Trials

[Originally preached 23 May, 2004]
James 1.2-4

Our text is one that I am sure you have all encountered before. It is one of those familiar texts. But there is always more to learn and more to have applied to our hearts, even from familiar texts. So let’s see what our text has to say about how we are to live.

Let’s start with the word ‘trials’. I think that it’s fair to say that, to most people, a trial is when life gets hard for some reason. It could be anything. And the goal is simply to wait it out. Life is bound to get better again. That is, until the next time that something goes awry. That is not what James is talking about. For James, a trial is when something is being put to the test. Something is being evaluated. Think about those times when you see a trial size of some new soap. What’s the point? The manufacturer wants you to give the product a try. Put it to the test. That’s what James is referring to here. Trials are when something is being put to the test. Now, the next question, of course, is, ‘What?’ What is being put to the test? And James tells us. It’s your faith. He talks about ‘the testing of your faith’. Let’s go a little further. Who is it that is putting your faith to the test? James isn’t explicit here but from other Scriptures it is clear that it is God who is doing this. Listen to one example from Genesis. ‘After these things God tested Abraham and said to him, "Abraham!" And he said, "Here am I."’ [Genesis 22:1] Abraham is then told to sacrifice his son. God tests His people. He evaluates their faith.

Now, what is God looking for when He tests your faith? For one thing, He is asking the question, ‘Is it genuine?’ One result of a trial is seeing whether a person has true saving faith. You need to remember that there are different kinds of faith. And not every kind of faith is a saving faith. James will remind us that the demons have faith. There are things that they sincerely believe about God. But that faith will not save them. This idea of testing the genuineness of faith shows up in the parable of the four soils. ‘And the ones on the rock are those who, when they hear the word, receive it with joy. But these have no root; they believe for a while, and in time of testing fall away.’ [Luke 8:13] The rocky soil responded to the message and received it with joy. There was evidence of faith. ‘They believe for a while.’ However, a time of testing revealed the truth. Their faith was not genuine saving faith.

Now, understand what God is doing. He is protecting His Church. How weak the Church would be if it were filled with people who are without true saving faith. It would be filled with false believers. But also see in this God’s mercy to these false believers. Their true state has been revealed to them. They do not have saving faith. But that’s not the end of the story. There is still time for them to truly repent and believe with a true faith. This is a mercy to them. Then consider those who do pass the test. What an encouragement! You’ve passed the test! Your faith is real! How that shores up a sense of assurance. The trial was faced and you came through it well. Again, we see God’s goodness. The test provides opportunity for a growing confidence.

Let’s proceed to the next question. How does God test faith? Knowing the answer to this will help in your preparation for the trials that are sure to come. It is important that you see that sometimes God tests faith by sending you good things. ‘The crucible is for silver, and the furnace is for gold, and a man is tested by his praise.’ [Proverbs 27:21] The tests of faith are not always hardships. In this proverb it’s a matter of being praised for something that you’ve done. Now, that will make sense if you understand a key question that God poses at the time of testing. ‘Will you trust Me now?’ Remember that the Gospel, at heart, is a matter of two basic thoughts. First, I am weak. Because of my sin I am unable to survive. I am desperately needy. Then second, Jesus is strong. He will come to my aid as I cry out to Him in my weakness. He will rescue me from all the things from which I cannot rescue myself. These two points are behind God’s question, ‘Will you trust Me now?’ What can happen when someone is praised? Sadly, all too often, we hear what may be legitimate praise and let it go to our heads. We become proud. We become impressed with ourselves and forget all about our weakness because of sin. We forget that our only hope of success in this life is Jesus. So, by our actions, we answer God’s question with a ‘No, I don’t trust You now, because I don’t need to. I am strong enough. I am able. See, even these people think so. That’s why they have complimented me for what I have done.’ In that case, that person failed the test. That praise revealed his heart.

There are those other times when the trial does come in the form of something bad. Evil invades your life. Sometimes it’s a minor annoyance. Other times it’s much more significant than that. But the test is the same. Your faith is being evaluated. The question is the same. ‘Will you trust Me now?’ I remember a fellow seminary student recounting a situation he found himself in. He had been asked to preach at a church and he was rather excited about the opportunity. So, he worked hard on his text. He did all his preparations. He was ready to preach. Sunday comes along and he is bustling about getting himself and his family ready for the trip to the church. It was at a little distance and time was getting a bit tight, but there should be no problem getting there in time. So, his wife gets in the car. The kids are settled in the back seat. He goes to put something in the trunk and then slams the lid shut. He goes to start the car only to find that there is a problem. The key has snapped in two with the important part securely lodged in the trunk lock. That was the only key to the car, and it works all the locks, including the ignition. He cannot start his car. How will he get to the church? The people are expecting a sermon. The question of the moment is the same. ‘Will you trust Me now?’ And what made it all the more poignant was that his text for the sermon was, ‘And now we know that God works all things together for good.’ Consider another scenario. There you are at the job. You’ve been under a lot of pressure working on this big project for a very important customer. And then, something goes awry. You hit a snag. The project is going to be delayed, maybe for more than a while. So, your boss calls you in. Your company needs this customer. The long and the short of it is that he wants you to lie to the customer. Your boss has a story ready made for you. And since you are the contact person he wants you to make the phone call. Maybe you can buy a little time. Right then, your faith is being tried. You know the commandments, including that one about lying. And you also know that your future as an employee is at stake. What do you do? Again, the question of the moment is the same. ‘Will you trust Me now?’ I could list more scenarios, but the key issues are the same. First, there is your weakness and your need. That is obvious in both cases. The problem comes with the second part. Where will you put your hope? Jesus says that He is strong and will meet all your needs. Do you trust Him to do that now? Or do you somehow justify a different choice? Should my student friend give in to panic and anxiety? Should the employee give in to the pressure, lie to the customer, and then justify it, at least to himself, by appeal to his need to provide for his family? ‘Will you trust Me now?’

All this leads us to this next important question. How do you pass these tests? What do you do so that you can successfully face the trial? I have two thoughts here. The first comes out of the Lord’s Prayer. The last petition of the Lord's Prayer is ‘And lead us not into temptation.’ Now, that word ‘temptation’ is the same word in our text translated ‘trials’. And that helps us to understand what Jesus is teaching about how we are to pray. ‘Lord, I know that I am weak. If put to the test, if exposed to temptation, I know that I will fail. So, protect me, Lord. Give me the grace that I need to be able to stand when I face the trials You send my way.’ The first element in being able to pass these tests is prayer, prayer that comes out of a profound understanding of your weakness. Now, please don’t wait until you are in the midst of a trial to begin to pray like this. If you wait until then, you’ve waited too long. Pray now, before you face the trials. And be assured that your Father will grant your request. After all, aren’t you praying exactly what He wants you to pray? Will He ignore such a prayer? There will be grace to stand. My second thought comes from 1 Corinthians. ‘No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.’ [1 Corinthians 10:13] Again, the words ‘temptation’ and ‘tempted’ are our word ‘trial’. And the thought to take away from this is that when placed in some trial you need to look for the way of escape that God has provided. There is some way to deal with the trial so that you don’t fall into sin. Failure is not inevitable. So, when you are in the situation, pray that God would show it to you. Now, bear in mind that faithfully dealing with the test doesn’t necessarily mean that that student will somehow miraculously make it to the church in time to preach or even that the employee won’t lose his job. But the goal isn’t to have people think well of you. Nor is it even to keep your job. The goal is to serve Jesus faithfully. The goal is to answer, ‘Yes, Lord, I do trust You now.’ Then sit back and watch as He keeps His promises to you.

But now, we need to ask, ‘But what if I blow it? What if I fail the test?’ What if you choose to panic and become anxious? What if you opt for the lie? What if you sin? Does that mean that your faith is not genuine, that you don’t have true saving faith? Maybe it does. It all depends. It all depends on what happens next. What will you do if the Spirit nudges you and points out the sin you just fell into? He may not. He just might leave you in your blindness. But what if He does nudge you? Well, if you try to sidestep the Spirit’s prompting by minimizing your sin or even justifying it – if, one way or other, you ignore what He is pointing out to you, then it may well be that you actually are deceived about your standing before God. It may well be that you have fooled yourself into thinking that you have saving faith when you don’t. If that is your situation you may find out the truth when it is too late, on the last day when God will reveal the contents of your heart and give you over to hell. But bear in mind, if this is you, that it is not too late to repent even now.

Hopefully, that is not you. Hopefully, you will feel the Spirit’s nudge and you will acknowledge your sin. That’s a good sign that your faith is real. Being a Christian doesn’t mean that you pass all the tests. You won’t. Being a Christian means that you sincerely repent when you see that you haven’t passed a test. And this repentance isn’t some going through the motions by reciting 1 John 1.9 and then muttering some formula prayer about forgiveness. Repentance is being honest before God. ‘Father, I have sinned. I chose not to trust Christ but to trust my own wisdom and my own strength. I have no excuse and I know that I deserve hell for what I have done. But the Gospel promises forgiveness to all who turn to Jesus. Forgive me, Father, for Jesus’ sake. Grant me the grace to do better next time.’ When you feel the Spirit’s nudge remember Psalm 130 ‘But there is forgiveness with You that you may be feared.’ It is the glory of the Gospel that God forgives all who come to Him in Jesus’ name. He will always hear this kind of prayer and He will always forgive and grant grace for the next time. Repent of your sins and believe the Gospel.

