What Do the Christmas Prophecies Tell Us about God?

On December 14, 2022December 15, 2022 By Jason SmithIn Devotional, Why I Believe1 Comment

Parents love to see their children eagerly expecting the arrival of Christmas. They get Advent calendars with the countdown to Christmas and share in their growing excitement with each passing day. God did that with His children, too. He gave them prophecy after prophecy as if to build up that sense of expectation for when the Savior would arrive.

Has God Spoken?

While many doubt the Bible’s accuracy and authority today, one clear proof for its divine origin is the numerous fulfilled prophecies found within its pages, especially from the Old Testament. Only the all-knowing God could tell His people about future events, not merely in vague generalities, but with incredible precision.[1]

The Bible we have today was written down by men, but Christians have always believed that it’s not merely a human word. It is God speaking through faithful men. We weren’t meant to only see the red letters spoken by Jesus as God’s Word. 2 Timothy 3:16 says that “All Scripture”—all of the Bible—is “breathed out by God.” And God wants you to have the confidence that every time you take up and read His Word, you are hearing from the Creator Himself in plain language.

Because the Bible is God-breathed text, it is utterly unique. It is not just one more “conversation partner” among a host of helpful voices, as I heard one self-identifying progressive Christian claim recently.[2] Scripture is authoritative, because it comes from the transcendent authority of God. The Apostle Peter writes, “For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit” (2 Peter 1:21, ESV).

And throughout the whole Old Testament, God spoke through His chosen servants to tell His people of a coming Savior.

The Promised Redeemer

One of the most amazing things we see in the Bible is that from the time that humankind first rebelled against God in the Garden of Eden, God has been working out His plan of redemption.

Of course, the all-knowing God always planned on redeeming His fallen creation (Revelation 13:8). But how incredible to think that when Adam and Eve first reject His authority by eating the fruit, God doesn’t charge in with fury and smite them with a lightning bolt. Nor does He throw up His hands and say, “Well, I guess I’ll scrap this whole humanity project!” No, because He is a God of astonishing grace, He took that moment when they were so vulnerable—and so obviously guilty—to draw them close. He symbolically forgives them by covering their nakedness with animal skins and promises that a Redeemer would come to fix what they had broken (Genesis 3:21).

God promises One who will be an offspring of the woman, who will crush the devil underfoot (Genesis 3:15). In other words, He would come to undo the devastation caused by our first parents.

But He doesn’t stop there. Throughout the Old Testament, God continues to give promise after promise of a coming Redeemer. As the timeline progresses, more and more light is shed on Who this Savior would be and what He would be like. By the time you get to the New Testament, you’re eagerly expecting this Redeemer that God has promised for thousands of years.

God didn’t leave His people to wonder if there was any hope for them. He gave specific predictive prophecies so that they would know what to expect. And the fact that God carried out all these prophecies so precisely shows that He really is sovereign over this world.

A God in Control of History

In order for God to give prophecies that are fulfilled with such precision as we’ll see these were, He must be in absolute control of history.

Some pastors and theologians today are trying to argue that God doesn’t know the future in its entirety. They imagine God as a master chess player shrewdly strategizing and moving the pieces with incredible wisdom as He experiences changing circumstances, but that in the final analysis, He doesn’t know what decisions we will make. This is called open theism, because the future is allegedly “open” and unknown to God Himself.[3]

Well, there is a big problem with that idea. If God doesn’t know the future in its entirety, then how can we say He’s in full control? In fact, how can we say for sure that everything will end as He said it will end, if the future is a bit foggy even to God?

Theologians who teach this are trying to get God off the hook so that when bad things happen, they can say, “Oh, but see, God didn’t know it would happen like this.” But that sounds more like a bumbling friend than the El Shaddai—God Almighty—of Scripture. A God who is just trying His best but is often mistaken is hardly worthy of our trust and certainly unworthy of our worship.

But the Bible leaves us with no doubt about this: God is in absolute control of history.[4] Consider Isaiah 7:14.

The Virgin Conception

In context, God is giving the king of Judah a pledge of His trustworthiness. And this is given around 700 years before Christ’s birth. God essentially says through the prophet Isaiah, “Listen up! Here’s how you will know that I’m a God who keeps His Word.”

And Isaiah says, “Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call His name Immanuel.” (Isaiah 7:14, ESV)

That’s a pretty clear sign. Where else in all of human history do we have someone who was born of a virgin? So we can know when this happens, God is doing something extraordinary. And this is important to keep in mind. I can hear the skeptic asking, “Well, how do we know Mary was even telling the truth about being a virgin?” But this is not a case of one random woman making wild claims. There are numerous pieces of corroborating evidence supporting Mary’s claim.

First of all, consider who Mary’s son, Jesus, turned out to be. What cannot be dismissed even by secular historians is that Jesus lived an extraordinary life. If a virgin did conceive a baby supernaturally, we would expect this baby to turn out to be something special. Like, for instance, having one-third of the world claim to follow Him 2,000 years later and splitting history in half (BC and AD). Consider also that Joseph got the memo, too. He wasn’t even going to marry her until the angel showed up and explained everything.[5] It wasn’t just Mary’s word. But there’s also this promise in Isaiah 7:14 that God will perform this incredible miracle one time—and only one time—when a virgin will conceive.

If you’re going to assume someone must be lying simply because something sounds incredible, no amount of evidence will convince you if a miracle really happened. According to Luke’s report, Mary was just as bewildered as any modern person would be by the news that she—a virgin—would conceive (see Luke 1:34). One thing you have to realize is that miracles in Scripture always have a theological context. They are not random; they serve a revelatory and redemptive purpose. They point to the God who redeems. As we will see, it’s not just Isaiah’s one prophecy. There is an extraordinary convergence of fulfilled prophecies that center on the one person, Jesus of Nazareth.

Is the Messiah Divine?

Many Jews today deny that the Messiah will be divine. They think God becoming a human baby is preposterous, because “God is not a man” (Numbers 23:19). But while God is totally distinct from man in His divine nature, prophecies like Isaiah 7:14 do lead to us to conclude that the coming Messiah must be in some sense both human and divine. Indeed, this virgin-born son will be called Immanuel, meaning “God with us.”

But then if you flip forward a page to Isaiah 9, we’re told this:

“But in the future he [God] will bring honor to the way of the sea, to the land east of the Jordan, and to Galilee of the nations. The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; a light has dawned on those living in the land of darkness.” (Isaiah 9:1b-2, CSB)

Galilee was a region in the north of Israel, where the town of Nazareth was. So the prophecy here is that God will send One who will be like a “great light” to Galilee. Well, that certainly would fit with a man who 700 years later would be called “Jesus of Nazareth (in Galilee)” who was also known as “the Light of the World.”

But then just a few verses later, Isaiah tells us more about this coming Messiah.

“For a child will be born for us,
a son will be given to us,
and the government will be on his shoulders.
He will be named
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Eternal Father, Prince of Peace.” (Isaiah 9:6, CSB)

The rabbinic scholars must have scratched their heads at this point. The Messiah will come as a little baby “born for us.” Fair enough. But He will also be named “Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace.” How could this be? How can a fragile little baby also be called “Mighty God” and “Eternal Father (or Creator)”? So, just like with Isaiah 7:14, they were left with this mystery unsolved. It was baffling, because God had always said He was not like humans. Yet, these prophecies seemed to say that the coming Messiah would be both a flesh and blood boy and the eternal Creator.

In fact, as you look at this prophecy, is there really any other way to interpret this? The Messiah had to be both God and man.

From Bethlehem or Nazareth?

Isaiah goes on to confirm that this one would also reign on David’s throne, which fits with other prophecies to show that he’s talking about the coming Messiah.

But then we come to Micah 5. And this one also vexed the rabbis. The context here is God promising a coming Redeemer, and even the ancient rabbis took this as a messianic prophecy.

“But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah,
    though you are small among the clans of Judah,
out of you will come for me
    one who will be ruler over Israel,
whose origins are from of old,
    from ancient times.” (Micah 5:2, ESV)

That final phrase “from ancient times” is the Hebrew phrase mi-vemey ‘olam, which is usually translated “from eternity.” And that would tell us that this coming Ruler actually has an eternal origin. But the big thing to note is that Micah says the Messiah would come from the little town of Bethlehem.

Earlier I noted that Nazareth was in Galilee. But Bethlehem was in Judea, not Galilee. So here’s the question: If Isaiah said that the Messiah would be from Galilee (where Nazareth is), how could He also be from Bethlehem (in Judea)?

For the Jews, this was a puzzle. Perhaps some even claimed it was unresolvable. But what if this coming Messiah would be born to a virgin from Galilee and even be raised in Nazareth of Galilee for most of His growing up years, so that He would be known as someone from Nazareth? But what if a census was decreed by the ruling Emperor, Caesar Augustus, so that His mother and her husband—who were both descendants of David—would have to return to their ancestral home of Bethlehem to be registered? And what if this census just happened to be exactly when Mary’s baby was born?

Wouldn’t we have to say that in one sense He was from Galilee, but in another sense He was from Bethlehem?

Ultimately, there are no accidents in history. The Sovereign God can give such precise prophecies with such incredible accuracy only because He really is in control of history.

The God of Christmas

Because the Christmas prophecies were fulfilled exactly, we can trust God’s Word entirely. All of these prophecies conclusively point to Jesus of Nazareth as the virgin-born divine Messiah sent to rescue us from our sins (Matthew 1:21). While God as God is certainly unlike us in important ways, He chose to become one of us when “the Word became flesh and dwelt among us” (John 1:14, ESV).

This is but a small fraction of the already fulfilled prophecies in the Bible. We could keep going if we had more space. But here’s the point we cannot miss: only a supernatural book can give us the future. The Jews who have rejected Jesus throughout history still have to acknowledge that these prophecies were in their Hebrew Bibles long before Jesus was born.

All of this is very good news for sinners like you and me. We have a God who has not left us alone. He promised in ages past to send a Savior. He fulfilled that promise on that first Christmas. And today this promise-keeping God shows mercy to all who call on the name of Jesus.

Have thoughts on this post? Feel free to comment below!

[1] Keep in mind, Orthodox Jews have had copies of the Hebrew Scriptures (Old Testament) since it was first penned long before the birth of Christ, so one cannot claim that Christians came along and modified the Hebrew Scriptures to fit the portrait of Jesus.

[2] The video is titled “Conservative vs. Progressive: Jesus, Culture, and the Bible (with Brandan Robertson)” hosted by Dr. Sean McDowell. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VOTjzVZihfM

[3] See a powerful refutation of this theology in Bruce Ware’s book God’s Lesser Glory: The Diminished God of Open Theism.

[4] Scripture supporting this claim is found in Deuteronomy 32:39; 1 Samuel 2:6-8; Psalm 103:19; 115:3; 135:6; Proverbs 21:1; Isaiah 25:1; Daniel 2:21; 4:34-35; Romans 8:28-30; Ephesians 1:11.

[5] See Matthew 1:18-21.

Why We Need the Hope of Christmas

On December 8, 2022December 8, 2022 By Jason SmithIn Devotional1 Comment

One of the sure signs that the Christmas season is upon us is all the twinkling lights that suddenly adorn nearby homes and businesses. The tradition of putting up lights during the Advent season can be traced back to the Protestant Reformer Martin Luther. On a late-night hike in December, he was struck by the way the starlight beautifully danced on the boughs of a fir tree. Luther said he felt as if the hand of God had touched his soul. It was so moving, he set out to create a similar experience for his family in the home. Luther attached candle holders to the branches of their tree, and his family and friends were dazzled by the spectacle of a well-lit Christmas tree. Thus began a longstanding tradition, today replicated with the far safer set of electric lights you string around your Christmas tree.

