"For our sake He [God] made Him [Christ] to be sin who knew no sin, so that in Him [Christ] we might become the righteousness of God".
2 Corinthians 5:21
This is another post, in my series of posts on the atonement of Jesus Christ. Here is the working definition of the atonement, I created, for this series of posts. The atonement is; “God killed His perfect Son to save hate-filled rebels from the wrath they deserved from Him”. Today we are going to think about an important part of the atonement, that runs in an undercurrent all through that definition. Today, on this Maunday Thursday, I want to understand a little better the reconciliation that comes from the atonement of Christ.
Before we explore 4 points the above verse teaches us, about the reconciliation of the atonement, lets understand reconciliation a little better as a word. Webster's dictionary defines the word reconcile as, "to cause to be friendly or harmonious again; to adjust or settle a difference or division; to bring to submission or acceptance or conform". We use the word reconcile or reconciliation in a number of places. We reconcile bank records. We see reconciliation between fighting nations. And we even use reconcile (like the third part of the definition) when we think through actions like reconciling ourselves to the fact there is a speed limit on the highway. As humans, with each other and in our world, reconciliation is a common word of 2 parties coming together, after a seperation.
But we need to understand the reconciliation of the atonement and see what 2 Corinthians 5 teaches us about God being reconciled to man through Jesus. First, our above text makes clear there is a problem or divide between God and man that needs to be fixed. As previous posts in this series have already pointed out (the necessity of the atonement) sin has caused a fracture between God and man. God is holy. Humans are depraved, evil, sinful, dirty beings. The holiness of God can't be in the presence of the unholiness of humanity. Thus, there is a huge gulf between God and man.
Second, the passage above makes clear that reconciliation is needed on both sides. Paul is clear with the Corinthians that alienation exists on both sides. God is clearly offended and has His anger bent on humanity and every single human. God is holy so his wrath and anger are focused and drilled intently on every single human becasue every single human has sinned. This reality means God's attitude towards humans needs to changed. But humanity is also alienated from their side, becasue they as humans loves sin and themselves above all else. Humans are sinful becasue they are spiritually dead. Humans, just as much as God, need an attitude change. Reconciliation needs to take place from both sides of the divide.
Third, this teaching by Paul makes clear that reconciliation is very much possible. Christ mission was fulfilled. Jesus came to this earth to live a perfect life and die a sin-filled death. Christ accomplished this mission. When Jesus declared, "it is finished" He was referring to the part of the mission that was focused on the wrath of God and the payment for sin. Jesus Christ made a way. Reconciliation was now possible between God and man becasue Jesus Christ became sin for the sheep.
Which leads to the final point this text is very explicit on and that is the truth that reconciliation has already take place from God's side. God's wrath for the elect has been satisfied. Jesus payed the penalty for the sheep. God imputed the sin of His people onto Jesus and taken the righteousness of Christ and imputed it on His people. In the eyes of God, the elect can now be reconciled because of the atonement of Jesus. Jesus Christ, the only perfectly righteous human, gave His people His righteousness and took upon Himself their sin, so God can be reconciled to them.
All 4 of these points from 2 Corinthians lead to the final concluding thought on the reconciliation of the atonement. What Jesus did for us, or more clearly, what God the Father did through His own Son for us, is both a concrete truth and a particular action. Paul is clear. Jesus became sin and thus removed the sin stain, power, and penalty for certain (the elect) individuals. Those for whom Jesus died, are now reconciled to the Father because the divide and alienation has been removed. This also means that yes, God is reconciling the whole of creation to Himself and will one day make a new heaven and new earth thanks to the death of Jesus. But the reconciliation that Jesus gave on the cross was for a particular people, the people that Jesus took their sin upon Himself.
This means, as a child of God, I have the greatest comfort in life becasue Jesus Christ permanently brought be back into a relationship with His Father through His death. Jesus Christ paid the sin debt which never has to be paid again. Jesus Christ took upon Himself the anger and wrath of God and exchanged it for the love and grace of God. Jesus gave His people, His righteousness, so they can now stand before His Father. Jesus killed the power of sin in the life of His people. As Christians, we can rejoice and worship both Jesus Christ our atoning Savior and God the Father for securing a reconciliation with Him.
Thursday, March 29, 2018
Wednesday, March 28, 2018
The one thing I don't need to pray for
As part of my sanctification and growth in Christ, I am trying to grow as an evangelist. There are believers in Christ who have been given the spiritual gift of evangelism. I am not one of them. I am very weak in evangelism. Evangelizing the lost is the opposite of my introverted personality. Yet the Bible is clear, we are all called to be disciple makers and evangelist. So I have been trying to improve and grow in my evangelism.
A few weeks ago, I wanted to stretch myself a little in being evangelistic, so I said a basic prayer before I left my house. I prayed, "Lord, I want to be a better evangelist today, so will you please bring people in my path, that I can share the Gospel with". It was a simple prayer. It was only one sentence. But I told God that I needed to have people in my life, people in front of me, that I could be evangelistic with. I wanted God to bring people to me, that day, so I could use my words and tell them the Gospel. And here is how the day unfolded....
-As soon as I walked out my door, my next door neighbor (I live in a duplex) was also walking out the door.
-I stopped for gas, becasue my car was empty of fuel and payed the person behind the counter with cash.
-I met a fellow Pastor for breakfast and had a good waitress serving us.
-In the afternoon, I went and visited a shut-in from my church, at their home.
-When I got home, 2 of my neighborhood kids, were in my house, playing with my children.
-There was a huge rain storm, that arrived expectantly, so a college kid walking by my house ran onto my front porch for a few moments.
