Christ Our Intercessor

Romans 8 is a tremendous chapter in the Bible, worth going to over and over and over again. The latter half of the chapter is all about our security in Christ. If we are in Christ by faith, if we genuinely belong to Jesus, then he will keep us through all the trials and tribulations of life. This is reassuring news. Nothing can separate us from the love of Christ. But what about when we sin? What about when we fail? What about when we are unfaithful?

The Bible gives us a perfect picture of that when it comes to Abraham’s nephew, Lot. Lot made bad decisions. He made self-seeking, faithless decisions. He chose the riches of this life over the promises of God. He pitched his tent toward Sodom. To be sure, Lot wasn’t choosing sin over faith. Peter tells us in 2 Peter 2 that “as that righteous man lived among them day after day, he was tormenting his righteous soul over their lawless deeds that he saw and heard.” So Lot wasn’t jumping in head first into sin, but he was making some bad decisions, pursuing the wrong things, and not living a life of faith. Lot chose the cities of the plain over the promised land.

In Genesis 18 three men come to visit Abraham. We find out through the text that these three “men” are the LORD and two angels. They have come to renew a promise to Abraham, to make sure Sarah hears it, and then to make a judicial investigation of the cities of the plain since an outcry has come up to God over the wickedness in those cities. Sodom and Gomorrah are about to become a proverb, an example, an object lesson of God’s righteous judgment.

But before this judgment takes place the LORD says he must tell Abraham what he is going to do so that this object lesson will be passed down to future generations. What follows is a tremendous picture of Christ as our intercessor when Abraham stands before the LORD and pleads mercy for Lot and his family. “Shall not the judge of all the earth do what is just?” And we are assured that he will. The righteous will not be swept away with the wicked.

As the story unfolds we see God’s angels rescue Lot from the judgment of God in answer to Abraham’s prayers. What does all of this have to do with Romans 8? I’m glad you asked because it gets to the heart of the matter. What if we sin? What if we fail? What if we prove ourselves unworthy?

The truth is we are unworthy of God’s grace. That’s why it’s called grace. And none of us is righteous in and of himself, this is proved every time we sin. We are only righteous in Christ. But for those of us united to Christ by faith, our sins have been covered, they have been atoned for, Christ has made propitiation on our behalf. He has paid the penalty for those sins. That’s what Paul says in Romans 8.

Who shall bring any charge against God's elect? It is God who justifies. Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us.—Romans 8:32-33

Who can lay any charge against the chosen of God? No one. Why not? Because God has justified them through faith. Who is the one to condemn them? No one. Why not? Because Jesus died for them. And not only did he die for them but he was raised for them. And not only did he die and rise again for them but he is even at the right hand of the Father making intercession for them. What does his intercession look like? It looks like Abraham’s intercession for Lot in Genesis 18.

Far be it from you to do such a thing, to put the righteous to death with the wicked, so that the righteous fare as the wicked! Far be that from you! Shall not the Judge of all the earth do what is just?”—Genesis 18:25

Indeed he will. Rest assured, believer. Though you often fail, though you sin and fall short, though you are often unfaithful, Jesus is praying for you and God always hears and answers the prayers of his beloved Son.

Praying for our sister…

Yesterday it was announced by one of our dear members that she has received a diagnosis of cancer. The cancer was described as “aggressive.” If you were there yesterday morning then you know who I am talking about. If you weren’t, but would like to know, just drop me an email. I say this because I wanted to encourage all of you to spend a little more time in prayer for our sister and for her family.

I hope and believe that we pray for each other as a church and I know that many of you take the prayer list with you to pray over in your own time. God encourages us to pray, to take our needs to him, for he is the God who hears and answers our prayers. He even calls himself by that name in Psalm 65:2, where it says,

O you who hear prayer, to you shall all flesh come

For the believer, prayer should be as natural as breathing. We believe God. We trust him. We know that he is the one who supplies all our need. We are taught to petition him for our daily needs. We are also taught to pray for each other. Does God always heal? Yes. And no. Yes, God has promised to save all his people from their enemies. Those enemies include sin and the curse. Disease is part and parcel of the curse. The fulfillment of that promise, though, is in the resurrection. All temporal healings point forward to the eternal healing of all God’s people in the resurrection. But we all die of something, don’t we? We all have a date with death. It is coming for every one of us. When that happens is in God’s hand.

