Tag: Bible

Examples of Grace 05

On By BrianIn Miscellaneous1 Comment

The second half of Exodus is filled with laws and instructions for building the tabernacle.  One might not expect to find much grace here, but there are numerous examples.

The laws themselves graciously provide protection for the people – a great blessing indeed.  Thank God we live in a country with laws that (for the most part) protect us.

God confirms his covenant with the people.  Thank God for his grace – that he would enter into a covenant with us and make us his people.

In an incredible passage, the elders of Israel saw God and ate in his presence.  The eating in his presence speaks of fellowship and peace.  What a glorious thing that we can have peace and fellowship with God, and one day we will see him!

After the golden calf, God threatens to wipe the people out.  But instead he graciously spares them and even renews the covenant with them.  How many times have we sinned, yet God graciously spares us and faithfully keeps his covenant with us.

Perhaps the greatest theme in the second half of the book is God’s presence.  That is why they are building the tabernacle – that God might dwell in their midst.  As the tabernacle is completed, the manifest presence of God descends upon the tabernacle.  God is with Israel.  God graciously chooses to dwell among them – and among us.  He is with us as we gather together as his people.  His Spirit actually dwells in each of his people.  He will never leave us nor forsake us.  He is with us always to the end of the age.  He is with us to enable us for ministry and strengthen us in trials.  God’s presence with us is an incredible example of his grace.

Grace upon grace.  Praise the Lord for his grace in our lives!

(Taken from Exodus 21-40)

Gospel Shaped Marriage 4

On By BrianIn Family/Single Life

Marriage is based on the gospel and is a picture of the gospel, so our marriages must be shaped by the gospel.  In the last two posts, we noted that this happens as we sacrificially give of ourselves and as we commit to grow in holiness.  Now we’ll look at two final aspects of a gospel shaped marriage, and then conclude our reflections.

First, a gospel shaped marriage has a firm grip.  The gospel makes clear that Christ has a firm grip on his church.  He will not divorce his church.  He will not get tired of his church.  The marriage supper of the lamb is certain.  Our spending eternity with him is certain.  Now if marriage is based on the gospel and is a picture of the gospel, we must have a firm grip on one another in marriage.  If Christ will not divorce his church, then we cannot divorce each other.  If marriage pictures the gospel, then divorce distorts the picture.  So we must have a firm grip on one another.  Not a loose grip, not a slow drifting apart, but a firm grip.  We must guard our marriages lest we distort the picture of the gospel by divorce.

Second, a gospel shaped marriage includes forgiving grace.  In Ephesians 4:31-32 we see the gospel in the last phrase: “as God in Christ forgave you.”  God has forgiven us through Christ.  Every sin is buried forever, never to be dug up and used against us.  Now if marriage is a picture of the gospel, then we must forgive one another.  Past sins must be buried and remain buried, never to be dug up and used against the other person.  In the gospel, we find that God has poured out his grace on us – even though we don’t deserve it.  In a gospel shaped marriage, we must share that grace with our spouse – even when he or she doesn’t deserve it.  It isn’t about deserving – it is about grace, it’s about a gospel shaped marriage.

Our culture sometimes whispers, sometimes shouts its low distorted view of marriage.  In the midst of the onslaught, let us take our stand on a high true view of marriage.  Marriage is based on the gospel and is a picture of the gospel.  So let us sacrificially give of ourselves.  Let us be committed to growing in holiness.  Let us have a firm grip on our spouse.  Let us extend grace and forgiveness.  Let us live gospel shaped marriages.

And when death comes, our marriages will end.  The picture of the gospel will be finished, but the gospel that our marriages picture will go on.  When Christ returns, we’ll celebrate the marriage supper of the lamb.  And new joys will expand forever and ever with the Lord.  Even so, come Lord Jesus.

Gospel Shaped Marriage 3

On By BrianIn Family/Single Life

Marriage is based on the Christ/church relationship and pictures the Christ/church relationship.  Marriage is closely connected to the gospel.  That means my question – how should the gospel shape our marriages? – is not incidental but essential.  The gospel must shape our marriages because our marriages are based on the gospel and point to the gospel.  So how should the gospel shape our marriages?

