God, in His divine character, is good. More accurately, goodness is God's. Not simply semantics, rather, the definition of good is God. As Jesus says, "no one is good except God (Luke 18:19)." Therefore, the perfect and ultimate definition of goodness is God, meaning that any concept of good that is separated from God is fractal and diminished. More directly, any concept of goodness apart from the Lord is not goodness, it is merely an echo of true goodness.
The goodness of God is self-evident and cannot be overstated. The evidence of God is throughout the vastness of His creation, both in humanity and beyond (Rom. 1:19). The most common rebuttal by naturalists and atheists is: "but what about evil?" The appropriate answer is: yes, what about it?! The simple fact that those who deny the existence of good still confirm the existence of evil points to a greater objective good that transcends humanity. General revelation is not able to convey the vastness of the goodness of God. For that we must make an appeal to special revelation.
Throughout Scripture, especially in the Psalms, the goodness of God is declared. His goodness is expressed in a number of various ways: He is good to instruct sinners in the way to go (Psa. 25:8); He is good in His steadfast and faithful love (Psa. 100:5); He is good in His abounding and generous mercy (Psa. 145:9). The goodness of God could be summed up simply in one word: love.
The love of God is the truest definition of goodness, and God is love (1 John 4:8). Logically, this means that because God's love is the definition of goodness, and God is love, then God is good. It is the love of God that is the purest and highest possible understanding of goodness. The work of Jesus then is the moment of supreme good in all of creation and history. It was for love that God sent His only Son, Jesus, to take on the sin of mankind and thus to restore humanity to a right relationship with Himself (John 3:16). This is love, good love from an infinitely good God.
Tuesday, February 7, 2012
Monday, February 6, 2012
Discipleship's Cost
There is a distinct and clear cost to following Jesus. Throughout the New Testament, the price of being a disciple of Christ is simple but stiff: everything. Devotion to Christ requires that we lay everything down before the Lord. This is inline with the greatest commandment, which commands us to devote every part of ourselves to the Lord in worship and devotion.
Scripture presents numerous examples of believers paying the price of discipleship. For starters, there is Abraham. The Lord called Abram to pick up his whole life and leave his homeland for a promise (Gen. 11:1-3). Abram simply laid down his previous life for the promises of God. Or consider Abraham's ordeal in regards to Isaac. Abraham and Sarah had been barren for several decades, waiting for God to fulfill His promises of descendants. Yet when God did finally bless the couple with Isaac, the Lord asked Abraham to sacrifice him. And Abraham proved himself obedient to the cost of discipleship and was blessed for his faithfulness.
Another example is the calling of the disciples by Jesus (Matt. 4:18-22; Mark 1:16-20; Lk. 5:2-11). All of the accounts are remarkable. Jesus simply calls the disciples to come and they, like Abram, pick up everything and follow the Lord. They were successful self-employed business men that laid down it all to follow Jesus. As Peter declares, "we've left everything to follow you (Lk. 14:26).
The other pertinent example of this is Saul, who becomes Paul after he lays down everything for the sake of the Gospel of Jesus. Saul was a Hebrew of Hebrews, on the fast track to the Jewish religious elite (Phil. 3:4-6). Saul had created a life to be envied, yet when the Lord Jesus called him, he cast it all aside. This is the true cost: giving everything up for the sake of relationship to the Lord Almighty. Paul is quick to assert that he counts everything lost as a gain because of the immeasurable riches of gain the Lord (Phil. 3:7).
Scripture is unified in this regard. Discipleship costs believers their very lives. Practically speaking, believers are to take all of their lives, everything, and to devote it to the Lord. In this, God sanctifies our past experiences, good and bad, for His purposes. This is what is described by the concept of daily picking up your cross and denying yourself to follow Jesus (Lk. 9:23).
Ultimately, Jesus is the Suffering Servant who served the world through His very death. If we are to be His followers, it makes logical sense that we will acquiesce to the same fate as His. In a real way, this means that we will relinquish every part of our selves for the purposes and will of the Lord. Truly, the cost of discipleship is high but the resulting relationship with the Lord far outweighs the cost. Let us then press forward to live lives of servanthood that mirrors the life our Savior lived!
Scripture presents numerous examples of believers paying the price of discipleship. For starters, there is Abraham. The Lord called Abram to pick up his whole life and leave his homeland for a promise (Gen. 11:1-3). Abram simply laid down his previous life for the promises of God. Or consider Abraham's ordeal in regards to Isaac. Abraham and Sarah had been barren for several decades, waiting for God to fulfill His promises of descendants. Yet when God did finally bless the couple with Isaac, the Lord asked Abraham to sacrifice him. And Abraham proved himself obedient to the cost of discipleship and was blessed for his faithfulness.
