Christ Church

By Prophet Bards Foretold 2: Virgin Born

Christ Church on

INTRODUCTION

Scripture is quite clear that Jesus Christ was born of a virgin. But what was the point? Why is this important?

THE TEXT

“Now all this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying, Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us” (Matthew 1:22–23). 

SUMMARY OF THE TEXT

We learn from the scriptural narrative in several places that our Lord’s mother was a true virgin. In the gospel of Luke, we are told that the angel Gabriel was sent with a message to a virgin named Mary (Luke 1:27). She is called a virgin twice in that one verse (parthenos). When the angel tells her that she will conceive a child who will have a never-ending kingdom, she asks a most reasonable question. How can she conceive when she does not know a man (Luke 1:34)? In short, how can she become a mother as she is a virgin? Gabriel replies that the thing will happen as the result of a miracle wrought by the Holy Ghost (Luke 1:35).

In our text, when Joseph found out that Mary was “with child,” he drew the natural and obvious conclusion, which was that Mary must not be a virgin. But because he was a righteous man, resolved to put her away quietly. But an angel appeared to him in a dream and told him not to be afraid to marry her because her pregnancy was the result of a miracle. The name to be given to the child was Jesus, because He was going to save His people from their sins. Remember this. And then the thing is summed up by our text. The prophet Isaiah had predicted this when he prophesied that a virgin would conceive a child, and bear a son, and that son would be called Emmanuel. Matthew adds the gloss that Emmanuel means “God with us.”  

YOUNG WOMAN OR VIRGIN?

The prophecy is found in Isaiah 7, and the context is this. In the days of Ahaz, the king of Syria and the king of the northern kingdom of Israel came up against Jerusalem. They could not prevail against the city (Is. 7:1), but the heart of the king was still badly shaken, along with the hearts of the people (Is. 7: 2). They trembled like trees in a stiff wind. But God in His kindness sent the prophet Isaiah to give a word of encouragement to the king (Is. 7:3-9). Within one lifetime, the powers that the king was so worried about would be out of the picture. Don’t worry about them. Ahaz—not a man of faith—was apparently still troubled, and so God graciously tells him to ask for a sign (Is. 7:10-11). But Ahaz still holds back (Is 7:12), although he made it sound pious. And so Isaiah insists upon giving him a sign anyway, and the words of our prophecy are taken from that sign (Is. 7:14-16).

There are two layers to this sign. In the Hebrew, the word for virgin here is almah, which can mean virgin, but it can also mean young woman. The meaning is not exclusively virgin. A young woman will conceive and bear a son, and before that son has grown to the maturity that can refuse evil and choose evil—within just a few years—the kings that Ahaz was so worried about would no longer a threat. That was the sign. The young woman concerned was herself a prophetess (Is. 8:3), and she was married to Isaiah. And the prophet went to the prophetess, and she conceived a son. His name was Mahershalalhashbaz, and the prophecy of the previous chapter was in the first instance fulfilled in him (Is. 8:4). Damascus and Samaria would be a spent force before young Maher (let us call him) could say mama or papa.

PROPHECY & TYPE

So this was an explicit prophecy, for the benefit of Ahaz, but it was also a type . . . for the benefit of all the sons of men. Let us not be like Ahaz, and disbelieve the sign. In addition to being the fulfillment of Isaiah’s prediction, the prophetess was also a type. She was a type of Mary, and Mary was the antitype. And here is where it gets interesting.

Isaiah’s ministry was around 700 B.C. The Septuagint, the translation of the Old Testament from Hebrew into Greek, was translated several centuries before Christ. And in the LXX, the word almah in Isaiah 7:14 is rendered as parthenos, and parthenos means virgin, only virgin, and nothing but virgin. There was therefore a widespread expectation among the Jews that there was an aspect of this prophecy that was yet to be fulfilled, and that expectation was not the result of interactions with Christians—because they would not arrive for a century or two more. 

WHY HIS NAME WAS EMMANUEL

Everything in the gospel comes down to the person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ. Who was this Jesus, and what did this Jesus do? He was God in the flesh, and He died on the cross as a perfect atoning sacrifice for the sins of all His people. The person and work of Christ. 

