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Behold, The New Has Come

For me to get to acceptance in the grieving process after my wife of almost three decades passed last year, I had to keep a forward focus or risk getting mired in memories.  Any move from an old life to a new one is like that.  If we are focused too much on what we have lost, we will miss what we have gained.  Becoming a new creation in baptism is like that as well. If we do not die to sin and work through the transformation process, then we can never embrace the new and abundant (John 10:10) that God has called us to live.

I.  2 Corinthians 5:17-18.  If in Christ, you are a new creation, but how do you life differently if all you know is your old life with its old habits and sinful way of living? Sadly, many people obey the gospel but then only live differently in degree, not in character, than those in the world. Paul spoke of this spiritual war that raged within him (Romans 7:21-23) that was still a transformative process that began at his baptism when he rose out of the water to walk in newness of life (Romans 6:3-5). But, he was working hard to become like Jesus in His death, so He might attain to Jesus’ resurrection in His new life (Philippians 3:10-12).

II.  Romans 12:1-2.  As a new creation, the old has passed away … but has it?  We are to offer our bodies as living sacrifices, not being conformed to the world but transformed by the renewing of our minds.  Then when the old has truly been put to death, then we can test what is a good way of living this new life in Christ.  We must die to sin first (Romans 6:6-8). The problem with being a living sacrifice is that the offering keeps crawling off the altar. To do this we must forget what is behind and strain toward what is ahead. By keeping this forward focus, Paul says, is how he presses on to the goal of heaven (Philippians 3:13-16).

III.  2 Corinthians 5:19-20.  Without Jesus’ reconciling work at the cross and at the grave, we could not have new life, and with this new life comes new work that we also aren’t familiar with.  We are to be “ministers of reconciliation” or “ambassadors for Christ” who speak on behalf of God about this new life–even though we have just taken hold of it ourselves. Just as Jesus died to sin and rose to life, we must press on to take hold of this new life that has now come to us (Romans 6:9-11). Instead of looking back at our old life and regressing into those old habits and behaviors, we must hold true to what we have already attained.

Rather than focusing on what I have lost when my old life died with my wife, I am riveted on taking hold of what God has given me as a widower for His Kingdom in this new life. We must all do the same thing with the new life He has given us in Jesus.

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He Presented Himself Alive

In the 50 days from Passover to Pentecost, Jesus was busy!  The first 40 was spent the work of the gospel (Titus 3:5) and in convincing proofs that He indeed had overcome death (Acts 1:3).  In the last 10, He came into His Kingdom while His followers waited for His promise of power and mission to be given (Acts 1:4-8), a promise and mission that would include all those whom He would call to Himself (Acts 36-39).

I.  Acts 1:3.  After His suffering, which would include the events of Passover, Jesus “presented himself alive … by many convincing proofs, appearing to them during forty days and speaking about the kingdom of God.”  His purpose was two-fold and can be seen in these two examples: Luke 24:13-27 and John 20:19-28.  Jesus’ work during this period is included in the 1 Corinthians 15:1-7 description of the gospel.

II.  Acts 1:9-11.  Jesus ascending alive into heaven (Luke 24:50-51) answers two questions: where did He go and why did He go?  The first is important for believers to know and explain to others where the One who has conquered death is today and to know that He will return (Hebrews 9:28).  The second shows His work as Priest, Savior, and Intercessor (Hebrews 7:23-25) and His role as He comes into His Kingdom with authority over all, even the church (Ephesians 1:19-23).

III.  Acts 1:4-8.  While Jesus came into His Kingdom, His followers waited in Jerusalem for the fulfillment of His promise to them of power and mission (Luke 24:52-53).  It was fulfilled by the pouring out of the Holy Spirit upon them (Acts 2:1-4) and the first gospel message that instructed so many from all over the known world that Jesus was indeed alive and had conquered death for all those who obey the gospel (Acts 2:36-41), which includes us if we indeed die with Christ to live with Him (Romans 6:8-11).