-Later that night, I took my 2 girls to dance and walked by other parents, dancers, and dance instructors.
-As the night came to a close, I put my 3 girls to bed, talked with my son as we watch a TV show, and went to sleep next to my wife.
Just in that one day, there were dozens of people I interacted with, that I could have shared the Gospel with. And this was a normal day for me. Most of these people I interact with on a weekly, if not daily basis. As I was falling asleep that night (and thinking about ever since) I realized I did not need to pray for God to bring people to me. As I was living my life, I am with people daily I can share the Gospel with. Even now as I write this, there are dozens of college students walking by my house.
Now, yes, I should pray for the people God brings me in contact with. I should pray for soft hearts. I must pray for open ears. I pray that the person responds to God's Word. But I do not need to pray God brings people into my path. That is a natural, normal, human aspect of life. Without even asking God, His will is such (in the way He created us) that we interact daily with many other humans.
Unless we live on a desert island or are a single person living alone who is a hermit, we will interact with at least (on average per stats) 3 people in a given day. That is 3 people that we can share the Gospel with. We do not need to pray for this. What we need to do, is have the courage to share the Gospel when we see these 3 people.
So we do not need to pray to God asking Him to bring people into our lives. We should be praying for the courage to share the Gospel and the heart of the listener to respond. And this is what I have been praying for over the last few weeks. The strength to share the Gospel and the people who are hearing it as I share with them (in daily activities) the good news of Jesus Christ.
A few weeks ago, I wanted to stretch myself a little in being evangelistic, so I said a basic prayer before I left my house. I prayed, "Lord, I want to be a better evangelist today, so will you please bring people in my path, that I can share the Gospel with". It was a simple prayer. It was only one sentence. But I told God that I needed to have people in my life, people in front of me, that I could be evangelistic with. I wanted God to bring people to me, that day, so I could use my words and tell them the Gospel. And here is how the day unfolded....
-As soon as I walked out my door, my next door neighbor (I live in a duplex) was also walking out the door.
-I stopped for gas, becasue my car was empty of fuel and payed the person behind the counter with cash.
-I met a fellow Pastor for breakfast and had a good waitress serving us.
-In the afternoon, I went and visited a shut-in from my church, at their home.
-When I got home, 2 of my neighborhood kids, were in my house, playing with my children.
-There was a huge rain storm, that arrived expectantly, so a college kid walking by my house ran onto my front porch for a few moments.
-Later that night, I took my 2 girls to dance and walked by other parents, dancers, and dance instructors.
-As the night came to a close, I put my 3 girls to bed, talked with my son as we watch a TV show, and went to sleep next to my wife.
Just in that one day, there were dozens of people I interacted with, that I could have shared the Gospel with. And this was a normal day for me. Most of these people I interact with on a weekly, if not daily basis. As I was falling asleep that night (and thinking about ever since) I realized I did not need to pray for God to bring people to me. As I was living my life, I am with people daily I can share the Gospel with. Even now as I write this, there are dozens of college students walking by my house.
Now, yes, I should pray for the people God brings me in contact with. I should pray for soft hearts. I must pray for open ears. I pray that the person responds to God's Word. But I do not need to pray God brings people into my path. That is a natural, normal, human aspect of life. Without even asking God, His will is such (in the way He created us) that we interact daily with many other humans.
Unless we live on a desert island or are a single person living alone who is a hermit, we will interact with at least (on average per stats) 3 people in a given day. That is 3 people that we can share the Gospel with. We do not need to pray for this. What we need to do, is have the courage to share the Gospel when we see these 3 people.
So we do not need to pray to God asking Him to bring people into our lives. We should be praying for the courage to share the Gospel and the heart of the listener to respond. And this is what I have been praying for over the last few weeks. The strength to share the Gospel and the people who are hearing it as I share with them (in daily activities) the good news of Jesus Christ.
Tuesday, March 27, 2018
The checks of doing it. Theology pt. 4
So far in my series of post around the topic of doing theology, I have covered the 5 ways not to do theology, explored the source of doing it correctly,and understood the help we receive from the creeds, confession, and catechism. Today I want to think through the important place the church plays in our lives of doing theology.
Before we explore today's topic, a few important points to keep in mind. First, theology is the study God, the Bible, Jesus, sin, salvation, and all the other truths the Bible brings to light. Second, all of us are theologians. Third, theology is at the heart of a Christian, in that, what a person knows and thinks always drives what they do. Fourth, doing theology is the point of both studying theology and living theology.
Doing theology together as a church, under the leading of the Holy Spirit, is the only way we can have our theology and doing theology, checked. The problem is, most Christians today reject the idea of doing theology together corporately as a church and vehemently fight the notion they have to have their theology checked. The culture of our world today teaches us 2 big ideas that fight having our theology checked and doing it in a corporate setting.
First, we are taught from little on up, individualism is critical for life. Beginning in elementary school, saturated through the consumption of media, and brought on by the fracture of the family system, children only hear about what they as an individual want. We stress the individual needs. We only focus on the individual desires. We are taught that the problem in our world takes places when we tell one another their personal individual feelings or passions are wrong. The culture and people of this country teach us the only thing that matters is the individual. We are an American culture of millions of individual wants and not a corporate thought. And sadly, most Christians have fallen prey to this lie of individualism.