Another example is the calling of the disciples by Jesus (Matt. 4:18-22; Mark 1:16-20; Lk. 5:2-11). All of the accounts are remarkable. Jesus simply calls the disciples to come and they, like Abram, pick up everything and follow the Lord. They were successful self-employed business men that laid down it all to follow Jesus. As Peter declares, "we've left everything to follow you (Lk. 14:26).
The other pertinent example of this is Saul, who becomes Paul after he lays down everything for the sake of the Gospel of Jesus. Saul was a Hebrew of Hebrews, on the fast track to the Jewish religious elite (Phil. 3:4-6). Saul had created a life to be envied, yet when the Lord Jesus called him, he cast it all aside. This is the true cost: giving everything up for the sake of relationship to the Lord Almighty. Paul is quick to assert that he counts everything lost as a gain because of the immeasurable riches of gain the Lord (Phil. 3:7).
Scripture is unified in this regard. Discipleship costs believers their very lives. Practically speaking, believers are to take all of their lives, everything, and to devote it to the Lord. In this, God sanctifies our past experiences, good and bad, for His purposes. This is what is described by the concept of daily picking up your cross and denying yourself to follow Jesus (Lk. 9:23).
Ultimately, Jesus is the Suffering Servant who served the world through His very death. If we are to be His followers, it makes logical sense that we will acquiesce to the same fate as His. In a real way, this means that we will relinquish every part of our selves for the purposes and will of the Lord. Truly, the cost of discipleship is high but the resulting relationship with the Lord far outweighs the cost. Let us then press forward to live lives of servanthood that mirrors the life our Savior lived!
Sunday, February 5, 2012
True Hope
Hope, as a word, has become so used that the density and importance of its meaning has been diminished and secularized. For one, the source of hope, its root and foundation, is firmly fixed only the Lord. If hope is found in anything other than God, it is not hope, because hope is more than a longing or a desire for future providence. Instead, hope is a posture and attitude of security in the face of insecurity and uncertainty.
The security of hope is fixed firmly in the foundation of hope, which is the Lord. Because the Lord is not moved but is infinitely stable, our hope, which is found in Him, is equally stable and unmoved. It is this state of hope that has become diminished by usages and understandings of hope that are less than the true definition of hope.
Any understanding of hope that does not take into account the nature of God, the true source of hope, is less than hope. For instance, God is infinite, true, righteous, holy, omnipresent, omnipotent, omniscient, and ultimately sovereign. Because of this, hope needs to be securely defined in the holy character and divine nature of the Lord. When it is, our hope is made true and wholly secure in the Lord.
Life is full of situations and scenarios outside of our control. In these moments, when we feel overwhelmed by circumstance and stress, we can have hope that holds us secure and confident. This hope, the hope of the Lord, is made sure in the reality of a sovereign Lord who cares for and watches over His children. Let us then hope in the true hope that is found only in the holy God!
The security of hope is fixed firmly in the foundation of hope, which is the Lord. Because the Lord is not moved but is infinitely stable, our hope, which is found in Him, is equally stable and unmoved. It is this state of hope that has become diminished by usages and understandings of hope that are less than the true definition of hope.
Any understanding of hope that does not take into account the nature of God, the true source of hope, is less than hope. For instance, God is infinite, true, righteous, holy, omnipresent, omnipotent, omniscient, and ultimately sovereign. Because of this, hope needs to be securely defined in the holy character and divine nature of the Lord. When it is, our hope is made true and wholly secure in the Lord.
Life is full of situations and scenarios outside of our control. In these moments, when we feel overwhelmed by circumstance and stress, we can have hope that holds us secure and confident. This hope, the hope of the Lord, is made sure in the reality of a sovereign Lord who cares for and watches over His children. Let us then hope in the true hope that is found only in the holy God!
Saturday, February 4, 2012
Overcoming the False Identity for the True One
Identity refers to who we are, but it is more complex than just a matter of being. In reality, identity is a two-fold concept encompassing both who we claim to be and who we actually are. This might seem trivial but there is significance in determining both parts of our identity in hopes that we could align the two parts into one coalesced true self.
At the onset, it must be stated that the only true identity is found in Christ. Any identity that attempts to amputate the self from God is ultimately inauthentic and untrue. God is a God of truth. More astutely, God is the sole source of true truth. Any claim to truth that sits outside of the holy Lord is fractal at best in it trueness, because being not connected to the source of truth, it cannot be wholly true.
