WSC Q&A #37

Q: What benefits do believers receive from Christ at death?
A: The souls of believers are at their death made perfect in holiness, and do immediately pass into glory; and their bodies, being still united to Christ, do rest in their graves until the resurrection.
John 5:28-29: Do not marvel at this, for an hour is coming when all who are in the tombs will hear his voice and come out, those who have done good to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil to the resurrection of judgment.

Many of you know that in April of 2014, my beloved brother Peter was suddenly and unexpectedly called home to glory. At his funeral, Dr Michael Rogers at Westminster Presbyterian Church in Lancaster preached a sermon entitled, "With Jesus Forever". Drawing from the narrative of the thief on the cross in Luke 23 and 2 Corinthians 5:8 where Paul speaks of his desire to be away from the body and present with the Lord, Dr. Rogers reminded the 500 or so people in attendance at the funeral of the great reality which my brother is experiencing now. The great reality of being a perfected soul in the presence of Jesus Christ. This is a reality that my brother talked about often, and is the hope upon death for all believers.

I can't help but wonder why we speculate beyond this concerning what happens to a believer upon death. There are so many misconceptions, especially among Christians, as to what the Bible says concerning this matter. After my brother died, many Christians would talk to me as if my brother was "an angel", in particular, a "guardian angel" who is with me and watching over me. I'm sure this was meant to comfort me, but it is simply not reality. Where does this idea come from? A believer, upon death, does NOT become an angel. Angels are their own created beings. They are not human. They are not the souls of humans who died. Humans who die do not transform into angels. There is nothing that would even suggest that humans, upon death, transform into an entirely different species of created being, such as an angel. We become perfected souls in the presence of Jesus Christ (this is particularly seen in Hebrews 12 when the author is describing the inhabitants of the heavenly Jerusalem and the author mentions "the spirits of the righteous made perfect"). So let's put to rest this talk about so-and-so dying and becoming your guardian angel. When people die, they remain human. When believing humans die, they become perfected souls, free from the burdens of the sinful flesh, and enter into the presence of Jesus Christ. Yes, in the presence of Christ. Not in my presence, not hovering around loved ones invisibly, watching over and guarding us. In the presence of Jesus Christ! Let us not cheapen the reality of the loved ones who die in the Lord. They are with their Lord and Saviour, and that is far better a reality than anything the human imagination will ever dream up.

And yet, that is not as good as it gets. Our hope is not JUST in becoming a perfected soul. Notice the catechism here speaks about our bodies. The writers of the Shorter Catechism realized something very important about mankind. We are not merely souls trapped in a sinful body, but rather, mankind is an embodied entity. We are soul AND body, and while at death the two may be temporarily disunited (although I believe the authors are right to speak of the body as still being united to Christ), on the last day when Christ comes in glory, we will be reunited with our new resurrected and glorified bodies. The hope of the Christian is not to spend eternity in Heaven floating around as spirits. Rather, it is that we will exist for all of eternity in resurrection bodies, inhabiting the New Earth!

This is what the Apostle's Creed means when it says, "I believe...in the resurrection of the body and the life everlasting". That statement is not about Christ's resurrection, as some have supposed (and which the creed confesses earlier), but rather, it's about OUR resurrection! And all of this is the great hope of the Christian. The resurrection of the body, the life everlasting, and WITH JESUS FOREVER.

WSC Q&A #36

Q: What are the benefits which in this life do accompany or flow from justification, adoption, and sanctification?
A: The benefits which in this life do accompany or flow from justification, adoption and sanctification, are, assurance of God's love, peace of conscience, joy in the Holy Ghost, increase of grace, and perseverance therein to the end.
Romans 5:5 And hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.

I wonder how often we reflect on the benefits we receive right here and right now from our salvation. We so often reflect on our great, future hope as Christians. And it is a great, future hope that we have! It's unimaginable. But perhaps we do this while neglecting the present reality.

