What's So GOOD About Friday?

            Good Friday.  It's the Friday before Easter Sunday, commemorating the day on which Jesus Christ was crucified.  Various religious celebrations associated with this day have arisen over the years within the Christian church.  Good Friday is called “good” either because of the more ancient definition of “good” which meant “holy” or because it was considered a more reverent way to speak of what was really signified, namely “God’s Friday.” 

            The point of this brief article is not to discuss this history of Good Friday within Christianity, nor to debate the usefulness of various traditions associated with this day.  The question I want to consider, and the question I think we all must in some way answer, is this:  what is so GOOD about it?  Why is what happened on the cross a good thing?  Why should something so seemingly horrible be called holy?  Why celebrate an event so overtly unjust, callous and cruel?  What’s so GOOD about Friday?

 First, what happened on that Friday was GOOD because God planned it.  Although those immediately associated with Christ’s death were motivated by their own sinful and selfish desires, nevertheless, Jesus’ death on the Cross was God’s plan.  His death was the reason why Jesus, the eternal Son of God, became a man in the first place.  Jesus' death was God's plan.  Jesus explained it this way to His disciples:

 "Then He took the twelve aside and said to them, “Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and all things that are written by the prophets concerning the Son of Man will be accomplished. For He will be delivered to the Gentiles and will be mocked and insulted and spit upon. They will scourge Him and kill Him. And the third day He will rise again (Luke 18:31-33)."

Jesus described His death as a part of what had been previously foretold:  “all things that are written by the prophets concerning the Son of Man will be accomplished.”  And all the way through the gospels the death of Christ was portrayed as the great purpose of His coming. 

John the baptizer called Jesus “the Lamb of God (John 1:29).”  God's Lamb...God's plan.  A lamb was killed, sacrificed, in the great Jewish celebration of the Passover.  Jesus prepared His disciples for this plan, though they did not really understand it.  We read in Mark 8:31 "And He began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things, and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again."  The Old Testament prophets proclaimed this plan.  Isaiah wrote over 700 years before the birth of Christ these words about Him “Because He poured out His soul unto death, and He was numbered with the transgressors, and He bore the sin of many (Isaiah 53:12).”  And all this was God’s good plan.  Luke writes in Acts 2:23: "Him, being delivered by the determined purpose and foreknowledge of God, you have taken by lawless hands, have crucified, and put to death.”  This was all done by the “determined purpose and foreknowledge of God.”  The cross was not an unforeseen accident.  The cross is not a cruel tragedy.  The cross was no mistake.  Good Friday is good because God planned it.  Everything that God plans is good.

 A quote to consider:  “From all eternity God had predestined every detail of that event of all events [the cross]. Nothing was left to chance or the caprice of man. God had decreed when and where and how His blessed Son was to die… Not a thing occurred except as God had ordained, and all that He had ordained took place exactly as He purposed.” – AW Pink (1886 – 1952)

Second, what happened on Good Friday was GOOD because we needed it.  The death of Jesus Christ on the cross was and is our only hope for salvation.  We are sinners, all of us.  Each one of us has enough sin to merit eternal punishment.  The only reason we think otherwise is because we measure ourselves by a corrupted standard.  But God measures us by the only righteous standard: His own.  And according to that standard, we fall miserably short.   “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23).”  We may not like it when a doctor tells us we have some disease.  Yet it is true, whether we chose to believe it or not.  The same is true for God’s diagnosis of mankind.  "Every one of them has turned aside; they have together become corrupt; there is none who does good, No, not one (Psalm 53:3).”  The Lord knows better than we do the condition of our own hearts.  He says in Jeremiah 17:9 “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked; who can know it?"  Good Friday is Good Medicine for our souls.  We needed it.

According to God’s Word then, we are all “debtors.”  Our sins are like money we have stolen from God and cannot repay.   Every day we live this debt grows larger.  Every falling short of holiness puts us further in the hole.  You, according to Romans 2:5, “…in accordance with your hardness and your impenitent heart you are treasuring up for yourself wrath in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God (Romans 2:5).” 

