Even Me

I wonder if you have the same reaction to this passage that I sometimes do?

“This Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men... Let all the house of Israel therefore know for certain that God has made Him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified” (Acts 2:23, 36).

Isn’t it tempting to think, “Yes, Peter! Stick it to those unbelieving Jews and Romans who killed Jesus!”? And yet, if it weren’t for my sin (and yours) Jesus would not have had to die. “God shows His love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Rom. 5:8). And “For our sake [God] made [Jesus] to be sin who knew no sin, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God” (2 Cor. 5:21). That realization shouldn’t lead to pride in my accomplishments or disdain for unbelievers. It should lead to humble gratitude for the eternal life we have received by the grace and mercy of God. “[He] was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification” (Rom. 4:25).

On prideful days, I can be like the Pharisee who prayed, “God, I thank You that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector” (Luke 18:11), when I should be praying, “Thank You for being merciful to me, a sinner!”

Some days I identify more with Paul’s proclamation, “The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost. But I received mercy for this reason, that in me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ might display His perfect patience as an example to those who were to believe in Him for eternal life” (1 Tim. 1:15-16). Paul knew what he was talking about, although I think we are each the “foremost of sinners.” Any sin against the perfectly holy and righteous God is worthy of eternal damnation. Whether our personal sin debt was a penny or a thousand dollars, it required the life of the perfect sacrifice, Jesus Christ, to redeem us.

As we come to Good Friday and Easter, let us not forget that we aren’t invited into God’s family because we’re so great and have so much to offer Him. We are here only because He first loved us and chose to ransom us by death and resurrection of Christ. “For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many” (Mark 10:45).

“The God of our fathers raised Jesus, whom you killed by hanging Him on a tree. God exalted Him at His right hand as Leader and Savior, to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins” (Acts 5:30-31). “And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins” (1 Cor. 15:17).

© 2024 Dawn Rutan. Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture are ESV and all images copyright free from pixabay.com. The opinions stated do not necessarily reflect the views of my church or employer.

Do They Know?

Down the road there is a sign in someone’s yard that says, “As in the days of Noah—are you ready?” Every time I see it I wonder how many people have any clue what it’s referring to. Even Christians may not recognize it as a quote from Jesus: “Just as it was in the days of Noah, so will it be in the days of the Son of Man. They were eating and drinking and marrying and being given in marriage, until the day when Noah entered the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all” (Luke 17:26-27). In short, just as the flood came and killed many people who weren’t expecting it, one day Jesus will return and will judge everyone. True believers will be granted eternal life, while the unrighteous will face destruction.

Another sign that sometimes makes me wonder is the “John 3:16” board that shows up at many sporting events. While I’m glad that some people are trying to spread the Gospel, I wonder how many of the non-Christian viewers have any idea what John 3:16 says, much less what it means. Maybe some curious few will google it and eventually come to faith, though I wouldn’t exactly call that an effective tool for evangelism. The “He Gets Us” ad campaign is another “pre-evangelism” approach that seems to fall somewhat short.

We are living in an increasingly post-Christian world. Even those of us who live in the Bible belt should recognize that our culture is not what it used to be. Biblical illiteracy is climbing, not just in society, but even among those associated with the church. The statistics on Bible reading and church attendance keep declining. As such, we need to adjust our assumptions about what people know or understand about Scripture and faith. We can’t simply use churchy terminology or quote Scripture out of context and without explanation.

Many years around Lent and Easter I remember one of my junior high teachers who was Catholic, and on Ash Wednesday he came to school with ashes on his forehead. Students asked him about it, which allowed him to explain his beliefs. One student asked, “What does it mean to be saved? What are people saved from?” At the time (in the late 80s), I was a little bit surprised because I thought most people had at least some idea what the Gospel was about, even though I knew many of my classmates did not attend church. Imagine how that conversation might go these days!

As churches gather this Easter Sunday, we know there will be many “Christmas and Easter” visitors, along with others who perhaps have never been to church at all. It is an opportunity to present the good news of salvation through Jesus Christ in clear and simple terms, in ways that can spark the curiosity of those who need to hear more. I don’t want to downplay the celebratory aspects of our services, but think how much greater the celebration would be if many people heard and responded to the Gospel for the first time on Easter Sunday? After all, that is why Jesus came!

“I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance” (Luke 15:7).

© 2023 Dawn Rutan. Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture are ESV and all images copyright free from pixabay.com. The opinions stated do not necessarily reflect the views of my church or employer.

