V-W Day

On Sundays we celebrate V-W Day — Victory Wilderness Day. Just as the Allied Forces celebrated first V-E Day, Victory Europe, then V-J Day, Victory Japan, so the church celebrates V-W Day whenever it meets to worship the living God. Jesus’ victory over the devil in the wilderness set the stage for his ultimate victory over sin and death, a condition that the devil fostered when he persuaded Eve to eat the forbidden fruit.

One chapter of that redemptive plan was God’s choosing of Israel, as a son, to be a “light to the nations.” He entered into covenant with them and gave them laws that, in the words of Moses, would be their “wisdom and . . . understanding in the sight of the peoples, who, when they hear all these statutes, will say, ‘Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people’” (Deuteronomy 4:6). God had purposed to use Israel to carry out his promise to Abraham that in him “all the families of the earth shall be blessed” (Genesis 12:4). But Israel failed its duties. How would this be rectified? God himself would provide his only-begotten Son who would accomplish what his rebellious chosen son had not. 

That Jesus fulfilled this role is evident in the struggle in the wilderness. His answers to the devil’s temptations designate him as the representative Israel, the true Israel. His being tempted over the course of 40 days is surely an allusion to the 40 years that Israel wandered in the wilderness. Yet, where they doubted, rebelled, complained, and died, Jesus would trust, obey, be content, and live. He is fully aware of the task he has been given and he remains obedient, at peace, and confident of his Father’s love. 

The devil was defeated and “departed from him until an opportune time” (Luke 4:13). Yet, even that opportune time, when “Satan entered into Judas called Iscariot” (Luke 22:3) and led him to betray Jesus into the hands of the Jewish leaders and the Roman magistrate, was something that happened “according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God” (Acts 2:13). 

Poor devil. He thinks he’s clever, that he still has a chance. But, in the words of Martin Luther, “Lo! his doom is sure. One little Word shall fell him!”

An Unfriendly Gospel

When one thinks of John the Baptist, one envisions this wild-eyed man with unkempt hair, dressed in animal skins and carrying a staff. His preaching is fiery, maybe even angry sounding — like some street corner preacher come to save the world, starting in Times Square. He may have been a number of those things, but what seems incongruous to modern sensibilities is that he was one who came preaching “good news” (Luke 3:18). John the Baptist was first and foremost a gospel preacher.

But his message and method are so unfriendly. He calls people names. He demands that they live ethical lives lest they face the wrath of God. And his description of the one who would follow him, the one for whom he is preparing the way, is not in the least appealing. That one comes prepared to consign people to eternal torment, like chaff burning with “unquenchable fire” if they do not repent of their sins. That’s gospel preaching? Where’s the love?

It’s Luke’s description of John as one who came “proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins” that helps us understand why his message was good news. He was laboring to “prepare a people” for the Lord. He warned of the one who was coming with a “winnowing fork is in his hand,” who would baptize either with the Holy Spirit or with fire (the Holy Spirit for those who heeded the call, and fire for those who did not), and people in need of righteousness could be prepared for that day by having their sins forgiven. Letting those under the wrath of God know that God has provided salvation is, indeed, good news. To suggest that they need not fear God’s wrath, or that the way of escaping judgment is though a heroic effort of self-improvement, is to substitute a false gospel for the true. It would be the most unloving message that one could ever utter.

John the Baptist’s method might not be suitable for every situation, but the substance of his message is. No one escapes the Day of Judgment. And what needs to be known about that day is summed up in the words, “It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God” (Hebrews 10:31). But the one whom John heralded was the one whose shed blood atoned for sin so that all who are his can say “there is . . . now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (Romans 8:1). That is the gospel. That is good news.

The Fullness of Time

Georg Friedrich Handel’s oratorio, The Messiah, is a staple of the Advent and Christmas season. Presentations abound, especially in a place like New York City. The words sung are a compilation of scriptures that attest to the unfolding narrative of redemption found in the Bible. Between the score and the libretto, the composer produced a powerful artistic expression of what the apostle Paul declares: “when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons” (Galatians 4:4-5). Handel’s Messiah is an ode to “the fullness of time.”

