It’s been such an eventful year. And we thought it would be good to round off the year by doing a sort of reflection on our Christian walk and challenges, as we look toward the new year. There are seemingly perennial challenges we face in relation to our Christian walk. Inconsistency is perhaps the biggest monster we get to contend with when it comes to discharging our duty before God.

Someone sent me a message recently, and it read:

Hi, Igdy, this might be a long and or confusing read but please stay on the line. Every year, I decide to take my faith seriously and every year, I end up falling off even if I was being very consistent at first. I’m aware of some of the reasons; the most pervasive being that I get overwhelmed either with school, don’t do my devotions for a few days, then feel too ashamed to get back on track. Let’s say I do put past the shame and “get back on track”, it doesn’t hold on for long, something else comes in and then I go back to square one. I also do not feel this ‘connection’ to God that has miraculously kept some people focused on him. I don’t have a Christian background, and I don’t feel any special reverence for my faith. Although this is not a religion-only thing because I actually don’t feel anything for anything. So perhaps you can relate a bit or know someone who can, and finally help someone who has been on and off and wants to be on forever.

Tonight’s session is partly inspired by this message, as it raised certain issues that I had discussed with a friend or two within the past month or two and that I believed were worth sharing. I want to hope that all of us can relate at least in part to something here. And so I’d encourage you to pick one or two things to run with as you reflect on your journey this past year.

I must put a disclaimer here first. The thoughts I’m sharing here are things I’ve come to learn in my interaction with people and reflection on this issue. It still takes deliberate effort — and yes, I struggle from time to time — to put them into practice, but they’ve made things much simpler for me, and I hope you experience the same. So, I’m not promising a quick fix, and I’m definitely not anywhere near perfect or where I ought to be. Yet I believe that you may benefit from some insights that I’ll be sharing.

Tonight what I’ll be doing is straightforward. I’ll be presenting three indicatives (explaining three points to note) and then pressing forward three imperatives (things to do based on the points made before).

So, concerning Navigating Devotion, Intention, and Connection, here are three points to note:

1. There is profound simplicity in Christ-centred, gospel-inspired devotion. 2 Cor. 11:3
2. Intentionality is embodied in a sustained will for restoration. Prov. 24:16
3. Staying connected (through the means of grace) is more important than feeling connected. 2 Cor. 5:7

I’ll leave the imperatives/application till the end. As we dive in, let’s ask for God’s blessings on our time.

Our heavenly Father, direct us to Christ as we seek wisdom on how to conduct ourselves. Let the gospel instruct us, and incline our hearts to heed and submit to your will in all things. Help us in our weaknesses, that we may rejoice and experience the fullness of your redemption. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

Now, I know as you see this, you may be wondering exactly what these mean. Let’s take them one after the other. For the sake of time, I won’t be able to do an in-depth explanation of the text, but what I hope to do is to draw one or two inferences, and build my argument from there.

Devotion

2 Corinthians 11:3 NASB95 — But I am afraid that, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, your minds will be led astray from the simplicity and purity of devotion to Christ.

In this first text, Paul writes to the Corinthians and expresses concern about the work of false teachers in their midst who, upon his exit, had begun to make progress in subverting the gospel in their midst.

It was a serious issue, and as he writes to them, you can sense both his frustration and care as he beckons on these Christians to retain the purity and simplicity of the gospel he had delivered to them, shunning whatever these false teachers had to bring to them. There are two things I need you to see here.

First, these false teachers were peddling a counterfeit gospel. They were either adding to or subtracting from the gospel message, replacing it with whatever suited them and their depraved hearts, be it works-salvation, Gnosticism, etc. So, what really was at stake here was the purity and simplicity of the gospel.

Yet, Paul says these false teachers were leading them astray from the purity and simplicity of devotion to Christ. This means that devotion to Christ is a product of the gospel — the true gospel, I might add — and so if you want to have true devotion, you must be sure you have the true gospel.

But even more, what this means is that the devotion that the true gospel inspires (or works in believers) possesses this character of SIMPLICITY. In other words, it’s not complicated. It is simple because it is characterised by the ordinary means of grace. Ordinary stuff. Yes, ordinary stuff. I’ll speak more on the means of grace in my third point, but suffice it to say for now that there is simplicity in Christ-centred, gospel-inspired devotion.

If you’ve been burdened by devotion this past year, might it be that this “devotion” you’ve been pursuing has not been founded upon the true gospel and has therefore been characterised by complexity and burdensomeness?

If you’re in a “church” or community where devotion is beyond the ordinary means of grace but about “ascending into realms and portals” and where spirituality is measured by how many dreams, visions, and extraordinary experiences you have, such that your spiritual worth or value is tied to how much “work” you do to these regards… Is it little wonder if you turn out exhausted and burdened, even as in all these you do not find Christ… because you do not have the true gospel? Think deeply on these.

If your “devotion” is little more than a quest for power and signs and physical prosperity, could it be that you’re missing out on the simplicity that is in Christ and the true gospel? Do you even know the true gospel?

Any devotion that is not built upon the foundation of Christ will inevitably lead to exhaustion for the one who truly desires Christ.

Because all those things will not satisfy you. Only Christ can and will satisfy. Only He is the Bread of Life. Do you know the gospel? Have you beheld the glory of the eternal Son of God born in time to die for sin, have you beheld Him in the gospel? In the true gospel?

How much time have you spent contemplating Christ’s glory in His person and His redemptive work? How much of your devotion is founded upon an increasing knowledge of who He is and what He has accomplished on your behalf on that cross? A lot more could be said but let’s leave it here for now.

Intentionality

Now, to the second point.

Proverbs 24:16 ESV — for the righteous falls seven times and rises again, but the wicked stumble in times of calamity.

We see here a profound truth. The distinction between the “righteous” and the “wicked” is not in whether they stumble/fall, but in what happens afterwards.

The difference between the genuine believer and the non-believer is not necessarily that the former doesn’t sin (1 John 1:8–9 blows that idea into smithereens), but is in the attitude of the former towards sin — he hates it, abhors it, and repents of it.

So perhaps as you look at yourself, you’ve struggled a lot with certain besetting sins this year, and you’re on the verge of exhaustion. Or perhaps it’s just the “regular” inconsistency and occasional lethargy towards spiritual things.

Perhaps like the person in the original message, you’ve experienced fits and starts in your walk with God. Lots of falls and disappointments — you have failed time and again, even each time you have decided to take your spiritual life seriously.

See, this thing I’m about to say is what I believe to be the “game changer”. Game changer not because it means things will automatically get better, but because you begin to see things from a whole different perspective. See here.

If truly you are converted, if truly you have turned from your sin and put your trust in Jesus Christ ONLY for your salvation…

If truly you have been justified by grace through faith in Christ Jesus,

If indeed you have come to experience the fullness of God’s forgiving grace,

If truly you have come to a point where you know that it’s Christ or nothing — if He doesn’t save you, you’re done for,

If truly you have come to cease from your “strivings” and efforts to gain acceptance before God through your works,

If truly you’ve come to faith in Christ and have therefore become clothed with His righteousness by faith — Then, this is for you. Listen carefully.

Your life in Christ is one of continual conflict, as we see in Gal. 5:16–17. This means that every day is literally a fight. A fight against your three-fold enemy — the world, the flesh, and the devil. And this fight is a fight OF FAITH (that is, it’s one you don’t engage in your own power or strength but by reliance on the Holy Spirit).

But yes, this fight requires stubbornness. And do you know what stubbornness looks like? Imagine a boxing or wrestling ring with two fighters. You know how one beats the other until that other one gives up? You know that the fight doesn’t end until that one gives up? Such that if he will keep rising up, the fight will not end?

“A sustained will for restoration” is you saying again and again that no matter how many times you fall, you will rise again. No, don’t think of “oh, see how much progress I had made before I fell,” or “oh, see how I’ve fallen into this sin I thought I had overcome for some months now, how will I cope?”

No, don’t think that way. Look at it as a daily fight. Yesterday’s victory is gone. Each day is a new day to fight and do battle with sin in the power of the Holy Spirit. Even when you fall into lethargy, set your mind to rise up again and not give in to defeat.

What matters is that every new day you engage the opportunity to fight. This is what intentionality is about. Intentionality is about sustaining the will to be restored when you fall. Even if you experienced a lot of down times this year, resolve in your heart that in the coming year, it doesn’t matter how many times things overwhelm you and you realise you’ve fallen behind spiritually again. Resolve that you will rise up and continue fighting.

If you see it this way, it will be much easier than if you think that you’ve “lost progress in your walk with God and are now trying to work up from where you fell to where you used to be”.

So, you haven’t had your devotion in a while? Quit sulking and battling with guilt. Rise up, pick your Bible, open a Psalm, read and pray it, tell God how horrible you feel and how you know you’re a mess and you need His grace. Sing a song/hymn or two. Read a portion of Scripture that reminds you of Christ’s promise to ailing sinners like you. Plead the promises. Cry. Cry. And cry again.

Rant about how your work and other engagementst prevent you from giving Him enough time that you desire you would have for Him. Tell Him exactly how you feel. Realise that He has never been asking you for a show or performance. He wants you to come just as you are. He wants you to be raw and sincere with Him.

Away with all those thoughts of how the “ideal” prayer session or devotion is supposed to look like. What that will only do is prevent you from doing anything! Do it raw. Do it unfiltered. But always remember that God is not seeking a performance. He’s not seeking a formula. He’s not seeking you to do it like you’ve seen the “prayer warriors” do it. He wants you to come just as you are.

With that stubbornness that says, “Jesus, I know you never gave up on me. And you never will. And so I won’t give up on myself. You gave yourself so I would commune with you. You gave so much for me to think that nothing is at stake. Even if I fall a hundred times, I’ll keep rising, and repenting, and turning from my sin, and confessing and forsaking, and trusting You and Your sacrifice to save me. I will NOT stop trying.”

Remember… A sustained will for restoration. That’s what makes for real intentionality. Never give up. Because God will never give up on you. Keep running to Him. To the feet of the cross. To the gospel. To the ordinary means of grace. And you will always meet Christ there, with open arms ready to receive you.

Connectedness

Finally,

2 Corinthians 5:7 ESV — for we walk by faith, not by sight.

I know we hear this a lot. But we often don’t realise the implications in our walk with God. My third point tonight is that STAYING connected is more important than FEELING connected. What does this mean?

If you saw the initial message, you’ll realise the person spoke about not “feeling” connected. There’s somewhere we get it wrong in our Christian journey a lot. You will often not feel what you should.

You’ll often not feel God’s presence with you. You’ll often not feel forgiven. You’ll not feel blessed in Christ (Eph. 1), especially if things don’t seem to be working well in your life.

As Christians, we don’t walk by how we feel, but by faith — that is based on what God says. This means, you will have many days wherein God will feel distant. Your devotion will feel dry. You will feel like you’re not making progress. You will feel like the ordinary means of grace are not enough.

It will be your duty at such points to take the focus away from your feelings to Christ’s promises. Christ said if I come to Him, he will not cast me out. I believe that if I run to Him and confess and repent of my sins, He will receive me. And that settles it.

Christ promised that there is none who feeds upon Him that will hunger and thirst. I will feed on Christ daily in His Word and the ordinances, and I will see that truly, I lack nothing!

You stay connected by devoting yourself to the means of grace that God has ordained for your growth in grace and holiness. It doesn’t matter what you feel. Your feelings must bow to His promise.

Whether or not you “feel” connected, open that Psalm and pray it. Read a chapter — or a verse! — of Scripture. Go to church (a biblical church, I might add). Fellowship with the brethren. Pray with them. Eat with them.

Mindfully take the Holy Communion (partake of the Lord’s Table), beholding Christ in the gospel. Resolve to go to church for midweek meetings. Hear the gospel every Lord’s Day. Hear it every morning. Hear it again and again. Don’t get tired of hearing that Christ died for needy sinners like yourself. Be daily reminded of your need for Christ.

It doesn’t matter how you feel. That comes and goes and changes as the weather. What matters is what Christ has promised! His anchor will hold you.

Applications

So, as I conclude, three applications (which I have already alluded to though):

1. Resolve to die trying and fight to the death. Every day is war. And you’ve been assured of victory in Christ. The thing about this fight of faith is that the outcome is sure!
2. Resolve not to live by your feelings but by Christ’s promises! I would encourage you to listen to episodes of this podcast (Gospel Portions) where you hear the gospel again and again in various forms (Bible verses, hymn excerpts, quotes), and let your heart be melted day after day in view of the Christ whom you so love. Each episode is like 2–3 minutes long.
3. And finally, resolve never to give up on the means of grace. And resolve never to forsake the ordinary means of grace in pursuit of highfalutin, extraordinary stuff. Stay with the simple gospel, let Christ and His gospel be at the centre of your contemplations, and watch your devotion flourish beyond your imagination!