The virgin birth is important to the identity of Jesus. Our text in Matthew links the virgin birth to the fact that the one so born was going to be called Emmanuel. The sacrificial body of Christ had to be spotless in order for it to be any good as a sacrifice, as we shall see in a moment. But it also had to be spotless in order for the most holy Word of God to be united to it. How can a holy God become a true man without also becoming a false and sinful man. Because sin is passed down covenantally through the fathers, the problem was solved through the virgin birth.     

WHY HIS NAME WAS JESUS

The angel of the Lord told Joseph in his dream that the baby was to be named Jesus. The reason for this is that He was going to save His people from their sins. Jesus means “Yahweh saves” or “Yahweh is salvation.” But in order to accomplish that salvation, He had to be a sacrifice, He had to be a spotless sacrifice, and He had to be a representative sacrifice. 

A sacrifice: “For even the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many” (Mark 10:45).

A spotless sacrifice: “But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot” (1 Peter 1:19).

A representative sacrifice: “But not as the offence, so also is the free gift. For if through the offence of one many be dead, much more the grace of God, and the gift by grace, which is by one man, Jesus Christ, hath abounded unto many” (Romans 5:15).

The birth of the baby Jesus was truly remarkable. In that day, on that day, your salvation and mine was born into the world.

Read Full Article

By Prophet Bards Foretold Part 1: Places

Christ Church on

INTRODUCTION

What we are going to do in this season of Advent is take a closer look at a number of the Old Testament prophecies concerning the bith of the Messiah. We are going to look first at the geographical predictions. What places are involved? After that, we will take up other aspects of His nativity, week to week. Remember that all of God’s promises were wrapped in swaddling clothes and laid in the manger.

THE TEXT

“But thou, Beth-lehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; Whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting” (Micah 5:2). 

BETHLEHEM

Bethlehem was known as a little town (Micah 5:2). Nevertheless, despite the small size, it was a town that was going to produce a son that was to become a ruler in Israel (v. 2). This son is going to be from two apparently inconsistent places. He was going to be from Bethlehem, a small town in Judah. He was also going to be from of old, from everlasting. He was to be from Bethlehem without in any way being contained by Bethlehem. 

Bethlehem was a little town, but one that figured largely in the history of Israel. Rachel died there (Gen. 35:19; 48:7). In the book of Judges, we are told the story of a Levite from Bethlehem who became a compromised priest for some freebooting Danites (Judg. 18:20). The murdered concubine—whose death started the war that almost wiped out the tribe of Benjamin—was from Bethlehem (Judg. 19:1). Ruth, the Moabitess ancestor of David and Christ, followed her mother-in-law Naomi to settle in Bethlehem (Ruth 1:19). This is what anchored the ancestry of Christ to this particular town. Samuel anointed David as the future king there in Bethlehem (1 Sam. 16:13).

With regard to Bethlehem, we have something of an intersection of prophecies. Balaam prophesied that a star would arise out of Jacob and that a scepter would rise out of Israel (Num. 24:17). Remember that the wife of Jacob died at Bethlehem, and it was she who would not be comforted after the slaughter of the innocents (Matt. 2:18). The star that was predicted by Balaam, in combination with our text, led the wise men to Bethlehem. Balaam also mentioned a scepter, which should make us think of Jacob final blessing of his sons. “The sceptre shall not depart from Judah nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto him shall the gathering of the people be” (Gen. 49:10). 

Now we know from Scripture that Balaam was a wicked man (2 Pet. 2:15; Jude 11), but at the same time he was a true prophet—meaning he had a true prophetic gift. He would not curse Israel while using his prophetic gifts because he could not (Num. 24:13), but he was willing to give Balak some carnal and cynical advice on how to use the Moabite women to seduce the Israelite men (Num. 31:16; Rev. 2:14). Because of this, the Israelites killed Balaam with the sword (Josh. 13:22)

EGYPT

Joseph was warned in a dream about the murderous intent of Herod, and so he gathered up Mary and the baby, and they fled to Egypt. 

