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Reformation Sunday 2009: The Little One In Our Midst

Joe Harby on

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Introduction

It’s well known that the Protestant Reformers instigated an overhaul of the Roman church system. Luther recovered justification by faith, the centrality of Christ’s life/death/resurrection was reasserted, and right celebration and understanding of the sacraments was worked toward. It’s less well known that the Reformers also worked toward a recovery of faithful Church discipline. One of the great church discipline passages is Matthew 18, but what’s striking and a bit strange is that Matthew shows us Jesus going from little children to church discipline almost in the same breath. The “children of Israel” weren’t paragons of virtue and wisdom. Our children seem barely civilized. So what’s the deal?

Luther posted his theses on All Saints Eve, the great culmination of Trinity/Pentecost Season giving glory to God for all His saints, all His faithful down through the ages. The desire to purify the Church was a desire to love the children of Israel, to rescue the lost sheep of the Church, and to defend them from the wolves that had crept into the Church. I want to explore why the Protestant instinct to recover church discipline was a recovery of Jesus’ requirement that, “Unless you are converted and become as little children, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven.” (Mt. 18:3)

Children

Matthew has three scenarios piled on top of one another, all linked by the subject of “little ones.” In answer to the question “who is the greatest in the kingdom?” Jesus sets a little child (paidion) in the middle of them all (18:1-2). Jesus says that they all must be converted and become like little children to enter the kingdom (18:3) which doesn’t quite answer the original question. Once they have become little children, they must humble themselves like this child (in the midst of them) has who has become the model for kingdom citizens (18:4). Jesus explains that the path to becoming children is through receiving a little child in His name (18:5). And this is the same as receiving Jesus Himself.

Little Ones

Jesus continues, but He broadens his subject matter with the term “little ones” (micron) (18:6). Children are only one subset of this category. This would include all of the insignificant, the marginalized, the humble, the lost (cf. 18:12-13). The warning Jesus gives seems extreme. It reminds us of the Red Sea crossing and the judgment on Pharaoh’s men (Ex. 14-15); it also reminds us of the death of Abimelech whose head was crushed by a millstone (Jdg. 9:53). To cause a “little one” to fall into sin is to become an enemy of God’s people. So rather than causing one of these little ones to fall into sin, we ought to be at war with everything and everyone who does this. Cut off the hands and feet and pluck out the eye that causes “you” to fall into sin (18:8-9). And in case some might have thought that Jesus’ warning was merely hypothetical, Jesus assures them that they have advocates who have access to their Father, the Judge of all the earth (18:10).

One Lost Sheep

Even one lost sheep may seem insignificant, little, trifling, but Jesus says that our Father rejoices more over those little ones, those insignificant ones who have been stumbled, who have fallen into sin and been restored (18:11-13). Nevertheless, our Father’s wishes are that none of these little ones should perish. We should not only receive them, not only protect them, but also go searching for them just as God has done for us in Jesus. All of this comes as the context for the famous passage on seeking out a brother who has sinned against you. This is what should be done when someone does fall into sin (18:15ff). Given the context, part of the concern is dealing with those who do cause the little ones to sin. This is one of the ways we deal with “hands/feet/eyes” that cause us to sin. But this can also be viewed as the way we are to seek the little one who has stumbled and strayed. These are instructions for seeking to bring the sinning brother back into our midst, back into the middle of the community.

Refusal to seek out the lost sheep is refusal to receive little ones in our midst, which is tantamount to refusing to be converted and become like little children. We should point out that getting cast out of the Church is worse than drowning in the depths of the sea. Excommunication is an act that hands an individual over to Satan (1 Cor. 5:5) which is the beginning of being cast into hell. But refusal to discipline, refusal to seek out the straying sheep is allowing the “hand/feet/eye” to remain and is only more fodder for the fire. Note that Jesus closes these instructions with the promise to be in their midst when they are gathered in His name, just like the child in their midst whom they receive in His name (18:5, 20). When they gather as little children, Jesus will be in their midst.