You are tested every day. Usually, the tests are on smaller issues. There are those times when you hit more significant tests. And then, once in a blue moon you life is flipped upside down by a trial. Expect them. Prepare for them. Next time that you’re hit with one, I hope that you see that it isn’t just some random event, a bit of hardship that will pass if you wait it out. God is doing something. He is doing it for your good. He is testing your faith. There is more to be seen in these few verses and we’ll look at them again next time. But this is enough for now. I would encourage you to meditate on what you have heard. It may make the difference the next time your faith is put to the test.

The Diaspora

[Originally preached 16 May, 2004
James 1.1b

One of the benefits of studying the openings of the letters of the New Testament is that you can see some of the themes that the author will be writing about. Today, we look at the ‘to whom’ part of the opening. As we do, you’ll see some of what James is concerned about. I used the ESV to read our text because the NKJV translated a technical term as ‘scattered abroad’. Now, I understand why they did that. In a way, it is an accurate translation, yet it missed what James was writing. The term that I am referring to is ‘the Diaspora’ or ‘the Dispersion’. This term refers to the Jews who were dispersed or scattered abroad. The term is used in John 7.

The Jews said to one another, ‘Where does this man intend to go that we will not find him? Does he intend to go to the Dispersion among the Greeks and teach the Greeks?’ John 7:35

Over the centuries the Jews left their homeland. Sometimes it was by choice. But very often it wasn’t. Here, just think of the Babylonian exile where so many of Judah were forcibly taken away. Some did return to the Promised Land. But there were still some who did not. Those who continued to live away from Israel were called ‘the Diaspora’.

Now, why was this important? What was so critical about living in Israel? What was there that you couldn’t find elsewhere? Jerusalem was there. Remember the significance of Jerusalem. That was the only place for the temple, the only place for sacrifice. Jerusalem was important because it was the place of God’s special presence. Jerusalem was unique. And so, we read about one of the sons of the Diaspora, Daniel, and his habit of prayer. How did he do it? He opened his window facing Jerusalem and then he prayed. That was where God was and I think that it’s safe to say that that was where Daniel wanted to be.

So, James takes all of this, ‘the Diaspora’, and applies it to the Church. This is who we are. Now, does this mean that our homeland is a piece of ground in the Middle East? Is it somehow a problem that we have been separated from come city in modern Israel? No. We are separated from our homeland. But that home isn’t anywhere on this globe. Our true home is the heavenly city, the new Jerusalem. We are exiles from our true home. And this defines who we are. We are ‘the twelve tribes of the Diaspora’, the true Israel exiled from our home. We will see James bring this fact to bear in different ways as we work our way through his letter.

Now, in light of all of this, let me raise a question. What does it mean for us as exiles to live in this foreign place, far from home? Specifically, how shall we respond to this world? That may sound theoretical, but it is a question that you have already answered. You answer it every day as you make every day choices. What I would like to do is to get you to think about the ways that you answer that question and to get you to refine your answers. James will deal with this in some rather specific ways. What I would like to do this morning is to look at that more generally. My concern this morning will have to do with two extremes to be avoided as we all answer the question of how we, the Diaspora, are to live here.

There are those who understand our situation as the Church in exile and, in response, work to construct a huge wall between us and them, between the Church and the world. They establish their little Christian enclaves. These enclaves might be some little community huddled together. It might even be as small as a single family. In fact, there are some who have been called ‘homers’. Everything is centered in the home: home school, home church, home births, home business. They do all that they can to isolate themselves from the world. Some aren’t quite extreme. They recognize that they need to have a job and they need to buy things at a store. But they want to remain pure of the stain of the world and so they still try to limit their contact. As a result, those who think this way retreat from the world around them and abandon it to its coming destruction. Is this what James is pointing to in calling us ‘the Diaspora’? Is that what the Scriptures are exhorting us to do? It is helpful to note that Jesus spoke to this whole issue. Listen.

You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people's feet. You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven. Matthew 5:13-16

Jesus defines His Church as salt and light. Whatever else may be true, the Church is to be involved in the world. It pursues that involvement in order to change the world by the Gospel. How can you do that if you remove yourself from the world? How can you be faithful if your goal is to have as little contact with the world as possible? Jesus made this a part of His High Priestly prayer.

I have given them your word, and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. I do not ask that you take them out of the world, but that you keep them from the evil one. They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth. As you sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world. John 17:14-18

Jesus is clear. We are not the world. The Church is different from the world. We are the Diaspora. And yet, we have a mission. We are sent into the world. Just as the Father sent the Son into the world that the world might be saved, [John 3.17] Jesus has sent us into the world with the same purpose, that the world might be saved. So, we are not to huddle up as the Church or even as individual families, marking time until we leave this place for our true home. We have a mission while we are here. We are called to be involved in this world. We are called to change the world by the proclamation of the Gospel.

Now, I told you that there are two extremes to avoid. Now it’s time for the other. If the first extreme is emphasizing our exile status so much that we retreat from the world, the second extreme is forgetting all about our exile status and thus to become just like the world. James will speak rather forcefully to this, especially in chapter four. We need to remember that there is a fundamental difference between us and them. We are the Church. We have been redeemed by the blood of the Lamb. Our goals are different. Our desires are different. And the reason is that we have been made to be different. Our natures have been changed by the Spirit. Our Lord is not the same as their lord. We are slaves of Jesus. They are slaves of sin and Satan. When this most basic aspect of who we are is forgotten, then everything falls apart. We blend into the scenery. But how can we achieve our mission of changing the world if we are just like them? Remember Babylon, the prostitute. There have been sad times in the history of the Church when it has been hard to see the difference between the Church and the world. The desires are the same, the goals the same, the definition of success is the same. How we spend our time, our money, our energies, all look the same. There is the religious veneer and the moral stance on things. But is that the essence of the difference? Is the mission to change the world by the Gospel being accomplished or is it closer to the truth that the Church is being changed by the message of the world? While the first extreme is running away from the world, this extreme is running to join the world. So much for being the exiles of the Diaspora. In both cases, the result is the same: failure in terms of our mission.

Those are the extremes. Now, how shall we deal with them? I hope that you can see that there is a need for a delicate balance. To use an old phrase that isn’t heard nearly enough, we need to be in the world but not of it. This place is not our home. The hopes and dreams and goals of this place ultimately make no sense for us. We are different. And yet, we are called to be engaged with what is going on in this place. We are called to be salt and light. In the world but not of it. That is a difficult balance to establish and then maintain. You can get a sense of how balanced we are by examining how we are doing at our mission of bringing the Gospel to bear on people’s lives. Let’s examine that a bit.

Each week I bring the Gospel to bear on your lives. I do that not because I think that you aren’t converted. I do that because there is more of the Gospel for you to grasp. For one thing, there is more sin in your lives to be identified and repented of. Hopefully, you’ll see that as we move through James. Consider his list of topics: lust, hearing the word but not doing it, faith that is all talk and no show, tongues that are out of control, conflict within the Church, your prayer life. There is more sin to be identified and repented of. But that leads to the second part of the Gospel. There is more of Christ to be believed and embraced and enjoyed. The responsibility imposed on me is to apply the Gospel to you. The responsibility imposed on you is that you take what you hear and apply it to yourselves and your families. You men who are heads of households are especially responsible to see this happen. Are your wives getting it? Your children? As you look over the past, do you see more sin being revealed and repented of in you family? Do you see Christ becoming more precious to your family as faith in Him grows? Notice what happens as this takes place. First, the difference between us and them becomes more obvious. And that isn’t because of some superficial differences. It’s because we are believing the Gospel more. It is becoming clearer to us that this isn’t home. We are exiles here. Our hopes and dreams are not rooted here. But then, secondly, as we bump up against the world in the normal routines of daily living, the Gospel that we are believing more will make itself felt. The differences of the goals and choices and desires for ourselves and our children will become more and more obvious. Our understanding of what is good and right will grow and show itself. Our disdain of the trinkets of this world will be evident, not because we will be critical of others but because we won’t choose like the rest. To be sure, some people will be put off by all of this. We will seem strange and even threatening. But there will be those who will be attracted to what they see. They will be attracted as they see Jesus being formed in us. They will come wanting to have what we have. And we will see progress in our mission. The balance is being established and maintained.

In all of this you’ll notice that I have not been very specific when it comes to the ‘how to’ part. There is a reason for that. There is no formula for establishing and maintaining balance. You are different people in different situations with different abilities and different callings. You touch the world in different ways. There is no formula for me to give you as a group so that each of you can mechanically apply it to your slice of the world. But this doesn’t mean that everyone goes off on his own to figure out this balance. You will not be able to discern on your own what balance will look like in your life. You need the rest of the saints. And that’s true for a couple of reasons. We need each other because Satan is crafty. He will deceive you into one extreme or the other and you won’t even know that it’s happening. You need the rest of the saints to keep an eye on you and to warn you if it appears that you are falling to one side or the other. Another reason that you need the rest of the saints is that it takes wisdom to maintain that balance in the details of life. It takes wisdom to properly pursue the mission. One important way that God gives wisdom is through the insights of others who have worked through the same issues that you are dealing with. So, what is Men’s Group about? It’s a bunch of guys working to figure out how to be engaged with this world as a man without falling into some extreme. Right now the specific area is how to be a husband. We’ve all heard the world’s take on that. Now, we want to know what the Gospel has to say. What is the Women’s Group, WIC? It’s the same thing for the women. How do you establish and maintain the right balance as a Christian woman? By looking at the Scriptures, sharing their experiences, encouraging one another, these women are working at getting some answers to that question. It’s the same with the other things that we do as a church, even the luncheon. We need each other if we’re going to make it. Thinking that you don’t need to rest is just evidence that you’re on your way to an extreme.

