Christmas According to John: The Word Became Flesh

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being. In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men. The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.

There came a man sent from God, whose name was John. He came as a witness, to testify about the Light, so that all might believe through him. He was not the Light, but he came to testify about the Light. There was the true Light which, coming into the world, enlightens every man. He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. He came to His own, and those who were His own did not receive Him. But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.

And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.
John testified about Him and cried out, saying, "This was He of whom I said, 'He who comes after me has a higher rank than I, for He existed before me.'" For of His fullness we have all received, and grace upon grace. For the Law was given through Moses; grace and truth were realized through Jesus Christ. No one has seen God at any time; the only begotten God who is in the bosom of the Father, He has explained Him.

Over the last few weeks I've been preparing to preach a sermon on Christmas -- on the subject of the incarnation of God in Jesus. And I spend a good amount of time thinking about how I might present the Christmas story to the congregation. And before coming to the Gospel of John, the first passages that came to mind were Luke 1 & 2 and Matthew 1 & 2. And I have to admit that there was an air of familiarity about those stories as I read them. My heart wasn’t affected as it should be. And as I read them I realized that we Christians are used to seeing Christmas and thinking about Christmas from a historical perspective. We all know the story. Even the most committed atheist can recite the story of Mary and Joseph, the angels, the shepherds, there being no room in the inn, and the baby Jesus being born in a manger. That’s the story recorded in Matthew and Luke. And the majority of our Christmas services and sermons are founded upon the accounts of Matthew and Luke. And that’s good! They should be!

But in John’s account of the Christmas story, what is amazing, what is unique, is that John gives us the theological perspective of Christmas. Matthew and Luke give us the historical perspective, but John gives us a look into the Christmas story that you wouldn’t know anything about even if you were with Mary and Joseph that night. Considering Christmas from the theological perspective helps us battle against familiarity with some of the loftiest of truths.

We see the heart of Christmas in John 1 verse 14: “And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.”

There is a wealth of truth in that one little sentence! It is a treasure chest so deep that we could spend weeks mining out all of its implications for the way we should understand Christmas, and for how we live our lives throughout the rest of the year as well.

James Montgomery Boice, the long time pastor of Tenth Presbyterian Church in Philadelphia, now with the Lord, wrote this in his commentary on this verse:

I wish it were possible to approach John 1:14 as though reading it for the first time. The verse contains something that was new and quite startling when it was first written, and yet for us who read it nearly two thousand years later it has become commonplace. … This was the great sentence for which the Gospel of John was written. It tells us – inexplicable as it may be – that God became man. Nevertheless, because we have heard that verse from childhood, we read it and are often strangely unmoved.

And he’s right. We read this and are unmoved. But as we take an extended look at this text together, I want this to move you! I want you to perceive the full weight of what John is teaching us about Christmas! I want you to be affected by the declaration – and by the reality – that this Word...

• this Word that was in the beginning (1:1-2)
  
• this Word that existed before the world was (1:1-2)
• this Word that was with God in the beginning before creation (1:1-2)
• this Word that actually was God Himself (1:1)
  
• this Word through which everything in the universe was created (1:3)
  
• this Word who had life in Himself (1:4)
  
• this Word who was the Light of men (1:4, 9)
  
• this Word that gives sinful human beings the right to become children of God (1:12)
  

…this Word became flesh, and dwelt among us!

And so as we seek to be affected by the truth in John 1:14, I want to take a couple of posts to look into this treasure chest of a verse and focus on three key words that John uses – words that give us breathtaking, worldview-shifting, life-altering insight into the significance of Christmas, insight into the significance of the incarnation, insight into what was really happening when God Himself took on human flesh, and became man.

Those three key words are "dwelt," "glory," and "only." We'll look into the truth they teach us as we look forward to Christmas.

Christmas According to John

1. The Word Became Flesh
2. The Tabernacle: The Word Dwelt Among Us
3. God's Glory in His Temple: We Saw His Glory
4. The True Temple: Glory as of the Only Begotten from the Father

Update: Audio now available.

Better Christmas Stuff

Frank Turk, over at Evangel, has been doing a great series on Christmas. Specifically, he's talking about how the coming of Christ points us to the coming of God's wrath. That is, the reason Christ came into the world is that there was a problem: humanity was under the wrath of God and had no hope of escape. It's a good, sobering reminder to us all that in the midst of the decorations, shopping, Christmas trees, egg nog, and even nativity scenes on your lawn, Christmas is about the birth of a Savior. He came to save His people from their sins (Mt 1:21).

Anyway, I appreciated Frank's most recent post, and wanted to post it here as well. If any of you are tempted to think of Christmas as simply a quaint holiday that's mostly about family and friends and presents with an occasional hat-tip to Jesus, you're in danger of wasting your Christmas this year, and for the rest of your life. Frank exhorts us not to waste our Christmas. Enjoy.

My point, so far, is that God’s wrath is coming, and Jesus — whose birth we celebrate at Christmas — is the savior from that wrath. It’s a point a lot of people got because that’s what a savior is — and it’s a point I have made here before, so you were probably with me on it by way of preparation, one way or the other.

Now, the question is: is that enough? That is, if we understand that what we deserve is God’s wrath and what we get is God’s savior, can we now have some ham and some applesauce and some casserole and maybe (in presbyterian and Lutheran homes, of course) a glass of wine, a decent night’s sleep, and then open the presents on Christmas morn after an appropriately-solemn reading of Luke 2? I mean, seriously: enough’s enough.

Listen: Christmas is not about a logical argument, an intellectual affirmation, and then a secular session of either greed or idolatry (or maybe both). Christmas is about God with us.

