A War of Love- Regeneration,Revelation and the Church.

I recently read David Bennett's book A War of Love, it is David's testimony of how he ceased to be an Atheist and a Gay Activist.  I like much of what I read in this book and agree with him that the church has made homosexuality the unpardonable sin and that we have made the Gospel more offensive that it actually is.  I also agree with his more mature conclusion that God calls same sex attracted people to celibacy or "mixed orientation" marriages.

David nowhere in his book claims to have become an evangelical but he does claim to have been converted. I read the early part of his book where he outlines this and I must say it doesn't follow the Biblical picture of conversion. A lady asked if she could pray for him and he said yes, then she prayed and he felt an overwhelming sense of peace and he heard a voice inside say, 'do you want me' repeatedly. Later that night he woke up when he was "praying in tongues" he shouted out, "I've joined a cult" His mom came rushing in and from her charismatic understand explained tongues from Paul's letters and David revolted by this 'threw her Bible across the room' as he hated the God presented in there. Now as a read I knew for sure that the Holy Spirit wouldn't be working in a person's life, speaking to them, speaking through them and for that same person to be revolted by the words authored by that same Holy Spirit.

In his conversion there was not even a hint of a sense of sin- and we are all sinners, there was nothing of repentance and no display of Christ and His cross just a needy, 'do you want me', like some creepy guy who had been dismissed by his former girlfriend who is no longer a waitress in a cocktail bar.  All David had to do was yes to this needy request.

As the book goes on he has bigger and greater experiences, like clutching the hem of a glowing garment in the sky, like the woman grabbing Jesus' garment and being healed, David in this event claimed that he was healed of his attitude towards the Church for it's attitude towards people like him who are same sex orientated. And reading his story I could understand his anger towards us, yet he wasn't healed of his attitude at this point in his story in the way that he presents it.

He hears the voice of God speaking to him at various times but he doesn't have a good view of the place of Scripture, he says a couple of  times defending the conservative view on gay marriage, that those who disagree with it have not paid enough attention to 'Scripture, Reason or Tradition' as if these were equivalents. This is more Roman Catholic than Protestant which stands on the principle of Sola Scriptura, which also does away with extra revelation that is contrary to the Protestant understand of Scripture Alone.

My other concern was that David assumed that if someone goes to church be it a 'charismatic Lutheran' or a Roman Catholic church they are part of the church and that the people in there are Christian.

I feel for David because he is trying to be faithful to Scripture now in his celibacy, denying his own orientation, I can relate to that to some extent as a heterosexual as an adolescence into adulthood being chaste as I waited for my wife. I completely agree with him that the Bible demands we deny ourselves for the Gospel, I was 32 when I got married and lived denying myself too. However in the book it isn't clear if he thinks those who are seeking a same sex marriage are not Christians or if he thinks they are but 'don't have God's best for them'. As a millennial he used the phrase 'human flourishing of God's desire for us'. I wondered if he thinks that is the goal of God, rather a desire to conform us to the Image of His Son.

I can understand is lack of time for reparitive therapy but he's almost just as dismissive of the orientation change that conversion can and does bring about, The Gospel is powerful enough. I suppose actually that is where my problem with this book lies, it seems that for David the Biblical doctrine of regeneration isn't enough, faith comes through hearing and hearing through the Word of God. It is enough and is it beautiful. 

There is much to commend this book, it's well written by someone who is trying to be faithful, who is articulate and trying to reach out in love- but it misses the basics of the Gospel so was sadly disappointing.

God Bless

Stephen <><

The Tender Mercy of God

My third and final contribution to our church's Advent Devotions



                                                Reading: Luke 1:67-80.

‘because of the tender mercy of our God’

The hope of Christmas isn’t found in us but in the tender mercy of God. We are broken and sinful, and we're a people in darkness deserving only judgement. Richard Sibbes the Puritan often said, ‘There is more mercy in God, than there is sin in us’ and that is the Good news of Christmas. Mark Dever said recently, ‘To understand the God of the Bible, we must have room both for His sin-hating holiness and His sinner-loving mercy.’

The tender mercy of God is where our hope lies, He whom we have offended demands a punishment but in His tender mercy this same God sent His Son, the darling of heaven, to a people in darkness, that they might see the light. He set this plan in motion right at the Fall, where we find his tender mercy promising the redeemer to Adam and Eve- Mercy preparing Christmas in advance.

May God Bless You this Christmas

God Bless

Stephen <><

John the Baptist a cause of rejoicing

 

The second of my Advent Devotions for the Christmas season.  

Reading: Luke 1:14-17.

 

'And he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God.'

