WSC Q&A #27

Q: Wherein did Christ's humiliation consist?
A: Christ's humiliation consisted in his being born, and that in a low condition, made under the law, undergoing the miseries of this life, the wrath of God, and the cursed death on the cross; in being buried, and continuing under the power of death for a time.
2 Corinthians 8:9 For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich.

It is hard to imagine. The maker of all things, the King of Kings, the Lord of Lords, the very Son of God willingly gave up his seat at the right hand of the Majesty on High, emptied himself, humbled himself, and all for the sake of his people.

Jesus Christ, who through all things were made, willingly became like his creation, man, in every way. He willingly took on the burdens of flesh, temptation, of the pains and miseries of this life, and even more! He allowed the very hands he created to shame him, to abuse him, to beat him, and to murder him. His death was brutal and bloody. It was cruel. It was humiliating in every sense of the word. And yet that was not the worst of his suffering. He submitted himself to the wrath of God the Father for the sins of his people! Such a burden! A burden none of us could bear for ourselves. The very Son of God, who was without sin, was treated as if he were the worst of all sinners. He who was without fault was treated as if he were murderer, a rapist, a thief, a liar, a gossiper, a glutton, an adulator, an idolater, a pervert, a lazy husband, a negligent parent, a cynic, a thinker of evil thoughts, and the list goes on and on. All of our sins, sins that by themselves deserve the outpouring of God's wrath for all eternity, were collectively laid upon Jesus Christ, and how hot the Father's wrath must have been towards the "Sin Bearer". And Christ's humiliation did not end there. He submitted himself to even death. He allowed death to reign over him, even though, as we know from studying Mark, that death has no power over Christ at all.

And brothers and sisters, this he did for our sake. He did this so that you and I and all those who call upon the name of Jesus Christ in faith may be saved and restored to fellowship with our Holy God. We are indeed vile creatures, but think about this. To God, we are worth the very blood of Jesus Christ. God did not spare even his own Son to restore us to communion with him. And this is why some have said that "grace" means, "God's Richest At Christ's Expense". What a love, what a cost!

How Should We Respond to the SCOTUS ruling?

While I do not claim this is the only or best way to respond to the SCOTUS ruling regarding same-sex marriage last week, I do believe our biblical response as a church, as the people of God, would at least include these attitudes/actions:

IT SHOULD SPUR US ON TO REPENT OF OUR OWN SIN

We each should examine our own lives and honestly assess whether our marriages and relationships are reflecting the gospel of Jesus Christ. We should be more concerned about our own sin than the sin of others. And as we are aware of sin in our own lives we ought to repent immediately and once again plead the finished work of Jesus Christ on our behalf. When people were telling Jesus about others who they thought were “worse” sinners his response was, “Do you think (they) were worse sinners than all the (others). . . No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.” (Luke 13:2-3).

IT SHOULD SADDEN US

Those who celebrate this ruling may claim that “love wins”, but what about love for God and passion for his glory? When Jesus taught his disciples to pray he began his prayer with these words, “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name.” (Matthew 6:9) In this ruling God’s name is not being lifted up as holy, instead, this is an assault on God and his image in man. This should grieve us as God’s people, as a church that aims to worship God in all of life.

IT SHOULD NOT SURPRISE US

We live in a fallen world, a world that ignores God, and so it should not surprise us when this world rejects God and his ways. We should not expect the world in which we live to honor God and uphold his Word (1 John 2:15-17). It should also not surprise us if this world hates us. Jesus told us to expect as much (John 15:18-26, 1 John 3:13).

IT SHOULD NOT SCARE US

This is still God’s world and he is still reigning on his throne doing as he pleases with the powers of heaven and the people of the earth (Psalm 24:1, Psalm 115:3, Daniel 4:34-35). The justices of the Supreme Court are there, ultimately, by God’s appointment. “Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God.” (Romans 13:1). Proverbs 21:1 says, “The king’s heart is in the hand of the Lord, he directs it like a watercourse wherever he pleases.” And, as the Heidelberg Catechism reminds us: “not a hair can fall from our heads apart from the will of our Father in heaven.” Our Father in heaven is almighty and glorious, we have no need to fear others. “Who is this King of glory? The LORD of hosts, he is the King of glory!” (Psalm 24:10)

IT WILL NOT SWAY US

God’s Word tells us that the church is a pillar and buttress of the truth (1 Timothy 3:15). And so we will not be peddlers of the Word of God. We will not redefine marriage but continue to uphold it as a gift from God for the good of humanity, the first institution that he established for the good of mankind, consisting of one man and one woman and intended to be a reflection of the gospel, of the union between Jesus Christ the Son of God and his bride, the Church, the people of God.

