Follow Boldly

 

DECEMBER 28 Follow Boldly

I have not come to bring peace, but a sword. Matthew 10:34

The Christian will be sure to make enemies. It will be one of his objects to make none; but if doing what is right and believing what is true should cause him to lose every earthly friend, he will regard it as a small loss, since his great Friend in heaven will be even more friendly and will reveal Himself to him more graciously than ever. You who have taken up His cross, don't you know what your Master said? "I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother . . . And a person's enemies will be those of his own household." Christ is the great Peacemaker; but before peace, He brings war. Where the light comes, the darkness must vanish. Where truth is, the lie must flee; or if it remains, there must be a stern conflict, for the truth cannot and will not lower its standard, and the lie must be trampled underfoot. If you follow Christ, you will have all the dogs of the world yelping at your heels. If you live in such a manner as to stand the test of the last judgment, you can depend upon it that the world will not speak well of you. He who has the friendship of the world is an enemy to God; but if you are true and faithful to the Most High, men will resent your uncompromising commitment, since it is a testimony against their iniquities. You must do the right thing and not fear the consequences. You will need the courage of a lion to pursue a course that turns your best friend into your fiercest foe; but for the love of Jesus you must take your stand. To risk reputation and affection for the truth's sake is so demanding that to do it constantly you will need a degree of moral principle that only the Spirit of God can work in you. Do not turn your back like a coward, but play the man. Follow boldly in your Master's steps, for He has made this rough journey before you. Better a brief warfare and eternal rest than false peace and everlasting torment. Becaause of Jesus, Ted

Jesus and the Dragon

 Ray Pritchard

Keep Believing Ministries
Shawnee, Kansas

Jesus and the Dragon
Revelation 12:1-5

Did you have a dragon in your Nativity scene?
Probably not.
But there could be, and maybe there should be.
 
“Did you say a dragon?”
Yes, a dragon.
 
“You mean, like St. George and the Dragon?”
Yes, sort of like that.
 
I’m talking about a real dragon, not some fake creature dreamed up in Hollywood. I mean an honest-to-goodness dragon. I’m suggesting you might need to add a dragon to your church’s Nativity scene.
 
“Wouldn’t that scare people?”
Maybe they need to be scared.
 
This certainly seems to be an odd way to start a Christmas sermon. But that’s where we need to begin.
 
My text is Revelation 12:1-5, which might seem unusual. When Christmas comes, we’re accustomed to reading Matthew 1-2 and Luke 1-2, or perhaps we go to Isaiah 7 or Isaiah 9 or Micah 5. We might spend time studying John 1. All of those passages teach us important truth about the birth of Christ.
 
We don’t often connect Christmas and Revelation, but that’s where we are today. Our text reveals a vision John had while in exile on the Island of Patmos. His peek behind the scenes of history revealed a war in heaven between Jesus and the dragon.
 
It’s another version of the Christmas story.
 
A few years ago I wrote an Advent devotional called Faces Around the Manger. It traced the key characters of Christmas through the Bible, starting with Eve, then going through the Old Testament, and going ahead to Mary and Joseph and Simeon. I included the scribes and the Magi and wicked King Herod.
 
But I didn’t include the dragon.
That never occurred to me until I studied our text.
 
One of our favorite carols contains the line, “All is calm, all is bright.” When we read Revelation 12:1-5, the least we can say is that nothing was calm in heaven when Jesus was born.
 
All the best stories feature a struggle between good and evil. That’s what we have here. In fact, we have the ultimate bad guy—a fierce red dragon who tries to kill the baby Jesus. It portrays the age-long conflict between God and Satan.
 
Before we jump into the text, let me tell you what is not here. Some things are missing.
 
No Gabriel.
No mention of a virgin.
No census.
No long journey.
No shepherds.
No angels in the sky.
No Bethlehem.
No turning away Mary and Joseph.
No stable.
No manger.
No swaddling clothes.
No Magi.
No King Herod.
No scribes.
No gold, frankincense, or myrrh.
No flight to Egypt.
No slaughter of the baby boys of Bethlehem.
 
All the things we associate with Christmas are missing.
 
But some things are the same.
There is a woman who gives birth to a baby boy.
That baby faces opposition from the moment of his birth.
That baby will one day rule the world.
That baby is caught up into heaven.
 
This is clearly a Christmas story even if the details aren’t the same. It’s Christmas from God’s point of view. This is true, and we need to hear it. But it’s not like the Christmas story we usually hear in December.
 
In John’s version there are 3 characters:
 
A beautifully dressed woman
A fiery red dragon.
A baby boy.
 
Let’s look at each one in turn to see what they teach us about Christmas.
 

#1: The Woman   

 
“A great sign appeared in heaven: 
       a woman clothed with the sun,
       with the moon under her feet and
       a crown of twelve stars on her head. 
 
