Drippings from the Honeycomb
More to be desired are [the rules of the Lord] than gold, even much fine gold; sweeter also than honey and drippings of the honeycomb. (Psalm 19:10)
Did God save Adam and Eve or in the curse did they ultimately perish in hell?
The Bible isn’t overly clear but there are some hints to suggest they were saved:
Christmas—the real Christmas—lies buried beneath so many layers of wrapping, adornments and tradition that it is worthwhile pausing to unwrap it and find true joy.
DEFINING CHRISTMAS | NOUN [krísməs] The season/day of the year when the birth of the Christ child is celebrated; God’s anointed One, the promised deliverer. In Jesus God took on human form becoming this Christ. Christmas is two words: Christ and missa; Latin from the worship service’s closing prayer meaning “go” or “send” (i.e. mission). Having celebrated the birth of Christ the early Christians went out to proclaim the glad tidings of His coming. The first instance was in AD 336. Christmas is an ancient tradition, however it endures as it is real and relevant; God’s rescue plan that enables a relationship for all who repent and believe. IT’S REAL | MATTHEW 1–2 & LUKE 1–2 Confirmed by ancient Greek, Roman and Jewish sources and faithfully recorded in the Gospel accounts, Jesus was actually born. A first ‘Christmas’ really happened. Josephus (d. 100) said, “Now there was about this time Jesus, a wise man.” The biblical author Luke gives more detail by saying, “In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus.” You can read the whole story in Matthew 1–2 and Luke 1–2. IT’S RELEVANT | JOHN 14:9 & ACTS 17:27 Christmas is not just a quaint old story; nor is God a far off and distant reality. We don’t have to wonder who God is or what He is like or how to come to know Him. Jesus said “whoever has seen Me has seen the Father” and “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” This is because Jesus is the promised Christ, the son of God. IT’S ABOUT RESCUE | MATTHEW 1:21 Jesus’ name means ‘salvation.’ This is why the angel instructed Joseph to “call Him Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.” (Mt 1:21). While Jesus was a wise teacher, ultimately, he was born the Christ not just to teach but to rescue sinners through His life, death and resurrection. Before Christmas can be seen as good news we must first acknowledge the bad news. IT ENABLES A RELATIONSHIP | LUKE 24:46–47 As sinners, we do not know God―in fact, we are enemies of God. Yet in His grace God made a way to have a relationship with Him. The appointed means was faith—trust—in the good news of His Son: that God sent His Son, Jesus, who lived and died and rose again so that those turn and trust in Him might receive forgiveness and life eternal through the gift of the Holy Spirit. Through belief in this Saviour we are reconciled with God, adopted and called to live as His children. When we unpack Christmas we find that true joy and meaning comes not in the trappings but in the offer and ultimately acceptance of Christ. As the carol says, “Let every heart prepare Him room.” May your joy be made complete this Christmas by receiving God’s grace through faith in His Son, the Christ. On a recent visit of our area nursing home a thoughtful resident said to me after the chapel service, “I can tell that your church isn’t a slack church. There are too many slack churches these days!” I perceived this lady had attended a mainline church in her day and witnessed it, and others like it, steadily decline due to slackness. (The tragedy is they had not always been slack). By slackness she meant faithful, true, devoted, committed to the Faith.
Many dying (and dead) churches are:
Healthy churches are:
Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, and that repentance and forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations... Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. We can over and under shoot in sports, hunting and when driving. All of these can be detrimental. What is more detrimental is when we over or undershoot in the presentation of the Gospel. What I mean is when we diminish the Gospel by limiting it or when we embellish it and so enlarge it; when we bring the question of the extent of the atonement into its proclamation. The Gospel is neither "Christ died for you," nor "Christ may have died for you." The Gospel is the Gospel, it does not depend upon the extent of the atonement. When this over/under happens, I confess, my neck twitches because of the biblical and theological imprecision involved, not to mention the unnecessary insensitivity it shows to Christians of differing beliefs (General and Particular)- can't we simply agree in the Gospel? Before we get the Gospel out, we must first get it right. Gospel agreement is foundational to salvation and Christian fellowship. Limiting It I have met and heard (both historically and present day) of those who only preach the Gospel to God’s elect, or refrain from offering the Gospel or calling sinner’s to repent for fear of preaching to the unelect. (Yet we show we are among the elect by believing the Gospel!). This paralyzes hearers from believing the Gospel because they are left wondering… It also reduces faith to a mere passive acceptance or realization that you are among the elect. Though the Bible speaks about election, NO WHERE does it tie it to the Gospel's proclamation. Enlarging It I have met and heard (both historically and present day) of those who preach the Gospel and insist, even base it solely or rest it heavily upon, the claim that Christ died for everyone (in a specific sense) or that Christ died for you (in a specific sense), and that all you need to do to be saved is to realize this. (Certainly there is universal value in Christ’s death and the Gospel is to be published to everyone). This often immunizes hearers from truly believing the Gospel because they think they’re ok because of Christ’s death or have an interest in Christ or passively "accept" Him vs actively trusting in the Gospel or think that belief is the same as mental assent (e.g. if you believe Christ died for you, you will be saved). Though the Bible speaks about the extent of the atonement, NO WHERE does it specifically tie it to the Gospel's proclamation. What then is the Gospel? Gospel (original god spell, or good news in old English) comes from the Greek word euaggelion. In the ancient world this was the announcement of a king’s victory. It was good news! Jesus is that King who through his life, death and resurrection won a spiritual victory over sin and death and hell. Trusting in His Gospel brings to the believer all of the benefits the King won. Its proclamation doesn't depend on the extent of the atonement and may be described as: What is the difference between these two sins?
