An angel freed Peter from a prison, but it was prayer that fetched the angel! When we consider the promises in the Bible concerning prayer, we are faced with an obvious dilemma: Why are many of our prayers not answered? One question is obvious: do we pray as we should?
Acts 12 gives us an example of an extraordinary answer to prayer!
A CRITICAL SITUATION
It is the day before Peter's trial. James has already been executed (2). What hope is there for him?
He is in chains in a prison guarded by soldiers. He has to sleep with a guard on either side of him. And this was before the days when guards came off scot-free if a prisoner escaped! (19).
Humanly speaking the situation is hopeless, but the church refuses to throw in the towel. Do the members storm the prison? Do they draw up a petition? Do they try to bribe Herod? No, they have a prayer meeting!
A PRAYER IN LINE WITH GOD'S PLAN
1. God sometimes does immeasurably more that we ask for or imagine (Eph 3:20).
The church prayed "for him" - for Peter. They brought their burden, by name, before the Lord. Yet it would seem that they did not pray for Peter's release, because they did not believe that he was the person knocking at the door after his release by the angel (13-16). They probably only prayed for the Lord to strengthen and protect the apostle.
Some people think that we do not get an iota more than what we pray for - limiting God, as it were, by the short-sightedness of our prayers. Such a view is neither Scriptural nor borne out by our experience. Yes, let us pray as specifically and as freely as our conscience, the Word and the Holy Spirit allow (at the same time guarding against presumption). Yes, it is true that our prayers have been woven into the outworking of God's council. But He is by no means dependant upon the strength of our faith or the boldness of our prayers.
2. They prayed to God.
You will probably say that this is obvious. Everything but! To many people prayer is nothing but subjective meditation. It does not matter to them who or what is at the receiving end of their "prayers". That which they call God is nothing but a mere focal point for their thoughts.
I once knew an old man, bed-ridden with cancer, who constantly prayed, but with his eyse firmly fixed on an empty beer can on a shelf across the room!
No! Genuine prayer is directed at the real, living, personal, conscious God. He knows each of us personally. And He has revealed Himself as the One who hears our prayers, the One who is omnipotent and faithful, the One who can and will do everything that He has promised.
However, there are two qualifications.
Firstly, we only have access to the Father on the basis of the perfect mediatory work of His Son, Jesus Christ: "Therefore, brothers, ... we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus" (Hb 10:19).
Secondly, our prayers are carried, so to speak, to the Father's throne by the Holy Spirit: "For through him we both (Gentiles and Jews) have access to the Father by one Spirit" (Eph 2:18).
3. They prayed in all earnestness.
The Greek word ektenos, translated as "earnestly" in v. 5, is an interesting word. Literally it means "stretched out". Often it refers to intensity and passion rather than duration in time.
The meaning of the word is best illustrated by its use in Lk 22:44 in connection with the prayer of the Lord Jesus in Gethsemane: "And being in anguish, he prayed more earnestly (litt. more stretched out), and his sweat was like drops of blood ..."
I think it is correct to say that God's Word is concerned with the intensity rather than the duration of prayer. So, for instance, we read in Jer 29:13: "You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart".
When in Rm 15:30 Paul exhorts his readers to "join me in my struggle by praying to God for me", he uses another meaningful Greek word, sunagonidzo, which could be translated literally as "to agonize together". It conveys the meaning of fighting or wrestling or struggling together.
The old Puritan Thomas Watson said, "How can I know my prayers are prompted by the Holy Spirit? When they are not only vocal, but mental; when they are not only gifts, but groans."
Which brings us to the question of how I too can pray so fervently. There is only one answer: I need to be empowered by the Spirit. The apostle urges us to "pray in the Spirit on all occasions" (Eph 6:18).
4. It was the church that prayed
There is much power in individual prayer, but special power when a church prays together in unity of heart and mind.
There is a popular conception that power in prayer is dependant on numbers as such, as if that would intimidate God! This is wrong. We need to take note of two things here.
Firstly, in this particular case, it was God's church that prayed. And they are the apple of His eye. They are His Son's bride. However, we need to understand that a church is not just made up of a large number of saved and unsaved people, kept together by tradition. No, the New Testament church is made up of true Christian disciples, intimately joined by their common loyalty and great attachment to their Lord.
Matthew 18:19-20 sheds light on this: "Again, I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything you ask for, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven. For where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them." Unity amongst those who pray together is therefore of the utmost importance. The Lord uses a word which literally means to harmonise (Gr. sumfoneo) from which we derive our word symphony. All therefore need to have the same passion and longing. Squabbling and bad relationships quench the Spirit.
ESSENTIAL ELEMENTS OF TRUE PRAYER
❏ It is directed primarily at the Father, offered in the name of Christ - on the basis of His merit as Mediator - in the power and under the guidance of the Holy Spirit. Everything that may grieve the Spirit must be removed. Above all there must be unity.
❏ It must be in harmony with God's revealed truth, and in step with Christ's intercession on our behalf.
❏ True prayer is offered in dependency and faithful expectancy. Without faith in God's trustworthiness, we cannot please Him. He rewards those that earnestly seek Him (Hb 11:6).
❏ True prayer is characterised by deep respect. Let us never forget with whom we are dealing.
❏ We must approach the Father with confidence. Christ is the perfect Mediator.
❏ True prayer springs from a passionate heart. Cold prayers freeze before they reach heaven!
❏ There is often need for persistence - like that of the widow who would not accept the judge's refusal (Lk 18).
WHEN WE PRAY TOGETHER
❏ Never be in a hurry. Trust the Spirit to guide.
❏ Accept responsibility for your role in making the time before the throne of grace proceed smoothly. Passive hangers-on make things boring for themselves and harder for the rest.
❏ Pray creatively, but with childlike honesty and sincerity. Talk to the Lord normally but without banality and familiarity. Avoid prayers which are a mere stringing together of prayer clichés - a meaningless repetition of words.
❏ Avoid the excessive use of the Lord's name. Some people repeat the Lord's name in almost every sentence, to the discomfort of their hearers. We would never do this in a normal conversation. It is a mannerism which may even be a violation of the third commandment.
❏ Wait for each other, so that everyone gets an opportunity to pray. But at the same time avoid uncomfortable silences. If neccessary don't hesitate to pray more than once. Having said this, there may also be from time to time periods of awe when nobody dares to say anything. These times of holy silence will later be remembered as most precious.
❏ Link your prayers. We all stand before the throne of grace together - not as individuals, each with his own, separate agenda. Listen to the prayers of others and build upon their requests and arguments. This makes for cohesion and allows the Holy Spirit to lead us into praying for things that we would never otherwise have thought of.
❏ Without being presumptuous, we should be as specific as possible in our prayers. On the other hand, if you are uncertain about whether you should pray about a specific matter, approach the throne of your heavenly Father very carefully, as it were. Consider the teaching of God's Word, and be sensitive to the Spirit's leading. There is such a thing as a pulling in of the reins. But precious beyond words are those sudden and unexpected moments of release and boldness.
LASTLY, SOMETHING ABOUT PRAISE
Our prayers should always be saturated by praise. Think of who God is. Think of His names. Think of His attributes: His eternity, holiness, sovereignty, omnipotence, unchangeableness, omniscience, omnipresence, grace, love, faithfulness, patience, justness, wrath.
Think of His great deeds through the ages as recorded in the Word and reflected in the history of the church. Praise and thank Him for those deeds and their implications.
But do not leave it at the abstract. In Ps 139 David reflects on the character of the Lord, but he does not only pray about it on an intellectual level. He meditates on the practical effects it has on his life - and praises God for it.
Nico van der Walt
Sunday, June 24, 2012
HOS 4 : WHEN GOD GIVES UP A SOCIETY - No. EE22
In the first three chapters of Hosea we read about the prophetic acts that the prophet had to carry out on the instructions of the Lord. His marriage to Gomer the prostitute sends out a strong message to this day. But from Chapter 4 onwards Hosea does some straight talking.
THE FORMAL CHARGE (V.1)
God's charge against the people is not a vague reproach, but a formal indictment: "Hear the word of the Lord ... the Lord has a charge to bring..." And what is this charge? There is no "faithfulness", no "steadfast love" and no "knowledge of God" (ESV) in the land.
"Faithfulness" suggests dependability, honesty and integrity. You cannot depend on the word and the loyalty of someone who is unfaithful. The people of Israel are unfaithful to the Lord as well as their neighbour; they do not keep their marriage vows; their business dealings are rife with fraud and corruption.
"Steadfast love" suggests benevolence, dedication and selflessness. But this community is characterised by envy and selfishness (2Tim 3:3).
"Knowledge of God" suggests not only insight into that which He reveals about his character and will, but also love for Him and serious intent to reflect it in one's lifestyle. But in this society God and his will are no longer significant factors. According to the rest of the prophesy this is the main charge against the people.
WHEN GOD GIVES UP A SOCIETY
The question arises how people whose ancestors experienced so much goodness and deliverance from the hand of the Lord, can stray so far away from Him? The Bible teaches that God progressively gives over to depravity a society which persists in its resistance against his Word and his law.
An outstanding pronouncement of Scripture in this regard is found in Rm 1, where it is stated three times that God gives over to their sins those who persist in their depravity (1:24, 26, 28) - in this case "sexual impurity", "shameful lusts" and "a depraved mind". But Hosea is more specific. Israel's hardening, increasing sinfulness and eventual fall come to the fore in especially five areas.
Just keep in mind that we are not talking here about individuals - there are always exceptions - but rather of general trends in a society.
• Firstly, moral depravity abounds (2). They break every commandment of God's law. They cross boundary after boundary in their pursuit of sin. Bloodshed is a common occurrence.
• Secondly, they ruin the environment (3). Exactly how this was done in Israel we do not know, but we can see clearly how it happens in modern times. In his unbridled selfishness and greed man in his depravity shows no consideration for the dwelling-place that he received from God. But when people turn to Christ, everything changes. Rather than stripping their environment bare, they plant trees and build weirs in erosion-dongas.
• Thirdly, the religious leadership becomes corrupt (4-14). To the extent that the spiritual leaders of a nation stray, to that extent society degenerates. However, the converse is also true. To a sinful nation God gives unholy priests - the spiritual leaders that they deserve. As v. 9 aptly puts it, "like people, like priests". The result is a downward spiral ending in a nosedive into depravity.
• Fourthly, people lose their sense of fulfilment and contentment (9b-10). This is how it works in life: the pursuit of God's good gifts for unholy and selfish reasons, always ends in frustration. As a result the pursuit is intensified until it becomes a mad rush to the precipice of immorality and meaninglessness. Sexual perversity degenerates from bad to worse; possessions become a burden; religion leaves you disillusioned.
• Fifthly, ruin eventually sets in (19). History has demonstrated an irrefutable principle: the fall of a civilisation is invariably preceded by decadence that escalates out of hand. Precisely this is what would happen to Israel, very soon after Hosea's prophesy. The Assyrians would come like a whirlwind and sweep them away.
JUDAH IS WARNED (15)
The ten tribes of the northern kingdom, Israel, had crossed their Rubicon. For them there was no turning back any more. But in the two tribes of the southern kingdom, Judah, the decay was not yet as bad. There was still a chance for them to reform and so avert a catastrophe. Hence the warning in v. 15.
Of special significance is the warning to stay away from Gilgal and Beth Aven. These are the places of worship that Jeroboam 1, the first king of Israel, instituted many years before to prevent the people from going to the South to worship in Jerusalem. Both Hosea and Amos put it quite clearly that this wilful, man-made religion was the gravest of insults to the Lord.
