Turning on the Lights

Larry Kirkpatrick. Price SDA Church

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James 1:16-21

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God is the Source for Gifts From Beyond That Impact Us Beyond Today

Let's turn to James 1:13. "Let no man say when he is tempted, 'I am tempted by God:' for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth He any man." Although Satan wants to peg God as the source of our temptations, our actual sources of temptation are not from above. They are in each one of our hearts, and are provoked by the devil, our initiator provoker towards sin. You know how he goes on and on, launching one temptation after another into our minds. But catch this: he is determined, not only that we should sin, but that we should blame our sins on God. He is persistent enough and we are gullible enough to buy the lie, so James warns us carefully three verses down, "Do not err, my beloved brethren" (James 1:16). And then what does the verse say? "Every" gift of a certain nature is from God; everything that God gives us has a consistent quality about it; all of the gifts of God are pointing in a certain direction. Do you know what that is? "Every good and perfect gift" (vs. 1:17) points up to God, because He is the source of every good gift from beyond that can change us. These gifts "come down from the Father of lights." They come down to us from the very bosom of the Creator of the stars and the planets that beautify and illumine the night sky. The greater light and the lesser light that rule the day, (Genesis 1:16) the sun and the moon, are nothing on his gauge. If there were a meter on God's creative power when He acted and made our solar system, I'm telling you that it wouldn't have even wavered at that outlay of power. Such a needle would never move, because our God has all power. ...All power. He is our steady, morally-potent source of moral life. When faith rightly lays hold on Him, no force in creation can countermand His will. What did James tell us in verse 13? "For God cannot be tempted with evil." How can you be tempted, when you know all that there is to know? How can anyone convince you that it doesn't all add up the way that you already know it all adds up? How does one tell an effective lie to God? It can't be done. In Him there "is no variableness, neither shadow of turning." God cannot be tempted with evil. He not only knows evil's fruitage, but He knows how to perfectly estimate the total cost of evil. He knows that it is only destructive, and He can't be bought off. But that's not all. Neither does He tempt any person (James 1:13). God doesn't tempt you. Don't even think it. If Adam and Eve had remained faithful, they would have known life and known it more abundantly. Our Father would have showered them with "every good and perfect gift" from the beginning, and we'd be far, far in advance of where the human race is now. But let's stick with the way things are. Adam and Eve made a free choice. And now we are all weak. We are their "crack" babies, born oriented toward sin from the front-from the beginning on out. We are not directly responsible for the broken nature that we've been born into, and heaven knows this. But we are responsible for what we finally become. And that's what makes us afraid. Because deep inside (and maybe not so deep), we know that we are behind the curve; that we have not allowed our God to make of us what He would delight to make of us. Not yet. My mom had a habit, and maybe some of us have it: right before leaving the house on any significant trip, she would go around the house and just "make sure" that all the doors were locked, that the stove was turned off, and so forth. And maybe one or two of us right now might suddenly become concerned that-just maybe-the stove was left on in your home this morning. But we have something more critical to worry about. Because friends, for all of us, the stove is left on; for all of us are here at a moment in time, a midpoint along our passage through life, God is still working. And we can be thankful that He hasn't turned off the oven yet. Because we're not done baking; we're not done refining. He's not done offering us His good and perfect gifts; and we are not done receiving them.

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We Are Privileged to Be a Kind of Firstfruits

How do God's people arrive at 144,000-hood? Not by sitting by while the good and perfect gifts remain unclaimed. They will seek out and by experience learn how to cooperate with their heavenly Father. See, we are to be "a kind of firstfruits of His creatures" (James 1:18). The firstfruits of the harvest in ancient times were always the first to mature, and the best of the harvest. And God's will for you, is that you be one of the first to mature; that you would be among the best in His harvest. No, not the person sitting next to you there. No. You. See, because all of us live at the end of time, don't we? And all of us are here in this place to be changed by the message we bear to the world, aren't we? And what is the result of the third angel's message supposed to be? It is plainly a message that is designed by our Creator to facilitate our becoming more like Jesus. Oh friends, how could we ever entertain the idea that doctrine doesn't matter? That we can bumble along like a pinball, randomly careening along the devils bumpers and buzzers? We need to grow, and our Father offers us every good gift and every perfect gift so that we can grow into this likeness. Legalism? No, not at all. I like to call it, Jesusism.  

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An Attitude From Beyond

I am so glad, my brothers and sisters, that the gospel isn't bottled up someplace in someone's garage, with some bored angels selling tickets for a walk-through tour of it. Since every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, it is obvious that heaven has no plan to make merchandise of the gospel. Buy the gospel, and don't sell it. But the gospel is free. It cost heaven an infinite price, but it is offered to us freely, without money and without price. Does that mean there are no conditions in there? No. The gospel has some very important conditions built into it, because it comes from the Father of lights in whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning. And that means there are moral edges in this universe that there is no way around. We will never put one over on God. Oh why do we try?! Yes, we've failed, each one, to live God's way always; but that was yesterday. Today--here--now--we can start again. We can receive one of heaven's good and perfect gifts here and now. If we will let God give to us. But who here needs gifts from the Father of lights? Well, only those of us who have sinned. I guess that would be all of us. Only those of us who need to let God work on us and change some of our less-than-dynamic personality traits. By that I mean maybe some of us need to loosen up, while some of us need to get more serious about our life. I'm not your pharmacist, so I'm not standing here prescribing for you. You listen for the Holy Spirit. Let Him convict you. But I'll bet that there's something that He is ready to do for you. God needs to adjust our character carburetor; He needs to tune our onboard computer; but He won't do it if we don't pop the hood for Him. Maybe we need to pop the hood so He can work more.  

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Tips For Turning the Lights On

What suggestions would our God offer us today? Look with me at verse 19 and let's see what we find: "Wherefore my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath."

Be Swift to Hear

See, because God has set out to make us "a kind of firstfruits," He urges us to adopt these important behaviors. And the first one given is "let every man be swift to hear." Practical Christianity right here-that's what James presents before us. "Let every man be swift to hear." To hear what?

• To hear and live the teaching of God
• To hear the godly counsel of our fellow believers
• To weigh the preaching we hear and apply it to our lives
• To hear the Bible's doctrine, reproof, correction, and instruction in righteousness

To apply all the balm to all the wounds. To receive the healing of the word in our actions and let it fit up our character. Let us receive the help that God would give. And its awfully hard to receive with our two ears when our one mouth is flapping along at warp speed, its fire lit from the hellish torch of Satan. But it need not be that way. We all need to control what we think and what we see so that we don't needlessly spew darkness out onto the wind. Yes, "let every man be swift to hear."

Be Slow to Speak

Again, James admonishes us to be "slow to speak." What does he mean? Perhaps in part he means that we need to be more purposeful about weighing and thinking about the things that come to us before we open our mouth to respond to them. If our natures weren't fallen, this might not be such a problem. Pride would be a lot less likely to get in the way. We might much more readily be willing to admit we were wrong. But we do have fallen natures, and we have long practice in indulging these natures. Once we've opened our mouth and committed ourselves by saying something, the only thing we can do if we were wrong is to take it back, to back down. But in the fallen nature this means pushing the pride button. If I back down, I lose ground; I look like a fool for having said what I said it was in the first place. So heaven warns us be "slow to speak!"

Be Slow to Wrath

If we are swift to hear and slow to speak, then and only then, I think we have hope regarding the third admonition: that we be "slow to wrath." If we will start by listening, and then thinking about what we have heard, we'll be much slower to provoke or respond in wrath. Notice in the next verse that "the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God." The righteousness of God can only come if we let God rebirth us by His own will with the word of truth. Look back to James 1:18. Oh yes. Some of you saw me go past that. Yes, I did; but I knew we were coming back to it. Let's read it through: "Of His own will begat He [God] us with the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of His creatures." I want you to know something: it is God's will that we be begotten. This word here in the Greek means that it is through God's will that we are given-birth-to. And the agency of our new birth by God is His "word of truth." But did you know that in James 1:15 it speaks of birth using the same Greek word? "And sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death," literally, "and sin, when it is finished, gives birth to death." The contrast here is between two all-important agencies:

• The word of truth, through which God's will can give birth to us as renewed people, and
• Following our own lusts, through which our own willful disobedience leads finally to anti-birth, to death

What a contrast! Isn't it obvious that if God's power gives us new life, we'll be slow-to-wrath, or that if we persist in our disobedience, we will be the cause of our own fast-to-wrath life that finally ends in our own death? God's will and His Word give life. Our will and our rebellion give death. See, if "the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God," is it not the reverse, namely the self-control of man through the Holy Spirit that worketh the righteousness of God?  

