A Place for Truth Essays

Vol. VI, Issue 2

The Revelation of Jesus Christ

Part Four: Jesus the Speaking King, Pt. 2

Introduction

In our last study we were encouraged that Jesus is the Speaking King who continues to speak to His people through His Word by His Spirit. We should thank God that He truly has always kept his Word to His people and never left them as orphans in this world. Rather, God has stooped down to us to give us His very Word. This Word strengthens and sustains His people until He returns. This Word of God, however is a double-edged sword. While it promises blessings to those who know the Speaking King and obey His Word, it promises curses to those who will not hear it.

Jesus ends each message to the congregations in Revelation chapters 2-3 with "He Who has ears to hear, let him hear". We must remember that those who do not hear, or who do not obey the Word of the Living God, those without "ears to hear" will be judged by this Word. The disobedient and the sinful who do not have the righteousness of Jesus Christ will stand naked and ashamed before the Living God on Judgment Day to be judged by the very Word of the Speaking King that has been so precious to those He loves! The very Word of Christ that brought life and encouragement to those who had ears to hear, will bring eternal death to those who do not have ears to hear. Today's study will be on Jesus the Speaking King and His Words of Judgment to the unbelieving.

Revelation 1:9-20

Revelation 1:9-20: ⁹I, John, your brother and partner in the tribulation and the kingdom and the patient endurance that are in Jesus, was on the island called Patmos on account of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus. ¹⁰I was in the Spirit on the Lord's day, and I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet ¹¹saying, "Write what you see in a book and send it to the seven churches, to Ephesus and to Smyrna and to Pergamum and to Thyatira and to Sardis and to Philadelphia and to Laodicea."

¹⁹Write therefore the things that you have seen, those that are and those that are to take place after this. ²⁰As for the mystery of the seven stars that you saw in my right hand, and the seven golden lampstands, the seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands are the seven churches.

Lord's Day Worship

Notice first that John was worshipping God on the Lord's Day (v. 10). Since the time of the resurrection, God's people have worshipped Him on the Lord's Day, the first day of the week, or the day of the resurrection. We rest and keep the New Covenant "Sabbath" or Lord's Day on the first day of the week rather than the last day of the week. The reason for this change was because Jesus was resurrected on that day, but also that a new creation has dawned in the coming of the Spirit of God (2 Cor. 5:17-21). Rather than awaiting the fullness of the times as in the Old Covenant, and so placing the day of worship on the last day of the week (Saturday), since the coming of Jesus the first day awaits the final day of salvation and judgment.

So a day of ultimate salvation and judgment is already in view for all of us who live on this side of the resurrection. Every time we worship, we should remember that God has placed our worship on the first day to prepare us for the rest of the week, but also to remind us of the ultimate rest and restoration that is to come on the Last Day when Jesus Christ returns for His people.

The Glorified Jesus Near to Us!

On the Lord's Day (v.10), John hears the Speaking King. His voice was like a trumpet - -powerful and resounding! The Speaking King gives orders to his servant John to write to the seven historical churches in Asia, but these commands are for all of Christ's people until He returns (Rev. 1:3; 22:17-21). When John turns he gets to see the glorified Christ. This must have been astounding for him!

This was the Jesus who loved John, who he remembers walking and talking with, the Jesus who he laid his head on his breast to speak intimately as to a brother. Now, the glorified Jesus appears before him! John sees the glorified Jesus standing among the lampstands (v. 12-13), which reminds us that Jesus is present among His people. As he reminded His disciples and us, He will truly never leave us nor forsake us (Matt. 28:20). Where two or more are gathered in His name, there He promises us to be by His Spirit. The lampstands are the churches or congregations who belong to Christ (Rev. 1:20; 2:5).

There is an encouragement to know that Jesus stands among his people speaking to them by His Spirit and His Word. There is also an implicit judgment. We know that judgment begins with the household of God (1 Peter 4:17ff). This means that God's judgment begins with Christ our substitute, then through a process of becoming more like Christ, being encouraged, rebuked, and corrected by His Word, we are judged, forgiven, and slowly restored to be who we were ultimately created to be. We know that He who began this work in us at regeneration, will continue you it until He returns. We also are confident that His grace is sufficient for us to become a spotless and pure bride prepared for Jesus.

The Judgment of Christ and the Christian

The Christian's judgment is Christ's judgment. He is our substitute. We are not judged for our sins, but He is. We are receivers of His righteousness that does not belong to us. Yet, God works in and through us by allowing us to experience the sufferings of Christ our Lord and King. We are privileged participants in Christ's sufferings, persecutions and tribulations so that through this "judgment" we might be made more like Him because we are His children (Matt. 5:11-12; John 16:33; Phil. 3:9-12; Col. 1:24ff; Rev. 1:9). Notice how Peter explains this difficult subject in his first epistle:

1 Peter 4:12-18: Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. ¹³ But rejoice insofar as you share Christ's sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed. ¹⁴ If you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you. ¹⁵ But let none of you suffer as a murderer or a thief or an evildoer or as a meddler. ¹⁶ Yet if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God in that name. ¹⁷ For it is time for judgment to begin at the household of God; and if it begins with us, what will be the outcome for those who do not obey the gospel of God? ¹⁸ And "If the righteous is scarcely saved, what will become of the ungodly and the sinner?"

In verse 13, Peter says we share in Christ's sufferings that we may rejoice when he is fully revealed in glory when he returns. In verse 16 and 17, Peter speaks of judgment beginning with the household of God. The conclusion of Peter's teaching is that our only judgment as the people of God is a judgment of identification with Christ. Our judgment in Christ leads to eternal life!

The judgment of the wicked, however, leads to eternal death. When the Spirit of God descended on the Day of Pentecost, the fire did not judge and consume Christ's people. Rather, the Spirit hovered over their heads. The implicit teaching was that Christ had taken all of the judgment of God and undergone a baptism of fire on behalf of His people (Mark 10:38ff). This was so that we could be filled with the Powerful Holy Spirit -- rather than being consumed by God in fire and judgment.

The Spirit of God now works in us to make us more like Christ and we experience a "judgment of grace" by being allowed to participate in Christ's sufferings. We are identified with Christ with our own cross and one day our own crown (Matt. 16:24; 2 Tim. 4:8). This is why John writes in his letters to the churches earlier that perfect love casts out all of our fears! Fear has to do with judgment, and we will not be judged by God! (cf. 1 John 4:18-21). Has God's perfect love gripped you with this reality yet? While our present tense problems can be overwhelming in this world, we can be reminded of two important truths: (1) We are identified with Christ in His sufferings and judgment for our sins! (2) We have eternal life NOW, and await a Living Hope that will be revealed on the Last Day!

The Double-Edged Sword of Judgment

But what is the judgment to be like for those who do not have ears to hear what Christ has said? Notice in Revelation 1:16, after Jesus is described as the Glorified-Prophet-Priest-King of His people (1:12-16), John sees him with a sharp double-edged sword coming from his mouth. The Word of God is described as a sharp double-edged sword elsewhere in Scripture (Eph. 6:17-18; Heb. 4:12-13). Here John sees the vision of this Word coming straight out of the Speaking King's mouth. This is a sword of judgment for those who do not believe.

In the Prophet Isaiah's vision of the future, God makes clear to His people that those who have repented and turned to him for help, or "those who have ears to hear" (cf. Isaiah 6:8ff) will not enter into judgment, but peace. However, for those who do not hear or obey God's Word, they will be eternally punished (cf. Mark 9:47-48; Revelation 20:14-15). Isaiah teaches this in Isaiah 66:12-18, which is very helpful for us having a better understanding of John's vision in Revelation 1.

Isaiah 66:12-18: For thus says the LORD: "Behold, I will extend peace to her like a river, and the glory of the nations like an overflowing stream; and you shall nurse, you shall be carried upon her hip, and bounced upon her knees. ¹³ As one whom his mother comforts, so I will comfort you; you shall be comforted in Jerusalem. ¹⁴ You shall see, and your heart shall rejoice; your bones shall flourish like the grass; and the hand of the LORD shall be known to his servants, and he shall show his indignation against his enemies.

¹⁵ "For behold, the LORD will come in fire, and his chariots like the whirlwind, to render his anger in fury, and his rebuke with flames of fire. ¹⁶ For by fire will the LORD enter into judgment, and by his sword, with all flesh; and those slain by the LORD shall be many. ¹⁷ "Those who sanctify and purify themselves to go into the gardens, following one in the midst, eating pig's flesh and the abomination and mice, shall come to an end together, declares the LORD. ¹⁸ "For I know their works and their thoughts, and the time is coming to gather all nations and tongues. And they shall come and shall see my glory...

In verses 12-14, God promises peace "like a river", and a relationship with God like a child cared for by a loving mother! God will comfort all those who have trusted in him! Yet in verses 15-18 we see a different picture. God will come in judgment with fire, anger and fury. However, those who sanctify and purify themselves (those spoken of above in 1 Peter 4) by God's grace, will see God's glory! In Revelation 1, John sees a vision of Jesus' glory, the One who will come in judgment to judge the world on the day he returns. Jesus will judge with His Word by the double-edged sword. Contrast the passage from Revelation 1, 1 Peter 4, and the Prophecy of Isaiah with the Scripture from Revelation 19 below.

Revelation 19:11-21: ¹¹ And I saw the heaven opened; and behold, a white horse, and he that sat thereon called Faithful and True; and in righteousness he doth judge and make war. ¹² And his eyes are a flame of fire, and upon his head are many diadems; and he hath a name written which no one knoweth but he himself. ¹³ And he is arrayed in a garment sprinkled with blood: and his name is called The Word of God.

¹⁴ And the armies which are in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and pure. ¹⁵ And out of his mouth proceedeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness of the wrath of God, the Almighty. ¹⁶ And he hath on his garment and on his thigh a name written, KINGS OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.

¹⁷ And I saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried with a loud voice, saying to all the birds that fly in mid heaven, Come and be gathered together unto the great supper of God; ¹⁸ that ye may eat the flesh of kings, and the flesh of captains, and the flesh of mighty men, and the flesh of horses and of them that sit thereon, and the flesh of all men, both free and bond, and small and great. ¹⁹ And I saw the beast, and the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against him that sat upon the horse, and against his army. ²⁰ And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought the signs in his sight, wherewith he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast and them that worshipped his image: they two were cast alive into the lake of fire that burneth with brimstone: ²¹ and the rest were killed with the sword of him that sat upon the horse, even the sword which came forth out of his mouth: and all the birds were filled with their flesh.

This Judgment of Christ should cause us all to tremble with fear because of the awesome power and majestic glory revealed in the return of Jesus Christ! For the people of God we will be with him as the "armies of heaven" (v. 14), so we do not fear because we have been redeemed by the One Who has the Sword of Judgment, the Word of God. By His grace we have been given a salvation from the wrath to come (1 Thess. 1:9-10), and have had ears to hear what the Spirit says to the churches. Therefore, because this Word has searched our hearts and taught us, going deeply into the hearts and minds we scarcely know ourselves (cf. Jer. 17:9), the Word has also revealed to us a Savior for sinners like us! The Word of God has corrected, encouraged, and rebuked us and given us everything we need for life eternal and godliness!

Warning: Judgment for Those Who Do Not Have Ears to Hear!

But for those who do not have ears to hear, they will be judged with a severe and everlasting judgment. As no man has conceived, nor has it entered into the heart of man what God has prepared for those who love him, so no man can conceive, nor can it fully into the heart of man the awful and destructive judgment God had for those who hate him!

The double-edged sword that proceeds out of the Speaking King's mouth is one of blessing and curse. When Christ speaks, those who hear are blessed and by His Spirit enabled to be obedient to His gracious commands! When Christ speaks, those who do not hear are cursed and will be judged by Jesus the Faithful and True One on the day he returns! We must make sure of our calling and election, knowing that His divine power has given us everything we need as his people for life and godliness (2 Peter 1:3-10). Those who do not love Christ, those who are apathetic to his Person, Work and commands must be warned that He will return with a judgment of fire. On that day, all men without the robes of Christ's righteousness will suffer eternally for their sins against the Holy and Living God!

One sin against such a Holy, Majestic, and Powerful is enough to merit eternal death and damnation, yet because of God's graciousness and mercy, One act of righteousness by the man Christ Jesus is enough to satisfy divine justice and judgment and give eternal life which is the gift of God (Romans 6:23).

We all so richly deserve to perish in the fires of God's judgment for our many and ongoing sins against the Holy God! Yet, because he looks upon us with pity and mercy, he desires for all men to repent! But please be reminded that you do not have much time to repent! If you have not repented of your sins and turned to the Living God for salvation from death and damnation in Christ, turn now. Flee the wrath that is to come! If you have repented of your sins and believed upon the Lord Jesus, continue to repent daily, resting in what His Word says to you! Continue to rest in His loving and gracious grip as you ponder the riches and depth of His mercy!

All of us must remember what 2 Peter 3:3-10 says:

2 Peter 3:1-14: This is now the second letter that I am writing to you, beloved. In both of them I am stirring up your sincere mind by way of reminder, ² that you should remember the predictions of the holy prophets and the commandment of the Lord and Savior through your apostles, ³ knowing this first of all, that scoffers will come in the last days with scoffing, following their own sinful desires. ⁴ They will say, "Where is the promise of his coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all things are continuing as they were from the beginning of creation." ⁵ For they deliberately overlook this fact, that the heavens existed long ago, and the earth was formed out of water and through water by the word of God, ⁶ and that by means of these the world that then existed was deluged with water and perished. ⁷ But by the same word the heavens and earth that now exist are stored up for fire, being kept until the day of judgment and destruction of the ungodly. ⁸ But do not overlook this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. ⁹ The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance. ¹⁰ But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a roar, and the heavenly bodies will be burned up and dissolved, and the earth and the works that are done on it will be exposed. ¹¹ Since all these things are thus to be dissolved, what sort of people ought you to be in lives of holiness and godliness, ¹² waiting for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be set on fire and dissolved, and the heavenly bodies will melt as they burn! ¹³ But according to his promise we are waiting for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells. ¹⁴ Therefore, beloved, since you are waiting for these, be diligent to be found by him without spot or blemish, and at peace.

Jesus is the Speaking King may we truly hear what he says to the churches and avoid the wrath that is to come. Do you have peace today knowing that Jesus is surely your Savior from sin and knowing that you have an imperishable inheritance preserved in heaven for you by the Loving Lord Jesus? Do you know for sure you will avoid the wrath to come? Remember for us to daily repent and turn from our sins to the Living God as He gives us commands, by His Spirit convicts, corrects, and rebukes us, so that rather than facing the judgment of the One who has the double-edged sword proceeding from his mouth, we might through the blessing of the Word of God, become spotless and pure and more conformed to His image!

By God's grace, these studies on Revelation will help you to see Jesus as Lord over all of the book. If you will prayerfully ponder the first chapter carefully, it will help you foundationally to understand the remainder of the book. Don't give up, but be encouraged to read the Book of Revelation. It is indeed a blessing to read it! It gives us hope for the future and peace for TODAY! May God richly bless your study and may the loving-kindness and mercy of God be known to you today!

Next Study: Jesus the "Ever-Present-Help-in-Times-of-Trouble King"

Soli Deo Gloria!

For Further Reading

Herman Bavinck- The Last Things: Hope for this World and the Next. Edited by John Bolt. Translated by John Vriend. Published by Baker Books, 1996

G. K. Beale- The Book of Revelation, New International Greek Testament Commentary, Eerdmans, 1999

G. C. Berkhouwer- The Return of Christ. Studies in Dogmatics Series. Published by Eerdmans, 1972

Dennis Johnson- Triumph of the Lamb: A Commentary on Revelation, P&R, 2001

Vern S. Poythress- The Returning King: A Guide to the Book of Revelation, P&R, 2000

Rev. Charles R. Biggs

9 S. Locust Street

Post Office Box 628

Round Hill, VA 20141

571.334.7420

Vol. VI, Issue 3

The Revelation of Jesus Christ

Part Five: The Ever-Present-Help-in-Times-of-Trouble-King

Introduction

In our last issue we learned how Jesus was revealed in Revelation chapter one was revealed as the Speaking King, who ever lives to instruct and to teach His Church through His Word and by His Spirit. Today's study will be our final study of chapter one of the Book of Revelation. We will focus today on the presence of Jesus Christ with and among His people. From Revelation chapter one, we learn that Jesus is also the "Ever-Present-Help-in-Times-of-Trouble-King"! He sits at God's right hand, but is close and with us by His Spirit.

But some cringe at the thought of God being "ever present" or close. Some philosophers in history have described the sense of dread and fear they have at the thought of the God of the Bible. One such philosopher described his anguish and angst with an analogy to a canary trapped in a cage. The bird could do little to prevent the omnipresent presence of a person around her cage and could not escape the constant gaze of the omniscient observer. So men who do not know God have every right to fear God and to abhor his presence, but this was not the way man was created to be! For Christians, the reality of God's presence in Christ does not bring painful, gut wrenching, angst and annoyance but true delight! This is our hope: Christ is ever-present and with his people!

Revelation 1:16-20: ⁶And he had in his right hand seven stars: and out of his mouth proceeded a sharp two-edged sword: and his countenance was as the sun shineth in his strength. ¹⁷And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as one dead. And he laid his right hand upon me, saying, Fear not; I am the first and the last, ¹⁸and the Living one; and I was dead, and behold, I am alive for evermore, and I have the keys of death and of Hades. ¹⁹Write therefore the things which thou sawest, and the things which are, and the things which shall come to pass hereafter; ²⁰the mystery of the seven stars which thou sawest in my right hand, and the seven golden candlesticks. The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches: and the seven candlesticks are seven churches.

Standing In the Shadow of Love Incarnate

Jesus speaks through His Word to His congregations throughout history, but He is also truly with us. Before Jesus ascended to God's right hand, he told his disciples that he would never leave them nor forsake them. The author of the Book of Hebrews reminds us of the same. In Hebrews 13, the author writes that Jesus will never leave us nor forsake us! Do you ever feel lonely? Do you often realize how close Jesus is to you? (or perhaps the thought of this closeness scares you).

In the Revelation of Jesus Christ, John is overwhelmed when he is privileged to see the Risen Christ. In verse 17, he responds by falling at his feet as though dead. Seeing the a vision of the glory of God is not the easiest thing for the human frame, mind or heart! When men encounter the Living God, they are immediately struck with their sinfulness and insignificance in comparison to the Great Creator (cf. Isaiah 6:1-12). Here in Revelation chapter one, John is literally standing in the shadow of love- - incarnate! Jesus will also walk among the congregations in Revelation chapters 2-3, reminding us that Jesus is close to his people because of his love and forgiveness he has extended to them.

Despite John's very understandable reaction to Jesus' glory, notice Jesus' gentle compassion and nearness that he teaches to John and to His people. Jesus tells him: "Fear not; I am the first and the last, and the Living One..." Jesus tells John and instructs us that although none of us should be able to stand in his holy presence, he is the One who died for his own and allows them to come into His Holy presence. Jesus is saying do not fear my presence, for the judgment of death and Hades is under my power and authority.