Let us pray.

Our heavenly Father, plant in us a deep desire for your Word, and for the gospel. Cause us to relish more and more this same ancient truth which continues to inspire awe and devotion in thousands and millions around the word — the truth that Christ died:

2 Corinthians 5:14–15 ESV — For the love of Christ controls us, because we have concluded this: that one has died for all, therefore all have died; and he died for all, that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised.

Help us, Lord, to your glory alone. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

Got any questions or comments? Ask anonymously here.

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We live in a day and age where just anyone can get platformed to preach, regardless of whether or not they truly know Scriptures, so long as they claim to have been called by God. Among these are many who seem to delight (or even specialize) in so-called “mysteries”. The idea, according to them, is that there is always something “new” to be discovered when they teach.

In a sense, this is true. God’s mercies are new every morning, and there is a freshness that attends every exposure we have to Scripture, such that God’s Word never grows stale, irrelevant, or out of date. But I am afraid this isn’t what is referred to when such claim is made. These folks who love to speak of “mysteries” align more with what Paul warns against in his epistles: they consider the plain truths revealed in Scripture to be too “basic” or “simple”, such that those who are truly “spiritual” will seek more.

They regard those who stay with what is written as “babes” and “simpletons” who haven’t been enlightened enough to graduate to higher levels of “knowledge” that are hidden, hence the need for them to be “revealed”, and so they are called mysteries.

Such are those who delight in things and concepts either not taught in Scripture or given only little account therein. I have seen instances of these “men and women of God” speaking of things Scripture knows nothing of, and they pride themselves in having these “revelations” as some mark of superior spirituality.

It is our business tonight to consider this trend and ask ourselves very important questions regarding how we are to respond to such things, from Scripture. In case you’re wondering why we are having this discourse, it is in line with our theme of this new year as announced on our anniversary Sunday two weeks ago.

Taken from 2 Cor. 11:3, where Paul speaks of the Corinthians being deceived from the simplicity and purity of devotion to Christ by the ministry of false teachers, we are focusing on what it means to Stay Devoted to Christ.

And this is such a good way to begin, by considering some of the corrupting influences in Christianity around us, in order that we may beware and not be deceived or distracted from simple and pure devotion to Christ, by those who seek to add legalistic yokes of “mystery religion” to the perfect nature of the Christian faith founded upon the gospel of Christ.

Paul exhorts Timothy:

1 Timothy 4:6–7 [6] If you put these things before the brothers, you will be a good servant of Christ Jesus, being trained in the words of the faith and of the good doctrine that you have followed. [7] Have nothing to do with irreverent, silly myths. Rather train yourself for godliness; (ESV)

What we discover about many of these folks is that their specialty aligns with what Paul here describes as “irreverent, silly myths”. The phrase used here in the Greek original likely applies to “teachings or practices that were not rooted in the historically-based events associated with the Gospel (that is the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus, as well as His words) and the establishment of the Christian church, and to the way in which those events had changed, or were different from, existing teachings or practices — whether they originated from Judaism, or from the non-Jewish cultures in which the early Christian churches were founded (and in which the teachings would have been based purely on human invention or customs, and had no association at all with the God of the Old and New Testaments).”

In case you’re asking why many seem to be attracted to these, the Apostle Paul has an answer for you:

2 Timothy 4:3–4 [3] For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, [4] and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths. (ESV)

This is the problem. Sinful man doesn’t love or delight in God’s truth and will therefore turn away from those teaching the truth to those teaching “myths”, fictitious tales and accounts that have no basis in Scripture, even eclipsing and distracting people from Bible truth. Consider yourself and how excited you tend to be when a preacher comes on stage, and rather than opening Scripture to bring forth the treasures therein, he begins speaking of his trips to the third heavens and whatnot. We love to hear myths because they scintillate our spiritually dull senses. Hence our need to take heed to ourselves based on what we will learn tonight.

One thing I need you to note is that there is nothing new under the sun. It would interest you to know that this “mystery” inclination did not begin with today’s mystery-mongers. Now, I’m not a history geek or expert, and so I had some help from ChatGPT — probably not the best, I know, but at least it works for this purpose — for some historical perspective, based on my familiarity with some concepts such as mystery religion and Gnosticism in the early church period.

I put in the following prompt: Give a historical perspective on the relationship of (proto-)Gnosticism to “mystery” and relate it to the broader rhetoric of mystery religion. Also give an account on the New Testament writers’ refutation of this fascination with mystery.

And here is what it gave me:

1. The Cultural Background: Hellenistic Mystery Religions

Mystery religions — such as the Eleusinian Mysteries, the cult of Isis, and the Mithraic Mysteries — were characterized by secret initiation rites, esoteric teachings, and a promise of personal salvation or enlightenment. Central to these religions was the idea that divine truths were hidden from the uninitiated and could only be revealed through ritual participation and progressive stages of revelation.

Mystery religions:

• Emphasized esoteric knowledge or gnosis (Greek: γνῶσις) as transformative.
• Used symbolic language and myth to veil spiritual truths.
• Promised salvation, immortality, or union with the divine through secret knowledge.

These traditions created a broader rhetorical and religious environment in which secrecy, initiation, and exclusive access to truth were seen as markers of spiritual authority.

2. Proto-Gnosticism and the Language of Mystery

Proto-Gnosticism (a scholarly term referring to pre-Christian or early Gnostic-like movements) and full-fledged Christian Gnosticism of the 2nd century drew heavily from this mystery religion context.

Key features:

• Esoteric cosmology: Gnostic myths described complex divine realms, emanations (Aeons), and the fall of a divine being (Sophia), with salvation coming through knowledge of one’s true, divine origin.
• Hidden knowledge: Salvation was not through faith or moral conduct but through gnosis — a mystical insight into one’s spiritual nature and the structure of the universe.
• Initiatory secrecy: Many Gnostic texts present knowledge as veiled, intended only for the spiritually elite.

Thus, proto-Gnosticism appropriated the mystery rhetoric of Hellenistic cults and infused it with dualistic cosmology and a deep suspicion of the material world.

3. The New Testament and the Refutation of Gnostic “Mystery”

The New Testament reflects an ambivalent relationship with the idea of “mystery.” On the one hand, Paul uses the term mystērion (μυστήριον) repeatedly. However, he redefines it in a way that subverts the Gnostic or mystery-religion concept.

a. Pauline Use of “Mystery”

Paul speaks of the “mystery” of Christ (e.g., Romans 16:25–26; Ephesians 3:3–6; Colossians 1:26–27), but in a radically inclusive and revelatory sense: “The mystery hidden for ages and generations but now revealed to his saints.” — Col. 1:26

Here, mystery is:

• No longer secret, but revealed in Christ.
• Not the possession of an elite few, but available to all, especially Gentiles.
• Rooted not in cosmic speculation, but in the historical reality of Jesus’ death and resurrection.

Paul’s rhetoric deliberately counters the elitist and esoteric claims of Gnostic and mystery traditions. For Paul, the mystery of salvation is openly proclaimed, not reserved for those with secret knowledge.

b. Pastoral and Johannine Writings

Later NT texts (e.g., 1 Timothy, 1 John) are even more direct in refuting early Gnostic tendencies:

• 1 Timothy 6:20 warns against “what is falsely called knowledge (gnosis).”
• 1 John emphasizes that those who claim secret spiritual knowledge but deny the incarnation of Christ are false teachers: “Every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God.” (1 John 4:3)

These writings confront docetic and dualistic tendencies in early Gnostic thought — especially the denial that Christ truly came in the flesh.

I know that may have been a lot to take in. But trust me, it’s important. Because what I need us to see is that there really is nothing new under the sun, and many of the errors we face today have been countered, refuted, and exposed by faithful Christians rooted and grounded in Scripture in the history of the Church.

And so if you find that you hold on to beliefs that the Apostles or their forebears clearly taught and fought against, or you find traces of those ideologies in your own belief system, you definitely want to have a rethink, prayerfully. And the same goes with this issue of mystery-mongering.

We will now consider some texts of Scripture that shed light on the issue, what our attitude should be, and what God’s verdict is on those who delight in such. Let us ask for God’s blessing on our time.

Father, guide us and lead us into your truth, that we may be able to delight in it and desist from falsehood. We desire to not only be filled with head knowledge and have the right beliefs, but that they may propel us to worship and a life pleasing to you. We pray in Jesus name. Amen.

In Romans we find a comprehensive treatise on the gospel. In fact, Romans is often described as “the Gospel According to Paul”. This is because we find a beautiful narrative of God’s purpose in redemption, where man’s universal fallenness, sinfulness, and depravity (chapters 1–3) set the stage for Christ’s propitiatory sacrifice that justifies and sanctifies all who put their faith in Him (3–7). We also see the work of the Spirit of God in the lives of all such (8) which echoes the sovereignty of God in this entire scheme, stretching as far back as eternity past (9–11). We then see how Paul goes from there to urge us to live lives pleasing to God on the basis of the gospel that has saved us from sin (12–16).

Just as Paul closes this magnificent exposition of the gospel, we find in the last three verses what is known as a “Doxology”, that is, an expression of praise to God. We see the Apostle burst forth in praise to God as he beholds the wonder and greatness of the grace of God.

Romans 16:25–27 [25] Now to him who is able to strengthen you according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery that was kept secret for long ages [26] but has now been disclosed and through the prophetic writings has been made known to all nations, according to the command of the eternal God, to bring about the obedience of faith — [27] to the only wise God be glory forevermore through Jesus Christ! Amen. (ESV)

In this doxology, we see that Paul looks back on all he has written about the gospel and God’s purpose in redemption, and he refers to it as “the revelation of the mystery that was kept secret for long ages but has now been disclosed…”

Before we begin to ask questions about how it was disclosed and to whom it was disclosed, we see here that Paul uses the term “mystery” in a definitive sense: the mystery. There is only one singular mystery, not many. It may have various aspects to it, but it is one mystery. And then he tops it up by asserting that this mystery was once kept secret. Indeed, for a long time, it was hidden. It was unknown to men, perhaps only in the eternal council of the Godhead was it known.

He says that though it was once hidden, IT HAS NOW BEEN DISCLOSED (or, REVEALED). In other words, this singular mystery, that encompasses something definite, has now (at the time of his writing) been revealed. It has crossed from being something hidden to something that is now accessible and knowable by all. A commentator puts it this way:

“But what is the heart of the ‘mystery’ of which the apostle speaks…? The mystery is that through the preaching of the gospel (which is to go to ‘all the nations’ as Jesus commanded in Matthew 28), pagan, outcase Gentiles would be saved and experience God’s gospel blessings with elect Jews and made into one spiritual family with them.”

He continues,

“In the Old Testament, God spoke about the Gentiles being blessed by Him in many passages. Genesis 12:3; 22:18; Isa. 9:1, 2; and 42:1 are important examples. However, now in the New Testament times, we see that this blessing is being fully realized as they are saved and not only ‘entering God’s kingdom in large numbers but [also becoming] fellow sharers, participants on equal terms, with the elect from among the Jews’. This is fantastic news which shows us God’s heart for all the families of the earth. It demonstrates that He indeed ‘shows no partiality’ (Acts 10:34).”

We see this truth fully set on display in Paul’s epistle to the Ephesians. When speaking of the spiritual blessings that we have in Christ, he says:

Ephesians 1:7–10 [7] In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, [8] which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight [9] making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ [10] as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in Christ, things in heaven and things on earth in him. (ESV)

We see that one of the blessings in redemption is that we who are recipients of God’s grace come to know the “mystery of his will…set forth in Christ”. Note, the God who lavishes grace upon us is the same God who makes known this mystery to us IN THE GOSPEL. We are not the ones who seek the mystery through some special initiation rites or extra ceremonies. By hearing and obeying the gospel, we come to know this mystery. It becomes even clearer later on in the epistle: Please read the following text properly:

Ephesians 3:1–7 [The Mystery of the Gospel Revealed] [1] For this reason I, Paul, a prisoner of Christ Jesus on behalf of you Gentiles — [2] assuming that you have heard of the stewardship of God’s grace that was given to me for you, [3] how the mystery was made known to me by revelation, as I have written briefly. [4] When you read this, you can perceive my insight into the mystery of Christ, [5] which was not made known to the sons of men in other generations as it has now been revealed to his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit. [6] This mystery is that the Gentiles are fellow heirs, members of the same body, and partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel.

