John 8:12
Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”
During the evenings of the Jewish feast of tabernacles, the people participated in a light ceremony. If you remember, when the Hebrews went through the wilderness wanderings, God led them through the desert via a cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night. Since the feast of tabernacles is a feast that reminded the Jews of that time in their history, they made their own pillar of fire in the evenings. They accomplished this by lighting two enormous candelabras in the temple courts. It is said that those candelabras were so bright that their light shined over all of the city of Jerusalem. When the fire was lit, the people would dance, sing, and remember how God led them with his marvelous light.
As the people celebrate that God, God himself, led the Israelites through the desert by being their light, Jesus stands up and makes a huge claim, “I am the light of the world.” He’s not telling them that he will show them the light. He is not claiming to be a guide to lead them to the light. Jesus simply says that he personally is the light of the world.
How significant is it that Jesus says that he is the light of the world? What is Jesus claiming to be by being the light of the world?
By claiming to be the light of the world in this setting, Jesus is claiming to be God. He is not claiming to be a little lower than God. He is not claiming to be like God. Jesus is claiming to be God.
Exodus 13:21
And the Lord went before them by day in a pillar of cloud to lead them along the way, and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, that they might travel by day and by night.
Exodus 14:24
And in the morning watch the Lord in the pillar of fire and of cloud looked down on the Egyptian forces and threw the Egyptian forces into a panic,
Psalm 27:1
The Lord is my light and my salvation;
whom shall I fear?
The Lord is the stronghold of my life;
of whom shall I be afraid?
Notice that, in all those verses, God is the light. It was God who led Israel as a pillar of fire. It was God who confused the Egyptians as the pillar of cloud. It is God who is called my light and salvation in Psalm 27:1. So, if Jesus, in the context of the feast of tabernacles is claiming to be the light of the world, Jesus is claiming to be God. He is claiming to be God the Creator. He is claiming to be God who rescued Israel from Pharaoh. He is claiming to be the great I Am. He is claiming to be Jehovah, Yahweh, the one true and living God.
Is it a significant thing for a man to claim to be God? You bet it is. And so, as C. S. Lewis challenged us years ago, we must do one of three things with what Jesus said. Is he a liar, a villain, and totally deceiving us for evil purposes? We don’t think that about Jesus. Or, perhaps he is a fool, confused, insane? Perhaps he is like a guy in a mental institution who claims to be the Pope or Michael Jackson? No way, not the Lord Jesus. No one thinks that of him. There is only one alternative left. Jesus really is God. He knows who he is and he is telling us. And, if this is true, if Jesus really is God, we have no alternative in life but to worship him, honor him, and obey him.
God’s Words, A Big Deal? (Ezekiel 13:1-3)
Ezekiel 13:1-3 (ESV)
1 The word of the Lord came to me: 2 “Son of man, prophesy against the prophets of Israel, who are prophesying, and say to those who prophesy from their own hearts: ‘Hear the word of the Lord!’ 3 Thus says the Lord God, Woe to the foolish prophets who follow their own spirit, and have seen nothing!”
Often in conversation about theological and methodological differences, we try to figure out what is really a “big deal.” Think of the different kinds of messages that pastors preach. Think of the different kinds of advice and teachings that Christians share with each other. How can we tell if, when they are different, is it a big deal?
In Ezekiel 13, God pronounces woe on a group of teachers. God declaring woe on you is a big deal, a very big deal. Remember, there are really two categories of major life change pronounced on you by God. God either gives you blessing or woe. If it is blessing, it is wonderful. If it is woe, it is unthinkably terrible.
God pronounces woe, in Ezekiel 13, on men who claim to have a message from God, but who really have no words from God. How can we tell if the words of a teacher or preacher or Christian friend are really from God? There is only one way to know for sure. God’s words are recorded for us perfectly in the Bible.
Be extremely careful when dealing with a person who tells you “God told me…” and then follows it up with words that are not in Scripture. Be careful when you hear a man stand in a pulpit and offer teaching that does not come directly from the word of God. Of course I’m not saying that preachers should only speak Scripture and never explain it; however, the substance of the message should be the clear interpretation and application of the Scripture and not an expounding of the teacher’s opinion.