In his own way, Luke, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, by including the events surrounding Jesus’ birth in his “orderly account,” also produced an ode to “the fullness of time.” We learn from him that the birth of Jesus was something planned before the creation of the universe, for he was God’s Son entering into the world in the womb of a virgin. “Born of a woman,” he was the promised seed who would crush the head of the serpent. He was the evidence of God having remembered the covenant he made with Abraham, the one through whom all the families of the earth would be blessed. He was the promised eternal inheritor of David’s throne. He was the one to come out of Bethlehem “who is to be ruler in Israel, whose origin is from of old, from ancient days.” He was the one before whom would go the one sent “in the spirit and power of Elijah . . . to make ready for the Lord a people prepared.” He was the “light for revelation to the Gentiles, and for glory to . . . Israel.” He was the Anointed One, the long-awaited and longed for Messiah.

Having Luke’s “backstory,” there can be no guesswork as to what we are dealing with when he records for us, “Jesus, when he began his ministry, was about thirty years of age . . .” (Luke 3:22). And we understand with greater depth the pronouncement of Christ, "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.’’ (Mark 1:15).

Leap of Faith?

In looking for a definition of “faith” in the New Oxford American Dictionary I found the following: “strong belief in God or in the doctrines of a religion, based on spiritual apprehension rather than proof.” I suppose that’s how a lot of people understand faith. “I just believe even though I have no objective reason to believe.” But that’s not the approach the Bible takes. Consider the following language: “That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we looked upon and have touched with our hands, concerning the word of life-- the life was made manifest, and we have seen it, and testify to it--” 1 John 1:1, 2; “Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand . . . For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ . . . was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. Then . . . to more than five hundred brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive” 1 Corinthians 15:1-6; “Inasmuch as many have undertaken to compile a narrative of the things that have been accomplished among us, just as those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and ministers of the word have delivered them to us, it seemed good to me also, having followed all things closely for some time past, to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus,” Luke 1:1-3. Does it sound like John, Paul, and Luke expect their readers to possess a belief based upon “spiritual apprehension” alone “rather than proof”?

God does not expect a “leap of faith” at any time during our discipleship. What he expects is that we “connect the dots.” He asks us to trust him for the future based upon what he has done in the past. A “leap of faith” would be required if we had not reason to believe that the accounts left for us are true or that God, who promised that he would act to secure eternal life for his people, has really done nothing but sit upon his non-existent hands. 

But we know better than that. He promised redemption and he fulfilled that promise by sending his only-begotten Son to do for us what we could not do for ourselves. Our faith confesses, therefore, that if he “did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?” Romans 8:32.

Self-Controlled Lives

“For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age” (Titus 2:11-12). What does it mean for you to live a “self-controlled” life? It’s the difference between you living with others, and forcing others to live among you. The latter suggests that you are indifferent as to how much your behavior affects those around you, the former suggests that you are mindful of how you share life’s space. It’s clear from Paul’s letter that we are not to live as those who have to be managed or endured. Rather, our living should enhance the living of others. Additionally, and most importantly, our learning to live self-controlled lives keeps us from bringing disrepute on the faith and the God we confess.

The expectation for older men in the “household code” of Titus 2 is instructive for all of us: “Older men are to be sober-minded, dignified, self-controlled, sound in faith, in love, and in steadfastness” (v. 2). There is a certain decorum expected of older men, a decorum that comes from having lived longer and learned from that living. The closing triplet, however, offers a clue as to how a Christian of any age can live in a self-controlled manner: “sound in faith, in love, and in steadfastness.” If our faith is sound, that is, based upon sound teaching (2:1), we will understand who God is, and why the world is the way it is, and why we act as we do, and why we need the grace of God in our lives, and how Jesus Christ expressed that grace by giving “himself for us to redeem us.” Secure in this knowledge we are released to be sound in love. No longer thinking we must win God’s favor by doing good, we can do good out of true love. Lastly, secure in the knowledge of God’s love, freed from looking at the world as something that is there to gratify our needs, we can exercise a constancy that can be relied upon as we serve the church and our neighbors.

