Epiphany

January 6^th on the Western Church liturgical calendar is the Feast of the Epiphany. Epiphany comes from a Greek word that means “to appear, or to become visible.” Epiphany is among the oldest Christian feasts dating back to the 4^th Century and traditionally commemorates the visitation of the wise men to the baby Jesus. In the broader sense it is the celebration of the “epiphany” or the manifest presence of Jesus Christ – the Son of God in human flesh – to the Gentiles.

The fact that God the Son took on flesh and bone is of supreme importance to us. One of the reasons Jesus became Immanuel – God with us – was so that we could experience Him. Or to use biblical terminology it is so that we could have fellowship with Him. It is what Jesus meant in John 15 when He instructed us to abide in Him. Christ came so that we could experience the manifestation or the epiphany of God in a very real, tangible way. And He returned to the Father so that He could send the Holy Spirit to us so that we would be able to experience the manifest presence of the Spirit in our lives daily.

John Piper spoke of the experiential reality of the Spirit, saying, “When you read the New Testament honestly, you can’t help but get the impression of a big difference from a lot of contemporary Christian experience. For them [the believers in the New Testament] the Holy Spirit was a fact of experience. For many Christians today it is a fact of doctrine… In Protestant evangelicalism [the gift of the Holy Spirit] is equated with a subconscious work of God in regeneration which you only know you have because the Bible says you do if you believe. It is easy to imagine a spiritual counselor saying to a new convert today, ‘Don’t expect to notice any difference: just believe you have received the Spirit.’ But that is far from what we see in the New Testament.”

I’m afraid we fall into that contemporary Christian experience category where the presence of the Holy Spirit is more an academic exercise than an experiential reality. And I hope you realize that. I hope you don’t think that we have arrived. I pray you begin to long to experience the Holy Spirit like they did in the New Testament, even if you are a little uncomfortable and are not quite sure what that would really look like.

Three Rivers, you are approaching a divide in the road. To the left is a well-worn path taken by most because it is easier, neater, more manageable, status quo, indifferent. That path is well-traveled and easier because it can be done on our own strength and with our own wisdom. But straight ahead is a narrow path with steep grades and cliffs on either side, but it is the path that leads to life. That path is impossible to negotiate without the epiphany, the manifest presence of the Holy Spirit at each step.

Can I just be real honest here? I’m tired – not of the ministry or the pastorate – I’m tired of apathy, of indifference…in my own life and the life of this church. I’m tired of 20-25% participation in connect groups. I’m tired of seeing a prayer ministry that only has 2 to 3 college students and has to be led by a college student because no one else is willing. I’m tired of not seeing older men and women not stepping up and teaching the younger men and women.

Have you ever wondered where the Jewish religious leaders were when Christ was born? They knew the prophecies; they saw the star; they knew where the Messiah would be born. (see Matthew 2:4-6) Isn’t it ironic that they were not in the stable worshiping their King? Instead, there were pagan astrologers who had traveled hundreds of miles and uneducated, dirty shepherds who gathered around the newborn God-man in worship. The religious leaders knew the scriptures, had all the knowledge, but they did not act on what they knew. They were indifferent; they were apathetic. Their knowledge had not transformed their hearts. (see http://www.desiringgod.org/blog/posts/the-irony-of-the-epiphany)

A.W. Tozer wrote in The Pursuit of God, “We have been too blind to see, or too timid to speak out, or too self-satisfied to desire anything better than the poor average diet with which others appear satisfied. To put it differently, we have accepted one another’s notions, copied one another’s lives and made one another’s experiences the model for our own…we have made the Word of Truth conform to our experience and accepted this low plane as the very pasture of the blessed.” (Chapter 5)

Frankly, I am growing weary of walking down this worn-down path of dry academic theology here in the Western church lined with cold stone walls that have chiseled in them the oldness of the Law, which can still be full of emotion, but it lacks real spiritual power. I’m tired of persuasive words of wisdom instead of the demonstration of the Spirit and of power (1 Cor 2:4). I want to begin walking in the newness of the Spirit. I want to begin experiencing Isaiah 30:20, that says, “[The Lord], your Teacher will no longer hide Himself, but your eyes will behold your Teacher. Your ears will hear a word behind you, ‘This is the way, walk in it,’ whenever you turn to the right or to the left.”