Jesus himself affirmed this definition of marriage in Mark 10:6-8: But from the beginning of creation, ‘God made them male and female.’ ‘Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.’ So they are no longer two but one flesh.

We must remember that we are the household of God, the church of the living God. We are not an American Church. Yes, we are grateful for the freedoms we enjoy in this country we live in, and we are thankful for all the men and women who have given their lives and who currently serve to protect these freedoms. But we must remember that Jesus is the head of the church and that his church includes people from every tribe and tongue and nation and language. America is not God’s chosen nation. Our allegiance is not to America but to King Jesus, and his kingdom includes people from every nation on earth.

We are also not a political church: Republican, Democrat, or Libertarian. Our response as a church is not political. Individual Christians may get involved in politics, but we as a church are not committed to any one political party. And the people of God do not place their hope in a nation, a political party, or a particular person running for office.

And so we will not sway from our mission. We will continue to PRAISE GOD, striving to worship Him in all of life. We will continue to LOVE PEOPLE, all people, pursuing them in love as Jesus has pursued and loved us. We will PROCLAIM CHRIST, his life, death, resurrection and coming again. And we will PRAY IN THE SPIRIT at all times. Soli Deo Gloria.

If you want to consider other appropriate responses, here are a few others I believe are worth reading:

Roy Taylor, Stated Clerk of the PCA, has given our denomination’s view in a brief Statement on Same-sex Marriage

The Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention has a well-written Evangelical Declaration on Marriage

Kevin DeYoung has asked, But What Does the Bible Say?

John Piper has shared a lamentation

The Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood released an official response.

And here’s a response from Rosaria Butterfield and Christopher Yuan, two people who not long ago would have celebrated this decision.

WSC Q&A #26

Q: How does Christ execute the office of a king?
A: Christ executes the office of a king, in subduing us to himself, in ruling and defending us, and in restraining and conquering all his and our enemies.
1 Corinthians 15:24-26: Then comes the end, when he delivers the kingdom of God the Father after destroying every rule and every authority and power. For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. The last enemy to be destroyed is death. 

Brothers and sisters, can you read this week's catechism and coinciding Scripture passage and not be deeply stirred in your heart? Does it not move you and shake you to the core of your being to know that Jesus Christ is King? Does it not stir your affections to know that he is subduing you to himself? Does it not lift your spirit to know that Jesus Christ is ruling, and to know that he is defending us? Does it not give you hope beyond measure to know that he not only restrains, but conquers all his and our enemies? 

The battle has been decided. The victory has already been won, though our enemies still linger on and cause much damage. But be assured. Our enemies may hold onto their outposts. They may strike, and strike hard at time. We still feel the pain and are deeply wounded by the sword of Death. But they are a defeated enemy, and the Lord Jesus Christ, the reigning King, will uproot them from their outpost, and completely and utterly destroy our enemies, Death included. 

Our heart longs for the day when all our enemies will finally be destroyed. Our heart longs for the day when we see with our own eyes the death of Death. What a glorious day it will be, when we see our King Jesus crush our enemies beneath his feet! It will be a grand day!

There is a moment in Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings in which he captures so greatly the glory of that final day. I'll close this blog post by quoting this section of Tolkien's work, realizing that as heart-stirring and glorious Tolkien's words are, the reality of that day will be beyond the words of even the greatest of writers and poets!

 "'Gandalf! I thought you were dead! But then I thought I was dead myself. Is everything sad going to come untrue? What's happened to the World?' 
'A great Shadow has departed,' said Gandalf, and then he laughed and the sound was like music, or like water in a parched land; and as he listened the thought came to Sam that he had not heard laughter, the pure sound of merriment, for days and days without count."