In reference to identity, truth is of immense importance. Who we actually are is to be determined solely in the Lord. Multiple parts make up who we truly are in Christ. For starters, we are saved in Jesus, meaning that our sins have been absolved and we have been freed from guilt as well as the penalty of sin, which is death. Additionally, in Christ, we are planted as trees of righteousness, bearing fruits of the Spirit: kindness, gentleness, goodness, patience, perseverance, et al. The point is that, in Jesus, our identity is remade into an identity that mirrors Christ, His character and love.
The major hindrance to claiming and walking in our redeemed identity is ourselves. This part of identity, who we claim to be or who we think we are, often stands in opposition of who we truly are and can be in Christ. Each of us is an exceptional actor, able to expertly conceal and pretend. Over time we become so adept at portraying the facade that we start to believe that the charade is reality. This is a lie of Satan.
The disconnect between our real self, found only in the Lord, and the fake facade self that we naturally project, is wide but not unconquerable. There is a technique, a method, for handling this divide. For one, we have to address the facade directly and confront the act head on. Only when we come to grips with our own forgery, the act that we portray, are we able to live as our true selves in the Lord. This process requires some direct and intense Spirit-led introspection. However, once we overcome our false selves can we live out our true self. Let us then press on to be true with ourselves so as to claim our true identity in the Lord!
Friday, February 3, 2012
To be Humble before Him
In chapter 18 of the Gospel Luke, Luke recounts one of Jesus' parables in which Christ talks about the importance of humility in reference to true righteousness (Luke 18:9-14). In this parable, two men go to the temple to pray. The first, a Pharisee, stands up proudly and thanks the Lord that he is not like other men but is righteous and good to keep all of God's commandments and that he is better than other men. Next to the Pharisee is another man, a tax collecter, who can't even stand or look to heaven but simply beats his breast and cries out, "God have mercy to me, a sinner!" Jesus concludes the parable with a simple but serious statement: for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.
This is a major theme of the Kingdom of God that is strikingly antithetical to the kingdoms of the world. Penitence and humility before the awesomeness of God is the only appropriate response to His presence. Think of Isaiah's call, "Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts (Isa. 6:5)."
To further this point, think of John's vision of the Lord in Revelation, who, having seen Jesus in His glory, fell down weeping as if dead (Rev. 1:17). When we come face to face with the Lord, we have the opportunity for the truest and most sincere worship that is grounded in an attitude of penitence and humility before the heavenly Father.
Worship, entering into the very presence of the holy Lord, is the most sobering reality there is. The Lord is the light that reveals everything that is hidden, especially those parts of our inner selves that have been buried in the depths of our beings. When we step into His heavenly presence, He illuminates our truest nature and we are forced to confront ourselves in light of who He is. This can be devastating.
However, when we humble ourselves in prayer to the Lord, He is sure to comfort and to keep us in His love. As Jesus says multiple times throughout the Gospels, whoever exalts himself will be humbled but whoever humbles himself will be exalted before the Lord. This is not just a single expression but is a principle of the Kingdom of God.
Although humbling ourselves can be painful because we are forced to honestly examine our sinning fleshly self in light of God's holiness. However painful this may be, it doesn't come close to the wrath of humility that we are faced with if God is forced to humble our haughtiness. Instead, the best way to meet the Lord is bowing before Him in humbleness so that we aren't crushed beneath Him as judge. Let us then strive for humility before the heavenly Lord!
This is a major theme of the Kingdom of God that is strikingly antithetical to the kingdoms of the world. Penitence and humility before the awesomeness of God is the only appropriate response to His presence. Think of Isaiah's call, "Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts (Isa. 6:5)."
To further this point, think of John's vision of the Lord in Revelation, who, having seen Jesus in His glory, fell down weeping as if dead (Rev. 1:17). When we come face to face with the Lord, we have the opportunity for the truest and most sincere worship that is grounded in an attitude of penitence and humility before the heavenly Father.
Worship, entering into the very presence of the holy Lord, is the most sobering reality there is. The Lord is the light that reveals everything that is hidden, especially those parts of our inner selves that have been buried in the depths of our beings. When we step into His heavenly presence, He illuminates our truest nature and we are forced to confront ourselves in light of who He is. This can be devastating.
However, when we humble ourselves in prayer to the Lord, He is sure to comfort and to keep us in His love. As Jesus says multiple times throughout the Gospels, whoever exalts himself will be humbled but whoever humbles himself will be exalted before the Lord. This is not just a single expression but is a principle of the Kingdom of God.
