confusing and troubling problem, and one that is found directly in the pages of the Bible.

Just by reading the Bible, I see that it was Paul who came up with the idea that the death of Jesus Christ was the atonement for man’s sins, as this concept is never mentioned in the gospels at all. It sort of seems to me that Jesus was a martyr for his own cause, which is a great way to seal your belief, immortalize yourself, and have your religious convictions impact the lives of millions for years to follow. But if one really thinks about it, a martyr is nothing more than a person too narrow minded to admit they might just be wrong about things.

And evolution of sacrifices is evident in the Bible alone. There seems to be four stages of this throughout the Bible. Of course it starts in the Old Testament and climaxes in the New.

Sacrifices:

• Trivial gifts
• More expensive gifts
• Human life
• Gods themselves

Genesis begins the process of evolution for sacrifices. In Genesis 4:3 we find that Cain brings fruit as an offering and in Genesis 4:4 we find that Able brings the firstlings of his flock.

In all nations where offering were made, the conclusion became established in the minds of the people that the amount of God’s favor procured in this way must be proportionate to the value of the commodity or victim offered up-a conviction which ultimately led to the seizure of human beings for the atoning offerings, which brings us to the third stage of growth in the atonement doctrine. (Kersey Graves and The World’s Sixteen Crucified Saviors by Richard Carrier)

But why stop with humans when you can reach into heaven and rip gods themselves down and murder them?

John states:

Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. John 1:14

This sets the tone that Jesus is divine and if one believes in the a Godhead, this makes Jesus then God. John continues and declares…the Lamb of God which taketh away the sin of the world. (John 1:29)

This would establish that Jesus is then an acceptable sacrifice, the perfect sacrifice. Paul takes the doctrine further and states:

And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood there is no remission. (Hebrews 9:22)

Of course, this would be the blood of Jesus.

Does anyone else have a problem with this? Is anyone else completely and utterly disgusted by this? I mean, this is not a conversation that you would want to have at the dinner table.

But this is what is most disturbing, and Richard Carrier put it the best:

Somebody must pay the penalty in blood, somebody must be slaughtered for every little foible or peccadillo or moral blunder in which erring man may chance to stumble while upon the pilgrimage of life, while journeying through the wilderness of time.

Nothing less will mitigate the divine wrath, even if a god has to be dragged from his throne in heaven and murdered to accomplish it.

For the Father to consent to the brutal assassination of His own innocent Son upon the cross to gratify an implacable revenge toward his own children, the workmanship of his own hands, rather than forgive a moral weakness implanted in their natures by a voluntary act of his own, and for which consequently he alone ought to be responsible, would be nothing short of murder in the first degree. (Kersey Graves and The World’s Sixteen Crucified Saviors by Richard Carrier)

There was a day, as I took my walks abroad, when I came hard by a spot for ever engraven upon my memory, for there I saw this Friend, my best, my only Friend, murdered. I stooped down in sad affright, and looked at Him. I saw that His hands had been pierced with rough iron nails, and His feet had been rent in the same way. There was misery in His dead countenance so terrible that I scarcely dared to look upon it. His body was emaciated with hunger, His back was red with bloody scourges, and His brow had a circle of wounds about it: clearly could one see that these had been pierced by thorns. I shuddered, for I had known this Friend full well. He never had a fault; He was the purest of the pure, the holiest of the holy. Who could have injured Him? For He never injured any man: all His life long He “went about doing good;” He had healed the sick, He had fed the hungry, He had raised the dead: for which of these works did they kill Him? He had never breathed out anything else but love; and as I looked into the poor sorrowful face, so full of agony, and yet so full of love, I wondered who could have been a wretch so vile as to pierce hands like His. I said within myself, “Where can these traitors live? Who are these that could have smitten such an One as this?” Had they murdered an oppressor, we might have forgiven them; had they slain one who had indulged in vice or villainy, it might have been his desert; had it been a murderer and a rebel, or one who had committed sedition, we would have said, “Bury his corpse: justice has at last given him his due.” But when Thou wast slain, my best, my only-beloved, where lodged the traitors? Let me seize them, and they shall be put to death. If there be torments that I can devise, surely they shall endure them all. Oh! what jealousy, what revenge I felt! If I might but find these murderers, what would I not do with them! And as I looked upon that corpse, I heard a footstep, and wondered where it was. I listened, and I clearly perceived that the murderer was close at hand. It was dark, and I groped about to find him. I found that, somehow or other, wherever I put out my hand, I could not meet with him, for he was nearer to me than my hand would go. At last I put my hand upon my breast. “I have thee now,” said I; for lo! he was in my own heart; the murderer was hiding within my own bosom, dwelling in the recesses of my inmost soul. Ah! then I wept indeed, that I, in the very presence of my murdered Master, should be harbouring the murderer, and I felt myself most guilty while I bowed over His corpse, and sang that plaintive hymn–

‘Twas you, my sins, my cruel sins,

His chief tormentors were;

Each of my crimes became a nail,

And unbelief the spear.”

