Oh death, where is your sting?

In the last couple of weeks, I have come face to face with death. It started with the tragic, sudden death of my uncle Jay, which certainly hit close to home, and even now is still difficult to believe. Now, famous Apple CEO Steve Jobs has died, which has been a hot topic of discussion. Halloween is also fast approaching, so retail stores are stocking their shelves with Chinese trinkets that point, directly and indirectly, to death.

I have thought a lot about death lately, and have concluded that it is a wicked (perhaps the most wicked) perversion of God’s creative order. God is Himself life. Death, by definition, is the antithesis to life, and the logical progression of a creation separated from the Author of life. Romans 5:12 says that death enters through sin. Sin is the oxygen that fuels the fire of death. To deal with sin is to deal directly with death itself.

I know someone who has become obsessed with self-preservation. Because of this, she orders her entire life around extending it. She is rigidly disciplined about what she eats, what activities she enjoys, when she sleeps, what the air quality is around her, and the list goes on and on. She holistically has ordered her life around trying to avoid the inevitable. Her situation is not unique, either. Billions of dollars is spent on life extension and preservation, and it is all aimed at preserving life with sin. Everyone agrees that life is good, and death is bad, but many fail to make connection between our dependence on the author of life, and how sin separates us from Him, which naturally results in death.

Below is the second half of my uncle’s eulogy. I attempted to bring this issue to the forefront of the minds of the individuals who were there, and show them that their only hope is to trust and treasure the death of the source of life Himself, and see His power over death in His resurrection. My only regret (though I’m not sure how I would incorporate this concisely to mainly unbelievers) is that I did not clearly explain spiritual death, of which physical death is only a precursor. Perhaps there will be more opportunities in the future. As a result of all of this, the gospel has never been sweeter to me. Take a moment now to thank God for sacrificing His own Son so we could be free from sin and death

Today, we’re sad that he’s gone. We want to celebrate his life, but no one here can miss the obvious: death is evil, and it is wrong. Everyone recognizes the fact that death is an intrusion, it’s invasive. Even though it is a certainty for all of us, we like to pretend that it doesn’t exist. I want to honor my uncle, not just by celebrating his life, but by explaining why the reality of death should not intimidate or frighten any of us. We don’t need to be afraid of it. We don’t need to ignore it!

The truth is, God created everything… and he created it good (Gen 1:31). He created us, men and women, without death. He is good to us, and gives us many good things: life, family, love, food, shelter. We owe our existence to Him. He designed this world without death, but we failed. He said to Adam, “do not eat this fruit, or you will die.” Adam did not listen, and neither do we. We impose upon ourselves death by our sin. We have all sinned against God, and death, as horrible and tragic as it is, is the result.

This is what the Bible says: “therefore, just as through one man (Adam), sin entered the world, and death through sin, and so… death spread to all men, to you, to me, to your neighbor, cousin, brother, aunt, uncle… and now, to Jay… He said this death spread to all people because all sinned. We don’t have to wonder why. We know. Of course, Physical death is only a precursor to the real tragedy, which is spiritual death, and complete separation from God.

What we need is our sin problem to be dealt with. And here’s the good news: it was! The reason Jesus Christ came, and lived the life He lived, was so He could take upon Himself the punishment for our sins, namely death. He paid the ultimate price for our freedom by taking upon Himself what we deserve because of our rebellion, and if you would turn from your sins, and turn towards Him, He will save you, and physical death will be something you no longer have to fear. Funerals truly become celebrations because we know that it is not the end. Your funeral will truly be a celebration not just because you have lived a good life, but because your funeral is only the beginning of your life.

Jesus said “I am the resurrection and the life, whoever believes in me will live, even if he dies. And everyone who lives and believes in Me will live even if he dies (John 11:25-26a). Christ died for our sins, and he was buried, and he was raised on the third day. Jesus Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those, like my uncle Jay, who are dead. For since by a man came death, by a man also came the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all will be made alive (I Cor 15:3b-4; 20-22).”

If you want to honor Jay’s death, then strike the fear of death from your hearts, in this life and the next, by turning from your sin, and trusting and believing the only one with the power to conquer sin and death, Jesus Christ.

Effectual Conviction?

Does the conviction of the Holy Spirit always lead to salvation?

