don't miss the point of the virgin birth

This time of year the virgin birth of Jesus is often discussed, for obvious reasons. I want to offer an observation that I think sometimes gets missed in this conversation. I think the entire reason for the virgin birth is often overlooked. 

I remember Dr. Craigen in my Systematic Theology class speaking often of Jesus “entering the stream of humanity.” In my understanding, the virgin birth is not so much about his sinlessness (though he certainly was) as it is about his eternality. Jesus is the uncreated one. He always was. He was not conceived in the way other humans are. He stepped from heaven into the stream of humanity through the womb of a virgin. The virgin birth teaches, undeniably, the eternality of Jesus Christ. The sinless, eternal one chose to humble himself and step into the womb of a young woman.  

What do we lose if we give up the virgin birth? We effectively sabotage the vehicle that God uses to enter planet earth. If we deny the virgin birth, our understanding of who Jesus is will never be accurate or adequate. If someone finds the virgin birth unbelievable, my guess is they've had issues from Genesis 1 through Matthew. God specializes in impossible (miraculous). Mary understood this. She believed Gabriel. "For nothing will be impossible with God.” And Mary said, “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her. (Lk 1.37-38)

  

It's OK to Cringe

We generally shy away from things that make us uncomfortable. As Christians, we go so far sometimes as to assume that it’s not in the plan of God for our lives to situate us in a place that is uncomfortable. Where did we get this unbiblical notion? 

Entering the final week of his life, Jesus has a perspective that is wholly unique. He knows how and when he will die. The final Passover lamb is making his way to the altar. As he systematically moves through this week, he's in complete control. This week will be full of painful physical suffering, relational hurt as he’s abandoned by his closest friends, family pain as he dies in front of his own mother, and a deep spiritual emptiness as he bore the wrath of God and separation from God on the cross. 

Let’s take a quick walk through John 12.27-28. Jesus looks at his day planner for the week and says, “Now is my soul troubled.” Did you know it’s OK to be deeply troubled? Jesus was. There you go, you have permission to cringe at the pain of life. But Jesus didn’t leave things there. He goes on,  “And what shall I say? ‘Father, save me from this hour?” That would have been tempting, right? Let’s get out of here. I don’t want to do Friday. Friday is going to be hard. Can we go straight to Sunday? Jesus knows agony is coming. He steadies himself through his confidence in the Father, “But for this purpose I have come to this hour. Father, glorify your name.” Yes, yes, yes! Can we just try to follow this simple line of thought with Jesus? Life is hard. Life has a purpose. Life is for the glory of God. Sounds like a John Piper sermon, or maybe Piper got those thoughts somewhere, hmmm. 

 

Practical Polytheism: The 10th Command and Idolatry

Most of you don’t have wooden, stone, or otherwise hand crafted idols in your home. This was a major issue in Biblical times and one that still dominates many cultures today. But are we really free from idolatry? 

This past week in our Equipping Hour, we concluded a study of the 10 Commandments. We considered how the NT views the Big Ten and how they should impact us now, particularly as we view ourselves through the lens of the gospel. To use a broad brush, we concluded that the New Testament writers did indeed uphold the 10 Commandments. Ultimately no one has kept them perfectly. That leads us to the One who did keep them, Jesus. In this way, we see the logic of Gal 3.24, the Law has been the tutor to lead us to Christ, the obedient and righteous one. 

So what now? Do we toss out the commandments? Hardly. In fact, the New Testament ups the ante on the 10. We learn that it’s not enough to not commit adultery, we have to put off lust. We aren’t righteous by simply controlling our urge to murder, we are murders by our anger. 

The last of the 10 Commandments is the command to not covet. This one is particularly interesting because it’s part of the fabric of how most of us think. Interestingly, Paul seemed to have a coveting issue. He uses coveting as his example of how the Law exposes sin in Romans 7.7. Then we have a simple but highly profound statement in Colossians 3.5. In a discussion about various sins to “put off,” Paul says to put off “covetousness, which is idolatry.” By linking coveting with idolatry, Paul takes us from the bottom of the original 10 Commandments back to the top, where it all started. When we covet, we are idolaters. Practically, we have "other gods" and have formed our own idols. That’s a serious problem. 

