On Government

"For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon His shoulders...Of the increase of His government and peace there shall be no end...and upon His kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even forever..." Isaiah 9:6, 7

Governments of man are meant to order and stabilize societies, to reward good and punish evil (Romans 13:1-7). Nowhere in scripture does it say that governments of men will be the final solution to earth's ills. They never can be, for as long as they are founded and headed by fallen humanity, they will fail eventually.

"That is the key to history," said Lewis, and he was right: great institutions, governments, organizations, movements, ideologies, sciences, and religions come forth claiming to be the cure-all for what ills you. Then corruption sets in, the evil people get to the top, morality erodes, and the whole thing slides back into the ruin that the movement, etc., was supposed to cure. "Cursed be the man that trusteth in man..." (Jeremiah 17:5a) How can man solve his problems when man is the problem? Their good intentions are more bricks for Hell's highway.

There is only one government that can save us, only one Governor that can bring peace and save humanity from itself; and His kingdom is not of this world (John 18:36). Thank goodness it isn't.

The New Exodus

"[So it shall be] as it was to Israel in the day that he came up out of the land of Egypt." Isaiah 11:16

The overarching narrative for Israel was the Exodus. The Temple came from it, many of the festivals and feasts days centered around it, and Messianism found its meaning in it. God's final redemption of His people would be "after the manner of Egypt." In a way, the Exodus was their central mythos, the one key event in their history that set their identity. Since then, they were no longer merely the wandering children of Abraham, but the covenant people of Yahweh, their faithful redeemer. That one grand display of God's presence and power in their lives affected their perspective on themselves and their circumstances when they became a nation, when they went into exile, came out of exile, when they were under foreign rule, and even today when they are a nation once more.

Now, Jesus was born right at the height of Messianic fever. Rome was viewed as the new Egypt, and many were declaring that the Messiah would come soon to lead a Maccabean-style revolt against the last and greatest empire of antiquity. When John the Baptist's ministry began, he preached that deliverance had come at last, and began to reenact the ending of the Exodus by having people "cross" (i.e., be baptized in) the Jordon River. Jesus' own ministry was inaugurated at the Jordon and then tested out in the wilderness immediately after, symbols that aptly identifying Jesus' ministry with the Exodus.

Near the end of His life, Jesus' ministry was further identified with the Exodus when at the Last Supper He proclaimed Himself to be the Passover Lamb, the same claim John the Baptist had made of Him three years prior. As the Messiah, Jesus was claiming something quite different from a Maccabean-esque revolt. He was claiming that He would be another divine shield against a terrible plague of death, and that such a deliverance would mark the end of a long tyranny. His disciples would have thought that the Caesars were undone. Instead, the prince of this world was cast out (John 12:31).

Jesus' ministry was started under the symbol of the crossing of the Jordon, i.e., the end of the Exodus. His ministry ended under the symbol of the Passover Lamb that was sacrificed, i.e., the beginning of the Exodus. Thus is the paradox. As Messiah, Jesus finished the first Exodus as expected, but He did it in a way that was unexpected. In ended the first Exodus by inaugurating a new one. Just as the old Exodus looked back to a key event that identified its people (i.e., the exit out of Egypt), so the new Exodus looks back to a key event that identifies its people (i.e., the passion of the Christ); and just like the people of old, we too wander for now in the wilderness, looking for Messiah to come and lead us to the Promised land, and those who wish to join us may come.

The Difference Between "Sin" and "sins"

This article is not only good apologetics, but also good theology in regards to the reality of man's inner disposition of sin; or as Oswald Chambers would put it, the difference between "wrong-doing" and "wrong-being."

