Monday, November 5, 2012

Dear Ethan: a response to why churches need to be Bible focused.

The following letter is addressed to a fictional character. However, the letter is addressing a very real mindset, plaguing and unhealthy mindset that some have in our churches today. 

Dear Ethan,

This letter is a response to the concern you sent regarding the emphasis our church places on the Word and your desire that we “focus more on practical matters like loving our neighbour and transforming Peterborough”. First off, it is encouraging for me to hear that you have a heart for loving your neighbour and a desire to see Peterborough transformed. It has been such an amazing gift to see God’s work in your heart these past 5 months that you have been attending The Gathering; it’s wonderful to see his desires become your desires. I also have a desire to see both the local and universal body of believers become more intentional about loving others, as commanded by the Lord Jesus (Mark 12:31). I also love Peterborough and want to see it transformed for God’s glory. What an amazing thing it would be to see all of Peterborough saved and transformed by the Gospel!

However, the answer to loving our neighbour and seeing the city transformed is not to move beyond the Word of God, but instead to go deeper into it. In fact, to say that we must move beyond the Bible and on to loving our neighbour actually does not make sense. This is because both the ideas of “loving your neighbour” and of transformation are rooted in the Bible. To divorce these ideas from the Bible means to divorce them from being a Christian message altogether. A teacher from any religion could preach a sermon on loving our neighbour and seeing a city transformed. What makes it distinctly Christian is that it is from God’s Word and is centered in the Gospel. In the context of the rest of Scripture, we know that loving others and seeing our city transformed has only been made possible because of God’s Gospel. Because he loved and served us first, we can now love and serve one another selflessly. We are thankful and humbled because of God’s grace, which gives us the fuel and motivation to go into the world with grace. Likewise, only the power of God’s Son through God’s Holy Spirit can transform a city. Therefore, the Word of God must be central to the people of God. It must be central because by it God creates, God sustains, and God transforms.

To begin with, how do you even know that we are supposed to love our neighbour? You know that because you have seen and heard it in the Word. The Bible tells us about who God is, what he is like and how he should be worshiped. It’s his Word that informs our practice. The very source of this command IS the Word; the Word is the root and source of the actions that we make as Christians. Therefore our focus should not be primarily on the fruit, but to first look at the root! When we go deep into the Word, we see much more than we can when we choose one or two select verses to focus on; we see the fullness of the Christian life as God intended it. The Word is the standard for every teaching, doctrine, philosophy, practice, and life.

Now that I’ve discussed why the Word should be central to our ministry, I’ll share with you three things I have seen in the Bible that occur when the Word is central. Throughout Scripture, we see the Word creating, sustaining, and transforming.

It is by God’s powerful and gracious Word that all things exist. One of the first things that we learn about God in the book Genesis is that God by his Word creates existence out of nothing.1 Eight times2 in the first chapter we see “God said” followed by something being created. When God speaks things happen, and this great truth is affirmed hundreds and even thousands of times in the rest of Scripture. Throughout the Scriptures, we see that God acts through his Word3, God’s Word is an extension of God himself4, and God establishes relationships through his Word.5 A few examples: By his Word he calls Abraham out of pagan6 worship to follow after God.7 By his Word he promises the creation of God’s people8, and by his Word he does create the people of God through Jacob. By the Word of the Lord Moses was called to be the deliverer of God’s people from slavery.9 By God’s Word, Israel was given the law as a gift to be shown how to live as God’s people.10 By the Word of the Lord the prophets were called to speak, warn, and remind the people of Israel about their sin and rebellion and what it would lead to.11 The Word of the Lord incarnated himself in the person and work of Jesus, so that he could be fully known.12 And finally, in Revelation we see the picture of Jesus returning with the name “The Word of God”.13

As Jonathan Leeman wrote in his book Reverberation, “This same power that the Word has to create in Scripture is alive in our ministry as well. True spiritual life is produced in the heart only when the Father speaks with creation power through his Son and by the Spirit.14 God’s Word produces actions, and then those actions and words work together to give witness to the power of God’s salvation.15 Lives begin to be shaped by words, so that people begin to live differently at work and at home. They discover that these words are life giving, hope-giving and love producing.”16 In sum, “spiritual Words create spiritual actions”.17 So on our topic, it is only because God has spoken “love your neighbour” that we should actually go and do it.