See! In verse 6, Paul himself defines the mystery! Now, here it is important for me to clear a certain misconception. See how Paul speaks in verse 3: this mystery was made known to him by revelation. The “men of God” today who pride themselves in speaking mysteries often appeal to a text like this to say, See! Paul experienced this. This is what I have experienced too. Now, there are at least two issues with that.

First, if you will take the preacher’s word for it that way, then you must contend with the implication: he is on par with the apostles. What he says are the very words of God, and you should in fact add them to your Bible. If God is revealing truth to anybody today the way He was revealing to the apostles and prophets (as we see in verse 5), then their words are inerrant, infallible, and authoritative — binding on the conscience of every Christian not only today but across history both past and future.

Second, it is not true — because Paul makes it clear that there is a specific, limited group of people that experienced that: apostles and prophets (verse 5), and it was a one-time thing. Paul says it has been revealed. It speaks of a completed action. Therefore, the revelation is complete, which is why we have leather-bound Bibles.

Also, Paul speaks in Eph. 2:20 that these apostles and prophets were the foundation of the Church. Hence, we see that the Church was said to continue in the APOSTLE’S TEACHING (Acts 2:42). If the foundation has already been laid, there is no more laying to be done, and we now have in Scripture the content of that completed revelation that Paul described in these pages.

Galatians 1:12 [12] For I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it, but I received it through a revelation of Jesus Christ. (ESV)

Paul says what he taught was as he received it from Christ. This is why all along, even though I have been saying “Paul”, we know that these words we are quoting aren’t just Paul’s own words or ideas. They are the very words of Christ, which is why for instance it’s nonsense to say that you have issues with Paul or his teaching even though you love or follow Jesus. If you love Jesus, you must love His messengers too — His apostles through whom He delivered His word to His church.

What is the implication of this? When you read Scripture and pray for God to grant you insight or understanding of what is there, and when the Holy Spirit actually does open your heart and mind to receive God’s word, that is NOT revelation. That is ILLUMINATION.

Now you may argue that it’s just a matter of semantics, but I think it’s clear that the apostles were exclusive regarding what they believed to be the product of divine revelation, such as Scripture, and what our disposition ought to be toward it: staying with, rather than seeking for new. So we see Paul’s charge to Timothy to guard the good deposit entrusted to him:

1 Timothy 6:20–21 [20] O Timothy, guard the deposit entrusted to you. Avoid the irreverent babble and contradictions of what is falsely called “knowledge,” [21] for by professing it some have swerved from the faith. Grace be with you. (ESV)

The interesting thing is that it was these Gnostic folks who prided themselves in “what is falsely called ‘knowledge’”. He’s basically saying, don’t run after these guys talking about “new” things; stay with what has been given to you — what I have taught you. This is the same charge to us today, to remain with what is in Scripture. He says the same thing elsewhere:

2 Timothy 1:14 [14] By the Holy Spirit who dwells within us, guard the good deposit entrusted to you. (ESV)

And the Apostle John also says:

2 John 9 [9] Everyone who goes on ahead and does not abide in the teaching of Christ, does not have God. Whoever abides in the teaching has both the Father and the Son. (ESV)

The idea is that we must abide with the teaching that has already been delivered, and that we have in Scripture. If we will not be satisfied with that, we will be drawn away unto our own destruction.

Jude 3 [3] Beloved, although I was very eager to write to you about our common salvation, I found it necessary to write appealing to you to contend for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints. (ESV)

We see here also that the faith (the body of teaching, sound doctrine that is the foundation of the church) has been delivered once for all. It is not being delivered. It is not delivered in phases. It has been completely delivered, and there is nothing more that God intends to reveal. We have God’s all-sufficient Word, sufficient for all seasons and for all purposes. See what Paul says concerning this Word:

2 Timothy 3:16–17 [16] All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, [17] that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work. (ESV)

It is sufficient for everything that we will need, to make us complete and furnished for every good work. We don’t need anything else. We don’t need myths and fables. God’s Word is enough!

And then we see in chapter 6 of Ephesians that Paul requests prayers for him “that words may be given to me in opening my mouth boldly to proclaim the mystery of the gospel,” (v. 19). Beyond any doubt, the “mystery” Paul speaks of elsewhere is the Gospel.

As we close tonight, I leave you with some thoughts from Colossians. He talks about his ministry being aimed at “making the word (that is, message) of God fully known,” and then adds a clarifier:

Colossians 1:26–27 [26] the mystery hidden for ages and generations but now revealed to his saints. [27] To them God chose to make known how great among the Gentiles are the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. (ESV)

This mystery centers on Christ, His person and His work in the gospel. The problem with today’s mystery-mongers is that in all their fascination with mystery, they do not centre on this: they speak so little of the true Christ and the true gospel and so lead people astray from the truth. Paul continues, and in the very verses following this reference of his to mystery, see what he says:

Colossians 2:1–5, 8 [1] For I want you to know how great a struggle I have for you and for those at Laodicea and for all who have not seen me face to face, [2] that their hearts may be encouraged, being knit together in love, to reach all the riches of full assurance of understanding and the knowledge of God’s mystery, which is Christ, [3] in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. [4] I say this in order that no one may delude you with plausible arguments… [8] See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ. (ESV)

He makes it clear that all his struggles in ministry were to the purpose of them coming to the FULL ASSURANCE OF UNDERSTANDING AND THE KNOWLEDGE OF GOD’S MYSTERY. Unlike mystery religions, Paul says they have come to full assurance of understanding, precisely because by knowing Christ, they have come to the one in whom all wisdom and knowledge is located.

There is no need to search anywhere else, for all you need is in Christ. You need not seek after certain esoteric experiences to be assured that you have true knowledge, like those mystery religions did, and like the mystery-mongers of today do.

He understands that those folks had “plausible arguments” (i.e., persuasive speech) and eloquence, like today’s mystery-mongers. They are often articulate, their speech is fraught with big words and when you hear them speak, their rhetoric is indeed charming. But it’s all deceit.

He warns them to ensure that no one takes them captive by “philosophy and empty deceit”. The point here is not about the field or discipline of philosophy itself, for everyone does philosophy knowingly or unknowingly. Everyone has a philosophy. But the point is about these eloquent folks who speak, perhaps even using Christian lingo, to deceive the unsuspecting.

They specialize in HUMAN TRADITION (teaching things you cannot find in or reliably deduce from Scripture, but that are just based on human innovation and imaginations of men, which they may often call “revelation”). He then makes reference to “ELEMENTAL SPIRITS”, indicating that sometimes, the things they teach and esoteric encounters they speak of are actually sponsored by evil spirits and the kingdom of darkness.

Based on all we have said, it is clear that you must cling to Christ, and forsake all else. God’s verdict on these mystery-mongers is this:

2 Peter 2:1–3 [False Prophets and Teachers] [1] But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies,even denying the Master who bought them, bringing upon themselves swift destruction. [2] And many will follow their sensuality, and because of them the way of truth will be blasphemed. [3] And in their greed they will exploit you with false words. Their condemnation from long ago is not idle, and their destruction is not asleep.(ESV)

May God help us.

Father, help us to remain fixed on your truth. Let our attitude be one of adoration and commitment to what you have revealed, discarding anything and everything that doesn’t conform thereto, whether it come from an ordinary man or a self-acclaimed minister. Help us to be discerning and not fall prey to the deceptive schemes of the evil one, to lead us away from Christ. We pray in Jesus’ name. Amen.

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Tonight, we will be completing (I believe) what has turned out to be our “Clarity Series” on the gospel, especially in light of what many would nowadays call “prosperity theology” or the “prosperity gospel”. I would like to remind us of the importance of these contemplations from Scripture.

Paul spoke severally of the fact that the Gospel he preached was the “gospel of God” (Rom. 1:1; 1 Tim. 1:11), that is, it is a message that finds its origin in the mind of God. God is the mastermind of the gospel message, not man. It is God’s initiative. Therefore, it is our duty to ensure the purity of this message, so as not to incur upon ourselves God’s just judgment against those who corrupt it, part of whom were those Paul anathemized in his epistle to the Galatians.

This is important, precisely because the gospel is the power of God to salvation to everyone who believes (Rom. 1:16). Whoever keeps on believing in a false gospel therefore cannot be saved, because that gospel doesn’t have the ability to save: it is not the power of God to save, no matter how appealing it sounds to fallen man.

I would encourage us, if we haven’t gone through those sessions, to do so here. In two parts, we addressed the question: What did Jesus not die for? I commend these to you for your edification.

In the last session which was two Sundays ago (last Sunday being our anniversary Sunday wherein we declared and exposited our theme for the new year), I promised we would consider one of the objections against the points that were made: the objection relating to the Abrahamic covenant or blessing and the New Testament Believer’s relationship to it. This is what we will be considering today.

The argument goes thus:

Premise 1: The Abrahamic blessing (or covenant) included material prosperity. Genesis 12:1–3

Premise 2: Believers today are partakers of the blessing of Abraham. Galatians 3:14

Conclusion: Therefore, believers today are promised material prosperity in the same way that Abraham was promised material prosperity.

Now, my point (consistent with what we established in the last session) is that this conclusion is not true, because while premise 1 is true, premise 2 is not wholly true.

And I’m not appealing to my authority in saying the conclusion is not true. In fact, my opinion doesn’t really matter on the issue. What I’m appealing to, rather, is the testimony of Scripture. I listed a number of texts we could go through to demonstrate this in the first session, but I recall focusing on 2 Corinthians 8 to demonstrate that Paul acknowledged the poverty of some Christians in their day mostly due to the persecution they faced on account of their faith, such that their experience and that of countless faithful believers in history negate that conclusion.

Now you may say, “Well, they just didn’t ‘appropriate’ faith for this blessing that had already been promised to them.” The problem with this is that Paul himself (under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit) commended these Christians for their perseverance and even cited their faith as an example for other believers.

In other words, Paul made it clear that these people excelled in faith. To charge them with lack of faith would not only be against the testimony of Scripture, but it would amount to calling Paul (the apostle of Christ) and hence, the Holy Spirit, a liar.

The point is simple: If material prosperity is a provision of the gospel, then we must account for why some, or rather, many, faithful Christians in Scripture (and Church History) whose faith have been set before us as an example didn’t experience it.

Now, it is obvious that there have been, are, and will be Christians who are rich by material metrics. Therefore, the point is not that the gospel promises financial hardship as opposed to financial prosperity. No one is making that argument. The point being made is that material prosperity is not a provision of the gospel, such that with or without the gospel, through work and God’s providence, anyone can experience it.

No one is saying that Christians must necessarily be poor. What is being said is that the faith or life of a Christian is not to be assessed by material metrics, whereby we say they are “truly walking with God or truly blessed” only when they experience material wealth. So that when we see believers who trusted God and did honest work under the providence of God but did not experience material wealth, we do not look down upon them with disdain just because they didn’t “lay hold of certain provisions” that we think had been made for them.

When accounting for their experience, we must embrace the fact that it wasn’t promised in the first place. Therefore, there is really no contradiction or tension to be resolved.

This is what then gives rise to the issue of the Abrahamic blessing, which seems on the surface to contradict what we have said. But what we will see is that if we follow the New Testament apostles’ understanding of how the Abrahamic blessing applies to believers today, such issue doesn’t actually exist.

As we consider this, let us pray. Heavenly Father, lead us into all truth and grant us deep insight into your Word in a way that casts out all fear or doubt and increases our confidence in your promises. Help your hearts and break down our idols that we may treasure Christ alone above all else to the glory and honour of your name. In Jesus name. Amen.

The Abrahamic Blessing is what we see recorded in Genesis 12:1–3:

Genesis 12:1–3 [1] Now the LORD said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. [2] And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. [3] I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.” (ESV)

The first thing we must see is that this is a historical record, the way all of Scripture is. The Bible is a collection of historical documents that are divine in origin (“God-breathed,” 2 Tim. 3:16). Therefore, we must treat it as such, that while it is written for us and our benefit, it has been delivered through a historical process with historical context that must be considered if we will not fall into error.

