The Affectionate Husband

On February 21, 2023May 1, 2023 By Jason SmithIn Devotional, Theology for Life2 Comments

“You have captured my heart, my treasure, my bride. You hold it hostage with one glance of your eyes, with a single jewel of your necklace.” (Song of Solomon 4:9, NLT)

Marriage is serious business. In His Word, God speaks of marriage as a holy and sacred covenant we make before Him (Genesis 2:24; Proverbs 2:17); it is a relationship to cherish and protect from all potential dangers. God expresses righteous indignation toward the one who disregards his wedding vows (Malachi 2:13-16). So marriage is serious business, but it’s also meant to be a relationship of joy and delight.

In fact, these two concepts of reverence toward marriage and delight in marriage support and sustain each other. Contrary to popular belief, to regard something as “holy” does not suggest the absence of joy. Unfortunately, many today want to characterize marriage as boring and rigid, even as a form of slavery. But to view marriage as holy simply means that we should regard it is as special and set apart before God. When a man and woman wed, they are embracing one another in a union that is set apart from all other relationships. Through their vows, the bride and groom are essentially saying to one another, “I give myself exclusively to you and promise to delight in you in a lifelong covenant that I share with no one else.”

Bring Happiness to Your Wife

Maybe you’ve heard the quip that marriage is a three-ring circus. First, there is the engagement ring, then the wedding ring, and lastly, you have the suffering. However, this is completely contrary to the Bible’s portrayal of marriage. God intends for husband and wife to experience the joy of their union far beyond the honeymoon.

You get a sense of God’s intention for marriage through some of the laws that He gave His people. For instance, through Moses, God said:

“When a man is newly married, he shall not go out with the army or be liable for any other public duty. He shall be free at home one year to be happy with his wife whom he has taken.” (Deuteronomy 24:5, ESV)

When my wife Whitney and I were engaged, I began considering going to seminary. My friend and mentor, Pastor Matt, wisely counseled me to wait at least one full year after the wedding before enrolling. He pointed to this law for support, saying that God would have me give my full attention to my new bride for the first year. It made perfect sense, and I’m so glad I heeded his advice.

That first year of marriage is pivotal because you are setting a pattern and laying a foundation for the rest of your life together. Notice that God’s high standard for marriage is seen in the way He expressly commands happiness for newlyweds. Translated literally, the husband is commanded to “bring happiness to the wife he has married” (TNIV).

Catch the Little Foxes

Like all God’s laws, this is intended for our good and growth (Deuteronomy 10:13). But how many husbands today have made it their goal to make their wife happy?

Research has shown that a newly married husband will often pour all his attention into establishing his career. He tells his wife (and himself) that he’s only thinking of their future together, but he doesn’t realize he actually is setting a dangerous pattern. Rather than giving his undivided attention to her as an affectionate husband, he postpones affection by spending most of his time away from her.

For some husbands, it’s not until they reach middle age that they suddenly wake up and realize they have neglected their responsibility of showing their wife affection. Instead, they have made career aspirations their first priority.

Song of Solomon is a lengthy poem about King Solomon and his beloved bride. The love poem pictures the marriage union as a garden or vineyard that needs to be protected and cultivated. If you have ever tried to maintain a garden, you know the importance of giving it enough attention and care. There are weeds to be pulled, water and fertilizer to be given, and branches that must be pruned. At one point, Solomon’s bride even laments the “little foxes” that sneak in and destroy their “vineyard”:

“Catch the foxes for us,
    the little foxes
that spoil the vineyards,
    for our vineyards are in blossom.” (Song of Solomon 2:15, ESV)

Many marriages suffer from a lack of proper care and cultivation. When this happens, the “little foxes” of stress, financial hardship, and other distractions can slowly start to corrode the relationship.

So what is the solution? It’s actually quite simple: As the husband, you are to lavish your bride with love and affection. Pursue her with the same tenacity you did to win her heart. Become a lifelong student of your wife, her needs, her hopes, and what brings her joy.

Rejoice in Your Wife

Solomon’s bride exults:

“Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth!
For your love is better than wine.” (Song of Solomon 1:2, ESV)

When her husband is away, she is less sure of herself (1:5-6). She craves his swift return (2:8) and is distressed when he is gone long hours (3:1-3).

In the TV series Everwood, there’s a scene where a wife confronts her husband, a traveling salesman, about how frequently he is away from home. She tells him how hard it is when he’s gone, not only for their little boy, but for her. With tears in her eyes, she says, “Do you need me that way? Please tell me you still need me that way.”

In God’s design, the wife is designed to long for her husband’s affection, and the husband is designed to fulfill this longing. That’s why Solomon seizes every opportunity to shower his bride with affection, calling her “most beautiful among women” (1:8; also see 1:15; 4:1). As the husband practices this kind of affection, loving his wife is no longer a wearisome duty, but a wonderful delight.

Some might even blush at the way the Bible unabashedly urges the husband to delight in his wife:

“Let your fountain be blessed,
    and rejoice in the wife of your youth,
    a lovely deer, a graceful doe.
Let her breasts fill you at all times with delight;
    be intoxicated always in her love.” (Proverbs 5:18-19, ESV)

When the husband leads the way in tenderly expressing love for his wife, their union is strengthened and their love made secure.