This is Redemption

"[Creation] shall not hurt nor destroy in all My holy mountain: for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea." Isaiah 11:9

Habakkuk 2:14 says the same as Isaiah 11:9, except it puts it, "the knowledge of the glory of the Lord." (emphasis added) In scripture, to have "knowledge" of something is to have a complete understanding of that thing. The "glory" of God is found in Who He is: it is His character and His person that makes Him glorious to our eyes and drives us to worship. Where Habakkuk expands slightly, Isaiah cuts to the chase: a filling of all with the complete understanding of God is what will bring peace to creation.

"They shall not hurt nor destroy in all My holy mountain..." This turns our idea of what is natural in creation upside down. The relationship of predator and prey is thought to be a natural part of the "circle of life." Here we find that such a relationship is actually unnatural, an aberration that will be removed when the created order is made new, i.e., restored to the way it should be. The natural animosity that exist between animals (and humans) will vanish when the whole of creation understands and is full of Who God is.

"...the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord..." To the fullest extent that it can be, inside and out, creation will understand all that God is. This filling of creation starts with us. That is what Romans 8:18-23 is all about. When Christ comes again, our bodies will be redeemed at last. Finally, the flesh will no longer be the barrier that resisted the Spirit of God in us. Redeemed from corruption, our mortal bodies will be the perfect transparent conduit for manifesting the Spirit of God, i.e., the presence of God, i.e., "the glory which shall be revealed in us." (Romans 8:18b) The "manifestation of the sons of God" is the unabated pouring forth of the glory of God Almighty through us, and that pouring forth will fill the earth with the knowledge of God, and the world will be made new as God Himself is manifested in our redeemed flesh.

"...as the waters cover the sea." As intrinsic as water is to the oceans, so intrinsic shall the knowledge of God's glory be to creation. It will not be that creation merely apprehends a fact, but that creation's very being will have changed; transformed, if you will. The glory of God will fill all, so that all may be "full" of Him as the seas are "full" of water. All that God is will become (as it was meant to be) an intrinsic part of creation's being. To paraphrase Chesterton, God will once again walk in the garden, in the cool not of the evening, but of the dawn.

In all points, redemption is found only in God. Our souls and spirits are redeemed because Christ has brought us back to God and has filled us with His Spirit. Our bodies (and the whole of creation) will be redeemed when Christ brings the presence of God back to earth, and the whole world will be full of His glory. This is redemption: Immanuel, God with us. It has always been, and ever shall be. Amen.

Glorious Rest

"...and His rest shall be glorious." Isaiah 11:10b

I suppose we cannot fathom the glory of perfect rest.

Perhaps it is like awakening from sleep without the aid of an alarm clock obnoxiously buzzing in your ear, and lying sandwiched in cool covers with sunlight creeping in through your covered windows. You shuffle around on your mattress slowly and lazily, knowing that there is nothing to do today: no rush, no appointments, no assignments, no schedules, no nothing pulling you into a thousand pieces. So you lay for just a few seconds more with the wonderful knowledge that you could lay betwixt those cool sheets as long as you want and you would not waste the day.

Perhaps it is like sitting in a recliner in your living room, your feet reclined, a blanket covering your legs, your dog napping quietly between your knees. A good book is in your one hand, a cup of hot chocolate in the other, and a cold November day is blowing the leaves around outside the window to your left. No one else is stirring, so the house is peacefully still and quiet, the only sound being the stately "tick-tock" of the grandmother clock hanging on the wall behind you. As the leaves blow, the drink steams, the dog sleeps, and the pages turn, you wish everything in this moment was endless so you would not have to move ever again.

Do you think that is a small glimmer of a shadow of what glorious rest is like? Oh, when shall we know the whole of it?

The Branches of the Branch

"And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots..." Isaiah 11:1

"I am the vine, ye are the branches..." John 15:5a

"The Branch" was another Old Testament symbol for the Messiah. He was to be of David's family lineage, which Christ was (Matthew 1:6, 16; Luke 3:23, 31, 32). All of Jesus' disciples (being first century Jews) would have known that Jesus (since He was the Messiah) would be "the Branch." Needless to say, they probably were a little taken aback when Christ said that they would be, in effect, the branches of the Branch.