The very thing that causes men to cringe in fear before the Glory of the Living God is knowing that we have no right to stand in his Holy shadow, much less his Holy presence! However, Jesus through His death ("I was dead") and resurrection ("I am alive for evermore"), he now has overcome the boundaries that kept men and women away from the presence of the LORD. Amazingly enough, instead of being consumed by the Holy and Sovereign One, we call Him "Father" because of the work of Christ on our behalf. This should cause us to worship in the way that is revealed in Revelation chapters four and five! Worthy is the Lamb!

The Fragrance of Our Father

Long, hot and humid, and many times uneventful summer days were common when I was young growing up in the South. The summer would hold great promise at the end of the school year, but by the end of July, my brother and I were bored and thought we had done about everything that could be done in one summer. Oftentimes, there was a feeling of loneliness and isolation that came from hot and humid summer days. These were the long days of spinning endlessly on my tire swing, situated on my stomach, staring at the deep red Georgia clay where the only things that seemed to be enjoying themselves was the June Bugs on the low notes, July Flies on the high notes, and the crickets filling out the unique orchestration with the strings. After "doing it all" in one summer, what would help me to be encouraged during these days? It was the simple, yet exhilarating anticipation of the return of my father home from work in the evenings.

I looked forward to the presence of my father particularly in the summer. I guess I thought since I was out of school, that he should have been as well. This was the time of baseball where Dad and I would listen to the Atlanta Braves on the radio together, sitting on the back porch in the evenings, rocking slowly back and forth as we sipped iced tea. He didn't talk much; Dad was very quiet when he got home. He had a lot on his mind in trying to take care of his family (I realize now), yet he had a smell, or fragrance that I was comforted by.

Dad had a certain fragrance or smell about him that was distinctly manly, yet was my father. No other father or person was like this smell, this fragrance, this presence. When he would get home, it delighted me to no end. Sure, he was tired and not always in the best and friendliest mood, yet I longed for the fragrance of his presence because it meant I was not alone; it meant that he was near and that everything in my little world was going to be alright as long as he was around!

We are blessed as Christians because God our Father has made his permanent presence known and continued through Jesus Christ and the sending forth of the Spirit of God. Just like my earthly father who had a fragrant presence, so our Heavenly Father makes him presence known to us as well. Because of what Jesus Christ has done for us, we can know that He truly never will leave us nor forsake us!

May these words comfort you as you realize that Jesus is truly the Ever-Present-Help-in-Times-of-Trouble-King! There is not a situation, a day, or a person in your life that can ever threaten his precious presence in your life to assist you and to help you! And as I still remember the fragrance or the smell of my own father's presence, so Jesus comforts us continually by the fragrance of life and favor toward us proclaimed again and again through His Holy Word! (2 Cor. 2:14).

'Great' and at the Same Time 'Close' to Us!

As Christians, we experience challenging times in this world, much greater than the long, hot, sometimes boring days of the summer of my youth. There are times of being unsure of what tomorrow will bring. I know a family who does not know whether their mother will live another day. Another family is concerned financially; they are "strapped", credit cards to the limit, and they wonder if God will help them since they got into the "mess" by their own foolish doing. Another man wonders if his child will ever be normal like other children. An elderly couple have been questioning whether their wisdom is really needed, or even considered in their congregation anymore. Some are concerned with the way Christ's church has been given in too much to a pop culture that focuses on mindless entertainment instead of worshipping God in spirit and truth!

In all these situations we can be comforted as Christians that God is close to us and present during these struggles. Because He is both Transcendent as well as Immanent to us, he is powerful enough to help us, and close enough to love us! He is great and close! There is hope as Christians that God is both Transcendent and Immanent. God's Transcendence teaches us that He is Great and Sovereign and Holy, yet His Immanence teaches us that He is near to those who love Him in Christ. Long before the Christ came to this earth to live, die, and be resurrected and ascended to His throne, Isaiah wrote of God's character to the Israelites who were going to undergo God's judgment for sin. Isaiah prophesied:

Isaiah 57:15:¹⁵For thus says the One who is high and lifted up, who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy: "I dwell in the high and holy place, and also with him who is of a contrite and lowly spirit, to revive the spirit of the lowly, and to revive the heart of the contrite.

Isaiah reveals our God who is indeed unapproachable without a Mediator, but One who is close to, or present with those who are of a "contrite and lowly spirit". The purpose of God's ministry to His people? Isaiah says: "to revive the spirit of the lowly, and to revive the heart of the contrite." As God's people, we should rejoice that although our lives can be perceived as "complex messes". We should remember that our lives are sovereignly ordered and our destinies wisely determined by the Holy One who inhabits eternity (Isa. 57:15), and this one dwells near to His people as the Ever-Present-Help-in-Times-of-Trouble-King!

How should we respond to this gracious King Jesus who truly is "with us"? We should praise Him for His work in our lives, for his constant walking with us, and help in times of our troubles. What he has done, what he has accomplished, he has done for those whom he loved, so that they would have an ever present King to rule over them and to help them!

"Flesh of Our Flesh, Bone of Our Bones"

Part of my fascination with comic books, and part of what is fueling the revival of comic book heroes especially in films today is the need of a hero. As the popular song goes: 'We need a hero." The need for a hero is better, and more precisely translated "a Savior". We not only need someone to save us from ourselves and the corrupt world around us, we need a lasting and living hope for the future! As time-bound beings we are concerned and need a future. Without hope we know there is only loneliness and despair.

As a people living in a fallen world, we are not without hope and without a hero or Savior. We have searched endlessly to find a Savior, a Redeemer, a "Superhero" who would save us! Yet we look around and there is no one to be found here on earth. As Adam searched desperately, yet in vain for a wife among the animals, so we search for a Savior among the sinful folk. But then we look and from the Lord's own hand One is sent to us. One who is "flesh of our flesh, bone of our bones"- - one like us, one who can be near to us (yet Who is without all the sin that causes us to find in mere mortals an ironic and sarcastic anti-hero who is as lonely and fearful as we are, who lives his so-called heroic life as Nietzsche's 'Superman' and as an intellectual samurai hit man' from the mind of Quentin Tarrantino!).

The hope of the incarnation of Jesus Christ is that He is truly Immanuel, "God with us". In our times of fear and uncertainty we should reflect upon the incarnation of Jesus. Incarnation simply means "enfleshed" or "with flesh". When 'incarnation' is spoken of God it is astounding and mind-boggling to think about. However, we should always be reminded that our Glorified Savior, who became man in the fullness of time, is still man and will remain the Glorified God-Man for all eternity. When God "put on" manhood, or enfleshed himself, or became incarnate, it was for the purpose of becoming man to represent and redeem men who believe. He came to be our true hero and Savior and Lord!

Our God, Our Brother, Our Hero, Our Savior, and Our Lord

In our times of trouble and uncertainty we should be reminded that this Glorified God-Man is at the same time our God, our brother, our hero, our Savior, and our Lord. But He truly is close to us by His Spirit. In fact, he is so close to His people that He indwells them by His Spirit (John 15)! We should never fear the Lord's presence or anything else in the world. We should be reminded that Jesus Christ is near to us and to His congregations. As he revealed himself walking among the congregations (lampstands) in Revelation chapters 1-3, so he still walks with and among us today! He meant what he said when he promised that he would never leave us nor forsake us!

Remember that the person at God's right hand who has been given supreme authority over heaven and earth has a human face! And when we look to him by faith we see in the eyes on that human face, eyes of sympathy and understanding. We see one acquainted with our griefs, sufferings, and our struggle with sin. We see our hero! We see our Savior! Who or what have we to fear as long as He is with us? And for all eternity, he will be with us! Remember in your struggles, the hope that the author of the Book of Hebrews writes:

Hebrews 4:14-16: Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. ¹⁵ For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. ¹⁶ Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

We will close our study of Revelation chapter one with the great and encouraging words of the psalmist. From Psalm 27 David poetically describes our God and King who is indeed always close to his people!

Psalm 27: OF DAVID.The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The LORD is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid? ² When evildoers assail me to eat up my flesh, my adversaries and foes, it is they who stumble and fall. ³ Though an army encamp against me, my heart shall not fear; though war arise against me, yet I will be confident. ⁴ One thing have I asked of the LORD, that will I seek after: that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD and to inquire in his temple. ⁵ For he will hide me in his shelter in the day of trouble; he will conceal me under the cover of his tent; he will lift me high upon a rock. ⁶ And now my head shall be lifted up above my enemies all around me, and I will offer in his tent sacrifices with shouts of joy; I will sing and make melody to the LORD.

⁷ Hear, O LORD, when I cry aloud; be gracious to me and answer me! ⁸ You have said, "Seek my face." My heart says to you, "Your face, LORD, do I seek." ⁹ Hide not your face from me. Turn not your servant away in anger, O you who have been my help. Cast me not off; forsake me not, O God of my salvation! ¹⁰ For my father and my mother have forsaken me, but the LORD will take me in. ¹¹ Teach me your way, O LORD, and lead me on a level path because of my enemies. ¹² Give me not up to the will of my adversaries; for false witnesses have risen against me, and they breathe out violence. ¹³ I believe that I shall look upon the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living! ¹⁴ Wait for the LORD; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the LORD!

Conclusion

May you use this study of Revelation chapter one to inform your reading of the entire Revelation of Jesus Christ. May it be profitable as a study to guide you through a much misunderstood and under read book of Holy Scripture. As you read the Book of Revelation, remind yourself of how Jesus reveals himself in chapter one. Jesus is the...

1) Resurrected and Living King

2) Coming Judge and King

3) The Speaking King

4) The Ever-Present-Help-in-Times-of-Trouble-King

Soli Deo Gloria!

For Further Reading: The books below are helpful for understanding 'Revelation'! Read them all, but read Poythress and Beale first!

Herman Bavinck- The Last Things: Hope for this World and the Next. Edited by John Bolt. Translated by John Vriend. Published by Baker Books, 1996

G. K. Beale- The Book of Revelation, New International Greek Testament Commentary, Eerdmans, 1999

G. C. Berkhouwer- The Return of Christ. Studies in Dogmatics Series. Published by Eerdmans, 1972

Dennis Johnson- Triumph of the Lamb: A Commentary on Revelation, P&R, 2001

Vern S. Poythress- The Returning King: A Guide to the Book of Revelation, P&R, 2000

End Study of Revelation Chapter One

Rev. Charles R. Biggs

9 S. Locust Street

Post Office Box 628

Round Hill, VA 20141

571.334.7420

Vol. VI, Issue 4

This Saturday is my installation as pastor of Ketoctin Covenant Presbyterian Church. I have the privilege of having four very fine pastors who will be preaching to me and my new congregation! One of these pastors recently preached a charge to another young man who was being ordained. His name is Chip Hammond. Not only is Chip a friend, he is the pastor of Bethel OPC, another congregation close to me in Loudoun County, Virginia. I rejoice in his encouragement, friendship, and instructive wisdom to me the last couple of years. He was extremely influential and instrumental in my call to come here as pastor. He has also contributed a few articles on A Place for Truth.

This issue's 'Word of Encouragement' comes from the ordination and installation charge to Harry Ronald "Buster" Mcleod as a minister of the gospel. Chip's message is from 1 Peter 5:1-4. I pray that it will be as encouraging to you as it was to me.

I encourage everyone who reads 'Word of Encouragement' to give a copy of this excellent sermon to anyone considering the call to the gospel ministry. I would also encourage everyone to give a copy to their pastor so that they might be reminded of the importance and value of God's call to the ministry. In celebration of God's faithfulness in calling me to my new congregation, I offer this 'Word of Encouragement' to you from the Reverend Chip Hammond!

The Lord's Ministry

Rev. George C. "Chip" Hammond II

To the elders among you, I appeal as a fellow elder, a witness of Christ’s sufferings and one who also will share in the glory to be revealed: Be shepherds of God’s flock that is under your care, serving as overseers—not because you must, but because you are willing, as God wants you to be; not greedy for money, but eager to serve; not lording it over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock. And when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that will never fade away. (NIV)

Introduction

There was a family that lived just a few blocks from a Christian elementary school. They had a little boy, their first child, and when he turned five, they determined to enroll him in kindergarten there. He was an independent young man, and he insisted that he be allowed to walk to school alone. The request did not seem unreasonable, but his mother was not too sure. After all, this was her baby.

But she had an idea. She had a friend who lived on the other side of the street up past the school. Her son had only met the woman once or twice, and so the mother called the woman and asked if she would clandestinely follow her son to school each day to make sure all was well, and then call her and report each day.

“Sure,” the woman said. “I have a three year old daughter who loves to walk. We’ll be out there by 8:45 every day, and we’ll keep an eye on him for you.”

This went on for several weeks until one day the boy’s teacher noticed the woman following him. She took the little boy aside and said to him, “I don’t want to alarm you but there has been a woman and a little girl following you every day. Do you know who they are?”

“Sure,” the little boy replied, “that’s the Gutnest family – Miss Shirley, and her little girl, Marcy.”

“Oh, so you know them?” the teacher asked.

“Well, I don’t really know them, but I know about them,” the little boy said. “You see, ever since I’ve started school, my mom has made me learn the Twenty-third Psalm and recite it every night. And it says right in that Psalm, ‘Shirley Gutnest and Marcy will follow me all the days of my life,’ so I figured I’d just better get used to it.”

That little boy knew his Bible, I suppose, but he just didn’t know what it meant. We live in an age in which the same could be said about much of American Christianity, and about the present state of the church in America: she knows her Bible, it is supposed, but she just doesn’t seem to know what it means.

Make Disciples!

In Matthew 28, Our Lord commissioned his Church with the task she was to carry out until his return. That commission consists of a single imperative, with three qualifying participles. The single imperative is “make disciples.”

But the Lord did not just leave it up to us to determine what that may mean. He’s told us how to do it. He’s told us that we are to make disciples by going, by baptizing into the Name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and by teaching them to observe all that he’s commanded us.

Now when you consider the accounts of the Lord’s ministry in the Gospels, how many things did Jesus command us to do? Three or four? A dozen? Hundreds? The Lord has told us that making disciples consists in teaching them not only to know, but to observe all that he’s commanded us. That will take a long time. It is not a quick process.

Making disciples is a difficult, long, and arduous task, and we live in a culture of instant gratification, in which the idea of something being long, and difficult, and arduous is not popular. And so the American church has quietly made a substitution, whether deliberately or in ignorance, I am not sure. She has pretended that the command to “make disciples” really meant “garner decisions.” Garner “decisions for Christ” in any way you can. Have them bow their heads and raise their hands; walk the sawdust trail; come to the altar; say the sinner’s prayer. And in so doing, congratulate themselves and pretend that they’ve fulfilled the Lord’s commission to make disciples.

It has become common for churches to boast of, and measure their success in, “decisions” per month. And there is a corollary to that as well: in modern Evangelicalism, churches have come to measure success in how full the auditorium is. Now of course, all Christians desire the numerical growth of the Church. But we must understand that a large crowd is a means to making the gospel known, and not an end in itself. Jesus never pandered to a crowd for the purpose of retaining it. But for all too many churches today, though they know the words of Jesus, it is supposed, they apparently think that what Jesus actually meant was “Good for you, when all men speak well of you!”[1][1]

Some time ago a woman visited our Church for a season. One day she took me aside and told me how much she liked the Church, how much she really enjoyed the people, and how I was even tolerable to listen to. “But,” she said, “it’s very disturbing to hear week after week this talk of sin, and guilt before God, and the necessity for Christ to die if we were to be made right with God. If you’d just not talk about those things, I’m sure you’d reach a lot more people.” I looked at her and said, “Ma’am; reach them with what?”

The Lord's Ministry

On this solemn and joyful occasion it will be good for us to consider that the Bible tells us that the ministry to which this man is being ordained, is the Lord’s ministry. It is not the Church’s ministry to define as she wishes or to do with as she wills. It is the Lord’s ministry, and he, not the Church, defines its parameters, determines its message, and establishes the means by which it is brought.

The Apostle Peter was well aware that the ministry he carried out was a trust from the Lord. Luke the Evangelist alludes to the Gospel that bears his name when he writes, “In my former book, Theophilus, I wrote to you about all that Jesus began to do and teach until the day he was taken up to heaven, after giving instructions through the Holy Spirit to the apostles he had chosen.”[2][2]

The implication is clear: When the apostles faithfully carry out their task, and those ordained to carry the gospel after them do so faithfully, is in fact Jesus continuing to do and teach through them.

The over-arching assumption of the exhortation of this passage is that the ministry is the Lord’s ministry. His ministers are only ambassadors who bring the message of the Kingdom, and do the work of the Kingdom within the parameters set by the King.

A while ago I had a couple come to me seeking to be married. They did not know the Lord, but they had become convicted of living together outside of the commitment of marriage. Since she was expecting a child, they wished to be married sooner than later, and so we did not have time to complete the counseling I usually require.

At their wedding, I charged them with the high ideals of God’s Word for marriage, and spelled out for them the God-ordained and appointed roles for husbands and wives. The charge met with considerable discomfort. The sense of discomfort from them was palpable, and from those who came to witness the wedding as well.

I spoke with them after the ceremony about it, and they confirmed that they had been uncomfortable, that what I spoke of was not the commitment they wanted to make, and that it was not what they had in mind for marriage. I explained to them as gently as I was able that marriage was God’s institution, not theirs. Because of that, God and not they themselves set the bounds and parameters of it.

In the Washington DC area, at least, I can tell you that there are many churches that do not seem to understand that the ministry is the Lord’s ministry. They seem to believe that the Church’s message, methods, and the parameters of the ministry are the Church’s to determine, and do with as she will.

It is incumbent upon the Church to understand that she is only the Lord’s vehicle for calling a man to the Lord’s ministry, and it is to him that that man is accountable.

The Apostle Peter, under the inspiration and authority of the Holy Spirit, lays out for us what the Lord’s ministry is to look like. He says,

I. Shepherd the Flock of God that is under your care

Now how is a man to do that? Again, the Scriptures do not allow us to fill in the blanks. The uniform testimony of the New Testament is that the flock of God is shepherded by faithfully proclaiming and applying the Word of God.

The man called to the Lord’s ministry must beware of getting sidetracked with the myriad other things that will clamor for his attention, by the world’s confident assertions of what will make a minister “successful,” and even by the well-intentioned but sometime ill-informed expectations of the part of the people to whom he ministers.

The Risen Lord said to Peter, “If you love me, then feed my sheep.”[3][3] The apostles determined early on, as we are told in Acts 6, that it was not good for those charged with the preaching of the gospel to neglect it in order to wait on tables. Provision was made so that they could devote themselves to the ministry of the Word and prayer. And that is the task of all those who follow after them, of all who are ordained to the Lord’s ministry.

Buster, those called to the Lord’s ministry are called to proclaim his Word. It may be the peculiar providence of your ministry to proclaim the Word less publicly, and more from house to house,[4][4] but never lose sight of what the task is. Do not be dissuaded from it by the world, the flesh, the devil, or the church. The Apostle Paul wrote to Timothy,

In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and in view of his appearing and his kingdom, I give you this charge: Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction. For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths. But you, keep your head in all situations, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, discharge all the duties of your ministry.[5][5]

“Keep your head” – How many ministers have become utterly useless to the Master because they have succumbed to the fear of man, and have given into the temptation to tickle itching ears when men would no longer endure sound doctrine?

It must always be borne in mind that this is the Lord’s ministry. The message must not be compromised, nor must it be cheapened by the use of unbiblical methods of psychological manipulation. The goal is fidelity to the Master’s message, not the fame which comes from being loved by the multitudes.

