February 10, 2010
New Site
I have not posted much, in part because of personal time commitments, but also because I have wanted to start a website, which I have now done. You can find the website at exaltingchrist.net. I hope to do a lot more than blogging. Hopefully it will become a helpful resource for many. Thanks.
TB
September 13, 2009
Is He Worth Your Life?
I have not posted in months and feel the need to correct this with a simple thought. It is my desire to say the same thing over and over again. In part, because I need to clarify it in my own heart and mind, but also because I believe that this is a message that needs to be communicated in our day and needs to be said in multiple ways. So here we go…
Is Jesus Christ worth your life? The call of Christianity is to give up your life to live for Him.
“For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospel’s will save it.” — Mark 8:35
If you do not feel the great struggle of Christianity upon your soul, it is probably because you have become comfortable living for yourself with the Christian culture. Those who are striving to live for their Savior feel their sin continually pulling upon them like weights around a swimmer’s waist. The natural inclination of our hearts is to do what we do for ourselves. The redeemed heart desires to live for God, namely for the God-Man Jesus Christ. The natural and redeemed desires are always at war with one another in this life.
So, the question we must daily ask ourselves is whether or not Christ is of more value to us than all the other things in our life: marriage, family, job, education, tv, hobbies, etc. Further, in all of those things, do we show Christ to be of supreme value in how we pursue them? Do we abandon them (temporarily or permanently) if they are pulling our hearts away from Christ? Is Jesus Christ worth giving up all these things? Is Jesus Christ worth your life? Will you abandon whatever else screams for primacy in your affections?
The simple answer for the Christian should be “yes, of course.” But this will only happen when Jesus Christ is seen as He truly is, supremely glorious and majestic and of infinite worth. The heart that cannot answer “yes” is a heart that has divided affections or one that only has superficial affections for Jesus Christ. May God grant grace to such souls.
Jesus Christ must be supreme in your life. He must be worth all of your life such that you would give it all up for Him, because you must give it up to come to Him and receive true life. And when you begin to live for Him, by God’s grace, you will finally find true life and what you were made for.
April 12, 2009
The Reason for Life
On this particular Sunday we celebrate the Lord Jesus Christ’s victory over death. In reality, every Sunday that we gather is a proclamation and a reminder of this victory. Sadly, it is not so central in many Christians thinking and lives. It is of utmost importance for us to know the centrality of the resurrection in the Christian life. If there is no resurrection, the Christian faith is in vain and is foolish (1 Corinthians 15:13-19).
It is my contention that Jesus’ resurrection from the dead had the fundamental purpose of exalting Christ. In other words, I do not believe that the resurrection of Christ had the fundamental purpose of displaying God’s love for man or some other purpose. The resurrection was to make much of God in Christ. The victory that Jesus has accomplished over death is incomprehensible. We cannot plumb the depths of what our Lord has done in rising from the dead. Death and Life collided 2,000 years ago in the event for the ages. Life destroyed Death from the inside and gained an eternal victory.
“But God raised Him up again, putting an end to the agony of death, since it was impossible for Him to be held in its power.” — Acts 2:24
“Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him, knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead, is never to died again; death no longer is master over Him. For the death that He died, He died to sin once for all; but the life that He lives, He lives to God.” — Romans 6:8-10
I want to try to connect two ideas here so that I am not understood: the exaltation of Christ and God’s love for man. I believe that the exaltation of Jesus Christ is the ultimate expression of God’s love for man. The exaltation of Jesus is primary, but inherent in it is God’s love for man. God’s love for man has the foundation of His desire to see His Son honored and glorified. The two ideas must not be separated. The greatest and most loving act God could do for mankind is to make much of Jesus Christ. The greatest and most praiseworthy act that Christ could do was to eternally overcome death (hence the reason death was allowed and purposed in creation). Man is given the loving benefit of beholding by faith the One who overcame death and receiving the life He attained as He extends His grace to individuals.
“All things have been handed over to Me by My Father; and no one knows the Son except the Father; nor does anyone know the Father except the Son, and anyone to whom the Son wills to reveal Him.” — Matthew 11:27
“For just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, even so the Son also gives life to whom He wishes.” — John 5:21
Man finds his greatest joy in beholding and in participating in great victories: in battles and war, in physical and medical difficulties, in relationships, in sports and physical competitions, and in the successes of loved ones. The love of God allows man to participate in the greatest victory, that of Christ’s over death. Just as we respond in joy and praise over man’s temporal victories, so we ought to respond with greatest joy over Christ’s supreme victory. This is a victory that we are not mere observers of. This is a victory that every man has a vested interest in. We are all subject to death. Christ has gained the victory for us! Christ is exalted and we know God’s love by His inclusion of us in the Lord’s exaltation. We are not regarded as enemies who caused the suffering the Son experienced, but are invited in to God’s presence and, on top of this, to be made into the likeness of the Son. There is no greater love than this. The love that makes much of Christ is the only true love. Everything else is a perversion of reality and truth. Hell will eternally tell of the tale of millions who had such false love.
