This post is coming when I am a) sick b) tired and c) introspective. This means it will be disconnected, possibly incoherent and swing wildly from sadness to joy. Let's begin...
Lately, I have been missing Michigan. I miss Portage. I want to go up and see all of my favorite landmarks. I want to eat at Sweetwater Doughnuts. I want to walk behind the public library and see the snow falling. I want to be around people that have similar accents and don't make fun of how I say "egg" and "leg" because they all say it weird too. I miss hanging out with people who enunciate every syllable in a word. I miss the Michigan sarcasm. I miss the way people let you into their hearts up there...even if it took a long time. I miss the awesome syrup. I miss the strong Dutch influences. Heck, I miss wooden shoes and clogging. I miss Plainwell ice cream. I miss feeling like it was really Fall and it was really Thanksgiving. I miss the Detroit Lions (I still don't know why).
I think honestly, I miss the memories. I miss being a kid sometimes. I miss the walks to the park with my mom. I miss going on nature hikes with my dad. I miss running around First Baptist Church of Portage with my church friends, thinking we were warriors and explorers. I miss the safety I felt during the holiday season. I miss the feel of fresh snow beneath my feet and my nose getting cold. I miss feeling suave and cool eating at Big Apple Bagels (because it had the word "deli" in the name). I miss waking up early and watching Saturday morning cartoons. I remember when the most epic event in my life consisted of Superman and Batman teaming up on Saturday morning to fight the Joker. There was nothing greater in my mind. I miss the innocence of collecting Archie comics and baseball cards and the excitement of going to Scott's Comics and Cards with my dad on Saturday morning. I miss the drive we used to have to take to get to a Wal-Mart in Otsego. I always knew I would be getting a Hot Wheels car from my dad. The most serious choice I had to make was which one to pick out.
As much as I miss those memories though, I know one thing: memories can become an idol. It is so easy to long for simpler times. It is so easy to think back and live in the past. But God has placed me in a particular topos, a place, for a specific purpose. For the past year or so, God has really been breaking me of my two biggest areas of personal struggle--focusing too much on the future and dwelling too much on the past. God has had to rip away virtually every single idol (like education) and has forced me to focus on the now. He has redirected my focus to my original calling of being a pastor.
He has really done this by refocusing my eyes upon the cross and the gospel. I have been exploring this concept of "preaching the gospel to yourself" for the past year and I can honestly say, it has revolutionized my life. It has opened my eyes anew to the wonders of the gospel. It has forced me to stop being so caught up in the past or focused too much on the future. God has forced me to look at him and just enjoy the grace of being where I am, who I am and who I am with. God has told me to stop with the "self-improvement" techniques and just delight in Him. I have been trying to explore the depth of the riches of God.
So while I still miss the things of my past, I am learning to realize my security back then was a grace God provided for a time. But my ultimate security and my ultimate joy should be found in Christ. I find security because of his death and resurrection. I am united with him and secure in him.
Tuesday, July 31, 2012
Sunday, July 22, 2012
Theology of Luke and Acts Book Review
For years now there have been three major staples on my bookshelf: Darrell Bock's two-volume commentary on Luke and and his one volume commentary on Acts from the BECNT series. Bock has established himself as an expert on Lukan-source material. So I eagerly was anticipating his synthesis of Luke's theology in his Gospels and in Acts in A Theology of Luke and Acts: God's Promised Program, For All Nations which is a part of Zondervan's Biblical Theology of the New Testament series. I was not disappointed.
The first four chapters of this 500+ page resource are devoted to introductory matters and take up less than 1/5 of the book. The real meat and potatoes are found in 19 chapters where he absolutely breaks down the theology of Luke. I spent my time with chapter 5 in Bock's work which was devoted to a narrative development of the "Plan, Activity and Character of God." Bock walks the reader through virtually every chapter tracing how God's plan of introducing the "already not-yet of the kingdom" works itself out.
As Bock so eloquently displays in his narrative approach to the chapter, often the acts of God are placed out in the open and later are explained by the characters themselves. These sort of helpful insights are scattered throughout Bock's text and shed helpful light upon the text as a whole.