Connecting the Dots

God has been very kind to us as a community, granting us a heart for children, and there are a multitude of examples where that love overflows to the sick, the lonely, the weak, and the straying. But we need to make sure we are connecting the dots from loving our children to loving all the little ones.First, this means seeing the messiness of “little ones” as part of growing up into the wisdom of God. Our children (and all the children in the Church) are types for ministry to the body in general. It’s constant, it’s busy, and it can very easily be frustrating. This means that we need to realize that little ones will act like little ones. Become a child doesn’t mean throwing fits; it means receiving and loving little ones who sometimes do. It’s no accident that Jesus goes from talking about discipline straight into a conversation about forgiveness.

Second, we should not draw a false dichotomy here between loving our little ones and loving the little ones all around us. But we need to have an eye to the big picture. Suppose a brother or sister is in sin, how should you approach them? You should approach them like you would your son or daughter (and vice versa).

Third, the greatest in the kingdom of heaven is the one lost sheep that is found. God the Father rejoices over the little ones that are restored, and therefore so should we. This means that we need to continue to grow up into a community of restoration, rehabilitation, a community that rejoices in finding the one lost sheep. If your child went missing, surely you would not go about as business as usual. The names of those who have strayed from the faith that we pray for week after week should not become ordinary.

It can be easy to think that the messiness of children and little ones means that everything has gone wrong. And of course sin is always wrong. But welcoming the mess, receiving little ones in Jesus name is receiving Jesus into our midst (18:5). When we face the challenges in Jesus name, we are seeking Jesus in the challenge. And this means we are seeking wisdom. We need Jesus in our midst when we gather in His name for discipline (18:20). And we do this by loving the little ones, protecting the little ones. As we learn this wisdom, we welcome the enthroned Child into our midst (cf. Rev. 12:5).

As we celebrate Reformation Day and All Saints Day, we celebrate becoming like little children, rescuing lost children, protecting the little ones, and welcoming Jesus into our midst.

In the Name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, Amen!

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The Temple Pulled Inside Out

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Introduction
We are all generally familiar with what happened on the day of Pentecost. But we also need to take note of where it happened . . . and where it did not.

The Text
“And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance. And there were dwelling at Jerusalem Jews, devout men, out of every nation under heaven. Now when this was noised abroad, the multitude came together, and were confounded, because that every man heard them speak in his own language” (Acts 2:1-6)

Summary of the Text
Jesus, crucified and risen, ascended into Heaven to be seated at the right hand of the Father. From that exalted place, He had promised to give gifts to men, a promise that was fulfilled in the Church on the day of Pentecost. We of course rejoice that it has happened, but let’s look a bit more closely at how it happened. The followers of Jesus were gathered together, it says, “in one place” (v. 1). In the next verse, when it describes the sound of the Spirit coming, it says that it filled “all the house” where they had been sitting. Cloven tongues like fire came down and rested on each of them (v. 3), and as the Spirit filled them they began to speak in many different languages (v. 4). There were devout men in Jerusalem at that time, as it says, “out of every nation under heaven” (v. 5). They were there in Jerusalem because of the Temple, about which more in a minute. When word of this great miracle got around, the multitude gathered at this house, moving away from the Temple, and heard the disciples speaking the wonderful works of God (v. 11) in their own languages.

The Temple Complex
The Temple complex was huge. Picture a rectangle running north/south, covering about 35 acres. The east side was Solomon’s Colonnade (John 10:23; Acts 3:11; 5:12). Part of the retaining wall for the western side still remains today—the famous Wailing Wall. There was a large Pool of Israel outside the north wall, and at the northwest corner was the Antonia Fortress, where 600 soldiers were garrisoned. This was named for Mark Anthony, and Paul gave his impromptu sermon from the stairway up from the inside Temple court (Acts 21:40). The south wall was the Royal Stoa, the most ornate part of the complex—where Jesus as a boy had discussed the things of God with the rabbis of Israel (Luke 2:46). The Temple sanctuary and restricted courts butted out from the west wall, and did not quite reach the east wall. Everything inside the walls and outside the central Temple area was the Court of the Gentiles.

