Why Jesus? Can't a Loving God Just Forgive Anyone?

            Why the Christ?  I believe the answer is couched firmly in the character of God Himself.  The Scriptures teach many truths about the character of God: God is all-powerful, God is all-knowing, God is all-transcendent and all-immanent, God is immutable, God is eternal (forwards and backwards), God is all-sufficient, and also too many other superlatives than we can truly grapple with!  Bearing all this in mind, however, I believe the most standout feature of God’s character – the highest and best side of Him if you like – is His holiness.    It is interesting: the angels in heaven see God all of the time and the Scriptures show us that what they note first and foremost about Him is His holiness rather than His beauty, power, etc.   The angels note again and again that God is “holy, holy, holy”!  God is never “loving, loving, loving” or “merciful, merciful, merciful” – but He is thrice Holy!  I believe the answer of the question “why the Christ?” is to be found in God’s holiness.

            The simplest way to comprehend “holiness” is to think of it as all-encompassing, total, and absolute purity and perfection in every way, shape, and form.  Due to the impurity and imperfection of our own existence I would posit that it is impossible for us to accurately say, “I get it!” when it comes to the idea of what it truly means that God is “Holy, Holy, Holy”.  I realize this is an arguable statement, however, I would declare that God’s holiness is the engine which drives all of His other standout characteristics.  The absoluteness of God’s holiness require Jesus.  

            Absolute perfection and purity CANNOT abide ANY imperfection or impurity.  It is fully impossible: if purity abides impurity it becomes impure itself.  This truth is why the Bible states that a loving God judges and will judge.  Judgment must come from the pure against the impure.  It absolutely has to take place.  The Old Testament gives us a clear picture of this truth in the eleventh chapter of the book of Hosea:

^11:1 When Israel was a young man, I loved him like a son,

and I summoned my son out of Egypt.

^11:2 But the more I summoned them,

the farther they departed from me.

They sacrificed to the Baal idols

and burned incense to images.

^11:3 Yet it was I who led Ephraim,

I took them by the arm;

but they did not acknowledge

that I had healed them.

^11:4 I led them with leather cords,

with leather ropes;

I lifted the yoke from their neck,

and gently fed them.

^11:5 They will return to Egypt!

Assyria will rule over them

because they refuse to repent!

^11:6 A sword will flash in their cities,

it will destroy the bars of their city gates,

and will devour them in their fortresses.

^11:7 My people are obsessed with turning away from me;

they call to Baal, but he will never exalt them!

The Divine Dilemma: Judgment or Mercy?

^11:8 How can I give you up, O Ephraim?

How can I surrender you, O Israel?

How can I treat you like Admah?

How can I make you like Zeboiim?

I have had a change of heart!

All my tender compassions are aroused!

^11:9 I cannot carry out my fierce anger!

I cannot totally destroy Ephraim!

Because I am God, and not man—the Holy One among you—

I will not come in wrath!^[1]

                I love this passage!  It is an incredibly clear picture of the reason for Jesus.  We clearly see the fullness of God’s loving compassion; here it is specifically referenced to His people Israel.  However, we also are clearly confronted with the wrath of God which must flash out against God’s people in their rebellion against Him.  Yet the passage ends with the statement by God, “I cannot carry out my fierce anger . . . I will not come in wrath.”  So how does this work?  Is God a schizophrenic?  The answer can be simply stated in one word: JESUS!  The Apostle Paul answers the above dilemma in the following manner when he writes, “But when the appropriate time had come, God sent out his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we may be adopted as sons with full rights.”^[2]  In these thoughts we close in on the answer to our original question, “Why the Christ?”.

            God’s absolute moral perfection – His holiness – demands a negative response to any form of moral imperfection.  God is absolute love, but He cannot simply forgive without redemption taking place.  Moral imperfection must be redeemed, or covered, by perfection in order for the restoration of fellowship.  God sent Jesus to pay the price required to return that which is imperfect into harmony with the perfect.  God can make the seemingly contradictory statements He makes in Hosea because of Jesus.  The act of Jesus taking on humanity and dying as a human – yet a human who did no wrong nor ever became impure – satisfied the demands of God’s holiness.  The author C.S. Lewis wrote this thought in this manner: “the Witch knew the Deep Magic, [but] there is a magic deeper still which she did not know.  If she could have looked further back . . . she would have known that when a willing victim who had committed no treachery was killed in a traitor’s stead, the Table would crack and Death itself would start working backward” (The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, 163).  

