The Scarlet Beast and the Harlot
This chapter like much of Revelation has intrigued many - what is it about, who is the Beast? who is the harlot? Is it past or future?
Having been taught and myself taught a dispensational, pretribulation, premillenial rature (wow that's a mouthful!) this was all about to come, or already taking place before our very eyes (I remember the excitement, these were the last days, any moment now Jesus would come and we would be gone!) - a revived Roman Empire (the Common Market come European Union) and Roman Catholicism or the World Council of Churches, or some such church that was in league with the powers that be.
Time has a way of proving one right or wrong, and how frequently those who held such approaches have had to reasses and adapt, only to reassess and adapt again, and again - something which mars the witness of the church, and demoralises the saints. As I have studied Revelation it's been interesting to read of a number of dispensational Bible teachers and preachers who've become disillusioned with this approach and begun to ask whether they were interpreting it correctly, and as a result of ufrther study, adopting a partial fulfillment approach.
And this is where I'm at, and when we do, chapters like this are no longer a matter of specultion, or puzzles to be solved, but a realisation of the fulfillment of the prophetic words of Jesus regarding unfaithful Jerusalem (Matthew 23 and 24).
The Beast can be no other than Rome, the city of seven mountains or hills (17:7, 9), and the harlot who sits astride the beast (therefore diferrent from the beast) is Jerusalem, unfaithful Israel.
God had no trouble referrring to his people as a harlot in the Old Testament (see Jeremiah and Hosea). And logically it doesn't make sense to use the phrase of a heathen nation. It has to do with a people who have been unfaithful and played the harlot - exactly what Israel had done both in Old Testament days and at the time Revelation ws written.
This alone make's sense of John's words, "When I saw her, I was greatly astonished" (17:6) - to have said that of Rome just wouldn't. It was the unexpected one, the one who belonged to the Lord, who had defiled herself and become enamoured with and cosied up to Rome. The one who had conspired to crucify Jesus her Messiah, had persecuted his church, and become drunk as John puts it "on the blood of the saints and the witnesses of Jesus."
The angel said to John, "she will be hated," and "made desolate and naked," solemn, serious words. Her house had been left emplty (Matt. 23:38), and judgment had come. Read the history, watch the documentaries - it happened literally.
The prophetic word given to John, was never about speculative ideas regarding the end times, but prophetic diagnosis and remedy which could lead to one of two responses, repentance or rejection.
Unfaithful Israel rejected and were rejected and judged.
What God says he means.
Scripture repeatedly shows God's patience and mercy, but it will not last forever. Thoughout Revelation is a gospel theme, and an opportunity for response, but there comes a day when the door will close.
Showing posts with label wrath. Show all posts
Showing posts with label wrath. Show all posts
Wednesday, 23 November 2011
Monday, 14 November 2011
The Wrath of God & Rebellion of Humanity
Revelation is a gripping book.
There are heights and there are depths. It shows you the glory of God and the the depths of human sin. It's a book of blessing and of judgment, and a word that frequently occurs is 'wrath' or more specifically the wrath of God, unveiled in the seven seals, seven trumpets and seven bowls, in increasing measures.
The word is mentioned 11 times and sometimes qualified as 'great wrath' or 'the fury of his wrath' - hardly words we like to hear.
To be frank it's not a subject we warm to, it is much easier to talk about the love of God. But.... if we cannot talk about the love and wrath of God in the same breath are we really talking about the right thing when it comes to either?
LOVE
Love for many today is no more than an insipid, sentimental feeling. It's gushy and slushy, and when it's not there, it's not there. It's also seen as 'tolerance' (of the politically correct form), where, 'if it makes them happy let them do it,' is the standard. 'I mean, whose to judge? They've gotta work these things out for themselves,' as they say!
The problem is when we put our modern day interpretations of love on to God we find it just doesn't fit, and rather than asking whether we've got it right, we say God's got it wrong - as if we should tell God what he should be like!
That's where we need to go back and read our Bibles. There we discover that God is not on our level - never was, never will be. He is holy, holy, holy - we certainly are not, and the fact of the matter is that a holy, loving, and just God has every right to be angry - we have rebelled against him, we have messed up our own lives and those of others too, and spoiled and soiled the world he created and declared was very good.