“And was there until the death of Herod: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying, Out of Egypt have I called my son” (Matthew 2:15). 

There are two lessons we can gather from this, and we can see in both of them how typology works. A type is an enacted prophecy, and the fulfillment of a type is called the antitype. Thus Adam is a type of Christ (Rom. 5:14), and Christ is the antitype of Adam (John 19:34). Noah’s ark was a type of Christian baptism, which made baptism the antitype (1 Pet. 3: 20-21).

The Exodus from Egypt was the type with two layers. God led the people of Israel out of the land of Egypt. That was the type. But then when the baby Jesus was called out of Egypt, that was the prophesied antitype. “When Israel was a child, then I loved him, and called my son out of Egypt.” (Hosea 11:1). This is fulfilled in two directions. When Herod died, Joseph brought his family back, coming up out of Egypt. But when they fled in the first place, they were running from Herod, who had become a new Pharaoh, killing Jewish babies, and so Israel had become a new Egypt.  

But we must not forget the next layer. When Jesus communed with Moses and Elijah on the Mount of Transfiguration, what were they talking about? In Luke 9:31, it says they were speaking of the Lord’s decease, but the word used there is exodos. His death was our spiritual Exodus from sin and bondage.  

GALILEE

When Nicodemus objected to the attitude of the Pharisees, their retort had to do with the place where Jesus had grown up. “They answered and said unto him, Art thou also of Galilee? Search, and look: for out of Galilee ariseth no prophet” (John 7:52).

But notice what these students of the law were doing. They were insulting Nicodemus over his lack of scriptural knowledge when their own obtuseness in this department was glaring and apparent  

“When at the first he lightly afflicted the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, and afterward did more grievously afflict her by the way of the sea, beyond Jordan, in Galilee of the nations. The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light: They that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the light shined” (Isaiah 9:1–2). 

This is declared by Matthew to be fulfilled in Jesus Christ. Remember that Christ grew up in Galilee, and Matthew says that His return home (Galilee) and ministry in Capernaum (Zebulun and Naphtali) was the fulfillment of the words of Isaiah.

Isaiah tells us that this the place where the light dawned. But as the sun rises to its zenith, the thing to remember is that Christ is the light that shines on every man. “That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world” (John 1:9). What then is our Christmas message?

“Wherefore he saith, Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light” (Ephesians 5:14). 

Read Full Article

The Authority of Gratitude

Christ Church on

INTRODUCTION

As we have all enjoyed the blessings of a Thanksgiving holiday just a few days ago, I thought it appropriate to spend some time on a little understood aspect of gratitude or thanksgiving. We of course understand how pleasant gratitude is. In addition, we readily grasp the duty of expressing our thanksgiving to God. We grasp that gratitude is something that is critical in keeping our faith renewing and constantly growing. The spiritual food we partake of every Lord’s Day is called the Eucharist, from the Greek word for giving thanks, which is eucharisto. But what I want to focus on this morning is what might be called the authority of gratitude. 

THE TEXT

“Do all things without murmurings and disputings: That ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world; Holding forth the word of life; that I may rejoice in the day of Christ, that I have not run in vain, neither laboured in vain” (Philippians 2:14–16). 

SUMMARY OF THE TEXT

The opposite of thanksgiving is grumbling or complaining. The carping, critical voice is one that repeatedly came under the judgment of God in Scripture, and being under the heavy hand of God is the opposite of entering into an authoritative position. Paul here instructs believers to do everything without complaining (v. 14) The result of this is that it will not be possible to assign blame or fault to such a one—“blameless and harmless” (v. 15). It is fitting that there be no blame or rebuke because we are the sons of God, and we are to contrast sharply against the backdrop of a crooked and perverse generation. It is as though they are the pitch black sky, and we are the stars arrayed across that sky. Such non-complaining Christians are privileged to hold forth the word of life, and this is a cause of great rejoicing for Paul. His race was not run in vain, and his work was not conducted in vain (v. 16). 

