Lacking Assurance Because You're Too Great of a Sinner?

by Jon Buck

“I’m such a terrible sinner, I must not be saved.”

We find ourselves thinking this way often as we look at our sins and their effects in our lives. Perhaps this question is born out of confusion as we wonder how can God forgive all of our trespasses, past, present, and even in the future.

The diagnosis of this heart fear is two-fold: First, it can come from a lack of understanding of who God is and what He’s done on our behalf and second, a misconception of sin.

• Who is God and what did he do for us?

We need to understand who God is; the fact that He is the perfect creator of the world (Gen.1:1), the Holy One (Isa. 6:3; 1 Peter 1:16), the One who alone possesses immortality and dwells in unapproachable light (1 Tim. 6:16), the eternal King (1 Tim. 1:17), the One who is omniscient and omnipresent (Psalm 139), and the One who is omnipotent (Col. 1:6, 7; Heb. 1:3).

And yet, that same God took on flesh and lived like humans so that He would become our righteousness by dying on a cross (2 Cor. 5:21). He proclaims that all men everywhere should repent (Acts 17:30), He wants everyone to turn to Him and be saved (Isa. 55:1), and all that are weary and heavy-laden to come and find their rest in Him. (Matt. 11:28-30). In the book of Revelation He is called “the One who loves us and released us from our sins by His blood and has made us to be a kingdom, priests to His God and Father.” (Rev. 1:5-6)

If we faith to understand both the holiness and compassion of God, we’ll begin to doubt our salvation.

• Who are we and what did we do?

As we come face to face with our God, we realize who we are and what we have done. Isaiah saw the LORD sitting on a throne, lofty and exalted, with the train of His robe filling the temple, and he saw the seraphim calling to one another, "Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord of hosts, the whole earth is full of his glory.” In that moment, Isaiah saw himself as dead, ruined. He saw his sin before a holy God and proclaimed a curse upon himself “Woe is me.” (Isa. 6:4) When Peter saw Jesus’ miracles in the fishing boat, he fell down at the Master’s feet and exclaimed, “Go away from me Lord, for I am a sinful man!” (Luke 5:8).

When men like Isaiah and Peter come face to face with the power and holiness of God, they are not left impassible—they are confronted with their own sinfulness, they are faced with their own inability. (Rom. 3:9-19; 23)

So, how do these two components help us not doubt God’s forgiveness and our salvation?

Logically, it would make sense to think that because God is holy and we are unholy, God would not forgive us, or at least that there are many that would not make the cut. However the gospel tells us that salvation is not primarily about us—Jesus took our punishment for sin, he died for sins once for all, the just for the unjust, so that He might bring us to God. (1 Pet. 3:18). Paul says that where sin increases, grace abounds even more (Rom. 5:20). And, gloriously, the very purpose of Jesus coming into the world was to save ‘sinners’—not the righteous, but sinners! (1 Tim 1:15)

Do you believe this? Do you believe who God is and what He has done on your behalf? Do you believe who you are before a holy God and how your sin has separated you from God? If you do, then you will understand that God is in the business of saving sinners, not just the “good sinners”, but the worse of the worst.

The promise that God has made is helpful—that He forgives sins and He has put our transgressions as far as the east is from the west (Psalm 103:12). And just two verses later, we’re told that ‘He remembers we are dust’!

Paul was a persecutor of the early church, he was a former blasphemer and an insolent opponent. As sinners go, Paul was an expert. However, he says, “…Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost. But I received mercy for this reason, that in me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ might display his perfect patience as an example to those who were to believe in him for eternal life.” (1 Tim. 1:13-16)

Doubting if You’re Elect?

by Jon Buck

A common struggle with assurance of salvation is to doubt based on God’s unconditional electing grace.

The doctrine of election teaches that God elects, or chooses, those who will be saved. This places the cause of salvation on God, rather than man, since God is the one who must regenerate the sinner’s heart, and open his or her eyes to the gospel. This makes sense, because Paul teaches us that no one seeks after God on his own, and that there is no good in anyone—it must be God who does this work (Rom 4:5, Eph 2:8-9).

Since this is the case, someone might have a concern that God has not elected them, even though they would desperately want to be Christians. They might have thoughts like, “It is true that Jesus saves. It is also true that Jesus could save me. But He only will if I’m elect, and so I can never be sure if I am saved.”

This type of doubt is actually an issue of perspective. Election is a doctrine that provides God’s perspective on our salvation—we have been saved because God has chosen us for salvation from eternity past. Apart from Him, we would never have come to Him, and therefore it was His election that has led to our salvation.

However, from our human perspective, salvation is based on faith in the promises of the Word of God. For that reason, this type of doubt is actually a doubt about the promises of the Scripture. The Bible is full of promises for salvation to anyone who believes (For example, Romans 1:16-17). The one who has faith—that is, who believes the promises that the Bible expresses—IS elect. Therefore, the question that should rise up in our hearts is not whether we are elect, but whether we trust the promises of the Gospel.

To that end, consider 1 Tim 1:15—“It is a trustworthy statement deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners…” Christ came into the world to save sinners, Paul says. A person who acknowledges that they are a sinner in need of a Savior has the freedom to trust this promise—that Christ came into the world to save them! To pause here and say, “Yes, that is true, but only if I am elect” is to beg the question. The one who has faith in this truth is the one who is elect.

Consider this in your own heart: Did Jesus Christ come into the world to save sinners? And are you aware that you are a sinner in need of a Savior? If you can answer yes to both of those questions, then you can simply trust that He has come into the world to save you, and you can rest in this promise from Him.

Doubting Your Salvation Because of a Lack of Fruit

by Jon Buck

This question is a very common struggle. There are many places in the Bible where we are told that Christians will bear good fruit. This fruit is first and foremost a love for God and a love for others (see Matt 23:37-40). From this love for God and others flows a life of holiness, purity, and self-giving.