When the Jews had the Temple, God’s wasn’t “with us”: He was nearby, to be sure, but He was separated ritually and physically from the people. He had a covenant with the Jews, and He gave them the means to sort of “pay up” or “make up” the ways in which they broke the covenant, but here’s what He says about that:

For I desire mercy, not sacrifice,
and acknowledgment of God rather than burnt offerings.

Two little lines in the book of Hosea — a book in which God says that the right way to see the relationship between Israel (the chosen nation) and God is that God is a faithful husband and Israel is a wife who prefers the life of a prostitute to the life of fidelity. But Hosea has to go and buy his wife back out of prostitution to make himself like God in this object lesson prophecy.

The obvious application is that God is coming back for us when we don’t deserve it — you’ve all heard that one, I am sure. But look: when God is spelling it out for Israel in Hosea 6:6, God is saying, “You know: I don’t want you just to think about what I have done this for you, I want you to acknowledge that I have done this for you and act like I am real to you.”

I think that’s a little dazzling, frankly. God doesn’t want to just save us: God wants us to act like a wife bought out of prostitution.

We don’t have to be people who are in it for the money anymore — because the price for us has been paid forever. We don’t have to work off our debt. Now, that sounds like standard christianese, I am sure — and the best way to overcome that is to describe for you in detail what the life of a prostitute is like. However, homeschool moms are reading this, and they would probably find that a little much — and they might be right. I’ll sum it up in a sentence: imagine a life in which your own body is not safe from the demands and impulses of others who care nothing about you. If you were stuck in a life where you don’t even own your own body, or have a right to your own flesh, how would you act toward the person who paid the price for your body and set you free from that kind of slavery?

That’s the razor’s edge at Christmas: it’s the place where mental assent doesn’t cut it. We can’t just agree that these things are true for us in some religious metaphor, or maybe in some metaphysical transaction. We have to be in love with the one who has actually done this for us. We have to live as if God is with us. God doesn’t want us to go and offer a dove or a lamb or a bull in the temple: God wants us to love Him above all things because He deserves to be loved above all things. And He should get it right now because He is worthy of it right now — in the same way you love your own spouse right now personally, passionately, and somewhat impulsively.

This Christmas thing — it shouldn’t be about an idea of God: It should be about God. In person. Here with us.

When we prepare for Christmas, we ought to be loving God in a real way — because He is saving us in a real way, and He is here with us. Welcome Him into your family and life as if He was your beloved husband and deliverer from slavery.

Christmas Stuff

So as we're getting ready to head home, things are a bit hectic and I haven't had time to write Monday's post. Lucky for you, my friend Dan Phillips has come up with some gems related to the season that I've thoroughly enjoyed. Hopefully you will too.

The first is a great story about the best Christmas decorations ever. I was never very festive around Christmas time. The lights and the decorating the tree and the window stick-ons and the lawn ornaments never really appealed to me. But I really enjoyed this idea:


That's just priceless.

I also enjoyed the following:

Oh, and just in case any of you wanted to know what I might want for Christmas (:oD), you can click here. Thanks!

An Update: 12/12/09

So it's been a while since I've just posted an update on how things are out here. I actually intended to do more of that than I've done. Hopefully the other stuff has been helpful and interesting as well.

Seasonal Fellowship

But as for where we are right now, we're doing well. Now's the time of the season where we get to have a bunch of fun get-togethers. On the 3rd, the seminary students brought their wives and children to the annual TMS Christmas Chapel. We sang wonderful worship songs that focused on the theme of the incarnation, Christ's entering into His own creation to die for sins and live for righteousness for all those who believe. We read the Christmas story from Luke 2, and we were served by the music of Christan Ebner. And after that, we enjoyed a wonderful assortment of Christmas cookies. In fact, the administration here at TMS has to remind us that it's called the Christmas Chapel, and not the Cookie Chapel, as it has come to be called. That was a great time of fellowship with the faculty and students, and having the students' families there makes it even better!

Backing up a bit farther, we also enjoyed our first Thanksgiving away from home. We traveled two doors down in our apartment complex to enjoy the day with two other young seminary couples (plus one of their sisters). The smallest turkey we could find in the nearby grocery stores was a 20-pounder, so all of us really enjoyed that! We had a great dinner and wonderful fellowship with some dear brothers and sisters in Christ. After dinner we had a fun time learning a card game called Canasta (pronounced ca-NAS-ta), which brought quite a few laughs considering some of the terminology of the game. But the real party started when we began to play spoons. Our host was a big fan of grabbing a bunch of spoons and just throwing them all over his house, causing a rampage among the rest of the players who (at many times) violently fought for the last spoon. His wife left with a nice cut on her forehead, Janna was finding bruises on her legs for a couple days, but the highlight of the night was when I was tackled and put a hole in their wall. I felt pretty bad about damaging someone else's home, but Dan loved it. It was a night not soon to be forgotten.

And still speaking of these seasonal get-togethers, we just enjoyed our first of three Christmas parties in a row Friday night. This first one was for our Bible study. We had some great food, and great desserts. It was a real treat to just hang out and talk and get to know each other better. The Lord Jesus has really blessed us with a good group of people whom we can serve and who we can serve alongside. We also enjoyed our $10-gift-card white elephant game. We got an extra $10 for Cold Stone! Woohoo! Saturday and Sunday nights we'll be having somewhat of a similar experience as a couple of friends from seminary are having Christmas parties. We look forward to enjoying the fellowship we have with each other in Christ.

