Christ Church (Moscow, ID)

We live in a day when human interaction is too often mediated via screens and satellites. The scheming of wicked men aim to further isolate us, control us, and convince us it is all for our health and safety. Christian hospitality, in this era and all others, is an act of war on the rebel city of Man.

We know that we need to confess our sin. But we often think that we are simply speaking the truth about our sin into the void. The truth, however, is that God is intricately involved in our confession. All things are from him, through him, and to him, including the confession of our sin.

The Church has failed in our obedience to conform to the duties which accompany how God made us as males and females. May God grant us humility to lead where we are called to lead, and to submit where we are called to submit. And may He present us unto the Son a bride without spot or blemish.

INTRODUCTIONWe are now coming to a passage that teaches us where the spiritual action really is. Do you want to be right with God? It is not going to happen because you got all your papers in order, and then got them stamped. “Right with God” is a judicial category, but not a bureaucratic one.We must learn two things. The letter kills and the Spirit gives life. But secondly, the Spirit gives life to the letter. We must have two things; we must have a new covenant, and we must have a new heart. And all these things go together.THE TEXT“Do we begin again to commend ourselves? or need we, as some others, epistles of commendation to you, or letters of commendation from you? Ye are our epistle written in our hearts, known and read of all men: Forasmuch as ye are manifestly declared to be the epistle of Christ ministered by us, written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God; not in tables of stone, but in fleshy tables of the heart. And such trust have we through Christ to God-ward: Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think any thing as of ourselves; but our sufficiency is of God; Who also hath made us able ministers of the new testament; not of the letter, but of the spirit: for the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life.” (2 Corinthians 3:1–6).SUMMARY OF THE TEXTPaul asks, “Are you really going to make me talk about myself? Are you going to make me address things that you already know” (v. 1)? Do the Corinthians think he needs a letter of recommendation (like some people Paul could mention)? What are they talking about? Paul says that they are his walking, living, breathing letter of recommendation (v. 2), written on the hearts of the apostolic company. The tablets were hearts, but the manner of writing was not ink for papyrus, and not a chisel for stone, but rather the writing utensil was the Spirit of God (v. 3). Paul then states his confidence (v. 4), which is toward God in Christ. The same Paul who just a few sentences before had cried out who is sufficient? now says that while he is not sufficient in himself, he is nevertheless sufficient through God (v. 5). God is the one who has made him a minister of the new covenant—not of the letter, but of the Spirit. The letter kills, but the Spirit gives life (v. 6).GANDALF AND THE BALROGEvery finite servant of God has a breaking point. That is what it means to be finite. And because God tests His servants, He takes them right up to that limit. Why? Well, remember what we saw in the first chapter— “But we had the sentence of death in ourselves, that we should not trust in ourselves, but in God which raiseth the dead” (2 Cor. 1:9). God wants to squeeze all the self-sufficiency out of His servants. “You, my son, are still entirely too perky.” Some men are too talented to use, but absolutely no one is too weak to use. Did Jeremiah feel sufficient (Jer. 1:6)? Did Moses feel sufficient (Ex. 4:10-17)? Did Ezekiel feel sufficient (Eze. 1:1-3:11)? Did Gideon feel sufficient (Judg. 6:15)? Did Isaiah feel sufficient (Is. 6:1-7)? Did Paul feel sufficient (v. 16)? Who is sufficient for these things?But by the same token, and for this reason, we see that Paul had supreme confidence in his sufficiency in Christ. “Our sufficiency is of God” (v. 5). In other words, when you come to the end of yourself, you have not come to the end of Christ.THE FINGER OF GODPaul says here that the letter he is talking about was inscribed by the Holy Spirit himself. Now the Holy Spirit is equated in Scripture with the finger of God. “But if I with the finger of God cast out devils, no doubt the kingdom of God is come upon you.” (Luke 11:20). “But if I cast out devils by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God is come unto you.” (Matt. 12:28).But who inscribed the Ten Commandments on the tablets of stone?