A sign was posted in the Court of the Gentiles that said, “No foreigner is allowed within the balustrades and embankment about the sanctuary. Whoever is caught will be personally responsible for his ensuing death.”The accusation that Paul had violated this law was not a trifling accusation (Acts 21:28). Paul is probably referring to this when he says that in Christ the wall of partition has been torn down (Eph. 2:14). As you entered the central Temple area from the east, you went through the Beautiful Gate (Acts 3:2), and came into the Court of the Women. There were also four gates on the north and four on the south side of this court. This is the court where the treasury was (Mark 12:41-44). Proceeding west, you then entered the Court of the Priests. Then came the Holy Place, and after that the Holy of Holies. The internal Temple was plated with gold, and when the sun was shining on it, you could not look directly at it. It was glorious. The disciples were not rubber-necking for no reason (Matt. 24: 1).

A Strange Inversion
Now if the Shekinah glory were to reappear in Jerusalem, where would you expect it to appear? You would expect it to appear the same way it had for Moses at the Tabernacle (Dt. 31:15), or for Solomon at the first Temple (2 Chron. 7:1). But that is not what happened. In order to get to the nondescript, no-name place where it had happened, the multitude had to leave the Temple in order to get there.

Not only so, but when the multitude gathered at the new center, the place where the Spirit now was, the new Holy of Holies, what did they hear when they got there? They heard the babble of languages from all over—they heard at the center what they had been hearing only at the periphery before. God had reached down inside Israel, inside the Temple, and pulled everything inside out. The Spirit “got loose” from the Temple, and away from His official handlers and representatives. God had now placed Gentile chatter at the new center. Fire rested on each of the disciples, as though each of them were an altar. And the power of the Lord was there.

Your House Is Left Desolate
But this was not done arbitrarily or capriously. The Court of the Gentiles was the place where Jesus had dealt with the moneychangers twice, and where He drove the clean animals (representing Jews) out of the area reserved for the Gentiles (Acts 10: 11-17). What did Jesus say when He did this? He said, “My house shall be called of all nations the house of prayer” (Mark 11:15-19). Jesus had visited the House of God twice, the same way a priest in the Old Testament was to visit a house with leprosy (Lev. 14: 33-48). But if the lesser measures did not suffice, then it was necessary to dismantle the house entirely, which the Romans came and did. Now when Jesus described the streaks of this particular leprosy, what were the characteristics that He mentioned? There were two—refusal to let the Gentiles approach God in order to pray to Him (for all nations), and secondly, there was grasping avarice and theft (den of thieves). This is why their house was left to them desolate (Matt. 23:38). And what did God accomplish in the new Temple, assembled out of living stones? How did the new Temple answer the dual indictment of the old Temple? The praises of God in every tongue were now at the center, and the people of God were characterized by overflowing generositry (Acts 2:44-45 ). Of course the Temple was still in the picture (Acts 2:46), but it was one of the places where believers would go with the Word, and not the anointed place from which they would come.

Pancentralized
We, living as we do in the uttermost parts of the earth (Acts 1:8) might think that the application is obvious— build churches that are as diverse as a random sampling taken from the Court of the Gentiles. But that is not quite it. This is certainly true of the Church, but all those people were in one place because of the old system. When the first missionaries got to Hawaii, they were not welcomed by a committee of Swedes, Jews, and Eskimos. The message of Pentecost does not reduce to a spiritual quota system. But at the same time, we need to recognize that the Holy of Holies is now everywhere (1 Cor. 3:16). The sanctuary has not been decentralized, but rather pancentralized.

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Ascension Sunday 2009: A Sermon for the President

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Introduction
This Lord’s Day is Ascension Sunday, the day we commemorate the exaltation of Jesus Christ at the right hand of the Ancient of Days, the day upon which He was given universal and complete authority over all nations, kings, rule and authority. Our Lord’s name is the name which is above every name, and His is the name when spoken that causes every knee to bow, and every tongue to confess, that He is Lord of heaven and earth. And, as we cannot emphasize too much, this is not an invisible spiritual truth. It is simply, undividedly, true.

