One of the Scariest Sentences in the Bible

"But I will harden Pharaoh's heart, and though I multiply my signs and wonders in the land of Egypt, Pharaoh will not listen to you." -- Exodus 7:3-4

This verse makes me shudder. Pharaoh was hardened to the message of God. Several passages tell us that Pharaoh hardened his own heart and would not allow the people of Israel to leave Egypt. But Pharaoh's thoughts and decisions were not the primary cause of his hardness of heart. Don't get me wrong; Pharaoh's contribution to his hardening was entirely his responsibility. He acted according to precisely what he wanted to do. God did not force Pharaoh, against his will, to reject Moses' request. But God did cause him to do precisely that! And Pharaoh did it willingly.

God rules the minds of men, either allowing them to think and act according to their fallen nature, or changing their hearts and minds to think and act according to a new nature.

"And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules." -- Ezekiel 36:26-27

According to the New Covenant, God causes his people to carefully obey. How? By giving them a new heart. God fixes our wants; we used to want things according to our fallen natures, but God, in a miracle of new birth, gives us new desires. God is the primary cause of my desiring God.

So why is this sentence so scary? Because God could have hardened my heart.

Todd

Owing Grace

On Saturday night, our Sunday School class celebrated Christmas with a class party in our fellowship hall. What a blast! Several ladies worked really hard to set the mood with candles and decorations. We had "heavy hors d'oeuvres" and desserts, and the food was excellent!

This was our second annual Christmas party together, and we continued another tradition as well--we collected money to help provide for a family in need during the Christmas season. In light of this, I felt led to lead our group in a short meditation on God's gift of his Son and the immediate implications. Here's a summary:

Luke 2:29-32 describes Simeon's Holy Spirit empowered revelation that this little baby, Jesus of Nazareth, conceived out of wedlock, was God's gift of "salvation, that you have prepared in the presence of all peoples, a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and for glory to your people Israel." God had just presented the world with "a Savior, who is Christ the Lord" (Luke 2:11).

This brought to mind Ephesians 2:8-9, "For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast." This salvation is a gift, by grace, through faith. It is not a result of our own works; it is purely God's doing.

As a result of this gift of grace, Paul instructs us in Romans 12:1-8 to present our bodies as living sacrifices. We are called to die to self and live for others! We are exhorted to be transformed! We are commanded to humble ourselves and serve one another in the ways that God has gifted us, and we are to display these gifts in love for one another!

I wrapped up this mediation with three thoughts:

1. We cannot repay God for his incredible gift of grace!
2. We become debtors to others because of God's grace to us...
3. We must become living sacrifices, giving our lives to serve others...

. . .

What a debt we owe Christ that we can never repay! Let us then seek to bestow upon others a similar gift, and in so doing maybe we can give the gift that lasts for eternity!

May we ever be owing grace!

Todd

Barry Bonds, Arrogance, and the Promises of God

Barry Bonds was indicted on Thursday, November 15, 2007, for perjury and obstruction of justice charges. While we don't really "know" whether he is guilty or innocent of these charges, we do know that he is guilty of a different charge. One would be blind not to recognize Bond's arrogant attitude. It exhibits itself after every home run. It is written in the contempt on his face for every television camera. No one can deny the charge that Bonds public life is characterized by arrogance.

The Bible speaks clearly on this matter, and God expresses his own attitude about those characterized by arrogance. Proverbs 16:5 tells us, "Everyone who is arrogant in heart is an abomination to the LORD; be assured, he will not go unpunished." It is no wonder why Bonds has earned such incredible negative sentiment from the public. Everyone who sees his attitude for what it is feels disgusted by his contempt.

Nevertheless, I am not happy that Bonds faces the possibility of prison. Don't get me wrong; part of me longs for that guy to get his name expunged from the baseball record books. Part of me wishes he would get what he deserves. But much more of me wants to weep for that poor, miserable, unhappy, contemptuous, arrogant man. He has no idea what awaits him in eternity! He bears fruit in keeping with ungodliness, and this is precisely why God can assure us that "he will not go unpunished." How will he deceive the Judge who was with him when he put the needle in his arm and could hear his thoughts?

What's worse? You are arrogant. You are contemptuous. You display attitudes just like Barry Bonds. Maybe you don't do it on TV in front of millions of people, but you might do it in your car when somebody wants to get over in your lane and you don't want them to. Maybe you feel a little too proud of your achievements at work. Maybe you fail to offer up every praise you receive to the one who gave you everything you have, including every breath and heartbeat.

Barry Bonds' arrogance will be paid for; either by Barry, in hell for eternity, or by God's glorious gift of grace in Jesus' sacrifice on the cross. We, with broken hearts, long for God's justice, but we pray that his justice will fall on Christ's work and not Barry's ultimate demise.

Forgive us Father for our pride.

Todd

Personal Reformation

Today is a nice day to consider my own personal reformation. Not so long ago I was working for the weekend, living for baseball and computer games. Oh, don't get me wrong, I went to church. I was committed to church. I even sang in the choir. I was a deacon. I taught Sunday School. But I had no idea (and to a degree still don't) what it meant to be a follower of Jesus Christ. I was quite sure that I had decided to be a believer, and that Jesus was happy to be my friend.

