Punishment for temporal sin is never eternal.
"Propitiation means satisfaction or appeasement, specifically towards God. Propitiation is the work of Jesus Christ on the cross by which He appeases the wrath of God who would otherwise be offended by our sin and demand that we pay the penalty for it. The concept of propitiation is often associated with the idea of a substitutionary atonement."
Theopedia
1. Payment for sin was made on the cross, by the cross. Punishment for temporal sin is not eternal. It is temporary. The reason man stays in hell is that he is punished and then continues to be punished and held at bay for ongoing sin.
2. There was no secretive, invisible, extra, outpouring of God's wrath on Jesus on the cross. Simply the non-intervention of the father in the life of a heavenly prince who had never known the Father's refusal or lack of love.
1Pe 2:24 He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed.
1Pe 3:18 For Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive by the Spirit,
Php2:8 he humbled himself in obedience to God and died a criminal’s death on a cross. 9 Therefore, God elevated him to the place of highest honor and gave him the name above all other names,
Isa 53:5 But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed.
“Jesus did not and could not experience a quick and painless death because that would not have been sufficient. It took all the beating and whipping and scourging; it took all that blood and pain. God hates sin so much that He truly and fully punishes those who sin, and thus Jesus, if He was going to fully bear the punishment for the sins of all mankind, He truly had to experience the full and very severe wrath of God! You see, it wasn't really the Jews and the Romans who beat and killed Jesus; it was God Himself pouring out His wrath upon the sins of the whole world!
It was not just the death of Christ that saves us; it was also the beating and the scourging, and it was all really at the hand of God Himself.”
Bob Williams
Azalea City Church of Christ
Jesus died brutally, physically, temporally for our sins. Worse than all, what caused him to cry out, was the non-intervention of the father. This prince of heaven experienced what we are so used to and yet continually surprised by. God lets us die.
Our grace is that the saint is not abandoned to it, but comforted in it, though Jesus was not. 2Co 5:21 God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
He became sin. The Father's emotion was one of anger towards Christ in his death. Hence Jesus cry, “Why have you forsaken Me?!” A question the Whole New Testament goes on to answer. He is our only substitute.
God does not express anger towards his saints though he chooses not to intervene in our deaths. God’s allowing nature to take it’s course in our lives, is not anger. His expression and body-language communicates his compassion toward us.
Ps 116:15 Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of his saints.
Ps 23:4 Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.
Lu 23:43 "I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise."
Thursday, April 23, 2009
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
Glimpses of Joy
I Will Strike The Shepherd
This quote belongs to Jesus from Matthew 26:31 and Mark 14:27 as he prepares his disciples for his coming demise at the hand of His father. It is God who will crucify the Christ.
Zechariah 13:7 "Awake, O sword, against my shepherd, against the man who is close to me!" declares the LORD Almighty. "Strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered, and I will turn my hand against the little ones. 8 In the whole land," declares the LORD, "two-thirds will be struck down and perish; yet one-third will be left in it. 9 This third I will bring into the fire; I will refine them like silver and test them like gold. They will call on my name and I will answer them; I will say, ‘They are my people,’ and they will say, ‘The LORD is our God.’"
I have stopped believing that in any way God promises to protect us from harm or provide for us what I / we would typically consider “best” in this world. I think this notion is a concoction of wishful thinking and homemade religion that we naturally resort to when scripture does not provide the type of comfort we long for.
We ought to listen carefully to the inner voice of self-deception that says, “God’s going to make my circumstances work out just fine.” That is not God’s voice, nor it is it his in this world. Though he is the one who can calm storms, his real goal is to get you to walk on water.
God has one ambition in mind for his believers, and that is to sanctify us. He protects us only from the condemnation that results from moral evil, not from it’s sting nor the deception and doubt that accompany it. Every day we are led into temptation. Every day we sin. Every day we die. My hope, any hope for this world, has all but dried up.
So what am I to do that would be healthier than simply trying to put a roof over my head while I am waiting to die, waiting to go to a place we were actually designed for, because we sure weren’t designed for this.
We’re sinning when we don’t even know it, being set up for loss the moment we think we have profited with any earthly gain. It seems the only happiness and mental-health to be found is that which is spawned from either self-deception or, or, or, entirely and only in the life to come, the joy of which we are afforded rare glimpses in whatever fleeting joys God allows us to briefly taste in the here and now. Whether it be in furniture, family or gazing at a cloud, which may, one day transport the saviour.
Truth is not necessarily healthy….
Ecclesiastes 1:18 For with much wisdom comes much sorrow; the more knowledge, the more grief.
