 Family Affair
As I have stated in the previous posts, I love the Christmas holiday and season when so much attention is given to Christ and the glory of God revealed in the incarnation. The possible ways to consider the many facets of the coming of God in the flesh is astounding. But I am especially excited about this blog post because the following content is by a guest author, my son, Brady Ragsdale. Please read and be blessed by Brady’s meditations on the birth and accomplishment of Christ. A Wonderful Time I believe this is one of the most wonderful times of the year, full of love, giving, and family. Although all of these are great, none of them are the greatest and none of them are the reason we celebrate. We might love to travel around and spend time with family. Whether we see them every day or once a year, it’s amazing to spend time with them. The Holiday Season We might like the presents under the tree, whether we are the one giving the gift or the one receiving the gift. We might enjoy the crisp cool air. It causes your breath to become visible and your cheeks to turn red. We might enjoy driving through the town, to see the intricate lights hanging from all the houses with their grand decorations. All of these are great and should be enjoyed, but they are not why we celebrate. The Greatest Gift We celebrate in remembrance of the greatest Christmas gift of all! The greatest Christmas gift came down from heaven as a small baby. The greatest gift lived as a man for many years dealing with all of the same problems and temptations as we deal with even though he was not a man like us. The greatest Christmas gift was treated with such reproach and scorn; it was as if he had brought very grave news even though he was bringing them good news of his coming. The greatest Christmas gift was covertly taken in the night. The greatest Christmas gift of all was beaten and dragged down the streets to the mountain called Golgotha. The most important Christmas gift was nailed to a cross and gave up his life for you and me as the most important gift of all – salvation. This grand amazing gift had the name Jesus. Jesus was the infallible son of God who came down to earth and gave up his life willingly so that we would be saved. Three days after he gave up his life, he returned from the tomb he had been laid in and proclaimed once more that He was the son of God and all who believe in him would be saved.
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 Carols
I love Christmas! I love everything about it. I even love the cold weather! But one of the things that I really enjoy is the Christmas music. I don’t tend to listen to much music throughout the year, but when this season rolls around my playlist gets red hot with the sounds of Christmas. Even as I write this post, I have instrumental Christmas music playing softly in the background. It may be that the music triggers the sentimental and nostalgic parts of our hearts that endears these classic songs to us so much. However, in one sense, Christmas has always been marked by music as the King of Glory entered into His creation to save His people from their sin (Matt. 1:21). And this was no somber dirge, but the joyful celebration of glad tidings for all the people (Luke 2:10)! After all, it makes sense because birthdays are generally celebrated with glad and grateful singing. If this is true for our birthdays then how much more appropriate is it to see the birth of Christ our glorious king. Dark days We must remember that before Christ came the covenant people of God had experienced centuries of discipline because of their disobedience and now silence. The word of God had not been heard for 400 years and they were weary under the oppression of Roman rule and the seeming absence of their God. All the way back when they were in exile in Babylon they were asked to sing the songs of Zion and they could not because of the depression and despairPsalm 137:4). The point is that they had been so long under darkness and without reason to sing or to hope. But then… But then the angel visits Zechariah(Luke 1:8-17) and announced that he would have a miracle child that would be a great prophet sent from God. After this the angel visits Mary and announces that sh e(vs. 26-33), a young virgin, would have a child who would be more than a prophet, he would actually be the very son of God! When Mary gets this news she goes to see her cousin Elizebeth who is pregnant with Zechariah’s baby, and Mary sings the first Christmas song. Luke 1:46 And Mary said, “My soul magnifies the Lord, 47 and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, 48 for he has looked on the humble estate of his servant. For behold, from now on all generations will call me blessed; 49 for he who is mighty has done great things for me, and holy is his name. 50 And his mercy is for those who fear him from generation to generation. 51 He has shown strength with his arm; he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts; 52 he has brought down the mighty from their thrones and exalted those of humble estate; 53 he has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich he has sent away empty. 