From the beginning, light has symbolized the Christmas hope.

The World in Darkness

The first Christmas came at a time when the world felt very dark. Interestingly, the historian Luke begins his Gospel narrative by focusing not on Mary and Joseph, but on another couple that was far older, Zechariah and Elizabeth.

Zechariah is a priest chosen by lot to present the incense offering before the Lord at the altar in the Jerusalem temple. As a Jew, this was an incredible honor for Zechariah. Most priests only dreamed of being the one who got to burn the incense on the altar of God. Since a priest could only win the lottery one time, this was quite literally a once in a lifetime opportunity for Zechariah.

But as he stood in this place of great honor, Zechariah struggled to feel blessed. For one thing, he and Elizabeth had failed to conceive in a culture where children were a sign of God’s blessing. Over the years, many of Elizabeth’s peers may have looked at her with an arched eyebrow as they hurried along with their train of youngsters.

On top of their personal pain, as a nation Israel felt oppressed by the Roman Empire. Rome’s overbearing rule and hefty taxes had become a weighty burden for an already beleaguered nation. Long gone were the glory days of King David and King Solomon and the First Temple. Long gone, even, were the courageous Maccabees to lead a revolution against all the foreign oppressors.

Many wondered, Where is the Deliverer God promised through the prophets? Why has God abandoned us to become pawns in the hands of pagans? In short, it was a bleak time for Israel.

From Zechariah’s perspective, it didn’t look like God and His people were winning. The forces of darkness seemed to be having their way and showed no sign of weakening.

Hero of God

It’s in this context that old Zechariah is at the altar when an unexpected visitor shows up: the angel Gabriel. Gabriel – whose name means “hero of God” – had visited the prophet Daniel hundreds of years earlier to foretell a yet future arrival of a Messiah who would “put an end to sin” and “bring in everlasting righteousness” (Daniel 9:24). In a sense, Gabriel’s message hadn’t changed. But he now told Zechariah that he would father this Messiah’s forerunner. This son, whose name would be John (the Baptist), would prepare the nation and “turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God” (Luke 1:16).

Zechariah’s initial response is to doubt. Like many skeptics today who treat the Christmas story as an outmoded myth, Zechariah’s problem was spiritual, not intellectual, in nature. After all, a glorious angel of the living God was standing before his eyes. His unbelief was not caused by a lack of evidence. You see, doubt had probably infected his heart long before Gabriel showed up.

Luke tells us Zechariah and Elizabeth had lived upright and moral lives, but Zechariah had probably struggled to trust God for some time. Why? Today, we would say he lived with the anguish of unanswered prayers. Perhaps when he was younger his prayer for a child was fervent, but in his old age, he had almost certainly given up on such a request. Like the psalmist, he had probably pleaded with God to not forget His people, to break through the heavens, come down, and set things right.[1] But time after time, the Romans had reminded him and his fellow Jews that they were the ones in charge. In his head, he knew that the God of Israel ruled over all, but most days it felt like Caesar reigned supreme.

Heaven’s Perspective

Rather than coddling Zechariah, the angel challenges his unbelief: “I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God, and I was sent to speak to you and to bring you this good news. And behold, you will be silent and unable to speak until the day that these things take place, because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled in their time” (Luke 1:19-20, ESV). It’s as if Gabriel is saying, “Zechariah, things may look dark from where you are standing, but I stand in the presence of the Almighty God Himself. And there is no darkness in Him.”

Zechariah had seen all of life’s circumstances from one angle, and to him, it looked like tragedy upon tragedy. It looked like the light of hope had all but burned out. But Gabriel brought heaven’s perspective, a perspective that is easy to lose in this broken world of suffering and death, but greatly needed.

Many think of Christianity as a nice fairytale for those who simply cannot deal with all of life’s agony, as if faith was an anesthetic that numbs us to the pain of reality. But Christianity never tries to downplay the truth of suffering. Christians have long called this world “fallen” because it no longer displays the ideal of what life was supposed to look like. Cancer, war, oppression, hunger, poverty, and death were not part of God’s original design. But Christianity announces that all this misery is ultimately rooted in humanity’s rebellion against its Maker, and our only hope is to be reconciled back to Him.

Indeed, for one to say that something is wrong implies that there is a way things ought to be. When someone gets away with murder, we don’t say, “Personally, I find murder objectionable. But who am I to judge?” No, we say, “This is evil!” That’s because deep down we recognize that “all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23).

Atheism’s Problem of Suffering

People may claim that the world’s suffering shows that a good God does not exist, but the Bible says the real reason we deny God’s existence is that we don’t like being held accountable for the ways we have fallen short.[2]

If you resort to atheism, you still have to deal with the problem of suffering, but now you have a problem with no resolution. Many young atheists claim to be “scientifically minded,” as if science stood in opposition to belief in God. But when you turn to science for answers to life’s most perplexing problems (like death and our desire for lasting happiness), it doesn’t offer much help. Consider atheist Bertrand Russell’s perspective:

“Such, in outline, but even more purposeless, more void of meaning, is the world which Science presents for our belief… That Man is the product of causes which had no prevision of the end they were achieving; that his origin, his growth, his hopes and fears, his loves and his beliefs, are but the outcome of accidental collocations of atoms; that no fire, no heroism, no intensity of thought and feeling, can preserve an individual life beyond the grave; that all the labors of the ages, all the devotion, all the inspiration, all the noonday brightness of human genius, are destined to extinction in the vast death of the solar system, and that the whole temple of Man’s achievement must inevitably be buried beneath the debris of a universe in ruins… Only within the scaffolding of these truths, only on the firm foundation of unyielding despair, can the soul’s habitation henceforth be safely built.”[3]

And that was poor Russell on a good day. But isn’t Russell giving an honest appraisal that without God, we are left with “the firm foundation of unyielding despair”?

Without heaven’s perspective, the picture grows ever more hopeless and dull. But one reason we can know atheism isn’t true is that it is totally unlivable. No one can live as if there is no objective moral standard. Atheists cry out for justice when they get hit by porch pirates, too! And no one can live as if there is no meaning and purpose to life. It’s the most barren worldview imaginable, and it leaves us only in despair.

The Good News of Christmas

This world is in desperate need of hope, and Gabriel had come to announce good news. That’s why he began by telling Zechariah that his prayer was not ignored or forgotten, but had been answered. He would have a son and great joy would accompany his birth.

Later in the same chapter, Gabriel shows up again, this time with an announcement for a very young woman. The virgin Mary is told that she is highly favored and will bear a Son, Jesus. Gabriel says, “He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David” (Luke 1:31-32). The angels would later tell the shepherds, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people” (Luke 2:10).

The very Messiah Gabriel had foretold to Daniel was now arriving. And once John was born, Zechariah understood the significance of his role. Holding up his newborn boy, he said, “And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High; for you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways, to give knowledge of salvation to his people in the forgiveness of their sins” (Luke 1:76-77).

Zechariah no longer doubted God’s goodness. Now, he saw afresh that God’s timing is always perfect, that He hadn’t forgotten His people, but rather that He had sent them a Redeemer. This Messiah would not only deliver them from all enemies (v. 71), but would “give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death” (v. 79).

Science and technology have given us many good gifts, but they could never solve our greatest problems of sin and death. God sent His own Son, the divine Messiah, to bring the light of hope where human effort only leaves us in darkness.

Martin Luther told his children the same thing I tell my boys. The lights on the house and the Christmas tree and the lit candles of the Advent wreath all signify the same truth: Jesus, the Light of the world, has come. And because of His coming, life, death, resurrection, and ascension, we now have hope. The good news of Christmas is that a Savior has come to defeat humanity’s greatest enemies and grant forgiveness and new life to all who throw themselves on His mercy, by trusting in the risen Christ’s substitutionary death on the cross.

Have thoughts on this post? Feel free to comment below!

[1] Psalm 144.

[2] See Psalm 10:13; 94:7; Isaiah 29:15; Job 22:13-15.

[3] Bertrand Russell quoted in Timothy Keller, Hidden Christmas, 9.

No Ultimate Accidents

On November 30, 2022November 30, 2022 By Jason SmithIn Devotional, Theology for Life2 Comments

Here’s a fun thought experiment. Think through all the things in your life that had to occur just so in order for you to be where you are today, including where you live and who is nearest and dearest to you. Films and novels have captured this fact that every event in our lives is but one link in a long chain (or network) of causes and effects that stretches back to the beginning of the world.

In my own life, I can think through the long series of notable events that had to take place in the precise order and time that they did for me to end up at the church college group where I met my wife, Whitney. If any one of these events had occurred even slightly differently, there is little reason to think I would have met her when I did.

If you are a Christian, the same thought experiment can be done for considering how you came to faith in Christ. Whether you consider the home in which you grew up, the time in history in which you were born, or the church where you ended up, there is a convergence of events that had to take place for you to even hear the gospel. We like to use the word “fortunate” when we think about all this, but we need to understand that according to the Bible, all these necessary events took place according to God’s design, not mere happenstance.

God Determines the When and the Where

When Paul preached to the Athenian philosophers, he said that there is one sovereign Lord and Creator who is responsible for all we have—including the very breath in our lungs. Paul then says God “made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place, that they should seek God, and perhaps feel their way toward him and find him” (Acts 17:26-27a).

What a profound statement! God determined the when and where of every nation. But what is true of nations is also true of individuals. After all, He is a personal God who deals not merely with nations in general, but with individuals in particular.

Consider how personally God deals with King David’s life:

“For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother's womb... Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them.” (Psalm 139:13, 16, ESV)

Nothing about our lives—not even the when or the where—is accidental. God can tell Jeremiah the prophet that even before He formed him in his mother’s womb, the Lord had already set him apart for his life’s task (Jeremiah 1:5). Is this only true of Jeremiah? Or does God form each of us in the womb having already planned what our life would look like? Job speaks of everyone born of woman when he says, “A person’s days are determined; you have decreed the number of his months and have set limits he cannot exceed” (Job 14:5, NLT).

None of this teaching on God’s providential planning of every human life nullifies the truth that we make real choices as image bearers of God. We are not just mechanistic cogs in a grand machine, but precious individuals with loves and fears, who are responsible for our actions.

J. I. Packer uses the word “antinomy” to describe this apparent incongruity between God’s absolute sovereignty and the genuine choices of His creatures.[1] While we tend to pit God’s sovereignty against human responsibility, the Bible never does. Both truths are taught in Scripture, so the Christian must accept both. Whatever cannot be reconciled in our finite minds can and is reconciled in the mind of God (Isaiah 55:8-9; Romans 11:33-36).

If God is absolutely sovereign, there can be no accidents. Nothing about your life can be chalked up to mere happenstance or dumb luck.

“Forbidden by the Holy Spirit to Speak”

In the book of Acts, we read the story of Paul’s first journey to the city of Philippi. It’s fascinating to see all the events God used to providentially bring His Apostle to these people.