What if you woke up every morning longing to hear the voice of God? What if the manifest presence of the Holy Spirit was a fact of daily experience in your life? What if you trained yourself to discern the voice of God behind you, telling you, “This is the way, walk in it”? Many of you are uncomfortable with that. Good. I want you to be. I’m not going to explain that away and say, “Well, what Isaiah really meant was…” No, what Isaiah really meant was hearing the voice of God in our daily lives.

Now, there are some who think, “Well, you know Brad, Hebrews 1 says that in these last days, God has spoken to us in His Son. That’s past tense; He has spoken. Jesus is God’s final word to mankind.” And in one sense that is very true – but it is in the sense that final means ultimate, not finished. Because it is nonsense to think that God, the omnipotent Creator who spoke creation into existence, and who has communicated to mankind since the days of Adam, the One who said that man cannot live on food alone, but by every word that proceeds from His mouth, the One whose very name is The Word, should somehow have ceased to communicate to His people once the last word in scripture was penned. God is not just a God who has communicated; He is a God who communicates.

An integral part to the manifest presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives is the use of spiritual gifts. What if we took Paul at his word and “earnestly desired spiritual gifts.” And then we began using our spiritual gifts in a way that edifies the church? I’m not talking about simply our talents or skills – those are of our own strength and wisdom. We trivialize the importance and uniqueness of spiritual gifts when we lump them in with talents or things we just enjoy doing. I’m talking about biblically-based supernatural Holy Spirit driven gifts for the building up of the church like prophecy, and helps, and administration, and healing, and tongues. See, I think Satan has done an amazing job at making spiritual gifts taboo in otherwise biblically sound churches.

Why are we content on just knowing that the Holy Spirit is with us instead of longing to experience the presence of the Holy Spirit in our church?

So before you take the bread and the cup of communion, I want you to pause – not to rest, but to consider: Are you able to drink the cup that Christ first drank, or to be baptized with the baptism with which He was baptized? (Mark 10:38) In other words, are you willing to pursue the manifest presence of God regardless of what lies ahead? Are you willing to say with Job, “Though He slay me, I will hope in Him.” (Job 13:15) If so, then drink deeply of His cup, and savor the richness of His bread. He died to bring you near to God. And He returned to the Father so that you could experience the manifest presence of the Holy Spirit in your life.

Father, forgive us of our sinful preoccupation with our own pursuits in our own strengths and with our own efforts. Holy Spirit, we want to experience You, we want to fellowship with You, we want to abide in You. We want to grow to discern Your voice telling us “This is the way, walk in it”. Now bless this cup and this bread, I ask, as we honor Christ’s death and eagerly await His return.

Repentance that Leads to Life

The Church has used catechisms throughout its history to teach people the truths about God and His relationship to His creation. Catechisms are set in the form of questions and answers to aid in the learning of biblical truths.

In The Westminster Shorter Catechism, Question #87 asks: What is repentance unto life?

The answer is:  Repentance unto life is a saving grace, whereby a sinner, out of a true sense of his sin and apprehension of the mercy of God in Christ, doth, with grief and hatred of his sin, turn from it unto God, with full purpose of and endeavor after new obedience.

That is a mouthful, so I want to try to briefly break that answer down for us. First, repentance that leads to life is a “saving grace.” In other words, it is something that is granted by God. Remember, “grace” is God’s unmerited favor. Paul instructs Timothy to correct those who are in opposition “with gentleness…if perhaps God may grant them repentance leading to the knowledge of the truth,” (2 Timothy 2:25). The implication is that they will not repent unless God grants it to them.

