3 Year Bible

My sophomore year in college, after attempting the 1-Year Bible Plan time and time again and failing, I decided to read the bible cover to cover. Roughly 3 years later I've finally finished! Here are some things I was blessed with along the way:

• The bible was written for the glory of God. Oftentimes, folks are tempted to read the Word for their own comfort from hard times, for moral instruction, for some arbitrary sense of encouragement. Don't get me wrong, if you cherish the Word you will be comforted, you will be instructed on how to please the Lord, and you will absolutely be encouraged. But when you take the time to go through God's Word in its entirety, instead of cracking the bible open to your same favorite verses every once in a while, you'll quickly realize very little is directed to the reader, and all of it points to Christ, to the praise and glory of God. 
• On the note of "likable" passages, this journey took me through many portions of scripture that I really didn't "like". Some of them seemed difficult to defend to non-believers, others felt wrong at first glance, and still others seemed contradictory. As I struggled through these passages and wrestled with what it revealed of the character of God, and what humanity truly is, I found great joy in bowing to the inerrant, infallible, unchanging truth of God's Word. 
• To that point, I realized how silly I was to try to jump into the epistles without reading everything that preceded them. When I first jumped into 1 John, I felt very uncomfortable hearing that "We know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brothers. Whoever does not love abides in death." A little harsh no? And why is my salvation based on loving my brothers? Oh, because Jesus said it. But he isn't describing a works-based gospel. Back up to John 13:35 and Jesus tells his disciples, "By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another." Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ as Savior will produce this love for one another. How? Because God is a God of love, and has loved His Son and the world in sending His Son, and the Son has loved us in revealing God's wonderful plan and executing it on our behalf, and we've known God is a God of love since, well Genesis. 
• And just in case you feel overwhelmed in bowing to this truth because you know you are not filled with love for your brother, we need not fear, because the Word promises the indwelling of Christ's Spirit in us will cause us to bear such fruit. 
• And with every new layer of understanding the Triune God, what He has done for us, the fact that He does it all, who we are, and how long and intricately and perfectly this plan has been in place from the Book of Life before time to Israel's priestly traditions to the promise of Gentile salvation, I rejoice to find that the bible is its own best commentary. The Word is so sweet, and the joys and treasures written in it are never-ending and inexhaustible. 

How sweet are your words to my taste,

sweeter than honey to my mouth! 

Through your precepts I get understanding;

therefore I hate every false way.

Your word is a lamp to my feet

and a light to my path.

- Psalm 119:103-105

Hail to the King

Imagery for the Great Commission

Christ with us, a great multitude is led out in triumphal procession. Triumphal. Not merely meek before the world, stepping out two by two with meager possessions. We are equipt with the very Spirit of Christ, who has authority over all things. Thus we step out in joy, boasting in the Lord, singing and making melodies to Him in our hearts. And as we disperse throughout Judea, Samaria, and to the ends of the earth we carry with us, thick the fragrance of the knowledge of Christ. And all passerby as we proclaim the divine truth are enveloped in this fragrance. Some from death to death, but others from life to life!

Who is sufficient for these things? Thanks be to God, who in Christ always leads us in triumphal procession!

2 Corinthians 2:14-17
Matthew 28:18-20

Here In the Death of Christ I Live

PROPITIATION

Background

- See Romans chs 1-3:20 to understand the truth of our total depravity in sin

What is propitiation?

- appeasing of divine wrath, namely the just punishment for our vile sinfulness

Once upon a time, we were cut off from fellowship with God. We had "fallen short of the glory of God" (Rom 3:23) and were kept apart from Him. So much so, that the high priest of Israel would, on The Day of Atonement (Lev 16), go through several cleansing ceremonies, and enter through the curtain (remember this curtain it's important later) to the Most Holy Place where the presence of God dwelled. He went with rope tied round his waist, as it wasn't uncommon for priests to fall dead before the presence of God. And on this day, he would make a special sacrifice within the ark of the covenant, upon a holy place called "the mercy seat" (Heb 9:5) or in Greek, the propitiation. Despite all of their many sacrifices and offerings throughout the year, the wages of sin are death, and the life of an animal was delivered for the sins of Israel. 

But as you might imagine, the wrath of the Holy God, cannot justly be appeased by means of animal sacrifices. No, it was in His divine forbearance that he had passed over former sins (Rom 3:25) because He had a plan to show the righteousness of God. And His plan was Jesus. 

How is propitiation?