Amid the rabble rout which hounded the Redeemer to His doom, there were some gracious souls whose bitter anguish sought vent in wailing and lamentations–fit music to accompany that march of woe. When my soul can, in imagination, see the Saviour bearing His cross to Calvary, she joins the godly women, and weeps with them; for, indeed, there is true cause for grief–cause lying deeper than those mourning women thought. They bewailed innocence maltreated, goodness persecuted, love bleeding, meekness about to die; but my heart has a deeper and more bitter cause to mourn. My sins were the scourges which lacerated those blessed shoulders, and crowned with thorns these bleeding brows: my sins cried, “Crucify Him! Crucify Him!” and laid the cross upon His gracious shoulders. His being led forth to die is sorrow enough for one eternity; but my having been His murderer, is more, infinitely more grief than one poor fountain of tears can express.

Why those women loved and wept, it were not hard to guess; but they could not have had greater reasons for love and grief than my heart has. Nain’s widow saw her son restored; but I myself have been raised to newness of life. Peter’s wife’s mother was cured of the fever; but I of the greater plague of sin. Out of Magdalene seven devils were cast; but a whole legion out of me. Mary and Martha were favoured with visits from Him; but He dwells with me. His mother bare His body; but He is formed in me, “the hope of glory.” In nothing behind the holy women in debt, let me not be behind them in gratitude or sorrow.

“Love and grief my heart dividing,

With my tears His feet I’ll lave

Constant still in heart abiding,

Weep for Him who died to save.”

William Huntington says, in his autobiography, that one of the sharpest sensations of pain that he felt, after he had been quickened by Divine grace, was this, “He felt such pity for God.” I do not know that I ever met with the expression elsewhere, but it is a very striking one, although I might prefer to say that I have sympathy with God, and grief that He should be treated so ill. Ah, there are many men that are forgotten, that are despised, and that are trampled on by their fellows, but there never was a man who was so despised as the ever-lasting God has been! Many a man has been slandered and abused, but never was man abused as God has been. Many have been treated cruelly and ungratefully, but never was one treated as our God has been. I, too, once despised Him. He knocked at the door of my heart, and I refused to open it. He came to me, times without number, morning by morning, and night by night; He checked me in my conscience, and spoke to me by His Spirit, and when, at last, the thunders of the law prevailed in my conscience, I thought that Christ was cruel and unkind, Oh, I can never forgive myself that I should have thought so ill of Him! But what a loving reception did I have when I went to Him! I thought He would smite me, but His hand was not clenched in anger, but opened wide in mercy. I thought full sure that His eyes would dart lightning-flashes of wrath upon me; but, instead thereof, they were full of tears. He fell upon my neck, and kissed me; He took off my rags, and did clothe me with His righteousness, and caused my soul to sing aloud for joy; while in the house of my heart, and in the house of His Church, there was music and dancing, because His son that He had lost was found, and he that had been dead was made alive again.

There is a power in God’s gospel beyond all description. Once I, like Mazeppa, lashed to the wild horse of my lust, bound hand and foot, incapable of resistance, was galloping on with hell’s wolves behind me, howling for my body and my soul as their just and lawful prey. There came a mighty hand which stopped that wild horse, cut my bands, set me down, and brought me into liberty. Is there power in the gospel? Ay, there is, and he who has felt it must acknowledge it. There was a time when I lived in the strong old castle of my sins, and rested in my own works. There came a trumpeter to the door, and bade me open it. I with anger chid him from the porch, and said he ne’er should enter. Then there came a goodly Personage, with loving countenance; His hands were marked with scars where nails had been driven, and His feet had nail-prints, too. He lifted up His cross, using it as a hammer; at the first blow, the gate of my prejudice shook; at the second, it trembled more; at the third, down it fell, and in He came; and He said, “Arise, and stand upon thy feet, for I have loved thee with an everlasting love.” The gospel a thing of power! Ah! that it is. It always wears the dew of its youth; it glitters with morning’s freshness, its strength and its glory abide for ever. I have felt its power in my own heart; I have the witness of the Spirit within my spirit, and I know it is a thing of might, because it has conquered me, and bowed me down.

“His free grace alone, from the first to the last,

Hath won my affections, and bound my soul fast.”