Why is this important? Well, if I walk up to you and tell you that the Bible says not to eat shrimp or sew cloths from different fabrics together, you will tell me that it doesn’t apply to you today:

Leviticus 19:19 [19] “You shall keep my statutes. You shall not let your cattle breed with a different kind. You shall not sow your field with two kinds of seed, nor shall you wear a garment of cloth made of two kinds of material. (ESV)

The question will then be, why does it not apply to you today? Why can it not be considered a prohibition to you as a New Testament believer who is not living in ancient Israel? It is precisely because this prohibition occurs within a particular historical context which is the ceremonial law of OT theocratic Israel, and that context must take precedence in how we interpret and apply it to ourselves.

Therefore, we don’t get to just put ourselves into any and every text in Scripture as though it were written to or about us. Such reckless hermeneutic has led to all sorts of unbiblical practices and notions that abound in the church today.

We don’t get to do anyhow we please with the Biblical text. The text itself determines through its context how it is to be read, interpreted and applied. If that is true, then it is clear that this text in Genesis 12 occurs within a specific historical context.

“Now the LORD said to Abram”: Everything that follows must be understood in that light. This is Yahweh (the capital “LORD” means that it’s God’s covenant name Yahweh, not Adonai, that appears in the original Hebrew text from which this has been translated) speaking to Abram (later Abraham).

The promise that we are about to unfold is therefore made to a specific person. It’s not an amorphous thing that admits of anyone throwing themselves in there. It is to a specific person, this pronouncement that God Himself makes. Now what is that pronouncement?

We observe a command first, “Go from your country… to the land that I will show you.” There was a specific country and land respectively that was being referred to. The country was Mesopotamia and the land was Canaan. These were actual places that Abraham moved from and to. Then we observe what God says He will do. Hence the term “promise” or “promise of Abraham”.

• I will make of you a great nation: God did this by raising Israel, a theocratic nation, from Abraham’s descendants. They had their own territory which they conquered, etc.
• I will bless you and make your name great: God did this by making Abraham well known and reputed among the nations of his day.
• I will bless/curse those who bless/curse you…: God punished all who were in opposition to Abraham and the nation Israel, as we see in the history of the rest of the OT. God was well-favoured toward those who were well-disposed to Abraham and his descendants. There are various instances of these in Scripture.

Now, the last part is what holds great importance: “you will be a blessing… in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed…” Now, we don’t need to speculate about what this means, because the apostles themselves under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit gave the sense of what this was about. We will see shortly that the blessing referred to here is a spiritual one.

Therefore, per Genesis 12:1–3, the “blessing of Abraham” is a composite one including material, physical, and spiritual elements. If you remember the initial argument we are addressing, you will see that the first proposition is true. The Abrahamic blessing did include material prosperity. But the question which renders the second proposition not wholly true is this: Is it all the aspects of the blessing of Abraham that apply to believers today? After all, see what Paul says in Galatians:

Galatians 3:14 [14] so that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we might receive the promised Spirit through faith. (ESV)

The interesting thing is that this verse already clarifies and answers our question. When Paul makes reference to the blessing of Abraham here in Galatians 3, he categorically adds a clarification: “so that we might receive the promised Spirit”. In line with what we’ll see that the apostles taught from Pentecost till this time, he makes it clear that this blessing is actually pertaining to the Spirit: it is spiritual. You may not agree with me yet, but follow me to Acts 3.

Acts 3:25–26 [25] You are the sons of the prophets and of the covenant that God made with your fathers, saying to Abraham, ‘And in your offspring shall all the families of the earth be blessed.’ [26] God, having raised up his servant, sent him to you first, to bless you by turning every one of you from your wickedness.” (ESV)

Here Peter speaks at Solomon’s portico after healing a man lame from birth at the Beautiful Gate. He is preaching to a primarily Jewish audience, hence his reference to “the covenant that God made with your fathers”. It is interesting because these are even Jews. If Peter would be teaching these folks about the covenant God made with Abraham their forefather, won’t he have told them that the blessing they were to enjoy included every component or element in the blessing God promised to their biological forefather?

Yet, what does he say? How does he define and apply the blessing or covenant to them? He says God sent Jesus (the offspring or seed of Abraham) to them first (that is, before the Gentiles) to bless them. By exploding their bank accounts? By expanding their businesses? By delivering them from Roman occupation (since they were under Roman oppression)? By increasing their farm produce so they would sell more and be richer? By causing them to be elevated to royal status so they would “dominate” in their time? By giving them political power? By granting them wealth?

NO. He says, by turning every one of you from your wickedness. I want you to ask yourself, as I do myself, Do I really regard this as a blessing? Do we really deem it a blessing that one is turned from the pursuit of sin, lust, greed, worldly ambition, and worldly pleasures?

This is where our problem lies. We are not on Peter’s (and the apostles’) side when they describe this salvation and redemption from our sin and wickedness as blessing enough. Of course, a number of us regard it as blessing, but it has to come in addition to something else, something material, something “tangible”, something that pertains to our wants and desires for wealth, fame, influence, and whatnot.

Let’s circle back to Galatians. Another interesting thing is that this text in Galatians where Paul likewise makes reference to the blessing of Abraham is where he speaks of justification by faith. I would really encourage you to find time to read the whole of Galatians, but especially chapters 3 and 4 for this purpose.

Galatians 3:10–14 The Righteous Shall Live by Faith

[10] For all who rely on works of the law are under a curse; for it is written, “Cursed be everyone who does not abide by all things written in the Book of the Law, and do them.” [11] Now it is evident that no one is justified before God by the law, for “The righteous shall live by faith.” [12] But the law is not of faith, rather “The one who does them shall live by them.” [13] Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us — for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree” — [14] so that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we might receive the promised Spirit through faith. (ESV)

It is very sad that many folks have used this text, verses 13 and 14 especially, to advance all sorts of ideas without paying any attention to (or perhaps deliberately ignoring) the verses that come right before. When we are said to be redeemed from the curse of the law, many say that what is being referred to there is the curse of poverty and sickness and whatnot. Others even say it has to do with spells and voodoo enchantments from one’s village people. But the text itself if you will pay attention to read it says what curse it refers to.

While it is true that a believer cannot be under the influence of ancestral curses and the like, precisely because of what happens at regeneration whereby they are transferred from the domain of darkness into the kingdom of God’s Son, that is not what this text is talking about.

The text clearly says that the “curse of the law” is what pertains to man who in his fallen state attempts to gain a right standing before God (i.e., be justified) by his own works, or by obedience to the law. He makes it clear that no one can do this. No one can be justified before God by adherence to some rules and regulations. Legalism will take no one to heaven or put them in right standing with God. And because of man’s sinful nature, he cannot please God in his fallen state, apart from the sovereign work of God in him through the gospel (Rom. 8:7–8).

Now how is this dilemma solved? This unfortunate situation whereby we are unable to come into God’s favour because of our fallenness and sinfulness?

Christ redeemed us by “becoming a curse for us”. We must be careful here, like we said when we were considering Christ “being made sin” in 2 Cor. 5:21. We know this is not an intrinsic or inherent transmutation that takes place in Christ’s nature. Rather what is going on here is that the curse that pertains to us by reason of disobeying God’s law (as opposed to the blessing that results from obedience) is placed upon Christ, such that the “blessing of Abraham” can then come to us who believe on Him.

Paul is clearly talking about justification here, perfected in our receipt of the Holy Spirit. He is saying that Christ’s self-sacrificing death on the cross is such that it obtains for us the blessing of Abraham, which is justification (being declared righteous in God’s sight), the opposite of what we deserve. We know this is what he is talking about because it’s the exact same argument he makes in Romans 4.

Romans 4:1–9 Abraham Justified by Faith

[1] What then shall we say was gained by Abraham, our forefather according to the flesh? [2] For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God. [3] For what does the Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness.” [4] Now to the one who works, his wages are not counted as a gift but as his due. [5] And to the one who does not work but believes in him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness, [6] just as David also speaks of the BLESSING of the one to whom God counts righteousness apart from works: [7] “Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven, and whose sins are covered; [8] blessed is the man against whom the Lord will not count his sin.” [9] Is this blessing then only for the circumcised, or also for the uncircumcised? For we say that faith was counted to Abraham as righteousness. (ESV)

Therefore, Paul makes it clear that the blessing of Abraham that applies to the New Testament believer is the blessing of justification by faith, whereby righteousness is imputed to guilty sinners, and they are brought into right standing with God. There is no mistake that the blessing God promised to the nations of the earth through Abraham when we observe Paul’s words:

Galatians 3:8 ESV — And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, “In you shall all the nations be blessed.”

As I close tonight, the question I would encourage you to ask yourself is this: Do I believe this reference that Paul makes in Romans 4 to Psalm 32:1? Do I believe that true blessing consists in being forgiven of my lawless deeds and having my sins covered by the blood of Christ? Or do I think that I am only blessed when I have a robust bank account and am regarded highly in society? Do I believe that true blessing consists in being imputed Christ’s righteousness such that rather than my guilt and sin, God sees Christ’s perfect righteousness when He looks at me?

If I do, then I will be able to look at the believers in Scripture who suffered affliction, poverty, and all sorts on account of their faith, and call them blessed, because that is all that truly matters — the blessings that we considered in our first session about what Jesus died for, those transcendent blessings that are eternal and not temporal, that transcend this world to the one that is to come.

That is real blessing. And that is the blessing of Abraham that the apostles whose teaching the church is built upon (Acts 2:42, Eph. 2:20) defined.

Hebrews 10:32–34 [32] But recall the former days when, after you were enlightened, you endured a hard struggle with sufferings, [33] sometimes being publicly exposed to reproach and affliction, and sometimes being partners with those so treated. [34] For you had compassion on those in prison, and you joyfully accepted the plundering of your property, since you knew that you yourselves had a better possession and an abiding one. (ESV)

Like these believers, do you know and believe that you have a “better and abiding possession” that the world cannot take away, that is beyond the riches and all that this world has to offer? Do you believe that the righteousness of Christ that is now yours (imputed to your account) whereby you are a child of God and have access to Him and have a title to a blissful eternity is the true blessing, the possession which you ought to be mindful of?

Please let not your heart be drawn to be fixed on earthly things (Col. 3:1–2). Please do not lay up treasures for yourself here but in heaven where moth does not rust or corrupt and thieves do not steal. Let your heart be fixed on that which is eternal, and that only.

May the Lord help our hearts and increase our confidence in this, that should we have nothing in this world, we will rejoice that we have everything because we have Christ and all the spiritual blessings that pertain to him (Eph. 2:1), which the world cannot experience no matter how much they accumulate in this life. Let us be satisfied in this. That we have Christ, and whatever station God is pleased to place us in life, let us apply ourselves to our work diligently, glorifying God through honest toil that is not ridden with or driven by either greed or anxiety.

This post is brought to you by B’rit Network. Learn more about us here.

What is Justice?

§ Justice is not only a moral category (presupposing a standard of right and wrong) but a theological one (grounded in God’s nature and character).

Psalm 89:14 (ESV) Righteousness and justice are the foundation of your throne; steadfast love and faithfulness go before you.

§ Ultimately, the only person in the universe who has rights is God, and justice is “acting in a way so that He gets His rights — including behaviour, thoughts and feelings that are conformed to the infinite value of God” (John Piper).

Romans 11:36 (ESV) For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen.

§ Justice is also treating people in accordance with the fact that they are made in the image of God with great intrinsic worth and value.

James 3:9–10 (ESV) With [the tongue] we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse people who are made in the likeness of God… these things ought not to be so.

§ Due to man’s rebellion at the Fall, and the resulting incursion of sin into the world, this has been perverted — men deny God His rights and treat others sinfully. This broken world is now fraught with injustice.

Ezekiel 22:29 (ESV) The people of the land have practiced extortion and committed robbery. They have oppressed the poor and needy, and have extorted from the sojourner without justice.

§ In common grace, God seems to take special interest in those who are objects of oppression and unjust treatment, e.g., fatherless, widows, the poor. And he requires all to seek justice. This may sometimes involve “advocacy.”

Micah 6:8 (ESV) He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?

Isaiah 1:17 (ESV) Learn to do good; seek justice, correct oppression; bring justice to the fatherless, plead the widow’s cause.

Deuteronomy 27:19 (ESV) ‘Cursed be anyone who perverts the justice due to the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow.’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’

Leviticus 19:15 (ESV) “You shall do no injustice in court. You shall not be partial to the poor or defer to the great, but in righteousness shall you judge your neighbor.