A variety of Greek words are rendered in English translations as gossip or slander. Two examples can both be conveniently found in one location: 2 Cor 12:20: “For I fear that perhaps when I come I may find you not as I wish, and that you may find me not as you wish—that perhaps there may be quarrelling, jealousy, anger, hostility, slander, gossip, conceit, and disorder.” Slander: to speak down to in a hostile way, to speak evil, defaming talk (here); or abusive language, slow in calling good good, litt. blasphemy (here). To make a false or damaging statement about someone. If from the pulpit I spoke militantly and poorly of someone then that is slander. Gossip: secret whisperings (like a snake charmer) (here); or sometimes foolish talk (literally bubbling talk (here). Sharing casual or unconstrained reports about someone, without their consent, which may or may not be confirmed as true. If in my visitation I shared titbits about someone that was private knowledge that would be gossip. Both may be true or false, however, slander tends to be more open/public whereas gossip tends to be private/covert. Hence why they are easily confused. Each sin flows from our heart, or our nature (Mt 15:19); and speech sin is no small matter for through it our world is set ablaze (Ja 3:6). If we persist in our sinfulness then speech sin is included in the list of sins that will prevent us from entering heaven (1 Cor 6:10, revilers, litt. verbal abusers). This is not because of the sin itself but because persistent sin shows that the Holy Spirit does not indwell us and that means we’ve never repented of our sin and received forgiveness and the gift of eternal life. Oh may we repent of slander and gossip and so receive forgiveness to walk in freedom and the Spirit to help us to do so. I recently had a fascinating conversation. It went like this.
I was chatting with some relatives. The subject was about something very old that had been refurbished. I made the remark, “It will last for another X years or until the Lord returns.” “That is a very odd statement,” came the reply, “I’ve never heard anyone say that before. What do you mean by that?” “It is a common Christian saying,” I replied simply. “I’ve never heard anyone say it,” came the reply from the person who has a Catholic background, “What do you mean by that?” Now, knowing the person would at least be familiar with the Apostles Creed, I said/cited, “Well, the Apostles Creed says Jesus will ‘come again, to judge the living and the dead.’” Rather than provoking more conversation this resulted in the person saying, “Ok, Chris, let’s stop being religious.” (Though I know they had been struck even by this truth). Behind the surface discomfort with “religion” this individual was unnerved by at least 2 things: Jesus’ coming judgement, and [related] their own mortality. The Bible says, “the wages of sin is death” (both physical and eternal) (Ro 6:23a). Jesus' return, which is a glorious prospect to the believer, is a terror to the unbeliever, because they are ill prepared to meet the Judge. Death is likewise a haunt because it foils our pride that believes we are immortal and ushers in Judgement. People fear death and judgement. (And they mock us for reminding them of their deepest fear. However, when they do their conscience has been pricked and we need to pray for them). The good news is this person, and the many unbelievers who live under this tumultuous burden, may have peace if they believe in the Gospel. 1 John 4:18 says, “There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love.” (Those who have become recipients of the love of God through faith in Jesus). May they stop putting off the thought, seeking to suppress the reality, and repent and trust in Jesus today. There is a big difference between falling into a puddle of sin and swimming in a pool of sewage.
This is the difference John draws as he speaks of perseverance: the possibility of believers to temporarily/occasionally fall into sin; and the persistent unrepentant sin unbelievers/false professors are pleased to remain in. Speaking of puddles John acknowledges the reality for saints, that as sinners, we may still sin. This is why he speaks not only of once for all legal forgiveness (1:9) but also ongoing relational forgiveness (2:1). Speaking of pools of sewage John says, “If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practise the truth” (1 Jn 1:6) and “No one who abides in him keeps on sinning; no one who keeps on sinning has either seen him or known him.” (1 Jn 3:6). If you are swimming in sewage, repent! If you’ve fallen in a puddle, repent! 1 John is full of 30+ tests of assurance to see whether we are in Christ (that you may know, 1 Jn 5:13). To read more on perseverance see here. ‘Salvation is of the Lord’ is a common phrase found throughout the Bible to express that God is the author and primary agent in rescuing lost sinners (e.g. Jon 2:9; Ps 3:8, 62:1). Phil 1:6 says, “He who began a good work in you will bring it to completion…” Because salvation is of the Lord we can have confidence in faith and assurance in life. He planned it, provided His Son and applies this work by His Spirit who then keeps us and sanctifies us until the end. While God is the primary agent in salvation that does not negate that our faith (itself a gift, 2 Pet 1:1; Phil 1:29; Acts 3:16) is a real and meaningful choice or active trust in the finished work of God (otherwise faith is a work and adds to salvation).
