1 I say then, God has not rejected His people, has He? May it never be! For I too am an Israelite, a descendant of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin. 2 God has not rejected His people whom He foreknew. Or do you not know what the Scripture says in the passage about Elijah, how he pleads with God against Israel? 3 ”Lord, THEY HAVE KILLED YOUR PROPHETS, THEY HAVE TORN DOWN YOUR ALTARS, AND I ALONE AM LEFT, AND THEY ARE SEEKING MY LIFE.” 4 But what is the divine response to him? “I HAVE KEPT for Myself SEVEN THOUSAND MEN WHO HAVE NOT BOWED THE KNEE TO BAAL.” 5 In the same way then, there has also come to be at the present time a remnant according to God’s gracious choice. 6 But if it is by grace, it is no longer on the basis of works, otherwise grace is no longer grace.

Paul here is asking the logical question after what he has written. Has God then rejected Israel for their disobedience? Paul uses strong language (“By no means!”) to state that this is absolutely not the case. God does in fact still have a plan for Israel and will still fulfill the promises He has made to Israel.

Paul gives two examples as to why God hasn’t rejected Israel. He first points to himself as an example; being a descendant of Abraham from the tribe of Benjamin, Paul was proof that God had not rejected His people. Paul secondly cites the Old Testament as an example. The Elijah quote comes from 1 Kings 19:10, and God’s response comes from 1 Kings 19:18. In Elijah’s time, the Israelites were in disobedience to God, and they had killed God’s prophets. Though Elijah despaired that Israel was hopeless, God reminded him that there are still obedient Jews who worshiped the true God. Paul’s point is that it’s the same now; while the majority of the Jews rejected Christ, God has preserved a remnant that believes.

Verses 5-6 are very important: the remnant is chosen by grace. Grace is unmerited favor; it’s getting a gift or something good that isn’t deserved or earned. This is so important because this shows that even the remnant would still be saved by grace. They weren’t chosen because of any good or merit in themselves, but because of God’s grace (which is exactly the same way all other believers like us are chosen).

Isn’t this amazing? This is a demonstration of God’s steadfast and unfailing love toward a disobedient people. We, too, have experienced the same steadfast and unfailing love from God as well in that while we were yet sinners in rebellion against a holy God, Christ died for us.

-BC

I’ve lately felt very dry spiritually: in one of those ruts that seem to linger.  I’ve “tried” several things, such as reading my Bible more, listening to sermons, and trying to make myself more discipline.  To no avail, I still often feel dry, distracted, worldly, and sinful.  At times, I feel like I’d rather be doing a myriad of other things than being with God.  Devotions can be tough and a struggle.

At times, when we’re struggling in our relationship with God, it can sound so trite to hear someone else tell us, “Pray more.”  If we’re honest, maybe we’ve cringed a little bit at how naive it seems.  Is that really the solution to spiritual dryness?  Why doe sit seem like when we just “pray more” it doesn’t seem to “work?”

This sermon was just such a great encouragement and blessing to me because it emphasized the Biblical doctrines of grace and mercy without abandoning the important Christian disciplines.  It didn’t say that praying, devotions, and all those other Christian disciplines are bad; but if we view them as requirements or checklists, we can lose the whole point of doing them, which is to behold Christ and grow more like Him.  If we legalistically view “praying more” (to use an example) as some sort of ritual that we have to perform to summon the good graces of God in our life, then I think that’s when the recommendation of “pray more” can seem so hollow.  But I’ve been learning (relearning maybe?) that these Christian disciplines are meant to help us focus more on God, to see His glory more fully.

I stand upon His merit, I know no other stand.

-J

Part of this thinking was that if there really is a God and if the first two people He created knew Him, there’s no way any of us could believe in some other god. Therefore, there must be no God, or no Adam and Eve.

I gave him two answers. One is that messages get confused after a long time. It’s like playing telephone. Somebody messes up every once in a while and eventually “I like snoozing” turns into “I like Suzy” *Gasp!* The second thing I said was that in the midst of this game of telephone there are people who don’t want to play by the rules. They purposely make mistakes and create new messages for various reasons.

