The Holocaust

Something bad only happened to a good man once. Only once did a righteous man suffer. The term ‘Holocaust’ originally referred to the burning or destruction of something holy, before it was redefined to refer to the Jews fate at the hands of the Nazis. Jesus Christ is the only holy, good and righteous man in the existence of the world. For all have sinned, but Christ is righteous. While we are made to be like Christ, He is the Head, the Cornerstone, the Firstborn.

A sacrifice was needed to effect the salvation of the elect. God’s justice prohibited them from simply getting off scot-free. Holy Jesus came as a sacrificial lamb to fulfill the blood requirement. Conceptually, the image of the infinite eternal creator of life laying down His life on a hill in Judea is as paradoxical as the perfect, holy, sinless lamb taking on Him the iniquity of us all.

And yet, it happened. This paradox opened the door for the christian to have life in His name. Not only life, but righteousness. Christ’s physical body died, but he did not cease to exist–He satisfied the wrath of God, and as very life itself, death could not hold Him. Through this transaction, He bore our griefs and carried our sorrows; Yet we esteemed Him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, And by His stripes we are healed.

In a few hours, Christ’s infinite nature absorbed the wrath of God towards His adopted children, bearing the full force of the brute of its fury. His infinite worth propitiated the wrath of God towards us. Then, it was finished. The work was done. The Holocaust was over.

Death, sin and curse.

The promise of God to the Christian is that He will wipe every tear from their eyes. That is part of the glorification process. But here on earth, we are still subject to the pains of sin and sorrow as our process of sanctification progresses. But we can count on God delivering us from death and sanctifying us completely.

In the beginning, the world was perfect. Then, God tells us how sin and death entered His ideal creation, through the disobedience of man. This rebellion against God was the crime that brought the King’s righteous wrath and indignation upon us. The fall of man, therefore, is the cause of our depraved natures, and the desire for utter depravity. The grace of God holds in check the evil of mankind, only for the sake of Christ and His elect.

God is a just King. He will not let the righteous suffer (with one exception), nor the wicked escape punishment (with one exception). Aside from Christ, we are all wicked, vile perverts. Because none are righteous, we all deserve punishment. But for the sake of Christ, the Father has shown mercy to His people. For through Christ, we are righteous in His sight. And “I have never seen the righteous forsaken nor his children begging for bread.” Through Christ, we are the Father’s own children, and He will not leave His own to die on the battlefield.

Pain, death and suffering is a natural consequence of man having lost faith in God, and disobeying His righteous decrees. As Adam sinned, he created a family culture of sin that was passed down to all generations, endowed us with a natural predisposition to evil, and, as evidenced by his immediate ‘flight’ from the presence of God, an inbred fear.

Becoming a Christian doesn’t excuse you from the consequences of sin; no, it delivers you from them. The trials and hard work and sadness don’t go away, but God gives the strength to carry through, and glorifies His servants to eternal life. Being sad over sin is a good, healthy thing. Weeping at death is proper. Mourning the curse is right. But there is hope also; there is joy. And that is for the Christian, the one belonging to Christ.

Fight sin with every ounce of your strength, it is your most important battle. Your weapons are at hand, go out in faith and obey the King’s commandments.

Editor’s note: I’ve received some feedback that paragraph 3 was confusing–how can God take at the same time let good, Christian friends die and yet, not leave one of His elect to “die on the battlefield.” For additional context, see the comments on this post.

The Wrath of God

Being the enemy of a omnipotent God is not a good idea. But one of the facts of being a man in rebellion against his Creator is that the wrath of God is decreed against him. For some Christians, it’s hard to grasp that God could be anything less than sweet, loving and kind. After all, God has shown us (the elect) His infinite loving kindness in Christ. But outside the circle of protection that is Christ, sinful man has no shield against the wrath of God.

Ezra spoke well to the King Artaxerxes: “The hand of our God is for good on all who seek him, and the power of his wrath is against all who forsake him.” And Moses told the people Israel: “See, I am setting before you today a blessing and a curse:the blessing, if you obey the commandments of the Lord your God, which I command you today, and the curse, if you do not obey the commandments of the Lord your God, but turn aside from the way that I am commanding you today, to go after other gods that you have not known.”

