Psalm 56:8–11 You have kept count of my tossings; put my tears in your bottle. Are they not in your book? 9 Then my enemies will turn back in the day when I call. This I know, that God is for me. 10 In God, whose word I praise, in the Lord, whose word I praise, 11 in God I trust; I shall not be afraid. What can man do to me?
Yesterday we looked at trials and afflictions from our point of view, and we saw how they produce in us a harvest of righteousness stretching to all eternity. Therefore, though they are painful, we can and we should count them as “all joy.” Today we turn the camera around to look at similar events in the life of David but more from God’s viewpoint.
One of the temptations we all face at some point when we are afflicted is to believe that God is indifferent to our situation. We listen to that inner nagging that would have us believe that He doesn’t care. After all, He has countless things to do in sustaining the universe, and much worthier recipients for his attention than us, right?
In Psalm 56, David (not unusually) is under attack by his enemies. However, the attack is in terms of character assassination. His words are twisted and taken out of context (v 5). Gossip and rumor are being spread about David. His enemies lurk around, seeking to trip David up in something and to destroy him (v 6). David is genuinely afraid (v 3) by this barrage, day after day, from those who oppose him (v 1-2). In fact, as we know from other Psalms and from vs 8, the attacks were so prolonged and so hurtful that they reduced David to tears before the Lord.
And it is in verse 8 that we can answer the question about God’s indifference to David’s situation. We don’t find God saying “No gain without pain!” We don’t hear Him declaring in a voice lacking all sympathy, “This might hurt a bit but in the long term, it’ll do you good.”
What we see instead is something that reveals the tender-heartedness of our God, and shows that He is anything but indifferent to the sufferings of His children. God has kept count of David’s restless tossings and wanderings (v 8). More, says David, God has a special bottle (literally an animal skin container) in which to put the tears of His loved ones! I chose the title of this meditation because of the practise that people have had over the years of putting messages into bottles and letting them be carried by the ocean currents for others to read later on. Isn’t there a message for us in God’s bottle for His people’s tears? He knows, He cares! And to underscore this, David completes the couplet in verse 8 by indicating that God also has a scroll in which they are recorded - God is mindful of them! Not one of them fails to be collected in His bottle; not one is left out of the list on His scroll. God remembers, and if He remembers, He surely cares! If we have a liquid that is precious and costly, what do we do with it? We store it up. Where do we store it? In a special bottle! If we have a fact that is important for us to remember, what do we do with it? We write it down in a special place so we will know where to find it and we will not forget. We need to use this fact as a shield when we are tempted to believe God feels nothing when we go through pain! In verses 9-11, David reflects on this in order to assure Himself that God is on his side, that his enemies will be turned back and that he has no need to be afraid. With God, one man is a majority.
Remember, too, that as our faithful High Priest, Jesus Himself went through all the temptations that we experience (but to a far greater degree since He never yielded to sin), specifically so that He can sympathize with us in our weakness (Hebrews 4:15)!
Let me finish, though, by pointing us to a few other verses that show the extraordinary depth of God’s care and concern for us if we are His. Such verses are helpful allies when we are tempted to think He has left us alone and that He is unmoved by our situation.
Psalm 34:18 The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit.
Psalm 72:12–14 For he delivers the needy when he calls, the poor and him who has no helper. 13 He has pity on the weak and the needy, and saves the lives of the needy. 14 From oppression and violence he redeems their life, and precious is their blood in his sight.
Psalm 116:15 Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints.
Psalm 147:3 He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.
John 3:16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life...”
Romans 5:7–8 For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die— 8 but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
Ephesians 3:14–19 For this reason I bow my knees before the Father…. that you, being rooted and grounded in love, 18 may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, 19 and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.
Hebrews 4:15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin.
He loves us. He is for us. He knows our tears - they are precious to Him and He will remember them! That means that we are not left alone in our suffering, and our pain is neither unwitnessed nor unvalued.
Saturday, May 9, 2020
Friday, May 8, 2020
49 - Count It All Joy
James 1:2–4 Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, 3 for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. 4 And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.
If this paragraph wasn’t in the Bible, I wonder what we would make of it. Imagine a letter arriving for you one day in the mail. You open it up. It addresses you by name. And then comes the opening phrase: “You need to consider the trials you are going through right now, in their entirety, as a cause of joy in your life!”
I wonder how much further we would get in reading that letter? We might expect that before long there will be a sales pitch and a special offer. Or we might dismiss the note on the basis that the writer can have no way of knowing how painful our trials are. To tell us to count them as “total joy” sounds idiotic! It reminds me of what my high school math teacher used to say when we complained about having to do yet another test - even if it was in January - “Cheer up - it’ll soon be Christmas!” A song from a Hollywood musical seems to offer the same kind of advice:
Does the Apostle James belong to the “Hopeless Optimists’ Society”? Did a portion of his ministry consist in telling people to grin and bear it? No, not at all! Jesus told us that in this world we would have tribulation. As long as we are here, we have no real basis to conclude that uninterrupted good times are just around the corner.
Why does James open his letter with such an appeal, then? Why is he telling his readers not to put on an outward appearance of joy in the difficult times they happen upon but rather to honestly consider them as “all joy”? James is about to tell us, but before he does, note that this appeal comes to us in the case of various trials that we “meet.” The word carries with it the sense of something that happens “accidentally” from our perspective. In other words, we need to understand that we can’t go around behaving badly, deliberately provoking others to respond in a way that is a trial for us and then consider those trials to be “all joy”. He is talking about the difficulties and afflictions that come our way as we seek to live for Christ in a fallen world. These may be problems that are common to fallen man, or those that come particularly upon us when we live godly lives in Christ Jesus.