“And he gave unto Moses, when he had made an end of communing with him upon mount Sinai, two tables of testimony, tables of stone, written with the finger of God” (Exodus 31:18; Dt. 9:10).THE LETTER KILLSSo the problem with “letters that kill” is not the fact that they are letters. The letters written on our hearts are letters. And the problem with “these letters that kill” is not who wrote them. The Spirit is the one who wrote them on the tablets of stone. The difficulty is where the letters are written. When they are written on stone, external to the sinner, they do nothing but condemn, and the truer they are, the more condemnation they bring. When the law is “out there,” the law is my adversary.So the external letter kills, but the Spirit brings life. But one of the things the Spirit brings life to is the letter. He does this by inscribing His letters on the human heart.There are two fundamental features of the new covenant, the covenant that occupies such a large part of Paul’s argument here. Jeremiah’s promise of the new covenant is quoted in full in Hebrews 8 (Heb. 8:8-12; Jer. 31:31-34). But when it is quoted again two chapters later, the pull quotes highlight the two great features of the new covenant. They are, first, that the new covenant brings forgiveness of sin (Heb. 10:17), and second, the new covenant brings an internalization of the law (Heb. 10:16). And that’s what we are talking about here.When God writes His law on our hearts, something remarkable happens. Not only is thou shalt love thy brother written on your heart, your brother is also written on your heart. Remember that Paul begins this section by saying that the Corinthians were written on his heart.When the law is internalized, this brings the sinner to life. And when the law is internalized, this brings the letters to life. What happened to the handwriting of ordinances that was against us? God gathered them up and nailed them to the cross (Col. 2:14). But what happens to anything that is nailed to the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ? That is right—it rises from the dead. The only thing that doesn’t rise again is the sin itself. But the law? The condemnation? The black despair of never being good enough? The accusations? All of that is “nailed to the cross, and I bear it no more, praise the Lord, praise the Lord, oh, my soul.”That law that used to condemn you is raised again with you, and is now your liberty, your refreshment, your pleasant instructor. His name is Jesus Christ.

INTRODUCTIONPart of the advantage of taking larger sections together is seeing how seemingly different laws actually fit together. Here, we have a passage that begins with worship, flows out into criminal justice, and concludes with Israelite economic policies. The overarching point is that justice and economics are always thoroughly theological matters. We are always appealing to God or some god, when we adjudicate crimes, buy, sell, lease, or forgive. There is always an ultimate standard. It is not whether but which.THE TEXT“And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, command the children of Israel that they bring unto thee pure oil olive beat for the light…” (Lev. 24-25).SUMMARY OF THE TEXTGod reminds His people the covenant with Him is their light and life, and so they were to picture that continually with candles and bread in the holy place (Lev. 24:1-9). Because God’s covenant is the source of light and life, His law prohibits blasphemy, and therefore, depending on its severity, can be a capital crime because it is an attack on life itself (Lev. 24:10-23). Related to this principle, was the requirement of sabbath years where fields were left fallow, culminating in the fiftieth year of jubilee (Lev. 25:1-12). In the year of jubilee, rural lands and houses were returned to their original owners, creating a fifty year lease/rent cycle, with the Levites and cities excepted (Lev. 25:13-17, 29-34). God promised that obedience to these laws would cause the land to be blessed, and that Israel would dwell in safety (Lev. 25:18-22). These sabbath years also included the forgiveness of debts and the release of debt slaves (Lev. 25:25-28, 35-46). But debt slaves could always be redeemed by their close relatives (Lev. 25:47-55).OIL & BREAD, BLASPHEMY & JUSTICEJesus said that He is the Light of the World (Jn. 8:12) and He is the Bread of Life (Jn. 6:48). In Him is life; and the life is the light of men (Jn. 1:4). But this is not merely a “spiritual” or “religious” fact. He made all things (Jn. 1:3), and therefore it applies to all things. His light and life show the way to the Father, and that fellowship is light for the world (cf. 1 Jn. 1:7). His light and life are for justice, economics, finances, debt, planting, harvest, restitution, redemption, safety, and blessing.We noted previously that murder is the one mandatory capital crime in biblical law but a possible maximum penalty for other crimes. That principle is underlined here, since they needed to inquire of the Lord to see what the appropriate penalty would be for the blasphemy (Lev. 24:12). The following verses, reinforce the lex talionis (“eye for eye”) principles of restitution, prohibiting all personal vengeance, and applied equally to all (Lev. 24:17-21). Between the blasphemy and physical altercation, this crime amounted to murder, and was not just a casual taking of the Lord’s name in vain. It was high-handed covenant treason. We see the results all around us of not learning the lesson here: you cannot have life, liberty, or justice for all apart from honoring the Triune God who is their source. Blasphemy laws are inescapable; it’s not whether but