Remember that in John 6 we read that many of Jesus’ disciples turned back and would no longer follow him because he would not moderate his message, nor would he tailor it to the local demographic. Every time the Lord Jesus preached, his winnowing fork was in his hand, and he was clearing his threshing floor. By that Word he separated the wheat from the chaff.[6][6] His word did not return to him void, but accomplished exactly the purpose for which he sent it forth.[7][7] So too, those who enter the Lord’s ministry are called to take up the Master’s winnowing fork, not pander to the local population.

The world measures success solely in numbers, and the Church today has largely followed suit. Many of them have sought to widen the narrow way,[8][8] to make it more comfortable and palatable for the masses, for after all, the point is the number of “decisions,” right? But how many of those poor souls, deceived by the local expression of that very institution which is supposed to be the “pillar and ground of the truth”[9][9] will one day lift up their eyes in hell, because those called to the task shrunk back from proclaiming the whole counsel of God?[10][10]

The gospel, rightly understood and faithfully preached will be a savor of life[11][11] to those who are being saved, to the praise of God’s glorious grace.[12][12] And that same gospel will be the stench of death[13][13] to those who are perishing, to the praise of God’s glorious justice.[14][14]

Buster, I understand that among your duties, you will be ministering to the covenant youth. Wonderful. But don’t be dazzled by the world and lose your head. So many “youth programs” today seek to attract and retain youth with a pathetic copy of what the world offers. No matter how big your budget is, I am sure it will never be big enough for you to out-cheese Chuck E. Cheese. You’ll never be able to out-dazzle Disney or compete with Hollywood. So don’t even try. The Lord has given to you something to offer of which Hollywood and Disney know nothing, and would have no authority to offer even if they did.

Shepherd the Flock of God. Remember that it is the Lord’s ministry. You are bound and obliged to proclaim his message, by the method of his appointment. Keep your head, and disregard the world’s siren’s song. Measure success by fidelity to the gospel.

Secondly, the apostle tells us that those who are called to the Lord’s ministry must shepherd the flock of God,

2. . . . Not because you must, but because you are willing, as God wants you to be; not greedy for money, but eager to serve.

The Lord makes it incumbent upon the Church to provide for the needs of his ministers. In 1 Corinthians 9, the Apostle castigates the Corinthians for their failure to do so in his case, and he says, “If we sowed spiritual things in you, is it too much if we reap material things from you?” He says further, “. . . Do you not know that those who perform sacred services eat the food of the temple, and those who attend regularly to the altar have their share from the altar? So also the Lord directed those who proclaim the gospel to get their living from the gospel.”

Matthew Henry commenting on this passage, says, “They might expect that those to whom they were sent would provide for them what was necessary. The workman is worthy of his meat. They must not expect to be fed by miracles, as Elijah was. . . . Though they who serve at the altar may not expect to grow rich from the altar, yet they may expect to live, and to live comfortably upon it. It is fit that they should have their maintenance from their work. Ministers are, and must be, workman, laborours, and they that are so are worthy of their meat, so as not to be forced into any other labor for the earning of it.”[15][15]

But the work of the ministry must never be viewed as merely a way to make a living. I know many people, and so do you all, who work at jobs that they can’t stand because it puts bread on the table. For those who labor in the ministry, it must be just precisely the other way around – they must have bread on the table so that they can carry out the great work to which they have been called unhindered, and unencumbered by worldly care and employment.[16][16]

Not long ago a man came by my office. He stood in the doorway with his hands in his pockets, looked around and said, “Boy this is familiar.” He went on to say that he used to pastor a Church. He said that as far as the ministry went he and his family were well-provided for. He then told me that he left the ministry ten years ago, “and” he said, “it was the best thing I ever did.” He said, “Now I work a lot less hours, have a lot less stress and aggravation, and I get paid a lot more.” I quietly and unobtrusively gave up a prayer of thanksgiving to God that this man was no longer carrying out the Lord’s ministry.

Those who enter the ministry must do so because the love of Christ compels them;[17][17] because the Word of God is pent up in them like a fire in their bones, and they weary of holding it in.[18][18]

It is necessary that the Church provide for those who labor for the gospel, so that the work of the ministry is not done in one’s spare time, as was the sad case in Nehemiah 13. But those who would shepherd God’s flock must do so because they are eager to do so, as God wants them to be. That they make a living at it is a means for the ministry. The ministry must never be crassly viewed as a means of making a living.

Thirdly, the Apostle tells us that those who enter the Lord’s ministry should shepherd the flock,

3. . . . Not lording it over those entrusted to their care, but proving to be examples to the flock.

The authority of the ministry is not an intrinsic authority. It is not an authority vested in persons. The man who here charges his fellow elders was the man himself called by Jesus “The Rock” because he had correctly confessed who Jesus was.[19][19] But moments later Jesus called that same man “Satan” because he sought to deny Jesus in the work he had come to do.[20][20]

The authority that the Lord invests his ministers with is the authority of his Word. It is a ministerial and declarative authority.[21][21] Peculiar an arrangement as it may seem, in the Lord’s green pastures, the undershepherds are themselves sheep, and they must never forget it.

In their persons, they have no more standing, no greater justification, than any other sheep. It is God who gives them gifts that differ.[22][22] And he invests them with the authority of a special office. But that authority is maintained and applied through the correct confessing of Christ, the careful wielding of his Word, and the appropriate application of it to saints and sinners.[23][23] Again the Apostle Paul says to Timothy,

Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity. Until I come, devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, to preaching and to teaching. Do not neglect your gift, which was given you through a prophetic message when the presbytery laid their hands on you. Be diligent in these matters; give yourself to them, so that your progress may be evident to all. Watch your life and doctrine closely. Persevere in them, because if you do, you will save both yourself and your hearers.”[24][24]

As the writer to the Hebrews says, it is necessary for the Church to obey her leaders and submit to their authority.[25][25] But it will be well for those leaders to remember that their task is to watch over souls, as men who will one day give an account for their stewardship. “. . . Not lording it over those entrusted to your care, but proving to be an example to the flock.”

There is one other thing to consider in regard to the Lord’s ministry, and it is implicit in what the Apostle says here. It does not come by way of an imperative.

4. As a witness of Christ’s sufferings, and one who will also share in the glory to be revealed . . .

Peter was an eye-witness to the arrest, and to the crucifixion, the death and the suffering of Christ. But that is not solely what he is speaking of here. His witness to the sufferings of Christ consisted in not only what he saw, but in what he experienced. Note that his witnessing the sufferings of Christ is coupled with his sharing in Christ’s glory. As the Apostle Paul indicates in the book of Romans, to share in his glory, we must also share in his suffering.[26][26]

Acts 9 records not only the conversion of Saul of Tarsus, but his rather unusual and immediate call to the Lord’s ministry. And through Ananias, he says of Saul “I will show him how much he must suffer for my Name.”[27][27] That statement was specifically said about Saul of Tarsus, but it was not proprietary to him.

All Christians – all Christians - will enter into the sufferings of Christ. But it will be especially true for those who are called to the Lord’s ministry.

Look at your Bible from Genesis to Revelation, and you will see that of all the servants of God, there is not a single one of them that carried out their ministry unopposed. And the opposition came not only from the world, the flesh, and the devil, but from at least some of the very people they ministered to.

Every church attender will say, of course, that he desires in a preacher of the gospel one who’s preaching shows the unction of the Holy Spirit, which has attendant with it the ability to convict of sin, and righteousness, and judgment.[28][28] Every church attender will say that he wants a preacher who will stand for righteousness, and denounce sin. Every church attender will say that he wants a man who lives by the bedrock of principle, not the shifting sea of personal attachment.

Every church attender will say those things. And every church attender will mean it. Provided the conviction you bring doesn’t run contrary to their comfort and convenience. Provided that the sins you denounce are not their own beloved sins. Provided that your standing on principle does not impinge upon their personal attachments.

The minister of the gospel is called to shepherd the souls of men. I do not know the people of Gwennyd Church. But the Bible lays bear the thoughts and intents of the human heart, and everyone called to the Lord’s ministry is called to minister to people who are fearful, sinful, prideful, and rebellious.

In three internships, Buster, you have already encountered some of that. When you are the object of attack, not from without in the world, but from within, from members of the visible church, it can be confusing, it can be painful, and it can be dispiriting and disheartening.

You are entering the sufferings of Christ, my friend, and I want to tell you that you will face seasons and situations which will make you want to throw in the towel. At those times, you must remember that it is the Lord’s ministry.

Consider the Lord Jesus in the garden of Gethsemane. He wrestled in prayer that whole night in anticipation of what he would suffer at the hands of sinners. And from whom would that suffering come? From the Sanhedrin? From the Romans? Yes. But not only from them. His suffering would come through those he had walked among; those he had taught; those he had healed and fed and prayed for – all who would now betray, or abandon, or deny they ever knew him.

Could anyone here have blamed him if in the garden, he had prayed, “Father, these are the people for whom I have labored, the people whom I have loved, whom I have prayed for, whom I have healed and helped. And this is how they repay me? O Father, I refuse this cup. I lay down. To the fires of an eternal hell with these people! They are just not worth it.”

But he didn’t. Thank God he didn’t.

Remember, Buster, in those times, and I hope they are rare, when for all your labor and love, for all your prayer and preaching, for all of your trouble and hardship you are betrayed, abandoned, maligned - remember that it is the Lord’s ministry. Remember that you have been appointed, as the great Apostle said, to fill up what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions.[29][29] “Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil about you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”[30][30]

But you won’t always need to stir up a remembrance that it is the Lord’s ministry by arduous recollection. Sometimes it will be obvious. You will often be blessed to see incredible acts of kindness, of generosity, of love, loyalty and affection that will be so astonishing as to be impossible to understand apart from the grace of God operating in the hearts of his people.

You may even be privileged, in God’s good providence, to have come across your path a young man who is at first highly offended by the exclusivity of the gospel, its denunciation of sin, and your insistence that the Bible is en toto the infallible Word of God; who will nevertheless not be able to pull himself away from what he is hearing, and will come to be so dominated and conquered by the message, that he will then himself feel irresistibly drawn by God to proclaim it to others.

And when things like that happen, you will know with joy and with confidence that it is the Lord’s ministry.

Shepherd the flock of God which has been entrusted to your care. Not with your own message and methods. Remember that you, shepherd, are first a sheep. The Lord is your shepherd. And if the Lord is your shepherd, then surely goodness and mercy will follow you all the days of your life.[31][31]

Remember that. And even when the work is hard, know that it is the Lord’s ministry. Remember what Peter says about it. Conduct yourself by that great ideal. Strive to live out the truth of it. And when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that will never fade away.

Rev. Charles R. Biggs

9 S. Locust Street

Post Office Box 628

Round Hill, VA 20141

571.334.7420

Vol. VI, Issue 5

The Beatitudes- Matthew 5:1-12

Introduction to the Beatitudes

Today we will begin a study on the 'Beatitudes' from Matthew chapter five. The Beatitudes teach us of the blessedness, or covenantal happiness we have as the people of God because of God's salvation and His continued working in his people.

In the past, the 'Beatitudes' have been falsely interpreted by some as being the steps one attempts to climb in order to be a Christian. We should never interpret the 'Beatitudes' in such a way. The 'Beatitudes' are simply what those who have been gripped by the grace of the Lord Jesus and have been saved by his precious blood will begin to look like. In other words, the 'Beatitudes' are the characteristics of Christ-likeness that will gradually be manifested in the believer's life. The 'Beatitudes' are, if you will, "Attitudes of Gratitude" for the work that Christ has already begun in us, and knowing that this work will continue until the Day when Christ returns for us (Phil. 1:6).

The term 'Beatitudes' may sound like a new Beatles-like rock band or a new reggae band making it into mainstream music. However, the term has nothing to do with a rock or reggae band. The term 'Beatitudes' come from the Latin translation of makarios, a Greek word meaning "happy" or covenantally "happy". When the Bible was translated into Latin from Greek, the word makarios was translated as beatus, thus the reason they are called beatitudes. An example of true makarios or covenantal happiness is revealed in Psalm 1.

Psalm 1:1 Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; ²but his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night. ³He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers. ⁴The wicked are not so, but are like chaff that the wind drives away. ⁵Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous; ⁶for the LORD knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish.

The Blessedness of the Beatitudes

You could say that the 'Beatitudes' that are taught by Christ in Matthew 5:1-12 are a summary of the righteous life, hopes, desires, struggles, and praise of all of the Psalms (more on this as the study develops!). As Psalm 1:6 says: "The LORD knows the way of the righteous". The 'Beatitudes' could very helpfully be summarized as the 'way of the righteous'. The opposite of the 'Beatitudes' is to walk in the counsel of the wicked, stand in the way of sinners, and sit with the scoffers in this fallen world. The path of the righteous is much different, and so a lot more narrower than the broad way of the wicked that leads to destruction (Matthew 7).

The "blessed"-ness of the 'Beatitudes' should not be misunderstood as our own American way of defining happiness. The "blessed" or happy come from "delighting in the law of the LORD" (Ps. 1). The "blessed" that is spoken of is "covenantal blessings" or "covenantal happiness". As Moses went up on Sinai to bring down the Law to the people of God in the Old Covenant, so Jesus is going up on the mount, as One Who is greater than Moses, to bring down the Law that will be fulfilled by grace. When Moses told the people about obedience to the Law in Deuteronomy 28, he spoke of their lives as being blessed by their obedience. Notice in Deuteronomy 28:9, that keeping God's commandments is described as "walking in his ways". This is the "blessed walk" of Psalm 1 and the "narrow path" that Jesus describes in Matthew 7.

Deuteronomy 28:1-9: "And if you faithfully obey the voice of the LORD your God, being careful to do all his commandments that I command you today, the LORD your God will set you high above all the nations of the earth. ²And all these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you, if you obey the voice of the LORD your God. ³Blessed shall you be in the city, and blessed shall you be in the field. ⁴Blessed shall be the fruit of your womb and the fruit of your ground and the fruit of your cattle, the increase of your herds and the young of your flock. ⁵Blessed shall be your basket and your kneading bowl. ⁶Blessed shall you be when you come in, and blessed shall you be when you go out. ⁷"The LORD will cause your enemies who rise against you to be defeated before you. They shall come out against you one way and flee before you seven ways. ⁸The LORD will command the blessing on you in your barns and in all that you undertake. And he will bless you in the land that the LORD your God is giving you. ⁹The LORD will establish you as a people holy to himself, as he has sworn to you, if you keep the commandments of the LORD your God and walk in his ways.

Moses also teaches the people about the curses for disobedience. This is important! Blessed are those who are obedient to the Law by God's grace, but cursed are those who disobey.

Deuteronomy 28:15ff: ¹⁵"But if you will not obey the voice of the LORD your God or be careful to do all his commandments and his statutes that I command you today, then all these curses shall come upon you and overtake you. ¹⁶Cursed shall you be in the city, and cursed shall you be in the field. ¹⁷Cursed shall be your basket and your kneading bowl. ¹⁸Cursed shall be the fruit of your womb and the fruit of your ground, the increase of your herds and the young of your flock. ¹⁹Cursed shall you be when you come in, and cursed shall you be when you go out. ²⁰"The LORD will send on you curses, confusion, and frustration in all that you undertake to do, until you are destroyed and perish quickly on account of the evil of your deeds, because you have forsaken me. ²¹The LORD will make the pestilence stick to you until he has consumed you off the land that you are entering to take possession of it. ²²The LORD will strike you with wasting disease and with fever, inflammation and fiery heat, and with drought and with blight and with mildew. They shall pursue you until you perish....

The curses Moses reveals are more in number than the blessings in Deuteronomy 28! The path of the wicked is indeed broader and filled with more curses than the narrow path of the righteous!

JESUS: the Blessed Keeper of the Law

The people of God in the Old Covenant who were awaiting a Messiah, an Anointed King to rule over them and all the earth, were awaiting one who would enable them to love and keep the Law of God (Ezek. 36). By the time the Messiah, the Christ comes to them, the majority of those who call themselves "God's people", are trusting in their own righteousness and their own works of the Law, rather than looking to God for grace and mercy. In other words, many of those who called themselves by the Name of the LORD were not poor in spirit, mourning over their sins, being meek, hungering and thirsting after righteousness, nor building Christ's Kingdom through peace rather than their own might and power!

Jesus wants His people to know that he has not come to abolish the Law of Moses, but to fulfill it! (Matthew 5:17). The people of God must be humbled and forsake any attempt at earning their own righteousness through works! Jesus is the Blessed Keeper of the Law spoken of in Psalm 1! The people of God are to trust in Messiah and His fulfillment of the Law, they are to "live by faith". The Messiah was to be cursed for their sins against God's holy law and to offer the blessings of His Law-keeping Spirit to them so that they might have new hearts! The Apostle Paul would explain this later in his letter to the congregation at Galatia.

Galatians 3:10-13: For all who rely on works of the law are under a curse; for it is written, "Cursed be everyone who does not abide by all things written in the Book of the Law, and do them." ¹¹ Now it is evident that no one is justified before God by the law, for "The righteous shall live by faith." ¹² But the law is not of faith, rather "The one who does them shall live by them." ¹³ Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us- for it is written, "Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree"-

Jesus wanted to clear up the wrong teaching and thinking of his people when he came and this is one of the reasons why Jesus climbs the mount to give a sermon that will change the lives and thinking of those who have ears to hear! This Jesus will turn their world upside down with one sermon. In fact, when Jesus completes the Sermon on the Mount, the crowds are amazed at his teaching with authority!

"I'm Beginning to Look a Lot Like Jesus"

So what does one who has been saved by grace through faith, one who has been purchased and bought with a price by Christ's blood, what does one of these people look like who walk the narrow path, who live by faith in Jesus, and who are blessed? What are their characteristics?

Jesus said they are characterized by being poor in spirit; mourning; being meek, yet not weak; hungering and thirsting after righteousness; merciful, pure in heart, peacemakers, and those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake. Jesus is not teaching that "if" you become all these things, then you will be a follower of Christ. Rather, he is saying "if you are a follower of Christ" then this is what you will look like.

It is like the hopes and aspirations we have for our own lives as well as the lives of our children. We pray and hope that we, as well as our children, even our family name will mean something in the big scheme of history. We pray that we as well as our children will become something worthwhile and helpful in our little worlds. Well, Jesus is saying that this is not only a mere hope or aspiration, but it will become a reality as we follow close to him by his grace. We will become what is revealed as "blessed" in the 'Beatitudes'. This is great news for sinners!

Kingdom Living in a Fallen World

Before we begin our next study with the poor in spirit, allow me to sum up all of the 'Beatitudes', further illustrating how they relate to the Psalms in the Old Testament. Let's read Matthew 5:1-12, then we will proceed with our introduction to the 'Beatitudes'.

Matthew 5:1-12: Seeing the crowds, he went up on the mountain, and when he sat down, his disciples came to him. ²And he opened his mouth and taught them, saying: ³"Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. ⁴"Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. ⁵"Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. ⁶"Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied. ⁷"Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy. ⁸"Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. ⁹"Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God. ¹⁰"Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. ¹¹"Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. ¹²Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

Notice that Jesus notices the crowds, but he specifically addresses the disciples (5:1, 10-12- 2nd person plural, speaking to those persecuted, not the whole crowd). Jesus seems to be primarily speaking to his disciples, but the crowds are listening in. Jesus is turning his listener's world upside down as he usually did through his teaching. In order for him to explain the way of the Kingdom of God, it is no surprise that it was directly opposite to the ways and thoughts of this world.