54 He has helped his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy, 55 as he spoke to our fathers, to Abraham and to his offspring forever.” Notice that in this song Mary is bursting with praise, humility, and faith because she has believed what God has revealed to her and she rejoices in His goodness and grace not only on her but for all His people. Even Better… But the song doesn’t end with a young mothers lullaby, because on the night of Jesus' birth the great heavenly choir of angels came to announce His majestic birth to the humble shepherds watching their flocks that first Christmas night. Their song was one of praise to God who is always and eternally worthy to be worshiped. But it was also a hymn of hope for the peace that would come with the triumphal reign of this newborn King. He has come and accomplished the salvation of His people. He is now reigning while He puts all His enemies under His feet. And He will return to bring peace to those with whom He is pleased, or to put it another way, “peace on earth, goodwill toward men (Luke 2:8-14).”  Hope
This is the Christmas season, a time when the words”‘hope” and “joy” get used alot. I’m not sure that people are as purposeful and intentional as they should be when using these terms. Many times we use the word “joy” when what we really mean is a happy nostalgic emotion that gives us temporary escape from our pain and problems. Even worse, we use the term “hope” to imply a rosy or idyllic picture of the future that is highly unlikely to take place. Because of this, we can end up far more discouraged when the effects of our self inflicted, psychological manipulation eventually wears off. Instead, we need a dose of the enduring hope that the Bible gives us. No doubt, the Scriptures do teach us to look forward to an idyllic hope of dwelling with God and enjoying the beauty and grandeur of His glory, but in His word God also prepares us for the long road of walking with God by faith through this present evil world (Ephesians 6:12). Our hope is not only found in looking forward, but also in looking back. First and foremost, we ought to be looking to Christ and all that Jesus has done for us! Looking Back Remember, as we celebrate the glorious occasion of Jesus’ birth, we are not just thinking of a cute story about a baby being born. But instead, we are basking in the glorious reality of God Himself taking on human flesh. As we think about this amazing condescension, we can marvel in the glorious humility that Jesus displayed in becoming like us in our human flesh for the sake of saving our eternal souls. Jesus did not come to give us a holiday, but to give us His holy life. We, as believers in Christ, receive Him and in Him we receive the righteous credit for His perfect life. Jesus came to die in our place on the cross taking the guilt and shame for our sin and destroying the power of the curse of sin earned by Adam and transmitted to us. And Jesus rose again to claim His victory and reign forever over His kingdom (Philippians 2:1-11). Looking Around We also ought to be looking at our current life of faith. Have we, even as believers, been drawn away by the enticements of the world from participating in the grace we have received from Jesus Christ? The Lord calls us to put to death the deeds of the flesh (Romans 8:13) and take up our cross and follow Him (Luke 9:23). Ironically, this path of self denial is the way of experiencing true joy, which is far superior to the enticements and entertainments promised by the fleeting pleasures of sin (Hebrews 11:25). When I speak about participating in the grace we have in Christ, I am referring to the things that God has not only commanded us to do in worship but allowed us the privilege of experiencing together in the church. We are given the singing of psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs. We are given the public and private reading and studying of His scripture. We are given an audience before His mighty throne both corporately and individually. We are given access to the shared fellowship of His covenant meal at the Lord’s table. We are given the witnessing of baptisms of new members of the household of God. We are given the proclamation and instruction of the word of God. And in all these ways we are participating and experiencing the grace of God for us in Christ. Looking Forward Finally, we can look forward to the promises that will be fulfilled in our future. We haven’t yet reached the eternal state and so we have the sure promises of God to strengthen and encourage us. As believers, we have seen God show Himself steadfast and faithful and so we can rest in the full accomplishment of all His precious promises.  Small World
I’m sure we have all seen the film bearing the same name as this blog post. The protagonist George Bailey is broken and discouraged by the hard realities of life as he is experiencing it and contemplates if his life really matters at all. In this fanciful tale a bumbling cherub guides George to discover just how impactful and beautiful his life truly has been. The story is heartwarming as it helps us to realize that our perception of reality is only partial. This means that so much more is happening than what we perceive. Of course, this film is no place to look for gaining a biblical understanding of theology, sovereignty, or angels; but it does push us to seek out blessings that we may not have already noticed. I will not go into details, but in our church just today I believe we have the full range of human