Words on Wednesday - J.I. Packer summarizing the Gospel

Just read this, chew on it, let it soak in, and then breathe deeply...

Were I asked to focus the New Testament message in three words, my proposal would be adoption through propitiation, and I do not expect ever to meet a richer or more pregnant summary of the Gospel than that.

~ J.I. Packer, Knowing God, p.214

The Beauty of Aaron's Ephod, or why I yawn in Exodus 28

If I confess there are parts of the Bible I don't understand, does that make me a bad pastor?  If I confess there are parts of the Bible I don't like reading, does that make me a bad pastor?

My current Bible reading plan (the M'Cheyne Plan, if you care) has me in Exodus at the moment.  I've read about Aaron's ephod and the jewels on the breastplate and so forth.  In my most honest moments when I read that, it's with a yawn.

There, I said it.

I'm not proud.  I'm not saying it to brag.  I'm not saying it to show you how authentic I can be.  I'm saying it because it's true.

And this morning, as I was yawning through Exodus 28, I think I might have heard the Spirit speak and remind me of something that you learn when you read about ephods and breastplates.  The point of the ephod and breastplates was beauty.  The one making the sacrifice for the people needed to be beautifully arrayed.

Did you get that?  That's what I think the Spirit said this morning to me.  The point is beauty.  The One who makes the sacrifice for the people must have in Himself a sense of beauty.  An obedience that is beautiful.  A willingness that is beautiful.  A sacrificial decision that is beautiful.  A joy set before Him, shame-despising beauty.

The One who makes the sacrifice for the people must have in Himself a sense of beauty.

And that, folks, is why Exodus 28 matters, why it's more than a check box on a Bible reading plan.

Why Christmas is Love

I think the Incarnation is loving.  If you're not familiar with the term, Incarnation is a technical theological term for God coming in the flesh in Jesus Christ.  The second person of the Trinity actually became a human.  The equation goes something like this:  100% God + 100% Man = 100% Jesus.  It's a little mind-boggling, but so it goes with God.

And I think that's an incredibly loving thing for God to do.

Here's why:  the Incarnation was loving because the Crucifixion was coming.

If God, in Jesus, didn't take on flesh, then no human could be saved.  There's an old theological maxim that goes like this:  what is not assumed cannot be saved.  In other words, God had to become a human to save humans.  That's reflected in the passage I preached Sunday - "He had to be made like his brothers" (Heb. 2.17).  Another translation says, "It was necessary for Him..."

Beautiful.  God became one of us to save us.

The Incarnation was loving because the Crucifixion was coming.

The Wrath of God was satisfied

The Ninja, the 8-year old, said this morning as we're listening to music and eating breakfast, "Dad, I like that line of the song.  It's my favorite part."

If you're not familiar with the song, it's In Christ Alone by the Getty's, who have come upon the Christian music scene as the modern day hymn writers.

The full line...

'Til on that cross where Jesus died
The Wrath of God was satisfied

The Presbyterian Church USA created a small kerfuffle when they decided they didn't like the wrath of God being satisfied and instead wanted "The Love of God" to be "magnified."  But the Getty's didn't let them change the lyric because they wanted to hold forth the traditional Christian doctrine that on the cross a payment happened for sin, satisfying God's wrath and providing His righteousness.

And I'm reading, in conjunction for my next doctoral class, sermons by Jonathan Edwards, he of Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God fame.

So all of that combined makes my response to the Ninja genuine:  "Yep, Ninja, I like that one too."

Because the more I'm in touch with my depravity, selfishness, idolatry, unruliness, and disordered soul, the more I'm grateful that the wrath of God that was once against me was satisfied by One who could bear it redemptively on my behalf.

But that's just me thinking thoughts...

Check out this testimony from my friend's church - marriage related

My friend Brian pastors Bay Area FBC, one exit south of Heritage Park.  He's a great guy who has been doing yeoman's work in getting that church where it needs to be and it's obvious God is moving there.  Check this powerful testimony out about how a praying wife changes a husband's life...

P.S.  If you're looking for a great church in the area and Heritage Park isn't it, check out the folks over at Bay Area First Baptist.  

Your Identity (and His)

I've done a little bit of thinking about this recently in light of preaching at a conference in a few weeks.  I've been thinking about how our identity in Christ is portrayed in the Bible and how we often experience it.

Let me get to the 'splainin (as Desi used to Lucy).

Here's the way I've heard the Identity issue taught:  we are who God has made us to be.  Satan will come along and say differently.  He's a liar and we shouldn't listen.  We are the righteousness of God in Christ.  We are a new creation.  We are completely forgiven.  We are under zero condemnation.  We are conquerors and victors.  We are sons of God.  And on and on we could go.