It all starts with Paul, Silas, and Timothy setting out to reach the people of Asia (the northwestern region of modern Turkey) with the gospel. They know God has called them to proclaim this message of grace, but they aren’t exactly sure where yet. Consider how the Holy Spirit sovereignly directs their steps:

“And they went through the region of Phrygia and Galatia, having been forbidden by the Holy Spirit to speak the word in Asia. And when they had come up to Mysia, they attempted to go into Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus did not allow them. So, passing by Mysia, they went down to Troas. And a vision appeared to Paul in the night: a man of Macedonia was standing there, urging him and saying, ‘Come over to Macedonia and help us.’ And when Paul had seen the vision, immediately we sought to go on into Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them.” (Acts 16:6-10, NIV)

It can seem kind of strange at first when we read that they were “forbidden by the Holy Spirit to speak the word in Asia” (v. 6). We might think, Why wouldn’t God want Paul to preach the gospel there? And then we find out that they wanted to go to Bithynia, but again “the Spirit of Jesus did not allow them” (v. 7). We wonder, What’s the deal? Doesn’t God want those people to hear the gospel and be saved, too? Elsewhere, we read that God does not wish “that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance” (2 Peter 3:9, ESV).

But we can forget at this point that God in His perfect grace is also sovereign. He is King over all, and He never acts arbitrarily or on a whim. And while we don’t understand all the reasons, what we need to see is that God had a sovereign appointment for Paul. It wasn’t in Asia, and it wasn’t in Bithynia. But it was in Macedonia, and Philippi was smack dab in the middle of Macedonia. This reminds us that ultimately the salvation of the lost is not up to us; it is up to God. He is the One who does the sovereign work of salvation, and He’s working out His perfect plan according to His timetable.

We aren’t called to debate with God about what is best. He alone is God. Scripture tells us that He is the Potter; we are the clay.[2] We don’t get to tell God what to do. He is the One in charge of this whole show, and the more we get on board with His plan, the better things will go for us in the long run.

It’s intriguing to me that God gets Paul’s attention here by appealing to his compassion. In Paul’s dream, he sees a man from Macedonia pleading with Paul, “Please, Paul. Come here and help us!” We know this is primarily about meeting their need for salvation, because verse 10 says that Paul immediately concludes God called them “to preach the gospel” to those Macedonians. So this man in the vision is saying, “Paul, we’re lost and without hope! We are doomed if you don’t come tell us about the risen Lord.”

All by Grace

When they come to Philippi, things initially go very well. Paul and his buddies find a group of women just outside the city meeting together by the river. And Paul begins to open the Word of God to these women, telling them the good news that forgiveness of sins is freely offered to them through the Lord Jesus. Wherever Paul goes in the book of Acts, he calls people to repent of their sin and trust in Jesus as their sin-bearing Lord and Savior. He nearly always gets a mixed response from people when he preaches the gospel.

But for whatever reason, the author Luke zeroes in on one particular individual, a woman named Lydia and her response. “One who heard us was a woman named Lydia, from the city of Thyatira, a seller of purple goods, who was a worshiper of God. The Lord opened her heart to pay attention to what was said by Paul” (Acts 16:14). Isn’t that beautiful? “The Lord opened her heart to pay attention to what” Paul said.

As Christians, we can wonder, Why does God have me where I’m at right now? Why this job? Or maybe, Why can’t I find a job? Why this neighborhood? Why this health issue? Why this hardship? But what if God has you exactly where He wants you right now? It may not be where you’ll be forever or for very long, but what if God has a purpose in putting you in the situations you face every day? What if God wants to use you where you are right now in a way that He couldn’t use you otherwise?

If we see nothing else from Lydia’s conversion, we need to see this: God is sovereignly orchestrating His plan in every person’s life. No one comes to Christ by accident. God is working out His plan. When you take a step back, it’s amazing to see how this all worked out. Remember, Paul wanted to go to Asia. God said no. Paul wanted to go to Bithynia. God said no. Finally, God gives Paul a vision to bring his band of merry men to Macedonia, and finally to Philippi.

And when they get to Philippi, it just so happens that they find a group of women meeting by the river outside the city. What a coincidence, right? What good luck! And it just so happens that God was preparing the heart of a woman in that group named Lydia who was about to receive the gospel. Amazing, isn’t it? All along, God was setting Paul up. He says, “I’m going to use you to bring My gospel to Lydia, Paul. And Lydia’s going to believe. Lydia’s Mine.”

There are no ultimate accidents. There are no coincidences in God’s mind. He is working out His perfect plan for the good of His people and the glory of His name. We serve a sovereign God, a God far more powerful and good and merciful than we could possibly imagine.

If you are a Christian today, it is because God worked out all the details for you to encounter the gospel of the crucified and risen Lord. He brought the light of truth into your heart, where before there was only spiritual blindness (2 Corinthians 4:4-6). If someone led you to Christ, it wasn’t sheer luck that you happened to know that person. God is in the business of rescuing people from their sin according to His perfect and sovereign plan. In evangelism, we have an essential part to play, but we didn’t write the script.

And when we share the gospel, we are simply jumping on board with His plan that is already in motion. We’re not the master engineers here. He’s the One who wrote the blueprint for His plan of redemption. So what does that mean? That means all the glory goes to Him for saving us. We don’t even get a smidgen of the credit. Because it’s all by His grace.

J. I. Packer points out that this is actually good news. When we share the gospel with others, we are participating in a mission that cannot fail. And the fact that we pray for the lost to be converted is proof that we really do believe He is sovereign in salvation. Packer writes:

“When you pray for unconverted people, you do so on the assumption that it is in God’s power to bring them to faith. You entreat Him to do that very thing, and your confidence in asking rests on the certainty that He is able to do what you ask. And so indeed He is: this conviction, which animates your intercessions, is God’s own truth, written on your heart by the Holy Spirit.”[3]

“But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved” (Ephesians 2:4-5, NLT). You have been saved by grace! Not human effort.

Have you repented and trusted in the Lord Jesus for salvation? If not, I urge you to do that today. If you have, have you thanked God for your conversion?

Soli Deo Gloria.

Have thoughts on this post? Feel free to comment below!

[1] J. I. Packer, Evangelism and the Sovereignty of God, 23-24. As Packer explains, an antinomy is something in theology that has “an appearance of contradiction,” but “is not a real contradiction.”

[2] See Jeremiah 18:5-6; Romans 9:19-21.

[3] Packer, 19.

Why Thanksgiving Matters

On November 23, 2022November 23, 2022 By Jason SmithIn Devotional, Theology for Life, Why I Believe1 Comment

One might expect that when a nation is deeply divided, few blessings can emerge. Strongly held conflicting views spill over on social media and in the news media. It seems that some Americans have contempt for one another. Many more feel overwhelmed by rising costs, unsure how they will pay all the bills as the year draws to an end. Those with health problems feel that burden most acutely. Still others feel burdened by all the ways they’ve been mistreated, overlooked, and undermined in the recent past. But this week our nation celebrates a holiday called “Thanksgiving.”

The First Thanksgiving

When we think of the historical roots of Thanksgiving, we most often think back to our forebears who came across the Atlantic to create a life in the “New World” in 1620. Many who stepped off the Mayflower were seeking a new start. Some, known as Separatists, wanted to freely worship God according to their understanding of Scripture. Others, with an adventurous spirit, had high hopes of making a fortune in this land of opportunity. The Pilgrims suffered from hunger, scurvy, and other diseases. Only 50 of the original 102 Pilgrims survived the first winter. It was a trying time, and things could have ended very badly.

In November 1621, Governor William Bradford organized a feast for these early settlers, and they invited the local Wampanoag tribe, along with their chief Massasoit. The Pilgrims had overcome the odds with a bountiful harvest of crops, largely thanks to Squanto, a Native American who taught them how to catch fish and plant corn. In 1609, the young Squanto had been captured by Europeans and sold into slavery – much like the Joseph of the Bible. Although Squanto’s enslavement was a clear violation of Scripture (Exodus 21:16; 1 Timothy 1:10), he ended up in the care of a kind Spanish monk in Europe, who taught him the Christian faith. Later, Squanto was allowed to return to North America, only to find his tribe had been wiped out by an epidemic. Squanto later saw his role was to help these struggling Europeans establish themselves in his homeland. Because of his invaluable assistance, Governor Bradford called Squanto “a special instrument of God for their good.”[1]

Bradford understood that ultimately “every good and perfect gift is from above” (James 1:17), so he wanted to celebrate God’s provision with a meal. A meal was a beautiful idea, because food has a way of bringing people together, even if such people are quite different. Historian Robert McKenzie observes that these Separatists would never have dreamed they were starting a holiday, or “holy day.” But on the other hand, since nothing is ultimately secular in the Christian worldview, Bradford did see the importance of honoring God on this festal occasion.[2] This iconic meal, with the Pilgrims and Native Americans gathering together to feast in peace, is what we usually imagine at the first Thanksgiving.

Obviously, the sentimentality tends to wear off when we recall that the European and Native American relationship was rarely so sweet and inspiring as this time. However rare it may be, historians have noted how the settlers’ harmonious relationship with the Wampanoag lasted a precious 50 years. Another important reminder is that the Pilgrims continued struggling to survive for the next two years after 1621. Indeed, during that time “it was typical for the colonists to go to bed at night not knowing where the next day’s nourishment would come from.”[3] But something about that first feast gives us a picture of what can happen in the sweet providence of God, even among those who hold conflicting worldviews.[4]

Something else often glossed over is that while the Pilgrims credited divine providence for that first Thanksgiving harvest, they said the famines of the next two years also came from God’s hand. “This was not the caprice of nature, but the handiwork of the Creator who worked ‘all things according to the counsel of His will’ (Ephesians 1:11).”[5] They recognized that sometimes God sends trials to stretch our faith and grow us. As Job asked, “Shall we accept good from God, and not trouble?” (Job 2:10). It might seem strange to us that these Pilgrims saw that first harvest as a time to honor God with thanks, given that they had buried around half of their family and friends in the last year. But they rested on God’s promise, that God “causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose” (Romans 8:28).

Abraham Lincoln’s Thanksgiving Proclamation

Interestingly, Thanksgiving was not recognized as a national holiday until Abraham Lincoln’s proclamation in 1863, when he declared:

“I do therefore invite my fellow citizens in every part of the United States, and also those who are at sea and those who are sojourning in foreign lands, to set apart and observe the last Thursday of November next, as a day of Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the Heavens.”[6]

Once again, this was a time of great trial and conflict for the nation. America was so deeply divided that it was smack dab in the middle of the Civil War, “a civil war of unequalled magnitude and severity” in Lincoln’s words. Lincoln saw this as a time to also humbly repent of “national perverseness and disobedience” and to implore God “to heal the wounds of the nation.” [7]

In that address, Lincoln reminded Americans that even in the midst of great difficulty, we must remember the blessings of God.

“To these bounties, which are so constantly enjoyed that we are prone to forget the source from which they come… which are so extraordinary a nature, that they cannot fail to penetrate and soften even the heart which is habitually insensible to the ever watchful providence of God.”[8]

Lincoln’s point is that we must never take anything for granted. If nothing else, we can thank God for our most recent meal, for clean water, and for fresh air. All of these come from His generous and loving hand.

Gratitude for Divine Providence

Some people look around this world full of suffering and say there is no evidence for a good God. In some ways, I see their point. This world is riddled with wars, crime, disease, and death. But way back in the first century, when Paul proclaimed the gospel to a pagan crowd, he brought a different perspective.