The Job Situation

Janna has continued to tutor students at Grace Community School. She's been doing a great job, and has been preparing for these one-hour weekly sessions as any great teacher would. She's actually been studying Latin (which she's never done before) so she can tutor 8th and 9th graders in first year Latin. As a language teacher, I'm very proud of her for that. That job has also been a great blessing from the Lord to us, as it has been the principal source of income for the last four months. She's also continued to sell a particular brand of makeup that we can't mention by name online. So ladies, if you're interested, give my wife a call.

We do have some better news on the job front, though. Janna recently had an interview at Henry Mayo, the hospital that's like right around the corner from our apartment. The position is medical-surgical, but it's on a telemetry / oncology floor that seems to be in really good shape. Apparently, the interview went really well. Obviously, they loved Janna, but what was great is that Janna really liked them as well. The hospital seems to be in really good shape, has a great nurse-patient ratio, pays well, and is being flexible with her start date. And it's a 12-hour day shift! They haven't officially offered her the job, but things are looking positively. Praise God for His provision and for His perfect timing! Please continue to pray that it would all come through and that she would indeed get this job.

School

As far as seminary itself goes, I've officially finished my first semester here at TMS. It's pretty amazing! It really did go quickly. And it was indeed a ton of work. One of the things that they tell you to do at the beginning of the semester is to just go through all of your syllabi and make a master file of assignments and due dates. I remember looking at that file at the beginning of the semester and marveling at the fact that they expected me to get all of that done in 15 weeks. Well, 15 weeks later, by God's grace, it's all done. It was a lot, but it was all work that I really enjoy doing. At times I would complain (mostly in my heart) about how much work I had to do. But in many of those instances, God was gracious to me, and brought to my mind this thought: "If I didn't have to do any of this work and had nothing to do, what would I do?" And the answer was always the same: I'd read the stuff I'd had to read. I'd write about the stuff I had to write about. I often remarked that seminary life was very much like the Christian life; it required me to do things that are a joy to do. So seminary has indeed been a blessing.

There are so many things that I could write about as to what I've been learning from God's Word as well as what He's been teaching me about life and ministry in general. Maybe I'll just share one or two in each category.

1. One of the greatest blessings that I've enjoyed this semester is just reading the Bible (particularly Genesis through Esther) in large quantities, quickly, and repeatedly. For our Old Testament class, we had to read one book of the Bible per week, twice. So, for example, last week I had to read through the book of Chronicles twice, write chapter titles for each chapter, note major themes of the book, write what I thought the purpose of the book was, and also write a one-page synopsis of how the Chronicler traced the history of the theocracy and temple. Assignments like those for the first 17 books of the Bible really helped me grasp the message and major themes of that foundational portion of Scripture. And one thing that I was gripped by was just how central and theologically significant the covenants are (particularly the Abrahamic, Mosaic, and Davidic covenants), how an essential characteristic of God is His covenant faithfulness, and how all these covenants find their ultimate fulfillment and fullest expression in Jesus Christ. I mean, it's just magnificent. Thousands of years of history, failures of the people, continued faithfulness of God, and crazy amounts of anticipation and hope all lead up to one man, the God-man, Jesus Christ, Son of God and God the Son. History is about Him. The Bible is about Him. The Universe is about Him!
2. In that vein, I've really been learning to just let the Bible speak in its context. One temptation for young guys like me who are aspiring to be preachers is the lie that we have to find something better, more shocking, or more profound to say than has been said. We think that if we want to have an impact, we have to show people something they've never seen before. Rather than just letting the text say what it says, I try to find a big way to spin it. And it's not like it gets heretical, it just betrays a lack of faithfulness in the sufficiency of Scripture. For example, I don't need to force Christ into every single verse of the Bible. I don't need to read Joshua 2, find out that Rahab's cloth was red, and see in the red cloth the blood of Christ protecting Rahab's house as the blood of the Passover Lamb. That sounds wonderfully tempting. It could make a congregation go, "Ooh!" and "Aah!" But it's not in the text. And what I've been learning is, the text is sufficiently glorious on its own. If preachers and teachers of God's Word are truly content, in the depths of their soul, to cry out, "He must increase, I must decrease," then we will be satisfied with letting Scripture say what it says instead of getting it to say what we want it to mean.
3. The last thing I'll share is that I've been learning that it is not true that merely being in seminary fixes or maintains your spiritual life. If you struggle with consistent devotional times, just being around Christians, church, and talking about the Bible does not necessarily cultivate rich and sweet fellowship with Christ. If anything, it makes it more difficult. The same sun that melts the wax hardens the clay, as they say. It's been clear to me that I need to make it a priority, above everything else, to actively pursue that relationship with Him. One way I've thought of it is like this: Seminary, rich study, great fellowship, and having your conversations and thoughts dominated by spiritual things are all like various kinds of wonderful herbs and spices. But a thriving personal devotional life with Christ before His Word and before His throne in prayer is like the meat. The seminary package really adds wonderful flavor and nuance to that devotional time. But if you try to do the seminary thing without that relationship, it'd be like taking the meat away and just eating spices. It's not enjoyable, it's unhealthy, and doesn't strengthen you for the work you need to do.
   

So those are some things I've been learning. I do look forward to what God has for me next semester. I'm taking quite a heavy load, but I suppose that will provide multiple opportunities to see my own insufficiency, to depend on Christ and trust Him fully, and be a beneficiary of His grace. In the Spring, I'm taking: Old Testament Studies II (Job through Malachi), Beginning Hebrew II, Pastoral Counseling, Historical Theology (Reformation to present), and Biblical Exposition of Prayer.