In my conversion, the very point lay in making the discovery that I had nothing to do but to look to Christ, and I should be saved. I believe that I had been a very good, attentive hearer; my own impression about myself was that nobody ever listened much better than I did. For years, as a child, I tried to learn the way of salvation, and either I did not hear it set forth, which I think cannot quite have been the case, or else I was spiritually blind and deaf, and could not see it and could not hear it; but the good news that I was, as a sinner, to look away from myself to Christ, as much startled me, and came as fresh to me, as any news I ever heard in my life. Had I never read my Bible? Yes, and read it earnestly. Had I never been taught by Christian people? Yes, I had, by mother, and father, and others. Had I not heard the gospel! Yes, I think I had; and yet, somehow, it was like a new revelation to me that I was to “believe and live.” I confess to have been tutored in piety, put into my cradle by prayerful hands, and lulled to sleep by songs concerning Jesus, but after having heard the gospel continually, with line upon line, precept upon precept, here much and there much, yet, when the Word of the Lord came to me with power, it was as new as if I had lived among the unvisited tribes of Central Africa, and had never heard the tidings of the cleansing fountain filled with blood, drawn from the Saviour’s veins.

When, for the first time, I received the gospel to my soul’s salvation, I thought that I had never really heard it before, and I began to think that the preachers to whom I had listened had not truly preached it. But, on looking back, I am inclined to believe that I had heard the gospel fully preached many hundreds of times before, and that this was the difference–that I then heard it as though I heard it not; and when I did hear it, the message may not have been any more dear in itself than it had been at former times, but the power of the Holy Spirit was present to open my ear, and to guide the message to my heart. I have no doubt that I heard, scores of times, such texts as these–”He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved;” “Look unto Me and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth;” “As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life;” yet I had no intelligent idea of what faith meant. When I first discovered what faith really was, and exercised it–for with me these two things came together, I believed as soon as ever I knew what believing meant–then I thought I had never before heard that truth preached. But, now, I am persuaded that the light often shone on my eyes, but I was blind, and therefore I thought that the light had never come there. The light was shining all the while, but there was no power to receive it; the eyeball of the soul was not sensitive to the Divine beams.

I could not believe that it was possible that my sins could be forgiven. I do not know why, but I seemed to be the odd person in the world. When the catalogue was made out, it appeared to me that, for some reason, I must have been left out. If God had saved me, and not the world, I should have wondered indeed; but if He had saved all the world except me, that would have seemed to me to be but right. And now, being saved by grace, I cannot help saying, “I am indeed a brand plucked out of the fire!” I believe that some of us who were kept by God a long while before we found Him, love Him better perhaps than we should have done if we had received Him directly; and we can preach better to others, we can speak more of His loving-kindness and tender mercy. John Bunyan could not have written as he did if he had not been dragged about by the devil for many years. I love that picture of dear old Christian. I know, when I first read The Pilgrim’s Progress, and saw in it the woodcut of Christian carrying the burden on his back, I felt so interested in the poor fellow, that I thought I should jump with joy when, after he had carried his heavy load so long, he at last got rid of it; and that was how I felt when the burden of guilt, which I had borne so long, was for ever rolled away from my shoulders and my heart.

Once, God preached to me by a similitude in the depth of winter. The earth had been black, and there was scarcely a green thing or a flower to be seen. As I looked across the fields, there was nothing but barrenness–bare hedges and leafless trees, and black, black earth, wherever I gazed. On a sudden, God spake, and unlocked the treasures of the snow, and white flakes descended until there was no blackness to be seen, and all was one sheet of dazzling whiteness. It was at the time that I was seeking the Saviour, and not long before I found him, and I remember well that sermon which I saw before me in the snow: “Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.”

The Autobiography of Charles Spurgeon vol.1 pp.81ff

HEBREWS 2
For surely it is not angels he helps, but Abraham’s descendants. For this reason he had to be made like his brothers and sisters in every way, in order that he might become a merciful and faithful high prienst in service to God, and that he might make atonement for the sins of the people. Because he himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted (v. 16-18, TNIV).

OBSERVATION
Jesus’ humanity was very real. He “might become a merciful and faithful high priest” and he “might atone for the sins” prove that there was a chance he might fail. Adam’s choice to sin equated man with failure until the moment Christ died as the one perfect man. And Christ did not die imperfect; he did not fail and so he is a merciful and faithful high priest and he has atoned for the sins of mankind.

RESPONSE
Why don’t I trust Christ with my greatest (and smallest) temptations? He knows the struggles for he has been there himself.

Pride. I think I can beat it. But clearly after 26 years I can’t. But he has.

PURSUIT
Break me of my pride. Release me from my sin. Show me how to trust you with the smallest of my temptations. I don’t want to hide anymore.

The Jehovah’s Witness that you have invited into your home is hopefully agitated by now. When they knocked on your door, they didn’t expect you to answer. When you answered the door, they didn’t expect you to invite them in. When you invited them in, they didn’t expect you to be so biblically literate and historically knowledgeable. They were hoping simply for the opportunity to give you a copy of The Watchtower.