God makes it plain that, when a man or woman claims to have truth from him, they had better know that the “truth” they speak really comes from him. The only sure way for us to know if someone is giving us God’s word is when it comes from the word of God, the Bible. Claiming that words are from God is a very big deal, so make sure that those words are truly words from the Lord who recorded his word for us faithfully in the Scripture.
Remember the Gospel (2 Peter 1:12-15)
2 Peter 1:12-15
12 Therefore I intend always to remind you of these qualities, though you know them and are established in the truth that you have. 13 I think it right, as long as I am in this body, to stir you up by way of reminder, 14 since I know that the putting off of my body will be soon, as our Lord Jesus Christ made clear to me. 15 And I will make every effort so that after my departure you may be able at any time to recall these things.
By the time that he wrote this letter, Peter was already becoming an old apostle. The brash younger man who had, in one evening, both flashed a sword and denied the Lord was now a much more level-headed older saint. In fact, according to verse 14, Peter believed that he was soon to die.
The key for us is not in Peter’s outlook on dying—though that is incredible—the key is for us to see what Peter makes sure he does until he dies. As he looks forward to a time when the church would be without his presence, Peter makes his mission one major thing. He will, no matter what happens, no matter what they should already know, he will remind the church of the truths of the gospel and of the call to sanctified living.
Peter said in verse 13, “I think it right, as long as I am in this body, to stir you up by way of reminder.” He wants them to live strong in the hope of Christ. He wants them to live lives that begin to match the glorious gift of righteousness in Christ. So Peter simply reminds them of the message of Christ. He reminds them of the gospel. He reminds them of the central truths of the faith. And he will remind them again and again and again until the day he dies.
Paul seemed to have a similar focus. In Galatians 6:14, he wrote, “But far be it from me to boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.” In 1 Corinthians 2:2, Paul declared, “For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified.” Paul was as brilliant as any man who has ever picked up a pen. He could have focused on a thousand things, but he chose to regularly focus on one central thing: the gospel.
Do you want to contend for the faith? Do you want to contend for your faith in the middle of a difficult and doubting generation? Remember the gospel. This is not about steps and clever points in a tract; remember the gospel. Remember the holiness of God. Remember your sinfulness before that God. Remember how you deserved his wrath. Remember how God, by his will and for his glory, chose to make a way to not have to destroy every last man, woman, and child on earth because of our sin. Remember how Jesus died and rose from the dead, fully paying the penalty for the sins of all of god’s children and fully assuring their eternal life. Remember your own salvation. Remember how you saw your sin in the light of God’s holiness. Remember how you cried out to Jesus for mercy, and how Jesus granted you that mercy.
If you will remember the true Gospel, speaking its truth to yourself again and again, you will find strength to stand strong. You will find courage to counter the lies and temptations of this culture. If you will preach the gospel to yourself daily, you will contend for the faith as you contend for your own faith.
Everything You Need (2 Peter 1:3)
2 Peter 1:3
His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence,
Here is a place in Scripture where we see the glory of our salvation and how sufficient it is for life. For those who have been forgiven of their sins in Jesus Christ, the glorious thing about salvation is that in Christ, God has already granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness. I suggest you highlight this verse in your copy of the Scriptures, because this is a fabulous promise of God.
God’s divine power has granted something to us. That is to say that God, by his unmatched, unlimited, unfathomable power has given something to us as a gift. We did not earn it, because it was granted. Whatever God has given us is all from him. It is given by him, for his glory, and out of his love for us.
God tells us here in his word that he has given us, through his power, everything we need for life and godliness. Everything pertaining to life and godliness tells us that God has given us—past perfect tense, completed action that has effects in the present—everything, every last thing, pertaining to life and godliness. Do you have all that you need to live a life of godliness? Yes! You have everything! If you are saved, there is nothing lacking in your salvation. You have everything, absolutely everything, that you need to live a godly life. You do not need to uncover some spiritual secret power that you do not currently possess. You do not need the knowledge of any secular expert. You do not need God to give you something new or something more. If you are saved, you have from God everything you need pertaining to life and godliness. It’s yours already, and nothing here indicates that there is any possibility of it going anywhere.
How did God grant us all things that we need to live a godly life? He did so through the knowledge of Jesus. AS we get to know Jesus, we learn more and more about living a life that pleases God. And, let me make it absolutely plain, you get to know Jesus more and more as you spend time with him in his holy word. God reveals Christ to us in the Scriptures, and so it is the Scriptures that we search to get to know Jesus.