Zechariah 7:9–10 (ESV) “Thus says the Lord of hosts, Render true judgments, show kindness and mercy to one another, do not oppress the widow, the fatherless, the sojourner, or the poor, and let none of you devise evil against another in your heart.”

§ Yet only those who fear God (i.e., the regenerate and converted, true believers) can truly understand and act in justice.

Proverbs 28:5 (ESV) Evil men do not understand justice, but those who seek the LORD understand it completely.

§ Also, while we seek justice where we can, we must realize that ultimate justice is God’s prerogative. In other words, because of the fallen world we live in, we cannot “right every wrong”; only God can and will do that as sins are judged either in Christ or in hell.

Malachi 3:5 (ESV) “Then I will draw near to you for judgment. I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers, against the adulterers, against those who swear falsely, against those who oppress the hired worker in his wages, the widow and the fatherless, against those who thrust aside the sojourner, and do not fear me, says the Lord of hosts.

Hebrews 10:30 (ESV) For we know him who said, “Vengeance is mine; I will repay.” And again, “The Lord will judge his people.”

Case Study: Esther

The following are necessary for biblical social engagement.

§ A Realistic View of the World: This world is a beautifully broken one in which the omniscient, omnipotent, and omnipresent God is working all things for His glory and for the eternal and temporal good of His people

§ A Realistic View of Ourselves: We are inherently sinful and selfish people, searching for validation and acceptance in culture rather than God (Esther 2).

§ A Realistic View of Justice and Advocacy: The Christian call to justice is a call to selflessly give up our lives for others just like Christ selflessly gave up His for us (Esther 4:12–16).

Questions for Discussion

• Is it sinful to undertake advocacy for folks in the LGBTQ community?
• Is “mercy” acceptable in criminal cases?
• What’s the difference between a believer’s and an unbeliever’s advocacy?

Takeaway

• We must beware of viewing and pursuing justice through an unbiblical lens of anti-God ideologies (e.g., Critical Theory, Neo-Marxism, etc.).
• We must beware of idolising the cause for which we are advocating. As Christians, our hope is in the gospel, not our advocacy efforts.

This post is brought to you by B’rit Network as one of the breakout sessions during BGT 2024. Learn more about us here.

The Nature of Work

§ Work is not a curse or a product of the Fall. Toilsome work is.

Genesis 2:15 (ESV) The LORD God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it.

Genesis 3:17–19 (ESV) And to Adam he said, “Because you have listened to the voice of your wife and have eaten of the tree of which I commanded you, ‘You shall not eat of it,’ cursed is the ground because of you; in pain you shall eat of it all the days of your life; thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you; and you shall eat the plants of the field. By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread, till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; for you are dust, and to dust you shall return.”

§ We must deal with the reality and difficulty of work in a fallen world, managing our expectations accordingly.

Ecclesiastes 2:22–23 For what does a man get in all his labor and in the striving of his heart with which he labors under the sun? Because all his days his endeavor is painful and vexing; even at night his heart does not lie down. This too is vanity.

§ Work is stewardship — we are given an entrustment, in form of opportunities, skills, talents, etc. for which we will give account.

Matthew 25:14, 19 (ESV) “For it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted to them his property. Now after a long time the master of those servants came and settled accounts with them.

§ Part of the beauty of God’s design for work in this world is in the diversity of gifts and vocation, similar to the diversity that exists in the body of Christ. We must therefore beware of regarding any legitimate work as inferior to others.

Romans 12:4–6 (ESV) For as in one body we have many members, and the members do not all have the same function, so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another. Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them…

The Purpose of Work

§ Through work, man reflects God’s nature. Work demonstrates man as made in the image of God, the Worker.

Genesis 1:1 (ESV) In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.

John 5:17 (ESV) But Jesus answered them, “My Father is working until now, and I am working.”

§ Work is God’s ordained means for man’s livelihood and is central to His design for man’s sustenance, allowing us to “partner with Him” in working out His purpose in time for the flourishing/continuance of the human race. We thus participate in God’s dispensation of common grace.

1 Corinthians 9:6 (ESV) Or is it only Barnabas and I who have no right to refrain from working for a living?

2 Thessalonians 3:7–8, 11–12 (ESV) For you yourselves know how you ought to imitate us, because we were not idle when we were with you, nor did we eat anyone’s bread without paying for it, but with toil and labor we worked night and day, that we might not be a burden to any of you… For we hear that some among you walk in idleness, not busy at work, but busybodies. Now such persons we command and encourage in the Lord Jesus Christ to do their work quietly and to earn their own living.

§ Work for the believer is an instrument of sanctification whereby God brings us into conformity to Christ, teaches us to trust Him, and builds in us virtues such as patience, prudence, integrity, responsibility, kindness, and love.

2 Peter 1:3, 5 (ESV) His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness… For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue…

§ Work is not a means to earthly greatness or to indulge in self-centeredness and vain ambition.

Mark 10:42–44 (ESV) And Jesus called them to him and said to them, “You know that those who are considered rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. But it shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be slave of all.

Philippians 2:3–4 (ESV) Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.

§ Work is not a means for amassing wealth.

1 Timothy 6:9 (ESV) But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction.

Luke 12:15, 20–21 (ESV) And he said to them, “Take care, and be on your guard against all covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.” But God said to him, ‘Fool! This night your soul is required of you, and the things you have prepared, whose will they be?’ So is the one who lays up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God.”

Ecclesiastes 5:10 (ESV) He who loves money will not be satisfied with money, nor he who loves wealth with his income; this also is vanity.

§ Work is not a means to avoid suffering or poverty at all costs.

1 Timothy 6:8 (ESV) But if we have food and clothing, with these we will be content.

Questions for Discussion

• Is contentment complacency? (1 Tim. 6:6; 1 Thess. 4:11–12; 2 Thess. 3:6–13)
• Is it sinful to desire to be rich? (1 Timothy 6:9–10)
• From the parable of the talents (Matt. 25:14–29), what does God require from us in our work?
• When and where (at what point) does work become an idol?
• “I am satisfied with wherever God stations me in life.” Is anything wrong with this statement? (Psalm 16:5)

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Important Points

§ In creation, God sets on display certain attributes of His, including His infinite intelligence, creativity, and beauty. The created order therefore testifies of God as the (ultimate) Creative (artist, builder, engineer, etc.).

Romans 1:20 (ESV) For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse.

Psalm 8:3 (ESV) When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place;

Psalm 19:1 (ESV) The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork.

Genesis 1:31 (ESV) And God saw all that He had made, and behold, it was very good.

§ In creation, we see both beauty (aesthetics) and functionality (purposefulness) on display, describing the kind of Creative that God is. He delights in (i.e., derives pleasure) from His creation.

Psalm 104:1–2, 24, 31 (ESV) Bless the LORD, O my soul! O LORD my God, you are very great! You are clothed with splendor and majesty, covering yourself with light as with a garment, stretching out the heavens like a tent… O LORD, how manifold are your works! In wisdom have you made them all; the earth is full of your creatures… May the LORD rejoice in His works.

§ We also observe the process of creation — first an internal thought (or purposeful will, intention, desire) and then an execution. Therefore, there is nothing purposeless or without reason in God’s creation, for it is all grounded in His will.

Genesis 1:26 (ESV) Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness…” So God created man in his own image…

Revelation 4:11 (LSB) Worthy are You, our Lord and our God, to receive glory and honor and power, for You created all things, and because of Your will they existed, and were created.”

§ Man made in the image of God reflects (though to a much lesser degree) these attributes. Man therefore has the ability to innovate, design, and follow the same process of creation in a finite way (inspiration/inward thought, analysis, execution).

Genesis 1:27 (ESV) So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.

Psalm 139:14 (ESV) I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well.

§ Creation/creativity serves a purpose, and God-honouring creativity is when man creates things that align with God’s will, either in respect of common grace (i.e., communicating beauty through art, improving life through innovations, benefitting humanity) or saving grace (i.e., advancing the gospel, ministering to believers).

Psalm 145:9 (ESV) The LORD is good to all, and his mercy is over all that he has made.

Acts 14:16–17 (ESV) …He did good by giving you rains from heaven and fruitful seasons, satisfying your hearts with food and gladness.

Matthew 5:45 (ESV) For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.

Mark 16:15 (ESV) And he said to them, “Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation.”

1 Thessalonians 5:11 (ESV) Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing.

Hebrews 10:24–25 (ESV) And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.

§ The Christian creative must strive to ensure that his works are done in excellence because he has a saving relationship with God who embodies infinite excellence (e.g., vocal training for music, etc.).

Daniel 6:3 (ESV) Then this Daniel became distinguished above all the other high officials and satraps, because an excellent spirit was in him. And the king planned to set him over the whole kingdom.

1 Peter 2:9 (ESV) But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.

1 Corinthians 10:31 (ESV) So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.

Colossians 3:23–24 (ESV) Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ.

Case Studies

§ Chronicles of Narnia: Series of fantasy novels by C.S. Lewis; impressive work of fiction with allegorical undertones of Christian significance.

§ “The Brave Knight and the Dragon” Trope: Fairytale communicating redemptive history — Jesus is the brave night who conquers the dragon (Satan and death) and gets the girl (His bride, the Church).

§ Classical Music: Classical composers like Bach, Haydn, Beethoven, Chopin, and Mozart have created some of the most beautiful pieces of music in history. Some were Christian-themed, yet others weren’t — “common grace”.

Question for Thought

Is beauty in the eye of the beholder? Is beauty objective, like truth and goodness (transcendentals)?

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Important Points

§ All true knowledge comes from God. Since He is the Creator of the universe, all truth and reality is objectively grounded in His nature, and so true knowledge (about God, man, the created world, etc.) is based on His revelation.

Colossians 2:3 (ESV) In [Christ] are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.

Proverbs 2:6 (ESV) For the LORD gives wisdom; from his mouth come knowledge and understanding.

§ The world system is in rebellion against God. In such a world, there is a continual attempt towards independence from God by replacing Him as the ultimate authority to determine what is true.

John 15:18 (ESV) If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you.

Isaiah 30:9–11 (ESV) For they are a rebellious people, lying children, children unwilling to hear the instruction of the LORD; who say… “leave the way, turn aside from the path, let us hear no more about the Holy One of Israel.”

Ephesians 4:18 (ESV) They are darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, due to their hardness of heart.

§ In the academic sphere, theories, lines of thought, and ideologies abound that stem from this rebellion. Believers must therefore take great care to ensure that their ideas are rooted in and consistent with (not contrary to) God’s revelation in Scripture and nature.

James 4:4 (ESV) You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.

Colossians 2:8 (ESV) See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ.

§ Christ must be Lord in our thinking, and so discernment is necessary to ensure we are not compromising His Lordship by unknowingly holding on to anti-God ideas.

1 Peter 3:15 (LSB) …sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts…

2 Corinthians 10:5 (ESV) We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ, (ESV)

§ We grow in discernment by studying and applying God’s Word to every aspect of our lives. We should beware of “compartmentalisation.” Every thought must be brought to the obedience of Christ.

Romans 12:2 (ESV) Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.

Hebrews 5:14 (ESV) But solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil.

§ We must also be willing to lose all in standing for Christ. We must examine our hearts for vain ambition, whereby we ultimately desire fame and acceptance in the world, rather than glorifying Christ. There is eternal reward for living for Christ.

Philippians 3:8 (ESV) Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ.

Matthew 19:29 (ESV) And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or lands, for my name’s sake, will receive a hundredfold and will inherit eternal life. (ESV)

Case Studies

§ Secular Humanism

Worldview incorporating (1) a naturalistic philosophy — nature is all there is, reliable knowledge is obtained through scientific method, atheistic; (2) a cosmic scientistic outlook — from “scientism,” denial of creation: “undesigned, unintended beings who arose through evolution,” and (3) a consequentialist ethical system — ethics is to be judged by results in contrast to command ethics with right and wrong defined in advance and attributed to divine authority. (secularhumanism.org).

§ Feminism

Notable personalities: (1) Elizabeth Stanton (1st wave) — “The bible and the church have been the greatest stumbling block in the way of women’s emancipation.” (2) Betty Friedan (2nd wave) — “women who ‘adjust’ as housewives, who grow up wanting to be ‘just a housewife,’ are in as much danger as the millions who walked to their own death in the concentration camps…they are suffering a slow death of mind and spirit.”

Takeaway

Develop a biblical worldview. Start by reading “Rethinking Worldview: Learning to Think, Live, and Speak in This World” by J. Mark Bertrand (see bit.ly/brit-library).