experiences happening all at the same time. From beginnings to endings and from joy to grief even in our small church God is bringing about His providential will. This should encourage us that there is real hope available for us even when we are overwhelmed with circumstances or feel like we are drowning in stress. Season’s Sorrows I love this time of year! I am not a Grinch when it comes to Christmas time, but we also must admit that most of us live pretty hectic, even stress-filled lives all the time and this season can add to those pressures. The point I am making is that we are not immune to the time or the taxing demands that fill every 24 hours that we have been allotted. I know that we have all seen the statistics that this is a time when people struggle mentally and emotionally. People are genuinely struggling during this season with more than just budgets and calendars, but also with expectations of what life and relationship should or could have been. Sometimes these hardships and hurts are magnified by the sense that we might have that everything is going so well for everyone else. Because this is the case each one of us is in danger of being deceived by the lights and decorations. There is a veneer of perfection that people even unconsciously will try to display. This is not just during the holiday season but it can be especially relevant during a time when the cultural expectation of glad tidings and good cheer are at the highest. Because this is the case we must as believers labor to look to Christ and cultivate a true sense of awe and wonder at the greatest gift provided for us in the coming of the Lord Jesus that first Christmas day. Surpassing Splendor The Apostle Paul knows this kind of struggle. However, this man of God, while completely appreciating the hardship and pain, also found the sufficient grace, new mercies, and steadfast love of Christ enough to encourage his soul and strengthen his heart. Paul says that even though they are afflicted they are not crushed. He also says that even though they are perplexed they are not driven to despair (2 Corinthians 4:7-18). How can this be? How can Paul, who suffered so greatly for his witness and testimony for the Lord, not be crushed and destroyed? The answer is that Paul had the right perspective! First, Paul had the perspective of faith. He says that he and the other believers believed and so they spoke. Without this perspective of faith they would have been overcome by just what they could see with their eyes and understand from their circumstances but by faith he believed and so he was able to speak and bear witness for Jesus. Second Paul also had the perspective of grace and gratitude. He wants the grace of Christ to extend to more and more people so that thanksgiving will abound to the one who is worthy to receive them. Finally, Paul has his perspective set on eternal glory. Because of this, Paul can see beyond the present temporal pain to the eternal weight of glory that is available in Christ Jesus! As we approach Christmas, let us look to the glory of the day. It points beyond the manger to the cross, beyond the cross to the empty tomb, and beyond the empty to Christ’s glorious eternal throne!  Labor of Love
God is so good to us. Our common confession is that we are saved by glorious grace. Saved by grace means that it is an unmerited favor from God. This means that there is NOTHING you could have done to deserve it or earn it and there is NOTHING you can do to lose it. With this fact firmly established, the Bible does talk about our effort (2 Peter 1:5;15) and striving (Hebrews 4:11) in our life for the Lord. Therefore, Jesus says that His yoke is easy and His burden is light Matthew 11:25-30). Jesus is not saying that our lives as Christians will be easy, for certainly all who seek to live godly lives will be persecuted (2 Timothy 3:12). Jesus is saying that in comparison to the glory that is coming these present struggles are light and temporary (2 Corinthians 4:17-18). Because this is the way that Christ has revealed Himself to us in the church then we ought to recognize that loving Him means serving Him. And this is a delightful duty! We get to serve God through what Paul called a labor of love (1 Thessalonians 1:2-3). In this passage, Paul commends the Thessalonians, telling them how thankful he is to God for their work of faith, labor of love, and steadfast hope! God has made us to work and serve. Ironically, the world seeks to be served, but the Lord Jesus Himself said that he came to serve rather than be served (Mark 10:45). So for us, as the body of Christ, our path to fullness and joy is not the path of consumption and entertainment but rather humility and service. Servants So, on this last Friday of November, I want to express my gratitude for our deacons and their wives. As a pastor, when I am with other pastors it is common for them to joke about trouble with the deacons. I can say with all honesty and sincerity that I have never seen a group of deacons be more supportive of a pastor than what Bob King, David Branscum, and Bob Blair have been for me. These men have served, not only me, but our church well and I am thankful for them. Also Bronwyn, Judy, and Debbie are faithful servants to the church. I am not the best planner and these ladies often get asked to handle things on short notice and do