 

John the Baptist, is rightly overshadowed by his infinitely greater relative but what an honour he had, for Gabriel tells his father, that John would be the cause of much rejoicing. Why would the Baptist be a cause of rejoicing? It is because he had the tremendous privilege of calling people to repentance. John’s ministry seemed like fire and brimstone, and it may appear there is no rejoicing in that. Yet, see the result, many within Judea were turned back to a relationship with God through John’s ministry, reconciled not only to God also but to each other.

 

The greatest privilege John had was to physically point away from himself to Jesus with those beautiful words, ‘behold the Lamb of God’. We too have that same privilege to not only behold but also to point to our Lord Jesus, who as Spurgeon said, ‘was always the sinner’s friend.’

 

Stephen <><

Humble Glory

We are doing a 150 word advent devotion at church here is my contribution for today:

Reading: Malachi 3:1-6.

‘the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to his temple’

Malachi looks forward to a day when prophetic hope would be fulfilled. In the midst of a passage about the LORD coming in judgement, we find that the Messiah’s coming that the prophet’s all point to is the LORD Himself, the LORD you seek is going to come, and He is going to come suddenly. He is coming to the Temple, God coming to deal with human sin, and our brokenness. Yet do you see how God works in surprising ways?  He the all powerful God is going to fulfil this visitation as a King in humble glory, glory but veiled in flesh, He doesn’t walk in, He is carried in the arms of His mother.  As one modern hymn writer puts it, ‘The hands that created the world, created the hands that are now holding Him.’ One of the wonders of Christmas is the humble glory of Christ.

Stephen <>< 

James White- John 8:24 and Islam.

I had the privilege to hear Dr James White speak in Inverness last night at Inverness Reformed Baptist Church. I was shocked that there was only 20 or so of us. 

Dr White opened with a reading from John chapter 8, concentrating on v24. Unless you believe that I AM (he) you will die in your sins. Dr White pointed out that translations with 'I am he' have added the he and missed the point. John's Gospel is full of references to Jesus as the I AM. Dr White went on to point out that the I AM statements are linked to the Old Testament not just to Exodus but especially to Isaiah. Isaiah 43:10 in the Greek Translation says;

You are my witnesses,” declares the Lord,

    “and my servant whom I have chosen,

that you may know and believe me

    and understand that I am he.

Before me no god was formed,

    nor shall there be any after me. ESV

Dr White pointed out that the wording is the same, and is thus Jesus is claiming that unless we believe that He is the I AM we will die in our sins.
He pointed out that there is a certain irony that the favourite verse of the Watchtower and Tract society is a verse that is clear on the deity of Christ.

Dr White says that this has big implications for our relationship with our Muslim neighbours.  Muslims of all different stripes are only too willing to talk to people about faith, they as a whole are people who like to dialogue.

He said he is often told by westernised Muslims ‘we are the second largest religion in the world that loves Jesus’ but and it’s a big but, which Jesus. The problem for Islam is that they get Jesus wrong, as he often says, the Qu’ran was written 700 years after the events in the New Testament take place and almost 600 miles away. The author of the Qu’ran doesn’t interact with the New Testament and the stories it tells of Jesus are stories that are found in the Gnostic Gospels and from oral tradition. The author of the Qu’ran seemed to be completely ignorant of the Jesus presented in the prologue of John, Colossians 1, Hebrews chapter 1 and the I AM sayings. Muslims believe Christians are committing shirk, that they had added to revelation and are now worshipping a creature as creator. Dr White pointed out that actually it is the Muslims who have withdrawn from revelation through ignorance rather than Christians changing revelation. According to Muslims all the scriptures are from God, they recognise the Old Testament and the Gospels but they believe they have been corrupted. Dr White said from reading the Qu’ran it’s clear that it’s author didn’t hold to this, but it’s also clear that the author had never read the Bible, there is too much confusion.

 We Need to Evangelise our Muslim Neighbour.

There are a couple of stumbling blocks 1) Fear of violence and 2) Don’t want to cause offence due to our ignorance.

Dr White said as Reformed Baptists we are in a good place because of our desire to be Biblical and theological and because of our uncompromising upholding Sola Scriptura.

We are well placed to provide thoughtful answers to our Muslim neighbours.

Dr White said Muslims know the difference between Liberal/Nominal Christians and Conservative Evangelical Christians. Following a couple of debates he was told by his Muslim friend and opponent, we need to debate more conservatives, the liberals are willing but have nothing to say.

Dr White said this is a big problem, we have the great commission, we have the tools but in the States any interaction between a Conservative Evangelical and Muslims tends to unkind and based on false assumptions. The majority of western Muslims would love the dialogue in a friendly but robust way. We believed we would fear Muslim neighbours more than we would Mormon neighbours but we should take the challenge either way.