Second, we are taught to reject authority. The word "submission" has left the culture of the 21st century. To submit means to lose. To submit to anyone is seen as a negative thing. Authority is shown as bad or as something to run from. Yes, we appear to submit to authority and appear to have authority figures in our lives. But overall, American culture is a culture that fights authority and any thought pf someone else telling us what to think, feel, believe, or do. This cultural influence has also infiltrated the church. Doing theology, being put in check, and living in submission to a local church (and its authority figures) is seen as foreign and downright novel in the church today.
Yet, doing theology corporately under the authority of God's Word, the local church, and the Holy Spirit, is exactly what God's people have done historically and exactly what God's Word teaches us to do.
The Bible was written to God's people as a whole group, not an individual. The commands that God gives, always must be done in a group, as a group, in order to obey them correctly. Discipleship is an activity that can never be done in isolation. All of the stories in the Bible, of God's people, are stories with personal connection, people groups, and relationships involved. When the Holy Spirit wrote God's Word, through God's chosen writers, it was always written for the group of God's people presently and the future groups of God's people, in mind (The Holy Spirit's mind, not necessarily the writers). The Bible was meant to be learned, studied, and done as a corporate group.
God's people, from the final moments of Jesus, have always done theology as a group. In Jerusalem, God's people met as a group to listen and learn from the Apostles. Paul wrote his letters to God's people as churches in specific locations, so they could hear from him as a local group. God's people by the end of the 2nd century A.D. gathered in local buildings as a group to learn and study God's Word together. Church Councils met (as groups) to declare right theology and reject false teachers. And ever since these historical precedents, God's people have gathered under the Holy Spirit's guide to do theology together.
This means, for us to do theology correctly, it must be done in a checks and balance system inside a local church. Yes, we can study, learn and grow on our own. But the only way to know if we are right in doing our theology, is to have it checked. Yes, we can read others writings on God's Word and discover how the church historically has done theology. But it must only be done in a way of submission. Yes, we are commanded to be a person who meditates on God's Word day and night, in our own lives personally. But the only way to guarantee we have understood history correctly, interpreted passages rightly, and are doing our theology for God's glory, is to have it checked.
Checking our theology takes place in our local church. By sitting under the teaching of God's chosen leaders. By talking and living the Word in intimacy with others. By submitting ourselves to a set of doctrinal guidelines and statements. And by making disciples with a like-minded group of God's people. Only in these ways, can we have our theology and the doing of it, checked. Yes, there are practical implications beyond the scope of this post, like unity, doctrinal essentials, and Godly teachers. But we need to hear the point one more time.
To truly do theology correctly it must be in a place of checks and balances of a local church. So when an individual Christian finds a healthy growing church, they must bring their theology to the table, check it with the group, unify with that church, and do theology with that group of God's children. Because only when our theology is checked by a local church, can we truly know we are doing our theology correctly.
Before we explore today's topic, a few important points to keep in mind. First, theology is the study God, the Bible, Jesus, sin, salvation, and all the other truths the Bible brings to light. Second, all of us are theologians. Third, theology is at the heart of a Christian, in that, what a person knows and thinks always drives what they do. Fourth, doing theology is the point of both studying theology and living theology.
Doing theology together as a church, under the leading of the Holy Spirit, is the only way we can have our theology and doing theology, checked. The problem is, most Christians today reject the idea of doing theology together corporately as a church and vehemently fight the notion they have to have their theology checked. The culture of our world today teaches us 2 big ideas that fight having our theology checked and doing it in a corporate setting.
First, we are taught from little on up, individualism is critical for life. Beginning in elementary school, saturated through the consumption of media, and brought on by the fracture of the family system, children only hear about what they as an individual want. We stress the individual needs. We only focus on the individual desires. We are taught that the problem in our world takes places when we tell one another their personal individual feelings or passions are wrong. The culture and people of this country teach us the only thing that matters is the individual. We are an American culture of millions of individual wants and not a corporate thought. And sadly, most Christians have fallen prey to this lie of individualism.
Second, we are taught to reject authority. The word "submission" has left the culture of the 21st century. To submit means to lose. To submit to anyone is seen as a negative thing. Authority is shown as bad or as something to run from. Yes, we appear to submit to authority and appear to have authority figures in our lives. But overall, American culture is a culture that fights authority and any thought pf someone else telling us what to think, feel, believe, or do. This cultural influence has also infiltrated the church. Doing theology, being put in check, and living in submission to a local church (and its authority figures) is seen as foreign and downright novel in the church today.
Yet, doing theology corporately under the authority of God's Word, the local church, and the Holy Spirit, is exactly what God's people have done historically and exactly what God's Word teaches us to do.
The Bible was written to God's people as a whole group, not an individual. The commands that God gives, always must be done in a group, as a group, in order to obey them correctly. Discipleship is an activity that can never be done in isolation. All of the stories in the Bible, of God's people, are stories with personal connection, people groups, and relationships involved. When the Holy Spirit wrote God's Word, through God's chosen writers, it was always written for the group of God's people presently and the future groups of God's people, in mind (The Holy Spirit's mind, not necessarily the writers). The Bible was meant to be learned, studied, and done as a corporate group.
God's people, from the final moments of Jesus, have always done theology as a group. In Jerusalem, God's people met as a group to listen and learn from the Apostles. Paul wrote his letters to God's people as churches in specific locations, so they could hear from him as a local group. God's people by the end of the 2nd century A.D. gathered in local buildings as a group to learn and study God's Word together. Church Councils met (as groups) to declare right theology and reject false teachers. And ever since these historical precedents, God's people have gathered under the Holy Spirit's guide to do theology together.