What is the reason for the trials, then? They are sent in order to test our faith, says James (and we should note that Peter agrees completely in Chapter 1 of his first letter). Of course, God already knows whether our faith is genuine - but we do not and it is really important that we should know! If we cannot endure under trial but turn back from following Christ, we will have pretty good grounds for believing that our faith isn’t the real thing. It is much better to find that out now, when there is time to repent and seek after God for true faith, than to discover when you die that you have been deceiving yourself.
But there is more to this testing than that, as James indicates. Where we have true faith and it is tested, the result is an increasing patient endurance and cleaving to God. We lean more and more on Him as the One Who will bring us through the valley and out into glory. The more we lean on God and not on our own understanding, the more we look to Him and not to ourselves, the more we surrender our wills to His, the more mature we will be - the more blameless and complete in His sight. And along with that, the more of His peace we will know (the peace that surpasses all understanding).
Another facet here is that this patient endurance of trials is only possible in the strength that God supplies and therefore is an attitude that brings glory to Him - think of Job and how God was magnified in his faithfulness!
It is as we realize what the result of the trials will be - both for us and for God - that we can come to regard them in a different light. They are not sent to hurt us but for our good. They are not accidents but come with infinitely perfect wisdom and design from our heavenly Father.
It is as we surrender to Him in the midst of these afflictions that we will agree with Paul’s assessment that God really is working all things together for good to those who love Him (Romans 8:28).
In the midst of this current global trial we are going through, can we consider it “all joy”? Can we see that God is working good in each of our lives, using the coronavirus with infinite skill to refine us, perfect us, complete us and fit us to take our places with Him in heaven? Once we understand this, it transforms our view of all our trials, including this one, doesn’t it? They are not random things any more. Neither, indeed, are they things to be avoided at all costs. We aren’t to go looking for them, as I indicated at the beginning of this meditation. But when we happen upon them, we won’t be resentful, shaking our fist at God with anger and bitterness. We can rest in the confidence that He knows what He is doing, and He knows what He needs to do in each of us to prepare us for heaven - and that makes even our trials a source of joy!
If this paragraph wasn’t in the Bible, I wonder what we would make of it. Imagine a letter arriving for you one day in the mail. You open it up. It addresses you by name. And then comes the opening phrase: “You need to consider the trials you are going through right now, in their entirety, as a cause of joy in your life!”
Gray skies are gonna clear up,
Put on a happy face;
Brush off the clouds and cheer up,
Put on a happy face.
Does the Apostle James belong to the “Hopeless Optimists’ Society”? Did a portion of his ministry consist in telling people to grin and bear it? No, not at all! Jesus told us that in this world we would have tribulation. As long as we are here, we have no real basis to conclude that uninterrupted good times are just around the corner.
Thursday, May 7, 2020
48 - We Do Have an Altar!
Hebrews 13:9–16 Do not be led away by diverse and strange teachings, for it is good for the heart to be strengthened by grace, not by foods, which have not benefited those devoted to them. 10 We have an altar from which those who serve the tent have no right to eat. 11 For the bodies of those animals whose blood is brought into the holy places by the high priest as a sacrifice for sin are burned outside the camp. 12 So Jesus also suffered outside the gate in order to sanctify the people through his own blood. 13 Therefore let us go to him outside the camp and bear the reproach he endured. 14 For here we have no lasting city, but we seek the city that is to come. 15 Through him then let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that acknowledge his name. 16 Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God.
I want to spend a few moments focusing on this passage, because it contains truth that is full of glory but easy to miss.
If you have read the letter to the Hebrews or some of our earlier meditations on it, you will know that the writer presents Jesus to us as the Better Sacrifice - offering Himself once for all on the cross and doing what all the Old Covenant animal sacrifices could never do; cleansing the conscience of those who draw near through faith. So Jesus put an end for all time to sacrifice for sin - wonderful news!
But then in verse 10, the writer quite categorically says that as believers, we do have an altar - and an altar is a place for offering sacrifices. So what kind of altar do we have, and what kind of sacrifices do we make? Let’s see what this passage says.
Under the Old Covenant, the priests could eat certain portions of some of the animal sacrifices that were offered, but they were not to eat the flesh of the sin offerings, whose blood was taken into the holy place in the tabernacle and sprinkled seven times before the Lord in front of the veil of the sanctuary. The bodies of these animals had to be burned outside the camp (verse 11 - see Leviticus 4).
In a similar manner, Jesus suffered outside the gate of the city, and in verse 12, the writer links this fact to the sin offerings of the Old Covenant. In other words, he is saying that those sacrifices were types, pointing forward to THE sin offering who would come - Jesus.
But now we return to verse 10 and we see more clearly what is being said. First, the Old Covenant priests have no right to eat from our altar. It belongs to a New and better Covenant than theirs. They couldn’t even eat the flesh of the sin offerings under their own covenant, so they certainly have no right to eat from our New Covenant altar. But the writer is saying more than this, isn’t He? He is saying that as New Covenant priests we do have a right to eat from THE Sin Offering that was made on our altar!
This is amazing! We know that as believers in Christ, our souls are nourished in Him. In a spiritual sense, we eat His flesh and we drink His blood. This is what Jesus was referring to in John 6:53-58. This is not a physical eating and drinking, but rather a spiritual participation in and union with our Sin Offering. Neither is it the Lord’s Supper, although that meal does show our participation in Christ symbolically.
