Musings

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Some thoughts as we approach the Lord’s Day:

Firstly, I came across this today – a quotation from D. A. Carson, in A Call to Spiritual Reformation, p. 111-112:

“Lillian Guild tells an amusing story of an occasion when she and her husband were driving along and happened to notice a late-model Cadillac with its hood up, parked at the side of the road. Its driver appeared somewhat perplexed and agitated. Mrs. Guild and her husband pulled over to see if they could offer assistance. The stranded driver hastily and somewhat sheepishly explained that he had known when he left home that he was rather low on fuel, but he had been in a great hurry to get to an important business meeting so he had not taken time to fill up his tank. The Cadillac needed nothing more than refueling. The Guilds happened to have a spare gallon of fuel with them, so they emptied it into the thirsty Cadillac, and told the other driver of a service station a few miles down the road. Thanking them profusely, he sped off.

Twelve miles or so later, they saw the same car, hood up, stranded at the side of the road. The same driver, no less bemused than the first time, and even more agitated, was pathetically grateful when they pulled over again. You guessed it: he was in such a hurry for his business meeting that he had decided to skip the service station and press on in the dim hope that the gallon he had received would take him to his destination.

It is hard to believe anyone would be so stupid, until we remember that that is exactly how many of us go about the business of Christian living. We are so busy pressing on to the next item on the agenda that we choose not to pause for fuel. Sadly, Christian leaders may be among the worst offenders. Faced with constant and urgent demands, they find it easy to neglect their calling to the ministry of the Word and prayer because they are so busy. Indeed, they are tempted to invest all of their activity with transcendental significance, so that although their relative prayerlessness quietly gnaws away at the back of their awareness, the noise and pain can be swamped by the sheer importance of all the things they are busily doing.”

As I read this today, I couldn’t help but be reminded of “the means of grace” God has provided for us to supply our vital need of fuel and nourishment in the Christian life. Except I want to make this point – these means do not give us some kind of liquid fuel supply – some kind of substance called “grace”, but they give us the Lord Jesus Christ Himself. The grace we receive is not a substance but Christ Himself. The means of grace give us Christ, encountered through prayer; Christ, through the ordinances of baptism and the Lord’s Supper; Christ encountered in His word proclaimed in the gathered assembly.

The more I read my Bible, the more I am convinced that the Christian life is meant to be lived out in community. The sanctification of the Christian is a community project. We need the fellowship and ministry of our fellow brothers and sisters. None of us can say to another, “I have no need of you!” Life in Christ is not meant to be carried out alone. That is why when for two full months we were unable to meet as a Church, something very precious was missing. I know we all felt the loss. While we did all we could to keep sermons coming and contact flowing, nothing could take the place of the gathered assembly. And that is because, nothing was ever meant to. It is never God’s intention that we live our lives in isolation from the Body. Gathering with God’s people in praise and worship on the first day of the week, the Lord’s Day, is His design for each of us. It is something we are told to do “all the more” as we see the Day approaching (the Day of His coming) – Heb. 10:23-25.

Secondly, we are commanded to love the Lord our God with all our hearts, souls, minds and strength. To love Him with our minds includes our meditations about Him in all He has revealed to us in His word. As we contemplate the attributes of God, it leads to deep and profound thoughts of His perfections. There is endless joy to be found in God, certainly more than enough for all eternity. That is quite a thought in itself, isn’t it? None of us will be bored in His presence.

In His presence is fullness of joy, and at His right hand there are pleasures forevermore. – Psalm 16:11

In each of His attributes, there are fathomless depths to enjoy and encounter. For instance, let’s consider God’s omnipresence. This is the doctrine that states that God is everywhere present. Many Scriptures affirm this. Here are just two:

Psalm 139

7 Where can I go from Your Spirit?

Or where can I flee from Your presence?

8 If I ascend to heaven, You are there;

If I make my bed in Sheol, behold, You are there.

9 If I take the wings of the dawn,

If I dwell in the remotest part of the sea,

10 Even there Your hand will lead me,

And Your right hand will lay hold of me.

