As In a Mirror

Then His disciples asked Him, saying, “What does this parable mean?” And He said, “To you it has been given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God, but to the rest it is given in parables, that ‘ Seeing they may not see, And hearing they may not understand.’ (Luke 8:9-10)

This is also why unbelievers who read the Bible do not understand so many things, why they see apparent contradictions and misinterpret Scriptures. They do not have their understanding opened to the words of God because they have not humbled themselves before Him. But when one turns to Jesus Christ, their understanding is opened.

For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. For it is written: “ I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, And bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent.”
Where is the wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the disputer of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of this world? For since, in the wisdom of God, the world through wisdom did not know God, it pleased God through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe. For Jews request a sign, and Greeks seek after wisdom; but we preach Christ crucified, to the Jews a stumbling block and to the Greeks foolishness, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.

For you see your calling, brethren, that not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called. But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty; and the base things of the world and the things which are despised God has chosen, and the things which are not, to bring to nothing the things that are, that no flesh should glory in His presence. But of Him you are in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God—and righteousness and sanctification and redemption—that, as it is written, “He who glories, let him glory in the LORD.” (1 Corinthians 1:18-31)

Filed under : Gospel, Word for Wednesday

1 Comment »

Hey, welcome to our second installment of “The Gospel in the Gospels,” and today’s verse leads up to the very rudimentary principles of the Gospel.

“But I warn you—unless your righteousness is better than the righteousness of the teachers of religious law and the Pharisees, you will never enter the Kingdom of Heaven!” (Matthew 5:20)

Wow, how in the world can our righteousness exceed that of the teachers of the religious law? We typically think, “Well, if we love justice, mercy, and truth, and don’t just pay the tithes and wear the right stuff and study the Scriptures and all do all those religious practices, then our righteousness exceeds theirs.” This is all good and well, but if we have sinned, and we all have, what is our righteousness? It is “filthy rags.” (Isaiah 64:6) Our righteousness will exceed that of the teachers of the religious law if we have the imputed righteousness of Christ! This is because Christ’s righteousness is complete! Notice that from this verse, Christ continues on to magnify the law (Isaiah 42:21), so that we would realize our sinful, needy state; we need His imputed righteousness!

Check out how the Epistles exposit righteousness:

Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith. (Philippians 3:8-9)

For they [the nation Israel] being ignorant of God’s righteousness, and seeking to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted to the righteousness of God. For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes. (Romans 10:3-4)

Now, THIS is the kicker!

But now the righteousness of God apart from the law is revealed, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, even the righteousness of God, through faith in Jesus Christ, to all and on all who believe. For there is no difference; for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God set forth as a propitiation by His blood, through faith, to demonstrate His righteousness, because in His forbearance God had passed over the sins that were previously committed, to demonstrate at the present time His righteousness, that He might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus. (Romans 3:21-26)

The word “propitiation” used here (Strong’s 2435) means, “A sin offering, covering,” and comes from a similar word that means, “I have mercy on; I pardon; I forgive.” He was the atonement (the book of Hebrews exposes this topic thoroughly). These words express that the required penalty for the sins of the whole world was satisfied in Him. In Him. Did He sin? No. But the penalty for sin was satisfied in Him! And that’s where the great transaction took place:

For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. (2 Corinthians 5:21)

Did we do any righteousness to earn our status? No, but just as our sin was credited to Christ’s account, His righteousness was granted to be credited to the account of anyone who will receive the gift, by repentance and faith! The requirement of God’s perfect law is satisfied in Christ!!!! Woooo! Now you can’t make up stuff like that!

Filed under : Discipleship, Gospel, Word for Wednesday

Comments Off

Hey, y’all, I’m starting a new series on this blog; they’ll be short and posted on random days. That way I know I will follow through with it. This series will be called “The Gospel in the Gospels”; personal observations of mine regarding foreshadowings of the fulfilled Gospel in the four Gospels in the New Testament.

Let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds, and praise your Father in heaven. (Matthew 5:16)

Why will they praise our Father in heaven? Because we do good works? Because we are good? No, but that the Father exemplifies His gracious, merciful love, the love that He showed on the cross, in us. They see our gratitude expressed to God through the good works we were created for but previously could never accomplish. We see God as a God worth living for, in good times and bad, and we see His blessings. All the while, men observe, and ultimately will glorify God, whether now or later.

Here’s the exposition of the fulfillment of this Scripture:

But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them. (Ephesians 2:4-10)

Filed under : Discipleship, Gospel, Word for Wednesday

2 Comments »

If I were to look around me and see all the natural disasters, the conflicts, poverty, abortion, and taxes– the things in life that are wrong, and be worried and concerned that things were not all that they should be, and then try to find a solution, I would be just like every other religion or movement in the world, because I’m trying to improve a fallen world.

If I were to see how human love is not what it should be, that life is bitter and full of frustration, that everything we build to last does wears down, that even if you eat healthy and stay fit, you still die– and worry about it and try to think of what I or others were doing wrong, what we should do to make it perfect, then it would just prove that I am like everyone else on this earth, wrapped up in the flesh and the temporary.

And so I do. Time and again. It just shows that this world really isn’t all that there is. It just shows that there was a really good reason for Jesus to come down and live in our shoes, then suffer and die to pay our penalty. The fact that I am concerned with the state of this world shows that so often my eyes are full of the temporary. It just shows that though I am perfected forever, I’m still being sanctified, not yet glorified. I am still in this flesh, waiting to be with the Lord. It just shows that there is more than all of this. It proves that I am not home yet.