The Watchtower is the official document of the Jehovah’s Witness movement. It is a periodical that outlines the basic doctrines and interpretations of their religion. Inside the front cover, the Watchtower claims that the Bible is its authority… but demands that its followers ONLY read the Bible in light of the interpretation of the Watchtower society. It seems, then, that it’s the other way around… that the Watchtower is the authority of the Bible.

They’re ready to go. They hand you a Watchtower On the way out, I would ask them a hypothetical question… “What if the Watchtower gave an instruction that was clearly opposite what the Bible teaches? What would you do?” Hopefully by this time, you have pointed out how some of their foundational doctrines (outlined in the Watchtower document they just handed you), do not line up with what the Bible clearly teaches. I wonder what their response would be. Hopefully it will at least cause them to think about what comes first.

The crucifixion, which ended with the triumphant cry, “It is finished” (Jn 19.30), was the offering of the all-sufficient sacrifice for the atonement of all sinners.  The Man on the cross was the Lamb of God, who bears the sins of the world to carry them away from the face of God.  The salvation of the whole world once hung by those three nails on the cross on Golgotha.  As the fruit from the wood of the forbidden tree from which the first man once ate brought sin, death, and damnation upon the entire human race, so the fruits of the wood of the cross restored righteousness, life, and blessedness to all people.

On account of this, the cross is both holy and blessed!  Once nothing but a dry piece of wood, it was changed, like Aaron’s staff, into a green branch full of heavenly blossoms and fruit.  Once an instrument of torment for the punishment of sinners, it now shines in heavenly splendor for all sinners as a sign of grace.  Once the wood of the curse, it has now become, after the Promised Blessing for all people offered Himself up on it, a tree of blessing, an altar of sacrifice for the atonement, and a sweet-smelling aroma to God.  Today, the cross is still a terror–but only to hell.  It shines upon its ruins as a sign of the victory over sin, death, and Satan.  With a crushed head, the serpent of temptation lies at the foot of the cross.  It is a picture of eternal comfort upon which the dimming eye of the dying longingly looks, the last anchor of his hope and the only light that shines in the darkness of death.

– C.F.W. Walther (quoted in Treasury of Daily Prayer, p. 622)

This post contains a few quotes from the Prophet Joseph Smith. I invite you to read them with a honest and humble heart. Then afterwords ask yourself how did you feel when reading them? Pray about what is being said. These are words direct from the first modern day Prophet. I humbly ask that you treat them with respect.

“The fundamental principles of our religion are the testimony of the Apostles and Prophets, concerning Jesus Christ, that He died, was buried, and rose again the third day, and ascended into heaven; and all other things which pertain to our religion are only appendages to it. But in connection with these, we believe in the gift of the Holy Ghost, the power of faith, the enjoyment of the spiritual gifts according to the will of God, the restoration of the house of Israel, and the final triumph of truth” (Teachings: Joseph Smith, 2007, 45-50).

“We deem it a just principle, and it is one the force of which we believe ought to be duly considered by every individual, that all men are created equal, and that all have the privilege of thinking for themselves upon all matters relative to conscience. Consequently, then, we are not disposed, had we the power, to deprive any one of exercising that free independence of mind which heaven has so graciously bestowed upon the human family as one of its choicest gifts” (Teachings: Joseph Smith, 2007, 344-345).

“God Himself was once as we are now, and is an exalted man, and sits enthroned in yonder heavens! That is the great secret. If the veil were rent today, and the great God who holds this world in its orbit, and who upholds all worlds and all things by His power, was to make Himself visible,—I say, if you were to see Him today, you would see Him like a man in form—like yourselves in all the person, image, and very form as a man; for Adam was created in the very fashion, image and likeness of God, and received instruction from, and walked, talked and conversed with Him, as one man talks and communes with another” (Teachings: Joseph Smith, 2007, 40).

“We take the sacred writings into our hands, and admit that they were given by direct inspiration for the good of man. We believe that God condescended to speak from the heavens and declare His will concerning the human family, to give them just and holy laws, to regulate their conduct, and guide them in a direct way, that in due time He might take them to Himself, and make them joint heirs with His Son” (Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Joseph Smith, 2007, 66).

Joseph Smith and Sidney Rigdon see Christ and testify that He lives:

“And we beheld the glory of the Son, on the right hand of the Father, and received of his fulness;…

“And now, after the many testimonies which have been given of him, this is the testimony, last of all, which we give of him: That he lives!

“For we saw him, even on the right hand of God; and we heard the voice bearing record that he is the Only Begotten of the Father—

“That by him, and through him, and of him, the worlds are and were created, and the inhabitants thereof are begotten sons and daughters unto God” (D&C 76:20,22–24).

“I told the brethren that the Book of Mormon was the most correct of any book on earth, and the keystone of our religion, and a man would get nearer to God by abiding by its precepts, than by any other book” (Book of Mormon, Introduction).