“‘Am I a God who is near,’ declares the Lord, ‘And not a God far off? Can a man hide himself in hiding places so I do not see him?’ declares the Lord. ‘Do I not fill the heavens and the earth?’ declares the Lord.” Jeremiah 23:23-24

Along this line, I really enjoyed this quote, written yesterday by Josh Neimi, a friend of mine.

As we consider the perfections of God, we must recognize that God is not merely omnipresent (everywhere), but that He is ubiquitous (fully present everywhere). By way of example, if I were to lay down and spread out across my bed, you might say that I was “all over” my bed. However, my head would be in one area, my torso in another, and my feet somewhere else. God, on the other hand, does not exist in “parts,” nor is His presence limited by time and space. Therefore, all of God is everywhere; to be ubiquitous is to be fully present everywhere. This ought to be of great concern to the unbeliever, and great comfort to the believer.

Something to ponder deeply, yes?

Ok, one more…. A verse spoken to Israel and true for all His people:

The LORD appeared to him from afar, saying,

“I have loved you with an everlasting love;

Therefore I have drawn you with lovingkindness. – Jeremiah 31: 3

Think about that for a moment and then reflect on this quote:

“The best proof that He will never cease to love us lies in that He never began.” – Geerhardus Vos

In one sense, this is incomprehensible to us – and yet we can comprehend it enough to find such deep comfort in its truth. Knowing His love is eternal, what joy it is to know nothing can separate us (His people) from this love. Here are familiar words from Romans 8:

35 Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? 36 Just as it is written,

“FOR YOUR SAKE WE ARE BEING PUT TO DEATH ALL DAY LONG;

WE WERE CONSIDERED AS SHEEP TO BE SLAUGHTERED.”

37 But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us. 38 For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

So, wrapping up, as we pursue the Lord through His means and as we meditate on God’s perfections and love for us, may each of us be strengthened in the joy of knowing Him.

P.S. I highly recommend the classic book “Knowing God” by J. I. Packer. Over the course of several decades now, it has proven to be a rich resource for meditation on God’s attributes.

A Matter of Conscience

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This excerpt is adapted from How Should I Live in This World? by R.C. Sproul.

The function of the conscience in ethical decision making tends to complicate matters for us. The commandments of God are eternal, but in order to obey them we must first appropriate them internally. The “organ” of such internalization has been classically called the conscience. Some describe this nebulous inner voice as the voice of God within. The conscience is a mysterious part of man’s inner being. Within the conscience, in a secret hidden recess, lies the personality, so hidden that at times it functions without our being immediately aware of it. When Sigmund Freud brought hypnosis into the place of respectable scientific inquiry, men began to explore the subconscious and examine those intimate caverns of the personality. Encountering the conscience can be an awesome experience. The uncovering of the inner voice can be, as one psychiatrist notes, like “looking into hell itself.”

Yet we tend to think of the conscience as a heavenly thing, a point of contact with God, rather than a hellish organ. We think of the cartoon character faced with an ethical decision while an angel is perched on one shoulder and a devil on the other, playing tug-of-war with the poor man’s head. The conscience can be a voice from heaven or hell; it can lie as well as press us to truth. It can speak out of both sides of its mouth, having the capacity either to accuse or to excuse.

In the movie Pinocchio, Walt Disney gave us the song “Give a Little Whistle,” which urged us to “Always let your conscience be your guide.” This is, at best, “Jiminy Cricket theology.” For the Christian, the conscience is not the highest court of appeals for right conduct. The conscience is important, but not normative. It is capable of distortion and misguidance. It is mentioned some thirty-one times in the New Testament with abundant indication of its capacity for change. The conscience can be seared and eroded, being desensitized by repeated sin. Jeremiah described Israel as having the “brazen look of a prostitute” (Jer. 3:3, NIV). From repeated transgressions, Israel had, like the prostitute, lost her capacity to blush. With the stiffened neck and the hardened heart came the calloused conscience. The sociopath can murder without remorse, being immune to the normal pangs of conscience.