The great hope of man is that God would exalt Jesus Christ, the God-man. This has been done in the death and resurrection of Christ. The present age is man’s opportunity to receive by faith through grace the eternal life that Christ has earned. The question for every person is whether he will seek to exalt Christ or self in his life. The decision will decide each person’s eternal fate.
“The Lord of hosts will prepare a lavish banquet for all peoples on this mountain; a banquet of aged wine, choice pieces with marrow, and refined, aged wine. And on this mountain He will swallow up the covering which is over all peoples, even the veil which is stretched over all nations. He will swallow up death for all time, and the Lord God will wipe tears away from all faces, and He will remove the reproach of His people from all the earth; for the Lord has spoken. And it will be said in that day, ‘Behold, this is our God for whom we have waited that He might save us. This is the Lord for whom we have waited; let us rejoice and be glad in His salvation.’” — Isaiah 25:6-9
April 10, 2009
The Reason for Death
The death and resurrection of Jesus Christ are the most significant and powerful events of history and eternity. On Friday we have the unique privilege of considering the death of our Lord Jesus Christ. The question we need to ask is, “For what reason did Jesus Christ die?” The simple and profound answer is that He died to pay the penalty for our sins. Many Christians behold the cross and are rightly overwhelmed with the thought of God’s love for them in Christ. Jesus willingly suffered God’s wrath so that we could be forgiven. The Father willingly crushed His innocent Son for the sake of a rebellious people. This is the humbling and glorious reality of the cross we know well. However, I believe God has revealed more about the cross that is important for us to know. At the cross we meet the reason for death, Christ’s victory over it.
“Do not be afraid; I am the first and the last, and the living One; and I was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of death and of Hades.” — Revelation 1:17-18
If death had never come into existence through the sin of man, Jesus Christ would not have the unique honor and glory of overcoming it. Can we really believe that God allowed man to fall into sin for any other reason? Perhaps one could take an Arminian approach and argue that man needed the freedom to choose to love God over sin and self, but that would invalidate the eternal state. There must be another reason that God would allow sin and death and all their accompanying horrors. The reason is Jesus Christ’s victory over them. For all eternity…for all eternity death is conquered in Christ because of this day! Never again is there even the potential for death to hold power over those who Christ has redeemed. Had death not been allowed to exist, the potential for it would always exist. In Christ it is eternally and absolutely nullified. In the age to come there will not be the most minute possibility for death. There will only be the full assurance that its opportunity has come and past and Jesus Christ eternally holds victory over it. He receives exaltation and glory for it and we find our joy in worshipping Him for doing what we never could and extending His life to us.
“Worthy is the Lamb who was slain to receive power and riches and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing.” — Revelation 5:12
If this is true, that death exists for the exaltation of God in Jesus Christ, then cannot the Godhead be accused of ultimate self-centeredness? Is it not selfish for God to permit sin and death into the world for His personal glory? Absolutely not. God is holy and free from sin in all He does. The allowance of sin and death for His own name’s sake is not sin. God acts for His own glory in everything He does. It is only the ignorance and rebellion of the creature that causes him to accuse his Creator. Nevertheless, we must soberly recognize and take into account the immeasurable physical and spiritual devastation that sin has produced. Billions of people have suffered in countless ways during their lives. Men and women will spend eternity in hell in unending anquish and terror. Would God allow all of this for the sake of His name? Yes, absolutely. In fact, it is precisely the glory of God that He overcomes all of the sin, suffering, death, and judgment of this life and the eternal torment of the next. And it should be clear that man has great benefit in His victory. When God overcomes all evil at the cross, man is able to overcome that evil also, but only through faith in Christ. The benefits of the Lord’s victory are available to all who would receive it. Those who refuse it will receive a just sentence. Jesus Christ gained eternal life without-the-threat-of-death for His own glory and for the good of mankind. When God acts for His own glory and exaltation there will always be overflowing benefits for man as long as one is not sinfully seeking his own glory in sinful rebellion. This is why salvation is in Christ alone, so that God will be exalted in Christ. Rebellious sinners want another way of salvation because they do not want to exalt Christ, but God will not have it any other way.
“[Jesus Christ] is before all things, and in Him all things hold together. He is also head of the body, the church; and He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that He Himself will come to have first place in everything.” — Colossians 1:17-18
Jesus Christ did not just die on the cross for the sake of His name, but He rose from the dead for the same reason. I will take a brief look at this on Sunday.
I know much more needs to be developed and thoughts need to be clarified, but I hope this helps you to think on the cross and God’s eternal purpose so that you will know and worship Him all the more. I would love to hear your thoughts and reflections.
