Christ Above All

In just four days Americans will enter the voting booth and this dizzying and sometimes exacerbating Presidential election will finally come to an end. It has been a campaign season like no other. Unfortunately, it has created deep divides even within the church.

But no matter what the results are or how debated they might become, our relationships must stay intact—both with our fellow believers and with unbelievers. We must not burn bridges as a result of the contentious spirit of this election and the disdain the majority has with both major party candidates. Strong respectful debate is good and is to be encouraged. It sharpens our understanding of what is important. But the simple truth is that when the dust settles in America the greater work for the kingdom of God must and will go on.

For this we need each other in the body of Christ. For this we need a platform from which we can still speak with our neighbor. For this we need a commitment to godly relationships that will last beyond this and any election.

There is much at stake in this election. There is great concern for the future of the Supreme Court and rightly so. But maintaining the capacity to work together for the gospel and the opportunity to preach the gospel is of even greater concern. This is also at stake in this election, though not in the voting booth, but in the manner in which we conduct ourselves towards others.

We may feel frustration that we cannot affect the direction of our culture as much as we wish and that our vote often feels like a drop in the bucket when it comes to the national election. But there is one thing we are fully in control of and responsible for—our attitude. So as this temporary earthly election cycle comes to an end, like many before it and many to follow, I encourage you to reflect on how you have conducted yourself and will conduct yourself both in speech and in deed. Your reputation and that of the gospel of Christ will last way beyond Tuesday, November 8.

These are the priorities of the citizens of a greater and everlasting kingdom. And it is these priorities that should ultimately shape our conduct and vision. Our primary responsibility is to demonstrate our allegiance to Christ’s Lordship and kingdom not any political party or cause. Whatever is at stake in America—remember—eternity is at stake in the gospel. Recall also that the saints who have gone before us endured hardship for the sake of the gospel by “looking forward to the city that has foundations, whose designer and builder is God” (Heb. 11:10).

Paul said, “Walk in wisdom toward outsiders, making the best use of the time. Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person” (Col. 4:6).

The Heart of Prayer
Prayer is a dialogue with God that reveals what matters to us the most. You could discover a person’s chief ambitions, anxieties, fears and hopes if you could listen in on their prayers. One could quickly identify whether a person’s heart is consumed primarily with immediate personal matters or the far reaching material and spiritual needs of others. Prayer is a window into the heart.

Listen in on the hearts of three significant biblical individuals below. What burdens their hearts? What do they seek on behalf of others? What can we learn from them?

Listen to the heart of the prophet Daniel: “To us, O Lord, belongs open shame, to our kings, to our princes, and to our fathers, because we have sinned against you. To the Lord our God belong mercy and forgiveness, for we have rebelled against him and have not obeyed the voice of the Lord our God by walking in his laws, which he set before us by his servants the prophets” (Daniel 9:8–10).

“Now therefore, O our God, listen to the prayer of your servant and to his pleas for mercy, and for your own sake, O Lord, make your face to shine upon your sanctuary, which is desolate. O my God, incline your ear and hear. Open your eyes and see our desolations, and the city that is called by your name. For we do not present our pleas before you because of our righteousness, but because of your great mercy. O Lord, hear; O Lord, forgive. O Lord, pay attention and act. Delay not, for your own sake, O my God, because your city and your people are called by your name” (Daniel 9:17–19).

Listen to the heart of the apostle Paul: “For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named,
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).

Listen to the heart of our Lord Jesus: “I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me. The glory that you have given me I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one, I in them and you in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that you sent me and loved them even as you loved me” (John 17:20–23).

What strikes me about these prayers is how God-centered and others-directed the prayers are. There is a profound desire for God to be honored and glorified coupled with a deep concern for the spiritual well-being of the people of God.

In our congregation we enter into a partnership each fall to pray and fast independently yet bound together for the sake of our local church and beyond. Each week I send out specific long-term and near-term prayer requests and Scripture verses to motivate our prayer life. I’m asking the Lord this year to give me a heart that burns with the same motivations and passions as above.