For as great as the kindness God has stored for us is the wrath that he has stored for the reprobate. And as full as the love He has extended us now is the measure of HIs hatred towards those who will not repent. Their condemnation is just. How great is the sentence for so vast a crime as rejecting the One so worthy of all praise, adoration, and honor? Infinite. Utter terror. Deep blackness. Complete loneliness–except the presence of a just God who is righteously punishing you. Pain to the point of agony. Horror unspeakable. And no escape. Eternal punishment. All the worst, most terrifying, evilest of earth is no comparison to the infinite wrath of an infinite God over an infinite crime–rejecting His authority. All the horror of the world is God’s wrath held in check for the sake of HIs elect, for the sake of Christ. In hell–eternal damnation–there is no check.

God’s wrath is not a pleasant subject. Nor should it be. But if you are unrepentant, it should strike terror into your soul. And that terror is the beginning of wisdom. Though God has sovereignly chosen some to be vessels of honor and some to dishonor, He does not desire that any should perish. God will glorify Himself in His victory over His enemies. But His wrath is also of a secondary purpose–through discipline and the rod, to guide those whom He has called to Himself. The wrath of God calls you to repent. The King Himself guarantees the way–you have the opportunity to repent, and God will become at peace with you through Christ.

Take heed that you, Christian, are at peace with God, for He is at peace with you.

Propitiation of Sin

What does the word ‘Salvation’ mean to you, Christian? In the modern evangelical context of watery gospel, preachers only talk about what we are ‘saved to’. Saved to glory/heaven, saved to fulfillment, saved to a wonderful plan for your life, saved to an ice cream cone, whatever. But in the English context (and historical Biblical context), folks are not ‘saved to’, they are ‘saved from’. Saved from getting run over, saved from falling, saved from a defeat, saved from instant death, are but a few examples. When we receive good things, that is grace, not mercy.

The idea of propitiation has a double context. Not only are we saved from the wrath of God on us, Children of wrath, but we are given a vast store of the Father’s goodwill towards us in Christ. Not only are our sins forgiven, but we are righteous in the sight of God, in Christ. (Our nature being imputed to Christ, and His nature imputed to us.) Not only are we made at peace with God, but God is now ‘for us.’

Christ’s actions at the cross have reconciled us to God–placating His wrath–destroying the enmity of God towards us, and through the process of sanctification and glorification, breaking down our enmity towards God. So then, brothers, let us shod our feet with the readiness of the Gospel of peace, and live in its light.

The Core of our Faith

At the heart of Christianity is the Gospel. In fact, the case could be made that Christianity is the gospel. The Gospel is the truth about God and his acts, as revealed in Jesus, the divine Word. If we are to respond in faith and obedience, we must have an intricate understanding of who God is (faith) and what He does (obedience).

As James says, faith without works is dead. What you truly believe will shine in your actions. So an understanding of the Gospel is not only of what your heart is to think, but what your hand is to accomplish. We are not only to think God’s thoughts after Him, but also to do God’s deeds after Him.

Jesus preached, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!” When he sent His disciples into the surrounding towns, Christ commanded, “Proclaim as you go, ‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand!'” And, “It is enough for the disciple to be like his teacher, and the servant like His master. Paul exhorts, “Husbands, love your wives as Christ loved the church.”

You see, the actions of God are our pattern for action on earth. And the heart of the actions and character of God is the Gospel.

The King’s Instructions

As soldiers on a mission, we haven’t been sent without our orders. In fact, the chief mandate has been derived from the paperwork with which we have been commissioned. You know, of course, that I speak of the scriptures.

In it’s original form, the Bible is Christ’s narrated word. Conceived by the Father, existing through Christ, and delivered by the Spirit, the very Words of God must not be taken lightly. I refer to all of scripture as the Torah, or God’s Law-Word. Scripture, being sufficient for all of life, primarily consists of doctrine (belief) and experience (action). In other words, what we must believe and what we must do. Faith and Obedience.

Our battle is between the truth and the lie. And we have the truth–start from the solid ground of Scripture, and your feet will not be shaken. Presuppose that truth is true and the lie is false, and you’ve laid the groundwork for a successful campaign, and can stay on the correct side of the conflict.

Carry on, follow the true standard.

Fear God Alone

When the world around seems dark and grim,
When the wrong seems strong, and hope has fled;
Preserve me Lord from violent men,
You are my God, be quick to save.
We are your redeemed, adopted as sons,
Saved by the blood of the Lamb.
Disperse the fear of unrighteous men,
Instill in us Your holiness.
Let us fear Your Name, fear God alone:
Unholy terror melts away in the Light of your Glory, Lord,
Peace comes to control in the presence of your spirit
Break our sinful hearts and rebuild them as yours,
Take our wicked lives and reform them as Christ!
He is our Lord, our God, our King;
Now His standard and His word we will follow and obey.
Make us worthy o Lord, of your love.

