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Leaving Vengeance & Loving Justice (Troy)

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INTRODUCTION

For far too long the Christian Church has been passive and apathetic, watching freedom and justice slip away from our land, but how does our Lord’s teaching about enemies and justice apply to us? Whether we are thinking about the way pagans are seeking to destroy our Christian culture, or international conflict in the Middle East or Europe, or interpersonal conflict you may have in your family, what does Jesus mean and how does this teaching apply? 

The Text: “Ye have heard that it hath been said, ‘An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth’: but I say unto you, that ye resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also. And if any man will sue thee at the law, and take away thy coat, let him have thy cloke also. And whosoever shall compel thee to go a mile, go with him twain. Give to him that asketh thee, and from him that would borrow of thee turn not thou away.”

SUMMARY OF THE TEXT

Jesus quotes from the criminal law of Israel “eye for an eye” (Ex. 21:24, Lev. 24:20, Dt. 19:21), having just recently affirmed the ongoing validity of the law (Mt. 5:17-20), and He says that this criminal justice is not to be applied by individual persons as acts of vengeance. Rather, our personal disposition is to be patient and forbearing (Mt. 5:39). This includes when we are sued and taken to court and the judge allows our goods to plundered (Mt. 5:40). Given the nature of man and the tendency of courts to be corrupted, we should be fully prepared to surrender not only our hats, but also our coats (Mt. 5:40). Likewise, under foreign occupation, you may be compelled and commandeered like slaves, and we should be prepared to go the extra mile (Mt. 5:41). Our personal disposition is to be thoroughly and sacrificially generous to all (Mt. 5:42). 

PRINCIPLES OF JUSTICE

Jesus is not setting aside this central principle of justice that requires magistrates to repay evil equitably. We know this because elsewhere magistrates are still required to uphold justice (Rom. 13:4), God executes justice by “repaying” evil (Rom. 12:19), and Jesus Himself says in the judgment He will repay each person according to what he has done (Mt. 16:27, Rev. 22:12). “Eye for eye” is known as the lex talionis, the law of exact retribution or literally “the law of such a nature.” The lex talionis itself was meant to require careful calculation and prohibit punishments driven by vengeance. When someone takes out your eye, your flesh wants to take off their head. Capital punishment is an example of “life for life,” and restitution for lost, damaged, or stolen goods would be another (Ex. 22:1-4). Zacchaeus honored this principle when he restored four-fold for his tax-thieving (Lk. 19:8). What Jesus prohibits here is using criminal justice as a justification for personal vengeance (Mt. 5:39). While not setting aside true justice, we must be willing to endure mistreatment. 

LEAVE VENGEANCE FOR THE COPS

Paul makes the same point in Romans 12 where he says not to repay any man evil for evil (Rom. 12:17), pursue peace with all men (Rom. 12:18), leave vengeance for the Lord to repay (Rom. 12:19), and do personal good to enemies (Rom. 12:20), overcoming evil with good (Rom. 12:21). Immediately after that, it says that the civil magistrate is the power ordained by God to minister God’s vengeance and wrath on evildoers (Rom. 13:4). This means if you caught a thief breaking and entering, you could call the cops, give him a glass of water while you wait, and then press charges. Likewise, we should note that Jesus does not forbid arguing our case before magistrates (Mt. 5:40), as we see Paul doing elsewhere (cf. Acts 25-26); rather, He forbids us from angrily refusing to be defrauded if the case goes against us (Mt. 5:40). And sometimes it’s better to be defrauded even before the case goes to court (1 Cor. 6:7). 

TYRANNY, SLAVERY, AND FREEDOM

Sometimes living in slavery and under tyranny is necessary, and sometimes rebellion and revolution is worse than slavery (Mt. 17:24-27). But the Bible broadly teaches that the goal of thriving societies is freedom which means using all the gifts and powers God has given us to their greatest potential (Lk. 4:16-19). If we can get our freedom, we should try, but if we can’t, we should live as the Lord’s freemen as much as possible (1 Cor. 7:21-22). Seeking to serve our masters as Christ is not apathy, since we all have a Master in Heaven who judges justly (Eph. 6:5-9, 1 Pet. 2:18-23). Christ submitted to the greatest injustice in history, and God saw and vindicated Him in the resurrection. Patiently doing good invites God’s vindication and blessing, and it puts us in a position to see most clearly what we can do now. The wrath of man does not work the righteousness of God (Js. 1:20). 