“In past generations He allowed all the nations to walk in their own ways. Yet He did not leave Himself without witness, for He did good by giving you rains from heaven and fruitful seasons, satisfying your hearts with food and gladness.” (Acts 14:16-17)

Weather and crop success is not subject to the meaningless whims of Mother Nature, but rather is under the providential direction of Father God. As the Pilgrims recognized, God “sends rain on the just and on the unjust” (Mathew 5:45, ESV). When we’re not in survival mode, as those Pilgrims were, we can tend to forget how good and gracious God is to provide us with food and drink each day. Paul said the fact that we have these basic provisions in life is silent testimony that God is good.

Later, when writing to the Thessalonian church, Paul urged his fellow believers to seek to live in peace even when they are often afflicted by persecutors.

“See that no one repays anyone evil for evil, but always seek to do good to one another and to everyone. Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. Do not quench the Spirit.” (1 Thessalonians 5:15-19, ESV)

Paul understood that for a community of Christ-followers to thrive, there must be an overwhelming sense of God’s goodness. No matter what your circumstances might be right now, Scripture says that there is cause for giving thanks. Why? Because this world is not run by the purposeless forces of blind nature, but by the providential hand of a good and wise God. Nothing happens apart from Him who does all things according to His good pleasure (Psalm 115:3; 135:6).

So because of that, Christians always have reason to delight in God’s goodness and should rejoice in His saving grace. After all, God did not have to send His Son into the world to save us from our sins, but in astounding mercy, He did. The fact that Jesus didn’t abandon us as the lost sheep that we were is reason enough for great thanksgiving and praise.

The Lord wants His people to have a calm confidence in His good sovereignty. This a supernatural peace that comes by the Spirit who indwells us. When Christians fail to “give thanks in all circumstances,” they are quenching the work of the Spirit, who wants to give us joy, love, and peace – even in the midst of heartbreak and affliction.

Both the Pilgrims of 1621 and the Americans of 1863 found reason to honor God with thanksgiving, even while facing the harsh realities of life in a broken world. Contemporary Christians need to recapture this strong confidence in the providence of God. What would it look like if Christians were known more for their gratitude and praise of God in all circumstances than for their finger-wagging and complaining?

“Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.” (Philippians 4:6, ESV)

Have thoughts on this post? Feel free to comment below!

[1] Robert Tracy McKenzie, The First Thanksgiving: What the Real Story Tells Us about Loving God and Learning from History, Kindle edition.

[2] Ibid. McKenzie writes, “[H]istorians generally agree that what we now remember as the First Thanksgiving was not a Thanksgiving holiday at all in the Pilgrims’ estimation, but rather a kind of autumn harvest festival. That contemporary Americans are disposed to see this as a distinction without a difference says a lot about our values, not the Pilgrims’.”

[3] Ibid.

[4] While the Pilgrims worshiped the God of the Bible, the Wampanoag were an animistic tribe, attributing parts of nature with having a soul.

[5] McKenzie, The First Thanksgiving.

[6] Abraham Lincoln, The Gettysburg Address and Other Works, 383.

[7] Ibid, 382-3.

[8] Ibid, 382.

The Hope of a New Beginning

On November 16, 2022November 30, 2022 By Jason SmithIn Devotional1 Comment

You cannot change the past. This is a hard truth for many who can still feel the sting from past blunders, embarrassments, and betrayals. But though we cannot undo what has been done, we can begin again. That’s the great hope of Christianity. And when we begin again, we no longer have to be controlled by our past. Through the gospel of Jesus Christ, we can break free from regret, guilt, and resentment.

Many people say things like, “I’m trying to reinvent myself.” They are tired of being criticized or scrutinized, marked by the decisions they once made. Like a tattoo that can’t be removed, many feel like their past has left a mark that can never be erased. They wonder, “Is this how I will always be seen?” Or even, “Will I always see myself as a reflection of my past?”

Maybe there are times you’ve wished you could relive certain moments in your life. You’ve thought, If only I had handled that differently. If only I hadn’t spoken so foolishly. If only I had shown more courage or humility in that moment.

If only… How many have this phrase etched across their hearts?

In his 2022 memoir, Matthew Perry, who played the witty Chandler Bing in the hit series Friends, had his own regrets to share. Throughout his career, Perry slept with many women, desperately wanting to be loved but never being willing to commit. He writes of the “if only” moment when he almost proposed to the love of his life but changed his mind at the last second, afraid she would eventually reject him.

“I had missed the moment. Maybe she’d been expecting it, who knows. I’d been seconds away; seconds, and a lifetime. I often think if I’d asked, now we’d have two kids and a house… Instead, I’m some schmuck who’s alone in his house at fifty-three, looking down at an unquiet ocean.”[1]

You might not be a celebrity, but maybe you can relate to Perry’s deep sense of regret. You wonder what life would entail had you popped the question, applied for the job, or taken the leap of faith. But the past remains where it always is. We cannot jump into our DeLorean, fire up the flux capacitor, and travel back through time.

Moving Forward

Some of us have committed greater sins than others. Some of us have been sinned against greatly. In some sense, we all have baggage. But it’s so important to know that you are not alone in your pain. It may seem like you are the only one going through the deep anguish of regret, but let me assure you that you’re not. God is ready to help you like a devoted shepherd with an injured lamb. The Lord is a healer; He can reach the deepest parts of our soul. When we open ourselves to Him honestly and confess the pain of the past, we can know His cleansing power as never before.[2]

While it’s important to get honest about what has happened, Scripture also urges us not to dwell on the past. You can visit old memories to make peace and learn from them, but it’s not a place to stay. The only way to move on is to move forward.

The Apostle Paul had his own share of regrets. We may know him today as Saint Paul, but his past was stained with blood as a persecutor of the church. And yet he wrote:

“Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 3:13b-14, NIV)

Paul understood that in order to move forward, you have to have a goal, something to reach for and cling to. Despite his regrets and checkered past, Paul chose to dwell on his Savior “who loved me and gave Himself up for me” (Galatians 2:20).

Have you discovered the new beginning you can have in Christ? Do you know the ocean of love God has for you in Christ? Saying “God loves you” is not just a quaint cliché we like to say to gin up good feelings. It is an objective fact we can know because Jesus was sacrificed on a Roman cross outside Jerusalem nearly 2,000 years ago.

“But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:8, NASB)

The cross proves God’s love for us, because all our regrets and shameful failures were piled up on Christ when He “bore our sins in His own body on the cross, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness” (1 Peter 2:24).

No More Condemnation

Through faith in Christ, we are no longer condemned enemies of God, but justified children of God.

“Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” (Romans 8:1)

It’s so important that we come back to this truth over and over. No condemnation in Christ. That needs to be the chorus playing on repeat that never gets old and always quiets our hearts. We never outgrow our need to hear it. In Christ, you are not condemned.

Whatever our mind focuses on shapes our identity. When we feast on the truth, we can embrace this new identity with every sunrise. Trusting in Christ and what He did on the cross for the forgiveness of sins is where it all begins. Unfortunately, there are many so-called Christian authors that are actually proclaiming a gospel of self-love, that the way to move forward is to fall more in love with yourself rather than to embrace God’s love and forgiveness for you in Christ.[3]

Knowing that our guilt was really and truly taken away at the cross is what truly changes everything. And it’s the truth we must continually apply to our hearts, which so often want to condemn us (1 John 3:20).

But what about this terrible thing I’ve done? There’s no condemnation in Christ.

But I can’t seem to move past what’s happened. There’s no condemnation in Christ.

It’s not that sin doesn’t matter to our holy God; it’s that He fully condemned our sin in Christ already.

“He condemned sin in the flesh by sending His own Son in flesh like ours under sin’s domain, and as a sin offering, in order that the law’s requirement would be accomplished in us.” (Romans 8:3b-4a, HCSB)

The condemnation that was owing to us fell on Christ, God’s own Son. In an act of astounding love, the Lord Jesus bore the judgment for our sins.

“But he was pierced for our transgressions,
he was crushed for our iniquities;
the punishment that brought us peace was on him,
and by his wounds we are healed.” (Isaiah 53:5, NIV)

But why? Why the brutality of crucifixion? Why would God do this to His dearly beloved Son — the very One who worked with Him in the creation of the universe, the One who was daily His delight? As one young man put it, “Why not just forgive us without that bloody mess of a cross?”

It’s a good question that gets to the heart of the gospel. The only way to truly understand the meaning of the cross is to first see that God is holy—inexpressibly, unfathomably holy. His eyes are so blazingly pure that He cannot bear to look at sin. We could not dwell with God while covered in sin. That is why our sin had to be judged at the cross if we were to ever have a new beginning. Until that burden was lifted, our past would continue to condemn us—even if we stuffed it down into our subconscious.

No wonder Christians throughout the last 2,000 years have seen the cross as a symbol of hope, forgiveness, and cleansing. The cross assures us that God has not abandoned us in our shame and regret. Because of His astounding love for us, we don’t have to live under the burden of shame and guilt. This is why Christians are always singing about the cross. Without it, we have no hope of a new beginning.

If God Is for You

Our enemy despises the cross. The Bible calls Satan “the accuser of our brothers and sisters… who accuses them before our God day and night” (Revelation 12:10, NLT). The devil would have us fixate on our past regrets rather than strive toward a new beginning.

Thankfully, the cross of Christ speaks a better word over us.

“If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? Who shall bring any charge against God's elect? It is God who justifies. 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.” (Romans 8:31-34, ESV)

I love this series of questions because it underscores the power of the gospel. If the sovereign God of the universe is for you, why would you ever be afraid? If God declares you are justified, welcomed, and forever made clean, how could you ever feel abandoned? If God gave up His very greatest treasure—His own Son—how could He possibly hold back something less? If God has given you His beloved Son, well, then He will surely give you everything!

When we are not letting our mind marinate in the truth of God’s Word, we will hear the enemy’s word instead. The devil continually prods us with, “Look what you’ve done!” or “Look what’s been done to you!” The Holy Spirit whispers, “Look what Christ has done for you!”

Instead of fixating on the past, let’s fix our eyes on Jesus “the author and finisher of our faith” (Hebrews 12:2). In love, He will see us through to the end. In Him, you can have a new beginning as a beloved child of God.

Have thoughts on this post? Feel free to comment below!

[1] Matthew Perry, Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing, 176.

[2] Psalm 32:5; 1 John 1:9.

[3] For example, see Rachel Hollis, Girl, Wash Your Face. This book is reviewed by Alisa Childers here: Girl, Wash Your Face? What Rachel Hollis Gets Right and Wrong (thegospelcoalition.org)

True Manliness

On November 10, 2022November 11, 2022 By Jason SmithIn Devotional, Theology for Life2 Comments

Have you heard of Moto-X freestyle motocross? It’s the sport where guys jump motorcycles over buildings and hang from the handlebars with their feet as they somersault their bikes 50 feet in the air. It’s incredible to watch some of the videos of these daredevils. Brian Deegan is the most decorated champion of Freestyle Motocross in X-Games history. But the most important thing about Deegan is that he is a follower of Christ.

In 1997, Deegan formed the Metal Mulisha, a freestyle Motocross team, which over the next 8 years became known for their wild success in jumping competitions, and also for their violent and rebellious spirits. Their focus seemed to be on motorcycles, alcohol, drugs, sex, and fighting. Then three things happened that forever changed Deegan’s life.