Why does it seem odd to us or feel like somewhat of a failure when our plans don’t work out exactly as we intended? Are sudden unexpected changes of direction a mark of failed planning or a basic element of life in a fallen, yet God-directed world? The Scriptures clearly teach as much.

“The mind of man plans his way, but the LORD directs his steps” (Prov. 16:9).

“Many plans are in a man’s heart, but the counsel of the LORD will stand” (Prov. 19:21).

We do well to remember a change of direction is not evidence that God has lost control, it is evidence that God is in control! We have many plans but only the counsel of the Lord will stand. Do we always plan exactly what the Lord intends to bring about? No! We live in a world in which God is the Sovereign architect of our lives and not the other way around. Often when our purposes seemed as clearly fixed and soon to be accomplished as a five-minute drive to the grocery store, the Divine Architect sends some obstruction, some unexpected difficulty that sends us in another direction—His direction. And His direction is always the best.

Consider that Paul was turned aside from a wide field of labor to preach in a prison cell. How could this serve the purposes of God? Oh what letters were written in those prison cells!

When David obediently traveled to visit his brothers at his father’s request, little did he realize what great test of his faith lied ahead in the form of an individual named Goliath. But what good came to many from that representative victory which resulted from the test of his faith! This one event was used in a very personal and direct way to prepare David for His calling as King. It was also instrumental as a means of instilling faith in the people of God.

Contemplate also the thirteen years Joseph experienced in slavery and imprisonment. Surely this must have felt like a useless and painful change of direction but it was the doorway to becoming Pharaoh’s right hand man and God’s instrument for saving Joseph’s people from starvation and maintaining the promised line (Gen. 50:20).

Christian recording artist Phil Keaggy adapted a line from C. S. Lewis in one of his songs entitled “Disappointment” that often comes to mind when I suddenly face an unexpected turn in the road. I think it’s worth remembering:

Disappointment – His appointment,
Change one letter, then I see
That the thwarting of my purpose
Is God’s better choice for me.

This last month our congregation was shocked and disturbed by very difficult news regarding one of our own ministry leaders. This was truly a sudden and painfully unexpected turn if there ever was one. It would be yet another setback in the formation of a leadership and staff infrastructure that could meet the needs of our growing flock.

But sudden providential changes often issue in fruit we would have never harvested otherwise. Sometimes these quick alterations are Fatherly discipline designed to wean us from our own devices, sins or ruts, that we may seek the Lord’s direction and rely upon His help more diligently. I believe , in our case, we have already begun to taste some of the first fruits.

All of these changes may seem sudden and I must admit this is not the way I had planned or envisioned it. But with unreserved confidence I once again yield to our Heavenly Architect. He knows the whole way—every step of the way. He alone knows the “end from the beginning.”

Do you have any plans for the balance of 2016? Sure you do. You might encounter a sudden and unforeseen change of direction. The God who fashions the hearts of all men means for your life, as well as our churches, to display His truth and worth. Often this comes about through the refinement of our faith that takes place through God-sent sudden changes in direction. Plans that become thwarted may be harbingers of better things. Great letters came from prison cells. In the end, I believe we will all confess that these unexpected difficulties “turned out for the furtherance of the gospel.”

In closing I offer you all the lyrics of “Disappointment” for your reflection.

Disappointment – His appointment,
Change one letter, then I see
That the thwarting of my purpose
Is God’s better choice for me.

His appointment must be blessing
Though it may come in disguise
For the end from the beginning,
Open to His wisdom lies.

Disappointment – His appointment
Whose? The Lord’s who loves best.
Understands and knows me fully,
Who my faith and love would test.

For like loving, earthy parent
He rejoices when He knows
That His child accepts unquestioned
All that from His wisdom flows.

Disappointment – His appointment
No good thing will he withhold
From denials oft we gather
Treasures from His love untold.