Not necessarily happy. Not necessarily popular. Not necessarily productive, helpful, constructive. Perhaps at times we can do nothing better than …
Ecclesiastes 2:24 …than to enjoy food and drink and to find satisfaction in work. Then I realized that these pleasures are from the hand of God.
Ecclesiastes 3:13 People should eat and drink and enjoy the fruits of their labor, for these are gifts from God.
Ecclesiastes 5:18 Even so, I have noticed one thing, at least, that is good. It is good for people to eat, drink, and enjoy their work under the sun during the short life God has given them, and to accept their lot in life.
1 Timothy 6:17 God, richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment.
Life and its pleasures and the enjoyment they afford in this temporariness, are gifts from God.. They can be traced back to one who delights to do us good..
Jeremiah 32
38 They will be my people, and I will be their God. 39 I will give them singleness of heart and action, so that they will always fear me for their own good and the good of their children after them.
40 I will make an everlasting covenant with them: I will never stop doing good to them, and I will inspire them to fear me, so that they will never turn away from me. 41 I will rejoice in doing them good and will assuredly plant them in this land with all my heart and soul.
In the calm of even the worst storm, whatever loss has befallen you, take whatever pleasure he offers you, whatever legitimate reward he sanctions and savor it. Slowly! Thank him for it even if it only lasts a moment and know, one day, one day we will savor joy, savor him, uninterrupted, forever.
This quote belongs to Jesus from Matthew 26:31 and Mark 14:27 as he prepares his disciples for his coming demise at the hand of His father. It is God who will crucify the Christ.
Zechariah 13:7 "Awake, O sword, against my shepherd, against the man who is close to me!" declares the LORD Almighty. "Strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered, and I will turn my hand against the little ones. 8 In the whole land," declares the LORD, "two-thirds will be struck down and perish; yet one-third will be left in it. 9 This third I will bring into the fire; I will refine them like silver and test them like gold. They will call on my name and I will answer them; I will say, ‘They are my people,’ and they will say, ‘The LORD is our God.’"
I have stopped believing that in any way God promises to protect us from harm or provide for us what I / we would typically consider “best” in this world. I think this notion is a concoction of wishful thinking and homemade religion that we naturally resort to when scripture does not provide the type of comfort we long for.
We ought to listen carefully to the inner voice of self-deception that says, “God’s going to make my circumstances work out just fine.” That is not God’s voice, nor it is it his in this world. Though he is the one who can calm storms, his real goal is to get you to walk on water.
God has one ambition in mind for his believers, and that is to sanctify us. He protects us only from the condemnation that results from moral evil, not from it’s sting nor the deception and doubt that accompany it. Every day we are led into temptation. Every day we sin. Every day we die. My hope, any hope for this world, has all but dried up.
So what am I to do that would be healthier than simply trying to put a roof over my head while I am waiting to die, waiting to go to a place we were actually designed for, because we sure weren’t designed for this.
We’re sinning when we don’t even know it, being set up for loss the moment we think we have profited with any earthly gain. It seems the only happiness and mental-health to be found is that which is spawned from either self-deception or, or, or, entirely and only in the life to come, the joy of which we are afforded rare glimpses in whatever fleeting joys God allows us to briefly taste in the here and now. Whether it be in furniture, family or gazing at a cloud, which may, one day transport the saviour.
Truth is not necessarily healthy….
Ecclesiastes 1:18 For with much wisdom comes much sorrow; the more knowledge, the more grief.
Not necessarily happy. Not necessarily popular. Not necessarily productive, helpful, constructive. Perhaps at times we can do nothing better than …
Ecclesiastes 2:24 …than to enjoy food and drink and to find satisfaction in work. Then I realized that these pleasures are from the hand of God.
Ecclesiastes 3:13 People should eat and drink and enjoy the fruits of their labor, for these are gifts from God.
Ecclesiastes 5:18 Even so, I have noticed one thing, at least, that is good. It is good for people to eat, drink, and enjoy their work under the sun during the short life God has given them, and to accept their lot in life.
1 Timothy 6:17 God, richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment.
Life and its pleasures and the enjoyment they afford in this temporariness, are gifts from God.. They can be traced back to one who delights to do us good..
Jeremiah 32
38 They will be my people, and I will be their God. 39 I will give them singleness of heart and action, so that they will always fear me for their own good and the good of their children after them.
40 I will make an everlasting covenant with them: I will never stop doing good to them, and I will inspire them to fear me, so that they will never turn away from me. 41 I will rejoice in doing them good and will assuredly plant them in this land with all my heart and soul.
In the calm of even the worst storm, whatever loss has befallen you, take whatever pleasure he offers you, whatever legitimate reward he sanctions and savor it. Slowly! Thank him for it even if it only lasts a moment and know, one day, one day we will savor joy, savor him, uninterrupted, forever.