Dr White encouraged us take the time to study up on Islam, this will open the door in the dialogue. I asked him if we could engage with them if all we knew was the Bible and he said of course, but if you can study.

It was humbling to have Doctor White speak to so few of us, made me feel better about when I speak to a small group of people in rural churches. 

God Bless

Stephen <><

The Gospel on Display

I watched the Royal Wedding yesterday a wonderful event, on BBC the presenters were from every part of the UK, England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. Also the presenters represented modern Britain with people from various ethnic groups celebrating a very British event. It was also wonderful to see people from all over the Commonwealth and elsewhere in the world all celebrating together. This reminds me of the beautiful picture we see in Revelation 6 people from every tribe, tongue and people group.  The event itself reminded me very much of the Gospel, firstly we know that the bride Meghan Markle (now Windsor) was a divorcee and that had been living with her boyfriend the Prince for several months. Yet she was dressed in a beautiful spotless white dress, rather than wearing cream or off white of some sort, and she looked absolutely stunning.  It reminded me of the fact that in the Gospel we have a past but that it is done away because as Ephesians 5 says, Christ loved the Church and gave himself up for her, (dying on the cross, to save us from our sins) so that He might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, to present her spotless and without blemish to Himself.

I was reminded of the Gospel in that she as an American is a citizen of a different country, also her ancestor was put to death for treason by Harry's ancestor Henry the 8th. At the start of the walk down the aisle she was an outsider but the heir to the throne son of the Monarch went and collected her to deliver her to her spouse, no longer an outsider, and she becomes more than a citizen as she joins the Royal family going from an outsider to a member of the establishment. Col 1:13 says that the Father takes us and transfers us from the domain of darkness into the Kingdom of his beloved Son. 

Then the words that Henry, 5th in line for the throne said to his bride, all that I am I give to you, all that I have I share with you  also reminded of the Gospel, for as Paul says in v 12 of that same chapter, God the Father has qualified us to share in an inheritance of the saints in light. To share in His holiness- that's what saints means. Our inheritance as Christians is to be made holy and to dwell with God in His Kingdom as His family. 

Holiness- Steven Lawson at the Scottish Reformed Conference -part 1

I had the privilege of hearing Steven Lawson today in Hamilton, he was one of the speakers for the Scottish Reformed Conference 2018 . His subject was the Holiness of God and he walked us through some of the passages in the Old Testament in the morning and in the afternoon he unpacked holiness in parts of the New Testament. 

 He started with an A W Tozer quote, 'The most important thing about you is what you think about God'. Lawson went on to say we cannot have too high a view of God, and His holiness is the most important aspect of who and what God is. The radiance of His perfection is made manifest not in that He is love (though He is love) not in his power (though He is omnipotent) but in his absolute holiness. The holy Seraphim cry not love, love, love but Holy, Holy, Holy, every revival begins with a fresh awareness of God's holiness.  We need to be gripped by it, we cannot enter into His presence casually, or laid back we need a reverential fear of God.  

What does the holiness of God mean- He is not on our level, He is wholly other, He is High and exalted, far above anyone and anything else- distinct  from everything.

But He is also morally pure, perfect in thought, in word, in deed, motive, flawless and sinless, completely separate from sin. He judges and condemns all that doesn't square with His Holiness and He must- for His own Righteousness sake. 

When Moses meets with God, we hear of holiness for the first time, Moses is commanded not to come near- for the ground is holy- consecrated by God's holiness and Moses is not. He encounters God and he experiences, soul crushing, jaw dropping, knee bowing holiness. 

Exodus 15- God is greater than all the so called gods, carnal minds cannot create a God like this one, The Holy One.

God called Israel to be a nation to be distinct from all those around them. in Exodus 19 v 9 God urges them to cleanse themselves before they could come remotely near to Mount Sinai before giving them the Ten Commandments which not only reveal how God wants His covenant people to live but reveals His own Holiness.

One Blood

Acts 17:26 tells us that God made all the nations- (or ethnic groups) from one blood. I love that verse, it tells me that everyone I walk by in the street is a relation, no matter what skin colour they have. I often naively think this is the opinion of every Christian so it always pains me to see otherwise. Yet I know that I have my own prejudices too, when I discover these I am horrified and desire to do something about it.