Coming Home

The last bit of news is very exciting. Janna and I are getting ready to fly back to New Jersey on Tuesday to spend three weeks with our family and friends for the holidays. The semester doesn't start back again until January 12th, so we're going to stay out in New Jersey till the 6th. We're really excited to see everyone!

I've also been graciously offered the opportunity to preach at Christian Fellowship Church in North Brunswick on Sunday morning, December 20th. Many thanks to Pastor Steve for inviting me into his pulpit and giving me such a wonderful opportunity to serve him and his people. Each time he's asked me to do this it has proven to be such a humbling and enriching experience. I trust this time will be no different. Indeed, I've already begun to enjoy those experiences in the time I've had to prepare. God is good. The Lord Jesus will build His Church. There is no time that I am more convinced, more driven, and more thrilled at the thought of giving my life to "spending and being spent" for the souls of God's people by ministering His Word to them than when I am preparing and preaching. May God give me grace upon grace to always have such affections. Please pray for me as I continue to prepare.

I'll also be teaching Sunday school the following Sunday morning at Christ Community, our home church. I very much look forward to that experience as well. I've missed the saints there, and having been absent for the last four months has taught me how much a privilege it is to minister to the same group of people over a period of years. I would appreciate your prayers for this as well.

Somewhere in between there I hope to visit Hammarskjold Middle School, where I taught Italian last year. As I've missed family and friends, I've also missed my fellow teachers and my students. It's been nice to hear from a few of them and keep in contact. I look forward to seeing them again!

Well, I suppose that's enough of an update for now. Hopefully I'll be able to talk more with you all about these things in person! Until then...

Delight yourself in the LORD,
and He will give you the desires of your heart.
- Psalm 37:4 -

What the Lord of the Universe is Comforted By

In my devotional time this semester I've been in the Gospel of John. Now I'm in chapter 17, which is just a wonderful section of Scripture that I intend to go through a bit more slowly. When I read through John 17:1-5 it struck me that there was a similar section earlier in the Gospel. It was in the middle of chapter 12. As I read John 12:23-28 again I was also reminded of a conversation I had with a good friend a while back about that passage. I thought it'd be for our benefit to share those thoughts.

And Jesus answered them, saying, "The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. He who loves his life loses it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it to life eternal. If anyone serves Me, he must follow Me; and where I am, there My servant will be also; if anyone serves Me, the Father will honor him.

So Jesus is acknowledging that the time for His crucifixion is near. We learn from the next verse (which we'll look at in a minute) that He was troubled. And that's not terribly surprising. It's not that He's just going to die an agonizing and ignominious death at the hands of those who have perverted His Father's holy Law, and have subjugated His people under a yoke of slavery that no one in history has been able to bear (Ac 15:10). That would be enough to trouble any of us, certainly.

But Jesus' trouble went deeper than that. He was troubled at the fact that soon He would lose the delightful and exuberant fellowship that He had always enjoyed with the Father. There would, for the first time in eternity, be a horrible change in their relationship; it would go from one of perfect communion, love, blessing, joy, and delight in each other, to abandonment, hatred, cursing, wrath, and shame. On the cross, Jesus would experience the full exercise of the righteous wrath of His Father -- wrath He had known objectively but never experientially. The bitter cup that He never deserved to drink would soon be pressed to His lips, and the delightful, well-pleased smile of His Father -- the apple of His eye from all eternity -- would be hidden from Him.

Very literally, Jesus is about to go through hell.

And so He's troubled. But even at that point (in verses 23-26), He is comforting Himself with the promises of His Father. He speaks of His impending death -- both physical and spiritual -- as being "glorified." Rather than focus on the condemnation He will suffer for His people, He remembers that His Father will not let His Holy One undergo decay (Ps 16:10), and that as a result of the anguish of His soul, He will see it and be satisfied (Is 53:11), He will be allotted a portion with the great (Is 53:12). And so He reminds Himself that His death will eventually mean His glorification. He reminds Himself and His disciples that it is through this kind of self-sacrifice that one doesn't waste his life, but bears much fruit... that eternal life knowing the Father and knowing Christ (Jn 17:3) is better than a comfortable life on earth for 80 years.

And yet in the moment, He still says, "Now My soul has become troubled."

And then he asks, "...and what shall I say, 'Father, save Me from this hour'? But for this purpose I came to this hour."

That's so beautiful. "Father, I am troubled. My soul is deeply grieved, to the point of death (Mt 26:38). I don't want to leave You. I don't want to be abandoned by You. I don't want to lay down the privilege of the consummate joy and love and delight that We've had for all eternity. I want to continue to know Your blessing and Your smile. I want to continue to be well-pleasing to You. Father, I am troubled.

"But Father I trust You. I entrust Myself wholly to You (1Pet 2:23). For I know You are in control of all things. And I know that You are most wise. And I know that at the heart of Your very Being that You are good, for I have witnessed firsthand the overflow of Your beneficence in all creation and providence. So I will not ask that you deliver me out of this trial. No, this is precisely why I have come."

And so He doesn't ask that His suffering be removed. But what is amazing, what is staggering, what is so refreshing, is what He does ask for.

"Father, glorify Your name."

That's what He wants! That's what comforts the Savior's soul! He wants to see His Father's name be magnified and honored and made to look as big and as sweet and as desirable as it actually is! He wants to see His Father's glory! The glory of the Father is so pleasing, so delightful, so enjoyable to the Son that it is what He asks for to comfort Him before the greatest trial, the greatest suffering, that anyone has endured in history.