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What to Lay Aside

And so the last verse now comes to us: James 1:21: "Wherefore lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness, and receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls." Literally, "therefore, strip off your sinful ways." But it's not so easy to set aside our wicked ways, is it? But there is something going on here. Do you know also that this is in the middle voice, and means "therefore, you strip off your sinful ways." There is a work for each of us to do that won't be done for us. No, we are not called upon to empower it, but to consent to it, to cooperate with it. God gives the power, we cooperate, and He gives the victory, and He is glorified. And what is this "superfluity of naughtiness?" It speaks here of excess, an excess of badness. Why will we let a crust of overflowing wickedness build up upon our being? We are to strip off our sinful ways with God's help, and we are to strip off the character-warping crust of evil too. See, we're not prisoners to that anymore. If we are looking to God, then that's not part of our reality any more. So strip it off! In exchange for this toxic, stinking monkey on our back, God gives us something so good. Do you know what it is?  

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What to Receive

No, not the wrath of man, but the meekness put into man by God is necessary if we would receive "the engrafted word," literally, "the implanted word." Commenting on the passage here, Cleon Rogers says in the Linguistic Key to the Greek New Testament "It is the word for an 'implanting' not at birth but later in life." p. 725. And I like the way the SDA Bible commentary puts it in commenting on this verse: "The 'word' is 'engrafted' within a man when he chooses to make the principles of Scripture the pattern for his life." vol. 7, p. 513. Now let me share this with you. After doing my Bible study on this passage, I turned to the writings of Ellen White, just to see what she had said. And what did I find there? Listen!

When one is fully emptied of self, when every false god is cast out of the soul, the vacuum is supplied by the inflowing of the Spirit of Christ. Such a one has the faith which works by love and purifies the soul from every moral and spiritual defilement. The Holy Spirit, the Comforter, can work upon the heart, influencing and directing, so that he enjoys spiritual things. He is "after the spirit," and he minds the things of the Spirit. He has no confidence in self; Christ is all and in all. Truth is constantly being unfolded by the Holy Spirit; he receives with meekness the engrafted word, and he gives the Lord all the glory, saying, "God has revealed them to us by his Spirit." "Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit which is of God; that we might know the things which are freely given to us of God." The Spirit that reveals, also works in him the fruits of righteousness....When God's people humble the soul before him, individually seeking his Holy Spirit with all the heart, there will be heard from human lips such a testimony as is represented in this scripture: "After these things I saw another angel come down from heaven, having great power; and the earth was lightened with his glory." There will be faces aglow with the love of God, there will be lips touched with holy fire, saying, "The blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin." Ellen G. White, from The Home Missionary, November 1, 1893

What is this "engrafted word," this "word of truth" that will make your heart and mine glow with the love of God? It is a gift from "the Father of lights." It is one of His every good and perfect gifts. There is no shadow of turning in Him, and there is no shadow of turning in His perfect gifts. What there is, is change, positive change, growth, new life. But we haven't let James finish yet, have we? Because the last part of his sentence says not just to receive this implanted, engrafted word, but of the word he speaks of, of this gift from heaven, we read that it "is able to save your soul" (James 1:21). It illuminates. It turns on the lights. It brings power for change. It doesn't affect just an isolated sin here and an isolated sin there, but it changes the whole person. It can change even deeply ingrained character patterns. See, it saves not by counting you something; it saves by making you something. And that something is a new creature in Christ Jesus (2 Corinthians 5:17). It is an implanted word of truth, not a divinely spoken lie draped over you. Oh friends, if you've ever doubted whether God cares for you, whether he can change you I pray after this morning you'll doubt it no more. Let His light be turned on. Let your light shine, because the night is far spent, the day is at hand (Romans 13:12). Let us walk in the light as Jesus is in the light; and He was always basking in the beams of glory of His Father of lights. He endured the darkness of the cross so that the Father of lights could enter your heart, and do a work there. Let us receive so that we may live like Jesus before a world caught up in darkness. Let's turn on the lights. Do not err, my beloved brethren. Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning. Of his own will begat he us with the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures. Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath: For the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God. Wherefore lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness, and receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls.

Why 2 K?

 

Larry Kirkpatrick. Price Seventh-day Adventist Church. 1 January 2000

Is There a Madness in Our Method?

Shall we or shall we not use modern Pop/Rock music to try to bring people, particularly young people, to Jesus?

  by Richard O'Ffill 

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A while back I was talking with a friend of mine in the ministry. In recent years he has taken his church into the Willow Creek model. It had been some time since we had had a heart to heart talk. It was good to review old times and bring ourselves up to date. He was aware that I am very concerned with some of the directions that are being taken in certain places in the church. We discussed our convictions. At last he said to me, Dick you and I agree about the principles, what we disagree in are the methods. Since then I have been giving a lot of thought about what he said. Was it true that we agree on the principles and that our only disagreement is in the methods that we believe should be used to preach the gospel?

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Is It True That We Only disagree on Methods?

There are a number of questions that need to be considered when we think of what methods are acceptable to use to represent the gospel. One is, does the end justify the means? Another is, though the devil could well use God's methods, would God ever approve of us using the Devils' methods? As I was thinking of all of this I couldn't help but remember the old method that is sometimes used in sales. It is called "bait and switch". You know what that is don't you? It is where a certain product is advertised and then when you go to inquire about it, you may discover that it doesn't exist or if it did, it is not available at the price that was being offered. I remember when I was in the seminary, we had an accident and the little Renault Dauphin that we had was totaled. We needed to replace it. It was January in Michigan. In the paper I found that another Renault of the same year was being advertised so I called the number that was listed. The salesman told me that someone was out test driving the car. He said he would call me back and let me know if the person bought it or not. I hung up, interested. I hoped that the other person would decide not to get it. After a while the salesman called and said that the person had been under age, his parents had refused to sign for him, and if I wanted to I could come down and see it. By that time I was relieved and very anxious to get down there before someone else came along and bought the car. It was very cold and the ground was covered with snow. We got down there and I introduced myself. They took me out to see the car. It was covered with snow and the timing chain was broken. Do you see what they had been doing to us? Receiving Jesus as our Savior is the most important decision that a person ever will make. Jesus told us that our work was to go and preach the gospel to the whole world and to everyone in it. The purpose of this preaching is of course to make sales. How important are the methods and techniques that we will use?  

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Are Methods Program Neutral?

Another question is, are methods program neutral? By that I mean are the methods that we use to bring someone to Jesus basically neutral or if not neutral do they become legitimate if we use them for a holy purpose? Let's get down to the nitty gritty now. Do we actually agree as to the principals and disagree only as to the methods, or actually do we disagree as to the principles, and is this the reason why some are using methods that are so disturbing to so many? I have entitled this sermon "Is there a Madness in Our Method?" I will not beat around the bush. This sermon is about "shall we or shall we not use modern Pop/Rock Music to try to bring people, particularly young people to Jesus?" I must confess that I am concerned that there seems to be a sense out there in some places that some of us in the church care for the salvation of the young people and others don't. The idea is that some are concerned to save the lost and others aren't. Please listen to me now. The issue is not do we want the young to be saved or the unsaved to come to Jesus or not. It is just that there are many who believe in their heart of hearts that we must be careful that we bring our youth to the true Christ and that we don't do a "bait and switch" on them and lead them to think that they have the real thing when all that they have is a forgery. We must not forget that it was our Lord himself who said that many would be representing him in the last days, but it would be a misrepresentation or a false representation, to the point that when they would say to him, "Lord we did all kinds of things in your name", he would reply "it must have been someone else, I never knew you." Nowhere in Christendom is this problem more pronounced than in the area of music. Please be aware that what we are going through in our church is happening in other denominations as well. I was talking with a former president of a Lutheran University and he told me that his denomination was being split around music. There may be some who think that what I am about to say has a generational bias. There is no doubt that I am not 18 or 25. Yet somehow I believe that the gospel as it is in Jesus is a one size fits all. Now here we go. Friends, it is not necessary to demonstrate or to provide evidence that the medium of rock is being used to promote illicit sex, violence, drugs, the occult and blasphemy. This is a matter of the record. The question is simply does God approve of us using this medium to market the gospel of Jesus Christ? In recent years there has been created what is called Gospel Rock. Actually it is an oxymoron but nevertheless it is out there, and there are a huge number of people who have bought into rock and pop music as a legitimate expression of the gospel. It is even being used in so-called worship. Before we discuss whether or not this is a legitimate medium of the gospel or a perversion, it is important that we go to the Word of God and see what God has taught us about music, because after all Christian Rock is being represented as being music that God approves of.