A BIG 'BUT'
BUT, like a good father (for that is what he is), he cannot simply ignore rebellion, and allow it to go on, turn a blind eye to it and hope it will rectify itself, or go away - it doesn't. It usually gets worse.
It is in this context that the good news comes in and makes sense, the good news that God has done just that in Jesus, who willingly came and took all our sin, and bore it's judgment on the cross - the holy wrath of a just God. "You were dead.... under wrath.... But God who is rich in mercy, because of his great love..." (Eph 2:1-4) - wonderful words!
As an aside it never ceases to amaze me how many who deny God want justice. The logic is in an evolutionary world there can be no such thing as justice.
When you know the holiness of God and the depth of our sin, that line of Stuart Townends, In Christ Alone, is so soul stirring, and heart warming, "Till on that cross as Jesus died, the wrath of God was satisfied...."
No wonder Charles Wesley could write, "No condemnation now I dread, Jesus, and all in him, is mine; alive in him, my living head, and clothed with righteousness divine. Bold I approach the eternal throne...."
Yes Revelation speaks of the wrath of God, but it also has a parallel message of the gospel, providing the opportunity to repent in the face of such judgments. Sadly they all to frequently would not repent and turned on God and blasphemed his name, even preferrring to lose their lives than turn to God (6:16, 17; 9:20, 21; 16:9, 11).
NOW
Humanities rebellion runs deep, but God's love runs deeper still. All the while the earth remains the words of Paul apply, "Now is the acceptable time; now is the day of salvation." (2 Corinthians 6:2). What will you do? Will you repent and believe the good news of Jesus Christ and be saved from the wrath to come?
You can listen to Wesleys grand hymn here:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sQeIGbKqiw8
There are heights and there are depths. It shows you the glory of God and the the depths of human sin. It's a book of blessing and of judgment, and a word that frequently occurs is 'wrath' or more specifically the wrath of God, unveiled in the seven seals, seven trumpets and seven bowls, in increasing measures.
The word is mentioned 11 times and sometimes qualified as 'great wrath' or 'the fury of his wrath' - hardly words we like to hear.
To be frank it's not a subject we warm to, it is much easier to talk about the love of God. But.... if we cannot talk about the love and wrath of God in the same breath are we really talking about the right thing when it comes to either?
LOVE
Love for many today is no more than an insipid, sentimental feeling. It's gushy and slushy, and when it's not there, it's not there. It's also seen as 'tolerance' (of the politically correct form), where, 'if it makes them happy let them do it,' is the standard. 'I mean, whose to judge? They've gotta work these things out for themselves,' as they say!
The problem is when we put our modern day interpretations of love on to God we find it just doesn't fit, and rather than asking whether we've got it right, we say God's got it wrong - as if we should tell God what he should be like!
That's where we need to go back and read our Bibles. There we discover that God is not on our level - never was, never will be. He is holy, holy, holy - we certainly are not, and the fact of the matter is that a holy, loving, and just God has every right to be angry - we have rebelled against him, we have messed up our own lives and those of others too, and spoiled and soiled the world he created and declared was very good.
A BIG 'BUT'
BUT, like a good father (for that is what he is), he cannot simply ignore rebellion, and allow it to go on, turn a blind eye to it and hope it will rectify itself, or go away - it doesn't. It usually gets worse.
It is in this context that the good news comes in and makes sense, the good news that God has done just that in Jesus, who willingly came and took all our sin, and bore it's judgment on the cross - the holy wrath of a just God. "You were dead.... under wrath.... But God who is rich in mercy, because of his great love..." (Eph 2:1-4) - wonderful words!
As an aside it never ceases to amaze me how many who deny God want justice. The logic is in an evolutionary world there can be no such thing as justice.
When you know the holiness of God and the depth of our sin, that line of Stuart Townends, In Christ Alone, is so soul stirring, and heart warming, "Till on that cross as Jesus died, the wrath of God was satisfied...."
No wonder Charles Wesley could write, "No condemnation now I dread, Jesus, and all in him, is mine; alive in him, my living head, and clothed with righteousness divine. Bold I approach the eternal throne...."