By the same token, the Bible teaches that believers still sin, even after salvation. There are many examples such as Peter’s sin of fear of man in denying Jesus, and the same sin later while at Antioch where Paul had to rebuke him (read Gal 2 for the story). We’re told that Paul considered himself the foremost sinner (1 Tim 1:15; the verb is in the present tense!), and that God is mindful that we are dust (Psalm 103:15). Paul sometimes struggled with fear and anxiety, Timothy with timidity, and the church in Corinth was full of believers who committed sin.

The tension in this issue can damage your assurance of salvation, because it can cause you to begin to believe that you are not growing enough or producing enough fruit. Perhaps you've had thoughts like this—you believe you should've changed more by now, or, your life is still a struggle, or, you're still struggling with sins that you struggled with from the very beginning.

All of these are very common!

So how are we to think of our need to bear fruit and our assurance of salvation?

This issue is actually a confusion about how justification and sanctification work together. Justification is the declaration of righteousness that God makes over his people because of the righteousness of Christ. Paul says that there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus (Rom 8:1), and that nothing can separate us from the love of God which is in Christ for us (Rom 8:38-39). This is the reality of our justification. It triumphs over our sins, many of which remain in our lives, even after we are converted. This is why Paul told the Romans that where sent abounds, grace abounds all the more (Rom 5:20-21).

After our conversion, this justification that we have received as a free gift from God begins to change us. Paul tells Titus that God's grace instructs us to deny on godliness and worldly desires, and to live righteously and godly lives (Titus 2:11)! Further, Paul tells us that our new life in Christ gives us new motivational power to change. Of course, this is not perfection! Instead, it is best to think of it as the direction of our lives. We begin to change because of the kindness of God, and His glory which is revealed to us, and His forgiveness and love of us.

If we start to blend justification and sanctification together, we get ourselves into trouble. Yes, our justification produces change in us, but that change is not our justification! Think of a tree - the fruit that the tree bears is not the tree itself, nor is it the root of the tree. The tree cannot bear fruit without roots that go into the soil, and yet, we would never say that the fruit is the tree itself. Instead, it's best to think of the fruit in our lives as a sign of the existence of true roots! In other words, our relationship with God is is constantly bearing fruit in varying degrees and in varying ways in our lives.

By the same token, a person who bears no fruit of righteousness, but still claims to be a believer cannot be. True faith always produces fruit (James 2:14). However, it is not always the same fruit, or the same amount of fruit. In fact, for some people who are true Christians, their concern over their lack of fruit is the very fruit they are seeking to see in their lives!

Further, it is important to remember that our war against sin will never come to an end until we are dead. The bodies that we have in our earthly lives are still under the curse of sin, and that sin principal resides in our flesh (see Rom 7:14ff). Our bodies (including our brains!) are constantly at war with our new inner selves, which joyfully delight in the law of God. We are no longer slaves to sin, but we often live according to the sin principle in our bodies, and fail to obey and glorify God.

Nevertheless, we can always fall back on the hope of the promise that God has made to us—that all of our sins, past, present and future, were laid on Christ, once and for all, at the cross (1 Cor 15:1-4). We can trust that we are forgiven because of Him and His life and death on our behalf. In fact, it is comforting to note that the love of Christ for us began while we were enemies, and still sinners according to the world (Romans 5:8)! If God would come all the way to us in our deepest moments of failure and sin, certainly He will do so for us now, having been justified!

John Newton and Political Polarization

by Jon Buck

“The Lord’s bond-servant must not be quarrelsome, but be kind to all…able to teach, patient when wronged, with gentleness correcting those who are in opposition”
- 2 Tim 2:24-25

We live in an age where controversy sells.

Studies have shown that polarization in American culture has drastically increased since the 1970s. Much of what was considered ‘overlap’ between the parties has now disappeared. What’s more, politicians and commentators are increasingly incentivized by this current climate to create more controversy for voter retention and donations! The more fearful the constituency, the more donations will flow.

If you have any doubts, just jump into social media for a bit, and you’ll see the pervasive presence of controversial statements that make up most people’s feeds. Controversy and shock-and-awe posts create philosophical echo chambers, where those who agree are able to vilify those that don’t.

Most of the platforms where this kind of controversy is born offer free content and rely on ads, ‘views’, and payment schemes to build a business. However, many also have ‘all access’ subscriptions where the faithful can pay them for further restatements of their positions.

And all of this controversy brings in big dollars.

Christian business bloggers

In an effort to understand where things are going in the Christian world, I listen to a few podcasts that are recommended to me.

This week I was listening to a podcast by a very popular conservative self-proclaimed discernment teacher whom I had never heard. He was sharing about a host of controversial topics, both political and religious. During his commentary he let slip that all his children are employed for his platform. Now - he certainly has the right to pay his children to work for him. However, it is interesting to note that there’s enough money coming into the podcast for him to build a state-of-the art website, provide a large number of various podcasts, and hire his entire family to work in the business.

This is just one of many such men. And most, if not all, are enjoying a comfortable living from their controversy.

The danger, of course, with such podcasts is that they grow through listeners. The more listeners a show gets, the more money the show and its hosts make. Just like politicians, in an era when the world is polarizing around these topics, these men are incentivized to increase controversy as well.

When confronted, these types of Christians argue that controversy is the sincerest form of love. If people are going to hell, what is more loving than to vilify them, and castigate them for their false views? Perhaps they’ll come to Christ!

In fact, in the podcast I was listening to, one of the pastors scoffed that there is no eleventh commandment—“Thou shalt be nice.”

Paul’s Command

These men, though self-proclaimed intellectual leaders in the Christian community, are not following the example of the apostle Paul. Their desire for controversy and quarreling in the public sphere is not biblical, and there is, in fact, a command to be kind!