Given the gift of the Holy Spirit when we believe, confess ‘Jesus as Lord’ (cut to the heart), repent, and are baptized into Jesus for the forgiveness of our sins, we too accept the mission to spread the message that Jesus is alive to the ends of the earth.  How are you doing with it?

 

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None of Self and All of Thee

In our relationship with God as in our earthly relationships, we would all insist that we love the other, but to what degree do we love?  The transition to love for God begins when we recognize ourselves in the first stanza of this song and obey the gospel:

O, the bitter pain and sorrow That a time could ever be,

When I proudly said to Jesus, “All of self, and none of Thee” …

[In brackets, I will tell the story of four Valentine’s Days or my spiritual journey: In our last semester of college while student teaching, my wife and I both obeyed the gospel on Sunday, February 14, 1993, just four months before we would graduate and be married, and thus we began our married life together as new Christians.]

I.  1 John 4:7-12.  Growing in our relationship with God, however, progresses from our second birth–just as a baby grows from his first birth or a marriage grows from a wedding.  Sadly, many Christians stagnate for years with a head knowledge of God and the gospel.  They can often cite book, chapter, and verse and can tell all about the love of God (Romans 5:6-8) without truly loving Him in return.  They are caught in the second stanza:

Yet He found me; I beheld Him Bleeding on th’ accursed tree,

And my wistful heart said faintly, “Some of self, and some of Thee” …

[On February 14, 1994, my wife gave me a study Bible to celebrate our first birthday in Christ.  I dove into knowing everything I could learn about it, God, and salvation, even completing a Bible degree.  While my wife was always a solid rock of faith–even through a cancer diagnosis of 2012 and a first brain tumor diagnosis of 2017, I used the gifts God gave me to teach and preach for the next three decades with a strong head love for Christ that went up and down through the years.]

II.  1 Peter 1:6-9.  In the Old Testament, God speaks about refining His people in the furnace of affliction.  In the New Testament, He speaks of using various trials to test the genuineness of our faith that hopefully leads to the salvation of our souls.  In most places today, the freedom to worship and general lack of persecution has made Christians complacent in our spiritual growth and content living with a low level of faith.  Struggles can stir us to a heart love for God as seen here:

Day by day His tender mercy Healing, helping, full and free,

Bro’t me lower while I whispered, “Less of self, and more of Thee” …

[The previous summer had my wife reacting to air quality, chemicals, surfaces, electricity, and wifi.  In desperation, she attended a naturopathic clinic in Kansas in January that showed a mold toxicity in her system.  I began mold remediation and reconstruction in the house to prepare it to sell while also cleansing, storing, trashing, or burning our possessions.  Living with a friend with similar issues, my wife met me for dinner on February 14, 2020, less than a month before her second diagnosis of brain tumors, where we spoke about our uncertain future.  Through radiation, a host of physical struggles, and months of hospice care, God gave us a last season together while He and I worked to break through my wall and I could grow in my heart love for Him.]

III.  James 4:7-10.  A total submission to God in a Christian’s head, heart, soul, and strength is required for him to truly love God and live (Luke 10:27-28).  This soul love can only come with a yielding of oneself to Him entirely and is beyond a head and heart love.  It comes through much prayer and perseverance.  When seeking of His kingdom and righteousness (Matthew 6:33) is added to fear of God and the keeping of His commandments (Ecclesiastes 12:13), submission can be achieved.  It is beyond the first four stages of grief after a great struggle or loss: denial, anger, bargaining, and depression.  It is found in acceptance and is spoken about in the last stanza of the title song:

Higher than the highest heavens, Deeper than the deepest sea,

Lord, Thy love at last has conquered, “None of self, and all of Thee” …

[I did not arrive here when my wife died in mid-December.  It was only in the past couple of weeks when I finally gave up in my fight against God, no longer struggling to make provision for the flesh (Romans 13:11-14), that I awoke to that soul love for God and Christ, my Savior.  Not that I no longer face temptations, but I am wearing the armor of God while fully submitting to Him and seeking for Him.  And so, this is the lesson I am preaching this Sunday, February 14, 2021, on the 28th anniversary of when my wife and I first professed our love for God, having first realized His great love for us.]