so beautifully. Saints I also want to extend this thanksgiving to the entire church. You all are wonderful to jump in and serve the needs of the community and especially our body. I will refrain from attempting to list all the ways that you all serve, for this blog isn’t intended to be a book. However, I want you to know that your labor and service does not go unnoticed. I will highlight one person because this is sort of comical and she deserves it. I have a bad habit of locking myself out of the church and Leada has made countless trips from her house just to let me in the door. Leada is a tireless and gracious worker for the Lord. Staff I have a couple of more people I would like to extend my personal and public gratitude to as well. Of course, only Lucy is staff, but Dustin and Lucy do so much behind the scenes that almost no one including myself sometimes ever sees. Much of the labor they are involved in doesn't get noticed because they do it so well. Dustin comes and checks the heat and air system, monitors the facility and even gets the lights all on in the mornings before church. I am thankful for this humble brother and his hard work for the Lord. Thank you Dustin! And if you enjoy reading this blog you should thank Lucy. This blog 100 percent wouldn’t happen with her. Lucy also deals graciously with my unique style of last minute ideas. She makes things much easier for me to do the ministry that God has given me here in our church. Thank you Lucy! Thank you Lord, for the blessing and privilege of not only being a part of this church family, but of being able to serve them as well!  Knowledge
Why are people not thankful? Our first inclination may be to conclude that they have a problem in their soul. Often, we may think that not being thankful is the product of bitterness, stemming from the inner being of the ungrateful person. This could be the case. However, it is also possible that the problem is a lack of faith induced by a lack of knowledge. Christianity encompasses our whole being and that includes our minds. My point is that the reason we may lack thankfulness could be a lack of understanding and instruction that would lead us to recognize all we have to be thankful for and who our gratitude is owed too. Education Christianity certainly extends beyond mere mental assent, but it is not less than knowledge of God and His gospel. With the elementary knowledge (Hebrews 6:1) necessary for salvation (2 Timothy 3:14-15) believers also advance to a more mature understanding of who God is and how He has revealed Himself. The purpose of growing in this knowledge is not to satisfy our curiosity or to inflate our ego, but rather, to increase our thanksgiving and worship of our God and King (2 Corinthians 9:11)! Christianity is about the relational reality of fellowship with God. Too often people believe that the true religion of biblical Christianity is like all the other religions in the world. In those religions, the focus is on practices that either serve the worshiper or appease the deity. But in Biblical Christianity we are learning things that God has revealed about Himself and us, not so that we can have a better life or appease Him with proper behavior but so that we can know Him and fellowship through what A.W. Tozer called “The Knowledge of the Holy.” This means that central to the life and health of the local church and each individual Christian is continual Biblical education. So often when we think of education what comes to mind is classrooms and lectures and books. Of course, we do have a book (which is actually a library of 66 books) that we must read and study, because it is the way that God speaks to us and reveals Himself to us. However, our Christian education should not be limited to formal classroom settings. For instance, after we have listened together to the word of God being taught in the corporate worship gathering, then taking the opportunity to discuss it with our family or with other brothers and sisters over a Lord’s Day meal would probably help all of us to gain greater understanding and insight into that particular passage of Scripture. It also could be that Christian conversation around other activities where we discuss the things we are reading in our own daily study of scripture would help us to think through difficult theological issues. This is the same way Jesus and the disciples talked as they traveled in the gospels. Living in this time we ought to be extremely grateful for the vast resources we have, both personally and corporately, to study and learn what the greatest minds in the history of the Church have thought. We also have available (basically in real time) how other Godly Christians are applying the teaching of the Scripture to the same things that we are facing today. Teachers But even with all the tools and resources which are available to us virtually, God has always seen fit to provide His church with local pastors and teachers to educate the believers (Ephesians 4:11). We need to be grateful to God for giving us people who actually know us and our lives to instruct us in the truth and exhort us to apply the truth to our lives. I want to thank all of our Sunday School teachers who have labored hard in teaching so that the church could grow more health through the knowledge of God in His word. Thank you Bob King, Matthew Harness, Nancy Graves, James Tilley, Zach Massey, Sherry Jennings, Mary Wilson, Scarlet King, Samantha Tuell, Laura Ragsdale, Lucy Trammell, Shannon Hilmes, Sarah King, Debbie Blair, Ashley Harness, Robert Horton and Micheal Horton. Again, thank you for sacrificing so that we as a church could reap these benefits and learn more of Christ!  Gratitude