APPLICATIONS

The central point is that personal grudges and angst are the origin of all evil tyranny. And you can’t fight fire with fire. Returning evil for evil is not justice but flailing injustice. Grudges and feuds drive every revolutionary mob, and those mobs always end up destroying themselves. 

Nothing here forbids Christians from exercising biblical justice in their assigned offices. Nothing here forbids Christians from practicing self-defense or just war or seeking the preservation and restoration of freedom and property. In fact, what Jesus says assumes the legitimacy of all those things. We are to overcome evil with good. Good what? Good families, good marriages, good hospitality, good business, good art, good churches, good neighborhoods, and good civil governments. The point is that you cannot achieve a truly just and prosperous society with rage and bitterness in your heart. Faithful parents need to practice this all day long (Gal. 6:1).  

All earthly, human justice is at best an approximation. If you demand perfect justice in this world, you will be constantly disappointed and angry. This why the Cross of Jesus Christ is the only fully perfect display of justice in the history of the world. In it the justice of God was displayed from faith to faith (Rom. 1:17). This means it is received by faith and lived out by faith.

The just live by faith, both because we are justified by faith from all of our own sins and that gives us great peace and patience but also because this faith in the justice of God is what allows us to work for true justice in this world now while resting in God’s perfect timing to work it all out. This kind of faith allows us to leave vengeance to the Lord, do good to our enemies, and build something truly better.

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How to Raise Christian Kids

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INTRODUCTION

We have had a couple of sermons on how to be a Christian kid as of late. And this sermon is designed to stay in a similar vein while coming at the matter from the opposite end. The kids among us need to know that they are Christian kids and what to do about that. Likewise, parents need to know their kids are Christians and how to raise them as such.

SUMMARY OF THE TEXT

Ephesians 6:4

Paul tells fathers that they must not provoke their children to anger. Instead, they must go in the other direct entirely. That direction involves them raising their children in both nurture and admonition. But not just any nurture and admonition: the nurture and admonition of the Lord.

KNOW 

The first thing necessary in order to raise children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord is to know that they are in it. That word “in” is an important preposition. It refers to location. Where are your kids, Christians? Well, they are in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. They are not outside of it. They are not strangers, aliens, and exiles. Paul does not address them as such. This truth, however, of the insider status of the Christian’s children is not without controversy in our times. So, we need to examine the covenantal foundations of such a claim.

When God covenanted to Abraham in Genesis 17:7, He did only swear an oath of eternal life to the man Abraham. He also swore this oath to his household: “And I will establish my covenant between me and thee and thy seed after thee in their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be a God unto thee, and to thy seed after thee.” God wanted His sworn oath to Abraham and his children to be so plain, He established a sign of that covenant: “This is my covenant, which ye shall keep, between me and you and thy seed after thee; Every man child among you shall be circumcised. And ye shall circumcise the flesh of your foreskin; and it shall be a token of the covenant betwixt me and you” (Genesis 17:10-11).

If we were to ask Abraham, “When God covenanted to be God to you and to bless you, were your children included as members of that covenant promise?” His answer would clearly be, “Why yes, indeed, they were.”

So it is with us, who are children of Abraham. As Paul says, our children are holy (1 Corinthians 7:14). They have been set apart into the realm of the holy people of God.

FAITH

What are we to do given this kind covenant grace of God? That is a good question, and the answer is quite plain: We are to believe His promise. We are the just ones. And the just shall live by faith. Examples of this parental faith abound.

Consider Job, who sacrificed for his children. He did so by faith, looking for the blessing of God on his household. Then, there is Joshua, who announced, “As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” This was not Joshua presuming upon God, as if he assumed God would do something for him and his household that God had not promised. No, Joshua had a promise. And it was not a special and individual promise that God made only to Joshua. Joshua was living by faith in the covenant promises God made to his father Abraham and his seed. We see that this covenant promise extends to Gentiles in the new covenant as Paul and Silas declared to the Philippian jailer, “Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved, and thy house” (Acts 16:31).

This is the faith we exercise in covenant baptism vows when asked, ” Do you trust in God’s covenant promises on his/her behalf, and do you look in faith to the Lord Jesus Christ for his/her salvation, as you do for your own?

