 This Thursday we will most likely be celebrating Thanksgiving with family or friends – or both. There are many takes on this holiday. Some come from the perspective of the Pilgrims who came to North America, while others speak of blessings that we have in our lives. For many years I was part of a tradition where after the Thanksgiving meal we would go around the table and say something we were thankful for in our lives. What I endeavor to do today is to look at Thanksgiving from an Evangelical Perspective, i.e. from the perspective of the Gospel. Let’s begin with a look at where we are first. What I mean by this is the fact that according to the Scriptures we live in a fallen, Genesis three world. Our very first relatives, Adam and Eve, chose to disobey God and rebel. That plunged the world into sin and the subsequent mess caused by death’s unwelcome entrance into God’s creation. If that is not enough, there is also the fact of spiritual death that happened as well. The Bible is clear that we all are dead in trespasses and sins. Here is the stark reality of where every single human being stands before God. We are sinful, spiritually dead, and seriously in danger when we die and stand before God on the day of judgment. I realize at this point, if you are still with me, that you may be thinking, “THIS is a Thanksgiving article?” It is, but first we have to grasp why we should be thankful. Knowing the truth, even when it is difficult truth to swallow, is key to truly being thankful. “But God,” is where Paul takes us after learning the difficult truth of our state before God prior to the Gospel. Ephesians 2:4-5 reminds us, “But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved).” In a moment of glorious, blindingly brilliant mercy and love, grace steps into our lives. In that wonderful moment God makes someone who is dead in sin, alive in Christ. Let this be a Thanksgiving passage for all of us. Let’s look at what we have to be thankful for, regardless of our current circumstances. God does this, “being rich in mercy.” Let’s consider that for a moment. God is rich in, “not giving us what we truly deserve.” Consider this past year and take a moment to remind yourself how often you’ve sinned. Even more consider, using the 10 commandments, how much you had sinned prior to His grace saved you. I’ve done this and the 10 commandments alone have yielded knowledge of 10’s of thousands of sins, committed in my actions, thoughts, and attitudes. Yet the reality is that God did not ever break into my life and truly give me what my sins deserved. This “rich in mercy” God lavished the wealth of His forbearance and kindness on me year after year before I was saved, and He continues to pour it out on me even after I’ve been saved. Oh, how thankful I am for the mercy of God! God also does this, “because of His great love with which He loved us.” God loves you. He loved you before you ever gave a thought of loving Him. He loved and loves you even when you do not love Him. And let us be reminded that love is a selfless action where one chooses to give to another, regardless of whether they ever get anything back. Love is giving what is truly the best to the one loved. Romans 5:8 reminds us that, “. . . God demonstrates His own love for us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” When did Jesus die? He died physically outside Jerusalem around year 33 AD, but we should remember that He was the lamb slain from the foundation of the world. God’s love has been an eternal reality, something we can be confident of beyond the reach of time itself. This love was never dependent on us doing something to deserve it. Contrary to that, His love was given in spite of what we have done. Paul wrote to the Ephesians that God’s love is a “great” love. God is the One who has “mega-loved” us. The word for love is the Greek word, “megas” from which we get our term, mega. So, remember this Thanksgiving, you’ve been mega-loved this past year. More than this, there has never been any moment in history, and even outside of history where you were not “mega-loved” by God. We should remind ourselves of this as we gather with loved ones this year at Thanksgiving. Go ahead and add it to your prayer around the table. “Thank you, God, for mega-loving us this year, just like you have mega-loved us from before time began, and, just like You will mega-love us forever and ever! God loved us, “even when we were dead in our transgressions.” Here is another word, “transgressions.” What does it mean? The word means to do something wrong, to willfully disobey someone, and it carries the reality of guilt and consequence. Here is where Thanksgiving “gospel-style” gets REAL! We were sinners who deserved punishment – period. We chose to disobey because we wanted our own way instead of God’s way. This has led to guilt. There was not going to be a plea deal. There was not going to be a technicality. There was not even going to be a pardon from the governor or the president. We were going to be punished, eternally. This is where I am so thankful that this passage began with the phrase, “But God.” This act of mercy. This act of mega-love. This happened when I was a guilty sinner who deserved punishment in the most “slam-dunk” case of all history. It is the same for all of us. To understand where this put us, we also need to understand that this word is the opposite of the word “justify,” which means to declare that someone is righteous or right. We were not right with God, and because of our transgressions, there was no way that we could ever be declared righteous on the basis of our own works or supposed goodness. To say we were doomed is the understatement of all eternity. But . . . even when we were in that state before God, He made us alive together with Christ – by grace we have been saved. I know it is terrible English – but it is wonderful gospel to say – this is where the Gospel gets even “REAL-ER!” With no hope of ever being declared righteous before God – and – knowing that such a fate means we would be damned immediately on the last day – God chose instead to make us alive together with Christ! That