The Text
“It came to pass also in the twelfth year, in the fifteenth day of the month, that the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, Son of man, wail for the multitude of Egypt, and cast them down, even her, and the daughters of the famous nations, unto the nether parts of the earth, with them that go down into the pit. Whom dost thou pass in beauty? go down, and be thou laid with the uncircumcised. They shall fall in the midst of them that are slain by the sword: she is delivered to the sword: draw her and all her multitudes. The strong among the mighty shall speak to him out of the midst of hell with them that help him: they are gone down, they lie uncircumcised, slain by the sword” (Eze 32:17-21).

Summary of the Text
One of the visions that Ezekiel was given was that of a parliament of kings, assmbled in the nether regions of Sheol. The prophet was speaking of nations which had had their time of glory under the sun, but which, inevitably, descended to the empty governance of shades and shadows. In Augustine’s trenchant phrase, among the nations of men, the dead are replaced by the dying, and however splendid an empire might be for the moment, there is no future for any nation outside of Christ. Below the earth is nothing but wisps of lost glory, and above ground archeologists might be able to find the remnants of Ozymandian ruin.

Contrast this with what we celebrate on this day of Ascension. The Lord Jesus has been given all authority in heaven and on earth, and He must reign until He has made His enemies a footstool. Of the increase of His government there will be no end. Unbelieving kings descend to nothing. The faithful king has ascended, and He shall reign for ever and ever.

Statement of the Evil
When President Obama was first elected to the presidency, I decided that at some point something was going to have to be said, and the only question was when and how. The clearest and most obvious time for this, it seems, is in the time before our new president’s first nomination to the Supreme Court. That time is now, and Ascension Sunday is an appropriate time to set the law of God and the laws of men side by side in order to have a look at them.

The claims of Jesus Christ are inescapably political, and nothing whatever can be done to alter or change that. It is unfaithfulness even to think about trying to alter that. But Jesus Christ must not be invoked in a partisan way, which is quite different. These are words that are being declared by a Christian minister, and not by a Republican operative. In the first place, I am not a Republican, and, secondly, if I were, it would remain my duty as a minister to point out that Justice Souter, who is being replaced, was a Republican appointment to the High Court. We need to remember that many of the justices whose robes are soaked with the blood of the innocents were Republican appointees.

Recognition of an Oddity
Now it may seem odd to preach to someone who is not present. But there are three reasons for preaching such a message anyway. First, this is a message that all Americans need to hear because we elected you as our president. You are a representative civil head, and there is no way to address you without addressing the nation. All of us need to hear this. Second, we need to return to the time when kings were aware of the pulpit. Mary of Scots did not attend church services where Knox preached, but they were the kind of sermons she would hear about. The Church is not called to be a lobbying agency, so if we have something lawful and necessary to say to you as the magistrate, it should be said here. And the third point is related. Ecclesiastes tells us that even a little bird can get a message to a king (Ecc. 10:20). True, that is in the context of urging us to watch carefully what we say, and so every word of this message is both measured and weighed. And while a righteousness king might find out what ungodly say about him, it is also true that an unrighteous ruler might in this way be confronted with the plain teaching of the Word of God.

The Requirement of Heaven
Mr. President, your past record, your campaign promises, your political affiliations, your supporters, your political philosophy, and your record since the election, all consistently indicate that your appointment to the Supreme Court will be a pro-abortion nominee, one who favors the continued recognition of a ghoulish “right” to slaughter the unborn. Your rhetoric, as displayed recently at Notre Dame, hypocritically aspires to transcend this debate, but your record and actions indicate otherwise. You are radically down to earth in your support of unrestricted abortion rights. This means that you will, or you have, nominated a pro-abortion judge to this vacancy. And so we come to the central point of this message, declared by a minister of Jesus Christ, speaking in His name and on His behalf. You may not do this. And if by the time this message is preached, you have already placed such a name in nomination, you are commanded by the Lord Jesus to repent and withdraw that name. The one to whom you answer forbids what you are doing.