Completely biblical.  Every word.  And that's exactly right.  Every word.

If there's a weakness in this line of thinking and teaching, here is where it is (in my humble opinion).  I think it leads us to think about us too much and about God too little.  We apply this teaching like salve to hurt feelings, souls, or thoughts.  It's dangerously close to becoming a biblical version of positive self-talk (which is good) without God in the picture (which is not good).

Here is the way I think would be more helpful:

We are sons of God and He is our Father

We are a new creation and He is our Creator

We are completely forgiven and He is our Forgiver

We are under no condemnation and He is our Judge

See what happened there?  We're not thinking about ourselves except in relation to God.  For what it's worth, I think that brings Identity out of the realm of mere self-talk and roots it in relationship.  David spoke to himself in Psalms 42-43 - "Why are you downcast, O my soul?" - but didn't stop there.  "Hope in God, for I will yet praise Him."  Did you see the relationship in that last phrase?  I think that's the most biblical way to think about it.

But that's just me thinking thoughts...

George Zimmerman. Trayvon Martin. Casey Anthony. And ME.

Like most of you, I watched on CNN as the verdict came in on the George Zimmerman murder trial.  I then proceeded to post on Facebook about how people should feel free to discuss (since I knew they would - it was supposed to be tongue in cheek).  The Queen gave me the look, something like, "You're seriously posting that?"

Moving on.

This is what I posted when Casey Anthony was found not guilty.  The Zimmerman case was a lot different than the Anthony case.  The facts seemed murkier.  But one thing is true.  It's horrible.  Trayvon Martin shouldn't have died.  Zimmerman shouldn't have had his head bashed against the sidewalk.  Horrible.  All the way around.  And sad.  Super sad.

But these thoughts stand today just as true.  Originally posted 7.6.11:


I watched, like most people in America, the verdict come down on Casey Anthony yesterday:  not guilty.  Technically, I saw it after the fact on one of the many news sites that had the video in full.  But that didn't blunt my surprise or the surprise of many around the country.  Not guilty?  Wow.  I honestly thought they had her pegged based on what little I knew about the case.  Granted, the jury returned guilty on the lying to a police officer counts, but she's off on the Murder 1 and Manslaughter charges.  I saw on the same site the tweet of the day from Ashton Kutcher:  "Even OJ is upset at the outcome of this trial."  I digress...

But it's a victory in some senses.  The Constitution presumes innocence before the law (though obviously not before the media).  It also ensures, as appropriate, trial by a jury of peers.  And the statutes throughout the states, as I understand them, also put a high standard for the prosecution to reach:  beyond a reasonable doubt.  Meaning, if I'm in the jury room and I can see another way this might have gone down, my vote has to go in the "not guilty" column.  If I cannot see any other way this might have conceivably happened, then and only then do I vote "guilty."  Like it or not, agree or not, hack attorney or brilliant counsel, Baez and his crew defended Casey Anthony to the degree that doubt persisted in the jury room.  I call that a victory for the constitutional form of government.  What's more, if she is guilty but got off, she'll no doubt do something stupid again and get caught and then hopefully go to jail (speaking of OJ...).  Call me a fan of the Constitution.

But also color me a huge, stunned, give-my-life-for-this fan of the cross of Jesus Christ..  There was a judge yesterday who had a person before him and he said the words, "You are judged not guilty."  She may still be guilty, but she's judged not guilty.  There is another Judge who has a person before Him.  I know I'm guilty.  No question about that one in my mind.  But because of the sacrifice of Jesus, I hear Him say, "I declare you not guilty."  Christ took my sin and my punishment.  I go free because of Him.  Far deeper than those words went into a questionable mother, they plunge into my guilty soul.

Not guilty.  Because of Christ.

Deep.

Powerful.

Life-Changing.

But that's just me thinking thoughts...

Working Hard at Unity

According to Ephesians 4.3, we have to work hard at preserving the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.  Contrary to popular belief or cultural hope, we cannot all just get along.

Two things of note about this unity.

First, it's the direct result of Christ's sacrifice on the cross.  Not only did the death of Christ reconcile us to God, it also provided the means by which we are reconciled to one another.  He broke down the barrier of the dividing wall between Jew and Gentile (2.14-16).  We forgive each other as God in Christ forgave us via the cross (4.32).  On and on I could go.  The hope of the earthly reconciliation of human relationships is the cross.  Therefore unity in the church is as important a pursuit as most anything we do.