WITHOUT COMPLAINING

Paul requires that we do everything without complaining or grumbling. That word everything encompasses quite a lot, realize. No complaints about the weather, or the food, or the traffic, or the husband, or the wife, or the children, or the economy, or the administration, or the tool that just broke. 

Now there is a tightrope to walk here. This is a very imperfect world, and many things in it require correction. Many professions are correcting professions, and they are lawful professions—coaches, teachers, copyeditors, judges, policemen, reformers, guitar instructors, driving instructors, pastors, parents, and so on. Now with so much correction being required, what we to do with this requirement to do everything without complaining or grumbling? We are to enter into the task of helping others without exuding the sense that we are personally aggrieved. Those in positions of authority over others must banish from their lives all traces of self interest. 

“Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted” (Galatians 6:1). 

THREE MARKERS OF AUTHORITY

In this short passage, Paul gives us three phrases that we can tie into the gift of authority. Those phrases are sons of God, lights in the world, and holding forth the word of life.

Sons of God: There is authority involved in becoming a son of God. “But as many as received him, to them gave he power [authority, exousia] to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name” (John 1:12). There is authority in putting to death the sins of the flesh. “For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.” (Romans 8:14). And there is an authority that is building to a crescendo. “Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is” (1 John 3:2). 

Lights in the world: Shining as lights in the world is something that the world knows how to link back to the Father in heaven. “Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid. Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven” (Matthew 5:14–16). 

Holding forth the word of life: A messenger or a sent one always brings with him the authority of the sender. “How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace; That bringeth good tidings of good, that publisheth salvation; That saith unto Zion, thy God reigneth!” (Isaiah 52:7). 

When our lives are characterized by gratitude, and we are freed from the whining spirit that affects us so easily, what does this do? It proclaims that we are living out the message that we are holding in our hands. It means that we shine like an array of stars against a very dark night. It means that we are the adopted sons of God, and that when the world comes into its rights, we will be manifested as the sons of God. And all of this, taken together, means that authority will come to you naturally. It is not something you will need to raise your voice in order to get. In fact, just the opposite.

Gratitude is one of the basic foundation stones of all true authority.  

THE THANKFUL CHRIST

In this, as in everything else, our task is to look to Christ. We look to Him first as our Savior, and then, having received the gift of a full and complete salvation, we look to Him as our example. If you look to Him as your example first, there will be nothing for you there but despair. You can’t jump that high. 

“For even hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps” (1 Peter 2:21).

We look to His suffering first. And then, after that, we follow in His steps. And what does Christ do after His great triumph. He praises God in the midst of the congregation (Ps. 22:22, 25). He sees the travail of His soul, and is satisfied (Is. 53:11). He did what He did because of the joy set before Him (Heb. 12:2). And He, with the most gratitude, has been granted all authority (Matt. 28:18-20). 

Read Full Article

Forgetting What Lies Behind (Philippians #12)

Christ Church on

INTRODUCTION

One of the great things I learned from my father is that “God takes you from where you are, and not from where you should have been.” All of us are sinners, and so none of us are where we should have been. The glory of forgiveness is that God can bring glory out of a shapeless ruin, and in the gospel, this is precisely what He has done. He provides the glory. We contribute the shapeless ruin. 

THE TEXT

“Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. Let us therefore, as many as be perfect, be thus minded: and if in any thing ye be otherwise minded, God shall reveal even this unto you. Nevertheless, whereto we have already attained, let us walk by the same rule, let us mind the same thing. Brethren, be followers together of me, and mark them which walk so as ye have us for an ensample. (For many walk, of whom I have told you often, and now tell you even weeping, that they are the enemies of the cross of Christ: Whose end is destruction, whose God is their belly, and whose glory is in their shame, who mind earthly things.) (Philippians 3:13–19). 

