What if Jesus really meant it when He said from the cross “It is finished!”? What if He meant that His mission on earth was accomplished? He came to earth to save the world (John 3:19), and save the world He did— at the cross! Mission accomplished. Do you see what this means? Does it not unfailingly follow that if God’s justice has been fully satisfied at the cross, how can God possibly be still meting out judgment from His throne to sinners who…
This old bumper sticker from the 70’s expresses pretty well the attitude many Christians have about the situation in the world: “I want justice on the earth. I don’t want people to get away with all the things they get away with now. Lord, when are you coming back and knock heads?” There is a longing in all our hearts to see justice served, the guilty punished and the righteous rewarded, even if we have to suffer ourselves! This is also in God’s heart.…
Last week we took our initial swing at answering the question that makes up leg #1 of our four-legged theological stool upon which the Christian faith firmly rests: “What is God like?” We discovered that a careful examination of God’s divine characteristics of omnipresence, omnipotence and omniscience messed with some of our most cherished presuppositions, i.e., our “free will,” making us notably uncomfortable. Those divine traits, discussed so casually and glibly by most Christians, upon careful examination expose us as believing in a make-believe…
The automatic answer to that question for most Christians is “yes,” but are you sure? Let’s take a closer look and see if that is true. Last week we looked at four questions that philosophers and other thinkers over the centuries have asked in their attempts to find some meaning in life. 1.) “Is there a God, and if so, what is He like?” 2.) “Who am I?” 3. “Can I relate to God, and if so, how?” 4.) “Why am I here?” Over…
History is full of stories of buried treasure, sunken pirate ships and long-forgotten Spanish galleons that made their discoverers fabulously wealthy. Some of our most popular movies and most beloved classic literature, such as Raiders of the Lost Ark and Treasure Island, have kept us entertained with similar stories. It’s great to fantasize about common people such as ourselves finding such treasure, like the farmer who lived on the island of Milo in the Aegean Sea in 1820. While plowing his field he unearthed…
We saw last week in Galatians 3:23, 24 that God has given us His perfect law for two reasons, the distinction between them being extremely important: guarding us until we come to faith, and then guiding us in our lives once we do. We looked at its guarding function in the civil government and today we will examine its guarding use in the family. The family is the basic building block of any society. Children must learn the difference between destructive and acceptable conduct if…
In the last few postings I may have left the impression that the law of God is somehow the “bad guy” as we enter the life of faith as a Christian. Nothing could be further from the truth, as sings King David in Psalm 119:97, the phrase that is the title of today’s posting. Psalm 119 constitutes the longest chapter in the Bible, and is made up of David’s view of the law as perfect without any blemishes, his attempts to follow it as…
Last week we entertained the wild idea that I really can trust God, who is ordaining all things, not only in the world at large but in my daily life, even with my “want to’s.” Can a sovereign God not change my thoughts and actions from sinful to obedient, from making excuses for sin to repentance for sin, from fear to faith, from sloth to diligence, from discouragement to enthusiasm, from sadness to joy, and from hate to love, whenever He desires to do…
This phrase is found in Philippians 2:12 and is one of the favorite biblical references of those serious Christians who believe that their spiritual progress in this life depends on their commitment and their diligent efforts to grow spiritually. The word “work” in this instruction from Paul to the Philippians and thus to these industrious Christians seems to be a signal to buckle down and get busy obeying the law of God, reading God’s Word, fellowshipping with other Christians, and developing their prayer life.…
Karl Barth, considered by many to be the leading theologian of the 20th century, is said to have been asked by a student at the University of Chicago during his trip to America in 1962, “Can you summarize your whole life’s work in theology in one sentence?” Barth, 76 at the time, is said to have answered, “Yes, I can, in the words of a song I learned at my mother’s knee: ‘Jesus loves me, this I know, for the Bible tells me so.’”…