Jesus had just been baptized by John and led into the wilderness for forty days, where he was “tempted in every way”.18 In the midst of so much suffering, Jesus counters temptation from quoting from the Scriptures, “man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord.”19 Jesus is quoting what Moses said to the people in the wilderness about the manna that God had provided for them. Although God provided the manna and they could physically see it on the ground, they still had to believe and trust that God’s Word was trustworthy for their existence. They were commanded to only take what they needed for one day and they had to trust that God would continue to provide for them. They needed to believe that they would not die in the wilderness and could depend on God and his Word for sustenance. Notice that he does not say that man “should” not live on bread alone, but rather he says man “does” not live on bread alone. In quoting this verse to counter Satan, Jesus shows us the true sustaining power of the Word of the Lord. Jesus knew he would not die in the wilderness and trusted in the Father and his Word for sustenance. We also see in Scripture that Jesus himself “upholds the universe by the Word of his power”.20 So like the Israelites and Jesus in the wilderness, we are also sustained by the Word of the Lord. The Word should be like food to us, keeping us going in times of trial and temptation, and filling us first before we go to fill other people. If we are not sustained by the Word then we go hungry, and our actions will be equally empty.

Probably the greatest example in Scripture in which the Gospel transformed a city is found in Acts 19. In only 3 short years the entire socioeconomic system in Ephesus shifted as Paul proclaimed the Word of God. The Spirit transformed the people in the city in a way that those who were profiting off of selling idols and magic books, cheating, stealing and exploiting could no longer make money in those sinful ways.21 There was no longer anyone to buy from them because the Word of God had so transformed the hearts and lives of people in the city. Within this short period of time, a number of those who practiced magic art burned their books. The value of 50 thousand pieces of silver would come out to about fifty thousand days’ wages for an average worker!22 Within three years of the gospel first entering the pagan city of Ephesus, all the residents of Asia had heard the good news.23 Those of other religions even saw and acknowledge the power of God.24 The city of Ephesus was turned upside-down because of the proclamation of God’s Word! In this example from the Bible, we see  “God’s Word working through God’s Spirit which is God’s primary instrument for growing God’s Church.” 25

Paul also tells us in Romans 12:2 that we should “not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind”. Transformation isn’t something that happens by trying harder or being focused on our actions. God transforms us after he first speaks to us and renews our mind through what we know of him in his Word. All of our actions come after God speaks. This Word that has the power to transform us also has the same power to transform our city. The people of Peterborough need to be won to God’s Word, not to an empty religion of good works. They need to be renewed in their minds and transformed by the Gospel before any true and lasting social transformation can take place in our city. All of our efforts to transform this city should be based in proclaiming and obeying the Word of the Lord. We should then have great hope for our city, because we know that the Word is powerfully able to save and transform!

Ethan, I hope I have helped you to see that first and foremost, “God’s people listen to God’s Word.”26 Gods Word is God speaking to us. Everything we do is guided by the bible; everything good is a result of the truth of the Word being used by the Holy Spirit to change our lives so that we look more like Jesus. The Bible alone teaches us what we need to know about God, how to come into relationship with him, who Jesus is, what he has done for us. Therefore, the Word of God must be central to the people of God. I encourage you to read the Bible. See how the Word creates, sustains and transforms. Get into it, meditate upon it; memorize, study, share, and apply it. Allow it to create in you good works, let it sustain you, and let it transform you. Let us be people who love our neighbour and who long to see the city of Peterborough transformed, not despite the Bible, but because of the Bible! I love you and so excited to be on this journey with you!

Your Brother in Christ,
Chance Faulkner
1 Mark Dever, 9 Marks of A Healthy Church (43), Genesis 1:1 2 The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. 2001(Genesis 1:3, 1:6, 1:9, 1.11, 1:14, 1:20, 1:24) 3 Jonathan Leeman, Reverberation (51) 4 Jonathan Leeman, Reverberation (48) 5 Jonathan Leeman, Reverberation (52) 6 Joshua 24.2 7 The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. 2001 (Genesis 12:1) 8 The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. 2001 ( (Genesis 35:22-26) 9 The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. 2001 (Exodus 3) 10 The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. 2001(Deuteronomy 5) 11 The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. 2001 (Jeremiah 1.4, Ezekiel 1.3, Hosea 1.1, Joel 1.1, Jonah 1.1, Micah 1.1, Zephaniah 1.1, Haggai 1.1, Zech 1.1) 12 The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. 2001 (John 1.1-13) 13  The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. 2001 (Revelation 19:13) 14 Jonathan Leeman, Reverberation (21) 15 Jonathan Leeman, Reverberation (20) 16 Jonathan Leeman, Reverberation (20) 17 Jonathan Leeman, Reverberation (21) 18The Holy Bible: New International Version 1984 (Hebrews 4:15) 19 The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. 2001 (Deut. 8:3, Luke 4:44, Matt 4:4) 20 The Holy Bible: New International Version 1984 (Hebrews 1:3) 21 The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. 2001 (Acts 19.27) 22 The IVP Bible background commentary: New Testament (Ac 19:19–20). 23 The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. 2001 (Acts 19:10) 24 The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. 2001 (Acts 19:13) 25 Jonathan Leeman, Reverberation (19) 26 Jonathan Leeman, Reverberation (31)