In their book Love Lock, Marty Trammell and Rich Rollins describe the deep longing we all have for security in our love relationships. One of the best ways to show love for our spouse is through attentive listening. They write, “When our spouse knows that her world is becoming more important to us, she feels our love more deeply.”[1]

All of this is encompassed in the straightforward command: “Husbands, love your wives and never treat them harshly” (Colossians 3:19, NLT). The affectionate husband recognizes just how essential this lasting love is.

[1] Marty Trammel and Rich Rollins, Love Lock: Creating Lasting Connections with the One You Love, 29.

Grace First

On February 8, 2023February 12, 2023 By Jason SmithIn Devotional, Theology for Life3 Comments

From the beginning of Jesus’ ministry, He went around healing, teaching, and calling people to follow Him. When people followed Jesus, they began a life of transformational discipleship. In other words, people did not have to meet certain criteria before becoming His followers. They only had to leave their life of sin. Jesus didn’t call people to clean themselves up. He simply said, “In whatever place you find yourself, come to Me. Come to Me and begin a new life following Me as Lord, Teacher, and Savior.”

Interestingly, in the call to follow Him, Jesus included a call to reach others. Jesus told those rugged fishermen on the Galilean shore, “Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men” (Matt. 4:19). He tells them that part of following Him is calling others to follow Him, too. Multiplication is at the core of what it means to be a follower (disciple) of Jesus.

Jesus was teaching these fishermen about discipleship using language they were familiar with: “Look, you guys know how to catch greasy fish in a net. I’m appointing you to catch greasy sinners in the net of grace.”

In other words, you don’t see any indication in the Gospels that it’s possible to faithfully follow Jesus while pursuing a monastic life of perpetual solitude or taking a “just Jesus and me” approach to spirituality. If you truly want to follow Jesus, then you should be concerned about helping others follow Jesus, too. Put another way: True disciples make more disciples (see Matthew 28:18-20).

This was true for those fishermen, and it’s true for everyone since then.

The “Grace First” Approach

Jesus called people with what I call the “Grace First” approach. In other words, Jesus called people to follow Him and forsake their life of sin, but He didn’t say, “Let me take a look at your track record and see how you’ve spent your life so far. Let me see if you check all the boxes of true righteousness.”

For goodness’ sake, just look at the kind of people that Jesus picked, and you’ll know they weren’t exactly on the honor roll for holiness. You’ve got Peter, a man with no verbal filter. Then you’ve got John and James, brash brothers who seem bent on incinerating those who look or think differently from them (Luke 9:52-55). Somehow, these three were considered His closest friends! All twelve came with lots of baggage, terrible habits, and troubling issues. They came with checkered backgrounds. Yet, Jesus didn’t say, “Go back and get your life straight, and then come follow Me.”

He showed grace first. He came to them with the clear mindset that He wanted them, even if they were woefully unworthy of Him. And you know something? Followers of Jesus can forget this, but this is how we all came to Jesus. Here is every Christian’s testimony in a nutshell:

“At one time we too were foolish, disobedient, deceived and enslaved by all kinds of passions and pleasures. We lived in malice and envy, being hated and hating one another. But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy.” (Titus 3:3-5a, NIV)

We didn’t become Christians “because of righteous things we had done, but because of His mercy.” It wasn’t by our holy records. It wasn’t by our outstanding moral achievements. It was by His blood shed on the cross. It was by His call to trust in His sacrifice for sins. It was always grace first.

And so, because He welcomed us with grace first, He expects us to do the same to others.

Matthew the Tax Collector

Matthew was a disreputable tax collector, and his own people hated him for it.

Today in America, our stomach tightens when someone mentions “taxes” or “the IRS.” But this is nothing compared to the way first century Jews viewed tax collectors. They were seen as vile, corrupt, and loathsome. The scum of the earth. Jewish tax collectors were commissioned by the occupying Roman Empire to tax their own countrymen, and they were notorious for overtaxing their own people in order to skim off the top an extra portion for themselves. In other words, in the eyes of their fellow Jews, tax collectors were not only turncoats who had betrayed their nation, but also greedy cheats who had become wealthy by extorting their own people.

More respectable and religious Jews were probably saying, “You know what’s wrong with our country? You know why God isn’t blessing us like He used to? It’s because we have guys like that tax collector over there running around!” They were utterly despised.

That was Matthew. Just imagine how seared your conscience must be for it to be your daily practice to cheat your own people in order to pad your wallet! Nearly everyone hated Matthew. Nearly.

As Jesus went on from there, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax collector’s booth. “Follow me,” he told him, and Matthew got up and followed him. (Matthew 9:9, NIV)

The account is simple and straightforward, but to watch this scene unfold would have left every upstanding citizen scratching their head. The other disciples might have been thinking, Oh no, Jesus. Not Matthew. Anyone but him.