She was pregnant and cried out in pain 
       as she was about to give birth” (vv. 1-2).
 
Who is the woman? Is it Mary? Yes and no. Certainly John knew Mary was the physical mother of Jesus. But the woman in this vision was clothed with the sun, and she wore a crown of twelve stars.
 
You won’t find anything like that in Luke 2.
 
That picture goes back to the dream Joseph had in Genesis 37, which speaks of the sun and the moon and eleven stars bowing down before him.
 
Remember, this is a vision.
 
The twelve stars stand for the nation of Israel. For centuries the Jewish people had waited for Messiah to come. Galatians 4:4 says that “when the time had fully come, God sent forth his Son, born of a woman, born under the law.”
 
The phrase “fully come” speaks of something complete and fully developed, like a ripe apple ready to be picked or like a pregnant woman feeling labor pains, ready to deliver her baby. It describes the moment in history when the stage was perfectly set. At that moment, not earlier and not later, God sent forth his Son.
 
Nothing happened by chance. A pagan emperor issued a decree at just the right moment in history, when the Pax Romana was in full force and the world was yearning restlessly for deliverance. Angels showed up to a young man and a young woman who believed what they said. When the virgin became pregnant, Joseph decided not to divorce her. A star began to shine in the east that led the Wise Men to travel hundreds of miles seeking the baby. All of it finally focused on a stable outside an inn in the “little town of Bethlehem,” where the most incredible event in history took place.
 
But what does John mean when he mentions the woman crying out in labor pains? The woman in the vision is Mary standing for the whole nation of Israel. As Mary literally went through labor pains, the nation agonized for generations, waiting and hoping and praying for the coming of the Messiah.
 
When the time was exactly right, Jesus was “born of a woman” and “born under the law.”
 

#2: The Dragon

 
“Then another sign appeared in heaven: 
       an enormous red dragon with seven heads 
       and ten horns and seven crowns on its heads”
 
Its tail swept a third of the stars out of the sky
       and flung them to the earth. 
The dragon stood in front of the woman
       who was about to give birth,
       so that it might devour her child 
       the moment he was born” (vv. 3-4).
 
We know the dragon is the devil because John presents him that way thirteen times in Revelation. His enormous size speaks of his power. The color red symbolizes his bloodthirsty nature, and the dragon reminds us of his fierce, destructive nature.
 
As Jesus said in John 10:10, the devil is a thief who comes to steal, kill, and to destroy. While he may appear to be an angel of light, he is really a fierce dragon bent on destruction.
 
The seven heads, ten horns, and seven crowns connect him with Daniel’s vision of the four creatures in Daniel 7. In that vision, the first beast was like a lion, the second like a bear, and the third like a panther. All those were dangerous enough. But the fourth beast was so terrible that John could not find an animal to compare it to.
 
Remember, this is a vision, not a straightforward history lesson. The dragon sweeps away 1/3 of the stars, knocking them out of heaven and down to earth. That happened in eternity past when Lucifer rebelled against the Almighty and 1/3 of the angels followed him in his attempt to overthrow the Lord God. As punishment, Lucifer and his angels were cast out of heaven, becoming the devil and his demons.
 
Note where they landed—on the earth.
This world is now a demon-infested planet.
That explains so much that happens around us.
 
That’s why Paul called Satan “the prince of the power of the air” (Ephesians 2:2). He is also the “god of this world” (2 Corinthians 4:4). 1 John 5:19 tells us the whole world is under the control of the devil. He is the prince of the demons and head of the kingdom of darkness.
 
Now look at what John saw. Just as Mary was giving birth to Jesus, Satan drew near, intending to kill him.
 
Satan came to Bethlehem.
The dragon wanted to kill the baby Jesus!
 
That’s why I asked about your Nativity scene. Will you have a dragon there? Probably not.
 
I understand why.
 
A dragon ruins the peaceful scene we want to portray. We have camels and sheep and oxen and donkeys nearby when Jesus was born, but we skip the dragon.
 
We have animals in the stable.
We never have a dragon.
 
Luke 2 doesn’t mention animals in the stable.
But we know a dragon was there!
 
The Devil loves death.
He moved Cain to kill Abel.
He moved Pharaoh to kill the Hebrew children.
He moved Herod to kill the boys of Bethlehem.
He tried to kill Jesus!
But he failed.
 

#3: The Baby

 
“She gave birth to a son, a male child, who
       ‘will rule all the nations with an iron scepter.’
And her child was snatched up to God
       and to his throne” (v. 5).
 
In Genesis 3:15 the Lord told the serpent there would be warfare between the woman (Eve) and the serpent. Although the serpent would bruise the heel of her offspring, he (the Seed of the Woman) would crush the serpent’s head.
 