SUMMARY OF THE TEXT

Paul is not claiming that he has somehow “arrived” (v. 13). He knows that he has not. But he does know what direction he is facing, what direction he is running. Like a runner stretching toward the finish tape, he is leaning toward the end of the race, and has forgotten the past (v. 13). What is that prize that he is running for? It is the high calling of God in Christ (v. 14). He is doing this, but he is also actively recruiting all other Christians to do the same (v. 15). He knows he is not perfect, but he urges this duty upon as many as are perfect. This is the goal of Christian maturity—complete maturity (v. 15). If you are lacking in your understanding of this, God will fill in the gap. We all need to live up to what we have already attained, and not turn back (v. 16). We should all think this way. He then urges the Philippians to imitate him, not to mention imitating others who walk the same way. They all serve as examples (v. 17). This is necessary, he says with tears, because there is another way of walking. There are many who walk as enemies of the cross of Christ (v. 18). These are not pagan outsiders, but rather false teachers within the church. It didn’t take long for corrupt teachers to infiltrate the church. Their finish line is different from Paul’s—their finish line is destruction (v. 19). Their god is their belly. Their glory is in their shame. Their mind anchored down here on earth (v. 19).

RUNNING WITH PURPOSE

In order to run with purpose, which is what Paul is urging here, it is necessary to lay aside every weight (Heb. 12:1-2). That weight, for many of you, is a backpack filled with regrets. But how can you run the Christian race if you are running with a pack filled with guilt-bricks?

In order to run the race that is before you, it is necessary to forget what lies behind. And what lies behind? All your failures as well as your previous victories. Remember what we said last week about repenting your virtues. You must not only forget your stumbles and errors, but if you are on the fourth lap, you can’t be thinking about the second lap—however well you ran it. The Christian life is directional. It is purposive. It is all geared to the last day. 

IMITATION IS THE WAY

The way of godliness is learned by imitation, as in our passage here. Be imitators of God, as dearly loved children (Eph. 5:1). The Thessalonians learned by imitating the churches of Judea (1 Thess. 2:14). Paul summons the Corinthians to imitate him as he imitates Christ (1 Cor. 4:16; 11:1). Hebrews tells us not to be sluggish, but rather to imitate those who through endurance inherited the promises (Heb. 6:12). We learn by imitation.

But this godly way of learning to walk faithfully is discredited by those who imitate foolishly. Instead of imitating the walk, the things that are imitated are the haircut, or the clothes, or the accent, or the mannerisms. That is not what we are talking about. 

Imitate character, not personality. 

ENEMIES OF THE CROSS

The cross deals with our little lizard egos. The cross crucifies all selfish ambition, carnal striving, lustful yearning. And yet there are those who see the religious world as containing a great number of opportunities, with not a few chumps, and so they gravitate toward us, with easy sermons laced with easy lies.

“Which say to the seers, See not; And to the prophets, Prophesy not unto us right things, Speak unto us smooth things, Prophesy deceits” (Isaiah 30:10). 

“If a man walking in the spirit and falsehood do lie, saying, I will prophesy unto thee of wine and of strong drink; He shall even be the prophet of this people” (Micah 2:11). 

All their sermons run downhill. Everything is tailored to suit, and slathered with the heated butter of flattery.

“For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears” (2 Timothy 4:3).

By way of contrast, our salvation is all of grace. But it is a grace that works in us, both to will and to do what God has purposed for us (Phil. 2:12). And what He has purposed for us is to run this race. He works in the heart to run, and so we run, forgetting what lies behind. 

Read Full Article

Not Having My Own Righteousness (
Philippians #11)

Christ Church on

INTRODUCTION

We come now to a particular gospel “turn” that is extremely troublesome to the carnal mind. The square peg of “alien righteousness” goes not go into the round hole of any “righteousness of my own.” Consequently, a great deal of ingenuity has been expended on trying to make it fit. We might even go so far as to say that this problem, this tension, is the driving engine of almost all new developments in theology. And that is not a good thing. The challenge always comes down to the unvarnished gospel versus the “cold clatter of morality.” 

THE TEXT

“But what things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ. Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ, and be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith: That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death; If by any means I might attain unto the resurrection of the dead. Not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect: but I follow after, if that I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 3:7–12). 