Notice Jesus’ own words proving that the Scriptures point us to him in his rebuke of the religious leaders in John 5:
John 5:39-40, 45-47
39You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me, 40yet you refuse to come to me that you may have life.
45Do not think that I will accuse you to the Father. There is one who accuses you: Moses, on whom you have set your hope. 46If you believed Moses, you would believe me; for he wrote of me. 47But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe my words?”
What points to Jesus? The Scriptures point to Jesus. To read the Scriptures and miss that they are showing you Jesus is to read the Scriptures with the kind of spiritually blinded eyes of the hypocritical Jewish leaders for whom Jesus had incredibly harsh words. But when you read the Scriptures with eyes to get to know Christ, you gain more and more knowledge of him; in turn, you will also gain more and more of the everything that you need pertaining to life and godliness. To look to the Scriptures to know Jesus is to gain all that you need to live a life of godliness in the here and now.
Promised Suffering (1 Peter 4:12)
1 Peter 4:12 (ESV)
Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you.
As I read this passage, I am honestly surprised. I am surprised at how easily I forget this passage. When things go well, I get so excited and feel so close to God. But, when things do not go well, I somehow forget what God has written in his word. I ought not be surprised when, though I try to follow his word, life is still hard, sometimes very hard.
Christians will face trials. If you don’t believe that, you need to reread the New Testament. God never promised us lives of ease. God never even promised us success. Sometimes men and women of God gave their all and never saw the kind of fruit they wanted to see. Sometimes men and women of God have been faithful to the Lord and his word, and all they received for that faithfulness in this life was persecution and death.
Oh, I’m not trying to be so gloomy as to ruin anyone’s day here. However, we need to be realistic. Christians will suffer. The world does not like the cross of Christ. The world does not recognize God as their Creator and Ruler. The world wants to be freed from God’s reign, and that desire will lead them to oppose Christians. So we ought not be surprised when our lives are marked by hardships. In fact, Gods’ word, above, tells us not to be surprised if we face fiery trials. Hard times will come if we try to take the gospel to the nations. If we try to please God, the world around us will not like it.
We must not be surprised when hardships come, but neither should we give up. Hardships are sometimes signs that we are going in the right direction, swimming against the current if you will. If the world around us thinks we are just wonderful and that we are no different than them, we are missing something. Let us remember also that God promises great rewards to Christians who suffer as they strive to faithfully serve their Lord.
Exposing Iniquity and Restoring Fortunes (Lamentations 2:13-14)
Lamentations 2:13-14
13 What can I say for you, to what compare you,
O daughter of Jerusalem?
What can I liken to you, that I may comfort you,
O virgin daughter of Zion?
For your ruin is vast as the sea;
who can heal you?
14 Your prophets have seen for you
false and deceptive visions;
they have not exposed your iniquity
to restore your fortunes,
but have seen for you oracles
that are false and misleading.
We live in a world in which people want to hear, well, what they want to hear. People love to sit and be encouraged. I know that I certainly like to hear that I have done something, anything, good. We like to think about positive things. We like to fill our lives with positive thoughts.
Unfortunately, positive messages, if that is all we hear, are not nearly enough. We need more, far more. We need messages of truth. If we hear the truth, we will hear great messages of love and encouragement from God; but we will also hear messages that call us to repentance and life change.
The book of Lamentations is a poetic section of the Scripture in which a prophet of God has witnessed the judgment of God falling on the city of Jerusalem. The people of God in Judah had not obeyed God’s constant calls to repent. Thus, God allowed the Babylonians to come into the land and raze Jerusalem to the ground.
Notice one of the major causes of Jerusalem’s destruction. God, through the prophet, says to the people about their teachers, “they have not exposed your iniquity to restore your fortunes.” Get that point: if the people of God want their fortunes to be restored, they need teachers and leaders who will expose their iniquity. If the people of God want to please God, they need prophets who will make plain their sin.
It is not popular to discuss sin these days. It is not well-received by the masses. People want to be told they are good. I want to be told that I am good. Yet, if we ignore sin, if we do nothing but build self-esteem, we fail ourselves, our people, and our God. We must have the light of God’s word shined on our sin. We must learn to repent of sin and seek God’s restoration. We must learn to turn from what will never satisfy in order to be satisfied by the glory of our God.