Yes Revelation speaks of the wrath of God, but it also has a parallel message of the gospel, providing the opportunity to repent in the face of such judgments. Sadly they all to frequently would not repent and turned on God and blasphemed his name, even preferrring to lose their lives than turn to God (6:16, 17; 9:20, 21; 16:9, 11).
NOW
Humanities rebellion runs deep, but God's love runs deeper still. All the while the earth remains the words of Paul apply, "Now is the acceptable time; now is the day of salvation." (2 Corinthians 6:2). What will you do? Will you repent and believe the good news of Jesus Christ and be saved from the wrath to come?
You can listen to Wesleys grand hymn here:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sQeIGbKqiw8
Saturday, 22 October 2011
The Wrath of the Lamb
Some will remember when children were taught to pray, “Gentle Jesus
meek and mild….” and many have sung, “no crying he makes…” But, what
kind of image does this conjure up of Jesus – a very nice, ‘docile’
Jesus – compliant, non-offensive, someone who just gets on with
everybody, and is everyone’s friend?
My ‘personal’ Jesus
A number of years ago now the controversial ‘artist’ and musician Marylin Manson released a song called Personal Jesus (originally by Depeche Mode), and it begins with the words ‘Your own personal Jesus, Someone to hear your prayers, Someone who cares.’ In 2006 it was ranked as one of the 100 Greatest Songs Ever. Now you may say, what’s wrong with that isn’t that what he is?
But there’s something very subtle going on here and it’s found in the expression ‘your own personal Jesus,’ i.e. one that is unique to and for you, not necessarily the Bible one, one that you make and suits your own personal desires and needs. (The song was inspired by the book Elvis and Me by Priscilla Presley).
We need to be careful it’s not public opinion or our own personal feelings that are shaping our knowledge of Jesus.
The wrath of God
Some today struggle with the whole idea of the wrath of God, with the typical objection being how could a God of love act in such a way. Some get round this by suggesting that the God of the New Testament is somewhat different to the God of the Old – as if there has been some development of God. Some see Jesus as different from God, or the nicer face of God, but this is to divide God.
Might I suggest that the problem is ours and not God’s. The problem is that we struggle in our politically correct, humanistic world, to conceive of anger and love going together – they seem to be opposites. In reality they are not two opposites, anger (rightly expressed) is an aspect of love. In fact love without anger leaves us with an insipid ‘attitude’ (you can’t call it love) that fails to bring true discipline to a rebellious child, in fact the cry for justice arises from the fact that love (the basis for normal healthy relationships, and therefore society) has been violated in some way, and without justice its seen to be excused, acceptable, doesn’t matter….. A loving father sets up boundaries, and threatens consequences. If those consequences are not followed through in a loving way, the child will lose respect for the Father, and actually a lack of love.
All of scripture
The whole Bible must be our teacher, it reveals Jesus in his own ‘right’, not after our own ideas of him. On the one hand that may be:
1. Disturbing and discomforting,
2. Encouraging and stirring.
Just as an aside a question arises as to whether the lack of men in the church is due to an effeminate portrait of Jesus, or as someone put it ‘my Boyfriend in the sky,’ caricature.
In Revelation we get an unfolding picture of Jesus, in fact John’s knowledge of Jesus is expanded considerably. He has known him as a fellow human who walked the earth, a good man, a friend of sinners, a miracle worker, at the transfiguration he encountered him in his glory as the Beloved Son of God, he knew him as the Saviour who died and rose again. Then in Revelation 1 Johns gets a revelation of Jesus as the ascended and all glorious Lord. Then in Rev. 5 and 6 another unfolds culminating in, “the wrath of the Lamb …. the great day of Their wrath has come.” This verse parallels Luke 23:30 and Matthew 24.
“The wrath of the Lamb” sounds like a contradiction! We love lambs. We love to see them playing, skipping, running up and down. We love to feed them, stroke them. They are so innocent. They would never hurt you, and yet here we are confronted with the wrath/anger of the Lamb. It is the Lamb who opens the Seals. It is the wrath of the Lamb that is manifested against an unbelieving and ungodly world.
In order to understand this you need to step into the THRONE ROOM, as the psalmist said “When I tried to understand all this, it seemed hopeless (wearisome task) until I entered God’s sanctuary. Then I understood their end.” Psalm 73:16-17. There’s an important principle here, the need to go into the sanctuary, where God is encountered for who he is, as he is, holy – other than we are, creator – the world was made by and for God, redeemer – the One who has bought us. It is from this vantage point we must look at what unfolds in Revelation.