That’s why the devil tried so hard to kill Jesus.
 
The Lord warned the serpent, “You will bruise his heel, but he will crush your head.”
 
The birth of Christ meant the end for the Dragon.
 
His failure is total. All his attempts to thwart God’s plan have come to naught. 
 
He meant to kill Jesus when he was born. 
He stirred up the religious leaders against him. 
He finally entered Judas on the night of the Last Supper.
 
 When Jesus hung on the cross, it appeared Satan had won the battle. 
 
But no! 
 
On the third day the “male child” rose from the dead, utterly defeating Satan, ransacking the realm of evil,
walking out of the tomb holding the keys of death and hell in his hands. 
 
Then to top it off, before Satan could try anything else, God took Jesus back to heaven, where he sits the right hand of the throne of God waiting for the moment when he will return, to take possession of the earth and rule the nations from David’s throne in Jerusalem. 
 
The ascension is proof of Satan’s utter failure and a guarantee of Jesus’ future and soon-coming victory.
 
What does it mean that the child was “snatched up” to heaven? When his work on earth was done, Jesus ascended into heaven.
 
It was divine proof that Jesus won the battle.
 
He finished the work he came to do.
He fully carried out God’s will.
 
He came to earth.
He died and rose again.
Having defeated his foes, he returned home to his Father.
 
When the battle is over and the victory won, the soldier returns to his home. That’s what Revelation 12:5 means.
 
Let’s put it all together.
 
Genesis 3:15 predicted a great war between the serpent and the Seed of the Woman. The devil did all he could to stop God’s plan to bring a Savior to the world.
 
He tried to kill the baby.
He opposed Jesus at every turn.
He tempted him in the desert.
He came to him in the Garden of Gethsemane.
He tried to keep him in the grave.
 
He failed every time.
 

The Battle of Bethlehem

 
What does this mean for us today?
It helps us see Christmas in a new light.
 
Christmas is more than happy children, parties and mistletoe, and it is much more than Hallmark movies.
 
Christmas is good news for a world gone mad. The first verse of a beloved carol makes this clear:

God rest ye merry, gentlemen
Let nothing you dismay.
Remember, Christ, our Savior
Was born on Christmas day.
To save us all from Satan's power
When we were gone astray.
 
Peace on earth means war in heaven.
While Mary sang, the angels battled!
 
Let me give you a Reader’s Digest version of what history is all about. In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. He then placed Adam and Eve on the earth and made them stewards over the whole planet. But when they disobeyed, they surrendered their stewardship into the hands of Satan, God’s arch-enemy. From that day until this, the whole world has been the domain of Satan. It is still God’s world by creation. But Satan has usurped God’s authority and set up a counter-kingdom to the kingdom of God. From that day until this, the earth has been the central battlefield in a war between those two competing kingdoms.
 
But that’s not the whole story. 
 
Once the world fell into enemy hands, God determined to win it back at any cost. That meant sending his message through kings and prophets and priests and poets. It meant raising up a nation through whom he would bless the earth. But ultimately it meant he himself had to enter the conflict. In order to reclaim the world from Satan, God entered the human race in the person of his Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. 
 
That story is very familiar to you, but perhaps you are not used to thinking of it as God’s ultimate blow against Satan. Even then it appeared Satan might win, indeed for 36 hours it seemed certain he had won, that the battle was over, and God had been decisively defeated. Then Sunday came and with it, the empty tomb and the risen Savior. 
 
Suddenly it became clear to everyone-even to Satan-that Jesus was the victor in the great battle to reclaim the earth. Since that first Easter Sunday, Satan has been like a squatter on planet earth. Jesus reclaimed the title deed, but Satan refused to give up his territory.
 
The world is still in darkness, but here and there the followers of Jesus have set up outposts of the kingdom, little pinpoints of light promising better things to come.
 

Kingdoms in Conflict

 
Meanwhile the battle rages on between the two kingdoms-King Jesus on one side and Satan on the other. In these last 20 centuries, the light has spread until it seems like there are ten thousand points of light chasing away the darkness. In many other places, however, things look darker than ever. That’s the history of the world until this present moment. But it is not the end of the story. All over the world, in those little outposts of the kingdom, the followers of Jesus are praying “Your kingdom come,” and as they do, they set their gaze toward the Eastern sky and wait for the Son of God to personally and visibly return to the earth.
 
When he at last comes, he will trample Satan under his feet, judge the workers of iniquity, set right the wrongs in the world, and reign from David’s throne in Jerusalem. That day has not yet come, but it will come, and indeed it is coming, and we believe the “signs of the times” tell us the coming of Christ is not far away. But whether near or far, the kingdom Jesus will establish on the earth forms the goal of all human history.
 