The word of the Lord is therefore quite clear: immediately forsake all false and man-made religious practices. There can be no fellowship between light and darkness (2Cor 6:14).
ENCOURAGEMENT IN OUR SITUATION
❏ It is impossible to miss the resemblance between circumstances in our country at the present time and those described by Hosea. In fact, the parallels are astounding. Just take, for instance, our moral nosedive over the last decade or two!
This gives rise to the inevitable question, Have we also crossed our Rubicon? Is it possible for us to turn around?
If it depended on us, the prospects would have been hopeless. But let us not underestimate God's mercy in Christ. There is hope yet!
❏ During the well-known 18th century revival in the British Isles the Lord used preachers like George Whitefield (1714-1770), John Wesley (1703-1791), and many others to change a morally bankrupt England within a few decades into a nation setting the spiritual tone in the world. They also became firm leaders in the missionary field.
What should encourage us is the fact that the revival came in the midst of the most terrible decadence.
❏ Soon after the era of the Puritans (1560-1662) and the Act of Toleration of 1689 - which put an end to the persecution of evangelical Christians - spiritual decay started in England.
As is so often the case, it started with the clergy and theologians. They no longer preached the gospel. They also warned against what was known as enthusiasm, a derogatory term used at the time for what was in reality the zeal of people filled with the Spirit.
Deism too started gaining ground with its teaching that the Bible is only a product of the human mind and that it is impossible to learn more about God than what we are able to gather from nature. Deism therefore only accepts an impersonal first cause of everything and teaches that the cosmos was originally wound up like an alarm clock and then left to its own devices. The deistic god does not involve himself with what goes on here on earth - he is a distant and unknown god.
This of course eventually resulted in empty churches - coupled with shocking licentiousness.
❏ In an effort to curb alcohol abuse, an embargo was placed on the import of liquor. So people started brewing their own concoctions, leading to the so-called gin craze and a gin shop (or shebeen) in every sixth house in London. Drunkenness reached epidemic proportions. Babies were conceived, born and raised in drunkenness.
The divide between the rich and the poor widened, with an alarming increase in impoverishment due to laziness and alcohol abuse. Large areas of London became slums - filthy and rife with indescribable human misery. Crime became part of everyday life. Overcrowded prisons became dark, suffocating cesspits. In an effort to stamp out crime, as many as 160 offences were declared punishable by death. London's two public gallows were almost daily surrounded by inquisitive crowds in sportive mood. Gangs carried on a reign of terror.
In the meantime a super rich nobility was living in the lap of luxury, while perversity and immorality exceeded all propriety standards. A certain noble lady even jokingly suggested that the word "not" be removed wherever it occurs in the Ten Commandments and transferred to the Catechism in order to bring the two documents in step with the spirit of the times.
❏ But! As early as 1673 a prayer group was founded in London by a group of young men in response to a series of revival services by one Dr Anthony Horneck. They started praying for revival. This led to the start of a movement, The Societies, of which there were a hundred in London by 1730, with as many outside the city. Herein lay the roots of the 18th century revival.
Then, suddenly in 1737 a voice echoed across England like a bell. A twenty-two year old preacher started preaching in London with power from on high. Soon there was not a church big enough to contain the crowds that flocked to hear him. George Whitefield became a burning torch to the glory of God, the truth of the Bible and the saving power of the gospel. He was soon joined by the likes of John and Charles Wesley and several others. For the next half-century a wave of saving grace swept over the British Isles.
Dallimore ends his introductory chapter with this quotation: "... a religious revival burst forth ... which changed in a few years the whole temper of English society. The church was restored to life and activity. Religion carried to the hearts of the people a fresh spirit of moral zeal, while it purified our literature and our manners. A new philanthropy reformed our prisons, infused clemency and wisdom into our penal laws, abolished the slave trade, and gave the first impulse to popular education."
❏ Let us therefore not lose heart! Remember what history teaches us. Better still, remember Jesus Christ our King! His kingdom must and will come! His elect must and will be saved! He must and will be glorified!
Let us, one and all, do our duty - clearly spelled out in the Word! We are not ignorant! We have a High Priest in heaven! We have free access to the throne of mercy! The Holy Spirit abides in us!
Nico van der Walt
THE FORMAL CHARGE (V.1)
God's charge against the people is not a vague reproach, but a formal indictment: "Hear the word of the Lord ... the Lord has a charge to bring..." And what is this charge? There is no "faithfulness", no "steadfast love" and no "knowledge of God" (ESV) in the land.
"Faithfulness" suggests dependability, honesty and integrity. You cannot depend on the word and the loyalty of someone who is unfaithful. The people of Israel are unfaithful to the Lord as well as their neighbour; they do not keep their marriage vows; their business dealings are rife with fraud and corruption.
"Steadfast love" suggests benevolence, dedication and selflessness. But this community is characterised by envy and selfishness (2Tim 3:3).
"Knowledge of God" suggests not only insight into that which He reveals about his character and will, but also love for Him and serious intent to reflect it in one's lifestyle. But in this society God and his will are no longer significant factors. According to the rest of the prophesy this is the main charge against the people.
WHEN GOD GIVES UP A SOCIETY
The question arises how people whose ancestors experienced so much goodness and deliverance from the hand of the Lord, can stray so far away from Him? The Bible teaches that God progressively gives over to depravity a society which persists in its resistance against his Word and his law.
An outstanding pronouncement of Scripture in this regard is found in Rm 1, where it is stated three times that God gives over to their sins those who persist in their depravity (1:24, 26, 28) - in this case "sexual impurity", "shameful lusts" and "a depraved mind". But Hosea is more specific. Israel's hardening, increasing sinfulness and eventual fall come to the fore in especially five areas.
Just keep in mind that we are not talking here about individuals - there are always exceptions - but rather of general trends in a society.
• Firstly, moral depravity abounds (2). They break every commandment of God's law. They cross boundary after boundary in their pursuit of sin. Bloodshed is a common occurrence.
• Secondly, they ruin the environment (3). Exactly how this was done in Israel we do not know, but we can see clearly how it happens in modern times. In his unbridled selfishness and greed man in his depravity shows no consideration for the dwelling-place that he received from God. But when people turn to Christ, everything changes. Rather than stripping their environment bare, they plant trees and build weirs in erosion-dongas.
• Thirdly, the religious leadership becomes corrupt (4-14). To the extent that the spiritual leaders of a nation stray, to that extent society degenerates. However, the converse is also true. To a sinful nation God gives unholy priests - the spiritual leaders that they deserve. As v. 9 aptly puts it, "like people, like priests". The result is a downward spiral ending in a nosedive into depravity.
• Fourthly, people lose their sense of fulfilment and contentment (9b-10). This is how it works in life: the pursuit of God's good gifts for unholy and selfish reasons, always ends in frustration. As a result the pursuit is intensified until it becomes a mad rush to the precipice of immorality and meaninglessness. Sexual perversity degenerates from bad to worse; possessions become a burden; religion leaves you disillusioned.
• Fifthly, ruin eventually sets in (19). History has demonstrated an irrefutable principle: the fall of a civilisation is invariably preceded by decadence that escalates out of hand. Precisely this is what would happen to Israel, very soon after Hosea's prophesy. The Assyrians would come like a whirlwind and sweep them away.
JUDAH IS WARNED (15)
The ten tribes of the northern kingdom, Israel, had crossed their Rubicon. For them there was no turning back any more. But in the two tribes of the southern kingdom, Judah, the decay was not yet as bad. There was still a chance for them to reform and so avert a catastrophe. Hence the warning in v. 15.
Of special significance is the warning to stay away from Gilgal and Beth Aven. These are the places of worship that Jeroboam 1, the first king of Israel, instituted many years before to prevent the people from going to the South to worship in Jerusalem. Both Hosea and Amos put it quite clearly that this wilful, man-made religion was the gravest of insults to the Lord.
The word of the Lord is therefore quite clear: immediately forsake all false and man-made religious practices. There can be no fellowship between light and darkness (2Cor 6:14).
ENCOURAGEMENT IN OUR SITUATION
❏ It is impossible to miss the resemblance between circumstances in our country at the present time and those described by Hosea. In fact, the parallels are astounding. Just take, for instance, our moral nosedive over the last decade or two!
This gives rise to the inevitable question, Have we also crossed our Rubicon? Is it possible for us to turn around?
If it depended on us, the prospects would have been hopeless. But let us not underestimate God's mercy in Christ. There is hope yet!
❏ During the well-known 18th century revival in the British Isles the Lord used preachers like George Whitefield (1714-1770), John Wesley (1703-1791), and many others to change a morally bankrupt England within a few decades into a nation setting the spiritual tone in the world. They also became firm leaders in the missionary field.
What should encourage us is the fact that the revival came in the midst of the most terrible decadence.
❏ Soon after the era of the Puritans (1560-1662) and the Act of Toleration of 1689 - which put an end to the persecution of evangelical Christians - spiritual decay started in England.
As is so often the case, it started with the clergy and theologians. They no longer preached the gospel. They also warned against what was known as enthusiasm, a derogatory term used at the time for what was in reality the zeal of people filled with the Spirit.
Deism too started gaining ground with its teaching that the Bible is only a product of the human mind and that it is impossible to learn more about God than what we are able to gather from nature. Deism therefore only accepts an impersonal first cause of everything and teaches that the cosmos was originally wound up like an alarm clock and then left to its own devices. The deistic god does not involve himself with what goes on here on earth - he is a distant and unknown god.
This of course eventually resulted in empty churches - coupled with shocking licentiousness.
❏ In an effort to curb alcohol abuse, an embargo was placed on the import of liquor. So people started brewing their own concoctions, leading to the so-called gin craze and a gin shop (or shebeen) in every sixth house in London. Drunkenness reached epidemic proportions. Babies were conceived, born and raised in drunkenness.
The divide between the rich and the poor widened, with an alarming increase in impoverishment due to laziness and alcohol abuse. Large areas of London became slums - filthy and rife with indescribable human misery. Crime became part of everyday life. Overcrowded prisons became dark, suffocating cesspits. In an effort to stamp out crime, as many as 160 offences were declared punishable by death. London's two public gallows were almost daily surrounded by inquisitive crowds in sportive mood. Gangs carried on a reign of terror.
In the meantime a super rich nobility was living in the lap of luxury, while perversity and immorality exceeded all propriety standards. A certain noble lady even jokingly suggested that the word "not" be removed wherever it occurs in the Ten Commandments and transferred to the Catechism in order to bring the two documents in step with the spirit of the times.
❏ But! As early as 1673 a prayer group was founded in London by a group of young men in response to a series of revival services by one Dr Anthony Horneck. They started praying for revival. This led to the start of a movement, The Societies, of which there were a hundred in London by 1730, with as many outside the city. Herein lay the roots of the 18th century revival.
Then, suddenly in 1737 a voice echoed across England like a bell. A twenty-two year old preacher started preaching in London with power from on high. Soon there was not a church big enough to contain the crowds that flocked to hear him. George Whitefield became a burning torch to the glory of God, the truth of the Bible and the saving power of the gospel. He was soon joined by the likes of John and Charles Wesley and several others. For the next half-century a wave of saving grace swept over the British Isles.
Dallimore ends his introductory chapter with this quotation: "... a religious revival burst forth ... which changed in a few years the whole temper of English society. The church was restored to life and activity. Religion carried to the hearts of the people a fresh spirit of moral zeal, while it purified our literature and our manners. A new philanthropy reformed our prisons, infused clemency and wisdom into our penal laws, abolished the slave trade, and gave the first impulse to popular education."