One of the most beautiful things I ever saw was three Indian men singing a Gospel song in Hindi. They were the same shade of brown- if you didn't know their background you would think there was nothing special about this moment, but it was divine moment, a glimpse into heaven. You see despite their common shade of melanin one was from a Hindu background, one from a Christian background and the other from a Sikh background, they were naturally enemies but in the Gospel these one enemies were now brothers, they were able to sing a song that means in English, 'Salvation comes in Jesus Name'.

David Platt in his Together For the Gospel 2018 conference address pointed out that in Amos, God says to His covenant people that they shouldn't look to the Day of the LORD as a good thing because though they are doing the outward forms of worship they are neglecting justice- Amos 5: 24 'But let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an everlasting stream'. Platt rightly identified the positive changes that have happened in America with regard to racism but he also rightly pointed out there is much to be done.  He was preaching in the States to an American issue, I have seen it's been widely criticized on social media but I have no idea why. It's both faithful to the text and crosses the bridge nicely into a culturally relevant equivalent. In using the text that Martin Luther King used and even citing him he isn't affirming King's theology but his campaign for social justice, King was right to fight this, Platt was right to raise it as issue today. I again naively thought Britain is different to that, certainly we didn't have segregation in the C20th. Yet I was visiting a church a few months ago that was beautifully diverse to a newcomer like me but the minister dismissed the black families within his flock as 'cultural Christians who don't stay long' (I wonder why they don't stay????) . He also pointed out a street you wouldn't like to go down because 'it's full of immigrants and the underclass'. Though this is an extreme example I still often see racist things coming from Christian friends on social media, especially people just reposting stuff from Britain First a racist organisation. Their inner most thoughts laid bare and they are not pretty, and not part of God's plan- remember when Abraham was called out from among the Nations to enter into a covenant with the living God he was called out from the Nations to be a blessing to the nations. This we see fulfilled in Revelation when gathered around the throne of God are an untold number from every tribe, every tongue and every people group. Brothers and sisters of all shades worshipping their God together. I believe the Gospel is powerful to change lives, I've seen it in my own life and as I said above I could see it worked out in a multi-ethnic church where former enemies become not only friends but brothers. 

May God extend His Grace to You.

Stephen 

The Devil's Delusion

I recently heard Ravi Zacharias on youtube quoting from this book, it was an excellent quote and from the Dust Sleeve. I ordered a copy on that basis, however it was the paperback and didn't have the quote in its pages. 

Nonetheless this is an excellent book, written by a secular Jewish man who tells us early on he tried religion but it wouldn't take. It's surprising then that this book should even be written by such a man. It's clear from the end chapter that he hasn't thrown his hat in any ring regarding any world religion, yet he clearly understands that the new Atheist have built their house on a stack of cards that will blow over in the wind and doesn't stand up to scrutiny. 

Here a couple of my favourites from the book.

'If the laws of nature are neither necessary or simple, why, then, are they true?
Questions about the parameters and laws of physics form a single insistent question in thought: Why are things as they are when what they are seems anything but arbitrary?
One answer is obvious. It is the one that theologians have always offered: The universe looks like a put-up job because it is a put-up job. That this answer is obvious is no reason to think it false. nonetheless, the answer that common sense might suggest is deficient in one respect: It is emotionally unacceptable because a universe that looks like a put-up job puts off a great many physicists.
They have thus made every effort to find an alternative.
Did you imagine that science was a disinterested pursuit of the truth?
Well, you were wrong'  p112

See even this secular guy recognises what Paul says, they surpress the truth in unrighteousness. 

He quotes the new atheists at length when they dismiss the idea of the soul or mind. Here is his conclusion at the end of that section. 

We do not have a serious scientific theory explaining the powers and properties of the human mind.
The claim that the human mind is the product of evolution is not unassailable fact. It is barely coherent.
The idea that main is created in the image of God remains what is has always been: and that is the instinctive default position of the human race.'

I would commend this book to you.

Shalom

Stephen 

R.Scott Pace- Preaching By the Book

I received a review copy of this book from B and H Academic I don't have to give a positive review. 

Dr Pace's aim is set out on the front cover, Developing and Delivering Text Driven Sermons, it's a very short book. It's shorter than I imagined it to be, some of the reviews suggest it is a useful book for beginning preachers and for seasoned preachers. I agree it is useful for the beginner with many handy tips and as someone in between I definitely found lots of useful tips. Not sure how useful this will be to the seasoned preacher though. 

One of the first ones I liked was Dr Pace urges us to ditch our  'familiar outline'  instead of following the pattern set out in the text itself . He rightly says, 'the structure of the sermon should mirror the literary structure of the passage.' p11 Similarly he reminds us 'The Bible includes a variety of literary genres that require the reader to identify the type of writing in order to interpret it accurately.' p.26 We must be prepared to let the genre of the text dictate the structure of the sermon. 

