God Invades Humanity

The Christmas story is staggering in all respects, a virgin, angels, a star... but the most staggering aspect must be that God invades the realm which he had created and takes on the dirt of the earth that he had taken and fashioned and given his own breath to - flesh! God himself becomes a human; yes, real flesh and blood, without ever stopping being God.

That is the staggering nature of the Gospel, the Good News - God has come, he has invaded 'our space'!

We were on the run, we were hiding, and God came to find us and put things right.

He couldn't do it from 'out there', he had to come here.

He couldn't send someone else, he had to come himself.

• Our salvation necessitated it.
• Our restoration required it.
• Creation's renewal demanded it.

He had to be both God and man, not one or the other. He must represent, and be both sides.

He alone could bridge the gap, the distance brought about by the Fall.

He alone could save and heal. As the early church Father Gregory said "the unassumed is the unredeemed." God must assume the very likeness of our broken sinful flesh in order to redeem and heal it.

How? By the Holy Spirit - that's all the Bible tells us; or in the words of the hymn writer - "God contracted to a span, incomprehensibly made man" (Charles Wesley). Mystery. But that doesn't mean it's not true.

The first few verses of Wesley's Hark the Herald Angels Sing express it well:

Hark! The herald angels sing,
“Glory to the newborn King;
Peace on earth, and mercy mild,
God and sinners reconciled!”
Joyful, all ye nations rise,
Join the triumph of the skies;
With th’angelic host proclaim,
“Christ is born in Bethlehem!”

Hark! the herald angels sing,
“Glory to the newborn King!”

Christ, by highest Heav’n adored;
Christ the everlasting Lord;
Late in time, behold Him come,
Offspring of a virgin’s womb.
Veiled in flesh the Godhead see;
Hail th’incarnate Deity,
Pleased with us in flesh to dwell,
Jesus our Emmanuel.

Hail the heav’nly Prince of Peace!
Hail the Sun of Righteousness!
Light and life to all He brings,
Ris’n with healing in His wings.
Mild He lays His glory by,
Born that man no more may die.
Born to raise the sons of earth,
Born to give them second birth.

Then there are two verses that rarely ever get sung, and they are gospel loaded, a prayer applying the truth of the incarnation to one and all who will believe:

Come, Desire of nations, come,
Fix in us Thy humble home;
Rise, the woman’s conqu’ring Seed,
Bruise in us the serpent’s head.
Now display Thy saving power,
Ruined nature now restore;
Now in mystic union join
Thine to ours, and ours to Thine.

Adam’s likeness, Lord, efface,
Stamp Thine image in its place:
Second Adam from above,
Reinstate us in Thy love.
Let us Thee, though lost, regain,
Thee, the Life, the inner man:
O, to all Thyself impart,
Formed in each believing heart.

Hark the herald angels sing,
Glory to the new-born King!

Loaded verses indeed! Full of Gospel truth.  He has invaded 'our space,' taken it on, healed, redeemed and reconciled it in order to reinstate us in his love.

We were made by God for God, and God's invasion of 'our space' is a declaration that God is for us.

Essential Goodness or Total Depravity?

Sin, not a word or a subject we are comfortable with – we’d rather talk about love and grace. We’d rather be affirmed than convicted. Patted on the backed rather than challenged and corrected.

Following my last post re Steve Chalke’s article in Christianity calling for a new understanding among Christians with regard to homosexual relationships – an article that received widespread attention from the press – I’ve found myself thinking more about the doctrine of sin.

The world has never liked it (that includes you and me).

Evolution has no place for it.

Psychology frequently has no place for it, or what follows – guilt (a religious idea).

And frequently there have been those in the church who have wanted to downplay it, or reclassify it in order to be accepted by those around them, and with the hope of reaching others – albeit mistaken.