Wednesday, August 22, 2012

The Gospel that is Not.

This week I had the opportunity to do a guest post on www.nosuperheroes.com. It had to be edited down for the sake of space. This is the extended version of that post.

We live in a time in history where, more than ever, it seems that the life, death and resurrection of Jesus is assumed. We Christians pay so much attention to what we need to do for God and do not put nearly enough emphasis on what Jesus has already done on our behalf. Therefore, in the church today we often move beyond the gospel and turn instead to what Christian Smith has termed “Moralistic Therapeutic Deism”. In its basic form, “Moralistic Therapeutic Deism” says to try harder, be better, pick yourself up from your bootstraps, and use God as an enhancement tool towards living a better life. We prefer to see Jesus as our life coach who helps us be better people, rather than the Savior who saves wicked wretched sinners by doing something for us that we could not do for ourselves. So rather than motivating people with grace, we motivate them with works. Even if we ourselves think that we understand the gospel, when we assume that our congregations, small groups, and friends understand grace and therefore skip right past it and go straight to application, then we are still motivating them by works and not the gospel. MTD is a subtle heresy that plagues the church of Jesus Christ.

Many of us have experienced this- a church where the gospel was not taught. I have seen countless kids grow up in the church and go through youth group, hearing so many rules and commands without hearing the explicit motivation and reason behind the commands. Christianity becomes “being a good person who follows the rules”. Topical sermons are preached on money, marriage, and relationships, but Jesus is completely absent from them. This breeds Christians who try really hard to be a good person and follow all the rules. When we succeed, we become full of pride and look down upon those people who are not doing as well. But when we fail, stumble, are struck by tragedy, dominated by habitual sin, or are crushed by life’s circumstances, we become angry and bitter with God because he is not treating us fairly for our good works and giving us what we “deserve”—failing to realize that apart from Christ, what we really deserve is eternal separation and torment. So we either try even harder to be better, or we despair and give up all together. We leave the church without ever experiencing a true relationship with Christ.

Whether it is from the pulpit, from across the coffee table, or in the mirror, we must always remember and proclaim what Christ has done for sinners. When the Gospel is not explicit, we will all turn to MTD.

Those who want to motivate us solely to good works, not done in light of the gospel, are using works-driven obedience rather than grace-driven obedience. Preachers, Teachers, Mentors, Evangelists, Christians—give the people you minister the GOSPEL.

A few examples from Scripture:

In Deuteronomy, the Lord has just brought Israel out of the land of Egypt, provided for them in the wilderness, and has given the gift of the law to set them apart from all other nations and to show them how to live as God’s people. Over and over in this book, we see the repeated idea of “remember”.  The Lord does not want his people to forget where they have come from and what He has done for them. Their motivation for obeying the law comes from a remembrance of what God has done for them. When giving the Ten Commandments, God declares, “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the Land of Egypt” - reminding them first of his amazing, gracious, and saving character.  Why? So that their heart motivation is in the right spot before they ever attempt to keep his commandments.

As another example, in John 8, Jesus’ command to the women caught in adultery comes after the grace that he gives to her. He doesn’t forgive her conditionally based on her promise of better behavior, but instead her motivation for behaving better comes from the free, unmerited gift of grace that he gives her. She is not obligated to live this way so that God will love her, but she is free to live righteously because God has already loved her. (for more thoughts on John 8 read my blog (http://chancefaulkner.blogspot.ca/2011/12/only-one-who-could-have-thrown-stone.html)

Are you with me?

