"Looking unto Jesus" (part 3) - Offspring

Before diving in today, I am amazed that God worked it so that I would be posting a blog titled “offspring” on the day of my mother’s birthday.  In light of this, I wanted to take a moment to say how thankful I am to be Rose Mary Bauer’s son.  Further, I want to state how much of a blessing she is to me, and to so many others.  With that brief personal word given, let us move on to the main content.

In Genesis 3:15, God is pronouncing judgment; He says, “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; He shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise His heel” (English Standard Version).  Let’s look at the first few phrases of that verse today.  What does God mean when He says, “I will put enmity between you and the woman”?

I read a fascinating article that stated that women have an inbred hatred of snakes; according to studies, they are four times as likely to have a phobia of snakes as men.  The writer quotes from a psychologist from Carnegie Mellon University, who states that women are born with a “perceptual template that specifies the structure of snakes” and this stems from the need to protect their children.  (Source: https://www.gotquestions.org/definition-enmity.html)

Dr. William Varner adds, “Here is a promise not only of hope but also of warfare.  The Hebrew language and its wider context are referring to something greater than mankind’s loathing of snakes.  The verse could refer only to a battle between followers of the Lord and of Satan.”  (Source: https://answersingenesis.org/gospel/seed-promise-genesis-315/) 

Furthermore, God declares in Genesis 3, “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring” (emphasis mine).  I agree with Don Stewart when he states that this cannot be referring to physical descendants of Satan; he says, “There is no indication that Satan ever had any physical offspring.” (From https://www.blueletterbible.org/faq/don_stewart/don_stewart_756.cfm). Rather this refers to spiritual descendants; another source states that this refers to “evil men and demonic forces” (https://www.gotquestions.org/protoevangelium.html).

Who is the woman’s offspring?  This is where it gets really good!  The just-cited got questions.org article goes on to say, “The woman in question is in a general sense Eve herself, all of whose offspring would forever be harassed by Satan and his minions…More specifically, the offspring of the woman refers to Jesus Christ, who was born of a woman.”  An “amen” belongs here!  “We must remember that this promise [in Genesis 3:15] is only the beginning of a long series of Messianic prophecies,” says William Varner in the same resource quoted earlier. “Like an inverted pyramid, this portrait of Messiah rests on the only one who could fit these and many other prophecies concerning Him – Jesus of Nazareth.”  

In conclusion, this Jesus is not like any other man who ever lived; He is the Messiah, the One who is fully man and fully God.  After living a life of perfect righteousness, teaching the most profound sermons, and performing the most astonishing miracles, this Jesus “died for our sins…He was buried…and He rose again the third day” (1 Corinthians 15:3-4).  And this Jesus can change your life today.

Kevin

"Looking unto Jesus" (part 2) - Origins

One of the important aspects of the superhero narrative is what is called the origin story.  This is the telling of the events that led to their transformation into a superhero.  For example, there were great origin stories told in films like “Superman: the Movie” (1978) and “Captain America: the First Avenger” (2011); and many, many more examples could be named.  The book of Genesis is the Bible’s account of origins.  You might even call it the origin story, but it is not a fictional story; this is the historical record.

The opening chapters of the book of Genesis present lots of important events.  But for purposes of today’s blog, I want to look at Genesis 3.  This is a sad chapter; one might even call it the saddest chapter in the Bible.  At the start, mankind enjoyed a harmonious, intimate, delightful fellowship with God, until the events of Genesis 3.  The first human beings listened to the lies of the satanic enemy, in the form of a snake; they disobeyed God’s prohibition, and thus sin entered the picture.

In verses 14 and 15 of Genesis 3, God is giving His judgments to the snake.  Verse 15 is an amazing verse.  In fact, this is the verse that I want to examine and unpack in the coming days.  It reads, “And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise His heel” (New King James Version).  For today, note with me just how incredible it is that even in the midst of the intense, somber event, God gave an announcement of a Coming Savior.

Dr. William Varner writes, “The gospel is not something God hid until Jesus came in the flesh.  After Adam’s Fall, God shared the seeds of a plan He had already worked out before time began.”  He goes on to say that many theologians actually refer to Genesis 3:15 as “the first announcement of the good news of the gospel.” (Source: https://answersingenesis.org/gospel/seed-promise-genesis-315/)

Let me conclude on this note.  The TV series “The Dick Van Dyke show” is still regarded very highly to this day, even though the program was on in the 1960’s.  I am a big fan of the show myself.  Arguably, one of the best episodes of their entire run was “Never Name a Duck” from season 2.