Paul told his protege in the faith Timothy that the bond-servant of God must not be quarrelsome. Instead, he calls him to be kind to all—not just his friends, but to all. He goes on to call for gentleness when correcting those who are in opposition.

The word in this verse for quarrelsome is the Greek word that can mean either physical or verbal aggression. Paul is describing an angry, confrontative spirit that can often characterize those who claim to be bondservants of God.

He wants Timothy to flee that spirit, and instead, correct with gentleness. Note—he doesn’t tell Timothy to not correct, but tells him to do so with gentleness.

John Newton’s Example

The famous author of Amazing Grace, John Newton, exemplified this command in a letter he wrote to a friend in ministry. The friend was embroiled in controversy, and Newton offered a suggestion about how to think of his opponents that would be helpful for many in our day.

My prayer is that we will be more like Paul, and more like John Newton, because we are more like Jesus Christ. The quote is long, but worth the read.

“If you account him a believer, though greatly mistaken in the subject of debate between you, the words of David to Joab concerning Absalom, are very applicable: "Deal gently with him for my sake." The Lord loves him and bears with him; therefore you must not despise him, or treat him harshly. The Lord bears with you likewise, and expects that you should show tenderness to others, from a sense of the much forgiveness you need yourself. In a little while you will meet in heaven; he will then be dearer to you than the nearest friend you have upon earth is to you now. Anticipate that period in your thoughts; and though you may find it necessary to oppose his errors, view him personally as a kindred soul, with whom you are to be happy in Christ forever.

But if you look upon him as an unconverted person, in a state of enmity against God and his grace (a supposition which, without good evidence, you should be very unwilling to admit), he is a more proper object of your compassion than of your anger. Alas! "He knows not what he does." But you know who has made you to differ. If God, in his sovereign pleasure, had so appointed, you might have been as he is now; and he, instead of you, might have been set for the defense of the gospel. You were both equally blind by nature. If you attend to this, you will not reproach or hate him, because the Lord has been pleased to open your eyes, and not his.”

Kindness doesn’t sell the way controversy does.

But Paul wasn’t about listeners, likes, or retweets. He wasn’t employing his family in a burgeoning business of controversy. Eventually the current political and religious polarization will pass—I pray our legacy will be one of kind gentleness, rather than vitriol.

Sober Vs Somber—The Mood of Good Friday

by Jon Buck

sober: adj. - serious, sensible, and solemn
somber: adj. - dark or dull in color or tone; gloomy; grave

Our church is going to be celebrating Good Friday this evening, and it’s one of my favorite services. This day is, in fact, the day on which our Lord Jesus Christ was crucified for the sins of His people.

Good Friday is a tradition of the church stretching back well into the middle ages, and is filled with a number of very interesting traditions. The earliest and most common traditions are associated with Catholic and Eastern Orthodox activity during what is commonly called ‘Holy Week’—the week leading up to Easter.

In these traditions, Good Friday is generally celebrated with wearing black, and participating in various services and activities that are linked to the suffering of Christ on the cross. In fact, one of the traditions is called ‘Acts of Reparation to Christ’ which include prayers that are designed to ‘repair the sins’ against Jesus.

All of these traditions are undertaken in a very somber mood. There is a darkness and gloom—a gravity that pervades all these events.

Some Protestant churches, while not adopting the specifics of the Catholic and Eastern traditions, have adopted the somber mood that they have created around this day.

Our desire is to refuse this type of service. We want to be sober, but NOT somber! There should be a sense of solemnity as we consider what Christ had done for us. We ought to be reminded, in a very serious and reverential way, about the glories of Calvary and the sufferings of our Lord.

However, Good Friday is and should be a day filled with sober joy for God’s people! What better day to rejoice in God and all that He has done for us, than on the day when we are reminded about the greatest demonstration of His love for us—the cross of His Son.

So, if you’ve grown up in a somber tradition, consider the words of Christ Himself to the thief on the cross. “Today, you will be with me in Paradise.” There was no somberness when, at the close of His sufferings, Christ entered heaven with the thief. In fact, quite the opposite. And the same is true of you, on this day, if you know Him and trust Him for your salvation!

“Trusting God” is More Than a Book

by Gus Pidal

For over a decade I have distributed dozens of copies of the book “Trusting God” written by Jerry Bridges. There are certain books that change lives, this one has had paragraphs that have changed and challenged my thinking about God’s sovereignty.

Outside the Bible, I cannot think of a book that I have read more and that has had such an impact in my life like this short book and yet, it seems like every couple of years I need to go back to it. Why? Because I need to be reminded that God is in control, that I can trust him, even when life hurts.

When we suffer, we tend to retreat to ourselves and suddenly, the phrase “trusting in God” seems like a cliché, more than a truth. What I have found often is that I need to be reminded of the truths I know and this book has reminded me time and time again of God’s sovereign care.  

Bridges begins the first chapter asking the age-old question, “Can I trust God?” That is a question we tend to ask a lot. When we get a scary diagnosis, when we get laid off from a job, when we get a 30 day notice on our apartment. What do we do? Can we still trust God?  Job 5:7 says that, “Man is born to adversity as surely as sparks fly upward. All of us find ourselves dealing with pain, difficulty, and hardships that lead to suffering, and sadly it leads us to think, “Is God in control of my life?” Or perhaps we ask, “How can this happen to me?”

To answer this, Bridges writes about three truths: God is completely sovereign, God is infinite in wisdom, and God is perfect in love. He develops these ideas in the rest of the book dealing with God’s sovereign control of all things. He encourages his readers time and time again to learn to trust in God and to glorify Him in all things.