In the last post we noted that our marriages should have a sacrificial giving of ourselves to each other – as Christ sacrificially gave of himself for the church, and the church sacrificially submits itself to Christ.  Now we want to consider a second way that the gospel should shape our marriages – a commitment to grow in holiness.

In Ephesians 5:25-27, we find that Christ sacrificially gave of himself to make the church holy.  “In the same way husbands should love their wives…” (v28).  As Christ makes the church holy, so husbands should seek the holiness of their wives.  A husband’s leadership (see last post) includes spiritual leading as he seeks to help his wife grow in holiness.  Men, are we doing this?  Are we encouraging our wives in their daily time with the Lord?  Are we taking them to church, and leading them to serve in the church?  Are we praying for them and with them?  Are we leading our wives to grow in holiness?

What about wives?  Can they help their husbands grow in holiness?  At first look, the answer might be no.  The church does not help Christ grow in holiness, so the wife should not help her husband grow in holiness.  But we need to understand that, while the husband is patterned after Christ, he is not Christ.  Christ was sinless, husbands are not.  (If any men have any doubts about this, ask your wife, and she will clear it up for you!)  Husbands need to grow in holiness.  So it would seem that wives could encourage their husbands to grow.  Not nag.  Not try to lead.  But gently encourage their husbands.

Yet marriage is more than just helping each other grow.  Marriage itself is a laboratory for growth.  The gospel reminds us that Christ gave of himself (v25).  He humbled himself unto death (Philippians 2:8).  And part of our response is to deny ourselves, take up our cross, and follow him (Matthew 16:24).  An important part of growth is this self-denial, this humbling, this giving of ourselves – this becoming like Jesus.  This means that marriage is a great context for growth because a huge part of marriage is a sacrificial giving of ourselves (see last post).  If we commit to the sacrificial roles God designed for us, we will grow more like Christ, we will grow in holiness.

So marriage is based on the gospel and is a picture of the gospel.  Our marriages must be shaped by the gospel.  This happens as we sacrificially give of ourselves and commit to grow in holiness.  We will look at two final aspects of a gospel shaped marriage in the next post.

Gospel Shaped Marriage 2

On By BrianIn Family/Single Life

To recap from the last post:  marriage is based on the Christ/church relationship and pictures the Christ/church relationship.  Marriage is closely connected to the gospel.  That means my question – how should the gospel shape our marriages? – is not incidental but essential.  The gospel must shape our marriages because our marriages are based on the gospel and point to the gospel.  So how should the gospel shape our marriages?

First, there is to be a sacrificial giving of ourselves.  Let’s start with husbands, whose role is based on Christ.  Christ sacrificially loved the church, giving of himself for the good of the church.  So the husband is to sacrificially love his wife, giving of himself for the good of his wife.  Christ nourishes and cherishes (takes care of) his church.  So the husband is to nourish and cherish his wife, providing for her needs.  Christ is the head of the church, providing leadership for the church.  So the husband is the head of the wife, providing leadership for the family.

This latter point of course irritates many people.  But we must see it in the context of what we said before.  This leadership is sacrificial, seeking the wife’s best, and providing for the wife.  There is no room for self-centered demands in this leadership.  It is a sacrificial giving of the husband for his wife.  This is a gospel shaped marriage.

Then wives too are to sacrificially give of themselves.  This is done through submission to the husband.  This too irritates many people.  Some want to argue that Paul is stuck in his own culture, and this is the twenty first century!  But notice again Paul’s statement is based on the Christ/church relationship.  If marriage is based on and pictures the gospel, the wife must submit to her husband as the church submits to Christ.  But this is degrading to women many might say.  But dear church – do you feel degraded because you are called to submit to Christ?  No?  So submission need not be degrading.  Jesus says that if we love him we will obey him (John 14:15).  So the church submits to Christ out of love.  And so the wife can submit to her husband out of love.  As the church cheerfully, joyfully, freely submits to Christ, so can the wife submit to her husband.  This indeed requires a sacrificial giving of herself, but in doing it she points to the gospel.  This is a gospel shaped marriage.