Changed by Grace

It’s not just Jesus’ choice of Matthew that’s shocking. Equally surprising is Matthew’s sudden willingness to go with this Jewish rabbi. Could it be that Matthew, hardened though he was, sensed a love from Jesus that he had never experienced before?

At the beginning of Victor Hugo’s novel Les Misérables, Jean Valjean is a recently released criminal. 19 years in a French prison have left Valjean bitter and hard-hearted. After being turned away at every inn and tavern, he stumbles upon the house of a bishop, Monseigneur Myriel. When Valjean tells Myriel who he is, he expects to be turned away once again. But instead, the bishop says, “You need not tell me who you were.” He tells Valjean, “This is not my house – it is the house of Jesus Christ.” After feeding Valjean, the bishop invites the ex-convict to stay the night. In the middle of the night, Valjean’s old habits get the better of him. He stuffs the bishop’s silverware in his knapsack and slips away while the bishop sleeps.

Before long, some policemen catch him with the silverware and force him to take the walk of shame back to the bishop’s house. Valjean knows that he is done for – he had blown his only chance and would likely be imprisoned for the rest of his life.

But then something astonishing happens. Before the officer can explain the crime, the bishop marches right up to Valjean. “Oh! Here you are! I’m so glad to see you. I can’t believe it. You forgot the candlesticks. They are made of pure silver as well… Please take them with the forks and spoons I gave you.” Valjean is stunned. So are the policemen. After dismissing the officers, the bishop says, “Jean Valjean, my brother, you no longer belong to evil, but to good. I have bought your soul from you. I take it back from evil thoughts and deeds and the spirit of Hell, and I give it to God.” From that moment on, Valjean is a changed man… changed by grace.

In an even more profound picture of grace, Jesus sought out Matthew, even while he sat in the tax booth, and called him to Himself. Jesus Himself says in Luke 19:10 that “the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”

“He Left Everything and Followed Him”

Like Valjean, Matthew was utterly lost. He was a man without a lick of spiritual potential. And yet, Luke tells us that when Jesus called Matthew, he “left everything and followed him” (Luke 5:28, NIV). That’s significant. Matthew was forsaking his old way of doing life and embracing the call to follow Jesus in the new way.

Interestingly, we learn that Matthew invited Jesus over for a dinner party at his house, and many of his old pals were there. This created quite the scandal. After all, these people were the gangsters, thugs, and prostitutes of this time. For a Jewish rabbi to associate with that ilk was unheard of, because by eating with someone, you are in some sense identifying with them. The religious leaders grumbled about Jesus eating with “sinners and tax collectors.”

Jesus answered them, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.” (Luke 5:31-32, NIV)

Notice that Jesus had no problem identifying Matthew and his friends as the sick and sinful, those in need of repentance. But He showed astonishing love to them by eating with them and expressing a genuine concern for them. His call to repentance was adorned with grace.

If Jesus called others to repent with a grace first approach, then as His disciples who are called to make more disciples, we should do the same.

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

The Amazing Grace of God

On January 11, 2023January 13, 2023 By Jason SmithIn Devotional, Theology for Life, Why I Believe1 Comment

“Amazing grace! How sweet the sound
That saved a wretch like me!
I once was lost, but now am found;
Was blind, but now I see.”

Thus begins the well-known hymn, “Amazing Grace.” Those words were written by a former slave trader turned gospel minister from the 18^th century named John Newton. While the hymn “Amazing Grace” is known and loved by millions, the author of that hymn is not as well known in our secular age.

Wretched Sinner and Slave Trader

John Newton was drafted into the Royal British Navy at 18. But early on, his rebellious spirit got the best of him. Newton attempted desertion, which earned him a public flogging on the main deck in front of his entire crew, an ordeal that was equally excruciating and shameful. Filled with bitter rage, Newton began mocking his captain and leading a life where he regularly blasphemed God and committed all kinds of indecent acts.

After leaving the Navy, Newton entered a new career aboard a slave trading ship. His actions became more and more revolting. In his own words, Newton said, “I was exceedingly vile… I not only sinned with a high hand myself but made it my study to tempt and seduce others upon every occasion.”[1] One biographer said of Newton: “Although he had been brought up in the Christian faith by his devout mother, who died when he was six, Newton had become such an aggressive atheist and blasphemer that even his shipmates were shocked by his oaths.”[2]

When his ship was caught in a violent storm, Newton surprised even himself by crying out to God for mercy. Eventually, the storm calmed and Newton began to sense that perhaps “there is a God who answers prayer.”[3]

Eventually, he felt compelled to study the Scriptures. As Newton read, the God of the Bible seemed to come alive to him. He felt drawn to Jesus, the very same Jesus he had once mocked and ridiculed.[4] But realizing that his debt of sin had piled up high over the years, he assumed that God would want nothing to do with him. Yet, to his amazement, he found that the God of the Bible is a God of astounding grace who offers sinners like himself forgiveness. Newton came to see that in Jesus Christ alone, there was a path to grace, freedom from sin and total acceptance with God. He renounced his sinful ways, and trusted in Christ for salvation.

