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Why I Hate The Term “Once Saved, Always Saved”

Words have meaning.

I know that seems like a “duh” statement, but really, words carry with them ideas. Words strung together into sentences convey ideas – powerful ideas. And sometimes what words are meant to convey becomes unclear in transmission – we call this a “misunderstanding”. Statements that are true when understood in the right context can be dangerous untruths if understood in the wrong context. Take for instance the statement “God is love”. A true statement, but it can be understood wrongly if we insert the wrong definition of “love”.

Sometimes a statement is so likely to be misunderstood that it is better to say that same thing in a different way.

The term “once saved, always saved” is one of those statements.

When understood in the right context it is a true statement, but if out of context it becomes misleading and dangerous.

The problem with understanding the statement “once saved, always saved” lies in what a person understands it means to be be “saved”. Paul in 1 Corinthians 1:18 says that the preaching of the cross is the power of God to “us who are being saved”. Not who were saved, but who are being saved. This is crucial to note.

Paul in Romans 8 presents the golden thread of redemption that begins with the predetermination and foreknowledge of God and ends in completion -“glorification”- in God’s presence. It begins when God speaks his creating word and shines the “light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ” into our hearts, which begins a process where we “with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another”, this process takes a massive leap forward when we put off this mortal frame with its remaining sin and we see his glory clearly, in that moment “we shall be like him because we shall see him as he is” (II Cor. 4:6; 3:18; 1 Jn. 3:2). This is what we call glorification. This is the end goal of salvation. This is what it means to be saved.

“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. And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified.”

(Romans 8:29-30 ESV)

Glorification is that point when we see him and become like him – glorification is when the conformation into the image of the Son is completed. The work we call “sanctification” that we experience in this life – the work of the Holy Spirit – is in fact as sort of guarantee that what God has begun at justification he will complete – it is a foretaste of glorification. This is why someone who is not changing “from one degree of glory to the next” in this life should have little confidence that they are “being saved” (II Cor. 3:18; I Cor. 1:18) The immense amount of remaining sin and work to be done in the lives of Christians at any stage of life is why the preaching of the cross remains always from year one to year ninety, the power of God to “us who are being saved”.

Our assurance of salvation is not found in a white-fisted grip on the statement “once saved, always saved” but is found in the fruit of the golden chain which assures us that what God started he will bring to completion. Progress, however slow it may be, gives hope that the job will get done.

I hate the term “once saved, always saved” because it portrays justification as the end goal of redemption. It wrongly identifies justification, that precious and necessary point where by faith in Christ we are declared righteous, as the sum of salvation.

This statement in question is in one sense true, once justified you are always justified but being saved is about more than justification. All of God’s elect are justified, but that is not all that they are.

The chain cannot be broken, therefore, a person has no reason to believe they are justified if they are not showing evidence of moving toward glorification. This is why we are told to examine ourselves to see if we be in the faith (II Cor. 13:5). Our trust is not in a decision, a prayer, or in a moment we look to when we were “justified” but our trust is in the God who finishes what he started.

I hate the term “once saved, always saved” because it muddies the reality of redemption, which is to conform fallen image bearers of God back into faithful reflections of his glory.

So what should we say instead?

One could say “once elect, always elect”. This would be a true statement, but would not be helpful to us who do not know the hidden counsel of God, because the proof of election is found in endurance (Mk. 13:13).

I prefer the old-fashioned term “perseverance of the saints” also referred sometimes to as the “preservation of the saints”.

What this term means is that all whom God elects he preserves in faith so that they persevere by faith in him, beholding his glory, repenting of sin, trusting in Christ, and thereby being transformed into his image.

From God’s perspective our salvation is as good as done, in this case – “once saved, always saved”. But from our perspective this is deceptive, because we can by our sin and rebellion come to the place where it does not look like we are “being saved”. And this might be because we are not being saved! For John makes clear that “No one born of God makes a practice of sinning”(1 Jn. 3:9). Sin in the life of a believer should lead to creaturely fear and child-like sorrow. Many that thought they were saved “went out from us, but they were not of us, for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us” (1 Jn. 2:19)

I hate the term once saved always saved because I fear it has damned many, causing them to rest in their iniquity by leading them to misunderstand the purpose of salvation – what it means to be saved.