Doubtless

I’ve always felt sorry for Thomas. Scripture never calls him “Doubting Thomas,” but sometime in history he got labeled as a skeptic. Here’s the story from John’s gospel:

“Now Thomas, one of the twelve, called the Twin, was not with them when Jesus came. So the other disciples told him, ‘We have seen the Lord.’ But he said to them, ‘Unless I see in his hands the mark of the nails, and place my finger into the mark of the nails, and place my hand into his side, I will never believe.’ Eight days later, His disciples were inside again, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, ‘Peace be with you.’ Then He said to Thomas, ‘Put your finger here, and see my hands; and put out your hand, and place it in my side. Do not disbelieve, but believe.’ Thomas answered Him, ‘My Lord and my God!’ Jesus said to him, ‘Have you believed because you have seen Me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed’” (John 20:24-29).

The main thing that made Thomas different from the other disciples is that he did not happen to be with them the other times Jesus appeared. In Luke’s account of Jesus appearing to the two disciples on the road to Emmaus, we’re told,

“He said to them, ‘O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken!’” (Luke 24:25).

And then when Jesus appeared to the others,

“As they were talking about these things, Jesus Himself stood among them, and said to them, ‘Peace to you!’ But they were startled and frightened and thought they saw a spirit. And He said to them, ‘Why are you troubled, and why do doubts arise in your hearts? See My hands and My feet, that it is I Myself. Touch Me, and see. For a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have.’ And when He had said this, He showed them His hands and His feet. And while they still disbelieved for joy and were marveling, He said to them, ‘Have you anything here to eat?’ They gave Him a piece of broiled fish, and He took it and ate before them” (Luke 24:36-42).

Thomas was really no different from the other disciples in his desire for visible proof of the resurrected Jesus. None of Jesus’ followers really understood that He was going to rise again in three days, even though Jesus had told them so. In fact, when Jesus tried to tell them (Mark 8:31-33), Peter rebuked Jesus and yet Peter wasn’t labeled a skeptic. If they had predicted the resurrection, would they have run away on the night of His arrest (Mark 14:50)? Would they have been hiding behind locked doors (John 20:19)?

The point is not that Thomas or any of the others doubted. We all have doubts at times. But Jesus understands our doubts and confusion and He comes to us in our place of need. I find it interesting that some Muslims come to faith in Christ because they see a vision. That seems to be a method that they are able to accept, whereas other people might just think of it as a weird dream. Some people are more convinced by historical proofs of the reliability of the biblical texts and authors (for example Lee Strobel’s The Case for Christ). Whatever the case may be, if someone is genuinely interested in knowing the resurrected Jesus, they will not be turned away. God desires people to come to faith in Him even more than we do (2 Pet. 3:9). Thomas’s doubts were answered and he remained faithful to Jesus. It is believed that he carried the gospel message into India.

“Jesus said to him, ‘Have you believed because you have seen Me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.’ Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in His name” (John 20:29-31).

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© 2022 Dawn Rutan. Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture are ESV and all images are copyright free from pixabay.com. The opinions stated do not necessarily reflect the views of my church or employer.

All You Need Is Love

Borrowing an idea from a sermon by Sam Allberry, the world readily agrees that “all you need is love.” What they don’t agree on is what exactly love is. Society might even agree that “love is patient and kind… it is not arrogant or rude” (1 Cor. 10:4-5). But those words mean different things. For the unbeliever, love means:

• I can do whatever I want and you can’t judge me.
• I can pursue whatever and whoever I think will give me pleasure and fulfillment.
• You must benignly accept whatever I believe.
• You must allow me to become whoever and whatever I want to be.

Some non-Christians might be familiar with John 3:16, “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.” And if they heard 3:17 they might applaud the first half of it: “ For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world—” but the passage does not stop there:

“but in order that the world might be saved through Him. Whoever believes in Him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God. And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil. For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed” (John 3:17-20).

God didn’t send Jesus into the world simply to say “I love you, so you can do whatever you want and we’ll all celebrate for eternity.” God sent His Son because we all have been walking in the darkness of sin and unbelief. “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). God never said “Anything goes.” He set up standards of behavior, and every one of us have failed to meet those standards. Jesus even expanded those standards to include our thought life (Matt. 5:22, 28).

Jesus didn’t come to remove all the measures of morality and holiness. “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them” (Matt. 5:19). He also didn’t come to say, “Can’t we all just get along?” Rather, “Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword” (Matt. 10:34).

Because of God’s love, Jesus proclaimed, “I have come into the world as light, so that whoever believes in Me may not remain in darkness” (John 12:46). The answer to our depravity is not tolerance and acceptance, but repentance. True love is found in turning to the One who bore our sins on the cross so that we might be reconciled with God.

“And you, who were dead in your trespasses… God made alive together with Him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This He set aside, nailing it to the cross” (Colossians 2:13-14).

He didn’t say, “There’s no such thing as sin or evil, so you’re all good.” Sin is so significant to God that the only way it could be dealt with was to offer His own perfect Son on the cross in our place. For us to accept the world’s view that “love means anything goes” is to cheapen Jesus’ sacrifice and the glory of the God who is love.