You said in the campaign that you did not have “a litmus test” for your nominees, but it is important for you to know and recognize that the Lord Jesus does have a litmus test for judges. He requires them to hate injustice and to judge righteously (Dt. 1:16), to defend the fatherless (Is. 1:23; Jer. 5:28), and to keep the land from being soaked with the blood of innocents (Hos. 6:6-8; Ps. 10:18).

Only Sheep and Goats
The kings in our text discovered what it was to sink away from the presence of the Lord. Faithful kings bring their honor and glory into the New Jerusalem, but those who descend into the pit are tumbling from a great height, a height which they refused to understand. Josef Stalin once dismissively asked how many divisions the pope had, but this betrays a radical confusion about the nature of Christ’s rule. It is kings who hide in the rocks of the mountains (Rev. 6:15). God is the one who sent an angel to summon the birds of the air so that they might gorge themselves on the flesh of kings (Rev. 19:18). When you finally come to stand before Him, the one who is a true King, there will be no presidents or parliaments, no Congresses and no courts. There will only be sheep and goats.

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Easter: The End of the World Is History

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Introduction

We too often hold to the great truths of the resurrection of Jesus in a piecemeal fashion. We gather a bit here and a bit there, and the assemblage is generally orthodox. But this approach has resulted in some unfortunate gaps. The Lord is risen. He is risen indeed. But what does this mean here and now?

The Text

“But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you . . . And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body” (Rom. 8: 11, 23).

Summary of the Text

We will be dealing with the argument of Romans 8 in a few months, as we continue to work through the book. For the present, we simply want to place these comments from Paul into the broader context. First, we see that Jesus was raised from the dead by the power of the Holy Spirit (v. 11). This Spirit, the one who raised Jesus, is the same one who indwells Christians (v. 11). Being the same Spirit, He will certainly accomplish the same work. The one who raised Jesus was the Father, and He accomplished His work by means of the Spirit—the Spirit who dwells in us. The one who quickened Christ’s body is the one who will quicken our body. Not only will we be raised by the Spirit who lives in us, we long for that day of resurrection because of the Spirit who lives in us (v. 23). We are going to be raised because the principle of resurrection life has already been embedded in us, and that principle causes us to lean toward the day of resurrection. We groan, waiting for our final adoption, the redemption of the body, the final resurrection (v. 23). We do this in the same way that a pregnant woman groans, longing for the day of her delivery. Something within us is inexorably coming to fruition.

The Last Day Now

The Jews rightly expected the general resurrection of the dead to occur at the Last Day. “Martha saith unto him, I know that he shall rise again in the resurrection at the last day” (Jn. 11:24). Martha knew, and knew rightly, that her brother was goinng to be raised at the culmination of human history. What she and the others did not know is that God intended to start that resurrection early, in the raising of Jesus. When the Bible describes Jesus as the firstfruits of the resurrection (1 Cor. 15:20), or as the first born from among the dead (Col. 1:18), we are intended to see that His resurrection and ours are all part of the same event. God has intruded the events of the end of history into the middle of history. He did this because history, as it was going, was all messed up. God planted the glory of the end right in the middle. This means that, in the resurrection of the Christ, the end of the world is history.

If the history the world before Christ was a long, grim and terrible novel, God has wonderfully flipped ahead to the last chapter, while we were stuck in the middle of the book, and has written the denouement into the middle of the book, transforming the book entirely. Instead of endless ache and tragedy, we now have, in Pastor Leithart’s words, deep comedy.

All Glorified

One very important implication of this identification of Christ’s resurrection in the middle of history with ours at the end of it is that it banishes a very common, and very heterodox assumption among evangelical Christians. We believe in the bodily resurrection of Jesus, and know that those who don’t are liberals. They have denied the faith. If Christ is not raised, we are still in our sins. But what happened to Jesus is the same thing that will happen to us. And yet many Christians believe that their existence in the afterlife will be as some kind of ethereal, ghostly, floaty thing. No—your body will be raised. You will have hands and feet, glorified. You will have a torso, glorified. You will havelungs, heart, face and ribs, all restored, perfected, and glorified. We do not believe in the immortality of ghosts or mental essences, but rather in the resurrection of the body.