❏ Let us therefore not lose heart! Remember what history teaches us. Better still, remember Jesus Christ our King! His kingdom must and will come! His elect must and will be saved! He must and will be glorified!
Let us, one and all, do our duty - clearly spelled out in the Word! We are not ignorant! We have a High Priest in heaven! We have free access to the throne of mercy! The Holy Spirit abides in us!
Nico van der Walt
HOS 1-3 : GOD'S MARRIAGE TO HIS PEOPLE - No. EE21
The Lord did not handle his prophets with velvet gloves. Isaiah had to walk the streets of Jerusalem barefoot and without proper clothes (Isa 20:2-3). Daily Ezekiel had to lie on his side over a period of 430 days - probably for a few hours at a time, and also in public (Ezec 4:4-6). And Hosea had to marry a prostitute (Hos 1:2).
Why? Old Testament prophets not only prophesied as preachers or writers, but often had to perform symbolic acts of prophesy for all to see.
SOMETHING MORE ABOUT HOSEA AND HIS PROPHESY
❏ We have a good idea of where and when Hosea worked as prophet. His prophesies were directed at the Northern Kingdom of the ten tribes, just before it was destroyed (1:1). It is even possible that he was still active at the time of the Assyrian exile in 722 BC. What eventually became of him, we do not know. This means that Hosea was a contemporary of Amos, who also preached to the ten tribes, as well as Isaiah, the prophet of the Southern Kingdom.
It was a time of prosperity, but also of terrible religious and moral decadence. Most of the last kings of the North (also known as Israel or Ephraim) were murdered by their successors. In fact, immediately before the exile there were six kings in 30 years.
❏ In these times Hosea had to marry a prostitute. Her name was Gomer. They had three children to whom Hosea had to give special names that tied up with his prophetic message against the sin of Israel.
The first, a son, had to be named Jezreel. The word means "dispersed", to indicate that Israel would be scattered among the nations (1:4).
The second child, a girl, had to be named Lo-Ruhamah. It means "without mercy" (1:6).
The third, again a boy, had to be named "Lo-Ammi". It means "not my people" (1:9).
❏ Gomer left Hosea and went back to her immoral ways. In Chapter 3 Hosea was instructed by the Lord to go and find her and reinstate her in his home. By this time her life was in such a shambles that he had to buy her back on the slave market - for about 170 gram of silver and some food.
All indications are that Gomer did not leave Hosea again (3:3).
❏ As mentioned above, the first three chapters are devoted to symbolic acts of prophesy. The relationship of the nation with God was the same as that of Gomer with Hosea. They were sinners when God initially adopted them, and the road they travelled with Him from then on was indeed a bumpy one. They lapsed into ever increasing sinfulness, unfaithfulness and apostasy. That is why they were to be "scattered". They would be "without mercy". And the Lord would reject them as if they were "not his people". Eventually they were taken into exile.
❏ Yet the exile would not last forever. The relationship of the Lord with his people would be restored. As was the case with Gomer, He would fetch them again, as it were, from the slave market. And now the children would have different names - names without the negative prefix, lo (1:11-12). The girl would henceforth be known as Ruhamah - "mercy".
The youngest son became Ammi - "My people". The eldest would, however, remain Jisreel, because his name not only meant "scattered", but also "planted" (like seed being sowed by scattering).
A GLORIOUS PROMISE
❏ It is most significant that each of the first three chapters of Hosea concludes with a glorious promise (1:10-12; 2:14-23; 3:5). The Lord was going to accomplish something wonderful among his people. This depraved, immoral and unfaithful lot would become his beloved people - with hearts that were faithful to the covenant.
❏ Of all the glorious things promised at the end of the chapters, 2:16-20 must surely be the climax, and especially verses 19-20. Let us therefore concentrate on these two verses, which address four aspects of what the Lord intended doing. Let us consider the nature, duration, character and practical effects of his grace.
• Firstly, as regards the nature of what the Lord was going to do, it would be done in terms of a covenant (18) - more specifically a marriage covenant. In verses 19-20 the word "betroth" appears three times. And in Biblical times the engagement was as binding as the marriage itself.
• Secondly, the duration of the covenant would be for ever (19). This implies that the parties would remain impeccably faithful to each other. Exactly how the Lord was going to accomplish this was at that stage still a secret. But some time later He would reveal it through two other prophets, Jeremiah and Ezekiel: He would regenerate every one of his people by changing their hearts (Jer 31:33; Ezec 36:26).
• Thirdly, as to its character, the covenant would have three components (19-20).
The covenant would be based on legal principles. It would be a covenant of "righteousness" and "justice", without a trace of unjustness, immorality or underhandedness in its outworking.
It would be a loving relationship through and through - permeated with "love" and "compassion". The Hebrew word chesed, translated here as "love", is wonderfully rich in meaning. It points not only to God's unwavering and determined devotion to those with whom He is in a covenantal relationship, but also to his merciful grace.
It would be an everlasting covenant. The mutual commitment between God and his people would be one of unbreakable "faithfulness". God would never let go of his people. Nothing would ever separate them from his love.
• In the fourth place this marriage covenant would have wonderful practical effects. One single word sums it up: the people would "know" God (20; ESV; NASB; NKJV). This Hebrew word speaks of a personal, intimate and loyal love relationship with God. They would walk with Him in understanding, love, faith and loyalty. And there would be a reciprocal delight and pleasure between them.
THE REALISATION
❏ This promise was realised in part in those who returned from the two exiles. Admittedly there was no formally organised return of the northern tribes from Assyria, as was the case with Judah. But without doubt some did return in small groups.
❏ However, these promises were in reality only fulfilled after the coming of Christ and the outpouring of the Holy Spirit - in other words in the new covenant. We have a clear New Testament mandate for this statement. Paul says so in Rm 9:25-26, and so does Peter in 1Pt 2:10.
This means that this unbelievably precious promise in Hos 2 is applicable to the true New Testament church throughout the ages. If then my church is indeed a true New Testament church, I may say in all humility, but in exultation: my church is in a marriage covenant with the Lord. It applies to us collectively and to each member individually - every one of us who has been planted into the body of Christ by the Holy Spirit.
• As we are in the time of betrothal or engagement (2Cor 11:2-4) in our relationship with Christ, the culmination of the relationship is still to come somewhere in the future. The wedding feast of the Lamb is yet to be.
But that does not mean that our present relationship with Christ is an inferior one. No! It is a firm fact that every single one of the principles that we have discussed holds good even now. It is only incomplete in the way we experience it.
• Furthermore, does the New Testament not repeatedly assure those of us who are united to Christ by true faith that He has laid hold of us for all eternity? We only need to read the joyous words of Rm 8:28-39 to realise this.
• Is it not so that the New Testament time and time again comes back to the elements of the covenant as promised in Hos 2?
The legal basis for this covenant was put in place unshakeably by Christ. He died as our penal substitute. And His perfect obedience is credited in God's books to all who believe. Truly, the church stands and falls by justification through faith alone.
Futhermore, at the heart of our relationship with God is his determined loving mercy in Christ. And our rock-like security is rooted in his faithfulness.
• And finally, do we not experience life-changing effects in our lives through our participation in this covenant? What is more precious and influential in the life of a disciple of Christ than the fact that we know Him and walk with Him?
❏ Some of you may now ask, "How do we know that we are a true church? You put such emphasis on this qualification, over and over. And one can see why."
The answer is simple, but it cuts to the bone. Are we experiencing that which is promised here? We are, after all, not playing games; we are dealing with stark realities. Let me put it like this, loud and clear: if you are still a stranger to what is being discussed here, you are not yet part of what the Holy Spirit promises through Hosea!
A SINGLE APPLICATION
The image with which Hosea works here - in fact the image that controlled his entire life and prophetic ministry - is that of marriage. If then we ask what the image teaches us about the way we ought to live, we can say that God's Word makes it clear that one of the reasons why marriage was instituted, was that it should be a reflection of the covenant in Hosea 2.
Let there be no doubt about this: Our marriages as people who are bound to Christ in terms of the covenant of grace, must display the characteristics at which we have looked. Covenant! Loyalty! Permanence! Love! Companionship! Intimacy!
May God help us as we pursue this grand and lofty calling. To the extent that we are successful, we will enjoy the privileges of marriage - this most excellent gift from God to mankind. But even more important, we will fulfil the purpose for which we have been created and regenerated - we will glorify the Lord our God!
Nico van der Walt
Why? Old Testament prophets not only prophesied as preachers or writers, but often had to perform symbolic acts of prophesy for all to see.
SOMETHING MORE ABOUT HOSEA AND HIS PROPHESY
❏ We have a good idea of where and when Hosea worked as prophet. His prophesies were directed at the Northern Kingdom of the ten tribes, just before it was destroyed (1:1). It is even possible that he was still active at the time of the Assyrian exile in 722 BC. What eventually became of him, we do not know. This means that Hosea was a contemporary of Amos, who also preached to the ten tribes, as well as Isaiah, the prophet of the Southern Kingdom.
It was a time of prosperity, but also of terrible religious and moral decadence. Most of the last kings of the North (also known as Israel or Ephraim) were murdered by their successors. In fact, immediately before the exile there were six kings in 30 years.
❏ In these times Hosea had to marry a prostitute. Her name was Gomer. They had three children to whom Hosea had to give special names that tied up with his prophetic message against the sin of Israel.
The first, a son, had to be named Jezreel. The word means "dispersed", to indicate that Israel would be scattered among the nations (1:4).
The second child, a girl, had to be named Lo-Ruhamah. It means "without mercy" (1:6).
The third, again a boy, had to be named "Lo-Ammi". It means "not my people" (1:9).
❏ Gomer left Hosea and went back to her immoral ways. In Chapter 3 Hosea was instructed by the Lord to go and find her and reinstate her in his home. By this time her life was in such a shambles that he had to buy her back on the slave market - for about 170 gram of silver and some food.
All indications are that Gomer did not leave Hosea again (3:3).
❏ As mentioned above, the first three chapters are devoted to symbolic acts of prophesy. The relationship of the nation with God was the same as that of Gomer with Hosea. They were sinners when God initially adopted them, and the road they travelled with Him from then on was indeed a bumpy one. They lapsed into ever increasing sinfulness, unfaithfulness and apostasy. That is why they were to be "scattered". They would be "without mercy". And the Lord would reject them as if they were "not his people". Eventually they were taken into exile.
❏ Yet the exile would not last forever. The relationship of the Lord with his people would be restored. As was the case with Gomer, He would fetch them again, as it were, from the slave market. And now the children would have different names - names without the negative prefix, lo (1:11-12). The girl would henceforth be known as Ruhamah - "mercy".
The youngest son became Ammi - "My people". The eldest would, however, remain Jisreel, because his name not only meant "scattered", but also "planted" (like seed being sowed by scattering).
A GLORIOUS PROMISE
❏ It is most significant that each of the first three chapters of Hosea concludes with a glorious promise (1:10-12; 2:14-23; 3:5). The Lord was going to accomplish something wonderful among his people. This depraved, immoral and unfaithful lot would become his beloved people - with hearts that were faithful to the covenant.
❏ Of all the glorious things promised at the end of the chapters, 2:16-20 must surely be the climax, and especially verses 19-20. Let us therefore concentrate on these two verses, which address four aspects of what the Lord intended doing. Let us consider the nature, duration, character and practical effects of his grace.
• Firstly, as regards the nature of what the Lord was going to do, it would be done in terms of a covenant (18) - more specifically a marriage covenant. In verses 19-20 the word "betroth" appears three times. And in Biblical times the engagement was as binding as the marriage itself.