It is the last and greatest chapter in the “Battle of the Ages.”
 
We aren’t there yet, but someday soon Jesus will return. Revelation 12 reminds us that the Great Invasion started in a manger. That’s when God said, “I’m taking my world back!”
 
The Battle of Bethlehem meant warfare in the nursery.
 The Baby beat the dragon!
 
At Bethlehem God struck a blow to liberate the world from sin and death.
And his front line soldier was a tiny baby boy.
 

“The Wrong Shall Fail, the Right Prevail”

 
Don’t take him for granted. There is in this little baby all the strength of Deity. The power of God is in those tiny fists. He has strength which is divine. Whatever he wants, he is able to achieve.

As Luther put it, “He whom the worlds could not enwrap, yonder lies on Mary’s lap.” The baby wrapped in rags is also the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords. He’s the Lion of the Tribe of Judah, the undefeated Son of God.
 
He’s the leader of the armies of heaven.

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow was right when he wrote,
 
“The wrong shall fail, the right prevail.
With peace on earth, good-will to men.”
 
I urge you to say those words aloud. We need to remind ourselves that the devil will not have the final word. Though he strikes many painful blows, he cannot win because the battle belongs to the Lord.
 
Be encouraged, my friends. Do not despair. Through your tears, lift up your eyes and look again to Bethlehem. That sleeping child will rise to battle, and no one will stand against him.
 

What We Believe

 
We believe something extraordinary about one particular baby, born in one particular place to a particular set of parents. That baby—and no other baby—was God in human flesh.
 
What are the chances? When it comes to Christmas, we unashamedly confess that behind the carols and candy, behind the decorations and the parties, behind all the concerts and all the sermons, behind all of it lies an undeniable historical truth: that 2000 years ago God became man in the person of his Son, the Lord Jesus Christ.
 
We not only believe that. 
We have staked our lives upon it.
 

His Kingdom Will Never End

If Christmas means anything, it is this: God wins in the end.
 
At Bethlehem he launched a mighty counteroffensive that started with a tiny baby boy named Jesus, born in a scandalous way, in a barn, to a young couple who were alone.
 
The world had no idea what God was up to. Only in retrospect do we understand.
 
Evil will not win.
The Babe of Bethlehem will make sure of that.
 
Here is my final appeal to you. Everyone reading my words has a choice to make. Either you join yourself to the dying kingdoms of this world, or you join forces with Jesus Christ and follow him as your Savior and Lord.
 
His kingdom will never end.
Why would you follow anyone else?

We See Thee Face to Face

 

DECEMBER 23 We See Thee Face to Face

Yours is the day, yours also the night. Psalm 74:16

Lord, You do not abdicate Your throne when the sun goes down, nor do You leave the world during all those long wintry nights to be the prey of evil. Your eyes watch us like the stars, and Your arms surround us as the band of planets belts the sky. The benefit of kindly sleep and all the influences of the moon are in Your hand, and the alarms and solemnities of night are equally with You. This is very sweet to me when walking in the midnight hours or tossing to and fro in anguish. There are precious fruits supplied by the moon as well as by the sun: May my Lord make me a favored partaker in them. The night of affliction is just as much under the arrangement and control of the Lord of Love as the bright summer days when all is bliss. Jesus is in the tempest. His love wraps the night about itself like a cloak, but to the eye of faith the sable robe is scarcely a disguise. From the first watch of the night even to the break of day the eternal Watcher observes His saints and overrules the shades and shadows of midnight for His people's highest good. We believe in no rival deities of good and evil contending for mastery, but we hear the voice of Jehovah saying, "I form light and create darkness . . . I am the LORD, who does all these things."1 Gloomy seasons of religious indifference and social sin are not exempted from the divine purpose. When the altars of truth are defiled, and the ways of God forsaken, the Lord's servants weep with bitter sorrow, but they need not despair, for even the darkest eras are governed by the Lord and will come to an end at His command. What seems defeat to us may be victory to Him. Though enwrapt in gloomy night, We perceive no ray of light; Since the Lord Himself is here, 'Tis not fitting we should fear.