In the episode, Rob Petrie (Dick Van Dyke) brings home two baby ducks from his work.  Soon, his young son, Ritchie names them and wants to keep them as pets; which he does.  But three months later, after one of the ducks dies, and the other one subsequently gets sick as well, Rob has to take the ill duck to a lake.  He faces the unenviable task of telling his boy.  The normally calm and well-adjusted Ritchie doesn’t take the news very well, and runs to his bedroom.

In a poignant scene, Rob tells Ritchie that just like he couldn’t take his goldfish out of the bowl, the duck needed to be out in the lake, and he would be happier there.  At one point in the discussion, the subject of love is mentioned; Ritchie asks what love is.  Rob’s answer is invaluable: “Love is…you think more about what’s good for the one you love, than you think about what’s good for yourself.”

This illustration helps us to stop and think about the fact that this is how God loves us.  The first man and woman had blown it in Genesis 3.  He could have left them to flounder in their sin, and lost innocence, but He didn’t.  God revealed that there was hope; there was a plan already set in motion for the price of mankind’s sin to be paid.  Centuries later, this would be done by Jesus Christ, the spotless Lamb of God.  The Bible says, “By this we know love, because He [Jesus] laid down His life for us” (1 John 3:16). 

Kevin

"Looking unto Jesus" (part 1)

Ash Wednesday was a few days ago.  This holiday marks the official beginning of Lent; and the anticipation of Easter Sunday, where Jesus gloriously conquered death itself.  Incidentally, I found good information on Ash Wednesday and Lent at got questions.org.  I would encourage you to look over the article yourself, but to give a little appetizer I will share these brief quotations.

The writer says, “Should a Christian observe Ash Wednesday?  Since the Bible nowhere explicitly commands or condemns such a practice, Christians are at liberty to prayerfully decide whether or not to observe Ash Wednesday.”  A little later on, it reads, “It is a good thing to repent of sinful activities, but that’s something Christians should do every day, not just during Lent.  It’s a good thing to clearly identify oneself as a Christian, but, again, this should be an everyday identification.  And it is a good reminder that no ritual can make one’s heart right with God.”

(Source: https://www.gotquestions.org/Ash-Wednesday.html)

As the days grew closer to Ash Wednesday, and Lent, the Lord laid on my heart to share something that I actually submitted back in December in my other blog.  I’ve decided to recycle and re-submit the material again in this blog.  

I do this for several reasons, but primarily because some of the feedback I’ve received for that content was that it was a little difficult to digest.  I went back and looked over it again myself; it does have a lot of information to process for just one blog.  So to help us set our minds on Jesus, I’m going to submit what I shared in December, re-package it a bit, and break it up into several installments here. 

Today is really just an introduction more than anything.  So let me conclude for now by speaking of the title of this upcoming series.  As you see, I called it “Looking unto Jesus”.  I got that phrase from Hebrews 12:2 which reads, “Looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God” (New King James Version).  Stay tuned, as we embark on this journey together.

Kevin

Reflections on Ephesians 2 - part 5 of 5

We have been on a journey through Ephesians 2, a powerful passage of Scripture.  Today I  want to finish up this collection of blogs.  I want to conclude by looking at verse 10; it states, “For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do” (New International Version).

The New Living Translation renders the first part of the verse, “For we are God’s masterpiece.”  Why?  Context is crucial here.  We were dead in sin, lost, and hopeless, but God changed everything.  Remember that the previous verses read, “By grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God.  Not by works, so that no one can boast.” That’s why we are His masterpiece.  The Bible says, “If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation, the old has gone, the new has come!”  The Christian is a glorious new creation; transformed by His grace.

The next phrase says we were, “created in Christ Jesus to do good works.”  Picture a ludicrous scene with me as an analogy: imagine if Super Bowl 54 MVP Patrick Mahomes, when he was first drafted by the Kansas City Chiefs, had said (either verbally or through his actions), “I’m glad the Chiefs picked me to be on their team, but I really just wanted the security of knowing I was on an NFL team.  I don’t want to contribute anything.”  Granted, my analogy breaks down.  If this were true, Mahomes obviously wouldn’t have been on the team very long.

Conversely, God will never cut us from His team, as it were.  I like how Paul Asay puts it in his book on Batman titled “God on the Streets of Gotham”.  He says, “Nothing can separate us from God’s love.  We’re on our way to heaven.  Our sins are forgiven.  We’re in the club, and no one can revoke our membership.”  But with that important fact in mind, we can’t miss the fact that the Christian is supposed to do good works.  Not out of fear or guilt, but out of gratitude and love.  Becoming a Christian isn’t the finish line; it’s actually just the beginning of the greatest adventure imaginable.

