Tag: Providence Reformed Church

If you are a Christian, consider your salvation. Consider when it occurred. Consider when it was determined that you would be rescued by God. Consider these two verses in the book of Revelation:

 

Revelation 13:8 – AND all who dwell on earth will worship it, everyone whose name has not been written before the foundation of the world in the book of life of the Lamb who was slain.

 

Revelation 17:8 – The beast that you saw was, and is not, and is about to rise from the bottomless pit and go to destruction. And the dwellers on earth whose names have not been written in the book of life from the foundation of the world will marvel to see the beast, because it was and is not and is to come.

 

Twice in Revelation, we see the concept of God writing the names of people in the book of life from before the foundation of the world. At the same time, we see that there are those whose names were not written in the book of life before the foundation of the world. Clearly, we must grasp that something happened before creation that has to do with our salvation.

 

Did you think that your salvation came about as God’s plan B? Did you think that God, after the fall of man, looked down and chose to make a rescue plan? Such would be false, very false. God planned salvation history before creation.

 

How about taking some personal credit for your salvation? After all, you were smart enough to believe and turn to Jesus while so many others are too rebellious to do so? Such an opinion is drastically unbiblical (see Ephesians 2:8-9). No, we are not saved because we were smart enough or good enough. If we take Revelation seriously, we will see that, if we are saved, we are saved because God wrote our names in his book before all of history began. God chose a people for himself before he set the planets spinning.

 

What does this thought do to our pride and what does it do to our evangelism? It should crush any vestige of pride in us. We are saved, if we are saved, because of God’s mighty and sovereign will. That is not to say that we did not make a choice; we did. But, it is to say that we could not have made a choice that was right without God first moving us. If we have to ask whose will is ultimate in our salvation, we should recognize that it is God’s will that is ultimate, which is what makes grace gracious.

 

What does this do to our evangelism? It should actually make our evangelism more joyful and confident. You see, there are people in the world whose names are already in the book of life. We need to go and find them. WE need to tell them the truth. We need to call them to repentance. Since we do not know whose names are in the book, we tell everybody. And we make an honest offer: If you will turn from your sin and trust in Jesus, you will be saved. That offer is absolutely genuine, as all who turn from their sins and trust in Jesus will be saved. Such people will find that their names have been in God’s book of life from eternity past. Yet, their choice to trust in Jesus and turn from their sin will be completely authentic, a true decision, even if God was sovereign over it.

 

There are so many questions that people raise in this discussion, and that is not the point of my post. So, let’s not have any arguments that start with, “But you haven’t thought about…” Here is what I know. All whose names are in the book of life from before the foundation of the world will be saved. Thus, if I am saved, I owe all gratitude to the God who chose to write my name in his book before I ever existed. And, I share the gospel with others all around me because I know that those who turn to Jesus for salvation will be rescued by God in just the same way.

What a strange world we live in. I thought things were weird on election day as the results rolled in and the left was shocked—not to mention many on the right. A man was elected president who, it must be said, is at best a flawed candidate. At worst, many people believe that the world is collapsing around us.

 

Now, consider the pattern. We cry out that we do not like the world the way that it is. We fuss and fight and scheme and plot and cry and protest and press and argue and write post after post after post on what is wrong. Some demand justice. Some demand a recount. Some demand that the media stop being so dishonest. Some demand that the media take the president-elect down another peg. Some demand that people give the president-elect a fair chance. Some demand that people stop buying into the lies of the news media with its liberal slant. Some demand that people stop listening to backward-minded people who could elect such a person. We ask God to intervene. We hope the Russians have not already intervened. We cry out, “How can this be?”

 

Now, consider the story of Habakkuk. Habakkuk was a prophet who saw around him an unjust and corrupt world. In chapters 1 and 2 of his little Old Testament book, he decried the lack of justice. He wanted God to step in and take action. He asked God where the justice was. And God answered. God told him that he was about to use the Chaldeans, the Babylonian Empire, to judge the cruel people whose sinfulness had so offended Habakkuk. But the prophet couldn’t believe it. “What! The Chaldeans,” he might have said, “they’re worse than us. How could you use them?” And God made it clear that he would also judge the Chaldeans for their wickedness after using them to judge the people of the land.