• Secondly, the duration of the covenant would be for ever (19). This implies that the parties would remain impeccably faithful to each other. Exactly how the Lord was going to accomplish this was at that stage still a secret. But some time later He would reveal it through two other prophets, Jeremiah and Ezekiel: He would regenerate every one of his people by changing their hearts (Jer 31:33; Ezec 36:26).
• Thirdly, as to its character, the covenant would have three components (19-20).
The covenant would be based on legal principles. It would be a covenant of "righteousness" and "justice", without a trace of unjustness, immorality or underhandedness in its outworking.
It would be a loving relationship through and through - permeated with "love" and "compassion". The Hebrew word chesed, translated here as "love", is wonderfully rich in meaning. It points not only to God's unwavering and determined devotion to those with whom He is in a covenantal relationship, but also to his merciful grace.
It would be an everlasting covenant. The mutual commitment between God and his people would be one of unbreakable "faithfulness". God would never let go of his people. Nothing would ever separate them from his love.
• In the fourth place this marriage covenant would have wonderful practical effects. One single word sums it up: the people would "know" God (20; ESV; NASB; NKJV). This Hebrew word speaks of a personal, intimate and loyal love relationship with God. They would walk with Him in understanding, love, faith and loyalty. And there would be a reciprocal delight and pleasure between them.
THE REALISATION
❏ This promise was realised in part in those who returned from the two exiles. Admittedly there was no formally organised return of the northern tribes from Assyria, as was the case with Judah. But without doubt some did return in small groups.
❏ However, these promises were in reality only fulfilled after the coming of Christ and the outpouring of the Holy Spirit - in other words in the new covenant. We have a clear New Testament mandate for this statement. Paul says so in Rm 9:25-26, and so does Peter in 1Pt 2:10.
This means that this unbelievably precious promise in Hos 2 is applicable to the true New Testament church throughout the ages. If then my church is indeed a true New Testament church, I may say in all humility, but in exultation: my church is in a marriage covenant with the Lord. It applies to us collectively and to each member individually - every one of us who has been planted into the body of Christ by the Holy Spirit.
• As we are in the time of betrothal or engagement (2Cor 11:2-4) in our relationship with Christ, the culmination of the relationship is still to come somewhere in the future. The wedding feast of the Lamb is yet to be.
But that does not mean that our present relationship with Christ is an inferior one. No! It is a firm fact that every single one of the principles that we have discussed holds good even now. It is only incomplete in the way we experience it.
• Furthermore, does the New Testament not repeatedly assure those of us who are united to Christ by true faith that He has laid hold of us for all eternity? We only need to read the joyous words of Rm 8:28-39 to realise this.
• Is it not so that the New Testament time and time again comes back to the elements of the covenant as promised in Hos 2?
The legal basis for this covenant was put in place unshakeably by Christ. He died as our penal substitute. And His perfect obedience is credited in God's books to all who believe. Truly, the church stands and falls by justification through faith alone.
Futhermore, at the heart of our relationship with God is his determined loving mercy in Christ. And our rock-like security is rooted in his faithfulness.
• And finally, do we not experience life-changing effects in our lives through our participation in this covenant? What is more precious and influential in the life of a disciple of Christ than the fact that we know Him and walk with Him?
❏ Some of you may now ask, "How do we know that we are a true church? You put such emphasis on this qualification, over and over. And one can see why."
The answer is simple, but it cuts to the bone. Are we experiencing that which is promised here? We are, after all, not playing games; we are dealing with stark realities. Let me put it like this, loud and clear: if you are still a stranger to what is being discussed here, you are not yet part of what the Holy Spirit promises through Hosea!
A SINGLE APPLICATION
The image with which Hosea works here - in fact the image that controlled his entire life and prophetic ministry - is that of marriage. If then we ask what the image teaches us about the way we ought to live, we can say that God's Word makes it clear that one of the reasons why marriage was instituted, was that it should be a reflection of the covenant in Hosea 2.
Let there be no doubt about this: Our marriages as people who are bound to Christ in terms of the covenant of grace, must display the characteristics at which we have looked. Covenant! Loyalty! Permanence! Love! Companionship! Intimacy!
May God help us as we pursue this grand and lofty calling. To the extent that we are successful, we will enjoy the privileges of marriage - this most excellent gift from God to mankind. But even more important, we will fulfil the purpose for which we have been created and regenerated - we will glorify the Lord our God!
Nico van der Walt
ECCLESIASTES 11:1-6 : THE HEART OF WISDOM - No. EE10
In chapters 1-10 of Ecclesiastes the Preacher (ESV; NKJV; NASV) or Teacher (NIV) - almost certainly Solomon - confronts with irrefutable logic the philosophy and world view of anyone who lives for this world alone, as if there is no afterlife. He talks about 30 times about the person who merely lives "under the sun" (in and for this world); the person who ignores the fact that he or she is accountable to God, and will one day have to answer to Him.
Such a life is "meaningless" (NIV; 36 times). This word refers to a breath - it is empty and worthless.
There is also a third expression the author uses repeatedly. Such a life under the sun is like a "chasing after the wind". It achieves absolutely nothing. It is like running after a bubble or a mirage. It is absurd. It is futile.
The Preacher is not always pessimistic and cynical, however. Throughout the first ten chapters he keeps the reader's hopes alive with small pinpoints of light here and there (e.g. 2:24-26; 5:17-19). Then we find his conclusion in chapters 11-12, especially in the last two verses (12:13-14).
So let us examine the first part of the Preacher's conclusion. Here for a change he sounds more positive. Here he tells us how to live in order to find sense and meaning in this life.
THE BASIC KEY TO FINDING MEANING IN LIFE
❏ The expression in 11:1, "cast your bread upon the waters", was well understood in those days.
The Hebrew word translated as "bread" can also refer to grain or seed-corn (Isa 28:28: "grain"; NIV; ESV). This expression is a reference to the tradition of sowing in, for instance, the Nile Delta as the floodwater after the rains begins to subside. The seed falls in the shallow, stationary water, sinks into the silt on the bottom, and becomes covered with more silt as the water drains away completely. Once all the water is gone, the seed grows naturally and yields wonderful fruit.
The expression therefore refers to an action that is aimed at producing fruit in time. This is inevitably something does in faith. You trust that what you are throwing away irretrievably today, will return as next year's bread. The point the Preacher is making, is that there is only one way to make sense of your present existence: to live in faith that what you sow now, will one day yield a good crop. And, of course, it is wisdom to sow the best seed, because it will yield the best fruit.
❏ This attitude alone gives meaning to what appears to be the aimless muddle that we call "this life". Remove faith from the equation, and all that remains is the futility found in chapters 1-10.
What is it that one sees when you do not look with the eye of faith? Periods and eras, seasons and cycles that endlessly repeat themselves (1:4vv). Uncontrollable circumstances driving history willy-nilly (3:1vv; 9:11vv). Death to everyone, unrelated to the life one has lead, whether good or bad (7:15; 8:8). People dying like animals - very often good people like bad people, the wise like the foolish (2:14, 17; 9:2vv). You see unchecked wickedness wreaking havoc (3:16; 4:1; 5:8; 8:11; 9:3), and bad people attaining success, while good people encounter adversity and failure (8:14).
It is not surprising that unbelievers cannot make out head or tail of what is going on. The person who simply lives "under the sun" can come to only one conclusion: it must be the god of coincidence who reigns thus - most certainly not a good and wise God who rewards that which is good, and punishes that which is wicked!
OUR DILEMMA: A HIDDEN GOD
Why does the Bible so often address the issue of faith? Why does God place such emphasis on the fact that we should serve Him in faith? Why does nothing remain when you remove faith from your Christianity? Why is everything futile when you have no faith?
There are certainly many different reasons - but one significant reason is that we cannot perceive God with our senses. He simply lives in different dimensions from us. He is the Deus Absconditus - the hidden God.
Yes, we can look at the world around us - general revelation - and come to some important conclusions about God. And we can read the Bible in faith - Biblical revelation - and know much more about God. But I have to do this in faith, and I have to build my whole life on it.
Few are the people who are prepared to do this! What a dilemma we are in! I must either live by what I can see, touch, hear, taste and smell - and then fall into the lunacy of absurdity. Or I must accept that there is a Higher Power that will finally bring about meaning and justice from the chaos of life "under the sun". But to this only faith can enable me to hold!
TRUE WISDOM
❏ This is the point the Preacher wants to drive home. Because we serve a hidden God, we need to live by faith. We therefore need to accept the fact that God is busy building a new creation from the ashes of a fallen one. And whenever things look so absurd and aimless and unjust, we must remember that construction sites always appear chaotic. It is only through the spectacles of faith that life remains in focus. The moment you remove these spectacles, things distort and blur.
O, the Preacher teaches us an important lesson!
• V.5: Make your peace once and for all with the fact that there will always be a thousand things that you do not understand. Least of all will we be able to always understand the ways of God.
• V.6: Stop brooding and treading water. Begin to live life by entirely trusting in God’s just nature, and the conviction that His justice will finally triumph.
• V2: Therefore, live a life of generous giving. After all, that is what God promises to reward one day. Whatever you have, just give - and continue to give. Give generously, up to seven - the number of fullness. And when you have given what is needed, give even more - go to eight. Walk the second mile!
Be a footwasher; be a servant. Lay down your life for your neighbour according to the will of God.
And do not postpone, for disaster strikes unexpectedly. Tomorrow you might not be in a position to serve anymore.
• V.3-4: Do not delay and hesitate endlessly. A farmer who constantly watches the clouds never gets round to ploughing and planting. When the rain then comes, the water flows away without benefitting him in any way.
And when a tree topples over, it is futile to stand around wishing that it had fallen in another direction. The fact is - it did not. And it will remain where it has fallen. Mull over everything that might have been, and you remain milling about in one place. Cease your perpetual "why’s" and "if only’s".
❏ So, face your responsibilities squarely. Do whatever you have to do. Live on the forefoot. And in faith leave those things you cannot control in God's hands.
WHAT DOES THIS TELL US?
1. There is simply no other way than the way of faith.
Do you sometimes also have the feeling that it is insanity to hang your everything - your life, your future, your eternity - on the conviction that a Man, two thousand years ago, died on a cross and rose again?
But exactly that is what Christianity is all about - trusting Christ, as God’s great Prophet, Priest and King.
Faith in Him is really my only option, is it not? The moment I let go of Him, I tumble into the insanity of absurdity. To be honest, in a way I am a Christian because nothing else in this life makes sense. All other alternatives, in the words of a former prime minister, are "too ghastly to contemplate"!
Even this world's religions are unthinkable as alternatives. I am too profoundly convinced of my sinfulness and imperfection to imagine that I could climb up a ladder of morality and ritual to a holy God all by myself.
Therefore, all that remains is trusting Christ! Only He shields me from insanity!
2. The path of faith is not irrational, however.
Consider how integrated and consistent the Bible message is. And this despite sixty-six books written by about forty authors from very different backgrounds, writing over a period of a millennium and a half! It is because the Bible in reality has only one author - God the Holy Spirit.
Consider all the Biblical statements that are irrefutably true in historical terms. Many dozens of Old Testament prophesies about Christ were fulfilled in the finest detail. Isaiah 53 had been written centuries before He came! Moreover, the historical accuracy of the Bible has been verified in hundreds of instances by archaeological discoveries.
Consider the enrichment that the Bible has brought to your life. It casts light again and again on our intellectual and philosophical questions. The norms and directions found therein leads to a life of meaning and excellence, whereas deviation from its paths inevitably results in catastrophe. And, most precious of all, it solves for us the question how a sinner can stand justified before his or her Creator.