He ends his introductory chapter by quoting David in Psalm 9:9-10, “9 The LORD also will be a stronghold for the oppressed, A stronghold in times of trouble; 10 And those who know Your name will put their trust in You, For You, O LORD, have not forsaken those who seek You.”

To know God is not to just to know facts about Him, but to know His character and this knowledge leads us to trust Him, even when life hurts.

As believers, we don’t throw our hands up to fate or think positively. No, as true believers, our hope and trust is in the sovereign God. We believe the truths of the gospel and know that “He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him over for us all” cares for us and loves us; and when we believe this, when we have faith in this, our hearts can’t but trust Him, who is sovereign over everything.

Christmas Eve - 4000 Years of Labor Pains

by Jon Buck

“While they were there, the days were completed for her to give birth.”

- Luke 2:6

Everyone who has had a baby naturally knows just how unknown the exact moment of birth will be. Labor isn’t something that can be timed. Suddenly (and often at the most inopportune times) contractions start, the water breaks, and baby is on its way. Birth is such a massive life changing event, and yet there really isn’t a way to plan for it.

The same must have felt true for Joseph and Mary two thousand years ago, as they traveled to be registered in Bethlehem. The young couple knew that Mary was going to give birth—they just didn’t know when. They traveled the 90 miles from Nazareth to Bethlehem on foot, likely in constant anticipation that the baby could be born at anytime.

In fact, even the language of Luke 2:6 is passive (‘the days were completed’) rather than active. But the completion of the days, and the specifics of God’s plan were anything but passive. He was in perfect control of this circumstance, and the details of the Savior’s birth were planned from eternity.

The labor waited until they arrived in Bethlehem because it had to wait in order to fulfill prophecy. The prophet Micah had predicted that Jesus would be born in Bethlehem (5:2), and that promise would be kept without fail.

But the birth of the Messiah was timed by more than just location. The Old Testament is filled with promises of a coming Messiah, from Genesis 3:15, all the way through the prophets and the history of Israel. Thousands of years and hundreds of promises, generations of those who were aware of God’s purpose—all had come together for this moment in history as this young couple made their way to Bethlehem.

In many ways, that night represented 4000 years of labor pains. All history had piled up to this one point, filled with hopes, dreams, and expectations, and the times were completed and the baby was born. God kept all His promises, and sent His Son into the world in the fullness of the time (Gal 4:4).

What can we learn from this?

That God is faithful to His promises. Perhaps you find yourself with the young couple in the labor pains of the night, without knowing what will come in the near future. Perhaps the fears of the future, and the doubts of what will come have kept you in doubt of God’s goodness. But no matter what comes, we have this certainty—that God is good, and that He will fulfill His purposes.

If He has the power to bring all the events together to bring His Son into the world, He has the power to keep your faith intact, no matter what the future holds. So trust His goodness, His sovereignty, and particularly His timing this year!

An Eternal Relative

by Jon Buck

“John testified about Him and cried out, saying, “This was He of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me has a higher rank than I, for He existed before me.”

- John 1:14

If you come from a family with multiple siblings, you know that birth order matters. Age of child determines everything from bed times and privileges to who sits in the front seat, and who can stay up and chat with the adults for a few extra minutes. Plus, when mom and dad are away, birth order determines who is in charge. Birth order even offers authority!

But these are just small things in our modern culture. Even as recently as 100 years ago, birth order determined issues of inheritance, land ownership, and societal prominence. This view of birth order is ancient with widespread. In fact, oldest sons in the Roman Empire were venerated by families, and second, third, and fourth children were forced to make their way in the world often on their own.

When thinking about John 1:14, at first glance, it might seem that John the Baptist was making a statement that would run contrary to this view of age and authority. John and Jesus were cousins, and John was born before Jesus. What’s more, John’s parents were older than Jesus’s parents, meaning that Jesus was the younger family member of younger family members. Even as the firstborn in His family, Jesus would have owed familial honor to John.

Rather than accept this honor, John proclaimed that Jesus was above him in rank, giving Jesus both honor and authority. In fact, John’s whole ministry was designed around lifting Christ up, even though Jesus was younger than John. John understood this about his life and ministry, and John 1:14 tells us that John had been testifying to that fact, even before Jesus showed up on the scene.

However, in actual fact, John wasn’t violating any of the cultural norms of his day, and he makes that very clear. John tells the crowds with a loud voice that Jesus came before him.

Now, this is quite shocking. Jesus was born after John—everyone around them knew it, and if they had any question, they could have simply consulted other family members. Yet, John is telling the crowds with authority that Jesus came before him, and therefore had the preeminence. In fact, the phrase translated ‘has a higher rank than me’ is actually literally ‘has become before me’—that is, He is ahead of me because He was before me.

For John, this is completely logical because he understands that Jesus is the eternal God, second person of the Trinity, Who has come into the world. John simply explains what is the most important message of his ministry, and the most important message that has ever been communicated. God had entered the world, taken on flesh, and had all authority.

John the Baptist’s testimony was designed to lead people to believe that Jesus really was the Son of God. And John the Apostle, who wrote the Gospel, had the same goal (see John 20:31).

John could have claimed birth order, but that would be silly when your relative is eternal. Instead both he and John the Apostle do the only natural thing to do with an eternal relative—they worship Him! So, this Christmas, do you believe them? Do you believe John the Baptist and John the Apostle that Jesus is the Son of God, the eternal God made flesh? If so, worship Him with them.

Delivered Over for You

Delivered Over for You

by Jon Buck

“He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him over for us all, how will He not also with Him freely give us all things?”

- Rom 8:32

The Bible teaches that God loves His people unconditionally. But for all of us, there are time when that can be hard to believe.

In moments of suffering, or times of fear, or seasons of loneliness, Jesus can seem like a distant reality. We’ve known and loved Him, and our heads know that He is good and that His goodness is over our saddest moments. And yet, it can be hard for us to truly experience the reality of His love when life is filled with sadness or suffering.