After beginning a pastoral ministry in Olney, England, Newton continued to be amazed by the favor God had shown to one so undeserving as he. Not only did Newton leave behind his life as a slave trader, he eventually preached against this cruel practice. His sermons and writings carried great weight, because he was speaking as one who once lived the wickedness he now condemned.

In his diary, Newton wrote a prayer to God, “Thou hast given an apostate a name and a place among thy children—called an infidel to the ministry of the gospel. I am a poor wretch that once wandered naked and barefoot, without a home, without a friend: and now for me who once used to be on the ground, and was treated as a dog by all around me, thou hast prepared a house suitable to the connection thou hast put me into.”[5]

Today, Newton’s legacy is not merely that he was a terrible sinner, but that he came to understand—to really understand—what Christianity is all about. It’s all about the amazing grace of God found in Jesus Christ.

What Christianity Is All About

It took some time for Newton to truly grasp the wonder of God’s grace. In a similar way, so many people today simply don’t understand just what God is offering them. They can hardly believe that God is as gracious as the Bible describes Him to be. Complete forgiveness of sins? Assurance of eternal life? A love relationship with God Himself? How could this be?

We assume that we must somehow earn acceptance with God. That’s the default perspective for every single one of us. Grace sounds too good to be true. We think that there must be something that we must do in order to be forgiven, and in order to be welcomed into God’s family. We don’t understand how God could offer the unfathomable riches of grace, forgiveness, and acceptance apart from any work from us (Romans 4:5-6).

And to be honest, this is why such a large number of people simply don’t understand Christianity. They think they do, but they don’t really. They think that Christianity is all about a God that is for good people. And so, in order to become a Christian, we must clean up our act, walk the straight and narrow, and live an obedient life—maybe even with God’s help. And then after we have cleaned ourselves up, God will welcome us as one of His own.

But that’s not what Christianity is all about. Christianity is all about Jesus and what He has done. First and foremost, it’s not about us and what we can do for God. Christianity does not say that, in order to be saved, you have to become more religious, do good works, do penance, and be obedient to laws and ordinances to somehow make yourself worthy of God. No!

“For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.” (Ephesians 2:8-9, ESV)

Incredibly, the Bible says that God credits righteousness “to the one who does not work but trusts God who justifies the ungodly” (Romans 4:5, NIV). In fact, you know what the Bible says about good works that are done to earn God’s acceptance? It calls them things like “filthy rags” and “sewage” (Isa. 64:6; Phil. 3:8). Why? Why would God view even our best works as filth? Here’s what the Bible says:

“We have all become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous deeds are like a polluted garment. We all fade like a leaf, and our iniquities, like the wind, take us away.” (Isaiah 64:6, ESV)

Isaiah is saying that when good works are done to earn God’s acceptance, even our most righteous deeds are actually foul to God because they are still tainted by our sin. Why? Because every one of us, ever since the fall of man in Genesis 3, has come into this world with a sinful heart. Some are offended by this teaching. Many would rather believe that people are basically good.

But when we are most honest with ourselves, we can see that this is absolutely true. There is a darkness in us that keeps us focused primarily on ourselves. If we would stop and examine our own thoughts and actions, we would all have to admit that we are incredibly selfish creatures.

Even in our best moments, we are nearly always looking out for ourselves. We lie to make ourselves look better. We often ignore the needs of others. We don’t always show love to others like we should. We envy others when they succeed. And the root of the problem is this: We have all chosen to live as if our lives belong to ourselves and not to God. We’ve lived as if God doesn’t exist or doesn’t have a say over how we live our lives.

But we don’t belong to ourselves. We belong to God. We are His by divine Creator rights. When an artist creates art, that art is his. It belongs to him because he created it. As our Creator, we owe our very existence to God alone. We were created for His glory, and yet we have committed the great sin of turning our backs on Him.

Are You Thirsty?

Now enter grace. This is what Isaiah says—or really this is what God says—Isaiah’s just the one delivering God’s message:

“Come, all you who are thirsty,
    come to the waters;
and you who have no money,
    come, buy and eat!
Come, buy wine and milk
    without money and without cost.
Why spend money on what is not bread,
    and your labor on what does not satisfy?...
Give ear and come to me;
    listen, that you may live.” (Isaiah 55:1-3, NIV)

This is just incredible. Here is God, the very God who we have all rebelled against, saying to every one of us, “Come!” Rather than turning us away or annihilating us for all our rebellion, He’s calling us to Himself in love. And, remember, because we’ve committed the infinite offense of sinning against the almighty God of the universe, He would be perfectly just to simply judge all His creatures for what they have done. It is not an overstatement to say that each one of us, myself included, is deserving of hell (Romans 1:32, 6:23).

As an ambassador for Christ, I am compelled by Christ’s love to warn you: There really is a coming day of judgment. And more importantly, according to Scripture, God Himself “is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance” (2 Peter 3:9).

Jesus Himself repeated this same invitation to whomever would heed His voice:

“If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’” (John 7:37-38, NIV)

We owed a debt of sin we could not pay, and yet full forgiveness is offered to each one of us through simple faith in Christ. The reason God can do that and still be just is that He took the sin that we are guilty of, and He laid it on His own Son, Jesus Christ, when He hung on the cross.