Though the conscience is not the highest tribunal of ethics, it is perilous to act against it. Martin Luther trembled in agony at the Diet of Worms because of the enormous moral pressure he was facing. When asked to recant from his writings, he included these words in his reply: “My conscience is held captive by the Word of God. To act against conscience is neither right nor safe.”

Luther’s graphic use of the word captive illustrates the visceral power the compulsion of conscience can exercise on a person. Once a person is gripped by the voice of conscience, a power is harnessed by which acts of heroic courage may issue forth. A conscience captured by the Word of God is both noble and powerful.

Was Luther correct in saying, “To act against conscience is neither right nor safe”? Here we must tread carefully lest we slice our toes on the ethical razor’s edge. If the conscience can be misinformed or distorted, why should we not act against it? Should we follow our consciences into sin? Here we have a dilemma of the double-jeopardy sort. If we follow our consciences into sin, we are guilty of sin inasmuch as we are required to have our consciences rightly informed by the Word of God. However, if we act against our consciences, we are also guilty of sin. The sin may not be located in what we do but rather in the fact that we commit an act we believe to be evil. Here the biblical principle of Romans 14:23 comes into play: “Whatever does not proceed from faith is sin.” For example, if a person is taught and comes to believe that wearing lipstick is a sin and then wears lipstick, that person is sinning. The sin resides not in the lipstick but in the intent to act against what one believes to be the command of God.

The dilemma of double jeopardy demands that we diligently strive to bring our consciences into harmony with the mind of Christ lest a carnal conscience lead us into disobedience. We require a redeemed conscience, a conscience of the spirit rather than the flesh.

The manipulation of conscience can be a destructive force within the Christian community. Legalists are often masters of guilt manipulation, while antinomians master the art of quiet denial. The conscience is a delicate instrument that must be respected. One who seeks to influence the consciences of others carries a heavy responsibility to maintain the integrity of the other person’s own personality as crafted by God. When we impose false guilt on others, we paralyze our neighbors, binding them in chains where God has left them free. When we urge false innocence, we contribute to their delinquency, exposing them to the judgment of God.

The Dead in Christ – Now

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Article “What Are My Loved Ones Experiencing in the Present Heaven?” by Randy Alcorn – original source https://www.epm.org/blog/2020/Jun/3/loved-ones-experiencing-heaven

A reader wrote, “I just finished the book Heaven. Knowing Jesus, I found it inspiring and well documented. I was disappointed there wasn’t more mentioned about the immediate Heaven, the one right after we leave this earth. I just lost a loved one and would like more information and clarity about what she is experiencing. I have read three books on Heaven, read a lot about the New Earth, but little about what happens when I die.”  

While my book Heaven centers on the New Earth, the eternal Heaven, a few chapters deal with the present Heaven. When a Christian dies he enters what theologians call the “intermediate state,” a transitional period between life on Earth and the future resurrection to life on the New Earth. Usually when we talk about “Heaven,” we mean the place that Christians go when they die. When we tell our children “Grandma’s now in Heaven,” we’re referring to what I prefer to call the present Heaven (the word intermediate sometimes confuses people).

Books on Heaven often fail to distinguish between the intermediate and eternal states, using the one word—Heaven—as all-inclusive. But this is an important distinction. The present Heaven is a temporary lodging, a waiting place (a delightful one!) until the return of Christ and our bodily resurrection. The eternal Heaven, the New Earth, is our true home, the place where we will live forever with our Lord and each other. The great redemptive promises of God will find their ultimate fulfillment on the New Earth, not in the present Heaven. God’s children are destined for life as resurrected beings on a resurrected Earth.

Though the present Heaven is not our final destination, it’s a wonderful place, and it’s understandable that those who have had loved ones die in Christ wonder what life is like for them there. Based on the Bible’s teaching, we know several things: the present Heaven is a real (and possibly physical) place. Those who love Jesus and trust Him for their salvation will be with Him there, together with all who have died in Christ. We will be awake and cognizant. And because we will be with Jesus, it is “better by far” than our present existence.