“And they gave him a piece of a broiled fish, and of an honeycomb. And he took it, and did eat before them” (Luke 24:42-43). “For our conversation is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ: Who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body, according to the working whereby he is able even to subdue all things unto himself” (Phil. 3:20-21)

The Groaning of God

Now we must place all this in the context of Paul’s larger argument in Romans 8. The whole creation groans (v. 22). We, because we have the Spirit, groan also as we long for the day of resurrection (v. 23). And the Spirit helps us in our weakness—since we do not know yet what it will be like (as He does)—and He does this with groans too deep for words (v. 26). Now there are many lessons to be drawn from this, but for the time being, let us content ourselves with just one. The day of resurrection will include the world around you as much as it will include you. The created order is longing for the day of resurrection just as you are. Now note—it is not the case that you are longing for resurrection and the created order is longing for the oblivion of Nirvana. You are straining toward the same thing that the Sawtooth range, the Pacific Ocean, the Great Plains, the Crab Nebula, all the animals, and the grove of trees on that back acre of yours are longing for—the transformation and restoration of all things. This world will die, just as you will. But the world will also be raised, every bit as much as you will be. God is not saving you while writing off the world around you as a bad investment. He is in the process of saving it all.

God is not going to raise you to life again, and not giv e you somewhere to stand. He is not going to whisk you away to some alien place. Because of the blood of Jesus, in the resurrection of all things, a reconciliation between heaven and earth will be accomplished (Col. 1:20). This means that this world will be very much a part of what we now call Heaven. Nothing of value will ever be finally lost. When everything is gathered in, it will all be gathered in.

The Sky Above and Earth Below

The Lord has risen—He is risen indeed. But this is not just to be believed as an isolated datum. It is also to be preached, and the relevance of it to every living creature is to be pressed. In this glorious truth, we therefore see the salvation of history. We see the salvation of our mortal bodies, which will all be transformed in order to be conformed to the image of the First Man. And we see the restoration of the sky above and the earth below. When meditating on the future of our world, never make the mistake of thinking that our God will stint in His work.

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Palm Sunday 2009: To His Own Master

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Introduction

We have many times addressed how much we need to learn how to define our days in Christian terms. The salvation that Jesus Christ brought to the world was a public salvation. He was crucified in the public square, and His resurrection was not done in secret. Connected to this, we have to recognize that one of the most public aspects of any culture is the calendar they use. The secular state’s attempts to define time in secular terms is simply a desire to seize control of time, within which you may worship your private god . . . on the weekends. We have been resisting this peculiar form of encroachment for many years. But there is another important aspect to all of this. If we wanted to build a Christian library, a good place to start would be with biblical shelves, biblical forms, biblical containers. But we also need to be careful to fill those shelves up with biblical books. We must also be concerned with biblical content for a biblical calendar.

The Text

“Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holyday, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days: 17Which are a shadow of things to come; but the body is of Christ. 18Let no man beguile you of your reward in a voluntary humility and worshipping of angels, intruding into those things which he hath not seen, vainly puffed up by his fleshly mind, 19And not holding the Head, from which all the body by joints and bands having nourishment ministered, and knit together, increaseth with the increase of God. 20Wherefore if ye be dead with Christ from the rudiments of the world, why, as though living in the world, are ye subject to ordinances, 21(Touch not; taste not; handle not; 22Which all are to perish with the using;) after the commandments and doctrines of men? 23Which things have indeed a shew of wisdom in will worship, and humility, and neglecting of the body; not in any honour to the satisfying of the flesh” (Col 2:16-23).