First, his girlfriend became pregnant and wanted to keep the baby. Second was a botched high-speed midair backflip in the 2006 X-Games that nearly killed Deegan and led to months of physical rehab. And third, Deegan finally agreed to go to church with his girlfriend. To his surprise, he didn’t hate it. In fact, before long, he came to a saving faith in Jesus Christ. After this, he married his girlfriend and began to make some major changes in his life, like quitting drinking and drugs.

Beyond this, he even started a Bible study with the Metal Mulisha bikers. Before long, many in this rough and wild group were coming to faith in Christ. One of his buddies put it like this: “[Deegan] kept telling us how much the Bible changed his life… I felt like I had to listen.”[1]

The cool thing is that out of all this, Deegan has come to see the need to be the man that God has called him to be. In his words, “I had kids and I have to be a role model to represent to my kids… I had to grow up, had to be a man, had to be a father, and so I did it, dude.”

The gospel of Jesus Christ is a powerful thing, the very “power of God for salvation” according to the Bible (Romans 1:16). It can transform a foul-mouthed, alcohol-abusing drug user into a man who wants to be all that God has created him to be.

That brings up an important question for today. What is it that God calls men to be?

God’s Blueprint for Masculinity

I have a real passion for men’s ministry and encouraging men in their walk with Christ. My prayer is that the men of my generation would step up to be the men God has created them to be. I firmly believe that much of the chaos and corruption we see in our society today in the 21^st century can be traced back to men failing to act like men.

There are many half-baked ideas out there about what true manliness looks like. Some guys think manliness is defined by how many pounds you can bench press or how many guns you own or how many mountains you’ve climbed or how many women you’ve slept with. When we think of manliness, Hollywood faces like John Wayne, Bruce Willis, and Harrison Ford come to mind.

In one John Wayne movie, She Wore a Yellow Ribbon, the Duke portrays the rough n’ tough Captain Brittles. One line he repeats is, “Never apologize! It’s a sign of weakness.” Based on images like that, we could think that manliness is about never saying sorry.

But we as men need to come back to our Creator’s intent and design for manhood. Here’s something I know. As a man, you have a craving for significance. God put that desire in you. You know that as a man you have certain responsibilities that no one else can do for you. For many of us, that means being the husband that our wives need us to be.

Men are called to break free of those lousy stereotypes that our culture paints of men as irresponsible dopes who are incapable and incompetent.

Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. (Genesis 1:26-27)

What are some things you notice about God’s creation of man here?

Men today need an identity, and that identity comes from God alone. We were made in God’s image, made to relate to Him, to know Him, and to lovingly lead and provide for others. From the very beginning, men have had a purpose: to bear the image of God, relate to God, and to rule over His creation. What so many men miss today is that apart from a relationship with God as Father, we will never know our true purpose.

Working and Keeping

“The LORD God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it.” (Genesis 2:15)

What do you notice about man here? He has a calling to “work” and “keep”—or “protect” the garden. In other words, we as men are to work hard and cultivate the good. And remember, this is before the woman has even been created yet. So this is a charge specifically for the man. I’m not saying that women can’t garden. That’s not the point. This is about the responsibility God has given to men first and foremost.

Let’s examine those words. When you hear the word “work,” think of a gardener building up trellises, cultivating the soil, and planting seeds. That’s the picture here. The man is called to build up and develop the places God calls him to. That’s why you take so much satisfaction in seeing a project through to completion. That’s how God wired you. He designed men to be planters, builders, and growers. Whether it be at work, in the home, or in our relationships, God calls us as men to take the initiative to build up the places and people in our lives.

For starters, this means that we are not to be lazy. Wherever we are at in life, God calls us to excel. Christian men, of all people, should be the best employees. We shouldn’t be content with partial jobs. We should give our best effort day after day, and we should own it when we’ve messed up.

But this idea of working the garden extends to our relationships. In a marriage, it is the man’s responsibility to cultivate his relationship with his wife. In Ephesians 5, we see that the husband is called “the head of the wife” (Eph. 5:23), which simply means men are called to step up and be humble leaders in the home. The sad truth is that many men have been passive about their role in the home. But men are called to step up, take the hits when they come, and lead their wives and families.

I want to be the best husband to my wife and best dad to my boys I can possibly be. God is honored when we aim high and give our all, especially in these key relationships. Too many men have low expectations for themselves, and this should not be.

Humble Headship

Here’s what being the head of the home does not mean. It does not mean men get to be the ones who sit in the easy chair and bark orders like an insecure dictator. Instead, it looks more like the captain sacrificially leading the charge into battle. God calls husbands to love their wives even “as Christ loved the church and gave Himself up for her” (Ephesians 5:25). Leading doesn’t mean men have to have all the ideas. It can often sound like this, “Okay, here’s what I had in mind. What do you think?” Being the head of the home means that you are called to initiate times of prayer, crucial discussions, and encouragement for your family.

If you’re married, this means taking care to spend quality time with your wife, looking for opportunities to pursue her romantically even in your marriage. This doesn’t mean being open to the idea of spending time with your wife; it means making time for your wife! She needs to know that she is a top priority in your life. God calls men to purity and faithfulness.

“Marriage should be honored by all, and the marriage bed kept pure, for God will judge the adulterer and all the sexually immoral.” (Hebrews 13:4)

Let me say something you already know: women are a mystery. They are a wonderful, confusing mystery to us! Just when you think you have your wife figured out, she will do something totally unexpected. That’s part of the joy of marriage.

We are constantly trying to understand them, and they will continue to baffle us for the rest of our lives. But men, this is a relationship we cannot afford to neglect. We have to work at our marriage. This will involve love and sacrifice on your part. How willing are you to make sacrifices for your wife and family and others you love?

It also involves encouraging her with your words. If you are married, you have more ability to build up your wife than anyone. Your encouragements and compliments carry a lot of weight. I heard a story about a couple sitting at a wedding reception. As the music swelled, a woman’s hopelessly romantic husband put his arm around her, leaned in, and softly said, “You are more beautiful than half the women here.” Yeah, maybe don’t use that line. You might end up on the couch after that one. Use the right words to build up your wife.

We are called to cultivate other relationships, too. Men, in particular, play an essential role as fathers and father figures. I say “father figures” because sometimes children don’t have a biological father in the picture. So, there are times, when other men who love Jesus are called to the role of nurturing and encouraging like a father would for that child. But children need fathers. Studies continue to bear this out—when children grow up deprived of a father, it leaves a massive hole inside. Even if they don’t realize it, they continue to ache for the love that only a father can give.

And remember, we aren’t just called to “work” but to “keep” the gardens of our lives. That means we are called to be the protectors. We are to care for our loved ones and watch out when physical or spiritual danger is near.

Genesis 3 records the story of the fall when the serpent approached Eve. But you know something tragic? What we often miss is that Genesis 3:6 says that after Eve ate the fruit “she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate.” Did you catch that? Adam was right there “with her” when the tempter came.

Adam was failing in his God-given duty to step up and protect Eve. He was failing to be the head of the home and lead. He just passively watched everything unfold even though it was Adam that God had directly told not to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. He was told that “in the day you eat of it you shall surely die” (Gen. 2:17). Look, I’m not excusing Eve, because she knew what God said, too. But how tragic that Adam failed to be the man God designed him to be in that moment.

What are some other ways we “keep” or “protect”? We aren’t to let weeds grow in the gardens of our lives. We are to pull out the weeds of sin, lust, and anger. If you don’t actively work to protect your garden, weeds of all kinds will spring up.

So, to summarize: A man’s purpose is to live in relationship with God, to rule over creation under the rule of God, and that ruling involves working and keeping every area and relationship that God assigns us.

But here’s where we need to see something. Because we all know, none of us has been perfect in the areas of work, relationships, marriage, and parenting.

Restored Manliness

Before concluding, we need to consider Jesus Christ, because He is the Ultimate Man. Maybe you’ve never thought of Jesus as manly. You might have seen one of those old paintings where Jesus has a soft glow around his head, His eyes are sort of glazed over, and He almost looks like a little kid with a beard. But that’s not the Jesus of history. That’s not the real Jesus who is alive today. Jesus was and is the manliest Man you’ll ever meet. So because of that, we need to look to Jesus for our definition of manhood.

Jesus didn’t fail in the work God assigned Him. Not only did He show love to others and care for the sick and the needy, He did the ultimate work of going to the cross for us. Jesus loved us so much, He went through with the ultimate sacrifice of dying so that you could be forgiven. When you consider all the ways you’ve failed to live as the man God created you to be, you need to see that God never gave up on you.

As He hung on the cross, Christ willingly took all our failures and sins on Himself. He died to pay the debt we owed to God. And you know what Christ said in His final breath from the cross? “It is finished” (John 19:30). In other words, the work of salvation was finished. And because Jesus completed that work, we can be forgiven of our failures and made new creations in God’s sight. This is why it all begins with surrendering your life to Jesus.

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has gone, the new is here!” (2 Corinthians 5:17)

When men don’t get their identity from God, they will look in all the wrong places. They will find their identity in sports, career, or sexual encounters. But when we get our identity from Christ, we let Him define true manliness for us.

The world might say that manliness is about how many fights you’ve won, how reckless you are, and how much you can drink. That’s what Brian Deegan once thought. But now he understands that true manliness is about living a life yielded to Christ, taking your identity from Him.

True manliness isn’t about never apologizing to anyone. It’s about loving others, taking an interest in others, and making sacrifices for others. When we do that, we are pointing others to Jesus Christ. This is God’s calling for men.

Have thoughts on this post? Feel free to comment below!

[1] This story is given in Richard Phillips, The Masculine Mandate.

God, Government, and the King of Kings

On November 2, 2022November 2, 2022 By Jason SmithIn Theology for Life2 Comments

Politics can be a tough subject to broach. Many of us know what it’s like to sit down for a nice family Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner when out of the blue, good ol’ Uncle Albert decides to bring up politics. And what happens? Suddenly, it’s no longer a quaint family meal with pleasant small talk. Instead, a current of emotions sweeps through the room. Blood pressures rise. Voices get a little louder. Tensions grow. Grandma makes sure the carving knife is safely out of reach.

And why is that? What is it about politics that makes the blood boil?

Well, in part, it’s because politics – especially lately – has become an identity marker. It’s a discussion about who you are as a person: what you believe, what you cherish, and, of course, what you utterly, absolutely oppose.

Clearly, we’re living in a very politically divisive time, but Christians must have a distinct approach to the subject, shining the light of grace and truth.

So, in the midst of the election fever that is sweeping America right now, I believe it’s important to see four biblical truths for the Christian to consider during this election season.

1. God, Not Government, Is Our Ultimate Authority.

This is evident in God’s display of power over the Pharaoh of Egypt. Pharaoh thought of his authority as ultimate, and God disabused him of this fallacy. When Pharaoh refused to obey Yahweh’s command to release His people from their enslavement, God brought the hammer of judgment. He did this by striking Egypt with ten devastating plagues, which demonstrated Yahweh’s supremacy over Pharaoh and all the Egyptian gods.

At the same time, He tells Pharaoh that God is the One who put this tyrant in authority. God says, “But for this purpose I have raised you up, to show you my power, so that my name may be proclaimed in all the earth” (Exodus 9:16, ESV). Pharaoh was put in power by God, but for his hard heart and rebellion, he was also judged by God. What does this tell us?