But there was a problem with these two answers and he wouldn’t let me go so easily. You see these two answers don’t make complete sense if each person who hears it actually believes it, because the first message is “If you get this wrong you die”. Why would you change the message or mess it up even a little with the wrath of God staring you in the face? It’s like somebody is pointing a gun at you and you’re making fun of them.

But that’s exactly what happened.

Cain

Killed

Abel

The son of the first two people, people who spoke with God directly, killed his brother because he was angry, despite all he knew about God. Why would he do that? I think the answer is the same for all of us when we sin. He simply didn’t believe the gun was real.

Ironically this is exactly what was happening in our little discussion. The gun was there. It was pointed out, but it was not believed to be real.

The question he always asks, and I think it’s a good one, is “Why doesn’t God just show us that He’s real? Won’t people just believe then?”

My answer is only and always:

He did.

And they didn’t.

I won’t name the kid, but hey you, if you ever come across this blog and this post, there are many questions we have for God, some of them can’t be answered on earth. I can’t tell you exactly why God does everything. I can’t tell you exactly why we’re here except for the answer I gave you in class – for God’s glory. I can tell you that the Bible tells us the way it is, and it tells us that you and I are sinners and that we need God’s love to overcome His wrath, and that if His wrath weren’t waiting for us upon death, he would be an unfair God who is not worthy of worship. But as it stands, He is a fair God, and we are all due for punishment. The only thing that saves us is the blood of Jesus Christ. Put your faith in Him, take hold of the Gospel, and all your questions will eventually be answered. I pray that I get the chance to tell you this in person.

-dwang

One thing I especially loved about this church was the musical worship.  Not only were all the hymns lyrical and poetic, but they were gospel-centered and everyone always seemed to sing with the fullest of hearts.  Before this summer, I thought I knew all the great hymns; after my time at CHBC, I was introduced to some of the most beautifully written and God-honoring hymns I had not heard until I stepped into that church.*

“The Sands of Time Are Sinking” was one of those hymns.  When I first heard it, I simply wanted to hear it again.  The song spoke Biblical truths in a poetic form that rivals any verse, ballad, sonnet, or other creative composition–Christian or otherwise.

The original song was written by Anne Ross Cousin and was actually 19 verses long!  The version I heard and sang was actually only 6 verses long, but it still captured the essential message nonetheless.

Here’s a video of my favorite version of the song:

-

And here’s the sheet music for the version I heard, which was written by Connie Dever: http://www.praisefactory.org/images/website%20hymns/The%20Sands%20of%20Time%20Are%20Sinking%20Hymn.pdf

—

Lyrics

The Sands of Time Are Sinking:

The sands of time are sinking, the dawn of Heaven breaks;
The summer morn I’ve sighed for—the fair, sweet morn awakes:
Dark, dark hath been the midnight, but dayspring is at hand,
And glory, glory dwelleth in Immanuel’s land.

The King there in His beauty, without a veil is seen:
It were a well spent journey, though seven deaths lay between:
The Lamb with His fair army, doth on Mount Zion stand,
And glory—glory dwelleth in Immanuel’s land.

O Christ, He is the fountain, the deep, deep well of love!
The streams of earth I’ve tasted more deep I’ll drink above:
There to an ocean fullness His mercy doth expand,
And glory, glory dwelleth in Immanuel’s land.

With mercy and with judgment my web of time He wove,
And aye, the dews of sorrow were lustered with His love;
I’ll bless the hand that guided, I’ll bless the heart that planned
When throned where glory dwelleth in Immanuel’s land.

O I am my Beloved’s and my Beloved’s mine!
He brings a poor vile sinner into His “house of wine.”
I stand upon His merit—I know no other stand,
Not even where glory dwelleth in Immanuel’s land.

The Bride eyes not her garment, but her dear Bridegroom’s face;
I will not gaze at glory but on my King of grace.
Not at the crown He giveth but on His pierced hand;
The Lamb is all the glory of Immanuel’s land.