So if Christ is the Sin Offering that was made upon our New Covenant altar, from which we have a right to eat as priests, then what is the altar that we have? Clearly we have no physical altar - rather, it is spiritual. And if the altar under the Old Covenant was the means by which the people were made outwardly acceptable to God under that economy, our New Covenant Altar must be the One by Whom we are made completely clean in conscience and fully acceptable. In other words, Jesus is our Altar, and He is also our Sin Offering!
In verse 9, The writer is warning his readers against trying to be strengthened by physical foods - possibly used in some physical religious ceremony - when it is grace they need. So he lays out before them the far greater spiritual food that we have in Christ, through which we obtain grace that strengthens us. “Why turn away from the precious and wholesome spiritual feast that we have a right to eat from as believers, in order to go chasing after stuff that is useless and obsolete?” he asks.
Once again, he turns the gaze of his readers away from the difficulties they were facing in the here and now in order to show them the surpassing greatness of what they possess in Christ. How could it make any sense to turn away from Jesus, back to the Old Covenant where even as a priest you couldn’t eat from the sin offerings, and where all you have is types and shadows intended to point us to Christ as the fulfillment and the reality?
He ends the section above urging the readers to follow Christ’s example - to join Him outside the camp and bear the reproach He bore (rather than trying to avoid it). After all, we have no lasting city here but are looking forward to the city that is to come. And as we do so, he encourages us to continue offering the sacrifices that are made by Christ’s Royal Priesthood - praise and thanksgiving, doing good and sharing.
So think of the privilege we have in Christ - the right to eat from this Altar! And think of the future that is before us. Let’s look to Him for grace to strengthen us, and keep offering praise and thanksgiving to Him, doing good and sharing with our neighbor!
I want to spend a few moments focusing on this passage, because it contains truth that is full of glory but easy to miss.
If you have read the letter to the Hebrews or some of our earlier meditations on it, you will know that the writer presents Jesus to us as the Better Sacrifice - offering Himself once for all on the cross and doing what all the Old Covenant animal sacrifices could never do; cleansing the conscience of those who draw near through faith. So Jesus put an end for all time to sacrifice for sin - wonderful news!
But then in verse 10, the writer quite categorically says that as believers, we do have an altar - and an altar is a place for offering sacrifices. So what kind of altar do we have, and what kind of sacrifices do we make? Let’s see what this passage says.
Under the Old Covenant, the priests could eat certain portions of some of the animal sacrifices that were offered, but they were not to eat the flesh of the sin offerings, whose blood was taken into the holy place in the tabernacle and sprinkled seven times before the Lord in front of the veil of the sanctuary. The bodies of these animals had to be burned outside the camp (verse 11 - see Leviticus 4).
But now we return to verse 10 and we see more clearly what is being said. First, the Old Covenant priests have no right to eat from our altar. It belongs to a New and better Covenant than theirs. They couldn’t even eat the flesh of the sin offerings under their own covenant, so they certainly have no right to eat from our New Covenant altar. But the writer is saying more than this, isn’t He? He is saying that as New Covenant priests we do have a right to eat from THE Sin Offering that was made on our altar!
This is amazing! We know that as believers in Christ, our souls are nourished in Him. In a spiritual sense, we eat His flesh and we drink His blood. This is what Jesus was referring to in John 6:53-58. This is not a physical eating and drinking, but rather a spiritual participation in and union with our Sin Offering. Neither is it the Lord’s Supper, although that meal does show our participation in Christ symbolically.
So if Christ is the Sin Offering that was made upon our New Covenant altar, from which we have a right to eat as priests, then what is the altar that we have? Clearly we have no physical altar - rather, it is spiritual. And if the altar under the Old Covenant was the means by which the people were made outwardly acceptable to God under that economy, our New Covenant Altar must be the One by Whom we are made completely clean in conscience and fully acceptable. In other words, Jesus is our Altar, and He is also our Sin Offering!
In verse 9, The writer is warning his readers against trying to be strengthened by physical foods - possibly used in some physical religious ceremony - when it is grace they need. So he lays out before them the far greater spiritual food that we have in Christ, through which we obtain grace that strengthens us. “Why turn away from the precious and wholesome spiritual feast that we have a right to eat from as believers, in order to go chasing after stuff that is useless and obsolete?” he asks.
Once again, he turns the gaze of his readers away from the difficulties they were facing in the here and now in order to show them the surpassing greatness of what they possess in Christ. How could it make any sense to turn away from Jesus, back to the Old Covenant where even as a priest you couldn’t eat from the sin offerings, and where all you have is types and shadows intended to point us to Christ as the fulfillment and the reality?
He ends the section above urging the readers to follow Christ’s example - to join Him outside the camp and bear the reproach He bore (rather than trying to avoid it). After all, we have no lasting city here but are looking forward to the city that is to come. And as we do so, he encourages us to continue offering the sacrifices that are made by Christ’s Royal Priesthood - praise and thanksgiving, doing good and sharing.
So think of the privilege we have in Christ - the right to eat from this Altar! And think of the future that is before us. Let’s look to Him for grace to strengthen us, and keep offering praise and thanksgiving to Him, doing good and sharing with our neighbor!
Wednesday, May 6, 2020
47 - Your Sin is Put Away!
2 Samuel 12:13 David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against the LORD.” And Nathan said to David, “The LORD also has put away your sin; you shall not die.
This text isn’t in the M’Cheyne plan for today, but it is closely linked to a passage that is - Psalm 51.