            The Bible teaches us that we are the ultimate traitors against a Thrice-Holy God and that Jesus was a willing victim – like us in every way except for our moral imperfection – who paid the penalty in our stead.  The rebellion against God by the first Adam brought the penalty of death and the necessity for God’s wrath.  However, the substitutionary death of Jesus made possible, as we saw the Apostle Paul write above, not simply a balancing of the scales but “more better!” the possibility of our adoption as God’s Sons and Daughters.

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^[1] Hosea 11:1-9, the NET version.

^[2] Galatians 4:4-5, the NET version.

The Work of Christ in the Book of Romans, or, Monty Python and the Gospel of Christ

               There is a scene in the Monty Python movie, “The Life of Brian” (yes, I fully understand the dangers of using such a sacrilegious movie here but I assure you the reference has a proper point), in which the members of the “Peoples’ Front of Judea” are discussing the overthrow of the local occupying Roman army.  At one point the actor John Cleese demands to know, “What have the Romans ever done for us?!”  The expected answer is, of course, that the Romans are worthless shifts who have only taken from the Jews and given nothing in return.  The answer is, however, quite different.  The assembled members point out that the Romans have in fact given the Jews the aqueduct, sanitation, roads, irrigation, medicine, education, wine (!), public baths, public order, public health, and peace.  The real answer is that the Romans might well be an occupying force but they have in fact done a lot of good.

                Many people view Christianity in a very similar fashion.  Philosophers have opined that religion – and they were speaking directly against Christianity in fact – is an opiate of the masses and is a crutch for the mentally and morally infirm.  Many Believers are sucked into the lie that the obligations of the Christian life – what the Bible (and Jesus too, see John 14:15) teaches that true followers of Christ will actually do – are in fact burdens too great to carry and that God is the worst sort of cosmic spoil-sport and party-pooper.  The Psalmist felt the same way when he wrote in Psalm 73:13-16, “I concluded, “Surely in vain I have kept my motives pure and maintained a pure lifestyle.  I suffer all day long, and am punished every morning.”  If I had publicized these thoughts, I would have betrayed your loyal followers.  When I tried to make sense of this, it was troubling to me.”  This is not the only passage where such sentiment is felt and spoken of by the writer.  

                However, the Psalmist does not feel this way for very long.  He continues, “Then I entered the precincts of God’s temple, and understood the destiny of the wicked.  Surely you put them in slippery places; you bring them down to ruin.” (Psalm 73:17-18)  After remembering why it is that the Psalmist has kept his way pure in accordance with the commandment of God the Psalmist is further reminded that,

But I am continually with you; you hold my right hand.  You guide me by your wise advice, and then you will lead me to a position of honor.  Whom do I have in heaven but you?  I desire no one but you on earth.  My flesh and my heart may grow weak, but God always protects my heart and gives me stability.  Yes, look! Those far from you die; you destroy everyone who is unfaithful to you.  But as for me, God’s presence is all I need.  I have made the sovereign Lord my shelter, as I declare all the things you have done.  (Psalm 73:23-28)

                I have to write a paper for my systematic theology class under the subject of "the work of Christ".  After spending considerable time in research, I was forced to narrow the scope of the paper as my findings became too large to fit into the space I had to work with.  So I thought I would narrow down my source material for the paper to the book of Romans.  In the span of fifteen chapters in the book of Romans this is what the Apostle Paul was moved to tell us about the work of Christ.  I have included the references for the diligent reader to look up.  In the book of Romans Paul says that the work of Christ encompasses:

1. Christ is our faithfulness where we are unfaithful.  Romans 3:22

2. Christ is our redemption.  Romans 3:24 and Romans 5:6-8

3. Christ is our “Mercy Seat” accessible through faith.  Romans 3:25

4. Christ is our righteousness.  Romans 3:26 and Romans 5:9

5. Christ is our justifier.  Romans 3:26 and Romans 4:25

6. Christ is our peace with God.  Romans 5:1-2 and Romans 5:10-11

7. Christ is our joy!  Romans 5:2-5 and Romans 5:11

8. Christ is our life!  Romans 5:17-21 and Romans 6:8-11

9. Christ is our death!  Romans 6:1-7

10. Christ has set us free from the Law.  Romans 7:4-5

11. Christ has set us free from the resulting Law of Sin.  Romans 8:1 and Romans 10:4

12. Christ has set us free from the resulting Law of Death.  Romans 8:1 and Romans 10:4

13. Christ is the firstborn among many sons and daughters of God and Christ is the Image according to which the Father fashions His sons and daughters.   Romans 8:29