Isaiah 45:7 Because of Jesus, Ted

Fine Clothes

 

DECEMBER 21 Fine Clothes

I clothed you also with embroidered cloth and shod you with fine leather. I wrapped you in fine linen and covered you with silk. Ezekiel 16:10

Consider the matchless generosity with which the Lord provides for His people's apparel. They are arrayed in this way so that the divine skill is seen producing an unrivaled "embroidered cloth," in which every attribute takes its part and every divine beauty is revealed. There is no art like the art displayed in our salvation, no skillful workmanship like that seen in the righteousness of the saints. Justification has engrossed learned pens in every age of the church and will be the theme of admiration in eternity. In all this splendor there is utility and durability, comparable to our being "shod . . . with fine leather." This skin covered the tabernacle and formed one of the finest and strongest leathers known. The righteousness that is of God by faith endures forever, and he who is shod with this divine preparation will walk through the desert in safety. The purity and dignity of our holy vestments are brought out in "fine linen." When the Lord sanctifies His people, they are clothed as priests in pure white; the snow itself does not excel them. They are in the eyes of men and angels fair to look upon, and even in the Lord's eyes they are without spot. Meanwhile the royal apparel is delicate and rich as "silk." No expense is spared, no beauty withheld, no grandeur denied. What, then? Can we infer nothing from this? Surely there is gratitude to be felt and joy to be expressed. Come, my heart, do not refuse your evening hallelujah! Tune your pipes! Touch your chords! Strangely, my soul, art thou arrayed By the Great Sacred Three! In sweetest harmony of praise Let all your powers agree. Because of Jesus, Ted

God's Wrath and Human Sexuality in Romans 1 Culture

 

God’s Wrath and Human Sexuality in a Romans 1 Culture

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December 14, 2022

By Alistair Begg

A little over a decade ago, English journalist Melanie Phillips, writing on the state of Western civilization, observed, “Society seems to be in the grip of a mass derangement.” There is, she writes, a “sense that the world has slipped off the axis of reason,” causing many to wonder, “How is anyone to work out who is right in such a babble of ‘experts’ and with so much conflicting information?”1

As I started to reread this book a few weeks ago, I was struck once again by what’s missing in her writing. Phillips writes as an agnostic but observant Jew, and many of the points she makes are profoundly helpful. But noticeably absent from her analysis, I find, is any recognition of the Bible’s account of how the world that God made in its entirety and perfection could have gone so haywire (à la Gen. 3)—particularly, in our day, in the realm of human sexuality.

Sexuality as described and prescribed by Scripture is not just a difficult topic; to address it is also unpopular and in large measure offensive. I come to it somewhat fearful, with caution and, I hope, with a measure of compassion—but also with the conviction that God’s Word and way are absolutely perfect and that God knew exactly what He was doing when He put humanity together. And thankfully, one of the passages that speaks most pointedly to the way in which God’s wrath is revealed against sin, Romans 1:16–28, is also preceded by and followed by the amazing offer of God’s grace.

Living in a Runaway World

Paul’s argument in Romans 1 unfolds from his great declaration in verse 16 that he is “not ashamed of the Gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes.” Why, we might ask, is the Gospel for “everyone”? Because, as Paul goes on to explain, everyone needs the Gospel. Every one of us is born in the same hopeless and helpless situation: “The wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth” (v. 18).

Mankind, in other words, lives in a runaway world. Some of us like to suggest that God is hiding, but we are the ones who have done the hiding since nearly the beginning of time (Gen. 3:8–10). We “suppress the truth”—the truth that He has shown us about Himself (Rom. 1:19). We deny the fact that He has made Himself known clearly in the universe in which we live—that “his eternal power and divine nature” (v. 20) are evident all around us—and as a result, we are absolutely “without excuse” (v. 20) when we choose not to worship Him or to thank Him. When we refuse to know God as He has made Himself known, we don’t give up on worship; we actually just worship something or someone else.

All of this brings us to the matter of human sexuality—not because it is some sort of hobby horse or because we get some (perverse) sense of satisfaction out of being controversial but because that’s what comes next in God’s Word. And if we simply choose the parts of the Bible we like and reject the parts that we don’t like, then we don’t believe the Bible; we believe ourselves. Why would we ever want to consider a passage like Romans 1 unless we absolutely believe that the Bible is God’s Word, that it is unerring, and it speaks life-giving truth, even in our twenty-first-century Western world? We are not at liberty to rewrite the Bible to accommodate godless perspectives on abortion, on euthanasia, on same-sex marriage, on transgenderism, and more. We are not free to tamper with God’s Word.

When we refuse to know God as He has made Himself known, we don’t give up on worship; we actually just worship something or someone else.

And so, as we continue reading Paul’s inspired words, it is clear that having broken our connection with the Creator, who made us purposefully for Himself, we struggle to actually know who we are. As Paul goes on to explain, when men turned away from God and toward idols (including, as we do in our day, the idol of self),

God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves. … God gave them up to dishonorable passions. For their women exchanged natural relations for those that are contrary to nature; and the men likewise gave up natural relations with women and were consumed with passion for one another, men committing shameless acts with men and receiving in themselves the due penalty for their error. (vv. 24, 26–27)

It’s important that we note here that the exchange of the normal, natural function of human sexuality for that which is contrary is not the first “exchange” mentioned by Paul. He has already described mankind as exchanging “the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things” (v. 23)—the exchange of the creator God for created idols. They have also “exchanged the truth about God for a lie” (v. 25)—the exchange of knowledge for ignorance. And it is because they refuse to believe in Him, to worship Him, that God gives men and women up to their “dishonorable passions.” He has given them up to something which contemporary society regards as an alternative lifestyle but which the Bible pronounces to be an abomination, to be a perversion. Idolatry, in other words, leads to all sorts of immorality—and the immorality gets deeper as it goes.