which.SINS, DEBTS, & LIBERTYWhen men reject the living God and His Word, sin does not go away, it merely gets renamed and new (false) gospels are invented to pretend to deal with it. Freud taught that since sexual sin caused guilt and shame, people should be free to do whatever they want so they don’t feel bad and do bad things. Secular statists believe that people commit crimes because they are poor or don’t have equal opportunities, therefore, the state must provide universal basic income and enforce equal opportunities, including things like abortions, universal day care, parental leave, social security, and reparations. Related is voting to legalize sins and crimes to try to make everyone feel better. The problem with all of this is that it doesn’t work. Giving into sin/approving sin never actually deals with sin. There is no forgiveness of sins without the shedding of blood, but it must be the blood of perfectly pleasing sacrifice (Heb. 9). And the blood of babies, broken families, and other victims cannot take away sin. Government programs are not real grace. But it is true that real grace deals with real sin in the real world and it affects everything from public policy to taxation to inheritance laws and restitution.CONCLUSIONSJesus came proclaiming “the acceptable year of the Lord,” the great Jubilee (Lk. 4:18-19). He came doing this centrally through proclaiming the forgiveness of sins that He was about to accomplish in the Cross. This is not because He didn’t care about poverty or injustice but because He knew that sin/guilt is at the root of all of it. Remember that the seventh month was the month of the Day of Atonement/Feast of Booths, and the seventh years and jubilees (with their trumpets) were echoes of that. All liberty and justice flow from the Great Atonement in the blood of Christ.This freedom and justice begin at the Cross restoring fellowship between God and man, but it flows out into the world. Jesus taught His disciples to pray, “forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.” This is a prayer for Jubilee. Do you want liberty and justice in the public square? Then practice it in your heart, in your home, in the church. And remember that the foundation of it all is forgiveness and release.Jesus is our Kinsman Redeemer, our Great Boaz, who has paid all our debts and set us free, and He has set us free so that we might do the same for others. Practice forgiveness/grace. Practice sabbath and diligence in your work. Keep the light and life of Jesus central. He has purchased us and the ends of the earth for His possession. We belong to Christ, and He will keep us safe.

Text: Hebrews 4

MOSES THE FAITHFUL SERVANTWe know the story of the Israelites in the wilderness. God performed miracle after miracle, delivering the Israelites from their bondage in Egypt and preserving them throughout their journey through the wilderness. But again and again, the Israelites turn and grumble and complain against God. One incident, relevant to today’s sermon, comes right on the heels of God sending quail to feed the Israelites. Aaron and Miriam complain against Moses because he had married an Ethiopian wife (Num. 12:1). But God rebukes Aaron and Miriam, telling them that Moses was his faithful servant (Num. 12:6-8).HOW MUCH MORE THE SON?Remember that Hebrews has been arguing that the Son, Jesus Christ, is so much better than the expectations of his Jewish audience. The Son is better than the angels, who moderated the Old Covenant (kal v’chomer). So here is another example of this same argument. Moses was a faithful servant, to whom the Jewish people listened carefully. But Moses was just a servant in the house. Now the faithful Son of the house has arrived. So how much more ought the Jewish people to listen to him?TODAYHebrews now turns to Psalm 95, and will continue to draw on this Psalm into the next chapter. This Psalm takes the readers back to the wilderness, where God’s faithful provision was on constant display. And yet the Israelites regularly responded to this steadfast display of faithfulness with doubt, grumbling, and apostasy. Hebrews notes that the warning given in this confined to a very particular time period – “today.” As long as it is called “today” the sin of the Israelites in the wilderness needs to be looked out for.It is a deceitful temptation, set on dislodging your confidence in God’s goodness for you. God’s claim on our lives is exclusive. But over time it is very easy for priorities that we had intended to be lesser to slowly climb up to compete with our love of God. This deceitfulness prompts Hebrews to recruit our friends into holding us accountable – “exhort one another daily,” (v. 13).OBEDIENT TO THE ENDHebrews is ultimately about warning us against the great tragedy of falling away from the faith, something that can seem so impossible some moments and, yet, in other moments can be a real threat. This is a warning intended for the covenant people. Covenant Christians, circumcised people, baptized people, can fall away. There is a real warning here. Perseverance is the outward distinction between saving faith and temporary faith. And this faith is the obedience that the Gospel requires of us.