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What Does the Bible have to say About Music?

The Bible contains no fewer than 550 references to music, musicians and musical instruments. There is no problem in finding references to music in the scripture. The challenge is how to put the references into their context as God meant for them to be, and to understand them. As far as this planet is concerned, music was there at its very beginning. We read in Job 38:7  "...of that day when the earth was made that the morning stars sang together and the sons of God shouted for joy." We know that God approves of music because we can see how many times the writers of Scripture command us to praise Him in song. Listen to these texts.

Let the heavens rejoice, let the earth be glad; let the sea resound, and all that is in it; let the fields be jubilant, and everything in them. Then all the trees of the forest will sing for joy; they will sing before the Lord(Psalm 96:11,12).

Let the rivers clap their hands, let the mountains sing together for joy; let them sing before the Lord. Praise the Lord, all his works everywhere in his dominion" (Psalm 98:8).

Sing praises to the LORD, which dwelleth in Zion: declare among the people his doings (Psalm 9:11).

Sing joyfully to the Lord you righteous; it is fitting for the upright to praise him. Praise the Lord with the harp; make music to him on the ten-stringed lyre. Sing to him a new song; play skillfully, and shout for joy. Shout with joy to God, all the earth! Sing to the glory of his name; make his praise glorious! (Psalm 30:4).

Rejoice in the LORD, O ye righteous: for praise is comely for the upright. Praise the LORD with harp: sing unto him with the psaltery and an instrument of ten strings. Sing unto him a new song; play skillfully with a loud noise (Psalm 33:1-3).

(To the chief Musician, A Song [or] Psalm.) Make a joyful noise unto God, all ye lands: Sing forth the honor of his name: make his praise glorious (Psalm 66:1,2).

These references are nearly all in what we might call a "general" context, but there are many others that are more specific. There are texts where the people are being told to sing praise to God for his goodness to them in particular circumstances. They are told to sing for special blessings received. They are told to sing for deliverance from their enemies, and so on. But the focal point is always God himself.

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Music Is From God

When we look at the place of music in scripture, we see that music is not only for God but from God. David says, "He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God" (Psalm 40:3). Let's take a little bit of time now to look at the beginnings of music. Some people believe that the first reference to any subject in the Bible shows how important it is. If this is true then music is very important. Music comes just a few generations after Adam and Eve. The Bible tells us about the three sons of Lamech and his two wives, Adah and Zillah. It says that Adah gave birth to Jabal and that he was the father of those who live in tents and raised livestock. His brother's name was Jubal. It says that he was the father of all who play the harp and flute. Zillah also had a son named Tubal-Cain. The Bible says that he was the one who forged all kinds of tools out of bronze and iron. We read about this in Genesis 4:20-22. These three brothers were obviously the "founding fathers" of three important groups of people. The first was a farmer and the third a toolmaker. This tells us that agriculture and industry are vitally important for man's well-being. But notice that the middle brother was a musician. The inference here is that man is more than just a food-eating worker. As human beings we have other dimensions besides the physical and material. The needs of one of those other dimensions are met by music. At the very beginning of the history of the human race God provided for man's aesthetic sensitivities. So it is clear that music is not something that is just pleasant; it is something that is essential to the total needs of mankind. Before we go on, we need to ask ourselves one very basic question about music and that is, what is it for? I believe we would all agree that music is one of the ways by which we can give audible expression to our common emotions of joy, sorrow, love, sympathy, heroism, compassion, and so on. Throughout the Bible, beginning with the Old Testament, we see that music is used in all of these areas.

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Music More For Faith than Feeling

But we need to recognize that most Bible references to music occur in direct connection with the worship and service of God. That means that music in scripture is used more in connection with man's religious faith rather than with his general feelings. The first of the references to music in worship is in Exodus 15. Here we find the great "freedom song" of Moses and the Israelites by the Red Sea. By the time we get to the book of 1 Chronicles religious music had become highly sophisticated and organized. King David appointed no fewer than 4,000 singers--and I quote "...to praise the Lord with the musical instruments I have provided for that purpose" (1 Chronicles 23:5). David also had 288 master musicians "trained and skilled in music for the Lord" (1 Chronicles 25:7). I am sure you are aware that the Psalms are the "hymnbook" for Old Testament believers. It is interesting to notice that with some Psalms there are instructions as to which musical instruments are to be used. Psalm 4 has the note, "with stringed instruments", and Psalm 5  is "for flutes". This must have been in order to ensure that the music matched the words. God was not to be worshiped in any old way.

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The Old Testament Pattern Explored

This point is important, because many of those involved in gospel music these days point back to the Old Testament and claim that it gives them all the license they need for "doing their own thing". This is a misinterpretation of the facts. Music in the Old Testament was not a "do it one way for the young people and do another way it for the older folks." Hold on to your seat now, did you know that of the eight musical instruments that were used by the Israelites, only four, the harp, the lyre, the cymbal and the horn were specifically authorized for use in the temple. Timbrels were prohibited, so were flutes, pipes and dulcimers. Although these instruments are mentioned in the Psalms, and although they could properly be used in other places, they could not be used in the temple service. Another thing, did you know that not just anyone could be involved in music in the Worship services of the Old Testament? The musicians had to come from certain families. They could play only on limited and special occasions, and then only at specific times during the service. It was not a free-for-all with anyone who could play an instrument being invited to join the band and turn the service into a music festival. Music was rigidly controlled in the temple worship. This was done to keep it from becoming a predominate factor in the worship. Most of the 500 references to music in the Bible are in the Old Testament. There are some references to music in the New Testament, but only ten or so refer to Christians here on earth. The other texts are references to the heavenly hosts and are mentioned in the book of Revelation and of these texts two are quotations from the Old Testament.

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The New Testament Pattern Explored

Of the New Testament references to music outside of the book of Revelation,  two texts merely tell us that Jesus and his disciples sang a hymn before they left the Upper Room to go to Gethsemane (Matthew 26:30; Mark 14:26); one text tells us that while Paul and Silas were in prison at Philippi, they were "praying and singing hymns to God" at midnight (Acts 16:25); and another text tells us that Paul was determined to sing God's praises in a language that could be understood by the hearers (1 Corinthians 14:15). In other places in the New Testament there is mention of  "music and dancing" in the parable of the prodigal son (Luke 15:25). In the book of James we have the simple  instruction: "Is anyone happy? Let him sing songs of praise" (James 5:13). This then leaves just two places in the whole of the New Testament where there is direct instruction given on the subject of music. Both texts say virtually the same thing. Writing to the Ephesians, Paul says, "Speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ" (Ephesians 5:19). Writing to the Colossians he says, "Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God" (Colossians 3:16). Notice in both texts Paul mentions: psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. The "Psalms" would be mainly the Old Testament Psalms as we know them; "hymns" would be their own compositions in praise of God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ; "spiritual songs" seemed to have covered a wide range of lyrical compositions, that could have included both psalms and hymns. And that's it! The New Testament has nothing else to say on the subject. Though music is not mentioned often in the New Testament, there are lessons to be learned in what is said. In the first place, although variety is encouraged in worship, variety does not mean license to do anything we please. "Psalms" and "hymns" had direct reference to God, and the songs had to be "spiritual". This is important. Music about God must reflect his glory, beauty, holiness and order, and should direct men to him and to his ways. The music that is used in worship of God should be mostly vocal.  If instruments are used, they should be in the background so that the words of the songs can be appreciated and understood.

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Worship Not to be a Performance

A while back someone called me up and offered to provide special music for a men's convention. I am a believer in special music. I believe that God has given some talents that ought to be used for his glory. But I also believe that when we are worshiping God together we ought to give preference to doing just that. Worshiping him together. I told the person that I believe that as far as music is concerned the more songs that we are able to do together in worship the better. What I am saying is that if I have a choice over whether to have the whole congregation sing or one person sing and the whole congregation listen to them, I believe I will prefer that we sing together as a congregation. There is no doubt that we need more participation in worship, but if we are honest with ourselves, the things that we have added in recent years to service have not appreciably broadened the participation, but merely given more variety to those who are spectators. We have, to a large degree, only added artists and actors.  I don't mean to say that we don't appreciate the talents that persons may have. It is just that worship is not to be a performance.