Other recommended resources: biblicalscienceinstitute.com

This post is brought to you by B’rit Network as one of the breakout sessions during BGT 2024. Learn more about us here.

Access Part 1 here.

Our Heavenly Father, we thank you for today and another opportunity you have given us to look at your word. Lord, give us the humility to subject our thoughts to your Word, and cause your Holy Spirit to do the necessary work of bringing down every stronghold and high opinion that is in opposition to your truth. Please, help us, Lord God. Sanctify our hearts, that we may live by faith, that we may see with unveiled eyes Christ’s infinite beauty, glory, and majesty, and the greatness of His finished work on the cross. Deliver us from lust and covetousness, and enable us to live lives pleasing to you. In Jesus name. Amen.

As we commence today’s discussion, I would like to emphasise the fact that we’re not just “philosophizing” or “theologizing” aimlessly. While I understand that some of us may not be in circles where certain of these notions we’re examining are common, it’s important for us to know that they exist. And very likely, these notions (even if the “softer” versions) are very well around us, if we care to look discerningly enough.

Last week, a certain video clip made the rounds where a famous preacher doubled down on what he had said in an earlier clip that received some backlash. In the initial clip, he had said that Jesus hated poor people and didn’t visit them. It didn’t help that he added that one could come to Christ poor but one couldn’t remain poor having come to Christ, because He cannot stand poverty.

In the subsequent clip, to avoid any doubt as to what he meant, he clarified and reiterated his point, likening poverty to sin, such that the same way the Christian isn’t to associate with sinners (citing 1 Cor. 15:33), the Christian isn’t to associate with the poor but only “help” them.

He then cited an “exchange” that he had with the Holy Spirit that caused him to arrive at his position, wherein a parallel was drawn between Christ’s being “made sin” (2 Cor. 5:21) and being “made poor” (2 Cor. 8:9), so that believers in Christ may now be “the righteousness of God in Christ” and “rich” respectively.

He then asked, “Why do you choose righteousness but not riches?” seemingly leaving it to the listener to decide whether or not they will experience a provision that has been made available. Now, had we not covered the subject of what Christ did not die to accomplish, we may be shaken from the truth at this point.

Because for one who doesn’t know what the Bible teaches about the purpose and promises of the gospel (as we considered from various texts in Scripture) — which are exclusive (i.e., cannot be obtained apart from Christ), of eternal value and transcendent worth, unappealing to fallen man, to the end of the glory of God, and do not indulge man in his lusts and natural covetousness — they may be swayed by what seems to be sweet words, but are actually vain philosophy vomited by a depraved mind overtaken by greed, as Paul describes in 1 Timothy 6.

His logic is what I call the devil’s logic, because it distorts God’s Word to say the opposite of what it teaches! It’s the same logic of those who say to continue sinning that grace may abound (Rom. 6:1). After all, where sin abounded, grace much more abounded!

Here we observe how he glosses over Scripture’s warnings against greed, covetousness, and tying one’s worth to one’s possessions (by Christ and His apostles), and comes to a conclusion that twists the very words of Scripture.

To be honest, I found his reasoning quite interesting, only that one can only arrive at that conclusion if those were the only two verses in the Bible. One only has to look at the context of each of the two verses and interpret them in light of both the immediate context and the overall teaching of Scripture about poverty and sin to examine whether such a conclusion is true.

In fact, as I will demonstrate, simple grammar and logic will prevent one from making the error he does. If you remember what I said the last time about honouring men above God’s Word, I strongly believe that applies here too.

Now, if you are the kind of person who believes it to be an “unholy” or unnecessary thing to examine teachings of preachers in light of God’s Word, be aware that Jesus and His Apostles (who are responsible for the doctrinal foundation of the church, Eph. 2:20) are not in agreement with you.

1 John 4:1 [1] Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world. (ESV)

Testing implies evaluation and examination in light of a standard, which is the Word of God.

1 Thessalonians 5:21 [21] but test everything (including that which is claimed to have been received from God by a preacher); hold fast what is good. (ESV)

1 Timothy 6:3 [3] If anyone teaches a different doctrine and does not agree with the sound words of our Lord Jesus Christ and the teaching that accords with godliness, (ESV)

How will you know if a particular teaching accords with God’s revealed word if you do not examine it?

Matthew 24:4–5 [4] And Jesus answered them, “See that no one leads you astray. [5] For many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and they will lead many astray. (ESV)

Seeing to it that you are not led astray involves using your God-given reason to examine whether what is being said accords with the teaching of Scripture.

1 Timothy 4:1 [1] Now the Spirit expressly says that in later times some will depart from the faith by devoting themselves to deceitful spirits and teachings of demons, (ESV)

Those who depart from the faith are those who are deceived by false teaching, precisely because they did not exercise discernment in examining what they were hearing.

2 Peter 2:1–2 [1] But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing upon themselves swift destruction. [2] And many will follow their sensuality, and because of them the way of truth will be blasphemed. (ESV)

Those who follow the sensuality of false teachers do so because they haven’t exercised discernment to discover their errors and desist from following them.

Acts 17:10–11 [10] The brothers immediately sent Paul and Silas away by night to Berea, and when they arrived they went into the Jewish synagogue. [11] Now these Jews were more noble than those in Thessalonica; they received the word with all eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so. (ESV)

The exhortation to a Berean attitude of examining what we hear in light of Scripture in order to not be deceived is consistent all through Scripture.

It is what is encouraged, not a pluralistic approach of “critique not the preacher” that is rife in many circles today. It is NOT virtuous to shun our duty to examine what we hear to know whether it is in accordance with God’s truth.

If not, it is either that (1) we know the truth but are unwilling to budge because we honour the man more than God and want to have our itchy ears tickled (2 Tim. 4:3), or (2) we are simply being lazy to obey the command of Scriptures. Most people refrain from doing so because they assume the authority and infallibility of the preacher — an implicit faith placed in a mere creature who is definitely capable of error: “since he says he heard from God, what he says must be true, and even if it may not be, let me not speak or think about it so that I do not dishonour him.” This is not the attitude we are exhorted to in Scripture.

Now, having set that aside, the problem was that he actually believed he was saying the truth and even accused those critiquing him of being against the gospel. After all what he was saying was “as God told him.”

The self-deception was so glaring, and you know one is under God’s judgment (having been consumed by greed and avarice) when they cannot even see their error — when it is so grave — and remain convinced that they are right when they are being corrected. And with his “eloquence” and “sweet words”, you will be enticed, as Peter says, if you do not stand firm in the truth of what the Bible teaches.

So what do the Scriptures teach?

In 2 Corinthians 5:21, we are told that God made Christ to be sin for us, in order that we may become the righteousness of God in Him. The first thing we know is that this cannot be a literal statement, for since Christ is God-man (truly God and truly man), him literally becoming sin would require a change in His nature and — in fact — Him ceasing to be God!

We dare not countenance such blasphemous thought. We also know that we do not literally become “righteousness,” for if so, we would be rendered absolutely incapable of sinning upon conversion — not even the slightest sin of thought or word, hence no need for sanctification or increasing conformity to Christ. It wouldn’t be a matter of us trying not to sin any more than it would be a matter of God trying not to sin: He literally cannot!

So what then does it mean? Verse 18 holds the key, describing Christ’s role in our reconciliation to God, us having been alienated from Him through our sin: “in Christ, God was reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them…” Counting trespasses!

This is the same language Paul uses when discussing justification in Romans 4: “Blessed is the man against whom the Lord will not count his sin.” We understand that in salvation, God imputes (an accounting term) our sin to Christ (as though our debt is being transferred to His account) and His righteousness (gained through his perfect life of obedience on earth and His death) to us (as though His credit/merit is being transferred to our account), such that God is able to legally declare us as righteous even though we are actually guilty sinners.

Thus God is able to both be just and the justifier of those who believe in Him, since Christ bears our penalty and we enjoy eternal life by reason of Another’s (Christ’s) righteousness. So, Jesus Christ doesn’t literally become sin nor is He made sinful, but He is made to bear our sins and the just penalty due them:

Isaiah 53:6 [6] All we like sheep have gone astray;
we have turned — every one — to his own way;
and the LORD has laid on him
the iniquity of us all. (ESV)

Isaiah 53:8 [8] By oppression and judgment he was taken away;
and as for his generation, who considered
that he was cut off out of the land of the living,
stricken for the transgression of my people? (ESV)

Isaiah 53:11 [11] Out of the anguish of his soul he shall see and be satisfied;
by his knowledge shall the righteous one, my servant,
make many to be accounted righteous,
and he shall bear their iniquities. (ESV)

Then we see the next text:

“For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich” (2 Cor. 8:9). The interesting thing is that the context here is Paul exhorting the Corinthians to giving, yes material giving, especially to their brethren in affliction. This is the first thing that we know refutes the preacher’s position, because what gives rise to this verse is itself the poverty of the saints!

These were churches under persecution, and if his position is true, since these were faithful Christians, they were not supposed to experience any difficulty. Yet Paul describes them as undergoing “a severe test of affliction…[and] extreme poverty” whereby they required relief from other churches.

But then why does Paul make the statement in this text? It is simply what is known as an argument “from the greater to the lesser.” He is using the far greater example of Christ in exhorting the believers to give generously. If Christ was willing to change estates (we’ll see what that means in a bit) for the good of others, we also must be willing to part away with our goods for the benefit of our brethren. That’s so far as the example goes.

But the preacher seems to imply that Christ was made materially poor in order that we may be materially rich. Is that what the text teaches? The first question we must ask ourselves is this: In what sense was Jesus rich initially? And in what sense did He become poor? In what sense do we then become rich by reason of His being made poor?

By considering the whole teaching of Scripture, we understand that what Paul is referring to here is the incarnation, whereby Jesus “left behind” the glory He shared with the Father from eternity past (John 17:5) and took on flesh — all while not ceasing to be God or being divested of His divinity — condescending from His heavenly estate to live among His creatures (John 1:14; 1 Tim. 3:16), even worse now ravaged by sin and the Fall.

The poverty of Christ referred to here is therefore a “spiritual” one, described in relation to the infinite glory and majesty and divine prerogatives He enjoyed prior to His incarnation.

He left behind His heavenly estate to come and save us from our sin (Matt. 1:21). This self-humiliation is infinitely beyond whatever material loss one may experience here on earth. Therefore, the “riches” being referred to here (having spoken of afflicted saints in extreme poverty in previous verses) cannot be material riches. It is clear that He is referring to the riches of God’s grace we enjoy in salvation — eternal life and God’s blessings as we considered last time, far beyond what money can buy.

They are of transcendent value and worth, such that it is blasphemous, ignorant, and indeed sinful to reduce the blessings Christians enjoy (even if it is by “adding”) to material prosperity which can be and is often gotten without Christ! This person is effectually implying that Christ’s self-humiliation in His incarnation and His passion on the cross was unnecessary because one can enjoy these things without all the “stress” He went through. Therefore, the texts concerned do not support his position.

However, his position (in drawing a parallel between sin and poverty) is not only false because it goes against what the Bible teaches, but also because it is logically incoherent. How do I mean?

By definition, sin and poverty are entirely different categories. So by equating them (or at least comparing them), he is comparing apples and oranges. He is committing a category error. Atonement, by definition, concerns sin. To atone for means to appease or make amends for a wrong done. Jesus died to atone for sin and save us from sin (Matt. 1:21); that much is clear.

Atonement (shedding of blood for the remission of sins, Heb. 9:22) only arises because there has been a breach of God’s law. God has been offended, and justice must be served. You do not atone for poverty (or sickness either) precisely because these two are not in that category.

Christ’s sacrifice atones for sin — our wrong doing, our violation of God’s command, our greed and covetousness, our lusts, our idolatry and pursuit of possessions at the expense of God, our elevation of things to god-status, our worship of self, …our failing to meet up to God’s standard, our love for our idols and things that occupy our minds instead of God.

That is what Jesus dies for. And that is the picture we find in Isaiah 53, which is where I’ll be closing tonight.