The last phrase says that God prepared these good works “in advance for us to do.”  It’s amazing to think about how God works all the details out, to get us right where He wants us, so that we can do the good works He planned for us all along.  Let me give you an example of this from my life:

My mother and I have always enjoyed a close relationship.  But no one, except for God, knew that my healthy father was going to suddenly pass away at the young age of 60.  In hindsight, I can see that God recognized someone was going to have to be there for my mother, day in and day out.  While I have no doubt that my brother would have taken care of Mom, if he needed to; with his wife and family to tend to, this would have been challenging.  I enthusiastically accepted this sacred calling, or this good work which God had been preparing me to do from the beginning.

Kevin

"Nothing in my hand I bring" - Reflections on Ephesians 2 (part 4)

Last time, I shared how a pastor once used the analogy of a mountain climber reaching the apex of the mountain, when one gets to Ephesians 2:8-10.  Previously, we looked at verse 8: “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God.”  Let’s continue.  The passage goes on: “Not by works, so that no one can boast” (Ephesians 2:9; New International Version).  This notion is found all throughout the Word of God.  For just one example, Titus 3 says that God saved us, “not because of righteous things we had done, but because of His mercy” (verse 5).

 

One resource states, “You don’t have to perform for God in order to win His favor.  The beauty and wonder of your life in Christ is that your initial and continuing connection with God is not dependent upon your conduct.  There is nothing you can do to make God love you more (so you don’t have to perform for Him like some trained circus monkey).  And, there is nothing you can do to make God love you less (so you don’t have to fret about the screw-ups you will inevitably make).  All you have to do to begin your new life in Christ is to believe and receive the free gift of salvation He offers you.”  (From God is Amazing by Bruce Bickel and Stan Jantz, published by Barbour Publishing, Inc. Used by permission)

There are those who get very nervous when this concept is presented.  They reason, “If you are saved by grace alone, what is to stop someone from going out and living a life of sinful debauchery?”  I could write an entire blog alone on why this is flawed logic.  But let me just give two responses today.

First, the Bible never teaches it!  Never once does the Bible declare that because salvation is by grace, you can just go out and live as immorally as you want.  To the contrary, you read just the opposite.  You read things like: “Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase?  By no means” (Romans 6:1-2)!  Or consider these strong words in 1 Peter: “abstain from sinful desires, which wage war against your soul” (1 Peter 2:11).  2 Timothy 1 says that God “called us to a holy life” (verse 9). 

Secondly, an important point in this argument is context.  You can’t just rip out a line or two from the Bible, and ignore the surrounding verses.  In the case of Ephesians 2, we go on to read that we are actually saved “for good works” (verse 10; English Standard Version)”.  Over the years, I’ve often used this quote from the late Dr. Adrian Rogers; he stated that we are not saved by good works, but for good works. 

The next phrase in Ephesians 2:9 is a significant one: “so that no one can boast.”  Works don’t save anyone because, if they did, a believer could take the credit and glory for their salvation.  Pastor Bill Oudemolen once gave the illustration of a person drowning, who is subsequently saved by a lifeguard; but then the rescued person brags on himself, rather than the lifeguard!  He went on to say that, in the same way, the man or woman can do nothing other than offer their gratitude to Christ for saving them.  The old hymn says, “Nothing in my hand I bring; simply to Thy cross I cling.”

Kevin

"The top of the mountain" - Reflections on Ephesians 2 (part 3)

A pastor once likened the book of Ephesians to someone climbing up a mountain; he went to declare that Ephesians 2:8-10 are, what he referred to as “the top of the mountain.”  That is well said.  They are indeed amazing verses.  They are so rich, in fact, that there’s no way I could adequately cover them all in one blog.  The way I plan to do this is to cover verse 8 today, and continue on with the other verses in future blogs.

Ephesians 2:8 says, “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God” (New King James Version).  What is grace?  Grace is God’s unmerited favor.  Grace is God giving us something that we don’t deserve.

 

Earlier on in this chapter, we’re told that we were dead in sins, but God made us alive (verses 5-6).  A parenthetical statement is made there that is also given in verse 8, “By grace you have been saved.”  We were dead, but God made live.  We needed to be rescued, but God saved us.  Not because of any merit, work, or brownie points we accumulated, just because of God’s incredible grace.  In fact, verse 6 goes on to state that He “made us sit together in Heavenly places in Christ Jesus”.  This amazing position of honor, once again, is only through God’s grace.