 

At the end of the day, Habakkuk found himself in a position of wonder. How could God do what he had planned? How could God not? Habakkuk knew that judgment needed to come. He knew that God’s righteousness needed to be shown. He knew that such would cause hardship on the people. Then he found out that God would use a radically unrighteous people to bring about his plan. At the end of the day, all Habakkuk could do is tremble all the while expressing a genuine confidence in the goodness of God to get things right in a seemingly irredeemable situation.

 

Hear the words that close Habakkuk’s prophecy: 

 

Habakkuk 3:16-19

 

16 I hear, and my body trembles;

my lips quiver at the sound;

rottenness enters into my bones;

my legs tremble beneath me.

Yet I will quietly wait for the day of trouble

to come upon people who invade us.

17 Though the fig tree should not blossom,

nor fruit be on the vines,

the produce of the olive fail

and the fields yield no food,

the flock be cut off from the fold

and there be no herd in the stalls,

18 yet I will rejoice in the Lord;

I will take joy in the God of my salvation.

19 God, the Lord, is my strength;

he makes my feet like the deer’s;

he makes me tread on my high places.

 

What did Habakkuk do in the face of his political nightmare? He trusted the Lord. He admitted his fear. Then he declared that, no matter how hard things Got, he would trust that God is good and God is in control. Even in hardships and frustrations, Habakkuk would rejoice in the goodness and perfection and character of God.

 

Shall we learn from the prophet? I hope so. Do we, as a nation deserve the judgment of God because of our sinfulness? Absolutely. Are we crying out to God to change our situation? Without question. Is it feasible that a rotten political leader might be exactly the tool God will use to reshape our country? Of course. Is it possible that God will radically reshape the political leader to make him different than many expect. You bet. Can we know what God will do for sure? Not at all. Should we tolerate evil activity from our leaders? No way. Should we oppose the flaws in our president-elect’s character that are clear for all to see? Yep. But, should that keep us from praying for his good, asking God to change him, and pleading with the Lord for mercy on him and on our nation? Nope.

 

At the end of the day, may we be like Habakkuk, turning to the Lord, seeking his mercy, and trusting him no matter how weird things around us get. If God used Babylon to accomplish his will, and then brought judgment on Babylon for the way they sinned in the process, we must recognize that he is wiser and greater than any of our plans. So, in the face of the unknown, let us say, “yet I will rejoice in the Lord; I will take joy in the God of my salvation. God, the Lord, is my strength…”

The modern depiction of God is quite often a depiction of a deity without any form of wrath or judgment. In general, people, when talking about their vision of what God must be like, will describe a character who is strong and giving, kind without interfering, open to all sorts of new ideas and ways, and who would not actually—not really actually—pass judgment on someone who is trying their best, or at least trying a little.

 

Of course, such a picture of God is false and unhelpful, though many do not see it. The picture is unhelpful because it fails to consider the depth of humanity’s cruelty. A wrathless deity has no recourse for the deep evil of humanity. It seems all well and good to deny the judgment of God, but what do you do when faced with a genocidal maniac? What do you do when confronted with a Hitler, a Stalin, a murderous mob boss, a child-kidnapping human trafficker? Obviously, then, our hearts cry for judgment, at least for judgment of a sort.

 

To believe that God is not in control or not able or willing to judge leaves us in a state where the existence of God is an irrelevancy. That, of course, is part of why our world likes to play with spirituality without defining the boundaries of faith, truth, or even justice. We only cry for justice when we see something terrible happen. Then, when we cry for it, humanity often points a finger at what they perceive to be their deity and ask why he did not fix the problem—even though they originally assumed him to be unwilling to judge and unable to participate in human affairs.

 

Yes, the non-judgmental, passive deity of modern imagination is not helpful. But there is something even worse than that being as unsatisfying: He does not exist. The Bible’s picture of God is not one of passivity. The Bible does not give us a picture of a God who is unwilling to judge. Just consider the revelation of God in the Old Testament book of Nahum.

 

Nahum is a prophet who spoke out against the city of Nineveh, capital of the Assyrian Empire. You may know of that city from the adventures of the prophet Jonah, the one who ran away from God only to be turned back to his proper course by being swallowed by a fish. Jonah preached against Nineveh, and, for a time, the people repented of their brutality and cruelty.

 

But, by the time Nahum is on the stage, the empire has gotten back to their unimaginable human cruelty. These people were the worst of the worst in their day, brutally torturing and killing those they conquered.

 

The modern depiction of a wrathless deity has nothing to offer those oppressed by the Assyrian blood lust. But the genuine God of the Bible has something to say.

