The Gospel

"[Lucifer is] the man that made the earth to tremble, that did shake kingdoms, that made the world as a wilderness, and destroyed the cities thereof, that opened not the house of his prisoners." Isaiah 14:16b, 17

"The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because the Lord hath appointed me to preach good tidings to the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound, [...] to comfort them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness.... I will greatly rejoice in the Lord; my soul shall be joyful in my God...." Isaiah 61:1, 3a, 10a

"For this purpose the Son of God was manifested: that He might destroy the works of the devil." I John 3:8b

To see Jesus as a social revolutionary is an injustice and a crime against the Gospel. To see Him as a mere statement of Divine sentimentality is a blasphemous hatred against the Gospel. To see Him as a cash cow, a cosmic ATM, is to rob the Gospel of all power and glory. To see Him as the liberator from cruel governments of men is to be as confused and disappointed at His coming as the Jews who eventually killed Him were. If you see and preach Christ as anything less or other than the propitiation for the Sin of the world, as the revelation of God's holy wrath and loving kindness, as the only mediator between God and man, as the Destroyer of all evil and corruption caused since the Fall, and as the Kinsman Redeemer of all men who have fallen, then you blaspheme and disgrace the work and name of our Lord, and we have no part in you, for what fellowship has light with darkness? Indeed, if you preach any gospel other than that which proclaims the forgiveness of sins and atonement of men back to God through the shed blood of Christ, then you are merely adding to the darkness that already blinds so many. Every breath you breathe that carries with it your false gospel sends unholy fog across the souls of men, furthering their natural obscurity, so that the true light is even harder to find. In the end, you will be one of the ones mentioned in Matthew 7:21-23; you will have your reward.

The lost and lonely people of this dying world do not need a social revolutionary. They do not need beautiful phrases of sentimentality. They do not need a cosmic ATM. They do not need a usurping liberator. They do not need a guru, an enlightened one, a homeboy, a co-pilot, or a moral mentor; they need a savior. They need the awesome and terrible truth that God is there, He is not silent, and He has come to us, "His arm [has] brought salvation...the Redeemer [has] come to Zion." (Isaiah 59:15, 20) This world needs good news that transcends and outlasts all cultures, kingdoms, fashions, and fads; news that is good no matter what social, cultural, political, or religious environment you live in. This world needs a saving truth that is the same for all at all times no matter what happens, and that truth has always been: God is, God loves, and God can be found.

"We have seen God's Glory:

Not beautiful words and phrases,

But Redemption based on the

Blood of Christ..."

-Jon Vowell

This Is Redemption: Glorification

"Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee. For, behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the people; but the Lord shall arise upon thee, and His glory shall be seen upon thee, and the Gentiles shall come to thy light...because He hath glorified thee. [...] The Lord shall be unto thee an everlasting light, and thy God thy glory." Isaiah 60:1-3a, 9b, 19b

For proper Christian living, it is essential to have a proper understanding of God's children as they are now and as they will be. As to what they will be, Scripture clearly teaches that upon Christ's return, God's immediate presence will glorify His children with His glory (like a million mirrors reflecting the rising sun at dawn), and that glorification will be the redemption of all things (see Romans 8:18-23). When Christ returns, and the presence of God is revealed to all, the world and universe will become as it were a great star, with all Sin and corruption being burned away forever, and God's children will be the roaring coals of that holy fire.

As to what they are now, they are still "the light of the world," because the Light of the World (i.e., Christ) rest within them by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. That same glory of God that heralds and causes the redemption of all things is with us now, because the glory of God is God, and He is with us by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. Though His presence in us is not yet manifested in its perfection, it can still be seen by the actions it leads us to do, attitude that it produces in us, and the gospel that it preaches through us. Until the veil is lifted and we are made actual manifestations of God's glory, we are to be living pictures of that yet future state were (as T.S. Elliot put it) "all shall be well, and all manner of thing shall be well."

"Redemption is

The glory of the Lord

And the Glory of the Lord..."