As a youth pastor, I am constantly looking for the application for my teens and for myself. Some commentaries leave me with a lot of research and a breathtaking amount of information, but with little I can really nail down and make practical. However, each of Bock's chapters is just loaded with application. I will fully admit that as I read through his book, I found myself praise God and his infinite wisdom.
That is the kind of writer Darrell Bock is--he is a theologian in love with God. I highly commend A Theology of Luke and Acts: God's Promised Program, For All Nations.
*Thanks to Zondervan for providing me a review copy of the book in exchange for a fair and balanced review.*
The first four chapters of this 500+ page resource are devoted to introductory matters and take up less than 1/5 of the book. The real meat and potatoes are found in 19 chapters where he absolutely breaks down the theology of Luke. I spent my time with chapter 5 in Bock's work which was devoted to a narrative development of the "Plan, Activity and Character of God." Bock walks the reader through virtually every chapter tracing how God's plan of introducing the "already not-yet of the kingdom" works itself out.
As Bock so eloquently displays in his narrative approach to the chapter, often the acts of God are placed out in the open and later are explained by the characters themselves. These sort of helpful insights are scattered throughout Bock's text and shed helpful light upon the text as a whole.
As a youth pastor, I am constantly looking for the application for my teens and for myself. Some commentaries leave me with a lot of research and a breathtaking amount of information, but with little I can really nail down and make practical. However, each of Bock's chapters is just loaded with application. I will fully admit that as I read through his book, I found myself praise God and his infinite wisdom.
That is the kind of writer Darrell Bock is--he is a theologian in love with God. I highly commend A Theology of Luke and Acts: God's Promised Program, For All Nations.
*Thanks to Zondervan for providing me a review copy of the book in exchange for a fair and balanced review.*
Friday, May 25, 2012
"Introduction to Early Christianity" Review
I will admit upfront my frustration with many books on early Christianity. I find it rare that any book on early Christianity contains everything I am looking for. I want a book that quotes extensively from the original sources. I want a book that outlines clearly and systematically what the early church believed (although I recognize it was far from monolithic). I want it to be easy to read and to not go into unnecessary depth. I want it to be exciting and capture the drama.
Maybe I am asking for too much. But I get really tired of reading books that promise me a systematic look at the early church beliefs and then only take a few church fathers and systematize their views. Crossway's Rediscovering the Church Fathers: Who They Were and How They Shaped the Chuch is a classic example in my opinion of how not to write a book on early Christianity. It was absolutely abysmal. Yet it feels that almost every book I have read on early Christianity does this. So, I will admit that approaching Laurie Guy's Introducing Early Christianity: A Topical Survey of Its Life, Beliefs & Practices, I had both high hopes and yet fully expected to be disappointed.
But here is what is awesome: I wasn't. Laurie Guy has written a truly accessible and engaging work on the early church. What I absolutely love about this book is that the author tries really hard to give you the panoramic view of what the early church believed. He deals with church government, baptism, women in ministry and more. Each chapter feels like the perfect length too. While at times, I confess, the writing is a tiny bit dry, I still really enjoyed the work as a whole.
He quotes a good bit from the original sources too. I really appreciate that. I want to hear from the church fathers themselves--not just a summary of their thought.
As far as the most enlightening chapter, that has got to be the chapter of women in ministry. Not only is the chapter incredibly challenging, but it also gives a great deal of perspective to the current debate that ranges in the church.
Perhaps the best thing I can say about the book is that it puts evangelicals in touch with their heritage. So often we forget that tradition is so vitally important and we forget that our beliefs were born through much blood sweat and tears. The men who passed down our beliefs were truly brilliant thinkers. In a day and age where we have a sort of intellectual snobbery because we have more information, Guy's Introduction to Early Christianity is a stout reminder that we stand on the shoulders of God-loving, theological giants. I was humbled and excited.
So get this book. You won't be disappointed!
*Thanks to IVP Academic for providing me with a free review copy of this book in exchange for a fair review*
Maybe I am asking for too much. But I get really tired of reading books that promise me a systematic look at the early church beliefs and then only take a few church fathers and systematize their views. Crossway's Rediscovering the Church Fathers: Who They Were and How They Shaped the Chuch is a classic example in my opinion of how not to write a book on early Christianity. It was absolutely abysmal. Yet it feels that almost every book I have read on early Christianity does this. So, I will admit that approaching Laurie Guy's Introducing Early Christianity: A Topical Survey of Its Life, Beliefs & Practices, I had both high hopes and yet fully expected to be disappointed.