 

Nahum 1:2-4

 

2 The Lord is a jealous and avenging God;

the Lord is avenging and wrathful;

the Lord takes vengeance on his adversaries

and keeps wrath for his enemies.

3 The Lord is slow to anger and great in power,

and the Lord will by no means clear the guilty.

His way is in whirlwind and storm,

and the clouds are the dust of his feet.

 

As Nahum’s prophecy opens, he calls on the people to realize that God has wrath, real, genuine, city-crushing wrath. God is slow to anger. He is patient. But, when the rubber hits the road, or when the refuse hits the fan, the God of the Bible will judge. His judgment will be strong, swift, irreversible, and unbearable.

 

Nahum 1:7-9

 

7 The Lord is good,

a stronghold in the day of trouble;

he knows those who take refuge in him.

8 But with an overflowing flood

he will make a complete end of the adversaries,

and will pursue his enemies into darkness.

9 What do you plot against the Lord?

He will make a complete end;

trouble will not rise up a second time.

 

God is going to judge. He points out that nobody can plot against him. Nobody can withstand his judgment. It will be like a sweeping flood. Enemies of the Lord will not stand.

 

Notice, however, even in the midst of the prophecy of coming judgment, Nahum highlights the fact that God is good. The wrath of God is no knock on his goodness. No matter what modern folks thing they want in a deity, a truly good God will judge. He must judge. He cannot ignore evil. To ignore evil, to let it go unpunished, would be the opposite of every bit of the character of God as revealed in Scripture. And, to ignore evil would go against what, if we were honest, we know must be true and right.

 

So, what do we take away from these thoughts. First, God is a judge, and this is good. It is both biblical and satisfying, even if it is terrifying to those of us who realize we are sinners. We are not the masters of the universe. We are not little kings and queens of creation who get to make our own rules. We are to be under the rule of a sovereign God. To fail to get under his mercy is to invite his judgment.

 

And, we take from this a joyful hope in the grace of God also presented right here in a passage full of judgment. In verse 7, Nahum told us, “The Lord is good, a stronghold in the day of trouble; he knows those who take refuge in him.” There is refuge to be found in the Lord. There is mercy for those who are willing, in obedience to his command, to come to him in faith and repentance. God would not be good if he never judged. But God is good when he shows mercy to those who run to him, getting under his authority and seeking his mercy. The judgment deserved by all God forgives was poured out on Jesus on the cross. The judgment for those who refuse God’s grace, who ignore his word, who turn away from him and make up a deity of their own design will fall directly on them as it fell on Nineveh. But the mercy of God is extended to all who will run to him and find grace in Christ. Thus, we can see that there is a genuine wrath in a genuinely good God.

Revelation 9:20-21 – 20 The rest of mankind, who were not killed by these plagues, did not repent of the works of their hands nor give up worshiping demons and idols of gold and silver and bronze and stone and wood, which cannot see or hear or walk, 21 nor did they repent of their murders or their sorceries or their sexual immorality or their thefts.

 

How do you respond to pain in your life? Do you use it as a tool to call you to evaluate your life? Or, as many, do you allow your pain to lead you into bitterness? It is so easy to harden at pain rather than soften toward the Lord. However, God intends even our hurts to conform us to his will.

 

In Revelation 8 and 9, we see scenes that are horrifying to behold. Supernatural natural disasters fall on the world because of mankind’s sin against the Lord. People suffer greatly. Yet, in that suffering, God always limits the scope. He does not release all his judgment all at once. He does not destroy all. There seems to be a reason that, though horrible, every judgment is only impacting a limited portion of the people.

 

Without wondering anything about the symbolism in these chapters, we can learn a valuable lesson. The people rebelled against the ways of the Lord. The Lord, in righteous judgment, allowed them to suffer greatly. But, and this is notable, the final verses of chapter 9 show us that the hardships the people faced were also a call to repentance. That is why the chapter closes with the terrifying epitaph, “The rest … did not repent.”

 

A proper human response to the horrors of chapters 8 and 9 of revelation as the angels blow their trumpets is to recognize our great need for salvation and forgiveness. The right reaction to the hardships that mankind brought upon the world is to humbly confess our sinfulness, turn from that sin, and seek God’s mercy. But, as we see in the verses above, this is seldom the reaction of humanity.