David’s adultery with Bathsheba followed by his arranged killing of Uriah the Hittite have been exposed by the prophet, Nathan. It seems that David is almost instantly convicted of his sin and feels the weight of guilt bearing down on him. What I found interesting as I thought about this is the fact that David’s forgiveness is declared just as immediately by the prophet. There were consequences in David’s life (the death of his son by Bathsheba and the problems with Absalom, to name but two) but he was nevertheless told that his sin was forgiven with no delay.
The reading in Numbers (15:22-31) today had to do first with offerings in relation to unintentional sins (where offerings could be made to secure forgiveness) but then with provisions for those who sinned “with a high hand” which effectively means wilfully and unrepentantly. Such individuals were to be cut off from the Lord’s people and their sin would remain upon them (15:31). There seems little doubt that David sinned wilfully in regard to Bathsheba and Uriah - and that both adultery and murder attracted a death penalty under the Law. How, then, could Nathan assure David that his sin was put away (didn't remain on him) and that he wouldn’t die? It was because David’s heart was tender and he repented as soon as his eyes were opened to see the magnitude of his sins.
Then I looked into Psalm 51 - David’s prayer of confession following the exposure of his sin by God through Nathan. I found these words:
Psalm 51:16 For you will not delight in sacrifice, or I would give it; you will not be pleased with a burnt offering.
David knew that the sins he had committed could not be cleansed away by the blood of any number of animal sacrifices - he would still have had a guilty conscience. In other words, his problem wasn’t about to be fixed by anything that he could do. What, then, was the answer?
Psalm 51:17 The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.
David needed to have had open heart surgery. He needed to be granted repentance - to be broken in spirit and truly contrite - in order to enjoy his relationship with God once again:
Psalm 51:10 Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me.
This was nothing David could do - this cleansing of the heart and bringing about genuine contrition and repentance is God’s prerogative. When God does this in a person, their conscience is cleansed and the guilt of their sin is taken away.
Right away, we are back with the themes we have been looking at in Hebrews, with David being a wonderful example for us. He committed terrible sins that merited his death. Yet through the grace of God he was forgiven because he wasn’t looking to put things right by his own effort. He was turning from his sin and looking to God to make his conscience clean.
The writer to the Hebrews has been telling us that the blood of bulls and goats cannot clean people’s hearts from the stains of sin. A Better Sacrifice is needed - and that is what God has supplied in His Son, Jesus Christ at the cross. David was already saved and in a right relationship with God before he committed adultery and murder. He already had the Holy Spirit dwelling in him (which is why he prays that he may not lose the Spirit’s presence in 51:11). So he repents, and Nathan assures him that his wilful sins against God have already been put away through the sacrifice of Christ on the cross.
We must never see our salvation as a license to sin, though. Paul had to deal with some who misrepresented the Christian faith in that way (Romans 6). Someone who deliberately and willingly commits themselves to a course of persistent sin has never come to know Christ, whatever claims they may make to the contrary. We must also realize that sin may have painful consequences for us in this life, even though it cannot break the bond that God enters into with us when we are saved.
But there is great hope, great comfort and great encouragement for us in these passages if we are Christ’s! They show that salvation is God’s work entirely and not ours, that He has met the entry requirements of heaven on our behalf, and that, as those who are now called by His name, He will not let us go. We will sin (sadly), but these passages teach us that if we are truly Christ’s we cannot sin away our salvation. We may lose our enjoyment of salvation for a season. We may lose the sweet experience of the Lord’s nearness for a time, but these blessings are restored through confession and repentance. What a kind and gracious God we have! “Once in Him, in Him forever - thus th’eternal covenant stands.”
This text isn’t in the M’Cheyne plan for today, but it is closely linked to a passage that is - Psalm 51.
David’s adultery with Bathsheba followed by his arranged killing of Uriah the Hittite have been exposed by the prophet, Nathan. It seems that David is almost instantly convicted of his sin and feels the weight of guilt bearing down on him. What I found interesting as I thought about this is the fact that David’s forgiveness is declared just as immediately by the prophet. There were consequences in David’s life (the death of his son by Bathsheba and the problems with Absalom, to name but two) but he was nevertheless told that his sin was forgiven with no delay.
The reading in Numbers (15:22-31) today had to do first with offerings in relation to unintentional sins (where offerings could be made to secure forgiveness) but then with provisions for those who sinned “with a high hand” which effectively means wilfully and unrepentantly. Such individuals were to be cut off from the Lord’s people and their sin would remain upon them (15:31). There seems little doubt that David sinned wilfully in regard to Bathsheba and Uriah - and that both adultery and murder attracted a death penalty under the Law. How, then, could Nathan assure David that his sin was put away (didn't remain on him) and that he wouldn’t die? It was because David’s heart was tender and he repented as soon as his eyes were opened to see the magnitude of his sins.
Then I looked into Psalm 51 - David’s prayer of confession following the exposure of his sin by God through Nathan. I found these words:
Psalm 51:16 For you will not delight in sacrifice, or I would give it; you will not be pleased with a burnt offering.
David knew that the sins he had committed could not be cleansed away by the blood of any number of animal sacrifices - he would still have had a guilty conscience. In other words, his problem wasn’t about to be fixed by anything that he could do. What, then, was the answer?
Psalm 51:17 The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.
David needed to have had open heart surgery. He needed to be granted repentance - to be broken in spirit and truly contrite - in order to enjoy his relationship with God once again:
This was nothing David could do - this cleansing of the heart and bringing about genuine contrition and repentance is God’s prerogative. When God does this in a person, their conscience is cleansed and the guilt of their sin is taken away.