So a gospel shaped marriage acknowledges different roles for the husband and the wife based on the roles of Christ and the church.  Both of these roles flow out of a sacrificial giving of ourselves.  We’ll consider further aspects of a gospel shaped marriage in the next post.

Gospel Shaped Marriage

On By BrianIn Family/Single Life

Our culture has a low distorted view of marriage.  This is not news.   The high divorce rate, the thousands living together outside of marriage, the media’s portrayal of marriage, the attempt to redefine marriage, and the frothy romantic feelings many base marriage on – all point to a low distorted view of marriage.  In the midst of this mess, the church needs a renewed vision of marriage, a high view, a real view, a Biblical view.

To find such a view, we could turn back to creation.  We could see that God designed marriage between a man and a woman, that he designed sex for the safety of a loving committed marriage relationship, and that he designed marriage to be a lasting commitment.  But by and large the church knows these things, so I want to look at marriage from a different vantage point.  I want to consider marriage not in the context of creation, but in the context of salvation.

I want to ask: how should the gospel shape our marriages?  Ever asked that question?  Ever even consider that there might be a connection?  Let’s begin by exploring the connection:

Read Ephesians 5:22-33.  What is this passage about?  The marriage relationship?  The Christ/church relationship?  Both?  Indeed both.  Paul weaves the two together throughout the passage.

Looking closer, we notice that the husband’s role is based on Christ’s role: “the husband is the head…even as Christ is the head….husbands love your wives as Christ loved the Church.”  Similarly the wife’s role is based on the church’s role: “as the church submits…so also wives should submit.”  The marriage relationship then is based on the Christ/church relationship.

Look at verses 31-32.  Verse 31 quotes Genesis 2 which is speaking of marriage.  Yet verse 32 says it (the marriage relationship) refers to Christ and the church.  That is, the marriage relationship points to or pictures the Christ/church relationship.  Our marriages are a picture of Christ and his church.  Marriage is a picture of the gospel.

So marriage is based on the Christ/church relationship and pictures the Christ/church relationship.*  Marriage is closely connected to the gospel.  That means my question – how should the gospel shape our marriages? – is not incidental but essential.  The gospel must shape our marriages because our marriages are based on the gospel and point to the gospel.  We’ll look at specific ways the gospel should shape our marriages in the next post.

*I am indebted to John Piper’s book This Momentary Marriage for the insight that marriage is based on and pictures the Christ/church relationship.  I recommend the book to you.

Promises

On By BrianIn Book of Luke1 Comment

We live in a world of broken empty promises.  Just think politicians and advertisements.  Yet when we look to God, we find one who delivers on what he says.

In Luke 1, God promised Zechariah a son (v13).  And a son is born (v57).  Promise kept.  God promised there would be joy (v14), and they rejoice (v58).  Promise kept.  God promised that Zechariah would be mute until the child was born (v20), and after the child is born, Zechariah speaks (v63-64).  Promise kept.

We can trust God to keep his promises.  What promises do you need to cling to today?

Examples of Grace 04

On By BrianIn Miscellaneous

We deserve judgment and death for our sins, but God continually pours out blessing upon blessing.  We don’t deserve his blessings.  We have no claim upon them.  They are underserved.  That is grace.  Consider some examples of God’s grace from the book of Exodus:

The people cried out to the Lord for help, and God heard their prayers.  How many times do we cry out the Lord?  He hears every prayer.  That’s grace.

God took Moses and made him a great leader to bring the people out of Egypt.  Moses did not deserve this privilege, but God chose to equip and use him.  We are nobodies.  God doesn’t need us.  But he chooses to equip and use us to accomplish his work here on earth.  That’s grace.

God promised to deliver the people from slavery.  Consider the hope that such a promise brought forth!  God has graciously showered us with precious promises.  In those certain promises we find hope.

God graciously brought the people out of slavery in Egypt.  God graciously frees us from slavery to sin.

God graciously provided food and water in the wilderness.  God graciously provides us with food and water; he supplies for our needs.

Finally, God graciously made Israel his treasured possession.  Not because Israel was a treasure, but simply because God chose to do it.  We are not treasures, yet God has made his church to be his treasured possession.  Grace.