But that’s the thing, isn’t it? We know there is a better world that awaits. We know that to depart is to be with Christ which is far better. We also know, though, that to remain here in this life means useful service for Christ for those we love and we desire to remain for that reason. Brothers and sisters we have good reason to ask God to heal our sister. We need her. Our church needs her. Her husband needs her. Most importantly, her children need her. She is useful in the cause of Christ. She has work left to be done for the kingdom.

So let us pray and pray earnestly that our God will show himself mighty on her behalf and on behalf of her family and on our behalf as well. Let us pray for her healing. God has encouraged us to bring these petitions to him and if we are faithful to God and to each other we will do so.

Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing praise. Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer of faith will save the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.—James 5:13-16

It is an easy thing to confess to each other that we have not prayed for one another as we should. I confess it to you. This week, as you go throughout your day, each time you think about our sister and her family I want you to say a prayer for her and for them. Set aside a special time with your family just to say a special prayer for them. Skip a meal and pray instead. Remember them in your prayers constantly. We have been reminded of how much we need God and we have opportunity to show our faith in our obedience and more importantly we have opportunity to show our love for our sister and her family. Let us do this and see the hand of our faithful God at work. Soli Deo Gloria

Connecting the Dots

The Bible is one story. There may be many stories within its pages but they are all connected to the one story, that of redemption. More than a score of authors contributing sixty-six books over a period of more than a thousand years all contribute to that one story. Let me give you one example of that from last Sunday.

In Luke 1 the angel Gabriel is dispatched to the temple to give Zechariah an important message announcing the birth of John the Baptist. John the Baptist will go forth “in the Spirit and power of Elijah,” thus fulfilling the word of God spoken to Malachi—the last words of the Old Testament.

“Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the great and awesome day of the LORD comes. And he will turn the hearts of fathers to their children and the hearts of children to their fathers, lest I come and strike the land with a decree of utter destruction.”—Malachi 4:5-6

Those final words of the Old Testament, specifically that last line of verse 6, are important. The implication is that unless God acts, unless God sends Elijah back to Israel to turn the hearts of the people, God will have to act against the land in judgment. In his grace God is intervening to stave off the inevitable judgment that their rebellion will incur.

In Hebrew this statement is very interesting because in Hebrew there is only one word that is sometimes translated “land” and sometimes translated “earth” depending on context. “Land” is obviously the best translation here, by virtue of that context. But the similarity in wording cannot help but remind us of God’s promise in Genesis 8 immediately after the flood.

And when the LORD smelled the pleasing aroma, the LORD said in his heart, “I will never again curse the ground because of man, for the intention of man's heart is evil from his youth.—Genesis 8:21

So what is God saying? Threat of judgment alone does not deter sin for long nor change man’s heart. To be sure, it can act as a deterrent for evil actions for a time, but it cannot change an evil heart. Judgment by itself cannot fix what sin has done to creation. If all God does is judge, then the Serpent has won. What God is going to do, then, will go beyond that. This happens at the end of Genesis chapter 8, and in chapter 9 God will institute the Noahic covenant, or covenant of common grace. That covenant is a promise not to again destroy the earth until God’s gracious work of redemption is complete. God’s judgment is just, but it is through redemption, not judgment, that the Serpent will be defeated.

Back to Malachi 4 and those last words of the Old Testament…

“Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the great and awesome day of the LORD comes. And he will turn the hearts of fathers to their children and the hearts of children to their fathers, lest I come and strike the land with a decree of utter destruction.”—Malachi 4:5-6

Lest my justice require condemnation on the earth once again, I will intervene graciously on behalf of my people and send Elijah to turn their hearts, to prepare the way for my coming, so that my coming for them might be a thing of joy and gladness, not judgment and destruction. And that’s what Gabriel is announcing to Zechariah in the holy place. God is keeping his word and working to redeem his people in spite of themselves, and the coming of John the Baptist fulfills not only the promises of God in Malachi, but also those in Genesis 8 and 9. In fact, it goes all the way back to Genesis 3. The Bible is one story and that story is the story of redemption.

“But I have prayed for you…”

We all go through struggles. These are to be expected in the Christian life. These trials take on many forms. Sometimes they are physical, sometimes mental/psychological. Sometimes they are financial or social/relational. They are all spiritual. That’s because everything in life affects and is affected by the spiritual.