We therefore needed a substitute to pay our debt.  We needed Someone to stand in our place.  That is what happened on the cross.  That is why it was “good.”  God planned the cross, and Christ submitted to the cross, to pay the price for our sins.  "For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him (2 Corinthians 5:21).”  The price we owed was offered by Christ.  “He was wounded for our transgressions; He was bruised for our iniquities (Isaiah 53:5).”  Good Friday was good because the cross was exactly what sinners like us needed.

 A quote to consider: "When men talk of a little hell, it is because they think they have only a little sin, and believe in a little Saviour; it is all little together. But when you get a great sense of sin, you want a great Saviour, and feel that, if you do not have Him, you will fall into a great destruction, and suffer a great punishment at the hands of the great God.." –C.H. Spurgeon (1834-1892)

Third, what happened on Good Friday was GOOD because it is offered to you.  Jesus Christ invites you to receive the benefits of His sacrifice through faith in Him.  The good news, the gospel, is about what Jesus Christ has accomplished to deliver us from our sins and the consequences of sin.  And you can have it.  "Seek the Lord while He may be found, Call upon Him while He is near. Let the wicked forsake his way, And the unrighteous man his thoughts; Let him return to the Lord, And He will have mercy on him; And to our God, For He will abundantly pardon (Isaiah 55:6-7).”  Good Friday is Grace Friday.  The day is a grand declaration of grace to sinners.  The cross is God’s love language to man.  “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us (Romans 5:8).”

             The cross is the reason for the good news.  And the resurrection confirms it.  Christ rose from the dead to declare, amongst other things, that His sacrifice was accepted, His death was sufficient, and His work was done.  Friday was good.  And Sunday was even greater.  And now Christ reigns as Lord of all.  "For to this end Christ died and rose and lived again, that He might be Lord of both the dead and the living." (Romans 14:9)

            Dear reader, everything of any lasting value comes to you because of what happened on Good Friday.  But nothing that happened on Good Friday will help you if you will not believe.  How many Good Fridays have come and gone that have not been “good” for you?  Will you let another Good Friday go by?  Another Easter Sunday?  "For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul (Mark 8:36)?” 

A quote to consider: “If Christ had not gone to the cross and suffered in our stead, the just for the unjust, there would not have been a spark of hope for us. There would have been a mighty gulf between ourselves and God, which no man ever could have passed.” –JC Ryle (1816 – 1900)

Rob Bell & Love Wins - A Book Review

Rob Bell &

Love Wins

A Book Review

The Apostate: “Ah, Dick, I shall never forget some of our talks. I expect you’ve changed your views a bit since then. You became rather narrow-minded towards the end of your life: but no doubt you’ve broadened out again.”

Dick: “How do you mean?”

The Apostate: “Well, it’s rather obvious by now, isn’t it, that you weren’t quite right. Why, my dear boy, you were beginning to believe in a literal Heaven and Hell!”

I just finished reading Love Wins by Rob Bell.  He is the pastor of the Mars Hill church in Grandville, MI.

Soon after finishing it I couldn’t help recall the above quoted section from C.S. Lewis’ classic story: The Great Divorce. The Apostate Bishop had just come from Hell (the “grey town”) into Heaven, but still could not be convinced of the reality of the place where he had been. “Ah, I see” said the Bishop “you mean that the grey town with its continual hope of morning (we must all live by hope, must we not?), with its field for indefinite progress, is, in a sense, Heaven, if only we have eyes to see it? That is a beautiful idea.” 

No literal Heaven or Hell? Hell and Heaven really the same place, just different perspectives?

Lewis…are you serious? Would anyone actually suggest this?

Fast forward about 60 years: in walks Rob Bell and Love Wins. As Bell tries to explain heaven and hell from the parable of the Prodigal son he writes “In this story heaven and hell are within each other, intertwined, interwoven, bumping up against each other (p. 170).” A little later on and he will write: “The only thing left to do is trust. Everybody is already at the party. Heaven and hell, here, now, around us, upon us, within us (p. 190).”