This means, for us to do theology correctly, it must be done in a checks and balance system inside a local church. Yes, we can study, learn and grow on our own. But the only way to know if we are right in doing our theology, is to have it checked. Yes, we can read others writings on God's Word and discover how the church historically has done theology. But it must only be done in a way of submission. Yes, we are commanded to be a person who meditates on God's Word day and night, in our own lives personally. But the only way to guarantee we have understood history correctly, interpreted passages rightly, and are doing our theology for God's glory, is to have it checked.
Checking our theology takes place in our local church. By sitting under the teaching of God's chosen leaders. By talking and living the Word in intimacy with others. By submitting ourselves to a set of doctrinal guidelines and statements. And by making disciples with a like-minded group of God's people. Only in these ways, can we have our theology and the doing of it, checked. Yes, there are practical implications beyond the scope of this post, like unity, doctrinal essentials, and Godly teachers. But we need to hear the point one more time.
To truly do theology correctly it must be in a place of checks and balances of a local church. So when an individual Christian finds a healthy growing church, they must bring their theology to the table, check it with the group, unify with that church, and do theology with that group of God's children. Because only when our theology is checked by a local church, can we truly know we are doing our theology correctly.
Wednesday, March 21, 2018
Help with doing it. Theology pt.3
So far in my series of post around the topic of doing theology, I have covered the 5 ways not to do theology and explored the source of doing theology correctly. Today I want to explore the help we receive from the creeds, confession, and catechism, in doing theology correctly.
Before we explore today's topic, a few important points to keep in mind. First, theology is the study God, the Bible, Jesus, sin, salvation, and all the other truths the Bible brings to light. Second, all of us are theologians. Third, theology is at the heart of a Christian, in that, what a person knows and thinks always drives what they do. Fourth, doing theology is the point of both studying theology and living theology.
To understand how the creeds, confession, and catechism help us in doing theology, we first must arrive at an understanding of what these important documents are. Many Christians today hear the word creed or confession and automatically think of the Catholic Church. Many Christians view creeds or confessions as old, outdated documents of a dead, lifeless faith. Many Christians run from the creeds and confessions because they believe they have no place in the spiritual life of God's people. Sadly, all of these assumptions are flat out wrong. The creeds, confessions, and catechisms are an important part of the Christian faith and still play an important role in the daily life of God's people. Thus creeds, confessions, and catechisms are a helpful part of doing theology.
A creed is a short statement about a set of beliefs in the Christian faith. A creed will typically begin with, "I believe". They are concise statements that clearly define what the Bible teaches about a particular subject. The Apostles Creed is a 12 line belief statement about the Christian faith, including God, the mission of Jesus, and the place of the church. The Nicene Creed expands upon the Apostle's Creed, by focusing on belief around the nature of Jesus and how His nature was critical to His mission. The Athanasian Creed builds yet again upon the creeds before it and defines the nature of the Triune God. Creeds are very helpful becasue they are short, succinct statements, right from the Bible, that lay out foundational truths of God's people.
A confession is a longer treatment of truth, than a creed. Confessions are usually broader, in that they cover more truth from the Bible. Confessions, deriving from the Latin verb, meaning, confess. They are very important because they explain what the Bible believes about a particular subject, in a systematic way. Confessions like, "The Belgic Confession", "The Augsburg Confession", The Westminster Standards", "The thirty-nine Articles", and "The London-Baptist Confession", all point to what a particular group of God's people believe the Bible teaches about the important doctrines of the Bible. These confessions cover topics like, Creation, Salvation, Jesus Christ, God, the church, the ordinances, the Holy Spirit, and others. Confessions are extremely helpful because they answer what the Bible teaches about a particular subject in a organized way.
A catechism is similar to a confession and a creed, yet is structured differently to help in teaching doctrine. A great example of a catechism is, "The Heidelberg Catechism". A catechism is a belief statement structured in a question and answer format. A question is asked, for example, "What is the chief end of Man"? The catechism answers the question by teaching the truth that is asked in the question. The answer given to the previous question is, "the chief end of man is to glorify and enjoy God forever". A catechism might take a creed, a prayer from Scripture, the 10 commandments, or a set of doctrines from the Bible, and explain them in a helpful way by asking and answering questions. Catechism are helpful for God's people because they focus on truth and theology from the Bible and explain it in a way that answers questions, we as God's people might ask.
So understanding what creeds, confessions, and catechisms are, we can begin to see how these tools and documents are very helpful in doing theology. How do we know our particular interpretation of a passage is correct? How do we know if our understanding of a doctrine is right? How do we know if our theology is right? How do we know if we are doing theology for the glory of God? Look at what the creeds, confessions, or catechisms say about the particular passage, doctrine or theology. Taking what we understand, know, or see from the Bible and comparing it to the creeds or confessions, is an extremely helpful way of doing theology right. Doing theology, with our Bible as the authority is critical to godliness. But doing theology under the Bible, with the lens of the creeds and confessions, is a tried and true way of making sure we are living under the Bible correctly and doing theology right. These tools are lens and frameworks that are very helpful in doing theology right.
I am a creedly, confessional, catechismic Christian. My understanding of the Trinity is best explained by the Athanasian creed. I live by the confession that is the London Baptist Confession of 1689. I have learned and grown so much by studying and reviewing the Heidelberg Catechism. These creeds, confession, and catechism are helpful tools that keep me on the strait and narrow of doing theology correctly.
So creeds, confessions, and catechisms, are all helpful tools, that God's people should be using, that help us do theology rightly, for the glory of God. Do you know, use, or understand any of the historical and true creeds, confessions, or catechism?