As we work our way through James, you’re going to be challenged. He will speak about specific areas where balance is needed. Please be praying that the preaching of the Word will provide some guidance so that you will be able to avoid the extremes and accomplish the mission.

James: A Servant of Christ

[Originally preached 9 May, 2004]
James 1.1

Today we begin our series on James. I’ve chosen this book because it is very practical and, unlike Revelation which we just finished, rather straightforward. There are no mystifying images to unpack. But that isn’t to say that this epistle won’t have its own challenges. James can be quite pointed at times. He writes the kind of things that we don’t hear from many pulpits these days. He must have been quite an individual. It will be good to meet him. Depending on what he is wearing, he may not be all that difficult to spot. He prayed so much that his knees became rather disfigured. His nickname was ‘Camel Knees’.

Our text is the opening of the letter. The custom of the day was that the opening of a letter would contain from whom and to whom the letter was sent. In the biblical letters that we have more was usually added to this opening. In fact, the ‘from whom’ part of the letter that the Apostle Paul sent to the Christians at Rome goes on for six verses! But James was much briefer than this. And yet, what we have is more than just his name. In this opening James describes himself as ‘a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ’. It’s this description that we are going to focus on this morning.

There are several Greek words that can be translated ‘servant’. One is used of someone who worked in a house. Another emphasizes the priestly work being done. Then another stresses ministering to the needs of others. The word in our text is used of slaves. This is how James describes himself. He is a slave of God and of Christ. In a way, this is the basic description of every Christian. We are all slaves to Christ. In fact, Jesus was quite clear about this. Listen to something that He said. “And he called to him the crowd with his disciples and said to them, ‘If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.’ ” [Mark 8:34] It’s as if Jesus were saying, ‘Do you like what you are seeing and hearing? Do you want to be one of Mine? Good! But understand what’s involved: self-denial. The bottom line is this. If you are going to be one of My disciples then it isn’t a matter of what you want. It all boils down to what I want. If you are going to be one of Mine, then be ready to take on the life of a slave with Me as the Master.’ That was Jesus’ evangelistic preaching. Being a Christian means being a slave of Christ.

We see the same theme in Paul. ‘You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.’ [1 Corinthians 6:19-20] That is a profound thought: ‘not your own’. ‘You don’t own yourself, Christian. You’ve been bought just as slaves are bought in the market. But the price for you wasn’t mere gold or silver. It was the precious blood of Christ.’

The basic understanding of Christian discipleship is this: slavery to Christ. Sadly, that is not a very common description within the Church these days. Many are uneasy with thinking of themselves in terms of slavery. That may be because of some misunderstandings. Let me mention two things here that might help. For one thing, Jesus isn’t some tyrant. We are slaves of a good Master. And one of the things that makes Him a good Master is that He understands what it means to be a slave. As Paul tells us, He ‘emptied Himself and took on the form of a slave’. And that wasn’t just some theoretical notion for Him. We see Him dealing with submitting as a slave in the Garden of Gethsemane. ‘Not My will but Thine be done.’ That is the attitude of a slave submitting to his master. Jesus understands how it feels to be a slave, and so He isn’t going to be overbearing when it comes to His own slaves. He understands, so His commands will not be harsh. Listen to something else that He said.

Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light. [Matthew 11:28-30]

This is His tender call to the weary. He offers rest. But do you see the requirement of those who would come? They must submit to His yoke. That’s just a different way of saying that any who come need to become His slaves. Slavery to Christ is not oppressive. He is not a harsh master. Being one of His slaves is the way to rest and peace.

There’s another thought for those who are uneasy with the idea of slavery. Everyone is a slave. It is unavoidable. You are either a slave of Jesus or you are a slave of sin and Satan. Jesus said, ‘Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who commits sin is a slave to sin.’ [John 8:34] Paul talks about the lost as those who have been captured by Satan to do his will. [2 Timothy 2.26] So, no one is really independent. We are all slaves of someone. The question isn’t, ‘Will I surrender my independence and become someone’s slave?’ Rather, the question is, ‘Whose slave will I be?’

It is important to work through this idea about slavery because our culture is rather antagonistic to any notion of slavery or submission. The rampant assumption of our age is, ‘I am my own boss. I am here for me. I will establish goals and I will achieve them and in this way I will enjoy my life.’ That is the independent spirit that is so popular. Now, there are two problems with this. First, this independent spirit is actually a rebellious spirit. It rebels against Christ who is Lord over all. This rebellious spirit isn’t limited to those outside the Church. It coexists quite easily with a religious mask. And sometimes it is so well hidden that even the religious person with this rebellious spirit doesn’t see it. But it can be identified. Is there ever a time when your heart reacts against something in a sermon or in a passage of Scripture that you’re reading? You sense the demand that is being made of you and there is something in your spirit that says, ‘I don’t like that!’ So, you try to side step the point or redefine it so that it doesn’t touch that particular part of your life that you want for yourself. One way or another you try to ignore that nudge of the Spirit. And if that part of Scripture is really being pressed home, maybe during an elders’ visit or something like that, there is something inside of you that quietly but firmly states, ‘No, I won’t.’ That’s how someone can identify a rebellious spirit. But can a slave say no to his master? Obviously, something must change. Either the charade of being a Christian must go or, better, there needs to be growth in submission to Jesus as Lord and Master of that person’s life.

There is a second problem associated with an independent spirit that refuses to submit as a slave. It runs the risk of bitterness. The person with that independent spirit will set up goals for himself. But what if some cherished goal isn’t achieved? What happens if part of this person’s picture of a good life is missing? He was determined to have this part. Maybe it was having the model family or a particular kind of retirement or the sense of safety that money in the bank offers or even a certain quality of health. What if Jesus as Master says ‘No’ to that goal? Then we have conflict. ‘But I want this! I demand to have it! I have a right to it. Others have it. Why not me?!?’ But all the anger notwithstanding, that piece of the picture perfect life is still missing. What happens then? Resentment. This person’s will has been crossed. His desire has been thwarted and this precious goal remains unachieved. This is the recipe for deep bitterness. And there are many ‘good Christians’ who are bitter. They keep it down and almost completely out of sight, but it shows from time to time. But what is a slave supposed to say? ‘Not my will but Thine be done. Behold, the handmaiden of the Lord. Be it done unto me according to Thy word.’ In all of this give special attention to your children. They are surrounded by a culture that refuses to submit as a slave to anyone. And don’t think that they aren’t affected by it. The key to teaching your children to submit to Jesus is submitting to Him yourselves. James understood this notion of submitting to Jesus. It resulted in his being martyred for the faith. The point isn’t for you to get ready to be martyred. The point is for you to be more and more willing to hear Jesus say, ‘No’ to some cherished goal or desire. The point is for you to grow in submitting your will to His will, knowing that He is a good master and that His will for your life is better than what you can understand.

There is more to James’ opening. There is another aspect to his description of himself as a ‘servant of God’. Here, we look back to the Old Testament where we find this phrase used. There were some specific people who were labeled ‘servant of God’. They included Moses, David and prophets. Those who received this label were leaders among God’s people. James is drawing from this Old Testament use of the phrase. In doing this, he is making a claim to authority over the people of God. That’s a fairly bold thing to do. But it is a necessary thing to do. Why should the Christians who received this letter listen to what he has to say? It’s not as if they could say, ‘Oh, here is an inspired letter from James.’ It wasn’t recognized as part of Scripture when it was first sent. James is going to be taking his readers to task in this letter. There are going to be some rather blunt criticisms and some bold commands. Why should those early Christians heed what he has to say? Why should they take his words to heart and obey them? It’s because he is a servant of God. As such, he has authority from God to teach the people. And so, the people who read this letter had better heed what he writes. It’s a part of their submitting to Christ as faithful slaves. And that group of people who need to heed what he writes includes us.

This second perspective on James’ opening words is tied to the first. In the first part I stressed the call to being a slave of Christ, the call to submit to His will in all of your life. This second part, seeing the authority of James, explains one key way to discern what that will is. It is through His Church. It is through those in the Church who have received authority from Christ. It’s through the pastors and elders of the Church. I realize that this is a fairly bold thing to say. It will certainly bump up against the independent spirit of the age. But it is Scriptural. Listen to another place where this same perspective on the authority of Church leaders shows up. ‘Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they are keeping watch over your souls, as those who will have to give an account.’ [Hebrews 13:17]

Is this a blank check for pastors and elders? No. Their authority is defined and limited by the Scriptures. Can any pastor or elder assert this authority alone? No. Pastors and elders are to function as a group. Are the decisions of pastors and elders of a particular congregation final? No. This is part of the beauty of being Presbyterian. There is always opportunity for appeal to a larger group of pastors and elders. Are you to submit to pastors and elders because it is assumed that they are always right? No. Pastors and elders make mistakes. They are always learning. But, having said all of that, has Jesus granted pastors and elders real authority in the Church? Yes. And the purpose of that authority is to help you understand the will of Christ for your life so that you can obey it as a faithful slave and in this way flourish. And so, being able to fulfill your calling to be a slave of Jesus is only possible as you submit to the authority that Christ has given to the pastors and elders of His Church. Is that a statement that is fraught with danger and filled with possibilities for error and abuse? Absolutely. So, you might hear what I’m saying and come away saying, ‘I see the point he’s making. I see where he gets if from the Scriptures. But I still have some questions that I would like to have answered.’ That’s fine. That’s the spirit of the Bereans who listened to Paul and then consulted their Bibles to check it out. Discussing questions with open Bibles and open minds is always a good thing. But, on the other hand, if anyone reacts against this teaching, not because of biblical convictions but just because it grates, then the question needs to be asked, ‘Is that evidence of an independent and rebellious spirit?’ Be careful.