Although humbling ourselves can be painful because we are forced to honestly examine our sinning fleshly self in light of God's holiness. However painful this may be, it doesn't come close to the wrath of humility that we are faced with if God is forced to humble our haughtiness. Instead, the best way to meet the Lord is bowing before Him in humbleness so that we aren't crushed beneath Him as judge. Let us then strive for humility before the heavenly Lord!
Thursday, February 2, 2012
A Call to Holiness
All throughout Scripture, the most used adjective to describe the character and nature of God is holy. God is, above all else, holy. It is His holiness that truly defines Him. The Lord, in all His majesty, is holy. Holiness is defined in two basic ways: (1) purity in reference to morality and cleanliness, and (2) the state of being set apart.
The Word of the Lord is clear to state that we should seek earnestly and strive to be holy as He is holy (1 Pet. 1:15-16). Not only are we to endeavor for holiness, but more so, we are holy in Christ. When we live lives of holiness, we are receiving and claiming the redeemed lives that He has given and desires for each of us. It is this acceptance of our holy and blameless self that is difficult to understand but is quite simple when we recognize that our holiness is only in the Lord and never arises from within ourselves.
In regards to the holiness of morality and cleanliness, the blood of Christ cleanses us from all sin. By the very blood that Christ Himself shed on the cross, which He baptizes us with, we are cleansed from all sin. This is a pure and true gift. Moreover, by the power of the Holy Spirit we are given the ability to live out God's moral code. The Holy Spirit infuses and imputes us with His perfect justice and faultless morality.
God, through the work of Jesus, has freed us from the bondage of sin (Rom. 6:22). Because this is the case, the Lord has imputed us with His holiness. As a result, we may live holy. Not only is this remarkable, it is a miracle. Only through the Lord are we able to be holy. This is a primary gift that we receive because of confession and belief in the Lord, Jesus. Praise God.
Additionally, when we confess the Lord Jesus He sets us apart as His very own. Not only that but we who have been given the Holy Spirit and who persevere in Him are elect, chosen by God to be His holy people before the foundations of the earth (Eph. 1:4-6). Although this can be challenging theology, the point of this dialogue is simple: we, because of Christ's work in us, have been made and are being made holy as He is holy.
There is an element of passive reception of the imputed holiness of Christ, however, it is also an active pursuit. More accurately, we play an active role in not hindering the work of the Holy Spirit's work of holy sanctification if our hearts and lives. So let us pursue the holiness that is held and found only in the sovereign holy Lord!
The Word of the Lord is clear to state that we should seek earnestly and strive to be holy as He is holy (1 Pet. 1:15-16). Not only are we to endeavor for holiness, but more so, we are holy in Christ. When we live lives of holiness, we are receiving and claiming the redeemed lives that He has given and desires for each of us. It is this acceptance of our holy and blameless self that is difficult to understand but is quite simple when we recognize that our holiness is only in the Lord and never arises from within ourselves.
In regards to the holiness of morality and cleanliness, the blood of Christ cleanses us from all sin. By the very blood that Christ Himself shed on the cross, which He baptizes us with, we are cleansed from all sin. This is a pure and true gift. Moreover, by the power of the Holy Spirit we are given the ability to live out God's moral code. The Holy Spirit infuses and imputes us with His perfect justice and faultless morality.
God, through the work of Jesus, has freed us from the bondage of sin (Rom. 6:22). Because this is the case, the Lord has imputed us with His holiness. As a result, we may live holy. Not only is this remarkable, it is a miracle. Only through the Lord are we able to be holy. This is a primary gift that we receive because of confession and belief in the Lord, Jesus. Praise God.
Additionally, when we confess the Lord Jesus He sets us apart as His very own. Not only that but we who have been given the Holy Spirit and who persevere in Him are elect, chosen by God to be His holy people before the foundations of the earth (Eph. 1:4-6). Although this can be challenging theology, the point of this dialogue is simple: we, because of Christ's work in us, have been made and are being made holy as He is holy.
There is an element of passive reception of the imputed holiness of Christ, however, it is also an active pursuit. More accurately, we play an active role in not hindering the work of the Holy Spirit's work of holy sanctification if our hearts and lives. So let us pursue the holiness that is held and found only in the sovereign holy Lord!