In reading Revelation we need to keep in mind the big story. God created the world, humanity. Humanity sinned and spoiled God’s creation. God gave a promise, called and raised a man – Abraham, who had a family that became a nation – Israel, to whom he gave his word through the prophets, of a Saviour, who came in the fullness of time. He came to his own, and lived and taught, and revealed the heart of God, but his own rejected him. He wept over Jerusalem, and warned of coming judgment, and said that ‘all these things would come on this generation,’ and how he had wanted to gather them to himself, but they were not willing, and now their house was ‘left desolate.’ (Matthew 23).
The Lion and the Lamb
The Lamb shows us Jesus in all his purity and meekness – we love lambs, we play with them. The Lion shows us that he is King – sovereign and powerful and not to be trifled with. This Lamb is not to be messed with, not because he is a Lion, but because is the Lamb who has suffered, was slain, and is alive again, the worthy One. The one who took on flesh like ours, was tempted in every way as we are, the One who the devil through everything at, yet he conquered and so he has the right to judge.
As it says in the Acts of the Apostles:
“ Therefore, having overlooked the times of ignorance, God now commands all people everywhere to repent, because he has fixed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed; and of this he has given assurance to all by raising him from the dead.” Acts 17:31,
and in Pauls letter to Tmothy:
“I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead….”(2Ti 4:1).
We cannot have one aspect of Jesus without the other. The New Testament says “Our God is a consuming fire.” Hebrews 12:29, and “It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.” Hebrews 10:31.
I think Dorothy Sayers put it well when she wrote:
“We have very efficiently pared the claws of the Lion of Judah, certified him “meek and mild,” and recommended him as a fitting household pet for pale curates and pious old ladies. To those who knew him, however, he in no way suggests a milk-and-water person; they objected to him as a dangerous firebrand.”
My ‘personal’ Jesus
A number of years ago now the controversial ‘artist’ and musician Marylin Manson released a song called Personal Jesus (originally by Depeche Mode), and it begins with the words ‘Your own personal Jesus, Someone to hear your prayers, Someone who cares.’ In 2006 it was ranked as one of the 100 Greatest Songs Ever. Now you may say, what’s wrong with that isn’t that what he is?
But there’s something very subtle going on here and it’s found in the expression ‘your own personal Jesus,’ i.e. one that is unique to and for you, not necessarily the Bible one, one that you make and suits your own personal desires and needs. (The song was inspired by the book Elvis and Me by Priscilla Presley).
We need to be careful it’s not public opinion or our own personal feelings that are shaping our knowledge of Jesus.
The wrath of God
Some today struggle with the whole idea of the wrath of God, with the typical objection being how could a God of love act in such a way. Some get round this by suggesting that the God of the New Testament is somewhat different to the God of the Old – as if there has been some development of God. Some see Jesus as different from God, or the nicer face of God, but this is to divide God.
Might I suggest that the problem is ours and not God’s. The problem is that we struggle in our politically correct, humanistic world, to conceive of anger and love going together – they seem to be opposites. In reality they are not two opposites, anger (rightly expressed) is an aspect of love. In fact love without anger leaves us with an insipid ‘attitude’ (you can’t call it love) that fails to bring true discipline to a rebellious child, in fact the cry for justice arises from the fact that love (the basis for normal healthy relationships, and therefore society) has been violated in some way, and without justice its seen to be excused, acceptable, doesn’t matter….. A loving father sets up boundaries, and threatens consequences. If those consequences are not followed through in a loving way, the child will lose respect for the Father, and actually a lack of love.
All of scripture
The whole Bible must be our teacher, it reveals Jesus in his own ‘right’, not after our own ideas of him. On the one hand that may be:
1. Disturbing and discomforting,
2. Encouraging and stirring.
Just as an aside a question arises as to whether the lack of men in the church is due to an effeminate portrait of Jesus, or as someone put it ‘my Boyfriend in the sky,’ caricature.