One common issue that is raised in light John 16:8-11 is whether or not the Spirit’s conviction is effectual, that is, if the Spirit convicts someone, it will always result in his or her eventual repentance and faith in Christ. For this to be true, The Spirit would always have to convict someone of all three aspects, or none at all. It would mean that an individual would never be able to have a sense of their own sinfulness unless they are eventually saved. There are unbelievers in the world that seem to have a sense of their own sin, and a need for righteousness outside of their own that seek it in things other than Christ. One would be forced to answer the question of where their sense of their own sinfulness has come from if not from the Spirit.

Biblically, we are taught that the gospel is veiled to those who are perishing so they will not see the glory of Christ (2 Cor 4:3,4). There is not anything in Scripture that definitively says unbelievers will never be convicted, just that they have rejected the only True remedy for their conviction, Jesus Christ. Also, what about those who respond to the gospel message, but eventually reject it (Heb 6:4-8; Matt 13:3-9)? Are we to believe they were never convicted of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment in the first place because they have fallen away? It seems reasonable to conclude that the ministry is more evangelistic than effectual, and the conviction for some may not be a once for all, on-going conviction, but a conviction that is able to be snuffed out by the hardening of the heart through the deceitfulness of sin (Heb 3:12-19).

This is not to say the Holy Spirit lacks the power to bring helpless sinners to see nothing but the cross of Christ for salvation, but there is where the mystery lies. To say the conviction of the Spirit is effectual is to suggest that there can be no conviction of sin outside of true believers before their salvation. To say it is not effectual is to suggest that the Spirit would enlighten someone to the reality of their sin (or righteousness, or judgment), but not enough for them to see Christ as their only hope for salvation in a way that leads to true repentance and faith in Him. To ask "Why would the Spirit do that?" is similar to asking "Why doesn't God bring everyone to repentance and faith in Him?" Our task is to be sensitive to the work of the Spirit, and try to bring them to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ through His Word. What we can be sure of is we have His help! When we share our faith, the Spirit is working in us and through His Word.

The Work of the Spirit in the World.

For a paper I did recently on an aspect of the doctrine of the Holy Spirit, I choose to exposit John 16:8-11, namely, what Christ taught about the Spirit’s ministry to the unbelieving world. I was encouraged to see how thoroughly Christo-centric and evangelistic it is. I summarized the 8 page exposition in about a page, and I’m posting it here with the hope that you will be encouraged to see the grace and mercy of our Lord, which is still active through the ministry of His Spirit in the world.

The Spirit’s ministry in this passage is threefold, the first of which is the conviction of sin, which works to enlighten individuals of their spiritual condition. Individuals would not be convicted of their sin in a judicial sense if they believed in Jesus, so the Spirit convicts unbelievers of the reality of their condition apart from belief in Christ. He also, through his disciples and His Word, convicts the world of righteousness. Through this ministry, unbelievers are confronted with the futility of their own attempts at righteousness because of the unattainable and shining righteousness of Jesus Christ. His ascension to the right hand of the Father proves His righteousness to be the only acceptable righteousness. Hopefully, under this conviction, the individual will sense their need for that righteousness, and appeal to Christ, who freely gives it to those who trust Him.

The Spirit also convicts the world of judgment. The source behind the world’s system of judgment has been judged (16:11), whereas Jesus Christ is the judge (John 5:22). One may have a sense of their own sin and see their need for righteousness, but will be unable to solve the problem by changing the standards of judgment in their favor, because their ruler has been judged. Even if their own judgment declares them innocent on whatever creative grounds they may concoct (usually an elaborate system of self-righteousness, i.e. Mormons, JW’s, Roman Catholics, cultural fundamentalists, Pharisees, ect.), it will be appealed to a higher court, where Christ Himself will judge. The hope is, under this conviction, the unbeliever will appeal to the judge for mercy and ask for an alien righteousness, which, again, will be freely given to those who believe in Him. Only Christ’s sacrificial death and resurrection makes this offer possible.

Tith a what?

We have heard it before: The ultimate definition of love is "the laying down of one's life for another." When Christians hear that, they immediately think of the death of Jesus, who selflessly "laid aside His life" (died) for the benefit of His beloved. The Apostle John reiterates this in I John 3:16, and although the death of His Lord may be one thing that was on His mind, could he have been alluding to something else? If John wanted to say true love is demonstrated by the sacrificial death of someone on behalf of another, why didn't he say that? The word John uses is a Greek word, τιθημι (tith-ay-me), which simply means "to lay aside." The "laying aside" of one's life may include dying, but that is only one aspect.