In Ephesians 3, Paul has a beautiful prayer for the believers. Those in the Ephesian church were mostly Gentiles, new Christians coming out of a culture where sex and sensual pleasure played a vital role in worship, including temple prostitution and cults that were violent, orgiastic and ecstatic. To consider nothing wrong was the highest form of religious devotion among them- this isthe lifestyle these people are coming out of, and probably still struggling with. If there was any church that seemed like it needed the most “behavior control”, it was these guys. Yet check out what Paul prays for them:

“For this reason I bow my knees before the Father.... that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.”
Ephesians 3:14–19

Do you see what Paul just did? He didn’t pray that they would try harder to be better people, but he instead prays that they can BELIEVE better. Only in understanding the love of Christ can we truly be motivated in our hearts to be harsh with sin and kill it.

Christian: God has done something in Christ that you could not do for yourself. While you were dead in your sin, rebellion, shame and depravity, He sought you, pursued, lived the life you did not live, died the death you should have died, and he gives you the gift that you could never earn. While you were still spitting in his face by either your lawlessness or “good works”, he died in your place for your sin. While you were unlovable, he loved you. While you were unclean, he made you clean. While you have sin, he gives you his righteousness. This is good news. This is the gospel.

So in light of this amazing, marvelous good news, what are you going to do about it?

Let’s start by preaching Christ crucified and not Moralistic Therapeutic Deism- the gospel that is not.


Friday, June 22, 2012

5 Reasons you should do Emmaus School of Biblical Studies.

I just finished participating in a nine-month intensive Bible training program at Emmaus School of Biblical Studies (ESBS) in Lake Lure, North Carolina. What an amazing, edifying, intense and life changing experience. As I reflect on my experience at ESBS, I only wish more people knew of the program and had the opportunity to learn the Bible in its totality. Hence, this is blog post purposes as two things. One my shameless plug of ESBS, and why you should not hesitate to do the program. But most importantly my praise to God for the program of Emmaus School of Biblical Studies.

The Staff.
The staff at Emmaus are Christ-exalting, Jesus-saturated, Spirit-filled, Gospel men and woman who love truth more than their own opinion or reputation. They know the bible, love the bible, apply the bible, and want to see others do likewise. They are in no way perfect nor do they pretend to be, but are humble people, quick to repent, admit when they don’t know something, and own up when they’ve messed up. They invest in the students through discipleship and want to see people live a life that brings attention to the glory of God. I have a personal relationship with all my teachers; a few of them especially have carried over into deep God-centered friendships.

The Teaching.
Not only does one learn the Bible, but also the background to the Bible. They help you get “into the shoes” of the the original reader and original audience. Furthermore, they are now offering Logos bible software included in the tuition!

In 9 months, you will have studied the Bible in it entirety and read through the Bible verse-by-verse a minimum of 5 times. (thats four more times than most professing Christians will read it in a lifetime.) There’s no tip-toeing around hard passages, but attacking them ferociously, head-on, inductively, and with humility, grace and truth.

You will have an understanding of each book as a whole (everything from authorship, dating, original readers, theology, themes and most importantly application). You will spend so much in-depth time with each book that you will start to feel a personal relationship with certain books or authors. Not only will you have an understanding of each book, but you will see clearly how each book fits in with the big picture of scripture and God’s story. You will be more confident about scripture and the Bible, who God is, what he is like and how that changes everything about your life and the way that we interact with one another. No other 4 year, let alone one year, programs can give the depth and intensity as ESBS can and will.

It is a gospel-focused community, where you learn how to live with the understanding that what Jesus has done for us is way more important that what we do for him. Good deeds are done because of God’s love for us in Christ, and not to earn His love. That’s the tone of the community, it’s the focus of the discipleship, and it permeates the culture.

The Affordability.
The staff are not paid, but are supported. Should they be? Yes. Could they be? Yes. Why don’t they? Because they want to see all men and women trained in the word, in a way that is affordable. Even if that means not being paid and raising their own support. They are not there for the money, they are there to teach the bible to those who hunger for it.

The Scenic.
Emmaus School of Biblical Studies is a branch of Camp Lurecrest ministries. It is located on the large camp property, in the mountains, on the lake. A perfect place to engage Gods word distraction free, while seeing his glory reveal in a deep appreciation of his creation.

Any one can do it.

Evan is a teacher; he did it.
Caleb is a pastor on Sabbatical who brought his family; he did it.
Rich is a bible teacher who brought his family; he did it.
Mary Austin and Heather are recent college grads; they did it.
Abigail is a message therapist; she did it.
Sean is a graduate with two masters at seminary; he did it.
Jon, Josh, and Bryson are all recently graduates from high school; they did it.
Ellen is a missionary; she did it.
Rylan and I are Canadian; we did it.