In Revelation we get an unfolding picture of Jesus, in fact John’s knowledge of Jesus is expanded considerably. He has known him as a fellow human who walked the earth, a good man, a friend of sinners, a miracle worker, at the transfiguration he encountered him in his glory as the Beloved Son of God, he knew him as the Saviour who died and rose again. Then in Revelation 1 Johns gets a revelation of Jesus as the ascended and all glorious Lord. Then in Rev. 5 and 6 another unfolds culminating in, “the wrath of the Lamb …. the great day of Their wrath has come.” This verse parallels Luke 23:30 and Matthew 24.
“The wrath of the Lamb” sounds like a contradiction! We love lambs. We love to see them playing, skipping, running up and down. We love to feed them, stroke them. They are so innocent. They would never hurt you, and yet here we are confronted with the wrath/anger of the Lamb. It is the Lamb who opens the Seals. It is the wrath of the Lamb that is manifested against an unbelieving and ungodly world.
In order to understand this you need to step into the THRONE ROOM, as the psalmist said “When I tried to understand all this, it seemed hopeless (wearisome task) until I entered God’s sanctuary. Then I understood their end.” Psalm 73:16-17. There’s an important principle here, the need to go into the sanctuary, where God is encountered for who he is, as he is, holy – other than we are, creator – the world was made by and for God, redeemer – the One who has bought us. It is from this vantage point we must look at what unfolds in Revelation.
In reading Revelation we need to keep in mind the big story. God created the world, humanity. Humanity sinned and spoiled God’s creation. God gave a promise, called and raised a man – Abraham, who had a family that became a nation – Israel, to whom he gave his word through the prophets, of a Saviour, who came in the fullness of time. He came to his own, and lived and taught, and revealed the heart of God, but his own rejected him. He wept over Jerusalem, and warned of coming judgment, and said that ‘all these things would come on this generation,’ and how he had wanted to gather them to himself, but they were not willing, and now their house was ‘left desolate.’ (Matthew 23).
The Lion and the Lamb
The Lamb shows us Jesus in all his purity and meekness – we love lambs, we play with them. The Lion shows us that he is King – sovereign and powerful and not to be trifled with. This Lamb is not to be messed with, not because he is a Lion, but because is the Lamb who has suffered, was slain, and is alive again, the worthy One. The one who took on flesh like ours, was tempted in every way as we are, the One who the devil through everything at, yet he conquered and so he has the right to judge.
As it says in the Acts of the Apostles:
“ Therefore, having overlooked the times of ignorance, God now commands all people everywhere to repent, because he has fixed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed; and of this he has given assurance to all by raising him from the dead.” Acts 17:31,
and in Pauls letter to Tmothy:
“I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead….”(2Ti 4:1).
We cannot have one aspect of Jesus without the other. The New Testament says “Our God is a consuming fire.” Hebrews 12:29, and “It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.” Hebrews 10:31.
I think Dorothy Sayers put it well when she wrote:
“We have very efficiently pared the claws of the Lion of Judah, certified him “meek and mild,” and recommended him as a fitting household pet for pale curates and pious old ladies. To those who knew him, however, he in no way suggests a milk-and-water person; they objected to him as a dangerous firebrand.”
Monday, 22 March 2010
HELP! Our Necessity of a Saviour
An unpopular subject
Talking about sin is not popular; some Christians now prefer to talk about ‘original goodness’ rather than ‘original sin’. Talking about sin is a bit like having an inkling that something is wrong with you and not going to the doctor because you are afraid of the diagnosis – the trouble is it doesn’t make it any better or cause it to go away.
To understand our dilemma we have to go back to the beginning otherwise we won’t get it.
“In the beginning God” (Genesis 1:1).
A Statement of fact and the starting point. God has no beginning or end, and needs no one and nothing to sustain him.
God is Trinity – He is One, and Three. At the centre of the cosmos there is a vibrant, loving, joyful and eternal relationship of three co-equal persons, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. “God is love” and love does not dwell on its own, it must be expressed. Strict monotheism (as in Islam) leads to a lack of love, domination and oppression. It gives power to a single individual.
Creation – It was out of that loving, joyful, holy, happy relationship that God created the world – not because of any need in God, but out of sheer love and delight.
Humanity – It was out of that relationship of joy filled love that the Triune God made humanity in his own image (Gen 1:26, 27), to dwell within the circle of his own love – that is why relationships are so important to us, and why we crave them. It’s also why it hurts when they don’t work or are broken.
