Boasting in the Lord

At least a couple of times in his letters to the churches, the apostle Paul talked about boasting in the Lord. He paraphrased the prophet Jeremiah, saying, "Let the one who boast boast in the Lord" (1 Corinthians 1:31, 2 Corinthians 10:17; compare to Jeremiah 9:24). 

And in his letter to the church in Galatia, Paul says, "But God forbid that I should boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world" (Galatians 6:14).

So what does it mean to boast in the Lord? Usually, when a person boasts, they are glorifying themselves for some supposedly great thing that they supposedly did. But when a Christian boasts in the Lord, they are doing something different. He or she is not boasting about anything that he or she did. 

The Christian who boasts in the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ, is boasting about what someone else did. He or she is boasting about what Jesus did. And so the Christian is not glorifying his or her self. The Christian is glorifying the Lord Jesus Christ.

This is appropriate, since Jesus Christ is the One who saves us from our sin. We didn't do anything to save ourselves. All we can do is trust in Him to forgive us, take away our sins, and help us become the men and women that He created us to be. As Jesus Himself said, "I am the vine, you are the branches, he who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing" (John 15:5). 

And as the prophet Isaiah wrote, "LORD, You will establish peace for us, for You have also done all our works in us" (Isaiah 26:12). The New International Version words it this way, "all that we have accomplished you have done for us". 

In verses 18-19 Isaiah says, 

"We were with child, we writhed in labor, but we gave birth to the wind. We have not brought salvation to the earth, and the people of the world have not come to life. But Your dead will live, LORD; their bodies will rise - let those who dwell in the dust wake up and shout for joy - Your dew is like the dew of the morning; the earth will give birth to her dead".

This prophecy is then echoed by Jesus who said, 

"Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life. Most assuredly, I say to you, the hour is coming, and now is, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God; and those that hear will live. For as the Father has life in Himself, so He has granted the Son to have life in Himself, and has given Him authority to execute judgment also, because He is the Son of Man.

 Do not marvel at this; for the hour is coming in which all who are in the graves will hear His voice and come forth - those who have done good, to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of condemnation. I can of Myself do nothing. As I hear, I judge; and My judgment is righteous, because I do not seek My own will but the will of the Father who sent Me" (John 5:24-30).

Some wicked, blasphemous people have mockingly compared the resurrection which is to come, with depictions of zombie apocalypses in Hollywood films. And perhaps it is silly to even give a response to such childish mockery. But the resurrection of life will certainly not consist of rotting corpses coming out of the graves. On the contrary, those who participate in the resurrection of life will be fully restored to the vibrancy of life. No tattered clothes, no deteriorated cells, tissues or organs. Just vibrant, healthy life.

Consider this excerpt from my other blog, Dr. Wreath, where a girl who has been dead and embalmed for three days is prayed over and rises from the dead:

And placing a hand upon Cor's overlapping hands, he began to pray:

"Most High God, give back the spirit of this daughter of Yours. And let the breath and blood of natural life be in her once more. I ask this of You in the name of Your Son Jesus Christ, who was dead and is alive".

Just as he spoke that last word, the whole congregation clearly heard Cor draw in a deep breath. The heart that lay in still silence, now resumed the rhythm of life. In place of the embalming fluids; warm, living, healthy blood began once more to make its round course through her body. And every deteriorated cell was restored.

But the resurrection that is to come will actually be greater than Cor's temporal resurrection, described above. That resurrection is comparable to those of Lazarus, the widow's son at Nain, or Jairus' daughter in the Gospels. All of those people, having died and been brought back to life; were restored only to this mortal life that you and I have today. And that means that they eventually died again.

But in the resurrection of life that is to come, those who have trusted faithfully in Christ, will be given something entirely above this mortal life. It will be like the resurrection of Jesus Himself, after He had been crucified. Christians will be raised to immortal, eternal life. There will be no more pain, sorrow, or mortality for those who partake of this resurrection.

Again, there is nothing that any one of us could do to earn this salvation. It is entirely by His grace and forgiveness of our sins. This is why we Christians ought not to boast in ourselves, but in the Lord Jesus Christ. He is the resurrection and the life. Without Him, we can do nothing. So it is to Him that we give thanks and praise - forever.

Now these things may seem far out to some readers. But I find Christianity with all its teachings to be far more believable than that irrational myth that atheists tout. Their myth claims that the universe, which operates according to orderly sets of laws, encoded with complex information in its cells and atoms, came not from an orderly Creator and sovereign Lawgiver, but from random, mindless, unguided processes.

