Never Ever Moving Beyond the Cross

While considering Jesus’ title as the Lamb in Revelation, Horatious Bonar powerfully explains that we never, in this life or the next, move away from Christ crucified (lamb slain) on the cross for us as our peace, rest, worship, and glory.

We are never done with the cross, nor ever shall be. Its wonders will be always new, and always fraught with joy. ‘The Lamb as it had been slain’ will be the theme of our praise above. Why should such a name be given to Him in such a book as the Revelation, which in one sense carries us far past the cross, were it not that we shall always realize our connection with its one salvation; always looking to it even in the midst of the glory; and always learning from it some new lesson regarding the work of Him ‘in whom we have redemption through His blood, even the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace’? (The Everlasting Righteousness, p. 61).

Then surveying the over 30 occurrences of “lamb” in Revelation, Bonar concludes,

Thus the  glory of heaven revolves round the cross; and every object on which the eye lights in the celestial city will remind us of the cross, and carry us back to Golgotha. Never shall we get beyond it, or turn our back on it, or cease to draw from it the divine virtue which it contains (p. 63).

Of the new Jerusalem it is said, ‘The LAMB is the light (or lamp) thereof (Rev. xxi. 23). The Lamb is only another name for Christ crucified: so that thus it is the cross that is the lamp of the holy city; and with its light the ages of pearl, the jasper wall, the golden streets, the brilliant foundations, and the crystal river, are all lighted up. The glow of the cross is everywhere, penetrating every part, and reflected from every gem; and by its peculiar radiance transporting the dwellers of the city back to Golgotha, as the fountainhead of all this splendour (pp. 65-66).

Kindle afresh the contemplation, joy, righteousness, and hope now assured through the completed work of Christ on His cross and so tap into the joy of worshipping a crucified God, who will unflaggingly satisfy us with His glory forever.

But it would seem as if the cross and the glory [of God in eternity] were so inseparably bound together, that there cannot be the enjoyment of the one without the remembrance of the other. The completeness of the sacrificial work on Calvary will be matter for eternal contemplation and rejoicing, long after every sin has been, by its cleansing efficacy, washed out of our being for ever (p. 64).

Christ and Food Laws

I just came across this quote in Goldsworthy’s Gospel and Kingdom. Having taught through Colossians and Acts, I could not agree more.

I cannot accept the view that the rationale behind food laws- what is clean for eating, and what is unclean and therefore forbidden- lies only in considerations of hygiene. Even if some aspects of hygiene may be detected these cannot be the main purpose. The ‘passing away’ of the food laws (e.g. Colossians 2:16f) results from the coming of Christ, not from the invention of the refrigerator! (Gospel and Kingdom in Goldsworthy Trilogy, p. 76n. 9).

Feeling Condemned?

As I started my devotions this morning, I have felt some of the heaviness of my sin and unworthiness. It can be suffocating and life taking. We must fight with the word that gives life and trust, every day, in the precious promises of Christ’s gospel.

For an “Ask Pastor John,” John Piper was asked, “Do you ever have doubts about the sincerity of your devotion to Christ? If so, what do you pray and where do you go in God’s word?”

Does he ever doubt?

And the answer is, Yes, I do. And they’re very scary. I don’t blow them off.

Why would such a passionate and accomplished Christian doubt?

I’ve been a Christian for 52-53 years. I’ve been in the ministry, I suppose, since I was 28 (before that, if you count seminary and school). And I’m 63 now. Why should I be wondering about this?

Satan is very, very deceptive. Our own hearts are very fallen. Indwelling sin is real. And there are low seasons in life that come from physical features, emotional features, and spiritual attack that make you ask the most frightening questions. “Am I doing this because I’m making a living at it? Am I a pastor because it has gone well (and why would you not want to have your life go well)? I haven’t been persecuted enough recently, and I see some evidences that my life hasn’t borne as much fruit as I would like.” So, yes.