This is the month in our American culture when most folks are thinking about what they are thankful for and, hopefully, who they should be thankful to. I mentioned on Sunday how thankful I am for Marshall First Baptist Church. I know that there are many godly men who God could use to pastor this church (& I look forward to other brothers being raised up to labor alongside me), but I can’t imagine pastoring another church. As I said Sunday, MFBC doesn’t need me, but I need you all. This month, I intend to write on this theme of gratitude each week. I know, I’m innovative and original, lol. The reality is that I always get to feeling quite nostalgic this time of year and love making much of all that God has done. In truth, when we express our genuine gratitude for the situations and circumstances of our lives, we are actually pointing the attention not on the blessed gift but the amazing and glorious giver of all God gifts, our great Lord and God! The Voice In our passage this last Sunday the prophet Jonah referred to the voice of Thanksgiving (Jonah 2:9). He was speaking about how he would, even from the fish’s belly, worship God with gratitude for bringing up his life from the pit. Are you thankful for your voice? And do you use your voice for God’s glory? In asking these two questions I am not trying to be profound, but rather simple. There are at least three clear ways that we know God intends for us to use our voice for his glory. First, we should use our voice to talk about all the great things that He has done in us and for us. We are supposed to be witnesses of our relationship to Christ and what He has revealed in His word (1 Peter 2:9-10). We must be proclaiming that Jesus has freed us from our sin through His death on the cross and glorious resurrection. We need to be using our ability to communicate to make known who Christ is to those still waiting in the darkness. Second, we should begin using our voice to glorify God through prayers of Thanksgiving. In Jonah chapter 2, the only form of worship and sacrifice available to Jonah from the belly of the fish was the sacrifice of praise. Oh, how we need to be praying! And not just to receive things, but to recount all that we have received and witnessed from God’s hand in our lives and in our church. Each week when we have an opportunity to share in the church about all that God has done we should be ecstatic to relate the news that exalts His goodness, grace, and glory (Colossians 3:16-17)! The third way that we should be using our voices in praise and thanksgiving is the most obvious. Christians have always been a singing people. Even when you read the Scriptures you can tell the parts when the Apostles are singing out in praise even as they write or dictate their works. We know that worship is more than singing alone, but understand brethren it certainly isn’t less. We ought to use our voice to the maxim of our abilities to give Glory to God in song. For some of us that ability is limited, for others it is accentuated but God desires and desires for every voice to cry out in joyful song. Bold & Beautiful Voices As we enter this month of thanksgiving, I want to express great thankfulness and appreciation for those who God has gifted with musical talent and humble hearts to help the rest of us in worship. You of course know who I am talking about. Thank you Kevin, Kelly, Kristin, Ashley and Brady. You brothers and sisters serve the Lord not only with your natural talents, but also with your sweet & willing spirits. I’m sure that the whole church would echo this thankfulness for everything you all do. I also want to include a big thanks to Micheal and Robert who work hard in the booth to keep things going right with the audio and visual needs. Oftentimes, this kind of work only gets noticed when something goes wrong, but I want to say a heartfelt thank you to you men for your important ministry.  Time Change
At the time that I am writing this post, we are about to change our clocks back one hour. I know that most people do not like the practice of changing the clocks and this is something that people can be pretty opinionated about. There are a couple of things that we should probably keep in mind. First, the days will have the same number of hours of both light and dark regardless of the clock so you're not losing daylight that you would have had if the clock didn’t change. The other thing to remember is that if the clocks never changed, then they would stay standard time all the time, which is the time that we have in the winter months. This time of year does get us thinking about change. When you drive a vehicle, the transmission has to shift from one gear to another to allow the car to have the proper ratio and conversion of power from the engine to the wheels. (I’m not mechanically inclined so that could be stated more precisely.) In a similar way, you and I can be greatly helped by a shift in our thinking so that the way we are thinking and believing can drive us to godly behavior