Isaiah 53:4–6 [4] Surely he has borne our griefs
and carried our sorrows;
yet we esteemed him stricken,
smitten by God, and afflicted.
[5] But he was pierced for our transgressions;
he was crushed for our iniquities;
upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace,
and with his wounds we are healed.
[6] All we like sheep have gone astray;
we have turned — every one — to his own way;
and the LORD has laid on him
the iniquity of us all. (ESV)

It becomes automatically clear that in the context of Isaiah’s prophecy of the coming Messiah, he regards our transgressions, iniquities, and our sin as a malady that affects us terminally and from which we must be healed, in line with what God says elsewhere:

Jeremiah 17:9 [9] The heart is deceitful above all things,
and desperately sick;
who can understand it? (ESV)

This is our problem, and this is what Jesus died for. Our problem is that sin is a canker that has overtaken our faculties and caused us to live as willful rebels, pursuing our lusts and pleasures, with no regard for God:

Ephesians 2:1–3 [1] And you were dead in the trespasses and sins [2] in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience — [3] among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the flesh and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. (ESV)

And God takes the initiative by killing His own Son — who willfully lays down His life (John 10:18) for this purpose. Apart from this God-wrought solution, we have no hope. We have no help. We are doomed to eternal damnation. And so anything we can have apart from Christ is obviously not what He died for.

Now is this saying that we must be poor and suffer lack and want and penury and sickness always? You know of a truth that nothing I have said tonight (or last week) has suggested that. It’s a false dilemma (a logical fallacy) that you would be guilty of by saying that. Because saying that Christ did not die for you to have riches or live a soft life doesn’t mean that you will definitely live in penury or hardship. Anyway, I leave you with two passages of Scripture:

Luke 12:15, 22–31 [15] And he said to them, “Take care, and be on your guard against all covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.” [22] And he said to his disciples, “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat, nor about your body, what you will put on. [23] For life is more than food, and the body more than clothing. [24] Consider the ravens: they neither sow nor reap, they have neither storehouse nor barn, and yet God feeds them. Of how much more value are you than the birds! [25] And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? [26] If then you are not able to do as small a thing as that, why are you anxious about the rest? [27] Consider the lilies, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. [28] But if God so clothes the grass, which is alive in the field today, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, how much more will he clothe you, O you of little faith! [29] And do not seek what you are to eat and what you are to drink, nor be worried. [30] For all the nations of the world seek after these things, and your Father knows that you need them. [31] Instead, seek his kingdom, and these things (these basic necessities of life spoken of in the prior verses — food, clothing) will be added to you. (ESV)

God will meet your needs. All He requires of you is to be faithful wherever you find yourself — which is where He has placed you — and be content with whatever He is pleased to bless you with:

1 Timothy 6:6–10 [6] But godliness with contentment is great gain, [7] for we brought nothing into the world, and we cannot take anything out of the world. [8] But if we have food and clothing, with these we will be content. [9] But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. [10] For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs. (ESV)

We must not live life with the object of accumulating wealth. May God grant us wisdom. Heavenly Father, we ask that you help us in our understanding of your word. Purge our hearts and sanctify our desires. Destroy our idols and claim your rightful throne in our lives. Be glorified, and save us from lust and pride and covetousness. Help us, we pray in Jesus’ name.

Luke 4:18–19 [18] “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
because he has anointed me
to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives
and recovering of sight to the blind,
to set at liberty those who are oppressed,
[19] to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” (ESV)

Bonus point: Jesus came for the poor and needy, he came for the destitute in society, he had genuine affection for them because they were the despised in society then. And yet his interest in them was not socioeconomic improvement, but saving their sin-sick souls. Those proud rich people (Pharisees and co.) who didn’t think they needed a Savior, he left to themselves. To say He hated poor people is to go against the testimony of Scriptures and history.

To reduce Christ’s interest in fallen man to his socioeconomic status is to turn grace into sensuality and use the gospel as the means to indulge our lusts. May God help us. Also, we will consider the objection about material prosperity being part of the Abrahamic (and therefore, New) Covenant next time.

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Many of us may be familiar with the recent wave of woke/radical liberalism in the West, leading to confusion on matters as basic as gender and sexuality. We have seen how truths as basic as what a man or woman is — evident from both Scripture and nature — are being blatantly denied. What brought about such way of thinking that is against God’s revelation and common sense, we ask?

A number of factors, but especially HIGH SUBJECTIVISM, (MORAL) RELATIVISM, and PLURALISM. These may look like big words, and each is distinct from the rest, but the idea each represents is what most of us are familiar with. You must have heard slogans such as “my truth, your truth”, “what is true for you may not be true for me”, “truth (or morality) is relative”; everybody’s opinion and viewpoint is true or valid — even when they are contradictory to one another or contrary to reason and common sense.

While we may scoff at this, I put it to you tonight that many of us in Nigerian Christianity are guilty of this. It is certainly not in the same context of human sexuality or gender, but even worse in the context of God’s Word, doctrine, and the gospel. Many of us are willing to affirm contradictory ideas or ideas contrary to Scripture and reason because they are espoused by our favourite preachers and pastors.

Some of us even go further to adopt this pluralistic mindset by saying things like “that’s what God told or revealed to him, who are you to question it?” even when we are confronted with the fact that it is not true per Scripture. While we may be doing this seemingly innocently, I’ve come to realise that ultimately, it is because we honour/revere/regard men more than we do God’s Word. It’s the same shackles of the pre-Reformation era of medieval Roman Catholicism where popes and councils were regarded as infallible and not to be questioned, even when they contradicted Scripture and the light of reason.

We recall Luther’s famous quote at the Diet of Worms, as he stood against the Emperor and church leaders of his day, who had obscured and perverted the gospel through their corruption and greed:

Since your most serene majesty and your lordships require of me a simple, clear and direct answer, I will give one, and it is this: Unless I am convinced by the testimony of the Scriptures and by clear reason (for I do not trust in the pope or councils alone, since it is well known that they have often erred and contradicted themselves), I am bound by the Scriptures I have quoted. My conscience is captive to the Word of God. I cannot and I will not retract anything, since it is neither safe nor right to go against conscience. Here I stand. I cannot do otherwise. God help me. Amen.

As we commence this discussion, history bears us witness as to whose side we are on — God’s Word or man’s word; the gospel vs false gospels. Will we subject all, including the words of fallible “men of God” to the scrutiny of Scriptures, which alone has the ultimate authority for the believer?

Tonight the subject before us is a great one and we will do ourselves great good to pay attention. As we celebrate the events surrounding Easter (the death and resurrection of our Saviour Jesus Christ), the most crucial and foundational events of the Christian faith — without which Paul says our faith is a sham (1 Cor. 15:12–19), we must stand with great clarity as to the mission He sought to accomplish.

This subject stands at the very heart of the gospel and determines whether we are on the side of the apostles or of those upon whom Paul placed an anathema (i.e., curse) for preaching a false gospel (Gal. 1:6–9). There is no middle ground, and hence this is no mean matter, for it is the gospel — the true gospel — that is the power of God unto salvation (Rom. 1:16) such that false gospels by definition cannot save. It is of great eternal consequence because the souls and eternal destinies of men are at stake; faith in the true gospel is what saves (1 Cor. 15:2) — faith in a false gospel damns.

And so we ask ourselves, what did Jesus not die for?

We could spend the whole of our time here contemplating the manifold blessings, promises, and purposes of God in the gospel (what Jesus did die for) and yet we wouldn’t have scratched the surface of the infinite depths of the riches and wisdom of God set on display therein (Rom. 11:33). Hence, for the sake of our context and our purpose tonight (discernment) we will be taking a “negative” approach precisely for the following reason.

Everybody nowadays is saying a lot about what they think Jesus died to accomplish. How do we know who is saying what is true, considering that we are not pluralists (thinking everybody must be right), if we have not spent time to think about what He did not die for? This discussion is therefore important so we can avoid the all-too-common abuses of the gospel (Jude 1:4) and know who to mark and avoid (Rom. 16:17).

I will be speaking under 4 headings:
- The Principle of the Abuse
- The Promises of the Gospel
- The Manifestations of the Abuse
- Common Objections
After which I will conclude.

First, The Principle of the Abuse.

Two texts in particular reveal the basic principle involved in abuses of the gospel. In other words, whenever we see people adding to Scripture as to what Jesus died for, they can very often be boiled down to this fundamental principle.

Jude 3–4
[3] Beloved, although I was very eager to write to you about our common salvation, I found it necessary to write appealing to you to contend for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints. [4] For certain people have crept in unnoticed who long ago were designated for this condemnation, ungodly people, who pervert the grace of our God into sensuality and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ. (ESV)

A lot could be said about this text, but I need us to note a few things.

(1) Jude thought that exhorting believers to defend the purity of the gospel/faith was as important as teaching them about the gospel itself. He says it was his initial intention to write a treatise or an exposition concerning “our common salvation” (i.e., the gospel), but due to the circumstances we’ll see shortly, he decided that it was more pressing to urge Christians to contend for (i.e., defend) the faith/gospel from those who were seeking to pervert it.

(2) The circumstance that brought about this was the encroachment of certain folks into the fold, whom he calls ungodly people. This is the first thing we must admit. There will be ungodly folks among Christians, people who have not truly known Christ or encountered the grace of God in salvation through Christ. They may even be in ministry, as Paul laments (Phil. 3:18–19), teaching and exerting influence or authority over many people. These are the kind of folks whom Christ will reject in the last day because they were workers of lawlessness even though they did all sorts of “power moves” and commanded influence among men (Matt. 7:21–23; 2 Thess. 2:9). So we see that these are not what affirm a man’s ministry as true or being of God.

These people, Jude says, “pervert the grace of our God into sensuality”, and in so doing deny Christ. My emphasis is here. These are people that employ grace as a means to indulge in their lusts and desires. Like Peter says in 2 Peter 2,

2 Peter 2:1–3
[1] But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing upon themselves swift destruction. [2] And many will follow their sensuality, and because of them the way of truth will be blasphemed. [3] And in their greed they will exploit you with false words. Their condemnation from long ago is not idle, and their destruction is not asleep. (ESV)

They are sensuality-mongers who act and speak out of greed. Sensuality there basically means unbridled or unrestrained lust, excess, licentiousness, lasciviousness, wantonness. They are being motivated by their greed and desire for more, and so they regard grace as a means to achieve that. Paul would write concerning such people:

1 Timothy 6:3–8
[3] If anyone teaches a different doctrine and does not agree with the sound words of our Lord Jesus Christ and the teaching that accords with godliness, [4] he is puffed up with conceit and understands nothing. He has an unhealthy craving for controversy and for quarrels about words, which produce envy, dissension, slander, evil suspicions, [5] and constant friction among people who are depraved in mind and deprived of the truth, imagining that godliness is a means of gain. [6] But godliness with contentment is great gain, [7] for we brought nothing into the world, and we cannot take anything out of the world. [8] But if we have food and clothing, with these we will be content. (ESV)

These people “imagine that godliness is a means of [material] gain or prosperity”. They regard the grace of God revealed in the gospel in material terms; it is their desire to employ the gospel as a means to satisfy their cravings and worldly ambitions. They know no such thing as contentment, and so they thrive by appealing to man’s sensual impulses (greed, lust, pride and desire for ostentation and influence). They basically say, Christ is the means to so and so end.

The principle of the abuse of the gospel therefore is this: they attempt to use the gospel as a means to indulge their lusts, greed, and worldly desires.

1 Timothy 6:9–10
[9] But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. [10] For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs. (ESV)

Now I need us to see that this is the tendency and lifestyle of every single individual who has not experienced the saving grace of Christ. We all (before conversion) are characterized by these very vices. We pursue and love things and status more than we pursue and love God. We are lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God (2 Tim. 3:4). In fact, we are God-haters (Rom. 1:30); we do not seek God or think about Him (Rom. 3:10–12; Psa. 10:4). We desire to be our own god, to massage our egos and satisfy our fleshly desires for fame, influence, acclaim, comfort, and riches.

And this is the very problem that the gospel — the true gospel — is designed to address. Our alienation from God, our radical corruption, our idolatry of things, our rebellion against God, the fact that we are very oblivious of our condition, the wrath of God, the fact that we will even use God as a means to these things if possible. This is our problem — not poverty, not having too little, not physical sickness or disease or discomfort. Our problem is that we are and live as enemies of God (Eph. 2:1–3).

So what does the gospel promise? What do we experience by reason of Christ’s self-giving on the cross to address this problem? In short, what did Christ die for?