Secondly, we are motivated toward repentance not only because we grieve over our sin but because we begin to feel the depth of God’s mercy in Christ. Paul tells us that it is “the kindness of God leads you to repentance.” (Romans 2:4) As Pastor Ray Ortlund writes, “We have zero motivation to repent, unless we see the mercy of God awaiting us. Not the slap of God, but the embrace of God. Repentance is not just turning from sin, not even that primarily. Repentance is primarily turning to God, moment by moment, because He has promised His mercy to the penitent.” “For the sorrow that is according to the will of God produces a repentance without regret, leading to salvation.” (2 Corinthians 7:10)

The Greek word that the New Testament writers used for repentance is metanoia, which means “a change of mind.” So to repent means to change your mind or your way of thinking about something. In other words, “I used to think this was okay, but now I see that it is wrong,” or “I used to believe that this was not worth my time, but now I believe it is of utmost importance.”

But let us not be deceived with our Western mindset that often somehow divorces “belief” from action and think that repentance is merely a logical exercise of the mind. Instead, true repentance is with “full purpose of and endeavor after new obedience.” Pastor Ortlund continues, “the outcome of repentance is not a restored status quo, getting back to ‘normal,’ getting back to where we were before we sinned, evading the consequences of sin. The outcome of true repentance is new obedience, unprecedented obedience, perhaps unheard-of obedience. Newness of life.”

That is why John the Baptist rebuked the crowds coming to be baptized by him by saying, “bear fruits in keeping with repentance, and do not begin to say to yourselves, ‘ We have Abraham for our father,’ for I say to you that from these stones God is able to raise up children to Abraham.” (Luke 3:8) Repentance was to be evidenced by their actions, not by their pedigree.

And that is why Paul told King Agrippa that he “did not prove disobedient to the heavenly vision, but kept declaring…that they should repent and turn to God, performing deeds appropriate to repentance.” So repentance – if it is true – must of necessity result in action that comes from a change in the inner man.

Jesus began His ministry preaching repentance: Matthew records “From that time Jesus began to preach and say, ‘Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.’” (Matthew 4:17) After His resurrection Jesus ended His ministry instructing the disciples to preach repentance: Luke records that “He opened their minds to understand the Scriptures, and He said to them, ‘Thus it is written, that the Christ would suffer and rise again from the dead the third day, and that repentance for forgiveness of sins would be proclaimed in His name to all the nations.’” (Luke 24:45-47)

When the crowd at Pentecost asked the apostles what they were to do in response to the gospel message, Peter’s instruction to them was to “Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins.” (Acts 2:28)

Repentance is not just a one-time event at the beginning of a Christian’s walk. Instead we are to develop a lifestyle of daily repenting – of changing or renewing our minds – as we grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. We must be a people whose lives are marked with repentance through the renewing of our minds and the resulting action that comes from a renewed mind.

Repentance is a blood-bought grace of God where we not only grieve over and hate our sin, but we are embraced by the mercy of God that produces a “full purpose of and endeavor after new obedience.” Repentance leads us to the knowledge of truth (2 Timothy 2:25). Repentance leads us to salvation (2 Corinthians 7:10). Repentance leads us to the foot of the Cross where we look up to the broken body and spilled blood of our Savior so that through His death we might have life.

Saving Us from Ourselves

We often use the phrase that we are “saved.” To be saved implies that we are saved from something, from some imminent danger. Scripture describes a number of things that we are saved from by the work of Jesus Christ on the Cross. For example, we are saved from God’s wrath (Romans 5:9), we are saved from sin (1 John 1:7), and we are saved from eternal, spiritual death (Romans 6:23).

Another aspect I want us to look at is that Christ died to save us from ourselves. Romans 1:18-28 reads, “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, because that which is known about God is evident within them; for God made it evident to them. For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse.”

Now, let’s stop there for just a second. Clearly, we don’t have time to delve into this too far, but suffice it to say that Scripture is very clear that mankind is without excuse before God. You see, in our twisted self-centeredness we ask the question, “Why do bad things happen to good people?” When the truth is that we have flipped the question on its head. Instead, we should be asking, “Why do good things happen to bad people? Why, O God, have you been so patient, so kind to mankind who is inherently wicked and continually defying You? Why have we not been swept away in a tsunami, or wiped out by civil war, or starved to death through drought?”

See, we must move beyond this idea of equating man’s moralism with God’s righteousness, and we must correctly define “good” the way God defines it. Just like Jesus pointed out in Mark 10… “Why do you call me good?…” Jesus’ point was not that He was not good, but that this man had no clue what ‘good’ really was.

