Born to Save Sinners

“The LORD was with Joseph and showed him steadfast love and gave him favor in the sight of the keeper of the prison.” –Genesis 39:21

Joseph was in Egypt, but not by choice. He was beaten by his brothers, thrown into a pit only to be pulled out of the pit to be sold into slavery. Yet, the Lord’s favor promised in dreams of his brothers kneeling before him remained on Joseph. He was appointed by his Egyptian master Potiphar to head the home, and his master prospered and had no worries under Joseph’s care.

Yet, Potiphar’s wife kept making sexual advances at the young, handsome Hebrew. Joseph remained faithful saying, “How then can I do this great wickedness and sin against God” (Genesis 39:9)? The lustful woman kept advancing, one day trapping Joseph only to see him flee from evil. In the chaos, she held Joseph’s garment and deceived her husband into believing Joseph was the evil one. Potiphar then threw Joseph in the pit, though he did no wrong.

It is here Moses reminds us God’s steadfast love and favor remained on Joseph, and this time in the sight of the prison master. Moses inserts a short story about his brother Judah before returning to the Joseph narrative in Genesis 38, a chapter filled with sexual immorality. First, Judah took a Canaanite woman as a wife, something God prohibited. Then, Judah found a wife for his son named Tamar, who was widowed as both Judah’s sons were wicked and the Lord took their lives.

Tamar then dressed as a cult prostitute to seduce her father-in-law Judah, only to disappear with his belongings. When she was found to be pregnant, Judah judged her guilty and deserving death (Genesis 38:24). Yet, Tamar brought out Judah’s belongings which proved his culpability. It is here, Judah confessed Tamar to be more righteous than him, which in a way confesses his guilt and deserving more than death (vs 26).

Why does God’s Word tell us Joseph has God’s steadfast love and favor on him, yet he is imprisoned and suffers for sexual crimes he did not commit while Judah commits heinous sexual crimes, confesses guilt, and does not suffer as Joseph does? Read on, and we find Judah confessing he deserves punishment for his sin against Joseph (Genesis 44:16), only for Joseph to reconcile with his guilty brothers, draw them near to himself and tell them God sent Joseph ahead in suffering then exaltation to preserve their lives (Genesis 45:4-5). What the brothers meant for evil, God sovereignly meant for good (Genesis 50:20). By his sufferings, the brothers’ lives where preserved by God’s hand.

Think deeply what God is pointing us to in the favored Son Jesus Christ. He is perfectly righteous, yet treated as a great criminal. Suffering mockery and beatings. By His wounds we have inflicted on the Son of God, we sinners are healed. He suffered instead of us, and by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone we receive His benefits.

Think about the great evil of Judah and his brothers, plotting evil against their brother with intense jealousy. Jesus taught on this evil in His parable of the wicked tenants. The tenants were left the vineyard as the master went to the far country. Sending servants to receive his share, the tenants beat them all. Finally, the master sent his son, but the wicked tenants killed the son expecting to take his inheritance (Matthew 21:38).

Jacob, Joseph and the brothers’ father, passed away with a final request for Joseph to forgive his brothers all their sins (Genesis 50:17). On His cross, our Lord cried out, “Forgive them Father, for they know not what they do” (Luke 23:34). At Jacob’s funeral, Joseph gathered his brothers now forgiven and said not to fear twice, then a promise of good. He will provide for them.

Joseph was born to suffer, then be exalted to save his wicked brothers, all by God’s sovereign hand. Deeper still, the sinless Christ was born to save sinners as Joseph was told to name Him Jesus (Matthew 1:21), a saying trustworthy and deserving your full acceptance (I Timothy 1:15).

Dear sinner, think upon the sufferings of the Man of Sorrows. Jesus did this willingly. Christmas is the time we meditate on the Son of God taking on flesh, being rejected and despised, suffered and crucified as a criminal though He did not wrong, to save the wicked. Deeper than the weeping Joseph’s drawing his wicked brothers to himself with forgiveness, Jesus draws sinners to Himself to forgive us and reconcile us to our heavenly Father. Sinner, believe upon Christ and call upon the name of the Lord and be saved.

As Linus concluding in his reading of Luke 2, “That’s what Christmas is all about Charlie Brown.”

This is what Christmas is all about. God sending His favored Son to suffer and die instead of you to save many, glorifying our God who is mighty to save.