The point to note is: God wants us in on the relationship! And the gospel is all about right relationships.
BUT, God is holy love.
We have to understand God’s love on God’s terms, not ours. The world has whittled love down to an easy going, anything goes, sentimental thing.
In John 17 Jesus reveals something of the nature of this eternal relationship of love that he enjoyed before time began when he prays, “Father ... your Son,”(v.1), “Holy Father, ...”(v.11), “Righteous Father, ...”(v.25), “Glory” (v.5).
• Father/Son. Speaks of the intimacy that exists in the Godhead.
• Holiness speaks of God’s ‘otherness.’ E.g. Moses and the burning bush which was not consumed (Exodus 3:1-5) – holy ground; first time we are introduced to the idea of God’s holiness. Also Isaiah in Is. 6. He is so much ‘other’ than we are.
• Righteousness speaks of God’s ways. “Righteous in all his ways.” Psalm 145:17. There is no imperfection. Whether in mercy or justice, God is righteous in all his ways.
• Glory – ‘weight.’ There is nothing trivial about God. He cannot, and must not be trivialised. We trivialise him to our cost. E.g. Uzzah and the Ark of the Covenant (2 Samuel 1-7).
God made us to dwell within the circle of his own holy love.
BUT, Something is wrong
It doesn’t take much to realise that there is something wrong with humanity. Wherever you look you encounter it, on TV, in the newspapers, or just daily life. The horrifying thing is that without the restraint and discipline of parents, without law and order it would be far worse! Parents spend their time teaching their children to do what is right ... they never have to teach them to do what is wrong!! The disturbing reality is we find it easier to hurt than to heal; to break up rather than to make up.
When someone commits some horrendous crime a question arises as to their nature, what possessed them. In the James Bulger case that recently hit the headlines again, discussion was raised as to the nature, or need, of the two ten year olds (as they were then) who committed the crime. Were they demons, monsters who should be judged, or misguided and unfortunate and therefore shown compassion and understanding?
A similar situation confronted Yehiel Dinur an Auschwitz concentration camp survivor when he was called to give witness against Adolf Eichmann in 1960. Dinur on entering the courtroom and seeing Eichmann broke down. Why? Because he saw the one who had killed so many of his friends ... because he was overcome with hatred ... by the awful memories ... by the evil incarnate in Eichmann’s face? No. As he later said, it was because Eichmann was not the demonic impersonation of evil that he was expecting. He was just ordinary. Just like you and me. In was in that moment he realised that sin and evil ARE the human condition, “that I am capable ... exactly like he.” His conclusion? “Eichmann is in all of us.”
Those two boys looked just like any other, so did Eichmann, just like you and me ... normal. Eichmann is in all of us. We are capable.
Total Depravity
In the Garden of Eden (Genesis 3) we have the story of the Fall, and in it we see the loss of innocence, and the intrusion of guilt, shame, fear and blame as relationships are disrupted. More, God was now an enemy.
Calvin describes it as Total Depravity a better description today would be Radical Corruption. Radical means to the core ... everything is tainted. It’s not just a blemish that’s on the surface, but something that goes to the core of our being, so that every part of us is affected.
“None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God. All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one." (Rom 3:10-12).
Now that doesn’t mean we are all as bad as one another, or incapable of any ‘good,’ though the good referred to here is according to God’s standard. Humanity is capable of the most heroic and kindest of acts as well as the most heinous, and sometimes both at the same time! E.g. the father who splits with his wife, and wants vengeance on her while at the same time doting on his children; Hitler and Eichmann who went home to family and friends
Everything is affected
Sin takes on all sorts of forms from outright disobedience/rebellion to spin! It’s not simply that we do wrong, it’s now very difficult for us to be objective. This means that we almost always have a tendency to skew everything ... put a spin on it ... in our favour of course, from children to adults to politicians to scientists. The tendency is to rationalise or victimise, and it all happened in the Genesis story!
The Fall affects not only humanity but also creation, it suffers, it groans under the weight of sin and the curse ... suffering, disease, and death ... the world is not as God meant it to be.
Six things about sin
• Sin – the outward act, to miss the mark. “All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.” Romans 3:23. Fallen completely ... you missed, whether by a little or by far! E.g. target.