It proves that God is the one who fills all in all; Christ is the bodily fullness of the Godhead; He is the image of the invisible God. This dissatisfaction with life just shows that I am in need of a Savior, and it shows that all these things are here to point us back to Christ, that our thirst is meant to be fulfilled in pursuit of Him. Do I seek the blessings or the One from whom these blessings come? Do I strive for more health and wealth or do I just sit at His feet out of love for Him? Do I pester Him for blessings or do I rejoice that He is my portion?

I need to remember these things in my day-by-day activities so that I don’t get weary or distracted.

Filed under : Word for Wednesday

3 Comments »

We may know Psalm 22 as that prophetic Psalm that relates Jesus’ experience on the cross. He cried out the first verse while He hung on the cross: “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” It tells that He was despised and rejected by men, how those who passed by shook their heads and said, “He trusted in the LORD, let Him rescue Him; Let Him deliver Him, since He delights in Him!” It tells that all His bones were out of joint, His heart melted like wax (when blood and water flowed), His tongue clung to His jaws, His hands and feet were pierced, His executors divided His garments among themselves and cast lots for His tunic. But, the story would be retold to generations afterward in the context of God’s faithfulness.

I want to quickly cover two facets of this Psalm, the first being what Jesus cried out on the cross, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” It seems we usually read this and somehow just focus on the idea that Jesus knew He was quoting this prophecy, and not consider that Jesus cried these words out from the depth of His soul, and that was the fulfillment of prophecy. This was Jesus, who had always been assured that His Father was with Him, the same Jesus who had the Spirit of God descend on Him like a dove, while hearing, “This is My Beloved Son, in whom I am well-pleased!” This was the One who said, “I and the Father are One.” Think about it!

A question often asked by the deep sufferer is this: Lord Jesus, when You were on this earth, did You ever wonder what Your Father was doing? Did You ever wonder why? Were You ever left there in the dark without an answer, only sharp criticism and ridicule?

Yes, He did. On the cross He cried out so that the crowds could hear Him, “My God! My God! Why have You forsaken Me?” We all know this is a verse in Psalm 22, a prophetic passage about the Messiah, and sort of assume Jesus was simply quoting it as He hung there. But it was a cry of despair from the depths of His heart; He asked why; He wondered. And they mocked Him.

He bore the sins of the world! We ask if He ever felt guilty and wondered what He did wrong. He bore the sins of you and I! He suffered God’s wrath on our behalf! He was counted guilty for us, and His Father had to look away! And the people mocked Him! How our Savior suffered for us! Yes, He truly suffered with us in many ways. Think of the wonder! He was equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, and became obedient to the point of death… even such a death as this! He cried out in the Garden of Gethsemane three times: “If it’s possible, Father, deliver Me! BUT… Your will be done, not Mine.” He suffered. He died. But now He’s alive! He has made us right with God, and now lives to make intercession for us!

I also think of this passage from the perspective of the human writer. Yes, this is a prophetic passage inspired verbatim by the Holy Spirit, covering in shocking detail what happened to Jesus when He was crucified, but think of it… it was written by David for a reason. He most likely wasn’t just spontaneously writing stuff that he’d never thought of before. He penned these words in the midst of his own suffering! I mean, take a look at the way this chapter reads:
David says,

“My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?
Why are you so far away when I groan for help?
2 Every day I call to you, my God, but you do not answer.
Every night you hear my voice, but I find no relief.

3 Yet you are holy,
enthroned on the praises of Israel.
4 Our ancestors trusted in you,
and you rescued them.
5 They cried out to you and were saved.
They trusted in you and were never disgraced.

6 But I am a worm and not a man.
I am scorned and despised by all!
7 Everyone who sees me mocks me.
They sneer and shake their heads, saying,
8 “Is this the one who relies on the Lord?
Then let the Lord save him!
If the Lord loves him so much,
let the Lord rescue him!”

9 Yet you brought me safely from my mother’s womb
and led me to trust you at my mother’s breast.
10 I was thrust into your arms at my birth.
You have been my God from the moment I was born.

11 Do not stay so far from me,
for trouble is near,
and no one else can help me.

I mean, take a look at the pattern here: David cries out, “Lord, why have You left me alone, why don’t You hear me?” But in the same breath he says, “Yet You are Holy.” David is very up-front about his suffering, but still praises God for His holiness! David recounts how God delivered people in the past, then continues to pour out his heart about his own suffering. Then he says that He knows that God has always been good in his own life, and pleads again for help. He continues to cry out to the Lord, and then says this:

22 I will proclaim your name to my brothers and sisters.
I will praise you among your assembled people.
23 Praise the Lord, all you who fear him!
Honor him, all you descendants of Jacob!
Show him reverence, all you descendants of Israel!
24 For he has not ignored or belittled the suffering of the needy.
He has not turned his back on them,
but has listened to their cries for help….

30 Our children will also serve him.
Future generations will hear about the wonders of the Lord.
31 His righteous acts will be told to those not yet born.
They will hear about everything he has done.

Check it out! David, in the midst of his sufferings, even though he is not yet delivered, praises the Lord! He may not have been doing it with nearly as much energy as he did in Psalm 150, but maybe that makes it more beautiful. Real faith is praising the Lord and declaring His goodness even when we are in deep darkness, wrenched by suffering! Yes, we cry out and detail our suffering to the Lord. Yes, we ask to be delivered. Yes, we ask why He has left us all alone. But we still declare His goodness and His faithfulness, and know that someday, all suffering will be over, and we will finally understand.

Closing thought: here is a reason to give thanks to God in the midst of our suffering when we don’t understand; it’s a confirmation we’re on the narrow road.

I read a fantastic article on suffering today, and would like to pass it on. Check it out:

If God, Why Evil? at In Defense of the Christian Faith.

Filed under : Word for Wednesday

Comments Off