Seven Christian Truths That Will Not Change In 2022

 

1. Those who repent and believe the Gospel will be saved.  Acts 2:21 (ESV): “And it shall come to pass that everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.”

2.  God’s enabling grace will sanctify you. Ezekiel 36:27 (ESV): “And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules.“

3. God’s regenerating mercies will keep you persevering in faith. Jeremiah 32:40 (ESV): “And I will put the fear of me in their hearts, that they may not turn from me.“

4.  God will sovereignly and providentially guarantee to you the greatest good, i.e., to be like Christ. Romans 8:28–29 (ESV): “And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.”

5.  He will not abandon you. Hebrews 13:5–6 (ESV): “for he has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” So we can confidently say, “The Lord is my helper; I will not fear; what can man do to me?” 

6.  Nothing can separate you from His love. Romans 8:38–39 (ESV): “For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

7. God will accomplish His redemptive purpose for your life. Jude 24 (ESV): “Now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy . . ..”

The End of the Bible Reading Program for 2021

For many of us who follow a read-through-the-Bible-in-a-year program, we have entered into the Revelation of Jesus Christ — the last of the New Testament canon.  William Hendrikson [1] reminds us that the Revelation is neither an entirely futuristic Book or a chronological Book:

“Every paragraph of this glorious prophecy is filled with significance, instruction and comfort for the seven churches of proconsular Asia. This book is an answer to the crying need of that particular day, and we must permit contemporaneous circumstances to shed their light on its symbols and predictions. True, this book has a message for today, but we shall never be able to understand ‘what the Spirit is saying to the churches’ of today unless we first of all study the specific needs and circumstances of the seven churches of ‘Asia’ as they existed in the first century AD.”

“A careful reading of the book of Revelation has made it clear that the book consists of seven sections, and that these seven sections run parallel to one another. Each of them spans the entire dispensation from the first to the second coming of Christ.”

“ Each section gives us a description of the entire gospel age, from the first to the second coming of Christ, and is rooted in Israel’s history under the old dispensation to which there are frequent references.”

“ Our division is as follows: 1. Christ in the midst of the seven golden lampstands (1–3). 2. The book with seven seals (4–7). 3. The seven trumpets of judgment (8–11). 4. The woman and the Man-child persecuted by the dragon and his helpers (the beast and the harlot) (12–14). 5. The seven bowls of wrath (15, 16). 5. The seven bowls of wrath (15, 16). 6. The fall of the great harlot and of the beasts (17–19). 7. The judgment upon the dragon (Satan) followed by the new heaven and earth, new Jerusalem (20–22).”

“ The Apocalypse is steeped in the thoughts and images of the Old Testament . . . Westcott and Hort give nearly four hundred references or allusions to the Old Testament, and an intensive study of any chapter of the Apocalypse soon reveals that this list of four hundred references is itself incomplete. It is on the basis of these sacred Scriptures [Old Testament] that we must interpret the Apocalypse.“

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1. Henrikson, William, More Than Conquerors, An Interpretation of the Book of Revelation, Baker Publishing Group, Grand Rapids, Michigan, © 1940, 1967 

Seventeenth Century “Charismatic”

In reading Dr Michael Haykin’s book: THE REFORMERS AND PURITANS AS SPIRITUAL MENTORS, it would seem to me that had we lived in the days of John Owen, many of us would have regarded him as a “charismatic”.  He clearly believed and lived a form of experiential Christianity. Haykin quotes Owen from his work,  Grace and Duty of Being Spiritually Minded:

 “Let us live in the constant contemplation of the glory of Christ, and virtue will proceed from him to repair all our decays, to renew a right spirit within us, and to cause us to abound in all duties of obedience.” 

And from A Discourse of the Work of the Holy Spirit in Prayer:

“ The soul is hereby raised and ravished, not into ecstasies or unaccountable raptures, not acted into motions above the power of its own understanding and will; but in all the faculties and affections of it, through the effectual workings of the Spirit of grace and the lively impressions of divine love, with intimations of the relations and kindness of God, is filled with rest, in “joy unspeakable and full of glory.”

Facing an accusation of being too subjective, Owen responds:

“I had rather be among them who, in the actings of their love and affection unto Christ, do fall into some irregularities and excesses in the manner of expressing it (provided their worship of him be neither superstitious nor idolatrous), than among those who, professing themselves to be Christians, do almost disavow their having any thoughts of or affection unto the person of Christ.” (Grace and Duty …)

Herein Owen slips into our thinking two guardians to such a spiritual pursuit: superstition and idolatry.  I am not certain what Owen means by superstition, but I suspect he points to an idea or activity that is pursued despite clear evidence to the contrary. I would think his Puritanism would clearly imply believing and acting in ways opposed to the clarity of God’s Word.  And secondly in pursuing such experiences as more important and “before God” than the glory of the Triune God Himself.  

This leads us to a Christian reality that some of called “charismatic with seatbelts” whereby the contemplation of the glory of Christ, may lead one to some excesses in thought and behaviour, but these are always strapped in by sola scriptura and fear of turning a “good thing into a God-thing.” (To paraphrase Timothy Keller). 

All this so-called experiential Christianity is the response of contemplating the glory of God, as taught in  2 Corinthians 3:18 (ESV): 

“And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.”

We are ever in danger of seeking particular experiences that can be the result of some subjective experience that ultimately provides a fake feeling and can easily translate into extra-biblical or idolatrous exercises. 

How to Pursue Racial Unity - Dr. Jeff Myers

We introduced the topic of Social Justice vs Biblical Justice on September 5, 2021.  You can hear that message HERE.   I recently listened to the following talk by Dr. Jeff Myers.   In the message he provides 9 considerations as we seek to work toward racial unity.   They are worthwhile thinking about.  