All political leaders, kings, queens, and governing officials, are ultimately accountable to God. That’s why the prophet Nathan can confront his king about his adultery with Bathsheba. He points his finger right at David and says, “You are the man who has done this!” Similarly, John the Baptist had the courage to call out King Herod for his adulterous relationship with his brother’s wife. What gave these prophetic voices such incredible audacity? They knew that, ultimately, all earthly authorities must answer to the highest authority of Heaven.

It doesn’t matter whether you’ve had a highly celebrated political career or you’re a relatively unknown janitor at the courthouse. One day, you will have to answer to the Judge of all mankind, who searches your heart and mind. Nobody is “hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account” (Hebrews 4:13). Only the blood shed by Jesus can cover the sin that would otherwise leave us condemned in God’s heavenly courtroom.

2. Government Is a Fundamentally Good Institution Established by God.

This, for some, is the hardest principle to reckon with. When we think of government, we often think of all the ways it’s used to oppress others or the way it’s so imbued with political rivalries and petty attacks. But government, as an institution, is a good thing. Think, for example, how terrible life would be if there were no governments and instead the world was run by pure anarchy. No authority to answer to, no police, no law, no courts in the land. Everyone does whatever they want to others.

The book of Judges, after recording all the chaos and mayhem that happens when Israel is without a leader, repeats this famous line: “In those days there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes” (Judges 21:25, ESV). No government means no laws. And no laws means lawless behavior would rule the day.

Government is a good thing. It’s been established by God for our good – even if it is a good thing that can often be abused. But according to the Bible, no one ends up in office without God’s say so.

Romans 13:1 says something pretty incredible: “Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God.” This doesn’t mean God endorses everything that authorities do. The point is that God is the One who ultimately put them in power.

So while those holding an authoritative office or position may misuse or abuse their authority, authority itself is a God-ordained good. Anarchy and rebellion are not inherently good. In fact, they make a mockery of the very authoritative structure that God has ordained for our benefit.

At the end of King David’s life, he shared this word from the Lord about the beauty of godly authority:

“The God of Israel has spoken; the Rock of Israel has said to me: When one rules justly over men, ruling in the fear of God, he dawns on them like the morning light, like the sun shining forth on a cloudless morning, like rain that makes grass to sprout from the earth” (2 Samuel 23:3-4).

3. Don’t Put All Your Trust in Elected Leaders.

As Christians, we are called to respect the office of our governmental leaders, but not to give these leaders our ultimate allegiance.

In 1 Samuel 8, we see this foolish tendency to put our trust in human leaders rather than God. The nation of Israel looked around at all the nations that surrounded them and saw they all had kings. And, of course, like the kid who sees all the other kids with a toy, they want what these other nations have. So they go to the prophet Samuel, who has become the de facto leader of Israel and plead for a king.

Samuel tries to talk them out of it and says, “You know, a king will rule you with an iron fist. I’m not so sure you really want a king. He’ll take your sons and make them soldiers and your daughters and make them servants of the state. And He’ll tax you like you wouldn’t believe!” But they ignore his warnings.

God tells Samuel: “Okay, Samuel, give the people the king they are asking for. But understand something. They haven’t rejected you, Samuel; they’ve rejected Me from being King over them.”

It’s very easy to fall into this trap today. We can be so focused on our earthly welfare and earthly dreams that we can put more stock in a politician than in God Himself. But God says, “You can’t have it both ways. When you put all your trust in your leaders, you’re rejecting Me.”

Of course, this doesn’t mean we can’t support and advocate for certain candidates. But it reminds us to check our spirit and ask, Am I giving a mere man or woman the allegiance that only God deserves? Am I looking for security in this person or God?

Isaiah tells us that God alone should be exalted, and that the pride of man will eventually be brought low. He writes, “Stop trusting in mere humans, who have but a breath in their nostrils. Why hold them in esteem?” (Isaiah 2:22, NIV). God says, “Stop for just one minute with all the political frenzy going on and realize something. These guys running for office? They are mere men and women. The only reason any of them are alive is because I put breath in their lungs. So don’t give them your hearts. Find your security in Me.”

4. Make the Kingdom of God, not the Kingdoms of this World, Your Ultimate Priority.

In his book Political Gospel, Patrick Schreiner reminds us that since our gospel is a message about a King and a kingdom, there is inescapably a political dimension to the gospel: “The gospel message is a world-forming, public, and political reality. Jesus calls people to a new way of life, a new society, a new community.”[1]

Remember, ultimately we are not headed for an eternal democracy. It’s a great system right now. But in the end, we are headed for an absolute monarchy. Jesus said His kingdom was not of this world (having its origin in the world), but He never denied being a King or bringing a kingdom (see my post “What is the Kingdom of God?”). In that kingdom, all those who have placed their trust in King Jesus will thrive under His glorious reign. And we will be glad we are under His authority, because only then can everything be put right.

Psalm 2 is one of the most striking psalms in the Bible. Rather than simply offering praise to God, it’s as if the psalmist takes us up to Heaven and gives us God’s perspective on all the political affairs of this world, with kings setting themselves up on thrones and politicians listening to their own collective wisdom.

“The One enthroned in heaven laughs;
    the Lord scoffs at them.” (Psalm 2:4, NIV)

God scoffs at these rulers. We don’t normally think of God as scoffing at others, but God laughs at these pretentious rulers of the world. Why? Because they actually think that they can come up with a better ruler than God can.

The kings of the earth set themselves,
    and the rulers take counsel together,
    against the Lord and against his Anointed. (Psalm 2:2, ESV)

If you watched Saturday morning cartoons in the ‘90s, you may remember watching the one about two goofy mice called Pinky and the Brain. In every episode, Pinky says, “What are we going to do tomorrow?” And Brain says, “The same thing we do every day… try to take over the world!”

In Psalm 2, from God’s perspective, all these rulers plotting together is as ridiculous as two little mice trying to take over the world. And so it says that God actually laughs at them for thinking themselves so great and wise. He scoffs at them for thinking they can actually run the world better than He can.

And He says, “As for me, I have set my King on Zion, my holy hill” (Psalm 2:6).

Essentially, God looks at the political schemes and says, “You really think you can run this world better than Me? Better than My Son? Take a look at all the wars and greed and corruption that have happened when you people try to run the world. It’s a mess.”

God wants us to remember that there is ultimately only one leader worthy of all our trust, our devotion, and our allegiance. That’s the Lord Jesus Christ. So we should be more invested in building His kingdom than any of our own.

Jesus went to the cross for those on the Left, the Right, and everywhere in between. The Lion of Judah stands over all elephants and donkeys, even while He offers Himself to those of every political stripe. Jesus is the One who reigns supreme even now on His throne in Heaven. And where every other leader has failed, Jesus will succeed. Where every other leader’s heart has been tainted by sin, Jesus will lead with perfect righteousness.

Isaiah 11 tells us what it will look like when Jesus reigns supreme on earth:

“He will not judge by what he sees with his eyes,
    or decide by what he hears with his ears;
but with righteousness he will judge the needy,
    with justice he will give decisions for the poor of the earth.
He will strike the earth with the rod of his mouth;
    with the breath of his lips he will slay the wicked.
Righteousness will be his belt
    and faithfulness the sash around his waist.” (Isaiah 11:3b-5, NIV)

Isaiah then says there will be perfect order and peace even in the animal world (vv. 6-9). And then he says this about Jesus:

“In that day the Root of Jesse will stand as a banner for the peoples; the nations will rally to him, and his resting place will be glorious.” (Isaiah 11:10, NIV)

This is what we have to look forward to as the people of God. We can know that no matter who wins this election, our God reigns.

Have thoughts on this post? Feel free to comment below!

[1] Patrick Schreiner, Political Gospel, 12.

Why Should I Be Baptized?

On October 25, 2022July 29, 2025 By Jason SmithIn Devotional, Theology for Life2 Comments

With the sun beating down on his head, a bronze-skinned man steps out onto the river bank. His lower half is still drenched and dripping with the Jordan River. He’s wrapped in a tunic made of camel’s hair. Hair and beard look unkempt. He seems to lack all sense of social convention. He is a portrait of a desert wanderer. The surrounding crowd on the shoreline cannot help but stare and listen to his brazen call to repent of wickedness. Having just emerged from the water, some are still soaked from head to toe.

He picks up his staff in one hand and raises the other toward the crowd. A knobby finger points like a dagger at a group of men in long clean robes: the Pharisees and Sadducees.

“Brood of vipers!” The desert man’s voice echoes off the stony river bank. All eyes are now staring at the religious leaders, who grimace with distaste.

“Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come!” the man bellows. While some are shocked, others recognize his boldness to confront sin is a clear sign of his prophetic calling of God. If John is a prophet, then he’s merely God’s mouthpiece. What he has to say truly comes from the Almighty. And yet, here he was confronting the religious aristocracy, the paragons of purity.

In one sense, these Pharisees and Sadducees carried an air of power and respectability wherever they went. The people noted their stringent piety and rigorous law-keeping. Nevertheless, the people so admired John the Baptist that these holy men looked like tongue-tied schoolchildren in his presence. They come only to observe, not to be baptized in the filthy river.

“Show fruit consistent with repentance!” John continued, eyes blazing like fire.

John’s Ministry of Baptism

Apparently, John didn’t have a public relations consultant. Why did he call these highly esteemed religious leaders a “brood of vipers”? Because they ignored the warnings of the wrath to come and led others to destruction. And, as John says, they didn’t bear fruit, showing they had not truly given their lives to the Lord.

This was John the Baptist’s entire ministry. He called people to repent of sin, return to faith in the one true God, and be baptized in the Jordan River.

John said, “I baptize you with water for repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry” (Matthew 3:11).

This One “coming” was the Lord of the cosmos Himself. John the Baptist was always pointing others to look to Christ, not himself, for hope. He humbly confesses he’s not worthy to even carry the sandals of Jesus. But it’s not just humility; it’s a right view of how supremely worthy Jesus is.

Then he says of Jesus: “He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire…”

It’s important to realize that even though John says that he baptizes with water and Jesus will baptize with the Holy Spirit and fire, this doesn’t mean that water baptism is no longer necessary today. At the end of Matthew, Jesus Himself gives the command: “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit…” (Matthew 28:19).

Though Christians don’t always agree on the purpose of baptism, Jesus seemed to present baptism as the inaugural event marking a new disciple of Christ.

Why Be Baptized?

It is important to understand that baptism does not save you. We are saved by grace alone through faith in Jesus Christ alone (Ephesians 2:8-9). Though Christians are called to good works, no good work—not even baptism—could save us from the tyranny of sin. Paul made the point that he was not sent with the primary objective of baptizing others, but of preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ (1 Corinthians 1:17).

The thief on the cross had no opportunity to be baptized before he died, yet the Lord assured him of his place in Paradise with Him that very day (Luke 23:43). It is only repentance toward God and faith in Jesus Christ that reconciles us to God. Having said that, followers of Christ are commanded by God to be baptized. The Bible never treats it as an optional “extra.” Local churches are called to baptize new believers after the pattern of the New Testament (Acts 2:38-41; 10:47; 16:14-15).

Baptism pictures our need for cleansing and restoration. But it also pictures our identification with Christ. Going down into the waters, we are identifying ourselves publicly with Christ’s death and our own death to sin. Coming out of the waters portrays both Christ’s resurrection and our resurrection with Him to new life (Romans 6:3-4). As we are baptized individually and as we see others baptized, we are reminded that Christ’s sacrifice on the cross was for us personally.