14. Christ intercedes for the saints.  Romans 8:34

15. Christ loves us and this love inescapably binds us to the love of God the Father.  Romans 8:35-39

16. Christ is the preached-word by which faith comes.  Romans 10:17

17. Christ is the body into whom/which God has adopted us, grafted us, gifted us, and equipped us for service.  Romans 8:15-16 and Romans 11:7-24 and Romans 12:5-8

18. Christ is the Lord of both the living and the dead (this brings to full circle the prior points that Christ is our Life and that Christ is our Death).  Romans 14:9

19. Christ is the fulfillment of the OT promises made to the patriarchs.  Romans 15:8

20. Christ is our unity.  Romans 15:5

21. Christ serves us, in that through Him we are able to glorify God.  Romans 15:5-10

                So apart from that, “What has Jesus the Christ ever done for us!?”  The Apostle John gave us the answer to this great question when he wrote the following: “There are many other things that Jesus did. If every one of them were written down, I suppose the whole world would not have room for the books that would be written!” (John 21:25)

                So Believer – may you be reminded of the length, the height, the breadth, and the depth of the surpassing greatness of our Savior and may your love for Him and your devotion to Him be kindled anew.  May you repent of any misgivings you may have had of your faith and of any unbelief in your heart trying to drag your allegiance away from the One who loved you and gave Himself for you!

                And to the one who has not yet entered into relationship with Jesus the Christ – as this small blog post has endeavored to lift up the great name of Jesus may you be drawn to Him and come to experience the joy, peace, and life of Jesus Christ for yourself and enter into the ranks of those of whom the Scriptures say, “But to all who have received him—those who believe in his name—he has given the right to become God’s children —children not born by human parents or by human desire or a husband’s decision, but by God.” (John 1:12-13)

                Wherever you stand, I’d love to hear from some of you!

** All Scripture taken from The NET Bible (Biblical Studies Press, LLC, 2005)

An Article by A.W. Pink titled "The Gospel of Satan"

The Gospel of Satan

Satan is the arch-counterfeiter. As we have seen, the Devil is now busy at work in the same field in which the Lord sowed the good seed. He is seeking to prevent the growth of the wheat by another plant, the tares, which closely resembles the wheat in appearance. In a word, by a process of imitation he is aiming to neutralize the Word of Christ. Therefore, as Christ has a Gospel, Satan has a gospel too; the latter being a clever counterfeit of the former. So closely does the gospel of Satan resemble that which it parodies, multitudes of the unsaved are deceived by it.

It is to this gospel of Satan the apostle refers when he says to the Galatians “I marvel that ye are so soon removed from Him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel: which is not another, but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the Gospel of Christ” (1:6, 7). This false gospel was being heralded even in the days of the apostle, and a most awful curse was called down upon those who preached it. The apostle continues, “But though we, or an angel from heaven preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed.” By the help of God we shall now endeavor to expound, or rather, expose, false gospel.

The gospel of Satan is not a system of revolutionary principles, nor yet a program of anarchy. It does not promote strife and war, but aims at peace and unity. It seeks not to set the mother against her daughter nor the father against his son, but fosters the fraternal, spirit whereby the human race is regarded as one great “brotherhood.” It does not seek to drag down the natural man, but to improve and uplift him. It advocates education and cultivation and appeals to “the best that is within us.” It aims to make this world such a congenial and comfortable habitat that Christ’s absence from it will not be felt and God will not be needed. It endeavors to occupy man so much with this world that he has no time or inclination to think of the world to come. It propagates the principles of self-sacrifice, charity and benevolence, and teaches us to live for the good of others, and to be kind to all. It appeals strongly to the carnal mind and is popular with the masses, because it ignores the solemn facts that by nature man is a fallen creature, alienated from the life of God, and dead in trespasses and sins, and that his only hope lies in being born again.

In contradistinction to the Gospel of Christ, the gospel of Satan teaches salvation by works. It inculcates justification before God on the ground of human merits. Its sacramental phrase is “Be good and do good;” but it fails to recognize that in the flesh there dwelleth no good thing. It announces salvation by character, which reverses the order of God’s Word-character by, as the fruit of, salvation. Its various ramifications and organizations are manifold. Temperance, Reform movements, “Christian Socialist Leagues,” ethical culture societies, “Peace Congresses” are all employed (perhaps unconsciously) in proclaiming this gospel of Satan—salvation by works. The pledge-card is substituted for Christ; social purity for individual regeneration, and politics and philosophy for doctrine and godliness. The cultivation of the old man is considered more “practical” than the creation of a new man in Christ Jesus; whilst universal peace is looked for apart from the interposition and return of the Prince of Peace.