In light of that consider how Paul saw his conversion: “But when he who had set me apart before I was born, and who called me by his grace, 16 was pleased to reveal his Son to me” (Gal 1:15–16) “Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own.” (Phil 3:2) Compare this “the Lord saved me” lingo with how conversion is often described today: I got/was saved; I accepted Christ; I made a personal decision for Jesus; I gave my life to the Lord; I welcomed Jesus into my heart… Again, this is not entirely untrue but do you see where the emphasis is=ME. If salvation is ‘of the Lord’ let us honour Him in our gratitude by giving credit where credit is due. [This talk was not recorded due to its discursive nature. It was also timely given the juncture we are at as a congregation.]
Q- Who or what do you think of when you hear the word “leadership”? But I’m not a leader! (We may not all be called to lead in a formal sense but we are all called to leadership [just as those without the gift of hospitality or evangelism can still show hospitality or share the Gospel]. We often demonstrate leadership without knowing it; a child leading the others by suggesting they should clean up; a man noticing something should be done and then volunteering to lead others to do it; moral example, etc). Definition (among many): [Spiritual] leadership is moving people unto God’s agenda [or will]—Blackaby. Men have an innate call to display leadership. Q- How did Adam exercise leadership? (Eve his helper, naming the animals, fulfilling Creation commands) Q- What happens when men don’t lead? (women do; nothing gets done; families don’t thrive, etc). Q-Why don’t men lead? (women do, no incentive or challenge, laziness, discouraged) A biblical call to spiritual leadership: Ezk 22:30, “And I sought for a man among them who should build up the wall and stand in the breach before me for the land, that I should not destroy it, but I found none.” Ezekiel was among the first wave of exiles from Judah to Babylon. Missing his call as a priest he was called as a prophet. As God showed him visions of the spiritual corruption back in Jerusalem the LORD called him to prophesy against the city. In a courtroom scene in ch. 22 he said from among the priests and princes, etc, no spiritual leader, no man, could be found to fill the moral void in the spiritual wall around Jerusalem and thereby avert his wrath. The city was godless. God wants men to take spiritual leadership in their homes, churches, communities, etc, for the benefit of others. What typifies leadership in the Bible: F.A.I.T.H. Faithfulness Acknowledgement (or responsibility) Initiative Trustworthiness Humility (before God and others) Let us be men who rise to stand in the gap! As March dawns I admit that I am itching to get back out into the garden. Flowers are such a delightful pleasure of God’s creation, a true gift of colour and joy. During the winter we can enjoy cut flowers, however, their beauty is temporary and fleeting. They only last so long. By contrast real flowers continue long in bloom and perennials return every year afresh to bless us once more. There are many in our contemporary Canadian culture (itself being refashioned as we speak) who believe that our Christian past is a total blight and embarrassment to our national identity. It is a something to be reinvented and forgot rather than cherished and preserved. Recent studies show an increasing majority of Canadians see religion as a negative force, with only some 34% seeing Christianity as a positive element of society. There are some who even champion the idea that we must finally cut ourselves off from our Christian past to secure the bright dawn of a progressive future. C.S. Lewis suggested that when one had gone down the wrong path the most progressive thing to do was to reverse and then progress down the true path (c.f. Jer 6:16–17). As Canada has become, and continues to become, more post-Christian, some non-Christian leaders have urged restraint in jettisoning our heritage because they recognize the immense value it has and that our country couldn’t existentially be what it is without it. This is wise wisdom because Christianity gave us the very essence of what has made Canada such a glorious land. As we’ve slipped and then rushed away from this heritage we risk, well, everything. We are, you might say, living on borrowed time. To put it another way, the present generation is very much living off the merits of past generations. We still have some semblance of life but we are losing our bloom as we die a slow death. We are a cut flower society. We are cut off from the very roots that gave us life. Consider what Christianity gave us and what it might look like without these values:
May society repent and see the worth of Christian values and the Lord who stands behind them ready to forgive and renew (Acts 3:19). May the faithful remnant of Canadian Christians have a preserving and savoury effect as the salt of this land (Mt 5:13). |
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