Right away, we are back with the themes we have been looking at in Hebrews, with David being a wonderful example for us. He committed terrible sins that merited his death. Yet through the grace of God he was forgiven because he wasn’t looking to put things right by his own effort. He was turning from his sin and looking to God to make his conscience clean.
The writer to the Hebrews has been telling us that the blood of bulls and goats cannot clean people’s hearts from the stains of sin. A Better Sacrifice is needed - and that is what God has supplied in His Son, Jesus Christ at the cross. David was already saved and in a right relationship with God before he committed adultery and murder. He already had the Holy Spirit dwelling in him (which is why he prays that he may not lose the Spirit’s presence in 51:11). So he repents, and Nathan assures him that his wilful sins against God have already been put away through the sacrifice of Christ on the cross.
We must never see our salvation as a license to sin, though. Paul had to deal with some who misrepresented the Christian faith in that way (Romans 6). Someone who deliberately and willingly commits themselves to a course of persistent sin has never come to know Christ, whatever claims they may make to the contrary. We must also realize that sin may have painful consequences for us in this life, even though it cannot break the bond that God enters into with us when we are saved.
But there is great hope, great comfort and great encouragement for us in these passages if we are Christ’s! They show that salvation is God’s work entirely and not ours, that He has met the entry requirements of heaven on our behalf, and that, as those who are now called by His name, He will not let us go. We will sin (sadly), but these passages teach us that if we are truly Christ’s we cannot sin away our salvation. We may lose our enjoyment of salvation for a season. We may lose the sweet experience of the Lord’s nearness for a time, but these blessings are restored through confession and repentance. What a kind and gracious God we have! “Once in Him, in Him forever - thus th’eternal covenant stands.”
Tuesday, May 5, 2020
46 - What Does Faith Look Like?
Hebrews 11:1–3 Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. 2 For by it the people of old received their commendation. 3 By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible.
We are staying with the book of Hebrews as the writer continues to unfold his argument. In #45, we saw him encourage us to take advantage of the cleansing and the access into the presence of God that Jesus purchased for us on the cross. He continues in Chapter 10 by telling us that we need to endure and to take hold by faith of all that God has promised to us. The righteous shall live by faith, he says, and will press forward and not shrink back from the profession of faith they have made.
At the beginning of Chapter 11, it’s as though he’s heard someone saying “OK, but what does this kind of faith look like in reality? You have done a great job outlining it to us in principle, but are there any concrete examples that you can give to help us see it in action?” And so he begins the chapter with a wonderful definition of faith and spends the rest of the chapter giving us examples from the Bible of people who lived it out.
Biblical faith of necessity lives in the realm of unseen things. The writer spells out a kind of two-way street as he defines it for us in the opening verses of the chapter. It consists in two things, he says:
First, it shows itself in the believer as a God-given certainty of his or her interest in those unseen spiritual realities that we hope for but do not yet possess. Paul underlines this in Romans 8:23–25:
And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. 24 For in this hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees? 25 But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.
This is not a matter of gritting our teeth and forcing ourselves to believe against all the odds. Rather, God opens the eyes of our hearts to see the unseen things and to lean on them unshakably. We know for sure that we have an inheritance in heaven!
Second, (and this is really quite wonderful), the unshakable nature of our faith in these unseen spiritual realities is itself solid evidence that they are real! This faith is objective and rational, firm and immovable, in a way that the hopes and dreams of those in the world are not. They have no conviction and no certainty, just a vague wish that what they long for will actually come to pass.
So the writer defines Biblical faith as that which will persevere and not shrink back, and which is marked by a firm assurance of the good things that God has promised to His children. But what of examples? The writer lists out characters from the Old Testament who displayed exactly this kind of faith. They saw the eternal and invisible things. By the way they lived, they showed that they didn’t belong in this world but had set their hope fully on the world that is to come. They endured through hardships and persecutions. They were willing to give up their most precious things for God. They gave up worldly fame and fortune. They were mocked and scorned. They were tortured. They surrendered their bodies to death, all the while looking forward to what God had prepared for them in heaven, and being strengthened through His promise and His oath. None of them received the promised blessings in their day, because their full measure will only be received when Christ returns at the Second Coming, the dead are raised, clothed with their resurrection bodies and welcomed into glory.
It’s possible that the current pandemic has caused some to wonder whether it is worth continuing to profess Christ. Our frailty and mortality have been exposed, perhaps as we have never seen them before. We are tempted (since we may die at any moment) to make the most of the opportunities here to grab as much as we can of what the world has to offer. Perhaps we are questioning whether following Christ here on earth is the best possible use of our time when there are so many other things we could be exploring.
If that is you, then this whole letter was written for you, to show you how incomparable Christ is, and how worthless life is when it is not lived for Him and with Him. It is written to show you the emptiness of the world’s offers, and their inability to satisfy your deepest needs. It is written to strengthen your resolve to commit yourself fully to Christ, to forsake the world and to willingly accept whatever the Lord may have for you in this world, confident of the glorious eternity that will be yours through faith in Him.
So press into Him, press forward with Him and do not turn back. The blessings and the honor and the rewards that are the inheritance of every true child of God will make the very worst things that happen to us in this world seem light and momentary in comparison!
We are staying with the book of Hebrews as the writer continues to unfold his argument. In #45, we saw him encourage us to take advantage of the cleansing and the access into the presence of God that Jesus purchased for us on the cross. He continues in Chapter 10 by telling us that we need to endure and to take hold by faith of all that God has promised to us. The righteous shall live by faith, he says, and will press forward and not shrink back from the profession of faith they have made.