Like John Stott, Dr Pace argues that preaching is dialogue rather than monologue, 'our preaching should be characterized by a conversational style that is clear and personal. This acknowledges the spiritual reality of the ongoing dialogue between God and his people as his Spirit speaks to hearts through the Scriptures.' 

Another useful reminder Dr Pace offers us that we need to be careful when presenting our own vulnerabilities that we don't over do this, 'while this may be helpful and our openness can help facilitate transparency in our congregations, frequent examples of our failures can begin to erode our credibility as God's spokesman.' Going on to say, 'it can begin to undermine the gospel if our frequent and familiar failures unintentionally call into question' The Gospel's 'effectiveness to redeem, renew and restore our brokenness.' I thought this was such an excellent point and something to be aware of.

Dr Pace says as we prepare we should causally read the text completely. I'd use a different term, but I know what he means but we should never read the Scriptures causally. I'd agree with each step he offers in preparation.

The bit that I thought was disappointing was the final chapter, which I thought was going to be about the sermon conclusion but was actually about appeals. I've never seen appeals done well, to me they seem we are doing the Spirit's work for Him. These don't come out of the text itself. 

That said this is a useful introduction to preaching and worth the couple of hour investment to read it.

God Bless

Stephen <><

The Resurrection not mildly important

To Shamelessly borrow and alter a phrase from C. S Lewis (he wouldn't mind at all) The resurrection if false is of no importance, and if true of infinite importance, the only thing it cannot be is mildly important. On this the whole of Christianity stands or falls but even more than that, if true then we have a hope beyond our wildest dreams if we trust in Christ.

In John's Gospel we are told that before it was light Mary Magdalene was at the tomb, ready to dress it some more. Mary is still following, not at a distance but as close as she possibly can. Early in the morning in her grief and bewilderment she comes to the tomb and she has some expectations of finding the tomb exactly as it should be with a corpse and the stone rolled in place. That is the way it is for all of us, our tomb could say, no exit. Death up until this point had always been very final. Even when Jesus raised people from the dead- it wasn't expected they had beaten the grave, just delayed the inevitable.   Did Mary expect to meet an armed guard? We don’t know but they have seemed to have fled the scene already. We know that she and the other women are wondering how they are going to get access to the tomb if they cannot roll away the stone. Yet when she gets there she finds the stone rolled away and she flees the scene not in worship at the empty tomb but in horror. Now I have probably watched all of the Jesus movies from the 50’s up until the 70’s. The one that best conveys the empty tomb is Franco Zepherilli’s Jesus of Nazareth. In the movie in one of the final scenes one of the leading Jewish scribes rushes to the empty tomb on hearing that Jesus body has gone and we see what he sees. An empty tomb with grave clothes on  a stone bench we with him look in closer and close but all we see is the empty bench and the linen clothes, he is a fictional character but he looks at the empty tomb and says, ‘now it all begins’ but that is not enough for Mary, Mary already grief stricken is dumbfounded , bewildered and heartbroken by the empty tomb. The resurrection in not on her radar, how much she had heard Jesus talk about his death and resurrection we don’t know, but she was around she must have heard something. Yet even his closest followers who had heard everything missed it. She flees the scene to find Peter and the beloved disciple two of Jesus inner circle. In her grief the empty tomb is not enough to convince her of the resurrection!  Sunday has arrived but Mary doesn't know! 

v.11 But Mary stood weeping outside the tomb, and as she wept she stooped to look into the tomb. And she saw two Angels in white, sitting where the body of Jesus had lain, one at the head and one at the feet. They said to her, “woman, why are you weeping?” She said to them, They have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid him.”

Mary ran away from the tomb to the Apostles and she follows them back at some point. When the disciples looked in there were no Angels for them to see. Mary sees the Angels, the Greek is very clear she looked intently and yet it seems like she doesn’t see them at all. They ask her why she is crying and one commentator said, ‘Yes why is she crying, if she finds what she is looking for. The corpse of Jesus, we are all lost for eternity.’ In Scripture any time an Angel appears the first words it says are  ‘Do not be afraid’ and the reason they say this is because people are usually so afraid they are about to die of fright. Mary in her grief is almost oblivious to their presence. She replies again the same thing, they have taken away the body of my lord and I do not know where they have laid him. There is no more words from the Angels and Mary turns around immediately maybe they point behind her, or maybe she hears a sound that distracts her although this seems unlikely in her grief as she is distracted enough to miss the presence of the Angels even when she is talking to them. Its Sunday and Mary doesn’t know.