meant that the sin price would have to be paid by another. That meant that we would have to be declared righteous with someone else’s righteousness. And . . . that is exactly what God did. Here is a glorious truth for which we need to be thankful every day of our lives. Even in that horrific state God chose to make us alive, to give us His grace, and to declare us righteous. He provided for this by having Jesus take up our sin, pay the full price for it, and die. He then resurrected Him from the dead. Now, we can be declared righteous, not with our own righteousness, but with one God gives us. He gives us a righteousness by grace through faith, and it will stand forever before Him. I know that this is a theological article. I also know that our minds will be filled with many messages over the next several days. Thanksgiving preparations, Macy’s Day Parade, Black Friday, Cyber Monday, college football, pro football, basketball tournaments, kids’ presentations, and a host of other things will vie for our attention. But I want to encourage you to take some time and walk through an “evangelical perspective of Thanksgiving.” Do it personally and do it with your family and friends. There are many smaller things for which we should be thankful. We should consider our blessings. But what greater blessing is there than being a recipient of mercy, mega-love, life, and grace? I’ll finish the article with a simple quote from the apostle Paul, “Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift.” Happy Thanksgiving precious saints of God!
0 Comments
 Today in our reading for “The Disciple’s Journey” we read from 2 Kings 19 about the invasion of Judah by Rabshakeh for Sennacherib, the king of Assyria. When he came to Jerusalem, Rabshakeh decided to mock and deride not only Judah, but also Hezekiah and his strong faith in Jehovah. That was a very serious mistake.
Hezekiah showed wisdom in not responding to the Assyrian leader when he spoke blasphemously against God. He instead went with the letter into the presence of God and prayed with great sorrow and grief about how God was dishonored by this arrogant official of Assyria. He spoke of God’s sovereignty and power – and how that was denigrated by the words which Rabshakeh spoke. Then God spoke on the matter. The words which God said were truly terrifying when you consider what happened shortly after God spoke them through His prophet Isaiah. 'But I know your sitting down, And your going out and your coming in, And your raging against Me. 'Because of your raging against Me, And because your arrogance has come up to My ears, Therefore I will put My hook in your nose, And My bridle in your lips, And I will turn you back by the way which you came. 2 Kings 19:27-28 Those are sobering words for God to speak. In them God makes it clear that He is both omniscient and omnipotent. He is omniscient for He knows the sitting, the coming, the going, and the raging of the king of Assryia. Nothing has escaped God’s notice. He has seen the dishonor and disrespect of this ungodly king and his general. Before the night is over – 185,000 of his men – actually according to Chronicles – the entire leadership of the army (for those killed were all the officers of the army of Assyria) was killed. They awoke to see their entire officer corps become their officer corpses. They did the only thing they could do – turn and go home just as God’s prophet declared. And awaiting this arrogant king was a judgment of his own. He too was killed due to a plot against him within his own house – again – just as God said. God’s description of how He will deal with this arrogant general and king are very clear. God is about to put a hook in the nose of these arrogant men. The kind of hook here is a piece of metal that was driven through the nose and then attached to a chain by which the prisoner was led around. Since we live in a day when a nose ring is often seen as a piece of jewelry - it might be wise to think of this ring in terms of what they put into the nose of a cow to lead it about when it is particularly unruly. God also promised a bridle in the lips. This was a piece of wood or steel that was usually put in the mouth of horses and attached to reins by which the master could turn the head and direction of the animal quickly. To resist the bridle was very painful. So this proud king and general who would do whatever they wanted – even to God’s people – were about to be led about with a hook through the nose and a bridle in their proud mouths. One would have to admit this was a very humbling way to be led about. Yet it is a warning to all who would dare think they will run their lives however they want – and God has no control over them. His lack of immediate action is mercy – and the arrogant would be wise to see such kindness by God as a call to repentance and not as a vote for them to continue in their rebellion. Far too often the rulers of this world think they can rebel against God and do anything they want. Yet it is here – and also in Psalm 2 – and in Psalm 75 that we read of the “real facts.” God is King and God is Judge. He is the One Who knows all – and who has the power in His omnipotence to act in keeping with His righteousness and holiness. For those of us in power – not only over entire nations, but also when we are foolish enough to think we have power over our own lives – this is something to remember – and honestly – to tremble about as we consider our own arrogant statements of what “we will do with our own lives.” There is One God – One Creator – One Owner – and One Judge over all. Jehovah is that One, and it would be wise for us to remember that whenever we wrongly think we are sovereign and can do whatever we want.  Today is November 9th, one day after an election where Donald Trump was elected president of the United States. It is also a fact that he is president in large measure because he received over 80% of the Evangelical vote. Since I was one of those who went through the agony of eventually voting for our president-elect, I also feel very qualified to offer the following article on the other side of the election.