Let’s continue in Romans 1:21, “For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened. Professing to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an image in the form of corruptible man …Therefore God gave them over in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, …  For they exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator…  For this reason God gave them over to degrading passions; …  And just as they did not see fit to acknowledge God any longer, God gave them over to a depraved mind, to do those things which are not proper,”

So three times here Paul emphasizes that God “gave them over” to their own desires – the lusts of their hearts, degrading passions, and depraved minds. In other words, God gives them (us) what they want. Mankind says, “I refuse to believe that I have to answer to some Higher Power; I am my own master; I control my own destiny. I am self-determining.”

Just listen to the poem Invictus by the 19^th century English poet William Henley:

Out of the night that covers me,
Black as the pit from pole to pole,
I thank whatever gods may be
For my unconquerable soul.

In the fell clutch of circumstance
I have not winced nor cried aloud.
Under the bludgeonings of chance
My head is bloody, but unbowed.

Beyond this place of wrath and tears
Looms but the Horror of the shade,
And yet the menace of the years
Finds and shall find me unafraid.

It matters not how strait the gate,
How charged with punishments the scroll,
I am the master of my fate:
I am the captain of my soul.

Mankind reads this poem that reeks of agnostic stoicism and feels inspired and invigorated. But God says, “A man who hardens his neck after much reproof will suddenly be broken beyond remedy.” (Prov 29:1)

And ultimately God says, “Okay, you want to believe that you are the master of your fate, the captain of your soul? You are not, but I will let you believe that. I will give you what you think you want. If separation from Me is what you desire, then that is what you will receive.” And so Paul writes that “For this reason God will send upon them a deluding influence so that they will believe what is false.” (2 Thess 2:11)

And ultimately, that is what hell is. That is why Paul describes “the penalty of eternal destruction” in 2 Thessalonians 1:9 as “away from the presence of the Lord.”

J.I. Packer writes:

“Scripture sees hell as self-chosen…[H]ell appears as God’s gesture of respect for human choice. All receive what they actually chose, either to be with God forever, worshipping him, or without God forever, worshipping themselves.” (J.I. Packer, Concise Theology p.262-263.)

So after our physical death, we end up getting what we truly wanted while we were here on earth – either to be forever in the presence of God or forever away from Him.

The problem is that we are so corrupted by sin that, apart from Christ’s work, we will not, indeed we cannot choose God.

Charles Spurgeon said,

“Free will I have often heard of, but I have never seen it. I have met with will, and plenty of it, but it has either been led captive by sin or held in blessed bonds of grace.” (“Our Change of Masters” sermon delivered on July 6, 1879 at The Metropolitan Tabernacle, Newington)

That is why the Person and work of Jesus Christ is of supreme importance. Unless and until we have a true, biblical understanding of “good” and of hell, we will never even begin to understand the extent to which God in Christ Jesus pursued us to save us from ultimate, self-chosen destruction, and therefore our utter and complete dependence on Him to save us.

2 Corinthians 5:15 says, “[Christ] died for all, so that they who live might no longer live for themselves, but for Him who died and rose again on their behalf.”

Another way to state that is: Christ died to save us from ourselves so that we can live for Him.

As we take communion together, let us think about how Christ’s death makes His proclamations of grace and love even more astounding, so that we no longer have to be slaves to our own evil desires, and instead stand in awe of Christ’s strength, honor, leadership, and self-sacrificing love.

Yom Kippur

The Jewish holy day Yom Kippur begins this Tuesday at sunset and ends at sunset on Wednesday. It is considered the holiest day of the year for the Jewish people and is marked by fasting and prayers of repentance. Yom means “day” in Hebrew and kippur comes from the root kaphar in Hebrew, which means “to cover or hide”; a secondary meaning is “to appease, propitiate, or to make an atonement.” Thus Yom Kippur means “Day of Atonement.”