All struggles, all trials in life are either the result of or lead to temptation somehow. Sometimes we suffer, for example, because of sin, because we have given in to temptations—perhaps many times. Sometimes we suffer from or because of the sins of others. Sometimes our sufferings have nothing to do with any specific sin anyone has committed, but even in those cases we are tempted (because of the struggle) to doubt God. So whatever form our trial may take place, temptation to sin is somehow involved.

For an example of this, I give you Peter. Consider what Jesus says to Peter in the upper room on the night that Jesus would be betrayed by Judas. Before that betrayal took place, in Luke 22, Jesus says this to him:

“Simon, Simon, behold, Satan demanded to have you, that he might sift you like wheat, but I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned again, strengthen your brothers.”—Luke 22:31-32

This tells us a couple of things. One, what happened in the life of Job is not unique. Satan, the adversary, is in the business of temptation. Two, as in Job, Satan must have permission to do this. Three, God sometimes grants that permission.

That should give us some form of comfort. Yes, Satan may tempt us but he may only do so with permission. Second, God only grants that permission for a good reason. Whatever Satan intends for evil, God intends for good. And even when God allows us to be tempted he does not leave us alone to face that trial. Consider what Paul says in 1 Corinthians 10:

No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.—1 Corinthians 10:13

God is faithful! Isn’t that good news? And in this context God is faithful during our trials and temptations. But providing “a way of escape” is not all God does. Jesus says to Peter above, “but I have prayed for you.” That’s an amazing thing if you think about it. Jesus is telling Peter this: “Satan has demanded to have you to sift you, to put you through the ringer, to tempt you. And I have given that permission. But I have also prayed for you that your faith will not fail, and when you have been restored you will be better equipped to strengthen the brethren.” Think about those words, “but I have prayed for you.” The writer to the Hebrews says,

Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. 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. Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.—Hebrews 4:14-16

What does a high priest do? He makes intercession for his people. He offers up sacrifices and prayers on their behalf. Our high priest is perfect. He offered up a perfect sacrifice for sins in our behalf. That sacrifice was received. And now that same high priest, Jesus, offers up prayers on our behalf. His prayers are always heard. His petitions are always granted. Will Peter be tempted? Yes. Will Peter sin? Yes. Will Peter fall ultimately? No. And why not? Because Jesus has prayed for him. And because Jesus has prayed for him he will be turned again…restored. And when Peter has been turned again he will find that this trial, this temptation, even his failure, will have been used to benefit him and others to whom he will be better equipped to minister God’s grace.

Peter would later write…

Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world. And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you.

Peter knew this from his own experience! And he lived to do just exactly what Jesus said he would do…strengthen the brethren.

I don’t know exactly what kind of trial you may be going through. I do know of some of the trials that some of you are going through. But I also know that God is faithful through the trial, I know that Jesus is praying for you, and I know that God will use this in the long run for your eternal good and the furtherance of his kingdom. Take heart, brothers and sisters. Our high priest is faithful. He is praying for us. I am praying for you, also. Let us remember to pray for each other.

A Bittersweet Genealogy

Genealogies are not the most exciting part of the Bible. We often get bogged down in them while we’re trying to read through the Bible. All those names can get discouraging. Why do they have to be so hard to pronounce? And what is the point of the genealogies anyway? Well, it turns out they have a point (or they wouldn’t be there, right?) and that point isn’t just for the people of that time to be able to trace their family tree. The genealogies had meaning both for the people then and for us today.

Yesterday in the evening service we worked our way through Genesis 5, a linear genealogy which serves to move the narrative from Adam to Noah. It highlights ten generations. Along the way we met some interesting characters, most notably Enosh, Enoch, Methuselah, and Lamech. One of the things this genealogy did for the people coming out of Egypt is to bear witness to the fact that their religion was already an ancient religion. But more than that, the genealogy served as a witness to the faithfulness of God. No matter how wicked and violent the world had become through the descendants of Cain (their genealogy is in chapter 4) they could rest in the fact that God is faithful. He will keep his word.

What word? The word of promise found in Genesis 3:15:

I will put enmity between you and the woman,

and between your offspring and her offspring;

he shall bruise your head,

and you shall bruise his heel.”