From Idolatry to Immorality

Such is the state of our culture in the twenty-first century. But how did we get here? A brief reflection on the past several decades of Western culture makes it clear that there has been a strategy at play as it relates to those driving the revolution we have seen. First, there have been efforts to make sure that the broader society would sympathize with their struggles—both of a personal and societal nature. (And Christians surely ought to lead the world in sympathy, but only of the Christlike sort.) Secondly, there was and is a clear desire to normalize homosexuality, transgenderism, etc. through media and individuals’ platforms. And thirdly, there has been and continues to be a concerted effort to demonize those who oppose the revolution. Dissenters will be canceled at nearly any cost.

We are not at liberty to rewrite the Bible to accommodate godless perspectives on abortion, on euthanasia, on same-sex marriage, on transgenderism, and more.

The West as a whole, and America in particular, is not, I suggest, in the mess that Phillips describes because it is immoral—not ultimately. We are in such a mess because we worship modern-day Baals rather than the living God. The moral squalor, the brokenness of our culture, is merely the clearest evidence of “the wrath of God” being “revealed from heaven” (v. 18). The actual immorality is not the cause; it’s the evidence. It’s what happens when we turn in upon ourselves.

And the evidence is all around us. When Paul describes both men and women giving up “natural relations” in favor of those that are “contrary to nature” (vv. 26–27), he uses the word “natural” to describe the material order as God intended it. (In fact, the words that he uses for “women” and “men” are actually “female” and “male” in Greek—a deliberate echo, I think, of Genesis 1:27: “So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.”) Anatomy, physiology, biology—all of them, even without theology—testify to God’s perfect plan, the violation of which leads to chaos, sadness, and despair.

Homosexuality, then, is not simply an alternative lifestyle. According to Scripture, it is an unnatural decision born of a preceding idolatry. It is an expression of rebellion against God: “I will decide who I am, what I am, what I’m doing, and with whom I am doing it.” It’s not the greatest sin, but it is perhaps the clearest evidence of a society’s defiance of God. When a culture finally reaches the place where even manhood and womanhood, gender itself, is deconstructed and reconstructed according to whatever agenda an individual has, whatever ethical set of norms they’ve decided to embrace, then that culture is in deep trouble.

We see this disintegration not only on a societal level but also on a personal level. When our longings are no longer filled by God, who has made us for Himself, the longings don’t go away. We still have to satisfy our questions about our identity. We still have to answer the yearnings of our heart for peace, for fulfillment, for joy, for satisfaction, for sexual gratification—whatever it might be. When we read Paul’s words about men and women “receiving in themselves the due penalty for their error” (v. 27), we can easily jump to conclusions about just what he meant. I find William G. T. Shedd’s observation helpful: “The recompense is the gnawing unsatisfied lust itself, together with the dreadful physical and moral consequences of debauchery”2 (i.e., excessive indulgence in sensual pleasure). When we reject God as the answer to our longings, we don’t stand on morally neutral ground; we actually become, in Paul’s words, “consumed with passion.”

A Gospel for the Whole World

For the Christian, all of this presents quite a challenge. We must, as John Stott did so masterfully, have one foot firmly planted in the world of the Bible and the other planted in our own context. On the one hand, we’re called to refute false, bad ideas in the awareness that Jesus said, “If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you” (John 15:18)—even as we treat those who hate us with honor. On the other hand, we have this good news to share: Jesus was delivered up to the cross so that men and women might be delivered from sin and born again to life everlasting. In Him, broken lives are made new.

It isn’t easy to speak about God’s wrath. But I’m glad that when I do address it, I can do so knowing that it is wrapped in the amazing news of God’s grace.

So how do you honor God, obey His Word, and love your neighbors, friends, and family members who have decided to go on this path? Some people have decided the way to respond to our culture’s broken understanding of human sexuality is by admonition—to simply stand up and keep declaring, “This is terrible,” “This is terrible,” “This is terrible.” Others have decided they won’t say anything at all. Neither is a possibility for a Bible-believing Christian.

In my experience, those who reject God’s plan for their sexuality are either reviled or affirmed by the people around them. By contrast, Christians ought to say, “We will not treat you in either of those ways. We will not revile you, but we cannot affirm you. And the reason we won’t revile you is the same reason we can’t affirm you: because of the Bible, because of God’s love, because of His grace, and because of His goodness.” It isn’t easy to speak about God’s wrath. But I’m glad that when I do address it, I can do so knowing that it is wrapped in the amazing news of God’s grace.