 

Now, move your mind away from Revelation. Move your thought process away from wondering about the monsters in the chapters. Stop yourself from considering what part of it is fully symbolic, what part has happened in human history, what part is literally to come, or what it all might look like. Instead, allow yourself to hear the more significant messages of the chapters. Here are two key truths to consider: God has limited our sufferings and our sufferings call us to turn toward the Lord.

 

First, realize that God has limited your sufferings. How can I say that? People have suffered absolutely dreadful things all over the world. People are suffering ghastly things right now. How can I say our sufferings are limited by the Lord? I can say this because, if you read this post, you are not under the full wrath of God in hell. That means that, no matter how hard life is, you and I have not faced the ultimate of suffering possible. We have not faced the full, unlimited, infinite wrath of God which would be the just penalty for our rebellion against him.

 

I do not use that last truth to belittle any person’s pain. O how true it is that many have faced pains that are so far beyond our imaginings. Such pain is terrible. I do not wish it on anybody or suggest that we consider it small. All I am doing is reminding us that, in light of eternity and in light of God’s justice, none of us alive today have faced all the hardships we could have. God has limited our pain.

 

Second, our sufferings call us to turn toward the Lord. In Revelation 9, the author saw that the sufferings of the people in the world should have brought them to repentance rather than doubling down on their rebellion. This should be true of us regardless of the cause of our sufferings. It is possible that we will go through pain as a direct result of our sin. WE may earn correction from God for our actions. That pain should bring us to repentance.

 

But, there is also a legitimate possibility that we will suffer, and that suffering may have nothing whatsoever to do with any sort of sin in our lives. Many people suffer because of physiological things in their lives not brought on as judgment. Many people are harmed by the evil actions of others or the simple brokenness of this fallen world. And we cannot say that these things are happening as a specific call to repentance. I fully acknowledge that not all pain is caused by the person feeling it.

 

But, whether your pain is a judgment from God or not, your pain is something that should turn you toward and not away from the Lord. If your pain is caused by your sin, repent. Let your hurt cause you to recognize that you face a far greater hurt in the final judgment. Let your pain move you to forsake rebellion and get under the lordship and grace of Christ.

 

But, if your pain is not caused by your actions, if your pain is the pain of the evil of others or the fallenness of the world, you should still allow that pain to drive you to the mercy of God. Our pain reminds us that we live in a broken world that is hopeless if left to itself. Our hurt shows us that we need to see justice done and fallenness fixed. Our pain reminds us that our bodies and our societies never do what we want them to do. Our pain reminds us that, without an eternity ruled by the Lord, our lives are meaningless. Yet, if we will come to him, the Lord offers us grace, adoption into his family, forgiveness, and eternal hope. God allows creation to groan under the weight of the fall of man until that day when Jesus returns and makes all things new. Our pain, even our tragic pain, is a call to run to Jesus, get under his mercy, and find our hope in him rather than in the fallen world’s system which can never offer us hope.

 

Dear friends, I do not belittle your pain. Nor would I want you to belittle mine. But, we can see a biblical call to rightly respond to our pain. If our pain is caused by our sin, we should repent and turn to the Lord. If our pain is not caused by our sin at all, we should run to the Lord for eternal hope. Either way, a right response to pain is to run, as fast as you can, to the open arms of the Savior.

Jonah 3:4-5 – 4 Jonah began to go into the city, going a day’s journey. And he called out, “Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown!” 5 And the people of Nineveh believed God. They called for a fast and put on sackcloth, from the greatest of them to the least of them.

 

How does the heart of man turn to the Lord? Who is ultimately in charge? What methods should we use to try to help people turn to the grace offered by Jesus?

 

In the book of Jonah, we see something astounding which helps us to grasp the calling on us all as we try to help the world see their need for a Savior. The prophet Jonah had no desire to see the people of the city of Nineveh turn to God. Jonah hated those people and their cruel empire. He did not want to see God have mercy on them. But, the Lord called Jonah to preach to the city, and so Jonah went there after a bit of a detour and a near-death experience.

 

Look at Jonah’s message. See in it all the beauty, the clever turning of phrase, the eloquence. See in Jonah’s words the deep, heartfelt persuasion. See the seeker-sensitivity on the lips of the prophet.

 

Do you not see those characteristics in Jonah’s sermon? You should not see them, as Jonah had none of them. Jonah’s message was a simple declaration of truth, “Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown!”