That promise of a godly offspring who would defeat the serpent and reverse the evil brought upon the world is the promise that gave them hope through dark years. The genealogy bears witness to God’s faithfulness even through those dark years. What we can take from that is that no matter how dark the days in which we live, God is faithful. He will keep his promises.

Throughout the genealogy we are given hints about the future. For example, we know from the end of chapter 4 that in the days of Enosh people began to call upon the name of Yahweh. The legacy of Enosh was the institution of formal public worship. Enoch’s legacy was similar in that he walked with God and God took him up to heaven. This serves as a reminder that there is something better that awaits the people of God and that one day we will all be restored into his presence in spite of our sin.

There’s even more to the Enoch story. Enoch was the seventh from Adam through Seth. As such he serves as a contrast with the seventh from Adam through Cain—the Lamech of chapter 4. In him we found the world’s first tyrant, a violent man who did not need God. He represents the seed of the serpent. Enoch of chapter 5 is his opposite in every way. Lamech also, (there are two Lamechs, one descended from Cain but the other descended from Seth) stands in direct contrast to his evil cousin.

The Lamech of chapter 5 is the son of Methuselah. When he fathers Noah he expresses a lament and a hope. It goes like this:

When Lamech had lived 182 years, he fathered a son and called his name Noah, saying, “Out of the ground that the LORD has cursed, this one shall bring us relief from our work and from the painful toil of our hands.”

Lamech longed for a better world. Lamech longed for the promises of God to come to fruition. His evil counterpart of chapter 5 was all about getting as much as he could from this life at the expense of anyone and everyone else. This Lamech is not satisfied here, for he knows there’s something better coming. He longs for relief from sin and the curse. Would he find it, as he hoped, through his son Noah? No.

And yes. Though Noah is not the one to usher in that new world, he lives to typify the one who will. Noah will find grace in the eyes of the Lord. He will become a new Adam in a new earth, one in which the evil of the previous world has been washed away in judgment. Alas, Noah will bring with him into that new world his old Adamic nature, and so the new world will be as doomed as the old. But Noah does bring hope because through Noah God’s promise to Adam and Eve is being kept. Through Noah that seed, that offspring, will come, and it is he, Jesus, who will ultimately usher in a new world that is free from sin—for all those brought into it will have had their Adamic natures eradicated and replaced.

Just as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we shall also bear the image of the man of heaven.—1 Corinthians 15:49

While Lamech hoped in Noah for respite from his toil, it would ultimately be in a son of Noah that he and all God’s people would find that respite. That son, Jesus, said…

Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”—Matthew 11:28-30

Eight times in Genesis 5 we read the phrase “and he died,” reminding us of sin and its curse. But woven into that bitter narrative is the sweet promise that God is keeping his word, working his purposes, and bringing about his redemption in history. His people will be saved, and restored, and ultimately taken up to be with him.

By faith Enoch was taken up so that he should not see death, and he was not found, because God had taken him. Now before he was taken he was commended as having pleased God. And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.—Hebrews 11:5-6

You can find the audio to that sermon here: Genesis 5 - The Seed of the Woman

Fruit, Humanity, and Forgiveness

Paul’s contrast in Galatians 5 between the works of the flesh and the fruit of the Spirit, a passage we’ve been working through for three weeks now on Sunday mornings, is perfectly illustrated in Genesis 4. In Genesis 4 we find the division of humanity foretold by God in his judgment on the Serpent in Genesis 3.

I will put enmity between you and the woman,

and between your offspring and her offspring;

The unfolding of this division is found in the very next chapter, and the enmity is manifested when Cain kills Abel. After Cain is driven out further east, we are given a brief synopsis of his descendants, their accomplishments, and the increase of their wickedness. The seventh in the line of Adam through Cain, the one who epitomizes the works of the flesh, is Lamech. Lamech is a murderous tyrant who takes what he wants and does what he wants at the expense of anyone else. Lamech makes this comment about his immunity from the consequences of murder:

If Cain's revenge is sevenfold,

then Lamech's is seventy-sevenfold.”

God had promised Cain that no one would take his life in retaliation for the murder of Abel. Anyone who came after Cain would receive sevenfold justice from God, or, in other words, perfect justice. But Lamech doesn’t need God. He will take care of it himself. Lamech’s revenge on anyone who would retaliate for his murder would be seventy-sevenfold. This is not justice, it is injustice. Not only that, but it is overkill. Lamech is the world’s first tyrant and he embodies the works of the flesh from Galatians 5.