In John 15, Jesus was speaking about more than mere life and strength that comes from Him. He was talking about life and strength that comes from Him in order to DO something, i.e., "bear much fruit," carry on the mantle of the Messiah. What Christ started, His followers were to continue.

We have a small view of salvation and sanctification. We think Christ merely saved and sanctified us from something, when the truth is He saved and sanctified us from something into Himself. We did not just escape from Hell. We are now a part of the Branch, and everything He is, we are.

We do not take sonship seriously. We are the children of God, His sons and daughters; and if there is one thing our Elder Brother taught us 2000 years ago, it is that to be God's child is about more than privileges: it is about responsibility. "Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples." (John 15:8) To be Christ's follower means to take up the work that He left for us, i.e., "the kingdom of God," the preaching of forgiveness of sins and deliverance from evil, the praying for God's kingdom to spread, and everything else that the Lord's prayer was about (Matthew 6:9-13).

As Elisha took up Elijah's mantle literally, so we take up the Messiah's mantle figuratively, i.e., we are the body of Christ. We are to continue on earth what Christ started 2000 years ago and what He will finish at the time appointed.

The Hand that Smites II

"And it shall come to pass in that day, that the remnant of Israel, and such as are escaped of the house of Jacob, shall no more again [depend] upon [Assyria]; but shall [depend] upon the Lord, the Holy One of Israel, in truth." Isaiah 10:20

This is to be the result of the smiting of God: a solemn return to sole dependency on God. Israel once looked to Assyria for help. Now they will go back to the true source of all help: the Holy One of Israel.

Too many of us think that God smacks us upside the head because He wants us to fix something we did wrong. You have no such power in you to fix anything. God smacks you upside the head so that He can fix you. The true problem is not what you did wrong, but what went wrong inside you that led to the wrong that you did. When He smites, return to Him so that He may correct you. Let all else go, including your desire to fix it yourself.

The devil would have you turn to self-pity. God smacks you and you collapse into a quivering pile of wimp jelly, constantly blubbering something about how "wrong" you are, or "bad," or "sinful," or whatever. You are completely on the wrong track. Self-pity is self-focused, and therefore it is a form of pride. God does not want to hear how wrong you are. He knows how wrong you are; that's why He smacked you in the first place! He wants you to return so He can fix what's wrong.

The prodigal son had a speech prepared upon his return, but his father would not let him finish it (Luke 15:17-24). Job answered God by confessing his sinfulness, but God was not satisfied with that answer (Job 40:1-7). Repentance is not stating what you've done; that is confession, which is step one. Repentance is step two, and it is simply returning to God. May His blessing and smiting draw us closer to Him.

God-in-a-Box III: Sovereignty and Freewill

"When the Lord hath performed His whole work upon mount Zion...I will punish the fruit of the stout heart...of Assyria...For he saith, By the strength of my hand I have done it, and by my wisdom...Shall the ax boast itself against Him that heweth therewith?" Isaiah 10:12-15

What we see here is the incredible dance of sovereignty an freewill. God's sovereignty is found in that Assyria's role as Israel's punisher was all part of God's "whole work." Assyria was as an ax or saw in God's hands. On the flip side, Assyria's freewill is found in its pride, a pride that was their own choice. This is a classic example of the old saying, "God chooses what you go through, but you choose how you go through it."

Sovereignty and freewill are not at odds with each other: they go hand in hand. Anyone who says otherwise has either too small a view of God or too big a view of man. God's sovereignty is not that He planned everything, but that He planned everything through our choices.

"For whom He did foreknow, He also did predestinate..." (Romans 8:29a). To "foreknow" means to "know beforehand." To "predestinate" means (in a nutshell) to "plan beforehand." Foreknow is the cause to which predestinate is the effect: God can plan before hand because He knew beforehand. In other words, when God set down to create the universe, He could see in His mind (before the universe was created) the whole scope of the universe, from its beginning to its end and all that was in between. He knew beforehand what would happen, and therefore He could plan His work within that knowledge.