What characterized our Lord was not just His sacrificial death on our behalf, but His sacrificial life. Jesus said "The Son of Man came not to be served, but to serve, and give His life as a ransom for many." He demonstrated the pattern in John 13 by washing His disciples feet shortly before His death. He set the pattern of what supreme love is. For the Savior, supreme love meant taking upon Himself the full measure of God's wrath on our behalf, but loving one another may not require a sacrificial death, but it does require a sacrificial life.

If we are to love as Jesus commands us, we must "lay aside" our lives for one another. This does not mean, as some may believe, that we can go on living our lives to please ourselves, but be willing, when the moment is right, to sacrifice our physical lives in order to allow another person to live, it means moment by moment, we sacrifice our own preferences, resources, time, energy, will, and desires for the benefit of one another. I confess to you I just read that sentence, and I'm convicted. If you are convicted, also, because you recognize your own insufficiency to love in this way, than be sure to thank your God, who loves us in this way, and is so patient with us, and may we all, by the power of His Spirit, learn to love each other that way.

The Only Wise God

Well, I haven't quite figured out how to blog my sermons yet, but I do want it to be on here. I am just going to copy my notes for now, and as I blog more, hopefully I will get it more organized. Oh, and about going to Disneyland, that is a euphemism for deciding what I will leave in and leave out in my message.

SUMMARY OF ROMANS:

The need for God’s righteousness (1:18-3:20)

The provision of God’s righteousness (3:21-5:21)

The demonstration of God’s righteousness (sanctification) (6:1-8:39)

The vindication of God’s righteousness (restoration of Israel) (9:1-11:36)

The behavior of God’s righteousness (12:1-15:13)

Conclusion (15:14-16:27)

Here is the point: you need a righteousness that is not your own. You cannot earn it, you can’t buy it, you won’t find it anywhere other than in Jesus Christ. “I am the way, the truth, and the life! No one comes to the Father but by me!” If you did not come away from this study understanding your need for perfect righteousness and God’s provision of that righteousness in His Son, than I am afraid we have done you a great disservice.

Remember, in this doxology, Paul is worshipping! He is not giving a theological treatise.

I. The Power

a. Who is able? God or man. How you answer determines how you trust.

b. He establishes

c. The power is not the message, it is the God! We do not put out faith in a book, rather, we put it in the God who wrote it. If I wrote you a letter saying you need to serve jury duty, it would mean nothing. If the state of California did, however, that would make a difference. Same words, but different authority. We believe it is important because He said it was important.

d. What is the message?

Jesus Christ, and Him crucified. It is the message Paul articulates throughout this whole book. Through His death and resurrection, Jesus Christ provides for us the perfect righteousness we need to stand justified by God. Paul says in Corinthians he was determined to know nothing among them except Jesus Christ and Him crucified. This was “Paul’s Gospel.” (read Romans 5:6-11) Paul’s gospel was not unique to Paul.

II. The Wonder: Jesus was not plan B.

a. The gospel kept secret (from long ages past)

b. The gospel revealed according to plan

God took several thousand years to weave together this gospel throughout redemptive history! And it is “by the Scriptures of the prophets” in other words, it was prophesied by them! And then, as if God was in heaven the whole time, with His finger up, just waiting, watching Abraham have Isaac, seeing the birth of a nation, watching them fall into apostasy, all the while giving clues about this coming redeemer with carefully placed prophecies throughout the whole testament, He is just waiting, and then, “at the proper time, He says “now.” This gospel happened according to the commandment of God! That is what Paul is saying, and that is why he worships! Listen to what Peter says in his first sermon: “This man, delivered over by the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God you nailed to a cross by the hands of godless men and put Him to death.” They were blind. They didn’t see it. Turn to Peter 1:10, and lets read what He says about this mystery.

This was IT. This was what they had waited for, all controlled by His command, and Jesus, through His apostles makes the gospel known to the world. This mystery, so important to Paul, is proclaimed to the world.

III. The Response: Obedience of faith.

This is new covenant language. The Jews always had a problem remaining faithful. The big difference is not just gentile inclusion, but a new heart indwelt with the Spirit of God that enables us to love God and seek after Him. (Jer 31:31,33). This should also be the natural response of everyone who hears and believes the gospel.