That for which I Am Not Thankful

That for which I Am Not Thankful

Paul says, “In everything, give thanks.” That sounds unreasonable. Is there anything for which we should not give thanks? Perhaps.

Let me clear the deck first. I’m a bit grumpy this morning about people coming late to the Christmas parade but still insisting on free parking in places that are not parking spaces, driving over snowplow stakes to get there. Yes, I’m having a little trouble being thankful for that one. But Paul, I’ll come around, I promise.

Maybe we can be thankful for things eternal, and not so much for things temporal. But that’s not right, is it? Many things that are part of our current blessings will “pass away.” It doesn’t mean that we should be too “spiritual” to give thanks for them.

I am not thankful for sin. Sin is not one of God’s blessings in this “passing away” world. But even here, it’s not that easy, because God uses sin and the lessons of sin and sin’s consequences to teach us a great many things. But we can be thankful for our God who can even use something that He hates for good.

I am not thankful for Satan. And yet, Satan is an integral part of the story of redemption. He is the foil against which the glory of Christ shines so brightly. Are we to be thankful for Satan? No. But Satan is indeed one of God’s creatures (not human, but angelic), now confirmed in opposition against God and jealous of His glory. But no, I’m not thankful for Satan.

I am not thankful for death? Well, almost. I am thankful or life, both physical life and spiritual. And, physical death is the portal through which the believer passes to eternal rest. And so death is often welcomed by the aged saint who desires to be in the presence of Jesus. But, Paul says “death is the last enemy that will abolished.” So perhaps I can say I am not thankful for eternal death, - but, it is ordained by God for those who have rejected Christ, and therefore even eternal death somehow contributes to the glory of God. So, that’s a hard one. Note these verses

Psa. 97:10  Hate evil, you who love the LORD, 

Who preserves the souls of His godly ones; 

He delivers them from the hand of the wicked.

¹¹ Light is sown like seed for the righteous 

And gladness for the upright in heart.

¹² Be glad in the LORD, you righteous ones, 

And give thanks to His holy name.

I am thankful for righteousness, and the gift of Christ’s righteousness. I am not thankful for evil. I think that is Biblical.

What Must I Do to be Saved? (Acts 16:31; 2:37)

 What Must I Do to be Saved? (Acts 16:31; 2:37)

When Peter preaches his first sermon upon receiving the gift of the Spirit, along with the other disciples, He preaches Christ, and Christ crucified, and Christ risen again. The question that is posed to him by the throngs is this: Acts 2:37 “Now when they heard this, they were pierced to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brethren, what shall we do?” In light of this man named Jesus being both “Lord” and “Christ,” what shall we do?

When Paul and Silas are miraculously delivered from the bondage of prison’s chains and locked doors by a divine earthquake, the prison guard was set to take his life due to the prisoners’ escape. Paul stops him, and the man asks, “What must I do to be saved?” Whether Peter or Paul, and whether a large crowd, the answer to question is quite simple: Believe. Believe in/into/upon Jesus. Throw yourself upon Him because of His sacrifice for you, and because of the mercy that He promises to show those who call upon Him.

Isn’t it really quite simple? We go through life trying this, that, and the other thing - all for naught. We fail to find the meaning for which we are searching, the purpose, the happiness, the satisfaction. All those things are elusive as we try and find for ourselves the key that unlocks what is behind the doors that we cannot find.

But to dive into Christ, so much so that we are immersed in Him (if I can let my Baptist bias slip in a bit), that seems to be last thing, the hardest thing for us to do. Why? Because we want to do it ourselves. We want to do it our way. We find ourselves to be theologically committed to self-salvation.

It is not that we have tried too hard. It is that we have not tried hard enough. If we had supremely struggled to achieve these things and acceptance with God, we would have more quickly come to the end of ourselves. But we live in a culture of half-hearted searching, distracted from the search to look at our phones or go shopping or watch a game. If we had honestly and zealously pursued self-salvation, we would perhaps have found “the last resort” more quickly.

Those gathered around Peter in Jerusalem as he preached were there because they were serious - seriously seeking God through slavish obedience to the Law. And they found that they could not. They needed someone other than themselves to be their Savior. That prison guard in Philippi was trying to have a good life for himself and his family as a prison guard - faithful; hard-working; honest. But the Roman government could not provide that for which his soul yearned. Until, finally, Paul answered his question: “What must I do to be saved?” And, he believed.