We are all learning what it means to be ‘slaves of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ’. And so, we all need to pray. Pray for yourselves, that the Spirit would give you understanding of these things, that He would expose any possible areas of your heart where you aren’t willing to submit to the Lordship of Christ and that He would give you the grace of repentance and faith. Pray that you would grow as a slave of Jesus and would serve Him well. And then pray for the elders and myself. We have a lot to learn about properly using this authority from Christ. Pray that we would use it wisely so that we might honor Christ and be a blessing to each of you.

Revelation In Review

[Originally preached 18 April, 2004]
Revelation 22.7

Today, we come to the end of our study of the book of Revelation. I have found it a very interesting and an especially helpful study. I have also found the book to be very practical. I hope that you have been helped by it also. Out text brings the book to a close in the same way that the book began, with an offered blessing. [See Revelation 1.3.] Like all blessings of God, this one is conditional. Our receiving the blessing depends on what we do. According to our text, the blessing will be granted to those ‘who keep the words of the prophecy of this book’. We are again confronted with the practicality of the book. The blessing is for those who believe the message that Revelation presents. And this belief will show. Keeping the words of the prophecy will change how we live. This is a far cry from using the message of the book to speculate about the future.

One of the themes of another very practical book, Proverbs, is the foolishness of the simple. These are people who are without insight into life. They are naïve. Without this insight, this wisdom about the ways of life, the simple are easily led astray into death. The prophecy of Revelation is Jesus’ offer to the simple. It is His offer of discernment so that you might not be fooled and led into death. That’s the blessing and it is the possession of those who hear the message and grab onto it. These believe what Jesus has to say here and live accordingly.

Now, we’re ready for our first question. What is the message? What are you to grab hold of? One way to summarize at least part of the message is to say that things are not what they appear to be. We see the events of life unfold before our eyes. There are births and deaths, being hired and being fired, times of health and times of sickness. There is prosperity, struggle and stress. We can see all of this. What Jesus wants you to know is that there are unseen things that are also happening, and if you leave the unseen part out of the equation then you’re not going to properly understand the parts that you see. To impress this on us the book of Revelation uses striking images. We’re going to look at a few of the key images to summarize the point of the book. In this way I hope that you will be blessed as you keep the message.

Let’s start with the original recipients of the letter, the seven churches of Asia Minor. And what is the image associated with these? The seven lampstands. These seven churches are lights in a very dark world. These churches were called to shine brightly with the Gospel. How were they doing? How should we assess the state of these churches? Well, there was the church at Ephesus which stood solidly as a protector of orthodoxy. There was the Laodicean church that was obviously prospering. There was also the church at Sardis that had a reputation for being a lively church. It appeared that things were going well. And yet, things were not what they appeared to be. In reality, the seven churches were not doing at all well. Most were rebuked for failing in some way. In some cases, the failure was quite serious. Jesus threatened to remove some of them from being counted among His churches. Two of the churches that were commended without any rebuke, but one of them, the church at Smyrna, was about to enter a time of persecution. And about the other, the church at Philadelphia, Jesus said, ‘I know you have but little power.’ These seven churches weren’t any powerhouses, ready to bring about great change in the Roman Empire. What is obvious about these churches is their weakness. Even the faithful churches were weak, though not because of any fault of their own. So, what we have are seven little flickering lights in a very dark place. But it is this element of weakness that always is the starting point of great things for the kingdom. Jesus used weak, sinful and repenting churches to change an empire. And He didn’t do it by making them strong first, but by using their very weakness. ‘My power is made perfect in weakness.’ [2 Corinthians 12.9] There are important lessons for the modern church here.

That moves us to another image, the fierce dragon of chapter twelve. Here, we see Satan, along with his cohorts, with great power and authority. But then, as you read through the chapter, you see that he is thrown out of heaven. The authority that he once had has been taken from him. But this is not the end of our ancient foe. We hear the warning at the end of the chapter.

Then the dragon became furious with the woman and went off to make war on the rest of her offspring, on those who keep the commandments of God and hold to the testimony of Jesus. Revelation 12:17

This is a basic, unseen aspect of this life. You have an enemy. For most of you that is an odd thought. You are used to being liked by most and getting along adequately well with the people around you. When you read the psalmist praying about his enemies you’re not sure how to apply that. But Jesus warns us here. You have a sworn enemy who hates you and is determined to get you. And so, he is waging war against you. But life seems to be going along fairly well. There are some bumps in the road but who doesn’t have that. And your expectation is that life will continue to go fairly well, bumps and all. But things are not what they appear to be. In actuality, you are in the middle of a battlefield. The bullets are flying and the bombs are exploding. You are locked in battle with an enemy who will never give up, never surrender. He will keep at you for as long as he has breath. The dragon hates you. Don’t forget that. It may cost you your soul if you do.

This, then, leads to the next images. These are the agents that the dragon calls forth to fight his battles. It’s the beast, the false prophet and Babylon the prostitute. These are the means by which the dragon will wage his war against you. And remember that his goal is not to kill you. Rather, he is trying to recruit you. His goal is for you to conform to the rest of humanity, to give up your loyalty to Jesus and to join his rebellion. It doesn’t matter to the dragon if you still talk like a Christian and even make it look as if you are a Christian. All of that doesn’t matter to him as long your heart has been turned. You’ve given in to the pressure. It’s clear that Jesus is not Lord of your life.

So, first, there is the beast. This is the different institutions of our world that use power to get you conform. The beast might use the laws of the state or the rules of the guild. But it always uses power to confront you and pressure you to conform. Then there is the false prophet. He has the same goal as the beast but his methods are different. He doesn’t use brute force. Rather, he uses ideas to persuade someone to conform. The false prophet will try to get you to think about life in a certain way. If he is successful, then it will much easier to get you to yield to the threatening power of the beast. The false prophet is rather subtle but very persuasive. And he spends extra time on the children. Beware of the power of ideas. Then there is Babylon the prostitute. She uses neither brute force nor subtle thinking. Her weapon is pleasure and comfort in their different forms. She offers to make life is very enjoyable by means of the things of this age. Note who it was that wept when Babylon fell. ‘And the merchants of the earth weep and mourn for her, since no one buys their cargo anymore.’ [Revelation 18:11] Babylon offers a pleasant life to all who will conform, to all who will forget the Gospel and find their pleasures in this world.

Satan wages his war against you today. This is part of the unseen reality of this world. Do you see your enemy? Do you understand how he functions? Are you discerning how the beast, the false prophet and Babylon are working on you even now? Or are you among the simple? ‘Blessed are those who keep this message.’

It is here that we must recall another image. This is from chapter five.

And one of the elders said to me, "Weep no more; behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has conquered, so that he can open the scroll and its seven seals." And between the throne and the four living creatures and among the elders I saw a Lamb standing, as though it had been slain, with seven horns and with seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth. Revelation 5:5-6

If it were a matter of a few weak churches trying to shine their puny candles in the face of the ferocious attacks of an enraged dragon along with its powerful agents, then we should all give up. There is no hope of winning such a war, and it’s silly to even try. But Revelation is careful to make it clear that that is not the situation. Things are not what they appear to be. Jesus, the Lion of Judah, reigns over all things from His Father’s throne. Whatever happens, good or evil, happens because Jesus wants it to happen. Do you remember the four horsemen chapter six? They represented war, social conflict, famine and death. Who sent them? They go forth at Jesus’ command. Who caused the hail and fire to fall on the earth and unleashed the devils from the bottomless pit? They were all sent at Jesus’ command. But who has caused the Church to be kept safe, sealed by baptism, protected from the dragon’s plots? The Church is sealed at Jesus’ command. Revelation makes clear the weakness of the Church and the rage and power of the dragon, and we need to take those things seriously. But it also makes clear that Jesus is Lord. He is the one who rules over this world. So, as you look at what can be seen, the events of every day, and then look further to see what cannot be seen as the beast, the false prophet and Babylon do their worst, you need to look still further. Jesus is at work. Everything is going according to plan. Jesus is Lord!

Having said all of that, it doesn’t take away from the fact that life for the saints is hard. Yes, the seal of God is upon us. We know that from our baptism. But that doesn’t mean that we will have an easy life. We won’t, not if we strive to be faithful. Life for the saints will be hard. That leads to our last image.