And here’s a link to the full 19 verses: http://www.cyberhymnal.org/htm/s/a/sandtime.htm

—

There’s a lot more depth in this song than can be expounded on in one blog post, but there are a few things I really love about this song.  The song title points to the setting of this song: the end of life.  The lyrics point to a time at the very end of our lives when we will be with Christ in heaven, contrasting this with the lesser glories and riches of heaven and earth.  The lyrics express this beautifully when it says things, such as:

“O Christ, He is the fountain, the deep, deep well of love!
The streams of earth I’ve tasted more deep I’ll drink above: . . . “

and my favorite stanza

“The Bride eyes not her garment, but her dear Bridegroom’s face;
I will not gaze at glory but on my King of grace.
Not at the crown He giveth but on His pierced hand;
The Lamb is all the glory of Immanuel’s land.”

In addition, this song contrasts being with Christ forever to the ephemeral trials and tribulations of our past mortal lives:

“Dark, dark hath been the midnight, but dayspring is at hand,
And glory, glory dwelleth in Immanuel’s land.”

“The King there in His beauty, without a veil is seen:
It were a well spent journey, though seven deaths lay between: . . .”*

“With mercy and with judgment my web of time He wove,
And aye, the dews of sorrow were lustered with His love;”

I hope you enjoy and love this song for its Biblical truths as much as I do.  As I said, it is one of the most beautiful songs I’ve heard; and when I first heard it, I must admit, my eyes got a little misty.  God has often used it to remind me of the evanescence of this current life, and the need to live for the eternal life to come.  May God bless you with the words of the song.

—

*When I first read the phrase, “though seven deaths lay between,” I wasn’t sure what that meant.  I read a few people’s thoughts and comments on it, and after thinking about it, I think it’s a phrase to represent the perfect suffering and trials we go through before we see Christ in heaven.  ”Seven” is usually a number of fulfillment or perfection, and the word “death” can represent suffering and trials, such as “the valley of death” in Psalm 23.

The opening paragraph says it all, “A 19-year-old pickup truck driver involved in a deadly highway pileup in Missouri last year sent or received 11 texts in the 11 minutes immediately before the accident, federal investigators said Tuesday.”

Simply just more evidence that we live in such a distracted state of mind; constantly, our minds are divided between homework and the laptop; music and studying; texting and walking; and so on and so forth.  I know I’m guilty of this, too, so I don’t want to sound like I have it together, but this is really too much.  This article’s subject matter makes me mad because it shows how far our distraction has gone: that we think it more important to send a few texts while risking other people’s lives.  A 15-year-old student died from that crash.  I know it’s probably against the law, but part of me wants to see what exactly was so important in those texts that the driver had to check his phone while driving.

Are we really this distracted and hooked on media, instant messaging, and social networking?  The article goes on to cite several other examples:

“In the last few years the board has investigated a commuter rail accident that killed 25 people in California in which the train engineer was texting; a fatal marine accident in Philadelphia in which a tugboat pilot was talking on his cellphone and using a laptop; and a Northwest Airlines flight that flew more than 100 miles past its destination because both pilots were working on their laptops.”

Train engineers, marines, pilots: these are people operating the most complex–and potentially dangerous–of conveyances.

I’m not saying that all distraction is life-threatening, but I think it shows how far our distraction has gone when we still persist to be distracted even when it is life-threatening.  We as Christians, even more, are called to be not of this world, but of Christ.  Our minds shouldn’t be so devoted to the latest news, culture, and gossip that we can’t imagine going a day without it.  Fix and focus your eyes on Christ; don’t let Distraction’s siren call lull you into a half-hearted devotion to God.

“I will meditate on your precepts
and fix my eyes on your ways.”
Psalm 119:15

-J

P.S. I’m sure some of you guys may text and drive.  As you can see, nobody thinks it can happen to them.  As the article said, “About two out of 10 American drivers overall — and half of drivers between 21 and 24 — say they’ve thumbed messages or emailed from the driver’s seat, according to a survey of more than 6,000 drivers by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. . . . And what’s more, many drivers don’t think it’s dangerous when they do it — only when others do, the survey found.”

It was funny though, because after the host talked about that for a while he took some callers, and the first few completely missed the point. They began sharing their spiritual experiences an insisted that they knew it was God just because they knew.