“In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent His only Son into the world, so that we might live through Him. In this is love, not that we have loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another” (1 John 4:10:12).

As we celebrate Easter, may we not make the mistake of embracing love as a kind of mushy sentimentality or an innocuous tolerance. Let us remember the true cost that Love paid to make us part of God’s eternal family, and may that spur us to share the good news of true love with the world.

“See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are… By this we know love, that He laid down His life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers” (1 John 3:1, 16).

© 2021 Dawn Rutan. Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture are ESV and all images are copyright free from pixabay.com. The opinions stated do not necessarily reflect the views of my church or employer.

Out of the Silence

Last week I started reading God on Mute: Engaging the Silence of Unanswered Prayer, by Pete Greig. I didn’t realize it was going to be timely reading, because he uses the Easter timeline as the structure for his chapters. Did you ever stop to wonder what happened on that silent Saturday between Good Friday and Easter Sunday? What were the disciples thinking? What did they do? Did they pray, or were they too shell-shocked to even think? It must have seemed like all hope was lost. Greig writes:

“No one really talks about Holy Saturday yet if we stop and think about it, it’s where most of us live our lives. Holy Saturday is the no-man’s land between questions and answers, prayers and miracles. It’s where we wait—with a peculiar mixture of faith and despair—whenever God is silent or life doesn’t make sense.”

Sometimes it can feel like we are still stuck in that silent Saturday. God isn’t answering our prayers as we’d like, and we wonder if He really does hear or care. The challenge for us is how to hold onto hope and endure with patience until the day when every question is either answered or no longer relevant.

 “The Bible leaves us in no doubt at all that when God is silent, He is not absent from His people—even if that’s the way it feels. He is with us now as much as He ever was. He’s no less involved in our lives than He was when we could hear His voice so clearly and could sense the joy of His smile…

“Why can’t we wait with the mess and pain of Holy Saturday unresolved? …In our fear of unknowing, we leapfrog Holy Saturday and rush the resurrection. We race disconcerted to make meaning and find beauty where there simply is none. Yet.”

We try to comprehend things that don’t make sense because we simply don’t have all the facts. God has not given us all the details or explained His master plan for our lives. We don’t want to wait patiently. In Christ’s resurrection is our reason for hope. Because He was raised, we can trust the promises of Scripture that God hears and answers prayer in His perfect way and time.

In his book Between Cross and Resurrection: A Theology of Holy Saturday, Alan. E. Lewis writes:

“But such is the world we live in, no different now from the first Easter Saturday, the day of divine abandonment and absence. Yet is not all prayer designed for Easter Saturday, the product of confusion, emptiness, and grief? Prayer is desperation translated into daring — the risk of letting go of confidence, eloquence, and that ‘spirituality,’ so fashionable now but so seductive. To pray is to confess not the abundance but the exhaustion of one’s verbal, intellectual, and spiritual resources. It is surrender to one who prays for us when we have no prayers left… Prayer then, the sound of silence upon Easter Saturday and every day which reenacts it, is the last breath of our self-relinquishment, the freedom we give God at last to be God, gracious, holy, and creative” (464).

May we not rush ahead in the church calendar, but dwell in the truths of Easter: Jesus is alive; God is still sovereign; He knows our weakness and hears our prayers; we can trust Him to do what He deems best even if it doesn’t always make sense to us.

“Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. And He who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God” (Romans 8:26-27 ESV).

© 2019 Dawn Rutan. Unless otherwise indicated all images are copyright free from pixabay.com. The opinions stated do not necessarily reflect the views of my church or employer.

Fix Your Eyes

I’m in the midst of reading a couple books on prayer. In Pray Big: Learn to Pray Like an Apostle, Alistair Begg writes,

“All that matters may be brought before God, but what we bring before God is not always what matters most. When the eyes of our hearts are opened to our future, it changes our lives now—it reorders our priorities and our prayers. We pray less about the practical details of this life, and first and foremost about the spiritual realities of our eternal life” (29).

All too often we pray anemic prayers because we are distracted by the things of this world and we miss the things of eternity. That led me to think about what is most needed as churches gather together this Easter Sunday, perhaps with many visitors. The prayer I wrote in my journal included this: I pray that You will work in each of us to fix our eyes upon You as the author and perfecter of our faith... Let us not be distracted by words or music or flowers or people, but let us be captivated by Your glory.

After writing that down, I had to go back to Scripture to read the context of Hebrews 12:1-2 (NASB):

“Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”

When I’ve read those verses in the past, I’ve always had this mental image of a marathon runner nearing the finish line, with crowds of people on both sides. In fact, the “cloud of witnesses” has dominated the picture. But the whole point is that we would fix our eyes on Jesus as our motivation for endurance. While the crowd can be encouraging, our eternal security depends on Christ alone. Don’t get me wrong—our relationships within the Body of Christ are important and will continue throughout eternity, but people can also distract us from what God wants to do in our lives and in others at any given time.