It’s a doctrine that confronts and levels us all, rich or poor, educated or uneducated, advantaged or disadvantaged, the haves and the have-nots, etc.. The Bible doesn’t play with words, or feelings, it tells us ‘we have all sinned and fallen short of God’s glory,’ and that we sin because we are fallen – that there is a ‘natural’ leaning in all of us to do what is wrong, something that is evidenced in one of the first words a child utters: ‘No!’ and said with emphasis! Something that I’ve observed you never have to teach a child to say, in fact parents spend their lives attempting to teach their children what is right and providing discipline and correction when the line is crossed – you never have to teach them to do wrong, they do it!

One of the problems with the current debate is the focussing on one particular sin as if it has a category all of its own, to the neglect of other sins and the thing ‘sin’ in particular.

Some Christians talk of it in terms of Total Depravity, a strange couple of words perhaps to modern ears, words which seemingly imply that someone has ‘lost it’, and capable of no good at all. In reaction to this, some theologians and preachers have attempted to rework things and talk of the ‘essential goodness’ of humanity – having observed that we are not all that bad, that some people who are not Christians have done some very good things.

The problem is that isn’t where the Bible goes, quite the opposite. Yes we are capable of some good things, but the Bible makes it clear that even the good that we are capable of is no more than filthy rags in God’s sight – they may benefit others, but they have no merit with him. Sin is ingrained, and contaminates everything in such a way as to condemn us all.

If we undermine the doctrine of sin, we undermine the very Gospel itself, and the existence of the church and it’s mission is at stake – such liberal theology has a history of emptying churches, not filling them.

Perhaps we all need to go back to the Bible and rediscover exactly what it has to say.

New Year Resolutions and All That

And so we are into 2012, resolutions have already been made….
and broken ….

It’s not that resolutions are necessarily wrong, some well known men and women of God down through history have made them, i.e. Jonathan Edwards of the USA.

A lot of people make resolutions only for them to last a few weeks, the reason being those resolutions are self-focused, they are about what I am going to do, and how I’m going to do it. It’s about my will, my resolve, and my strength to perform – in many ways it’s a works gospel: try harder, you might get there this time. Believe me I know I’ve been there.

Paul reached the point of complete desperation regarding his ability to perform, to get it right, to reach the standard. To paraprase him, “The good I have resolved and want to do, I can’t do it. In fact it’s worse than that, I find myself doing the very opposite – the things I hate.” It led him to the utter depths of human poverty and despair – to cry out: “who will deliver me from this body of death – this life that continually pulls me down into death?” Romans 7:24.

Maybe that’s where you are.

And what was his conclusion?

Notice he does not say “how can I do this,” “have you got a better program I can try,” he says, “who will deliver me?”

Did you notice that, “Who?” He’s given up on himself, he needs someone beyond himself to do it. And the answer he gives is Jesus.

Whether you believe Paul was a Christian or not at this point, the answer is the same. One of the things we need to remember – a very important thing – is that the gospel is not just for those who don’t know Christ, it’s also for those who do.

We need to continually be reminded of the gospel because the devil loves to get us away from Christ and into self, and that kind of Christianity is miserable indeed.

The gospel is Jesus plus nothing – absolutely, not my will, nor my effort. It’s about his faithfulness, how he has performed, and our being in him, and his life in us.

The writer to the Hebrews says there is a rest for the people of God, and the person who has entered that rest, has rested, or stopped from his own works (Hebrews 4:9,10).

That rest is Jesus – only, always.

So as we go into the New Year where are you looking in and feeling down, or away from yourself to Jesus the “author and finisher of our faith.” Believe me there is a world of a difference!

Revelation 20: Some thoughts on the Millenium

A lot of theological thought and ink has been expended on the first 6 verses of Revelation 20, and all because it mentions six times a thousand years, yet nowhere else in the Bible is this time frame ever mentioned.

The futurist sees it as a literal one thousand years after Jesus has returned. The problem is that much of Revelation is not literal, it’s in sign and symbol – sometimes that’s explained, at others it’s assumed to be understood by those in the know, and a great deal of it finds it’s meaning in the Old Testament.