 

What do we want to model about Jonah? I would suggest only one thing: Jonah told the truth. Jonah lacked compassion, and we do not want that to be us. Jonah lacked any desire that the people repent, and we do not want that. Jonah did not offer grace, and we do not want to model that. But, Jonah told the people the truth, and this is what we need to do.

 

What happened when truth inspired by God was declared to a hard-hearted and rebellious people? Verse 5 shows us that the people repented. They believed Jonah’s warning, and they cried out to God for mercy. For a time, we see signs of genuine conversion.

 

How could that happen? The people were dead in their sins. They heard a message that was full of issues, lacking compassion, lacking invitation, and even lacking desire that the people be saved. Yet, when the truth came to the people, something changed in the hearts of the people. Did Jonah persuade them? I doubt that very seriously. What appears to have happened is that the Lord, by his sovereign power and for his glory, reached down into the hearts of people and drew them to himself. God took a message that should not have had any impact at all, empowered it with his Spirit, and changed hearts. Yes, the people responded. They were not without responsibility. But, I would argue that any person looking at this story fairly would grasp that God moved the people who then turned to him. God is the one ultimately responsible for the salvation of the people of the city.

 

And what shall we model? Let us be like the one good thing in Jonah. Let us be a people who tell the world around us the truth. Yes, let us have better tenderness and compassion. Yes, let us speak the truth in love. But may we be people who tell the world the truth and entrust the results to God. Let us know that our persuasive tactics do not change hearts. Instead, let us grasp that a true message of the word of God, when inspired by God, can and will lead to results because of the sovereignty of God. May we trust the Lord, love the lost, and tell the truth. Then, when we see results, may we give God all the glory, 100% of the glory, because no person comes to life without being raised from the dead, and that is a miracle in the hands of the Lord.

Revelation 11:15 – Then the seventh angel blew his trumpet, and there were loud voices in heaven, saying, “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he shall reign forever and ever.”

 

Can you read the above verse without having a performance of “The Messiah” run through your head? Over the Christmas season, we hear at least snippets of Handel’s masterpiece, including the “Hallelujah Chorus,” which itself inspired an earthly king to stand in reverence and awe. But, I wonder, do we really consider what it means that the Lord reigns and will reign, that Jesus is King of kings and Lord of lords.

 

What must be true if Jesus is King? What must be true if Jesus will reign? How does this fact impact the way that we talk to others about the Savior? How might it change our evangelism and our social media discourse? How should it change the impressions of others as they consider Christian claims?

 

Think with me. Jesus is King. He will reign forever and ever. The kingdom of the world will become the kingdom of our Lord and of is Christ. What does this mean?

 

One thing this all has to mean is that God will have his way. God has the right to tell us what to do, what to feel, and how to think. He has every right to define for us our personhood, our values, and our standards. God, not man, is ultimate. God is ruler. God’s standards are right and authoritative, regardless of what people think of as the progressive course of history.

 

When we share Jesus with others, do we let our words indicate his authority? So often, the Christian message is presented as a pleading, wheedling, weepy, begging that others might consider what we offer them, maybe, pretty please, if they might just try it for a moment. And, of course, our message should be presented with compassion, passion, and urgency. We do implore others to be reconciled to God as Paul said in 2 Corinthians 5:20. But this was not in any way to compromise the fact that Jesus is the King to whom we need to be reconciled. He is the Lord over all. His reign is neither strengthened nor lessened by our responses to him. He will rule. He will not violate righteousness and right standards in order to make his kingdom more palatable to us. Grace is glorious. God’s mercy is wonderful. God is loving toward us and offers us life. But, we ought not confuse ourselves by pretending that God’s offered mercy puts us in charge and makes him our subject.

 

How should the world see the call of Christ? Again, we often try to persuade the world that we are especially nice, likeable, cool, with-it people who are just like them except that we have some extra hope in our faith. And, it is indeed true that Christians have been responsible for tremendous good in the world from neighborhood events to drilling wells in the third world, from adoption culture to baby-sitting, from rescuing the trafficked to keeping somebody’s puppy, from building hospitals to caring for the homeless—Christians have done good in the world and try to do more. But, our good actions in the world are not the end-all of our call upon the world. We are not just like the rest of the world with this genuine exception: we are sinners like the rest of the world. However, we have, under God’s power, surrendered ourselves to his lordship and found salvation by grace through faith in Christ. We are different than the world. We call the world to obey the commands of the Lord as found in Scripture, and this is a 180 degree turn from the direction of the culture around us. We believe that God has commands for what we do with our lives, our families, our bodies, our gender, our sexuality, our unborn children, our everything. We are to submit to him as the King.