To summarize what Dr. Sinclair Ferguson calls "Kingdom Living in a Fallen World", Jesus begins to teach the covenantal happiness, or blessings that come with being his follower. He begins with the poor in spirit. Before we can even follow Jesus we must be totally dependent upon the grace and the mercy of our Heavenly Father if we are to be saved. Then he speaks of mourning.

Mourners are those who do not expect constant joy and fulfillment in this world. Rather, they are those who know what it is like to suffer. They know things are not as they should be and they await a day when all of creation will be renewed (Rom. 8:18-25). They mourn for their own sins, not only totally dependent upon God for salvation, but totally repentant before God as they grow in their salvation. Those who mourn also are offended because God's holiness is offended by the sins of man, including themselves.

Then Jesus says "Blessed are the meek". Now what the world may call "weak", Jesus describes as meek. The meek know that they are citizens of two kingdoms and that ultimately all of their rights here on this earth should be given up and surrendered to Jesus, the One who did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but Who made Himself nothing, even dying upon a cross meekly for his people! The meek are not weak, they have just learned to suspend some of their rights and strength for the sake of love and considering others better than themselves.

Then there are those who pursue righteousness. They know that the only thing that will truly satisfy is to be like Christ their Savior. So, they pursue, they strive at being Christ-like, by hungering and thirsting for his righteousness! They want to be like their Master!

Then there are those who are merciful, because they have experienced the deep, kind, undeserving mercy of God! They want to show the same mercy to others. They want justice, but they lovingly want to walk justly and love mercy because it is a reflection of God's mercy to them. Then there are the pure in heart who love what God loves and learns to hate what God hates. They know that God is continually purifying and sanctifying their hearts as they rest and depend upon His mercy and love to them.

The peacemakers know that their peacemaking is a double-edged sword. Their ultimate goal is to share the peace they have with God because of Jesus Christ with others. Knowing, however, that others who are not at peace with God and actually war against God will not accept their "terms of peace". Rather, they will persecute and say all kinds of evil against them because of Jesus.

In all of this, Jesus says "Rejoice and be glad for great is the reward of those who are like this!" The 'Beatitudes' are ultimately pictures of Christ and pictures of what we as Christ's people will begin to look like. By the power of Christ's Spirit, Christ will continue to be formed in us so that we will be presented to Christ when he returns as a pure, lovely, righteous Bride who will live with Christ forever!

Tomorrow: "Blessed are the Poor in Spirit"

Update: New Studies at A Place for Truth by Chip Hammond.

Rev. Charles R. Biggs

9 S. Locust Street

Post Office Box 628

Round Hill, VA 20141

571.334.7420

Vol. VI, Issue 6

The Beatitudes- Matthew 5:1-12

Introduction to the Beatitudes

In our last study we learned the meaning of 'Beatitude' as well as what Jesus was communicating when he was preaching these "blessings". We learned that the 'Beatitudes' are ultimately a picture of Christ's character, and yet as we learn from Christ by His Spirit, these are the characteristics of Christians as well as we reflect his grace and goodness to us. The 'Beatitudes' show the kind of Christians God will produce through grace and faith in Jesus as we grow and mature!

"Blessed are the Poor in Spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven"

Today, we begin with the first and most foundational 'beatitude': "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven." What exactly does Jesus mean about "being poor in spirit"? Simply put, the poor in spirit are those who are absolutely dependent upon God for their spiritual and physical needs. They are those who are not self-reliant and proud, but humble in heart.

It is interesting that Jesus starts with the characteristic of being poor in spirit as the foundation for all the others 'Beatitudes'. The reason is that you cannot know or grow in the Lord Jesus Christ without first understanding your poor condition before the Living God. We must first know of our sinful condition and great spiritual need for a Savior, before we even begin to see or enter the Kingdom of Heaven (cf. John 3:1-18).

The Poor

In the Old Testament, the poor were often equated with those who were pious. The reason being was that they were without in this world, and totally dependent upon the Living God for help both physically and spiritually. This did not mean that the poor were automatically God's people, but they served as real and living examples in this world of those totally destitute and in need of God's help. These were oftentimes contrasted with the rich who were proud, boastful and powerful (Psalm 9:18; 12:5; 34:6; 51; Prov. 29:23; Isaiah 25:1-5; Luke 1:46-48; James 4:3ff). For an example of "the poor" in the Old Testament, carefully read a portion of Psalm 72:

Psalm 72:1-14: OF SOLOMON.Give the king your justice, O God, and your righteousness to the royal son! ² May he judge your people with righteousness, and your poor with justice! ³ Let the mountains bear prosperity for the people, and the hills, in righteousness! ⁴ May he defend the cause of the poor of the people, give deliverance to the children of the needy, and crush the oppressor! ⁵ May they fear you while the sun endures, and as long as the moon, throughout all generations! ⁶ May he be like rain that falls on the mown grass, like showers that water the earth! ⁷ In his days may the righteous flourish, and peace abound, till the moon be no more! ⁸ May he have dominion from sea to sea, and from the River to the ends of the earth! ⁹ May desert tribes bow down before him and his enemies lick the dust! ¹⁰ May the kings of Tarshish and of the coastlands render him tribute; may the kings of Sheba and Seba bring gifts! ¹¹ May all kings fall down before him, all nations serve him! ¹² For he delivers the needy when he calls, the poor and him who has no helper. ¹³ He has pity on the weak and the needy, and saves the lives of the needy. ¹⁴ From oppression and violence he redeems their life, and precious is their blood in his sight.

God's concern for the poor helps us to remember of his great mercy for his own! The "poor" in the Old Testament illustrated the importance of what it meant to be "poor in spirit". We need the LORD for all things. We are utterly dependent upon his goodness for the sun and the rain, as well as for all material blessings (Matthew 6:24-33). In fact, Jesus will later teach in the Sermon on the Mount that God knows of our great needs, and will meet them and so there is absolutely nothing to fear or worry about!

Sometimes our fear drives us, and we refuse to believe that God will provide for us! We are oftentimes proud of who we are and what we do as our positions in the world, but if the truth be known, we are all utterly need and dependent upon the Living God for all things we receive in this world. Most of the time, it is easier to see this utter reliance and dependence upon God in "the poor" than it is in "the rich" (James 5:1ff).

"Nothing in My Hands I Bring..."

Jesus uses the idea of "the poor", but he specifically speaks of the "poor in spirit" as being "blessed". Who exactly are the "poor in spirit"? Those who are poor in spirit are those who know that "nothing in their hands they bring" to be saved, but "simply to Christ's cross do they cling" as Augustus Toplady's hymn teaches us! Ephesians 2:1-8 sums this up well:

Ephesians 2:1-8: And you were dead in the trespasses and sins ² in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience- ³ among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. ⁴ But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, ⁵ even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ- by grace you have been saved- ⁶ and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, ⁷ so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. ⁸ For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God...

The Apostle Paul tells us of the grace of God in Christ Jesus in this passage. He tells us that we were truly "dead in the trespasses and sins" when God found us. We were "sons of disobedience" and "by nature children of wrath". Then I love the next two words in verse 4: "But God." Those are two of the greatest words ever written: "But God!" But God intervened, God saved, God intruded by His Spirit in His great mercy and love and he saved us!! This should cause all to be constantly "poor in spirit".

"...Simply to Thy Cross I Cling!"

We have nothing to offer to God. We must continually repent of even our best deeds and works (Isaiah 64:6)! Yet God loved us not because of something we did for him- - we were busy being children of disobedience when he saved us! As Ephesians 2:8 teaches us: "For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God..." This is our great hope as those who are poor in spirit!

Yet some Christians truly believe that they are saved based on something they do. They believe that they are saved based on a decision or choice for the Lord Jesus Christ, rather than being saved and then deciding and choosing. The point that must be remembered by the poor in spirit is that there is absolutely nothing we can do to be saved, because we are spiritually dead (Eph. 2:1-4), until we are born again. Jesus taught Nicodemus that one must be born again before he sees or enters the Kingdom of Heaven (John 3). It is all because of God's mercy that he saves us, then we believe and decide for Jesus because we are now able to humble ourselves, "poor in spirit", so that we might be saved. This is important for us all to remember. Salvation is all of grace!

Humility before the Living God

Being poor in spirit could be called a kind of humility of which we are aware. Oftentimes I have been told that if you are humble you will never know it. However, the Bible seems to indicate that some humility we are aware of. In fact in the Book of James and Peter, there are two commands to actually be humble. That would indicate to me that there is an awareness of what is humble and what is not. It would indicate to me that some do know when they are humble, or poor in spirit, and when they are not. Notice the following commands from James and Peter, who sat under their Lord's teaching on being "poor in spirit", both of whom were there for the entire Sermon on the Mount.

James 4:6-10: But he gives more grace. Therefore it says, "God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble." ⁷ Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. ⁸ Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. ⁹ Be wretched and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. ¹⁰ Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you.

1 Peter 5:5a-8: Yea, all of you gird yourselves with humility, to serve one another: for God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace to the humble. ⁶ Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time; ⁷ casting all your anxiety upon him, because he careth for you. ⁸ Be sober, be watchful: your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour...

In both of these passages we have commands to be humble, or poor in spirit, or utterly dependent upon God for grace. We should remember as Christians that we begin the Christian life as those "poor in spirit" and by God's grace and the working of His Spirit, continue to learn just how "poor in spirit" or utterly dependent upon God we should be!

Saved and SELF-Righteous?

Yet how easy it is for us to forget from what wretched condition we were saved! After a few days, a few months, a few years of being Christians, we so easily begin to be "rich in spirit" or proud and look down our noses at "poor sinners". Rather than looking at poor sinners with the eyes of Christ's compassion, we think we are so much better than they are because we are saved! How low can you go? This is a really bad place to be in, spiritually speaking. It means that when we are judging others for being sinners in this way, we are forgetting how sinful and dead we were when the mercy of God appeared to us! We are forgetting the two important words: "But God!"

The next time you find it so easy to judge another for their sins, and you pat yourself on the back for your great righteousness, or ability to "see through other's real motivations", remind yourself that you are not being "poor in spirit", utterly and totally dependent upon God at the moment, but you are being quite proud of yourself! Repent and remind yourself of the story Jesus tells about the Pharisee and the Tax Collector which is a great Biblical illustration of what it means to be "poor in spirit".

A Tale of Two Spirits

Luke 18:9-17: He also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and treated others with contempt: ¹⁰ "Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. ¹¹ The Pharisee, standing by himself, prayed thus: 'God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. ¹² I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I get.' ¹³ But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, 'God, be merciful to me, a sinner!' ¹⁴ I tell you, this man went down to his house justified, rather than the other. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted." ¹⁵ Now they were bringing even infants to him that he might touch them. And when the disciples saw it, they rebuked them. ¹⁶ But Jesus called them to him, saying, "Let the children come to me, and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God. ¹⁷ Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it."

Notice something important from this "Tale of Two Spirits", it was the one "poor in spirit" who knew of their right standing as a sinner before God who was considered "righteous" and went down to his house "justified". Notice the comparison Jesus makes between the self-righteous, proud, "rich in spirit" person and the one who knows his poor condition before God and requests God's mercy because he knows as one poor in spirit that God is indeed "rich in mercy"(cf. Eph. 2:4-6).

Notice also from the story Jesus tells that in summarizing the story, Jesus says: "For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted." This is another example of how true humility can be known in a person by the way they respond to the Living God. True humility is displayed throughout a Christian's life as an ongoing dependence and resting in the Lord Jesus Christ and His grace!

Finally, from the Luke 18 story, the way Luke places the other incident of infants being brought to Jesus right after Jesus tells his disciples this story. He tells them that they should "Let the children come to me, and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God." The point in arranging the stories this way is to illustrate true humility, or being poor in spirit. Being "poor in spirit", being utterly dependent upon the Living God is illustrated by an infant totally dependent and in need of their mother. I do not think it was by accident that this incident of the infants followed the story of the self-righteous Pharisee and the "poor in spirit" Tax Collector.

How do you view yourself? Is it with one eye toward heaven and one toward yourself? Is it a "balanced" and Biblical view? What I mean is, do you see yourself as both a sinner and as one saved by grace? If you do, then this is good. We never want to underestimate the work God has done in us and is continuing to do in us, yet we never want to forget that we are "works in progress", "under construction" by his grace! Therefore, because we utterly depend upon Jesus alone for salvation, we must utterly depend upon Jesus and His Spirit to continue to work in us by faith. We must continue as Christians to be "poor in spirit" by continuing to trust the Living God, knowing that we are God's workmanshship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared beforehand for us to walk in (Ephesians 2:10).

Do you believe that it is truly "all of grace"? Is your life, your salvation in Christ all of grace, because of the two words given in Ephesians 2: "But God"? We must repent of our self-righteousness, and by His grace continue to be "poor in spirit". We are assured that those who are utterly dependent upon God will be part of the Kingdom of Heaven now, but to be fully entered in when Jesus returns for those who are utterly dependent and patiently awaiting his return, which is also all of grace!

Rock of Ages

I shall conclude with the words to Augustus Toplady's Hymn 'Rock of Ages'. You have probably sung this hymn many times, but truly focus on the words to this great hymn! Do you believe it? Are you poor in spirit? The reason why this hymn is such a great illustration of being "poor in spirit" is that it not only speaks of being humbled by salvation, but humbled by death and knowing that our only hope in death is Jesus' help! "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven!"

Rock of Ages, cleft for me,
let me hide myself in thee;
let the water and the blood,
from thy wounded side which flowed,
be of sin the double cure;
save from wrath and make me pure.

Not the labors of my hands
can fulfill thy law's commands;
could my zeal no respite know,
could my tears forever flow,
all for sin could not atone;
thou must save, and thou alone.

Nothing in my hand I bring,
simply to the cross I cling;
naked, come to thee for dress;
helpless, look to thee for grace;
foul, I to the fountain fly;
wash me, Savior, or I die.

While I draw this fleeting breath,
when mine eyes shall close in death,
when I soar to worlds unknown,
see thee on thy judgment throne,
Rock of Ages, cleft for me,
let me hide myself in thee.

Next Study: "Blessed are those Who Mourn"

Update: New Studies at A Place for Truth by Chip Hammond and new sermons by Charles Biggs.

Rev. Charles R. Biggs

9 S. Locust Street

Post Office Box 628

Round Hill, VA 20141

571.334.7420

Word of Encouragement

Quote of the Week

Introduction

Our quotation this week is from John Calvin. It is a translated essay from Calvin's Preface to the Geneva Bible of 1550. It is entitled: "Christ the End of the Law" and is included in a fine book of essays collected to honor the teaching of Dr. D. Clair Davis, professor of Church History at Westminster Theological Seminary.

The Book of essays is called 'The Practical Calvinist: An Introduction to the Presybterian and Reformed Heritage'. I highly recommend the book to pastors, teachers and those new to the Reformed faith. Click on the title above to order this book.

One of the things I like about this quotation is that you can sense Calvin's great love and deep excitement over what Christ has done for His people! From reading this quotation (as well as much of Calvin's work), one is curious as to how Calvin was ever misrepresented and caricatured as a boring, dry, and unloving man. The Devil has a subtle and devious way of causing the best authors and books in Christendom to be overlooked because of certain false notions and untrue reports reported by people who have never taken the time to read him for themselves! May Calvin be read again in our time and may the people of God drink deep of his wisdom and love for Christ!

John Calvin from 'Christ the End of the Law'

"Even any good that could be thought or desired is found in this Jesus Christ alone!

For He humbled Himself to exalt us; He made Himself a slave to set us free; He became poor to enrich us; He was sold to redeem us, captive to deliver us, condemned to absolve us; He was made malediction for our benediction, oblation of sins for our justice; He was disfigured to re-figure us; He died for our life, in such a manner that by Him harshness is softened, wrath appeased, darkness enlightened, iniquity justified, weakness is made strength, affliction is consoled, sin is impeached, despite is despised, dread is emboldened, debt is acquitted, labor is lightened, sorrow turned to joy, misfortune into fortune, difficulty is made easy, disorder made ordered, division united, ignominy is ennobled, rebellion subjected, threat is threatened, ambushes are driven out, assaults assailed, striving is overpowered, combat is combated, war is warred, vengeance is avenged, torment tormented, damnation damned, abyss is thrown into the abyss, hell is helled, death is dead, mortality, immortality!

For all those things which used to be the arms of the devil to combat us and the sting of death to pierce us, are turned for us into an exercise of which we can profit, so that we can boast with the apostle, saying, 'O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?' (1 Cor. 15:55).

From there it comes, that by such a Spirit of Christ in us, and we are in spirit seated among the heavenlies, as the world is no longer world to us, though we have conversation in it, but being content in all, either in countries, places, conditions, clothes, meats, and other like things. And we are comforted in tribulation, joyful in sorrow, glorious in vituperation, abounding in poverty, warmed in nakedness, patient in evil, living in death.

This is in sum what we should seek in the whole Scripture: it is to know well Jesus Christ and the infinite riches which are comprised in Him, and are, by Him, offered to us from God His Father!"

Soli Deo Gloria!

Pastor Charles R. Biggs

Ketoctin Covenant Presbyterian Church

9 S. Locust Street

Post Office Box 628

Round Hill, VA 20142-0628

571.334.7420

Vol. VI, Issue 7

The Beatitudes- Matthew 5:1-12

"Blessed are Those Who Mourn, for They Shall be Comforted."

From our previous studies, we learned that the Beatitudes characterize how a Christian should think and live. They are ultimately pictures of Jesus Christ our Lord. As we come to know him by grace through faith, we begin to be conformed more and more to his image. Jesus' image and character are revealed in the Beatitudes. The second beatitude, or characteristic of Christ and His people, is being those who mourn.

Being a mourner is not being a “cry baby”. It should not be perceived as weak or childish, but extremely godly and reflective of Christ. Living in a fallen world as redeemed people we are exposed to God’s gracious revelation in His Word of the way things should be in God's world. We know the purpose for all people is to glorify God and to enjoy him forever- -and yet we do not see this fully (and sometimes not at all)!

You could say that things are not as they should be, and we realize it. This causes a tension in our lives. We know what is good, right, and holy- -that is, what God expects and how God created all things for his glory- - yet we see sin, suffering, and problems in the world.

As Christians, we see and experience the consequences of sin in other people, as well as in our own hearts! During this time, as we await the return of our Savior, we must be comforted by the reality that our Lord Christ is victoriously seated at God’s right hand, and our eyes should remain fixed on the future when God will renew and restore all things to the way things should be!

Those who mourn in this present age can be assured that they will be comforted by the Spirit NOW, and fully comforted when Jesus returns for all of those He loves!

Mourners are Repentant and Blessed!

It is actually not sad to be a "mourner", but blessed! The reason is that a mourner is one who is aware of his spiritual condition before the LORD. A mourner knows that he or she is a sinner and needs the mercy and grace of the LORD!