Rob Bell, like the Apostate Bishop, rejects the idea of hell as a literal place of eternal punishment. Hell, he says, simply expresses “very real consequences we experience when we reject the good and true and beautiful life that God has for us (p. 93).”  [There is a strange and sad irony in this, because Bell actually recommends The Great Divorce for "further reading" on the subject of Hell.  Lewis, however, did not write The Great Divorce to teach about the nature of Hell (as Bell seems to believe) but rather about the Danger of Apostacy (amongst other things) which Bell apparently missed.]

But although Rob Bell’s view on Hell has gotten a lot of attention, his book primarily revolves around 3 shocking and radical suggestions. Bell, however, wants us to believe he is not teaching or proposing anything new. He says: “I haven’t come up with a radical new teaching that’s any kind of departure from what’s been said an untold number of times. That’s the beauty of the historic, orthodox Christian faith (p. x).” 

Here are, in my opinion, the 3 radical and unbiblical views that Rob Bell is promoting in Love Wins:

1) Those dying in deliberate and conscious unbelief still have the possibility to be saved after death. Rob Bell leaves open the door for all men to turn to God at any time in the future. “At the heart of this perspective is the belief that, given enough time, everybody will turn to God and find themselves in the joy and peace of God’s presence (p. 107).” He even tries to snatch an endorsement from Martin Luther for this position. But of course to do so he has to pull the quote out of context, and hopes…I suppose…no one will call him on it. Well, some did. And for a good explanation feel free to read Carl Trueman’s excellent response.

Bell frequently quotes “restoration” verses, implying they argue against eternal punishment: “I will heal their waywardness and love them freely for my anger has turned away from them (Hosea 14, p. 86).” Therefore, Bell writes, “when we read ‘eternal punishment’ it is important that we don’t read categories and concepts into a phrase that aren’t there. Jesus isn’t talking about forever as we think of forever (p. 92).”

Reading Rob Bell reminds me of a quote from Orwell’s 1984, as the author of the “Newspeak” dictionary said “it is a wonderful thing, the destruction of words.”

Dear reader:  the Bible teaches that mankind does not have a “second chance” after death. "And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment," (Hebrews 9:27) Jesus' sobering parable of the 10 Virgin’s depicts the sad and final state of those who wait too long “Afterward the other virgins came also, saying, ‘Lord, Lord, open to us!’ But he answered and said, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, I do not know you.’" (Matthew 25:11-12)  Reader, right now is given to you the opportunity, if you haven’t done so, to confess your sins to God and believe in Jesus Christ His Son to save you. Jesus Christ died on the cross as a substitute for sinners.  He is the "Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world."  Do not delay: "because He has appointed a day on which He will judge the world in righteousness by the Man whom He has ordained. He has given assurance of this to all by raising Him from the dead.” (Acts 17:31)

2) Other non-Christian religions are equally valid as ways of salvation. Christ will save them, even where He is not “named” as such. Bell builds this argument primarily in chapter 6, entitled “There are Rocks Everywhere.” Just as the "rock" in the Old Testament produced "life giving" water was actually "Christ" (though not named as such in the Old Testament itself), so other religions may be "saving" people even where Christ is not seen or spoken of as the source of life.  He knows this will make Christian readers uncomfortable. He admits this. He says “As soon as the door is opened to Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists, and Baptists from Cleveland, many Christians become very uneasy (p. 155).”

But didn’t Jesus say that He alone was the way? “I am the way the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father but by Me.” Sure, says Bell, this is true.  He then proceeds to work his double speak again. He goes into vague and obscure language about “exclusivity on the other side of inclusivity (p. 155).” He develops odd definitions of the church so that it can embrace all faiths of all people: “A church is a community of people who enact specific rituals and create specific experiences to keep this word alive in their own hearts, a gathering of believers who help provide language and symbols and experiences for this mystery (p. 156).”

Dear reader, do not think that any can be saved apart from faith in Jesus Christ. The Bible says "Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”" (Acts 4:12)

The world has always hated the "exclusivity" of the Christian faith.  Rob Bell attempts to take the edge off exclusivity.  He provides a Christianity that will not offend.  But the trade off is a Christianity that cannot save.