“He forgave us all our sins, having canceled the charge of our legal indebtedness, which stood against us and condemned us; he has taken it away, nailing it to the cross.” (Colossians 2:13-14, NIV).

In his astounding love, Jesus paid the price for our sin. Although we could never pay such an awful price, Jesus could, because He is both God and man. Only as a man could Jesus bear man’s sin, and only as the infinite God could He pay the infinite cost.

And before Jesus died, He cried out on the cross, “It is finished!” (Jn. 19:30). It’s finished! It’s done. The price for sin has been paid. The work of atonement is complete. Now, whoever will yield their lives to Jesus, trusting in Him alone, will receive everlasting life and be forgiven of their great debt of sin.

What a shame it would be to have such an amazing invitation offered to us and then ignore it.

He Will Abundantly Pardon

Remember, John Newton had lived a contemptible life. He had squandered the opportunities he had been given and chosen to live a life of complete rebellion. He mocked others, sexually abused many of the slaves on his ship, and lived an utterly wicked life.

But God chose to forgive Newton of his countless sins. Even Newton struggled at first to believe that God could love him and want anything to do with him. “What mercy could there be for me?”[6] Newton asked himself as he first considered the gospel in light of all his terrible sins. And yet, God showed grace to him and gave him a new heart with new desires.

Newton realized that God was the God of second chances. God extended the invitation to Newton to come to Him, to come to the cross of Christ where the great burden of his sin could be removed and he could fully receive the love of God. And Newton never ceased being amazed at God’s grace in rescuing him, an utterly undeserving “wretch” in his own words. He spent the remainder of his life working to end the slave trade and spread the gospel of grace.

On his deathbed, Newton told his close friend, “My memory is nearly gone, but I remember two things: That I am a great sinner and that Christ is a great Savior.”[7]

Many of us can think like Newton did when he first heard the gospel. We can think that we’ve sinned one too many times, that we’ve failed too many times. So—we think—surely God wouldn’t want anything to do with me… would He? Wouldn’t He just give up on me?

But, friend, if you think that God would ever give up on you, you’re not thinking of the God of the Bible. You’re thinking of a false god. God is more gracious than you could possibly imagine. In the words of Philip Yancey, “Grace, like water, always flows downward, to the lowest place.”[8]

The New Testament describes Jesus as One who came with “grace upon grace” (John 1:16). See, that’s the most amazing thing: for those who rest in Christ, there is no end or limit to God’s grace. In Jesus, there is grace that is greater than all your sin.

“Seek the LORD while he may be found; call upon him while he is near; let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; let him return to the LORD, that he may have compassion on him, and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.” (Isaiah 55:6-7, NIV)

God “will abundantly pardon” you when you turn from sin and trust in Christ. Jesus is inviting you right now—come to Him. Embrace His offer of life and forgiveness. Come to Christ and discover what it truly means to be forgiven.

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

[1] John Newton: From Disgrace to Amazing Grace, Jonathan Aitken. P. 18.

[2] Ibid., p. 19

[3] Ibid.

[4] Ibid., p. 77

[5] Ibid., p. 12

[6] Ibid. p. 76

[7] Ibid. p. 347

[8] Ibid., p. 11

Death I Do Not Shrink From

On January 5, 2023January 5, 2023 By Jason SmithIn Devotional, Theology for Life2 Comments

For most people in the world, the grave is a terrifying prospect. Not many like to even think about it, but we all know deep down that these bodies don’t last forever. We all know the shadow of death looms on the horizon, inching its way toward us. No matter how much exercise we get or kale we eat, we won’t live forever!

One journalist, Tom Chivers, wrote: “I’m terrified of death; my own, my loved ones, everyone’s … 100 years after my death, no one will really know who I was. Do you even know your great-grandparents’ names?” Some think of death as the final end to our existence. Former CNN broadcaster, Larry King, once said, “My biggest fear is death, because I don’t think I’m going anywhere.” More humorously, Mel Brooks put it this way, “If Shaw and Einstein couldn’t beat death, what chance have I got? Practically none.”

As a human race, we try to push away the thought of death because it’s terrifying to think of life as we know it coming to an end and departing from our loved ones forever. At the same time, we also have this nagging sense that there is something beyond the grave. The Bible teaches that every single person who has ever existed is headed to one of two places: eternal joy in Heaven or eternal ruin in Hell. This is true for you, me, and everyone you have ever known.

In one very clear statement, Jesus said:

“Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels… And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.'” (Matthew 25:41, 46, ESV)

A Fixed Day on God’s Calendar

What if reminders of death are actually a gift from God, urgent warnings meant to get our attention? Every time we attend a funeral, we are granted one more nudge about the brevity of life. Through these cues, God puts us on notice to be ready for death and what comes after.

Hebrews 9:27 says, “People are destined to die once, and after that to face judgment.” The real reason humanity fears death is because God has given us a sense that we will all stand before the bar of judgment one day. No one gets to call in sick for this exam day. The Lord of all will judge every one of us by His perfect and holy standard.