The Present Heaven Is a Real Place

Heaven is normally invisible to those living on Earth. For those who have trouble accepting the reality of an unseen realm, consider the perspective of researchers who embrace string theory. Scientists at Yale, Princeton, and Stanford, among others, have postulated that there are ten unobservable dimensions and likely an infinite number of imperceptible universes. If this is what some scientists believe, why should anyone feel self-conscious about believing in one unobservable dimension, a realm containing angels and Heaven and Hell?

The Bible teaches that sometimes humans are allowed to see into Heaven. When Stephen was being stoned because of his faith in Christ, he gazed into Heaven: “Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, looked up to heaven and saw the glory of God, and ­Jesus standing at the right hand of God. ‘Look,’ he said, ‘I see heaven open and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God’” (Acts 7:55-56). Scripture tells us not that Stephen dreamed this, but that he actually saw it.

Wayne Grudem points out that Stephen “did not see mere symbols of a state of existence. It was rather that his eyes were opened to see a spiritual dimension of reality which God has hidden from us in this present age, a dimension which none the less ­really does exist in our space/time universe, and within which ­Jesus now lives in his physical resurrected body, waiting even now for a time when he will return to earth.”

I agree with Grudem that the present Heaven is a space/time universe. He may be right that it’s part of our own universe, or it may be in a different universe. It could be a universe next door that’s normally hidden but sometimes opened. In any case, I don’t think God gave Stephen a vision in order to make Heaven appear physical. Rather, He allowed Stephen to see a present Heaven that was (and is) physical.

The prophet Elisha asked God to give his servant, Gehazi, a glimpse of the invisible realm. He prayed, “‘O Lord, open his eyes so he may see.’ Then the Lord opened the servant’s eyes, and he looked and saw the hills full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha” (2 Kings 6:17). Acts 7 and 2 Kings 6 are narrative accounts, historical in nature, not apocalyptic or parabolic literature. The text is clear that Stephen and Gehazi saw real things.

The Present Heaven May Be a Physical Place

If we look at Scripture, we’ll see considerable evidence that the present Heaven has physical properties. We’re told there are scrolls in Heaven, elders who have faces, martyrs who wear clothes, and even people with palm branches in their hands. There are musical instruments in the present Heaven, horses coming into and out of Heaven, and an eagle flying overhead in Heaven.

Many commentators dismiss the possibility that any of these passages in Revelation should be taken literally, on the grounds that the book of Revelation is apocalyptic literature, which is known for its figures of speech. But the book of Hebrews isn’t apocalyptic, it’s epistolary. Moses was told, in building the earthly Tabernacle, “Be sure that you make everything according to the pattern I have shown you here on the mountain.” If that which was built after the pattern was physical, might it suggest the original was also physical? The book of Hebrews seems to say that we should see Earth as a derivative realm and Heaven as the source realm.

Unlike God and the angels, who are in essence spirits (John 4:24; Hebrews 1:14), human beings are by nature both spiritual and physical. God did not create Adam as a spirit and place it inside a body. Rather, He first created a body, then breathed into it a spirit. There was never a moment when a human being existed without a body. We are not essentially spirits who inhabit bodies; we are essentially as much physical as we are spiritual. We cannot be fully human without both a spirit and a body.

Given the consistent physical descriptions of the intermediate Heaven and those who dwell there, it seems possible—though this is certainly debatable—that between our earthly lives and our bodily resurrection God may grant us some temporary physical form that will allow us to function as human beings while in that unnatural state “between bodies” awaiting our bodily resurrection. If so, that would account for the repeated depictions of people now in Heaven occupying physical space, wearing clothes and crowns, carrying branches, and having body parts (for example, Lazarus’s finger in Luke 16:24).

A fundamental article of the Christian faith is that the resurrected Christ now dwells in Heaven. We are told that His resurrected body on Earth was physical and that this same, physical Jesus ascended to Heaven, from where He will one day return to Earth. It seems indisputable, then, to say that there is at least one physical body in the present Heaven. If Christ’s body in the intermediate Heaven has physical properties, it stands to reason that others in Heaven could have physical forms as well, even if only temporary ones.