Summary of the Text

This is Palm Sunday 2009, and next Lord’s Day is our celebration of Easter. We are finishing the season of Lent, a time of historic preparation for Easter. Advent, Christmas, Lent, Easter, Ascension, Pentecost—these are the bookshelves. What kind of books shall we place there? In our text, note that there is a type of calendar observance concerning which Christians should beware of trouble. There is a type of old calendar observance which ought not to be brought over into the era of Christ (v. 16). The old Judaic calendar was a shadow of Christ, but we now have Christ Himself (v. 17). There is a beguiling attraction to “voluntary humility,” but it is only attractive to those with a puffed up fleshly mind (v. 18). This kind of thing does not hold fast to the Head, and does not grow into the body of Christ as it ought to do (v. 19). If you are dead with Christ to the “rudiments” of the world (v. 20), then why do you submit to decress that say “Don’t, don’t don’t” (v. 21)? These things perish with the using, and are in line with the commandments and ordinances of men (v. 22). And indeed, there is an appearance of wisdomin the aesceticism here, but this kind of thing is of no value in actually checking the indulgence of the flesh (v. 23).

First Things First

If the text says, in the first place, not to let anyone judge you with regard to food or drink, or with regard to holy days, then surely it should be a dubious application for you to begin your application of this text by judging somebody else for their food or drink, or their celebration of a holy day. Surely our application here should be in accordance with the apostle’s instructions—”One man esteemeth one day above another: another esteemeth every day alike. Let every man be fully persuaded in his own mind. He that regardeth the day, regardeth it unto the Lord; and he that regardeth not the day, to the Lord he doth not regard it” (Rom. 14:5-6). Paul does not say what particular days were in view here, but surely if it applied to old covenant days that were carried by some over into the time of Christ, it would include observances like Lent. If somebody else observes the calendar differently than you do, then the best thing to do would be to follow the Pauline policy of letting them.

To Your Own Master

So as you and your family mark your days in the light of Christ’s coming, and at this time of year, in the light of His resurrection, what sorts of things should you be concentrating on? When it comes to observances like this, what should you be careful to remember? First, there are two kinds of observances. One remembers Christ and focuses on Him; the other obscures Him. We live after the Incarnation, which certainly allows for commemoration, but ought not to allow for commemorative shadows. Secondly, cling to anything that knits you more tightly to the Head, and not every bright religious idea does that. The discipline that is good for you is discipline that “increaseth with the increase of God.” God is not the one who specializes in taking away, decreasing. Third, discipline is good and necessary, and ascetism is not—which leads to the next point.

No Value

Note this translation of verse 23. “These have indeed an appearance of wisdom in promoting self-made religion and asceticism and severity to the body, but they are of no value in stopping the indulgence of the flesh” (Col 2:23, ESV). They are of no value in stopping fleshly indulgence because, at bottom, they are fleshly indulgence. There is a very common religious turn of mind that supposes godliness consists of giving things up. As Paul says here, there is an appearance of wisdom in it, and I want to argue it is because there is an element of truth in it. A wise mother says no to a bunch of candy half an hour before dinner—a no that makes way for the yes. God says no to drunkenness because He wants to pour out His Spirit (Eph. 5: 18). An athlete in training says no to a number of lawful things so that he may obtain the yes of the trophy. If you havea friend giving things up for Lent, don’t accuse him of doing it the wrong way. Whether he is or not, you are judging him with regard to food and drink the wrong way.

But consider your own case. The counterfeit of godly, balanced discipline lurks nearby, and for conservative Bible believers, it is always right at the elbow, plucking at the sleeve. This is the notion that God is somehow pleased with no in its own right, for its own sake. It is this mentality that has destroyed sabbath keeping in the lives of many. “God says no because . . . because, well, because He just likes to! And He is God, so you have to let Him be like that.” This is a vision of God that lies deep in our bones, and we must learn to mortify it. For those who consider each day alike, God bless you. Keep after it, unto the Lord. Those who want to mark your days and months in terms of the Lord’s coming, His death and resurrection, as we as a congregation have been doing, should lean into it this way. Next year for Lent . . . add something. Read the New Testament. Visit the sick. Give money to famine relief. Memorize three psalms. No doubt you would have to give something up to accomplish such things, but if you did it right, you might not even know what it was.

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