And then things started clashing. What do you mean God chose me? What does Paul mean when he says "elect" or "predestined"? Because these obviously don't mean what they look like they mean. Or do they? I had conversations with a friend (who in retrospect possibly had hyper-Calvinist tendencies) into the wee hours of the morning debating free will vs. predestination.

I began to come around eventually. Some of the influences in my life were the book of Romans, R. C. Sproul's The Invisible Hand, and Southern Seminary. Systematic Theology I & II at SBTS were highly formative, and I continue to benefit from two papers I wrote on God's Sovereignty and Human Freedom and Responsibility and The Problem of Evil.

In the recent days of my personal reformation, I have experienced the joy of real spiritual communion and fellowship with my church, over 160 Piper sermons on Romans, and many discussions about the subject with my best friend.

At this time, I feel like things are culminating at James 1:2-4. In my preaching class this semester we have to preach a sermon (duh). Well, I drew this passage. And the main idea of the passage is that believers should maintain an attitude of joy--even during persecution and poverty. Why? Because trials produce perseverance, and perseverance produces maturity. And maturity is God's design for believers in this life. So, come what may, I am trusting God as he brings about this personal reformation, and I am incredibly grateful that God included me in his saving work.

And, ultimately, "we know that for those that love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose" (Rom. 8:28).

"Give what Thou dost command, and command what Thou wilt." -- Augustine of Hippo

Todd

"You Will Hear But Never Understand"

At the end of Acts (28:17-31), Paul arrived in Rome and asked to speak with the leaders of the Roman Jews. They appointed a time for him to speak and many Jews came to hear Paul. He spent all day trying to make them see the "light of the glory of the gospel of Christ," but they were divided. So Paul quoted Isaiah and said,

"'You will indeed hear but never understand, and you will indeed see but never perceive. For this people’s heart has grown dull, and with their ears they can barely hear, and their eyes they have closed; lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears and understand with their heart and turn, and I would heal them.'
Therefore let it be known to you that this salvation of God has been sent to the Gentiles; they will listen."

These Jews were responsible for their sinful rejection of Jesus, but God ordained this from the beginning. God's chosen would reject the Christ so that God could extend his grace to the Gentiles. We owe our salvation, in part, to the Jews' rejection of their Messiah!

We could thank them, but our hearts are broken that they rejected Christ. This is the epitome of mixed emotions.

Todd

Believe the Gospel and Be Baptized

For several months my son, Brandon, has been hinting that he may be a believer. I gather this from his statements when we talk about what it means to be a Christian. He will say things like, "Daddy, I believe in God," or "Daddy, I trust Jesus." Monday night, after our family devotion time, he seemed to indicate again that he believed in Jesus, so I decided to give him some work to do.

I worked from home yesterday in order to help with the kids since my wife was feeling under the weather. I gave Brandon an exercise: read in the book of Acts and write down what one must do to be saved, and what one should do when they are saved. He worked off and on during the afternoon, and he made it through Acts 9. I helped him here and there, and finally he had written enough that I thought he could recognize a pattern. His results were something like this:

accept the message, be baptized (2:41) believe the message
(4:4) believe the good news about Jesus, be baptized (8:35, 38) be filled with the Holy Spirit, be baptized (9:17, 18)

I asked him, "Brandon, do you see a pattern?" He smiled and said, "I need to be baptized!"

I told him to go tell his mom, and we talked about it briefly. I am planning to spend more time talking with him about this, but I think the first fruits of a believer are clearly evident.

I'm looking forward to celebrating his faith in Christ when he is immersed in believer's baptism!

Todd

Oh, That I Might Bear Fruit!

I'm listening to a CD by Jeremy Riddle entitled Full Attention, and I'm praying right now in my life the title track:

May Your voice be louder
May Your voice be clearer
Than all the others, than all the others

May Your face be dearer
May Your words be sweeter
Than all the others
Than all the others in my life

Please keep my eyes fixed on You
Please root my heart so deep in You
Keep me abiding, keep me abiding
Keep me abiding that I
Oh, that I might bear fruit

May Your presence be truer
May Your presence be nearer
Than all the others, than all the others

May Your light burn brighter
May Your love go deeper
Than all the others
Than all the others in my life

What an awesome prayer! May God answer this prayer for all who seek him!

"Oh, that I might bear fruit!"

Todd

Theology at Work

This family celebrated 99 birthdays with 99 balloons. Read more about how they put theology to work in their lives here.

Todd

Asking the Question Correctly

While speaking at the Desiring God 2006 National Conferece, Voddie Baucham asked this question regarding the problem of evil (or, if God is good and in control, why do bad things happen?):

How on earth can a holy and righteous God know what I did and thought and said on yesterday and not kill me in my sleep last night?

Why does evil exist? God's magnificent grace!

Humbled to the dust...

