Category: Theological Thoughts

Lecture One: A Biography of the Devil’s Strategies

In this first talk, I will explain the devil’s wicked schemes and how he seeks to devour us.

Lecture Two: The Priestly Armor: A Theology of Perseverance

In this second talk, I will provide the basis of our perseverance. The Christian is not left naked among the many schemes of the Devil, but rather he is assured that the great High Priest, Jesus, will cover him with his own righteous armor, vindicated at the Resurrection.

Lecture Three: The Foundation of Truth and Righteousness

In this third talk, I will offer the opening features of this armor. They are given to establish a proper foundation for the Christian. His priesthood is fastened to the very fabric of his being. This is a work wrought by the Spirit of God. Unlike the old Adam, the armored Christian receives the Spirit of the Risen Messiah.

Lecture Four: Activating Gospel Confidence

In this fourth talk, I will argue that faith activates the armor so that it can produce good fruits. Without faith, it is impossible to walk rightly and defend yourself against the many devilish strategies.

Lecture Five: The Aaronic Benediction: Sending Forth Armored Warriors

Finally, I will explain why prayer is a priestly benediction. We pray so God may send us out as good stewards of this armor. Our identity is found in the armored One who fought for us and our salvation and now sends us out armored by our baptismal clothing to go forth as sons and daughters of God into war.

This Supper is a Trinitarian event. Here at this table, the Father who is kind to His children offers us the living Bread of His Son, which He does through the baptism of His Spirit. Jesus has ascended into heaven and is no longer with us in the flesh. But He is with us, both here at this table, and elsewhere, through the power of the Spirit, as the Lord who is Spirit.[1] The Lord’s Table is a Pentecostal meal.

In Acts 2, the outworking of this Spirit-presence is the breaking of the bread among brothers and sisters. Food brings people together and it is purposefully given to us to bind our hearts and minds in the bond of peace. This feast is a unifying feast; an invitation to taste of the mercies of Christ by the power of the Spirit. Today, all of you baptized in the Name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are called to this table. The Spirit of God says, “Come.”

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[1] Leithart

Francis Shaeffer observed that “what we are in our thought world determines how we act.”[1] The Apostle Paul articulates this point well in his resurrection theology. Underneath all the dismaying problems in Corinth, there was one massive theological fallacy: they denied the resurrection of the dead. By doing so, they denied the “importance of the world that God created.”[2] And when you deny creation’s importance, when you deny the future of a renewed creation, morality is also denied a central place in our lives. We are not moralists, but we are moral. We are called to be moral and ethical because we properly understand our bodies and their future in creation.

We do not preach the resurrection of Jesus so that you may find your human potential or enlightened self-understanding. We preach the resurrection of Jesus so you may live resurrected lives now, avoiding the deeds of the flesh and submitting to Christ as Lord of everything.

On the other hand, we do not preach the resurrection, so you may daydream about going to heaven and drinking the pietists’ champagne. The resurrection is not declared so you can spend more time meditating and introspecting. The resurrection is declared so you may strive for righteousness and find joy and delight in serving our Lord.

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[1] Francis Schaeffer, How Shal We Then Live? Pg. 19

[2] Hays, 277.

It would make you weep if I were able to tell you what that was like, it was so beautiful and true and lovely. But this is something like the words of its song…” – The Princess and Curdie

By George MacDonald

Tune (Dear Friend) by Uri Brito from the chapter “Curdie’s Mission”

You can also read my lengthy review of the book in my substack.

In the joy of worship, we learn the gift of endurance. We learn to live as a new creation in the resurrected reality of the empty tomb, which equips us to see our future reality by faith; to trust in the glorified, bodily reign of King Jesus. It is the resurrection of Messiah Jesus that gives us the lenses to interpret our world.