Remember the main message of John the Baptist and Jesus when they preached to the crowds? The message was "Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand." Mourners are those who live repentant for the Living God. Mourners are those who not only repent when they begin the Christian life, but live a life of constant repentance and dependence upon the Living God. Mourners know they are sinners, yet they know they have a Savior Who they can go to and confess their sins and be cleansed (1 John 1:7ff).

King David gives us a fine example of a mourner, or how we should respond to our sinful condition as the Word of God reveals more and more of the depths of sin in our hearts. Notice his approach to God begins with asking for mercy, not what he deserves. That reminds us as well of two of the characteristics of the Beatitudes: Poor in spirit and the merciful!

Psalm 51: Have mercy on me, O God, according to your steadfast love; according to your abundant mercy blot out my transgressions. ²Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin! ³For I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me. ⁴Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight, so that you may be justified in your words and blameless in your judgment. ⁵Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me. ⁶Behold, you delight in truth in the inward being, and you teach me wisdom in the secret heart. ⁷Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. ⁸Let me hear joy and gladness; let the bones that you have broken rejoice. ⁹Hide your face from my sins, and blot out all my iniquities.

¹⁰Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me. ¹¹Cast me not away from your presence, and take not your Holy Spirit from me. ¹²Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and uphold me with a willing spirit. ¹³Then I will teach transgressors your ways, and sinners will return to you. ¹⁴Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O God, O God of my salvation, and my tongue will sing aloud of your righteousness. ¹⁵O Lord, open my lips, and my mouth will declare your praise...

David's request as a mourner is to have a clean heart before God, a right spirit within (v. 10). Mourners know that only God can create this in us, and give to us a right spirit. Mourners live repentant lives before the Lord, careful not to presume upon His grace, nor to forget their low condition. Yet at the same time, realizing that God is merciful, forgiving, full of steadfast love for sinners, and one who will cleanse us from our condition (vv. 1-2).

In the context of the Sermon on the Mount, we should remember that the people who were listening in to Jesus' message to his disciples, would have known the ways of the Scribes and the Pharisees. These were not mournful people. In fact, they do not respond to John the Baptist's message of repentance. When they come to hear John, he asks them: "Who has warned you to flee the coming wrath?" He then proceeds to call them "vipers" and tells them to "produce fruit in keeping with repentance." His point is that if you are going to enter the Kingdom, you must be made aware of your low position and condition before the Living God (being poor in spirit). He wanted them to know that the "fruits of repentance" was a mournful spirit that came to God looking for grace, not honor of merit!

Mourning Over Sin

Think about the lack of true and Biblical mourning in our culture today, even among some Christians! In our world, we either excuse the sin we see in others, or we condemn sinners. Some in our culture on the one hand, allow others to "do as they please" with no regard to righteousness. They say "Let the homosexual live freely without conviction of God's Word"; "Let the rebellious and the lawbreaker alone"; "Don't judge those who sin"; or "It doesn't matter what God we worship as long as we worship with faith". All of these sayings (and there are plenty more), are sayings that justify or excuse sin! We should never allow this kind of thinking to blur the righteousness and holiness of God revealed in Scripture.

On the other hand, some of us condemn sinners. We as Christians see the homosexual, the rebellious, the lawbreaker, and those who are misguided in their worship of idols and we condemn them forgetting that we were once among them! Neither of these positions are correct for Christians. We should neither excuse sin, nor condemn sinners! Rather, we should weep and mourn in repentance for what we see around us, calling others to repentance and pointing them to the same grace and mercy that we have found in the Lord Jesus!

Our message is one of repentance, and anyone reading this who does not live a repentant life must repent and believe upon the Lord Jesus, but we should never forget from where we came. Our lives now are all because of His grace! We should mourn over the lost condition of others, not judge them as if we are any better. Self-righteous people are never mourners! The Apostle Paul reminds us of this:

2 Corinthians 6:9-11: ⁹ Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, ¹⁰ nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. ¹¹ And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.

This passage to the Corinthians reminds us that we were all sinners. That should make us continually repentant, but also grateful! The joy of the LORD is our strength, and that joy is a reality in the midst of our mourning. This too is the "already, not yet"! We mourn now, knowing that things are not as they should be in our world (including our own hearts!), yet we rejoice and are comforted because we know that Jesus has overcome the world and made a way to come for cleansing and a righteous robe before the Most High and Holy LORD of Heaven and Earth!

Have you ever noticed how mad and angry we get with others when they sin against us? Yet we often are not moved to tears and a mournful attitude when we see people sin against a Holy God? It is strange how we so easily are offended by others, but we don't think about the offense of our own sins before God! As mourners, we should reflect upon these things. We should remember, it was our sins that placed Jesus on the cross! It was our sins that caused him to die, caused him to be afflicted and cursed by God, taking God's anger and wrath in our place! Our sins were placed on Jesus so that he was called "sin".

Paul says: "He who had no sin became sin in order that we in Him we might become the righteousness of God!" (2 Cor. 5:21).

This statement alone should cause us all to be mourners! Yet at the same time, Jesus was declared "sin" so that we could be declared "righteous"! Furthermore, Jesus' resurrection and ascension to God's right hand should cause us to be comforted!

Jesus the Mourner

In Jesus' life here "under the sun", he visited a world full of sin and misery, so as to redeem those who would come to him by faith! Yet, when he came to extend his hand of grace and mercy, he was brutally apprehended by sinful men, abused by those undeserving, and put to death by those unworthy of His presence! Jesus was a mourner!

Jesus mourned over Jerusalem when he saw how many people who called Abraham "Father" rejected him and had not the "faith of Abraham" revealing themselves to be "sons of the devil" (John 8:31-58). He cried out: "Jerusalem, Jerusalem, how I have longed to gather you as a hen gathers her chicks and you would not let me!"

Jesus mourned over Lazarus when he saw the results of the wages of sin in bringing death to his friend. Jesus mourned over those who were unrepentant and unbelieving who stood around him mocking him, laughing at him, and grieving His spirit within him! Jesus mourned over sinners constantly throughout his life!

Yet in Jesus' resurrection, He was comforted! Jesus was raised again to new life! Jesus ascended to God's right hand upon completion of His heavenly work for sinners and sent a portion of His joyful and triumphant Spirit to dwell with His people until He returns! He told his disciples "In this world you will have tribulation, but be of good cheer for I have overcome the world!"

What great news for all Christians! Take comfort, Christians. Although we know that things aren't as they should be, that there is rampant sin and iniquity around us, as well as in our own hearts! We can be comforted by the fact that we know Jesus will return and restore all things! He is preparing a place for us know, full of joy and salvation and worship, empty of sin and misery! We know that the problem of sin has been taken care of in the death and mourning of Jesus Christ! We know that he who began a good work deep within our sinful hearts, will complete it on the Day of Jesus (Phil. 1:6).

"...They Shall be Comforted!"

Our comfort today as Christians is not in this present age, this evil world full of sin and misery, hating the Creator and Living God who we so long to be like! Our comfort is found in resting in the power of his Spirit, our knowledge of the God of all comfort, and knowing that he will wipe every tear from our eyes when he restores heaven and earth to the way it was supposed to be, yet in a way that will be beyond what we ever have asked or imagined! As we close this study, may we be comforted and meditate upon the words of God in Revelation 21:1-!

Revelation 21:1-6: Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. ² And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. ³ And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. ⁴ He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning nor crying nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away." ⁵ And he who was seated on the throne said, "Behold, I am making all things new." Also he said, "Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true." ⁶ And he said to me, "It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end.

May we as Christians, continue to mourn over our sins and the sins of others as we seek comfort in God's Spirit, and await the New Heavens and the New Earth where there will only be rejoicing because only righteousness will reign with Jesus Christ, our Glorious Savior, seated on the Throne of Blessed Grace! Are you longing for the day when you shall see him face to face? When we shall see him, we shall be like him! (1 Cor. 13:9-13; 1 John 3:2).

Reflect upon the words of Anne Cousin, who wrote the following hymn based on the dying words of the great theologian and suffering preacher Samuel Rutherford:

The sands of time are sinking,

The dawn of heaven breaks,

The summer morn I’ve sighed for,

The fair, sweet morn awakes.

Dark, dark hath been the midnight,

But dayspring is at hand;

And glory, glory dwelleth

In Emmanuel’s land.

The King there in His beauty,

Without a veil is seen:

It were a well spent journey,

Though seven deaths lay between:

The Lamb, with His fair army,

Doth on Mount Zion stand,

And glory, glory dwelleth

In Immanuel’s land.

O Christ, He is the fountain,

The deep, sweet well of love;

The streams on earth I’ve tasted,

More deep I’ll drink above.

There to an ocean fullness

His mercy doth expand.

And glory, glory dwelleth

In Immanuel’s land.

Soli Deo Gloria!

Next Study: "Blessed are the Meek, not the Weak"

Update: New Studies at A Place for Truth by Chip Hammond and new sermons by Charles Biggs.

Rev. Charles R. Biggs

9 S. Locust Street

Post Office Box 628

Round Hill, VA 20141

571.334.7420

Vol. VI, Issue 8

The Beatitudes- Matthew 5:1-12

"Blessed are the Meek, for they Shall Inherit the Earth."

Today's study from the Beatitudes is about the meek. Who are the meek? Normally when we hear the word "meek" we associate it with "weak". But the meek are far from weak, actually they are strong in the LORD in the way all should be! As Martin Lloyd-Jones has written, being meek is "a humble and gentle attitude to others based on a true estimate of ourselves.” Being meek is to know who we truly are, and to live a life based upon this knowledge.

Being meek, then is all about we as sinners saved by grace, having a true estimate of ourselves before God and others. Meekness is not thinking of ourselves higher than we ought, as the Apostle Paul teaches in Romans 12.

Romans 12:3 For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned.

Being meek is constantly asking oneself "What is it that I have, that I have not been given by God?" (1 Cor. 4:7). Meekness is never weakness, but a true understanding of the grace that has been held out to believers by faith.

The Weakness of the World; the Meekness of Christianity

In contrast to the meek, the world and the culture around us demand their so-called rights. They think that God owes them something and that they should be given lots of money, happiness, health and everything their heart's desire! They live their lives with expectations that what they have been given and what God has ultimately provided to them in his common grace, they somehow deserve. This is not meekness, but weakness.

Because of the fall and our separation from God, we all have a tendency to think that each day that we have been given, as well as each breath we take is something we should expect. We are often startled by our frail humanity when we are choked, hurt in an accident, have a brush with death, or are reminded that we are dust in some way or another (Ps. 103). Ultimately, it is because by nature we are not meek people. We are weak and expectant people. We are weak, and do not realize that our great weakness is found in our great need for God. And because we have such great needs and do not realize it because sin clouds our understanding, we are weaker than we could have ever imagined.

When God allows something to challenge our humanity, or our strength, we are reminded of how helpless and frail we are in the big scheme of life. When we get sick with a disease or suffer from an ailment, we feel helpless and look around us for help. Usually, once we recover (if God has granted that we do), we often so easily forget those who helped us when we were weak, and we especially forget God! When troubled times come, some in this world turn to God for help and prayers, but if God allows them to recover many do not come back to thank him and to live for him out of gratitude. This reality Jesus found out when he healed ten lepers and only one came to thank him (Luke 17).

Lifeblood and the Blood of Life

If we ponder our human flesh (skin), we realize that we are sometimes a mere knife cut away from our life oozing out of us. We are "flesh and blood" people living in God's world, dependent creatures upon his grace and gifts, yet we often live our lives with the illusion of our own self-sufficiency (as if we somehow got our life from ourselves!?). We all so easily forget that except for the preventive (not prevenient) grace of God, we are only an accident away from our life blood oozing out, or for a bodily organ to stop functioning, and we would see our deaths.

I'm not trying to be morbid, but when we hurt ourselves in a small way with just a small scratch, we bleed. When we bleed, what is happening in reality is that a little bit of our life is oozing out. By God's grace he preserves our life so that we might look to Him and His kindness extended to us in Christ Jesus and in humble repentance turn to him admitting our need of physical help, but most all spiritual help.

The hope of all men is to look away from their sins, to repent, and to turn to the God who took upon human flesh so that his life blood could ooze out on behalf of those who believe! Jesus Christ shed his blood so that we might be cleansed from our self-sufficient rebellion against God Almighty! Jesus' blood was shed, he lost his life, so that he could offer life to us. What we as sinners had earned was death. As Paul says in Romans 6:23, "the wages of sin is death."

But in His grace, God united our frail flesh to his divinity, so that we might be saved from self-sufficient and proud living. He became flesh so that we might partake in his divinity; he became like us so that we could ultimately be like him (1 John 3:2-3). God, who has life in himself, came to die so that we might have eternal life in Him (John 5:24ff; 15:1-7). He came so that we might be meek!

Meekness, Not Weakness!

Do we really think about our humble condition, our real state before the Living God? If we do live this way, with this thought in mind because of what Christ has done for us, then we are truly meek and will continue to learn meekness as we are even more ever dependent upon him as we live! This is the mindset of the meek!

But how do we live out this meekness in a fallen world? Allow me to suggest two important ways. The first, is meekness to others. As Christians, humility should not be something we merely talk about, a kind of abstract goal we would like to reach one day. It should be a reality because of who we are united to the Living Christ and because of what he is doing (present tense) in us by His Spirit!

We show meekness to others particularly in considering others better than ourselves (Phil. 2)! This meekness can be shown visibly by example when a man overlooks the offense of another because they know how offensive they can be; It can be shown when an intellectual can listen and learn from others sometimes, rather than merely being the one always speaking and teaching others.

Considering others better than ourselves can be ultimately shown day by day when we reserve our rights, or our desires and wants, for the sake of extending love to another. It is when we put another first, even though we so desperately want to be first, and do this for the sake of love! In the family, it is sharing with others even though they don't deserve it; in the workplace, it is letting sarcastic and rude comments go by without offending you; in friendships, it is overlooking an unintentional offense of another, because you know how little you know your own sinful heart.

We thank God for the rights we have in this world, but we do not always have to use them. For the sake of love, we “lose our rights” in order to place others first. We need to remember that our primary call is not to our so-called rights in this world, but as Kingdom people to lose our rights and to take up our cross and follow a king who did not demand equality with God (Phil. 2: 5-11).

Be warned: In culture of self-assertion, you may be called “weak” if you reserve your rights and do not "speak up" like every other special interest group under the sun, but you are in good company with a Savior many thought to be too weak to save! “He saved others, why can’t he save himself??!!” They asked as Jesus hung on the cross!

There are so many ways the Holy Spirit can teach His people how to put other people and their needs FIRST! And, in doing so, you place Christ first because you do it out of love and an understanding that you have been given great position in God's Kingdom, yet it was not something you deserved - -it was all of grace!

Meekness and Repentance

The other way of showing meekness, is a kind of repentant attitude that is lived throughout our Christian life. As we learned with those who mourn, it is a total humbling reliance and dependence upon the Living God through a day-to-day life ofrepentance. What this means is that, it is never patting oneself on the back for the righteous things one has done, nor ever presuming that the fruits of the Spirit somehow come naturally from us! It is simply a humble reminder that the gospel is not merely for unbelievers, but also for Christians. We constantly depend upon the grace and mercy that has been given and we know that as we work out our salvation with fear and trembling, that it is God who works in us to do and to will according to his good pleasure (Phil. 2:12-13).

The Prophet Isaiah describes this kind of lifelong meekness well in Isaiah 30:15-18:

Isaiah 30:15-18: For thus said the Lord GOD, the Holy One of Israel, "In returning and rest you shall be saved; in quietness and in trust shall be your strength." But you were unwilling, ¹⁶ and you said, "No! We will flee upon horses"; therefore you shall flee away; and, "We will ride upon swift steeds"; therefore your pursuers shall be swift. ¹⁷ A thousand shall flee at the threat of one; at the threat of five you shall flee, till you are left like a flagstaff on the top of a mountain, like a signal on a hill. ¹⁸ Therefore the LORD waits to be gracious to you, and therefore he exalts himself to show mercy to you. For the LORD is a God of justice; blessed are all those who wait for him.

Isaiah wanted the people of God to know that our strength was in "quietness and trust" in the Living God. The people of God in Isaiah's time wanted horses, swift steeds in order for them to know and appreciate their strength, but God wanted them to find their strength in total and humble dependence upon Him! God wants His people to meekly place their trust in the power of God, not in themselves. Even in salvation, it will be in "repentance (returning) and rest" and not in anything they have done or accomplished. From the time we are saved, until the time Jesus returns, we are to live this kind of meek life, totally dependent upon the Lord's lovingkindness to us!

"S-E-L-F- - R-E-S-P-E-C-T"

The opposite of meekness is ultimately SELF. Self-centered, self-sufficient, self-motivated, self-taught, self-respect, and all the other "self's" that our hearts conjure up with the illusions that we truly are the masters of our tiny little universes! We think we are gods, little lords, masters of our little piece of land and we somehow got where we are on this little space of land by our own blood, sweat and tears!

Some think as tiny lords in their little kingdoms, that there is absolutely nothing that they cannot do; they gain the whole world and then many lose their souls. Some build up their names and reputations in their tiny kingdoms because they want to be revered, respected...feared, yet at the end of the day, all of their striving and self-centeredness to establish their kingdoms against any other would-be self-centered and tiny kingdoms, their little kingdom one day becomes their grave! How foolish we are sometimes! What is it that we have, that we have not received?

Yet, in the midst of our struggle to gain and to establish our self-centered kingdoms, God in his His grace invades our sinful hearts by His powerful Holy Spirit, causes us to surrender with the Apostle Paul and ask: "Who are you LORD?" (Acts 9). And if and when this wonderful work of God happens, we realize that all of our plotting and self-centered conniving, seems quite empty and hopeless. We realize our great need of dependence upon the Living God. We realize just how much He has done for us and in our great gratitude we desire to walk humbly before him.

Trespassers or Inheritors on the Earth?

We desire meekness for the first time! An offense is no longer as offensive. Our rights don't mean as much anymore. We open our clouded eyes from our restless dreams of conquering our tiny kingdoms only to realize that it is a rather small plot of ground in this big universe and that it rightfully and really belongs to the Lord God Almighty! We realize that we are only here because he has allowed us to be on his property. We should be shot as trespassers, but we are welcomed not merely as guests, but as sons who will inherit the earth!

Then we realize: All this time, I tried to conquer God and establish my tiny kingdom against all other men- - How futile! All of this time, it belonged to him anyway, he has clothed me in His best robes as my father, and that I do not have to forcefully take hold of this tiny kingdom, but by inheritance he will give me the earth!

What a revelation! What all men are so desperately trying to steal for themselves and set themselves up against the LORD and His anointed would be given to them by inheritance through faith in Jesus Christ, the one who owns the heavens and the earth! Because Jesus earned the deed, the title to this grand earth, God will give this place to all those who are his children! God will renew all things and it will be as he planned from the foundation of the earth!

God will give them the earth! The dominion over the earth that was lost in Adam's sin has been regained by Jesus Christ for his own! God will grant by inheritance and not force, the whole earth! And most importantly, God will be with them, and He shall be their God!

"Blessed (truly) are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth!"

Soli Deo Gloria!

Next Study: "Blessed are the Mourners"

Rev. Charles R. Biggs

9 S. Locust Street

Post Office Box 628

Round Hill, VA 20141

571.334.7420

Word of Encouragement

Quote of the Week

Introduction

Our quotation this week is from B. B. Warfield, the great and godly preacher and professor at Princeton Theological Seminary in the late 19th and early 20th century.