Preachers need to proclaim boldly the sovereignty of God in preserving his own while making it clear that he preserves in perseverance to the end. Right preaching of the “perseverance of the saints” should lead those persisting in sin to cry out with proper fear to God for mercy and should lift them from the pit of despair and open their eyes to view the soul-transforming glory of Christ. It should also lead those with only the slightest progress, overwhelmed by their indwelling sin, to be filled with hopeful expectation of the work that will be completed.

I hate the term “once saved, always saved”, but I find great joy in the reality that by the grace and power of God all of his children will reach the end where they will be as the song says,“saved to sin no more” – once saved, always saved.

July 28, 2015 0

Why I Hate the Term “Cheap Grace”

If you are like me and grew up around people who were frustrated, or perhaps even incensed, with the lack of authenticity and holiness in mainstream evangelicalism you may have heard the term “cheap grace” thrown around as a descriptor of the problem at the root of this apostasy.

I was among these people. Probably with more spit flying than was necessary I used to decry the “cheap grace” being proclaimed from so many pulpits. But as I consider this terminology now “older” and “wiser” I have come to hate the term “cheap grace”.

The reason being that whether intentional or not, preaching against “cheap grace” can turn quickly into preaching against grace all together. Grace, by its very definition, is free (Eph 2:8) People begin to shy away from talk of grace because of fear of cheapening grace, when in reality grace becomes cheap when it is no longer in demand. It is no longer precious. When they fail to see that grace is the A-Z of the Christian life (Gal. 3:3).

It is often said that “grace is not a license to sin”. This idea is backed up by Scripture (Jude 1:4). However, what is missed is the proper corrective. The answer is not to speak less of grace, but to speak of it more, to speak of its power. Many preachers who bewail “cheap grace” are like the chap in Matthew 25 who hid his talents, because for fear of abuse they bury grace. The “cheap grace” and “license to sin” accusations are leveled against people who misunderstand the entire nature of grace usually by people who also misunderstand the nature of grace from a different angle. Just as Paul labored to teach in the face of critics, I declare that preaching “grace, grace, grace” does not make grace cheap (Rom. 6)

Grace gets abused, both through neglect on one side and misrepresentation on the other, because the nature of salvation itself is misunderstood. The New Covenant in which we experience that grace is misunderstood. The bottom line is that if you are in the New Covenant it is by grace, and if you stay there it is by grace. But it is in that Covenant that you receive a new heart (new affections), the law of God is imprinted inside of you, and the fear of God is irrevocably placed within you so that you will not depart from the Lord (Jer. 31:33, 32:40).

The problem is not preaching grace, but the understanding of what that grace has secured for us. If grace means unmerited favor, then we must ask in what way have we received favor? It is that we who deserved judgment by God’s free choice through Christ’s work have been forgiven, are being changed into the image of Christ, and will be glorified (Rom 8:29-30, 9:15).It is not simply that we have grace from something but we have grace for something.

I hate the term “cheap grace” because preaching grace is not the problem. Understanding what we have by grace is what is misunderstood. This is why some people preach grace and it leads to godless living and license. This is why some people fail to preach grace leading to legalism. People fail to realize that being saved is an A-Z result of a covenant that is by grace. We are born again by grace, we are converted by grace, we are justified by grace, we are sanctified by grace, we are glorified by grace.

Grace is not the problem. Putting a limit on what that grace achieves is. But make no mistake! From start to finish, from now to eternity, it is grace, grace, grace – priceless grace – full and free.

May 11, 2015 0

The Everyone in Everyone

Note: View Discretion Advised

Backstrom, a new crime drama from FOX, follows a cynical, disgusting, somewhat comical, and brilliant detective in the city of Portland bearing the name of the show. My wife and I watched the pilot, one, because we enjoy crime shows and two, because the role of Backstrom is played by Rainn Wilson, better known as “Dwight” from The Office.