-Jon Vowell

Biblical Christianity

"Your iniquities have separated you from your God...and the Lord saw it, and it displeased Him that there was no judgment; and He saw that there was no man, and wondered that there was no intercessor; therefore His arm brought salvation for Him, and His righteousness sustained Him...the Redeemer shall come to Zion..." Isaiah 59:2, 15, 16, 20

Much that passes for 'gospel' these days does not fit the biblical criteria, and it is a biblical criteria. Orthodox teaching on salvation is not a New Testament anomaly; it is a foundational theme of the whole of Scripture. Even in this ancient prophecy, which we today like to think says 'nothing about nothing,' even it contains the familiar formula. We are sinners (vs. 3-8), and our Sin has separated us from God (vs. 2). We cannot save ourselves and get back to God (vs. 9-16a), so God brought salvation to us (vs. 16b-20). That is not a New Testament thing; it is a Bible thing.

We must beware of those who claim disharmony in the Bible. We must be stiffly embattled against those whose 'gospel' comes under the guise of Christianity, yet carries none of the marks of Scripture upon it. Those who undermine or discount Scripture in any way are our enemies, no matter who they are or their intentions. Anything that tampers with man's true condition and man's only hope must not be tolerated. We must call anything that takes away from the firm, biblical teachings of man as a great sinner and Christ as a great Savior by its proper name, i.e., heresy. It is absolutely astounding how amiable we are towards things which will damn men's souls, and anything that undercuts Scripture by preaching another gospel (whether it be prosperity, social, love, or liberation) damns men's souls by leading them away from eternal life. Scripture alone is good news; all else is the smoke and mirrors of Hell.

"We gather together

And claim two things:

That Christ, the Mighty Maker died

For man the creature's sin..."

-Jon Vowell

True Worship

"If thou turn away...from doing thy pleasure on my holy day...and shalt honor me, not doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure, nor speaking thine own words; then shalt thou delight thyself in the Lord..." Isaiah 58:13, 14

Israel thought that they were practitioners of true worship (vs. 1-3), but God revealed it as merely self-worship (vs. 4, 5). True worship is a complete loss (or "denial") of self for the sake of another (vs. 6, 7). Only in when worship means that you are blissfully unaware of yourself, only in that is God pleased (vs. 8-14). All worship (whether they be of joy or sorrow) that has as its centerpiece the self is idolatry, and an abomination to the Lord.

Much of the noise that passes for 'worship' these days is this idolatry, mere self-exaltation. Whether it be obnoxious self-display or obnoxious self-depreciation, it is all self, and is thus idolatrous. In the constant debate (some would say war) over worship these days, we have heard such dumb-founded polemics as: "It's what I like." "It's my worship; I'll do it my way." "I want music that speaks to me." "It's not my thing, but whatever floats your boat." Not one person who has ever argued thusly has ever stopped to consider that all of their reasoning ultimately comes back to a centering on the self: what I want. Worship is never about the worshipper; it is about the one who is worshipped. Worship is to take us out of ourselves, out of our petty problems, preferences, and contexts, and get our minds solely and squarely focused on God and God alone. Any 'worship' that does not do that is merely idolatry in disguise.

"That singer was so good!" "The performance was awesome!" "I felt truly inspired!" "The music was what really captured me!" What chance has God through all of that? Exactly who or whom are we worshipping when we talk thus? While it is true that personalities, temperaments, and tastes will indeed vary amongst individual worshippers, it is equally true that the foundation of worship is a denial of self for the sake of adoring God, and that does not change no matter what "floats your boat."

"True worship,

True religion,

True life,

Is not in me,

It's in You..."

-Jon Vowell

Restlessness vs. Stillness

"There is no peace, saith my God, to the wicked." Isaiah 57:21

Those who trust in God find peace, both in life (vs. 13b-19) and in death (vs. 1, 2). Those who trust anything else, any man (vs. 7-9) or any other, lesser god (vs. 5, 6) will never find peace. Peace belongs to God and God alone; nothing else can give it, but oh how we try! We will do anything other than come as paupers to the throne of grace. We will fall into a million side eddys and ignore the true pathway of the sea. We will head into every tourist trap on the way rather than head for home. To be outside of God is to be ever restless (vs. 20): you go hither and thither, instability your only comfort, the 'next thing' your only hope.

The only movement found in a child of God is a movement deeper into stillness, into peace, into God Himself. The child of God is to be marked by (amongst other things) the irresistible stillness of their Father, a stillness that wreaks havoc on the soul of the restless, because it serves to accentuate that they are on the outside looking in. "Be still, and know that I am God." (Psalm 46:10a) To know God is to know stillness; not just any stillness, but His stillness, and to not know Him is to know only the restless desire for stillness.