To you reading these words; you do it.




Thursday, June 14, 2012

Mary Austin; I Vow....

Mary Austin, I Understand and admit that without Jesus it is impossible for me to muster up enough strength, loving feelings or good intentions to fulfill my biblical role and calling in marriage but In light of who Jesus is and what he has done, and by the empowerment of the Holy Spirit.

I VOW to Love you unconditionally as Jesus has loved the church unconditionally and died for her. I VOW to ferociously pursue your heart, mind and affection as Jesus has ferociously pursued his bride the church. I VOW to serve you relentlessly, despite how you are treating me, or what I am getting out of it. Just as Jesus served the church relentlessly despite what he was getting out of it. I VOW to not to be the hero but point you and our family continually and relentlessly back to the good news of what Jesus has done. I VOW to die to myself and spend myself on you and our family just as Jesus died for and spent himself on the church. I VOW to have thick skin and a soft heart. Thick skin to handle life, and a soft heart to love you well. I VOW to be Tough and Tender. I VOW to invest myself in you with my time, emotions and affection. I VOW to love you and commit myself to you marriage, solely for a lifetime, regardless of circumstance situation or feelings. I will never leave you. I Love you.

Chance Faulkner

Saturday, May 5, 2012

Pride of Haman/ Humility of Jesus.

In the book of Esther, we see a clear picture of how pride plays out in the life a the man Haman. I could not help but to notice the contrast we see In the New testament of Haman’s Character to Jesus. Haman is sold out to power, where Jesus is sold out to weakness. Haman is sold out to hatred to the point of taking the lives his enemies(the Jews) Jesus is sold out to love, where he will lay down his life for his enemies. Haman’s life is motivated by self and pride and but Jesus’ life is motivated by humility

Haman represents a man sold out for power. His boast is his wealth and his public elevation above the other nobles and furious when Mordecai refuses to bow down to him. So furious that he plots to have him murdered (5.11). It is not enough for him to be rich and powerful; but he must be richer and more powerful than others. Later in the story, He is in high spirits because only the king and he have been invited to Esther’s banquet (5.9,12). Jesus is the God-man sold out to weakness. His boast is in the father (John 13.31, Luke 22.42, John 5.43 ) and though he is fully God, he chose to humbly incarnate himself, take on human flesh and die a sinners death. (Philippians 2.1-11)

Haman represents a man sold out to hatred of his enemies. All of his strengths and advantages, by his own admission, mean nothing to him when he thinks of Mordecai, “that Jew” (5.13) The only thing that can restore his happiness is the prospect of Mordecai’s death (5.14) Here is self-love, the heart of all sin, at its social worst: unrestrained, it vows that it will be first and wants the death of all who stand in the way of fulfilling that vow.Jesus is the God-man who is sold out to love of his enemies. He considers all of his strengths and rights as nothing, but rather steps down from his throne and lays his life down for those who hate him. While Gods children are still in their sin and rebellion, Jesus dies as their substitutionary atonement(2 Corinthians 5.21, Hebrews 9:14), ransom (Matthew 20:28, Mark 10:45, 1 Timothy 2:6, 1 Peter 1:18, Revelation 5:9), propitiation (Romans 3:25, Hebrews 2:17, 1 John 2:2, 1 John 4:10)  and justification before God. Though he deserved to be served, he served. Though he deserved to be given to, he gave. Though he deserved life, he chose death.

At the very root of Haman’s heart and motivation is pride.  He choses to to worship creation (himself) as God rather than God himself. But At the very root of Jesus’ heart is humility. Though he was God and had every right to worship himself, chose to lay down his rights and live a life glorifying to the father,

God Sovereignly delivers and rescues his people.

In the book of Esther, we see that God Sovereignly delivers and rescues his people. Although the book does does not name God directly/explicitly, the the author nonetheless expects his intended readers to see God at work at every turn in the story. The book of Esther strongly supports and illustrates the doctrine of divine providence, as it is operated at a particular time of danger to the Jewish people who lived in a bleak moment under the Persian empire. Like the test of scripture, God is preserving them for the future gift of the Jesus; their Messiah. At first the events can seem coincidental, but as the story progresses it becomes clearly that only by with ordinance and provision of God could things work out as they do.