Second, the unity is fragile but beautiful.  It requires pursuit, diligence, every effort.  But it's absolutely worth it.  One of the main reasons it's so worth it is because unity is its own witness to the Gospel of Jesus (John 17.21).  The world doesn't see the kind of unity that should be on display in the church anywhere else, so unity is an apologetic for the Truth of who Jesus is and what He has done.  Yes, the Enemy would love to destroy it.  He'll use any tool in his arsenal to do so - gossip, self-righteousness, a need for control, and general jealousy to name just a few.  And that's precisely why the Holy Spirit commands us to work hard at this unity.

It really is that important for a church to be healthy.

But that's just me thinking thoughts...

Good News on Two Sides

I love the two-sided Gospel in Romans 3 and 5.

First, the cross demonstrates the righteousness of God (Rom. 3.23-26).  What Paul argues in that text is that God would be unrighteous if He were just to let sin slide.  If it could go on without punishment, it's no big deal to Him.  Furthermore, if He justifies sinners then He obviously is unrighteous because who wants to be on the side of the Judge that declares clearly guilty offenders to be innocent before Him?

That's where Jesus the Propitiation comes in.  Propitiation means that God's wrath is satisfied by the sacrifice of Christ and God's favor is inclined toward us.  It's both removal of guilt and release of favor.  With sin punished, God is no longer guilty of unrighteousness.  An amazing solution to a complex problem.

And that's just the legal side.

Second, the cross displays God's love (Rom. 5.8).  It's not enough for us to be legally right before Him. Because of His love we are relationally right as well.  He has drawn us in, adopting us into His family, making us heirs with Christ.  This broad, long, high, and deep love is the kind of covenant love that God has for His people from the beginning.  It precedes any love that we might have for Him and actually causes the love we have for Him.  His love motivated Him to rescue us and, for many, has been His conquering force in their lives.

So we're legally justified before God and relationally adopted by Him.

That's why the Good News is so good.

But that's just me thinking thoughts...

The depth of God's love

I wrap up these musings with a question about how deep is the love of God.  Probably the best way to understand how deep is the love of God is to understand how deeply we have sunk in our lives.

Ever been in a pit?  (Ps.40)  Ever descended into the depths?  (Ps.139)  Ever had a cycle turn into a spiral, sucking you down and more violently with each revolution?  Ever slid so far that there wasn't daylight?  Ever been stuck with no way out?  Ever been so mired that the only thing solid to stand on is mud that's not really solid at all?  Ever grieved so much that your muscles ached from your convulsing?

Deep in depression?  Deep in addiction?  Deep in sin?  Deep in despair?  Deep in trouble?  Deep in darkness?

God's love is deeper than that.  When Peter speaks of love covering a multitude of sins, he's talking about the depth of our depravity - God's love is deeper still.

Here's the best part for me.

He doesn't just rescue us.  That's amazing enough.  But it's the way He does it.

There's no rope thrown from afar to get us and drag us into the boat before we drown.  No!  He jumps into the water to save us.  He enters into our calamity.

He becomes human.

He dies.

He rises.

He didn't just pull us up, He carried us out.  I think that is a different kind of love altogether.  One worth remembering and celebrating.

But that's just me thinking thoughts...

The height of God's love

How high is God's love?

It extends to the heavens according to the psalmist (see Psalm 36).  I don't know exactly how high that is in feet or miles, but it feels pretty high to me.

The picture that comes to mind when I see that text and think about God's love is seeing mountains (which just so happen to be mentioned two phrases later in the Psalm).  We loved to go skiing when I was a kid and being from essentially flatland Texas, mountains were huge deals.  We'd scan the horizon for them and then get giddy when we got closer.

The thing about mountains is no one stands before them and thinks how great they themselves are.  They think about how awesome the mountains are.  They are majestic.  Awe-inspiring.  Overwhelming.  Reaching to the heavens.

God's love is like that.  High.  Majestic.  Awe-inspiring.  Overwhelming.  But no one stands before that kind of love and thinks how lovable they are or deserving of love they are.  They only think about the love that's out there before them.

That's why the cross is so powerful.  A permanent display of this heavenly high love.

But that's just me thinking thoughts...


Quick Addendum from a midmorning prayer:  Isaiah 54.10 says, "For the mountains may depart and the hills be removed, but my steadfast love shall not depart from you..."  Not just majesty, permanency. Amen.

The breadth of God's love

God’s love is broad.  But how broad?  When you think about your worst enemy, the person you despise the most, God’s love is redemptive and passionate in moving toward them.  Who is it for you?  An ex-spouse?  A politician?  A business partner?  A parent?  A terrorist?  An abortionist?