Philip Ryken in his book “Is Jesus the Only Way” once wrote some words that readers of Bell should weigh heavily “Authentic, biblical Christianity has always been an exclusive religion. This became apparent during the Roman Empire. When the Emperor Alexander Severus heard about Christianity, he placed an image of Christ beside the other gods in his private chapel, just to be safe. The Romans were happy to welcome Jesus into their pantheon. What the Romans couldn’t understand was why Christians refused to reciprocate. If the emperor was willing to worship Christ, why weren’t Christians willing to worship the emperor? Yet the early Christians insisted that in order to worship Christ at all, they had to worship Christ alone. They were even willing to stand up for this conviction by playing “Christians and lions” at the Colosseum (p. 10-11).”

3) Eventually everyone will be saved (he couches this one carefully, but really it is the whole idea behind the title "Love Wins"). He argues that "God gets what He wants." God wants all to be saved. Therefore...well...you figure it out.

Bell frequently tries to make his position sound well within the boundaries of Biblical Christianity throughout the centuries. For example, “And so, beginning with the early church, there is a long tradition of Christians who believe that God will ultimately restore everything and everybody (p. 107).” He fails, however, to provide any real evidence to support this.

Bell creates straw men to build his case for the ultimate reconciliation of all people. He says things like “Could God say to someone truly humbled, broken, and desperate for reconciliation, ‘Sorry, too late?’ (p. 108)” It never seems to occur to Rob to ask if hell actually has any “truly humbled” and “broken” souls.

Dear reader, the most important issue in the world is not whether "everyone" will be saved.  The question is this:  Will you be saved?  Consider these words of Jesus Christ: “Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it. “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves." (Matthew 7:13-15)

One Final Thought:

Maybe you are asking: Where did Bell go wrong?  How did someone who probably started well end up so far out in left field?  The answer, I think, is sprinkled throughout this book.  Lurking behind Bell’s radical departures in these 3 key areas is a woefully inadequate and unbiblical view of sin. Our sins, even the worst of them, simply couldn’t (according to Bell) merit eternal punishment. Several times in the book Bell raises questions like this one “Does God punish people for thousands of years with infinite, eternal torment for things they did in their few finite years of life (p. 2)?” Again he writes of the supposed injustice of people “suffering infinitely for the finite sins they committed in the few years they spent on earth (p. 102).”  Throughout the book Bell seems to only see sin with respect to the inconveniences it causes us, and the sad consequences it brings into our lives.  There is nothing of the supreme offensiveness of sin to a holy God. 

This low view of sin ultimately poisons, in my opinion, the rest of his theology. When we dilute the significance of sin we must, consequently, dilute the response of God as well.  The significance of the cross is lost. And in this dilution, a totally different God is created. One more tame, one more safe, one less bothered by sin, one…more like ourselves. That is the real and final consequence of Mr. Bell’s book. He has created a new god. A god that will not punish sin. A god that has no wrath. A god that is not a “consuming fire.” Listen to what Bell says “Let’s be very clear, then: we do not need to be rescued from God (p. 182).”  That is a very different God than the one depicted in the Bible as Judge of all the earth.

Bell thinks he has given us a better God.  In reality, his god is worse.  The true magnificence of God's love can only be understood in contrast with the severity of sin and the rightful punishment it deserves.  Take away the wrath of God and you lose the love of God as well. 

"...among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others. But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved),"
Ephesians 2:3-5

Love Wins is NOT the good news.

Christ Wins IS the good news for all who believe and trust in Him alone for salvation.

"Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord." (Romans 8:37-39)

 

FAITH AND FEAR

Faith and Fear

When the Israelites crossed the Red Sea and observed the overthrow of the Egyptian army by the Lord, we read of their fear and faith. "Thus Israel saw the great work which the LORD had done in Egypt; so the people feared the LORD, and believed the LORD…." (Exodus 14:31) 

Nehemiah speaks of Hananiah the leader as “a faithful man and feared God more than many.” (Nehemiah 7:2)

Noah, also, had both faith and fear. The author of Hebrews says "By faith Noah, being divinely warned of things not yet seen, moved with godly fear, prepared an ark..." (Hebrews 11:7)

In thinking about the importance of both Faith and Fear this morning, I noticed that in my own life I am far more likely to ask the Lord for faith than for fear. A trial arrives and up goes my cry “Lord, increase my faith.” Doubts darken my heart and once again I plead with the Lord “increase my faith.” Temptations come like fiery darts and up again the prayer “Faith…I need more faith.”

While not diminishing the great need I have for more faith, I wonder if I have forgotten about the importance of growing in Godly fear. “The fear of the Lord is” we are told “the beginning of wisdom.” It is a “fountain of life” according to Proverbs (14:27). It was central to the growth of the church (Acts 9:31). Those men and women of God in Scripture, who seemed to serve Him best, also seemed to fear Him most. Noah (Hebrews 11:7), Abraham (Gen. 22:12), the midwives in Egypt (Exodus 1:17), Job (Job 1:1), Isaiah (Isaiah 6), and especially Christ Himself (Heb. 5:7).

And so, today, although I will continue to pray for more faith, I will also pray for more fear. A fear of God that will deepen my reverence and awe for His majesty. A fear of God that will weaken the grip of sin in my soul. A fear of God that provokes a holy watchfulness in my Christian walk. A fear that deepens my worship and love for God. A fear of God that puts His commandments before my convenience. A fear that stirs me to be a more loving husband, godly father and helpful friend. A fear that, above all, serves to mold me more and more into the image of my Savior Jesus Christ.

Dear Father, please grant my soul a more fearful faith and a more faithful fear.

"Come, you children, listen to me; I will teach you the fear of the LORD."

Psalm 34:11



WHY THIS WASTE?

“Why This Waste?”

Matthew 26:8

I was reading in Matthew chapter 26 this morning. You know the experience. There you are going through a passage that you must have read dozens of times before. You think to yourself, “yep…been here, read that.” Your eyes glide across the page, but are frankly not expecting anything to penetrate your heart. And then…unexpectedly…something strikes you. A text jumps off the page and pokes you in the eye.

I sat and stared. The passage was the familiar story of the anointing of Jesus’ head with the expensive perfume by the unnamed woman in the house of Simon the leper. I say “unnamed” as she is not given a name in Matthew 26 or Mark 14. A similar incident is recorded in John 12 when Jesus is anointed by Mary, the brother of Lazarus, but it is possible this was a separate anointing altogether. Her expensive gift, however, became the subject of severe criticism by some.

But in my mind, it was only Judas who objected to this display of loving extravagance bestowed upon Christ. Judas is specifically identified in John’s account. "But one of His disciples, Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son, who would betray Him, said, “Why was this fragrant oil not sold for three hundred denarii and given to the poor?”" (John 12:4-5)

I guess Judas’ indignation made sense to me. He never had any true love for Christ. He was a thief. He had no true appreciation for the great work of redemption, no true love for the kingdom of God and no personal interest in the Savior of souls. Maybe that is why this passage in Matthew 26 surprised me. In this account, and in this anointing, we read: "But when His disciples saw it, they were indignant, saying, “Why this waste?" (Matthew 26:8)

When His disciples saw it!  Whether this was a different anointing or not, the fact is that Jesus’ other disciples, His true followers and His sincere sheep did not appreciate the beauty and love of this gift bestowed generously upon the precious head of Jesus Christ. In fact, they called it a waste. “Why this waste?”