Easter Sunday may be especially prone to that distraction. Most churches have extra decorations and special music, people tend to dress up more than usual, and there may be unusual events planned. The intent is (hopefully) good—we want people to engage with the message of the Gospel. But I wonder if sometimes our extra efforts actually distract people from focusing on God. It can appear that we are working to promote our church rather than fixing our eyes on Jesus.

Easter is justifiably a celebration of all that we have because of Jesus’ resurrection, both individually and corporately. Beautiful decorations and music are entirely appropriate. However, if I’m honest, I prefer the solemn simplicity of the Good Friday service at my church. There are fewer parts and, for me, fewer distractions from the One we are there to worship.

An Easter sermon by John Henry Newman comments,

“At Christmas we joy with the natural, unmixed joy of children, but at Easter our joy is highly wrought and refined in its character. It is not the spontaneous and inartificial outbreak which the news of Redemption might occasion, but it is thoughtful; it has a long history before it, and has run through a long course of feelings before it becomes what it is… Accordingly, Christmas Day is ushered in with a time of awful expectation only, but Easter Day with the long fast of Lent, and the rigours of the Holy Week just past: and it springs out and (as it were) is born of Good Friday.”

For those of us who come from church traditions that generally ignore Lent and may not think deeply about Holy Week, his comments may seem foreign to us. We can appear to jump into the celebration of Easter without experiencing the depths of Good Friday. The Easter Sundays that have meant the most to me were those that followed serious contemplation of the cross, Jesus’ death, and my sin that nailed Him there.

Let us not rush forward to Sunday’s celebration without living through the darkness of Friday and Saturday.

“And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with Him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This He set aside, nailing it to the cross... Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God” (Colossians 2:13-24, 3:2-3 ESV).

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Listen to Dennis Jernigan’s song, “It Was My Sin.”

© 2019 Dawn Rutan. Unless otherwise indicated all images are copyright free from pixabay.com. The opinions stated do not necessarily reflect the views of my church or employer.

Shalom

I’ve had a particular anxiety that has been plaguing me primarily on Saturdays for a few months. As I was tossing and turning last Friday night, the thought popped into my mind, “Shabbat shalom!” Not being Jewish, that’s not a thought that often comes to my mind. It is a traditional Jewish greeting meaning “Sabbath peace.” It did not escape my notice that the Sabbath begins at sundown Friday and continues through Saturday. It reminded me that the peace of God comes from the God who is Himself peace. As the Apostle Paul wrote in Philippians 4:6-9 (ESV):

“Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus… Practice these things and the God of peace will be with you.”

This Friday as the Jewish Passover begins, Christians will be observing Good Friday and remembering the crucifixion and burial of Jesus. The disciples, who had run from the garden of Gethsemane, likely did not think of this as a day of Sabbath peace. They were probably filled with both sorrow and anxiety as they mourned their Rabbi and wondered what the future held. Little did they know that the God of peace was doing a new thing.

“For He Himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in His flesh the dividing wall of hostility” (Ephesians 2:14).

 “And you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, He has now reconciled in His body of flesh by His death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before Him” (Colossians 1:21-22).

Through the horrendous death of Jesus, whom we recognize as the true Messiah, shalom was made possible for all who will believe in Him. Biblical shalom doesn’t mean just a peaceful state of mind or a lack of conflict, but of wholeness and well-being. Only by being reconciled with God are we made both whole and holy. Our deepest need is fulfilled in Christ alone.

“Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. He who calls you is faithful; He will surely do it” (1 Thess. 5:23-24).

As we move through this Easter week, may we find shalom from the God of peace, whose love surpasses understanding.

“Now may the God of peace who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great shepherd of the sheep, by the blood of the eternal covenant, equip you with everything good that you may do His will, working in us that which is pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen” (Hebrews 13:20-21).

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Here is a short chorus that often comes to mind, “He Is Our Peace.” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z0dU5zcclRQ

© 2019 Dawn Rutan. Unless otherwise indicated all images are copyright free from pixabay.com. The opinions stated do not necessarily reflect the views of my church or employer.

God Stoops Down

As I’m nearing the end of Ed Welch’s book Running Scared, I came across this comment about 1 Peter 5:6-7:

“Our natural tendency is to go it alone, or, if the load is too heavy, to call a friend to help. But Peter paints a different picture. In an act that could never have been conceived by a human being, the King comes and beseeches us to lay our burden on him… Peter is doing his best to persuade us to be a new people who call out to the Lord. Let Peter persuade you. He begins by exhorting us to know that our God is the Creator God. He holds history in his hand. He delivers with a mighty hand, the grandest display being the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ… In keeping with his character, he continues to serve; he invites us to cast our burdens on him as we would cast burdens on an ox… In one of the amazing paradoxes of the kingdom, when God takes our burdens and takes the position of a servant, he reveals our inability and his sufficiency” (266).