This faith in God’s promises must continually be exercised. We do not only exercise it once. And for this reason, we must have the fuel for this faith, namely the word of God.

RAISE

It has been wisely said, “We are saved by faith alone, but the faith that saves is never alone.” So it is with raising Christian kids. Imagine James stepping in at this point and saying, “Show me your parenting faith without works, and I will show you my parenting faith by my paddling of the hind parts.”

There are three directives embedded in the call to raise children in the Lord. First, fathers must not provoke their children to wrath. Quite simply, don’t frustrate them. Don’t be a wet blanket on their joy. This kind of thing happens when fathers forget the covenant promise God has made to them and their household. 

Second, fathers must raise children in the nurture of the Lord. This means that fathers must nourish their children, teach them, show them the way. If you don’t feed them, they will be hungry. This takes time and effort, and grace abounding. So this is when you look to God for the manifestation of that glorious promise that God will “turn the hearts of fathers to the children, and the heart of children to their fathers” (Malachi 4:6).

Third, fathers must raise children in the admonition of the Lord. That means that fathers must correct their children. They must not only teach them what to do. But they must teach them what not to do, what to avoid. 

All of this teaching and correction must not be the father’s, although he is the one who must do it. But the training itself must be the Lord’s. This we can do because He has set His face toward them to bless them to a thousand generations.

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The Word of No Condemnation (King’s Cross)

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INTRODUCTION

As we mark and celebrate the great work of the Spirit that we call the Protestant Reformation, we need to be mindful of remembering two things. The first is that we must recall the gospel of liberating grace, the gospel that is perennial good news, always good news. Sinners always need to able to hear the message of “no condemnation.” Secondly, we need to take care that we do not turn that glorious doctrine into a museum piece. The gospel is a message of forgiveness for any sin, and it is consequently therefore a message of truth that answers every lie—especially the lie that is current in our day. 

THE TEXT

“There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death. For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh: That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit” (Romans 8:1–4). 

SUMMARY OF THE TEXT

Given the sweep of Paul’s argument in Romans thus far, we see that those who have looked to Christ Jesus in faith are therefore in Christ Jesus by faith. And if they are in Christ Jesus, there is no condemnation for them (v. 1). Walking by the Spirit, they find themselves liberated from the law of sin and death (v. 2). The law could not bring no condemnation, because of the weakness of our flesh, the law could only bring condemnation (v. 3). But what the law could not do, God did by sending His incarnate Son who was then condemned in the flesh (v. 3). There is now no condemnation for us in Christ because in Christ the condemnation is already past and accomplished (v. 3). The condemnation is completed, over, done. This means that we can walk in righteousness without fear, in the Spirit (v. 4). 

WHAT THIS MEANT FIVE CENTURIES AGO

The gospel really is good news. It means release for the captives (Luke 4:18). It means life from the dead (Eph. 2:1). It means sight for the blind (Luke 4:18). It means the sleeper awakes (Eph. 5:14). It means a binding up of the brokenhearted (Is. 61:1). It means the downtrodden are set free (Luke 4:18). It means the dungeon doors swing open (Rom. 6:14).

C.S. Lewis described this wonderfully:

“All the initiative has been on God’s side; all has been free, unbounded grace. And all will continue to be free, unbounded grace. His own puny and ridiculous efforts would be as helpless to retain the joy as they would have been to achieve it in the first place. Fortunately they need not. Bliss is not for sale, cannot be earned. ‘Works’ have no ‘merit’, though of course faith, inevitably, even unconsciously, flows out into works of love at once. He is not saved because he does works of love: he does works of love because he is saved. It is faith alone that has saved him: faith bestowed by sheer gift. From this buoyant humility, this farewell to the self with all its good resolutions, anxiety, scruples, and motive-scratchings, all the Protestant doctrines originally sprang” (English Literature in the Sixteenth Century, p. 33).  

THIS MEANS THE SAME THING TODAY

The errors against which our Reformation fathers protested were ancient errors. The merit-mongering of Rome was the great-granddaughter of the hypocrisy of the Pharisees, and so for those steeped in the Scriptures, it was a familiar foe. All of it was a deadly mixture of truth, hypocrisy, and poisonous lies, but we were on familiar territory. 