"Be still, oh restless soul of mine.

Bow before the Prince of Peace;

Let the noise and clamor cease..."

(Steven Curtis Chapman)

-Jon Vowell

"...house of prayer for all..."

"...my house shall be called a house of prayer for all people." Isaiah 56:7

The openness and availability of salvation is unlimited. Those who claim that the atonement was not meant for all speak falsely:

"The Spirit and the bride say, 'Come,' and let all that hear say, 'Come,' and let him that thirst come, and whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely." (Revelation 22:17)

"Everyone that thirsts, come ye to the waters, and he that has no money, come, buy, and eat. Yea, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price." (Isaiah 55:1)

It is true that the way of salvation is narrow, and few find it (Matthew 7:14), but it is in no way true that the gate doors are locked to all but the few. The way that leads to life is open to whosoever will come.

"Ye have made [my father's house] a den of thieves." (Matthew 21:13) Think of the true context that informed Christ's white hot fury. The temple was to be "a house of prayer" freely open to all, but the moneychangers had come and stamped a price of admission on the requirements. "Pay my price, and then Come." Really now: is Christ's reaction to this any surprise? Salvation is a free gift of grace to all, and those who would dare stamp a price on it or exclude any from it are thieves, and in league with the Thief that comes only to steal, kill, and destroy (John 10:10).

"'For all people,' dear Lord.

More beautiful words

Have never been spoken..."

-Jon Vowell

The Great Return II: God as Redeemer

"For ye shall go out with joy, and be lead forth with peace. The mountains and the hills shall break forth before you into singing, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands. Instead of the thorn shall come up the cypress tree, and instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle tree; and it shall be to the Lord for a name of renown, for an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off." Isaiah 55:12, 13

The redemptive power of the gospel will forever stand as testimony to the glorious character and nature of God. To those who embrace the gospel, to the creation that will feel its effects, God will be known as Redeemer. His wrath towards His people will become a fading memory, and Redemption will be our song (Isaiah 54:7, 8). The redemptive power of the gospel is ultimate and final proof that God is exactly Who the Scriptures reveal Him as: Holy and Love--He has removed the curse and blight of Sin, and has set us free from it.

"Instead of the thorn...instead of the brier," all will be as it was before the Fall, all will be restored and made new, and such a great returning shall be the theme of His children. Think on this. Mankind was created for a great romance (i.e., adventure) with God, and the music of our existence would have two eternal notes: God is our Creator, God is our Lover. Unfortunately, that romance was 'interrupted' (so to speak) by the Fall. Once all has been restored, we will continue forward, but we will have an added a note to the music of our existence: God is our Redeemer. Let all the children of lesser gods howl in fear and despair, for we who have tasted the sweet waters of redemption know against all of their ragings that there is a God who is Holy and Love, who punishes Sin and saves the sinner, and we have seen His glory.

"The Gospel stands

Like a star undaunted

Mid the blackest of the night.

It stand for this

Sure testimony

That there is such a thing

As Light..."

-Jon Vowell

Always Successful

"For as the rain and the snow cometh down from heaven, and returneth no thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater; so shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it." Isaiah 55:10, 11

The preaching of God's word is always a success story whether we see the results or not. The joy of preaching God's word is that its results are actual, though not obvious. No matter what our eyes tell us or circumstances inform to the contrary, the preaching of God's word is a successful enterprise every time. The only failure is to not preach; the only guaranteed lack of harvest is to not sow.

Preaching is the only true successful art because it is the only art that has the absolute power of God in it. It is His word, not ours, and His word enriches and enlivens all things. We err if we start with ourselves in preaching: "I must sound well, speak well, be clear, be simple." Rhetorical excellence is a virtue, but the success inherent in the word of God is contingent upon God and not us. If preaching succeeds, it is always in spite of the preacher.

"Your Word knows not

The limitations of man.

It knows only the

Power of God..."