Who is the Liar? 1 John 2:22

 Who is the Liar? 1 John 2:22

John, the young disciple of Jesus, but now an old man, is fighting

for the life of the 1st century church. The apostles have

preached and thousands have believed, but there are also sinister

teachers that are leading people astray. Why? Perhaps they have

good intentions, and are just in error. More likely they have not only

false knowledge but also malicious intentions. They have seen the

attention and honor the apostles have received, and they may want

to make a name for themselves by creating a distinctive following

for themselves. Don’t be fooled. This is not just a 1st century

occurrence. It still happens today.

John runs through a few arguments to teach the Church what to

look for in “real” Christianity. In our text, John asks the question,

“Who is the liar?” The answer lies not with obscure doctrines and

fine points of disagreement. His answer: “He who denies that

Jesus is the Christ.”

“The Christ” is the One anointed and appointed by God to be

the Point Man in the mission to create “the people of God.” The

people cannot do so themselves, and must be redeemed, saved, by

One who stands firmly in God’s holiness but who is also able to bear

man’s sinfulness. Jesus Christ, the God-man, is the One, the only

One, who is able to do so.

The Jewish people, in large part, accept the hope of a “Christ” or

“Messiah,” but they do not accept that Jesus is that Person. Jesus, in

their eyes, was a problem, an imposter, who led people away from

proper attention to and obedience of the Law of Moses.

But it is not just unbelieving (in Jesus) Jews who fall into the “liar”

category. It is also any other religion who does not see and accept

Jesus as the central figure in procuring our salvation. Moslems share

some heritage with Jews, but they do not accept Jesus as the Christ.

Cults may adopt many features of the Christian faith, but in some

way diminish the perfect necessity of Jesus Christ being both

fully God and fully man.

When Jesus met the Emmaus Road disciples soon after the

resurrection and spoke with them without their knowing that He

was indeed the risen Lord, He asks them, “Was it not necessary

for the Christ to suffer these things and enter into His

glory?” Isaiah 53, in particular, in the Old Testament, makes clear

that “the Christ” would be a Servant who would suffer for the

people that He came to save, who would then become God’s own

people. It is a central truth; central enough that if you don’t agree,

you are a liar.

Do you Love Me (more than these)? John 21:15

 Do you Love Me (more than these)? John 21:15

This is a critical question that Jesus asks Peter, and it is a critical

question that Jesus asks each one of us. He calls us by name, as He

did Peter (Simon), and He asks, “Do you love Me more than

these?”

Jesus actually asks Peter this question three times. Some say that it

is in response to the fact that Peter denied the Lord three times

during His trial, before the crucifixion and resurrection. Now the

risen Lord addresses this Peter, bringing him back into the fold, and

commissioning him for the work that is ahead. And, it seems,

loving Jesus is critical to the mission, for all of us.

It is only in the first question that Jesus includes the words, “more

than these.” And yet, I think these words are helpful for all of us.

Love in general can be quite abstract. Love in relation to other

things becomes much more objective.

Whenever we sin, we do so because we want to. We do what we

want. It is the action of our will, our “want to.” We sin because we

love something about that sin, not necessarily everything about

it, but there is something that we love that moves us to do it. When

I sin, it is because I love something about the sin more than I love

Jesus. That’s the question Jesus asked. And here is the ugly answer. I

prove over and over that there are things that I love more than

Jesus, at least with that issue, in that moment. And it is called sin.

As believers, we want to love Jesus more than anything, and we

assume that we do. But assumptions can be wrong. That is why this

question must be applied to ourselves, and we must examine and

answer carefully. In that failure, or moment of unfaithfulness, or

selfishness - whatever it was, let’s identify what it is that we love

so much that we were willing to transgress one of the

commands of Jesus. Because we know, don’t we, and we take it as

fact that love is shown by the keeping of His commandments - John

14:21 “He who has My commandments and keeps them is the one

who loves Me.”

Lots of people say “I love you,” but it is just words and they fail to

love in deed. Love is proved as we say “yes” to the things that we

should say “yes” to; and “no to the things that we should say “no” to.

If we say “yes” to things that are not in keeping with a walk with

Christ, in agreement with His will, when we should have said “no;”

or, conversely, if we say “no” to things that are in keeping with a

walk with Christ, to which we should say “yes,” but fail to do so - we

have to ask, “Do you love Jesus more than these?"