To avoid misunderstanding, I need to emphasize a critical doctrinal point. According to Scripture, we do not receive resurrection bodies immediately after death. Resurrection does not happen one at a time. If we have intermediate forms in the intermediate Heaven, they will not be our true bodies, which we leave behind at death.

So if we are given material forms when we die (and I’m suggesting this possibility only because of the many Scriptures depicting physical forms in the present Heaven), they would be temporary vessels. Any understanding of people having physical forms immediately after death that would lead us to conclude that the future resurrection has already happened or is unnecessary is emphatically wrong!

We’ll Be Together with Christ and Those Who Love Him

As painful as death is, and as right as it is to grieve it (Jesus did), we on this dying Earth can also rejoice for our loved ones who are in the presence of Christ. When they die, those covered by Christ’s blood are experiencing the joy of Christ’s presence in a place so wonderful that Christ called it Paradise.

As the apostle Paul tells us, though we naturally grieve at losing loved ones, we are not “to grieve like the rest of men, who have no hope” (1 Thessalonians 4:13). Our parting is not the end of our relationship, only an interruption. We have not “lost” them, because we know where they are. And one day, we’re told, in a magnificent reunion, they and we “will be with the Lord forever. Therefore encourage each other with these words” (1 Thessalonians 4:17-18).

Peter tells us, “You will receive a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” (2 Peter 1:11). God is the main welcomer, no doubt.  All eyes are on Jesus, the Cosmic Center, the Source of all Happiness. But wouldn’t it make sense for the secondary welcomers to be God’s people, those who touched our lives, and whose lives we touched? Wouldn’t that be a great greeting party?

Jesus said, “There is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents” (Luke 15:10). Angels probably rejoice too, but the ones living in the presence of angels Jesus refers to are likely God’s people, redeemed human beings, some of who knew and loved and prayed for the conversion of these sinners, and now are beholding the answers to their prayers. Wouldn’t such people be a natural part of the welcome committee when we enter Heaven?

I envision glorious reunions and amazing introductions, conversations and storytelling at banquets and on walks, jaws dropping and laughter long and hard, the laughter of Jesus being the most contagious.   

When I enter Heaven, I look forward to being hugged by my dear mother, who I led to Christ when I was a new believer in high school. Then I picture Mom, that broad smile on her face, presenting me with my sixth grandchild. In 2013 my daughter Angie had a miscarriage. This was a very painful time for our family, but one more reason I am looking forward to Heaven. When this happens, I will look at Jesus, nodding my thanks to the One with the nail-scarred hands, and I will not let my grandchild or my mother go. 

Those in the Present Heaven Are Awake and Alive

That we’ll receive “a rich welcome” necessitates that at death, we will be awake and conscious. Christ depicted Lazarus and the rich man as conscious in Heaven and Hell immediately after they died (Luke 16:22-31). Jesus told the dying thief on the cross, “Today you will be with me in paradise” (Luke 23:43). The apostle Paul said that to die was to be with Christ (Philippians 1:23), and to be absent from the body was to be present with the Lord (2 Corinthians 5:8). After their deaths, martyrs are pictured in Heaven, crying out to God to bring justice on Earth (Revelation 6:9-11).

These passages clearly teach that there is no such thing as “soul sleep,” or a long period of unconsciousness between life on Earth and life in Heaven. The phrase “fallen asleep” (in 1 Thessalonians 4:13 and similar passages) is a euphemism for death, describing the body’s outward appearance. The spirit’s departure from the body ends our existence on Earth. The physical part of us “sleeps” until the resurrection, while the spiritual part of us relocates to a conscious existence in Heaven (Daniel 12:2-3; 2 Corinthians 5:8).

Every reference in Revelation to human beings talking and worshiping in Heaven prior to the resurrection of the dead demonstrates that our spiritual beings are conscious, not sleeping, after death. (Nearly everyone who believes in soul sleep believes that souls are disembodied at death; it’s not clear how disembodied beings could sleep, because sleeping involves a physical body.)