In writing to the Corinthians, Paul urged them, “Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God” (1 Cor. 6:9–10). If we’re clear-eyed and honest, we will all find ourselves described somewhere in this list. What’s the answer? Look at the next sentence: “Such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.”

The hope for the greedy, for the immoral, for all of us is the same hope. The answer is the same answer: the cross of Jesus Christ.

The hope for the greedy, for the immoral, for all of us is the same hope. The answer is the same answer: the cross of Jesus Christ. He was given up on our behalf so that we might enjoy all the beauty and goodness that is found in Him. This is what we mean when we say that the Gospel is for everyone. It’s a Gospel for atheists and agnostics, for Jews and gentiles, for Hindus and Muslims; for the lost and the lonely, for the happy and the successful; for the homosexual or transgender person; for those who experience gender dysphoria and those who don’t—ultimately, for anyone who humbly casts any other identity aside and loses his or her life for Christ’s sake (Matt. 16:25). It is a Gospel for the whole world, for the whole world undoubtedly needs it.

 

1. Melanie Phillips, The World Turned Upside Down: The Global Battle over God, Truth, and Power (New York: Encounter, 2010), x.↩︎

2. William G. T. Shedd, A Critical and Doctrinal Commentary upon the Epistle of St. Paul to the Romans (New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1879), 29.↩︎

 

Help Us Understand

 

DECEMBER 16 Help Us Understand

You have never heard, you have never known, from of old your ear has not been opened. Isaiah 48:8

It is painful to remember that to a certain degree this accusation may be laid at the door of believers, who too often are in some measure spiritually insensitive. We may well bemoan the fact that we do not hear the voice of God as we should: "You have never heard." There are gentle motions of the Holy Spirit in the soul that are unheeded by us: There are whisperings of divine command and of heavenly love that are equally unobserved by our dull minds. Sadly, we have been carelessly ignorant—"You have never known." There are spiritual matters that we ought to have seen, corruptions that have been allowed to develop unnoticed, tender affections that are being harmed like flowers in the frost, untended by us, glimpses of the Lord that we might have perceived if we had not barricaded the windows of our soul. But we "have never known." As we think of this we are truly and deeply humbled. How we must adore the grace of God as we realize from the context that all of our folly and ignorance wasforeknown by God, and notwithstanding that foreknowledge, He has still been pleased to deal with us in mercy! Ponder and admire the marvelous sovereign grace that could have chosen us in the sight of all this! Wonder at the price that was paid for us when Christ knew what we would be! He who hung upon the cross foresaw us as unbelieving, backsliding, cold of heart, indifferent, careless, lax in prayer, and yet He said, "I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior. Because you are precious in My eyes and honored, and I love you, I give men in return for you, peoples in exchange for your life." How wonderful and glorious is this redemption when we think how sinful we are! Holy Spirit, give us from now on a hearing ear and an understanding heart! Because of Jesus, Ted

Cling to Jesus

 

DECEMBER 15 Cling to Jesus

And lay your foundations with sapphires. Isaiah 54:11

Not only what is seen in the Church of God but also what is unseen is fair and precious. Foundations are out of sight, and as long as they are firm, it is not expected that they should be valuable. But in God's work everything is of the same value—nothing devalued, nothing irrelevant. The deep foundations of the work of grace are as precious as sapphires; no human mind is able to measure their glory. We build upon the covenant of grace, which is stronger than steel and as enduring as diamonds and upon which age makes no impact. Sapphire foundations are eternal, and the covenant remains throughout the lifetime of the Almighty. Another foundation is the person of the Lord Jesus, clear and spotless, as everlasting and beautiful as the sapphire, combining the deep blue of earth's ever-rolling ocean and the azure of its all-embracing sky. At one time our Lord might have been compared to the ruby as He stood covered with His own blood, but now we see Him radiant with the soft blue of love—love abounding, deep, eternal. Our eternal hopes are built upon the justice and the faithfulness of God, which are as clear and cloudless as the sapphire. We are not saved by a compromise, by mercy defeating justice or law suspending its operations; no, we defy the eagle's eye to detect a flaw in the groundwork of our confidence: Our foundation is of sapphire and will endure the fire. The Lord Himself has laid the foundation of His people's hopes. It is a subject for serious inquiry whether our hopes are built upon such a basis. Good works and ceremonies are not a foundation of sapphires, but of wood, hay, and stubble; neither are they laid by God but by our own conceit. Foundations will all be tested before long: Woe to him whose lofty tower will come down with a crash because it was built on sand. The one who is built on sapphires may face storm or fire with confidence, for he will pass the test. Because of Jesus, Ted