Throughout Scripture God pursues relationship with people. He made covenant after covenant (Noah, Abraham, Moses, David), not requiring people to serve Him, but telling them what He wanted to do for them. God delivered the people from Egypt before He gave them the law. His grace preceded His standards. The people were to obey because they had been delivered from slavery, not in order to be delivered. He sent Jesus as the mediator of the New Covenant so that we who are sinful and insufficient might become part of His eternal family. And He continues to pursue us when we are wandering sheep. We can’t make ourselves worthy of His attention or mercy.

In no other religion does a supreme being stoop down in love in order to bring people up. What god is there that doesn’t first demand obeisance and obedience before consenting to fulfill a request? What other god says you can “cast all your cares on Him because He cares for you”?

I’ve slowly been reading Mark Twain’s Following the Equator: A Journey Around the World. He spent a fair amount of time describing the religious practices in India and all the things people go through to try to appease the many gods. It’s humorous but also sad that people can expend so much time, effort, and money to curry favor with gods that are no gods. The One true God “desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth” (1 Timothy 2:4 ESV). And He makes it possible for us to come to Him, not because of our obedience but because His grace and the perfect sacrifice of Jesus Christ.

He not only saves us, but invites us to come to Him with all our cares and concerns. It’s really dumbfounding if you think about it. We can quickly start to take it for granted if we’ve been around church for very long. The God who created the universe and sustains it by His power desires a relationship with us. His ears are attentive to our prayers. He knows our very thoughts, because He is not a disinterested omnipotent being, but a loving Heavenly Father.

As we enter this season of Lent and approach our Easter celebrations, may we not forget the wonder of what we have because of Jesus Christ. May the truth astound us and bring us to new heights of gratitude and thanksgiving.

“For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast” (Ephesians 2:8-9).

© 2019 Dawn Rutan. Unless otherwise indicated all images are copyright free from pixabay.com. The opinions stated do not necessarily reflect the views of my church or employer.

At the Foot of the Cross

Today I joined with the group of churches that carry a cross from Mint Hill Baptist to the town center, stopping for Scripture readings along the way. As there were hundreds of people participating, there were many conversations taking place all around us as we walked along. The friend I was with asked, “Do you suppose this is what it was like?”

As I was thinking about it later, I imagine that both Palm Sunday and Good Friday were filled with people who didn't really know what was going on. There were bystanders watching as Jesus passed who had no idea who He was and just went about their business for the day. There were other people who were curious enough to follow the crowd in hopes of seeing or hearing something interesting. There were many who had false ideas about who Jesus was—some wanting to kill Him, others wanting something from Him. And there were a small number who would come to faith in Jesus as their Savior and Lord.

I was reminded of a camp I worked at while on summer ministries. One night the youth enacted the crucifixion (though greatly sanitized). The mother of the teen who played Jesus was there, and she said later it was all she could do to keep from running up to get her son off the cross. The cross takes on new meaning when you know the person hanging there.

For those who drove past us today and for those who walked with us, I’m sure there were a wide range of thoughts and beliefs, from annoyance to skepticism to curiosity to faith to overwhelming gratitude for the One who took our place.

“But God shows His love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” -Romans 5:8

© 2017 Dawn Rutan.  

Not Done Yet

I’ve been listening to Christmas music recently. (Doesn’t everyone do that at Easter?) I was reminded again the “Joy to the World” was not written as a Christmas song. It really refers much more to the Second Coming of Christ when He comes in victory than of His incarnation in humility. It’s curious how we have one set of songs for Christmas, another set for Easter, and others for the Second Coming, and very few that span the gap. (“In Christ Alone” does that better than most.) We spend weeks or months preparing for Christmas celebrations complete with pageants, carols, and presents. Preparations for Easter are usually a little shorter. And many Christians have given no thought at all to His Second Coming despite the fact that it could happen today.

Jesus came in relative obscurity. A few shepherds and wise men were the only witnesses to His early life. His death was public—in the midst of the Passover crowd in Jerusalem. His resurrection, though initially revealed to just a few, was eventually witnessed by more than 500 (1 Cor. 15:6). However, the Second Coming of Jesus will be seen by all. “For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first” (1 Thess. 4:16 ESV).

Most of the modern world references (if unknowingly) the birth of Christ every day when we write today’s date. But the birth of Christ has very little meaning apart from His death and resurrection. “And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain” (1 Cor. 15:14). That would more appropriately be the turning point in history. However, even the resurrection has limited meaning apart from the Second Coming. Jesus didn’t rise from the dead in order to take us out of this world, but so that when He comes again we can be part of His new heavens and new earth. “Then comes the end, when He delivers the kingdom to God the Father after destroying every rule and every authority and power” (1 Cor. 15:24).