However, this isn’t God’s design. In our deepest moments of loneliness, sorrow, or suffering, God wants us to trust that He loves us, and to walk by faith in that reality. Only when we are trusting His sovereign love can we begin to understand His purposes in our suffering and how those purposes are for our good.

So the great question remains…how can we know that God loves us?

The answer is found at the cross, of course, because God has demonstrated His love in the death of His Son for sinners.

But this reality runs all the way back through the life of Christ to the night of the first Christmas. Paul tells us that God didn’t spare His Son, but delivered Him over for us.

He didn’t spare Jesus the humiliation of poverty, but delivered Him into it.

He didn’t spare Jesus the weakness of a physical body, but delivered Him over to human life.

He didn’t spare Jesus the sufferings of normal family relationships, but delivered Him into them.

He didn’t spare Jesus the sufferings of working hard to provide for his needs, but delivered Him into the curse.

He didn’t spare Jesus the sufferings of rejection and loneliness, but delivered Him into them.

He didn’t spare Jesus the suffering of being murdered unjustly, but delivered Him into the hands of His killers.

And ultimately, He didn’t spare Jesus the suffering of bearing the weight of your sin, but delivered Him over as a once-for-all innocent sacrifice.

How do you know God loves you beyond a shadow of a doubt, and how to do you trust that truth? Because God didn’t spare Jesus, but delivered Him over for us!

Promised King and Savior

by Noah Richie

As Christmas Day fast approaches, I believe it is important for us to revisit an often forgotten, yet important promise made to David and Israel in 2 Samuel 7. In the first half of chapter 7, King David desired to build a house for God. However, God made a promise to David instead. Through the prophet Nathan, the Lord spoke to David:

12 When your days are complete and you lie down with your fathers, I will raise up your descendant after you, who will come forth from you, and I will establish his kingdom. 13 He shall build a house for My name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. 14 I will be a father to him and he will be a son to Me; when he commits iniquity, I will correct him with the rod of men and the strokes of the sons of men, 15 but My lovingkindness shall not depart from him, as I took it away from Saul, whom I removed from before you. 16 Your house and your kingdom shall endure before Me forever; your throne shall be established forever. (2 Samuel 7:12-16)

In the verses above, the Lord promised that He would not forsake David’s descendants, and that His lovingkindness would remain with them. When David’s descendants would commit iniquity against God, they would be punished, but still God’s favor would remain with them.

While some of these promises and prophecies pertain to Solomon and following descendants of David, the last one is hard to fulfill. None of the future kings could ever sit on the throne eternally. This creates a huge problem for Israel and the line of David, but there is One who did fulfill this criterion. He was born of David’s line, and while He did not commit iniquity, He took our iniquity to usher in an eternal kingdom.

The citizens of the kingdom had committed sin, and did not deserve entrance. However, in His kindness, God provided a way. It is through the suffering of this great King that we can enter His kingdom.

He is the reason for our celebration—both as King and as Savior.

His Humiliation, Our Salvation

by Pierce Roybal

“And although you were formerly alienated and hostile in mind, engaged in evil deeds, yet He has now reconciled you in His fleshly body through death, in order to present you before Him holy and blameless and beyond reproach—” ~ Colossians 1:21-22

Do you remember what your life was like before you were saved?

Some of us may have a dramatic story of God saving us, while others may have a more mundane story.

Whatever the specifics look like, Paul tells us here that it was due to us being “alienated and hostile in mind, engaged in evil deeds.” Whether we were saved at a young age or after many years of heinous sin, we were all in the same spiritual state before Christ—we were far from God, hated him and others, and everything we did was entirely self-serving.

But now we have been made right with God! Where before we were apart from God, now we are holy, or set apart for him. Before, we deserved eternal punishment for every one of our thoughts and actions, but now in Christ we receive no condemnation for any of them.

If asked how this came about, most people would say it was through Christ’s death on the cross—and that’s true! Christ’s death in our place pays the penalty for sin that we deserved, and his perfect life earned him a righteousness that he then freely gave us.

But if we go straight to the cross, we skip over a necessary and miraculous prerequisite.

Paul only gives this a brief four words, “in His fleshly body”, so I can’t blame anyone for jumping right over it, but let’s think about what these four words mean for a second.

For Christ to have a fleshly body means that the eternal Son of God entered time and space. The one by whom all things were created, took on the nature of his creation. He willingly set aside the glory he deserved in order to be born as a baby in a manger, not a prince in a palace, and without any fanfare.

And he did that for us—sinners who deserved nothing but condemnation—so that we might receive mercy.

So as we think back on what we once deserved for our sin and what we now have in Christ, let’s remember and celebrate all that was required of him in accomplishing our redemption.

Jesus is Your Brother

by Jon Buck

“But when the fullness of the time came, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the Law, so that He might redeem those who were under the Law, that we might receive the adoption as sons.”
- Gal 4:4-5

Adoption is a beautiful thing. A child without parental care or sustenance is brought into a loving family where they become a full-fledged member and enjoy all the benefits of being a member of the family. Not only are they loved and cared for, but they become members of that family.

But imagine an adoption where the new parents were only willing to allow the child to stay with them if they were perfect. Any disobedience, any evil word, any evil deed, and the child would be rejected.

Spiritually, the thing that kept us out of the family of God was the Law. God’s Law requires complete and full obedience. He demands perfection. However, all of us have fallen short of the glory of that perfection that God demands because of the sinful choices we have made. Each of us is now enslaved to the Law in seeking to be made right with God. And this is a miserable place to be. We cannot keep the Law, and yet we must.

But the glorious reality of Christmas is that Jesus came into the world in the same state that we are—under the Law. The demands of the Law were perfection, but unlike any other person that ever lived, Jesus actually was perfect. No sin, no failure, no falsehood of any kind. Just perfection.