As awake and conscious beings, those in Heaven are free to ask God questions (Revelation 6:9-11), which means they have an audience with God. It also means they can and do learn. They wouldn’t be asking questions if they already knew the answers. In Heaven, people desire understanding and pursue it. There is also time in the present Heaven. People are aware of time’s passing and are eager for the coming day of the Lord’s judgment. God answers that the martyrs must “rest a little longer.” Waiting requires the passing of time. I see no reason to believe that the realities of this passage apply only to one group of martyrs and to no one else in Heaven. We should assume that what is true of them is also true of our loved ones already there, and it will be true of us when we die.

Life in Christ’s Presence Is Better by Far

Paul says, “For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.… I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far” (Philippians 1:21, 23). Life in the Heaven we go to when we die, where we’ll dwell prior to our bodily resurrection, is “better by far” than living here on Earth under the Curse, away from the direct presence of God.

Paul spoke from experience. He had actually been taken into Heaven years before writing those words (2 Corinthians 12:1–6). He knew firsthand what awaited him in Paradise. He wasn’t speculating when he called it gain. To be in the very presence of Jesus, enjoying the wonders of His being, and to be with God’s people and no longer subject to sin and suffering? “Better by far” is an understatement!

King David wrote, “In Your presence is fullness of joy; at Your right hand are pleasures forevermore” (Psalm 16:11, NKJV). In the presence of God, there’s nothing but joy. Those who live in the presence of Christ find great happiness in worshiping God and living as righteous beings in rich fellowship in a sinless environment. And because God is continuously at work on Earth, the saints watching from Heaven have a great deal to praise Him for, including God’s drawing people on Earth to Himself (Luke 15:7, 10).

Our loved ones now in Heaven live in a place where joy is the air they breathe, and nothing they see on earth can diminish their joy. Their joy doesn’t depend on ignorance, but perspective, drawn from the Christ in whose presence they live. If you’re following Jesus, no doubt your loved ones there are rejoicing over you. The great cloud of witnesses of Hebrews 12 is now up in the stands of Heaven and watching you on the same playing field they once ran on. They’re looking forward to hearing Jesus say “Well done” to you, and they may also commend you for your service of Jesus!

But those in the present Heaven are also looking forward to Christ’s return, their bodily resurrection, the final judgment, and the fashioning of the New Earth from the ruins of the old. Only then and there, in the eternal Heaven, the home Jesus is preparing for us, will all evil and suffering and sorrow be washed away by the hand of God. Only then and there will we experience the fullness of joy intended by God and purchased for us by Christ, who we will forever praise!

Lets bring kindness back

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The following was posted on social media today by Janice Procopio Walker. It is an appeal for common sense and kindness in the midst of the chaos all around us:

“I just got out of a 3 day FB jail. (Don’t try to post a toy g-u-n on marketplace. No warning. Jail for 3 days!). Yes, at this point, I’m scared to even type the word out!

One thing that really struck me during that time is that we don’t really know people’s stories. And sometimes, I’m not sure we care. 😞

During both Covid 19 and the recent racial tensions…beyond the sadness of the two events first and foremost…I was really saddened by the simple lack of love and kindness on social media.

If anyone questioned the media regarding Covid 19…they were a conspiracy theorist and lost our respect. Publicly. We have successfully hidden behind the computer screen for so long, I think we have lost sight of how relationships work. Undoubtedly, we have typed things we would never have the courage to say to someone’s face. I can’t tell you how many posts on my feed have said something like “I used to respect and love these people until I saw them post … xyz…” So do we only love and respect people when they think the way we think?

During the last few days, when I could not post…interestingly…I read countless posts of how if someone did not post a certain way…they showed their true beliefs and were not a friend, were a racist etc.

The reason our children are not yet on social media, is because the temptation to be one way behind a computer screen and another way in real life…is legit.

Have we really lost our way so much that we have forgotten the love and kindness it takes to make relationships work? Have we really decided that what someone posts or does not post is the true revelation of their character?

Isn’t true character who we are when only God sees? What we do…that no one knows about? How we serve, love, care for people when no camera follows us?

I have always believed that posting is easy. Living…is not. It’s easy for us all to post a certain way to appease the crowd…but how I live…is what matters. How I love…is what matters. How I treat people face to face…defines me more than what I post.