The Paradox of Christianity

 

DECEMBER 14 The Paradox of Christianity

I have been crucified with Christ. Galatians 2:20

The Lord Jesus Christ acted in what He did as a great public representative person, and His dying upon the cross was the virtual dying of all His people. In Him all His people rendered justice its due and made an expiation to divine vengeance for all their sins. The apostle of the Gentiles delighted to think that as one of Christ's chosen people, he died upon the cross in Christ. He did more than believe this doctrinally—he accepted it confidently, resting his hope upon it. He believed that by virtue of Christ's death, he had satisfied divine justice and found reconciliation with God. Beloved, what a blessed thing it is when the soul can, as it were, stretch itself upon the cross of Christ and feel, "I am dead; the law has killed me, and I am therefore free from its power, because in Christ I have borne the curse, and in the person of my Substitute all that the law could do by way of condemnation has been executed upon me, for I am crucified with Christ." But Paul meant even more than this. He not only believed in Christ's death and trusted in it, but he actually felt its power in himself causing the crucifixion of his old corrupt nature. When he saw the pleasures of sin, he said, "I cannot enjoy these: I am dead to them." Such is the experience of every true Christian. Having received Christ, he is to this world as one who is utterly dead. Yet, while conscious of death to the world, he can at the same time exclaim with the apostle, "I live." He is fully alive to God. The Christian's life is a matchless riddle. The unconverted cannot comprehend it; even the believer himself cannot understand it. Dead, yet alive! Crucified with Christ, and yet at the same time risen with Christ in newness of life! Union with the suffering, bleeding Savior and death to the world and sin are soul-cheering things. May we learn to live evermore in the enjoyment of them! Because of Jesus, Ted

A Taste of Heaven

 

DECEMBER 10 A Taste of Heaven

The Lord opened her heart. Acts 16:14

In Lydia's conversion there are many points of interest. It was brought about by providential circumstances. She was a seller of purple goods, from the city of Thyratira, but at just the right time for hearing Paul we find her at Philippi; providence, which is the servant of grace, led her to the right spot. Again, grace was preparing her soul for the blessing—grace preparing for grace. She did not know the Savior, but as a Jewess she knew many truths that were excellent stepping-stones to a knowledge of Jesus. Her conversion took place in the use of the means. On the Sabbath she went to a place of prayer, and there prayer was answered. Never neglect the means of grace. God may bless us when we are not in His house, but we have more reason to expect that He will when we are in fellowship with His people. Observe the words, "The Lord opened her heart." She did not open her own heart. Her prayers did not do it; Paul did not do it. The Lord Himself must open the heart to receive the things that make for our peace. He alone can put the key into the door and open it and gain entry for Himself. He is the heart's Master just as He is the heart's Maker. The first outward evidence of the opened heart was obedience. As soon as Lydia had believed in Jesus, she was baptized. It is a sweet sign of a humble and broken heart when the child of God is willing to obey a command that is not essential to his salvation, that is not forced upon him by a selfish fear of condemnation, but is a simple act of obedience and of communion with his Master. The next evidence was love, displaying itself in acts of grateful kindness to the apostles. Love for the saints has always been a mark of the true convert. Those who do nothing for Christ or His church provide no evidence of an "opened" heart. Lord, grant to us the blessing of opened hearts always! Because of Jesus, Ted

God's Ways are Everlasting

 

DECEMBER 12 God's Ways are Everlasting

They have dealt faithlessly with the Lord. Hosea 5:7

Believer, here is a sad truth! You are the beloved of the Lord, redeemed by blood, called by grace, preserved in Christ Jesus, accepted in the Beloved, on your way to heaven, and yet you "have dealt faithlessly" with God, your best friend; faithlessly with Jesus, to whom you belong; faithlessly with the Holy Spirit, by whom you have been born again to life eternal! How faithless you have been in the matter of vows and promises. Do you remember your love in the early days, that happy time, the springtime of your spiritual life? How closely you held to your Master then, saying, "He will never charge me with indifference; my feet will never grow slow in the way of His service; I will not allow my heart to wander after other loves; in Him is blessing I could ever enjoy. I give up everything for my Lord Jesus' sake." Has it been so? Sadly if conscience speaks, it will say, "He who promised so much has performed so little. Prayer has frequently been slurred—it has been short but not sweet, brief but not fervent. Communion with Christ has been forgotten. Instead of a heavenly mind, there have been earthly preoccupations, foolish vanities, and evil thoughts. Instead of service, there has been disobedience, instead of fervency lukewarmness, instead of patience petulance, instead of faith self-reliance; and as a soldier of the cross there has been cowardice, disobedience, and desertion, to a very shameful degree." Because of Jesus, Ted