But at the end of that perfect life, He died, not for His own transgressions, but for the sins of those who would trust in Him in order to redeem them from the wages they had rightfully earned.

The perfect life that we needed to be part of God’s family was fulfilled, and the perfections of Christ were gifted to those who believe this is true. Now, in Him, we are adopted into the family of God, loved and cherished and safe for eternity. Nothing can separate us from the love that God has for His Son, or the love that God has for us.

This is the great message of Christmas…a Son, coming in perfection, to rescue His brothers and sisters through perfect righteousness and embracing them into His family. The baby in the manger is your older brother!

Christmas Sunday - When the Calendar Forces You to Worship

by Jon Buck

I recently was talking with some students at school about a day off from classes for Veteran’s Day. They knew that school was cancelled, and they all had plans, but they didn’t know much about Veteran’s Day, or why it was important in American history. The traditions surrounding the day had overtaken the meaning of the day itself.

The same can happen with Christmas.

We’ve heard recently about quite a few churches that are planning on not meeting for Christmas. I can understand the impulse. There are family traditions to be kept, gifts to be opened, movies to watch. There are cookies to be eaten, and a Christmas dinner to be prepared. Church would just get in the way of all that.

But, of course, the great and central reality of Christmas is NOT those things. The traditions, the gifts, the family time, the meals—all the celebrations—are based on a single great and glorious activity of God in the birth of His Son.

Once every seven years, Christmas falls on a Sunday, and on those days, more than any other, the calendar forces us to consider the glorious and central reality of Christmas. On a day that is centered on Jesus and His entrance into the world, the church gathers to celebrate and worship Him. To miss church is to miss the point—that Jesus and His incarnation to carry our sins on the cross is the most joyful celebratory reality in the universe!

Next year will come, and Christmas won’t be on a Sunday again. But this year, and seven years from now, we have a great privilege to worship the Incarnate Savior on a Sunday. I pray your heart embraces the joy that this brings, and is willing to set aside traditions, meals, and the trappings of Christmas for the glorious reality at the center!

Holding Creation and In Creation—Jesus as A Baby

by Jon Buck

“He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together.” ~ Col 1:17

The incarnation is one of the most interesting theological mysteries in the Bible. There are countless questions that the incarnation raises, and one of the most complex is how the One Being through whom all matter in the universe holds together could take on human flesh as a baby.

Think through why this is so radical. First, the Bible teaches that all things that exist hold together in Him. The author of Hebrews says that all things hold together ‘by the word of His power’, and Paul affirms this reality in Col 1:17. The obviously implication is that all matter—stars, flowers, your eyes as you read this—are being actively held together by the power of Jesus now. Further, all things that have ever existed were held together by His divine power at all points in history.

The Bible also teaches that Jesus was born as a baby in the town of Bethlehem. He was wrapped in swaddling clothes, laid in a manger, and fell asleep. He grew into a toddler, picked up sticks in the field, grew in wisdom and knowledge, learned carpentry, ate dinner with his family, and many other activities.

These sound like two radically different people.

However, they are not different. They are the same, and what’s more, they are the same person concurrently. Jesus was a baby in a manger, and was holding all things together by His power. He was sharing a loaf of bread with His brothers, and was maintaining the material universe.

How can these things be?

To be honest, I have no idea. Theologians can conjecture, and we should try to understand these types of deep theological mysteries. But there are things about God that are mind-bogglingly complex and incomprehensible.

This is ok. If we could understand all the nuances of the incarnation, and we could grasp all the complexities of who God is, we would no longer worship God, but would BE God. But we are not God, and God has come to us!

This is the point of the incarnation, and the reason why the authors of Scripture pay so much attention to the entrance of the Son of God into the world, and to His sustaining character. They don’t try to explain them away, and they don’t try to unite them. They simply explain both, and we are left to worship the power, wisdom, might, and glory of the One who has come.

Sent to Save, and to Glorify

by Jon Buck

“For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him.” ~ John 3:17

It is right for us to think of God as holy. He is morally perfect, set apart, separate from sinners, and unique in His perfections. As such, and given His authority over all that He has made, He has the absolute right to judge the wicked. The Bible clearly affirms in a host of passages that this is true. God is the righteous Judge over all the earth, and will dispense justice upon the ungodly in perfect righteousness.

However, gloriously, that is not His FIRST response to sin.

In fact, His first response to sin is grace and mercy. We learn this not only from the flow of history with the people of Israel and the church. We also learn this from His own self-affirmation. In Exodus, as Moses asks to see God’s glory, God responds by announcing His name to Moses. And the first statements that define God are kind.

"The Lord, the Lord God, compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in lovingkindness and truth; who keeps lovingkindness for thousands, who forgives iniquity, transgression and sin; yet He will by no means leave the guilty unpunished, visiting the iniquity of fathers on the children and on the grandchildren to the third and fourth generations.”

(Ex 34:6-7)

There is an infinite well of information in that statement, but what should be apparent is that God’s character is marked by compassion, grace, patience, love, truth, and forgiveness. He certainly punishes the guilty, but He is first kind.

And this grace and mercy and kindness is most glorious clear in how God the Father sent His Son into the world. He could have (and will!) sent His Son to judge the world and to bring a devastating end to sinners once and for all.

He could have come with fire and terror, waging war on all those who do not confess God as Lord, or love Him. This would have been just.

Instead, however, He came with mercy to save rather than to judge. His compassion caused Him to send His only Son into the world on a rescue mission rather than a vengeance rout.

Now—WHY? Why not judge? Why not punish? Why offer salvation to sinners? The answer is very simple. In offering salvation first, God honors Himself. There is nothing more glorious than for God to offer to pay the moral debt of His people by Himself, and then to offer salvation as a free gift. It is this trait of God that the angels rejoiced over!