- Jesus Christ the God/man drank the cup of wrath on behalf of those who would believe in His name

Picture Jesus, knowing that his crucifixion awaits him, fully human and fully deity, sweating drops of blood as he prays in agony for the cup of wrath to be taken away from him if and only if it is the will of God (Luke 22:39-44). See him on the cross, calling out "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" (Mark 15:34). And we are so quick to empathize with him in our human frailty. 

"Ah yes, if it were my own hands pierced by the nails, scalp full of thorns, and lashes on my back, I would cry out to God as well"

NO! Christ Jesus, is not some fearful man who cringes at the thought of mere physical pain when his disciples run joyfully into martyrdom. Christ acted in such a way, because he knew what God's wrath looked like:

"And the sea gave up the dead who were in it, Death and Hades gave up the dead who were in them, and they were judged, each one of them, according to what they had done. Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. And if anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire."

(Rev 20:13-15)

The way my frail human brain imagines this, is a little like this scene from Harry Potter. TLDwatch, Dumbledore forcibly drinks a potion that brings him intense pain. In one frame, you see the old man's face, agonized and yet submissively determined to take on more of this awful drink. Except with Jesus, He opened his mouth and drank up all of an eternity in the lake of fire as it came blazing down upon him for you, for me, for every believer. A great multitude! the bible says. I gaze upon it and I shake my head, it's impossible! I see a blazing sky of fire tornadoing down into this frail and human body on the cross. And yet, Christ's mouth shuts and the fiery horror of God's wrath is contained within Him. I have forgotten that He is God, victorious over death and eternal hell. It is finished. 

"And the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. And when the centurion, who stood facing him, saw that in this way he breathed his last, he said, 'Truly this man was the Son of God'"

(Mark 15:38-39)

Sermons that led to this post:

http://www.pillarbaptist.com/sermons?sermon_id=169

Pastor Danny at Pillar Baptist Church May 2012

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JSaTWoRHbN8

Pastor Paul Washer at Shepherd's Conference 2016

Baptism Testimony

Hello, my name is Sharon Jeong, and today I’m here to declare what the Lord Jesus Christ has done for my soul.

As some of you know, I was born into a Jesus-loving home. This in itself was God’s grace on me. From the very beginning, He was sowing the seeds of the gospel into my heart.

But despite being born into such ideal circumstances, I was still blind to the truth of the gospel. In fact, growing up in church just made me prideful. I foolishly believed that having bible knowledge and generally agreeing with Christian morals made me righteous. And so I justified living like an unbeliever, fearing no punishment for sin, and declaring myself holier than others through it all. Even still, the Lord gave me a heart to trust in His gospel. Though I didn’t actually understand it yet, it was His mercy that carried me through those years of paying lip-service to God.

Freshmen year in college, I think I read the bible for the very first time. I had read passages here and there for 18 years. But in that first year away from home, the Holy Spirit began to open my ears to hear God’s truth. I would go through passages like Phil 2:13 and read that it was God who worked in me both to will and to work for His good pleasure. And my heart would resound with the truth of God’s sovereignty over us, amazed that what I knew to be true in my life was all written down and explained in this book. God’s Word became so sweet to me from that point on.

Despite finally hearing the good truth of the gospel, I was still a self-righteous person. And so God graciously led me to see my sin. Looking into my soul felt much like peering over a gaping hole. And I saw that every aspect of my personality, to my very core, was made up of pride, selfishness, laziness, and above all else idolatry of myself. In making myself to be God, I had lived an entire life of rebellion against the Lord who I claimed to honor as King of Kings.

One hymn I’ve read recently, resounded with this discovery of my sin:

Twas you, my sins, my cruel sins,
His chief tormentors were;
Each of my crimes became a nail,
And unbelief the spear. 

You see, all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. But we don’t have to be in despair, for the gospel doesn’t only reveal to us our sin, it is also tells us of the sweet, immeasurable grace that God has for us in making a way for salvation:

God Almighty in His astounding compassion sent Jesus Christ, the eternal Son of God who has been on the throne since the beginning of time, to earth. And he lived the perfect life and died on the cross as a spotless Lamb, in our place. He came in love, to redeem undeserving sinners, to the praise of His glorious name.

My dear friends, see the sin that had enslaved me, and repent for your own life of rebellion in unbelief against God. And understand, that to be saved from the eternal death we deserve, you need but look to Christ. See what He has accomplished for you on that cross! Believe in the Lord Jesus who has died in your place, and has resurrected to promise us eternal life with Him.

-

I have been buried with Christ as under the water, and have come up born again. My sin has been covered by the righteousness of Christ, and now I get to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord for all of eternity. As God continues to sanctify this undeserving child, I live now as a new creature, henceforth looking toward heavenly things and eagerly awaiting the coming of the Lord.