But here is what is awesome: I wasn't. Laurie Guy has written a truly accessible and engaging work on the early church. What I absolutely love about this book is that the author tries really hard to give you the panoramic view of what the early church believed. He deals with church government, baptism, women in ministry and more. Each chapter feels like the perfect length too. While at times, I confess, the writing is a tiny bit dry, I still really enjoyed the work as a whole.
He quotes a good bit from the original sources too. I really appreciate that. I want to hear from the church fathers themselves--not just a summary of their thought.
As far as the most enlightening chapter, that has got to be the chapter of women in ministry. Not only is the chapter incredibly challenging, but it also gives a great deal of perspective to the current debate that ranges in the church.
Perhaps the best thing I can say about the book is that it puts evangelicals in touch with their heritage. So often we forget that tradition is so vitally important and we forget that our beliefs were born through much blood sweat and tears. The men who passed down our beliefs were truly brilliant thinkers. In a day and age where we have a sort of intellectual snobbery because we have more information, Guy's Introduction to Early Christianity is a stout reminder that we stand on the shoulders of God-loving, theological giants. I was humbled and excited.
So get this book. You won't be disappointed!
*Thanks to IVP Academic for providing me with a free review copy of this book in exchange for a fair review*
"Global Theology in Evangelical Perspective" Review
Global Theology In Evangelical Perspective is a collection of essays that were presented at the Wheaton Theology Conference in 2011. As one might expect from a book that features of a host of contributors, some essays are solid while others are lacking. In terms of strong chapters, K.K. Yeo's chapter on Christian Chinese Theology stands out as does Jeffery P. Greenman's chapter on learning and teaching global theologies. I also found Terry LeBlanc's chapter on Native American theology quite interesting as well.
But let me be level my one major criticism against this book: in the contributors' desire to be global, they rail an awful lot on Western theology. We hear again and again about how impacted by the Enlightenment we are. We hear about how we are obsessed with either/or theology. We hear about how we are overly speculative and miss the point. We hear about how intolerant we are against people with different experiences.
A good example of this is actually in Terry LeBlanc's chapter. In that chapter he relays the story of a friend who went out and "heard the trees" tell him what to do in relation to a particular problem. LeBlanc argues that we should view this experience through the lens of creation groaning in Romans 8:15ff. However, he argues, Western theology would view this as panentheism at best and pantheism at worst--something demonic and not Christian. Westerners, according to LeBlanc, have failed in this respect.
It seems to me that LeBlanc isn't on very solid exegetical ground here (no doubt another sign of my very Western lens--I am passionate about correct exegesis). But the deeper question is this: are Westerners justified in their concern? If we are to be truly global in our theology, that means we must not just listen to other voices but also critique other voices in light of what God's Word says. One of the biggest weaknesses in the collection of essays is that God's Word is seldom cited. As a result, it reads like a bunch of speculative (overly pretentious, to be honest) people who speak a lot about experience and little about the Word of God. While our experience should play an important role, it always needs to be in humble submission to the text.
I also worry if we are not blowing the differences between our theologies out of proportion. Most of the time, as I was reading the book, I thought "We have been saying that as Westerners for years." It felt like the contributors were railing against strawmen that simply were not true.
My advice? Save money and check out this book. There are better books and the essays don't seem to contribute much to the overall discussion of global theology.
*Thanks to IVP Academic which provided me a free review copy of this book in exchange for a fair review*
But let me be level my one major criticism against this book: in the contributors' desire to be global, they rail an awful lot on Western theology. We hear again and again about how impacted by the Enlightenment we are. We hear about how we are obsessed with either/or theology. We hear about how we are overly speculative and miss the point. We hear about how intolerant we are against people with different experiences.
A good example of this is actually in Terry LeBlanc's chapter. In that chapter he relays the story of a friend who went out and "heard the trees" tell him what to do in relation to a particular problem. LeBlanc argues that we should view this experience through the lens of creation groaning in Romans 8:15ff. However, he argues, Western theology would view this as panentheism at best and pantheism at worst--something demonic and not Christian. Westerners, according to LeBlanc, have failed in this respect.