• Uncleanness (Lev. 16:16) Pollution, contamination. Our sin has polluted our lives and the world so that God cannot dwell there.
• Transgression/lawlessness – a legal offense (wilful rebellion) (Lev. 16:16; 1 John3:4) Broken Law.
• Iniquity/wickedness – covers all aspects of sin. The character behind the fault.
“The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick (incurable); who can understand it?” Jer. 17:9
Jesus said, “For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander.” Mat. 15:19
• Dead; cut off from the life of God. “And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience-- among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.” (Eph 2:1-3)
“but your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, and your sins have hidden his face from you so that he does not hear.” (Isa 59:2)
“They are darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, due to their hardness of heart. They have become callous and have given themselves up to sensuality, greedy to practice every kind of impurity.” Eph 4:18, 19
• Deserving of wrath and judgment. An unpopular subject. E.g. Eden, Cain & Abel, Noah, Egypt’s god’s, Romans 1.
“If your hand, .... foot, .... eye causes you to sin.” “cut it off/tear it out” (Mark 9:43-47). Not meant literally, but a radical problem needs a radical solution ...
Next week, Who? The kind of Saviour We Need.
Some questions for further reflection and application.
What thought do you give to the holiness and righteousness of God?
How might we/you trivialise God? Do you?
Do I recognise my own sinfulness?
What about the 'small' sins ... white lies ... spin ... blame shifting etc.?
Do I understand the serious nature of sin?
Do I find it easy to point the finger at others?
Am I self-righteous?
Do I see my need of a saviour?
Talking about sin is not popular; some Christians now prefer to talk about ‘original goodness’ rather than ‘original sin’. Talking about sin is a bit like having an inkling that something is wrong with you and not going to the doctor because you are afraid of the diagnosis – the trouble is it doesn’t make it any better or cause it to go away.
To understand our dilemma we have to go back to the beginning otherwise we won’t get it.
“In the beginning God” (Genesis 1:1).
A Statement of fact and the starting point. God has no beginning or end, and needs no one and nothing to sustain him.
God is Trinity – He is One, and Three. At the centre of the cosmos there is a vibrant, loving, joyful and eternal relationship of three co-equal persons, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. “God is love” and love does not dwell on its own, it must be expressed. Strict monotheism (as in Islam) leads to a lack of love, domination and oppression. It gives power to a single individual.
Creation – It was out of that loving, joyful, holy, happy relationship that God created the world – not because of any need in God, but out of sheer love and delight.
Humanity – It was out of that relationship of joy filled love that the Triune God made humanity in his own image (Gen 1:26, 27), to dwell within the circle of his own love – that is why relationships are so important to us, and why we crave them. It’s also why it hurts when they don’t work or are broken.
The point to note is: God wants us in on the relationship! And the gospel is all about right relationships.
BUT, God is holy love.
We have to understand God’s love on God’s terms, not ours. The world has whittled love down to an easy going, anything goes, sentimental thing.
In John 17 Jesus reveals something of the nature of this eternal relationship of love that he enjoyed before time began when he prays, “Father ... your Son,”(v.1), “Holy Father, ...”(v.11), “Righteous Father, ...”(v.25), “Glory” (v.5).
• Father/Son. Speaks of the intimacy that exists in the Godhead.
• Holiness speaks of God’s ‘otherness.’ E.g. Moses and the burning bush which was not consumed (Exodus 3:1-5) – holy ground; first time we are introduced to the idea of God’s holiness. Also Isaiah in Is. 6. He is so much ‘other’ than we are.
• Righteousness speaks of God’s ways. “Righteous in all his ways.” Psalm 145:17. There is no imperfection. Whether in mercy or justice, God is righteous in all his ways.
• Glory – ‘weight.’ There is nothing trivial about God. He cannot, and must not be trivialised. We trivialise him to our cost. E.g. Uzzah and the Ark of the Covenant (2 Samuel 1-7).
God made us to dwell within the circle of his own holy love.
BUT, Something is wrong
It doesn’t take much to realise that there is something wrong with humanity. Wherever you look you encounter it, on TV, in the newspapers, or just daily life. The horrifying thing is that without the restraint and discipline of parents, without law and order it would be far worse! Parents spend their time teaching their children to do what is right ... they never have to teach them to do what is wrong!! The disturbing reality is we find it easier to hurt than to heal; to break up rather than to make up.