She turns around and sees Jesus, We are back to irony now, John tells us that now she sees Jesus which is true but even though it is the risen Jesus in front of her, her grief is so big she cannot see that it is him. Maybe there is something different about his appearance, Luke especially seems to suggest that. Maybe its just that it is early in the morning. Maybe her eyes are watery from all the tears and her head is in a mess. Or maybe Jesus looks so different, but she is kept from recognising Him. It’s Sunday and Mary doesn’t know. Seeing Jesus she is unaware that there is no need for tears. Jesus speaks to her, Woman why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking? She supposes him to be the gardener and proceeds to ask the Risen Jesus if he has moved the body and then very tenderly he says, ‘ Mary’ throughout the text John has used the word Maria for Mary now Jesus speaks with the word Miriam. She speaks so very tenderly using her name. This woman who loved Jesus immensely is given the privilege of being the first person to witness the resurrection. Jesus didn’t go to the elite, not even the elite in the Apostolic band but a woman in grief, a woman who had loved Jesus to the uttermost. The reason for Mary being the first witness to the resurrection was because she was the one in the most need. She was grieving more, hence while the Apostles were hid away in locked rooms she was out in the dark weeping and seeking the body of Jesus.   She replies Rabboni, Some commentators say this word is used only of God as teacher and that this is a theological confession. However John tells his Gentile audience that this word means teacher. We don’t need to find confessions to Jesus as God as John is full of them. In deed when he appears to Thomas that is his confession, My LORD and MY God, of better, the God of me and the LORD of me. It is an intimate moment when this grieving woman finds that her grief is ill founded, Jesus is alive. 

He is Risen! It’s Sunday and finally Mary knows. The text suggest that she grabs hold of Jesus, she gives him the biggest hug in the history of humanity! She thought  she had lost him that He was gone she had been looking for the living amongst the dead. She didn’t know that the grave could not keep hold of him as death had no power over Him. That he is the LORD of live and that he laid down his life only to take it up again.

She is given an amazing privilege to be the first witness to the resurrection, yet she cannot cling to him. She cannot keep it to herself, and be the last witness- it's vitally important for all our sakes that we share what we have witnessed. When I was 15 I met the risen Jesus, not bodily but nonetheless it was very real. He changed her life, He changed my life- we need to be sharing this glorious good news. The resurrection is vitally important. 

Good Friday- Resurrection Sunday but what about Saturday

Isaiah 53 tells us of the Messiah v.8 'He was cut off from the land of the living- the living one, in the abode of the dead. Though he died with the wicked, including the thief on the cross, Jesus was given a 'rich man's tomb at his death v.9. We are told in the Gospel that this tomb belonged to Joseph of Arimathea, the King of Kings, who as the Son of Man (another divine title) had nowhere to lay His head even in death lay in a borrowed tomb, Just a borrowed tomb for the King of Kings and creator of the whole universe. This is the true Sabbath, God resting on the Jewish Sabbath, laid in State. 

The aroma in the tomb would be filled with the smell of the spices that the women had wrapped Jesus in. This speaks of two things, firstly, their devotion to Him, though the men had fled and were in hiding these women took time to wrap his body in burial clothes and spices, they were devoted to him. Giving of their time and money to serve Him in death. Yet it also speaks of their lack of faith, some of the women had seen Jesus raise Lazarus and had heard Him repeatedly say that after three days he would rise again- they are preparing His body so that it doesn't decay. 

Where was His Spirit? While His body lay in state where was His Spirit? The Faith teachers are on record as saying Jesus went into Hell and suffered punishment from the demons. You may have read in some versions of the creeds that He descended into hell- this is a mistake-he descended into death is what the creed means.  You'll not find the idea of Jesus descending into hell Scripture. As I mentioned yesterday the cry of the cross was a victory cry, "it is finished" or it is "accomplished" Also you'll that Jesus tells us the thief on the Cross that He would join in Him in paradise that very day. He went home but without His body, it's the intermediate state for Him. 

One final thought, the disciples. 

The disciples seem to have missed that Jesus said He would rise after 3 days but remember that the Religious leaders heard Him say that He would rise, they didn't believe him of course but they put His body on guard just in case.  Judas  who was instrumental in Jesus death was one of the twelve just a few days before, now in remorse (not repentance) had taken his own life and a Christ-less eternity. Peter perhaps filled with remorse as well, after all he too betrayed his best friend, denying he even knew him. All of them who a couple of nights before we prepared to die with Him now hidden away in great fear. Yet if we are to enter into their grief we must realise they didn't have ears to hear. They hadn't heard him when He told them He would rise. So they are grief stricken thinking that despite all they had seen and heard Jesus was a Messianic pretender. If only they had listened, they would be waiting with baited breath for Sunday Morning it seems to them that death has conquered and is therefore Lord. They unlike us were in a state of complete hopelessness. Believing Jesus would have made them hopeful and expectant. For His Church waiting for His return we too should be waiting full of hope and expectation. 