Consider all the positive effects that you have known from living your life in obedience to God. Do the Biblical presciptions not lead without exception to ultimate prosperity - spiritually, emotionally, morally and even materially?
And this is not only true for individuals. The degree to which a society embraces the Bible message and values, is the degree to which that society is ennobled by it. Likewise, to the degree to which the Bible is discarded by a community, to that degree corrosion and decay ultimately takes over.
Moreover, throughout the ages no assault succeeded in blotting out the deep-rooted Biblical convictions of believers. What is more, the fiercer the persecution, the more powerful the church becomes. But unbelievers, do they remain standing in times of attack?
3. Let us give al the glory to God for the fact that we have faith.
My faith and yours is the work of God the Holy Spirit. It is based on the perfect mediatory work of Christ. And it flows from the Father's predestinating initiative.
Truly, salvation, from A to Z, flows from God's loving heart. Grace, grace, grace!
Nico van der Walt
Such a life is "meaningless" (NIV; 36 times). This word refers to a breath - it is empty and worthless.
There is also a third expression the author uses repeatedly. Such a life under the sun is like a "chasing after the wind". It achieves absolutely nothing. It is like running after a bubble or a mirage. It is absurd. It is futile.
The Preacher is not always pessimistic and cynical, however. Throughout the first ten chapters he keeps the reader's hopes alive with small pinpoints of light here and there (e.g. 2:24-26; 5:17-19). Then we find his conclusion in chapters 11-12, especially in the last two verses (12:13-14).
So let us examine the first part of the Preacher's conclusion. Here for a change he sounds more positive. Here he tells us how to live in order to find sense and meaning in this life.
THE BASIC KEY TO FINDING MEANING IN LIFE
❏ The expression in 11:1, "cast your bread upon the waters", was well understood in those days.
The Hebrew word translated as "bread" can also refer to grain or seed-corn (Isa 28:28: "grain"; NIV; ESV). This expression is a reference to the tradition of sowing in, for instance, the Nile Delta as the floodwater after the rains begins to subside. The seed falls in the shallow, stationary water, sinks into the silt on the bottom, and becomes covered with more silt as the water drains away completely. Once all the water is gone, the seed grows naturally and yields wonderful fruit.
The expression therefore refers to an action that is aimed at producing fruit in time. This is inevitably something does in faith. You trust that what you are throwing away irretrievably today, will return as next year's bread. The point the Preacher is making, is that there is only one way to make sense of your present existence: to live in faith that what you sow now, will one day yield a good crop. And, of course, it is wisdom to sow the best seed, because it will yield the best fruit.
❏ This attitude alone gives meaning to what appears to be the aimless muddle that we call "this life". Remove faith from the equation, and all that remains is the futility found in chapters 1-10.
What is it that one sees when you do not look with the eye of faith? Periods and eras, seasons and cycles that endlessly repeat themselves (1:4vv). Uncontrollable circumstances driving history willy-nilly (3:1vv; 9:11vv). Death to everyone, unrelated to the life one has lead, whether good or bad (7:15; 8:8). People dying like animals - very often good people like bad people, the wise like the foolish (2:14, 17; 9:2vv). You see unchecked wickedness wreaking havoc (3:16; 4:1; 5:8; 8:11; 9:3), and bad people attaining success, while good people encounter adversity and failure (8:14).
It is not surprising that unbelievers cannot make out head or tail of what is going on. The person who simply lives "under the sun" can come to only one conclusion: it must be the god of coincidence who reigns thus - most certainly not a good and wise God who rewards that which is good, and punishes that which is wicked!
OUR DILEMMA: A HIDDEN GOD
Why does the Bible so often address the issue of faith? Why does God place such emphasis on the fact that we should serve Him in faith? Why does nothing remain when you remove faith from your Christianity? Why is everything futile when you have no faith?
There are certainly many different reasons - but one significant reason is that we cannot perceive God with our senses. He simply lives in different dimensions from us. He is the Deus Absconditus - the hidden God.
Yes, we can look at the world around us - general revelation - and come to some important conclusions about God. And we can read the Bible in faith - Biblical revelation - and know much more about God. But I have to do this in faith, and I have to build my whole life on it.
Few are the people who are prepared to do this! What a dilemma we are in! I must either live by what I can see, touch, hear, taste and smell - and then fall into the lunacy of absurdity. Or I must accept that there is a Higher Power that will finally bring about meaning and justice from the chaos of life "under the sun". But to this only faith can enable me to hold!
TRUE WISDOM
❏ This is the point the Preacher wants to drive home. Because we serve a hidden God, we need to live by faith. We therefore need to accept the fact that God is busy building a new creation from the ashes of a fallen one. And whenever things look so absurd and aimless and unjust, we must remember that construction sites always appear chaotic. It is only through the spectacles of faith that life remains in focus. The moment you remove these spectacles, things distort and blur.
O, the Preacher teaches us an important lesson!
• V.5: Make your peace once and for all with the fact that there will always be a thousand things that you do not understand. Least of all will we be able to always understand the ways of God.
• V.6: Stop brooding and treading water. Begin to live life by entirely trusting in God’s just nature, and the conviction that His justice will finally triumph.
• V2: Therefore, live a life of generous giving. After all, that is what God promises to reward one day. Whatever you have, just give - and continue to give. Give generously, up to seven - the number of fullness. And when you have given what is needed, give even more - go to eight. Walk the second mile!
Be a footwasher; be a servant. Lay down your life for your neighbour according to the will of God.
And do not postpone, for disaster strikes unexpectedly. Tomorrow you might not be in a position to serve anymore.
• V.3-4: Do not delay and hesitate endlessly. A farmer who constantly watches the clouds never gets round to ploughing and planting. When the rain then comes, the water flows away without benefitting him in any way.
And when a tree topples over, it is futile to stand around wishing that it had fallen in another direction. The fact is - it did not. And it will remain where it has fallen. Mull over everything that might have been, and you remain milling about in one place. Cease your perpetual "why’s" and "if only’s".
❏ So, face your responsibilities squarely. Do whatever you have to do. Live on the forefoot. And in faith leave those things you cannot control in God's hands.
WHAT DOES THIS TELL US?
1. There is simply no other way than the way of faith.
Do you sometimes also have the feeling that it is insanity to hang your everything - your life, your future, your eternity - on the conviction that a Man, two thousand years ago, died on a cross and rose again?
But exactly that is what Christianity is all about - trusting Christ, as God’s great Prophet, Priest and King.
Faith in Him is really my only option, is it not? The moment I let go of Him, I tumble into the insanity of absurdity. To be honest, in a way I am a Christian because nothing else in this life makes sense. All other alternatives, in the words of a former prime minister, are "too ghastly to contemplate"!
Even this world's religions are unthinkable as alternatives. I am too profoundly convinced of my sinfulness and imperfection to imagine that I could climb up a ladder of morality and ritual to a holy God all by myself.
Therefore, all that remains is trusting Christ! Only He shields me from insanity!
2. The path of faith is not irrational, however.
Consider how integrated and consistent the Bible message is. And this despite sixty-six books written by about forty authors from very different backgrounds, writing over a period of a millennium and a half! It is because the Bible in reality has only one author - God the Holy Spirit.
Consider all the Biblical statements that are irrefutably true in historical terms. Many dozens of Old Testament prophesies about Christ were fulfilled in the finest detail. Isaiah 53 had been written centuries before He came! Moreover, the historical accuracy of the Bible has been verified in hundreds of instances by archaeological discoveries.
Consider the enrichment that the Bible has brought to your life. It casts light again and again on our intellectual and philosophical questions. The norms and directions found therein leads to a life of meaning and excellence, whereas deviation from its paths inevitably results in catastrophe. And, most precious of all, it solves for us the question how a sinner can stand justified before his or her Creator.
Consider all the positive effects that you have known from living your life in obedience to God. Do the Biblical presciptions not lead without exception to ultimate prosperity - spiritually, emotionally, morally and even materially?
And this is not only true for individuals. The degree to which a society embraces the Bible message and values, is the degree to which that society is ennobled by it. Likewise, to the degree to which the Bible is discarded by a community, to that degree corrosion and decay ultimately takes over.
Moreover, throughout the ages no assault succeeded in blotting out the deep-rooted Biblical convictions of believers. What is more, the fiercer the persecution, the more powerful the church becomes. But unbelievers, do they remain standing in times of attack?
3. Let us give al the glory to God for the fact that we have faith.
My faith and yours is the work of God the Holy Spirit. It is based on the perfect mediatory work of Christ. And it flows from the Father's predestinating initiative.
Truly, salvation, from A to Z, flows from God's loving heart. Grace, grace, grace!
Nico van der Walt
HB 2:14-15 : THE VANQUISHED FOE - No. EE19
The fear of death is a universal experience. Job calls it, "the king of terrors" (Job 18:14). Just the thought of it brings us to a halt. The death of an acquaintance fills us with shock. Raise the topic in a conversation, and everybody feels ill at ease.
In more than one place the Bible speaks of the prospect of death as its shadow. And it is indeed a shadow which we all must enter - and very soon (unless the return of Christ occurs in our lifetime). What awaits us at the other side?
With regard to death, most people adopt the ostrich approach. They don't think or talk about it and if they can, they stay away from funerals. This of course changes nothing about the pending reality.
There are, however, also the curious, and those obsessed with death. And every one of them has his own philosophy about it, often based on so-called scientific research - which normally proves to be nothing more than the stories in the tabloids of those purporting to have returned from the dead.
Fact is that nobody has ever returned. There are certainly those who have come out of an apparent death. But once the electro-chemical processes of the brain have ceased, nobody ever returns.
What am I trying to say? If we want to know what is going to happen to us after death, we are totally dependent on God's revelation in his Word!
THE NATURE OF DEATH
❏ We talk of a "natural death" and an "unnatural death", which is all very well. But according to the Word of God all human death is really unnatural! God created man to live, not to die. Yet death is a universal occurrence. Why? It is the consequence of sin. Death is the wages of sin - and until sin and its effects are something of the past, death will, alas, remain with us, unnatural as it may be.
❏ Death is the termination of the unity between body and soul. It is the moment that "the dust returns to the ground it came from, and the spirit returns to God who gave it" (Ec 12:7). According to Gn 12:7, "God formed the man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being". It is this act of creation that is made undone by death. As such death is most unnatural and terrifying.
THE INTERMEDIATE STATE
❏ Death does not mean that a person ceases to exist, or that his personal and conscious life ends.
We refer to human existence during the period between the physical death and the resurrection of the body upon the advent of the Lord Jesus, as the intermediate state. The Bible tells us very little about it. The apostles tended to look right through this state, keeping their eyes fixed on the resurrection.
❏ We can, however, make at least four statements about the intermediate state.
• Those who are united with Christ through true faith, go to him immediately after death.
• The intermediate state is a conscious state.
• Believers and non-believers do not have the same destination. Believers go to a place of glory, and unbelievers to a place of misery.
• The intermediate state is a preliminary and interim phase until our salvation is brought to completion, when body and soul are reunited again. This will happen when the Lord returns in glory.
RESURRECTION AND JUDGEMENT
❏ Both the righteous and the unrighteous will be resurrected. "Do not be amazed at this, for a time is coming when all who are in their graves will hear his voice and come out - those who have done good will rise to live, and those who have done evil will rise to be condemned" (Jn 5:28-29).
❏ The resurrection of the justified is described in moving terms in 1Th 4:13-18. The apostle does so in order that we may not be ignorant about this matter and mourn like the heathen when one of our loved one's in Christ passes away.