Made in the Image of God Part Two - The God of Music

On July 18th, 2013, I published Made in the Image of God; based on my favorite syllogism. That biblical syllogism is this: God is love (1 John 4:8). God made humanity in His own image (Genesis 1:26-27). Humanity is made by, and in the image of God who is love. And that is the reason that we as human beings even have a concept of love. 

The capacity and need for love is hardwired into us by our Creator. It is an essential part of the design of who we are. Love is who God is. And we are created in His image for the purpose of love. These days I try to repeat this syllogistic teaching, or at least allude to it as often as I can. 

After all, Jesus said "'Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments" (Matthew 22:37-40). He was quoting from the books of Moses (Deuteronomy 6:5 & Leviticus 19:18). 

And I want to point out that this is also the reason for music. God is the God of music and song. He is the God of all the universe. He existed from eternity past; before the universe existed. He created it. He owns it. It belongs to Him. It is His. Everything, and every being that exists belongs to God who is love. God who is love owns the universe. 

And so He is the God of music. In God's word, the Holy Bible, we are often instructed to use music and singing in our worship of God. The psalmist wrote:

I will be glad and rejoice in You;

I will sing praise to Your name, O Most High

(Psalm 9:2).

Praise the LORD with the harp;

Make melody to Him on an instrument of ten strings.

Sing to Him a new song:

Play skillfully with a shout of joy

(Psalm 33:2-3).

Also with the flute I will praise You -

And Your faithfulness, O my God.

To You I will sing with the harp

O Holy One of Israel

(Psalm 71:22).

It is good to give thanks to the LORD,
And to sing praises to Your name; O Most High
To declare Your lovingkindness in the morning,
And Your faithfulness every night,
On an instrument of ten strings,
On the flute,
And on the harp,
With harmonious sound.
For You, LORD, have made me glad through Your works;
I will triumph in the works of Your hands
(Psalm 92:1-4)

King Solomon wrote a book of the Bible that is known interchangeable as the Song of Songs and the Song of Solomon. It is an extended, poetic dialogue between a bride and groom, with choruses provided by the friends of the couple. Some theologians like to think that the Song of Solomon is an allegory, or parable of the love between Jesus Christ and the Church as a collective body. 

The New Testament does refer to the collective body of believers metaphorically as the Bride of Christ. And husbands are commanded: "Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her" (Ephesians 5:25). So the poem can be read that way. But personally, I prefer to simply appreciate the Song of Songs as a glad celebration of the love between a man and a woman in holy matrimony.

In the New Testament, Christians are taught to "speak to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord, giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ" (Ephesians 5:19-20). 

And "Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord" (Colossians 3:16). 

Rather than an attempt to fabricate some illusory feeling of peace or purpose or meaning; music is meant to be an expression of the peace, purpose, and meaning that one already has from our Creator and Savior, Jesus Christ. Music was intended to be an expression of our love for God, and our love for each other in God. And it was meant to be an expression of our gladness, and gratitude and thanksgiving to God. And since the Fall of humanity into sin, music can also rightly be an expression of the lamentations of the human spirit in our trials and our longing for restoration in Christ.

Our holy God who is love created us with the capacity and need for love. And stemming from that, we are created with the ability to appreciate music and find in it an expression of our inward spirits; our love toward God and each other, our brokenness and sorrows, our repentance, our longing for all good things which come from God, and our praise and gratitude to God who is love. 

And in music, we can perhaps even hear some whisper of the beauty and glory and love of God who is love. As the Scriptures tell: "Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning" (James 1:17).

Sadly though, in this broken world many people choose to reject God. If they use music,they use it to glorify their own fallen selves, or fallen, corrupted humanity as a collective body. They do not use it to glorify, or express love for God. And the love they do express is not a true, Christ-like love, because they reject God who is love. Jesus, the Son of God, lived a life of devotion to the heavenly Father. But their hearts are far from Him. They love the gift, but they despise the Giver.

Two thousand years ago, the Creator of all things who is love revealed Himself as a human being. Jesus of Nazareth was born of the virgin  Mary, in the city of David - Bethlehem, Israel. He took on human form and lived within the time and space of human history. But He was without sin. He lived a perfect life. And as the Christmas carol tells us, "Truly He taught us to love one another". And He taught us to love God (Matthew 22:37-40). 

And He taught us this love, not only by words, but by deeds. He lived a life of humility and sacrifice; of devotion to the heavenly Father, and the salvation of His creation. And then He willingly laid down His life, dying on a Roman cross for my sins and yours. 

He paid the penalty. "For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord" (Romans 6:23). And "...for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus" (Romans 3:23-24).

Those who hear of His salvation, and go to the grave rejecting Him, demonstrate their lovelessness toward their Creator; the hardness of their fallen, corrupted heart against God who is love, and their worthiness of the condemnation that awaits the unrepentant.