I used to believe this was literal, I used to believe the majority of Revelation was in the future, the near future, any moment now (that was 30 odd years ago) – no more. The bulk of it is in the past, with only the end of the book pointing to the future.

The thousand years is no more literal than a literal beast. Some say 10 is the number of human government. Well a 1000 is multiples of 10, so perhaps we could say that it refers to a long period of human government – certainly the idea seems to be of a very long period of time.

Though this is the only time a ‘millenium age’ is mentioned in scripture it’s not the only time a 1000 is, in fact it’s used several times, one example being the cattle on a thousand hills belonging to God, but we would never think for one moment that that means God doesn’t own the cattle on the 1001st or the 1002nd hill. Strict literalism can get you into all sorts of trouble.

Another thing that we should no notice is that it says nothing about Jesus coming to, and reigning on earth during this time – the vision appears to be entirely heavenly – there is no millenial reign of Christ on earth.
 
The chains too are no more literal than the idea of a literal Dragon in Rev. 12 (can you chain an angel?), but rather tells us in symbolic language that the Devil is bound in such a way as to stop him deceiving the nations – previously he had had what would appear to be ‘free reign’ (he even offered Jesus a short cut to the kingdoms of this world, and Jesus did not say they weren’t his to give), but no more! Yes we can go and preach the gospel and disciple all nations, and the devil cannot stop it, his power to hold them in darkness has been broken!

Another thing to notice, is that those who would soon lose their lives in the Great Tribulation for their testimony about Jesus, were actually very much alive, and not only that they were reigning with Jesus – yes some would suffer, but God had assured them and continued to assure them that he knew who they were and though they might loose their lives they would one day be with him, and reign with him – the devil certainly didn’t have have last word! Encouragement indeed to stay true to Jesus. Not only that, they were now in the place of exercising judgment.

What is happening on earth during the 1000 years? The gospel is advancing, Christ is building his church – a glorious church, ‘without spot or wrinkle’ as Paul puts it, of people from every tibe and tongue and nation, and that church is to be both light and salt, challenging and changing the world it is in.

Revelation 1 A Brief Look

A BRIEF LOOK AT CHAPTER 1.
What do you know about Jesus? How do you see him? To some he’s just a teacher or healer, or good man, to many just a very nice man, but the Bible says a whole lot more.

“The Revelation of…” It’s a Revelation, an unfolding. It is meant to be understood.

“Of Jesus Christ” – it’s about Jesus. John knew him, but now he gets another powerful revelation, a revelation that Jesus has won! This is where some end times theology falls down as it proclaims a yet cosmic battle in the future, and undermines the cross.

“About what must quickly take place” or as Wuest translates it in his Expanded Translation of the New Testament which seeks to bring out the full meaning of the Greek, “must necessarily come to pass in their entirety shortly” ….. “the time is near,” or “the things which in it have been written and are on record, for the strategic, epochal season is imminent.” This idea of imminence is repeated v. 10, in chapter 2 and 3, and at the end.

“Made it known” (ESV) or more literally “Signified it” (HCSB) that is it was in signs, sign-i-fied. It was meant to be seen, it’s cinematic, and it’s not all that it appears to be! The stars are the angels, the lamps are the churches, the seven heads of the beast are ‘seven mountains’ and ‘seven kings,’ the Lion is the Lamb who is the Son of God, the new Jerusalem is not bricks and mortar but the people of God. This means we cannot take it literally, but must take John’s pictures/symbols as symbolic of something or someone.

Our problem is reading backwards into the text, from a modern day, global, high tech world. The fact is it was for them and they were meant to understand it! The first place to look is Scripture itself which is filled with such images – Revelation has more references to the OT than any other New Testament book. As Dennis Johnson puts it, “Revelation only makes sense in the light of the Old Testament.” At the same time God does not simply cut and paste, so care needs to be exercised.