March 23, 2009
Paul vs. Jesus
One of the sad realities of ministry is that it is fertile ground for the growth and display of pride. There is no minister who is exempt from this reality. Every conversation, every sermon, every counseling session, every biblical insight gained, every leadership meeting, even every prayer is an opportunity for man to publicly or privately boast in his imaginary personal excellence and importance. Not even the Apostle Paul was immune from this danger.
In 2 Corinthians 12:1-10 Paul explains the danger he faced simply by having the temptation to exalt himself. He was granted “surpassingly great revelations” (v. 7) of “the third heaven” (v. 2). Such revelations and experiences would be a temptation for any person to boast in. Our Lord knew Paul would have this struggle, therefore He introduced suffering into Paul’s life to keep his from exalting himself. What is so fascinating about this text is that our Lord is far more concerned about Paul’s spiritual state of heart than his comfort. The serious danger Paul faced in response to his great spiritual experience was a direct confrontation with the Lord. Paul was not commissioned to exalt himself. He was called to exalt Jesus Christ. The revelation Paul was privileged to experience was for that goal, but Paul in his sin would be tempted to use it for the great evil of self-exaltation. The Lord Jesus Christ, in His kindness, put great attention into seeing that Paul would not exalt himself and, thus, find himself in direct opposition to Lord Himself. Jesus will one day pour out great wrath and fury on those who have wasted their lives seeking to exalt themselves. In His love and kindness He keeps His people from pursuing this foolish and sinful end.
Paul’s conclusion must be soberly considered by all, “Therefore I am well content with weaknesses, with insults, with distresses, with persecutions, with difficulties, for Christ’s sake; for when I am weak, then I am strong” (12:10). Paul got the message loud and clear. Ministry and life are about Jesus Christ, not any man. Everything that is exists for His exaltation. Until man finds his joy in pursuing Christ’s exaltation, he understands nothing. Such a minister’s pursuits in life and ministry under a cliche “for the glory of God” are only the vain strivings of sinner in search of his own glory. How often my heart finds itself pulled toward such strivings. May God grant grace to all His people, especially the leaders of His Church, to understand the futility and danger of self-exaltion and to embrace trials for the end of exalting our Lord.
October 28, 2008
Exalting Christ in Tragedy
When tragedy strikes, how is the Christian to respond? What do we say to those who ask us about the 9/11′s, Katrinas, wars, senseless killings and crimes, and the simple difficulties of life? How do we confront the mockers and comfort the doubting?
Should we appeal to God’s sovereignty and the mystery of His providence? Should we call people to repent lest they experience a similar tragedy? Should we remain silent in light of our ignorance of the specifics of God’s purposes? While there is a place for each of these responses, I think that there is also another way to respond to the tragedies of this life that exalts the person and work of Jesus Christ.
Every tragedy we encounter is an opportunity to proclaim, or comfortingly remind, “This is why Christ died!” The pain of death and loss is easily and deeply felt by man. Such pain is often an opportunity to justify anger at, or doubt of, God. This is folly. God sent his Son to die for the sin man commits and its terrible results. Tragedy is not an opportunity to blaim God, but to own the consequences of sin and to praise God for overcoming it. God’s goal is to remove all death, mourning, crying and pain (Rev. 21:4). But until He finally does so, man will justly reap the consequences of sin. We ought to be thankful that life is not worse than it is.
The pain of sin and death is an opportunity to weap with those who weap and to tearfully remind each other “this is why our Savior died.” When a child is lost in the womb or early on in life, it does no good to question God’s sovereignty. What is helpful is to feel the great pain of loss and to look to the cross. The cross exists because of this pain. This pain of death brings us closer to the necessity of Calvary than anything else in this life. It is a reminder that this world is indeed fallen and in need of redemption, as are we. It causes us to affirm through tears our great need of a Savior who can take such pain away in the age to come. The cross proclaims God’s understanding of our pain and His loving desire to relieve us of it; so much so that He would experience the pain of the His Son’s death.
Don’t be angry at God or question Him when faced with tragedy. Rather, know it is right to feel the pain of tragedy. God does not expect you to endure tragedy stoically because He is sovereign. Nevertheless, pain should lead to worship because God has promised to overcome the causes and results of sin through the person and work of His Son. Praise be to God through Jesus Christ!
“The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away. Blessed be the name of the Lord.” (Job 1:20)
October 3, 2008
Hope in Wrath
If God does not pour out His wrath on the world and on every rebellious individual then His wrath against His Son on the cross was an infinitely unspeakable injustice or was the greatest lie the world has ever known. Therefore, the Christian is put in the tough position of hoping in God’s wrath, primarily against Christ but, of necessity, against his fellow man. If God does not pour out His wrath on those who reject Jesus Christ, then His death cannot be justified as necessary for those who did place their faith in Christ, for there was nothing ultimately needed for Christ to provide. God must pour out the cup of His indignation upon the world and eternally against unrepentant sinners for Christ’s sacrifice to be validated. If we are to hope in the cross, we must hope in wrath.