It seems to me that LeBlanc isn't on very solid exegetical ground here (no doubt another sign of my very Western lens--I am passionate about correct exegesis). But the deeper question is this: are Westerners justified in their concern? If we are to be truly global in our theology, that means we must not just listen to other voices but also critique other voices in light of what God's Word says. One of the biggest weaknesses in the collection of essays is that God's Word is seldom cited. As a result, it reads like a bunch of speculative (overly pretentious, to be honest) people who speak a lot about experience and little about the Word of God. While our experience should play an important role, it always needs to be in humble submission to the text.
I also worry if we are not blowing the differences between our theologies out of proportion. Most of the time, as I was reading the book, I thought "We have been saying that as Westerners for years." It felt like the contributors were railing against strawmen that simply were not true.
My advice? Save money and check out this book. There are better books and the essays don't seem to contribute much to the overall discussion of global theology.
*Thanks to IVP Academic which provided me a free review copy of this book in exchange for a fair review*
Thursday, May 24, 2012
"Spirituality According to Paul" Review
Probably one of the best books written last year that seemed to really fly under the radar was Rodney Reeves' little book Spirituality According to Paul: Imitating the Apostle of Christ. I don't say this lightly because there were a lot of really good theological works written in 2011. However, in terms of sheer practicality, I think Reeves' book is up there.
Let me explain a bit. Spirituality According to Paul is organized around Paul's three major ideas: you were crucified with Christ, buried with Christ and raised with Christ. Reeves' devotes four chapters to exploring each of these themes. The catch to all of this is that he explores in a way that reminds of the mystics--except with jam up exegesis. What I mean is that each chapter is packed with these powerful, practical ideas and insights into Paul's theology. However, the book isn't linear like many theological works and it definitely doesn't spend a significant time on any one given topic. Think a less poetic, more exegetical Eugene Peterson and you are barking up the right tree with this book. Reeves' style is fluid and compelling and makes you want to read more.
For what it is worth, I thought the first four chapters alone would be worth the price of admission. In particular, his first two chapters absolutely floored me. I actually had to put the book down on numerous occasions and just worship God. However, what is perhaps the greatest praise for a book that I can give is this: it made me want to go back and re-read the Bible. Reeves' book made me want to put his book down and pick up Philippians and read it again...and again...and again. Seriously. Reeves' book is that compelling.
I don't know really how to categorize this book. It isn't academic per se, but it would be misleading to say it isn't scholarly. It is. It is just so unbelievably practical that it makes you feel like you are reading a devotional. So go buy this book. You won't regret it.
*Thanks to IVP for providing me with a free review copy of this book in exchange for a fair review.*
Let me explain a bit. Spirituality According to Paul is organized around Paul's three major ideas: you were crucified with Christ, buried with Christ and raised with Christ. Reeves' devotes four chapters to exploring each of these themes. The catch to all of this is that he explores in a way that reminds of the mystics--except with jam up exegesis. What I mean is that each chapter is packed with these powerful, practical ideas and insights into Paul's theology. However, the book isn't linear like many theological works and it definitely doesn't spend a significant time on any one given topic. Think a less poetic, more exegetical Eugene Peterson and you are barking up the right tree with this book. Reeves' style is fluid and compelling and makes you want to read more.
For what it is worth, I thought the first four chapters alone would be worth the price of admission. In particular, his first two chapters absolutely floored me. I actually had to put the book down on numerous occasions and just worship God. However, what is perhaps the greatest praise for a book that I can give is this: it made me want to go back and re-read the Bible. Reeves' book made me want to put his book down and pick up Philippians and read it again...and again...and again. Seriously. Reeves' book is that compelling.
I don't know really how to categorize this book. It isn't academic per se, but it would be misleading to say it isn't scholarly. It is. It is just so unbelievably practical that it makes you feel like you are reading a devotional. So go buy this book. You won't regret it.
*Thanks to IVP for providing me with a free review copy of this book in exchange for a fair review.*
Monday, April 16, 2012
When the Key Doesn't Fit: A Review of James M. Hamiliton Jr's "Revelation: The Spirit Speaks to the Churches."