Oh, we've got to see this! This is not just amazing self-sacrifice on Jesus' part. Jesus is not merely saying, "I'll give it all up as long as God is glorified." He's saying that, but that's not nearly the whole story! He's actually saying that what He wants to calm His troubled, deeply grieved soul is the sight of His Father's glory! This is what reassures Him of His Father's sovereignty, wisdom, and goodness. It is knowing that He Himself will be glorified with this glory that He so enjoys, as He enjoyed before the world was (Jn 17:5), that comforts Him and gives Him strength to do this terrible, awesome work. The Father's glory is the joy that was set before Him for which He endured that shameful cross (Heb 12:2)!

And the Father grants His Son's request: "Then a voice came out of heaven: 'I have both glorified it, and will glorify it again.'"

Oh I pray that you feel the weight of that, Christian! I pray that this awesome interaction between Father and Son lands on you!

And how instructive it is for us in our Christian life, especially through the trials and sufferings that God has granted to us (Phil 1:29). In every aspect of our lives, what should be our comfort? What should be our request to God for strength to do the work He's given us? Our request should be, "Father, glorify Your name." Our comfort should be the seeing and savoring of the glory of God in the face of Christ (2Cor 4:6; 2Cor 3:18; Ex 33:18).

I can bear the scoffing and mocking of an unbelieving generation. I can gladly sacrifice popularity among my friends. I can endure the disowning and snubbing of my own family. I can face cancer, disease, and arduous medical procedures with joy. I can live my life with next to no money and worldly comforts for these 80 short years. I can lay down my life... if... if my Father will glorify His name! If the name of my God would be lifted up and exalted and magnified, if I can see Him and enjoy Him in all His majesty, well then for me to live is Christ! And to die is gain!

Be instructed, dear friends, and be comforted by what the Lord of the universe is comforted by.

...for I know that this will turn out for my deliverance
through your prayers and the provision of the Spirit of Jesus Christ,
according to my earnest expectation and hope,
that I will not be put to shame in anything,
but that with all boldness, Christ will even now,
as always, be exalted in my body,
whether by life or by death.
For to me,
to live is Christ
and to die is gain.
- Philippians 1:19-21 -

Shai Linne Concert

So last Sunday night, Shai Linne came to do a concert at BIOLA. Some TMS friends and Janna and I went to see him. It was really fun. We even actually got to meet him and talk for a few minuets. Hopefully it won't be the last time we hang out, as he's considering coming to TMS in Fall '10.



At about half way through his set he did an a capella, poem-like piece. He asked us, "If death could talk, what would it say?" Then he said he thought it would talk like this.

I'm the one that the movies use to entertain.
I'm the one that seems fun on video games.
I'm the one that the rappers like to shout about.
And I'm the one that does to them what comes outta they mouth.
I'm the one that's broadcast on the news nightly.
Yeah, I'm the one that most take too lightly.
I'm the one that's been the enemy for centuries.
You'll all come to me eventually.

I'm taking out all contenders / between January and December.
Destruction's my agenda. / I'm the one to remember.
And this is not hyperbole. / I'm not known to exaggerate.
So what I'm droppin verbally / I am going to actuate.
And if you're laughin you / have no clue / about my magnitude,
And how I'm smashing dudes / with a nasty attitude.
I'm sorry that was rude, / I got such a major rep,
That I never introduced myself, / Hi, my name is Death.
Nice to meet you. / And it will also be nice to defeat you,
And watch the worms eat you / when I six feet deep you.
You probably wondering why I be shoutin with hostility,
Silly wannabe / killers really be / doubtin my ability.
And they all be yappin, / talkin smack / with their sorry rap,
And when I'm called to action, / they'll be silent like Charlie Chaplin.
How long we actin? / Will you respect me like you cherish sins?
Or will I have to turn your arrogance into embarrassment?

I'm the one that the rappers like to shout about.
And I'm the one that does to them what comes outta they mouth.
I'm the one that's broadcast on the news nightly.
Yeah, I'm the one that most take too lightly.
I'm the one that's been the enemy for centuries.
You'll all come to me eventually.

I'm presently reckoned. / Statistically, I strike every three seconds,
Which makes about 80 people by the end of this record.
So check it as I indicate / and convincingly demonstrate
why I don't discriminate / with people I eliminate.
The middle class? I'm knockin em off. / And I'm even droppin the poor.
The riches of the wealthy can't help em when I knock on the door.
Everybody drop on the floor. / The hottest won't be hot anymore.
Like Glenn Close in Fatal Attraction I will not be ignored.
I strike universally / from slums to universities
from nurseries / to nursing homes/ that's true diversity.
And it's the same for the drop-out /Or the well-schooled when he dies,
likewise / the cool and despised / the fool and the wise.
Oh the lunacy!
How imprudent students be foolishly / thinking they have immunity
like I won't take the opportunity!
Don't masquerade / and act like you ain't have the data
That I emasculate haters / and assassinate assassinators.
When it comes to graves I'm the real filler,
They don't really gives chills to killers / And make a killin when I kill killers.

I can't be talked away by slick politicians / or tricked by magicians
because I'm the kinda guy who mortifies morticians.
I horrify physicians, / I'm knockin all the doctors.
I rock / and shock / the block / from Stockholm to Watts / and I gotcha.
Do what I say! / I'm the last exit on your highway.
Even Frank Sinatra had to do it my way.

I'm the one that the movies use to entertain.
I'm the one that seems fun on video games.
I'm the one that the rappers like to shout about.
But I'm the one that does to them what comes outta they mouth.
I'm the one that's broadcast on the news nightly.
Yeah, I'm the one that most take too lightly.
I'm the one that's been the enemy for centuries.
You'll all come to me eventually.

