There is an interesting phrase found first in the scriptures at the end of Genesis 4. It says there that at that time people first began to “call upon the name of the Lord.” This wording is used several times in the scriptures. Another notable occurrence is found in the book of Joel. In Joel’s prophecy, scripture states that everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord will be saved! Peter at Pentecost proclaims that the amazing display of power and efficacy in their preaching was fulfillment of Joel’s prophecy, and reiterates the invitation to those hearing this early gospel message to know that “everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord will be saved.”
What a Promise If these references were not enough Paul picks up this phrase in Romans 10:13, for “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” Wow! What an amazing promise. That everyone, that is every single person, who calls upon the name of the Lord will (for sure) be saved. It is staggering to think about the mercy, grace, and love of God displayed in this statement that every wicked sinner who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. Every struggling addict, every self righteous religionist, every idolater, every liar, everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. God Worshippers But all of this begs one question: What does it mean to call upon the name of the Lord? The weight and gravity of this promise is incalculable, but what does it mean? Possibly, you are saying, “well it’s obvious it means that everyone who calls out to God will be saved.” Ok. But that isn’t exactly what it said. Certainly it is true that every person that truly calls out to God asking to be saved out of the convicting and transformative work of the Holy Spirit is saved but is that what this text is about? As we begin to track the way the phrase has been used throughout the bible going all the way back to Genesis 4, and considering the linguistic choices of both the Greek and Hebrew writers, it is probably better to interpret this as meaning worship of the Lord. I know that for many years my assumption has been that this phrase, especially as it is used in Acts and Romans, just referred to the initial act of calling out to God for salvation at our conversion. However, upon further study and meditation it seems clear that those who will be saved are those who become “God worshippers,” and to be even more specific to the New Testament passages, those who confess Jesus as Lord and trust in Christ alone. Eternal Worshippers The point I’m making is that calling upon the name of the Lord is not just something that you did to get saved. No; as a disciple, follower and worshipper of Jesus calling upon the name of the Lord is what you continue to do and will always do. As a matter of fact throughout all eternity we will be calling upon the name of the Lord and worshipping Him as trophies of His grace and eternal evidence of His saving power. So let us all call upon the name of the Lord and the true and living God! Let me urge you if you are not a worshipper of Christ then you are not a believer in Christ. Please turn from your sin and trust Christ! Call upon the name of the Lord today and you will be saved!
0 Comments
Secrets Are you good at keeping secrets? I think that we all have a certain amount of curiosity that drives us to investigate and seek out information. When we think that we know something that is hidden or unique, we may respond in a few distinct ways. First, we may decide that knowledge is power and want to hold on to that knowledge to be used for our benefit at the proper time. Another response is to share it! Some of us have an inner investigative reporter and we can’t wait to break the big story whether it be positive or negative. Other times the information is damaging or shameful for us, or for those that we love, so we may be tempted to conceal what should be confessed to save our reputation or to avoid shame and punishment. But at any rate, we all have to deal with how we manage privileged information. Coverup or Confidential? As a pastor in a counseling situation, I hear quite a bit of information that is not meant for public consumption. These private matters need to stay private for the good of God’s children and church in many cases. Also, when any of us are in personal conversation with other people, even those talks that may not be confidential, there ought to be a point of integrity. So that others know that we are not going to go about slandering or distorting the views that have been expressed to us or even worse, gossiping about other people. If we are to reflect the image of the God of truth and love, we must be concerned with more than technical correctness. We must be people of integrity, honor, and compassion. However, we also need to be people who will not overlook, or worse, coverup sin. Sin is to be dealt with through confession and repentance. We need not sensationalize the sin by making known lurid details or bringing unnecessary harm to innocent parties. Jesus knew the hearts of all men but He used both His general and special knowledge of humanity to expose sin and scandalize hypocrisy, yet not without His redemptive purpose. As Paul spoke to the Athenians, he was dealing with people who only desired to hear something new. (Acts 17:21) The tantalizing excitement of something new, foreign, and exotic fed a sense of wonder and lust in them that