-Jon Vowell

Grace in the Context of the Trinity

"Behold, thou shalt call a nation that thou knowest not, and nations that knew not thee shall run unto thee because of the Lord thy God...[Let] the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous his thoughts, and let him return unto the Lord our God, and He will have mercy upon him and abundantly pardon. For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord." Isaiah 55:5-9

The mystery of grace sneaks up on us now and again. That the Holy Almighty pardons guilty sinners is a truth that is oft given mouth service in our minds, but if we ever seriously considered its implications we would fall on our faces as one dead. The glory of God's trinitarian nature of Holiness and Love is that He has made it to where He can separate the sinner from Sin and bind the former to Himself in whole communion and cast the latter into outer darkness. The mystery of grace is that it is the fullest expression of God's holiness and love. It is a matter of grace that not only are we saved, but also that Sin is destroyed, never to plague us again. That God's immutable character did not produce our utter destruction (either by annihilation or leaving us to our own vices and devices), but rather our utter salvation through the redemption wrought by God in Christ, such a fact should boggle our minds into thunderous worship, for grace is truly amazing.

"Mysterious grace, mysterious ways

The sweetest song that turns

Unworthy wretches into

Sons and daughters of God..."

-Jon Vowell

Man's Desiring

"Wherefore do you spend money for that which is not bread? And your labor for that which satisfieth not? Hearken diligently unto me, and eat ye that which is good, and let your soul delight itself in abundance." Isaiah 55:2

The notion that God is trying to give us something other than Himself is a fallacious thought. There is no joy or peace outside of God, and yet much that passes for 'gospel' these days would have you believe otherwise. God is out to give you money, or free healthcare and education, or the cure for this or that, or social amiableness or revolution, or a Democratic/Republican president, or the end of poverty and the empowerment of the working class, or some other thing that seems logical, good, and beautiful but is ultimately nothing outside of God. Christ promised us that He was the way to the Father (John 14:6), and nowhere else. Any other destination is a false gospel to the core.

It is not great men, new concepts, or beautiful words and phrases that mankind needs or ultimately desires. We have had those since time began, and they have yet to satisfy. What man truly, ultimately desires is God, whether we know it or not. The deep burning for true peace and an absolute end to loneliness is found only in God, and the 'good news' is that Christ has come to take us back to Him, if we will.

"You alone are where our

Hopes and dreams collide with

Living Reality.

May we tire of chasing the winds..."

-Jon Vowell

Terror and Beauty in Salvation Freely Offered

"Ho, everyone that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money, come ye, buy and eat; yea, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price." Isaiah 55:1

"Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest." Matthew 11:28

The absolute 'freeness' of salvation can be the biggest single stumbling-block for most people. Every other religion in the world requires a human price-tag for salvation. Facets of 'Christianity' still hold to it (e.g. Roman Catholicism). True and traditional Christianity, however, understood only one requirement asked of men, and that is "Come," come and take what is being freely offered.

Man thought of salvation as some sort of unreachable gift, as though it was perched atop a mountain of thorns, and none could truly survive the quest to reach it. Christianity comes alone, however, and presents salvation like samplers at a dinner party, to which we have all be invited, and God is walking about with salvation on a silver platter asking each and every one, "Salvation, sir?" "Salvation, madam?" All the while, we stand about with the simple yet terrible choice: accept or reject; take salvation freely offered, or reject it and leave. Salvation's 'freeness' is equally beautiful and terrifying: as easily as we could accept it, we can just as easily reject it.

"Can it be true that

Salvation is paid in full

And there are no more

Hoops to jump through

Anymore...?"

-Jon Vowell

Humbly Victorious, Victoriously Humble

"No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper, and every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgment thou shalt condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, and their righteousness is from me, saith the Lord." Isaiah 54:17

A perpetual state of unconquerability is the heritage of God's people (c.f. Romans 8:37). This is not to say that our enemies will not have a a veneer of victory upon them and an aire of victory about them; they will seem to gain ground of some sorts. Nevertheless, all of their 'victories' are vain, and will be revealed as merely further strategy in our Lord's ultimate victory. Those who are of God belong to this ultimate victory, and thus they can and should live every moment victoriously, i.e., as victors. Despite what seems to happen or what lies the world, flesh, and the devil hurl our way, we can still live like victors "in the midst of strife" (as the symphony goes). That is our heritage.

"Their righteousness is from me, saith the Lord." Never think that this heritage has anything to do with you in terms of merit. Its availability to us is founded on the fact that God (through Christ) has made us worthy of it. This heritage does not belong to the self-righteous (for there really is no such thing) but to the made-righteous, to those in whom God has not imputed iniquity. Thus, while we should live victoriously, we should also live humbly, knowing that our participation in ultimate victory is based solely on the charity of another and not our own merit.