INTRODUCTIONOne of the basic lessons of Scripture is the lesson of gospel inversion. Humility exalts. Servanthood rules. Death lives. The underdog triumphs. The back of the line is the front of the line. And it does not matter how many times we are taught this principle, we always have to learn it afresh every morning.THE TEXT“But if any have caused grief, he hath not grieved me, but in part: that I may not overcharge you all. Sufficient to such a man is this punishment, which was inflicted of many. So that contrariwise ye ought rather to forgive him, and comfort him, lest perhaps such a one should be swallowed up with overmuch sorrow . . .” (2 Cor. 2:5–17).SUMMARY OF THE TEXTTo stay oriented, in the scenario that we are assuming here, the man that Paul is urging forgiveness for here in these verses is the man who led the rebellion against Paul in the congregation at Corinth. It is not the incestuous man who took his stepmother in 1 Corinthians.So Paul begins by saying that if someone has caused grief, it was mostly to the church, and not to him personally (v. 5). There had apparently been a vote in which the majority came back to Paul, and inflicted punishment on this ringleader and troublemaker. Paul says that this action was sufficient (v. 6). He then urges the church to forgive and comfort this man, lest he be overwhelmed (v. 7). The rebels against Moses had been swallowed up (Num. 16:31-34), but the rebel against Paul was not to suffer that fate. Reaffirm your love for him, Paul says (v. 8). Paul wrote them in order to test them. Now that they had passed the test, it was time for forgiveness (vv. 9-10)—and the requirement to forgive was yet another test. Paul agrees to forgive anything that they forgive, in the presence of Christ, lest Satan take advantage and stir up even more acrimony (v. 11). You all must forgive (Col. 3:12-13). Satan’s wiles in this are many—he throws fiery darts and he hands out candies.After Titus had been sent off to Corinth with the hot letter, Paul went to Troas (north of Ephesus, toward Macedonia), and the door for ministry there was wide open (v. 12). But because Titus was not there with any news, Paul went on to Macedonia (v. 13). And after an agonizing wait there (2 Cor. 7:5-7), he eventually got the good news back from Corinth, and so he breaks into a very different kind of exultation—and it is quite a strange one. God leads Paul in triumph in Christ, and diffuses knowledge of Himself like a fragrance (v. 14). Paul’s band was the fragrance of Christ, to both the saved and the perishing (v. 15). One of them reacts to it like it was the smell of death upon death, and the other as though it were life upon life (v. 16). Who is sufficient for these things (v. 16)? The answer is no one. This is the measurement of authentic ministry—our theme, remember (v. 17)? Paul does not hawk or peddle the gospel of God, like others do, but rather speaks sincerely in the sight of God in Christ (v. 17).TRIUMPHAL PROCESSIONPaul takes a custom of the Romans, the triumphal procession, and works it into a striking metaphor. When a victorious general was given a triumph, he led the parade in a chariot drawn by horses, and sometimes by elephants. He was clothed in purple, and held an eagle-crowned scepter. His face was colored red, to evoke the name and power of Jupiter. There were musicians, and pagan priests burning fragrant incense that wafted over the crowd, and mountains of treasure, and prows of ships, and a horde of prisoners in native costume bringing up the rear—who were all then executed at the conclusion of the parade. This is what God did to the principalities and powers (Col. 2:15).But in his use of the metaphor, Paul occupies an unexpected spot. He is at the end of the procession. He is one of the prisoners, one led by God in triumphal procession. He is not the conquering general, but rather God is that general, and Paul is the captive. One of the themes of this epistle is that authentic ministry is characterized by suffering. “Always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body” (2 Cor. 4:10). “As unknown, and yet well known; as dying, and, behold, we live; as chastened, and not killed” (2 Cor. 6:9). Paul knew what it was to die daily in ministry (1 Cor. 15:31).THE GOSPEL IS NOT AVAILABLE FOR $19.95When Paul says here that he does not “peddle” the Word of God (v. 17), the original word has the connotation of hucksterism—a merchant with his thumb on the scale, a