And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. Revelation 21:2

This image is here to remind us of some very important things. It reminds us that one day will be our wedding day. One day the Church will be complete, adorned in beauty for her husband, Jesus. One day the warfare of this life will be over. No longer will we have to deal with the beast, or the false prophet or Babylon. No longer will we face the rage of the dragon. No longer will we have to suffer with our own sin. One day there will be a new heavens and a new earth, ‘for the former things have passed away’. It may seem, at times, that life will go on like this forever. But remember that things are not what they appear to be. This image is intended to encourage us as we fight this war. Yes, it’s hard. Life feels like a non-stop battle. Yes, there are casualties and struggles and pain. But a day is coming when all the tears will be wiped away, the healing will begin. There will be the river of life flowing through the holy city that will satisfy our every longing. And the Church will no longer be the bride of Christ, but rather His wife. And that marriage will last forever. This is the hope presented to the people of God. This is what is promised to us, if we keep the message, if we grab hold of it and, by the grace of God, believe it with all we’ve got.

This is the message of Revelation. Are you keeping it? Do you believe this message? Do you believe the message of weakness and struggle and warfare; of the Lordship of Jesus; of the hope of the age to come? If you do, then you will be blessed.

Jesus Is Coming

[Originally preached 4 April, 2004]
Revelation 22.6-7

We are just about finished with the book of Revelation, and yet we haven’t really discussed Jesus’ second coming. Most folk would probably find that odd since they think that Revelation is about the end of the world, the high point of which is the return of Christ. I hope that you see that Revelation is about more than the end. It’s about today as it leads up to the end. It seemed apt, though, before we finish with this book, to talk about Jesus’ return. It is, after all, one of the key doctrines of the faith. And, sad to say, many of even the key doctrines of the faith are not well known within the Church. In our text we have another of the precious promises of our Lord Jesus. In this one, He promises to return. Let’s take some time to look at what that’s about.

Let’s, first, look at the basic facts about Jesus’ return. For one thing, Jesus’ return is going to be a physical and visible event. There are some who deny this, claiming that His return is a spiritual thing, by which they mean an invisible event. They are just wrong. Listen.

And when [Jesus] had said these things, as they were looking on, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight. And while they were gazing into heaven as he went, behold, two men stood by them in white robes, and said, "Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven? This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven." Acts 1:9-11

The eleven saw Jesus physically rise. They watched Him go up until they could see Him no more. The message of the angels was clear. Jesus will return in the very same way. So, one day this same Jesus will float down from the skies. He won’t be alone. There will also be angels and those saints who have already died floating down with Him. And whoever is alive then will be able to see Him. Jesus’ return will be a physical and visible event.

Let’s move on. When Jesus does return, that will be the end of history as we know it. At that time there will be the resurrection of the dead. All those who previously died, whose spirits were separated from their bodies, will have resurrection bodies joined again to their spirits. This will be true of everyone, the saints and the lost. Those who, at that time, are still alive will have their bodies instantly transformed into resurrection bodies. After that, everyone will be evaluated by God. Then the saints will enter an eternity of bliss in the New Jerusalem while the lost will endure an eternity of torment. And so, Jesus’ return is the last event in the redemption of the people of God. It brings to a successful close God’s work of delivering His people from sin and death.

Next, the Scriptures are clear that the time of Jesus’ return is not known by any living person. Jesus is quite unmistakable about this.

But concerning that day or that hour, no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. Be on guard, keep awake. For you do not know when the time will come. Mark 13:32-33

Through the ages there have been those who have thought that they know better and have tried to fix the date of our Lord’s return. They know about the verses that I just read, and they try to get around them by saying that the verses only say that we won’t know the day or hour. They claim that the verses say nothing about the year. And so, every so often, we hear about some new book that claims to know the year of Jesus’ return. If you ever encounter something like this just ignore it. Jesus is clear enough. No one on this earth knows when He is returning.

There are, though, some signs of His coming. We saw in Revelation 20 that Satan will be loosed from his prison right before the end. At that time he will be able to deceive the nations just as he was able to do before Jesus’ death and resurrection. Jesus also warns us about the rise of false prophets and the falling away of many in the Church right before He returns. The situation for the Church will get quite difficult because of what is going on within the Church as well as outside of it. But these signs are not offered to help anyone’s guessing game. They are given to encourage the saints. When we see these indicators we can know that the end is near. Yes, life for the saints will get especially difficult then, but we will be encouraged to persevere since it will be clear that Jesus’ return is soon.

Those are the basic points: Jesus’ return will be physical and visible. It will be the last event of God’s work of redemption, bringing in eternity. We don’t know when Jesus will return, but when the signs of His coming become clear we can be encouraged to hold on for just a little longer.

Now, let me raise a few related thoughts to develop these basic considerations. The first one is based on something that the Apostle Paul wrote.

For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age, waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ … Titus 2:11-13

Paul describes us as ‘waiting for our blessed hope’. He uses language that describes someone who is so very eager for something to happen. And what is this blessed hope that we are eagerly awaiting? Some within the Church are not eagerly awaiting anything. They define themselves in terms of the things of this world and want to be enjoy those things for as long as possible. These have foolishly tied themselves to the fading pleasures of this fallen world. But then there are those who do better. They are eagerly awaiting the day when they will die and be able to get to heaven. These do better, but they have missed important teaching of the Scriptures. Before I wrote this sermon, I fit into this category. But think about it. The Scriptures never hold up dying and arriving in heaven as the goal. That isn’t the ‘blessed hope’. Paul tells us what it is. It’s the ‘appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ’. The blessed hope is the return of Christ. Consider when the Thessalonian Christians asked Paul about those saints who had died. What comfort did Paul offer? Did he say, ‘You’ll see them in heaven’? No.

But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope. For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep. 1 Thessalonians 4:13-14

Paul points them to second coming. Getting to heaven isn’t the goal. Jesus’ return is the goal. Even though we will see the departed saints when we leave this place and enter heaven, that’s still not the goal. Now, why is that?

First, you need to see that getting to heaven is only part way to what God intends for you. Listen again to Paul.

For we know that if the tent, which is our earthly home, is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. For in this tent we groan, longing to put on our heavenly dwelling, if indeed by putting it on we may not be found naked. For while we are still in this tent, we groan, being burdened--not that we would be unclothed, but that we would be further clothed, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life. 2 Corinthians 5:1-4

One day our present physical bodies, our ‘tent’, will be destroyed. We will die. We will then go to be with Christ. But at that point it’s as if we were naked. We don’t have a body. All will be right, though, when instead of being unclothed we are ‘further clothed’, when we receive our new body. Then we will have reached the final goal. Getting to heaven is only a way station. The goal isn’t heaven after we die. The goal is the New Jerusalem after Jesus comes back. Then we will be fully redeemed, both body and soul.

There’s another reason why our blessed hope isn’t just heaven. Thinking about dying and getting there actually can be quite selfish. It’s too individualistic. It is saying, ‘At least then I will get clear of this mess.’ But that isn’t the Gospel. That’s just thinking about yourself. The Gospel also calls us to corporate concerns. Right now part of the Church is in heaven. Their labors are over. But part of the Church is still on this earth in the midst of their labors, dealing with the warfare and the suffering. Imagine you and your family taking a boat ride across Lake Erie. On the way, in the middle of the lake, some catastrophe occurs and you all end up in the water. Here comes a Coast Guard helicopter. You happen to be the first they hoist up out of the water. What are your thoughts? Do you say to yourself, ‘Well, at least I’m safe and sound’? I hope not. I can’t help but think that you’d be wondering about the others. Are they okay? Will they be safely hoisted up and out of the water? The goal isn’t that I make it safely to heaven. The goal is that we all make it to the New Jerusalem. And that isn’t going to happen until Jesus returns. The goal isn’t just heaven for me.

But then there is a third reason why getting to heaven isn’t the goal. And this is the most important. Whatever the issue confronting us, the key concern is always that Jesus receive the glory. That applies here as well. When will Jesus receive the glory that is His due? It’s when He comes back. It’s only then that ‘every knee will bow and every tongue confess that Jesus is Lord’. For us Christians, all of life is our striving to bring glory to our faithful Savior. My getting to heaven is insufficient for that goal. But His returning here to the happy cheers of the saints and even the reluctant praises of the wicked, that is the time when He will receive His due. Jesus’ return is the goal. that is the blessed hope, not just getting to heaven.

All of that leads to this. You have a role to play in the return of our Lord. What you do matters here.

Since all these things are thus to be dissolved, what sort of people ought you to be in lives of holiness and godliness, waiting for and hastening the coming of the day of God… 2 Peter 3:11-12

We can hasten the day of the Lord’s return. I know that it sounds very odd. After all, the day of His return is set already, isn’t it? How can we make any difference in that? But that’s what some say about evangelism and election. ‘The number of the elect is already set. Why bother doing evangelism? It won’t make any difference.’ But as you know, doing evangelism does make a difference. Likewise, what you do affects the timing of Jesus’ return. You can hasten His coming. That fits with some other things in the Scriptures. Remember when we looked at the seven trumpets in Revelation 8? I told you that what started those trumpets sounding was the angel taking the censer filled with incense and throwing it on the earth. And what was the incense? The text even told us. It is the prayers of the saints. I told you then, as I tell you now, that your prayers make a world of difference in what happens on this earth. They can even hasten the day of His coming. At the end of his second letter to the Corinthians Paul writes, ‘Maranatha’. That’s Aramaic for ‘Come, Lord’. John writes the same thing at the end of Revelation. ‘Come, Lord Jesus!’ Is this wasted ink, a useless prayer, pointless sentiment? I think not! What you do – including your prayers – makes a difference even when it comes to the return of Jesus. This week I’ve added this request, ‘Maranatha’, to my prayer list. Maybe this is something you should do, too.