left them overcome by idolatry and confusion. For Paul says that they even have an altar to an unknown god. In Christ and in His apostle we see that sin is confronted not to condemn the people (they are already condemned in their sin), but to call them to repentance, redemption, and regeneration! Evangelicals So we want to be the people to bring good news! In a world where even among believers the headlines usually are about the divisions and the controversies, we need to be the people who are shining the light of the glorious gospel of Jesus into the murky darkness of this sin filled world. We must take into our hands, and hearts, the torch of the truth of God’s word. This great light will make the shadows of doubt and hopelessness flee. This is not just rhetorical! We must actually engage people with the good news of hope and salvation through trusting in Christ and submitting and surrendering to the God who saves! Kings and All Those in High Positions In 1 Timothy 2, Paul calls on believers to pray for our political leaders. The governing authorities in his days were certainly structured differently than ours, but the call for us to pray for constables and counsels, kings and kingdoms, governors and governments, and even presidents and administrations is still applicable to us. This is not a political statement, it is a biblical one! Those whom God has placed in those positions, whether as a blessing or as a curse, are certainly in a position in need of divine aid regardless of their personal wickedness or holiness. However, this post is not as much about our need to pray for our current leaders as it is about the overall biblical and historical message that we need a better King! Biblical Monarchy While the Bible is full of kings and monarchs, it is clear that God informed his people from the beginning that this form of government has a fatal flaw. In 1 Samuel 8, the people demand a king. The LORD, through His prophet, discloses to the people just how a king will take from them for his own benefit and for the bolstering of His power. But that unbelieving and rebellious generation insists on having what everyone else has. Sound familiar? God appoints the greatest man of the day. Saul was handsome, charismatic, and a mighty warrior. He was the kind of guy that every man wanted to be and every woman wanted to be with. But in his hubris he disobeyed God’s direct command concerning roles and worship. He showed himself to not be worthy of the position he held. You may be thinking, “Well Saul doesn’t prove that monarchy is bad just because he was a bad king.” What if Israel had another King not chosen on the basis of the outward qualities that Saul had, but rather chosen by God for the inward qualities, a man after God's own heart? Here’s Johnny… I mean David! David is exactly that-- not Saul. He is idealistic and devoted to the LORD. On several occasions, he could have taken the kingdom by killing Saul, and all his comrades wanted him to do so, but he would not out of reverence for the LORD. Surely David is the better king who will reign rightly over God’s people. For a while he did, but we probably all know the story. This warrior, man of blood, stays home from the battle and dives headlong into the sea of sin and sinks into the net of deceit and danger that is found there. While David then serves for us as an example of broken hearted repentance and God’s restorative grace, he is not even able to build a place of worship of his God. But David was a man of war, Israel needs a peacemaker. The nation needs a lover not a fighter! So Solomon sonters onto our scene. Great! Now we have a king who is blessed with both peace and wisdom, what could go wrong? Except this king, the wisest man to ever live does everything that God forbids kings to do in Deuteronomy 17. We could keep going. Israel's track record with monarchs wasn’t great. There were a few good ones but they were glowing embers amidst a bed of cold coals. Even the best of Israel’s kings such as Josiah only brought about short seasons of restoration and revival. A Better King The problem, not only with Israel and not only with monarchy as a form of government, is the person or persons at the top. Just consider these two famous quotes: Lord Acton said, "Power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely," and “even the best of men are men at best.” The problem with all forms of government is that fallible and sinful men (or women) are at the helm, and this means that they will fail. What Israel needs and what we need is not a better form of government but a better governor. We need a better King! The plight of the Israelites as well as the historical problems of government throughout history should be driving us to look for a better King. When the Apostles went out into all the world proclaiming the “good news,” what were they preaching? Please notice this account from Acts 17: Paul went in, as was his custom, and on three Sabbath days he reasoned with them from the Scriptures, 3 explaining and proving that it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead, and saying, “This Jesus, whom I proclaim to you, is the Christ.” 4 And some of them were persuaded and joined Paul and Silas, as did a great many of the devout Greeks and not a few of the leading women. 5 But the Jews were jealous, and taking some wicked men of the rabble, they formed a mob, set the city in an uproar, and attacked the house of Jason, seeking to bring them out to the crowd. 