God’s revealed will for you today is to believe this truth. What you rightfully deserve is this fiery judgment and terror. What He is offering you today is a crucified Savior—One who will take away your sins.

Come to Bethlehem and see Christ whose birth the angels sang!

The Heart of Christmas

by Gus Pidal

The first time I went to Disneyland was a landmark moment for me. I grew up hearing about “the happiest place on earth,” yet living abroad, I didn’t have the chance to go until I was in ninth grade. I remember it was a very hot August day. I was amazed by the parking lot trams, the smallest attention to every detail, even down to the bathrooms at the entrance to the park. Everything was clean and decorated with the most meticulous detail.

And ALL of this BEFORE even entering the amusement park itself.

Imagine how foolish it would have been to simply be amazed by these things at the entrance of an amusement park-even one so great and wonderful as Disneyland-and decide to stay there and not go on any of the rides. How ridiculous it would have been to substitute the wonder of Disneyland itself for their amazing bathrooms and parking lot.

But if we are honest, this often happens to us at Christmas, doesn't it? Sadly, when we think of Christmas, we think of many things that are just peripheral, things outside of what Christmas means…things that aren't sinful, but can sometimes take away from the true meaning of Christmas.

What is the true meaning of Christmas? John 1:14 tells us: “and the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.”

This is what we should be celebrating and meditating on during this Christmas season. The incarnation of the second person of the Trinity. He who was from the beginning became flesh. To dwell among us. So that one day He would die for our sins.

So let’s use this Advent season as a time to prepare ourselves to worship Jesus “who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.”

While there are many amazing things we can enjoy this Christmas season, let’s not let good food, white elephant gift exchanges, and special times with family replace the wonder we should feel for our Savior who came to die for our sins. Let’s celebrate this incarnation and worship. “For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.”

But I’ve Never Seen Jesus…

by Jon Buck

“What was from the beginning, what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we have looked at and touched with our hands, concerning the Word of Life— and the life was manifested, and we have seen and testify and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was manifested to us.” ~ 1 John 1:1-2

Christmas is an interesting time of year because we spend all sorts of energy as Christians celebrating the birth, life, and death of a person we’ve never met. It seems very odd to do this, but we actually tend to celebrate this about other people as well. For example, we celebrate Presidents’ Day, Martin Luther King Day, and Columbus Day, but I’m fairly certain most of us have never met any of these people.

Still, there’s something very odd about the celebration of Christmas because Jesus wasn’t, at the time of His earthly life, a very influential figure. Furthermore, He lived thousands of years ago, and died the death of a criminal. It seems odd that we would celebrate Him in such extravagant ways.

However, as with other famous men from history, what we know about Jesus comes from those who were eye witnesses of His life and death. One of the closest of those eye witnesses was the Apostle John. He was a dear friend of Christ during His earthly life, and spent time with Him during His ministry years.

Many decades after the death of Jesus, John looked back fondly on those times with Him, but not simply remembering a lost friend. John understood who Jesus truly was—not simply a man who was born, but the revelation of the second person of the Trinity—the Son of God, the eternal life of God, entering the world.

Amazingly, he looked at Jesus, saw Jesus with his eyes, heard Him, and touched Him—Jesus was a person to John. But when John proclaimed this reality to his readers, he didn’t just explain the person of Christ, but the gift that Christ brought—eternal life.

John spoke of the person of Jesus whom he knew well as the eternal life, manifested from the Father. True eternal life, for John, was Jesus. He was, and is, the person in Whom all of life exists, and He is the One being in the universe who could offer eternal life. And, remarkably, John met Him, was His friend, enjoyed meals with Him, saw Him.

The stunning thing about this truth is that through John’s account, though we have never had these experiences, we have eternal life in Him. This life isn’t through the physical presence of Jesus, but through the spiritual presence of Jesus in the hearts of His people. We know and see Him, the One who has come into the world and was manifested to us from the Father.

Perhaps you come to Christmas this year, and don’t know if you know Him. If He is eternal life, He is the most important in the universe for you to know. And the promise of the Scriptures is that, through the Gospel and the teaching of the Apostles, you can know Him!

This is the glorious reality of Christmas—the man, Christ Jesus.

Love Gives Life; Infinite Love Gives Eternal Life

by Jon Buck

By this the love of God was manifested in us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world so that we might live through Him. - 1 John 4:9

In the midst of a substantial financial loss, and at the beginning of a long four year litigation, P.T. Barnum quipped, “Talk is cheap, until you hire a lawyer.” The first half of this witty remark has become an American idiom. Simply put, anyone can say anything, but the only way to know what is in a person’s heart and mind is to see their actions.

How do you know if one person loves another? It’s hard to know, because, as Barnum said, talk is cheap. Anyone can say they love others, but can turn against them, treat them unfairly, or hurt them in other ways. And even if none of those things happen, simple words don’t always convince us of what is in others’ hearts.

Of course, the best way to know if someone loves is through their actions.

One of the clearest ways that we can express love for others is by blessing them with various forms of life. For example, when we serve someone else, we remove work or suffering from their experience. In bringing a meal to someone who is sick, we offer life—a piece of our life to lessen the suffering of theirs. Or when we serve someone else by taking part of their responsibility on ourselves, we offer them quality of life at that moment.

In fact, in many ways, serving is a constant willingness to trade our life for the blessing of the life of another. We relinquish our schedule, our strength, our desires, our finances—our life—to bless the life of another.

But of course, we have limited life resources. At some point, our schedule is full, our strength diminishes, and our finances run out. Much as we might desire to do so, blessing the life of another is outside of our ability. Nevertheless, love remains, and the willingness is present in us.