And, as John says here, when we trust in Christ personally, we receive the Holy Spirit.[1]

The Winnowing Fork of Judgment

Why are repentance and baptism so important? John says of Jesus: “His winnowing fork is in His hand, and He will clear His threshing floor and gather His wheat into the barn, but the chaff He will burn with unquenchable fire” (Matthew 3:12).

In ancient Israel, there was a practice called winnowing which allowed the farmer to separate the grain (or seeds) from the chaff, which were the husks that cover the seeds. When the farmer tossed the grain and the chaff into the air with the winnowing fork, the Middle Eastern wind would carry the lighter chaff to the side and the heavier grain would fall to the ground. He would gather the grain together to keep, and the chaff he would sweep together and toss into a fire.[2]

John is giving us a vivid picture of judgment. On the coming day of judgment, Jesus will gather the grain—those who are His own—to Himself. And the rest, He will cast into what He calls “the unquenchable fire.” This is a sobering and serious reminder that a judgment is coming, and if we don’t belong to Jesus, we are destined for eternal damnation (Matthew 10:28; Mark 9:43). John is making it clear that it is eternal by saying it is a fire that never goes out.

I want you to understand that the idea of eternal judgment was no more popular in Jesus’s day, 2,000 years ago, than it is today. While some may say that it is unloving to tell people about hell, John recognized that what would be truly unloving is not to warn people that a judgment is coming.[3]

God Himself pled with unrepentant Israel to return to Him and avoid judgment:

“As I live, declares the Lord God, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live; turn back, turn back from your evil ways, for why will you die, O house of Israel?” (Ezekiel 33:11, ESV)

This life is infinitesimally short in light of eternity. God says in His Word that your life is nothing more than a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes (James 4:14). But eternity—that lasts forever! So where we spend eternity matters immensely.

This is why I, too, want to warn others. If Scripture is right that there is a coming judgment and that our own conscience testifies to this truth, then for me not to speak about hell would be unloving. I make a point to speak about it because I, too, am a sinner and have been rescued from judgment—Jesus has saved me. And so, I want to point to my Savior and say this offer of salvation is for all. No matter what you have done or where you have been in life, this free gift of salvation is offered to you!

Why Was Jesus Baptized?

Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to John, to be baptized by him. John would have prevented him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?” But Jesus answered him, “Let it be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” Then he consented. (Matthew 3:13-15)

So, if water baptism represents cleansing from sin, why in the world is Jesus coming to the Jordan River be baptized here? After all, Jesus is the sinless Son of God in human flesh. Scripture always affirms that Jesus was and is “without sin” (Heb. 4:15). So why did He submit to baptism?

I think we see a clue as to why Jesus did this way back in the prophecy found in Isaiah 53:10. There we read that the sinless sufferer was “numbered with the transgressors.” Or, it could be translated as “[He] was counted among the rebels.”

Even though Jesus was perfect and sinless, He willingly chose, out of love, to identify with sinful mankind. Beginning with His coming at Christmas, to His baptism, and all the way to the cross, Jesus was humbly and lovingly saying, “I have come to identify with the very people who have rebelled against Me.” He came to die for the very rebels who were cursing Him, mocking Him, and crucifying Him. From the cross, He said, “Father, forgive them for they know not what they do” (Luke 23:34). In the context, He was speaking of the Jews and Romans that had Him killed. But in reality, He says that of all of us. We all have committed treason against the God who made us. We all deserve death. But Jesus was perfect. He willingly died in our place so that we could be forgiven and spared from all judgment.

In humbly consenting to water baptism, Jesus marked out a pattern for all His disciples to follow. In this way, He is not asking of us anything that He Himself did not willingly do.

And when Jesus was baptized, immediately he went up from the water, and behold, the heavens were opened to him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming to rest on him; and behold, a voice from heaven said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.” (Matthew 3:16-17, ESV)

Scripture teaches that the one true God is three persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. And here we see all Three in view. Jesus submitting to baptism, the Spirit descending upon Him to empower Him for ministry, and the Father’s voice from heaven saying: “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.”

If Jesus had never been baptized, this moment would have been missed. Now all who have repented and trusted in the Lord Jesus are reconciled to God, made new by the Holy Spirit, and are loved in the Beloved—even as Christ is loved by the Father (John 17:26). And if that’s you, friend, you are called to be baptized.

Have thoughts on this post? Feel free to comment below!

[1] “For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and all were made to drink of one Spirit” (1 Corinthians 12:13, ESV). Also see Romans 8:9-11.

[2] Thanks to David Platt for his explanation of this process in his commentary Exalting Jesus in Matthew.

[3] See Ezekiel 33, where the Lord says that the watchman who sees the sword of judgment coming but fails to warn others will have their blood on his hands.

The Complex Emotion of Anger

On October 18, 2022October 19, 2022 By Jason SmithIn Devotional1 Comment

Uh-oh. There’s that feeling again. It’s like a deep tremor welling up inside. A volcano with growing subterranean pressure. We all know what it’s like to experience the heat of anger. At times, it’s directed at a situation, but more often anger is directed at a person, usually someone you know well. At other times, you are on the receiving end—the volcano is erupting on you!

Anger can wreck friendships and send marriages spiraling into a tailspin. At its worst, it can lead to abuse and tragedy. If left unchecked, anger can be the most destructive human emotion. The Bible gives clear warnings about anger:

“Refrain from anger and turn from wrath; do not fret—it leads only to evil.” (Psalm 37:8, NIV)

Nearly everywhere you look, you can find areas where anger is harming our society. Just consider the problem of road rage. According to a recent study, “More than 1,000 people in the U.S. die each year in road rage incidents.”[1] In their book Anger Kills, authors Redford and Virginia Williams found that those who are prone to angry outbursts are more likely to have coronary heart disease.[2] No wonder the Bible says, “Good sense makes one slow to anger, and it is his glory to overlook an offense” (Proverbs 19:11, ESV).

So how do we rightly deal with this volatile emotion?

Admit You Are Angry

If we are going to make any progress in dealing with our anger, we have to be willing to first admit when we are angry. People like to say, “I gave her a piece of my mind” or “I guess I lost my cool there.” But what they really mean is “I was angry.” Maybe you’ve heard the remark: “I don’t get mad, but I do get even.”

Most often, we Christians struggle to admit we are angry because we have been taught that anger is a sin. And certainly, there are more than a few warnings about anger in the Bible. “An angry man stirs up dissension, and a hot-tempered man abounds in transgression” (Proverbs 29:22, BSB). But I would argue that passages like this speak of misdirected and uncontrolled anger. The Bible says, “In your anger, do not sin” (Ephesians 4:26, NIV).

Anger is not a monochrome emotion that we can so easily file away in the “sin” category. As David Powlison said, anger “is a complex human response to a complex world.”[3] After all, God expresses anger at sin.[4] Throughout Scripture, we read of God’s wrath or righteous indignation in response to injustice, idolatry, and sinful distortions of His good design for humanity.

Jesus Christ, known for His meekness and gentleness, expressed anger many times in the Gospels too – usually in response to self-righteous hypocrisy.[5]

On one occasion, the religious elite demonstrated more concern for catching Jesus in their legalistic trap than for the plight of a man with a withered hand. Their cold-hearted callousness toward real suffering made Jesus hot with righteous anger. He “looked around at them with anger, grieved at their hardness of heart” (Mark 3:5, ESV).

Anger is the natural human response to evil and injustice. It is the heart crying out, This is wrong. So we should not be reticent to admit when we feel angry. Owning our anger will allow us to rightly deal with it.

Restrain Your Immediate Response

While anger can be the natural human response to wrongdoing, that doesn’t mean it’s always expressed in a good way. In fact, because of our sin nature, our tendency is to express anger in an ungodly or self-centered way, rather than in a godly way like Jesus. The Book of James reminds us about the importance of hitting the brakes to “slow down” when we feel that first surge of anger.

“Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger; for the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God.” (James 1:19-20, ESV)

Consider this scenario. A teenager “borrows” his dad’s Ford Mustang without asking in order to impress a girl and brings it back with an ugly scrape across the door. When his father discovers what happened, what’s his initial response? He’s angry. Very likely, this man will want to fly into a rage, lashing out at his son for his reckless and irresponsible behavior. What his son did was wrong. So to feel anger is only natural, but James would warn this man to hit the brakes. Because a knee-jerk response in anger is almost always destructive.

“People with understanding control their anger; a hot temper shows great foolishness.” (Proverbs 14:29, NLT)

You may be thinking, Sure, controlling my anger is a great idea. Easier said than done. It’s true that stopping yourself in the moment might not be easy. Ultimately, patience, gentleness, and self-control are produced by the Holy Spirit, not something we can achieve through mere human effort.

However, with God’s help we can learn to respond in the moment in a way that honors Him. Practically speaking, this might mean stepping away temporarily when you start to feel your blood boil. Marriage expert Gary Chapman recommends a husband and wife learn to “call timeout” when emotions begin to surge.[6] This means giving each other space for a brief time, so that both can come back to discuss the matter calmly without having said or done something they regret. Sometimes a walk around the block is enough time to cool the temperatures so that feelings aren’t hurt and a peaceful compromise is reached.

Identify the Cause of Your Anger

We’ve all heard stories of school shootings or homicides that didn’t seem to add up. People say things like “He seemed like such a nice guy” and “I never saw it coming.” No doubt this is in large part because people are good at wearing “nice” on the outside even while unaddressed anger is quietly brewing inside.

While such examples may sound extreme, they simply demonstrate what can happen when anger is not confronted. I’ve talked to several people who have admitted that mistreatment, neglect, or a lack of love in their home growing up planted deep seeds of anger. The long-term effect may even be ignored or downplayed for a time. But because the hurt is still there, they are sometimes shocked by their own angry and emotional outbursts.

For others, it is the deep wounds of a past relationship that planted those seeds of anger. They know it’s there, but they can’t help grieving over the pain of the past. And sometimes that grief mingles into bitterness and hatred.

Neil T. Anderson, who has helped countless people deal with deep-seated anger, said, “Whenever we are asked to help someone who has a root of bitterness, the source of the problem has always been unforgiveness.”[7]

It’s no surprise that right after Paul tells the Ephesians, “Get rid of all bitterness, rage, and anger,” he says, “Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you” (Ephesians 4:31-32, NIV).

The reality is that we all experience anger. I am certainly not exempt from this emotion. We may say, “I’m just strong-willed,” but that might mean we have a fear of being proven wrong. Or we may say, “I just care deeply about the truth,” but oftentimes there’s some insecurity just below the surface.

We are all broken people. But God is in the business of putting broken people back together. By His Spirit and His grace, we can find fresh joy in the Lord. We can experience the peace that He alone gives. But if we don’t deal with the roots of our anger, anger will continue to get the better of us.

Through the Spirit, Paul told the Ephesians, “Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and give no opportunity to the devil” (Ephesians 4:26-27, ESV). In other words, anger is not always sinful. However, it does no good to dwell on your anger. Or, better said, to let anger dwell in you.

Surrender Your Anger to God

Once we have admitted we feel angry, the first and most important thing to do is surrender it to God. Put that rage, animosity, and ill-feelings toward someone else in God’s hands. It’s a burden He can handle, and He wants to take it off your shoulders.

Again, we often have good reasons for feeling angry. That’s not what is sinful. But harboring and nursing anger leads to a warfare mindset rather than a peace-making mindset. And what we really want is to see the wrongs made right. So who better to entrust your anger to than the God of righteousness and justice?