and action. RPM When talking about motors RPM refers to revolutions per minute. For the purposes of this article I am going to use those letters to start the three phrases that could help us to shift our hearts and minds so that we can glorify the Lord in our lives. Reliance on God’s Revelation Humanity is totally depraved. That does not mean that we are as evil and rebellious as we could be, but that we are sinful throughout our whole being (Romans 3:9-18;23). Because this is true, we cannot work our way to righteous standing with God. However, this fallen state extends not only to our moral actions and choices, but also to our minds. Our understanding, our intellectual capacities, and our reasoning abilities are also tainted by the deforming nature of our fallen state. This means that we cannot know God through human reason or philosophy or simply through the observation of the general revelation in creation (1 Corinthians 1:18-31). Rather, we must have the special revelation of the righteous character and nature of God in the Scriptures so that we can know God and worship Him rightly. We must have the illuminating presence of the Holy Spirit to understand the spiritual realities that can only be known by those who are spiritual (1 Corinthians 2:6-16). Plans According to God’s Purposes God is sovereign, and He reigns providentially over His universe with distinct purposes. The universe is not random. Order pervades all of the creation (Isaiah 55:8-9). You even hear the evidence of this when unbelievers speak of how things in nature are designed or wired for certain things. Evolutionary theory cannot account for specificity of design through natural selection. Rather, in creation, what is clear is that God is accomplishing His good pleasure (Philippians 2:12-13). Everything in God’s universe has meaning in bringing Him glory, one way or another. This means that nothing in your life is inconsequential. Nothing happening to you or being done by you is unimportant because everything matters. Minds Focused on Eternity with God Ultimately, probably the greatest thing that can help finite beings like ourselves to shift our hearts and minds toward the grandeur of the transcendent God is to have an eternity focused perspective. We need to be thinking about things from an eternal point of view. Temporal thinking will always be tempting us to take shortcuts and resort to pragmatic methods instead of opting for faithful obedience. But our home and citizenship are in heaven and so our perspective should be for the long range not just the next step (Philippians 3:20-21). Even when all we can see through the fog of our present suffering is the next step we must remember that there is an eternal glory that we cannot now fully comprehend (2 Corinthians 4:16-18).  Halloween
This time of year most kids and many adults are deciding what they are going to be for Halloween. Of course, no one is actually going to become something other than what they already are. In fact, what they are going to do is dress up and pretend to be someone or something else. This is a natural part of normal child development. All children pretend to be something they are not in the regular types of play. This is actually how we learn many things about how we should behave. A boy tries to mimic his dad and in the process learns to actually be a man. But, in between, he is acting like something that he is not. It is a little more strange with adults though. This phenomenon of adults wanting to dress up can probably fit into a couple of different categories. First, is simply the desire to have some fun. Just a harmless gathering of friends fellowshiping and laughing about who came up with the best or worst ideas. But for others this is not so simple or innocent. This game of pretending for many is a real way of escaping life even if only for a night. This attitude reveals a couple of crucial problems. One of these problems is that these individuals are struggling with a deep sense of unfulfillment. The other issue that comes to mind is that the person may be masking some deep pain or trauma. In either of these situations the cover up cannot and will not bring genuine hope and healing. Cover ups In the case of the person who is seeking an escape, the problem lies in what they are trying to escape from. These people are dealing with problems or stress or conflicts that make their regular life unbearable. However, when they take off the costume the problems are still there. These dilemmas cannot be solved by simply covering them up, but rather must be met with real solutions. The problem with escaping to fantasies is that the real world problems don’t get solved and usually only grow more destructive, depressing and even deadly. For those who are seeking to cover up some deep pain or trauma it is important to realize that the only real hope is found in a proper diagnosis which can lead to the right cure. If the pain is a result of one's own sin and consequences then the only way forward is not to hide away but rather to confess the sin in genuine repentance. But for the person who has been victimized by the sin of someone else the greatest antiseptic is the light of the gospel. Where that sin can be dealt with in both justice and grace and true healing can come from the Holy Spirit. Coverings The point that I am making is not