I do not envy the man who attempts to write a commentary on the book of Revelation. It is a tough book to preach, let alone write a commentary on. There are far too many bad commentaries out there too. Some are overly speculative and leave the reader with little more than some great fiction reading. That is really a shame because of the book of Revelation is incredibly relevant to the church today. That is why I applaud James Hamilton's new commentary Revelation: The Spirit Speaks to the Churches, which is a part of the the "Preaching the Word" series. Hamilton combines both great scholarly detail and incredibly relevant application into one commentary. You can tell as you read the book that Hamilton loves to preach and loves the church. It absolutely shines through in this commentary.
This commentary is written first and foremost with the pastor in mind. Each chapter is broken down into different parts: an opening illustration, the need that the part of Revelation meets in the church, the main point of the passage, a preview of the text (that is, an outline of the text), the context, the exegesis of the outline and then the conclusion. As you can see, the book is thorough and yet contains application throughout each section. This is a tremendous resource for pastors. Some of the charts Hamilton has in the book are absolutely wonderful as well.
Now, for the gritty details that every person wants to know about a commentary on Revelation. Hamilton is pre-mil but not a Dispensationalist. He is heavily, heavily influenced by G.K. Beale's theology of the temple. Hamilton is an expert in parallels between the OT and NT and draws heavily upon those parallels to formulate his exegesis of the text.
This is where, in my opinion, Hamilton runs into problems. Too often I feel that Hamilton will argue against a literal understanding of the text because he sees a parallel in the OT. As a result, it often feels that Hamilton is forcing a key into a lock that doesn't fit. An example of this is in chapter 21 where he exegetes 11:1-19. Hamilton argues that a) the temple is not a literal temple but rather is figurative for the church, b) the two witnesses are the church and c) the 42-months is not a literal 42-months but rather refers to church history from the time of the cross until the time of the beast.
He bolsters his argument showing the parallels between the two witnesses and Zechariah 4 as well as some inter-textual parallels. That is all well and good. But his hermeneutic runs afoul here. First, Hamilton points out that Daniel's "weeks of years" were, in fact, literal. But then, just a few sentences later, argues that there is no literal seven year tribulation. Logic would argue that if Daniel was literal for the first 69 weeks of years, he would be literal for the last one. Similarly, Hamilton argues that the two witnesses are the church because 1) in the Bible everything must be confirmed by two witnesses; 2) they are called lampstands and so are the churches in Revelation 1; 3) the image of the witnesses as lampstands and olive trees goes back to Zech. 4 which symbolically means that the church will be Spirit-empowered; 4) the witnesses have the power of Elijah and Moses which are symbolic of the protection the church will have.
The issue here is that if all of these images are based upon literal things (with the exception of Zechariah 4), why can't the two prophets be literal? Why can't they have power like Elijah and Moses? Why can't there be a literal temple? There is nothing intrinsic within the text that would suggest this has to be symbolic. In fact, a reader of the OT would expect there to be a literal fulfillment. It would seem to me that Hamilton is too quick to write off a literal interpretation of these events. Admittedly, a literal-interpretation of the text is not popular anymore. Still, I find Hamilton's interpretation of these texts unpersuasive.
That said, it would be a shame to miss out on what Hamilton himself mentions: regardless of your opinion of what the text says, all can agree that the Revelation 11:1-19 shows God's sovereignty in protecting his people. And there lies the beauty of this commentary--even when you disagree with Hamilton, he gets to the bigger picture. He reminds the reader of what really matters--unity and seeing the God of the Bible. He finds the lowest common denominator and reminds the reader of that.
That, to me, is the strength of this commentary and one of the reasons I love James Hamilton's writings. You may not agree with everything he says, but you will always come out worshiping God. So pick up Revelation: The Spirit Speaks to the Churches. You won't be disappointed and you will certainly become a sharper exegete for it.
*Thanks to Crossway Publishing for providing me with a free review copy of this book in exchange for a fair review. I was under no obligation to give this book a positive review.*
This commentary is written first and foremost with the pastor in mind. Each chapter is broken down into different parts: an opening illustration, the need that the part of Revelation meets in the church, the main point of the passage, a preview of the text (that is, an outline of the text), the context, the exegesis of the outline and then the conclusion. As you can see, the book is thorough and yet contains application throughout each section. This is a tremendous resource for pastors. Some of the charts Hamilton has in the book are absolutely wonderful as well.
