A little pot luck nonsense

Clean before God

Paul in his letters, especially in Romans, tells us how to be right before God. The author of Hebrews tells us how to be clean before God. Both are important lessons. Paul tells us about salvation and how we enter into it while the author of Hebrews tells us about continuing role of salvation in our lives. Of course when I refer to the earthly author I realize that it is really the Holy Spirit who is the true author and He inspired them to write as they did. Hebrews 9 ends with these words, "and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him."

Why Serve?

I have been thinking about serving lately and I have been thinking that it is more than what we do. For example, why do we call our time of worship a worship service? Are we serving God in the traditional way?
It has been said that we are saved to serve. Is this true? Though I hate yes and no answers this is a yes and no answer. No we are not saved to serve if our service is only external actions. God has said in His Word that we can serve Him and not know Him. But the answer is yes if we realize that our worship is truly a service to God. It begins in the heart and not in our actions.

Shadows

I grew up in rural Saskatchewan and there was no electricity on our farm. In the night as I made the trip to the outhouse as a child I was afraid of the shadows that were everywhere it seemed to me as a child. I knew that they were only the shadows of trees or buildings or machines or clouds or ... It was the last "or" that bothered me and my imagination inserted many scary things after that "or". My mother told me that they were only shadows and not real.




Hebrews 10:1 says, "The law is only a shadow of the good things that are coming—not the realities themselves." The Law it says is a shadow but not of something that is scary but something that is good. As a child when I was in bed I often saw the shadow of my mom coming into the room. That was not a shadow of something to be afraid of but the shadow of something good following. As soon as my mother entered the room I was no longer interested in her shadow but in her. It is the same with the Law. The Law is a shadow but it tells us that there is something real and good coming. We don't elimate the shadow but we also don't study the shadow for the shadow's sake but we study the shadow so that we know more about the real substance that made the shadow.

Cain and Abel

Why was Abel's sacrifice accepted while Cain's was rejected? The traditional evangelical answer has been that Cain did not bring a blood offering while Abel did. However, if you look at the sacrifices it was not a sin offering but a thanks offering which did not require a blood sacrifice. Once again it was not the external but rather the internal, the condition of the heart. The new covenant is on the heart and does not depend upon the externals. While externals are important they are only important if they reflect the heart.

Joshua the High Priest

Zachariah 3 tells of Joshua the High Priest who stood before God but he was clothed in dirty clothes. Unless your clothes were spotless you could not go into the Holy Place and especially not into the Holy of Holies. Satan stood at his side accusing him of his short comings but something happened. The Lord came and took away his dirty robe and put a clean robe on him and gave him a clean turban.
That is our picture. We cannot go into the presence of God because we are dirty, unholy, but Jesus comes and He gives us a clean robe.

Forbidden Room

The church we attended in another city had a forbidden room. We were to keep out as entrance into that room was restricted. The restrictions were there because the room was not up to code. That did not stop my son from going into that room so eventually I to went into that room.
We also participated in an historic church tour of Thunder Bay and one of the churches was interesting but not so historic. The church was the Ukrainian Orthodox church and the area at the front of the church was restricted to only the clergy. We could look but we could not enter.
The veil in the tabernacle said, "Keep out!" Only the High Priest could enter and that once a year to make atonement for the people. However, when Christ died the veil was ripped apart and access was open to all. No longer was the sign saying, "Keep out!" but now the sign said, "Welcome!"

The Tabernacle or the Temple

Many people read Hebrews and they think of the Temple and not the Tabernacle but it is the Tabernacle that the author refers to as an example of Christ. The Temple is a place where people go to meet God but the Tabernacle represented God in the midst of His people; God coming down and dwelling among the people as Jesus did when He became man. We read in Revelation 21:3 "Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God."

In Hebrews 4:2 we are told, "For we also have had the gospel preached to us, just as they did; but the message they heard was of no value to them, because those who heard did not combine it with faith." So the question is how was the Gospel preached to those in the Old Testament? One way the Gospel was preached was through the Tabernacle. The walls, the courtyard, the coverings, the curtains, the furniture all spoke of the Redeemer.

For Love or From Love

When you look at some people it is hard to tell if what motivates them is for love or from love. Let me explain.
Under the old covenant people obeyed because they wanted God's love upon their lives. Their favourite verse of Scripture was, "We love Him so that He will love us."
Under the new covenant people obey because they are loved by God. Their favourite verse is, "We love Him because He first loved us.:
I was reading in Psalm 18 this morning. It struck me the contrast between two paragraphs. The first tells us of the Gospel, we do because we are loved.
16 He reached down from on high and took hold of me;
he drew me out of deep waters.