Well, He knows each broken purpose
Leads to fuller deeper trust
And the end of all His dealings
Proves our God is wise and just.

Disappointment – His appointment
Lord I take it then as such,
Like the clay in hands of potter
Yielding wholly to Thy touch

All my life’s plan is Thy molding
Not one single choice be mine
Let me answer unrepining,
Father not my will but Thine.

Last Sunday we considered the sympathy of Jesus our High Priest. The author of Hebrews states, “because he himself has suffered when tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted” (Heb. 2:18). Specifically, the temptation for which He helps us is the temptation to move away from a faithful commitment to Jesus as Lord, which is what the readers of this epistle were experiencing.

But in what way was Jesus tempted? Christ was tempted to avoid the suffering appointed for Him as our High Priest and sacrifice. Does this “temptation” of Christ imply anything unholy or sinful about Jesus? Hebrews would deny this for the author states later in chapter 4 that He was tempted like us, yet “without sin.” This temptation did not arise from a sinful heart  for Jesus does not share this aspect of our nature (Rom. 8:3). To drive this point home I briefly quoted Geerhardus Vos and made mention that I would post the entire paragraph.

You will find it below. It comes from a chapter on the Priesthood of Christ in Hebrews in his work entitled “Redemptive History and Biblical Interpretation.”

“We are now able… to answer the questions… concerning the temptations, the sufferings, the sympathy and the perfecting of the Savior. Wherever the Epistle speaks of temptations of Christ, it always means to refer concretely and specifically to the temptations that arose from His call to suffer. Of temptations in general it never speaks in connection with Jesus. In thus doing it limits the sphere of the Savior’s temptations to that class of experiences wherein a real appeal to His feelings and desires was possible, and yet the mere presence and force of such an appeal could not endanger His sinlessness. For the inclination to escape from suffering, which made the temptation a real one, is in itself a natural, innocent inclination. It could assert itself in the Savior’s heart and require a positive choice of the will to overbear it and keep it down, without depending for its power on the presence of evil.”

While I found Vos helpful in understanding the temptation spoken of in Hebrews 2:18, I look forward to seeing if his point holds up when carefully examining what is meant in chapter 4:15 –

“For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin.”

Until then, let’s remember He loves us and is willing to lay hold of us with His grace at any moment.

“Stand at the crossroads and look;

Ask for the ancient paths,

Ask where the good way is, and walk in it,

and you will find rest for your souls.

But you said, ‘We will not walk in it.”

(Jer. 6:16 – NIV)

This is the third and final post in a three-part series responding to the fact that some evangelicals are discarding belief that the Bible defines homosexual activity as sin. Each post is a review and amplification of a major point of the sermon “How is the Gospel at Stake in Same-Sex Marriage?” (July 12, 2015).

The third and final point below follows a brief review of the first two affirmations seeking to demonstrate that the gospel is indeed at stake in this current discussion.

The gospel is at stake because the gospel calls for repentance as well as faith.

The simple fact of the matter is if homosexuality is not deemed sin; there is no repentance and if there is no repentance of sin, there is no salvation. Both Jesus and the apostles preached the necessity of repentance and faith as essential components of genuine conversion (our human response to the gospel call). That homosexuality is considered sin from which true believers must and will repent (not necessarily only once) is seen in various scriptures (1 Cor 6:9-11; Eph. 5:5-6; Jude 7).

The gospel is at stake because the gospel is publically portrayed in biblical marriage. Marriage has several purposes. One purpose of marriage is procreation. Procreation is the product of the consummation of a marriage – the union of two complimentary image bearers, brought together, to be fruitful and procreate. This cannot be done in same-sex marriage.

In addition, marriage also portrays the intimacy of our union with Christ. This is made evident in Paul’s letter to the Ephesian church (Eph. 5:22-32). Within the union of a man and woman there are specific roles and gifts that are not arbitrary. Human marriage is a God-ordained picture in miniature of the relationship between Christ and His Church.