Which stanza of the song do you find your love for God?

 

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Sons of God Through Faith

A man drowning at sea is suddenly thrown a life ring that splashes into the water next to him.  Taking hold of it, he is pulled into the boat by his rescuer and lives the rest of his life eternally grateful to the one who saved his life.  Like this man, we are each dying in sin.  Because of His work at the cross and the tomb, Jesus is the only one able to save us through the gospel that he casts out to us.  We must take hold of the gospel to be saved, but no one rescued would argue that we worked for our salvation because we believed, repented, or confessed ‘Jesus as Lord.’  No, we would adamantly claim that Jesus saved us through His gospel.

But what about the boat?

Why do so many in the denominational world ignore the boat?  Why is baptism not part of obeying that gospel as well?  After all, it is Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection that make the gospel possible, and it is in baptism that we die with Christ, are buried with Him, and are resurrected with Him to walk in new life (Romans 6).  Baptism is the platform from which the life ring can be thrown.  It is the vessel from which Jesus stands to cast the gospel out to sinners.  Why is being hauled into the boat by Jesus not considered essential by some to bring us from death to life?

I.  Galatians 3:23-29.  Often verse 26 is taken alone to prove by those against baptism that we are all sons of God through faith, and therefore, it by ‘faith alone’ that we are saved.  But the context of the passage shows that this is a contrast between the old system or covenant based on law versus the new system or covenant of faith.  What had been largely ritual in the Old Testament is superseded by the New Testament of relationship made possible Jesus’ work at the cross and tomb.  The passage then explains the process to come into this relationship with Christ, “As many of you who have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ.”  We needed to get into the boat.

II.  Titus 3:4-5.  In reaction to the “Church” at the time being very works-based, the Reformation of the 1500s and 1600s swung the pendulum to the opposite extreme and declared salvation to be on “faith alone.”  Baptism was seen as a work because it was something tangible, unlike belief, repentance, and confessing ‘Jesus as Lord,’ that we had to do.  Romans 10:9-13 is a passage often cited by the ‘faith alone’ crowd as it excludes baptism but tells us we are saved by belief, confession, and calling upon the name of the Lord.  But pressed, these same folks will insist that repentance, although not listed there, is also necessary.  Obviously, this passage was not intended then to be a complete list.  And, where we call upon the name of the Lord, Acts 22:16 tells us, is in baptism.  What drowning man would insist that he had worked for his salvation because he submitted to his rescuer pulling him into the boat?  Rather, Jesus has done the only work for salvation.

III.  2 Peter 1:3-7.  Rescuing sinners is not enough for Jesus; He also gives us the chance to partake in the divine nature.  After dying with Jesus, being buried with Him, and rising with Him to new life in baptism, we are “heirs according to the promise.”  We must continue to walk as Jesus did to truly abide in Him (1 John 2:6).  We must continue to add all of these listed qualities, one to another, in increasing measure to never fall and receive a rich welcome into the Kingdom of God.

Could Jesus save without baptism?  If He wanted to … He is God in the flesh after all.  But the method He chose that was to continue down through the ages from Pentecost was for us to believe, confess Him as Lord (cut to the heart), repent, and be baptized into Jesus for the forgiveness of our sins (Acts 2:36-41) and then to continue living by faith (Romans 1:16-17) as sons of God through faith.

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Amen to All the Covenant

Thinking of Deuteronomy 27

Before the hill of Calvary, Amen
I say to all the covenant, and when
Declared the Twelve Curses with shout and voice
On those who fail to keep your words by choice.