Let’s park here for a moment. For some reason, we seem to be OK with a “little” coveting. We laugh about it, as if it’s really not a big deal. It’s normal, right? But if we identify it as idolatry, then it’s not quite so funny. Imagine I come over to your house and you have a carved idol. You explain, “Yeah, I have this idol, but I don’t worship it, much.” Small idols are still idols. 

Covetousness is notoriously difficult to discern in our own hearts but the Bible is clear that this is not a sin to be taken lightly. Don’t be a practical polytheist who confesses the one true God but then give your worship to idols through the sin of coveting. The reality is we have an will violate this command. We are law breakers and it drives us to the one who never once coveted. Knowing this forgiveness motivates us to identify coveting and confess it for what it truly is, idolatry. 

CSL on Writing

If you are a student, a pastor, or a story teller, I think you will find this advice helpful from CS Lewis.

"In writing. Don't use adjective which merely tell us how you want us to feel about the thing you are describing. I mean, instead of telling us a thing was "terrible," describe it so that we'll be terrified. Don't say it was "delightful"; make us say "delightful" when we've read the description. You see, all those words (horrifying, wonderful, hideous, exquisite) are only like saying to your readers "Please will you do my job for me."

A Hair Worth Splitting

I was reading RC Sproul's commentary on John 9 tonight. John 9 tells the familiar story when Jesus heals the man who was born blind. The story in it's full context is rich with festival significance and messianic implications. That aside, RC Sproul makes a distinction between two words that we often use interchangeably - witnessing and evangelism. I've tended to not like using the term "witnessing" so much as evangelism, and I think Dr. Sproul helped me finally put words to my preference.

He argues: "...they [witnessing and evangelism] are not synonyms. Any time I call attention to the person and work of Christ, I am bearing witness to Christ. But that is not the same thing as preaching the gospel." The man born blind was asked by the hostile pharisees to give an account of what happened to him. He says, "Whether he is a sinner or not I do not know. One thing I know: that though I was blind, now I see." (Jn 9.24-25) The man bears witness to what Jesus did for him - made him see. Our testimonies serve the same purpose. We can bear witness about what Christ has done in our lives.

But let's hear Dr. Sproul's caution well: "We should all have a prepared testimony, and we should be willing to share it at the drop of a hat." He continues, "But we shouldn't confuse our personal testimonies with the gospel. Sharing our personal testimonies is not evangelism." (John, p 181-182) When we have an opportunity to speak the gospel, let's make sure we aren't only telling our stories, let's tell THE story.

Bonhoeffer Quotes

Last night at our midweek service, we looked at a number of quotes from Bonhoeffer's Life Together. It was a refreshing time.

Here are three pages of gold. There's so much of this book that is quotable.

Enjoy!

Life Together Quotes

Why I Share the Pulpit

This past Sunday, I sat on the front row while a younger man from our congregation preached the Word. I was glad to be worshipping and listening to an exposition from the book of Hebrews. I took a few minutes during the service to explain why I think it’s a good thing to have other men preach. 

Here’s a summary of what I said. 

1. The Lord uses different voices. Different teachers have ways of communicating fundamentally the same truths but may say it or accent it slightly differently. This can be useful. After many years in youth ministry, I smile when students magically hear something “new” at camp. Sometimes it’s the simplest truth that they’ve heard hundreds of times, but  said in a slightly different way. Praise the Lord that God hasn’t made everyone sound just like me. I’m happy for diversity and how the Lord uses each of us.

2. I look for ways to demonstrate that the church isn’t all about me. Plurality needs some form of expression. I love having other people involved in leading the service, reading Scripture, and sometimes, preaching. I’m thankful that I have the primary responsibility for teaching the flock at SCC. I believe part of my teaching role is teaching by letting others teach. 

3. I firmly believe that the church must take ownership of the next generation of elders and preachers. We have the responsibility to test the giftedness of men for future ministry. I’m glad that in the summer of 1998, I was given an opportunity to preach my first sermon in a little country church outside of Jackson, AL. How would I know if I wanted to do this (or even could) for a living if never given an opportunity? Unfortunately, men get sent off to seminary every year with zero ministry experience. The church needs to step up in this area.