I’m not for or against posting a certain thing…that is not my point. The judgement of it all…scares me.

I think being in FB jail for three days is just an example that no one thought about … when they posted that their friends revealed their beliefs by their lack of a certain post. Just one example of many.

I’ve read many times all the things that Covid didn’t steal from us. But in many ways…it did.

Let’s bring kindness back. Let’s bring love back. Let’s bring all views to the table and welcome conversations.

And above all…let’s go do the hard thing. Let’s love people. All people. The people that don’t agree with wearing a mask. The people that do. The people that are scared for our country’s economic future. The people that are terrified of another Covid run. The people that are doing everything in their power to stay away from the temptation of the black hole of anxiety and depression. The people that post on facebook their support of a certain cause and look like a hero to all..but don’t go out of their way to be kind to someone they meet. The people that quietly spend time on their knees asking God to make them more like Him and to ignore the noise. The people that seek to make a small difference every single day in the lives of those they interact with…but try to keep their motives pure and will never tell you about it. The people God made. All of them.”

The 2nd Use of the Law

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by Joel Ellis, pastor of Reformation Orthodox Presbyterean Church, Apache Junction, AZ writes:

The Reformed tradition has historically identified three uses of the Law. Although sometimes numbered differently, they are:

1st – Pedagogical: as a mirror to display the perfect righteousness which God requires, convicting the sinner of his sin and driving him (under the influence of grace) to repentance and faith in Christ

2nd – Civil: as a code to restrain the exercise of evil within human society

3rd – Moral/Normative: as a rule of life to reveal what pleases God and how believing persons ought to live in love and gratitude

It is important to recognize these are not three different parts of the Law, only three different functions by which it operates upon the hearts of human beings. The three uses are not in order of sequence or priority. Calvin regarded the third use as the primary function of the Law, but this application is only made in the lives of regenerate persons. Likewise the first use is primarily experienced by elect persons brought under conviction as they are drawn by the Spirit from death to new life in Christ–though reprobates will experience the terror of the first use without any redemptive result. But the second use applies in the same way to everyone, whether the Law is encountered as written on tablets of stone or in the moral consciousness of man where it is written upon the heart (Rom. 2:14-16).

What we see on the news in cities throughout our nation right now is illustrative of what happens when the second use of the Law is abandoned. This is not to say the Law is no longer written upon the hearts of rioters, looters, and violent men. But the conscience can be seared, and when it is, the influence of the moral law written upon the heart is diminished. This is why God appointed governments and gave them the power of the sword: to protect the innocent, uphold justice, and punish evildoers (Rom. 13:1-7). That all human governments do this imperfectly and some do it abusively and wickedly does not change the divine mandate. The same Law that says, “Thou shalt not murder” also says, “Thou shalt not steal.” If civil law enforcers turn a blind eye to violations of the Law, societies should expect to see lawlessness abound.

The Law cannot save anyone. It cannot convert. It cannot atone for or forgive wrongs. It cannot justify. It cannot change the human heart. The Law can only do two things: tell us what the standard is, and define penalties when that standard is violated. Grace is required to accomplish anything more. But that does not mean the Law is powerless or pointless. On the contrary, even if the Law does not convict the conscience of every evildoer and even if it cannot convert anyone, it does serve as a powerful restraint to the expression of greater and greater lawlessness.

If a burglar knows a particular house is guarded by a powerlifting insomniac with a baseball bat, he will probably seek a softer target on which to set his sights. If a criminal knows his actions will likely result in him being caught and incarcerated, there is a chance he will modify his behavior in order to preserve his liberty. The reverse is also true. If a burglar knows I am a diamond merchant and a pacifist who eschews the use of door locks and believes wealth is communal property, I should expect to find my inventory relocated soon. If civil leaders order law enforcement to retreat when windows are smashed, stores are looted, radio cars flipped over, and police stations burned, they can expect to see such incidents increase. The Law is given to restrain sin, to deter sinners from acting on their worst impulses. You can expect to get more of whatever you reward, and make no mistake: refusing to restrain and punish evil is rewarding it and inviting more. The fact the Law cannot save does not make it unimportant. It confronts us with real and painful consequences for foolish, selfish, self-destructive behavior. We ignore it at peril to our own lives and souls. Any society which discards its usefulness, no matter how well-intentioned, will not long survive.