Voting for Mr. Trump was one of the most difficult and excruciating things I’ve ever done. In the end I did so primarily due to one issue – abortion. After watching former Secretary of State Clinton coolly and confidently support abortion up until the last minute before a child is born, while also stating that an unborn child has no rights whatsoever – that was the turning point for me. There was no sense of anything in her except great pride that we do this in America. Because Mr. Trump had made it clear that he would oppose abortion (albeit with a promise – not exactly the most trustworthy currency in an election) I chose to vote for him. I did so without a sense of great pride in my vote – without any kind of bravado – I simply did it to protect the unborn. Having said this – and having read far too many facebook posts from both sides that broke my heart after the election – I want to offer unsolicited advice to those who are evangelicals who voted for president-elect Trump. President-elect Trump needs our prayers (as does President Obama) as he faces the presidency. First and foremost, it is my opinion, based upon his actions and words, that we need to pray for this man’s salvation. I was never under any deception that he was or is a Christian – regardless of what the President of Liberty University says. This man needs to repent of sin and receive Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior – period. By the way, if that statement offends you, I believe all men and women need to repent and receive Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior because all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. If you are a “true evangelical” then this is THE issue for us ultimately – is he (or anyone else for that matter) someone who has come to understand that he is a sinner by choice and by nature – has come to understand that Jesus is the God-man who came and paid for sin by His death, burial, and resurrection – and has come to repentance over his sin and now has put his faith in Jesus Christ to pay for his sin and make him acceptable to God. President-elect Trump also needs our prayers to govern wisely as the chief executive and commander in chief over our armed forces. Ask anyone who has ever held this office, there is tremendous pressure and responsibility associated with it. And take it from someone who is only a father and pastor of a local church – the more authority you have – the greater the damage you can do by making unwise and ungodly decisions. My unwise choices affect the 14 people in my family – and at least 175-200 people who attend the fellowship I am honored to serve. Things like pride, ego, marital infidelity, foul language, caustic comments, and perverse treatment of women, are unwise and ungodly from a biblical perspective. Sorry if this offends you but I am a pastor who is responsible to teach God’s Word – and advance a godly and righteous lifestyle. We can support him in some ways – but we need to be clear that these actions and attitudes are unacceptable. Should we show our president-elect grace and love? Absolutely. But can we afford as evangelicals to just gloss over the clear elephant in the room when it comes to his character and ungodliness? If we do – we will lose the moral authority to speak to our society – especially those who opposed him in the election who need the gospel so badly. President-elect Trump – and our nation – need our prayers for healing and unity. Only someone who has lived under a rock for the last year and a half is unaware of the incredible rift that there is in our nation. He is not responsible alone for this rift – but this past election cycle only made us aware of how wide it is. I am painfully aware that much of this rift is due to vastly divergent worldviews. Both sides of this divide view the moral stances of the other as moral bankruptcy. He will face deep divides that will require wisdom, patience, and understanding to even begin to address. As an evangelical there are issues within our nation where I have to take a stand that is unpopular – very unpopular with those who oppose it. There are moral issues – issues about sexuality – issues about justice – issues about racism – issues about abortion and crisis pregnancies – issues about how to help those in financial need – so many issues that even trying to list them makes my head swim. What makes it worse is that currently any discourse about them has become so incendiary that basic communication (where we respect one another) seems almost impossible. We so quickly descend into sound bytes and insults at the drop of a hat. Oh how we need to move away from listening to the talking heads and talk radio and actually listen to one another once again. The rhetoric of the election has left us all battered and worn out emotionally. Pray that our President – and our president-elect can begin to heal the fractures – rather than make them worse. One final word though to those of us who are evangelicals – and it is a word of great warning. If we choose to swagger through the next several months before and after the inauguration we are going to see the gospel itself face a terrible backlash. If we act as if Mr. Trump has great moral authority after what we’ve learned about how he treats women and his own marriage – we will alienate a large group of women who need to hear the gospel. They will see our joy over his election as an endorsement of his immoral actions – and will turn a deaf ear to the message of the gospel. If we act as if it wasn’t a problem that he didn’t distance himself from the KKK and other white supremacist groups with the strongest words possible – we will alienate many in the black community. They will see our joy in his election as an affirmation of what they already see as systemic racism and will turn a deaf ear to the gospel. If we act as if