How to Pursue Racial Unity and Stand Against Wrong Worldviews at the Same Time (Dr. Jeff Myers) 

 

1. DOES MY WORLDVIEW RECOGNIZE THAT OUR WORTH AS HUMANS COMES FROM GOD, NOT FROM OUR ACTIVITIES? 
2. AM I A PERSON WHO SEEKS PEACE, RESOLVES ANGER, SPEAKS FORTHRIGHTLY, RESISTS RETALIATION FOR PERSONAL OFFENSES AND LOVES MY ENEMIES? 
3. HOW HAS SIN CAUSED STRUCTURAL EVIL? What structures of society are broken that can be fixed? What role can I play? 
4. AM I GENEROUS? 
5. ARE MY NEIGHBORS DOING BETTER BECAUSE I AM THERE? What concrete steps can I take to actively improve the lives of those around me? 
6. HAVE I OBSERVED WRONGDOING AND NOT ACTED? Commit to know what is right and wrong and determine to act the next time you see injustice occurring. 
7. AM I ASSESSING BLAME BASED ON GROUP IDENTITY?  —whether rich or poor, white or black, city or suburban, liberal or conservative 
8. AM I USING SHAME OR THREATS TO FORCE OTHERS TO SEE IT MY WAY?  Injustice cannot remedy injustice. It isn’t about punishment—it’s about restoration. 
9. DO I PURSUE UNITY BASED ON GOD’S NATURE AND CHARACTER AND HIS PLAN FOR HISTORY? 

 

 

Until These Tears Are Gone

Flood this heart with assurance of Your mercy
Fill this mind with knowledge of Your love
Hold me fast through the deep and steady current
How long, how long 'till these tears are gone?

Every hour, awake me to Your presence
Shine Your light, brighter than the dawn
Send Your joy, illuminate the darkness
How long, how long 'till these tears are gone?
How long, how long 'till these tears are gone?

I'll fix my eyes on eternity above
Where every lie, is uncovered by Your love
I'll fix my eyes on eternity above
Where every lie, every shadow is uncovered by Your love

Lord You hear, the pleading of the faithful
I search for You, hide not Your face
Here I tread, a shell among the ruins

How long, how long 'till these tears are gone?
How long, how long 'till these tears are gone?
How long, how long 'till these tears are gone?
How long, how long 'till these tears are gone?

Union With Christ

In this magisterial work by the Puritan, John Owen, he gives us great insight and encouragement regarding Union with Christ.

 

“Man being made in the image of God, was fit and able to glorify him as God. But whereas whatever perfection God had communicated unto our nature, he had not united it unto himself in a personal union, the fabric of it quickly fell unto the ground. Want of this foundation made it obnoxious unto ruin. God manifested herein, that no gracious relation between him and our nature could be stable and permanent, unless our nature was assumed into personal union and subsistence with himself. This is the only Rock and assured foundation of the relation of the church unto God, which now can never utterly fail. Our nature is eternally secured in that union, and we ourselves, as we shall see thereby.”[i]

 

In the first man, the image of God in sinless innocence was able to glorify God.  Of all the perfections God had bestowed upon the first Man, He had not united him to His Being.  So the integrity of innocence soon became undone.  What we learn from this is that no abiding, perfection could be sustained by Man unless he was brought into a personal union with Christ. As union with Christ is the foundational condition of the Church we know see that believing Mankind can ever finally fall.  “Our nature is eternally secure in Christ.

 

 

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[i]Owen, John, THE PERSON OF CHRIST, Declaring a Glorious Mystery – God and Man, Christian Focus Publications, 2015, p90

The Family Thanksgiving Meal.

Our Canadian Thanksgiving is just around the corner.  Countless of families will meet either on Sunday or on Monday of this upcoming weekend, for a great meal and a great time together.  A common Thanksgiving dinner will include of roast turkey, turkey stuffing, mashed potatoes, gravy, green beans, corn, dinner rolls, cranberry sauce, and pumpkin pie.  Some people say that this is enough to kill a person.

Play a little game with me.  Let’s assume you really love this family Thanksgiving time together.  Perhaps you can recall some great holiday meals.  The idea of forgoing or skipping Thanksgiving this year would be the furthest thing from your mind.  You can even taste the pumpkin pie.  Now let me take this little story in a different direction.

What if a family member called you and said, “I’m sorry, but I have other things to do.  I’ll try to get there next year.”  How would you feel?   I mean the meal was about family. It’s hard to have a family meal when all the family is missing?

What if another family member called and said, “I’m out of the country.  I’ll try to SKYPE you sometime. Sorry I can’t make it.”  Well, that hurts.  There’s not much you can do about it.  But that hurts.  On-line family Thanksgiving – well it’s not the same.

“I’ll be eating at home,” says another.  “No doubt, I’ll be thinking of you all gathered there, but I’ll just eat my own meal at home.”  Mmmm, it’s not a family Thanksgiving, is it? 

Sadly, every Lord’s Day, professing Christians miss the Sabbath feast that God prepares for them with their brothers and sisters.  It’s a Family Dinner.  Some find better things to do.  Some eat their meal digitally.  Some just make their own dinner.  Any way you carve the turkey, it doesn’t seem like a Family Meal.  The feast that the Lord prepares for His people is full of bounty and manifold provision.  It’s a pre-cursor to a great and glorious feast with the Lamb of God in the eternal future.

You can have the feast, but if the family isn’t present, it’s hard to call it a Family Meal.  What will cause you to miss the Meal this Sunday?