One last thought about Jesus’ return. So, often when the Scriptures point to the Lord’s return there is the exhortation to be ready. Jesus is coming back. Be prepared. It may happen in your lifetime. So, be ready. But how do you do that. It isn’t complicated, though many make it so. Being ready simply means fulfilling your calling according to the will of God. For those of you who have been called to be mothers, pursue it vigorously, invest your time wisely, so that you can raise up a Godly seed to take your place. For those of you out in the workplace, work hard to do a good job, confident that in this way you will bring honor to your Lord. To those of you who are students, hit the books. Right now that is your calling. Learn what you need to so that you can use that knowledge in the service of Christ. For all of you, continue in the ongoing work of growing in your understanding of God’s Word so that you can grow in all of your roles. Be diligent in these things so that when Jesus comes back you might not be ashamed of how you spent your life. Be ready so that you might receive Jesus’ praise.

The Healing of the Saints

[Originally preached 21 March, 2004]
Revelation 21.4-5; 22.1-5

In our text John continues to explore eternity. He is telling us what heaven will be like for us. Through His apostle, our Lord Jesus is encouraging us with a series of images of the bliss that most certainly awaits all His faithful. The image of today’s text focuses on the healing of the saints. Again, we see that John has a summary statement (21.4-5a) and then a more detailed explanation (22.1-5). Let’s start with the summary.

In this passage we hear the enthroned God telling John, ‘Behold, I am making all things new.’ He fills this out when He says, ‘… the former things have passed away’. What are these ‘former things’? The answer is in our text: death, mourning, crying, pain. These are all tied to ‘the former things’ and they will be no more. We’re going to take a look at what it means that in the New Jerusalem they will be no more. But before we do it is important that you see what this is saying about now. Do you see the implication of these words? While these things will no longer be, these things now are. Those words of God describe now: death, mourning, crying, pain. Is this an overstatement, an overly pessimistic view of life? Just think back over how Revelation describes the situation of the saints. The assumption of our text and of the rest of the book is that faithful living in this world is hard. It will include death, mourning, crying and pain. There will be tears.

Why is it important to note this? It has to do with expectations. If a Christian is expecting a smooth life how will he respond when it isn’t smooth? How will he respond when life takes a hard left turn? There is the danger of falling into anger, a bitter spirit or discouragement even to the point of giving up the faith. There is also the temptation to look for the fastest way back to a smooth life, regardless of the cost. Satan and his agents know this. So, they offer a smooth life. Early on in our study of Revelation I mentioned the Christians at the church of Smyrna who were struggling because they could not work. Jobs were not available to them because of their faith. The solution was easy. Offer a sacrifice to the Caesar, then be allowed to join the guild and be offered a job. The problem with this, of course, is that it required compromise. To sacrifice to the Caesar included saying, ‘Caesar is lord’. The temptation must have been great. But that is why John also wrote, ‘But nothing unclean will ever enter [the New Jerusalem], nor anyone who does what is detestable or false...’ [Rev. 21:27] Those who are ‘false’, who compromise the faith, whether for a job or any other reason, will be excluded from heaven. One of the themes of Revelation is that life here for the saints will be hard. It’s part of the cost of discipleship. It’s part of what it means that we are in the midst of a war. But that theme is paired to another theme of the book, the theme of our text. The suffering is worth it. The New Jerusalem is coming.

That leads, then, to this question. What do you expect of this life? Are you surprised, maybe even a little annoyed, when your faithfulness to the Gospel is put to the test and life gets a bit difficult? What are you expecting? What are the developing expectations of your children? Are they believing the myth of our culture that a smooth life is the goal? Our text – along with the rest of Revelation – is telling us to expect death, mourning, crying and pain. We need to expect tears.

Now, that is not the end of the story. There is more in our text, another image to believe. It’s in 21.4: ‘He will wipe away every tear from their eyes…’ This is a very powerful image which I’ve pointed to before. Picture a sobbing child sitting in his mother’s lap. Something has deeply upset him but he finds solace as his mother holds him, gently rocking him back and forth, and telling her child, ‘It’s okay now.’ The image of our text pictures our God gently comforting His children. The struggles of this life have been hard. There have been many tears. But He promises us all that, one day, He will wipe them all away as He tells us, ‘It’s okay now.’ It is important for us to see that our tears – even now – are not forgotten by our God. David knew that.

You have kept count of my tossings;
put my tears in your bottle.
Are they not in your book? Psalm 56:8

Our God understands that faithful living is hard. Our pain is not overlooked. Our tears are not ignored. We will be delivered from it all. Our text is a dear promise to those who are suffering. It is a picture of our transition from the troubling struggles of this world to the comforting glories of the next.

This is tied to two other images in our text: the river of the water of life and the tree of life. Let’s look at the river first. At the heart of the Scriptures is the theme of gaining life. Life was lost in the Garden. Remember what God said. ‘In the day that you eat of it your shall surely die.’ In Adam, we all forfeited life. And so, a purpose of Christ’s coming was that we might have life once again. ‘I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.’ [John 10.10] When the Gospel promises eternal life it isn’t talking about how long but rather what kind. The Gospel offers the life of eternity. This life is often tied to the image of water.

How precious is your steadfast love, O God! The children of mankind take refuge in the shadow of your wings. They feast on the abundance of your house, and you give them drink from the river of your delights. For with you is the fountain of life; in your light do we see light. Psalm 36:7-9

What might be the most familiar example of this is found in John 4 where Jesus speaks to the Samaritan woman at the well.

Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty forever. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life. John 4:13-14

Seeing this kind of life as refreshing water is so fitting when you consider the imagery of Psalm 63.

O God, you are my God; earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you; my flesh faints for you, as in a dry and weary land where there is no water. Psalm 63:1

The psalmist finds himself in a barren place. He finds himself here, in this fallen world. He is thirsty for more than what this world can offer. He is thirsty for God, for the life that God offers. The Gospel offers the water of life. In our text John is told that in the New Jerusalem the water of life is a river; not a creek or a stream but a river. Think of the Mississippi River. There the thirst of all the saints will be fully satisfied so that they will never suffer thirst again. So, there is a progression. The lost have a thirst that only God can slake, but they are trying to satisfy it with the things of this world. Once a person is converted he enjoys a taste of the water of this life. And yet, he is still thirsty for more. The taste is good but incomplete. Once the New Jerusalem comes, the saint’s thirst for life, his thirst for God is satisfied – completely and forevermore.

Do you see what John is writing about? This is what eternal life will be for the saints. It is one way of encouraging us to pursue faithfulness in this barren wasteland. Yes, there are times when it feels as if we are trudging through a desert. But the oasis is promised. The thirst we still feel even now will be slaked – completely. We shall all drink from the river of life.

Then there is the tree of life. This takes us back, again, to the Garden of Eden. There was a promise attached to that first tree of life. It was the promise of life forever. This is the same basic idea as the river. But notice that something has been added to this tree in our text. Notice how the tree functions here. Its leaves are for the healing of the nations. In this life we are wounded, some of us quite seriously. We taste death in its various forms. But our wounds will be cared for. There will be healing in the age to come. Please bear in mind that it isn’t our bodies that our text is talking about. We’ll have resurrection bodies when we get there. It will be a healing of our souls. It is the inner life that endures the worst suffering. Our text is a promise that the wounds that you carry on the inside, even the wounds that your best friends will never see, will be healed. And how will God heal? Will He pass a magic wand over our heads and make us forget our past experiences of pain and sadness and death? Do the wounds just disappear? No. Our text explains how God will heal us by pointing us to another image. ‘They will see His face.’ [Revelation 22.4] Let’s consider this a bit.

The idea of the face is simply fascinating because the notion covers so much territory. We recognize people not by their hands or feet but by their faces. In a way, the face is the person. And the face can be a window into the inner life of a person. How do you know if someone is surprised or happy or angry or concerned? His face tells you. It reveals something of what is going on within. Now, fallen man is not allowed to see God’s face. To see God’s face means death. Even Moses, who was God’s premier prophet and who met with God often, could not see God’s face. But all that changes in the New Jerusalem. In heaven you will be able to sit down and have a face-to-face conversation with God. You will see His face. That will be glorious. But how will that help us to be healed of our wounds? Once you are able to see God’s face you will begin to understand Him and His ways. God’s face will reveal His soul to us. We will be able to understand something of His inner life. Then we will begin to understand His plan for our lives. Then we will be able to recognize the wisdom of that plan with all of its twists and turns. As we look into His face we will come to see why it was best that we suffered in the ways that we did. As we gaze into His eyes we will see more and more clearly how our sorrows brought Him glory. We’ll see all of the crying and mourning and pain in a larger context. We will see how the pieces of our lives fit together in the larger plan of God. We will understand the wisdom and the love of our God, even as we remember our tears. Then, we’ll be healed of our wounds that we suffered during our trek through the barren desert of this life. And then we’ll be able to agree with our God that it was all good, it was all worth it, it was the best route to take, because it all honored our God. This life will then make sense.