God’s grace is written in all of the Bible…and in all of our lives.  Where do you see his grace today?

Joy To The World

On By BrianIn Book of Luke, Virtue of Joy1 Comment

When Mary visited Elizabeth in Luke 1, there was an explosion of joy.  John leaps in the womb for joy.  Elizabeth breaks forth in joyous praise.  And then Mary breaks forth in joyous song.  What is this joy that they found?

First, it was a Christ-centered joy.  They found this joy in Jesus.  John leaps for joy when he hears Mary’s voice because she is carrying Jesus.  Elizabeth calls Mary blessed because of the blessing in her womb – Jesus.  Mary praises God for what he has done for her – which is Jesus.  Their joy is Christ-centered.  Where do we seek our joy?

Second, it was a humble joy.  Elizabeth asks, “why is this granted to me that the mother of my Lord should come to me?”  She knows she doesn’t deserve this blessing, and so in her humility she finds joy in the blessing.  Mary too is humble.  She calls God her Savior – a recognition of her need of one.  She is merely a humble servant – God is the one who does great things.  As the song continues, it is the humble that God lifts up.  The proud can’t know joy because they think every blessing is deserved.  Our entitlement mentality in America keeps us from knowing joy.  But the humble, who understand that they don’t deserve any good from the Lord, can find joy in every blessing that comes from the hand of the Lord.  Every blessing is a new opportunity to rejoice in God’s grace.  It is a humble joy.

Third, it was a Spirit-led joy.  Elizabeth is filled with the Holy Spirit who reveals to her why her baby leaped.  Galatians 5 reminds us that joy is a fruit of the Spirit.  Joy comes as we walk with the Spirit.

Finally, it was a Word-saturated joy.  Mary’s song is filled with allusions, phrases, theme, words, and forms from the Old Testament.  As we saturate ourselves in the Word, we will find Jesus.  As we saturate ourselves in the Word, we can grow in humility.  As we saturate ourselves in the Word, the Spirit can use it in our lives to bring joy.  Are we saturating ourselves in the Word?

Do we want to know joy today?  It is found in Christ and in humility, through the Spirit and the Word.  Father, help us to grow in this joy!

Examples of Grace 03

On By BrianIn Miscellaneous

More examples of God’s grace (undeserved favor) from Genesis:

Jacob speaks of God as the one who answered him in his distress.  Jacob was not the most faithful follower, yet God answered him – that is grace.  We aren’t always the most faithful followers either, yet how many times has God answered us in our distress?  Grace….

Again and again we read that God was with Jacob and Joseph, and so he favors us with his presence – especially through the trials of life.

God graciously sent Joseph to Egypt to supply for the needs of his family during the coming famine.  How many times has God graciously supplied for us?

And then there is God’s sovereign grace that weaves the circumstances of our lives for our good.  How many times did Joseph wonder why he had been sold into slavery, why he had been cast into prison?  But God was graciously working in his life through those trials, preparing him for his ultimate task.  Without the trials, he would have never been raised up to rule in Egypt, never saved his family (and countless others) from the famine.  In the midst of our trials, may we remember God’s sovereign grace – who knows how God will use our difficulties for good.  Who knows how God will bring good out of the mess in Haiti.  God is an expert at bringing something good out of messes.  That he cares to do so – that’s grace.

Favor With God

On By BrianIn Book of Luke

An angel comes to Mary and greets her with the words, “Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you.”  The angel continues, “you have found favor with God.”

Indeed she was favored and found favor with God, for she was given the incredible privilege to bear the Savior of the world.  This is all of grace.  The Greek word translated twice as favor is usually translated as grace.  It is by God’s grace upon her life that she received this privilege.  It was not her own works, her own goodness, her own merit that earned her this privilege.  No it was grace – she found favor with God.

And so it is with us.  Through faith in Jesus Christ, we have been given the incredible privilege of knowing the Savior of the world, of receiving his great salvation that he purchased for us on the cross, of being raised to a new life through his resurrection, and of having the certain hope of our own resurrection someday.  It is not our own works, our own goodness, our own merit that earns us this privilege.  No it is grace – we have found favor with God.

(Taken from Luke 1)