This goes out to those speakin my name, / lying like you crazy,
Cuz when I greet you with pain / you'll be cryin like a baby.
And I ain't even go into all the ways that I could be taking you out,
The point is, no escaping this route.
Naked you come in and naked you're out.
You been sleepin apparently, / so now listen carefully.
Don't act like you're not aware me! / How are you gonna prepare for me?
I feel like doin some charity / so here's some free advice:
If you don't wanna see me twice,
Repent and believe in Jesus Christ.

It was awesome. Immediately after that he gave a solid Gospel presentation. I tried to videotape most of it, but the quality (of the video) isn't that great. He talked about how everybody was into what he was saying, but in a crowd as big as it was, it was likely that some folks weren't ready for eternity. He mentioned how we were all bobbing our heads and enjoying the music and the poetry, but warned that if that's all it is for us, then we're missing the point. He pointed us to our sinfulness and our need for a Savior. Then he presented that Savior and called us to repentance and faith for the forgiveness of our sins.

He shepherded the crowd.

I'm glad to have met Shai Linne. I hope I get to speak with him again some time soon.

Therefore having overlooked the times of ignorance,
God is now declaring to men that all people everywhere should repent,
because He has fixed a day in which He will judge the world in righteousness
through a Man whom He has appointed,
having furnished proof to all men
by raising Him from the dead.
- Acts 17:30-31 -

Implications for Apologetics

A very popular method of Gospel ministry employed by many Christians is to build historical, archaeological, or scientific evidence for all or part of the Christian faith, present their case to an unbeliever, and "demand a verdict." This attempt to "prove" the factuality of Christianity by presenting extra-biblical evidence is called evidentialist apologetics.

Such a method can be very useful in strengthening the confidence of believers in the veracity of the Bible. It can also be helpful when responding to questions, criticisms, or arguments against Christianity from those who speak out against Christianity.

However, in terms of evangelism -- in terms of actually bringing about the salvation of unbelievers -- a monergistic, and thus Biblical, understanding of regeneration demonstrates the futility of evidentialism to achieve what is necessary to be born again and believe.

Ultimately, the reasons Christians disagree on this is because of their misunderstanding of human nature. Remember that humanity's problem – our spiritual death – is that we can’t see what is right in front of us. No matter how elaborate, thorough, or accurate the presentation, no display of evidence will ever make a difference to a blind man. He must first be given sight.

The futility of evidences in achieving the desired effect of Gospel ministry is given throughout Scripture. Here's a sample.

John 12:37, 39-40 – But though He had performed so many signs before them, yet they were not believing in Him. … For this reason they could not believe, for Isaiah said again, "He has blinded their eyes and he hardened their heart, so that they would not see him with their eyes and perceive with their heart, and be converted and I heal them."

Do you see how crazy that is? Even though Jesus Himself performed so many signs in front of the people to demonstrate that He was God in the flesh, and therefore worth believing in, they still didn't believe in Him. The glory of Jesus Himself, to say nothing of His miracles, should be enough evidence (humanly speaking) to compel worship and joyful faith. But the problem was their spiritual death. Their eyes were blind so that they could not see. Their heart was hard so that they could not perceive.

Deuteronomy 29:2-4 – And Moses summoned all Israel and said to them, “You have seen all that the LORD did before your eyes in the land of Egypt to Pharaoh and all his servants and all his land; the great trials which your eyes have seen, those great signs and wonders. Yet to this day the LORD has not given you a heart to know, nor eyes to see, nor ears to hear.”

Apparently the same was true 1500 years earlier. Think about what Moses is reminding the Israelites of here. Yahweh Himself appeared in a burning bush (Ex 3:1-6). He brought the ten plagues upon Pharaoh and Egypt (Ex 7-11). He parted the Red Sea (Ex 14:16, 21). He drowned the Egyptians with that same Red Sea (Ex 14:27-28). He brought them to Sinai where they saw His glory like a consuming fire (Ex 24:17). They saw Moses' face glow (Ex 34:29-30). They saw the tablets of the Law written by God Himself (Ex 34:1). They saw His glory fill the Tabernacle such that nobody could stand in it (Ex 40:34-35). They saw the pillar of cloud and pillar of fire throughout their journeys in the wilderness (Ex 40:36-38). They ate the manna from heaven (Ex 16:35). They drank the water from the rock (Ex 17:6). They saw the earth open up and swallow Korah and his fellow rebels (Num 16:31-33). They looked at the fiery serpent on the pole and were healed of their wounds (Num 21:8-9). If anyone had enough evidence to believe with all their heart in Yahweh, it was this group of people.

But what does Moses say? Even though you've seen all these things done right before your eyes, you don't have a heart to know. You don't have eyes to see. You don't have ears to hear. That kind of heart, those kind of eyes, and those kind of ears are given by God Himself. He grants them in the new birth. That's what's needed, not more evidence.

John 8:43-47 – Why do you not understand what I am saying? It is because you cannot hear My word. You are of your father the devil, and you want to do the desires of your father. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth because there is no truth in him Whenever he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own nature, for he is a liar and the father of lies. But because I speak the truth, you do not believe Me. Which one of you convicts Me of sin? If I speak truth, why do you not believe Me? He who is of God hears the words of God; for this reason you do not hear them, because you are not of God.

The reason people don't believe is because they can't truly hear Jesus' words. And the reason they can't hear them is because they are not of God. You see? Only God's elect have ears to hear. He gives them those ears when He grants them new life.

John 10:26 – But you do not believe because you are not of My sheep.

This speaks again, now explicitly, about why people don't believe the Gospel. It is because they are not of Jesus' sheep. Again, we see that it is only the sheep (the elect) who will eventually believe, because it is only the sheep (the elect) who will receive the new birth.