I don’t normally search for things that are very deep in a show like this, but a couple of quotes from Backstrom stood out to me as important from a Christian, Gospel-centered worldview. Clearly these quotes are significant to the character development of Backstrom and are meant to give the viewer an insight into his mind. There is one quote in particular that drew my attention. But before I get to it, I will give a little background….

Backstrom is cynical. He shows up at a crime scene and begins to make very confident and harsh judgments about people, much to the exasperation of his optimistic, psychology-major partner. And at one point after he makes a number of stinging accusations against a suspect prior to there being substantial evidence, his partner declares, “You see the worst in everyone!”

Backstrom responds flippantly, “I see the everyone in everyone.”

Such a line is meant to show just how deep his cynicism and negativity run, with hints of emotional baggage from his childhood. I am no prophet but I estimate that this is meant to be the beginning of his character trajectory. The writers will pull him over time out of his negative estimation of mankind to the point where he will have to admit that there is good in some, if not in everyone. Again, that is my guess, and considering how cliché network television tends to be, I would stake money on it.

As soon as those words escaped Backstrom’s mouth I thought of just how biblical what he said was. In fact, Jesus Christ himself would have agreed with this statement! For as the Apostle John records, when the crowds began to be attracted to Jesus,

“Jesus on his part did not entrust himself to them, because he knew all people and needed no one to bear witness about man, for he himself knew what was in man.” (John 2:24-25 ESV)

Jesus did not see the worst in everyone, he saw “the everyone in everyone”. He knew that, “None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God. All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one.” (Romans 3:10-12 ESV)

Was Jesus a cynic like Backstrom? The answer is no. Jesus is a realist. Jesus knows what is.

Furthermore, while Jesus saw “the everyone in everyone” and Backstrom saw “the everyone in everyone”, the trajectory of that truth is very different in the case of Jesus’ story.

Backstrom is being shown by his words to be an extreme cynic. This provides the foundation for his character to develop, growing in confidence in his fellow man, seeing that there are exceptions to his rule.

But Jesus came precisely because of “the everyone in everyone”. This truth is foundational to the trajectory of Jesus’ story, but that story moves in a completely different direction than Backstrom’s. Jesus story, the Gospel, has a trajectory marked by grace and redemption so that “the everyone in everyone” will not remain what it is.

Jesus came because of “the everyone in everyone” so that every one of his people could have in them that which is uniquely good, namely the unique goodness of Jesus himself. He did not come to draw out the good in mankind, but to give of his goodness so that “the everyone in everyone” would not have the last word.

Jesus is not a cynic. He is a realist. And the reality is that there is an “everyone in everyone” and it is called sin. But Jesus came and as a man was the exception to the norm, he died for those under that norm, and then he rose victorious over it. And by this he set the trajectory for the day when that reality would be no more.

“For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross. And you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him.” (Colossians 1:19-22 ESV)

January 26, 2015 0

God is not Wilfred

It is not uncommon for art to take shots at God. Perhaps some of the most profound pieces of literature, music, and film are those that really take aim at the idea of God. More than a few films take subtle (or not so subtle) shots at the Divine, usually exalting humans as the ones who are kind and good, who need to be freed to exercise their independence. But more often than not, these attempts to dethrone God reveal that God’s harshest critics don’t really know him.

Last year I watched a film that was very well done called Snowpiercer, written and directed by Korean filmmaker Joon-ho Bong. Please note before you go watch it that it was violent and contained language, but it was clearly one of those films that was aiming to wax eloquent as a parable of mankind’s struggle against the idea of God.

Set in a post-apocalyptic world where the globe is frozen and devoid of life, a few thousand survivors for nearly two decades have been aboard a self-sustaining train that circles the globe, never stopping. As long as the train keeps moving and all of its systems are functioning humanity survives. The builder of this train, named Wilfred, is viewed as divine, with hymn-like songs written in his honor. He is worshipped as being sovereign and benevolent, at least by the privileged. The train is divided into two classes, the poor crammed into the back of the train and the rich near the front. These people are seen to be in their place by the predestined plan of Wilfred, fulfilling their place in the order that keeps the train going.