Now, for the gritty details that every person wants to know about a commentary on Revelation. Hamilton is pre-mil but not a Dispensationalist. He is heavily, heavily influenced by G.K. Beale's theology of the temple. Hamilton is an expert in parallels between the OT and NT and draws heavily upon those parallels to formulate his exegesis of the text.
This is where, in my opinion, Hamilton runs into problems. Too often I feel that Hamilton will argue against a literal understanding of the text because he sees a parallel in the OT. As a result, it often feels that Hamilton is forcing a key into a lock that doesn't fit. An example of this is in chapter 21 where he exegetes 11:1-19. Hamilton argues that a) the temple is not a literal temple but rather is figurative for the church, b) the two witnesses are the church and c) the 42-months is not a literal 42-months but rather refers to church history from the time of the cross until the time of the beast.
He bolsters his argument showing the parallels between the two witnesses and Zechariah 4 as well as some inter-textual parallels. That is all well and good. But his hermeneutic runs afoul here. First, Hamilton points out that Daniel's "weeks of years" were, in fact, literal. But then, just a few sentences later, argues that there is no literal seven year tribulation. Logic would argue that if Daniel was literal for the first 69 weeks of years, he would be literal for the last one. Similarly, Hamilton argues that the two witnesses are the church because 1) in the Bible everything must be confirmed by two witnesses; 2) they are called lampstands and so are the churches in Revelation 1; 3) the image of the witnesses as lampstands and olive trees goes back to Zech. 4 which symbolically means that the church will be Spirit-empowered; 4) the witnesses have the power of Elijah and Moses which are symbolic of the protection the church will have.
The issue here is that if all of these images are based upon literal things (with the exception of Zechariah 4), why can't the two prophets be literal? Why can't they have power like Elijah and Moses? Why can't there be a literal temple? There is nothing intrinsic within the text that would suggest this has to be symbolic. In fact, a reader of the OT would expect there to be a literal fulfillment. It would seem to me that Hamilton is too quick to write off a literal interpretation of these events. Admittedly, a literal-interpretation of the text is not popular anymore. Still, I find Hamilton's interpretation of these texts unpersuasive.
That said, it would be a shame to miss out on what Hamilton himself mentions: regardless of your opinion of what the text says, all can agree that the Revelation 11:1-19 shows God's sovereignty in protecting his people. And there lies the beauty of this commentary--even when you disagree with Hamilton, he gets to the bigger picture. He reminds the reader of what really matters--unity and seeing the God of the Bible. He finds the lowest common denominator and reminds the reader of that.
That, to me, is the strength of this commentary and one of the reasons I love James Hamilton's writings. You may not agree with everything he says, but you will always come out worshiping God. So pick up Revelation: The Spirit Speaks to the Churches. You won't be disappointed and you will certainly become a sharper exegete for it.
*Thanks to Crossway Publishing for providing me with a free review copy of this book in exchange for a fair review. I was under no obligation to give this book a positive review.*
Thursday, April 5, 2012
Martin Luther, Counseling and the Cross
I just finished reading a sermon from Martin Luther on the cross. The sermon consists of 17 meditations on the cross and is divided into three sections. The first section is "The False Views of Christ's Sufferings." The second section is "The True View of Christ's Sufferings." The final section is called "The Comfort of Christ's Sufferings."
There is some immensely practical stuff in this sermon...especially for pastors who have to do a lot of counseling. Rather than retype the whole sermon, I will attempt to capture the 17 meditations that Luther gives:
I. False Views of Christ's Suffering
1) Don't reflect upon the sufferings of Christ in such a way that you get angry at either the Jews or lament about Judas. You are losing sight of what really happened and meditating on the wrong thing.
2) Do not think that there is anything magical in and of itself flowing from the Cross that prevents suffering. You are simply looking at the cross as something you can derive purely physical benefits from.
3) Do not mourn as those who have no hope when thinking about the cross. While a proper view of the magnitude of our sin is important, there is no reason to wailing as if Christ were still dead.
II. True View of Christ's Sufferings
4) When thinking about the cross, the horror of your sin should leave you absolutely terrified. The fact that Christ was killed because of your sin should devastate you.
5) Never doubt for a moment that it was you who killed Christ.