❏ The Bible sketches a terrifying picture of the eternal state of the unrighteous. When one contemplates the expressions the Word of God uses (often Jesus himself) to describe the punishment which these people face, you realise that it is truly "a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God" (Hb 10:31). For these people it would have been better by far had they not been born at all.
• Wrath and anger, trouble and distress (Rm 2:8-9).
• Weeping and gnashing of teeth (Mt 22:13).
• Everlasting destruction (2Ts 1:9).
• The fiery furnace (Mt 13:42, 50).
• Eternal punishment (Mt 25:46).
• The lake of burning sulphur; the lake of fire (Rev 20:10,15).
❏ Allow me therefore, with all the earnestness at my command, to say to all those who have not as yet truly fled into Christ: Remember that nothing is as certain as the fact of death; and nothing is as uncertain as the time when it will happen.
THIS LIFE AND ETERNITY
❏ Fallen and unbelieving man sees death as the end of everything. The Word of God, however, presents it as being in a certain sense the beginning of everything - as the end of the imperfection we still know so well, and the experiential entry into life eternal. It is the time when we will reap what we have sown during this life. Then you and I will experience the relationship (or non-relationship) with God that we have had during this life, intensified a thousandfold. And we will receive exactly what we have chosen in this life - to live obediently to the honour of God and his Son, or to live for ourselves and the compensations of this world.
❏ When the unbeliever breathes his last, the opportunity to chose Christ will be something of the past. Nowhere does the Bible teach the possibility of a second chance.
Although this life is but a fleeting moment in comparison to eternity, it determines my eternal destination and my eternal state!
❏ We live therefore in the valley of decision. The options are still open. Have you chosen Christ yet? I am not talking about a superficial or impulsive little prayer or a five minute formula. I am talking about a quality decision, one which radically determines the priorities and course of your future life.
Or to put it differently: Are you ready to meet your God?
VICTORY OVER THE FEAR OF DEATH
❏ The writer of the letter to the Hebrews says that Jesus frees people from the fear of death (Hb 2:15). And indeed, that has been the experience of millions for centuries. It happens when the Holy Spirit brings the truth of the gospel to life in your heart. It happens when you are renewed in your mind. And as you embrace it more and more in faith, so you are slowly but surely lifted from the swamp of fear.
❏ On what grounds does a true Christian lose his or her fear of death?
• Firstly, Jesus stripped death of its intimidating threat.
The fear that the fact of death instills, depends to a large extent on the measure of uncertainty it holds. But the truth sets one free. Those who are in Christ, experience the inner witness of the Spirit that the message of the gospel is true. They know that God's children at death do not enter an unknown darkness, but the home of their Father.
• Secondly, Christ stripped death of its legal claim to my person and my life.
If, in dependent trust and in all sincerity, I have embraced Christ's merits, I have the assurance of his trustworthy Word that I am justified. In addition I have the inner witness of the Holy Spirit who calls out in me, "Abba, Father!"
• Thirdly, Christ stripped death of its power to keep me imprisoned.
With his resurrection the Lord took hold of the keys of death and hades. This is the guarantee to the resurrection also of those who have been united with Him through faith. The Head was resurrected; the body will surely follow. This is true to such an extent that the Bible says that I have already been raised up with Him (Eph 2:4-6).
• Fourthly, Christ stripped death of its glory.
Of course it is still a great heartache when a loved one dies. But we know that a true Christian's exit from the grave will be infinitely better that his entrance into it. Furthermore, not only is death unable to hold me, it is also impotent to keep me in my fallen state - for I will be raised in perfect glory.
CONCLUSION
❏ In his very comforting book, Immortality, Lorraine Boettner uses this striking illustration (p. 29-30):
"I am standing upon the seashore. A ship at my side spreads her white sails to the morning breeze and starts for the blue ocean. She is an object of beauty and strength, and I stand and watch her until at length she hangs like a speck of white cloud just where the sea and sky come down to meet each other. Then someone at my side says, 'There, she is gone.' Gone where? Gone from my sight, that is all. She is just as large in mast and hull and spar as she was when she left my side, and just as able to bear her load of living weights to its place of destination. Her diminished size is in me, not in her; and just at the moment when someone at my side says, 'There, she is gone,' on that distant shore there are other eyes watching for her coming and other voices ready to take up the glad shout, 'Here she comes' - and such is dying."
❏ This is a very apt illustration. One word in the New Testament for death, usually translated "to depart" (Phil 1:23; 2Tm 4:6), literally means to untie. At that time it was also used when a ship was untied from the quay and lifted anchor.
Truly, Paul may justifiably ask in 1Cor 15:55 on behalf of Jesus' disciples, "Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?"
Nico van der Walt
In more than one place the Bible speaks of the prospect of death as its shadow. And it is indeed a shadow which we all must enter - and very soon (unless the return of Christ occurs in our lifetime). What awaits us at the other side?
With regard to death, most people adopt the ostrich approach. They don't think or talk about it and if they can, they stay away from funerals. This of course changes nothing about the pending reality.
There are, however, also the curious, and those obsessed with death. And every one of them has his own philosophy about it, often based on so-called scientific research - which normally proves to be nothing more than the stories in the tabloids of those purporting to have returned from the dead.
Fact is that nobody has ever returned. There are certainly those who have come out of an apparent death. But once the electro-chemical processes of the brain have ceased, nobody ever returns.
What am I trying to say? If we want to know what is going to happen to us after death, we are totally dependent on God's revelation in his Word!
THE NATURE OF DEATH
❏ We talk of a "natural death" and an "unnatural death", which is all very well. But according to the Word of God all human death is really unnatural! God created man to live, not to die. Yet death is a universal occurrence. Why? It is the consequence of sin. Death is the wages of sin - and until sin and its effects are something of the past, death will, alas, remain with us, unnatural as it may be.
❏ Death is the termination of the unity between body and soul. It is the moment that "the dust returns to the ground it came from, and the spirit returns to God who gave it" (Ec 12:7). According to Gn 12:7, "God formed the man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being". It is this act of creation that is made undone by death. As such death is most unnatural and terrifying.
THE INTERMEDIATE STATE
❏ Death does not mean that a person ceases to exist, or that his personal and conscious life ends.
We refer to human existence during the period between the physical death and the resurrection of the body upon the advent of the Lord Jesus, as the intermediate state. The Bible tells us very little about it. The apostles tended to look right through this state, keeping their eyes fixed on the resurrection.
❏ We can, however, make at least four statements about the intermediate state.
• Those who are united with Christ through true faith, go to him immediately after death.
• The intermediate state is a conscious state.
• Believers and non-believers do not have the same destination. Believers go to a place of glory, and unbelievers to a place of misery.
• The intermediate state is a preliminary and interim phase until our salvation is brought to completion, when body and soul are reunited again. This will happen when the Lord returns in glory.
RESURRECTION AND JUDGEMENT
❏ Both the righteous and the unrighteous will be resurrected. "Do not be amazed at this, for a time is coming when all who are in their graves will hear his voice and come out - those who have done good will rise to live, and those who have done evil will rise to be condemned" (Jn 5:28-29).
❏ The resurrection of the justified is described in moving terms in 1Th 4:13-18. The apostle does so in order that we may not be ignorant about this matter and mourn like the heathen when one of our loved one's in Christ passes away.
❏ The Bible sketches a terrifying picture of the eternal state of the unrighteous. When one contemplates the expressions the Word of God uses (often Jesus himself) to describe the punishment which these people face, you realise that it is truly "a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God" (Hb 10:31). For these people it would have been better by far had they not been born at all.
• Wrath and anger, trouble and distress (Rm 2:8-9).
• Weeping and gnashing of teeth (Mt 22:13).
• Everlasting destruction (2Ts 1:9).
• The fiery furnace (Mt 13:42, 50).
• Eternal punishment (Mt 25:46).
• The lake of burning sulphur; the lake of fire (Rev 20:10,15).
❏ Allow me therefore, with all the earnestness at my command, to say to all those who have not as yet truly fled into Christ: Remember that nothing is as certain as the fact of death; and nothing is as uncertain as the time when it will happen.
THIS LIFE AND ETERNITY
❏ Fallen and unbelieving man sees death as the end of everything. The Word of God, however, presents it as being in a certain sense the beginning of everything - as the end of the imperfection we still know so well, and the experiential entry into life eternal. It is the time when we will reap what we have sown during this life. Then you and I will experience the relationship (or non-relationship) with God that we have had during this life, intensified a thousandfold. And we will receive exactly what we have chosen in this life - to live obediently to the honour of God and his Son, or to live for ourselves and the compensations of this world.
❏ When the unbeliever breathes his last, the opportunity to chose Christ will be something of the past. Nowhere does the Bible teach the possibility of a second chance.
Although this life is but a fleeting moment in comparison to eternity, it determines my eternal destination and my eternal state!
❏ We live therefore in the valley of decision. The options are still open. Have you chosen Christ yet? I am not talking about a superficial or impulsive little prayer or a five minute formula. I am talking about a quality decision, one which radically determines the priorities and course of your future life.
Or to put it differently: Are you ready to meet your God?
VICTORY OVER THE FEAR OF DEATH
❏ The writer of the letter to the Hebrews says that Jesus frees people from the fear of death (Hb 2:15). And indeed, that has been the experience of millions for centuries. It happens when the Holy Spirit brings the truth of the gospel to life in your heart. It happens when you are renewed in your mind. And as you embrace it more and more in faith, so you are slowly but surely lifted from the swamp of fear.
❏ On what grounds does a true Christian lose his or her fear of death?
• Firstly, Jesus stripped death of its intimidating threat.
The fear that the fact of death instills, depends to a large extent on the measure of uncertainty it holds. But the truth sets one free. Those who are in Christ, experience the inner witness of the Spirit that the message of the gospel is true. They know that God's children at death do not enter an unknown darkness, but the home of their Father.
• Secondly, Christ stripped death of its legal claim to my person and my life.
If, in dependent trust and in all sincerity, I have embraced Christ's merits, I have the assurance of his trustworthy Word that I am justified. In addition I have the inner witness of the Holy Spirit who calls out in me, "Abba, Father!"
• Thirdly, Christ stripped death of its power to keep me imprisoned.
With his resurrection the Lord took hold of the keys of death and hades. This is the guarantee to the resurrection also of those who have been united with Him through faith. The Head was resurrected; the body will surely follow. This is true to such an extent that the Bible says that I have already been raised up with Him (Eph 2:4-6).
• Fourthly, Christ stripped death of its glory.
Of course it is still a great heartache when a loved one dies. But we know that a true Christian's exit from the grave will be infinitely better that his entrance into it. Furthermore, not only is death unable to hold me, it is also impotent to keep me in my fallen state - for I will be raised in perfect glory.
CONCLUSION
❏ In his very comforting book, Immortality, Lorraine Boettner uses this striking illustration (p. 29-30):
"I am standing upon the seashore. A ship at my side spreads her white sails to the morning breeze and starts for the blue ocean. She is an object of beauty and strength, and I stand and watch her until at length she hangs like a speck of white cloud just where the sea and sky come down to meet each other. Then someone at my side says, 'There, she is gone.' Gone where? Gone from my sight, that is all. She is just as large in mast and hull and spar as she was when she left my side, and just as able to bear her load of living weights to its place of destination. Her diminished size is in me, not in her; and just at the moment when someone at my side says, 'There, she is gone,' on that distant shore there are other eyes watching for her coming and other voices ready to take up the glad shout, 'Here she comes' - and such is dying."
❏ This is a very apt illustration. One word in the New Testament for death, usually translated "to depart" (Phil 1:23; 2Tm 4:6), literally means to untie. At that time it was also used when a ship was untied from the quay and lifted anchor.