Before we explore today's topic, a few important points to keep in mind. First, theology is the study God, the Bible, Jesus, sin, salvation, and all the other truths the Bible brings to light. Second, all of us are theologians. Third, theology is at the heart of a Christian, in that, what a person knows and thinks always drives what they do. Fourth, doing theology is the point of both studying theology and living theology.
To understand how the creeds, confession, and catechism help us in doing theology, we first must arrive at an understanding of what these important documents are. Many Christians today hear the word creed or confession and automatically think of the Catholic Church. Many Christians view creeds or confessions as old, outdated documents of a dead, lifeless faith. Many Christians run from the creeds and confessions because they believe they have no place in the spiritual life of God's people. Sadly, all of these assumptions are flat out wrong. The creeds, confessions, and catechisms are an important part of the Christian faith and still play an important role in the daily life of God's people. Thus creeds, confessions, and catechisms are a helpful part of doing theology.
A creed is a short statement about a set of beliefs in the Christian faith. A creed will typically begin with, "I believe". They are concise statements that clearly define what the Bible teaches about a particular subject. The Apostles Creed is a 12 line belief statement about the Christian faith, including God, the mission of Jesus, and the place of the church. The Nicene Creed expands upon the Apostle's Creed, by focusing on belief around the nature of Jesus and how His nature was critical to His mission. The Athanasian Creed builds yet again upon the creeds before it and defines the nature of the Triune God. Creeds are very helpful becasue they are short, succinct statements, right from the Bible, that lay out foundational truths of God's people.
A confession is a longer treatment of truth, than a creed. Confessions are usually broader, in that they cover more truth from the Bible. Confessions, deriving from the Latin verb, meaning, confess. They are very important because they explain what the Bible believes about a particular subject, in a systematic way. Confessions like, "The Belgic Confession", "The Augsburg Confession", The Westminster Standards", "The thirty-nine Articles", and "The London-Baptist Confession", all point to what a particular group of God's people believe the Bible teaches about the important doctrines of the Bible. These confessions cover topics like, Creation, Salvation, Jesus Christ, God, the church, the ordinances, the Holy Spirit, and others. Confessions are extremely helpful because they answer what the Bible teaches about a particular subject in a organized way.
A catechism is similar to a confession and a creed, yet is structured differently to help in teaching doctrine. A great example of a catechism is, "The Heidelberg Catechism". A catechism is a belief statement structured in a question and answer format. A question is asked, for example, "What is the chief end of Man"? The catechism answers the question by teaching the truth that is asked in the question. The answer given to the previous question is, "the chief end of man is to glorify and enjoy God forever". A catechism might take a creed, a prayer from Scripture, the 10 commandments, or a set of doctrines from the Bible, and explain them in a helpful way by asking and answering questions. Catechism are helpful for God's people because they focus on truth and theology from the Bible and explain it in a way that answers questions, we as God's people might ask.
So understanding what creeds, confessions, and catechisms are, we can begin to see how these tools and documents are very helpful in doing theology. How do we know our particular interpretation of a passage is correct? How do we know if our understanding of a doctrine is right? How do we know if our theology is right? How do we know if we are doing theology for the glory of God? Look at what the creeds, confessions, or catechisms say about the particular passage, doctrine or theology. Taking what we understand, know, or see from the Bible and comparing it to the creeds or confessions, is an extremely helpful way of doing theology right. Doing theology, with our Bible as the authority is critical to godliness. But doing theology under the Bible, with the lens of the creeds and confessions, is a tried and true way of making sure we are living under the Bible correctly and doing theology right. These tools are lens and frameworks that are very helpful in doing theology right.
I am a creedly, confessional, catechismic Christian. My understanding of the Trinity is best explained by the Athanasian creed. I live by the confession that is the London Baptist Confession of 1689. I have learned and grown so much by studying and reviewing the Heidelberg Catechism. These creeds, confession, and catechism are helpful tools that keep me on the strait and narrow of doing theology correctly.
So creeds, confessions, and catechisms, are all helpful tools, that God's people should be using, that help us do theology rightly, for the glory of God. Do you know, use, or understand any of the historical and true creeds, confessions, or catechism?
Tuesday, March 20, 2018
The Nature of the Atonement: Propitiation
"In this is love, not that we have loved God but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins".
1 John 4:10
This is another post, in my series of posts on the atonement of Jesus Christ. Here is the working definition, that I have created, for this series of posts, for what the atonement is. The atonement is; “God killed His perfect Son to save hate-filled rebels from the wrath they deserved from Him”. Today we are going to think about the wrath portion of the definition. We want to think deeply about how Jesus removes God's wrath from us.
First, when the Bible speaks about God's wrath, it is speaking about His righteous anger against sin. Sin is the cosmic problem humans have with God. As previous posts in this series discussed, sin, driven by the human sin nature, demands God's justice poured upon. This points to the Biblical truth that every sin demands the wrath of God against it. God has righteous anger towards sin. God has a perfect anger against sin. God has a loving anger for Himself when every single sin is done against Him. This means, God's wrath against every single sin done against Him, must be satisfied for God to remain perfect, loving, and holy.
Second, hell is the place that God's wrath against sin will be satisfied. God created hell to satisfy His demands towards the punishment of sin. God will cast every single being (both human and angel) into hell, so they can pay for the sin (and its wrath) done against a holy God. Hell then is the place, where God exist in all of His holy wrath, fury, and anger towards sin, for all eternity. The reality of hell is that every single person that is outside of Jesus, will spend eternity in Hell, in the very real presence of God, meeting the wrathful demands of God's holy justice for the sin they did against Him. Hell is a real place where the very real wrath of God exist and is the place where God's love will be absent. The wrath of God is very real and must be dealt with.