Look at it this way: some view God's sovereignty like He was an author or an architect, i.e., the reason He knows how it will be is because He planned it that way. The truth is more complicated. God's sovereignty is more like God was planning to set up a line of dominoes, but before He set them up He imagined them in His mind. If He set this one line that way, it would do "A". If He set it the other way, it would do "B". He knew that if He set it a certain way that it would go a certain way. Therefore, God set up the universe so that our freewill choices (and their consequences) would and will still bring about His will in the end.

If you knew how the dominoes would fall, given any specific situation or variable, then you could set up the dominoes so they could fall in such a way so as to exactly go the way you want it to go without manipulating the dominoes while they fall and allowing them to fall as they will. It is the same way with God: He planned it such-and-such a way because He knew it would be such-and-such a way.

God's sovereignty does not negate man's freewill. Likewise, man's freewill does not negate God's sovereignty. They work hand in hand, united in a singular dance. To separate them in order to understand their workings is an error. "He who breaks something to see how it works has left the path of wisdom," said Tolkien. To divorce sovereignty and freewill from each other's arms is to lose much of the depth and riches of the wisdom of God.

God-in-a-Box II

"O Assyrian, the rod of mine anger, and the staff in their hand is mine indignation." Isaiah 10:5

For God to use evil is not an issue of contradiction, but of His sovereignty. Remember: God is the only one who can use and punish evil and still remain true to His nature. God does not enjoy punishing (Lamentations 3:32, 33; Ezekiel 18:23, 32; Ezekiel 33:11), and of course He does not enjoy evil. The fact that He can use such things for good is a testimony to His sovereignty, and not to any flaw in His character.

We stagger so much at the problems of this world because our view of God is telescopic instead of panoramic. We need to drag out the REAL character of God (as revealed in Scripture) from underneath all of our preconceived human notions, limitations, and ideas. Let us, with fear and trembling, get back to understanding and believing Who the Bible says God is. Let us set this image before the world so that they may be shocked and awed, not bored out of their skulls or driven to ridiculous subterfuge. If Who God really is destroys some pet belief of yours, then let it be destroyed. You were better off without it. All chaff will be burned away before the consuming fire that is the Holy Lord of the Universe.

If we want to understand anything about creation, we must first know the Creator. Dust off the imago dei and set it on center stage. You may be surprised and frightened by what you find, but you will also fall on you knees and worship. May the glorious image of our Holy Father never be lost beneath our vague humanity.

Whence Comes Strength?

"And what will ye do in the day of visitation...to whom will ye flee for help?...Without me [you] shall bow down [with] the prisoners, and you shall fall [with] the slain..." Isaiah 10:3, 4
"...for without me ye can do nothing." John 15:5

Our helplessness outside of God should really make our own self-assertions seem quite ridiculous. "There is no point," says C.S. Lewis, "in our asking God for peace and happiness outside of Himself. There is no such thing." How can we possibly find joy, love, peace, meaning, purpose, strength, and all things virtuous and true outside of their Source? We are not even chasing the wind; we are chasing nothingness, and we are the greater fools for it.

"What will ye do in the day of visitation?" What on earth do you plan to do when the King comes to judge and you are not at His right hand? You will be another prisoner, another slain. There is no other way about it. There is no help for drowning outside of the One standing on the shore; all else (whether it be good or evil) will sink with you.

"Without me ye can do nothing." How often do we do things for Christ instead of with Him? How many of us are His workers and not His co-laborers? How many of us go and do without consulting Him? In addition, how many of us are burned out because we go and do apart from the source of strength? We do all that work apart from Christ, only to find out that our work is hay and stubble for the fire because apart from Christ our work is as nothing.