This quotation is from a sermon preached in the Chapel of Princeton Theological Seminary, entitled 'Jesus Alone' from Acts 4:12. In the context of this quotation, Prof. Warfield is unpacking what the Bible means we are "saved". It is interesting to note the great complexity of our salvation, yet also how simply it is revealed to us in Scripture.

Acts 4:12: "And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved."

B. B. Warfield

"We certainly shall never do justice indeed to the Biblical conception of salvation taken as a whole, save by giving to that term its widest conceivable connotation. It may be that we are prone to narrow and limit it on this side and that, and then to feel some surprise, perhaps some perplexity, when we open the pages of Scripture and light upon passage after passage which will not square with our poor and starving ideas.

In the Biblical conception of it, -- we shall not be able to say it too emphatically- - salvation broadens its beneficient reach to cover every evil that afflicts the afflicted race of man.

And that with the best reason. For in the center of salvation's center, in the heart of its heart, salvation is deliverance from sin, and accordingly it is deliverance from all the evils that find their roots in sin: and every evil of every kind that has ever entered the sphere of human life is consequent on sin and but the manifestation of sin's presence and power in humanity...

...The favorite expression for salvation in the Biblical record is that great word Life; which is set over against the equally great word Death, as the best comprehensive term to gather up all the evils from which we shall be saved. Whatever Death is, and all that Death is, and all that leads up to, accompanies and follows Death, in any one of its possible applications, physical or temporal, spiritual and eternal- - that is what we shall be saved from in this salvation!

And whatever Life is, and all that Life is, and all that leads up to, accompanies and expresses, and grows out of and crowns Life- - in every possible application of that great conception- - that is what we shall be saved to in this salvation: or rather that, in Biblical language, is salvation...

...Everything that vexes and troubles human life in every sphere of its manifestation is but the issue of this first disobedience (in the Garden of Eden in Genesis 3). Conceive man as a physical organism held together by the subtle forces which govern material life; all that brings him pain, disease, and death, emerges as the unavoidable result of sin and therefore the necessary object of salvation...

"...For if by the trespass of the one the many died, much more did the grace of God and the gift by the grace of the one man Jesus Christ abound unto the many." There is a superabundance of grace, and an extension of it immeasurably beyond the ravages wrought even by sin."

This sermon has been printed in a nice collection by Banner of Truth Trust. The Title of the collection of Warfield sermons is: 'Jesus: the Savior of the World'

Soli Deo Gloria!

Pastor Charles R. Biggs

Ketoctin Covenant Presbyterian Church

9 S. Locust Street

Post Office Box 628

Round Hill, VA 20142-0628

571.334.7420

Vol. VI, Issue 9

The Beatitudes- Matthew 5:1-12

"Blessed are those Who Hunger and Thirst after Righteousness, for they Shall be Filled."

In the last three studies, we learned that the poor in spirit are those who are totally dependent upon the Living God both for life and salvation. The mourners are not "cry babies" but those who mourn over their own sins and the sins of others who sin against a Holy God. In our last study we learned about the meek, who are not weak, but truly have a right estimate of themselves in light of their relationship to God Almighty.

Today's study is about those who hunger and thirst for righteousness. Who are these people and what are they like?

A Big Appetite for Righteousness

Those who are hungry and thirsty for righteousness have a big appetite for righteousness. Those who hunger and thirst after righteousness persistently pursue and long for a righteous, Christ-likeness so that they may live satisfied and full lives before the face of God!

It is strange that we find righteousness and holiness to be so strange when we see glimpses of it in others. When those who don't believe in Christ see Christ's followers seeking holiness or righteousness, they are taken back by it.

We should rather be taken back by those who do not hunger and thirst after righteousness. For in reality, hungering and thirsting after God and His righteousness in our lives is the only thing that will ever satisfy the hunger of the longing of our souls! Seeking righteousness should be quite natural and normal for all of us!

Righteousness and holiness were the reasons for which we were created because we were created to be in fellowship with God and to show forth his likeness (Gen. 1:26-28). The first sin of Adam, and the fall of man into sin and misery should have ruined any possibility of hope for those characterized by sin rather than righteousness, but God in His grace held out hope and grace from the very beginning in promising a Seed who would accomplish righteousness for those who believe (Gen. 3:15).

"Better than Life!"

Christ came as representative and Savior of those who believe and he only hungered and thirsted after righteousness. He sought it with all his heart! We see glimpses of this desire for righteousness in David's desires for God expressed beautifully in Psalm 63.

Psalm 63: "O God, you are my God, earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you, my body longs for you,in a dry and weary land where there is no water. I have seen you in the sanctuary and beheld your power and your glory. Because your love is better than life, my lips will glorify you. I will praise you as long as I live, and in your name I will lift up my hands. My soul will be satisfied as with the richest of foods; with singing lips my mouth will praise you. On my bed I remember you; I think of you through the watches of the night. Because you are my help, I sing in the shadow of your wings. My soul clings to you; your right hand upholds me.

One of my students and friends wrote to me concerning this psalm in a recent e-mail. She wrote: ”I love this psalm, which was written when David was in the desert of Judah. Although he does not have much to feast upon ("in a dry and weary land where there is no water"), he feasts upon God's word ("My soul will be satisfied with the richest of foods"), and finds in it all that he needs to sustain himself.” That's a living expression of what it means to hunger and thirst after righteousness.

God's Word teaches us about the righteousness of Christ. The Word of God reveals Christ to us so that we might come to know him and be saved. It promises us that if we believe in Him, we shall be united to Him, and we shall be like Him. As we come to look upon Christ in His Word (through preaching and the Lord's Supper), we come to persistently pursue and long for more of Him to be formed in us! Do you long for Christ to be formed in you?

Notice in Psalm 63 that David cries out to God that his love is better than life itself! David knew, as we should come to learn in Christ, that the only life worth living is the life lived in obedience to God's Word, hungering and thirsting after righteousness and Christ-likeness. David, and we who live on this side of the resurrection and ascension of Jesus, who have a portion of the Spirit of God given to us, ought to persistently pursue and long for a righteous Christ-likeness so that we might live satisfied and full lives before the face of God!

Eat, Drink, and Truly Be Merry!

Why are those who hunger and thirst after righteousness hungry and thirsty? Because of the fall into sin and misery, the world is full of sin and selfish disobedience to the Living God. Righteousness is not found naturally within our own souls or hearts, and definitely not found in others around us.

When we look for glimpses of glory, sparks of divine righteousness around us in our world, we are more likely to find sin and the consequences of unrighteous and unholy living. In fact, it makes us feel quite unclean, but we are not merely the victims as Christians, we are part of the sin problem. However, as Christians we struggle with our sinful and selfish tendencies so that we might become more like Christ (Romans 7)!

We want to ask Christ our Lord for more of a hunger, desire, and thirst for the Living God. Just as our bodies crave food and thirst for water, so our souls created by God long to be satisfied with only God Himself! Have you ever thought how unnatural it is for us not to pursue righteousness and holiness. Think of the deer spoken of by David in Psalm 42:

"As the deer pants or longs for the water, so my soul longs after the God."

Think of this illustration and analogy to the deer. The deer doesn't think logically, merely with his mind, "Hmmm, I think it is time for me to drink." No! Rather, the deer is driven to the streams of water so that he might quench his thirst. Think about when we are hungry. We don't say, "I think I will work up an appetite." We are naturally hungry during the day (3 times or more?!) and we are driven to seek to eat and drink. It is natural and normal. If the truth be known, we can’t work up a hunger and thirst…we don’t make ourselves this way, it happens naturally!

So should our persistent pursuit of Christ-likeness be for the Christian. As we come to learn of Christ's loveliness and more of his mercy, we desire to know Him and His Word much better. We long to truly understand how the Spirit has united us closely to Him and we long to be more like him- -in every way. The Apostle Paul wanted to know this. In Philippians 3, Paul exuberantly writes:

Philippians 3:7-14: But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. ⁸Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ ⁹and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith- ¹⁰that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, ¹¹that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead. ¹²Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. ¹³Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, ¹⁴I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.

Paul wanted to leave behind all of his futile and self-righteous pursuits of righteousness in his life as a Pharisee. What he wanted was the kind of knowledge and relationship with God found only in the Person of Jesus Christ! He said he counted all of his prestigious pedigree as "rubbish" so that he might gain Christ. But what specifically did he want to "gain" in Christ?

A Righteousness in Christ

The Apostle Paul wanted to be found "in Him", having a righteousness that depends on faith (v. 9). He wanted to know the power of Christ's resurrection, the sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, so that he could attain the unbelievable hope of the resurrection from the dead. And Paul was determined to strain forward to attain this by faith alone (v. 13-14). This is a picture of a pursuit of righteous Christ-likeness through a knowledge of our Savior that is both doctrinal and personal.

What it means that this pursuit of righteousness is both doctrinal and personal is that we pursue the Christ held out to us in God's revelation of Scripture. We try to come to a better understanding of how God has revealed himself through His Word to us, and we remember to do this together with all the saints (Eph. 3:18). Personally, we come to take part in the sufferings of Christ after taking part in His resurrection when we are regenerated and our hearts are made new when we first believe in Christ.

We then walk before the face of God all of our lives, coming to understand better our close bond and union we have with the Living Christ in our lives. As He is the Vine, so we are the branches. We draw from his own innate righteousness throughout the Christian life, as we seek to emulate and pursue the same kind of righteousness that he has. We don't have an innate righteousness, but when we become Christians he gives us a clothing of his righteousness that justifies us before God. Then as we live "in Him" and "for Him" in obedience to Him, he works in us that which is good and pleasing, according to his will. As Paul says in Philippians 3:12, we press on and forward because Jesus has made us His own. We more and more hunger and thirst for righteous Christ-likeness!

Those who hunger and thirst for righteousness ultimately long to know and to be like Jesus! They long to become more righteous as the gnawing in our stomachs from hunger, or the dry, parched mouths desiring water, so the “hungry and thirsty” are looking to only One for satisfaction.

Who Do You Want to Be Like?

Who do you long to be like? We oftentimes want to be like other people. We have people that we know and people that we admire that we want to emulate. We have heroes and heroines that are not always examples of righteousness, yet we look to them to see how they dress, how they walk and talk, how they interact with others. We want to be like them!

When we ponder God’s grace and goodness in Jesus Christ held out to us in the Word of God and the Lord's Supper, and then consciously and constantly meditate upon Jesus as Glorified God-Man, we will long to be like him! I encourage you to meditate upon Jesus Christ as the ascended Savior at the right hand of God. We often forget and become functional Greek Gnostics who deny the humanity of Jesus Christ. However, we must remember that our Mediator, Jesus Christ THE Righteous One, has a human face at the right hand of God! This will encourage your pursuit of His righteousness.

HE is the picture of perfection and righteousness for which we all truly long! Jesus was perfect as Divine Being, but when he took upon himself a human nature without a sin problem of the heart, he learned righteousness and obedience as a man. It is hard for us to fathom, but when he said "Thy will be done, O Lord", these were true and sincere words he spoke prayerfully to the Father.

As Divine, Christ was indeed omniscient, omnipresent, and omnipotent, but this Divine One loved His own so much that he clothed himself with flesh and became man. As human, Christ was not omniscient, but learning; not omnipresent, but local; not omnipotent, but limited. It is hard for us to fully understand, but it is how God has revealed Jesus Christ to us in His Holy Word! So why is this helpful to your pursuit of righteousness? Because He can truly both sympathize with your weakness, as well as, and perhaps more importantly, help you in your weakness and weak pursuit of righteousness (Heb. 4:14-16).

Read carefully Hebrews 5:1-8 to get a glimpse of this righteousness that was pursued FIRST by Jesus Christ himself!

Hebrews 5:1-8: For every high priest chosen from among men is appointed to act on behalf of men in relation to God, to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins. ² He can deal gently with the ignorant and wayward, since he himself is beset with weakness. ³ Because of this he is obligated to offer sacrifice for his own sins just as he does for those of the people. ⁴ And no one takes this honor for himself, but only when called by God, just as Aaron was. ⁵ So also Christ did not exalt himself to be made a high priest, but was appointed by him who said to him, "You are my Son, today I have begotten you"; ⁶ as he says also in another place, "You are a priest forever, after the order of Melchizedek." ⁷ In the days of his flesh, Jesus offered up prayers and supplications, with loud cries and tears, to him who was able to save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverence. ⁸ Although he was a son, he learned obedience through what he suffered. ⁹ And being made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation to all who obey him...

We ought to reflect upon how Jesus learned obedience through his suffering and was being made perfect (vv. 8-9). As Hebrews 12 says, he is the ultimate example of faith that is set for us. Yes, He is truly God; Yes, He is truly man. For those who trust in him and begin to understand their living union with Him, should know that hungering and thirsting after righteousness is set forth for us in the life and death of Jesus.

"Unrighteous Righteousness"

But a lot of people call themselves "righteous". There are people all around who do good deeds, think of themselves as "good" and don't see a need for Christ and His righteousness. What is the wrong kind of righteousness? In Matthew 5:20, Jesus warned of the wrong kind of righteousness. He said that His follower's righteousness must exceed the righteousness of the Scribes and the Pharisees. Now that would have completely shocked the people!

If there was one supposed guarantee in Israel at the time of Jesus, it was that Scribes and Pharisees were going to be in heaven, even if the rest of the world didn't make it. They did all kinds of external righteous deeds that impressed people. But this external righteousness was not good enough. Neither is this mere external righteousness good enough for people who are trying live this way today. This kind of righteousness actually kills, according to Jesus. He said not only that our righteousness must exceed the Scribe and the Pharisee, but he said those whose righteousness did not exceed, would not enter the Kingdom of Heaven. There will be plenty of externally righteous people, people with good reputations in society that will have gained the respect of the whole world, but who will lose their own souls on the Day of Jesus Christ.

"Do the Right Thing?"

As Isaiah prophesies, we must repent even of our best deeds because without Christ they are as filthy rags (Is. 64:6). The wrong kind of righteousness is merely an external righteousness without a true root of saving faith within the heart. We should remember (as the Apostle Paul learned the hard way), that righteousness is not merely living externally by rules. Righteousness is not only doing the right thing… (as the Pharisees did fine externally).

The righteousness we are to pursue is not merely an external, “going-through-the-motions” kind of righteousness. It is an internal disposition created in the human heart by the Spirit of God when we are born again and become new creations in Christ (2 Cor. 5:17). It could be described as a righteousness that is "grateful because of His grace taking away our guilt before God” kind of righteousness!

As I said before, we are not merely to do the right thing, but to be doing the right thing for the right reasons. What is doing the right thing for the right reasons? Doing all that we do out of love for God and gratitude for what he has done for us in Christ! This is an inward change of heart or a “change of appetite”. One way of checking your attitude is to ask yourself this question: "Do I concentrate on the righteous things I do for God, or do I focus on the righteous things God has done for me?!" This will help you to determine whether you are trusting in God's righteousness revealed in Christ, or your own righteousness.

The good news for sinners whodo not have any inherentrighteousness, is that a righteousness has beenrevealed by God for those whowould look to Christ. The righteousness that we need and want to know is foundin the Person of Jesus Christ:

Romans 1:17: For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, "The righteous shall live by faith.

The Pursuit of Satisfaction or the Pursuit of Righteousness?

Do you pursue righteousness, or do you cry: “I don’t Get No Satisfaction”? Have you a desire to have all of your spiritual needs met by the only One who can do it? We search desperately in this fallen world to find something or sometimes someone who will meet our needs and satisfy our longings.

Only God can satisfy, all other things and others will leave us starving and dry. The Israelites hungered and thirsted to go back to Egypt rather than trusting in God’s Word and seeking him. We must watch our tendencies to find in “Egypt” or in this world the fulfillment of our soul’s longings. Many try, but many come up empty and fail. We must place our trust in the Living and Righteous Christ who fulfilled and exceeded the righteousness of the Scribes and Pharisees so that we might be found in him, not having a righteousness of our own, but a righteousness that comes by faith in Jesus!

Furthermore, once we are united to Him, we must be constantly keeping our eyes on this Jesus. As we continue to seek him, we will long for him more! As we grow in our knowledge of His righteousness, beauty and holiness, we will desire to have this kind of righteousness. An although the world might starve and die of thirst because their empty souls can only be satisfied by God alone, those who place their trust in Christ shall be filled!

We will find at the end of our persistent pursuit and longing for Christ-likeness a true filling and quenching of our thirsts. As David says in Psalm 17:15:

As for me, I shall behold your face in righteousness; when I awake, I shall be satisfied with your likeness.

The Apostle John teaches us of this great hope of being filled, being like Christ one day in his first letter. He writes:

1 John 3:1-3: 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. ² Beloved, we are God's children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is. ³ And everyone who thus hopes in him purifies himself as he is pure.

As children of the Living God, we know that what we will one day be is not yet, but we know that when he appears and returns for those He loves, we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is! John says that this is our hope "in Christ" and therefore we are to purify ourselves as he is pure!

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they shall indeed be filled!

Soli Deo Gloria!

Next Study: "Blessed are the Merciful"

Rev. Charles R. Biggs

9 S. Locust Street

Post Office Box 628

Round Hill, VA 20141

571.334.7420

Vol. VI, Issue 10

The Beatitudes- Matthew 5:1-12

"Blessed are the Merciful, for they Shall Receive Mercy."

We often so easily forget the mercy that God has shown to us in Christ. We deserve only God's wrath and justice for our sins, but he has offered his hand of mercy to us in Christ! What have you been given by God that you truly deserve (2 Cor. 4)? Be honest!

How do we practice mercy with others, particularly those who treat us indifferently and cruel? Are we merciful with others who sin against us? Do we reflect our Father's goodness and mercy when others sin against us? Not always! In fact, we many times ask for others to treat us and to pay us back in a way inconsistent with the gospel of Jesus Christ.

God offers to us mercy, a forgiveness that is unmerited or undeserved! We ought to offer that same unmerited and undeserved mercy back to other people who upset us- - yet it is so hard for us to do!

It is because we have not truly understood God's mercy on us! If we did, we would have not trouble (by His grace) extending hands of mercy to others!

How can we be more merciful and forgiving as a people? By the power of Christ's Spirit teaching us the deep and undying love and mercy of God to us! Let this sink into our unmerciful and unforgiving hearts:

"While we were yet sinners and enemies of God, Christ died for the ungodly!"

That's mercy! May we come to understand Mercy, mercy, mercy to others. As Jesus says: "Blessed are the merciful, for they shall be shown mercy."

"Mercy, mercy me! What an Unmerciful World!”

We live in an extremely unmerciful world! The most common way of expressing our evil design toward others when we are angry is summarized in the saying: “Don’t get mad, get even!” Most people in our age are looking out for themselves, "number one" and if you cross them, they will do what they will to get back at you. The way of Jesus is to offer mercy to those who oppose us and treat us cruelly. Although this is impossible without the merciful Spirit of God living within us, it is possible by His grace. The Apostle Paul sums up the Christian's attitude in Romans 12:

Romans 12:14-21: ¹⁴Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. ¹⁵Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. ¹⁶Live in harmony with one another. Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly. Never be conceited. ¹⁷Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all. ¹⁸If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. ¹⁹Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, "Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord." ²⁰To the contrary, "if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head." ²¹Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

At first glance, this is seems impossible, but as we reflect on God's mercy that has been shown toward us in Jesus, so we find the strength by His grace to demonstrate this kind of attitude toward those who are evil toward us.