Third, in order for anyone to escape or be rescued from hell, the wrath of God against their sin, must be satisfied. This is where Jesus and the cross come into the plan of God. Jesus atonement was an act by the Savior, where He satisfied the demands of God against the sin of the elect (all those who believe in Jesus). As my definition of the atonement states, Jesus saved us from the wrath of God, in hell, by taking upon Himself the wrath of God for the sin of the elect. This is what propitiation means.
Propitiation defined in its simplest form is; Jesus satisfying the wrath of God towards the sin of those He substituted Himself for. This is a very intricately part of the atonement of Jesus. If Jesus was going to atone for sin, He had to pay the penalty for sin. If Jesus was going to save His people, He had to save them from something. The something that Jesus saves His people from, is the wrath of God. Propitiation is the saving act of Jesus in meeting the demands of God for sin and paying the penalty for sin by taking upon Himself the wrath of God. But to understand propitiation correctly four points need to be unpacked.
First, propitiation is an act Jesus does toward the Father. Jesus willingly, obediently, and sacrificially when to the cross, knowing that God's wrath had to be turned aside and satisfied. Because of Jesus love, first for His Father, and second for his sheep, He went to the cross and propitiated His Father. Propitiation is an act (in the salvation triangle) where Jesus does something to His Father and for His Father. Propitiation is all about the interchange between the Son and the Father on the cross.
This leads to the second point, in the truth that no human can ever propitiate God. God gives humans all eternity to pay for their sin, and they can't. No human can stand before God, pay for their own sin, and survive. So God sent the only being capable to withstand His wrath and not be extinguished. Stunningly it is God Himself (in Christ) appeasing His own wrath. Propitiation is all about God, inside His own triune nature, outside of humanity. Yes, Jesus had to be human (100% human in fact) to propitiate God. But Jesus also had to be God (100% God in fact) to propitiate God.
The third important point of propitiation, is the reality that this was the worst part of Jesus penal substitution on the cross. Yes, the nails were painful. Yes, the whips hurt. Yes, Jesus physically experienced pain and died on the cross. But God's wrath being poured upon Christ was 1000 times worse. When Christ proclaims, "my God, my God, why have you forsaken me", he was showcasing the spiritual anguish that was taking place on the cross. The trinity was in turmoil. God's perfect love was removed from His Son. Jesus Christ, on the cross, was experiencing hell while He was propitiating for the sin of the sheep. The propitiation of God's wrath was the most excruciating and painful part of Jesus atonement.
The last major point, in helping us understand propitiation is the understanding of it as a religious term. As we will see later in this series, redemption is a commercial term. Justification is a legal term. Propitiation though is a religious term. Propitiation is what drives our worship. It is a theological truth that must not be denied. It is the one act, we as humans had no part in and just watched take place. The center of the Christian religion is the atonement and one half of the atonement is the propitiation of Jesus towards the Father.
Propitiation is a term, idea, or picture we do not like to talk or think about. Sadly, this is why so many "Christians" reject the truth of propitiation. But propitiation is central to the very nature of the atonement. Based upon the work Christ did in turning away and turning aside God's wrath towards sin, God was now free to justify His people. We will either pay for our sin for all eternity in Hell or have Jesus pay for it on the cross. There is no middle ground. Our sin demands payment. Jesus paid our penalty on the cross. Let us rejoice and hold tightly to the truth of propitiation.
1 John 4:10
This is another post, in my series of posts on the atonement of Jesus Christ. Here is the working definition, that I have created, for this series of posts, for what the atonement is. The atonement is; “God killed His perfect Son to save hate-filled rebels from the wrath they deserved from Him”. Today we are going to think about the wrath portion of the definition. We want to think deeply about how Jesus removes God's wrath from us.
First, when the Bible speaks about God's wrath, it is speaking about His righteous anger against sin. Sin is the cosmic problem humans have with God. As previous posts in this series discussed, sin, driven by the human sin nature, demands God's justice poured upon. This points to the Biblical truth that every sin demands the wrath of God against it. God has righteous anger towards sin. God has a perfect anger against sin. God has a loving anger for Himself when every single sin is done against Him. This means, God's wrath against every single sin done against Him, must be satisfied for God to remain perfect, loving, and holy.
Second, hell is the place that God's wrath against sin will be satisfied. God created hell to satisfy His demands towards the punishment of sin. God will cast every single being (both human and angel) into hell, so they can pay for the sin (and its wrath) done against a holy God. Hell then is the place, where God exist in all of His holy wrath, fury, and anger towards sin, for all eternity. The reality of hell is that every single person that is outside of Jesus, will spend eternity in Hell, in the very real presence of God, meeting the wrathful demands of God's holy justice for the sin they did against Him. Hell is a real place where the very real wrath of God exist and is the place where God's love will be absent. The wrath of God is very real and must be dealt with.
Third, in order for anyone to escape or be rescued from hell, the wrath of God against their sin, must be satisfied. This is where Jesus and the cross come into the plan of God. Jesus atonement was an act by the Savior, where He satisfied the demands of God against the sin of the elect (all those who believe in Jesus). As my definition of the atonement states, Jesus saved us from the wrath of God, in hell, by taking upon Himself the wrath of God for the sin of the elect. This is what propitiation means.
Propitiation defined in its simplest form is; Jesus satisfying the wrath of God towards the sin of those He substituted Himself for. This is a very intricately part of the atonement of Jesus. If Jesus was going to atone for sin, He had to pay the penalty for sin. If Jesus was going to save His people, He had to save them from something. The something that Jesus saves His people from, is the wrath of God. Propitiation is the saving act of Jesus in meeting the demands of God for sin and paying the penalty for sin by taking upon Himself the wrath of God. But to understand propitiation correctly four points need to be unpacked.