The movie centers on the people in the back of the train who want equality, they want to get to the front of the train, to the “divine engine” and take it over. So on an appointed day after much planning, they revolt. In the process they capture one of Wilfred’s cruel lackeys, a pathetic, sycophant of a woman named Mason. And this is where the story gets interesting….

The people from the back of the train are about kill Mason who had been an executor of injustice so many times. But she reasons with them. Up to this point it has been clear that the divine Wilfred, creator and sustainer of the train, sovereign predestinator of everyone on board is Bong’s rendering of God and some aspects of how he is portrayed, though crude, seem to be reflections of the sovereign God of Scripture. It seems maybe this artist is building a convincing case against God, but then words. Words that reveal something very important about Bong’s conception of God.

On the verge of being put death Mason proclaims that “Wilfred is divine! Wilfred is merciful!” So Curtis, the leader of the people from the back of the train says to her, “Call him. See if he’ll save you.”

In the clutches of these desperate people at the back of the train, she responds.

“He won’t come here. He won’t leave his engine.”

Ah. Pause and think about it.

There it is.

Maybe the caricature of God would hold true for the many gods out there. Deities that are echoes of the hissing of serpent in Eden….

But as a Christian I can gladly proclaim, “God is not Wilfred.”

Why?

Because the God of the Bible came to the back of the train so the he himself could lead those captive there to the front of the train.

Mankind had no lack. No want of anything in the universe that God created. But they believed a lie, much like the lie put forth in the movie, that God is not good and that he is holding out something good from us. This plunged mankind into bondage to sin and death. But God promised that what he had made would not remain like this. He would send his Son to the back of the train, to suffer with all the rest and for all the rest. He would take the punishment for their rebellion and he would open all the doors all the way to the front of the train where they would enjoy fellowship with the sovereign Lord forever.

Many would watch the movie Snowpiercer and consider it to be so profound. But it is only profound in the sense of how accurately it shows the God satan tells us is there, rather than the God that is there in reality. The God that is is indeed the sovereign predestinator of all things. He is the Creator. He is high above his creation. But he is also the God who in love came to his creation to rescue, to redeem, and to do so not by just “paying a visit” but by humbly suffering and dying and rising so that he could lead a host of captives to his eternal dwelling.

“In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.” (1 John 4:9-10 ESV)

January 19, 2015 0

Deborah: A Case Against Complementarianism?

Complementarianism is the view of gender roles which teaches that men and women, while equal in dignity and honor, being created equally in the image of God, have differing, complementary roles in the created order to bring about God’s ordained purposes. The difference between man and woman is not merely a matter of biology, but is rooted in the good creation which God made to display his glory. It was not good for man to be alone. Because God is good his creation must be as well, so God made woman and together man and woman were good.

On the other side is the egalitarian view which says that there is basically no role distinction between men and women.[i]

Opponents of Complementarianism are many, especially in western and some far-eastern cultures. And one of the cases often brought against the Complementarian position that only men can be pastors/elders in the church has to do with Deborah, the woman judge of Israel found in Judges 4-5. The argument is made that if Deborah could be a judge then surely God has no problem with a women exercising proper authority over a man.

The most common response I have heard to this argument from the Complementarian camp is that the time of the judges was an extraordinary time when Israel was practically leaderless and often straying, therefore Deborah is seen as a sort of exception and even an indictment of the men who were failing to lead.

I think the answer is much simpler than that.