It is so scary when that happens because if that took hold and conquered, then you would be over. Your faith would be over, your ministry would be over, and it would be terrifying.

If the likes of John Piper must fight this fight for joy and faith in the gospel, what must we, fellow sinners, do?

So I plead with the Lord to open my eyes. I plead with him to incline my heart to his testimonies. I plead with him to pour out the love of God into my heart. I plead with him to help me see the glory of Christ as self-authenticatingly real and compelling. And I go to those places in the Bible that speak of his subjectively-experienced and objectively-grounded love for me.

Then Pastor John Piper proceeds to give an example of this battle in his own life:

I’ll just give you one. This is the way I did it this morning. I got up, and before I got out of bed, feeling some heaviness, I went in my head to Romans 5:5-6, because the two are brought together there: “Hope will not put you to shame, John Piper, because the love of God is poured out into your heart through the Holy Spirit who has been given to you.” …

In the same vein, my soul went to Romans 8:34 this morning: “Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died–more than that, who was raised–who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us.” The logic of Paul runs this way.

• Who is going to condemn you, Rick Zaman? Well, it certainly will not be God.
• How would I know God would not condemn me?
• Look at the cross and tell me what you see.
• I see Christ Jesus being condemned and forsaken.
• Why is God’s most precious and beloved Son forsaken?
• Because He bore all my sins. God condemned Him instead of me.
• If God condemned His own Son fully and already, what condemnation remains for you?
• None! It is finished! It is done! Christ continues as my advocate (cf. 1 John 2:1) and pleads His death for me! I will not be condemned because Jesus was fully condemned for me! “My hope is built on nothing less than Jesus’ blood and righteousness!”

As he concludes his experience in fighting for joy from Romans 5, John Piper says,

That happened 2,000 years ago. I was loved 2,000 years ago, and now the Holy Spirit is given.

So where my mind goes is to the historic reality. He loved me there. Christ died for me. Holy Spirit, come! Open my eyes to this! Help me to see the wonder of this!

And he has to this point in my life. And I believe he will to the end. That’s what the doctrine of perseverance is. To this point in my life, he has done it. He has done it, and I pray that he’ll do it for you.

So, feeling condemned? Run back to Calvary! See Jesus fully condemned for you and know that no condemnation and guilt remains!

God’s Love is Conditional?

Is God’s love unconditional? Well, maybe. It depends by what you mean by unconditional. In the truest sense, God’s love and grace is conditional, says David Powlison. He writes,

It is clear that unmerited grace is not strictly unconditional. While it’s true that God’s love does not depend upon what you do, it very much depends on what Jesus Christ did for you. In that sense, it is highly conditional. It cost Jesus his life.

In fact, the love of God described in the Bible requires the fulfillment of two conditions: perfect obedience and a sin-bearing substitute. Jesus, by his active obedience to the will of God, demonstrated and earned the verdict “righteous.” His fulfillment of God’s conditions is passed on to you when God justifies you.

And Jesus, in his perfect obedience, suffered the penalty of death. The substitutionary Lamb took our death penalty to bring you freedom and life. So the love of God contains two “conditions fulfilled” as it is handed freely to you and to me. God’s love contains both the life and death work of the One who was both God’s servant and God’s lamb. Unconditional love? No, something much better (God’s Love:Better than Unconditional, 11-12).

Centrality of the Gospel

D. A. Carson powerfully reminds me to never assume the gospel, but to always keep it front and center (p. 8):

Many in the Western world have become single-issue people. The church is not immune from such influences. The result is that many Christians assume the gospel but are passionate about something on the relative periphery: abortion, poverty, forms of worship, cultural decay, ecology, overpopulation, pornography, family breakdown, and much more. …From a biblical-theological perspective, these challenges, as serious as they are, are reflections of the still deeper problem–our odious alienation from God. If we tackle these problems without tackling what is central, we are merely playing around with symptoms (bold emphasis mine).