 

I offer to all people the opportunity to be made right with God. Our Lord has made a way for you to be forgiven, rescued, and adopted into his family. He offers you peace, hope, love, joy, and eternal life. But, understand that he is and will be King. He does not bend to you, you and I bow to him. Yet, there is no source of greater joy than to kneel before our King, because he has made us for that purpose and we will find our greatest fulfillment when we do what we were created to do. So, I urge you, be reconciled to God as your King and find yourself under his grace.

 

To all who are believers, I remind us that Jesus reigns. He is not a little weakling just wishing people would come to him and give him a little nod of acceptance. He is mighty. He is Lord. He reigns. He will reign. He is the conquering King who will return on a war horse with a sword in his teeth and blood on his robes. He is not a wimp. He does not change his standards of righteousness just because our culture feels something is a better idea. He is God, and we bow before him.

 

May we humbly bow and find the joy in the truth that Jesus is King. He shall reign forever and ever! Nothing will change that fact. May we then yield to our Lord and have peace in his rule.

Revelation 6:5-6 – 5 When he opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature say, “Come!” And I looked, and behold, a black horse! And its rider had a pair of scales in his hand. 6 And I heard what seemed to be a voice in the midst of the four living creatures, saying, “A quart of wheat for a denarius, and three quarts of barley for a denarius, and do not harm the oil and wine!”

 

When we hurt, where can we find comfort? How do we manage to stand when it seems that the world around us is in utter chaos? Where do the people of God find strength in times of hardship and suffering? Answering such questions is a primary focus of the book of Revelation, and we should not miss such answers (even if so many cannot find these answers in their rush to define all the timeline of the future).

 

In Revelation 6, we see the Lord Jesus beginning to unroll the scroll of human history, bringing the future of our world to its proper and God-honoring conclusion. As we watch the four horsemen ride out, we see a world marked by a spirit of conquest, of war, of famine, and of death. These four, of course, mark our condition quite well. But take specific note of the words said when the third horseman rides.

 

The word of God tells us that there is a voice which speaks when the rider on the black horse is sent out. There is a measuring of the food, a clear lack being in evidence. But then there is another command, “and do not harm the oil and wine!” Somehow, in the midst of deep darkness, of a day’s wages barely containing the purchasing power to feed a person for a day, there is a limit placed on the destruction. There are parts of the world that are, at that time, off-limits from ruin.

 

Of course, there are many points to be made from this passage of the book of Revelation, but how about considering this one: God is in control, even over our suffering. The people in the passage are facing a hardship, that is without a doubt. Conquest, war, famine, and death are not fun things to face. But, right in the middle of the situation, we see evidence, solid evidence, that the Lord is still completely in control. While he may allow people to cause all sorts of hardships, the people are never the ones in ultimate control. God has the ability to protect and provide for his own, no matter how evil and chaotic the world gets.

 

We may have many questions that arise as we consider the sovereignty of God. We may wonder why it is that God chooses to do things the way that he does them. And, such questions are good in many ways. However, we also should not miss the fact of what God is telling us in his word. In this part of his word, the Lord tells us that, no matter how crazy the world gets, he is still there, still sovereign, and still able to protect and preserve. 

 

What do you face that makes you believe that all is lost? What pain has taken you to the brink of despair? When have you wondered if God is actually able to help? Remember, even as you see the limits placed here with the horseman, that the Lord is present, he is able, he is preserving, and he will be glorified. God does not lose his own, even in the midst of a world gone mad. God will preserve his own, even when he judges all of humanity. There is hope, because the Lord is always still on his throne.

Some Thoughts on Worship

 

Revelation 4:8-11 – 8 And the four living creatures, each of them with six wings, are full of eyes all around and within, and day and night they never cease to say,

“Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God Almighty,

who was and is and is to come!”

9 And whenever the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks to him who is seated on the throne, who lives forever and ever, 10 the twenty-four elders fall down before him who is seated on the throne and worship him who lives forever and ever. They cast their crowns before the throne, saying,

11 “Worthy are you, our Lord and God,

to receive glory and honor and power,

for you created all things,

and by your will they existed and were created.”

