"In Christ Alone"

In 2001, Keith Getty and Stuart Townend wrote and published a song called "In Christ Alone." They probably didn't know that it would become a classic hymn of the church. It's in my "top five hymns of all time" list. We sang it in church last Sunday and I was reminded of just how good it is. Here it is:

In Christ alone my hope is found;
He is my light, my strength, my song;
This cornerstone, this solid ground,
Firm through the fiercest drought and storm.
What heights of love, what depths of peace,
When fears are stilled, when strivings cease!
My comforter, my all in all -
Here in the love of Christ I stand.

In Christ alone, Who took on flesh,
Fulness of God in helpless babe!
This gift of love and righteousness,
Scorned by the ones He came to save.
Till on that cross as Jesus died,
The wrath of God was satisfied;
For ev'ry sin on Him was laid -
Here in the death of Christ I live.

There in the ground His body lay,
Light of the world by darkness slain;
Then bursting forth in glorious day,
Up from the grave He rose again!
And as He stands in victory,
Sin's curse has lost its grip on me;
For I am His and He is mine -
Bought with the precious blood of Christ.

No guilt in life, no fear in death -
This is the pow'r of Chirst in me;
From life's first cry to final breath,
Jesus commands my destiny.
No pow'r of hell, no scheme of man,
Can ever pluck me from His hand;
Till He returns or calls me home -
Here in the pow'r of Christ I'll stand.

This hymn never fails to bring tears to my eyes - the realization, that is, that it is only because of Jesus Christ and His finished work on my behalf that I can stand in His presence. Deep theology wrapped in excellent music. What more could we ask for?

Good Friday

The verse of the moment for Good Friday -

He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf that we might become the righteousness of God (2 Cor. 5:21).

Jesus, who died a vicious, cruel, horrible, and bloody death - crucified on a cross - did it for the salvation of His people. He died a sacrificial death for our sins as our substitute. He offers us His perfect righteousness in exchange for our sins - the great exchange! That's what Good Friday is all about.

Reflections on Luke 4

My reading in Luke's Gospel has brought me to chapter 4. Obviously I could be reading it a lot quicker, but I'm listening to a sermon series on it as a supplement, too (and I don't necessarily want to listen to as many sermons as it takes to cover three or four chapters every day!).

Luke 4 shows, among other things, what Jesus came to do - obey His Father, proclaim His Father's Word, and heal some of the sick (not all). Several things jumped out at me from this chapter.

First, Jesus Christ perfectly obeyed His Father.
In verses 1-13, we have the account of Satan's temptation of Jesus. The Lord Jesus, unlike Adam, resisted temptation and obeyed His Father. By doing so, Jesus is known as the "Second Adam" or the "Last Adam." Adam was the federal head (or representative) of all mankind - he represented each and every one of us in the garden of Eden. Christ is the federal head (or representative) of His people - He represents each and every person who will ever repent of their sins and trust Him alone for their salvation.

Just as Satan tempted Adam, he also tempted Christ. (By the way, I'm not forgetting about Eve. She was tempted, too, but Adam was the responsible party in God's economy.) The most important difference is the result - Adam disobeyed, failed the test, and was banished from the garden. Jesus, on the other hand, obeyed, passed the test, and restored paradise lost.

This episode points to the fact that Jesus perfectly obeyed His Father for every moment of His life. Perfection is what God demands from us because He is righteous, and none of us - "no not one" - can give it to Him. We fall dreadfully short of God's standard. But here's the good news - the Lord Jesus Christ has obeyed in our place! He has satisfied the Father's demand for perfection and lived the life we can't live - all because of His grace, mercy, and love. Then, when we believe in Christ, that perfect righteousness of His is imputed to us.

Second, Jesus Christ was faithful in attendance at worship.
"And He (Jesus) came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up. And as was His custom, He went to the synagogue on the Sabbath day" (verse 16). Did you catch it? The little phrase "as was His custom" jumped out at me several years ago. The point being made is that Jesus was a regular synagogue attender. He attended worship services on a consistent basis because he was a faithful Jew. He didn't "forsake assembling together" with the people of God. When the Sabbath came, He was there.

Think about that! The synagogues of Jesus' time weren't perfect by any stretch of the imagination. They were full of sinful people, many of whom had the same attitudes and actions that the Lord condemned in the Gospels. I'm certain that none of the synagogues did things exactly the way Jesus knew they should. Their doctrine wasn't perfect. They had misunderstandings about the personality and the role of the Messiah in Israel's history. Not only that, but the synagogue system wasn't commanded in the Old Testament - it developed during the periods when the Jews were exiled away from Israel.