Last time we looked to Cornelius Van Til as we considered the implications of regeneration on evangelism. He also has helpful thoughts as we consider the philosophy and methodology of apologetics (from My Credo):

First, any non-Christian epistemology, i.e., any theory of knowledge based upon principles acceptable per se to the "mind of the flesh," (and therefore those of [the synergist’s] own method) is doomed to utter failure.

Basically, what he's saying is that if your 'evangelistic methodology' or 'missiology' presents to people what is acceptable to the mind of the flesh -- to the natural mind -- it's faulty. The theory of knowledge upon which the evidentialist apologetics model is based is one such non-Christian epistemology. While supplying extra-Biblical evidences for the veracity of the Christian faith is extremely helpful for believers, and while it has its place in defending the faith against accusations or questions from non-believers, evidences will never contribute one iota to an unbeliever’s salvation. Because, again, as we have seen, the natural man is blind to the most convincing evidence imaginable; namely, the Glory of God revealed in Jesus Christ! If that isn't enough evidence, no presentation of any lesser evidence will make a difference.

A consistently Christian methodology of apologetics [requires] that we preach with the understanding that the acceptance of the Christ of Scripture by sinners who, being alienated from God, [determined] to flee his face, comes about when the Holy Spirit, in the presence of inescapably clear evidence, opens their eyes so that they see things as they truly are.

You see? The 'evidence,' so to speak, is always sufficient. What the unbeliever needs is his eyes to be open. And this opening of the eyes to see things as they truly are is nothing other than regeneration. And the sole means of regeneration is the preaching of the Gospel.

And so, if regeneration is wholly an act of God, accomplished solely by the means of the preaching of His Word, and will be applied only to the people whom He chooses, our evangelism and our defense of the faith should look like that is the truth. We should not put our faith in scientific data or archaeological findings or any other kind of human reasoning. As Christians, we should put our faith solely in the Gospel to do the work of bringing Jesus' sheep to Himself. For, again, it is this Gospel -- not anything else -- that is the power of God unto salvation to everyone who believes (Rom 1:16).

The nature of the new birth is spiritual (John 3:6). Therefore, we must only appeal to the spiritual in the unbeliever. And the only thing spiritual in the unbeliever is death (Eph 2:1-3). So we are to preach the Gospel, not by appealing to something natural in people, but by appealing to the fact that they are dead, and that Christ gives life by grace through faith in Him.

It is only this message of the Gospel that will ever bring about the new birth.

For I determined to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and Him crucified. ...and my message and my preaching were not in persuasive words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, so that your faith would not rest on the wisdom of men, but on the power of God.
- 1 Corinthians 2:2, 4-5 -

For You have magnified Your word above all Your name.
- Psalm 138:2, NKJV -

1. The Theology of the New Birth
1.1. Man's Spiritual Death (Total Depravity)
1.2. The Dead Cannot See
1.3. The Wind Blows Where it Wishes: The Freedom of God and Irresistible Grace
1.4. Regeneration and Faith: Temporally Simultaneous but Logically Distinct

2. Implications for the Christian Life
2.1. God Grants What He Requires
2.2. The Impossible is No Longer Burdensome
2.3. The Means of Justification is the Means of Sanctification

3. Implications for Gospel Ministry
3.1. Introduction
3.2. Evangelism
3.3. Apologetics

Implications for Evangelism

I concluded Monday's post with this sentence: "Because it is through the preaching of the Gospel that this miracle of the new birth happens, we must consider what implications these things have on the way we evangelize." By "these things" I mean all that we've considered about the new birth in this series. Since man is totally depraved, since that means he can't see the glory of God for what it is, since God is the Sovereign and Free one in salvation, since we believe because we are born again (and not vice versa), since God grants what He requires, how do we preach the Gospel to the lost? How do we evangelize?

The first thing to recognize is that the new birth is the work of God alone, and He tells us that He will accomplish this work by specific and particular means – that is, by the preaching of the Gospel. People do not cooperate in their new birth any more than they cooperate in their first birth. Understanding that people are brought forth (i.e., regenerated) in the exercise of God's will -- not their own -- and by the word of truth -- and nothing else (Jas 1:18) -- instructs us to not appeal to anything in the unbeliever as a natural person. If the nature of the new birth is spiritual, then appealing to something natural will not bring it about.

Some passages of Scripture that we’ve discussed in the series remind us of this (mouse over the references):

• Acts 16:14 – The new birth happened to Lydia (i.e., God’s opening her heart) on the heels of the preached Gospel message. The progression outlined in the passage is: speaking, listening, opening, responding. We must do ministry that reflects a knowledge of and a faith in this reality.
• John 1:12-13 – The new birth happens "not of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God." Therefore, we must not attempt to preach the Gospel as if the will of the sinner is sovereign. We must preach the pure, unadulterated Gospel, knowing that it is by this that God has said He will sovereignly and decisively act when regenerating His people.
• John 6:44-45, 65 – We are not to attempt to preach the Gospel as if God was saving some sort of indiscriminate, unknown group of people. The elect are unknown to us, but they are fully known by God. So we are not to go out and appeal to people based on any worldly demographics, because it is by the spirituality that God gives them that their hearts are awakened to reality. So we should employ only that which is spiritual, and nothing that is natural or worldly.

The viewpoint that opposes my own speaks much of the "point of contact" between believers and unbelievers. Apologist Cornelius Van Til, in his My Credo, considers this idea:

[The synergist] assumes that unless one finds a point of contact with the natural man by way of agreeing with him on his false views of man and the world then one has no point of contact with him at all. Against this position, I maintain, with Calvin following Paul, that my point of contact lies in the actual state of affairs between men as the Bible tells us of it.