Is Using Music in Evangelism a Biblical Pattern?

Before we leave our look at music in Scripture, there is one final point to make which is probably the most important of all.  In all of the Old Testament references, there is not one instance of music being used to help communicate Judaism to the heathen. There is no record, for instance, of the Israelites organizing a Jewish religious folk festival to try to convert the Hittites, Jebusites or Amalekites! Although music was available to the church, there is no reference in the New Testament to the early church using music to reach non-Christians with the gospel. All the references to music are to the church at worship; there are no references of using music to try to bring people to Christ. So there we have it. Music was created by God. But it's primary purpose was to praise God and then it could be done in a certain way, at certain times, especially when it came to worship,and it was never for the communication of the gospel.

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Do We Really Understand Christ's Methods?

In the 90s we are into the "Wendy's syndrome". We like it our way. Many have decided that they like rock music and so they have decided that they will mix the sacred with the profane and then look around for some texts to justify what they have done. I am not particularly impressed when someone comes along with an idea that they say can be justified from scripture and the Spirit of Prophecy. I don't need to tell you that David Koresh justified what he did from both. Do I need to say more? One of the quotations that we hear a lot these days is the quotation from the Spirit of Prophecy which says "Christ's method alone will bring true success." This quotation is being used in many places to justify excesses and methods that are not to the Glory of God. Just for the record let me refresh our memory as to what this quotation really is saying. Ministry of Healing, p. 143:

The world needs today what it needed nineteen hundred years ago--a revelation of Christ. A great work of reform is demanded, and it is only through the grace of Christ that the work of restoration, physical, mental, and spiritual, can be accomplished.  Christ's method alone will give true success in reaching the people. The Savior mingled with men as one who desired their good. He showed His sympathy for them, ministered to their needs, and won their confidence. Then He bade them, "Follow Me." There is need of coming close to the people by personal effort. If less time were given to sermonizing, and more time were spent in personal ministry, greater results would be seen. The poor are to be relieved, the sick cared for, the sorrowing and the bereaved comforted, the ignorant instructed, the inexperienced counseled. We are to weep with those that weep, and rejoice with those that rejoice. Accompanied by the power of persuasion, the power of prayer, the power of the love of God, this work will not, cannot, be without fruit.

There are many reasons being given as to why we need to use pop music as an evangelistic tool. I am going to mention a few and comment on them.

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Why Are We Calling People Together?

One of the big reasons that people use to defend the use of pop music is that it draws crowds. I will not deny that if you want a crowd of young people, just announce a gospel rock concert. In most places it is difficult to get anyone to attend a meeting where the only attraction is God. But somehow we have got to understand that if it is only crowds that we want, then we are placing ourselves and the message at great risk. We must ask ourselves why are we calling the people together. If it is simply to call them together, then the means that we use is not important. But the purpose of the gospel is not just to communicate anything and every thing to every nation kindred and tongue and people, but to preach the everlasting gospel. Therefore we must not use methods that put the crowd above the purity and integrity of the gospel that is to be presented to them. It is said that one of the subtlest ways of flattering man is to communicate the gospel in a way that he wants, rather than the way that he needs.

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The MEdia Always Affects the Message

Another argument that is being used a lot is that using popular music to present the gospel communicates the message to the young people in a language that they can understand. The text that is used is in 1 Corinthians 9:22 which says and I quote "I have become all things to all men so that by all possible means I might save some." It has been said that a text out of context is a pretext. To use this text in 1 Corinthians as a excuse to use pop music to preach the gospel is just that, a pretext. If we begin to read in verse 16 of chapter 9 it is clear that Paul is not talking about using anything and everything to spread the gospel. He is talking specifically about preaching. A person who would say otherwise is wrenching the text completely out of context. When Paul said "I have become all things to all men so that by all possible means I might save some" he was talking about the importance of preaching. He is not suggesting that he is open to a limitless number of alternatives! Friends, we are deceived if we believe that the gospel message will be received the same no matter how it is conveyed--whether by book, magazine, radio, television, film, sound recording, etc. It is pure fiction to believe that if you put a gospel message into any kind of media at one end, it will come out at the other end as the same message. Please write this down in indelible ink. The media always affects the message. Does Rock music communicate the gospel effectively and without distortion? No. We must never forget that the Bible's primary appeal is to the mind: God says, "Come now, let us reason together" (Isaiah 1:18); Christ's summary of the First Commandment includes the need to "love the Lord your God.. . with all your mind" (Mark 12:30); Paul makes it clear that the way to prevent conformity to the world is "by the renewing of your mind" (Romans 12:2). I am pointing this out because in pop music the words are secondary. Pop is music of feeling, it speaks primarily to the body and only secondarily to the intellect.

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Is Music Really Neutral?

One of the strongest arguments put forward in favor of gospel rock is that music is neutral and the words are all that matters. Come now my friends, let us reason together. It is obvious that a single note has neither a message nor a meaning. and so in that sense, A single note is "neutral". But the debate is not about single notes, but about music. For the record, the dictionary definition of music is "the art and science of combining tones in varying melody, harmony, etc. so as to form complete and expressive compositions." The words "expressive compositions" are important. This means that when single notes or tones are deliberately brought together in a musical work they are no longer neutral. When music is composed, it is not composed into a neutral nothing, but into a positive something. A composition has a form that is definite and meaningful. Let us disabuse ourselves forever of the argument that music is neutral. We can illustrate the principle by comparing music to the printed word. Watch how this goes now. The text of Psalm 23 in the New International Version has 437 letters of the alphabet. Before they were assembled by the printer, these letters were neutral. They were complete and perfect, but they meant nothing, they had no message. But in Psalm 23 they have been grouped together to form an expressive composition. Now they are saying something, and the order in which they have been composed determines what they are saying. Can you see that? Now take those same 437 characters, arrange them differently, and instead of spelling out a message of assurance, comfort and faith, they could spell out a message of hate, greed or even violence. Compose them in some other way and they would form a shopping list. The individual letters would be the same, but they would have lost their neutrality. How could anyone say that music is neutral, and that it is the words that make it either good or bad? People throughout history have understood the power of music. Plato (428—348 B.C.), the Greek philosopher, wrote, "Musical training is a more potent instrument than any other, because rhythm and harmony find their way into the inward places of the soul." In another place he contended that music could strengthen a person, or cause him to lose his mental balance, or to lose his normal willpower so as to render him helpless and unconscious of his acts. Aristotle (384—322 B.C.). Plato's most famous student wrote, "Music has the power to form a character." Boethius (c. 480—c. 524), the Greek philosopher and statesman, wrote, "Music is a part of us and either ennobles or degrades our behavior." John Calvin the protestant reformer (1509-4564) wrote, "We know by experience that music has a secret and almost incredible power to move hearts." Human history proves that music has the power to move mankind. It has calmed his fears, summoned up his courage, soothed his sorrows, stimulated his memory, stirred him to violence, prepared him for death. Please don't tell me that music is neutral. In 1 Samuel 16 we are told that King Saul called for David to play his harp for him. We are told that "Whenever the evil spirit came upon Saul, David would take his harp and play. Then Saul would feel better, and the evil spirit would leave him" (1 Samuel 16:23). To suggest in the light of all this evidence that music by itself is neutral and has no message is frankly absurd. One more point. if music is neutral, if it can say whatever the hearer wants it to say, then why are certain kinds of music played in the background on airplanes, in supermarkets, or in places that are likely to be stressful? If music is neutral, why not play the theme from Alfred Hitchcock's film "Psycho" in dentists' waiting rooms? The obvious reason is that the music is chosen to do something; and the reason it can do something is that it is not neutral!

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Couldn't Tell the Difference

Another argument that is used these days is that there is a difference between Christian rock and secular rock. Come on now. The truth is that if you took the words away and changed them to a secular message, I don't think you would be able to tell the music apart from pop, rock-orientated music. Some years ago a controlled test was conducted in a European youth club. When gospel and secular rock records were played, the hearers reported that they "couldn't tell the difference". You see my friend, Rock is communication without words, regardless of what words are inserted into the music. The words only let you know what the music already says. The music is its own message and it can completely change the message of the words. The fact is that rock music is rock music. It is not a plastic medium that can be bent in any direction. We cannot change the basic effect of certain kinds of rhythm and beat  simply attaching a few religious or semi-religious words. The beat will still get through to the blood of the participants and the listeners.