Truly, Paul may justifiably ask in 1Cor 15:55 on behalf of Jesus' disciples, "Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?"
Nico van der Walt
Saturday, June 23, 2012
LK 23:32-43 : A CRIMINAL'S SALVATION - No. EE18
Every one of us has at one time or another thought about death and what follows thereafter. What happens to us in the minutes and the hours after we have passed away? What about the period - perhaps centuries - between our death and our resurrection? What about our dear ones that have already passed on? Are they in a state of awareness? Questions, questions, questions!
We are concerned here with the so-called intermediate state, the state of believers - to consider them only - between their death and their resurrection.
The Bible does not tell us much about this state. The apostles looked right through the grave, as it were, and kept their eyes fixed on the resurrection.
This does not mean that the Bible says nothing at all about the subject. There is, for instance, the parable of Lazarus and the rich man. But as this is a parable, one should be careful not to read too much into it. Perhaps it is best to take a proper look at out text - the conversation between our Lord and the criminal on the cross. And in the process we will also gain several other perspectives.
The events on Calvary
The Lord was not crucified alone (Mt 27:38; Mk 15:27; Lk 23:32; Jn 19:18), but with two criminals, one on either side of Him. Initially they both insulted Him (Mt 27:44; Lk 23:39), but soon the attitude of one of them underwent a radical change. As the realisation dawned upon him that this was his last hours on earth and that he stood on the threshold of eternity, he pleaded with Jesus to remember him when He came to his kingdom. And the Lord answered him, "I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise" (Lk 23:42-43).
Jesus' assurance in Lk 23:43
❏ The answer that Jesus gave the criminal was not the muttering of a delirious man. He knew exactly what He was saying.
The Lord started off his pronouncement with a word He often used to place emphasis on something He was saying. The NIV translates the word here as "I tell you the truth", while other versions use words like "verily" or "truly". As always, it leads to a pronouncement that has the full weight of Christ's divine authority behind it.
❏ Some people who reject the Biblical revelation about the intermediate state rely on an alternative translation of the text: "Today I tell you the truth: you will be with me in paradise". While it might be possible to read this meaning into the Greek text, it really would be a somewhat forced translation. It also would mean that Jesus is saying what is obvious - something one would hardly expect from a dying man, at least not Jesus..
Be that as it may, the intermediate state is also mentioned elsewhere in the Bible.
❏ "Paradise" is an interesting word. It is actually a Persian word meaning a walled garden or park. The Septuagint (a Greek translation of the Old Testament made about 2 centuries before the birth of Christ) uses it for the "garden" of Eden.
Apart from our text, the word is used in two other places in the New Testament. In 2Cor 12:4 we read about Paul's rapture to paradise. And in Rev 2:7 we find the promise to the over comers - that they will one day "eat from the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God".
❏ The words "with me" offer wonderful consolation and encouragement. They lie at the very heart of our blessed hope and immediately bring to mind the words of the Lord's high priestly prayer in Jn 17:24: "Father, I want those you have given me to be with me..." The apostle Paul also expresses the desire to depart and to be with Christ (Phil 1:23).
We go to our beloved Saviour when we die!
The criminal's faith
❏ We may accept without hesitation that this robber was saved. For this reason the story has been a great consolation to countless spiritual plodders harassed by feelings of inadequacy before God and doubts about the certainty of their salvation.
❏ How can a vile sinner like this be saved? Does not this story cheapen salvation? What about the absence of discipleship, sanctification and obedience on the part of the criminal? Is this not just a case of smooth talking in the face of death? Can it all be as simple as this?
Indeed! Because this man had faith - true faith!
• He believed that there is a God and that there would be a life after death for all three of them.
• He believed that he was guilty ("We are punished justly ..."). He knew he was a sinner.
• He believed that Jesus was being executed unjustly ("... this man has done nothing wrong"). He was so convinced of this that he sided with the Lord in spite of his own condition and excruciating pain.
• He believed that both he and his friend would have to answer to God for what they had done ("Don't you fear God?").
• He believed that Jesus would rule as King in heaven ("... when you come into your kingdom").
• He believed that Jesus would be able to do something for him in his miserable state. And in his utter dependence he trusted the Lord for this ("Jesus, remember me...").
What does all this say to us?
1. This is a clear-cut confirmation of the fact that salvation is by grace alone, without any human merit at all.
One cannot imagine less merit on the part of any man than that of the criminal. Probably he had some knowledge of Jesus's teaching. But there had been no discipleship and no sanctification.
Think for a moment about his life. Remember, only the most serious crimes were punishable by crucifixion. We can accept it therefore that this man in his youth had completely ignored his parents' guidance. He had rejected with contempt the directives of a religious upbringing. He had ignored the lessons of life. He had trampled in the dust the admonitions of his conscience.
Truly, this man had nothing whatsoever to offer God. He only had faith. And even that was not his own merit - it was a mere hanging on to Christ.
2. We have here an event which beautifully illustrates the essence of saving faith.
We are not saved by big or strong faith, but by real faith. A grain of the real is worth more than tons of the false. This man's faith was pathetically small. And what he had only lasted for a few hours at the most. But as to quality, his faith was the real thing.
What is it that determines the purity of faith? A basic knowledge and conviction! Earnestness and sincerity! Helplessness and dependence! Total and complete trust - specifically in Jesus Christ, and in Him alone!
The fact that some have this faith and others not, cannot simply be ascribed to their wisdom, insight or piety. No! Faith cannot be anything but a gift that the Holy Spirit bestows on some and not on others.
Some saw how Jesus raised people from the dead - and it failed to bring them to faith. The criminal saw Him die - and he believed!
3. We have here an event that has been of great comfort to countless people for many centuries.
Many of us have lost to the grave family or friends who have shown nothing of God's grace in their lives. That does not necessarily mean that they were not saved. A deathbed conversion is most certainly possible. One can be saved a minute before your death.
Many are those who will thank the Lord one day for a final sick-bed. Why? Because numerous dying men and women have set things right with God knowing that they are on the brink of eternity.
But - and this is a vital qualification - none among us may depend on this. As has often been said, "One is saved, so that none may despair. But only one, so that no one may dare become presumptuous." There was, after all, another criminal. And he did not receive the grace to repent. He died without God and without hope.
4. Even if the rest of Scripture had remained silent about the intermediate state - which is not the case - this event would have compelled us to accept it as a fact.
Undeniably our text implies a conscious and personal life immediately after death. It is impossible to give a different interpretation to Jesus' assurance to the criminal that he would be with Him in paradise on that very day.
How we will experience time in the intermediate state we do not know. Some argue that time as we know it does not exist in paradise. But this is improbable. Think of the martyrs in heaven asking how long the Lord will tarry before He judges the inhabitants of the earth (Rev 6:9-10). These people obviously experience time.
Other references and allusions to the intermediate state can be found in Lk 9:28-33 (the appearance of Moses and Elijah on the mountain of transfiguration), as well as Lk 16:19-31; Acts 7:55-56; 2Cor 5:1-10; Rev 5:13; 15:2-4; 19:1-8.
5. How clearly we see in this event the royal authority and priestly compassion our Lord.
Jesus Christ is our sovereign King.
Even in his weakest moments our Lord can with kingly dominion assure the criminal of life everlasting. And surely the man inherits it!
Jesus Christ is our compassionate High Priest. The two men on either side of Jesus both deserve to hang there. They are from the scum of society and nobody can as much as bat an eye at their execution. Yet one criminal gets saved and the other not - both having no religious merit. Does this not imply double standards? It seems as if one is simply excused, while the other has to bear the brunt of his trespasses and failures.
No, not a single sin of the pardoned criminal is being swept under the carpet. How do we know this? The cross in the centre assures us of this. Jesus Christ is being crucified as the guilt-bearing Substitute on behalf of the people His Father entrusted to Him before the foundation of the world. He is bearing the penalty on their behalf. Not for one second is God's perfect righteousness being done violence to! No! Atonement is being made for every single sin of each of God's loved ones.
The criminal is one of God's elect in Christ!
Nico van der Walt
We are concerned here with the so-called intermediate state, the state of believers - to consider them only - between their death and their resurrection.
The Bible does not tell us much about this state. The apostles looked right through the grave, as it were, and kept their eyes fixed on the resurrection.
This does not mean that the Bible says nothing at all about the subject. There is, for instance, the parable of Lazarus and the rich man. But as this is a parable, one should be careful not to read too much into it. Perhaps it is best to take a proper look at out text - the conversation between our Lord and the criminal on the cross. And in the process we will also gain several other perspectives.
The events on Calvary
The Lord was not crucified alone (Mt 27:38; Mk 15:27; Lk 23:32; Jn 19:18), but with two criminals, one on either side of Him. Initially they both insulted Him (Mt 27:44; Lk 23:39), but soon the attitude of one of them underwent a radical change. As the realisation dawned upon him that this was his last hours on earth and that he stood on the threshold of eternity, he pleaded with Jesus to remember him when He came to his kingdom. And the Lord answered him, "I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise" (Lk 23:42-43).
Jesus' assurance in Lk 23:43
❏ The answer that Jesus gave the criminal was not the muttering of a delirious man. He knew exactly what He was saying.
The Lord started off his pronouncement with a word He often used to place emphasis on something He was saying. The NIV translates the word here as "I tell you the truth", while other versions use words like "verily" or "truly". As always, it leads to a pronouncement that has the full weight of Christ's divine authority behind it.
❏ Some people who reject the Biblical revelation about the intermediate state rely on an alternative translation of the text: "Today I tell you the truth: you will be with me in paradise". While it might be possible to read this meaning into the Greek text, it really would be a somewhat forced translation. It also would mean that Jesus is saying what is obvious - something one would hardly expect from a dying man, at least not Jesus..
Be that as it may, the intermediate state is also mentioned elsewhere in the Bible.
❏ "Paradise" is an interesting word. It is actually a Persian word meaning a walled garden or park. The Septuagint (a Greek translation of the Old Testament made about 2 centuries before the birth of Christ) uses it for the "garden" of Eden.
Apart from our text, the word is used in two other places in the New Testament. In 2Cor 12:4 we read about Paul's rapture to paradise. And in Rev 2:7 we find the promise to the over comers - that they will one day "eat from the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God".
❏ The words "with me" offer wonderful consolation and encouragement. They lie at the very heart of our blessed hope and immediately bring to mind the words of the Lord's high priestly prayer in Jn 17:24: "Father, I want those you have given me to be with me..." The apostle Paul also expresses the desire to depart and to be with Christ (Phil 1:23).
We go to our beloved Saviour when we die!
The criminal's faith
❏ We may accept without hesitation that this robber was saved. For this reason the story has been a great consolation to countless spiritual plodders harassed by feelings of inadequacy before God and doubts about the certainty of their salvation.
❏ How can a vile sinner like this be saved? Does not this story cheapen salvation? What about the absence of discipleship, sanctification and obedience on the part of the criminal? Is this not just a case of smooth talking in the face of death? Can it all be as simple as this?
Indeed! Because this man had faith - true faith!
• He believed that there is a God and that there would be a life after death for all three of them.
• He believed that he was guilty ("We are punished justly ..."). He knew he was a sinner.
• He believed that Jesus was being executed unjustly ("... this man has done nothing wrong"). He was so convinced of this that he sided with the Lord in spite of his own condition and excruciating pain.
• He believed that both he and his friend would have to answer to God for what they had done ("Don't you fear God?").
• He believed that Jesus would rule as King in heaven ("... when you come into your kingdom").
• He believed that Jesus would be able to do something for him in his miserable state. And in his utter dependence he trusted the Lord for this ("Jesus, remember me...").