At the beginning of Chapter 11, it’s as though he’s heard someone saying “OK, but what does this kind of faith look like in reality? You have done a great job outlining it to us in principle, but are there any concrete examples that you can give to help us see it in action?” And so he begins the chapter with a wonderful definition of faith and spends the rest of the chapter giving us examples from the Bible of people who lived it out.
Biblical faith of necessity lives in the realm of unseen things. The writer spells out a kind of two-way street as he defines it for us in the opening verses of the chapter. It consists in two things, he says:
First, it shows itself in the believer as a God-given certainty of his or her interest in those unseen spiritual realities that we hope for but do not yet possess. Paul underlines this in Romans 8:23–25:
And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. 24 For in this hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees? 25 But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.
This is not a matter of gritting our teeth and forcing ourselves to believe against all the odds. Rather, God opens the eyes of our hearts to see the unseen things and to lean on them unshakably. We know for sure that we have an inheritance in heaven!
Second, (and this is really quite wonderful), the unshakable nature of our faith in these unseen spiritual realities is itself solid evidence that they are real! This faith is objective and rational, firm and immovable, in a way that the hopes and dreams of those in the world are not. They have no conviction and no certainty, just a vague wish that what they long for will actually come to pass.
So the writer defines Biblical faith as that which will persevere and not shrink back, and which is marked by a firm assurance of the good things that God has promised to His children. But what of examples? The writer lists out characters from the Old Testament who displayed exactly this kind of faith. They saw the eternal and invisible things. By the way they lived, they showed that they didn’t belong in this world but had set their hope fully on the world that is to come. They endured through hardships and persecutions. They were willing to give up their most precious things for God. They gave up worldly fame and fortune. They were mocked and scorned. They were tortured. They surrendered their bodies to death, all the while looking forward to what God had prepared for them in heaven, and being strengthened through His promise and His oath. None of them received the promised blessings in their day, because their full measure will only be received when Christ returns at the Second Coming, the dead are raised, clothed with their resurrection bodies and welcomed into glory.
It’s possible that the current pandemic has caused some to wonder whether it is worth continuing to profess Christ. Our frailty and mortality have been exposed, perhaps as we have never seen them before. We are tempted (since we may die at any moment) to make the most of the opportunities here to grab as much as we can of what the world has to offer. Perhaps we are questioning whether following Christ here on earth is the best possible use of our time when there are so many other things we could be exploring.
If that is you, then this whole letter was written for you, to show you how incomparable Christ is, and how worthless life is when it is not lived for Him and with Him. It is written to show you the emptiness of the world’s offers, and their inability to satisfy your deepest needs. It is written to strengthen your resolve to commit yourself fully to Christ, to forsake the world and to willingly accept whatever the Lord may have for you in this world, confident of the glorious eternity that will be yours through faith in Him.
So press into Him, press forward with Him and do not turn back. The blessings and the honor and the rewards that are the inheritance of every true child of God will make the very worst things that happen to us in this world seem light and momentary in comparison!
Monday, May 4, 2020
45 - Let Us Draw Near!
Hebrews 10:19–25 Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, 20 by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain, that is, through his flesh, 21 and since we have a great priest over the house of God, 22 let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. 23 Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful. 24 And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, 25 not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.
We have been following some of the arguments made by the writer to the Hebrews in recent posts. In #41, we saw that God wanted to show us more convincingly than by His word of promise that His purposes for us are unchanging - so He swore an oath by Himself to that effect! This makes our hope a firm anchor for our souls, grounded in heaven where Jesus ever lives as our great High Priest to intercede for us. Then in #44 we saw that it is the blood of Christ, which He took into the heavenly tabernacle, that really cleanses our conscience from dead works to serve the living God. His sacrifice therefore wiped away the stain of our sin and made us white as snow.
The passage above summarizes these arguments again for us in two statements, before drawing three conclusions.
First summary statement - Jesus has opened for us a new and living way through the curtain of the heavenly tabernacle into the holy places by His blood. Just as His body was broken, so the curtain of the earthly tabernacle was torn in two to show that this way is opened up to us to enter with confidence.
Second summary statement - Jesus is installed as a great priest over the house of God (the writer has said before that Jesus is able to sympathize with us in our weakness).
Pause here a moment and take in what the writer is saying here. Jesus took His blood into the heavenly holy places as an offering of atonement before God - and it was accepted. He entered heaven as the God-man, showing that the way is now open for redeemed and glorified humanity to enter heaven also. His blood washes us white as snow and He ministers in heaven as our Great Priest to plead the merits of His once-for-all sacrifice on our behalf.
We were barred from entry into heaven before, but now it is not just that we can creep in through the back door and hope to hide away where no-one will see us. Not at all! We are welcome to come near to God because of what Jesus has done! And there is no other way to heaven except through the work of Jesus - it is His new and living way, or no way.
So then, what should we do? The writer tells us in his three conclusions, all exhortations to us and all beginning with “let us.” “Therefore,” he says, “since these things are true:”
So, if it will help you to remember these wonderful exhortations, think of this passage in Hebrews as the “3 lettuces” passage:
We have a gracious God and a glorious gospel - why not seek to encourage at least one brother or sister in Christ every day with the wonder of these truths?
We have been following some of the arguments made by the writer to the Hebrews in recent posts. In #41, we saw that God wanted to show us more convincingly than by His word of promise that His purposes for us are unchanging - so He swore an oath by Himself to that effect! This makes our hope a firm anchor for our souls, grounded in heaven where Jesus ever lives as our great High Priest to intercede for us. Then in #44 we saw that it is the blood of Christ, which He took into the heavenly tabernacle, that really cleanses our conscience from dead works to serve the living God. His sacrifice therefore wiped away the stain of our sin and made us white as snow.