May God extend His grace to many.
September 16, 2008
Tentmaking
My posting to this blog has been slow for the past several weeks due to my changing work situation. I hope to be able to post more regularly as my life begins to settle back to a more consistent schedule, yet I will be busier than I have ever been before. My situation is that I finished seminary in May and came to Charlotte, NC to help with a small church plant. The situation has required that I find secular work as the church is not able to support me at the present time. There have been many trials involved with finding work while trying to pursue ministry and they have truly been refining. I want to share some of what has come out of that experience.
First, I have a much greater appreciation for those men who have pastored and held a full-time job throughout their lives. Such men are faithful soldiers for the Lord and honor Him by their decision to take the hard path and sacrifice themselves for the church.
I have also come to have a greater appreciation for time. I feel the urgency of using my minutes, hours, and days in whatever way might be most profitable for Christ. Even though I am young, I have a greater sense of the brevity of my life and the effort I must therefore exert to accomplish something for Christ with the time I am given. I am in awe of what the great men of the faith, past and present, have been able to do with their lives for the sake of Christ. I hope that I am able to accomplish a fraction of what they have.
Third, practically speaking, I believe that it is good for a minister to have a secular skill or trade that he can employ if the situation necessitates it. I do not have any such trade/skill I can lean on and have experienced the difficulties of this. If my church were to every come under financial hardship, I want to be able to help and not be an unnecessary drain on valuable resources. I want to help the church if the situation calls for it and I hope this is every pastor’s desire.
Fourth, and finally for now, I want to spend my life in full-time ministry more than ever. In some ways, I think it would great for every pastor to go through a time of tentmaking, though I would not will it on anyone. It is difficult, but it is helpful and refining. It increases one’s appreciation for the ministry and is a reminder of the privilege it is to serve in Christ’s church.
I will try to add some more thoughts that I think will be helpful and that I actually remember to write down when they come to me…
May the grace and love of our Lord be with you.
August 27, 2008
Note: Logos Blog
For anyone who might be interested, Logos has started up their blog again and they are offering a free commentary download for a short time. Free is always a good deal, right? The download actually includes a commentary on Matthew and Mark written by David L. Turner and Darrel L. Bock respectively. Enjoy!
Here is the link for the free offer and for the blog.
August 4, 2008
Exalting Christ: Spiritual Clarity
The good news of the gospel is this: You no longer have to live for yourself. There is another who you can and must live for. There is another who is worthy of your life. The good news of the gospel is that man can be freed from the slavery to self. This is the news that is not preached from most pulpits and that is contradicted by thousands, if not millions, of believers’ lives. The tragic result is massive spiritual confusion in the church and in the eyes of the unbelieving world.
The fog of spiritual confusion melts away with the proper understanding of the gospel. A purposeful and relentless focus upon Christ will maintain spiritual clarity. Those who take their eyes off of the Lord and focus on self are sure to stumble in their walk. Christianity makes no sense to the self-centered (believer or unbeliever). It only becomes increasingly clear to those who set the Lord continually before themselves. Christianity is boring and bizarre to the self-exalting. Therefore, false teachers and sinning believers distort the gospel so that they will be exalted.
Where there is no interest in making much of Jesus Christ, there is a desire for self-exaltation. This can be true in Bible teachers, theologians, pastors, missionaries, and ministers of every kind. All of us are subject to the tempation to exalt ourselves rather than Christ. By nature we are lovers of self, not lovers of the Lord. We need to continually remind ourselves that we have died to ourselves so that we can live for and make much of Jesus Christ.
We must maintain spiritual clarity by being purposeful to live the gospel call in every aspect of our lives. We must ask ourselves: How can I exalt Christ in my job? How can I show Christ to be great in my marriage? How can I raise my children to know the glory of the Lord? How can I use my money in a way that shows Christ is better than any earthy possession? How can I give to the church so that my joy in the gospel and its progress is evident (in my own heart)? How much of a priority is the body of Christ, the Church, in my life? How can I read, listen, and respond to the secular news so that the King of the earth is honored? How can I eat and drink so that I can display contentment in God’s provision and joy in His good gifts? What non-essential thing(s) can I give up to live more fully for Jesus? How can I humble myself and open my life up to the spiritual scrutiny and help of others who can guide me to be more like my Lord?
If we seek to live to exalt Jesus Christ we will have spiritual clarity, not perfect, but always progressing. Most spiritual confusion is a result of living for self and our stubborn refusal to die to ourselves. The deeper spiritual issue is that we do not see the worth of Christ. May God open the eyes of our generation to see the worth of Christ and live the gospel call.