Tuesday, April 7, 2009
The Discomfort of Questions
John 15:15 “I have told you everything the Father told me.”
John 16:12 “I have much more to say to you…”
John 16:18 They kept asking, "What does he mean…”
It was customary, even for those who walked with Jesus to have persistent and puzzling questions. Jesus intention, at times, was to induce such questioning to fully engage the heart in the quest to know him. This is part of the learning, transforming process: coming to perplexity, searching diligently, finding answers, being filled with wonder.
Luke 2:47 All who heard him were amazed at his understanding and his answers.
Luke 4:32 There, too, the people were amazed at his teaching, for he spoke with authority.
Luke 5:26 Everyone was gripped with great wonder and awe, and they praised God, exclaiming, “We have seen amazing things today!”
This is worship.
John 16:12 “I have much more to say to you…”
John 16:18 They kept asking, "What does he mean…”
It was customary, even for those who walked with Jesus to have persistent and puzzling questions. Jesus intention, at times, was to induce such questioning to fully engage the heart in the quest to know him. This is part of the learning, transforming process: coming to perplexity, searching diligently, finding answers, being filled with wonder.
Luke 2:47 All who heard him were amazed at his understanding and his answers.
Luke 4:32 There, too, the people were amazed at his teaching, for he spoke with authority.
Luke 5:26 Everyone was gripped with great wonder and awe, and they praised God, exclaiming, “We have seen amazing things today!”
This is worship.
Monday, April 6, 2009
A Nation of Miracle-Workers
Mt 21:19 Seeing a fig-tree by the road, he went up to it but found nothing on it except leaves. Then he said to it, "May you never bear fruit again!" Immediately the tree withered. 20 When the disciples saw this, they were amazed. "How did the fig-tree wither so quickly?" they asked. 21 Jesus replied, "I tell you the truth, if you have faith and do not doubt, not only can you do what was done to the fig-tree, but also you can say to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and it will be done. 22 If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer."…
43 I tell you, the Kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a nation that will produce the proper fruit.
Being able to curse a tree and have it wither instantly would be a pretty cool trick, but Jesus said we would do greater things than this.
As a sign, the withered tree was important. God would curse and kill the naturalistic Jews of that generation. They would miss the saviour and spend eternity in hell because they sinned and refused to recognize the time of God’s coming to them.
As a trick, cursing a tree was trivial compared to the miracles we will be able to perform by the power of God in our own lives and the lives of others.
Believers identify and condemn sin on a monumental scale in our own souls. In spiritual revival and the pursuit of holiness, we will see huge permanent sin in our lives joyfully removed and disappear into an ocean of grace and mercy.
In fulfillment we will stand and judge the world’s sin with God and urge him on in judgment as he makes level paths for his feet by casting an actual mountain into an actual sea as a final sign of the removal of sin in preparation for the arrival of perfect righteousness.
1Co 6:2 Don’t you realize that someday we believers will judge the world?
Re 8:8 Then the second angel blew his trumpet, and a great mountain of fire was thrown into the sea. One–third of the water in the sea became blood,
Mr 1:3 He is a voice shouting in the wilderness, ‘Prepare the way for the LORD’s coming! Clear the road for him!’”
By his power, we can do this now in our own lives.
No body cares about mountains and trees in the new world. God cares about the miraculous work of transforming the morality of the godless into godliness. That is all that will matter for all eternity. That he chose us, changed us, empowered us to do miracles of transformation in repentance and faith, turning to him and continuously finding him as the source of new life again and again and again for ever.
Pr 4:26 Make level paths for your feet and take only ways that are firm. 27 Do not swerve to the right or the left; keep your foot from evil.
Ps 143:10 Teach me to do your will, for you are my God. May your gracious Spirit lead me forward on a firm footing.
Isa 26:7 But for those who are righteous, the way is not steep and rough. You are a God who does what is right, and you smooth out the path ahead of them.
Isa 40:4 Every valley shall be raised up, every mountain and hill made low; the rough ground shall become level, the rugged places a plain. 5 And the glory of the LORD will be revealed, and all mankind together will see it. For the mouth of the LORD has spoken."
Heb 12: 12 Therefore, strengthen your feeble arms and weak knees! 13 "Make level paths for your feet," so that the lame may not be disabled, but rather healed. 14 Make every effort to live in peace with all men and to be holy; without holiness no-one will see the Lord.
Col 1:29 That’s why I work and struggle so hard, depending on Christ’s mighty power that works within me.
Joh 14:12 I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father.
We are miracle-workers. And the miracles we perform are of greater and more eternal significance than any material, any earthly matter. By the power of God, we are human-nature changers and we will live forever.