And therein lies the rub. This is our great predicament. God urges us not to shrug off this idea of a coming judgment. You can be casual with what you wear, but don’t be casual about one day facing God. Paul proclaims:

“So having overlooked the times of ignorance, God is now proclaiming to mankind that all people everywhere are to repent, because He has set a day on which He will judge the world in righteousness through a Man whom He has appointed, having furnished proof to all people by raising Him from the dead.” (Acts 17:29-31, NASB)

When God sets a day on His calendar, it is irrevocably fixed and certain. And on this day, you and I will have to stand before God and give an account of the life we’ve lived. Once you have felt the weight of this truth, your need for Jesus should become crystal clear. Because it’s at that precise point of our failure to ever measure up to God’s righteous standard that the gospel of God’s free grace becomes the most precious thing imaginable.

Perfect Righteousness in Christ

Many have seen they don’t measure up, so their solution has been to “get religious” and work as hard as they can to live a life pleasing to God, hoping that this will help them fare better on this coming day. Many even consider Jesus to be the One that helps them become the person they need to be, still aspiring to be good enough for God.

But the standard for entering Heaven isn’t “good enough;” it is perfection. We need a perfect righteousness, but only Jesus Christ, the God-man, is perfectly righteous. So our only hope is to be found in Christ.

In Jesus Christ, God offers us perfect forgiveness. When we repent and trust in Jesus alone as our Savior, all our sins are washed away in His blood—all our sins—because He bore them in our place on the cross. At the cross, the judgment for our sins fell on Jesus, so that by faith in Him we wouldn’t have to fear the judgment to come.

If you have found refuge in the Lord Jesus Christ, having cast yourself on His mercy alone to save you, you no longer need to fear death. Your eternity will be secure in His loving hands.

“Instead, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the desires of the flesh.” (Romans 13:14, BSB)

When we are “clothed” in the righteousness of Christ, we are justified in Christ and reconciled to God. To be justified in Christ means that God declares us to be as righteous as Christ Himself, because we are united to Him by faith.

To Live Is Christ

Above, I quoted men who have dreaded the thought of death. In contrast, consider these remarkable words from Paul:

“For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. If I am to live in the flesh, that means fruitful labor for me. Yet which I shall choose I cannot tell. I am hard pressed between the two. My desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better.” (Philippians 1:21-23, ESV)

Understand that Paul is not saying he’s longing for death itself. This is not the murmuring of someone contemplating suicide. He’s not looking forward to death itself, but to what comes after death. He says, “I am torn between the two. I so want to stay on with all of you and encourage your faith, but even more than that, what I really want is to just be with Christ. I want to be with my Savior, for that is far better.”

At the end of the day, Paul yields to whatever God sovereignly determines for his life. But if it were solely up to him, Paul would rather go through death, because nothing beats being in the presence of his Savior. This is not something true only of Paul, but of every person who has found refuge in Christ. Paul is simply taking eternal truth out of the abstract realm and applying it to how he faces every circumstance in life—including death.

When a Christian dies, there’s no soul sleep or purgatory that he or she must pass through. These teachings are man-made and not found in the Word of God. No, at the very moment of death, you are immediately ushered into the Savior’s presence (2 Corinthians 5:8).

But what does Paul mean when he says he eagerly expects and hopes to honor Christ “whether by life or by death” (Philippians 1:20). How will Paul’s death honor Jesus Christ? If he dies as one who is confident in his Savior’s power—not as one terrified of the grave—but as one assured that he will see his Savior face to face, he glorifies Jesus in his death.

When Paul says, “to live is Christ,” he’s saying, “As long as I’m here, I’m all in for Jesus. I live for His glory wherever he has me—whether preaching in the streets or in the court of Caesar or writing letters in a stinky jail cell.” When we come to Christ, we yield our lives to Him. Every follower of Jesus can say with Paul, “To live is Christ and to die is gain,” because at death we finally reach our reward—being with Jesus in Heaven.

Every day, millions of people live for something other than Jesus—entertainment, comfort, pleasure, career. But when you live for something other than Jesus, death results in the loss of everything. On the other hand, if Jesus is our Supreme Treasure in life, death results in gaining everything.

He Is No Fool

When we live all in for Jesus, He removes all fear of death. Death is no longer that looming specter that promises to take everything we hold dear. Strange as it may seem, death now becomes the doorway to joy, because all we could possibly want is found in Christ Himself.

John Chrysostom, an early church father, was known for criticizing the wealthy of his time for their lack of love for the poor. He was constantly getting into trouble because of the things he said. In fact, the authorities banished him twice. One of his followers once asked him if he feared for his life.

Here’s how Chrysostom responded:

“What can I fear? Will it be death? But you know that Christ is my life, and that I shall gain by death. Will it be exile? But the earth and all its fullness is the Lord’s. Will it be the loss of wealth? But we have brought nothing into the world, and can carry nothing out. Thus all the terrors of the world are contemptible in my eyes; and I smile at all its good things. Poverty I do not fear; riches I do not sigh for. Death I do not shrink from.”[1]

The great preacher Dwight L. Moody once said, “Some day you will read in the papers that D. L. Moody, of East Northfield, is dead. Don’t you believe a word of it! At that moment I shall be more alive than I am now.”[2]

It is this undying confidence in the Savior’s power to save that has compelled missionaries into grave dangers all over the world. Christians can die with courage, not because we are so great, but because we know a great Savior who loves us.