However, consider the magnitude of the resources that the Son of God has. He has infinite power, He is the Sustainer and Creator of all matter, His strength never fails, and, gloriously, He has infinite life to offer us.

Christmas is the great manifestation of the love of God toward us, because it is the moment that the infinite Son took on finite flesh in order to offer life to all who would trust in Him. It is through Him that eternal life is offered, and in Him, there is no limit to the life that He can give.

But eternal life wasn’t the end goal of the life and death of the Son of God. No, the end goal was that the love of God would be manifested—made known—gloriously revealed to His people. God’s love was manifested toward us in the moment that the Son of God took on flesh, with the purpose of offering life through His death.

So this Christmas, consider, do you have this life in Jesus? It is offered freely from the loving heart of the Father!

Immanuel—The God Man

by Jon Buck

He who descended is Himself also He who ascended far above all the heavens, so that He might fill all things. ~ Eph 4:10

The incarnation of the Son of God at Christmas is one of, if not THE, most glorious truths of the Christian faith. The beauties of the Son of God, born to suffer for the sins of His people for the glory of God are magnificent. However, there can be a difficulty in the minds of Christians, at times, with the immanence and the transcendence of Jesus.

‘Immanence’ means working inside of something or existing within something. It is often confused with ‘imminence’, which indicates that something is about to happen. The immanence of Jesus is His experience as humanity in the incarnation.

Jesus was immanent to the human race. He truly and really took on flesh, was born in a manger in the tiny village of Bethlehem, was raised by impoverished parents, and was trained as a carpenter. He was known, loved, hugged, and dialogued with by those who interacted with Him.

But Jesus wasn’t only immanent. ‘Transcendence’ means to be beyond the reach of any possible experience or knowledge. Things that are transcendent are impossible to grasp in any rational way. He is gloriously transcendent in His person, as the second member of the Trinity, in whom the fullness of Godhead dwells bodily (Col 2:9).

He is the One who created the universe, Who sits at the right hand of the throne of His Father, Who has all authority in heaven and on earth, and Who dwells in unapproachable light. He is the mighty God, the sustainer of all things through the word of His power.

How do we bring these things together?

To be honest, I don’t think we can. The apostle John was one of Jesus’ closest friends on earth. He calls himself ‘the disciple whom Jesus loved’, and at the last supper, he leaned on Jesus’ bosom as a dear brother and friend. And yet, when Jesus appears to him on the island of Patmos to give him the book of Revelation, John didn’t shake hands or give Jesus a hug. He fell down in terror. Jesus was immanent, but He is transcendent.

Nativity scenes and other Christmas decor often seek to harness this truth. There are stars over the infant, attempts to paint light around the manger, and other such things. But this is not the point of the birth of Christ.

Paul explains these two realities to us in a simple sentence in Eph. 4:10. Jesus really did descend to earth (this verse is not talking about a descent into hell—it means He became a man). He entered into the world just as any other baby has entered into the world. He was consummately human. And, in a cattle stall in little village in the country, everything was dirty, humid, grimy, and probably quite uncomfortable.

But that was the point.

The very One that lay in the manger is the same One who ascended above all the heavens, in order that He might fill all things! The baby was the Creator and Sustainer of all matter—transcendent and glorious beyond all describing. He is consummately God, very God, self-existent and sustaining all things that exist.

This is so stunning to Paul that he emphasizes it—He who descended is Himself also He who ascended—this is one being who fills both of these roles. But that’s the whole point. He is the God-Man, the incarnate Son of God.

The whole point of Christmas is Jesus—Son of God, Son of Man, immanently human in all ways like we are, and yet transcendently glorious beyond all our deepest imaginings. He is Immanuel—God with us.

Thanksgiving as the Highest Expression of Worship

Rom 1:21 - For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened.

Thanksgiving is a day that many in the US gather with friends and family and give thanks for God’s care through the year. A host of traditions have been built up around it…various foods that we only eat this time of year, pies and whipped cream, and pumpkin in literally everything.

But in the midst of all the pumpkin-ness, there’s actually a beautiful truth in giving thanks that the Bible speaks of frequently. The terms in Greek are used more than thirty times, and always in very important contexts.

For example, Paul tells the Colossians to let the peace of Christ rule in their hearts, through the body of Christ in the church, and, as a summary statement, to be thankful (Col 3:15).

And a number of other passages make similar statements. Here are a few samples:

Eph 5:4 - …and there must be no filthiness and silly talk, or coarse jesting, which are not fitting, but rather giving of thanks.

Phil 4:6 - Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.

Col 4:2 - Devote yourselves to prayer, keeping alert in it with an attitude of thanksgiving;

And perhaps most striking…

1 Thess 5:18 - …in everything give thanks; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.

This is the will of God for us in Christ! Isn’t that remarkable?

But why is giving thanks such an important part of the Christian life? Why does God place such a dramatic emphasis on giving thanks in His Word?

In a very simple answer, Paul tells us that acknowledging God and giving thanks are the very things that divide believers from unbelievers. In Romans 1:21, Paul says that even though unbelievers know God, they do not acknowledge Him as God, or give thanks!

Giving thanks is the very mark of a believer because giving thanks is acknowledging the goodness and sovereignty of God. If God is good and loves us, and if He is sovereign, then everything in our lives is from Him, and should be a source of thanks!

BUT if He isn’t good, or isn’t sovereign, then the first response of our hearts will be grumbling, complaining, and unthankfulness. We won’t acknowledge Him, or give thanks to Him, and He will not receive the glory that He rightfully deserves in our hearts! In fact, the act of giving thanks is the very highest form of worship we can offer God!

Thanksgiving can be day filled with blessings or pains — a joyful or a tough day. But today, no matter how complex things are in your life, and no matter how hard or difficult your financial situation, relationships, or health are, remember—God is sovereign, and He loves you. Give thanks to Him and glorify Him today!