This made me think about apologetics and Christian worldview from another angle. When we talk to people about God, even if we give them a nice logical argument for His existence, many of them will write it off as bigotry or close mindedness. Our apologetics enter their minds and somehow get misdirected. It reminds me of this scene from the movie Thank You for Smoking, which is about a big tobacco PR guy’s time spent teaching his son the ways of the world. (I should warn you that some of the related videos that pop up at the end might be a little unsavory)

Did you get that? When I came upon that scene I thought it was brilliant, not because I wanted to go use that technique on other people, but because it’s such a clear illustration of the way people think about debate, apologetics, and truth. Our culture has gotten the line between opinion and fact all mixed up. If we Christians are going to talk to people about faith and truth, we have to understand the mindset of the people we’re talking to. We have to understand misdirection and get the mind back on track.

I’m not suggesting that good apologetics and redirection of the public mindset will win everyone to Christ. The Gospel message coupled with the internal work of the Holy Spirit is what gets people to believe, but when we speak as fools for Christ it doesn’t mean we have to look like the poor sap in this other clip:

-dwang

But I ask, did Israel not understand? First Moses says, “I will make you jealous of those who are not a nation; with a foolish nation I will make you angry.”

Then Isaiah is so bold as to say, “I have been found by those who did not seek me; I have shown myself to those who did not ask for me.”

But of Israel he says, “All day long I have held out my hands to a disobedient and contrary people.”

It’s easy for me as I read the Roman’s to wonder why Paul is writing so much about Israel. I am tempted to skip to the gentile parts. What use is it to me? But I realize this is selfish. What else is Paul to do? His people have not “heeded the good news”. They have forsaken their God, and he wishes for them to be saved, but as Paul explains in this chapter, many of them have already chosen the path of ignorance and rejection.

At the end of chapter 10 he asks two questions pertaining to Israel’s rejection of God. These are questions a lot of us ask. If Israel did not believe in Christ, did they not hear? Did they not understand?

For many individuals and people groups the answer to these can be argued over for days and nights, but for Israel it was clear. That’s why Paul quotes Psalm 19:4. “Their voice has gone out to all the earth…” The word “their” in this passage does not refer to Israel or some evangelist, but to the heavens, the sky, the days and nights which declare that there is a divine creator. Israel knew this beyond a shadow of a doubt. Their kings prayed to the God of the universe. Their prophets spoke for Him, and their priests sacrificed to Him. So they heard.

Did they not understand then? It’s funny how we usually frame Israel’s failure to follow God or accept Jesus Christ as a misunderstanding. Paul doesn’t seem to say they misunderstood. In fact he skips the direct answer and shows how God repeatedly states through Isaiah that those who were not particularly chosen found Him, and that He would reach out to the gentiles to the shame of the Jews. They did understand, but as the final quotation from Isaiah 65:1-2 indicates, they were simply disobedient.

But Paul’s and David’s declarations of God’s glory through His creation reach all humanity. We all witness creation. This brings us back to reflection on our own hearts.

Have we not heard? Have we not understood? Or are we disobedient?

It’s so easy for us to think that anybody who hears and correctly understands the Gospel will believe. That is partially why we feel it is unfair that God does not miraculously spread the Gospel to all nations. But is Israel not an example to us all of the majority’s reaction to the news that God is indeed real and in control? Is it not a picture of the depravity of man which, when put in contact with God’s holy and just nature, cringes at the idea of rules and regulations, and trades salvation for sinful autonomy?

We are not so far from Israel that we can proudly claim an inherent love for God and faithful adherence to His law. If we truly understand all the tenants of the Gospel we understand that only grace saves us, and that without it we would reject God as Israel, and maybe even more.

It is not that we haven’t heard or understood, but that before God shows mercy on us, we are sinners who love sin. I’ve seen this recently with my Sunday school students. We preach the Gospel every week. We can teach them apologetics, give evidence for divine creation, and show them practical wisdom, but some of them still refuse to believe. Very often it’s students who understand the most who have the most difficulty believing.

Gosh that’s so depressing. Brian better write the next Romans post quickly, or we won’t get to the refreshing part soon enough…

-dwang

15 And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!”

16 But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Isaiah says, “Lord, who has believed what he has heard from us?”

17 So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.

Romans 10:14-17

–

It has been a while I must admit.  Not only for my own posting, but for a Romans post.  Apologies for the delays.