Revelation 22:3-5: No longer will there be anything accursed, but the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and his servants will worship him. They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. And night will be no more. They will need no light of lamp or sun, for the Lord God will be their light, and they will reign forever and ever.

WSC Q&A #25

Q: How does Christ execute the office of a priest?
A: Christ executes the office of a priest, in his once offering up of himself a sacrifice to satisfy divine justice, and reconcile us to God; and in making continual intercession for us. 
Romans 5:10-11: For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life. More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.

It's important, again, to keep the Old Testament understanding of a priest in mind. In the Old Testament, the priests would go before God on behalf of the people. They would offer the sacrifices in the temple. They would intercede for the needs of the people. They acted as liturgists (worship leaders), helping to frame the worship of God's people in a way that God found acceptable. They were the ones who would enter the Holy of Holies on the Day of Atonement. And yet, they themselves were not holy. They themselves were sinful and in need of atonement. The offerings and sacrifices they offered were only temporary. They could not truly restore the people to God. All of it: the priests, the sacrifices, the temple, the liturgy, it all pointed to a Great High Priest, Jesus Christ.

Jesus Christ, who is holy, without blemish, in no need of sanctification, now stands as the head of the people before the throne of God above. He stands there, having lived a life of perfect obedience and righteousness, as the true spotless lamb. He stands there, having offered himself up as the perfect, once for all time sacrifice that is truly able to take away the sins of God's people. He stands there as our minister in the high places, our great liturgist, our worship leader, framing and directing the praises of God's people towards the throne of the Majesty on High in a way that pleases the Father. He has torn the great temple curtain in two, and through him and by him we have been given access to the Holy of Holies. And it is Jesus Christ, the Son of the living God, the visible image of the invisible God, very God of very God, who is interceding for us, praying, as the puritan Thomas Watson said, for our keeping from sin, for our sanctification, and for our glorification. And, he is a great high priest who is able to sympathize with us in every way  (Heb. 4:15).

Just as Christ is the prophet, the only prophet we need, he is also the priest. He is the only priest we need. No earthly priest can do what Christ has done and is doing now for us before the throne of God. By no other name do we dare go before the throne of the Father! 

WSC Q&A #24

Q: How does Christ execute the office of a prophet?
A: Christ executes the office of a prophet, in revealing to us, by his word and Spirit, the will of God for our salvation. 
Acts 1:8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.

A prophet, in the Biblical sense, was someone who brought the Word of God to the people. Jesus Christ, of course, is the ultimate revelation of God's Word. We might think of John's words at the beginning of his gospel when he writes of Jesus, "the Word became flesh". Christianity teaches and believes that Jesus Christ is the center of all biblical revelation. Christ is the center of God's revealed word. Every page of the Bible is either pointing to Christ, or reflecting back upon him. 

Jesus Christ himself talked about his prophetic office. Matthew 11 has Christ declaring that he has come to reveal the Father. In Luke 22 he says that he came to do the Father's will. John 8 records that Jesus stated, "I do nothing on my own authority, but speak just as the Father taught me." All these statements show us that Jesus was fulfilling a prophetic office by showing us and revealing to us who the Father is and what his will for his people is. 

Others in Scripture talked about Christ's prophetic office as well. Moses spoke of another prophet who God would raise up (Deut. 18:15). The Apostle Peter would use the words of Moses in his sermon in Acts 3: "Moses said, 'The Lord God will raise up for you a prophet like me from your brothers. You shall listen to him in whatever he tells you. And it shall be that every soul who does not listen to that prophet shall be destroyed from the people.'" Peter boldly declares that Jesus Christ is the prophet Moses spoke of, and that in Jesus Christ alone is salvation found. 

Jesus Christ, therefore, is not merely a prophet, as many false religions would teach. He is the prophet. He is the prophet that all other prophets spoke of. He is the ultimate revelation of God's will, God's Word, God's plan for salvation, God's character. There is no prophet now apart from Jesus Christ, for no prophet could possibly reveal more or add to what Christ has already revealed to us in himself. It is because of this that the author of Hebrews would write, "Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world. He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high..." Who would ever dare try to add to such a divine, such a complete, such a beautiful revelation of God!?