Wednesday, February 1, 2012
Prayer with Purpose
Throughout life there come moments and instances when we throw up our hands in defeat and cry for relief. It is these moments, when we feel the overwhelming flood and weight of life, that we need to bow down to the Lord in prayer. It is prayer that helps us make it through any and all of life's struggles. Additionally, prayer helps us to encounter life with the vision and wisdom of the Holy Spirit. However, an attitude of prayer, like every aspect of the Christian life, does not happen passively.
Throughout the Gospels, particularly in Luke, Jesus often leaves His disciples to be alone in prayer. Why would Jesus, the very Son of God, need to pray or need to be alone to pray? The truth is, two things are occurring when Jesus seeks solitude for prayer. The first is teach. Jesus is sure to teach His disciples and future believers that prayer is about solemn and secret communication, intimate relationship with the heavenly Father.
Secondly, and more importantly, when Jesus seeks the desolate places to pray alone, He is communing in perfect unity with the heavenly Father. It is important to always note that Jesus is simultaneously fully-man and fully-God. This being true, both of these natures are limited by the other. For instance, Jesus was not able to exercise the infinite measure of His omnipotence or omniscience while housed in a single physical form. Similarly, although sin is engrained into the very makeup of man, because He was God, He never sinned.
Being alone meant that Jesus could be unencumbered by His physical nature and so enter into the divine relationship that is between Himself, the Father, and the Holy Spirit. In so doing, Jesus was exercising His divinity in supreme ways. An example of this is the Transfiguration (Matt. 17:1-9; Mark 9:2-8; Luke 9:28-36).
At the Transfiguration, Jesus takes Peter, James, and John up an unnamed mountain, presumably for the purpose of solitude and prayer. When the group reaches their destination Jesus is transfigured from His earthly form into a semblance of His heavenly form and glorified state. The three accompanying disciples are stunned and awed but are also bystanders. James, John, and Peter are witnesses to Jesus in His glorified heavenly form, not active participants.
Although this is the only instance that is recorded of Jesus inviting others to witness His solitary prayer time, it is not unreasonable to consider that this glimpse into Jesus' prayer time reveals the intimate and divine nature of prayer: it unleashes the divine into our lives. Although we will not be transfigured in the same sense as Jesus, when we come to Him in devout prayer, He imparts and imputes His divine nature into us. In this way, prayer is a definite and necessary part of sanctification as it is through prayer that God purifies us into a glorified state by the power of the Holy Spirit. Let us then seek earnestly to come to God in prayer understanding that He uses prayer time to reveal to us who we truly are in Him!
Throughout the Gospels, particularly in Luke, Jesus often leaves His disciples to be alone in prayer. Why would Jesus, the very Son of God, need to pray or need to be alone to pray? The truth is, two things are occurring when Jesus seeks solitude for prayer. The first is teach. Jesus is sure to teach His disciples and future believers that prayer is about solemn and secret communication, intimate relationship with the heavenly Father.
Secondly, and more importantly, when Jesus seeks the desolate places to pray alone, He is communing in perfect unity with the heavenly Father. It is important to always note that Jesus is simultaneously fully-man and fully-God. This being true, both of these natures are limited by the other. For instance, Jesus was not able to exercise the infinite measure of His omnipotence or omniscience while housed in a single physical form. Similarly, although sin is engrained into the very makeup of man, because He was God, He never sinned.
Being alone meant that Jesus could be unencumbered by His physical nature and so enter into the divine relationship that is between Himself, the Father, and the Holy Spirit. In so doing, Jesus was exercising His divinity in supreme ways. An example of this is the Transfiguration (Matt. 17:1-9; Mark 9:2-8; Luke 9:28-36).
At the Transfiguration, Jesus takes Peter, James, and John up an unnamed mountain, presumably for the purpose of solitude and prayer. When the group reaches their destination Jesus is transfigured from His earthly form into a semblance of His heavenly form and glorified state. The three accompanying disciples are stunned and awed but are also bystanders. James, John, and Peter are witnesses to Jesus in His glorified heavenly form, not active participants.
Although this is the only instance that is recorded of Jesus inviting others to witness His solitary prayer time, it is not unreasonable to consider that this glimpse into Jesus' prayer time reveals the intimate and divine nature of prayer: it unleashes the divine into our lives. Although we will not be transfigured in the same sense as Jesus, when we come to Him in devout prayer, He imparts and imputes His divine nature into us. In this way, prayer is a definite and necessary part of sanctification as it is through prayer that God purifies us into a glorified state by the power of the Holy Spirit. Let us then seek earnestly to come to God in prayer understanding that He uses prayer time to reveal to us who we truly are in Him!
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