And that actual state of affairs is, very simply, that they are dreadfully and helplessly sinful, and will die in their sins apart from the living God who created them. Yet we as Christ's ambassadors have a solution to such a predicament. Boiled down, our point of contact is: "You’re sinful, just like all people are. But I have a message of repentance for the forgiveness of your sin."

To look for a point of contact with the unbeliever in the unbeliever’s notions of himself and his world is to encourage him in his wicked rebellion and to establish him in his self-frustration.

That is, if we seek to engage the unbeliever with methods that fire from the vantage point of the world (e.g., engage them with the kind of music they like, the kind of philosophy they operate with, the clothes they wear, the kind of places they like to hang out at, their psychological and emotional felt needs), we’re missing the point and are not practicing Biblical evangelism. Van Til says we're encouraging unbelievers in their wicked rebellion when we do this, and I agree with him. If we’re using these methods to engage the unbeliever from his vantage point, from his worldview, or on his terms, we are by definition not engaging the unbeliever from the worldview of Scripture, because they are necessarily different worldviews (cf. Rom 3:10, Rom 8:5-8).

So, attempting to get unbelievers to identify with Christianity, or find similarities between his own worldview and the Biblical, Christian worldview, is an exercise in futility. And it is precisely this ‘methodology’ that is championed by the Seeker-Sensitive / Church Growth movement as well as the Emergent / Emerging movement. Each brand of philosophy (which is really the same philosophy in different clothes) looks out on the vast majority of society and finds hoards of people not interested in going to church and not interested in Christ. And they wonder how they'll reach such people. And the idea is that since they've declared themselves "not interested," if Christians are to reach them, we can't just take the Good News of the Gospel to them. "They won't hear it," we're told.

And so the appeal is made on the basis of the worldliness of the unbeliever. If the unbeliever doesn't like hour-long sermons and big Bible words, the Seeker-Sensitive movement shortens sermons to 20-minute speeches on fixing your emotional problems and encourages you to leave your Bible at home. Before they'll even get in the door of the church, though, the Emerging movement tells us we've got to appeal to them on the basis of an affinity for exotic coffees, for punk rock music, for tattoos and piercings, for imported beer, for Ultimate Fighting. Once we can show them that Christians are like them -- that we're human and can like the same things that they like -- then they'll be interested in "trying Jesus."

The problem, of course, is that these "methods" are solidly contradictory to the message we have to give them. Appealing to the worldliness of the unbeliever -- whether it be shorter sermons or church in a coffee house -- is not how anyone gets born again. Because the agent of the new birth is not the "will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God" (John 1:13). Trying to massage unbelievers into "decisions for Jesus" is not the means of effecting the new birth. The means of the new birth is the preaching of the Gospel. And the Gospel has, is, and always will be necessarily and radically opposed to the unbeliever’s worldview.

Martyn Lloyd-Jones wrote the following:

The glory of the gospel is that when the Church is absolutely different from the world, she invariably attracts it. It is then that the world is made to listen to her message, though it may hate it at first. That is how revival comes. That must also be true of us as individuals. It should not be our ambition to be as much like everybody else as we can, though we happen to be Christian, but rather to be as different from everybody who is not a Christian as we can possibly be. Our ambition should be to be like Christ, the more like Him the better, and the more like Him we become, the more we shall be unlike everybody who is not a Christian. (Introduction to the Beatitudes)

Christians misguided by homogeneity principles and a distorted understanding of contextualization fail to let at least one important concept rule their thinking: the glory of Christ is that He is not like the world. His own attraction to sinners was His Godliness, not worldliness – how much like His Father He was, not how much like the world He was. As Christians, then, -- as those who follow Christ -- we are called to be godly, not worldly, in order to ‘attract’ the world. Show unbelievers how much you are like your Savior, not how much you are like them.

Because, think about it: If they are attracted to you because you're like them, then really all they're attracted to is themselves. And you don't have to be born again to like yourself and your sin. And so even if they pray a prayer with you and come to church and start reading their Bibles and listening to Chris Tomlin, they could still be dead in their sins. But if they are attracted to you because you are like Christ, then it is truly His beauty that they see and want more of. And it is the spiritual sight of the beauty of Christ that we're after! Because the will of the Father is that everyone who beholds the Son, and believes in Him, will have eternal life (Jn 6:40).

So the theology of the new birth informs our evangelism. People are born again by the imperishable seed (1Pet 1:23), by the word of truth (Jas 1:18), by the word of Christ (Rom 10:17), by the preaching of the Gospel (1Pet 1:25). And so preach the Gospel to people. Conduct both your words and actions in the reality that appealing to what is natural in unbelievers will not move them one iota towards being born again. So appeal to the spiritual deadness of those you witness to, and offer them spiritual life by urging them to behold and believe in the Son of God.

But a natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised.
- 1 Corinthians 2:14 -

1. The Theology of the New Birth
1.1. Man's Spiritual Death (Total Depravity)
1.2. The Dead Cannot See
1.3. The Wind Blows Where it Wishes: The Freedom of God and Irresistible Grace
1.4. Regeneration and Faith: Temporally Simultaneous but Logically Distinct

2. Implications for the Christian Life
2.1. God Grants What He Requires
2.2. The Impossible is No Longer Burdensome
2.3. The Means of Justification is the Means of Sanctification

3. Implications for Gospel Ministry
3.1. Introduction
3.2. Evangelism
3.3. Apologetics