Sometimes we see others, both believers and unbelievers, whose sins and mistakes have caused them pain. We glance around and see the consequences of others "reaping what they have sown". Do you reach out to help, or do you just say: “They are getting what they deserve?” Mercy reminds us each day that none of those who know the Lord Jesus Christ are getting what they deserve! What we deserve is eternal death and God's justice, what we get by faith in Christ is God's abundant mercy! We should remember that the next time we so easily judge another for their sins rather than teaching them to turn from their sins to the Hope we have in Jesus Christ for life!

Forgiveness- - One More Time??

What is mercy toward other people anyway? Mercy is about forgiveness- - extending a hand of undeserved grace to another- -and not just one time- - but one more time!

Remember when Peter asked Jesus "How many times shall I forgive my brother?" He presumptuously answered his own question with what he thought was a very liberal and kind "seven times?" before Jesus answered him. However, Jesus wanted him to know that if he or anyone else understood God's forgiveness, undeserving mercy toward us, we would all offer forgiveness and mercy as many times as it is requested.

This means in reality that anytime you have forgiven someone "one more time", you have not forgiven them enough. There will be probably be another time, and you must be just as ready and willing to extend a hand of undeserved grace toanother all over again! This means that the next time you offer mercy to another (one to whom you perhaps have had to forgive before), you must remember that you cannot think anything like "Well, this will be the last time for them, I've had it with 'em!"

If you think like this, you have not understood the number of times daily, no hourly, that you must return to your God with requests of forgiveness. In other words, you constantly need forgiveness and mercy from God and others will constantly need forgiveness and mercy from you! Read carefully Jesus' story in Matthew 18:

A Story of Debt Owed and Forgiven

Matthew 18:21-35: Then Peter came up and said to him, "Lord, how often will my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? As many as seven times?" ²²Jesus said to him, "I do not say to you seven times, but seventy times seven. ²³

"Therefore the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who wished to settle accounts with his servants. ²⁴When he began to settle, one was brought to him who owed him ten thousand talents (about 15 years’ wages). ²⁵And since he could not pay, his master ordered him to be sold, with his wife and children and all that he had, and payment to be made. ²⁶So the servant fell on his knees, imploring him, 'Have patience with me, and I will pay you everything.' ²⁷And out of pity for him, the master of that servant released him and forgave him the debt.

²⁸But when that same servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii (a days’ wages), and seizing him, he began to choke him, saying, 'Pay what you owe.' ²⁹So his fellow servant fell down and pleaded with him, 'Have patience with me, and I will pay you.' ³⁰He refused and went and put him in prison until he should pay the debt. ³¹When his fellow servants saw what had taken place, they were greatly distressed, and they went and reported to their master all that had taken place.

³²Then his master summoned him and said to him, 'You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me. ³³And should not you have had mercy on your fellow servant, as I had mercy on you?' ³⁴And in anger his master delivered him to the jailers, until he should pay all his debt. ³⁵So also my heavenly Father will do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother from your heart."

Notice in this story the following important points concerning mercy: 1) The amount of debt is great- -it is not merely overlooked! It costs the king a lot, yet he forgives the debt! 2) The servant could never repay his master! 3) The King was merciful and forgave him his debt!

We could never repay God for our sins! None of us! We all owe God eternal death, for Romans 6:23 says the wages of sin is death. Yet God, who is rich in mercy, extends a hand of forgiveness to us in Christ.

“We owed a debt we could not pay; Christ paid a debt He did not owe!”

Remember: Believing and actually doing are two different things! You may believe this about mercy. You may even believe that this is Biblical, but do you practice mercy? Are you an initiator of mercy? How many "owe" you a debt today that is eating you up inside? How many are you unwilling to forgive, to even call or write and extend mercy toward them? Are you greater than God? We must come to terms with our sins and face them, so that we can turn once again to the mercy of God found in the face of Christ! We must seek out, be initiators of mercy!

Mercy is a "Weighty Matter" of the Law of God

We often forget that the Pharisees were very good at achieving merely external righteousness. They "did the right thing" outwardly even if it didn't come from a pure heart (Matt. 15:7ff; 23:23ff). Remember that Jesus reminded the Pharisees and his disciples of the “weightier” or more important matters of the Law from the Prophet Micah:

Micah 6:8 He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the LORD require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness (mercy: hesed, translated “lovingkindness of God), and to walk humbly with your God?

Matthew 23:23 "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cumin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness. These you ought to have done, without neglecting the others.

“Mercy” or offering an undeserved hand of grace and forgiveness to others who sin against us is a very important and “weighty” matter of the Law! Why? The Law condemns us all! If God has shown us mercy and not just wrath and punishment, shouldn’t we show the same to others who may have broken our own personal and social laws against us?

Receivers of Mercy

We have earned God’s just wrath and punishment. The only thing we have done to merit anything before a Holy God is to earn death and wrath. But God, who is rich in mercy has offered us grace in Jesus Christ. Some of the greatest two words ever written are "but God" from Paul's Epistle to the Ephesians:

Ephesians 2:1-8: And you were dead in the trespasses and sins ²in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience- ³among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. ⁴But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, ⁵even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ- by grace you have been saved- ⁶and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus...For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God."

The very good news of the gospel is that we are not getting what we deserve because of what Christ did mercifully for us! We have been shown mercy by the Living God.

God shows us mercy and grace so that we might be saved. The Mercy Seat in the Old Covenant is where justice and mercy meet because of God’s love and mercy to sinners! In the Old Covenant blood is shed on the mercy seat as a substitution for sinners. In the fullness of time in the New Covenant, Christ himself sheds his own precious blood, not merely on the Mercy Seat, a representation of God's throne, but lays down his life before the very throne of God itself!

Do you show mercy to others? Do you say things like: “Well, they deserved it!”? Or, do you say unmerciful harsh things in more of a subtle manner, such as: “I would forgive them, but I’m not going to forget it!” Or, “I warned them so many times, and now they are getting what they deserve?

The next time you are thinking thoughts such as these, ask yourself: What about what I deserve before a Holy God? This reality should seep deep down into our heart and cause us to overflow with mercy and grace to others. You truly owed a debt that you could never in a million years repay, yet Christ in His mercy to you, paid a debt he never in a million years would have owed to God. Now, go and offer the same sacrificial mercy to others!

Soli Deo Gloria!

Next Study: "Blessed are the Pure in Heart"

Rev. Charles R. Biggs

9 S. Locust Street

Post Office Box 628

Round Hill, VA 20141

571.334.7420

Word of Encouragement

Quote of the Week

Introduction

Martin Luther came to understand the gospel from his study of the books of Galatians and Romans. In 1520, Dr. Luther wrote a book entitled 'Treatise Concerning Good Works'. This most important book (or "treatise") is still extremely relevant today. Read carefully this quotation that reveals all of our "sin underneath the Sins" that we commit each day and how we are to understand God's graciousness by faith alone! He is commenting on the first commandment:

"You shall have no other gods before me."

Luther on Our Common Idolatry

"All those who do not in all their works or sufferings, life and death, trust in God's favor, grace and good-will, but rather seek HIs favor in other things or in themselves, do not keep the first commandment, and practice real idolatry, even if they were to do all the works of all the other commandments, and in addition had all the prayers, fasting, obedience, patience, chastity, and innocence of all the saints combined...

If we doubt or do not believe that God is gracious and pleased with us, or if we presumptuously expect to please Him through our works, then all of our compliance with the Law of God is pure deception, outwardly honoring God, but inwardly setting up self as a false savior...

...Note for yourself, then, how far apart these two are: keeping the first commandment with outward works only, and keeping it with inward justifying faith. For this last makes true, living children of God, the other only makes worse idolatry and the most mischievous hypocrites on earth...

If we obey God's law without a belief that we are already accepted and loved in Christ, then in all of our "doing good" we are really looking to something more than Jesus to be the real source of our meaning, and happiness. We are trusting in our being a good parent, or being a good spouse, or our moral uprightness, or our spiritual performance, or our service to other people as our real "Saviors."

If we aren't sure God already loves us in Christ we will be looking to something else as our foundational significance and worth.

...And as this first commandment is the very first, highest and best, from which all the others proceed, in which they exist, and by which they are directed and measured, so also its work, that is, the faith or confidence in God's favor at all times, is the very first, highest and best, from which all others must proceed, exist, remain, be directed and measured..."

Soli Deo Gloria!

Pastor Charles R. Biggs

Ketoctin Covenant Presbyterian Church

9 S. Locust Street

Post Office Box 628

Round Hill, VA 20142-0628

571.334.7420

Vol. VI, Issue 11

The Beatitudes- Matthew 5:1-12

"Blessed are the Pure in Heart, for They Shall See God."

The sixth beatitude, or characteristic of Christ and His people, is being those who are pure in heart.

We live in a very compromising world. As Christians, we want to live uncompromising lives to our Lord because of all he has done on our behalf in Christ. We want to be pure in heart. Being pure in heart means to live with an undivided and loving loyalty to the LORD alone. It means to serve and love only God by His grace and His power that works within us.

Yet we do not have pure hearts completely. Even as Christians we sin daily and wrestle against our sins (Romans 7:7-25). Our hearts are polluted and Christ has come to make us pure in heart, so that we might learn to love God alone!

There are many idols that we have in our hearts. Many things we love more than God. Yet Christ is committed to smashing these idols as we surrender them to him. The pure in heart are not perfect people, they are those who have been saved by the LORD Jesus who is pure in heart and who cleanses them from sin. The great hope of those who will one day be pure in heart is that they shall see God. It is the greatest motivation to continue to ask him for strength for purity so that on that day we shall see him as He is!

As Jesus says: "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God."

Psalm 24:3-5 says: "Who shall ascend the hill of the LORD? And who shall stand in his holy place? ⁴ He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who does not lift up his soul to what is false and does not swear deceitfully. ⁵ He will receive blessing from the LORD and righteousness from the God of his salvation."

We know that the One who ultimately ascended the hill of the LORD and stands in God's holy place is Jesus Christ our Savior from sin, He is the only one who has perfectly clean hands and a pure heart!

Purity of heart

What is purity of heart? An undivided and loving loyalty from the heart dedicated to the LORD alone!

During each day of our daily walk with God, we experience what is like a walk through a hall of advertisements: everyone selling to us what we “truly need”. It’s like a walk in vanity fair, where Christian in Pilgrim’s Progress is being tempted by everything to keep him happy and healthy to distract him from fully seeking after God. It is like a visit to a country with street salesmen, everyone trying to sell you something – Our lives can be great distractions from the one thing needful, as Jesus puts it!

In our world of compromise, we can have literally “everything we want, when we want it” and not have the very thing we need the most: an undivided and loyal love from the heart to the Lord and His Kingdom!

Purity of Heart in the Old Covenant

In the Old Covenant, Israel was taught to approach God through a mediatorial High Priest who approached the presence of God in the Holy of Holies only once yearly on the Day of Atonement (Leviticus 16). God was instructing the people that if anyone was to approach a Holy God it would be with a perfect and pure heart. The High Priest approached God with a bloody sacrifice that symbolized the life that was required as a substitute in order to bring purity of heart to sinners so that they might have communion with God again.

In the New Covenant, we see the full significance of the High Priest revealed in the Old Covenant. Jesus is our High Priest who has shed his precious blood, so that we might be pure and holy, and so we might approach the Living God and all come into his presence. The Book of Hebrews has much to teach us on this Greater High Priest:

Hebrews 9:24-28: For Christ has entered, not into holy places made with hands, which are copies of the true things, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God on our behalf. ²⁵Nor was it to offer himself repeatedly, as the high priest enters the holy places every year with blood not his own, ²⁶for then he would have had to suffer repeatedly since the foundation of the world. But as it is, he has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself. ²⁷And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment, ²⁸so Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him.

76% of Americans Keep the First Commandment?

God revealed our need of a Savior and our need of a pure heart, or an undivided and loyal love from the heart in the first of the commandments: “Thou shall have not other gods before me!”

In 1993, 76% of Americans said that they “consider themselves completely true to the first commandment”. What this means in reality is NOT that 76% of Americans are true to the first commandment, but more likely that 76% of Americans don't fully understand the Gospel!! None of our hearts are fully devoted to God, and whatever at any particular time is getting our fully devotion and loyalty is an idol.

Now perhaps you don’t have idols of wood, stone, or porcelain as in other cultures in other parts of the world; perhaps you don't offer incense and prayers to a little porcelain Buddha in your home. But what does your heart desire and want so much that your heart clamors: “Give me this, or else I’ll die!”

According to secular psychologists (and there is some good we can learn from them- - ALL TRUTH is God's truth), most people struggle with four main idols (although the secular psychologists wouldn't call them idols). These four main idols are like colors, there are many variations and shades of these idols and they can be mixed like colors to form new idols. The four main "idols" of our hearts are: (1) Power; (2) Approval; (3) Comfort; and (4) Control.

In these four idols, you can find various "sins that so easily beset you" each and every day. In these four idols, you can find what takes the place of God many times in your life, on any given day. Meditate upon these four and the many variations of each of them, then try to think about how Scriptures corrects the assumptions of our idols and smashes them as we meditate upon the Word of God and bring our thoughts into captivity to our Lord Jesus!

"Good Old Fashioned" Idolatry

What must you have for life to be meaningful or happy- - money, reputation, position, respect?” At any given moment, our hearts are ready to be divided in its loyalty according to whatever we think at any given moment, will ultimately bring us happiness! So, what do you desire that if you do not have, you think you will die?

If you answer this question with anything other than God Himself that “other” person or thing serves functionally as an idol or god to you. Jesus teaches us what this means in Matthew 6 concerning serving two masters:

Matthew 6:24 "No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money. ^{25 …33}But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.

To seek anything more than the kingdom of God and his righteousness is "good old fashioned" idolatry! We need pure hearts, undivided and loving loyalty to the LORD alone, yet we are all idolaters. If you cannot think of the idols that afflict you at this moment, read this brilliant insight as to what the first commandment actually means in our daily and momentary practice, written by 120 godly men who wrote the Westminster Larger Catechism. This answer is in response to the question:

“What are the duties required in the first commandment?”

“The duties required in the first commandment are, the knowing and acknowledging of God to be the only true God, and our God; and to worship and glorify him accordingly, by thinking, meditating, remembering, highly esteeming, honoring, adoring, choosing, loving, desiring, fearing of him; believing him; trusting, hoping, delighting, rejoicing in him; being zealous for him; calling upon him, giving all praise and thanks, and yielding all obedience and submission to him with the whole man; being careful in all things to please him, and sorrowful when in anything he is offended; and walking humbly with him.”

After reading this, we are reminded that the “heart” is the seat of all of our affections – we must guard our hearts! After reading the duties required in the first commandment, I am not tempted to commend myself and my filthy works to the Living God, rather I am encouraged to repent and return unto God yet again to seek his loving grace and forgiveness!

As Christians, We Desire to Be Pure and Clean Like Our God...

…and we can be! In Ezekiel 36:25ff, God promised that he would send the Spirit of God to transform our hearts and cause us to love God and His Law.

Ezekiel 36:25 I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean from all your uncleannesses, and from all your idols I will cleanse you. ²⁶And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. ²⁷And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules.

The promise of God in Ezekiel's prophecy was that he would provide pure and clean hearts for his people. In the fullness of the times, after Christ had earned our salvation and paid our debt for sins committed against God, Jesus received the Spirit and sent it forth to cleanse His people (John 7:37-39; 1 Corinthians 15:20ff). In fact, Paul says that the work God has begun in us will be completed and accomplished when Christ returns and we are a pure and holy bride for Christ.

Ephesians 5:25-27: Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, ²⁶that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, ²⁷so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish.

How Can Our Eyes See God Who is Holy and Majestic?

Jesus says that the pure in heart shall see God. What does it mean that we shall see God?

In Exodus 33-34, Moses the Mediator of God's people in the Old Covenant, wanted to see God's face, his glory. God allowed Moses to behold his glory passing by, but not his face.

Exodus 33:18 Moses said, "Please show me your glory." ¹⁹And he said, "I will make all my goodness pass before you and will proclaim before you my name 'The LORD.' And I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show mercy on whom I will show mercy. ²⁰But," he said, "you cannot see my face, for man shall not see me and live." ²¹And the LORD said, "Behold, there is a place by me where you shall stand on the rock, ²²and while my glory passes by I will put you in a cleft of the rock, and I will cover you with my hand until I have passed by. ²³Then I will take away my hand, and you shall see my back, but my face shall not be seen."

As an Old Covenant servant of God, Moses had the privilege of talking with God closer than anyone else, but the time had not come for redeemed man to behold God face to face. No man would behold God face to face until the LORD Jesus, who was God and with God, would walk among us as man. The Apostle John explains this in John chapter 1:

John 1:1-18: In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. ²He was in the beginning with God. ³All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. ⁴In him was life, and the life was the light of men. ⁵The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it....

¹⁰He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him. ¹¹He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him. ¹²But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, ¹³who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.

¹⁴And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. ¹⁵( John bore witness about him, and cried out, "This was he of whom I said, 'He who comes after me ranks before me, because he was before me.'") ¹⁶And from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace. ¹⁷For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. ¹⁸No one has ever seen God; the only God, who is at the Father's side, he has made him known.

As his people who are indwelled by the Holy Spirit, we now see God with eyes of faith. We look on what is unseen, for what is seen is temporal, but what is unseen is eternal:

2 Corinthians 4:16-18: So we do not lose heart. Though our outer nature is wasting away, our inner nature is being renewed day by day. ¹⁷For this slight momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, ¹⁸as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.

We see God now as he is revealed in His Word and we see him with eyes of faith. One day however, we shall see him as He sees us on the Last Day! The Scriptures teach us in various places that when God renews all things, we shall behold His glory in the face of Jesus Christ- - and we shall be like him, truly like him - -pure in heart!

1 John 3:1-3: 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. ²Beloved, we are God's children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is. ³And everyone who thus hopes in him purifies himself as he is pure.

1 Corinthians 13:8-13: Love never ends. As for prophecies, they will pass away; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away. ⁹For we know in part and we prophesy in part, ¹⁰but when the perfect comes, the partial will pass away. ¹¹When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I gave up childish ways. ¹²For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known. ¹³So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.

The Beatific Vision

Historically, this great hope of "seeing God" has been called the “Beatific Vision”: The final vision of God’s glory and truth given to the blessed of the Sermon on the Mount! The pure in heart shall see God! What hope! What a motivation to serve the Living Lord alone with loving loyalty from the heart!

If you have never read St. Augustine's 'Confessions' you must do so as soon as possible (not an understatement! An extremely important book to read for Christian encouragement!). Here are some of Augustine's thoughts as he meditates upon seeing God one day. When we go through difficult and trying times, when some of the time we desire to give up, we should meditate by faith upon the face of God revealed in Jesus Christ! And how do we "see" the face of God in Jesus now? From the revelation of God's character found in Scripture!

From Augustine’s Confessions:

“Alas! Alas! Tell me of your compassion, O Lord my God, what you are to me. Say to my soul, “I am your salvation”. When I hear, may I run and lay hold of you. Hide not your face from me. Let me die, lest I die, if only I may see your face…”

Soli Deo Gloria!