6) The suffering Christ underwent should have been yours...not for a few hours but for all of eternity.
7) The judgment of God should humble us and terrify us.
8) You must meditate upon your own wickedness in view of the cross and learn to hate your sin even more. If you do not look at the cross and hate your own sin, the sufferings of Christ are really no benefit to you.
9) If, for whatever reason, you do not feel horrified by the cross and your own sin, you should be scared. Pray to God to soften your heart for you are in danger of the fire of hell.
10) Meditate upon the cross frequently for it will greatly benefit your Christian walk.
11) If you are praying for Christ to devastate your sinful self when meditating on the cross, do not expect that it will happen right away. However, God will eventually prick your conscience and you will be humbled. God will work in his own time.
III. The Comfort of Christ's Sufferings
12) Once you are done meditating upon your own wickedness and sin and are devastated by it, remember the glories of the resurrection and the forgiveness found in the cross. Then, make sure your sin is not still found in your conscience.
13) Cast all of your sin upon Christ and believe, with joy, that he has your sin and has made satisfaction for them.
14) If you can't believe this, ask God for faith to believe it!
15) Now, stop thinking about Christ's sufferings and meditate instead upon the love of Christ for you. He has done this out of love! What a glorious joy!
16) When your heart is established in Christ and you hate your sin, not out of fear of judgement but out of love for Christ, let Christ's death be an example for you. If you are suffering, remember that Christ suffered more. Your sufferings are but a shadow of what our Lord suffered.
17) Remember that in Christ, you have strength and comfort against any sort of sin you might encounter.
So many great meditations here by Luther! There is a lot of practical counseling material here. What a huge blessing to know that the cross is so multifaceted.
There is some immensely practical stuff in this sermon...especially for pastors who have to do a lot of counseling. Rather than retype the whole sermon, I will attempt to capture the 17 meditations that Luther gives:
I. False Views of Christ's Suffering
1) Don't reflect upon the sufferings of Christ in such a way that you get angry at either the Jews or lament about Judas. You are losing sight of what really happened and meditating on the wrong thing.
2) Do not think that there is anything magical in and of itself flowing from the Cross that prevents suffering. You are simply looking at the cross as something you can derive purely physical benefits from.
3) Do not mourn as those who have no hope when thinking about the cross. While a proper view of the magnitude of our sin is important, there is no reason to wailing as if Christ were still dead.
II. True View of Christ's Sufferings
4) When thinking about the cross, the horror of your sin should leave you absolutely terrified. The fact that Christ was killed because of your sin should devastate you.
5) Never doubt for a moment that it was you who killed Christ.
6) The suffering Christ underwent should have been yours...not for a few hours but for all of eternity.
7) The judgment of God should humble us and terrify us.
8) You must meditate upon your own wickedness in view of the cross and learn to hate your sin even more. If you do not look at the cross and hate your own sin, the sufferings of Christ are really no benefit to you.
9) If, for whatever reason, you do not feel horrified by the cross and your own sin, you should be scared. Pray to God to soften your heart for you are in danger of the fire of hell.
10) Meditate upon the cross frequently for it will greatly benefit your Christian walk.
11) If you are praying for Christ to devastate your sinful self when meditating on the cross, do not expect that it will happen right away. However, God will eventually prick your conscience and you will be humbled. God will work in his own time.
III. The Comfort of Christ's Sufferings
12) Once you are done meditating upon your own wickedness and sin and are devastated by it, remember the glories of the resurrection and the forgiveness found in the cross. Then, make sure your sin is not still found in your conscience.
13) Cast all of your sin upon Christ and believe, with joy, that he has your sin and has made satisfaction for them.
14) If you can't believe this, ask God for faith to believe it!
15) Now, stop thinking about Christ's sufferings and meditate instead upon the love of Christ for you. He has done this out of love! What a glorious joy!
16) When your heart is established in Christ and you hate your sin, not out of fear of judgement but out of love for Christ, let Christ's death be an example for you. If you are suffering, remember that Christ suffered more. Your sufferings are but a shadow of what our Lord suffered.
17) Remember that in Christ, you have strength and comfort against any sort of sin you might encounter.
So many great meditations here by Luther! There is a lot of practical counseling material here. What a huge blessing to know that the cross is so multifaceted.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)