As we celebrate this Easter, let us not forget the bigger picture of all God has done and will do through the life, death, resurrection, and return of Jesus Christ.

“Joy to the world, the Lord has come
Let earth receive her King
Let every heart prepare Him room,
And Heaven and nature sing…” 

© 2017 Dawn Rutan. Unless otherwise indicated all images are copyright free from pixabay.com.

Four Views

Pilate:Truth? What is truth? He says he is a king, bearing witness to the truth. Someone said he claimed he was “the way, the truth and the life.” The way to what? What truth? What life? None of it makes any sense. The truth as I see it is that these Pharisees have been a pain in my back since I got here. If I don’t do what they want, it could mean my job or even my life. If I release him, I’ll have a full scale riot on my hands, and I can’t afford that. This Jesus is right about one thing—I don’t have any real authority. If it isn’t the Jews telling me what to do, it’s Caesar and his lackeys. Even my wife thinks she controls me. The truth is that this whole thing is a mess. This is no way to live—fighting for control and living in fear. There ought to be some other way. No matter what I choose, I lose... I’ll hand him over. And if there is a God, I hope he has mercy on my soul!

Barabbas:Well, this isn’t what I expected. I was supposed to die today, but here I am out on the streets while my two buddies are hanging up there on crosses. I was ready to die. At least, as ready as anyone could be. I knew with all the trouble I’d caused that it would catch up with me one day. I saw my own father die on a cross, and I knew I’d follow in his footsteps. But now I’m free... Well, not really free. I’ll never forget the faces of all those people I hurt and robbed, and that girl who died. I deserve to be up there on that cross. Those other two guys were nothing compared to me. What did he say to Marcus? “You’ll be with me in paradise”? Really? Is it possible? It can’t be that easy, can it? I’m not sure who this man is, but there’s something different about him. He shouldn’t be up there in my place. I should be the one dying. Jesus, forgive me!

Peter: Why did I do it? Why did I deny knowing Him? I’m such a coward. I really thought I would defend Him to the death. I tried in the garden, but when He told me to stop I just lost my nerve. What would have happened if I’d stuck by Him? Would I have been arrested and beaten too? John wasn’t hurt. He stayed. He didn’t run and hide. When that rooster crowed and Jesus looked at me... I thought He would hate me. But there was no condemnation in His eyes... only love. He knew. He even told me what I was going to do, but I didn’t believe Him. Well, my pride has tripped me up before. Me and my big mouth. It seems like every time I got something right I immediately fell flat on my face. I walked on water, and nearly drowned. I figured out He was the Christ, then He told me to get my priorities straight. He invited me up on the mountain, then I babbled something about setting up tents. But no matter what I said, He still loved me. And now He’s in the grave, and I’ll never hear that voice again, telling me that it will be okay, reminding me that His love doesn’t change. Forgive me, Lord! Have mercy on me, a sinner!

Thomas: They’re saying they’ve seen Jesus alive. I’m not sure what to believe. Could they have been hallucinating? None of us ate much those first few days, so maybe it affected them somehow. Maybe they saw a ghost. But they said He ate some fish. I’m afraid to hope it’s true and just get disappointed again. I’m not sure hope is worth the pain. But these guys seem so sure of what they saw. It’s not just the women saying it. If it is true, will I get to see Him too? Or is it just for those who never doubt? Is it wrong to want some proof? I want to believe, but I’m scared too. It just seems too good to be true... My Lord and my God!

“Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed” (John 20:29 ESV).

© Dawn Rutan 2016

The Weight of Sin

In one of his messages this week Alistair Begg commented, “My sin must be absolutely horrendous if it takes the death of God’s only Son to fix it.” A couple different songs contain lines like “It was my sin that held Him there.” 

While we accept that to be theologically correct, I don’t think most of us really believe it. Part of our difficulty comes from our experience of the American system of jurisprudence. We believe in proportional punishment. A minor crime receives a smaller punishment than a major crime. However, that is not the case in all cultures or times. Remember that the two men crucified with Jesus are identified simply as thieves, although we don’t know the exact nature of their crimes. One of them stated clearly “We deserve our punishment” (Luke 23:41).

That doesn’t make sense to our modern ears. It’s natural to start comparing sins. Most of us aren’t guilty of any of the “big” ones. We might lie occasionally, steal a few office supplies, and get a little envious of our neighbor, but nothing worthy of death. Or so we think. It’s hard to even conceive how Jesus bore the punishment that we deserved, because we don’t really think we deserve it. Many who call themselves Christians would say that their salvation is because “I’m a pretty good person. I may not be Mother Teresa, but I haven’t done anything really bad.”