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Does This Music Really Bring Young People to Christ?

Some people argue that Gospel Rock brings many young people to Christ. In certain instances it might appear that way. I am convinced though that to use Rock rhythms to call young people to Christ is to call them to a false Christ. I hate to put it this way, but a professor of mine once said that we don't worship God with our pelvis.

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Encouraging the Spirit of Showmanship

Have you noticed that trying to use Christian Rock and Pop music to share the gospel encourages a spirit of showmanship? The tendency of the performers is to act as stars instead of servants of God. Listen to this advertising for a Christian Rock concert. "A fantastic feast of rock and praise, the finest Christian music, leading Christian artists, highly talented newcomers, top stars, extraordinary entertainment. A mega- stage production.. get caught in it! Fifty-one hours of the finest in Christian rock music, drama teaching, worship, fellowship and fun. From main stage you'll be under decibel attack from rock acts... etc." Do we need to be reminded that the purpose of the gospel is to get the attention focused on the Savior? I don't see how we can expect to give a faithful representation of Jesus by swaying, squirming, dancing, slinking or gyrating. When these things are done on stage they are an act, part of a show. The purpose of those who spread the message of Jesus is to point people to Christ. To draw attention to a performer not only fails to help in getting the gospel across, it actually hinders the process.

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Turning the Gospel into Entertainment

Using the rock music medium turns the gospel into entertainment. Is that what the gospel is suppose to be? What is the gospel? As every Christian knows, the word simply means "good news", but it is important to remember that it is not good news about the possibility of a better life-style or how to solve life's problems and feel great. The gospel is good news about the Lord Jesus Christ. There is no gospel apart from Christ, there is no gospel without Christ and there is no gospel outside of Christ. The life of Jesus was not a religious road show; he did not come to give a performance, but to give his life! To try to use entertainment to spread the gospel is a contradiction of terms. The gospel that is being conveyed through the mediums of entertainment in many places these days produces fans and not followers, In the work of evangelism, the church is a lifeboat, not a showboat!

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Trivializing the Message

Another problem is that the rock idiom also tends to trivialize the message. For example there is a song that speaks of the resurrection of Christ. It says "You can't keep a good man down". This may be a "cool" way of singing about the resurrection of Christ, but it is theologically trivial and it is biblically criminal.

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The Only way to reach Young people?

Many people argue that rock is the only way that young people will listen to the gospel. Youth leaders think that without a band the young people won't listen. They think that music is the only way we can reach them. Is that true? Listen, is there any other serious subject that needs to be communicated by music before it can be understood and accepted by young people? Imagine an eighteen-year-old employed by a company that insists on an annual medical check-up for all its staff. He seems healthy and has no sense of need, but goes reluctantly to hospital when his time comes. After a careful examination, the doctor discovers that the young man is suffering from a serious disease that will prove fatal unless he receives immediate and radical treatment. Can you imagine the doctor asking his assistant to set the man's disease to music, rustle up a few nurses, plug in some musical instruments and then get them to sing the diagnosis to the patient—because that would be the best way to get through to a teenager? The idea is absurd—yet time and again we are told that you must have music before young people will listen. If the rock music medium is so effective in communicating with young people, why not use it in schools, colleges and universities? Why not give biology some beat, jazz up geography, get into heavy metal history and liven up languages by doing them in a disco? The reason is obvious and that is the medium does not fit the message.

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Dividing the Generations

One of the most negative results of the rock and roll rhythms with or without Christian words is that it divides the generations.  An advertisement placed by Rolling Stone in the New York Times said, "Rock and roll is more than just music. It is the energy center of a new culture and youth revolution." In Mick Jagger's words, "There is no such thing as a secure, family-orientated rock n' roll song." The Beatles' George Harrison made it clear that alienating adults was no accident: he said "Music is the main interest of the young people. It doesn't really matter about the older people now because they're finished anyway." A Prominent music critic wrote,  "Rock music has widened the inevitable and normal gap between generations, turned it from something healthy and absolutely necessary to forward movement — into something negative, destructive, nihilistic." This philosophy is being reflected in the life of the church. Young people are becoming increasingly segregated from the rest of the congregation. I believe that the trend in many places to create a "youth church" is unnatural and unhealthy. The Christian church is a family and the members of a family ought to demonstrate what they have in common rather than their differences.

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Conclusion

As we close this presentation, I want to ask you a few personal questions. 

1. Does the use of Christian Rock and Pop music help us to hear the Word of God more clearly?
2. Does it tend to give us a greater vision of the glory of God? Does the beat, rhythm and syncopations express the purity, majesty, holiness and serenity of God? Music about God should be like God. It should reflect him, magnify him and reveal his character.
3. Does the music tend to call us to repentance?
4. Does this kind of music encourage us to live a disciplined, godly living?
5. Does this kind of music help us to separate ourselves from the world? The bible is crystal clear that we are not to love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world the love of the Father is not in him.
6. Would we expect to find this kind of music in heaven?

Is there a madness in some of the methods that we are using to communicate the gospel? I believe the answer is yes. Using a medium that is primarily used to promote sex, violence, drugs, the occult and blasphemy is unthinkable and inconsistent with the purity and holiness of the God that we worship. If you forget all I have said, don't forget this one thing: the medium is never program neutral. The medium that we use to preach the gospel is either consistent with it or it is betraying it. Gospel rock is a betrayal of the message that we have be called to preach. May God forgive us and bring us out before it is too late, is my prayer.

Real Grace for Real People Larry Kirkpatrick. Price Seventh-day Adventist Church.

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Scripture Reading: Galatians 1:6-7

I marvel that ye are so soon removed from Him that called you into the grace of Christ into another Gospel: which is not another; but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ.

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This morning, as we begin our talk about grace, we must purposefully make one fact in the background visible, so as to approach our main subject with the proper care. The fact is this: Satan can only win the great controversy by getting us to bite down onto the hook of a false version of grace. Was that clear? If we are going to talk about grace, we are going to attract his undivided attention, and that's why God needs your undivided attention. If Satan can spin God's message of grace between the time that it leaves the pages of the Bible and gets into your heart and mind, then he can plant his flag right there on the mountaintop of your soul. Surely the devil isn't interested in grace." Oh, but he is. His very existence depends on it. He cannot afford to leave the topic alone. In fact, what better, more unexpected doctrine could be more ideal for him to weave his entangling, soul-destroying lies into? So, watch out. Be sober. Our foe goes about, roaring like a lion, trying to scare us (1 Peter 5:8), yet also goes about singing gently, to deceive us. He comes as an angel of light (2 Corinthians 11:13-14). Especially is this true when our understanding of grace is on the table. I assure you -- real grace is mutually exclusive -- it rules out all false grace. What you are about to hear is either very wrong, or very right. But it's not in the middle somewhere. I do hope you are in the Word these days.

What is Grace?

What is grace? Let's go to our Bibles for an answer. Why not turn with me to Titus 2:11-14:

For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world; Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ; Who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto Himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works.