The passage above summarizes these arguments again for us in two statements, before drawing three conclusions.
First summary statement - Jesus has opened for us a new and living way through the curtain of the heavenly tabernacle into the holy places by His blood. Just as His body was broken, so the curtain of the earthly tabernacle was torn in two to show that this way is opened up to us to enter with confidence.
Second summary statement - Jesus is installed as a great priest over the house of God (the writer has said before that Jesus is able to sympathize with us in our weakness).
Pause here a moment and take in what the writer is saying here. Jesus took His blood into the heavenly holy places as an offering of atonement before God - and it was accepted. He entered heaven as the God-man, showing that the way is now open for redeemed and glorified humanity to enter heaven also. His blood washes us white as snow and He ministers in heaven as our Great Priest to plead the merits of His once-for-all sacrifice on our behalf.
We were barred from entry into heaven before, but now it is not just that we can creep in through the back door and hope to hide away where no-one will see us. Not at all! We are welcome to come near to God because of what Jesus has done! And there is no other way to heaven except through the work of Jesus - it is His new and living way, or no way.
So then, what should we do? The writer tells us in his three conclusions, all exhortations to us and all beginning with “let us.” “Therefore,” he says, “since these things are true:”
- Let us draw near (v 22)! It would be strange indeed if a generous person bought a house for us at enormous expense and opened the door to let us in, only for us to stand around outside and admire the house from a distance! No, says the writer, the blood of Jesus has sprinkled our hearts clean from an evil conscience and we have been washed in pure water (I think an emblem here of the Holy Spirit). Therefore, with true hearts and full assurance of faith, we may enter and draw near!
- Let us boldly affirm that our certain hope - the anchor for our souls - is Jesus Himself. We will hold fast to Him and He to us. And we really shouldn’t have any waverings, because we have the promise and the oath of God to convince us of His unchanging and gracious purposes for us! Times were tough for the original readers of this letter and some were thinking of turning back from following Christ. The wonder of our access to God through Jesus is something we need to marvel at but also use to strengthen our resolve when we go through difficult times.
- Let us consider how to stir one another up to love and good deeds. If we see others who are wavering, we need to get alongside them and encourage them. Biblical Christianity is all about the “one another” ministry among believers. We need to stir each other up and encourage them to be fruitful in their knowledge of Jesus. One of the first signs that someone is drifting from Christ is that they stop attending the gatherings of the church. We need to meet together to stir each other up! I know we can’t do this face to face at the moment, but we can do it in other ways and it is vital that we do! There is an urgency here, too, because our time on this earth is short and we need to make the most of every opportunity of fruitful service.
So, if it will help you to remember these wonderful exhortations, think of this passage in Hebrews as the “3 lettuces” passage:
- Let us draw near to God by the way Jesus has opened
- Let us hold fast to our Anchor and not waver
- Let us stir up others to press in to Jesus and be fruitful
We have a gracious God and a glorious gospel - why not seek to encourage at least one brother or sister in Christ every day with the wonder of these truths?
Sunday, May 3, 2020
44 - As White As Snow!
Isaiah 1:18 “Come now, let us reason together, says the LORD: though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool.
This is one of those days (which are not rare!) when two of the readings from M’Cheyne’s plan go very well together. This passage from Isaiah 1 is the first of them. The Lord has been speaking through the prophet, lamenting that all their religion was an outward thing. Lots of sacrifices and incense (v 11), lots of wordy prayers (v 15), lots of festivals (v 14) but it was all hypocrisy. They had forgotten that they belonged to God and had forsaken Him (v 3-4). Their whole head was sick and their whole heart was faint. From head to foot they were wretched and an eyesore to God (v 6). They were overrun by enemies as a consequence and only a remnant was left (v 7-9). God was not going to listen to them and take pleasure in them until these offences were stopped and true religion flourished again - they needed to repent (v 16-17). And then comes the remarkable promise in verse 18 (see above). If the people would truly repent, the removal of the stain of their sin was possible. In fact, it would not only be removed but they would become spotlessly and dazzlingly clean!
We know, of course, that sin is a heart problem and that for the kind of cleansing that is spoken of here, there has to be a change of the heart towards God - it is clear that just going through the motions - drawing near with the lips but with hearts that were far away (as Israel was doing) wasn’t going to make anything better - in fact it was making things worse for them.
It is also clear that the Old Covenant sacrifices weren’t able to bring about this spotless purification of the heart. If they had done so, then the people would have had clean consciences and would not have needed the apparently endless repetition of blood sacrifices that were prescribed under that Covenant economy.
Obviously, heart-cleansing is possible - otherwise God would not have spoken about it through Isaiah. The question is, how?
And that is where another of the readings today provides the answer:
Hebrews 9:11–14 But when Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things that have come, then through the greater and more perfect tent (not made with hands, that is, not of this creation) 12 he entered once for all into the holy places, not by means of the blood of goats and calves but by means of his own blood, thus securing an eternal redemption. 13 For if the blood of goats and bulls, and the sprinkling of defiled persons with the ashes of a heifer, sanctify for the purification of the flesh, 14 how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God.
Christ is the answer! He has made possible by His sacrifice what all those tens of thousands of animal sacrifices were unable to do - cleanse the consciences of those who draw near in faith! The blood of those sacrifices was taken from the altar into the presence of God in the Holy of Holies and was sprinkled there to make atonement for the people - but it had to be done again and again, as it only cleansed the flesh of the people. But the blood of Christ’s sacrifice - His own blood - He has taken into the presence of God in heaven itself - the true tabernacle of which the one on earth was but a man-made copy.