Given the reputation of the island, the newly minted Christians of Crete likely needed Paul’s repeated emphasis on self-control. We could argue, however, that our culture is just as focused on self-gratification as was theirs. The challenge, therefore, is to remember that we are not an island unto ourselves. There are people all around us. We must ask God for the grace to live with them and not force them to live among us, so that “in everything [we] may adorn the doctrine of God our Savior.”

Cretans Being Cretans, Not Christians

Paul presents a stark contrast between those who are fit to lead a church and those who are not. His instructions to Titus make it clear that Titus should be looking for men that have been sufficiently shaped by the Holy Spirit and the Word of God that they will be able to nurture the flock and defend the faith. The need was immediate for there were some moving among the churches who were still acting like Cretans, not Christians, and offering teaching that was gainful, not biblical. The result was that “whole families” were being troubled. Paul directs Titus to sharply rebuke these men that “they may be sound in the faith.” The circumstances on Crete demanded this strong response from the apostle. If the unbiblical cultural commitments in which these new converts had been nurtured continued to hold sway in their lives, they, and the church, would not prosper. Biblical authority and truth needed to be established (see Titus 1).

The challenge that the early church faced on Crete is the same challenge that the church has faced in every generation and location. How can people have their minds renewed and their lives ordered so that they think and act like human beings are created to think and act? As Paul’s counsel suggests, they must learn “sound doctrine” based upon the “trustworthy word” and allow it to become the definitive voice in their lives. 

Now, I doubt if many of the people reading this reject in principle the need for sound doctrine based upon the trustworthy word to be authoritative in the church. In practice, however, it can be a hard won battle. This is particularly so when the teachings of Scripture run contrary to the prevailing culture.  Believers are then forced to choose and if they are not yet sufficiently trusting of Scripture’s authority, the prevailing culture wins out. That appears to be what happened to those on Crete who were teaching “for shameful gain.” They were just doing what Cretans were known for, what everyone else thought was perfectly acceptable.

There’s a standing warning in this letter. It tells us to reexamine our thinking when what we allow as perfectly acceptable runs contrary to Scripture, no matter how much it is being embraced in the prevailing culture. Each generation will have its own challenges in this regard, but submitting to the truth of God is the wisest, the only, choice.

Grace for Then - Grace for Now

Some time back, a controversy arose in the evangelical church over what is called “lordship salvation.” In its simplest terms, the question is whether one can have Christ as Savior but not as Lord. That is, can one possess salvation for eternal life while exhibiting no discipleship in this life? The “lordship salvation” people say that if one has been redeemed by the grace of God, one should also expect that one will be renewed by the grace of God. Those who oppose, say that to measure whether or not people are saved by judging their progress in holiness is a form of legalism — if grace is free apart from works then we should not be judging that grace by works. Lordship people counter by saying that, indeed, grace is free, not a result of works, but the grace imparted for salvation is also imparted for sanctification, they cannot be separated.

I’m with the “lordship salvation” camp. What I find comforting in this doctrine is that the holiness expected of disciples throughout the New Testament does not rest in my will or determination to realize. It is grace that is “training [believers] to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age” (Titus 2:12). As John MacArthur observes, “It is unthinkable that God would sacrifice His Son to purchase heaven for sinners but leave them to fend for themselves against the power of sin in this life.” Grace is available, is at work, to make us into the kind of people Jesus came to save, “a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works” (Titus 2:14).

Does that mean that there is nothing for us to do regarding sanctification? Do we just persist in feeding on sin until grace comes along, grabs us by the scruff of the neck to drag us away from the trough? I don’t think that’s what Paul (nor the “lordship” camp) has in mind. Consider the description of the activity of grace in the letter: training. This is the Greek term used to describe the instruction of children. The purpose of training is to direct children to what is good and healthy for them. The hoped for result is that they will learn for themselves, evidenced by their following the wisdom they have embraced, what is profitable and what is not. It’s no different for us. Grace is at work awakening us to what is true, good, and beautiful so that we would “live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age.” Grace saves; grace trains. Grace for then; grace for now. Soli deo gloria.