Heavenly Father, as this season draws family and friends together, remind us why Jesus came into the world: to save sinners. A sinner like me. All praise be to our gracious God who placed our guilt on Christ and His righteousness on us that we may glorify our God and enjoy You forever. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Have the Son and Have Assurance

 "Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life." –I John 5:12

 Do you know the details of Christianity to believe in? Christ is truly God and became human, suffered and died on a cross, buried, then on the third day rose again? Chances are you say, “Yes, I believe this.” Yet, there is a nagging doubt which creeps up in the Christian’s mind time and again telling us, “you know these details, but will they save you when death comes for you?”

John assures the Christian of eternal life in this: whoever has the Son has life. My righteous deeds and my strength waxes and wanes, my life is but a vapor. I cannot fix my confidence in these things to quiet my restless, anxious soul with any assurance. Rather, I must fix my confidence on eternal righteousness, strength, and life that never fails for assurance.

Martin Luther was a 16^th Century monk plagued with doubts and troubles of the soul when he fixed his confidence on himself. Luther pursued the monastic life with an exhausting, self-deprecating attempt at holiness before a perfectly holy God. Lacking assurance of salvation, with anguish in the soul viewing God as a tyrant to demand such perfection, Luther discovered the Greek verse of Romans 1:17, “in [the gospel] the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, ‘The righteous shall live by faith.’” Faith, that is, in Christ.

Christ obeyed the Father even to the point of death, and He is eternally righteous as the righteousness of God revealed. By faith you are in Christ. By faith His perfect obedience and the righteousness of God is yours as far and as long as Christ is righteous. By faith His eternal life is yours as long as Christ lives. By faith His mighty grip of His right hand holds you as long as He has strength.

Take comfort, Christian, in He who overcomes the world. Be diligent, wrote Peter, “to confirm your calling and election” with self-examination. May such an examination drive you more to Christ for assurance. This is the very reason John said he wrote these things, that those who believe in Jesus “may know that you have eternal life” (I John 5:13).

Look at Christ’s baptism when you consider your own. “This is My beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased” (Matthew 3:17). By faith in Christ you have the Son. The Father says of you, “This is My beloved Child, with whom I am well (eternally) pleased.” Take your restless, troubled soul by faith in Christ to the Father by the strength of the Holy Spirit. Take your rest there and you will find assurance of your salvation.

Heavenly Father, help us fix our confidence in Christ Your beloved Son to find assurance of Your salvation, this precious gospel, for our souls troubled by our feebleness. May such assurance of Your strength by Your eternal purposes drive us to the good works You created us in Christ Jesus for. And be glorified in Your church. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

The Craftsmanship of God

 

“We are His craftsmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.” -Ephesians 2:10

Do you produce good works to the praise of God? Look at the world’s applause. From charity to words the world finds profound, applause goes to people, community organizations, and movements. People form non-profit organizations for causes and good works which are championed to fix some wrong in the world and driven by applause.

The church of Jesus Christ is radically different. First, notice Christians are God’s craftsmanship rather than works of our own creation or identity. We were dead in our trespasses against God, producing evil works. God made us alive together in Christ Jesus. God’s hands gathered the church for His eternal purpose as opposed to someone organizing a group for earthly purposes.

The Christian individually and the church as a whole are God’s craftsmanship created in Christ Jesus. The power of our repentance from evil and toward God is found being in Christ Jesus. Paul told the Roman church that Christians are more than conquerors of tribulation, distress, persecution, famine, nakedness, peril, and sword by being in Christ bonded in God’s love for us which nothing can separate us from (Romans 8:31-39). This is God’s grace of salvation in Christ Jesus, a free gift of God received by faith alone (Ephesians 2:8-9).

What did God create us in Christ Jesus for? Good works. The world is driven by the applause of the world. The church is driven by the joy of God. “The joy of the Lord is our strength” (Nehemiah 8:10). By God creating us into new creatures by His craftsmanship, we are in Christ and His complete joy is in us (John15:11). We produce the fruit of the Spirit of joy in the face of sadness and suffering!

Not FROM works, but FOR works. These are the works of God, creating new creations from old, bringing the dead into newness of life in Christ Jesus, in His death, burial, and resurrection. The church performs good works of love, serving our neighbors in our newly transformed minds, hearts, and bodies. Luther famously said, “God does not need our good works, but our neighbor does.”