that sin doesn't need to be covered, but rather that coverings are insufficient. When Adam and his chatty bride found themselves naked in the garden they tried to fashion their own covers to vale the wickedness of their sin against God. The problem is that their puny leafy patterns only made the surety of their sin more obvious when confronted by the Lord. The sown leaves could not hide the guilt and shame of their disobedience to the One who made them and loved them (Genesis 3:8-11). But when God showed up, while a curse was necessary, He also extended to them great grace. He made coverings for them that could temporarily and symbolically cover their shame and guilt until the suitable robe would be ready. God made for them coverings of skin by killing animals. Death was the penalty their sin had incurred.(Genesis 3:21) But the skinswere not enough to fully finally cover and remove the stain of sin. Instead depraved humanity needed a greater dress. Therefore we need to be clothed in the righteousness of Christ. However, the garments of Christ’s righteousness are not just some pretend costume that we put on to appear righteous but rather these clothes remove the stain of sin so that we become the righteousness of God in Jesus Christ (2 Corinthians 5:16-21). But the only way for us to put on these good garments is by repentance and faith in Jesus, whereby we trust in Him to cleanse us and save us based on His amazing grace and perfect account.  Not the Clothing Store
Today I want to talk about the gap, but I am not talking about the store that you used to find in the mall. (Kids, malls were these places where you could shop in a bunch of different stores all in one building. This was way back in the stone ages before Amazon.) So, if I’m not talking about the store what do I mean by the gap. Well the gap is the chasm that exists relationally between two parties. For example, a couple whose marriage is in trouble might need a counselor or a wise other couple to stand in the gap and help bring about reconciliation. Oftentimes in legal disputes attorneys can stand in the gap and help negotiate equitable solutions without coming all the way into the courtroom. But in the scripture we are confronted with the grand canyon of relational separations in the gap between the holy and righteous God of the universe and the whole of sinful, wicked humanity including you and I. So, who is going to stand in the gap for us? Not Moses In the Old Testament the Lord provided a leader who stood in the gap for His people. Moses was extraordinary because he served as a type of prophet and judge over God’s people. Probably the best word to capture Moses' role in the redemptive purpose of God is that he was a deliverer. The Lord used Moses as His instrument to deliver His people out of the land of Egypt, out of the grip of Pharaoh, and out of the wilderness wandering leading them right up to the entrance into the promised land. During this time, Moses spoke to the people on God’s behalf and went up onto the mountain and into the tent of meeting to meet with God, so that he could speak to the people the words of God. Moses is the prototype of a savior in the Old Testament. Yet, in Jeremiah 15, God says that even if Moses were to stand in with the people He would not be with them because of how they have broken His commandments and hated all His ways. We might think that He was only referring to the generation that was going to be taken into exile in Babylon, but the reality is that every generation of sinful humanity is guilty of this kind of sin, blasphemy, and rebellion. Moses was not a sufficient Savior because, while God used him to bring temporal deliverance, the people didn’t stay saved. Not Samuel At the end of the period of the judges God again raises up a savior. As a matter of fact, the judges are a period where many flawed and imperfect people served as judges and saviors of God’s people. This is a reminder that they always needed a true Savior who could deliver them from their sin and rebellion. Samuel becomes the man of God who stands in the gap during his ministry between God and humanity. However, Samuel was also not the complete savior because He also was not able to bring to the generations of Israel a lasting peace or secure salvation. Again in Jeremiah 15 God also states that even if Samuel stood before Him these people including us all would not be able to remain in His awesome presence because of our sin and iniquity. Only Jesus But praise be to God He has provided a mediator who can stand in the gap for us. Paul says that Jesus being the God-man is able to be the one mediator(1 Timothy 2:5-6). Because Jesus is one who stands in for humanity in genuine perfection while also representing the radiance and holiness of the invisible God (Hebrews 1:1-3). Jesus is the only Savior able to save and deliver sufficiently, completely, and surely. The point is simple: Jesus Saves! He does not try to save or simply want to save or make salvation possible but instead He saves fully and completely everyone who trusts in Him. Know this - all others, those ‘would be’ saviors and tempting idols, will not ultimately be able to save you. Only Jesus can save you. And when Jesus saves and delivers you it’s for keeps. While both Moses and Samuel failed to keep the people saved Jesus and kept His people forever! |