First, propitiation is an act Jesus does toward the Father. Jesus willingly, obediently, and sacrificially when to the cross, knowing that God's wrath had to be turned aside and satisfied. Because of Jesus love, first for His Father, and second for his sheep, He went to the cross and propitiated His Father. Propitiation is an act (in the salvation triangle) where Jesus does something to His Father and for His Father. Propitiation is all about the interchange between the Son and the Father on the cross.
This leads to the second point, in the truth that no human can ever propitiate God. God gives humans all eternity to pay for their sin, and they can't. No human can stand before God, pay for their own sin, and survive. So God sent the only being capable to withstand His wrath and not be extinguished. Stunningly it is God Himself (in Christ) appeasing His own wrath. Propitiation is all about God, inside His own triune nature, outside of humanity. Yes, Jesus had to be human (100% human in fact) to propitiate God. But Jesus also had to be God (100% God in fact) to propitiate God.
The third important point of propitiation, is the reality that this was the worst part of Jesus penal substitution on the cross. Yes, the nails were painful. Yes, the whips hurt. Yes, Jesus physically experienced pain and died on the cross. But God's wrath being poured upon Christ was 1000 times worse. When Christ proclaims, "my God, my God, why have you forsaken me", he was showcasing the spiritual anguish that was taking place on the cross. The trinity was in turmoil. God's perfect love was removed from His Son. Jesus Christ, on the cross, was experiencing hell while He was propitiating for the sin of the sheep. The propitiation of God's wrath was the most excruciating and painful part of Jesus atonement.
The last major point, in helping us understand propitiation is the understanding of it as a religious term. As we will see later in this series, redemption is a commercial term. Justification is a legal term. Propitiation though is a religious term. Propitiation is what drives our worship. It is a theological truth that must not be denied. It is the one act, we as humans had no part in and just watched take place. The center of the Christian religion is the atonement and one half of the atonement is the propitiation of Jesus towards the Father.
Propitiation is a term, idea, or picture we do not like to talk or think about. Sadly, this is why so many "Christians" reject the truth of propitiation. But propitiation is central to the very nature of the atonement. Based upon the work Christ did in turning away and turning aside God's wrath towards sin, God was now free to justify His people. We will either pay for our sin for all eternity in Hell or have Jesus pay for it on the cross. There is no middle ground. Our sin demands payment. Jesus paid our penalty on the cross. Let us rejoice and hold tightly to the truth of propitiation.
Friday, March 2, 2018
The Cost of the Atonement
"He who did not spare His own Son, but gave Him up for us all, how will He not also with Him graciously give us all things?"
Romans 8:32
This is the third, in a series of post on the atonement of Jesus Christ. Here is the definition I am working from for the atonement; “God killed His perfect Son to save hate-filled rebels from the wrath they deserved from Him”. In the first post, I discussed the general nature and definition of the atonement. In my last post, I walked through the three largest reasons the atonement was necessary. Today, I would like to spend a few moments thinking though why the atonement of Jesus was so costly.
The simple answer for why the atonement was so costly, is because it cost the life of God's Son on the Cross as a payment for the wrath of God towards sin. But we need to think through the simple answer to see the full depth of the atonement. The rest of this article is diving deeper into the depths of the death of God's Son.
God is holy, humans are not. God is sinless, humans are sinners in nature. God is just, humans are deserving of justice. God is alive, humans are spiritually dead. God is love, humans are unloving. God is good, humans can never do any good outside of God. The list of the ways God and sinful humans are separated, could go on. But we get the point. God is completely perfect, good, holy, and separate from sinful, dead, evil humanity. That separation is seen the clearest every single time a human sins and acts in cosmic treason towards God.
The separation and cosmic treason of humanity deserve the just punishment and wrath of God. God hates sin. God judges sin. God deals out His perfect justice on every sin that is committed against Him. This points to the fact that, without the atonement, every single human being will be dealt the perfect just wrath of God, in judgment, for all eternity in Hell. Every single human perfectly and rightly deserves the wrath of God being poured out on them in propitiation (which will be paid and satisfied for all eternity).
Hell is real. Hell is the place of atonement and judgment. Hell is the place where God's wrath will burn against sinners for all eternity. Hell is the right, true, and just destination of all people. Without the atonement, every human deserves Hell. Without the atonement, the final destiny of all humans is Hell. Without the atonement, God is perfectly good and right and loving, in sending every single human to Hell. Without the atonement, Hell cost God nothing (but His perfect justice) and it cost humanity everything.
But God, in His love and grace, chose to save some from the justice they deserve. God did not have to save anyone. God was perfectly right and good, to not save anyone. But God chose to save some by planning and enacting the atonement of Jesus Christ. God, from eternity past, elected some for salvation, decreed salvation from His wrath for His sheep, and sent His Son to this world to make salvation real and secure for the elect. This means God sent His Son, at a costly price to save His people.
The cost of the atonement, is the same exact cost it would cost humans going to Hell. Becasue Hell is the eternal place of God's wrath being satisfied, God had to have His wrath satisfied and His elect justified, so they could have salvation secured. This is why the Bible says God is both the just and the justifier. God, through the atonement, find justice for the cosmic treason of His elect. God, as the justifier sent His Son at great cost, so the elect could be justified. God planned His justice perfectly and produced the justification in His elect perfectly. The justice of God and the justification of the elect, cost God the life of His Son as a substitute.