This passage offers a very simple, yet profound, syllogism for why Christians need to evangelize and preach the good news to the four corners of the earth.  How can anyone call on Jesus if they don’t believe in Jesus Christ?  Moreover, how can people believe in God if they haven’t even heard of him in the first place?  And lastly, how can a person even hear about Christ if there is no one to tell him about Christ?  It’s simple: for a person to be saved, he needs to hear the gospel, and the only way someone will hear the gospel is if someone communicates it to him.  (v. 14).

Verse 15 even adds that no one will preach unless they are sent.  That’s an interesting point.  Whenever I think of a person going off to evangelize, I usually don’t think of him as being “sent”.  I think of him as just getting up and doing it on his own volition.  But the Bible says here that he must be sent first.  How is he sent?  Ultimately through the power of God, and that can carried out through the vehicle of people’s prayers and encouragement.  I’ll concentrate on this point because I think it can sometimes get overlooked in outreach and evangelism.  Are you sending as much as you are preaching?  Think about how often you talk with others about how they are doing in evangelism and talking to others about Christ.  Query how often you pray for missionaries and people you support financially on the field.  It’s hard to think about sometimes because I think we would all admit that we aren’t as mindful about this as we ought to be.  But God says here very clearly, “And how are they to preach unless they are sent?”  What does that logically imply?  If there’s no one sending, there’s no one who will be preaching.

There are a lot of people who are in my age group who are going to seminary right now.  They are going to school for the very purpose of becoming professionals in preaching the gospel.  It’s often easy for me to think of them as people who kind of just “sprung up” that way.  That they were always pretty good Christians and on that “seminary path” since undergraduate.  But we know that can’t be; the Bible says otherwise.  These seminary students were sent–sent to preach.  Someone sent them.  Maybe it was a discipler who encouraged them and walked through the importance of the gospel with them.  Maybe it was their parents, or maybe it was a friend who prayed earnestly for them.  So ask yourself if you’re contributing to the sending of preachers of the gospel.  In what ways do you feel God calling you to help and encourage your fellow brothers and sisters in Christ to be faithful ambassadors of the good news?

Why is this all so important?  Because faith comes by hearing.  (v. 17).  A person will only come to a saving faith in Jesus Christ if they’ve heard the good news.  Let that sink in for a second: if a person has never received the gospel in some form or fashion, he will not have any chance of being saved.

This blog always tries not to avoid the tough questions, and I’m sure maybe you thought of this question while reading the passage: What happens to those people who never hear the gospel?  It’s a difficult question, and I’ll try my best to give a Bible-centered answer that is edifying.

First, Jesus is the only way to salvation.  It cannot be through sincerity, and it cannot be through honest good living outside of Jesus.  If anyone is to be saved, it must be through faith in Jesus Christ.  Second, God is always good and His choices are always just.  So even though a result may not seem fair to you, you must trust that God’s ways are higher that your ways, and that His thoughts are higher than your thoughts.  So if someone were to never ever hear of Jesus Christ, and He died without ever hearing or accepting the gospel, then he would suffer eternal judgment.  I know this may sound unjust or unfair, but we must remember that God is always good and everything He does is just.  We can have complete faith that God has a reason for doing everything.

Jesus said, “All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out.”  Salvation is God-centered, and we must be humble enough to accept His ways.  Perhaps He may use an angel to preach the gospel to an unreached people.  I’m not saying that always happens, but God is not restricted to just using people .  God was even able to fill a baby with the Holy Spirit before he was even born.

I hope this doesn’t make you get so caught up in the hypotheticals (e.g., the man on an island who never hears the gospel and dies) that you miss the points that God has made clear.  God has made it crystal clear we are to preach the gospel to all those who have never heard.  God has also made it clear that those people who don’t hear the gospel can’t call upon God to be saved.  So may this passage spur you on toward preaching the good news to all around you.

Some more resources related to that tough question:

http://carm.org/how-people-not-know-word-saved
http://www.gotquestions.org/never-heard.html
http://www.gotquestions.org/age-of-accountability.html

I’ve recently come to appreciate William Cowper’s God Moves in a Mysterious Way very much. It’s a great hymn about the unfathomable providence and goodness of God. This hymn really describes the sovereignty of God over all circumstances in life. Even when situations don’t make sense and things seem to be at their worst, God is in complete control, and He also has a specific purpose for whatever circumstances He gives you.