Then, when pundits utter prophecies of doom, when turbulent times come, when relationships are crumbling, when Satan as a roaring lion is knocking at your door, when the temptations to join other parties seem overwhelming, when the love of your friends and neighbors grow cold, when waiting and persevering seem like a fruitless job, that is when you need to hear the words of Jesus, “Endure to the end.” He has promised never to leave nor forsake you. He has promised that the tribulations of life are worth enduring in faith rather than without it. He conquered the grave for our salvation and now all things are made new!

Christ is Risen! He is Risen Indeed! Halleluiah!

God will not bow to modern expectations, and neither should we. When prophecies are made, when turbulent times come, when relationships are crumbling, when Satan as a roaring lion is knocking at your door, when the temptations to join other parties seem overwhelming, when the love of your friends and neighbors grow cold, when waiting and persevering seem like a fruitless job, that is when you need to hear the words of Jesus, “Endure to the end.” He has promised never to leave nor forsake you. He has promised that the tribulations of life are worth enduring in faith rather than without it.

This is why our service must end at a table and why the Gospel of Mark ended with going forth. Because if we were simply to dwell in the presence of our enemies without food and drink, we would drown and give up. Because if the Word ended with Jesus ascending and nothing else happening, we would leave this building discouraged and eventually give up. But thanks be to God; Jesus gives us a resurrection table and calls us to come in hope.

The resurrection of Jesus is like a train that arrived in history and changed everything. The arrival of this event in the center of history outlined narrative of creation into two eras: the first marked by death and a world marked by a decisive victory over death. We live in the age where the train of history has come in the empty tomb and is a’comin’ in history today. Everything that we will savor today is marked by the flavor of glory. Everything sour, sweet, salty is glorified because the resurrection tastes better than death. Death is ashes and dust. Resurrection is steak and champagne.

We are in this moving train headed to a consummative end. History is guided, directed, and orchestrated by the events of an empty tomb. The empty tomb is the engine that keeps the train moving from glory to glory and we are participants of this glory.

When we come into worship on this Easter morn, we are entering into a resurrected universe. Our thanksgiving this morning is on the other side of the empty tomb. We are no longer waiting for the train to arrive, but we have embarked in this magnificent travel. And on this day, we have the privilege of sitting, kneeling, rising, singing, and partaking of the sceneries. Come and worship the Risen King who invites us into his sacred journey. Come and enjoy the ride from call to commission.

“Maundy” comes from the Latin Mandatum. The word comes from Jesus’ command on the Last Supper to love one another just as He loved them (Jn. 13). The message of love is central to the Gospel message. Some Evangelicals are all too quick to set the topic of love aside because it draws our attention away from the more important doctrinal disputes and discussions. Yet Paul and our blessed Lord keep bringing us back to this theme of love. God is love. No, love is not God, but it is very much a foundational aspect of all His actions toward us in Christ Jesus.

Maundy Thursday then becomes a special historical reminder that we are called to be a people of love. In I Corinthians 13, Paul said that if love is absent, our actions become like clanging cymbals. The very core of Paul’s exhortation to love occurred in the midst of a dying Church, namely the Corinthian Church. Paul’s application then is an ecclesiastical command. In the same manner, our blessed Lord on the night in which he was betrayed– by that unclean man called Judas– called us to a greater love ethic as a people. It was not an ethic foreign to our Lord. What Jesus commands is first and foremost something he has experienced and displayed already. To a greater extent, our Lord proves that love in a cross of hate. By sacrificing Himself on that cruel tree He turned the symbol of hate into one of the most beloved symbols in the Christian life.

It is then very appropriate that our Lord commands us to love as a response to the Last Supper. This is the case because in the Supper, we are being re-oriented in our affection for one another. The Supper is a meal of love and Jesus would transform that meal into His resurrection. He would glorify love for His new disciples. He would become Himself the manna from heaven that would bring joy to this newly created community.

Love is displayed and obeyed in this new fellowship of disciples we call the Church. This is why Maundy Thursday was a significant historical event. It was not just a didactic lesson for the disciples, it was also a meal that sealed the theme of love for this new community that would emerge from the darkness of the tomb.

Continue reading “Special Hymns/ Psalms for Lent”