It is the substitutionary nature of Jesus that shows the great cost of the atonement. Jesus had to stand in the place of the Elect. Jesus had to bear the wrath of the Elect. Jesus had to be a propitiation for the Elect. Jesus had to endure the true taste of Hell for the Elect. Just as Isaiah 53 makes clear, Jesus as the suffering servant, had to bear everything and remove everything from God's sight, that the Elect deserved. This means the atonement cost God not only His Son, but also cost God the action of dealing His own wrath on His perfect son.
God loves His Son above all else. Jesus was perfect. Jesus was holy. Jesus was loving. Jesus was good. Jesus, even as God in the flesh, was in full communion with His Father and never once committed a single act of cosmic treason. Jesus was perfectly righteous. Yet to secure the salvation of the Elect through the atonement, God had to kill His own Son. God had to pour out His wrath (same as Hell) on His Son. God had to have His justice met through the one person who never had to meet it. God had to enact the atonement through the only person who never needed it. The atonement cost God His very own Son.
As Romans 8 reads, if the atonement cost God so much, how much more could He give us? If the atonement was the hardest action God every had to do, why would blessing or caring for us be hard for Him? It's not. Paul is clear. God gave up everything in the atonement. God gave His greatest cost, in the life of His perfect Son. How much more will God give us, as His elect children? Next we move to the propitiation of the atonement.
Romans 8:32
This is the third, in a series of post on the atonement of Jesus Christ. Here is the definition I am working from for the atonement; “God killed His perfect Son to save hate-filled rebels from the wrath they deserved from Him”. In the first post, I discussed the general nature and definition of the atonement. In my last post, I walked through the three largest reasons the atonement was necessary. Today, I would like to spend a few moments thinking though why the atonement of Jesus was so costly.
The simple answer for why the atonement was so costly, is because it cost the life of God's Son on the Cross as a payment for the wrath of God towards sin. But we need to think through the simple answer to see the full depth of the atonement. The rest of this article is diving deeper into the depths of the death of God's Son.
God is holy, humans are not. God is sinless, humans are sinners in nature. God is just, humans are deserving of justice. God is alive, humans are spiritually dead. God is love, humans are unloving. God is good, humans can never do any good outside of God. The list of the ways God and sinful humans are separated, could go on. But we get the point. God is completely perfect, good, holy, and separate from sinful, dead, evil humanity. That separation is seen the clearest every single time a human sins and acts in cosmic treason towards God.
The separation and cosmic treason of humanity deserve the just punishment and wrath of God. God hates sin. God judges sin. God deals out His perfect justice on every sin that is committed against Him. This points to the fact that, without the atonement, every single human being will be dealt the perfect just wrath of God, in judgment, for all eternity in Hell. Every single human perfectly and rightly deserves the wrath of God being poured out on them in propitiation (which will be paid and satisfied for all eternity).
Hell is real. Hell is the place of atonement and judgment. Hell is the place where God's wrath will burn against sinners for all eternity. Hell is the right, true, and just destination of all people. Without the atonement, every human deserves Hell. Without the atonement, the final destiny of all humans is Hell. Without the atonement, God is perfectly good and right and loving, in sending every single human to Hell. Without the atonement, Hell cost God nothing (but His perfect justice) and it cost humanity everything.
But God, in His love and grace, chose to save some from the justice they deserve. God did not have to save anyone. God was perfectly right and good, to not save anyone. But God chose to save some by planning and enacting the atonement of Jesus Christ. God, from eternity past, elected some for salvation, decreed salvation from His wrath for His sheep, and sent His Son to this world to make salvation real and secure for the elect. This means God sent His Son, at a costly price to save His people.
The cost of the atonement, is the same exact cost it would cost humans going to Hell. Becasue Hell is the eternal place of God's wrath being satisfied, God had to have His wrath satisfied and His elect justified, so they could have salvation secured. This is why the Bible says God is both the just and the justifier. God, through the atonement, find justice for the cosmic treason of His elect. God, as the justifier sent His Son at great cost, so the elect could be justified. God planned His justice perfectly and produced the justification in His elect perfectly. The justice of God and the justification of the elect, cost God the life of His Son as a substitute.
It is the substitutionary nature of Jesus that shows the great cost of the atonement. Jesus had to stand in the place of the Elect. Jesus had to bear the wrath of the Elect. Jesus had to be a propitiation for the Elect. Jesus had to endure the true taste of Hell for the Elect. Just as Isaiah 53 makes clear, Jesus as the suffering servant, had to bear everything and remove everything from God's sight, that the Elect deserved. This means the atonement cost God not only His Son, but also cost God the action of dealing His own wrath on His perfect son.
God loves His Son above all else. Jesus was perfect. Jesus was holy. Jesus was loving. Jesus was good. Jesus, even as God in the flesh, was in full communion with His Father and never once committed a single act of cosmic treason. Jesus was perfectly righteous. Yet to secure the salvation of the Elect through the atonement, God had to kill His own Son. God had to pour out His wrath (same as Hell) on His Son. God had to have His justice met through the one person who never had to meet it. God had to enact the atonement through the only person who never needed it. The atonement cost God His very own Son.
As Romans 8 reads, if the atonement cost God so much, how much more could He give us? If the atonement was the hardest action God every had to do, why would blessing or caring for us be hard for Him? It's not. Paul is clear. God gave up everything in the atonement. God gave His greatest cost, in the life of His perfect Son. How much more will God give us, as His elect children? Next we move to the propitiation of the atonement.
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