 

I’m not sure that there is a more subjectively debated issue in all of Christendom than the issue of the practice of worship. If you’ve been in modern American Christianity for any time, you have probably heard of the “worship wars,” or you have experienced them. You have seen people go to the mat battling over musical styles in worship, over dressing up or dressing down, over bright lighting or theatre settings, over drums or no drums, over volume levels, over hymns or modern music, and over so much more. However, I wonder how much of this discussion includes biblical argumentation. How much of what we think about worship is informed by Scripture rather than by experience?

 

Consider, as one aspect of worship, the passage above. There we see a vision of worship happening in the throne room of God. God’s holiness is magnified by angelic beings. The human response is to bow down before the Lord and to declare him worthy. No person can argue that this is not worship.

 

What does the above contain that we might want to consider as we consider our own understanding of worship? First, let’s talk about holiness. How well do we do in remembering that our task is centered around the holiness of God? If you know me, you will know that I am not a slave to rigid formality and severity of mood—I enjoy, well, enjoying myself. I certainly do not think God is opposed to an attitude of celebration. However, worship at its clearest and deepest point is about the holiness of God. Thus, our actions of worship ought to reflect that holiness. There is a seriousness to what we should sing, say, and do as acts of formal worship of our Lord. Those actions should reflect the worth and value of the Holy One.

 

Then, look at the human response to God’s revelation of his holiness. The elders around the throne of God fell down and declared the truth of God’s worth. There was a humility about the people. The people responded to the truth of who God is. They responded to the accurate proclamation of God’s character and attributes. They did not respond to the emotional content of the art but to the rock solid truth of the words of truth. Perhaps we should consider this when we think about worship. Perhaps it would be better that we see to it that more truth is proclaimed and that this outweighs any emotional strings that are pulled by musical style, dramatic content, or nifty lighting.

 

I recall once being told by a pastor that he could tell whether the people were worshipping God by the looks on their faces. I suppose that would be true if worship was about mere emotional engagement. However, if worship is about truth of proclamation and submissive response, the looks on our faces are not the final measure of worship. Are we treating God as holy? Are we declaring truth about him? Are we yielding our lives to him? Those are far more proper measures of worship than any others.

 

Christians, may we stop the worship wars by returning to Scripture. Can a modern song focus us on the truth of the character of God and his holiness? If so, sing it. Can an ancient song focus us on the biblically presented perfections of God, than sing it. Does an old song focus us on shallow, emotional half-truths, then do not sing it no matter what hymnal it appears in. Does a modern song grab our emotions while ignoring the central focus on the Lord, then get rid of it.

 

What about more than music? The service of formal worship is about the declaration of the truth of God in Scripture. Yes, this should connect with our emotions because the truth of God grabs at our souls. However, we do not need to artificially shape things to bring about a response that is more a response to art than to truth. When art bows to truth, the two can blend in a wonderful moment. However, the focus of worship is and has always been the truth of God as expressed in the word of God.

 

This all only scratches the surface of the truth of what we must consider as we consider worship. However, it is important that we think about this topic and let it be directed by Scripture. Even the above paragraphs only scratch the surface of the passage above. Yet, they point us in the direction of the holiness of God and a proper human response of reverent awe and submission.

Revelation 3:20 – Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me.

 

Is Jesus knocking at the door of your heart? I’ve often heard that question asked, generally in the context of the end of a church meeting and generally aimed at those who are on the fence about whether or not to place their trust in Jesus. The passionate evangelist will tell the congregation that Jesus is knocking at the doors of the lost, and the sinner who opens their heart to the Savior will be saved—which is, of course, true. However, the problem with that being the way this verse is handled is this: It is intended for Christians.

 

What might it mean that the Lord is knocking at the heart doors of believers? Consider the context. Jesus is speaking to the church in Laodicea. It is a church that has become smug and self-confident. It is a church that thinks they can pull themselves up by their own bootstraps and strategize their way to success. They think they are really smart, personally successful, and quite appealing. But God says to them that they have no idea how poor, blind, and naked they really are in his sight. And it is to such people he says that he is knocking on the doors of their hearts, ready to restore and have fellowship with those who open to him.

 

Getting the context clear offers you and me a challenge if you are a believer in the Lord Jesus. Is your heart open to the fellowship and presence of the Savior? Are you humble? Do you realize that you cannot be strong on your own? Do you see that you cannot impress God with your goodness? Do you see that you have no good in you that the Lord has not granted you? Are you able to recognize that the source of joy that lasts is in the glory of God and not in the multiplying of possessions and comforts?