Next Study: "Blessed are the Peacemakers"

Rev. Charles R. Biggs

9 S. Locust Street

Post Office Box 628

Round Hill, VA 20141

571.334.7420

Vol. VI, Issue 12

The Beatitudes- Matthew 5:1-12

[Note: I will be out of town preaching and teaching next week until the end of August. Your next issue of 'Word of Encouragement' will be sent out the first week in September!]

"Blessed are the Peacemaker, for They Shall be Called Sons of God."

“Glory to God in the Highest, and on earth, peace, good-will toward those on whom his favor rests!”

The seventh beatitude, or characteristic of Christ and His people, is being those who are peacemakers.

Christmastime is Here!

During the Christmas season we are often reminded of Scriptures from Isaiah 9 and Luke 2 that Jesus is the Prince of Peace who has come to offer salvation to those on whom His favor rests! We are reminded during the Christmas season that we have One who has come to save us so that we can be at peace with God our Creator.

In an amazing testimony to God's common grace, we hear Linus Van Pelt (that was his last name for the ill informed), declare on television broadcasts around the world, the good news of the gospel! Think about it. Since 1965, 'The Charlie Brown Christmas' special has aired on television stations and the gospel of peace has found its way into living rooms in almost every country in the world!

On this show 'The Charlie Brown Christmas', Charlie Brown wants to know what Christmas is all about! Lucy says he's suffering from pantaphobia, a fear of everything, and when he comes to the conclusion as play director that Christmas is an empty thing if it only means plays, cookies, "Christmas queeeeens", and artificial Christmas trees, Charlie Brown loses it!

At the point of his frustration, Charlie Brown yells "What is Christmas all about." Linus replies: "I'll tell you what Christmas is all about, Charlie Brown. Lights, Please." Then Linus moves into the warm spotlight on the stage and recites Luke 2:

"...And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn. ⁸And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. ⁹And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. ¹⁰And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. ¹¹For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. ¹²And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. ¹³And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, ¹⁴Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men."

It's important to note that the last phrase "peace, good will toward men" is better translated "peace and favor toward those on whom His favor rests". The reason is that unless God has shown us his favor and love in Christ while we were yet sinners, the message of Jesus is not peace and good will, but division and conflict! But to this reality, we are called by Jesus to declare the good news of God's peace found in Christ!

Peacemakers in a World of "Wars and Rumors of War"

In a world turned upside down by constant "wars and rumors of war" around the world, we are reminded by the seventh beatitude that in this age there will be times of war, but that we are to be peacemakers as sons of God. Jesus said that the last days (the time between his first coming and his return) would be characterized by wars and rumors of war (Matt. 24); this was to be expected. But in this age, peace was to be held out to all men through the proclamation of the gospel despite the response of sinful men!

The gospel is God's terms of peace with sinful man. The gospel is what we bring to the table as God's ambassadors in Christ when we discuss surrender and repentance with those who make war against God (2 Cor. 5:17-21; cf. Psalm 2). We want to implore men at this table to be reconciled to God in Christ. We want to remind them that it is not the signing of a treaty that will end their lifelong war against God and His Anointed One, but it will be the Covenant God signed and sealed in His own blood in order to keep his promises and make peace with those who will believe!

Being a peacemaker means placing our sword in its sheathe for now, but being a peacemaker in no way means that we are to be passive in times of war when our country needs us to stand up for our nation's rights or the rights of our family. What being a peacemaker actually means is to be reminded that our citizenship is ultimately in heaven (Phil. 3:20-21), and because we know the time is short before Christ returns, we offer the Gospel of peace to all men! When Christ came, he offered peace. He came to offer "comfort" and peace to Jerusalem and then to the Gentiles who would believe (Isa. 40; Eph. 2:14-17).

Ephesians 2:14-17: For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility ¹⁵ by abolishing the law of commandments and ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace, ¹⁶ and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility. ¹⁷ And he came and preached peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near.

However, Jesus always reminded his disciples that this peace would also divide and bring wars and persecution upon his people. The world cries for "peace" but the only peace they will ever find is in the Prince of Peace Jesus Christ, who has reconciled us to God our Creator by his death on behalf of sinners. The truth of our reconciliation and peace with God is taught to us in Romans 5:6-11:

Romans 5:6-11: For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. ⁷For one will scarcely die for a righteous person- though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die- ⁸but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. ⁹Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. ¹⁰For 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. ¹¹More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.

We live in an upside down hateful world at war with God and fellow men, yet it was in this context Jesus came to die for sinners…to reconcile us to our God and Creator! We must let that sink into our hearts and minds: Peace has been offered to us in Christ while we were enemies of God. This was not because of anything we did at all; it was all because of God's love and grace to those upon whom his favor rests.

In our struggle to make this good news, this gospel known to others, we should remember that “while we were enemies of God” Jesus died for us. Augustine one time said that in some mysterious way, God both loved us and hated us at the same time! We too were once were at war with God and others; once we were at war within ourselves!

By God's grace, we need to see the enemies of God, our enemies, at this point in time before Jesus returns, as the object of our evangelism, not the object of our scorn and ridicule. The day of wrath will come when Jesus returns, but now is the time to offer peace in Christ!

"I Have NOT Come to bring Peace, but a Sword"

But, Peace divides….

That is true! Jesus, the Prince of Peace said that he did not actually come to bring peace, but a sword:

Matthew 10:34-40: "Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword. ³⁵For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. ³⁶And a person's enemies will be those of his own household. ³⁷Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. ³⁸And whoever does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. ³⁹Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. ⁴⁰"Whoever receives you receives me, and whoever receives me receives him who sent me.

Jesus is making the point that although he offers real peace with God and we offer real peace with God in Christ to others, it will bring division and war! This true peace is not the kind of peace that man wants or desires. In fact, when we come to the table with the gospel, declaring God's terms of surrender found in repentance, as well as God's terms of believing the Gospel of Christ, we find a violent opposition.

The reason for this violent opposition is because the Gospel holds out to us free and eternal life in Jesus Christ ALONE, yet sinful man comes to the table to speak to God about their terms for God. Sinful man does not naturally want to surrender to the truth of the gospel because they will then have to acknowledge God as Creator and LORD of all. So, there is a violent opposition between God's terms of peace in Christ and the terms of peace sinful men bring to the table and therefore until repentance comes in man's heart, by God's grace, there will be no peace!

We should remember that Jesus was teaching this blessing of being a peacemaker in the context of Roman rule and violent oppression. Revolutionaries, bandits, and zealots all wanted to overthrow Gentile rule by force, rather than to wait upon the LORD. Jesus tells them that they are to be peacemakers now, not warriors!

The REAL War to End All Wars

In other words, we are to be evangelists for now until Jesus returns again! When the Son of God came the first time he offers peace in his Name with God, but when he returns again those who have rejected Him will see Him in all his wrath and fury. The sons of God who lived a life of persecution because they lived as peacemakers, will join our King Jesus in war to end all wars. A final war, or showdown that will bring in an eternal time of peace that will never end!

God has extended peace to those who would believe in Christ. We should remember, as well as remind others that God is a consuming fire (Heb. 12:14), a wrathful God (Nahum 1), who will not pardon the guilty (Exo. 34:6-8), yet he will extend peace and reconciliation to those who look to Christ, the Prince of Peace by faith (Romans 5:8-10). In fact, those who believe will be called "sons of the Living God".

Christ will return soon to war against those who do not believe. On that terrible Day of the Lamb (Rev. 6;19), the unbelievers who have sought peace in everything and everyone BUT the Living Christ, will find a terrible judgment and wrath. The Lamb will war against those who have falsely cried "peace, peace" when there was no true peace with God!

We as peacemakers want to be constantly reminded of our evangelistic opportunities all around us. We want to be reminded of the hope and the peace we can truly offer to those who war within their own souls, against our God and against other men! Right now, we offer peace as the sons of God, but one day there will be a war to end all wars. Now is the time of salvation and hope, the time of peace extended through the gracious message of the Gospel of the Prince of Peace! Remember how Paul describes the feet of those who bring the good news of the gospel of peace in Romans 10 (cf. Ephesians 6:13-18):

"For "everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved." ¹⁴ But how are they to call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? ¹⁵ And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, "How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!" ¹⁶ But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Isaiah says, "Lord, who has believed what he has heard from us?" ¹⁷ So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ."

"....They Shall Be Called Sons of the Living God!"

What grace! While we were enemies, God justified us, declared us righteous in Jesus Christ! The good news doesn't just stop there, but God goes on to adopt us as his children. We are called "sons", "children of the Living God" because of THE SON, our Lord Jesus Christ.

Jesus reconciles us to the Father, gives us a portion of His Spirit, so that we might be called the Sons of God. This should encourage us all when we are being persecuted (the next study) because we are offering God's terms of peace to the world in Jesus. No matter how great the struggle and the conflict here in this world, we can always be assured of our right standing before God, our status as his beloved children, and we can call out to our Father who cares in our time of trouble and be encouraged and delivered! Read carefully the words of the Apostle Paul in Romans 8 concerning our sonship or adoption!

Romans 8:14-25: For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. ¹⁵For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, "Abba! Father!" ¹⁶The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, ¹⁷and if children, then heirs- heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him. ¹⁸For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us. ¹⁹For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God. ²⁰For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope ²¹that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to decay and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. ²²For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now. ²³And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. ²⁴For in this hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees? ²⁵But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.

As children of God wait patiently for our King to return. By his grace, offer faithfully, despite violent opposition, God's terms of peace in Jesus, the great gospel of truth that has been declared to us and believed by us!

The Prince of Peace has come!

Soli Deo Gloria!

Next Study: "Blessed are the Persecuted"

[Note: I will be out of town preaching and teaching next week until the end of August. Your next issue of 'Word of Encouragement' will be sent out the first week in September!]

Rev. Charles R. Biggs

9 S. Locust Street

Post Office Box 628

Round Hill, VA 20141

571.334.7420

Dear family in Christ,

I had a former student send me a letter that was relevant to our ongoing study of God's grace, and I thought it would be helpful and thoughtful for you who are raising young men, as well as teaching young men in your congregation. If you want my opinion, this is the struggling mindset of many an evangelical young person. This is one of the messages I will be preaching and teaching next week at Lake Champion!

I have included my response to his letter because in it I have tried to distill what we can all learn about God's grace to us in Christ. I thought the correspondence would be encouraging to you because we often think we are all alone in our struggle to believe God's grace to us in Christ. I thought it also might encourage you in knowing what many young people are thinking inside themselves. Someone summed it up well last night at Bible Study: I understand this grace that God tells us about in the Bible, but HOW do we make it a reality in our lives (this is a paraphrase).

For an intro to my correspondence, this is one of my favorite students at Chapelgate. He was a 4.0 student who was respectful, worked hard, very insightful, and a great Lacrosse player! We became buddies. This is his letter to me concerning his frustrations in life. He is also (unfortunately) attends a very man-centered evangelical church that continues to tell him to do, do, do, so that God may be pleased with him. I have placed his letter to me (edited a bit), then my response. May this encourage you (again!) that God is faithful in Christ.

It's fascinating. No matter how old we are, we still want to add something else and extra to what God has done for us in Jesus!

My Student's Letter

How you doing? I hope everything has been going well over in VA. im sorry i missed that one sunday...ive been so busy lately. [my friend] isnt mowin lawns with me anymore so im doin everything myself, it takes up a lot of time. You happy over there? Cuz if your not you can always come back. I'm having some problems and id like your help. I've been makin a lot of money with lawns. I'm Messiah's number one recruit. i got really good grades last year. By all accounts ive been doing well. And i know that without God, without family and friends...im nothing. and im really feeling it.

I ask myself what im doin all the time. In Ecclesiastes it says its good to enjoy yourself on earth but true life is only found in following God's laws ( somethin like that)...and its right. But i've almost gone to far. i dont enjoy anythin anymore...im angry all the time. I don't have peace with myself cuz im always angry at somethin. I can't relax. I know what im doin (lawns, lax, school) isnt a waste of my time but ive found no fulfillment in it at all. God...thats where my heart should be and it is but sometimes it feels so stagnant. i can deal with those times cuz they are to be expected, but right now...im losin my mind.

Everything seems so drab and so boring. Everything makes me mad. i just want some peace and happiness. I'm not burned out cuz i can mow lawns and play lax and go to school...they arent chores...just arent fulfilling. I look at my future and hope that ill be a successful businessman...and i already feel the emptiness in it. Maybe i just have to many little things bothering me right now. I used to be able to let things slide...take everything in stride. but recently i cant, i get upset and i cant rest. The tim that had peace...i dont know what happened to him. I dont doubt that im out of the Lord's will and thus not havin peace in my life..cuz i really believe im doin what i should. Its just...livin life and havin fun...doesnt exist anymore.

I dont know what to do...this isnt right and im going to fix it, i just dont know how. So, if you have any suggestions id appreciate it. It could be that this is one of those low times that one goes through that you used to tell me about. Who knows. Lake Champion should be fun though and im lookin forward to it. Thanks and hopefully I'll talk to you soon.

My Letter to A Student

Hey, ________!! My buddy who ate BIG HAMBURGERS with me a couple of months ago, paid attention in my class, and only fell asleep two times (I caught ya!)

I was delighted to get your letter, my brother. Here are the thoughts from the Biggsman:

The way you described your feelings sounds like the way I get sometimes: a little lonely and blue. The world has a way of making us feel this way, but we have to remember that our feelings can deceive us. What I mean is that sometimes our feelings are just that- - feelings, when in reality things are going quite well, we just can't see the good for all of the bad feelings. Know what I mean?!

If you'll take advice from one who is constantly trying to make himself better and to do more things to improve myself, and thus feeling defeated and down when I don't live up to my high expectations, you need to rest in the LORD. Now that can be an overused phrase, but what it means is that you stop "doing" and just know that God is God. What this means is that you realize that you are accepted by God just because of Jesus, and for no other reason. Jesus was the only one who did anything worth remembering: he perfectly obeyed and loved God and his neighbor because we could not (and would not).

You believe in Jesus? Yes you do! You believe he died for your sins, was raised for your justification, is sitting at God's right hand praying for you? Then BELIEVE IT! We talk so much about what we do for God: our commitment, our this, our that, yadda yadda yadda...what we often forget is God's commitment and love for us!

Your young evangelical mind has been overloaded with "do this" and "do that for Jesus" and if you "don't do this" and "don't do that" then you are not that great! Remember what I said in class one time: "What would Jesus Do" is not the question to ask FIRST- - the question to ask is "What Has Jesus Already Done for me?!"

I had bought into this false concept of grace and salvation myself! In the great words of Al Pacino, you have to 'FAGGEDABOUTIT!' (translated "Forget-about-it). We must all learn to look to Christ for our help! He is our SAVIOR, not merely a helper so that we can be better people. He is our Savior and the one who begins a work in us and will continue this same work (Phil. 1:6). Jesus offers to those who believe the same grace when we are saved, in the midst of our living the Christian life, and will offer the same grace to us when we die! The same grace that we are justified, declared righteous by God and given Christ's righteousness based on ABSOLUTELY NOTHING we have ever done (even all those hard strivings for his approval in the Christian life).

"It is finished." (Think about it!)

What will really cause you great joy and excitement and gratitude is when you realize that you will never be more forgiven than you are now; never be more accepted; never be more loved- - -there is nothing you can do to condemn yourself, or to better yourself in the eyes of God!!!!!! What grace! Quit trying and rest in the Lord Jesus' work for you! Now, when we get ahold of this reality, it causes us to think "Hmmm, then maybe I can sin all I want!"

But no! God forbid! That is not taking into consideration the great grace that has been shown you. We are no longer slaves to sin; sin shall not be our Master in Christ! We now live lives, not of trying desperately to gain God's good favor, but gratefully living obediently by His grace and Spirit JUST BECAUSE OF THE GRACE THAT HAS BEEN SHOWN TOWARD US! (Read Romans 6-8, this was a paraphrase).

Isaiah 30:15 is a Scripture I remember often:

"In repentance and rest shall be your salvation; in quietness and trust shall be your strength."

You may be wanting to do, do, do, and not just resting in the reality of who you are because of Jesus. Jesus is literally our everything. He gives us his Word so that we can by faith believe what it says, but alas, so many times we choose to believe what we feel and not what God says.

There is only one reality: God's reality. God reveals that reality in His Word! But do we believe it? Or, do we (as many times we do) believe the so-called "reality" of our own making. The insecure and unsure and frustrating and maddening so-called "reality" of our feelings? Who are you going to believe? is what it comes down to for all of us.

Are we going to trust God and His Word, or are we going to trust feelings? I say this for effect and not to cause fear in us, but hell is full of those who had angry, frustrated, tired, and exhausted feelings of unbelief! The good news is that Jesus Christ came into this world of sin and misery to provide an "out" an "exit" by His grace, so that we could rest in him and HIS REALITY. The reality of being adopted and loved and cared for and in the warm embrace of his delightful control and sovereignty!

The French Existentialist Philosopher Jean Paul Sartre used to talk about there not being an "exit" in this world of misery. He said that the only hope we have is to choose to exist for we have no choice in the matter. Why do babies come out of their mother's womb crying? Live for a few years and you'll find out. No one asked them if they wanted to be born, and no one ever told them that this world could be tough.

What Sartre was correct about was that the world can be a challenging place; life is hard! Yet, what Sartre got wrong (desperately wrong!) was that he didn't understand that an exit had been provided. An exit of grace in a cold and lonely world where we have to settle for glimpses of God's goodness in the world and in others. The exit of grace will provide peace and happiness, but there is a pattern I am obligated to tell you about.

We commit to Jesus Christ our lives, come what may (sickness and in health, good and bad times, richer or poorer, 'til death do us part...). We go through experiences of his grace and love and constant commitment to us, then our feelings begin to line up with the truth of God's Word. Usually we look for the feelings first. We say: "I'll follow Christ when I feel like it." "I will have peace when I feel I have peace." But that is the opposite way.

In Philippians 4:4-7, Paul says to rejoice, pray, then peace will come. We commit, then experience good and bad times in this world with Jesus, then the feelings of peace comes. However, in reality the peace was always there because promises to never leave us nor forsake us.

My friend, what I am saying in all of this, is that you are quite normal. You are a young man struggling with identity, and pressure to perform, and to know a little more about your God. I don't want to discourage you, but your whole life will be learning these things. Learn to rest in Christ NOW! Learn to stop trying and performing and rest in who you are because God has loved you in Jesus and made you his son! I love ya, bro! Think about this and write me back with comments and questions:

"Trust in the LORD with all of your heart and lean not onto your own understanding. In all of your ways acknowledge HIM, and He will make your paths straight!" -Prov. 3:5-6.

God promises to direct us and make our paths straight. He wants us to believe the reality that he has revealed in His Word by acknowledging Him as Your God and Creator and Redeemer who is in control of your life!

Talk to you soon, my brother!
Mr. Biggs

The (not "a", but "the" Biggsman)

PS Look forward to seeing you at Lake Champion!

Pastor Charles R. Biggs

Ketoctin Covenant Presbyterian Church

9 S. Locust Street

Post Office Box 628

Round Hill, VA 20142-0628

571.334.7420