On this Day, the priests were instructed in the Law to perform a complex set of special services and sacrifices that were considered to be most sacred because through them the High Priest made atonement for the entire nation of Israel (see Leviticus 16). During the service, the High Priest entered the Holy of Holies in the center of the Temple behind the veil where the Ark of the Covenant was located. This was the only time of the year that the priest was allowed inside the Holy of Holies, and then only by entering with blood, otherwise he would die (Leviticus 16:2; Hebrews 9:1-7). And doing so required special purification and preparation of the High Priest, including five immersions or baptisms in a mikvah (ritual bath), and four changes of clothing. He had to enter the Holy of Holies first with the blood of a bull for his sins and the sins of his household and then with the blood of a goat for the sins of the people. So, it could be seen that on the Day of Atonement, God allowed the blood of bulls and goats to kaphar  or “cover over, hide” the sins of the people.

These sacrifices and baptisms were symbolic gestures; but therein lies the problem – they were only symbolic. They did not truly remove their sins. God did not deal with them fully and finally; He only covered over them. The Day of Atonement was only a shadow of things to come, and those who walked by faith understood that it could not, in the true sense, take away their sin. The Prophet Samuel understood this: “Has the Lord as much delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed than the fat of rams.” (1 Samuel 15:22) King David understood this also: “For You, O Lord, do not delight in sacrifice, otherwise I would give it; You are not pleased with burnt offering.” (Psalm 51:16). The Prophet Micah understood this, as well: “Does the Lord take delight in thousands of rams, in ten thousand rivers of oil? Shall I present my firstborn for my rebellious acts, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?” (Micah 6:7)

In fact, the writer of Hebrews says, “For the Law, since it has only a shadow of the good things to come and not the very form of things, can never, by the same sacrifices which they offer continually year by year, make perfect those who draw near. But in those sacrifices there is a reminder of sins year by year. For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.” (Hebrews 10:1,3-4)

The Apostle Paul understood this when he wrote in Romans 3:25, “in the forbearance of God He passed over the sins previously committed”. However, later in Romans Paul quotes an Old Testament passage that prophesied, “This is my covenant with them, when I take away their sins.” (Romans 11:27) When Christ came, He came to deal with sin fully and finally. He did not come merely to cover over sins, but He came to take sins away. So you can hear the joy in John the Baptist’s voice when he pointed to Jesus and proclaimed, “Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29). Imagine what a profound statement that must have been for a first century Jew who had heard all his life that his sins had only been covered or hidden. But now the Apostle John writes, “You know that [Jesus] appeared in order to take away sins…” (1 John 3:5)

The blood of Jesus, our Savior, did not simply cover or hide our sins, but was powerful and effective to take away our sins. What does that mean for those of us who come to Him by faith? It means that Jesus has fully and finally removed our condemnation, completely fulfilled the requirements of the Law in us, and has given us the power to overcome sin that we were once enslaved to. (Romans 8:1-4; 2 Peter 1:3-4)

So the culmination of the Day of Atonement – the reality of that Day, not just a shadow – was presented in the person and work of Jesus Christ on the Cross. “Every priest [stood] daily ministering and offering time after time the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins; but He, having offered one sacrifice for sins for all time, sat down at the right hand of God.” (Hebrews 10:11-12)

As we take part together in the sacraments, we remember Jesus’ death and resurrection; but this is not a reminder of our sins year after year. Instead, it is a reminder of Christ who removed our sins and “by [His] will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.” (Hebrews 10:10) And that is why it says that He “will appear a second time for salvation without reference to sin, to those who eagerly await Him.” (Hebrews 9:28)

Disciples, Not Converts

If you have been to Three Rivers for any amount of time, you have probably noticed that we tend to do things a little differently than many traditional Southern Baptist churches here in the Deep South. One of the things you may have noticed is that we do not have an “altar call” or an “invitation” at the end of the sermon. This, of course, is intentional.