I am not ruling out this answer as a possibility, but it does seem a little complicated, making assumptions, just like the assumptions that are often made regarding the quintessential Complementarian text, 1 Timothy 2:12-14[ii]. The answer to the Deborah question, in my point of view is because on the one hand God appointed Deborah as a judge over Israel and on the other hand has determined that men should be the ones exercising authority in the church, we simply see that the role of judge must not be analogues to the role of elder. It is really that simple. In fact, we see in 1 Timothy 3[iii] that the role of elder is likened to the role of a father in a house. This is a much closer analogy, which are shoes Deborah could never have filled. The leadership structure in the church is related to the good, created order which God originally set for the family, one that has a father as the leader. It should be noted at this point that without women the picture is incomplete, but men are still called to lead.

If such reason is not enough to deter the Deborah “clause”, then we need only to look to the male judge, Samson. He is found is Judges 13-16 and a brief comparison of his life to the qualification of a church elder in 1 Timothy 3 quickly shows that Samson was never qualified to be an elder, therefore confirming even more that the role of elder is not analogues to the role of judge. Women could be judges. Many women are blessed with tremendous leadership gifts that they should be encouraged to use to build up the body of Christ and bless society – but just not as elders in the church.

This can be hard for us to grasp, and it can even be abused, but as people of God we want to see that the way he made things to be is good, just as he is good. And if we can trust him in that we will experience the joy of seeing him glorified as men and women, complementing one another, work to see his kingdom come and his will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

___________

[i] There are varying degrees of this argument

[ii] The argument is made by many that this text is speaking only to a certain situation unique to the church in Ephesus that Paul is addressing. This is pure conjecture and is not a plain reading of the text which roots the argument not in the current situation but in the events of creation and fall in Gen. 1-3

[iii] Therefore an overseer must be above reproach, the husband of one wife, sober-minded, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, not a drunkard, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money. He must manage his own household well, with all dignity keeping his children submissive, for if someone does not know how to manage his own household, how will he care for God’s church? He must not be a recent convert, or he may become puffed up with conceit and fall into the condemnation of the devil. Moreover, he must be well thought of by outsiders, so that he may not fall into disgrace, into a snare of the devil. (1 Timothy 3:2-7 ESV)

September 7, 2014 0

Christian Ministry & The Death of Uzzah

And when they came to the threshing floor of Nacon, Uzzah put out his hand to the ark of God and took hold of it, for the oxen stumbled. And the anger of the LORD was kindled against Uzzah, and God struck him down there because of his error, and he died there beside the ark of God. (2 Samuel 6:6-7 ESV)

And you shall put the poles into the rings on the sides of the ark to carry the ark by them. (Exodus 25:14 ESV)

And when Aaron and his sons have finished covering the sanctuary and all the furnishings of the sanctuary, as the camp sets out, after that the sons of Kohath shall come to carry these, but they must not touch the holy things, lest they die. These are the things of the tent of meeting that the sons of Kohath are to carry. (Numbers 4:15 ESV)

There is probably no story in the Bible that I have found harder to wrap my mind around than the story of the death of Uzzah. It is a display of the holiness of God that leaves us stunned and even terrified. Even though it is a story from which we may be tempted to quickly avert out eyes, it may do us good to look intently at this display of the wrath and justice of God, because in it we find important lessons for life and ministry.

The first lesson that I want us to see applies to Christian ministry. The message that sounded loud and clear from Uzzah’s lifeless form was that God’s word stands and any deviation from it, however well-intentioned, is inviting wrath and disaster. From our perspective, and apparently from David’s as well[i], this reaction of the Lord to Uzzah’s attempt to steady the Ark was a little excessive! Doesn’t God see the heart? The answer is that God does see the heart and what he saw beneath all of that good-intention in Uzzah was someone who had a cheap enough view of His holiness to regard his commandments as being open to exception.

When we hear preachers taking liberties with the Gospel many times we will defend or at least excuse them by saying say, “I think their heart is in the right place.” I can appreciate that humility and we certainly need to have grace, while also recognizing with trembling but God doesn’t see it that way. As I have meditated on Uzzah I have trembled. As someone who regularly stands in a pulpit and handles the sacred word of God, I am reminded at how much care I must take and am painfully reminded of the times when with quite good intentions I have been less than careful with God’s word.