43 I tell you, the Kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a nation that will produce the proper fruit.
Being able to curse a tree and have it wither instantly would be a pretty cool trick, but Jesus said we would do greater things than this.
As a sign, the withered tree was important. God would curse and kill the naturalistic Jews of that generation. They would miss the saviour and spend eternity in hell because they sinned and refused to recognize the time of God’s coming to them.
As a trick, cursing a tree was trivial compared to the miracles we will be able to perform by the power of God in our own lives and the lives of others.
Believers identify and condemn sin on a monumental scale in our own souls. In spiritual revival and the pursuit of holiness, we will see huge permanent sin in our lives joyfully removed and disappear into an ocean of grace and mercy.
In fulfillment we will stand and judge the world’s sin with God and urge him on in judgment as he makes level paths for his feet by casting an actual mountain into an actual sea as a final sign of the removal of sin in preparation for the arrival of perfect righteousness.
1Co 6:2 Don’t you realize that someday we believers will judge the world?
Re 8:8 Then the second angel blew his trumpet, and a great mountain of fire was thrown into the sea. One–third of the water in the sea became blood,
Mr 1:3 He is a voice shouting in the wilderness, ‘Prepare the way for the LORD’s coming! Clear the road for him!’”
By his power, we can do this now in our own lives.
No body cares about mountains and trees in the new world. God cares about the miraculous work of transforming the morality of the godless into godliness. That is all that will matter for all eternity. That he chose us, changed us, empowered us to do miracles of transformation in repentance and faith, turning to him and continuously finding him as the source of new life again and again and again for ever.
Pr 4:26 Make level paths for your feet and take only ways that are firm. 27 Do not swerve to the right or the left; keep your foot from evil.
Ps 143:10 Teach me to do your will, for you are my God. May your gracious Spirit lead me forward on a firm footing.
Isa 26:7 But for those who are righteous, the way is not steep and rough. You are a God who does what is right, and you smooth out the path ahead of them.
Isa 40:4 Every valley shall be raised up, every mountain and hill made low; the rough ground shall become level, the rugged places a plain. 5 And the glory of the LORD will be revealed, and all mankind together will see it. For the mouth of the LORD has spoken."
Heb 12: 12 Therefore, strengthen your feeble arms and weak knees! 13 "Make level paths for your feet," so that the lame may not be disabled, but rather healed. 14 Make every effort to live in peace with all men and to be holy; without holiness no-one will see the Lord.
Col 1:29 That’s why I work and struggle so hard, depending on Christ’s mighty power that works within me.
Joh 14:12 I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father.
We are miracle-workers. And the miracles we perform are of greater and more eternal significance than any material, any earthly matter. By the power of God, we are human-nature changers and we will live forever.
Wednesday, April 1, 2009
Christi-Sanity
Mr 5:15 NIV
When they came to Jesus, they saw the man who had been possessed by the legion of demons, sitting there, dressed and in his right mind; (NLT perfectly sane)…
Notice the desire and action that defines the character of this “perfectly sane” individual.
Mr 5:18 As Jesus was getting into the boat, the man who had been demon possessed begged to go with him.
Mr 5:20 So the man started off to visit the Ten Towns of that region and began to proclaim the great things Jesus had done for him; and everyone was amazed at what he told them.
Wanting to be with Jesus and excitedly, convincingly telling others about Jesus, is the picture of perfect sanity.
How would you, or God, define the state of mental health belonging to those who do the complete opposite?
Mr 5:15 they were all afraid.
Mr 5:17 And the crowd began pleading with Jesus to go away and leave them alone.
Anxiety and denial of reality and self-delusion are the norm.
Devotion to Christ is the only sane choice. We are not aiming at normal. We are aiming at truth and health, no matter how fearful or objectionable that picture may seem to “the crowd”.
When they came to Jesus, they saw the man who had been possessed by the legion of demons, sitting there, dressed and in his right mind; (NLT perfectly sane)…
Notice the desire and action that defines the character of this “perfectly sane” individual.
Mr 5:18 As Jesus was getting into the boat, the man who had been demon possessed begged to go with him.
Mr 5:20 So the man started off to visit the Ten Towns of that region and began to proclaim the great things Jesus had done for him; and everyone was amazed at what he told them.
Wanting to be with Jesus and excitedly, convincingly telling others about Jesus, is the picture of perfect sanity.
How would you, or God, define the state of mental health belonging to those who do the complete opposite?
Mr 5:15 they were all afraid.
Mr 5:17 And the crowd began pleading with Jesus to go away and leave them alone.
Anxiety and denial of reality and self-delusion are the norm.
Devotion to Christ is the only sane choice. We are not aiming at normal. We are aiming at truth and health, no matter how fearful or objectionable that picture may seem to “the crowd”.
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