Mr. Trump’s bravado and pride – and the many morally questionable insults toward his opponents – should be seen as just politics as normal – we should not be surprised to see a rejection of our gospel as if it is associated with such insults. If we don’t at least attempt to see the political discourse toned down from its new lows in foul language that should offend people’s sensibilities - too many will deduce that we have come to endorse of this kind of talk. They will mock us when we say that the Bible teaches us to reject “corrupt communication from our mouths.” They will see such statements as just another way we’ve embraced hypocrisy as Christians. This will, in turn, justify in their minds turning a similar deaf ear to whatever else we have to say about salvation and the gospel. I’ve already seen too many posts by those on the other side of the political divide who are saying that if Trump represents evangelicalism – they are done with it. Be careful precious saints of God – and be wise in the days ahead. Our attitudes and our demeanor can do much to either advance the gospel or turn people off to it. May God give us wisdom, especially in these days to prove ourselves true sons of God – who embrace both truth and our role to be peacemakers. THE most important thing is that we, as evangelicals, see that what our nation needs most is the grace of God in the gospel of Jesus Christ. These are the only things that will bring about the much-needed revival in the church and the even more-needed spiritual awakening among the lost. So that these things may come to our nation may God give us grace to be men and women wise enough to navigate such a time as this.  Calvary Core Values – #3 – God’s Word, The Final Moral Authority
Our world is currently in a moral revolution. We’ve watched as our society has radically redefined morals in the past 50 years. It has been something to watch, and I admit that often I have watched more in horror than in approval of where our world is headed. In the 1960’s this revolution began with the sexual revolution. This is when mindsets changed concerning the sexual activity outside of marriage. Before this time it was generally held that sex outside of marriage was wrong. It is not that immorality did not exist before this time – because it did. What changed was the public attitude toward it. Before the sexual revolution this kind of choice was frowned upon by the majority of society and heterosexual immorality was seen as sinful. This was not the mindset after the 1960’s. In the 1970’s we were confronted by abortion. It was made legal in the 1973 Roe vs. Wade Supreme Court decision. Soon, this too, was generally accepted by society. The 80’s brought us the selfish “me” generation where greed became good. The 90’s introduced us to public officials like President Bill Clinton telling us that it did not matter that he was an adulterer, having sex in his office. That was his private life – and our leaders could be godless in private – but still be good leaders in public life. That divorced any discussion about a leader’s lifestyle and whether he was fit to lead or not. Toward the close of the 90’s the issue of homosexual marriage arose – first to be banned by a vote of the people – but eventually to be by courts that legislated it from the bench. Now, whether we are aware of it or not, the revolution continues as even the issue of our gender is open to debate. To say someone is male or female is now offensive as confused men call themselves female, even without a sex change operation. We are not even to critique someone who is male one month, female the next two, only to return to be male before the end of a year’s time. This is what happens when morals become unmoored from God’s revelation of Himself and His will and purpose in the Bible. Moral truth, when relative and made subjective to the individual, sets society adrift into a moral morass. So where do we go to get clarity on these issues and hundreds of others? For the biblical Christian that question is very easy to answer. We go to God’s Word. Our third Core Value here at Calvary Chapel of Jonesboro is that we believe the Bible is the final authority when it comes to all matters of faith, morals, and practice as we walk with God in this world. The Bible is very clear on moral matters. The 10 commandments have given a moral clarity to societies ever since they were first given to Moses on Mount Sinai. There really is no mistaking what God considers moral and immoral – godly or ungodly. That is something we hold as a core value. The morality of the Bible is not something that is up for public debate. It is not something that ebbs and flows with the general moral stance of society itself. It is something fixed by God. We can either surrender to Him and submit to His moral truth – or pay a very high price by rebelling against Him. This means that regardless of what the Supreme Court or any other human court says, God’s Word is more authoritative in our lives. The morality of the Bible is not up for a vote – and neither does it need to be made “more relevant” to 21st century mankind. Murder is murder – whether in the 3rd century before Christ or the 2nd one after. Adultery is adultery regardless of whether you are King David over all Israel – or you are just a relatively unknown person living outside God’s will in 2014 in Northeast Arkansas. Let me refer to the Word of God so that you get an idea of why this is a Core Value at this fellowship. I’ll begin by quoting 1 Peter in his letter to the churches. For, "All flesh is like grass, and all its blory like the flower of grass. The grass withers, and the flower falls off, but the Word of the Lord endures forever." 