Now, I want to recognize that we are under a new covenant now. One where in Christ we have bold access into the holy presence of God[ii], but this entrance into his presence through Christ’s blood does not diminish his holiness, but rather makes it more clear. The cross of Jesus gained us access into God’s presence, his perfect righteousness shields us from the blaze of his glory, but God himself does not change. Our right standing before God does not give us license to take less care with the Word of the Lord, rather the Gospel unfolds with greater clarity the holiness of the One to whom we as Gospel ministers will give an account.

This leads to the second and more positive thing we see in Uzzah’s execution in light of the cross. If the slightest disregard for the glory of God, the smallest deviation from the commandment, incited such wrath, how much more so our daily disobedience and defamation of God? As good-intentioned as Uzzah was, he disobeyed the Lord. He deserved judgment, just as we do. But there was one who did not deserve to be struck down – that was God himself, united to flesh in the person of Jesus Christ. He always brought glory to God and always obeyed -perfectly. Yet, such was God’s love for us that he poured out his judgment on Christ – a judgment much worse that Uzzah’s. If the holiness of God seen in the story of Uzzah is severe, much more severe is the holiness seen at the cross where the sinless Son suffered for us. But if the holiness of God in the execution of Uzzah is terrifying, the holiness of God in the execution of Christ is beautiful, for it shows the depth of love he had for his people, that though we deserved the death of Uzzah, God himself satisfied the demands of his holy justice. Uzzah’s execution highlights the glory of the cross.

Therefore, in Christian ministry we should see in the cross a holiness that is even more severe than that which was seen on the threshing floor at Nacon. And it should leave us trembling as we handle the holy things of God, lest in our good intentions to see fruit or to be “successful”, or to labor well for the Lord, we be found tampering with sacred material. The execution of Uzzah should drive us to our knees and deeper into the Scriptures, taking great care in preaching and teaching, lest we treat the holy Word of God as being open to exception and manipulation.

There is never a good enough reason to tamper with or disregard the Word of the living God.

[i] 2 Samuel 6:8

[ii] Eph. 3:12, Heb 10:19-22

August 4, 2014 0

(One Reason) Why We Practice Communion Every Week

Last week I preached from Mark 6:1-6, where we see Jesus is held in contempt by his own kindred in Nazareth. The title of that sermon was “Familiarity Breeds Contempt.” One of the main themes in the message was that the people Jesus grew up around thought they knew him so well that they failed to see him for who he really was. They had a low view of him, therefore their hearts were full of unbelief and they were offended at his teaching.

When we get so used to something that it begins to lose value – at least in our eyes. A precious, diamond ring is often no less valuable several years down the road, diamonds are diamonds and gold is gold, but the woman wearing may indeed get to the point that she does not even notice it is on her finger. We tend to devalue the things that we are familiar with. But it doesn’t have to be this way. Maybe, just maybe, that woman with the diamond ring does catch its glimmer on a regular basis and she is reminded of the faithfulness and care of her loving husband that it represents. You would have to kill to get that ring off of her finger. It is a sacred sign of a precious union and love that is relentless through the good and the bad.

One of the reasons that many churches do not practice communion each week is the fear that familiarity will breed contempt for the blood of Christ. I admit that this may very well happen, but it doesn’t have to and it shouldn’t stop the church from having the Lord’s Supper when they gather as the local body. Paul says in I Corinthians 11:26 that “As long as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.” Since, therefore, I make it may aim to proclaim the death of the Lord in word each week, why would I not also proclaim it in sacrament?

There are a number of things that should be happening when the word is preached in the assembly of the brethren each week; things which appropriately culminate in the visible “proclamation” of the death of Christ. In the preaching of the Scriptures we encounter the holy character of God, this holy character reveals to Christians our calling as those “predestined to be conformed into the image of Christ”[i], which means that we are coming face to face with our sin each week in light of who God is and what God demands.

