Questioning God

 “From that time Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised.  And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him, saying, “Far be it from you, Lord! This shall never happen to you.””

(Matthew 16:21–23, ESV)

The audacity of Peter! As we see in the passage above, Jesus was explaining to his disciples what was to happen. He told them how he was to suffer, die, and rise again.

Knowing the gospel, we understand what Jesus was saying. We know exactly what he was talking about. We know that he was referring to his impending crucifixion and resurrection.

Hearing this, however, Peter challenged Jesus. He couldn’t fathom this happening to the Christ. And he declared that this would never happen to him. 

As we read this, we are appalled. How could Peter do such a thing? How could he challenge Jesus? How could he deny what Jesus declared? Jesus, after all, is God.

But, in reality, we share his struggle. As we observe Lent and celebrate Good Friday, we have trouble with the truth that Jesus had to suffer. Certainly, we think, there could have been another way.

Why would God have to become flesh? Why would he have to suffer at the hands of men? Why would he have to die on the cross? How could God the Father allow such a thing to happen to his only Son? And why would this be THE way to provide forgiveness and salvation for his people?

Even knowing the events of Jesus’ passion, we wrestle with this. Even knowing the gospel, we wrestle with this. We go through the motions of Holy Week and Easter, all the while wondering, even doubting. 

It’s for this reason that, rather than looking to Jesus in faith, we continue to look to ourselves for the salvation we so desperately need. We believe there must be a part that we play. We believe that there must be a way for us to provide satisfaction for our sins.

Jesus, however, had to suffer. He had to die upon the cross. And he had to rise again. Apart from this, we would be forever lost.

It was in this way that Jesus atoned for our sins. It’s in this way that he defeated the power of sin. And it’s in this way that he overcame death.

This is what Jesus declared to be true. This is what he declared to be necessary. And this is how he tells us that salvation is possible. We dare not question or deny it.

We, then, can simply rest in the work that he has done. We can rest in the salvation he provided. And it’s this that we remember and celebrate during Holy Week and Easter.

A Glorious Bondage

 “Do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness? But thanks be to God, that you who were once slaves of sin have become obedient from the heart to the standard of teaching to which you were committed, and, having been set free from sin, have become slaves of righteousness.” 

(Romans 6:16-18 ESV) 

The thought of being in bondage to anyone or anything is, for most of us, unthinkable. The thought of being under anyone’s control is intolerable. We detest being under anyone’s thumb. 

In short, we long for independence. We believe that we can and should serve only ourselves. We believe that we should decide for ourselves what we will and will not do. It's our feelings and desires alone which we believe ought to be satisfied. Anything less than this is slavery. Anything less is subjection and servitude. 

This is the issue that many of us have with the Christian faith. The faith, to us, is nothing more than a system of laws. It’s nothing more than a system of rules and regulations. It means being governed and controlled by someone other than us. 

What we fail to realize is that we can never possess freedom in the sense we desire. What we fail to realize is that we have never been independent, nor will we ever be. Regardless of how free we believe ourselves to be, we are always under the control of someone or something.  

As we see in the passage above, apart from God, we are in bondage to sin. Apart from God, we are enslaved by sin. So, although we believe ourselves to be free of his law, we are controlled and governed by sin. 

As we strive to satisfy the desires of the flesh, we are mastered by them. We are enslaved by them. It is not we that are in control of them, but they that are in control of us. 

The result of this, Paul says, is death. The consequence of this is death. We, in other words, remain in the wrath of God and subject to his judgment. 

But as we serve Christ, the opposite is true. When this is true of us, he is our Lord. And, in this case, we receive the blessing of righteousness. 

Righteousness means that we have been made right with God. It means that the just consequence of our sin has been satisfied. And it means that, as God looks upon us, he sees not a sinner, but one who is pure and holy. 

As he says this, Paul is not suggesting that the blessing of righteousness is something that we earn by our obedience. Nor is he suggesting that it’s something of which we become deserving. It is the gift of God that is received by faith. 

As we look at the context of these words, Paul calls us to offer ourselves to the Lord as instruments of righteousness. Our old life, that of sin and death, is now a thing of the past. And, having received the salvation of God, having been brought from death to life, we present ourselves to the Lord that he might use us for his glorious purpose.

Obedience, you see, results from our faith in the Lord. It’s the natural response of our belief. And it’s this that enables us to receive the blessing of righteousness, which has been provided to us by the death and resurrection of Jesus. 

We Give Thee But Thine Own

“The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by man, nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything.”

‭‭Acts‬ ‭17‬:‭24‬-‭25‬ ‭ESV‬‬

Our natural tendency is to believe that we can earn God’s blessings. Our tendency is to believe that we can repay him for his lovingkindness. Our tendency is to believe that we can make ourselves worthy of all he has given us. And our tendency is to believe that we can please him.

We seek to do so in a variety of ways. We do so through our acts of worship. We do so through our acts of devotion. We do so by our efforts to keep his Commands. And we do so by our acts of service. 

The reality, however, is that we can do nothing to earn God’s blessings. There is nothing we can do to repay him for his blessings. And there is nothing we can do to please him. 

Because of our sinful nature, and because of our ongoing acts of sin, this is not possible. We can never do enough to make up for our wrongdoing. And we can never be good enough to satisfy the righteous requirements of God.

This, however, is untrue for yet another reason. And this reason is seen in the passage above. It’s untrue because there is nothing we can give to God that he needs.

God, after all, is eternal and all-powerful. He is the Creator of all things. He’s the Creator of things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible. 

We, however, are the creature. We are those who are created. And, for this reason, it’s we who are dependent upon God and not the other way around.

We need God. We are completely dependent upon him. Not only did he make us in the beginning. We are also dependent upon him every moment of every day.

Apart from God, apart from his blessings, we would not exist. Apart from God and his blessings, we would not remain. Apart from his power, we would cease to exist.

God’s existence, however, is in no way dependent upon us. It is not dependent upon what we do for him. And we can contribute nothing to his well-being. 

He needs nothing. And there is nothing we can offer God that he does not already possess. Everything in all creation belongs ultimately to him.

Why, then, do we serve? Why do we give? And why do we love our neighbor?

It benefits God in no way as we do so. Nor does it contribute to our salvation or blessing. But it does make a difference in the lives of others.

As it’s been said, God does not need our good works but our neighbor does. It’s our neighbor who needs our love and our good deeds. We, then, are used by God to bless our neighbor as we act in love for him.