Sin is still sin, guilt is still guilt, the cross is still the cross, and gospel preaching still brings liberation to sinners, one at a time. That is all still the case, but we are also into some new territory. The rebellion against God among our ruling elites is far advanced, and so we must learn to apply the doctrine of free grace in the ways that the sons of Issachar would (1 Chron. 12:32). This gospel of free grace means no less than it did five centuries ago, but our opportunities to apply and extend the goodness of God are much greater than before. What do I mean?

Why did so many refuse to condemn the recent atrocities committed by Hamas? They were trying to apply their counterfeit doctrine of justification. They were trying to say no condemnation, regardless of what the terrorists may have done. This is a ten-cent knock off of the Christian gospel, but at least they were attempting it. This is the source of what we see as the double standards of the left. They say that they can do certain things and we cannot because they are justified, and we are not justified. It is their version of no condemnation. 

SO COMPARE & CONTRAST

The potency of the Christian gospel of no condemnation is anchored in three basic truths. One, it is a word from outside human history. Our salvation has a transcendental foundation. The Lamb was slain before the foundation of the world (Rev. 13:8). Our salvation is grounded in a transcendental election. Second, this word of no condemnation was purchased for us through the precious blood of Christ, the blood of the everlasting covenant (1 Pet. 1:18-19). This salvation was purchased for us, and we own it free and clear. Our salvation was not loaned to us. And third, this salvation of sinners was accomplished by a Savior who remained absolutely just. He is the one who justifies, but He is also just (Rom. 3:26). This salvation of the unholy is actually a holy salvation. 

Compare this to the spurious justification offered by the world. They promise us a no condemnation, but terms and conditions may apply. First, everything they offer arises from inside the world. They have nothing else to offer. But without an infinite reference point, everything within the world is simply absurd. This includes all justifications and condemnations. Secondly, they have no efficacious sacrifice. The only blood they can provide is the blood of others, which they do abundantly. The Lord taught believers to say “my life for yours.” But theirs is the way of “your life for mine.” And last, those who devise humanistic ways of salvation are not holy themselves, and so all they can do is rearrange the furniture of their unholiness. Water cannot rise above its own level, and this applies to their fetid swamps as much as any other water.

I have often reminded you that it is Christ or chaos. But we should expand it a bit. It is Christ and no condemnation, on the one hand, or the chaos of bitter and rancid guilt on the other. So come, and welcome, to Jesus Christ.

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Potent Bread & Wine (CCD)

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INTRODUCTION

Last week we surveyed the landscape of the Sacrament of Baptism. This week we’ll hike the terrain of the doctrine of the Lord’s Supper. Cathedrals have the baptismal font at the entrance for good reason; Christ, and Baptism into Him, is the door. However, once you come through the door you are welcomed to the Lord’s banqueting table. Baptism is like birth, the Supper is the eating & drinking which brings about maturity & growth.

THE TEXT

For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do shew the Lord’s death till he come.
1 Corinthians 11:26

A MEMORIAL PROCLAMATION

This familiar passage packs a potent punch. The eating of bread and drinking of the blessed cup is a public display of the Lord’s death until His second coming in judgment. The traffic of this memorial proclamation runs in a few directions. First it is a testimonial from God to you–both as individuals and as the corporate bride of Christ–that His banner over you is love, and all the blessings of His covenant are extended to you. You are not cast off in disdain, but are welcomed in to partake of all He is and all He has procured for you in His death.

Secondly, it is a memorial from us to God. In partaking by faith of His body & blood, as signified by bread & wine, you are affirming before the Lord that as He has pledged to call you His own, so you shew that He is your God, even unto death (Ps. 48:14).

Third, just as Jesus was crucified publicly, so our partaking is a public memorialization of that death. In other words, what we testify here is that the Christ which the earthly rulers crucified and the heel which Satan bruised has become both Lord & Christ. This is one reason why private communion is a bit of an oxymoron.

And this leads a final point on the import of what it means for us to “shew the Lord’s death”. Our communion is not only with our Head but with His body. Our love for the Lord Jesus is displayed in our love towards each other (1 Jn. 5:1). This fellowship includes all baptized believers, regardless of age. Paul says earlier that all Israel partook of Christ in the wilderness (1 Cor. 10:3-4). Furthermore, the instructions regarding the Passover feast not only mandated the instruction of children, but presumes their participation in it (Ex. 12:26-27).