 

How about for your church as a whole? Do you see that you, as a body, do not impress God with your strengths? Can you recognize that the Scripture is not telling churches to cleverly strategize their success apart from the power of the Spirit of God working through them? Does your church recognize that we exist for the glory of God and not to be the best club on our block? Can your church see that worship is about declaring truth and humbling ourselves under God’s majesty more than it is about tweaking emotions or impressing the lost? Ultimately, are you and your church submitted to the word of God as your final authority on all things relating to life and godliness?

 

The Lord knocks on the hearts of Christians because, if we are not careful, we close our hearts to our Savior. We can impress ourselves. We can think we are great in our outreach programs or in our doctrinal superiority. We need to be reaching out. We need doctrinal fidelity. We need rich, Scriptural worship. But we cannot do any of that without being open to the Savior and submitted to his word. We must grasp that we need Jesus to be the church. We need Jesus to live our Christian lives. We are not as strong as we think we are. This is why the Savior knocks and offers the sweetness of his presence and fellowship.

 

Yes, if you do not know Jesus, the truth of the old evangelist is correct. Jesus says that if you will open your heart to him—trusting him and him alone for your salvation while turning away from all other sources of hope and authority—you will be saved. But the truth of the passage is for believers. We can grow cold and selfish if we are not careful. Our churches can become smug and self-reliant. To us the Savior declares that he knocks and is willing to return to his right position of supremacy in our hearts. And, when we yield to him, he also promises eternal rewards and joy.

Amos 4:11-13

 

11 “I overthrew some of you,

as when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah,

and you were as a brand plucked out of the burning;

yet you did not return to me,”

declares the Lord.

12 “Therefore thus I will do to you, O Israel;

because I will do this to you,

prepare to meet your God, O Israel!”

13 For behold, he who forms the mountains and creates the wind,

and declares to man what is his thought,

who makes the morning darkness,

and treads on the heights of the earth—

the Lord, the God of hosts, is his name!

 

The book of Amos begins with the spiraling judgment of God on the nations around the land of Israel. God shows that he will not allow the rebellion of mankind to go on forever unpunished. One might imagine the people of Israel watching God declare the punishment to fall on Syria, Moab, or even Judah with joy. But then the focus of the book becomes Israel, and the people are in deep trouble.

 

From chapters 2-3, God shows that Israel has turned against him in myriad ways. And, if we are not careful, we will start looking at the book as a mere historical lesson about the rebellion of the northern kingdom. But, we must recognize that we live, as Israel lived, surrounded by spiritual lawlessness and corruption. No person who looks around in our world would consider the landscape to be becoming more godly.

 

As chapter 4 comes into view, God repeatedly shows Israel how he warned the nation time and time again. He allowed the people to face hardships to help them to see their need to return to him. But the rebellious nation refused to turn from their sin and return to the Lord.

 

Does that not make you wonder about your own culture and situation? How many things have happened around us that should be driving us to our knees before the Lord? How many pains, crimes, hardships, and disasters should have drawn us as a people to seek the mercy and favor of the Lord. Yet, in all things, as a people, it seems that our nation continues to flaunt our rebellion.

 

With all that said, it is the final passage of chapter 4 that should cause us to tremble. The nation has seen the call of God to return. The nation has refused to return. And, because they have refused and refused and refused to return to the Lord, God says this, “prepare to meet your God, O Israel!”

 

God says to a rebellious people who have refused all of his warnings that, at the end of the day, they had better be ready to meet their Maker. The Lord will stop sending warnings. Instead, he will come on his own. And the obvious intent here is to warn them that, without repentance, there will only be judgment to come.

 

Are we ready to meet our God? No, my country is not Israel. Yet, my country is made up of human beings, people created by God and under obligation to turn to him rather than oppose him. We should repent. We should put an end to our evils. We should seek the mercy of the Lord in Christ. And we are not doing so. Are we ready, then, when the Lord says to us, “Prepare to meet your God!”?

 

May passages like this one drive us to prayer and repentance. While I love to preach the mercy of the Lord, there is a wrath of God as well. In fact, the concept of the mercy of God makes no sense apart from the reality of his right and just wrath. I would not be faithful as a preacher did I not warn us that God must righteously judge. We must, as a people, turn to him and seek his mercy. We must learn from the pains of this life that our only hope is the love of the Lord. Because, without turning to his grace, we will find ourselves meeting him in judgment, and that will not go well for the rebels—it never has.