What kind of works? Jesus said at the final judgment when he returns, he will reward people for feeding him when he was hungry, giving him drink when he was thirsty, clothing him when he was naked, visiting him when he was in prison, welcoming him when he was a stranger. The righteous will ask when we saw Jesus in these ways? Jesus said, “Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me” (Matthew 25:40).

The world wants to produce these fruits to some extent, but only for applause that you are a good person, or your non-profit organization is a good group of people. The church produces good works in Christ Jesus for the eternal praise of God for we are His craftsmanship.

Do not produce fruit in hopes of applause that you are a good person. Produce the works for you created by God beforehand that you may walk in them. To the praise of God alone whom you serve in your treatment of the church and your neighbor.

Heavenly Father, all our minds, hearts, and labors are in Your mighty hands. Mold us by Your excellent craftsmanship into good works. Forgive us where we have been like the priest who passed the beaten man and craft us into the Good Samaritan. Produce good works of joy in the face of suffering and selfless service in this perishing, self-serving, boastful world to the praise of Your glorious name. In Jesus we pray for such mercies. Amen.

The Sweet, Precious Words of Jesus

“More to be desired are [the words of the Lord] than gold, even much fine gold; sweeter also than honey and drippings of the honeycomb.” -Psalm 19:10

Some handle the Bible as simply a book of facts. The stories are real and there are moral nuggets to extrapolate, but the Bible’s worth ends there. Others handle the Bible as only a book of life application. Its only value being found in how I am to live…or want to live. Both of these blurry lenses to view God’s Word are removed in this one verse in the Psalms.

For the worshiper of God, the Word of God is desirable. The law, testimony, precepts, commandments, fear of the Lord, and rules found in the Bible as described in the previous verses are more precious and valuable than pure gold, sweeter than fresh drippings of honey from a honeycomb. This Psalm isn’t sung by someone simply wanting cold, hard facts from God or simply wanting a life application and motivational speech from God. This is sung by someone who read the Bible as God revealing Himself to be utterly glorious as well as a God to be delighted in.

Sin and affliction do not make my heart glad. No matter how much I invest in myself from either of these two human experiences, no matter how much I praise or justify sinfulness, my heart is not glad. Gladness of heart comes from the reality of this Psalm. To deeply desire God’s voice, the voice of our Good Shepherd upon the narrow road, the lamp unto our feet. To find God’s Word as sweet and enjoyable. 

This is enjoyed by a sinner forgiven, yes. Deeper still, this is enjoyed by a prodigal son welcomed home by the father and into a celebration (Luke 15:11-32). This is enjoyed by the principled self-righteous persecutor Saul of Tarsus when the resurrected Jesus knocked him down (Acts 9). In this I enjoy God’s Word, as a prideful, ugly sinner who once thought I could out-think Christianity and exceed in truth and morality greater than the teachings of Christ and His followers.

How did Jesus’ words become so sweet and so precious to me? Jesus Himself became sweet and precious to me. The Bible didn’t simply show me facts or how to live. The Bible shows me Christ.

How sweet and precious Jesus is to me. Even when following the voice of my Good Shepherd leads to pain, my heart confesses Peter’s response, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life” (John 6:68). Sweet, precious words of eternal life. In my foolishness, I am prone to wander. His Word restores my life (Psalm 119:107). In my sadness and terrors of the night, His Word leads me to the Rock of my salvation (Psalm 62:1-2). In my fears, His Word reminds me He is beside me and I may sleep and wake again (Psalm 3:5-6).

His Word no longer condemns me as a criminal of His law, for I, even a sinner as I, belong to Christ (Romans 8:1). The pure law of God with its perfect precepts and rules I have broken was faithfully and perfectly obeyed by Christ (Philippians 2:8). My precious, sweet Savior is my righteousness before God. My blind eyes are opened, my deaf ears can hear, but my Lord who speaks the words of eternal life.

I plead with you to hear the precious, sweet words of the Lord Jesus Christ, these words of eternal life, and follow the Good Shepherd. You are not too great a sinner, too disheartened, or too self-righteous and intelligent for the only wise King Jesus to rescue from the wrath of God. Hear His precious, sweet words of eternal life and follow Him.

Heavenly Father, my prayer to You is for the readers to know You, to hear Your perfect law and discover the preciousness and sweetness of the words of our Lord! Open their ears to hear Christ’s words of eternal life and follow. You are altogether lovely and glorious, a God of great works worthy of eternal praise. Hallelujah to our great God and Savior! In Jesus’ name. Amen.