I would encourage us all to reflect more on the benefits of our present reality. Bask in the wonders of being brought into communion with the Holy, Triune God. Marvel at what it means to be able to call God, "Abba Father". Reflect upon his graces and mercies that are daily poured out upon you. Delight in being able to call Jesus Christ, "brother". Rest in knowing that it is Christ's righteousness that is counted onto you. Know that Christ's work on your behalf is a finished work, and that the face of God will never, in this life, be turned away from you. See the work of the Holy Spirit in your life as he conforms and transforms you into the likeness of Jesus Christ daily, and take joy in knowing that the hand of God will hold you fast until the day of Christ's return, when the Spirit's work will be completed in you!

 

WSC Q&A #35

Q: What is sanctification?
A: Sanctification is the work of God's free grace, whereby we are renewed into the whole man after the image of God, and are enabled more and more to die unto sin, and live unto righteousness.
Ezekiel 36:27 And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules. 

Election, justification, and adoption are what many focus on when it comes to salvation. But what of sanctification? For a long time, the church, especially in our cultural context here in America, didn't say much about it. Salvation was reduced to a single moment when you said the "sinner's prayer", responded to an altar call, or "asked Jesus into my heart", and that was it. Very little was mentioned concerning this process of being renewed and being made into new creations, and certainly the idea of striving to live holy lives in accordance to the law of God was rarely mentioned for fear that we would be accused of believing a works-based salvation, or worse yet, be labeled "legalistic".  Everything seemed to be focused on making sure that after you die, you go to the right place. Not that that doesn't matter. It matters immensely! But it is not the whole of what it means to be saved, and we really short change the work of the Holy Spirit by not talking about the work of sanctification. 

Perhaps part of the neglect of sanctification comes from the difficulty that can come with the subject. We have these indicatives and these imperatives in Scripture concerning sanctification, and it can be complex and confusing. In other words, there's a balance in the Word of God between what God has already done for us in the person of Jesus Christ, in the work of the Holy Spirit in giving us the new birth and new hearts, the great grace-filled promises of Scripture concerning our salvation and holiness (these are the indicatives), but then we have all these commands about how to live, about how we are, as new creatures in Christ, to keep the law of God and how God's law becomes a joy instead of a burden, to keep his commands, to obey God's rules (these are the imperatives). For a long time I struggled with sanctification. Is it a work of the Holy Spirit, or must I do something? Must I participate in that work? The answer is yes and yes! 

I realize I just answered nothing and added no clarity to this. The catechism is quite helpful in understanding this tension between the indicatives and the imperatives. "Sanctification is the work of God's free grace, whereby we are renewed in the whole man after the image of God". This is the indicative of sanctification. But notice what the catechism goes on to say. It says  that sanctification enables us to "more and more to die unto sin, and live unto righteousness". To die unto sin and live unto righteousness are imperatives. The Scripture is littered with commands to God's people to live righteous and upright lives. But, the catechism clearly shows us that our ability, and even our desires to do so, are dependent upon what God has already done for and in us. The catechism makes this clear. The work of God's free grace in sanctification ENABLES us more and more to "die unto sin, and live unto righteousness". This week's verse in Ezekiel also makes this clear, "I will put my Spirit within you, AND CAUSE you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules."

Sanctification is a process, and it is a process that will be seen in one who is truly elected, justified, and adopted. Sanctification is not an optional ad-on feature. The reality for those who are united to Christ by faith is that we are being sanctified as the Spirit does this mighty work in us of renewing our whole selves, conforming us to the image of Jesus Christ. It will look different in everyone's lives. We will be at different stages in this process of sanctification, and there may even be moments when the process of sanctification is hard to see, but for those who are in Christ Jesus, it is a work of the Holy Spirit that is definitely taking place. Ultimately, this work of transformation will be completed on the final day when Christ appears in glory and even our flesh, our human bodies, will be completely renewed as we are given new, resurrection bodies. But until that day, we must persevere, be encouraged and empowered by the indicatives of Scripture, lean upon the grace of our Heavenly Father, rely fully upon the work of Jesus Christ on our behalf,  and strive whole-heartily by the power of the Holy Spirit as he works in and through us to keep the imperatives of God's Word to the glory and honor of our great and holy God.