God, however, is faithful to his promise and Eve has another son to replace Abel. His name is Seth. Seth’s son is Enosh and in his days people began to worship Yahweh (Genesis 4:26)

The audio for the sermon can be found here: The Division of Humanity

Thousands and thousands of years later, in the New Testament, Jesus would say something similar to what Lamech said. In Matthew 18 Jesus is giving instructions to his disciples about church discipline and what to do when someone sins against God and the congregation. At every stage of discipline, when the offender repents he is to be forgiven. The method of discipline is loving, humble, confrontation. The object of the confrontation is restoration. At the end, Peter comes up to Jesus and asks…

“Lord, how often will my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? As many as seven times?”
Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you seven times, but seventy-seven times.

It is an echo of Lamech’s threat of violence toward anyone who would try to confront him about his sin. Only it is the opposite. If Lamech’s revenge would be seventy-sevenfold, then the Christian’s willingness to forgive should be seventy-seven fold as well. In other words, just as there is no limit to the hate and violence of the wicked, so there should be no limit to the love and forgiveness of the believer. Where sin abounds grace abounds even more. The fruit of the Spirit is the opposite of the works of the flesh in every way.

Nowhere is it stated or implied that this is an easy thing. Nor does it seem just, at least not on the surface. But we know that the justice of forgiveness was settled at the cross and that we who are recipients of great grace must also be dispensers of it. Following his response to Peter, Jesus gives the parable of the unforgiving servant. You can read it in Matthew 18:23-35. Jesus makes it abundantly clear what he expects of his people when it comes to forgiveness. He expects us to be gracious and forgiving beyond reason, just as Lamech was vengeful beyond reason. We are to be imitators of Christ.

The Fruit of the Spirit

Our preaching through the book of Galatians has brought us to chapter 5 and Paul’s enumeration of the Christian virtues he calls the “fruit of the Spirit.” Remember that this set of virtues immediately follows the list of vices he labeled “the works of the flesh.” The latter is what our sinful nature naturally produces in our life. The former, the fruit of the Spirit, are what God in his grace produces within us through the Holy Spirit.

Here’s what Matthew Henry had to say on the topic:

“He specifies the fruits of the Spirit, or the renewed nature, which as Christians we are concerned to bring forth, v. 22, 23. And here we may observe that as sin is called the work of the flesh, because the flesh, or corrupt nature, is the principle that moves and excites men to it, so grace is said to be the fruit of the Spirit, because it wholly proceeds from the Spirit, as the fruit does from the root: and whereas before the apostle had chiefly specified those works of the flesh which were not only hurtful to men themselves but tended to make them so to one another, so here he chiefly takes notice of those fruits of the Spirit which had a tendency to make Christians agreeable one to another, as well as easy to themselves; and this was very suitable to the caution or exhortation he had before given (v. 13), that they should not use their liberty as an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another.”

Excerpt From

Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible

The occasion, or the reason for which Paul is writing this is to give an alternative to the teaching of the Judaizers who were adamant that in order to please God we must focus our lives on keeping the law as diligently as possible. By contrast, Paul encourages us to keep our eyes on Christ and be attentive to the means of grace—the gospel proclaimed in word and sacrament. These feed our faith and encourage us to heavenly desires, true repentance and genuine faith, which produce a desire for heart obedience. By thus walking in the Spirit these are the things that will be produced in our lives. We do not make a list of these things and endeavor to do them in our own strength with a view to pleasing God or earning his favor. Rather we look for these things and ask for these things and trust that God will produce these things in our lives as we draw closer to him in love.

As believers, there is nothing we can do in this life to make God love us any more. Nor is there anything we can do in this life to cause God to love us any less. It is because God loves us that we seek to please him, long to please him, long to have this fruit produced within us.

I hope that you have already planned to worship with us again this Sunday and I look forward to seeing you there. Let us pray for each other that our church will be a church that exhibits this fruit in a world that practices the opposite.