What does all this say to us?
1. This is a clear-cut confirmation of the fact that salvation is by grace alone, without any human merit at all.
One cannot imagine less merit on the part of any man than that of the criminal. Probably he had some knowledge of Jesus's teaching. But there had been no discipleship and no sanctification.
Think for a moment about his life. Remember, only the most serious crimes were punishable by crucifixion. We can accept it therefore that this man in his youth had completely ignored his parents' guidance. He had rejected with contempt the directives of a religious upbringing. He had ignored the lessons of life. He had trampled in the dust the admonitions of his conscience.
Truly, this man had nothing whatsoever to offer God. He only had faith. And even that was not his own merit - it was a mere hanging on to Christ.
2. We have here an event which beautifully illustrates the essence of saving faith.
We are not saved by big or strong faith, but by real faith. A grain of the real is worth more than tons of the false. This man's faith was pathetically small. And what he had only lasted for a few hours at the most. But as to quality, his faith was the real thing.
What is it that determines the purity of faith? A basic knowledge and conviction! Earnestness and sincerity! Helplessness and dependence! Total and complete trust - specifically in Jesus Christ, and in Him alone!
The fact that some have this faith and others not, cannot simply be ascribed to their wisdom, insight or piety. No! Faith cannot be anything but a gift that the Holy Spirit bestows on some and not on others.
Some saw how Jesus raised people from the dead - and it failed to bring them to faith. The criminal saw Him die - and he believed!
3. We have here an event that has been of great comfort to countless people for many centuries.
Many of us have lost to the grave family or friends who have shown nothing of God's grace in their lives. That does not necessarily mean that they were not saved. A deathbed conversion is most certainly possible. One can be saved a minute before your death.
Many are those who will thank the Lord one day for a final sick-bed. Why? Because numerous dying men and women have set things right with God knowing that they are on the brink of eternity.
But - and this is a vital qualification - none among us may depend on this. As has often been said, "One is saved, so that none may despair. But only one, so that no one may dare become presumptuous." There was, after all, another criminal. And he did not receive the grace to repent. He died without God and without hope.
4. Even if the rest of Scripture had remained silent about the intermediate state - which is not the case - this event would have compelled us to accept it as a fact.
Undeniably our text implies a conscious and personal life immediately after death. It is impossible to give a different interpretation to Jesus' assurance to the criminal that he would be with Him in paradise on that very day.
How we will experience time in the intermediate state we do not know. Some argue that time as we know it does not exist in paradise. But this is improbable. Think of the martyrs in heaven asking how long the Lord will tarry before He judges the inhabitants of the earth (Rev 6:9-10). These people obviously experience time.
Other references and allusions to the intermediate state can be found in Lk 9:28-33 (the appearance of Moses and Elijah on the mountain of transfiguration), as well as Lk 16:19-31; Acts 7:55-56; 2Cor 5:1-10; Rev 5:13; 15:2-4; 19:1-8.
5. How clearly we see in this event the royal authority and priestly compassion our Lord.
Jesus Christ is our sovereign King.
Even in his weakest moments our Lord can with kingly dominion assure the criminal of life everlasting. And surely the man inherits it!
Jesus Christ is our compassionate High Priest. The two men on either side of Jesus both deserve to hang there. They are from the scum of society and nobody can as much as bat an eye at their execution. Yet one criminal gets saved and the other not - both having no religious merit. Does this not imply double standards? It seems as if one is simply excused, while the other has to bear the brunt of his trespasses and failures.
No, not a single sin of the pardoned criminal is being swept under the carpet. How do we know this? The cross in the centre assures us of this. Jesus Christ is being crucified as the guilt-bearing Substitute on behalf of the people His Father entrusted to Him before the foundation of the world. He is bearing the penalty on their behalf. Not for one second is God's perfect righteousness being done violence to! No! Atonement is being made for every single sin of each of God's loved ones.
The criminal is one of God's elect in Christ!
Nico van der Walt
EE42 - ACTS 2:37-41 : THE GOSPEL OF THE APOSTLES
On the day of Pentecost the great promise of the Old Testament was fulfilled. The risen Christ received the mandate from His Father to pour out the Holy Spirit on the little church He had left behind - and this is what He now did!
Peter then starts preaching. It is a very special sermon, full of persuasive power. As a result many ask what they should do - and Peter's reply is loaded with meaning (Acts 2:37-41).
The effects of Peter's sermon (37)
The crowd's reaction is dramatic. The hearers are "cut to the heart". With this expression Luke wants to bring home two things:
# Firstly, Peter's words had an effect in the hearts of the people. This refers to the centre of their personalities and convictions.
Undoubtedly this was the work of the Holy Spirit, which had radical and lasting effects on them.
# Secondly, it is accompanied by deeply felt emotions on the part of the hearers. The verb, "to cut" (Gr. katanusso) is a combination of the word to stab with an intensifying preposition.
The true gospel about Christ was therefore like a stab through their hearts. It penetrated their innermost beings. Clearly, the people became conscious of their guilt before God. Hence the question about what they should do.
Peter's reply (38-39)
A two-fold command
# Firstly, the people have to repent. This verb (Gr. metanouo) implies a radical paradigm shift, a complete change in their way of thinking, a totally new outlook. John the Baptist (Mt 3:2) and the Lord Jesus (Mt 4:17) preached the necessity of repentance. The apostles followed them in this (Acts 3:19; 8:22; 17:30; 20:21; 26:20).
Because we cannot but act in accordance with our convictions, true repentance inevitably comes to expression in an about-turn in our way of living. This hundred-and-eighty-degree change has two sides.
Negatively it is a turning away from sin. This involves turning from the demands of the flesh, the luring of the world, and the temptations of Satan.
Positively it is a turning towards Christ. This has at least three components. It involves appropriating God's truth and promises in Christ as God's great Prophet. It involves entrusting yourself to Christ as God's great High Priest. It involves committing yourself single-heartedly and unreservedly to Christ as God's great King.
Biblically speaking this total about-face is also - at least to some extent - accompanied by shame and sadness because of one's failings and rebellion in the past. And this, if at all real, will result in confession of sin. It is most interesting to note that the Greek word metanouo is almost without exception used in the Septuagint (the pre-Christian translation of the Old Testament into Greek) to translate the Hebrew word meaning to comfort yourself (Hb. naham in the Nifal-form).
# Secondly, the people have to be baptised. Previously they rejected Christ. Now they have to humble themselves by formally, openly and irreversibly committing themselves to Him as disciples - by being baptised in His name.
This means at least four things: One, it happens in obedience to His command and therefore on His authority. Two, it is an endorsement of His teaching. Three, it is a confession of total trust in Christ's merits. Four, it is a public and irreversible surrender to His Lordship.
A two-fold promise
Those who obey the two-fold command also receive a two-fold promise: forgiveness of sins and the gift of the Holy Spirit.
# These two promises are coupled to both commands. Nowhere does the New Testament suggest that the mere formal undergoing of baptism per se guarantees forgiveness of sins and the receipt of the Holy Spirit. But equally so we cannot, on any Biblical grounds, lay claim to the promises if we disregard these two commands.
# The promise is not only for the people listening to Peter (39). The apostle goes to some lengths to emphasise that the promise extends historically and universally far beyond them. It applies to all those who hear him (who meet the conditions), and their "children" (their Jewish descendants), and "all who are far off" (non-Jews). The promise therefore applies without distinction. But it does not apply without exception, because Peter immediately adds a most important qualification: it applies to "everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself."
The Lord's new community
In verse 40 Luke makes it clear that this was not all that Peter said. He warned them with "many other words" - the essence of which is this summons: "Save yourselves from this crooked generation."
It is important to note that Peter did not simply plead for an individualistic repentance - something that can be settled quickly and worked out in the privacy of one's own little world.
No, no! He insists on an emigration out of the "crooked generation" - the fallen world seriously warped by the Fall. It is a call to flee from mankind under God's wrath.
This necessarily implies immigration into another humanity - the new mankind in Christ Jesus. Submission to the Lord Jesus Christ entails devoting oneself to His people - His true body and bride.
As a result of Peter's summons there is an amazing response (41). Three thousand people accept the gospel message. They come to faith, undergo a complete change in their way of thinking, receive baptism and join the church in Jerusalem.
A few conclusions and implications
Pentecost was a unique event - and a giant step forward in God's plan of salvation. But the uniqueness of the event does not mean that it holds no lessons and directives for us today. On the contrary! Peter's sermon and approach at Pentecost should certainly serve as the normative guideline for our approach to evangelisation.
# Firstly we should note the apostle's Christ-centred approach. In his sermon Peter places great emphasis on the crucifixion and resurrection of the Lord Jesus. He relies on a two-fold evidence to prove the historicity of the event.
Firstly there is the evidence of the Old Testament. The crucifixion and resurrection were the fulfilment of many prophesies (Peter refers to Psalm 16, Psalm 110 and Joel 2).
Secondly there is the evidence provided by the apostles themselves (2:32).
That is how we too should preach. But as we ourselves were not present when it all happened, we have to rely completely on the evidence of the apostles. We have to echo what they had to say. True preaching is to expound the Word of God!
# Secondly Peter also proclaims the promises of the Lord to those who come to Him in all sincerity - the forgiveness of sins and the gift of the Holy Spirit.
# Thirdly these gifts are subject to certain conditions. Inwardly God demands repentance; and outwardly this has to be confirmed by baptism.
Together these two things are an expression of a new disciple's faith.
Repentance and baptism hold enormous implications. It involves the adoption of a new King, a new nation, a new citizenship and a new culture. It is an intentional and radical transfer of loyalty, faithfulness and dedication. It means to openly side with the disciples of Jesus Christ - moving from that which is old and corrupt to that which is new and in the process of being saved (2:47).
Baptism is something like taking the oath during the naturalisation ceremony in a new country. It is a public and formal identification with Christ and His church. The one being baptised should therefore realise that from that moment on he or she is an alien and stranger in this world. That is why it has always been the experience of believers throughout the ages: while you remain unbaptised you are tolerated to a certain extent. But the moment you formally and publicly declare your allegiance to Christ and transfer your loyalty to His true church, you suffer rejection and even persecution. It is as if people sense that you are still in two minds before the time, but that you irreversibly cross over the stretch of no man's land to the other side the moment you are baptised.
# On the day of Pentecost Peter preaches a fourfold message. It involves two events (Christ's death and resurrection), as confirmed by two witnesses (the prophets and the apostles), on the basis of which the Lord makes two promises (forgiveness of sins and the gift of the Holy Spirit), on condition that a person obey two commands (repentance and baptism).
We have no right to cut this fourfold apostolic gospel into shreds. What God has joined together, let no man separate. God's message of salvation is an integrated unity.
We dare not sever cross and resurrection. Without the former the latter could never have taken place; without the latter, the former would have been a futile exercise (1Cor 15:12-20).
We dare not sever Old and New Testaments. Without the former, the latter is without foundation; without the latter the former comes to nothing.
We dare not sever forgiveness of sin and the gift of the Holy Spirit. Without the former the latter is impossible; without the latter we cannot enjoy the privileges of the former.
We dare not separate repentance and baptism. Without the former, the latter may not happen; without the latter, the former is not complete.
# We may not throw overboard or even neglect any single component of the apostolic proclamation. The true gospel is a historic message (it deals with factual events of the past); it is a theological message (as expounded by the full Word of God); it is a message of redemption (it bears the promise of salvation); it is an authoritative message (it demands single-minded and unconditional obedience).
Do you hold to and proclaim the full gospel?
Nico van der Walt
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