May God Bless You this Saturday!

Stephen <><

Jesus puts the Good into Good Friday- we should dwell there awhile?

Isaiah writing 8 centuries before Good Friday writes, ' Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows, yet we considered him stricken by God, smitten by him and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed, we all like sheep have gone astray, each of us have turned to his own way, and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all. Isaiah 53- 3-6

 Philip Bliss writes Guilty, vile and helpless we, Spotless Lamb of God was He; Full redemption- can it be? Hallelujah what a Saviour. 

It's Friday- the worst of all days- man's long war against God, culminating in man putting to death God, Jesus who will judge the nations in righteousness enduring a kangaroo trial , Justice unravelling at the condemnation of the Just one. The very one of whom the whole cosmos cries Innocent and the only one of our kind who has ever lived a life without sin, condemned as the worst of sinners. Though He is Innocent yet He is condemned as a criminal,   It's Friday- The sheep have scattered the Shepherd is all alone- no more crowds crying out and waving branches for Him. He comes to bring reconciliation at that moment is the loneliest man on the planet. He sweated drops of blood at the very thought at this dreadful moment. The darling of heaven adored by all myriads and myriads of heavenly ones delighting in Him since their creation now facing the wrath of God alone. How right are the words penned by Stuart Townend, The Father turns His face away as wounds which mar the chosen one- bring many sons to glory. The true Son, the beloved of the Father is abandoned as He who is without sin becomes sin for us. Though He is the LORD of Life, yet dies the death of deaths. God of very God but baring the wrath of God.

Yet it is the best of times because His cry "it is finished" is a victor's cry. The curtain is torn in two as the price is paid for us sinners to have a relationship with God. The holy one bows His head and dies- He who is eternal, dies the death that we should have died, facing the punishment for sin. He is forsaken so that we can be forgiven.  Treated as a sinner so we can become a son. 

It's Friday let's dwell on it for the day.

Shalom 

Stephen <><

The Cross of Christ

'I could never myself believe in God, if it were not for the cross. The only God I believe in is the One Nietzche ridiculed as "God on the Cross". In the real world of pain, how could one worship a God who is immune to it? I have entered many Buddhist temples in many different Asian countries and stood respectfully before the statue of Buddha, his legs crossed, arms folded the ghost of a smile playing round his mouth, a remote look on his face, detached from the agonies of the world and I have had to turn away. And in my imagination I have turned instead to that lonely twisted, tortured figure on the cross, nails through hands and feet, back lacerated, limbs, wretched, brow bleeding from thorn-pricks, mouth dry and intolerably thirsty, plunged in God forsaken darkness. That is the God for me! He laid aside His immunity to pain. He entered our world of flesh and blood, tears and death. He suffered for us. Our sufferings become more manageable in the light of His. There is still a question mark against human suffering, but over it we boldly stamp another mark, the cross which symbolizes divine suffering. "the cross of Christ is Gods self-justification in such a world'. P.T Forsyth cited in John Scott's Cross of Christ.

|'ve read a few quotes of Forsyth's shall have to read him. 

God Bless
Stephen <><

Robert {not the} Bruce

Robert Bruce who was a descendant of his more famous namesake and also descended from James the 1st of Scotland, he was a nobleman and was born into a Roman Catholic family. He was converted at University and became thoroughly reformed. Despite being a noble man and offered a title and an estate he turned these down for the call of the gospel. His Roman Catholic mother was deeply offended by his becoming a Protestant and disinherited him. Nonetheless he forsook it all for the sake of his calling.

Perhaps due to their being slightly related, Bruce was initially a favourite of James the 6th even being involved in the coronation of the Queen.

I've wanted to read him for a while as he was 'internally exiled' to Inverness, by James the 6th of Scotland and 1st of England. As the king had embraced Anglicanism and wanted Bruce to be an Anglican. The Inverness he was sent to was a hotbed of Roman Catholicism unlike Inverness today which has many, many churches many of which are evangelical at least historically. He was by far the most popular preacher of his day, seeing many thousands of people converted. This didn't stop when he was removed from his parish in Edinburgh but even in the Highlands people would come from miles around to hear him. Turning from indifferent or hostility to loving and appreciating his ministry.