And note that He did this “once for all” (v 12). His is the sacrifice to end all sacrifices, because unlike them, His blood really does cleanse the conscience of the one who comes, turning from their sin and trusting in Him alone to save them. So His sacrifice doesn’t ever need to be repeated - “It is Finished!” as Jesus cried out triumphantly from the cross!
Back in Isaiah’s day, with eyes of faith, the people could see the coming Messiah through all the types and shadows of the Mosaic and the ceremonial laws. They could hear about Him in the words of the prophets (many of which speak of Jesus in remarkable detail and were written hundreds of years before He came). And their hearts were made as white as snow as they looked beyond the blood of the bulls and goats and put their trust in Christ and His shed blood, to Whom all of their sacrifices pointed.
And for us today, we can look back not only to the Old Covenant sacrifices, but to Jesus fulfilling them all as He hung on the cross. We can put our faith in the completed redemption that He has accomplished. And as we do so, abandoning our sin and laying hold on Christ alone, His blood is applied to our hearts and the stain of sin is wiped away - we become as white as snow. When we do this, we realize what countless generations of people have come to understand down through the ages as they have believed in Jesus:
This is one of those days (which are not rare!) when two of the readings from M’Cheyne’s plan go very well together. This passage from Isaiah 1 is the first of them. The Lord has been speaking through the prophet, lamenting that all their religion was an outward thing. Lots of sacrifices and incense (v 11), lots of wordy prayers (v 15), lots of festivals (v 14) but it was all hypocrisy. They had forgotten that they belonged to God and had forsaken Him (v 3-4). Their whole head was sick and their whole heart was faint. From head to foot they were wretched and an eyesore to God (v 6). They were overrun by enemies as a consequence and only a remnant was left (v 7-9). God was not going to listen to them and take pleasure in them until these offences were stopped and true religion flourished again - they needed to repent (v 16-17). And then comes the remarkable promise in verse 18 (see above). If the people would truly repent, the removal of the stain of their sin was possible. In fact, it would not only be removed but they would become spotlessly and dazzlingly clean!
We know, of course, that sin is a heart problem and that for the kind of cleansing that is spoken of here, there has to be a change of the heart towards God - it is clear that just going through the motions - drawing near with the lips but with hearts that were far away (as Israel was doing) wasn’t going to make anything better - in fact it was making things worse for them.
It is also clear that the Old Covenant sacrifices weren’t able to bring about this spotless purification of the heart. If they had done so, then the people would have had clean consciences and would not have needed the apparently endless repetition of blood sacrifices that were prescribed under that Covenant economy.
Obviously, heart-cleansing is possible - otherwise God would not have spoken about it through Isaiah. The question is, how?
And that is where another of the readings today provides the answer:
Hebrews 9:11–14 But when Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things that have come, then through the greater and more perfect tent (not made with hands, that is, not of this creation) 12 he entered once for all into the holy places, not by means of the blood of goats and calves but by means of his own blood, thus securing an eternal redemption. 13 For if the blood of goats and bulls, and the sprinkling of defiled persons with the ashes of a heifer, sanctify for the purification of the flesh, 14 how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God.
Christ is the answer! He has made possible by His sacrifice what all those tens of thousands of animal sacrifices were unable to do - cleanse the consciences of those who draw near in faith! The blood of those sacrifices was taken from the altar into the presence of God in the Holy of Holies and was sprinkled there to make atonement for the people - but it had to be done again and again, as it only cleansed the flesh of the people. But the blood of Christ’s sacrifice - His own blood - He has taken into the presence of God in heaven itself - the true tabernacle of which the one on earth was but a man-made copy.
And note that He did this “once for all” (v 12). His is the sacrifice to end all sacrifices, because unlike them, His blood really does cleanse the conscience of the one who comes, turning from their sin and trusting in Him alone to save them. So His sacrifice doesn’t ever need to be repeated - “It is Finished!” as Jesus cried out triumphantly from the cross!
Back in Isaiah’s day, with eyes of faith, the people could see the coming Messiah through all the types and shadows of the Mosaic and the ceremonial laws. They could hear about Him in the words of the prophets (many of which speak of Jesus in remarkable detail and were written hundreds of years before He came). And their hearts were made as white as snow as they looked beyond the blood of the bulls and goats and put their trust in Christ and His shed blood, to Whom all of their sacrifices pointed.
And for us today, we can look back not only to the Old Covenant sacrifices, but to Jesus fulfilling them all as He hung on the cross. We can put our faith in the completed redemption that He has accomplished. And as we do so, abandoning our sin and laying hold on Christ alone, His blood is applied to our hearts and the stain of sin is wiped away - we become as white as snow. When we do this, we realize what countless generations of people have come to understand down through the ages as they have believed in Jesus:
There is a fountain filled with blood
Drawn from Immanuel's veins;
And sinners, plunged beneath that flood,
Lose all their guilty stains.
The dying thief rejoiced to see
That fountain in his day;
And there have I, though vile as he,
Washed all my sins away.
Dear dying Lamb, Thy precious blood
Shall never lose its pow'r,
Till all the ransomed Church of God
Be saved to sin no more.
E'er since by faith I saw the stream
Thy flowing wounds supply,
Redeeming love has been my theme,
And shall be till I die.
When this poor lisping, stamm'ring tongue
Lies silent in the grave,
Then in a nobler, sweeter song
I'll sing Thy pow'r to save.
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