SUMMARY OF THE TEXT

In his previous life, prior to his conversion, Paul had been proud of his resume, proud of his heritage. All those things had been “gain” to him, but no more. He uses the same word that he used in Phil. 1:21 (kerdos), but showing a complete reversal of values. He counts all that a loss for the sake of Christ (v. 7). He goes on to extend the exchange to “all things,” considering the loss of everything to be insignificant when compared to the excellency of knowing Christ Jesus as Lord (v. 8). More than insignificant, he counts every possible honor as skubalon—rubbish, garbage, offal, dung, or refuse (v. 8). He does not just know Christ now, he also strains to win Christ at the last (v. 8). He rejects his own righteousness, that which is “by law,” and wants to be found in Christ by faith, not having his own righteousness, but rather the righteousness which is “of God by faith” (v. 9). He not only wants Christ now, and Christ at the last, but also Christ on the journey (v. 10). This refers to the koinonia of his suffering, lining up with His death, so that he might know the power of resurrection (v. 10). Experiencing the power of resurrection now means a promise of attaining to the resurrection of the dead at the last day (v. 11). Not that he has already made it, because he knows that he has not, but he pursues it nonetheless. He wants nothing more than to apprehend that for which he was apprehended. He wants to seize that for which he was seized (v. 12).  

ALL THE WAY IN

This is an area where we must pay close attention to the exhortation given by that great Puritan Richard Baxter, when he said, “screw the truth into men’s minds.” If we don’t take care to do that, this particular truth will always pop out again, rattle on the floor for a moment, and disappear into an obscure corner.

SUBMITTING TO THE RIGHTEOUSNESS OF GOD

There is another place in Paul where he summarizes this glorious truth, talking about how the exquisitely pious Jews, in all their zeal, managed to miss it. What went wrong?

“For they being ignorant of God’s righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God” (Romans 10:3). 

The word for submit here is hypotasso, and is the same word that is used in a number of other places. Domestic servants, house slaves, are told to be subject to their masters (1 Pet. 2:18). Wives are commanded to be submissive to their own husbands (Col. 3:18). We are called to be subject to principalities and powers (Tit. 3:1). The young should submit to the elderly (1 Pet. 5:5). The problem that the Jews had was found in their unwillingness to submit to the righteousness of God. This is why the gospel is described by Paul as a message to be obeyed (Rom. 10:16), and why those who reject it are described as a disobedient people (Rom. 10:21). 

In our text, Paul says that he wanted to be found in Christ, not having his own righteousness (Phil 3:9). In Romans 10, he says that the Jews went around trying to establish their own righteousness, and refused to submit to the righteousness of God (Rom. 10:3). This means that what we are talking about is not acknowledging that God, over there, is righteous. We are not acknowledging that, but rather trusting in. The righteousness of someone else is imputed to me, and so it is that every form of ego-credit vanishes. 

POISONOUS PRONOUNS

The poison of autonomy is therefore found in the personal possessive pronouns—mine, ours, and so forth. It is not to be found in the external things we cook up to do, which may or may not be noble and right. If I give all my possessions to feed the poor, but have not love, I am nothing (1 Cor. 13:3). This is because I gave everything away except my own righteousness. As long as I cling to that, I am clutching at my own essential unrighteousness.

And this is why the deepest repentance possible is not of the things we are ashamed of, but rather of the things we are proud of. Men are not truly converted until their virtues humiliate them. This is why tax collectors and whores enter the kingdom first (Matt. 21:31). They know how valuable all their virtues are, which cannot be said for the theologians and scribes.  

Flannery O’Connor describes this principle wonderfully at the conclusion of her potent short story Revelation. Mrs. Turpin has been given a vision of a procession into Heaven. 

“Upon it a vast horde of souls were tumbling toward heaven. There were whole companies of white trash, clean for the first time in their lives, and bands of blacks *** in white robes, and battalions of freaks and lunatics shouting and clapping and leaping like frogs. And bringing up the end of the procession was a tribe of people whom she recognized at once as those who, like herself and Claud, had always had a little of everything and the given wit to use it right. She leaned forward to observe them closer. They were marching behind the others with great dignity, accountable as they had always been for good order and common sense and respectable behavior. They, alone were on key. Yet she could see by their shocked and altered faces even their virtues were being burned away.”

Read Full Article