Grace involves how we live, what we are changed from, and what we are changed to. Grace involves salvation. In Titus two, Paul is discussing behavior, and in the ninth verse he points out that it is because "the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men" that we will live differently. The very first thing that this grace teaches us is to deny ungodliness and worldly lusts. Revelation 21:27 assures us that nothing that defiles or makes a lie will enter into heaven. Nothing. Thus it is immediately made certain that no false gospel will enter heaven. A false gospel is a lie. The true gospel intimately impacts how we live. Did you notice that the grace of God brings salvation? If I said "I'm bringing you five hundred dollars tomorrow in my wallet," would you want to make a difference between the wallet and the $500 that it carried? I would. The grace of God brings salvation. But it is not salvation. The grace of God is a quality of God, a description of the mercy of His character. It is sent out in search of us. We do not deserve it or merit it, but it has been sent out in search of us since God is trying to bring salvation to us. Grace is that quality of who our heavenly Father is that makes salvation available to us. It encompasses His mercy and a whole host of His attributes. But grace does not equal salvation. Salvation depends on the total application of grace to us. Through grace God wants to bring us salvation. That salvation means that we will live differently. We will deny ungodliness and worldly lusts. There is a way that we should live under grace, and that is "soberly, righteously, and godly." People want to talk about God's "extravagant grace;" they want to emphasize the quantity of it; but He wants to emphasize the quality of it. And so He says that when, through grace, salvation is occurring in your life, your life will be one bearing the qualities of sobriety, righteousness, and godliness. Think about those core qualities. Those are qualities of the actual grace that brings actual salvation. If you have grace, you will be awake and clear-headed. If you have grace, your life will be a vivacious orchestra of righteous actions. If you have grace, your life will be a pungent expression of godliness cutting its way through the darkness engulfing the world. These aren't cheap plastic substitutes for the real thing; they are the real thing. A few years ago I was listening to a presentation about the gospel, and we were told that when it comes to the gospel, "performance always lags." But performance doesn't always lag. Enoch walked with God, and the Father took Him home to heaven. Was Enoch's experience lagging? Not at all. And of course, we would all agree that Jesus' experience was never lagging. We could come up with more examples, but it would be clear that experience does not always lag. If it did, that would make a lie of the passage in Titus. After all, when does our verse say that this sober, righteous, godly salvation experience is supposed to occur? "In this present world," or some translations have it, "in this present age." Performance does not always lag. We live this way, according to our text, looking for the soon return of Jesus and of God from heaven. Furthermore, we learn in the text that we were redeemed not so that our performance could lag, but "that He might redeem us from all iniquity." Now, iniquity is sin. Jesus has bought us back from sin. Sin doesn't own us anymore. He bought us back to "purify" a special kind of people to Himself, a people zealous for good works -- not a people without works or whose works lag. Grace -- real grace -- means real Christians, changed people, people moving away from sin at warp speed, people who moment-by-moment are living snapshots of purification. Grace is not about all of this spiritual book-keeping that occurs outside of you, on the other side of the sky somewhere, where angels are dancing on the heads of pins and singing "God You are beautiful" to the sound of applause and raucious drumming. Grace is real. Grace brings salvation. Salvation is real. Salvation showcases grace. What does your life showcase? Oh, I know; I'm not supposed to ask that. You see, to ask that is (we are told), to "take our eyes off of Jesus," or to "major in minors," or to risk "interposing ourselves into the salvation transaction." What a lie from hell. Those who so piously say that are really saying, "take your eyes off the showcase -- don't look!" as if there were something offensive in there; some mysteriously contaminating peep-show hidden away. Why yes. That's the point! The grace of God that brings salvation is supposed to be on bold display in our lives. But our foe is nervous that we will catch hold of what grace means and then live it before a world in moral-meltdown and a universe filled to overflowing with curious, intelligent, pure, inquiring beings. Friends, angels are stretched across the sky bending down with inexpressible interest in what God is doing down here on this tiny planet, this lesson-book to the universe. He is showcasing His gospel of grace. It is the devil that doesn't want anyone to look! "No, no, no," they say, "Keep your eyes on Jesus." But our text said that "the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men." This has happened. We have seen Jesus out there, but now we want to see Him in here. We want to behold Him and become changed, and as we behold Him, we will be changed. Grace means that we change. God's grace that brings salvation has appeared to us. But how do we lay hold upon that grace? How do we get grace? We co-operate with God. Yes, that's right. If you have already bought into that version of "the gospel," which Paul calls "another gospel, which is not another," then that was your cue to run screaming from this sanctuary. Satan, with his hypnotic singing, has convinced many Christians today that if we do anything at all, we are somehow adding to the salvation process, somehow being saved by our own works or a blending of our own works with God's perfect work. Man, it is said, can contribute nothing to the salvation process, or more commonly, that he can contribute nothing toward his own salvation. So any human co-operation with God is ruled-out by defining co-operation as "works-salvation." That's how you make these subtle changes; redefine truth through tiny gradations until you've excluded it. Just shift the definitions. But why should we accept this revising? Who told us that we had to sit back gently while someone else spin-doctored the teaching of the Bible? We are free -- free to rightly divide the Word of God! The Bible warned us about the traditions of man. But traditions are not just golden-oldies, they can be subtle-new-ies too. Christians, blankly consenting to be victims are still writing-off the commandments of God and replacing them with the traditions of men. If we really were Protestants, we might have a stronger sense of this. Why will we let this happen? Let's double-check, and make sure that we really are Bible Christians.

Divine-Human Co-operation

The best example of divine-human co-operation on record is Jesus. He was divine--He was God, but He came in the flesh of a man; the humanity that He took was identical to our own, with no special exemptions or exceptions. The gospels record numerous miracles done through Jesus. But they were done through Him, rather than by Him. He sometimes commanded the sea or the grave, and they always complied. Yet before He came here, He "emptied Himself" of His divine power (Philippians 2:7-8) and in His life relied upon the Father as we must rely upon Him in our life (John 5:19, 30). Because He walked so closely with the Father, His will harmonized with His Father's, and the miracles that were wrought came because of that intimate harmony -- that intimate co-operation. He owned the power to do all of those miracles -- He had, after all, made the worlds (Hebrews 1:2); but He set that power aside in order to validate the example of His living for us. He gave us the pattern, the example, of how to live (John 13:15; 1 Peter 2:21; John 17:19). How to live by grace. Jesus didn't need grace as we do. He was not guilty of sin, nor does guilt or condemnation reside in the mere nature of man. A hand is not guilty for stealing or a foot for kicking; such actions come from the brain; the extremities have no say in the matter. These actions result from minds unsubdued to the Spirit of God, and Jesus' mind was ever subdued to the Spirit of God. Jesus never developed the habit-patterns of sin that we have, for although tempted in all points like as we are, He never sinned (Hebrews 4:15). Therefore He never had the propensities (in that sense) of sin. He lived an uncondemnable life, and could thus ask who could convict Him of sin (John 8:46). He was exactly what we needed in a Savior: "holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners" (Hebrews 7:26). But notwithstanding all this, the Father "hath made Him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him" (2 Corinthians 5:21). He lived without sinning but took upon Himself the penalty of the sinner. He came to break sin in its lair, to conquer sin in the flesh that constitutes man's broken nature (Romans 8:3). He overcame by the power heaven, so that the grace that God would make available to us would have in it the power to condemn sin in our flesh as well. Some would say that this isn't grace. But they would be wrong. Grace makes a difference. Grace is not license. Some people see grace as a license to sin (even though, they will say, you shouldn't do it). But Jesus bought us not the privilege of sinning, but the privilege of winning. He came not to give us a placebo, but to give us power. He came, not to please man, but to displease the devil, and to glorify the Father. Jesus came not with cheap prizes from "Publisher's Clearing House Sweepstakes," but to clear the house of religious cheapskates. He came to break the hold that sin has on you and on me, and His real grace exposes the charlatans and fakes and their teachings. The real gospel really cleanses the temple by combining divine strength with human effort. The result of this combination is a righteousness from God that fills the life of man with richness, growth, and moral beauty; a righteousness that we could properly say has in it not one thread of human devising; a righteousness that is all of God and thus contains no merit for man. Real grace means that God's power changes those who co-operate with it. We are discussing real grace for real need. And Jesus is our only Source. He came to bring real grace for real people.

Getting Grace into the Life of a Real Person

Jesus went up on the cross and died for us. And when He breathed His last, in triumph He offered up His life to the Father. They took down the body of our Lord of grace, and placed it in a tomb that Friday evening, just as the Sabbath was arriving. They placed His corpse in a sepulchre close-by, and by order of Pilate that tomb was sealed and guarded by soldiers. Divinity waited through the night. But early in the morning, that wonderful resurrection morning, a blinding light split the sky as angels arrived in glory and stood outside the grave. An earthquake rocks the land. Effortlessly, the angel rolls away the stone, his voice splitting the darkness of the waning pre-dawn, loudly pronouncing, "Son of God, come forth; Thy Father calls Thee!" The guards stand shocked in the flashing light. There is a stirring in the tomb. And momentarily Jesus walks out of the grave. Because He lives, we can have grace. We can be free. The resurrection of Jesus is our cue to turn to another key passage on grace: Romans chapter 6. The same power that caused Jesus to rise from death, will empower you to live His way. When the time came, Jesus did walk out of the tomb; He had victory. He is the resurrection and the life (John 11:25). He has the keys of hell and of death (Revelation 1:18). He owns the grave. He did all this so that real grace could come to real people like you and me. He offers you the key. He calls you forth from the grave -- to real grace. Real grace means release from bondage. We are to walk in newness of life. "If we have been planted together in the likeness of His death, we shall be also in the likeness of His resurrection" says Romans 6:5. If we will do just as Jesus did -- if we will lay hold upon the power of the Father, of our own selves doing nothing (John 5:30), yet in fact doing what we see the Father do (John 5:19) empowered by grace, we will not serve sin any longer. We'll recognize, as we are shown in Romans 6:6 that "our old man is crucified with Him" when we lay hold of grace. The power of our fallen nature combined with our habit-patterns of sin -- the wicked characters that we have become -- will be broken and reshaped and renewed as we call to Him for power and stop serving sin. Do you experience the reality of Romans 6:7-8? "He that is dead is freed from sin. Now if we be dead with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him." If we take up our cross daily as Jesus commanded (Luke 9:23), we will die daily (1 Corinthians 15:31), and sin will not have dominion over us. We will "live with Him," not just in some vague heavenly scene in the distant future, but enter here and now. Real grace is available for real people because we know "that Christ being raised from the dead, dieth no more; death hath no more dominion over Him. For in that He died, He died unto sin once: but in that He liveth, He liveth unto God" (Romans 6:9-10). The offering of Jesus to the Father in our behalf was entirely successful. The Father accepted that wonderful life represented by the blood of Jesus. The sacrifice accepted, He lives unto God and we live unto God by the power poured out from heaven, through co-operation with His grace. Jesus left the tomb -- left the place where death reigned, because sin no longer had dominion over Him and thus death no longer had dominion over Him. He took the keys of hell and death and went His way. And now if you plead with God for overcoming power through Jesus, you'll be released too. Romans 6:11-13 applies real grace to real people. Listen to what it says:

Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord. Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof. Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God.

We are to consider ourselves truly dead unto sin. Don't get the wrong idea about this verse. We hear the word "reckon" and we sometimes think of it as if we are going to "count" ourselves one way while the reality is actually something else. But that is not what this is saying at all. This text says count or consider ourselves as we actually are, not as we are not. "Likewise," that is, in the same way, we are to recognize that we are "dead to sin and alive to God." In the same way as it is true for Jesus (and it is so unquestionably true for Jesus!), it is just as certain and true for us. Remember, when we accept Him as our personal Savior, we are joined with Him -- joined in His death and joined in His resurrection. He was made to be sin for us that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him. The merit and the glory are all His; the shame and the demerit of the wickedness we have wrought are ours. He stepped between us and the knife, received our penalty, empowered us to live differently, and handed us His reward. He gets the credit. We get the salvation. And I have no objections! Now you and I have been placed in control again. If we were not in control, then how could part of the fruit of the Spirit be self control, "temperance," (Galatians 5:23)? If Jesus did not give us power over the cravings of our broken nature, then how could He be fair in commanding us not to yield our members as to remote-controlled machines through which demons can work sin and woe? We are not to yield our "members as instruments of unrighteousness to sin," but to yield ourselves unto God, as those that are [that really actually are], alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God." Sin is surrender to remote-control. Righteousness is restoration of self-control. We are alive from the dead, our faculties are refilled with life through our active reception of the power of grace. God opens the door for us so that we walk in newness of life (Romans 6:4). Our members become members of righteousness, not so that God remotely controls us, but remotely empowers us to "live soberly, righteously, and godly," (when did Titus say?) "in this present world." That's what the grace of God that bringeth salvation did when it appeared to all men in the life of our Example, Jesus (Titus 2:11).

Under Grace

And so Paul arrives in Romans 6:14-15 just where we knew he must be going, and where we must finish today. He pronounces the burning truth that we are not under the law, but under grace. Listen:

For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace. What then? shall we sin, because we are not under the law, but under grace? God forbid.

Remember, the problem is not the law, it is the dominion of sin. Jesus came to save from sin (Matthew 1:21), not from the law. Law defines sin, and that's not the problem. If you take your car to the mechanic, and he puts it onto the diagnostic machine and then discovers what the problem is, is the diagnostic machine the problem? When he says "it's going to run you about $300.00 to fix this," is he referring to his diagnostic machine? No, he's referring to the problem with your motor! We are not under the law. Jesus does not leave Christians with a motor that is going to show up on the diagnostic machine as still being broken. We are under grace. Grace. Grace makes obedience to the law possible and real. So what shall we say then? Shall we sin because we are not under the law, but under grace? God forbid. Your sin problem and mine are no light matter. Our eternal existence is at stake. Jesus died so that we could live, and He lives so that we can die. We must die to the old crooked nature, and die now. Grace is not a license to sin, it is a license to be free of it. Grace is not some kind of giant, impenetrable bubble descending upon us from heaven and locking us into salvation. It does not immobilize our members, but makes it possible to yield our members to sober, righteous, godly living in the last days. We must co-operate with it, and we gladly give Him all the glory and all the credit. We are under grace. Oh how sweet it is. Grace is not designed to numb our minds, to rip the devil off by saving us against our will, or to justify inaction and lifeless assurance. Grace makes us free. And if you receive the Son today, you can have this very grace. You can be free indeed (John 8:36). Would you mind if I ask, are there any takers? Friends, this is not a one timer. But there ought to be a time when you make a clear connection with Jesus, very clear. Here now is an opportunity to do that. Is there anyone who will say today, "Pastor, that grace -- that grace as you've described it today from the Word of the living God -- that's the grace I want, and that's the grace I need. I want Jesus to give me that grace and that power. I want to be made free. Give me that grace, God O please." Is there anyone here who will receive that grace? How wonderful it is, this grace in which we stand! Let's thank our Father together as we close in prayer. Let us pray that God will give to us real grace for real people. That is what Jesus died for.

The Tale of Two Kings

Dan Anderson, Fairplain Seventh-day Adventist Church

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  Introduction The Christmas story is full of wonderful characters that capture one's imagination. Oh, what must it have been like for Mary and Joseph to be told they were to have this special responsibility as parents. I always enjoy thinking about what it must have been like to be one of those shepherds sitting up on the hillside hearing of the great news. It is easy to find oneself amazed at the insight and generosity of the magi coming to see the one whom their ancient writings told about. And then there is the vulnerable little baby soundly sleeping on the hay, who was in fact God. Imagine, the King of the universe, right here with us. This was one thing that Herod the Great did not wish to imagine. And in the midst of this story, like some villainous foe, this king swept down to snuff out the fragile life of this little child. If it weren't for the warnings in a dream, the life of that little baby would have ended right there on that cold night in the little town of Bethlehem. And though this act of Herod's may have set his mind at ease, the reverberations of it still ring out to us today. For in this part of the story, there is something deeper going on hear than just an evil king's attempt to kill a baby. Here, in the persons of Herod and Jesus, are really pictures of two kings and two kingdoms, very different from each other.   Comparison of the two kings Upon examination of these pictures we find that there are but few common traits shared by these rulers. In this story, both kings were attempting to maintain their respective kingdoms- Herod in Judea, and Christ in the universe. But as we look at there their philosophies and ultimate goals we will see that they are vastly different. First let us Read Matthew 2:1-16, the story behind that brings these two individuals together   A look at the contrasts between the two kings portrayed in this story will reveal to us much more than a jealous king and a fragile baby. We can see two opposed kingdoms, whose distinctions are clearly seen through a comparison of these two kings. Let's examine a number of contrasts between the two.

Born to a wealthy and influential family.

Born to a poor, insignificant family, uneducated peasants.

The beginnings of these kings are different. Looking through the annals of history we find that Herod's ascension to the throne came about mostly because of his influential heritage. Herod was born into a family were his father had become the governor of Jerusalem. His father helped promote Herod to be the governor of Galilee. In a way he had to have his kingdom given to him Jesus, on the other hand, was God--King of the universe. But then, as a result of a plan with His father, Christ left his place of influence to be placed in a family of little significance. What do the scriptures say in Philippians 2:6,7 "Who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself…" Christ could have chosen to be born into a family situation similar to Herod's, but he did not. When it says that the King of the universe emptied Himself, He didn't just do a halfway job, Christ did it all the way. By looking at Christ's birth and the rest of His life, we can see that in God's eyes, position, power, & prestige, do not determine the worth of the individual. "In the kingdom of God, position is not gained through favoritism. It is not earned, nor is it received through an arbitrary bestowal. It is the result of character. The crown and the throne are the tokens of a condition attained; they are the tokens of self-conquest through our Lord Jesus Christ." DA 549 Our status in God's kingdom is solely dependant on our relationship with Him. There are none of the artificial boundaries of rich or poor, famous or infamous, or race that we find dividing us. In life, the playing field has been leveled. This truly is part of the Good News the angels sang about that Christmas news.

Alien blood, hated by subjects, supported by Rome.