As much as it’s good to celebrate, remember, and hold onto the fact that God loves us – heck, let’s make it very personal:  that God loves ME – it’s crucial for us in ministry and in life to realize, celebrate, remember, and hold onto the fact that God loves that person too (whoever that person is).

Forgetting that is forgetting the breadth of God’s love, one thing that is never good to forget.  Why?  Because we were once that person to God, now redeemed by the blood of Jesus.

But that’s just me thinking thoughts…

The length of God's love

How does Paul describe the love of God?

It is long.  But how long?  It’s long enough to secure you until your final breath and into eternity.  When the cancer call comes or the widow maker happens, His love has not flagged.  When the breath barely comes or the mind goes into dementia, His love has not failed.  Until your final breath.  And then into eternity, where you’ll be loved forever and ever and ever and ever and ever.

There’s so much to God’s love and it’s length that it will take eternity to get your mind around it.  Nothing will compare to it.  Just about the time that we think we have it figured out, we’ll see something new that will take another billion or so years to understand. 

But nowhere is it easier to see today than at the cross of Christ.  God loved sinful people so much that He gave His Son as a substitute, dying in their place.  Knowing and believing that love today changes everything for us for eternity.

But that’s just me thinking thoughts…

It came down to a single moment

A single moment.  A microsecond.  That's what it came down to on Sunday afternoon.

In that moment, a piece of metal struck polymer and it changed a life.

If you're not quite sure what I'm talking about, here you go.

Jim Nantz said it:  "A life-changer."  Indeed.  Adam Scott is now some $1.2M richer.  He also has a Master's jacket and has now won a major on the PGA tour.  It's hard not to root for the guy.  He basically choked last year at the British Open and then handled it with class.

But it all came down to a single moment.  If his putter hadn't struck the ball just so, who knows what would've happened?  But it did.  It went right in.  A Life-Changer.

I love life-changing moments.  I sappily and tearily watch every stinking video of soldiers coming home to their kids and spouses.  Every one of them.  And I tear up at every one.  I love life-changing moments.

And thus the purpose of this post.  There was another moment on another day on another continent.  A transaction happened where what was mine was laid on Jesus and what was His was credited to me.  That single moment when He said, "It is finished," could have easily been, "A life-changer."  The transaction was done.  Forgiveness is purchased.  Grace is lavished.  Love is displayed.  Life is forever changed.

But that's just me thinking thoughts...

The Post-Easter Life

I am surprised by Peter pretty often.  I have read his stories multiple times, have preached on them several times, and still I find myself surprised.

He has seen the Lord in John 20.  He goes back to his old life in John 21.

Resurrection in 20.  Fishing in 21.

That's surprising to me.  At the very least, running away with all of your I-denied-Jesus-guilt to Siberia seems like a better option than sticking around.  He's back from the dead.  And if I'm guilty, I want to live somewhere that the only reminder of my guilt is the 1080p HD film of it in my mind.  No need to see friends, family, servant girls, and geography that remind me of it too.

But he stays.  And goes fishing.  Old habits.  Familiar contours of life.  Patterns.

It's why the bottle stays our friend (or at least companion).  It's why pain meds are our vitamins.  It's why old flames don't really go out.

Surprised?  But it's what happens when we live a post-Easter life without Jesus.  The same patterns and habits and addictions continue to rule because we don't want to face up to the guilt of knowing Jesus offers something different and we're not courageous enough to take it.

So He comes to our lakeside and then pulls us aside.  Do you love me?  Then do what I say is best for you.

It's not just freedom.  It's purpose.

But that's just me thinking thoughts...

I'm Guilty

I ran a stop sign.

Even if I didn't know I did, I did.

Even if I didn't think I did, I did.  The citation tells me so.

Even if I wish the policeman were dealing with speeders (of which we have many) or other lawbreakers, I still did.

Even if I could redefine the word "stop" to mean something like "pause, I still did.  Guilty.

Guilty.  No excuse, blame-shifting, ignorance, or ignoring the clear standard will clear my name.  I'm guilty.

And it's the same way in our spiritual lives.  We're guilty of sin.  We can plead ignorance.  We can make excuses.  We can point the finger at others.  We can compare ourselves to others.  We can deny that sin is really sin.

But we're guilty.

And there's only one plea we can offer:  nolo contendre.  No contest.  Guilty.  Without a leg to stand on.

But it's when we do that the grace of Jesus is given to us.  Pride is smashed in our penitence, and grace drops like confetti at God's parade of forgiven children.  Instead of aridity and sweltering summer heat, there is refreshment in the bones [Ps. 32].

Amen.