“Is blessed…” There are seven blessings pronounced throughout the book – what kind of blessing would it have been if these words were totally unrelated to them, for some distant generation?

“Prophecy” is not just about prediction but more frequently as it is the Old Testament a sense of Divine diagnosis, and the needed response/cure.

“To the seven churches in Asia.” This also helps to set the time and the place/context. (also v.10). Seven particular churches, in a particular place, at a particular time in history. Asia Minor was divided into seven postal districts and each of these places was the main town in the district from which information was distributed.

“Grace and peace.” This is a common apostolic greeting emphasizing that our new life is, and was, and always will be, by and dependent on God’s amazing grace, and the need to receive and be living in his ‘peace’ no matter what the circumstances.

“From the One…. and the seven spirits/sevenfold Spirit and Jesus Christ…” reminds us that the God of the Bible is a Trinitarian God – a holy, happy, blessed fellowship of co-equal persons from all eternity to all eternity, One in Three and Three in One, and that having been made in his image is the basis for all our relationships.

“To Him who loves us….” Here we a have a reminder that the gospel is central, as John gets caught up in praise to God for the good news of Jesus Christ – washed, freed, kings and priests!

“Look! …..” draws immediate attention – what is said here has an imminent and a later context, and echoes the word of Jesus in Matthew 24.

“Coming with the clouds” is an O.T. reference to God coming in judgment, and had a present as well as a future reference. It can also be read as, “Look! He is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, including those who pierced him. And all the tribes of the land will mourn over him. This is certain. Amen.” This doesn’t have to mean that literally every eye will see him, but can simply mean it will not be done in a corner, but will be a very public event.

“I am the Alpha and the Omega….” An alphabet speaks of the letters we use to convey knowledge. He is the fount of all knowledge, the beginning and end – it is he who will have the last word.

“Partner in tribulation, kingdom and endurance….” John is suffering, even as they are, but it’s for the sake of the kingdom and requires endurance. Acts 14:22.

“In the Spirit..” a particular and conscious awareness of the Spirit – do we have such experiences? How do we identify them?

“Seven gold lampstands, and seven stars…” the seven churches and their angel or messenger, perhaps leader.

“Among them…” Here were seven suffering churches, and John sees Jesus standing among them. What reassuring words.

“One like the Son of Man…” This harks back to Daniel 7:13,14, “I saw one like a Son of Man coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient of Days and was escorted before Him. He was given authority to rule, and glory, and a kingdom, so that those of every people, nation, and language should serve him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and His kingdom is one that will now be destroyed.”

Many empires, emperors, kings, rulers have come and gone, but his one will not, he is greater than Nebuchadnezzar, Cyrus, Alexander and any Caesar, or for that matter Margaret Thatcher, Tony Blair, Saddam Hussein or Colonel Gaddaffi! John saw him even as Daniel did, and stunned he falls down before him.

John, the Christians and the churches lived in a world where Caesar was lord or king of all the known earth. Look at what he says: “Don’t be afraid! I AM ….”

Notice that HE holds the keys of death and Hades, because he has defeated them. He is the resurrection and the life, and the gates of hell will not prevail! Whatever Rome or the Jewish persecutors, or the devil, would throw at the church He has the last word, because he has already won! And because he has won we may have every confidence in him.

John has an increasing revelation of Jesus Christ, from his first encounter in the Gospels to this one in Revelation. Has your knowledge and experience of Christ grown? Are you open to fresh encounters?

The Gospel/Good News

Three things to note about the Gospel:

• The gospel is central to faith in God. There is no other name, no other way to know God.
• The gospel is central to the church. It is the centre and circumference of the church’s existence. We exist because of the gospel, we exist for the cause of the gospel. If we forget the gospel we are in trouble! The great need of our world is not more politics or education it is salvation – a saviour.
• The gospel is essential to the Christian life – without it we are in trouble. The gospel is as essential to the Christian life as it is to salvation.