So why did He go every week? Because that's what people who are faithful to God do. They regularly gather together with other believers in order to sing, pray, give, read and obey Scripture, and minister to one another. He went every week because He perfectly obeyed His Father (see verses 1-13).

There's a great lesson in that little phrase "as was His custom." Everything said about the synagogue of Jesus' day applies to the church of today. Why should we go every week? Because God commands it and it's what people faithful to God do. If "as was His custom" was good enough for Christ, it should be good enough for us, too.

Reflections from Luke 3

Luke 3 deals primarily with the identity of Jesus Christ. He is preceded by John the Baptist (3:2-20). He was baptized and given the Father's verbal blessing (3:21-22). His genealogy proves He is the Son of God and God the Son (3:23-38).

John said that Jesus is "the Lord" (verse 4) and the One who will bring "the salvation of God" (verse 6). He procalimed that Jesus was "mightier" than he was (verse 16) and the One who will "baptize you with the Holy Spirit" (verse 16). In short, Jesus is the Messiah, the Savior.

Jesus was declared to be the Son of God by God the Father in verse 22 - And the Holy Spirit descended on him (Jesus) in bodily form, like a dove; and a voice came from heaven, "You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased."

Finally, Jesus is proven to be the Son of God and God the Son by His ancestry - His genealogy. This is Joseph's line, not Mary's (which is recorded in Matthew's Gospel), which explains an objection some have raised (specifically, that it seems that Jesus has two different genealogies).

John's statement and attitude of submission in verse 16 jumped out at me. John said, "I baptize you with water, but he who is mightier than I is coming, the strap of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie." John was an extremely important part of God's plan to prepare the way for the Messiah - he played a key role. In fact, Jesus said that there was no one greater than John in His kingdom (Matthew 11:11). With all of that being said, John did not see himself as anything or anyone important. He said he wasn't even worthy to do the most menial task for Jesus - untying His sandals. John realized that he was the messenger and that Christ is the Message. That's a tremendous example of submission and servanthood. John says it another way in John 3:30 - "He must increase, but I must decrease." I need that attitude today and, I suppose, some of you do, too.

Lord, may the Lord Jesus Christ increase and may I decrease. He's mightier than I, and I am not worthy to untie the strap of His sandals - the One in whom You are well pleased.

"Can I Get a Witness?" from Luke 2

Luke 2 contains some of the most memorable sections in all of the Bible. The birth narrative of Jesus is familiar even to those who know very little of the content of the Bible. In my reading of this chapter, two themes jumped out at me.

First, a number of different people (or creatures) gave testimony to confirm the identity of Jesus Christ.

1. Angels (verses 10-11). They said to the shepherds, "I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord."

2. Shepherds (verses 17-18,20). After the shepherd saw Jesus, they "spread the word concerning" what they had seen and whom they had met.

3. Mary - "But Mary treasured up all these things in her heart" (verse 19).

4. Simeon (verses 28-32). The Holy Spirit had promised him that he would not die until he had seen the Messiah. When he saw Jesus at the temple with His parents, he saw the Messiah.

5. Anna the prophetess (verses 36-38).

6. Jesus Himself (verse 49). When Joseph and Mary found Him in the temple, He said to them, "Why were you searching for me? Didn't you know I had to be in My Father's house?"

Second, what, or who, did all these witnesses reveal Jesus Christ to be?

First, He is revealed to be the Savior.
The angels proclaimed it best when they said, "Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you" (verse 11). He is God's "salvation" according to Simeon in verses 30 and 31. Anna says He is "the redemption of Jerusalem" in verse 38.

Next, He is revealed to be the Lord.
Once again, the angels announce to the shepherds that the newborn Jesus is "the Lord" in verse 11.

Finally, He is revealed to be the Son.
Jesus said that He "had to be in my Father's house" (verse 49). Of course, the Father He's speaking of is God the Father, whose "house" was the temple in Jerusalem.

The Gospel of Luke (and all of the Bible for that matter) points us to the Lord Jesus Christ. That's especially true in the Gospels. Whatever else we may find there, and however interesting it may be, it's all about Him ultimately.

Jesus is Savior, Lord, and Son of the Father. He was then and He is now! Praise God!