If we are coming face to face each week with the holiness of God, the height of our calling, and the depth of our sin, we should be longing for God ordained means of being reminded of our only hope – the death of Christ. The blood of Christ, spilled, and the body of Christ, broken, secures not only my hope of pardon, but my hope of perseverance which is dependent on God’s covenant faithfulness. After a week in a fallen sinful world, we should long to gather and partake of the bread and cup, symbols of the blood and broken body which testify that we are forgiven and secure. The demand for perfect holiness has been met, both in life and death, and our future glorification is now certain in the new covenant.

We come to the table of the Lord together each week from a world full of things fighting for the preeminent place in our affections. At the table we look ahead, facing a coming week where other “suitors” will flirt and vie for our love. And like a beautiful wedding band, we look at and partake of the sacred signs and we remember the love, strength, and faithfulness of our husband – which is Christ. Each week at the table of the Lord we solemnly abandon other lovers and proclaim that Jesus Christ is more precious to us than all the fleeting treasures and pleasures of this world.

In short: if we faithfully preach the Gospel – the holiness of God, the depth of our sin, and the preciousness of the Savior – then communion never gets old. It never becomes mere ritual. Familiarity does not breed contempt. I know that even I have such a small view of my sin, but yet I can’t help but feel my need to see with fresh eyes of faith, through what Christ has ordained, what is my only hope as I face another week and eternity beyond.

[i] Romans 8:29

August 3, 2014 1

A Glimpse Beyond The Veil

What are the miracles of Jesus supposed to tell us? Today stories of the supernatural works that he did seem to dazzle some people and make others suspicious. The response to the works that Jesus did was the same in his time on earth. They created hype and they created criticism. They brought fame and they brought infamy. Neither of these were the aim of Jesus in what he did. Jesus was not interested in creating a following or entertaining a crowd.

Why the miracles then? The most common answer is correct, that is to show his authority. But I believe that the answer is more specific than that. It is authority to do something in particular. The works that Jesus did were not meant to dazzle and confound, but were meant to incite praise as people saw what had long before been promised. They were meant to cause people to look at the Scriptures and look at Christ and have an “Aha!” moment. The miracles of Jesus were a glimpse beyond the veil of time. They were meant to say, “This is the one who can fix the sin and brokenness in the world.” The miracles of Jesus showed that he was the one who would make all things new.

When the blind saw and the lame walked, the people that Jesus came to, rather than being entertained on one hand and being skeptical on the other should have thought of the many passages that prophesied of redemption and realized who was in there midst[i]. They should have thought of Isaiah 35, a sample of which says:

“Strengthen the weak hands, and make firm the feeble knees. Say to those who have an anxious heart, “Be strong; fear not! Behold, your God will come with vengeance, with the recompense of God. He will come and save you.” Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf unstopped; then shall the lame man leap like a deer, and the tongue of the mute sing for joy. For waters break forth in the wilderness, and streams in the desert;” (Isaiah 35:3-6 ESV)

In Isaiah we see prophecies with temporal application carrying with them eschatological meaning. The works that Jesus did were not merely supernatural wonders meant to get peoples’ attention and to show God’s power in general, they were a glimpse beyond the veil of sinful history to the time when by the work of Jesus Christ all would be made new. A sample of the time when every blind, deaf, and maimed child of God will be healed. Every daughter of the King who was raped will be loved and comforted. Every son who was abandoned will be secure. Every hurt will be forgotten. Every demon will be damned. Every fear will be overcome. Every tear will be wiped away. This is what the miracles of Jesus showed – they showed that not only did he have authority – he had authority to restore what was broken through Adam, to overthrow the devil, and to replace the tyrannical reign of sin with the gentle reign of righteousness.

The miracles Jesus did were not part of a divine side-show, but were displays of authority packed with eschatological meaning. Every person Jesus healed got sick again and every dead person he raised died again, but all those works said loud and clear that permanent healing and permanent raising were coming – Just as Christ coming once brought the assurance he would come again. God through Christ was giving a glimpse of Eden restored, a glimpse of the final result of the Son of God bursting the bonds of death.