5 things I admired about Billy Graham

It's  been a few days since the death of Billy Graham, many people in reformed circles have shared my concerns about his ministry for the length of it, such as appeals, relationship with ecumenicalism etc. Now is not the time to get into that, rather to reflect on the life of the  most influential evangelical of the C20th. I'd like to share some things I admired about him.

The first thing I admired is that he loved God and the Gospel. I have listened to him a fair bit over the years and he majors on the major, I've  just listened to him preach  'I will boast in nothing but the Cross' and that sums up his life. He was an old fashioned Gospel preacher, forget the appeals and just listen to the message, he glories in the Christ and in His Cross, not seeing any other means of us getting back to God, loving the fact that in the person of His Son, God has reached down to us. He quotes from the Bible throughout his message, knowing the Scriptures well.  I have been in lots of churches across the UK and I often meet people who were converted under his ministry.

He scandal free life- Billy Graham has been involved in controversy because of his love for truth, such as standing up against segregation in America or Apartheid in South Africa, so he was no coward but in his own walk there has been no scandal, he loved his wife, and put means in place to avoid any temptation or any appearance of evil. 

His humility- Another thing that comes through especially when you see the televangelists is Billy Graham was a humble man, he knew that he was a sinner, he must have known how well regarded he was, packing stadiums around the world having the ear of the Queen, Prime Ministers including Churchill and his own Presidents yet despite all that he comes across as so self effacing, call me Billy he said to his friends and to acquaintances alike.

Training- Whenever the BGEA were in town they would train the counsellors from the local churches to be ready to walk people through when someone had come to the front. Setting up a partnership with local churches so they would be equipped to do the work of discipleship when BGEA left town. They came to my wife's home town and they were there meeting with folks months before the 3 day event itself. Not only this but the BGEA has used it's to resources to train other evangelists around the world, equipping people for the work to continue. 

He loved others- part of his appeal is that he clearly loved people around him. This came out of his humility but he seemed to reflect the nature of His Saviour when he met people he gave them his attention. Seeming to want to give the benefit of the doubt to all people, I think this is where he had clay feet and it is what gets him into trouble with conservative evangelicals but it's because he loves. He saw the log in his own eye so ignored the speck in other people's eyes. 

I for one am grateful for the powerful Gospel preached by this man, raised up by God for his generation and I am praying that God would raise up more men to preach this glorious gospel.

God Bless

Stephen <><

Defining Deception- Costi Hinn and Anthony G Wood

I have just finished reading this important book, if you ever visit a Christian book store or if you have ever been part of the Charismatic movement the name Hinn will be well known to you, Costi Hinn the nephew of Benny Hinn is one of the authors. In 2012 God plucked Costi out of the Word Faith movement and saved him. Anthony Wood also spent time as part of TBN mixing with Word Faith Movement Leaders. Their concern in this book is both evangelistic and apologetic to winsomely point out the historical errors of this movement and how it is becoming mainstream via Bethany House. They chart how Bethany House is full of the same errors that the Word Faith movement is. Firstly in this book they trace the catalogue of errors through 'God's generals' the early proponents of Word Faith Theology, this has been done elsewhere especially in depth in Christianity in Crisis. The books strength lies elsewhere, in the raw passion and compassion found in it, you can feel that they have been part of it and love those in it. This came out very clearly when Costi was talking about his uncle Benny and the Hinn family still very much part of the Word Faith movement. It was also balanced as they disagreed very much with John Wimber's theology but go to great lengths to point out how his theology departed from fourth wave Charismatic theology in good ways, and how he travelled to Airport Vineyard church to remove them from Vineyard because of their strange practises.

 

A couple of downsides to this book are, 1) It could have done with proof reading better, for example 'which came first the chicken and the egg' and more importantly 2) it's too short, I would like to see an expanded version, in that version I would like them to examine the theology of Joyce Meyer who in the UK at least is even more mainstream than Bethany House, though she is a Word of Faith teacher.

 

I was in a Charismatic church for three years back in my youth, I wasn't much into but I wanted to experience Acts for today, I went to hear/see Benny Hinn do his thing and his theological errors were more they I could bare, this was a lonely 18 months as I found no-one of the same mind. I was eventually helped by Christianity in Crisis- I remember trying to give out the tapes to people around the tape ministry in the church, the tape ministry was full of faith teachers messages. It was the end of being a Charismatic for me, it took a long time to settle after but I am thankful for people then who wrote about these errors.  I hope this book is greatly used to help people move away from these errors. I was moved by the testimonies at the end of the book of people who were victims of Word Faith theology but have now come to know the real Jesus and see how precious His Gospel is.

 

My prayer is that God would use this book to deliver people from Deception to find the truth as it is in Jesus.

 

God Bless

Stephen <><