Married couples are not simply partners in the Bible – they are husband and wife. They are two complementary image bearers fulfilling different roles, reflecting different spiritual truths: husband and wife, head and body, Christ and church. All of this imagery is gone when we set aside the reality of gender differences as a gift of God’s creation order.

The gospel is at stake because the gospel is founded upon biblical authority. The gospel is at stake because it is in the scriptures and if you can dismiss the sinfulness of homosexuality in your reading of the scriptures then you can dismiss just about anything. You have in essence given up biblical authority.

It’s amazing to me, as I’ve read some of the contemporary books and blogs making a plea for gay evangelicals, to watch the exegetical linguistic gymnastics used by some to say the Bible not only does not speak against homosexual activity but also actually affirms them. The dishonesty of this argument boggles the mind.

This argument is understandable coming from those individuals and movements that have never affirmed the inspiration, authority, clarity and inerrancy of Holy Scripture. What the bible means by what it says has always been open to a slew of contradictory interpretations to this camp. But what is disturbing is to hear this line of argumentation blindly adopted by those who claim to be evangelicals. To claim this is simply intellectually dishonest.

As an example of intellectual honesty from someone who does not hold the traditional view I offered the writings of William Loader. He is a member of the “Uniting Church of Australia” and has done extensive research on sexuality in Jewish and early Christian literature. In his book “Sexuality and the New Testament” he states, (in regards to homosexual activity as seen by the New Testament) it is…

“A particularly crass instance of what happens when people turn away from the true God, for they also lose touch with their own reality and engage in unnatural sex.”

This is not Loader’s opinion. What Loader is arguing is that this is what Paul and the bible is saying. He does not agree with it but he is intellectually honest enough to say that this is precisely what the bible means by what it says. Furthermore, he goes on to explain that, like other Jews, Paul bases this judgment on what “biblical law prohibits” (Leviticus) and goes on to provide a range of supporting arguments which include understanding what is natural in terms of how God created things, a strong disapproval of excessive sexual passion, and the shamefulness of men taking women’s roles and women usurping men’s.

William Loader says in essence, “I’m for gay marriage but, I’ve studied the Bible, and I can tell you this, you can’t by any stretch of the imagination tell me that the Bible actually supports that.” And yet, we find self-proclaimed evangelicals trying to find a way to make the scriptures fit the times. Is there no integrity?

I do not have the space in this brief post to review the principles of hermeneutics (the science and art of biblical interpretation) that are ignored when arriving at the conclusion that the bible actually supports homosexual marriage. But when various long established principles of biblical interpretation held by evangelicals since the Protestant Reformation are violated, ignored or simply thrown out the window to arrive at such conclusion one has undermined not only an ethic but the very authority of scripture which is the basis of the Christian life and all doctrine. If you are ready to dismiss the sinfulness of homosexual acts on the reading of the Bible, then when and where will it stop? What else will be dismissed? Who gets to pick and choose and on what basis? This is a slippery slope of massive proportions.

I can only echo the words of Paul again, “Be not deceived by empty words.” “If you practice these things you have no inheritance in the kingdom of God.” This is a matter of eternal significance. Don’t let the winds of modern culture blow you wherever they’re blowing. Stay on the ancient paths.

[One final pastoral note: If this question of what exactly does the bible say about homosexuality and how are we to interpret it is of interest to you I encourage you to read “What Does the Bible Really Teach about Homosexuality?” by Kevin DeYoung.]

“Stand at the crossroads and look;

Ask for the ancient paths,

Ask where the good way is, and walk in it,

and you will find rest for your souls.

But you said, ‘We will not walk in it.”

(Jer. 6:16 – NIV)

My last post was first in a series of posts addressing the fact that some evangelicals are discarding belief that the Bible defines homosexual activity as sin. This became more widespread shortly after the Supreme Court’s ruling on same-sex marriage. Each of these posts simply distills a major point of the sermon “How is the Gospel at Stake in Same-Sex Marriage?” (July 12, 2015).