The martyr Jim Elliot put it best: “He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot lose.”[3] For each of these godly men, their firm conviction about the life to come meant they could live boldly for Christ in this life. In the same way, Paul did not shrink back from death, if that’s what God has appointed. He continues:

“But to remain in the flesh is more necessary on your account. Convinced of this, I know that I will remain and continue with you all, for your progress and joy in the faith, so that in me you may have ample cause to glory in Christ Jesus, because of my coming to you again.” (Philippians 1:24-26, ESV)

Paul says, “I’m not afraid to die. In fact, I’d gladly go to Heaven now. To die is gain. However, it seems that God isn’t ready to call me home. He has some work for me to do first.”

And here’s what I want you to see. Because Paul had this eternal perspective, where God could call him home at any moment, he could be most effective for Christ. If he had an earthbound focus where all he cared about was the here and now and what he could accumulate for himself in this life, he would not be prepared to serve. The fact that Paul knew he had a great reward coming compelled him to spend his life for the glory of Jesus rather than himself. And this made him fearless in the face of death and danger.

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

[1] Robert Wheler Bush, The Life and Times of Chrysostom (London, England: Religious Tract Society, 1885), 245.

[2] The Autobiography of Dwight L. Moody, 1.

[3] Quote found in Jim Elliot’s journal.

The Power of the Word

On December 28, 2022December 29, 2022 By Jason SmithIn Devotional, Theology for Life, Why I BelieveLeave a comment

Micah Wilder is a former Mormon missionary who was powerfully transformed by Christ during his two-year mission trip in Florida. While a Mormon missionary, he was passionate to see everyone he met come to what he deemed “the one true church of Jesus Christ.” His great ambition was to convert a Baptist minister. Ironically, God used the love and patience of a Baptist minister to turn Micah’s world upside down.[1]

As Micah explains, “Much like Saul of Tarsus, I had a zeal for God, but that zeal was misplaced. I was ignorant of the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ, and I was seeking to establish my own righteousness by my works.”[2]

Micah thought of himself as a righteous young man, a deeply devout Elder in the LDS church. And yet, it was shortly after an encounter with a Baptist pastor named Alan Benson that his life began to radically shift. Pastor Alan lovingly challenged Micah to “read the New Testament like a child” and see that salvation is entirely the work of Christ. Determined to prove the minister wrong, Micah accepted the challenge and began reading the New Testament every day.

As Micah will tell you, it is the power of the Word of God itself that transformed his thinking, something every Christian ought to expect. Scripture claims to be God-breathed text and thus able to supernaturally work in hearts and lives.

“For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. And no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account.” (Hebrews 4:12-13, ESV)

The Word of God has the power to cut right through to the heart, exposing our innermost thoughts and intentions. Micah has said, “In Christianity, it can be all too easy for us at times to focus so much on history, apologetics, and the intellectual side of the gospel that we forget the greatest tool we have: the Word of God.”[3]

Christians should never be ashamed of Scripture or think it is ineffective when sharing our faith. Many Christian apologists will encourage their fellow believers to set aside the Bible when interacting with unbelievers because they don’t accept it as divinely authoritative.[4] But the question is: Do you see the Bible as divinely authoritative? Do you believe it has the power to transform hearts that are hardened to the gospel?

A Rock-Breaking Hammer

Consider how Scripture speaks of itself:

“The law of the LORD is perfect, reviving the soul; the testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple.” (Psalm 19:7, ESV)

“Is not my word like fire,” declares the LORD, “and like a hammer that breaks a rock in pieces?” (Jeremiah 23:29, NIV)

While we cannot force people to believe through clever persuasion, the Word of God has the power to break through the hardest of hearts and humble the greatest sinners so that they see their need for Christ.

This doesn’t mean that sharing your faith should be reduced to quoting Bible verses. However, it’s important that you make clear from the beginning that your authority is the Word of God. It’s crucial that Christians challenge their unbelieving friends to get into the Word itself.

Martin Luther, the courageous Protestant Reformer, said this about Scripture:

“I will preach it, teach it, write it, but I will constrain no man by force, for faith must come freely without compulsion. Take myself as an example. I opposed indulgences and all the papists, but never with force. I simply taught, preached, and wrote God’s Word; otherwise I did nothing. And while I slept [cf. Mark 4:26-29], or drank Wittenberg beer with my friends Philip and Amsdorf, the Word so greatly weakened the papacy that no prince or emperor ever inflicted such losses upon it. I did nothing; the Word did everything.”[5]

This is classic Luther, making profound theological statements colored with wit and earthy humor. But Luther’s point is simple: he was not responsible for the Reformation. It was the Word of God itself that exposed the corruption in the papacy and transformed people with the truth. That is the power of the Bible; it is sufficient to regenerate souls and renovate hearts.