The apostles of Satan are not saloon-keepers and white slave traffickers, but are or the most part ordained ministers. Thousands of those who occupy our modern pulpits are no longer engaged in presenting the fundamentals of the Christian Faith, but have turned aside from the Truth and have given heed unto fables. Instead of magnifying the enormity of sin and setting forth its eternal consequences, they minimize it by declaring that sin is merely ignorance or the absence of good. Instead of warning their hearers to “flee from the wrath to come” they make God a liar by declaring that He is too loving and merciful to send any of His own creatures to eternal torment.

Instead of declaring that “without shedding of blood is no remission,” they merely hold up Christ as the great Examplar and exhort their followers to “follow in His step.” Of them it must be said, “For they being ignorant of God’s righteousness and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God” (Rom. 10:3). Their message may sound very plausible and their appear very praiseworthy, yet we read of them, “for such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves (imitating) into the apostles of Christ. And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light. Therefore It is no great thing (not to be wondered at) if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness, whose end shall be according to their works” (2 Cor. 11:13–15).

In addition to the fact that today hundreds of churches are without a leader who faithfully declares the whole counsel of God and presents His way of salvation, we also have to face the additional fact that the majority of people in these churches are very unlikely to learn the Truth for themselves. The family altar, where a portion of God’s Word was wont to be read daily is now, even in the homes of nominal Christians, largely a thing of the past. The Bible is not expounded in the pulpit and it is not read in the pew. The demands of this rushing age are so numerous that the multitudes have little time and still less inclination to make preparation for their meeting with God. Hence the majority who are too indolent to search for themselves are left at the mercy of those whom they pay to search for them; many of which betray their trust by studying and expounding economic and social problems rather than the Oracles of God.

And now, my reader, where do you stand? Are you in the way which “seemeth right,” but which ends in death? Or are you in the Narrow Way which leadeth unto life? Have you truly forsaken the Broad Road that leadeth to death? Has the love of Christ created in your heart a hatred and horror of all that is displeasing to Him? Are, you desirous that He should “reign over” (Luke 19:14) you? Are you relying wholly on His righteousness and blood for your acceptance with God?

A yet more specious form of Satan’s gospel is to move preachers to present the atoning sacrifice of Christ and then tell their hearers that all God requires from them is to “believe” In His Son. Thereby thousands of impenitent souls are deluded into thinking that they have been saved. But Christ said, “Except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish” (Luke 13:3). To “repent” is to hate sin, to sorrow over, to turn from it. It is the result of the Spirit’s making the heart contrite before God. None except a broken heart can savingly believe on the Lord Jesus Christ.

Again; thousands are deceived Into supposing that they have “accepted Christ” as their “personal Saviour,” who have not first received Him as their LORD. The Son of God did not come here to save people in their sins, but “from their sins” (Matt. 1:21). To be saved from sins, is to be saved from ignoring and despising the authority of God, it is to abandon the course of self-will and self-pleasing, It is to “forsake our way” (Isa. 55:7). It is to surrender to God’s authority, to yield to His dominion, to give ourselves over to be ruled by Him. The one who has never taken Christ’s “yoke” upon him, who is not truly and diligently seeking to please Him in all the details of his life, and yet supposes that he is “resting on the Finished Work of Christ” is deluded by the Devil.

In the seventh chapter of Matthew there are two scriptures which give us approximate results of Christ’s Gospel and Satan’s counterfeit. First, in verses 13 and 14, “Enter ye In at the strait gate. For, wide is the gate and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction and many there be which go in thereby. Because strait is the gate and narrow is the way which leadeth unto life and few there be that find it.” Second, in verses 22 and 23, “Many will say to Me In that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied (preached) in Thy name? And in Thy name have cast out demons, and in Thy name have done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you, depart from Me, ye that work iniquity.” Yes, my reader, it is possible to work in the name of Christ, and even to preach in His name, and though the world knows us, and the Church knows us, yet to be unknown to the Lord! How necessary it is then to find out where we really are; to examine ourselves to see whether we be in the faith; to measure ourselves by the Word of God and see if we are being deceived by our subtle Enemy; to find out whether we are building our house upon the sand, or whether it is erected on the Rock which is Christ Jesus. May the Holy Spirit search our hearts, break our wills, slay our enmity against God, work in us a deep and true repentance, and direct our gaze to the Lamb of God which taketh away the sin of the world.^[1]

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^[1] Arthur Walkington Pink, The Arthur Pink Anthology (Bellingham, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc., 2005).