"We are victors because

We are bound to the Victor.

Victory is sure

Because it is bound to You..."

-Jon Vowell

Peace from Knowledge

"All thy children shall be taught by the Lord, and great shall be the peace of thy children." Isaiah 54:13

The true knowledge of peace comes from God, because it is the knowledge of Himself. Anyone can have knowledge, but they are never guaranteed contentment and calm; quite the opposite actually (Ecclesiastes 1:17, 18). The only knowledge that secures peace to a person is that knowledge that comes from God about God. Without Him, there is always some final piece missing, some last part that binds the whole thing together, some missing premise that brings us to the proper and desired conclusion. Without Him, we are, in effect, fumbling in the dark with we know not what.

Knowledge from God is the only knowledge of peace because it is the only knowledge that accounts for Him. All other thinking starts somewhere else: man, principles, ideals, 'gods,' etc. These things reveal themselves, however, as inadequate foundations, chiefly because they do not secure peace; they do not secure stability of mind and soul on the surety that everything is indeed okay. Only the knowledge that God gives provides peace. When He instructs us, then no matter what else we learn, we are secure from fear and despair: "Yes, I know this says such and such; but there is a God, and this is who He is and what He is doing." The knowledge God gives is the knowledge of peace because it is always a revelation of Himself, and He is the source of peace.

"Teach me, Father, by Your Hand

And no one else.

Draw me close to You

And make me as

Unshakable as You are..."

-Jon Vowell

Wrath in the Context of the Trinity

"For a small moment, I have forsaken thee; but with great mercies, I will gather thee. In a little wrath I hid my face from thee for a moment; but with everlasting loving-kindness, I will have mercy on thee, saith the Lord thy Redeemer." Isaiah 54:7, 8

Juxtaposed next to God's love is another immutable quality of His character: holiness. Holiness is defined as "moral perfection," perfection is defined as "completeness" or "wholeness." Within God's character, there is no deficiency, defect, or divide. In can be said that, because God is perfect, that His holiness is a perfect holiness, a whole moral wholeness, i.e., a moral wholeness that is constant. He is not morally whole sometimes and morally unwhole other times; He is in a constant state of moral wholeness. He is 'wholly holy,' so to speak. Likewise, if God is perfect, then His love is perfect as well, i.e., His communion is complete and whole; there is no shadow of severance within God's communal nature. Thus within the Trinity, we see two factors played out: perfect holiness and love, perfect wholeness and communion. It is the picture of absolutely immutable unity.

Whereas the Trinity carries with it the sense of absolute immutable unity, Sin carries with it the sense of absolute immutable separation, separation between God and man, man and man, man and creation, and man and himself. Sin divides; the Trinity unites. Those who are bound to Sin by Adam (and continue therein) are bound (and continue to bind themselves) to division, and the Trinity has no part in them; likewise, those who are bound to the Trinity by Christ are bound to unity, and Sin has no part in them. The Trinity is the fulfillment of communion, while Sin is communion's dissolvement. The two are oil and water: the one displaces the other. The wages of Sin, the natural consequence of being bound to Sin, is separation from God, and separation from God is death (and thus the further separations of man result). To be separated from God, from the Trinity, from absolute and perfect moral wholeness and personal communion, is to be separated from true life, and thus it is death.

The space-time realities of God's wrath upon the peoples of earth must be viewed within the context of God as absolute immutable unity and Sin as absolute immutable separation. When once you bind yourself to Sin, "the death sentence is at work in you," as Mr. Chambers would say. It is at work because what indeed is the natural consequence of turning from God, absolute unity, the source of life? The only other ground to run to is absolute separation, the source of death. When people Sin against God, when they cling to death and separation over life and unity, life and unity withdraws itself from us (for what fellowship has unity with separation?), and we are left to the consequences.

Thus, within the context of the Trinity, we see God is Love, and thus is Savior: He desires communion with us, because it is His nature to desire communion with others. We also see, however, that God is Holy, and thus is Judge: His very presence is the destruction of separation, because it is His nature to be whole and complete. Let no man say that God desires separation, that He desires the death of the wicked; He does not. His holiness demands separation Sin; His love demands communion with us.

"Holiness and Love

Burning forever

In Divine Dance.

Sweep us up into such Joy..."

-Jon Vowell