The problem is that God’s definition of sin bears little resemblance to the laws of our country. Many of our laws can be broken with very little consequence. (When’s the last time you exceeded the speed limit?) But God’s rule book demands absolute perfection, because He Himself is absolutely perfect. Anything less keeps us from even coming into His presence. The smallest of sins creates a barrier that we cannot cross, and therefore God had to create a way to cross it for us. David said in Psalm 51:4 (ESV): “Against You, You only, have I sinned and done what is evil in Your sight, so that You may be justified in Your words and blameless in Your judgment.”

The other piece of the puzzle is the question of why any death was necessary to pay for sin. Logically, it seems like God could have just said, “Okay, I’ll just write off the sins of anyone who repents.” The short explanation is that God set up the rules for this universe, and He decreed that sin must be dealt with by the shedding of blood. Hebrews 9:22 says, “Indeed, under the law almost everything is purified with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins.” Why He did so is a mystery, not unlike the question of why He allowed sin to enter the world to begin with. We can speculate, but only He knows the real reasons.

It seems to me that an awareness of the weight of sin is something that grows as we grow in relationship with God. Unbelievers can sin with impunity because they have no conviction of sin. I can remember a time when I didn’t particularly care about sin or its consequences. Now even small things bother me much more because I don’t want anything to interrupt that fellowship with the Father. The conscience is more easily pricked by the Holy Spirit when we are actively seeking His guidance. At the same time, the enemy turns up the heat of condemnation to try to distract us from growing in faith and turn us away from the ministry set before us.

A right view of sin is necessary if we are to truly understand the importance of Easter. If my sin is unimportant or inconsequential, then the cross is meaningless. If my sin does not deserve death, then Jesus’ death and resurrection are merely a dramatic end to His few years of teaching on earth. However, if I deserved death but received forgiveness instead, then Easter should be a day of great celebration. “For our sake He made Him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God” (2 Corinthians 5:21).

My sin, oh, the bliss of this glorious thought!
My sin, not in part but the whole,
Is nailed to the cross, and I bear it no more,
Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, O my soul!

(Public domain)

© 2016 Dawn Rutan.

All Hail the Power

Every time we sing All Hail the Power of Jesus Name I have to look carefully at the words of the second verse to make sure I sing it correctly. The lyrics say “Hail Him who saves you by His grace,” but I tend think they should be “Hail Him who saved you by His grace.” Both ways are correct theologically. Salvation is both a past event and an ongoing action. We were saved and all our sins forgiven by Jesus’ death on the cross two millennia ago, and yet that salvation has to be applied daily as we continue to sin.

The Apostle John used both tenses in 1 John. “I am writing to you, little children, because your sins are forgiven for His name’s sake” (2:12 ESV), which many translations render “have been forgiven.” And in 1:9 he wrote, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” Other verses also speak of salvation as something that will be completed at the Second Coming: “For salvation is nearer to us now than when we first believed” (Romans 13:11b); “[You] who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time” (1 Peter 1:5).

Jesus said “It is finished” (John 19:30). He completed the transaction of paying for our sins, and we will reap the benefits from now through eternity. “For by a single offering, He has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified” (Hebrews 10:14).

The fact that our salvation is completed means that we need not fear. If we are among those who have been called by God, we cannot lose what He has given us. “And those whom He predestined He also called, and those whom He called He also justified, and those whom He justified He also glorified. … [Nothing] will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:30, 39). We belong to Him and He will never let us go.

The fact that our salvation is currently being worked out means that sin doesn’t have to separate us from our Father. We don’t have to jump through any hoops or do any penance to earn His forgiveness—all we have to do is confess. We are freed from the power and consequences of sin. “Let it be known to you therefore, brothers, that through this man forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you, and by Him everyone who believes is freed from everything from which you could not be freed by the law of Moses” (Acts 13:38-29).

The fact that our salvation will be completed at our resurrection means we can live and die with hope and confidence. “The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.” (1 Corinthians 15:56-57). We have freedom to live without fear; to love, serve, and forgive others well; and to proclaim Christ boldly.

“Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.” -1 Corinthians 15:58

Photo by Dawn Rutan at Dulin’s Grove Church 2015.

Victory!

For some time now I’ve been thinking about enemies, though probably not the way some people do. In reading through the Psalms in the past, I’ve tended to think that the many references to enemies don’t really apply to us. Most of us don’t have someone actively trying to kill us. But when we remember that “we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places” (Ephesians 6:12 ESV), it’s clear that we do have an enemy working against us and seeking to destroy us (1 Peter 5:8).

That reality brings greater meaning and encouragement from verses such as these:

• Psalm 59:10 – “My God in His steadfast love will meet me; God will let me look in triumph on my enemies.”
• Psalm 92:11 – “My eyes have seen the downfall of my enemies; my ears have heard the doom of my evil assailants.”
• Psalm 143:12 – “And in Your steadfast love You will cut off my enemies, and You will destroy all the adversaries of my soul, for I am Your servant.”