God’s Word never comes back void, and it always accomplishes what God intends (Isaiah 55:10-11). Not only is it like a hammer, but it is also like a well-watered seed that germinates and grows. “You have been born again, not of perishable seed but of imperishable, through the living and abiding word of God” (1 Peter 1:23).

God’s Law as a Mirror

In his classic passage on evangelism, Paul begins by saying how he prays for his fellow Jews, “that they may be saved” (Romans 10:1). Like the former Paul, his fellow Jews are passionately religious, but are “ignorant of the righteousness of God” and so they are trying to earn a right standing with God through their own righteousness (Romans 10:3). Such efforts are always fruitless, because while we may think of ourselves as “pretty good,” Jesus said, “No one is good except God alone” (Mark 10:18).

When we are confronted with the Law of God, we see our paltry righteousness next to the perfect and righteous standard of God. The Spirit of God uses His Law like a mirror to show us who we truly are—desperate sinners under the just wrath of a holy God (John 3:36; Romans 1:18). That’s exactly what Jesus did for the young man who asked Him, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” (Mark 10:17). Jesus took this young man through the Ten Commandments:

“You know the commandments: ‘Do not murder, Do not commit adultery, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Do not defraud, Honor your father and mother.’” (Mark 10:19, ESV)

The Law of God shows us our brokenness. Take the ninth commandment, for example. Have you ever lied? We all have, and yet we all know it is wrong. That’s why we like to call our lies “white lies” and try to justify why we lied when we are caught telling one. It’s for this same reason, that people are easily offended for being accused of sin—a word that speaks to how we have each violated God’s Law. We are rebels, but we are rebels in denial.

But after people have heard and understood the Law’s diagnosis, the remedy in Christ must be presented.

“So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.” (Romans 10:17, ESV)

“Thy Word Is Truth”

The Bible says we are truth suppressors, because we know we aren’t everything we should be or even everything we would like to be.[6] These are all indications that something has gone terribly wrong with us. That is what the Word of God does. It shows us the error of our ways. Like a surgical scalpel, it wounds so that it can heal. And that healing can only come through the cross of Christ, where Jesus bore our sin in His body and endured the wrath of God in our place (Isaiah 53:4-6, 10; Romans 5:8-11).

Jesus prayed to the Father, “Sanctify them through thy truth: thy Word is truth” (John 17:17, KJV). He said that what will mark His followers is that they have been set apart by the Word of God.

I have spoken with atheists who refuse to even touch a Bible, but isn’t their strong allergy to Scripture just one more indicator of its inherent power? Is there any other book they so vehemently hold at arm’s length? Some are so hostile, they are not ready for such a challenge. But for those who are open, you can always challenge them to read the Bible “as a child” to see if it doesn’t prove itself to be the very Word of the living God.

Although the Old Testament is equally God’s Word, I usually encourage people to start with one of the Gospels in the New Testament – Matthew, Mark, Luke, or John. If someone just wants a full explanation of the Christian message, I sometimes direct them to the Book of Romans. But wherever you point them, have confidence that the Word of God has the power to break through the thickest barriers of the heart.

God’s Word is powerful because it alone is His perfect self-revelation. It is the Rock on which Christ’s followers can stand.

“How firm a foundation, ye saints of the Lord,
Is laid for your faith in His excellent word!”[7]

This proved true for Micah Wilder. In the Bible, Micah found that our only hope of being justified (declared in the right) before God is through faith in Jesus Christ and what He accomplished through the cross and resurrection. When people ask what’s different about him now, since the LDS church claims to follow Christ too, Micah explains it this way:

“When I was a Mormon, I would have claimed that I believed in, trusted, and followed Jesus Christ. In reality, He was only a portion of what I believed I needed in order to be reconciled to God. As a Mormon, Jesus was just one of many pillars of my testimony. Now He is the Rock and the foundation of my faith. He’s not just part of my testimony, He is my testimony! I know that my good standing with God is independent of any religious system, denomination, man, work, ordinance, or anything of my own merit. It is, however, completely dependent on Jesus Christ. There is salvation outside of Mormonism, but there is no salvation outside of Jesus Christ.”[8]

To see the full testimony of Micah Wilder and other members of the band Adam’s Road, check out Unveiling Grace: The Film, found here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dl0c5nl6u48.

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

[1] See Micah’s full story in his excellent book Passport to Heaven (Harvest House Publishers: Eugene, OR, 2021).

[2] Micah Wilder, quoted in Eric Johnson and Sean McDowell, Sharing the Good News with Mormons, 111.

[3] Ibid, 112.

[4] I had a seminary professor who said if you use the Bible in evangelism, you’ll only turn people away. Micah’s story is but one example—there are countless!—of why that is simply untrue.

[5] Martin Luther, Luther’s Works, 51:77.

[6] Romans 1:18.

[7] “How Firm a Foundation” is a Christian hymn written by John Rippon and published in 1787.

[8] Johnson and McDowell, Sharing the Good News with Mormons, 114.

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.

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.