The altar call or public invitation is where the preacher tries to persuade his listeners to pray the “sinner’s prayer” and make a public profession of faith in Christ. Interestingly, godly preachers such as George Whitfield, Jonathan Edwards, and John Wesley never once gave an altar call. In fact, they did not even know what it was. The reason is that public invitation is a relatively new phenomenon that was made popular in the early 1800’s during the Second Great Awakening by Charles Finney’s frontier camp meetings. It’s worth noting that Charles Spurgeon, arguably one of the 19^th century’s greatest preachers, was adamantly opposed to the altar call. [1]

Now, let me say: there is nothing wrong, per se, with the altar call. Paul wrote to the Corinthian church “knowing the fear of the Lord, we persuade men.” (2 Cor 5:11) Our pleas to those who do not know Christ should be passionate and our speech persuasive. As Jude wrote, it is as though we are “snatching them out of the fire” (Jude 23).

But there are problems that have resulted in this method of evangelism. Historian Iain Murray wrote in his book Revival & Revivalism: The Making and Marring of American Evangelicalism that opponents to the altar call “alleged that the call for a public ‘response’ confused an external act with an inward spiritual change.” Murray goes on to say that the altar call effectively “institute[d] a condition of salvation which Christ never appointed.”

Another problem (I believe) is that it has come to place too much emphasis on the beginning of a person’s walk with Christ. No doubt, beginnings are essential; every race has a starting gun, and every prize fight has an opening bell. But no one ever won a race by simply acknowledging the starting gun, and no prize fighter ever won a match by simply announcing at the opening bell that they are now a boxer. Jesus taught that “the one who endures to the end, he will be saved.” (Matt 24:13)

The clear distinction is this: Jesus calls us to make disciples, not converts. Christ’s righteousness freely given to us as His students makes us righteous positionally in Him. It is based solely on the Person of Jesus Christ and His work on the cross. But it cannot stop there. This righteousness will, of necessity, work itself out in practical acts. As Mitch Jolly (Three Rivers Community Church teaching pastor) has pointed out in his teaching through Hebrews 11, the men and women of faith, as the writer of Hebrews penned, by their faith gained God’s approval (Heb 11:2), and through their faith working itself out in practical action, obtained God’s testimony that they were righteous (Heb 11:4). In other words, faith works.

Now, this is a very narrow path, with steep slopes on both sides. So let me be clear: We have no righteousness, we are not righteous, and we cannot obtain righteousness apart from Christ. Even the faith that we have is a free gift of God (Eph 2:8, 9). We are not saved by anything we have done or can do, but we are saved to do good works in the name of Christ. “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.” (Eph 2:10)

On the other side, we must move away from this notion that we are “in” simply based on our correct doctrine, and we do not need to strive to gain God’s approval. Paul warns of those who are “always learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth” (2 Tim 3:7). Again, as Mitch has said before, there is absolutely nothing we can do to earn God’s love; we can’t get Him to love us any more than He already does. The Apostle Paul makes it clear that in spite of the fact that while we were God’s enemies, helpless and hopeless sinners, God still went to the greatest extent of demonstrating His love for us by Christ dying for us (Rom 5:6-8).

So, just as a child (in a healthy, godly family) does nothing to earn love from his parents, so we do nothing to earn love from our heavenly Father. At the same time, the parents want their child to be pleasing to them, and the child gains their approval and is commended by his parents by doing things that make them happy. When the child does something that is not pleasing to his parents, it certainly does not mean that they will love their child any less. It simply means that they will not approve of or commend the child for what he has done.

We, too, must labor, striving according to God’s power within us (Col 1:29) and make it our ambition to be pleasing to Him (2 Cor 5:9) so that we will present ourselves approved to God as workmen who do not need to be ashamed (2 Tim 2:15); and like the men and women of faith in Hebrews 11, we will gain God’s approval and be commended by Him. Again, this faith that works itself out in action is begun by, continues through, and is completed in Jesus Christ and His work on the cross.