The Promises of the Gospel

• Peace with God (Rom. 5:1). We are no longer enemies of God since His wrath against us for our sin is taken away. Christ becomes the propitiation (i.e., appeasement) for our sins (1 John 2:2).
• Reconciliation (2 Cor. 5:17–19). We are reconciled with God; the relationship that was broken in Adam is restored in Christ. We come into favour with God; God is no longer angry with us.
• Adoption (Rom. 8:15; Gal. 4:6). We become children of God, no longer heirs of destruction, children of disobedience, or children of wrath. We now enjoy the privilege of sonship and access to God.
• Access to God’s presence (Eph. 2:11–16; Heb. 4:16).
• Cleansing of the soul and heart; the washing of regeneration (Heb. 10:22; Titus 3:5). We receive a new heart of flesh and the heart of stone is removed (Eze. 36:27).
• Eternal redemption (Heb. 9:12). We are bought back from the domain of darkness and translated into the kingdom of God’s Son (Col. 1:13).
• Justification (Rom. 4:25; Titus 3:7), whereby we sinful creatures are declared righteous in God’s sight, no longer regarded as sinners or criminals in God’s law court.
• Being brought to new life from spiritual death (Eph. 2:5).
• Eternal life (John 6:47). We are assured of life after death; life unending. This life is secure and cannot be lost (John 10:28).
• The Holy Spirit, by whom we are sealed unto the day of redemption (Eph. 1:13).

Now, there are five things we notice about these blessings of the gospel (what Jesus died for):

1. They are exclusive. They cannot be had outside of or apart from Christ. They are only available in the gospel. No one who rejects Christ can have them.
2. They are of eternal value and transcendent worth. Their worth is not limited to this life only, but it extends to eternity. Their worth cannot be compared to anything temporal or of this present world.
3. They are unappealing to fallen man. Apart from the sovereign working of God in the heart of the unbeliever, these things do not make sense to him. He sees no need for them; they are foolishness to him. 1 Corinthians 1:18 [18] For the word of the cross [i.e., the gospel message] is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. (ESV) 1 Corinthians 2:14
   [14] The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned. (ESV) SIMPLY PUT, HE DOES NOT WANT THEM. HE HAS NO DESIRE FOR GOD, OR ANY OF THESE THINGS THAT GOD PROMISES IN THE GOSPEL. In other words, these things the gospel promises do not make sense until God Himself opens their blinded eyes to see their depraved and needy condition. They are unaware of their great need because they love their sin and indulge in it. 2 Corinthians 4:3–4 [3] And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. [4] In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. (ESV)
4. They end in the glory and praise of God. Those blessings redound to the glory and praise of God (Eph. 1:6, “to the praise of His glorious grace”). They do not amount to the glory or praise of man or man’s ability or effort to “make use of grace”.
5. They do NOT indulge man in the things that Christ Himself warned against while on earth. Christ cannot die to give man or indulge him in what He told man to stay away from.

• Christ said that one cannot serve both God and money. Christ cannot have as His mission the securing of something that has the ability to take man away from God. Matthew 6:24 [24] “No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money. (ESV)
• Christ said a man’s life doesn’t consist in the abundance of his possessions and therefore warned against tying people’s worth to possessions and material things (Luke 12:15). He cannot therefore be encouraging in His death and resurrection a disposition (of pursuit for material things) that He condemned during His life on earth. Rather, these blessings cause man to look beyond his possessions and the things of these world to eternal things (Col. 3:1–2).

The Manifestations of the Abuse

Now, what are the Manifestations of the Abuse of the Gospel?

1. Saying that Christ died to secure things that may be gotten apart from Him. The richest people on earth are not believers in Christ. The healthiest people are often not believers either. In fact, the people who live long the most very often are not believers. Anything that an unbeliever can have apart from Christ is NOT a blessing of the gospel, since the blessings of the gospel are EXCLUSIVE. By doing this, we are saying that Christ died in vain for some people since His sacrifice wasn’t absolutely necessary for some of the things it was meant to accomplish.
2. Saying that Christ died for us to have things that are of no eternal relevance. It is belittling to Christ and a blaspheming of Christ’s sacrifice to say that His blood, which God calls precious and of infinite worth, was to secure things whose value and relevance are limited to time.
3. Saying that Christ died to procure things that lead to boasting and the glory of man. God shares His glory with none other, and so in the gospel, He promises things that man cannot share the glory for. Man can share the glory for his money and possessions, saying it was his hardwork that earned it. He can say his good habits and lifestyle earned him a good health and long life. But man cannot say he did anything to earn favour with God, adoption into God’s family, the Holy Spirit of God(!) or any such thing.
4. Saying that Christ died so that man would live a life of comfort and no difficulty. Doing this denies that God can and does use affliction and difficulty in the lives of His people. It limits God by redefining His faithfulness and goodness to mean that God must only do what we desire or are comfortable with. It elevates us to god-status since we are now the ones who determine what it is right and okay for God to do, such that if HE doesn’t act in line, we question His goodness and think He has not done us well. It causes us to tie God’s goodness toward us to material things. It flies in the face of many texts of Scripture…

1 Thessalonians 3:3–4 ESV
[3] that no one be moved by these afflictions. For you yourselves know that we are destined for this. [4] For when we were with you, we kept telling you beforehand that we were to suffer affliction, just as it has come to pass, and just as you know.

See also: Psa. 119:75; Phi. 1:19–21, 29; Rom. 8:18–25; Job 2:10; Acts 14:22; 2 Cor. 1:5–7; 4:7–11, 17; 6:10; 11:24–29; 12:7–10; 1 Pet. 1:6–7; 4:12–19; Jam 1:2–4; John 15:20; Phi. 4:12–13; 1 Tim. 5:23; 2 Tim. 4:20; Isa. 45:7.

I don’t have the time to go through all these texts but one thing is common through them: The gospel doesn’t promise a life void of discomfort. It is therefore a perversion of the gospel to imply that wealth and material prosperity are always God’s will for His people, wealth being a sure sign of God’s blessing and poverty a sure sign of God’s displeasure.

Now, we have actually answered the question — or at least been equipped to answer it — based on our discussion thus far. But I know that there are a number of questions and objections that may be raised.

1. Don’t the “blessings of Abraham” in the Old Testament seem to indicate that material prosperity and the likes are included in God’s covenant with Christians?
2. Are you now saying that Christians are expected to live as paupers and in constant lack, want and penury?
3. What about health and healing? Doesn’t Isaiah 53:5 seem to indicate that health/healing is guaranteed in the atonement?

So as to be able to treat each of these extensively, we will be having this next week. But as we close tonight, kindly think on these things:

The gospel doesn’t promise fallen man what he already wants. he wants a good life, all comfort, all ease, money, wealth, and “happiness”. Why would God give man in the gospel what he already wants — and can get apart from the gospel?

God has to change man’s desires, give him a new heart with new affections, so that he can see his need and seek what he truly needs — God. Lest you think that these things are of no consequence or we are just grasping at straws, know that thousands of people are turning their backs on Christianity because they think it is a sham, when it didn’t provide for them what they were told it did.

Those unmet expectations have created many atheists and agnostics, too many to count. And it’s simply because they were sold a false gospel and made false promises. And it is not evangelism to appeal to man’s fallen desires and present Christ as a means for him to get that. It’s simply you allowing man to continue in his self-worship.

Also know that there are folks, genuine Christians out there, who are unable to make sense of their suffering in the loss of a loved one because they were given false expectations. It’s already bad enough when you experience such a loss. But the compounding due to false promises? It makes it bar more unbearable.

May God help us. Father, help us to embrace your truth wholly as revealed in your Word. Deliver us from every self-worship…

Amen.

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“For the love of Christ controls us, because we have concluded this; that one has died for all, therefore all have died; and he died for all, that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised.” – 2 Corinthians 5:14–15

I once saw this text, and without a proper understanding of the gospel, I thought to myself — this must be a selfish man. While some emphasised that He died for all, I asked, Was it not merely a sacrifice to get many more to live their lives for Him? Was it not the price to pay to have so many Christians “chained” to Him, as it were? However, with gospel-enlightened eyes, I now look upon this text with great joy and comfort, as it serves as a balm and source of relief.

So, what changed my perspective? Let us consider some other texts:

“[But] for ours also. It will be counted to us who believe in him who raised from the dead Jesus our Lord, who was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification.” – Romans 4:24–25

Right here in this passage we observe the foundation of the Christian faith — that on which we believe and set our hope: that Christ died, and in His death, the sins of all who believe are paid for. Christ became a propitiation for our sins (that is, an appeasement, taking away the wrath and just displeasure of God), such that by faith we are justified before a most righteous and holy God.[1]

In Romans 6, we find a beautiful picture of the believer’s relationship to Christ.

Romans 6:1–11 What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound?[2] By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it? [3] Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? [4] We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.

[5] For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. [6] We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. [7] For one who has died has been set free from sin. [8] Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. [9] We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. [10] For the death he died he died to sin, once for all, but the life he lives he lives to God. [11] So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus. (ESV)

We can be certain from the above text that when we were united with Christ by faith, as Christ died, we also truly died. And since we have been united with Him in His death, we are also united to Him in His resurrection, which has implications for both now and our future glorified state. Now, we have been raised from death to spiritual life (Eph. 2:5) and have received the Holy Spirit, the “down payment” of our final redemption (Eph. 1:13–14). We who were first natural — of Adam — can now say we are spiritual, of Christ . We, who were futile in our minds, in our thinking, who only sought our own good, now seek that which is eternal. Herein lies it all.

The Bible tells us this:

“The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.” – 1 Corinthians 15:56–57

In Romans, we see that though the Law came, we are justified, not by it but by grace through faith in Christ who died. It is because of His death we have victory. Therefore, in our beginning text, we see that Christ did not come for selfish reasons, so to speak. Rather, it was because of us:

“For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of man, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse.” – Romans 1:18–20

Man’s ungodliness and unrighteousness (which is universal, with no exception, Romans 3:9–18, 23), deserving of the wrath of God in judgment, is the reason why Christ died. His death was a penal substitutionary atonement; He stood in our place, atoned for our sins, and satisfied God’s wrath on our behalf and on the behalf of all who put their trust in Him. We had lived for ourselves, and in doing so, we sinned and incurred death and the wrath of God (Rom. 6:16, 21, 23). Someone must therefore take our punishment and cause us to cease living for ourselves — the very cause of our malady.

Living for Christ is therefore not for His but our advantage. It is the ultimate good that we can experience. Christ doesn’t gain anything; we add nothing to Him through our devotion to Him. Rather, we are the ones who benefit. When we cease living for ourselves and start living for Him, we find true life, joy, peace, and pleasure that transcends whatever we may have experienced otherwise (Psa. 16:11). Living for ourselves (in the flesh) leads to death, but living for Him leads to life (Rom. 8:5–6).

The believer who understands the gospel then sees Ezekiel 36 in light of our main text, for there we see how it is that we are constrained or controlled by the love of Christ.

“I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean from all your uncleannesses, and from all your idols I will cleanse you. And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules.” – Ezekiel 36:25–27 ESV

The Lord gives us a new heart — a new heart with new desires and affections. He gives us His own Spirit, amounting to His law written in our hearts, whereby we not only know but delight to do His will. What then is the result of this?

2 Corinthians 5:14–15 gives us the answer. Having received a new heart, we now desire not to live for ourselves but for the one who saved us from the wrath of God. We have a heart that seeks Him, that seeks to please Him, that desires to obey His law as revealed in His Word.

“For the love of Christ controls us, because we have concluded this: that one has died for all, therefore all have died for all, that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised.” – 2 Corinthians 5:14–15

The believer, therefore, in all their conduct, is to live a life that glorifies God. This means that in all we do, whenever we do it, we are to see to it that it is done to the glory of God (1 Cor. 10:31). How does that look? The Bible in Romans 12:9–21 prescribes how the true Christian ought to live, and what a life lived for Christ — to the glory of God — looks like:

• Let love be genuine.
• Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good.
• Love one another with brotherly affection.
• Outdo one another in showing honor.
• Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord.
• Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer.
• Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality.
• Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them.
• Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep.
• Live in harmony with one another.
• Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly.
• Never be wise in your own sight.
• Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all.
• If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all.
• Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” To the contrary, “if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.”
• Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

The Christian is to do all the above, as empowered by the Holy Spirit and driven by the continual sight of the love of Christ for him — constant, true, and unending. This way, we show that we have truly known the love of Christ in the death of Christ.

[1] In the text, Paul describes the blessing God pronounces upon Abraham by reason of his faith: “Abraham believed God and it was counted to him as righteousness”. He then goes further to apply that to believers in Christ: that “it was counted” was not written for Abraham only but also for us who are justified after the same manner — by faith apart from works. — Ed.

Omokhuwa Oreunomhe