WSC Q&A #34

Q: What is adoption?
A: Adoption is an act of God's free grace, whereby we are received into the number, and have a right to all the privileges of, the sons of God.
1 John 3:1 See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are. The reason why the world does not know us is that it did not know him.

This truth of adoption has, to me, been one of the most amazing truths of Scripture. Think about this. God not only justifies us by the blood of his Son Jesus Christ, but now, having been justified, we are brought into his family, adopted as sons and daughters.

That word, "adoption", is a strong word. Families who have adopted children show us just how powerful this is. An adopted child is a child of that family. He or she does not hold some kind of secondary status in the eyes and hearts of the parents simply because the child is not of the same biological strain as their "natural" children. No, the child is their child, plain and simple. The adopted child is shown the same love, the same compassion, the same concern, and has the same benefits and inheritance as the natural born child. The child truly and really is a part of the family in every single way.

And this is how it is with us, as we're brought into the family of God. Our Heavenly Father does not hold us in contempt for our sin. He brings us in, justifies us by the righteousness of his only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, and now he gives us all the same benefits as his own Son. We do not hold a secondary status, we are not seen as "lesser children", we are not shown a lesser degree of love, compassion, and concern, no brothers and sisters, we truly are the children of God! The Father is our Father! The Son is our brother, and his inheritance will be our inheritance! Is this not simply remarkable?

WSC Q&A #33

Q: What is justification?
A: Justification is an act of God's free grace, wherein he pardons all our sins, and accepts us as righteous in his sight, only for the righteousness of Christ imputed to us, and received by faith alone. 
Romans 5:19 For as by the one man's disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man's obedience the many will be made righteous. 

The first benefit that we receive, as the elect, in this life is justification. It's a term we throw around a lot in Christianity, but I wonder how many of us can really explain what justification means? As I mentioned in an earlier blog post, I've been leading the Proclamation youth through the book of Galatians this summer. The first week as we were discussing the major themes of Galatians, I asked the youth, "who can tell me what justification means?" The question, not surprisingly, was met with silence. Does that mean the youth didn't know what justification means? No, probably not. But what it does show is that there are words that we, as Christians, can take for granted. There are words that we know, in essence, what they mean but we fail to define succinctly and clearly when pressed to do so. This is where a tool like the catechism can be quite helpful!

The catechism gives us a beautiful statement here of what justification is. Look at what it says. First, it is an act of God's free grace. Grace is a word which many of us can easily define. Simply put, it is getting what we do not deserve. So justification is something we do not deserve, yet God gives it to us freely. Secondly, we see here that justification is the act whereby God forgives all of our sins and declares us righteous. Talk about receiving something we don't deserve! Who could imagine that the holy, just God would ever forgive wretched sinners and declare them righteous! Thirdly, though, we see how it is that God, who is perfectly holy and perfectly just, could shower this wonderful, free grace upon us poor, wretched sinners. It is because of the righteousness of Jesus Christ imputed (that is, put on or credited) to us. This is the great exchange. Jesus Christ, having willingly taken on our sin when he suffered the wrath and curse of God for sin on the cross, gives us and cloths us in his righteousness. And fourthly, we see that we become participants in this great exchange by receiving the work of Christ on our behalf by faith alone. This is why Paul would write in Galatians 2:16, "yet we know that a person is not justified by works of the law, but through faith in Jesus Christ", and later in Galatians 3:11, "the righteous shall live by faith" (quoting Habakkuk 2:4). 

Is it any wonder why we can struggle at times to succinctly  define the word "justification"? It's a rich and amazing truth with many layers to it. But it is a truth that we as Christians should be able to understand and explain, because at the heart of justification is the very gospel itself. Here, in the doctrine of justification, do we see our hope for salvation, that we, depraved, fallen sinners have been, by the righteousness of Jesus Christ, made clean before a perfect and holy God. We will praise God forever for this great and glorious truth!