Meditations on Mercy In Judgment and Divine Irony

I love to read and I love to learn more about the Bible, so preaching a sermon series through a particular book gives me an excuse to indulge my hobby and then turn it into something, hopefully, that brings benefit to you and glory to God. One of the things that I’ve been reading as pertains to the Genesis series on Sunday evenings is a delightful little book called The Gospel of Genesis—Studies in Protology and Eschatology. It’s not exactly beach reading, at least not for normal people, but I’m not normal and I haven’t been to a beach in two years anyway. Its author is Warren Austin Gage and he is Assistant Professor of Old Testament at Knox Theological Seminary in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. I bring him up because I ran across a wonderful paragraph from chapter 5 of his book that I wanted to share with you. The chapter is titled “Judgment, Salvation, and the Oracle of Destiny,” and the topic is God’s judgment on the Serpent, the woman, and Adam in Genesis 3:14-19. Here is that quotation. At the bottom I’ll link you to the book and also to the Genesis sermon series from Sunday nights. Here’s the quote:

But the woman and the man are subjects of grace as well as wrath, and the prophetic oracle contains a pronouncement as well of restorative irony. There had been demonic irony in that the woman whose life was derived from man should become to him the minister of death. But there is divine irony in the appointing of the woman to be the mother of all living (Gen 3:20). The promise is given of a seed to subdue the serpent (Gen 3:15), and by restorative irony God ordains that the weak will conquer the strong. The Son that would vanquish the serpent would have a maid for a mother (Gal 4:4), and woman, who had delivered man to sin, would deliver him a Savior. The one who cries in the cradle will subdue the principalities of darkness (Matt 4:1-11), and he who sucks the breast will defeat the power of death. Only the wisdom of God could appoint death as the way to life (Gal 2:20), the ultimate irony of curse transformed into blessing (Gal 3:13-14). It was by the death of the last Adam that the serpent of old encountered death and the first Adam found life. The nails that pierced the feet of Christ would bruise the heel, but they would crush the head of the serpent (1 Cor 2:8). The last Adam wore the thorns of the first Adam, but by these wounds he was healing his people (Isa 53:5). Christ knew the nakedness of Adam, but by this shame he was clothing his people in righteousness (Gal 3:27). For the first Adam the tree of knowledge brought death. But the last Adam knew death upon the tree bringing life (1 Pet 2:24). Adam had made a grave of a garden, but Christ would make a garden of a grave (Luke 24:5).

Just reading that over again gives me chills. Since that didn’t make it into a sermon, at least not in its entirety, I wanted to share it with you here. Last Sunday we finished Genesis 3 and this Sunday evening we will be entering chapter 4. I hope you will make plans to attend.

Here is the link to the book: Gospel in Genesis

And here is the link to the sermons in Genesis: Genesis Sermons

Summer Is Here

Summer is here, although it seems to me like the weather is lagging about a month behind since our Snowpocalypse event last February. Every once in awhile when we get a break in the rain the sun comes out and the wildflowers are gorgeous. Be sure to take note of that. By August, when everything is brown, we’ll look back on this fondly. It has dried up once or twice just long enough for Dan to mow and so far we haven’t had a visit from our herd of wild hogs yet this year, so the church grounds aren’t looking too bad these days. Also, we haven’t had a visit from our auditorium snake again, so that’s good.

In case you missed it, I managed to install two new toilets in our bathrooms (with some help from Jim). These are not additional toilets, they’re replacement toilets. So far no runs, no drips, and no errors. In case you’re wondering, no, I’m not a plumber. But I did have toddlers and therefore I have had to pull toilets and pull out objects more than once in my life. So I had plenty of experience going into this. If you haven’t seen them be sure to check them out. Also, feel free to use them. 😂

I promised you a quote Sunday from Martin Luther, one that I had intended to include in the sermon but forgot. No worries—the sermon was long enough as it was, but I enjoyed the quote so much I wanted to get it to you. I found it in Philip Graham Ryken’s Reformed Expository Commentary—Galatians. I love the quote because Luther seemed to live where we live. Here’s what Ryken writes to introduce the Luther quote:

“What does it mean—in practical terms—to serve one another in love? It means, wrote Martin Luther,”

performing unimportant works such as the following: teaching the erring; comforting the afflicted; encouraging the weak; helping the neighbor in whatever way one can; bearing with his rude manners and impoliteness; putting up with annoyances, labors, and the ingratitude and contempt of men in both church and state; obeying the magistrates; treating one’s parents with respect; being patient in the home with a cranky wife and an unmanageable family, and the like…But believe me, these works are so outstanding and brilliant that the whole world cannot comprehend their usefulness and worth.”