For we have crossed the river’s rushing current,
Have raised the whitened stones with words transparent;
We’ve now become your people among the nations,
Who are blessed with solid hope and firm foundations.

We hear, O Lord, the curse on those who change
The gospel word, who offer doctrines strange
And dark, to add the works of man, remove
The all-sufficient Cross, your sign of love.

Amen, we say, as to ourselves a warning,
Remembered washing in the early morning,
Of word and water, sins you carried away —
We pledge that in your saving grace we’ll stay.

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Courage to Face the Cold

What courage to face the cold and chill
Of winter’s water, a pool unheated!
O Father, bless this soul — fulfill
This faith refusing to be defeated.

And when her heart would lose its zeal,
When trials of faith will surely fall,
May she love’s warmth and welcome feel,
To waver not in giving her all.

When friends forsake and foes revile,
When loved ones turn their shoulder,
When Satan tempts her heart with guile,
Let not her love grow colder.

May always courage be hers to last
As she possesses to now begin,
Whatever without, in drought and draft,
To trust your spiritual powers within.

Watch Forthright Press for an upcoming release of prayers and poems in verse.

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Show me your glory

Father, thank you for the pleasant and edifying time with the saints. It is a joy to be with your family of faith. You are to be praised for your wisdom in making us your people with one mind and heart.

  • Give us a harmonious spirit, help us to be sympathetic to one another, to show affection and compassion to each other, and to be humble in every way.
  • Let the evil of others keep us from responding in kind. Help us to bless others, regardless of their actions toward us.
  • Help us to do right and to see our blessing of doing so even under duress and suffering.
  • Prepare us to answer those who ask about the hope we possess.
  • Keep us from having any reason for shame.
  • Thank you that Christ suffered to bring us to you and that we were given the grace of baptism for our salvation.
  • Thank you for his resurrection which is our guarantee of being raised to heaven.

Show me your glory, O God, that I might never lose sight of my goal.

Based on 1 Peter 3. If this prayer blessed you, please share it with someone else.

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You Are My Son

“… And a voice came from heaven: ‘You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.’  Now Jesus himself was about thirty years old when he began his ministry …” Luke 3:22-23.  After many convincing proofs from His birth and childhood about who Jesus was, Luke, writing from his investigations and eyewitness accounts, ties in John’s role as a forerunner to the Messiah’s ministry and then gives the biggest endorsement of all: the Father’s seal of approval.  Without that, Jesus would have just appeared as a carpenter from Galilee who, either through deception or lunacy, was going around Judea declaring Himself to be the Christ.  But, He, at thirty years of age, was baptized to fulfill all righteousness and publically declare who He was and what He was about.  This was not done in secret.  The crowds that John was ministering to are well attested to earlier in the chapter.  There were many who Luke must have spoken to who were there when Jesus stepped down into the water, who saw heaven opened and the Holy Spirit descend like a dove, and who heard the Father’s voice declare Jesus to be His Son.  Perhaps that was why they began to follow Him.  Do you follow God’s Son?

Intro: John prepares the way for Jesus, Luke 3:4-9

I Jesus was baptized … to Receive the Holy Spirit

  • Luke 3:21-22a
  • We do too, Acts 2:38-39; Ephesians 1:13-14

II Jesus was baptized … to Please His Father

  • Luke 3:22b; Matthew 3:13-15
  • We do too, 2 Corinthians 5:9-10; Romans 5:6-8; Romans 8:16-17

III Jesus was baptized … to Begin His Ministry

  • Luke 3:23
  • We do too, Luke 14:25-34
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Baptismal benediction

“In closing his epistle Paul says, ‘The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion (fellowship) of the Holy Spirit, be with you all. Amen.” [2 Cor 13.13] I use this most of the time in a baptismal service. As the candidate arises from the watery grave to a new life in Christ, I say, ‘And now may the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you now and always. Amen.” I believe that is a benediction. At least, that’s my intention.” —Nelson M. Smith, Agape Study Manual, 300.