The Story starts with the deposal of Queen Vashti and the replacement of Esther as queen(2.17-18). Esther is a Jew but by the advice from Mordecai, keeps her origin quiet. Their actions in this matter are not without their ethical flaws, but God uses the circumstance; Esther’s beauty, her keeping her origins quiet, and her questionable ethics as a means to save Gods people from extermination preserving them for the coming Messiah.

The story continues to where Mordecai uses Esther’s position as his way of warning the king about an assassination (2.19-23) Not only is Mordecai’s being in the right place at the right time save the king, but later in the story saves Mordecai himself from murder by the prideful, Jew hating Haman. The very night Haman is going to murder Mordecai, the king can not sleep and has the book of the kings read to him, in which the story of Mordecai saving the king is read. (6.1.10-11) He is therefore elevated above Haman and saved from  him.

Furthermore, Esther’s position of favor to the  to the king is also another example of Gods Providence and Sovereignty. Mordecai’s question, ‘And who knows but that you have come to royal position for such a time as this?’(4:14), posed at the moment of crisis, leads the original reader (and us) to expect Esther outcome to be successful, because we have already seen the providence of God at work in her selection as queen, at work in Mordecai’s protection and it is confirmed when the king extended his scepter to Esther and receives her request. King Xerxes was a selfish, harsh man with a bad temper. Even as queen, her request could have likely got her killed (4.11).  But God finishes what he starts and is sovereign even over wicked, pagan kings. He grants her favor with the King and the Edict is reversed, thus saving not only Esther and the Jews, but the true and better King; King Jesus.

The book of Esther is an amazing picture of the God in which we serve. He is a big God who has sovereignty over all people, in all places all times. In his nature and character he is able to Save. The Rescue mission that he started in Genesis 3.15, he continue to faithfully fulfill through all history and accomplishes on the cross of Christ.

Saturday, March 17, 2012

Faithful God, Unfaithful people.

Hosea is the last prophet to prophesy to the Northern kingdom before their fall and exile  to Assyria in 722 BC. His ministry followed a golden age in the, with peace and prosperity not seen since the days of Solomon.  The rich and powerful got richer and more powerful at the expense of the poor and vulnerable. All the prophets addressed this situation but Hosea concentrated on their unfaithfulness to God in their idolatry. Israel has forsaking the one true God and has whored to worship Idols.  In this amazing book we see the most harsh and stark pictures of sin, human depravity, and the state of the human heart that I have yet to find in the O.T. We see sin and unfaithfulness from Gods perspective and we see it personified in the life of a man.

God instructed Hosea to marry a wife of whoredom (prostitute) whose unfaithfulness to her husband would serve as an example of Israel’s unfaithfulness to God.1 A prostitute was one who accepted money for the performance of sex and prostitutes in general were considered an underclass.  Priests could not marry harlots2, Israelites should not make their daughters harlots3, and a priest’s daughter who became a harlot should be burned4. Like the death of children in battle, the turning of wives into harlots was considered a tragedy of destruction.5

He marries Gomer, and she bears three children. (one of them was probably not even his own.6)  Each one of the children’s names speak of prophecies of the Lord’s future judgment: Jezreel- the place where Jehu’s sword ended the dynasty of Omri (2 Ki. 9:23–10:17), ‘Lo-ruhama’ which means ‘Not pitied’ or ‘no mercy’ and ‘Lo-ammi’ which means ‘Not my people’7. The picture of the state of Israel’s position before the Lord.

After some time, Gomer eventually leaves Hosea to return to the whoring life that comes most easily to her8. She has found herself herself forsaken, enslaved9, worn and in many ways no longer attractive to Hosea. She is damaged goods. She is an adulteress and according to the law she deserves death.10 or at the very least to be divorce11. But Hosea does something radical, scandalous and shocking. Instead of leaving her, stoning her waiting for her, or giving up on her; he pursues, finds her her and ransoms her from her enslavement. He redeems her. Gomer is bought back by the husband she had deserted. He does it for the purpose of restoring her back to her place as wife. Despite her sin against him, the lack of affection and appreciation from her, while she is still in her sin, he pursues her and makes her his again.

The story is not told explicitly, for the point is not to interest us with human romance and heart-break but to demonstrate the consistency and depth of God’s love for his people. A love that tolerates no rivals. A love that is shocking, scandalous, stubborn, ruthless, and messy.