Isn’t that great? We sometimes think that people like that lived in some ivory tower and that everything must have been perfect for them. A quote like that reminds us that all of us have messy lives and that Christ has taught us to love in spite of that. It reminds us that love is the light that this fallen world needs to see, and that the gospel is something that not only needs to be proclaimed verbally, but in action as well. Love is eminently practical.

Be sure to check out the sermons page while you’re here for any sermons you may have missed. The Genesis sermons from Sunday evenings are foundational for a solid biblical theology. The gospel is all over Genesis and the number of references and allusions to early Genesis in the rest of the Bible is astounding. So check those out and also anything in Galatians you may have missed. I’ve already started ordering books to prepare for the series in the Gospel of Luke which is coming up fast. I’m looking forward to that and I hope you are, too. Be sure to greet our visitors and make them feel welcome. We’ve had first-time visitors each of the last three Sunday mornings. I look forward to seeing all of you once again this Lord’s Day coming. God bless!

Eden—Past, Present, and Future

The first temple in the Bible was a garden and it was planted by God himself. That’s part of what we learned last Sunday night as we covered Genesis 2:8-14. Eden was the region into which God planted this garden and placed the first man. A river flowed out of it which watered the whole earth. The Greek word for Eden is the word from which we get our word “paradise” and that is why John Milton called his epic poem about the garden of Eden Paradise Lost.

Of all the images that come to mind when we think of Eden, temple is probably not one of them, but let me assure you that temple language is used throughout the description of Eden in Genesis 2. The garden of God in Eden was the place where God met and communed with his people. Adam was the first priest and he was given charge of the temple to guard it and to work it. A covenant was made with him and special revelation was given him for which he was responsible. This makes Adam the first prophet as well. Made in the image of God and given a mandate to subdue the earth, Adam was also the world’s first king. Prophet, priest, and king—these are the three offices that Adam held. Not coincidentally they are the three offices held by the Anointed One whom God sent into the world—Jesus Christ.

Learning about Adam is relevant because Jesus is the counter to Adam, called by Paul the second Adam and the last Adam. As ultimate prophet, priest, and king he came to restore all that was lost in Adam, including paradise. Especially paradise. That’s because there is no real paradise without God.

Where is Eden now? The geographical information given in Genesis 2 is obscure enough as to make it impossible to determine that, and for good reason. Fallen humans would only do something profane with it if they knew the spot. And since Adam fell we lost our rights to enter anyway. But those rights were restored in Christ. You see, the tabernacle and the temple were designed purposefully to replicate the garden of God. Only by bloody sacrifice and through priesthood could the people enter, and that was to teach them something, teach us something. We are not worthy to enter the holy place with God. We are not worthy to re-enter Eden.

That’s where Christ comes in. With boldness he entered into the holy place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption for us, and in so doing he became a new and living way by which we might boldly approach the throne of grace, the place of God’s presence, without fear. When we as the people of God gather to worship on the Lord’s day there is a sense in which we are entering the garden once again, for we are entering the place of God’s special presence, the place where he has communion with his people, the new covenant temple. Physical Eden may have been lost temporarily, but spiritual Eden is accessible right now. When we gather, that gathering is an act of faith through which we look forward to a physical gathering of all God’s people one day in perfect communion with God in a future Eden yet to be realized. One day Eden will encompass the entire earth.

Yes, Eden has a future, and future Eden will be far grander than original Eden. You can read about future Eden in Revelation 21 and 22. You will find there all the elements of original Eden plus much more. What is described in those chapters is Eden all grown up—Eden as it was destined to become. There is the life-giving river which waters the earth. There is the tree of life for the healing of the nations. There is the presence of God, but with a significant change. This time instead of God coming down to walk with his people and then return, this time God has come to dwell with his people permanently. This is the culmination of all the covenant promises of God.

And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.”—Revelation 21:3-4

It is Christ who has earned for us once again the right to enter Eden and it is through faith in Christ that we are given that right. We demonstrate that faith when we gather for worship on the Lord’s day, Sunday, the first day of the week, a day looking forward to the new heavens and the new earth, the new Eden which has been promised the people of God. I look forward to seeing you Sunday as we anticipate the better world to come. See you in Eden.