More could be said here and I dealt with this matter in more detail in a sermon a few months ago. But next time you read about the miracles that Jesus did, don’t just skim over them as neat stories, but see them in the light of redemptive history. See what they mean for you amidst temptation, sickness, pain, and death. They point to a day when he will make all things new. We all face suffering in the world, so see the miraculous works of Christ as a glimpse beyond the veil of time when he brings to finality what he has begun.

[i] Some did (ie. John 1:49)

July 26, 2014 0

Field of Dreams: A Church Planting Approach

The question the past year had crossed my mind, “Why do I put all the work into a Friday morning Equipping Class[i] that only four or five people are going to attend?” The very reason I ask myself that question is because it seems like such a waste of time. Other questions could be asked, “Why have the structures and formalities of membership procedure that we have when there are only twenty-one members? Why stand up and preach when there is only 15-40 people in the room?” Even more questions could be asked, but my answer, by now, is always going to be the same.

We all know the famous line to the classic movie Field of Dreams. “Build it and he will come”. Basically, James Earl Jones and Ray Liotta get Kevin Costner to build a baseball diamond. Costner, as Ray Kinsella, has faith that Jones is right, if he builds it people will come and so it is. Going back then to the question of why I am doing so much with a church so small is because of the “Field of Dreams” approach to church planting. This is not a pragmatic method. It is not some proven strategy. It simply a matter of faithfulness, a matter of exercising the means that God uses to grow and build up his church.

We gather each week in a room big enough to hold a hundred with the hope and prayer that there will be a hundred. We have classes to equip the few in hopes that they may equip the many. By God’s grace alone, I strive to prepare my sermon the same for fifteen people as I would for fifteen hundred people. On and on the examples could go.

It feels exhausting sometimes and the immediate return causes one to consider whether or not it is worth it. I am not delusional. We are not trying to play “big church”, but are simply trying to be church, God’s vehicle for his mission of redemption, the vessel of his truth, the trumpet of his kingdom, the fold of his sheep, and the display of his wisdom and glory.

This way of viewing the little flock I have been given charge of is shaped by the conviction that God grows his church through his church. And on top of that, the growth is his doing through the faithful ministry of the pastors and members of that church. Faithful ministry is that which plans for great things, while leaving the great things to God. Faithful ministry is that which endures through seasons of fruitlessness with confident rest in the fact that God has established this church for the purpose of making known his glory through the proclamation of the Gospel in our community, giving us good reason to hope that there are many sheep who must be brought into the fold. We hope and pray that the harvest will be great, so we prepare the barns. We prepare the ark of Christ for all of the chosen to come and escape the storm, where they can be protected, fed, and sustained. The local church is to be a hopeful, eschatological entity that looks forward with confidence in the Gospel and the power of the Spirit and plans for the harvest.

So we do. We have been planted in this needy, Gospel-impoverished city by God for his glory. He has us here for a reason. Therefore, we preach to the twenty like there are a thousand. We hold equipping classes for the five like there are fifty. And we pray like we are an army. We conduct ourselves in a way that says that we expect more. We are not trying to be “too big for our britches”, we are trying to make britches big enough so that we may be what God can and may choose to make us.

I once heard Tim Keller say that we should preach every week as if non-believers are in the audience and eventually they will be. So I have made this my practice. It is awkward at times, as I gaze across the godly faces of the people in the room. I proclaim the Gospel, calling for people to repent and believe in Jesus. Why? Because in the intimacy of our little group I hear the voice of James Earl Jones whispering, “Steve… People will come, Steve.”

I believe that. I believe that because churches, proclaiming the Gospel, are God’s method of increasing the Kingdom. I believe it because the Word we proclaim is alive and active. So when I labor all week to prepare classes and sermons for so few, I don’t feel like I am wasting my time. We are building.

My job is to be faithful to build. And the fact the Lord tarries and that he is at work in the world through his church in the great task of gathering a people for himself gives me confidence that if we build it, people will come.

[i] That is what we call our “Sunday School” or adult education classes at Immanuel Fujairah

July 19, 2014 0

Changed By Glory

"And we all… beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another." II Cor. 3:18

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