17 He rescued me from my powerful enemy,
from my foes, who were too strong for me.

18 They confronted me in the day of my disaster,
but the LORD was my support.

19 He brought me out into a spacious place;
he rescued me because he delighted in me.

The next paragraph seems to be in contrast.

20 The LORD has dealt with me according to my righteousness;
according to the cleanness of my hands he has rewarded me.

21 For I have kept the ways of the LORD;
I have not done evil by turning from my God.

22 All his laws are before me;
I have not turned away from his decrees.

23 I have been blameless before him
and have kept myself from sin.

24 The LORD has rewarded me according to my righteousness,
according to the cleanness of my hands in his sight.

Why do we serve God? Is it for love or from love?
When I hear some preachers say that God will bless us financially, or health wise or other we know that they are serving God "for love" rather than "from love." If you were to tell them that they were following the old covenant they would deny it but that is not the Gospel. The health and wealth gospel is another gospel it is not the Gospel of grace.

Mediator of the New Covenant

The new covenant is a better covenant because of the mediator. Moses had no power to fulfill the covenant therefore it depended upon the obedience of the people. Jesus has the power to fulfill the covenant therefore the covenant does not depend upon what we do but what He has done.

Lent

We are into the Lent season and as Christians we have mixed feelings about Lent. Let me say that my feelings are both positive and negative. Let me explain why.

If we give up something for lent because we wish to be loved of God then that is wrong. That is the same reason why some people obey the Ten Commandments or try to follow the sermon on the Mount.

If on the other hand we know we are loved then we can make sacrifices to remind us of God's great love for us. We do because we are loved not to be loved.

Who Changes?

When you study the covenants you may wrongly conclude that God changes because of the progressive nature of the covenants. Both dispensationalists and open theists make this false conclusion. When we think about the fact that the covenants change we must ask the question why.

If God changes then the open theists are right. But the covenants change because mankind changes. For example (and this is an inadequate example) we have different rules for our children as they are growing up. We do not have the same rules for a sixteen year old as we have for a three year old. Why is that? Have we changed as parents? Of course not. The rules change because the child is maturing. So it is with mankind. God first gave us the Law to show us that we were unable to obtain righteousness by the Law. When we realized our helplessness He gave us the new covenant of grace.

The Old is Better

How many times have you heard that? Whether it is appliance in our home or music in our churches we hear that the old was better. The Hebrew Christians had the same problem. They looked at the old way of life under the Jewish Law and they wanted to go back because they believed that the old was better. However, the old required you to keep all the laws and regulations, there was no room for grace. If the old was the law and the new was grace was the old really better?

Our Example

I was called to task yesterday because I said that Christ did not come to be our example. I was then asked, "Who then is our example?" My answer, "Christ is our example." Though Christ did not come to be our example He is our example. Someone else said that I should have had the word just or primarily in there but I don't think so. I will say it again, "Christ did not come to be our example, He came to be our Saviour."

Marriage

The author of Hebrews develops the theme of the covenant. He shows that the new covenant is superior to the old because it was established on better promises. When you read Jeremiah 31 you notice that the new covenant is what God will do not we are to do. Marriage is a covenant and Paul uses the illustration of marriage to show the covenantal relationship between Christ and the church. We must remember that marriage is the picture of the relationship of Christ and His church and not the other way around. Today we have attempted to desecrate the covenantal relationship of marriage by making it a man-made institution rather than a God ordained relationship.

Becoming Dry

Sometimes it is hard to keep going because you come to a dry time and it is in those times that God sends someone to encourage you. Thanks Pastor Gord for your word of encouragement.

Guarantor

When I was graduating from University I wrote to my former school board asking if they had openings for a mathematics teacher. I was surprised when I received a phone call from the superintendent saying that he had a job for me because my former principal said that I would be a good teacher. He would be my guarantor. Now I was not a great student though I was good at Mathematics. My former principal saw beyond what I had been to what I could become. I am so grateful that he put his confidence in me.
Jesus is our High priest and our Guarantor. He does not look at our past but because of His past He can look at our future. Unlike my former principal he has perfect confidence in me because of what He has done, not what I may become.