And this nailed me. It was the "Christians" who were complaining.  This got me thinking.  How easy it is to justify time and money spent on material things. How generous I am, even extravagant, in the hours devoted to pleasures, hobbies and personal interests. But so stingy I become when it has to do with pursuing spiritual interests! It is as though, with respect to these matters, my greedy and selfish heart cries out “why this waste?” “Hours” spent easily on me. “Seconds” painfully parted with when spent upon others. Worst of all, my sinful heart actually tries to justify these pitiful priorities, not unlike the disciples when they cried "For this fragrant oil might have been sold for much and given to the poor.”" (Matthew 26:9)

We are greatly mistaken when we think it is only unbelievers who have misplaced spiritual priorities. Disciples can sometimes be deluded. God gives us His precious Word, but we neglect it. What? Actually invest serious time and energy into heart-searching study of the Scirptures? Why this waste? God gives us unlimited access to Him in prayer, but we avoid it. What? Set aside a block of time from our already over-scheduled lives for communion with our Creator? Why this waste? God gives us churches, but we don’t appreciate them. What? Actually invest some energy into loving others outside my immediate family circle? Why this waste? God gives us pastors, but we typically don’t value them. What? Thank the Lord and treat with honor and respect and generosity those entrusted with the care of our immortal souls? Why this waste? Above all, we have been given Christ Himself, as Savior and Lord…but how rarely do we seek Him and strive to please and obey Him! What? Pour into the pursuit of Christ resources which might be spent on me or my children? Why this waste?

Why this waste? When I look back soberly over much of what I have poured my time and efforts into through the past 40 years...that is really the question I am left with: why this waste? Hours wasted that cannot be regained. Energies wasted that should have been spent loving Christ and loving others. And all the feeble excuses and arguments I have used to try and justify my unbelief. Why this waste? That good woman’s perfume was not wasted. Not a drop was lost. And in the end, the only thing wasted will be the moments spent in sin and selfishness. Christ did not consider His own blood “wasted” when He bled and died for sinners like you and I. Dear reader, let us not consider our lives “wasted” if spent entirely and exclusively for Him.

My New Year's Resolution

“God set them in the firmament of the heavens to give light on the earth.”

Genesis 1:17

O my soul. What wonders do the skies contain! The sun in all its fiery majesty, the moon in all its silent beauty, the stars in all their vast dominion invite our finite minds to behold a bit of infinity. They existed before our birth - all births - and they observe our brief lives until the day they shed light upon our graves. And yet for all their grandeur and ancient wisdom God constructed them for service: “to give light on the earth.”

There is a lesson to be learned from these lights. Greatness is not measured by the number of servants we have. Greatness is measured by the number of people we serve. The greatest souls have always been the greatest servants. This is what Jesus taught. “But he who is greatest among you shall be your servant (Matthew 23:11).” Oh that I might learn from the Heavenly Academy this lesson in Celestial Humility!

J. Gresham Machen (1881 – 1937) seemed to know this. I read a brief account of his life today, written by a man who may be the last living student who sat under this theological giant. Few have ascended to Machen’s level in Biblical scholarship and insight. But those close to him remember most his humble service and love toward his students. He opened his home and table to their fellowship. He opened his wallet and gave liberally to provide meaningful times together, even taking his students to football games and fine restaurants. “Don’t be a tightwad” he would whimsically chide his pupils. He would host a “checker club” in his apartment, a time for games and snacks and mixing with the young seminarians. His greatness was demonstrated in service.

The supreme example of greatness exemplified in service is the Lord Jesus Christ Himself. He is the greatest heavenly Light, the “Sun of Righteousness” arising with “healing in His wings (Malachi 4:2).” Though He was God, He “made Himself of no reputation, taking on the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men (Philippians 2:7).” No greater service has ever been rendered on earth. The blood of Christ has done more good to more souls than we will ever fully know in this life. The hymnist put it well:

“When this passing world is done,
When has sunk yon glaring sun,
When we stand with Christ in glory,
Looking o'er life's finished story,
Then, Lord, shall I fully know -
Not till then - how much I owe.”

What about you, o my soul? As 2011 stands here before you…what goals have you set, what plans have you made, what resolutions have you written? Maybe the focus I should have is that lesson learned from the sun and stars, learned from men like Machen, and learned most fully from Christ Himself. "Give light on the earth."  Set thy soul on service! Help more, give more, love more, assist more, pray more in this coming year than ever before. This is my resolution…so help me God!