A Strategy of Pure Evil

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“On one occasion, so it was narrated, Stalin called for a live chicken and proceeded to use it to make an unforgettable point before some of his henchmen. Forcefully clutching the chicken in one hand, with the other he began to systematically pluck out its feathers. As the chicken struggled in vain to escape, he continued with the painful denuding until the bird was completely stripped. ‘Now you watch,’ Stalin said as he placed the chicken on the floor and walked away with some bread crumbs in his hand. Incredibly, the fear-crazed chicken hobbled toward him and clung to the legs of his trousers. Stalin threw a handful of grain to the bird, and it began to follow him around the room, he turned to his dumbfounded colleagues and said quietly, ‘This is the way to rule the people. Did you see how that chicken followed me for food, even though I had caused it such torture? People are like that chicken. If you inflict inordinate pain on them they will follow you for food the rest of their lives.'”

Ravi Zacharias, Can Man Live Without God, (Word Publ., Dallas: 1994), pp. 26-27

An Everyday Bible

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“Visit many good books, but live in the Bible.” – C. H. Spurgeon

The following is an article “Rambling Reflection on an Everyday Bible” written by Pastor Joel Ellis of Reformation OPC, Apache Junction, AZ:

You may not be a reader–and if this is the case, allow me to express my condolences and encourage you to believe there is still time to learn to love it–but if you are a Christian, there is one book above all others that you will love and to which you must return again and again. My life, thinking, character, vocabulary, and values have been shaped by Lewis, Tolkien, Chesterton, Defoe, Latham, Dickens, Homer, and Heinlein, but the book that has made and remade me more than any other, beyond any comparison, is the Holy Bible.

I never understood how a person’s primary reading and study Bible could be twenty years old and still look almost new. I have some old Bibles, and some of them I still use in various ways. But my everyday Bibles wear out fairly quickly. They go with me all the time. Maybe I am careless, and yes, if I purchased more expensive Bibles, they might last a little longer. But it’s not as though I am buying cheap Bibles or purposefully abusing them. They simply get worn out. They are supposed to. They spend every day in my hands, pocket, or bag. I have Bibles that are in practically new condition. They are the ones that rarely come off the shelf and are never read, only consulted.

I have a pair of dress shoes that I have owned for twenty years. I wear them every Sunday, and only on Sundays unless I officiate a wedding or funeral during the week. I would never dream of putting them on otherwise. They are stiff, uncomfortable, and after wearing them a while, my back begins to hurt. They are very good shoes, depending on your definition of good. They’ve lasted more than twenty years, and I will probably still be wearing them twenty years from now unless I wear out first. Kirstie may even be able to bury me in them! (If so, I’m taking them off as soon as the resurrection occurs.) Can you guess how many pairs of everyday shoes I have worn out in the last twenty years? I rarely replace my everyday shoes until they have holes in them and the soles are completely worn through. And if I had to choose between my worn out daily shoes and my dress shoes, I am wearing the everyday shoes with holes in the soles every time.

This is not to shame you if you have taken better care of your everyday Bible than I have, but it is to suggest that an everyday Bible is meant to be worn out: worn out from use, from reading, study, prayer, and wrestling with the text. I don’t purposefully abuse my everyday Bibles, but I also do not try to maintain their original, pristine condition. I don’t want my daily Bible to be stiff, with pages still stuck together and the gold edges unmarred. My daily Bibles are usually dog-eared, coffee-stained, and somewhat floppy. The pages are smudged with pen, highlighter, and oil from my hands. The binding is now supple, eventually a little too loose. I want my daily Bible to be good enough quality–preferably sewn, not glued–that it won’t fall apart in the first year, but not so expensive that I am afraid of wearing it out or letting it develop signs of use and abuse.

Brothers and sisters, enjoy wearing out your daily Bible. It should be a constant companion and comfort and fit you like a good pair of everyday shoes. —JME