Ephesians 2:8 declares that we are saved “through faith.”  I like one of the definitions that the dictionary gives for faith: “complete trust or confidence.”  We are saved by God’s grace, through faith, or complete trust.  When it comes to the issue of salvation from sin, it is vital that our faith or complete truth be put in the right source.  Jesus the Christ is the only One who is worthy of that trust and faith; only He was sinless, fully God and fully man, and therefore qualified to pay for our sin.  Galatians 3:26 states, “You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus.”

“For it is by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves” (italics added for emphasis).  Amazingly, even the faith given to us to believe in Christ in the first place isn’t something we’ve conjured up on our own; it is a gift from God.  A Bible teacher, evangelist, preacher, and yes even a writer of blogs like me, can declare the truth of the gospel as passionately and clearly as he can, but ultimately it is up to God to illuminate the heart, oil the words, and convict the heart.

Let me conclude with this.  Ephesians 2:8 says the grace and the faith to belief is all a gift from God.  But the question is this: have you taken the gift?  Unfortunately, it is possible for the heart to be convicted of the truth, and for the person to choose to reject the gift of God’s love and favor.  Some people may not like this thought, but the tragic passing of Kobe Bryant teaches us once again that life is fleeting.  We don’t know what tomorrow holds.  If you have been on the fence, or playing games, I pray that today would be the day that you would take the gift; say an irrevocable “yes” to the Lord’s unmerited favor, forgiveness of sins, and an exciting relationship with the God of the universe.

Kevin

The Valentine's Day blog installment - 2020 edition

Even though I briefly mentioned Valentine’s Day, I thought I would interrupt the recent blogs from Ephesians 2 and devote an entire blog to the holiday.  I do this primarily because my heart goes out to a large group of people: those who are single and unattached today.  They know the cultural expectation to have a significant other on this day, and to not have one weighs heavily upon them like a blanket.  How do I know this?  To be transparent with you, I know this because I am currently in that life situation.

I will never forget a TV commercial from years ago.  It began with a woman looking diligently in the greeting card aisle for the perfect Valentine’s Day card for her boyfriend.  She reads the line, “our love is like a beacon” aloud to herself.  After a lot of careful deliberation, she finds the right card.  By contrast, her boyfriend, as he is purchasing his beer at a grocery store, throws in the first Valentine’s Day card he sees in the checkout line.  The scene shifts to the couple reading each other’s cards.  “It’s perfect,” the girl exclaims to her guy.  The commercial (and more specifically the man) always irritated me.  This loving girl deserved more effort than that!

I tell you all that because I came across an article that I will be sharing portions of today.  And as I do, I wanted you to know that this wasn’t some apathetic exercise, without any emotional fervor, on my end.  As if it was just something I thought would be good for others to read for a Valentine’s Day blog; no, I needed this reminder.

Author Stacy Reaoch wrote a helpful article that she titled “Singleness Is Not a Problem to Be Solved”.  At one point, she brings up a quote from Elisabeth Elliot that changed her perspective.  Elisabeth’s quote was this: “If you are single today, the portion assigned to you for today is singleness.  It is God’s gift.  Singleness ought not to be viewed as a problem, nor marriage as a right.  God in his wisdom and love grants you either as a gift.”  Stacy goes on to write, “I was shocked and offended the first time my eyes rolled over those words.  But it was Elisabeth Elliot’s voice, along with the apostle Paul’s (1 Corinthians 7:7), that propelled me to not pine over a missing relationship, but to wholeheartedly pursue Jesus and the life he had give me to live.”

She then lists four ways to make the most of singleness.  I’m not going to list them all here (but the link will be below, and it is well worth your time), however, I am going to cite these words: “In whatever season of waiting God might have you in, choose to bloom where you’re planted.  Embrace the life God has called you to, whether single or married.  Trust that both callings are precious gifts of grace, both with painful and overwhelming hardships.  Happiness is not found through finding a soul mate, but through finding satisfaction in a loving Savior who has called you his own and made you a beloved son or daughter of the King.”

(Source: https://www.desiringgod.org/articles/singleness-is-not-a-problem-to-be-solved)

Let me conclude with this: one of my Christmas gifts was a book by Nancy DeMoss Wolgemuth and Robert Wolgemuth titled “You Can Trust God to Write Your Story”.  It is a wonderful book that I resonate with.  The proper response is always surrendering to the Lord and His ways.  Not that it’s always easy, but we can trust God; He knows best.

Kevin