Five problems we face today concerning the gospel:

1. The me gospel, or the gospel as a therapy: in the modern western world of the 21^st century it’s all about me, my story, what’s in it for me, and for many the gospel has simply become a means of self-improvement – it’s about me, what it does for me, and a home in heaven when I die. In our therapeutic society the gospel then becomes simply another competing therapy, something to help soothe away the trials and pains of life. When we do this we make the gospel subjective, inward. It’s about what I do or don’t feel. In one sense that’s about as far from the gospel as you can get.
2. An overemphasis on our role in the gospel that leads to confusion: modern evangelical revivalism has placed a lot of emphasis on inviting Jesus into our hearts; on our repentance, our faith, our decision in making Jesus our/my personal Lord and Saviour. So it becomes more about what I do than what he has done, and the outcome of that type of thinking is that it then causes me/us to look inwardly for assurance instead of outwardly. We ask the questions, have I believed enough? Did I do it in the right way? Is he there?
3. A blurring of the gospel: over recent years some in evangelical circles have reworked the gospel, and now speak of final justification. In other words we receive grace to change our lives and the change results in our ultimate justification which is nothing short of the Roman Catholic teaching on infused righteousness!
4. A lack of the knowledge of God: How many are aware today of the awesome holiness of God? Much today is made of the love of God, and what we have is no more than ‘sloppy agape’ as someone has put it. We must not speak of the love of God at the expense of his absolute (and terrifying) holiness. That is to trivialise God, to make himj in our image. In fact it is only in the light of God’s awesome holiness that is resplendent and amazing love shines through!
5. A lack of the knowledge of sin: Today it is common to say that humaity is sick, but the Bible says it’s worse than that, humanities problem is utter sinfulness and rebellion. We have fallen totally.

When sin is no longer an issue, and God’s holiness and wrath no longer a problem, Christ’s cross is no longer needed as the solution. You will NEVER understand the gospel without the knowledge of God and the knowledge of sin.

What is the Gospel?

1. The gospel is first and foremost an objective announcement about what God has done in Christ. The gospel calls us to look away from ourselves, our world. It is UNREPEATABLE FACTS. It is God’s story. God has ACTED. It’s not about us, how he fits into our story but how we fit into his! Mark 1:1: “The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.”“This Jesus God raised up, and of that we all are witnesses. Being therefore exalted at the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, he has poured out this that you yourselves are seeing and hearing. ….. Let all the house of Israel therefore know for certain that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified.”” (Act 2:32, 33, 36). We do not make Christ Lord, or Saviour. God has made him such already.
2. The gospel announces a different relationship with God based on Christ. Everyone is in some kind of relationship to God whether they like it, realise it, or not. The question is what kind of relationship? The gospel brings about a changed relationship to God. It is not how God might help us in our world but how we might be right with him in His. The gospel is not about how we become Christians, it is the message about Christ that brings about conversion. God justifies the ungodly! We confess Christ as Lord and Saviour; We surrender to his claims, it is not something we make him to be for us. The gospel then is an objective announcement based on the facts of Christ’s life, death and resurrection, not a subjective experience based on how we feel.
3. The gospel is a life transforming message. The Gospel doesn’t depend on anything in us. It is an external word, outside and beyond us, but near to us in Christ, and made real to us by the Spirit. It is both a justifying and transforming word. We are made new n Christ.

Sanctification is a ‘lifelong process of letting that Good News sink in and responding appropriately.’ If we do not understand the gospel and its justifying message it will not be long before our sanctification becomes our justification – We can only fulfil the imperatives of Scripture when we’ve understood the gospel.

Some practical aspects

• Our worship: it’s about the Big Story, not our little one. it’s about remembering, rehearsing & proclaiming. It’s all about HIM. Taking our eyes off our tiny little lives and reconnecting with HiStory. As we do this the church will be what it should be, a well of living water in the wilderness.