wine merchant who cuts his product with a little water. The sinner is not shopping for an attractive salvation, one that is arranged nicely in the shop window, and reasonably priced. No, the thing is free, and to many of the passers-by, it stinks. Nevertheless, this is the message that will conquer the world. Who is sufficient for these things? And nevertheless this message preached by impotent and suffering messengers is profoundly potent. For the carnally minded, the real mystery is why this itinerant minister, pelted with rocks everywhere he went, was going to have cathedrals named after him.THE AUTHORITY OF FORGIVENESSSo the apostolic band takes a pounding, and is dragged along behind the procession, in the sight of a gawking crowd. Paul takes the lead in dealing with this dishonor, and it is one of the great mysteries of the gospel as to why this is so inexorably attractive. It exudes an aroma—to the elect the aroma of life, and to the godless the aroma of death. In search of the answer to that question, we come back to the beginning of this passage, where Paul is requiring the Corinthians to forgive the man who had led the revolt against him. Forgiveness—everyone in this messed up world needs it. Forgiveness—apart from grace, everyone in this messed up world hates it. This is the radicalism of the cross. This is the salvation of Christ, and the way of Christ.

INTRODUCTIONFood is right at the center of world. When God created man in His own image, He put him in a garden full of food with a Tree of Life in the midst of the garden. And the recurring picture of salvation and redemption is a feast: “And in this mountain shall the Lord of hosts make unto all people a feast of fat things, a feast of wines on the lees, of fat things full of marrow, of wines on the lees. He shall swallow up death in victory; and the Lord God will wipe away tears from off all faces…” (Is. 25:6-7).The Bible closes with John’s vision of the Marriage Supper of the Lamb (Rev. 19:7-9). And at the center of the Christian life, Jesus has given us a meal, a feast of life and joy and rest.THE TEXT“And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying… concerning the feasts of the Lord, which ye shall proclaim to be holy convocations, even these are my feasts…” (Lev. 23:1-44)SUMMARY OF THE TEXTNever forget that God brought Israel out of Egypt so that they might feast with Him (Ex. 5:1, 24:11). The Peace Offering was a regular sacrificial feast that Israel was invited to celebrate, but God also established an annual festival calendar. The first and foundational feast was the weekly Sabbath (Lev. 23:1-3). The Feast of Passover and Unleavened Bread was in the first month commemorating the Exodus (Lev. 23:4-8). The Feast of Firstfruits was at the very beginning of the Harvest (Lev. 23:9-14). And the Feast of Weeks (or Pentecost) came 50 days later at the end of harvest, remembering the poor as they did so (Lev. 23:15-22). On the first day of the seventh month, there was to be a Feast of Trumpets, preparing for the Day of Atonement 10 days later, the one day of affliction and (presumably) fasting in the Israelite calendar (Lev. 23:23-32). Five days later, the Feast of Tabernacles (or Booths) began, a full week of feasting in makeshift tents, also at the end of harvest (Lev. 23:33-44). Finally, we should simply note that throughout these feasts are “holy convocations,” worship services, where Israel gathered together to hear Scripture, to sing, to pray, rejoice, and remember.REJOICE IN THE LORDChristians have frequently embraced a less than biblical understanding of joy. The foundation of Christian joy is the forgiveness of sins, and that is a joy that can never be taken from you. But then what do you do with that joy? The Bible requires us to rejoice always (Phil. 4:4). And in the same place, Paul says that he has learned in whatever state he is in to be content (Phil. 4:11-12). “All the days of the afflicted are evil: but he that is of a merry heart hath a continual feast” (Prov. 15:15). And we should note that this rejoicing and contentment is what Paul is talking about when he says he can do all things through Christ who strengthens him (Phil. 4:14). So God commanded Israel to keep these feasts throughout the year so that they would “rejoice before the Lord” (Lev. 23:40, cf. Dt. 12:7, 12, 18).So this is also why when God delivered the Jews from the plotting of Haman, they established the feast of Purim, “a day of feasting