William Cowper (1731-1800) was a man whose life was filled with constant pain and hurt. Before he was born, his mother had already given birth to three children, all three of whom died. After his birth, his mother had two more children, both of whom died. His mother died when he was six, and his father, who didn’t show much interest in him, sent him to boarding school. In boarding school, William Cowper was bullied by an older student. Just take a moment to imagine how traumatizing this would have been to a young William Cowper, who grew up essentially without a father nor a mother. It seems that he was never able to fully recover from this.

In 1763, his father arranged for him to be a clerk in Parliament, but rivals in Parliament challenged him and called for a public interrogation before he would be made a clerk. The pressure was too much for William to handle, and he attempted to take his life multiple times, though God sovereignly prevented him from doing so. He was then committed to an insane asylum, where, by God’s providence, he was tended to by a Dr. Nathaniel Cotton, a Christian. William Cowper believed himself to be damned and condemned without hope, but Dr. Cotton shared the gospel with him.

After reading the Bible and discovering the hope to be found in Christ, William Cowper became a Christian. He later became close friends with John Newton, a former slave ship captain who became a pastor and went on to author the famous Amazing Grace. John Newton and William Cowper collaborated together to write a hymnal that was published in 1779. God Moves in a Mysterious Way and There is a Fountain Filled with Blood were among the hymns that William Cowper had written for this hymnal.

Sadly, William Cowper struggled with depression and doubts of his own salvation until his death in 1800. Though he never doubted the character of God nor the saving power of Christ, he frequently doubted his own salvation, as if he saw himself as an exception to the general principles of God’s goodness. It’s very tragic, and it hurts me to think about it, but I can understand why he might have this attitude, in light of the events in his life. It is evident though, from this hymn, that William Cowper had a very high view of God, and in the midst of all the suffering, he understood that God was completely sovereign over his circumstances.

I can’t do justice to William Cowper’s life; this is but a brief summary, and I skipped over many details, so I strongly encourage and highly recommend that you read John Piper’s telling of William Cowper’s story on Desiring God. It will give you a much better picture and understanding of him, and Piper also gives a lot of additional insight.

I don’t know the original melody for this hymn but I have come to enjoy David Lee’s rendition of the hymn. He adds his own chorus: And though I walk in valleys dark, Your light will guide my way. Your sovereign grace shall ever blaze and pierce the darkness through.

God moves in a mysterious way
His wonders to perform
He plants His footsteps in the sea
And rides upon the storm

Deep in unfathomable mines
Of never failing skill
He treasures up His bright designs
And works His sovereign will

Ye fearful saints, fresh courage take
The clouds ye so much dread
Are big with mercy and shall break
In blessings on your head

Judge not the Lord by feeble sense
But trust Him for His grace
Behind a frowning providence
He hides a smiling face

His purposes will ripen fast
Unfolding every hour
The bud may have a bitter taste
But sweet will be the flower

Blind unbelief is sure to err
And scan His work in vain
God is His own interpreter
And He will make it plain 

I find that I sometimes feel like William Cowper; I understand and affirm the sovereignty of God and His goodness and faithfulness, but I still doubt that it applies to me, specifically, and personally. Perhaps you feel the same way at times. My encouragement to you is to always know and understand that God is faithful, and He is faithful not only in a general sense, but also in a specific sense, to you personally. If you are a Christian, the fact that God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which He loved you, has brought you out of darkness and into light is evidence enough of His goodness. He has been good to you in spite of your rebellion against Him, and He will continue to be good to you. Even when things don’t make sense and it seems like God has abandoned you, know that God works all things for the good of those who love Him. His purposes are for your good, for your sanctification, and He never wastes a trial or a pain that He brings you through. His ways are higher (and far better) than our ways.

-BChiu

References:

http://www.bulletininserts.org/bulletininsert.aspx?bulletininsert_id=13

http://www.desiringgod.org/resource-library/biographies/insanity-and-spiritual-songs-in-the-soul-of-a-saint

http://www.poets.org/poet.php/prmPID/608

Also…this is proof that people still have insane powers of memorization.

(Originally found at Strasbourg Inn via Challies)

-dwang