Charles Stanley makes this comment in his book Handle with Prayer:

“As Satan sows seeds of disunity throughout the church, many of God’s people find themselves in conflict with each other. These conflicts are usually never resolved because nobody deals with the real enemy—Satan. There is no way to win a battle if we don’t know who our enemy is. And because our real enemy is a spiritual being, the only way we can really deal with him is on our knees.”

The same principle applies to all sorts of conflict, from family discord to war in the Middle East. All conflict can be traced back to the roots of sin caused by the tempter. It may take some effort to retrain our thinking, because we’re so used to blaming people for everything that happens. That’s not to absolve people from all sin, but to give a little more grace to those who irritate us even though they are doing the best they can. It’s easy to let little things ruin our day when they don’t have to. It would be a far better use of our time and energy to pray for someone (whether a child, coworker or congressman) than to gripe about them, but that doesn’t come naturally.

Whatever shape our battles take in this life, petty squabbles or all-out war, we know that the real enemy has already been defeated through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Sin and death no longer have the victory, and one day we will be able to look in triumph on the enemy. Easter is a vital reminder of “the immeasurable greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His great might that He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come” (Ephesians 1:19-21).

May this Easter be a celebration of our freedom in Christ and His victory over the enemy!

 “Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, He Himself likewise partook of the same things, that through death He might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil, and deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery.” –Hebrews 2:14-15

Remember

There’s a hymn that has been going through my mind for several days now, “I Then Shall Live” by Gloria Gaither (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lsq3aDNhZIQ). The first verse starts “I then shall live as one who’s been forgiven...”

It got me thinking—what exactly does it mean to live as one who’s been forgiven, and how do we learn to do that? Interestingly, the tune of the song is the same as that of “Be Still, My Soul,” which perhaps answers some of my questions:

Be still, my soul! The Lord is on your side:
Bear patiently the cross of grief or pain;
Leave to your God to order and provide;
In every change He faithful will remain.
Be still, my soul! Your best, your heavenly Friend
Through thorny ways leads to a joyful end.

I won’t quote all the verses, but they are a powerful reminder of God’s presence, provision, and protection. Living and walking in forgiveness seems to depend greatly on believing that God is who He says He is—that He really has forgiven, He is in control, and He will guide. The more we believe and trust God, the easier it becomes to be still and rest in His forgiveness.

Certainly there are things we can do to foster our faith: through spending time in reading Scripture and hearing it explained, prayer, worship, fellowship, and discipleship. I think the challenge is that as our faith grows, so does the opposition we face from the enemy. We have a real enemy who would like to see us abandon our faith, and he’ll stop at nothing to make us think we are unforgiven, beyond help, and hopeless. Our main defense against his attacks is the same one Jesus used when facing temptation: Scripture. Without that as our foundation, we will be blown about “by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes” of our enemy (Ephesians 4:14 ESV).

Where I come up against it is in dealing with unpredictable emotions (thanks depression!). It is easy to give in to negative feelings and let them lead to negative thoughts rather than trying to remember the truths of Scripture and following them to the fruit of joy and peace. Martyn Lloyd-Jones makes a good point in his book Spiritual Depression:

“Have you realized that most of your unhappiness in life is due to the fact that you are listening to yourself instead of talking to yourself? Take those thoughts that come to you the moment you wake up in the morning. You have not originated them but they are talking to you, they bring back the problems of yesterday, etc. Somebody is talking. Who is talking to you? Your self is talking to you. Now this man’s treatment [in Psalm 42] was this: instead of allowing this self to talk to him, he starts talking to himself. ‘Why art thou cast down, O my soul?’ he asks. His soul had been depressing him, crushing him. So he stands up and says, ‘Self, listen for moment, I will speak to you.’”

The prophet Habakkuk says something similar. After complaining to God and questioning His plan for two chapters, he begins praying and remembering what God has done. He finishes with: “Though the fig tree should not blossom, nor fruit be on the vines… yet I will rejoice in the Lord; I will take joy in the God of my salvation. God, the Lord, is my strength…” (Hab. 3:17-19).

When it comes to learning to “live as one who’s been forgiven,” it takes a constant rehearsal of what God has done and what He has promised to do. I probably repeat this theme quite often in my blogs, but that’s because I find it so hard to practice in daily life, and I’m sure I’m not the only one. I guess that’s why Scripture so often tells us to remember—through the daily or weekly gathering of believers, through communion, and through the annual holy days such as Easter. God knows how difficult it is for us to remember, so He provides opportunities for us to remind one another.

May this Easter be one of remembering the past with gratitude, celebrating our current forgiveness, and joyfully anticipating the future.

“‘He is not here, but has risen. Remember how He told you, while He was still in Galilee, that the Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men and be crucified and on the third day rise.’ And they remembered His words” (Luke 24:6-7).