1 Peter 1:24 (NASB) We are reminded by Peter (as he quotes from Isaiah 40) that the world around us and all its beauty will fade and be gone, but God’s Word will endure forever. His Word does not change and will stand for all time as the authority in all matters on which God speaks through it. David said this about God’s Word too as He was inspired to write, Forever, O LORD, Your word is settled in heaven. Psalm 119:89 (NASB) Follow my reasoning for a moment here. God tells us that His Word is forever settled in heaven. There is no debate – no opposing arguments that are of any value. He has spoken and it is settled on all issues on which He has spoken. Now grasp that judgment will not ultimately be that which is done in earthly courts by fallible human judges. The ultimate judgment will be before the throne of God. What He has stated we believe is clear and not debatable. Sin is sin – no matter whether God is speaking to issues of sexual immorality, the words we speak, the attitudes that are in our hearts, the motives with which we do things, or even the way that we do business with others. These are all things about which God has spoken – and when He has spoken – it is final. Some might wonder why we hold this as a “core value” at our fellowship? It is because the Bible teaches us in Romans 3:23 that, “. . . all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.” If what is sin is debatable according to the current standards of society, how do we know whether anyone has sinned? If we are on the shifting sands of public opinion, how can we have any clarity on ANY matter of moral significance? We believe that the Bible speaks very clearly in regard to these matters. And where it speaks – it is authoritative – regardless of who questions it or what any human court, either governmental or societal, has to say about it. That may eventually get us in trouble in the courts of public opinion and even one day in the courts of our nation. But like the apostles before us, our stand will have to be that we choose to obey God rather than man. May God bless you this week and continue to show you the extremities of His grace—and its true effects on your standing before God. Last week I began to deal with the subject of the “extremities of the grace of God.” This week I want to continue commenting on this topic by addressing what exactly happened to us the moment that we received the grace of God when God revealed Himself through the Gospel of Jesus Christ. What happened in that moment is so important in helping us grasp what our relationship is to God and what God is seeking to do in our lives after we receive His grace.
One of the clearest passages that describe for us what happened when we received God’s grace is found in Romans chapter 3. It reads, “But now apart from the Law the righteousness of God has been manifested, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, even the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all those who believe; for there is no distinction; for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus.” (Rom. 3:21-24 —NASB) Here is what this passage is telling us. Note the section of this verse I’ve highlighted. This section speaks of us being “JUSTIFIED” as a gift by His grace . . .” It is vitally important that we understand what this word “justified” actually means. The reason for this is that some of the current preaching of today does not accurately define this word. The word “justified” is the Greek word “dikaioo” and it means, “to declare righteous.” This means when God did a “justifying” work at the point where He saved us. So what does that mean? It means that God, as an act of pure grace, declared us righteous in His sight. According to 2 Corinthians 5:21 the “amount” of righteousness we receive is equal to the total righteousness of Jesus Christ Himself. This passage says that He made Him who knew no sin (only Jesus fits that bill) was made sin on our behalf—so that we might become the righteousness of Christ in Him. This is astounding—because what it says is that God in a single historical act (at the moment of us receiving His grace) gave to us the very righteousness of Christ—so that in His sight we are just as righteous as Jesus Himself. Some might argue that this verse says that we might “become” as righteous as Jesus—meaning this is a process (requiring growth and continued obedience). Nothing could be further from the truth. The word “become” here (ginoami) is a punctiliar aorist Greek verb. This speaks of a single act in the past. Thus we see here that Scripture tells us that in a single moment—the very moment of our salvation—we were declared just as righteous as Jesus by a gift of God’s grace. Truly this is an astounding thing—the extreme of God revealed to us is that by grace—we stand in God’s sight—just as righteous as Jesus Christ Himself. None of this is due to our performance—but is a gift given to us by God Himself—pure, unadulterated, undeserved grace poured out on the most unworthy of creatures by its Creator, Who alone paid the full price for sin by the death of His Son on the cross. This, dear ones of God, is given to us at our salvation—in a moment when we repent and put our faith in what Jesus accomplished by His death, burial, and resurrection. Marvel saints . . . marvel at the extremities of God’s grace—and the glorious results in your standing before a Holy God! |
Biblical ArticlesMost of these articles are taken from the Calvary Courier, a weekly newsletter that is sent to the folks who attend Calvary Chapel Jonesboro. Due to the response to these articles, we've decided to print some of them which proved to be very helpful to God's people at the fellowship. 
Thank you for visiting our website! Everything on this site is offered for free. If, however, you would like to make a donation to help pay for its continued presence on the internet, you can do that by clicking here. The only thing we ask is that you give first to the local church you attend. Thank you! |
RSS Feed