and gladness” and giving gifts as a memorial throughout their generations (Esth. 9:17-28). Memorials are reminders in space or time, and memorial feasts are reminders to rejoice always. Later, in the intertestamental period, the Jews took back the temple mount from their enemies and rededicated it, establishing the Festival of Lights or Hannukah, which Jesus participated in (Jn. 10:22). While we are certainly not bound by the Old Testament calendar (Gal. 4:9-10, Rom. 14:5-7) and the kingdom of God is not in meat or drink but righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit (Rom. 14:17), God wants us to rejoice in Him and mark that joy with feasting.A BRIEF CASE FOR A CHRISTIAN SABBATHWhile celebrating Sunday as the Christian Sabbath is not something Christians should quarrel about, a strong case can be made for the practice. First, we should note that God rested when He created the world, before there was any sin in the world, establishing a one day in seven rhythm that is embedded in the nature of the world. In the first giving of the law, this is the pattern that Israel was to follow keeping the seventh day as sabbath (Ex. 20:11). In the second giving, Moses appealed to the Exodus (Dt. 5:15), not because remembering creation had ceased, but because now there was more to remember, and the central command in Sabbath-keeping is to “remember.” Specifically, as Israel went into Canaan, they were to remember that they had been slaves with no days off, but God had made them His free royal sons who would now work for Him and celebrate a weekly holiday.Isaiah prophesied that in the New Covenant all flesh will worship the true God “from one sabbath to another” (Is. 66:23), and Hebrews explicitly says that a “rest” remains for the people of God, and the word there is “sabbath” (Heb. 4:9). So the question that remains would be why do we believe that the Christian Sabbath is Sunday instead of Saturday? Given all of this, it actually makes tons of sense that Christians would immediately begin celebrating a weekly Sabbath feast and holy convocation on the day Jesus rose from the dead and remade all things (1 Cor. 16:2, Rev. 1:10). The resurrection marks the new creation and the new Exodus, and if God’s people celebrated the first creation and the first exodus as free sons with a weekly festival, why would we do any less?CONCLUSION: JESUS, LORD OF TIMEPart of what we proclaim when we say that Jesus is the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, is that He is the Lord of Time. He is Lord of our calendars. People always keep time by their gods because our lives are timebound (e.g. ‘Sun’-day, ‘Moon’-day, Thors-day, etc.) and so we mark those things that seem most important and those memorials in time in turn shape us into certain kinds of people. This is why culture wars center on battles over the dictionary and the calendar (words/definitions and time). What is true? What must we remember and celebrate?The gospel is gloriously historic. Jesus created the heavens and the earth in six days, and in the fullness of time, God sent forth His Son to be born of a woman, to be born under the law, to redeem us from the curse of the law. Jesus was born in time, on a particular day. He lived for about 33 years, and He was crucified, and on the third day, He rose from the dead. He was seen by many for 40 days, ascended into Heaven, and on the 50th day, He sent His Holy Spirit on the Church.While the Roman Catholic calendar got overly crowded and burdensome during the middle ages, we stand with the historic church and the Reformers in wanting our lives to be shaped by Christ in time and so we celebrate the Five Evangelical Feast Days (Christmas, Palm Sunday, Good Friday, Easter, and Pentecost), the central events in the life of Christ, with the Lord’s Day as our weekly rhythm of rejoicing at the center. We work hard because we rest in Him.

In our cultural flood of iniquity, which is sweeping many away, it’s quite easy to find sins to pillory “out there.” However, the headwaters for the stream of wickedness “out there”, are transgressions “in here”. If we would have revival, we must come before God in earnest grief over our sins. Men, in particular, must lead the charge. So, some pointed words to husbands. The sin of gender confusion in our culture is downstream from gender confusion in marriage. This is the central capitulation in our culture, because it was an earlier capitulation in the church.