Celebrating Ascension Day

This year we are doing something new at the church where I pastor. We are celebrating Ascension Day with a service on Thursday night. This day is 40 days after Easter — the day Christ ascended after his resurrection. 

I have been struck by the importance of the Ascension as we have worked our way through the gospel of John. John, more so than the other gospel accounts, highlights the divine nature of Christ. He begins the gospel by telling the reader that Jesus was with the Father in the beginning in his glory. Repeatedly throughout the book, Jesus tells the disciples that he is going back to where he came from when his mission is complete (Jn 6:62, 7:33, 8:21, 13:1, 20:17). This is of course exactly what happens! 

After the horrors of the crucifixion and the joy of the resurrection, Jesus ministers for 40 days, presumably helping the disciples assimilate and synthesize his teaching and ministry over the past 3 years. This is preparation for the launch of the church. Jesus has promised they would do “greater works” than he did. These greater works are not greater in quality but greater in extent. Jesus was largely rejected and by contrast Peter preaches and thousands repent. Through the spirit, gospel fruit comes in abundance. This is the Spirit that Jesus himself sends once he has ascended. (Jn 16.5-7) 

In our service tomorrow night, we will explore the vital link between the ascension of Christ and the mission of the church. We will practically consider what this means for us and some ways we can engage in the mission. If you are in the Jacksonville/Beaches area, we would love to have you join us!

The Sting of Death

This past week, Uncle Ken died. Ken was my dad’s older brother by some 20 years. Although the past few months had been extremely difficult for him with his health rapidly deteriorating, the final sting of death is still potent. There is no loss that feels as deep as the loss of a loved one. I don’t like death. Death hurts. It stings. It makes us uncomfortable. 

But isn't it normal for death to feel uncomfortable? Death was not in the original design for creation. Death was introduced as part of the CURSE handed down by God.(Gn 3) I was helped this morning by a podcast that I listen to, The White Horse Inn. It is hosted by Michael Horton. The men were talking about death and how we do not need to minimize the sting of death. Death is supposed to hurt, and it does. It reminds us of the horrible nature of sin.  

In 1 Corinthians 15, Paul’s words about death's defeat are encouraging. He speaks about a coming day when death, the last enemy, is no more. Paul taunts death by saying, “where is your sting?” The implication: right now, it does sting, then it will not sting because it will not exist. But the reality for now is, as long as it does still exist, it will sting. While it is true that once a believer dies, they are in a better place, it still hurts, doesn’t it? That’s normal. If it doesn’t hurt, that’s a sign that you don’t understand death properly. Jesus cried at the tomb of Lazarus, even minutes before he was going to raise him from the dead. Why? Because his friend died and it made him sad. 

So what do Christians do? Should we just grin and bear it? That's no solution. One passage that is particularly encouraging and instructive for Christians is I Thess 4:13. The verse says: “But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope.” Notice that Paul isn’t saying we don’t grieve, he’s saying that we grieve with hope. It’s a different type of grief but grief nonetheless. In the next verse we learn why this hope is possible — because of the resurrection of Jesus. Jesus really died and he really was resurrected. And that’s the Christian's story too. We really are going to die and we really will be resurrected. 

It is also encouraging to think that more was gained in Christ than was lost in Adam. In other words, death as a product of the curse is more than reversed in Christ. Death doesn't simply fade away, death is conquered never to return!

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.