Looking Back - Calvary

"The grace of God reveals One who loves us so much as to have made Calvary possible, but who hates sin so much as to make Calvary necessary."

~ T. S. Mooney

Looking Back - The Cross

“Every time we look at the cross Christ seems to be saying to us, I am here because of you. It is your sin I am bearing, your curse I am suffering, your debt I am paying, your death I am dying. Nothing in history or in the universe cuts us down to size like the cross. All of us have inflated views of ourselves, especially in self-righteousness, until we have visited a place called Calvary. It is there, at the foot of the cross, that we shrink to our true size.”

~ John Stott

Judge more that you be not judged

I know the title of this post seems to contradict what Jesus said on the Sermon on the Mount but give me a chance to explain. Many today are attacking the objectivity, clarity, authority and certainty of truth. The result is that two of the very few so-called virtues left today are tolerance and diversity. I believe we Christians today need to be more judgmental. We are called and commanded to discriminate and discern. We Christians need to judge more that we be not judged.

The great theologian Steve Martin joked, years ago, "Never judge a man unless you’ve walked a mile in his shoes. Then you’ll be a mile away and you’ll have his shoes." That's funny but what did Jesus mean when He said what He said in what is now one of the most popular and well-known verses by Christians and non-Christians alike? Everyone knows and often quotes this saying of Jesus: "Judge not that you be not judged." (Matthew 7:1) The phrase has been twisted to mean "You live your lifestyle and I’ll live mine but don’t judge mine and definitely don’t try to force your standards of morality on me." The phrase "Judge not" now means "I’m OK, you’re OK. Believe what you want but stay out of my way!"

Jesus said "Judge not that you be not judged" in the first verse of Mathew chapter seven. The irony is when you read the rest of the chapter. This chapter is full of warnings and admonitions by Jesus Himself to judge people. In verse 6 He says, "Do not give dogs what is holy, and do not throw your pearls before pigs, lest they trample them underfoot and turn to attack you." Jesus is telling us to discern or judge certain people as "dogs" and other people as "pigs." How can you not not give dogs what is holy if you cannot judge certain people to be dogs? How can you not throw your pearls before pigs if you cannot judge certain people to be pigs? Describing people as dogs and pigs seems pretty judgmental to me.

Than in the same chapter, in verses fifteen though seventeen, Jesus says this: "Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves. You will recognize them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? So, every healthy tree bears good fruit, but the diseased tree bears bad fruit." Here, Jesus also tells us to beware of people who are "wolves" in sheep's clothing. He also tells us to judge whether someone is a "diseased tree" or not by their fruit. Again, this is sounding quite judgmental.

So, if this chapter is full of instructions on how to "judge with right judgment" (as Jesus also commands in John 7:24) what does He mean in the famous verse one? All we have to do is read the next few verses: "For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and with the measure you use it will be measured to you. Why do you see the speck that is in your brother's eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when there is the log in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother's eye." (Matt 7:2-5)

Jesus was simply telling us not to be hypocritical judges. He was NOT telling us that we should not judge. In fact, the reason He gives for taking the log out of your own eye is so "then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother's eye." He starts off the chapter by tellings us to remove the log first and then He goes on and on with instructions on how to judge rightly. Remove the log from your eye so you can judge between dogs and children, pigs and people, wolves and sheep, and diseased trees and fruit-bearing trees. A half-truth is a lie. Read the whole chapter. Stop misquoting Jesus and judge more that you be not judged.

Looking Back - Octavius Winslow

"So completely was Jesus bent upon saving sinners by the sacrifice of Himself, He created the tree upon which He was to die, and nurtured from infancy the men who were to nail Him to the accursed wood."

~ Octavius Winslow, The Foot of the Cross

The Paradox

John 1:14
"And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth."

“The paradox is amazing. The Creator assumed the human frailty of his creatures. The Eternal One entered time. The all-powerful made himself vulnerable. The all-holy exposed himself to temptation. And in the end the immortal died.”

~ John Stott, The Incomparable Christ

Jesus and Human History

“God could have poured out judgment on mankind in the Garden, therefore the only reason there is any history is because God has purposed to send his Son into the world, to pour out judgment on him and thereby bring salvation. Jesus is the only reason there is human history, and therefore he is the goal of human history. Thus everything God says and does in history explains and prepares for the salvation of his Son.”

~ Timothy Keller, “Preaching the Gospel in a Post-Modern World,” 34.

Jesus or Blessings?

Do you value Jesus more than you value what Jesus can do for you?

Looking Back - Augustine's Christmas Sermon

"Man’s Maker was made man, that He, Ruler of the stars, might nurse at His mother’s breasts; that the Bread might be hungry, the Fountain thirst, the Light sleep, the Way be tired from the journey; that the Truth might be accused by false witnesses, the Judge of the living and the dead be judged by a mortal judge, Justice be sentenced by the unjust, the Teacher be beaten with whips, the Vine be crowned with thorns, the Foundation be suspended on wood; that Strength might be made weak, that He who makes well might be wounded, that Life might die. He was made man to suffer these and similar undeserved things for us, that He might free us who were undeserving; and He who on account of us endured such great evils, merited no evil, while we through Him were so bountifully blessed, had no merits to show for such blessings."

~ Augustine of Hippo

Have to or Get to?