Do you have a pastor who will, from the pulpit, call you by the word of God to turn from sin? Do you truly have someone who will show you what the Scripture says about what you do or how you think? If you have such a preacher, praise God for him and thank him for his work. If you do not have a preacher who will expose your iniquity, go to him and tell him you would welcome the honest, piercing, painful, yet powerful light of the word of God in your life. You need, you truly need, a person who will speak the truth to you. You need someone who will tell you of God’s great love and of his great holiness.
Spiritual Gifts (1 Peter 4:10-11)
1 Peter 4:10-11
10 As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace: 11 whoever speaks, as one who speaks oracles of God; whoever serves, as one who serves by the strength that God supplies—in order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ. To him belong glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.
Spiritual giftedness is always a hot topic in the local church. Countless books, study programs, inventory tests, DVD sets, and the like have been marketed and sold to churches to help their members discover their unique spiritual gifts. However, how many have really delved into the purpose behind the gifts that God has given us?
When you think of spiritual gifts, do you think of unique abilities that you have in order to make you just plain stronger? Do you think of your gift as your own? Do you, perhaps, run off the other side of the road and assume that you have no gift?
The fact is, the word of God lets us know that we have been gifted by God. You have a spiritual gift or gifts from God if you are saved. But, you also need to know the purpose behind your gift. If you have a gift, it was given you so that you can serve the local church.
Here in verse 10, look at the call. Use your gift to serve one another. The call is not to use your gift to make yourself look good. It is not for you to use your gift to profit. No, your gift is for the body. Thus, if you are not a regular part of a local church, you are spurning your giftedness. If you are a part of the local church, but you do not find a way to serve based on your gift, you are spurning your giftedness. God gives us gifts so that we can love, serve, and encourage each other for the sake of his glory.
Perhaps today would be a good day for you, Christian, to look at how God has designed you. Where are you uniquely gifted? Where are you strong? How can you use the way that God has gifted you to be a blessing to the local church? How can you not keep your gift to yourself but rather use it in the strengthening of the body?
Two Needs (1 Peter 3:15-16)
1 Peter 3:15-16
15 but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect, 16 having a good conscience, so that, when you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ may be put to shame.
The above passage is often one we go to when we think about defending our faith. Christians need to be able to give an account of their faith. It is important that we know how to answer questions that people have about the hope we have.
But it seems that we often miss the ending of this passage. We are to be able and ready to give an answer to those who question our faith, but we are to do so with gentleness and respect. That means that we are not snotty when we answer the questions and objections of those who have genuine questions and objections. We are not harsh. We must not be rude. We are to be respectful and kind.
So, ask yourself which category most needs help in your life. Do you need help to be able to answer those who have questions about your faith? Is study your need? Or, is it more that you need to learn to treat others with greater kindness and respect? Is God calling you to find ways to present your answers with greater gentleness and respect?
Don’t Wait (Ecclesiastes 12:1)
Ecclesiastes 12:1 (ESV)
Remember also your Creator in the days of your youth, before the evil days come and the years draw near of which you will say, “I have no pleasure in them.”
Several times in the book of Ecclesiastes, we see things that go against popular human wisdom. The writer of the book realizes that not all hard workers are rightly rewarded in a fallen world. He recognizes that not all that seems pleasurable is really profitable. The writer even shows how discouraging it is for a man to realize how futile things seem in this life. Yet, when all is said and done, in chapter 12, the author recognizes the overall justice of God.
Also, in the beginning of chapter 12, Solomon calls upon his readers to follow God while they are still young. Verse 1 tells us to remember the Lord in our youth, before the evil days come. From verses 2-8, Solomon describes the decline of the human body with senses dulling and pleasure waning.
What got my attention about this passage is that the command is the very command that many in our culture think not to obey. Many people waste the prime years that they have for service to God, intending to get right with God in their latter years. Many people waste their years of health, planning instead to serve God in retirement. Thus, such people miss the blessing of spending their strength, not on earthly good that perish, but instead on the eternal glory of God and treasure which will last forever.
Perhaps you are a young person reading this. Perhaps you plan to serve God when you think you have more time. Let me assure you, you won’t have more time. It won’t get easier. You will always have an excuse. The better path, the path that leads to true satisfaction, is to call upon the Lord while he can be found. Turn from self and sin and embrace Christ. Trust in Jesus for salvation. Then live for the joy of seeing and taking pleasure in the glory of God as you serve him with the vigor of youth.