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One brings understanding.

To properly fear God, you must have a correct understanding of who you are, and who God is. For example, I was (apart from Christ) a worm, sinful, hopeless, powerless to change even the color of one hair on my head. On the other hand, God is all glorious, all just, all wise, and all powerful creator who spoke the world into being. And before I was in Christ, God was at war with me and I was his sworn enemy. God could snuff my life into everlasting damnation with one word, and all I could do was bring glory to Him anyway by my destruction.

If that doesn’t strike terror into your heart as an enemy of God, your heart is hard and callous. You see, it’s a good thing that the sinner fear God. It makes his heart soft and supple for the rest of the message.

You see, while I was yet a sinner (the avowed enemy of God) Christ died to clear my record and set me straight with God. Now, God is no longer at war with me, and through the sanctifying power of Christ, I am becoming no longer at war with God. Now, God is no longer angry with me, but it is still wise to fear His name. Fear of the holiness of God will only serve to mortify my flesh more and more. Not only should I fear the holiness of God, but also His displeasure, and that out of love.

In the sight of the holiness of God, mere men are nothing. In comparison with His power, the greatest of earth are but mites. So, if you have a correct understanding of God, the fear of men, the unholy terror, will simply fade away. For if God is on your side, who can be against?

Commissioned

One of the outward expressions of worship is evangelism. We can express God’s glory back to Him (upward worship), to ourselves (inward worship), and to the world (evangelism).

Not only are we commanded by the great commission to go forth into all the world and preach the gospel, but the very essence of the message demands that it be told. If, as in fact, every man on earth should die in a state of horrific sinfulness, alienated from God and under His Wrath, but the all-powerful God of all the universe–even while these men were still His enemies–made a propitiation for the sins of an elect, and ransomed them from their condition of filth, not only imputing His own righteousness to us but guaranteeing by Himself that He would sanctify us and glorify us as to be perfect, righteous and worthy to spend eternity with Him. When that story includes One of the glorious Persons of the Trinity becoming a little child, teaching with infinite wisdom, focused on one purpose, and dying as a passover lamb to redeem the elect; When God His Father raises the King of life back to life, conquering sin, death, and the curse. When the story has been revealed to you by the Hand of God Himself (through the Apostles and Prophets), are you going to timidly sit back and keep it a secret? Not a chance. The gospel is a story that needs to be told. How badly do you have to hate someone to not proselytize?

As an outward expression of worship, evangelism is core to the mission of glorifying God. In addition, it is the chief means of expanding Christ’s kingdom, and bringing all men under the dominion of Christ.

Don’t be timid.

Dealing with impossible circumstances

Military leaders are ranked in success based on their ability to pull victory from horrible conditions and impossible odds. None considered that George Washington could defeat the world power of Brittan with a rag-tag band and poor supply lines. But because he persevered, God granted him success.

It’s easy to loose focus when things get tough–when sickness and pain cloud your mind, when hope seems to fade or when your enemies block the way. But these are the times that build faith; God is as capable to deliver you out of difficult trials as he is from an easy afternoon of sunshine.

“Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.” – James 1:2-4

Without trials, our faith would not be strong. When your faith is tested but you carry on in obedience and faith, then you will receive fulfillment and joy. So carry on, seize the day and take up the full armor of God. When you are tempted to sin in a time of trial, call on the Lord, and He will be faithful to deliver you up out of it.

Focus!

As we pass through life, it’s easy to get off track–driving on the sholder of the road, or crashing headlong into the ditch. But if we are Christians indeed, Christ has promised to pull us out again and straighten our paths through the process of sanctification. Distracted driving can get you killed, but spiritual distraction is far more dangerous.

Sin is constantly knocking at your door, Satan tempting you to give in, and your old man inside nagging for attention. If you for one moment let down your guard, lower the sword of the Spirit, lay aside the shield of Faith, and take off the breastplate of righteousness (obedience) the enimies of your soul will make mincemeat of you. The Christian soldier never gets to rest, never can sleep. We are in enemy territory, and even our own lust will arise at any second.

So stand firm, brothers, and take the field. Keep alert every second, and take your rest in the confidence of Him who will ensure the mission succeeds. Put on the whole armor of God that you may stand against the schemes of the devil, and having done all, to stand.