Whichever one of these two phrases you choose to use every day determines your attitude throughout the day toward everything. Do you say I have to or do you say I get to? There are many people who have never been able to have kids or who have lost kids to death or divorce. Do you have to teach and train and nurture and discipline and love your kids every day or do you get to? There was a time when the Bible was only written in a language that only the priests could understand and there were many who died bloody and torturous deaths making that Bible accessible to the common man. Do you have to read and study your Bible, the inspired and living Word of God, today or do you get to? Praise God we get to! There was a time when no one could go directly to the throne of God and make petitions to Him. There had to be sacrifices made, blood poured and priests interceding. Do I have to pray today or do I get to run right through that torn veil into the Holy Place and pray directly to the King of Kings and the Lord of Lord's through faith in the blood-bought righteousness of Jesus Christ my once-and-for-all sacrifice? There are so many things I don't have to do today because Jesus already did them and they never have to be done again. There are so many things I get to do today. Hallelujah!

John Piper - Test Yourself

John Piper talks to a group of pastors about the importance of testing the soul to find out what is actually valued and loved. Is it Christ or other things?

John Piper Video - The Supremacy of Christ

John Piper on the Supremacy of Christ in ALL THINGS.

Looking Back - The Cross

"If we were limited to one word that could be used to tell who God is, that word would be Cross. Every attribute of God is on full display in the cross. We see His holiness and justice; God hates sin and must punish it! We see His wisdom in finding a way to be both Just and Justifier of the ungodly. We see His omnipresence in being in heaven and pouring His wrath upon His Son, while being on earth enduring His own wrath in the person of His Son. We see His sovereignty in saving the one thief and passing the other by. We see His power in being able to put away sin. We see His eternal purpose unfold in "the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world." And how the attributes of love, grace, and mercy shine forth from the cross! Is it any wonder Paul said, "I determined not to know anything among you save Jesus Christ and Him crucified," and "God forbid that I should glory save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ." There really is nothing else to preach or glory in! If we think there is, it is evident that we have never seen the real meaning of the cross."

~ Todd Nibert

Jesus died for everyone? True or False?

I realize that my poll questions were too simple (yes/no and true/false). Hopefully I'll become a better pollster. I am going to give a brief explanation to my answers starting with the first one.

Jesus died for everyone? True or False?

I believe the answer to this one is false. Christ did not just make it possible for someone to be saved. His blood actually saved those whom he came to save. Matt 1:21 reveals, "She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save HIS people from their sins." Matt 20:28 says that "the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for MANY." Jesus said, in John 10:14-15, "I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me... and I lay down my life for the sheep." He came for his people, not all people; for many, not all; for his sheep, not goats. Jesus also made it clear that he will not lose any of his sheep (John 10:28). If he died for his sheep and will not lose any of his sheep and not all people receive eternal life (Matt 7:13-14) it is clear that he did not die for all people. Jesus went so far as to say to God in his high priestly prayer, "I am praying for them. I am not praying for the world but for those whom you have given me, for they are yours." We cannot conclude that Jesus died for those whom He would not even pray for.

To put it simply, Christ died only to save the elect and He secured, in no uncertain terms, their salvation. That does not mean that the power of God is lacking as if He is not able to save all men. Rather, God's Word reveals that it was the Father's intention that his Son was to suffer and die only for his chosen people, atoning for their sins alone. Christ's atonement was limited only in extent, not in power, according to the sovereign will of God. Unless you believe in "Universal Atonement" (that Christ died for everyone and everyone will definitely be saved) than you believe that the atonement was limited in one way or another. You either believe that Christ's work on the cross was limited in its power (it was not powerful enough to save everyone - only make it possible) or you believe that it was limited in its extent (it was not intended for everyone - only those whom he predestined)

Greg Bahnsen put it well: "If redemption were indefinite and potential, then none would be saved. For man, who is dead in sin and unable to receive the things of the Spirit of God (cf. Eph. 2:1; I Cor. 2:14), would never be able to appropriate that potential redemption for himself. No man is able to come to Christ except that Father draw him (John 6:44). The sinner drinks iniquity like water and does not seek God (Job 15:16; Rom. 3:11), so he can no more choose to come to Christ and gain for himself the benefits of the atonement than a leopard can change his spots (Jer. 13:23). Praise be to God who did not make only partial atonement for the sins of his people, who did not allow the salvation of His elect to be thwarted by leaving it up to them to respond, who fully saved us by having His Son actually obtain salvation for His sheep!"

John Piper - "Receiving Christ"

Here's a real short video clip of John Piper exposing the misunderstanding that many, in the church today, have about "receiving Christ."

John Piper's God Exalting Grammar

Scarred Hands

This is a great illustration giving us a picture of Christ and how His scarred hands were the reason He could adopt us back into the family.

"William Dixon lived in England. He was a widower who had also lost his only son. One day he saw that the house of one of his neighbors was on fire. Although the aged owner was rescued, her orphaned grandson was trapped in the blaze. Dixon climbed an iron pipe on the side of the house and lowered the boy to safety. His hand that held on to the pipe was badly burned.

Shortly after the fire, the grandmother died. The townspeople wondered who would care for the boy. Two volunteers appeared before the town council. One was a father who had lost his son and would like to adopt the orphan as his own. William Dixon was to speak next, but instead of saying anything he merely held up his scarred hand. When the vote was taken, the boy was given to him." —Neil Strait