The Gospel is at Stake Because The Gospel is Publically Portrayed in Biblical Marriage

What is marriage, biblically speaking? Marriage is a good gift designed and given by our Creator God (Gen. 2-3). It is a covenant between one man and one woman and God. This institution predates any human government and is the result of God’s actions and revelation (explaining His actions) and not a social construct. In this covenant the two become one flesh in consummation of the marriage. God created man in His own image; male and female He created them. He then brought the woman to the man. What follows this foundational moment is a divine pronouncement:

“Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh” (Gen. 2:24; Eph. 5:31)

Marriage has several purposes. One purpose of marriage is procreation. “And God blessed them. And God said to them, ‘Be fruitful and multiply.’” Procreation is the product (if God so blesses) of the consummation of a marriage – the union of two complimentary image bearers, brought together, to be fruitful, to multiply, to recreate, if you would, even as God created them to produce another. This cannot be done in same-sex marriage.

In addition, and more to our point, marriage is not only the context for our sexuality to be enjoyed and to procreate, but it also portrays the intimacy of our union with Christ. This is made evident in Paul’s letter to the Ephesian church. Following his quotation of Genesis 2:24 above, the apostle then states:

“Now this mystery is profound, and I’m saying that it refers to Christ and the church.” (Eph. 5:32).

A mystery, in Paul’s writing, does not refer to something strange or beyond understanding. Rather, it refers to something previously not understood that has now been revealed; the Gentile~Jewish church, for example. What makes this mystery of marriage so profound is the knowledge that, the union between Christ and church is really the original model, and the marriage of a man and woman is a copy. That’s the mystery, that all along it was a copy of an ultimate reality, not simply a functional necessity. The ultimate reality and the only permanent marriage lasting into eternity is our profound and unbreakable spiritual union with Jesus Christ.

Within the union of a man and woman there are specific roles and gifts that are not arbitrary. They are not roles conjured up by Paul, Moses or any other human society. God in Holy Scripture has revealed the purpose of each role. God doesn’t do things willy-nilly. Everything has purpose and meaning and often represents a spiritual reality. In this case, human marriage is a picture in miniature of the relationship between Christ and His Church.

There are many implications to this that the church would do well to consider and reflect upon in terms of our own community before we go and try to fix fallen people outside. This is what makes adultery so abhorrent: because it lies about the covenant faithfulness of Christ to His beloved bride. This is what makes pre-marital sex so abhorrent: because it wants and demands part of what marriage represents (spiritual union), without the complete picture of the covenant commitment and loyalty of Christ in His beloved.

And this is what makes so-called same-sex marriage so abhorrent: because it lies about the reality of roles in the covenant that are rooted in the gift of gender in the creation of God – male and female.

Married couples are not simply partners in the Bible – they are husband and wife. They are two complementary image bearers fulfilling different roles, reflecting different spiritual truths: husband and wife, head and body, Christ and church. And this is what’s lost in the attempt to unite people of the same sex. Regardless of whether it is legal in any society or any nation at any time.

We’re not talking about the legality of same-sex unions. We are talking about what some are promoting within the church. The attempt to redefine marriage, within the church, as including same-sex partners is a gross distortion. Gone is the picture of Christ’s loving and sacrificial headship and authority over the church. Gone is the picture of the church’s humble submission to Christ as lord. Gone is the picture of the gospel imagery of our union with Christ. Gone is the picture of Christ’s headship seeking us, wooing us, laying down His life in order to sanctify us and bring us into a spiritual union with Him. All of that is gone when we set aside the reality of gender differences as a gift of God’s creation order.

Be assured, the gospel is at stake in same-sex marriage when all this is lost. But I hasten to add; it is also at stake in our sins of adultery and fornication within the church. It is hard to talk to outsiders when our own house is a mess. So let us humbly we remember that as well. Judgment begins with the household of God.