Christ has a higher claim, being born to the kingdom. (A threat to Herod)

Another way we can contrast these two kings is in their claim to the kingdom. When the magi came and inquired about the new king, you can imagine that if king Herod was secure about his role, the news of a baby king's arrival wouldn't arouse such a reaction as it did. But to look at the severity of his actions reveals to us that he was in a precarious position, and he knew it. How? 1)He knew that he was really a foreigner in his own kingdom, 2) he knew he was hated by his subjects, & 3) he knew his only source of power was found in being associated with Rome. Three very fragile elements of his rule. Christ's position in his kingdom was very sure. Why? 1) This new Prince had a higher claim in that he was born to the kingdom. 2) Members of Christ's kingdom are there by choice, drawn by the love of their king. & 3) His source of power was His Father, who rules over everything. The calm presence that Christ had as He went about his earthly ministry was a direct result of him feeling secure in his position as king.

Religion was a matter of authority or control

Religion is a response of love.

Attitudes toward religion differed widely between the two kings. For Herod, the practice of religion was free to the extent that it did not interfere with his authority and leadership. He allowed the practice of religion in order to benefit himself. In fact, many of the Pharisees were opposed to Herod and refused to take an oath of allegiance to him. As a result, none of them were allowed to exert a significant influence on politics. In the kingdom of God, religion is not something to be forced or used as a means of gaining power. Rather, true religion is a person's response of love and gratitude to God for the gift of his Son. Evidence of true religion is not merely in compliance with God's law, but in genuine love shown to those around us.

Herod forced power

Christ allows freedom of choice.

Another interesting contrast between the two kings is that it took more than three years for Herod to conquer and establish his kingdom, through the use of force, coercion, and deceit. It took more than three years, from the time of His anointing to the time of His death, for Christ to conquer the foe of his kingdom. And His methods were of self-sacrificing love, freedom, and steadfastness to truth.

Herod's position demanded that people serve him.

Christ lived to serve.

By nature, Herod's position demanded that people serve him. Leaders expected that others would do certain things for them. Because of their position in society, Jews were often those "others." "In the kingdoms of the world, position meant self-aggrandizement. The people were supposed to exist for the benefit of the ruling classes. Influence, wealth, education, were so many means of gaining control of the masses for the use of the leaders. The higher classes were to think, decide, enjoy, and rule; the lower were to obey and serve. . ." DA550 Christ, as king of the universe, had been in heaven, where angels waited to do His bidding. But in His coming to earth, he chose to be a servant. He lived to serve others, as seen so graphically at the Last Supper. "Christ was establishing a kingdom on different principles. He called men, not to authority, but to service, the strong to bear the infirmities of the weak. Power, position, talent, education, placed their possessor under the greater obligation to serve his fellows. To even the lowliest of Christ's disciples it is said, 'all things are for your sakes.' 2Cor 4:15"

The gifts given to his kingdom were given to empower his rulership, to build up prestige,

God's gifts, in particular, the gift of His Son, are to empower those who recognize their powerlessness.

Herod was known both in Jerusalem and as far away as Greece and Syria for his building projects. He built the city of Caesarea, and rebuilt the temple in Jerusalem. These were given as gifts, with no apparent gain to himself. All of this, however, was done to gain the favor of Rome and of his subjects, to further empower himself, and to gain advantage. Unlike Herod, who would not do anything unless it would benefit himself, God gave the gift of His Son at the risk of losing everything. All of His gifts are given to empower fallen humans to rise above their weakness through His strength. God's gifts give the advantage not to God, but to man.

The result of his lifestyle left him suspicious of everyone

Love your enemies, and pray for those who despitefully use you.

One might suspect that the way that Herod gained his kingdom would lead him to be quite attentive to what others were doing. I can't image that he gained many friends in Israel by his slash and burn philosophy as seen in Bethlehem. But in the way he lived his life, whom could he trust? He killed even his own sons because he suspected that they were plotting to take over his kingdom. Who could trust someone like that? The philosophy of Christ's kingdom was radically different. While Herod killed his sons to maintain power, Christ was a Son who allowed himself to be killed in order to give others power to overcome sin. Not only did he place himself among his fallen creation, He loved even those who would not receive him. "The thought of His own agony did not intimidate that noble, self-sacrificing soul. It was the sight of Jerusalem that pierced the heart of Jesus-- Jerusalem that had rejected the Son of God and scorned His love, that refused to convinced by His mighty miracles, and was about to take His life. He saw what she was in her guilt of rejecting her Redeemer, and what she might have been had she accepted Him who alone could heal her would. He had come to save her: how could He give her up?" DA 576 Quite different from Herod, who killed those who were even suspected of evil intentions, Jesus knowingly included among His disciples one who would eventually betray him.   While Herod, at the height of his reign, destroyed all the babies in Bethlehem in order to maintain his power, Christ, at the prime of His life, voluntarily gave Himself up so that others might have power to become children of God.

In his kingdom there was rejoicing at his death, though he intended for the nation of Israel to mourn at his death.

In heaven there was rejoicing at His death.

Seeing all that Herod did, it is no surprise that he "was not loved by his people; they hated him for his heavy taxation, his paganizing activities, and his unbounded cruelties. When he fell ill and it was declared that he could not recover, wild rejoicing broke out in Jerusalem, and a mob tore down the golden eagle--hated emblem of the Roman overlords--that Herod had placed over the entrance to the Temple. When he did recover, however, Herod wreaked his vengeance upon many of these disappointed celebrants. BC 41 Though it was hatred toward Christ that caused the Jews to crucify Him, there were his followers who mourned. In the universe, however, there was rejoicing of a much different nature than what was exhibited by the Jews at the impending death of Herod. "Well might the angels rejoice as they looked upon the Saviour's cross; for though they did not then understand all, they knew that the destruction of sin and Satan was forever made certain, that the redemption of man was assured, and that the universe was made eternally secure." DA 764

Herod was a guilty man who desired the innocent to die with him.

Christ the innocent, chose to die with criminals

"Sensing that his last days were upon him, the old king ordered his sister Salome to imprison all the leaders of the Jews and to kill them as soon as he himself was dead, in order that the nation might be in mourning when his time came. Although she did carry out the order of imprisonment, Salome later released the men." BC 41 Herod, a guilty man, desired that innocent people should die with him. On the other hand, Christ, though innocent, chose to die with criminals. "And he was numbered with the transgressors." Isa. 53:12

Herod-the son of Esau

Christ-the son of Jacob

There are many more contrasts we could find between these two kings of the Christmas story. But perhaps the most striking of them involves their lineage. Looking back at their respective family trees, we find that both Herod and Jesus are descendents of Abraham and Isaac, Jesus being from lineage of Jacob, and Herod, being an Edomite, from the lineage of Esau. While this fact seems to draw the two together, from this point on, the similarities totally disappear, and a clear distinction, a clash of ideologies, becomes apparent between the two kings, opening to us new meaning and insight into the two kingdoms at war in the universe. Reflecting back on Herod and Jesus' shared family history, it is noteworthy that while Jacob's interests centered on obtaining the special spiritual blessing of the family, Esau cared more for the temporary satisfaction of food. Read Gen. 25:29-34 One thing we notice here is that Esau's interest in immediate gratification superseded his regard for God and spiritual blessings. Jacob's desire for the birthright stemmed from his interest in the spiritual blessing that came along with it. Through this blessing, he and his descendents were to be a blessing to others. Christ, as Jacob's descendent, came to establish a spiritual kingdom. He gave up his position of authority and power in order to pass on heaven's spiritual blessings to those who otherwise could never have them. When the wise men came inquiring about the newborn king, Herod's constant desire to maintain his earthly position kept him from discerning the real nature of the kingdom that Christ came to establish. Herod could have chosen to be part of this kingdom that was described to him from the Jewish Scriptures, but, like Esau, the love of ease, desire for self-gratification, blinded him to his opportunity. And by doing this, the descendant of Esau also missed his chance at spiritual blessing that God wishes to give to everyone. The lessons of this Christmas story are being lived out even today. You also can choose which lineage you associated with, which kingdom you want to be a part of, and which king you want to serve. Now, it is easy for us to say "yes, I want to be part of God's kingdom," but do we really internalize the meaning of this statement? Christ did not come as a baby and suffer what He did to have people superficially committed to Him. The kingdom He offers us is to be established in every aspect of our lives. It must be everything or nothing. The King of the Universe wants to be born in your heart today. Which Kingdom will you choose   ?