J. C. Ryle, English pastor and author during the 19^th century, wrote:

“Sanctification is the only sure mark of Gods’ election. The names and number of the elect are a secret thing, no doubt, which God has wisely kept in His own power, and not revealed to man. It is not given to us in this world to study the pages of the book of life, and see if our names are there. But if there is one thing clearly and plainly laid down about election, it is this — that elect men and women may be known and distinguished by holy lives.” (J.C. Ryle, Holiness, p. 12)

As we take communion together, let it remind us that we are to be men and women who are “known and distinguished by holy lives.” And our sanctification lies solely in the work of Jesus Christ, for “by [God’s] doing you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification, and redemption.” (1 Corinthians 1:30)

---

[1] An interesting article written by Douglas A. Sweeney and Mark C. Rogers on the history of the altar call can be found at http://www.christianitytoday.com/ch/thepastinthepresent/storybehind/walktheaisle.html

Freed from Fear

Fear…I’m sure some of us felt a little of it as the storms blew through last Friday. There are, of course, some healthy fears, like what a parent feels when their toddler is running toward a busy street. God gives us those times of a heightened sense of awareness to cause us to spring into action.

Throughout Scripture we learn that the healthiest of all fears is the fear of the Lord. King Solomon tells us that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom (Proverbs 9:10). Over and over, we are instructed to fear the Lord (i.e., Leviticus 25:17; Deuteronomy 6:1-2, 24; Joshua 4:23-24; Psalm 33:8; 34:9; Proverbs 3:7; 24:21). Yet at the same time, God Himself tells us not to fear.

To Abram God says, “Do not fear, Abram, I am a shield to you” Genesis 15:1

To Isaac He says, “I am the God of your father Abraham; Do not fear, for I am with you.” Genesis 26:24

And to Joshua, the Lord says, “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous! Do not tremble or be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.” Joshua 1:9

There is no contradiction here. I think one of the clearest descriptions comes in Psalm 2:11 “Serve the Lord with fear, and rejoice with trembling.” We approach a holy and awesome God with joyful trembling, because He is the only Person or thing that we should fear. As Mr. Beaver in C.S. Lewis’s The Chronicles of Narnia rightly explained: “Safe?” said Mr. Beaver.”Who said anything about safe? ‘Course he isn’t safe. But he’s good. He’s the King, I tell you.”

But we, as sinful, fallen creatures, fear many things other than God. The greatest fear to mankind may be the fear of death. And Jesus Christ came to remove even that fear. Listen to what the writer of Hebrews tells us in Hebrews 2:14-15:

“Therefore, since the children share in flesh and blood, He Himself likewise also partook of the same,” What that simply means is that Jesus physically became a human being just like you and me. This is crucial to our doctrine because, of course, God cannot die. So He took on flesh and blood in order to be able to physically die.

“[So Christ shared in our flesh and blood] that through death He might render powerless him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, and might free those who through fear of death were subject to slavery all their lives.”

Now, I want us to look closely at that phrase, “him who had the power of death, that is, the devil.” When the writer says that Satan has the power of death, he does not mean that he has the ability to kill whomever he chooses. God has not given him that ability. Scripture is very clear that the power of life and death lies solely in the hands of God alone.

God says in Deuteronomy 32:39, “See now that I, I am He, and there is no god besides Me; It is I who put to death and give life.”

1 Samuel 2:6 says, “The LORD kills and makes alive”

And in Revelation 1:18, Jesus makes clear that He is the One who holds the keys of death and Hades.

Satan does not have unbridled control over anything. Everything that Satan does, he must ask permission from the Father. (see Job 1:6-12; 2:1-6; Luke 22:31). What Satan has is the ability to tempt and to accuse. Revelation 12:10 calls him the accuser of our brethren who accuses them before our God day and night.

What does he accuse us of? He continually brings before God our sins, our shortcomings, our falling short of the glory of God. He knows that the wages of sin is death; the just penalty for our sins is eternal separation from God. So he brings the evidence of our sins before God to try to demand penalty for those sins, namely death. That is how he held the power of death.

But Christ conquered sin and death by dying and being raised to life, thus rendering Satan powerless. But not only does He render Satan powerless, He removes his ability to effectively accuse us, thereby freeing us from slavery to sin and the fear of death.

Therefore, we no longer fear death because Christ has removed the punishment of death. “The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law” (1 Corinthians 15:56), and Christ has removed them both by conquering sin and fulfilling the law on our behalf.

As we take the elements together, we take them with joyful trembling, knowing that Christ Jesus, in His flesh, removed the fear of death, because “He died for all, so that they who live might no longer live for themselves, but for Him who died and rose again on their behalf.” (2 Corinthians 5:15)