The end of the Law

"Christ is the end of the law so that there may be righteousness for everyone who believes." Romans 10:4
What does it mean when it says that Christ is the end of the Law? It doesn't mean that the Law does not exist but rather that the Law is fulfilled in Christ. He is what the Law was pointing to and He is the fulfillment of the Law.

The Law is weak

We have now come to the heart of the letter. One Bible teacher said that this was a parenthesis between the two main warnings of chapter 6 and 10 but I do not believe that. This is the mature teaching that the author mentioned.
He said that the law was weak. My son tells me that Canada has great laws but they are weak because there is no one to back up the law. Our judicial system almost makes a mockery of the law when it gives slight penalties for breaking the law.
The Law of the Bible is weak in that though it can point out our need of a Saviour it cannot save us; it can tell us to be holy but it cannot produce holiness.

Run or fly

I posted this yesterday but someone added a comment which was inappropriate so I removed the posting.

Run and do the Law demands
But gives me neither feet nor hands.

A better way the Gospel brings
Bids me fly and gives me wings.

Pictures of my trip

What if I went on a road trip and these were the pictures that I had to show of my trip.



Sometimes that is the way we read the warnings in Scripture. We look at them instead of enjoying the journey.

Impossible

In Hebrews 6 we have one of the most difficult warnings in all Scripture. The most important question we can ask is why is it there? What was the Holy Spirit's reason for giving us this warning? If we look at the context we see that it has to do with immaturity. If we do not grow then we are in danger of "falling away".
Let me make a couple of observation:
First, I believe it was written to true believers who thought that it was okay to remain as babies. The phrases used are used for believers and not seekers.
Second, it is not talking about back sliding but a deliberate denying the faith after coming to a knowledge of the saving grace of Lord Jesus.
Third, it is impossible, it is not just humanly impossible but it is impossible to restore them. We should note that we do not know who these people are so we should not be quick to write anyone off.
It is a warning to us that we need to guard ourselves and grow in the faith. We have no fear of falling into this condition if we desire after knowing more and more about Christ and the great salvation.
Finally, let me say that Christ was crucified once and for all. We cannot tread upon the crucifixion and not expect judgment.

Elementary Teachings Part 3

The third pair of elementary teachings deal with resurrection of the dead and judgment. The immature Corinthian believers had a problem with the resurrection. They had heard from some that the resurrection had already taken place. Today there are many people interested in future events but not in holy living. The reason we are told what we are told is to produce in us a holy lifestyle not a timetable for the future.

Elementary Teachings Part 2

The next two elementary teachings that the author mentions are baptisms (note that it is plural) and the laying on of hands. I think it would be safe to say that the emphasis here is a contrast between living truths and lifeless forms.
Baptism is important but we need to understand what it means. One pastor I heard said it was the initiation into the family. We are adopted into the family and now it is important that we testify to that fact. However, our testimony is about what God has done. He has adopted us into His family.
We can spend our time arguing about the forms of baptism and miss the point of baptism. Now don't misunderstand me, I believe the form is important and that is why I believe that we should be immersed and not just sprinkled. If we are baptised as a child then it means nothing to me but I can also be immersed and it may mean as little to me. Baptism is to show what God has done.

Elementary Teachings

Repentance from dead works, faith in God, instructions of baptisms, laying on of hands, resurrection from the dead, eternal judgment, why are these called elementary teachings? And if these are the elementary teachings what are the mature teachings?
We are all called to repent from our dead works, works that cannot save us. Many go back to dead works after salvation believing that salvation is by grace alone but to live the Christian life requires that they do it by works. These are dead works. Works may be important but they neither save us or keep us in the faith.
So what about faith in God? Isn't the Christian life a life of faith day by day, hour by hour? Why do we need to leave this teaching? Once again we are asked to move on from a faith that saves to a faith that keeps. We are not to give up on faith in God but to allow that faith to grow. We are not just to have a faith that saves but to have a faith that keeps.
What about baptisms, laying on of hands, etc.? I will need to come back to these tomorrow.

Slow to learn

I was a Mathematics teacher and I had a variety of students, some where quick to learn while others were slow to learn. Of those that were slow to learn some just could not get their minds around mathematics but the majority were too lazy to learn. The recipients of the letter to the Hebrews were slow to learn. The author says that they should have moved on to maturity and become teachers themselves but they choose to remain behind like children.
The question I have is how do you motivate those who want to continue to feed on a baby diet and not move on to solid food?