6 And when they could not find them, they dragged Jason and some of the brothers before the city authorities, shouting, “These men who have turned the world upside down have come here also, 7 and Jason has received them, and they are all acting against the decrees of Caesar, saying that there is another king, Jesus.” The Apostles and their missionary helpers were “turning the world upside.” With what message? They were preaching that there is another king, a better king! This king is better than Saul or David or Solomon, better than Herod or Caesar, and better than any of the dictators and despots that have reigned in the world since. They were preaching not just a better king but the best King, Jesus. The Bible calls Him “King of kings and Lord of lords” and Paul referring back to Isaiah identifies Jesus as the one to whom every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is LORD! (Phil. 2:11) As we find ourselves in a strange season of global pandemic and government encroachment, let me urge you to look to the greater King. If you are not a believer, I beg you to look to the King who has the grace to redeem you from your sin and the power to restore you as a precious image bearer of God for His own purpose and glory. If you are a believer, let me encourage you to gaze at the beauty and splendor of your King. Then, in light of your subjection to Him and citizenship in His kingdom, boldly and fearless go forth in obedience to His commands and to proclaim His gospel and to magnify His glory! Relative Experience All around us confusion seems to reign supreme! The volume is turned up all the way to the point that listening and understanding has become increasingly difficult. Even as I write I’m mindful of the fact that I am in some small way contributing to the ocean of content and the reverberating noise. One part of the problem, I think, is that we are struggling to understand the variety of backgrounds that have influenced our varying positions. I specifically do not mean the relative experiences of one group or tribe as opposed to another, but rather the varied experiences we have each had individually. So many of us are putting far too much emphasis on particular markers of shared experience (i.e. tribalism) and not enough emphasis on the objective truth from the only One with pure and perfect perspective. In our relative experiences, both corporately and individually, we are plagued by our own fallenness. This is true for all of us, regardless of social structure, life experiences, or even oppressed statuses. Wisdom Needed In Proverbs 8:12-21 wisdom speaks! The Spirit of God speaks these words of wisdom to us who believe and listen. Verse 13 states, “The fear of the LORD is to hate evil.” That may sound simple enough, but because our experiences and internal insights are subject to our own failings, evil may not be that easy to discern. Wisdom then says, “pride and arrogance and the evil way and the perverted mouth, I hate.” God hates! We know that scripture is clear about the wonderful, marvelous, matchless, and selfless love of God but because God is so good and so loving He must hate what is evil. In vs. 15, Wisdom states that, “By me kings reign, and rulers decree justice.” The cry of our age seems to be for justice but I wonder if justice is really what people want. Biblical justice means justice according to the unalterable and unchanging standard of God’s word. This means that if I cry out for justice to be applied I must recognize that it is not just justice for me but also for everyone who I have sinned against as well. If we are going to invoke the biblical category of justice then we must also use the biblical terminology of evil, malice and sin. If we can begin to humbly apply the law of God to ourselves and not just to those around us we will undoubtedly find that we are guilty of much sin ourselves. Before we can address the sin that runs rampant in our culture or even in the household of faith we must consider and crucify the sin that dwells in our own rebellious hearts. Wisdom Promises Proverbs 8:16-17 By me princes rule, and nobles, all who govern justly. I love those who love me, and those who seek me diligently find me. If we genuinely understand the concept of certain and perfect justice along with our own personal docket of evil and sin, then we know that we need grace and mercy to deal with our injustices. Without a wise and loving extension of grace there is no hope of repentance, redemption, or reconciliation. The only way for the horizontal injustices to be righted is when we have forgiveness and atonement applied to the vertical injustices that we have committed against the only righteous One, Jesus Christ! The promise that Wisdom gives us is that this gracious and loving Wisdom, which can lead us beyond our short sighted senses and our limited experiences, will be found by those who diligently seek! We must look where the wisdom is. We will never find this wisdom that can actually deal with sin and bring reconciliation in social constructions, critical theories, or analytical tools but only in the “living and abiding word of God; “For all flesh is like grass and all its glory like the flower of grass. The grass withers, and the flower falls, but the word of the Lord remains forever. And this word is the good news that was preached to you.” 1 Peter 1:23c-25 |
AuthorEddie Ragsdale Archives
May 2024
|