Todd

Clothed with Christ

Jesus, at the end of Matthew 21, is confronted by the chief priests and elders, and he is asked, "By what authority are you doing these things, and who gave you this authority?" Jesus demands that they answer his own question first, "The baptism of John, from where did it come? From heaven or from man?" The religious leaders are stumped. They cannot offer a satisfactory answer, and thus Jesus gives them no answer to their question.

In light of this, Jesus begins to tell a few parables. The parable of the two sons describes the responses and actions of two sons to the command of their father. One refuses at first, yet repents and obeys. The other complies with his lips, yet chooses not to obey. Jesus compares the repentance of the tax-collectors and prostitutes with the hypocrisy of the religious leaders.

Jesus further condemns the chief priests and Pharisees in the parable of the tenants. The father placed the vineyard in the hands of the tenants and over time they rejected his ownership of the vineyard. They beat and killed his messengers, and finally they murdered his son, the heir. Jesus concludes this parable by declaring judgment on the religious leaders for their failure to produce fruit, and he shows them from the Scriptures that this was the Lord's marvelous doings; they would be condemned and new tenants would inhabit the vineyard--ones that would produce fruit.

This brings me to Matthew 22:1-14, a passage I read in my devotional time today. Here, Jesus tells the final parable in this particular confrontation, the parable of the wedding feast. A king throws a wedding feast, and the invited either casually or violently reject the king's invitation. The violent rejectors were executed swiftly, and the king sent invitations to anyone his servants met on the roads. Finally, the king has a full house to celebrate the wedding feast, yet he finds someone that has attempted to sneak into the feast without wearing appropriate attire. The king has extended his invitation to the "bad and good." Why then is this man rejected by the king?

Because the man was pretending to be something he was not, because he was not adorned with the "wedding garment" provided for all the official guests, he was bound and ejected from the wedding feast.

I saw so very clearly today that Jesus Christ, by means of his atoning sacrifice and imputed righteousness, has brought his people from the dirty roads, cleaned us up, and given us acceptable attire for heaven. For us to remain in the presence of the King, and to enjoy the wedding of the Son, we must be clothed with the righteousness of Christ. We cannot sneak in with our own best clothes; they are unacceptable. We must be clothed with Christ.

So, what are you wearing to the wedding feast? Armani? Gucci? J. C. Penney? Good works? Helping the poor?

I'm going to choose Christ.

Todd

Piper on Overcoming Guilt

John Piper, in the latest issue of Christianity Today, has written an article called "Gutsy Guilt." In it, he has given us a model for fighting guilt based on Micah 7:8-9. This article is based on a sermon he preached at the Passion 07 conference in Atlanta in January. (By the way, this sermon is worth the reading/listening.) Here's what he says:

"Micah 7:8-9 is what victory looks like the morning after failure. Learn to take your theology and speak like this to the Devil or anyone else who tells you that Christ is not capable of using you mightily for his global cause. Here is what you say.

"Rejoice not over me, O my enemy. You make merry over my failure? You think you will draw me into your deception? Think again. When I fall, I shall rise. Yes, I have fallen. I hate what I have done. I grieve at the dishonor I have brought on my King. But hear this, O my enemy, I will rise. I will rise.

When I sit in darkness, the LORD will be a light to me. Yes, I am sitting in darkness. I feel miserable. I feel guilty. I am guilty. But that is not all that is true about me and my God. The same God who makes my darkness is a sustaining light to me in this very darkness. He will not forsake me.

I will bear the indignation of the LORD because I have sinned against him, until he pleads my cause and executes judgment for me. Oh yes, my enemy, this much truth you say: I have sinned. I am bearing the indignation of the Lord. But that is where your truth stops and my theology begins. He--the very one who is indignant with me--will plead my cause. You say he is against me and that I have no future with him because of my failure. That's what Job's friends said. That is a lie. And you are a liar. My God, whose Son's life is my righteousness and whose Son's death is my punishment, will execute judgment for me. For me! And not against me.

He will bring me out to the light; I shall look upon his vindication. This misery that I now feel because of my failure, I will bear as long as my dear God ordains. And this I know for sure--as sure as Jesus Christ, the Son of God, is my punishment and my righteousness--God will bring me out to the light, and I will look upon his righteousness, my Lord and my God."

This is a blessing for anyone who struggles regularly with a besetting sin. I think we can all appreciate Piper's ministry for words of wisdom like these.

Resting in Christ,

Todd

P.S. - Thank you Steve for sending this my way! Thank you brother!

Entirely For Us

I listened to a sermon this morning by John Piper on Romans 8:28-32, and once again God helped me understand clearly that he is "entirely for us":

There is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus (Romans 8:1). God is entirely for us, and never against us. None of our sicknesses is a judgment from a condemning judge. None of our broken cars or failed appliances is a punishment from God. None of our marital strife is a sign of his wrath. None of our lost jobs is a penalty for sin. None of our wayward children is a crack of the whip of God’s retribution. If we are in Christ. No. God is for us, not against, in and through all things – all ease and all pain.

What a blessing! If God is for us, who can ultimately prevail against us?!?!

Enjoying God,

Todd