LEAVENED BREAD

It’s worth inquiring as to what sort of bread should be used for the Supper. Some determine to use wafers. This stems from their belief that Christ is corporeally present in the bread. They want to avoid scattering crumbs of Jesus all over the floor. The Eastern Orthodox even gather up all the “pearls of Christ” and mix them in with the wine. The people aren’t permitted to eat the bread for fear of dropping crumbs. This isn’t merely getting to the same place by extra steps; both EO & RC views of the Supper lead us to see a re-sacrifice of Christ. Rather, Christ’s body is present in the meal by His Spirit, and we partake of Him by faith.

The Peace Offering required both unleavened & leavened bread (Lev. 7:11-14). The unleavened loaf was burned with the sacrificial creature for the Lord’s portion, the leavened loaf was waved before the Lord and both the priests & worshipper took a portion to eat. The celebration of Pentecost was marked by waving leavened loaves (Lev. 23:16-17). Amos rebukes Israel for offering the correct “sacrifice of thanksgiving with leaven” in the incorrect place: Bethel & Gilgal (Am. 4:5). The early church partook of “the bread” together daily (Acts 2:42), and this was simply daily bread, bread on hand (άρτος not άζυμος).

WINE NOT WELCHS

Another common question worth answering is: why use wine? The concern is that it might cause someone who struggles with drunkenness to stumble. This argument doesn’t hold up under scrutiny. Someone struggles with gluttony, so don’t have a potluck. The argument for concern for the “weaker brother” misses the fact that Paul teaches that the meat offered to idols is nothing (1 Cor. 8:4),  and he’s persuaded by the Lord Jesus that there’s nothing problematic in eating that meat (Rom. 14:14). In other words, don’t be a jerk to the brother with an immature conscience, but the text of Scripture invites the immature brother into maturity. Not vice versa.

Wine takes time. Cultivating a vineyard, harvesting, crushing, fermenting grapes requires years of peace. Couple this with the earlier discussion of leavened bread and you see a pattern emerge. Passover required a haste, and thus unleavened bread. When Israel entered the land the Lord was bringing them into a Sabbath Rest which would find its full meaning in Christ. Wine is potent, and so is grace. Wine gladdens the heart, and so does the good news of great joy. Dough slowly rises as the leaven works throughout, just as Christ’s Kingdom is filling the world. All of this because we have entered Sabbath Rest.

AS OFT AS YOU DRINK

What does Paul intend by that line “as oft as you drink it (1 Cor. 10:26)”? While it isn’t wrong to think about Christ while enjoying your evening glass of wine, he is clearly referencing sacramental––not common––use. Does the NT indicate how frequently the Supper is to be taken? The “as oft as you drink” shouldn’t be interpreted as a “whenever you all feel like it”. So, does this often-ness imply a certain regularity? Yes.

We have two clues from elsewhere in Scripture. Acts 20:7 tells us that the Ephesian church gathered together on the first day of the week, and they broke the bread (Cf. 1 Cor. 16:1). In two passages in 1 Corinthians (11 & 14), Paul uses the phrase “coming together” (συνέρχομαι) to describe the assembled saints. In 1 Cor. 11 they are rebuked for coming together in such a manner that inverts the Lord’s Supper, greedily gobbling up the food with no regard for others; while in 1 Cor. 14 they are taught how to behave decently and in order in their corporate worship as they “come together.” There’s another instance of “come together” in 1 Cor. 7; but the context there is for a husband & a wife’s need for regular marital consummation. Their vows need regular memorialization. Taking all this together, the “ as often” in view by Paul seems to be the regular weekly “coming together” on the first day of the week. 

THE GOD WHO FEASTS

God is a God who feasts. He is a God of plenty. He is a God who makes gardens full of fruit trees for the free enjoyment of His image bearers. He is a God who gives the Israelites the bread of Angels in the wilderness. The sacrifices are spoken of as the Lord’s portion. When Jesus comes, he is accused by the religious hall monitors of too much feasting & drinking.

So, Jesus left us a feast. Promised in the Supper is the entirety of the blessedness of God the Father, Son, and Spirit. This feast is a declaration, until the world’s end, of Christ’s death. And what is Christ’s death? His death is the end of all your shame, guilt, and bondage to sin. His death severed you from the old man. His death destroyed the devil’s war machines. His death is the certain hope that the dragon has been cast down, and all the earth is the Lord’s. We feast because God, through Christ, is bringing us to an everlasting feast.

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