Once again we see why John was given a picture of the New Jerusalem to share with us. The more that we understand what then will be like and the more that we focus our hopes on eternity, the better able we will be to live faithfully now. The clearer heaven is to our souls, the better able we will be to endure the suffering and tears of this life. Our text is the Gospel of hope for you. Hear it, believe it, be encouraged and comforted by it.

The Glory of the Nations

[Originally preached 14 March, 2004]
Revelation 21.3, 22-27

We’ve come to the end of Revelation. This is where John describes the bliss of eternity for the saints of God. Last week I mentioned that this last part is divided into seven pairs of sections. Last time we looked at Revelation 21.2, the summary statement, and 21.9-21, the more detailed explanation. This first section dealt with what kind of place eternity will be. I told you that eternity will be filled with beauty, the beauty of holiness. All of the ugliness of sin that is associated with this world will be removed. All will be beautiful. The section that we will look at this morning deals with a different aspect. Here, John tells us about who will be there. In this section John teaches us about the inhabitants of this beautiful place and what they will be doing there.

First, I want you to see yourself in this picture. You will be there. But please notice how John describes you. He doesn’t refer to ‘the saints’ or ‘the brethren’ or some other way of referring to Christians. No, instead he talks about ‘the nations’. Now, this is significant for a couple of reasons. For one thing, it points us back to what he wrote earlier in the book.

After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands … Revelation 7:9

The Church that arrives in that place will not be limited to a few select groups. The Church triumphant will include people from all over this globe and from every different era. It will be the nations who will be there. Now, we often tie the idea of a nation to some political identification. But that isn’t what John is pointing to. A better way of understanding a nation is to think in terms of cultural and historical ties. These are the more profound things that people have in common. And so, when we get there we’ll see Hispanics and Hebrews, Karamajong and Scandinavians, Slavs and Arabs. Eternity will be a true melting pot with this difference. When we get there the distinctive qualities of each of these cultures will still be seen. Let me try to explain this. Angels, as far as I know, are all the same. There are no cultural differences. But people are not like angels. We are different from each other. Our cultural and ethnic groups are different. And it is this background that, to a large extent, makes us who we are. Culture is not something out there. It is something that is within the people of that culture, something that they all express which makes them a group. These cultural differences will still exist, though they will be beautified.

Now, I went through all of that so that you could understand what comes next. Listen again to John.

By its light will the nations walk, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it … They will bring into it the glory and the honor of the nations. Revelation 21:24, 26

What is this ‘glory and honor of the nations’ that will be brought into the city? And how could this benefit a city that John has described as already glorious? The glory of a nation is something good that was produced by that group. It is the good fruit of a culture. Last week some of my kids went to see the movie, ‘The Last Samurai’. It is a movie about a portion of ancient Japanese culture. When I asked Gabrielle about it she waxed eloquent about it and about the culture that it reflected. One thing that she mentioned is the sense of honor that this culture produced. In contrast with modern pragmatism – do what works – this culture believed that you do what is right. It may cost you dearly, may be incredibly difficult and may not ‘work’, but that didn’t matter. The glory of this culture was its understanding of honor. A couple of years ago we had a missionary to a group of South American Indians. He mentioned that our style of evangelism, which emphasizes the salvation of individuals, made no impression on the people of this culture. They think in terms of the whole, the community. Hearing that when Jesus returns everyone meets Him together in the sky – well that impressed them. The glory of this culture is its sense of community. What they do, they do together or not at all. Consider Europe during the Renaissance. The areas of art and science and literature were all exploding with new developments and discoveries. That was the glory of that culture.

When the nations enter the New Jerusalem they will bring with them the glory of their cultures. ‘This is what we accomplished. Here is the good that we were able to produce.’ That’s true of the group and it’s true of the individuals who make up the group. You have a glory about you. There are things that you have achieved that are good. There are things about the kind of person you are, the kind of character that you have developed, the skills that you have learned, that are good. These are the things that go into making you the person who you are. These things are an aspect of your culture, your contribution to your culture. And all of them will be beautified. The ugliness of sin will be removed. And that’s important. The honor of the samurai was used to kill and destroy. The sense of community can lead someone to compromise the truth by conforming. The science discovered in the Renaissance has been used to fight the Gospel. Even the good things of a culture can be twisted by sin. But not then. In the age to come the purified glory of the nations will be brought into the city. The cultivated fruit of centuries will be there. It will be a most fascinating place.

Now, it’s not just the nations who will be there. John tells us that God will be there. The New Jerusalem will be His dwelling place. He will dwell with His people. Here, again, we need to trace this idea from its Old Testament roots. Go back to the Garden of Eden. What is that? It’s the dwelling place of God with man. We’re told that God took walks in the Garden in the cool of the day. Imagine taking a walk with God. But, as you know, sin intruded. Instead of taking that walk, Adam and Eve ran from God. Here, man is removing himself from the God who dwelt with him. He chose not to dwell with God because of his sin. But it wasn’t only man’s decision. There’s also God’s curse. Man is excluded from the Garden, from the dwelling place of God. The relationship is broken. There is a deep chasm between God and man. Access to God’s dwelling is denied. Remember the cherubim and the flaming sword. No more walks in the cool of the day. But God, being rich in mercy and grace, didn’t leave it this way. First, there were the altars of sacrifice. Not a dwelling of God, but at least a point of contact between God and man. This led to the tabernacle that Moses built. This was better than just an altar. But the tabernacle was a mixed message. It was a sign of God dwelling among His people, but at the same time there was a fence around it. It was God saying, ‘I’m here, but be careful how you approach.’ God commissioned the tribe of Levi as His guards to kill any who approached without proper warrant. We still have the equivalent of cherubim with flaming swords. The tabernacle gave way to the temple. Here was a sense of real permanence instead of a collapsible tent. God was dwelling with His people and would remain with them. But even temples aren’t so permanent. Even temples could be destroyed. This led up to the coming of Jesus, the Word who became flesh and dwelt among us. Here we have Jesus, the presence of God walking among men again. But even this was only partial. And that was felt when Jesus ascended to heaven. Jesus still dwells with His people by the Spirit, but that isn’t the fullness. What we have now, the indwelling Spirit, will give way to the full reality of God dwelling with His people. That’s what John is writing about in our text. It’s back to God walking with man in the cool of the day. The New Jerusalem is God dwelling among men just as He did back in the Garden – except better.

We see who will be there in the New Jerusalem. The redeemed nations will be there and God will be there. Now, let’s take that and ask a question. What’s going to happen when the nations arrive, bringing their glory and laying it at Jesus’ feet? The details of what I am going to say will be my educated guesses. But I think that the basic outline is correct. In this I am making a few assumptions. If you want to pursue what those assumptions are, ask me later. So, don’t press the details too much. Consider that general point. But I present the details to keep what I am going to say from being too abstract. This is how I picture eternity – except I know that it will be much better than this.

I see Jesus leading us all so that we learn from each other. Each saint from his respective culture will have something to give. The Japanese Christians will explain honor. The Christians from that Indian culture I mentioned will teach us about community, about how to feel a part of the group. The Renaissance Christians will help us to develop a sense of beauty from the arts and wonder from the sciences. I see us enjoying good times together, enjoying different kinds of foods from different groups, many of which we will never have heard of until we get there. I see the saints laughing together, learning together, working together. I see me finally learning how to garden and actually remembering all the names of the plants that we will grow. I see Jesus strolling from one cluster of busy Christians to another, chatting with the people and hearing them say, ‘Lord, You won’t believe this!’ And then He listens as someone tells Him about some new discovery he’s just learned from another of the saints. I see some of the saints approaching Jesus, one of them saying, ‘Lord, I don’t understand. I always thought … but now I’m hearing something very different.’ And then Jesus unties the knot and makes it clear. I see multitudes of cultures, each different and yet all in the process of making one new culture together. And the thrill and the wonder of it all will never end as we learn about our God and His remarkable ways by learning about and from one another. I think that eternity will be a fascinating place. The glory of the nations in the presence of God.

Now, what do we do with this? What do I want you to see? Well, for one thing, I’m still battling the popular myth that says that heaven is going to be boring. And who wants to spend eternity being bored? I hope that you see that it will be anything but boring. I hope that you are getting a little taste of the wonder of being there. And I hope that that wonder will translate into a yearning to be there.

Secondly, I’m hoping that looking at eternity in this way will give you a better perspective on the relationship between the ‘here and now’, and the ‘then and there’. On the one hand, you need to see that you are exiles here. This isn’t home. Think of all the different times that the Scriptures picture us as pilgrims and strangers here. This isn’t home. That is home, the New Jerusalem. If you can see that it will go a long way to helping you have biblical attitudes and expectations of life here. This isn’t home and we don’t put our hopes here as if it were home.

Therefore, preparing your minds for action, and being sober-minded, set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. 1 Peter 1:13

Home starts when Jesus comes back. We are other-worldly pilgrims here, on our way from the City of Destruction to the Celestial City, our true home.

However, while we are here we don’t just sit around waiting for the Second Coming. Rather, we are to work hard to do good. Jeremiah proclaimed a message to another group of exiles that fits here.

Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, to all the exiles whom I have sent into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon: Build houses and live in them; plant gardens and eat their produce. Take wives and have sons and daughters; take wives for your sons, and give your daughters in marriage, that they may bear sons and daughters; multiply there, and do not decrease. But seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the Lord on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare. Jeremiah 29:4-7

We are exiles, but we are to do some good while we are here. We are to seek the welfare of the city – this world – where we have been sent into exile. We do this knowing that it’s good for this world and that it will also bear fruit in the world to come. The good that we do here – the strengths, positive character traits, the skills and biblical ways of looking at life – these aspects of our culture come with us. This is the glory that we bring to the New Jerusalem to share with the rest of the saints, even as they bring qualities to share with us.

I hope that you see the balance in all of this. We are to be truly heavenly minded so that we can do some earthly good.

The Bride

[Originally preached 7 March, 2004]
Revelation 21.1-2; 9-21

I can remember studying the novel back in high school English class. We talked about things like plot, tone, theme, climax and denouement. Those sorts of things apply to our study of Revelation. We have arrived at and passed the climax of the book. The great battle between Christ and Satan, and his agents, has occurred. We saw how Jesus has won. Satan is defeated and has been hurled into the lake of fire. The war that has lasted centuries is now over and done. The climax has been passed. Now, we come to the denouement of the book. This is where everything is resolved. Here, John tells us what happens after the war has been fought and won. This is where John writes about eternity for the saints.

Now, since this is the book of Revelation, John’s explanation of the resolution will be a little involved. Let me try to explain. The summary of this resolution is contained in chapter 21.1-8. But the fuller expression of that resolution is contained in the rest of Revelation 21 and 22. So, again, since this is Revelation, the summary and the fuller explanation are each divided into seven parts with the first part of the summary tied to the first part of the fuller explanation and on through all seven. Now, what that means is that what John writes in Revelation 21.2 about eternity is explained more fully in Revelation 21.10-21. So, this morning we’ll take a look at this first part of John’s vision of eternity for the saints as he wrote it in these two passages.

John is given a vision of the new Jerusalem. Now, what is that? What is the reality behind the image? This is the Church, the people of God. This is you. The new Jerusalem is you. It is you and all of the saints who have ever lived. The age in which we now live, what John calls the first heaven and the first earth, has been dramatically changed, renovated, fixed, purified. Jesus has brought in the new heavens and the new earth. Our text is pointing to the time when the age to come has begun. And at the beginning of this new age the Father presents the Church, the Bride of Christ. The wedding day of the Lamb has finally arrived. This is the day that Christ has looked forward to with great longing. It is a day of great excitement. John then, in Revelation 21.10-21, describes the Church, the new Jerusalem, with a multitude of images. I would like to focus your attention on one thing about the Church that is being pictured in our text. And that one thing is beauty. The Church is beautiful.

John tries to describe this vision of the new Jerusalem. I think that it must have been a little frustrating. But one thing is clear. John is struck by its beauty. It has the radiance of rare jewels and gems. He even tells us that it has the glory of God. If you think about it, this is a very fitting description. You men who are husbands, think back to your wedding day. When you saw your bride on that day as she stood about to process down the aisle, wasn’t there something within you that said, ‘Wow!’ You were struck with the beauty of your bride. That’s what’s going on in our text. John writes about the beauty of Jesus’ bride. And she is dazzling. The Scriptures had pictured before the beauty of the Church in different ways. Consider the tabernacle and then the temples, both Solomon’s and Herod’s. These were beautiful structures along with striking furnishings. They were made of gold, silver, precious gems as well as other expensive materials. These were faint pictures of the beauty of the people of God when this age fades into the age to come. And John tries to give us some sense of that here. Our text is a promise written in pictures. It is the promise of the Gospel that you, individually and corporately, will be beautiful as you finally walk down the aisle to be wed to your husband, our Lord Jesus. The wedding day of the Lamb will be a day of glory.

Now, having said that, what have I said? What is John talking about as he describes the beauty of the Church? What does it mean to be beautiful? Our culture has missed it here. When it comes to beauty, the world focuses on the wrong thing. Listen to a Proverb.

Like a gold ring in a pig's snout
is a beautiful woman without discretion. Proverbs 11:22

What a jarring image! But the point is clear. Outward beauty that is not matched with inward beauty is no beauty at all. Real beauty is, first of all, inward. And here our world has missed it entirely. Our world is so focused on what is merely outward. As a result, what we see so often is ugliness. The Psalms talk about the beauty that really matters.

Ascribe to the LORD, O heavenly beings,
Ascribe to the LORD glory and strength.
Ascribe to the LORD the glory due his name;
Worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness. Psalm 29:1-2

The true beauty of a woman is the beauty that is from within, the beauty of holiness. If that beauty is there then it will show as outward beauty also. The beauty of the Church, the beauty that will dazzle Christ will be an inward beauty. It will be the beauty of holiness.

Now, if you follow that along and see it in the context of other Scriptures what you get next is Ephesians 5.

Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, so 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. Ephesians 5:25-27

Here is Jesus’ bride, the bride who will be presented to Him in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing; the bride who will be holy and without blemish. According to Ephesians 5, Jesus is working to sanctifying His bride, to make her beautiful. Our text in Revelation is the promise that Jesus will most assuredly achieve His goal. He will have a beautiful bride on the first day of eternity. And the beauty of His bride will not be something merely outward. She will have the beauty that is inward, the beauty of holiness.

But now comes a question. We are not now beautiful. There is still the ugliness of sin. There is the blemish of a lusting heart, the wrinkle of a lack of trust, the spot of angry spirit. The potential for splendor is there, but there is still much that mars it. How will Jesus make us into the beauty that we will most certainly be? Consider a sculptor. How does a sculptor take a block of granite and transform it into a beautiful statue? He takes a hammer and chisel and bangs away. Then he carefully chips off smaller pieces, a little here, a little there. Then there is the sandpaper. And bit by bit the plain block of marble becomes something striking, something that moves us, something beautiful. Jesus is in the process of making us into something beautiful. And so, He bangs away at our sin using the hammer of suffering and the chisel of pain. He uses beasts and demons and affliction and struggle. He uses life. The process is hard but the end result is glorious.

I am finding that many Christians assume that once they get to heaven everything will start from scratch. Life there will start over from the beginning as if this life never happened. I really don’t think so. The age to come is not something completely new. It is tied to this age. Scripture uses the language of redemption and renewal and not of creation when it refers to the age to come. The things of that age will be the things of this age renovated. This age is very much connected to that one. So, what happens here affects what will happen there. As you face the hardships of this age and deal with them by faith in the Gospel, Jesus is in the process of changing you. He is making you into someone beautiful. The process will last a lifetime. But the assured promise of the Gospel is that when you get to that age you will be radiant and beautiful with a beauty that starts from within and shows on the outside. You will become a beauty who will make Jesus say, ‘Wow!’ As the Father walks the bride – you – down the aisle you are going to see this very large smile on Jesus’ face as He sees His beauty, as He sees you.

Now, let’s ask the next question. Why was this revealed to John? Why is he telling us this? What are we supposed to get out of it? The point of our text is encouragement. And we need all the encouragement we can get. We’ve worked our way through almost all of Revelation. You have seen how this book portrays the saints. How are they pictured? How are they described? According to this letter of John, being a Christian is hard. There are battles with Satan and his agents, battles with our own sin. To transplant something from the Gospel’s, the picture that we see is that being a Christian is a matter of self-denial and cross bearing. And sometimes it gets to be a bit much. ‘Lord, what in the world is going on?!?’ But the Scripture answers that question. Our text is part of the answer. Jesus is in the process of beautifying His bride so that she will be without spot or wrinkle or any such thing; so that she might be holy and without blemish. The strife of this life is the hammer and chisel by which He is creating something quite striking. Scripture helps us to understand what is happening in this life. By doing that Scripture also encourages us in the face of these difficult facts. Scripture tells us that it’s all worth it. The process of becoming a beautiful bride is worth it. The chiseling is worth it. At the end of the process we will be radiant with the radiance of holiness. Imagine never having to deal with sin ever again. And I’m not just talking about other people’s sin. Imagine never having to deal with your own sin ever again. That’s part of the beauty of holiness. That’s what Jesus is up to in your life.

But here I would mention a potential problem. There are so many Christians for whom the beauty of holiness in the age to come is not all that enticing. They are quite content to stay here for as long as possible; the longer, the better. There is no yearning for heaven. And one big reason is that they are being fooled by the superficial beauty of this age. Heaven will not be something that you long for until you see fairly clearly the ugliness of this life. It is an ugliness of sin. And it is an ugliness that is being covered over so that the beauty of here is only an outward beauty. This age is the age of sin. That age is the age of holiness. Now really, where would you rather be? Does this mean that there is nothing good and enjoyable here? Absolutely not! God has given us many good things to enjoy. But we need to see those things in their proper light. Those things are not intended to cause us to be rooted to this age. They are intended to picture for us the beauty of the age to come. Enjoy them all. But remember that the best things of this age are still poisoned by sin. It is only in the age to come when the beauty of holiness will consume all.

As you pursue faithfulness with Christ more and more you will find Him chiseling away more and more. When you find yourself in that situation, feeling the hammer blows, remember what those blows are doing. One day will be our wedding day. One day Jesus will come back and the process of becoming beautiful will be over. It will be completed. One day we will be able to worship the Lord in the full beauty of holiness, there to enjoy life without even a hint of sin. Pray for grace that you might believe this part of the Gospel and endure to the end. He who endures to the end will be saved.