Counterintuitive Commands (Jeremiah 38:4)
Jeremiah 38:4
Then the officials said to the king, “Let this man be put to death, for he is weakening the hands of the soldiers who are left in this city, and the hands of all the people, by speaking such words to them. For this man is not seeking the welfare of this people, but their harm.”
A major theme of the Old Testament is the exile of Judah to Babylon. God had set up his glorious temple in Jerusalem. So long as Jerusalem stood, the people of God assumed that they would be safe from enemies. Even when the people did not follow God faithfully at all, they assumed that Jerusalem was impenetrable. But, early in the sixth century BC, the Babylonians came into Judah. Nebuchadnezzar’s soldiers threatened the very city of Jerusalem.
As Jeremiah and the people of God were hiding behind the walls of Jerusalem, the prophet had a word from God to the people. It was God’s determined will to have the Babylonians carry off the people of Judah. There was no longer anything that could be done. Nebuchadnezzar was going to win this battle.
There was, however, a twist in Jeremiahs’ words. God promised that, if the people voluntarily walked out the city gates and surrendered to the people of Babylon, they would be safe and well-cared-for in Babylon. God would even protect Jerusalem, not allowing the soldiers to burn down the city. All the people had to do was obey.
The problem here is that walking out and surrendering to the invaders is counterintuitive. It sounds absurd to say that the best strategy is to walk out the gates and yield the nation to the Babylonians. How could that possibly be what god wanted them to do?
Thus, the people rejected Jeremiah’s words. In fact, if you’ll notice, the arguments were pretty valid-sounding. What Jeremiah was saying sounded to be something that would weaken the soldiers’ resolve. Jeremiah’s words did not sound like the call to arms that the people thought they needed.
You know, this kind of conflict between Jeremiah and the people is a very common kind of conflict in the church today. Sometimes what seems most practical is not at all what will most honor God. Sometimes the pastor of the church has to call the people to do what seems absurd to the people. Sometimes that pastor has to steer the people away from trying things that sound good on the surface but which do not ultimately help the church to bring the gospel to the nations.
Think about it for a moment, and this will make sense. There are many who would have the church do basic marketing—find out what the people want and give them what they want. The problem with this strategy is that a lost world does not want God (cf. Rom 3:10-12). Thus, the call to preach the gospel, a truth that calls men sinners in desperate need of grace, is not what the world expects or wants; however, the biblical gospel is what we very much must preach. The wisdom of the world would say to make everything in the church as shallow as possible so as not to challenge or offend anybody; however, the Scriptures are plain that the people must be fed by the deep truths of the word of God and not mere baby food.
Jesus did some counterintuitive things. Remember John 6? There Jesus offended a huge crowd of people who were seeking him for food and fascination. He taught them hard truths, and they didn’t like it. Instead of softening the message, he let them go their own way.
Don’t get me wrong, we are not supposed to assume, if people don’t like us or our message that the fault cannot lie with us. Often people are offended by us because of our personalities or how we treat them. Often people dislike us for reasons that have nothing to do with the gospel. In those cases, we need to repent, change, and love people well. However, when we find that people truly are offended by the cross, we dare not remove that stumbling block.
Perhaps the best illustration of this passage is one we have not yet pondered, but we must before I wrap up. You know that Jeremiahs’ message is much like the gospel. The people are in danger of being destroyed by an army. The only solution is to surrender to the very ones who will destroy them otherwise. Well, we are in danger of being destroyed by God. Everything in human nature and human wisdom says to keep trying to do good and to somehow get into God’s good graces. But the true gospel tells us to stop trying to fix ourselves and to fall on the mercy of God, the very one who will destroy us for breaking his laws if we do not get under his grace.
Christians, much of the word of God seems counterintuitive. Are we willing to trust God enough to follow his word, even when it makes no sense to the world around us? Are we willing to make moves that are foolish in the eyes of the world? Are we willing to love a gospel that the world hates and sees as closed-minded, outdated, chauvinistic, homophobic, anti-scientific, and many other bad things? I hope so, because to love that gospel is to love the one God of the universe who will save our souls if we simply place our trust in him. Surrendering to God will lead us to many paths the world sees as crazy, but that is the terror and joy of the life lived for Jesus.