When someone commits some horrendous crime a question arises as to their nature, what possessed them. In the James Bulger case that recently hit the headlines again, discussion was raised as to the nature, or need, of the two ten year olds (as they were then) who committed the crime. Were they demons, monsters who should be judged, or misguided and unfortunate and therefore shown compassion and understanding?
A similar situation confronted Yehiel Dinur an Auschwitz concentration camp survivor when he was called to give witness against Adolf Eichmann in 1960. Dinur on entering the courtroom and seeing Eichmann broke down. Why? Because he saw the one who had killed so many of his friends ... because he was overcome with hatred ... by the awful memories ... by the evil incarnate in Eichmann’s face? No. As he later said, it was because Eichmann was not the demonic impersonation of evil that he was expecting. He was just ordinary. Just like you and me. In was in that moment he realised that sin and evil ARE the human condition, “that I am capable ... exactly like he.” His conclusion? “Eichmann is in all of us.”
Those two boys looked just like any other, so did Eichmann, just like you and me ... normal. Eichmann is in all of us. We are capable.
Total Depravity
In the Garden of Eden (Genesis 3) we have the story of the Fall, and in it we see the loss of innocence, and the intrusion of guilt, shame, fear and blame as relationships are disrupted. More, God was now an enemy.
Calvin describes it as Total Depravity a better description today would be Radical Corruption. Radical means to the core ... everything is tainted. It’s not just a blemish that’s on the surface, but something that goes to the core of our being, so that every part of us is affected.
“None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God. All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one." (Rom 3:10-12).
Now that doesn’t mean we are all as bad as one another, or incapable of any ‘good,’ though the good referred to here is according to God’s standard. Humanity is capable of the most heroic and kindest of acts as well as the most heinous, and sometimes both at the same time! E.g. the father who splits with his wife, and wants vengeance on her while at the same time doting on his children; Hitler and Eichmann who went home to family and friends
Everything is affected
Sin takes on all sorts of forms from outright disobedience/rebellion to spin! It’s not simply that we do wrong, it’s now very difficult for us to be objective. This means that we almost always have a tendency to skew everything ... put a spin on it ... in our favour of course, from children to adults to politicians to scientists. The tendency is to rationalise or victimise, and it all happened in the Genesis story!
The Fall affects not only humanity but also creation, it suffers, it groans under the weight of sin and the curse ... suffering, disease, and death ... the world is not as God meant it to be.
Six things about sin
• Sin – the outward act, to miss the mark. “All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.” Romans 3:23. Fallen completely ... you missed, whether by a little or by far! E.g. target.
• Uncleanness (Lev. 16:16) Pollution, contamination. Our sin has polluted our lives and the world so that God cannot dwell there.
• Transgression/lawlessness – a legal offense (wilful rebellion) (Lev. 16:16; 1 John3:4) Broken Law.
• Iniquity/wickedness – covers all aspects of sin. The character behind the fault.
“The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick (incurable); who can understand it?” Jer. 17:9
Jesus said, “For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander.” Mat. 15:19
• Dead; cut off from the life of God. “And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience-- among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.” (Eph 2:1-3)
“but your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, and your sins have hidden his face from you so that he does not hear.” (Isa 59:2)
“They are darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, due to their hardness of heart. They have become callous and have given themselves up to sensuality, greedy to practice every kind of impurity.” Eph 4:18, 19
• Deserving of wrath and judgment. An unpopular subject. E.g. Eden, Cain & Abel, Noah, Egypt’s god’s, Romans 1.
“If your hand, .... foot, .... eye causes you to sin.” “cut it off/tear it out” (Mark 9:43-47). Not meant literally, but a radical problem needs a radical solution ...
Next week, Who? The kind of Saviour We Need.
Some questions for further reflection and application.
What thought do you give to the holiness and righteousness of God?
How might we/you trivialise God? Do you?
Do I recognise my own sinfulness?
What about the 'small' sins ... white lies ... spin ... blame shifting etc.?
Do I understand the serious nature of sin?
Do I find it easy to point the finger at others?
Am I self-righteous?
Do I see my need of a saviour?
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