In his love, mercy, grace and kindness. He gives them a glimpse of a brighter future. In Christ, God has done something for: whores12, prostitutes13, tax collectors14, and sinners15  self-righteous Pharisees16 , that they could no do for themselves. God has sent Jesus as Savior17, Substitute18 Ransom19  and Propitiation20 Those who have not received mercy will receive mercy, and those who are not his people, will become would become ‘Sons of the living God’21

Our sin is deeper than we could ever fear but his grace is deeper than we could ever imagine, hope or dream.. He takes dead people and makes them alive.
This is the Gospel.


1 Hosea 1:2 , 2 Lev. 21:7, 3 Lev. 19:29, 4 Lev. 21:9, 5Amos 7:17, 6 Hosea 1:9, 7 Hosea 1:4-9, 8 Hosea 2.5, 9 Hosea 3:2, 10 Leviticus 20:10, Deuteronomy 22:22, 11 Deuteronomy 24:1, Matthew 5:32, Matthew 19:19, 12 Hosea 2:5, 3:3, 4:10, 4:12, 4.13, 4.15, 5.3, 9:1, 13 Matthew 21:32, Heb 11:31, 14 Matthew 9:10, 11:19, 21:31, 21:32, Mark 2:15, 2:16, Luke 3:12, 5:27, 19:2, 15 Matthew 9:10, 9:11, 9:13, Mark 2:15, Luke 5.30, 10:45,16 Gal 1.14, Acts 26.517 Luke 2.11, Jn 4.42, Acts 5.31, Acts 13.23, Ephesians 5.23, Php 3.20. 1 Tim 1.1, 1 Tim 4.10, 2 Tim 1.10, Titus 1.3,Titus 2,10, Titus 2.13, Titus 3.6, 2 Peter 1.11, 2 Peter 2.20,2 Peter 3.2, 2 Peter 3.18, 1 Jn 4.14, Jude 1.25, 18 2 Corinthians 5.21, Hebrews 9:14, 19 Matthew 20:28, Mark 10:45, 1 Timothy 2:6, 1 Peter 1:18, Revelation 5:9, 20 Romans 3:25, Hebrews 2:17, 1 John 2:2, 1 John 4:10, 21 Hosea 1:10, Romans 9:26

Wednesday, February 15, 2012

Sin and Rebellion leads to pain and defeat. Jesus is the true deliverer.

Joshua, a great leader has just led the people of God to the promise land and they are starting to come into the nation, Joshua led with courage and then he died. He wanted the people to drive out the enemy completely. The enemies of God are those people who worshiped other gods. But instead of being drastic with sin, instead of being drastic with idolatry, they make room for it, they embrace it, they become friends with it and for the next few hundred years throughout the book of judges that continues to plague them.We see this pattern where the people turn their backs on God, to worship other gods and idols. (Judges 2.11, 3.7, 3.12, 4.1, 6.1, 10.6, 13.1)  So God lets them Go in their own way and they are given over to captivity.Then we see this pattern where they would cry out to God, God would feel moved to pity by their groaning, and would send a judge: someone who liberates the oppressed, someone who brings freedom from captivity. This cycle continues through the entire book of Judges and when  the judge died the Israelite's would get worse then when they started.

He simply reminds them what once again been forgotten what had once again been discarded.He reminds them that he was the one who brought them from egypt and delivered them from slavery of the egyptians. He was the one who delivered and led them into promise land. He was the cloud by day, pillar of fire by night. He was the one who chose, protected , provided, and loved loved them.Blood was shed for them and now they are flirting with other men (gods). He is their husband and they have walked away from him. He is a jealous God and will not embrace tolerance for other gods.
They continue to cry out to him because of their affliction and their oppression but the main problem isn't the oppression, but baalism. The solution should not be to get rid of their oppression The solution to get the heart right. Their heart is depraved and they are desperately in need of a new one. The physical oppression and captivity is only a shadow and symbol of their spiritual oppression and slavery. The Physical judges are just a shadow of a better one. They were not Israels saviors and could not bring ultimate peace. They are unworthy sinners who fall short. God sends them as a sign that he will bring peace, by his mercy and grace, to people who did not deserve it.

Israel is longing for justice that only God can bring.The only way to bring an end to hostility and enmity in the world is to bring an end to the source of hostility and enmity, namely, sin. Ultimate peace found in Jesus, not sinful, human, judges. Humanity can not live in right relationship with God. Our hearts would never choose him. This is creating a longing for someone else, some great, someone true. Jesus.While we are still in our sin, and rebellion. God sends a deliverer. His name is Jesus. We deserve punishment, we deserve oppression, we deserve hell and we’ve turned our backs from him and have run away. We chose to become enemies.