• Our faith: We personally need to drink and drink again of the well of salvation. It is not only the power of God unto salvation for the unsaved but also for those who are saved. It takes the emphasis off ourselves and puts it on Christ. If we don’t, as I said before, our sanctification will become our justification rather than our justification fuelling our sanctification.

• Our witness: we are not witnesses to our selves, but Christ and his Word. We should “not be ashamed of the gospel,” for there is no other name, no other faith, no other person, no other way – Jesus only is our nessage.

We need to focus on faithfulness to the gospel, not fads (they come and go), not programs (I’m not saying they all bad, but they can become the thing!), or goals. What we win people with, we have to keep them with. If you win them with music you keep them with music. If you win them with the latest thing you have to keep them with the latest thing. Fads come and go and we must be careful not to get drawn into them. The Gospel though is timeless and must be the reason. We are here to preach Jesus.

• We need then to be preaching the gospel in all that we do. Everything needs to be gospel oriented.
• We need to be calling people to repent and believe in Christ, who alone can save.

The church needs to be and must be Gospel centred, the gospel must guide and direct its whole focus. Jesus said, “GO into all the world and preach the gospel” The gospel IS the good news. Jesus Christ has lived and died and risen again. He is the Saviour. There is salvation in no other. The gospel must be at the centre of all that we do.

HOW? How the Saviour Saves - the how on our part

The How (if you can call it that) on Our Part

Romans 3:21-26

Notice the repetition here:

“Through faith, in Jesus Christ” 3:22.

“Justified by his grace as a gift,” 3:24

“Received by faith,” 3:25

“The one who has faith in Jesus,” 3:26

“Justified by faith,” 3:28

No wonder this IS good news ... The work is done ... the call is to recognise our need of a Saviour and turn from our sin putting our faith/trust in Christ alone.

John 3:36: “Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God's wrath remains on him.”

Do you believe? Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved - forgiven, cleansed, made new, reconciled ...

Are you doubting then read and take in the words of this old hymn and allow the Holy Spirit to drive away the doubts and fears:

From where this fear and unbelief?
Did You, O Father, put to grief
Your spotless Son for me?
And will the righteous Judge of men
Condemn me for that debt of sin
Which, Lord, was laid on Thee?

If You have my release secured,
And freely in my place endured
The whole of wrath Divine;
Payment God cannot twice demand
First at my bleeding Surety’s hand,
And then again at mine.

Complete atonement You have made,
And to the utmost penny paid,
All that Your people owed;
How then can wrath on me take place,
If sheltered in Your righteousness,
And sprinkled with Your blood?

Turn, then, my soul, unto your rest,
The merits of your great High Priest
Speak peace and liberty.
Trust then in His effective blood,
Nor fear your banishment from God,
Since Jesus died for me.

Augustus Toplady (light revision R. Burgess)

Veiled in Flesh

VEILED
The hymnwriter Charles Wesley says in his carol Hark the Herald Angels Sing, "Veiled in flesh the Godhead see." Veiled, that's a reference to the mystery of the incarnation. The human mind cannot get it's head around that. We look and see a baby, and if it wasn't for the angels and the star, I don't suppose that either the shepherds or the wisemen would have known any different either.

INCARNATE DEITY?
"Hail the Incarnate Deity!" God in flesh? How? Simply "of the Holy Spirit." But how? We aren't told any more than that, and because we aren't told any more than that, many are stumbled. The fact is that many at the time didn't get it either - a God who was human/a human who was God? Family, friends etc. did not recognise him so human was he. The Word was made flesh.

WHY?
Its not so much the how that's important, as the WHY? Why would God do this? The answer is it was the only way he could save us. "For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, so that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life." He had to come to us, as there was no way we could get to him. He had to be one with us, in order to make us one with him. He had to live our life, and die our death.

WHY?
BECAUSE HE LOVES US, and he wants us to dwell within the circle of his life and love.