Incredible Video on the Good News and Marriage

This is a long video, longer than the ones I normally post or dare even ask you to watch.  But I promise, it's 15-minutes of power.

The power of a God who redeems broken people and busted pastors

The power of a wife who sticks with her husband

The power of a man who gets honest, gets help, and gets healed

Skip & Barbara Ryan Story of Rescue from PCPC Video on Vimeo.

Someone worth dying for?

There's a song on Christian radio right now (I heard it this morning at the Y where my friend and I work out) that I thought was blogworthy.

The end of the chorus is a plea from the singer for the Lord "to help me believe that I am someone worth dying for."

I get the sentiment.  No one should ever feel like they are beyond the pale.  God's word is clear that all types, sizes, shapes, pasts, presents, stripes, and colors are very much within God's reach.  There is no one beyond the reach of God, because His arm is long enough to save even those farthest away (Isa. 59.1).

So, I get the sentiment.  But it's exactly that:  a sentiment.  Instead of grounding the redeem-ability of anyone in the nature of God, the song grounds it in the hope-to-be-redeemed one's faith.  And I don't know about you, but my faith can get a little shaky sometimes.

Because the truth is none of us are someone worth dying for.  I cannot think of a single person who qualifies for the God of the universe to leave heaven, slaughter His Son as a sacrifice that brings justification and reconciliation to rebellious people.

But that doesn't exactly sell songs.  The fact that He did all of that, though, is what changes everything.

But that's just me thinking thoughts...

Seeing but Ignoring

The Queen and I had the opportunity to vacate for a few days and, thanks to some vouchers that expired at the end of the year, ended up in Paris.  It's a beautiful city, full of a lot of nice people and a few stinky ones.  We managed to be on the subway with the latter, but encountered a lot of the former too.  But I digress.

I hit the Louvre one afternoon while the Queen was unjetlagging (aka napping) and found it as overwhelming as most people do.  I'm not a big art guy, but I'm in Paris and so I can't not go to the Louvre, right?  Yes, I saw the Mona Lisa.  Yes, Venus de Milo too.  And as a sheer painting from a non-art guy, the Wedding Feast at Cana piece at which the Mona Lisa perpetually looks was far more impressive.  A close second were all the Greek statues.  But, again, I digress.

Here's what really struck me from the Louvre.  I walked by dozens of paintings (and maybe more) that depicted the crucifixion of Jesus.  Dozens.  And hundreds of people were there right beside me looking at them too.  They took pictures.  They posed in front of them.  They read the descriptions.

And they moved on.

Here is the singular event that changed history.  It is rivaled by nothing.  It is reflected in the multiple pieces of art hanging in the most important museum in the world.  Some pieces were beautiful.  Some were brutal.  All told the story.

But they moved on.

God forbid it that I ever get to that place, that my family members ever get to that place, that our church ever get to the place where we see it and just move on:

Other parts are happier, so I'll think about them...

It demands so much, so I'll think about something lighter...

I've heard that one, so give me something new, better, deeper, shinier...

I'm not really that bad, so let's talk about...

He died for what my heart is desiring right now, so I'll go ahead because He'll forgive me...


If we move on from the cross we miss Christianity all together.  It's not the door in, it's the entire path.

But that's just me thinking thoughts...

Pat Robertson (again)

Here's a clip, 1:44 in length.

He has since clarified his statements in this press release.  Big quote from there:  "I wanted to say, but it didn't come out the way I intended, that adoption is not for everyone."

There are so many things wrong with this, that I cannot list them all.  Let me list three.

First, why isn't adoption a viable option for every Christian couple (the kind who would write in to Robertson for advice on the 700 Club)?  I'm on the opposite side of Dear Pat - yet again - because I think every Christian couple should at least pray about adoption.

Second, thank you, Dear Pat, for deriding special needs kids who "grow up weird," especially those of the foreign kind who make our house look like the "United Nations."  As a father of a special needs, internationally adopted child, I know first-hand that there are challenges.  I also know there are blessings abundant that far outweigh the challenges.

Third, once again you pervert the Gospel by your application of it.  He previously told a man it's okay to divorce his wife with Alzheimer's and get on with his life.  In doing so, Dear Pat missed the Gospel and the place where it is displayed:  the covenant of marriage.  Here, Dear Pat misses the Gospel in the analogy where it is most clearly seen:  adoption.  Foreigners become family.  What else does the Gospel mean if not that?  J.I. Packer says that the Gospel's summary is this:  adoption through propitiation.

It's not just that Dear Pat is irrelevant.  Now he's damaging.

But that's just me thinking thoughts...