BUT
God is loving and compassionate and sends someone to intervene for us. He sends himself. Jesus lives perfectly, we kill him, and he rises again sending his spirit to live inside of us, given us a new and regenerated heart, so that we can and will obey and live in right relationship with him.  The atonement brought us peace. There is a cost to sin and rebellion and that is the loss of peace and only God can give and be our peace.

He is the true deliverer who does it perfectly, he is the true deliverer that we long and await.On the cross he crushes sin, satan death and hell. He is the lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world making peace by his blood.  Jesus is the true sacrifice. Because of His sacrifice on your behalf, God has given you infinite favor, you are at peace with God. He took your punishment, and gave you his righteousness. They longed for peace and One day in the full presence of Jesus peace will be complete.
A friend and mentor of mine says "you have real potential... to screw your life up" and I think he is right. Christian, remember Christ and what he has done. Believe his finished work and your identity in him and let that motivate and fuel you to godliness. Don't forget it. Write it down. Remember it. Receive it. Embrace it, and Preach it to yourself daily.

Sin is deep, His grace is Deeper.

Tuesday, January 17, 2012

How wretched I am!

Exodus paints an amazing portrait of Gods nature and Character. It reminds humanity of how deep our sin is. It also reminds us how deep His grace is.

“And Moses said to the people, “Fear not, stand firm, and see the salvation of the Lord, which he will work for you today. For the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall never see again. 14 The Lord will fight for you, and you have only to be silent.”

God does something for the Israelite's, that the Israelite's could not do for themselves. He delivers them from the bondage of the Egyptians, and makes for himself his own people in which he can have relationship with. He takes a bunch of stubborn, stiff necked slaves, and makes them sons in daughters. This Only a shadow pointing to what he is going to do thousands of years down the road in Jesus. In Exodus, God does something for his people that his people could not do for themselves; he delivers them from the bondage of slavery. But By the Gospel,God has done something in Christ that we could not do for ourselves. He has delivered wicked sinners from the bondage of sin(the true Pharaoh). He has done it. He has fought for us, he has won. It is finished.


This is amazing.God has truly done something for me that I could never do myself. In Christ, he has saved me. In Christ he has conquered sin, satan, death and hell. In Christ he has given me his righteousness, and taken my sin, shame and condemnation. He did it, Despite me.
Despite my failures, despite my success,despite my past, and despite my future. He has done it by his unmerited, electing, unconditional, and gracious love. Yet still I love sin more than I love him, still I love my pride and selfishness more than I love him, Still I love my glory more than I love his. How wretched I am! How flawed I am, and How dependent I am on his promise to finish what he completed, how dependent I am for him to change me, regenerate me, sanctify me.

Jesus is the true and better Passover lamb who by faith in his word, we are covered by his blood and the angel of death passes over us.
Jesus is the true and better Moses who stands in the gap between the people and the Lord and who mediates a new covenant
Jesus is the true and better rock of Moses, who by the striking of his body, came life to all who drank.
Jesus is the angel of God who stands between us and sin.
Jesus is the true and better veil, mercy seat, lamp stand, ark of the covenant...
If you read Exodus and do not see Jesus, read it again for you are not reading it correctly.

Tuesday, January 10, 2012

Genesis: the book of beginnings.

It is the beginning of the story of God. In the Story we see God as creator, and man as fallen creation. Through Adams sin of ommison and failing to lead well, relationship with God, and each other is broken. Man turned his back on God and wanted to be worshipped as creator rather than to worship as Creation. He chose the path of sin, satan, death and hell. God could have accepted it, and been completely content in fellowship with the Trinity(1.26,33.22. 11.7) but the story does not end there. As much as he is Holy, and Just, He is also compassionate, merciful, and gracious towards his children. He makes them a promise. God will send a man(Jesus), from whom all nations will be blessed(Gen12.2) and who Satan will physically harm, but he will ultimately crush. Through out the rest of the book we see the continual failures and short comings of his people. We see the depravity and wickedness of man. And we see that sin is deep but Gods grace is deeper.

Jesus is everywhere in Genesis and I look forward to studying the rest of the Old Testament and seeing the amazing portrait of who he is.