Remember, God cares more about the wrongs done against you than you do.

“The LORD is righteous in all his ways and faithful in all he does.” (Psalm 145:17, NIV)

The Lord is more passionate about justice than you or me. So let’s put our case in His hands. He will do what is right, but with perfect authority and timing.

That’s what Jesus did. “When He was reviled, He did not revile in return” (1 Peter 2:23, ESV). When He was mocked, beaten, and mistreated in the most appalling and shameful ways imaginable, Jesus “continued entrusting Himself to Him who judges justly” (1 Peter 2:23, ESV).

Judas betrayed Jesus with a kiss, but Jesus called him His “friend.”[8] His own disciples scattered when Jesus was arrested and killed. But after His resurrection, the Lord graciously approached those same guys who had abandoned Him. He even embraced the one who had previously denied ever knowing Him.

Jesus had every right to be furious for the way He, the spotless Lamb, was being treated, but He surrendered all His righteous anger to His Father in Heaven. And ultimately that’s what you and I are called to do in the power of the Holy Spirit.

Have thoughts on this post? Feel free to comment below!

[1] “Boiling Point” presented at the Mental Health Action Week, 2008, Mental Health Organization.

[2] Redford and Virginia Williams, Anger Kills.

[3] David Powlison, Good and Angry: Redeeming Anger, Irritation, Complaining, and Bitterness, Kindle edition.

[4] Psalm 7:11.

[5] For example, see Matthew 23.

[6] Gary Chapman, Anger: Handling a Powerful Emotion in a Healthy Way.

[7] Neil T. Anderson and Rich Miller, Managing Your Anger, 152.

[8] Matthew 27:50.

What Is Repentance and Why Does It Matter?

On October 12, 2022October 12, 2022 By Jason SmithIn Theology for Life1 Comment

Charles Colson was once known as President Richard Nixon’s “hatchet man.” He earned that moniker through his relentless, no-nonsense way of executing the president’s plans. Even if he had to use what we may call “ethically questionable tactics,” Colson made sure he carried out Nixon’s bidding. Colson’s fall from greatness made the headlines as the Watergate scandal of 1973 broke open to the public, and he became one of the chief scapegoats of the whole debacle.

During the fallout of Watergate, Colson visited his friend, Tom Phillips, who shared with him about how he had recently accepted Christ as his Savior and now had a relationship with God. At first Colson was skeptical, but as Tom read an excerpt from C. S. Lewis’s Mere Christianity, he began to see his own pride in a new light. He recognized it was his arrogance that had led him to deceive, cheat, and disrespect others when it was politically expedient. After Tom prayed for him, Chuck said good night and went out to his car. Something told him that he should go back in and pray with Tom once more. Just then, the lights went out in the house. So he started driving home. But before long, his eyes burned with tears, and he pulled over. Right there, alone in that car, Chuck admitted to the emptiness he felt and asked God to accept him in spite of his failures. In that moment, Chuck cried out to God.

In the subsequent weeks, he read from Mere Christianity, eventually concluding that Jesus Christ had to be the Son of God. So he surrendered his heart to the Lord of the universe. From that point of conversion, Chuck’s life was transformed. His wife noticed it. His friends noticed it. Something was radically different about Chuck.

Still, most government officials were very skeptical that Colson had truly changed. When he was tried for his part in the Watergate scandal, Chuck was offered a plea bargain. He was told that if he pled guilty to a misdemeanor he didn’t actually do, he would avoid prison. Here was Chuck’s ticket to go free! All he had to do was lie about committing this misdemeanor. Astonishingly, Chuck refused the deal. He chose to tell the truth, even though it landed him in prison for seven months. The press couldn’t make sense of it. They didn’t understand how Nixon’s brutal “hatchet man” could suddenly have scruples over what seemed to be an easy decision. After being released from prison, Colson started Prison Fellowship Ministries, an organization with the goal of offering inmates the hope of life with Jesus Christ.

Eric Metaxas explained it this way: Colson “had worked hard, in his younger years, for President Richard Nixon—the most powerful man on earth,” but he “spent the second half of his life working even harder for the King of kings.”[1]

Colson’s transformation is not an isolated case. Across the world–for the last two thousand years–there have been countless persons, including myself, who have had their lives changed by Jesus Christ. His story provides a great example of what the Bible calls repentance.

The Call to Repentance

In those days John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” (Matthew 3:1-2, NIV)

The Bible portrays John the Baptist as an eccentric wild man. Matthew describes him as wearing camel’s hair and a leather belt and eating locusts and honey. Some of us imagine a modern day John the Baptist as some half-crazed man running around wearing a sandwich board that says “The End is near.” But John was a prophet – a spokesman – for God. He was commissioned by God to announce the long-awaited arrival of Jesus the Messiah. Jesus had been living a relatively obscure life in Galilee, but He was about to begin His three-year ministry, which would eventually lead Him to the cross. And John the Baptist was the Messiah’s forerunner. The great theme of John’s preaching was repentance.

In a sense, John was the last of the Old Testament prophets. His message of repentance matches what they all said.[2] And the description that we are given of him is meant to highlight the simplicity of his life. He didn’t seek worldly goods. But I think it is also meant to highlight his sold-out commitment to proclaim the Messiah and devote his life to that ministry alone.

John is announcing the arrival of the kingdom of God in the person of Jesus of Nazareth. For the Jew who has been anxiously waiting for the kingdom’s arrival, this is startling news. But John says that one is not automatically admitted into the kingdom. A response is required from us. John calls all the people of Israel to repent – a word that needs to be carefully defined.

The root word (metanoia in Greek) means “to change one’s mind.” But whenever repentance is used in Scripture, it describes a change far more radical than a mere change of opinion. “I used to like plain chocolate, but now I’m more of a chocolate-and-peanut-butter guy” might be a change of mind, but repentance is a total shift in the gravitational center of one’s life. A reorientation of priorities and a renovation of character are the fruits of true repentance. That is why John told those who came to be baptized, “Bear fruit in keeping with repentance” (Matthew 3:8). Repentance is like making a U-turn and going in a completely new direction in life—albeit imperfectly.

Chuck refused to take the plea bargain, because he was living in a new direction. Honoring the Lord now mattered more to him than a “get out of jail free” card. So he refused the easy path of deception.

Confession, Sorrow, and Conversion

First of all, repentance involves confession over sin. Those who “were baptized by [John] in the river Jordan” were “confessing their sins” (Matthew 3:6). So confession of sin, admitting you have done wrong, is one aspect of it. But merely owning up to sin is not enough.

Secondly, in the Bible, the truly repentant are always sorrowful over their sin. In Psalm 51, we witness the once confident King David humbly confessing to God his great sin of committing adultery with a woman named Bathsheba.

Listen to how broken David is over his sin:

“Have mercy on me, O God,
according to your steadfast love;
according to your abundant mercy
blot out my transgressions.

Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity,
and cleanse me from my sin!
For I know my transgressions,
and my sin is ever before me.

Against you, you only, have I sinned
and done what is evil in your sight,
so that you may be justified in your words
and blameless in your judgment.

Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity,
and in sin did my mother conceive me." (Psalm 51:1-5, NIV)

Notice David says to God, “Against you, you only, have I sinned” (v. 4). This is an astonishing statement when you consider that he sinned against a lot of people when he committed adultery. He sinned against Uriah, Bathsheba’s husband, and even had him killed. He sinned against Bathsheba by luring her into the sin with him. He sinned against his family by dishonoring them. And he sinned against the whole nation by abusing his power and office as king. But David understands that first and foremost, his sin is against God, because it is God—and no one else—to whom he is most fundamentally accountable. It was God who had created him, given him life, and sustained his life for every moment of every day. It was God who had raised him up to be king over Israel. So, most importantly, by sinning at all, David was sinning against God.

David is an emotional train wreck. And yet, that is precisely what God looks for in true repentance:

“The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit;
a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.” (Psalm 51:17)

So, repentance involves both confession of sin—admitting guilt—and being brokenhearted over your sin. But this still isn’t everything that repentance is. Most importantly, repentance involves conversion of the heart. It involves turning from the sins we love to the God we were made to love.

Return, O Israel, to the LORD your God,
for you have stumbled because of your iniquity.
Take with you words and return to the LORD;
say to him, “Take away all iniquity.” (Hosea 14:1-2, NIV)

Sin is what separates us from God, and it is only when sin is truly repented of—not just confessed—that we are brought into right relationship with God. It’s not enough to be brokenhearted or even devastated over our sin. We need to turn from that sin and toward God, trusting in Jesus Christ to free us.

Remorse versus Repentance

Many people confuse repentance with remorse. Remorse is a deep sense of grief and anguish over the consequences of sin. The classic example of remorse is Pharaoh. Time after time, Pharaoh says, “I have sinned!” Outwardly, he appears sorrowful, even asking for forgiveness (Exodus 10:17). He admits his failure, but he still isn’t ready to repent. Pharaoh is like the kid who is sorry that he got caught but not really sorry for disobeying his mom.

Consider what Paul wrote the church in Corinth about the necessity of true repentance:

“As it is, I rejoice, not because you were grieved, but because you were grieved into repenting. For you felt a godly grief, so that you suffered no loss through us. For godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret, whereas worldly grief produces death.” (2 Corinthians 7:9-10, NIV)

Paul is saying, “Yes, grieve over your sin, but that’s not enough. It must be a godly grief that produces a repentance leading to salvation without regret.”

The clearest example of this difference can be seen in Judas and Peter. Both were disciples of Jesus Christ. Both men ate with Him, talked with Him, and listened to Him teach for three years. Yet both sinned against Jesus in the final 24 hours before the cross. Judas betrayed Jesus with a kiss; Peter denied that he even knew Jesus. Judas sinned with false affection; Peter sinned with false ignorance.

Both had committed an unspeakable sin against their Lord. Both grieved over their sin. But Judas never repented. Matthew tells us he was so ashamed of what he had done that he went out and hung himself (Mt. 27:5). Peter, on the other hand, “wept bitterly” (Mt. 26:75), but then he repented. After Jesus rose from the dead, Peter returned to Jesus, and he was restored to fellowship with Him (John 21:7, 15-22). He went on to become the first great proclaimer of the risen Lord (Acts 2:22-36). We have every reason to believe that Peter is now in Heaven with Jesus, and that Judas, tragically, is destined for hell since Jesus called him “a son of destruction” (John 17:12; cf. Matt. 26:24-25). Two starkly different eternal destinies, and the difference between Judas and Peter was repentance.

No wonder Jesus said, “Unless you repent, you will all likewise perish” (Luke 13:3, 5). Repentance is essential, because we will continue to put ourselves at the center of the universe until we turn to the God of grace and forgiveness.

The biblical teaching on repentance and the examples of Chuck Colson, King David, and the Apostle Peter remind us that no one is beyond hope. As long as there is still breath in your lungs, there is still time to repent. It’s as simple and as hard as turning (or returning) to the Lord.

If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved. (Romans 10:9-10, NIV)

Have thoughts on this post? Feel free to comment below!

[1] Eric Metaxas. Seven Men, 163

[2] See Isaiah 1:16-20; Jeremiah 4:4; 18:8; 26:13; Ezekiel 18:20-32; Hosea 5:4; 14:1-2; Joel 2:12-14; Amos 4:10-11; Jonah 3:10; Zechariah 1:3-6; Malachi 3:7; 4:6.